ã€ŠPrime Originatorã€‹


 Chapter 1 - Life After Death

    <h4>Chapter 1 - Life After Death</h4>

    "FATHER!!"

    Waking up to an unfamiliar environment, Leon had cried out at thest scene of his father being murdered by the very hands of the people that sworn to serve and protect them.

    The [Divine Book of Life] was a treasure of unparalleled knowledge in the use of medicine and alchemy. Founded and inherited by his father, the Divine Medicine King, it drew the envy and greed of all who walked the path of medicine and the evesting.

    But as one of the top figures standing at the peak of the Divine Realm, who dared to offend his father!? It is absurd that his father did not perish at the hands of a rival Divine King but at his own subordinate''s hand. His short life also ended after.

    The mere thought of his father''s death by betrayal drove him furiously to the point of near insanity. Vengeance must be exact! All who participated will die! All who schemed in the dark will also not be spared!

    His father''s subordinates did not have the courage and strength to n this betrayal on their own. Someone must have plotted and pushed them to act when his father was at his weakest.

    "Do you have a problem with my teaching, Leon?"

    A question broke him out of his chain of thoughts as he quietly inspected his new surroundings.

    He appears to be in a ssroom. The person asking him was a very young but beautiful woman. She was standing at the very front of the ss with a dark and fiery expression.

    ''Ah, she must be a teacher.''

    He figured.

    Realizing that his sudden outburst must have disrupted her from teaching, he felt a bit ufortable with all the weird gazes directed his way.

    He pushed back the previous thoughts in his mind and took his time to figure where the heck he is.

    "No problem, Teacher," Leon answered.

    Despite his attempt to ease the situation, the teacher still explode. Either the teacher had issues, or his answer was not satisfactory.

    "Good. Very good! My ss must be very boring for you, right? I did not say anything when you were sleeping in my ss, but now you start to scream and disrupt my ss? Is this amusing for you? GO STAND OUTSIDE!"

    The female teacher exploded.

    "Yes¡­"

    Leon answered.

    He got up from his seat and started walking towards the exit door, obediently withoutint as he had yet to adapt to his new environment and understand the situation.

    Nevertheless, the teacher sure had a fiery personality.

    "Wow, bro. You got guts to yell in Teacher Lina''s ss like that. I like."

    A fattymented while giving him the thumbs up.

    "You can join him in the hallway too."

    Teacher Lina said darkly.

    The fatty froze like his brain had short-circuited, with his thumbs up hanging in the air.

    "Did you hear what I said!?"

    "Ah? Y-Yes, Teacher Lina!"

    Not wanting to further antagonize the teacher, the fatty resigned to his fate and sadly made his way to the exit.

    This was one of the legendary school punishments; ''naughty kids have to stand in the hallway, right?''

    Leon thought amusingly.

    Although the students were already in universities, which supposedly give students a greater degree of freedom, it was a different case at Royal Crawford University, which retains strict discipline.

    The ssroom had a mixture of different expressions. Some tried to stifle theirughter, some showed disdain, some indifferent, and some amazed.

    Leon had heard all sorts of whispers as he exited.

    "Is he crazy? Doesn''t he know teacher Lina is a spicy hot pepper?"

    "His good days are over now that he offended teacher Lina."

    "Father? What father? Isn''t he an orphan?"

    "He must be some bastard child to be able to study here despite his poor background."

    Thestment almost sent Leon into a violent fury and smack the person to death.

    However, he no longer possesses the strength from his past life, and without fully grasping his situation, it was not wise to act recklessly.

    More importantly, he felt incredibly weak.

    Leon did his best to reign in his violent urges.

    Standing in the hallway, the fatty introduced himself, "Hey, bro. My name is Benjamin Farley, but you can also call me Fatty Ben."

    Despite his body size, Benjamin had no scruples with the way he looks and exuded confidence.

    However, Leon paid him no mind as he''s already pale and weak body grown a shade paler. His body contained traces of a lethal poison, which must have been what killed the previous host of the body and allowed his transmigration.

    But at this rate, his second life might be a short-lived one.

    His consciousness was like a flickering candle fire on the brink of being snuffed out when a wave of pure medicinal essence with life-force suddenly washed over him from the recesses of his soul, remolding and rejuvenating his body and soul back to a healthier state.

    "Hey, Bro. What kind of trick is that?"

    Fatty Ben asked curiously, seeing Leon''splexion undergo various color changes.

    Leon stared at him, speechless. This was no trick. He was poisoned, but something cured him.

    Closing his eyes, Leon began self-introspection to figure out the source. Something hade from the depths of his soul, and he was bent on finding out immediately.

    "Yo~~~ Bro, why aren''t you talking? Am I annoying you? Do you not want to be friends with me?"

    Fatty Ben asked.

    After not getting any response, he decided to keep quiet and wait. There was a mystery surrounding Leon that drew his attention to him. He wasn''t sure what it was, but instincts told him that he was not ordinary, or rather normal.

    It has been 2 months since the start of the semester for the first years, and it was Fatty Ben''s habit to secretly study everyone''s expression. Being a noble is to know how to read expressions.

    Royal Crawford University isn''t any ordinary ce one can get into if they want. It was a prestigious establishment meant for nobles. The kingdom''s elite are gathered here.

    It is not hard to guess that he was part of the nobility. His father was a Baron, and their Farley family had an estimated worth of 150 million Craws.

    Leon''s enrolment to Crawford Royal University was a special case that left students pondering without an answer.

    Leon was an orphan, abandoned at the doors of Silver Oak Orphanage when he was just a newly born infant with nothing but a jade pendant and a note to his name.

    Adopted to an ordinary family at 7 and showed the first sign of extraordinary intelligence in middle school. Granted schrship upon entry into Crawford and eased the family''s financial burdens.

    With the Dean''s silence on the matter, Leon''s entry into Crawford remains a mystery.

    Some students believe he is the bastard son of some noble, while some reckon his identity was purposely kept hidden due to having a strong background.

    Some noble families exercise such practice on their offsprings to temper them and force them to mature quicker so they can be someone capable in the future.

    Regarding the assumptions, the majority of students tend to believe the former rather than thetter.

 Chapter 2 - A Fathers Love

    <h4>Chapter 2 - A Father''s Love</h4>

    Leon''s soulcked the brilliance it once possessed, but his consciousness was still much stronger than what the average person around him would have.

    Having once experienced tribtion, shedding mortality, and achieving the Divine, he had retained the ability to dive into the depths of his consciousness and inspect his soul core, which only divine practitioners are capable of performing.

    Even though he was just an alchemist doctor, who achieve the Divine through pills and could not hold a candle to other practitioners in a battle, a Divine was a Divine, nheless.

    Swimming through a sea of fragmented memories and into the deepest depths of his consciousness, where his soul core resides, Leon froze upon sight. His eyes swelled red as tears threaten to overflow.

    At the epicenter of his soul core was one of the 10 heavenly treasure that ever existed in the Divine Realm''s history, the [Divine Book of Life].

    Whether it''s used to be an unparalleled doctor or its world space to store medicinal nts and all creation has to offer.

    Both are great uses to a divine practitioner, but perhaps its most remarkable aspect has yet to be uncovered.

    However, Leon did not care about any of that. The significance of the treasure being in his soul core means that it has fused with his very being, bing one with him.

    His father no longer being the master of the said treasure means his father will never reincarnate like he did.

    The separation of the divine book and soul would result in the copse of the soul''s structural integrity, leading to true death.

    A Divine King is considered a master of samsara. Even if the body dies, so long as the soul remains whole, a Divine King can never truly die.

    However, it was different for the young Leon who had just stepped into the Divine, far from the peak.

    His body''s death would result in the slow dissipation of his soul without his body''s nourishment. Eventually, true death will still im him.

    His father knew and made the ultimate sacrifice, giving up his own life for his and sent him far away from the Divine Realm, where he could be safe and start anew.

    A father''s love is like the mountain, weighing heavily on his heart.

    The new world wascking in spirit energy, the source of divine practice. Compared to the Divine Realm, it could be considered deste.

    Perhaps the average person can''t reach the Divine state, but was he an average person?

    Before returning to the Divine Realm to unleash his wrath on his father''s enemies, he will not be stumped by any difficulties on his path.

    Opening his eyes, Leon did not continue standing in the hallway and decided to leave.

    "Hey bro, you just going to leave me like that?" Fatty Ben asked.

    Leon paid him no mind and started walking away. However, before he got far, he halted his footsteps as he was struck by a massive headache.

    Seeing Leon stopped, Fatty Ben smiled, "Looks like you aren''tpletely heartless."

    Tapping Leon on the shoulder from the back, Fatty Ben continued, "As I was saying-."

    Before he could finish talking, Leon had already fallen onto the ground, out cold.

    Scratching his head, Fatty Ben was a bit bewildered at how the event unfolded.

    It''s apparent that his EQ was a bitcking, but he was not stupid. Fatty Ben brought Leon to the infirmary, albeit difficultly.

    ¡­

    An endless stream of memories poured into Leon''s soul core, fusing with it, as Leon relived the body''s experience in the past 17 years in fast forward motion.

    The influx of information had put a significant strain on his soul core, causing him enormous pain, unlike any fleshly wounds can inflict.

    Too great to endure, Leon was unable to retain his consciousness.

    Sometimeter, Leon woke up, feeling like he had been unconscious for a long time, but only a few hours have passed in truth.

    Thest ss on campus has already finished a while ago, and everyone has already gone home.

    Alone in the infirmary, Leon sat up in a daze. He wasn''t so sure who he is anymore.

    He was confident he was still the son of the Divine Medicine King. However, he wasn''t so sure if he had taken over the body of someone who had shared his name or he was reborn with his memory sealed, only to have it awakenedter.

    He wondered if poison was the catalyst that triggered the awakening if it was thetter. He also feared he would have been dead for good if a different method had been employed to kill him.

    He should thank the person that poisoned him for the chance to awaken his memories¡ªby sending that person off to meet King Yama, of course. He could not allow his enemies to live.

    ''Wait, is there even a King Yama here?'' Leon suddenly thought.

    The spirit energy in the world is faint, and the heavenlyws even fainter.

    Leon spected that it should not be hard to find out who poisoned him. There can only be so many that would detest him to the point of killing him.

    After all, Leon easily got along with the female students on campus. His poprity among thedies naturally draws the envy and animosity of the males.

    Even did not know how this came to be. Perhaps, it was due to Leon''s extraordinarily unordinary look that he was friend-zoned, making it easier fordies to interact with him.

    Only a select few people would have the courage to attempt an assassination.

    ''There''s no use trying to figure out who it was now.''

    Leon pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

    Finding the culprit was secondary. Increasing his strength takes priority. Only with power will he wield the ability to protect himself and not fear the plots and schemes of others.

    Plots and schemes are transient; only real strength is evesting¡ªAnd right now, he could not even hurt a fly if he wanted to.

    Without further distracting thoughts, Leon sat in a meditative posture and begun contemting which cultivation technique he will use to walk the divine path once more.

    [Divine Fiery God Manual] was the cultivation technique Leon had used in his past life, given by his father.

    Being the Divine Medicine King''s son, he was expected to follow in his father''s footsteps and walk the medicine path to be a well-respected doctor.

    The [Divine Fiery God Manual] was a technique thatplements the path of medicine due to its supreme fire control in pill forging.

    There are 4 known grades to cultivation techniques; mortal, earth, heaven, and divine.

    One can easily guess that the [Divine Fiery God Manual] is a divine grade cultivation technique as all divine grade techniques will have the word divine in their name.

    It is logical to think that [Divine Fiery God Manual] should have been the technique Leon would pick as it is the one he is most familiar with and crossed the Divine with.

    However, the world is severelycking in spirit energy, making Leon hesitant. It is unknown how long one would have to practice to reach the same heights as the Divine Kings¡ªNo, he had to exceed them!

    The technique will only allow him to cultivate to the Divine King Realm. What he wanted was to go beyond that!

    He wanted to surpass the Divine Kings!

    Only with greater strength will sess be guaranteed on his path of vengeance.

    Leon suddenly recalled an ungraded and iplete cultivation technique his father had obtained from an ancient ruin with four other Divine Kings'' help, the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos].

    The iplete cultivation manual introduced that one would not be restricted to spirit energy but strive to draw in all forms of energy, transforming them into Primal Chaos Energy, the source energy of the universe.

    The name and introduction allowed the Divine Kings to infer that the technique is extraordinary and possibly higher than the divine grade.

    However, none was able to make any progress in the technique. In fact, no one was able to practice the method.

    It waster concluded that the manual was bogus, something an ancient being came up with during their boredom.

    However, if the ancient being was still alive, he would have been angered to death.

    ''Since I don''t have any cultivation, I should at least give it a try. It wouldn''t be toote to practice the [Divine Fiery God Manual] if it doesn''t work out.''

    Leon decided on the iplete [Hegemony of Primal Chaos].

 Chapter 3 - Initial Success In The Technique

    <h4>Chapter 3 - Initial Sess In The Technique</h4>

    8 PM sharp, History Department, Teacher''s Office.

    Teacher Lina was still on campus, reviewing study materials and papers for her history students'' uing mid-semester exam.

    Teacher Lina hailed from the Greene family, which was once a distinguished noble family headed by an Earl in the past.

    It was unknown what the Greene County did, but they suffered misfortune one instance after another until the Greene family declined, losing their fief, and moved into the capital.

    Although the current head of the Greene family, Lina''s father, held onto Earl''s rank through the hereditary system, it has be nothing but an empty title withoutnd, power, and wealth.

    Lina Greene was hardworking and manage to be a history teacher at the Royal Crawford University at the tender age of 24. She continued to work hard in the hopes of making her household prosper once more.

    "Ah! it''s already sote!"

    Lina suddenly released the time and decided to finish up work for the day to head home.

    ¡­

    Leon did not have high hopes of sessfully practicing the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos], but he did not want to give up before even trying.

    One cannot hope to achieve anything if they do not even take the step forward.

    The [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] had five stages before one gains full mastery over the technique.

    In precise order, each stage requires one to gain mastery of the; five elements, space and time, life and death, destruction and creation, and finally primal chaos after fusing all elements from the previous stages.

    Expanding his senses, Leon perceived numerous types of energies in his surroundings.

    However, Leon only requires the energy of the world''s five primary elements; wood, fire, earth, metal, water. Spirit energy was scarce, but the five elements were in abundance.

    Leon used a simple breathing exercise to draw in the five elements at once.

    All life could draw energy into themselves, but transforming that energy into power was a different matter.

    Due to his limited ability, the elements Leon could draw in was limited. However, it was sufficient to practice the initial stage.

    Following the manual''s instructions, Leon began circting the five elements through his body''s meridians in ordance.

    The human body is said to be built simrly to the structure of the universe and can be viewed as a small universe, as a microcosm.

    The cirction path was attuned to the way of the universe. Leon grew increasingly familiar with eachplete cycle and increased his cirction speed to refine the five elements.

    ''The next step will decide my fate.''

    The next step was the hurdle that stumped many powerhouses,beling the step impossible to achieve; the fusion of the five elements.

    It was not clearly exined how the fusion would ur and only instructed to continue increasing the cirction speed.

    Leon nned to do precisely just that.

    The cirction speed continued to steadily increase until it reached an unbelievable rate.

    At this point, sweat had already formed on Leon''s forehead. He started losing control of the five elemental energies in his body.

    If he let them run out of control, he would suffer severe internal injuries despite the minuscule amount of energy being circted.

    ''There''s no turning back now. It''s all or nothing.''

    His mental strength was depleting, but Leon was determined to seed. Steeling his resolve, he continued to push his limits.

    ''For my father!''

    Leon gritted his teeth, but the inevitable happened.

    He failed to keep up with his cirction speed, and it started rampaging out of control, inflicting tremendous pain to his meridians.

    Had Leon given up earlier, he would have only suffered some light internal injuries, but he did not. He kept pushing himself and reached a dangerous turning point.

    If he failed here, the bacsh might just kill him.

    ''Dammit! Father! Your son has failed you!'' Leon''s eyes started swelling up with tears.

    Leon''s mental strength was depleted, and the energy wreaked havoc in his body. His consciousness started fading.

    In his fading consciousness, he revisited the scene of his father shielding him from the enemies'' attack. His father exhausted all his remaining strength and dispersed his own soul to protect Leon''s soul from shattering.

    "Goddammit¡ª!"

    Leon roared back to life.

    The incident was like hot oil being poured into a waning me that transformed into a raging fire.

    Leon drew strength from an unknown source and forcefully brought the rampaging energy back under control with renewed and unprecedented cirction speed in zing anger.

    ''Was this the rity before death?''

    Leon thought for a split moment but no longer care.

    Closing his eyes, Leon was exhausted in body and mind. The sudden burst of strength came briefly as it went.

    While thinking that death would soon im him, the energy circting in his body reached consistency in speed, revolving on its own. It was like it had been tamed and no longer tried to spiral out of control.

    The five elements started fusing before finally forming new energy, a strand of Grandmist Energy.

    The strand of Grandmist Energy continued circting through his body, swiftly repairing the damages to his body before resting in his be.

    Leon was just a bit short in circting speed, and the burst was just what he needs to seed.

    Under the cleansing and healing prowess of the Grandmist Energy, Leon felt like he was undergoing a sort of rebirth.

    His body was partially remolded and became slightly more robust. Impurities were expelled from his pores, and a horrid stench slowly permeated the surroundings.

    Leon fell back on the infirmary bed. He sighed in rxation, dazed for a moment before breaking intoughter stupidly.

    He achieved the impossible.

    ''This [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] technique really tests one''s willpower to the limit.'' Leon shook his head with a grin, not knowing a deeper secret to his sess was concealed.

    Screech¡ª!

    The door to the infirmary was opened. Light shortly shone into the room, parting the darkness randomly before resting on Leon''s face.

    "Hey, you! Campus hours are long over! What are you still doing here!?" A security guard questioned, finding trouble with Leon.

    "Ah¡­ My apologies, I''ll leave now."

    Smelling the horrible stench exuding from Leon, the security guard''s face quickly paled in disgust.

    "Oh my god! What is that smell? Quickly get lost!" The security guard shooed, no longer interested in making things difficult for Leon.

    Leon did not mind the guard''s aggressive bullying and scurried off. It was a regr urrence he had learned to tolerate as a weak person.

    However, things will change from now on!

    Grrr~!

    Exiting the campus, Leon''s stomach began rumbling in protest. He rubbed his stomach wryly. One cannot conquer anything on an empty stomach.

    At the same time, Leon felt nostalgic.

    When one reaches the Divine state, food bes a luxury and not a necessity.

    Reaching the Divine state allows one to shed their mortal body and construct a spirit body, bing self-sufficient through the spirit body''s ability of photosynthesis. As long as the world is not devoid of energy, hunger will be a foreign word to Divine state practitioners.

    Smelling a pleasant scent drifting in the air. Leon followed its trail, leading him to a small fried chicken stand.

    "Boss, how much for five chicken pieces?"

    "It''ll be ten Craws."

    Craws; it was the currency of the Crawford Kingdom in the form of special papers.

    Searching his pockets, Leon fished out a note valuing ten Craws precisely before paying the street vendor.

    Smelling the fried chicken, Leon almost forgot the joy of eating. The taste was notparable to the Divine Realm''s spirit-enriched food, but it was enjoyable, nheless.

    ¡­

    Lower District.

    "Hey, big brother. Thatdy is gorgeous. Maybe we should¡­ you know?" A young thug saidsciviously while staring at a beautifuldy walking home alone in the middle of the night.

    Looking at where the younger thug pointed, the thug''s eyes lit up. Licking his lips, the thug made his way over immediately.

    ¡­¡­

    Lina was making her way home through a rtively remote road. Had it have been any other day, She would not have chosen such a road home.

    She immediately regretted not keeping track of time when she was working in the office.

    Just when her day could not get any worse, a voice called out to her.

    "Hey beautiful, it''s a fine evening, is it not? Why don''t youe and y with us?" Big brother thug said lewdly while checking her out.

    "N-no, thank you. I''m busy."

    Lina replied nervously while trying to make her way around the big thug in a hurry. Unfortunately, her path was blocked by two other thugs.

    Fear gripped her heart.

    She was fearless in front of her students. However, in front of big muscr thugs, she can only cower.

    "Hahaha. Do not reject us while we are nice. We promise to give you a good time."

    Lina''s hands were swiftly grabbed before the three thugs dragged her into a remote alleyway, away from the main road.

    "N-no, please let me go!" Lina cried.

    The thugs covered her mouth to prevent her from making noises, and only muffled sounds could be heard.

    Coincidentally, Leon was heading home in the same direction. While he enjoyed his fried chicken, he suddenly heard the muffled criesing from the alleyway up ahead.

    ''Ha¡­ Whatever, it''s none of my business.''

    Leon had not familiarized himself with the world yet. It was best to be low-key and avoid inviting disaster upon himself¡ªAt least until he possesses the strength to protect himself.

    He had little information about the experts in this world. However, he was sure that the strongest person was definitely not him. A little bit of progress was not enough to make himcent.

    Even so, with one single strand of Grandmist, Leon already possesses the strength equivalent to the firstyer of the Body Tempering Realm.

    He must treasure his life above all others, even if it means going against his principle to help the weak.

    After all, his life was no longer his own, but also his father''s, who died granting him a new lease on life. As long as he is still breathing, his father will continue to live on inside his heart.

    Leon hardened his resolve and decided to walk off.

    Unfortunately, after taking one step away, he suddenly froze. A String of words repeated itself in his head. It was the [Heart of Saint] mantra that his father once forced him to recite in his younger days.

    Recalling the daily repetition of reciting the [Heart of Saint] mantra made him shivered. It had developed a sort of trauma.

    "Sigh¡­ I didn''t choose the good guy life, but it chose me."

    Leon turned around and walked towards the alleyway.

 Chapter 4 - Saving The Damsel In Distress

    <h4>Chapter 4 - Saving The Damsel In Distress</h4>

    Turning the corner into the alleyway, Leon was a bit startled. It turns out to be his teacher Lina that was in trouble.

    Lina''s clothes were torn apart arms pinned down against the wall and her mouth still covered be the two smaller thugs.

    Big brother thug was just getting ready for the good part.

    Leon was thankful he was not toote.

    "STOP!!!"

    "Brat, what do you want? Can''t you see this daddy here was just getting to the good part?"

    Big brother thug paused and questioned him with annoyance.

    Hearing the thug proiming himself ''daddy'' triggered one of Leon''s nerve, but he did not erupt and calmly observed the alleyway to see if there were any other thugs hidden around.

    Seeing it was just 3 average thugs, Leon was inwardly relieved.

    "Yo, some random person tells you to stop and you just stop? Tsk tsk, such a good dog. Here''s a bone for you."

    Having said that, Leon tossed one of his chicken bones with swift speed.

    The chicken bone hit the big brother thug urately on the forehead with great force, knock him flying back off his feet before anyone could react.

    The concussive blow was enough to knock him out cold.

    Leon dashed forward after swiftly, giving a chop to the back of the neck of each thug, followed by grabbing them by the cor and flinging their bodies onto the unconscious big brother thug with each hand in the distance.

    Taking off his coat, Leon draped it over Lina''s body.

    "Are you alright, teacher?" Leon asked.

    If it was the previous fearless Lina, Leon would probably receive a reply like; "Are you alright¡­? Do I look alright to you!?"

    However, the current Lina was still quite shaken and was not in the right state of mind to process what just happen. Looking at the pile of bodies on the ground then slowly looking up, their eye meet.

    "You are¡­ Leon?"

    Seeing the familiar face with a concerned look, Lina did not think too much.

    She embraced him and started weeping at the grievance she suffered.

    Even when the thugs had pinned her down and torn her clothes, she did not cry. But now that it''s all over, she could not hold back her tears.

    Being embraced so suddenly, Leon''s mind was short circuited as he had never encountered this situation before.

    He did not know what to say or where to put his hands, which were stilling hovering in midair.

    After a moment of difficult pondering, Leon gave her 2 pats on the shoulder and said, "There there."

    That was the best choice of action he coulde up with.

    Leon inwardly had an impulse to shove her away, but he refrained from doing so. It had to said that he is still covered in impurities and smell horrendous.

    He must give her a thumbs up for not being put off by his smell.

    If the other male students on campus had learned of what had transpired in the alleyway, their faces would have gone red with envy and anger for not being one the in Leon''s shoes. But since they aren''t, they could still curse him like; ''Dammit, it''s like seeing a flower being grown on a pile of sh*t.'' Or something like, ''He''s not a man if he doesn''t take advantage of the situation.''

    After all, Lina was still young and beautiful. She did not have ack of admirers.

    But who was Leon? He was not the same as them. With his father unavenged, he did not have the hearts for romance. He was not interested!

    While Lina was still weeping to herself, Leon noticed that big brother thug had awaken and had been trying to stealthily crawl beneath their notice.

    Peeling Lina off his body, he said, "Wait here."

    Walking over, Leon sat down on top of big brother thug with his bag of unfinished fried chicken, startling him.

    ''Not good.'' Thought the thug.

    He never thought he would bump into such a monster, who can throw chicken bones with such power.

    "Do you know who I am!?" Big brother thug put on a strong front.

    "How the heck would I know who you are?"

    Leon gave him a powerful blow on the head, making him dizzy.

    "I''m part of the ck Snake Gang. If you know what''s good for you, you will get off me, kowtow and apologize." Big brother thug threatened.

    "Idiot. It seems like you don''t know what sort of situation you''re in."

    Having said that, Leon unleashed his murderous killing intent on the thug. The killing intent that he honed through the corpses of countless beast he has ughtered was thick and heavy.

    It wasn''t considered high level in the Divine Realm but here, it wasn''t something a normal person could bare.

    "Hm!?" Leon swiftly retreated from the thug''s body.

    The poor dude could not handle the pressure brought by Leon''s killing intent and gone pale, shivering and wet himself.

    "Disgusting. Just a bit of killing intent is enough to make you wet yourself." Leon scorned.

    "Big brother please spare me. This little brother was wrong." Big brother thug pleaded.

    Feeling vexed, Leon kicked him away.

    "Who the hell is your big brother? I don''t have a little brother like you.

    "Right, right! Father is so mighty how can he have a little brother like me? The thug had scurried back and said.

    "The fuck? Who the hell wants to be your father? I don''t need a trashy son like you." Leon was triggered and gave him a stronger kick, sending him flying.

    Groaning in pain, the thug did not get back up and stayed on the ground.

    He has already lowered himself and tried boot-licking the person, but the person just kept kicking him. He was so angry and wanted to cry, but no tears would flow.

    ''When have I ever been bullied like this? It''s always been me bullying others.

    "What do I have to do for you to spare my life, gran-¡­ boss?" He was going to address him as grandpa but refrained.

    BAM**

    Pity he still got kicked.

    "I don''t need ackey like you either. It''s not hard to spare you. You just have to stopmitting crimes and turn over a new leaf."

    Leon started leaving without waiting for his answer.

    "Are youing?" Leon asked while looking at Lina.

    "Ah! Y-yes." Lina snapped out of her thoughts and follow. As to what she was thinking, no one knows.

    But the thug was groveled on the ground in joy, having been spared and said to the duo leaving in the distance.

    "Y-yes! I will stop and turn over a new leaf!" The thug said with a determined look.

    "I hope so. There''s no second chance."

    Leon''s voice trailed from the distance into his ears.

    He shivered but once they had disappeared from his view, his face quickly changed into a dark vicious look and gnashed his teeth.

    "This humiliation, I will remember it."

    Big brother thug swears that when he gets the opportunity, he will kill them but not before he finishes torturing them.

    "Hmph! Turn over a new leaf? What a joke!"

    Being deep in the underworld, there is no backing out. Being among the higher ranks in the ck Snake Gang, he was privy to some information. He would probably be silenced should he try to leave the gang.

    For a crime gang to survive in the capital, they had to have the backing of nobles, someone with a powerful background.

    To consider these gangs backed by nobles as their subordinates is just putting it nicely.

    They are just dogs who do the dirty work for the nobles.

    ¡­¡­

    "Should I escort you home?" Leon offered.

    When you decide to help someone, don''t stop halfway.

    "Thank you¡­ I would be very grateful if you do." Lina epted the offer as she gripped the coat draped over her.

    She no longer had the courage to walk home alone. It is not safe for ady to walk home alone at night after all.

    "So, where do you live?"

    "It''s just about half an hour''s walk in that direction." Lina said weakly as she pointed in the direction of themoner''s district.

    Leon heard what she said and was speechless.

    ''You originally nned to walk that far alone at this time? Women, aren''t you just asking for trouble?'' Leon thought.

    But what Leon did not know what that she does not usually go home thiste.

    "Is it too much?" Lina bit her lips.

    "Ah no sorry, my house is also in the same direction. Let''s go."

    Lina was relieved. She was afraid Leon would reject her.

    The walk home was awkwardly silent. Leon had nothing to say and walked in front calmly, while Lina trailed behind. While she wanted to say something, she does not know what to say.

    ''Sigh where''s my dignity as a teacher? Relying on my students like this. How good would it be if he wasn''t my student and a few years older? Huh? What the hell am I thinking.''

    Lina was embarrassed to think that way and tried to rid the thought.

    The walk continued in silence.

    Leon suddenly thought that it was strange that she had to walk home like this. After all, she is an Earl''s daughter, not to mention there are cars and carriages. Being a noble, her situation should naturally be different his, who grew up as amoner.

    What Leon wasn''t aware of is that her situation isn''t much different from his, if one ignores her status of nobility.

    The Greene family had already sold away their car and carriages for the extra cash to continue living in the capital.

    ¡­¡­

    The Crawford Kingdom is situated right next to the Wilnds, with a great metal wall separating the two. In the distant past, humanity was once on the brink of extinction in these unforgivingnds when the world suddenly changed.

    Humanity who was once at the top of the food chain, fell to the bottom. The animals all mutated into beasts, bing faster, stronger, bigger and more aggressive. The humans that did not mutate along with the rest of the world were hunted down tragically. The weapons of humans were not effective on the mutated beasts.

    At that time, a person rose to power from a humble background and fended off the beast invasion alone.

    His name was Aldrich Crawford. He was a human, who had awakened a powerful ability to manipte metal.

    With his power, he ughtered the beasts easily like chickens and erected the great metal wall, establishing the Crawford Kingdom with the duty to guard the wall from future beast invasion.

    The people worshiped his feats and capability and refer to him as the first Hero King Aldrich Crawford.

    An unfathomable amount of metal was invested into making the wall bigger and more stable to endure the growing beast attacks.

    Thus, cars have be a luxury and privilege owned by the nobles and the rich, since metal is strictly regted by the royal family and their value is sky high.

 Chapter 5 - The Divine Books Use

    <h4>Chapter 5 - The Divine Book''s Use</h4>

    When people start to be toofortable after enjoying the kingdom''s prosperity over a long passage of time, they begin taking it for granted and start looking for their own interests.

    They forget the terror that awaits them on the other side of the wall.

    The kingdom would not be able enjoy prosperity forever. Referring from the records of history, no kingdom had ever been able to endure the test of time and remain standing forever.

    The Crawford kingdom had already begun to show signs of decline from within.

    17 years ago, a coup d''¨¦tat had urred. Although, it had ultimately failed and the duke who led it was executed, it had weakened the royal family. Thousands of soldiers had perished, the newborn prince went missing and the king had fallen intoa with no signs of waking up after suffering severe injuries to the head.

    Since then, the kingdom has been under the queen''s ruling. Those who voiced their opposition were all personally executed by the queen in cold blood.

    The tragedy of her family had transformed her into a cold ruthless ruler.

    The throne belongs to her husband and she will defend it with her life. All who eyes the throne shall be killed without mercy.

    -

    -

    -

    "My house is just there." Lina pointed in front to the building.

    "Ah I see, Then I will see you next time. Goodnight teacher." Leon left without waiting for her reply.

    Lina wanted to return his coat but considering she would be exposing herself; she held onto it and decided to return it at ater time after it is washed.

    "Goodnight."

    Heading inside her home, she tried to make her way to her room quietly but was immediately spotted.

    "My daughter, you are finally¡ªWhat happened to you?"

    After noticing her appearance, her father''s warming weing was immediately reced with concern.

    Lina''s eyes swelled as she recounts what happened to her as they sat at the dinner table with her mother where the food had already gone cold. It was her father''s birthday.

    "Such audacity!!!"

    Robert was immediately enraged and mmed the table after hearing his daughter''s grievance.

    How can he let his daughter be bullied like this!? But s he is too useless of a father¡­

    He was even reliant on his daughter to support the family.

    The Greene family of the past was a military one, producing outstanding generals for each generation. However, he was no longer an outstanding general. He ispletely ordinary.

    "s, if it weren''t for that damn curse!"

    The downfall of their family first began when they were mistaken to have favored the duke''s side when the coup took ce. Reasonably thinking, their entire family would have been executed as rebels.

    However, due to theirck of participation in the matter and in addition to their military contribution, they were spared. But not without consequences.

    They were forced to drink the Water of Absolute Nothingness, a sinister and powerful poison that sealed their bloodline ability.

    Although the queen seems lenient in the matter, the punishment was an absolute vicious one. The effects of the poison is passed onto their descendants and from their descendants onto the next like a contagious disease.

    It is not much different to cutting off one''s lineage.

    After being angry for a short moment, Robert could not do anything else except dete back onto his chair.

    "Sigh, this is the price for not supporting the royal family."

    They should be thankful for just being alive and keeping their nobility status.

    "Go wash up and thene back down for dinner."

    Not much could be done. They didn''t possess the strength to avenge their grievance.

    "Mm." Lina nodded sadly.

    -

    -

    -

    Leon''s home was not far from Lina''s, only 5 minutes'' walk. Leon closed the distance in a matter of seconds with his tempered body prowess.

    Sneaking into the house, he headed straight for the bathroom and washed off the impurities.

    His foster parents hadter found out he was home and questioned him why he came home sote.

    Leon made some random excuse of having stayed back for club activities that involved teaching dogs some tricks and how to behave.

    Although his adoptive parents had their doubts about what kind club that was, they did not question further.

    Kids will eventually grow up and have their own thoughts and secrets.

    However, they were a bit sad when Leon addressed them as ''adoptive mother'' and ''adoptive father'' by ident, instead of the usual dad and mum.

    Leon had subconsciously created some distance between them due to the fresh memory of his previous life.

    He had immediately noticed this problem but didn''t have a good solution to tackle the problem.

    Although they were not his real birth parents, they did raise him with love and care.

    Originally this would not have been a problem for the previous Leon, but now that his memories had awakened, with the more dominant one being thetter, he couldn''t bring himself to call them mum and dad immediately and required time to adjust himself.

    His soul was experiencing an unique problem. It wasn''t as simple as taking over a new body or awakening past life memory. It was like two souls sharing one body, except they were both souls belong to him.

    One lived for 30 years in the Divine Realm and the other lived for 17 years in the world, he soon learnt to be called Gaia.

    The two souls began shing for dominance, making his characterplicated like a person suffering from multiple personality disorder.

    ''Which one is real me? Which one is not?''

    Leon felt lost and the problem was difficult to ignore. However, he had no solution for it.

    Maybe he could ept both life and fuse the two opposing soul, however there was an invisible barrier, preventing them from merging into one.

    Leon wished he had someone who can enlighten him and give him the answers he needs. Unfortunately, no one can help him, except himself.

    The soul was aplicated and very profound topic that not even the peak experts of the Divine Realm darey im to havingplete understanding of it.

    He can only leave it be for now as he is clueless with which direction to take regarding the issue.

    ''It''s better to focus on cultivation.''

    It is alreadyte in the night, but since Leon have the spare time alone, why would he waste it on sleep?

    Fortunately, after cultivating a strand of primal chaos energy, he can now ess the [Divine Book of Life] in his soul core. The World space of the divine book has a special environment, overflowing with lifeforce that aids the growth of spirit nts nted inside.

    The spirit herbs grown inside also have a higher chance of upgrading to a higher tier, the lower the current tier and the longer the spirit herb stays inside. Unfortunately, the higher rank divine herbs don''t enjoy this benefit. Spirit and divine rank herbs that have already been harvested will not have its medicinal properties deteriorate if it remains inside the world space.

    Spirit herbs were divided into 5 tiers and Divine herbs were divided into 4 tiers. The high the tier, the stronger its medicinal properties.

    More importantly, in the [Divine Book of Life] is the record all nts in existence and a plethora ofplete pill recipes, from spirit to divine rank. However, to peruse the information, one must use their divine sense to see it. So, if one has the book in hand without being at the Divine state then tough luck.

    Luckily, Leon is an anomaly who has retained his divine sense ability without possessing his past Divine state cultivation.

    ''I can''t concoct any pills to aid my practice for now, but I should take a look at what spirit herbs are avable so I can n ahead,'' was what Leon thought since he does not have a pill cauldron and rare me to concoct pills with. Of course, one can also use normal mes, but it would affect the final grade of the pill.

    When Leon inspected the world space, he was immediately dejected. The expected overflowing lifeforce-filled world space was not there. Most of the space have been greyed and the divine rank nts have all withered and looked lifeless.

    A small patch of lifeforce was still present but only the lower tier spirits herbs survived.

    Leon''s mouth twitched at the sight.

    ''Of course, even divine treasures are notpletely indestructible.'' He should be grateful it survived on the journey of reincarnation with him. Perhaps, even his father''s power was insufficient to allow him safe passage into the cycle of reincarnation and the [Divine Book of Life] had used up its powers to provide the extra help needed for him toplete the journey sessfully.

    It finally made sense to him why he didn''t possess his memory immediately upon rebirth and the divine treasure was probably in hibernation up until now, recovering its powers.

    Leon continued to stare at the low tier spirit herbs.

    ''I guess, it''s better than nothing.''

    It will be more difficult than ever for him to achieve the Divine state without the divine rank herbs but it''s fine. Life was never meant to be easy.

    He didn''t experience any hardship while he was under the halo of his father in the past, but he guessed no one can escape the fate of hardship. He''s just experiencing it a littleter than others.

    ''Fortunately, all the herbs needed to concoct the Meridian Fortification Pill is present. But where in Gaia, will I find a pill cauldron?'' Leon thought. ''Maybe an antique shop? I should give it a look tomorrow.''

    The Meridian Fortification Pill, as the name suggest, will allow him to strengthen his meridians so it can bear a bigger load of energy. This will help him refine more energy at a time, increasing his cultivation speed.

    Being clear of his objective, Leon sat cross-legged on the bed in meditation and continue practice the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos].

 Chapter 6 - Skipping Class

    <h4>Chapter 6 - Skipping ss</h4>

    As the guardian kingdom that defends humanity against the invasion of the beast tide, the Crawford Kingdom had enjoyed a yearly tribute of massive fortune from their neighboring kingdoms.

    The umted wealth and centralization of power in the kingdom allowed it to develop rapidly, entering a new era. It''s been 500 years since the start of the Human Restoration Era, when hope was restored to humanity after the Great Wall was built. The Great Wall was the symbol of humanity''s hope.

    Year 524 HR, the present era.

    After experiencing a boom in steam-powered technology, humanity havee a long way from using swords and spears.

    With the development of guns and bloodline ability, they were also no longer as helpless against the beasts beyond the walls.

    Bloodline ability wasn''t something everyone has, but those who do were granted peerage and became nobles.

    During the early construction of the Great Wall, there was not a single noble who did not contribute for the great cause.

    Although the main role of building the Great Wall was handled by the Hero King''s powerful metal maniption ability, the nobles had assisted in every possible way to hasten the transport of metals to the area. Only a select few with special fire element abilities stayed on site to smelt the metal wall into one solid structure.

    -

    -

    -

    Lina had continued her job as a teacher the following day.

    "In the year 118 H.R, who can tell me what happened?" Lina questioned her ss on history.

    The answer was not hard if they had done their homework. All sorts of hands were raised. The male students were particrly more enthusiastic to answer to look good in front of the teacher.

    "How about you answer for the ss, princess Ste?"

    Lina ignored the males and chose the princess from the neighboring Durham Kingdom.

    As the leading kingdom in terms of development, their educational institutions are also attended by nobles and royalties of other kingdoms.

    "Answering the teacher, the year 118 H.R was the year when the Crimson War erupted." Ste answered.

    During that year, the beasts had shown clear signs of increasing intelligence and mounted a second beast tide.

    The beasts were able to scale the wall by climbing on top of the corpses and bodies of their own.

    The Great Wall was not as tall and big back then as it is now.

    At the time of the Crimson War, the wall had only possessed a height of 30 meters.

    The humanity had neglected the Great Wall after a hundred years of peace and they had paid dearly for it during the year the beast tide erupted.

    Guns and other advanced weaponry had not been invented then.

    They had to rely on the use of swords and their bloodline ability.

    It was truly a bloody battle. Corpse of both sides piled like mountains, while their blood flowed like rivers, dying thend crimson red.

    After being snapped out of their illusion of peace, humanity had moved in full force to upgrade the wall with heightened passion, allowing the wall to reach a staggering height of 120 meters as of today.

    "Very good." Lina praised as she gestured for Ste to return to her seat.

    Ste''s seat was not far from Leon''s seat. Lina discovered that the seat was empty and became a little absentminded. The events ofst night had cause a small ripple in her heart.

    Although she does not believe in love after being saved once, she had be more curious about the boy, who is usually quite humble and timid.

    What Leon disyedst night was a clear contrast to how he was usually seen.

    ''How did he get so powerful? Did he awaken?''

    Bloodline ability is something that all humans on Gaia innately possess. However, rigorous training or special pills are required to awaken the ability.

    To date, only the nobles enjoy the privilege of receiving awakening pills within their circle. Commoners simply can''t afford it.

    When a person awakens their bloodline ability, they also receive an overall boost in their body strength and speed, allowing them to beparable practitioners of the 1styer tempered body.

    Hence, Lina had a misunderstanding that Leon had awakened, considering the strength he had disyed that night was not something an ordinary person like her would possess.

    She was a bit sad that she can never awaken. Her Greene family had a support-type wood element bloodline ability that passively grants them superior regeneration. So long as their body parts were not severed, all their wounds would be healed back into perfect state within a short period of time.

    The previous heads of the Greene family were all muscle brains and did not make full use of their ability. As their ability can also be actively used to save the lives of others.

    They can also make use of their ability in alchemy to create better recovery pills.

    But that is all a what-if situation. They cannot unseal their bloodline ability and can onlyment in regret. There is also no medicine for regret. Damn.

    In ss, Lina''s absentmindedness did not go unnoticed.

    Seeing as if their teacher appeared to be love-struck, they started guessing among themselves who the lucky bastard could be.

    "Hm? Leon Bradford is absent today."

    "Huh? It wouldn''t be Leon, right?"

    "What!? How can it be that bastard!!"

    A student snapped when the students arrived at that guess. Lina awoken from her absentmindedness at the abrupt noise.

    "Edric Grey, do you have a problem with my teaching?"

    "Sorry teacher, no I do not." Edric steadied his emotions and answered.

    "Mm, don''t do it again." Lina did not continue. She did not want to offend Edric, who is the son of Albert Grey, the Earl of Ebonmaw.

    The Grey family was rumored to have connections with the underworld. Lina was still afraid of thewless denizens of the underworld and didn''t want to take the risk even if it is just a rumor.

    Achoo**

    While this was happening, Leon who was searching for an antique shop in the Commoner''s District suddenly sneezed, unaware of what had transpired in the ssroom.

    "Which bastard is cursing me?" Leon said aloud, attracting the attention of the surrounding passerby.

    "Hahaha take it easy, young man. That is just a superstition." A kind old man patted him on the shoulder and said.

    Turning around, Leon saw the facial features of the old man and knew the old man was sick through his skill of observation as a doctor.

    In the past, he had reached the 6th Tier, Divine Medicine Master. His skills as a doctor was not shallow, but he was still far from beingparable to his father, the only 9th Tier, Divine Medicine King. However, for him to be a Divine Medicine Master at the age of 30, he was already considered a super genius.

    Unlike cultivation which can be boosted with divine pills and miracle elixirs, to progress in medicine, he had to study and practice.

    As a doctor, he was nning to save the old man since he had bumped into him. Although the [Heart of Saint] mantra had been drilled into him, he wasn''t so stupid as to believe he can save everyone. But he can still help those within his reach. Since he had seen the old man, he was not going to ignore him. Perhaps it was fate that they met each other.

    But he would not tell the old man his illness right away. No one would believe it if some stranger suddenly say you are sick, unless you are already aware of it.

    "You right, Old man. If I was a famous viin, wouldn''t I be drowned by the wave of curses directed at me?" Leon tried to crack a joke, but it wasn''t that funny. "By the way, you don''t happen to know where I can find a pill cauldron?"

    "Pill cauldron? Are you aspiring to be an alchemist?" the old man taken aback and questioned.

    "Hm? You know about alchemists, Old man?"

    Leon was raised by amon family; he naturally didn''t think there would be any alchemist around since he couldn''t even find a shadow of Divine practitioners in this world.

    "Of course, it''s not something privy tomoners, but all the nobles would know about alchemists. The alchemists are quite important to nobles after all. However, to be one is far too difficult." The old man''s mood dropped as he exined.

    He used to be a young man aspiring to be an alchemist too. Unfortunately, reality was cruel. He did not have the talents. Pity he realized it far toote after spending decades of practice and an unountable amount of resource and wealth.

    When Leon had learnt of the old man''s story, he did not feel any sympathy and looked down on him instead.

    "Old man, are you idiot? How can you spend decades of practice but not have any results?" Leon insulted him. How can someone spend decades and not even be a Tier 1 Alchemy Adept? Howcking is the development of the alchemy profession of this world!?

    "You-! Don''t be too arrogant, young man. Alchemy isn''t something anyone can learn just because they want to." The old man was angry and warned.

    "You are mistaken about something, old man. I am not aspiring to be an alchemist. I am already an alchemist." Leon stated confidently.

    Having heard what the young man said, the old man did not believe him and thought he was being pretentious.

    ''How can an alchemist not have a pill cauldron and know anything about other alchemist!? What a joke!''

    However, Leon was not lying. True, alchemy is very profound andprehensive. So much so that one can spend hundreds of years studying and would still be far from learning all there is to learn about alchemy. Medicine was just one branch of alchemy. But before Leon became a Tier 6 Divine Medicine Master, He was already a Tier 5 Alchemy Sovereign.

    Wanting to take the young man down a peg, the old man thought of ways to make him drop his arrogance. The old man''s eyes lit up when he thought of a way.

    "How about apanying this old man to his home? I have a pill cauldron at home. If you can really concoct a pill with it, I will gift it to you." Said the old man.

    Leon eyes lit up at the old man''s words. He was able to infer that the old man was in possession of a pill cauldron and had nned the choice of words to lead to this situation.

    "Remember the words you said, Old man. Don''t let people say I''m bullying the old when I take away your cauldron." Leon smirked.

    "Hmph! Save your rubbish till after you actually concoct a Tier 1 pill." The old man fumed as he took the lead.

    Following the old man, he was not surprised that the old man lived in the Upper District, where the nobles reside.

    What he has yet to understand was why he was in the Commoner''s District and was quite kind and humble, when talking to othermoners. Of course, only if you don''t agitate him.

    Before long, they arrived at a big vi.

 Chapter 7 - Pill Concoction

    <h4>Chapter 7 - Pill Concoction</h4>

    "Old man, your home is not bad." Leon examined the vi from outside andmented.

    "Hmph! Only not bad?" The old man was obviously not satisfied with thement. His family was able to remain wealthy due to their great sess in the real estate business.

    They had the best architects on the job during the vi''s construction. To say it was very beautiful and one of the finest homes in the kingdom was not far-fetched.

    Leon was not trying to look down on the vi, but he had after all, lived in a mountain pce in his past life.

    As they arrived in front of the entrance, a youngdy was coincidentally walking out.

    "Ah! Grandpa, you''re home. Oh, and who is this?" Thedy eximed as she examines Leon, while hugging the old man''s arm.

    "Haha, you''re here, Lynne. This is a very arrogant young man, who ims to be an alchemist." The old man chuckled and introduced Leon sarcastically.

    "Huh? If he likes tooting his own horn, then just ignore him, grandpa. How you can you bring home random strangers? What if has ill intentions?" Lynne stamped her feet andined.

    Leon began to sweat. ''You''re right. I do have ill intentions on your family''s pill cauldron, but I n to cure your grandpa after. This is considered an equivalent exchange, right? A woman''s intuition is fearsome.'' He thought.

    The old man was also a bit startled at his granddaughter''s words, but he immediately recovered his calm appearance. "Hahaha, I may be old, but I haven''t gone senile just yet. Your grandpa is still a 3rd step awakener after all. There''s no need to worry. I just want to see this kid lose face when he fails to concoct a pill.

    Leon didn''t mind them looking down on him. The alchemists in the kingdom all seem to be old, while he is still very young. There''s no need to speak up for himself. His actions will speak louder than any words, when he concocts the pill. Leon just shook his head and smiled.

    "Then, will you be using the underground pill room again?" Lynne was concerned about her grandpa''s health.

    As an awakener, her grandpa''s health should have been very good despite his old age. However, her grandpa had isted himself in the underground pill room, practicing pill concoction for decades. The room was murky andcked venttion. The smoke and herbal impurities had umted in his grandpa''s system and caused his health to deteriorate. The doctors had advised him to stop practices and go for daily walks to get fresh air as a means to improve his health.

    "Yes, I''ll just be watching from a distance. The young man will be the one pill concocting." The Old man said.

    In the underground pill room, there was a chair, a simple stone table and onlyid a small pill cauldron, a small portable fire stove and some scattered herbs and pill recipes. The ceiling has already been dyed ck by the smog.

    Leon understood the source of the old man''s illness.

    "As an alchemist, you have your own herbs to concoct pills with, right? Or are you expecting us to provide for you?" Lynne said provocatively.

    Leon looked at her speechless. He had already set his expectations low but he was still left disappointed when he saw the pill cauldron.

    He was expecting the pill cauldron to at least be a low-mortal grade treasure, the lowest grading, a treasure could receive but it was not even a graded treasure. It was apletely ordinary object.

    Spirit treasures have 4 main grades; mortal, earth, heaven and divine. It is further divided into 4 sub-grades; low, middle, high and peak.

    ''I''ll forge my own if I can''t find a better cauldron in the future.'' Leon decided.

    Leon took off his schoolbag and reached his hand inside before he circted his energy and brought spirit nts out from his Divine Book''s world space.

    Lynne and the old man could not see what''s inside the bag and thought the herbs had already been inside the bag. If they could see the herbs magically appearing in his hands, they would be shocked. Spatial storage were something that didn''t exist in Gaia.

    Leon was nning to concoct a Tier 1 Toxin Cleansing Pill to expel the impure substances in the old man''s body.

    Leon checked his Grandmist energy level and knew he had more than enough to aid him in pill concoction. There were 10 strands revolving in his be.

    After the initial breakthrough in the technique, it had be easier to progress through the technique until the next bottleneck. Leon was able to gain an extra 9 strand after a night''s worth of practice.

    Leon started the fire as he heats the cauldron. After it was heated, Leon threw in the ingredients directly and mentally controlled the fire with his Grandmist energy. The fire''s temperature drastically increased when it contacted the Grandmist energy.

    Leon continued with practiced ease as he burns away the impurities in the ingredients, leaving only the herbal essences behind. Moments after, the herbal essences started to coagte and formed a pill.

    The process only took 15 minutes.

    ''Hmm not bad, a Mid-Tier 1.'' Leon said as he took the pill out of the cauldron.

    Lynne and the old man were shocked speechless during the entire process and only recovered after Leon''sment as they stared at the pill in his hand with wide eyes.

    Leon was pleased with their reaction. Although he made the entire process look easy, he was a bit mentally tired as his Divine practice was still low and the process required full mental focus.

    Seeing that the duo did not say anything, Leon decided to say something first. "Well then, thanks for the pill cauldron, old man." Leon said as he reached for the pill cauldron.

    "Slow down, young man. You misunderstood something. I said I would gift you the pill if you can really concoct one with the pill cauldron." The old man said.

    "Nonsense. The ingredients were provided by me and the pill was concocted by me. How can you gift me something that is already mine? Where is the logic in that?" Leon refuted.

    The old man had left a loophole in his words before and was taking advantage of it to keep his pill cauldron now.

    "Well that was what my intention was. It''s not my problem if you misunderstood me and thought I was gift you my pill cauldron." The old man said shamelessly.

    The old man didn''t admit nor deny when Leon had said he would be taking his cauldron and told him not to say he was bullying the old, giving him the assumption that it was the cauldron and not the pill.

    "Old man, you are bullying the young. Well whatever, I don''t want your trashy pill cauldron anyway." Leon said with a mischievous smile.

    "I can even give you this pill." Leon continued as he threw the pill to the old man.

    The old man was startled as he tried to catch the pill like his life depended on it. In fact, he said so much nonsense to negotiate buying the pill from Leon. Although he did not know what the pill was, he thought it was most likely something special.

    ''A man''s rubbish is another man''s treasure.'' Leon thought.

    Leon had seen through his intention and just decided to y along even though he was going to gift them the pill anyway and didn''t care about the cauldron the moment he saw it.

    The pill cauldron waspletely ordinary. There wasn''t much difference between concocting pills with it than a cooking pot and the kitchen stove.

    "By the way, old man. You are sick." Leon suddenly said.

    "Huh? You are sick! Your whole family is sick!" Lynne interrupted, thinking Leon was cursing her grandpa.

    Leon stared at her, speechless then continued talking to the old man, "That pill is called the Toxin Cleansing Pill. It can cure you of the ailment you are suffering."

    After hearing Leon''s words, the old man swallowed the pill without hesitation.

    "Grandpa!! How could you trust his words so easily!?" Lynne shrieked as she stared daggers at Leon, fearing something might go wrong after her grandpa swallowed the pill. Apparently, she seems to distrust Leon very much and viewed him as a big bad wolf.

    ''Did I offended you in a past life or something to be treated like this?'' Leon didn''t know whether tough or cry.

    "It''s fine, the pill is real." The old man could feel himself getting better as he tried to calm his granddaughter down.

    "Really?" Lynne doubted.

    "Rea-." The old man was going to assure his granddaughter but before he did, he started coughing violently.

    Cough** Cough**

    Arge amount of ck blood was expelled from his body.

    "Grandpa!! I knew it! You are a bad guy!" Lynne screamed at Leon as she was supporting her grandpa.

    cing her grandpa on a chair, she charged at Leon. She was already a 1st step awakener and closed the distance in an instance.

    A punch thrown straight at his chest. Leon easily sidestep the attack, grabbing her wrist in the process, pulling her into his embrace and seizing her other wrist. She was caught in an arm lock and her physical strength was insufficient to break free from Leon, who is nowparable to a 2ndyer tempered body.

    "Why are you jumping to conclusions? Have a look at your grandpa!" Leon directed.

    While struggling to escape from Leon''s clutches, she saw that her grandpa seems to be slightly glowing with a brilliant expression.

    "Grandpa¡­?" Lynne probed.

    "Hahaha, I haven''t felt so good in a long time. I coincidentally made a breakthrough to the 4th step." The old man chortled. "Young man, you have my thanks."

    "Gratitude aside, how will you repay me?" Leon asked.

    Startled at the question, the old man thought about it for awhile then had a nce at Leon and his granddaughter who are still tangled together.

    "How about I give my granddaughter to you?" The old man smiled.

    Cough**

    "Thanks not funny, old man." Leon coughed at the unexpected suggestion.

    "How long are you nning to hold me!?" Lynne was still captive.

    "My apologies." Leon released her and apologized.

    After being released, she tried to get back at him by stepping on his foot, but it was dodged. How can Leon let her step on his foot so easily?

    Having failed in her attempt, she stamped her feet in displeasure.

    "Hahaha Lynne, you are already 18 years old but still so childish." The old man chuckled.

    "Grandpa~ Your granddaughter has been bullied, how can take his side." Lynne shook the old man''s arm and said coyly with teary eyes that seems to say she had suffered grievance.

    "Hahaha let that be a lesson for you to not jump to conclusions so quickly." The old man said as he tried to console his granddaughter.

    "By the way, I haven''t quite learnt your name yet, old man." Leon suddenly said.

    "Oh, you are right. We have not introduced each other yet. I am Dwight Cromwell. You are¡­?"

    "Leon Bradford."

    The two finally introduced each other as they shook hands.

 Chapter 8 - Black Snake Gang

    <h4>Chapter 8 - ck Snake Gang</h4>

    ck Snake Gang''s secret headquarters.

    "Big brother Snake, please avenge this little brother''s grievance." The little brother pleaded on his knees.

    In front of him was a man in his middle ages, standing upright as he listened to his little brother''s pleading with a frown.

    They weren''t real blood brothers. ''Brother'' was a termmonly used to show ones'' closeness to another. For a group of criminals working together, a heavy emphasis is ced upon bonds and loyalty. Whether they are the bigger or the smaller brother within the gang is determined by their hierarchy.

    Big brother Snake was the boss of the ck Snake Gang and a 2nd step awakener. He was able to possess his current strength due to the benefits received from doing dirty businesses for the nobles backing them. He used to be a poormoner. There was no other way of receiving Awakening Pills, which were monopolized by the nobles.

    "Little brother Thorpe, what happened?" Snake frowned as he looked at Thorpe''s tattered look.

    Thorpe was the big brother thug; Leon had encountered the other night.

    "I was beaten up by a kid. He did not put our ck Snake Gang in his eyes even after I warned him." Thorpe said hatefully.

    "How is that possible?" Snake deepened his frown. The Commoner''s District and the area between it and the Royal Crawford University was all part of his territory. He knows that Thorpe was one of his best men among the unawaken. Thorpe should''ve been able to put up a fight and not be thrashed so badly.

    "H-he should have already awakened. He was very skillful at throwing chicken bones and finished off our group of 3 brothers in the brink of an eye. However, he should be amoner." Thorpe didn''t recognize Leon''s uniform as it had been dirtied by his impurities.

    ''Chicken bones? What nonsense are talking about.'' Snake thought but didn''t voice his thoughts. He knew Thorpe was simple minded but wouldn''t make joke on a serious matter.

    "An awaken that isn''t a noble¡­? Is he from another gang? What is he doing our territory by starting trouble?" Are the other gangs getting restless and started eyeing our territory?" Snake rubbed his chin as he voiced his thoughts, clearly overthinking the matter.

    His gang was not the only gang residing in the Capital. There were 3 other powerful gangs besides his own; the Azure Wolf Gang, the Red Smander Gang, and the White Ferret Gang.

    The Capital is divided into the Upper District and the Commoner''s District, which is also called the Lower District. The Upper District is located within the inner area of the Capital, while the Lower District is located on the outer area.

    The Lower District is further divided into the North, West, East and South. Each one is upied by one of the 4 gangs. The Western District belongs to the ck Snake Gang.

    "What should we do, big brother Snake?" Thorpe asked.

    "For now, you need to go investigate his background. If he does not belong to any gang, you may call Arlo and Gower to assist you in apprehending then bring him to me." Snake ordered.

    Arlo and Gower were his right-hand and left-hand man. Both were experts at fighting and are both 1st step awakeners.

    "Right away, Big brother Snake." Thorpe answered.

    -

    -

    -

    Back at the big vi, Dwight and Leon sitting down at a table, drinking tea, while Lynne was standing at the side serving them.

    She did not have to be the one serving them tea as there are servants in the vi, however she was interested in listening in on their conversation.

    "Old man, although the toxins have been expelled from your body, unblocking your meridians and allowed you to make a breakthrough as a result. The toxins had stayed in your body for a long time, damaging your vitals and your organs are showing signs of failure.

    You will need further medical treatment to fully recover. Unfortunately, I do not have the tools required to treat you at this moment." Leon stated.

    "Huh? Do you have special eyes or something? How do you know if my grandpa''s organs are failing or not?" Lynne doubted.

    "I do not need to see directly to know. I can still hear, smell, and feel your grandpa''s pulse to find out. It is my skill as a doctor." Leon answered her doubts.

    "What? I thought you were an alchemist. How did you suddenly be a doctor?" Lynne asked in confusion.

    Leon was a bit speechless and looked at the old man only to see he shared the same confused look. Leon had no choice but to clear their doubts.

    "I have always been a doctor. It''s just how can I be a doctor without having some foundations in alchemy? I can be considered an alchemist and a doctor."

    Leon said in a steady tone, but he was starting to get annoyed with the girl for nitpicking at everything he says and do.

    "Young man, you are really good. Already a doctor and an alchemist at such young age." The old man praised.

    Just the title of alchemist is enough to boost his status to the top of the kingdom and be respected everywhere. The number of alchemists is just far too few. The number of Awakening Pills they are able to concoct was not enough to support the demands of the nobles, let alone the rest of the masses.

    The reason Leon didn''t end up trying to hide his talent as an alchemist was because alchemist was treated with great importance in the kingdom. Nobles would try everything to establish a good rtionship with him.

    Leon had lived a short 30 years with his father in his past life, but he had seen many people and faces. He can tell that the old man was kind in nature and appear trustworthy. Leon disyed his skills to show his worth, making the old man owe him a debt of gratitude for curing him and to make it easier for himself to negotiate a business deal.

    The quickest way to gather wealth and resources to further increase his Divine practice, was to rely on a powerful family to assist him. Two hands are better than one, and four is better than two.

    "If you don''t mind me asking, who is your master?" the old man inquired. A person who can nurture such a young qualified alchemist must be extraordinary, the old man thought.

    Leon could see that the old man wishes to establish a connection with this so called ''master'', but Leon can''t just say it was his father from his past life.

    "I don''t know much about my master. He likes to be free and unfettered, travelling the vast world to further his knowledge. He is usually the one to contact me. I am unable to contact him." Leon bullsh*tted.

    "Ah¡­ that is unfortunate, it would''ve been a great honor to meet him." The old man sighed.

    "Never mind that, if there''s an opportunity, you''ll surely meet him. How about striking a business deal with me, old man?" Leon brushed off the topic about his master and changed the topic.

    "Oh? What sort of business?" the old man was intrigued.

    "Naturally the sort of business where I concoct pills for your family, and you will pay me ordingly. The payment can be made in the form of cash, special herbs or rare minerals." Leon stated.

    "Ah just that? Of course, we will happily ept your offer." The old man said happily.

    The old man was more than happy to ept such a business deal. In fact, if Leon did not suggest it first, he would have been the one to suggest it. Leon was still young and promising, unlike the other old bones. This is a rare chance, hard toe by for his family to rise to new heights.

    Leon did not need to say much further. They were able to read each other''s intention. There was no need to worry that the Cromwell family would publicize his status as an alchemist.

    It would be an extremely stupid thing to do. Why would they want to introduce Leon to others when they can monopolize the pills concocted by Leon for themselves? Not to mention Leon is still young and without a strong background. It may attract those with ill intentions if the words were spread.

    "Well then, here''s to a happy cooperation." Leon smiled and reach out his hand for the old man to shake.

    "To a happy cooperation." The old man shook Leon''s hand as he briefly nced at his sulking granddaughter. Seemingly to have been ignore as they were lost in the own conversation.

    "You really don''t want to consider my granddaughter?" the old man brought the matter up again.

    "Cough** old man, you really know how to joke." Leon was caught off guard again. He really wasn''t ready to be involved in such matters.

    "Ai yah¡­ It''s a pity that you don''t fancy my granddaughter." The old man felt regretful.

    "Grandpa~! How can you try to sell your granddaughter off?" Lynneined.

    "Hahaha, it''s actually not a bad thing for you to be married off to him. He is a much better choice than all those noble sons. He is a real dragon among men." The old man tried to convince his granddaughter.

    Her grandpa was right, and she seem to have been a little too prejudiced against him this whole time with no good reason. Why is that so? Lynne was a little confused but how could she not be aware of her grandpa''s underlying intention? In fact, Leon was also aware. They were all aware. The old man wanted to take one step further and tie Leon to his family.

    "Wily old fox.'' nced at the old man and thought.

    Old man seemed to have sensed his thoughts and gave him a smirk.

    ''Little fox.''

    Ehmm** Leon coughed awkwardly having his thoughts read.

    When two intelligent beings confront each other¡­ Words seems to be unnecessary tomunicate.

 Chapter 9 - Your Teacher Is A Quack!

    <h4>Chapter 9 - Your Teacher Is A Quack!</h4>

    At the end of the day, although Leon did not manage to find a mortal-grade pill cauldron, he did managed to secure a business deal and the written contract was signed shortly after. He did not have to concern himself with money and resources in the short term. At least, if he abides by the contract and continue to supply the Cromwell family with Awakening Pills on his end.

    There are some worries about whether the herbs he is looking for would be avable or not. He is after all, in a different world and the herbs maybe not be entirely the same or exist on this. As long as he can find them, he would be able to grow them in his world space and promote them to spirit herbs.

    "Old man, do you have the Awakening Pill recipe?" Leon asked.

    "Yes. Sebastian, please fetch my pill recipes from the pill room." Dwight ordered a servant of his, whom been standing guard outside the tearoom.

    "Right away, my lord." Sebastian answered.

    The was no reason for Dwight to not own a copy of the Awakening Pill recipe. It was the pill he had been trying to concoct all these years.

    He had apprenticed himself to an alchemist when he was young. The alchemist had given him the recipe for him to study and to practice with.

    "Come back when you sessfully concoct the pill." Was what his teacher had said to him. It was the final test for him before he graduates from his apprenticeship and be a full-fledged alchemist.

    Dwight had practice concocting the pill, one failure after another with no sign of sess in sight. It was a huge blow to him, whom had been bright and intelligent and with great expectations from his teacher.

    Too ashamed and stubborn to seek his teacher''s advice after his repeated failures, he continued to practice concocting the pill with an obsession.

    Dwight had been able to concoct a few types of different pills under his teacher''s supervision, but he was unsessful when left on his own.

    It only took a few moments for the servant, Sebastian to return with a stack of recipes and handed it over to Dwight.

    Dwight had a quick look through the recipes before pulling one out and passed it over to Leon with a nonchnt expression.

    There was an unwritten rule among alchemists that their pill recipes should only be shared among themselves and their disciples.

    The reason for such a rule was to prevent all the ambitious people from hoarding the resources to practice the recipe and attempting to raise their own qualified alchemists. Although the herbs required to concoct the Awakening Pills is not rare, it is not thatmon either.

    It would be very wasteful to squander it thoughtlessly. The prices would rise as the resource be less and it would be detrimental to the alchemists, which is already a costly profession if it was to happen.

    Although Leon had not entered their circle yet, the old man had acknowledged him as a qualified alchemist. There was no problem in allowing Leon to peruse the recipe.

    When Leon read the recipe for the Awakening Pills, his eyes widen in disbelief and looked at the old man in awe.

    ''How can anyone concoct a pill with such a trashy recipe? These medicinal herbs are already shing, giving it a 10% chance of sess, if he was to concoct it. If you follow the instructions to the teeth, then it would be impossible to concoct the pill. How can this old man be so intelligent yet so stupid at the same time?'' Leon thought.

    Whatever the case was, he was really in awe of the old man''s dedication despite following a dead recipe.

    The old man was unable to understand Leon''s thought this time and after being stared at by Leon in such a weird way for a long time had started to make the old man ufortable.

    "What''s wrong with you? Why are you staring at me like that?" The old man asked ufortably.

    ''Perhaps, he wasn''t interested in my granddaughter because he was into men?'' Dwight thought as a chill ran up his spine. He subconsciously took a step back.

    The old man''s weird actions snapped Leon out of his thoughts. Leon was able to understand the old man''s thoughts and was quickly enraged.

    "Do you think I would be into you!? You, old bag of bones! Just for your information, I am straight!" Leon roared.

    "Che! I didn''t say anything! You are the one who said it! Who are you calling an old bag of bones!?" Dwight roared back.

    Lynne wasn''t that bright and even a bit slow but having seen Leon''s look at her grandpa and hearing her grandpa''s following words was like a fuse that lit a light bulb in her head as she quickly understood the matter and felt disgusted.

    Leon caught her dirty look at the corner of his eyes and was so angry he could spit blood. This was a major misunderstanding!

    "I was just thinking how stupid you are to waste your whole life practicing a fake recipe!" Leon exploded.

    "Nonsense! The recipe was handed to me personally by my teacher, how can it be fake!?" Although Dwight roared back in defense of his teacher, he had long had this doubt. How else could he keep failing without a single sess!?

    He knew that even his teacher only had a 10% sess rate of concocting the pill like all the other alchemists. Only one batch out of every ten would seed. But he did not even seed once after hundreds and thousands of attempts!

    "Your teacher is a quack!" Leon sneered.

    Having released his outburst in frustration, Leon was able to quickly steady his mind and regain a calm look but the same could not be said for the old man.

    "Y-YOU!! If you don''t give me a justifiable answer, then don''t think about leaving this vi in one piece after disrespecting my teacher!" Dwight said with boiling anger, while pointing his finger at Leon.

    "Are you threatening me¡­?" Leon questioned with a dark look and deep voice. It was difficult for Leon to rein in his temper, nor was there any reason to when his good intentions were repeatedly met with doubts and criticism. Especially when there is still a burning rage hidden deep inside him, when his father was murdered.

    An invisible pressure was exuded from Leon''s body as his figure became towering in the eyes of the old man, making him hard to breathe.

    Lynne didn''t feel any pressure and only felt something was wrong as she was not the target of Leon''s pressure.

    This pressure did note from his cultivation, which is currentlyparable to a 2ndyer tempered body but from his soul who was once a Divine state practitioner.

    The old man was breaking out in sweat as he had the illusion of his entire self was nothing more than an ant being gazed upon by a deity.

    "Have mercy, great lord!" Dwight pleaded as his legs felt weak.

    "Why are you bullying my grandpa!" Lynne pushed Leon over, clearly upset with the matter.

    ''This jerk seems to usually be well-tempered, putting on a false anger y with my grandpa. Why did he suddenly be ill-tempered so suddenly?'' Lynne thought simply as she supported her grandpa up and looked at Leon.

    Leon felt guilty for losing his temper and unleashing his pressure on the old man who he had a favorable impression of.

    ''Sigh, situations like this might continue to ur if I don''t fix my personality disorder. I should find ways to release the pent-up stress and anger in my heart.'' He thought.

    "I''m sorry for losing myself there. The reason I believe your teacher is a quack is because if one concocts the pill ording to the recipe, it would be impossible to seed. Fire fruits and the Water Roots contain two opposing force, greatly reducing the medicinal essence when they sh.

    Furthermore, the method of extracting the medicinal essence is too inefficient, wasting what little medicinal essences left. Although there are other minor problems. These were the main ones. How can one seed in pill concoction if there''s no medicinal essence left to concoct the pill with?

    The reason you were also able to make an immediate breakthrough after your toxins were expelled was because your body had absorbed a portion of that medicinal essence." Leon apologized and exined his reason in detail.

    His exnation was reasonable and justified. Even the slow Lynne was also able to understand even if she had no prior knowledge in alchemy.

    Dwight sighed as he seems to have mentally aged a few years after hearing Leon''s exnation.

    Well it was all in the past now. He had already given up practice under his family''s urging when his health had deteriorated to its current condition. He was now preupied with what exactly was Leon''s identity. He wanted to ask but Leon was one step ahead.

    "Somethings can''t be exined at present and is better kept to yourself." Leon said.

    The old man nodded, understanding Leon''s intention and sighed again.

    Leon will tell him eventually when the time is right.

 Chapter 10 - Movements At The Frontline

    <h4>Chapter 10 - Movements At The Frontline</h4>

    None of the trio knew but the servant, Sebastian had long since retreated outside the tearoom to continue guard duty.

    He was currently wiping away sweat from his forehead.

    The situation inside had abruptly turn intense and he had no idea whether to storm in or not. It was his duty to protect his lord but without his lord''smand, he did not know what to do.

    Sebastian heave a sigh of relief now that situation seemed to have calmed down.

    ''Ay¡­ who can understand the stress and life, a small figure like me have to go through?'' Sebastian thought.

    -

    -

    -

    When the questions and doubts were settled aside, Leon wanted to concoct the Awakening Pills immediately, so he can start receiving payments for the work. They wouldn''t pay before they receive the pills.

    Leon took the time to revise the Awakening Pill recipe, while he is still recovering to his optimum mental state. The revision of the recipe was not something difficult for Leon to do. He had fully understood the true effects of the Awakening Pill.

    The Awakening Pill wasn''t some miraculous pill that would allow a person to awaken without side effects. In its truest sense, the pill allows the person to overdraw their body''s potential to stimte a certain part of their brain, where thetent abilityid dormant.

    Why else would you need pills in order to gain abilities that is already inherently yours? In other words, using the pill is regarded as forced awakening. Those who chooses forced awakening would have limited growth.

    Perhaps the reason the world had not seen another beingparable to the first Hero King was because they had be too reliant on pills to awaken since no other methods were known. Even the fabled queen is stuck at a bottleneck after reaching the 9th step awakening.

    Leon deduced that one should be able to naturally awaken and that it was hard to figure out that the first Hero King was a natural awakener.

    If there was already such a leading example of a natural awakener, how can the method to natural awakening not be researched and make any breakthrough in its findings after a few hundred years have passed?

    Why resort to pills that limit their growth and the collective strength of the entire race? Leon sensed there was a sinister plot that has been in motion for a few hundred years and felt a chill crawl up his spine.

    Leon doubted the beasts could have gain such great intelligence as to pull it off. Could it be a third race they don''t know about? Or an anti-faction that opposes the current regime?

    Leon had questions but no answers to them. He shook his head as he felt he is still too weak to concern himself with this looming threat. To think there was another sword being pointed at humanity from the shadows in addition to the threat of the beasts.

    Leon felt a greater urgency to grow strong as possible.

    ''It''s better to keep this information to myself. Informing the Cromwell''s of this spection would only put them and myself in harm''s way.''

    However, it is also not good to allow them to continue taking this sort of pill. He needs to remove its side effects.

    He can rece the Fire Fruit with the Wood-leaf Ganoderma. Its effects are simr to the Fire fruit but mild in nature and doesn''t conflict with the Water Roots. It''spliments each other and may provide better effects, without losing its medicinal essence during pill concoction.

    The Rigid Snakeroot is a supplementary ingredient that he must definitely remove. Although it has a binding effect, which helps to fuse the ingredients together, it is poison.

    The stem of the Rigid Snakeroot contains toxins that attacks the nerves and paralyses the body.

    The toxin isn''t lethal but regte usage could lead to lifelong problems.

    This is naturally speaking for a normal estimate. Too much of anything would kill you.

    Leon n to use Blue Sages instead, which has some beneficial effects instead.

    There''s no need to follow the bad instructions on the pill recipe.

    He has his own pill concoction techniques.

    Leon requested for them to fetch him a pen and paper and he began writing down the list of ingredients needed for the new revised Awakening Pill.

    If it works as intended, he will call it the True Awakening Pill.

    The herbs he written down was all avable in the Cromwell''s treasure vault, where all their valuables are stored.

    It had been Leon''s worry that the herbs he listed may not exist or they existed under a different name.

    Luckily, he did not encounter such situations.

    When the herbs were delivered to him, he headed back to the pill room and got to work right away.

    -

    -

    -

    Crawford Kingdom border, Great Wall.

    Soldiers are stationed here all year round. The Bloody War tragedy had taught them a terrible lesson. Those who lived in the capital, away from the frontline may have forgotten or never even learnt about the history of mankind''s struggle as it wasn''t required of them or they did not live during such chaotic times.

    The soldiers stationed at the Great Wall had it differently. History was apulsory lesson that was drilled into their bones to teach them never to let their guard down and to continue to guard the wall with great vignce.

    The Great Wall is armed with Cannons andrge projectile weapons, while all soldiers are armed with Bays and their rifles.

    The invention of guns had revolutionized the course of their war, but they would not forsaken the de as it could still be used to protect themselves in closebat if the situation ever arises.

    A punitive expedition is regrly sent out on their airships to scout beyond the walls for any signs of beast within a certain distance of the wall. This allows them to alert the garrisons in advance if another beast invasion was arriving.

    Arge-scale invasion had not urred in thest 300 years since the Bloody War. Only small skirmishes take ce every now and then.

    On aboard the airship Freebird, Dale was a veteran soldier, who have served in the army for many years. He was also the Commander of the Freebird. He was standing on the deck gazing up at the grim clouds in sky with a frown.

    In his long career as a soldier he had developed a sort of 6th sense for danger, while he was fighting against the beasts and it had saved him on multiple instances. His instincts tell him it would be unwise to continue the expedition.

    "Turn the ship around. We are returning early today." Dalemanded

    "Yes sir!" His men answered as his men got to work, operating the airship.

    The airship shortly made way and headed back in the direction of the Great Wall.

    "Commander, is there a reason for the early return?" A young man at the side of the Dale questioned.

    "It is not safe to continue the journey." Dale said tly.

    The young man frowned. He was a young noble who was specially assigned onto the punitive expedition to gain experience by his father, the general marquis, Hendrick Graham.

    As the son of the general marquis and a 4th step awakener at the age of 20, Rowan was naturally arrogant and proud. He did not put the soldiers on board the airship in his eyes.

    He was not happy with Dale''s order to return as he had not even seen a shadow of the beasts.

    "Not safe? How can you be so cowardly as a soldier and as amander?" Rowan questioned Dales unhappily.

    "You can call me a coward if you want but I have a duty to look after my men." Dales frowned.

    "This is a military airship, not some kid''s yground. You may be the general marquis''s son, but he had assigned you under me. Punishments will still be meted if you fail toply with military discipline."

    Hmph* Rowan did not continue. His father had told him to strictly obey orders from his superiors.

    At this moment, a low rumbling sound had be audible to the people on the airship.

    "Do you hear that noise?" Rowan asked.

    Dales frowned as he looked back in the distant skies and noticed a section of ck clouds moving closer to them at a noticeable speed.

    Dales squinted his eyes as he tried to gain a better look of the ck clouds. The rumbling grew louder as the ck clouds came close enough to be identified.

    "Men! Full speed ahead! Now!" Dales suddenly roared.

    The soldiers started dumping coal into the steam engine and setting the sails as the airship steadily pick up speed.

    The airship was not gaining speed fast enough and a battle was inevitable.

    "Prepare for battle!" Dales ordered.

    The soldiers became tensed as they got into position and had a clear view of their uing enemy. It was a flock of aerial beast. Their numbers in the hundreds.

    "Ready your aims!" Dales ordered his men as they aimed their bay rifles.

    The soldiers were unclear of whether Rowan was fearless or a fool as the young noble was standing at the front with an excited look.

    Rowan had not fought a beast before, but he was excited to y some beast and show off his prowess to these timid soldiers, while earning himself some contributions at the same time. He was confident because his bloodline ability allows him to manipte the wind.

    Wind users were the kings of the sky as they can propel themselves with their ability to fly.

    "Rowan stand down!" Dales tried to stop Rowan, but it was toote.

    Rowan was too excited to listen to Dalesmand as heunched himself into the air towards the flock of aerials beast. He gathered the wind into the palms of his hands as hepressed them then fired them at the aerial beasts. It was a simple technique to shoot wind des.

    Rowan was confident his wind des would y some aerial beasts, but he was shocked when his wind des only manage to give them some fleshly wounds, far from killing them.

    "Quickly retreat you fucking idiot!" Dales was furious as he cussed at him.

    Rowan quickly retreated before Dales even needed mention it. He confidence was utterly shattered in that single bout.

    "Fire at will! Make sure not to hit that bastard!" Dalesmanded as he continue to cuss. He was usually well-mannered but once he snapped, vulgarities woulde flying out.

    Bang* bang* bang*

    The shots were fired continuously. The bullets with its prative force, dealt much more damage than Rowans wind des. The weapon that revolutionized their war should not be looked down upon! The aerial beasts pressed forward their attacks as their brethren fell out of the skies one by one.

    The numbers of aerial beasts dropping from the skies continued at a constant rate but there were far too many of them as they were heavily outnumbered.

    Rowan did not make it back to the airship in one piece as he was swiped by their ws a few times. He did not lose any limbs, but they were threatening to fall off as his wounds were bone deep.

    He had never suffered such heavy injuries in all his life and cried in pain as he couldn''t bear it afternding back on the deck.

    "Someone takes him inside and give him emergency dressing." Dales continued his series ofmand, while fighting alongside his men.

    Rowan dragged into the cabins by one of the soldiers as the soldier gave him a hateful look for being a deadweight and stopping him from fighting on the deck alongside his brothers.

    Rowan had passed out after using up all his energy squealing in pain and did not notice¡­ He was just an ignorant brat who grew up in a greenhouse in the eyes of the soldiers.

 Chapter 11 - I Need A Doctor!

    <h4>Chapter 11 - I Need A Doctor!</h4>

    Rowan regained consciousness and found himself wrapped in heavy bandages andid in an adjustable bed. The room he was in was a private ward, clean and quiet, giving his mind a sense of tranquility. It appears he was in a hospital.

    The military camp near the Great Wall did not have such a facility. There was only a small medical center there to provide emergency first aid such as stitches and bandages to stop the wounded from bleeding.

    He had most likely been sent back to the Royal hospital in the Capital. He tried moving his limbs, but they did not respond.

    Rowan sighed but did not grieve. Such was the price to pay for his ignorance. At least he was able to keep his life. He stared nkly into the air absentmindedly.

    Although the situation was caused by his own foolish actions, he did manage to stare death in the face and escaped from its jaws. Having managed to keep his life, his mentally seemed to have changed and had a renewed outlook on life.

    His father had been sitting by his side watching his every movements and expression.

    "Father."

    Hendrick nodded, "You''ve woken up."

    "How is the expedition team?"

    Hendrick was silent, satisfied with his son''s first question. He did not ask about his own condition but showed concern for the expedition team instead.

    "There was many injured but no deaths. Reinforcements had arrived in a timely manner and sessfully fend off the attack, escorting the Freebird back to safety behind the walls."

    Each soldier on the expedition team was an elite in the army. They had all undergone rigorous training and tempered on the battlefield. They were also all awakeners.

    A contribution system existed to reward soldiers with outstanding contributions and merits. Dales was one who had umted a significant amount of contributions and merits through his years of service and been rewarded with many Awakening Pills over the years.

    However, Dales had never taken the pill for himself. He had always given the pill you his own men. The reason he was themander of the Freebird was not because he was the strongest nor was it because he was the most senior. It was because he was revered and the most worthy of the position.

    "I see." Rowan was relieved no one died.

    "Are you not going to ask about your own condition?"

    "There''s no need to ask about my own condition. I know my own body best." Rowan said. His tendons were cut and nerves damaged. Most likely, he would never be able to move his limbs again. There was a small chance it could be recovered through rehabilitation, but such chances were close to zero.

    Hendrick nodded, "Perhaps this is a test for you. If you can ovee this trial, you can still be a great person in life."

    Rowan listened to his father''s wise words and gave it some thought, not immediately understanding his meaning.

    Hendrick Graham did not rush his son and got up to leave.

    "I still got to deal with the aftermath. Give it some thought."

    Rowan pondered his father''s words deeply after he left.

    ''How can I be someone great if I have already be disabled? I am still young and still had a long road ahead of me.''

    ''Long road? Is there even a path left for me to walk? I''m just a crippled now.''

    Silence permitted the room for a while¡­

    Fortunately, Rowan did not fail Hendrick''s expectation and didn''t take long to figure it out. Had it been the previous Rowan before his change in mentally, he would have been too blind and narrow-minded to figure it out even if you give him all the time in the world to figure it out himself.

    ''My life is still very long and there are many paths to take in life. Losing my limbs is not the end but a new beginning. Don''t I start have my brain and bloodline ability?'' Rowan''s eyes lit up.

    ''So, what If I can''t move my limbs? Don''t I still have my ability to move myself? If I can hone my ability and control to the peak, would there still be any difference when I use it to move my limbs?''

    Rowan was excited at the new providence in life and was impatient to practice his ability. Wind gathered under his arms to lift it but before he was able to move it up very far, he was wracked with pain.

    "Arghhh!¡­ No rush¡­ no rush¡­" Rowan calmed down as if a bucket of cold water was poured on him. The first step is to recover. He closed his eyes to rest as there was nothing else, he could do for now.

    -

    -

    -

    Leon was presently walking home with extra cash, some medicinal herbs and a single piece of stainless-steel ingot he had traded for with the Cromwells after sessfully refining a batch of True Awakening Pills for them.

    The process went smoothly, he was able to refine 6 pills in one session. One had immediately been used on a servant who had yet to awaken.

    The process took longer and wasn''t as forceful as the original Awakening Pill and when the servant had finally awakened, he had a greater jump in power and was filled with vitality. It quite different to the usual awakening where the person would be sapped of their energy and required some rest to recover.

    Metal was strictly regted but it didn''t mean it was unobtainable. It was just expensive and limited. If one had the money then they would be able to buy, albeit not much. Most of the metal are concentrated on defensive and military purposes.

    Leon nned to use the stainless-steel ingot to make a set of acupuncture needles, which doesn''t require much of the metal in his hand.

    At this moment, at the construction site for an uing hotel ahead, an ironwood beam was threatening to fall from the crane holding it. One of the cables had snapped causing imbnce in the hold the beams were loaded on.

    The imbnce in the hold caused it to swing as the beams threaten to fall outside of the of the construction zone and onto the sidewalk by the road next to it. There were a group people in that location.

    "Everyone, watch out!" Leon shouted.

    The surrounding crowd was rmed at the sudden warning and was able to see what was happening. The adults in the area was able to react quickly and evacuated away from the danger zone, but a mother was knocked over in the process.

    Snap*

    When one of the cables snapped, the other one was unable to bear the load for long before it also snapped, and the beams started falling.

    Although the mother knocked over into a safe spot, her little 9-year-old girl was not. She was just standing there innocently, unaware of the impending danger.

    "Nooooo!" The mother cried out. The crowd couldn''t to bear to watch what would be of the little girl.

    Leon did not hesitate and dashed towards the little girl, using an instantaneous movement technique called the [Extreme Vanishing Step]. The [Extreme Vanishing Step] was a high-level instantaneous movement technique that allows one to travel great distance within an instance but puts an enormous strain on the body during the instantaneous burst of speed.

    Leon did not think he was powerful enough to deflect the falling beams and could only pick the girl up and jump out of the way.

    Boom* Boom* Boom*

    The beams smashed into the ground like thunder as it has narrowly missed Leon and the girl. Leon hadnded on his back, while covering the girl as they rolled a bit from the momentum.

    Although the ironwood beams are generally considered as wood from the trees, it is no different to steel beams. The whole world had undergone a transformation. It wasn''t just humans who gained unique abilities and the beasts, who evolved from animals.

    The nts and trees had also transformed. The ironwood tree was a tree that had gained the characteristics of metal. The ironwood beam has the same strength and weight as a steel beam. The only exception is the feel.

    "Are you alright?"

    "Aileen! Thank goodness you''re safe!" The mother cried as she quickly hugged her daughter, fearing that she would disappear if she doesn''t hold her tightly. Only after a while did her heart calmed down.

    "Thank you, Young Noble."

    The young mother thanked Leon.

    "There''s no need to thank me. It''s what I should do. You can just call me Leon. I am no noble."

    Although she thought it was impossible for an awakened person to be normal, but she did not voice her doubts and nodded as if she had understood him.

    ''Maybe he is trying to be low-key?'' She thought.

    Her eyes couldn''t follow Leon movements. She had only seen a blur before Leon appeared and saved her daughter. An unawaken would not be able to move like that.

    "Aileen, quickly thank this big brother for saving you."

    "Thank you, big brother for saving me." The little girl said cutely.

    "Hahaha, it was no big deal. Listen to you mother and be more careful from now, okay?"

    "Okay!"

    The little girl answered, and Leon could help but rub her head before he left. A person with keen eyes would notice he was slightly limping as his right foot had been injured from the bacsh of the movement technique. His body wasn''t strong enough to bear the strain of high-level techniques yet.

    No one knew but when the thundering beams struck the ground, it had shocked the construction workers on the site and one of them had unfortunately slipped and fell from the high building frame and broke his leg.

    "Ahh! I need a doctor!"

    The workers able to send him to the hospital in an efficient manner and put and end to the interlude.

    When Leon arrived home, it was already sunset, but his foster parents wasn''t home yet. They were still working outside.

    Leon felt that he should have a look at where they were working. If their work was hardbor, he would convince them to quit their job since they are already passed their prime age. He can now earn a lot of money, why should he let them continue working when he can support them and let them enjoy their life? This is what he should do. This was filial piety.

    He wasn''t sure what type of work they did since they never mentioned it to him so he can only wait until theye home to ask.

    Leon went for a shower to clean himself up since he was dirtied by the events of today. He would return to his room after and continue practicing the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos]. He had only made initial progress in the technique and was still far from mastery.

    Even the Grandmist energy he had refined was not real Grandmist energy. It was just Quasi-Grandmist energy at best.

    Grandmist was the source of all matter from before the formation of the universe. All matter in existence was formed by Grandmist energy.

    How could Leon''s mortal body possibly handle the weight of the force that formed the universe?

    The current Quasi-Grandmist energy he had refined doesn''t share much resemnce to True Grandmist energy¡­ It was just slight heavier and stronger than spirit energy.

 Chapter 12 - The Beasts Are Restless

    <h4>Chapter 12 - The Beasts Are Restless</h4>

    Great Wall, military camp,mand center.

    "Tell me what you make of today''s attack, Dales." Hendrick Graham said with a dark look. He did not have the same calmposure when he was facing his son.

    Hendrick was not an unfeeling person; in fact, he was a very doting parent and loving husband. He loved his wife dearly, whom passed away early, while giving birth to Rowan. His wife had made him promise to look after their son well before she passed away.

    Even if without his promise he would pour all his love in looking after his son, whom was the materialization of their love. He had moved away from the Capital and focused on defending the border from the threats of the Wilnds, while raising his son after his wife passed away. He did not want to have his son involved in the politics and schemes of the nobles back at the Capital.

    He was also not a narrow-minded general, who would me Dales for failing to protect his son. He knew Dales was a capable and loyalmander, who was willing to put his men''s lives before his own. However, Hendrick was burning with an impulse to charge into the Wilnds and go on a killing spree, but he forcefully refrained himself from doing so.

    "Yes, general. I believe today''s attack was not a coincidence, but one nned by them."

    Hendrick frowned at Dales words, "borate."

    "Yes, I believe it was their goal to destroy all our airships and cut off our vision over the situation in the Wilnds."

    It has been 300 years since thest major war. The beasts were getting restless and another war ising their way. The beasts had been growing increasingly intelligent throughout the years. It''s high time they start treating the beast''s intelligence, their equal.

    "It''s seems the beasts are nning something, and they don''t want to be under our watchful eyes. I fear the next great war between humanity and beasts will be erupting soon." Hendrick frowned.

    "The reconnaissance operation mustn''t be stopped. However, your men and airship would not be able to resume operation in the short term. But there are not many who are capable atmandeering as you. I n to transfer you over to the Thunderbird team tomand. This will be a very dangerous mission. You have the right to refuse."

    Dales didn''t require much time beforeing to a decision. When had it never been dangerous on the battlefield? This was an important mission that could decide the fate of humanity. It was crucial to understand the beast''s movements and know what and when they are attacking so they can react ordingly.

    "I ept." Dales was firm in his answer with no doubts of his choice. His conviction was strong.

    -

    -

    -

    Leon manage to refine another three strands of energy during his practice before he decided to stop. The energy ran their course through his body and the pain in his foot had eased substantially under the energy''s influence.

    At this moment, it was already 8PM but Leon''s adoptive parents had not return yet. They should''ve finished working at 6PM. There wasn''t any reason for them to be out thiste without notifying him. Leon was beginning to worry that something may have happened to them.

    Another half hour had passed but no sign of them were seen. Leon was beginning to be genuinely worried and decided to go out and look for them. They weren''t his birth parents, but they were better than his real parents.

    At least they did not abandon him and raised him up as a parent would with their real child. His adoptive parents couldn''t have kids of their own, so their love was poured into him. He could still remember his adoptive mother''s disappointed look the night before. He wouldn''t be able to live with himself if something were to happen to them.

    Leon left the house as he began his blind search. They weremoners so it was best to search from the Commoner''s District first. He ran past street stalls one after another. There were still a lot of people walking around on the streets at this hour.

    ''This won''t do. I should start with more crowded ces.''

    It was usual for there to still be this many people outside at this hour. It was currently winter season here and the ce was covered in snow. People wouldn''t be out after work unless there was something special going on.

    Leon decided to pull over a couple and ask them some questions.

    "This older brother, what''s going on tonight? Why is there so many people on such a cold night?"

    "You don''t know? It''s the weekly night market today."

    The couple was baffled. ''How could you not know about such a regr event? Do you live under a rock?''

    Leon pped his head in realization. He seemed to recall there was such a thing, but he didn''t have much impression of it because he never went due his financial situation. His parents shouldn''t be shopping either. Could they be working at this time?

    Leon decided to the head to the market square, where the main event is held.

    The market square was very busy. There wererge crowds going in and out of the square. Leon squeezed his way into the square and began searching for his adoptive parents.

    -

    -

    -

    At this moment they were caught in an argument with a pair of ruffians.

    "You have to pay for those meat skewers!" Leon''s adoptive father, Brian Bradford cried out.

    "I have to pay? This daddy eating at your stall is already me giving you face. Scram before I beat you up!" one the ruffian said arrogantly.

    "Stop! We have already paid your ck Snake Gang protection money. How can we also let you eat for free? How will we survive if we can''t earn any money?"

    Brian grabbed onto the ruffian''s clothes to stop them from leaving.

    "Bastard! You don''t know what''s good for you!" the ruffian was enraged for being stopped as he gave Leon''s foster father a strong kick sending flying back into the stall and knocking it over.

    "Brian!" Leon''s adoptive mother cried out as she ran over to check on her husband.

    Cough* cough* Brian coughed out blood. The kick had been heavy handed as he suffered some serious internal injuries.

    Seeing her husband cough blood, she was angry, "You are too much. How can you be so overbearing?"

    The ruffian didn''t like her look and gave her heavy p.

    "Shut up. There''s no need for you to question how the ck Snake Gang do things."

    The other stall owners were also angry at this scene, but they and the crowd did not have the courage to stand up for the couple.

    Leon had just arrived at the scene and was quickly enraged after seeing the state of his adoptive parents. He felt as if his heart was bleeding. He felt he was unfilial for allowing them to be bullied like this.

    "email protected#$%!" A string of curses came out of his mouth as he closed the gap in an instant and sent the ruffians flying with a kick each, their fates unknown.

    "Mom! Dad!" He ran to his adoptives parents.

    His mother, Helen was suffered a lighter injury. Some blood could be seen at the corner of her lips, but it was just fleshly wounds. His father, Brian;s injuries was more serious and need medical attention.

    He did not have any healing pills on hand and his acupuncture needles hasn''t been forged yet. He felt regretful for not concocting some earlier, while he was still in the pill room.

    He could only strike some pressure points on his foster father''s body to temporarily stabilize his condition and elevate his pains. Helen was surprised at Leon''s strange set of action.

    "Wha-."

    "Mom, let''s take dad to a hospital." Leon said before she could ask her question.

    "Mm, getting your father to a hospital is more important." The questions can wait but his father couldn''t.

    Leon gently lifted his father up onto his back to carry him as the crowd cleared a path for them to walk.

    "Wait! You bastard! How dare you kick me!" The ruffian shouted as he crawled his way back.

    "Hoh¡­? You aren''t dead yet?" Leon squinted his eyes for a moment before continue leaving.

    Leon did not hold back his strength. His leg strength contained the weight of 200 kilograms as a 2ndyer tempered body. If calcting momentum and speed into his kick, the force generated should have been far greater. The ruffian''s body should have been destroyed and not be able to survive the kick but seeing only one had crawled back then the other one must''ve kicked the bucket.

    There was no need to pay attention to a dead man. The ruffian would soon die from his injuries. The city guards should be arriving to shortly after their deaths. Leon did not want to stay for the trouble he had caused.

    "Let''s go to the Royal hospital, Mom."

    "The Royal hospital? We can''t afford the medical fees there. It''s better head to the nearby medical center."

    "You don''t have to worry about the medical fees, mother. I can afford it."

    Leon stopped a car that was driving on the road.

    Beep* "Are you crazy!? Why are you suddenly stopping in middle of the road!? Do you have a death wish!?" The driver of the car shouted.

    "Sorry for the bother but my father needs to be taken to the Royal hospital immediately."

    "Y-You!" The driver was angry. Leon had already opened the doors and ce his father inside before getting in with his mother, without waiting for the driver''s permission.

    "Please." His mother pleaded.

    "F-fine. Consider it my bad day." The driver conceded to their request. Although they were rude, they had asked him nicely. Furthermore, they are going to the Royal hospital. Their family shouldn''t be poor if they could go there for treatment.

    The driver could consider himself to be in the upper-ss, considering he was able to afford a car, which would have cost him millions of craws. He had made a fortune for himself through his stone gambling business in the recent years.

    The queen had shut herself in her pce for many years and turned a blind eye to all noble disputes as she awaits the day her king awakens from hisa. With no news of her missing son and only heratose husband by her side, she had no heart to run the kingdom.

    The kingdom did not require the royal family to govern after the kingdom had achieved centralization, however their royal authority remains absolute.

    Travelling by car was much faster than travelling by foot¡­ Within minutes, they have arrived at Royal hospital.

 Chapter 13 - Harmonization

    <h4>Chapter 13 - Harmonization</h4>

    "We shall remember this favor, please leave us your name so we can repay you in the future when we have a chance." Leon said, while carrying his adoptive father out of the car.

    "Ahaha¡­ It''s William, William Kent."

    Williamughed awkwardly. His mind seemed to be in a different ce, worrying about something.

    "What''s the matter?"

    "Oh¡­no it''s nothing¡­"

    Leon did not continue to pry into his problems since William did not want to exin. More importantly, he still needs to get his adoptive father treated.

    "Alright We will see you around next time. Please drop by, if you need any help." Leon took out a pen and piece of paper from his schoolbag and wrote their home address on it and passed it to William as he said.

    It might be strange that Leon carry his schoolbag everywhere, but it was a convenience for him when he takes things out of his world space, otherwise he would not be able to exin himself if it was discovered. It was a secret he wishes to protect at all cost.

    The existence of the Divine Book was something that drive Divine practitioners mad with greed. Although there didn''t seem to be any practitioners in this world who would have knowledge about the ten heavenly treasures, he did not want to take the risk unless he possesses absolute strength to protect himself.

    "Will do."

    They nodded to each other and then part ways.

    William was just worried how to exin to his wife why he came home sote. They did not have the convenience of radios to converse from long distances like the military. Long distancemunication devices weren''tmercialized for public uses. He was also a henpecked husband and naturally fear his wife when she''s angry.

    Entering the Royal Hospital, Brian was sent straight to the Emergency department for immediate treatment.

    Leon had argued with the doctors on the job. He wasn''t sure how his adoptive father would be treated and insisted on following into the operating room to observe in case they screw up the treatment

    "Why do you want to watch the treatment procedure!? you would just get in the way!"

    "I''m a doctor."

    "You? A doctor? Do you even have a doctor''s license? Stop wasting time." The doctor on duty did not believe what Leon said.

    "I have already checked my father''s condition. Broken ribs and puncture lung causing internal bleeding. His life will be threatened if the bleeding is not stopped." Leon didn''t have a doctor''s license and natural couldn''t provide one. He ignored the question and just stated the symptoms.

    "T-this¡­" Looking at the patient, it did seem to be case, but they couldn''t take Leon''s word for it and decided to run Brian through detailed checks using their medical equipment to be sure.

    The results had proven Leon''s words to be true and the doctor was quite astonished at how capable Leon was at a young age. He didn''t want to continue bickering with Leon and continued with his job. All is well if the boy didn''t cause trouble for him.

    The doctor was a pretty renown in the Capital for his skills. His name was Ivan Vandell.

    The operation proceeded smoothly. The doctor was quite skillful in draining the blood and air from the affected areas and patching up the wound. Further steps are required for the patient''s recovery before the patient can be discharged.

    Such natural process would usually take about 6 months for a full recovery for ordinary people who had not awakened. However, Leon n to concoct a healing pill for his father so he could recover much faster after he arrives home.

    While in the operation room, Leon had noticed there were a lot of strange medical machines and equipment that seemed rtively high tech.

    ''Isn''t the technology gap between the hospital and the outside a little too wide?''

    It was strange but Leon wasn''t too bothered. He had a feeling he would find the answer in the near future.

    "Let''s go home, Mom. Father''s situation has stabilized for now and had fallen asleep. We can visit him tomorrow."

    "Mm."

    Heading to the front desk, Leon paid a deposit before taking his mother home. The journey home was uneventful and mother Helen had tucked into bed and fallen into deep sleep straight away. She was exhausted and mentally drained from the long and difficult day.

    Leon wasn''t ready to retire to his bedroom just yet. He had wait for Helen to be asleep before he headed to the kitchen and took out a cooking pot and turned on the stove.

    ''This is probably unprecedented and a sphemy to alchemy, but it''ll make do for now.''

    Leon took out spirit herbs from his world space and got to work. He was doing pill concoction with a cooking pot!

    The process wasn''t much different from when he was in the underground pill room but due to his unfamiliarity with the cooking pot, the quality was slightly lower than the True Awakening Pills he concocted.

    Nheless, he managed to refine a batch of 5 Low-Tier 1 All-Purpose Healing Pill. The All-Purpose Healing Pill was good for treating both internal and external injuries of practitioners in the Body Tempered State.

    As his adoptive father and mother were only ordinary folks, the effectiveness of the pill should be much greater. Leon secretly popped one of the pills into his sleeping mother''s mouth and help her absorb its efficiency with his energy.

    His mother had only suffered a bruise to the cheek and small cut at the corner of her lip and didn''t require a pill for recovery, but he didn''t like his parents suffering so he extravagantly used one.

    Retiring to his bedroom, he didn''t have the heart to cultivate just yet. There was a lot of things on his mind. He had realized his divine self had also epted his adoptive parents as his own parents.

    His failed to protect his father in his past life but he still has parents in this life, whom he could protect. His past life father''s death must be avenged but he could not live solely for vengeance.

    ''I''m sure father wouldn''t be happy if I lived solely for revenge. He would''ve wanted me to be happy too.'' Leon closed his eyes as he could feel his connection to the Divine Book in his soul core and his father''s love along with it. A single drop of tear unconsciously fell from his left eye.

    After the drop of tear fell from his face, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his heart and his mind elevated into a higher state. It was a strange feeling, but Leon felt veryfortable.

    ''Is this what it feels to be enlightened?''

    He was the son of the Divine Medicine King, but he was also the son of Brian and Helen. He had truly epted his identity of both life from the bottom of his heart.

    He felt as if the two souls had stop shing and achieved harmonization. The souls did not fuse, but as long as they are not shing, Leon wouldn''t concerned for now. He had already taken a big step forward.

    Leon reopened his eyes as it shone with new light. His [Heart of Saint] mantra seem to have lost its control over his thoughts and actions to towards certain matters.

    ''The [Heart of Saint] ¡­ It was never meant to control me but to guide me.''

    He understood what his father wanted to expect of him. To be principled and follow one''s heart without regrets. To return kindness with kindness and to condemn evil with evil. Only by cultivating an indomitable will, would he walk very far on the path to evesting.

    The underworld has be very unscrupulous and unruly in recent years. He wishes nothing more than to eradicate all the gangs in the Capital to keep his parents safe from harm''s way.

    However, he knew that so long as human exists, there would always be darkness in the world. This isn''t to say humans were inherently evil but there is always an invisible bnce of good and evil. It is impossible to eradicate evilpletely.

    If he had the power to eradicate the gangs, new ones will rise to take their ce. Since he can''t eradicate the gangs, he will take over them and rule the underworld! Only when he controls the underworld would be able to keep those close to him safe from the underworld.

    Tomorrow, he will pay his father Brian a visit early to feed him the All-Purpose healing Pill. Then he will return to Crawford University. He still had to find the culprit who poisoned him.

    There is also all sort of knowledge about the world contained in the library there and it is essible by students. He would pay a visit to the library so he could learn more about the world he now resides in. Knowledge is also power.

    Leon finalized his schedule and sat in meditative position and started practicing the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos]¡­ He would not ck on his training now that he had sort out his thoughts.

 Chapter 14 - Why Did You Skip My Class?

    <h4>Chapter 14 - Why Did You Skip My ss?</h4>

    On the weekend, there were no sses at Crawford University, but its facilities are open for student''s use. Students normallye on the weekends for either private studies, research or club activities.

    Leon had dropped by Royal hospital earlier and fed his foster father an All-Purpose Healing Pill. It had worked wonders and Brian had mostly recovered from his injuries within minutes and could be discharged. However, Leon wouldn''t be able to exin to the doctors how his foster father had recover so fast, so he decided to continue letting Brian rest in the hospital for now.

    Brian was pleasantly surprised at how mysterious and capable Leon had suddenly be. He was initial in shocked of being treated at the Royal hospital knowing full well how costly it waspared to the local medical center. Leon had already assured him that everything had already been paid for by him and that Brian didn''t need to worry as it was legitimate money earned by him although the details weren''t exined.

    ''Kid''s will grow to have their own secrets.'' Brian thought.

    He had felt the medical efficiency of the pill and it wasn''t something he thought was possible. Leon had after all, used spirit herbs from his world space and not the normal herbs he had collected from the Cromwell''s vault. The effects between spirit herbs and normal herbs are like the difference between heaven and earth, worlds apart.

    Leon was currently now browsing through the list of books in the Library. All students enrolled to the University are free to browse the books provided by the library. However, they would have to pay a fee and record their name and item if they wish to take it outside the library.

    Leon was mainly interested in books pertaining to history and the world. As he browsed the books in the history section, there was numerous books with simple but interesting titles that caught his eyes. [Battle for Humanity], [Changes of the World], [History of Humanity] and [Discovery of Ancient Ruins].

    The [Discovery of Ancient Ruins] book had especially caught his eyes. He wanted to take the book for a look but someone else had beat him to the chase. Unexpectedly, it was his history teacher, Lina Greene.

    Lina realized another hand was stretched towards the book she had grabbed and traced the hand''s source through the arms with her eyes before resting on Leon''s face and was startled. Her startled expression did notst long before it quickly changed into a frown after realizing who it is.

    "Why did you skip my ss?"

    Leon was taken aback by her first choice of words to him. It couldn''t be helped that he didn''t attend any of his sses yesterday. He had important things to do.

    "I was busy¡­?" Leon wasn''t sure what else to say.

    Lina pouted. Clearly, she wasn''t happy with his answer.

    "You skip my ss because you were too busy and yet I find you in the history book section? Sounds like a poor excuse. Were my lessons too boring you?"

    Leon frowned in thought. He just wanted to learn more about the world, and she may not necessarily teach what he wanted to know in ss, not to mention her ss only goes for two hours. It wasn''t enough to cover the information he wanted to know in a short time.

    When Lina saw Leon''s frown, she instantly flinched, thinking back to Leon''s previous violence with the thugs.

    "S-sorry¡­Did you want to look at this book first?" Her dominating teacher aura seem to have sudden dissipated as she turned into a timid little girl and she apologized and offered the book in her hand slowly with some unwillingness.

    Leon was amused at her sudden change in attitude and chuckled as he shook his head. He wasn''t frowning because he was unhappy with her words or anything. He just seems to have developed a tendency to frown when he is in thought.

    "No, it''s fine. There are other books I can read." Leon said with a light smile as he reached out to grab the [Changes of the World] book that was next to where the [Discovery of Ancient Ruins] book was.

    However, his actions and words didn''t seem to match his previous impression of him and seemed scarier to her instead as retracted her hands and subconsciously stepped back.

    "Look, I was just grabbing the book, okay?" Leon waved the book in his hand, "Am I really that scary to you? You even hugged me and wailed the other day."

    Lina was reminded of that night and blushed.

    "You''re not allowed to mention that night!" Lina gripped her spare hand into a fist and said with false anger, making her look particrly cute and her previous apprehension dissipated as Leon appeared to be very easy going this time.

    That night had been a traumatic experience for her, but the way Leon mentioned only made her embarrassed and not disturbed by the event. She felt Leon was very reliable and felt safe around him, although she didn''t notice this before.

    She was a bit puzzled from her past interactions with Leon. She felt he was like a different person with each encounter and yet he seems to be the same. It was an odd feeling.

    ''Maybe this is the real him and the one he usually disys in ss was just a facade to stay low key?'' she thought.

    However, Leon would have protest if he could read her mind.

    ''If I was low key before, how could I be attracting such animosity that someone wanted me dead?'' is what he would have thought.

    Unfortunately, He wasn''t exemry in reading a woman''s thought. A woman''s mind had always been an enigma, unable to beprehended by men. They could say one thing and mean another.

    "Hahaha I won''t mention it anymore, so put away that big fist before you hurt someone with it." Leon joked as he surrendered his arms up in an exaggerated manner.

    Pft* Linaughed.

    "Yeah my fist is really big and dangerous. Be careful not to get on my bad side." She threatened him with her small this.

    "Alright, I''ll try my best not to. I am going to go read my book now." Leon surrendered as he wanted to end the conversation and read his book.

    Leon didn''t want to interact with Lina for too long in case their interaction was discovered by her admirers and cause trouble for himself.

    "Mm, I''m going to read my book too."

    They sat down across each other at a big table provided by the library for students to study.

    ''Even teacher Lina has her adorable side.'' Leon secretly nced at her before reading his book.

    Probably only he gets to enjoy such an adorable side of her. Leon figured she probably put on a strong front in front of her students to make them fear and respect her in order to cover up her weakness as to not be bullied by them.

    She may be a teacher, but she was just an ordinary person that will never awaken. The University was a ce where the young nobles and wealthy scions of the kingdom gather. Each having background and power greater than her own.

    There was silence between them as they focus on reading each of their books.

    Lina likes spending her time reading books rted to history on her weekends as to reinforce her knowledge. It would be embarrassing if she taught her students incorrect knowledge or her students asked her questions, she didn''t have an answer to.

    As for Leon, he was very drawn to the book as he read it with incredible speed. He had sharp eyesight and strong memory, which was bolstering his reading speed.

    ¡­

    The world of the past was very much different to the present. The beasts of the present use to be normal animals that weren''t feared by man. Some were reared as livestock, while some were tamed as pets. Human intelligence had allowed them to stand at the top of the food chain and allowed them to span their development across the entire continent.

    However, everything changed when the blue skies was suddenly painted gold and the world was suddenly swept in a massive energy storm. The world was like a beast that was starved for eons as it swallowed the unknown energy greedily.

    The earth changed, the nts, the trees and the animals changed. Everything changed noticeably except humans. The years of oppression by the humans have led the beasts to concentrate their hatred on humanity after their intelligence was awakened.

    The first wave of beast tide erupted across the continent. The humans fought back but with each battle they fought, their warriors grew less, while the beasts continue to grow increasingly in numbers and strength.

    Cities were razed, while people were ughtered and devoured. Gradually, they were pushed back all the way to the corner of the continent where they made theirst stand and the legend of the first Hero King was born.

    ¡­

    At this point, Leon already knew what happened after as he had learnt it in his history ss. Leon couldn''t help but frown after reading to this point. Something didn''t add up. Reading the book had raised more questions than answers.

    They didn''t possess the present technology back then. There should have been many kingdoms and empires across the continent. How did they all congregate to that corner of the continent to make theirst stand?

    They shouldn''t have long distancemunication back then and their carrier pigeons should have been useless after the change.

    ''Such an important point but there was no mention of the reason. What happened back then?''

    After flipping to the next page in the book, there was an iplete map of the world. Leon noticed that most of the map was covered in ck, which suggest it was unexplored and thus unknown. Only the continent and its surrounding were detailed but the continent only covered a tenth of the map.

    "This is strange¡­" Leon voice his thoughts.

    "What is strange?" Lina asked after his voice interrupted her own reading. Many hours have passed but she was surprisingly still present. They had both been caught up in their own reading unaware of the passage of time.

    "How do we know the world is this big and the continent is only this small?" Leon shared his thoughts with Lina, should be more familiar with the world than him.

    "I''m not too sure either." Lina gave honest thoughts.

    Leon was speechless.

    "However, in the past there was a group of mysterious people, who imed to be able to read the stars in the skies and divine the world''s fortune. Could they be rted to the how the world map is portrayed?" Lina added.

    Leon''s eye lit up momentarily after hearing. He had a few guesses, but he didn''t want to share them with Lina.

    At this moment they both finally realized howte the time was and they should continue reading another time. They had spent the whole day in the library. Both their stomachs began to rumble.

    "Let''s find somewhere to eat and head home together after, shall we?" Considering they didn''t live that far apart, Leon suggested.

    "Mm, alright. That would be great." Lina was happy to walk home together.

    She would be able to feel safe and secured with Leon around.

 Chapter 15 - Why Are You So Picky?

    <h4>Chapter 15 - Why Are You So Picky?</h4>

    "What would you like to eat?"

    "Hmm anything is fine with me." Lina did not have a preference and left the decision to Leon to make. Food was just a necessity to sustain the body.

    Ever since she could remember, she had always eaten at home with her parents and had never eaten outside food. Food at home would always consist of one vegetable and one meat dish served with rice. The situation had not changed ever since she first started getting her paycheck.

    Leon''s situation was much different either. He hadn''t eaten anywhere except for the meat skewer stand he had two days ago.

    "I''m not familiar with the restaurants and stalls around here. Let''s go have a look and just randomly pick one."

    "Alright."

    There were plenty of restaurants and food stalls around, outside the campus. It was a good business for the owners as the students who attend the campus do notck money and the campus food weren''t as good as the outside.

    "How about dining at this ce?" Leon asked as they stopped at the entrance to a steakhouse. There was a menu stand in front of them by the entrance.

    Looking at the ssy restaurant in front of her, Lina became a bit panicky.

    "How about¡­ we¡­ look at the menu first¡­?" she asked quietly.

    "Hm? Alright." Leon was rather confused.

    ''Wouldn''t it be the same if we go in to sit down and then look at the menu after?'' Leon thought but he didn''t voice his doubts.

    They had a look at the menu and Lina immediately staggered backwards. The prices of the dishes were ranging from the three digits all the way to the 5 digits. The cheapest was a 200-gram cut of cheap domesticated meat, served with apanying vegetable and sauce at a price of 150 craws. The rest were using beast meat.

    Beast meat was considered a luxury as it could only be acquired from the wilnds. It wasmon for merchants to do business with the soldiers at the Great Wall to acquire the beast meats.

    The beast meat is very popr among the upperssman who could afford to eat it. Not only does it provide several health and strengthening benefits to body, it is also very delicious.

    "I¡­ I don''t feel like steak. How about we try somewhere else?" Lina suggested quietly.

    ''Didn''t you say you didn''t mind what we eat?'' Leon was even more confused.

    He didn''t know that Lina didn''t have much money on her as she would leave most of it with her parents to manage. He didn''t think her financial situation would be too bad either as she was a teacher at the Royal University. It would be a joke if they were stingy on paying their teachers, who teaches the future elites of the kingdom.

    "Hmm¡­ alright, How about that ce?" Leon pointed to the restaurant opposite of the steakhouse. Its appearance was even fancier than the steakhouse.

    Lina widened her eyes in horror and said, "N-No! let''s not."

    Leon was dumbfounded by her exaggerated reaction.

    ''If you don''t want to eat there then you don''t. You don''t have to react so, exaggeratedly right?''

    "How about there?"

    "No."

    "What this one?

    "No."

    "Maybe this one?"

    "No!"

    "Oh! This one looks good."

    "No!!"

    Leon was speechless. He didn''t know whether tough or cry.

    ''Can''t we just pick a ce and eat already? Why do you have to be so picky?'' He was starving.

    Leon was defeated and threw in the towel.

    "How about you pick?" He suggested.

    "Hmmmm." Lina looked around and her eyes lit up when she saw a cheap looking food stand a bit far in the distance.

    "Let''s eat there." She pointed.

    Leon felt like a light bulb had lit up in his head when he saw food stand Lina pointed to.

    ''Ahh¡­''

    "Could it be that you don''t have enough money?"

    When she was asked so bluntly, she felt embarrassed and angry at the same time.

    "Do you have to ask!?" She pouted.

    Cough* Leon felt guilty. He was a bit too thick-headed to realize earlier. All this time, although he had been interacting with Lina and they seemed closer, he had subconsciously built a wall between them. He hadbelled her as a trouble ma and wanted to avoid her, but he also couldn''t ignore her.

    She suddenly seems very pitiful in Leon''s eyes and he felt more guilty for being inconsiderate and not trying to understand her.

    ''Why do I still seem confused? My path is very clear. Why should I be afraid of trouble when I already decided to even rule the underworld?''

    "Never mind, I feel like eating at that steakhouse after all." Leon''s mouth curve up into a smile as he grabbed Lina wrist and dragged her in the direction of the previous steakhouse.

    Leon really did want to try the beast meat for once. He had heard news of the benefits, when the nobles where discussing it on campus. He wanted to know if it''ll be beneficial to his Divine practice.

    "What? Stop joking. We can''t afford to eat there." Lina began protesting.

    "Don''t worry, I can afford it." Sometimes, he just has to be more assertive. Women have their worries, but men could free their worries.

    But Leon really wasn''t freeing her worries at all. Lina felt even more worried. She recently learnt that Leon lives near her in the Commoner''s District and there were rumors about his poormoner background in ss.

    ''How can he afford the cost?''

    Leon could see that Lina didn''t believe him, so he pulled out a stack of cash from his bag and waved it for her to see.

    "Look, I really can afford it. No problem."

    Lina widened her eyes in surprise at the stack of cash but so what? How can she let him pay? Where would her dignity as the teacher be if her student must pay for her own meal?

    "No this won''t do; I can''t allow you to pay for me." She continued to refuse.

    ''Aiyah~ why is this woman so stubborn at times?''

    "Look, I really want to eat there okay? If you really feel indebted to me then you maybe buy me a meal next time."

    Leon was headstrong in the matter. They wouldn''t be able to eat anything at this rate if they keep up this charade.

    "Fine, I will owe you one." Lina relented.

    "Finally! Let''s go. I''m starving.".

    His hand was still gripped onto her wrist as he dragged her along the way. Lina just helplessly stared at his gripped as she was carried along by Leon.

    -

    -

    -

    The restaurant opposite of the steakhouse was a high-ss restaurant called Heaven on Earth Pce. It had 9 floors and each floor provided a different level of service and quality of food. The first 3 floors were affordable bymoners and the next 5 floors were for nobles and reputable people. The top floor wasn''t open to the public. Only the most distinguished of guest could dine there.

    There was a group of young nobles dining in private room by the windows on the 4th floor.

    "Are you sure the poison wouldn''t be traced back to us?" one of them said.

    "There''s no need to worry, that was a specialpounded poison. It is odorless and colorless. It would be very difficult for people to trace its origins."

    "That person should have died off somewhere by now."

    "Mm, that should be the case. he was absent from ss yesterday."

    "Finally, the eyesore is gone." The youth said with a dark smile.

    "Anyone who dares to get close to brother Edric''s goddess would not be able to live very long." Another youth said.

    "Was there a need to go to such extreme means? Couldn''t you just teach him a lesson by beating him up?"

    "Beating him up? And upset my goddess? No, if I want to remove any obstacles, I must strike swift and quietly from the shadows. Only when there is nopetition, can I focus wholeheartedly on winning her heart." Edric said cruelly. Despite being young, his heart had already be so twisted.

    He was obsessed with a female student in their history ss, Rachel Lancaster. She was daughter of the remaining duke in the kingdom, Ignis Lancaster, whom is also the sworn brother of the king.

    There had always been two dukes in the kingdom since its founding, but ever since the rebellion, only one remain after the other one had been exterminated. Many noble households were exterminated for participating in the rebellion.

    Rachel was publicly recognized as the number one beauty on campus and would attract a crazy number of pursuers. They would skip their own sses to try and cram into hers. Such disruptive actions aroused the teacher''s anger and harsh punishments were dished out before the situation was finally calmed.

    Not long after, there were an increasing number of cases of her pursuers caught up in mysterious idents and not many had dared to publicly pursue her after. Leon was the only male friend she made. He was different to the young nobles, who were too proud, arrogant and boastful.

    Such behavior these days weren''t pleasing to the girls. Only Leon''s humble attitude earned him, their good will but it also made him the public enemy of all the other boys.

    "What right did that peasant have to be able to be her friend? It was a p to the face for us nobles." Another one said resentfully."

    They were too narrow-minded and proud to realize how Leon interact with the girls so well.

    "Right. It was a good thing to get rid of him."

    As they were cursing him, one of them happened to nce down the window and notice Leon and Lina entering the steakhouse.

    "Huh? Isn''t that Leon? How is he still alive?" The youth suddenly eximed.

    "That joke isn''t funny, Adrian." Edric doubted but still took look. His face abruptly froze before turning malevolent as he watched Leon, still alive and kicking.

    "He seems to be with teacher Lina. Oh, they seem pretty close, even going to eat together." Adrianmented.

    "What!?" Another one shot up from his seat.

    "Seems like you''re out of luck, Cayden." Adrian jested. Cayden shot him a dark look.

    "Hahaha joking."

    Adrian also had someone he was pursuing but she wasn''t part of their history ss. She was someone from the business department.

    As Edric and Cayden red at Leon from the distance with ill will, Leon had felt it and turned around to nce back at them and squinted his eyes at the same time.

    He knew he wasn''t well liked but their res wereced with killing intent. He wanted to burn their images into his memory as they could be a lead to finding the culprit that poisoned him, or they could even be the culprit themselves.

    Leon probably would have never guessed that it would really be theter. It would have been far too easily since they weren''t masking their killing intent at all. They weren''t trained killers or assassins, so they didn''t know how to, even if they wanted to.

    They could only be shocked at Leon''s sharp senses. Leon marked them on his list as he entered the steakhouse.

 Chapter 16 - To Restore Order

    <h4>Chapter 16 - To Restore Order</h4>

    The royal pce of the Crawford Kingdom was once a hot spot for people to pay a visit to.

    To see the king and queen in person was an honor and the birth of the crown prince was a news, worthy of celebration.

    Nobles andmoners alike would line up to congratte with gifts to the birth of the next ruler.

    However, to be part of the Crawford royalty is not a fortune but a curse. One gued with heavy responsibility.

    As the guardian kingdom of humanity, they have a duty to safeguard the Great Wall and all who live safely behind its wall from the threats that lurks beyond.

    Unfortunately, the greed of human hearts corrupts the mind. Those who taste the sweetness of power would not help but want more. They would not be satisfied with their position and aim higher.

    The king of Crawford had always been fair and just in his ruling, bringing stability and prosperity to the kingdom.

    However, this stability was heavily undermined when Duke Agni started a coup in order to seize the throne for himself. Such action waspletely brainless beyond redemption in this age.

    Many would rise to oppose such forceful seizure of power. Especially when the kingdom is ruled by descendants of the Hero King, whom the people worship.

    Such efforts were fruitless and would only earn the public''s outrage and condemnation. No one knew what had possessed the Duke to do what he did.

    The coup had dealt a severe blow to the royal family. There was no telling when the king would ever wake up from his slumber and the crown prince was lost in the chaos, his life and death unknown.

    Ever since the queen had clean out the house, she had shut herself within the pce and closed it off to the public.

    She no longer had the heart to uphold her royal duty.

    To what purpose did her family owe the country? They had done a good job serving the country and their people but what did they repay them with? Malice?

    Although it was a minority, it dealt a serious blow to her mentally. She did not even get to hold her baby for a month before she lost him. It had already showed great restrain as to not wash the kingdom in blood and turn it on its head.

    Inside the king''s bedchamber was the queen lying beside the king, who is wrapped up in all sorts of medical equipment to monitor his condition and provide him nutrients.

    Despite already entering her early 40''s, she was still as beautiful as she was at her peak.

    But her eyes were soulless and her hair had already turned grey from the grief.

    "Sister Elizabeth, you can''t continue like this. The people need you." Another beautiful looking woman said.

    She was Rachel''s mother, the Duke''s wife, Amelia Lancaster. She and the queen were close as sisters since childhood, just as their husbands were sworn brothers.

    The two family were very close, and their son and daughter were born on the same day and year.

    Such an auspicious event led them to arranging a marriage for their children to bond their family closer together.

    However, things never quite happen as nned and had led to the current situation.

    "They might need me, but I don''t need them. Who can give me back my son?" Queen Elizabeth said hoarsely.

    "Aiya, you need to take care of yourself. Your son might still be alive, but if the Capital is so chaotic, he might not be able to survive it for long."

    "You don''t need to try and console me with false hope. If he was still alive, how can there be no news after 17 years."

    "It''s true! We''ve recently uncovered information that one of the pce maids had sent a newborn baby to one of the orphanages in the Lower District 17 years ago during the chaos. It was very difficult to track down this information because the pce maid had died shortly after."

    Some life returned to the queen''s dimmed eyes when she heard her son might still be alive. She thought that her son had most likely died in the chaos that urred within the pce without an intact corpse.

    The duke who rebelled was an idiot, but he was still a master of the me. His power over fire was so great that one would only be left with scattering ashes if one was incinerated by the duke''s me. The pce had been lit up in mes and the bedchamber, where the prince was located had been reduced to ashes.

    Nothing could be distinguished from the ashes and the baby prince could only be pronounced dead or missing.

    "Whose order was the maid under? Or was her action of her own volition to protect the prince? It still can''t be confirmed that the baby she left at the orphanage was my son. However, the chances are high and leaves me some hope."

    "Will you resume management of the kingdom affairs? Many nobles have been corrupted and involved in dirty business since the absence of royal authority."

    "No. It''s better to summon the shadow guards to investigate their corruption from the dark and keep records of their crimes first."

    "But the prince¡­"

    Queen Elizabeth was momentarily silent at the further mention of the prince.

    "It''s been 17 years since he been living out there without our protection if he is indeed still alive. I''m sure he would know how to take care of himself. It would serve as a great tempering experience for him before he takes up the crown." She spoke with sadness. No one else in the world wanted to see her son more than herself but the matter could not be rushed as they could only search for him slowly. They had limited information and could only search each orphanage one by one.

    However, the matters with the corrupted nobles could not be rushed either. In the age, even if the crimesmitted by nobles are worthy of death, she could not sentence them to death without concrete evidence. Their ancestors had contributed greatly to the continuation of their race, allowing their descendants to enjoy their current status today.

    If she arbitrarily sentences them to death, it would only incite panic and chaos upon the masses after their retaliation. It would be silly to think that they would be willingly to kneel and let their own heads roll when she gives the word.

    Most likely, they would resist by spreading false rumors to the public about their queen going crazy and wanting to ughter all the nobles.

    It was an oue she did not want to face. It would be better to capture them all after they have been fully investigated. That way, she could publicly execute them all while listing their crimes in one clean sweep, leaving no stones unturned.

    "Sister, I hope I can leave the matters of finding my son to you." Queen Elizabeth said with pleading in her eyes.

    "Sister, you are treating me like an outsider. That''s my son-inw after all." Amelia said with a smile, having seeded in the objective of her visit today.

    "Thank you."

    "Haa¡­ there you go again." Amelia shook her head helplessly. Since when did they need to be so polite between them sisters?

    She took her leave from the pce after they were done talking. The matters of the finding the prince couldn''t be dyed. A storm ising to the Capital now that the monarch is exiting her seclusion. It is was better to find the prince before than after the storm.

    No doubt the queen would want to stabilize the kingdom and rid it of the filth that is guing it as a wee gift to celebrate her son''s return and crown him as the next king.

    The kingdom had always been ruled by kings and it is the prince''s rightful ce to sit on the throne since the current king is still in aa.

    "Kasif." Queen Elizabeth called out after Amelia left.

    "At yourmand, my queen." Kasif appeared from the shadows and answered.

    "It''s time to get to work. I want you to mobilize all the shadow guards to investigate into all the corrupt nobles and record their crimes," Elizabeth paused then continued, "If you still have spare manpower, assist Amelia in finding my son."

    "As youmand." Kasif bowed before disappearing back into the shadows.

    The shadow guards were a secret force the king had nurtured in secret after discovering a dark truth and big secret. But since the king is ina, they answer to the queen.

    -

    -

    -

    "What would you like to order, dear customers?" A waiter asked.

    "Oh~ this 500-gram Amur Tiger steak doesn''t sound half bad. I''ll be getting it. What about you, teacher?"

    "I¡­ I¡­ will get¡­" Lina''s eyes were spinning. The steak Leon ordered was 4500 craws. She had never learnt of such extravagance. 4500 craws for a meal was something she didn''t think was reasonable price. She felt it was extremely wasteful. She decided to pick the cheapest meal even if Leon was the one paying. She didn''t want to owe Leon too much. "I will get this one." Lina pointed to the 200-gram steak with ordinary meat.

    "What? How can you waste such a good opportunity to eat ordinary meat? You should try out the beast meat at least. Please get her the 200-gram grizzly bear steak." Leon overwritten Lina''s order.

    "Thank you for choosing to dine at our steakhouse, your food will be brought out shortly." The waiter didn''t confirm with Lina. She had concluded that Leon was the one paying and was more than happy to write down the more expensive order, which was 1200 craws. It was moremission for her.

    She stamped his foot beneath the table and pouted.

    ''Why bother asking me if you''re going to order for me anyway?''

    Leon yed dumb and pretend not to notice her annoyed look.

    While waiting for the food toe out, there was an awkwardly silence. They both stared outside the window beside them as they weren''t sure what to talk about and let their thoughts wondered about.

    Leon randomly thought about the human''s bloodline ability. It was quite a miraculous ability that seems to incorporate the 3 system; energy, body and soul.

    Although Leon didn''t think that awakeners were better than Divine practitioners, he thought their ability had a lot of potential. The ability to manipte elements was after all, something he was currently incapable of doing. He needs to break through the Tempered Body state and enter the Energy Condensation state to be able to cast spells. Furthermore, he would not be limited to one element when casting his spells, since his foundation is the 5 elements. He would be able to use spells of all 5 elements.

    However, he was curious what element he was aligned with if he was to awaken. The awakeners didn''t solely use energy to manipte their ability and could use their ability for far longer duration than an Energy Condensation expert. They seem use a mixture body and mental energy. But there was a pros and cons to everything. Energy Condensation expert wield far greater power in their spells than awakeners. But one shouldn''t forget that awakeners walk a different path to Divine practitioners and that there should also be a higher state to awakeners that isparable to Energy Condensation state.

    "Teacher Lina."

    "Y-yes?" Lina stumbled after being called abruptly.

    "How much do you know about awakeners?" Leon asked after thinking that his teacher would know more about the subject since, she was of noble descent.

    People might confuse his cultivation method to be of the Body cultivation system since he is in the Tempered Body state, but it is not. It was in fact, part of the Energy cultivation system. The body tempering stage was just a necessary and foundational step to take before embarking on the true energy cultivation path. It was the concept of a weak body cannot contain strong power and only a strong body would be able to contain strong power.

    The bloodline ability didn''t belong to a single system. It contained traces of all 3 system but didn''t seem to belong to any. It seemed more like an evolutionary talent born out of necessity for humans to survive¡­ It didn''t exist before the Great Change.

 Chapter 17 - Unexpected Situation

    <h4>Chapter 17 - Unexpected Situation</h4>

    The sudden question came as a surprise for Lina followed by dejection. Matters rting to awakeners were like poking at her sore spot. She could faintly remember when she was young and asked to drink the poison that would seal her talent forever.

    The tragedy of the royal family was something that affected the whole kingdom. The Greene family had always been a line of loyal subjects to the crown. But unclearplication and confusion had made them out to be viewed on the wrong side. In fact, several other small noble families were also implicated despite being innocent.

    It was a sensitive period and the Queen didn''t want to leave any possible traitors go unpunished. Perhaps the queen would regret her impulsiveness that was ruled by her rage yearster, but the deed has already been done. They have no antidote for the Water of Absolute Nothingness, but this might not be a problem for Leon if he was presented to solve the problem.

    However, he is in the dark regarding Lina''s condition. The event was something that happened almost 17 years ago and not many students knew about it because some weren''t old enough to think for themselves, while others weren''t even born yet.

    The subject was also taboo, and no one dares speaks about it. Otherwise Lina wouldn''t be able to be respected by her students if they were fully aware that she was doomed to be ordinary. They thought she was just like them, who are unable to get their hands on some Awakening Pills as the pills were distributed to their more important family members first.

    "I don''t know much at all about Awakeners. What I know are allmon knowledge. Why do you ask?" Lina shook her head before asking curiously.

    Leon smiled wryly. He thought he could learn more about awakeners from her mouth. He wanted to understand the nature of awakeners so he could figure out if it was safe for him to awaken his own bloodline ability. He could refine a True Awakening Pill for himself, but he didn''t want to awaken so recklessly. If the ability was ipatible and conflicted with his own Divine practice, then he would stand to lose more than he would have gained from it.

    ''Maybe I should ask the old man next time I pay him a visit to refine more pills for him.'' Leon decided.

    "Never mind, I was just curious."

    "Ah I see." Lina said, seeing Leon didn''t have any intention to continue the subject.

    "Sorry for the wait, here are your 500-gram Amur Tiger steak and 200-gram Grizzly Bear steak. I hope you both enjoy a pleasant meal." The waiter brought out the meals and said courteously with a smile before leaving.

    The strong aroma made their way to both their noses, instantly whetting their appetites as they remembered they were famished. They couldn''t wait to devour the meat in front them as their stomach rumbled. Table manners and their faces could go down the drain. What was the use of faces anyway? Could it be eaten? They came from humble backgrounds to begin with. One had always lived themoner''s life, while the other only is living a simr lifestyle with and only had vague memories of her noble childhood.

    The waitress was shocked at their behavior.

    ''Are they the reincarnation of some starving beast? How can they enjoy their food like that? It''s not like the food would run away.''

    "Damn this is some good stuff." Leon said while chewing with his mouth full. He was pleasantly surprised. The beast meat was endowed with spirit energy. He could feel the benefits from refining the energy as he ate. It was better than taking some pills, which would leave behind lingering pill toxins.

    On Lina''s side was a different story. After they had finished eating, her face was red embarrassment. She had lost all her reasoning and ate with great gusto and in an udylike manner. Her body had moved on its own.

    ''Ah¡­ What have I done? I want to find a hole to crawl myself in.'' She didn''t know how to face people from now of if word of it got out.

    "Phew~ We should eat here more often." Leon rubbed his belly with a satisfied smile.

    Lina blushed with anger as she stamped his foot under the table.

    "Hey, what was that for? Didn''t you enjoy the meal?" Leon was startled. This wasn''t the reaction he was expecting.

    Lina stared at him with daggers in her eyes.

    ''Won''t I die from embarrassment if I keep eating like that?''

    Leon scratched the back of his head, not sure what the problem was.

    "Huh? Teacher Lina, are you alright?"

    "What do you mean? I''m feeling f-fine¡­ huh? That''s weird. What''s wrong with me?" Lina suddenly felt lightheaded as her body started burning up.

    Leon had asked because he noticed her nose was bleeding.

    "Ah what''s wrong with me? I feel so hot." Lina started squirming as she felt very ufortable.

    Leon dashed to her side and felt her pulse.

    ''Oh sh*t. What do I do?" Was the first thing he could think of.

    He had immediately figure out her body''s situation from feeling her pulse. For some reason her body was unable to absorb the spirit energy from the bear meat and all her pores were closed, trapping the energy inside her body to run amok and making her body burn up, like overheating. What made matters worse was the Grizzly Bear was align to the fire element. Its spirit energy-rich meat would be infused with fire element. It was like adding oil to the fire.

    He didn''t think he woulde across a person with the Heaven''s Lock Confined Body constitution. It may sound amazing, but such body constitution was considered the lowest of all constitutions suitable for cultivation. People with such constitution was unable to cultivate energy and doomed to live an ordinary life.

    Leon knitted his eyebrow into a frown. This wasn''t a natural born Heaven''s Lock Confined Body, but an artificially made one.

    Her life would be in danger if he doesn''t do something about her present situation but if he did then she might learn some of his secrets. He wasn''t sure he could fully trust her yet, but she did fall into this situation because of him. Despite having a teacher-student rtionship, she could also be considered the first genuine friend he made. He wasn''t cold-blooded and if he let her die because of him, then it would be a knot in his heart. That knot could fester into a mental demon and impede his future Divine practice.

    Leon shook his head of the useless thoughts.

    ''There''s no time to think so much.''

    Leon lift her up and carried her like a princess. He proceeded to dashed pass the waitress and out of the steakhouse. The direction he was heading in was the direction of the Cromwell''s vi.

    He had seen the Royal hospital medical standard and didn''t think they would be able to treat his teacher.

    "Eeeek-" The waitress felt a gust of wind blew past and the pair had disappeared.

    The sudden situation was to abrupt for the waitress to process quickly.

    ''Huh? Did they just dine and dash? Mymission!'' The waitress despaired with her eyes wide. However, it didn''t take long before she felt something amiss. Her chest pocket felt heavier and notice there was 6000 craws cash in her pocket. 5700 for the bill and 300 tips. Why did she get 300 craws tip? Thinking back carefully, she felt like someone had brush against her chest with their hand.

    She thought about the boy that just left.

    ''Did he tip me to cop a feel?'' The waitress felt a bit angry and embarrassed, ''he''s so bad~.''

    In fact, she was thinking too much. It was aplete ident on Leon''s part. He just wanted to tip her for her excellent customer service but he was in a rush.

    "What''s wrong, Mary? Why did you scream?" Another waitress came and asked with concern.

    "E-eh? It-it was n-nothing." Mary blushed.

    "Hmm¡­ alright. As long as you''re alright." The new waitress was a bit suspicious but didn''t pry deeper into the matter. It wasn''t her business to be nosy.

    -

    -

    -

    "Huh?" Rubbing his eyes, Cayden thought there was something wrong with his vision. He has been on guard after learning that Leon and Lina were dining in the steakhouse. He had been keeping a tight watch on the entrance of the steakhouse since then.

    He was nning on spying on them in the steakhouse but felt it wasn''t a good idea. There wasn''t any good ce to hide in there since Leon had seen them.

    He decided to follow them secretly after they left instead. He wanted to know what rtionship Leon with Lina was. However, all he saw was a momentary blur, before he lost them.

    -

    -

    -

    Leon sneezed while he was making speed for Cromwell''s vi. He felt someone was thinking or speaking about him. He subconsciously felt his own hand, as if he felt something nice a moment ago.

    "It''s so hot~" Lina wanted to strip herself. Leon stopped her with his hands. He was travelling fast, but the cold night breeze doesn''t seem to be alleviating her symptoms.

    Lina''s condition was growing severe. She could no longer think straight as her vision blurred. Leon could also feel her burning hot body in her arms. His own body was originally quite warm but grew rtively cooler from brushing with the cold breeze in the night.

    She dazedly reached out her arms and wrapped it around Leon''s neck as she wanted to bring herself closer to whatever cold source was within her reach to cool her own body down.

    "Stop fooling around. I will make you feel better soon." Leon tried making distance with his head.

    He wanted to treat her at the vi since it was rtively close and more convenient, but his words came out a bit ambiguous. He was also stimted by Lina''s actions and was quite self-conscious of it.

    She was after all; a beauty and he was a man. His sexual orientation was normal. It would be strange if he didn''t have a reaction. His natural reaction put him in an awkward spot. He didn''t want to take advantage of his teacher as it was morally wrong. He could only endure and carry on.

    Within minutes, they arrived at the vi.

 Chapter 18 - Did You Drugged Her?

    <h4>Chapter 18 - Did You Drugged Her?</h4>

    "Halt! This is Lord Cromwell''s private vi! Trespassers shall be met with force!" One of the two guards guarding the entrance, shouted.

    SMACK**

    "Idiot, that''s the Lord''s most esteemed guest! Did you do your homework?" The other guard smacked him in the head and warned before making way for Leon with a smile, "Please enter with ease, sir Leon." The guard said courteously.

    Leon nodded and continued rushing in.

    The guard''s smile disappeared after Leon entered the vi.

    "If you want to lose your job, don''t drag me down with you, alright?"

    The other guard rubbed his head and smiled awkwardly.

    "Sir Leon was approaching us very quickly. How could I have gotten a clear look at who it was?" Feeling wronged.

    ¡­

    Inside the vi, Leon ced Lina on a sofa. Her nose bleed had dried up from her high temperature body.

    Leon shot a few acupuncture points to try directing the untamed energy out of her body through her orifices in order to ease her symptoms.

    Leon proceeded to go fetch some water as to hydrate her body. Her burning body would''ve dried up her body fluids and make her dehydrated.

    When Leon came back with a jug of water and cup, Lina was currently stripping herself.

    Leon was shocked and ced his jug and cup down before rushing over to stop her.

    Their presence had made quite the ruckus.

    "Is that you, grandpa¡­?" Lynne came downstairs, wondering what the noise was all about before spotting the two.

    "Huh? What the hell are you trying to do in my house!?"

    Her favorable impression went bad once more when she saw the scene.

    Leon was grabbing Lina''s wrists, while her top was half taken off.

    Leon was a bit stumped for words. Their position did look a bit ambiguous and could invite misunderstandings.

    Noticing his silence, Lynne came up closer and saw Lina''s redplexion and weird squirming behavior. Her soon felt disgusted with Leon as she thought she understood the situation.

    "Are you a man? How can you drug her? What were you trying to do just now?" She questioned with gritted teeth.

    Being a girl, she absolutely despised men who uses forceful methods to bed women. What was worse was that he had rejected her grandpa''s offering of her to him and instead brought another woman to their home to do that kind of thing.

    Leon felt the situation was turning bad and quickly exined the situation.

    "Don''t misunderstand! She is sick and needed to be treated immediately! Her life is in danger." Leon''s face was especially serious.

    Lynne was startled and tried to calm herself down. She needed to stop jumping to conclusions.

    "What''s wrong with her?"

    "Her body can''t absorb the energy from the beast meat and its burning her up from the inside. Where is your grandpa?"

    "Grandpa? He¡­ might still be in the pill room."

    "Hm? Never mind then. I suppose he is trying to concoct the True Awakening Pill himself."

    Lynneughed awkwardly. It was indeed the case since Leon had left them the revised recipe and her grandpa still hasn''t given up his dream of being a full fledged alchemist.

    Leaving behind the recipe behind was a sign of immense trust between them. With the recipe in hand, they would be able to refine the pills themselves and would no longer need Leon and could break their business contract. But they weren''t ingrates who burns the bridge after crossing it. They wouldn''t dare to. Leon was still young and full of potential. He also had this powerful unknown ''master''.

    "Is there anything I can help with?"

    Leon thought for a bit writing down some herbs on a piece of paper.

    "Can you fetch the herbs listed?"

    Lynne looked at the list of herbs with curiosity.

    "Are you going to concoct a pill to cure her?"

    "Yeah, I can only resort to pills since I don''t have any acupuncture needles. Otherwise it would be a simple matter to solve."

    Lynne nked for a bit.

    "Did you say you need acupuncture needles?" Lynne asked in confirmation.

    "Yeah." Leon was puzzled why she had to ask.

    "Wait a moment." Lynne said as she scrambled upstairs. Leon could hear the sound of rummaginging from above. Lynne came back down with a set of acupuncture needles.

    Leon was pleasantly surprised she had acupuncture needles. He didn''t think there were any acupuncture needles lying around.

    "Here." Lynne handed the needles to him

    "You had a set of acupuncture needles?" Leon asked, while taking the needles from her and preparing to treat Lina.

    "Yeah. I wanted to learn how to use it to help my grandpa get better, but it doesn''t seem like I need to anymore." Lynne said with some dissatisfaction at her vain efforts.

    One of the visiting doctors had proficiency in acupuncture needles and had used it to treat her grandpa. Although the doctor was only able to expel a small amount of toxins, it was good enough to make the old man feel slightly better. The doctor was consideredpetentpared to all the other visiting doctors, whom couldn''t treat her grandpa and suggested to send her grandpa to the hospital for an operation instead.

    She had wanted to learn the skills as she thought it was quite profound and useful.

    "You''re quite filial." Leon saw her in a new light.

    "Hmph." Lynne showed an expression that it doesn''t make her happy to be praised by him.

    Leon didn''t mind as he cleaned the needles and got to work.

    He wasn''t able to expel all the energy in Lina''s body before, but he would be able to do so now with the acupuncture needles.

    It could have been a simple matter of driving the energy out of her body with his own energy, if her pores weren''t blocked. But since it was, he had no way of sending his own energy in without tools.

    However, if the pore were unblocked then she wouldn''t be in this situation to begin with. The energy would naturally dissipate outside if her body couldn''t absorb it. But since it was trapped inside, she ended up bing a human furnace.

    Seeing Lina squirming around so much, Leon gave her a chop on the neck and knocked her out.

    Lynne stared at him speechless.

    "It would be difficult to perform acupuncture needles on her when she''s moving about too much." He exined.

    "I didn''t say anything."

    She was looking at him with a questioning gaze, but he didn''t want to start bickering with her.

    He started inserting the needles into 64 different acupuncture points on Lina''s body. He circted his energy and sent it through the acupuncture needles and started driving the fiery energy in her body out through the needles.

    Lynne could see the needles started to glow red as little bits of steam was rising from the top of it. Lina''s redplexion receded to a pale once before Leon retrieved the needles after all the energy was dispelled.

    Lina was no longer in danger as she was started breathing stably. However, Leon was still watching her as he was pondering an issue. Why wasn''t she able to absorb the energy? Normal people were able to strengthen their body from eating beast meat, but it did not apply to Lina. It was killing her instead. He was pondering the issue deeply with a frown.

    Lynne was at his side a little absentminded as she stared at him in a daze.

    Leon wasn''t considered good looking by normal standards, but she had discovered that he was quite charming when he was working seriously and thinking deeply.

    It was unknown how long she was staring at him for, but Dwight had already snuck up behind her and whispered into her ears, "It looks like my granddaughter has finally been charmed."

    "Grandpa!? What are you saying!?" Lynne was shocked and startled as she said in a panic.

    Leon was disrupted from his thoughts by the sudden mor.

    "Old man, you''re here." Leon nodded, as if acknowledging his presence.

    "This is my home. Where else would I be? Little brat, you got guts bringing another woman into my home after rejecting my granddaughter." Dwight said rhetorically with false anger.

    Leonughed it off. The old man was salty and still wanted to pair him up with his granddaughter.

    "Old man, matters of the heart can''t be forced." Leon said with a smile.

    "Which is to say, my granddaughter still has a chance?" The old man''s eyes lit up.

    The old man was very insistent.

    "It''s not impossible." Leon smiled wryly.

    "Grandpa~" Lynne was shy as she shook the Old man''s arm inint.

    "What are youining about? I''m fighting for your happiness here." Dwight argued.

    Lynne wanted to retort but she had no words and can only blush.

    Looking at her behavior, Leon shook his head helplessly at how fast people change¡­ They have only known each other less than 2 days but her attitude already changed 180 degrees.

 Chapter 19 - I Dont Want That Inside Me!

    <h4>Chapter 19 - I Don''t Want That Inside Me!</h4>

    "So, who is this youngdy? Your lover?" Dwight asked.

    Cough*

    ''This old man never stops jabbing him with his words.''

    "That''s my teacher." Leon ced particr emphasis on the word ''teacher''.

    "Oh."

    "Eh~ isn''t this Lina Greene, the history teacher?" Lynne finally had a good look at her face and figure out Lina''s identity.

    "Hoh¡­Greene you say¡­" Dwight traced his chin with his thumb and finger in thought.

    "What''s up old man? You know something?" Leon was curious.

    An expression of pity could be seen in the old man''s eyes.

    "The Greene family should be one of the unfortunate noble families that was wrongfully punished during the rebellion in the past."

    Although Dwight had shut himself underground for most his life, such a colossal event would not have been able to escape his ears.

    "I''m afraid this littledy is doomed for a life of mediocrity. It''s a pity we will never experience the Greene''s family rare wood element ability." Dwight pitied.

    "What do you mean?"

    "The Greene family was forced to drink the Water of Absolute Nothingness. It is a poison that seals people''s bloodline ability and there is no cure for it."

    "What an overbearing name." Leon was surprised but soon said sarcastically. The name was nothing but a joke in his eyes.

    "Nothing is absolute in this world. Anything is probable." Leon spoke with confidence.

    "How can you be so sure?" Dwight and Lynne were taken back by his confidence.

    "The world is governed byws andws exist to bnce the world. Bnce is synonymous to stability. Only with stability, does the world continue to exist forever. For every force, there will be a counter-force."

    Leon''s philosophical words sent their heads spinning. They thought he had gone crazy and started uttering nonsense.

    Leon could see their puzzles looks and doubts. He knew they didn''t understand his words.

    "In other words, there is a cure. You guys just haven''t found the method yet."

    "Ahh¡­" Dwight did a fist p in understanding, "You should''ve just said that instead of all that rubbish."

    Leon felt Lina''s pulse for another inspection, using acupuncture needles to guide his energy and consciousness through.

    He felt he must have missed it the first time, when using the normal pulse feeling technique. This time, he did a thorough scan over her brain. When his scan reached her be, he knitted his eyebrows into a frown.

    There was a core in the center of her be.

    Normal people shouldn''t have a core in their be. The core was devoid of power and there was somethingtched onto it.

    Leon wanted a clearer look at what it was but then something unexpected happen. His energy was devoured along with his spirit imprint on it, cutting off his connection. Attaching his spirit imprint on his energy was another way of using his divine sense ability.

    Leon''s face paled from the loss of both the strand quasi-Grandmist and mental energy

    The loss of Grandmist energy was not a problem as it could be regained through cultivation and didn''t affect the body much but the lost in mental energy affected his mind.

    He felt mentally tired as he started to sweat from his forehead after the loss.

    His divine sense ability was an omnidirectional observation skill that could be used inside and outside himself. The only difference between the two was that he could use it to introspect himself freely, but using it outside, it is very limited and draining.

    If he wants to increase the range and use of his divine sense outside, he needs to increase his mental capacity. Unfortunately, even back in the Divine Realm, no one knew how to cultivate the soul. The mainstream practice was the energy cultivation system.

    "Are you alright?" Lynne had caught Leon from behind when he staggered back from the loss.

    "I-I''m alright." Leon said weakly, "I just need to rest for a while."

    "What happened?" Dwight asked.

    It was just a brief moment before his connection was cut, but he was able to identify what wastched onto Lina''s core.

    "A devouring parasite."

    "Devouring parasite? What''s that?"

    "An abominable existence that preys on any form of energy."

    Dwight and Lynne were surprised. It sounded dangerous.

    Leon had decided to withhold some information from them.

    The full name was devouring parasite demon. They were something reared by demons.

    The public knowledge of demons that demons were something the people had created in their story telling to scare naughty children to sleep. The demons in each story was never fixed as their shapes and form were always changing depending on the author''s preference. There could be winged demons, horned demons, shadow demons and so on. But who knew that what they thought they had created from their imagination turned out to be reality?

    The demon race were creatures of the darkness, that like to avoid daylight. They are powerful and brutal race, who also likes to toy around with life and kill for enjoyment.

    Leonmented at the new revtion.

    ''Ahh¡­ humanity''s fate sure is grim.''

    The rise of the beast race had already given them a handful and yet now they must also face the threats of the demon race, which they know nothing about.

    No one had ever seen the shadow of a demon, let alone knew of their existence. Perhaps some of them had even been living among them under a disguise.

    Maybe the story books of demons were their ploy to instill an instinctual fear of demons into mankind, starting from their young ones?

    Whether his spections were true or not, Leon did not like it one bit. He felt his power alone would not be able to survive the uing storm. He needs to build up his own force and strengthen humanity.

    His own battle experience wasn''t great to begin with. He was a doctor not a fighter in his past life. But in this life, he had decided to focus of the path of a fighter and pursue the peak of martial arts.

    Which one of the Divine Kings of the Divine Realm weren''t an expert in the way of battle? If he wants to avenge his father, then he had to be better, faster, smarter and stronger than them. The Divine Kings was a colossal mountain he would have to ovee in the future. But for now, he should focus on the present.

    "So, do you have a way of curing her?" They asked curiously.

    "Yeah, devouring parasites are afraid of fire. Although, they can also devour fire, it would be like eating something foul to them, so they generally avoid it. But I should just be able to lure it out and kill it."

    Leon had a clearer understanding of the circumstances. Lina''s wood element body is weak to fire. It would be strange if her body didn''t show such strong reactions under those conditions.

    He himself still has lingering energy in body that he had not absorbed yet. It didn''t pose much a problem for him. He spectes he would be able to gain the initial stage of 5 element body afterpleting his body tempering.

    "I will take some time to recover my mental strength first."

    He already decided on her treatment method. First unblock her pores then lure the parasite out before killing it.

    "Mmm, take you time." Dwight didn''t mind Leon treating himself at home in his vi nor did he mind it being used like a medical center. It was an opportunity to witness more of Leon''s ability and medical skills.

    Leon took the chance to absorb the rest of the beast meat energy in his body. The loss of a single strand of energy didn''t affect him much. He was still in the tempered body 2ndyer.

    Absorbing the beast meat energy was a lot faster than drawing in the elements from the air. Nevertheless, he still had to draw in different elements to bnce the element from the beast meat. Leon circted his technique as strands after strands of quasi-Grandmist were produced. 8 strands were produced in the span of 2 hours as he made another breakthrough to the 3rdyer. Each newyer reached brought about a cleansing effect to his body as he felt it being strengthened and more impurities were expelled from his body.

    The amount was not worth mentioningpared to his first cleansing.

    Leon opened his eyes as he exhaled some foul air. He felt power coursing through body from the promotion in strength as his mentally returned to peak shape.

    "So smelly." Lynneined as she pinched her nose with one hand and waved the air with the other.

    "Sorry." Leon smiled awkwardly.

    "Are you going to treat her now?" Dwight asked.

    Leon nodded. The acupuncture needles were cleaned then heated with fire. After the preparation werepleted, Leon began working on a specific area. He didn''t need to unblock all her pores. That would tire him out. He just needs to create an opening so he can channel the heaven and earth energy into her body.

    The blockage was formed by the poisonous substances used in the Water of Absolute Nothingness. Lina''s body would be able to unblock her pores herself as she progressively gains strength as an awakener.

    Leon controlled the energy to form a line leading to her be.

    Learning from his past mistake he did not go too close and observed from a distance. Once he felt that the parasite has been lured, he pulled back his senses and back for it to get close to the surface.

    Time slowly ticked as Leon waited patiently with his eyes closed. His fingers were steady as they rest on top of the needles.

    One second¡­ 7 seconds¡­ 19 seconds passed.

    Leon felt the sudden vibrationing from one needle, which was caused by the parasiteing into contact with it.

    Leon swiftly trapped it with his energy as he yanked out the needles like fishing after the fish took the bite.

    It''s appearance quickly came into being as Dwight and Lynne with their hair rising as they paled at the sight. It had an appearance simr to centipedes with its hundred creepy crawler legs.

    Leon pierced it to death with the needles at his disposal.

    "That''s it? Is it done?" Lynne asked nervously while gulping her saliva.

    "It''s done." Leon nodded. He had performed the treatment in a swift and simple but also skillful manner. He didn''t want to give it a chance to feed on his energy again.

    Lynne secretly swore that she would rather die than let such a grotesque little thing inside of her.

    "Hahaha, today is a day worthy of celebration." Dwightughed. To think the poison publicly acknowledged to be incurable was solved by the young man so easily. The old was in admiration.

    Leon didn''t think what he did was anything great. He knew he was able to find the root of the problem and solved it so easily was due to his divine sense.

    There was no reason to feel proud for possessing something that could be considered a cheat in their world.

 Chapter 20 - You Have To Take Responsibility!

    <h4>Chapter 20 - You Have To Take Responsibility!</h4>

    Looking at unconscious Lina, some color had slowly return to her face. The disappearance of the parasite had allow her core to slow gather the wood elements through the opening Leon had made. It was like a dried-up nt returning to life.

    Leon looked at Lynne in thought.

    "What is it? What do you want?" Lynne wasn''t sure why she was feeling apprehensive. She thought she would be happy at having Leon''s attention on her.

    "Nothing much. I was just wondering if I could also check your pulse?"

    "Oh¡­ is that it?"

    "Yeah¡­"

    "Alright." Lynne gave him her wrist.

    "Is my granddaughter sick?" Dwight was concerned. Leon wouldn''t ask for no reason.

    His worries were unfounded. Leon just wanted to check what the be of an awakened person would look like.

    As he thought, Lynne also had a core in her be. Differently to Lina''s, hers was filled with water element.

    It seems awakeners will form a core of power when they awaken.

    Lina should not have awakened before so the parasite must have formed it for her. Leon wasn''t sure if this was a blessing or a disaster.

    But at least she would have a true awakening soon when the core gathers enough wood element.

    Lynne was different to Lina who was still unconscious. Leon was unaware that Lynne had already advanced to the 2nd step after taking in one of the pills from the first batch of True Awakening Pills, Leon had refined the other day.

    She had her perception and more sensitive to energy. When Leon was inspecting her core, she felt like she was stripped naked for Leon to watch.

    "Ahhhh! Pervert!" Lynne retreated a few steps back, while hugging herself with her arms.

    Dwight was confused. Leon was stunned.

    "What''s wrong, my precious granddaughter?"

    "Grandpa! H-he¡­ he¡­ took advantage of me." Lynne pointed at Leon with shaking hands.

    This time, it was Dwight''s turn to be stunned, while Leon wanted to cough up blood at her words.

    "Care to exin yourself, young man?" Dwight wasn''t sure how his granddaughter was taken advantage, but he was happy to y along.

    "How did I take advantage of you?"

    "You peeped at me!" Lynne said before she resumed covering herself as if fearing Leon''s eyes could see through her clothes.

    Leon didn''t know where tough or cry.

    ''Didn''t you allow me to inspect you? What is this farce.''

    "You have to take responsibility for my granddaughter, young man. Her chastity has been tainted by you. You have to marry her."

    Leon felt like he had been wronged. What kind of nonsense was this? If he had to marry every woman he examined as a doctor, would doctors still be considered a saintly profession? Maybe they should all be called smelly old perverts instead?

    He had treated all sorts of patients in his past life. There were people''s daughters, wives, aunties, granddaughters, niece and grandmothers, even children! He would be cursed to death by men.

    ''Well yed old man!'' Leon stared daggers at Dwight.

    "What? You don''t want to?" Dwight narrowed his eyes before he continued, "It''s not like you are losing out." He shrugged.

    Leon smiled wryly as he checks out Lynne from top to bottom. Indeed, for a normal guy, a beauty like Lynne would be their dream girl.

    Lynne didn''t quite follow what was happening but hearing the matter of her grandpa wanting to pair her up with Leon again, her heart started racing. She looked at Leon shyly as she waited for his answer with some hope and fear. She didn''t understand what she was feeling towards Leon, but she didn''t dislike it. Everything had been moving too fast. She didn''t expect her little tantrum would go down this direction.

    Seeing her hopeful gaze, Leon sighed. He could see the seed of love budding in her. But he wasn''t sure what love was himself. He had been through a hedonistic period in his past life before, but he had never fallen in love.

    It could be seen as not giving them face if he continues to reject them.

    "Indeed, I''m not losing out on anything. I''ll ept her since you''re so desperate to give your granddaughter to me. But I''m warning you now, there''s not emotional foundation between us." Leon shrugged as he spoke in a joking manner.

    He had resigned to his fate. He felt like the old man had nned this trap for him to jump in. No¡­ that wasn''t urate. It should be said that he had dug his own hole to jump in.

    If he wasn''t curious about what an awaken person''s core look like, then he wouldn''t have end up in this mess. A ssic example of curiosity killed the cat.

    "Hahahaha! Excellent! A real joyous asion." Dwightughed joyfully as he walked up and grabbed both his granddaughter''s and Leon''s hands and joined them together.

    "Hahaha, no emotional foundation is fine. It can be cultivated slowly¡­ hahaha!"

    "Indeed, it could be cultivated slowly." Leon feel the softness of Lynne''s hand. It was a pleasant feeling holding hands.

    Lynne felt her heart racing faster than ever as her face became a little hot from blushing. Her head was facing the ground as she became awfully quiet.

    "My granddaughter has her shorings, but she is a good girl at heart. You better not bully her." Dwight warned.

    Leonughed.

    "You personally delivered her to me. Even if I bully her, you have no right toin." Leon smirked.

    "You dare!?"

    "Hahaha, it was a joke." Leon appeased the old man. "But I don''t understand why you are in such a rush to marry your granddaughter off to me." He began voicing his doubts.

    "Hahaha¡­" Dwightughed awkwardly when Leon finally asked the question.

    "You should know that arranged marriages is not umon among noble families."

    Leon nodded.

    "This is especially the case among noble families who share the same element. People believe that when awakeners of the same element copte, the element''s ability would strengthen in their offspring''s.

    The rarest element is metal and wood. It is followed by water and fire. Although water and fire aren''t rare like wood and metal, it isn''tmon either. Then we have the mostmon element among awakeners, earth." Dwight exined.

    "I see, so that is to say, you have been receiving a few marriage proposals for your granddaughter, but you are not happy with the candidates, so you chose me to be the shield."

    "Yes!¡­ no!¡­ cough*¡­yeah¡­" Dwight was embarrassed for being seen through.

    "An official marriage date will not be set. However, we will establish the marriage contract so you both will be engaged officially. How''s that? Whether the marriage falls through or seed in the future will depend on you, younglings." Dwightid it out bare.

    "That''s fine by me, but are you not going topensate me for the trouble you are bringing me?" Leon smiled.

    "Haven''t you already beenpensated?" Dwight smiled shamelessly as he shifted his eyes to his granddaughter.

    Leon was speechless. He wasn''t expecting anything when he said what he did but wasn''t the old man a bit too thick-skinned?

    "Ah whatever. I will just go refine another batch of pills and then head home."

    He had spent a fair bit of cash and needed to replenish his cash on hand since he would continue to dine at the steakhouse for the beast meat.

    In the past, practicing alchemist burns money. In this life, practicing cultivation burns money too. Indeed, money makes the world go around.

    Leon shook his head as he let go of Lynne''s hand and headed to the underground pill room to concoct pills.

    Lynne snapped out of her little world when she felt her hand was missing something. She felt disappointed that they couldn''t hold hands for longer.

    Dwight shook his head at his granddaughter''s expression before he followed Leon, wanting to observe his pill concocting techniques.

    ''Wouldn''t my granddaughter suffer, if the boy doesn''t reciprocate her feelings? It''s fine for now since she isn''t aware of her own feelings but hope things will work out for her. Grandpa has already done what he can for your happiness. It''s up to you now to grasp onto that opportunity.''

    He didn''t like the candidates from the other water families. Their young masters were all good-for-nothing yboys, who only know how to chase skirts. Wouldn''t his granddaughter suffer following them? They can only dream of this marriage but not have it.

    Lynne recovered after a moment and followed them shortly.

    After they all left, Lina had opened her eyes. She had regain consciousness earlier but continued pretending to be unconscious. She had overheard their conversation and had vague memories from when she was being carried by Leon until she was knocked out by him.

    She felt a bit of grievance. How can he just knock her out like that? However, her heart was genuinely moved, when she figured out that he had rushed to save her.

    Bits of memories and information was slowly pieced together before she had deduced what had happen after.

    She could slowly feel power building up in her. She can tell it won''t be long before she awakens. The curse that gue her family no longer applies to her. She can also strive to be extraordinary and make her parents proud. The one who made it all possible was Leon.

    She felt a sense of loss when she heard that Leon agreed to the engagement. Why couldn''t it be her? Why isn''t she a few years younger? Why were they teacher and student? She was discouraged by the distance between them but didn''t lose hope.

    ''I won''t give up.'' Her heart was set, and her determination was firm. Her heart had been snatched by that boy, whom changed her world and destiny.

    An unknown amount of time had passed, and she could hear footsteps getting closer. She closed her eyes and continued pretending to be consciousness again.

    "Well then we will be heading home. I''m sure our parents would be worried sick if we don''t go home anyter." Leon said as he picked Lina''s body up and ced her on his back.

    "Mm, be careful on your way home. It''s dangerous at night." Dwight nodded.

    "I will." Leon said and left.

    Lynne had some unwillingness in her eyes as Leon left with Lina on his back.

    "You both go to Royal University. You can meet up with him on campus." Dwight said.

    "Mmm." Lynne blushed and nodded.

    Dwight mentally sigh. His granddaughter is a lost cause.

    ¡­

    The night was cold as Leon dashed through the streets, making his way back to the Commoner''s District.

    Leon suddenly felt Lina''s arms that was wrapped around his neck tightened as she leaned her head forward and gave him a peck on the cheeks.

    "Thank you." Lina whispered softly into his ears before burrowing head back in his shoulders. It had taken a lot of courage out of her to do what she just did.

    Leon was stunned as he was caught off guard.

 Chapter 21 - Night Raid

    <h4>Chapter 21 - Night Raid</h4>

    "Er¡­ how long have you been awake, teacher?"

    "A while ago. Don''t called me teacher. Just call me Lina."

    "Eh¡­? Ah¡­ o-okay¡­" Leon stuttered, his words were borderline incoherent. He didn''t know how to react in this situation.

    Lina could see the awkward situation he was, so she gave him a way out.

    "Don''t think too much. That was just a small reward for what you did."

    "Ah¡­ okay¡­" Leon said. He felt it wasn''t that simple, but he didn''t want to inte his ego. He can''t expect every woman he saves to like him, so he just left it as is.

    However, he trusts that she would keep his secret as she didn''t seem like a person with a big mouth.

    "Well then, I''ll see you next time." Leon bid farewells after dropping Lina off at her house.

    "Mmm, see you next time." Lina watched him disappear into the distance before heading inside.

    "Mum, dad, I''m home." She called out.

    "Lina, where have you been? We were worried you had encountered a mishap." Her mum started interrogating her.

    "Hahaha¡­ well there was a mishap, but it turned into a blessing." Lina smiled.

    "Hmm? What do you mean? Lina''s father asked. They were puzzled how mishap can turn into a blessing.

    "Your daughter had a fortuitous encounter and broken free from the shackles of the curse."

    "Oh¡­ WHAT!?" Their daughter had spoken in a roundabout way. Didn''t understand her meaning immediately but they were shocked after they realized her meaning. She wasn''t going to tell them it was all due to Leon.

    "Is it true? You''re not joking with father and mother?" They grabbed her shoulders and asked carefully.

    "Mmm." Lina nodded. She wasn''t surprised by their reaction. It was to be expected.

    Hearing her confirmation, her mother started weeping tears of joy, while her father looked up andughed boisterously.

    "The heavens have eyes." He eximed.

    Her parents did not ask for details. They did not care if they themselves would also be able to be cured. Such a matter was no longer important to them. They weren''t young anymore, but it was different for their daughter.

    She was still young and full of potential. They had no other thoughts and were just overjoyed for their daughter. Such was a selfless love from her parents.

    She understood that but as a daughter, she also wants her parents to be freed from the shackles that bind them.

    She ns to bring the matter up with Leon when there''s an opportunity, but she also feels guilty. She owes him too much already and wasn''t sure how she would be able to repay him.

    ¡­

    The situation was different at Leon''s home. His father had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him toe home. There was food on the table, but it has already gone cold. Leon felt pained in the heart.

    He went to grab a nket to cover them. The small movement had stirred his father awake.

    "Ah Leon¡­ you''re finally home." His father said with a warm smile. His mother woke up shortly after.

    "Mum, dad, I''m home. When did you get discharged from the hospital? You could have waited for me to pick you up."

    "Hahaha it''s fine. I''ve already recovered after taking your pill. I just made some excuse to leave. Your father isn''t used to lying in bed all day."

    Leon shook his head helplessly. The doctors would definitely be suspicious at his father''s fast recovery but what''s done is done. There''s no use mulling over it now.

    "Have you and mum eaten yet?" He asked.

    "Mmm, your mother and I have already eaten." His father answered.

    Looking at the food on the table, it was just enough portion for him.

    He did not mind that the food was cold and that he had already had dinner as he ate again. His parents cooked for him so he would finish it.

    "Mum, dad, there''s no need to go to work anymore or wait for me at night. Your son is very capable now and would only be busier at night." Having said that he pulled out 10000 craws in cash and passed it to his parents.

    "This is what I earned, doing legitimate business with the Cromwells. You don''t have to worry about it being dirty money."

    His parents first reaction wasn''t pleasant surprise but concerns about how he earned so much or if he had gone down the wrong path but since he had already said it forthrightly, they did not question him.

    He had more money in his world space, but he did not want to shock his parents too much. He would break it down to his parents slowly so they would find it more eptable in the future.

    "How is that fine? It is dangerous at night."

    "Honey, it''s fine. Our son had grown up. He knows what to do and how to take care of himself." His fatherforted his mother. They say mothers always have their worries, but their fathers are always more understanding. The saying seemed quite true in this case.

    "You don''t have to worry, mother. Your son has the strength to protect himself." Leon tried to give his parents greater assurance by grounding a wooden spoon to dust with his bare hands in front of their eyes.

    He thought his parents would be assured with his disy of strength, but his mother went up and smacked him on the shoulders, startling him.

    "This kid, just because you are earning enough to guarantee our livelihood, you cannot start adopting bad habits. It is not good to be wasteful." His mother reprimanded him.

    "T-this¡­ you''re right, mother. Your son understands his wrongdoing." He admitted his mistake.

    "Mm, it''s good that you understand." His mother was satisfied with his answer.

    "One mustn''t growcent and arrogant after gaining power. It is good to always be humble, less they invite disaster upon themselves." His father instructed.

    "Yes, I understand. I have something for father and mother." Leon changed the topic. He understood already understood those principles.

    He gave them a True Awakening Pill each. He had been quite sessful with his pill concoction and had a surplus of pills from the batch. He decided to pocket two for his parents.

    He exined their use and watched over them as they consume the pills. They were surprised over his exnation as they understood the worth of awakening pills. It was something only nobles get to enjoy but Leon brushed over the matter as something he gained as part of the business with the Cromwells. It was his turn to advise his parents to not brag about the matter to their neighbors and friends, less they invite trouble.

    -

    -

    -

    In the dark of night, the Thunderbird airship sailed over the skies of the Wilnds. The darkness affected their vision but did not stop them from carrying out their mission. Dales stood at the front deck as he peered into the distance.

    His transfer was not a smooth one as the elites of the Thunderbird had disapproved serving under a different superior. But they had submitted under his strength and the direct orders of the General Marquis was absolute.

    His strength was different to his peers. He had never taken an Awakening Pill and had awakened naturally through battle. His ability did not belong to any of the 5 elements. He was a variant who had greater physical strength and sharper senses to danger in exchange for his control over the elements.

    He had a hunch that the night would not be a quiet one.

    It didn''t take long for his premonition to be realized. His danger senses were ringing rm bells in his head with greater intensity than when he was on the Freebird.

    "Turn back! Make speed for the wall!" Hemanded; his face was grave.

    The men swiftly got to work without question. The soldiers are well disciplined and military orders were absolute!

    His grave face made the soldiers on board tensed. Rumbling sounds could soon be heard from both the skies and thend below.

    "Alert the garrisons of an iing attack! Prepare for battle!" Dales barked out his orders. He wasn''t confident he would make it out of this ordeal alive.

    To think so many beasts was hiding right under their noses. The darkness concealed their presence as the night was eerily quiet, but when they charged out of their concealment, their movements were fast and loud like thunder in their ears.

    Luckily, Dales orders was timely, and they were able to escape being entrapped by the hundreds of aerial beasts. The ground beasts numbered in the thousands.

    They were preupied with the aerial beasts, while the ground beasts charged in the direction of the walls,pletely ignoring their airship. The distance was great, but their speed was not slow! In fact, it was incredibly fast! It would only take an incense worth of time before they reach the wall.

    It was fortunate that they have long rangemunication devices on board and able to alert the wall garrisons immediately.

    They no longer worry about the wall as they busy themselves fending off the aerial beasts attacking their airship.

    ¡­

    Over at the Great Wall, the troops had receive the order and were positioned on top of the wall, armed and ready.

    The height of the wall was great, and the darkness had impaired their vision, but the troops were still able to notice the shadows in the distance making speed towards them.

    The charging beasts did not seem to have any intention of slowing down as they made a great leap and smashed into the metal wall.

    These beasts seemed more powerful and ferocious than all the previous beasts they had fought.

    The ws of the beast were sturdy and prative as they wed their way up. Their leap had already given them a 20-meter head start in scaling the wall.

    "Steady your aims! ¡­and Fire!!"

    Bang* bang* bang*

    Thousands of bullets descended onto the beasts and the ones at the forefront, took all the hits. The beasts in the front row were tenacious and didn''t die immediately and continue climbing a bit further before sumbing to their wounds and fell.

    "Switch!¡­ Aim!¡­ and fire!" Commands were dished out as the front row troops swap position with the troops behind them to reload. The rear troops stepped forward took aim and fired asmanded.

    Another round of bullets flew down striking the next beasts in line.

    The chain ofmand continued to repeat as the soldiers followed in a strict and orderly manner.

    The beasts continue to inch closer and closer but still had a long distance to the top. Just when everyone thought they were in for a long and hard battle; a deafening and powerful howl from a beast shook the verynd.

    The beasts climbing the walls seemed to have received an order as they stop climbing and jumped off from the walls as they retreated.

    The soldiers felt weak in the knees as they dropped to the ground in cold sweat.

    "What kind of beast was that?"

    The howl was so powerful it temporarily stunned them and stopped them from shooting the retreating beasts.

    "I don''t know but it felt like its howl could shatter the very earth."

    They didn''t know what the beast was, but they had the illusion that the wall wouldn''t be able to protect them from it.

    After many rounds of bullets, they had only manage to kill a few hundred of them. Their bullets don''t seem to be as effective as it was in the past. No, the beasts were clearly different from the past.

    They felt fortunate that the battle didn''t continue for longer.

 Chapter 22 - Stranded

    <h4>Chapter 22 - Stranded</h4>

    The next morning, the troops stationed on the walls were still on guard as the carcasses of beast littered the ground. Thousands of deep dents and holes could be seen over the lower half of the wall.

    "Report!" The General Marquis said with an imposing aura.

    "Yes, general! The wall suffered a substantial amount of damage. 12000 rounds of ammunition have been expended in battle. 346 beast carcasses waiting to be retrieved and studied. Contact with the Freebird have been lost and we suffered¡­ two casualties in battle." A soldier reported.

    "Two casualties? How?" The General Marquis frowned after hearing the report. Their defenses weren''t breached, and troops did not enter closebat. How did they lose lives?

    "T-t-this¡­" The soldier stuttered and sweated as if it was something very difficult to say.

    "Speak!"

    "Y-yes, general! It was death by falling!" The soldier answered, while sweating profusely. He was very afraid of how the general was react to the news.

    The expression of the General Marquis immediately darkened at the reason.

    "Utter¡­ rubbish!"

    They have never had an ident like this since the founding of the wall. Its structural design made it very difficult for idental fall to ur. Unless one was an idiot, it would not happen. It was embarrassing to die to heights and in battle.

    "A-ording to the witnesses'' statement, the two unfortunate men loss their bearing and fell after the howl." The soldier added.

    The General Marquis went silent. The news had be a bit more eptable. The howl was shockingly powerful. The General Marquis was a 9th step awakener but he wasn''t sure he would be a match for the beast.

    After being distracted for a moment, he focused on more important matters.

    "Never mind then. Pass down my orders. The Swiftbird team is to set out and search for the Thunderbird team. Another team are to head outside the wall and retrieve all the beast carcasses. Remind them to send one to the research department to study."

    "Yes, general!" The soldier left.

    Each airship was an important asset to the military. They do not have many airships as the manufacturing wasplicated and required very rare materials. The most importantponent of the airship was levitation stones, which contains anti-gravity force and allows the airship to float in the air.

    General Marquis Hendrick went back to pondered over the issues of thest couple of days.

    The attack on their scouting airships, the attack on the wall, the howl and the retreat. Each move seems nned and organized. The beasts were no longer a disorganized mob. Their intelligence was high, but strength was even higher.

    What were the motive behind their actions? A disy of strength to intimidate them? A promation of war? These assumptions seem very wrong. They were never able to establishmunication between their races to even negotiate.

    Most likely, the attacks were just a probe to test their strength and gather information. The expression of General Marquis Hendrick''s face turned grave, when he thought in this direction.

    If such a powerful attack force was only used to probe them, he did not want to think what would happen if they attack in full force. The severity of the matter was beyond what the current force of their military can handle. He decided to pay a visit to the Queen in person to report the matter and request even more resource and manpower.

    ¡­

    The beast carcasses appearances did not match their previous knowledge they had of them. Although their animal ancestry could still be identified, through the unique animal traits their bodies possess. Their appearances are beginning to take on more humanoid forms. It was not incorrect to call them beast carcasses and should be called beast corpses instead. Perhaps human beings were the most ideal form of evolution?

    The soldiers had all sorts of thoughts as they cleaned up the battlefield. Some soldiers shook their heads. Why think so much? Just leave it to the experts to figure out and just worry about their own job.

    -

    -

    -

    Cough*

    "Who''s still alive?" Dales called out. He still had no idea what had happen during the battlest night. He just woken up.

    They were fending off the aerial beasts as the airship headed back towards the wall, when suddenly their airship suffered a powerful impact from something. The force of the impact was too great to be estimated. It had sent their airship flying into a different direction.

    He was very lucky to survive the crash, but he wasn''t sure how many were as fortunate as him.

    "Cough* I''m still alive." A soldier called out weakly.

    Dales made his over to the source of the sound and found a soldier half buried under some debris.

    He helped removed the debris and pulled the soldier out. The soldier less fortunate than Dales, who only had bruises and small cuts. The soldier suffered multiple bone fractures and was impaled by a splintered ironwood in his left leg. The only fortunate news was his life was not in immediate danger.

    Dales made use of the broken remains of the airship to administer temporary first aid to the soldier.

    "Are we the only ones left, Commander?" The soldier asked depressingly.

    There were a few bodies of his brothersying around at the site of the wreckage. They were hard to look at. Some were impaled in the head and chest, while some had be a mangled mess. All were obviously no longer breathing as they have all be cold corpses.

    "I''m afraid so."

    The numbers present were far from the total of their men, but Dales assumed the rest must''ve been flung off somewhere.

    Dales started digging through the wreckage and stopped after he found what he was searching for.

    "Sigh¡­"

    The long-rangemunication device was destroyed beyond recognition. They would not be able to contact the military camp. They weren''t even sure where they were. Everything was destroyed in the crash. No equipment, no good, no reinforcement. They were all on their own.

    "What is your name, soldier?"

    "I-it''s Tom, sir."

    "Well Tom, you can just call me Dales."

    "I''m afraid that is inappropriate, Commander."

    "Drop the formalities. We are brothers in arm who survived a life and death situation. There''s need to distinguish between ranks in the face of adversary."

    "Yes¡­ sir¡­ D-Dales¡­" Tom said awkwardly, clearly wasn''t ustomed to the new way of addressing.

    "We need to find shelter quickly."

    They didn''t need to secure food. There was a carcass of an aerial beast near them. They were also stranded in enemy territory. They did not know when they would be surrounded by the beasts.

    "I would like to but¡­" Tom expressed his agreement but he could not do much. He was wrapped like a mummy by broken ironwood and shredded sails.

    "I know. I was just stating our objective to survive this god forsaken ce."

    Dales made a stretcher out of some suitable size ironwood and ripped sails. He then salvaged some edible meat from the aerial beast carcass and wrapped it up. He proceeded to cing Tom on the stretcher before they made way for the forest near their location. The trees of the forest were massive and reached a staggering height of 200 meters.

    Dales figured it was the best course of action to enter the forest and stay out of sight. It was a mystery how they did not get attacked and eaten overnight after being knocked unconscious from the crash.

    It was stranger that they did not see any beasts in the vicinity as they entered the forest. Although Dales believes the General Marquis would send out a search party for them, it was unknown how long it would take before they were found. Awaiting their rescue at the crash site would be an extremely stupid idea. It would not be much different to waiting for death, as beasts with keen sense of smell would be attracted to all the corpses at the crash site. It was unfortunate, that he could not give them a proper burial.

    -

    -

    -

    Military Camp, Research facility.

    A bunch of researchers were busy dissecting the corpse of a beast of white tiger lineage.

    Bleurgh* A young researcher barfed.

    "What is wrong with you? Never dissected a body before?" The head researcher in charge, criticized.

    "My deepest apologies, professor Zen. C-could this still be considered a beast?"

    Excluding its body of fur, ws, tail and head, everything else wasn''t much different to a human. Dissecting it felt like dissecting a human body and made the young researcher feel uneasy.

    "Yes and no. The most appropriate term should now be beastmen. But no matter how much they are beginning to resemble humans; they are ultimately not human. As long as you understand that point then you would find it easier to ept." Professor Zen lectured.

    "I understand, professor."

    The young researcher repetitively chanted ''Not a human, not a human'' in his mind as he continued his work.

    "Don''t forget to clean up your mess after." Professor Zen reminded with a frown. Vomit wasn''t something pleasant to smell. But as they were all wearing face masks, it didn''t affect them too much.

    "Y-yes."

 Chapter 23 - Military Service

    <h4>Chapter 23 - Military Service</h4>

    "What''s going on today?"

    "I''m not sure. I heard there was going to be a big announcement."

    Inside the assembly hall at Crawford University, all the students were gathered. The day was proceeding as usual, when a notice for all the teachers on campus were to cancel their sses and escort their students to the assembly hall and wait for further instructions.

    Leon didn''t really care about the cancetion of the sses as he weren''t nning to attend them anyway. He had nned to continue his reading in the library, when he was forcefully dragged along.

    There were military personnel everywhere on campus and it was not wise to resist. He was dissatisfied with the interruption of his schedule, but he could onlyply. Considering the severity of the issue, it seemed like something big was about to happen.

    There were hundreds of students gathered in the hall as They were chatting among themselves. Their noise was soft but when many are chattering at the same time, it bes a noisymotion.

    "Silence!!!" The Dean on stage demanded.

    The noise died down into utter silence as the student waits for the Dean to start speaking. A person stood behind the dean in military uniform with medals indicating his rank as amander in the army.

    "The Queen has decreed that all students are to be conscripted into the army and start their military service. This person here will be your training instructor for the following two months to prepare you for the service at the front lines. Those attending from other kingdom do not have to partake in the conscription and can return to resume your sses." The dean announced.

    It didn''t take long before the students broke out into an uproar.

    "What!? Forceful conscription into military service? What is happening?"

    "I thought we had the choice of deciding when to start our military service before the age of 25?"

    "Did something big happen at the Great Wall?"

    "It¡­ can''t be another war¡­ right?"

    "What about our mid semester exams?"

    "Wow, they are kind of lucky to skip the exams."

    "Yeah I kinda want to join."

    "Do we still get to go home during the 2 months training?"

    All sorts of topics and concerns were raised. The dean was not angry at themotion. Such a reaction was to be expected. He gave the students some time to digest the news before stepping away from the front stage and nodded to the militarymander.

    The militarymander stepped forward and waited patiently for them to stop talking. He was different to the dean. He held the rank ofmander, but he was amoner. He had to be give the students some special treatment and privileges. They were all either nobles or came from distinguished families. Their statuses would be different once they start their military service.

    They would all be assigned as cadets, a rank higher than sergeant major. Cadets were only 4 ranks away frommander. There is 2nd lieutenant, 1st lieutenant, captain thenmander.

    It might not take long for them to reach his rank if they achieve some major contributions during their military service.

    They were different to him who started from the bottom. He had spent 15 years in the military, climbing up the ranks step by step from a private to corporal, then sergeant, sergeant major, followed by the next 4 ranks tomander.

    He had skipped the cadets rank. Cadets was a special rank in between sergeant major and 2nd lieutenant that was created to temporarily assigned the students of Crawford University, before they receive their official rank as a 2nd lieutenant.

    It wasn''t fair treatment formoners like him, but such was the way of the world. It had always been a cruel and unforgiving world. It was just a matter of when you realize that fact.

    The noise finally died down when the students became aware of themander standing at the front.

    "I am Commander Eugene. Your training instructor for the next 2 months. You would be allowed to go wherever you wish outside of school hours. However! During school hours, you will all be under strict military regtions. You are expected to be present on time and ready to carry out any instructions given. Punishments will be meted to those who failed toply. That is all. Training willmence tomorrow. You are free until then." Commander Eugene stated in a strict and disciplined manner before leaving from the back of the stage.

    "You can choose to continue sses for today or return home and mentally prepare yourselves for tomorrow. Assembly is dismissed." The dean added before returning to his office.

    Leon rubbed his chin in thought.

    ''Looks like things aren''t going well at the front lines.''

    He has 2 months to settle his matters in the Capital. When he is sent to the front lines, he would longer get the chance even if he wants to. Military service is expected tost 1-2 years but if a war had broken out then it couldst even longer.

    Military instructors were also sent to other schools to prepare the students. Those who weren''t of the minimum eligible age for military service would at least be knowledgeable for when they reach the age to conscript.

    At the end of the assembly, Leon returned to the library. He still had things he wanted to learn. He had archaeology, geology, etiquette and history sses today, but he won''t be attending them.

    "Leon~" A familiar voice called out to him.

    Leon stopped in his tracks to check who it was.

    A beautiful girl could be seen heading in his direction. It turns out to be the Duke''s daughter, Rachel Lancaster, whom he managed to befriend before his memory awakened. She was followed by two servants to protect her.

    "Where are you heading? Archaeology ss isn''t that way, right?"

    "I''m heading to the library to read some books."

    "Eh~? You''re going to skip ss?"

    "Well there''s not much point in going since military training starts tomorrow right?"

    "Hmm¡­ you''re right. Maybe I''ll skip and join you to read some books too¡­?"

    "If that is what you want then it would be my pleasure to have yourpany. I can''t possibly decline the request of a beautifuldy, right? Leon said jokingly.

    Rachel blushed at Leon''s words. She had received many praises andpliments for her outstanding beauty since young, but it had never made her happy. On the contrary, it made her disgusted instead. It was always the young masters from esteemed noble houses that sing praises of her beauty and confess their love for her, but they could not hide their lustful gaze that wantonly roams her body.

    Leon had never directed such gazes towards her. Hispliments were always pure and of genuine admiration. She wasn''t repulsed by Leon, which allowed them to be friends.

    Perhaps it was their difference in status or he wasn''t interested in women that he never entertained such a thought? Or maybe he was good at concealing such things? None of her guesses seem correct either.

    Leon was a perfectly healthy young man. He wasn''tcking confidence and seemed like a genuine person, not those kinds of two-face hypocrites. Her curiosity got her interested and wanting to understand him better as if he was a rare creature that needed to be studied. They were also not restrained by formality and status as they conversed freely.

    "You''re such a sweet talker. Alright let''s go." Rachel slightly blushed.

    "That was considered sweet talking? I guess haven''t seen real sweet talking before." Leon shook head with a smile.

    "Oh? How about you show me what real sweet talking is?" Rachel said defiantly. She wasn''t going to take thatment easily. What sort of sweet talking haven''t she experienced? She wasn''tcking admirers and pursuers after all.

    "Well alright. You asked for it." Leon stopped in front, showing her his back.

    He slowly turned around with a charming smile and said,

    "Oh Rachel, your beauty simply does not belong to the mortal ne. Your skin is wlessly white like snow and your eyes like the starry skies, body carved from jade and your silky-smooth hair dances in the wind. You must be a goddess that descended from the heavens above. Just a simple glimpse of your beauty has enraptured my heart. Please go out with me." Leon said in an exaggerated manner.

    His little act made her blushed as her heart was a little moved. It was a fresh but pleasant feeling she hadn''t experienced before.

    She was a little absentminded but recovered when Leon''s little y started attracting the surrounding people''s attention.

    "Nice try. Aren''t your wordscking some genuine emotions?" Rachel smacked him on the shoulders and dragged him away from the watchful eyes.

    "Hahaha, you''re right. I don''t know what being in love feels like, but you have to admit that my act was pretty good." Leonughed.

    "Well¡­ it was differentpared to what I usually hear." She said, while lost in thought.

    She didn''t remember Leon being this daring in the past. He seemed different.

    ''How strange.''

    "Mydy, please refrain from making contact with other males." One of her female servants advised.

    The interrupted warning made her unhappy as her mood dropped¡­ She was reminded of her status as the fiancee of the missing prince.

 Chapter 24 - Longing For Freedom

    <h4>Chapter 24 - Longing For Freedom</h4>

    Rachel''s mother had recently mention to her that she had fianc¨¦e and that it was the long thought-to-be dead prince of Crawford.

    She was also informed that her mother was searching for the missing prince who could still be alive.

    She was upset by the news. She didn''t want her happiness to be decided by others and she certainly didn''t want to marry someone she never met and know nothing about. But s she doesn''t have a choice in the matter.

    Her parents loved her, but their decision was final. Such was the life of women born in noble families.

    Their life is used to be traded for their family''s interest. Being born in noble families, they enjoy higher privileges but also loses their freedom.

    If she had a choice, she wished she was born to amon family. She didn''t need such privileges as long as she had her freedom to choose how to live her own life.

    Leon could see that Rachel was feeling down, but he didn''t know how to console her under her servant''s watchful eyes. It would feel awkward to do so.

    He felt like they weren''t really bodyguards sent to protect Rachel, but more like the eyes of the Duke to keep track of his daughter''s activities. Leon smiled wryly at that thought.

    Rachel and Leon''s gaze met each other and understood they were thinking the same thing.

    "Let''s book a private room. It would be easier to read books without being interrupted." Rachel suggested. She was used to her servants arranging such things for her. It was annoying that the boys would flock to wherever she goes.

    "Alright." Leon gave it some thought before agreeing. It would be annoying to read, while having a bunch of jealous eyes directed at him. His luck with women seems to be really good these days. Rachel was originally the only friend he had since the start of his studies at the campus. But suddenly now there''s also a Lina and a Lynne, who he is now being used as a shield for.

    They went to grab the books they wanted to read and headed to the private room reserved for them. Leon picked the [Discovery of Ancient Ruins] that he didn''t get a chance to readst time, while Rachel selected some books rted to archaeology.

    The library upied the whole building that consists of nine floors. Each floor had 8 private rooms offered for hire. They arrived at the 2nd private room on the 4th floor.

    "You two can guard the door outside." Rachel suddenly said.

    "T-this¡­ doesn''t seem appropriate¡­ The lord instructed us to keep you within our line of sight." The servants refused after being startled.

    "Where could I even run to from here? Besides how am I supposed to focus on reading with you two standing around?" Rachel argued.

    "T-t-this¡­is¡­" The servants were put in a difficult spot. They gave Leon a nce. Rachel started frowning.

    "¡­Never mind, just let thedy be willful for once. Please call us if you need us, mydy." They ended up conceding. After they left the room and closed the door behind them, Rachel let out a long sigh of relief.

    "Was there a need to make things difficult for them? They are only following your father''s orders."

    "I wanted to feel some freedom even if it''s just an illusion¡­ say¡­ did you really mean it when you said I was like a goddess that descended from heavens?"

    "Umm¡­ I guess so?" Leon wasn''t sure where their conversation was heading.

    "But I feel more like canary locked in a cage." Rachel had a sad look.

    Leon thought he should try to lighten the mood.

    "You could be a canary that was locked in a cage after descending from the heavens." Leon joked

    "So, it wasn''t the descent of a goddess but a canary?"

    "Why do you have to separate the two? Can''t a canary also be a goddess?"

    "Pft~ I didn''t think you were into canaries. I seem to becking appeal to a certain someone." She joked.

    "Aren''t you a canary?"

    Rachel blushed.

    ''What does that mean? He didn''t deny anything. Is he saying that he likes me? Well¡­ I don''t dislike him¡­ He¡­ would be a better choice than some prince I never met.'' She contemted.

    Leon was unaware that he created such an ambiguous misunderstanding. He thought they were still joking around.

    "What''s wrong? Why did you suddenly go quiet?"

    "Can I tell you something?" She thought before asking.

    "Uhh¡­ yeah?" Leon was puzzled. It doesn''t seem like he can keep up with a woman''s thought process. But if he could perfectly understand woman then he might begin questioning his own gender. Just kidding.

    The reason he wasn''t charmed by beautiful women is because he had seen all sorts of beauties, back in the Divine Realm. People''s appearances be more perfect, the higher they progress through their Divine practice. But he had to admit that Rachel was very beautiful despite not having any Divine practice.

    Rachel began recounting her situation to Leon and started ranting about her grievance. Why did she had to marry someone she doesn''t know?

    ¡­

    "Thanks for listening to my protest." She felt like some of the burden on her heart was lifted after having someone to share her story with.

    "Hahaha, the fact that you chose to share something like that with me means that you consider me a close friend." Leon was honored.

    ''Friend¡­? Idiot¡­'' Rachel pouted.

    "Huh?" Leon was taken back by her reaction. Did he say something wrong?

    ''Maybe she wants me to console her?'' He thought.

    "Don''t feel so down. You said that the prince had been missing for almost 18 years. Maybe it would still be a long time, before he is found. Maybe he would never be found, or he is already dead."

    Gasp** "Wow you just cursed the prince to die. The Queen could execute you for that if she found out¡­ never mind, continue." Rachel interrupted before asking him to continue.

    "Uhh¡­ right." Leon awkwardly scratch his head. He was the son of the Divine Medicine King. He didn''t need to be mindful of talking about other people as they would still smile back and bootlick him . But it''s not the same anymore. He should be more careful with his choice of words. Wait¡­ wasn''t he saying so much nonsense to cheer her up to begin with? Leon shook his head.

    "There''s so many orphanages in the Lower District, it would be difficult to find the prince. For all we know, I could be the missing prince. I also came from an Lower District''s orphanage." Leon shrugged his shoulders.

    Rachel was astonished at the sudden possibility. Hope could be seen in her eyes.

    "Don''t ce too much hope on such a slim possibility. The higher the expectation, the harder the fall."

    "I think I wouldn''t mind at all if you were my missing prince." Rachel smiled happily as she hugged his arm and said coyly.

    Leon felt a shiver upon contact with her. He almost lost his self-control.

    "You shouldn''t act like that. I am after all, a man. What if I pushed you down and eat you?"

    "That doesn''t sound too bad. After all cooked rice can''t be uncooked, right? Would the arranged marriage still proceed afterwards?." Rachel seem to be seriously considering such a dangerous idea.

    "Hahaha¡­ Your father would skin me alive." Leon sweated. His smile seemed a little forced.

    He didn''t have enough strength to contend with a duke yet. He wasn''t stupid enough to pluck the dragon''s whisker and arouse its anger before he grew sufficiently powerful. Otherwise we would be very tempted to do so.

    "Hahaha! Look how scared you are. I''m just joking." Rachelughed.

    Leon smiled wryly as he wiped his sweat.

    ''You might be joking but I didn''t find it all that funny.''

    "Alright, settle down now. It seems your mood has improved. Let''s read our book now, shall we?" They wasted enough time. He still wanted to read his book. He didn''t wait for her answer as he began reading.

    "Che. What a killjoy." Rachel grumbled cutely as she also open one of her archaeology books and started reading.

    ¡­

    Ancient ruins. The continent they lived on contained many ancient ruins buried underground. Such was the spection of the famous archaeologist, whom wrote the book. Although, they only managed to discover one ancient ruin in the remaining part of the continent they possess, they were able toe up with many spections.

    They weren''t the first to live on the continent. There was a more technologically advanced civilization that had lived on continent before them. But for some reason, that advanced civilization had perished into the annals of history. From the relics they were able to uncover from the ruins, they estimated that the civilization had existed some many thousand years ago.

    Reading to this point, Leon closed the book. There was too many misceneous information that he did not need to know about. He already digested what he wanted to know from the book. He understood how the medical equipment of the Royal hospital came to be. Mist hovering over his doubts were cleared.

    Leon shook his head.

    That technologically advanced civilization should no doubt be more powerful than the current one they live in. Yet, it still perished and became history.

    It was probably the demon''s work¡­ Leon couldn''t think of a better opponent, who could''ve destroyed such a powerful civilization.

 Chapter 25 - Ah! Its You Again!

    <h4>Chapter 25 - Ah! It''s You Again!</h4>

    Two hours have passed since Leon and Rachel had been reading. When Rachel heard Leon closing his book, she also stopped reading.

    "Don''t mind me. You can keep reading if you want." Leon suggested.

    "I think I read enough. It''s time for a break." Rachel''s stomach started rumbling as soon as she finished saying that.

    "Indeed, it''s time for a break." Leon stare seriously are her stomach and said.

    Rachel blushed.

    Rumble*** An even louder rumbling sound was heard from Leon''s stomach.

    "Pft* Hahaha." Rachel cracked up inughter.

    Leon looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes.

    ''Ah¡­ so embarrassing. Karma strikes pretty fast.''

    Ever since he had awakened his memory, he felt alienated with eating. He had been trying to fix his eating habits to before his memory awakened, but he still ended up skipping breakfast this morning.

    ''What should I eat?''

    Leon thought back to the juicy and tenderizing beast meat coated in the steakhouse''s special mushroom sauce as he licked his lips.

    "What are you thinking of eating?" Rachel tilted her head to the side and poked her cheeks with her index finger in a cute manner, "maybe me?"

    Cough* Leon''s thought bubble popped.

    "I was thinking of the steakhouse near the campus." Leon smiled wryly. To think everyone''s perfect and pure goddess also know how to crack dirty jokes.

    Only¡­ her jokes put him betweenughter and tears.

    "Hahaha."

    Rachel seems to find great amusement in poking fun at him and enjoying his reaction. It was like when a kid suddenly finds an interesting toy to y with.

    "Anyway, that''s where I''m going to eat."

    "Aren''t you going to ask what I want to eat? You are quite the gentleman." Rachel joked sarcastically.

    "Well¡­ I never considered myself one." Leon shrugged his shoulders, "Are youing?"

    "I¡­ probably can''t." Her shoulders drooped down.

    She already acted willful once. Her servants wouldn''t allow her to leave the campus with Leon during school hours. There would beplications if they report to her father about how close she was to another male that isn''t the missing prince. She knew about Leon''s humble background. She was responsible enough to not cause him trouble.

    "Hmm that''s fine. There would surely be plenty of opportunities in the future."

    Leon went to return his book before heading off. One of the servants guarding the door narrowed her eyes at his back as he left.

    The other one pat the female servant''s and shook her own head.

    "The young miss is actually quite pitiful."

    "Should we report this to the lord?"

    "Let''s not. We should be more flexible with our work. As long nothing serious is happening, we can just turn a blind eye."

    "It''s rare to see the young miss being willful but it should be fine as long as she doesn''t forget her own responsibility." The servant nodded to each other.

    They were very fond of Rachel as they had watched Rachel grow up since she was a child. They had spent a lot more time with the young miss than the young miss did with her actual parents.

    Her parents were always busy with work. Being a duke household with maniption over fire, they were people who focused on the art of cksmithing. They oversee management of a big business, responsible for the production quality equipment and weapons for the military.

    Rachel took some time before she left the private room.

    "Young miss." The servants greeted.

    "Sorry for being unreasonable before." Rachel apologized, feeling guilty for how she treated them.

    "It''s fine. We understand." There was no need for the young miss to apologize to them. They understood her feelings very well.

    -

    -

    -

    Leon browsed the menu at the steakhouse. Although what he atest time was great, he wanted to try something different this time. If possible, he would order multiple dishes to bnce the elements he can absorb.

    The menu was incredibly detailed. Each dish was exined what type of meat used, its elemental attribute and benefits provide, in addition to the simple information.

    "Hello esteemed customer, what would you like to¡­Ah! It''s you again!" The young waiter eximed, losing herposure.

    Leon jumped at the sudden exmation. He looked up and noticed it was the same waiter that served him yesterday.

    "Ah yes, hello. We meet again but there''s no need such a strong reaction, no?" Leon greeted with gentle smile, followed by a question.

    "N-N-No need for such a strong reaction? Y-You groped me at t-that spotst time." Mary said while pointing at Leon with her shaking hand.

    "I groped youst time? I don''t think I did such a thing, no?" Leon was puzzled at the usation but still replied calmly. He felt a headacheing. They had raised amotion and some customers in the steakhouse also turned their attention towards his area.

    Seeing Leon not admitting what he did, she was disappointed and angry. She must be dealing with a rogue!

    ''Dare to do but not dare to admit.'' She pouted.

    "You fondled my¡­ my¡­ that, when you paid the bill and left in a hurry." She exined, while trying not to explode.

    Leon tried to remember if such a thing did happen. He was in a rush and didn''t pay too much attention to the details. But now that he thought about it, it seemed such a thing did happen.

    He was wondering what that pleasant sensation his hand felt in that moment was. After looking at the young waiter''s chest, he realized what that pleasant sensation came from.

    ''Suchrge rabbits would indeed be difficult to avoid contact with.'' He thought.

    "What do you want?" Mary covered with her arms and retreated when she noticed where Leon''s lewd gaze was directed.

    "Ah¡­ my apologies. It was an ident. I''m sorry if I had caused you distress." Leon apologized for his conduct. Since he really was the one in wrong, it was only right for him to apologize. He was man and would own up to his mistakes.

    ''Was it really an ident?'' She doubted. Leon''s expression was genuine, she was easily convinced that it really did seem to be the case.

    But she can''t just let him go scot-free right?

    "ident or not, you have to take responsibility!" She tried to put up a brave front.

    "Yeah, young man, you should take responsibility for what you did!" The crowd hollered.

    "Don''t worryss, we''ll make sure he does whatever you want." They assured her.

    The crowd who joined in were a bunch of old people, who were regr customers.

    Leon rubbed his temples at the unwanted attention and smiled wryly.

    "How do you want me to take responsibility?"

    Mary froze at the question. She had demanded in the spur of the moment but what did she want from him exactly? She wasn''t sure why she was making a big deal out of it. She was confused with what she was feeling.

    Being a waiter at the steakhouse, it wasn''t umon for her to be harassed by some of the unruly young nobles that choose to dine in. They were all taught a lesson by the owner of the steakhouse in the end though. She held a special status in the steakhouse. The owner was fond of her, when she was young and adopted her as her granddaughter.

    Why did she need to waste so much time talking to Leon?

    "T-This¡­ I haven''t decided yet. How about¡­ I get back to you after I decided¡­?"

    "That''s fine. I''ll be dining here for a while."

    "A-Alright then. What would you like to order?" She asked.

    "Hmm¡­ I''ll have this, this and this." Leon pointed to a total of 5 different dishes.

    Leon wasn''t joking when he said he would be there for a while. He was nning to eat and cultivate at the same time.

    "Alright¡­thank you¡­" Mary didn''t think he would be able to finish all of it. She thought he was feeling sorry and wanted to help her earn a little more from themission even though she didn''t need it.

    ''I guess you still have some good points.'' She went off with the order while smiling. She didn''t really care about her wage. She didn''t really have to work there but she wanted to help her foster grandmother take care of the restaurant.

    "Hey Mary, what''s with that love-struck expression of yours? Who could the lucky guy be?¡­ Eh? Isn''t that the guy from yesterday?" Her co-worker said.

    "Shh. What nonsense are you saying?" Mary panicked.

    ''How was that even possible?'' She thought. She should be feeling the opposite, but Leon had indeed left an impression on her in that one contact. She wasn''t sure how she was supposed to feel.

    "Che. Fine! Don''t admit it then." They continued with their work.

    ¡­

    Leon was a doctor and he was adept at acupuncture and massages. The years of practice had allowed him to perform the medical skills without conscious thought. Although, his hands haven''t fully regain his previous level of dexterity, it was still dexterous¡­ Leon was unaware that he had used some of his massaging skills and gave Mary a brief but pleasurable experience in that one moment.

 Chapter 26 - Why Is He Still Here?

    <h4>Chapter 26 - Why Is He Still Here?</h4>

    Leon''s meal was brought out one by one until all 5 dishes was ced in front of him. The lovely aroma easily whets his appetite as he couldn''t wait to dig in and demolish it all. However, he refrained from doing so.

    He''s living in a world full of danger, where he doesn''t know when the Great Wall would be breached, and the safety of mankind jeopardized once more.

    He had to focus on his cultivation. Sating his hunger and pleasure was secondary.

    "Are you sure you can finish it all?" Mary asked with curiosity.

    "I will try." He didn''t give a definite answer.

    "Mm, good luck. Don''t force yourself, if you can''t though." She said with some concern.

    Leon nodded, not sure why she cares whether he can finish it or not.

    This woman was a strange creature. Making trouble for him one moment then showing concern the next. Maybe she just wanted his attention? Leon wasn''t sure but it didn''t matter.

    Leon tested the tenderness of each dish with a fork. Each dish felt more tender and juicier than the next. When Leon rest his eyes on the beast meat with the metal attribute, he was at a bit of a loss.

    Ting* ting*

    ''Is this even edible?''

    The metallic texture made it seem terribly tough. He would probably break his teeth trying to bite into such a thing.

    "Hmm¡­ How is this meant to be eaten?"

    "Hehehe, if you pour the special sauce on it, the meat will be soft and tenderized." Mary exined to him after giggling.

    Leon did as instructed, and the result was as she said. The meat really did go soft! Such an interesting discovery.

    "This is really fascinating. I wonder who came up with such a novelty." Leon praised.

    "It was my grandma. She is a master chef. She likes to research different ways of preparing beast meat." Mary could not help feeling a bit proud as shemented.

    "Her title as master chef is well deserved. Are you going to watch me eat?"

    "Eh? No¡­ P-Please enjoy your meal." She blushed and left.

    ¡­

    Leon focused on his meal, taking a few bites from each dish equally.

    The taste was heavenly and filled him with extreme bliss. He had strong urges to keep eating but he forcefully restrained himself from doing so and focus on refining the energy that entered his body.

    He continues repeating the same step of taking a bite then cultivate.

    "What is that guy doing?"

    "I''m not sure. He seems to be trying to meditate, while eating."

    "Why would you choose meditate when you are eating? That doesn''t make sense."

    "Then why is he doing it?"

    "How would I know? Why don''t you go over and ask him?"

    "This¡­ I rather not. He might be a bit special in this department." The person said while tapping his own head with his index finger.

    The crowd continue discussing Leon''s weird action. Leon didn''t care what they said as he filtered out their voices and focused solely on his Divine practice.

    There were 9yers to the tempered body state. After every 3yers was a small bottleneck, one would need to ovee.

    This is due to the limited space within the be.

    One would need arge amount of energy to expand the space and ovee the bottleneck. Unless special methods were used, one would reach the maximum naturally expandable size after achieving the peak 9thyer.

    To promote their strength further, they would have topress their energy to create more space.

    When they sessfullypress all their energy strands into liquid form, they would have broken through the tempered body and entered the energy condensation state.

    Leon was still far from the peak tempered bodyyer. He was concentrating on breaking through to the 4thyer.

    ¡­

    4 hours quietly passed by before Leon finally managed to gather up enough energy to storm into the 4thyer. The process was like flooding a water balloon with extra water causing it to stretch and strain. Leon gritted his teeth and perspire from the pain due to the expansion of his be space.

    Perhaps back in the Divine Realm, the reason Body Cultivation System weren''t as popr as the Energy Cultivation System is due to its self-torturous nature. No one wanted to struggle painfully to be more powerful and so they favored the Energy Cultivation System more, which didn''t possess such nature. But how could Divine practice be that simple?

    Divine practice was the act of stealing life from the world itself to prolong your own, in your continuous efforts to attain evesting life. Its very nature is to struggle against the heaven''s will. How can it be without risk?

    There was a delicate bnce to the amount of force one should use to expand their space. Too little causes one to fail breaking through, while too much would overstrain his be and inflict damage upon himself. While he would still seed in breaking through and the injury could be healed, his foundation would be unstable and a hidden trauma would be left behind that could potentially affect his future breakthroughs.

    Thanks to his previous life experience of breaking through the stage, he was able to find the delicate bnce and able to make a breakthrough on his first attempt.

    He remembered how he had spent many days to break through each bottleneck because of his poor talent in his previous life. This was also under the condition that he had many Spirit Gathering Pills to squander, in addition to the spirit energy-rich environment of the Divine Realm. Otherwise, it would have taken him even longer.

    He was lucky to have the experience and able to save himself a lot of time in promoting his strength. He did not have a lot of resource to squander like he did in the past.

    Leon stabilized his tempered body 4thyer as his body experience the strengthening effects brought by the breakthrough.

    At this point, there was only about a quarter of the food left in each dish. He calcted that he would be able to push for another breakthrough in his Divine practice with the remaining food.

    Leon spent another 2 hours to finish the food, refining the energy and breakthrough to the 5thyer tempered body. There were no surprises during this time as there were no further bottlenecks until his breakthrough to 7thyer.

    "Phew¡­" Leon exhaled a wisp of foul air.

    Leon''s eyes shined with new light as he finished his Divine practice session.

    He had received an epiphany during his practice.

    A famous saying went; ''All roads lead to the Great way.''

    He had always taken it as the truth but now he realized it wasn''t entirely correct.

    He believes that it should be ''All road eventually converges onto the Great Way.''

    What is the Great Way? The Great Way can be many things, but it can also mean only one thing. It was a belief, a truth. People believe that when one attains the Great Way, they would have already attained evesting life.

    It was a profound topic that Leon unfamiliar with. His father had described the Great Way to him that way, but he is still unclear as to what it truly means to him.

    He believes the roads refer to the cultivation systems and that he would find his answer when he cultivate all body, energy and soul to the peak.

    This was an arduous path to take but he was willing to see it through to the end.

    Many teachers and master had advised their students and disciples against such ambitious decisions in the past. After all it was better to be a master of one than to be a jack of all trades, master of none.

    What Leon was aiming for was to be a master of all. But whether he would be a master of all or a master of none, only time will tell.

    ¡­

    The steakhouse was a popr choice for its quality meals and was usually busy all day long. It was about to enter its peak period as most people usually choose around this time to have dinner.

    A line of people had started queuing up from outside as the tables inside were all upied. Some people were dissatisfied that Leon had been hogging a table for four, all to himself.

    ''Eh? why is he still here?''

    Some waitress had was made aware after theint. They knew he had been there since noon.

    "Aye Mary, can''t you do something about your lover? He''s been sitting there all day. Is he nning to live here or something? There''s people waiting to be served."

    "What lover? Don''t talk nonsense. He had ordered 5 dishes to himself. The dishes aren''t cheap either. How can we shoo away such a good patron?" Mary blushed and tried to defend Leon.

    The dissatisfaction was understandable. Leon had spent a total of 6 hours sitting at the same table without leaving. Most people only dine for an average of an hour usually.

    "I don''t care, he has already finished his meal. There''s still a lot of people waiting in line."

    "Fine¡­ I''ll do something about it¡­" Mary said helplessly. If possible, she wouldn''t mind Leon sticking around. He had this mysterious aura around him that seems to draw her in. He was also not bad looking to boot. Who said that only boys check girls out and not the other way around?

    However, she can''t be selfish since she had chosen to help her grandma take care of the restaurant. She can''t do something selfish like that and affect their business.

    Hardening her heart, she decided to head over to ask him to leave.

    But just as she had decided to, she saw Leon getting up and waving for her toe over to settle the bill with a smile.

    ''What was all that determination for¡­?'' She nearly staggered.

    ¡­¡­

 Chapter 27 - Let Me Use Your Toilet!

    <h4>Chapter 27 - Let Me Use Your Toilet!</h4>

    Looking at the empty tes on the table, Mary was amazed and concerned. Although it took 6 hours, he did finish 5 meals worth. How fast could a person digest their food?

    "Are you going to be okay after eating so much?"

    Although such questions hardly seem to be part of their customer service, Leon didn''t mind too much since she was concerned for him after all.

    "Mm, the food was great. I''ll being back often." Leon paid bill, which amounted to 25000 craws.

    "That''s great! Thank you for your patronage." Mary epted the bill and thanked with a bow.

    ''She actually seems like a nice girl.'' He thought before leaving.

    "Ahh¡­" She still didn''t know what she wanted from him, but it was just a small problem. She''ll just let the matter rest.

    ¡­

    Leon had made 2 consecutive breakthroughs today and was feeling full of power. He ns to drop by the Cromwell''s vi and check if they have procured the herbs he was looking for, while concocting some pills in passing. It was a give and take rtionship.

    He powered himself up as he tests his newfound speed. His image blurred as he disappeared from his spot.

    Bang* He didn''t make it very far before he identally tripped over nothing and smashed into the pavement.

    The sound of the impact was quite discerning, alerting the nearby people.

    "This little brother, are you alright?" A passing businessman in his 40s asked with concern.

    "I''m okay. The ground is quite slippery." Leon picked himself up off the ground and said awkwardly.

    The man looked down at the rough and rigid pavement speechlessly.

    ''This is considered slippery?''

    He was nning to warn him to be more careful next time but by the time he looked back up, Leon had already disappeared. Leon was too embarrassed to stick around any longer.

    The consecutive breakthroughs had loosen his control over his strength and required time and practice to adapt. But Leon had forgotten about it and made a rookie mistake.

    Swoosh* Leon darted over the wall to the Cromwell''s vi.

    "Did you hear that?"

    "Hear what?"

    "Thought I heard something flew past."

    "Might be your imagination." The guards conversed among themselves.

    Leon opened the door and entered the vi. The front doors and gates are usually left unlocked and are only locked when the guards retire from guard duty for the day.

    "Old man, are you home?" Leon called out.

    "I''m over here. What happen to your forehead?" Dwight asked from the couch.

    "¡­ I rather not talk about it."

    "That''s fine. Did youe over to refine another batch of pills?"

    "Yeah, has the herbs I mention been found yet?"

    "The moremon ones have arrived and stored in the vault. But the other ones you wanted are quite rare and only found in the neighboring kingdoms. It will take more time to collect them."

    "That''s fine. There''s no rush." Leon was disappointed but he didn''t show it. There herbs he requested had a whole range of purposes towards cultivation and healing. Considering it could be highly dangerous at the frontlines, it would be safe to prepare a few life saving measures.

    While the All-Purpose Healing Pill was good, it didn''t heal fast enough and not suitable for situations, where life and death could be decided in one moment.

    It would be a tragedy if he bled to death before the pill took effect. His body was different to his foster father after all. A tier 1 pill wouldn''t be as effective on him as it was on a normal person. It would take more time for the effects to show.

    He ns to refine the Golden Ointment when the herbs reach spirit tier in his world space. It was effective for external wounds and stopping bleeding.

    "I''ll just go refi-" Leon stopped midway as his face went pale.

    Grrrr** His stomach started growling.

    "Old man, let me use your toilet!"

    "Yeah go ahead, it''s just around that corner." Startled, Dwight pointed him in the direction of the toilet.

    After given the confirmation, Leon bolted as fast as possible, like as if his rear ends were on fire.

    Dwight was dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events.

    "Argh! Begone, you demon!!"

    He widened his eyes, hearing the yellsing from the direction of the toilet.

    ''What is going on?''

    ¡­

    Leon was regretful of his decision to run after eating. He thought that with his present cultivation, he would be immune to digestive problems, but he thought wrong.

    He didn''t consider the amount he had eaten, which lead to the current situation where it wants toe out, but it''spacted and difficult toe out.

    ¡­

    Half an hour quickly passed before Leon exited the toilet with exhaustion written all over his face like as if he had just survived a hard-won battle.

    Leon felt depressed. Nothing seemed to be going well for him. Mortal bodies were too troublesome. His medical skills could not help him there. When nature calls, he had to answer it, whether he like it or not.

    "Sigh¡­"

    Leon went to refine a batch of True Awakening Pills then left the vi. Dwight thought his mood was poor and want to stay for a chat.

    It didn''t take long after Leon left that Dwight exploded with outrage. Leon had clogged his toilet and the lingering smell covered his entire vi. Leon had washed his hands of the matter and didn''t want to deal with the aftermath.

    "Dammit, what kind of dump did you take!?"

    What happened after he left the vi; Leon did not want to know.

    "Sigh¡­ I should eat with moderation in the future." Leon shook his head as he headed for the Lower District.

    -

    -

    -

    Thorpe had been roaming the Western Lower District aimlessly these few days without a single lead on Leon. It was too hard to find a single person with just him and his two brothers. The three of them were the only ones, who had seen what Leon look like at that time.

    Unfortunately, none of them were talented enough to sketch his appearance, otherwise they could mobilize all the brothers in their gang to track him down.

    Thorpe was frustrated but there was nothing he could do except leave it to chance. He decided to take a break by the Mirror Lake Park since he was close. The Mirror Lake Park was a popr spot for people to visit during the day to enjoy the scenery, but it bes empty and silent at night. There was ack of light sources to brighten the area and everyone had a natural fear of the darkness.

    He thought the park would be quiet, but he didn''t expect to hear soundsing from the park. Being in his line of business and a capable fighter, he would be fearless to investigate the source. The park was a part of the Western Lower District and the Western Lower District was entirely ruled by their ck Snake Gang.

    ''Is there a fight going on in the park?'' He thought as he draws closer to the source. The sound of the impact grew louder the closer he got and the more fearful he became. It reached a point, where his face became very ugly but since he was already close, he would just hide nearby and peek. The impact noises were caused by powerful blows and the powerful blows didn''t seem like something ordinary awakeners could produce. Thorpe widened his eyes in disbelief when his eyes adjusted to the darkness and able to determine who and what was happening.

    Leon was practicing some movement and martial skills in the park to help him adapt to his newfound strength faster. He was currently practicing the [9 Echo Osciting Fist] on an ironwood tree. It was a skill that allow the user to punch with 9-fold their normal strength when mastered. The skill requires throwing 9 punches at a single point so fast that the power ovep, creating one extremely powerful impact with nine echoes. It wasn''t as simple as one plus one equals two. There was world of difference. For example, 9 strikes with 100 jin force is not the same as 1 strike with 900 jin force.

    Leon had not mastered the [9 Echo Osciting Fist] and was only able to produce 2 echoes. But even with just 2 echoes at the 5thyer tempered body, he was able to produce a force of 1000 jin. His punches were able to crack and shatter parts of the ironwood trees and had to change trees every few punches. He did not want to copse the trees as it would inevitably create arge enoughmotion to attract people to investigate the source.

    Thorpe was scared silly. 1000 jin force wasn''t something their gang could go up against. He had to back and report the matter to his gang leader. It was best not to provoke this monster and make an enemy out of it. He had given up all thoughts of revenge. Leon would be able to p him to death as easy as swatting a fly.

    Thorpe subconsciously took a step back, but he identally stepped on a fallen tree branch.

    Crack* The noise was small, but it was enough to alert Leon in the quiet park.

    "Who!?"

 Chapter 28 - Entering The Snakes Den

    <h4>Chapter 28 - Entering The Snake''s Den</h4>

    Leon''s eyes easily traveled through the darkness and locked onto the culprit who identally exposed himself.

    "T-This¡­ great lord, I was just passing by¡­ didn''t see anything¡­" Thorpe tried to exin himself with cold sweat.

    Leon''s re was very chilling and piercing, making his heart go cold. When Leon realized who it was, he smiled.

    ''I nned to look for your gang and yet you came to me.'' He thought.

    "You came at the right time. How about a little spar?" Leon said with a smile.

    Although the other party was smiling, Thorpe felt colder.

    "Great lord, please spare me. Your power is too mighty. I fear my frail body would just snap at the slightest pressure exerted by you." Thorpe didn''t dare to spar with Leon. Looking at the web-like cracks in the trees, it would be like asking for death.

    "You have no right to refuse." Leon did not take no for an answer. Lina was now considered his friend, so he didn''t like Thorpe after what he tried to do. He felt he had let him off too easyst time.

    But he would not kill him yet. Thorpe still had some uses and Leon wasn''t a cold-blooded killer yet. He had only ever killed spirit beasts in his past life. No human lives had been taken, only saved. His father and him have saved many with their medical skill, including other Divine Kings. Yet they plotted against them, father and son. Hmph! To bite the hand that fed them. Leon would rest until they meet their just ends.

    "Is there no other way?"

    "None."

    Having said that, Leon dashed forward and rain down a volley of blows on Thorpe. Although, Leon had suppressed most of his strength, Thorpe was still unable to fight back and ended up suffering a beating.

    "Ahh¡­ mercy¡­"

    Leon didn''t have much experience in fighting humans and wanted to gain some experience by fighting Thorpe, but the thug was too weak and had no will to fight.

    Why would he bother fighting when the result would be the same? It was better to surrender early to minimize his suffering.

    He couldn''t get what he wanted but he still felt pretty good beating someone up. It was like the anger suppressed deep within himself finally had an outlet. It wasn''t good to keep his feelings bottled up inside forever. His resolve to avenge his father would not be affected either so it was good to beat up some thugs.

    It also aligns with his objective of taking over the underworld. They would not submit easily. It was best to beat them into submission first.

    "If you take me to your gang''s headquarters, I can find someone else to spar with and you would not need to suffer further." Leon suggested. He thought the thug would give in easily, but he had more backbone than he thought.

    "No way." Thorpe refused without hesitation.

    ''You must be joking.'' There was no way he would do that. Thorpe was already beaten ck and blue, but it was just fleshly wounds. He could endure physical pain, but it would be a different if he sell out their hideout. His boss would kill him. Loyalty is absolute. No room for betrayals. Death to all traitors.

    "Are you not afraid I will kill you refuse?"

    "You can kill me if you want. If I expose our secret headquarters, then brother Snake will definitely kill me anyway. If I must die either way, why would I help outsiders and sell out my own brothers?" Thorpe was resolute.

    Being part of the underworld and doing shady crimes, they were prepared to be killed in their line of business at any given moment.

    "Death is easy but living is hard. I can make you wish for death but not have it. Do you believe me?" Leon was prepared to torture Thorpe into submission.

    He did not trust people like Thorpe who likes to indulge in benefits at the expense of others. iming protection money, free dining, violence and attempted ****. He had already seen quite a few actions that would earn his displeasure from the ck Snake Gang. Who knew what else they do behind the scenes?

    Thorpe had already seen his power. If Leon cannot control them then he would destroy them.

    "I don''t believe."

    "Great. You can have a taste of it." Leon lifted him up and hit a few acupoints that immobilized him.

    "That''s it? Doesn''t seem like much." Thorpe mocked, seeing he could only not move and nothing else. But before long he was struck by an endless wave of immense pain.

    "Aarrghhhhh!!!"

    He could not endure the pain for even a second before screaming in pain. He wasn''t even allowed to squirm as he was immobilized, making it unbelievably more torturous.

    "What did you do to me!!?!"

    "Nothing much. Just stimted the nerve and made the blood flow in reverse. Your meridians will start rupturing after 2 minutes and you will bleed from your 7 orifices until you die, but don''t worry. I am a doctor and will be able to heal you, allowing you to continue the experience." Leon exined nonchntly. There were no mental burdens in what he was doing. There were other methods with greater intensity of pain, but he chose not to use it. If he broke the thug''s mind, then who would lead him?

    "Arghhh!!! Just kill me!!!"

    "No way, I still need you alive to lead me the way."

    "Fine, fine, fine! I give up!! I will lead you." Thorpe quickly gave in, seeing there was no other way.

    "Great." Leon hit a few acupoints and ended his suffering and immobility.

    "Why choose the hard way when there''s an easy way out? When I take over your ck Snake Gang, you would have earned a merit instead. Who would dare to kill you then?" Leon shook his head.

    "¡­You want to take over our ck Snake Gang¡­?" Thorpe wanted to roll his eyes and ck out.

    ''Mother fucker, why didn''t you say that in the first ce? Who would want to refuse such a powerful leader?''

    Thorpe thought Leon wanted to wipe them all out. He gotten news that two of their brothers had been killed a few days ago and thought it was Leon''s doing. He nned to die alone instead of dragging his brothers with him.

    In fact, his assumption was correct. It was Leon''s doing, but the two thugs deserved death for touching his parents.

    "Lead the way." Leon nodded

    Thorpe got up weakly and lead the way. He was lucky to give in early before his meridians started rupturing. Their gang was willing to submit to a more powerful leader, but their leader had to have their interest in mind. If they couldn''t indulge in their vices, then what was the point of joining the underworld? Thorpe felt deep hatred for Leon, but he did not dare to show it. He would just submit on the surface, but he swears he would kill him if the opportunity arises.

    ''I''ll let you y leader for now, kid. A man knows when to retreat, when the odds are against him.'' Thorpe thought, unaware of his inevitable demise.

    While it was true that Leon wanted to take over the ck Snake Gang, a little house cleaning was needed. He didn''t want to keep the bad eggs around, whomitted evil. When he takes over, he wouldy down new rules and regtions. He decided to only keep those with better characters. He was just using Thorpe for now.

    Not everyone who join the underworld was evil. Some were just too poor to survive on their own and was forced to join, while some younger ones thought it was cool. There could be various of reasons but regardless of the reasons, if they were moldable and not inherently evil, he would correct and guide these people onto the correct path.

    ¡­ They arrived at a night club. Leon blinked his eyes as if he was seeing wrongly. He thought the headquarters of the ck Snake Gang would be more secretive and difficult to find, but who knew that they would pick such an obvious spot for their headquarters?

    Was this pure stupidity or confidence? Did they think that the most obvious spot was also the most unobvious spot? What logic was that? Leon didn''t want to think too deeply into the matter. He feels like it''ll affect his own intelligence.

    They entered the night club and headed straight to the back. There was a door guarded by two men. The men recognized Thorpe and open the door for him. They cast a nce at Leon''s unfamiliar face but didn''t think too much. They thought he was a neer with big connection to be brought personally by Thorpe, who held a high status in the gang.

    Behind the door was a set of stairs that led underground. The undergrounds had three levels and the first level was where most gang members gather. Brother Snake, Arlo, Gower and 20 other men were present. Including Thorpe, all these peopleprised the core of the ck Snake Gang strength. They were the strongest and held the greatest statuses in the gang. Ordinary members weren''t allowed on this floor as it involved their important decision-making and confidentiality¡­ They were in the middle of a serious talk, when Thorpe and Leon intruded.

 Chapter 29 - You Have A Gun?

    <h4>Chapter 29 - You Have A Gun?</h4>

    "How is the pill business going the past week?" Snake asked. The ck Snake Gang conducts a weekly meeting to report their earnings and discuss ns and problems.

    "Compared to the previous weeks, our earnings have dropped by a fair bit."

    The pill business they mention was referring to the sales of their Fantasy Pill, which had the effect of causing hallucinations and was very addictive. It uses cheap herbs and easy to produce.

    "Dropped? Why?" Snake asked with a frown.

    "We have discovered that members of the other gangs having been entering our territory and stealing our customers."

    "Do they think we are easy to bully because we are weaker?" Dark expressions hung on everyone''s faces. No one would be happy with others intruding in their homes and taking what was theirs.

    But it was true that they were weaker than the other gangs. Snake was still a 2nd step awakener, while the other gang leaders had recently taken the next step and became 3rd step awakeners.

    "Have we not given any new jobs from the Grey family?"

    "None."

    The Grey family was their backer. They could earn a lot of money bypleting tasks given by the Greys and used that money to trade for Awakening pills.

    Although they knew they were being ripped off, buying at a greater price than what the nobles pay for, they had no other choice. There was no supply outside of the noble circle and the army.

    Snake was about to ask for the rest of the reports when he saw Thorpe entering with an unfamiliar face.

    "Thorpe, what the hell are you doing? New recruits don''t have permission to be on this floor." Snake said with an annoyed expression.

    Thorpe didn''t want to exin himself since we would draw more attention to himself. He just retreated behind Leon and let him do the talking.

    "I''m here to take over the gang," Leon said bluntly.

    "Nonsense! Who did you think you are!? Do you think you can bepared to brother Snake!?" A member jumped andsh out at him while trying to bootlick Snake at the same time.

    It wasn''t a rare urrence for the high-ranking members to try bootlicking Snake to increase their favoritism and position in Snake''s heart. They do what they do to earn higher chances of receiving the next Awakening pill their gang gets their hands on.

    Snake was the sole decision-maker for the distribution of Awakening pills as he was the strongest and the leader.

    The other members secretly cursed the one thatshed out first and regretted not being fast enough.

    "You are right. We shouldn''t bepared. We are not on the same level at all." Leon said with a mocking smile.

    "Arrogant!" Snake snapped. Since when was his prestige was socking that he would be looked down upon by some random kid?

    "Let me teach this kid a lesson for you, Brother Snake!" Another member took the opportunity to show off. How strong could a 17-year old looking kid be?

    He closed the gap from behind and swung his hand down, intending to grab Leon''s head and press it into the ground, forcing him into a kowtowing position.

    How could things go the way he intended? His actions were too slow and predictable in Leon''s eyes, who even had his back towards him.

    ''Wanting to humiliate me? You''re not worthy! A man should only beed to kowtow to his parents!''

    Leon gave him a powerful back kick, sending him flying into the walls with a bang. His fate was undetermined.

    Everyone''s expression quickly changed at Leon''s disy of strength. The force of his kick wasn''t something a normal person could produce.

    The unawakened members took in a gasp of air. They were thankful they weren''t the first to attack Leon.

    "So, you are already an awakener. But that still doesn''t give you the right to be cocky here, brat." Snake was surprised but recovered quickly and gestured for Arlo and Gower to attack together.

    Arlo and Gower and nodded, acknowledging that they understood his intentions and dashed over, nking Leon from two sides.

    Their fists aimed at his left rib and right cheek. He dodged in a spinning motion while grabbing their wrists with an unbreakable grip.

    Their expression changed at his vice-like grip. They''ve underestimated this kid far too much. Clearly his strength is a lot greater than theirs.

    With their wrists mped, Leon spun them in a circle with himself at the center like he was drawing the yin yang before he tosses them flying into the walls in the distance like tossing away garbage.

    Bang* Bang* Leon tossed them with great force due to them having stronger bodies than the previous member.

    "Arrogance? Cocky? No, this is confidence." Leon''s expression was calm and steady.

    "Which noble house''s young master are you?" Snake finally started taking him seriously.

    It wasn''t strange for Snake to think this way. Leon was still very young, yet his strength wasparable to the 2nd step or higher. Only a noble house would be able to nurture such a young talent.

    "Noble house''s young master? Hahaha, I''m not from a noble house. I''m a genuinemoner."

    "How is that possible¡­? Never mind, that doesn''t matter." Snake shook his head. He was relieved as long as Leon wasn''t from a noble house. He thought Leon was some young noble who was bored and ran over to his territory to y.

    If Leon was from a noble family, then he would have to treat him respectfully. He didn''t want to have the olde knocking on his door after he bullies the young.

    But since Leon wasn''t from a noble family then it simplified the matter. He could kill him without fearing repercussions.

    Snake pulled out a revolver from inside his coat and pointed at Leon''s head. He wasn''t confident in fighting closebat with Leon, who could be stronger than him.

    He had no intention of allowing Leon to join their gang. He didn''t want to hand over his position.

    "Since you aren''t from a noble family, then die."

    Bang!

    Leon widened his eyes as he quickly dodged the shot.

    "You have a gun? How the hell do you have a gun?" Leon hid behind a stone pir.

    "Anything can be bought with money, boy. You are still too green to challenge me."

    Leon really wasn''t expecting the underworld connections to run so deep for them to be able to get their hand on guns.

    He might have been a bit reckless, but the n has not changed. His body wasn''t strong enough to repel bullets, but he was sure he could dodge them. He wasn''t faster than a bullet, but he was fast enough to dodge them from a certain distance.

    He made a dash for another stone pir.

    Bang* bang* another two shots were fired but they both missed.

    "You might have a gun but it''s useless if you can''tnd a shot." Leon provoked him.

    "What are you guys doing? Go force him out of his hiding." Angry, Snake barked at his men who were standing there like useless bums.

    The gang members secretly cursed him.

    ''Didn''t you see how easily he sent Arlo and Gower flying? What can we doing?''

    Snake didn''t think they would be able to do anything. He just said it in a fit of anger, trying to regain some face in front of his men.

    "Are you just going to hide behind there like a turtle? What a coward." Snake tried to provoke him.

    "Hmph! You have a gun. Even if I was a coward, what are you going to do about?"

    "Y-You¡­!"

    "Well, ytime is over," Leon said and dashed out from the pir.

    ''Seeking death.'' Snake was delighted.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Snake fired consecutively.

    Leon dodged the bullets one by one, beautifully as if his movements were a work of art. After the third shot was dodged, Leon used the [Extreme Vanishing Step] and blink over in an instance, pping the revolver out of Snake''s hand before trading blows with him.

    Leon hadn''t used the movement skill earlier because it was too direct and not versatile. He would really be seeking death if he dashed over in a straight line, only to have the gun pointed to his head and shoot him dead.

    [Extreme Vanishing Step] granted extreme burst of speed, but there is no room for maneuverability once in flight. He wasn''t going to take that chance.

    Not sure if by coincidence or not but the revolver flew in the distance and hit the ground before sliding to Thorpe''s feet. Various thoughts ran through his mind. Arlo and Gower were already out cold, pinned to the walls.

    If Leon and Snake were also taken out of the picture too then he would be the strongest person present. He already betrayed the gang once leading Leon here, so his situation wasn''t stable.

    Why not take them both out and be the leader instead? The other members wouldn''t be able to threaten him. The position of power was like a deadly temptation to his heart.

    Making up his mind he picked up the resolver and pointed it at Leon''s back, whose attention seems to still be focused on Snake. He was delusional of his future prospect that he didn''t gauge the situation properly.

    Click* he pressed the trigger, but nothing happened. His excited expression quickly turned horrible.

    At this moment, Leon turned around and shed him a devilish smile, while grabbing Snake by the hair.

    Snake was already unconscious. His limbs were all broken¡­ He couldn''t withstand Leon''s powerful blows are all and snapped under the force! Thorpe felt all his hair standing up as his heart go cold with fear.

 Chapter 30 - New Rules

    <h4>Chapter 30 - New Rules</h4>

    Leon release his grip on Snake''s hair, as the body dropped on the floor and he made his way over to Thorpe.

    He had already calcted that the resolver only had 6 rounds. All sorts of knowledge could be found on campus. Knowledge of guns weren''t an exception. It just surprised him that one of thetest models could be found in the gang''s hand.

    "T-This is¡­ Please give me another chance!" Thorpe pleaded. He was rooted into the ground and did not dare to run as he imagined the moment, he ran would also be the moment of his death. He stood in his spot as he clings to the slightest hope that Leon would still spare him. Unfortunately, Leon''s soft whisper to his ear extinguished thest of his hopes.

    "No more chances." Leon snapped Thorpe''s neck and ended his life.

    Leon had purposely sent the gun in Thorpe''s location as a test. He wasn''t used to killing without a proper reason and wanted some peace of heart. Fortunately, Thorpe didn''t fail his expectations and gave him a reason to kill him.

    Leon had been enlightened after Thorpe''s death. The purpose of a doctor was to save lives through medicine, but it was not the only way to save lives. He could save even more lives by killing all the evil and sinful people hee across. These types of people would have harmed a lot of lives. Killing them would save future people from being harmed by them. He did not picture himself a hero, but he did wish to create a cleaner and safer ce for those close to him.

    "Anyone else object to my leadership?"

    "None!" The 19 remaining members answered in unison, while shaking their head vehemently as if fearing that if their actions and words were not seen and heard, Leon would kill them next.

    "Alright, since you all acknowledge me as leader, I will now give you my first order. Go wake up those two idiots." Leon nodded and said. The two idiots he was referring to was naturally Arlo and Gower stuck in the walls. The unconscious Snake was also an idiot, but he is already dead in his eyes. It''s just that Snake still had some uses alive before he gets rid of him too. What kind of lousy awakeners not make full use of their greatest ability, their bloodline ability in a fight?

    Arlo and Gower were roused awake and dragged in front of Leon. Their minds were still hazy and couldn''t make sense of the immediate situation like they were still suffering from a concussion.

    "What is going on? What happened?"

    They rubbed the sore spots on their head. They weren''t knocked out for long and could still feel the pain.

    "Everyone here has acknowledged me as the gang leader except for you two. Will you submit to me or will you resist?"

    Their eyes roamed the surrounding freely, checking everyone''s expression to verify the matter before stopping on Snake''s mangled body on the floor and shuddered. His arms and legs were all bent in weird angles. They didn''t want to be like that.

    "We choose to submit." They said in unison.

    "Very good." Leon pped his hands. "Now that everyone has acknowledged me, there are some new rules I''ll be instating.

    You will no longer be involving yourselves in illegal and dirty businesses. Any businesses involved in harming or forcing the people are to be stopped.

    You are to conduct yourselves properly to be respected, not feared by the public. The weak and innocent in need are to be helped, not oppressed. Those who fail toply and continue to do evil will only have one result, death! My words are to be effective immediately. Are my words clear!?"

    Leon was basically telling then to stop doing bad and do good instead or he will kill them. But even if theyply, their profitable businesses will plummet drastically. Would they even earn enough money to cover the cost of living for all their people?

    The men discussed problems and concerns among themselves.

    "Are my words clear!?" Leon repeated.

    "Yes!!" The crowd was jolted.

    "I am aware of your concerns. I will invest money from my own pockets if the funds arecking until the establishment is in order. I''m also not afraid to inform you all that I am an alchemist. Those who do well might be rewarded with an Awakening Pill by me." Leon showed them the stick and the carrot.

    Leon had taken over as leader and it wasn''t appropriate to continue calling their gang the ck Snake gang.

    "From henceforth, the gang shall be called the Golden Lion gang instead. You may refer to me as boss, while I am here. However, outside you are to pretend you don''t know me. I do not wish to be publicly known. You know what will happen otherwise." Leon let a bit of murderous aura leaked out to scare the gang members.

    "We understand boss!"

    "Good. You can all go and inform the outer members under you. You know what to do if they don''tply with the new rules. Report back to me, if any problems you cannot solve crops up."

    "Yes!" They acknowledged and left one by one.

    "You two can stay back. I have something to talk to you two about." Leon stopped Arlo and Gower.

    "What do you need from us, boss?" The two was tensed, not sure what Leon wanted.

    "No need to be tensed. I just wanted to know why you two didn''t use your bloodline abilities in the fight."

    The two smiled awkwardly at such a simple question. They thought the answer was obvious but perhaps the boss weren''t aware of their element.

    "Including Snake, all of us are earth element users, boss. As much as we would like to use our abilities in the fight, we must think of the time and ce for such asion. We wouldn''t want to tear down our own headquarters. What if we also identally cause the whole building to copse and crush all of us underneath? We aren''t tired of living yet." The duo cleared his doubt.

    Leon broke out in sweat at the revtion. He had been too careless. He was lucky these people valued their lives very much and didn''t want to die. If they went crazy, they could drag him down to hell with them. The only earth element they could use in the underground floor was the building materials themselves. He would definitely die under the crushing weight if the building copse as a result of its structural integrity beingpromised.

    "Cough* Never mind. Tell me about the operating businesses of the night club." Leon felt a bit awkward for asking a stupid question, but he couldn''t be med.

    While he could roughly estimate a person''s strength through his acute observation skill as a doctor, he could not tell their elemental alignment until they use their ability.

    "Yes, the ground floor is divide two section. A bar section to provide liquor and beverages and an entertainment section to liven up the ce.

    The second floor has special rooms for rent, while the third floor is reserved for high ranking gang members."

    Arlo exined. There is a night club manager who was more familiar and could have exined the details better but since Leon ask them, they had to answer instead.

    "Special rooms for rent?" Leon frowned. He didn''t think it was that simple.

    "Uhh¡­ Well¡­ we provide special service to the guests by providing youngdies to apany them. Our regr guests are usually young nobles." Since Leon asked for the more specifics, Arlo didn''t dare hide the details.

    "Prostitution? Is this a brothel? Were thedies doing the job willingly?" Leon frowned. He didn''t look down on women who sell their bodies to survive but he was reminded of when his teacher was almost raped on the streets.

    "W-we capture thedies the young nobles caught an interest to and send them to their rooms to enjoy. The young nobles pay a lot of money." Arlo broke out into sweat as he exined. Gower simrly sweated as well.

    Leon''s expression darkened immediately.

    "Did any young nobles came with special requests tonight?"

    "I-I''m not sure. The night club manager should know."

    "Take me to him then."

    "Y-Yes."

    Leon nced at the unconscious Snake and went up to hit a few of his acupoints to immobilize him before they left. He didn''t want Snake to escape, while they''re gone. His limbs were disabled, but he doesn''t necessarily need working limbs to escape. Leon still needed Snake alive to be ab rat for him to do further research on awakeners.

    Lynne had already reacted strongly when he thoughtlessly inspected her be and gained a fianc¨¦e as a result.

    He could have asked Dwight instead, but he doesn''t dare to. The thought of the old man asking him to take responsibility makes him shudder violently. It seemed like something the shameless old fox would definitely do.

    ¡­

 Chapter 31 - Aria

    <h4>Chapter 31 - Aria</h4>

    "Manager Doug, this is the new boss of the gang. He has some questions for you."

    "H-hi boss, what questions do you have for me?" Manager Doug was startled. Why did they suddenly change boss? How can the new boss also be a kid? But he did not voice his doubts. Being in his line of business, it was best not to ask too many questions and just do what he''s told. Only then would he be more sessful and live longer. He was able to climb up to his current position because he stayed true to such belief. He understood the principle of knowing too much could get you killed.

    "I want to know if you''ve received any noble guests tonight." Leon''s expression was calm. Manager Doug couldn''t read anything from his expression.

    "We just received one not long ago."

    "Is he staying the night alone?"

    "No, surely he would''ve had better choices for amodation if that was the case." Manager Doug didn''t want to look down on their own establishment, but they don''t specialize in amodations. There are hotels for that.

    "Was the girl voluntary or unwilling?"

    "Unwilling of course." When were they ever willing when they receive these sorts of requests? By this point, Manager Doug would be an idiot if he couldn''t tell what was wrong. But he didn''t understand why that was the case. They were a gang and running dirty businesses was the norms.

    "I don''t mind if we have call girls working voluntarily but this business of forcefully capturing women to please men has to stop immediately. I do not want to hear another word of something like this happening again. Is that understood?"

    "Understood." Though Manager Doug wanted to say doing so would be cutting off a good source of money for them, but he ultimately decided to stay quiet.

    "You can fill him in on the new rules on the way. For now, take me to that young noble''s room." Leon told Gower before ordering manager Doug.

    "Yes, boss."

    -

    -

    -

    Aria was just amoner, but she wasn''t your average everyday girl. She was beautiful but had a very cold temperament that would make people keep their distances from her. Not many are aware of her beauty because she had learned to conceal herself since a young age due to her parent''s teachings. Her parents were experienced people and knew the ugliness of the human hearts.

    The Capital hadws and regtions in ce to protect the people and keep the order in ce, but the peaceful surface is just a facade that hides the darkness underneath. No matter the times and ce, the world had always been ruled by thews of the jungle and the strong would prey on the weak.

    No one would really care if a singlemoner was bullied. Unrted people would just ignore it and rejoice that they weren''t the one being bullied. Such situations weren''t rare but their considered one of the lighter cases happening in the Capital in recent years. There are people going missing every day without clue of whether they are dead or alive.

    With her face covered by her long ck hair, spectacles and dirty smudges, no one would be able to tell the beauty that lies beneath. She was taught that beauty without strength is not a blessing but a disaster.

    She would have never thought that she would have captivated the eyes of a young noble who chanced upon her beauty while she was wiping her sweat on the job at her family''s coffee shop. She didn''t think it would alsond her in her current predicament on the same day after she was just finishing up work and making her way home.

    Were nobles these days too proud and arrogant to pursue her normally in daylight and can only resort to despicable means to obtain her body at night? Were theirmoner lives only the ything of nobles? She had experienced firsthand the cruelty and unfairness of reality and wish she could just kill herself and put an end to everything. She didn''t want to live in such a world, but she didn''t have the courage tomit suicide either, not to mention she was currently bound. She wanted to struggle against fate but reality makes her falter.

    Face cleaned and body tied, she was ced on the bed in an unfamiliar room by a pair of men in ck at the special request of their client. Normally, they would drug the person, so she doesn''t remember what happen on the night. But whether the young noble was confident or stupid, it was not their business to worry about as long as they are paid.

    Generally, the noble houses care a lot about their face in public and would be furious if scandalous news of their sons ying around with women with lowly backgrounds reached their ears. No doubt the fathers would break their son''s legs and ce them under house arrest to reflect on their behaviors as punishment for embarrassing and humiliating their fathers in public.

    "As I thought, aren''t you the little beauty with all the blemishes removed?" The young noble said to hersciviously, while admiring her beauty from the side.

    Aria didn''t say anything and just looked at him coldly. Her fists were clenched and body shaking but she couldn''t break free from her bind with her weak strength.

    "Quite the cold beauty. All the more interesting. Let''s see if you can still maintain that cold exterior when I give you a taste of heaven." The young noble started undressing himself before climbing into bed, ready to pounce on her.

    Aria closed her eyes as a teardrop fell as memories of the past sh by. She wanted to go back to that time when she was still attending middle school. When everything was still simple and pure. She would hide in a corner and watch a boy studying in the library instead of ying outside like the rest of the kids during break time.

    She wasn''t sure why she was captivated by the boy, who was different to everyone else. Maybe it was his hardworking efforts or maybe it was his drive to not be ordinary. Whatever the reason was, it didn''t matter because she fell in love with the boy at first sight. She felt there''s an invisible string that connected them. Unfortunately, they never managed to interact with one another. She had never approached him and was satisfied with just watching him from afar.

    Why was she thinking about that boy now? Did she think he mighte save her like a prince with shining armor? How was that possible? She hasn''t seen him since high school, why would he suddenly after all these years?

    Bang* The door was kicked open as Leon walked in. The door was locked from the inside and he didn''t have the patience to wait for someone to fetch the master key.

    The sudden st startled the young noble greatly that his raging stiff rod, shrank at noticeable rate until it was unseen as he grabbed at things randomly with his hands to cover himself. He looked at the broken door before looking at the people at the entrance unhappily.

    His eye''s and Leon''s locked onto each other for a moment.

    "Room service." Leon broke the silence with a random topic.

    "I didn''t call for room service!" The young noble roared angrily, while making his way over after finding something to cover himself. He felt humiliated and angry for being interrupted and being seen naked by a bunch of men.

    "How are you people doing your business!?"

    He was prepared to p Leon, who was in front, but Leon kicked his overweight body to one side of the room.

    "Wasn''t talking to you." Leon made his way over to Aria and untied the ropes binding her. "Are you alright, miss?"

    Aria was a bit dazed as she looked at Leon''s familiar face. There were some slight changes his appearance, but she recognized him as the boy that she used to watch in middle school. She didn''t answer Leon and just stared at him with red and passionate eyes.

    "How dare you kicked me! Do you know who I am!? Guards!" The young noble was enraged.

    "Don''t bother and I don''t care who you are. They''re already been knocked out cold by the door¡­ I mean the entrance. The door isn''t there anymore." Leon corrected himself before refocusing his attention on Aria.

    "Were you drugged?" Leon asked with a frown. Her expression didn''t seem right. He checked her pulse but didn''t see any signs of aphrodisiac or any other drugs in her system.

    "Y-You!" The overweight young noble was speechless. What was he going to threaten him with? His guards are already out cold, and he couldn''t threaten with his father''s name. His father would probably break his legs and keep him home if he found out instead.

    "Gower, Arlo, kick them out of building." Leon said with a frown.

    "Yes, boss."

    "Y-You!!" The fatty kept stuttering with pointed fingers.

    "Y-You this, y-you that. Can''t you speak properly? What were you even trying to do just now? Aren''t you afraid a fat pig like you would tten the flower?"

    "Y-I''ll remember this."

    The fat pig was taken away, leaving only Aria, Leon and manager Doug left in the room.

    "What if the young noble seeks his father for revenge, boss?" Manager Doug could no longer stay quiet voiced his concern. They have offended a noble after all.

    "He wouldn''t dare." Leon was confident the young noble wouldn''t inform his father¡­ He wasn''t afraid if low level guards was sent for revenge either.

 Chapter 32 - Connection

    <h4>Chapter 32 - Connection</h4>

    "Manager Doug, send the money the young noble paid us back to thisdy and find some people to escort her home." Leon said, seeing that thedy was physically fine and was probably just traumatized. He was prepared to send her away since she was already safe.

    "Yes, boss." Manager Dougplied but inwardly grumbled that the new boss was ipetent. He was just informed of the new rules, but he could see that the gang would fall apart if it was followed. Offending noble houses and giving away money. How were they supposed to function? They weren''t going to make money that way. This wasn''t a hero game. But he didn''t darein and just kept these thoughts to himself. The strong makes the rules. "This way, miss."

    Aria wasn''t willing to leave and just grabbed onto a corner of Leon''s shirt.

    "T-this¡­ What should I do, boss?" Manager Doug wasn''t sure how to approach this situation.

    "It''s fine. Just attend to your own work." Leon sure either and asked him to leave for now.

    "Ah¡­ yes, boss." Manager Doug gave him a knowing smile before leaving the room.

    ''It''s hard to refuse a beauty of that quality. That boss is still a boy after all.''

    Leon wasn''t nning to do anything to the girl but couldn''t be bother correcting Doug''s way of thinking since he didn''t said anything. It would just look like he was guilty if he tried to exin himself. Even if he was nning to do something, it wasn''t going to be in the room with a busted door, where people could walk in freely. He wasn''t an exhibitionist.

    Leon scratched his head and look outside the windows. He finds it ufortable to be stared at so passionately by such a beautiful girl.

    "Can I ask why you are staring at me¡­ like that?"

    Aria didn''t expect to see that boy again in this sort of situation. She had many things on her mind but didn''t know where to start.

    ''You¡­ don''t remember me?'' She mentally though.

    Leon understood her thoughts and was immediately confused by it. Do they know each other? It would be hard to forget a person this pretty, but he doesn''t seem to have any recollection of seeing her before.

    Noticing Leon''s confusion, she wanted to p her head for thinking that way. Of course, he wouldn''t know her. They have never met face to face, let alone talk to one another. She felt embarrassed and started covering her face with her hair to hide her embarrassment.

    When her face was covered, Leon felt like a light bulb had lit up in his head.

    "Are you the stalker girl from middle school?" He said in a hurry. Aria wanted to find a hole to crawl in when she was asked that, but since there no hole, she could only put on a cold face to hide her emotions. Leon had an illusion of the temperature dropping.

    "Sorry, I didn''t mean that." Leon apologized right after. He felt it was inappropriate to call such a pretty cute girl a stalker.

    If an ugly person was stalking, then it would be creepy and repulsive but if the person was pretty or cute then it was eptable. Such existing contrast in treatment is unfair but it is just how things are. Cuteness is justice.

    Leon remembered her because she left an impression on him. She was quite clumsy at hiding, while he was studying in the library. Or maybe she wasn''t trying to hide at all? He had discovered her quite early because of it. He wasn''t sure why she would watch him every break time, but it made him ufortable at first. However, he eventually got used to her presence until he would find it weird if she wasn''t around to watch him study. There was a sort of tacit understanding, intimacy or connection between them that couldn''t be described with words. It seems to transcend the nes. They were both pleasantly surprised to meet once more.

    "You¡­ don''t want to go home?" Leon asked. Aria shook her head.

    "You¡­ want to stay with me?" This time, Aria nodded. She blushed as Leon''s words as if there was an implicit meaning behind it.

    ''This is going to be hard¡­'' It was difficult tomunicate, when the other party was unwilling to talk. His brain was working overtime to understand her thoughts.

    "We haven''t properly introduce each other before. I''m Leon. What is your name?"

    Aria looked left and right around the room. Leon wasn''t sure what she was looking for until she held his hand and wrote on his palm with her finger.

    "A-R-I-A¡­ Aria?"

    Aria nodded with a smile, when Leon got her name right, but he didn''t notice because he became absentminded at the name.

    There was someone who had also shared the same name as Aria. The person was his maid in his past life. He wondered how she was doing back in the Divine Realm after both him and his father was murdered. She was the person closest to him after his father.

    The thought that the two Aria could be the same person never crossed his mind. It was already miracle that he was able to reincarnate. No one really understood how the cycle of Samsara works. Divine Kings were able to possess a newly forged body or fetus when their own body is destroyed to gain another chance at life, but their life span would not change.

    What he experienced was a true reincarnation. His memory was supposed to be wiped clean and start his life anew, but it was most likely protected by his father''s power and the Book of Life collectively.

    Leon shook his head of irrelevant thoughts and looked at Aria. He decided to check her pulse again, in case he missed something. He did a thorough sweep and realized she had vocal problems that impeded her ability for speech.

    He looked at her with some pity. No wonder why she didn''t say anything, she couldn''t. It was such a great loss. Someone who was born beautiful should also be born with an equally beautiful voice. He decided he would treat her vocal problem when he gets the chance. He would have to borrow Lynne''s acupuncture needles again or find an opportunity to forge his own customized acupuncture needles. There was no problem with Lynne''s needles, but he wishes to own a set of needles with better conductivity towards his energy. It was more convenient for him that way.

    His silence had made Aria concerned. When he noticed that, he felt a bit apologetic for having his mind wonder off.

    "Sorry, I was just thinking about some things. I just noticed that you are unable to talk, but this would not be a problem much longer with me around. I can cure your vocal problem."

    Aria was surprised when she heard those words. What had he been doing in the past few years? Did he change his study to medicine? She was a bit skeptical how far he could progressed in the study of medicine in a few years considering it was a profound subject, but she ultimately chose to believe his words. She knew just how hardworking he was.

    "I know you want to stay but you have to go home. Your parents would be worried if they don''t see youe home. You can alwayse back tomorrow to see me."

    She struggled between her decision inwardly but still ended up listening to his words. She nodded.

    "That''s a good girl." He gave her head a rub and took her downstairs to the ground floor. She pouted at being treated like a little girl.

    "Manager Doug, you can arrange some men to escort, miss Aria, back home safely now."

    "Right away, boss." Manager Doug got to work right away, and two members of the gang arrived to escort Aria home. Her eyes showed reluctance and insecurities before she left. Leon had given her a reassuring smile. After She was gone, Leon headed back to the underground floor to deal with Snake.

    ¡­

    When Snake regained consciousness, He noticed that the floor was empty, and he couldn''t move his body. In his immobile state, anyone could threaten his life. He could manipte the earth, but it had limited uses at his level. He wasn''t aware that all the top members of the gang had already submitted to Leon. He decided to use his ability to manipte the earth to split apart the concrete floor and controlled the broken concrete pieces to move his body. He had better control over the earth than Arlo and Gower and wasn''t afraid he would identally pull the earth element from the ceiling to him, but it was already the limit for someone at his level.

    Bloodline ability required training to be able to control elements well, but it also bes rtively easier to control the stronger the awakener was.

    As an awakener, his body was stronger than normal people and was able to regain consciousness much faster. When he was making his way to the stairs leading up to the ground floor, he saw Leon walking down from it. His expression turned ugly and was worse than crying.

    Leon had immediately notice the conscious Snake before Snake noticed him. Leon immediately closed the distance and knocked him unconscious again¡­ Snake wanted to threaten Leon, but his vision turned dark before he could voice his threats.

 Chapter 33 - Awakening

    <h4>Chapter 33 - Awakening</h4>

    Leon wasn''t going to show mercy to someone who pointed a gun at his head. Snake deserved death anyway. Being the ex-boss of the gang, his hands would surely be stained with the blood of many people.

    Leon dragged the unconscious Snake by the cor back to the rear end and ce him on a table.

    Arlo and Gower returned at this moment. It shouldn''t have taken them that long to kick the people out of the building, but he wasn''t going to question them.

    "Do you have any other instructions for us, boss?"

    "I need you two to guard the stairs and not allow anyone toe down and disturb me."

    "Right away, boss." They took ast nce at the miserable and unconscious Snake before leaving.

    ¡­

    "The new boss seems to have strange aesthetics taste." Arlo suddenly said, while they were guarding the stairs.

    "What do you mean?" Gower was puzzled by Arlo''sment.

    "Didn''t you see? The boss sent away the beauty without touching her before, yet he told us to keep others from disturbing him, while he''s in there with the ex-boss." Arlo exined.

    "T-This¡­ surely not ''that''¡­ right?" Gower felt chills crawling up on him.

    "I hope not¡­ who knows how kids are raised these days. It''s fine as long as the boss don''t call us for ''that''."

    If Leon knew how the two was talking behind his back, he would have puked blood from anger. There was no problem with his sexual orientation!

    ¡­

    When Leon finish his preparation, he sent his divine sense into Snake''s unconscious body and inspected every part of his body, making sure not to miss anything important.

    He wanted to study the difference in the body of a 2nd step awakener. The body was naturally stronger than ordinary person. Leon discovered that the strengthened body wasn''t simple. It was tempered by earth element and would have a degree of resistance against earth-element attacks, albeit not much.

    Leon spected that other awakeners are also tempered by their respective elemental affinity. With the acquired resistance, the chances of awakeners being harmed by their own ability is lowered. for example; It would be bad if a fire user identally burnt himself to death.

    Leon sent his divine sense into the be region after he was done with the other areas. The earth core was spotted in the center as he expected.

    But seeing the core failed to answer some of his doubts. How do awakeners advance their powers without the help pills? From the awakeners he had encountered so far, none seem to be training under any sort of special technique to advance their powers.

    Even without pills, they could still advance naturally. It was just a matter of time. There must be a bigger secret behind their source of strength.

    Leon couldn''t discover anything new in the be, so he decided to peer into the core directly. The core was not solid. It was just a body of energy clustered together. Leon''s divine sense was immaterial and was able to pass through it easily.

    The center of the core was empty. Just a bunch of earth elements revolving around it. Nothing particr stood out. Leon was disappointed and was about to give up when suddenly he felt the faintest connection of the earth core leading elsewhere. It led direction into the sea of consciousness, which could also be called the spiritual sea.

    If it was someone else, he would think carefully before entering the spiritual sea of another as he could cause irreparable damage to that person, if he was not careful. He didn''t have proficient understanding of the soul to be able to heal a soul injury.

    However, since the person in question is an ex-gang leader, he had no misgivings and entered the spiritual sea without hesitation. Whether Snake suffered any soul injuries as a result didn''t bother him.

    In the depths of the spiritual sea was supposed to be the lone soul core, but Leon discovered that an earth seed was orbiting around it.

    The earth seed was minuscule. He might have missed if it was stationary.

    He could feel the Earth Laws radiating from it and was shocked.

    ''How are awakeners able toe in contact with thews?''

    The heavenlyws weren''t something that could beprehended unless one reaches a high enough cultivation level toe in contact with it. If one had a high enough perception then they can also perceive the Laws and their cultivation level would not matter. Leon was indeed an oddity to be able to faintly feel the Laws with his high perception due his strong soul.

    Awakeners can establish a connection with the Laws upon awakening and able to draw power from it with their soul as the medium.

    Such rtionship between awakeners and the Laws was like making a contract. The power isn''t truly theirs and they are just borrowing it. If the connection was cut, then they would be as good as being crippled from using the power of the Laws.

    One would have toprehend the Laws to truly make it a part of their own strength. It could be seen that although awakeners could manipte the elements through their established connection with the Laws, the power is not great withoutprehension. It''s simr to owning a weapon, but not knowing how to use it.

    Leon realized that if he establishes a connection with the Laws then it would be easier for him toprehend it due it bing clearer to him. To have a head start onprehending the Laws would be great aid to his practice in mastering the 5 elements for his cultivation technique. There were two cons to awakening; He would have to find a way toprehend the other 4 element Laws too if he wanted progress in his technique. So far, he is still stuck at the initial stage of mastering the 5 elements for the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] technique.

    The other con is; awakening would temper his body in one of the elements, creating imbnce and making it harder for him to advance his 5-element body. However, the 5-element body wasn''t required for practicing his [Hegemony of Primal Chaos]. It was just a byproduct of possessing quasi-Grandmist energy. As long as he tempers his body in the other 4 elements too in the future then the problem would be resolved.

    Seeing that there was no big problem to awakening, Leon retracted his divine sense and ended Snake''s life since he had no further uses. If the girls had seen what Leon was like this night, they would have been surprised. But it wasn''t something surprising for Leon. He understood the principle of having mercy on your enemies is to be cruel on yourself. Although he might be strong, the people close to him wasn''t. He would feel regret if they were implicated as a result of his act of mercy.

    Leon took out a True Awakening pill and swallowed it.

    Leon have been pocketing extras whenever he sessfully refines more than 6 pills in each batch. He had refined 9 pills at the Cromwells earlier, one more thanst time. He was bing increasingly proficient in using poor fire and pill cauldron to concoct pills. He wasn''t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

    Leon wasn''t sure which Elemental Law he would be building a connection with. However, He thought that the missing prince would have a metal element if the missing prince were to awaken.

    With that thought in mind, Leon pop the pill in his mouth and swallowed it. He sat down in meditation position to absorb the pill''s efficiency. He felt it rushing into his brain region after running a cycle around his body. He felt the effects of the pill lingering in his brain for awhile before he felt a part of his brain being stimted and bing active like it had awaken from a long slumber. it felt strange to Leon knowing it was a part of him, but he could not tell which part of his brain it was exactly.

    But the moment it fully awakened, Leon felt one of the Laws be clearer. A connection has been established between the two just like that and a wave of fire element descended upon Leon''s body to temper it.

    Strangely, the tempering effect did nothing on Leon''s body and the awakening ceremony ended just like that. Apart from his connection to the Fire Laws, there was no other benefits. When he thought about it deeper, he shook his head in understanding. His initial 5-element body was tempered by quasi-Grandmist energy. Even if it just quasi-Grandmist, it is still stronger than fire. As such, the fire tempering process brought no changes to Leon''s body. He didn''t even feel the heat.

    But then again, he was already at the 5thyer tempered body. 1st step awakener was equivalent to 1styer tempered body. Body tempering for 1styer would naturally have no effect on a body tempered to the 5thyer. He spected that only when his strength as an Awakener exceed his own level in Divine practice would it start to affect his 5-element body.

    Opening his eyes, he started ying with a wisp of fire as he made it dance on the top of his fingers with his will, showing his exquisite control of fire. His high-level control of fire was a result of his years of practice in alchemy and fire along with his family''s [Fiery God Manual] He was hoping for the metal element, but he ended up with fire.

    ''Being granted a second life was enough. My luck in my second life would have been too great if I was also bless with a high status as a prince.'' Leon sighed.

    What Leon didn''t know was that with the karmic virtue he umted in his past life as a doctor, it wasn''t out of the realm of possibility to be reborn as a prince. In the end it was all just chances and perhaps karmic virtue was used to bless his luck with thedies instead¡­ But if it was then Leon wouldn''t know whether tough or cry if he knew about the Karmic Laws.

 Chapter 34 - Offending The Grey Family

    <h4>Chapter 34 - Offending The Grey Family</h4>

    Leon had never made much progress inprehending the Laws before but even then, he could tell that as a 1st step awakener, the power of the Laws he could wield was probably not even a millionth fraction of its true might.

    His newly acquired fire ability was very useful. It only required his mental will to interact with the energy of heaven and earth to conjure his me and did not require being powered by his own energy. Using his own energy to conjure the mes was very wasteful as the energy could not be recovered and his cultivation would be lowered instead. Unless he reaches Energy Condensation state, he wouldn''t be so extravagant in using his energy.

    Leon could freely control the form his fire takes with his strong visualization. Control is dependent on good visualization. If the person could not form a clear image of what they wanted their fire to look like in their mind, then the fire would just stay in its most naturally form. Leon had practiced visualization techniques to master his control over fire in his past life. Although there was some difference in using energy and using his will, it did not affect his control over fire too much.

    Leon conjured a decent size fireball and threw it at Snake''s corpse after tossing the body to stone floor first. The fire spread quickly until it swallowed the whole corpse in me. He was testing the intensity of his me, but the temperature of the me was not great. It wasn''t much different to regr fire and obviously wasn''t enough to incinerate the body into ashes. All he got out of the experiment was a ckened body.

    The sight was sickening but it didn''t affect him much. He had long graduated from throwing up over gory scenes. He had treated all sorts of terrible wounds and illnesses before, building up a high mental resilience to such ugly sights.

    "You two cane in." Leon called for Arlo, and Gower.

    "You can just call us Arlo and Gower, Boss. What do you need us for?" Arlo took the initiative to talk first when they were called in.

    "I need one of you to get rid of the body." Leon said bluntly, while gesturing to them what was left of Snake''s body.

    Despite being in the underworld for so long and experienced many blood and violence, the duo still could not help gasping in cold air and shiver in fear at the sight.

    ''What grudge did you have against him to torture him to such a state? This kid¡­ no¡­ our Boss looks pretty innocent, but his heart is so cruel.''

    The duo secretly swore that they would do their job wholeheartedly and try their best not to get on Leon''s bad side. They didn''t want to end up like Snake.

    "Y-Yes, boss." Arlo answered. He proceeded to getting a ck stic bag to dump the body in. The body was still scalding hot, but Arlo had thick leather gloves for the job. When he was picking up the body, a part of it snapped off and a corner of his face twitched.

    "What do you need me to do, Boss?" Gower asked after Arlo left.

    "Fix the floor for now." Leon thought for a bit before saying.

    "Right away, Boss."

    Part of the floor was broken apart when Snake was using his ability to escape. Gower tried to put the stones back in ce with his ability but the whole ce started shaking instead.

    "STOP! Do it manually."

    "Sorry, Boss." Gower quickly apologized. Clearly his control over his ability was atrocious and wasn''t focused enough. He would''ve teared the ce down instead, had he continued. Leon wasn''t going to instruct him on how to improve his control though. He had just taken over the gang and required a period of time to observe the characters of its members. He would reward and punish them ordingly.

    "Boss, the Grey family has a job for us." Manager Doug came down and reported with another person following behind him. The person was a servant of the Grey family. He was taken aback when he heard manager Doug addressing a 17-year old kid as the boss. What happen to the previous boss?

    Although he had doubts, he did not voice them as it was not important. The internal affairs of the gang did not concern them as long as they can continue toplete the tasks given to them.

    "What is the content of the job?" Leon frowned.

    "The Grey family wants your gang to secretly sabotage the construction project of the Cromwell''s family. Here is the payment in advance." The servant said arrogantly, as if he already knew that they would ept the job.

    The Cromwell family was a giant in the real estate business. The Grey family wanted to take advantage of the project failure to sling mud on their reputation and make it easier for their Grey family to enter the real estate business. The real estate was a lucrative business and they wanted a piece of the pie.

    "You''re just another dog of the Grey family. What are you acting all arrogantly for?" Leon was displeased with the servant''s arrogant behavior.

    "W-What did you say?" The servant was dumbfounded. He thought he heard wrong.

    "This bag of cash, we ept, however we will not carry out the job." Leon said coolly, he wasn''t going to repeat himself. Who did the servant think he was to make him do what he says? Leon also have zero intention on epting the job. The Cromwell family was his ally and business partner. The Old Fox was a stubborn but trustworthy person but as for the Grey family? He couldn''t bring himself to trust a family that involves itself in the underworld.

    "Y-You take the money yet dare to refuse!? Do you understand what you are doing, brat!?" The servant understood he wasn''t mishearing things and was quickly enraged.

    "Your intelligence must be reallycking to ask me that. I do what I do because I understand what I do. Only dogs would happily wag their tail when their owner toss them a bone. I''m not a dog like you. Our gang will not see you out." Leon said very quickly that left the servant confused.

    ''What is this I do what I do nonsense?'' The servant couldn''tprehend Leon''s words all at once. The first half was almost like a tongue twister, which left him confused. By the time he digested the second half, his anger reached a new peak.

    "Who are you calling a dog, brat!? It seems I need to teach you some manners on how to respect your elders!" The servant had his own pride as a servant of the Grey family and a 3rd step awakener. He couldn''t stomach Leon''s continuous insults.

    But before he could act, Leon''s image in front of him blurred for a split second and the next thing he knew, he was pped into the ground so hard he couldn''t tell left from right by the concussive blow.

    "Which dog is barking?" Leon hit his acupoints and immobilized him.

    "This dog is barking!" The servant said, while suffering from a concussion but his anger did not diminished. However, his face turns green after he realized what he said in the spur of the moment.

    "Pftt." Gower and manager Doug were breaking out into cold sweat when Leon offended the Grey family''s servant, but they could not help butugh when Leon showed his strength and yed the servant like a fool. They felt their past dozen years of frustration being vented. In the past, they had to put up with the Grey family''s arrogance and lower their heads but perhaps they no longer need to, under Leon''s leadership.

    "Exactly. The Golden Lion gang is not your ck Snake gang of yesterday and will not continue being the pawns of the Grey family." Leon ced his hand on the servant''s head.

    "W-What are you d-doing¡­ AHHHHH!" The servant cried out in pain.

    Leon formed a condensed needle of fire with his ability and drilled it directly into the servant''s spiritual sea and burn his earth seed, destroying his connection to the Earth Laws, effectively crippling his ability. His soul core was also not spared, and he was turned into an idiot by the damages. Leon didn''t want outsiders to know he was the new boss of the Golden Lion gang. He could have silenced the servant, but he needed the servant to bring a message back to the Grey family.

    Leon went to Snake''s old desk and wrote a letter before sealing it and handed it to Gower.

    "Send the letter and the servant back to the Grey family''s doorstep."

    "Yes, Boss." Gower epted withoutint. He was just dropping the baggage off at the front gates There wouldn''t be any real danger unless he was an idiot, staying at their front gates and waiting for the Grey family to finish reading the letter. He wasn''t sure what the content of the letter was, but it probably wasn''t something good. Most likely a warning or a threat for the Grey family to tuck their tails between their legs.

    If the Grey family do not know their ce then Leon wouldn''t mind making their family suffer. He had already marked Edric Grey on his list of suspect for the poisoning event. It would be like killing two birds with one stone if Edric was truly the culprit.

    Leon continue sitting at the desk and started drawing up a blueprint on a nk piece of paper.

    "Manager Doug."

    "Yes, Boss."

    "Arrange for people toe and renovate this floor ording to this blueprint."

    "Right away, Boss." Manager Dougplied.

    Leon nned for the underground floor to have the same format as an adventurer''s guild and open it to all the members of the gang. It would be a gathering ce to ept jobs and gather information. He ns to slowly transition the gang into a guild. Although they would still be connected to the underworld, their businesses would be legitimate. As to the types of jobs the guild would take on, Leon hadn''t nned for it yet. He only had an idea of the framework and still needed time to work on it. After all, Rome wasn''t built in one night.

    After settling all the matters for the gang, Leon stretched his limbs and headed home¡­ He had previously told his parents that they didn''t have to wait for him toe home for dinner, but they would probably still be worried sick if he doesn''te home at all.

 Chapter 35 - Training Commences (1)

    <h4>Chapter 35 - Training Commences (1)</h4>

    That night inside the reading room of a private manor, the sound breaking vase and smashed furniture were heard. Albert Grey was furious after reading the letter sent by Leon and seeing the state of his servant.

    "Golden Lion gang? Know your ce and behave properly? What a joke! How dare these dogs dare bite the hand that fed them? Did they think they are on top of the world after growing a little stronger!? Gael!"

    "You called, my Lord?" Steward Gael entered the reading room and answered his lord''s call.

    "I want you to lead a group of servants to the Deadly Nightclub and raze it to the ground. Kill all who survives!" Albert Greymanded furiously. Although he was burning with rage, it was beneath his status as a 7th step awakener to personally act. It was enough to delegate the job to his men.

    "I beg the Lord to reconsider." Steward Gael dropped to his knees and beseeched his lord to not act rashly.

    "borate." Albert was displeased that his steward went against his orders but knowing that his steward has always been intelligent and loyal, he did not explode and told him to exin himself.

    "Although the Queen had secluded herself in the royal pce for many years, such a high-profile action may draw her majesty out of her pce to investigate. If her majesty learns of what the nobles have been doing, I fear the Capital would be washed in blood again, my Lord." Steward Gael said, evidently very afraid of the Queen.

    "You''re right. I was too rash." Albert Grey sobered up, when the Queen was mentioned. Knowing the Queen''s temper, she would definitely do just that when she learns what had be of her Capital. Nobles have be corrupted, cing their own family and personal interest above the overall citizen''s.

    They were greedy and have been abusing themoners both in the open and in the dark to fatten up their own coffers. Albert Grey was fully aware that themoners had a lot of grievances bottled up inside them over the years. If theyin to the Queen, then they would definitely suffer a family extermination. He was that certain of the oue because the Queen wields great power and they couldn''t possibly silence all themoners. They could only choose to flee to the other kingdoms if the Queen exit her seclusion. They weren''t aware that the Queen was already informed of what they had been doing and their doom was impending.

    The Queen was a 9th step awakener but what was to be feared was not her cultivation but her bloodline ability. Her majesty was the only person to awaken with the metal attribute outside the royal family since the founding of the kingdom.

    Anyone with a guilty conscience would not dare to step half a foot into the royal pce. The once beautiful white pce has been reced by a ck metallic one after it was destroyed in the rebellion. One could say that the ck pce was the Queen''s absolute domain. One would have a feeling of powerlessness when they are inside, and their life would no longer be in their own control.

    In recent years, restriction on metal had lowered and it was slowly being circted within the Upper District. It had too many uses for bothmercial and development purposes to be solely wasted on fortifying the wall. But having metal circted in the Upper District means that the Queen''s domain has slowly expanded into the Upper District. A 9th step awakener could control the element within a range of 100-meter radius, but the public did not know this because they have never witnessed a 9th step awakener going all out.

    "How should we deal with the gang?" Albert Grey asked.

    "I believe we should investigate them first, my Lord. The gang doesn''t seem to be run by Snake. Snake was a loyal dog and a coward. Even if he had ten times the guts, he still wouldn''t dare to rebel. Furthermore, the servant who was sent back was behaving very strangely ever since he had regained consciousness."

    "How strangely?" Albert wasn''t present at the time and didn''t know how the servant had behaved.

    "The servant was talking gibberish and acting crazy like he was trying to use his ability. I''m not sure what vicious method was employed but I believe the servant had turned into an idiot and his ability was crippled." Steward Gael voiced his conjecture.

    Albert Grey''s gaze turned serious when he heard what the Steward said. Someone who could do that was not simple and very ruthless. Power was tantamount to status. To cripple someone''s ability was like stripping their status.

    "Have people investigate into who is behind the gang but do not antagonize them and have a doctor check if the servant can recover. You know what to do if he can''t." Albert Grey said coldly. He would not feed useless people.

    "As you wish, my Lord." The Steward shivered and answered.

    After Albert Grey calmed down, he was able to think clearer and did not want to make an enemy out of someone he wasn''t confident in dealing with. He very much would like to know what method the opponent had used on his servant. What he didn''t know was that he had already made Leon his enemy when their revealed their ill intentions on the Cromwell family.

    -

    -

    -

    Early morning, as mentioned beforehand by the training instructor, no one dared to bete on the first day of military training. Everyone was gathered onto the field used for sport activities, as they waited for the arrival ofmander Eugene. Some came as early as half an hour prior, while thetest was 10 minutes prior.

    Seeing there was still some time before the instructor arrives, Leon found a spot on the field to wait along with the rest of the students.

    "Over here, Leon~." Rachel spotted him and waved. Leon smiled wryly, while making his way over under the envious gazes of the crowd.

    "Didn''t expect you to also be taking part in the military service. With your status, you could be exempted from it."

    "I didn''t want to be treated differently just because of my status." Rachel said unhappily. Seeing that she wasn''t fond of the topic, Leon decided to switch topic.

    "Will our princess be able to manage under the pressure of the training?" He said jokingly.

    "Haaa? Are you looking me? Despite my frail appearance, I am still a 3rd step awakener." Rachel pouted. Herpetitive spirit was riled. Those who judges her strength by her appearance would be in for a rude awakening.

    "Hahaha, who dares to look down on our princess? I''ll be the first to teach that person a lesson." Leonughed and flexed his arm''s muscle. Leon had only been training for a few days, so his body was still thin and slender. His muscles didn''t stand out much even though he possess 500-jin worth of raw physical strength. His cultivation improves his body on a qualitative level rather than a quantitative one. The progression in cultivation would also continuously improve his skin and facial qualities and eventually turn him into a pretty boy, if it was high enough. He doesn''t know whether to be happy or not when that happens, but the scene of him flexing was almostical.

    "Pftt~ hahaha, you? I can teach that person a lesson myself." Rachel showed her clenched fist, trying to look very menacing. She wasn''t trying to look down Leon, but she was aware of his situation. What she wasn''t aware of was that the present Leon was no longer the same as his past self. Leon just smiled at her posturing.

    "Ah Leon, how about introducing your friend to me?" Lynne joined them an asked. She had noticed Leon earlier, but Rachel had beaten her to it. She was just watching them interact from the distance and felt very ufortable inside from their intimacy. Who knew where she found courage from to intrude on them?

    "What? Uh¡­ This Rachel¡­ Rachel, this is Lynne." Leon introduced them awkwardly. The two girls were left speechless at Leon''s introduction, but their eyes did not leave one another. Who didn''t know who Rachel was?

    Of course, Lynne knew who she was. She was just using a randomly excuse to butt into their conversation. The two stared at each other as if they were staring at their greatest enemy.

    "T-this¡­ girls, be nice."

    Leon wasn''t sure why the two can''t get along well after just meeting but he tried to mediate between the two. Unfortunately, he was ignored and was push to the sidelines. He felt an iing headache.

    "Yoh~ bro you''re back. I haven''t seen you for a few days. How are you?" Another person joined them.

    Rachel and Lynne seemed toe to a mutual understanding and put their differences aside as their focus their attention on the neer. Leon felt like his lifesaver hade but he felt awkward when he couldn''t remember who the person was.

    "You are¡­?"

    "It''s me, Fatty Ben! I helped sent you to the infirmary when you suddenly passed out." Benjamin Farley said.

    "Ah¡­ I remember now. I owe you one." Leon remembered after Fatty Ben reminded him.

    "That''s right you owe me one. Look at my body. You know how strenuous it was for me to drag you to the infirmary?" Fatty Ben had yet to awaken. His father was just a baron, but their business was really good. Even so, the number of pills their could receive was limited and was focused on the upper echelons of the family.

    "You should consider eating less and exercise more." Leon smiled¡­ Fatty Ben was embarrassed at Leon being blunt.

 Chapter 36 - Training Commences (2)

    <h4>Chapter 36 - Training Commences (2)</h4>

    "ATTENTION!" Commander Eugene arrived at the field and called out to the students. He had arrived with a several soldiers and teachers. It would be difficult to instruct a few hundred students by himself without any helpers. They did a roll call to check the student''s attendance.

    "Very good! No one is missing. Since you are all here, we shall start with some running exercise. In the military, it is of vital importance that the soldiers are fit and able to keep up. The savage beasts on the battlefield would not wait for you to catch your breath! I want everyone to do 40ps around the field. You may use whatever means necessary toplete the task but if you fail toplete it within the allotted time then you will be punished. You have 8 hours. Your military training officially starts now, GO!"

    The students started running as soon asmander Eugene finished talking. They didn''t have time to waste. The field was very big and wasn''t a problem for all of them to run at the same time. However due to the big size of the field, the total distance covered for 40ps was almost 100 kilometers. It wasn''t something awakeners canplete in 8 hours easily, let alone the unawaken students. Half of the students had not awakened yet.

    The task ofplete 100-kilometer run in 8 hours was impossible for the normal students, yet they had to somehow make that impossible possible if they don''t want to be punished.

    Some of the awakened students ran at their fastest straight from the start, while some ran at their own pace. Leon did not want to stand out, so he ran at a simr pace to Fatty Ben.

    "This is impossible. How do they expect me toplete 40ps of this field? Is the instructor trying to kill me?" Fatty Benined. His fats jiggled with every step taken.

    "Save your breath and just run." Leon said.

    "I''ll be going up ahead first." Lynne informed him. She thought that Leon didn''t want to stand out since only a few knew that Leon was already an awakener. Before she left, she didn''t forget to sh a provocative smile at Rachel.

    "Y-You¡­!" Rachel was easily riled by the provocation. "I''ll be going too."

    The two girls started their own littlepetition. Leon didn''t know whether tough or cry.

    Onep¡­ Twops¡­ After twops had passed, the disparity in the students were shown clearly, spreading the original big crowd throughout the field like a thin ring.

    Threeps¡­ The normal students were already showing sign of fatigue and breaking out into sweats, while some of the leading students already ovepped them a few times and was on their fifth to sixthp. Edric and his two friends, Adrian and Cayden were one of the few leading students. They were all 3rd step awakeners. Many of the younger generations from Earl households and higher were stuck at this level. It was rare for people like Rowan to breakthrough to the 4th step at their age.

    When Edric and his two cronies were passing Leon, they didn''t forget to make passing remarks.

    "Amoner can only amount to this level."

    They were looking down on him, but they weren''t aware that they had also inadvertently pped the faces of all the normal students with their remark. Their expressions all darken at the trio''s remark. They weren''t doing much better than Leon. Wasn''t that the same as saying that they all weren''t that great either?

    "Y-You!" Leon had no reaction to their remarks like he was listening to air, but Fatty Ben by his side was different as he was angered. Fatty Ben wanted to curse them, but they had already disappeared into the distance. They would not hear him even if he cursed them.

    "Don''t mind them. The more energy they burn at the start, the harder for them to finish. You just need to find your own pace and not be carried with the flow." Leon calmed him down with a smile.

    "You might be right, but I don''t think I can keep up much longer. You are a true brother for staying with me until now! but no need to slow down to my pace and just go on without me." Fatty Ben was aware that Leon had not even broken a sweat and should be much more capable than what people give him credit for, while he was sweating profusely.

    Leon just shook his head and continued the same pace.

    Fourthp¡­ fifthp¡­ Many normal students were already tired by this point and already slowing down their pace. The awakened students were already in their tenth to fifteenthp. The disparity was continuing to growrger. Some 1st step awakeners started sweating and decided to make use of their abilities to help them keep up their usual pace.

    Earth users made use of the earth below their feet to give them some springing power, but their action caused some students to trip over the lumps of earth they made in the ground. Water users were hydrating their thirst with their ability to create water out of thin air. Fire users were the most dominant, using their fire as thrusters to boost their speed. Their action left a trail of heat, making things difficult for the students behind them.

    The overall situation was so getting out of control. Overall, the awakened students were inconsiderate, selfish and irresponsible.

    The instructor, soldiers and teachers had moved to a high vantage point where they could overlook the field and the students. They were continuous scribbling something on their pieces of papers andmunicating with each other but did not interfere with what the students were doing.

    "I can''t go any further, bro. Go on without me!" Fatty Ben said.

    Leon looked at him in thought. Fatty Ben seemed to have approach him with some motive at the start, but his character was not bad and should be worth befriending.

    "Hop on my back. I''ll carry you along."

    "What? Wouldn''t we be punished if you help me?"

    "Why would we be punished? Did you forget what the instructor said? We can use whatever means necessary toplete the task."

    "You are right! Bro, you are awesome!" Fatty Ben felt very touch he wanted to cry.

    "Just consider it as me returning the favor." Leon said as he carried Fatty Ben on his back and picked up the pace. He still has not broken a sweat. Many normal students near them were surprised Leon picked up Fatty and overtook them.

    Sixthp¡­ seventhp¡­ Leon carried Fatty through a whole twops.

    "Bro, you can put me down. I''ve had enough rest." Fatty Ben said. He could keep going for a while longer now that he had enough rest.

    "Okay."

    Leon decided to help other normal students who were struggling by giving them a free short ride along the way. He thought it was a good idea to earn some good will towards himself. He didn''t like to be looked at by so many envious gazes all the time.

    The normal students started seeing him in a new light when he helped them. these students all came from different backgrounds. Some came from rich merchant and business families, some from baron families and there were even some from viscount families.

    Eighth¡­ ninth¡­ tenthp passed by as Leon continue helping people toplete theirps. their feelings gradually changed from indifferent to friendly and from friendly to admiration.

    Another fiveps passed, and Leon was finally starting to feel tired from all the carrying. They still have another 25ps but only 6 hours are left. Although it seems like a good pace and they would finish on time, it was not that simple. They would only continue to grow more and more tired and their pace would continue to drop.

    The task was clearly impossible for normal students toplete so why were they given the same treatment as awakened students? Maybe there was more to the exercise? Were they being tested? Leon felt he had figured something out.

    Rachel was closing in from behind him. She was going to ovep him again for who know how many times. From behind her was Lynne, whom she was toying with. Lynne was close to breaking through to the 3rd step thanks to Leon''s pills but she was still a 2nd step awakener after all. She couldn''t keep up with Rachel who was at the 3rd step and a fire user.

    "Rachel, Lynne! Stop here for a moment." Leon called out to them.

    "What''s wrong? Do you want me to help carry you?" Rachel offered, seeing Leon''s sweat and tired expression and unaware that she was actually sweating a lot more than him. Leon was speechless. Where would his pride and a man be if he let a woman carry him?

    "Do you want some water?" Lynne offered.

    "No¡­ Did you offer your water to anyone else?" Leon shook his head.

    "No, why would I do that?"

    Leon smile wryly at Lynne''s answer. So, he was getting special treatment by the girls? How envious people would be.

    "Never mind, whatp are you two on?" Leon asked.

    "27thp." "Lap 27?" The two answered simultaneously. It could be seen that they had no problem finishing the 40ps within the allotted time at this rate, but Leon thought this was not a good thing.

    "I suggest you two slow down and help the normal students as much as possible."

    "Huh? Howe?" Rachel seem to have understood something, but Lynne did not as she asked curiously.

    "It''s clearly impossible for normal students to finish the 40ps, but awakeners have no problempleting it. I believe we are being tested on our ability to work together. In the army, it is important for the soldiers to work together right?"

    "Ah!? What we do then?" Lynne panicked. She had only been focused on beating Rachel in their little race. They had not bother helping anyone at all.

    "Calm down. It''s not toote to start helping others now." Leon tried to calm her down.

    ¡­

    At the same time the leading students were already on their 33rdp, but they were all breaking down in exhaustion. They had been going all out straight from the start without a care for the others¡­ The continuous usage of their abilities was also not without consequences.

 Chapter 37 - Training Commence (3)

    <h4>Chapter 37 - Training Commence (3)</h4>

    "Lynne might be able to help others with her ability but how about me?" Rachel said. She was ady and weren''t willing to carry people on her back like Leon did. She was the campus belle and the chances of the male students not taking advantage of her was close to nil. Her beauty was irresistible for the weak-minded students.

    "You can carry the female students, but just the three of us wouldn''t be able to help all the normal students. If we could get everyone to work together, the chances of everyonepleting the exercise would be greater." Leon said after some thought. He had been helping the back-line students continue but it would be best if he got the others to do the same. If the instructor suddenly publicized him as an exemry soldier-in-training for his act of not leaving any students behind, then it would defeat his purpose of not trying to stand out.

    He had just wanted to earn some good will and didn''t expect to discover that the simple exercise to turn into an examination. He decided to push the work onto the other awakened students. He had a feeling that all awakened students would be punished if the normal students couldn''tplete the exercise in time. Although he had not revealed his elemental ability, others would have already discovered he was not normal with his monstrous stamina.

    "Perhaps I can help." A person joined their conversation.

    "You are¡­?" None of them knew who the neer was.

    "Ah, pardon me. I am Reece Hallewell, an earth user. I can''t help but admire your actions and feel embarrassed for my own selfishness." Reece had witnessed Leon''s noble act of helping the normal students. He felt ashamed for only worrying about himself and not caring for the normal students, some of which were even his friends.

    Running 40ps of the field was an unfamiliar experience that made him unsure whether he couldplete it in time, but he himself was already on his 23rdp and realized it was not a problem. But most awakened students couldn''t be med for not knowing. Who would be bored enough to ever run 100 kilometers in 8 hours before? The problem was that even after realizing, helping the normal students was not part of their consideration.

    "I''m ttered."

    "How can I help?" Reece asked.

    "Can you make a jug?"

    "Shouldn''t be a problem with a bit of water." Reece survey the earth beneath feet and answered.

    Leon gave Lynne a look and she nodded back, and assisted Reece by creating the necessary muddy paste with her water ability. Reece was only a 1st step awakener but he was very skillful in his control over the earth, as a rough shape of a jug was formed before it was smoothen out in the air. The process was much faster than doing it manually by hand. Although his level of control wasn''t on par with Leon''s, it was still enough to surprise him.

    In the end, nobles were different tomoners. Leon underestimated the foundation of nobles that have been established over a few hundred years. They should have their own techniques for practicing elemental control. Just because Leon hadn''t seen it, it would mean that the nobles didn''t have it. Although Reece was at the same step as Arlo and Gower, they were far from being on the same level.

    "What next?"

    "Your turn to help." Leon looked at Rachel. She understood what he meant and used her fire ability to harden up the newly formed jug for usage. Her control over fire was also exceptional.

    "Why a jug?" Lynne couldn''t help but asked after.

    "For you to fill it with water." Leon smiled.

    "Huh?" Lynne didn''t understand why they had to go through all the trouble just for a jug when people can just cup their hands. Leon already thought about that, but he had his consideration.

    "It is inevitable that water would be waste drinking from cupped hands. I don''t want you to overuse your ability and suffer a bacsh." Leon exined. There were many students, but very few water users. Leon was made aware that awakener''s abilities couldn''t be used endlessly without a price. He could see that the leading students were lying down in pain in addition to their fatigue in the distance. The field was t without obstacles in the center so he could naturally see the situation from afar. Leon assumed that overusing their abilities would cause instabilities in their elemental seed. Considering how close the seed was to the soul core, it would naturally be affected as well.

    "Ah okay, thank you." Lynne filled the jug with water while feeling warm inside for Leon''s concerns.

    "Alright, lets give the students water to drink and convince the others to help."

    "Okay." Everyone answered.

    Quenching the student''s thirst was only a temporary solution with limited effects and would still require awakened nobles to help in the end.

    "Thank you." The students were grateful for their assistance.

    More and more nobles joined their cause and started helping under their persuasion. However, not everyone believed them and continued their solo run. Leon did not join them in gathering helpers and just continue carrying some students.

    "Test? What nonsense are you people spouting?"

    "If there was a test, the instructor would have mentioned it."

    "You expect us to believe your lies and help you pieces of trash?"

    The normal students had joined them in gathering helpers but all they got were derision and insults. Leon shook his head at this scene. If they knew it was a test, then would the test still have any meaning? But even if they heard the truth, they didn''t believe. In the end, it was still all spection on his part, and he could be wrong. he wouldn''t force them, but he thought the chances of being wrong was very low. He was confident in his spection.

    "Forget it. We already did what we could." Leon discouraged the rest from asking and to just focus on finishing theirps.

    Three quarters of the awakened nobles had joined their cause and they were all from baron and viscount families. All the 3rd step awakeners from the earl and marquis families did not join them. They were arrogant and selfish to the extreme.

    They continued their run with difficulty, but no one was left behind. Everyone was pushing themselves beyond their limit and they had be very united. They bonded and trust was established among their group. The selfish students that went ahead did not understand what happened to the leading students and ended up in the same situation as them, copsing after overusing their strength and abilities.

    18ps¡­ 26ps¡­ 33ps¡­ they continuedpleting theirps one after another, until their finally caught up to the leading student''sp. They were still copse on the field and haven''t been able to move a muscle.

    "Please help." Some started pleading for help, but the group just looked at them coldly and continue. They started feeling regret for their selfishness, while others just looked back at the group coldly. They were from marquis families, proud, arrogant and conceited. Even when there are down, their refuse to lower their heads and asked for help. Asking in this situation was just the same as asking to be humiliated. Edric, Adrian and Cayden were among the leading students that kept silent. They had a look that says, ''I will not ask for help but you will help me anyway''.

    "Why should we help?"

    "Why didn''t you help us before when we asked?"

    "You people got what you deserved."

    All sorts of derision were sent back at them for their earlier refusal.

    "Stop everyone. We would be no different to them if we hit them when they are down." A student stepped up to stop the crowd from continuing their ridicule and mockery. "Let''s just help them. It would be bad to leave anyone behind."

    "Hmm, you are right, Kent. We are different to them."

    "Take them with us. We will make sure everyonepletes the exercise." Kent Tucker said happily.

    That student saw an opportunity to take up leadership and be the leader of the group. Leon was happy to see this. He didn''t want to be in the limelight.

    "What an opportunist." Lynne pouted in a low voice only Leon could hear. Towards thisment, he just smiled. There would always be bad eggs mixed in a pot of good ones.

    "Just let him be."

    Rachel''s eyes shed coldly, while Fatty Ben and Reece was silent by his side. They all felt ufortable with the turn of events. Leon was the natural leader in their hearts for starting everything. Why is that Kentucky whatever trying to steal his position.

    They copsed students were picked up and carried along as their continued running. Edric and his friends were also carried but he wasn''t feeling grateful. He just thought it was natural that they help him because of his higher status.

    37ps¡­ 40ps¡­ Just when thest personpleted thestp, Instructor Eugene''s voice was heard in the distance, "Time''s up. You may rest for a while, before I announced some news."

    "We did it!" Everyone copsed to the ground in relief and silently cheered. They could finally rest! Their sweats had long soaked their clothes and their bodies were depleted of energy, but their faces were excited and full of spirit¡­ They never knew the word ''you can rest'' could sound so heavenly to their ears.

 Chapter 38 - The Instructor Is Scary

    <h4>Chapter 38 - The Instructor Is Scary</h4>

    The normal students breathing slowly stabilized while they were resting, but they continued toy t in the field without movements. Their body felt as dead as a log. The awakened students were better off as their body had better recovery and able to sit up.

    "Everyone has exceeded my expectation in both good and bad ways, but at least you all managed toplete the exercise-"

    "Did you mean you weren''t expecting all of us toplete the exercise?" An awakened student interrupted Eugene.

    Eugene eyebrows creased a bit. He was already displeased with the behavior of the awakened students during the first half of the exercise. "We were evaluating your characters and capabilities. There''s no way to keep track of whether all of you actually did 40ps."

    The students were surprised. What the instructor made sense. There are so many of them. Unless they were single-handedly targeted, there was no way of keeping track of who did how manyps. Some students had done more than just 40ps to help the struggling ones make it through. They don''t know whether to be happy or not at the sudden revtion.

    "You are all the future elites of the kingdom and what we are training are capable soldiers, not puppets. Following orders is good but following blindly is not. You need to think carefully about orders given. Even your superiors could make mistakes. Mistakes are a part of what makes us humans. We make mistakes, learn from them and grow. But do remember that a price is paid for mistakes made on the battlefield. Let that be the first lesson."

    Students of Crawford University naturally enjoy better privileges but also burdened with an equal responsibilitypared to other schools. The new recruits from the other schools only had a day of mental preparation before they were sent to the training camp near the wall. They did not get to stay back in the Capital.

    "Overall, you all did a great job. If this was the battlefield, those who leave theirrades behind to die are worse than animals. At least animals know the meaning of loyalty."

    "But those animals are all savage beasts now, would they still understand the meaning of loyalty?"

    "But this is not battlefield."

    Eugene was bombarded with a few questions and retorts.

    "Time''s changed. The beasts of today are not the same as the beasts of 500 years ago. They have grown intelligent. Underestimate them and you will pay dearly. Did you think also think that if it was the battlefield then you would do things differently? Wrong! Your actions reflect your true selves. Egocentric!

    In the face of life and death, you would be the first to run without a care for your fellowrades! Feeling wronged? Judged unfairly? The reason I didn''t mention that you were all being tested was to evaluate your behaviors. I''m not interested in watching your hypocritical acts of concern for others." Eugene didn''t give them any face at all and criticized them harshly. He changed his mind about giving them special treatments.

    "Edric, Cayden, Adrian¡­" Eugene started calling names and a bunch of others. "You are all the strongest, the offspring of high-ranking nobles and should be the natural leaders of the group but what were you all doing? Showing off your capabilities? Not only did you not help the others, you made it inconvenient for them as well.

    Those who charge ahead in the enemy lines alone are usually the first to die. What are you feeling proud and arrogant for? Wipe those things off your faces for me. Take away your family backing and what are you? A nobody! The beasts would not care what family is backing you and would ughter you all the same."

    Those that had their names called all had ugly faces for being criticized by the instructor. They felt like they were being humiliated by themander who was amoner. Leon watched the whole situation unfold and shook his head. The instructor was trying to instill important life lessons and wake them up with the hopes it would save their lives when they are thrown onto the battlefield. The front-line wasn''t a yground and needed to be treated seriously. He didn''t want them to becent during training, only to forfeit their livester.

    Pity the instructor''s words was just going through one ear and out the other. They were unconvinced. Towards these noble scions, Leon though that they wouldn''t be convinced until they see the coffin. The instructor was wasting his breath.

    "Who the hell are you calling a nobody?!" One of them couldn''t handle the criticism and blew his top.

    "10 spanks." Towards this student, the instructor did not replied and just signaled for one of the soldiers to take him out to be punished with 10 hard spanks. The soldiers under the instructor were all 3rd step awakeners, the same as the student being punished. However, their physical prowess was on a whole different level during to their rigorous military training. The student couldn''t even resist as he was dragged out of the crowd to be spanked.

    "Anyone else?"

    Those that originally nning to join suddenly cowered. They didn''t want to be punished as well. Leon silentlyughed. He thought the scene was like killing the chicken as an example to scare the rest.

    "No one? Good." The instructor was silent for a moment before continuing. "I guess it is my fault for not teaching you about military discipline and regtions first. You all must address me as sir from now on, is that understood?"

    "Yes, sir!" The majority answered in unison.

    "Good."

    Commander Eugene wasn''t sure why he was chosen to train the Crawford University students. There were better candidates for the job. He was practical person and wasn''t good with teaching, but the general marquis chose him, so he had toplete it to the best of his abilities.

    "We will focus theory tomorrow. There will be no physical activities." Eugene was aware that the normal students would require more time to recover. But he wouldn''t give them too much time to recover as he ns to continuous push their body''s limits. Even if they weren''t awakened yet, their body could still improve through physical training.

    "Leon Bradford."

    Just when Leon thought the instructor going to finish his talk and dismiss everyone, his name was called. He became stunned. Why was his name called? He had a bad feeling.

    "Despite being the strongest of the group, you did not rush for first ce and decided to stay at the back line straight from the start instead. You did not leave anyone behind and was the first to gather helpers for the normal students. Excellent character, strength and foresight, a natural born leader. I allow you to be the representative of this group, do you ept?" Eugene did not care how Leon felt and just read out the evaluation he had noted down of Leon. Leon wanted to cry for being put in the limelight. He just wanted to slowly gather power in the dark.

    Being a very experienced 4th step awakener, Eugene''s eyesight was much keener than the students and was able to tell that Leon was at least at the same level at him, if not stronger. It was an amazing feat to reach the 4th step before the age of 20. Eugenebelled him as a genius. It did not cross his mind that Leon was stronger than the 4th step. He would be shocked if he knew. Even the Queen, who was the most talented awakener in thest 100 years still reached the 5th step at the age of 22. If the kingdom knew it only took Leon a few days to possess his current strength, they would be shocked to death.

    "I ept." Leon had no choice but to ept as he did not want to get on the instructor''s bad side.

    The entire group of students were stunned silent by what the instructor said. Only at this moment did they broke out into an uproar.

    "What!? Leon is the strongest of us all!?"

    "Wasn''t he amoner?"

    "Which noble family is he actually from?"

    "Impossible!!" Edric was the most triggered and stood up abruptly at the news. How can Leon be stronger than him!? He was just amoner! He couldn''t ept the fact that someone he had been looking down upon was suddenly stronger than him.

    "Silence!!!" The instructor roared. He frowned at the exaggerated reaction of the students, unaware of the rumors revolving around Leon.

    Edric was scared silly by the instructor''s powerful roar and was simultaneously pulled back down by Adrian and Cayden. They gave him the grave expression of ''We need to talkter''. The two started fearing Leon, thinking that Leon had hid himself too well.

    Although they were also from marquis families, they didn''t have a territory like Edric''s family. Since the centralization of the kingdom, territories andnds given to the various nobles to manage were reimed¡­ There weren''t many lords left who still had their territory.

 Chapter 39 - Theres No Free Lunch

    <h4>Chapter 39 - There''s No Free Lunch</h4>

    "It''s good that you epted but don''t becent. There is no responsibility as a representative and anyone can challenge you for the spot throughout the 2-month training period. The final holder of the representative position at the end of the training will be entitled to a special promotion. That is it for today. You are free to go home."

    They were dismissed but no one had the energy to leave and just busy chatting among themselves about what they just learnt.

    Those closest to Leon were pleasantly surprised and started looking at him differently. Lynne was the least surprised. She knew he was capable but didn''t expect him to be this capable. Leon felt helpless at Fatty Ben''s twinkling eyes.

    "Wow you are awesome, bro¡­ no, boss." Fatty Ben started changing how he address Leon.

    "Don''t start worshiping me now." Leon shrugged. Being the representative didn''t give him any immediate benefits and only made him public enemy number one again. The students eyed his position covetously.

    They weren''t sure what the special promotion was but considering only one out of all of them would be entitled to it, it had to be something good. They thought that having a better position in the military would allow them an easier time during their service, but their thinking was a bit simple and naive.

    "Leon Bradford, with the instructor as witness, I challenge you!" A 3rd step awakener challenged him. No one had left yet, and the student took first opportunity to challenge him. Like the rest of the students at the 3rd step, he wasn''t convinced that Leon was stronger than them. Since the instructor didn''t mention how strong he was, they believe he was also at the 3rd step like them.

    Leon was speechless, while ncing at the challenger that was still recovering from his fatigue. He could have picked a better time to challenge him. Even if the student manages to beat Leon, he would just defeated by the next challenger with his exhausted body. Leon silentlybelled him an idiot.

    "Well go ahead then, make your move." Leon epted the challenge straightforwardly. The representative position wasn''t something he wanted but since it was given to him, he wouldn''t let others obtain it so easily. He wasn''t a phnthropist. If the student wanted his position, then he had to earn it. There was no free lunch in the world.

    "Right here¡­? Are you sure? There''s people around us." The challenger said with doubt. Someone might get caught in their fight.

    "Don''t worry, it will end quickly." Since his cover was blown, he was going to disy his strength and exert his dominance or else he would be tired out by the endless number of challenges. Of course, he wasn''t going to disy his full strength as there was no need to and it was unwise.

    "Y-You! Fireball!!" The challenger had his own pride and was easily angered for being looked down upon. He let go of his misgivings and condensed a fireball and threw it at Leon. His body was too exhausted to fight physically and resorted to using his ability. He was confident in winning because fire was the most destructive element and he assumed that Leon was physically drained like him.

    Leon stopped the fireball with his bare hand. He was a 5thyer tempered body with 5-element body, fire from 3rd step awakeners couldn''t burn him and just felt warm in his hands instead.

    "Are we going to y with fire now?" Leon formed a miniature fire dragon and let it dance on the tip of his fingers. The fire was no longer in the challenger''s control when he threw it, so Leon was able to wrestle control of the fire and tame it easily.

    "Y-You are also a fire user¡­?" The challenger widened his eyes at Leon''s exquisite control. He didn''t know what kind of creature the fire dragon was, but he didn''t care. A contest of elemental abilities requires one''s mental focus and he couldn''t afford to be distracted.

    "Why ask the obvious?" Leon tossed the fire dragon back at the challenger without warning.

    "W-Wait! Fire shield!!" The challenger wasn''t ready to receive Leon''s attack and casted a wall of fire to block the attack in a panicky manner.

    The thin wall of fire couldn''t block the dense fire dragon for even a second and was directly pierced through. The fire dragon attack stops abruptly in front of the challenger''s face under Leon''s control, making the challenger''s face pale as he stumbled backwards and fell on his bottoms.

    "Do you admit defeat?"

    The challenger''s face changed from pale to red when he was asked.

    "I do not! Youunched a sneak attack on me!"

    "Are you kidding me? Am I supposed to yell out my attack like a fool like you? What kind of concept is that? Isn''t that just asking to be countered?" Leon had the urge to p the kid. What sneak attack? He attacked openly.

    "Y-You are pissing me off! That''s how you duel here on campus!" The challenger was used to the dueling method on campus and had not been in a real fight before. To begin with, they were taught that by giving voice to their attack, they would be able to form their attack easier and the longer they chant the stronger it is. It was just like a magician chanting their magic in the stories.

    Were those stories also the demon''s work? Leon secretly med demons for how these noble scions think and fight. If the demons knew, they would be angered to death and retort with; What the hell do you stupid humans do got to do with us!?

    "Is it? Well I don''t have time to y games with you. Do you also expect the beasts to wait for you to defend when they yell out their attacks in battle on the battlefield?" Leon felt the challenger was very ridiculous and childish. Leon wondered with all those raised with a silver spoon was like this. He knows thatmoner kids, who grew up with hardship are much more maturepared to the noble scion in front of him.

    "¡­" The challenger was unable to retort Leon''s words.

    "You have lost, Sean. Stop embarrassing yourself." The Instructor checked his information on the list in his hands before calling out.

    "Yes¡­ Yes, sir." Sean said dejectedly. He felt the result was uneptable, but he didn''t dare to retort the instructor''s words. Leon dispersed the fire dragon into thin air.

    "Leon''s words are very true. Don''t expect the beasts to show you mercy on the battlefield. Now is there anyone nning to challenge him? If not, I''m leaving." Instructor Eugene asked, while making a sweeping nce through the crowd.

    None of the 3rd step awakeners stood up for the challenge. It was just asking to be humiliated. Clearly Leon had exceptional control over fire, and they had no hopes of winning a contest of ability against him. They would wait until they fully recover physically before they challenge him.

    "No one? I''m leaving then." Instructor Eugene and the rest of the teachers and soldiers present left.

    Leon also nced at the crowd. He spotted Edric''s ugly look and hostility. Leon made his way over, while the crowd made way for him.

    "You look unconvinced. Did you want to challenge me?"

    "N-No¡­" Edric was startled and denied it.

    "Hoh¡­ I see." Leon rubbed his chin in thought before getting closer and whispering in a low voice only Edric could hear, "Were you the one that poisoned me?"

    "No. Are you be joking with me?" Edricughed dryly, while doing his best to remain calm but his eyes couldn''t help but changed as his heart shook at the question.

    "Hahaha, yeah just a joke." Leon didn''t pry deeper. He noticed the small reaction Edric tried to hide with his keen eyes and got his answer. Edric was the culprit, Leon concluded. His two friends were probably also aplice considering they were always together.

    Leon returned his previous spot to chat a bit before bidding farewell to his friends. Everyone was tired and wanted to head home for a morefortable rest. No one wanted to spend their nights on the field. Lynne didn''t say much as she thought Leon would stop her ceter for another pill refining session. She could talk to him then, when there are less people. Fatty Ben was a handful to deal with. Leon was hugged on the thighs by him and had a hard time peeling him off. Fatty Ben wanted him to take him in as a subordinate. Rachel didn''t say much although she had a lot on her mind.

    Looking at Leon''s back disappearing into the distance, Rachel had aplicated look that had a mixture of surprise and disappointment. She had informed her mother, who was searching for her missing son-inw, about Leon.

    Leon forgot to mention, which orphanage he was from and her mother had told her to ask Leon about it, but there is probably no longer a need to. Leon was a fire user like her. If it wasn''t for the marriage contract between her and the prince, then Leon would have also been a good candidate for marriage with his excellent talent.

    ¡­

 Chapter 40 - Half Human

    <h4>Chapter 40 - Half Human</h4>

    The general marquis gazed at the strategic map of the Great Wall region in front of him with a frown.

    ''What is the beasts nning?'' He pondered deeply.

    Ever since the first attack, they have not received a second one. One would assume that they would be attacked again considering the beasts overwhelming strength, but not only have they not, there were no signs of them at all. Marquis Hendrick didn''t dare to send another airship to venture deep into the Wilnds to investigate and only ordered the airships to scout the peripheries.

    They''ve already lost one airship and couldn''t find any survivors. There were only a few corpses at the wreckage and many were still missing, of which they could not confirm whether dead or alive. They have no choice but to give up if the party was alive and escaped into the forest. They don''t know what dangers lies within and it would be unwise to search blindly.

    "Dales, my friend, I hope you are still alive out there." Hendrick sighed at his decision to giving Dales the dangerous mission. But thanks to the contribution they made, the Great Wall garrison had ample time to prepare for the imminent battle. Hendrick could picture the beasts sessfully scaling the wall, if they had been caught off guard.

    "Has there been any reports from the research team?"

    "Yes, general." A soldier present, answered. Hendrick gave the soldier a silent acknowledgement to continue. "From the study of beast carcasses, whether it is by evolution or transformation, the difference between human and beast have thinned and starting to be vague. Half of their bodies is no different to humans. What is meant is that theposition of their human parts is exactly like humans and not just the appearance. As for the truth behind their extraordinary strength, it has yet to be uncovered."

    "What are your thoughts on these beastspared to the past?" Hendrick asked for the soldier''s opinion. There was something peculiar about the beasts that he couldn''t put his finger on.

    "Ah¡­? Y-Yes, general." The soldier wasn''t expecting the general marquis to ask for his opinion, but he quickly recovered. He felt ttered for being valued. "The beasts are very strange. Humans aren''t physically strongpared to the beast so for a beast to have half their bodyposed of human parts, logically, they should not have been as strong as full-fledged beasts of the past. But not only are they not any weaker, they are even stronger."

    The soldier noticed that the general marquis wasn''t pleased with his response and figured that he had answered the wrong question. What he said was the same as not saying anything. It didn''t mean anything at all. Humans can grow stronger physically through awakening without altering their form so it wouldn''t be surprising if the beasts who is practically half human, had a simr ability.

    What the general marquis was asking was the soldier''s thoughts on their half-human, half-beast appearance.

    "Ah¡­ I''m no scientist but from a scientific perspective, I think it shouldn''t be possible for beasts to evolve into humans. For a beast to have half human appearance, it could only be through-"The soldier continued.

    "Coption between human and beast." Hendrick interjected.

    "Yes."

    "If that was the case then that would mean there are other humans living outside of the human domain."

    "That''s impossible. All the humans have long evacuated behind the walls hundreds of years ago." A new voice interrupted.

    "Brigadier general Rohan." The soldier saluted in greeting, seeing the person walking in.

    "At ease." The soldier rxed after the affirmation.

    "It''s rude to interrupt and not greet your immediate superior first, Rohan."

    "Hahaha, rigid as usual. We''ve been pals for decades, loosen up man."

    "Never mind then. You im it is impossible but it''s not like you live through the past. How would you know what really happened in history?" Hendrick was a bit helpless at his friend for being unconventional and not acting in a manner fitting for his position.

    "Well that was what was written in history. Besides, why did the humans note to the wall to seek refuge if they were really left outside?"

    Hendrick was speechless with his friend. He sounded confident in denying the possibility, but his reasoning was sub-par and oversimplified. History was written by the people and it could be changed by the people. Many years have passed, and no one would really know whether history was painted ck or white unless they have lived through such an era or the truth was passed on by word of mouth.

    "Continue with the report."

    "Yes, general. The research team discovered that the bones and ws of the humanoid beasts are especially durable and sharp. They concluded that it could be used to craft better equipment and cold weapons. The cksmiths are dying to get their hands on the material to y with."

    "Send them the materials then." Hendrick had a weird look. Was that even something he had to dy with? Whatever the cksmith made was for military use anyway and did not need his direct approval."

    "Yes¡­ What about the meat? Do we still sell it to the merchants?"

    "Out of the question. Burn it all." Hendrick waved off his hands. It was fine with the beast''s meat they procured in the past, but not this time. That is 50% human meat! It would be considered cannibalism if people consume it.

    "Yes, general." The soldier sighed in relief and left the room to carry out his order.

    "So, what brought you here? Shouldn''t you be defending the south wall?" Hendrick questioned.

    It was humanity''s fortune that the human domain was enclosed by a steep mountain range and there were only two mountain passes leading into it, a big one in the west and a small one in the south. The big mountain pass became the Great Wall, while the small one became the south wall.

    Humanity did not have enough time and metal to build a pure wall of metal during the great retreat. If not for the steep mountain range acting as a natural barrier, the human domain of today would have long been overrun by beasts.

    "Hahaha, the south wall has never been attacked and I heard you needed reinforcement, so here I am."

    "That was in case of another full-blown war erupting. The beasts are acting strange and have not showed any signs of attacking again, despite the overwhelming strength they possessed. What if they went to attack your south wall instead?" Hendrick said in spite but froze right after.

    "Hahaha¡­ how is that possible? They NEVER attacked the south before."

    "What is your brain made of? Just because they haven''t attacked the south wall before doesn''t mean they never will. Has the peaceful times in the south dulled your senses? Go, get your ass back there! I''m letting you borrow one of my airships!" Hendrick kicked him away.

    "Alright, alright, I''ll go." Rohan rubbed his bottoms. He couldn''t hide the big grin on his face as he was leaving. Hendrick had never lent him an airship no matter how many times he had begged him in the past, but he willingly lent him one this time without him even asking. His trip here was not in vain. He didn''t believe the south would ever be attacked. The south and west wall were separated by thousands of miles. He thought that Hendrick was just too paranoid after being scared silly by some powerful unknown beast.

    -

    -

    -

    "Teacher Lina? Are we still going to continue the lesson?" Ste asked.

    "Ah? Sorry¡­ lets end the lesson here." Lina had been falling into a daze in the ssroom. She didn''t have the heart to teach. The ssroom used to be filled with students, but now there was only 3 left. The rest had either been forced into their military service or requested leave and returned to their respective kingdoms. The 3 students were Ste and her bodyguards, who attends sses with her.

    They have never experienced such shortage in students attending their sses before. The students usually decide to start their military service afterpleting their studies or taking a gap year before schoolmences, but never during their study.

    Seeing how things currently are, there is not much point in continuing to teach. Perhaps the Dean would announce the suspension of sses soon. If a big war wasing their way, then everyone needed to contribute to the war efforts and not just the students.

    Luckily, Lina had just recently awaken and officially became a wood user. She already served her military service and remembered the militarybat techniques. Coupled with a few family exclusive techniques that her father recently taught her; she felt the need to train desperately hard. She didn''t want to stay weak now that the opportunity to be strong had presented itself to her. She could picture Leon drifting out of her reach if she does not do her best to catch up to him.

    Having set her mind, she decided to find a quiet ce to practice her techniques and hone her skills. Her father told her that wood users possess extraordinary self-healing abilities and were the ultimate undying fighters. When she was celebrating her awakening with her parents, her father started retelling the stories how glorious and hot-blooded their ancestors were in battle with their self-healing ability.

    But recalling that such a fighting style may not suit his daughter, he coughed awkwardly and told her to find her own path. Their ability has not been fully explored and still had a lot of potential¡­ Their ancestors had only utilized their wood ability in the simplest manner.

 Chapter 41 - Angelic Voice

    <h4>Chapter 41 - Angelic Voice</h4>

    "Who are you?" Seeing a suspicious person clothed in ck entering their nightclub, Manager Doug was alerted. He felt the person came to cause trouble, considering the person was concealing their identity.

    "It''s me."

    "Ahh, Boss, you are finally here." Manager Doug instantly recognize his voice.

    Leon had stop by some stores and bought himself some new ck outfit and bamboo hat to hide his identity. The color also blends well into the night. However, walking around in the open like he was doing, even if his identity was hidden, he stood out like a sore thumb. They moved to the underground floor to talk.

    "How has my arrangements been progressing?"

    "There were a lot of resistance when we decided to cut off all our good source of money. A lot of the outer members have left the gang to join the other gangs. Our gang has weaken as a result, while our rival gangs have grown stronger."

    "Let them leave. I don''t need people who have forsaken their conscience for profits. Sooner orter, the other gangs will fall into my hands as well. If they do not know how to repent at that point, then they can all go to hell." The results were as he had expected. "Has the things I ordered to you to fetch arrive yet?"

    "Yes, they are all stored in the vault below."

    On the 2nd underground floor was the treasure vault, where the gang store all their collective valuables. Among the misceneous goods stored, there was a pill cauldron, some herbs and a set of acupuncture needles like the one Lynne has.

    "Good." The pill cauldron was something Leon wanted for convenience. He did not want to bother the Cromwell family every time he needed to refine pills. It was better that he had his own. He also wanted to open his own pill store, which would be the main source of revenue for the gang. He retrieved the three items into his world space, while manager Doug waited outside.

    "It seems you weren''t able to procure much herbs."

    "Yes, boss. Most of the herbs in the hands of the merchant guilds. We were only able to purchase a limited number of herbs. The merchants sell most of their herbs to the noble alchemists. Unless we can establish a good rtionship with the merchants, it would be difficult to increase our purchase quota. As their attention are mainly focused on nobles, they deign to do business withmoners."

    "I see. You don''t need to worry about this problem for now and can go attend to your own business. I will figure something out."

    "Yes, boss."

    The underground floor had barely started on its renovation. Leon found himself a seat and started tapping on the table with his finger, while he was thinking.

    He wasn''t worried that once his pill store open, his pills wouldn''t be able to sell. His pills would be better than what is currently on the market. When news about their pill''s excellent quality and effect spread throughout the capital, they would be selling like hot cakes. What was important was establishing a stable supply chain of raw ingredients. The ordinary herbs require a full day in his world space to upgrade to tier 1 spirit herbs. Maybe he should forgo the low-end market and focus on the high-end using hunger marketing? In any case, he would still need to pay a visit to one of the merchant guilds and persuade them to enter a deal with him.

    Leon took out the pill cauldron and started concocting some more True Awakening pills. It was at this point that he realized how convenient it was to awaken as a fire user. He had absolute control over his fire, and it was much easier than searching for an earth-fire to tame. 15 minutester, 12 high-quality tier 1 pills were sessfully refined. The amount and quality of his pill concoction had improve by a huge leap.

    He divided the 12 pills evenly and stored it in two different bottles. He would send one bottle to the old manter. He could rely on the Cromwell''s connection for his supply of raw ingredients, but it would put a strain on their liquidity if he wants to purchaserge volumes of rare herbs through them. The Cromwell family is rich, but they wouldn''t be making any money out of this deal. The pill he supplies them are used to strengthen themselves and weren''t sold outside. So, they are taking money out of their pockets to purchase the herbs. Taking out too much would affect their own businesses.

    It was better to depend on himself in dealing with the merchants. Once the money starts rolling in, he could rely on the Cromwell''s connection then to establish another supply chain for his pill store. He wasn''t nning to refine every single pill the store would sell. It would tire him out and he didn''t have that much free time. He ns to train some people who would do the refining, when he finds some suitable candidates.

    "Boss, miss Aria is here again." Manager Doug came back and reported.

    "Alright, I''ll go see her."

    The underground floor was restricted to gang members and rted matters. It wasn''t a suitable ce to receive guests. Leon headed back to the ground floor.

    "You''re here,e." Leon smiled, seeing the familiar person with her face covered. He took upstairs into the same room they metst night. The door has already been fixed.

    Aria blushed underneath her cover as her thoughts starts to run wild. Why did he take her to this room again? Did he want to do¡­ that with her? She had a mixture of uneasiness and anticipation. Since others had seen her face, it was better give her first time to someone she liked than someone she didn''t.

    "This going to hurt a bit. You can close your eyes if you are scared." Leon took off his bamboo hat andid her on the bed. She did as he said and closed her eyes as her face started growing red like a tomato and her heart beating rapidly.

    Leon took out his new set of acupuncture needles and prepared to perform treatment on her. He couldn''t read her expression under the cover of her hair, but she was bound to be disappointed in some sense.

    The first needle pricked the skin on her throat and the slight pain startled her awake. She realized she had misunderstood his intentions and couldn''t help feeling embarrassed at herself for thinking in such a way. She remembered that he said he could treat her voice problem. Her mind wasn''t as innocent and pure as she thought. She feared that Leon would see through her thoughts and tried to cover her face with more hair.

    "Don''t move." Leon frowned at her movements. It would be counterproductive if his needles were misced due to her careless movements, maybe even life threatening. The art of acupuncture isn''t to be taken lightly. Aria''s movements froze at Leon''s strict words.

    "Good girl. Stay still." Leon started picking up speed and inserted another 8 needles around her vocal cord area and gave light flicks. He was using the 9-pulsating needle technique to fix her vocal cord deformity. Luckily, the problem wasn''t innate but caused during childbirth. His hands would have been tied if she was born with the disability to talk.

    The treatment process ended shortly and seemed very simple but, it was not. Leon removed the needles and fed her an All-Purpose Healing pill to reinforce the readjustment.

    "Done. You can open your eyes and try talking." He helped her sat up.

    "Ahh¡­uhm¡­awuu¡­" Aria tried to speak but she wasn''t unable to form any words. She was akin to a baby learning how to speak for the first time.

    "No rush. Take your time." Leon smiled. Sound wasing out of her mouth meaning her vocal cords were working. She couldn''t speak yet, but her voice was soothing and very angelic. It was very pleasant to here.

    Aria was surprised at her own voice.

    ''So¡­this is what I sound like¡­'' She felt very touched as tears began trailing down her face unknowingly. She can finally talk. She pulls Leon onto the bed with her and cling onto him tightly.

    ''Thank you.''

    With Leon''s strength, there no way he could have been pulled by Aria if he wanted to resist, he just let her pull him. She seemed very emotional, so he gave her some gentle head rub.

    "Do you want to be strong so no one can bully you?" Leon whispered into her ears.

    "Awuwuu." Aria nodded her head repeatedly when she couldn''t convey her answer through speech. Her answer was very cute.

    "Alright. Swallow this." Leon pop a True Awakening pill into her mouth.

    The effects of the pill varied from person to person. Some awaken shortly, while some awakenter, but there was no doubt that it would happen within the day. Aria unwittingly fell asleep in his arms after swallowing the pill. He wanted to get up but realized that she was still holding onto him tightly even when she is asleep.

    Leonid back down and continue enjoying the warm cuddle. It wasn''t bad having a beautyy in his arms. He wouldn''t go out of his way to pursue a beauty, but if they want to be his women whilst understanding that he may not be able to give them the love they wish then he would not reject them¡­ He decided to put away his work and silently cultivate in his current position with his eyes closed.

 Chapter 42 - Trouble Comes Knocking

    <h4>Chapter 42 - Trouble Comes Knocking</h4>

    KNOCK KNOCK**

    The door knocks interrupted Leon''s training as he opened his eyes.

    "Come in."

    "Boss, we have trouble!" Manager Doug came in urgent news. Leon signaled for him to wait with his hands.

    Leon had already gotten up. His movements in addition to manager Doug''s loud voice roused Aria awake.

    "What time is it?" Aria yawned, while rubbing her eyes and exposing part of her fairylike face. A trace of lightning briefly shed by in her eyes. A slight blush was still present on her face that would suggest that she had a very pleasant dream during her short hour nap. She was only half-awake and had not realized that words have been articted correctly, while asking.

    Leon silently admired her as if he was seeing a rare creature. Sensing the energy fluctuation inside her, he already knew that she had finished awakening. But as for people awakening during their nap, she was probably the first.

    "About 8PM." Leon smiled as her rubbed a trace of saliva from her cheeks. His action made her blood boil, painting her cheeks red from blushing. She was now fully awake and realized that not only had she fallen asleep, she had been clinging onto Leon and drooling on him! How embarrassing was that!? She really wanted to find a hole to hide in.

    She was good at hiding her emotions but for some reason it couldn''t be hidden when she''s in front of Leon. She tried to put on her usual cold face, but the blush was in as day.

    "Congrattions on awakening. Now you have the power to protect yourself from regr thugs. There''s no need for you hide your fa-"

    The hands brushing the hair covering her face away froze when he saw the cold eyes stared at him with blushed cheeks. Thebination of the two made her expression appear as that of anger.

    "Never mind. You can keep hiding it if you don''t like." He covered her face back with both hands before scratching his head in confusion. He wasn''t sure why she looked so angry.

    "Pft hahaha." Aria find it hard to maintain facade and broke intoughter under his antics. Her voice rang out like pleasant chimes that left them spellbound. Herughter made him even more confused.

    Manager Doug found it hard to remain calm when he saw her beauty in that brief moment and listening to her fairylike voice. He could understand why the previous fat noble was desperate to bed her. Even he found himself tempted, but when remembered who else was in the room, he dared not continue entertaining the thought like he was sshed with cold water.

    "Boss is a dragon among men. Only someone like miss Aria is worthy of Boss." Manager Doug gulped and started bootlicking. He didn''t find it humiliating at all that a 40-year old man like himself had to bootlick a young man under 20. The underworld was governed by the strong. Whoever had the bigger fist, had the bigger say.

    "Enough. What are the troubles? Speak."

    "The other neighboring gangs have caught wind of gang''s diminishing influence and begun encroaching upon our territory. Arlo and Gower had went to handle the situation, but they were sent back with heavy injuries."

    Leon expression darkened at the news. Humanity face threats from the outside, while being corrupted from within. He had not went to find trouble with the other gangs, yet they have came knocking on his doors for trouble. Since they have chosen to walk through the path to hell, he will help send them on the way. He did not fear the noble houses backing the two adjacent gangs. He might have hesitated if he was still an early stage tempered body, but he was already a middle stage tempered body and deemed himself to have sufficient strength to stand tall in the capital.

    He would do the kingdom a favor by ridding the tumor guing the capital. Only when they are united from within, would they be able to stand strong against outside threats.

    Aria was sensible enough not to interrupt the serious talk and only snuggled next to Leon quietly like a little kitten. She had never been in a rtionship and had no precedent to define her rtionship with Leon. They had just slept on the same bed in each others arms.

    ''Are we lovers now?'' Aria thought childishly.

    "Manager Doug, you can send these two pills to Arlo and Gower to take. It will heal their injuries. As for these awakening pills, you may take one and give the rest to some trustworthy core members." Leon handed him some All-Purpose healing pills and a bottle with the 5 True Awakening pills.

    His action of leaving the pills in Manager Doug''s hands to manage was not a testament of his trust in him but another test. Ordinary awakening pills had poor efficiency and may require the intake of more than one pill for a person to awakening. His pills however had 100% sess rate of awakening. He would easily know if Manager Doug were keeping extra pills for himself when he checks the number of awakeners in the gang.

    "Y-Yes, boss!" Manager Doug received the pills with trembling hands. He was shocked at how freely the boss had given him the pills as if he was giving out cabbages and was overwhelmed. He did not doubt that the pills were fake as there was no reason for the boss to cheat him.

    Manager Doug was unaware of the difference between the awakening pill on the market and the one in his hand. He would have broken out into cold sweats if he was nning to and found outter.

    Leon originally wanted to reward the more principled members with the pills over time, but time did not wait for him. His gang was significantly weaker than the other gangs without him and he would be worked to death if he had to deal every problem that appeared in the gang. He was not that free.

    His previous promises were empty words without solid evidence. He was aware some members only continue staying in the gang because they feared his power and wasn''t convinced that he would provide the benefits he promised them. Only by letting them see the solid benefits for themselves, would they be motivated to put in their best efforts to work for him and lower the chance of them betraying him.

    Having died once due to betrayal, he understood that it is difficult to see through a person''s heart and if he didn''t want people to betray him, he mustn''t give them the chance to. He decided to forget about their past crimes if they have learnt to turn over a new leaf, treating the people well and work for him honestly. Someone would have rolled over in his grave if he knew of Leon''s decision.

    Leon inquired the location of the conflicts before allowing manager Doug to go hand out the pills.

    "I will be busy and will not be able to apany you further tonight."

    Leon brought Aria''s forehead towards his own and mentally transmitted some martial techniques for her to practice with. Aria widen her eyes in surprise at Leon''s miraculous ability. She had always remembered him being different to others but never knew he was so mysterious. What exactly has Leon experienced in the years she had not seen him?

    "These techniques will help you be strong if you train hard." With that, Leon put on his bamboo hat and left without waiting for her reply and left behind a dazed Aria. The information she received in head was as clear as day and would not be easily forgotten in a long time.

    Only when Leon disappeared from her sight did her expression changed into a firm determination to be strong. She didn''t know how strong Leon was, but she would have to train really hard if she wish to continue staying by his side for the days toe. She also wants to stay by his side openly without having to conceal her looks. She was a girl blessed with fairylike beauty. She wanted to be able to look beautiful in front of the one she likes.

    In the night skies, Leon was seen dashing through rooftop buildings towards the north-westernmost part of the Western Lower District with great speed to deal with the Azure Wolf gang first. If medicine was his forte, running was his next best. In the past, he was weak atbat. In a world ruled by thews of the jungle, in order to save others, they must first learn to save themselves¡­

    ¡­Actually, during his period of debauchery, he had not only slept with women from brothels but also other people''s wives. It was a skill born out of necessity whenever he was caught red-handed as the husband would not give a rat ass about his status in their rage. He was long since taught a lesson by his father and was no longer the debauchee he was back then.

    ¡­

    Leon thought he could avoid other people''s attention by travelling on rooftop, but he was still detected by some people on the rooftops in the borderline Upper District. These people had trained to adapt their eyes to the night and was able to discover the abnormality moving in the Lower District despite the distance due to the altitude difference between the upper and lower districts.

    Leon''s speed was fast enough to startle these figures.

    "Who is that?" A figure in ck asked.

    "An expert." The leader squinted his eyes and said, thinking the person was someone like them. They quickly stop observing when Leon turn his gaze in their direction.

    "What scary perception!"

    If Leon knew there was people like these who thought his movement skill was those of an expert assassin instead of a runaway thief in his past life, he would have been overjoyed¡­ The debauched period was not something he''d like to remember and should be buried in the past.

 Chapter 43 - Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 43 - Confrontation</h4>

    In the past, themoners had a very stable lifestyle, but everything went downhill after the queen''s indefinite seclusion, abandoning oversight of kingdom affairs. The remaining nobles were fearful of the queen and did not act out of line at first. But over time, her presence weakened with her long absence and the courage of nobles grew.

    The reason the nobles had willingly relinquish their territories and allow the centralization of the kingdom to carry out so smoothly was because to them, feudal power was not a tangiblepared to the existence of awakening. It was considered an external force that was reliant on the obedience and loyalty of others. Only their own personal strength was genuine. In order to enhance that strength, arge amount of wealth was required.

    Although nobles had profitable businesses that provided them with the wealth to afford awakening pills, it was never enough to satisfy their insatiable greed. They started eyeing the wealth ofmoners. They did not dare to act openly and only plotted behind the scenes. The birth of gangs was the result of their money-making scheme.

    When the other nobles noticed the immense wealth being raked in, the temptation it brought outweighed their apprehension. When other nobles start joining, more and more are tempted to join, and the original big pie was divided into smaller and smaller slices among the nobles. To increase the profits, the gangs were driven toe up with newer methods to exploit themoners and it eventually spiraled out of control with all sorts of crimes and evil beingmitted.

    When the funds enter the upper district, they do not circte back into the lower district and the economy of the lower district was severely affected. The poor bes poorer, while the rich became stronger. In the end, the one who profited the most were the alchemist who refines the awakening pills.

    The Fortune Soaring Hall was one of the gambling dens under control of the previous ck Snake gang. Not many knew that the gang had recently been renamed as Golden Lion gang. The building had three floors with only the first floor was fully open to the public. The second floor was reserved for VIPs and the top floor was only essible by gang members.

    Although business at the Fortune Soaring Hall was no longer thriving like it once was, it was still profitable. But today, business was halted after the Red Smander gang upied the first floor and chased away all the unrted people. All the Golden Lion gang members were rounded up into one corner, bruised and battered.

    "Don''t be stubborn, Beckett! The ck Snake is finished! You can retain your position in the Fortune Soaring Hall if you swear your loyalty to the Red Smander!" A core member of the Golden Lion gang shouted.

    Beckett gritted his teeth, while wiping the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and stared daggers at the person he once called brother. He replied with only one question, "Why did you betray your brothers and joined the enemy?"

    "Betray?" The person shook his head. "This does not count as betrayal. I have always been part of the Red Smander gang."

    "So, you have been a spy right from the start! Had our brotherhood always been a joke to you!?" Beckett raged.

    "You''re wrong! While our allegiance had always differed from one another, the brotherhood we shared during my time in the gang was genuine. That''s why I am giving you the choice to join us. Your position remains unchanged, only your boss will change. Why must you stubbornly reject my offer and embrace death? You will die if you don''t us! That goes for all of you!" The person roared at Beckett and the gang members behind him.

    "Genuine? What a joke! If I knew you were a spy, I would have never called you my brother! The boss will avenge me, should I fall today!"

    "Y-You stu-"

    "That''s enough, Calvert. His choice has been made firm and resolutely." The Red Smander gang''s boss, Alroy, interrupted.

    "This¡­sigh¡­yes, boss." Calvert retreated behind the boss. His words had no effect on Beckett, and he had used up his time convincing. The boss must''ve ran out of patience.

    "Still¡­ I''m quite curious¡­ your boss is just a kid who is still wet behind the ears without any backing. The only backing your gang had, was already offended and chased away by that kid. What does the kid have that made you willing to die for him than betray him?" Alroy was intrigued by Beckett''s resolution. In their line of business, there is a heavy emphasis on loyalty. But when pushes to shove, loyalty meant nothing in the face of life and death.

    Towards Alroy''s curiosity, Beckett sneered. "All I can say is you are too na?ve if you think my boss has no backing when he possess great strength at his age and have no fear of those unscrupulous noble families. I can see that the boss is a person who abhor evil and leans towards the side of righteousness. It is better to die proudly under such a boss than to live slightly longer only to die a dog''s death under his hand."

    Beckett was all too clear on the oue of his choices. All the core members were experienced fighters. He could tell that Leon was inexperienced at fighting back in the nightclub, but his great strength and speed made up for hisck of experience. Besides, Leon was also still young, and his potential was limitless.

    "Hmph! You think that kid can kill all of us here?" Alroy felt rising anger for being looked down upon. At most the kid should be at the 3rd step like him. However, He had over a dozen years of battle experience and was obviously the stronger one. The kid would be defeated easily before anyone could be killed.

    "¡­" Beckett gave him a look of disdain. He did not reply with words, but his answer was clear.

    "Since none of you are willing to join my gang than you can all die!" Alroy roared with raised hand as a fireball appeared above his palm and grewrger at a visible rate. He was a rare fire user that did not belong to any of the noble families of fire. With his red hair and ability, he was known as the Red Smander for a reason.

    "Wait!!!" Most members closed their eyes to wee death, but some were unwilling to resign to the death and scrambled to the front. "We are willing to join your gang, boss!"

    "It''s toote to join now!" Alroy did not care for these few men. Although hecked subordinates to manage the West Lower District once they taken control over it, he did not need useless and irresolute men who only decide when death stares them in the face.

    "AHHH!!!" When Alroy was about to release his giant fireball and burn the whole lot to death, a painful scream came from behind him. Turning around in rm, he saw a person in ck standing near the front entrance with an arm in each of his hands.

    "My arms!!!!" The subordinate wailed painfully on the ground after having his arms suddenly ripped from his body.

    "Who are you?!" Alroy focused his sole attention on the person with his guard up. As for his subordinate on the ground, he did not care. A crippled person was a useless person. He did not need the subordinate since he had became useless. He was a ruthless leader. He did not care for any past sentiments they may have shared either.

    "You came to my territory to cause trouble and yet you ask who I am!?"

    "Boss!" Beckett eyes lit up. He could not see his face, but he recognized his voice. He was excited that the boss had arrived on time to save them.

    Actually, Leon had arrived earlier from the second-floor windows and overheard thetter half of their conversation from a blind spot. He wanted to see his men''s loyalty and who was prone to betray him. He would rather have a small group of powerful and loyal elites than raise arge group of riff-raffs mixed in his gang. He could have arrived sooner, but he had gotten lost earlier due to his unfamiliarity with the area.

    "So, you are the new kid boss around here." Alroy smirked and loosen his guard, when the identity of the other party had been determined.

    The remaining 19 core members retreated to sides in fear after witnessing Leon''s brutality, clearing a path between the two bosses. The armless subordinate''s heart turned cold, when he saw his boss''s attitude and his brothers worrying about themselves and abandoning him.

    The 20 core members present was only a third of Alroy''s total core members. The rest had stayed behind to guard their territory in the North Lower District against the White Ferret gang in the East Lower District.

    Leon was an abnormality that had disrupted the bnce that existed between the previous four gangs and initiated a fierce power struggle.

    The Golden Lion gang was connected to the Red Smander''s territory in the north and the Azure Wolf''s territory in the south. Only the White Ferret gang was not connected to the Golden Lion gang.

    The White Ferret gang would take the opportunity to attack one of their two gangs, if they maneuvered a majority their men to take over the Golden Lion gang''s territory. Alroy was aware of that possibility and made contingency for it.

    Leon was displeased when he was called a kid and stomped down on the wailing subordinate''s head, Sttering grey matter and blood everywhere.

    "Bastard!" Alroy raged and fired the giant fireball at Leon. Although he did not care for the subordinate''s life, the subordinate was after all, an official member of his gang, Leon''s action was no different to not putting him in his eyes and pping his face.

 Chapter 44 - Slaughter

    <h4>Chapter 44 - ughter</h4>

    During the earlier sh between the two gangs, the Fortune Soaring Hall had already been turned upside down with all sorts of broken chairs and tables, gambling chips and ying cards scattered everywhere. There was no obstruction between the two bosses as the fireball was shot straight at Leon, unimpeded.

    There was only calmness in Leon''s eyes as he faced the iing fireball. With one hand raised, the fireball was stopped, albeit not as easily done as earlier in the day. The intensity of the me was more or less at the same level, but Alroy''s fireball wasrgerpared to Sean''s. There was a stronger impact force. Nevertheless, it was still not strong enough to budge Leon''s position in the slightest nor the intensity of the me was high enough to burn his hand.

    Like two masing together, the fireball did not explode on impact and was quickly tamed under Leon''s control.

    "WHAT!?" Alroy''s eyes almost popped out it''s sockets. "How is your hand not wasted!?"

    The scene of Leon catching his fireball shocked him deeply. Being a 3rd step fire user, Alroy was aware that the advancement of his strength alsoes with a higher degree of resistance against fire, but even he would be burned by his own fire if he did not control it properly. The other party had to be a fire user 3 steps stronger than himself to be able remainpletely unscathed from his fire.

    From the information provided by Calvert, the person in front of him was only around 17-18 years old. What was the concept of 6th step awakener under 20? He thought it was impossible even if he just saw it with his own eyes.

    "What tricks did to you use, boy!?" Alroy questioned him aggressively, while making a defensive stance. Although he believed it was impossible for the Leon to be at the 6th step, he at least believed he was not simple and wasn''t stupid enough to underestimating him. Underestimating your enemies alwayses with a price.

    "Tricks huh? Even if there were tricks, why should I tell you?" Leon''s voice had a hint of disappointment in them. His high resistance was bolstered by his initial sess 5-element body. He thought he could shatter his opponent''s fighting spirit by disying an overwhelming difference in strength. It would save him some efforts and time in killing the boss if his fighting spirit was shattered, but his way of thinking was too naive.

    When the truth is too absurd, people tend to deny ande up with a more believable possibility. But even if Alroy believed Leon was a 6th step awakener, he would not have given up so easily. He had climb on top of a mountain of bones to be the boss of the Red Smander gang he is today. Allowing the opponent to sessfully intimidate him was equivalent to losing half the battle and could be further equate to throwing away his life.

    "¡­" Alroy had asked in the spur of the moment. If Leon spilled his secrets so easily just because he ask then he was an idiot. He felt stupid for asking a stupid quesiton. Alroy looked at his men and barked. "Surround him!"

    His men would not be able to put up a fight should Leon charge at them, but Alroy just wanted to give him the pressure of being surrounded.

    "Futile efforts."

    In Leon''s eyes, such action was pointless. A bunch of ants would not be able to shake an elephant. These people all had very dense bloody aura. A lot of innocent lives must have been lost at their hands with grievance. He wasn''t going to let any of them live.

    Leon raised the giant fireball high above his head. No one knew what Leon was going to do but they did not stop him. They didn''t want to jump out and be the target of Leon''s fireball, including the boss. Alroy didn''t want to suffer from his own attack. He was ready to jump out of the way if Leon decided to toss the fireball back at him. But Alroy had some level of confidence that Leon would not do that because his own men is right behind him.

    The fireball in the air started deforming and bepressed into a weird shape. It only took a few seconds before the final form of the fireball was clear. It had be a long solid fiery scythe. What could be a better weapon than a scythe for reaping lives?

    "CAREFUL!!!!"

    The moment Leon grabbed the scythe, Alroy immediately dropped to the floor. He tried to warn the others, but they did not have the time to react. They were all skilled fighters, but their reaction time and speed could not bepared to an awakened.

    A circr swing wasplete in a split second and all the men surrounding Leon was dissected in half easily like a hot knife through butter.

    "Sh*t! Sh*t!! Sh*t!!! I''ll kill you!!!" Alroy was so mad for the loss of his core members but did not make any move despite what he said. He was at a disadvantage. He could not condense a weapon of fire like Leon. The Red Smander gang would be severely weakened after this loss. He regretted being greedy for more territory.

    Leon just stared at him with a mocking smile for all bark and no bite, but immediately frowned at the fiery scythe in his hand. It had lost its edge after the one swing. It was not solid enough to retain its shape. Leon could also feel the temperature of the me dropping, but he thought this was natural.

    He was still at the first step, while Alroy was at the 3rd step. His fire would not be as hot so the heat of the scythe would continue to drop until it reached his level. He concluded that it wasn''t viable to use his fire ability as a substitute for his weapon. He needed to get himself a real weapon, otherwise he would be at a disadvantage when fighting someone of simr strength.

    "What''s wrong? If you''re noting at me then I wille to you." Leon dashed towards Alroy.

    Alroy''s face was ugly but there was nothing else he could do but try his best to defend against Leon''s attacks and look for an opportunity to escape. This was outside his ability. He underestimated the kid far too much. How was this a kid? This was a little monster. He would need the noble families backing his gang to intervene.

    Although his idea was good, Leon did not give him the opportunity. Alroy gritted his teeth as he dodges each consecutive swings of Leon''s ''fire scythe''. It was missing its edge, so it was more appropriate to call it a fire staff now.

    Alroy was unable to perfectly dodge each attack and suffered burns. He was good at closebat, but Leon''s weapon and speed easily suppressed him and didn''t give him an opportunity to counterattack.

    "Wait! Can you let me go? I will never step into your territory again!" Alroy said while continuing to dodge the blows. He decided to let down his pride and plead for mercy.

    "No." Leon sneered. his words could not be trusted. He would call for his noble backing if he let him leave. Leon also had other ns for Alroy. He continued chasing after Alroy and dishing out blows, weakening him in the process.

    "Fuck!!" Alroy was slowly covered in burns and his movements became sloppy and slower. He suddenly came to an abrupt stop. His body couldn''t keep up anymore and gave in.

    Leon wasn''t expecting him to stop so suddenly and hisst blow sent Alroy flying in the direction of the entrance.

    Leon stunned. Beckett and the men were stunned. Alroy was also stunned after hended but coughed up blood right after. Thest blow had injured his organs badly. Were the heavens toying with him? What sort of cruel joke was this? His opportunity to escape finally came but he no longer had the strength to run.

    Seeing the Red Smander was finally defeated, Beckett and the men cheered.

    "Ooh! Boss is amazing!"

    They had been awed by the boss''s strength and uncanny usage of his ability. No one had thought ofpressing their ability into a weapon before.

    Leon ignored the gang member''spliment and went over topletely cut off Alroy''s chances of escaping through hitting his acupoints. Only when Alroy''s fate was sealed, did he turn back to face the gang members.

    None of the gang members could tell what kind of expression Leon was making with his bamboo hat covering his face, but some of the members started feeling uneasy. These people were the ones that chose to betray his gang at thest moment.

    "The moment you chose to betray the gang, you no longer belong here." Leon''s voice was cold and stern. The few traitor''s hearts jumped at his cold words. They thought Leon was going to kill them off as well, but they were relieved by Leon''s following words. "Get lost."

    The traitors got up and left the Fortune Soaring Hall with their heads down. They were too ashamed to ask for forgiveness and a second chance to stay in the gang. At the most critical point, they had chosen to cling to life pathetically than to die proudly as a Golden Lion gang member. They felt regret for not persisting for just a little bit longer. They could''ve been part of something great.

    They had a faint feeling that the boss was going to fight all the viinous nobles for the stability of Lower District in the future. Although they can longer be a part of it, they will not join the other gangs. After the near-death experience, they had realized they weren''t suited for underworld life. They decided to go back to their families and live their life honestly.

    The others still in the gang thought it was a pity considering they were forced to betray them. Leon already knew that. That''s why he didn''t kill them. But they lost their qualification to remain part of the gang. He didn''t want those with weak wills and would surrender to pressure. The gang was still weak but already have many strong enemies¡­ Keeping them would be like keeping a time bomb.

 Chapter 45 - Dragon And Phoenix Jade

    <h4>Chapter 45 - Dragon And Phoenix Jade</h4>

    Lancaster Mansion.

    Rachel was walking down the dark corridor back to her room after having used the bathroom. Even though she was a goddess on campus, she was still a human at the end of the day. Like everyone else, she had to answer it when nature calls. There was no shame in it.

    On her way back, she noticed there was still light in the room with a half-opened door. It was her mother''s study room.

    ''What''s mum doing up thiste?''

    Rachel decided to check on her mum. Opening the door, she saw her mum sitting at her desk, reading through a pile of reports with a frown.

    Putting down the report in her hand, Amelia rubbed her temples before noticing Rachel by the door.

    "What are just standing around there for, my little girl? It''s gettingte. You should be in bed." Amelia said with a smile, rxing her frown.

    "Mum, I told you. I''m not little anymore." Rachel pouted as she made her over and hug her mum''s arm, while ncing at the bunch of report papers on the desk. "What seems to be troubling you so much, mum?"

    Hearing her daughter''s question, Amelia let out a long sigh along with her umted stress. "I originally thought I had a good lead on the whereabouts of the missing prince¡­ but sigh¡­ the only clue we had ended right where it started."

    "What do you mean it ended where it started, mum?" Rachel asked. Although she wasn''t interested in where the missing prince was and hoped he was never found. However, she also did not want to see her mother so troubled and want to share some of the burden. She was not happy with her parents arranging her marriage, but she still loves her parents dearly, just as they love her.

    She also understands that things cannot continue like this. With the king ina and the queen without the heart to rule, the kingdom was slowly falling apart. Things would only turn for the better if the prince was found.

    "I told you previously that we found out that the prince was sent to an orphanage during the chaos 17 years ago. Originally it shouldn''t be hard to find the prince if we can locate the right orphanage and inquire the people working there about it¡­ but none of the orphanages are open anymore. The people there are all gone. Every one of them." At this point, Amelia had a look of extreme hatred and disgust in her eyes.

    Such a look startled Rachel greatly. She had never seen her mother express such look of loathing and disgust at anything before. Was this still her gentle and kind mother?

    Seeing her daughter''s startled expression, she smiled wryly.

    "As you know, the orphanages arepletely dependent on donations from the people to remain in operation. This was not supposed to be a problem for our people because we are a wealthy kingdom. There are plenty of generous and kind people who would donate for the well-being of these children. Even rich merchants and nobles participate in fundraising and charitable events for these orphanages to raise their public images."

    "That''s a good thing." Rachel was confused. It sounds like they receive plenty of donations, so why did they all close?

    "However, those donations stoppeding in for many years. Instead, people even take the money from the orphanages." Amelia sighed with a clenched fist that was visibly shaking, showing her agitation.

    "What!? Who dares to steal donation money from the orphanages!?" Rachel felt angry for the children. Were they forced to starve? And where did they all go now?

    "Who else but the nobles that raise the donation money?" Amelia did her best to keep her temper under control.

    The nobles participated in events to promote their images for their own self-interest. It wouldn''t be strange if they ordered people take the money back secretly if they did not actually want to give away such arge amount of money.

    What made her extremely angry was how ignorant they have been of the evil befalling the Lower District in all these years. Nobles had they own circle in the Upper District and rarely visit the Lower District unless they are leaving the capital or have business to attend there.

    She had personally paid a visit the Lower District to check the orphanages and she had notice that although things look normal on the surface, there was no vitality in Lower District.

    She had paid a visit to her best friend, the queen, to update her on her findings and they had shared what they have uncovered together. They knew the nobles were corrupted but they didn''t realized how deep the corruption ran until now. All sorts of evil had taken ce in the Lower District in the name of profits.

    Hallucinogens like the Fantasy pill and forced protection money were just on the lighter side of things. There were forced prostitution, human and organ trafficking as well. The kingdom was just a shell of its former glory.

    The children were most likely sold off to the other kingdoms as ves or are already dead from having their organs excessively harvested.

    When the queen thought that her son might be one of those children, she was driven nearly insane and almost stormed out of the pce and wash the Upper District in blood. She was ready to kill 10,000 innocents than let any of the guilty ones escape unscathed. Amelia had taken a lot of effort to calm the queen down.

    Inside the pce of metals, the queen who is at the 9th step was omnipotent. Outside the pce however was an entirely different matter. No one really knows how strong the corrupted nobles have grown or how much of their true strength were shown on the surface. The queen could very much lose her life if she acted rashly, not to mention the many innocent lives that could be lost.

    The queen''s rage was notpletely quelled, and she had given Amelia a single condition. Elizabeth had given her two weeks to find her son, otherwise she would be out for blood.

    Which such little time to find someone who had been missing for 17 years, it wasn''t strange for Amelia to be stressing over it in her study room.

    When Rachel learnt of the details of the events that had been happening in the shadows of the capital from her mother, she felt the world had suddenly be very dark.

    "Go to sleep. I''ll be fine." Amelia said with smile, but there was a hint of fatigue under her eyes.

    Rachel hesitated. She wanted to help relieve her mother''s burden so she could rest. Suddenly she remembered about Leon.

    "Mum, maybe Leon can help with your investigation? ¡­He was raised in an orphanage when he was young¡­ and might know a thing or two." Rachel suggested with some hesitation.

    "Ahh¡­" Amelia smacked her head in realization. "I would have really forgotten about this friend of yours if you had not mention it. You should bring him over to our home to tomorrow."

    "What? You want me to bring him over tomorrow?" Rachel was astonished. She thought her mother would just ask her to inquire Leon about the matter. She didn''t think her mother would want to meet and question him herself. She must be frantic about the missing prince''s matter. Rachel felt panicky at the thought of bringing Leon to her home.

    "What? You don''t want to bring him over? Are you hiding something from your mother?" Amelia said with a sly smile.

    "N-No? We are just friends." Rachel''s cheeks felt hot and her heart wanted to leap out of her chest under her mother''s inquisitive gaze.

    "Being friends is good, but don''t overstep the boundary. You are after all engaged to the prince. It would not be pretty if words get out that you were seeing someone else." Her mother warned her.

    "Mm, I understand. I will return to my room to rest first." Rachel felt tired and sad at the mention of her engagement. She wondered why her parents was so adamant when ites to the arranged marriage, yet they spoil her when ites to other matters.

    "Mm, go."

    When Rachel left, Amelia thought of something and pulled out one of her desks draw, took out a small sandalwood box and open it. Inside was only a single item, a jade pendant in the shape of a divine bird called the phoenix. She didn''t know if such a bird exists, but it was something she was meant to give to her daughter a long time ago.

    Long ago when life was still simple, the two pairs from the duke family and the royal family went on a rxation trip together and encountered a mysterious old man who was travelling by himself. They thought it was dangerous for an old man to travel by himself and offered help only to realize the old man was a master and didn''t need any.

    However, their goodwill allowed them to form karmic ties with the old man. The old man said it was fated that they have met and broke a dragon and phoenix jade into two halves and gifting one half to each of them for their future son and daughter.

    The old man profoundly said that the union of dragon and phoenix will help them change the fate of their race before disappearing into the skies.

    Although the two couples felt incredulous at the turn of event and how unbelievable the old man''s words were, considering how prosperous the kingdom was at the time. They ultimately chose to believe in the old man''s words after witnessing his godly ability to fly without the help of the wind elements.

    The decision for the arranged marriage between their future offspring was a result of that fateful meeting.

 Chapter 46 - Rain Of Needles

    <h4>Chapter 46 - Rain Of Needles</h4>

    Looking at the mess the Fortune Soaring Hall had be, it would take a few days of renovation before business could be resumed.

    "Tend to your wounds and clean up the ce." Leon ordered his men.

    "Yes, boss!"

    It was fortunate that the Red Smander gang had gone easy on them and only light beating, and minor cuts were suffered. If the Red Smander gang didn''t have the intention to recruit them then they would have already been dead by the time Leon arrived.

    "What do we do about Red Smander gang members outside?" Beckett asked.

    "Leave them be. They will scatter on their own when news of their boss being defeated are spread by the traitors that left." Leon said as he made his way over to Alroy.

    "Just give me a quick death." Alroy had already resigned himself to his fate the moment he was immobilized. The loser falls while the winner takes all.

    Leon gave him a silent look before crushing all the bones in his limbs, effectively crippling him.

    "AHHHHH!!!" Alroy wailed like a pig being ughtered. He was already suffered severe burns and Leon''s action was like pouring salt on his wounds. Even someone durable to pain could not help but wail in pain. "Just kill me!! Why the need to humiliate me!?"

    Beckett and the gang members felt a chill up their spine. The boss was ruthless to hit someone when they''re already down. They thanked their lucky stars their boss was not their enemy.

    Leon knocked Alroy unconscious to silence him and handed him over to Beckett and the others. "Send him over to manager Doug at the Deadly Nightclub to manage after you guys are done here. You will all receive an awakening pill when this is all over."

    "Yes, boss." They weren''t sure what the boss''s intentions were for keeping the Red Smander alive, but theyplied, while feeling excited about the awakening pill.

    The fiery scythe was reduced to the size of a baton in his hands. Seeing that it had no further use, Leon tighten his grip and dispersed thepressed fire into the air before leaving the Fortune Soaring Hall.

    The gang members heaved a sigh of relief after Leon was gone. They felt both fortunate and fearful to follow such a boss, one who is good to his own people and ruthless to his enemies. If he was not ruthless towards his enemy, then he would be ruthless to himself. Being merciful to one''s enemies was the same as giving them a chance to bite back.

    The Golden Lion gang''s territory was being attacked on two fronts. Leon had only just resolved one of them. The opposite side was attacked by the Azure Wolf gang. Leon had no time to waste as he utilized his best movement techniques to rush over at his quickest speed.

    Since Leon had taken over the Golden Lion gang and became their boss, he was responsible for their lives. However, he was the only one capable of stopping the advances of the other gangs. Even if he was powerful, he could only handle the problems one step at a time. He was only one person.

    The Azure Wolf gang had chosen to attack their Grand Serenity Hotel. Unlike other business owned by the original ck Snake gang, the Grand Serenity Hotel was the only legitimate business that did not involve dirty money.

    Leon wasn''t sure if the people there were still alive or if they have defected into the Azure Wolf gang, but he swears to avenge them if they were killed. The inside situation was unclear to Leon as, Arlo was defeated at the entrance and forced to retreat before the situation inside was known.

    ¡­

    Over at the Grand Serenity Hotel, a pile of dead bodies was seen stacked in one corner. The blood dripping from their body was still fresh, indicating that they have been killed not long ago. These bodies all belong to members of the Golden Lion gang. 4 were ordinary, while 1 was a core member. The core member was also the manager of the Grand Serenity Hotel.

    In another corner, a bunch of normal workers were seen shivering in fear. They were spared because weren''t part of the Golden Lion gang and they were needed to continue the hotel''s operations.

    "Boss, why did we kill all the ck Snake gang members? Wasn''t it better to recruit them?" One of the core Azure Wolf gang members asked.

    The Azure Wolf, Osmond, lit up a cigarette, while he was surrounded by 20 core members of his gang, who were waiting for his answer. Like the Red Smander, the Azure Wolf had mobilized the same amount of men for the same cautiousness he had against the White Ferret gang.

    Osmond did not reply immediately but took a deep puff of his cigarette before exhaling.

    "There was no need to. If they can betray their own gang then they can also betray us. They can''t be trusted. It was better to just kill them off and rid ourselves of future worries."

    "What the boss said makes sense." The core members all agreed with Osmond''s logic.

    "Besides¡­ recruiting them would just mean more mouths to feed and less resource to be shared among ourselves." Osmond added. The men all felt an illusionary cold breeze at his words and kept quiet. Their gang was much smaller than the Red Smander because everyone in their gang was a core member. They minimized their numbers to maximize their earnings. They did not need weaklings and only the capable at allowed to join their gang.

    Finishing the rest his cigarettes, Osmond flicked the cigarette butt to the side and stood up. "Ready yourselves. We are going to kill our way through the rest of the ck Snake gang."

    Osmond did not nt spies in the ck Snake gang like the Red Smander did and naturally did not know that it has been renamed to Golden Lion gang. He also did not know that they had a new powerful boss either. He had only received word from his backers that the ck Snake gang had lost the support of their backers and it was golden opportunity to take over their territory.

    "We are just going to abandon the Grand Serenity Hotel after taking over it?" The core members were taken aback by Osmond''s decision.

    "We wille back and settle down our new territory after the ck Snake gang is eliminated." Osmond turn his gaze towards the normal staff members. "You better all behave yourselves and not go anywhere until we return, got it?"

    Osmond''s words were threatening, and the staff members were terrified. They nodded their heads vigorously in understanding. They did not dare to escape in case their faces were remembered by these horrible people.

    "Let''s go." Osmond signaled his men as he heads towards the entrance. He had only taken a few steps before he stopped in his tracks.

    "No need. You can all stay here." A cold voice was heard from the person in ck walking towards them with a dangerous aura. Leon had took the liberty to enter through the front entrance seeing that no one was guarding it.

    He allowed his killing intent to spill wantonly when he saw the dead bodies by the corner.

    "Who the hell are you?"

    "There no need to know who I am. You only need to remember that you will all die by my hands." Leon said menacingly but his voice sounded young due to his age.

    "Hah¡­ so it''s just a kid trying to y hero." Osmond was able to identify the approximate age of the person and concluded that the person shouldn''t be his opponent based on age. "Kid, why don''t you go y somewh-"

    Osmond halted his words abruptly and ducked quickly.

    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*

    Leon had fire out his acupuncture needles at the Azure Wolf gang without warning. None of the Azure Wolf gang members were able to react in time and had an acupuncture needle nted into their heads each. Their bodies became slowly dropped to the ground lifelessly with their eyes open. Even in death, they did not know how they died.

    Osmond nced at his fallen brothers before looking back at Leon with some lingering fear. If he had reacted just a bit slower, he would have been killed as well. How was this a kid? This is obviously a master-level assassin! Was his young voice used to throw me off guard?

    "Who paid you toe after my life!? I''ll pay you back double!"

    Osmond''s question bewildered him for a slight moment, but Leon dashed forward without answering. Several more needles appear in his hands, but they started to glow red. Leon was instilling fire elements into his needles, making it red hot. The only thing on Leon''s mind to was to kill all his enemies swiftly with the best of his abilities.

    It wasn''t strange for Osmond to think that Leon was a hired assassin. His core members were killed very swiftly and cleanly.

    The other party didn''t leave him any room for negotiation. Osmond''s face turned ugly as he retreated, trying to distance himself. He barely managed to avoid Leon''s needles. It was impossible to dodge at such close distance. Since he could not dodge it, he will stop the person''s needle by forcing him into closebat!

    He made his decision in a split second and charged forward instead of retreating!

 Chapter 47 - Strength Of Transcendents

    <h4>Chapter 47 - Strength Of Transcendents</h4>

    When Osmond charged forward, Leon did not retreat to create distance for his throwing needles. He was a Tempered Body 5thyer. There was no need to retreat when he could overpower his opponent.

    Unaware of Leon''s true strength, Osmond thought differently. Assassins were experts at killing, but they were not good at closebat. Otherwise, they would not resort to tricks and hidden weapons. Leon''s young voice further strengthened his belief that he was the stronger one between the two.

    It did not cross his mind that Leon was one of those powerful nobles as they wouldn''t throw away their prestigious family to be an assassin. So, his opponent was most likely amoner that was trained to be a killer by some hidden faction with ulterior motives. No matter the ages, there would always people who judge others based on their age.

    Osmond threw out a powerful fist, aiming for Leon''s throat. Such a move would''ve been lethal if it was able to connect, unfortunately for Osmond, Leon''s reaction time was not to be underestimated. Although Leon was unable to use his needles in such close proximity, he instinctively brought them closer to himself as he shot out his elbow to receive the blow in that instant.

    The elbow was the strongest and sharpest point of the body and with Leon''s superior strength and body, the result could be imagined.

    "Arghhhh!!!"

    When the fist and elbow connected, Osmond was struck with an incredibly sharp pain that travelled along his arm to the rest of his body as his hand was crushed in the sh. Osmond retreated, while hugging his right hand that had transformed into a mangled mess. An ugly expression was wore on his face.

    He had made a grave mistake of underestimating his opponent''s strength! It had costed him his right hand, but more importantly, it may very much cost him his life too!

    In fact, Osmond was correct! In the instant Osmond created distance between them, Leon shot out all his burning hot acupuncture needles.

    Osmond''s body was unable to react in that instance, but he utilized his ability to create a body of water in front of him in a desperate attempt to reduce the momentum of the needles and buy himself some time to evade.

    Unfortunately, the body of water was barely formed before the needles shot through it with a brief "Shh" sound. The needles continued its trajectory,pletely piercing through all 9 death acupoints on Osmond body. The 9 needles only stopped after it had drilled halfway through the stone wall behind him.

    Osmond''s body fell to the ground wordlessly with a thump. He couldn''t be anymore deader than dead. One of the death acupoint was located on his head and it had cut off his brain receptors. The effect brought by striking all nine death acupoints simultaneously had led Osmond to a swift and painless death.

    Leon stood quietly by the body with a thoughtful expression as he did a self-reflection on the battle that just finished. He did not feel proud for being able to kill two 3rd step awakeners in one night. If he couldn''t kill them at his level of strength, then he was no different than trash. Only when he was able to defeat those at simr or above his level would he have the right to feel proud.

    Moving on, he was surprised that the Azure Wolf was a water user. He thought fire and water users were umon, but it did not seem as umon as he has heard from the Old Man.

    In his understanding, the 5 elements formed a natural bnce and shared an intricate rtionship of creation and destruction among each other. There was no single absolute element that could dominate the rest among the five. Leon didn''t understand why the people of this world deemed metal as the strongest element when it could be destroyed by an equally strong fire.

    Perhaps the reason Duke Agni aimed for the throne was because he had deemed himself more worthy after the realization. In history, the Hero king was recorded to have the greatest contribution to the construction of the Great Wall, but it would not have been possible without the fire users. Otherwise, the metal wall would not have been fused into a single entity and just be a lump of various metal pieces piled together.

    Leon had to admit that humanity was fortunate to have someone who was able to surpass the peak 9th step awakening and bing a Transcendent. But it was also their misfortune that it was Transcendent metal-user. A lot of blood and sweat had to be poured into the construction of the wall and the development of their civilization was strained and restricted as a result of it.

    If it had been a Transcendent earth-user instead, they could have filled the entire area in earth, connecting the steep mountain ranges and fully enclosed the human domain from the outside world.

    When an Awakener breakthrough and be a Transcendent, their power increases by ten-fold. The difference between the two could be imagined. Beneath Transcendent, all Awakeners were ants!

    Leon spected that the ratio of elements among awakeners are so unbnced had something to do with their lifestyle and understanding of the elements.

    The living residences of most people are built with earthen substances. The usage of wood and metal were in the minority. In addition, these people interacted with the earth the most in their daily lives. Thus, many tend to awaken as earth-users, is what he believed to be the case.

    People like the Duke Ignis and Duke Agni''s family, who tinker in the cksmithing business and yed with metal and fire all their life naturally had greater chances of awakening as fire-users and metal-users.

    The queen''s maiden name was Elizabeth Arkwright. Duke Agni Arkwright was her uncle. It''s understandable that her personality went through aplete transformation after being torn between family and rtives. She was also the only member among the fire-element family to awaken as a metal-user before marrying into royalty.

    Leon was confident that bloodline had nothing to do with one''s affinity to the elements. He himself was the best example. He''s body was remolded and attuned to all five elements, but he awakened as a fire-user thanks to his past life''sprehension of firews.

    The world had a severe misconception of awakening!

    The staff members had no idea what to do in this situation and could only remain silent and obediently in their corner. They had no idea who Leon was or who he worked for and was afraid that Leon would silence them.

    Leon was still self-absorbed in his own thoughts and had no idea what were going through these people''s minds. His body moved to extract his acupuncture needles from the heads of the dead bodies and from the wall.

    Through this battle, he had a clearer understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. His closebat prowess was terrible as usual, but his killing potential could only be described with one word. Frightening!

    With his medical skills andprehensive understanding of the human body, he can perceive all life and death acupoints like an open book and strike them with pinpoint uracy.

    Doctors were the masters of life, but they can also be the masters of death! They can deliver heavenly pleasure and pain like hell with the touch of a hand and decide life and death with the use of one needle.

    If Leon hones his throwing skills properly, even 5th step awakeners may not be able to dodge his needles like Osmond sessfully did the first time. Leon was clear on what to focus. To build upon the foundation he already has and increase his killing potential. Increasing his killing potential would also increase his martial prowess, killing two birds with one stone. As for battle experience? It can only be gained through battle.

    Leon was ready to head back to the Deadly Nightclub. The only reason he let Alroy live a bit longer was because there was something, he wanted to test out on him. In other words, Alroy had be anotherb rat for one of his experiment.

    Alroy was still unconscious, while being delivered to the nightclub. He had no idea what fate had in store for him.

    Leon was ready to return after collecting all his needles. He smiled wryly at the state of his needles. Some of them had lost their straight pointy form and were no longer usable. He needed to get his hands on a set of stronger needles, but steel was already rare on the market. Acquiring needles made with metals stronger than steel is going to be a very difficult task. However, he has no choice but to figure out a way if he wants to be stronger.

    "Oh right." Leon turn towards the staff members. "You can all return home for today. Someone else wille clean up the mess. Business will resume tomorrow like usual."

    The staff members all heaved a sigh of relief after Leon disappeared from their vision. They were just ordinary people looking to earn enough to feed their families. Although there was a level of risk involved in working for gang-owned businesses, they had gotten use to peaceful environment after working at the Grand Serenity Hotel for years¡­ They didn''t expect their workce to transform into a death zone one day.

 Chapter 48 - Devouring The Fireseed

    <h4>Chapter 48 - Devouring The Fireseed</h4>

    "Get some sleep, Lynne. There''s no need to keep waiting. He won''t be visiting us tonight." Old man Dwight said.

    "I¡­I wasn''t waiting for anyone¡­ I just don''t feel like sleeping yet¡­" Lynne denied, but the blush on her face exposed her intentions.

    "Hahaha¡­ Alright¡­ Don''t stay up toote." Dwight shook his head as he retired to his bedroom. His granddaughter just couldn''t be honest with her feelings. No one understood his granddaughter better than he did.

    Her parents were rarely home since they started working on property development projects in other cities away from the Capital and had she was neglected. Their time was fully upied with managing their Cromwell''s Real Estate empire. If one was to argue who was at fault for the distant feelings they shared, her grandfather would be the one to me.

    Dwight was obsessed with alchemy and had zero interest in taking over the family business. While his father, Lynne''s great grandfather was disappointed, he still chose to respect his son''s choice. Afterall seeding the business can only guarantee their family''s stability, but an alchemist would allow them to prosper to new heights.

    Lynne''s father was chosen to seed the family business in Dwight''s stead. Lynne''s father did not fail his grandfather''s expectation by proving to be a very talented in the real estate business and was able to expand their Cromwell''s Real Estate outside, which was originally limited to within the Capital.

    Seeing such apetent sessor, Lynne''s great grandfather was able toy down the burdens in his heart and passed away peacefully from natural aging a few yearster.

    Sitting on the soft cushy sofa quietly in the dark, Lynne was seen exercising her control over water with an absent mind. She was disappointed that Leon did not pay them a visit, but she was not idle while she was waiting. She been pushing to breakthrough to the 3rd. She felt threatened by Rachel''s presence and herpetitive spirit was ignited. She didn''t want to be inferior to Rachel, but she had to ept the current reality that whether it was status, strength, looks and even bearing, Rachel was superior to her in all aspects.

    Status couldn''t be changed, but looks could be improved with makeup, bearing could change with practice and strength could be improved with hard work. However, she wouldn''t force herself to change in so many aspects as it would make her seem fake. Focusing on the improvement of her strength was enough for her. Each breakthrough not only improves her strength, but also her confidence. She did not need anything else to prove her worth. One should learn to be independent and mustn''t rely on their family background.

    It was fortunate that her grandfather had given her arge portion of the awakening pills. She had already taken two pills. One to breakthrough to the 2nd step and another one after reaching the 2nd step. Striving for quick sess, Lynne threw caution to the wind and swallowed another two pills simultaneously in order to breakthrough to the 3rd step.

    The medicinal efficiency immediately flooded her body and a burning sensation started swelling up into her throat.

    She instantly regretted her action as she tries her best to absorb the medicinal efficiency and suppress the sensation. She knew something went wrong the moment she started feeling pain in her body. Two pills proved to be too much for her body to handle.

    Her body temperature started rising rapidly and sweat trickled down her forehead as she tried to endure. Her vision blurred and consciousness grew hazy as she started bleeding from her nose.

    "This is really bad." She wiped her blood and thought before passing out on the sofa.

    ¡­

    "Boss, you''re back." Manager Doug greeted Leon as he walked in the nightclub.

    "Erm¡­ the ''package'' is on the underground floor."

    Giving manager Doug a weird look. He was expecting the person to have been delivered. Leon thought manager Doug''s choice of words to describe a person was interesting.

    "Mm, the team stationed at Grand Serenity Hotel has been wiped out. Seen some people over to clean up the corpses and temporarily take charge of the business there."

    "Right away, Boss." Manager Dougplied, leaving Leon to head underground alone.

    When heid eyes on the ''package'', he didn''t know whether tough or cry. Package was quite the urate description.

    Alroy''s bones were crushed, making his limbs very floppy and easy to bend in any directions. Leon assumed that the men delivering feared that Alroy would awaken during the short trip and decided to tie him up for their own sense of security.

    The unconscious Alroy in front of him had been curled and roped up into a box-like shape.

    The scene was quite grotesque. Definitely not good to be seen by children.

    He thought his men was quiteical. The person was a fire-user. The ropes would not bind him.

    Leon chuckled before shaking his head of unnecessary thoughts and ced his palm on Alroy''s head.

    His divine sense dived past the be and straight to the soul core, where Alroy''s fireseed resided.

    Leon always thought something was wrong when he had awakened as a 1st step fire-user.

    With his understanding of firews, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that he could shoot straight into transcendence with it. But he did not and remained at the 1st step, which baffles him.

    There must be some other condition that had not been met yet before he could advance his level. For example; intimacy with the firews or establishing a stronger connection. After all, his own cultivation was not high enough toe in contact with the firews on his own. It had only been made possible due to humans possessing such a miraculous awakening ability.

    The fireseed in front of him no doubt contained the answers to his questions or at least it should give him some insights into his doubts.

    But the precondition was if he can obtain the fireseed and absorb it. With no good methods on hand, Leon used the most primitive method; brute force. He sent in his Pseudo-Grandmist energy and wrapped around the fireseed like a. When the Pseudo-Grandmist energy contacted the seed, Leon almost lost control of his energy.

    Ssss¡­ The fireseed made hissing sound as it started burning up his energy and depleting his reserves. Leon yanked the fireseed out of Alroy''s head quickly. Luckily, his energy isn''t just any ordinary energy and was quite tenacious, otherwise it would have been like adding oil to the fire, powering the fireseed. Leon sweated at the thought.

    "AHHHH!!!" Alroy issued a painful cry as the fireseed was teared away from his head, cutting his connection to the firews and damaging his soul core. His body stumped back to the floor with a thump, eyes open but lifeless. He was still alive but brain-dead. The fireseed fried his soul core when it was torn away from his control.

    Leon immediately swallowed the fireseed to prevent it from dissipating back into the world.

    Leon had executed his move in a swift manner, but couldn''t stop half the fireseed from being lost.

    The remaining half of the fireseed broke down in fragments as it flowed through his system. Leon directed it straight to his own fireseed. Without having to do anything further, the fragments were attracted to his fireseed on its own like ma and began oveying it piece by piece.

    His fireseed shared a profound connection to his soul core and the information from the fragments were able to flow into his mind.

    When the fragments fused and became one with his fireseed, it became bigger and brighter than before.

    A pleasant feeling washed over him as he entered the 2nd step awakening.

    Leon indulged himself in the pleasant feeling for a bit before opening eyes. His eyes shined with understanding as his doubts were cleared.

    Like divine practice require refining energy, the fireseed was the source of his awakening powers and needed refining. In order to strengthen it quickly, he had to feed it fire elements and refine it. The higher the quantity, the greater the increase in strength and the higher the level of refinement, the stronger the power is on a qualitative level.

    With his high understanding of the firews, he would be to refine his fireseed to a very high level and grant himself higher-quality fire.

    In other words, even if he was at the same step as his opponents, his fire would be superior to his opponent''s.

    "Phew¡­" Leon exhaled a breath of turbid air as he looks at the lifeless Alroy. Leon broke his neck and ended his life after he outlived his uses. There wasn''t cold-blooded person but there was no sympathy in his eyes.

    Living as a retard was no different to being alive while being dead inside. It was better to end his miserable life. But then again, Leon would still kill him all the same regardless of his state¡­ He had too much blood on his hands.

 Chapter 49 - Tonight, I Want To Stay With You

    <h4>Chapter 49 - Tonight, I Want To Stay With You</h4>

    Back in the Divine Realm, everyone knew that karmicws existed along with destiny and fatews, but no one was ever able toprehend them. They became the Enigmatic Tripartite Laws.

    Enigmatic Tripartite Laws had no form and was illusionary. It was intangible. It could not be seen but could be felt. This was most obvious when it came to the Laws of Karma.

    When one mention Karmic Laws, they would associate with karmic virtues and karmic sins. Like their names implies; karmic sins are umted by willfullymitting evil, while karmic virtues are umted by doing good. People with karmic virtues are blessed with good luck, while people with karmic sins are gue with bad luck.

    A short cut to gaining karmic virtues was to y evil beings stained with karmic sins and vice versa for gaining karmic sins.

    Leon''s cultivation level was too low to feel the karmicws and had no idea whether the karmicws governed this world or not, but there were no disadvantages to killing Alroy and only advantages.

    Firstly, he did not like Alroy, who''s hands were stained with innocent blood. Secondly, He had invaded his territory and killed his people. Their presence also threatens the safety of his parents and thirdly, if he could umte karmic virtues, he would be blessed with good luck.

    Although he does not believe in luck and only believe that his fate and destiny are decided by his own hands, there was no harm umting some karmic virtues even if he could not feel it.

    Being thrown into such a chaotic world, life was insignificant and fragile like a flickering candle me that could be easily snuffed out at any time. Leon would need all karmic virtues he could get his hands on, if he wanted to improve his chances of surviving in such a world.

    The moment his memories were awakened, and many truths were uncovered, he was already burdened with many responsibilities. The fate of humanity had nothing to do with him, but since he understands the bleak future they have, he would not turn a blind eye to it.

    Ancient doctors had 3 levels of treatment; one, they treat the illness. Two, they treat the body. Three, they treat the country. In this case, treating the country refers to solving the problem humanity face as a whole.

    Although it sounds far-fetched and unreasonable that doctors could treat a country, the existence of cultivation makes just about anything possible as long as the necessary threshold of strength was achieved. People always try to make sense of the world with logical reasoning, but nothing ever made sense in the world of cultivation. The only thing that did make sense is that nothing made sense.

    Of course, Leon understood that he was still too weak to take on such a heavy responsibility and only needed to focus on increasing his own strength. However, as long as the matter is not too big and within his reach, he can still save who needed to be saved and kill who needed to be killed.

    Hements at how ignorant and easy the upper-ss people live their life. They care neither for themoners below them nor the threats that loomed outside and in the darkness. Ignorance was a sort of bliss he guessed.

    Leon head back upstairs to the ground floor. Care not for what others do if it does not affect him and those close to him. He shook his head. His thoughts wonder off too much.

    "Manager Doug, has the awakening pills been handed out yet?" Leon asked.

    "Yes, Boss. I dare not dy any tasks you assign to me. Is there something you need, Boss?" Manager Doug asked nervously. He had not reason to be, but the boss''s intentions are hard to guess.

    "That''s fine. I''ll will be staying the night here. Arrange a room for me." Leon intended to ask manager Doug to hand the pills to Beckett and the others, since the pills have already been given to the other core members, it didn''t matter. He can just refine another batch of awakening pills. Beckett and the others had to be rewarded for their loyalty.

    "Yes, Boss. Did you wish to continue using the room on the second floor or should use the presidential suite on the top floor?"

    "Presidential suite huh?" He did not need such a big room to himself. "The same room on the second floor will do."

    "The room had been reserved for you this entire time, Boss. You can head over and use the room any time. The door should not be locked. Even if it is, I''m sure someone would open the door for you." A knowing smile appeared on Doug''s face. His voice was a bit vague.

    Although Leon was puzzled, he wasn''t bothered to ask. He was rather tired after running left and right the entire day and night, literally. He wasn''t joking. During the day, hepped the field on campus and at night, hepped the Western District. But at the end of the day, it was quite eventful. He had some pleasant gains from the trouble that came knocking. Like the old saying went; fortune and disaster came in pairs. The scale was just smaller.

    Arriving at the same room he was using on the second floor earlier in the night, he reached his hands out for the doorknob and turned it. The door was not locked and was opened easily. Inside, Aria was seen sitting quietly on the bed with her eyes closed. She was still trying to digest all the information Leon had transmitted to her. She wasn''t sure which technique to practice first.

    The sound caused by the door opening made her frown as she opened her eyes. Seeing who was at the door, Aria''s frown instantly changed into a happy smile. "You''re back."

    "You haven''t gone home yet?" Leon was stupefied and asked a silly question. She was right in front of him. Of course, she hasn''t gone home yet.

    "Mmm. Tonight¡­I wanted to stay with you." Aria mustered up her courage and said. She did not think his question was silly at all.

    Cough*

    "You¡­want to stay the night with me?" Leon thought he heard wrongly. Things seems to progress a little too quickly, no?

    Aria lowered her head and blushed profusely. She didn''t have the courage to say it a second time.

    Leon was instantly put on the spot and suffered a dilemma on what he should do and say. An ancient doctor was supposed to be able to treat the body and the mind. However, Leon had lived a short 30 years in the Divine Realm and did not master treatment on the mind. There was still a lot he had to learn. The path of medicine was profound and never ending. One would never stop learning.

    The mastery in treating the mind required the doctor to have aplete grasp on human psychology; to be able to understand people''s thoughts and behavior.

    His grasp on men''s thoughts and behavior was not too bad as he was a man himself, but when ites to women, he was in the nk.

    He couldn''t leave Aria hanging forever and had to say something quickly. He felt his heart pounding. Fortunately, they shared an interesting connection between them and he vaguely understood that she had special feelings for him.

    "I¡­ can''t?" Aria looked up and stared at him with teary eyes that threaten to overflow. She wasn''t going to let him go after finding him again, but if he rejects her then she doesn''t know if her heart can take it. Leon felt his heart melt. Aria was too beautiful and her voice was angelic.

    He would be a hypocrite if he said he didn''t feel anything. He was tender towards the fairer sex and it wouldn''t be the gentlemanly way to reject a beauty, when they offer themselves to him.

    "Okay, let me take a shower first. I reek of blood." Leon answered with a gentle smile.

    "Okay." Aria nodded in relief. Heart thumping from anticipation and nervousness as to what would happen next. She did not mind the blood on Leon. She knew it was the blood from bad people.

    Leon didn''t take long and came out of the bathroom in a new set of fresh clothes he had stored in his world space. Aria didn''t know where the clothes came from, but she didn''t ask. She let it remain part of Leon''s mysteriousness.

    Leon entered the bed andid down with Aria in his arms.

    "Let''s sleep." Leon said. He wasn''t nning to do anything else. There was a gradual process for everything.

    "Mmm." Aria felt a mixture of disappointment and relief, but also happy. Leon not doing anything to her means that he respects her. She felt warm in heart as her consciousness easily slipped into thend of dreams.

    ¡­

    That being said. The next morning Leon''s eyes were red, and his throat was dry and hoarse. He did not get a single wink of sleep! There was a beauty in his arms, but he chose not to eat her up. He was a man and naturally had a reaction when holding a peerless beauty in his arms.

    There was no need to pretend to be chaste or anything. He had slept with countless women in his past life. But then again, this was his second life and he had yet to sleep with any woman. So, in the end was he a virgin or not? Ai¡­ the dilemma of two lifetimes.

    He had no good answer and no idea what the right choice was to do! This would be the start of his first serious rtionship. When he epted her feelings, he was in it for the long run. He did not want to fuck it up for some momentary pleasure that could end on a bad note and lead to a lifetime of regret.

    In the end, a torturous long night of restlessness made him felt ever closer to Buddha. Was he bing a monk?

 Chapter 50 - Arias Dream

    <h4>Chapter 50 - Aria''s Dream</h4>

    Aria had a strange dream. The dreamworld was much more beautiful than what she had ever seen in the real world. The buildings were built simply, but it was exquisitely designed like works of art. It was clean, beautiful, awe inspiring and majestic at the same time. What she was looking at was a lone pce on the peak of a snowy mountain. The air below was fresh, while the sky above was bright. It was not grim and smoky like the screams of industrialization in the real world.

    The very world itself seemed to thrum with life as mythical birds flew over the skies. Aria was not in her own body but watched the world through the eyes of someone else. She had no control and was only a spectator. She experienced the sensation of being able to fly through the skies alongside these mythical birds.

    The person she was inhabiting was like the very definition of beauty. Her whole body was wlessly perfect without a single blemish. Like a goddess or monarch, her looks and power reigned supreme. She could summon the winds and rains with a call and tten mountains and dry up rivers with a wave of her hand.

    Aria didn''t think it was possible for humans to attain such strength but tried to engrave everything she saw into her memory as she might not remember such a dream when she wakes up.

    The scenery changes and she was no longer the powerful goddess, but a sickly little girl suffering from a rare illness that leaves her bedridden. Time shes forward a few years and she became a sickly young girl. Her parents were poor, but they never once thought about giving up on her. She was well loved. However, one day, her whole vige was massacred by piging bandits and she lost everything.

    Maybe due to the likelihood that she would die even if she was left on her own, the bandits did not bother her and spared her. She became the sole survivor of the vige.

    While waiting to die, a pair of travelling miracle doctors, father and son found her. The son was even younger than her, but his medical skills was beyond her understanding. Her knowledge of the world was limited within her vige.

    While there were divine practitioners in that world, there were also a lot of ordinary folks. No one was born strong and not everyone was born into a cultivation family.

    The father could easily cure her illness, but the task was left to the son as part of his test. The father and son felt sympathetic for her loss when they learned of her story and took her in as a maid after she was cured. Although she was taken in as a maid, her status wasn''t below anyone else and the son''s father treated her like he would his own daughter.

    When she was freed from the illness, her talent in cultivation blossomed and the father and son duo realized they had picked up a rare treasure. She possessed a unique body constitution that allowed her to cultivate at an unprecedented speed and broke all records to be the youngest Divine King in a very short amount of time.

    The scene changed once again, where she was still a loyal maid despite now possessing the strength to stand at the top of the world. She had never forgotten the kindness and new lease on life the father and son had given her.

    Despite being several years older, she had fallen in love with the young medical genius. But because they grew close as brothers and sisters, she kept her feelings bottled up inside. She was afraid of destroying the rtionship they shared.

    When the young medical genius grew of age and became more conscious of matters between man and woman, he started to indulge himself in the brothels.

    Aria felt the sadness in the person''s body she was upying. Why did the boy look for smelly fishes in distant waters when there was a white swan in nearby pond?

    However, it wasn''t her ce to judge since she didn''t understand anything. She was just an observer.

    The girl did not ask for much. She was content as long as she had a ce in his heart.

    The scene changed once more as time seemed to move forward a several years.

    The proud goddess was back on the snowy mountain pce, but the ce felt deste. Feelings of regret and sadness swelled in her heart as she stood by the side where the father and sonid in a pool of blood.

    The father and son weren''t just doctors but royalty. The father was a powerful Divine King and had vast territories under his rule. The pce was built on the peak of the snowy mountain because it had good vantage point to overlook his territory. They had many subordinates and servants, but at this moment, not a single soul was seen.

    She was gone on a trip to procure some extremely rare divine herbs for the Divine Medicine King and when she came home, everything was gone. She had lost everything important to her once more.

    The loss overwhelmed her. Even if she was strong enough to go and take revenge, it would not bring the dead to life. With her loved ones gone, she lost her will to live and ended her life.

    If there was a next life¡­she would not hold anything back and try to live without regrets¡­

    Aria woke up with her eyes moist. She felt confused and lost. She didn''t know why but she felt sad.

    The dream became a distant blur and harder to recall after she was awake. It was also like a jumbled puzzle that was hard to follow but she at least understood the tragedy of the girl''s life. She did want to be like that.

    To live without regrets¡­

    With that thought she wanted to bury herself into Leon''s arms tightly and not let go, but her arms grabbed at nothing and realized she was alone in bed. Leon was already gone, and the sun was shining brightly in the sky outside.

    ¡­

    Crawford campus, training field. The students gathered early again. The awakened students have recovered from their fatigue, but the ordinary students were not. They felt sore all over their body and their legs felt like jelly. Their bodies weren''t well trained and would take up to 2 weeks to recover from aching muscles naturally. Unfortunately, the instructor wouldn''t give them that much time. If continuously pushed beyond their limit, they may have a chance at natural awakening.

    "Looks like I''m thest one to the party." Leon walked over to the group with a smile.

    Fatty Ben, Rachel and Lynne were all present.

    "Hmm? What''s wrong with you, Lynne?" Leon immediately noticed something was wrong with Lynne. She had tried to hide it, but it did not escape Leon''s sharp eyes.

    Her face was pale, and she was feeling lethargic and fragile like a stalk of grass that sways at the slightest blow of the wind.

    "I-I''m fine." Lynne said weakly and panicked, while taking a step back. With Leon''s medical expertise, he could easily discover something was wrong with her. However, she did not want her problem to be known by her rival in front of her. Her step backcked strength and made her fall backwards.

    Leon swiftly took a step forward and grabbed her wrist and pull her back up before she could hit the ground. He felt her pulse and his expression turn grave. Her hand felt very cold. In fact, it was bone chilling cold. Even without fully checking her condition, he could guess why she had be like this. She had overdosed on the awakening pills, but since Leon was unfamiliar with the aftereffects of awakening pill overdose. He could note up with a cure on the spot.

    It was a miracle that she was alive until now. If Lynne didn''t breakthrough to the 3rd step, she would have died without a doubt. She was left unconscious overnight after all. The body strengthening benefits brought be breakthroughs allowed her tost until now. But it came with a strange mutation. She was originally burning up when she took the pills, but all she could feel now is icy cold. Her water seed had gone out of control and became frozen. The cold energy leaked to the rest of her body.

    "Your body is in such critical condition and you say you are fine?" Leon tone was harsh and stern. She was nominally his fianc¨¦e. How would he answer to her grandpa if something happens to her?

    Being rebuked by Leon, tears welled up in her eyes.

    Seeing her expression, he softens up and sighed. "You are too impatient and reckless for sess."

    "Mmm." Lynne lowered her head.

    "Is it that serious? How do you know? Can you treat her?" Rachel bombarded him with questions, but she was genuinely concern. She did not know about Leon''s medical expertise, but she chooses not to doubt his words. Leon wouldn''t talk nonsense when he is serious. However, the more she learns, the less she understood him.

    Lynne was touched by her concern and thought there was no point in being rivals. Someone as excellent as Leon was bound to have more than one woman by his side.

    "Yes and no. I can treat the symptoms but not the root." Leon answered after some thought. It was not a problem to expel the cold energy in her body, but the core problem was her frozen water seed. If it was not treated then cold energy would continue to spread in her body.

    But it was too close to Lynne''s soul core and anything that involved the soul core had to be treated with utmost care. If he was careless and cause irreparable damage to her soul, it''ll be toote for regrets.

    "Please help her."

    Leon nodded. It goes without saying. He was about to begin treatment, but his hands paused briefly by a loud voice.

    "ATTENTION! Line up neatly for your roll call!" Instructor Eugene arrived on the field and roared in a volume that everyone could hear.

    Leon ignored it and resume his treatment n on Lynne''s body.

 Chapter 51 - Suppressed

    <h4>Chapter 51 - Suppressed</h4>

    In order to expel the cold energy, Leon first had to warm up Lynne''s body by giving her a unique set of massage.

    His hands were infused with fire elements, making it warm to the touch. The temperature was controlled so he wouldn''t identally burn her.

    When his hands contacted her leg, she felt the coldness on the surface of her skin being reced with a warm fuzzy feeling. Under his massaging technique, the cold energy in her legs were slowly being eliminated. It also came with an inexplicable pleasure that made her let out a weak moan inadvertently.

    "Wuuu¡­" She covered her mouth to muffle her moans, while her face turns red with both anger and embarrassment. She looked at Leon with some grievance.

    ''So hateful. Why didn''t you warn me?'' She wanted to stop Leon from continuing, but she was too weak to resist as the wave of pleasure slowly overwhelms her.

    Rachel felt some envy, doubts and curiosity looking at Lynne''s face that was rosy red and stered with a look of ecstasy. Was this really a medical treatment? Why does she look like she''s on cloud nine? Ahh¡­ I wish we could trade ces¡­ huh? What am I thinking? Rachel shook her head of the ridiculous notion with a blush. She must be crazy.

    Lynne''s moan was soft, but it was very erotic to those who heard it. Leon was no exception. Luckily, he still had some self-awareness and notice the problem. He chose to stop the message and did not embarrass her further. However, he still ced one hand on her back and continue channeling fire elements to eliminate the cold energy in her body. Lynne''s body has been enduring the cold energy for a whole night and it had left part of her body frozen. The massage was good for restoring blood flow to the frozen areas.

    "Leon Bradford, I made you representative for a day and you are already defying my orders?" The crowd was quiet and only Eugene''s voice was heard in a low tone. As fellowmoners, he had high hopes for Leon to be an exemry soldier, but he was left disappointed.

    Only one day had passed, and the kid was already acting unruly and flirting in public.

    "I''m treating my friend." Leon did not turn around and answered with his back to him.

    Eugene raised an eyebrow at his action. It did not look like treatment to him, but a shameless public disy of affections. Leon was not giving him face at all by facing him with his back. He felt his anger rising.

    If he doesn''t teach these kids how to respect their superiors, wouldn''t they step over his heads in the future?

    Even if he put his military rank aside, he was a powerful 4th step awakener, someone stronger than these kids. They need to learn how to respect the strong! He wouldn''t tolerate Leon''s insolence.

    "Hmph! Acting so physically intimate is also considered treatment? Treatment for what? Your libido? Pah! What a joke!" When Eugene snaps, he was very uncouth.

    Leon was wholeheartedly trying to treat Lynne. It wasn''t his intention to disrespect the instructor.

    However, the instructor''s words were vulgar and very grating to his ears. Leon was immediately furious.

    "What the fuck do you know!?" He roared at Eugene.

    "What gall! If I don''t teach you a lesson, I won''t be able to live up to my nickname!" Eugene barked before turning to the teachers and other military personnel on scene. "All of you stay out of this!"

    Leon took the opportunity to hand Lynne over to Rachel to take care and under Fatty Ben''s disappointed look.

    "Be careful." Rachel said. She was displeased with the instructor. He was uncouth and narrow-minded.

    "Everyone, keep your distance." The teachers and military personnel made space for Eugene and Leon to duke it out.

    "By the way¡­ what is Commander Eugene''s nickname?" A teacher asked one of military personnel?"

    "That is¡­" The person being asked had an awkward smile. "Commander Eugene is called the Wild Bear in the army."

    "Oh?" The teacher was taken aback but didn''t asked further.

    Eugene was the least disciplined of allmanders and a big troublemaker. There was never day of peace in the army with him around. He was a battle maniac, challenging people left and right every day. No amount of punishment was enough to discipline and tame his wild nature. Hence, everyone cursed him as a wild bear, but he took the name with pride.

    It was uncertain whether he was assigned as the instructor because he was the best for the job, or he was simply sent away to save people from the headaches he brings.

    Nevertheless, many had rejoiced when he was sent away from the military base.

    The students watched the two face off with anticipation. Some rooted for Leon, while others were hoping he gets beaten badly and make a fool of himself. Edric and his friends were part of theter.

    "Come!" Eugene took a weing stance as the earth cracked beneath his feet before numerous rocks rose before dropping back to the ground.

    Leon wasn''t stupid enough to engage Eugene in closebat just because he goaded him to. The military had a unique set of martial arts tobat the advantage beasts had in physical strength.

    Leon was impatient to end the fight quickly so he could resume Lynne''s treatment, but he did not n to use his needles. It was his trump card for killing.

    Fire gathered to him like numerous strands as they weaved around him in a spherical manner.

    "Hmph! Don''t think I''ll wait for you to power up your attack!" Since Leon did not charge at him, he will take the initiative to strike first.

    Eugene took a step forward with a stomp and the rocks rose again before Eugene punched at the air in front and the rocks shot at Leon like bullets.

    Leon''s face changed slightly as he dodged to the side. The fire followed with him at the center. Part of the fire strands gathered to his hands and condensed into fire needles. The fire needles werepressed and solidified before he shot them back at the same time, he was dodging the rock bullets.

    Eugene had anticipated a counterattack and quickly stomped the ground again as an earth wall quick rose in front of him to block the two fire needles.

    He had the choice of dodging, but someone may have been hit by the fire needles. Leon was forcing him to block the fire needles.

    The fire needles drilled through the thick earth wall with a lot of momentum, but it was not enough. The tips were exposed from the other end of the earth wall before they had lost all momentum.

    Eugene sweated as the tips were just inches from his face, but his blood boiled with excitement. His anger subsided and his battle spirit rose as one would expect from a battle maniac.

    "Good! Let''s see how you fare in closebat!"

    As soon as the earth wall copsed, a footprint was imprinted in the ground behind as Eugene shot forward like a cannonball.

    "You talk too much!!" Leon roared. Eugene''s anger may have subsided, but Leon''s anger had not.

    Eugene was met with another two fire needles to his face. He was shocked as he twisted his body in midair and narrowly dodged the fire needles. He did not expect Leon to form another two fire needles so swiftly.

    "Sh*t! Everyone dodge!" The teachers warned the students as the fire needle shot at them. There was no way the teacher could block the fire needles when Eugene barely did. They were only 1st to 3rd step awakeners. They focused on education and naturally neglected training their ability.

    Everyone thought they had put themselves at a reasonable distance to watch the fight, but who knew that their lives would still be threatened at such a distance.

    Coincidentally, Edric was in the fire needle''s most direct line of trajectory as his eyes were wide open and feet rooted on the spot. Luckily, he had Cayden and Adrian by his side as they were fast thinkers and tackled him to the ground. The fire needles brushed past them drilled into a stone wall not far away.

    Edric was shaken with fear when he just experienced a close shave with death. An unpleasant smell traveled up his nose as he noticed his pants was wet. He had inadvertently pissed himself.

    Edric felt humiliated and embarrassed as he looks at Leon in the distance with hatred and gritted teeth.

    ¡­

    Leon was forced to receive Eugene''s fist and locked into closebat as he had failed to halt Eugene''s momentum.

    The person having the upper hand in the closebat was quickly determined after they traded several blows.

    Fighting closebat with Eugene made Leon want to puke blood from the frustration. He was so angry he could notnd a solid blow on him and was suppressed instead despite wielding greater strength. All his fists and kicks could not connect and were parried one after another instead.

    Military Arts; Flowing Stream.

    It was a martial art technique that utilizes the opponent''s strength against them and redirect their attacks. Like the name suggested, the technique flows along the opponent''s attack like a stream and does go against it like the current.

    To fight hard with soft.

    Eugene was forced to use his military arts to his greater shock when he traded blows with Leon.

    Such powerful physical strength and physique! Leon was a 5th step awakener! A 17-year old 5th awakener! His talents were unprecedented and unrivaled! Eugene concluded.

 Chapter 52 - F-F-Fiance?

    <h4>Chapter 52 - F-F-Fiance?</h4>

    Eugene''s appreciation for Leon''s talent continue to grow the longer they fought. His eyes shone with a strange light that creep Leon out.

    As for the previous disrespect, Eugene had already tossed it out the window. Leon was at a higher level than him and deserved to be respected.

    He may be able to suppress Leon now, but once Leon learn some martial arts from the military, things would turn out differently. Leon was a rough diamond waiting to be cut and polished.

    "This little brother, how about we put our conflict behind us and start over? I apologize for my earlier remarks, okay? No discord, no concord, right?" Eugene did not want to fight anymore as there was no point to it. He tried to address Leon in an intimate term to ease the tension and bring them closer, but it went into deaf ears.

    None of Leon''s blow had connected and it had left him with a lot of pent-up frustration and anger. How could they end the fight there? He wasn''t someone easy to bully.

    "Fuck you!" Leon cussed and threw out a swift punch with all his might.

    Due to Eugene lowering his guard, Leon''s fist broke past his guard and when straight for his face. The fist was unavoidable and toote to block.

    The fistnded squarely on his face as Eugene''s head followed through the motion of the fist andunch himself flying back to abate some of the damage received.

    Leon was finally able to calm himself down after releasing all his pent-up feelings in the single punch. He was usually level-headed, but his anger was explosive and uncontroble once he snaps.

    "Have you calmed down yet?" Eugene got up on his feet and asked while rubbing his new ck eye. Had he not reacted in a timely manner, Leon''s fist would have left him with some serious head injuries or even killed. But he was not angry. He had his fair share of life and death experience and what happened wasn''t enough to affect his mentality.

    "Sorry." Leon apologized and made his way over to Lynne. He did not want to say anything further to Eugene. He did not like him. He had lost control of his emotions and exposed his true strength, which went against his interest.

    The reason he hides his strength is for people to underestimate him. If he offends powerful noble families, they may be toozy to send powerhouses after him. But if he is strong then they would only send stronger people. Fortunately, he had decided to keep his identity hidden as the boss of Golden Lion gang while offending the Grey family.

    Eugene smiled wryly at Leon''s unfriendly attitude, but he did not mind. The kingdom needed talented awakeners like Leon. Perhaps he had the highest hopes to breakthrough to transcendence.

    "Huh? Is the fight over? Just like that?"

    "The fight was too short. How anticlimactic."

    "Anticlimactic? Has your head been kicked by a donkey? Did you not see him send the instructor flying with a punch?"

    The students started discussing among themselves. They had to reassess Leon''s strength. His strength was not weak to send the instructor flying. It did not look like the instructor was holding back either.

    No one would willing let someone punch them in the face unless they were crazy or a masochist.

    "How much have you been hiding?" Rachel asked curiously. Leon seem to have be a stranger to her. She did not know him well.

    Leon responded with a smile. What could he say? That he went from unawaken to 5th step equivalent in a less than a week? People would try to dissect him for his secrets. Although Rachel might not spread the news, he knew better that a secret only remains a secret when no one knows.

    "Let''s continue your treatment, Lynne."

    Lynne''s pale face blushed as she lowered her head. "I-I don''t need it."

    "Don''t worry, I won''t use the massage." Leon assured knowing what she was thinking.

    It was fine if he didn''t mention it, but since he mentioned it, her face grew a shade redder. A blush was also seen on Rachel''s face. The massage treatment was just too erotic!

    "It''s best you find a private room for that, Boss. It''s pure torture for us single men to listen in on." Fatty Ben suggested.

    "Hahaha¡­" Leonughed awkwardly. He was too focused on the treatment and had neglected the time and ce for it. But Lynne''s body was too weak, akin to an ember that was about to fade out. He was afraid it would blow out at any time.

    As Leon continue to channel fire energy into Lynne''s body, he was wracking his head for a viable solution. The water seed was fully frozen. It was better to call it an ice seed.

    Ice seed? Ice was also part of the waterws but exists on a higher level of application. It seemed that the pill overdose didn''t just upgrade her strength, but also the grade of her water seed.

    Leon scrunched his eyebrows together. Such forceful methods always came with a great price. Lynne''s body wasn''t strong enough to handle the overbearing properties of her new ice seed and it was practically killing her.

    Her lifespan was also shortened. Leon had already notice the few strands on grey hair on her head.

    He remembered that all the women from the Ice Phoenix Divine Pce back in the Divine Realm all practiced ice attribute techniques. They were all peerless beauties with incredible strength. Unfortunately, their ice-attribute cultivation technique was wed, and their lifespans were shorten as a result as well.

    A Divine state practitioner enjoys an average lifespan of 10000 years. But for thedies of the Ice Phoenix Divine Pce, their lifespan only amounts to 3000 years unless they were able to breakthrough to higher states.

    Leon knew their divine practice technique, while helping them extend their lifespans. There were two ways of doing so. One was to revise their technique and the other was to remold their bodies to be suitable to the technique.

    The technique [Ice Phoenix Divine Canon] required the blood of a pure-blood ice phoenix to remold their body. Unfortunately, the ice phoenix race was long extinct since primordial times. Leon could give Lynne the revised technique and allow her to embark on the divine path, but it would involve sharing his secrets. He would have to think about his choice carefully.

    "Alright, gather around. I have some announcements to make." The ck-eye Eugene stated. "I have decided that today''s training is cancelled."

    Hearing the instructor''s words, the students rejoiced. But before they could celebrate, his next words killed their excitement.

    "However, in a month''s time, you will all be moved to the training camp."

    "WTF?" Their initial 2 months had been cut down to one month. The crowd broke into an uproar.

    "Why!?"

    Eugene did not exined himself and left to tend to his sore eye. He didn''t need a reason and did whatever he wanted.

    "Isn''t the training camp where themoners were enlisted to train?"

    "Damn!"

    They don''t know what it''s like at the training camp, but they assumed they would be treated like everyone else there and start at the bottom with themoners, albeitter. They were used to their luxurious life and didn''t get out of theirfort zone.

    "How are you feeling now?"

    "Hmm¡­ much better." Lynne was able to move normally after Leon dispelled most of the cold energy. But it was only temporary before cold energy fill her up again.

    "That''s good. We have to talk privately." Leon said.

    Seeing that Leon had something serious to talk about, Lynne nodded and followed him. Fatty Ben did not tag along, since it was private.

    "Young miss." Rachel''s servants caught up to them seeing that she was nning to leave with Leon and Lynne.

    "What is it? Are you trying to stop me? Don''t you know my mother wants me to bring Leon back to see her?" Rachel questioned her servants.

    They were startled and no longer block her way. They only remembered to keep other males away and forgotten it.

    "Huh? Your mother wants to see?" Leon was taken aback. What did the Duke''s wife want to see him for?

    "Uh¡­yeah¡­ are you free to apany me home to meet my mother today?" Rachel asked shyly.

    "I should be free after I settle Lynne''s matter."

    "That''s great."

    "What does your mother want to see my fianc¨¦ for?" Lynne interrogated.

    "F-F-Fianc¨¦??"

    "Ah¡­" Lynne noticed her slip of tongue, but since the cat is out of the bag, it no longer mattered. "That''s right."

    "I-Is that true?" Rachel asked Leon.

    He did not know how to answer her. It wasn''t a real engagement, but he could hurt either party depending on his answer.

    He was bing more conscious of their affections. He thought back to his current rtionship with Aria and felt a headache at how popr he was. He realized there was an ambiguous feeling from Lina as well.

    He wasn''t sure why he epted Aria so easily. Perhaps her name held a significant impact on him¡­ How is she doing now in the Divine Realm? He wondered.

 Chapter 53 - You Can Only Belong To Me

    <h4>Chapter 53 - You Can Only Belong To Me</h4>

    Facing Rachel''s question, Leon chose to shift the topic.

    "There''s more important things to be concerned about." Leon turn to Lynne and traced his fingers along her long brown hair and lifted the strands of grey her for them to see.

    "Your lifespan has been severely depleted. You only have 12 years left." Leon dropped the bombshell on her.

    Lynne paled at the news. The regret lingering inside her intensified.

    "12 years¡­"

    Rachel was shocked. Regarding the cause of Lynne''s illness, she was still in the dark. She only knew that something was wrong and not why. She didn''t think the problem would be so severe.

    Natural awakeners could live to ripe age of 100, but many awakeners have their years shaved off by taking the trashy awakening pills refined by the alchemists in the kingdom.

    Lynne had taken one to reach the 1st step and added to her present condition, she would not live past 30.

    "There''s no need to despair¡­ there are plenty of miraculous herbs that could extend life." Rachel tried to console her.

    Some light appeared in her eyes before it faded again. She shook her head. How many years could these herbs extend her life? 3 months? 6 months? It definitely wouldn''t exceed 1 year.

    A lot of thoughts went through her mind and the others felt her mentality undergo a subtle change. There was no use crying over spilt milk. It wouldn''t change anything.

    She seems to havee to terms with the consequences of her reckless action.

    There was no one to me but herself. She should have known better. Leon''s awakening pills were still a type of drug and local doctors have stressed to their patients over and over before that they should take their medicine as prescribed because too much of anything could kill you. Humans were that fragile.

    "Thanks, but I''ll be okay." Lynne gave Rachel a light smile.

    Leon was a bit surprised at her subtle change. She seems to havee to terms with her situation a lot faster than he had anticipated or she was too good at hiding her true emotions.

    His impression of her secretly improved. He thought she would at least be in despair and weep for a while, but she did not. Perhaps his impression of her had been wrong.

    Thinking back, she wasn''t quite the spoiled little princess of the Cromwell family he thought she was. She was just protective of her dear grandpa against an unknown stranger that time. Leon had yet to see her parents, but she must be closer to her grandpa than her parents.

    "Come, I''ll take you home first." Leon gestured.

    "Mm"

    "Leave me your address, I''ll stop byter on my own."

    "Alright, just mention your name to the guards at the gate when you arrive. They''ll be notified of your iing visit beforehand." Rachel handed him a note with her address. She thought she could tag along with them but it''s fine this way. She would have time to dress up a bit and could try to surprise him.

    ¡­

    "Thank you for taking me home.".

    "It''s what I should do."

    They had arrived back at the Cromwell''s vi by foot. Usually everyone apart from Lina and Leon would have a car prepared to take them to and from the campus. But today''s training was cancelled unexpectedly, and the drivers designated to pick her up had not been notified beforehand.

    The vi was emptier than usual. The Old Man and some servants were missing.

    "Your grandfather went out?" The inside waspletely empty. There were only some servants and guards outside.

    "Seems that way." Lynne started fidgeting her fingers, while she seemed to be struggling contain something. There was only her and Leon inside the vi.

    "What''s wrong?" Leon thought she was having another episode of cold energy eruption and nned to check her pulsed, but he was taken by surprise when Lynneunched herself into his chest.

    "Waaahhh." Lynne started bawling in his embrace. She didn''t want to look weak when she was in front of Rachel and had suppressed her feelings. She did her best to appear that she epted everything calmly because she didn''t want to look pathetic in front of her. But now that she was alone with Leon did, she finally let suppressed emotions out.

    Even though she understood she could only me herself for her own foolishness, the price she had to pay was too great. She was still young and have yet to see the world. She was also very afraid of death.

    "I''m scared." Her arms tightened around Leon. 12 years was neither short nor long, but the concept of death frightens her when it came so close.

    Leon felt a pang in his heart seeing her like this. He could feel her body shivering. He wrapped his own arms around her and sighed as he waited for her to finish bawling and calm down a bit.

    "Everything will be fine. I know how to extend your lifespan." Leon tried to stabilize her emotion. He was weak against a woman''s tears. He didn''t know how to define their rtionship, but he didn''t want to see her sad. He decided he would teach her about divine practice.

    "Really¡­?" Lynne asked doubtfully.

    "Yeah¡­whether you want to live another 100 years, 200 years or even a thousand years, it''s not out of the realm of possibility." Leon assured as he pulled her away from his chest and wiped her tears with both hands.

    "Hehe, how is that possible?" She found it hard to believe but felt she could trust him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes expectantly for a kiss.

    She did not ask why Leon didn''t say anything earlier if he had such a method. It must''ve involved some of his deeper secrets. She was touched that he decided to share his secret with her.

    Hesitation could be seen on Leon''s face. If he kissed out like this, would it be considered taking advantage of her weakness? He wasn''t quite ready to start another rtionship so soon. What would Aria think?

    A while passed and Lynne opened her eyes and pouted. She gave him such a clear signal and the initiative, but he did not take it. Was she not attractive enough? Or had she mistaken his sympathy for affection?

    Hmph! Fine. She would take the initiative instead. She was used to being willful. She mustered up her courage and pulled him in, nting her lips on his.

    He was stunned by her daring action and his brain temporarily short circuited. Her sweet fragrance assaulted his senses as he tasted her soft cherry lips. The pleasure struck him like a tidal wave after long years of abstinence. His reasoning and restraints slipped away as he be increasingly aroused. His little brother stood up like raging dragon. He decided to stop thinking too much and indulge himself in the pleasure.

    Her unfamiliarity reveals herck of experience as the kiss was her first.

    Leon ced one hand behind her head and the other around her waist as he gently guides her. His tongue pried into the opening between her small lips and like a predator, it yed a game of cat and mouse until it caught its startled prey.

    Their tongue intertwined and a long and passionate kiss was shared. Unknowingly, their clothes slowly slipped off one by one as Leonid her down gently on the long sofa, while panting from a shortness of breath.

    The exposure made her embarrassed, but she reached her hands out to wee him bravely as infatuation colored her eyes.

    "Love me."

    Her arms wrapped around his back as his long bulging dragon thrusted into her secret garden and allowed it to blossom like a flower.

    "Ahhh~" Her eyebrows scrunched together, and her fingernails dug into his back as a piercing pain threatened to tear her apart.

    Leon''s hand freely roamed her body as he utilized his heavenly massaging technique to soothe over her pain, but not too fast.

    Lynne wanted to engrave the pain into her heart. The pain allowed her to remember that in this moment, she was still alive and very much happy. She wouldn''t regret her choice even if everything Leon said was a lie.

    The pain was quickly reced by overwhelming pleasure as Leon took her to 7th heaven. Their bodies continue to tangle on the sofa as they enjoy the steamy hot session of love.

    "Something ising~"

    They climaxed at the same time as Leon shot his pure yang essence into her secret garden.

    Lynneid exhausted on top of Leon and covered in sweat as he pulled a nearby quilt over them.

    "You have to cherish me and you''re not allowed to throw me away."

    "Mm. Even if you want to run away, I won''t let you. In this life, you can only belong to me." Leon said with conviction. He had lost himself in the vortex of pleasure, but he did not regret what happened nor did she. With the future unknown, one should live for the moment.

    Although he did not expect things to lead to such an oue, perhaps it was for the best. Only after Lynne had be his woman, could he share his deeper secrets with her without any misgivings. Their trust are built upon the unbreakable bond they are forging.

    "Yeah¡­" Lynne rested her headfortably on his chest as her consciousness slowly drifted off into slumber.

    While looking at her adorable sleeping face, hements that she was still too rash and rushing into things. He had yet to teach her the method to extend her lifespan and she had already given all of herself to him. He feared that she would easily be tricked if it was someone else. She could be na?ve, but he viewed it as an innocent mind. A characteristic that was rare as people grew older¡­ He wanted to cherish and protect it.

 Chapter 54 - Dual Cultivation?

    <h4>Chapter 54 - Dual Cultivation?</h4>

    Leon''s yang essence was pure of energy and contained zero capability to nurture new life.

    The pure yang essence was like a tonic to Lynne''s body as it worked wonders and slowly nourished and strengthen her shaky foundation that was caused by forcefully increasing strength.

    Men of yang and women of yin. A perfect cycle of yin yang was formed when the two are joined.

    Due to Leon''s powerful tempered body 5thyer, the benefits Lynne''s body received was great as her strength quietly rose to the peak of the 3rd step. She was unaware of her body''s changes as she slept soundly.

    Leon did not reap as much benefit from the steamy session as a 5thyer tempered body, but he made a breakthrough to the 3rd step as an awakener. The mutual benefits the pair received made him remember about dual cultivation. If a dual cultivation method was used during coption, the benefits could have been maximized. Pity he had no such method.

    The session ended and the passion have cooled. Leon realized how crazy it was to make love in the living room, with sun shining brightly in the sky.

    Kacha*

    The front door opened, and the Old Man froze while holding onto the door handle. Their eyes locked onto each other and the air seemed to freeze in awkward silence.

    "Sorry, wrong house." Dwight closed the door. Huh? Why did he have to leave? This was his home!

    Before Leon could sigh, the door abruptly opened as Dwight stormed in.

    "What the hell is going on? How did this happen?" Dwight questioned him as the corner of his eye twitched, while ncing at the scattered clothes on the ground.

    Although he did intended to hand his granddaughter over to Leon, she was still the apple of his eyes. He could not help but feel some indignation as to how things progress so quickly.

    "Uwuuu¡­" Lynne groaned as she rolled her body over to her other side as the previous side became ufortable. Her head happens to face her grandpa''s direction in her new position.

    Hearing his voice, she opened one eye to see what''s going before she fully woke up with a start.

    "Grandpa." She pulled the quilt up subconsciously. She sighed in relief knowing that she was covered before burying her face in Leon''s chest, too embarrassed to face her grandpa.

    Dwight felt a bit frustrated at his granddaughter. How can she give up her purity so easily? How could she expect Leon to treasure her that way? What if he thinks she was a casual woman? Wouldn''t she suffer?

    Ehm* Dwight cleared his throat. "Never mind. You both go get dressed. We will talkter."

    The Old Man closed the door on his way out and ordered no one to enter the vi.

    They both let out a sigh of relief when they were alone in the living room again. They both sat up ready get dressed.

    "Ahhh¡­" Lynne fell back leaning in Leon''s chest when she tried to stand up. Leon caught her with his arms. "What''s wrong?"

    Her face grew red. "It''s all your fault."

    "My fault?" Leon was taken aback. What did he do?

    "Hmph! Why are you making me exin? It''s because you did that to me for so long. My legs feel soft." She pouted and wanted to softly pound his chest, but she had her back to him, and his arms wrapped around her in a cuddle.

    "Hahaha what should we do about it then?" Leon rested his head on her shoulder as he said with a smirk.

    "Why are you asking me? Aren''t you a doctor? Can''t you do something about it?" Lynne''s voice grew intermittently softer until she was silent. She nestled her head on his chest and listened in on his strong and steady heartbeat as she enjoyed his warm embrace.

    Neither of them continue to speak as they wanted to savor the moment of tranquility.

    Love was a strange and magical thing. You did not need to overplicate it with reasons. It coulde slowly, and it coulde swiftly. You never know when it''sing, but you can feel it when it arrives.

    They lost themselves to their lust and carnal pleasure and bonded. But because of the skinship they now shared, they were closer than ever and had a natural reliance on one another.

    Lynne wished time could freeze in that moment¡­ but it was interrupted when she felt something poking her abruptly. She reaches her hand behind to grab the unknown object poking at her rear.

    "Easy¡­ easy¡­my little brother is going to be squeeze to death¡­" Leon whimpered. No matter how tough his body be, there was one ce that would always remain. There was nothing he could but break out into sweat when she had him by the balls, literally.

    Lynne had yet to familiarized herself with her newfound strength and exerted too much force and made Leon''s little brother turn from red to purple. His strength was drained by her strong grip. His arms around her slipped and she was able to turn around to look at the ''little brother'' she was gripping.

    "Ahh? S-Sorry." She was frightened by what she saw and instantly let go like a startled rabbit. She finally got the opportunity to have a good look at what a man''s private part look like and didn''t realized it would be so grotesque. However, she quickly recovered from her fright and felt a mixture of shyness and anger when she remembered the wonderful experience it gave her.

    "Didn''t we just did it? Why is hard again?" She pouted.

    "You can''t me me. It''s a natural psychological reaction." Leon said helplessly.

    "This¡­ what should we do then?" She started feeling aroused herself after tasting the forbidden fruit once, but they couldn''t possibly go for another round. Her grandpa was still waiting outside.

    "Are you two done yet!?" Dwight roared from outside after his patience grown thin. How could they make an old man like him wait outside his own home for so long!?

    The two was shocked silly and scrambled for their clothes. Lynne did not get see his little brother dete like a balloon. She would''ve been fascinated and might even find it cute.

    "Sorry grandpa! We''ll be ready soon! Don''te in yet!" Lynne hollered.

    Dwight felt both frustrated and amused after hearing her panic. He shook his head with a sigh. The family''s flower would eventually follow their husbands outside when they are married. Cooked rice could not be uncooked. His granddaughter wasn''t exactly young anymore and should be able to take care of herself.

    Instead mulling of the matter and worry about it, he should think about the good points. They are now connected and could be considered family. He could use his newfound identity as Leon''s grandfather-inw to lower the prices of the awakening pills he buy from him. Having an alchemist in the family was naturally a good thing and they could even start receiving free gifts.

    Thinking up to this point, Dwight became jubnt as let out a raucousughter.

    "What''s wrong with grandpa? He seems quite¡­ happy?" Lynne was pleasantly surprised. Maybe they weren''t in trouble anymore?

    However, Leon had a bad feeling. He felt the old man was up to no good.

    "Yeah¡­ Come here for a sec, Wifey."

    "Wifey? Who''s your wifey? We''re not married yet." She blushed said with fake anger but was inwardly pleased with how he addressed her. She obediently came over, while feeling blessed.

    A string of information was transmitted to her when they nted their forehead against each other. The information detailed how to practice the revised [Ice Phoenix Canon]. Due to the grade dropping after revision, the ''divine'' was taken out of the name.

    In addition to the technique, Leon added some movement technique and his insights regarding the awakening path. If she could refine her ice seed and bring it back under her control, it would be for the best. It may allow her divine practice to be smoother otherwise.

    "Hand these to your grandpa and tell him I''lle backter tonight to collect the usual." Leon took out the pill bottles and readily handed them to her before nting a kiss on forehead and made a mad dash for one of the open windows and escaped before she could say a word. She was left dumbfounded by the turn of events.

    "Hahaha, where is my grandson-inw?" Dwight barged in, impatient to have a good talk about their future transactions.

    Lynne pointed to the open window dumbly. "He went out that way."

    "What? Dammit." Dwight ran back outside, but Leon was long gone.

    "Arghhh! that stingy little bastard." Dwight gnashed his teeth, clearly displeased by Leon''s cowardly escape. His face changed faster than flipping a book.

    Lynne didn''t pay her grandpa any heed as her mind was preupied with digesting the information.

    Awhile passed before her light shone with splendor.

    "To think such techniques existed in the world¡­" Leon had shown her many surprises and opened a whole new world to her.

 Chapter 55 - Condemn Evil

    <h4>Chapter 55 - Condemn Evil</h4>

    Leon did not head straight for the Lancaster Mansion. It was in the Upper North District, while he was in the Upper West District.

    He would make a quick stop by the gang''s headquarters first. He would tour the Lower North District in passing when he heads to the Lancaster Mansion. He wanted to assess the situation of the Lower North District considering the Red Smander gang had such bloody auras.

    "Who are you?" Manager Doug asked warily. He had be a 1st step earth-user, but his confidence did not grow. He had been on edge, while managing the nightclub all this while.

    The two gangs that attacked them still had several 2nd step awakeners and anyone of them was stronger than him, a non-fighter. There was also a greater threat looming over them. He does not know when they would face the retaliation of the Grey family.

    "Prepare a room for me." Leon''s familiar voice rang out under his newly bought lion mask.

    "Ah! B-Boss? Yes, right away." Doug felt his tensions rxed once the boss was present. Only the boss had the strength to block the winds and rains. He would be disappointed when he learns that Leon wasn''t staying for long.

    The boss''s temperament seemed quite entric. He could rte Leon''s previous appearance to being inconspicuous and wanting to keep his identity hidden, but his current appearance was very conspicuous and was akin to screaming ''I am the boss of the Golden Lion gang!''.

    Leon had found a nice lion mask and matching set of clothes on his way to the nightclub and bought it without second thoughts. It was more suitable to be worn during the daypared to hisplete ck attire, which would have been conspicuous in broad daylight.

    The new attire was exquisitely designed and perfectly outlined the appearance of the golden lion. The attire could be mistaken as that worn by royalties if not for the quality of the material used. One could see that the seamstress was very skilled in what she does. He decided he would find the seamstress to tailor a few more sets of attire for him in the future.

    Leon thought it was the perfect fit for the boss of the Golden Lion gang. One would question why he would want to stand out like a sore thumb, when the Golden Lion gang had enemies on all sides. He was just asking for trouble by making himself look like the Golden Lion gang boss even though no one knew what the boss would look like.

    He was precisely hoping his enemies woulde trouble him. The fight with instructor Eugene had awakened something inside him. Eugene was a difficult opponent that made him struggle and feel very ufortable, but it was these types of battles that would get his blood pumping and excited. He had gained many insights from the battle.

    Only strong and powerful opponents could give him the adrenaline and desperation he needed in battle and force him to break limits and improve his skills swiftly. To tread the thin line between life and death as he ovee all obstacles was a life to die for. Only with the threat of death could he feel alive.

    He is equipped with the skills and talents to be an assassin, but he longs for the life of a warrior. He cherishes his life but is also drawn to danger. He didn''t know when he had be such aplicated creature.

    Leon entered the room after receiving the room key. It was the same room he shared the night with Aria, but the person was gone. She had her day job to tend to. He locked the door and entered his world space.

    The world space''s life energy was recovering at a nigh imperceptible rate due to the sparseness of spirit energy in the world, but the herbs were growing well. Only one day was required to upgrade normal herbs to tier 1 spirit herbs.

    There was a tenfold increase in duration for each sessive upgrade though. 10 days for tier 2, 100 days for tier 3 and so on. If he wanted to increase the rate, he would have to find spirit energy-rich area of objects to feed his Book of Life. Although he doubted there was any in such a deste world, he would keep an eye out for them.

    Leon grabbed the necessary spirit herbs and exited the world space. Without any surprises, he fished out his pill cauldron and began concocting pills.

    An hour passed and 3 sets of 2 pill bottlesid out in front of him, with a different use for each set, namely; True Awakening pill, All-Purpose Healing pill and Golden Ointment.

    He handed one pill bottle of each set to manager Doug and left with some pain in his heart. The herbs used in the Golden Ointment was not cheap and was worth more than the other twobined. However, it was a necessary investment for the development of his gang.

    Hements over how low he had fallen to be affected by such little money. He was the son of the Divine Medicine King and this amount of money would not even enter his eyes, but that was all in the past. He is now an orphanedmoner who had nothing to his name.

    He realized how fortunate and blessed hisst life was, but had taken everything for granted. He came to understand the meaning of failing to treasure what he possessed and only value what is lost.

    He would not repeat his past mistakes and treasure everything important to him, namely; family and loved ones. Money and treasures were inconsequentialpared to the above, but he still had to treat it care and not be extravagant.

    Stepping foot into the Lower North District, his expression had a subtle change. The air was different to Lower West District. It felt thicker and hotter, but not so much in the literal sense as it is illusory. It was like a dense aura of despair and resentful clouding the entire Lower North District.

    His expression finally turns grim when he noticed the streetscked the hustle and bustle of the day and was devoid of people. There was no life to it. The two districts were both ruled by gangs, but situation of the two was far from the same. The Lower North District was in a far, far worse situation.

    Noticing, the neat and clean clothing Leon worn, a weak and sickly little girl to him from an alley, not intimidated by his lion mask.

    "Big brother, do you have any food?" The little girl had her hands extended, but hesitated to grab onto his clothes, afraid that she would dirty it and get in trouble. She was famished and did not ask for money. Could money be eaten?

    As if she had overexerted herself, the little girl suddenly coughed up blood and fell over. Leon caught her in his arms before she hit the ground and felt her pulse. He was not affected by how dirty she was.

    Leon''s body shook as his eyes glistened red and looked at the face of the little girl. She should only be 5 or 6 years old, but she was missing a fucking kidney! How inhumane! The kidney of a child wasn''t even useful!

    He didn''t take himself to be the sentimental type, but he felt both sad and angry for the little girl who was a stranger to him. The children are innocent and should not have to go through such experience!

    He did not hesitate to pop an All-Purpose Healing pill in her mouth and help her absorb its medicinal efficiency. The lost kidney could not regrow but her wound from the organ harvesting would be healed. Since they had met, he would not turn a blind eye and leave her to die.

    The Districts were separated by walls and the entrance were usually guarded by the gang members. Even the city guards did not want any involvement and had long abandon that area of jurisdiction to the gangs.

    The Red Smander gang members had long noticed Leon entering their territory and swiftly informed their superiors. The fame of the Golden Lion gang had spreadst night after the survivors escaped.

    Even if they were idiots, they could tell that even if Leon was not the boss of the Golden Lion gang, he was rted to the Golden Lion gang.

    Leon had ignored them earlier, but now a bigger group has gathered and surrounded him. They were all carried ironwood weapons and dense bloody auras with them. Leon had rage building up in him. These bastards all deserve to die!

    The pill worked wonders and the little girl was back up and standing. She started shivering in fear after finding herself surrounded by a bunch of scary people.

    "If you are scared, you should close your eyes and cover your ears."

    She was very obedient and closed her eyes immediately.

    "Who are you to the Golden Lion gang!?" The leader of the group, Hudson barked. He was the new elected boss of the gang, but he would not be able to enjoy for long.

    Leon stood up and faced the crowd with a cold glint in his eyes.

    "Dead men don''t need to know." Leon''s voice wasced with icy killing intent¡­ He would do humanity some good and rid the entire district of evil. He was no saint, but he will stand on the side of good to condemn evil today! This ce waspletelywless that even children weren''t spared!

 Chapter 56 - Massacre

    <h4>Chapter 56 - Massacre</h4>

    The Red Smander gang were all armed with crudely sharpened ironwood swords and spears. They were crafted not too long ago.

    The gang''s loss drove them to find alternative means to bolster their strength and confidence.

    "Dead men? You think you can take us all on, unarmed? Who you think you are!? The boss of the Golden Lion gang!?" Hudson was cocky to the extreme. He seem to believe that with his 2nd step strength and weapon, he could even put up a fight against someone stronger.

    Leon couldn''t be bothered to waste his breath on him. With a smirk, he waved his hand and a fire of wall formed itself around him to protect the little girl from harm. She had suffered enough.

    Hudson had an ominous feeling when he saw the wall of fire appear and quickly turn tail to escape. Who was he kidding? Even the ex-boss and 20 core members didn''t stand a chance against the boss of Golden Lion Gang. His ironwood sword was just a toy in front of Leon who could burn him from a distance.

    [Extreme Vanishing Step]

    BOOM* The ground cracked under immense pressure. Leon shed through the wall of fire without harm and appeared right behind Hudson in an instant. Before he could turn around check, Leon''s palm was already on the back of his head as his head was mmed into the ground with the full brunt of 500-jin force. His skull was crushed and his brain matter sttered. An instant kill.

    Everything happened so fast, the other members weren''t able to react until it was over. When they finally registered everything, they threw away their weapons and did their best to run in different directions. What they felt was¡­ Fear! They were just ordinary people. They stood no chance when even their boss was killed instantly. What a monster!

    "Everyone run!" They had to flee immediately or they will all die!

    Kill the head and the mob would scatter!

    They became easy pickings when they lost all intention to fight. However, Leon had no intention to let them escape.

    They weren''t allowed to run! They weren''t allow to surrender either. Leon was like the grim reaper as he sentenced them all to death. He would definitely kill them.

    None could outrun him. Like a spectre, only his shadow could be seen as he darted between them.

    With each stop, a fountain of blood would spray, heads would roll and hearts pierced. He went for every fatal shot. His fiery hand was like the grim reaper''s scythe, reaping lives with every swing.

    Within a matter of minutes, the entire group was decimated and ughtered down to thest man easily like chickens on a chopping board.

    Leon could have burn them all to death quickly, but he wanted them to die by his own hands. Otherwise the rage burning inside him would not be abated.

    Only a pile of iplete bodies remained as blood and gore painted the scene in a gruesome way.

    Any normal person who could see the scene would retch and empty out their stomachs.

    It was no doubt the stuff of nightmares. Leon thought the little girl would be traumatised if she saw such a scene as he hurried back. But it was toote. When the wall of fire disappeared, the girls eyes had already opened and took the scenery in when everything had gone quiet.

    However the expected expression of horror was not seen on the little girl''s face. It was calm and serene. So calm and serene it makes people''s heart go cold if they knew that a child could watch such a gory scene so calmly.

    "Everything is over. Are you not scared anymore?" Leon asked.

    The little girl shook her head.

    "Are you not afraid of me?" He was fully covered in blood.

    The girl shook again. Leon felt pain in his heart. They say hardship and suffering could make a person mature faster. But he did not feel good when the one maturing was just a 5-6 year old little girl. She was so young but already forced to learn the cruelty of the world was for what it was, unforgiving.

    Children her age should be innocent and naive. To be cheerful when happy and cry when sad.

    "What''s your name?"

    "¡­Mia."

    "Do you know where your parents are? Big brother can take you to them."

    Mia nodded her head before but shaking them.

    "The bad guys took many things from them before killing them."

    Leon drew in a deep breath to calm his turbulent emotions. He didn''t doubt that the ''things'' she was referring to was her parent''s organs. She watched her own parents have their organs harvested and killed. How messed up was that?

    His parents had been quite free after he told them to stop ving away at their old work and he didn''t have much time to apany them anymore. Maybe they would adopt Mia and take care of her to pass their time? He wouldn''t mind having a little sister.

    "Do you have anywhere to go?"

    Mia shook her head once more.

    "Do you want toe along with big brother?"

    "Can I?" She looked up at him with clear eyes.

    Leon nodded. "If you want to, you can."

    There''s no way he would leave her to fend the world on her own after knowing what she had been through. He was not heartless.

    "I want." Mia nodded vigorously.

    "Come, lets go get ourselves cleaned." Leon smiled while offering out his hand.

    She took his hand when she was surprised to be suddenly pulled. Leon ce her on his left shoulder. She was too small to keep up with his pace and it would take forever to walk at her pace.

    Their stomach growled. They both looked at each other andughed.

    "Hahaha and find something to eat."

    "Mmm, Mmm¡­" Hugging her small stomach, she nodded several times. Very much in favour of theter choice.

    "But we still have to clean ourselves first."

    Mia pouted unhappily immediately.

    No ce would ept them dining in if they were to walk in full of dirt and blood. Heck, they might even faint from horror when they see him. Who would serve them then?

    They found a public well and rinsed themselves clean. Leon dried the both of them up after with his fire ability. It was quite useful for a number of things.

    They stop by a clothe store and changed into a set of fresh clothing. Leon paid the owner slightly higher than the marked price seeing the poor condition of the store.

    He could pay more, but he chose not to. If every problem could be solved with money then he would not hesitate to spend it.

    Unfortunately, it couldn''t. He had to solve the root cause; the remnant gang members and the noble''s insatiable greed.

    He woulde back and uproot the gang after he finish his business in the Upper North District.

    Leon had already taken off his lion mask and the little girl''s eyes immediately sparkled. "Wah, big brother is so handsome."

    "Aren''t I?" He grinned and made an exaggerated pose. He wanted to make Miaugh more and cheerful like someone her age would.

    "Peh! Big brother, your nose is pointing to the skies." She sniggered.

    "Haha¡­ I was just kidding¡­" Leonughed awkwardly, but inwardly he was shocked. Was she really 5-6 years old? She was so intelligent!

    Leon treated her to a luxurious meal when they arrived at the Upper North District. He wanted her to have a good meal.

    "Wahh~ So yummy." Mia gobbled her food really quickly with an expression of bliss. It was the best thing she ever had. She would shriek in joy and wiggle her legs with every mouthful.

    The food was sweet and springy like an omelette, served with rice, diced beast meat and coated in their special sauce.

    "Remember to chew properly." Leon warned, afraid that she would choke.

    The meal costed 700 Craws. Neither too high nor too low for a dish with beast meat.

    ¡­

    Carrying Mia on his shoulder, they arrived at The gates of the Lancaster Mansion.

    "Halt! State your name and reason for visit!" The guards barked, while looking at them bottom up with disdain.

    "Leon Bradford. I pray you have been informed that the Duke''s wife wanted to see me?"

    They searched their memories and recalled there was such a matter, but they have waited for his visit for over several hours now.

    It must be a person of great personage to make the Duke''s wife wait so long. After all that is the sworn sister of the Queen!

    Furthermore, they were expecting one person. Not two!

    Looking at the two wearing shabby and low quality clothing, their disdain intensified.

    There wasn''t a spot on their being that didn''t scream moner''.

    "Get lost! I don''t know where you got word of it, but the Duke''s wife wouldn''t seemoners like you two!" The guards were very arrogant and shooed them away.

    WTF??? What did he just hear? Get lost?

    In the world where strength ruled and the strong is to be respected, he would not take things quietly as he was disrespected by two lowly 1st step guards.

    Who the fuck did they think they were? Because their masters are great, they also think they are great? Nonsense!

 Chapter 57 - Lions Roar

    <h4>Chapter 57 - Lion''s Roar</h4>

    Facing these two arrogant pricks with inted ego, He would not be able to rest easy if he don''t teach them a lesson.

    Leon forcibly calm his violent urges.

    "Mia, cover your ears."

    With no questions asked, she obediently did as asked.

    "Oi, did you hear what we said? Get lost,moner!"

    He looked at them coldly as he took a deep breath and circted his energy to his throat to amplify his voice.

    "IS THIS HOW THE DUKE''S HOUSEHOLD TREAT THEIR GUESTS? TO INVITE THEM OVER ONLY TO BE SHUNNED AT THE DOOR?" Leon''s deafening voice traveled far and wide, shaking the entire mansion and shocking all its inhabitants like a lion''s roar. The majesty and power of his voice was to be awed and revered.

    Never in their entire life had they heard such a powerful and prating voice. No one would ever be able toe close to reproducing the same volume as Leon did.

    It sounded incredible, yet it was only one of the more simpler application of energy to a divine practitioner.

    The energy refined by a divine practitioner was mystical and had unountable number of uses and applications.

    This could not be more true for spirit energy, which was the most gentle and malleable type of energy to all life. It could be transformed into practically anything like magic under the right condition and method.

    His pseudo-Grandmist energy was slightly different in characteristics as it was heavier, tenacious and overbearing as his voice continued to echo out to the surroundings.

    Leon was not giving the Duke''s household any face at all with his action. However, he did not care. He had decided to stop being restrained by excessive concerns and live life unfettered like a proud warrior. Be true to his name''s meaning, majestic and proud like a lion, the king of the jungle. He would tackle problems as theye.

    Thanks to Leon''s instruction, Mia waspletely safe and sound from his Lion''s Roar. However¡­ the same could not be said for the two guards.

    "Arghhhh!!!" The two had dropped to the ground rolling, while hugging their ears. They had suffered some damages to their hearing and mild concussion.

    They were fortunate that Leon did not directly target them or their eardrums would have bursted.

    "Who can tell me what happened here!?" Amelia Lancaster questioned, visibly shaken by the powerful voice. It was powerful enough to rattle the ss windows.

    The entire mansion had been rmed as everyone including the Duke''s wife herself came out to assess the situation.

    "You should ask your ''good'' subordinates about it." Leon scoffed.

    Amelia squinted her eyes and scrutinised him carefully. His stature was upright and he had an unyielding and proud disposition. If she wasn''t wrong, the powerful voice should have belonged to this young man. But since when did they have such a figure in their kingdom? She sigh. Heroes indeede from the young.

    Rachel in her stunning white dress pushed her way through the crowd of servants.

    "What are you doing, Leon? How can you be so rude to my mother?" Rachel frowned. What''s wrong with him? Is this his true self or did he have an alter ego or what?

    Leon nced at her with some brief appreciation for her beauty but felt a bit awkward and his unyielding disposition copsed. He was too agitated before.

    He should not have been rude to her mother as they were friends, which made her mother his senior.

    "I''m sorry, I should not have been so disrespectful." He apologised sincerely without any excuses. But inwardly reflected on the thought that perhaps he was a bit extreme due to the killing earlier and allowed the dense aura of despair and resentment to affect his state of mind.

    "It''s fine. Now can you tell me what happened here?" Amelia waved as she did not mind. She was quite open-minded. In her mind, Leon wasn''t someone simple and was actually seem very extraordinary on the contrary. She should not bully him while he is young.

    Rachel frown finally rxed and sigh in relief when she saw that he admit his wrong so readily and became cordial. After all, she did not want her mother and Leon to be hostile to one another.

    Little did she know that her mother looked him in another light precisely because he wield such disposition.

    "What can I say? Your guards told us to get lost even after I stated my name."

    "What? There was such a thing?" Amelia expression was stern as she turn towards her guards. "Is that true?"

    "Your Grace, what did you say?" Their heads were ringing and did not hear properly.

    Her expression darkened immediately. She would not repeat herself.

    "Cripple them and throw them away. They do not neede back for work. How dare they treat my guest with such disrespect." Amelia ordered her steward. She had taken Leon''s word to be the truth.

    "Yes, your Grace." The stewardplied and dragged them away.

    Even if they were idiots they could tell things were bad for them by her expression.

    "Mercy! Your Grace! Mercy! Arghhh!!"

    Their painful cries rang out as they were dragged away and crippled.

    Evidently, Amelia wasn''t as affable as she seemed. It depended on who she interacted with.

    All this while, Mia had been silently perched on Leon''s shoulder like a canary as the adults do their talking. Rachel had been giving intermittent nces at her.

    "Who is this adorable little girl?" Rachel finally couldn''t suppress her curiosity anymore and asked. It couldn''t be his child, could it? She hoped not.

    Leon gave them a recap on Mia''s condition and how he met her in the Lower North District. He had skipped over how he had decimated most of the Red Smander gang.

    "Oh heavens! You poor thing. Come, let big sister giving you a hug." Rachel''s heart melted as she felt sorrow for the little thing. How could such a thing been happening right next to them without them knowing? She had forgotten they rarely ever visit the Lower District.

    Mia''s current appearance was that of a healthy clean little girl thanks to the healing pill, wash and new set of clothes.

    It was a clear contrast to her previous dirty and sickly look. The difference was like heaven and earth.

    Rachel found it hard to believe that the little girl could have undergone such drastic changes in such little time. Even if one were to ce the two pictures in front of her, she might not believe it. But there was no reason for Leon to lie.

    Mia felt her eyes glisten with tears as she epted Rachel warm hug. In the end, she was still a 5-6 year old girl, who needed thefort and love of others.

    "Big sister, you are very pretty."

    "Oh thank you. You are very sweet. I''m sure you''ll grow up to be just as beautiful."

    "Really?"

    "Really." Rachel couldn''t help but squeeze her cute cheeks.

    "Hehehe."

    Leon was amused seeing this side of Rachel. He guessed that no women could resist the temptation brought by cute things.

    Feeling his weird gaze, Rachel flushed with embarrassment.

    "Alright, let''s talk inside. Everyone can return to what they were doing." Amelia Lancaster gestured.

    "What about the guards, Your Grace?" Steward Sebastian asked.

    "Find someone else to rece them. I don''t want a repeat of what happened today." Amelia paused before continuing ahead.

    "Right away, Your Grace."

    A Duke''s household is on a whole different level sure enough, Leon thought while looking at the receding crowd. Everyone of them was an awakener.

    "What are you waiting for? Let''s go." She hurried him, while carrying Mia in her arms.

    "You''re lucky the one you met today was my mother and not my father. My father isn''t as easy going. If you said the same thing to my father, he would have you¡­" Rachel finished off with a threatening throat slicing gesture with her free hand.

    Leon smiled and walked on ahead, paying no heed to her warning.

    She stomped the ground in annoyance. She was just warning him out of goodwill. Does he not care about his own life? Her chest heaved up and down.

    If he doesn''t care then she wouldn''t care either. Hmph! Why did she have to worry about him so much? Rachel threw her tantrum silently.

    They entered the Lancaster Mansion and gathered around in the parlour. The servants tended to their own various work around the Mansion.

    "Leave, I wish to talk to your friend privately." Amelia said to Rachel.

    "Yes, mother." Rachel answered before turning to Mia with a smile. "Let''s go, big sister will take you around to y and eat."

    Mia didn''t answer her immediately and stared at Leon and waited for his cue.

    "Go on, she would definitely have nice things for you to eat. You must take advantage of that." He smiled.

    His words made Rachel speechless.

    Although Rachel was nice and warm to Mia, she was still more reliant on Leon.

    Leon sat opposite of Amelia after the two left.

    "Alright, what would you like to talk about?" Leon cut to the chase. His tone was neither servile nor overbearing.

    He does not know the Crawford noble etiquettes nor was he a subordinate of hers. He neither cared nor required to address her as ''your grace'' like everyone else¡­ He wasn''t willing to lower himself below others.

 Chapter 58 - Resemblance

    <h4>Chapter 58 - Resemnce</h4>

    Sitting opposite of each other, Amelia didn''t answer his question. She studied his appearance from top to bottom silently.

    "Tea?" She asked abruptly.

    "Sure." He wasn''t thirsty, but he felt drinking something would make him feel better. Amelia''s gaze was very invasive and made him very ufortable. He had no idea what she wants. Did she discover something about him and want to dig out more secrets?

    Amelia had no idea what was going on in Leon''s mind as she pped her hand twice and a servant brought a tray with a pot of tea with some sweets and poured them a cup each.

    He took his cup and drank the tea to ease his nervousness. He was expecting some impressive tea, but he was left disappointed. It was just ordinary tea. Any spirit tea in the Divine Realm was better than it by arge margin.

    And then there is the legendary divine tea if some wasteful entrics was willing to use their divine herbs to concoct it.

    "How is the tea?"

    "Very ordinary." He said bluntly. He was sure where this conversation was going. He felt like he was being reviewed to see if he was a potential son-inw.

    Amelia took some sips of her tea as she continue to observe him and be deep in thought intermittently.

    Indeed it was just normal tea. There was no sugarcoating it. But she got would be showered withpliments when she ask the same question to all her previous guests. They didn''t mind spouting nonsense to get in her good books, but what they didn''t know was it had the opposite effect. She didn''t like fake people. She was quite pleased with Leon''s honesty.

    "You''re right. It''s very ordinary." She agreed.

    "And you should not be drinking it." Leon added.

    "Oh? Why?" She was intrigue by his words. She didn''t understand why it was a problem.

    "I can see that you have not been sleeping well. This type of tea keeps you awake. Drinking this tea will not help you, but instead aggravate your sleeping problems."

    "Ah¡­you see there is a reason for that and I''m stuck in a helpless situation. However¡­ you might be able to help me solve the problem." Amelia stated. The search for the prince had bumped into a dead end. Leon was probably herst hope at finding the missing prince.

    She had been observing Leon''s facial feature very carefully. She had already noticed that he did share some resemnce to the king and queen, but there was arger part that felt foreign to her.

    She couldn''t put a finger on what it was so she did not want to jump conclusions so quickly. She didn''t want to hand a fake son over to her sworn sister. It would make the queen lose faith in her.

    Leon had started divine practice and the act of remoulding his body so whatever she was trying to find in him, she would not be able to so easily due to the changes his body had already undergone.

    "Is that why you wish to speak with me?" Leon asked. Did the Duke''s family already figured out he was an exceptional doctor? So she hope for me to cure her insomnia? That doesn''t seem right. Only a select few knew he was a doctor. He seems to be forgetting something important. But her next words unveiled his doubts.

    "Yes, I heard you grew up in an orphanage until you were 5."

    Leon nodded. So it was matters rting to the missing prince.

    "Do you still keep in contact with anyone from that orphanage?"

    "No. Since I was adopted, there was no further contact." Leon shook his head. His childhood memories were blurry and not much could be remembered.

    Amelia was disappointed by his answer, but didn''t give up.

    "Was there anyone else in the orphanage that was born in the same year as you?"

    "I seem to have been the youngest¡­? The others were at least 2 years older." Leon''s tried hard to recall. He couldn''t help but feel the doubt in his heart grow bigger.

    Born in same year and have the same circumstance as the missing prince. He had pushed the matter behind him because he was satisfied with what he had. He did not want to be conceited to think he was the one out of so many orphans and orphanages. The bigger the expectation, the bigger disappointment.

    But now that the matter was brought up again, he felt incredulous about everything. Why was he reborn on such a barrennd? Why did his memories awaken? Why was he equipped with such overwhelming advantage in life? Why does humanity have such a bleak future on this world?

    One had to know that in the Divine Realm, humanity was one of the ruling races.

    He felt like the hands of fate guided him here to lead them out of their predicament and there was no easier position to lead them then to be the ruler of the guardian kingdom.

    Leon subconsciously traced the jade pendant he always wore around his neck.

    Gasp* He felt Rachel''s mother quickening her breathing and looked up.

    "Are you wearing something around your neck? Can I have a look at it?"

    Seeing no reason to reject, he took the jade pendant off for the first time and handed it over.

    Rachel''s mother epted the jade pendant with shaky hands. Her expression turned to one of excitement when she recognised the jade pendant. It was the other half for the Phoenix Jade, the Dragon Jade pendant.

    "Where did you get it?" She had lost her bearing and elegance as she grabbed onto his shoulders and asked him in a hurry. "Quick! Answer me."

    "I always seem to have had it on me? You ask me where I got it, but who do I ask?" Leon was taken aback by her loss ofposure.

    Leon''s words confirmed her final suspicion. It was apparent that the missing prince had been sitting right in front of her all along!

    "Come, follow me." Rachel''s mother grabbed his hand and took him to her study room.

    Although he had already guessed the answer, he was still surprised be her sudden rise of intimacy.

    Inside the study room, Amelia pulled out the draw and took out the Phoenix Jade that was in the sandalwood box inside. When she put the two jades together, there was a maic force that pulled them together.

    The Dragon and Phoenix Jade became whole again as it glowed with a pale purple light before fading back to normal. It seemed quite mystical but nothing special happened.

    "It turns out you were the prince all along." Amelia made ament. She felt very rxed as the burden has been lifted off her shoulders. The task has beenpleted.

    Amelia circled around Leon as she inspected him again and gave him approving nods. Leon felt a bit helpless as he stood there like a piece of art on disy.

    She was very satisfied with her son-inw. She had heard that he was a fire-user, which made her almost cross him off the list of suspect before, but thankfully she found him in the end.

    It didn''t bother her that Leon wasn''t a metal-user. Although it was rare, it wasn''t impossible to awaken with a different element. His mother was a perfect example.

    She had no intention of informing Elizabeth her son had been found right away. She wanted to bring Leon directly to the pce and surprise her.

    Her expression at that time would be something to look forward to.

    "Come, tell your mother-inw about your life until now." He was helplessly dragged back to the parlour to recap his life.

    His family seemed to have grown bigger.

    Time passes by Leon became familiar with his new mother-inw¡­

    "I see. You also have an engagement with the flower of the Cromwell family. Not a problem. You are the future king of the Crawford Kingdom. Great men would always have a number of women. However, I won''t forgive you if you let my daughter suffer grievance." Amelia narrowed her eyes. Her strength billowed out for the first time and she was a¡­9th step awakener, the same as the Duke. What a scary pair of couples.

    She sounded quite epting of Leon having multiple women as long as her own daughter doesn''t suffer, but if her own husband dares to look for other women then they would be entering a cold war.

    "Ugh¡­don''t worry. I won''t let that happen." He assured but he wasn''t feeling confident. His beautiful friend had suddenly turn into his beautiful fiancee.

    As a man, he should be happy but he doesn''t know how he should feel. Their friendship was pure and hadn''t progressed in that direction yet. He would have to take things as they go.

    "Remember those words. A man''s word is worth his weight in gold."

    Leon nodded.

    Awhileter Rachel came back with Mia as she ran to Leon with happy faces. Clearly, they both had a good time, while not so much for him.

    "What are you happily talking about, mother?" Rachel asked curiously¡­ She came back because they have been talking for hours. Even if they had lots to talk about, it should go for that long right?

 Chapter 59 - Not My Fire

    <h4>Chapter 59 - Not My Fire</h4>

    Leon and his mother-inw enjoyed a long conversation on lighter topics. They did not discuss unpleasant topics like the kingdom''s corruption and state of themoners.

    As the top noble house just below the royal family, these matters shouldn''t have escaped their ears and eyes.

    The fact that they haven''t done anything about it means that they must have their own ideas and ns¡­ or so he thought.

    Whatever ns they had, it should have been enacted long ago. They shouldn''t have dragged it out for so long. Manymoners have suffered and the Lower District has be like a dried upke.

    If Rachel''s mother knew his thought, she would have flushed with shame. They had realised the severity of the problem not longer ago.

    The Lancaster Industries was a military enterprise. They had always been focusing on supplying weapons and equipments to the army, while researching more powerful tools at the same time. The airships were their proudest invention as it allowed the military to counterattack and not just sit behind the walls and stay on the defensive.

    They had always looked at the bigger picture. If the wall was lost then it would spell the end of humanity.

    They thought it was fine for some nobles to be corrupted as long as they didn''t step over the boundary. After all, there would always be bad eggs among a bunch of good ones.

    As long as they stood united whenever the wares to them, which it will, they could turn a blind eye to some things. They had never once stopped preparing for the war that woulde again.

    But the years of preparation didn''t prepare them for the war that woulde from within. Their thinking was too naive.

    Everyone had ambitions and when you give them room to grow their ambitions, they would no doubt betray you once they were stronger than you.

    One could not rely on the words of promises and the rules they set to run the country. Rules are made by the strong and strength was the only absolute thing in the world. If one does not want to be betrayed, they mustn''t give others a chance to betray them.

    Amelia does not know how strong these corrupted nobles have be but considering they have not made a move, they must still have their misgivings. The metal pce was like an absolute death zone for those who treads inside with ill intention on the throne.

    ¡­

    "What are you happily talking about, mother?"

    "Oh I have some good news. We found the prince and I was just thinking of when to set the wedding date for you two, but I would have to visit your Queen aunty to discuss the details." Amelia said jovially.

    Boom* It was like an explosion had went off in Rachel''s head. It was good news for her mother, but it was like earth shattering bad news for her.

    It''s good that the prince was found but why is her mother already discussing marriage ns when she still hasn''t met the prince yet!? Her mother seem so anxious about the marriage. It''s not like she''s is the one getting married, right!?

    "Why are you already talking about marriage?I I haven''t even seen who the prince is." Tears welled up in Rachel''s eyes as turn around and run away.

    "Wait. You know-" Amelia didn''t finish her words when Rachel had disappeared out the front door. She was running away from home. "Aiyah¡­ this girl. Won''t even let her mother finish."

    "I''ll go fetch her¡­m-m-aunty."

    "Hm?" Amelia raised an eyebrow.

    "M-Mom." Leon sweated.

    "Mn. Go." Amelia nodded with a pleased expression. It was unknown whether she was in a hurry to hold her grandson or the prospect of establishing a stronger bond with Elizabeth''s family.

    Mia wanted to follow after Leon but was held back by Amelia.

    "Be good and stay here. They will be back soon." Amelia ced Mia on herp and gave a good look. She was very adorable and grew increasing fond of her the longer she looked. Mia was very cute, a far cry from when Leon first met her. But she was able to draw the sympathy of others all the same.

    Mia was alerted to be left alone with Amelia, but her guard was slowly lifted as she enjoyed the warmth from Amelia''s touch.

    It reminded her of her own mother and she grew emotional.

    "There there, don''t cry." Amelia''s maternal instincts kicked in as she gave her gentle rubs on the back.

    A cold light glimmered in her eyes. The corrupted nobles couldn''t be touched, but the same could not be said for their pawns in the lower districts.

    She ns to cut off their limbs they have extended there so there wouldn''t be anymore tragedies like Mia''s in Lower District.

    ¡­

    Rachel did not have a destination in mind when she ran out the house. Before she knew it she had already found herself lost in an unfamiliar ce.

    Unlike her parents, she had never been to the Lower District, despite her home being situated in a rtively close proximity to the entrance.

    Usually, the Red Smander gang would do their best to cover up their dealings and make the district look perfectly normal on the surface for the passing nobles.

    If one wasn''t attuned to killing before, they would not be able to detect the lingering despair and resentment in the air.

    However, the dead bodies of the Red Smander gang was not cleaned up and their bloody stench filled the district.

    Even someone like Rachel, who was inexperienced to fighting and killing could smell the blood in the air. The sickening atmosphere made her feel uneasy, but she did not leave.

    As the duke''s daughter, she could not turn tail and run without investigating the source of the bloody smell.

    The term Noblesse oblige rang in her mind. Her curiosity and sense of duty to protect themoners steeled her resolve as she wiped her tears and ventured deeper towards the source.

    At the square where piles of bodiesid, the remaining members of the Red Smander gang gathered around with a mixture of anger and fear.

    "Who did this!?" Borden roared furiously. He was thest 2nd step awakener in the gang. He was guarding the east entrance against the White Ferret gang with his men when they received news of their main force being wiped out.

    "I''m not sure but I heard there was an outsider. Should we contact our backing?"

    "We can only do that."

    The problem has gone far beyond what they could handle. The unknown enemy was very powerful. Able to ughter the entire main force. They don''t know when they would be next.

    At this moment, Rachel appeared and saw the gruesome scene. She paled at the blood and dismembered bodies on the streets. She immediately started puking at the sight. She didn''t know it was Leon''s doing and thought the state of the lower district was far worse than what he had described it to be.

    "Who are you? Did you do this?" They did not recognise who Rachel was.

    They questioned her with threatening gazes and bloody auras. Although she was a 3rd step fire-user, she had nobat experience and was easily intimidated.

    "I-I¡­ didn''t¡­" She subconsciously retreated a few steps.

    "It doesn''t matter if you did or didn''t. We will use you to vent our frustrations." They smiledsciviously. They wouldn''t let such a beautifulmb run away.

    "Back off or you will get hurt!" Rachel threatened them with false bravado. She regretteding here.

    "Yo~ I''m so scared~." Borden said sarcastically. He closed in on her without stopping. The fires of lust burned in his eyes.

    A wave of fire suddenly appeared and blocked his advances as he was forced to retreat.

    "Sh*t! She''s a fire-user!" Borden warned his men as he sweated. He would have been burnt to a crisp if he didn''t retreat quick enough.

    "That wasn''t me¡­" Rachel was dumbfounded. She was indeed a fire-user, but that fire wasn''t made by her.

    "You sure know how to run."

    A familiar helpless voice rang in her ears. She turned around much to her pleasant surprise.

    Leon finally caught up to her. He didn''t think she would run to the lower district, making him take his time to search for her.

    She dived into his chest and wrapped her arms around him tightly without any other others. She was badly frightened by what she just experienced as her body couldn''t stop shivering. The fear of seeing blood and dead bodies seem to hit her especially hard.

    "It seems I have let you seen something unsightly today." Leon said gently.

    Rachel was confused. What did it have anything to do with him?

    Leon didn''t exin as he carefully settle her aside and proceeded towards the gang. The fire wall parted ways for him before closing again.

    One of the gang members didn''t recognise his face, but manage to arrive at a certain guess when he saw his fire ability and unfamiliar face.

    "H-He might be the-" The person didn''t finish his words when a needled prated into his brains. He dropped dead on the floor. He was the messenger who ryed the news to Borden.

    "Who are you!?" Borden''s face was ugly as he wasn''t able to react at all to Leon''s sneak attack.

    Leon didn''t waste his breath as he waved his hand and another fire wall quickly spread out and surrounded them, cutting off all possible escape.

    "Sh*t! There''s nowhere to run! It''s do or die brothers!" Seeing Leon''s zero intention to talk, Borden rallied his men¡­ They raised up their ironwood swords and spears, ready to charge their way out.

 Chapter 60 - End Of The Red Salamander Gang

    <h4>Chapter 60 - End Of The Red Smander Gang</h4>

    Not everyone was brave enough to fight Leon head on m, if he was the one who decimated their main force. Some took their chances and tried to dash through the wall of fire to escape.

    "AHHHH!" The person wailed painfully as he was lit on fire like a human torch. The fire could not be extinguished and the individual continue to wail in excruciating pain before dropping dead.

    "Sssss." Everyone took deep gasps of air with fear. Those who had simr thoughts cowered at the scene.

    "Don''t hesitate. Charge with me!" Borden roared and lead at the forefront.

    "Charge!!!!!" They hardened their resolve as they roared in unison and followed behind.

    However their efforts were destined to end in failure no matter what they do. If Leon could conjure a wall of fire around them, he could conjure one in front of him.

    "Nooooo!!"

    They wanted to halt their steps, but it was toote. Ones at the front were able to halt their steps in a timely manner but the others mmed into them from behind and pushed them into the wall of fire and became human torches as well.

    Their anguish and painful wails was enough to send chills down people spine.

    Rachel felt strength in her legs gave out as she slumped to the ground. She closed her eyes and covered her ears. She didn''t want to listen to their cries or see such a terrible scene. She felt like she had walked into a nightmare and couldn''t stop shivering.

    Leon''s fire had improved in both quality and quantity. He continued to burn all the bodies and blood covered streets until everything was incinerated into ashes.

    A strong wind carried the ashes away after the fire died out and left nothing behind but a ckennd.

    It was his negligence that he did not clean up his mess before he left and allowed Rachel to witness such a horrific sight. If no one cleans up the mess, all sorts of diseases would eventually fester in the dead bodies. It would have been bad news if an epidemic appeared in the capital, where hundreds of thousands of people reside.

    Leon stood quietly in the square alone as he was watching the ashes disappear into the wind. He did not turn around to face Rachel. He did not know what Rachel thought of him after seeing him taking lives without hesitation.

    A murderer? A cold-blooded killer? Would she be afraid of him now? No matter what it was, his hands have already been stained by blood and more blood will continue to be spilt by them.

    Not to mention these people all deserved to die. He would not harm the innocent, but he would never hesitate to y an evil person.

    His path was destined to be filled with mountains of bones and rivers of blood. She would need to ovee her fear if she wishes to apany him on his long journey to the Divine Realm.

    However, the blood and dead bodies weren''t really the source of Rachel''s fear. It was just the catalyst that triggered some intense memories from her childhood. She couldn''t stop shivering in fear as she hugged herself.

    Leon sensed something wrong and finally turned around. Phobias shouldn''t invoke such intense reaction. A trauma? He checked her pulse. Her breathing was erratic and her mentality was inplete disarray. Sure enough, it was a trauma, and a serious one at that.

    Treating the mind was his weakness. He felt his hands tied. He could only try to calm her down and restore her steady breathing.

    "Everything is going to be okay. The blood and dead bodies are all gone." Leon tried to soothe her mind by whispering gentle words, while rubbing her back.

    Rachel calm down after a while and fell asleep in his arms. He felt depressed seeing her in such a state. What exactly did she experience in her childhood? He didn''t expect the campus goddess to have such a weakness. He wanted to understand her better. Leon carried her back to the Lancaster Mansion.

    "What''s wrong with my daughter?" Amelia asked with concern as she saw Leon enter with the sleeping Rachel.

    "What did Rachel experienced in her childhood?" Leon settled Rachel down in her bed before answering Amelia''s question with another question.

    Amelia expression changed greatly. She didn''t know what happened but she didn''t need to know. Leon''s question gave her all the information she needed to know why her daughter was in such a state.

    "My daughter is really pitiful. Even though Ignis and I both possess the strength to not fear anyone, we weren''t always around to look after her due to our workmitments.

    She have suffered a total of 3 assassination attempts in her younger years. It was fortunate that she came out unscathed but the maids who protected her, did not.

    They performed their duties well and bought enough time for us to arrive.

    These maids were also her best friends, whom she spent the most time ying with when we are not around. To watch her friends die one by one as she was forced to flee for her own life. She must have been haunted by those memories. Any drop of blood would trigger her memories of that moment."

    Amelia sighed sadly. To this day, she still hasn''t found out who the culprit was and for what reason they were after their daughter''s life.

    Leon widened his eyes in astonishment at the revtion.

    For this unknown group to try and assassinate the Duke''s daughter three times, one could see how much they want her dead. Exactly what was their purpose?

    "Nothing could be gained from the assassin''s body?"

    "They were all awakeners, but none of them could be identified."

    Leon frowned in thought. He could think of two possibilities, but they don''t seem very usible either.

    They could have been raised secretly by one of the noble families or the unknown force had came from outside the capital.

    Whatever it is, it''s all just guesses at this point.

    "You seem to be proficient in medicine." Amelia shifted the topic. The past was the past. Rachel hasn''t suffered anymore assassination attempts afterwards. She cared more about the present and whether her daughter''s trauma could be cured.

    "Y-Yes? How did you know?" Leon was taken aback. He didn''t seem to remember mentioning it.

    "You seem forgetful. You could easily tell I was sleep deprived and made rmendations like a doctor would."

    "Just from that?" Leon was bbergasted. Anyone can see that she was sleep deprived by the bags under her eyes, right? It''s general knowledge that most tea keeps people awake unless it''s herbal tea, no? How can she tell from just that?

    "Actually It was just a guess, but now I am certain." Amelia said with a cunning smile.

    "Ah¡­" Leon realised his slip of tongue. It was as good as admitting that he was. However, they were on the same side so it didn''t matter if she learnt some of his secrets. But of course he wouldn''t openly tell them. She had to figure it out herself.

    "So can you treat her trauma?" Amelia had seek help from medical experts before, but they all gave her the same answer. Mental illnesses were hard to cure, she could only rely on herself to ovee it.

    She didn''t have much hope that Leon could do what the medical experts couldn''t considering his young age, but age was never an urate measurement of one''s capabilities. She at least understood that much and held onto that faint glimmer of hope.

    "Mental illness is difficult to treat. I can''t cure it at present, but I can alleviate to some degree." Leon was silent for a moment before he answered.

    "That''s fine. Please help her." His first line disappointed her, but she was pleasantly surprised by the following. There''s still hope.

    "You don''t have to ask. It''s what I should do. I''ll need to borrow your kitchen first." Leon smiled.

    "Huh? Alright¡­ go ahead." Amelia was taken aback, but she agreed. What did the kitchen have to do with alleviating her daughter''s trauma?

    Leon was about to head for the kitchen when he felt a tug on his pants.

    "Ah? Ahh¡­ dearest me. How can I forget our cute little Mia." Leon picked her up in his arms. "Will Mia forgive big brother?"

    They were so caught up in Rachel''s matter, they neglected poor little Mia. She felt aggrieved as they had not spare her a nce, but she could only endure quietly as she was intelligent enough to know something was wrong with the big sister.

    Mia nodded unwillingly. She was afraid to act spoiled. She feared they wouldn''t want her anymore and throw her away. She was most afraid of being alone again after feeling their warmth.

    Leon felt sad and gave her a warm hug.

    "Big brother will treat Mia to a nice mealter."

    "Okay~" Her mood was lifted immediately. Her unhappiness was blown away at the mention of good food. It seems most children were natural born foodies.

    Leon smiled and gave her a pinch on the cheeks before putting her back down.

    "Big brother will be back. Stay with Aunty." He went to the kitchen by himself.

    Amelia did not have to wait long before Leon came back carrying a teapot that was steaming hot.

    "Tea?" Amelia was dumbfounded. Tea can alleviate her daughter''s trauma?

 Chapter 61 - Not Normal Tea

    <h4>Chapter 61 - Not Normal Tea</h4>

    When Leon had left for the kitchen, Rachel had woken up not long after.

    "You''re awake. How do you feel?" Amelia asked with a gentle tone.

    "I-I''m fine?" Rachel body still feel a bit shaken, but she had already forgotten what happened earlier.

    It was like her self defence mechanism kicked in to protect herself, as the unpleasant memory was pushed to the back of her mind.

    Seeing her mother, she could only think about the engagement as her mood dropped.

    Amelia could easily tell what was on her daughter''s mind. Which mother wouldn''t know their child best?

    "Be honest with your mother. What do you think of Leon? Do you like him?" She shifted the topic to her favour.

    Rachel''s face pale. Why did her mother ask this? Was her mother going to do something to Leon if she said yes? would she harm him?She was filled with worry.

    "Don''t worry. Mother wouldn''t do anything to harm him." Amelia assured her. Why would she harm her own son-inw?

    "Really?" Rachel was rather sceptical.

    Seeing her daughter''s doubt, she couldn''t help but tease her.

    "You still haven''t figured out who the prince is?" Amelia said with a smile on her face.

    Huh? Her mother''s word seem to imply that she''s already know the prince, just not aware of it. Leon''s image seem to cross her mind.

    "Leon?" She blurted out.

    Amelia''s smile grew bigger.

    Rachel was stunned by the twist of events. Her face felt hot under Amelia''s big smile as she flushed with shyness and buried her face in the nket. Her heart started beating rapidly at the perspective thought of marrying Leon.

    If she had to choose between someone she know and someone she didn''t, she would naturally choose the former. But when the two were one and the same, she felt strange that she was quite epting of the matter and wasn''t repulsed by it.

    Due to her trauma, she was afraid that she would get attached to any new friend she make, only to watch them die in front of her. The feeling of watching her friends killed in front of her was something she never wanted to experience again.

    Because of such reasons, she built a wall around her heart and did not have many friends. People can only be acquainted and not befriend her.

    ¡­yet despite the walls she built, Leon walked right into her life and they became friends very easily without resistance. It was a surreal and mysterious feeling.

    Like a game of chess with the king as her heart and the pawns as her wall, other people would have to work to take down her defenses before they could reach her heart.

    But Leon did not follow convention andpletely flipped the chess board. The so-called wall did not exist for him.

    His existence was an enigma, but she did not hate it. The hand of fate have brought them together and it felt especially strong now that she had learned that he was the prince, whom she was engaged by birth to.

    "I¡­ don''t know." Rachel collected her thoughts and gave her answer. she did not know if she like Leon, but she did not hate him.

    "It''s fine as long as you don''t hate him." Amelia nodded. All rtionship has to start somewhere, but the marriage must be carried out.

    The sound of Leon''s footstep was heard as he came back with a steaming hot teapot. A young maid had followed right behind with an expression of being wronged and wanting to cry.

    Leon had suddenly barged in her kitchen and prepared his own tea before carrying it back in her teapot. He was the esteemed guest of the Duke''s wife. Such menial task should have just been left to her as it was her job to prepare tea. To have the guest prepare the tea and carry the teapot himself, she felt she was useless and not needed. Since Amelia had not said anything, she did not know what to do and could only follow Leon helplessly and Mentally prepare herself for punishment for not doing her job properly.

    "Tea?" Amelia was dumbfounded. She nced at her young maid behind him after. Did he bully her?

    Leon smiled at the question directed at him.

    "This isn''t any ordinary tea. This is herbal tea." Leon exined. Spirit-tier herbal tea, he mentally added.

    The Achromous Valerian Root was one of the many misceneous herbs he had collected. He didn''t expect it to be useful so soon.

    "It has the effects of curing insomnia and relieving anxiety and psychological stress. Such a tea will also be useful to you, m-mom." Leon added. He was not use to calling someone he just met by such an intimate term and couldn''t control his eye from twitching.

    Rachel blushed when she heard Leon address her own mother as ''mom''.

    ''Stupid, I haven''t agreed to marry you yet.'' She mentally protested. It was still a lot for her to take in and she wasn''t ready to ept things as they are even though she knew she had no choice in the matter. She was just throwing a silent tantrum.

    Having been evolved to spirit-tier, the effects of the herbal tea can only be stronger and not weaker.

    Leon did not have the time to prepare the herbal tea the standard way by drying it before boiling it in water.

    Instead he used his alchemic skill to extract the medicinal essence from the herb and dilute it in the boiled water to bring about a simr effect.

    The difference in preparation would only affect the taste and not the effect. He was a doctor to begin with, not a tea maker.

    "Oh? In that case, I should definitely have a taste first." It''s not that Amelia didn''t trust Leon''s skills, but she was indeed mentally tired and could use some of the tea if the effects was as he described. "Serve the tea, Lily."

    "Y-Yes, Your Grace." Lily finally heaved a sigh of relief as she took the teapot from Leon politely. She thought she was going to be reprimanded, but thankfully she was just overthinking things.

    "Your tea, Your Grace." She served the first tea to Amelia.

    Amelia brought the teacup close and took a whiff of the tea before her eyes lit up. It was very aromatic. She could tell a good tea by its smell. She took a sip and savored it in delight. The warmth traveled throughout her body and she felt refreshed as the fatigue was washed away.

    "Good tea." She sighed in rxation. She felt calm and at peace. "I don''t think I can drink normal tea again."

    Her words seems to have a hidden meaning. Leon smiled wryly as he seemed to understand her meaning.

    "I will leave a batch of the herbs here and the servants can prepare the tea for whenever m-mom wishes to drink it." His eye twitches. But in any case, the Achromatic Valerian Roots was amon herb found in various ces of the kingdom.

    It just need to be upgraded to spirit tier with his Book of Life. It didn''t cost him much to gift them his mother-inw. It can be shown as a form of filial piety and earn her good will in return. It would make his life with Rachel easier if he got along with his mother-inw after all.

    In his heart, he already epted this pie that had fallen out of the sky and taken Rachel to be one of his wives. He already has two, another one wouldn''t hurt. But such was a dangerous way of thinking. Who knows how many more would end up joining themter.

    There was no lover or girlfriend in his vocabry, only wife. If they decided to enter a rtionship with him then they are stuck with him for life. Sorrydies, but there''s no backing out after boarding the pirate ship.

    "That''s great." Amelia was pleased by Leon''s answer, but she was also confused as she eyed his schoolbag dubiously.

    It''s too much of a coincident for him to carry the herbs with him, right? He seem to have came prepared. Maybe her daughter already knew of his medical skills had told him about her?

    Ah¡­my daughter is so thoughtful and caring. Amelia looked at Rachel with affection.

    Rachel didn''t know what was going on and just smiled back. She wasn''t going to deny it if she heard her mothers mentalpliments. She would be an idiot if she didn''t ept the free caring look and warmth from her mother.

    "Well, I should get going. Thank you for having us." Leon thought it was a good time to leave as he picked Mia up. They had stayed long enough. He still had things to do, but he should visit home first and drop Mia off in his parent''s care.

    "What? Leaving already?" Amelia was astonished. The sun was setting. She still wanted to take him to surprise Elizabeth! "You should stay with us for dinner at least."

    Leon smiled wryly as he shook his head. He knew it wasn''t as simple as just a dinner, not to mention he was a bit afraid of meeting the Duke, who would be present for dinner.

    He was the son of the Divine Medicine King, why should he cower? However, the fear of meeting the father-inw for the first time seems to be an instinctual trait of all men.

 Chapter 62 - Assassin

    <h4>Chapter 62 - Assassin</h4>

    "Don''t you want to meet your birth mother and seed the throne?"

    Amelia''s question made him silent for a brief moment.

    "It''s fine as long as she know I am alive and well. I will meet her when I am ready. As for the throne, I don''t want it."

    "You don''t want the throne?" Amelia widened her eyes in shock. Rachel was also startled.

    "Maybe I do, but not now. There are many things I want to aplish and experience, before taking on such responsibility. I trust you would keep my identity a secret until then?"

    "Oh?" Amelia was amazed at Leon''s level-headedness. Many couldn''t wait to sit on the throne should the opportunity be presented to them.

    Leon was able to see the bigger picture. There were many nobles eyeing the throne. To put himself in the centre of the storm was not wise, while he was still weak.

    Even if he likes to look for trouble, he would have to assess whether it wasn''t too big for him to chew.

    The troubles from being the centre of the storm was enough to drown him fo death.

    "Fair enough. I will not keep you, if you insist on leaving. Do remember to visit us often." Amelia said. It was unbefitting of her status to force him to stay. He had his own ns and she wouldn''t intrude on it.

    Leon nodded and left with Mia in his arms.

    "Goodbye Aunty and big sister." Mia waved her hand cutely from Leon''s should as he was leaving.

    "Bye, bye." They waved back with some reluctance as they parted ways. They didn''t y with little Mia enough.

    Rachel sighed with both relief and disappointment after Leon was gone.

    "Come, try this tea. It is very good for you." Amelia cheered herself up and told her daughter.

    Rachel nodded and epted the tea with curiosity.

    ¡­

    Leon was not in a rush to return to the Lower West District as he was carrying Mia in his arms. He was afraid of hurting her delicate body by moving too quickly in the wind.

    By the time he reached the entrance of the district, night had already settled in.

    Leon frowned as he paused his steps.

    The night was still early, but the streets was devoid of people. It gave him an eerie and ominous feeling.

    He had felt like he was being watched when he had left the Lancaster Mansion, but he thought it was just his imagination as he could not detect anyone.

    But the feeling had only grown stronger as he got further away from the Lancaster Mansion. He still could not detect anyone, but he decided to trust his gut feeling and put on his guard. It was better to be safe than sorry.

    Leon''s pace slowed down as he tread forward carefully.

    Mia saw his serious expression and was intelligent enough to kept quiet and not distract him. Having been in dangerous situations before, the eerie silences also made her unsettled.

    He didn''t step into the Lower West District for long before he felt a dangerous feeling creeped up behind. He instinctively made a leap for the side as he rolled on the ground, while protecting Mia.

    Swoosh* A metal throwing knife imnted itself in the floor right where he originally stood.

    "Tch." The unknown assant covered in ck grunted, having failed to kill his target in one shot.

    "Who are you? Why are you trying to kill me?"

    "You don''t need to know. Just obediently offer your head to me." The person in ck leaped down from the entrance wall and made a mad dash for him. A metallic dagger appeared in his hand as it shined in the night sky. His speed was fast. About as fast as Leon.

    "Dammit!" Leon retreated backwards with Mia in one arm as he waved his free arm to conjure a fire wall to halt the person''s advances.

    The figure leaped over his firewall and made a beeline for him.

    With no time to think, Leon withdrawn the block of steel ingot and defended the dagger blow in a timely manner.

    The two broke away after the sh.

    "Mia, quickly run and hide somewhere." He couldn''t fight, while protecting her at the same time.

    "Why do you carry a block of steel ingot around?" The figure questioned as he made his next move.

    "Your dagger isn''t bad either." Leon narrowed his eyes as they traded blows. The other party''s background wasn''t simple to be a 5th step awakener and in possession of weapons made of metal.

    Leon wasn''t as good as the other party as he suffered cuts to various ces on his body.

    "Just give up, boy. You''re no match for me!" The other party mocked him, but he was inwardly shocked that Leon was at the same level of strength as him. His killing intent strengthened. This kid has to die!

    Leon gritted his teeth as he defended the figure''s attacks without wavering. He could feel his strength slowly being sapped from the wounds he suffered, but giving up was equal to death!

    He couldn''t continue like this for long. He had to find an opening to end the fight in one blow, but the opponent had no openings to exploit. He was a skilled fighter, killer or even assassin.

    Who wanted him dead!? The only person who had animosity against his identity as ''Leon'' was Edric and his cronies. He thought it was impossible for them to get their parents to mobilise a high level killer after him for some trifles between children.

    Who else could it be!? He felt being watched since leaving the Lancaster Mansion. Was this person from the same unknown organisation that wanted Rachel dead!?

    Puchi*

    He suffered a deep stab in his left shoulder due to apse in judgement. Leon''s expression changed as he instinctively kicked the figure away at the same time.

    Dammit! This was no time to be distracted! His left arm''sbat effectiveness was cut in half by that blow. He had to create his own opening and finish the person off in one blow quickly!

    Mia''s eyes were red as she was watched Leon covered in his own blood.

    Leon took initiative to close the distance, but he felt his foot sink into the ground like quicksand before hardening.

    "Sh*t!" His leg got caught! The opponent was a earth-user!

    "It''s over!" The figured roared as the dagger aimed straight for his heart.

    Leon felt it piercing his chest as he made a minuscule movement and shifted the dagger away from his heart.

    The dagger stabbed into his chest, missing his heart by a small margin.

    "Big brother!" Mia cried out.

    Leon coughed up a puddle of blood as he grabbed the figure with his weakened left arm and prevented him from breaking away.

    "For you that is." Leon clenched his right fist.

    "What?!!" The figure tried to break away, but it was toote.

    9 Echo Osciting Fist¡­2 Echoes!!!

    His fist mmed straight through the figure''s chest and pulverised his heart with the full 1000 jin force.

    "Impossible¡­ How can I lose to a brat like you¡­?" The person in ck felt all of his strength drained from his body as he dropped to his knees and drew hisst breath.

    "Nothing is impossible." Leon popped an healing pill into his mouth and swallowed it. One must not only be ruthless to their enemies but also on themselves. It was a very close call.

    Leon took away the ck mask and an unfamiliar middle-aged face appeared in his view. He didn''t know who he was, but maybe someone he knows might.

    He pulled the dagger out of his chest and nned to keep only the head. His face was pale as he popped another healing pill in his mouth and rubbed some Golden Ointment on his chest wound.

    His body suddenly felt heavy like lead as his vision blurred.

    "Ah¡­ I lost too much blood." Leon passed out on the ground. The pills slowly heal his wounds but couldn''t make up for the blood he lost.

    "Wuuu¡­Big brother don''t die¡­" Mia cried over to him.

    ¡­

    These days, Lina had been in a gloomy mood as she wasn''t able to meet with Leon. She wanted to spend more time with him and ask for his help to cure her parents, but was also hesitant as she seem to owe him a lot already.

    With all the students busy with military training, she couldn''t find the opportunity to and had a lot more free time instead. She used her free time to retrain the military arts she once learned in the army.

    If only she had continued to keep her body in shape from practicing the military arts then the normal thugs wouldn''t have been a problem for her back then.

    She was just on her way home from Campus when she heard a child crying somewhere.

    Lina was rooted on the spot. Why was there a child crying at this time? Something was wrong! She was timid and afraid of the unknown, but she still couldn''t ignore a child''s cry.

    At the scene, a little child was crying over one body, while another bodyid not far away.

    What exactly happened here? She inspected theter body.

    Huh? Isn''t this the Grey family''s steward?

    "Wuwuu¡­ big sister¡­ please save my big brother¡­" Mia pleaded tearfully. She didn''t know what to do.

    Lina looked over at the blood covered body.

    This is¡­Leon?!!

 Chapter 63 - Undercurrent

    <h4>Chapter 63 - Undercurrent</h4>

    In the dark of the night, a study room in the Grey family''s mansion was still lit.

    Albert was seen tapping on his desk impatiently.

    Edric was standing obediently on the side like a little mouse. He knew his father was in a bad mood.

    He had told his father about his humiliation and near-death experience during the day. He didn''t forget to twist the story of his life on campus and make himself out to be the victim and Leon as the bully.

    He wanted to borrow his father''s hand to kill Leon, since he didn''t have the capability himself.

    Albert was furious and sent his steward out for the job. Of course he didn''t believe everything his son told him. He understood his son''s character well.

    His son nearly dying should be true enough. That reason alone was sufficient to warrant Leon a death sentence from him. He only had one son and heir. Even if his son was aplete disappointment, he was his son nheless.

    Having learnt that Leon was amoner with the strength of a 4th or greater, Albert had his doubts.

    Wasn''t the little bastard from the Golden Lion gang also in possession of simr strength? They were both young as well. Could there be such coincidences in the world? He didn''t believe it.

    Albert had inferred that Leon was the young boss of the Golden Lion gang from those small clues. Even Leon would be shocked if he knew his secret identity had been so easilypromised. He would have regretted not disguising his voice.

    Just when their investigation couldn''t garner any results on the background of the Golden Lion gang boss, his son gave him such important intel. His son wasn''tpletely useless after all.

    Albert didn''t hesitate to send his steward Gael to finish the job. A well trained 5th step awakener should be more than enough to take care of the little bastard!

    He still had a stomach full of anger whenever he thought of that arrogant and contemptuous letter he received a while ago.

    However, he was a proud noble at the 7th step and wasn''t willing to take action himself. What would others think of him if he was forced to take action himself?

    A whole day had passed and the steward had yet to return. This wasn''t good news for him. Even if the steward decided to take action at night, he should have long finish the task and brought the little bastard''s head back for him.

    When the time clocked over midnight, Albert grabbed his coffee cup and smashed it on the ground, startling Edric.

    "Gael is dead." Albert said darkly.

    "That''s impossible! Thatmoner can''t possibly be that strong!"

    Albert was in deep thought as he had to reevaluate Leon. He went from a namelessmoner to a powerful awakener capable of killing his 5th step steward.

    It wasn''t rare for people to be able to naturally awaken, but most resort to pills to awaken quickly to get the head start. The nobles knew that the pills would cut their lifespan each time they take it, but it did not deter them from doing so.

    The one with the bigger fist, has the bigger say and the weak would just be stepped on and bullied. No one was willing to be weaker than the others, especially the higher the status they held.

    Albert no longer felt anger for his steward''s death as greed filled his being. There must be some great secret on Leon''s body to allow him to advance his strength so quickly.

    He had no intention of sharing his discovery with his fellow corrupted nobles as he n to take the secret for himself.

    He stood up excitedly.

    "Where are you going, father?"

    "Treasure hunting. Go wake up all of the servants and tell them to gather in the courtyard for me." Since his steward was no longer around, he ordered his son. Albert did not grieve for the steward who had apanied his for 3 dozen odd years. He was a cold and ruthless person.

    "A-All of them? Wouldn''t mobilizing such arge force rm the others? Do you not fear rming the Queen, father?" Edric was confused and fearful.

    "So what if that Demon is rmed? She would be no match for the 9th step ancestors of the other 3 families if she leaves her pce." Albert snorted. The four corrupted nobles have entered an alliance and called themselves the 4 great families. They were namely; the Grey family, Weld family, Esmond family and Acker family.

    They don''t fear the queen anymore, but if she turtle herself in the pce then there was nothing they could do. In her pce, she was invincible.

    "What?" Edric widen his eyes in shock. The queen was a peak existence in his understanding. He had thought that her position was unshakable along with the Duke and his wife siding with her.

    He had no idea that the other 3 great families all had a peak existence as well. The power of both sides are roughly equal. "What about our family?"

    "We are a bit behind. Your grandfather is still at the 8th step." However the secret on Leon''s body could be the impetus he needed to push through to thest hurdle to the 9th step.

    "Huh? Grandfather wasn''t dead yet?" Edric hadn''t seen his grandfather in many years.

    "What!? Nonsense! How dare you curse your grandfather!" Albert smack him on the back if the head and red at him. "He had been in secluded training all this time."

    "Oh¡­I''m sorry, father." He apologized after being reprimanded. But he became confused about another matter.

    If his friends, Adrian Esmond and Cayden Weld both had peak existences in their family, why did they willingly treat him as the big brother of the trio? Did they butter him up so he could carelessly spill family secrets to them? Did they treat him like an idiot?

    Edric''s expression darkened as his thoughts came to that conclusion. He should be more careful around these so-called ''friends'' of his. It is fortunate that his father didn''t trust him with important matters. The alliance''s unity wasn''t as strong as he thought¡­ which makes sense. There were 4 families but only one throne. They would end up fighting each other after they topple the royal family.

    "Go now!"

    "Y-Yes!" Edric snapped of his thoughts and did and ran to wake the servants.

    ¡­

    "Ugh¡­" Leon groaned as he woke up in an unfamiliar room and his body bandaged. He didn''t make further sound and movements as he surveyed his surrounding with vignce.

    He noticed his left hand was held by someone. He traced the hand to the person''s body and realized who it is.

    ''It seems Teacher Lina was the one who found me and brought me back home.'' He thought as he looked at her sleeping face on the side of the bed, while the rest of her bodyid ufortably on the floor.

    The flowery scent of the bed entered his nose as he realized it was her own bed he wasying on. He was touched by her care.

    Hold on¡­ where''s Mia? He searched the room only to realized she was sleeping soundly right next to him.

    One could still see the dried tears on the corners of her eyes. She must have been really scared for his sake. The concept of being alone again was probably scarier than death for her.

    He rubbed her head gently. Little Mia was too tired to be affected by Leon affectionate head rub, but his small movement woke Lina up instead.

    Yawn~ Lina felt very tired having slept in such an ufortable position, but she seem to be energized the moment her eyes rested on another pair of eyes staring right back at her.

    "Erm¡­" They both slowly shifted their gaze down to her hand that was still tightly hold on his.

    "Ahh! This isn''t what it looks like!" Lina eximed as she release her grip in a sudden manner.

    Her movement jolted his left arm as he groaned in pain.

    "I-I''m sorry¡­ are you okay?"

    "I''m okay¡­" Leon smiled wryly. Of course he wasn''t okay, but he will just suck it up like a man. He nced at Mia, whom was still in deep sleep.

    "Where is the body of the other person that was with me?" He jumped straight to the important issue.

    "Ah? You mean the Grey family''s steward? I left it where it was. What exactly happened between you two?" She naturally was going to bring a cold corpse back home. Why would she want to carry the corpse of a middle aged man?

    Leon didn''t hear her second question as his eyes turned sharp. So it was the Grey family after all! He wasn''t curious how she knew. Social gathering and tea party wasn''t umon among nobles.

    He didn''t go looking for trouble with the Grey family, but they came looking for him! Under his true identity no less. Edric''s image crossed his mind.

    He should have killed him sooner.

    Leon did not know that danger was drawing closer and his identity as the gang leader was already exposed.

    Leon was thinking how to take his revenge on the grey family. Haven''t they been exploitingmoners for many years? Their treasure vault would surely be stacked with riches.

    He wascking resources to manage his gang and improve his cultivation and could surely use those riches. He has his Book of Life''s world space. It had a lot of space for storage.

    ''You people better pray I don''t find my way into your vault or else there would be nothing left!'' Leon mentally swore.

 Chapter 64 - Please Heal Me

    <h4>Chapter 64 - Please Heal Me</h4>

    When Leon snapped out his thoughts, he realized he was making a very scary face in front of Lina, which made her seem frightened.

    "Sorry." He smiled awkwardly.

    "I-It''s fine¡­" Lina replied in very soft mumbled voice with her head down. She was startled Leon could have such a scary expression.

    She was just concerned about him. If he didn''t want to talk about what happened, then he doesn''t have to. There''s no need to give her such a look, right? She felt a bit wronged, but being the older one, she thought she should be more open-minded and bicker with him.

    Their small talk descended into silence. Leon inspected the state of his body in detail and gave a self-depreciating smile.

    The healing pills did not heal his body well. He could still feel the medicinal efficiency working on his body, but the recovery rate was slow. He suffered too many wounds. Tier 1 healing pills weren''t effective enough for him.

    "Do you have my bag?" He suddenly asked.

    "Yeah¡­ but what do you want to do with the empty bag?"

    "Oh¡­never mind." Leonpsed into silence. He was going to use the bag as a pretense to take out some Golden Ointment from his world space to rub on his external wounds. But since his bag had been searched, he dropped the idea. He didn''t want to deal with troublesome exnations.

    "You bandaged me pretty well." Leon suddenlyplimented. Due to suffering wounds to various parts of his body, he was wrapped up like a mummy.

    "Thank you¡­" Lina flushed with embarrassment at hispliment. She had to remove his clothes in order to bandage all his wounds.

    She was drawn to his body, while she was bandaging him. She wasn''t sure if it was because she was already attracted to him or curiosity towards the body of the opposite sex.

    His body wasn''t big, but he was tall and lean. His muscles seemedcking, but they were packed with power underneath.

    She couldn''t help but touch and roam his body a bit. It was like the devil''s whisper when no one would know what she would do.

    Mia was relieved when someone was willing save her big brother. She was struck with weariness after her relief and fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed.

    If Mia had suddenly woke up and saw how she was touching Leon, she would want to find a hole to hide in.

    If Mia said something like "Big sister is perverted," It would have been the finishing blow and she would never crawl out. But that is all just a what if.

    Her guilty conscience made her heartbeat quicken when the bandaging was mentioned.

    Leon didn''t know his body was taken advantage of and just thought his teacher was not used to takingpliments.

    "By the way, couldn''t you heal my wounds with your wood element ability?" Leon didn''t mean to sound ungrateful, but he could not help but be puzzled by this matter.

    "Umm¡­ I don''t really know how to control my ability yet¡­" Lina bit her lips. She would have done it if she could. Did he think she like seeing him in such a horrible state?

    She had only recently awakened and had not received prior training or knowledge.

    There wasn''t any reason to as it was public knowledge that those who drink the Water of Absolute Nothingness could never awaken for the rest of their lives so her parents never taught her when she was younger.

    Leon seem to have forgotten that everyone else did not have a strong soul and powerful divine sense ability like him. It might be easy for him to use his ability upon awakening due to it and his 2 dozen odd years of ying with fire, but the same could not be said for the others.

    They had to learn and practice their ability slowly like normal first-time awakeners would. What he asked was a bit insensitive.

    "I''m sorry¡­ that was insensitive of me¡­" Leon apologized.

    "It''s fine¡­ My father or mother might have been able to help¡­ but their abilities have been sealed." Lina tried to appear nonchnt to hide what was on her mind. She wished Leon could cure her parents, but it was inappropriate to ask with his present condition.

    "I can go cure them now but how will you repay me after?" Leon said with a teasing tone and hidden implications in his words. He sensed her unnatural behavior and figured what was on her mind. Her expressions were quite cute. It was at least better than when she is in teacher mode.

    "No way¡­ how could I make you do that?" Her face grew red. She could sense his teasing tone. Was this considered flirting? Did Leon like her?

    He had flirted subconsciously when he found her cute. His old habits from his past life seems to be kicking in after he losing his self-restraint to a passionate session with Lynne.

    It was like being a virgin again. The impulse was hard to control after tasting it once and would make him lust for more.

    There was a myth that for every year men abstained from sex; they regain back one year of virginity. If he went by this saying, then he could indeed have been regarded as a virgin up until that point.

    Suddenly remembering about Lynne and that she was probably still waiting for him to visit her, his head cooled.

    It was alreadyte, and he didn''t know if the Grey family sent anyone else after him when they figured out their steward was dead. Lynne would have to be disappointed.

    "Don''t worry, it''s also for my sake." The sooner he was fully recovered, the better he can adapt to further unforeseen circumstances.

    "That''s great! Let''s get started right away." At this moment, Lina''s father and mother barged into her room and said.

    "Mom! Dad! Why are you still awake at this hour? Having you been eavesdropping outside the whole time!?" Lina was stunned before she interrogated them angrily.

    "Hohoho¡­How can we be at ease when you bring an unconscious boy home, all bloodied and stay in the same room? We naturally had to see if anything was going on." Lina''s father said straightforwardly, admitting to the eavesdropping.

    "I¡­ You¡­ What did you think was going to happen?"

    "The matters between men and women of course. Why else did you bring him to your room? Can''t you just settle him on the couch outside? Clearly this boy means something to you." Her mother answered as she looked at Leon like she was looking at a son-inw. 16 was the marriageable age among noble daughters, but her daughter was already 24!She was worried that no one fancied her daughter.

    Although it wasn''t the scenario they anticipated, her daughter had brought someone home in the end.

    "What??? How can you say that in front of him, mom!" Lina was upset. She felt like her parents was sabotaging her rtionship instead of helping her. Did they forget there was also a child in the room? What would Leon think of her? She panicked.

    "Shh, Mia is sleeping."

    All eyes focused on Leon.

    "Uh¡­ Hi Uncle and Auntie¡­I need acupuncture needles for the treatment." Leon was startled when they all focused their attention on him with such scrutiny.

    "No problem. You can use my set of needles." Lina''s father stated. He was a local physician who specialized in acupuncture after he could no longer serve in the army. He had suffered various degrees of injuries on the frontline and had a good understanding of the human body as a result. He relied on his acupuncture skills to bring home the bread and butter for the family.

    "Oh? Alright." Leon was surprised her father had a set of acupuncture needles but didn''t put too much thought into it. The Greene family was still a noble family no matter how much they have declined.

    "What do we have to do?"

    "Just standing there is fine."

    "Alright. Let me see your skills, boy." Although Lina''s father, Robert didn''t doubt Leon''s acupuncture skills as his daughter was the best proof, he still had to see it for himself.

    Leon was evidently much stronger than the time he cured Lina. Although he wasn''t in 100% condition, he did not have to expend much effort to unblock Robert''s and Lina''s mother, Aisha''s pores and draw out the devouring parasite demon in their body.

    Robert and Aisha did not get to see the devouring parasite before Leon reduced them to dust with ease. Although they devour all forms of energy, there was a limit as to how much they could devour with their minuscule size. Leon burned them both to death.

    Robert''s and Aisha''s empty wood seed was muchrger than Lina. Unlike her, they were powerful 7th and 6th step awakeners respectively before their ability was sealed. After they werepletely freed from the curse that gued then for 17 odd years, their bodies automatically drawn in the wood elements from the surrounding like hungry gods.

    Leon benefited a bit from the wood element drawn to Robert and Aisha as it had some small recovery effect on him.

    Robert''s strength recovered to the 4th step in a short time before the process slowed down due ack of wood element in the surrounding.

    "Hahaha! Very impressive! You have done the Greene family a great favor, Boy! Say, how should we repay you?" Robert was exuberant.

    "For starters, please heal me."

 Chapter 65 - Eve Before The Storm

    <h4>Chapter 65 - Eve Before The Storm</h4>

    Lancaster Mansion.

    Amelia and Rachel could be seen waiting at the dining table. Luxurious and delicious looking dishes filled the table. Each dish were treated like works of art as the content was neatly and thoughtfully ced, bringing out the aesthetic beauty in food. However, the food had already all gone cold as they waited for the Duke to return home.

    "I''m sorry, my dear. I was a little caught up with work." Duke Ignis apologised as he enter the dining room.

    "Sit down, we''ll talk over dinner." Amelia nodded. Workmitments couldn''t be helped. "Go reheat the food."

    The servants came and took the tes away, leaving the family of three at the dining table alone.

    "I heard you sent my steward out on a task?" Ignis had a bitter look. His own right-hand man was being ordered around casually by his wife. Was he the duke or was she the duke? He may seem imposing and dignified outside, but at home, even he had to listen to his wife. He was a henpecked husband.

    "Yeah, I wanted him to watch over someone secretly in case of any mishap."

    "Oh? To send the steward to watch over this person, he must be very important. Who is he?"

    Sebastian may just be a steward of the duke household, but he was a 7th step awakener. His status wasn''t any lower than the marquises of the kingdom.

    "The prince."

    "You found him?" Duke Ignis was pleasantly surprised. He knew how hard his wife had been working to find him these days. It''s good that she doesn''t have stress over it anymore.

    "That child is very good. I''m very satisfied with this son-inw of ours." Amelia nodded with a smile.

    "Oh? What is good about him?" Duke Ignis narrowed his eyes for a moment before ncing over his daughter. He thought she would protest against the engagement like usual, but she was strangely quiet.

    Feeling her father''s stare, she lowered her head with a blush. She might seem like she wasn''t paying attention, but her ears were wide open as soon as her parents mentioned Leon.

    "Can''t you see I''m quite lively and not tired? It''s all thanks to that child''s tea."

    "Tea?" Duke Ignis mood soured. "Don''t you know tea keeps you wide awake? You might not feel it now, but it will only hit you harderter when it wears off. That child is clearly harming you!"

    "What do you know? What he gave me was herbal tea. It''s not really tea in the truest sense. Don''t run your mouth if you don''t know anything." Amelia defended.

    "What? Tea that isn''t real tea?" Ignis was baffled by her words. What nonsense is that? Wasn''t I just being concern about you? Why do you defend a child you just met so vehemently?

    ncing over at his daughter again, she was also giving him a disapproving look for using Leon''s good intentions.

    What? Even his daughter is not happy with what he said? Why is his own wife and daughter not on his side? Exactly what happened today? What spell did that kid cast over his daughter and wife? Duke Ignis felt indignation and med it on Leon. Leon might have cried ''injustice!'' if he knew.

    "Hmph! I''ll let you have a sip to know, but a sip is all you get. Amelia grunted. "Prepare the herbal tea!"

    Amelia''s firm articte voice was heard in the kitchen next door and the maid, Lily soon got to work right away.

    The herbal tea was gifted to her and useful for Rachel. She was also a tea connoisseur. She liked the tea very much. Amelia wasn''t willing to share her herbal tea with her duke husband.

    She was only willing to part with one sip to convince him of its extraordinariness.

    The tea came out before the food and it was as she had intended, one sip was all Ignis get.

    His eyes lit up as he fell the warmth soothe his being and brought him a strange calmness and rxation he hadn''t felt in a long time.

    "Cough* Erm¡­ Dear, I did not taste it well. Can I have another sip?" Ignis rubbed his hands and asked carefully. The herbal tea was incredible.

    "No." Amelia tly rejected.

    Ignis winced at his wife''s t rejection.

    "Cough* Well I admit the tea is good, but I must also see for myself whether or not he is suited for our daughter."

    Both daughter and wife looked at him with

    disdain. Would he dare break off the engagement if the prince wasn''t good enough for his daughter? Most likely it was an excuse to ask for some herbal tea himself.

    Duke Ignis had always been the staunchest supporter of the engagement. He felt he had failed his sworn brother for not being there when he needed him most. Protecting the engagement was a form of sce to liberate himself from his self-me.

    The door to the living room was suddenly knocked twice.

    "Come in." Amelia''s voice rang out.

    Having received the acknowledgment, the door was pushed open as steward Sebastian entered.

    "Your Grace." Sebastian saluted.

    Duke Ignis did not show any displeasure for not being greeted first. He didn''t dare upset his tigress wife.

    The steward was the faint presence Leon had sensed since he left the Lancaster Mansion. From Leon''s departure to his arrival at Lina''s home, nothing was missed under the steward''s watchful eyes from the dark.

    Amelia nodded. "Did they return home safely?"

    "Safely?" Sebastian was rooted as sweat began to form on his forehead. He asked carefully, "Didn''t you want me to spy on then and report back where they headed to?"

    "I asked you to watch over them¡­ What part of watching over them do you not understand? Don''t you think a 7th step expert like you have better things to do then tailing someone!? I wanted you to protect them from any harm! Amelia was livid. Such simple instructions couldn''t be understood? Did he feed his brains to the dogs!? She immediately exploded. She just found the prince, if something happened to him then she wouldn''t dare imagine what her sworn sister would do.

    Duke Ignis wanted to speak up for his servant, but he kept his mouth zipped and looked on with pity. He knew his wife''s temper well. The storm would not stop for anyone, not even him. Why would he want to direct the angry god at himself?

    Sebastian felt his head buzzed. He knew he had fucked up. Leon wasn''t a simple guest as he thought. In fact he was a very important guest!

    The instruction of the Duke''s wife had been very clear, but he had interpreted incorrectly.

    In his mind, he had looked down on Leon.

    Although he had disyed a unique set of skill, he was still just amoner who had been lucky to befriend the youngdy and invited to their home.

    He had thought the Duke''s wife intention for him was to track Leon''s home to dig deeper into his secretster. Naturally he wouldn''t interfere when Leon was attacked and expose himself.

    Sebastian had forgotten his own roots, having served the Duke household for many years. He was a ssic example ofmoners hating on othermoners.

    "I was wrong. Please punish this servant." Sebastian dropped on his knee and admit mistake.

    "Just answer my question." Amelia said darkly.

    "Yes, they were attacked by the Grey family''s steward, Gael. The steward was killed, while the guest was heavily injured and taken away by a passerby. His condition left unknown." Sebastian recounted what he saw. He had only seen Lina once when she was still a little girl and didn''t recognise her current self.

    The emotions of the family of three fluctuated between agitation, shock and concern like a rollercoaster during Sebastian''s recount.

    They were so anxious they had unknowingly stood up. The Duke who had not met Leon seemed to be the most anxious of them all. He might not like the prince much due to his wife''s and daughter''s favouritism but the prince was still the son of his sworn brother, the king.

    "Round up the servants at the 5th step and higher outside. We leave immediately!" Duke Ignis barked with an imposing aura. At times like these, the men took charge of the matters outside. He was a peak existence but he wasn''t so arrogant that he would believe he could take on the Grey family alone.

    He had to take precautions against the Greys actions when they discover their steward was killed. Their movements would not be small.

    "Y-Yes, my Lord!" Sebastian scurried to his feet and left in shock. Duke had not met the guest earlier in the day, but seems to already know who the guest was. Exactly what is the identity of the boy to move even the Duke himself!? He had questions, but it was not his ce to ask. The lord will inform him when he needs to know.

    Rachel was burning with anxiety as her trauma rpsed. Why does every friend she make dies? Was Leon going to be the same? She started hyperventting.

    "You go first, I''ll followter." Amelia said to her husband before refocusing on Rachel. She had notice her situation right away. "Drink some tea, my dear."

    Duke Ignis had nodded and left. Although he was also worried about his daughter, he had his wife taking care of her.

    ¡­

    A big storm was brewing in the Lower West District.

 Chapter 66 - Eve Before The Storm (2)

    <h4>Chapter 66 - Eve Before The Storm (2)</h4>

    The unity of the kingdom could not endure the test of time and fractured into 3 bodies of power; The Royal faction consisting of those loyal to the crown, the Four Great Family alliance which includes all the corrupted nobles, andstly, the Neutral faction that consist of nobles who could not choose a side and adapted a wait and see. They were the fence sitters.

    The Four Great Family alliance had always been keeping watch over the Royal Faction''s movements.

    The moment Duke Ignis mobilized his men, the spies watching over their mansion were alerted of their movements. They immediately started rying the information back to their families.

    Albert Grey excluded, the other 3 heads of the four great families gathered for a quick meeting.

    "Is the Duke finally making a move on us?" Marquis Gregory Weld initiated with an important question.

    The situation wasn''t clear to him as few spies were nted in Upper North District. That area was managed by the Esmond family.

    "Not exactly. They seem to be heading to the Lower West District." Marquis Rae Esmond replied.

    "Any recent news from the Lower West District?"

    Marquis Rae shook his head. "That is Albert''s territory. He should most clear about the situation there."

    "Why did he note? The Greys have been quiet in recent years¡­" Marquis Gregory stroked his chin in thought.

    "Indeed. They seem to be up to something." Marquis Rae nodded in agreement.

    To he honest, the Grey did not deserve to sit on the same position as them unless their ancestor also breakthrough and be a peak-level existence.

    "The main problem is the Duke is heading to the Grey''s territory. They will most likely sh. Do we help him or not?"

    "Let him suffer some losses. We can help after and gain some benefits from him. He can only me himself for being sneaky and not sharing whatever it is he''s hiding."

    "I agree." Marquis Rae agreed with Gregory''s opinion.

    They did not want to sh with the Duke''s forces unless had their fathers with them, whom both reached the 9th step. The Duke household had monopoly of the firearm production. It would not be a surprised if their men were all equipped with firearms.

    "What are your opinions, Marquise Lue?"

    The Acker family was one of the fewer noble families headed by a woman. Lue had been silent up until this point. She was a cold and proud woman of few words.

    If not for the emergency meeting, she would deigned to attend the meeting. Her daughter, Audrey was of simr character and never interacted with the offspring of the other three great families. All men seem to be their enemy.

    "Agreed." Marquise Lue nodded coldly.

    Lue was in her 40s but her beauty shows no signs of ageing like her coldness had frozen her youthful appearance.

    However no men dares to have designs on her. She was a widow shortly after she had conceived Audrey. Simr cases had happen to all the previous heads of the Acker family throughout history. One would be an idiot if they could not even guess what was going on.

    Both marquises were tempted by her beauty but neither of them think they were tired of living. They were both very ambitious people.

    "Very well, we shall return and ready our forces. when Albertes pleading to us, we set out at once."

    ¡­

    "Fair enough."

    The debt of gratitude the Greene family owe Leon was something that couldn''t be measured.

    What might not have been much effort for Leon was like sending coal in winter for them. Healing Leon''s wounds would not be enough to repay the kindness he had given them.

    Robert ced his hand on Leon''s chest and began to channel wood elements into his body.

    Wood element had the best healing properties towards organic lifeforms.

    Due his mummified bandaging, Leon''s wounds could not be seen under it, but he was able to feel them closing up at a noticeable speed.

    The results were astonishing. Much better better than the pills he had on hand. Within minutes, his wounds have fully healed. Only scars were seen after he removed the bandages.

    "Thank you."

    "Don''t mention it." Robert waived, while secretly astounded by his own ability.

    It was the first time he had use his ability to heal someone else. Heck, it was the first time a member of the Greene family even healed someone other than themselves. They had been using their ability wrongly this whole time!

    True wood-users boast great self-generative abilities, but their greatest ability was healing others! It shouldn''t be used forbat.

    They were more suited to be supporters. Although they won''t share the same glory on the battlefield, their honor wouldn''t be any less as the number of lives saved could be greater through healing, rather than killing.

    Robert could think of the possibilities with his Greene''s family ability as his eyes sparkled. He could be a¡­healer, herbalist or even an alchemist. It was all within the realms of possibilities thanks to his wood ability. Wood element nurtures life, while water sustain it. He can speed up the growth of herbs as a herbalist and refine healing pills as an alchemist.

    Money was easy to earn regardless of the path he chooses. They won''t have to suffer poverty anymore.

    Roberts mood was great. He liked Leon the more he looked at him. Besides, his daughter seems to share some ambiguous feelings for the boy.

    Leon was preparing to leave as he was concerned about his foster parents, but he was held back by Robert.

    "Where are you going, boy?"

    "I need to check up on my parents. They may be in danger. I hope Uncle and Aunty can look after Mia, while I''m gone." Leon answered seriously.

    "You''re going??" Lina panicked. "It''s dangerous!"

    She didn''t want Leon to get hurt again. He was lucky to keep his life this time, but he may not the next time. It is the Grey family that''s trying to kill him after all. She didn''t know why they want to kill Leon, but she would stand on his side.

    Leon was her whole family''s benefactor.

    "I must go even if it is dangerous." Leon said sternly. His parents raised him with much love and care despite the difficulty. He wasn''t going to abandon them.

    "Mm, I understand. Be careful." Robert said. Leon was firm in his choice. It didn''t look like they can convince him otherwise.

    Leon nodded and left without hesitation. Lina''s eyes swelled with tears as she watched him leave.

    "The only way we can help him is to quickly recover our strength and get stronger. The Grey family is a titan to ovee." Aisha said unexpectedly.

    "Eh? Stole the words from my mouth." Robert smiled dotingly at his wife.

    "Crying won''t do you any good, my baby girl. Instead you should work hard and train. Only when you are strong will you be of help to him." Robert lectured his daughter before adding, "Maybe I should propose marriage for you, if hees back alive?"

    Her father seemed to have regained his confidence and vigor after his strength returned. He could even crack a joke to cheer her up at a time like this.

    "Your joke isn''t funny at all, father!" Lina pouted with redness.

    "I''m not joking. I''m seriously considering him as an excellent son-inw. The boy has courage and values familial ties. He is skilled in medicine, capable and young. A boy like him would notck women. You have to take the chance to grab onto him before the others do."

    "I''m going to train!" Lina flushed like a tomato. She wanted to her away.

    "Uuuu¡­" Mia woke up with a groan.

    They had forgotten someone was still sleeping in the room. No matter how deep of a sleeper she was, Mia would still wake up if she was constantly barraged with noises.

    "Where is big brother?" She teared up when she didn''t see Leon.

    "Sorry, Mia. Where we noisy? Your brother went to look for his parents and will be back for Miater." Lina diverted her attention to Mia and rub her cute head, saving her embarrassment.

    "Oh¡­" Mia understood and went quiet. She will wait patiently like a good girl.

    ¡­

    Leon made haste and arrived home very quickly. His house was not far from Lina''s home.

    "Mom! Dad!" He called out.

    "You finally came home, son." Helen and Brian was happy to see him home. They were still awake and were practicing some simple movements after they awakened as earth-users.

    Leon himself was relieved after he saw his mother and father doing fine and well. Maybe he was too paranoid after a near-death experience? ¡­No he killed their steward. The Greys would not leave him alone. The Lower West District was basically their backyard. It would be too easy for them to find him in their territory. They had to leave, but where?

    Leon wracked his brains and could only think of the Lancaster Mansion. He didn''t want to rely on others, but he wishes for his parents to be safe. Only when they are safe would he be at ease to do whatever.

    "Mom! Dad! We need to move! Now! I offended some powerful people and this ce will no longer be safe." Leon did not exined in details as he rushed them. He could exinter after they were somewhere safe. It was better to be safe than sorry.

    "What''s going on? Who did you offend? Where are we going?" Helen has questions but Leon did not answer them.

    "I''ll exinter. We got to go move quickly and quietly."

    He hag a nagging feeling something big was going to happen¡­ He didn''t want his parents to be dragged in the center of it.

 Chapter 67 - Enemy At The Door, Attack!

    <h4>Chapter 67 - Enemy At The Door, Attack!</h4>

    Leon''s hand paused when it was about to reach for the door as many threatening presence was suddenly sensed drawing closer from the outside.

    His expression turned grim as he realised it was probably toote.

    The party on the other side of the door had no intention of masking their arriving presence. Their arrival was very high profile as their killing intent billowed out indiscriminately.

    Those who felt it shivered in fear and the sound of windows shutting could be heard. The people living in the area did not want to be implicated by whatever was happening outside their homes.

    "Why did you stop?" Helen was oblivious to the danger and asked with confusion. Weren''t you rushing us to leave?

    "Sorry, Mom. It looks like it''s toote." Leon apologised for getting them caught up in his mess.

    He blew out the candle lights and shifted towards the front windows and took a careful peak outside.

    ''3¡­7¡­15¡­24¡­27! What¡­ the¡­ fuck!'' Leon couldn''t help but curse when he counted the numbers of people outside.

    He had a hunch they would send more people after him, but why is there so many!? Did the Greys deployed their entire household after him!? Why?? Didn''t he just kill one steward? It''s not like he murdered their ancestors or something, right!??

    Leon was agitated by how strongly the Greys had reacted to the death of one steward. His chest heaved up and down as his face became very ugly and regret started to seep in.

    Why didn''t he listen to Amelia and meet with his birth mother? He could have been able to avoid the steward''s assault and the Greys woulde for him.

    He was the prince and the resources of the Royal family would be at his disposal. His birth mother wouldn''t hesitate to lock him in the pce and nurture him with their resources.

    Although he would be able to grow safely in the confinements of the pce, it was not what he wanted.

    A person who is raised in a greenhouse would never truly be strong. One may possess powerful strength, but if they were weak in mind then their heart would also be weak and they may not be able to fully utilise that strength to its full capability.

    A truly strong person can only be forged through a tempering of life and death experiences. There was no short cut to it, otherwise that person would be stepping on the face of all who have achieved it with great efforts and determination.

    Leon knew his own weakness and the tempering was what he needed to forge his iron will.

    Determination flickered in Leon''s eyes as he looked at his parents.

    "Mom, Dad, no matter what happens¡­ do not go outside." He ns to face his enemies alone. His parents would not be able to help.

    "Not possible. We should face the problem to-"

    "Please!" Leon pleaded strongly.

    Helen wanted to refute his decision but Brian ced a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Just when they thought their lives were turning for the better, disaster strikes.

    "We understand. We won''t go out no matter what."

    "Thank you, dad."

    Brian understood that they weren''t strong enough to help Leon and would only get in his way. However there was resolution in their eyes. If something happened to Leon, they would not want to live either and apany him on his journey to theherworld.

    Leon exhaled a sigh of relief. His foster parents was one of his greatest worries and the biggest reason he chose not to meet his birth mother.

    He heard that the queen was a cold and ruthless ruler. He was afraid that his queen mother would be narrow-minded and think that his foster parents had taken him away from her and kill them.

    She was the one who was suppose to enjoy raising him and watching him grow, but it had falling into someone else''s hands. Leon was afraid his queen mother would had such dangerous thought and jealousy.

    However, Leon had already made his decision as he walked out the door. If he survived this ordeal, he would let go of his apprehensions and meet his birth mother. To protect his loved ones, he must use all the resource at his disposal. He would try to convince his birth mother if she does things contrary to his wishes.

    ¡­

    "Is this the house of that bastard?" Albert Grey stood 100 paces away as he looking at the humble abode in front of him with disdain. If it weren''t for Leon''s secrets, he''d deign to step foot into the lower district.

    "ording to our information, this should be the address." As one of the servants reported.

    "Father, would he still dare to be at home after killing one of our own? I can see that there is no lighting from the inside." Edricmented.

    Albert frowned as his son''sment. "You''re right. We should check. Bring his parents to me if they are inside. If there is no one, I want that thing razed to the ground."

    "Yes, my lord!"

    Albert would not step foot in such a lowly abode himself. He believes he would be tainted by the filth of themoners, but actually there is no problems with hygiene inside.

    The servants were all armed with iron swords and strapped with holstered revolvers.

    The one in the lead raised his hand and halted the group just as they advanced a few steps.

    "Someone ising out."

    Facing the crowd outside his home, Leon expression was sullen and his footsteps felt heavy from the pressure weighing down on him.

    "Why do you want to kill me?"

    Hearing Leon''s question in the distance, Albertughed as he heard a funny thing.

    "That''s him, father! That''s Leon!" Edric pointed fingers at him.

    Leon shifted his gaze towards Edric that made him cower behind his father. Albert felt his face heat up as his son''s cowardly action that made him lose face.

    "You''re very arrogant don''t you think, little boss of Golden Lion gang? However, if you tell me how you be so strong in such little time, I can spare your life." Albert said darkly, restraining himself from pping his son as they were in public.

    Realisation dawned on Leon. No wonder they came to him so strongly. They wouldn''t be able to stomach such humiliation from his letter and suspected he held a great secret on him due to his cultivation speed despite being amoner.

    "Really? Will you really spare me if I tell you?" Leon faked a fearful appearance. He did not believe Albert''s promise one bit, but he had to buy time as he think of a n to ovee his sticky situation.

    "Of course. I promise, now tell me." Albert was pleasantly surprised and smug at Leon''s reply. Weren''t you very arrogant? Hmph! Nothing but a paper tiger.

    Albert thought his strong force had deterred Leon.

    "Are you sure you want to hear the secret with all these people listening in? Can you trust that they arepletely loyal to you and wouldn''t betray you by selling the secret to others? Why don''t youe over so I can whisper it to you?"

    Albert froze at Leon''s words. Due to his wary nature, he did not trust others and found Leon''s words very reasonable. It would be surprising if one or two of his people were bought over or nted by other families. However, if he did as Leon said then he would be disappointing servants. How could he not see that Leon was acting and trying to sow discord? But so what? It did not matter.

    As long as he got close and capture him, he would be able to torture the secrets out of him. The process was different but the results would be the same. He waspletely confident in his strength.

    There was a dividing line between the 6th step and the 7th step. The physical enhancement did not change but his earth ability was greatly improved.

    He was not concerned how strong Leon was. As long as his guard was up, Leon wouldn''t be able to do anything to him. Earth-users were strengths lied in their defence.

    It was already impressive that Leon could kill his steward at his age.

    "Alright."

    Albert strode forward with ease and stood before Leon. "So what do you have for me?"

    "The secret is¡­"

    Leon drawn closer and his hand glowed red as he clenched it into a fist and threw it out at his quickest possible speed.

    Albert saw the iing move and smirked. He reached his hand out to catch it. He had been expecting Leon to make a move.

    "You''re too predictable brat-"

    [9 Echo Osciting Fist]!!!

    The two made contact and the colours were drained from Alberts face as he quickly attempted to summon up his earth armour.

    His palm was unable to stop Leon''s fist as it broke his hand and continue straight for his chest.

    Albert''s body shot backwards like a kite with its strings cut and a fountain of blood sprayed from his mouth. He felt like he was hit by a truck as his body was struck by a force of 1500 jin.

    A faint 3 echoes was heard when Leon''s fist connected as he made a breakthrough with his martial technique. It followed by a wave of pain like he had just struck a rock mountain. His skin split and bled from the impact.

    Due to the strain on his body from using the technique, there was an instinctual limiter that stopped him from reaching 3 echoes previously. But when he threw caution to the wind and went all out, the hurdle was ovee smoothly.

    The martial technique was designed for body cultivators as it had strong requirements for body toughness and speed. Most divine practitioners stop at 2 echoes as it was an introductory skill. Majority practiced the energy cultivation system and at Energy Condensation state, they can begin using spirit arts, which was stronger than martial arts. They wouldn''t waste time in practicing martial arts too much.

    Speed was Leon''s forte, while the 5 element body strengthened his body''s toughness to some degree. Thanks you his new changing body constitution he did not suffer too much of a bacsh from using 3 echoes. His bones would have shattered from the force if his body was still ordinary otherwise.

    "My Lord!!" "Father!!" "Are you alright?" Everyone was shocked by the turn if events as they gathered to Albert.

    "Fuck off!! Go and kill him now!! Shoot him to death!! Albert was enraged after suffering such a loss. What kind of force was that? Itpletely broke through his earthen armour defence and hurt his inwards badly.

    Had he been slow, he would have died from having his bones shattered and his heart crushed from the blow!

    "Yes, My Lord!" The servants drew the revolvers and chased after Leon.

    Leon did not wait for them as he turn and ran. His n was very simple. To catch the person with the biggest threat off guard by delivering his strongest attack. They might anticipate his attack but not its force.

    Whether he was sessful or not in killing the person, he had to utilise his advantage in speed and run.

    A mob of 3rd step to 5th step awakeners was different to a mob of ordinary thugs. He could not fight 4 fist with 2. His powerful attack did not deter them as they still had their firearms. He had to run and draw them away from his home

    As long as his parents hid well inside, they would be safe.

    He would move to a more favourable terrain at the same time and be able tomence his counterattack on his pursuers without distractions then.

 Chapter 68 - Phantom In The Rain

    <h4>Chapter 68 - Phantom In The Rain</h4>

    "Father, are you alright!?" Edric tried to support his father up with great concern.

    Albert continued to cough up blood as he reyed the scene in his mind with lingering fear.

    Although he had suffer heavy injuries, he was fortunate to have kept his life. Leon''s fist had broken his understanding of the physical limits of humans.

    Earth-users like him bolstered great confidence in their defences as even the physical strength of a peak 9th step awakener would not be able to break the defence of his earth armour so easily.

    However, Leon had teared through it easily or so Albert thought. Leon had thrown three punches in an instant to generate such incredible force.

    Albert was under the impression that Leon''s physical strength had already exceeded the peak 9th step, but he did not think that Leon was a transcendent.

    Albert knew that Leon is a fire-user. If he was a transcendent, he did not had to act weak as he could just burn them all to death with his transcendental fire-ability. A transcendent was a revered and mighty existence and should never be disrespected.

    In the Crawford Kingdom, where transcendent-level awakeners were non-existent, they would be able to summon the winds and rains to dictate the fate of the kingdom. The throne is theirs for the taking if it was their wish to usurp the current reigning sovereignty.

    Albert believed that Leon''s abnormal strength is rted to his secrets. His eyes burned with greed as he arrived at this conclusion.

    "Okay? Do I look okay?" Albert asked rhetorically as he coughed up another mouthful of blood. "Let''s go."

    "Go? Go where?"

    "Where else? Back home! Or did you want to stay here instead?" Albert felt frustrated at his son''s stupid question. Did he not see how his father was shot flying? He was a 7th step earth-user but he was no longer in a condition to do battle due to his heavy injuries. He had to go back and seek stronger help. He wasn''t going to give up so easily when there''s a chance for his family to ascend to greater heights.

    He had sent all his servants after Leon in his fit of rage, but he did not think that they would actually be able to kill Leon now that his mind had calmed down.

    At most, they could only buy time for him to return home and get help from his father. Whether they survived or not did not bother him. He could just train a new batch of servants.

    He was still reluctant to ask the other families for help. They may be in alliance, but they were still rivals in the end. He naturally wouldn''t want to see them grow stronger than they already are.

    ¡­

    "Come back here!"

    The servants of the Grey family chased after Leon. The pulled their revolvers and aimed at him in the distance. His figure drew further away very quickly.

    The servants had not had many chances to practice shooting with firearms as the private production of bullets weren''t cheap and easy to make. They couldn''t be extravagant with their bullets.

    Their aims were unsteady as they were chasing at high speed.

    Shots were fired but the trajectory werepletely off target.

    They were no match for Leon''s speed as he continue to draw further away before turning a corner and disappearing out of their sight.

    "Where did he go!?"

    "Left? Right? Or did he climb up the building?"

    "Should we split up and search?"

    "Do you want to die?"

    Leon''s powerful punch was still fresh in their minds. They wouldn''t be able to take him on individually. They had to stick together to stand a chance.

    On the rooftop of one of the buildings, Leon had switched out into his nightwear. The ck clothing blends in the night and grants him a higher level of stealth, making it harder for them to detect him.

    "Sh*t, then do you want to head back and tell our lord that we lost our target?"

    "This¡­ let''s split up into 5 teams and search."

    "We can only do that."

    They don''t want to be punished by their lord. Their lord did not take lightly to failures. They were unaware that they were just cannon fodders in the eyes of their lord.

    The five newly formed teams scattered into different directions, with one team climbing a building to search from above.

    On the rooftop of a different building, Leon listened in on their dialogue with a hyper focus.

    Their actions worked towards his advantage but there would still be 5 servants per team. It was impossible for Leon to take them head on.

    He doesn''t know how good they were at closebatpared to their steward, but he had learnt from his mistake. He would not take the risk, but neither was there a need to.

    He had no choice back then because he had to protect Mia. The steward did not give them the opportunity to escape.

    However, things were different now. He was alone and no longer restricted. He was free to act as he pleases.

    Leon checked his acupuncture needles. There was still 27 of the original 36 needle set in perfect condition. The number seems to coincide with the number of people that came tonight.

    As long as Leon does not expose his position, he should be able to kill them off one by one with his silent needles.

    A de in the open was easy to dodge, but a dagger in the dark was not. If he shoots his needles from their blindspots, his chances of one shot kill increases significantly.

    The dull skies suddenly crackled with a sh of lightning as rain began to drop heavily. The sudden downpour came without warning and didn''t seem to have any intention of stopping in the short-run.

    ''Looks like even the world wants to help me eradicate these viins.''

    The heavy rain created poor visibility and interferes with their hearing. They wouldn''t be able to hear the sound of his needles that''s already subtle enough due to its thinness.

    The moment the first team of servants jumped on top of the two-storey buildingplex opposite of him, they exposed their backs wide open for him. He took the opportunity and fired two needles at the back of their heads before leaping to a different building out of their sight.

    The two unfortunate servants dropped dead on the roof of the building.

    "Sh*t! He got Timmy and Garry!"

    "Everyone, he is on the top of the buildings!!" Another servant tried to alert the other teams, before they got too far away in their search. Unfortunately,his voice was drowned in the rain. The others could only faintly hear his voice faintly.

    "Darn it! Where did this ursed raine from!?"

    Leon circled around the buildings and fired another two needles at the back of another two.

    "Paul! Coby! Dammit! Fuck this sh*t, I''m outta run!" The remaining servant lost his will to fight by himself and jump back down from the building. He was just sitting target waiting to be ughtered up there.

    Four of his brothers died in the blink of an eye. This wasn''t an opponent he could take on alone.

    Leon did not pursue the runaway servant and let him went to call for help. The rain had changed the course of the game in his favour.

    He went to the bodies of the dead servants and collected their weapons and firearms into his world space. It should prove to be useful in strengthening his gang.

    After he was done, he followed in the direction the servant headed. The servant was also at the 5th step, the strongest in his team. But he was a coward as he did not understand the extent of Leon''s abilities and neither did Leon understood his. They were wary of each other.

    Leon thought it was best to kill off the weak ones before aiming for the strong.

    Their fight slowly drifted towards the south, while he continue to pick them off one by one after he found the rest of them.

    "Goddammit! Where is he attacking us from!?"

    In just half an hour, their numbers had dwindled down to a measly 5. However the survivors were all 5th step awakeners.

    Leon did not forget to collect his spoils from the bodies of the fallen brothers, the surviving servants abandoned.

    Thesest 5 weren''t easy to finish off as they actually survived a number of his needles. They were able to avoid being hit in their fatal areas in the nick of time due to their keener sense of danger each time he fired his needles.

    The 5 gathered back to back as they cover each directions and extracted the needles from their bodies.

    "Fucking hell man, are these acupuncture needles?"

    "Just who exactly did we make an enemy out of? A doctor? An assassin? What the hell¡­"

    "I thought he was just a kid¡­"

    "He''s no kid. He is a monster!"

    No normal teenager would be able to replicate what he did and ughter 20 of their brothers.

    The five cautiously surveyed their surroundings.

    Leon had recollected his needles from the heads of the dead servants, but he still end up running out of needles. The other parties were impaled with the rest of them in various areas.

    ''It seems I still have to resort to closebat.'' Leon thought.

    However, he now possess a level of confidence in fighting them. They have been weakened by his needles and they weren''t as skilled as their steward. He was also equipped with a proper weapon. There was no disadvantages.

    He was no longer helpless as before¡­ Leon gripped the iron sword in his hand as he was prepared to engage his enemies.

 Chapter 69 - Dance With The Rain

    <h4>Chapter 69 - Dance With The Rain</h4>

    During the rainy night, a group of cars have arrived at a run-down house before parking. Staring through the ss window, the Duke looked at the building with a frown from the passenger seat.

    "Is this the house?"

    The duke didn''t mean to look down on the poor, but having lived a life of luxury, he does enjoy the state of cleanliness. His eyes couldn''t help but twitch at the thought of how poor the living condition of his son-inw was despite being the prince of the kingdom. What a tragedy, he thought.

    But it could also be a blessing in disguise. How can a person be a great ruler without understanding the suffering and hardship of their people? A great nation is built by the collective efforts of its people. If the people''s hearts is not with him, it would be difficult for it to prosper under his rule.

    "Yes, My Lord." Sebastian answered from the driver''s seat. A total of 6 cars had arrived at the scene. The trunks were loaded with firearms and cold weapons.

    "Alright¡­ We will head in to check. You stand guard outside with the rest."

    The wealth of the Duke household was on a different level to the other noble houses. Not only do they have cars, they have multiple cars.

    Being the closest friend and ally of the crown, it shouldn''te as a surprise. They have monopoly of all businesses with metal at the core. Car production was just one of them. Although there was some dy due to Rachel''s rpse, they had all left together. The Duke''s family of three arrived at the door and knocked.

    Some hurried footsteps were heard from inside before the door was opened.

    Lina was excited to answer the door as she had expected Leon to return, however she was disappointed and shocked to find it was someone else.

    "Y-Your Grace, what brings you here?" Lina stuttered. She was intimidated by the Duke''s overwhelming presence. If she could not even recognise the Duke, whilst living in the capital then she would have been living under a rock. Confusion struck her. What did the Dukee here for?

    Duke Ignis was simrly dumbfounded. Did theye to the wrong house? He did not hear about Leon having a sister.

    "Teacher Lina? Why are you here?" Rachel peeked out from behind her father.

    "Rachel?" Lina was taken aback. "Why can''t I be here? This is my house."

    "Your house? Isn''t this Leon''s house?"

    The Duke came to an understanding from the dialogue between the two girls and he shed a nce at his steward, who was directing the servants to guard the perimeter. The information they got was incorrect.

    Sebastian felt a chill and began alerted as if there was an enemy nearby.

    "You came for Leon?" Lina seem to understand their intention, but had no idea how they knew. "What do you want from him?"

    She wasn''t sure if the Duke''s family was a friend or foe. She became cautious after knowing they were looking for Leon.

    "You don''t need to be on guard against us. We came to protect him. We heard he was seriously injured." Duke Ignis interrupted.

    Lina could not help but look at them with doubt. What kind of status does Leon have to summon even the Duke to protect him? But it didn''t seem like they were lying to her either.

    "Where is he?" Duke Ignis asked with some impatience. With Leon''s situation still unknown to them, he was annoyed at Lina''s sluggish reaction and wasting their time.

    His imposing aura seeped out and Lina paled as she step backwards.

    "What the hell do you think you''re doing, Ignis? We haven''t seen each other in years and the first thing you do is bully my daughter at my own house!?" Robert''s voice rang out as his figure was slowly made known to the people outside.

    "Robert?" Duke Ignis retracted his aura as he stared at his old friend''s face with growing excitement. "So this is where you have been living all this time, old friend?"

    "Hah? You got a problem with my home?"

    "Hahaha¡­no problem¡­But seriously, where is Leon?" The Duke very much likes to catch up with his old friend, but important matterses first."

    "Haa¡­ You just missed him. That boy went to check on his parents."

    "Parents? Ahh¡­" Duke Ignis remembered Leon was adopted. "You let him leave in such a seriously injured state¡­? Where did he went?"

    "Nonsense, he is the benefactor of my house. How can I let him leave in such a state? I already healed him. The boy went that way." Robert pointed in a direction and waved them off. He could naturally see the Duke''s anxiousness.

    Although he didn''t know what rtionship they shared, it wasn''t the time to ask. The Duke''s forces would be able to keep Leon safe from the Grey family.

    "Oh? Thanks." The Duke was pleasant surprised as he knew exactly what had be of the Greene family years ago. It was evident by Robert''s grey hair that speaks volumes of how much stress and depression he suffered all these years.

    However, his friend did not show any sign of it in his eyes as it burned with new vitality.

    Duke Ignis was prepared to leave with his family and men when Robert stopped.

    "No¡­ Ignis, wait. Take us with you. With yourrge movements, the other noble families are bound to be restless. It''s best we stick together." Having lived in the lower district, Robert was more aware of the ongoing corruption and the possible spark of rebellion. Once it erupts into open conflict, nowhere would be safe in the capital.

    "Alright,e in." Duke Ignis agreed. The car the duke arrived in was long and spaciouspared to the other 5. There was no problem fitting them all.

    ¡­

    Stand in the middle of the streets with a mixture of sweat and rain dripping down their faces, the remaining five servants continued to stay vignt and did not dare rx their guard.

    Leon''s needle attack was too difficult to evade and the slightest slip-up could cost them their lives.

    "We cant continue holding back, or else we will all die!"

    "Agreed! Our lives are more important than others!"

    Having said that, the servants no longer restrain themselves as the ground and buildings in the vicinity began to shake and crumble.

    Leon felt a mixture of shock and anger at the servant''s unscrupulous action as he retreated to another building.

    With a resounding boom, all the residential properties and buildings within a 30-meter radius of the servants copsed into debris.

    Their surrounding view were cleared, but at a cost of all the people living in these buildings as they got buried underneath the rubble.

    The rubble broke into smaller rubbles before circting around the five like a protective barrier.

    They were like cornered mouses clinging to life. Push them too far and they willmit unspeakable atrocity for their own survival.

    "Bastards! You all deserve to die!" Leon cursed.

    A whirlpool of mes erupted from his body involuntarily in his rage, before it was suppressed by the heavy rain and transformed into fog-like steam blowing off his body.

    The scene was especially eye-catching as the servants immediately spotted his location. They turn to face him like they were facing their greatest enemy.

    Leon gripped the sword in his hand especially hard as he red at them hatefully.

    He imbued his sword with fire elements as it glowed sizzling red, before simrly suppressed by the rain as well. It''s silver lustre returned, but the heat emanating from it was retained.

    "Die!!!!" Leon roared as he used the [Extreme Vanishing Step] tounch himself over from above, bypassing their barrier of rubble.

    Like a silver sh of lightning, Leon dropped down with a downward sh at lightning speed.

    The defending servant attempted to block with his own sword, but along with his body, it was sliced in half like hot knife through butter.

    "Kill him!!" Another servant immediately roared after one of them their own was bisected in the blink of an eye.

    Leon immediately entered a strange state when he was surrounded. His heart was raging, but his mind was experiencing an inexplicable sense of calmness and rity as he dodged each attack with ease. He was gaining enlightenment through the battle.

    Enlightenment could only be chanced upon and not sought after. Hepletely gave up on the offence and continue enjoying the feeling of enlightenment as he evade each attack.

    His footsteps moved in a profound pattern as it looked like he was dancing in the rain from a bystander''s point of view.

    With each passing moment, his movements improved and became more refined and precise.

    With a sudden opening, Leonshed out with his sword and sent a head flying through the air.

    "Sh*t! Stop the earth barrier!" The revolving rubble around them had quickly changed from being their barrier to a cage as they have locked themselves inside.

    With a few steps, Leon sent out another sh and another head was decapitated.

    His enlightenment didn''tst long, but his gains were enormous. No wonder many divine practitioners walking the martial path were such senseless troublemakers. They''re always seeking to gain enlightenment through battles.

    Each step of Leon''s became more meaningful and each shes were swift and decisive. His wasted movements were minimized.

    When his opponents started to panic due to their losses, more openings appear in their movements.

    1¡­ 2 steps¡­ swoosh¡­ another head flies¡­ 3

    Thest two were also finished in the same manner. It was very anticlimactic.

    Leon had expected a hard battle, but things happened contrary to his expectations.

    A single martial enlightenment and a superior weapon was enough to dominate the battle. The servants of the Greys could not fight to their full potential due to fear of having their weapons broken by him.

    Leon forgot to include the biggest deciding factor of his battle; speed. Offensive and defensive-type techniques and skills were great but only speed was unbreakable. He stood out on top because he was faster.

    There was no joy on Leon''s face as he stood in the rain and nced at the destruction of their battle¡­ He proceeded to search the ruins for any survivors.

 Chapter 70 - Gathering Of Evil

    <h4>Chapter 70 - Gathering Of Evil</h4>

    Arriving at the entrance of his home, Albert Grey frowned as there were many empty cars parked outside his gates. The vehicles of the great family each had their own unique crest engraved to represent their house.

    Albert immediately recognized them as belonging to the other three great family due to their defining crest.

    "What the hell were they doing at his home?"

    The moment he stepped inside his courtyard, he was stunned at the sight, before shaking with anger as dark clouds loomed over his head.

    "What have you done to my courtyard!?" Albert roared, before coughing incessantly.

    "Father! How are you??" Edric supported him.

    His once beautifully decorated courtyard was ruined by the heads of the three other great family. The flower garden in the center was cleared out as it was reced by newly erected stone chairs tables. He felt his heart ripped to shreds as he red at them. His beautiful and delicate flower garden looked like it was ravaged by wolves as it was scattered throughout the four corners of the courtyard.

    How dare they casually have a tea party on that spot!

    He didn''t care much for the courtyard itself, but the small flower garden was a totally different story. It may seem strange for a cold and ruthless person like him to ce so much importance on a mere flower garden, but not to those who knew the inside story. The flower garden belonged to his dearly beloved wife, who passed away during childbirth. He also shared a love and hate rtionship with his son as a result of that incident.

    "Yo, look who showed up. Where is the rest of your servants? Looks like the Duke made you suffer big time." Marquis Gregory of house Weld taunted as he looked at Albert''s pathetic appearance.

    "Y-You!" Albert pointed at him with 7 parts anger and 3 part confusion. "The Duke did? Hmph! So what if I suffered loses to the Duke!? You would have suffered just as badly, had you gone up against him as well!"

    Albert admitted shamelessly to being defeated by the Duke. Being defeated due to a sneak attack by a junior was an embarrassment and a stain on his life. He would not admit to that fact, less he wants to invite humiliation upon himself.

    Albert had no idea the Duke had mobilised his forces and rushed to the Lower West District for the same person he had tried to kill. He was fortunate not to bump into the Duke on his way back.

    "Hahaha¡­perhaps. But that is a ''what if''. The fact is that you were defeated miserably and I have yet to be." Marquis Gregory satirised. Hisugh sounded very grating on Albert''s ears.

    A chilling light could be seen in Albert''s eyes as his expression turn frighteningly calm. The atmosphere felt very gloomy.

    A person blinded by anger isn''t scary. What is scary is when their anger is clearly beyond boiling point, but they could still control it and think with unprecedented calmness.

    Although, they were all 7th step awakeners, Gregory felt chilled by Albert''s calmness.

    Albert knew he was being bullied. Intolerable bullying! But he can still the bigger picture. His family could not afford to have a falling out at this juncture. If he has the opportunity in the future, he would let Gregory die a dog''s death. What they did to the flower garden was unforgivable by his books.

    "Gregory, stop it. We are after all guests. We should not disrespect the host." Marquis Rae of Esmond family interceded on Albert''s behalf. But of course he didn''t really mean what he say. He couldn''t be happier if the two of them fought it out. If they build their grudge now, his family would stand to benefit as his family would less likely be a target during the fight for the throne. They would be too busy fighting each other. He was calcting and a hypocrite.

    "Tch. Whatever." Gregory shirked his hands of the matter. He was toozy to deal with Rae''s hypocritical act.

    Rae''s family was different to Albert''s. The house of Grey was easy to bully because they have yet to have a powerhouse guarding the house. Albert wasn''t qualified to be treated on the same level as them.

    "F*cking hypocrite." Albert murmured. Verbal insults was still alright. It wasn''t enough to break up the alliance, but getting physical potentially can.

    "What did you say? Say it again." Rae''s facial expression turned vicious, but he restrained himself from resorting to violence.

    Marquise Lue quietly sipped her tea as she choose not to involve herself in the quarrel between these men. Disdain was written on her cold face as she watched them like she was watching a bunch of dogs. All bark and no bite. Men are such pathetic beings. There''s no need to waste her breathe on them.

    "Enough! You''re all grown men. Do you have nothing better to do than bicker like children?!" An elderly man roared as he walked out from the mansion. Two other and an elderly woman followed behind.

    "We were wrong." They were quick to admit their mistake and ept their scolding from their respective fathers.

    In the eyes of their parents, they will always be children though. Rae thought.

    "Mother." Marquise Lue greeted.

    "Mmm." The olddy nodded. Her daughter''s temperament was much like her own. There was nothing to scold her for.

    "Father, did they force you out of your secluded training?" Albert asked his father, Lord Grey.

    The eldest and most authoritative figure of each noble family were addressed by their family name as they were the real leader in the family. The head was just the representative.

    "Mmm, but there is a golden opportunity for our alliance to topple the Royal faction. I had toe out for it."

    Albert had no idea for what reason all their fathers were forced out of their seclusion, but he trust his father would exin further."

    "With the Queen locked in her own pce, the Royal faction is mainly spearheaded by the Duke and his wife. We couldn''t do anything to them before because they were in their own territory and too close to the pce.

    They could escape to the pce and join forces with the queen should we try to fight them. We would be locked in a stalemate, while exposing ourselves if we fail to kill them before then.

    However, now the Duke and his wife have entered the Lower West District, they are far from their home territory. It''s impossible for them to escape our clutches should we make our move.

    This is a good chance for us to take them out with our superior numbers and strength."

    If the Duke and his wife fell, the Royal faction would only be left with one peak existence left; their queen. There was actually one more, but that person has been in a vegetative state for many years.

    "I see. This is a really good chance for us to turn the tables¡­" Albert said, but he still had his worries. His father have yet to reach the 9th step. They were at too much of a disadvantage, should they start fighting the other great family for the crown afterwards.

    "Why did you bring all your servants to the Commoner''s District?" Lord Weld suddenly interrogated Albert. Although, he created such an opportunity, there was something fishy about the matter.

    The others had finished their little talks and gathered around to listen in.

    "My pawn in the Commoner District was killed and reced by some arrogant brat. I came to show the little runt our overwhelming differences and kill him after I make him despair and regret for making an enemy out of me." Albert spoke with half truth. He dare not frown and show his displeasure in front of Lord Weld, less he invoke his ire.

    "Considering suchrge reaction from the Duke, that kid must be a secret talent the Duke''s household had nurtured. Looks like it was the Duke''s secret move to cut off our sources of ie from the Commoner Districts." Lord Esmond assumed.

    Albert found this assumption usible. It would exin how he manage to enroll into Crawford University with his humble background. He was part of the Duke''s household.

    "Mm. The Duke have made a move against our alliance first. He cannot me us for retaliate back. We are on opposing sides after all." Lord Greymented.

    "Yes. We should mobilize all our forces quickly and give them no chance to escape. They must die tonight."

    "Mm. All in favor, say I." Lord Weld nodded and stated.

    "I." "I." Lord Esmond and Lord Grey both answered.

    "Is there something wrong, Lady Harriet?" Lord Weld did not address thedy as Lady Acker. Marquise Lue''s mother had insisted on having them address her as Lady Harriet. She did not like the sound of ''Lady Acker''. She was an entric olddy. Despite being such a dominating person, she preferred to be addressed by her first name.

    "There is something wrong with this matter. How could the Duke make such a stupid move? Could it be a trap?" Lady Harriet brows creased into a fold.

    "Even if there is, they would still not be a match for us 4. We have hidden ourselves for too long. They shouldn''t have known that we are still alive nor guess our present level of strength."

    Lord Weld''s words were very reasonable. Lady Harriet could not refute it and nodded. They really have hidden themselves for far too long.

    "Alright, let''s set out immediately. Time waits for no one."

    Their noble houses did not possess superior training methods like the Duke household and Royal family did, which could make the King, Queen, Duke and Duchess all possess the same level of strength as them despite being a whole generation younger.

    They hadpletely relied on pills to propel them to their current strength. Logically speaking, they should all be dead due to all the pill exhausting their lifespan. However, they are very much still alive.

    Who knew what secret methods they used or untold evil they havemitted to extend their lifespan.

 Chapter 71 - No Stones Left Unturned

    <h4>Chapter 71 - No Stones Left Unturned</h4>

    The Lancaster and Greene family sat together in the back enjoying some tea, while Sebastian drove the car in the direction Robert previous pointed.

    Robert sighed at the difference between their two family''s lifestyle. Even on a road trip, they could still enjoy drinking tea.

    However he had to admit the herbal tea, Amelia had offered was magical. Whatever tension and worry everyone had felt before, it was rxed by the tea''s effect.

    "I''m sorry about my earlier actions. Robert and I were pretty good friends back in the days. I hope you didn''t take it to heart and you can just call me Uncle Ignis." The duke apologised.

    "I would have forgotten if you didn''t mention it¡­ U-Uncle Ignis." Lina replied humbly. She felt incredulous at the Duke''s friendly attitude. It seems to her that they weren''t just good friends, but very good friends. The queen was too ruthless to not take their rtionship into ount and punish her family as such.

    "That''s good." Duke Ignis turn to Robert before asking, "So, how far to Leon''s home?"

    "Cough* Err¡­ hmm¡­" Robert choked on his tea before looking awkwardly at his daughter for answers. Lina was equally clueless.

    No one knew where Leon''s home actually was. The Greene family only knew the direction and that it shouldn''t have been too far from their house. Considering the time they''ve spent in the car, they probably have already passed it.

    Robert was embarrassed for being captivated by the tea and forgetting what they had set out to do.

    One mustn''t forget that the Greenes had lived a very stringent lifestyle and have not tasted good food and drink for a long time.

    It was easy for them to be engrossed by the tea.

    "I don''t know either¡­" Lina lowered her head.

    "This is¡­ no¡­ never mind then." Duke Ignis gathered his attention towards the outside. "Stop the car."

    The car came to aplete stop, forcing the following cars behind to stop as well.

    "What''s the matter, Ignis?" Robert asked.

    "There''s traces of a battle around here."

    Duke Ignis exited the car as he sweep the area with his gaze in the rain.

    "How can you even tell? There''s nothing here." Robert was clueless.

    "No, there is something. The smell of blood." Amelia said confidently. As 9th step awakeners, the Duke and Amelia possess better senses than most.

    The increment of strength isn''t limited to the improvement of their physical strength, but also their body as a whole. Their five senses would naturally have been enhanced with each breakthrough in strength.

    Robert and Aisha was unable to smell the blood in the heavy rain. It was more impossible for Lina and Rachel, who were weaker than them.

    The vehicles slowed down as they surveyed the area, while passing.

    "There''s a body over there."

    "Over here too."

    Dead bodies after bodies were were found along the way.

    "Don''t look at them, Rachel." Amelia tried to stop her daughter.

    "Let her. She has to start facing these things or she will never ovee it. It''s good we brought plenty of herbal tea." Ignis said otherwise.

    "Can anyone identify the bodies?" Robert asked. Everyone shook their heads at his question.

    "Probably servants of the Greys¡­ Did Leon do all this?" Amelia assumed.

    "That boy¡­ shouldn''t be that capable, right? Their wounds were too clean. They all died from a shot to their head." Robert doubted her assumption. He experienced firsthand how exceptional Leon''s medical skills were. Where on earth would he find the time to learn other skills? These skills weren''t something that could be mastered simply by memorising the knowledge from a book. It requires intensive training and practices to master.

    Only monstrous geniuses could break normality and toss away all logic and reasons. But geniuses are rare as metal on the current open market, let alone a monstrous genius.

    "I think we don''t have to worry about the boy. Only assassins can execute such clean kills and the queen''s shadow guards is the only group of assassins we have on our side." Ignismented.

    "That''s not possible. Elizabeth shouldn''t have known about Leon yet." Amelia strongly denied. Why would the queen host her own private search after putting her in charge? It would hurt their sisterhood if Elizabeth didn''t trust her. Amelia knew that although she had sessfully given Elizabeth some hope, she was still 90% believing that her son long gone. Thus, it was impossible for Elizabeth to know until she inform her.

    "We''ll theres no point guessing at this point. All questions will be answered when we find-" Robert did not finish his words when the ground trembled at the booming noise of copsed buildings.

    "Something big happened. We have to hurry." Amelia urged.

    "Step on that pedal, Sebastian." Ignis hollered at the driver.

    The noise came from a slightly different direction from where the car was heading.

    Arriving on scene, everyone was stunned at the level of destruction. About 10 buildings have been levelled to the ground.

    These buildings weren''t just single floor homes either. They had a varying number of 5 floors and up. Ironwood frames were used to build them but they were ultimately wood in nature. Steel frames would bend, but ironwood frames were different. It was more brittle than it is malleable. As such, nothing was left standing when the servants caused it toe crashing down. It couldn''t be more t.

    "This is terrible." Aisha covered her mouth in shock. The number ofmoners crushed to death would not be small. Chances of survivors were very slim, almost zero.

    Leon''s figure could be seen digging among the ruins for survivors with his barehands.

    They were relieved that he was alive and made their way over.

    "Boy, you are really something. Were you really the one who killed all these servants?" Robertplimented. He already knew the answer, but he was still not convinced until he heard Leon admit it himself.

    "Yes." Leon answered tly as he continued digging for survivors.

    "Wow." Lina and Rachel could not help but gasp in amazement at his feat. Evidently, they were no longer concerned after seeing him alive in perfect condition¡­ or not?

    "What are you doing? You''re hurting yourself." They each grabbed one of his hands and stopped him from digging as it was filled with cuts from the sharp stones.

    "Give up, boy. No one would be able to survive the crushing weight of such tall copsing building." Duke Ignis tried to dissuade him.

    Leon nced at the duke before shaking his hands free and continuing to dig. "I cannot. If someone is still alive, what you just said isn''t any different to a death sentence to them. They could be fighting for their life right this moment."

    Leon felt responsible for the deaths of the numerousmoners buried beneath. He didn''t kill these people, but they died because of him. He had to save any possible survivors to free himself from any possible guilt.

    If he had stop hiding and fought the servants in closebat sooner, none this would have happened.

    "They''re allmoners and unrted people to you. You know even know if they are still alive. Why go so far for them?"

    "Commoners or not, I must save them. They are in this mess because of me. I will not shirk from this responsibility."

    Leon and Ignis gave each other a hard look. He was unyielding and strong-willed in decision despite the his efforts could be in vain.

    "Hahaha! Good! I like you already." Ignisughed boisterously. Through his lines of questioning, he was able to grasp some understanding of Leon. He was pleased with his son-inw''s character. A true man has to be responsible for his actions.

    "Men! Search for survivors!" Duke Ignis ordered his servants. There were earth-users among there ranks. It would definitely be an easier time searching with their ability.

    "Thank you." Leon appreciated the help. He knew it was unrealistic to search by himself as it would take too much time. The people needed saving would be dead by the time he got to them.

    Leon also felt warm that everyone was worried and came to help him, albeit a bit as he was able fend off the crisis alone. However, no one was aware that there was a bigger crisis looming over their heads like the sword of Damocles.

    Many bodies were uncovered as the rubbles were removed, but none were breathing.

    Amelia had already escort Rachel back to the car as she couldn''t endure the scene for long. She did her best to ovee her trauma, but it wasn''t something easily done by just facing it a few times.

    Leon had his attention on the ongoing search, but he had not forgotten about Rachel''s illness. What he did forget though, was the original use of the Book of Life in his possession.

    The amount of pill recipes and medical knowledge contained within was unfathomably deep. He was not making full usage of his heavenly treasure and had just been using it as a convenient portable storage¡­ He was too fixated on his singr pursuit of strength that he was blinded to the best course of actions to improve his strength.

    He had to find his own pace and not be rushed. As the proverb says; haste makes waste. He can only find time to study Book of Life in the future. There would undoubtably be better pills with low requirements for good herbs to quicken his cultivation.

    While Leon was in thought, the Duke patted him on the shoulder and shook his head with a sigh. "It''s unfortunate, but no one survived."

    They have finished searching the entire cluster of rubbles. No stones were left unturned¡­ literally¡­

    "I see. It''s a pity¡­ but at least we tried."

    Leon wasn''t bothered much by the result. He wasn''t a saint and nor was he a noble person. He was human and all humans had their own selfishness.

    He had tried and that''s that¡­ It was all for his own peace of mind.

 Chapter 72 - Do You Want To Walk?

    <h4>Chapter 72 - Do You Want To Walk?</h4>

    "You shoulde back to stay at our ce, boy. It''s not safe to stay here." Ignis suggested, but actually it was non-negotiable. He was taking Leon back, whether he was willing or not.

    With their strength, the Duke and his wife did not fear anyone in the kingdom, but that didn''t mean it was the same for those around them.

    ¡­

    In the past, nobility was bestowed upon those that made great contributions for the prosperity of the kingdom and the survival of humanity. However, things gradually changed after the introduction of the annual Nobility Assessment Tournament.

    On paper, the Nobility Assessment Tournament is held annually to wee new awakeners into the ranks of nobility and for existing nobles topete for higher status, but secretly it was the royal family''s way of keeping track of their vassal''s strength.

    Generally, 4th step awakeners are eligible topete for the Baron rank, 5th for Viscount rank, 6th step for Earl rank and 7th step for Marquis rank respectively. Those below the 4th step did not have the right nor the strength to participate.

    However, thest Noble Assessment Tournament held was 18 years ago. With the increasing numbers of awakeners growing in the kingdom, the King sought to abolish the tournament before scraping the nobility system entirely.

    There was a fixed quota for each noble rank and increasing it would only invite instability to the kingdom. Additionally, the nobility system was outdated and did not support the current development of the kingdom.

    Nobles single-mindedly chase strength and profits, but what the kingdom needed was not strength, but talents. Strength without discipline invites chaos.

    The discovery of ancient ruins and advanced tech from a bygone civilization required the talents of many, who are able to study and understand the tech. Such talents can onlye from themoners, which are many in numbers and working in various professions.

    More nobles would only mean moremoners being exploited and talents being buried. This wasn''t something the King wished to see, thus the attempt to abolish the nobility system and create equality among his subjects.

    Ultimately, this was just the king''s wishful thinking in a world dominated by strength. It wasn''t by coincidence that the rebellion urred in the following year under Duke Agni''s lead.

    ¡­

    Having finished his words, the Duke waved his hand and arge nket of fiery hot mes descended from the skies, blocking out the rain and incinerated the pile of bodies. The mes were weakened by the rain, but it did not stop Ignis from reducing the bodies to ashes in a matter of seconds.

    This was a feat Leon currently could not aplish. There was no need forparison between the two. They were not even on the same level. The Duke''s mes also appeared to be of higher quality than his own and not just the power brought by the difference in their cultivation levels.

    Leon wondered if the other noble families lusted after the Duke''s and Royal family training methods that was fast, powerful and not dependent on pills.

    "I wish to pick up my parents along the way. Is that alright?" Leon nodded towards the Duke''s suggestion.

    "There is no problem¡­ in fact, I can''t wait to meet them."

    The foster parents, who raised Leon into such an outstanding youth cant possibly be ordinary, the Duke thought. But he was bound to be disappointed.

    "If you''re both done then get in the car. Do you both like soaking in the rain? Robert hollered at them. Everyone had returned to the car except them and the servants waiting on the Duke''s next order.

    "Let''s go." The Duke issues hismand.

    Making their way back to the car, Leon borrowed an umbre to stop further rain from falling on him before he utilized his fire ability to quickly dry clothes.

    "Oh? That is pretty handy. Let me try." The Duke took the umbre after Leon entered the car. He had never thought of using his fire ability in such a manner before. It was always used forbat purposes only. Who knew it could also be used as such a convenient lifestyle skill? His son-inw sure had an interesting mind for thinking of it.

    Pft* A part of the Duke''s clothes lit on fire after the majority had been dried.

    "Sh*t$&@#%!" Ignis spewed a string of curses as he patted the fire out.

    Everyone in the car looked at him incredulously.

    "Cough* I have made a joke of myself." The Duke entered and sat down faking a stoic face in hopes that no one lingers on the topic.

    Evidently, he didn''t possess the same level of control over his abilitypared to Leon and was secretly surprised by Leon''s capability. It might have looked simple, but it shows that Leon had demonstrated absolute control over his mes.

    "Hahaha! it''s rare to see the Duke lose his bearing and panic." Robertughed without restraint. Although he hadn''t seen his old friend in years and didn''t know how he usually presented himself, it didn''t stop Robert from trying to embarrass him.

    Ignis''s expression darkened. "Do you want to walk?"

    Cough* "Hahaha¡­ really? Wait¡­ no¡­ it was a joke¡­ a joke¡­" Robert chuckled awkwardly when he realized what Ignis meant by walking. He wasfortable in the car, why would he want to walk back?

    Suddenly, his expression quickly turned serious. "Jokes aside, we need to be careful on the way back after picking up the boy''s parents."

    "You''re tagging along all the way, eh? Not a bad idea, we have a lot of catching up to do." The Duke did not take Robert''s warning seriously as he shifted the topic. His biggest concern was Leon''s safety. But now that Leon was secured, he did not have to worry about anything.

    Albert Grey was only a 7th step earth-user. The Duke did not put him in his eyes. Even Leon was able to decimated his group of servants.

    "Speaking of which, those Grey family servants were so arrogant, weren''t they? Actually came out unarmed." Ignis recalled how each of the servants have died. Leon admitted to the deed, but he did not see any weapon despite there clearly signs of one being used.

    Leon mouth inadvertently twitched. He had stowed away all the weapons. He should have at least kept his sword out. He wouldn''t be able to exin how he cut thest five servants up otherwise.

    Ignis noticed Leon''s small action but made no furtherment seeing that he was unwilling to talk about it.

    Everyone was entitled to their own secrets. He wouldn''t try to pry if the other party was unwilling to talk.

    "Listen to me! Take them lightly and you will pay a painful price! You must know that the four great families must have something to rely on if they dare to rebel." Robert stressed his words for them to understand. It was in obvious to him that they were going to rebel sooner orter considering how wanton and vile they acted on the lower districts.

    Lina and Rachel thought it was going to be a smooth and pleasant ride back, but who knew sh*ts would suddenly get so seriously. They sat upright and listened attentively.

    "Listen to him. His words are very reasonably." Amelia said with some displeasure. Her husband was taking things too lightly.

    "Alright, alright. I''ll listen to you, okay? Ignis tried to cate his wife before ordering Sebastian. "Inform everyone to keep a look out and be battle ready when we are heading back."

    "Yes, my Lord." Sebastian answered.

    Robert felt his eye twitched when Ignis didn''t listen to him but listens to his wife. He could see clearly, who wears the pants in their rtionship.

    "I''ve been wondering for a while now, Old friend. You really want to follow us, despite knowing we stand on the same side as the royal family? Don''t you hate the Queen for that she had done?" Ignis gave sideway nces at Leon while he was voicing his doubts at Robert.

    Robert was taken aback by the sudden question, but it was to be expected when he thought about it.

    "What can I say? We did felt great grievance for having our ability sealed, but all is well now." Robert said as he gave Leon a grateful look. Although a lot was lost, there were also gains. Besides, the Greene family had always been loyal to the crown. Robert just hope that one day, the Queen would recover to her former self and formally apologized to them. That would be enough for him.

    "I see. It''s very admirable." Ignisplimented his loyalty. Most of the innocent noble families that was implicated and had their abilities sealed, had long left to a neighboring kingdom. Those that did stay are most likely supporting the Four Great Family Alliance now.

    Being the closest to Elizabeth, Amelia had always found it strange that Elizabeth could be so extreme. She felt like her sister was not in her right state of mind at the time and that someone had been manipting the course of event from the shadows.

    "Alright, enough of that. Let''s go." Robert didn''t want to continue on the topic. It wasn''t something fond to talk about.

    It didn''t take long for the group to arrive in front of Leon''s home and picked up his parents under their surprise.

    The couple had been extremely anxious and concerned about him. They were finally able toid down their worries and gave him a big family hug. They had spun him several times to check if he had sustained any injuries. They had been frightened silly by the numerous gunshots earlier.

    "Mom, Dad. Everything''s fine. I don''t have have a single scratch on me, see?" Leon said helplessly as his parents weren''t assured even after checking several rounds of his body¡­ He felt warm in his heart from their care and love.

 Chapter 73 - Poor Mia

    <h4>Chapter 73 - Poor Mia</h4>

    Inside the long car, Leon and the others were all seated and prepared for the return journey to the Lancaster mansion.

    Brian and Helen were awed by the luxuriousness of the car''s interior. Having learnt the identity of the other people inside the car, the couple was unnaturally quiet due to nervousness.

    They were a pair of humblemoners sitting among nobles and not just any nobles, but the nobles of the highest ss. It would be impressive if they could keep calm in such a situation.

    With the exception of the empty passenger seat, all of the back seats were surprisingly all filled up by the group of 8.

    "Hold on. Where is Mia?" Leon suddenly asked before they set off. Leon still wanted to introduce Mia to his parents and hope for them to adopt her.

    "Who''s Mia?" Ignis and Leon''s parents naturally had no idea who she was, but the others did.

    The Greene family of three wore funny faces when the question was raised.

    "Erm¡­ she is still at my home." Lina answered in a soft tone. What else could be said? They had forgotten about her and left her home alone.

    "What? You left her home alone?" Leon was dismayed and couldn''t help repeating her words.

    Thest thing Mia wanted was to be alone again. What would she think when she realized no one was home beside herself? Would she feel abandoned? Sad? Lonely?

    His parents directed questioning gazes at him and he waspelled to recount Mia''s story to his parents like how he had told Amelia and Lina earlier in the day.

    His parents were quite the sentimental people. Brian''s eyes were swollen red as he tried to not cry. Men don''t shed tears, they shed blood. Meanwhile, His mother Helen broken into tears.

    "What a poor child! We have to hurry there and fetch her." She cried out.

    "Please take us back to Lina''s home." Leon nodded and made the request to Sebastian in the driver seat.

    Sebastian still had no idea who Leon was, but his identity certainly wasn''t simple to be ced with great importance by the Duke and his wife.

    The look they give Leon was as like they were looking at their son-inw¡­ wait. Son-inw? Sebastian''s brain started overclocking and he was able to connect the dots and came to a realization.

    But¡­ so what? He was the servant of the Lancaster family and Only listens to his Lord''smand¡­ cough* and his Lord''s wife. In his opinion, the Royal family had fallen and it was the Duke''s house, who had been holding the fort in the kingdom. His arrogant tendency was kicking in again.

    Sebastian did not answer Leon''s request right away, but turn to await his Lord''s confirmation.

    Ignis gestured for Sebastian to drive with a nod. He didn''t see anything wrong with Sebastian''s actions. He was Leon''s father-inw and his birth father''s sworn brother. he was a generation older than Leon and deserved to be given face, not to mention Sebastian was his servant. However¡­ someone did not think the same.

    "Just do what he asked and drive the damn car!" Amelia roared furiously. Sebastian might be showing off his unswerving loyalty to the Duke, but this was not the time for that. She would not tolerate any disrespect to Leon. They mustn''t give others the wrong impression that the Duke household was above the Royal family.

    Her sworn-sister, Elizabeth was not the kind and gentle person she once knew, but a cold merciless monarch. Towards Leon, who she missed dearly and viewed as her darling treasure, she would most likely behead anyone that slight him.

    Everyone was shocked at Amelia''s outburst. Noticing her udylike manner, she gave light cough and pretended nothing ever happened. The mother and daughter pair; Aisha and Lina, who thought Amelia was a gentle and easy-going person, reevaluated their impression of her. How was that gentle and easy-going? That was a tigress.

    "Y-Yes, Your Grace." Sebastian panicked and stepped on the pedal and the car zoomed into the distance. Both lord and servant broke into sweat.

    In the back, the servant behind were taken aback by the sudden rush.

    "C-Captain¡­ they''re getting away. We''re going to lose them."

    "Ah? R-Right¡­" They elerated and followed closely behind the Duke''s car with bewilderment. Weren''t they suppose to be careful on their return trip? Was this still being careful?

    The roaring engines of their vehicles was loud, but the heavy rain was louder. Fortunately, no attention was drawn onto then as they rx their guard. But then again, they weren''t even sure who they were meant to look out for.

    ¡­

    Arriving at the Greene''s home, Leon found Mia weeping tearfully by the door. He felt a pangs in his heart as he picked her up and carried her out.

    "Don''t cry, don''t cry¡­ Big brother is here." Leon tried cheer her up. He wasn''t good with children, let alone ones that are crying.

    "Wuwuu¡­ Big brother¡­ you''re back¡­" Mia sniffed as she hugged his neck. Her mood brightened quickly with his presence. Words weren''t needed tofort her.

    "Let''s go, Big brother will take you to meet his parents and the others." Leon wiped off the tear stains on her adorable face.

    Sniff* "Okay." Sniff* Sniff* Mia

    When Leon opened the car door, Mia was quickly snatched from his arms and entered the embrace of another.

    "Mom, You have such fast hands."

    Helen seemed have her dexterity magically improved greatly in the presence of children. She was a big children lover. Thinking back, Leon was around the same age, when he was first adopted by Brian and her.

    Mia was startled by the sudden change of hands, but she quickly calmed down under Helen''s gentle and motherly embrace.

    "Hi Mia, do you remember this big sister?" Rachel smiled and pinched her cheeks.

    "Mmmm, hello big sister." Mia nodded repeatedly before looking around. "¡­and many uncles and aunties."

    She wasn''t scared by the presence of many adults. She didn''t sense any ill-intention and only care from their gaze.

    "Ahh¡­ this child is too cute." Amelia, Aisha and Helen all gave her cheek a squeeze. Most mothers tend to favor daughters over sons and it seemed especially true in this case.

    Mia didn''t like getting her cheeks pinched and squeeze, but she was overwhelmed by everyone''s showering affection. Just one moment ago, she thought she was abandoned and the next moment, she is surrounded by nice aunties.

    Today had been quite a long and eventful day, full of ups and downs.

    Her body was suddenly overwhelmed with a sudden drowsiness that forced her to fall asleep again.

    It waste in the night and she was still a child in her development period. Children tend to sleep more than adults to support their mental and physical development.

    "I have decided. I want to adopt Mia as my daughter." Helen stated. Without Leon having to express his wish, the result was still the same.

    "Really?"

    "Ahh¡­ what a pity. I also wish to adopt Mia." Amelia said with some regret. But it wasn''t a big deal. She already has Rachel. Having a son next would be better than another daughter. They didn''t have an heir.

    Including the Royal family, most Marquis-level noble family and higher only settle for one child if their firstborn was a boy. This was to avoid infighting within their families over the session rights.

    As for noble families below the Marquis rank, they are less likely to follow the same practice as they don''t own big business like Marquis level nobles and higher. They instead believe in the strength of numbers and created many offspring to expand their influence and family businesses.

    ¡­

    Upper West District.

    The forces of the four great families have split into two unequal forces. House Weld, Grey and Acker have stayed and set up an ambush along the same route the Duke''s group had passed through to enter the Lower West District, while House Weld had taken their troops and rushed to set an ambush in the Upper North District for contingency in case the Duke did not take the same route back.

    With the help of minor families in their alliance, their had set up an effectivemunication line between the two points. When one point is alerted, the other side would quickly be informed and would rush to their aid at the quickest speed possible.

    As to why House Weld was chosen to be singrly stationed in the Upper North District instead of any other houses? It because House Weld was noble family of water-users.

    With the rain in his favor, Lord Weld believed he was capable of making a stand even against both the Duke and his wife.

    The rain became Lord Weld''s natural domain, enhancing his ability and also suppresses Duke Ignis and his wife''s fire ability.

    Simr to the Queen''s metal pce that was her absolute domain, Lord Weld had his rain domain. But the two cannot be spoken in the same breath. A water-user''s absolute domain would be where the sea and ocean are. However, a domain was still a domain and shouldn''t be underestimated even if it was absolute.

    "Father, with our advantages, did we still need to set up this ambush point? Can''t we sh head in and suppress them?" Marquis Gregory asked.

    Lord Weld shook his head. "It is after all the Duke''s house we are dealing with. It is too arrogant to fight them head on¡­ We mustn''t give them a chance to make ae back."

 Chapter 74 - Lord Welds Aim

    <h4>Chapter 74 - Lord Weld''s Aim</h4>

    On top of the city wall entrance that divided the Lower and Upper North District, the father and son, Lord Weld and Marquis Gregory hid. Since no one has yet to arrive on their side and no signal has been received from the other side, the duo conversed under the rain in waiting.

    "Aren''t we already giving them the opportunity to make aeback by dividing our forces, father? What is really going on here?" Gregory Weld questioned his Old man.

    Lord Weld was in his mid 60s but his hair was already fully grey and skin wrinkly beyond belief. If people didn''t know who he was then then with the bloody and deathly aura exuded from Lord Weld, people would think he was a hundred year old man with a half a step in the coffin.

    Lord Weld might have handed over his noble status to Gregory, but he was still the real decision-maker of the family.

    There were some suspicious points Gregory found in the arrangement made by his father and the other Lords.

    Although the other three family''sbined force should be sufficient to deal with the Duke''s group, it was only by small margin. This is also under the assumption that the information they had on hand was urate, otherwise the results could be disastrous. They should not have divided their forces. One misstep and it could spell the end of their alliance.

    Lord Weld did not answer his son''s questions. Instead, he asked a question of his own.

    "What do you think the goal of the 4 Great Family Alliance is?"

    "Isn''t it to topple the Royal family and rece them as the new ruler?"

    Lord Weld shook his head at his son''s answer. "The minor noble families join our alliance because they believe in such cause because they either hate the Royal family or they simply wish to protect the titles and privilege they hold. We oppose Royalty for a different cause. Seizing the throne is just a means to an end."

    "Then if we are not fighting for the throne then what are we fighting for?" Marquis Gregory was perplexed.

    "What does the Royal family have besides their throne that is a great temptation to the heart of men, who walks the awakener''s path? The answer is Transcendence. Do you understand what being a Transcendent means?" Greed and desperation burned in Lord''s eyes as he asked his son.

    Bing Transcendent was the first step to breaking away from mortality. 100 years had been the maximum natural lifespan of a human, but a preliminary-stage Transcendent could live up to 200 years.

    "Unrivaled power and long lifespan." Realization dawned on Gregory. His father had fought hard to raised their family status to where it was today, but he had long overdrawn his lifespan and should have returned to the earth.

    However, his father had relied on a secret method he had obtained from a past expedition to extend his life. While the method could extend his life, the requirements was so diabolical it should never be known by the mass. It was more than enough to make the Weld family, public enemy number one. The other 3 should also be using a simr, if not the same method to extend their lives.

    There was a limit to the life extension method and the only way for Lord Weld to live longer was to be a Transcendent. However, they did not know the method to attain it.

    The Hero King was the first ever Transcendent and would have surely left behind the method to attain it for his descendants. Otherwise, it couldn''t exin how royalties could improve their strength so quickly.

    "Correct." Lord Weld didn''t want to die. He was willing to resort to any methods to cling to life.

    "Where is Alf?" Marquis Gregory asked, having realized something. Alf was their family''s steward and his right-hand man and should''ve been by his side, but he was currently nowhere in sight.

    "I''ve sent Alf to sneak into the Lancaster mansion." Lord Weld answered.

    Marquis Gregory wasn''t surprised by his father''s answer. He had expected as such after what he had learned.

    This was the time where the security of the Lancaster mansion was at their weakest. It would not be a problem for the 6th step Alf to infiltrate and search the mansion.

    If it weren''t for the eyes of their allies watching their every action, Lord Weld would have brought his entire force with him to ransack the mansion and turn it upside down in order to find what he was looking for.

    The Lancaster family should also be in possession of a superior-grade training method to not be falling far behind the Royal family in cultivation speed.

    Even if he the Lancaster''s training method doesn''t have the way to attain transcendence, it was still very useful in bolstering their own forces.

    As such, Lord Weld had volunteered to guard the North. He knew the chances of obtaining the Lancaster''s training method from their mansion was slim as something that important would be memorized by heart and taught orally. Physical manuals of high-level training methods were very rare. However, he still had to take the chance even if it turns out to be a fool''s errand. It didn''t cost him much to do so.

    He would never expect the Duke''s group to really rock up on his side.

    ¡­

    "Where are you taking us, Sebastian? This isn''t the way back." The Duke questioned the driver.

    "My Lord, weren''t you all concerned that there would be trouble waiting for us if we take the Upper West District''s route back? I have chosen to take the route through the Lower North District."

    Sebastian had made the decision without consulting his lord because he thought there wasn''t a need to. His task was to take them back to the Lancaster mansion and it shouldn''t matter which route they take as they would end up at the same destination.

    "Mmm, good thinking. Continue driving." Duke Ignis said with a forced smile and kept his silence.

    "Yes, my Lord."

    Duke Ignis wasn''t happy with the route they took, but he didn''t dare voice his dissatisfaction. Since he already agreed to take Robert''s warning seriously in front of his wife, it show how perfunctory he was if he acted otherwise.

    In the Crawford Kingdom, there was only 5 publicly known figures at the 9th step; The king, queen, himself, his wife and the General Marquis Hendrick at the frontier. There was one more figure,who Ignis believed to have also reached the 9th step, but he was not able to confirm; the Dean of the Royal Crawford University.

    The Dean was a mysterious old man, who he could not see through. He had only met the person on a few asion, but the person had left a deep impression on him by the invisible pressure he felt whenever he was interacting with that person.

    But simply said, there was very few figures at the 9th step in the Crawford Kingdom. The heads of the 4 hostile Marquis-rank noble families weren''t on that list.

    Ignis had also attended the funerals of the previous heads of the 4 great families before and knew that the current heads should be the strongest of their family. He believed they wouldn''t be able to do anything to him with their paltry 7th step abilities. He might be arrogant to think that way, but he had the right to be arrogant.

    As the group of cars travel through the Lower North District, they took some smaller roads as shortcuts. The difference in the building conditions along the main roads and the small roads startled them.

    Although they couldn''t see too much details on the rainy night, they could still spot the rming difference, which was like heaven and earth.

    The buildings along the main road was kept in good conditions, but the small roads were filled with rubbishes lying around. The buildings were crumbling and dpidated. Few people were asionally seen lying on the side of the road motionlessly, uncertain whether they were dead or alive. They have the impression of going through a ghost town. They quickly passed the area with heavy hearts.

    "The state of the Lower North District is even worse than the west." Robert made thement with a sigh.

    "Those corrupted nobles must be eliminated! They are a tumor!" Duke Ignis was in disbelief of what he saw.

    "Yes, but we can''t act rashly." Robert warned once more.

    Leon said nothing since already knew about the Lower North District and already uprooted the gang upying the district.

    The people was the foundation of the kingdom. Without the people, there would be no kingdom. How could they allow such a thing to happen right under their noses? How many people have been exploited and killed during all this time they were unaware?

    Duke Ignis was prepared to ignore thews and go execute all those corrupted nobles without trialing them.

    Normally when noblesmit a serious crime, they had the right to be trialed before being executed.

    The corrupted nobles were different to the rebels the Queen executed. There was no right for trial to those whomit treason.

    The corrupted nobles were different. They require trialing and evidence against them.

    However the Duke wasn''t nning to follow thew after seeing what happened to the lower district. As the saying goes; rules were made to be broken.

    When the group was about to pass the city wall entrance and enter the Upper North District, their car was shot by numerous bullets and many figures dropped down from the wall onto the roof with a bang.

    The sudden attack caused Sebastian to swerve the car and m into the city walls.

 Chapter 75 - Are We Going To Fight Or What!?

    <h4>Chapter 75 - Are We Going To Fight Or What!?</h4>

    In the moment the car was showered with bullets, everyone inside was startled by the sudden attack but not to the point of being fearful. The rain of bullets was like hail from the skies. It had impact butcked the prative force needed to break through the car''s defenses. Web-like cracks appeared on the tempered sd windscreens, but that was the extent of the bullet''s damage. It could be seen that even for a luxury car owned by the Duke, the materials invested in its making would not skimped on in terms of quality.

    While everyone was distracted by the miniature web-like cracks appearing on the sses, the Duke felt an intense feeling of impending doom. Trusting his gut instincts, he shifted his body away from his seat as the de of a sword prated through the steel roof above and stabbed into his original seat. The Duke broke into sweats. He would have died if he had reacted one step slower.

    At the same time, someonended on the hood of the car. Sebastian forcefully swerved the car to the side and crashed it into the city walls. The two figures that justnded on top of the car did not stay on top for long before they were immediately projected off their feet by the inertia and flew into the walls in front.

    "Dammit Sebastian, are you trying to kill your lord!?" Duke Ignis cursed with his eyes almost popping out as he stared at the sword de that was only 2 inches away from his face. Everyone was affected by inertia, but thankfully the car wasn''t going too fast and the interior was able to cushion them to an extent. No one was inflicted with the serious injuries from the crash.

    Only the Duke had been given a fright. He had only just seeded in dodging the sword blow when his body waspelled to lunge forward at the sword headfirst. With his quick hands he made grab onto some support and forcefully resist the inertia force in the nick of time.

    "All of you stay in the car!" Duke Ignis ordered and stormed outside with a belly full of anger. In a short instance, he had nearly died twice. It''s fine if he fell in battle to a worthy opponent, but even his own men almost caused the death of him! He needed to find an outlet for this anger and who else could be a better choice than his enemies!?

    "Is he going to be fine by himself?" Watching Duke Ignis exit the car alone, Leon couldn''t help but ask. The other party looked both powerful and menacing.

    "There''s no need to worry. I am still here." Amelia said as she inspected the surrounding buildings outside through the window for any other hidden dangers. If Duke Ignis showed any sign of being in danger, she would rush to help immediately. But for now, she would let him do his thing and show off his machismo. There wasn''t any need to step out to help as she believe in her husband''s strength.

    "Alright." Leon nodded and sat back. It''s good to powerful people on his side as he would not have to struggle for his life. But then again, these people didn''t seem to being for his life but for the Duke''s.

    Drawing his trusted sword that always apanied him by his side, Duke Ignis pointed it at the two figures that already retreated a distance away from the car. "Gregory Weld! You have a lot of guts challenging me! Do you think you are my opponent!?"

    Marquis Gregory did not answer him as his father stepped forward and answered in his stead.

    "He is not, but what about me?" Lord Weld said with a chuckle, but he was feeling heavy-hearted inside. Originally, he thought he could reap some benefits by volunteering to guard this side, while his steward was sent to raid the Lancaster mansion for their secret training manual, but who knew that the Duke''s group would really take the least expected route. Now he must dy them until the other three families arrives.

    The minor noble families that was tasked with rying the news to the other side had already gone ahead and did just that. These minor noble families could not help Lord Weld with his battle even if they wanted to. These minor noble families all had bone-deep grudges against Queen Elizabeth for forcing them to drink the Water of Absolute Nothingness and sealed away their abilities.

    Theypletely believed that they were innocent in the rebellion 17 years ago and that the punishment the Queen imposed upon them was unjust and heartless. They did not join Duke Agni''s camp in the rebellion. They didn''t do anything either¡­ but it was exactly because they did nothing that the Queen punished them.

    They have all been contacted by Duke Agni to join his camp beforehand. They all knew Duke Agni was going to rebel and declined his offer.

    Although they didn''t join his camp, they didn''t inform or help the royal family''s side either. They tried to be fence sitters and reap the benefits after the two sides destroy each other.

    There was a price for trying to be the fisherman. They had great ambition butcked the capability and insight to support it. They never thought that the battle could be so one-sided.

    Their inaction to support the crown was nothing short of treason. It was already merciful of the Queen to only deprive them of their abilities and not take their lives.

    "And who the fuck you?" Duke Ignis looked at the ghastly old bag of bones that is Lord Weld and did not recognize him. He only recognise him as the person that tried to kill him just now.

    Lord Weld''s appearance has changed far too greatly from when Duke Ignisst saw him. The shortening of lifespan would naturally elerate their aging process as well. Thus, even if Lord Weld was only in his 60s, he looked no different to a 100-year old geezer with a foot in the coffin.

    "Y-You! I am the Lord of the Weld family! How dare you disrespect me, you bastard!" Lord Weld was angered by Duke Ignis disregard. They were both 9th step awakeners and should be treated as equals! But Duke Ignis did not put him in his eyes like he was beneath him. Not to mention Lord Weld was a generation older and was his senior.

    "Pah! Rebels don''t deserve respect. The Lord of the Weld Family is right next to you. Which generation Lord of the Weld family could you be? You look like you just crawled out of the coffin." Duke Ignis ridiculed. The bloody and deathly aura was oozing out of the old man wantonly. This was a person who hadmitted an unountable number of untold evils. Although he couldn''t see it, he could feel it. He never seen such a terrifyingly evil figure before. Exactly what atrocities had this personmitted?

    "I AM-" Lord Weld pointed his finger at Duke Ignis and was about to utter his name when his hand froze. "I am the previous lord of the Weld family, you bastard!" He stated instead. He was used to people referring to him as Lord Weld and had not used his original name for so many years that he had forgotten it. It was not because he was suffering for Alzheimer''s disease due to his elerated old age¡­ definitely not¡­

    Lord Weld''s words surprised the Duke. He really could not see the resemnce. They were like twopletely different people.

    "How unexpected that you are still alive. You faked your death well. Seems like you all have been plotting against the crown for a very long time now." Duke Ignis said with a deep tone as he started to take his opponents seriously. He had been provoking the opponent to make their next move, but they did not. They stood their ground and traded words instead of blows. Duke Ignis wasn''t stupid. By this point he already realized the other party was trying to buy time, while blocking the way. "Are we going to fight or what!?"

    Since the other party had intention of fighting after failing their ambush, he would force them to fight. Duke Ignis lunged forward with a sword thrust without warning.

    His servants had long taken arms and in position, ready to battle at any moment. Seeing their Duke initiating his attacking, they followed suit and opened fire at Marquis Gregory and his servants on the walls. Guns were quite lethal if the shotsnded, but they weren''t actually useful in a battle against awakeners. Everyone utilised their own ability to block the bullets.

    "Hmph! If the Royal family wasn''t so selfish and shared their secret training manual with everyone then this would never have to happen!" Lord Weld''s own sword was still stuck in the car. He snatched his son''s own sword to block the blow before kicking him out of the way. Being weaponless, he used his water ability to block the bullets shot at him, before giving his father an aggrieved look.

    "What a joke! You lust after other''s secret training manuals just because your own is trash, right!?" Duke Ignis insulted as they traded sword blows. He was disgusted by their greed And selfishness.

    They were both 9th step awakeners, but they were far from equals. Duke Ignis was in his prime and still full of vigor, while Lord Weld was decrepit and weakened by age. Lord Weld was naturally suppressed and pushed back by the Duke''s barrage of attack.

    Unable to counterattack, he could only continue to defend as he was forced to retreat further and further back in to the Upper North District.

    "You are forcing my hand!" Lord Weld roared as all the rain in the surround perimeter was stirred. He cant best the Duke in swordsmanship and strength, but under this weather, he had overwhelming advantage in terms of ability.

    Amelia stepped out of the car to help the Lancaster''s servants finish off their enemies quickly so they could leave quickly.

    She wasn''t nning to make a move herself originally, but her husband was too useless and wasted too much time talking nonsense¡­ In fact the Duke might have wasted more time, but he felt a familiar pair of impatient eyes focused on his back thatpelled him to fight immediately.

 Chapter 76 - It Wasnt Me

    <h4>Chapter 76 - It Wasn''t Me</h4>

    With Lord Weld at the center all the rain in the surrounding 100-meter radius gathered towards him. Marquis Gregory had a change of expression when Amelia locked her eyes on him, but he was a safe distance away and wasn''t in immediate danger.

    Water was the source of their power. Water-users could rely solely on their water seed to conjure water for their own usage, but it could never be as fast as manipting the readily avable water from the surrounding.

    Lord Weld was more powerful andmanded greater control over the rain. Marquis Gregory was unable to summon any rain for himself as his father did not even leave a drop for him. He felt a lot of pressure under the Duchess''s gaze as he broke out into sweat. The sweat trickled down his cheeks before they too joined the rest of the rain and gathered towards Lord Weld. His father was too overbearing. Not even his sweat was spared.

    "Retreat!" Lord Weld issued to his son. There was no way Marquis Gregory was an opponent for the Duke''s wife. The difference between a 7th step and 9th step awakener was like a chasm. It wasn''t something any ordinary 7th step awakeners can ovee, especially not after his father had stripped off all his advantages.

    All the rain gathered into a single body of water, before Lord Weld swiped his hand in the direction of Duke Ignis. The body of water rushed at him like a dam opening its floodgates. The attack was simple and direct with no tricks, but it was powered with Lord Weld''s full strength.

    Of the 5 elements, water had the least offensive properties. Unless the water-user''s control has reached the zenith and able to condense sharp water des that could cut through steel, they could only rely on overpowering their opponents through brute force.

    Lord Weld was someone who had heavily relied on pills to achieve his present strength and had a very shaky foundation as a 9th step water-user. The price for having a shaky foundation is ack of control over his water maniption ability. As such, it was impossible for Lord Weld to cut steel with water. He would not have tried to pierce the Duke through the roof with his sword if he was able to execute such a strong skill.

    "Do you think you can overpower me!?" Duke Ignis roared as he quickly drew power from his fire seed and fired off a powerfullyrge me at the iing tide. Facing such a simple and direct attack from Lord Weld, Duke Ignis took it as provocation to a contest of strength and chose to take the attack head on. He was never one to back down from a challenge.

    The 2 opposing forces shed like mortal enemies that would not stop until the other side was vanquished. The two forces disappeared and was reced by a mad explosion of water vapors that spread swiftly. The entire area was soon engulfed in a foggy atmosphere.

    Duke Ignis was hit by the force of the explosion and his body was shot flying back like a cannonball andnded on the windscreen of his luxury car.

    "Kekeke¡­ Did you think your abilities could suppress me like your swordsmanship?" Lord Weldughed coldly, but there was a hint of tiredness in his eyes. The only reason he willingly engaged in a sword fight was to gauge the Duke''s strength and measure his own. Ever since he reached the 9th step, he had not fought with any opponents of the same level.

    "Ugh." The Duke groaned.

    "How are you?" Amelia asked with concern.

    "I''m okay, but I expended a portion of my strength. We are at a serious disadvantaged." Ignis replied. The weather was not on their side.

    The Duke had sent out his attackter, causing the explosion point to be closer to him. This didn''t mean his attack was weaker as the two forces perfectly negated each other.

    However, it was clear who had the upper hand in this battle. Duke Ignis had expended a portion of the fire elements that fuels his me, while Lord Weld did not expend any. He had an unlimited supply of water as it continues to rain. The only thing he was draining was his mental strength.

    Like any other awakeners, Duke Ignis cannot create fire out of nothing. When there are no fire sources to manipte, he must expend the energy in his fire seed to conjure his mes. Furthermore, the more powerful his mes are, the more fire energy he must expend to conjure it.

    Although Lord Weld must be expending a lot of mental strength to control such arge body of water, it was negligiblepared to the Duke''s expended energy. The Duke would not be able to win a battle of attrition against Lord Weld under these conditions.

    "Let''s attack him together. We can''t stay for long." Amelia suggested. The Welds obviously wants their life and are blocking their path for a reason. Their situation could turn dangerous if Weld''s reinforcements arrive.

    ¡­

    "Stay in the car? What does he mean stay in the car? Does he think we are too useless to be of help?" Robert said with some discontent. His skills might have dulled, but he was still a hot-blooded warrior at heart. How can he sit back, and watch others fight?

    "If you really think that way, why didn''t you say something earlier, father?" Lina rolled her eyes at her father.

    "Yeah Robert, you haven''t recovered to your peak strength and you haven''t fought in a very long time. You wouldn''t be able to help. Our abilities are more useful for healing anyway." Aisha added.

    Cough* "You both¡­ sigh¡­ You''re right, Aisha." Robert felt embarrassed after being called out. His ego deted. He was only putting up a pretense. He wasn''t going to go out and fight. He understood that he might not even be a match for the servants at his current level of strength.

    "This is strange. These people are not the Grey family. Why are they also after our son?" Brian questioned. Leon''s parents weremon folks that recently awakened. They didn''t have a clear understanding of the situation and thought the Welds were also targeting their son.

    "They are not after Leon. They are after Ignis and Amelia." Robert stated. He could understand the other party''s motive. The Duke and his wife had never been so far from their Lancaster Empire Estate building, which was even taller than the pce.

    The Lancaster Empire Estate was where they do all the manufacturing and research for weapons, cars, airships and other projects with metal as the mainponent. The workforce wasprised of loyal subordinates and possess the strength of small army.

    The Lancaster Empire Estate and the Royal Pce was the only two ces the 4 great families did not want the Duke and his wife near. These were the only two ces that could threaten their existence and impede their ns from progressing forward.

    Inside of the luxury car, Leon had watched the exchange between the Duke and the enemy unfold and sighed. It''s good to have powerful people on his side, but ultimately their strength is not his own.

    Leon hated the feeling of having his fate decided by others. The Duke and his wife were his father-inw and mother-inw. They can trusted, but what if it was someone else? He still remembered the powerlessness he felt before the moment of his death back in the Divine Realm. When him and his father were killed by their own trusted subordinates and subjects.

    His life was his own. Why should he let others dictate his life and death? Only he can be the master of his own life and death. He would not get far in life if he had to depend on the grace of others every time, he needs to solve a problem. He had to rely on himself.

    He would not be a filial son if he did not even try to avenge his father with his own hands. He had never lost sight of his goal and vengeance for his father. He had to first understand the world he lived in and find the general direction back to the Divine Realm.

    The Divine Realm was not a separate world that existed on a higher ne. The Divine Realm refers to the central region of an astronomicallyrge celestial body known as a gxy. The energy of the gxy congregates towards the Divine Realm, making it energy-richpared to any other ces in the gxy.

    If one could look at a star map of the Divine Realm, it would look like arge body of light within the cluster. There are countless other smaller and fainter bodies of light spread throughout the cluster. Those smaller bodies of light are star realms and starfields, but only the ones that are inside therge body of light are considered part of the Divine Realm.

    It would take a long time before Leon possess the level of strength required to find out where Gaia was located among the stars. It would also be a problem if it wasn''t even located within the same gxy.

    This is because every denizen of the Divine Realm knew that while other celestial bodies rivaling their own gxy exist out there in the vast universe, none have ever been sessful in traversing between them.

    "What are you doing, Leon? It''s dangerous out there."

    His parents grabbed onto his sleeves as Leon tried to leave the car to help with the battle outside.

    "You both shouldn''t have to worry. Your son isn''t weak. He was able to decimate the Grey family''s entire group of servants." Robert assured them. He was eager to see what methods Leon would use to deal with the servants.

    "Don''t worry, I know my limits." Leon shed them a confident smile. He was only going to deal with the servants. The Marquis and Lord Weld was beyond him.

    The moment he stepped out; he directed his killing intent at the servants. Those who felt his killing intent, were startled by it. Numerous pair of eyes trained on him.

    They wondered what a brat like him was going to do. Logically, someone young like him shouldn''t be a threat to them, but the dangerous vibe he gave off told them otherwise.

    "Go back inside, it''s too dangerous." Amelia also warned him.

    "Don''t worry, I can help." Leon stated as several needles appeared in his hands.

    Just as he was about to make his move, several servants from the Weld Family suddenly dropped dead from the walls, rming everyone. Both sides stopped their own battles as they reassess his strength. No one was able to see how he killed the servants.

    "How did you do it? How did you kill them?" Amelia was astonished. She didn''t see him move at all.

    Leon was stunned. How did he do what? The needles were still in his hands!

    "It wasn''t me!"

 Chapter 77 - Shadow Guards

    <h4>Chapter 77 - Shadow Guards</h4>

    On the roof of an Upper District building, a figure stood upright with his hands behind his back and peered into the distant night. A bunch of shadows dashed over and gathered before him.

    "Leader, there is a big battle taking ce at the Upper North District entrance! What are your orders?" A shadowy ck figure reported.

    "Who is fighting?" The leader questioned with knitted eyebrows. The Upper North District was the Lancaster''s turf. Who would dare to cause a ruckus there? Not many people can withstand the Duke''s fury. Did the Weld family really sh with the Lancaster family? That was a clear indication of rebellion!

    The group of shadows dropped one of their knees with a fist-hand salute. "Forgive our negligence, Leader! We didn''t find out."

    "Investigate immediately!" The Leader barked with a frown. He had been receiving a string of information and he felt like he had forgotten something else.

    "Yes, Leader!" The shadows swiftly dispersed towards the north. Their movements were quick, and footsteps were light.

    "Who''s there?!" Someone barked out the windows from the floor below.

    The Leader almost staggered and lose his bearing. He quickly fled the scene, before the owner of the voicees up to investigate. He had scanned the building earlier and didn''t find the presence of anyone in it. Thus, he thought there wasn''t a need to lower his voice. Who knew there was someone in the building, and they weren''t detected by his scan?

    The Leader''s name was Kasif, the head of the shadow guards. He was another powerful 9th step awakener the public wasn''t aware of and was one of the rare individuals to have awaken their bloodline ability.

    Bloodline abilities were so rare and unique that people have forgotten and thought that bloodline abilities and elemental abilities were one and the same thing. They are not. Bloodline ability was a unique skill derived from their elemental ability and could be used without understanding process behind it upon awakening. The same bloodline ability would never appear in two different people unrted by blood.

    Kasif''s bloodline ability was a perceptive ability that allows him to use the vibrations in the earth to see and hear things, what his own eyes and ears could not. Earth Pulse was the name he decided to give to this special type of perception.

    Earth Pulse has allowed him to easily spy on others without being discovered throughout his career. In this instance, Kasif wasn''t sure if it was because of the rain''s interference or some other unknown reasons, but he was strangely not bothered by the blunder. He had yet to master the usage of Earth Pulse. Such blunder wasn''t his first and it certainly wasn''t going to be hisst.

    "Huh? Strange¡­ I thought I heard someone''s voice up here¡­" The person scrutinized his surrounding with some doubts. Yawn* Seeing no one on the roof, the person started mumbling to himself as he returns to room to resume his sleep. "I must be hearing things¡­ Why would there be someone on my roof?"

    ¡­

    The previous shadows darted from building to buildings and arrived at the Upper North District''s entrance. They hid themselves among the roofs of nearby buildings, where they can have a clear view of the ongoing battle below.

    Swoosh* One of the shadows felt a soft gust of wind flew past him as he turned around to check.

    "L-Leader? You followed us?" The shadow was surprised. He didn''t think the leader would follow them to the scene of the battle.

    He thought the leader would be waiting for them to report back. The leader was after all, a busy person.

    The Shadow Guards was divided into many squads with each assigned a different area to perform their mission. Kasif was the person, the squad captains report to.

    "Mm." Kasif nodded as he peered down at the battle. He had remembered what he had forgotten earlier. There was someone with the Duke''s group that he was interested in. The other squads have been notified of his whereabouts before he left.

    Kasif was able to recognize both sides easily. However, he did not recognize the ghastly old man, the Duke was battling.

    "That old man must be a 9th step expert right, Leader?" The shadow guard was astonished. Since when did the capital gain another 9th step awakener?

    In the past, ascending to the 9th step was something worth celebrating across the kingdom as humanity gains another powerhouse to strengthen their race.

    But now? It could only be a disaster. When powerhouses fight, their battle can cause great destruction.

    "Leader?" Seeing that the shadow guard''sment did not elicit a reply from his leader, he turns his head to check.

    Kasif''s attention was drawn on the luxury car as his eyes narrowed in for a clearer look of the people inside. There was only one person inside that he was greatly interested in; Leon.

    Ever since the night, Leon killed the boss of the Red Smander gang and the Azure Wolf gang, Kasif had extended the Shadow Guard''s surveince to the lower district to investigate who Leon was.

    The actions of Leon hunting down the Grey family servants did not escape their watchful eyes. Leon''s sharp senses had surprisingly failed him in detecting their presence. The rain was to me.

    Kasif was greatly interested in Leon''s abilities. He moves and fights like one of them, but he was not one of them. The boy was young and had great prospects.

    Seeing that Leon was together with the Duke''s group, Kasif''s thoughts was like Marquis Gregory''s previous spection; that Leon was a young talent nurtured by the Duke''s house.

    However, Kasif didn''t care if Leon was from House Lancaster, he was ready to poach him into their Shadow Guards. Kasif was unresigned to see the boy''s talent wasted away as a servant. He was prepared to take him away and train him to be his next sessor.

    There was a moment of zero visibility due to the explosion of water vapors, but it did not linger for long as it was hammered down by the rain.

    When his vision was restored, Kasif saw Leon exiting the safety of the car and panicked. What was the boy trying to do by standing in the open? The other side had lots of firearms. The boy''s fire ability would not be able to block bullets under this weather. Kasif med the rain again.

    It was unclear whether the rain had feelings, but it rained harder.

    "It is clear, the Weld family have rebelled. Assist the Duke''s family in eradicating the rebels!" Kasif quickly issued hismand to the shadow guards. It was so hard for him to find a suitable sessor to pass on his position. He wasn''t going to risk losing such a good candidate.

    The shadow guards only orders were to collect evidence of the crimes the corrupted nobles havemitted. However, Kasif has acted beyond what was ordered of him. As the leader of the Shadow Guards, Kasif had the right to kill first and reportter.

    "Yes, Leader!" The shadows darted straight for the walls and fired their throwing knives at the unsuspecting servants with their backs towards them. The servants were urately shot in the back of the heads and dropped off the wall, dead. The kills were swift and clean.

    Each member in the Shadow Guards were the cream of the crop. The weakest was at the 5th step and the strongest was at the 8th step, while their numbers were in the several dozens. Such a force was even greater than what the Dukemanded.

    The 4 great family dream of recing the Royal family was nothing, but a pipe dream in the face of such a hidden force. The Crawford Royal family had ruled for 500 years. How could it be easy to rece them? It would take a lot more than

    ¡­

    "It wasn''t me!" Leon said.

    By now, everyone had realized that a third party had arrived at the scene. Kasif was seen walking towards them openly, but his shadow guards have disappeared and hid themselves as quickly as they came and strike.

    "Who are you!? Why did you kill my people?" Being the closest, Marquis Gregory barked to hide his nervousness. Things was quickly taking a turn for the worse. He lost all his servants in the blink of an eye. Why are the other 3 great families not here yet!?

    "You don''t need to know." Kasif stated.

    Marquis Gregory''s feet suddenly sunk into the ground like quicksand before hardening and trapped his feet like shackles.

    "Careful!!" Lord Weld warned as he tried to save his son, but he reacted toote.

    A dagger appeared in his hands as Kasif closed the distance and lopped off his Marquis Gregory''s head in an instance. The head grew an arc andnded at Lord Weld''s feet. Kasif''s movements was so quick, only a 9th step expert could have pulled it off. Marquis Gregory did not even get the chance to retaliate before his life ended.

    "Goddammit!!! This isn''t over!" Lord Weld expression was uglier than a pig''s liver as he turns around and quickly fled with all the speed he could muster. His servants were dead. His son was dead. It would be him next if he did not flee. Since when did the capital have so many hidden powerhouses!? The Royal faction had hidden their cards well!

    Lord Weld''s hatred for the Royal family grew, but he felt a greater hatred for the other 3 great families. What the hell were they doing? How could they take so long to arrive!? He had forgotten that it was he himself who had volunteered to guard the north side.

    Kasif did not chase him. No one can stop a desperate powerhouse from fleeing with all their might.

    "Thank you for your assistance. May I ask who you are, sir?" Duke Ignis took the initiative to approach him. The person''s words and action suggested that they should be from the same side, but Ignis did not recognized such a figure. When did the Royal faction had such a hidden master? Why doesn''t he know about it?

    Kasif walked right past him and straight to Leon. Beingpletely ignored, Duke Ignis felt his anger rising.

    "I''ve taken a liking to you, boy. Come with me."

    Leon felt goosebumps rising all over his body, having been told as such. Why does it sound like a confession from a creepy old man?

    "Hell no¡­" Leon immediately rejected without second thoughts.

 Chapter 78 - Leon Was Kidnapped

    <h4>Chapter 78 - Leon Was Kidnapped</h4>

    "I wasn''t asking." Kasif immediately knocked him unconscious with a chop and ced him over his shoulder. He didn''t take no for an answer.

    "You-" The old man''s action was too fast for Leon to react at such close distance. He cked out before he knew it.

    Kasif only answers to the Queen and spend most of his time in the shadows. He does not concern himself with how he should interact with others.

    "What are you doing!?" Amelia shrieked like a cat having its tail stepped on. She was prepared to duke it out with the old man.

    "I''m taking this boy as my disciple. Got problem with that? Then take yourints to the Queen. I''m not listening." Kasif carried Leon away jovially, while humming a fine tune.

    WTF???

    "Who is this old man??? How dare he talk to me like that!" Amelia was riled as she rolled up her sleeves in anger. She was the Queen''s sworn sister. Everyone had in the Royal faction had to give her respect. How can this Old man be so rude and entric? Does he even know who he just knocked unconscious? Amelia was ready to give him a piece of her mind.

    "Wait!!" Duke Ignis was both shocked and angry. The Old man''s back was wide open, but his instincts was screaming danger. Impossible! How can he feel threatened with such an opening? They were both 9th step experts. Why does their abilities feel so far apart? Nevertheless, he trusted his instincts and prevent his wife from offending the person.

    "Why are you stopping me!? Are you just going to let him take Leon away!?" Amelia screamed.

    "My wife, my dear wife, I''m begging you. Please calm down. It''s not wise to fight him¡­ Look, he seems to be heading towards the pce. We should follow him." Duke Ignis attempted to calm her down, while breaking into sweat. The discovery of more than one 9th step experts had made him cautious.

    "Oh?" Amelia''s actions froze. Her calmness returned with a sly glint in her eyes. If that Old man was really heading to pce then she had ways to make the Old man suffer for his rudeness. Don''t say that she was nning to bully the old. The Old man was asking for it.

    Everyone in the luxury car watched helplessly as Leon was kidnapped. They were smart people. They could determine that the Old man was very powerful master. The Duke''s cautious behavior further strengthen their belief.

    However, understanding the situation was one thing, but epting it was another matter.

    "Who the hell is that crazy old bastard? How can he just take our son away like that?" Helen and Brian voiced their resentment in opposition. They were the weakest of the group and was nothing more than ants to Kasif. However, they still dare to insult him. It didn''t matter if the Old man was a great master or a god, they would still dare to do what they do to protect their son.

    Duke Ignis was just feeling relieved when the couple''s outburst left him back on tenterhooks. He quickly turn his head to face the Old man''s direction with anxiousness and realized the Old man was not bothered by their words and continued his pace. Ignis sighed in relief. Today''s events had been such a rollercoaster.

    "Follow him."

    The group entered their vehicles and follow behind with a reasonable distance between them.

    "Sh*t! Where did he go?" Amelia''s expression changed abruptly. Just when they thought it was going to be a slow trip without surprises, the Old man suddenly vanished before their eyes.

    To think the Old man''s movements was faster than what their eyes could perceive. They were unable to discern which direction he disappeared in.

    They had yet to confirm if he was a friend or foe. His attitude ced him somewhere in between, making it hard for them to trust his words.

    "Your Grace, we are unable to find any trace of them in the surrounding area." A servant reported.

    "Alright¡­ I understand. You can go back."

    "Yes, Your Grace."

    "We can only hope that crazy old man really meant what he said and won''t harm Leon." Amelia said. There wasn''t much they can do except hope for the best.

    Elizabeth said that she would wash the Upper District in blood if something did happen to her son. Although it seems heartless and cold-blooded, she would just be enforcing what the King wanted.

    After 500 years, humanity was not as united as before. Regardless of whether they were still loyal to the crown or not, the nobles have be selfish and no longer contributed to the efforts at the frontier; dodging military service and faking conscription.

    With the decrease in elite noble troops,moners were forced to fill the ranks and casualties rose during skirmishes and expeditions.

    The situation slowly improved when the number of awakeners increased among the soldiers frommoner backgrounds. However, humanity''s advancement have halted and the King could no longer see hopes of reiming the vastnd beyond their walls.

    It wasn''t some open secret that the King wanted to abolish the nobility system. Elizabeth would just be carrying out his wish in a more direct way by killing them all off.

    This was something, Amelia wasn''t willing to see. Regardless of whoever was victorious, a lot of innocent would die and the collective strength of humanity would plummet.

    "Yeah¡­ Let us visit the pce. We still need to let her know we found her son¡­ and drop these people off. There''s no safer ce for them to stay than there." Duke Ignis suggested as he took a brief nce at the people.

    Robert looked at him speechlessly. Would the Queen even let them stay? Also, they were being treated like baggages¡­ but he couldn''t really say they weren''t. They couldn''t help in the prior battle.

    "Mmm, maybe my sworn-sister will know who that Old bastard is." Amelia nodded before continuing.

    "Wait a minute¡­ What do you mean ''we''? It was I, who found her son, okay? Are you trying to steal my credit?" Amelia eyes turned sharp as she questioned her husband.

    "What?" Duke Ignis was taken aback by her nitpicking. "There''s no need to fuss over such a small matter is there?"

    "What did you say? Small matter? Do you really think that?" Amelia asked with a darkened expression. She had spent sleepless nights in order to find Elizabeth''s son. The least she wanted was for her efforts to be recognised.

    "N-No¡­ it was a slip of tongue, my dear." Duke Ignis broke into sweats.

    "That''s what I thought. Hmph!"

    With Leon''s disappearance, the mood inside the luxury car was a bit heavy. However, the duo''s theatrics seems to have cast a spell on everyone and distracted them, lightening the mood.

    "Father, you ought to have more backbone." Rachel smiled at her parents bickering. Such cases was the norm, whenever her fathermitted a mistake.

    "Backbone? What kind of backbone can your father have with a tigress wife? ¡­Huh?" Duke Ignis replied to his daughter subconsciously before he suddenly covered his mouth. But it was toote. The words have already been spilled.

    "Tigress hmm?"

    "Wait, Amelia, Wifey, it was my mistake. Forgive me. Ahhh-" Duke Ignis wailed.

    Amelia had pinched his waist and gave it hard twist.

    "Why do women like to pinch there?" Duke Ignisined. "Look, wifey, I know you''re actually unhappy about the boy being taking away, but you don''t have to take it out on me, right?"

    Robert slowly closed his eyes. His old friend must have been a gravedigger in his past life. He keeps digging himself holes.

    ¡­¡­

    "My Lord, We are overwhelmingly honoured to have you grace us with your presence." A servant said while steering the wheel to follow the luxury car in front. He didn''t expect the Duke join them. The Duke was a lot more approachable than he thought.

    "Haha¡­ yeah¡­ it''s good to spend more time with my people." Duke Ignis said with a forced smile. He couldn''t say that his wife kicked him out of his own car. He wouldn''t have any face left in front of his men.

    ¡­

    Back in the luxury car, the mood was a bit strange.

    "Aunty is scary." Mia broke the silence.

    "Aunty isn''t scary. It is Uncle''s fault for making Aunty angry." Amelia wore an awkward smile on her face as she gave Mia''s cute cheeks a squeeze.

    "Shall we have some tea?" Amelia tried to fix the mood.

    The tea was no longer hot, but it was not a problem from Amelia. She infused fire elements into the teapot and heated it to just the right temperature.

    People''s eyes brightened at the mention of tea. Everyone seemed to have been converted into a tea lover in this short while as they enjoy a calm and rxing tea session¡­ without Duke Ignis.

    ¡­

    An indefinite amount of time passed before Leon regained his consciousness. When he opened his eyes, nothing entered his sight. Whether he opened his eyes or not, it made no difference.

    His vision was pitched ck as he found himself in an area devoid of light. It was absolute darkness.

    "Where the hell am I?"

 Chapter 79 - Cave Of Despair, Dual Element

    <h4>Chapter 79 - Cave Of Despair, Dual Element</h4>

    Rubbing his temples, Leon remembered he was knocked unconscious by the crazy old man.

    "Sh*t. He didn''t do anything weird to my body while I was unconscious, did he?" Leon was spooked. He patted various parts of his body and sighed in relief, when he found his clothes intact.

    The darkness robbed his vision, but his other senses were unaffected.

    "Still¡­ this ce is so weird¡­" Leon thought. The darkness was not like the darkness of the night, but that of a dark abyss,pletely devoid of light. His own two hands could not be seen, and the temperature was eerily low.

    Leon snapped his fingers like a lighter as a small ball of me appeared on the tips of his finger.

    The surroundings were illuminated like the sun bringing light into the dark world. The shadows receded to the far ends and rigid earthen walls filled with holes of various sizes entered his sights.

    The smallest hole was the size of a watermelon, while thergest was only as big as that of a child.

    Leon realized he was in some sort ofrge underground cave. There were multiple narrow passageways connected to the cave.

    "Sss¡­ Why does this underground cave look like some monster nest? The air is also filled with yin energy¡­ it''s giving me the bad vibes¡­" Leon gasped. A concentration of yin energy could prove harmful after extended periods of exposure.

    Thump* He identally kicked something at his feet. Leon looked down and found a sword stabbed into the ground and a bag filled 3 days'' worth of ration.

    "Is this some sort of joke? Old bastard, I know you are here! I''m not going to y this game of yours!" Leon roared, believing the crazy old man was hiding somewhere nearby.

    "Not going to y this game of yours¡­ game of yours¡­" His voice echoed through every hole and passageway connected to the cave and drifted off¡­

    Rumble¡­ Leon inadvertently stirred something terrible from deeper within the underground caves as thousands of creepy crawlers started rushing out from the holes.

    "Not good! It IS a fucking nest!" Leon cried out as his hair stood on end. "Old bastard, how dare you dump me into a nest of giant spiders! Sh*t¡­ what am I saying? This is no time to be caring about that!"

    He didn''t have time to be cursing others. He needs to find a way to get out of this sticky situation! These 8-legged creepy crawlers don''t look like your typical friendly neighborhood spiders. They looked very menacing with their sturdy jet-ck bodies, razor-sharp legs and overwhelming numbers.

    They moved very quickly on their feet and closed in on Leon in a matter of seconds. Leon had no time to think. He grasped the sword hilt firmly, infused the sword with his me essence, transformed it into a ming sword and made 360 horizontal swing in one swift motion. A me wave shot out from the tip of the sword and burned the iing spiders.

    His attack directly sliced through over a dozen spiders as his me wave pushed everything away; severed limbs and other body parts alike. An empty space was created between them and gave Leon some temporary breathing room. But a heavy expression wore on Leon''s face as his attack did not produce the desired effects. The spiders hit by his mes were unable to be scorched to death and was very much still alive and kicking.

    "Resilient and tenacious pricks. How can my mes not be strong enough to exterminate these nasty buggers? Dammit¡­ I can''t waste my fire essence like this¡­ But I also can''t conserve my fire essences either. These pests aren''t strong individually, but their numbers are overwhelming!"

    Leon analyzed in a single bout. He didn''t dare to look down of these night crawlers. Even a mighty lion can be felled by many ants!

    "I don''t have a choice! I can only do that!"

    Fire erupted from his body and fused into his ming sword in a continuous stream. The ming sword did not grow but shrunk instead as Leon condensed the me. A 2-meter long buster de with a fiery crimson sheen took form and reced the original meter-long broadsword.

    "Die!"

    Leon did not wait for the spiders to get back on their feet. Instead, he took the initiative and charged into the pack of giant spiders. With each swing of his fiery buster de, dozens of spiders were seared in half and his movements were done effortlessly. The buster sword was not heavy as it retained its original weight.

    "It''s effective!" Leon was excited as his fiery buster de cleaved through the pack like hot knife through butter. "This is good. I can conserve my fire essence this way. If I can maintain perfect form, the essence would be confined within and not seep out."

    He continues to swing his fiery buster sword around indiscriminately andid waste to the surrounding arachnids. It didn''t matter where he swings the buster de as it was bound to reap tens of lives.

    His kill count soared! Tens became hundreds and hundreds became thousands, but no matter how many he kills, the creepy crawlers continues to pour into cave in an unending stream! Despair began to seep into his hearts. After hours of the swinging buster sword around, his mental energy was drained, and body ached with exhaustion.

    "I must find another way quickly¡­ I can''t die here. I have yet to avenge my father¡­" Leon gritted his teeth and thought anxiously, but he did not stop hacking and shing. The moment he stops, his life will be in danger.

    KACHA* The fiery buster sword suddenly snapped due to insufficient mental energy control. He was exhausted in both mind and body. In that moment, Leon felt his heart dropped to depths of hell. He made a resolute decision in a split second andbusted the condensed fire essence in his sword.

    BOOM* The crimson buster de exploded into a thousand fragments with a violent firestorm, sweeping away all obstacles in its path.

    Leon flew andnded some distance away. His body was wracked with pain and refused to move.

    "Is this the end?" Leon wondered as heid motionless.

    Surprisingly, the spiders chose to ignore him.

    "W-What''s going on? Why aren''t they going for me? What in Gaia is happening? They''re actually attacking the still burning fragments¡­?" Leon felt somewhat inexplicable at the turn of events, before a lightbulb went up in his head.

    If in the middle of your sleep, someone came your house screaming and lit it on fire, you would also be furiously trying to put it out.

    The spiders made quick work of the burning fragments and the underground cave soon return to absolute darkness.

    "These arachnids are sensitive to vibration and heat sources¡­" Leon smiled bitterly. He fought a hard battle that did not need to happen, but he was thankful for the new lease on life.

    "God never close off all roads to life huh?" Leon mused. Thinking back, the spiders never did target him specifically. They were only aiming for the me in hands¡­

    Leon thought he had tide over the disaster when the he heard some nearby arachnids drawing closer to him.

    "Is it the heat emanating from my body?" Leon thought bitterly. His body refused to move. He had yet to recover his breath. It was impossible slow down his heartbeat to lower his body temperature in his present condition.

    As Leon was thinking hard of ways to lower his body temperature, some unknown ice essence was subconsciously drawn out from within himself and froze the surface of his skin.

    The arachnids arrive by his body but did not find what they were looking for and left.

    Leon froze.

    "Since when did I have any refined ice essence?"

    Ice element was something currently unique to Lynne.

    "Is there any rtion between Lynne and me being in possession of the ice element?"

    Leon decided to investigate, while his frozen body slowly recover. He used his divine sense to enter the region of his soul core and found the orbiting fire seed that lost some of its crimson luster.

    "Nothing seems to be out of the norm-"

    Leon suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    An ice seed came into view from behind the soul core. Like the fire seed, the Ice seed was orbiting his soul core.

    "Oh? This is very interesting!"

    Leon''s divine sense took the form of his miniature self as he circled around the ice seed to inspect it.

    "How did I get this? Is this a benefit of dual cultivation with Lynne?" Leon mused.

    "No¡­ that''s not right."

    They made ordinary love to each other. There were no dual cultivation techniques involved. If a person could have dual element from coption so easily, the capital would have long been filled with such people, if that was the case. Leon wagered that the cause lied within his own body. What made his body different to others?

    Leon murmured to himself before pausing at a conclusion.

    "5-element body."

    In the underground cave where Leon''s cold bodyid, his eyes suddenly shot open with an excited glint. It did notst for even a split second before his expression quickly turn to one of abject horror as he sensed another person''s face directly opposite of his.

    "AHHH!" "AHHH!" Two different voice eximed simultaneously. The figure shot backwards in shock.

    "Goodd, you have given me a huge fright!"

 Chapter 80 - Mother And Son (1)

    <h4>Chapter 80 - Mother And Son (1)</h4>

    The Duke''s group arrived outside the pce gates and dismounted their vehicles.

    "Halt! Who dares to trespass at this hour?" A drowsy pce guard barked.

    "Has this Duke''s prestige fallen so low that he cannot even be recognized by a mere pce guard?" Ignis asked with a frown.

    "Stop it, Ignis." Amelia was not interested in wasting time by the front gates.

    "There''s no problem with letting us pass, yes?"

    "Y-Y-Your Grace¡­ Y-Yes, there is no problem. Please enter at your own pace." The guard stuttered, before making way. He was half awake and failed to recognize them immediately.

    Guarding the gate was a menial task. The pce was not frequented by guests like it once was and it is especially not the case during the wee hours. The pce guard wiped his sweats after the Duke''s group entered.

    "Nobles are so entric. Who visits at such ungodly hour? Fortunately, I didn''t offend them."

    ¡­

    The courtyard was once decorated with beautiful verdure gardens and filled with fragrant floras. Nobles andmoners alike, often visit to enjoy the scenery, and fill it with life.

    As the group pass through the courtyard, the verdure garden was long gone. In its ce, was a cold and lifeless metallic texture, as far as the eye can see; the ground, the walls and the pce itself. There was nothing that wasn''t metal.

    "How is this a pce anymore? It looks more like an iron fortress." Ignis remarked in passing.

    At the other end of the courtyard lied a flight of stairs, leading to the great hall. They group made their way over quickly and found a pce maid standing at the top of the stairs, as if awaiting their arrival.

    "The Queen is waiting for you inside, Your Grace." The Pce informed her with a curtsy to show her respect to the Queen''s sworn sister.

    "The Queen is waiting for me?" Amelia asked doubtfully. How did Elizabeth know they wereing?

    "Yes."

    "I see, thank you."

    Two pce guards holding spears in hand at the entrance, stepped away, while they opened the doors to the great hall.

    Amelia took the lead to enter the great hall first. Duke Ignis and the rest were ready to follow her when the two pce guards crossed their spears and blocked them from entering.

    "What''s the meaning of this?" Duke Ignis was immediately displeased.

    "The Queen will only be seeing the Duchess Amelia. I have orders under the Queen to lead you to your living quarters." The pce maid said respectfully.

    Amelia looked back at her husband, who wore a gloomy face and was ready to make a scene.

    "Go, I will look for youter."

    Hearing his wife''s words, he swallowed the words at the tips of his tongue.

    "Hmph! Lead the way!" Duke Ignis waved his hand and grumbled.

    "Yes, right this way."

    ¡­

    Deep inside the great hall, a big golden throne could be seen with two other seats by its side. Queen Elizabeth did not seat herself on the golden throne, but the left seat by its side.

    The throne belonged to her husband and was not her ce to sit. Even as the acting ruler of the kingdom, she would not sit on the throne. This was to show her respect and devotion to her husband, who stillid in vegetative state.

    "Sister, how did you know I wasing?" Amelia came up and hugged Elizabeth''s arm in an intimate way, showcasing their close sisterly rtionship.

    "I was informed ahead of time." Elizabeth showed off a rare smile, albeit a light one.

    Some life had returned to her eyes and her appearance was no longer haggard and disheveled. But one cannot be fooled by her renewed beautiful countenance and believe that their gentle Queen had returned. The cold icy aura emanating from her was enough to freeze their hearts.

    "Oh? It wasn''t a crazy but powerful old man shrouded in ck by any chance, was it?" Amelia asked hopefully. If Elizabeth didn''t know who that was, then things could be bad for Leon.

    "Crazy old man eh? You must referring to Kasif. No, it was not him, who informed me."

    Amelia heart froze at Elizabeth''s answer. It wasn''t!? Her thoughts were about to run amok with possibilities when Elizabeth continued.

    "He sent his subordinate to inform me."

    Amelia sigh in relief. It seems the Old man serves Elizabeth. "Don''t leave me in suspense like that¡­"

    "Since when did we have such a powerful master in the kingdom? Howe I haven''t heard of him before?"

    "That''s not why you came to see me, right? What news do you have for me?" Elizabeth didn''t answer Amelia''s question. Instead, she threw back a question of her own.

    "Ahh¡­ right! I have good news! Your son is alive! I''ve found him."

    Amelia broke the news to Elizabeth with a big smile. Whether it was something Leon agreed to or not, Amelia still had to inform her sworn sister. She cannot keep her in the dark and continue living miserably.

    "What!?"

    Elizabeth immediately shot up from her seat in agitation. "Is that true!?" Where is he? Where is my son? Why isn''t he with you? Are you lying to me?"

    Amelia was barraged with questions.

    "No, I''m not! He would''ve been right here if that old bastard didn''t knock him unconscious and took him away!" Amelia rebutted strongly.

    "He did what!?" Elizabeth was angered. Knowing that her son was alive and well, she could not wait another second! She missed her son dearly! "How dare he treat her son that way and dy their meeting!"

    "Shadow Guards!"

    "What orders do you have, Your Majesty?" Several shadows dropped down from above and appeared before her.

    "Where is your leader!?"

    "W-We¡­ Forgive us, Your Majesty! We don''t know where the leader is." The shadow guards broke into sweat.

    Where their leader goes and do, he did not need to report to them. As such, they were helpless and could not provide a satisfactory answer.

    "So, no one knows where or why he took my son?" Elizabeth said coldly. She found it hard to control her emotions as her ability started spiraling out of control.

    Their weapons started shaking and rattling out of their sheaths.

    "Mercy, Your Majesty!" The shadow guards were shocked. They thought the queen was about to ughter them in anger.

    "Sister, that Old man said he wanted to make Leon his disciple." Amelia interrupted.

    "Is that so? That Old Goat has always been anxious to find a sessor to take on his position, but I will not allow it." Elizabeth sneered, "What can he teach my son?"

    How can Kasif''s high-grade training method beparable to their Crawford''s transcendent-grade training method? Elizabeth did not voice it, but that was her exact thoughts.

    "Go. Find that Old Goat and tell him to bring my son back to me in one piece, immediately." Elizabethmanded. The worry in her heart was expelled. Kasif would not harm Leon, if he was looking for a disciple.

    "Yes, Your Majesty." The shadow guards answered and scurried away very quickly with relief worn on their faces. They couldn''t wait to get far away from the Queen. Elizabeth''s pressure was unbearable. They would rather face their leader''s scolding. They didn''t forget to sh Amelia a thankful look before they disappear in blind search of their leader.

    Elizabeth sank back in her seat and let out a long sigh as if she was trying to expel all the negativity bottled up inside her. She did not want her son to meet an ice queen, but a warm mother. She slowly reverted to her old demeanor and reigned in her coldness.

    Amelia observed her change with doubt.

    "Come, let''s have a sisterly talk."

    "Alright." Amelia agreed happily. She had questions regarding Kasif but decided to leave it for another time.

    Elizabeth dragged Amelia to her private courtyard, where they could sitfortably and catch up over tea.

    "How is does my son look? Does he look like me?" How do I look? Will he ept me? You said his rtionship with his foster parents are quite good."

    Elizabeth fire one question after another with an anxious and sad undertone. She was the who gave birth to Leon, but she was not the one to raise him. Now, her biggest concern was whether he would ept her. However, the fact that her son was still alive and well, have brought color back to her world that was like ck and white.

    "He is a handsome young man. He has your eyes. There''s no problem with your appearance. He should be able to ept you."

    From what she had seen, Leon appeared to be a person who values familial ties and rtionships.

    Amelia smiled as she answered her sister''s string of question patiently. However, a trace of pity could be seen in her eyes. She was also a mother can understand her sorrow and concern.

    The main topic of their discussion revolved around Leon as they continued for hours until the break of dawn arrived.

    Her throat was a bit hoarse from chatting up all night with Elizabeth. Amelia took a sip of the tea before cing the cup down with a sigh.

    "What''s wrong? Is the tea not to your liking? How can that be?" Elizabeth asked with uncertainty. They were drinking royal-grade Earl Grey tea.

    "Isn''t it because of your good son? Ever since I had a taste his herbal tea, all other tea don''t taste the same anymore."

    Once you have something better, you can never go back.

    "Herbal tea? How could herbal tea be better than authentic tea?"

    Elizabeth wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, but their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of her pce maid.

    "What is it, Celia?"

    "Sir Kasif has arrived and is waiting in the great hall with a boy, your Majesty." Celia reported.

    "That''s great. We can go see¡­"

    Amelia didn''t finish her words before she realized Elizabeth had already disappeared.

    ¡­

    In the great hall, Leon had always wondered how his meeting with his birth mother would be like.

    Would he retain his calmness, or he would be emotional? Would he be able to ept her like his foster-parents or would they view each other like strangers?

    Birth mother was a foreign concept to him. In his past life, he had not known who his mother was. He was entirely raised up by his father and he was unable to obtain any information from his father.

    The doors of the great hall creaked open and Leon turn to look.

    Elizabeth and Leon; mother and son met as their eyes glued on each other and each with their own thoughts.

 Chapter 81 - Mother And Son (2)

    <h4>Chapter 81 - Mother And Son (2)</h4>

    Time seems to have slowed as Elizabeth stared at Leon emotionally as tears threaten to spill. She had rushed over so quickly that she had not prepare what sort of words she would say upon their first meeting. Without needing a word of confirmation, she was able to conclude that Leon was her son. It did not matter if she had not seen him for 17 years. She was the one that gave birth him. She would not fail to recognize her own son.

    Her body blinked over 20-odd meters with a speed greater than what Leon could fathom. Before he knew it, Leon was already in his mother''s warm embrace. There was a weak blood resonance between blood-rted kin that allow them to instinctively recognize each other. With all her blood-rted kin dead, it can only be her son in front of her.

    "My son¡­ My good son¡­ Thank you for being alive." Elizabeth started weeping tearfully with him in her arms. It was like her past 17 years of suffering finally found release as it was poured out all her feelings.

    A part of her failed to believe Amelia words prior. It was an instinctive reaction to protect herself from suffering greater sorrow from the disappointment, should everything turn out to be a sham. She had lost him during a time of chaos, and they were separated for 17 years. It would take more than words to convince her. She didn''t dare believe it, but after seeing her own flesh and blood in front of her, she had to believe it.

    Leon was surprised at Elizabeth''s inhumane speed, but he did not have time to ponder it deeper as he felt his own face be wet. He subconsciously brought his hand up to wipe and realized it was his own tears.

    "Huh¡­? This is weird¡­ Why am I crying?"

    He didn''t know why, but seeing how the Queen weep, a sudden ocean tide-like wave of sadness washed over him. His tears wouldn''t stop flowing. Is this what it''s like to have a real mother? When the mother is sad, the child would also feel the sadness. This familial feeling was vastly different to what he felt for his foster parents. This was his blood-rted mother¡­ the person who toiled for 9 months before bringing him into the world.

    A section of Leon''s memory when he was a newborn baby surfaced in his mind with great rity as he recalled the moment he was reborn into the world and see the joy in his mother''s eyes as she hold him carefully in her arms like she was holding the world.

    "M-Mother¡­ your child is back¡­"

    "Good child¡­" Hearing Leon''s words, even more tears started to pour down from her face. She caressed his head affectionately with the love and care she could not for 17 years.

    She was unable to watch him grow up, but he is here now and that is all that matters. He would always be her child, no matter how big he grows.

    Kasif was put in an awkward spot as he was forced to watch through this pair of mother and son heartfelt reunion.

    "AHEM." Kasif faked a cough, loud enough to be heard. He wanted them to acknowledge his presence.

    "Hmm? You are still here? Can''t you see that we are having our reunion? Hmph! Leave!" Elizabeth said coldly.

    "Y-You! Hmph! I may listen to your orders, but I am still a senior from your father''s generation. You ought to treat me with the respect I deserve." Kasif said but was already impatient to leave. The father he mentions was not Elizabeth''s blood rted father, but her father-inw, the Old king.

    Elizabeth had time to refocus her attention on Leon but noticed that his clothes were in tatters and dirtied.

    "Wait!"

    "What do you want now, Your Majesty!?" Kasif turned back and asked with some frustration. Do you want me to leave or what? He should have slipped away when he had the chance.

    "What happened to my son?! Where did you take him before?" Elizabeth''s eyes narrowed in on him.

    Facing her cold gaze, even he felt a bit of pressure. They both belong to the ranks of 9th step awakeners but even among 9th step, there was a great disparity.

    The distance between awakeners and Transcendent was like a big chasm. It would be too naive if one were to think that they can increase their strength tenfold by reaching transcendence. No, an awakener''s strength never stops improving once they reach the 9th step. 9th step awakeners are ranked 0-9 stars in terms of how many folds of strength they possesspared to a normal 9th step awakener.

    1-star would mean twofold the strength of normal 9th step awakeners and 9-stars would mean having tenfold the strength. In other words, 9-star awakeners possess the equivalent strength of a Transcendent and could be considered semi-transcendent. They are justcking the lifeforce to be a True Transcendent.

    Kasif was at 5-stars, but Elizabeth was already at 7-stars. She was not far off from transcendence.

    "Err¡­ That is¡­ I took him to my testing ground¡­ but things went beyond my expectations." Kasif said with a stiff smile.

    He wanted to test Leon''s potential, but did not go the way he had expected. As the saying went; Man proposes, God disposes.

    "Well? What happened? I''m listening!"

    Faced with insistent questioning of the Queen, Kasif had no choice but to recount what happened.

    Half an hour earlier¡­

    Kasif was so shocked at the turn of events when Leon triggered such a big explosion and was sted away with his life and death unknown. He originally wanted to test Leon ability to adapt to the darkness and its dangers. The giant spiders were called Deadeye Spider because they were blind. They only react to vibration and heat. The Deadeye Spider nest was the perfect training ground to hone one''s abilities as a shadow guard.

    If Leon had relied on his sharp senses and profound movement technique, there was no problem for him to move around silently and unhindered. Only spiders within a small distance would be able to sense the heat emanating from his body.

    However, Kasif had miscalcted and forgot that Leon was a fire-user and would naturally create light when thrown into a dark abyss. A tragedy was ensured, but through Leon''s battle with Deadeye spiders, Kasif able to discover other admirable traits that was present in Leon; his persistence, or rather tenacity. If Leon knew his thoughts, he would have cursed, " Fuck you! If I didn''t do my best to survive, I would have died!"

    There was an even bigger that greatly astonished Kasif; Leon''s ability control. Leon''s ability control was so great, it had already reached the apex. The bottleneck that stop 9-star awakeners from reaching transcendence wouldn''t exist for him.

    After the swarm of Deadeye Spiders finally receded from the cave, Kasif, who was hidden in the earth, finally went to check on Leon, whose body turned ice cold with his eyes closed. Kasif was so shocked and immediately went to check if the boy still had any breath in him.

    When Leon entered to check his soul core region, he automatically shut off his senses to the outside world. Thus, when he suddenly opens his eyes, the two was so shocked they eximed simultaneously.

    "Goodd, you have given me a huge fright!"

    "What do you want from me, Old bastard?" Leon said coldly. It was all this person''s fault thatnded him in his current predicament.

    "I want to make you my disciple. How about it? Not many get the chance to be disciple." Kasif did not mind Leon''s curse as he was in a jovial mood at the prospect of being the master of a future Transcendent. He did not realize Leon''s silence was one of being overwhelmed with anger, instead he thought thed was overwhelmed by the honor.

    "Fuck you! Who the fuck wants to be your disciple?!" Leon roared with anger. He was kidnapped for such a reason!?

    "Y-You¡­ look here, I am very powerful-"

    Rumble* theirmotion caused the sensitive Deadeye Spiders to swarm back.

    "We will talkter."

    Kasif grabbed at the immobile Leon and used his earth ability tounch themselves up quickly at the cave ceiling with a rising rock pir from underneath his feet.

    "Crazy old bastard, let me go! If you want to die, then go die alone!" Leon was so shocked. At the speed they were going, they would smash into the ceiling and be crushed to death!

    However, Leon''s worries were unfounded as the ceiling parted ways under Kasif''s control and they shoot straight through the parted earth and returned quickly to the surface. Kasif toss a Leon to a soft patch of grass after his feet hadnded on ground floor.

    "Goddammit! Do you know who I am, Old bastard!?" Leon was ready to spill the beans. Although he looked down on characters who relied on their backgrounds, this was not the time to act tough! He must be flexible and use whatever he has, when the odds are against him!

    "Look here, brat. There''s a limit to my patience, alright? To be my disciple is to one day take over my position and be a powerful figure in the kingdom." Kasif said with some impatience. Even if he had a heart of Buddha, he would still get annoyed if someone repeatedly call him a bastard.

    Leon looked at him with contempt. "Position? I don''t even know what you do. Powerful figure? No one even knows you, but can it be higher than a crown prince?"

    Swoosh** Several shadows guard appeared them with fiendish red eyes from straining their eyes to search the entire night.

    "Leader, the Queen is requesting your presence, along with her son and in one piece!"

    "What son-"

    Kasif paused his words as he suddenly has a bad feeling.

    While secretly surprised by the shadow guards, Leon gave the Old man a smirk.

 Chapter 82 - Bullying The Old!

    <h4>Chapter 82 - Bullying The Old!</h4>

    Back in the great hall, at present time, Kasif sweated buckets like the Old man had toiled for a whole day as finishes recounting without skimping out on any details. Leon had eyed him with a yful smile whenever he reached a crucial point.

    "And that is pretty much everything¡­"

    Kasif mumbled towards the end with his head lowered, afraid to face the Elizabeth directly. Elizabeth wore a cid smile throughout his recount that made it hard to guess her thoughts even if he did look directly.

    "Kasif, when was thest time we sparred?" Elizabeth said, while maintaining her cid smile.

    "Hmm? I believe it was 20 years ago¡­ why do you¡­?" Her expression was unreadable. Kasif couldn''t understand her question¡­ wait! Kasif''s eyes widen in horror at a sudden terrible premonition.

    "I suddenly feel like sparring again!" Elizabeth said with gritted teeth, while stretching her limbs. Her fist was clenched and shook uncontrobly. She was clearly very furious! But she had restrained herself due to Leon''s presence.

    "No wait! Your Majesty! The ignorant is not guilty! Had I known he was the prince; I would not take him to the underground for testing!" Kasif paled, he turned and made a mad dash for the great hall entrance.

    The thick iron doors of the great hall shut tightly and did not budge even under his pounding. Inside the iron fortress, escape was futile.

    "Just not that? So, you still hoped to make him your disciple!? If you think you are not guilty then why did you try to run!? Come back and ept your beat- spar!" In the end, her calm facade was unmasked with fury.

    Kasif almost fainted under Elizabeth''s words. Spar?? Who would believe that? You were about to say beating just now, right!?

    "Your Majesty! These old bones won''t be able to endure your blows!" Kasif made ast-ditch effort to plead for mercy.

    The entire great hall wasposed of metal! There was no earth for him to draw strength from. He wouldn''t be the Queen''s opponent even if he was at the same level as her, not to mention she was 2 stars above him!

    What kind of concept was 2 stars? It was twofold increase in overall abilities. Putting aside elemental abilities, just raw physical strength alone, equates to 1800-jin force.

    To further add onto his worries, her majesty is a metal-user! Metal-users specializes in strengthening and sharpness and such abilities could be applied to their own body, granting them both great offensive and defensive capabilities.

    Kasif''s body would not be able to withstand a blow!

    "Not only have your bones grown old, you have also gone senile from old age, right!? Do you even know how to respect the wills of others? How dare you ignore his opinion and snatched him like you were picking wild herbs from the mountains! Hmph! Come over here! You Old Goat!"

    There was a reason, Elizabeth always called him an Old Goat. His grey pointy beard and curly split fringe gave him great resemnce to a curly-horned goat from ancient times, thus how he earned his nickname.

    Kasif didn''t mind Elizabeth''s provocation. So, what if he minds? He wouldn''t be able to do anything about it even if he did! He can only grit his teeth, clench his rear and take the beating!

    The inside of the great hall was sounded especially tragic. Whatever grievance Leon felt inside was abated as he even started to feel pity for the Old man while he was getting beaten ck and blue.

    "Ahhh! Aaahhh! Baahhhh!"

    Outside the great hall, the pce guards could hear the gut-wrenching cries and wails from the Old man that was akin to pigs andmbs being ughtered.

    Amelia finally arrived outside and nced at the two pce guards guarding the entrance dutifully.

    "What''s going on inside?"

    "Umm¡­"

    The pce guards were also at a lost. Recent gossips and rumors among pce guards and maids have been flying all over the pce of the crown prince''s return. But considering the usual coldness of the Queen, they don''t know exactly how the reunion would turn out.

    "Maybe the Queen is ughtering a beast to celebrate her happy reunion¡­?"

    One pce guard made a wild assumption.

    The Queen was known for her ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness from killing the nobles. The return of the crown prince was a joyous asion, worthy of kingdom-wide celebration. They wouldn''t be surprised if the Queen was doing another killing, albeit for another reason.

    "Are we going to be having mutton beast meat?"

    The other guard''s eyes lit up at the thought of beast mutton, which was considering one of the finer delicacies in the pce. It didn''te as a surprise to the guards as the royal family having been keeping the beasts in captivity and rearing them as livestock.

    "Why would the Queen ughter beasts in the great hall of all ces¡­? Never mind. Open the door. I will go in and see" Amelia didn''t entertain their funny notions and ordered them to open the iron doors. Her answers can be found directly behind.

    "Ah? Y-Yes, your Grace."

    The two pce guards pulled on the door handles but the iron doors until their faces were red like tomatoes, but the door refused to open. Why was it suddenly so hard to open?

    ¡­

    Back inside the great hall, Kasif was sprawling on the ground, while he continued his painful wails; with each new one sounding more terrible than thest. Kasif had only suffered light fleshly wounds and nothing serious that wouldn''t heal over a 2-day period. He was faking his pain to make Elizabeth lighten her blow and end the beating sooner. In fact, he was so caught in his act, he didn''t realized Elizabeth had long stopped beating him.

    Although she was furious, she did not lose her reasoning. Star-ranked awakeners were the real foundation of their race. She wouldn''t do anything that would undermine it. Just a light beating was enough to exercise her muscles back into shape.

    "My son, see that wretched thing? Don''t take that thing as your master. Mother will is a better teacher."

    Elizabeth gave her first motherly lecture. The Old goat was so shameless. She didn''t want such a person to corrupt her son. She also wants to make up for all the missed years of spending time with her son.

    Leon nced at the wailing Old man, whose face had be cker than a pigsty from all the facial pounding and twitched his lips.

    "I won''t."

    Leon was once a Divine-state practitioner. Such level of cultivation was akin to be a deity in the Crawford Kingdom. It was practically unheard of. As such, Leon didn''t think the Old man qualified to be his master. It should be the other way around.

    "Good." Elizabeth nodded with a smile, before frowning, "How long are you going to continue acting for!?"

    She sent out a kick and sent the Old man flying towards the entrance.

    "Ah?" Kasif was startled out of his act before he realized he was caught red-handed. "Ahem¡­ has your anger subsided, Your Majesty?"

    Kasif scurried back on his feet and asked in an ingratiating manner, while rubbing his hands together.

    "Kasif, you are hereby temporarily relieved of your position and duties. Do not return until you interacted 1000 people normally without causing them harm. Your vice-leader will take over until you are back. Scram!" Elizabeth said strongly with a tone of annoyance. The iron doors flung open with a wave of her hand.

    "Yes, Your Majesty!" Kasif answered happily as he finally able to get away from this dastardly ce. He shot straight out the entrance as soon as the door opened. The faster he got away, the better. His appearance was horrifying from all the bruising, but no real damage was done, thus his movements were not affected. It will heal in no time.

    ¡­

    The doors to the great hall was suddenly flung open and a ck-faced thing suddenly shot out straight at Amelia. She was so startled and horrified, she swatted it to the side instinctively.

    Kasif was caught unprepared and was pped flying into the distance. Who would that someone would standing in front of the door as soon as it was opened? How unlucky! Screw it, he will just treat it as part of his punishment for offending royalty. He didn''t want to linger in the pce anymore as he followed the Queen''s instruction and headed towards the Upper District. He suffered enough abuse, while he was here. Sigh, young people these days have no respect for the elderly.

    Elizabeth and Leon were right behind and naturally saw what happened. Leon simrly thought what a pair of sisters, his mother and mother-inw was. Both had no respect for the elderly. He forgot he was the cause for the Old man''s abuse.

    "Is he going to be alright?" Leon asked incredulously. He felt like they might have went a bit overboard in abusing the Old man. Would he have a grudge against them?

    "Don''t worry, he is tougher than he looks." Elizabeth saw what her son was concerned about and continued, "He might have a lot of bad traits, but if there''s one thing that is good about him, it is his loyalty."

    "I see."

    Amelia was originally stunned from offending such a master but listening to her sister''s words, she sighed in relief. She looked at her hand and savored the feeling of the p. Discovering that she was able p such a rude person, the bottled-up frustration she felt previously was abated.

    "Sister, you ran very quickly eh?" Amelia said.

    "Come, my good sister, we still have a lot to discuss."

    Elizabeth''s eyes were bright as colors have returned to her eyes after finding who she had been missing. She pulled both Amelia and Leon by the hand as they returned to her personal courtyard. She was a tea connoisseur. Their previous discussion on tea was not over yet.

    Amelia wanted to discuss the matters of the capital, but perhaps, there was nothing to worry about¡­ The foundation of the royal family was immeasurably deep and there was many things she have yet to learn.

 Chapter 83 - The Mansion Was Raided

    <h4>Chapter 83 - The Mansion Was Raided</h4>

    Outer pce, guest courtyard.

    Pacing back and forward, Duke Ignis had a tint of impatience in his eyes. There were urgent matters to be discussed with the Queen, but they had not been summoned to meet the Queen and his wife had not returned sincest night.

    "You need to calm down, Ignis. How about you sit and enjoy some tea with me instead of pacing back and forward?" Robert said as he sat by the stone table and enjoyed a cup of freshly brewed tea. His expression was calm like still water without any ripples.

    "Calm? How can I be calm? You have seen it for yourself. The 4 great families have rebelled. Just one Weld family, already have a peak level expert. Who knows if the other 3 families have their own as well? We need to devise a n to quell this rebellion quickly before it gets out of hand. How can you be so calm in such a serious situation?"

    Ignis can''t help but me his friend for hisck of care or awareness when the capital is practically a mess and the people are suffering.

    "Well¡­ I must admit that the 4 families are nning to rebel, but to say that they have already rebelled is incorrect. After all, they only attacked us and not the royal family. At most, it can be considered a conflict between noble families. Also, don''t you still have a very powerful force back at your steam tower? Anyway¡­ if you can leave this ce, then be my guest."

    Robert shrugged his shouldersckadaisically.

    "Ugh¡­ right¡­"

    Ignis became dejected at the reminding of their current predicament and threw in the towel. He sat down on an empty stone seat and pour himself some tea in low spirits.

    Last night, they had already attempted to leave the courtyard, but they were stopped by the pce guards. They were further forced to undergo a blood test and was forbidden to leave the courtyard until the results came out.

    The reason wasn''t made clear to them, which caused the Duke to easily lose his temper and resort to forceful means. However, he had a rude awakening that he was no match for the pce guards in both strength and numbers. Without the strength to resist, they could onlyply and stay inside the guest courtyard obediently.

    The security of the pce was unexpectedly tight and packed with powerful awakeners. Since when were 9th step expertsmon like cabbages?

    Ignis couldn''t understand what the Queen was thinking. With such a mighty force, why does she continue to let the corrupted nobles run rampant outside? Does she not care about her people? And if they had such a force guarding the pce in the past then how would the tragedy of the royal family evere to pass?

    He had forgotten that the Queen had shut herself and the pce from the outside. If it weren''t for Amelia''s close rtionship with the Queen, then they would even be able to step foot in the pce. It''s been many years since hest saw his sworn brother.

    Duke Ignis mulled over his thoughts as he poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. his eyes widened and shot them at Robert.

    "Isn''t this my wife''s herbal tea!?"

    "Ah yes¡­ I kind of borrowed it from the car before we left¡­"

    "Borrowed? Are you going to spit it back out after you''re done?" Ignis red at him, but secretlymended Robert''s dexterity for being able to sneak the teapot out unnoticed.

    "Hahaha¡­" Robert''s calmness broke with an awkwardugh.

    "Never mention this matter to Amelia." Ignis whispered with a serious look after shifting his eyes left and right with caution.

    Since the deed was done, he must enjoy as much as he can. His wife would me him either way.

    "Naturally." Robert nodded. It goes without saying. He wasn''t interested in looking for trouble. The 2 came to a mutual understanding and enjoyed their tea quietly.

    ¡­

    "The results are all green. You all are free to roam the outer pce. However, unless the Queen has ordered, you still cannot enter the inner pce." A pce guard came and reported to them.

    "Why are these procedures needed, sir?" Duke Ignis spoke with a respectful tone. He no longer felt any superiority. His strength and status were a joke to these pce guards. The repeated setbacks had humbled him.

    Seeing how respectful Ignis was, the pce guard found it hard to ignore his question.

    "It is to guard against the enemy. That''s all I can say."

    The pce guard went to resume his duties after leaving behind those brief words. Ignis and Robert were puzzled.

    Enemy? What kind of enemy require sampling their blood? Could they camouge or disguise themselves as humans?

    The pce seems to be hiding a big secret from the public.

    ¡­

    "My Lord! I''vee bearing bad news!" Sebastian suddenly barged into the courtyard urgently.

    "Speak."

    "We have discovered that the mansion had been raided, my Lord."

    "Any casualties?" Ignis raised an eyebrow at the news.

    "None, my Lord. The enemy must''ve raided when we were out." Sebastian spected.

    "Oh, we good then. What is the problem?" Ignis said nonchntly.

    "The training manual in the secret room was taken, my Lord¡­"

    Sebastian was taken aback by theck of concern in his Lord''s tone.

    "That''s even better! It''s good that they took it! Hahaha!" Duke Ignisughed wildly.

    "M-My Lord! How can that be good!? That is your family''s secret training manual!" Sebastian stressed with wide eyes. He had an urge to rip his hair out due to frustration. How can the Lord not care about such an important matter? Has the world gone mad or has he gone mad!?

    "Hahaha¡­ You don''t need to worry about this matter. Nothing important was lost." Ignis chuckled mysteriously.

    His low spirits were lifted immediately. The secret room did have a training manual ced there, but it was not his family''s training method; the [Lancaster''s Great Fiery Breathing Technique]. The manual taken away was a byproduct of his attempt to revise and improve the [Lancaster''s Profound Fiery Breathing Technique]. Although he had failed to improve the technique, it was still a masterpiece in its own right. The effects would be devastating, should the person attempt to learn his self-created technique.

    "As you wish, my Lord." Sebastianplied in blind faith. If his Lord said there was nothing to worry about, then there is nothing to worry about.

    ¡­

    In a dark and secluded location of the Upper North District, two figures were having their secret meeting.

    "The task waspleted with ease, my Lord." Alf reported as he handed over the manual, he had sessfully taken from the Lancaster mansion.

    Lord Weld took the manual and briefly nced over its name and introduction with his dark eyes. Since the time he was forced to escape from Kasif, his aura has grown even more sinister and deathly. His existence started to seem less human and more demonic.

    "Good. You have done well. With this [Ignis''s Dominating Inner Obliteration Technique], we can train a whole army of powerful fire-users." Lord Weld said with a raspy voice. Although, the name of the technique was strange, Lord Weld did not pay it too much attention. The name was trivial and could be changed. What was important was that the manual was a breathing technique.

    Breathing techniques allowed awakeners to speed up the natural process of refining elements into essence to increase their cultivation. Each noble family had their own unique breathing technique, but it was evidently trashpared to the Duke''s and Royalty''s breathing technique.

    "Where are Lord Gregory and the others, my Lord?"

    The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped at the mention of Gregory. Lord Weld wore a frosty countenance as silent rage burned inside him. The night prior, Lord Weld did not escape far when he realized that no one chased him. As such, he hid nearby and waited for his reinforcements to arrive, but even after waiting until the dawn of day, reinforcements never came.

    "They''re all dead! Let''s go. We will pay the 3 family a visit. Hmph!" Lord Weld said coldly as he stowed away the manual in his clothes.

    Lord Weld did not know the extent of Kasif''s full strength. He still mistakenly believed that they stood a chance, had the forces of the three other families arrived in time.

    If they could not give him a good reason for not showing up, he sees no need to remain in the alliance now that he has the [Ignis''s Dominating Inner Obliteration Technique]. Hmm¡­ there was really something off about the name of the technique, but he could not put a finger on it¡­

    ¡­

    Upper West District, Grey mansion courtyard.

    "Sure enough, you all are still here. Care you exin why none of you showed up?" Lord Weld said with repressed anger.

    The other three Lords sat on their stone thrones with deep gloomy thoughts¡­ There were several heads piled together into a small mountain by their feet.

 Chapter 84 - What Lies Underneath The Palace

    <h4>Chapter 84 - What Lies Underneath The Pce</h4>

    "This is why."

    Lord Esmond kicked one of the heads by his feet towards Lord Weld. The head rolled and smeared his shoes with its half-dried bloody texture.

    Being a water-user, Lord Weld was the epitome of hygiene. He washed the smudge off his shoe at first notice with a frown. But no matter how much he washes himself; he would never be able to wash the smell of blood off his hands.

    "And what is this?" Lord Weld asked with a low voice. He was displeased with Lord Esmond''s action. Not only could he not garner any information out of the decapitated head of some unknown figure, his shoe was also soiled. Although he washed it off, the smell may stick and add to what he already has.

    "The n waspromised. These sneaky rats are obviously well trained in nimble and stealth arts and were not weak. It was by chance that we were able to catch them spying on us. We can only assume that they belong to the either Duke''s forces or the Royal faction itself. Either way, it could only mean that our n had beenpromised and to proceed with it was. You should have received the retreat message long ago."

    Lord Esmond exined.

    "Retreat message? Hmph! I''ve received no such things!! Don''t you all think it''s toote to retreat without losses once the battle had started!? It is toote to turn back now! We are now in open conflict with the Royal faction and will soon bebelled as rebels! We must act soon and seed

    Lord Weld roared furiously. Just thinking about his tremendous loss filled him with great fury. Fortunately, he still has a grandson to continue the family lineage. Otherwise, he would have really gone crazy and attack them.

    "You didn''t get the message? Those fallen nobles are so fucking useless! They had one job and they couldn''t even do it right. But it exins why you have only arrived now." Lord Greymented coldly.

    "Hmph! These fallen nobles are just a bunch of boneless chickens! They talk about their loyalty to the alliance, but when the timees to show it, they all cower and run away at the most crucial moments. The way I see it, they were always part of the Royal faction and were trying to worm their way back into the Queen''s good graces." Lord Esmond added.

    "Enough talking about those flip-floppers!"

    Lady Harriet, who had been staying quietly all this time, finally spoke coldly. She could not hide the disdain she held for men.

    "A bunch of old geezers talking about useless crap. We should be focusing on how to deal with the Royal faction! Now that the Duke''s side have entered the pce, they are untouchable. Unless we want to push forward our ns and decide everything in one frontal assault on the pce, I suggest we find an alternative solution to deal with them."

    "Hmph! Old hag, you''re not good either! Isn''t the solution painfully obviously? If we can''t fight them inside the pce, can''t we just force them out to fight?" Lord Esmond scorned.

    "Who are you calling an Old hag!? If you''re so great, why don''t you go ahead and tell us how we can force them out?" Lady Harriet rebuked. She was ady. She might be aged but being called old hag was uneptable.

    Her words were immediately met with contemptuous looks from both Lord Esmond and Lord Grey. Only Lord Weld frowned in thought, while listening to the three of them talk. It was apparent that they did not try to sabotage him, but the fallen nobles. He was no longer angry at the three families as his anger was redirected.

    "The answer is obvious. If we just start killing people openly, razing buildings to the ground and setting fire to the whole capital, they would have no choice but toe out to stop us. The Queen without her iron fortress would be much easier to cope with. Unfortunate, she still has the Duke and Duchess by her side, making the uing battle a tough one." Lord Grey took the chance to exined before Lord Esmond could.

    Listening to this point, Lord Weld''s frown deepened.

    "No, we don''t stand a chance unless we find more helpers. They still have another unknown 9th step expert among their ranks. I was forced to flee due to his appearance." Lord Weld recalled.

    "Is that true? We weren''t the only one hiding ourselves? The Royal faction had hid themselves well¡­ but where can we find capable helpers to aid our cause? We don''t have much time left¡­"

    The four great families have yet to realize the immensity of the earth and the measure of their opponent''s strength. They were just frogs at the bottom of a well, looking up at a narrow sky. Their plots and schemes were nothing but a joke to the eyes of those who are truly strong like Queen Elizabeth.

    Their ambitions were doomed to never seed. But due to their ignorance, the addition of another expert did not sway their determination by much.

    There was only shock and desperation caused by the bomb-like news, Lord Weld dropped on them. They have yet to give up, for giving up means epting their deaths. Their lifespans were reaching the limits of how much their secret method could extend it by.

    Where in Crawford Kingdom, could they find another 9th step expert to help them? General marquis Hendrick was guarding the west and had no interest in the matters of the capital. Otherwise, they would have been able to convince him to join their alliance long ago.

    "There is one person thates to mind." Lord Weld suddenly mentioned.

    "Are you talking about Sir Zagan of the Vran Kingdom?"

    Their eyes lit up as the same person all came to mind.

    To them, Sir Zagan was a person of immeasurable depth and worthy of utmost respect. Not only was he a powerful awakener, he was also greatly knowledgeable in human history and ancient ruins.

    They had once entered an ancient ruin belonging to the Vran Kingdom together and made great gains. During their breaks, they would converse with Sir Zagan and learnt deeper history and secrets regarding their own kingdom.

    The greatest treasure to ever by uncovered from an ancient ruin was none other the transcendent-grade technique, the Hero King left behind for his descendants.

    Aldrich Crawford was no genius, but he had a great fortuitous encounter to uncover the technique from an ancient ruin and allowed himself to stand out among all early awakeners to rise to power.

    From the ancient ruins, it was clear that history of awakeners existed for a far longer period than the start of the great cataclysm that changed the world.

    As for the location of that ancient ruin, it was precisely underneath the capital, but the only entry point was located within the pce.

    Should people attempt to dig into underground ancient ruin from any other point, they would find themselves in arge insect nest and be attacked endlessly.

    The 4 great family naturally lust for the royal family''s transcendent-grade breathing technique. But if they could not get it, exploring therge underground ruin to find a suitable transcendent-grade technique was their next best hope to breakthrough and greatly extend their lifespan.

    "Yes. Luckily for us, Sir Zagan had been staying in the nearby Rainwallow city for thest couple of years and is only a few hours'' drive away."

    "That''s great! We will organize our forces, while you make haste to Rainwallow city and ask for his help." Lord Esmond immediately designated Lord Weld to the job.

    His expression darkened immediately. He understood the hidden meaning behind Lord Esmond''s words, which were like a jab in his sore spot. His people were all dead, so they chose him to go.

    "Hmph! Let''s go, Alf!" Lord Weld stomped his foot and walked away.

    Alf, who stood behind him quietly the whole time, followed obediently.

    Some distance away from the Grey''s mansion in a secluded alley, Lord Weld stopped.

    "I''m entrusting you with this technique. Go find a fresh batch of loyal servants for the Weld family and start training them immediately, while I make the trip to Rainwallow city alone.

    "Yes, my Lord." Alf epted the task without hesitation, but some thoughts swirled in his mind. "M-My lord, is it okay if I abolish my cultivation to also train in the technique?"

    Steward Alf was already at the 6th step, but he had no hopes of advancing further. Without the resources invested, it would be too difficult. He had hopes for the Lancaster''s technique even if he must start over.

    "Are you certain?" Lord Weld looked at him deeply.

    It was unknown whether Alf could reawaken as a fire-user, but it was a chance he was willing to take.

    "Y-Yes." Alf answered with gritted teeth. He was prepared to stake it all on the chance to be a future powerhouse.

    "Good. Since you have made your choice, then I will not stop you. Do not regret it. Go now and carry out your task." Lord Weld ordered.

    "Yes, my Lord!"

 Chapter 85 - Training A Bogus Technique

    <h4>Chapter 85 - Training A Bogus Technique</h4>

    Rainwallow city was also known as the city of lumber and was situated on the borders of Extreme Misty Forest, 120 miles north of the Capital. It was a small city with a poption of 10,000 but it was full of hustle and bustles with lumberjacks working their magic to fell forest trees, and maybe one day open a route to the sea in the far north. The difference between the state of the city and the Capital''s Lower Districts were like night and day. It was so vast, it was like heaven and earth.

    At the outskirts of Rainwallow city, Lord Weld arrived at the doorstep of a small cottage.

    "Come in. The door is not locked."

    A young voice spoke to him from behind the doors. Seeing that the other part had sensed his arrival before he could even knock on the door, Lord Weld was instilled with a deeper sense of respect towards the other person''s ability.

    "Sir Zagan." Lord Weld entered the cottage and greeted.

    Behind the door was a room filled with opened books and papers scattered throughout the entire cottage. Sir Zagan did not raise his head to greet him but continued to read through his research papers instead. His appearance had not aged over the years and still retained his youthful look.

    "Why have youe?" Sir Zagan asked after a short moment. He had skip the pleasantries and cut straight to the chase.

    "I wonder if Sir Zagan is interested joining forces to overthrow the Crawford royalty to explore the underground ruins?" Lord Weld asked straightforwardly with a smile stered on his face. Although Sir Zagan failed to greet him, Lord Weld did not seem to mind. In fact, he did not dare show any form of discontent when he hase to ask for a favor.

    Sir Zagan appeared to be gentle and schrly but he was far from what he made himself out to be. This was a person who could be smiling in one moment and kill people in the next. His outer appearance was a facade to hide his devious and wicked nature. His strength wasn''t something Lord Weld could trifle with and the secrets of his youth wasn''t something he dare look into. Lord Weld felt an invisible pressure on his mind and had the illusion that the other person could interfere with his thoughts to some degree.

    Lord Weld was aware thating to this person for help was the same as looking for help from the devil. However, nothing was more important than his waning life, even if it meant selling his soul to the devil. He was long aware that Sir Zagan had ulterior motives to sow seeds of chaos in the kingdom, when he taught them the origin of Aldrich Crawford''s transcendent-grade breathing technique. He knew but didn''t care, as the information was useful and he was more than willing to spearhead the chaos to achieve his goals.

    "Oh? You have finallye to ask for my help." Sir Zagan said with keen interesting. "Tell me everything that had happened."

    "Yes." Lord Weld answered obediently as if he waspelled to.

    ¡­

    In the courtyard of the Weld''s family, a batch of freshly recruited and untrained servants stood before steward Alf. The recruitment and filtering went quickly and smoothly. Themoners were like an open book; easy to read. It did not matter if the Weld family was the source of their problem or the root of all evil, it would not stop the desperate ones from bing servants of the Weld family to better their life when their carrot is offered. Depraved or not, when faced with choices of life and death, themon choice would always be life. Their morals mean nothing to them if they could eat their fill.

    Alf had no doubt that they would listen to his orders obediently. Since time did not wait for them, Alf did not teach them discipline and jump straight to teaching them [Ignis''s Dominating Inner Obliteration Technique]. He had read through the breathing technique multiple times and already memorized the content. The manual was on him, but he did not need to refer to it when teaching.

    "Alf, who are these people and where is my father?" Cayden arrived home and noticed the new faces immediately due to their malnourished body and terrible stench. Although Alf had them fed and washed beforehand, it wasn''t something easily changed in one session.

    "Young master, you are home." Alf ordered the new servants to practice the technique on their own before greeting his young master and answering his question.

    "Master is dead along with the rest of the servants. These are the new servants I have recruited under the Old Master''s instructions."

    "Father is what?"

    Cayden was rooted on the spot at the breaking news. Cayden had no doubt in the authenticity of the news. Alf would not joke about his master''s death. Cayden took a moment to grieve for his father, before his eyes turned sharp like drawn daggers. Evidently, he was good at controlling his emotions, otherwise he would not have been able to pull the wool over Edric''s eyes.

    "Who killed him?" Cayden questioned coldly. He did not grieve for long. It was more important to find out his father''s killer for revenge.

    "It was the Duke''s side." Alf answered. He didn''t personally witness it and only received the news from Lord Weld. They naturally assume Kasif was on the Duke''s side since he intervened in their favor.

    "Makes sense. What are they practicing? Doesn''t seem like the normal breathing technique we have for servants." Cayden naturally noticed something different about their breathing technique. At the center of the courtyard was an intense campfire billowing towards the skies, while the servants surrounded it in meditative posture. He would not miss such an obvious sight.

    "They are practicing the technique we have stolen from the Duke''s home. This is the technique, Young Master." Alf handed over the breathing technique, before resuming watch over the new servants.

    Seeing the new servants making progress and being able to start drawing the mes into their bodies, Alf became impatient. He had to start from ground zero if he wanted to practice the technique and would naturally be at the same starting point as the servants. Being the steward of the family, he did not want to fall behind the servants in cultivation.

    "Young Master, please excuse this servant as he joins the new servants in practice. The Old Master has already given the approval."

    Alf impatiently sat cross-legged by the fire and severed his connection to the earth seed with his will like severing off a limb. Steward Alf paled from the pain as the earth essence started to dissipate from his body, leaving behind a hollow seed.

    An awakener''s elemental seed was like their limb. They could control it however way they want, including but not limited to self-destructing and cutting their connection to their elementalw. Normally, no sane person would ever do such a thing, but for a brighter future, steward Alf had done exactly that.

    After the dissipation process ended, hemenced practice in the breathing technique without dy. While this was happening, Cayden had taken a quick read through the physical copy of the technique in his hands with a frown. Why is the name so strange? Cayden had his doubts.

    Without the intimacy of the firews to grant its users heighten resistance, Alf and the servants had to endure the searing mes they drew into their body, through their pores, their meridians and towards their mind to be refined in fire essence. Alf was amazed that the servants were able to endure the searing pain for so long. The path to natural awakening was naturally not as easy as taking an awakening pill is what Alf thought.

    "Huu¡­Huu¡­Huuu!"

    "Eeek-aak-eek!"

    A chain of ancient gori-like and monkey-like noises interrupted his thoughts. Alf opened his eyes to see what was going on, only to see total chaos among the group of servants. The new servants were no longer practicing the breathing technique and were practicing being monkeys and goris instead. They pranced around, beating and scratching their chest, while making all sorts of screech, chatter and gibber noises.

    "W-What is going on? What the hell are you all doing!?" Alf and Cayden both widened their eyes in shock to the chaotic scene taking ce.

    "Huu¡­ Huu¡­ HUUU!"

    "Stop it! Are you a f*cking idiot!?" Alf grabbed at one of the servants, but they reacted strongly to his grab as they pranced up and down violently in resistance.

    "Huu¡­ Huu¡­ HUUU!!"

    Boom¡­ It was like Cayden had just receive divine enlightenment as he closed the manual and reread the name on the cover.

    "Igris''s¡­ Dominating¡­ Inner¡­ Obliteration¡­Technique¡­?"

    "I¡­D¡­I¡­O¡­T!? IDIOT!?? F*CK!" Cayden cursed out. "Motherf*cker, this is a bogus technique!"

    "Alf, you''ve all been training to be idiots!"

    "W-W-W-What did you say, Young Master?" Alf stuttered hard as he looked back at his young master. Did the bogus technique already affect him this much? He already destroyed his cultivation¡­ there was no way he could regain it¡­ Color drained from his face and the light in his eyes started to dim.

    "You don''t understand what I said?"

    Cayden was ticked when he thought Alf couldn''t understand his words.

    "You''ve been frying your brains into idiocy, understand!? These servants are all brain-dead!" Cayden roared as he pointed the monkey-like servants.

    "Huu¡­huu¡­ huuu!?"

    His finger pointing seem to signal one of them over as they tried to pounce on him.

    "F*ck off!"

    A vein popped out on his forehead as Cayden kicked the thing flying¡­ He wondered how he was going to salvage the situation.

 Chapter 86 - Visiting Father

    <h4>Chapter 86 - Visiting Father</h4>

    Lord Weld was weary from the long day. When he walked in on the chaos of his courtyard, he felt his head hurt and had the urge to walk away.

    "Grandfather." Cayden greeted.

    "What happened?" Lord Weld suppressed his frustrations and asked.

    The servants had gone beyond the point the monkey crazy stage and moved onto the self-mutting stage as they scratched themselves like rabid dogs. It was as if they were being roasted from the inside.

    A servant on the verge of copse, issued a painful roar as mes shot out from his 7 orifices, before dropping dead.

    "Not good. He is already toasted." Lord Weldmented with a sh of disappointment. He had high hopes in cultivating an army of super soldiers, but that hope was crushed before the first step could even be made.

    "This must a trap prepared by the Duke¡­"

    At the same time, somewhere in the outer pce, Duke Ignis suddenly received a sudden jolt to his mind and said, "Sigh¡­ sometimes I fear my own creation" as he looked up towards the sky.

    Without any surprises, the rest of the servants will also be dead sooner orter, if nothing was to be done. Since they were useless alive and better off dead, Lord Weld had other ns for their body.

    "Go inside, I will deal this."

    Lord Weld sent his grandson and the listless Alf into mansion, before redirecting his focus.

    Some timeter, Lord Weld was found underneath the Weld''s mansion in his secret chamber with mountains of bones filling half the area, while a horrendous and nauseous stench permeated the air.

    The pack of servants were brought into the underground chamber and dismembered. Screams and wails echoed throughout the chamber, but it fell on deaf''s ear.

    Lord Weld wore a sinister look as he drained every ounce of their blood into an empty blood pond, before he, himself entered the blood pond with a disgusted look.

    No matter how many times the process has been repeated, bathing in the blood of others was filthy. However, it was a necessary step to extend his life through his secret technique; the [Undying Blood Technique]. The blood essence containing the residual life force of the servants were gathered, before coagting into a blood pill.

    Lord Weld swallowed the blood pill and absorbed all the life force to prolong his life by an addition year.

    A momentter, Lord Weld exited the blood pond with disappointment. The name was grand, but the effect was not worth mentioning. The effect diminishes with each session.

    ¡­

    Inner Pce, King''s bedchamber.

    The king of Crawford Kingdom continues toy in vegetative state as he was hooked up to a set of advanced medical equipment far beyond what the people of Crawford Kingdom could produce or even remotely understand. All the advanced medical equipment what salvaged from an ancient ruin below the pce.

    There were many ancient texts alongside it, but since it was in an ancientnguage, none could understand its meaning or the usage of the medical equipments. Only through countless attempts of trial and error, were they able to fine its general usage.

    The medical equipment measured the king''s heartbeat and brain activity, while also providing nutrients to sustain the body.

    Thanks to the existence of such technology, the king was able to survive all these years while inatose.

    Leon stood outside the bedchamber with a pale but calm face. On his body was a fresh set of silken white-gold royal clothing with coiling dragon markings wrapping the Royal Crawford emblem. It was the most expensive set of clothing he had ever worn in his 17 years on Gaia.

    Originally, he should be recuperating, but he felt like the matter of king should not be dyed, thus he requested to see the king right after he finished washing up and changed into his new set of clothes. If he could help awaken the king, he should. The kingdom need their ruler.

    It was clear that his mother was not one with the heart to rule, but it was even more so for him, who have set his mind to pursuing the peak of cultivation to avenge histe father.

    He might not show it, but the desire for revenge is constantly raging fiercely deep inside his inner self. It was only brought under control after his dual personality achieved harmony and gave his mental state equilibrium between calmness and rage.

    But it was not foolproof. Like any human, outside factors can affect his emotions and when he bes anger, the scale is tipped as rage is leaked causing him to be even angrier than he should be like adding oil to fire.

    Leon breathed out some turbid air and adjusted his mentality. The person behind the door was his father of this world.

    "Are you ready to see your father?" Elizabeth asked, noticing his hesitation at the door.

    "Yes, mother." Leon answered calmly. His emotions shouldn''t be affected anymore than his meeting with his mother¡­ is what he thought.

    The moment he opened the door andid eyes on the king, his heart fiercely shook. The king shared the exact splitting image as his father from the Divine Realm!

    "Father!" Leon blurted out and rush over to his bedside. "Father, it''s me, your child is still alive!"

    Tears inadvertently started flowing on their own as he tried to shake the king''s body awake. Elizabeth was surprised by her son''s intense reaction.

    "Your father will not be able to hear you." Elizabeth said with sadness in her eyes. She had been by her husband''s side each day for 17 years, watching his sleeping face with hopes that one day, he would suddenly wake up.

    "You''re right, mother."

    Leon wiped his tears and stood up as he studied the king''s facial features. He had lost himself just now. He had forgotten that his father, the Divine Medicine King''s soul had dissipated into [True Death] and was gone for good¡­ but how can there be two exact people!?

    That is not possible! It was impossible for two different people to share the exact same look unless they were blood rted twins or used special disguising technique to alter their look.

    Thinking along such reasons, Leon''s hands move into action right away as he pulled and stretch the king''s sleeping face.

    "If your father could be woken up like that, he would have woken up long ago¡­"

    Elizabeth misunderstood his actions for pulling the king''s face, but it saved him from an exnations.

    "Err¡­ Your child was just checking¡­"

    There was no disguise mask. The king''s face could not be anymore real¡­ but that brings him to another question; in what universe could there be two people with the same natural look? Or better yet, where was he?

    Leon really wanted to breaking through the world''s atmosphere and start searching the stars to know where he was, but without reaching the Divine state, it was a pipe dream. He has yet to be able to fly, let alone survive the void in outer space. He can only suck it up and double his efforts in divine cultivation.

    Leon put his thoughts aside and reached for the king''s wrist to feel his pulse. The fancy medical equipment was ignored as he did not understand it was.

    "My child¡­ what are you doing?" Elizabeth was puzzled by her son''s strange action. It''s not that she had never seen such set of action on another person before, but her son is only 17 years. How skilled could his medical expertise be?

    "I''m feeling father''s pulse."

    Hearing son''s words confirmed her suspicion, but she adapted a wait and see as she wanted see how good her child''s medical expertise was. She already learnt about Leon''s strength and feats from Amelia. She found it hard to believe that he was also proficient in medicine.

    While it wasn''t an amazing feat for royalty to reach the 5th step at such young age, it was incredible outside the pce.

    Especially for Leon, who reached such level without backing and resources in such awless ce like the Lower District. Indeed, lions were the king of the jungle even if it was a cub. Her child was destined to rise above themoners without the help of others. She wondered if it was a blessing to have named him Leon.

    A momentter, Leon retracted his senses with a frown.

    "Can your father be treated?"

    "I haven''t thought of a way to awaken father just yet."

    His father''s body was in perfect condition, but his soul was damaged. A pill that could heal the soul is required.

    "Oh? There''s hope?" Elizabeth was surprised that the answer wasn''t a definite no.

    "Yes. I have to go back and think about it."

    Leon answered.

    He hadn''t recovered his memories for long but he already encountered two illness he couldn''t treated with his own skills. He felt useless as an ancient doctor hailing from the Divine Realm.

    But with the Book of Life in hand, any illness that can be treated with medicine is no illness at all¡­ It was time for him to study the medical knowledge stored in the Book of Life.

 Chapter 87 - Soul Mending Pill

    <h4>Chapter 87 - Soul Mending Pill</h4>

    Leon bid farewell and headed to the private room arranged for him as his mother stayed to apany his father.

    The room was simple and had a hint of both nostalgia and foreignness. One nce was enough to know that the room had not been in use for years, but it was regrly cared for.

    The room had all the essentials items; tables and chairs, cups, teapot, candles, wardrobe, couch, but most importantly a¡­ where''s the bed?

    Leon eyes glued nkly on the cot upon opening the door.

    "Your highness? Is the room not to your liking?-" The young pce maid apanying Leon stared inside and gawked at the cot. "I-I''m sorry, your highness, I will arrange a different room for you."

    "There''s no need. I like this room."

    Leon waved her off.

    "Y-Yes¡­ then please enjoy your rest, your highness."

    The pce maid bowed and retreated awkwardly.

    Leon entered the room and locked the doors after him. he understood why the room felt both foreign and nostalgic. The room belonged to him. However, it was destroyed in the rebellion, before it was rebuilt in the same arrangement.

    He didn''t mind not having a proper bed since he would not be sleeping anyway. Sleeping was a luxury he couldn''t afford and was a waste of time.

    Leon sat on the t wooden couch to in meditative posture and closed his eyes. He opened the Book of Life and sank his divine sense inside.

    The Book of Life brought his consciousness into an empty world with bright ster skies. His feetnded on a t white and pristine ground that seemed to stretch for eternity. The white world was inestimablyrger than the world space, but the knowledge he sought was nowhere to be found.

    "The Book of Life was said to have recorded all the medical knowledge the Universe has to offer¡­ but there''s nothing too be found here¡­"

    Just as Leon thought there was nothing, thousands of bookshelves suddenly rose from the original t white ground all around him and shot towards the skies like skyscrapers. Each bookshelf was densely packed with books and the number of books could easily reach into the tens of millions of hundreds of millions. Seriously, there was too many to count.

    "I stand corrected." Leon''s mouth twitched at the sight.

    "If these bookshelves were outside, any casual wind would enough to blow it over and rain books all over the capital¡­" Leon casually mused. He swore he never seen such towering bookshelves in his life.

    How is he supposed to browse the books near the top? Is he expected to climb the bookshelf? Why can''t the bookshelves be of standard height?

    The thousands of skyscraper bookshelves suddenly dropped back down until it became 2-meter bookshelves the moment the thought entered in his head.

    "Wow¡­ that''s very convenient. One thought to move the world. Interesting! I get it. The Book of Life is binded to my soul, making them one entity. This allows my thoughts to be easily sensed by the Book of Life and issued asmands to the world. That is to say¡­ my will is like the mandate of heaven in here."

    Leon felt his ego inted at the discovery and feeling of omnipotence. The bookshelves continue to rise and fall as he yed with the ability for a bit, before realizing its usage was limited and like an integrated search system. It''s not like he could summon the winds and rains at his whims.

    "Cough* I can''t let it get to my head¡­ Let''s see what good pill recipes there are."

    Leon coughed awkwardly. He made a casual grab at of the books in the bookshelf and gave it a quick scan.

    [18 Ways to Refine the Divine Star Opening Pill]?

    Leon shook his head and ced the book back. Even in his heyday, he had only reached the Divine Origin realm, the lowest of the Divine state, and an entire realm below the Divine Star Opening.

    In order to reach the Divine state, he must subsequently break through the 5 Mortal realms; Body Tempering, Energy Condensation, Revolving Core, Heaven Ascension and Void realm before reaching Divine state.

    For now, the Divine state was too far away from him. He needs to find a pill that could repair the king''s soul and awaken him quickly, so he could focus on his own cultivation.

    Thinking along the lines of soul-rted pills, all the bookshelves disappeared into the ground before new ones rose again. The number of new bookshelves were significantly less than before, but they still numbered in the hundreds.

    Leon mentally added; below tier 2 spirit pill and healing-rted soul pills only.

    The number of bookshelves disappeared into the ground once more before a single new one rose. However, a single bookshelf still holds hundreds of books.

    "To think there would still be this many books rted to tier-1 soul-healing pills¡­"

    Leon sighed at the vastness and profundity of alchemy knowledge. There were still so many books remaining after narrowing down his search. There was no end to learning.

    The pill recipes in the remaining books all produced the same effect. It just had a variation of core spirit herbs, supplementary herbs and methods of refining.

    Leon carefully picked out one of the thinner books; [9 Ways to Refine Tier-1 Soul Mending Pill].

    Leon was unable to estimate the time it would take to read all the books in the white world. 10,000 years might still be too short to read everything in the Book of Life. Just herbs and pill recipe books only were enough to drown him, and they only covered two topics. There were many topics rted to the art of healing such as; how to discern illnesses, how to treat illnesses and techniques for treating illnesses were just one of the many other topics recorded in the Book of Life.

    Even Leon himself does not dare to im he had mastered all the basics after seeing the vast amount of knowledge stored. There wasn''t enough lifespan in a human to read everything.

    How can heprehend the knowledge faster?

    Poof¡­ the [9 Ways to Refine Tier-1 Soul Mending Pill] book suddenly broke down into particles of light and disappeared into his head like a stream of information.

    It took only a single moment for Leon to digest all the information, before his eyes lit up with an excited glint. All the information in the book was able to be transmitted to his brain directly. He could recall the information with picture-clear rity. The heavenly treasure reacts to his thoughts so swiftly it almost seemed sentient.

    "How convenient! Maybe I should move the rest of the books while I''m at it."

    Just as Leon was about to follow through with what he said, he suddenly stopped and started sweating profusely.

    "That was a very dangerous thought¡­ There''s a limit to how much information the brain could take in at once¡­ wouldn''t I stuff myself to death if I try move everything at once?"

    "Luckily, I realized in time, otherwise I would have died a dog''s death."

    Leon shook his head. Like the old adage goes; don''t bite off more than you can chew.

    "Aish¡­ It''s like borrowing books from the library¡­"

    Leon picked out a few more soul-rted books until he felt his mind was loaded, before leaving to check on the world space.

    "Good. The life energy is slowly but surely returning. I can soon nt more herbs."

    Leon examined the state of the world space. It was recovering at a very slow rate. The spirit energy in the world was just too thin for the heavenly treasure to convert enough life energy, but Leon remained optimistic. At least his [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] did not require spirit energy to practice.

    Leon wager he was even able to practice the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] due to the thinness of spirit energy in the world. But even with such little spirit energy present, he still nearly failed. Although spirit energy was malleable, it didn''t belong to any of 5 element and most likely interfered with the fusion of 5 elements by breaking its bnce.

    Otherwise, he really couldn''t exin why he was the only one able to practice it. He had nothing special about himpared to the geniuses of the Divine Realm.

    ¡­

    Leon proceeded to check on his herbs. The Tier-1 Soul Mending Pill required Tier-1 spirit herbs for both supplementary and main ingredients. He happened to have all the supplementary herbs needed, but the most important ingredient; the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus was missing.

    Supplementary herbs could be substituted, but the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus could not and was irreceable. Without it, it was impossible to refine the Soul Mending Pill. It was the only herb with soul-healing properties. All other supplementary herbs are there toplement and enhance the soul-healing property.

    The 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus was a special mutated nt that only grows in cold and misty areas dense in yin energy. With such special conditions, Leon doubt the world space would be able to cultivate one on its own.

    Hopefully the royal treasury will have everything he needed.

 Chapter 88 - Insect World

    <h4>Chapter 88 - Insect World</h4>

    Leon felt that he had been at 5thyer tempered body for too long and it was time to push for the next level.

    The incident with the Deadeye spiders had forced him to use every ounce of his strength and allowed him to stabilize his level. It was apparent that doing battle was the fastest way to stabilizing one''s cultivation.

    *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

    When Leon''s consciousness exited the world space and his senses returned to the outside, he was startled by the furious banging on his doors. His mother''s emotional voice could be heard from outside.

    "My son open up! Why aren''t you answering? Do you not want your mother anymore?"

    Leon quickly scurried to his feet to open the locked doors.

    "Mother, why are you banging the door so furiously?"

    "I knocked several times, but you didn''t answer¡­ so I thought you didn''t want this mother anymore¡­*sniff*¡­" Elizabeth said as she wiped her teary eyes.

    Leon was dumbfounded. It didn''t have to be that exaggerated, does it? Didn''t his mother say she was going to apany his father?

    For the past 17 years, the queen would spend most of her days watching her husband''s sleeping face silently and absentmindedly.

    How long has it been since he left? half an hour? An hour? It wasn''t that long at all.

    "How could that be? I was in a state of deep cultivation and was unable to hear your knocking¡­ but weren''t you nning to watch over father , mother?" Leon asked with confusion.

    "Hahaha¡­ I''ve been staying with your old man for 17 years, but he never bothered to wake up to see me. Mother would rather spend more time with you." Elizabeth said.

    If the king heard his wife''s words, he would have felt so wronged and protested with "You think I want this!?" If he could wake up, he would.

    But even if the king were to awaken, his wife would still choose to spend her time with their son. Their son was more important than him!

    This was the tragedy of bing a father. Their position of importance in the hearts of their wives are reced by their child as they are pushed to second ce. All their love and care are poured into their child.

    "Right, Mother, I wish to visit the royal treasury. Is it possible?" Leon suddenly asked.

    "Of course, it is! Come, mother will take you there! You can take anything you fancy. Later, mother will also teach you cultivation, how does that sound?"

    Elizabeth said excitedly. She was more than happy to fulfill his wishes.

    Leon had no doubt that if he wanted the whole treasury, his mother might really give him everything.

    She neither asked him why he wanted to visit the treasury nor how he cultivated, despite probably having a mountain of questions to ask. Perhaps she would not take the initiative to ask as she did not want to impose on his secrets. She was being very considerate.

    There were things he couldn''t exin truthfully, but he wasn''t nning to conceal his knowledge and talents. His mother will learn about his alchemy skills eventually.

    Leon studied his mother''s face that did not conceal her love and care. He noticed a trace of guilt in her eyes wondered why.

    It suddenly hit him that she must be ridden with self-me for taking so long to find him.

    When Duke Agni rebelled and his mes engulfed the pce, many buildings were reduced to ashes.

    Elizabeth thought she had lost him to the fire, thus she never bothered to searching for him and shut herself inside the pce after removing all dissidents.

    He, who was still alive, grew up in a deteriorating environment under her negligence.

    However, it wasn''t all that bad. He had his foster parents, but who did his mother have? He was missing from her side, who she thought died in the fire and his father was ina. She was grieving for a whole 17 years.

    He thought the feels from the emotional reunion was over, but he was overwhelmed with emotion once more.

    "It''s been hard on you, mother." Leon sighed.

    Elizabeth found herself tearing up again.

    "No, not at all." Elizabeth wiped her budding tears and put on a brilliant smile. "All is well now that you are here."

    While following his mother to the treasury, there was some doubts he finally decided to voice.

    "Mother, there''s something I don''t understand. Why do we keep our powers hidden and not teach the people about awakener cultivation?"

    Leon thought the people should at least know how to awakener without pills.

    "That is something your Ancestor decided to enforce on his descendants. With the limit of resources, it was better to cultivate a small group of powerful awakeners than to have a whole flock of weak ones."

    Elizabeth answered patiently and allowed Leon time to muse over her words.

    "But even if we have a group of powerful awakeners, what good is for humanity if they hole up in the pce and not contribute to the frontier?"

    Leon found the Ancestor''s reason to be ridiculous. Wasn''t beast meat also a type of resource beneficial to awakeners? There were so many beasts beyond the walls, it was enough to support their entire race many times over. They could be reiming back thends they lost.

    "Do you know why the pce was built here of all ces and what lies underneath it?"

    Elizabeth chuckled at her son''s question and gave him a question of her own. He had the mentality of a hero, but the problem was much bigger than he thinks.

    "I don''t. Please enlighten me, mother." Leon was surprised by her question.

    "Beneath the pce is an ancient ruin, full of hidden treasures and lost technology still waiting to be uncovered and studied." Elizabeth exined before continuing with a serious expression, "However, it is also part of an underground world of swarming with insects. These creatures are weak, but their numbers are more terrifying than the beasts. If they ever escape to the surface, the consequences would be too dire to be imagined. The pce was built on top of the ancient ruin to seal off the entrance of underground world. The efforts to clearing out these vermins had never ceased, but their numbers never show sign of dwindling."

    Leon was dumfounded by the information his mother dumped on him. So, they have been battling on two fronts, but what about the demons? Were there no demons? The devouring parasites were also a type of insect. Could his guesses be wrong and that there were actually no demons rearing them?

    Elizabeth did not exin too much to her son and just the general summary.

    The underground world was immense and the deeper they venture, the stronger the insects found. The ancestors of the Crawford family have all ventured even deeper to explore the world, but they have never returned.

    They could just bury the entrance, but it would mean giving up all the treasures and rare resources found inside. The levitation stones in airships and medical equipment in hospitals were just some of the items they have gained from the ancient ruins. There were also sun stones that are used to power the medical equipment.

    "Don''t think too much. These aren''t things you need to worry about. Just let mother handle it." Elizabeth said.

    "Yes, mother."

    Humanity has too many problems they needed to face, and her son''s strength wasn''t strong enough to be involved. She would not allow any harm to befall him. He was her precious.

    After listening to his mother, Leon understood why it was wise to withhold this type of information from the people. It would only induce mass panic among the normalmoners and cause them to flee the capital, while an ill-intentioned earth-user could create a disaster by opening a new entrance to the underground world elsewhere.

    After some time, they arrived in front of a tall building guarded by two pce guards.

    "Your Majesty." They greeted with fist-palm salute and stepped aside.

    Elizabeth nodded to them coolly before producing a special key and inserted it into the keyhole on the thick iron door.

    *Click* Complex noises of machinery were produced before the thick iron door to the royal treasury building unlocked and opened automatically.

    The royal treasury had no windows and inside was total darkness. Leon was prepared to snap his fingers and produce some light, but his mother stopped him.

    "You don''t need to do that. Here, we have these, my son." Elizabeth picked a round stone and gave it a rub before continuing, "This is called a sun stone. It can absorb the sr energy from the sun to produce light. They are also the main power source for relics from the ancient ruins."

    The royal treasury building had three floors and different type of items could be found on each floor. On the first floor, the sun stone shone brightly in Elizabeth''s hand and illuminated brightly and allowed Leon to feast his eyes on all the items contained within.

    "Anything you like, my son?"

 Chapter 89 - Weapon Choice

    <h4>Chapter 89 - Weapon Choice</h4>

    Elizabeth wore a proud look and was brimming with energy as she started introducing the various types of metals to him. The room was littered with a range of both processed metals and raw ores. It was strange that there were no forged products like weapons and armor among these minerals. Leon wore a wry smile as he did not share her enthusiasm for metal. Herbs were the reason he came to the treasury.

    "Mother, is there any herbs in the treasury?"

    "Yes, all the herbs are stored on the second floor, but you should really listen to what your mother is saying. It''s important to learn about these alloys as it will be useful for your metal-maniption." Elizabeth educated her son. "With that said, look at this block of magisteel. Magisteel is a type of steel that has been fully tempered by essence energy and be energized. This greatly enhances its properties and have greater conductivity for our abilities."

    Elizabeth continue to introduce other types of special metal such as ck iron, pure silver, purple tungsten, gold essence, star meteorites and so on. Leon was forced to listen through his mother''s enthusiastic introduction as she did not give him the opportunity to speak up.

    It was no surprise that Elizabeth was able to awaken as a metal-user, despite hailing from a family of fire-user. She had such great passion for metal, and it was quite easy to judge as such, based on her appearance alone.

    Elizabeth''s body was decked out in metallic essories of various colors . From top to bottom, she wore a crown, a pendant, pair of earrings, armlets, bracelets, rings, leglets and numerous ankle bracelets. She was further equipped with light armor pieces such as arm guards and shin guards. She was basically glittering in

    Leon didn''t doubt that these essories worn by his mother served more purposes than just mere decoration from how she was describing the usage of metals.

    "Yes, yes mother, I understand¡­ then I will take some of these ck irons and magisteel¡­ but they still needed be crafted to be useful, no?" Leon wore a helpless expression. Although he wasn''t interested, he still listened to his mother''s words seriously.

    He was rather surprised that his mother mentioned metal-maniption. Although he believes he can achieve it in the future, but his mother shouldn''t know about it. Perhaps, his mother knew something else he didn''t that made her certain he could achieve metal-maniption.

    "Mm, what kind of weapons do you like? Mother will have someone forge it for you." Elizabeth nodded said excitedly.

    His mother''s fervor was like that of a salesperson about to make a sessful sale, except everything was free. But he knew better than to take more than what was needed. If he did not need it, there was no reason to take it.

    His status was no longer the same as before. He was now the prince of Crawford Kingdom. It would be no different to robbing his own house, if he were to take everything just for the sake of their high value.

    "Your child would like a set of 36 traditional acupuncture needles and¡­ a heavy spear." Leon decided on his weapon after much consideration.

    He did not specialized in any particr weapon. This could be seen from his past battles, where he fought with swords, but would eventually condense it into something else with his ability. However, there was one thing inmon from the times he had reshaped his weapon and that is they were longer weapons. Thus, he had deemed that a spear-type weapon would best choice for him.

    Indeed, a doctor would need acupuncture needles for treatment but¡­

    "You don''t want to use a sword like your mother? Swords are the kings of weapons. Mother would also be able to teach you the way of the sword." Elizabeth tried to change his choice of weapon.

    "The sword does not suit me, mother. I wish to find one that does, and I feel that the spear is the one." Leon shook his head. He had decided firmly on the spear.

    He had used swords as his main weapon back in his past life, but it never did felt like the right weapon for him. Rather than forcing himself to use a weapon that didn''t suit him, it was time to find one that did.

    "That''s fine. Swords are the king of weapons, but spears are the emperor of weapons. Since you have decided, mother will not continue to dissuade you. But with this type of weapon, mother will not be able to teach you anything. You will have to master the way of the spear on your own" Elizabeth said sternly, but there was no disappointment in her eyes.

    She could see the budding warrior spirit in her son''s eyes and a firm conviction to be strong. People with these traits will likely seed if they remain unwavering and no mishaps befall them.

    Elizabeth summoned her maid, Celia and instructed her to bring the materials to the best cksmith in the kingdom and have him forge the needles and heavy spear for Leon. As the matters on the first floor concluded, Leon heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Can we head up to the second floor now, mother?" He asked.

    "Hahaha¡­ my son is so impatient. Alright, let''s head up." Elizabeth smiled. She was also curious to see what her son will do with all the herbs.

    Leon would naturally be impatient. There was no way he could keep still after seeing the king''s face. Although he knew it was impossible for histe father to have transmigrated with him, he still held onto this faint glimmer of hope that his father from both past and present life were one and the same. Thus, he wished to awaken the king as soon as possible to find his answer.

    ¡­

    Before the cataclysm struck and brought forward an era of awakeners, there was no cultivation and people relied on honing skills with their weapon to be powerful. The mostmonly use weapon was the sword, which they worshipped as the king of weapons due to its versatility. Even to the present era that allowed for awakening cultivation, awakeners continue to hone their sword by incorporating their abilities into their sword arts.

    The world became increasing sophisticated in sword arts and techniques, but as for the development of awakening cultivation, not so much. This was like putting the cart before the horse, but it is what it is.

    To begin with, awakening cultivation techniques weren''t something easy to develop when awakening was something still new to the people and with all the awakeners keeping their techniques secret, it slows it will take thousands of years before the era of awakeners experience a boom.

    ¡­

    Leon was surprised when he entered the second floor. With how messy the first floor was, he assumed the second floor would be no better. Contrary to his expectations, the second floor was very neat and organized. The herbs were all stored in drawers and cabs, while the rarer and most precious ones were sealed in special rosewood and jade boxes.

    The entire floor was filled with a heavy herbal fragrance that induces temporary dizziness in those unfamiliar with the smell of herbs and medicine. Elizabeth with her high cultivation and heighten senses, was particrly sensitivity to the smell when she first entered this floor in the past. Even now, the heavy herbal fragrance made her feel ufortable as her brows creased unnaturally. ncing at her son, she was surprised that he was able to retain hisposure, while he was examining the ce.

    Even though his senses weren''t as sharp as her, it should still cause him some difort, right? Elizabeth thought but Leon gave her a greater sense of surprise in the next moment. Not only was Leon not fazed by the fragrance, he even took a big whiff of it!

    Leon''s eyes were closed as he took in the different herbal fragrances intermixed with each other in the air. A capable doctor or alchemist could easily rely on their sense of smell alone to discern the herbs, so much so that people began to refer to it as god''s nose back in the Divine Realm. But of course, there are also others that call it dog''s nose.

    Leon''s eyes snapped open with pleasant surprise after discerning all the herbal fragrance flooding the ce. He didn''t expect for there to be spirit herbs present. Normally, if a harvested spirit herb wasn''t preserved well, their spirit energy would dissipate, losing all their magical properties and be reduced to ordinary herbs.

    Unexpectedly, the royal family knew how to preserve spirit herbs well. He should stop looking down on the mortal world just because he hailed from the Divine Realm.

    These spirit herbs were filled with spirit energy and would naturally boost a divine practitioner''s cultivation if it were absorbed, but unfortunately he was no longer practicing the [Fiery God Manual] that require spirit energy but the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] that required energy of the 5 elements instead.

    "Howe you aren''t bothered by the herbal fragrance, my son?" Elizabeth asked curiously. She was puzzled by hisck of difort towards the heavy smell.

    Even if he was a self-proimed doctor, he shouldn''t have had the opportunity to be in contact with so many herbs before, right?

    "I''m also an alchemist, mother. I am no stranger to the plethora of herbs."

    Leon answered, but his answer only made Elizabeth even more puzzled.

 Chapter 90 - Browsing Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 90 - Browsing Techniques</h4>

    Alchemy, medicine and cultivation, any of these three topics were profound and would require much practice to be proficient. Talent could only take a person so far and hard work decides one''s sess. One can argue that medicine was a branch of alchemy, but even then, it would take a considerable amount of time and practice, and for Leon to achieve all three at his age, he had to be some monstrous genius.

    It was incredible feat for Leon to achieve proficiency in his professions and not fall behind on his cultivation at such young age without the support of the royal family. Those that have investigated his background and history, all found that he had led a very ordinary life up until recent days.

    There was no inclination that pointed towards him having met a master, but Elizabeth was inclined to believe that someone must have taught him everything and that Leon had hidden himself deeply up until this point. From what she understood, her son was adept at stealthy and assassination skills, while being a fire-user to boot. Additionally, a person with great understanding in medicine, would also have great understanding in poison.

    There was no reason for someone to teach her son such dubious skills just because they valued his talents alone. It was a terrifying thought if the other party had known her son''s identity and taught him these skills with ulterior motives.

    Were there remnants of Duke Agni''s anti-royal faction? Did they take her son from her 17 years ago to cultivated him in the way of the assassin to kill her? Indeed, they would likely seed as she would never expect her son to harm her. But she had seen Leon''s genuine emotions that there was no sign of brainwashing. Perhaps they failed their brainwashing, or her worries were simply unfounded. However, her suspicions were still raised.

    Who did her son acquired his skills from? Who had the most contact with her son in thest 17 years and could easily influence him the most? His foster parents? Elizabeth believed this was a matter worth looking into and nned to carry out a secret investigation.

    Moving back to present time, having been told by her son that he was an alchemist, she gave her son the benefit of the doubt and took it at face value. A lightbulb lit up her mind as she did.

    "Alchemist you say¡­ Mother understand. You came seeking herbs from the treasury because you found a way to cure your father''s vegetative state, right?" Elizabeth said emotionally. Her previous thoughts were pushed back and hidden deeply. Leon was unable to read anything from her expression.

    "Yes, mother. Hopefully the herb I am looking for is here, otherwise it might be troublesome to find." Leon heaved a sigh of relief.

    He had prepared an excuse, expecting his mother to question the origin of his abilities, but she was more epting of his words. He was unaware that his reveal had brought untoward attention to his foster parents.

    "That''s great news! Quickly go see if the herb you need is here." Elizabeth hurried her son. Finally, there was hope of waking up that Old fool!

    Leon nodded and quickly started searching through the jade boxes. His earlier sniff had discern all the herbal fragrance in the air, but it didn''t mean he had discerned all the herbs stored in the second floor. The spirit herbs he detected, came form rosewood boxes that wasn''t sealed wlessly and allowed its fragrance and spirit energy to seep away through the tiniest of cracks. Given time, the spirit herb would be reduced to normal herbs if nothing was done.

    "Mother, can I take these spirit herbs? It would be waste to let it collect dust here." Leon started exining to his mother about the herb''s spirit energy dissipation.

    "My son, whatever you like, you can take. Everything here belongs to you."

    "Thank you, mother."

    Leon began sorting out the herbs. Those he was taking, he ced them all to one side and left the others. He arrived at the wlessly sealed jade boxes and sank his divine sense inside to discern the herbs. These were the spirit herbs that he could not discern with his smell due to the absence of the herbal fragrance.

    Inside the jade boxes were some more exotic spirit herbs that did not belong to the ordinary category as they carried at least one or more type of energy other than spirit energy. There was the Heart zed Lotus, Golden Ganoderma, Misty Petal Flower, Spirit Cleansing Grass, Rupturing Drystone Flower and several other spirit herbs of simr traits. In addition to spirit energy, they also possess energy of the 5 elements present in the spirit herbs.

    Leon was first pleasantly surprised at the unexpected finding, before disappointment seeped in. These herbs might be able to aid his cultivation, but his original purpose, the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus needed to concoct the Tier-1 Soul Mending Pill wasn''t among these spirit herbs.

    "What''s wrong, my son?"

    "The main herb needed for father''s pill is missing." Leon said with a frown.

    If the spirit herbs couldn''t be found in the royal treasury, which gathered the best items within the kingdom, it would only harder to find elsewhere.

    "Why don''t describe the herb and mother will see if there is a ce where we could find it."

    "Yes, mother." Leon nodded and began describing the special spirit herb to his mother.

    The 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus was a purple-white flower with biting-cold stem and able to freeze anything that touch its frosty petals. It had a special condition for growth and not many ces in the kingdom could satisfy it. However, Elizabeth was immediately able to think one such ce.

    "A cold misty region and covered in dense yin energy?" Elizabeth rubbed her chin in thought and said, "The Extreme Misty Forest seems to meet this requirement. However, it is a bizarre ce, filled with unknown dangers. You leave this matter to mother to handle. The Merchant Association would definitely send people to look for it, if mother offer a sky-high reward."

    Leon listened quietly to his mother''s proper arrangements as everything was slowly taken care of, including but not limited to; ordering pce maids to carry the selected herbs out and send it to his room.

    Elizabeth had made sound judgements. Indeed, there was no need for him to set out to look for the herb personally. If the job could be delegated to others, he should allow for it. His only concern, however, was whether the people sent toplete the task would bepetent enough not to damage the herb, when it is found and harvested.

    "Well that settles the matter. Are you done looking or would you like to check out the third floor, my son?"

    Leon was ready to head out when he paused at his mother''s question. He was too eager to return to his private living quarters and begin his pill concoction that he forgot about the third floor.

    "What is on the third floor, mother?" Leon asked.

    "Cultivation techniques and sword arts."

    Elizabeth said with a curious smile. Her eyes trained on her son and wondered how he would react to the news. There was a martial art depository outside, but only the high-end techniques and arts were kept inside the treasury. Of course, this did not include the Crawford''s Transcendent-grade technique; the [Great Sky Refining Art].

    Hearing there were cultivation techniques, Leon was naturally interested in looking. As for sword arts, he paid no heed to it. Since he was nning to train in the spear, the sword arts had no use for him except for reference and inspiration.

    "I would like to take a look, mother." Leon said with simple curiosity. There was no greed in his eyes. He did not covet the Transcendent-grade technique. No matter how strong a Transcendent was, could it be stronger than the Divine State? Leon chose to dual cultivate awakening and divine cultivation because awakening cultivation could assist him inprehending the Laws early to further his practice in the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos]. Thus, divine cultivation was still his core focus and awakening cultivation was only supplementary.

    "Alright, let''s go." Elizabeth smiled with content. She was pleased that her son wasn''t a greedy person. Most nobles would go mad even if it was just a chance to glimpse at a high-grade cultivation technique.

    ¡­

    Couple of hourster,

    Leon was still on the third floor as he was reading the high-grade cultivation techniques. By now, he grasped a clear understanding of awakening cultivation techniques and his mother had long left to tend to some matters. The reason he was interested in looking at the cultivation technique was because he wanted topare awakening cultivation to divine cultivation.

    Much to his surprise, there were many simrities between the starting point of both cultivations system. Both required gathering energy to form an energy center, except one was in the be and the other was in the soul. The difference between physical and spiritual was what made the two fundamentally two different cultivation system.

    Divine practitioners focus on establishing their own inner universe and draw power from within, while awakeners draw power from the existing outer universe.

 Chapter 91 - The Beasts Have Come To Harass!

    <h4>Chapter 91 - The Beasts Have Come To Harass!</h4>

    With the corrupt noble families entering a period of silence, the matters of the capital have calmed somwwhat. However, at the western frontier, the soldiers were facing a big problem with the beasts.

    "Arghh¡­ dammit! What do these beasts want from us!? If they want to fight, then let''s fight! Why are they only taunting us from afar? What purpose are they trying to aplish by harassing us like so?" A soldier on duty hollered out his pent-up frustration to the wind.

    Over thest several days, the beast''s movements had been very unpredictable and attacked the Great Wall at least once a day. There was no consistency and their attacks came at irregr intervals with the shortest being 6 hours apart.

    The storm was not kind to them as the rain rendered their firearms useless. Firearms required the use of ck powder in order to work, and ck powder was made from saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. Of the three ingredients, saltpeter was water-soluble, thus how the rain rendered them useless.

    The only good news was the beasts had was weary of their firearms since the first confrontation. They did not know of their ck powder problem and only taunted the soldiers from afar.

    "Haih, I would like to know too, Jerry¡­but whatever the case is, I''m just d this damn storm is subsiding." Harry sighed as he lit a cigarette and took a big puff.

    "Huh¡­oi, oi, where did you get that ciggy? Pass me one."

    "Sorry, it''s myst one." Harry said and exhaled a cloud of white smoke along with his pent-up stress and anxiety, allowing him to enter a realm of rxation.

    Although there was a shift rotation for watch duty, no one would be able sleep with a peace of mind when the beasts are harassing them so often and setting of rms. With how fierce and fast these new generation beasts could scale their walls; everyone developed a natural fear of losing the wall if they were too slow to rush into position once the rm rang. The soldiers were all red-eyed and always on tenterhooks as a result.

    "Tch, you''re not a real brother, Harry." Jerry grunted.

    "You can have one of mine, Jerry." Another soldier on watch duty offered.

    "H-how did you also get your hands on ciggies¡­? No¡­ never mind. Thank you, Tim." Jerry thanked before turning back to Harry and said, " You see this? This is a real brother."

    Although Jerry wondered how they could smuggle the cigarettes pass the checkpoint, he decided not to think into the matter too much. He wasn''t much of a thinker and more of a doer, otherwise he would have chosen to join the military. He ced the ciggy in his mouth and nced over into the distance as he prepared to light his ciggy when his expression froze, and the ciggy dropped out of his mouth.

    "Quick, sound the rms! The beasts are back to harass us!" Jerry hollered at his fellow brothers-in-arms. There hadn''t been any direct confrontation with the beasts in thest several encounters, but just the sighting of them was enough to rm anyone. If they let their guard down, who could they me if their wall was overrun?

    From the direction of the Wilnds, the shadow figures of many beasts came into view once more. Their numbers were appeared to be in the ten thousand, about fivefold the previous numbers, but what was concerning, wasn''t their numbers.

    Behind the shadow figures of ten thousand beasts, a fainter figure was seen and to say the least, was a 20-meter tall colossal figure, towering over the others. The sighting of a such a colossal beast rmed even the general marquis.

    Within 5 minutes, the wall was lined up with troops at the ready. The General Marquis wore a heavy expression. In the end, the beasts still chose to attack the Great Wall and not the southern wall. He had erred in his judgement.

    Why in Gaia did he give away an airship? Hendrick Graham was feeling regretful, but unfortunately there was no medicine for regret. He shook his head and refocus on the threat in the distance.

    The beasts did not charge towards the wall like a mad disorderly mob, instead they were marching orderly and rhythmically like a well-disciplined army would. Their shadowy figures gradually became clear as they drew closer.

    Many gasps of surprise were made on the wall and even the general marquis himself widened his eyes in rm. The vanguard had mimicked human means and were equipped with heavy armor to counter their firearms!

    "Prepare the cannons! We can''t let those armored beasts get closer!" Hendrick Graham roared out hismand.

    "General, none of the cannons may work! Please give us another order!" A high-ranking soldier immediately advised him.

    "If it doesn''t work then you better make it work! Otherwise you all better prepare yourselves to be part of the next bloody war!"

    "Y-Yes, General!"

    Indeed! If their firearms and cannons don''t work, then they must pit themselves against these physically powerful beasts with their melee weapons and abilities! There was no other way! The soldiers quickly got to work, moving and angling the cannons. Damp wooden crates of cannonballs were unsealed to load the cannons and the cannons were soon ready to fire!

    "Fire!"

    Hendrick did not wait for the beasts to make the first move. Perhaps the results could be disastrous if they don''t take the initiative. The soldiers quickly lit the fuse and fired the cannons at hismand.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Not every cannon went off sessfully, but the ones that did were deafening, with fumes trailing out of theirrge muzzles. In the distance, the vanguards of the beasts were hit and exploded. Broken pieces of searing flesh, metal and soil sted in all directions with clouds of ck smoke rising to the skies. Hendrick watch the scene with a frown. The result was far from satisfactory!

    "Reload and fire at will!"

    Boom! Boom!

    The second round of bombardment initiated, but the results were far from the same!

    The colossal figure in the back shed forward and deflected all the cannonballs with its tail¡­ or rather tails! Its actions werepleted effortlessly like mere child''s y and the cannonballs were flung back into various ces.

    "Watch out!"

    BOOM!!! The cannonballs smashed into the vicinity of the soldiers and exploded. Chaos was ensured as the soldiers were brought into a state of confusion and panic.

    "Ugh¡­Is everyone alright!?

    "Ow¡­ my back¡­I''m getting old¡­but I should be okay¡­"

    "Some minor burns but everyone seems to be okay¡­wait¡­where''s Jerry? Where did Jerry go?"

    "J-J-Jerry w-went¡­"

    "Jerry went where?"

    "Jerry went everywhere!" The soldier with a bloodstained face, screamed with madness.

    "¡­"

    "email protected$&#%!"

    The soldier took a moment before registering what everywhere meant and started cursing. Theirrade was blown apart.

    ¡­

    The majestic figure of a silver wolf with 6 tails became clear for all to see as it held its head up proudly.

    "Humans! Throw away your toys ande down to face my subjects squarely!"

    The soldiers gasped in disbelief.

    "It talks! The wolf can talk!"

    "What the hell!? Unbelievable!"

    "How can a wolf be that big?!"

    The soldiers threw remarks one after another as the wall became noisy with unruly behaviors, unbefitting of disciplined soldiers. but it was to be expected. A talking beast was unheard of in the history of their race, and in their nativenguage no less!

    "Silence!!"

    Hendrickmanded silence from the soldiers with his powerful voice that even the majestic silver wolf could hear. The wall instantly became pin-drop silent as no one dared to slight the general marquis.

    "What gall! How dare you silence this King! If not for the agreement with the other tribes, this King would have already tten your wall and wreak havoc on yournds for your insolence!" The 6-tailed silver wolf barked like thunder.

    Hendrick Graham felt his head hurt, not by sound waves, but by the misunderstanding. How were they going to tide over this disaster? He had some self-awareness and knew he, who was a 9th step awakener wasn''t an opponent for this unknown silver wolf with 6 tails. They had only ever known of the iron-tailed silver wolves, which had 3 tails at most.

    ''Transcendent! It must have evolved and gain a fleshly bodyparable to transcendents in strength!'' Hendrick Graham concluded.

    "Your Excellency, my words were not meant for you!"

    "Hmph! Are you saying this King was mistaken!?"

    "I¡­"

    Hendrick Graham''s words were caught in his throats. This silver wolf was too difficult to deal with! It was like it is purposely picking a fight with them.

    Wait¡­

    The previous remarks of the wolf entered his thoughts; Other tribes¡­and agreement. If he is not wrong, the beasts were divided into many tribes and they havee to an agreement to leave the human domain alone. If that was the case, then there was nothing to fear if they do not step into the Wilnds.

    "There''s no need to provoke us, Your Excellency! We are naturally not your match and will not fight your people directly!" Hendrick Graham said firmly. His stance was clear. They would only suffer unnecessary losses in a direct sh.

    "Hmph! You''re right! You humans are too weak to temper my subjects! Stay out of my territory or we wille again!"

    Seeing that the humans were too cowardly toe down and fight them directly, the silver wolf was prepared to leave, but not without issuing a strict warning. Prior to subsequent attack after the first, the other beast''s tribe leaders had warned it to not invade the human domain.

    Being one of the weaker tribes, it had no choice but toply. However, it was feeling unreconciled since the humans kept pestering its territory. Thus, it started harassing the humans without entering the human domain. The other tribes would have nothing to say against that.

    "Awoooo!"

    The silver wolf howled, and the beast army started to leave.

    "Haih¡­"

    Watching the retreating beast army, the general marquis heaved a sigh of relief. For reasons unknown, humanity was spared, allowing humanity to finally have some breathing space¡­ However, any ns to reim the Wilnds had to be nipped in the bud. The beasts were too strong for humanity!

 Chapter 92 - Old Mans Advent

    <h4>Chapter 92 - Old Man''s Advent</h4>

    The bustling streets of the Upper District was filled with crowds of people busying about with their activities. The bustle of the Upper District did not die down when nightfall arrives and only grows even more boisterous as the district lights are lit and the night came to life. It had a quality of liveliness and energy that the Lower District no longer had.

    Shadow Guards were always one to observer the Capital from the shadows like an outsider and was never mixed with the hustle bustle of the Capital. This was the first time Kasif had walked down the road of the Upper Districts. The Old man was hit with a strange and out-of-ce feeling like he did not belong here.

    *BEEP* *BEEP*

    "Move it, Old man! Do you want to die!? Get off the road!"

    An angry young driver roared at him, while pressing the horns furiously. There''s a footpath for people to walk on, who the hell walks down the middle of the road?

    The old man gave the driver a brief nce before continuing his way, unaffected by the angry young driver''s cursing like as if he had just listened to the barking of an ant. Regr people were below his notice. With his fleshly body strength of 5400-jin, he could swat the driver and his vehicle flying, but the queen had ordered him not to harm people when interacting with them, so he would not do that.

    ''This also counts as an interaction, right? There is contact and no harm. I guess that makes it my 4th interaction.'' The Old man mulled over. He was ordered to interact without harm. The queen did not order him to converse with the people specifically, so he couldn''t be bothered to talk. Maybe the person would leave him alone after a while.

    "Oi, Oi! Are you deaf, Old man!? What is your problem!? Move it!!"

    The angry young driver continued honking furiously with veins popping on his forehead. It was a busy road and he couldn''t just drive around the old man. This area was considered wealthy even among the Upper District and everyone who was normally seen along this road weren''t your average hillbilly.

    The road was called the Aurelia Mountain Road. The name does not imply that it was a road on a mountain in the literal sense, but a mountain of gold exists on this road. Aurelia Mountain Road was lined up with all the kingdom''s most extravagant and finest restaurants, stores, entertainments and was the bustiest area in the entire kingdom.

    This was a ce where the rich and powerful aristocrats and nobles, who had too much money on their hand to spend gathers. One would note to Aurelia Mountain Road if they were not prepared to spend a fortune. Generally, it was a ce for the adults, but it was more popr among the young masters and young nobles as they usually like to swagger off their family''s wealth in front of others.

    There was one ce that recently opened on Aurelia Mountain Road that had be a new attraction for the young masters and young nobles toe and y. The ce was called Mystery Stone Fortune, a stone gambling store with a range of small torge stones with fixed prices for customers to buy. Within these stones were a chance of finding rare metal minerals and allow people to earn great fortune in a single step.

    With the sky-high value of metal, it easily became a great attraction among the wealthy spenders with one simple thought. If they could earn more money from spending, then why not? However not everyone can be lucky, as most of the stones are a bust with no mineral inside. Otherwise, it would not be considered gambling and the owner of Mystery Stone Fortune would be making a loss.

    There was no open market for metal anywhere else in Crawford Kingdom and Mystery Stone Fortune was the only ce they could acquire metal apart from the ck market, albeit in small amounts or maybe none at all. Mystery Stone Fortune was a legitimate business and the stones they sell did note from the kingdom but transported from the neighboring kingdoms.

    The angry young driver was the eldest son of the Tucker Family and was one of the biggest customers of Mystery Stone Fortune. Extravagant young nobles in the Mystery Stone Fortune were all known as Whales and he was the Whale among Whales. He was just on his way to splurge more his family''s wealth, when he had bump into this stupid Old man blocking the road.

    "Since you want to y deaf then don''t me me for being heartless, Old man!" Royce Tucker stepped on the pedal and the car elerated towards the Old man.

    By now, their scene had attracted quite a big crowd. Some where curious, while others were simply annoyed by all the honking. These people all saw the car racing towards the Old man, and all had mix feelings. There was concern, goading and pity.

    "Watch out, Old man!"

    BAM!

    The car smashed into the Old man, but he was unharmed as ayer of earth appeared before him and halted the vehicle. The car on the other hand had a big dent and the driver suffered a head injury after the car came to an abrupt stop like he had just smashed into a mountain.

    "Hey, isn''t that the Mystery Stone Fortune''s Whale among Whales, Royce Tucker?"

    "is he alright?"

    Kasif had always live in the shadows and never in the spotlight. The unexpected attention drawn to him was a fresh experience, but not a bad feeling. He enjoyed the concern some of the crowd was showering him until it was shifted towards the driver suffering a concussion.

    "You guys all saw it. I didn''t hit him, he hit me." Kasif said.

    ''He hit you, but the one injured was him.'' They thought.

    A figured suddenly dashed over to the car and pulled the driver out.

    "Young master, are you alright?" The figure asked.

    "I''m okay, Seymour. Go get that Old bastard for me." Royce gnashed his teeth as he tried to shake away the concussion.

    Seymour was a servant of the Tucker family, but unlike any other servants of any other noble families, he was already at the 7th step, a strength on par with the marquises.

    "Who might you be, your Excellency? Why do you block the road and hurt my young master?" Seymour asked humbly.

    "It doesn''t matter who I am. You only need to know that your young master brought it upon himself. I was just minding my own business when he started harassing me."

    A corner of Seymour''s face twitched, but he remained humble and continued, "There''s a footpath on the side, why must you insist on walking on the road?"

    "Hah¡­? Is that the problem? The footpath is so crowded, yet this path is so spacious. Why shouldn''t I use it since it''s so open? You ask some strange questions." Kasif scoffed with a disdainful look like he was looking at an idiot.

    ''The strange one is you! The Old man is a troublemaker!'' everyone thought in their minds. Whatever concern they had, disappeared with the wind.

    Seymour''s expression darkened. He thought the other person was clearly looking for trouble.

    "What are you wasting your saliva for, Seymour? He is clearly a troublemaker! Beat him up for me!" Royce screeched, but remembering his servant''s humble manner, he suddenly asks the Old man, "What''s your cultivation, Old bastard?"

    "This Old man is a 5-star awakener." Kasif said with a deep voice.

    "5-star? You mean 5th step, right? You don''t even know such a simple term? Pft, just a nonentity. Already so old, but only so-so in cultivation. Fuck him up, Seymour!" Roycemanded. He derided the Old man, but the Old man was still stronger than him, who was at the 3rd step. He could only rely on his servant to get justice for him.

    Seymour put down his reservation and charged at the Old man, whom had clearly been itching for a beating!

    Kasif have been very passive. He wasn''t trying to cause trouble, but trouble came looking for him. Why were these people so angry? While he was in a confused state, his body reflectively swatted the Seymour''s charging figure with a loud pping sound and the figure disappeared

    CRASH** Seymour smashed into building and was knocked out cold.

    The loud pping sound brought the Old man out of his deep thoughts as he looked at his hand then felt his own cheeks with a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.

    "Don''te closer!"

    Royce retreated in fear and tripped when the Old man nced at him. How was this a 5th step? This was an Old monster. His 7th step servant was KOed in one blow.

    "Ah¡­ now I''ve done it. I''ve hit someone." Kasif thought. The Queen is not going to be happy with him, but was everything really his fault? He didn''t understand.

    ¡­

    A group of neers arrived at the scene and started shouting angrily.

    "That the Old man! Get him! He hasn''t paid after eating!"

    Kasif was suddenly startled. Weren''t these people the ones from that restaurant he dined in not long ago? Why are theying after him!?

    "What bullsh*t are you spouting? I already paid for the food!"

    "Your billes to a total of 321,000 craws. You only paid us 10,000 craws! You still owe use 311,000 craws!"

    "PII! No food costs that much! I was generous enough to pay 10,000 craws! Don''t push this Old man too far!" Kasif spat. These damn people are trying to rip him off!

    The restaurant staffs almost fainted from anger. This Old man is so shameless to eat all their best dishes and refuse to pay the stipted amount! Did he treat them like idiots? The menu has the pricing. There''s no way he didn''t know!

    "Here at Aurelia Mountain, they do!" They said, while gnashing their teeth, with tumultuous waves going off in their heart.

    Kasif widened his eyes with anger, shock and surprise all in one expression. 50 years ago, before he joined the shadow guards and cut off from the ordinary life, the most expensive meal he ever had only cost him 5,000 craws! The world has surely gone mad!

    Kasif did a powerful leap and disappeared into the skies.

    "He ran again! Find him!!"

    ¡­

    At the top of a high building, Kasif scratched his head as he nced down at the hustle bustle of the streets with mixed feelings. He had powerful eyesight and could see far and wide, but his hearing wasn''t that great and wouldn''t know how people normally talk all these years and his shadow guards never once disobey his order, so doesn''t know how to deal with other''s refusal and opinions.

    It seems he had been detached from the world for too long and was far behind the times¡­ He was good at his job, but he had forgotten how to be a normal person andckedmon sense.

 Chapter 93 - Pill Forging

    <h4>Chapter 93 - Pill Forging</h4>

    Over thest couple of days, Leon had never left the inner pce. He had been stuffing himself with beast meat provided by the royal pce, while cultivating and managed to advance to peak 6thyer. With each advancement in his cultivation, the energy required to break through to the next level would only increase exponentially.

    He was cultivating a technique that required five types of energy to begin with. Each strand of pseudo-Grandmist energy produced, required five strands of energy of the five elements, meaning he needed fivefold the amount of energy normally required to advance his cultivation.

    With the 7thyer being a bottleneck, he needed an evenrge amount of energy to break through the bottleneck. The energy from the beast meat wasn''t enough to give him the strong push he needed, and it was even more so for the energy from heaven and earth. The rate of gathering energy from the world was too slow without a special body constitution designed for it or an energy gathering array.

    Unfortunately, he had neither a special energy gathering body constitution nor was he an array master, who could set up an energy gathering array. He also did not want to go through the slow process of whittling down the wall to the 7thyer. He wasn''t afraid of hard work, but time and energy weren''t something he had plenty to spare. He can only look for an alternative solution to speed up his cultivation.

    "It seems that I still have to rely on pills in the end. However, the Book of Life did not record any knowledge of 5-element pills." Leon mused with a frown.

    "Haih¡­ the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] was described to be an unparalleled technique aimed to recreate the most primordial energy that formed the universe. I am the first to walk this path as none had been sessful before me."

    "There is no doubt that the Being who created the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] was a peerless figure of his time with great ambition and aspiration. It is too bad that I only have the iplete version¡­ or perhaps the technique was neverpleted to begin with¡­"

    "Whatever the case is, the iplete technique is enough to reach the Divine King realm. It''s not something I need to worry about at present, but one thing is clear. If I want to walk far on the road of cultivation, I cannot conform to the normal standards and must forge my own path ahead."

    "Techniques weren''t born from nothing. They were created by the people. If others could do it, why can''t I? The framework has already beenid for me. I just need to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle."

    "Since there is no 5-element pill, I will create one. Let that be the first step to forging a path that I can truly call my own and not one that has been treaded by others."

    Leon had briefly searched the Book of Life and no 5-element pills were recorded. There were only single-element pills like fire enhancing pill, water enhancing pill, earth enhancing pill, etc.

    "I only have one set of 5-element spirit herbs. I can''t expect to seed on the first try. I should divide the herbs into 10 portions and give myself more chances to work with."

    The herbs were already inside his room. They were brought there by the pce maids since he didn''t have any chances to bring them into his world space since his mother around at the time. The Book of Life was his most guarded secret and he would not let anyone know about. Not even his closest kin.

    He might have been a self-indulgent and profligate young master living under the halo of his father in his past life and was ignorant of many things. But he was at least aware that even one''s closest kin could betray each other, should the incentive be great enough to invoke their vices and blind their morals. He had seen it happen too many times among the mortals.

    Leon unsealed the jade boxes and took out the spirit herbs. They were exactly the Heart zed Lotus, Golden Ganoderma, Misty Petal Flower, Spirit Cleansing Grass and Rupturing Drystone Flower. As for the rosewood boxes with the other spirit herbs, he stowed them in the world space forter use. The life energy of the world space should halt its leakage.

    Leon cleared the table andid out the 5 special spirit herbs on it, before dividing each one into 10 equal pieces. He stowed away 9 portions, leaving behind one portion before whipping out his pill cauldron.

    He quickly got to work and preheated the pill cauldron with one hand, while burning the spirit herb portion with the other, leaving only the purest form of liquid medicinal essences behind. Normally, Leon would focus on one task at a time, but ever since he awakened his memories, he had the feeling he was able to multitask two things at once.

    The five liquid medicinal essences swam in his mes separately as he could not allow any of them to touch each other before the fusion. There was bound to be shes and he would immediately fail his attempt if that happens.

    "This is it. Here goes nothing." Leon thought.

    The five liquid medicinal essence was tossed into the pill cauldron simultaneous as he controlled his mes and forced the 5 to merge. A violent reaction was immediately detected the moment the 5 contacted each other as they refused to bond.

    Leon increased his strength and forcefully brought the 5 medicinal essence closer together, but the more he tried to force it, the more violently they reacted. Leon felt himself expending a lot of his mental strength to not loosen the control.

    "This is bad! I won''t be able to keep this up for long! If they don''t fuse soon, things are going to get ugly!"

    Leon wore a serious face as he focused all his attention on the medicinal essence inside the pill cauldron. He was unable to continue increasing his strength to force the merge, but the violent activity didn''t stop increasing. The pill cauldron couldn''t remain still and started shaking with a rumbling sound.

    "Not good. It''s going to explode!"

    Leon sealed the lid on top of the pill cauldron hurriedly to contain the explosion, but it was a futile effort! The pill cauldron couldn''t contain the force within and exploded.

    BOOOM!

    Leon wasn''t stupid enough to stay in the exact spot. He had abandoned the pill cauldron and rushed for the doors, but the force of the pill explosion still hit him and flung him outside.

    "Your Highness!"

    The guards outside was immediately rmed!

    "Enemy attack! Protect his highness!"

    The pce guards surrounded him and guarded against whatever was inside the prince''s room. The doors were flung wide open, but they couldn''t see anything as fumes of ck smoke oozed outside the room.

    "Cough* There is no enemy¡­" Leon coughed awkwardly in a sorry state. His back was on fire, but he quickly brought it under control, before snuffing it out.

    "Haih¡­ that was dangerous¡­ luckily I was quick on my feet, otherwise I would have been injured if I was any closer¡­" Leon inwardly sigh at his failure.

    The pce guard''s vignce dropped as it made sense since no one should have been able to bypass their watch to harm the prince. However, they were confused as to what had happened inside.

    "My pill concoction failed."

    Leon quickly owned up to his own failure despite the embarrassment it brings. It wasn''t like he never blew up a pill cauldron before. Back in the Divine Realm, it was amon urrence among the people walking the path of alchemy.

    "May this one suggests your highness to carry out his pill concoction outside in the likelihood of another explosion?"

    The pce guard suggested humbly with a fist-palm salute.

    They were proud, but Leon was the crown prince. Anyone who serves the queen would know of her fearsomeness and wouldn''t dare to slight her in any way. Besides, Leon was an alchemist and was worthy of their respect. They wouldn''t look down on him because he was weaker.

    Seeing Leon''s thoughtful frown, the guard immediately thought he said something wrong and dropped to his knees.

    "Forgive this one''s impudence for speaking freely, your highness! This one is not trying to spy on your pill concoction techniques and simply wanted to protect your highness better!"

    With the way the queen is, even if they weren''t to me, their heads might roll in the case that the prince suffer a mishap. They didn''t want to take chances.

    "Stand up, there is nothing to forgive. Your suggestion is very reasonable"

    Leon nodded and gestured the guard. There was nothing wrong with what the guard said. He was just thinking of the cause for his pill concoction failure.

    There''s bound to be more failure and it was only right to move outside to experiment.

    "Please get someone to fetch me another pill cauldron¡­ the sturdier, the better¡­ and have someone toe clean up the room. Thank you."

    Leon said as he looked back at the ckened mess he caused.

    "Yes, your highness!"

    The pce guard answered happily.

    The prince was not haughty and was very easy to get along with.

 Chapter 94 - Even As Scraps, The Cauldron Was Not Spared

    <h4>Chapter 94 - Even As Scraps, The Cauldron Was Not Spared</h4>

    Inside the king''s bedchamber. The queen continues to apany the unconscious king like she would do every day without fail. However, she was no longer surrounded by an aura of negativity as her eyes had regained their luster and her greyed hair had partially reverted back to their originally colors.

    "There is finally hope of you awakening, my dear. The day our family of three is truly reunited is not far and it will all be thanks to our son, to whom we owe so much to."

    Elizabeth spoke to her husband, while holding onto his hand, with both hope and dejection. It didn''t matter whether the king could hear her or not, she just wanted to speak her mind.

    "If only you could wake up now and see how much our son has grown. We couldn''t provide him the kind of life we had hoped, but all is well now that he had return to us. We can only do what we can to make it up to him."

    "I can''t imagine what kind of life our son had led outside to possess his present abilities. The information gathered on hand could not exin his abilities. Too much crucial information is missing, and it concerns me. But you don''t have to worry. He is no doubt our son."

    "However, he is too outstanding. Far more than we had ever hoped. Is this the will of the heavens or the curse of the royal blood?"

    Elizabeth mused quietly.

    The bedchamber was very quiet. Only her own voice could be heard inside. That was until a sudden loud explosion entered her ears.

    BOOOM!

    The sudden loud noise wasn''t enough to shake the pce, but it was enough to startle her and make her tensed. Who dares to attack her pce?!

    Her grip naturally tightened until the sound of creaking bones could be heard. She had identally squeeze the king''s hand so tightly, his bones were on the verge of cracking.

    "Ah¡­ forgive me, my dear. I did not mean it."

    Elizabeth apologized to her motionless husband.

    She must have inflicted a lot of pain on her husband for his face to twitch¡­wait! Her husband was in a vegetative state! Even if the body was still receptive to pain, without the emotionalwork, it wouldn''t be interpreted as unpleasant and was no different to feeling no pain.

    Elizabeth was excited at the prospect that her husband was closer to awakening than she had thought and that he just needed a little push.

    "Maybe he would wake up if¡­ I give him a few ps on the face¡­"

    She pondered on the possibility, before shaking her head. No, no¡­ I shouldn''t do that¡­ I should just wait for the good news from the merchant association.

    She will have to worry about her husbandter. She needed to go out and find who had the gall to attack her pce just now! It must be those corrupted nobles.

    She originally nned to eradicate all the corrupted nobles in case they harmed her son, whom was somewhere out there. It was as easy as lifting a hand for her.

    However, her sworn sister didn''t know how strong she was and disputed against her rash actions out of worry. She could feel her sister''s kind intention and decided to postpone her n by a few days.

    Expectedly her son was found very quickly, and he was very capable. Thus, she decided to let these corrupted nobles live a bit longer. If she killed them all, wouldn''t she be removing the perfect environment for her son to temper himself? Her son would leave the capital in search of better ces to temper himself if that happened.

    She wanted her son to be powerful, but she also didn''t want her son to leave her so soon. She had only reunited with her son for a short few days and couldn''t bear to part with him. But she also knew she wouldn''t be able to keep him by her side forever.

    She had seen her son''s strong conviction to be powerful. He was a dragon among men and would one day soar into skies. He wasn''t a little chick that needed protection under her wing.

    Elizabeth quickly left the king''s bedchamber and tracked down the source of the explosion. The closer she got to the source, the uglier her expression and the quicker she was on her feet.

    Wasn''t that in the direction of her son''s courtyard!?

    ¡­

    Shortly after the pce guard left to fetch a brand-new pill cauldron for Leon, his mother arrived at the scene.

    Elizabeth saw the state of son upon arrival and was immediately furious. her son wore a tired expression from draining his mental strength and his back was slightly burnt.

    "Quickly tell your mother who attacked you. Who is the one tired of living? Mother will get justice for you, son." Elizabeth asked, while looking around with a cold gaze.

    She saw ck smokes from the room, but no one inside. Only her son and the pce guards were present.

    "Was it them?" Elizabeth locked her gaze onto the guards. Her eyes narrowed into slits.

    The pce guards trembled under the Queen''s cold gaze.

    "What?? No! Mother, no one attacked me! It was a failed pill concoction! The pill cauldron exploded!"

    Leon was shocked and quickly exined. He had no doubt that his mother would really kill all his pce guards if he remained silent.

    "Oh? The pill cauldron exploded?"

    Elizabeth retracted her gaze from the pce guards and looked back at her son in confirmation.

    The pce guards'' legs felt weak and they fell on their bottoms with cold sweat. The queen was too scary.

    "Yes. The pill cauldron exploded." Leon confirmed, whiled nodding vehemently.

    "Hmph! So, the pill cauldron was the culprit huh!? Even if it is just a pill cauldron, it will not be spared!"

    Elizabeth dered. She red daggers at the room like as if she could peer through the veil of ck smoke and straight at the pill cauldron fragments.

    Being a metal-user, she had high intimacy with all metal and could feel their presence like a 6th sense. Her hand outstretched towards the direction of the room''s entrance and made a grabbing motion. All the fragments of the shattered pill cauldron in the room was immediately attracted to her hand like a powerful ma.

    Elizabeth clenched her fist and the all the fragments werepressed together with incredible force. With numerous crunching sounds, the pill cauldron that was the size of a teapot was reduced to a fist-size clump of iron.

    Only when Elizabeth couldn''t reduce the size of the clump of iron anymore, did she gave up and her anger was abated.

    Several gulps were heard. The pce guards were wearing full body armor. What would happen if the queen did that to them?

    Leon stared at the clump with wide eyes. His mother was too fearsome. Best not to get on her bad side; men, and objects alike.

    But Leon felt a great pity for the pill cauldron. It had only apanied him for a few days, but it had to suffer such a tragic fate. Luckily, it wasn''t a spirit treasure that had gained sentience, otherwise Leon''s mind wouldn''t be at peace. He could imagine how the treasure spirit would weep as it was getting crushed. The thought was mind boggling.

    "My son, what kind of pill did you try to concoct? If you did say, mother would have thought someone bombed the pce. The explosion was ten times more potent than Crazy Don."

    Elizabeth asked incredulously after checking that Leon was perfectly fine.

    "I was testing a new pill recipe and kind of forced the essence merging too hard. Who is senior Crazy Don, mother?" Leon asked curiously.

    "Senior Crazy Don is the esteemed alchemist, who is also an elder in our royal family. Senior Crazy Don was the good brother of your grandfather."

    "Oh?" Leon''s curiosity was piqued, "But why is senior called Crazy Don, mother?"

    "Haih¡­ senior Crazy Don is called Crazy Don because he is entric and alwaysing up with weird pill recipes that don''t work and causing pill cauldron explosions every day. If you want to learn alchemy from him, mother can put in a good word for you. However, mother doesn''t rmend it."

    Elizabeth withheld from telling her son why. After all, one Crazy Don was enough to give her headache every day. Her son''s one single pill cauldron explosion was ten times more potent than Crazy Don''s usual pill cauldron explosion and was enough to rm her. It would be more than just double the headache.

    Leon had a strange feeling at his mother''s words. It would be questionable who would be learning from who when that timees.

    "Anyway, it''s time mother teach you how to cultivate the [Great Sky Refining Art] so you can awaken your metal-maniption abilities as soon as possible." Elizabeth said before waving for the pce guards to leave.

    The full [Great Sky Refining Art] is only exclusive for members of the royal family. She could cultivate it when she was married into the royal family, but these pce guards are not of royal blood and were only allowed to cultivate the iplete version. She would not permit them to listen in on the full technique. They would have to disy unswerving loyalty and greater contribution to the royal family if they wish to progress further in the technique.

    She could see that her son was mentally exhausted¡­ Cultivating was a great way to recovering oneself to their peak conditions.

 Chapter 95 - You Have To Read This Book

    <h4>Chapter 95 - You Have To Read This Book</h4>

    Hearing his mother mentioning about his metal-maniption for the second time, Leon knew it was not his imagination. His mother really did have her own way for him to awaken his metal-maniption abilities.

    "Mother, I haven''t heard of anyone being able to be dual-attribute awakeners. How can you be so sure I will be able to awaken the metal attribute after training the technique?" Leon couldn''t help but ask.

    "How can I be so sure you say? Hmm¡­"

    Elizabeth repeated the words and hummed mysteriously with a smile. Her answer was purposely drawn out in a way that made one curious like an itch needing to be scratched.

    "My son, you must always remember that just because you have never heard or seen it, you must never rule out the possibility that it does exist. The world is so vast and boundless, to say that we have seen and heard everything life has to offer would be too conceited and arrogant. You must never be conceited or arrogant. Only with an open mind, would you be able to walk far on the path of cultivation."

    "Awakening cultivation is the way ofprehending the worldws and transforming their power into our own. A narrow-minded person would not easily ept new ideas, perspectives and thoughts. How can one learn new things if they believe they know everything? This is no different to shutting off the endless possibilities opened to an awakener. The reason mother is so sure is because mother is a dual-attribute awakener."

    Having said that, Elizabeth demonstrated her fire abilities. The mes dance freely on the tips of her fingers like it was alive. However, the me was small and flickered with a weak light, contrary to the image of a powerful awakener Elizabeth was viewed by the people. Evidently, her fire abilities were not up to par with her metal abilities. In fact, there was no need forparison between the two. One was the heavens and the other was down to earth.

    "Mother seldom uses fire abilities, so not many know about it." Elizabeth exined.

    ''More like no one knows about it at all right?'' Leon doubted. If anyone knew about his mother''s dual attribute with fire, the breaking news would no doubt spread like wildfire. That is of course, unless the person was personally ordered to keep their mouth shut by his mother.

    "So, it''s true that awakeners can have multiple attributes, but why does no one else have it?"

    Hearing her son''s question, some pride swelled up inside Elizabeth. "This is the difference between natural awakening and forceful awakening. As mother has said, awakening cultivation is the way ofprehending the worldws. The greater your understanding, the more power you can draw from the world. If you can achieve a preliminary understanding of the element, you will be able to form the elemental seed. Therefore, mother stressed the importance learning the characteristics of each metal. How can you expect to control it if you don''t understand it, right?"

    "But this is exactly the case for forceful awakening. Forceful awakening through the awakening pills will trigger the elemental baptism and the elemental seed formed is decided by their body''s affinity to the element. Their abilities will naturallye to them like muscle memory, but they will not understand the intricacy of their ability. This would result in basic control and 9th step is the absolute limit of their cultivation."

    Listening to his mother''s words with apt focus. He finally understood why his opponents only used basic techniques now that his doubts were cleared. Leon put on a strange look and asked, "Do you think triple attribute is possible, mother?"

    "Theoretically yes." Elizabeth answered. She was confounded by his question and continued with a question of her own, "But why do you ask, son?"

    "Because¡­"

    Leon didn''t finish his words. He judged that demonstrating was quicker than exining. A ball of me appeared in his right hand and a weak frosty mist rose from his left.

    "This is¡­ ice attribute!? Wait¡­ why did you make mother exin everything, if you already know everything, you little rascal?" Elizabeth was briefly shocked by Leon''s second attribute, before realizing that her son may have already known the intricacy of the awakener cultivation system.

    "Uh¡­ I didn''t know anything, mother. Your son gained his second element through¡­ a different method." Leon answered awkward.

    "Oh? There are other methods? Hmm¡­ Is it possible for a natural awakener to reawaken through the forceful method? No¡­ that doesn''t seem possible. A normal person can only have affinity to one element. Quick, tell mother what method you used to gain your second element."

    Elizabeth mused to herself. She wrapped her head around the possibility of gaining dual attribute outside of hard work in studying the elements. She didn''t notice her son''s awkwardness and soon asked with keen interest.

    "Err¡­ well¡­ alright."

    Leon found it embarrassing to openly talk about his love affair, but he ultimately steeled himself and exined his matter with Lynne to his mother and how his ice ability naturally came as a result of their coption. When he finished exining to his mother, his face was covered with shame even though he had only briefly talked about the deed.

    Cough*

    Elizabeth also found it awkward. She hadn''t expect such and answer from her son, she took a moment to recover herself.

    "Although you already have a fianc¨¦e, mother won''t care too much about this matter. Powerful men are destined to have more than one wife. Just find some time to bring that Lynne girl to meet mother in the future, okay? We would need to set a wedding date, so you can quickly deliver a grandchild for mother to hold, but that can wait until after your father is cured."

    Elizabeth was happy to see her son have multiple wife. It goes to show how excellent her son is, and she would be even happier if she could have a grandchild to hold. She didn''t have much chance to hold her son when he was a baby since he was taken from her, but she at least still had chances to hold her son''s child.

    Elizabeth''s attitude towards her son was clear and did not extend to her husband. If her husband ever dares to look for other women after he wakes up, then she would break his legs, all three of them if she had to.

    "Err¡­ yes, mother." Leon answered perfunctory. Inwardly, he thought he wasn''t ready for children. It was an unforgiving world. He wanted to at least create a stable environment. As such, it was too early for him to consider it for now.

    ¡­

    When the serious talk about her son''s love life was over, Elizabeth put on a serious face and move back to important business.

    "Mother believes you have a special body constitution; however, it isn''t exactly good news."

    "Why is that, mother?"

    Leon hadn''t found any problems with his ice ability so far. He still nned to awaken the other 3 attributes toplete his five-element cycle.

    Leon began listening to his mother''s reason why having many elements was not good. The reason was quite simple. It was better to focus wholeheartedly on a single elemental ability than to be a jack of all trades and master of none. His mother''s fire ability wasn''t strong because she only focused on cultivating her metal ability. That was why she was so powerful. If she had cultivated her two elemental abilities equally, her cultivation might only be half as strong.

    Unfortunately, bing a jack of all trade was precisely what Leon intended to do! He had no choice but to do it since the 5 elements were required topliment his [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] technique.

    Leon began toment that he may have made a mistake in choosing to cultivate the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos]. The technique required a bottomless pit of energy.

    However, while there was bad news, there was also good news. The world had boundless amount of energy of the 5 elements. If he canprehend the 5 elementalws through awakening cultivation to a high level, it would boost his divine cultivation speed drastically and increase his mastery over the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] technique, which was still at the initial sess of the first stage.

    "Alright, with all that out of the way, mother can finally teach you the [Great Sky Refining Art]."

    In the present age, the [Great Sky Refining Art] might seemed like an incredible breathing technique, but to Leon, who came from a world of cultivation, the technique was actually incredibly low level. It wasparable to Energy Condensation level techniques. It simply used a set of different pathways through the meridians to absorb and refine the energy of the world. When his mother finished imparting the technique to Leon, he was so surprised he was ck-jawed.

    "T-That''s it?"

    "Mm, That''s it, but not all."

    Not all?---

    Before he could continue his line of question, Elizabeth grabbed him. His vision blurred with a strong gust of wind and before he knew it, he was in front of a building with a que that says, ''Royal Library''.

    Elizabeth quickly entered the building and came back out shortly with a very thick book called [Myriad Metal Compendium Vol.1/10].

    "Son, you need to finish reading this book and learn all its content by heart, before attempting to use the [Great Sky Refining Art] to form your metal seed."

    The thick book had at least two thousand pages and there were 10 volumes to it. Leon''s eyes were like saucers and wanted to faint.

    His road to the top of the world was bound to be a long and arduous one.

 Chapter 96 - Falling From The Skies

    <h4>Chapter 96 - Falling From The Skies</h4>

    The world did not know that while the metal attribute was hailed as the strongest element, it is not. The five basic elements of nature were equal. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages. It was only due to the royal family''s vast possession of cultivation knowledge that they were able to bring out the best of their abilities.

    A lot of preparation was required for metals to be in their strongest form. The metal element wasn''t readily useable for metal-users as elements does for other awakeners. Without processing the ores, metal would still be buried tens to hundreds of feet beneath the earth, making metal-users be like birds without wings. Thus, depending on the environment, they could be a natural domain for the awakener. Like the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot repress the local snake.

    When Leon was handed the [Myriad Metal Compendium Vol.1/10], he had no intention to start reading any time soon. Although it looked like headache to read the entire book, it was not a problem for Leon. He had an advantage that no one else in Gaia had; his divine sense. With a sweep of his divine sense, he could read the book hundreds of times faster than he could with his trained eyes.

    But to learn the contents of the book, he would have to sweep the book numerous times and digest the information slowly. This was not a problem for Leon. The problem was that it was very taxing to use his divine sense beyond his body for extended periods. Divine State practitioners could naturally sweep hundreds of meters of their surrounding with their divine sense freely, but Leon was no longer a Divine State practitioner. The usage of his divine sense would naturally be limited as a result hisck of cultivation and spirit body.

    Before going back to recover his peak state and resume pill concoction, there was a something he needed to rify with his mother.

    "Mother, did we fly over just now?" Leon asked suspiciously.

    The feeling had onlysted a brief moment, but the weightlessness and air brushing feeling made him believe his mother was capable of flight.

    "Hoho, you are very perceptive, son. Yes, we have flown over just now." Elizabeth answered. She didn''t expect her son to be able to perceive anything, given the speed they had travelled at just now.

    Hearing his mother''s confirmation, Leon suddenly realized something. He understood why his mother''s body was adorned with all those essories and trinkets. By manipting these items, his mother was capable of flight. But such method wasn''t considered true flight.

    Divine practitioners were capable of true flight at the Heaven Ascension Realm, but one only need to reach the Energy Condensation Realm and refine a spirit sword to be able to soar through the skies. However, awakeners were still one step ahead of divine practitioners to be able to fly so early at this stage in cultivation. Perhaps he was also capable of flying at his current awakening cultivation.

    After Leon bade farewell to his mother, he headed back to his courtyard. The room was being cleaned by pce maids. Their smoky-ck faces showed their unhappiness with the job, but they did not dare to direct it at him, the culprit.

    "Your Highness." The guards greeted upon entry.

    "Mm." Leon acknowledged their greeting with a nod and found himself a spot in the courtyard to sit down and practice his [Hegemony of Primal Chaos]. The world''s energy gathered to him in a slow but steady stream.

    Half an hourter, his cultivation didn''t increase but he had recovered to his peak mental state.

    "Your Highness, the pill cauldron you ordered."

    The pce guard took the chance to inform him of the pill cauldron delivery. It had arrived much earlier, but seeing the prince cultivating, he chose not to disturb and waited quietly. Every awakener knew better than to disturb another awakener''s cultivation.

    "What is your name?" Leon asked. He was not ignorant of the guard''s small action of consideration. Although it wouldn''t cause any detrimental effects if he was disturbed during cultivation, he still had a good impression of the guard.

    "I-It is Howard, your highness."

    After being taken aback the prince''s sudden interest in his name, the guard was ttered by the honor.

    "Thank you, Howard. You can just leave the pill cauldron there."

    Leon didn''t say too much and set aside the pill cauldron for another matter.

    "Fire-users should also be capable of flight, right?"

    He silently pondered as he entered a strange leaping stance.

    Howard joined the other pce guards as they watched the prince. They couldn''t understand his highness wanted to do.

    "What do you guys think his highness is trying to do?" Howard whispered to the guards.

    "I feel like his highness is trying to jump."

    "Are you being serious? Would jumping require such an exaggerated leaping stance?"

    Their questions were answered in the next startling moment.

    A strong burst of fire impacted the ground where the soles of Leon''s feet were, and his figure was shot high into the skies swiftly. Leon was no stranger to flight, but it was under the circumstance that he had full control over his ability to fly. Flying through clever usage and control of his fire ability was a new experience to him, and he had no mastery over this new skill.

    The moment he started free falling from the skies, not only did he started panicking, even Howard and the pce guards started panicking. If he didn''t break his fall, the injuries he would sustain from such high fall would not be light.

    "Quick! Get ready to catch his highness!" Howard shouted to the other guards.

    The pce guards were all earth-users and had no way of controlling the earth to help with the entire ce made of metal. They could only stretch their arms out and shuffling back and forth chaotically, while looking up.

    Falling headfirst, Leon tried to break his fall by thrusting the air using his fire ability with great force and wasunched even higher into the skies.

    ¡­

    Elizabeth was on her way to the outer pce when the soft bang forced nce back from her. What she saw made her heart freeze with fright. Just when she was about to fly over and catch her free-falling son, she paused her steps. Her son had shot back up into the skies with a burst of fire.

    She watched as her son flipped and spin in the sky chaotically as he tried to regain his bearing. She sighed in relief when Leon seemed to have be familiar with his fire flight ability and was able to hover in the sky stably.

    "Haih¡­ this child¡­ doesn''t even realized how much he is making his mother worried." Elizabeth shook her head with a distressed yet amusing smile. She was surprised by her son''s quick wits and intuitiveness. He was able to derive from her flight ability and gain enough insight to not only create his own flight ability but master it in such a short time.

    Indeed, there was no weak element and only weak awakeners. An awakener''s abilities are only limited by their own imagination. Her son was a genius with such remarkable and skillful me control.

    Elizabeth mood was jubnt, but she had mix feelings about Leon''s attainments in his fire ability. She naturally wished for Leon to be a metal-user, but he had already found his own path in the fire element.

    "Haih¡­"

    Elizabeth heaved another sigh and continued her trip to the outer pce. The ruler of Crawford Kingdom was required to be a metal-user as set by their ancestors, but she could only worry itter as she currently had things to settle.

    The moment she took her eyes off her son, he suddenly fell out of the sky.

    ¡­

    Leon had be familiar with his new flight ability and continued testing different maneuvers in the sky with growing interest. This method of flying was much more exciting than how Energy Condensation Realm practitioners fly by surfing on their spirit swords.

    He was having a lot of fun in the sky when he suddenly unable to produce anymore fire essence to keep him afloat in the skies and started plummeting. He was immediately shocked! He had depleted his fire essence reserves!

    "Ahhhh!"

    "Your highness!"

    The pce guards shouted. They couldn''t rest easy the entire time with Leon flying in the sky, even after he had mastered his flight ability. The queen had put them in charge of his safety and they were always under constant fear that their heads would roll if they didn''t do a good job. Thus, they had never rxed their guard and¡­ finally something happened!

    When Leon plummeted, they immediately reacted!

    Howard was one step ahead and broke Leon''s fall by catching him with a forward leap. The twonded on the ground with a bang, but not much damage was received from the crash.

    "Are you alright, your highness?" The guards asked.

    "I''m alright. Thanks for catching me." Leon said as he picked himself off the ground and dusted his clothes with some embarrassment. To think that he had overlooked his fire seed''s fast depleting essence reserve.

    The expenditure of flying was tremendous and at his current level, he was only capable of short flight. However, he had gained much insight from the short flight and feel his fire flight ability could still be improved. With better control, he would be able to reduce his consumption to some degree. Otherwise, he could just improve his cultivation.

    ¡­

 Chapter 97 - One Star Advancement

    <h4>Chapter 97 - One Star Advancement</h4>

    Atop the Great Wall, the watchers on duty stared at the lonely figure of the general marquis gazing into the Wilnds, sometimes lost, sometimes deep in thought. They couldn''t figure what was weighing on the general marquis''s mind, but it must have something to do with the events of the past days.

    As the general marquis, Hendrick Graham stood at the apex of the military hierarchy and oversaw the entire operations of the western frontier. It was a grand and lofty position but came with an equally heavy responsibility that only those who stood in his position would understand the crushing weight bearing down on his shoulders.

    Even with the Great Wall and increasingly sophisticated weaponry the soldiers were equipped with, defending the wall was no easy task. Eachmand given could result in the death of many good soldiers. The general marquis had to ensure every course of action the made were the best there was and the long years of serving the western frontier had drained him.

    The news of no war was like heavenly hymns to the troops stationed on the western frontier. The stress, anxiety and fears were like water vapors that disappeared into the air. The mood was naturally a light and rxed one after the beast army left the words to stay out of each other''s way.

    However, the general marquis felt the atmosphere of the western frontier was wrong. It would indeed be no problem if what the transcendent beast said was true. But if it was a lie, theircency would be the downfall of humanity. They shouldn''t be lowering their guard.

    But on another note, they would not be able to stop the beast army with the Transcendent beast around anyway. The Hero King, whom was the first to ever Transcendent to appear in the history of mankind should have enjoyed a long life that transcended mortality, but the Transcendent disappeared without a trace. Without a Transcendent of their own, any resistance was futile should the beasts choose to invade.

    With that thought in mind, although he was conflicted, he had no choice but ept things as the way they are.

    The general marquis felt the weight being lifted off his shoulders and entered a special state of deep rxation. It was like he had just been released from a long-time suppression. All his pores opened in sync with his breathing and the wind in the world was greedily sucked into his body, invoking a whirlwind with himself at the center.

    He had long hit the peak 9th step and the quantity of his wind essence would not increase. The wind failed enter his body and started to circte outside his body instead.

    "What''s happening to the general marquis?"

    "How is the general marquis able to gather so much wind to himself?"

    The watchers were surprised. Even the nearby garrison were attracted to the scene.

    Hendrick''s body was lifted off his feet and rose into the skies. In a state of emptiness, he felt he was one with the wind and able toprehend its profundities. The wind circted into a dense sphere of wind and created a vacuum.

    The wind essence inside his wind seed also mimicked the outside phenomena and startedpressing itself. Compression created room and the wind essence outside was channeled inside.

    The garrisons were awed by the scene.

    "Is the general marquis transcending?"

    Someone suddenly thought. The eyes of the listeners lit up. That could be the case! Even if a transcendent could not turn the western frontier in humanity''s favor, at least they would not be as helpless like fish on the chopping board.

    "No! not right. A Transcendent was said to have at least tenfold the strength of a peak 9th step awakener!"

    "You''re right! But you can''t deny that force generating by the general marquis has already exceeded the peak 9th step!"

    Inside an air vacuum, one could not breathe. As such, the general marquis, whom had been inside for a while had hit his limit. His face was red like a tomato. Theck of oxygen broke his state of emptiness and he willed for the sphere of wind to disperse in all direction.

    His body slowly descended back on the wall.

    "Congrattions on transcendence, General!"

    The soldiers shouted congrattions with fist-palm salutations.

    "This wasn''t transcendence."

    Hendrick Graham shook his head at his men''sment. He did no transcended. At most, he had entered the transitioning step to Transcendence. Transcendence was not achieved in a single step.

    "So, in order to advance beyond the 9th step, one had topress energy and not gather them."

    Hendrick mused. He had been enlightened on the way to transcendence. He was not disappointed

    Although he had not transcended, his discovery had pried opened the door to transcendence.

    The general marquis did not keep his discovery a secret and shared his experience and knowledge with the soldiers.

    The road to transcendence had finally been opened!- was what the soldiers all thought.

    The events of today will bring forth the booming era of cultivation. No matter how much the royal family had suppressed the secret and kept it to themselves in the past, it would not stop the era froming. What is bound toe, will eventually but without a doubt,e.

    After settling matters at the Great Wall, Hendrick decided to visit his son and check on his recovery.

    ¡­

    Royal hospital, private ward.

    "Young master."

    A middle-aged man in butler attire entire the ward and greeted the young manying on the hospital bed.

    "Have you procured the information I inquire, Enzo?" Rowan Graham asked.

    Enzo was the servant of the Graham House; Hendrick had sent to tend to his son''s daily needs.

    "Yes, young master. Here are my findings." Enzo handed over a piece of paper filled with information pertaining to patient at the hospital.

    Several days ago, while Rowan was resting in bed, he was able to overhear some interesting gossips among the passing nurses and doctors outside of his wed sound insted private ward.

    They talked about witnessing a divine miracle, where an ordinary patient had practically full recovered overnight after suffering a serious wound that required 6 months to recover. It had caused quite a sensation in the hospital and the gossip about the patient did not cease for days.

    The news had immediately caught Rowan''s interest. He figured such fast recovery could only be due to some miracle elixir refined by an esteemed alchemist. He had inquired about this patient''s identity but had unfortunately be denied by the hospital nurses and doctors.

    The Royal hospital followed a strict confidentiality policy and would not diverge their patient credentials to outsiders. Only immediate family members had the right to have a look. Being refused so tly, Rowan had no choice but to send Enzo to investigate and acquire the information he desired, either by hook or by crook.

    Indeed, there''s no walls you can''t get around. Everyone had some selfishness in their heart. Enzo just had to find the right person and offer the right price, and he would be able to get the information he wanted. The hospital had strict policy, but it didn''t mean everyone would abide by it. There were always bad eggs mixed among good ones.

    Rowan read through information on the patient and immediately creased his brows.

    The report read as follows;

    Name: Brian Bradford

    Gender: Male Age: 42

    Status: Commoner, normal.

    upation: N/A

    Address: N/A

    There wasn''t much he could gain out of the piece of paper on hand, but what he did gain, made him suspicious to the authenticity of the information.

    "Enzo, is this information urate? How can amoner afford the operation fees charged by the Royal hospital? Amoner also has a family name? This person must at least be from an aristocrat family, right? But I haven''t heard of any Bradford Aristocrat family living in the Upper District."

    "The information is correct, young master. I have scoured the Upper District and there is indeed no such family by that name. However, there is one in the Lower District. Unfortunately, no one was home when I visited. It felt like the home was abandoned. There were also some traces of battles outside their home." Enzo answered patiently, without withholding any information from Rowan.

    "So, the person truly was amoner?" Rowan had disappointment written over his face.

    How can amoner be acquainted with the respectable alchemists in the kingdom? Rowan''s hope of finding the esteemed alchemist capable of refining divine healing pills through the patient was dashed. If he could move with his own limbs again, why would he still need to practice his wind control? Where could this missingmoner have gone?

    "Sigh¡­"

    "Tell me more about this battle scene. Had there been any big waves in the city recently? "Rowan said with furrowed brows.

    "Yes, in fact, it''s the main reason I returned earlier than nned. The Grey, Weld, Esmond and Acker family have banded together and tried to ambush the Lancaster family. No big fights broke after, but the four families have been acting very suspicious. For your safety, we should leave the capital immediately, young master."

    "The four families banded together attack the Duke''s family¡­? Have they gone mad!?"

    Rowan roared in shocked at the news. That''s the Duke''s family, they are talking about! Someone who dares to fight the Duke''s family was either aplete fool or confident in taking on the Duke''s wrath!

    Whatever it is they want to achieve, he wanted no part in it.

    "Quickly get me the hell out of here!"

 Chapter 98 - The Cauldron Lid That Ascended The Heavens

    <h4>Chapter 98 - The Cauldron Lid That Ascended The Heavens</h4>

    Back at the Inner Pce, the pce maids had finished cleaning Leon''s room after much difficulty. The metallic texture of the room should have made wiping stains a simple task, but the aftermath of pill cauldron explosion had scorched the room with ckened remains of the pill concoction. The remains had seeped into the surface of the room and made it particrly difficult to scrub off. the bed mattresses, nkets and pillow particrly had to be swapped out for new ones.

    By the time the pce maids were done, the bedroom was as good as brand new and sparkling clean. However, they were exhausted at the hardbor and their faces were covered in ck smudges. They were vexed at the prince for making their life difficult.

    The inner pce had a specially designed pill refinement room for alchemists. Why did the prince had to use his own bedroom and not the specially designed one!?

    "Hmph!"

    They harrumphed out of the courtyard. Towards this, Leon could only put on a forced smile. He had not known the existence of such a room within the pce. However, after staying many days in the pce, he had pretty much familiarized himself with it. The royal pce was veryrge, enough to be considered a small city in and of itself. Within its walls in addition to the two ptial buildings, there many other smaller buildings like the royal library and treasury.

    One particrlyrge gateway stood out among the many sights Leon took in within the pce grounds. It was one of the few ces he had yet to explore within the pce grounds, but he had an inkling that on the other side lied the entrance to the underground ruins.

    Watching the departing backs of the pce maids, it was apparent that the attitude of these maids was quite special. Even the guards, whom were stronger than him still showed him respect, but these maids didn''t bother to hide their discontent. It could even be said that they were feisty and weren''t afraid of displeasing him.

    Leon shook his head and no longer paid attention to them. It was just a small episode he didn''t need to pay heed to.

    In the private courtyard, He had been sitting outside in cross-legged position to cultivate. He did not move inside his bedroom. The open environment of the outside was more suitable for cultivating.

    Although he was unable to perfect his flight ability these past days, he had been able to develop another method of flight with his ability to tackle the high energy expenditure of flying. The second method involved condensing fire wings with his fire essence.

    This method had extremely low expenditure as he could recover the fire essence back into his fire seed. However, there were pros and cons to everything.

    Condensed fire wings grant him long airtime but sacrifices his speed, while the fire thruster method had short airtime for extreme speed.

    In battle, the fire thruster flight method was still more suitable as the fire wings were too big of a target for his opponents. Once they get cut apart, all the invested fire essences in the severed wing would be lost.

    But that was only under the circumstance of them being capable of fighting him in the air. If they could not, then the problem did not exist. Either way, the fire flight ability could be considered a lifesaving skill that will allow him to escape from danger.

    With that settled, Leon resumed focus on the 5-Element Enhancing Pill. He had not seeded in creating the pill, but he had already given it a name, albeit a simple one derived from the Spirit Enhancing Pill.

    Leon nced at the new pill cauldron that had been sitting in his courtyard for some time. It was bigger, thicker and hopefully much sturdier, roughly the size of a watermelon. He wasn''t sure if the pce guards had picked the sturdiest avable pill cauldron in storage, but the new pill cauldron was of a much higher grade than the trashy old one.

    While inspecting the pill cauldron, Leon concluded the quality of the pill cauldron was just a step short of being graded as a spirit treasure.

    Leon had an inkling of how to proceed after the initial failure. However, in the case that he still fails, then the explosion would be much more potent than thest.

    "Everyone stay back. If anything goes wrong, it could be life threateningly dangerous. Do not approach the pill cauldron under any circumstances."

    Leon warned the guards.

    "Your safety is our greatest concern, your highness! Please allow us to stay within proximity to protect you!"

    The pce guards protested. What a joke. If something happened to the prince, they wouldn''t be spared from the queen''s fury! Even if they care about their own life, they had to protect the prince in order to protect themselves! Such contradictions! But it is what it is.

    Leon frowned at their strong protest. It didn''t seem like they would ept it any other way.

    "Fine, but you must also protect your own life. I will naturally worry about my own life if something goes wrong." Leon conceded.

    "Yes, your highness!"

    With the second portion of the 5 spirit herbsid out in front of him, Leonmenced his second attempt at pill concoction.

    The first two steps of pill concoction were a repeat ofst time; preheating the cauldron and herbal essence extraction step. The steps proceeded quickly, and finally arrived at the merging step once more.

    This step was the most important and also the most difficult step in pill concoction. Leon tossed all five herbal essences in the pill cauldron and forced them to merge under his will. The expected resistance began to ur. When this was happening, Leon started channeling his pseudo-Grandmist energy into the chaotic essence in hopes that it would seed this time.

    His pseudo-Grandmist energy was the product of the five basic elements fusing perfectly. It was most suitable catalyst to help the herbal essences merge.

    When the energy was mixed with the chaotic herbal essence, the merge did not ur like he had hoped. In fact, the results of the contact were as he had feared! The chaotic herbal essence grew even more chaotic!

    Leon had focused his full concentration on the chaotic herbal essence. The moment something went wrong, he knew immediately, but he could not fathom why it was happening.

    Why!?

    Logically thinking, the pseudo-Grandmist energy should have merged the herbal essences perfectly.

    Leon frowned as his mind was racing for an answer. He wanted to ponder the issue further, but the chaotic herbal mix of essence and energy wasn''t going to give him that time.

    "Maybe I''m not using enough pseudo-Grandmist energy?"

    When the additional energy was added into the pill cauldron, the chaotic herbal essence started to calm down, but it still refuses to merge. Leon was disappointed. The fact it was calming down was a positive reaction! He just needs to add more energy.

    "It''s working!"

    Leon was excited and started pouring in more energy, ignoring the fact that it was lowing his own divine cultivation.

    However!

    Things never go as nned! Man proposes, but God disposes! The chaotic herbal essence started reacting more violent and at an rming rate!

    Since there had been no time to ponder the issue previously, Leon was prompted toe up with a solution spontaneously. He thought the solution he came up with was good, but it was in fact the worse one he could havee up with!

    The calmness was an illusion. The chaotic herbal essence was just taking its time to break down the energy like dropping salt in water. The dissolution would not bepleted immediately, but when it does, the broken-down energy was really reactive to the chaotic herbal essence.

    He was already cooking up a sh*tstorm, the additional energy was like adding oil into the fire. The chaotic herbal mixture reached a boiling point, and nothing can no longer stop what was about to happen.

    Leon paled at the imminent explosion. He mmed the cauldron lid on top to seal the cauldron and retreated at his quickest speed.

    "Everyone get back now!"

    KABOOM!!

    The explosion was earthshaking. The queen was rmed! The guards and maids were rmed! The whole pce was rmed! The king was¡­ not.

    ¡­

    Elizabeth shocked at the earthshaking explosion and raced outside, before taking to the sky to look at the source of the explosion.

    She saw a rising pir of meing from her son''s courtyard and was relieved. Why relieved? Because she could see at the foot of the pir of me, the pill cauldron was surprisingly intact, and no one was harmed by the explosion.

    Leon had no idea how the pill cauldron was able to withstand the force of such a huge explosion, but thanks to it, the force was very controlled and escaped towards the skies.

    Everyone had came outside to take a look at the spectacle of rising me pir. Even the reclusive Crazy Don, who was always holed up in his pill concoction room exited for a curious look.

    "T-T-This¡­ this is¡­ art!"

    Crazy Don eximed in appreciation and awe. He had never seen a more majestic and beautiful explosion.

    The me pir rose to a certain height before hitting the limit and slowly began to disperse in all directions.

    However, at the forefront of the me pir, the lid of the pill cauldron continued rising with ever growing momentum like it was trying to ascend the heavens!

 Chapter 99 - The Seniority Is Messed Up!

    <h4>Chapter 99 - The Seniority Is Messed Up!</h4>

    The rising me pir of dazzling colors had been short-lived, and its brilliance had faded into the darkness of the night sky. But even after it was gone, it had seeded in leaving behind its mark on the world as its image had sessfully been etched into the minds of all who witness its splendor. The cauldron lid that threatened to break through the vault of heavens disappeared beyond sight. It was unknown whether it would evere back.

    The firework was gone but the onlookers continued to stay rooted in awe. The number of onlookers were not limited to the people within the pce grounds. From the Upper District to the Lower District, its viewers covered the entire capital. Being situated in the center of the capital, it was difficult for anyone out and about on its streets to miss such a stunning phenomenon in the central sky.

    ¡­

    From a corner of the capital, there were shadowy figures lurking in the dark that did not take a pleasant surprise to the event. Instead, the sight instilled uneasiness and concerns in the figures. They couldn''tprehend what the me pir signifies.

    "What was that beacon of light? Is that some sort of signal?"

    "It came from the royal pce. It doesn''t seem like good news for us."

    "Focus on the task. We mustplete the objective by dawn."

    Another figure who seemed to be the leader of the group said sternly with a frown, when he noticed their distraction from the task at hand.

    "Understood."

    ¡­

    Back at the source of the capital''s attention, some figures started arriving at the courtyard not long after the me pir had died out.

    "Are you hurt, son?" Elizabeth checked Leon for injuries, despite knowing there was none.

    "I''m alright, mother." Leon said helplessly but felt warm inside. Their talk was cut short by the entrance of another figure.

    "Who created the towering me pir just now?"

    An aged voice rang out through the courtyard as an old man entered. The old man clearly advanced in his years, but he held a noble bearing overflowing with vitality that was quite contrasting to those of his age.

    "Crazy Don."

    Elizabeth and the guards all greeted the old man with respect. Their respect did note from his seniority nor his status as an alchemist, but genuine respect for someone stronger than themselves.

    "Mmm." Crazy Don nodded. He wasn''t offended by what he was called. This was what he told them to call him.

    "Son, this is the alchemist I mentioned to you before." Elizabeth quickly did the introduction for the two.

    "Senior Crazy Don."

    Leon paid his respects to the elderly alchemist. He could feel a lofty pressure bearing down on him under the elder''s gaze. This was a natural suppression from their difference in cultivation. He could feel it, but it didn''t bother him.

    "You were the one that made the me pir?"

    "Yes."

    Having received Leon''s answer, the elderpsed into silence. The elder wore a natural expression, but his thoughts were unreadable, and the situation felt tense due to the silence.

    Elizabeth thought her son may have offended the elder somehow and was ready to speak up for her son. The elder''s strength was at 9-stars, a step short from reaching transcendence. She wouldn''t be able to protect her son if the elder wish to harm him. However, the following event made everyone gape in shock.

    "Master, please ept this one as a disciple and teach art of explosion!"

    Crazy Don dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Leon fervently. His actions and words bemused everyone, so much so that no one was able to react until he finished his kowtow.

    "Senior, what are you doing? How can you ask someone young like my son be your master? Quickly get up!"

    Elizabeth was the first to recover from her shock.

    "Haih¡­ I won''t get up until I am epted. Age is trivial. He, who is proficient is the master. I amplete convinced of my loss."

    Everyone heard Crazy Don and they all thought the same thing; The elder has gone mad! Genuinely mad!

    It wasmon knowledge that Crazy Don would explode his cauldron every day at least once during pill concoction. Never had it urred to them that it wasn''t a failed pill concoction, but an intended result induced by the entric elder.

    Leon''s first pill cauldron explosion was like a deration of challenge to Crazy Don''s secret passion and pursuit in the art of explosion. The elder''s fighting spirit was ignited and sought to create a bigger explosion to contest with Leon.

    When Leon attempted his second pill concoction, the earthshaking explosion was like a p of thunder to the elder''s heart and dispelled all notion ofpeting with Leon. Of course, Leon did not know any of this.

    "Senior, please get up. We can talk about this after."

    Leon assisted his mother in trying to get the elder to stand but he was vehement in kneeling until the elder was epted as a disciple. Seeing the figure that was stable like a mountain and wouldn''t budge, Leon conceded his demands and epted the elder as a disciple.

    "Fine. Senior, I will teach you, alright? Please get up now."

    "Absolutely not!" Elizabeth protested strongly.

    Crazy Don was like another father-figure to her husband after the old king disappeared. If he bes a disciple to her son, he would be two generations younger than her husband! Wouldn''t that mess up the seniority between them!?

    "Hahaha, it''s toote! The kid- no, my master has epted!" Crazy Don jumped up jovially.

    "Senior, the seniority will be messed up!"

    "If I don''t care about it, why should you care about it?"

    For the art of explosion, he was willing to do anything~!

    Oh, the majesty and beauty of that explosion¡­ He had to learn how to create one as grand as that! Explosion is art, explosion is love. Crazy Don shed a fevered look at Leon.

    Elizabeth felt headache brewing¡­ hmm?

    "Wait a moment¡­ senior wanted to learn the art of explosion from my son? Don''t tell me all those explosions every day was¡­"

    "Oh¡­ those were intentional for my appreciation of the art. Ah, butpared to master''s explosion, they were nothing but trash."

    Crazy Don said inly without any shred of guilt for wasting royal resources all this time. He didn''t forget to bootlick Leon to earn himself some good points in hopes that he could start learning sooner.

    Elizabeth''s whole body shook with agitation. So shameless and thick-skinned! Was this a trait people gain as they grow older!? The royal family was well off but still¡­ such extravagant waste!

    She tried repressed her agitation. The royal family relied on Crazy Don and his Essence Strengthening Pills to cultivate. If the Essence Strengthening Pills are delivered regrly, the royal family can still afford this much waste.

    However, Leon used spirit herbs for his pill concoction¡­ so if the Crazy Don start asking for spirit herbs every day for his so-called explosion art then he might as well just go rob their treasury. Spirit herbs were rare. Even if the royal family was wealthy, they don''t have that many spirit herbs.

    "Mother will leave this matter for you to handle. Mother suddenly feel tired and need to go back and rest." Elizabeth said with a hint of fatigue.

    Yes, Mother. Rest well." Leon sent his mother off.

    She washed her hand of the matter and left the courtyard.

    "When can I start learning how to make such a big explosion, master?" Crazy Don rubbed his hands and asked expectantly.

    Leon did not answer him and just looked at him with a peculiar smile now that his mother was gone.

    "Say¡­ Crazy Don, I can''t teach you how to make explosions, but I can still teach you alchemy instead." Leon said with a sly smile.

    Without his pseudo-Grandmist energy, no one would be able to recreate his explosion¡­ and the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] wasn''t something he was willing to teach others.

    "You can''t teach me how to recreate that explosion?" Crazy Don froze. "What do I need you for then? Do you think I need you to teach me alchemy, kiddo?"

    "Haih¡­ Crazy Don, don''t you think your attitude is changing a tad too quick? It''s faster than flipping a book. Is this how you talk to your master?"

    "I don''t have a master like you. Good day, kiddo." Crazy Don tried to escape. Since the kid can''t teach, why should he stay and continue ying this master-disciple game?

    "Haha¡­ You can deny it all you want, but you have already kowtowed and epted me as your master. That makes me your master, whether you like it or not. Like the saying goes, a teacher for a day is like a father for a lifetime."

    Crazy Don paused his steps.

    "What do you want exactly, kiddo? You can''t teach me anything so, what trick are you trying to pull?"

    "How do you know I can''t teach you anything?"

    Leon''s lips curved into a grin. He seeded in keeping the elder from leaving. He didn''t doubt that once he starts teaching alchemy, the elder would be genuine convinced.

    Wasn''t this like gaining a super bodyguard? This unexpected pie had dropped out of the sky.

    Leon wanted tough out loud.

    Never in the history of alchemy, had this ever happened before. The elder didn''t want to learn how to seed in pill refining but how to fail them to create big and beautiful explosions!

 Chapter 100 - Pranking Grandpa Don

    <h4>Chapter 100 - Pranking Grandpa Don</h4>

    "How do I know you can''t teach me anything?" Crazy Don repeated the question with a derisive look.

    "When I started learning alchemy, you were not even born yet, kiddo. What kind of alchemic knowledge do you know that I haven''t learnt before?" Crazy Don scoffed.

    Leon was not offended by the scoffing.

    "The world is so vast, and the profundity of alchemy is a never-ending path of learning that could never be fullyprehended simply after reading ten thousand books nor treading ten thousand miles. Do you dare im to know everything there is to know about alchemy?"

    Leon spewed some profound words and threw a question back at the elderly while giving him a cursory nce.

    "Hah, I naturally wouldn''t dare, but what I know is certainly more than what you know, kiddo."

    Crazy Don spoke with certainty.

    Leon shook his head at the elder''s blind confidence. He was a rank 5 Alchemist Sovereign in his past life and was certainly not an average joe. Rank 5 Alchemist Sovereigns were capable of refining tier 5 spirit pills for Void Realm practitioners and were just one rank below the divine rank.

    It wasn''t farfetched to say that his alchemy skills stood at the peak of the mortal realm. As such, the elder''s blind confidence was no difference to arrogance. One should never judge a book by its cover.

    "Hoh¡­ then let''s put gran- senior''s im to the test. Since you know more than me, you must certainly know about the Purity Renewal Pill, no?"

    Leon targeted the elder with a tricky question. If Crazy Don knew what the Purity Renewal Pill was, he would know how much it meant to him.

    When ingesting pills, there was always a limit to the effectiveness of a pill before the body developplete immune to it. The Purity Renewal Pill can reset the body''s immunity to pills and remove the residual pill toxins that could not be removed with the Toxin Cleansing Pill.

    Leon had only given the elder a cursory nce, but he already knew that the elder had hit a bottleneck in his cultivation for years. He was able to infer the problem after diagnosing the elder through look and smell.

    He had been on the mark. Crazy Don had been ingesting the Essence Strengthening Pills for most of his life to improve his cultivation. However, the pill gradually lost its effectiveness as he approached 9-stars in his cultivation, before ultimately bingpletely ineffective after reaching 9-stars.

    As such, he had be stumped at the gate of transcendence for years without much hope of taking thest step. How frustrating it must be for a person to reach the fabled doors of transcendence but unable to open it.

    "Purity Renewal Pill? What kind of pill is that? Don''t think you can pull the wool over this old man''s eyes by making up some pill name he never heard before."

    "¡­"

    As expected, Crazy Don did not know what the pill was. Otherwise, he would have long achieved transcendence. His body waspletely healthy and had no problem reaching transcendence if not for the pill immunity.

    Leon mouth curved into a grin at Crazy Don''s reply.

    "You don''t even know what a Purity Renewal Pill is and yet you im you know more than me? Listen up, the Purity Renewal Pill is-"

    Leon suddenly paused his words. Crazy Don wore ackadaisical expression and started yawning the moment he started exining the pill''s usage. It was uncertain whether the elder was listening to Leon''s words. His face couldn''t help but twitched.

    "Are you listening to me, Old fart?"

    "Yeah, yeah¡­ I''m listening."

    Crazy Don answered perfunctorily without a care for Leon''s rudeness. He had no idea why he didn''t mind staying behind to listen to this kid, who was still wet behind the ears, trying to preach about alchemy to him. Maybe he was bored and was looking for some way to kill time.

    Leon noticed the perfunctory tone in the Old fart''s words andck of attention. His following words carried a hint of impatience.

    "How can the master teach, if the student is unwilling learn? Is that the attitude of a listener?"

    "Haih¡­alright, I''m listening¡­ intently."

    Crazy Don ced extra emphasis on the word ''intently''. He wagered the kiddo would give him an earful as his ''Master'' if he didn''t y his part as the ''student''. He still wanted to listen to what the kid says so he can quickly rebut him. Nheless, his attitude was still superficial.

    Leon didn''t care if the Old fart''s attitude was genuine or not as long as he was listening.

    "The Purity Renewal Pill has the effect of reset the body''s immunity to pill efficacy."

    His words were brief, but his goal was achieved as the message was been delivered.

    "Reset the body''s immunity to the pill''s efficacy? Hmph! That''s some bold ims, kiddo. All words are empty talk. Present some hard evidence if you want to convince this Old man!"

    Crazy Don was disbelieving of the boy''s words and appeared somewhat unmoved, but Leon has captured his genuine attention and interest. He held some faint hope that what the kiddo said was true.

    With his eyes of discernment, there was no way the Old fart''s emotions could be hidden from Leon.

    "Evidence? I can refine the pill, but why should I? What would I get out of it?" He suddenly said as he crossed his arms behind his back. His mouth curved upwards into a mischievous smile.

    The tables have turned. He didn''t need to try and convince the Old fart any longer. Crazy Don would be the one trying to get him to validate his words, otherwise the Old fart would be restless like an itch needed scratching.

    "I will ept you as my master." Crazy Don said with gritted teeth. Was this brat ying games with him?

    "Well, do you swear on your words?" Leon asked as he tried not tough.

    "I swear."

    Crazy Don answered hurriedly.

    The Old fart''s word was unreliable, and with his high cultivation, Leon wouldn''t be able to do anything since he knew the Old man would go back on his words.

    At the end of the day, this person was still his biological grandpa''s closest brother, making them family. ording to custom, he should also be addressing him as grandpa, but Crazy Don doesn''t seem to realize this fact. Or rather, Crazy Don has yet to realize his identity since he was willing to kowtow and hail him as master. As such, he thought it was fun to prank the old man.

    "Watch closely."

    Leon prepared to refine the Purity Renewal Pill for the Old fart. The herbs had been taking out at some unknown moment. All the spirit herbs were present, and none was missing. If Leon wasn''t assured that he had all the spirit herbs, he would not have chosen the Purity Renewal Pill. It wasn''t the only pill in his arsenal that produced the same effect, but it was the most readily avable one for refinement.

    With the pill cauldron still hot, Leon was able to skip one the three steps of pill concoction and quickly got to work.

    Some timeter, a fresh batch of nine Purity Renewal Pills were produced, albeit a bit lower in quality due to the missing cauldron lid. Leon inadvertently nced up to see if it was evering back, but it didn''t seem like it would be the case. With its shape, it was very unlikely to return to its exact spot.

    "This is the Purity Renewal Pill."

    Leon stowed the pills in a ss bottle and waved it in front of Crazy Don.

    Swoosh*

    The bottle was snatched out of his hands as he expected. Crazy Don unsealed the bottle and took a whiff. His eyes quickly lit up like the stars in the night skies and quickly popped one into his mouth. It didn''t take long for the effects to show itself as Crazy Don started excreting impurities from his body.

    "What kind of pill is this, boy? Why does it stink so bad?"

    Crazy Don knew the pill was extraordinary the moment he sniffed it. He was told it resets pill efficacy immunity, but nothing about expelling impurities. He was itching to take a bath.

    "That''s the pill toxins being expelled, Grandpa Don." Leon said respectfully.

    He decided ytime was over. He didn''t actually dare to ept grandpa Don as his disciple. His father would skin him if he knew after he wakes up froma.

    "Huh¡­ What grandpa Don¡­ wait¡­ who are you exactly, boy¡­?" Crazy Don was taken aback by the sudden change.

    It took a moment before he suddenly recalled Elizabeth calling the boy her son. He missed it earlier due to his craze for explosion. His expression quickly turned in betweenughter and tears as the realization dawned on him.

    "T-T-This¡­"

    "Paying respects to grandpa Don, I am Leon Crawford."

    Leon introduced himself before bolting out from the courtyard.

    "This brat, how dare you y this old man!?" Crazy Don roared in embarrassment, but he didn''t chase. He shook his head over his own rashness and stupidity.

    However, it was pleasant news that the missing brat had returned. He recognized the kid''s well intention veiled beneath his yfulness as he gazed at the bottle of pill in his hand. He could feel the gate of transcendence loosening under the pill''s efficacy.

    Such a great gift upon their first meeting. His impression of Leon was good¡­ or so he thought.

    "Grandpa Don kowtowed me~!"

    Leon''s distant mischievous words made him stagger and almost spit blood in anger. Was the going to continue bringing that up!? Why did he do such a stupid thing? But what has been done cannot be undone¡­ It was going to keep haunting him.

 Chapter 101 - Worshipping The Cauldron Lid

    <h4>Chapter 101 - Worshipping The Cauldron Lid</h4>

    The core members of the Red Smander Gang were once eradicated by Leon, but stability was never returned to the Lower North District. Whether the tumor was rid from the district or not, the damage was already done. The Lower North District was like a long-term ill patient. Even if the illness was cured, they still required time to be nursed back to health.

    While the core members were gone, the outer members still gued the district like a pack of headless cockroaches without their leaders. Not all the Red Smander Gang''s outer members were wicked beyond redemption. There were also good people among them, but for the sake of their own survival, they were forced to join.

    However, throughout the years of servicing the gang, the blood on their hands and crimes piled on their heads were enough to condemn them to death like any other wicked members of the gang. It was not easy to revert to their normal lives.

    Within a seeminglyrge abandoned warehouse, many innocentmoners were held and locked behind ironwood cages. There was no discrimination among the people kept inside the ironwood cages as they came from all ages and genders; young and old, men and women. The smell within the cage was especially nauseating.

    They were the merchandise of the Red Smander Gang. No one knew when or how the organ harvesting business started, but it was a lucrative business and there was always a demand, they find it hard to extricate themselves from the business. Although what they gain was dirty and bloodstained money, it was the least of their worries. They moment they entered the gang, they had already been prepared to leave their morality behind.

    In recent days, their manpower had been on the short side and with the Lower West District controlled by the Golden Lion Gang applying pressure on their territory, they did not have much time to manage the ''merchandise'' in their warehouse.

    Since the fate of these captivemoners were to have their 5 organs harvested and be cold corpses, they were barely fed to begin with. They have gone a few days without food now that no one was assigned to feed them. They were still fortunate to have some drinking water from the rain that seeped through the cracks of the worn-out building, otherwise they would not even have the strength to move.

    While these poor souls still had the strength to move, there were no movements within the cage. A gloomy and bleak mood filled the cage. These people knew what fate had in store for them, but they still choose to refrain from wasting any energy as every bit of energy saved was every extra second of life gained. They only move when they need to drink from the rainwater puddles around them.

    Their situation was precarious and could even be considered hopeless, but they had not given up on living as they cling to their life tightly. Death was easy, but living was not. Death was also the end, while there was still hope if they were alive, no matter how grim it seems.

    On this one fine evening, their efforts and stubbornness were finally rewarded. As if the divinities in heaven had noticed and took pity on them, a divine object was shot down from the high heavens, tearing straight through the building and smashed apart the cage that kept them in captivity.

    Surprisingly, no one was injured. The people had the illusion that they had received divine protection. The divine object had dropped down before them with incredible force and heat. The puddles of rainwater were vaporized by the heat and the area was engulfed in thick dust and water vapors.

    "W-What happened?"

    Everyone''s eyes were snapped open in shock and panic following the sound of the explosive crash. With their vision impaired, nothing could be seen afar. Only the closest parts of themselves could be seen.

    "Where did all this miste from? I can''t see anything."

    "Oh no¡­ w-where did all the water go? How can we go on without the water to drink?" A person noticed the disappearance of the rainwater they relied on.

    "Does the heavens also want to doom us all?" An olddy despaired

    Amidst the panic and confusion, despair gripped everyone''s heart as thest trace of their hope started diminishing.

    However, the panic and confusion did notst long as the dust and vapors started to disperse, and the surroundings became clear. The ironwood cage was destroyed.

    "Oh, my Freya¡­ the divinities above must have finally answered our pleas. The cage is no more, we are free! We can escape!" Light shined from a frail woman''s eyes.

    "Yes! We need to quickly escape before those fiends return!" A middle-aged man added.

    The crowd eximed with excitement. They were suddenly brimming with hope and vigor despite their thin frames from ack of nutrition. It was surprising how much energy they still had left in them after being kept captive like livestock for so long.

    "Wait! There''s something over there!" Someone suddenly eximed.

    Near the area where the locked door on the ironwood cage use to be, there was a round object glowing with five different sparkling colors amidst the dispersing dust and vapor. The round object especially looked holy and divine. Their curiosity to understand what the divine object was, superseded their own desire to escape at first notice.

    "What is this object? It kinda looks like a lid for something¡­ but it feels very holy." A young girl was enamored by the beauty of the glowing object.

    "This has to be a divine object! It must have been sent down by the divinity above to free us!" A religious person assumed with great faith. His blind confidence was like a virus, infecting everyone else into taking his words as the truth.

    There were no churches erected in the present era, but people use to worship many gods and goddess before the cataclysm. Almost every person worshipped at least one god or goddess and their churches spanned the entire continent.

    However, theck of divine intervention during the great cataclysm had caused them to lose their faith in their gods and the Hero King became their new source of belief and worship.

    "We have to take it with us. We can''t leave behind. It would only be tainted by those fiends if theye back and find it." A person picked up the divine object carelessly.

    He was fortunate that the object was no longer scathing hot after being dipped in rainwater. It was gleaming with redness when it shot down from the skies like a meteor, but now its former silvery look returned and was just warm to the touch.

    "That goes without saying. We leave now, before it is toote. Those fiends might have realize something from themotion and could being back in time soon." A person suggested with caution.

    The crowd quickly agreed to the idea favorably and left the warehouse in tow. They did not want to spend another second in that dastardly and filthy ce.

    The crowd did not part ways after leaving the warehouse but continued moving together as a group. They have been through much together and have bonded. They felt it was safer to stick together as there was strength in numbers, despite being too weak to put up a real fight in their present state. They also wished to stay close to the divine object as they believe it would be able to protect them from whatever harmes their way.

    The same day, a new church was established within arge abandoned building within the Lower North District. Whether gods truly existed or not, they did not know. But the divine object was very real and became their source of worship. People needed something to believe in, even if it was just an inanimate object.

    The divine object was precisely the cauldron lid that went missing after being sted into the high heavens after Leon failed to refine his 5-Element Enhancing Pill. However, it was no longer the same cauldron lid as before.

    It was hard to understand what the cauldron lid had experienced above but it had undergone aplete transformation and already reached the spirit treasure grade. A seed had been inadvertently nted inside after the people started to worship it.

    The cauldron lid had freed the people from captivity and a fate with no future, thus they were very grateful to the cauldron lid. They have decided to devote themselves to worshipping the cauldron lid every day.

    What they do not know is that their faith was also a type of energy and this type of faith energy was able to nourish the cauldron lid.

    One day the seed will eventually sprout and grow sentient, be a treasure spirit for the cauldron lid.

    It was unknown what Leon would think, if he knew that his failed pill concoction had resulted in the upgrade of the cauldron lid instead.

 Chapter 102 - Sparring

    <h4>Chapter 102 - Sparring</h4>

    The living environment of the inner pce was very stable and quiet. Leon was freed from many distractions and able to focus on improving himself. His daily routine consists of 4-part digesting the information from the [Myriad Metal Compendium Vol.1/10], 3-part honing and practicing new skills, 2-part parts of his time was allocated to pill concoction and divine cultivation, and thest part of his time was allocated to spend time with his family.

    This was not limited to his mother, but also included his other family and inws living in the outer pce. He had brought the idea of moving them to the inner pce, but towards this idea, his mother had surprisingly rejected him. But on second thoughts, his mother naturally had her reason. The inner pce held many secrets.

    Each time he made a trip to visit the Duke''s family, Duke Ignis would always give him a strangely expectant but also unhappy look. He had no idea how he had earned the Duke''s displeasure or what this father-inw wanted from him. Whenever he tried to bring up the topic, the duke would keep mum about it, which put him at a loss of words.

    Inside his courtyard, Leon was practicing a new skill while waiting for the arrival of a recement cauldron lid. Without a cauldron lid, he did not dare to refine pills carelessly. He had attempted another 2 times following the second failure. Although he had tried different variation to create the 5-Elements Enhancing Pill, the cauldron lid was repeatedly sted into the heavens without fail.

    His thought process for refining the pill had been rtively simple. If the energy did not fuse into the herbal essence, then he would try to fuse the herbal essence into the energy. With all honesty, it was the same sh*t, but different smell.

    However, in the process of pill refining, any minute details could lead to great changes and affect the end result of pill refinement. Thus, although he understood it was a small detail, he dared not overlook the possibility.

    Matters of pill refining aside, his pill cauldron was something amazing for being able withstand the explosions. He didn''t know whether tough or cry when he found out that his failed pill concoction led to an upgrade of the pill cauldron to the spirit treasure rank. Maybe he had a knack for artificing.

    Spirit treasure, or rather spirit artifacts were all crafted by artificers. Artificers were a higher tiered profession than cksmiths as they also know runic inscriptions. There wasn''t much difference between spirit treasures and spirit artifacts. It was practically the same thing and was totally up to the people on how they want to call it. Whatever floats their boats really.

    ¡­

    Needle throwing had always been one of Leon''s simplest but most efficient method of killing. However, he had noticed that as he fought against stronger opponents, his needle throwing skill was not that very effective and was only suitable for finishing off weaklings. For his needle throwing skill to not bepletely useless in future battles, he had to tackle the problem of power and speed it wascking.

    If Old man Kasif was present to understand Leon''s thoughts and problem, he would have been ecstatic and shouted with great enthusiasm; "ept me as your master, boy!! I can teach you!!". But of course, his mother would never agree to it.

    As a doctor in his past life, the amount of martial arts and spirit arts in his arsenal were not many. His [Nine Echoes Osciting Fist] might as well be his best martial art skill in terms of power and speed. If only he could transfer that speed and power to his needle throwing skill.

    With that thought in mind, Leon had been practicing how to merge the two skills together to create a new and more powerful skill that took the essence of both skills; precision, power, and speed. However, there hadn''t been much sess, filling Leon with frustration.

    "Forgive this one for being presumptuous, but one cannot improve themselves quickly from just practicing skills alone. This one can be your sparring partner if you wish for it, your highness." Howard suggested, seeing the prince''s frustration.

    "That is an excellent suggestion, Howard. Come, Let us spar!" Leon agreed happily.

    What the pce guard said was one of the truths of cultivation back in the Divine Realm. Whether it was mastering a skill or practicing cultivation, a person improves at a quicker rate when they are under constant pressure. The greater the pressure he can bear, the faster his rate of improvement is, and there was no greater pressure than through life and death battles.

    But of course, there was no need to go that far as he was no match for the pce guards, and they were also his own people. Without any enmity or feud between them, it was ridiculous to start a life or death battle. Thus, a spar was the next best option.

    "Yes, your highness." Howard quickly took a battle stance opposite of Leon, before asking, "Should I suppress my cultivation down to your level, your highness?"

    "No need."

    Leon shook his head. It would defeat the purpose for sparring if he let the guard go easy on him. He needed the pressure to improve. He was not afraid of losing. He was only afraid of wasted effort.

    "Eat my punch."

    Leon quickly lunge at the guard, signaling the start of their spar. The guard did not dodge and received his punch.

    In a single bout, the gap between their cultivation was on full disy. A contest of raw physical strength between 600-jin force and 900-jin force, the superior side was obvious. Leon was unable to gain advantage over Howard. He quickly retreated when Howard followed up with a horizontal leg sweep.

    "Good strength, but far from enough, your highness! Why don''t you try your throwing skill?" Howard suggested during their spar.

    "I would naturally get to that. However, you should try blocking this next fist of mine. It won''t be as easy!"

    Leon lunged forward once more, however he started circting his energy and ran them through a meridian route towards his arm to use his martial art skill [Osciting Fist: Two Echoes].

    Leon fist shot forward in the same fashion. Howard shook his head. How great the difference of a punch could be? Their difference in strength was great. He raises his hand to block again, but at thest moment before contact, Leon''s fist suddenly exploded with 1200-jin force.

    The force of the fist was 300-jin above his own!

    Howard facial expression wrapped into shock immediately as he tried to parry the blow instead of receiving it directly, before retreating. The prince was not to be underestimated! He was in a league of his own.

    "I''ll be going on the offensive now. Please prepare yourself, your highness."

    Towards Howard''s words, Leon''s eyes turned serious as Howard shot towards him and rain punches upon him. Leon used his unique foot movement to dodge each blow. Despite doing his best to dodge, Howard''s blows still manage to graze him.

    ''This was it! This was the kind of pressure I needed.'' Leon thought. His martial skills weren''t the only thing needed improving, but also hisbat experience and battle awareness.

    He clenched his fist and sent out another [Osciting Fist: Two Echoes].

    Howard was prepared this time and used his own martial arts. His choice was¡­ [Military Arts: Flowing Stream]!

    Leon widened his eyes in horror at the familiar form as his fist connected, but the force behind it didn''t. His wrist was grabbed, and his body was twirled in circles before he was tossed away face-first to eat the ground in the distance.

    ''That darn skill!'' Leon gritted his teeth in anger.

    "Again!"

    Leon tried to attack from difficult angles, but Howard was still able to shift his position into his favor and grab hold of Leon wrist as Leon failed to deliver another [Osciting Fist; Two Echoes]. However, Leon did not give up and shot out another one with his free hand before Howard could toss him.

    The second Osciting Fistnded squarely on Howard''s armored chest and sent him flying backwards. Leon thought he had freed himself with that one fist, but he was dead wrong!

    Howard retained his vice-like grip on his wrist and dragged him along!

    Leon wore an expression of wanting to cry. He should have told the guard to take off his armor before the sparring at least. However, there was no use worrying over spilt milk and just fight on.

    He threw a consecutive Osciting Fist while they were still in midair, but his free hand was also caught! With both his wrist caught, Howard raised him up high and was about to m him into the ground to break his own fall.

    Leon''s mind spun for a counterattack. With his arms restrained, energy transferred to his leg subconsciously as he sent out an Osciting¡­ Kick!

    The kicknded on the back of Howard''s helmet. The concussive blow to the head made him release his grip on Leon involuntarily as he was the one to m into the ground instead, while Leon gained some extra airtime from the counterforce of his kick andnded some distance away after a few flips.

    Howard suffered double concussion after mming into the ground, but apart from feeling a bit dizzy, he was okay otherwise due to his strong armor.

    Their spar was cut short after another guard made a sudden announcement.

    "The Queen has arrived!"

 Chapter 103 - Success & Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 103 - Sess & Breakthrough</h4>

    The queen entered the courtyard with two pce maids in tow.

    "Mother, why have youe?" Leon greeted his mother upon her arrival.

    "You''ll know in a bit." Elizabeth answered vaguely as she signaled for her pce maids to step forward.

    With outstretched hands, they presented two items to Leon. Both were wooden cases but of differing sizes; one small and one long. Leon did not stand on ceremony and opened the first case. Inside the small case was a set of 36 acupuncture needles. It carried a simr silver sheen to his current needles, but he could tell that they were far from the same.

    The past days ofprehending the [Myriad Metal Compendium] book, he already had some general understanding of the world''s metals. Leon traced his fingers along the silver needs and understood where they differ.

    Compare to ordinary steel, the ones in front of him was an alloy mixture of ck iron and magisteel. The same ones he requested. Despite using ck iron, the needles had retained a stainless silver surface. The forger was sensible enough to know only stainless needles could be used for acupuncture.

    Due to the past days of busy training, he had totally forgotten about this weapon order. Leon removed his eyes from the needles and nced at the long wooden case.

    This one should be¡­

    Sure enough, inside the case was a jet-ck spear; shaft and spear head included. It reached a staggering 3 meters in length. It was a in and simple design without any markings, but it instantly clicked well with Leon the moment he saw it.

    "How is it? Do you like it?" Elizabeth asked.

    "I do! Thank you very much, mother."

    Leon picked up the ck spear and tested its weight. Neither too light nor too heavy. It was just right. The bnce and toughness of the shaft was great, and the sharpness of the spearhead was enough to slice ordinary steel with ease. It was a top-tier weapon among ordinary weapon. Leon nodded in satisfaction.

    Elizabeth was happy that her son liked the weapon, but she shook her head at his words.

    "If you want to thank someone, you should go thank the cksmith that forged that weapon for you." She said. She wasn''t going to steal credit from weapon''s creator.

    "Oh? Who is one to forge this ck spear for me, mother?" Leon asked with curiosity.

    He would also like to meet this cksmith in person. The person was clearly a master cksmith. It was just a pity that the person did not know any runic inscriptions, otherwise the ck spear would have be a great spirit artifact.

    "The Lancaster family is renown in the kingdom for their peerless cksmithing skills. Although they have started dabbling in machineries, their skills have not faded. If my son wanted a weapon, it has be the best of the best. Who else could mother ask other than the Lancaster family themselves to forge the weapon?"

    Elizabeth said with a regal air. She would do anything to keep her son happy. If her son wanted the stars, she would pluck it out of skies for him.

    "That means the one who forged this weapon was¡­" Leon seem to have understood who forged the weapon.

    "It was the Duke." Elizabeth finished off his sentence.

    Hearing his mother''s confirmation, he suddenly realized why his father-inw was always in a bad mood and seemed expectant of something from him. He had previously gifted his mother-inw a batch of Achromous Valerian Roots for herbal tea, but he had yet to gift his father-inw anything.

    After realized the weapon came from the Duke, Leon felt guilty but also confused at the same time. The Duke had made some subtle hints of wanting to drink some herbal tea, but Leon didn''t pay much heed to it. He had gifted the spirits herbs to make the tea to the Duke''s wife. If the Duke wanted some, couldn''t he just ask his wife? s, Leon did not know that this mother-inw of his was stingy and didn''t want to share any with her husband.

    ¡­

    Having delivered the items, Elizabeth stayed for a few idle chats with her son. She didn''t want to take up too much of her son''s time as he wanted to continue training. Before leaving, she gave Howard a sideward nce and made a mental note to reward him well next time.

    She wasn''t stupid and could easy tell that they had been sparring before she came. Although she knew her son would one day be a dragon among men, she didn''t believe he would could best the pce guards in a spar at his current cultivation. It must be the pce guard going easy on her son.

    It''s rare for awakeners to be able to battle opponents above their levels; one level was possible, two levels were rare, but crossing three levels was simply unheard of.

    ¡­

    "The new cauldron lid, your highness."

    A pce guard arrived with the recement lid sometime after his mother left.

    "Mm." Leon nodded before turning to Howard. "We will continue sparringter."

    "Yes, your highness."

    Howard answered with newfound respect for the prince. Only he had experienced first-hand, how shocking the prince''s strength was.

    Leon briefly ruminated over their spar and considered it an unexpected sess. He didn''t seed in using osciting fist technique through throwing, but he had seeded using his legs. If he could use Osciting Fist at two echoes freely like he was breathing air and any of his limbs, it was equal to elevating his battle power to 1200-jin permanently. In other words, he would be stronger than 9th step Awakeners as a 6thyer Tempered Body practitioner.

    After he finished ruminating, he fired up the pill cauldron straight away. He was confident he would seed this time.

    His energy wasn''t the correct catalyst for merging the herbal essences. His body was what formed the bnce of five energy and refined the pseudo-Grandmist energy. Thus, his body was the answer to the problem.

    This didn''t mean he had to throw himself into the pill cauldron¡­ Forget about fitting in the small cauldron, even if he did, it would be the same as trying to cook himself.

    Furthermore, ingesting the herbal essence mixture now would defeat the purpose of refining the pill in the first ce.

    The solution was using the blood essence of his Five-Element Body Physique.

    With that said, Leon repeated the steps of pill concoction for fifth time and dripped his blood essence into the herbal essence mixture. The herbal essence did not turn chaotic and began to light up brightly.

    Under its brilliance, the herbal essence finally started merging harmoniously.

    "Condense!"

    The shape of the Five-Element Enhancing Pill began to form under Leon''s control before hardening.

    Some time after the cauldron cooled, Leon lifted the lid and inside was a single Five-Element Enhancing Pill. This was due to him splitting the spirit herbs into ten portions, but one portion was all he needed.

    ¡­

    Under Leon''s request, a sumptuous meal of beast meat was prepared for him on the tea table.

    "Don''t let anyone disturb me."

    Leon ordered the guards.

    "Yes, your highness!"

    With all preparations for his breakthrough ready, Leon took in a puff of cold air as he looked at all the beast meatid on the table. A determined glint shimmered in his eyes. Do what he got to do!

    Leon devoured the beast meat in a quick but barbaric manner like the beast meat was still alive. After cleaning all the tes an hourter, he immediately sat in meditation and run his energy cirction using the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos] to refine all the energy inside the beast meat.

    The five-elemental energy within heaven and earth also began to gather towards him at the same time. He mustered the energy to impact the walls of the 7thyer, but it was as stable as a mountain and refused to budge.

    Sure enough, the walls of the 7thyer was not easy without his 5-Element Enhancing Pill. He did not wait any further and ingested the pill. A torrential wave of energy gushed out of the pill and began flooding his body.

    He increased his energy cirction and build up the momentum. When it hit the peak, he bombarded the walls of the 7thyer furiously. The previous mountain-like wall suddenly became as soft as tofu as it was sted into nonentity by the ocean-like energy and cleared the path to 7thyer. The excess energy continued onwards and charged towards the 8thyer. It did not stop until Leon''s cultivation sat stably at the 8thyer.

    Leon exhaled a puff of impure air with a sigh as he stabilized his cultivation. Breaking through the 7thyer felt like breaking through a major bottleneck rather than a minor one. He did not remember it being this hard to break through the early stages of divine cultivation.

    "Is it because my body had been reformed into the Five-Element Body?"

    Leon did not know whether tough or cry. He might have screwed himself over by choosing to practice the [Hegemony of Primal Chaos]. However, since he already chosen it, he will see it through to the end. There was no quitting halfway nor crying over spilt milk.

    If he gives up so easily when things get tough, he would not be able to form an indomitable will!?

    Leon tested his newfound strength on a steel pir and made arge dent with his fist. His physical strength reached 800-jin force without surprise. He spent the next few hours sparring with the pce guards.

    "Congrattion of your breakthrough, your highness!"

    Howard was shocked at the prince''s big leap in strength and was the first to congratte him.

    Rumble¡­

    "Mmm." He nodded with strained smile. His stomach felt unsettled¡­

    Later that day, one of the pce guards on toilet break discovered one of thevatory toilets was clogged beyond belief, but that is a story for another time.

 Chapter 104 - Old Mans Advent (2)

    <h4>Chapter 104 - Old Man''s Advent (2)</h4>

    The Upper Districts of the Capital each had their own unique scenic spot for people to visit, whether they were locals or visitors from outside the Capital. At the heart of the Upper South District was one such spot, Angus''s Food Market; arge market square filled with food stalls that sells exotic and unique food from across the entire Human Domain at affordable prices.

    At its center was a grand fountain called the Red Lotus Fountain. As its name implies, it was filled with Red Lotuses. Apart from being a popr spot for young couples to confess their love for one another, it was also a ce where people make their wishes.

    No one knew when the rumor came about, but it was said that if people throw coins into the fountain and make a wish, it would eventuallye true. Despite being unable to prove the veracity of rumor, it didn''t stop people from testing their luck.

    Gold, silver and copper coins were no longer used as currency since the old era and most have been exchange for the craw currency which appear in sophisticated paper notes. However, a lot of wealthy families kept these old relics for collection, and it didn''t stop their younglings from digging them up and extravagantly toss them into the fountain for wishes. Over time, a sizable sum of coins had piled up at the bottom of the fountain.

    ¡­

    Old man Kasif had found himself stumbling into thisrge food market as he was drawn by the rich aroma of food. He wore a weary expression from toiling in the Upper Districts. Wherever he went, trouble seem to have followed.

    "Haih¡­ It should be about 536 different interactions now¡­" Kasif thought.

    The past days had been a nightmare for him, especially the event at the Aurelia Mountain Road. The restaurant staffs chased him like he had murdered their ancestors. It was totally unreasonable!

    "Haih¡­ How can food be so expensive!? Pah! Dastardly thing. Food is meant to be eaten. Who can afford such expensive food?"

    Kasif realized that after working in the shadows for so many years, he could not even afford a single meal. Either the royal family had severely underpaid him of there was something wrong with that ce. He chose to suspect theter. How could he dare to question the royal family?

    "This elder, would you like to buy some meat skewers?"

    A random stall owner reached out after he notice the old man ogling at his meat skewers coated in special sauce that made it look especially sulent and enticing.

    "No."

    Kasif rejected and started walking off. He had learnt keeping interactions to a minimal was the best way to avoid trouble. In fact, he had mastered the art of minimal words. When trying to interact with other people, it mainly consists of two words; "Hi" and "Bye".

    ¡­And he had to say, it was extremely effective. People would just call him crazy and avoid him like he was a gue. They would not hassle him at all. Towards this kind of treatment, he was not offended and was even happy about it. He just wants to quickly finish the task, regardless of whether he did it right or not and just return to being the leader of the Shadow Guards.

    If the Queen knew what was happening, she would have wanted to facepalmed herself, thinking the Old man was beyond cure.

    "Wait, these skewers are only 20 craws each."

    The stall owner tried to entice the old man.

    ''A price that is actually damn reasonable! Pah! The previous ce was ck-hearted restaurant!''

    Kasif heard the stall owner but continued leaving with quickened pace. It wasn''t because he didn''t want to eat¡­ in fact, he very much wants to, but he had no money!

    He had to find a way to make some money!

    The heavens seemed to have guided Kasif to the Red Lotus Fountain where young people were seen tossing old money into the fountain! Upon further look, thousands of coins glittered at the bottom of the fountain under the moonlight!

    Kasif wanted tough out loud. The heavens must be favoring him! He needed money and money he shall get! He didn''t understand why these younglings were throwing away money, but who was he toin? One man''s trash was another man''s treasure!

    SPLASH!

    The old man dived into the pond-like fountain, spraying another jet of water into the air.

    "Ahh! an old man jumped into the fountain!"

    "Quick, get help!"

    The young bystanders saw the old man jumping into the fountain and thought he was tired of living and wanted to drown himself. It never crossed their minds that this old man was trying to steal the coins in the fountain.

    However, that was precisely the case! The old man climbed out with a small mountain of coins in his arms and shocked everyone. This old man was really stealing the fountain coins!

    "What are you doing!?"

    A young noble, whom just tossed a coin into the fountain, roared with anger.

    What the old man did was practically stealing away their hopes and dreams! Would their wishes stille true!?

    Old man Kasif was quite jovially at the unexpected gains, but the angry roar was like a ssh of cold water, startling him and made him dropped all the coins onto the floor.

    "I-Is there a problem¡­? I''m just taking what people don''t want¡­"

    "Is there a problem!? Are you pretending to be senile, Old man!? Don''t you know what this ce is!?"

    Listening to the Old man''s words, even the crowds were incensed. All of them had once tossed a coin into the fountain to make a wish before. Who doesn''t know about the wish fountain? The Old man was either shameless or aplete idiot.

    The crowd red at Old man Kasif angrily. Their res felt especially piercing. They were ready to give him a piece of their mind, but he wasn''t ready for any more mental torment.

    When things go south, run! Kasif quickly disappeared from the spot and escaped.

    "Huh? Where did the Old man go?"

    The crowds rubbed their eyes but couldn''t find any trace of the Old man. The Old man had seemingly vanished from right before their eyes. How can someone just vanish like that!?

    "G-Ghost!"

    Someone blurted. These young masters and misses were spooked and soon became a disorderly mob. The bedtime ghost stories were true! Ghosts are real!

    "Wahhh!"

    ¡­

    At the top of a building, Kasif looked up at the night sky. His figure looked lonely, haggard and unaware of the small chaos he created in the food market due to his disappearance.

    "Haih¡­ there is no free lunch in the world. How can I forget such a simple truth?" He sighed.

    He wasn''t sure what the Queen wanted him to achieve on this task, but he realized being the leader of the Shadow Guards weren''t all that great and glorious as he thought it should be. When he is gone, a new leader will step up to rece him. Who will remember him then? He had no kin.

    "Leader."

    A shadow guard suddenly flickered before him.

    "Hmm¡­ what is it?" Kasif was unaffected by the person''s presence and continued to gaze at the night skies with a lost expression.

    "The Shadow Guards needs you. Strange things have been happening in the Capital and we have already lost all contact with three of our squads."

    "You are the current leader in charge, Mark. How could you let such a thing happen?" Kasif turned around and questioned his vice-leader with a sharp expression.

    "Your subordinate is incapable. Please punish me."

    The vice leader dropped to his knees. He didn''t make excuses for his ipetence.

    "¡­"

    "Never mind. The four great families had been quiet for too long. What have they been up to?"

    Mark blushed with shame when he was asked that. The corrupted noble families seemed to have hidden themselves and their homes seemingly empty. But he sent his men to investigate, they never came back. The situation was bizarre. Shadow guards were trained to be adept at stealth and assassination. They should be nimble and fast. Even if they were discovered, they should have been able to escape. But since they didn''t return to report to him, he couldn''t gain any information.

    Kasif looked his vice leader with speechlessness. He closed his eyes to settle his emotions before reopening them.

    "Go back and handle the other matters. I will be going for a stroll." Kasif said. He was suspended from duty so he couldn''t be involved with the shadow guard''s work. However, it should be fine if he was just casually looking, right?

    Mark took a moment to understand the underlining message; Leave the corrupted nobles to the leader.

    "Yes, leader!" Mark answered with relief. A burden was lifted off his shoulders.

    After the vice leader left, Kasif headed straight for the manor of the Esmond family, located within the Upper South District and the closest to his current location.

    He frowned upon arrival. There were no people, but there was a strong lingering scent of blood and gunpowder in the area! He didn''t have much hopes that the shadow guards sent here was still alive. He focused on the lingering gunpowder.

    There was no gunpowder in the area, but such a strong lingering smell of gunpowder implied that arge amount of gunpowder was here, but it was moved.

    "How can the Esmond family get they hands on such arge volume of gunpowder?"

    There was strict regtion on gunpowder in the Capital!

    Kasif frowned in thought. But more importantly, where did the gunpowder go? This wasn''t good news. He scanned the entire area with Earth Pulse and found arge underground passageway that could possibly lead all the way outside the capital.

    "This must be how the Esmond family smuggled items into the capital and also quietly disappeared." He concluded with a serious expression. "The four great families were nning something big! I have to report to the queen immediately!"

    The matter could no longer be treated lightly! Kasif was willing to disobey the Queen''s previous order to bring the news to her. He understood the Queen''s attitude towards the nobles.

    The Queen treated had the noble''s uprising with contempt! She wasn''t as strong as she was now when the first rebellion urred and a 9th step awakener was quite powerful for her. But now they were just nonentities she could wipe out at any time.

    If they want to seek death, then they cane. She wouldn''t leave her defenseless husband behind to go out of her way to kill them all.

    The Queen would not act personally if it didn''t affect the foundation of the capital.

    Kasif believes, with therge amount of gunpowder hidden somewhere in the capital, it was like a ticking time bomb, threatening to destroy the foundations of the Capital at any moment!

    He quickened his steps towards the royal pce. Unfortunately, his expression took a drastic turn in the next moment.

    He was toote!

 Chapter 105 - Ring Of Fire

    <h4>Chapter 105 - Ring Of Fire</h4>

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    The chain of explosions could be heard in the distance and the entire Capital was rmed. The source of the explosion came from¡­ the city walls!

    Why the city walls?

    Kasif changed directions and headed towards the Lower District. It was toote to inform the Queen. Rocking up at the royal pce now would just be asking for a tongueshing from the Queen. He should investigate the area affected by the explosions and save the people instead.

    The scale of the resulting explosion of gunpowder was far greater than what he had anticipated. It didn''t seem like the four great family could have achieved this feat by themselves. Someone must be backing the four great families to generating such shocking and horrid results.

    "Are we being invaded by another kingdom?" Kasif couldn''t help but thought out loud. Why else would they take down the walls? Unfortunately, he could see anything beyond the original spot of the city walls beforerge volumes of smoke blocked his field of vision.

    Themoners were a bunch of clueless individuals. They did not know who or for what purpose they targeted the city walls with explosives, but where the city walls once stood became arge empty rift that seem to stretch deep into the earth. No one could get close to peer down the rift.

    Everyone was too busy trying to get as far as they could from the outer edges of the Lower District. The situation of the Lower District was total mayhem as people pushed and shoved each other to save themselves. The ugliness of human was on full disy for all to see.

    "Move it!" A man shoved a slow mother carrying her child out of the way.

    "Ahhh!" The mother tripped and fell to the floor.

    Such fall was normally not life-threatening, but behind her was arge crowd of frightened people running for their lives like a frenzy stampede. The mother had no time to consider her choices and protected her child with her own body as she was stepped on by countless feet.

    "Wahhhh, mummy!" The child weep with sadness as she saw her mother spurted blood and was dying.

    The man obviously hadn''t expect such a result but the did not turn back as his own life was more important.

    "Sorry."

    The explosion had sent burning debris and embers flying into the skies and rain back down upon the Lower District, targeting everything indiscriminately. Buildings were razed to the ground, and people were shot and crushed to death. The damages and destruction to the Lower District was incalcble and continued to escte as fire spread with fumes of ck smoke rising everywhere. The entire outer edges of the Capital were engulfed by the mes and formed a great ring of fire.

    "Arghhh! My leg!!"

    The man travelled a few yards before a wild flying debris shot threw his leg and caused himself to fall to the ground.

    "Noooo!" The man cried as he was simrly stomped to death by the rampaging crowd behind. Regrets filled his mind as he eventually took hisst breath.

    Suddenly the people felt the world became very small as the Capital was shut off from the outside world and trapped in a cage of nightmare. No one was able to see through the veil of ck smoke and fire rising, unless they stood atop high vantage points like the Royal Pce, Lancaster Empire Estate building or were able to take flight to the sky.

    Simr scenes were happening throughout the Lower Districts along with the reverberating cries and screams of themoners. A gloomy and somber mood filled the Capital

    ¡­

    The Royal Pce was in the heart of the Capital and was far from the city walls and outer edges of the Lower Districts, but the earthshaking explosions of the city walls were like the angry roars of the thunder god and reached all the way to the royal pce. Unless one was deaf, people would definitely be able to hear the explosions.

    Leon was cultivating in meditative posture when the tranquility of the royal pce was broken by the outside disturbance. As the Royal Pce upied the most central and highest area in the capital, Leon would be able to see the scene of the Lower East District if he left his personal courtyard.

    However, he did not do this and directly took to the skies with his me wings, where he was offered view of the Capital in all directions and the situation of the Lower District wasid bare to him.

    The scene of the city night was usually lit with a certain brightness that brought a festive mood and life to the city night. However, what Leon saw was a different type of brightness that didn''t bring life but death upon them.

    His heart was gripped with concern when looked at the simr situation over at the Lower West District. Aria was still there and so was his Golden Lion Gang. Although he didn''t really care about these people, they have entrusted their lives to him, so he had to be responsible for them.

    "Are you heading out, son?" Elizabeth arrived with her maids in tow and asked him.

    "Yes, mother. I must go. " Leon said firmly. He was going no matter what.

    "Mm, Mother understands. Go on." Elizabeth said supportively.

    Huh?

    Leon was taken aback by his mother''s answer. He thought she would try to keep him due to her overprotectiveness.

    "Then¡­ I''ll be go going."

    Leon said carefully as he grabbed his ck spear and took to the sky.

    "Make sure to bring that daughter-inw of mine back for Mother to see." Elizabeth suddenly mentioned.

    "It''s not Lynne." He immediately blurted out before he shot towards the Lower West District at incredible speed.

    "Oh? It''s another girl?" Elizabeth murmured to herself.

    The pce maids behind her shed a disgusted look at the disappearing prince in the distance. Their piercing gaze forced the Leon to look back with confusion but didn''t manage to discover anything out of ce as the maid''s expression had already returned to normal.

    "Must be my imagination?"

    ¡­

    "Why are you still here?" After Leon was gone, Elizabeth shifted her gaze onto the pce guards and asked with a solemn expression.

    "Uh¡­ We are unable to fly, your majesty."

    They answered.

    "Don''t you still have your legs? Or do you not want them anymore?" Elizabeth asked as she direct her gaze onto their legs with squinted looks.

    They were immediate scared and swiftly answered, "Y-Yes, you''re right. We will be going now, your majesty!"

    Howard and the three other pce guards chased after Leon immediately. Elizabeth wasn''t satisfied until their figures could no longer be seen.

    With how firmly her son had answered her question, she knew that nothing she said could persuade him and forcibly keeping him would only hurt their rtionship. Thus, the guards were still required to follow her son and protect him. Only when her son was well protected was, she able to be calm and have a peace of mind. She only had one son. She wouldn''t be able to bear the loss if there was a mishap.

    After her son''s matter was settled, she headed to Great Hall with a solemn expression and summoned the Shadow Guards.

    "What is yourmand, your majesty?" The temporary-inmand of the shadow guards and the vice leader, Mark asked after being summon.

    "I want information! How did these vermins snuck so much explosives into my husband''s Capital!? What have they been up to? And where are they now?"

    The Queen threw out one question after another furiously. These damn nobles have gone too far!

    Sweat trickled down the vice leader''s forehead as he did not have any answers to these questions.

    "Erm¡­ I-I''m afraid there''s no information, your majesty."

    The vice leader was shaking when he said this. He was absolutely terrified of what the Queen might do in her rage.

    "None!? What sh*t are you!? Do you even know how to do your job!?" Elizabeth roared.

    The metallic ting of the hall trembled as they threaten to peel themselves from the hall and be at her beck and call.

    "Mercy, your majesty! This subject is ipetent and not fit tomand the Shadow Guards. Only the leader is the most suitable." The vice leader dropped to his knees and pleaded for his life.

    "Where is Kasif? What has he been doing?" Elizabeth asked as she suppressed her fury. They had one job!

    When the vice leader heard this, he felt a ray of hope. This was something he could answer! They have been keeping tabs on the leader''s daily action. It was hard not to with the trouble the leader was causing. If he couldn''t even answer this question, then he fears it might really be off with his head.

    "The leader has been¡­"

    Mark started reporting everything the leader had gotten himself into. When Elizabeth heard the report, she rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples. The Old Goat was beyond cure.

    "Go fetch the Old Goat for me¡­ no. Tell him; suspension is over, and he is reinstated. He is to get to work immediately. I want to know what the four families are up to!" Elizabeth said with dignified bearing. She had cut off the word ''great'' from the Four Great Family. Such a name was a joke to her. Just a bunch of ants.

    "Yes, your majesty!"

 Chapter 106 - Saintess Of The Lower District

    <h4>Chapter 106 - Saintess Of The Lower District</h4>

    Leon''s flight speed was very fast, he arrived at his home district in a very short time. He descended to the ground after depleting most of his fire essence. He surveyed the streets that was littered with bodies; both dead and alive. Some were trampled to the point of having their five organs crushed, but they still managed to cling to life dearly by sheer willpower.

    "Young hero¡­ there''s no hope for me, but my son¡­ please take my son¡­" A young mother begged after seeing Leon descending from the skies. Her concern for her child was the only thing keeping her alive.

    "Wuuu¡­ mummy¡­" The child cried.

    "Please save me¡­" A middle-aged man with broken legs also pleaded.

    Many others on the streets witnessed and also pleaded for Leon to rescue them as well. Leon sighed at the turn of events. There were a lot of people that needed saving, but there was only one of him. There was only so much one person could do. If he tried saving them all, he would have no time to look for Aria.

    Leon popped a pill in the mother''s mouth and a few others who were in life-threatening conditions. He wasn''t sure if the All-Purpose Healing Pill was enough to keep their life, but he had done what he could. Their life now depended on fate and their own willpower.

    The pill efficacy worked quickly, and some with less life-threatening conditions discovered the miraculous effect of the pill quickly after they felt their life was no longer in danger.

    "T-This is a miracle pill! Thank you, young hero! N-No¡­ divine doctor!"

    They words triggered the surprise envy of those who didn''t receive any. They were immobile, but not in life-threatening conditions.

    "What about us!? Please give us a pill too!"

    "Yeah! This is unfair! We need should be treated too!"

    "Your lives are not in danger. I will send someone else toe to rescue you allter." Leon said coolly, while giving them a sweeping nce. He wasn''t obligated to help these strangers to begin with. If he handed out all his recovery pills, his hands would be tied when he encountered more people who truly needed them.

    "Wait! Pleasee back! I can''t walk!"

    "You can''t leave us here!"

    They started roaring at Leon, when they saw him that he had no intention to give them any healing pills. Leon looked back at them coldly.

    People expect too much when they don''t need. He already said he would send help, but some people just weren''t satisfied.

    Leon ignored them and soon left the scene. He headed in the direction of the Golden Lion Gang headquarters. He didn''t know where Aria lived, but he believed that she would be heading there for refuge. Suddenly, remembering that she was already awakened, he didn''t worry too much.

    Along the way he found that not every building hit by flying debris were razed to the ground. They came in various sizes and many were able to survive the copse.

    There were people that chose to hide inside their homes during the explosion and while some were unlucky to be killed under the crushing weight of their own homes, many others survived.

    The chaos of the Lower District did not seem to have settled even after the flying debris and embers ceased raining hell upon them, and only seemed to have escted the matter.

    Some people took advantage of the chaos to raid other people''s homes and plunder their goods and valuables. The illusoryw and order in ce waspletely shattered by the explosions. People became depraved and did whatever they want like it was the end of the world.

    Right in front of Leon, a woman was forced to escape from her own home before being pinned down by a man, who was not her husband.

    "Please let me go! Why are your doing this!?"

    "Kekeke." The manughedsciviously.

    Leon frowned at the ugliness of men. It was unseemly and disgusted him to share the share gender. Without much thought, the man became a headless corpse under his ck spear before he continued his way.

    "Thank you, young hero."

    The woman was grateful, but she could not hide the sadness in her heart. The man had invaded her home and killed her husband.

    Leon did not look back. After dealing with a few simr cases, he finally arrived at the nightclub that was surprisingly still in one piece.

    "Boss." Manager Doug instantly recognize Leon as he did not conceal his face.

    Manager Doug was pleasantly surprised to see their boss again after many days of absence. He always seems to arrive in a timely manner, when they needed him most.

    "What''s the situation?" Leon asked.

    "Terrible, boss. The city walls exploded, and the ground copsed along with the thin veil ofw and order that held the Lower West District in ce."

    The Lower West District was the most stable of the of the four lower districts. The fact that it still descended into hell could only mean that it was worse for the other three districts.

    Leon creased his crows. "I already know this. What is the situation of our members? How many are present?"

    "All of them are present." Manager Doug answered. "¡­Along with their families crowding every floor, Boss."

    "Gather all the core members for me. I have something to say." Leon nodded.

    "Yes, boss."

    The core members were assembled before him shortly. There were old faces along with new ones for a total of forty core members. Leon distributed all of them awakening pills indiscriminately, regardless of whether they were already awakened or not.

    "All of you were once maggots, miscreants and ruffians, whom bully the weak in one way or another to benefit yourselves. You have neither earned the right to these awakening pills nor deserving of them, but today I am bestowing them upon you!"

    "There are hundreds to thousands of people in the lower districts that now need your help. Save them and prove to me that my choice today was not the wrong one. Go!"

    The boss''s words and actions struck a chord with them. The benefits the boss provided was much better than what the great families had given them before. Even if they had no sense of justice in their heart, they were still eager to prove themselves to the boss. The group swallowed their pills with concealed excitement and determination before dispersing outside.

    "Doug, you stay. Someone needs to take charge of the headquarters and these people." Leon ordered.

    It wasn''t wise to send all his men out. He, himself wasn''t staying for long. It would be a big joke if they returnter, only to find out their headquarters have been looted.

    "Yes, boss." Manager Doug answered with utmost respect and awe. There was a majesty to the boss that weren''t present before.

    "Where is Aria?"

    "Miss Aria¡­ is not here."

    Leon was momentarily silent.

    "I''ll go look for her."

    ¡­

    "Mum, dad,e with me. I know a ce that can keep us safe!" Aria said with her ethereal voice as she tugged on her parents. They had just managed to escape from their copsing home.

    "No! We need to hide!" The father rebutted strongly.

    The streets were littered with dead bodies. It wasn''t safe to stay outside.

    "Trust me!" Aria was strong-willed and pulled her parents.

    To the man''s shock, he was no match for his daughter''s strength. Since when did his delicate little baby grew so powerful?

    "Alright." The father soon becamepliant.

    His daughter''s thin and delicate arms couldn''t possibly contain such strength unless she was¡­ awakened.

    Along the road, the family of three found other survivors on the streets but was horrified by what was happening. They couldn''tprehend why people weremitting violence, robberies and rape.

    "Noo! Stop!" A youngdy fought back her man forcing himself on her desperately.

    When Aria saw this scene, her expression frosted over. It had triggered her bad memory when she was still weak. She ran up and kicked the man right in his family jewels with great force and sent him flying. The lecherous animal died with his family jewels exploded.

    Her father felt a cold breeze over his own. His daughter seems to have bad blood with this type of people and transformed into a ferocious ice queen. Thankfully he wasn''t like this, the father gulped.

    "Thank you very much, sister. I am very grateful for your help. You are very powerful." Thedy put on a smile, despite being in pain from her broken leg.

    "Next time, you must fight back and kick them where it hurts." Aria said coolly.

    Women were taken advantage of because they were timid and weaker. They had to show these men how ferocious they can be so they would not be bullied so easily.

    However, Aria wondered why she was so unfeeling towards killing and suddenly felt afraid, afraid that she was turning into someone she wasn''t.

    There weren''t too many evildoers in the area, but there were a lot of victims that had been trampled on. Aria made quick work of these evildoers nheless, and began helping her parents carry the victims to a safe spot away from the burning and copsing buildings.

    "Thank you¡­ Thank you¡­ Thank you¡­" The victims were very grateful for the trio''s act of kindness.

    Their work took many trips as there were dozens of injured people, while only the three of them were able to move freely. As an awakener, she was able to carry two people at a time and made more trips than her parents at a time.

    Soon, words of her great act of kindness was spread among themon people. While she was powerful, she had unmatched beauty and kindness. The people of the lower district needed hope and she had unwittingly became that symbol of hope in this time of chaos.

    By word of mouth, tales of her feats were soon blown out of proportion and soon began calling her the Saintess.

    ¡­

    News made their way to Leon''s ears, whom was searching and helping in another area of the Lower West District. His recovery pills were almost depleted in the process. He decided to head over to the source of the news¡­ He thought it was worth investigating.

 Chapter 107 - Crisis

    <h4>Chapter 107 - Crisis</h4>

    A few dozen kilometers away from the Capital, a group of people could be seen standing on the top of a hill and gazing over at the burning Capital. They were the four great families; Grey, Esmond, Weld and Acker. Before them stood another figure cloaked in ck, making the figure''s countenance unrecognizable.

    The group looked at the burning capital with mixed feelings; some looked on with keen interest and anticipation, while some seemed guilty.

    "Haih¡­ we are all sinners. To burn the guardian kingdom defending humanity and straining it''s already dwindling poption. I don''t know how I feel about this." Lord Esmond sighed with mixed feelings, but his in expression contradicted his sentiments.

    When Lord Weld heard this; he smirked, "Don''t start pretending be some good person now, Lord Esmond. You know full well as I do; how many lives we have reaped to live as long as we did. The moment we decided to practice that technique, we already stopped being humans."

    His dark and fiendish aura fluctuated when he said this. His aura was also the densest and heaviest of the four family lords. One would find it hard to associate him with being human. He was more bing of a blood demon that wantonly feasted on human blood.

    Since the death of his son, he had been sinking deeper into depravity. The only thing keeping him from fully submerging was his grandson, Cayden.

    "When you rece the Crawford royalties and be the new guardian families and protectors of mankind; you will be heroes, not sinners. The victor is king, and thews are theirs to make. A hundred yearster, who would remember the truth when history had been rewritten? The Crawford family weren''t the first to rewrite history and they certainly won''t be thest."

    The ck cloaked figure spoke to the four lords, but his eyes never left the scene of the burning capital. The ck cloaked figure was the one Lord Weld had went to request help from, Sir Zagan.

    Edric Grey was standing behind his father at the back when he heard the ck cloaked figure spoke. He widened his eyes and blurted, "History was rewritten?"

    The sudden interruption made his father, Albert Grey turn pale with anger. He was pped without mercy and harshly reprimanded, "Where are your manners!? Don''t interrupt the lords when they are speaking!"

    "This one apologizes for not disciplining his son properly and hope the lords forgive his rudeness." Albert apologized humbly, while forcing his son to bow. The people in front of him was akin to monsters that drink human blood. He never spoke about it, but he was quite fearful in his mind of these lords; his own father, Lord Grey included.

    "Forget it. I might as well enlighten the ignorant." Sir Zagan waved. If anything, the father was more uncouth than the son with his loudness, but he didn''t mind.

    His words caused the displeasure of lords. No one liked to be called ignorant, but it was also true that they didn''t know history was rewritten by the Crawford royal family either. While they were displeased, they dared not show it on their faces and just let it die in their stomach. Sir Zagan''s strength was unfathomable and couldn''t be disrespected nor offended.

    Sir Zagan wasn''t wrong in calling people ignorant. Anyone with half a brain would at least know that the history everyone was taught, which sang praises of the Hero King''s feats and the glory of humanity was in fact; full of dubious points.

    "The human domain is very small inparison to the continent atrge. How many people had once spanned the entire continent before the cataclysm? How many kings? How many kingdoms once existed? ¡­No one knows, but the numbers should have been far greater than what we have now."

    "The history of the Hero King was too clean. With the existence of so many royal families in the past, the rise of amoner would not be smooth and without oppositions. The current kingdoms in the human domain all belonged to the royal families that supported the Hero King back then. You can guess what happened to the rest that didn''t."

    Sir Zagan ended his speech there and allowed the group to draw their own conclusions for the fate of the opposing royalties. His eyes suddenly grew sharp.

    "The main event is starting soon."

    ¡­

    Outer Pce, atop the pce walls,

    "Why is no one from the Upper District stepping forward to help themoners? They even shut the gates!" Rachel frowned at the actions of the upper ss.

    Is this how nobles and aristocrats are supposed to behave? They don''t seem to care for themoners at all! She would have rushed to help if her parents weren''t stopping her.

    "They don''t want themoners flooding the Upper District with their filth." Duke Ignis mused before realizing his own insensitiveness. "Cough* I didn''t mean you guys¡­"

    Mia had looked at him coldly in Helen''s arms when he said this.

    "Hahaha¡­" Duke Ignis chuckled awkwardly and pinched her cheeks but she wasn''t impressed.

    "¡­"

    "Anyway¡­ the nobles and aristocrats are afraid to help."

    "What are they afraid of?" Rachel asked.

    "They are afraid of the unknown. the city wall was blown up, but that can''t be the only aim of the enemy. There must be a second part to their n¡­ and without figuring out their n or aim, the nobles and aristocrats don''t dare to step forward to help."

    ¡­

    Lower South District, outer perimeters,

    The area was filled with ck smoke and heavily impeded one''s vision. Kasif arrived at the edges of the dense ck smoke and advanced no further. Even if he was a five-star awakener, breathing in toxic ck smoke was harmful for his body and extended periods could even lead to death.

    "There is too much ck smoke¡­ this is too unnatural to be the result of gunpowder alone. A lot of firewood is needed to create this much ck smoke." Kasif frowned.

    His Earth Pulse was picking a lot of vibrations, too many to count and too hard to get an urate read. The ck smoke was also billowing out endlessly. He didn''t dare go underground because the ck smoke would suffocate him.

    He had a sense of forebodinging from the below. If it was what he thinks it is then the Capital was in deep sh*t.

    "Better close up this rift quickly."

    ¡­

    Lower West District, market square,

    "Thank you, Saintess." An elderly woman expressed her gratitude.

    Aria retained a cool expression, but inside she was dying from embarrassment. Such a title¡­ How did the situation led to this? Few hours earlier, her n was to take her parents to the Golden Lion Gang headquarters where she believes was the safest ce in the lower district.

    Her parents were originally concerned about their safety, but the moment they saw other people suffering, they were the first to express their wish to help! She was just carrying out their wishes. They were the true saints!

    "Wow, look! someone ising from the skies!" A little boy suddenly uttered and pointed to the skies.

    Everyone turned to look where the boy pointed and saw a young man in royal garment descending. Aria was no exception, but the moment she did, happiness was written over her concealed face.

    Aria dived into Leon''s chest as he descended. He smiled when he found her, "Are you the Saintess?"

    He already knew the answer, but he still asked. They had been working on two fronts to quell the chaos and save the people. Aria received a lot of help from the gang members to set up the medical tents, while likeminded and able individuals joined inter.

    The gang members fed the information back to him and after he learnt how powerful Aria became, he ced down his worries and focused on saving the people that needed saving.

    One used miraculous healing pills to treat the dying, while the other soothed injured''s pain with her angelic voice¡­ One was a divine doctor and the other was a Saintess. They truly sounded like a match made in heaven.

    "You are teasing me." Aria pouted with shyness and buried her face in his chest.

    Crowd was surprised by their Saintess''s reaction. It''s seems their Saintess already has a sweetheart!

    Some boys and young men were broken hearted at this revtion. Though they haven''t caught a glimpse of her face, they imagined her beauty was heavenly like her voice.

    The females on the other hand, thought differently.

    "Ahh¡­ He is like a prince descending from the heavens¡­ So handsome!"

    "They look like a match made in heaven."

    Some youngdies were dreamy, seeing the way Leon descended.

    Before Leon began divine cultivation, he was not handsome by any means. But after he started, his skin has be a little fairer and his body more toned. He was not ugly at the very least¡­ coupled with his royal garment and aura, people''s impression of him change greatly. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder.

    But it could also be said another way; even if it is a pig, if it was dressed in gold, the people will sing praises.

    Whatever their thoughts were, Leon didn''t care.

    "Ahhh!! Run!!!!"

    Suddenly, there were screams and shoutsing from the direction of the outer edges.

    "What''s going on?" The person grabbed and questioned.

    "M-Monsters¡­ Bugs¡­ I don''t know! Run if you don''t want to die!" The person broke free and ran in the direction of the Upper District.

    Rumble¡­

    Everyone was soon able to see what wasing in the distance. Leon recognized them at first nce and his expression turned grave.

    "Deadeye Spiders!"

 Chapter 108 - Great Retreat

    <h4>Chapter 108 - Great Retreat</h4>

    How did the Deadeye Spiders find their way to the surface? He did not have a good experience with Deadeye Spiders. The situation back then could have been avoided, but he didn''t. Now that they arrived at the surface, he wanted to avoid them, but he can''t.

    The appearance of Deadeye Spiders was startling, and their numbers were terrifying, but he did not fret.

    The Deadeye Spiders were busy jumping into the mes of the burning buildings and didn''t bother them. They had some time to evacuate the area.

    However, once mes are all gone, they would turn their hungry blind eyes on the tens of thousands ofmoners in the lower district.

    "Oh my god! What are those things! They look so grotesque!"

    "T-They have so many legs! Ahhh! And eyes too! That''s so disgusting."

    The crowd felt a shiver run up their spines when they looked at the giant creepy crawlers in the distance devouring mes. They had never seen anything like these creatures nor learnt anything about them.

    Five hundred years was a long time and themon masses have already forgotten what insects were, especially when these giant insects weren''t the same as their old kind from before the cataclysm.

    Panic began to erupt among the masses after seeing the giant arachnids'' appearance.

    Leon frowned at the growing disorder. It would be difficult tomand their retreat in a steady manner if they could not be calmed.

    "BE QUIET!" Leon amplified his voice and roared like thunder.

    The crowd were stunned by the magnitude of his volume. All eyes focus on Leon and he used that short period of attention to issue his orders at once.

    "Golden Lion Gang, heed mymand!" Leon called out. The gang members all stood erected and perked their ears.

    "You are to lead the others to the Upper District in a neat and orderly manner. There will be no pushing and shoving! If anyone tries to selfishly get ahead of the others, throw them to the back of line!" Leon issued hismand coldly.

    "Yes, boss!"

    "Beckett, you are take charge of this operation. The others are to follow your orders. Don''t disappoint me." Leon spotted Beckett among the members present and ced him inmand of the group.

    "Yes, boss!" Beckett answered with pride. He felt honored that the boss remembered his name and ced him in charge of such an important role.

    Little did he know, it was because Leon ONLY knew his name from among the gang members present that he was assigned a higher role.

    When some people among the crowd heard Leon''s coldmand, they were stunned then furious.

    Throw them to the back of the line!? Seeing such terrifying creatures within in sight, which one of them didn''t want to be the first run!? They ones at the back would be the first to die!

    These were the people who had stepped on others and ran when the explosion of the city walls happened. Because of the chaos at the time, the injured ones did not recognized them when they were trampled on by others.

    "Who are you to tell us what to do!?"

    "Yeah, what right do have to order us around?"

    Theirints however were met with harsh scolding from the others.

    "Idiot, didn''t you hear what the Golden Lion Gang members just call him? They called him boss!"

    "Hmph! The divine doctor is doing it for our own good! Did you want people to be trampled on by others again?" Some people who recognized Leon as the divine doctor also chimed in.

    "Yeah! Maybe you people were the ones that trampled on us before!" The other injured people also joined into the fray.

    "I¡­ I¡­ We didn''t."

    These people didn''t expect to be scolded by others. They had expected the others to join their protests instead, but it was clear that they were dead wrong. They tried to deny, but their hesitation was taken as admitting by the others.

    "Enough! Start moving now! The able ones should help carry the injured ones. Do not rush and only take what you can hold." Beckett interjected. Boss assigned this role to him. He had to do it right.

    The crowd soon started shuffling out of the square and moved towards the Upper District western entrance. Some people still took their chances to rush ahead, but they were immediately caught by gang members and thrown to the back like they were warned. They instantly regretted their actions.

    The square was a gathering point to tend to the injured and held a lot of people, but they numbered less than three thousand. This was only a fraction of the total poption residing in the Lower West District.

    There were about fourteen thousands of othermoners scattered about. Some still hid in their homes, while others went to smaller gathering points.

    Regardless of their location, the lower district soon descended into greater chaos at the emergence of the arachnids. Tens of thousands ofmoners from across the four lower districts began retreating madly towards the Upper Districts.

    Hundreds of people are bound to die in another frenzy stampede. Leon could only save so much.

    ¡­

    Upper District walls, western entrance,

    "Open up!"

    "Please let us in!"

    "Why did you all shut the gates?!"

    "Please let my child enter at least, he is just a boy!"

    Themoners shouted and pleaded at the gates, but despite their cries, the city guards, nobles and aristocrat families watching the scene of the Lower District atop the upper wall looked on coldly and didn''t have any intentions of opening the gate.

    A softhearteddy looked at the pitifulmoners below and asked, "They are so pitiful¡­ How about we let them in?"

    But the suggestion was immediately rejected strongly.

    "Absolutely not! We can''t let in so many people!"

    The unending stream of arachnids appearing out of the ck smoky region was terrifying. It was like there was no end to their numbers.

    If they let in so many people, when would they be able to shut the gates again!? Not to mention, they don''t know how long they must fend off the arachnids once these creatures arrive at the upper wall.

    They were basically trapped and that would mean their supplies of goods from the outside world is cut off. In other words, there was limited food. How can they afford to feed all thesemoners?

    The number people living in the Upper District only amounted to roughly ten thousand, yet there were close to fifty thousandmoners from the lower districtsbine. They couldn''t handle such influx.

    As such, they didn''t dare open the gates¡­ unless they received a royal order to do so.

    ¡­

    Back at the lower district square, Leon looked at Aria who remained at his side.

    "You should go with them."

    "What are you nning to do?" Aria didn''t answer his question. Instead, she stared him straight in the eye and asked.

    "I''m going to try and buy some time by reducing their numbers." Leon said.

    "No, how can I let do that alone?" Aria protested.

    "I won''t be alone."

    As Leon said that, his pce guards arrived.

    "Your highness."

    Howard and the others greeted with a helpless expression. This prince of theirs sure likes leaving without a word.

    Your highness?

    Aria gave Leon a questioning look.

    "That''s just how it is." Leon smiled wryly.

    There were no changes to Aria''s expression when he admitted. It didn''t matter who Leon was. Her feelings weren''t going to change because of it.

    ¡­

    It took a lot of effort for Leon to persuade Aria to leave with the rest.

    In the end, it was her parents that managed to convince and took her away. Before they left, her father gave him a hard look and there were signs of relief.

    Aria''s father had been skeptical with the boy she was seeing. Her parents had broke into tears of happiness when she went missing for one night and came home with being able to speak.

    When she told them, it was Leon who cured her and he was the boss of a gang, her father did not believe her. He thought she was lying to make them feel more epting of this benefactor she was pursuing romantically.

    How could a medically skilled person and a gang boss be that young? The boss of the ck Snake Gang had been a middle-aged figure.

    But seeing was believing and he was finally able to put down his worries. How could he let his daughter date a middle-age man?

    After the family of three left, Leon looked at his guards and asked, "You guys aren''t going to stop me, right?"

    The guards smiled wryly at Leon''s question.

    We can''t beat you nor can we persuade you, so we can only follow you! Otherwise the queen will have our heads!

    That was what they wanted to say, but they just answered, "No!"

    "Good." Leon smiled and focused his sight on the arachnids. They were closing in and were about to enter the square.

    He could see the buildings being swallowed one after another by their overflowing numbers.

    Anyone unlucky to be eaten by these creatures would probably not be left with anything behind.

    Their terrifying numbers meant these arachnids breed like crazy. They had to be killed before they startying eggs.

    "Take charge of your own lives. We kill as many as we can then retreated!"

    "Yes, your highness!"

    It seems that he was destined to be an exterminator of bugs. He gripped his ck spear tightly and charged into the army of spiders.

    No strategies were needed against such weak preys. He only needed to;

    Kill, kill, kill!

 Chapter 109 - Exterminating Bugs

    <h4>Chapter 109 - Exterminating Bugs</h4>

    Leon had suffered under the Deadeye Spiders unrelenting assault because he did not understand their characteristics before. But now that he knew, he would not repeat the same mistake. He did not choose to enhance his ck spear with me essence. It was sharp enough to y these arachnids. He utilized his ice energy and lowered his own body temperature.

    The Deadeye spiders did not react to his approach at all as he closed the distance with nimble movements. They could neither see nor sense him and soon fell victim to his sweeping spear as easy as plucking fruits from a tree.

    Under a quick barrage of attacks, hundreds of spiders were quickly killed. However, these Deadeye Spiders didn''t seem to mind the death of their kin and continued moving towards the next fire source.

    From the day these arachnids were born, they were destined to live in a world of eternal darkness and have no sense of affections for its own brothers and sisters. When the early crawlers jump into the burning buildings and light themselves on fire, they also be targets for other crawlers and are attacked and eaten by their own kind.

    The crawlers were harmless insects in front of Leon. He did not have to worry about his defense and wentpletely on the offensive.

    Leon made a full horizontal sweep with explosive strength like a one-handed sword and dozens of crawlers were hit by his ck spear. Even if they weren''t directly cut the spear head, the spear shaft smashed them in mush and sted them in the others.

    Like a passing overlord; wherever the ck spear travelled, all must give way and clear the area.

    His inexperienced spear movements quickly became fluid and refined with each sweeping motion.

    The crawlers were used as training dummies to practice his spear techniques!

    Seeing the prince fighting so valiantly, the guards were surprised. The spiders did not attack their prince at all!

    The Deadeye Spiders weren''t news to the pce guards. They had killed their fair share of Deadeye Spiders back in the royal pce. All pce guards had been sent to the underground to train and practice their techniques on the night crawlers at least more than once.

    However, it was a first time for them to see these night crawlers ignore the prey right in front of them and only rush towards fire source. It was as if the prince was invisible to them.

    In fact, that was exactly the case. From the night crawler''s perception, Leon was like a specter, flickering on and off their grid when he moves and when he doesn''t.

    The prince was like a sovereign of death. If he wanted their lives, they would have no choice but to offer it willingly.

    There was nothing great about being able to crush ants, but Leon was filled with self-satisfaction when sweeping these bugs away like ones. This was the kind of absolute strength he seeks.

    If there was a day when he could sweep all the Divine Kings beneath his feet like ants, then that would be his lifetime''s greatest achievement

    While being awed by the prince''s way of killing, a night crawler snuck up on one of the guards and bit on his helmet with a nk. Unfortunately for the crawler, the helmet was made of a very tough metal and all its teeth were broken from the bite.

    Sssss¡­ it issued a painful cry.

    The pce guard was startled at sneak attacked. He was distracted and allowed a puny crawler to snuck up on him. He angered and mmed the crawler on the ground with great force, turning it into mush.

    "Don''t just watch, Cain. Assist his highness." Howard stated.

    They drew their swords and charged in different directions with their chunky armor. Due to equipment, they weren''t as agile as Leon and were quickly swarmed by the crawlers when their entered the fray. However, the armor allowed them to be impervious to most attacks.

    "Hmph."

    Being buried under a mountain of crawlers, Howard stomped the ground and dozens to hundreds of earthen spikes shot up from the ground and impaled all the crawlers within five yards of him. Even after killing these crawlers for so many years, they still disgust him to no end.

    "How about the old rule? Whoever kills the least has to cover drinks for the others for a whole week." Cain suddenly suggested, but his sword never stopped hacking and shing. "You game, Howard?"

    Hearing this, Howardughed. He had never lost a killingpetition. "Hahaha, thanks for the drinks in advance."

    Thispetition was as good as one. Cain''s suggestion was as good as offering him free drinks.

    Why would he refuse?

    "How about you, Jeffrey?"

    "Sounds good." Jeffrey was game. He didn''t excel at killing Deadeye Spiders among the four of them, but he wasn''t the worse either.

    Of the four pce guards that apanied Leon, one of them had kept silent and no one bothered to asked if he intended to join their game.

    However, feeling isted¡­ he couldn''t kept silent for long and caved in.

    "Aren''t you guys going to ask if I want in as well?"

    "Of course, we want to¡­ but considering you always lose, we kinda feel bad, you know?" Cain said, but he couldn''t help grinning. He wasn''t sympathetic at all.

    "Bullsh*t! Why bring it up if you feel bad? Come on! Who''s afraid of who?" Jack wasn''t fooled by his words. His fighting spirit was ignited.

    He wasn''t afraid of the challenges. He can''t win, if he was afraid of losing.

    The four pce guards finished setting up their littlepetition and began their bug ying with great intensity. They all began using their signature move with their earth abilities.

    "Great Revolving Domain!"

    Cain took the initiative and shout out his signature technique. The earth cracked apart incalcble amount of rock pellets and floated in the air, before revolving around Cain at high speed and created a spherical domain.

    Dozens of crawlers that dived into his domain were struck and grinded to death like they were shot by hundreds of bullets.

    He wasn''t satisfied and dived into a sea of crawlers with his moving domain and it shred apart a few hundred more.

    "Buddy, your move is very fancy, but aren''t very effective in killing them en masse!" Jeffreymented.

    "p of Mother Earth!" Jeffry shouted.

    A gigantic palm rose from behind him. He pped his hands like a crocodile snapping its jaws and the gigantic palm descended and ttened tens of thousands of crawlers into bug patties.

    His face paled from exhausted all his earth essence in a single move.

    In a further location, Howard leaped into the air above a sea of crawlers and dropped down like a meteor before mming the ground with his palm.

    "Grand Stgmite!" He roared.

    Within fifty yards of him, several thousands of crawlers were impaled to death by earthen spikes striking of various sizes rising from the ground. The spikes destroyed the foundation of a buildings within it''s radius and copsed, crushing thousands of additional crawlers.

    A light glinted in Jack''s eye and he did not use his usual technique but called out a new name on the spot.

    "Almighty Copse!"

    He roared and forced the various abandoned buildings around him to copse and crushed all the crawlers in its vicinity. His move was nothing short of mass demolition.

    "Muahahaha! I am a genius!" Heughed hysterically.

    Countless night crawlers were killed under his move and the numbers were inestimable. It may have possibly exceeded the hundred thousand mark, but many people''s homes were destroyed in the process.

    Leon was amused by their little game until it escted and blown out of proportion.

    The pce guards were in a league of their own, with their exquisite control of their earth elements.

    He had no choice but to admit that their techniques were quite high level despite having exaggerated names as well as¡­ peculiar ones¡­

    But¡­ did they have to go overboard and demolish so many people''s homes? Whether it was burning, damaged or intact ones, they were all indiscriminately demolished. Leon felt his face twitched at the mess they caused.

    He racked up thousands of kills himself, but it was nothingpared to his guards.

    They had stolen his thunder and disrupted his ns.

    "That''s enough. We are retreating."

    Leon called out to his guards. They had quickly exhausted most of their strengths in such a frenzied killing manner and wouldn''t be able to continue for much longer.

    Although he could keep going for several more hours due to his conservative kill method, he had to care for his own guards¡­ because they would not retreat without him.

    In any case, they had aplish their objective in killing heaps of crawlers and reducing a portion of their numbers.

    "Yes, your highness!"

    They hear and obey. The pce guards quickly regathered by Leon side and they retreated together.

    Jack was smiling because he believed he had not killed the least for once. In fact, he killed the most!

    All was fair in love and war.

    The others groaned at this fact. They were indignant. This bastard was so unscrupulous in his methods to win.

    People could be hoping of returning to their homes once the disaster was settled, but he had directly destroyed their hopes and turned hundreds of people homeless.

    "So, who lost?"

    His question was like setting off a powder keg.

    They unanimously answered with,

    "Fuck off!"

    ¡­

    As the group headed to the Upper West District western entrance, Leon wondered how his mother will resolve the crisis. He wouldn''t believe it if his mother said the royal family didn''t prepared a countermeasure for a day like today.

    Everyone in the capital have now witnessed what horrors lied beneath them and it can no longer be kept quiet.

    The half millennia old secret was a secret no longer.

 Chapter 110 - Open The Gates!

    <h4>Chapter 110 - Open The Gates!</h4>

    "Boss."

    Leon was greeted by his gang members when he arrived near the western entrance.

    The situation was not one he was expecting. He had yet to reach the western entrance, but it was already densely crowded from where he stood.

    "Why had everyone not entered the Upper District yet?" Leon asked with a sour tone.

    He had dyed the crawlers from reaching the upper wall, but their arrival was inevitable. These people will be food for the crawlers if they don''t enter soon.

    "As you can see boss¡­ the gates have been shut tight. No one is able to enter the Upper District."

    The gang member pointed in the direction of the gate. There was an uproar at the gates. The crawlers were closing in and the crowd were growing restless. They started banging in the gates with greater strength.

    "Open the gates!"

    "Open the gates!!"

    "Open the gates!!!"

    "I am a noble! I demand the gates to be open for me at once!" Some nobles roared.

    Evidently, there were other nobles and aristocrats that were caught outside in the chaos of the Lower Districts. Their presence made more people on the Upper Walls hesitate.

    "What should we do? We can''t ignore these nobles and aristocrats."

    "Dammit, why do they have to be outside at a time like this."

    "It''s no use. Themoners will flood inside once the gates are open for these nobles and aristocrats. They only have themselves to me."

    The discussion atop the upper walls were like a death sentence for these nobles and aristocrats stuck outside with themoners. Their hearts turned cold.

    ''These people were their peers? They were prepared to watch tens of thousands of people die. They weren''t humans. They are a bunch of heartless monsters!''

    If they were not stuck outside like the rest of thesemoners, they would naturally not think like this. But since they were caught in the same situation, their sentiments aligned with themoners and hated the cold-bloodedness of the Upper District people.

    Simr situations were also urring at the southern, eastern and northern entrances.

    The only exception was the scene at the southern district was the least intense. The people at the southern entrance weren''t as desperate as the people at other entrances.

    ¡­

    On the rooftop of an intact building within the Lower South District, a group of shadowy figures were seen panting and resting.

    "Leader, what are our next course of action?" Mark asked respectfully.

    "You guys did well in finding me. I would not have been able to close this rift by myself." Kasif said. "However, it is not enough to save the south district. We will head back and report to the Queen. Her majesty will tell us what to do next."

    "Yes, Leader¡­ but what about themoners? Theymoners are being barred from entering the Upper District. Are we going to leave them to fend for themselves?" Mark added his concern.

    "I believe the problem will be resolved by the Queen shortly." Kasif answered with some thought.

    He was sure the Queen could see the situation from the Royal Pce and would not leave all thesemoners to die.

    Although they had seeded in sealing the rift for the Lower South District''s side, it was not enough to eliminate the danger from the Lower South District.

    There were just too many crawlers emerging from the rift in the neighboring districts.

    Forget about the absence of the outer city walls, even the adjacent walls dividing the lower districts would not be able to stop these night crawlers from entering the Lower South District.

    Unless the entire rift surrounding the Capital was sealed and all the crawlers were eliminated, the danger would always be present. They were only able to buy some time for themoners.

    However, that time was more than enough for the Queen to resolve the entrance blockade by the nobles and allow themoners to retreat to the Upper District safely.

    He wished he could continue to seal the rest of the rift, but the situation did not allow for it. They had exhausted themselves and the ce was already swarming with crawlers. It was an impossible task. They would just be offering themselves up as dinner for those nasty insects if they tried.

    The group took onest look over the Lower District before they headed back to the Royal Pce. The upper wall may have been able to impede a lot of people from entering the Upper District, but it was nothing for high-level awakeners.

    With a strong leap, they were able to scale the wall easily and continue unobstructed.

    The Lower East District and Lower North District were the only two districts that didn''t receive help from any awakeners.

    The intact buildings close to the rift housed many people, whom chose to hide from the explosion. They did not leave and continued to hide inside.

    When the crawlers emerged, these people were the first to be killed and eaten clean. Nothing was left of their remains.

    ¡­

    When Leon found out that the Upper District entrance was selfishly shut tight, he was angered.

    ''These bastards only care about themselves.''

    Among the crowd, he found that Aria and her parents were also still present. If he had chosen to head to the Upper District directly instead of taking the western entrance route, he might have missed them.

    "Ahh it''s the divine doctor!"

    "The Golden Lion Gang boss is here!"

    Themoners eximed when they saw Leon fly above them with his me wings.

    ''Hopefully the boss can get them to open the gates for us.'' They prayed.

    Leon floated in the air above the upper wall and looked down on the upper wall people coldly.

    "Open the gates!"

    The nobles and aristocrats were surprised by Leon''s appearance and ability. They tried to browse their memory but failed to recognize him. They didn''t seem to recall there ever being such a young fire-user among the royal family.

    Only royalties could wear the type of royal garments Leon was wearing.

    "Brat, don''t you know it''s a capital offense to pose as royalty? Come down and ept your punishment!" A figured in city guard uniform stepped forward and shouted.

    The person wasn''t intimidated by Leon''s ability. He was a 5th awakener. He didn''t think the boy could possibly be stronger than him, given his young appearance.

    Leon''s words werepletely ignored, and his mood sank further when he saw that his demand wasn''t being acted upon immediately.

    "And what kind of sh*t are you?"

    "You don''t know who I am!? I am the Owen, captain of the city guards, brat! How dare you disrespect me!"

    The person was immediately angered by Leon''s disrespectful words. But while he was anger, he was helpless to do anything about it. He couldn''t fly like Leon.

    City guards? The city guards!? Which hole did this city guard captain crawl out of?! Where had they been this whole time?

    The city guards had the duty of keeping the order and enforcing thew, but what was the situation of the lower districts like? Their presence in the lower district was practically non-existent.

    If this city guard captain didn''t appear before him, he would have forgotten city guards even existed!

    Leon didn''t think they were good people to allow the gangs to run rampant in the lower districts and fatten up the coffers of the corrupted nobles for so long.

    They must have been in leagues with them or taken bribes to turn a blind eye to all the happenings of the Lower District at least and ignored the suffering of themon people.

    Even when chaos descended on the Lower District, the city guards didn''t appear to help themoners in need. They weren''t anywhere to be seen in the Lower District in fact.

    It turns out they had long retreated to the Upper District, and this bastard prancing in front of him was the head of those useless city guards?

    Leon''s expression turned cold. He immediately shed in front of the city guard captain and wrenched him up off his feet by the throat.

    Shock and horror bloomed on Owen''s face as his eyes bulged at Leon with fear. Leon''s cold eyes were like the deep dark abyss that threatened to swallow him whole.

    He wasn''t able react to Leon''s action at all and allowed himself to be grabbed like a hapless littlemb.

    He wanted to say something but couldn''t due to the tightening grip on his throat. He could feel his eyes starting to roll and was about to pass out.

    Someone who could defeat the captain of the city guards so swiftly had to be much more powerful than him.

    Would the city guard captain offer his own neck to be grabbed so freely? No!

    Thus, the nobles and aristocrats on the wall all retreated in fear. They were from the upper ss, but they belong to the bottommost part of it. They weren''t as strong as the city guard captain and was easily intimidated by Leon''s overbearing presence.

    Leon threw the captain off the wall like throwing away garbage before jumping down too. Owennded on the ground in the Upper District''s side painfully with a loud thud.

    "I will not be repeating myself!" Leon said with the ir of an overlord.

    Owen waspletely frightened like a timid rabbit by Leon in their short exchange. When he heard the boy''s callous words, he was about to agree and order the city guards to open the gates immediately.

    However!

    Rumble¡­ The sound of heavy footsteps rushing to their location caused him to stop the words stuck on the tips of his tongue to look. His eyes immediately brightened by what he saw.

    "Brat, you are dead now! The pce guards are here!" The city guard captain said venomously. His previous fear seemed to have dissipated without a trace at the pce guard''s arrival.

    "Sirs, you came at the right time! That brat is posing as some royalty and threatened us to open the gates!" Owen said pitifully to the guards with tears threatening to pour out of his eyes, while pointing to Leon.

    The leader of the pce guards looked at him with disgust.

    I''ve seen kids crying to other adults about being wronged, but never a grown man crying to other adults about being wronged.

    Act your age, dude!

    The leader forced down his unpleasant feelings and turned to look at who Owen was pointing at. He was immediately stunned, before he was driven furious.

    PAH!

    Owen was pped so hard he couldn''t tell left from right, before he heard how the leader greeted the boy and wanted to faint.

    "Your highness!"

 Chapter 111 - Leap Of Faith

    <h4>Chapter 111 - Leap Of Faith</h4>

    Your highness!

    The words rang like thunder in his ears. Owen could not believe what he was hearing!

    Your highness!? He scoured his memory but couldn''t remember there ever being such a young figure among the royal members.

    Wait a minute! The missing prince should also be around this boy''s age¡­

    Is¡­ is he the prince?

    After recovering from his concussion, Owen felt like he was doused in a basin of cold water and couldn''t stop shivering in fear. He kept silent and looked up at the young figure in royal garment with trepidation.

    He knew he had not left a good impression on the prince and the umtive crimes he hadmitted over the years was enough to sentence him to death a hundred times over.

    If the prince decides to dig into his history, his life would be as good as forfeited. That is if he was still even able to keep his life after just offending the prince.

    Owen was as silent as a night owl. He did not dare to let out a single fart and awaited the prince''s next words. The prince''s following words would be like the edict of heaven. His life and death could be decided with a single word.

    "Did my mother send you all here to defend the wall?" Leon inquired.

    "Yes, her majesty has dispatched a batch of pce guards to each district and defend against the iing crawlers. I am the one, her majesty has ced in charge of the defense for the western side, your highness." The pce guard leader, Isaac said respectfully.

    The return of the prince to the royal pce was already old news. Such momentous news naturally travels through the pce very fast and every pce guard and maids were made aware of this fact from an early point.

    In the off chance that someone among the pce guards did happen to not know who the prince was, then that person must have been a turd with hearing problem or have been living under rock in some unknown corners of the pce.

    "I want to open the gate and let all themoners in. Are there any problems with that?" Leon said coolly.

    "There are no problems, your highness. We have been ordered to save as manymoners as we can by her majesty, before defending the wall to the best of our abilities."

    "Good. Begin immediately. Much time has been lost."

    "Yes, your highness!" Isaac said proudly, before turning to the other pce guards to direct them. A total of fifty pce guards have arrived.

    By Leon''s calctions that was a total of two hundred guards sent to the four districts. The pce most likely wasn''t many pce guards left behind to guard the royal pce.

    "Go open the gates!"

    Isaac issued hismands, followed by a string of instructions to control the flow ofmoners.

    The city guards managing the wall watched on dumbly as the pce guards took over their role. They turn their heads to Owen for instructions, but he pretended they did not see him. He wanted to silently curse them.

    Don''t look at me dammit!

    He was quite happy when the prince didn''t mention him immediately when talking to the pce guard leader.

    He had this vain hope that the prince had forgotten about him, but in fact, Leon had not. He was simply preupied with getting themoners to start entering the Upper District as soon as possible.

    Now that it was settled and themoners began entering, he refocused his attention on Owen coldly.

    "You."

    "Y-Yes, your highness? What are your instructions?" Owen trembled.

    "I order you and all your men to get out there and cover themoners retreat. None of you can return if there is even onemoner left behind, do you ept?"

    "Y-Y-Yes, your highness! I hear and obey." Owenplied obediently, but his face still paled at the mission.

    What they had to do was not much different to a suicide mission if no one else were to assist them.

    His men only consist of first step to second step awakeners, and they did not wear full body metal armor like the pce guards. Thus, they would be very vulnerable to the crawler''s attacks.

    The city guards heard the prince''s words and paled when their captain agreed.

    "Y-Your highness, there are too many people pouring in through the entrance. If we forced our way through, it will slow down the flow of people entering." A city guard protested with a poor excuse.

    Leon had no intention of taking no for an answer from these pot-bellied city guards. They will do as they are told.

    "Do you need me to teach you how to leave?" Leon coldly at the city guard just now.

    "Y-Yes."

    When the city guard answered. The others stepped away from him in fear of being implicated in whatever the prince nned do to the person.

    "Very well. Let me show you how exactly you should all get out there and help themoners without using the entrance." Leon said darkly.

    Before the daring city guard could react, he was grabbed by the leg and taken over the fifty feet upper wall.

    "AHHH!"

    The city guard screamed as he was tossed over the wall. His unfit bodynded with a thud on the roof of a nearby building in the Lower District.

    Leon looked back down at the rest of the city guards and said, "Who else doesn''t know how to go out?"

    "We¡­ we all know now. Thank you for your guidance, your highness."

    The city guards all answered with gratitude, but they wore ugly expressions of wanting to cry. They would rather jump themselves, than be flung by the prince.

    "Then get to it!"

    "Y-Yes!"

    Owen and the city guards all climbed up the upper wall and made the leap.

    "AHHH!"

    All sorts of screams came from these men as they tried to leap over to the nearest buildings, which were at least forty feet away.

    Some made it, some barely made it, and some didn''t. Leon didn''t care. They weren''t going to die from such a short fall anyway.

    The ones that barely did, clung to the edges of the roof like they were clinging to their dear life. It was a very pathetic sight for these city guards who were supposed to be soldiers.

    A trained first step awakener from the military would have been able to leap fifty feet long, even if they couldn''t leap fifty feet high.

    They only have themselves to me for indulging themselves in the sex, alcohol and gambling over the years transformed their own trained bodies into that akin to pigs.

    "Mummy, what are they doing?"

    A child pointed up and asked her mother as they were following the crowds to enter the Upper District. The crowds also followed suit and looked.

    "Mother doesn''t know. It''s better not to know."

    The mother quickly covered her child''s eyes as she deemed the sight of two hundred pot-bellied men leaping through the air with their dangling flesh unseemly for her child''s eyes.

    Others looked at it with some resentment and amusement intermixed. It was truly a sight to behold. What are flying pigs? No one really knows, but this was probably it.

    Leon watched them coldly on top of the walls in case they didn''t do as they were ordered. He had refrained from killing them because they had their uses, but if they continue to misbehave, he would not hesitate to execute them.

    The city guards looked back and shivered. They dared not act on any funny thoughts as the prince was ever watching them like an ancient beast waiting for its prey to make a wrong move. They quickly head off to the rear to help.

    "The pace is too slow¡­" Leon thought with a frown.

    There were ten thousandmoners needing to enter, but the crawlers were closing in faster than the rate ofmoners entering the Upper District. A confrontation with the crawlers was inevitable.

    They were also severely undermanned.

    Leon nced over at the nobles and aristocrats doing nothing on the wall but watching. In times like these, everyone should be helping.

    "Everyone, do you n to help out or do you all just n to stand there and watch?" Leon asked calmly.

    "This¡­ of course, we will help out¡­ but we are not armed¡­" A nobleman said carefully. He was not stupid. The prince asked them a simple question, but he was implying that they should help out.

    "That is not a problem. You can go collect your weapons and return. When the timees, everyone is required to defend the wall and not let these crawlers break past."

    "Yes¡­"

    "Go now, I will remember you." Leon said cidly.

    I will remember you¡­

    The nobles and aristocrats wiped their sweats. The prince had imprinted their faces in his memory. They can''t just leave and not return to help or they would be in troubleter.

    After these nobles and aristocrats left to go arm themselves, Leon called for the guard leader.

    "You called for me, your highness?"

    "What is the defense n?"

    Hearing the prince''s question, Isaac answered, "We have to hold the line until sunrise, your highness."

    Leon nodded at Isaac''s answer. He thought as such.

    Once the sun rises from the east, the crawlers will scatter towards the light. But it will be a grueling period to defend until sun rise.

    ''There should also be a follow up n to eliminate all the crawlers before theyy waste to all that lies east.''

    Leon thought.

 Chapter 112 - What Was The Last Thing That Went Through Their Heads?

    <h4>Chapter 112 - What Was The Last Thing That Went Through Their Heads?</h4>

    Somewhere in the Wilnds, on a certain hilltop that seems to be the heart of a beast tribe, the transcendental 6-Tailed Silver Wolfid in ackadaisical manner. As a transcendental beast and the king of a tribe, it stood at the peak of power and there weren''t many things that could excite it.

    Most of its time was normally spent on its hill overlooking the development of its tribe that did not consist of only its own kind, but also various other beast races. Although there were many conflicts of interest among the beast races, the king itself wasn''t prejudiced. In its books, any beast within its territory and loyal to its rule, was its subject. So it would not discriminate.

    If the troops from the Great Wall were present, they would gasp in amazement at the sight of the beast tribe. Although the military has been made aware that beasts don''t necessarily possess intelligence below their own, they would still never think that the beasts would adapt their humanly ways.

    There were manyrge huts and tents made of wood, straws, grass and even beast hides and bones were included. It was very simr to how humans started out during their primitive stages or nomadic lifestyle in the past.

    At this moment, the 6-Tailed Silver Wolf raised its head with a frown as if it had smelt something unpleasant¡­ something that made it felt revolting.

    Its ancestry had always been known for its extraordinary sense of smell, so much so that even a newborn cub would possess a sense of smell that was a hundred times greater than that of humans.

    As a full-grown Silver Wolf with transcendental fleshly might, the 6-Tailed Silver Wolf''s sense of smell was far beyond that of a newborn cub and it was able to smell up to a few hundred miles away.

    "Awooo!"

    The king issued its howl to the sky and a flock of aerial beast soon descended as they were summoned by their king.

    Among the aerial beasts that consists of giant crows, one small figure stood out at the forefront from among the group of ck crows and appeared to be the head of the group. It possessed the appearance of a young girl with jet ck wings like a fallen angel in ck-feathered dress.

    The young girl''s small frame made her look particrly weak with her flimsy limbs and silky smooth skin. However, one should not judge the young girl by her appearance. Behind her thin arms lies an astronomical amount of strengthpressed within that was contrary to its frail appearance.

    The two did not converse in the humannguage. Instead, they spoke in the ancient beastnguage that was universally used by the beasts throughout the Wilnds.

    "Something big is happening in the Human Domain. Go and investigate it for this King." The Transcendent silver wolf ordered with an imposing air.

    "That is suicide! My people will die!" The young girl protested.

    "Hmm? Are you nning to disobey this King''s orders, Lilith?" The silver wolf narrowed its eyes.

    The lives of its subjects were inconsequential, only results mattered. Beneath the Transcendent level, all life were ants and unworthy of the Silver Wolf''s concern.

    "¡­"

    "No!" Lilith answered after a moment of silence.

    Before long, the young girl and her flock of giant crows took off to the skies with a sad but determined look and flew east.

    The king''s order was absolute!

    ¡­

    There was a reason why aerial beasts no longer attempted to fly past the Great Wall to scout the Human Domain in the many years the wall had been erected.

    During the cataclysm, many things had been changed and transformed. The sky was also no exception to the changes. There was an unknown pressure within the sky that bore down on all creation.

    The higher one flew, the increasingly difficult it bes. Thus, whether it was aerial beast or airships, none had been able to break the thousand feet limit. The only exception to the limit were Transcendent-level birds.

    For non-transcendent birds to attempt to bypass the Great Wall at such low heights, it was akin to suicide as they are still within firing range of human firearms.

    At this moment, a flock of aerial beast could be seen approaching the Great Wall with great speed without slowing down.

    The ever-vignt watchers atop the walls were immediately alerted of their arrival and rung the rm. They would never rx while on watch duty. It had been drilled into their beings to always be wary and vignt of the beasts. The false talk of peace was too incredible for them to believe. They didn''t slip up then, they wouldn''t slip up now.

    "It''s the aerial beasts! They havee!"

    "Dammit, I knew there would never be any peace between our two races!"

    Troops quickly lined the wall and took aims with their firearms in a swift manner.

    Bang* Bang* Bang*

    The shots were fired and the flock of crows were all hit.

    While the bullets failed to prate their bodies at such height, it was a different story when their feathered wings that were weak in defense.

    Caw¡­ Caw¡­ The crows cried.

    Their wings were riddled with holes and they helplessly dropped from the skies.

    The crows seemed to be vehement in crossing into the Human Domain, but it seems like it was futile. They were easy targets for the trained shooters on the wall.

    One by one they all dropped out of the skies and plunged headfirst into the ground with their sharp beaks. The momentum gained from plunging from such height was extremely fatal and without surprises, the crows all sttered on the ground with booming noises.

    None of their features could be recognized after they had all be bloody mushes, but if they still could then there would have been content expressions on their faces.

    Why content expressions?

    In the air, Lilith managed to slip into the Human Domain unnoticed, but she was heartbroken by her nsman''s sacrifice. She had hidden under the big frames of her own people and used them as shield in order to seed.

    ¡­

    The soldiers arrived at the location of the bloody mushes to see if there were still any salvageable materials they could recover from the bird''s carcasses.

    "Damn¡­ these stupid birds never learn their lessons, do they?" Harrymented to himself.

    "What do you think was thest thing that went through their heads, when they hit the ground?" He suddenly ask his good mate at his side, Tim.

    "Hmm¡­ I don''t know¡­ maybe its ass?" Tim looked at the bloody mushes in the ground and answered.

    "¡­"

    Harry looked at his mate, speechlessly and dumbly.

    This buddy of his actually¡­ took his words in the literal sense¡­ he doesn''t know what to say about this.

    "That wasn''t what I mean you know¡­ Actually, never mind¡­"

    Tim scratched his head dumbly. Did he say something wrong?

    Harry ended their short conversation there and rubbed his temples.

    Mostmoner soldiers chose to enlist in the army because they weren''t good with education. They were more brawns over brains. Tim was one such example and his way of thinking would naturally be simpler.

    ¡­

    Back at the Capital,

    Themoners to retreat into the Upper District at a steady pace. However, the rear started to grow frantic in their hearts when they saw the crawlers closing in. There were no burning buildings left between them to dy them.

    Owen gulped at the sea of crawlers. There was still more than half the number ofmoners left in the Lower West District.

    It seems like where he stood will be his final resting ground¡­ no, these bugs would not even spit out his bones. He would be in their stomaches.

    Leon also saw the situation. At the same time, the nobles and aristocrats returned with weapon and armor.

    He looked at their shiny suits of armors with interest. It must have cost them a fortune to afford it.

    "We will follow your orders, your highness." They said steadfastly and firmly. The protection of their armor seemed to have boosted their confidence.

    Leon quickly arranged for them to rece the pce guards'' role of guiding themoners into the Upper District without disorder.

    "Guards, at mymand!"

    "What are your orders, your highness?" Isaac answered.

    "We will go help the rear. Those lousy city guards will not be able hold the crawlers off by themselves." Leon stated.

    "Yes, your highness." Isaac was prepared to carry the task out at once.

    "One more thing. Since my mother has ced you in charge of the western defense, you will naturally be inmand. I will not take this role from you." Leon said.

    He still had some self-awareness and didn''t think he was some greatmander. He had been directing the order of things based on what needed to be done and what had to be done.

    He had yet toplete his military training. He had no experience inmanding the guards in battle and definitely no knowledge of their guard formations and such. The defensivemands should be left to the capable.

    "Yes." Isaac saluted with his fist and palm with respect and admiration. The prince knows when to step down.

    At this moment, someone called out to him.

    "Leon."

    He looked down and found that Aria and her family already made it to the gates. They were at the rear; how did they make it to the front so soon?

    Themoners let her through due to her status as Saintess, Leon immediately understood.

    "Go on, the people will need you to calm them down, Saintess." Leon shed her a warm smile.

    Aria nodded quietly and entered the Upper Districtpliantly. Under the cover of her hair, her face was flushed with embarrassment.

    Saintess!

    That title is going to stick, isn''t it?!

 Chapter 113 - Hendrick Arrives!

    <h4>Chapter 113 - Hendrick Arrives!</h4>

    Capital outskirts, hilltop woods,

    "When will it be time for us to make our move?"

    One of the lords asked. He was growing impatient from all the waiting.

    The Capital could not see what was happening outside due to the veil of ck smoke, but it was also true the other way around. No one outside could see what was happening inside. However, the bugs had begun spilling outwards and not just towards the Capital.

    "We will move once they all exhausted their strength in defending at against the Deadeye Spiders. Furthermore, the Queen had not made her move yet. We cannot move ahead of her."

    The Queen was their biggest problem. Being secluded in the pce for so many years without outside interaction, no one knew how exactly powerful her majesty had be. They had to tread each step carefully. One wrong move could spell the destruction of all their families.

    At the mention of the bugs, the faces of all the lords and members of the four great families could no longer remain calm.

    They had been told about the existence of these creatures that lurked under the Capital, but it still came as greater shock to them when they actually witness the creatures with their own eyes.

    It was unbelievable that they had obliviously spent most of their life living above such an abominable existence and unbeknownst to them.

    Watching the sea of crawlers continuing to expand, they began to grow nervous. Such numbers had far exceeded their expectations.

    "Quiet. Someone ising."

    Suddenly, they found that someone was flying towards the Capital. The four great family hid behind the covers of the trees and watched the figure approach.

    "Isn''t that the general marquis? What is he doing here?"

    They were surprised at the arrival of such a strong awakener. The general marquis rarely leaves the western frontier.

    They didn''t believe the general marquis could see what was happening to the Capital from the western frontier. The distance between the two ces weren''t exactly far, but it wasn''t close either.

    However, under the cover of the night, it should have been exceedingly difficult to see the smokes rising from Capital. Which means, the general marquis'' visit to the Capital was pure coincidence.

    Theyment at the bad timing.

    "No need to pay him any attention. He would not be able to disrupt our ns." Sir Zagan said nonchntly before no long paying the neer any further attention.

    A 9th step awakener was just an ant to him. The neer would not be able to stir big waves.

    The lords were taken aback. The general marquis was someone on par with them, but sir Zagan didn''t put the general marquis in his eyes.

    This¡­ was a bit too arrogant, no? They didn''t know how powerful sir Zagan was, but they always felt suppressed by some invisible pressure just being in his presence. Thus, they could only assume he was very powerful.

    Little did they know, the general marquis had already advanced to one star and could continue making breakthroughs in a very short time if he cultivated.

    Wind was present everywhere and very chaotic, but also easily manipted. Due to its nature, it did not belong to the five elements that formed a perfect cycle and bnce. But this didn''t mean it was worse than any of the five elements. Whether it is weak or strong was dependent on the user.

    ¡­

    The surroundingnds outside the Capital mainlyprised of farnds, growing the crops that sustained the kingdom''s poption. There were many farmers that chose to live on their farnds instead of inside the Capital due to convenience of their work.

    The farmers gathered and watched the burning Capital roughly two miles away. They did not dare to head over to investigate as they were afraid of being caught up in the chaos. They were just ordinary folks.

    The people who had the galls to blow up the Capital couldn''t possibly be ordinary. What could they do?

    Among these farmers, Rowan watched the rising ck smoke in his wheelchair with trepidation along with his servant.

    "It was a good call to leave the Capital early, young master." Enzo said with some fear.

    "Good call¡­ good call¡­" Rowan gave him a thumbs up, but his sight was still glued on the Capital with wide eyes.

    "Hmm? Isn''t that master?" Enzo suddenly spotted Hendrick in the skies.

    "Father?" Rowan turned to look, before growing ecstatic.

    "Father!"

    Rowan shouted, but it was a pity that the general marquis did not hear him.

    When Hendrick Graham saw the burning capital in the distance, he immediately sped towards it. He arrived at the outskirts of the Capital shortly.

    "What the hell happened here? Who has the gall to attack the Capital? Where do these thingse from?"

    Hendrick frowned with concern.

    Due to the low altitude of his flight, he could not see past the veil of ck smoke.

    He swiped his hand and a strong gale blew away the smoke with ease. The situation of the Capital wasid bare to him. He didn''t stay idle and immediately flew over to assist the people defend.

    The ck smoke closed back up shortly after, but the people outside was able to get a glimpse of what was happening inside. They paled at the sight.

    Crawlers. Unending streams of them.

    "Young master, those things are starting to towards us. We should retreat further back." Enzo suggested.

    Rowan nodded with a heavy expression.

    ¡­

    By now, themoners could no longer keep calm, especially the rear. Tragic cries and screams of the city guards made the legs turn weak, but they didn''t dare to look back. Run!

    "Move faster! Get to the walls!"

    The flow ofmoners sped up.

    "AHHH! SAVE ME!"

    Another unfortunate city guard cried before it was drowned in the sea of crawlers.

    One bite was enough to make them lose strength and several more to sentence them to death. Even if Leon provided a healing pill at this point, it was toote to save them.

    If Hades wants them, he would not be able to snatch them back. They were goners, both body and soul. Not a trace of their existence was left behind after being swallowed.

    Owen and the surviving city guards wavered at the sight. They wish to run at this point.

    "Do not falter! Do not retreat! If the spiders don''t kill you, I will!" Leon roared.

    If their defensive line break now, the vulnerablemoners will be their prey and their death count would soar.

    The city guards grew ugly at Leon''s words and their eyes were soon reced with madness.

    "Goddammit! Even if you must die, kill as many of them as you can for me!" Owen roared.

    The city guards uttered war cries and started hacking up the crawlers indiscriminately in their frenzied state.

    Die! Die! Die!

    The crawlers were pushed back slightly form their efforts.

    "Your highness." The pce guards greeted upon arrival.

    "Assist them! Don''t let too many of them die!"

    "Yes, your highness."

    The pce guards ttened the crawlers with their earth abilities and a gap was created between them. The pressure on the city guards lessen dramatically, but instead of retreating, they charged into the sea of crawlers.

    They no longer cared for their life and death. The blood on their hand was a bit heavy from the crimes theymitted in theirst decade. They hoped that by killing more crawlers, their sin could be reduced and be blessed with a clean te in their next life.

    At this moment, the general marquis arrived!

    "Tempest!"

    Hendrick pointed his finger and roared. All the air in the world was his tomand!

    The wind gathered inrge amounts, twisting and twirling with increasing momentum and powerful before transforming into a tornado.

    The destructive vortex of violently rotating wind descended and shredded all things that met it. All creation within five yards of the tornado was pulled inside and shredded into a thousand pieces.

    This was Hendrick''s best skill and almost the most unstable one. It was beyond his control once it was formed!

    The tornado was like a harbinger of death and destruction as it moved through the sea of crawlers,ying waste to everything in its wake.

    If Leon''s guards were stillpeting for kills, the general marquis would be the clear winner!

    He arrivedte but the number of crawlers that died under his attack already broke into the hundred thousand and continued to soar.

    It would have no problem reaching the millions!

    "The general marquis is here!"

    "Praise the general marquis!"

    Such cmitous technique would hardly go unnoticed. Themoners saw and cheered immediately.

    The general marquis had always been defending west and was revered as a hero by the people. In this moment, he was like a war god.

    Leon did not envy the general marquis strength. It was a joke for someone who had formally achieved the Divine. He wasn''t entranced like everyone else and focused on the important task at hand.

    "Do not stop moving! The general marquis has bought us time! Use this chance to retreat now!" Leon barked.

    The people quickly recovered with a start and quickly entered the Upper Districts.

    The general marquis killed millions, yes, but it was only a small fraction of their numbers. There were at least tens of millions on the surface and for every crawler they kill, ten more would crawl out.

    There didn''t seem to be an end to their numbers unless they seal the rift.

    ¡­

    The Queen, who was up in the Royal Pce also witnessed the sight. She had been paying attention to the whole Capital from above, but never left. She saw the bigger picture. The crawlers weren''t their only enemies.

    "So, you have figured out the next step to transcend." Elizabeth said with interest, before looking up at the clouds in the night sky.

    "The winds of change have begun to blow."

 Chapter 114 - Crazy Don In Seclusion

    <h4>Chapter 114 - Crazy Don In Seclusion</h4>

    After the people sessfully retreated behind the upper walls, Hendrick made his way over to Leon.

    "Young man, you are very good." Hendrick praised.

    The young man in front of him was able to remain calm and focus on important tasks during crucial moments. He had great prospects.

    The general marquis didn''t n to stick for long. The other districts also required urgent help. He was prepared to leave immediately after praising the boy.

    However, Isaac couldn''t keep silent, seeing that the prince didn''t receive the proper salutations.

    "With all due respect, even if you are the general marquis, you are still below the royal family and should address his highness as such." Isaac said staunchly.

    Others might revere the general marquis, but not him. They had been equals in strength for many years. Now that the general marquis had advanced, he would at most only show proper respects as one would to a stronger person, but not to the point of revering.

    Leon raised his hand to stop him from continuing, but it was toote.

    His highness?

    When the words were uttered, Hendrick Graham paused his steps. There was no prince thest time he visited the Capital, but seeing Leon''s attire and aura of majesty, he didn''t doubt the validity of the statement.

    Which means the prince was found in thest two weeks. For a person growing up as amoner to already cultivate such a majestic aura, this prince was not simple.

    "Apologies for the impudence, your highness." Hendrick offered his proper fist-palm salutation.

    "There''s no need for such formality, general. Do what you need to do." Leon shook his head before saying respectfully.

    This person was a hero, someone who had safeguard the western border from the beasts for many years and was worthy of his great respects.

    The general marquis nodded.

    Lives were at stake and the sooner the other district receive help, the more lives to be saved.

    He was originally anxious for his son but seeing that the Upper District had not been breached, he let down his worries and allowed himself to focus wholeheartedly on the bigger picture.

    After the general marquis left, Isaac started issuing orders to everyone so they could prepare themselves to wee the next wave of crawlers.

    Themoners were moved to the innermost region of the Upper District. Just outside the Royal Pce and far from the Upper Walls. These people would not be able to help if they camp near the walls. Instead, they would affect the chain ofmands and hinder the defenses by being in the way.

    ¡­

    At the same time, troubles were looming in the Upper North District.

    A crowd of young nobles and aristocrats from all districts had begun to concentrate outside the Lancaster Empire Estate Building.

    Despite being called a building, it was not square. It held the appearance of a pyramid-shaped metal fortress that seemed like the result of fusing many buildings together.

    The pack of young nobles and aristocrats were the bottommost people in terms of importance within their families. They were deemed to have the least potential in being able to help their family prosper. Thus, no awakening pills had ever been distributed to them by their family head.

    They were basically a bunch of profligates and wastrels.

    There was only one reason why they have gathered at this spot instead of retreating towards the safety of the Royal Pce.

    They all wish to board the airship carrier docked at the top floor and flee the Capital by air. Unfortunately, they are currently being blocked off by the Duke''s people.

    There were several hundred people gathered outside and their numbers continued to grow with each passing moment.

    However, not everyone would be able to board the airship carrier even if they seeded breaking into the building. There was only one airship and it can only hold so many people.

    The reason there weren''t many airships manufactured in the kingdom, was not due to theplexity of the manufacturing itself, but the supply of levitation stones. Levitation stones weren''t naturally formed resources, but high-tech relics that were unearthed from the ancient ruins sent over by the Royal family. Unless the royal family had more to send them, there would not be anymore airships.

    "Back off! We are not open for business today!" One of the guards barked.

    "How can you shun away your customers!? The building has always been opened for business and never had it closed before!" A good-for-nothing young noble roared angrily.

    "Yeah! We are all customers! We came to ce some special orders!"

    The guards did not speak another word, but there was only one word they all want to curse inside their minds,

    ''Bullsh*t!''

    At normal times, they would naturally be open for business, but even during their peak business hours, there were never so many peopleing in to ce their orders at once.

    They would never believe what these people are saying, especially in a time like this. They obviously came for the airship, but they were makingme excuses to enter.

    There was no doubt in their minds that once these people were allowed to enter the building, they would no longer be able to stop them all. There were too many people, even for trained awakeners like themselves.

    Inside the building, a bunch of cksmiths and assistants with hammers and tools in their hands gathered on the ground floor. They were prepared to fend the people off, should they try to force their way in.

    "Has the family head been informed?" A senior cksmith asked.

    "A messenger has already been sent to inform the family head." His assistant apprentice answered.

    "Good grief. I hope the family head arrives quickly. These good-for-nothings look like they are about to break in." The senior cksmith said with concern.

    When the Duke received the news from the pce grounds, he was angered. He had been busy observing the situation of the upper walls and overlooked his own family''s business.

    Some opportunist was trying to take this chance to get away with his airship?! How can he not be angry?

    These profligate good-for-nothing sons had no backbone and was so cowardly. Even if they can''t fight on the frontlines, they should at least support the people fighting by bringing them supplies.

    If he didn''t let them board his airship, were they nning to resort to stealing it!? It seems he need to go teach them a lesson!

    "Hmph! I''ll be making a trip to our workshop." Duke Ignis said grumpily.

    "Mm, take care." Amelia nodded.

    Watching her father leave, Rachel ufortable that the rest of them were just sitting back doing nothing. Even the Greene family had left to see where they can help with the healing property of their wood ability.

    "Mother, I feel we should also help out with the defenses. The destructiveness of our mes would be major help."

    "Nonsense. We would only make things worse with our abilities. Have you seen what those creatures are capable of? They can eat mes. Not only would we not be able to help, we would even aggravate them and ce ourselves in danger. Those creatures seem very sensitive to heat." Amelia quickly refuted with a frown.

    What she didn''t know was that these creatures were resistant to fire, but they were not immune to it. A 9th step fire-user was more than powerful enough to burn them to a crisp. While her daughter''s mes might be too weak to burn the crawlers to death, her mes definitely can.

    "This¡­" Listening to help mother''s exnation, she felt a sense of helplessness. What could she do?

    Suddenly her eyes lit up and said, "Mother, I will go see if Teacher Lina and her parents require assistants."

    Amelia watched the back view of daughter and shook her head with a smile. Her daughter had a righteous heart and strong sense of noblesse oblige.

    Hmm¡­ she should pay her sworn sister a visit. Her sworn sister would know what to do.

    ¡­

    Standing at the top of the Inner Pce, Elizabeth sighed at the state of the Capital. She was not a good queen and did not look after the Capital well in her husband''s ce.

    Even if she left the others alone, they would not leave her alone.

    She shed a cold look in the distance

    "Summon Crazy Don for me." Elizabeth ordered.

    "Err¡­ Elder Don has secluded himself in the pill room for some time now, your majesty." Lily answered respectfully.

    "In seclusion? Why would he choose now of all time to start a pill refinement session?" Elizabeth asked with knitted brows.

    "The elder isn''t in a secluded pill refinement session¡­ he is in secluded cultivation¡­ it has been a few days."

    "Oh?" Her expression quickly changed to surprise.

    It had been a long time since Crazy Donst entered a secluded cultivation session. Thest time was when he was breaking through to nine stars¡­ could it be¡­?

    "Since Crazy Don is in secluded cultivation then never mind." Elizabeth said nonchntly, but her eyes were shining.

    "Go and clean up the east side a bit for me, then you may return to my side."

    Since Crazy Don was busy, she decided to send her loyal maid off. Lily was only 26, but she was already a one-star fire-user.

    "Yes, your majesty. I will be back shortly." Lilyplied faithfully.

    She shot to east direction quickly with very powerful big leaps. Residual mes could be seen under her soles.

    ¡­

    Not long after the pce maid was sent off, the Shadow Guards returned to the Royal Pce. However, they weren''t given any time to rest. After receiving new instructions from the Queen, they gathered the entirely of their forces and set off once more.

    "Haih¡­ these old bones will be worked to death by her majesty." Kasif shook his head as he headed north to meet the Duke with the rest of his Shadow Guards.

    ¡­

 Chapter 115 - Bullying & Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 115 - Bullying & Meeting</h4>

    "Who dares to barge into my workshop!?"

    The Duke roared furiously upon his arrival. His roar was not earthshaking to say the least, but to the crowd, it was thunder to their ears.

    Who else would call such a titanic fortress as his workshop?

    "Oh sh*t, the Duke is here! Run!" A young noble cried.

    The crowd panicked and began to run once they heard the word ''Duke'' being uttered. However, the direction they all ran made the young noble want to faint in anger.

    "Are you all idiots!? Why are you all running this way?! Quickly scatter! Scatter I say!"

    The crowd followed closely behind the young noble like he was the alpha of the pack, but the situation did notst very long. The others ran faster than him and soon overtook him one by one. He regretted not having enough legs to run with.

    He immediately noticed a problem. Big problem. He wasn''t getting anywhere at all, despite running with all his might.

    "You got big guts to be causing trouble at my workshop, kid. What makes you think you''ll be able to get away with my airship?" The Duke''s voice loomed over him.

    His face instantly paled. It turns out he had been grabbed by the Duke like one would with a chicken.

    "Y-Y-Your grace¡­ have mercy¡­ It was a misunderstanding¡­" The young noble pleaded, while desperately struggling.

    But how could he hope to break free from the Duke''s vice-like grip?

    He wanted to cry. Of all the people, why was he the one singled out? Was it because he was the loudest, so the Duke took him as the ringleader? So he had unknowingly made himself the scapegoat for the others?

    He couldn''t see their expression, but they are surely saying, "Thank you, brother. We will never forget you."

    ''F*ck you!''

    He mentally cursed. He wasn''t dead yet.

    "Hmph! A misunderstanding? Do you think I would believe that? Do you think I am a fool?"

    Duke Ignisshed out at the poor kid. Each consecutive question held a heavier tone than thest. The young noble trembled with fear.

    "I¡­ I wouldn''t dare think that way, your grace. P-Please spare me on behalf of my father."

    "Your father?" Duke Ignis gave the kid a good look but didn''t recognize him. Just a nonentity. However, the family crest on his attire was easily recognized.

    "The Sharon family? Do you think I need to give face to a baron? Only they need to give face to me." Duke Ignis narrowed his eyes.

    He was nning to beat the kid to scare the rest. The young noble of the Sharon family finally couldn''t hold it anymore and wet himself.

    "Ugh¡­ forget it. It will just sully my hands and people would think I am bullying the young. Scram!" Ignis kicked the young noble away.

    "Thank you for your mercy, your grace!"

    The young noble said gratefully and fled like his ass was on fire. He was truly scared.

    "Master, it is good that you are here. We''ve all missed you." A senior cksmith said.

    Duke Ignis was immediately greet upon entering the building.

    "Mm. Anything important in thest couple of days to report?" The duke asked casually.

    "Yes, the research team had made some progress in replicating the levitation stone."

    Duke Ignis''s eyes lit up when he heard this.

    "Good! Tell them to double the efforts. If we can really seed, their names will go down in the annals of history. I will not be stingy with my rewards."

    "Yes, master." The senior cksmith bowed inpliance.

    They soon moved onto some casual talk, but it was interrupted by the guard''s sudden bark outside.

    "Stop! We are closed for business today."

    Duke Ignis''s expression darkened immediately when he heard this. He had just scared off a bunch of brats, but it wasn''t enough to deter the rest froming by the looks of it. Perhaps he needs to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.

    "Who''s tired of living!?"

    He stormed out with a dominating aura, but it deted the moment he saw who came.

    Cough*

    "Err¡­ ahem. Your excellency, what brings you here?" Duke Ignis said respectfully.

    His people were immediately dumbfounded by his respectful behavior. Was this still the grand and noble duke they knew?

    It was natural for the Duke to act like this in the face of someone stronger. The person in front of him was powerful beyond his understanding and was suspected to be a Transcendent. He was already at the peak 9th step, but couldn''t gauge the other party''s strength.

    "Her majesty has sent us over for an important mission. Your airship is of vital importance inpleting it." Kasif said.

    He had arrived with a hundred shadow guards, all dressed in ck. They emanated the aura of an elite force.

    The Duke made a quickparison between them and his own core forces, before shaking his head. His core force was stronger than his house servants in cultivation, but they were mainly profession workers, not fighters.

    "Sure, sure. Let me guide your excellency to the airship." Duke Ignis said cordially.

    In a short moment, the airship took off with the Shadow Guards.

    Duke Ignis did not ask about the details of their mission before they left. Kasif could have chosen to disclose it, but he was toozy to speak so much.

    "I guess it''s time to contribute to the defensive efforts." Ignis muttered to himself as he watched his prized airship leave. He doubted anyone would still make trouble at his workshop, now that the airship gone.

    "Arm yourselves. We will go over to support the north side defenses."

    The duke summoned his people and ordered. His home was next to the north entrance. He did not want it to be overrun with crawlers.

    ¡­

    At the Capital''s central region, roughly 50,000moners concentrated without being overly crowded.

    The size of the Upper District was not any less than the Lower District, despite having only one fifth as many residents. In the Upper Districts, the buildiings were spread out and not dense like the Lower Districts. There were plenty of opennd for themoners to temporarily reside.

    The crowd sat serenely and without nervousness nor tension. Aria made her way around as she calmed the people with her voice that was like the heavenly hymns.

    Lina and her parents were making their own waves among the crowd. Their healing abilities did not leave behind scars and were popr among the youngerdies that suffered wounds.

    At the same time, a lot of the viscount-level nobles and above had already been emptied of their homes to go assist the defenses of their respective sides. Only their offspring and some servants were left to look after their homes. However, these noble scions weren''t happy to stay at home either.

    Inside the home of the marquis-level Sris family,

    "F*ck, this is too boring. Half my days are already wasted on military training. How can my parents expect me to be cooped up at home at a time like this? I need to go out and look for some excitement." Sean grumbled.

    "The master''s arrangement was made in consideration of your own safety, young master. Please understand the master''s difficulties." A servant opined.

    "For my safety? I am already a 3rd step awakener. I can take care of myself. No one would know I snuck out if you don''t say anything." Sean said unreasonably and left.

    The servant sighed. The young master only knows how to make things difficult for him. He had to stay and watch the house. He couldn''t leave. He could only prepare himself to be reprimanded when the master returns.

    "Sean, you snuck out too?" Another young noble called out.

    "Oh, Carson. Your family wanted to keep you home too?" Sean asked his ssmate from Crawford University.

    Carson was a 3rd step awakener young noble and heir of the Laguna family. His father, Earl Julian was the head of the family and a powerful 7th step water-user.

    "Yeah¡­ what are you going to do?" The Carson asked.

    "Me? Of course, I''m going to find a good spot to watch the battle." Sean said stately as a matter of fact. Such a big thing happening, how can he miss it?

    "Tch. You''re too boring. I''m going to the central district to check out the Saintess. I heard she has a heavenly voice that can enrapture all the boys that listen to it. Supposedly her beauty is equally unmatched."

    ''You''re the boring person!''

    Sean shed him a disdainful look.

    "Well, I suppose it won''t hurt to have a quick look." Sean said nonchntly like he didn''t care, but his interest was also piqued. He was a hypocrite.

    He has seen his fair share of beauties. Rachel, Lynne and Teacher Lina from his campus. They were all fine beauties. Unfortunately, none of them could be touched. Teacher Lina seemed to have the weakest background, but she was the most untouchable.

    He did not dare to get on the bad side of the mysterious dean.

    But the point being¡­ how good can the beauty of amoner be? He had his doubts, but if it''s true, he wouldn''t let his ssmate have her. He would take the Saintess for himself.

    They were nobles. It would be too easy to convince any girls from themoner ss to date them as long as they are vain people, chasing the better life.

    The two headed off to the central district.

    "F*ck, there are so manymoners here." Carson cursed. Where can he find the Saintess among these piles of filth.

    A ball rolled towards them and stained his shoe, before a child followed suit to fetch it.

    "Big brother, can you return my ball?" The child asked politely.

    "Little runt, how dare you stain my shoes with yourmoner filth!" Carson said contemptuously and kicked ball at the child.

    "Ahhh¡­"

    The child was sent flying by the force of the ball and knocked unconscious.

    "Nooo! My child!" A mother cried. She ran over and hugged her poor child.

    "Bastard, how could you raise your hand against a child!?" The father grabbed the young noble''s clothes cursed furiously.

    The crowd was equally furious at the overbearing nature and unreasonableness of the young noble. They just went through life and death together, making them feel closer to one another and more united. The injustice the father felt, they felt it too. Their blood boiled.

    "Hmph! I didn''t raise my hand! I raised my foot! And don''t touch me,moner! You are all trash to me!" Carson kicked the father flying away too.

    The father coughed up blood afternding some distance away.

    "Hubby!" The mother cried out for her husband too. Why was this happening? Why!?

    After reaching the Upper District, she thought her family could enjoy the safety and protection of the nobles¡­ but no! She was dead wrong! Her family had just suffered unexpected and intolerable bullying by the nobles!

    The mother shed the young nobles a look filled with hatred.

    Sean watched by side indifferently. He didn''t take any stance, but it was clear that he agreed with what his ssmate just said. As nobles, they naturally looked down onmoners.

    "If you are not here to help, then please go away. Don''t cause any more trouble." A cold, but heavenly voice interrupted.

    Carson and Sean gave each other a look of surprise.

    This voice¡­ so delightful¡­ so captivating¡­ so transcendental¡­

    "I thought they were exaggerating, but this voice is definitely otherworldly." Carson was enraptured. He did not noticed the cold undertone. Even if the person turns out to be a pig, he had to take her home.

    "Hmm¡­ I''m interested in seeing what this Saintess looks like. Why does she hides her face?" Sean rubbed his chin thoughtfully, before pushing his ssmate aside and stepped in front.

    Carson was immediately gloomy, but watched on silently. If his ssmate resort to forceful methods, he could intervene like a hero saving the beauty.

    "You must be the Saintess. This young master has taken a liking to you. Hehehe, let me see what kind of beauty you are."

    Sean reached out his hand towards Aria''s hair cover domineeringly. He did not put up any guard whatsoever. How strong can amoner be anyway?

    The nearby Golden Lion Gang members andmoners immediately wanted to help.

    ''How dare this persony his hand our boss''s woman!''

    "How dare you disrespect the Saintess!''

    However, Aria raised a hand to stopped them. She looked at the young noble coldly as his hand drifted closer and closer.

    When it got within two inches of her face, it was stopped by her grip.

    "Ahh¡­ such silky smooth and tender hands¡­ but aren''t you a cold beauty? Hehehe¡­ however I like ying with cold ones¡­ Your strength is not enough to stop me, miss Saintess." Sean said smugly. He exerted more strength, but his expression soon froze in disbelief.

    W-W-Why can''t I move my hand? Is she more powerful than me? Impossible!

    He exerted all his strength, but his hand wouldn''t budge. The Saintess''s grip was like a pair of iron pliers holding it in ce.

    "You¡­ You¡­" Sean started to sweat. He thought he was picking on a soft flower, but it seems he had kicked an iron te.

    Suddenly, his hand felt extremely cold¡­ bone-chillingly cold. It followed by a painful itch running through his entire body like being pricked by a thousand needles. It was electrifying!

    "AHH! Unhand me at once!" Sean screamed painfully as his hair stood on end.

    Aria only released he grip aftershing out a kick to send him flying.

    ''Hmph! Only my man can touch me! No one else!''

    Her kick was very vicious. She had broken several of his bones and the pain banished his consciousness into the realm of darkness.

    Aria shed a simr cold look at Carson.

    "Erm¡­ We''ll be on our way¡­ sorry for the trouble." Carson fearfully apologized before picking up his buddy and attempted to leave.

    But he was simrly kicked flying before he could. The sound of bone cracking could be heard.

    Carson endured the pained and quickly left with the unconscious Sean. Today was a painful lesson for him.

    Don''t look down onmoners!

    She was no longer a soft persimmon that could be squished by others.

    Her strength had grown explosively along with her confidence and reached the 7th step. Furthermore, she was an ice-lightning user! If Leon knew, he would be left gaping in shock. How was that possible!?

    In fact, Aria didn''t know why herself, but it was really fast during the storming period. By now, it had already slowed back down to normal rate.

    "Thank you, Saintess, for addressing my family''s grievance." The mother kowtowed wholeheartedly with gratitude. She was tearfully grateful to the Saintess for righting the injustice.

    Aria shook her head. "There''s no need for this. Please get up. I just did what had to be done."

    "We should take a look are your husband and child. It doesn''t seem good."

    "Right¡­ right¡­ my hubby and child."

    The mother was reminded and scrambled back to them.

    "This¡­ this doesn''t look good. That young noble was too heavy-handed." A middle-aged doctor shook his head and said after he inspected the father. "I''m afraid only the Divine Doctor can cure this kind of injury quickly, otherwise his life will be forfeited."

    The father suffered broken bones and damaged organs. Aria knew this and returned the favor in kind to the young nobles, but their situation were worlds apart.

    The young nobles had stronger vitality and natural recovery speed as awakeners, but the father didn''t.

    The mother wailed wretchedly when she heard the doctor''s diagnosis. What can a weak woman like her do once her husband is gone?

    "Make way, make way! I can help him."

    Teacher Lina arrived. She had been helping nearby when themotion drew her attention.

    "Youngdy, it''s no use. He needs a miraculous pill from the Divine Doctor." The middle-aged doctor advised her to save her from wasting her efforts.

    However, the mother didn''t care about the doctor''s statement and clung to whatever little hope there was.

    "Please save my husband! I beg you!" The mother grasped on to Lina and pleaded desperately.

    "Don''t worry, aunty. I promise I will be able to save your husband." Lina smiled warmly and kindly.

    The middle-aged doctor sighed. Young people are always overly confident until they wake up to the harsh reality.

    Lina hovered her hand over the husband''s chest and a halo of pale green light softly illuminated on his body like the gentleing of spring. The husband''s painful expression slowly rxed as a pleasantly feeling washed over him.

    In a few short moments, he was back on his feet and good as new. The child regained consciousness after a simr repeat of process.

    The doctor''s eyes widened with great surprise along with the crowd. Such miraculous healing without the use of medicinal pills. He didn''t care about the redness of his face

    Was this the legendary wood ability of the Greene family? When could they heal others?

    This¡­ This was a real saint!

    Crowd looked back and forth between Lina and Aria with utmost worship.

    Two Saintess! Healing both mind and body!

    "Hi, I''m Aria. Thank you for what you did for the people. You are a real saint!"

    Aria said gratefully. She would have been in a bind if not for Lina''s timely arrival. She never thought she was deserving of her title as she couldn''t heal people.

    "Hi, I''m Lina. Thank you. I just did what I can with this ability of mine." Lina smiled as she epted the handshake.

    The two had admired each other for being able to help themon people in these difficult times.

    As this small episode ended, the defensive battle at the upper wall rages on.

 Chapter 116 - Sealing The Rifts

    <h4>Chapter 116 - Sealing The Rifts</h4>

    Upper North District''s northern entrance. The Duke arrived at the upper wall and evaluated the situation.

    The defensive battle was intense and visible exhaustion could already be seen on the people''s faces. From the current look of the situation, it did not seem like they would be able tost until sunset.

    People could fight very long battles with adequate rest in between, but a battle like this left them with no rest at all and tested the limits of their endurance.

    In the distance, the airship hovered over the rift at low altitude. A portion of the crawlers were attracted by the drumming noise of the airship and began to change direction.

    "Damn, why are they flying so low?"

    The guards and nobles, who didn''t know the situation, took the airship to be filled with civilians.

    "I don''t know but it works in our favor. The pressure on us has already decreased by half."

    A pce guard said as he hacked away some crawlers with difficulties. In order to cover for these weaker nobles and aristocrats, the pce guards were forced to overuse their earth ability.

    There was a severe deficiency in adequate defenders. The nobles and aristocrats had made up the numbers and cultivation, but they had proven to be more burdensome than they are useful.

    These were people who had long grown use to ordering others and not othersmanding them. A bunch of riffraff banding together would not be able to demonstrate the unity and discipline of a trained legion.

    The defenders fought back the crawlers chaotically and a delicate love-hate rtionship was formed between the pce guards and the upper district people.

    "Look, the airship stopped moving. Why did they stop at the rift? Are they looking to die?" A noble said dubiously.

    In his mind, such a move was stupid beyond imagination. Were they going to start tossing civilians off to feed the crawlers next?

    The ocean of crawlers over at the rift began to form mountains as their climbed over each other to reach the airship. Duke Ignis knew exactly who was onboard the airship and understood their intentions.

    "They are trying to seal the rifts! Allow me to assist them in clearing the path!" Duke Ignis shouted with a dignified bearing.

    A mence appeared in his hands before he tossed it into the far distance.

    The mence exploded on a small mountain of crawlers. The area was immediately engulfed in mes and all the crawlers were burned to a crisp.

    The Duke soon leaped off the wall and dived into the sea of crawlers. An omnidirectional me barrier protected him from all attacks and vaporized all that touches it.

    His actions grew the attention of all crawlers and they charged at him like a moth in flying into the me.

    "Allow me to help also."

    The general marquis dropped by and summoned another [Tempest] to wreak havoc on the crawlers.

    "So, you havee, Hendrick. It seems you have also grown stronger." Duke Ignismented with a hint of envy.

    "Not much, just twofold." Hendrick downyed his achievements, but a grin hung on his face.

    When the Duke heard this, his face twitched, and he wanted to smack the person. Twofold is not much!?

    The two continued to work together to sweep the area. Their abilities had great synergy as the size of the Duke''s mes grew ridiculouslyrge under the nourishment of Hendrick''s wind.

    The people on the wall all dropped their jaws at the sheer size of the me.

    The giant hellfire dropped into a section of the rift and reduced all the creatures in it to dust, making that patch of area temporarily devoid of crawlers.

    "I thank you both for the timely assistance." Kasif''s voice drifted over from the airship, beforemanding his men, "Shadow Guards, go now! Take this chance to seal the rift!"

    The Shadow Guards did not answer, but took action immediately, jumping off the airship towards the edges of the rift. The rift was closed at a visible rate under the maniption of their earth ability.

    Any new crawlers that began climbing out of the rift were ttened under the crushing weight of the earth after the Shadow Guardsbined their strength.

    After working hand in hand with the general marquis and Duke for a full hour, they manage topletely seal off the entire northern rift.

    With that, the north side was finally brought under control. It was only be a matter of time before the Lower North District waspletely eradicated of crawlers.

    Watching this situation, general marquis and Duke felt proud of their aplishment. They had yed arge role in this sess.

    "The north is finally stabilized. I wonder if you two gents are willing to apany this Old man in sealing the rest of the rifts?" Kasif asked.

    Hendrick and Ignis looked at each other with sweat still trickling down their faces and smiled.

    "dly!" They answered simultaneously.

    ¡­

    Upper West District''s western entrance.

    "The north and south has now been sealed. Good! It''s just a matter of time until the west and east are also brought under control."

    Leon floated in the sky and observed the happenings of the Capital. The situation in the north was not missed by him.

    His mother must''ve anticipated that they would notst until dawn and sent people to seal the rifts. That was a great move. It was not realistic to defend until dawn. Even if they manage to pull it off, they would have no strength left to face the real enemy.

    Leon watched as the billowing ck smoke surround the Capital, finally start to die down.

    From the timing of the explosion to the long billowing ck smoke, he knew that the enemy was very knowledgeable about the underground spiders and had nned everything carefully.

    How could the source of the ck smoke not be snuffed out by the spiders after so long? Evidently, the enemy knew what type of fire the spiders avoid.

    Some timeter, the smoke coverpletely dissipated, and the outside world was clear again, although this didn''t matter to Leon, whom had good vantage in the sky.

    Where was the enemy?

    At he thought this, he could sense numerous eyes trained on him from afar. He immediately locked onto their location and wanted tough out loud. The enemies were either fools or very brave. They didn''t seem like they were trying to hide at all!

    Their gazes werepletely sensed by him!

    The enemy would have never thought Leon''s senses could be so sharp as to sense them from miles away! Edric and Albert of the Grey family stood out from among the enemies. Was it time to collect old debts as well as new ones?

    Leon''s expression turned cold as he avoided direct eye contact. He did not want to alert them.

    He took onest look at the Capital that had been devastated and thought it was fine this way. Without destruction, there can be no creation. But there will be great changes after this crisis was settled and his royal family will have to be the one to enforce it. They can no longer keep to their old ways. Times have changed.

    He didn''t agree with the royal family''s conservative methods. If everyone had been awakened, their manpower would not becking against these arachnids and they wouldn''t had to fight so hard.

    ¡­

    At this point, his mother was still holed up in the pce. He didn''t know what his mother was on guard against, but he could feel his mother''s affection and concern for his unconscious father. The King was too vulnerable in his vegetative state and anything could happen. Thus, his mother had stayed in the confines of the pce grounds.

    Since his mother remains passive due to his father, let the son clean up the enemy for them!

    Leon dropped out of the sky and switched into his ck attire before dashing out of the Capital. The crawlers ignored him like he was invisible and allowed their heads to be stepped on along the way. Each step was packed with power and would crush the crawlers head as he goes.

    The personal pce guards lost sight of their prince and panicked. They began searching for him within the boundary of the Upper District.

    They would have never thought that he was going out to seek the real enemy alone, or else they would have fainted from anger.

    After leaping over the rift, he used his shadowy steps to make his way around to the enemy''s camp without being detected.

    He took the initiative because he was confident in his strength and also didn''t want the enemy to escape one they found out the Capital was under control. He was fed up with these corrupted nobles.

    He did not know the full extent of their strength so he wouldn''t face them head on as such. To fight a head on battle based on blind confidence was being too arrogant and foolish.

    He would first assess their strengths from the dark and act ordingly.

    ¡­

    The four great families continue to wait patiently for the Capital to exhaust their strengths.

    Edric and Albert had seen Leon floating in the sky. They weren''t able to make out the contours of his face from such great distance, but still thought the figure was somewhat familiar to a certain someone they hated. They shed the person at hateful look as they thought this.

    The four great families did not know that because of this father-son duo of the Grey family, the other side was alerted of their location and wasing to pay them a visit from the shadows.

    If they knew, they would have cursed the Grey family''s nine generations.

    But If they also knew it was just one person, then they wouldn''t care as much and think that person was a fool¡­ except that one person would be their nightmare.

    A de in the open was easy to dodge, but a dagger in the dark was not.

 Chapter 117 - Silent Massacre

    <h4>Chapter 117 - Silent Massacre</h4>

    While the people were busy dealing with the crawlers and stabilizing the situation of the Capital, no one knew that at this one, there was a small petite figure flying above them.

    "Hmmmm¡­ so, this is what the Human Domain looks like¡­ doesn''t seem much." Lilith tilted her head with one finger on her cheek and pondered thoughtfully as she stared at the structure of Capital.

    "It is still better than our low-rank beast tribe, but nothingpared to the others. The mid-rank and high-rank beast tribes were much more impressive than this¡­"

    In her tribe, the higher-ranking humanoid beasts all reside in straw huts, while the lower rank beasts rest in trees, caves, dug up holes or simply on the open ins. As for mid-rank beast tribes and higher, they have transformed intorge cities much grander and majestic than the human city she was seeing.

    There were no lower rank beasts among the mid-rank tribes and higher. All the beastkins of these higher rank tribes were born of humanoid figures, while the highest-ranking ones were practically no different to humans.

    The only difference was they have inherited the strongest bloodline of their ancestors and were basically perfected existences that carried the culmination of both races, the best of both worlds.

    In the Wilnds, many beast tribes existed, bothrge and small. Lilith belonged to a low-rank beast tribe, the Skysilver Tribe. Skysilver was both name and title of the of the Skysilver Tribe''s Transcendent-level beast king.

    Each low-rank beast tribe was typically ruled by one Transcendent-level beast and have its name ingrained in the tribe''s name. This was to demonstrate the highest level of prestige and recognition of its rule over its tribe.

    The Skysilver tribe upied the easternmostnds and had always been the only tribe confronting the Human Domain in all these years.

    Looking at the state of the human capital below, Lilith was both amused and apathetic, with traces of tear stains still present on the rims of her starry eyes.

    Even before the devastation of the Lower District, the contrast between the Upper District and the Lower District of the human capital had been very great.

    But seeing the state it was in now¡­

    "Heaven and hell are worlds aparts, but here you can find both of them in one spot¡­"

    Lilith said, before shaking her head. She was being distracted.

    Her lovable expression turned serious in the next moment, "These ugly things must be reason for his majesty''s displeasure."

    Although she felt repulsed by such vulgar creatures, she continued to observe the situation from the night sky.

    ¡­

    With the ck smoke cover gone, the four great families were finally able to see the situation of the Capital.

    "Sir Zagan¡­ it seems our great n has failed. Should¡­ should we take this chance to retreat, while they are still busy?"

    One of the lords said with some regrets and fear. Once the crawler crisis was settled, there no doubt that the royal family would send people after them.

    They must have been fools to think they stood a chance against the royal family. Each pce guard was as powerful as them, if not stronger. Wasn''t this like an ant pitting itself against an elephant? The thought of it was ludicrous.

    When sir Zagan heard the cowardly undertone, the edge of his mouth raised into a smirk filled with disdain, but since he stood at the front, no one could see his expression.

    "You can all leave if you want. I am staying for one more major event." Sir Zagan said nonchntly.

    In any case, these people had outlived their usefulness. They could only serve as cannon fodders for his goal in the uing battle if they stayed. Thus, he no longer ced any importance on their opinions.

    He continued to watch the Capital with anticipation. Despite being rooted in the exact spot for half a night, He had not grown tired of watching and his interest had never waned. It was as if he would never be bored watching the world burn.

    "This¡­"

    The lords were hesitant. Although they believe sir Zagan was powerful. He was after all just one person. Could he fight off an entire army of experts?

    "Inform the members to pack up their things and prepare to retreat at any time." Lord Esmond ordered.

    Ultimately, they decided to leave. In their minds, the Capital has already taken control of the battle. What else could happen?

    "Yes, Lord Esmond." A servantplied.

    Lady Harriet and Lord Grey also sent their servants off to make their preparations for leave. Only the Weld family did nothing as they did not carry much items with them.

    There was only three people left in the Weld family. Lord Weld, Cayden and their steward, whom wore a retarded look that was beyond his bodily control.

    ¡­

    At this moment, Leon was watching the group in the trees like a predator eyeing his prey. The people below wereplete unaware of his presence.

    He couldn''t gauge the strength of the called sir Zagan. However, the rest were below his notice. He was filled with disdain at their strength.

    Topletely remove these weeds from guing the kingdom, he had to pull them up by the roots.

    ''Let''s start with the weak ones.''

    Leon darted skillfully from tree to tree as he moved towards the enemy camp deeper in the woods. His movements were quick and subtle, like a gentle breeze and unable to draw their attention.

    At the center of the woods, the enemy camp was hidden. Tents were erected, carts and crates full of goods, filled the ce. It was clear that the four great family had brought their entire wealth along with them, away from the Capital.

    Located in the heart of the hilltop woods, the camp was dark as one would expect it to be. Apart from a few rays of moonlight that manage to slip past the dense branches and tree leaves, there were no other light sources within the camp.

    The enemy had been meticulous and restrained from the usage or torches and candles as to not expose their location, but it had be the perfect hunting ground for Leon to carry out his silent killing.

    He arrives at the edges of the camp easily and sighed at his stealth''s proficiency. In the past, it was used to hide from the husbands of the women he bedded, but now, it was finally being put to good use.

    As he recalled the dissolute lifestyle he used to live, the experience of that period came flooding back, along with his raging libido after his years of abstinence was already broken.

    Leon silently cursed for having his mind wondered off and his movements became slightly awkward. Nobody knew that there was another tent erected in their camp at this moment, or else Leon would have died from shame.

    ''Ssss¡­ calm down¡­ my little brother¡­ now is not the time be yful. I''ll let you y all you want another time, alright?''

    Some timeter, Leon slipped into the enemy''s camp with a serious and refocused look. Although there were some dys, his ns have not been affected.

    ¡­

    "I''ll be back." Servant A said.

    "Where are you going? We need to pack up." Servant B asked as he was carrying a crate.

    "To answer nature''s calling, where else?" Servant A answered.

    five minutester, the servant still had not returned.

    ''He must be chucking a dump then.'' Servant B thought.

    Thirty minutester, still no return. The servant began to grow impatient. Originally, there were lots of servants moving about in the camp. However, the numbers grew less over time like they had all decided to run off and skip work.

    The servant would have never thought that they camp would be under attack and that someone was killing them all.

    Leon move around the camp with ghostly steps and killed his opponents in the most efficient and subtle, a needle to their heads. The servants died without a sound as Leon hid their bodies, some in the shrubs, some in the empty tents.

    "Holy sh*t, this motherf*cker is really taking his time. Is he trying to break a record for longest dump or what? Where is he!?" Servant B cussed.

    He decided to go check on his buddy, but he never came back after he left.

    Sometimeter, apart from some movements within the upied tents, the activities outside hadpletely ceased and became dead silent. Not long after, the movements inside all but one tent also ceased.

    The tents were upied by the four great family''s direct descents. Whether they were the wives, the children, uncles or aunties, nephew or niece of the four great family''s marquises, as long as they were rted by blood, Leon hardened his heart to kill them all, even if there may have been innocents among them.

    To be associated with evil was evil in and of itself. To show mercy to his enemies, was also to be cruel to himself. He did what had to be done. There were no exceptions.

    Even the [Heart of Saint] mantra in his mind did not react to his killing. As such, there was no mental burden.

    They all died suddenly with their eyes wide open. Even in death, they did not know why or how they died.

    Inside of another tent, Edric was resting when he suddenly felt rm bells ringing in his mind. It was too quiet outside!

    Before he could head out to investigate, a figure had slipped into his tent. Edric widened his eyes in horror at the sight of the person in question.

    "You¡­ why are you here?"

 Chapter 118 - End Of The Four Great Family

    <h4>Chapter 118 - End Of The Four Great Family</h4>

    "You¡­ why are you here?"

    When Edric Grey uttered these words, he subconsciously stepped back in fear of Leon. It was too bizarre that thismoner could be here. What were all the servants doing!?

    "To do something I should have done long ago." Leon said coolly without much emotion. His enemy''s life was long overdue.

    Edric felt a bone-chilling cold from Leon''s words and took a few more steps back until he was backed against the wall. He had developed an innate fear of Leon after his family''s servants werepletely decimated by this one person.

    "Guards! Where are the guards!?"

    He tried to summon the servants, but no one answered his call.

    Leon chuckled at his futile efforts. They were in the middle of the woods, which was quite far from the marquises, lords and that mysterious sir Zagan. Their voices couldn''t reach far from inside the tent either.

    "Nobody can hear you. Everyone in the camp are already dead. I killed them all." Leon chuckled coldly.

    "Bullsh*t! Do you think you can really kill all the servants of the four families?!" Edric denied strongly, but in his heart, he wasn''t confident. Leon might really be capable of this.

    "You''re wrong. I don''t think, I already DID and you''re next." A fine silver needle danced on the tips of Leon''s fingers as he gave Edric a yful look.

    "Are you sure you want to make this an irreconcble grudge? Aren''t you afraid of my father and grandpa''s retaliation? There also the other lords and sir Zagan around." Edric took a deep breath to calm his nerves, before threatening Leon with a heavy tone.

    When Leon heard this, he thought this person was too funny. An irreconcble grudge had long been formed between them, not to mention he just killed all his possible rtives as well as the other three families.

    "You don''t have to worry about this. They will join you soon. Every injustice has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. Even if I am not acting on my own personal grudge, I will act on behalf of the heavens. To rid the kingdom of you scourges and bring sce to all the people you''ve harmed." Leon said coldly as his eyes shed a dangerous light. The four great family hadmitted far too much evil.

    When Edric heard Leon''s words, his face grew very dark. This person was too arrogant!

    Does he think he can take on the lords just because he can deal with their servants!?

    "Who the fuck, do you think you are to judge me and my family!? Do you take yourself to be some hero!?" Edric snapped at Leon''s self-righteous and arrogant words. His anger superseded his fear as he pointed his finger at Leon and condemned him. "Some hero you are to not even spare the women and children on camp."

    Leon looked at him calmly without any ripples of emotion. The person was already a dead man in his eyes and his words had no effect on him.

    "Naturally I am no hero. As for what rights I have¡­? I am the prince of Crawford! To condemn viins like you to death, that is my royal authority as well as my birth right!" Leon said imposingly. A pressuring aura gushed out from his body.

    Boom!

    Leon''s words were like thunder in his ears. Prince of Crawford! How was that possible!? He is just amoner! Edric was shocked speechless.

    "I''ve wasted enough nonsense with you. It''s time to die. Goodbye and thank you." Leon said indifferently.

    "Wait!-"

    Before Edric could understand the meaning of ''thank you'', a needle pierced his forehead and ended his life.

    Their strengths were too far apart. It was to the extent that he was not even able to put up a single shred of resistance before death imed him.

    His body dropped to the floor with a thud. Leon walked over and retrieved his needle cidly, despite wasting so much time talking.

    Without Edric''s schemes to poison him, he may have never awaken his past life memories in this life. Thus, the words ''thank you'' was to express his gratitude, while allowing Edric to live for so long was already a disy of his greatest mercy to his enemy. His enemies still has to die in the end.

    Anyone who had the audacity to make an attempt on his life would not be allowed to live.

    Leon stepped out the tent without looking back. His eyes were clear like the pond without any ripples. This was just a small episode in his life and the person was just a nobody. He would surely bump into tougher foes and face stronger opponents on his path back to the Divine Realm.

    ¡­

    At this point, the Capital had managed to seal off another rift, the western side. This leaves only one side left to seal, the eastern side.

    The lords have grown impatient after sending their servants to prepare their departure. Someone should have report back to them by now, but no one did.

    "Rae, go see what the holdup is. If you see the servants cking off, kill them." Lord Esmond said ruthlessly. His family did not need idlers that didn''t ce enough importance on his words.

    "Yes, lord father." Marquis Raeplied obediently.

    Adrian took the chance to also follow his father back to the camp.

    As the father-son duo of the Esmond family entered the woods side by side, and headed towards their campsite, Marquis Rae frowned. It was too quiet. Where was the sound of activity?

    Suddenly there was a swoosh sound followed by a thud shortly after.

    "Hm?" The sudden sound made Marquis Rae alert. He turned towards the source and found that his son had dropped to the ground.

    "Adrian, what are you doing? Get up!" Marquis Rae chided.

    He thought his son was fooling around. But when his words didn''t provoke any response from his son, his heart shook.

    "Adrian¡­ you¡­ no heartbeat¡­? Dead!? ¡­ Arghhhh! MY SON!!!!" Marquis Rae roared with great anguish and sorrow. A heart-wrenching pain threatened to tear him apart.

    "WHO!? WHO DID THIS!?"

    In the darkness of the woods, his anguish cries elicit no response from the surrounding. However, his powerful voice echoed beyond the woods and rmed the others waiting outside.

    "Something happened!"

    The other three lords said at the same time. They look towards sir Zagan.

    "Go deal with it." Sir Zagan waved them off nonchntly. His eyes were still glued on the Capital, but his interest was secretly piqued. Some rat actually managed to slip behind them, under his notice!

    With those words, the remaining people of the four great family all entered the woods to investigate. They quickly arrived at Marquis Esmond''s location.

    "What happened?" Lord Grey questioned immediately.

    "Beware of projectiles! There''s a hidden enemy somewhere! That person already killed my son!" Marquis Rae warned, while trying to suppress his blood-boiling rage as to not cloud his judgment.

    Against this unknown threat, only a clear and calm mind would help him make the optimum choices to survive.

    Leon eyed them from the darkness with creased brows. He nned to take them out one by one but didn''t expect them to alle together. He wasn''t swift and decisive enough and allowed them the chance to gather!

    But no matter! The only one he had to be on guard against did note with the rest.

    Leon locked onto all his targets. Several needles appeared in his hands as he gripped them with bulging muscles and pulsing veins, before firing them with¡­ twofold strength! Skill integration sess!

    The essence of the [Nine Echoes Osciting Fist] has been sessfully integrated into his throwing!

    Swoosh¡­ the needles shot towards the group with great speed!

    "Dodge!"

    The family lords all reacted quickly, but the rest were too slow to! They were shot in various fatal spots; head, throat and heart. The power behind the needles were great as they exited from the other ends of its victim''s bodies and drilled into the ground and trees.

    "Mother¡­" Marquise Lue called weakly. She gripped her heart as blood oozed out of the prated hole in her chest that was inexplicablyrger than the size of the needle that pierced her. Coldness began to seep into her body as she fell on her knees, while herr gaze turned to the starry skies that could be barely seen.

    ''Is this retribution?'' Lue thought as she drew herst breath.

    Marquis Rae died instantly from the shot to his head, while Marquis Albert grabbed onto his throat, unable to utter a sound. He died shortly after.

    The ground wasid with corpses in a short instance. Apart from the marquise and marquises, Cayden Weld and the ice princess of the Acker family were also among the bodies.

    Lady Harriet and the Lords felt pained in their thought-to-be stone-cold hearts. Their descendants had all died¡­

    Even if they seeded their ambition and live longer, they have no family. They were already so old and can no longer produce new offspring. In short, their families were finished.

    They suddenly felt lost. They thought they had long be cold-blooded demons from all the blood on their hands, but never would they have thought that the death of all their kin would affect them this much.

    Leon was taken aback from as he watched from the shadows. All these evil fiends had their guard lowered and full of openings.

    ''So¡­ these fiends still have feelings huh? But don''t me me for being ruthless!''

    ''You reap what you sow! Allow me to send you all on your way to reunite with them.'' Leon thought with cold glint.

    The turn of events was unexpected, but he wasn''t going to miss such an opportunity. He produced another four needles and shot them through their heads without resistance.

    ¡­

    Staring at the corpses of the four great family, Leon sighed. He had finally put an end to these fiends.

    p¡­ p¡­ p¡­

    "Great execution. I didn''t expect there to be someone like you in the kingdom." Sir Zagan suddenly appeared and praised, before ncing at the corpses with pity in his eyes.

    "It''s unfortunate that they weren''t able to be real bloodfiends in the end." Hemented.

    Leon was greatly rmed when he couldn''t sense this person before he got so close. He had never let his guard down! He immediately took a defensive stance with a weary expression.

    "Now¡­ now¡­ no need to be impatient. Wait for your turn."

    Sir Zagan did not even looked at Leon. His stretched out his hands towards the corpses, before the following scene made Leon greatly startled.

    The blood mist seeped from the bodies of the four lords, until their corpses became thin and dried like mummies. The blood mist coagted into a crimson red pill in sir Zagan''s hand.

    Blood maniption! Demonic cultivation! Demonic cultivators were people who had forsaken humanity to be demons!

    These were the thoughts that raced through Leon''s mind as he wore a grievous expression and his killing intent erupted. This person had to die!

    [Extreme Vanishing Step]!

    Leon shot forward at his quickest speed as he circted his energy.

    Twofold strength¡­ threefold¡­ no threefold was not enough. Leon pushed his body to carry out a fourfold attack, regardless of whether his body could take it. His fist shot forward at lightning speed with 3600-jin force!

    "Boy, didn''t I say to wait your turn!?" sir Zagan said grimly as he raised his hand to block.

    He didn''t put Leon''s puny strength in his eyes, even after it was augmented by fourfold. His cultivation was at five-stars with a physical strength of 5400-jin.

    However!

    A ck spear suddenly materialized in Leon hands that made sir Zagan''s eyes bulge with shock.

    "What sorcery is this!?" He roared. in retaliation but it was toote.

    Even if his strength was great, his flesh was not made of steel. The ck spear easily prated his hand before stabbing into his heart!

    Sir Zagan''s expression turned nasty as he ripped the ck spear away from his body and shot backwards in retreat with heavy steps.

    "I underestimated you, boy. To think you know spatial maniption." Sir Zagan said darkly as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His previous elegant and aloof bearing was destroyed by Leon. "But don''t think that you can kill me with just this. We will meet again."

    Sir Zagan retreated further away. If he wanted to leave, Leon wouldn''t be able to stop him.

    "It''s a pity that I won''t be able to watch the grand event. You should hurry back to the Capital before you miss it, boy. HAHAHA!"

    Sir Zagan escaped after leaving thosest words with a wildugh.

    After confirming that Sir Zagan was gone, Leon let down his worried and sighed with both relief and disappointment. He was safe, but the person wasn''t killed even after having his heart destroyed.

    He was drenched in cold sweat as he endured the pain from his mutted right arm for forcibly using fourfold strength that he had derived from the [Osciting Fist] technique.

    "As expected, the body is still not strong enough to use fourfold strength." Leon said self-mockingly.

    Suddenly a resounding boom echoed over from the Capital and made Leon''s expression froze¡­ He called the demonic cultivator''sst words and quickly hurried back.

 Chapter 119 - Queen Arachnia

    <h4>Chapter 119 - Queen Arachnia</h4>

    Lower West District.

    Amidst the rubble of broken buildings and scattered carcasses, a pungent smell of sourly acid permeated the air like noxious fumes, making people feel extremely repugnant and nauseous.

    After the sealing of the rifts, the three districts, excluding the east side, had moved onto the offensive to sweep the remaining crawlers. City guards, pce guards and nobles alike, paraded the streets in search of stragglers that were still alive, while the rest had went to assist the east.

    During this night, the east side had received the least help and had suffered disastrous losses. Apart from the pce guards that werepletely free from harm, there were many deaths among the city guards and nobles.

    At the same time, the group parading the west all wore a wet clothe over their faces to stifle the smell to a bearable level.

    If not for a person with weaker constitution copsing earlier, the group may have discovered toote that the smell produced by the arachnid''s carcasses were toxic.

    "This smell is so bad. I highly doubt there would be any survivors." A middle-aged noble said with disgust as he pinched his nose through the cloth.

    He was used to the luxurious clean life of the Upper District. He had never been so unclean in his whole life. His entire body was covered in blue blood from top to bottom. At the same time, he strongly doubted anyone could survive hiding in the lower district after it was swarmed by the creepy crawlers.

    "There''s still some people over in this building!" A city guard hollered not long after the noble made hisment.

    The crowd looked at the middle-aged noble with both contempt and amusement, while the middle-aged noble felt like he had lost face and red at the loudmouth city guard. His face burned with anger and embarrassment.

    It was beyond his expectations that his words would be corrected immediately. If he knew this was going to happen, he wouldn''t have made thement just now. No one wanted to p their own faces unless their heads had been kicked by a donkey.

    Inside the building, there was a basement floor, where the family of five; a father, mother and three children of two boys and one girl had hid during the chaos.

    The family of five were weak and spastic with yellow and greenplexion when they were found. Although they were safe from bing meals for the crawlers during the chaos, they were poisoned by the noxious fumes that seeped into the basement.

    "Don''t worry! You will all be okay. We will get you to safety, where the Saintess will heal you back to perfect health." Owen assured.

    By now, even the people on the frontlines had heard about the Saintesses and the miracle wood ability of the Greene family.

    Seriously injured guards and nobles from the frontline were also sent to them with great urgency. The venomous bites of Deadeye Spiders leave paralyzing effects and disables them from continuing to fight.

    When the family of five heard the cityguard captain''s assurance, the father moves his lips weakly, but was unable to form any coherent words. He could only feel grateful in his heart and sh the captain an emotional look.

    The cityguard captain, Owen was able to read the father''s feelings and a peculiar uplifting feeling of gratification swelled up inside him. He nodded and ordered his men to take them to them away to be treated, before wearing a heavy expression filled with guilt. He didn''t deserve such gratitude.

    He had been living his life in vain! The cityguards had a duty to upholdw and protect themoners, but they haven''t been doing that all these years. It was only until now that he had discovered the sense of self-satisfaction and happiness in being able to help others.

    Owen silently swore to turn over a new leaf and be a proper guard if the prince does not execute him for his past crimes after this ordeal was over. He would not touch alcohol and women through improper channels again. He would be someone the people could look up to, someone who could walk down the streets proudly with his head held high.

    "There could be more people in other basements! Search them!" Owen ordered. The cityguards quickly got to work when the captain gave his orders.

    It was around this time that they began to feel the ground rumbling.

    "Silence!"

    Isaac raised his hand gesture andmanded. He brows creased as he bent down to feel the earth. He could feel the earth shaking. An unprecedented feeling of apprehension and foreboding swelled inside him.

    What is happening underground? Why does it feel like something terrible is about to happen?

    ¡­

    Lower East District,

    The level of destruction here was far greater than any other districts. Practically every building and homes had been razed to the ground. The chances of finding survivors in the basements of the Lower East District was low and chances of saving them, even lower.

    The people fighting on the eastern side fought hard and pushed back the crawlers.

    The Duke and general marquis worked hand in hand to reduce the pressure on everyone else, while the Shadows Guard sealed the final rift.

    Their bodies were soaked in sweats and great exhaustion could be seen on their faces. They were nearing their physical and mental limits.

    However, until the final closing of the rift and theplete eradication of the crawlers from the surface, they would not rest.

    Old man Kasif waspletely drained and left the work to the rest of his men. Even if sess was in sight, he wore a grim expression on his tired age-torn face.

    The rumbling ground had been going on for some time and no one knew what it is, nor did anyone wanted to know what it is. Whatever it is, it couldn''t be good.

    The rumbling continues to grow stronger and the earth began to shake¡­ no, tremble? The earth was trembling!

    Boom!

    The rift that was about to be fully sealed with everyone''s hard effort, exploded once more.

    An inexplicablyrge shadow shot out from the reopened rift and made its way to the surface! The ground shook onest time due to itsnding.

    "Oh my god¡­ what is that thing?"

    Everyone paled at the giant creature that was hundreds to a thousand timesrger than the average crawlers.

    Its lower body shared a simr appearance to the Deadeye Spiders, but it had an upper body of a woman. It was the mother of all crawlers, Queen Arachnia. It was an ancient creature at the Transcendent level, one that could instill fear into the hearts of men simply by ncing at them.

    "SCREEEE!"

    It issued a powerful and deafening screech that echoed throughout thend and shook the people to their core. Behind it, another swarm of crawlers began spewing out of the rift and made the people feel despair.

    "Humans! You have gone too far! How dare you kill this Queen''s children!" Queen Arachnia scream.

    "Run! It''s a demon queen!"

    "Retreat!"

    Everyone in the eastern side began to panic and fall back due to the dominating presence of the arachnid mother.

    At the same time, in the royal pce, Elizabeth stood up in shock, before she swiftly recovering with a serious and cold look.

    "Your children are too rampant and are abominable existences! They all deserve to be killed on sight!

    In the face of a Transcendent-level monster, Elizabeth did not back down. She projected her own powerful voice over. It rang with a metallic tone.

    Leon, who was rushing back to the Capital at his quickest speed, was surprised by his mother''s skill. It was simr to his [Lion''s Roar] through the usage of energy to amplify his voice.

    "That audacity!"

    Queen Arachnia''s anger rose another level. She couldn''t ept the disrespect. She was used tomanding millions with zero disobedience.

    "Go, my children! The surface dwelling will be your new home!" Queen Arachnia decreed.

    Unlike her children, she was not blind. The surface was much more beautiful than the darkness of the underground world, thus her greed for thend was ignited.

    The crawlers received their Queen mother''s order like it was the edict of heaven and their numbers spawned from the rift with greater ferocity.

    The general marquis and the Duke were forced to retreat helplessly. They didn''t have the strength to keep fighting and required rest.

    Elizabeth sighed at the sight of her retreating subjects. Crazy Don was still in seclusion and the people were too exhausted to do anything. Only she could put up a fight against the Transcendent monster, whilst not being at the Transcendent level herself.

    She took a final look in the direction of the king''s bedchamber with tenderness like she was looking at the king directly, through the pce walls.

    "Guard the king well. If anything untoward happens to the king, all your heads will roll." Elizabeth said heartlessly.

    "Yes, your majesty!"

    Lily and the other maidsplied without any change in expression.

    Lily had long returned to the queen''s side as per her word, when the north side was quickly settled.

    Elizabeth looked back at spider queen coldly for forcing her hand. She began to float in the air.

    "Rise!"

    She made a lifting gesture and a building in the pce; a metal tower began to rise from the ground. A throne was formed at the top of the tower and Elizabeth seated herself on it.

    The metal tower soon flew towards the spider queen. It didn''t stopped until it was within two hundred yards of the spider queen and at an altitude where she could look down on it.

    Numerous windows opened from the tower as hundreds of swords flew out and formed a sword formation around Elizabeth.

    Queen Arachnia watch everything unfold both growing interest and anger. Interest that a puny human dare to challenge her! Anger because it dared to look down on her!

 Chapter 120 - Elizabeths Strength

    <h4>Chapter 120 - Elizabeth''s Strength</h4>

    "Imend your great courage for challenging this Queen, but your deliberate actions are extremely foolish and have seeded in infuriating this Queen!" Queen Arachnia said with gnashing teeth.

    As an extremely cannibalistic race, her rise to the top were built upon the million upon million corpses of her own kind.

    It did not feel good to be looked down upon by a lower lifeform. It was equivalent to denying her achievements. The spider queen''s expression grew uglier by the second.

    "Whether it''s courage or foolishness, you''ll see after fighting this Queen." Elizabeth said coolly as she looked down on the spider queen.

    "Hmph!"

    The queen of the two races exchanges few words and battled immediately. The queen spider made the first move. She wanted to swat the puny existence out of the sky.

    She was a Transcendental being! Only she was allowed to look down on others and not the other way around!

    Herrge pale white arm closed the distance in a heartbeat and her contrasting steely ck fingers that were like a miniature version of her pointy ck legs, swiped downwards on the metal tower that was not much smaller than her than own body.

    Elizabeth on her moving tower, dodged the attack with ease. Even if the tower did not move and withstood the attack, it would not suffer much damage.

    Everything the Queen manipted in battle would not be made ofmon metal. By defensive capability alone, it is enough to enter the ranks of spirit artifacts.

    "Hmph! Slippery little human!"

    Queen Arachnia made another swipe with her ck ws, but again, it was dodged with ease.

    "You''re too slow. Is yourrge frame and great strength all you have as a transcendent being?" Elizabeth said with contempt.

    Her swords moved in irregr and hard-to-guess patterns and strike at the spider queen from difficult angles. Her sword strike seeded, but it only left white marks on the surface of the spider queen''s body.

    Queen Arachnia who was on the verge of exploding with greater fury suddenly calmed down.

    "I see¡­ How devious you humans are. You purposely anger this Queen to make me lose my rationale. My attacks have been predictable." Arachnia stated calmly, but a hint of coldness suffused the air. She had been made a joke of.

    She was a Transcendental being. Even if the unlocked intelligence of her race was not on par with humans, how can she be led by the nose forever? She was able to see through the human queen''s plot after a few exchanges.

    If she was so easily defeated with just schemes, she would have long be the sustenance of another rival arachnid that feed on each other to grow.

    "However, even if this Queen does nothing, you won''t be able to harm this Queen." The spider queen added.

    That being said, she would not purposely allow herself to be harassed by a puny human without retaliating.

    The two queens quickly exchange dozens to hundreds of attacks. Although the spider queen''s attack became calmer and trickier, the result remained the same.

    For every attack Elizabeth dodge, she would strike back with her flying swords and leave hundreds of more white marks on the spider queens'' body.

    It was as Elizabeth had said. Due to therge build of the spider queen, her offensive and defensive power was great, but her speed was sacrificed as a result. But this did not mean that the attacks of the spider queen were slow by any means. It was only slower than Elizabeth''s speed.

    For any other awakeners below 7 stars, it would be impossible. To themon people''s perception, the spider queen was both fast and gigantic. It was horrifying.

    Any unlucky fool to be hit by the spider queen would have their body either exploded into bloody mist on impact or be tten into a meat paste that was tter than the doormat.

    While the queens were battling, the earth shook with every step of the spider queen and their shes resounded throughout the four directions.

    The Lower East District that had long been devastated intoplete ruins without a single intact building, suffered a wholly new level of destruction as the broken woods and rubbles were grinded down into fine dust.

    At the same time, the people fighting in the lower district had retreated behind the upper walls once more, but even then, they do not feel safe from battle. They did have a chance to spectate the battle during the retreat, but now that they have time, they could only look on with a mixture awe and fear.

    "This can no longer be said to be a battle between humans¡­" A noblemanmented thoughtlessly.

    "Nonsense! Look at that thing! What part of that is human to begin with!?" An old man rebuked.

    "The upper body¡­" The person gulped.

    "¡­"

    The crowd was silenced.

    Despite the spider queen having a naked upper body of a human woman that seemed to have been sculpted from the finest of jades with silky smooth and pale white skin, no one could appreciate the beauty of the spider queen even if she had the face of a seductress.

    In fact, it wouldn''t be wrong to call the spider queen a demon subus from the arachnid''s point of view. Any male arachnids able to copte with the spider queen would have their essence sucked dry and die within a few hours. It was uncertain whether this was a lucky or unlucky thing for their kind.

    When the Duke retreated behind the wall, he wore a depressed look with great heartache. His airship suffered great damage and fell out of the sky when the spider queen broke out onto the surface. He only hoped that the levitation stone was still intact.

    However, his final hopes were soon dashed, the moment the battle between queens moved towards the airship location. It was first stepped on, sliced then ttened beyond recognition.

    "Ahh¡­"

    It was like the Duke just lost his soul. Whatever damages his prized airship suffered, felt like the same was happening on his own heart, tearing it apart.

    "What''s the matter with you?" The general marquis said.

    He naturally noticed the Duke''s expression as they been through a tough battle and became close as brothers. Old man Kasif wore a guilty expression and took the chance to slip away silently, while the attention wasn''t on him.

    In any case, his strength waspletely exhausted and won''t be able to contribute further with his old bones. He couldn''t defend the wall against the new swarming crawlers in the distance.

    Even while they were being stomped to death by their own queen mother, the crawlers didn''t seem to be reducing in numbers in the slightest. God knows how many more crawlers were still left in the rift.

    The guards and nobles all wore helpless expression in the face of this renewed army. They didn''t have the strength to keep going.

    However, when they caught news of the reinforcements making their way over from the other three districts, it was like music to their ears, extremelyforting and lifted their souls to the high heaven.

    They gritted their teeth with determination burning in their eyes. They just need to persevere for just a little while longer¡­ just a while longer¡­

    ¡­

    Leon made his way back to where the Greene family was located at this time. He had sealed his own acupoints and applied some Golden Ointment to stop the bleeding in his mangled mess of an arm. He still required the miraculous wood ability to heal it back to perfect condition.

    Lina was shocked at the state of his arm, but under his calm smile and reassurance, she was able to quickly calm down and treated him. He smiled sheepishly at thought of him, a doctor requiring the treatment of others again.

    When his personal guards arrived and saw his arm with red eyes, they lost their minds and wanted to scream ''It''s over!''

    However, Lina''s healing worked fast, and the recovery of his arm could be seen at a visibly rate. They sighed in relief at the sight. It looks like they still get to keep their heads.

    This job was not easy¡­ not easy¡­ not f*cking easy! Important things had to be stressed thrice! Protecting the prince was too stressful.

    It was around this time that the sky began to disy an extraordinary phenomenon that had not been seen in many years.

    The energy of heaven and earth gathered towards the royal pce. The energy was so concentrated, the onlookers could a strip of red line descending from the heavens. Everyone saw and knew exactly what was happening. Someone was transcending.

    The breakthrough to the transcendent level was not a lengthy process. The phenomenon could only be witnessed for a few moments before it disappeared like an inch of radiance. If one saw it, it would be a sight to remember. If they didn''t, bad luck. Wait for next time.

    At the royal pce, the doors of the pill room were swung open as Crazy Don waltz out, while guffawing.

    "Hahahaha! This Don is now a Transcendent!"

    If the few pce maids stationed to watch over him, didn''t hear his exmation, they would have wondered who the f*ck he was.

    His appearance had undergone a startling change as his wrinkles disappeared and his grey white hair had reverted to ck. He looked like he had returned to the prime of his life.

    "Hmm? What is going on out here?" Crazy Don asked.

    Due to the sound instion of the pill room to prevent distraction during pill refining, Don had been clueless to the events of the Capital. However, once he was out, he immediately learnt of the situation.

    "How can this Don be missing out on such fun?"

    His eyes suddenly beamed with excitement and impatience like a kid that couldn''t wait to y with his new toy.

 Chapter 121 - Glory Of The Sun

    <h4>Chapter 121 - Glory Of The Sun</h4>

    Elizabeth exchanged hundreds of bouts with the spider queen without being hit once. The pressure on her was not light. The other party was after all still a Transcendent level being.

    She neither wanted to be hit nor could she afford to be hit. If the attacknded on the tower, there wasn''t much of a problem. But if itnded on her body directly, she would just be like anyone else and be reduced to a bloody paste.

    The Lower East District had bepletely t without a single building or piece of building left standing, while the ground was riddled with small craters and more corpses.

    Before the crawlers reached the wall, a fifth of them had already been killed off after being caught in their queen''s battle.

    Queen Arachnia did not frown nor felt a single shred of guilt for their deaths. Her race was one withoutpassion. The moment she was born, her brothers and sisters were both her rivals and her source of sustenance. Looking at the crawlers below her was akin to looking at food. There were no sentiments and only cold indifference.

    She was forced to the surface to take revenge on the humans for wiping out half her source of sustenance, but the beauty of the surface allured her from her original purpose for surfacing.

    "Hmm¡­ Damn human, your puny attacks are starting to hurt this Queen!" Queen Arachnia frowned.

    Her body was riddled with white marks. If one had not seen the original color of the spider queen, they would have thought she had always been fully white. Some areas of the white marks wereparably deeper than others, like it had been chiseled away by Elizabeth''s repeated attack in the same spot.

    No matter how strong her defense was, as long as it can be damaged, it will eventually break once the damage umted enough.

    "This Queen can tell that you can''t keep this on for much longer. There is a fundamental difference in strength between our races."

    Even though the spider queen''s defense could be broken in a few more attacks, she unconcerned about it and remained calm and collected like it was just a trifling issue.

    Her transcendent-level strength came purely from her Transcendent fleshly body. It was different to a human Transcendent that was more bnced between energy, body and soul. As long as her fleshly body wasn''t destroyed, her strength was inexhaustible. She would never tire.

    Elizabeth had yet to reach the Transcendent level, as such, she was sweating profusely from the excessive usage of her ability.

    Elizabeth already knew she would not be able to kill the spider queen. She only had a single purpose throughout the entire fight, and it was to stall for time. It was impossible to defeat a Transcendent without possessing the strength of one.

    "Hmm? What is that red light?" Queen Arachnia frowned at the sudden appearance in the sky.

    Due the difference in their path to Transcendency, the spider queen did not recognize the strange phenomenon in the sky when it happened.

    However, when Elizabeth saw it, she sighed with relief. She naturally recognizes what the phenomenon entailed. Crazy Don had sessfully transcended.

    "That is the light of someone stepping into the ranks of Transcendents. This Queen will not y with you any longer. Someone else wille to y."

    The spider queen''s frown deepened at her words. She couldn''tnd a single attack. How can she allow this human to leave without getting even!?

    "Do you think this Queen will just let you leave?!"

    When she wanted to stop the human from leaving, a palm-size cauldron came flying over to greet her face, immediately earning her displeasure. Her face was the only part of her body that remained untouched.

    She was forced to stop her attack on the human queen to swat flying cauldron away. It immediately exploded on impact when she tried to do so. Her upper body was soon engulf in mes that was exceeded her body''s resistance to mes and inflicted her with pain she had not felt in a long time.

    "Ahhhhh! How dare you humans harmed this Queen''s beautiful face!" The spider queen roared with indignation and fury.

    It was apparent that even though she wasn''t human, as long as she was a woman, she would simrly pay a whole load of importance to her beauty.

    The spider queen iled her body crazily in her attempt to put out the me that stuck to her like a sore thumb.

    A raucousughter soon made its way into her ears and aroused her heavy killing intent.

    ''You think this is funny!?''

    "Hahahaha! Let this Don join in on the fun!"

    Crazy Don glided over from the royal pce in an exuberant mood. He had already shed his old self and returned with youthful vigor. Even Elizabeth was surprised and failed to recognize him, if not for his words.

    "Crazy Don, where is your sword? How can you fight unarmed?" Elizabeth immediately asked with creased brows.

    "Hahaha¡­ you''re also here. I''ve already transcended. I don''t need a weapon. I have these babies."

    Crazy Don gestured for Elizabeth to look at the items strapped to his body, which was a bunch of palm-size cauldron.

    Elizabeth''s face twitched. Of course, she was here! Who else could stop the spider queen''s rampage if not her!? Of course, she knows he transcended. It was in obvious from the signs in the sky. He didn''t need to tell her that, but how could some cauldrons possibly be enough to contend another Transcendent!?

    In the end, Elizabeth shook her head with a helpless expression and said,

    "Don''t die."

    She believed Crazy Don''s obsession with explosion was a mental illness rather than a side hobby he picked up when her couldn''t transcend, but now she is beginning to think it is theter.

    If Leon was present to look at the contents of the palm-size pill cauldrons strapped to Crazy Don''s body, he would gape in shock.

    The herbs had all be refined into essence and separated inside. It just missing the final pill-forming step¡­ except¡­ the herbal essence inside were of conflicting properties.

    These herbal essences can''t possibly be used to form a pill. Even the Alchemy God would not dare im he could form a pill with these herbal properties.

    Their sole purpose was to purposely induce pill cauldron explosions!

    "Hahaha! It''s not easy to kill this Don." Crazy Don guffawed.

    Elizabeth frowned, thinking he was taking this too lightly, but she said nothing.

    "ARGHHH!! HUMANS!!! I''LL KILL YOU!"

    The spider queenshed out at Crazy Don with her ws. Don did not receive her attack and chose to dodge it. Even he would be squashed into a bloody paste, if he chose to receive it. Human Transcendents specialize in elemental abilities and not the body.

    Crazy Don grabbed one of his pill cauldron and great amount of me essence from the surroundings were quickly infused into it as it began to glow scorching red.

    The pill cauldron was toss at the spider queen again without her being able to dodge, due to her huge frame.

    "AHHHH!"

    She lit up like torch, but Crazy Don wasn''t satisfied. The me pir that night was much more beautiful¡­

    He was immediately disheartened. His explosion wasn''t beautiful¡­ but maybe he could make it much grander¡­ and more majestic¡­

    His eyes lit up as he began infusing the rest of his pill cauldrons before tossing them out like candies. Each one exploding with a booming noise, one after the other on the spider queen''s body until she waspletely engulfed in the mes.

    "How can it be like this!? This is impossible! I refused to be defeated by mere mes! To be defeated by mere humans! Arghhh!!"

    The shrill cries of the spider queen could be heard from inside mes. She was aggrieved and outraged! It waspletely uneptable! How can she be defeated by mere mes!? But scorching pain wracked through her entire body and made her shriveled up like an old prune.

    To add salt to her wounds, she was like the new sun in the night, attracting all her children toe and eat her. The children did not attack the walls but charged at her like moths darting into the me.

    As the spider queen herself was suffering from unbearable torment due to the mes, how could her children, who were weaker than first step awakeners hoped to survive it!? Naturally they didn''t. As they reached the periphery of the mes, they were already reduced to ashes.

    As Crazy Don floated in the air watching the scene of the zing spider queen, he felt especially proud of his work. Who cares if it''s not beautiful? He just disyed the glory of the sun! He felt like he had found his true path in the art of explosions. To keep it simple but make it bigger! Brighter!

    All the onlookers, whether they were behind the walls or in the sky like Leon and the hidden Lilith, they all gulped at the sight with various thoughts. The spider queen was not fearsome. This person was!

    How were those palm-size pill cauldrons? They were fricking handheld grenades with the power of a miniature sun!

    This person was a madman! Ingenious and prodigal! Who else uses herbs and pill cauldrons to make explosives? Probably only him.

    The crowd watched as the brainless crawlers all suicide into the mes. Their numbers drastically plummeted with every passing seconds.

    Eventually, the me died out and the crawlers were all reduced to ashes. Only the spider queenid shriveled up at the center; silent, ckened and extremely wretched looking.

    Crazy Don sighed when he confirmed zero movements from the spider queen. The power of a Transcendent was heaven and earthpared an awakener. He even had the illusion that he could draw power from the heaven and earth limitlessly.

    He turned around with the intention to return to the pce, but a sudden cracking sound came from behind him. He turned back and stared at the ckened body of the spider queen.

    The cracks began to form before it spread to the rest of her body. Eventually, the giant body of the spider queen could no longer support itself and began to copse to the ground, leaving nothing but a mountain of charcoal.

    Leon was filled with self-doubt seeing this scene. Although he didn''t know much about Transcendents, he was sure it shouldn''t be that easy to kill a fire-eating spider with fire.

    But seeing no further movements from the mountain of charcoal, he could only leave it at that.

    Everyone believed the spider queen was dead.

 Chapter 122 - Nirvana In Fire

    <h4>Chapter 122 - Nirvana In Fire</h4>

    The events of the Capital were something no one would have ever wished for. Homes were destroyed and lives were lost. Some lost their sons and daughters. Some lost their fathers and mothers. Regardless of the losses, it wasn''t limited to justmoners but the nobles, whom fought valiantly on the upper walls were also included.

    The damages and wanton destruction ensured, that the development of the Capital had suffered a serious setback, but perhaps, only after the Capital experienced such a trial by fire, would they finally be able to move forward like a phoenix reborning from the ashes.

    A fire had been lit in the hearts of themoners. The powerlessness they felt as they watched their loved ones died, they never want to experience it again. After tonight''s event, the people weed the first ray of dawn along with a strong thirst and conviction for power.

    Outside of the royal pce gates,moners, nobles and aristocrats alike, have gathered for one purpose; they demanded answers.

    Why they have not been made aware of such abominable existences living right under them. Why did the royal family kept such important information secret?

    Depending on the royal family''s answer, they could lose the faith of the people and cause mass emigration from the Capital.

    Of course, only the nobles and aristocrats had the wealth and means to leave and have no problem living elsewhere. Themoners have been left with nothing and weren''t capable of such feats.

    After the crawlers had been dealt with, the queen requested Crazy Don to make a clean sweep through all the Lower Districts with his mes to remove all the corpses and noxious fumes.

    The Lower District was an uninhabitable zone and the people would not be able to rebuild their homes so long as these two problems weren''t removed.

    The Lower East District, or rather¡­ what was left of it, was the only district without such problems after Crazy Don''s great disy of fireworks.

    At this moment, several brazen and unscrupulousmoners had rushed into the Lower Districts, while the rest were gathering outside the royal pce.

    In their eyes, whatever was left in the Lower District had be free loot and they wanted to salvage whatever they could find. Unfortunately, after Crazy Don made his rounds, everything had already been reduced to ashes.

    They turned their eyes towards the mountain of charcoal that was still emitting incredible high heat.

    Surely the body of a high-level monster would have some precious materials they could collect and sell to merchants. However, thesemoners had no way of getting closer without burning themselves.

    Suddenly, there were moments within the mountain of charcoal and it further crumpled down like it had lost all solidity and kicked up a wave of billowing dust. The scavengers all retreated in there.

    When the dust settled, they were surprised that at the center, stood a beautiful young woman with lustrous fair skin and silk smooth ck hair with few strips of crimson red. Her naked body seemed to have been sculpted by the heavens and entuated her celestial beauty, without a speck of obscenity.

    "Beautiful fairy, where are your clothes? Did they¡­ hehehe¡­ get burnt away? How about we have some fun?" A scavenger saidsciviously.

    The young woman''s city-toppling beauty had aroused his lust and made him unable to think straight. He didn''t care whether his words were able to move the woman. A person who could walk around naked, couldn''t possibly be chaste and pure.

    Neither he nor the other scavengers would have thought that the person in front of them was the terrifying spider queen. Other than sharing simr facial features, they were worlds apart.

    The one in front of them looked no different than a human, while the spider queen had been enormous.

    When the spider queen heard the human''s vulgar words, she brows creased but didn''t take immediately take action to silence his insolence. Instead, she checked out her own body and curves.

    It seems she had achieved nirvana through fire and evolved. Her strength did not advanced, but in this form, herbat prowess seemed to have been optimized. Speed was no longer her weakness.

    "Hehehe¡­ thank you for the treat." The scavenger took the spider queen''s silence and show of curves as acquiescing and inviting.

    The spider queen immediately felt her personal space being invaded, when the human got too close. She shed him a look with her crimson eyes and the person instantly froze on the spot. It was as if his soul was taken away with one nce and instilled great terror into his being. He started to break into cold sweat.

    "Insolent human. You think you are worthy of this Queen?" Queen Arachnia said repulsively. How can an insignificant human be worthy enough to touch her new sublime body? It would only sully her body and make her feel like she had just stepped in dog sh*t.

    "M-Mercy-"

    The spider queen wrung his neck and separated the head from his body, before he could finish pleading for his life. The spider queen proceeded to drink the blood dripping from his head, but she immediately frowned at the taste and toss the head away.

    "M-Monster! Run!"

    The other scavengers ran for their life, the moment their saw the spider queen attempt to drink human blood. That was no fairy! That was a demoness!

    But how could these ordinarymoners be able escape from a Transcendent? It was as easy as lifting a hand for the spider queen to kill them all. She did not move from her spot. Instead, spider threads shot out from her fingers and diced them into pieces.

    At this time, Lilith was the only person left, who knew the spider queen survived and even undergone a transformation. She looks less threatening, but she was definitely more menacing.

    "Ew¡­ that thing is still alive. Those humans are so doomed."

    Lilith felt a bit grossed out that such a grotesque monster would turn into such a voluptuous woman.

    "Hmm¡­ I have seen enough¡­ I should return home to report back to his majesty."

    Lilith decided. She had already lost her cover of the night and could easy be seen in the sky if anyone bothered to look up. It was no longer safe for her to stay.

    She only felt great pity that she can''t warn the humans. She would only be attacked by them if she tried. She knew about the hostility between their races.

    However,ing from a multi-beast tribe, she wasn''t narrow-minded as to hate all humans. In fact, she felt closer intimacy with the humans that shared her appearancepared to the other beast races. Her hatred was solely trained on the human garrisons that shot down her nsmen at the Great Wall.

    When Lilith wanted to leave, she was shocked to find out that the spider queen had been eyeing her with cold interest.

    "Oh no! I''ve been discovered!" Lilith eximed.

    She tried to flee, but an extremely fast spider threadshed out at her. She narrowly manages to avoid being split in half by the spider thread, but it had clipped off one of her wings.

    "Ahhhh!"

    The pain made her wail in pain as she started to plummet from the sky. There was no way to support her flight with only one wing. She could only try to reduce her falling speed and flee as far as she could before she hit the ground. At the very least, it would increase her chances of survival.

    Queen Arachnia just watch as the little peeping bird drop out of the sky into another district. She did not pursue to make sure it is dead.

    Why would she need to expend so much effort to ensure the death of an ant? She wasn''t that bored. Whether the little bird lives or dies, that is its fortune.

    It was a different story for the humans that were ogling at her body covetously withscivious eyes. They had to die for their insolence.

    But she had to admit they still had eyes for beauty, but then she frowned again. Although she felt there was nothing wrong with showcasing her natural beauty to the world, she didn''t want to attract flies.

    Many strands of spider threads shot out from her fingers, before being skillfully weaved into a beautiful white dress for herself.

    "Since I have a new body akin to a human, from this day forth, I shall be known as Arana." Arana proimed to herself without any audiences.

    Evolution was much harder than cultivation. Although, the humans tried to kill her, she only felt thankful for being able to evolve.

    As for the death of her children, she didn''t feel anything. They were only food to her, but since her taste had changed, she wagered that her children would no longer taste good.

    "I will take my time to explore this beautiful surface." Arana licked her lips veraciously and nced at the rising sun. There''s bound to better things to eat in this colorful world.

    The Crawford Kingdom had unknowingly left behind a disaster, but also been spared from it. The spider queen had decided not to pursue their race for their transgression.

    It wasn''t because the spider queen had be human and had a human heart. It was simply because the humans did not taste good.

    If the people knew this, they wouldn''t know how they would feel about it.

    As long as the humans don''t offend her, she will leave them be. But if they are unrepentant, she wouldn''t mind wiping them all out. She only needed three things in life to be happy; eat, sleep and y.

    The spider queen quietly slipped away as the people continue to gather outside the Royal Pce¡­

 Chapter 123 - Aftermath

    <h4>Chapter 123 - Aftermath</h4>

    Inside the Great Hall, Elizabeth sat on her seat. The people present were Leon, the general marquis, the Duke and his wife.

    Leon was the only person that wasn''t directing a questioning gaze at his mother. Seeing his mother''s silence, he decided to speak.

    "Mother, the secret is already out in the open. It''s time we them an answer." Leon said.

    "And what kind of answer do you want mother to give them?" Elizabeth said slowly.

    "The truth and a direction. We should teach them how to cultivate so they can fend for themselves."

    Leon recalled the strength of the demonic cultivator and continued, "The kingdom had long growncent and its growth had be stagnant all these years. The Crawford Kingdom is not the same as it was in its heyday. Our kingdom has be weak."

    A frown appeared on Elizabeth''s face as she contemted her son''s words. His words suggest breaking the rules the Crawford ancestors had set. Rules are dead, but the people are alive.

    "Hold on a second. What you are saying is the Royal family knew about those things below all this time?" The Duke interjected, before asking, "And what did you mean the kingdom has be weak?"

    "The Crawford Kingdom has always been the guardian that safeguard humanity. How can we be weak?" The general marquis added with a displeased tone.

    Obviously, Leon''s words did not sit well with him. He had just entered the star rank in cultivation and considered himself one of the powerhouses of the Crawford Kingdom. To say the kingdom was weak was equivalent to saying he was weak.

    Leon looked at the general marquis calmly and asked, "When was thest time you visited the other kingdoms, or anyone for that matter?"

    "¡­"

    The group was silenced when this question was raised. None of them had ever visited the neighboring kingdoms.

    What is there to see in the other kingdom when the resource of the Human Domain was concentrated in their kingdom? Or at least that should have been the case¡­

    "The Four Great Family were just pawns. When I was eradicating the rebels, I fought and drove away their mastermind, sir Zagan." Leon said before continuing,

    "If I recall correctly, the Vran Kingdom had a count-level noble by the name of Zagan. Just a count-level noble, but his strength was at the five stars of the Awakener Realm. If count-level nobles are already this strong, what does that say for the higher-ranking nobles?"

    "Now you are just talking nonsense, kid. I don''t believe you have the strength to drive away a five-star Awakener Realm expert." Hendrick refuted rudely. His words carried the spirit of a battle-hardened soldier.

    Not long after he said these words though, did he suddenly finds himself drenched in cold sweat under the Queen''s cold gaze.

    "Apologies, your highness. I have misspoken. However, I still stand by my opinion." Hendrick apologizes courtly, but he was firm in his stance. He was unconvinced of Leon''s feat. How old was he?

    "Naturally, I have yet to reach the five-star Awakener Realm. I relied on tricks and a sneak attack to deal a fatal blow. It''s a pity that he did not die even after having his heart destroyed." Leon exined with some regrets.

    "That''s obviously impossible. No one can survive having their hearts destroyed." Hendrick said confidently. Leon''s words only served to strengthen his opinion further.

    His good impression of the prince was dropping. He was an honorable soldier and means of tricks and sneak attacks were dishonorable by his standards, not to mention he felt like the prince was bragging.

    "Normally, yes, but it is different for demonic cultivators that cultivate the blood arts. Blood arts allow the demonic cultivator to have extraordinarily vitality due to the blood vitality they absorb from other humans." Leon said, seemingly uncaring of the general marquis''s impression of him.

    "If that''s true, it''s good that Count Zagan survived. It would have been an international dispute if he died. While we don''t know how powerful the other kingdoms have grown, it''s not wise to erupt in open hostility with them until we fully understand their strengths." Elizabeth said calmly after being surprised. Unlike the general marquis, she believes in the words of her son, albeit with doubt.

    The other three showed mild puzzlement. Evidently, the term ''demonic cultivator'' and ''blood arts'' were unfamiliar to them.

    Leon knew that his mother had always been doubtful of the origin of his abilities and knowledge, but she had never once, asked him. If he wanted to reform the kingdom and spread the knowledge of cultivation to strengthen the people, he would have to at least answer his mother''s doubts.

    "I wish to speak with my mother alone." Leon said courtly.

    Elizabeth saw through her son''s intention and nodded.

    "Leave us." She waved her hand.

    The three people were forced to leave with their doubts unanswered. It was apparent that the prince''s secret was only meant for her majesty''s ears only. They left the Great Hall sullenly.

    Elizabeth shot azy nce above and said coolly, "That includes all of you."

    There were some movements among the shadows above, before it became still again, and silence filled the Great Hall.

    "Mother, I know you always wanted to ask about the origins of my knowledge and abilities. It might sound unbelievable, but I learnt them in my dreams." Leon said.

    He began to exin how he lived through the life of another person in his dreams and inherited the knowledge and techniques from there.

    He did not exin the whole truth to his mother. At most, it can be considered half-truth, a white lie.

    Until this day, he had yet toprehend the truth of his reincarnation. Because he possesses the memories of both lives, he wasn''t sure whether his soul reincarnated into the body of Leon after the original host died or he was reborn in the fetus with his memories sealed, only to awaken after the near-death experience.

    It had been mere spection on his part to make sense of his situation, however if it was the former¡­ He dared not let his mother know the full truth. He feared losing his mother''s love.

    The two process may sound the same, but the difference was worlds apart. One meant he was the son of Elizabeth, while the other implied he was a foreigner that took over her son''s body.

    Elizabeth was more epting of Leon''s reason than he expected after his exnation. Elizabeth only knew that he was her flesh and blood. That reason was enough. The blood does not lie. His hidden worries were immediately swept away after her motherly hug.

    Shortly after, Elizabeth called the others back to continue their discussion. Matters rting to other kingdoms can only be shoved back to ater date.

    Currently, the problem outside the pce required immediate attention. Themoners demanded answers, but issues regarding homes and food also had to be settled.

    The farnds outside had been ravaged by the crawlers and now the Capital was suffering from an unprecedented food crisis. If the problem isn''t swiftly dealt with, many will die of hunger.

    Elizabeth was a virtuous wife who was devoted to a fault. She had never managed the kingdom''s affair because although she was the queen, she was not of the Crawford royal bloodline. The decision maker of the kingdom affairs had always been the king.

    She felt that she would be usurping the King''s authority if she took matters into her own hands. This was the reason why Elizabeth only defended her husband''s throne and took no other action.

    However, to the people, her passiveness was taken as inactivity and abandonment. Leon felt his mother was really silly on this point.

    Whether she was of royal bloodline or not, she was still royalty when she married into the Crawford royal family. The queen holds the second most authority after king.

    Only scheming officials and ministers with ulterior motives would jump out to object her authority in such a situation, but who would dare to do such a foolish thing? That is simply asking for death.

    "Mother, you can''t remain silent on this matter forever. The kingdom needs you to manage it right now. Wouldn''t father me you when he wakes up if he sees the kingdom in shambles?"

    Elizabeth was moved into action under his urge and persuasion. However, she was no longer the kind queen she once was. Thus, her reaction was bound to be different.

    "Hahhh? Would he dare me me after I''ve been defending his throne while he liesfortably in bed?! Hmph! But you are right son, we can''t let him see the Capital in such a state. Heck, if the herb arrives, don''t treat your father! He has been sleeping for 17 years. It doesn''t matter if he sleeps a bit longer. We must make the Capital look nice before he can wake up." Elizabeth said with a strong tone.

    "Uh¡­ right."

    Leon wondered how long it would take for the reconstruction of the Lower District and farnds. Weeks? Months? Not too long. But for the crops to be grown and ready for harvest, at least half a year. However, the Greene''s miraculous wood ability could be used to speed up the process.

    Elizabeth soon delegated separate tasks for the Lancaster duo and the general marquis to carry out. They were required to collect enough supplies from the western frontier and surrounding cities to support the Capital''s poption for the next few months.

    It would ease the burden on the Capital''s food reserves considerably. But the cost would also deplete a fair amount of the royal family''s wealth.

    Fortunate, Leon was now loaded after taking all the Four Great Family''s wealth. He had already sent the gang members out to the hilltop woods to retrieve the goods. There were no scruples in spending this wealth for themoners, as the wealth originally belong to them.

    Rather than themoners being exploited of their wealth, it was like they had been saving up for years with the Four Great Family as the banker. Leon chuckled when he thought like this. But when he remembered that they also suffered miserably and many lives were lost due to the Four Great Family machination, he immediately stopped.

    After finishing the arrangements to settle themons, Elizabeth headed out to face her people.

 Chapter 124 - Reconstruction Plan

    <h4>Chapter 124 - Reconstruction n</h4>

    "Look! The Queen is here! The Queen is finally here to see us!"

    Themoners eximed the moment they spotted their Queen appearing atop the pce walls and peering down at her subjects.

    At this moment, outside the pce gates, bothmoners and nobles have filled the streets. The only gap that could be seen, formed a line that separated between the two.

    When the Queen appeared, themoners wanted to move closer to catch a better glimpse of her appearance.

    "Don''t touch me,moner!" An Earl backhanded themoner that identally stained his clothes with their dirty hands.

    The p was powerful, and themoner immediately spat blood with broken teeth sent flying. The Earl was immediately displeased for dirtying his own hands. He took out a white cloth to clean it before looking at themoner coldly.

    "Mercy, my lord! I was pushed!" Themoner cried.

    Simr situation happened along the dividing line when themoners behind pushed them forward into the nobles.

    The crowd became rowdy with the sudden rise of disputes. None of the nobles thought they were heavy handed for punishing themoners.

    They even prepared tosh out more vicious blows to make themoners understand their ce.

    However, when the Earl raised his foot to kick, he realized the surrounding had be silent.

    Elizabeth with one hand raised, was all that was required of her tomand silence from the crowd.

    The nobles ced aside their displeasure to hear what the Queen had to say, while themoners could only swallow their grievance silently with clenched fist. If they had strength, they would teach these haughty nobles what it means to be human.

    Themoners were like helplessmbs without direction and purpose when they lost everything. They were satisfied if they have a ce to sleep and food to eat with their remaining family.

    Humans were curious creature, whom like to make sense of the unknown. Themoners naturally also would like to learn the matters of the crawlers and the underground, but their inquisitiveness wasn''t as strong as the nobles.

    They hoped that the reclusive Queen would step out of pce to relieve the worries and here, she was, standing before them.

    All eyes trained on Elizabeth as she made a sweeping nce through the citizens and saw through their myriad of emotions; anticipation, confusion, doubts, fear, anxiety, grievance and sadness.

    "Citizens of Crawford, you have suffered. My condolences to you and your families. The cmity that struck our kingdom was not one that this Queen had hoped for. The royal family will see to it that you will have a ce to sleep and food to eat until your homes are rebuilt. The pce guards will lead you to where the camp will be set."

    Elizabeth spoke with a clear but powerful enough voice that reached all the people''s ears.

    "Now you might be wondering what the creatures that have attacked our Capital are. These are insects called spiders. Like the animals from before the Cataclysm, they have mutated and evolved into terrifying monsterspared to their ancestry."

    "The Human Domain was never apletely safe haven for humans with all these insects roaming under us. It never was and never will be¡­ unless! These creatures arepletely eradicated!"

    "The royal family had always been secretly fighting these creatures to keep thends safel. However! Due to the vicious plot of the Four Great Family, they have unleashed these fiends upon ournds. They are sinners of humanity and have paid the ultimate price for their crimes."

    "While there were losses, there are also gains. We have finally emerged victorious against these vile creatures andpletely eradicated them! Let us strive forward to be stronger, such that a tragedy like this will never repeat itself again. Towards that end, the royal family will be teach everyone how to be strong!"

    The crowd felt their blood boiled and cheered. They were especially excited with lit eyes at the opportunity to cultivate. Under the Queen''s eloquence, their spirits were ignited with the hopes of striving for a better future, albeit with many details left out.

    In a few words, Elizabeth hadpletely shoved the me on the Four Great Family and did not mention the other kingdom''s role in their cmity. Their kingdom wasn''t ready to be openly hostile with the other kingdoms without fully grasping the situation.

    The crawlers were also eradicated, but only from the first underground floor. The underground world runs deeper than they think, and they were stronger and more terrifying creatures lurking deeper in the darkness. This was certainly true, otherwise the Hero King and Old king would not have gone missing after venturing deep inside with their Transcendent Realm cultivation.

    However, themoners did not need to know this yet. they were simple people and easily influenced by Queen''s words without further thoughts. Only the nobles were skeptical.

    From the Queen''s words, the benefits only targeted themoners. There weren''t many benefits for the nobles apart from the free cultivation technique the Queen had promised. But for a cultivation technique to be widespread, it can''t be a high level one.

    In fact, the nobles have guessed correctly. After Leon consulted with his mother, what they would spread is not a cultivation technique for awakeners but divine practitioners. It was a basic Tempered Body-level breathing technique that didn''t take long for Leon to write down on paper.

    With the scarcity of spirit energy, themoners would not be able to achieve a high level. However, it would be no problem to reach the firstyer after a week''s worth of cultivating, and the thirdyer after three months.

    To progress further or faster, they would have to rely on spirit-rich resources. This was Leon''s and the Queen''s intention. The introduction of cultivation had to be a gradual process. If everyone was able to gain strength quickly, greed and ambition would corrupt their minds and chaos would be ensured.

    Thus, it was not possible to teach fifty thousand people awakening cultivation due to its nature. If there was an influx of fifty thousand awakeners that cultivated like hungry wolves without restraint, it would turn the Capital and the surroundings into a wastnd.

    When elements lose all its essence, stones would be sand, metal would be metal dust, water would dry, fire would not burn, and trees would die.

    But since most would awaken the earth element, it would be a bigger problem than a wastnd. If the foundations of the Capital grow soft, the Capital would sink into the underground world.

    After the Queen finished her speech, the nobles and Upper District resumed their normal businesses, and themoners followed the guards to a grassy in on the outskirts of the Capital to pitch up tents and campfires.

    When themoners were finally able to rx after the long night and day, the felt extremely famished. Themoners were fed with beast meat stew for their meal as it was simplest meal to cook inrge amounts.

    Moving onto the reconstruction n, Leon shared his own ideas with his mother. The outer walls were gone and apart from the exposed rift in the east side, the sealed rift in the other three directions were like covering up a deep ditch with a thin wooden nk.

    Leon proposed to remove them and reopen the rifts and transform them into entrances to the underground, while metal bridges will be built over the rift to connect the Capital and the outside. The first floor was rich in minerals. He wanted to establish a giant mine and settlement, maybe even turning it into an underground district in the future.

    In any case, themoners were jobless, and the mines would provide a lot of work opportunities for themoners. In addition to hiring miners, they would hire construction workers and other rtedbor force to rebuild Lower District.

    The hired workers would be moved to a separate camp and be provided with better treatment of three meals a day. It was much better than the minimum one meal a day that would be provided in the temporary camp.

    But to somemoners, one meal a day was already really good as they were used to going on some days without food because they couldn''t earn enough to put the bread on the table. Nevertheless, mostmoners were eager to sign up when the recruitment notice came about.

    These people were also given the opportunity to be the first batch ofmoners to learn cultivation. A stronger body would provide for higher work efficiency and faster progress.

    The Queen was happy to see these changes and implement them. It had nothing to do with favoring the idea simply because it came from her son. She genuinely thought they were great ideas after she decided to move forward with the kingdom and forgo the Crawford teachings.

    However, good ns don''t mean anything without good execution and management. For the construction n, Leon rmended the Cromwell family to take charge of the matter. Elizabeth naturally agreed as construction was the Cromwell''s area of expertise.

    Seeing that everything was heading in the right direction, Leon thought it was finally time to fetch his lovers and bring them to meet his mother¡­ He was starting to miss Lynne after not seeing her for so long and he couldn''t allow Aria and her family to stay within the temporary camp.

 Chapter 125 - Great Changes

    <h4>Chapter 125 - Great Changes</h4>

    Year 524 HR, first day of the third month, the Crawford Kingdom weed its busiest period in four centuries.

    Many changes and activities were being carried out in the Capital, while supplies and raw building materials were being purchased from the surrounding cities and transported back to the Capital via steam powered trucks and vehicles.

    The iron tower workshop of the Lancaster family was especially the busiest of all ces. After the Lancaster family recovered the coreponents from the airship wreckage, the cksmith was working overtime to produce a new body for the airship.

    In addition to the production of the airship, they were required to produce mining tools and a variety of misceneous metalponents for bridges and buildings, en masse and inrge scale. There wasn''t a single idle person in the workshop.

    Furthermore, if the mining workforce manage to discover more levitation stones in the first underground floor, the production of additional airships would take priority and their workload would only increase as a result. The chances of it happening was quite high as the underground world was like a limitless treasure trove waiting to be explored.

    The fifty senior cksmiths, one hundred junior cksmiths and apprentices weren''t nearly enough to handle the workload. With the sky-high demand of items to be produced, it would take them dozens of years toplete.

    In order to increase the work efficiency, the Duke seriously considered expansion of his workshop and workforce. As such, the Lancaster family began eptingmoners indiscriminately for apprenticeship and full-fledge cksmith training.

    However, cksmithing wasn''t a profession that could be easily mastered in a single night; thus, no immediate benefits could be seen from therge recruitment process and could only be seen with time.

    The number of entry-level cksmiths was expected to reach a thousand in one year and further expand to three thousand in the following year. The Lancaster family weren''t going to hold back in sharing their cksmithing knowledge.

    It was due to the conservative nature of humans that hold them back from advancing forward. Since the Queen was willing to share cultivation techniques, the Lancaster family wasn''t going shy away and share their cksmithing knowledge.

    The Queen had approved for the further expansion and opening of new workshops in the Upper North District, with the intention of transforming the Upper North District into a Heavy Industry District.

    The nature of this great undertaking ensured that an astronomical amount of metal was required, but this was no problem with the newly essible underground floor that contained rare resources and rich mineral deposits. It was also much easier to collect than the nearly depleted mines near the western mountains.

    As such, the Queen had lifted the restriction on metal and the sky-high value of metal on the market was expected plummeted drastically in the foreseeable future.

    Some nobles thought there was going to be a great business opportunity and began stocking up their wealth in preparation of a frenzy purchase when the low-price metalnds on the market.

    However, these nobles were bound to weep at the loss, when they exchange all their wealth for metal and wait for an intion that will nevere. The value of metal would only continue to drop and not increase.

    The kingdom was finally putting their steam powered technology to full use and bringing forth an age of industrial revolution.

    After the Queen finished her arrangements for the Capital, she began to consider the expansion of the Shadow Guards across the kingdom and neighbouring kingdoms to establish an intelligencework.

    The Crawford Kingdom had fallen behind the times and their understanding of their surroundings and neighboring kingdoms were too limited or rather nonexistent. It was uncertain whether the retainers of the royal family ced in charged of the surrounding cities were even still loyal to the crown. They had been out of contact for too long.

    Fortunately, many people and merchants frequent between cities and kingdoms, thus it wouldn''t be too hard to draw up a general overview of the situation after sending out the Shadow Guards to gather the rted information.

    However, the expansion of the Shadow Guards was currently just an idea without a clear framework. It would require further thoughts and refinement before the intelligencework could be establish and operate smoothly.

    The Queen realized there were many problems; big and small within the kingdom. There many things that needed that a ruler needed to do, but she had shelved everything aside until now. She may have been a good wife, but she was not a good queen. Luckily, it was not toote to change that as the kingdom had not been brought to a point of no return.

    Seeing how busy his mother was, Leon had to push back the meeting to ater date, however, Aria and her family shouldn''t be staying in the temporary camp. He ns to fetch them and settle them in the guest courtyard of the Outer Pce, where the others had stayed.

    Currently, the Lancaster family of three were all out, while only the Greene family were staying at the guest courtyard. Leon knitted his brows, when he realized his Mia and his adopted parents were missing.

    Where did they go? Did they went out for a stroll after being cooped up in the guest courtyard for too long?

    Leon did not think into the matter too deeply. Nothing could happen to them in the safety of the pce and his mother had not expressed any hostilities against them. He left the pce grounds and stopped by at the gang''s headquarters in the Lower West District first.

    Leon smiled wryly at the sight. It seemed that nothing was spared from Crazy Don''s mes when he went to clean up all the spider carcasses and noxious fumes in the Lower Districts. Everything was reduced to ashes.

    "Boss."

    Doug and the gang members greeted when Leon arrived on site. The wealth of the Four Great Family was ced to one side, while the gang members were clearing out the ashes and dusts from the area. Leon didn''t stay for long. After handing over a blueprint he drew up to Doug, he left.

    "What did the Boss hand us, Doug?"

    The core members circled around Doug and asked with curiosity. After opening up the blueprint, an exquisite building design wasid before them.

    "This¡­ is incredible! Such fine details and design! It seems the boss wish our new headquarters to be built in ordance to this blueprint." Doug concluded, while holding the blueprint in his hands.

    "I didn''t realize the boss had such talents for architecture." A member mumbled.

    "Nonsense. The boss is almighty and all-knowing." A fervent core member said with worshipping eyes.

    The blueprint was based on one of the buildings Leon hadmitted to memory from his past life in the Divine Realm, albeit with some slight modifications to suit the operation of the gang as he had envisioned.

    Not only was it going to be the new headquarters for the Golden Lion Gang, it was also the main building of business operations. He was intending toplete the transition the Golden Lion Gang from an underworld gang to a legitimate guild, the Golden Lion Guild in one move.

    Its operations would be like that of an adventurer''s guild. Clients could post tasks on the mission board, and the guild members would have the choice of epting the tasks to their liking and capability.

    New members could register at the reception and undergo a test before bing one of them. the guild would not just ept any body. They had to at least ensure there was no problem with their characters.

    Leon could no longer wait for the Merchant Association toplete the task his mother had sent them. It had been many weeks and there had not been a single news of progress into the finding of the herb to cure his father. Rather than paying others to do the task, why not pay his own people? Surely it was the better choice of the two.

    If someone from the Divine Realm had seen Leon''s blueprint, they would had spat out the tea in their mouth because of the ring simrity to that of a brothel.

    ¡­

    Inside of the Sris family, Marquis Wyatt stood at the bedside of his son with a dark expression. His son was asleep on the bed, while wrapped in heavy bandages. A servant was seen shaking nervously behind Marquis Wyatt. He was the one in charge of looking after the house, while the others had gone out to defend during the crawler attack.

    "Didn''t I tell him to stay home during the chaos? How did he end up in this state?" Marquis Wyatt said calmly, but anyone could tell that he was burning with rage inside.

    "T-The y-young master was beaten u-up outside. This lowly servant d-does n-not know the d-details, but young master Carson s-should know." The servant stuttered nervously, while sweating profusely. He would wipe his dripping sweat every time he stutters.

    "Carson? That kid from the Laguna family?" Marquis Wyatt frowned, before ordering, "Send someone to fetch that kid for me!"

    "Y-Yes, my lord!" The servantplied, with a sigh of relief. It seems the lord wasn''t going to pursue his responsibility.

    Marquis Wyatt was not an unreasonable man. He knew that if his son wanted to leave the house, the servant would not be able to stop him.

    Sometimeter, a servant brought Carson of the Laguna family over. Carson was simrly wrapped in bandages, but his injuries was not severely enough to leave him bedridden.

    "I heard you were looking for me, Marquis Wyatt?" Carson asked respectably, with some uneasiness.

    The Sris family head isn''t going to me him for his son''s injuries, is he? He knew that if he never brought up the topic, Sean would''ve never gone to look for the Saintess. Thus, he could be considered the cause of Sean''s injuries.

    "I will ask you one question and you will me truthfully. Who hurt my son?" Marquis Wyatt questioned. He locked gaze with Carson and his pressure bore down on theter.

    His son was a 3rd step Awakener. He couldn''t be beaten so badly unless the other party was also an Awakener, but of a higher level and typically, Awakeners were mainly nobles or their servants.

    When Carson heard the Marquis''s question, despite the pressure bearing down on him, he only felt relieved instead of stressed.

    "It was the Saintess that attacked us."

 Chapter 126 - Marquis Wyatt Is Here!

    <h4>Chapter 126 - Marquis Wyatt Is Here!</h4>

    "What the hell is a Saintess?" Marquis Wyatt asked with derision, before adding, "Why haven''t I heard about this person with such grand title?"

    "Erm¡­"

    Realizing the Marquis would not have heard about such news from themoners, Carson felt a bit abashed.

    "It''s what themoners call this youngdy savior among them."

    "So, you are telling me, my son was thrashed by amoner?" Marquis Wyatt asked dubiously. He felt he had heard wrong.

    "Yes." Carson answered truthfully.

    Getting confirmation from Earl Julian''s kid, Marquis Wyatt''splexion darkened immediately. His anger grew by the minute.

    If it was another noble that thrashed his son, at most, he would seek rpense and justice from that noble family. If the noble family was weaker than his Sris family, he would naturally apply pressure and bully them to maximize the benefits. Such was the way of the strong.

    But the one who thrashed his son wasn''t a noble, but amoner? Since when didmoners have such courage and ability!? Not right! It can''t be that simple. Amoner wouldn''t beat a noble up for nothing even if they had the ability. Marquis Wyatt crease his brows in puzzlement.

    Carson was a bit smug when, he felt he had sessfully directed the Marquis''s ire at the Saintess. He was originally person with a small heart to begin with. He would take revenge for the slightest grievance, let alone being disgraced by amoner.

    He was originally enraptured by the celestial-like voice of the Saintess and had hopes to take her home as a concubine, but that thought was viciously torn apart by her strength that wasparable to marquis-level nobles.

    Since the Saintess was a thorny rose that could not touch, it was better off destroyed. Since he couldn''t have it, others can''t dream of having it either. Thus, he left out many details pertaining to the matter in hopes of killing with a borrowed knife.

    Although the Saintess and Marquis Wyatt were equivalent in strength, theirbat prowess couldn''t possibly be equal, right? How can the foundations of a youngmoner girl bepared in the same breath as that of a veteran-aged noble?

    However, he suddenly felt something amiss, when he noticed Marquis Wyatt had locked his gaze on him with great focus and pressure once more.

    "I-Is there anything else, Marquis Wyatt?" Carson asked carefully.

    "Brat, you haven''t told me everything. What are you hiding? Out with it! Lest you want to leave without your legs." Marquis Wyatt threatened with squinted eyes.

    How can he be led around by a kid still wet behind the ears? Was a marquis so easy to fool?

    Marquis Wyatt felt angry at the brat. So young, yet already scheming with a wicked heart. He unleashed his dignified noble aura and bore his pressure down on the kid with greater intensity.

    ''Don''t me me for bullying the young!''

    How can the inexperienced Carson be in the right mind to differentiate between an empty threat and a real threat? He immediately caved in under the pressure and spilled everything. If Marquis Wyatt went a step further and leaked his killing intent, he would even wet his pants in fear.

    "Because the Saintess possess a celestial-like voice, Sean was curious whether the Saintess also possess a matching beauty. In his attempt to remove the Saintess cover without her consent, he offended the Saintess and suffered her wrath." Carson quickly exined.

    Even under the pressure, he did not mention his role in beating up themoners first. Nope, definitely not happening! Even if he was beaten to death, he would not mention it! That was akin to asking for death!

    How can he exin that the marquis''s son bore the brunt of themoner''s anger for his own overbearing actions?

    "So, it was a pair of toads lusting after the beauty of a swan? What a disgrace!" Marquis thundered. He did not doubt the brat''s words. It was something kids their age would do! But it was humiliating for his own kid to get thrashed after chasing beauties. The face of the Sris family was lost in such a shameful way! The more he looked at his bedridden son, the angrier he got!

    If Sean could hear his father''s words, he would tear up. How could he call his own son a toad? Wouldn''t that make him the papa toad?

    More often than not, behind every powerful and doting father was a dog-like son. This was indeed a tragedy for every noble household that hoped to have a sessful and capable heir. It was not concordant with the proverb; A tiger father would not beget a dog son.

    After huffing and puffing in anger for a moment, he cooled down with a sigh. In the end, the one bedridden was still his son and the other party was amoner, yet so vicious. This grievance must be redressed.

    "How strong was thatss?" Marquis Wyatt asked with a t tone, like he had numbed a part of himself.

    After all, the fault of the son''s behavior did not entirely lie with the son, but the father is also to me for bad parenting. He did not discipline and educate his son enough but spoiled him a lot.

    "The Saintess should be at the 7th step¡­" Carson answered in a low, almost whispering voice.

    "Hoh¡­ I''m afraid I would have suffered a loss if I didn''t learn of this hmm?" Marquis Wyatt said, before continuing in a strong tone, "Is the Laguna family plotting against my Sris family!?"

    Carson jumped in shock when he heard this!

    "No! Of course not! I wouldn''t dare! I just didn''t expect that Saintess to be so strong!" Carson denied strongly, before adding, "She seems to wield multiple bizarre elements. Cold like ice and electrifying like lightning¡­"

    "Hmph! I didn''t think an earl-level household would have that kind of courage either." Marquis nodded before tracing the edges of his chin in thought, "A dual ice-lightning element huh?"

    "Unheard of, but not impossible. Another two new elements have appeared in humans." Marquis Wyatt eye''s shined at this thought.

    The theory of five elements was long broken when the Graham family appeared with their wind element. Now another two new elements have appeared. This further strengthen his belief that the five elements of nature weren''t everything, but it didn''t mean it was wed either.

    The wise sages of old had inputted much thought into everything to form the theory of the five elements with profound truths behind it. The five elements indeed formed a perfect cycle and had wide range application, but it didn''t mean there were only five elements.

    This was a misperception people imposed upon themselves when they hear ''the five elements.'' Just by visual perception alone, one could definitely see more than five elements. There were also light and darkness. The illusory space and time were also elements.

    So, in truth there was there was many elements, but humans could onlye in contact easier with thews of the five elements. The higher-level elementalws were harder to perceive, but they do exist.

    "For thisss to have two elements of higher order, she must have something special about her body." Marquis Wyatt eye''s glowed with excitement. He had to meet this person.

    He was an associate professor at the Crawford University and the study of the elements was his focus in his spare time. After all, he was still the head of a family and needed to manage it.

    However, he had been studying the general marquis'' wind ability for years and felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough. He was just missing a final step; an inspiration or enlightenment perhaps.

    The wind ability had left a profound impression on his and the general marquis-duke synchronized attack during the previous night further strengthened his conviction to awaken the wind ability. The wind ability wouldplement his fire ability.

    Carson suddenly felt something was wrong with the marquis. Where was the rage? The anger? It seemed to have been reced with excitement instead?

    "Ehm¡­ alright kiddo, where is the Saintess right now?" Marquis Wyatt asked, while trying to keep his excitement in check.

    "Should be in themoner''s camp¡­ I think?" Carson said hesitantly.

    Marquis Wyatt left without a further word.

    Carson looked at the servant at the side with confusion and asked, "What''s going on? Can I leave now?"

    The servant looked at him, equally confused and unsure of how to answer the young noble.

    ''I don''t know, dude. You''re asking the wrong person. I''m just a servant.'' The servant wanted to say, but in the end, he just shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

    ¡­

    Themoner''s camp was set up on the outskirt, west of the Capital along a highway that leads all the way to the western frontier. The location was chosen after careful deliberation due to the easy transport of supplies with heavy trucks along the main road.

    Right now, there weren''t nearly enough tents to amodate all themoners, but many campfires were set up to counteract the chilly morning breeze. Supplies were still on their way and it would take some time before the settlement wasplete.

    Along the main road, closer to the Capital, the miner''s camp was already set up with a capacity to hold two thousand miners. Theyout was neat and orderly, with higher quality tent and food. Indeed, the preferential treatment of the miner''s camp was much better than themoner''s camp.

    This was the natural order of life. The diligent will be rewarded.

    At this moment, in themoner''s camp, Aria and her parents had a tent to themselves under zealous urging of themoners. Although they repeated refused the good intention, themoners were determined. As such, they had no choice but to ept the graciousness of themoners.

    "Where did your lover go? Isn''t he supposed to be the prince? How can he let us stay in this temporary camp?" Aria''s mother, Karen asked curiously. She had no other intention when she was asking this.

    "Leon¡­ should be busy. He would definitelye for us when he is free." Aria answered

    "We''ll see." Her father, Craig said shortly.

    For some reason he was unconvinced that his daughter''s sweetheart could be the prince. The prince was royalty. Why would he favor his daughter? Not that he was looking down on his daughter, in fact, his believed his daughter had every qualification to be favored by royalty. It''s just that they weremoners and there wereplications when ites to royaltymoner union.

    Nobles and royalties cared a lot of their faces, so they normally wouldn''t considermoners as a lovepanion.

    The family of three continued having small talks, when suddenly a powerful voice was heard from outside their tents, causing them to have a change of expression.

    "Marquis Wyatt is here! Where is the Saintess?"

 Chapter 127 - Just Kill

    <h4>Chapter 127 - Just Kill</h4>

    When themoners heard Marquis Wyatt of the Sris family announcing his own arrival, they paled.

    "Oh no! The Marquis Wyatt must be looking for the Saintess to take revenge for his son! I have to warn the Saintess!" A mother eximed.

    This was the same mother, who had her child and husband beaten by the young noble. She was indebted to the Saintess and wished to repay her in every way she could.

    Since she could think of warning the Saintess, others could too. They all rushed to the Aria''s tent to warn her.

    "Saintess! You must hide! Marquis Wyatt is here!" Themoners eximed loudly.

    Karen couldn''t help but felt worried for her daughter, when she saw how the people reacted.

    She felt warm for their concern, but this wasn''t how they should be showing it.

    They heard Marquis Wyatt announcing his arrival, loud and clear. They didn''t need to repeat it so loudly. It wasn''t helping at all!

    These people were trying to help, but in fact, if Marquis Wyatt really came with ill intentions, their actions would be no different to pushing their Saintess into the fire pit.

    Marquis Wyatt naturally saw the crowd''s reaction and followed them with a chuckle.

    These people were so simple minded, it''s cute. However, for the Saintess to garner such fervent support, the person couldn''t be simple. Marquis Wyatt was filled with greater anticipation.

    This was someone who might be able to help him breakthrough thest hurdle to achieve his wind ability.

    "Oh no! Marquis Wyatt followed us!"

    The crowd was instantly filled with regret when they realized they were tailed by the marquis. They looked at him vigntly.

    "Be at ease, I did note to look for trouble." Marquis Wyatt said coolly with a gesture to lower the crowd''s weariness.

    At this moment, Aria came out to face the marquis. Her facial expression was unreadable.

    "You''re not here for revenge?" Aria asked calmly. There was a cold undertone that was a result of her natural habits in dealing with strangers that made her seem aloof and untouchable.

    The marquis stood upright with a respectful and genial expression. He needed to ask for a favor from the other party and shouldn''t behave unpleasantly.

    "No, of course not. There would have been no trouble, had he not went to look for it. My son''s beating was well deserved and justified." Marquis said courtly.

    His behavior contradicted his original intention. That was before he found out the other party possessed dual elements of higher order. If it was any othermoner that thrashed his son, he would have made them pay a painful price.

    Aria kept silent and stared at the marquis quietly without a word. She didn''t like to speak so much to nobles, but from her silentnguage, she was basically telling him ''if you are not here for revenge then what are you here for?''

    Marquis Wyatt understood the underlying message and continued with a smile, "I wonder if you can tell me how you acquired your dual elements? The Sris family will owe you a great favor. If you have any request, the Sris family will do our best to fulfill it."

    Aria was immediately at a loss for words. Her lightning element was gained upon awakening, but her ice element magically appearedter out of the blue. It was like the element had manifested itself in her from the goddess in her dreams. Even if she exined it, the other party may not believe it.

    However, her brows further creased at the second part of the Marquis Wyatt''s words. She wasn''t stupid and obviously knew that her dual element was quite unique. This person wanted to learn her secret in exchange for an empty promise? It was no different to giving away her secret for free.

    What was the worth of a noble''s favor anyway? They only know how to exploitmoners and couldn''t be trusted.

    Perhaps the marquis was only behaving respectably to her because he wanted something from her. Her cool expression grew noticeably colder and retained her silence. This was a wolf posing as a gentleman.

    Marquis Wyatt''s smile froze when he felt the coldness. As a noble, he was courteous enough and asked nicely enough, yet the other party was not unwilling to divulge the secret? Madness shed in his eyes. He had to learn her secret at all cost! He alreadyprehended the windws. He was just missing thatst unknown piece of the puzzle to form his wind seed!

    "It''s a great honor for amoner to be owed a favor by the Sris family. Don''t refuse a toast, only to drink a forfeit, youngdy." Marquis Wyatt spoke impatiently with a deep tone. His smile had disappeared. It was already rare for a noble of his stature to treat amoner so courteously. This person just doesn''t know how much of an honor it is.

    "¡­" Aria continued her silence as she studied what the marquis would do.

    "Since you don''t know how to appreciate what''s good for you. Don''t me me for what I''m about to do!" Marquis Wyatt said with a nasty expression. He had dropped all pretense and courtesy.

    "What do you want to do?"

    A cold voice suddenly interrupted from behind him. Marquis Wyatt was forced to turn around and look. A young man of simr age to the Saintess appeared before him in ck attire, without any noteworthy crest or insignia to denote his status.

    Marquis Wyatt did not ce the neer in his eyes. Justmoner brat trying to be a hero, he concluded. However, a smile appeared on Aria'' face when she saw who arrived.

    "Piss off,moner." Marquis Wyatt said disdainfully before refocusing his sight on the Saintess.

    Leon eyes narrowed as he immediately sentenced this person to death. The discrimination againstmoners appeared to be a distinctive trait of most nobles, but it wasn''t enough to warrant them death. The noble deserved death because of who he wanted to harm Aria.

    Marquis Wyatt suddenly felt a burst of wind rushing behind him. He turns back in shock when he realized he had severely underestimated the young man.

    His reaction was quick, but Leon was quicker. Before he knew it, he was being lifted off his feet as Leon gripped him by the throats and raised him high.

    Marquis Wyatt first thoughts wasn''t how the brat was able to do, but how he had the courage to do it. He felt humiliated.

    "How dare you!" Marquis Wyatt howled.

    He grabbed onto the wrist in front of him and wanted to twist it into a mangled mess to release himself. His face grew red with popping veins before he realizing he was incapable of doing so. His strength was inferior to the brat, but how was that possible? He looked back at the ''brat'' with eyes widened in horror and disbelief.

    "I-Impossible!"

    It wasn''t until Leon started leaking his killing intent did Marquis Wyatt start fearing for his life.

    "W-Wait! You can''t kill me! I''m a marquis!"

    "What''s so good about being a marquis? You''re only holding an empty title with meagre power and nond. Five hundred years ago, a 7th step Marquis might have been someone of notable status, but now, it doesn''t amount to sh*t. Only good for bullying the weak." Leon said disdainfully.

    Marquis Wyatt flushed with shame. He wanted to refute, but it was true that he was weaker than young man in front of him. It was usually the nobles that looked down onmoners, when was it themoner''s turn to look down on nobles?

    It was at this time, Howard and the other pce guards, whom weregging behind Leon, finally caught up. It wasn''t Leon''s problem if they could keep up with him. He didn''t need to waste time moving at their pace.

    When Marquis Wyatt saw the pce guards, he was ecstatic.

    "Ughk- Save me! Thismoner is trying to murder me!" Marquis Wyatt eximed, under Leon''s tightening grip.

    Howard and the pce guards only spared him a brief nce, before proceeding to ignore him and face the moner'' with a salute of utmost respect.

    "Your highness. Whatever crimes the marquis hadmitted, he can''t be killed until he is tried and judged before thew." Howard said helplessly. Following the prince had turning into a daily exercise routine.

    "I havemitted no crime!" Marquis Wyatt quickly said, before his brain registered the term ''your highness''. He immediately paled after.

    Your highness!? This person was the prince!? I-It''s over¡­ he called the prince amoner and tried to make a move on the prince''s woman.

    "If I want to kill him, no one can stop me." Leon said overbearingly.

    There wasn''t so much nonsense in the Divine Realm. When there''s a disagreement, just kill. Did his mother care about such things when she wanted to kill someone? No!

    The pce guards rubbed their helmets with wry smiles. They advised the prince out of good will to avoidplications, but they wouldn''t stop him. Why would they offend the prince for a marquis?

    Marquis Wyatt realized that the pce guard''s presence couldn''t help his situation at all! He felt angry at the prince''s disregard for thew!

    "You can''t do this! The ancestors of the Sris family have contributed much for the founding of the kingdom!" Marquis Wyatt roared.

    Leon looked at him nonchntly like he was looking at a dead man and said, "So what? Your ancestor''s contribution isn''t an excuse for the descendants to act atrociously."

    CRACK!

    Leon snapped his neck and ended his life without further words. He didn''t give a sh*t what Marquis Wyatt thought in his final moments.

    He wasn''t done after the marquis died. He seeped his divine sense into the ownerless body and ripped out the dissipating fire seed and devoured it. After the time it takes a joss stick to burn, Leon finished refining all the essence from the fire seed and elevated his fire abilities to the 6th step.

    The pce guards looked at him like he was monster, but he didn''t care and only looked at Aria and asked softly with a light smile, "Am I scary?"

    Aria shook her head and dove into his arms.

    "Come, call your parents out. I''ll take you all to the pce." Leon said warmly.

    Aria nodded obediently¡­ After her parents, Karen and Craig came out, Leon took them all to the Outer Palce and settled them in the guest courtyard.

 Chapter 128 - Secret Auction

    <h4>Chapter 128 - Secret Auction</h4>

    Inside the private courtyard, Leon continue to circte his energy and stabilize his 6th step Awakener Realm. After stabilizing his Awakening cultivation, he switched practice to Divine cultivation and elevated his strength to the peak 8thyer of Body Tempering Realm after a short two hours of practice.

    Opening his eyes, Leon sighed. Without bottlenecks brought by his stronger body, it was much easier to progress in his cultivation. Once he reaches the peak 9thyer, that is when he will start to pick up on his cultivation speed.

    The Body Tempering Realm was just the conditioning period to prep the body for the real energy cultivation. Although he was now cultivating with different energy, he had once reached the Divine Origin Realm.

    Bottlenecks of the energy cultivation system was no bottleneck for him with his profound level of control. Only the bottlenecks of the body were hard to ovee due to theck spirit herbs and high demand for body-forging spirit pills.

    "Your highness, since you have killed Marquis Wyatt, the Sris family will not forget this feud." Howard reminded after seeing the prince finish his cultivation session.

    Leon nodded at the pce guard''s words and said, "Even if there''s a feud, they won''t be able to do anything to me. But of course, it is better to remove the roots than to let it fester."

    "Send a shadow guard over to me." He ordered.

    Not long after he finished his words however, did a young shadow guard dropped down from above and answered his call.

    "You called, your highness?"

    Leon nodded and said, "You came at the right time. I want the record information on the Sris family. The more detail, the better."

    Leon wagered there was still another three hiding above on the roof.

    "Err¡­" The young shadow guard appeared hesitant.

    "What''s wrong? You can''t take my orders?" Leon asked with knitted brows.

    "Answering his highness, the shadow guards only take orders from the King." The young shadow guard said humbly with a fist-hand salute. He felt several shaking heads when he said this.

    "Huh? Then why the fuck did you appear in front of my face?" Leon was displeased and gave the young shadow guard an incredulous look.

    ''I asked for a shadow guard and you appeared right away without my personal guard having to call any shadow guard over. It''s clear you can listen to my orders, but you say you only listen to the orders of my father? Are you purposely trying to pick a fight with me!?'' Leon thought and red at the young shadow guard.

    The young shadow guard froze at his words and didn''t know how to answer the question.

    "My father has been ina for 17 years. Who have you been taking orders from, if not from my mother? Should I go ask her?" Leon continued with a stern tone.

    The young shadow guard sweated nervously and looked left and right for help. A sigh came from above as another shadow guard appeared in front of Leon.

    "Please forgive him, your highness. He justpleted his training and still new to the work. I will fetch the rted information for you immediately." The senior shadow guard pleaded on behalf of the young shadow guard.

    "Mm, go on." Leon nodded and waved them off.

    The senior shadow guard heaved a sigh of relief, seeing that the prince was unwilling to pursue the matter.

    He brought the young shadow guard and reprimanded him, "Are you stupid? How long has his majesty been ina? How do you think the shadow guards have been listening to her majesty''s orders? Don''t you also know her majesty dotes on the prince greatly? His words are as good as her majesty''s!"

    "Thank you for saving me there, senior. Err¡­ I wasn''t thinking straight¡­ hahaha¡­" The young shadow guard said, beforeughing it off awkwardly.

    "Don''t mind it. Next time, you better put your mind in the right spot." The senior shadow guard advised.

    "Yes, yes, I will try."

    "Don''t try. Do it!"

    The senior shadow guard smacked his junior on the back of the head.

    The young shadow guard rubbed his head and swallowed the small grievance silently. How can his mind not wonder off when all they do is camp the roof all day? It was boring as hell!

    Some timeter, the senior shadow guard returned to the courtyard.

    "Here is all the recorded information on the Sris family and their activities in the past years, your highness." The senior shadow guard presented the documents subserviently with both hands.

    "Thank you. You can return to your post." Leon said, before training his gaze on the document, no longer paying attention to anything else. His divine sense seeped out and swept through the document. All the information enters his mind without needing to open the documents.

    Leon browsed the information in his mind with cold amusement, while Howard and the pce guards were taken aback by the prince''s actions. From their perspective, the prince did not open the documents to read, but instead red at it and pulled various expressions.

    Was the prince possessed by an evil spirit? Or has he gone insane? Or maybe both?

    "I heard some old parchments are usually haunted with evil spirits." Jackmented jokingly as he studied the prince''s expressions.

    However, Howard was immediately shocked by thement. If one had to say what Howard''s biggest w was, it was that he was a very superstitious person. When he heard thement, he took it as the truth and acted immediately. Save the prince!

    "Begone, evil spirit!" He roared and pped the documents flying out of the prince''s hands, startling Leon awake.

    "What the hell are you doing!?" Leon red at him angrily.

    Pft¡­ Jack, Cain and Jeffry, all broke intoughter.

    Howard was immediately stunned by everyone''s reaction.

    "Howard thought you were possessed by an evil spirit, your highness!" Jack exposed him.

    Leon red at Howard once more and said, "Are you crazy!? Do I look possessed to you!?"

    Howard wanted to say ''I''m not crazy! you are crazy!'' but he was too ashamed to say anything since he now knew he had been tricked by Jack.

    "Go away. Don''t disturb my reading." Leon shooed.

    Howard awkwardly kept his distance and red at Jack, while Jack pretended not to see it.

    Some timeter, Leon finished perusing the information with a cold expression. The Sris family wasn''t clean as they appeared to be on the surface.

    They had engaged in all sorts of illegal activities. The only difference between them and the Four Great Family was that the Sris family wasn''t as brazen and was better act concealing traces of their crimes. Leon wagered that the Sris family wasn''t the only noble family like this.

    Greed was an irresistible temptation. No doubt, that when the Four Great Family began their evil business, the other nobles also yed their parts. Except they were very timid and didn''t dare touch any of the heavy crimes that involves the cost of human lives.

    However, the crimes piled up over the years was still enough to warrant their deaths. At least, Leon now had no scruples in wiping out the Sris, but he wasn''t in any rush.

    There was a particr intel that caught his interest. It was also thetest one. The Sris family was hosting the next secret auction tonight in their underground home. There would be lots of good items as well as illegal items not found on the open market.

    If they bust this secret auction, they could confiscate everything and capture all the guilty participants. This was killing two birds with one stone. To buffer up their depleting treasury and catch all the bad nobles in one fell swoop.

    He immediately paid his mother a visit to inform her of his discovery and n. Upon finding his mother wearing a worried looked in the king''s study room filled with reports, letters and documents, he immediately asked with concern, "What''s wrong, mother? How can this child share your burden?"

    "Ah¡­ my son, you''re here. It''s like this¡­ our royal expenses are currently immense due to the projects around the Capital and themoner''s relief supply. At this rate, the treasury will be emptied out in a few months. Mother is stumped with theck of funds." Elizabeth smiled warmly with relief her son''s offer and concern, before consulting him.

    Her child was intelligent and might be able to help her.

    "Ah¡­ so it''s this matter. This won''t be a problem, mother. We can¡­" Leon wore a sly smile and began whispering to his mother about his n on the Sris family''s auction he discovered.

    His answer could be summarized into 7 short words; No money? No problem! Rob the nobles!

    "Damn!" Elizabeth pped her knee in exmation and praised, "My good son! Very Devious! Great finding! Excellent nning!"

    Elizabeth''s mood was excellent. She pulled her son in for a big hug and pecked him on the cheeks furiously, making him feel embarrassed.

    Leon peeled himself away, before continuing, "We now have a lot of undergroundnd. After we remove the bad nobles, we can lease a specific amount ofnds to the good nobles orpletely open up the underground to public and take a certain amount of tax from the harvest."

    Elizabeth''s eyes shined with money signs when she heard this.

    "That''s also a brilliant idea! But it needs funing¡­ Come, let''s continue to discuss¡­ kekeke."

    The mother-son duo continued their money-making discussion in the king''s study room with mischievous looks and evilughter.

    None of the nobles knew that at this moment, their wealth was being eyed by royalties like ravenous wolves.

 Chapter 129 - Infiltrating

    <h4>Chapter 129 - Infiltrating</h4>

    When night arrived, Leon headed towards a certain building top location with prime view of the Sris family''s estate. This was where the shadow guards were currently gathering, while keep watch over the target. Before night had arrived, he had took the time to stock up on recovery pills and ointments.

    He was not weak anymore. He didn''t have to act overly cautious, but it was never a bad idea to have some lifesaving measures. Although he might not need it for himself, others would.

    The royal family had sent both the shadow guards and the pce guards to ensure the sess of tonight''s operation. The pce guard will surround and guard the premise, while the shadow guards will infiltrate inside the underground auction.

    There was an important reason behind tonight''s operation. The shadow guards have records of all the noble''s crime, but it was hard to persecute them without evidence and certainly not right after they just helped the Capital tide over a disaster. It was like kicking someone after crossing the bridge.

    However, it was a different story if they were caught red-handed. The royal family would upy the moral high ground and be justified in their actions. They would not appear like overbearing tyrants in the public.

    Due to a greater task of finding the entrance to the second floor of the vast underground world, Kasif was not the one ced in charge of tonight''s operation, but the vice leader, Mark.

    When Leon quietly and silently joined the group of fifty shadow guards on the building top, he was naturally not in his shy royal attire, but his in ck attire. It made him looked like one of the shadow guards.

    "Pshh, over here." A shadow guard noticed that someone had appeared beside him, hushed Leon toe closer with a whispering tone and simple hand gesture.

    His action made Leon slightly bewildered as he wondered what this person was ying at. He brought his head closer to listen in on what the person had to say.

    "Buddy, you''re reallyte¡­ but don''t worry. If you stay quiet and low-key, the vice leader won''t notice and punish you for your tardiness." The shadow guard whispered.

    Leon looked this person strangely with wry amusement and said, "Don''t tell me, you are also new and just came out of the training camp?"

    "Hm? Yes, that''s right. How do you know?" the shadow guard asked with a dubious expression. He thought it was strange enough that he couldn''t recognize this neer. He didn''t look like any of the seniors that left the training camp before him, but the person was also quite young and couldn''t be his senior either.

    "How do I know? Because you would know who I am, if you weren''t." Leon said.

    "Who you are? Aren''t you also a shadow guard like me?" The shadow guard was surprised.

    Seeing how clueless the shadow guard was, Leon just shook his head with a chuckle and strolled past the group towards the front, where the vice leader stood.

    "Your highness." Mark saluted, before the rest followed suit.

    The other shadow guards naturally weren''t deaf. They simply decided to keep quiet and eavesdrop on their short conversation. They thought that the new guy was funny for not recognizing the prince.

    The new shadow guard was obviously bbergasted at the realization after hearing the vice leader''s respectful salute.

    ''Oh my god, I just treated the prince so casually just now¡­'' He didn''t know whether tough or cry. He hoped his actions didn''t offend the prince. The others just gave him a pat on the back in sympathy.

    Leon didn''t mind about this little episode and gestured for everyone to be at ease. He studied the Sris family''s home in the distance briefly, before asking, "What''s the situation?"

    "The security of the Sris family is veryx, and all the guests are concealing their identities with masks and big coats, your highness." Mark answered, before continuing in further details, "Due to the secrecy of the event, the gatekeepers do not check for identification. There is no problem slipping in if we follow the crowd."

    The vice leader''s words cause Leon to crease his brows in thought. He already reviewed the Sris family''s information. These people were supposed to be very careful in concealing their crimes.

    How could it be so easy to infiltrate the auction, unless there was nothing wrong with the auction and that it was just a privately held event?

    "Hmm?"

    Leon scrutinized the crowd passing the gates and suddenly discovered something.

    "I''m afraid it''s not that simple. Look at their attire. They all have the same symbol on their left sleeve. That symbol should what they are using as identification."

    Startled, Mark took a careful look and it really seemed to be the case.

    "This¡­ I am ashamed of my poor judgement, your highness." Mark wore an awkward look. This was why Kasif had yet to hand over his position to Mark and retire, despite his old age. There was no capable leader.

    Little did Kasif knew, it was entirely the Old man''s fault. His grip on the shadow guards was so strong, they only knew how to follow his orders and not develop their own thinking. Their judgements were simple andcked many considerations.

    At this time, Kasif was unaware of what was transpiring on the surface and just continue exploring the first floor, in search of the entrance to the second floor with the elite group of shadow guards. They were tasked to find and seal the entrance swiftly.

    The creatures on the second floor of the underground world was much stronger. It would not be good if they discover the absence of the first-floor dwellers and decide to move up the floor.

    ¡­

    "We will sneak in, the old-fashion way." Leon said.

    What was the old-fashion way? It was to enter silently without being seen. Naturally, they would not use the front gates that was guarded by the gatekeepers. Just hop over the wall instead.

    They waited for all the guests to enter the building before making their move. As shadow guards, they were trained to be quick and subtle in their movements.

    They easily slipped past the patrolling servants without be discovered and enter the Sris family''s home through the windows. Those that managed to fuck up and get discovered, quickly suppressed the patrolling servants before they could utter a single sound. Their bodies were hid in well-concealed bushes.

    The process was never perfectly smooth like one would hope. Sean Sris had been asleep all day, while his body was naturally recovering from his injuries. When he finally woke up, Leon''s ghostly figure suddenly appeared in his room.

    He widened his eyes in shock when he saw who it was. Before he could shout, Leon was already one step quicker and sealed both his voice and movements by shooting needles into his acupoints.

    He wanted to shout, ''what do you want!?'' but he couldn''t. Sean was horrified by the inability to speak and move. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t do anything. He was as helpless as a fish on the chopping board.

    Leon was surprised to run into this enemy of his, but he soon recovered his expression. Before the Sris family is finished, he will kill this person first. This person was the cause of their feud. The person shouldn''t have tried to touch his girl.

    "The father is dead, but the son is still alive. Why don''t you go and join him now?" Leon whispered.

    ''Nooooo! I don''t want to die!''

    Sean wanted to scream out loud. Since the person dared to break into his home, the person would naturally dare to kill him! He did not doubt Leon''s intention in the slightest. His whisper was like the devil asking for his soul! Cold and merciless!

    CRACK

    His neck was snapped and ended his life just like that. Leon positioned the body properly on the bed and draped the nket over and left after retrieving his needles.

    From the onlooker''s perspective, it would look like Sean Sris was still sleeping quietly in bedroom.

    Leon joined up with the rest of the shadow guards whom already found the entrance to the underground auction. They entered after removing the servants guarding the entrance.

    The underground auction was unexpectedly spacious and well decorated. It didn''t look much different to public auction held on the surface. There were seats filled all the way to the front where the stage was. Furthermore, there were private booths reserved for special guests.

    It had the capacity to hold at least 200 people, but there were only 40-odd people present. The auction had alreadymenced as the person hosting the secret auction on the stage was the Old marquis of the Sris family, Frederick Sr, Marquis Wyatt''s father and Sean''s grandfather.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, next item on the list, we have a bottle of the Water of Absolute Nothingness. Where it came from, I shall not say. We all know what the Water of Absolute Nothingness can do so I won''t borate on that. The starting pricing is 1,000,000 Craws. Each bid must be an increment of 100,000 Craws." Frederick Sris said loud and clearly, as his voice reverberated from the stage.

    When Leon heard this, he was startled.

    How did they get their hands on the Water of Absolute Nothingness?

 Chapter 130 - Fallen Angel

    <h4>Chapter 130 - Fallen Angel</h4>

    Frederick Sris presented the murky color bottle of Water of Absolute Nothingness and the crowd got rowdy immediately.

    "Oh my god! Very nice. The Sris even managed to get their hands on the forbidden items."

    The Water of Absolute Nothingness was a forbidden item and shouldn''t have existed outside of the pce possession, but here it did.

    No one knew how the Sris family did it, but they do not care. What they do care is that they have to get it!

    "I bid 2,000,000 Craws!" A noble roared immediately.

    "3,000,000!"

    "5,000,000!"

    7,000,000¡­ 9,000,000¡­

    Very quickly, the bid price soon jumped to 21,000,000 Craws.

    With 5,000,000 Craws, one can already buy a steam powered vehicle for themselves and yet here, they were willing to pay 4 steam powered vehicles worth for a small bottle of water! The word extravagance wasn''t enough to describe these nobles.

    Leon eyes bulged in shock. These nobles are either too rich or they have simply gone insane!

    No! Take a step back, the Water of Absolute Nothingness was such an insidious poison. In the wrong hands, it was like hold a deadly weapon of mass destruction. One would be able to threaten and ckmail everyone with it.

    These nobles are mostly like thinking if they get it, others would be afraid of them, but if they don''t get it, they will have to be afraid of the one that gets it!

    He, who has it, has the power! That is the true worth of the poison. Too bad none of the noble will be able to enjoy anything they buy tonight, and they will even lose their wealth and status. This was going to be a typical case of going for wool ande home shorn.

    Leon locked eyes with the shadow guards and signaled them. They began to surround the underground auction and lockdown all possible escape.

    One bottle of Water of Absolute Nothingness was enough to doom all these nobles present, but Leon and the shadow guards did not take action immediately. He wanted to know what other goods the auction has as it will all end up in the royal family''s hands eventually.

    "33,000,000 Craws! Going once¡­ twice¡­ and sold! To the gentlemen in Booth No.2!" Frederick Sris said excitedly, before sending a servant to deliver the bottle to Booth No.2.

    The auction continues to proceed, but the next few items weren''t as exciting as the first items. However, they were indeed rare, nheless. There were rare herbs and metal not found anywhere on the market, but the items were basically useless, unless it was transformed by a grandmaster alchemist or cksmith.

    There weren''t much problem requesting from an alchemist with the right price but asking a cksmith from the Lancaster family was just in suicide with their ill-gotten rare metal.

    After the herbs and metal, were some ves. The ves were mainly young pretty girls ofmoner background. They must have been captured during the chaos.

    "Old Frederick, if you don''t have any more good stuff, I will just head home early. You''re even selling ves now. How base." A nobleman said from one of the front seats.

    "Hahaha, don''t be impatient. There is only one item left and it doesn''t have much practical use, but I promise it will definitely pique your interest!" Frederick Sris said with a genial expression, but he was disdainful inwardly. That person was one of the few that bought a ve.

    ''Hmph! A manwhore posing as a saint!'' He thought inwardly.

    "Oh? Then I will stay and see. Hurry up and bring it out so we can see." The noblemen said with interest, unaware of the other party''s thoughts.

    Without further ado, Frederick Sris pped his hands to signal the servants to bring out thest item.

    "This¡­ is this a fallen angel!?"

    Many noblemen and noblewomen stood up from their seats in astonishment, when the final item came out. Fallen angels¡­ the servants of gods that fell from grace. They''ve the read stories about them, but they never expect to see one in the flesh.

    On the stage, the servants had pushed a steel cage. Inside the cage was a young girl with one ck feathered wing on her back. She was chained tightly to steel cage and had a paleplexion. There were bloodstains everywhere on her body, making her seem especially wretched and near-death. But even so, it was not enough to hide her beauty.

    "This is a beastkin of the ck crow lineage. How she ended up in the Human Domain and the Capital no less, no one knows. My family found her among the rubbles of the lower district, passed out. She is very strong, stronger than a 9th step Awakener. If you can bring her home and train her into an obedient ve, it is equivalent to having a peak powerhouse in the family. There is no starting price. You may begin bidding."

    "So, it''s not a fallen angel¡­ no matter. I must still get her!"

    The underground auction immediately erupted into a new fervor of bidding. The price quickly soared and broke past the 50,000,000 Craws threshold, but it did not stop there. Whether as a ve or for other purposes, these nobles were hellbent on obtaining the beastkin.

    By coincidence or not, Leon and Lilith locked eyes with each other. He stared straight into her deep starry eyes and hers into his.

    "Haih¡­ this is no way to treat beautifuldy." Leon sighed inwardly at the tragic sight. Beautiful women were like heaven''s gift that needed to be treasured.

    Leon signaled the shadow guards to begin suppressing the nobles nearest to them.

    "Nobody moves! You have all been caught redhandedly, engaging in the dealings of illegal goods. Surrender yourself or face the consequences!"

    "Who the hell are you people? Which hole did you crawl out from, kid? How dare you ruin my auction!" Frederick Sris roared, unaware of how powerful these intruders were. They had so many noble elites of their side. How can they lose?

    "Resisting arrest is punishable by death!" Leon warned.

    "Nonsense! Who said so!?" Frederick Sris refuted. He knew if the authorities dide, the Sris family won''t have a good ending.

    Leon shed on stage like a phantom and lifted Frederick the same way he did with Marquis Wyatt, his son and coldly said, "I did."

    "Y-You! How dare you! Die!" Frederick was enraged and tried tosh out a vicious kick at Leon''s head.

    "Courting death!"

    CRACK

    Leon snapped his neck with his powerful grip, before Frederick could achieve his aim. Of course, he didn''t forget to devour the fire seed and elevate himself to the peak 7th step Awakener Realm afterwards.

    There were too many unrepentant and ignorant fools even when death stared them in the face. But it was these types of death seeking fools he needed to quickly increase his cultivation.

    Leon faced the crowd and smacked his lips like he was not looking at people, but cultivation resources and asked, "Who else wants to resist?"

    The nobles felt a chill run down their spines. Their life was as good as gone, if they surrender to this fiend. They still intended to resist.

    Suddenly a noble from the Upper West District recognized him and eximed, "Y-Your¡­ highness!"

    When these two words were uttered, those who intended to resist, quickly gave up the thought and let it die in their stomachs with pale faces.

    After seeing the strength of the pce guards previously, they don''t have that kind of courage to oppose royalty.

    Mark came forward and asked, "What are your orders, your highness?"

    "Needless to say, take them all away and loot- confiscate everything." Leon said bluntly.

    "Yes, your highness."

    The nobles stared with wide eyes at the money they brought being slowly taken away. That''s my money!

    "Don''t try anything funny. There are fifty pce guards waiting outside." Mark warned before pulling the nobles away with his men.

    The amount of cash pooled together reached a staggering 800,000,000 Craws. The number was simply mind boggling. Theirbined wealth was even higher than what Leon got from the Four Great Family, which only amount to 300,000,000 Craws. But to be fair, theparison of wealth was between four and forty. It was clear which one was wealthier individually.

    Leon suddenly drawn his ck spear and sliced apart the steel cage and binding chains, before crouching down towards the young girl.

    "What do you want?" Lilith said weakly with her guard up. She was startled by his actions.

    "Don''t worry, I''m not a bad person." Leon said with a gentle smile. He fetched a healing pill from his world space and tried to feed it to her.

    However, Lilith had be very distrustful of humans after the torture she suffered by the Sris family. Also, from what she had seen, this was a really bad person!

    Lilith immediately bit his hands and made him wince in pain, but also unable to retract his hand.

    "Argh! What are you, are dog? I''m trying to help you!" Leon barked irritably.

    Startled, Lilith studied the pill and noticed it had healing properties. She swallowed the pill but didn''t feel grateful for his help. In fact, she was angry at his first part and said with a pout, "Don''t you dare insult my king!"

    Leon wanted to faint. He wanted to say, ''What does it have to do with your king? Is your king a dog? How unreasonable.''

    However, he just stomped his feet, ready to leave and said, "Whatever. I won''t bother with you since you don''t how to appreciate my kindness."

    "Wait." Lilith gazed at the four new healing pills in front of her, before asking, "Why are you helping me? Aren''t you afraid I will go around killing humans?"

    Leon looked back and said, "Do I need a reason to help a beautiful woman in need? Have you ever killed any humans?"

    "Well¡­ no¡­not yet-"

    "That''s good enough to know." Leon cut her off and began walking away. He only took a few steps, when he picked up the sound of her struggling movements.

    "Why are you trying to follow me?"

    Lilith barely recovered even after swallowing all the pills given due to her strong physique and one-star equivalent cultivation. Thus, she wasn''t able to move much.

    "Are you just going to leave a helpless person like me here? If you''re going to help someone, shouldn''t you help them all the way?" Lilithined.

    Leon speechlessly walked back and picked her up in a princess hold. He secretly felt relieved however that his efforts weren''t in vain.

    "Don''t get the wrong idea. I still think you are a really bad person."

    Her words made him freeze briefly and break a sweat. Is this a beast''s instincts or a woman''s instinct? It was terrifying. He did have ulterior motives for helping her.

    If he could befriend a beastkin, wouldn''t he be able to get free information on the Wilnds?

 Chapter 131 - Smell You From Miles Away

    <h4>Chapter 131 - Smell You From Miles Away</h4>

    After the shadow guards left with the nobles, they handed them over to the pce guards and came back to capture all the Sris family people and clean out the remaining items.

    "What should we do with the ves, your highness?" Mark asked, while giving the prince a weird look.

    It was hot topic among pce guards and maids back in the royal pce regarding the prince''s love affairs. He had broken all tradition of the royal family to have one wife.

    The pce guards who managed to be couples with the maids, especially warned them to be weary if the prince.

    "Send them to temporary camp and see if you can reunite them with their family. If it''s not possible, see what they wish to do. If they want to be pce maids, they can." Leon said.

    The pce was huge like a sect. They could use extra hands, especially after being saved, the young girls that would have be ves and ything for nobles, would only be filled with gratitude and bepletely loyal to the royal family.

    "Yes, your highness." Markplied.

    Leon continued to carry Lilith in a princess hold. She started to feel ufortable, since she was never held like this before.

    "Where are you taking me?" She asked with a frown.

    "Didn''t you say I should help you all the way? I''m bringing you back home for further treatment."

    Hearing these words, Lilith became skeptical. He was willing to treat her because she was beautiful. Maybe he was after her body?

    Lilith hugged her body in alert and tried to read if he had anyscivious thoughts from his expression.

    Leon felt her gaze and said with a smile, "I know I''m handsome, but you don''t need to stare at me so hard."

    Her stomach instantly churned and made an exaggerated retching expression.

    "Bleurgh¡­ don''t be so narcissistic." Lilith frowned and said, "I don''t like being carried like this. Put me on your back."

    Who was she tomand him? Leon naturally rejected, "No way. What if you try to bite me again? How can I defend against that? At least if I hold you like this, I can throw you, if you try to."

    "Hmph! Petty!" Lilith harrumphed, before her heart soften with guilt when she saw his bleeding hand and asked, "Does it hurt?"

    She may be extremely weakened, but the bite of an injure animal was still quite powerful.

    "Yes."

    "Oh¡­ I''m sorry¡­" Lilith felt a greater sense of guilt when she heard his answer.

    Seeing her like this, he couldn''t help, but teased, "However, it won''t hurt if you give it a kiss."

    Lilith was momentarily dazed, before she pouted with anger, "Shameless! Rouge!"

    "Hahaha¡­ We''re here now."

    Leon decided to justugh it off as they arrived at the pce. He ordered the maids to wash Lilith clean of all the dirt and bloodstains, before giving her a new set of clothes.

    At the same time, he went to washed himself and change into a new set of royal attire. His old clothes were stained after carrying the bloodied Lilith.

    There weren''t suitable clothes for Lilith with her ck feathered wing in the way. In the end, the maids found a long piece of silken cloth and wrapped it into a dress for her.

    The two met some timeter and Leon''s eyes lit up at the sight. It was a feast for the eyes.

    "You look like some princess. Very pretty." Leon praised.

    "Hmph! Complimenting me, won''t make me happy!" Lilith pouted, but she was feeling smug and proud inwardly. Her words contradicted her actual feelings.

    She was called the little princess of the Deste Crow n. However, she didn''t mention this and even felt very gloomy at the thought of that n. She left it with all her loyal followers and now her followers were all dead.

    Sensing the depressing mood, he changed topic, "Come, let me finish treating your wounds."

    Her wounds from being tortured had stopped bleeding, but it had not healed up and would leave scars if recovered naturally and she was still heavily injured internally from her fall, otherwise the Sris family would have been no match for her.

    Leon used the Golden Ointment and rubbed it on her wounds intermixed with his heavenly massage. She felt a wondrous sensation seeping throughout her body and involuntarily moaned in pleasure.

    She was immediately stunned by her own lewd voice and felt anguish for being taken advantage of by his roguish hands. She wants tosh out in anger but upon seeing Leon''s serious expression in treating her, she kept silent and was slightly dazed staring at his face.

    His hands hadn''t touch anywhere inappropriate and only focused solely on addressing the wounds on her body. He sealed up the wounds with the ointment and dredged her meridians with his massage to allow the blood to run smoothly.

    They say, women find a man most attractive, when he is concentrating hard.

    ''Hmm¡­ I guess he is a bit handsome¡­'' Lilith inwardly thought.

    Leon had a refreshing appearance in his royal attire with a regal air around him. It was different to hismon ck attire. Is this what it meant by ''clothes makes the man?''

    BA-BUMP¡­ Lilith felt her heart racing faster and felt embarrassed at the thought.

    "Why did youe to the Human Domain? What do you n to do after recovering?" Leon suddenly said after treating her external wounds.

    Leon didn''t have any discrimination against the beast race. There were plenty of Divine Beasts in the Divine Realm that could take on the human form. He had interacted with plenty and even know their beastnguage.

    However, they were from two opposing sides, this was a question he still had to ask even though he felt that she wasn''t a bad person.

    "My king sent me to investigate the source of bad smell, but I don''t think I can return to report." Lilith said sadly at the look of her remaining wing. She had lost her ability to fly.

    Hearing the mention of the ''king'' again, Leon involuntarily blurted, "The dog?"

    "He''s not a dog, okay? The king is a Transcendent wolf! Why do you keep insulting my king?" Lilith said in an angry, but not so angry manner. Whether intentionally or not, Leon had sessfully shifted her mood.

    "You were the first one to insult him. I asked if you were a dog, but you brought your king into it. If you didn''t think your king is a dog, why bring him up in the first ce?" Leon said with a flicker in his eyes. The more they talk, the more information he received.

    "I-I¡­ didn''t¡­" Leon''s words made her speechless. Subconsciously, she really did think that way! Her Deste Crow n was even stronger than the Skysilver Tribe! But she ran away for a certain reason and decided to hide in the Skysilver Tribe. Since her own personal strength wasn''t on par with Skysilver, she had to at least obey the ruler of the region. In truth, she wasn''t at all loyal to the Skysilver Tribe. Now that she wasn''t in the tribe, she could act more freely.

    However, being caught out by Leon, she felt both embarrassed and aggrieved. She stamped her feet and said, "Wahh¡­ you''re bullying me!"

    Her words left Leon rooted on the spot. Why was she acting like a child? The beast race in human form were typically much older than how they look, and Leon had been treating her as such. It was always a taboo to ask for a woman''s age, so he couldn''t determine her actual age.

    However, Lilith wasn''t the same as the beast race from the Divine Realm. She had both beast and human bloodline, and really looked her tender age of 16. She wasn''t some old monster.

    "Alright, take it as I''m afraid of you, alright? Don''t cry. Anyway, I still have things to do. You can stay here until you recover." Leon bid his goodbye.

    "Hmph! Go! Go, you bad person!"

    Lilith was settled in a spare room in a separate guest courtyard, however when Leon left, there wasplete shock written all over his face.

    From what he just learnt; this Transcendent wolf could smell what happened in the Capital from all the way back in the Wilnds.

    If Skysilver could read his thoughts, it would say, "That''s right, human! This King can smell you from miles away! Revere me!

    ¡­

    In the main square of each Upper District, a new announcement was posted on the notice board personally by a pce guard. The actions of a walking frame of metal would never go unnoticed and immediately attracted the crowd over to read the announcement on the board.

    The announcement was brief, but it was enough to leave them shocked. Tomorrow morning at 8AM sharp, the royal family will be holding a trial in front of the pce gates to judge the final fate of 40 noble families, whom participated in an illegal underground auction, whereas the auction host, Sris family will be all sentenced to death.

    "How scary. I wonder which family are being judged. The Queen had already exit seclusion, yet they think they can stillmit crimes right under her nose? They seriously don''t know how the word ''death'' is written."

    "Hey man, what if your family is one of them?"

    "You! Don''t talk nonsense. My family has always been upright and adhered to thews."

    The person shrugged his shoulders and said,

    "Well, we can only find out tomorrow."

 Chapter 132 - Seeing Lynne

    <h4>Chapter 132 - Seeing Lynne</h4>

    It had been two to three weeks since hest visited the Cromwell''s vi and seen Lynne. He quite missed her.

    When he arrived at the gates, the sturdy guards did not stop him. They have already recognized him as the Cromwell''s son-inw and allowed him easy passage.

    "Boy, looks like you still remember to visit this Old man." Dwight was pleasantly surprised.

    ''But I didn''te to visit you. Who knows how much benefits you will try to reap out of me every time you see me.'' Leon inwardly thought.

    However, after looking around briefly, he asks, "How have you been, Old man?"

    "Good¡­ good of course¡­ but¡­ hehehe." Dwight rubbed his hands together and looked at Leon with expectant eyes.

    Leon sighed helplessly as he handed over a bottle of awakening pills he had prepared beforehand, and said, "I''ve already given you the recipe. Can''t you refine your own pills?"

    "Yes¡­ of course, I can. Except your pills are still of higher quality. What''s the secret, boy?" Dwight asked without shame.

    "Maybe better me control?" Leon said lightly. He did not mention that higher quality herbs were also needed.

    With one line, Dwight was immediately silenced with a downcast expression like he had just suffered a major blow. The Cromwell was a family of water-users. How the hell was he suppose improve his me control?

    "Anyway, Old man, where is Lynne?"

    Dwight sat down on the couch and said absentmindedly, "Oh, she just went to her room not long ago. You should go see her. She had been missing you dearly."

    Leon nodded, "Mm, I''ll go see her now."

    He left quickly, before Dwight recovered from the mental blow of not being able to improve me control.

    "Right-" When Dwight wanted to say something, the brat was already gone to see his granddaughter. He could only shake his head with a sigh.

    ¡­

    These days, Lynne had been in very low spirits. The night Leon said he would visit her; he did note. Instead, she only received news of big conflicts happening one after the other.

    Leon had also stop attending the military training and infuriated the instructor as it was not what the representative should do. It was like he hadpletely disappeared.

    She hadn''t received any news of Leon and feared that something had happened to him. She was prohibited to leave the house during the chaos so there were many things she did not know. She couldn''t stop worrying for Leon and missing him each passing day.

    When she entered her room, she changed into her nightwear. The moment sheid down on her soft bed, she easily fell asleep due to the mental fatigue.

    Leon entered her room silently and looked at the sleeping beauty with affectionate eyes. He felt a pang of guilt seeing the bags under her eyes.

    He quietly slipped into her bed and embraced her from behind.

    Lynne felt extremelyfortable like she was basking in mother nature''s warm embrace. However as dual awakener and divine practitioner, her senses were greatly heightened after making progress in the technique, Leon bestowed her.

    With her connection to the Ice Laws, her divine practice progressed smoothly and reach the 5thyer quickly. Relying on her senses, she knew that there was something wrong with this extremelyfortable and warm sensation.

    It was like going to the magic toilet in your dream, needing to urinate. Extremely warm and rxing, but then you wake up in shock to find out you have wet yourself.

    Lynne was immediately roused awake and noticed there was a pair of arms wrapped around her.

    "Who!?" She was rmed greatly.

    Leon intended to just sleep peacefully with Lynne in his arms and hadn''t expect for her to wake up. He was startled, but soon a nefarious but yful thought entered his mind like a devil''s whisper, and he acted on it immediately.

    He covered her mouth and locked her body with his legs, before saying in deep unrecognizable voice, "Kekeke¡­ little beauty, tonight, you are mine."

    "Mmmm¡­ noooo! Don''t~!" Wide eyes with panic, Lynne wanted to scream, but her voice was muffled by the stranger''s hand. How did this intruder get into her room!?

    She wanted to resist when she couldn''t recognize the person''s voice behind her. However, her strength was inferior to the other party and couldn''t break free. She could only helplessly watch as the stranger''s hand slip under her nightwear, roaming her body and y with her white rabbits freely.

    She was already in low spirit and low mental energy. Being forcefully assaulted by a stranger without being able to fight back, it didn''t take long before she broke down as tears quickly swelled in her eyes.

    "*Sniff* Leon¡­ where are you¡­ *sniff*"

    Hearing her muffled cries, Leon''s hands froze like they had been struck by lightning. A greater sense of guilt filled his heart. Aish¡­ he was a true viin for making his own women cry.

    "Sorry¡­ I went too far¡­ It''s me." Leon said guiltily.

    Leon removed his hands and loosen her restraints, before gently wiping her tears.

    ''Eh? It''s me?''

    Hearing that familiar voice and feeling the gentle caress on her face, her tears stopped flowing for a moment with suspicion. She turned her body over and saw his familiar face.

    "Ahhh! So Hateful! Meanie! Bully! Rogue! Where have you been all this time?" Lynne was first angry, then began to weep and pound on his chest with her two balls of small fists.

    "Sorry." Leon said a single word and allowed her to vent her grievance on him that didn''t contain any real force behind them. Real men don''t make excuses.

    After a while, Lynne calmed down, but then she pouted at him angrily. He was calmly prepared for her tongueshing as deserved it, but it didn''t turn to be the kind of tongueshing he expected.

    He was taken by surprise when she started kissing him feverishly and inexperiencely. He quickly recovered and followed her rhythm, before taking over control of the rhythm. Her awkward tongue was like a little snake that thought it found it''s prey until the prey turned into a ferocious dragon, while it transform into a meek and startledmb.

    Everything soon flowed naturally after¡­

    Their clothes slipped away as their hearts and bodies melted into one and enjoyed a long steamy-hot and passionate battle that seeminglysted an eternity, along with erotic moans and rocking beds. The room was soon painted pink and filled with the smell of love nectar.

    With his heavenly techniques, Lynne was sent into a euphoric state filled with bliss and happiness.

    He wanted to engrave himself on her heart so deeply, it would seeminglyst as long as the sun and moon in the starry skies, leaving an unforgettable memory and ensure that no other man will ever be able to rece him in her heart.

    The night was bound to be restless for everyone residing in the vi.

    In another room downstairs, a couple was enjoying their own peace and tranquil rest after a long trip home from outside the Capital. They were Lynne''s father and mother, Bromley and Hazel. They were called back to the Capital to handle the reconstruction project after Leon rmended the Cromwell family to take charge.

    They haven''t heard much about the prince, but they were excited find out the prince was still unmarried and of simr age to their daughter. They wanted to take the opportunity to y matchmake for the two when they meet the royal family tomorrow to discuss the details of the reconstruction project.

    However, their hopes were dashed by the ruckus being caused upstairs.

    "Who¡­which bastard is doing my daughter!? I''m¡­I''m going to kill him!" Bromley Cromwell shook with anger.

    Hazel by his side did not have a good expression either as a gloomy aura filled the room. This wasn''t the kind of thing they wanted to hear on the first day of their return.

    Their marriage arrangement ns for their daughter was ruined and premarital sex was a taboo. If word got out, they would be reducedughingstocks among the nobles.

    Leaving the room, they noticed that Dwight was sitting on the stairway, smoking a long pipe calmly.

    "Father, please move. I must kill that bastard!" Bromley gnashed his teeth.

    "The rice has already been cooked. Do you want your daughter to be a widow?" Dwight said with a raised eyebrow.

    "I don''t ept it. I refuse to ept it. Why must you protect that scoundrel? Who is he?"

    Bromley forcibly restrained his anger when talking to his father. Although their rtionship wasn''t good, Dwight was still his father.

    "That is my grandson-inw. I have already engaged them and it''s nothing new in the circle of nobles." Dwight spoke with a proud smile.

    "What!? How can you arrange my daughter''s marriage without my consent!? Move! I must cripple that bastard!"

    Bromley still had the slightest hope of pairing his daughter with the prince even if she was no longer pure. His daughter was after all a fine flower with nock of suitors.

    But since every knows his daughter is already engaged, would the Queen still ept if he was to break it!?

    He was an ambitious man with boundaries. He wanted to elevate the Cromwell''s status to be inws with the royalty family, but that short dream was dashed for good with no possible reparations.

    Hearing his own son raised his voice at him, Dwight''s expression turned steely cold and barked, "Go back! The children are having their fun! Are you really that interested in seeing your own daughter''s body!? Beast! How did I raised you!? Whatever you want to say, leave it for tomorrow, understand! Hmph!"

    "I¡­ No, I don''t¡­ yes, father¡­"

    Being barraged by his father''s words, Bromley had no way to refute. If he insisted, it would mean he really was interested in seeing his own daughter''s naked body.

    He could onlyply meekly and give up with a sigh, before retiring back to his room in low spirits with his wife.

 Chapter 133 - Too Much Is Bad For The Body

    <h4>Chapter 133 - Too Much Is Bad For The Body</h4>

    The following morning, Leon woke up with Lynne nestled in his chest like a little kitten, while the smell of their love nectar still lingered in the air. It had been one crazy night, where they both surrendered themselves to carnal pleasure and vented their lust on each other.

    A shade of redness was still noticeably seen on Lynne''s rosy cheeks.

    However, it was not the result of physically exerting and exhausting herself fromst night''s battle. There was not even a speck of fatigue on her blissfully sleeping face. Whatever fatigue there had been, it was all swept away and only the vibrant glow of a blossomed flower was left behind.

    As he watches Lynne sleeping contentedly with eyes filled with affection, he couldn''t help but move away the few strands of hair ovepping her face behind her ears and give her a soft peck on the forehead.

    Love was a profound feeling. It could simple, and it could beplex. It couldn''t be exined in words, but nor was there a need to. One doesn''t need to give reason to love and why they love. As long as two people enjoy each other''spany, that was enough.

    Life was simple to begin with, but peopleplicate it. Was there a need to?

    Going back in time, he would never believe that he would have anything to do with the flower of the Cromwell family outside of the business rtionship they shared.

    However, by some twist of fate, they were brought together. Their story wasn''t a romantic one that could be written down in storybooks, but he had to admit that she had already sessfully left a mark on his heart, just as he did on hers.

    *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

    The doors to the room was suddenly knocked, before a maid''s voice be heard from outside, "Breakfast has been prepared, young miss and young master."

    "I got it, thank you." Leon replied.

    The shadows of the maid could be seen curtsying from outside, before she left. With how rowdy they werest night; everyone had heard it and the maid was too embarrassed to open the doors. The maid feared she might seeing something she shouldn''t.

    Lynne already had her eyes open by the time he checked back on her and it didn''t seem like the look of someone that just woke up.

    Leon pulled her cheeks and said, "If you were already awake, why were you pretending to be asleep, hmm?"

    "Hehehe, if I wasn''t asleep, you wouldn''t have showered me with affection." Lynne said with a cute expression after being discovered and rubbed her cheeks on his chest.

    Leon shook his head with a light chuckle at her answer and said wryly, "Get dressed, and we need to head down for breakfast with your family. Later, I also want to take you to meet my mother."

    "Mmm. Okay~." Lynne nodded happily. Taking her to meet his mother was a sign of her importance within his heart. However, she was unaware that she wasn''t meeting his adopted parents but the Queen.

    She soon discovered something and said, "Huh? I broke through to the Body Tempering Realm 6thyer!"

    She was pleasantly surprised to breakthrough to soon. It was getting harder and slower, the further she progressed her cultivation, but as a benefit of her physique, her awakener and divine cultivation was synchronized.

    Thus, she broke through to the 6th step Awakener Realm at the same time. Leon had also noticed that his stagnant 1st step ice abilities had increased to the 3rd step.

    "Mm, there would be benefits every time we copte." Leon answered her doubts.

    They didn''t have a divine grade dual cultivation method, but their benefits weren''t any less than one. His five-element body was heaven-defying, and it was only at the initial level. There were more abilities, Leon could only uncover them slowly.

    His only regret was that he didn''t have information to such abilities due to the ipleteness of the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos].

    He started to suspect that it wasn''t because the Divine Realm could only find the first part of the technique, but because the originator wasn''t able toplete the creation of such a high-level technique.

    When Leon finished his words, a visible blush appeared on her face.

    "Then¡­ we should do it more often?" Lynne suggested coquettishly, but got bumped on the head by Leon, "Ah!"

    "Too much isn''t good for the body. We have to give it time to recover and stabilize our realm." Said Leon.

    "Oh¡­ alright then¡­" Lynne said disappointedly, while rubbing her sore.

    She wasn''t such a shameless woman. She was still slightly reserved in public as ady. It was only when they are alone, would she behave like a little nympho.

    Men weren''t the only ones with strong sexual desires, women could have them too. They were just better at abstaining than most men.

    The two finished dressing their clothes and headed downstairs for breakfast. She hadn''t noticest night, but seeing Leon''s royal attire, she was quite startled.

    Did he always look so good and charming? Or was this what it''s like to love someone?

    ¡­

    The moment Leon and Lynne sat down at the breakfast table, Bromley Cromwell roared, "Boy, you''re not qualified sit here and certainly not worthy of my daughter! Leave my daughter at once and get lost!"

    BAM!

    "Enough! He is more than qualified to sit here! Do you think you can reach the 8th step Awakener so soon if not for all the pills I sent you?" Dwight mmed the table furiously.

    "F-Father¡­ Those are two different matters! How can they be rted in the same breath?" Bromley was startled by Dwight''s strong reaction and said with puzzlement.

    "Hmph! Two different matters? Who do you think refined those pills? Leon is the alchemist, who refined them of course! His skill is even higher than those grandmaster alchemists in the kingdom!"

    "This¡­ How¡­? Impossible¡­"

    How humiliating was it for the Earl of the Cromwell family to apologize to his own son-inw? If he knew Leon was the prince, he would not find it humiliating at all.

    However, Leon wasn''t nning to make things difficult for his father-inw and said lightly, "It''s fine. I am not offended. There''s no need for uncle to apologize."

    He was not going to hold Lynne''s father ountable for his disrespect. It would only make him seem petty and a small man.

    Dwight did not continue to speak, since his grandson-inw was quite magnanimous and didn''t pursue the matter. He began to admire the boy more.

    Bromley was unwilling to apologize, but he was also startled by his father''s words. That brat was an alchemist? Thinking back to the pills he recently took; they were indeed of much higher quality than the awakening pills he used to take in the past.

    He felt a bit grateful to the brat for giving him a way out.

    Earl Bromley was under the preconceived notion that no one could be a better son-inw candidate than the prince. However, after putting his prejudice aside and study Leon carefully, he began to see him in a different light.

    The brat was indeed not bad looking and had a certain charm and regal air to him. Not to mention, his father just said this brat was better than the grandmaster alchemists in the kingdom. Although it was unbelievable that a 17-year-old could achieve such heights, the pills don''t lie.

    "Hmm¡­? Boy, your attire is quite peculiar¡­ It seems like¡­" Earl Bromley said with a mild change in tone.

    After Bromley said this, everyone at the table began to study his attire more carefully.

    "Isn''t this what only royalty can wear? How can you wear this, boy?"

    Startled, all eyes trained on Leon''s face after this was said. Leon continued to enjoy his breakfast calmly, before he coughed awkwardly and stood up. *Ahem*

    "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Leon Crawford, the royal prince of this kingdom." Leon said and made an elegant bow.

    Everyone''s eyes bulged in shocked at his introduction, but quickly came to an understanding. No wonder he was so talented! He was the prince! They quickly addressed him properly, "Your highness!"

    Bromley shaken and went one step further, staggering to his knees, saluted and apologized with utmost respect, "This one apologizes for his previous great disrespect towards your highness!"

    It was not humiliating to bow to royalty.

    "It''s fine¡­ quickly get up! I do not mind at all! Please drop the formality and treat me normally as you would a son-inw." Leon quickly helped him up. He couldn''t ept such formality.

    "Right¡­ right¡­ a son-inw¡­ Hahaha! What a good son-inw!"

    Bromley suddenlyughed heartily. How unexpected! How unexpected indeed! The person he despised for doing his daughterst night, turned out to be the prince he wanted to engage his daughter to all along!

    His eyes shined at the prospects of his dashed dream revitalizing and actuallying true. Inwardly, he thanked his lucky stars that the boy did not hear his hurling insultsst night.

    Lynne couldn''tprehend why her father had been so hostile to her man and was quite upset but seeing that they were make amends and willing to get along after settling whatever misunderstanding there was, her mood swiftly improved. She felt proud of the man she had chosen.

    Dwight looked at Leon with gleaming eyes, making thetter will creeped out. It was uncertain, what he was thinking.

    Hazel had been rtively quiet with a faintly tiresome expression. She was a 6th step Awakener and didn''t have the same stamina as her husbands. In order tofort her husbandst night, she also let him ravage her crazily.

    Nevertheless, Leon and the Cromwell family enjoyed the rest of their breakfast pleasantly. After finishing their breakfast, Leon asked for the parent''s permission to take Lynne out. After receiving approval, he bid them farewell and took to the skies with Lynne in his arms.

    It was fortunate that the Cromwell family had an early start to breakfast, or he may have missed the time of the trial.

    "Ahhhh~!"

    Lynne screamed and hugged onto Leon tightly as they were flying. Her round white rabbits pressed against his chest and filled him with greater excitement. He flew even faster.

    "Wahhh~ Don''t you dare drop me!" Lynne threatened as she stuck to him with all her strength.

    Leon hold onto her was firmly andughed, "I would never!"

    They arrived at the trial location shortly and found that the ce was already crowded with people, while pce guards blocked them froming too close and potentially affect proceeding of the trial.

    A sonorous voice soon rang throughout the area.

    "The trial will nowmence!"

 Chapter 134 - How Much For Your Life?

    <h4>Chapter 134 - How Much For Your Life?</h4>

    At the trial ground, the crowd was finally able to see the faces of the heads from the 40 noble families along with the Sris family.

    All 23 direct members of the Sris family were tied at the forefront if the 40 other heads. They all wore lifeless expression as their cultivation were crippled and they havee to terms with their fate.

    Among the 40 noble family heads caught in the illegal auction, there were 3 marquises, 10 earls, 12 counts and 15 barons. They were simrly tied, but they cultivation had not been crippled yet.

    If they wish, they could break their binds, but no one was stupid enough to do that while they were in the presence of her majesty. The pce guards also surrounded them. There were no escape routes. The moment they showed the slightest intention to resist and escape, they would be mercilessly cut down.

    The queen seated herself on the newly erected tform and swept the guilty nobles below with her piercing cold gaze.

    They immediately felt a gargantuan pressure on their shoulders as they began to break into cold sweats. Even if the queen decided to kill them all now, no one would be able to stop her.

    At the side of the queen, her pce maid, Lily stood by a table filled with reports, detailing each of their crimes

    Elizabeth made a hand gesture for Lily to pick up the first report and begin reading.

    "Sris family have been captured for the illegal possession and selling of forbidden and illegal items, including but not limited to; ves and the Water of Absolute Nothingness."

    "In addition tost night''s event, starting from 12 years ago, the Sris family have¡­"

    Lily recounted their crimes ofst night, before continuing list 37 other crimes from as far as a decade ago, including; the abduction of young women, forced acquisition of businesses, forced purchases of goods at low price, and some killing ofmoners from the Commoner Districts.

    The Sris family thought they had concealed all their crimes well, but some were still noticed and recorded down by the Shadow Guards.

    They naturallymitted much more than 37 crimes in thest decade, but the fact that the royal family knew so many of their evil deeds caused some shock to appear in their listless eyes.

    They were prepared for death, but having their dirty workid bare and feeling the unbearable stares of the crowd, they wish everything could just end quickly. Death was their release.

    After Lily finished reading the report, Elizabeth stared at the Sris family icily and said, "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

    "¡­"

    The Sris family was eerily quiet. Many would normally beg for their life and fight for the chance to continue living. However, the Sris family did not. They were determined to die.

    The event of digging out and sharing all their secrets ensured that they would have a hard life even if they survived. They would rather die than be humiliated.

    Seeing their silence, Elizabeth gave her judgement, "For the weight of their crimes, the Sris family will be sentenced to death by decapitation!"

    As she said this, swords immediately flew out from the sheaths of the pce guards and ruthlessly beheaded them all. Their heads flew as their bodies dropped. The flying swords flicked off the fresh dripping drop and returned to their sheaths quickly. She did not leave any room for further discussion.

    In truth, when she asked what they had to say for themselves, it was just formality. She was already determined to kill them. To kill and make an example of the rest. Only this way, would the nobles be more fearful and easier to extort.

    "Continue."

    Lily began picking up the reports and reading out the noble families list of crimes, one after the other. The noble families weren''t as headstrong as the Sris family was, especially after watching them ughtered merciless, their resolves were shaken, and their faces paled as they listen.

    From the list of crimes, it wasn''t just the family heads that had to bear the weight of their crimes. Their families were also implicated.

    "Your majesty, please spare us! We know our wrong! We swear to never do evil again!" the family heads pleaded.

    What was the use of their faces? As long as they can live, they were willing to do anything.

    "Your words don''t mean sh*t. Do you think your crimes can forgiven and escape your punishments easily just base on your words alone?" Elizabeth said icily, but then she added slyly, "However, I am willing to waive the death penalty for all of you, but how much are you willing to pay for your lives?"

    Fromst night''s operation, they had hauled in 800,000,000 Craws, but this was just the amount the family heads carried in notes with them to the auction. It wasn''t all their wealth.

    Boom!

    It was like an explosion had went off in their head, when they heard the Queen''s words. How much are they willing to pay for their lives? Was this still a trial? They can bribe their Queen to receive a lighter sentence?

    No, it is not a bribe, it was an extortion. Elizabeth was nning to extract every sum of money they had!

    In the current Crawford Kingdom, her word means thew. Anything she say, goes.

    The crowd was also dumbfounded by the Queen''s words. Was the royal familycking money? They began to discuss quietly among themselves.

    The truth is the royal family really wascking money. The cost to feed and amodate 40,000moners was not a small amount.

    In addition, they had to give extra benefits to the workforce and pay them wages. This was to motivate themoners to earn back their wealth with their own hands.

    But why did the royal treasury had to suffer the brunt of this expense? Maybe because the royal family were the rulers of this kingdom, and this was their responsibility. They can''t just make their subjects work for free.

    Actually, they could, but it woulde with severe repercussions. It would be no different to very, which all other kingdoms have adapted.

    However, they had already found the better option and didn''t need to bear the brunt of the expense. Since arge portion of the Upper District''s wealth came from the Lower District, they just had to rob the nobles and inject it back into the Lower District.

    Although the buildings are all gone, the people are still alive. That is what matters. The kingdom can do without their structures, but it cannot do without its people. The people were the kingdom''s foundation. So long as the foundation is there, they can rebuild it.

    "Y-Your majesty, I am willing pay 15,000,00 Craws for life." A guilty nobleman said.

    When one starts, the rest followed, each shouting their own price. The amount ranged between 10,000,000 Craws to 20,000,000 Craws. The amount tallied up was must less than the auction haul.

    Elizabeth was displeased with their conservative and roared, "Are your lives only worth so little!? I guess the death penalty is still the better option!"

    The guilty nobles trembled with fear and felt weak in their legs. How can they still be conservative with their wealth at this point?

    "N-No, your majesty! I''m willing to pay¡­ 40,000,000 Craw! No¡­ all my wealth!" The nobleman cried bitterly.

    He really just wanted to stop at 40,000,000 Craws, but when he saw the queen raised her brows into a frown, he dared not hold back anymore and pitched all his wealth.

    "Very good! Your family must be among the crowd. Go ask someone to collect all of it and bring it to this Queen." Elizabeth ordered.

    "Y-Yes, your majesty¡­"

    The rest of them also followed suit and directed their family members to collect the money with bitter expressions. The Queen wouldn''t let them go unless she robbed them clean. But between their money and their life, they knew which was more important.

    Elizabeth waited patiently in her seat and two hourster, the money was brought. After calcting the amount, it tallied up to a grand total of 1,200,000,000 Craws. This was 50% higher than theirst night''s haul and should be more or less what they 40 noble families have.

    "Very good. As promised, I will waive the death penalty for all of you."

    The nobles sighed in relief after seeing her majesty''s satisfied expression, but then they froze on her following words.

    "However, you still have to be punished. Your cultivations will be crippled and your status as nobles are revoked. Thereby and henceforth, you and your family are allmoners."

    The Queen''s words weren''t loud, but they were earthshaking! Since the founding of the kingdom, no noble family had ever had their noble status stripped before, let alone 40 families at once.

    They all stood dumbly and lost as their hearts turned icy cold. The Queen was merciless and ruthless enough. She didn''t give them any way out.

    Even if they choose death now, it would be a meaningless one. Their wealth was already handed over to the royal family and they wouldn''t be getting it back.

    "AHHH!!!" They bellowed madly. Hopelessness! Despair! Regret! They felt it all.

    Such was the price they had to pay for their crimes, but they had no one else to me but themselves! If they didn''t do stupid sh*t, it wouldn''te back to bite them in the ass!

 Chapter 135 - Mining Rights

    <h4>Chapter 135 - Mining Rights</h4>

    The trial was ending and the fate of forty noble families was soon to be sealed; to be stripped of their status and crippled cultivations.

    Due to the crowdedness of the area, Leon had watched the trial with Lynne in his arms while they were floating in the air.

    Seeing the nobles about to be crippled of their cultivation, Leon thought it would be a waste and said, "Let''s go and meet my mother."

    "W-W-What? Wait!" Lynne suddenly eximed. It had just came to her realization that they weren''t meeting his adopted mother but his birth mother!

    "What''s wrong?" Leon asked with surprise.

    "I-I''m not ready¡­" Lynne said anxiously. Her heart was not ready meet the Queen. Leon just smirked and continued forward.

    "Nooo~! Stop!" Lynne started iling in his arms and biting onto his shoulder like a cat that just got its tail stepped on, before pleading, "Please~!"

    "If you keep moving so much, my hands might actually slip and drop you. Besides, my mother has already seen us." Leon said mischievously with a teasing tone.

    "AH? Don''t~!" When she heard that, she clung back onto him tightly like a frightened rabbit and asked unconfidently, "But what should I do? What if your mother doesn''t like me?"

    "Don''t worry, my mother is actually really nice and gentle. She will like you for sure." Leon assured her.

    ''My mother dote on me so much. She would be overjoyed with anyone I bring home.'' He inwardly thought.

    Nice and gentle!? Who will believe that! Lynne was losing mind, but it was clear that this meeting was inevitable, so she didn''t voice herint and be heard by the Queen. She didn''t want to be disliked upon their first meeting.

    She resigned to her fate and pouted meekly, "I hope so¡­"

    Leon soon glided over andnded on the tform with Lynne in his arms, before he said, "Mother, please don''t cripple their cultivation. Let me deal with them."

    "Alright, son. Do as you wish." Elizabeth smiled then turned Lynne and said warmly, "You must be Lynne."

    "Y-Yes, your majesty." Lynne answered courtly with distress.

    Elizabeth continued to smile and said, "You can just call me aunty or mother like my son."

    "Then¡­ I will call you Aunty." Lynne said with a blush.

    She couldn''t bring herself to say mother on their first meeting and while still unmarried, but it won Elizabeth''s approval.

    She was so afraid of how the Queen would treat her, but it turned out her fears were unfounded. They faded like the receding shadows upon meeting the light of dawn.

    Her man truly wasn''t lying to her. The Queen really could be nice and warm, but it also depended on who she interacted with. She can be a saint to some and a devil to others.

    Lynne was dazed by the Queen''s elegance and grace.

    The 40 noble families were looking down in despondency, when they suddenly heard someone pleading on their behalf. Their hopes reignited when the Queen epted.

    However, when they looked up, their hopes were crushed much more cruelly than the first time after seeing who it is. Their hopes were first lifted up then smashed back down to rock bottom. It was like kicking someone when they''re down and rubbing salt over their wounds.

    They all remembered how the prince devoured Frederick Sris''s source of cultivation after killing him. Was the same going to happen to them? They shivered at the thought. The Queen and prince were a pair of devils.

    Leon walked over to the 40 heads and said, "Your cultivation will all be crippled, but I will be the one to do it. Nothing else has changed."

    Despair gripped their hearts. Leon picked up his first victim and prepare to extract his source of cultivation, a water seed.

    "M-Mercy, your highness." The victim pleaded timidly, but only received a cold merciless reply, "You won''t die if you don''t resist."

    After undergoing the process a few times, Leon had gained some proficiency in extracting elemental seeds from the host without damaging their souls.

    Among the 40 heads, there were 2 fire-users, 5 water-users, and 33 earth-users. He devoured all the Fireseeds and Waterseeds first after extracting them and sessively broke through to 8th step fire abilities and 5th step ice abilities.

    While looking at the remaining earth-users, he became a bit hesitant. He hadn''t formed his Earthseed yet. Would he be able to absorb its energy?

    When Leon grabbed the next victim to test the waters, it failed. The Earthseed didn''t form, and the earth energy ran rampant in his body. He was forced to expel it.

    Unwilling to waste so much cultivation resources, Leon extracted the rest of the 32 Earthseeds and dumped them all in his Worldspace.

    Although, they energy would still scatter, it would be confined within the small independent space. At least, that was what he thought.

    The Earthseeds didn''t fully scatter throughout the Worldspace but conjoined together and transformed into a big singr blob of earth energy floating about. Leon felt d that he made the right choice. He would be able to easily absorb the earth energy from the blob once he form his Earthseed.

    "Son, you can take Lynne and show her around the pce. Mother needs to settle some business first." Said Elizabeth.

    Leon nodded and took Lynne to the pce after the so-called trial ended.

    "Let''s go¡­" The ex-noble family members picked up their listless heads and left the area.

    After today, every noble would think twice beforemitting another crime. This also means it would be harder for the royal family to have another excuse to rob nobles. Because they are not barbarians, they needed to upy the moral high ground when they are extorting the nobles.

    "Everyone don''t leave yet. The trial has ended, but there''s a business opportunity this queen wishes to discuss with you all. If you are interested, follow me to the Great Hall." Said Elizabeth. She left first without waiting for their answer.

    They looked at the back view of the Queen with suspicion. Was the Queen eyeing their wealth too? To go or not to go? That is the question.

    Eventually only half of the crowd made the decision to follow the Queen. However, it was the best choice they made.

    The Queen gave them the mining rights to the 1st Underground Floor in exchange for 30% of their harvest. They further had the option of paying in the equivalent in cash, if they wish to retain the 30% harvest.

    Although, the tax was quite high considering the royal family won''t have to do and get to reap 30% of their ie, they were still willing to ept the terms as every noble family always wanted to have a chance to send in their own mining team and unearth some treasures or relics of the ancient civilization

    However, they were slightly disappointed that the main ancient ruin region under the Pce was still off-limits as well as the parasitic ponds, which didn''t exist for long after Crazy Don reduced it all to nothing.

    This was to ensure that no one would ever be able to get their hands on the pond water and make the Water of Absolute Nothingness again. It was a nightmarish existence to all cultivators. Even Crazy Don, as a Transcendent was not an exception.

    When the other nobles caught wind of the royal family selling mining rights, they scurried to the Queen quickly to discuss the business. However, the condition the Queen gave them was no longer the same. The royal family demanded 50% of the harvest.

    ''F*CK!''

    They silently cursed that the Queen had be like ck-hearted merchants, eyeing their money, but they still ept the terms and condition.

    This was the allure of the mineral-rich underground. With the restriction on metal lifted, they could finally work on some things they previously couldn''t due to theck of metal.

    After one day, the original messy form of the rift had already been transformed into a flight of stone steps that lead all the way to the 1st Underground Floor.

    Miners employed by the royal family had begun entering with their tools begin their first day on the job.

    General tracks for minecarts on the underground had been set up and plenty of line shone down through the open space. Multitudes of glimmering lights sparkled on the underground floor and various metal deposits and strange crystals could be seen.

    "First day on the job, I''m so excited to get started!" A middle-aged man hyped himself up.

    *nk* *nk* *nk*

    The miners swung their pickaxes, but due to their weak physical strength, only small chips and white marks could only be seen with each hit.

    "¡­"

    After a few swings, the middle-aged man''s excitement was already reced with solemnness.

    *nk* *nk* *nk*

    He swung with greater force, but there wasn''t any noticeable improvement.

    "F*ck! This isn''t going to be fun!" The middle-aged man cursed.

    "Hahaha, Old Book, you used to be a librarian that read all day. I''m afraid you won''t be able to bare the hardship of a miner." Said another man, who seemed to be well-acquainted with the middle-aged man.

    "Hmph! Who''s unable to bear hardship!?"

    *nk* *nk* *Clink*

    "Aiyoo, my back¡­ it hurts." Old Bookined after straining his back.

    "What did I say? You don''t even have the right swinging form. This is how you should swing a pickaxe." The man boasted and demonstrated.

    *Clink*

    A shockwave ran through his arms, down his leg and up his spine and made him froze in silence.

    "¡­"

    "Well? Old Cook, why aren''t you saying anything?" Old Book asked.

    Old Cook had his eyes closed and took a deep breath like he was enduring something, before he opens his eyes and said grumpily, "Nothing."

    Taken aback, Old Book took a moment before heprehended andughed, "Hahaha! Serves you right for boasting! Just like the proverb; disaster starts from the mouth."

    Their bodies were not physically trained, and they''ve only begun practicing the breathing technique for one day.

    By estimation, if one had talents for cultivation, it would take at least week to breakthrough to the 1styer of the Body Tempering Realm.

 Chapter 136 - The Knot In Linas Heart

    <h4>Chapter 136 - The Knot In Lina''s Heart</h4>

    "These are the building ns I have for the Lower District. I pray you will do a good job inpleting the construction project without problems." Elizabeth said, she sat inside the Great Hall and gesture to her maid, Lily, to hand over the building ns.

    "Yes, your majesty. Just leave it to us." Bromley epted the task enthusiastically without checking the contents of the building n the maid gave them.

    "Mm, good. You may go." Elizabeth bid them to leave, after the task was handed over.

    "Err¡­ your majesty¡­" Bromley said hesitantly. He found it hard to bring up this matter in the presence of the Queen.

    "What else is there? Is there a problem?" Elizabeth said with creased brows, not understand Bromley''s hesitation.

    "I¡­ Err¡­ We¡­" Bromley found it harder and harder to speak when he saw the Queen''s frown deepened.

    "I wonder if we can talk about marriage between our children. What do you think of our daughter, your majesty?" In the end, Hazel said. Men aren''t reliable, she thought.

    The prince and their daughter may be seeing each other and even taken thest step, but they were not at ease.

    In this day and age, it was the parents that decides the marriage of their children. They are decision makers and had the final say.

    If the Queen doesn''t approve of their rtionship, it would be their daughter that suffers a loss since she is no longer pure.

    "Oh, so it''s this matter. I have met your daughter. She is good. Very pretty. Quite suited for my son." Elizabeth nodded her head in approval as she said this. In fact, any girl would win her approval as long as they are pretty.

    Bromley and Hazel heaved a sigh of relief when they heard this. It seems their daughter left a good impression on the Queen.

    "Then about the marriage engagement our children¡­" Bromley pressed. He found the courage to continue on the topic after he found the Queen had no problem discussing it.

    "There''s not much to say about it. I agree." Elizabeth said.

    "That''s great! Thank you, your majesty." The Cromwell pair bowed to Elizabeth.

    An engagement already exists between the prince and their daughter, but that was their Old man Dwight taking matters into his own hands. The Queen had not agreed to it then., but now she did. Everything was finally set in stone.

    "No need for thanks. We will be inws. However, if my son wants to gift me 5 daughters-inw then that''s how many I will ept." Elizabeth said domineeringly, before advising, "You should be worrying about how to face the Lancaster family instead."

    The more daughters-inw she has, the more grandsons. The chances of their Crawford royal family line ending would be reduced to a bare minimum when there are many descendants.

    The couple froze when their heard the Queen''s words. They hadn''t expect the Queen to dote her son to such degree. Worse, they had forgotten about the engagement between the Duke''s daughter and the prince.

    But then they thought, this shouldn''t be a problem, right?

    The Duke wouldn''t for them for trouble, right? They sweated at the thought. Wasn''t the Duke''s daughter unhappy with the marriage anyway? How close was the Duke''s daughter and the prince?

    No matter close it is, it can''t be closer than their daughter. After all their daughter already did that with the prince. Bromley felt smug about that thought then he froze.

    When he found out the prince was doing his daughter, he was so angry. How can he be happy about it now? Bromley felt conflicted.

    Bromley soon bid farewell to the Queen and pulled his wife away quickly.

    "What''s the matter, my husband? What''s the rush?" Hazel asked with bewilderment.

    Bromley didn''t directly answer her but drew circles on her back, sending chills up her body.

    Hazel blushed with both anger and amusement, she pouted, "Didn''t we do all night? You already want to go again?"

    Bromley was like an animal in heat that needed to vent, whenever he is frustrated.

    "It can''t be helped. You know¡­ we only have a daughter all these years and daughters will eventually be married outside. Don''t you want to give me an heir?" Bromley reasoned with some awkwardness.

    "Then¡­ should we go back?" Hazel said coquettishly. Bromley nodded rigorously and pulled his wife away.

    ¡­

    "Wow, so this is what it looks like inside the pce." Lynne eximed, as Leon took her around.

    "Yeah, it''s not bad." Leon responded, before shaking his head and said, "Come, I''ll take you to meet someone. I hope you two would be able to get along."

    The pce was much better designed than any other structure in the kingdom, but it still falls short of what he had seen back in the Divine Realm.

    Arriving at the Guest Courtyard, Leon quickly spotted Aria sitting in the open environment.

    Leon was instantly entranced by the temperament and aura Aria exuded, while she was cultivating.

    ''So simr¡­ really too simr¡­" Leon inwardly sighed woefully.

    In his past life, he had slept with many women, but there was only one person he truly loved, his childhood friend, maid and sisterly Aria.

    If his father, the Divine Medicine King was who he owed the most to, the second most would be Aria.

    Because of Aria''s talents in cultivation, she reached the Divine King Realm very quickly, while he was only a Divine Origin Realm at that time. She became the youngest Divine King in history, but no one knew of her prowess because she continued to be a low profiled maid for his family.

    It was also because of her cultivation that set them apart because of his own weakness. She was like the sun in the sky, while he was just another pebble on the road. Their distance was too far apart and made him feel unworthy of her.

    Although, he had the noble status as the son of the Divine Medicine King, it didn''t ount for much. The Divine Realm was a ce, where the strong reigned supreme. As such, gossips would inevitably spread, and their reputation would be tarnished if something was to happen between them.

    If a Divine King found a mortal to be his queen, there would some gossip, but many would ept it. However, if a Divine Queen finds a mortal as her consort, it was sphemy. Such were the double standards of powerful men of the Divine Realm.

    Thus, he never confessed his love, but he had a good brother he would consult all his problems and worries to. That was also the beginning of his fall from grace.

    His ''good brother'' suggested to visit brothel to build up his confidence as a solution to his problems, but that was also the same time he fell into the vicious cycle of debauchery after tasting the forbidden fruits.

    Although Aria didn''t mind, he felt he had betrayed her feelings and let her down. Their rtionship became estranged after, and he would sink deeper into debauchery to drown his sorrow.

    He knew he was building mistakes upon mistakes, but he continues to do it like one would continue to drink alcohol to drown their sorrow. He was a lost cause, a wreck.

    It was only after his father taught him [Heart of Saint Mantra] and pulled him out of the vicious cycle, did his return to the right path. However, the mistakes were alreadymitted, and he could no longer face Aria.

    Looking back on his previous life, he was indeed a pathetic and cowardly person. Even now, he still was¡­ but he''s been constantly striving to improve himself and his breath of mind.

    Humans were imperfect beings. They make mistakes, learn from them and grow. Making a mistake wasn''t terrifying. Not being able to correct their mistake or learn from it, is.

    On this note, he hade a long way. F*ck insecurities! F*ck cowardice! F*ck what other people thinks! A man should charge courageously and confidently into love and leave no lingering regrets.

    Seeing Leon just standing there in deep mncholy, Lynne knitted her brows without understanding and asked, "Is this the person you wanted me to meet?"

    "Yes." Leon snapped out of his reminiscence and answered, then said seriously, "I hope you both can be sisters and get along."

    Hearing the solemnness in his tone, Lynne made a small pout, "That would depend on her."

    She understood that she couldn''t keep Leon to herself, but she was still slightly hurt. However, this was her choice like one would know they would get burnt, but they would still fly into the fire.

    Aria opened her eyes, when she heard the tranquility of the courtyard disturbed by the voices. Her eyes brightened when she saw Leon. Her emotion did not fluctuate in the slightest at the sight of another woman by his side. As long as she still had a ce in his heart, that was enough.

    Leon smiled and pulled Lynne over, before making them hold hands and saying, "You are both my woman. I hope you two will be get along as sisters from now on."

    Lynne was inwardly unwilling, but Aria just shed her a warm weing smile with her pearly white teeth showing.

    Although, Lynne couldn''t see her full face, in terms of temperament, she already lost. As the say went, even if you don''t like the person, you shouldn''t punch a smiling face. It would only make her seem like a little woman. Lynne put on her own smile and shook her hands.

    While this was happening, Lina watched everything unfold from inside her room with aplicated gaze.

    Unexpectedly, the Saintess she met was also her love rival¡­ but was what she felt towards Leon really love? Apart from a favorable impression and a gargantuan debt of gratitude, there was also a feud between their families.

    Her father might not show any care on the surface, but she felt she was not doing her own family any justice to fall in love with the son of the person that put their family through so much misery and hardship. Thus, she felt very conflicted and wasn''t sure what she wanted in life either.

    "What''s wrong, my daughter?" Robert asked with concern.

    Sorting out her thoughts, she suddenly answered with determination, "I want to go on a journey to find my true self."

    Her parents were immediately shocked by her words, but no matter how they ask, she was unwilling to disclose her reason.

    Robert shook his head with a sigh and said, "If that''s what you have decided, father will no longer stop you."

    Lina nodded with eyes growing red, " Thank you, father. Thank you, mother."

    Her parents had been her biggest worry, but now, their cultivation was already recovered. She could focus on herself without worry.

    She began to prepare necessities for her journey, while parents lectured her on how to take care of herself¡­ After the preparations were done, she gave them three kowtows to show her filial piety, before she left.

 Chapter 137 - Missing And Doubts

    <h4>Chapter 137 - Missing And Doubts</h4>

    After letting the twodies, Aria and Lynne meet, they seem to havee to some sort of tacit understanding that was beyond the realm of words and shooed him away. Not understanding the situation, Leon could only follow their wishes and leave with a wry smile.

    He went to visit Mia and his adoptive parents but was unable to find them anywhere in the Guest Courtyard. He scrunched his brows as he thought it was too strange for them to be anywhere else at this time with their home in the Lower District gone.

    It was even stranger that during the entire time they stayed in the pce, they refused to meet his birth mother strongly.

    "Mother, have you seen my adoptive parents? They seem to have gone missing for some time now." Leon asked, after finding his mother in the Great Hall shortly after the Cromwell couple left.

    Stunned by the abrupt question, Elizabeth responded anxiously, "They are missing? Son, are you suspecting it has something to do with mother?"

    Hearing his mother''s question, Leon shook his head, "No, mother, not at all. I don''t believe you would do anything untoward to them without a clear reason. Before I reunited with mother, I had indeed been afraid that you would harm them. However, after meeting mother, I was sure that I was just overthinking things. Mother''s love is as boundless as the ocean. You would never do something so stupid that it would make me hate you."

    Elizabeth was touched by her son''s unconditional trust in her and couldn''t help but feel her eyes growing slightly wet.

    However, she also didn''t know whether tough or cry at some of his words. She had no idea that her son''s impression of her, before they even met would be so bad.

    To the outside, she was indeed a cold and merciless ruler, who view life as insignificant, but she became as such to protect herself and her husband.

    The world was an unforgiving ce and humans were indecipherable beings. They could never understand what truly lied in a person''s heart.

    "Son, although mother has no idea where they went, the shadow guards should know." Elizabeth said and made a simple summoning gesture.

    "What orders do you have for us, your majesty?" The shadowguards answered her summon.

    "I want to know, who is in charge of keeping watch over the Guest Courtyards?" Elizabeth inquired.

    "That would be Eric''s squad, your majesty." The shadowguard answered.

    Hearing the shadowguard''s answer, she didn''t know who the heck Eric was and ordered, "Bring them to me!"

    It was impossible for her to remember every Tom, Dick and Harry that works for the royal family, unless they were of notable importance.

    "Right away, your majesty."

    The shadowguard disappeared quickly, beforeing back five minutester with a group of five new shadowguards.

    "Your majesty." Eric and his men greeted with utmost respect.

    Elizabeth acknowledged their greeting, before she said, "The prince''s adoptive parents and the adopted sister, Mia should have been living in the Guest Courtyard. Where did they go?"

    "The prince''s adoptive parents and little sister¡­" Eric began answering with easy, but then he froze and said, "Huh? That''s weird¡­ why can''t I remember anything¡­"

    Eric rubbed his head in puzzlement. Such a simple question that should have been easily answered, but he had no answers. Elizabeth and Leon frowned at the shadowguard''s response.

    "Have you been cking on the job!? You can''t even answer such a simple question!?" Elizabeth said with dissatisfaction, before pointing to another shadowguard, "You! Answer my question. Where did they go?"

    Hearing the Queen''s question directed at him, the shadowguard was surprised, before stepping forward with cupped fist and simrly said, "The prince''s adoptive parents and little sister went¡­ they went¡­ t-they went¡­"

    "Forget! You! Answer me!" Elizabeth felt her anger rising and pointed at another shadowguard.

    Simrly, they all reacted the same way.

    Elizabeth''s patience was stretched thin and finally snapped, she oppressively bellowed, "Are you all putting on a show to fool this Queen!? What are you all ying at!? Memory loss!? Are you treating this Queen as an idiot!? If you know, you know! If you don''t, you don''t! Stop dawdling like a bunch of namby-pambys! You all had one job. One f*cking job!"

    The Queen waspletely infuriated. Eric and the shadowguards all paled from fright and felt in the knees. They kneeled in subservient positions and cried, "We don''t dare, your majesty!"

    Cold sweat trickled down their faces and backs with sheer terror like they weren''t facing their sovereign, but the grim reaper. No¡­ not right. Their sovereign was scarier than the grim reaper!

    "Forget it, mother. They don''t look like they are acting. I think their memories had been tempered with or erased." Leon said, with brows creased in deep thought after studying the shadowguard''s genuine expressions.

    Elizabeth nodded in agreement and said, "Hmph! All of you can get lost!"

    The shadowguards immediately rejoiced like they had just been pardoned from the death sentence.

    "Yes, right away! Thank you, your majesty! Thank you, your highness!" They thanked profusely, before scurrying off.

    "This matter is too bizarre, and your adoptive parents are quite suspicious. Commoners don''t have surnames unless they been conferred one and be an aristocrat or noble family." Elizabeth said, after the shadowguards left.

    Although he didn''t want to suspect his own adoptive parents, things had been too strange. He couldn''t help but agree with his mother''s words.

    He recalled that after awakening his memories, he had called his adoptive parents ''foster father'' and ''foster mother''.

    He thought it was due the fresh memories of his past life, coupled with his conflicting and confused personalities that caused that result, but perhaps it was something else entirely.

    Maybe a subconscious thought? But why? Coincidentally, the following day, adoptive parents got in trouble with gang members and got injured severely.

    His adoptive parents had lived just fine up until that point and knew how to avoid trouble. Thus, it didn''t make sense that they would resist the thug''s tyranny on such a specific day because it just wasn''t worth it.

    Resisting the thug''s demands was equivalent to asking to be beaten and if one was beaten severely, they wouldn''t be able to work. If one couldn''t work, they wouldn''t be able to survive.

    Thus, that event was highly dubious, but Leon didn''t want to be suspicious of his adoptive parents. It was ungrateful of him to the people that raised him for a decade.

    But now, bringing the matter back up, it was like his adoptive parents had purposely yed the sentiment card to stir his sentiments.

    "Mother, I hope you can order the shadowguards to keep an eye out for them and have them report to me directly, if they are found." Leon requested.

    "You don''t have to worry about, son. You will get firsthand information when they are found." Elizabeth assured, before turning to the shadows and said, "You''ve heard him."

    The shadowguards in the shadows flickered in understanding and returned to stillness.

    "Thank you, mother."

    Elizabeth smiled and said, "Bring my daughters-inw over to the Inner Pce for dinner tonight. I still have not met that other one."

    Leon was taken aback for a moment, before nodding, "Alright, mother."

    After leaving Great Hall, Leon went to the other Guest Courtyard to check on the recovery of the beastkin. He was startled when he saw that her health seemed to have deteriorated.

    "What''s wrong with you? Why do you look so sickly and lethargic?" Leon asked with shock as he made his way into Lilith''s room, before frowning, "You haven''t eaten anything since yesterday? Why didn''t you ask a maid to send you food?"

    Lilith was stunned by his words, before she looked at him with a wronged expression and pouted, "I am a beastkin and you are all humans. It''s already good that you humans don''t attack me in your territory. How can I be shameless and ask for food? I''d be counting my lucky stars, if your people didn''t try to cook me and turn me into some exquisite poultry dish instead!"

    The pce was guarded 9th step Awakeners. She didn''t dare go anywhere in her weakened state.

    Leon was speechless at her stubbornness. It was clear that she didn''t think about asking someone to send her food and expected to be delivered without asking like she was still the princess of her Deste Crow n.

    Lilith had already lost a fair amount of blood and coupled with her wounds; her body required arge amount of nutrition in order for her body to recover well. But since she starved herself andcked the nutrition, she was like a shriveled chicken with all its feathers plucked.

    Leon nced at her body and teased, "Such a skinny bird. Who would want to eat you?"

    Lilith interpreted a different meaning from his words and blushed, "You lecher!"

    "I¡­" Stunned, Leon rubbed his forehead and ruefully exined, "That''s not what I mean."

    However, Lilith was relentless and continued her attack with flushed cheeks, "Then what did you meant by those words!?"

    Seeing her agitated state, Leon shook his head and said, "You must be famished. I''ll get you some food."

    He left to call a maid to send a big meal to their room as soon as possible. Watching Leon''s backside view, Lilith''s angry pout changed into a smile. It was refreshing experience, interacting with this human. Not tiring and cumbersome as interacting with other beasts.

    In the Wilnds, it was the world of the strong. A true dog-eat-dog world filled with conflict at every corner outside the tribes.

    They kill at the slightest disrespect, eat their meat and grow stronger.

 Chapter 138 - Feeding The Sick

    <h4>Chapter 138 - Feeding The Sick</h4>

    Sometimeter, Leon return to Lilith''s room with a food tray with 3 dishes; a bowl of congee, a te of perfectly cooked venison from a deer beast and a bowl of nutritional soup.

    Lilith could immediately smell the sweet aroma of food and involuntarily gulp as she eyed the items Leon carried on the tray.

    Leon ced the food tray on the tea table and said, "Alright, quicklye over and eat, before it goes cold."

    Lilith looked at him with another wronged expression and pouted, "You''re bullying me. I''m too weak and hungry to move. Hmph hmph!"

    How can it be as bad as she says? The girl was clearly exaggerating her condition, but since she was acting cute, he didn''t mind not pointing it out and embarrass her.

    Leon smiled lightly and pick up the bowl of congee with a spoon and brought to the bedside, before saying, "Open your mouth, I''ll feed you."

    She threw her tantrum to see how tolerant the human was, but she hadn''t expect the human to willingly feed her. Lilith stared at Leon with her deep ck eyes in a daze and asked, "Why are you so good to me?"

    Leon scooped a spoonful of congee and brought it to her mouth and said, "Do you want to hear the truth or the lie?"

    "Why so mysterious? Of course, I want to hear the truth. Why would I want to hear a lie?" Said Lilith as she gulped the congee down obediently. The congee was slightly too hot and made her wince in pain. "Ahh!"

    "Sorry." Leon blew on the next spoonful carefully to cool it down, before he continued, "The truth is I am a doctor and you are my patient. Nursing you back to health is my responsibility."

    He refrained from telling the whole truth and only revealed part of it. He had to build up their rtionship, before he could reveal this kind of truth. If it was revealed too early, it would run counter to his ns. She would never open up to him and tell him the secrets of the Wilnds such as their power structure and strengths, if that was to happen.

    "Che! Such a boring answer. Never mind, I want to hear the lie now." Lilith said with dissatisfaction.

    She carefully gulped down the second spoonful but realized it had been cooled to a perfect temperature. The human was meticulous in his actions. She was able to enjoy the taste of congee this second time. It had a distinctive taste of rice, enriched with subtle pieces of tender meat and near-perfect seasoning. It was quite delicious. Very mellow and easy to eat.

    She wasn''t sure if it was because of her hunger or the chef was an expert, but itpelled her to crave for more with each spoonful.

    At the same time, she was touched and enjoyed the wonderful feeling of being cared for. Her ck wing made small ps in contentment.

    Leon continued to feed her as he put on a mischievous smile and whispered, "I want you."

    His words had a maic and electrifying charm that made her heart thumped as her started to blush red. Remembering it was a lie, she pouted angrily, "Shameless! Hateful!"

    Hearing her response, he smiled and said, "Since you have the energy to curse, you should have to problem feeding yourself."

    "No!" Lilith immediately reject and said coyly, "I want you to keep feeding me."

    "So unreasonable." Leon said, but found it hard the reject the wishes of a prettydy.

    Women were the most iprehensible being known to men, aplete enigma. They can be the most unreasonable of creatures, but the are also the most understanding.

    Lilith continue to p her wing in delight with each spoonful. Human food was such a pleasurable experience and the person feeding her is nice too. Lilith sneaked a nce, while Leon was quietly blowing on the congee.

    ¡­

    At the other end of the wall, Lilith was leaning against on the bed, it was coincidentally connected to Aria''s room in the other Guest Court.

    Aria and Lynne were seen stering their ears on the walls trying to eavesdrop on the other side.

    "Can you hear anything? I think I heard Leon and another female''s voice." Lynne said with a pout.

    Aria shook her head and gave up, "I can''t hear anything."

    ¡­

    A while ago, after Leon had just left them.

    "Which one of these are your room, let''s go there and talk." Lynne suggested. Aria nodded and pointed, "It''s this one."

    "Okay, let''s go." Aria was pulled into her room by Lynne.

    Since they were told to get along, they had to deepen their understanding of each other. None of them want to make Leon unhappy. When their happiness is also someone else''s happiness, that was love.

    Sitting on the bed, they did a quick introduction of each, before Lynne asked curiously, "You have a really nice voice, why do you cover your face?"

    "Old habits. A pretty face brings endless troubles." Aria answered quietly.

    ''How pretty can she be that she had to hide her face?'' Lynne thought simply. Because of her upbringing and background, she didn''t understand the danger and suffering of beautiful women living in the Lower Districts.

    Especially, someone with unparalleled beauty like Aria, who was a mute back then. If someone with wicked intentions forced themselves on her, she wouldn''t have been able to scream even if she wanted to.

    "Can I see?" Lynne asked.

    There was a pause in Aria''s response, before she nodded and removed her hair cover.

    "*Gasp* So beautiful." Lynne eximed with astonishment and admiration. She had to admit, she was inferior in terms of beauty.

    But beauty was rtive. With the mystical beautifying effect of divine cultivation, she believes her beauty wouldn''t be any less with time.

    The two girls talked about how they met Leon and Aria brought how she already knew him since middle school and would always watch of him study.

    "So, you were a stalker girl." Lynne eximed with surprise.

    Aria wanted to spurt blood after suffering a second blow. She quickly covered up her face to hide her embarrassment.

    "Ah! I''m so sorry¡­ I didn''t mean that in a bad way¡­" Lynne quickly apologized, but secretly she was jealous that Aria got to know Leon from such a young age.

    However, after learning the rest of the story, Lynne felt guilty for her petty actions. She only had good will towards Aria afterwards. Aria was quite pitiful until she met Leon. Compared with Aria''s story, her own story was considered shallow.

    After learning about each other''s backstory, they have be closer like sisters as Leon had hoped. They held hands and began to talk about random things.

    "Hmm? Did you hear that? I think I heard Leon on the other side of this wall¡­" Lynne suddenly said, before adding with squinted eyes, "And another woman."

    Aria was surprised, but she didn''t express any opinions.

    "Come, let''s hear what they are talking about." Lynne suggested as she stered her ear on the wall to eavesdrop.

    Taken aback for a moment, Aria said, "It''s not good to eavesdrop. We have to respect his privacy."

    "But aren''t you curious?" Lynne persuaded.

    Indeed, Aria was curious. It didn''t take much effort on Lynne''s part to convince her. Aria soon let go of her reservation and also stered herself on the wall to listen.

    Unfortunately, the walls were too thick. They couldn''t understand anything being discussed on the other side.

    ¡­

    After Leon finished feeding Lilith, he tucked into bed and said, "I''lle back another time to check on your recovery."

    Lilith nodded unwillingly. Leon was the only nice human she knew so far. It was also boring by holed up in the room all day by herself, but she understands that she couldn''t possibly take up all of his time for herself.

    When Leon returned to his courtyard, the personal guards were all sitting in one corner staring up at the skies and pondering on life. They couldn''t keep up with the prince and gave up, resigning themselves to their fate if something happened to the prince.

    But in any case, there shouldn''t be anyone in the Capital that could harm the prince now.

    Leon had sparred countless times with the guards by now and also learnt the Military Arts from them.

    It was a good closebat technique, but it had its limitation. There was a limit to how much strength above the user can handle.

    For example; a person may not be able to lift a steel beam, but they can still divert the direction of a falling beam. However, if it was a falling iron fortress, they would still have to jump out of the way in fear of their lives. They would only be crushed to death if they tried to deflect it.

    However, having a closebat technique was better than none.

    "Your highness." Howard and his brothers greeted.

    Leon acknowledged their greeting with a nod and found himself a spot on the floor. He was just a thin line from reaching the 9thyer of Body Tempering Realm.

    With a bit of cultivating, he would be able to reach it. He closed his eyes and began circting his energy, while absorbing the 5 elements from the heaven and earth ording to the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos].

    As he had predicted, two hourster, he sessfully achieved his breakthrough and reached the 9th Layer Body Tempering Realm.

    Leon smiled with satisfaction. If this was in the past, he would not even spare a thought for such an insignificant achievement. But this was the world of Gaia, where spirit energy was sparse and divine cultivation was difficult to thrive. Every sessful step forward should be celebrated.

    There were also concerns with the other kingdoms, now that he met a demonic cultivator¡­ He had to grow as strong as possible to tide over whatever tumultuous waves the kingdom would soon face.

 Chapter 139 - Four Kingdoms, Five Sects

    <h4>Chapter 139 - Four Kingdoms, Five Sects</h4>

    Vran-Crawford Kingdom Border.

    There was a small town called Aqualeaf Town located in the small region between the two kingdoms and wasn''t affiliated with any of the two.

    It was once a popr stop for merchants in between their travels, however it came to a grinding stop when it was taken over by the Hundred Snake Gang and became a bandit''s nest in recent years.

    The strength of Hundred Snake Gang was neither strong nor weakpared to the might of a kingdom, but they had their own advantages and was powerful enough to be the overlord of the region when they have nopetitors.

    The strongest of the gang, the gang leader, Ives, was only a 5th step Awakener Realm and ex-farmer, however the strength of the Hundred Snake Gang did not lie in the people but the snakes they reared and tamed with a special technique.

    They weren''t really snakes, but earthworms that have evolved to the size of snakes. With thousands of teeth inside their body, the bite of an earthworm was noughing matter. Fortunately, they only eat dirt, or rather the nutrition found in the soil.

    The people of Aqualeaf Town used to live content and happy lives, but now they could only live in fear under the tyrannical rule of the Hundred Snake Gang and their earthworms. Escape and resistance meant death.

    There were some brave souls that once tried to fight back, but they had long be supplements in the bellies of the earthworm. Just because earthworms don''t eat humans, it didn''t mean they couldn''t eat humans. In fact, humans had much more nutritional value than the soil and were a much more favored diet.

    At this moment, a deathly paled traveler arrived at Aqualeaf Town. He wore a noble attire that depicted his status, but it had been stained with blood and a hole could be seen around the chest, except, no wounds could be seen.

    "One bowl of noodles and wine." Zagan ordered impolitely, after arriving at an inn.

    The innkeeper looked at the guest briefly, before heading into the kitchen quietly.

    While waiting, Zagan knitted his brows at the silence of the town. It was too quiet. Last time he was here, it was very boisterous and lively, but now, it is basically a ghost town.

    "Where do youe from, Traveler? Judging by your attire, you must be a noble." Ives arrived with a group of men and inquired nonchntly. Each member had an earthworm draped around their neck.

    Seeing this weak and frail looking noble, Ives wasn''t going to let this prey go. Although it looked like the noble had already been robbed, they could still hold him hostage and ask for ransom from the affiliated kingdom.

    "Where I''m from, it has nothing to do with you. Mind your own¡­ god¡­ damn business¡­!" Zagan spoke icily.

    He did not like his meal being interrupted by ruffians. He no longer had any elegance in his tone and movements after suffering from the dead wound back in the Crawford Kingdom.

    Hearing the unweing tone, Ives said solemnly, "This is the Hundred Snake Gang''s territory. Everything here is my business. You will do as I ask, unless you don''t want to live."

    "Hundred Snake Gang? What sh*t is that?" Zagan looked at the earthworm draped around Ives and disdainfully said, "Just a mere earthworm and you dare call yourself the Hundred Snake Gang?"

    Ives boiled with anger at the naked contempt from someone who looks like he would fall over at the slightest gust of wind.

    He looked at the paled-face noble with mockery and said, "You don''t have strength, but you are so arrogant! Since you dont want to listen then¡­ go die!"

    The earthworm hanging around his neck immediately sprang into action, lunging itself at the other person with mouth wide open and all his sharp teeth on disy.

    Zagan sneered and his hands blurred into a slicing motion. Before anyone of the gang members could see what happened, the earthworm fell past him, diced into dozens of pieces.

    Ives was stunned, before pointing his finger with shaking anger and said with disbelief, "Y-You! How dare you kill my pet!"

    "Oh, I''m sorry. Did I hurt your feelings? I guess you should be called the Ny-Nine Worm Gang now." Zagan said indifferently, as he folded his arms and crossed his legs on the seat.

    Flushed with anger, Ives ordered, "Kill him!"

    The gang members immediately charged at Zagan with their earthworms. A cold light shed in Zagan''s eyes. The blood stains on his clothes coagted in a blood needle and shot through each of their heads.

    They were just a bunch of ignorant ants, who didn''t know who they were up against. Even in death, Ives didn''t know how he died.

    Their bodies soon became dried corpses after their blood essence was extracted and absorbed into Zagan''s body.

    His body was filled with energy, while the paleness and weakness on his face was reced with a lively color.

    With impassive expression as if he did an insignificant thing, he said coolly, "Why didn''t you kill these pests?

    The innkeeper came out with an equal impassive expression and said, "Killing them draws too much attention."

    The noodle and wine were ced on the table.

    Zagan sneered at the response but didn''t pursue the matter. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What''s the situation of the sect?"

    "Our Bloodfiend Sect has already spread our influence throughout the Vran Kingdom. The royal family is just our puppet now." The innkeeper answered.

    "And the other kingdoms?" While eating his noodles, Zagan continued his inquiry.

    The innkeeper shook his head and said, "There''s no way of spreading our ws into the other kingdoms with the Illusory Butterfly Sect, Burning Heaven Sect and Grand Ocean Pce guarding them."

    "¡­"

    Seeing Zagan''s silence, the innkeeper continued in greater detail, "Illusory Butterfly Sect guards the Durham Kingdom, Burning Heaven Sect guards the Ishaan Kingdom and the Grand Ocean Pce guards the Geyser Kingdom."

    "Due to be located in the far east, we have never had conflicts with the Grand Ocean Pce. But it is a different story for the other two sects. With the Vran Kingdom''s border being connected with the Durham Kingdom in the north and the Ishaan Kingdom in the east, there had always been friction between out three sects."

    "They kill how many we send and vice versa. It''s a vicious cycle. The only advantage we have is being connected the declining Crawford Kingdom to our west. But even then, we still have to share with the Illusory Butterfly Sect."

    Zagan silently enjoyed his meal without expressing any opinion or fluctuation in emotion at the information. It was as if he had already anticipated this sort of answer from the innkeeper or he simply didn''t care.

    "Judging by your state, I guess your n failed. Do you have news of the Illusory Butterfly Sect''s people in the Capital?" The innkeeper queried.

    "Do you want to die?" Zagan said frostily. His mood soured at the mention of his failure. He hadn''t expect the declining Crawford Kingdom to have such a mysterious expert, adept in spatialws.

    Zagan suddenly frowned with a dubious expression. If the person really was adept spatialws, why did they use a spear instead of ripping the fabrics of space itself to tear him apart? Was he tricked by a spatial treasure? Zagan''s expression grew even worse, when he arrived at that conclusion.

    The innkeeper just shrugs his shoulders, when his question wasn''t answered and even threatened. Hezily said, "What you should be concerned about is how to report your failure to the Sectmaster."

    "I don''t need your reminder." Zagan said coldly. He finished his bowl of noodles and mmed it on the table, before grabbing the wine bottle and standing up to leave.

    "That would be 50 Craws." The innkeeper said in a joking tone.

    *Split*

    Zagan sliced the table apart, but before he left, he answered the previous question, "The Illusory Butterfly Sect are adept at disguise and poison. It''s too difficult to uncover their people. However, I suspect the rebellion 17 years ago, was their doing."

    "Understood."

    After Zagan was gone, the innkeeper shook his head and cleaned up the mess.

    "Aish, what a nasty temper." The innkeeper nced at the dried corpses and said, "That bastard even stole my cultivation resources."

    He was just an outer sect elder in charge of overseeing this region, while Zagan was an inner disciple.

    But while their status was different, he wasn''t any weaker than the inner disciple. Outer sect disciple had the choice of bing outer sect elders or inner disciples when they are promoted.

    The difference is thetter had better privileges and ess to better resources. However, they also bear greater responsibility and had to perform dangerous missions. Because he treasured his life and had less potential to progress far in cultivation, he settled for the outer sect elder position.

    Aqualeaf Town were one of their sect''s outpost under the surface. The disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect would pass by this outpost, before entering the Crawford Kingdom.

    He was stationed at Aqualeaf Town for many years and would acquire his information from the passing disciples. The only information hecked, was the information about the Crawford Kingdom, since the disciples rarely return.

    He assumed they mostly died in the hidden skirmish with the Illusory Butterfly Sect¡­ Both their sects have their own unique cultivation technique to reach Transcendence, but it never hurt to have more.

 Chapter 140 - Dinner With The Queen

    <h4>Chapter 140 - Dinner With The Queen</h4>

    After sessfully breaking through 9th Layer Body Tempering Realm, he stabilized his cultivation, before entering the Worldspace to check on the growth of his herbs.

    Having left some herbs in the Worldspace for some time now, some of them had leveled up to Tier-2 Spirit Herbs, while a few others were showing sign of reaching Tier-3 Spirit Herb.

    However, it would still take about another 1-2 weeks. It''s a pity that he was no longer training in a spirit energy-based cultivation technique, otherwise, he could make some Spirit Enhancing Pills for his cultivation.

    Hmm, no. Even if he doesn''t need it, he could make some for those around him that may need it. He took out the necessary herbs and began refining some batches of tier 1 to tier 2 of the recovery pills and spirit enhancing pills.

    Afterpleting the batch of pills and storing them into pill bottles, he nted new herbs into the spirit soil area filled with life energy.

    The Worldspace remained the same. Majority of the area was greyed out due to the deficiency of life energy. He really had no idea how to go about replenishing the Book of Life. He might be required to go on a journey to look for spirit veins or spirit-rich objects.

    Afterwards, he visited the Whitespace and browsed some pill books, before returning to the real world and continue toprehend the [Myriad Metal Compendium Vol.1] in his consciousness to pass the time.

    He felt he was ready to form his Metalseed, but he wanted topletelyprehend the [Myriad Metal Compendium Vol.1] for a firm foundation first.

    Night gradually arrived; dinner was just around the corner. Leon arrived back at the Guest Courtyard to pick up the girls.

    He shook his head as he could still hear them talking from inside the bedroom. Their talk was filled with giggles andughter.

    He wondered how incredible it was for these two to get along so quickly. Although, this conformed with his wishes, he hadn''t expect it to happen so quickly and so smoothly.

    Leon knocked on the door and said, "How are you girls still talking? My mother wishes for us to eat together over dinner tonight. Quickly get ready ande out."

    Shortly after he said that, the giggles in the room died down as Lynne and Aria became stunned. They were going to meet the queen?

    Just as men feared meeting fathers-inw, women feared meeting mothers-inw. The exact reasons differ, but in essence, it was all about eptance and approval.

    Aria had never met the queen in person. Although she stayed in the pce for some time and mentally prepared herself for the asion, when the time came, she still finds herself panicky.

    Lynne, on the other hand, had met the queen briefly, but even she is still panicking all the same. It was just a brief meeting, not enough to be familiar. Thus, she felt the pressure. It is the Queen they are meeting after all, Leon''s mother no less. Double the pressure.

    "Hello? Why did you girls go silent? Come on out." Leon said with a puzzling expression. Are they trying to y a game of hide and seek with him?

    Receiving no answer, he decided to open the steel door, but it was locked from the inside.

    Fine, he wasn''t nning to do this soon without a solid foundation, but since his girls were giving him the silent treatment, he will do it. He can strengthen his foundationter.

    Leon sat down in front of the door and pulled out all the guns, ammunition and steel ingot that was lying about in his Worldspace and taking up space.

    In any case, the guns were poorly made, the ammunition was useless after the gunpowder got soaked in the water and the steel ingot brick was no longer required.

    Leon began to absorb all the metal essence from them and the surrounding atmosphere to form his Metalseed.

    Ten minutester, the Metalseed was formed and the connection to Metal Laws was formed. The process proceeded far more smoothly than he had hoped and anticipated like his body was long ready for it. Or perhaps it was another benefit of his 5-Element Body.

    After forming his Metalseed and receiving the baptism of metal, it brought no changes to his body due to his already higher body resistance to the elements. He continues to fill up the Metalseed and stabilize his 1st step metal-maniption.

    The metal essence waspletely exhausted from the items and got reduced to fine dust.

    Leon still had not received any replies from inside the room. He could hear whispers but not to aprehensible level.

    He opened his eyes and stood up after he was done, before he said excitedly, "Ladies, I''ming in."

    He wanted to use his newfound metal maniption to undo the lock from inside, but before he could, the steel frame of the door seemed to have lost its support and fell with a bang. Unwittingly, he had also absorbed enough metal essence from the support, holding the door together and caused it to copse.

    Leon nced inside the room and his eyes brightened at once. What a feast for the eyes.

    Lynne and Aria were camping over by the wardrobe, half naked and undecisive of what to wear. The wanted to look their best in front of the Queen, but they weren''t sure what to wear.

    The moment the door mmed into the ground, they jumped with a start like cats getting their tail stepped on.

    When they saw Leon by the entrance ogling at their body, Aria covered herself with bashfulness, while Lynne glowed red with embarrassment.

    Since the door fell, Leon did not make excuse and just continued to burn the sight into his eyes bravely.

    Lynne became angry at once and roared, "Still dare to look?!"

    "Ahem¡­ I''ll wait outside. Don''t keep my mother waiting." Leon reluctantly teared his eyes away and said with some awkwardness. No matter how thick-skinned he was, it was still made of the flesh.

    He manipted the door to stand back up and cover the open entrance.

    Having heard his reminder, the Aria and Lynne was shocked and no longer cared about which attire to wear. Their choice of attire couldn''t be more important than the Queen. If they werete and made the Queen wait, it could leave a bad impression.

    That was thest thing they wanted. They just picked randomly from the wardrobe that was filled with beautiful dresses made by the Royal Pce''s chief dressmaker.

    Each piece of dress was intricately interwoven and had visually stunning designs. They were unordinary and unique. It wasn''t a surprise for the Aria and Lynne to have a hard time picking.

    A few minutester, Aria and Lynne came out in a gorgeous red and white dress.

    Lynne did a short spin in front of Leon and said, "How do I look?"

    Leon''s eyes glowed with appreciation and praised, "Very pretty."

    It was a simplepliment, but it was straight from his heart. Lynne was easily content, but then she angrily pinched his waist, twist it and pouted, "Don''t think I will forget what you just did! Hmph hmph!"

    "Ow, ow¡­" Leon yed along and whispered, "It''s not like I haven''t seen it." At the same time, he thought, ''Why do girls like to pinch that area?''

    Lynne immediately flushed red and pounded his shoulder, "So hateful!"

    Aria tugged on his sleeve and said quietly, "W-What about me?"

    Leon rubbed his chin and mused, "Hmm¡­ Very nice, but something seems to be missing."

    Aria thought for a moment, before removing her hair cover briefly in understanding and asked again with bashfulness, "What about now?"

    "Too perfect." Leon''s lips rose into a wide smile. Aria smiled with pure joy and shyness. Sometimes happinesses from the simplest of things.

    "Alright, time to go meet my mother." Leon urged.

    ¡­

    They soon arrived at the Dining Hall, where the Queen was seen seated in waiting.

    "Sorry we arete, mother." Leon apologized, while Lynne and Aria bowed guiltily in greeting, "Your majesty."

    "There''s no need for such formalities among us." Elizabeth gestured for them to be at ease warmly, before saying, "Come, let me see my daughters-inw."

    Aria immediately glowed with happiness upon hearing the Queen''s words. It showed her approval and recognition.

    Elizabeth had seen Lynne earlier in the day. After a brief interaction and praise, she strode over to Aria.

    "Hmm? My girl, why do you hide your face?" Elizabeth asked curiously with a gentle tone. Right now, she was not the cold-blooded ruler of the kingdom, but a loving mother of her son.

    However, when Aria heard the Queen''s question, she was immediately shocked and thought her face cover could be seen in a disrespectful manner. She quickly removed her fair cover and showed off her pristine beauty.

    At the same time, Leon took the initiative to recount Aria''s backstory and reason to his mother for her.

    After Elizabeth finish listening to her son''s exnation, she began to sympathize with Aria.

    "It''s been hard on you. My son was fortunate to have met you." Elizabeth said sympathetically.

    Leon thought he heard wrong. With a dubious expression, he asked, "Uh¡­ mother? Don''t you mean Aria is fortunate to have met me?"

    Unexpectedly, Elizabeth harshly rebuked, "Nonsense! If it wasn''t for her peculiar difficulties, did you think you could have win the heart of such a peerless beauty so easily with that face of yours!? Fortunately, you still have half my good genes."

    Leon''s jaw dropped in surprise. Was this still his loving and doting mother? What did his face has to do with anything? And did his mother just admit his father looked like a pig?

    "Real men don''t depend on their faces to put the bread of the table and win hearts." Leon said with a perplexed expression.

    "Mm, that''s the right way of thinking, just like your father." Elizabeth nodded in agreement and no longer paid attention to him.

    Leon didn''t know whetherugh or cry. Even if his father was a handsome, he didn''t need to depend on his face to begin with. As the king, he was born with everything. Leon shook his head quietly as his mother seem to favor her daughter-inw very much.

    Elizabeth face Aria with stern expression, making thetter shaken, before she lectured dominantly, "You are wasting heaven''s gift to not show off such supreme beauty! I can understand why you hid your face before, but now, you are this Queen''s daughter-inw!"

    "If someone harasses you, spare the nonsense and kill him! If ten more harasses you, kill them all! Keep your head held high and show your face proudly. Don''t let others dictate your actions!"

    The Queen''s words resonated with Aria. Even Lynne was affected as they both felt their blood boiling. This is how a strong woman should be!

    "Yes, mother." Aria nodded determinedly and no longer hid her face.

    Leon scratched his temples wryly as he watched this scene unfold. It seems that his position in his mother''s heart had been reced as the mother-inw and daughters-inw bonded over dinner.

    They chatted over their meal heartily for hours, while he was seemingly abandoned. No one bothered to talk to him during this time.

    Afterwards, his mother allowed them to stay in the Inner Pce and have their own room to stay the night.

    Leon retired to his room by himself to rest. Half an hourter, a figure snuck into his room and crawled into his bed.

    "What''s wrong? Not used to the sleeping quarters of the Inner Pce?" He teased.

    With her heart pounding and flushed face, Lynne said, "You know¡­ what I want."

    No longer able to cope with her daring actions and embarrassing words, she buried her face in his chest.

    Leon smiled, as he spoke no more¡­ They rolled in bed and enjoyed another passionate night in each other''s embrace.

 Chapter 143 - Three Big Merchants

    <h4>Chapter 143 - Three Big Merchants</h4>

    The Lucretius Merchant Association was a wealthy family-owned business, founded by the Lucretius family, amoner-turned-aristocrat family and originated from the Durham Kingdom.

    Their business could be seen stretched across the two kingdoms and the store located in the Capital was only one of the branches of the Lucretius Merchant Association, not even their main headquarters.

    However, this particr branch had be the main base of operations in recent years. The head of the family, Oliver Lucretius had settled in the Capital, not for the profits but for the connections with the alchemists.

    The Capital didn''t have an Alchemist Association, but it had ten grandmaster alchemists, each with power and wealth.

    Crazy Don stood at the head of the ten grandmaster alchemists in terms of skill and strength, but he was also the poorest of them all.

    ¡­

    Inside the Lucretius Merchant Association branch building, top floor.

    "You called for me, father?" A young man in his early 20s, asked with a dubious expression. This person was the son of Oliver Lucretius, Orion Lucretius.

    Oliver Lucretius stood by the windows and watched the departing back of a pce maid, with hands linked behind. With his back to facing his son, Oliver questioned him with a frown, "What did you do just now?"

    "Ah, you''re talking about this, father." With a contemptuous smile, Orion continued, "Someone came looking for the Yin Lotus Heart that we managed to procure from the Extreme Misty Forest after much difficulty.

    Considering we don''t know what it could be used for, while the other party needed it, I thought they were should know its usage. Thus, I set the condition that they had to tell us what it is used for, if they wanted to buy it. That person was extremely arrogant, father. Even dare to im to be under the orders of the prince. Who doesn''t know the prince has been missing since birth?"

    Oliver turned around with anger and gave his son a resounding p. "You fool! Have you fed your brains to thetrine pits!?"

    PA!

    Holding his swollen cheeks with an iprehensible expression, Orion, "Why did you p me, father?"

    "Hmph! If you weren''t my son, I would have beaten you to death!" Oliver roared. "Couldn''t you recognize the attire of the pce maid!? Even if the other party didn''t represent his highness, she definitely represented the royal family! Even if you haven''t seen his highness, have you not even heard of the prince''s return!?"

    Oliver did not curse his son for what he did, but who he did it to! There were people they could offend, and people they couldn''t offend. As merchants, it was always better to have more allies than enemies.

    Which merchant at the top, hasn''t dipped their hands in dirty business to get to their current heights? Trust was the basis of a merchant, but as long as no one knows, they can be as unscrupulous as they want.

    "Father, I think you are getting on in your years. How can you believe in baseless rumors? The prince''s return is something worth celebrating over, but the queen had not announced nor celebrated it. So, how could it be true? So, what if it is? Let''s take a step and say even if it was the royal family''s intention by the Yin Lotus Heart, we have the right not to sell it!" Orion said arrogantly.

    "Y-You! Unfilial son! How dare you talk like that to your father!" Oliver felt veins popping out all over his body in anger. "You are tantly offending the royal family! Have you already forgotten how the Queen punished the nobles yesterday!?"

    Hearing his father''s words, Orion sighed, "Father, no matter how the queen punished the nobles, it has nothing to do with us. Theymitted a crime even after the queen exit her seclusion. That is their stupidity. Did Imit a crime? No, all I did was ask what they need the spirit herb for. Although I broke one of our policy, it was no crime.

    Our three grandmaster alchemists always wanted to find a usage for the herb. I believe it was in the association''s best interest to please the grandmasters, by finding out exactly that. After all, it''s the only herb to have ever been sessfully acquired from the Extreme Misty Forest."

    "How can you be so shortsighted? Have we never done anything dishonest before? Has the noble affiliates with us nevermitted any crime before? What if the royal family decides to dig those up?" Oliver was filled with disappointment. "Also, the three grandmaster alchemists stay with our merchant association because we provide them great benefits. But what happens when those benefits disappear? Would they still stay? The answer is no!

    Don''t forget that we are not the only merchant association in the Capital. There are also the Primrose Merchant Association and the Fischer Merchant Association that was equal powerful as ours. There''s been bnce between our three merchant associations.

    However, if the royal family convinces the two to team up and suppress our business, there would be no ce for us in the Capital. Those two would be more than happy to swallow up our businesses and eliminate one lesspetitor."

    After hearing his father''s reminding, Orion felt his heart chilled.

    "This¡­ I''m sorry, father. I''ve been blinded by short term benefits and failed to see the long-term benefits." Orion sincerely apologized, before asking, "What should we do now?"

    Seeing his son recognize his mistake, Oliver nodded in approval. At least his son wasn''tpletely irredeemable.

    He lit up a high-quality cigar on the seat and took a deep puff. "It''s not what we should do. It''s what the royal family will do. Since we offended the prince, we must try to mend the rtionship. I will send someone to deliver the Yin Lotus Heart to his highness. If this rtionship cannot be patched, at most, we can just withdraw from the Capital''s market."

    Saying to this point, Oliver let out a deep sigh. If they were relentless, they could chase their merchant association out of the kingdom.

    Not only would they lose the entire kingdom market, they would also lose connections with all the nobles associated with their merchant association. That was like losing the forest to buy a tree. Except, the tree would also grow legs and run away.

    "This¡­" Orion was unwilling to gift the Yin Lotus Heart for free after the difficulties in attaining it. Anything from the Extreme Misty Forest was bound to be a treasure. However, he ultimately nodded obediently, "Yes, father."

    In the end, his father was still the wise one. He was too arrogant and narrowminded. The p was well deserved.

    ¡­

    The Lucretius Merchant Association had gotten on Leon''s nerve, but he didn''t n to find trouble with them.

    First, they had tomit crimes enough to warrant death. Pissing him off wasn''t a good enough reason. The royal family was ruthless, but they weren''t tyrants.

    Secondly, even if he obtains the Yin Lotus Heart, he still needs the other missing herb, the Silver Mystic Grass.

    Thus, he would still need to go to the Extreme Misty Forest. He was extremely curious about what made the ce so dangerous and mystical.

    If he can also find the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus, he could awaken his father and shove kingdom matters on his shoulder. That was the king''s responsibility to begin with.

    The royal family''s budget was tight. Although they gained 2,000,000,000 Craws from the nobles, the yearly expense of food alone was estimates to exceed 200,000,000 Craws. And this was just food to support themoners. They hadn''t calcted the expense for building materials, which would be an astronomical sum.

    The cheapest single-storey residential building would cost at least 300,000 Craws and building 10,000 of such building 3,000,000,000 Craws.

    Naturally, it was ridiculous to build 10,000 of such buildings. Since they want to build bigger and better buildings using steel frames, the cost could jump up to between 5,000,000 Craws with the upper limit, dependent on the number of floors.

    The Crawford royal family had done well to survive up to this point on tax and tributes alone. But it''s clear they don''t have enough funds toplete the construction project.

    Themoners were also reliant on them to support them. Increasing the tax would not yield anything from themoners. They couldn''t tax something, if there''s nothing to tax.

    After sort out his thoughts, Leon prepared to train now and make the trip tomorrow, but he was suddenly interrupted by a pce maid.

    "Your highness, the Lucretius Merchant Association has sent the Yin Lotus Heart over."

    Confused, Leon asked, "Did they change their minds and decided to sell it to use without conditions? How much was the cost?"

    "There was no cost, your highness." The pce maid answered. "They had sent the herb over as an apology gift for offending, your highness."

    After a few inquiries, Leon understood the gist of the situation. The son was and idiot making trouble, while the father sought to immediate patch their soured rtionship and maybe even befriend him, establishing a connection with the royal family. The head of the Lucretius family was wise and canny.

    "No discord, no concord eh?" Leon mused, before saying, "Send my word to Oliver Lucretius; I have received his good intentions and will not make things difficult for him."

    It wasn''t worth it to make an enemy out of such a big cash cow, since the other party was friendly. If there''s a business opportunity, they could even cooperate. He wishes to make more money and ease the burden on his mother.

    "Yes, your highness."

    After the maid, Leon rubbed his chin with an intriguing smile. "Unexpectedly got the herb for free after wishing for it. Is this the result of my umted karmic virtues? I must have gained a lot for ying the wicked nobles. It''s a pity, I can''t feel the illusory Karmic Laws."

    If his umted karmic virtue was high enough, perhaps he would gain heaven-defying luck.

    Such luck would be useful for seeking fortuitous encounters.

 Chapter 144 - Primrose Merchant Association

    <h4>Chapter 144 - Primrose Merchant Association</h4>

    After checking on Lilith''s recovery, Leon strolled through the streets of the Upper District seeking opportunities to make money. He once intended to open a pill store, but it would require a lot of his time to manage.

    The best solution was to find some disciples to pass on him alchemy skills and have them manage the store in his stead, but so far, he had not met anyone suitable.

    With the absence of the Alchemist Association, it puts him at a loss. In his memory, there used to be a branch in the Capital.

    However, it copsed from within overnight. The exact reasons were not privy to him, who didn''t have much contact wiht the Upper District, outside of the Campus as amoner.

    His previous self was like a textbook geek that excelled in ss, butcked every other bit of knowledge outside his studies. The world of the Upper District and its nobles were unknown to him. Even in the Lower District, he did not venture to many ces due to the dangers.

    He was endowed with intelligence, but he did not make effective use of it. Intelligence without knowledge, is like a pigeon without wings, utterly useless.

    ¡­

    "Get lost, kid! Grandmaster Cato isn''t looking for disciples." A middle-aged man hollered, before ordering, "Toss him out!"

    A 16-year old youth was thrown onto the pavement from the building by a brawny servant. The fall scraped his skin and injured his flesh, causing the youth to crease his brows in pain.

    However, the youth did not seem to mind the ill treatment and pleaded, "Please let me see Grandmaster Cato! I sincerely wish to learn alchemy from the Grandmaster!"

    Despite the youth''s pleading, the middle-aged man was not moved and said coldly, "If you continue making trouble, I will order the servants to break your legs!"

    The man was the floor manager of the Primrose Merchant Association building, while Grandmaster Cato was one of the three grandmaster alchemists belonging to the Primrose Merchant Association.

    "How can you be so unreasonable? Why won''t you even let me meet the grandmaster?" The youthined.

    "Hmph! You think the grandmaster is someone just anyone can meet, boy? So what if you are the son of a Baron? You''re not even the main heir." The manager satirized, before no longer paying the youth any attention. He reentered the building. "Break his legs if he tries to enter again."

    "Yes, sir." The servantsplied and guarded the entrance. They eyed the youth with a dangerous glint.

    The youth felt a chill down his spine and became disheartened. He picked himself up, before dusting off the dirt on his clothes.

    "Surely, this was just a coincidence, right?" Leon wore a dubious expression as he witnessed this scene in front of him. Making his way over, he asked, "You alright, kid?"

    The boy nced at Leon, who is wearing ordinary clothes and only seemed 1-2 years older than him, yet treating him like a junior.

    "I''m alright." The boy answered without much change in expression. He did not look down onmoners. His status wasn''t much higher than one.

    As the prince, Leon would be too eye catching if he strolled around in his royal attire, thus he donned his normalmoner clothes before he headed out. He didn''t want to stop for every Tom, Dick and Harry that tries to get close to him on the road. Those kinds of people were too fake.

    "What''s your name?" Leon inquired curiously. "Who is Grandmaster Cato? Why do you want to learn alchemy from him so badly?"

    "You don''t even know who Grandmaster Cato is?" The boy looked at him in shock, before realizing the discourtesy in his behavior. "Ahem, my apologies. I am Reginald of the Graeme family, 3rd son of Baron Morven. Grandmaster Cato is ranked two among the ten grandmaster alchemists in the kingdom.

    I want to learn alchemy from the best alchemist, but it''s impossible toe in contact with the elusive grandmaster Don, who always resides in the Royal Pce so I can only settle for second best. I don''t think there needs to be a particr reason for wanting to learn alchemy. It is interesting and profound, I just wish to learn it."

    After his exnations, Leon rubbed his chin in approval. "My alchemy is the best in the kingdom. If you kowtow and take me as your master, I will teach you alchemy. If you''re diligent, you can surpass this Grandmaster Cato in a few months."

    His only standards for his disciple are that they had to be good natured. This person was simple and straight forward enough. He had no malice even after such ill-treatments. He was a suitable candidate.

    However, Reginald was bbergasted when he heard Leon''s words. It was too unbelievable. There had to be a limit to boasting, right? Their age didn''t defer by much. How can he be the best? Before he could voice his response, someone else had beaten him to the chase.

    "Utter bullsh*t!" A voice thundered from the second floor of the Primrose Merchant Association building. A man in his 40s jumped down and roared, "How dare you look down on my teacher! You think alchemy is child''s y, brat!?"

    "Primrose family head¡­" Reginald muttered in fear on the side. "It''s over¡­ This person offended the Primrose family head, Vigo Primrose."

    "If you''re talking about Grandmaster Cato''s attainment in alchemy, it is indeed child''s y to me." Leon responded, unaware if Reginald''s thoughts and unperturbed.

    All the grandmaster alchemists in the kingdom was nothing to him. Tier 1 Alchemists could only be called an Adept Alchemists, while Tier 2 Alchemists are called Master Alchemists. Only Tier 3 Alchemists can be called Grandmaster Alchemists, but he was a Tier 5 Alchemist Sovereign.

    A Tier 3 Alchemist was capable of refining pills for practitioners of the Revolving Core Realm. After witnessing the prowess of Grandpa Don, he came to understand that an early-level Transcendent wield the same strength as Revolving Core Realm practitioners. His previous assumptions had been incorrect.

    "Y-You!" Vigo flushed with anger. "You dare disrespect my teacher twice! You need to be taught a lesson for your arrogance, brat!"

    The man raised his hand for a p but it was caught be Leon. "Impossible! You''re just a brat. How can you stop me? Who the hell are you?" Vigo questioned in disbelief.

    Leon shoved the man back and made him stumble shamefully onto his rear. "Who I am is not important. What is important is you should really mind your own god damn business! Stop seeking humiliation!"

    "Hmph! I will remember this!" Vigo retreated inside his Primrose Merchant Association building.

    ¡­

    Inside the Primrose Merchant Association building. "President, are you going to let them leave like that?"

    "Of course not! Send someone to check out that bastard''s background!" Vigo ordered.

    He was a 7th step Awakener, but he was easily overpowered by a kid more than half his age. As a merchant, he had learnt to be cautious from a young age in his trade.

    Since he didn''t understand who the person was, they have to find out first before teaching the person a lesson, less they offend someone they couldn''t afford to offend.

    "Yes, president." The personplied and left quickly.

    ¡­

    "So, did you want to be my disciple?" Leon asked again.

    "Dude, you''re very strong, but you offended the Primrose Merchant Association. You have to be careful." Reginald warned, before adding, "Besides, I don''t even know how good your alchemy is."

    Inwardly, he was unwilling. His impression was this person was a braggart. Furthermore, he wasn''t much older than him. How can he be his master?

    "They won''t find me for trouble unless they don''t want to operate in the Capital anymore." Leon shook his head and said, "If you''re not willing then never mind."

    "What do you mean by that?" Reginald couldn''tprehend where the person gets his confidence and arrogance from.

    Leon was toozy to exin with words and directly disy his needles floating above his palm. Reginald immediately muttered in shock, "Metal maniption! You are royalty!"

    Leon shrugged his shoulders and began walking off. He doesn''t publicize his status, but that didn''t mean he is hiding it.

    "Wait, master! ept this disciple''s kowtow!" Reginald''s attitude quickly changed as he gave three kowtows on the ground, before catching up excitedly. "Where are we going? When can I start learning alchemy?"

    Leon paused his steps and poked him on the forehead. A string of information was transmitted into his mind upon contact. Such methods were much more effective than a thousand words and demonstrations.

    "Go back and digest what you learnt. If you canprehend everything, you will already be half way to bing a qualified Grandmaster Alchemist." Leon stated.

    He was not stingy in his treatment, since the other party has kowtowed to him. They only just met and it was impossible to see through a person''s true heart, but he had seen that the boy had a good character and that was enough. Only a fool would oppose royalty and throw away the great opportunity bestowed upon them.

    "Y-Yes, master." Reginald said excitedly.

    He readily epted the other party as his master because he would have chances toe in contact with Grandmaster Don by following the person around.

    But Leon had immediately subverted his understanding of the world and changed his mind through his magical means. Just based on the information he received; the person was not boasting when he said he was the best in the kingdom. The person was arrogant, but he had the right to be arrogant.

    Reginald returned home quickly. He feared if he didn''t quickly digest all the information, he would forget them.

    Leon continued to look for more suitable candidates and a good location for his pill store. One was not enough to manage the pill store. He was certain that if he sold the healing pills and ointments, it would surely sell like hot cakes.

    "This young master, would you like toe in and have a great time?" A seductive and coquettish voice suddenly made its way into his ear.

    Leon looked over to see a youngdy in revealing clothes and heavy makeup waving to him from the entrance. He looked up and read the que on top of the building; Heaven''s Paradise. It was a high-ss brothel.

    He was filled with a peculiar and nostalgic feeling, before shaking his head. "Thanks, but no thank you."

    In this life, it was best to steer clear from these sorts of ces.

 Chapter 145 - Mysterious Dean

    <h4>Chapter 145 - Mysterious Dean</h4>

    Inside the Dean''s office, Crawford Royal University.

    "Are you sure you want to resign,ss?" An aged old man asked. "Why the suddenness? What are you nning to do after?"

    "Yes, Grandpa Wilfred. Thank you for taking care of me all this time." Lina answered with determination as she handed in her resignation letter. "But I want to travel the world and temper myself. I want to be strong."

    In ss, she would always put on a strong facade to hide her weakness in front of her students, but this was not what she wanted. She wanted to be genuine strong and confident.

    "Very well. Since you have decided, I will not stop you." The dean said, before continuing, "However, if you wish to be truly strong, I can rmend you to a ce to train."

    With her interest piqued, Lina asked curiously, "What ce is that, grandpa Wilfred?"

    "I take it that you interested." The dean smiled gently and began writing a letter of rmendation. "Head to the far eastern kingdom, the Geyser Kingdom and give this to the City Lord of ckwater City, he will make arrangements for you. Once you reach that ce, you will naturally know exactly how great of a ce it is to train there."

    "Thank you, grandpa Wilfred." Lina epted the letter with mild astonishment, but still asks with a trace of doubt, "But I am a wood-user, are you sure I can train there?"

    "Wood-users are indeed rare." Wilfred nodded. "But they are not unique to your Greene family. Once you travel far and see more things, you would eventuallye to know there are much more wood-users and the world is much bigger than you think."

    Surprised, Lina couldn''t help but ask, "Who are you really, grandpa Wilfred?"

    "Hmm? Lass, you ask a very strange question. Don''t you know who I am anymore? I''m just an old man living out the remainder of his days as the acting dean of this university." Wilfred stated.

    "Oh¡­got it." Lina responses with a skeptical expression.

    The dean was a very mysterious person. No one knew his strength and origins, not even his true age. He appears to be very advanced in his years, as one could grasp from his long brows and beard.

    However, the vitality exuded from the old man was not much different to that of a middle-aged man. It was far from someone with little time left like he had imed.

    Perhaps, he came from the far east kingdom? Otherwise, how would it exin his connections with the people there?

    People rarely travel as far, to and from the Geyser Kingdom, thus there weren''t many news regarding the ce.

    It was unknown to which heights the kingdom had progressed, but it never had much tension and conflicts between its borders aspared to the other three kingdoms.

    The Geyser Kingdom was also known as the Water Kingdom because it is the only kingdom that has ess to the Boundless Sea. All other kingdoms had their ess to the sea cut off by the Extreme Misty Forest and Deste Mountain Ranges.

    The only way other kingdoms could procure fresh drinking water was from the ind rivers and water-users. Thus, water families usually have monopoly over the water distition business in the Human Domain. With their abilities, they could create water or simply separate the clean water from the impurities.

    Of course, others could obtain safe drinking water through simple filtering and boiling methods, but it would never taste as good.

    ¡­

    "Leah, you''re still too green. How can try to attract these types of men? Don''t waste your time on that poor sook. Judging from his appearance, he probably can''t afford our service even if he wanted to." Another hostess mocked.

    "Eh~ But I thought he seems quite decent." Leah inserted.

    Hearing someone mocking, Leon paused his steps. Here he was, minding his own business, but he is being looked down for it. His pride wouldn''t allow him to simply walk without doing anything.

    He directly tipped the girl called Leah 100,000 Craws, before walking off. Best way to deal with people that like judging other people by their appearance was to p them with the cold truth.

    His action immediately sealed the hostess''s foul mouth as she froze in disbelief.

    Impossible! How can he give away so much so easily, while dressed like that? Was this person actually a rich young master in disguise? She immediately felt regret for offending such a potentially big customer.

    "This¡­ so much¡­" Leah was pleasantly surprised. Although the amount wasn''t a lot in their line of trade. There would asionally be a few prodigal young nobles and mastersing to y, but this was the first time someone tipped her so much without receiving her service.

    "Wait, young master! I can''t take your money without servicing you- ah?" By the time she had realized it, the person was already gone. She felt a faint trace of disappointment.

    "Leah, we should split the tip half and half. If it weren''t for me goading that young master, he wouldn''t have tipped you." The foul-mouthed hostess said as she eyed the money greedily.

    Working in the brothel, they get paid a certain amount ofmission for the customers they serve, but tips werepletely their own ie.

    "That goes without saying. Thank you for the hard work, senior." Leah handed over 50,000 Craws with a fake smile.

    Inwardly, she was disgusted with such a hypocrite. Although she wasn''t paying attention, she could tell the myriads of changes the person''s expression; Contempt, surprise, regret and now greed. Human selfishness and greed knows no bounds.

    It was sickening, but she was just a small-time figure in this big city. In order to survive, one would have to get along well with everyone. Only the capable can keep their dignity and stand proudly, instead of buttering up to others. That is the harsh reality of society.

    ¡­

    Leon continued his stroll through the streets of the Upper District, unaware of what transpired. He did not pay the brothel any further attention. This encounter was just like a crossroad that intersect once and never meets again. If it did, then it would be called fate.

    He stopped at the doorstep of the Cromwell''s Real Estate Building. As royalty, thend belonged to them. They can just pick any random empty plot ofnd to have his pill store built, but it would take too much time.

    It was much quicker to acquire an existing building. He would just treat it as the royal family buying back thend they sold.

    "Hello young master, how may I serve you?" A young clerk asked politely.

    "I would like--"

    Before he finished his words, it was interrupted by another person.

    "Piss off,moner." The passing manager insulted, before berating the young clerk "For these types of poor looking people, just drive them away. They can''t afford anything even if you talk to them. They are just a waste of breath and time."

    Leon let out a sigh as he heard these words. As expected, anywhere he goes, there would be people like these, but if he had to choose between seeing people butter up to him or looking down on him, he would choose thetter. It was easier to see a person''s true self and know who to steer clear from.

    If he had time, he should buy some noble clothing after. He currently only have royal andmon attire.

    "Is this how you treat your customers?" Leon said calmly.

    "No, this is how we treat wild dogs. Did you think you qualified as a customer? Do you have the money?" The manager said arrogantly. "This was the Upper District. Commoners don''t have the right purchase anynd here."

    "Hoh? Since where do we have such aw? Do you take yourself to be the ruler thisnd to make up such aw? Do you think you are born more nobly thanmoners? Don''t forget thatmoners are also people and it''s because of themoner''s hard work that you get to enjoy such privileges." Leon remarked, before chuckling coldly, "If I wasn''t sure this was the Cromwell''s Real Estate Building; based on your arrogance, I would have thought this was the Royal Pce, but even if it was, none of the pce maids and guards would dare be so arrogant in front of me."

    "You''re even more arrogant than me. Who the hell do you think you are? The prince?" The manager sarcastically said, before calling the guards. "Hurry up and kick this troublemaker out. Make sure to break his legs so he can never step foot in this ce again.

    After hearing those words, the young clerk anxiously said, "You should quickly leave. You can''t afford to offend this person. He is someone from the Huckabee family, the distant rtives of the Cromwell family."

    "Thank you for your concerns, but I will be fine." Leon said with a smile, as he watches someone approaching from the corner of his eye.

    "Y-You! I won''t bother with you." The young clerk pouted angrily. She warned him out of good will, but he chose not to appreciate her kindness. She stormed back to her desk, but froze on the way. "P-President."

    "What is going on here?" Bromley said with a deep frown.

    "Ah! Nothing is going on here, uncle. I''m was just trying to drive away this troublemakingmoner." The person from the Huckabee family pointed.

    PA!

    "Josiah, you are a fucking idiot!" Bromley pped his distant nephew, before weing Leon warmly, "Hahaha¡­ My dear son-inw, what brings you here?"

    The p made Josiah dizzy. After recovering, he wanted toin indignantly, but the words got stuck in his throats. Son-inw!? Oh sh*t!

    Leon shrugged his shoulders at the question. "I came to see if you have any nice buildings with good locations to purchase, but I was stopped by this person. Tell me father-inw, what is the punishment for trying to break the legs of royalty?"

    The punishment was death.

    Josiah paled at once and cried, "Uncle, you have to save me! Boohoo¡­"

    With a wry smile, Bromley and said, "My dear son-inw, he is after all a distant nephew of mine. How about you spare him? The ignorant is not guilty. Why are you dressed like this to begin with? Isn''t this like ying the pig to eat the tiger? Is the royal family that short on funds that you started to eye my coffer as well?"

    "I really dide to look for a nice store with good location to buy, father-inw." Leon said with a helpless smile. "I can forgive your nephew''s transgression against me, but the Huckabee family have topensate me."

    "So, in the end, it''s still about money!" Bromley secretly cursed, before putting on a smile and said, "The Huckabee family will pay you an appropriate amount ofpensation. I guarantee it. Now let''s go sit somewhere else to talk about what you want to buy."

    His family hadn''t gained any benefits from this connection yet they''re already suffering losses from it. What a pair of ck-heart money grubbers.

    "Alright." Leon readily epted, beforeplimenting, "Oh right, this person was very good. She did not look down on me, while serving."

    Bromley nodded and led Leon to a private room, before turning back to his employees and said sternly, "Not a word of today gets out, got it?"

    The guards, the clerks and the agents all nodded rigorously. It was an in-house problem. If word got out, the Cromwell family would lose face.

    "Good."

    "Josiah, you can go home and rest. No need toe back to work"

    "and you; you are promoted to floor manager as of today."

    "I¡­" The unexpected happiness came too abruptly, the young clerk was overwhelmed and did not know what to say. She also had some misgivings as she stole nces at Josiah.

    "You don''t have to worry; he will not make trouble for you." Bromley assured.

    The president''s words were worth its weight in gold. The young clerk''s heart was at ease with his assurance. She epted the new role happily. "Thank you, President!"

    "Continue the good work." Bromley smiled, before returning to Leon.

    "Aren''t you lucky, Cam? Directly promoted to floor manager. Ah, I''m so envious. Why don''t I have such luck?"

    The clerks began gossiping among themselves.

    ¡­

    In a private room, Leon satfortably on a soft couch with a big grin, while waiting for Bromley Cromwell to return.

    It was a good idea of him to wear suchmon attire, when going for strolls around the Upper Districts.

    If other nobles provoke and pick fights with him, he would have good reasons to extort them.

 Chapter 146 - Preparations For Departure

    <h4>Chapter 146 - Preparations For Departure</h4>

    Bromley entered the private room and sat down opposite of Leon happily.

    "Why do you look happier than I am? Leon was baffled his father-inw''s expression.

    "Hahaha¡­ happy¡­ why shouldn''t I be happy? Those distant rtives had been far too arrogant, while riding on my family''s sess. They''ve been tarnishing the good image of my Cromwell family long enough. This will ought to teach them a lesson. In any case, the money wille out of their pockets, not mine." Bromley grinned.

    Happily, as he was, it couldn''t be shown to others because he had to uphold his image as the Huckabee family''s rtive.

    Although he sealed their mouths and they would not spread the news outside, they would inevitably gossip among themselves inside. It would not sound pretty if his workers said he took pleasure in the misfortune of his own rtives.

    "Fair enough. Alright, back to business. I''m looking for a good location with lots of traffic to open a pill store. What options does the Cromwell Real Estate have to offer me?" Leon stated forwardly.

    "Sure, just let me grab the files." Bromley stated, before rummaging through a bunch of papers on the desk. "Here at the options. Take a look and see, which one suits you."

    Leon epted the files and had a quick scan through the few options avable.

    "This is a surprise. For such a real estate business, I was sure there would be a lot more options than just these few." Leonmented.

    "Naturally there are a lot more options, if it is outside the Capital. Here, it would not be weird if there weren''t any options avable at all." Bromley stated as a matter of fact.

    His words baffled Leon. "What do you mean?"

    "Well you see, real estate business in the Capital hasn''t been good at all, thanks to your good mother holing up in the pce. Haven''t you realized why the Upper District is still so spacious?" To construct new buildingplex in the Capital, we must first buy thend.

    But in order to do that, we must first gain approval from the royal family since most of the undevelopednd belongs to the them. We can only acquire the already boughtnds from others." Bromley exined.

    Hearing the exnation, Leon nodded in approval. "That makes sense."

    He would have understood the reason if he had also given it some thought. It wasn''t rocket science. However, why would he need to waste time thinking when he could just ask the person who already knows the answer?

    "Well that shouldn''t be a problem anymore, since my mother has taken to the office. If you want to buy somend in the Upper District to develop, just go and discuss it with my mother."

    "Why would I want to do that now?" Bromley responded irritatingly. "Your mother just dumped the entire Lower District Reconstruction Project on my shoulders. I don''t have the spare time and manpower for that."

    "Actually¡­ it was me, who rmended your Cromwell family to take charge of the project." Leon said with some embarrassment.

    "Damn rascal, you must have plotted to work this father-inw of yours to death, in case he opposed you wooing his daughter, right!?" Bromley said grumpily.

    "Hahaha, it wasn''t like that at all. As the saying goes; Important tasks should be left in the more capable hand." Leon chuckled and said righteously.

    "Hmph! What a good; important tasks should be left in the more capable hands. Aren''t you just shoving the work to someone else?" Bromley upbraided.

    "Hmm~" Leon hummed, before saying. "I want this building."

    Seeing they were no long talking nonsense and going back onto the main topic, Bromley shrugged his shoulders and looked down at the option his son-inw pointed.

    Some surprise appeared on his face. "Boy, I don''t know if you are a genius or just courageous. You actually picked the prime location in themercial district."

    Leon just smiles towards thisment.

    "Despite being situated in the busiest part of the Upper District and selling for a very cheap price, no one wants it. Do you know why?" Bromley quizzed Leon, intrigued with how the boy would answer.

    "Because it is also situated in the middle of the three Merchant Association Buildings. There''s no way such a good location for business would be unupied until now. The three merchant associations must have been fighting over it with no real winner.

    If any of the three Merchant Associations dares to open business there, the other two would join forces to suppress them. Thus, they have been waiting for someone else to take it, but no one else dares to either because it is eyed by the three merchant associations, right?"

    "Right. Goodd. It seems you already saw through everything before picking this option. I guess I have nothing to worry about."

    Only Leon would dare pick the ce. No one dares to mess with the royal family in the Capital. But if the three merchant associations dare to do so¡­ Leon couldn''t be any happier. He wouldn''t have it any other way. Who wouldn''t want to miss out on such an opportunity to milk those fat cashcows.

    The price for thend and property deed amounted to a mere 4,000,000 Craws. It was cheaper than a steam-powered car. It shows how much the value had depreciated over the years. Leon paid the full amount outright on the spot.

    "Goodd, you even came prepared." Bromley was startled as wasn''t sure how Leon hid so much money on his body.

    Leon soon followed an attendant to check out the newly bought property. It was a simple three-storey building. The inside had collected an incredible amount of dust.

    Since everyone wanted but never bought the ce, the Cromwell Real Estate never bother to maintain the ce.

    "¡­"

    Leon looked at the dusty building, before ncing at the attendant silently. Nothing could be read from his calm expression.

    "T-This¡­ I''ll go inform the President about this right away! The President should be able to send a team over to refurbish the ce as soon as possible." The attendant sweated and said with awkwardness.

    He was just an attendant, but he felt embarrassed as part of thepany, for selling a piece of property in such poor condition. It would take a few days to refurbish the ce back to pristine condition.

    Leon nodded towards the attendant. "Please."

    Receiving his acknowledgement, the attendant scurried back to thepany quickly.

    Normally, the customers would check out the piece of property first before buying, but Leon did not waste time and bought it outright.

    Because of the string of coincidences, it created this awkward situation.

    ¡­

    Back at the Primrose Merchant Association Building.

    "P-President."

    A servant barged into the president''s office. His action immediately caused the president to be displeased.

    "What the hell are you doing? Is this the sort of ce you can barge in without knocking?" Vigo reprimanded with a dark expression,

    "My deepest apologies, President. This servant deserves death." The servant kneeled before him.

    Seeing his servant had something urgent to report, Vigo forgo the servant''s undisciplined action with a wave. "Never mind. Out with it. Why are you back already? Did you already find information on that brat?"

    "Y-Yes and no. This servant has yet to uncover his identity and background¡­ but that person went to the Cromwell''s Real Estate and bought the prime location the three association had been keeping an eye on."

    "That''s it? You haven''t found out his identity or background yet you came back to report so urgently!? Go back and keep digging! You''re a fucking embarrassment!" Vigo kicked his servant out of the office.

    The servant scurried back to spy on Leon with awkwardness. He thought he found big news for his master, but it turned out to be anything big in the President''s eyes.

    He had forgotten that the association had always been watching over the property. If someone bought it, the assigned person would know immediately.

    After the servant was gone, a different servant knocked on the office door, before entering.

    "Leave. I already know." Vigo waved off the neer.

    "Huh? Yes, President¡­" The servant left in bewilderment. Was their president a god? He hadn''t given his report, but the president already knew? How strange.

    In the quiet office, Vigo''s lip rose into a cold smile.

    "How interesting. Was this brat purposely picking a fight with me? That was an extremely foolish move. He is not only picking a fight with me, but all three merchant associations. There''s no need for me to send someone to inform them. They should already know that someone bought the property."

    Their three merchant associations had been eyeing the piece of property for a long time. They would be blind if they didn''t know when someone bought it.

    ¡­

    Before calling it a day, Leon went and bought some necessities and rations in preparation of his trip to the Extreme Misty Forest. After finding a secluded spot to store everything in his Worldspace, he returned to the Royal Pce.

    Lynne had gone to Crawford Royal University that day, while Aria continued to cultivate quietly in the Guest Courtyard.

    The situation on campus wasplicated. Due to the previous events that happened to the Capital, thepulsory military training the student had to undergo was put on halt.

    While the students cheered for the break, the soldiers back at the western frontier wailed in agony. The Wild Bear, that battle maniac had returned to duel with everyone.

    "Tomorrow, I''ll going on a short trip to the Extreme Misty Forest." Leon said over dinner with his mother and the two girls.

    Elizabeth and the two girls expressed their surprise.

    "Why are you going there?"

    "Nooo, don''t go. That ce is filled with unknown dangers."

    "That''s right, son. Don''t go. Just wait for someone else to find the herb. Mother had already sent out the task. We can afford to wait." Elizabeth argued against his decision.

    Leon shook his head and said. "Even if it''s not for the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus, I will still go for other reasons, mother. You don''t have to worry about my safety. I know how to take care of myself." He promised.

    He wanted to temper himself in the wild and see what rare herbs he could find in that mysterious forest. He wasn''t lying when he said he knew how to take care of himself.

    He had gone beast hunting before in his previous life before. Coupled with their wealth of knowledge over herbs, it was hard for them to starve in the woods or identally poison himself.

    Seeing her son''s strong conviction, she didn''t continue to argue against his decision.

    "Just be careful when you are out there." She sighed.

    She had seen the desire for strength and to explore the unknowns of the world in her son''s eye. She knew her son would leave the Capital one day, but she didn''t expect it to be so soon.

    "Don''t worry, mother. I will only be gone for a few days." Leon assured, after reading the reluctance in his mother''s expression.

    "Mmm." Elizabeth nodded quietly.

    Dinner soon passed by. Leon retired to his room for an early rest for tomorrow''s trip¡­ However, the two girls had other intentions and followed him to his bedroom.

 Chapter 148 - Entering The Forest

    <h4>Chapter 148 - Entering The Forest</h4>

    "Since we are all roughly around the same level, no one should have a problem with the loot being equally distributed after we sell it, right?"

    Everyone nodded in agreement with equal distribution. It was only fair since they were cooperating together.

    However, Leon''s doubts were strengthened. As a 4th step Awakener, it wasn''t strange if the team leader wanted to take a bigger portion of the loot. Everyone still agree since there were only 3rd step Awakeners.

    In the eyes of the others, he was also a 3rd step Awakener after suppressing the energy fluctuation of his cultivation. Unless it was star ranker or stronger, they would not be able to gauge his strength easily.

    "Mm, no problem." Leon wasst to agree.

    "That''s good." Elias nodded, before doing a brief sweep of everyone''s backpack. "It doesn''t seem like anyone needs to stock up on supply¡­ except¡­" Elias continued, before pausing on Leon''s flimsy bag. "Is that everything you''re bringing¡­?"

    "Yes, I have everything I need here." Leon responded indifferently as he patted his slim bag.

    Most of his necessities was stored in the Worldspace. He only brought the bag for appearance sake. It would be too strange to enter the forest empty handed otherwise.

    "Fair enough. Just don''t drag us down." Elias left it as is, before announcing, "Since we are all prepared, let''s move out."

    The team soon arrived at the forest entrance.

    The forest was walled off with a set of tall ck wooden gate as the entrance. The high wooden walls were used to prevent the mist from flooding into the town. Leon could feel the tremendous amount of yin energying from the forest.

    As ckwillow Town was built upon the deforested region of the Extreme Misty Forest, it wasn''t strange for the mist to flood the town, if the walls weren''t there to prevent it.

    "With this amount of yin energy, it would be the ideal ce for practicing cold attribute or ghost cultivation." Leon quietly mused. He wagered if he brought his two girls here to train, their cultivation speed would increase drastically.

    But of course, they had to train with moderation when ites to yin energy. If they don''t properly filter out the negative and impure elements, it could lead to energy deviation and corruption of the minds.

    Leon wouldn''t be surprise, if he encounters ghouls and vengeful spirits in this sort of environment.

    Even in the Divine Realm, a concentrate region of yin energy like this was very rare. Thus, while it was a perilousnd to others, it was a blessednd of cultivation in Leon''s eyes, except the benefits wasn''t for him to enjoy.

    "Hm? Did you say something?" Elena asked.

    "It''s nothing." Leon shook his head and stood behind the team leader. He nced at therge ck gate in passing.

    Several teams began to gather in front of the closed gate, which was guarded some town guards. There was a fixed time when the gate opens and closes, if people wanted to use this section to enter the forest.

    The 1-mile safe boundary was just a figurative term. It didn''t mean it was absolutely safe zone. This was especial true at night, as the 1-mile safe boundary no longer exists at night.

    The night is filled with unknown dangers and the drop in temperature makes the environment unfriendly.

    Extended exposure to the forest environment was harmful to the living, unless they have ways to ward off the negative and impure elements from infiltrating their bodies.

    A tense atmosphere surrounded the teams as they waited for the opening of the gate.

    "Did you know-?"

    "No, I don''t know if you don''t tell me." Leon immediately cut her off.

    Elena stomped the ground grumpily and pouted, "It was a figure of speech! Mou! As I was saying, did you know that--"

    "No, I don''t know." Leon cut her off again. He smiled with amusement and jokingly said, "Why do people say that when they have something to say? Can''t they just get straight to the point?"

    "Ahh~! I''m so frustrated~! I want to kill you!" With her w-like hands up, she wanted to pounce on Leon for a bite.

    Garry appeared behind her and held her back. "Hahaha, let''s not get violent here. We''re a team now." He tried to calm her down with augh. A shade of redness soon appeared on his face as he wasn''t used to having contact with the opposite sex despite his big build.

    "Hahaha, Garry is blushing!" Nina pointed.

    "N-No, I''m not." Garry denied in a panic, releasing his hold on Elena.

    Regaining her freedom, Elena just stared at Leon with a puffed face. "I just wanted to say ckwood Town got its name due to naturally phenomenon of the chopped ironwood turning ck in this misty environment! Humph humph!"

    She was just trying to lighten the mood. Was this fe trying to frustrate her to death?

    "That''s general knowledge that everyone should have already known, no?" Leon smiled.

    "You had the look of someone who didn''t!"

    "Can''t a guy look around curiously when it''s his first time here?" Leon shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

    "¡­"

    Pft** There was a moment of silence before Elena broke into bouts ofughter. The others smiled, while Garry scratched his head awkwardly. He had taken Elena''s previous words seriously.

    Jeremiah: "¡­"

    Nevertheless, the previous tenseness was dispelled.

    Creak**

    Therge gates soon began to open, as the local authority made an announcement.

    "The gate will now be opening. Just a friendly reminder that the gate will not open after 6PM. If you returnter than the stipted time, then we can only wish you good luck in surviving the night inside the forest. Happy hunting."

    "Let''s go." Elias stated.

    Leon''s team began to enter the forest after the teams ahead of time. The moment they step foot inside, they felt the rush of coldness. But as the team hade prepared, this bit of coldness was enough to faze them.

    "I won''t say too much since everyone should be aware of the dangers of the forest beforeing. Don''t wonder too far off from each other. It''s easy to get lost in this mist and keep an eye out for ghouls." Elias instructed sternly.

    As Leon anticipated, there were ghouls in the forest. Ghouls were divided into two types; the undead ghouls and the mutated ghouls.

    Undead ghouls are birthed from corpses of humans after the vengeful spirits upy their empty vessels, while mutated ghouls were humans with weak minds that allowed vengeful spirits to invade their mind and take possession of it.

    After searching the peripheries of the forest without much luck, Elias suddenly dered, "There isn''t any ghouls and precious herbs near the entrance. We will head to the 900-yard area to hunt.

    "Eh? Isn''t that too fast and dangerous? Elena said with misgivings. The others also expressed their doubts. They were going to jump straight into the deep end?

    "Don''t worry, I have entered the forest many times. The dangers are still manageable with our current battle strength. As long as we don''t leave the safe boundary, nothing should go wrong." Eliasforted.

    "Well¡­ alright then."

    Hunting ghouls wasn''t a rare urrence in ckwillow Town. There were two different merchant branches in Rainwallow City that offers good prices for the yin cores found inside undead ghouls and fresh bodies of the mutated ghouls due to their strong vitality blood.

    No one knew the exact purposes of these two items, but since there was a buyer with good price, who wouldn''t be tempted to go hunt some ghouls?

    It was also the most stable source of ie for hunters and adventurers in the Extreme Misty Forest. Precious herbs were harder to find in the safe boundary. One had to venture beyond to find some.

    As the group advanced towards the 500-yard mark, they encountered their first ghoul. It had the appearance of a fairly young man, when he was alive. It had its eyes rolled back, pale blueplexion, sharp ck nails and carried a horrible stench.

    "It''s an undead ghoul, be careful." Elias warned dutifully and drew his steel sword, while the rest drew their ironwood weapons. Apart from Jeremiah using dual daggers, the rest had swords.

    "Huh?" Nina noticed Leon''s empty hands. "You didn''t bring any weapon with you?"

    "I have this." Leon disyed his needles briefly before hiding them again under the dumbfound looks of the others.

    Such a small needle, what can he kill with it?

    In the meantime, Elias had already charged forward and lopped off the ghoul''s head.

    "Stay focused." Elias said sternly, before requesting cover, "Watch my back." He proceeded to cut open the ghoul''s head, but found nothing unfortunately. "Tch, it''s a bust. This ghoul was still young. No wonder it was so weak."

    "Let''s continue to head deeper."

    The sun hung in the peak of the day. They had plenty of time to hunt. Yin cores would usually form after a week andes in different grades. Thus, it was easy to gauge the age of an undead ghoul.

    "Alright."

    The team agreed after seeing how easily their team leader handled the ghoul.

    "The ghoul didn''t have a yin core, but couldn''t it have been a mutated ghoul?" Nina asked. "Its blood would have been worth something."

    "Mutated ghouls have rosy redplexions due to their blood vitality. That one was clearly an undead." Elias exined.

    "Oh."

    The team soon walked past the 700-yard mark. Initially, there were about 1000 people that entered at the same time. Even when they couldn''t see the other teams due to the poor visibility, they would at least hear them. But here, they could only longer hear anyone except themselves. The teams must have spread quite far apart.

    Leon quietly observed his team. Only the team leader and the quiet Jeremiah was vignt. The rest followed blindly. Leon shook his head at this sight. They were too carefree.

    With the poor visibility, it was easy for a ghoul to sneak up on them. Coincidentally, something happened as he thought that.

    "Ahh!" Nina screamed as she defended against an undead ghoul with her sword. It had pounced at her from out of nowhere. Luckily, she reacted quickly, however struggled to push the ghoul back. Its foul stench assailed her nostril and made herplexion paled. "Help me!"

    "Careful, this is a level 3 ghoul!" Elias warned. Another ghoul pounced at him as he was prepared to help Nina. "Sh*t, there''s another level 3! Someone else help her!"

    Leon reacted quickly, shooting two needles into its eyes and brains, before retrieving it at lightning speed. No one knew what he did. Elena only saw his hands blurred.

    His attack didn''t kill the ghoul, but it did cause it to back off. Jeremiah, who was the closest took the opportunity to lop off its head. Elias finished his own prey shortly after.

    As they dug out the yin core in their heads, Leon stood next to the shaken Nina and tapped her on the shoulder. "You alright?"

    Nina jumped in fright, but she soon calmed down and nodded.

    "This is not a bad start. 2 grade-3 yin cores. Let''s continue." Elias said in a good mood.

    His ws were beginning to show.

 Chapter 149 - End Of The Safe Boundary

    <h4>Chapter 149 - End Of The Safe Boundary</h4>

    The team was hit a wave of uneasiness. Elena and Garry approached Nina after the other and expressed their concerns. Jeremiah was a man of few words, but his soft gaze ounts enough. Only the team leader was concerned with gaining more Yin Cores.

    Having learnt her lesson, Nina rxed expression was reced with stern vignce, reacting to the slightest of sounds. The others followed suit and advanced with guarded stance. Getting injured by an undead ghoul was noughing matter.

    "The undead ghouls carry lethal corpse poison in their ws and teeth, with no cure." Walking ahead, Elias informed them, before heartlessly stating, "If you get afflicted. I''m sorry but you are as good as dead and will be left behind."

    When the team heard this, pressure suffused the surrounding as coldness filled their hearts. They gripped their weapons with heightened vignce. No one want to be left alone in this forest. Unless they have heaven-defying luck, chances of survival were close to nil.

    Only Leon remained unperturbed. Corpse poison was nothing to him. Furthermore, people could just remove the afflicted part of their flesh decisively to avoid the corpse poison from rotting the rest of their body.

    The ventured deeper into the forest with a heavy mood.

    750 yards¡­ 775 yards¡­ 800 yards. Leon nonchntly nced at the markings on the trees that indicated their distance as they went.

    Along the way, they encountered 1 Level-2 Undead Ghouls and 2 Level-3 Undead Ghouls, gaining another 2 Grade-3 and 1 Grade-2 Yin Cores for the team.

    "Hahaha, this is really not bad. 4 Grade-3 and 1 Grade-2 Yin Cores in an hour worth of hunt. That''s 140,000 Craws."

    Eliasughed heartily. The team also wore smiles on their faces. 140,000 Craws was not a small sum of money. Even Leon was taken aback by the rich payouts for these Yin Cores.

    Grade-1 Yin Cores were worth 10,000 Craws and sessive grade higher was an increment of 10,000 Craws. Thus, a Grade-6 Yin Core would be worth 60,000 Craws. But considering the strongest Awakener in ckwillow Town were 5th step Awakeners, a Level-6 Undead Ghoul would wipe everyone out.

    "We''ve already encountered 5 undead ghouls, yet not a single mutated ghoul."

    Elena wondered why they haven''t encountered any thus far. The value of a fresh mutate ghoul body was even more exaggerated. the fresh blood vitality of a Level-1 Mutated Ghoul was worth a whopping 100,000 Craws.

    "Mutated ghouls are much rarer than undead ghouls. Mutated ghouls require much more stringent conditions to be created."

    Elias continued to answer all questions asked like a walking encyclopedia.

    "Team leader, since you are so experienced and knowledgeable of the forest, howe you don''t have your own specialized team?"

    Once that question was asked, the others also pricked their ears to listen in as well. Everyone was curious and suspicious towards that point. Elias became gloomy and cold at once. "Don''t ask questions you shouldn''t."

    "Oh¡­ sorry, team leader. That was insensitive of me." Elena immediately apologized. Perhaps, she poked at his sore spot. "It''s getting a bit isn''t it? Hehehe¡­" She tried to change the subject.

    They were after all in one of the Human Domain''s few Perilous Lands. Experienced and knowledgeable as someone may be, they cannot predict the future. Elena figured the team leader used to have a team, but they suffered a mishap and got wiped out.

    Strangely after venturing another 100 yards deeper and reaching the 900-yard mark, they did not encounter another ghoul along the way.

    "This is strange. Did our luck already run out? Why isn''t there anymore ghouls?" Ninamented. It was eerily quiet.

    AHHHHH~!

    Suddenly, a scream came from not too far ahead, causing the team to pause their steps in alert. "It seems one of the other teams that went ahead of us had encountered trouble. We will go in a different direction."

    The team leader''s statement took everyone by surprise. "We aren''t going to help them?" Nina asked doubtfully. Wasn''t that too cold?

    "No." Elias said sternly. "The number one thing you should all be careful of in the forest is not ghouls but humans! You can help them, but they may not feel grateful. In fact, they may even try to kill you, if you have treasures on you."

    There were also other problems. Such a loud sound would naturally attract attentions. If they head to the source and find themselves outnumbered by ghouls, things could get dangerous. It was best to avoid the problem. Not helping others, was helping themselves.

    "How is that possible? We are all humans. We should be helping each other."

    Elias shook his head and said, "There''s no limits to human greed. This is the Extreme Misty Forest. Now governs this ce. As long people can get away with it, all kinds of wickedness can be conducted here. I''ve seen it too many times. Teams hunting other teams for their treasures, even team mates killings each other to im sole possession of the spoils. You all should throw away your kindness. Being kind to others here, is to be cruel to yourself."

    Everyone began to look at the team leader in a new light. Whatever doubts they had regarding the team leader''s intentions for recruiting was washed away.

    "Team leader, you picked us because you knew we would be easy prey for others, right? You were looking after us, right?"

    "Don''t get me wrong. If any of you get afflicted with corpse poison, I will not hesitate to kick you out of the team to fend for yourself."

    His response came off cold, but he did not deny anything. The team took it as the team leader''s tacit admittance.

    The team leader said not to trust humans, but Leon could see everyone''s trust in the team leader. He inwardly shook his head and remained silent. ''Let''s see what you''re ying at.''

    He already noticed that while Elias mentioned many things, he did not mention anything about the tree markings. Perhaps it was general knowledge so he didn''t see the need to, but by the looks of the team members, it doesn''t seem like their noticed the tree markings. Leon would have also missed the markings if not for his good eyes.

    The team continued to hunt along the 900-yard mark. Over the next 3 hours, they were able to gain another 5 Grade-2, 7 Grade-3 and even 1 Grade-4 Yin Core. Their harvest tallied to a grand total of 490,000 Craws.

    Half a million! That amount was enough to set amoner for life, if they live frugally. However, after dividing the money equally, each member would only end up with a bit over 80,000 Craws.

    "Hm? It seems the mist is started to get a bit thick around here. Should we head back, team leader?" Garry suddenly suggested.

    "It shouldn''t be a problem. There''s still another 3 hours before the gate closing time. We should make use of this time since we are currently hunting quite well."

    No one disagreed. Since the team leader said there''s no problem, why would they miss out on the chance to make more money? Another half an hour passes by, before people finally began to notice something was wrong.

    Leon shook his head and quietly tagged along. Although it seemed like they were hunting along the 900-yard boundary, this was a misconception by the thickening mist. They had been heading straight for the 1-mile boundary the whole time.

    He had noticed the problem when he longer saw the tree markings and had to mentally calcte the distance. By now, they should be around the 1700-yard boundary, about 60 yards from the 1-mile boundary.

    "We''ve been encountering more and more ghouls. Also, the mist is getting way too thick to see anything! I can''t even tell left from right anymore. Can we start returning?"

    Once Nina spoke these words, there others started chiming in. "We hunted enough. We shouldn''t be too greedy." They were more self-conscious. They already hunted 1,300,000 Craws worth of yin cores.

    More ghouls meant more money, but also greater danger. No matter how important money was, it wasn''t as important as their life.

    There were hints of exhaustion in their tones and few beads of sweat on their faces, despite the coldness of the environment.

    "Let''s go then." Elias nodded without a single sweat. He couldn''t go against the entire team''s wishes. He began leading them back. Elena and the rest were about to follow suit when Leon ced a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Hm? What''s the matter, Leo?"

    Leon smiled coldly at Elias, before answering her question, "I wouldn''t go that way if I were you."

    "Why?"

    Elena and the rest were puzzled, while Elias had small change in expression before it was hidden by his smile. "Is there a problem with my lead, Leo?"

    "Problem? Hahaha¡­ There is a big problem." Leon responded with a chuckle. "Why are you trying to lead everyone beyond the safe boundary?"

    What!

    Everyone was shocked by Leon''s usation and turn to Elias with a questioning gaze.

    "What do you mean by those words, Leo? Have I not treated you well, for you to nder me so?" Elias said unhappily.

    "That''s right. The team leader has been good to us." Nina defended, but she still gave Leon to exin himself based on her good impression of him.

    However, he didn''t spare Nina one nce. His sight was fixed on Elias. He had been contemting this whole time.

    If Elias just wanted sole possession of the spoil, he could just quietly kill everyone off with his strength. There was no need to lead them all the way to 1-mile boundary. Thus, therein lies the first problem. It shouldn''t be about the spoils.

    Then came the second problem. They hunted this whole time, but they had not seen even the shadows of a mutated ghoul. Mutated ghouls were rare, but not to the point of nonexistence. They should have already encountered a few by now, but they did not.

    The next problem was everyone''s stamina. With the harsh conditions of the environment, everyone burns more energy and tire out more quickly when they have been fighting this entire time. It was natural for him not to break a sweat as a practitioner at the 9thyer Body Tempering Realm, but it was strange for Elias not to break a sweat when everyone else already did.

    After summing up all the problems, it brought him back to the main point, which was also the first doubtful point. Why did Elias only recruit first-timers? What was his real motive?

 Chapter 150 - Rearing Mutated Ghouls?

    <h4>Chapter 150 - Rearing Mutated Ghouls?</h4>

    The team looked at Leon with different kinds of gazes. There were doubts, concerns, hostile and even apathetic gazes. He gazes a sideward nce at Nina, who directed the hostile gaze at him.

    It appeared that she had developed a favorable impression of the team leader and didn''t take kindly to his usation. Leon was trying to save their lives, but he seems to be the viin in their eyes.

    In spite of their various gazes and pressure, Leon remained unperturbed and steady like a mountain. "First, let''s clear up the area a bit." He said in a cid tone.

    "What do you mean-?"

    8th step mes gathered towards his fingers in a concentrated manner. The team members were surprised by his small reveal of strength. "What are you doing, Leo? Are you going to attack us!?"

    The team took defensive stances. "We just asking what your reason for using the leader was."

    They misunderstood his intentions, but it did not matter. He snapped his fingers and the mes billowed out in all directions like air rushing out of a popped balloon.

    His mes had like a mind of its own and blew past them without harming anyone. The mist within a 30-yard radius of them had been swept away and they vision became crystal clear. A few ghouls in the area were caught and burnt to a crisp. Apart from Elias, the rest was shaken by his strength, while the mist slowly began to fill the empty area shortly after.

    "You''re at the 8th step!"

    Leon ignored thement with a calm expression, neither admitting nor denying the im. He found himself a nice piece of rock to seat himself on, before he proceeding to exin, "We''re already at the 1700-yard mark. If you follow the team leader in that direction for another 60 yards, you''ll be leaving the safe boundary. I have been counting since we passed the 900-yard marker."

    What!

    "Impossible! We should still be at the 900-yard region. How can we be at 1700 yards?" Nina quickly denied.

    "You couldn''t even tell your directions in the mist. How can you be so sure we still are? If you weren''t listening, I said I''ve been counting." Leon was speechless. They had gotten along well at the start, but now, he could only see her as an ignorant lovestruck fool.

    "The team leader hasn''t been hasn''t been fully honest with us all. There are distance markers on the trees, which are important and extremely useful for keep track of our location, but team leader didn''t seem to mention this. I wonder why, hmm?"

    The team immediately shifted their gaze to the team leader for answers, while Jeremiah directly went up to a nearby tree to check.

    "Don''t bother looking. I haven''t seen anymore distance markers after the 900-yard mark."

    Jeremiah did not seem to hear and continued to scan the tree up close. "No, there were markings. It was just erased." Jeremiah spoke rarely, as he rubbed a certain section of the tree that did not seem much different other parts, but upon closer inspection, it had a slightly different shade and texture.

    "So, it''s true¡­ What''s your purpose for doing this, team leader?"

    As Garry spoke, all eyes were trained on Elias. The team leader was silent for a brief moment before breaking out into coldughter.

    "I didn''t expect someone to have such keen perception to notice such tiny detail. I hadn''t anticipated that someone as strong as you would hide your cultivation. Why don''t you guess what my goal was?" Elias squinted Leon.

    "Since you only targeted us first-timers, you must have been aiming for people with weak minds because people with weak minds are easier for vengeful spirits to invade and be mutate ghouls. So, your true purpose must be to lead us to where the vengeful spirits and have us be mutated ghouls, right?" Leon said with a steady voice. "Besides, I wasn''t the only one hiding my cultivation, no?"

    "Bravo. Great inference. You are very correct. That was precisely goal." Elias pped with a cold smile. "Unfortunately, There''s no prize."

    As he finished his words, his peak 9th step strength was revealed, along with its pressure bearing on the team members.

    "P-Peak 9th step Awakener¡­" Elena eximed and felt weak in the knees. Everyone was shocked by the revtion.

    "Since everyone has found out, I will give you all two choices. Enter the deep forest or die."

    Once the words were spoken, everyone began to despair. Both choices were undesirable. One was death, and the other wasn''t much different to death. However, they had to pick one of the two. To them, 9th step Awakeners were the strongest under the Transcendent Realm and held absolute reign over their life and death.

    "I-I don''t want to enter the deep forest! Please spare me, I will do anything you want!" Nina crawled over to Elias and clung to his attire pleadingly.

    Nina''s beauty wasn''t on the same level as Aria and Rachel, but it was enough for her to be called pretty by most. If someone like her offered to sell her body, many men would be tempted.

    However, Elias nced down at her pleading self and remained unmoved. "Since you aren''t willing to enter the deep forest, you can go die." His hand reached for her head and grabbed it.

    Leon''s expression turned serious and reacted immediately as he sensed something. His needles were shot at lightning speed, forcibly interrupted Elias from killing Nina to dodge the needles.

    The stone cracked under Leon''s powerful stomp as he lunges straight at Elias. "You are a demonic cultivator!"

    Surprised by Leon''s speed, Elias tossed Nina straight at Leon to stop his charge, while retreating backwards. "Demonic cultivator? The fuck is that?"

    "Nooo~! Save me~! I''m going to die!" Nina screamed in horror. She flew with great force. If Leon evade her, she would smash headfirst into the rock behind him. Even if it doesn''t kill her, it would be great enough to severely injure her into a vegetative state.

    Leon caught her with the [Flowing Stream Technique], spinning three revolutions to cancel out the momentum before tossing her safely to the side. Shended on her rear with a thump. "Ouch!"

    That is not how men are supposed to treat women! Nina was grieved briefly, before being relieve for still being alive.

    "All of you should run away. ckwillow Town is back in that direction!" Leon pointed. "You can take this with you as well." He retrieved his needle along with Elias''s bag with metal maniption, before tossing the bag to Elena.

    Surprised, Elena caught the bag with contained all the spoils of their hunt. "What about you?"

    "I will be fine."

    "Okay."

    The team began to flee without any disagreement. A 9th step Awakener was far beyond what they can handle with their capabilities. They wouldn''t be able to help even if they stayed and would only be a burden instead.

    Elias did not try to stop them from fleeing with his bag. He didn''t really care for that bit of money. His eyes were focused solely on Leon with a heavy expression. "Metal maniption¡­ you are from the Crawford royal family!"

    "You''re not wrong, but since you know blood maniption, you should also know metal maniption isn''t something absolutely unique to the Crawford royal family but based on aptitude." Leon''s expression was noticeably colder.

    After finding out the other party was a blood-user, it made perfect sense, why they other party want to turn people into mutated ghouls. They were rearing mutated ghouls for their own blood cultivation!

    The others hadn''t fled very far. They were startled by Elias''s im and Leon''s admittance. They nced back withplicated expressions filled with hesitation.

    A royal member! The prince! They were all citizens of the Crawford Kingdom. Would they be charged for abandoning his highness after learning his identity? "Go!" Leon''s roar swept away their hesitation as they gritted their teeth with determination and fled.

    The two traded blows immediately after the others were gone. Elias was very careful and only attacked Leon probingly from a distance.

    Elias was wary of Leon''s explosive speed. It was too strange when he can only sense 7th step power from the other person. Was the person still hiding his strength?

    "The Crawford royalties aren''t as ignorant as I thought. Since you know about blood maniption, you should also know about our great Bloodfiend Sect." Elias said as he blocked a few needles with a [Blood Wall].

    The [Blood Wall] was constructed from his own blood and could be hard as iron under his maniption. After sessfully blocking the needles, the blood forming the [Blood Wall] copsed and merged into his steel sword, bing a big Bloodsword.

    ''Bloodfiend Sect? There was a whole sect of these blood-users? It seems they had to push forward some projects, once he returns to the Capital.'' Leon inwardly frowned, but his surface expression remained calm like still water. "That''s right. I wonder if you are alone here?"

    Leon continued his cycle of firing and retrieving his needles. Leon continued to exert the strength of an 8th step Awakener, while Elias deflected his needles with his Bloodsword.

    Hearing Leon''s careful questioning, Elias regained some confidence. "That''s right! But since you are going to die anyway. It won''t hurt to let you know that my sect members have already spread throughout the Crawford Kingdom."

    He began to attack more aggressively, forcing Leon into closebat. Leon looked at him like he was looking at a fool. Getting information from this person was as easy as taking candy from a child. There was no effort at all!

    "I see. Then you can go die!" Leon said coldly. The ck spear materialized in his hand and made a horizontal sweep with the force of a 1-Star Awakener under his threefold strength.

    "What!"

    Eliass''s eyes almost popped out of his sockets as he blocked the blow with his Bloodsword. He felt like he was hit by a truck as the tremendous force sent him smashing into a tree. His organs churned, but did not suffer too much damage. Blood-users had strong body and vitality.

    "Dammit! You tricked me! You are a 1-Star Awakener!" Elias began to turn tail and run. A 1-Star Awakener was out of his league.

    "Die!" Leon tossed his ck spear with great strength. Elias, who had his back to Leon, was unable to dodge such a fast spear. It teared through his heart, making his face pale at once.

    Leon knew destroying his heart wasn''t enough to kill him. He quickly caught up and retrieve his spear for another shot, but for the head.

    "Arghhh! You''ve forced me to used this!" Elias cried in pain, before roaring, "Blood Explosion!"

    His body exploded into haze of bloodmist and forced Leon to retreat and erect a fire wall to shield himself. He began suspicious when no force hit his fire wall.

    Looking at the blood-littered ground, Leon frowned in thought.

    "Did he just self-destruct? Or¡­?"

 Chapter 151 - Beyond The Boundary

    <h4>Chapter 151 - Beyond The Boundary</h4>

    Leon wasn''t very familiar with blood cultivation. He only knew it was one of the most detested demonic cultivation methods in the Divine Realm. Although, he would like to believe there were no evil technique and only evil people, it''s hard to defend against the animosity everyone had for blood cultivation.

    This is because every blood cultivator chooses the diabolic path of extracting and refining the blood of others rather than the orthodox path of refining and strengthening their own blood.

    The diabolic path allows swift progression of cultivation, but every time they extract the blood, they also extract the grievance and resentment of the host along with it, which slowly start to influence the minds of the blood cultivators and transform them into mindless fiends that only knew how crave more blood and power, a bloodfiend.

    "I didn''t expect blood cultivators would have such a trick up their sleeve. If I hadn''t wish to test the vitality of a blood cultivator again, I would have just gone straight for the head." Shaking his head, Leon mused.

    To say he wasn''t interested in the blood cultivation method, he would be lying. Being able to survive a ruptured heart was akin to a second life. "I think I understand how they can survive. Blood cultivators are like the masters of blood, they can continue their own blood cirction even without their heart. But such feat should be very taxing on their minds." Leon continued to ponder.

    Once blood cirction stops, they would undoubtably die like anyone else. However, he wouldn''t be surprise if they are able to repair their own hearts. It was much easier to patch up the holes with their own blood than to personally drive the cirction of their blood.

    Seeing how much Elias treasured his life, choosing to escape when he couldn''t win, Leon believe a person like that would not self-destruct. Most likely what just happened was the result of some sort of blood evasion technique.

    Coming to that conclusion, Leon did not bother to give chase and search for a dead man. Looking at the blood sttered ground, there was a great price to pay for the execution of such a high-level evasion technique. He refused to believe that the person can still survive with a punctured heart after such a huge loss of blood.

    "Time to explore the deeper parts of the forest." With a deep breath, Leon''s eyes glowered with anticipation. The freedom and excitement of venturing into the unknown. What would the deeper part of the forest have in store for him?

    He flicked out a fire beam with his fingers and dispersed the mist blocking his path to the end of the safe boundary. The fire beam disappeared into the thick mist beyond the boundary like a drop in the ocean.

    Undoubtably, the dangers on the other side would be much greater, but Leon tread forward fearlessly.

    After crossing the boundary, his vision had turnedpletely white due to the density of the mist. He could immediately sense the harmful effects of the yin energy concentrated in the area, as well as the presence of vengeful spirits in the area being drawn to him.

    "Ueeekkk!"

    Ayer of mes erupted from his body and warded off the harmful mist. The vengeful spirits issued shrill cries and backed away like they had just seen the bane of their existence.

    Leon took steady steps deeper into the forest, unaffected by the presence of the vengeful spirits. As long as he had his mes, the vengeful spirits would not attack him. He calmly surveyed the surroundings as he went.

    20 yards in, he discovered the first rare yin-attribute herb, a Frozenleaf Grass. It wasn''t what he needed, but since he found it, he will take it. There could be useful in the future.

    "However, this herb¡­ requires the special biome of the Extreme Misty Forest, otherwise it will quickly die. I won''t be able to store it in the Worldspace¡­" Leon creased his brows in thought. "Unless¡­"

    His eyes quickly lit up as he nced around. "Unless, I create miniature biome of the Extreme Misty Forest in the Worldspace. There''s lots of empty plots in the grey zone I could use."

    Having settled his thoughts, he did not harvest the Frozenleaf Grass just yet. He entered the Worldspace and enclosed an empty plot of soil in 5 by 5 by 5 yards of ice, which took half an hour toplete.

    "This size should be good enough for now. I can just expand it in the future when the situation calls for it."

    Exiting the Worldspace, Leon materialized the Book of Life and began channeling the yin-energy filled mist into the hollow ice cube he constructed inside the Worldspace inside the heavenly treasure. The Book of Life swallowed the energy voraciously like an insatiable god.

    "Truly worthy of a Heavenly Treasure." Leon''s face involuntarily twitched. The Book of Life''s ability to draw in the energy greatly outstripped his own ability to absorb energy from the heaven and earth. "Wait a minute!"

    Leon''s eyes widened in realization. "If I use the Book of Life to absorb the energy from heaven and earth, before entering the Worldspace to cultivate, I could achieve twice the result with half the effort."

    Once the thought entered his mind, Leon had the urge to leave the forest right away to test his theory. However, he forcefully suppressed the urge and shook his head. "Finding the herbs for the Soul Enhancing Pill and Soul Mending Pill is equally important. It can wait after I finish my business here."

    Afterpleting the miniature biome, Leon nted the Frozenleaf Grass inside and watched it for two hours. "No signs of deterioration. Great! It works!"

    His efforts were not in vain. Leon smiled with satisfaction. "Continue!"

    Exiting the Worldspace, darkness entered his sight and coldness seeped straight into his bones and soul, making him involuntarily shiver. Night had arrived. The howls and screams of many vengeful spirits could be heard in his immediate surroundings.

    Leon was greatly startled and quickly constructed a newyer of mes to ward everything off. "I didn''t expect this degree of coldness to affect me." Leon frowned. He was at the 9thyer of the Body Tempering Realm. It was equivalent to 9th step elemental resistance.

    "This degree of change in night and day is so great. No wonder the forest is off-limits at night. However, it is still manageable for me." Surveying the surrounding, Leon felt a bit creeped out from sensing thousands of vengeful spirits eyeing him from the darkness.

    "If someone said this ce was a part of the Underworld, King Yama and Hades might agree." Heically thought, before continuing his venture.

    50 yards deeper, he encountered the first mutated ghoul. "Is this really a ghoul? Such rosy redplexion. It looks more like some mad cultivator suffering from energy deviation."

    "Rahhh!" The mutated ghoul charged at him under the veil of darkness and mist. Leon stood out like a torch in the darkness. He couldn''t see them, but they could see him. He relied on his other senses to detect his surroundings.

    "A Level-5 Mutated Ghoul, huh?" Leon was a bit surprised. A Level-5 Mutate Ghoul with the physical strength off a 6th step Awakner. He caught ghoul''s w attack and crushed its wrist. "Urahh!" The ghoul screamed.

    "It seems it can still feel pained." Leon determined. A Level-5 Mutated Ghoul was nothing to him. He toyed with the ghoul by tearing all its limbs apart to further his investigation, before killing it by decapitation. He soon crouched over the body and inspected its blood.

    "Such strong blood vitality! No wonder the blood cultivator tried to rear these mutated ghouls. They are practically heavenly tonics to them." Leon frowned. "It''s a bit impure, but if I refine it, I can create longevity blood from it.

    Leon''s eyes glowed with gold as he thought about the possible profits he could earn. Longevity blood was a mystical elixir capable of replenishing lifespan. "Even if I sell it at an exorbitant price, I''m sure the nobles will still be more than happy to bleed out their coffers for it."

    Life did not have a fixed value. To be able to buy longevity blood was akin to buying life. Of course, the nobles would buy it at all cost. To earn the noble''s favor while solving the royal family''s money problem. This was killing two birds with one stone.

    He hadn''t expected such enormous gains on such a short trip. His luck definitely wasn''t this great before. Leon attributed everything to the karmic virtue he umted.

    "If I umte enough karmic virtue, wouldn''t I be invincible?" Leon thought, before shaking his head. It would be an impossible amount, if he had to factor in fate and destiny.

    For example, if a person was fated to die young, he would need to change his destiny to ovee his fate and to change his destiny, a ridiculous amount of karmic virtue was needed. Of course, this was all just mere spection on his part. No one really knows how the Fate, Destiny and Karma Laws works.

    Leon reentered the Worldspace once more and drained all the blood into a tub from the Mutated Ghoul''s dismembered corpse. He had to refine the blood while it is still fresh or it would be wasted.

    After he finished draining, he threw the corpse outside, and collected all the supplementary herbs. They weren''t necessarily required, but with the supplementary herbs, they efficacy of the longevity blood would be stronger and it would not dry up after extended periods of storage. The main ingredient was the strong vitality in the blood.

    He soon became to purify the blood vitality with his mes. The roughly 5 liters of began to reduce in volume, but in exchange, it glowed with a stronger crimson light. In the end, he was left with 1 liter of purified blood vitality.

    He flipped out pill cauldron, refined the supplementary herbs and threw everything into the cauldron. Half an hourter, 10 bottles of longevity bloodid out in front of him. He took a whiff of the longevity blood and nodded in approval.

    "Each bottle of longevity blood will be able to replenish 3 years of lifespan."

    "I could have used rare herbs and increased the efficacy to 5 years, but if I did that, how would I be able to maximize my profits? Kekeke." Leon mused evilly.

    Oh, how he had fallen in this mortal world.

 Chapter 152 - Too Dangerous To Stay

    <h4>Chapter 152 - Too Dangerous To Stay</h4>

    Leon stored away the bottles of longevity blood and exited the Worldspace.

    "Oh? What do we have here?"

    Leon himself surrounded by mutated ghouls. "It seems these ghouls were attracted by the traces of ghoul blood left behind." He really couldn''t see these ghouls the same way, when he can refine longevity blood from them.

    "Unfortunately, I don''t have enough bottles for all of you. I guess I will just kill a few and incapacitated the rest. It will be a waste of resource to kill more than necessary." He mused in the middle of 20 mutated ghouls, ranging between level 5 to level 7.

    With mes coating his body, he charged into the fray with his ck spear and pierced the heads of 4 Level-5 Mutated Ghouls and 1 Level-7 Mutated Ghoul. His killing blow was clean and swift, minimizing the loss of blood. He grabbed their bodies, before disappearing into the Worldspace.

    "???"

    The rest of the mutate ghouls were like disorderly pack of disabledmbs cluelessly wriggling and squirming about on the ground after losing their targets. 3 hourster, Leon returned with 40 bottles of 3-Year Longevity Blood and 10 5-Year Longevity Blood richer.

    3-Year Longevity Blood to sell and 5-Year Longevity Blood to gift to his inws who took the wed Awakening Pills before. His mother might also need one since she may have taken some before, she married into the royal family.

    Leon quickly left the mutated ghoul infested area. He did not need to kill anymore. Wherever he went to search for herbs, the vengeful spirits would give way and stare at him venomously in fear of his mes. It may have just been his imagination, but the deeper he went, the more intelligent the vengeful spirits he encountered seemed to be.

    Pshh** "Reeeee¡­" A daring spirit attacked him, only to get vaporized into nihility by the mes. It issued a screeching cry before everyst traces of its existence were erased.

    "Not as intelligent as I thought¡­ but definitely more aggressive." Leon scrunched his brows in thought. "Although, I would like to uncover the secrets of this ce, I should just settle for the herbs."

    The unnatural amount of yin energy in the Extreme Misty Forest had piqued his interest, but it was not worth it to lose his life over it. The ghouls and spirits were getting stronger, the deeper he went. He was starting to feel a sense of unease and apprehension from the forest. He was bing dangerous for him.

    "I probably shouldn''t proceed any further beyond this point. It seems my current cultivation is inefficient to fully explore this ce and I sense a very powerful entity lurking deeper inside. strong to the point of making my hair stand on end." Leon seriously contemted. "As expected of a Perilous Land."

    Leon was 500 yards deep beyond the safe boundary. If he calcted the distance he had traversed, starting from the entry point of the ckwillow Town, it would be no more than 5000 yards into the forest.

    5000 yards was just the tip of the iceberg for a great forest like the Extreme Misty Forest that stretches 500 miles north, all the way to the Boundless Sea. This was also only the width of the forest. The north of the Human Domain was almostpletely upied by Extreme Misty Forest.

    It was just a bit shy of being connected to three kingdoms; the Crawford Kingdom, Durham Kingdom and the far eastern Geyser Kingdom. Such length was in the thousands of miles. Perhaps, it was possible for a Transcendent to lose their life in this ce.

    ¡­

    While Leon continued his search for precious herbs, Elena and the rest had long returned to ckwillow Town.

    Both Primrose Merchant Association and Lucretius Merchant Association had a small branch in ckwillow Town. The Primrose Merchant Association branch was the ce, where hunters and adventurers visit to sell their yin cores, while the other merchant branch was where they sell their blood vitality.

    After Elena and her group had sold their loot, before gathering inside of a private room in one of the town''s inn.

    "How should we split this money?" Jeremiah asked abruptly, from one corner of the dark room.

    Over at the candle-lit table, the others frowned upon hearing his words. "Don''t you think your question is inappropriate? There''s more important things to be concerned about." Nina said with displeasure.

    "You are not in any position to lecture me. I don''t hail from a noble family like you three. I won''t be able to help Leo even if I want to. Thus, I might as well just take my share and leave. I also have my own problems to settle." Jeremiah said coolly.

    "How can you be so selfish?" Elena said.

    "Selfish? I''m just making the most logical choice to survive. Did you really think someone from the royal family would really be in a ce like this by himself without any guards? Let''s take a step and think about what they said before. Metal maniption isn''t unique to the Crawford royal family. This means there could be other metal-users outside the kingdom.

    What if that person was actually a foreign metal-user that was just borrowing the status of the royal family to scare that person off? Perhaps, you have forgotten, but he was also a 7th step fire-user. Maybe his metal maniption was just a trick to fool the other party. You have to remember that the other party was a 9th step Awakener!" Jeremiah coldly exined.

    The others were immediately startled. His words made a lot of sense. That''s right! Perhaps, Leo did it in order to save them!

    "That still doesn''t change the fact that we have to save him!" Nina strongly interjected.

    The others looked at her weirdly. First, she fancied the team leader, now it switched to Leo. She was like a stalk of grass that sways wherever the wind blows. No, that''s not correct. It should be said that she was like a grasshopper that likes to hop.

    Their weird gazes made Nina blush. "Don''t misunderstand! Such a young 8th step Awakener should have a very strong background. He could be from the Duke''s faction. I-I think we should report to the Queen."

    "That''s an extremely stupid idea. Forget about whether or not a baron family like yours can request an audience with the Queen, you would only be pushing Leo into a fire pit even if you could. Don''t forget, posing as royalty is a serious offense. Even worse, if he truly can manipte metal, the royal family would hunt him down. Back then, if the Queen hadn''t married into royal family, she would have been executed. The Crawford royal family would not allow an outsider to manipte metal in their kingdom."

    Hearing Jeremiah''s cold words, Nina froze. Awakening the metal attribute was akin to challenging the Crawford''s rule apparently. Howe they didn''t know that? Wasn''t metal attribute unique to the Crawford royal family? Remembering the exchange between Leo and the ex-team leader, it seems to be true that others could have it.

    "Then what should we do?" Nina asked helplessly. Unexpectedly, they began valuing Jeremiah''s opinion. He was the quietest among them, but he was now the sharpest, being able to see further than them.

    "That''s why I said I can''t do anything. Just take the money and leave. If Leo managed to survive, I will find a way to repay him in the future."

    "¡­"

    Jeremiah''s words weren''t meant to be demoralizing, but it was a truth. The group felt helpless. They weren''t obligated to help Leo, since they only knew each other for less than a day, but they weren''t ungrateful bastards. Leo saved their lives. They owe him a debt of gratitude. Pity, they were too useless to be of help.

    After a few discussions, they agreed to split into 5 equal amounts. The ex-team leader was obviously no longer entitled for a share.

    "Alright¡­ just take your share and leave." Garry said after dividing the money into 5 equal amounts. Jeremiah did not waste further words, taking his share and left immediately.

    "He left just like that?" Elena asked sadly. She didn''t think the team would split up like this. They had worked so well together.

    "He made the most logically choice." Garry nodded. "This ce is full of hidden masters and dangers. Who would be in the right mind would dare to enter the forest and hunt for treasures again?"

    What Garry said made sense. Elena agreed. They didn''t belong here. Perhaps, the high prices set by the merchants was purposely used to lure people here. It was too dangerous.

    After Garry left, Elena soon left. Nina offered to stay behind and wait for Leo. At the end of the day, their thoughts were still a little simple and funny. Ignoring whether Leo would survive or not, would someone strong enough to be a marquis even care about this little bit of money?

    ¡­

    In a different inn within ckwillow Town, a bloodied figured suddenly barged into one of the upied guestrooms. "Give me a Blood Replenishment Pill. I will pay you back in the future." The person said weakly.

    "Oh? Who did you in like this?" the owner of the room said with some mild interest, without being displeased by the sudden intrusion.

    "A Crawford royalty at the one-star level. Never mind that, give me the pill!" Elias wore a deathly paleplexion. He desperately needed to replenish his blood with pills. He didn''t have the usual strength to find a target to extract and refine their blood. His heart was punctured and the price for using the blood evasion technique was 20% of his blood. He was at death''s door.

    "Hmm, interesting. Well, you still owe me a few Blood Enhancement Pills. How about you pay me back now?" The room owner said amusingly, before stretching out his hand to grab at Elias''s head.

    "Huh?" Elias was shocked and retreated, before he became furious. "What are you trying to do, Easton! We are fellow sect members!"

    "Since you know we are fellow sect members, you should also know we are a sect full heartless and upassionate people, who only care about their own self-interest. Even if you use the Blood Replenishment Pill, you would not be able to recover your strength. Since that is the case, you might as well give your blood to me and help me advance to the one-star."

    Easton palm was like a ckhole filled with the force of attraction. No matter how Elias retreated, the palm continued to draw closer, beforetching itself onto his head.

    "UAHHHH!!"

    Elias issued a heart wrenching cry of pain. He was weakened too severely to resist his blood from being drained. The pain he felt was worse than someone being skinned alive.

    "Don''t worry. Once I sessfully advance my strength to one-star, I will go seek revenge for you." Easton said indifferently.

    When Elias heard these words, his eyes bulged red with fury. At this moment, the person he hated the most was not Leon, but the person in front of him. Before he could even curse, all traces of redness receded from his eyes along with his life as his body dropped to the floor lifelessly like a deted balloon.

    Easton refined all the blood, before smacking his lips in satisfaction with his eyes closed, feeling the surging strength in his body. A faint image of Leon mystically appeared in his mind. This was a side effect of the victim''s grievance and resentment entering Easton.

    "So, this person is a member of the Crawford royal family¡­ Interesting!"

 Chapter 153 - Four Perilous Lands

    <h4>Chapter 153 - Four Perilous Lands</h4>

    In the Human Domain, where humans are able to seek sanctuary from the beast race, they began to flourish once more. But despite being called the Human Domain, itsnds were not been fully conquered by humans.

    There were four regions in the Human Domain that could not be conquered by humans since the time of its formation. Such ces were referred to as the Perilous Land, a natural death zone to all who tread its territory, except the strong and abled. In spite of the dangers that exist within the Perilous Lands, it doesn''t stop people from braving it for the fortunes and secrets that lies within.

    Extreme Misty Forest was one such ce. In the Ishaan Kingdom, they have the scorching sands of the Grand Surya Desert. In the Vran Kingdom, they have the unreachable Supreme Sword Mountain, the tallest mountain in the Human Domain. Lastly, the Geyser Kingdom has the treacherous ckwater of the Shadow Basin, sinking all creation without exception. However, ever since the emergence of the Underground World, few people have begun to argue it was the fifth Perilous Land of the Human Domain.

    Extreme Misty Forest was known for its extreme weather, but not because its yin-attribute mist was harmful to life. A person only needs to ward off the mist to stop it from harming them. What truly made Extreme Misty Forest a terrifying ce, was the mist had nourishing effects on the souls of the dead, allowing ghosts and spirits to prosper.

    A weak soul would slowly dissipate over time without the nourishment of its body, but due to the existence of the mist, it could exist indefinitely. If the forest contained the souls of all life that ever died on the continent since the start of the Cataclysm, it would be a terrifying number to think about. Even worse, no one knew how these souls would be after 500 years.

    If Leon did not have the fire and lightning attributes, he would have never dared to tread beyond the safe boundary. He was surrounded by thousands of vengeful spirits wherever he went. He did not doubt that once he dismisses the mes protecting him, all the vengeful spirits would pounce on him and invade his mind.

    No matter how strong his mind is, he would still get possessed under barrage of so many vengeful spirits, just like a big elephant can still be killed by an army of ants. Thus, he kept his me expenditure to a bare minimum.

    "Hm?" Leon''s foot froze in midair just as he was about to finish taking his next step. He withdrawn his step and crouched down and turn over a b of rock. "Oh! Another rare herb was hiding underneath! Fortunately, I didn''t finish thest step and squash it. It would have been ruined."

    "Let me see what this herb is¡­" Leon rummaged through limitless knowledge contained in the Whitespace. After finding the relevant information, he was pleasantly surprised. "This is the Forgetful Iceflower! I can treat Rachel''s trauma with this."

    But then Leon soon shook his head. Regarding the treatment of his fianc¨¦e''s trauma, he had long found two feasible methods, one soft and one hard, but he pushed it to the back of his mind due to theck of herbs. Both methods were soul-rted treatment and also require special herbs with yin-attributes. However, the methods of treatment weren''t exactly ideal.

    The first method was to use the Forgetting Nightmare Pill, which erases all the bad memories. This was the soft method. If the bad experience didn''t exist, then the trauma would also not exist. This was what the Forgetful Iceflower was used for.

    However, memories, whether good or bad was what shaped a person''s character. If he erases his fiancee''s bad memories, her trauma would be cured, true, but would she still be the same person? This was something he had to consult the Lancaster family on.

    The other method was to refine the Reminiscent Trial Pill. This was the hard method. Once Rachel ingest this pill, she would fall into a dreadful dream and relive those bad experience over and over for an entire hour. However, time operates differently between dream and reality. To others, it may only be one hour, but to Rachel, it could be weeks, months or even years.

    This method was not much different from torture and was especially dangerous. If she could not endure and ovee the trial, she may never wake up. But if she manages to ovee her trial, it would be beneficial for her cultivation.

    Whatever her choice was, Leon would respect it. He also made up his mind to teach the Lancaster family the [Fiery God Manual] when he gets the chance.

    Sometimeter, Leon also managed to find the Reminiscent Iceflower after the Forgetful Iceflower and sighed. This must be fate.

    After carefully storing away the herb, Leon continued search between the 400-500 yards region. He did not encounter much mutated ghouls here as he did when he first entered.

    "Those must have been reared by the so-called Bloodfiend Sect." Leon concluded with squinted eyes. "Treating people like livestock. As expect of blood cultivators. They all deserve death."

    From his spection and inference, the Bloodfiend Sect must be quiterge and reputable somewhere in one of the other kingdoms. But no matter how reputable it was, it was still and evil sect and should be wiped out. How could be allow these bloodsuckers feed unscrupulously on the human race''s dwindling poption?

    After herb hunting for another three hours, Leon found a few more herbs, but they weren''t what he was looking for. Not willing to leave a treasure when he sees one, he harvested all the herbs and ced them in his Worldspace anyway.

    "Let''s call it a day." Leon sighed. "Although I could spend the whole night looking, it''s not wise to exhaust my essence. I should give myself some room to maneuver in case of unpredictable events."

    Returning from the path he took, Leon arrived at the location of the reared mutated ghouls he incapacitated.

    "Hm? Someone else has been here." Leon frowned. All the mutated ghouls that he had left lying on the ground had turned into cold corpses. This was not his doing. He had only incapacitated them. "Someone sucked all their blood vitality. There''s another blood cultivator!"

    Leon became vignt once he arrived at that thought. However, it was especially hard to sense anything within the thick white mist of the deep forest. He couldn''t rely on his obscured vision nor smell. That was why he wasn''t able to find much herbs.

    This further strengthened his desire to improve his soul strength so he could use his divine sense for freely.

    As Leon stepped back into the safe boundary, he was immediately attacked!

    Shing**

    He blocked the figure''s sword attack with his ck spear. He had expected an ambush and had been prepared for it, except the force of the blow was stronger than he had anticipated, blowing him back a few yards.

    "Oh? You knew I was going to ambush you?" Easton said with surprise.

    "It was too easy to predict. You shouldn''t have touched those Mutated Ghouls." Leon answered with squinted eyes. He viewed each mutated ghoul as a fat sum of money, but all 15 mutate ghoul had been sucked dry. That was a tremendous of wealth! Leon would naturally be unhappy. But at least, he would get some karmic virtue to make up for it by killing the person. It was better than nothing.

    After the block, Leon lunged forward for a killing blow, thrusting his ck spear straight at the other person''s head.

    Swoosh** The attack missed.

    "Phew, that was scary." Easton said with relief, after evading the blow. "Aren''t you even going to ask who I am and why I''m attacking you?"

    Leon ignored his words, lunging forward with a one-handed swing of his spear. The other hand sneakily flicked a few needles at the other figure''s acupoints to immobilize him. Unfortunately, the assant''s reaction was extraordinary, swiftly blocking both attacks with a [Blood Wall].

    However, Leon''s attack did not stop there. He followed up by dashing to the side and aimed for the head with his ck spear again.

    The assant was caught unprepared and hastily tried to parry the blow. The spearhead only managed to graze the other person''s cheeks before the person retreated a fair distance in rm.

    "Hey, hey, that was too dangerous. I almost died there. You are much stronger than I anticipated." Easton said, before he smiled. "It seems I had asked a stupid question. Since you could predict my ambush, you would also be able to guess my identity."

    He was a fellow member of the Bloodfiend Sect. The same as the ex-team leader, Elias, except much stronger. This person''s strength was at two-stars. The mutated ghouls must have boosted the person''s strength a fair bit.

    Leon frowned as he could guess that much. The other person was stronger than him. Leon also could increase his attacking power threefold and reach the same level of strength at the other person, but he refrained from doing so. He didn''t know if there were any other members of the same sect lying in ambush. he didn''t want to use such double-edge skills without confirming.

    "Your strike is very decisive. I guess you learnt your mistake from my fellow sect member. It''s a surprise that you''re not afraid of my strength with just your one-star strength. Perhaps you are still holding back? Afraid that I''m not alone? Well, you don''t have to worry about that and fight wholeheartedly. Us members of the Bloodfiend Sect tend to act independently." Easton carelessly said as blood seeped out of the cut on his cheek and formed a solid blood helmet to protect his head.

    After hearing those words, Leon''s face twitched. He didn''t expect to bump into such a talkative and stupid person while fighting. The person basically sentenced his own death. Although he would like to subdue the other party and fish some information out the person''s mouth, he could not be careless.

    In a battle between experts, life and death could be decided in a single instance. He had to fight with the intent to kill.

    "Is that so¡­ Then you can go die now!"

    Leon closed the distance by half with explosive speed using [Extreme Vanishing Step], beforeing to a grinding stop and fired his ck spear with impossible speed from his hands, using threefold strength.

    What!!!

    The spear was too fast! It was already right in front of him. Easton exim mentally in horror as it was toote to dodge. Although it seemed like he was underestimating Leon, he was actually provoking him to attack. But in the end, he still severely underestimated Leon.

    The ck spear was wrapped in three elements! The destructive and prative force was enhanced by fire and lightning, while metal made it sharper and even faster!

    Boom!

    The ck spear shot through the blood cultivator''s head like a hot knife through butter and prated through several other trees before finally stopping. Those were extremely sturdy trees! Even after so many years logging business, only so many trees had been cut down from Extreme Misty Forest!

    Leon widened his eyes in shock, visibly shaken by the results himself. The force of that attack had been far greater than he anticipated. His attack should''ve only produced the strength of three-stars, but it rivaled the attack of a cultivator at four-stars!

    "Where did the extra forcee from?" Leon pondered. Calcting the force of the three elements, it was still far from reaching four-stars. What was he missing?

    Recalling his previous attack¡­ he had dashed very fast, before throwing his spear¡­ dashed¡­ very fast¡­ speed¡­?

    His eyes lit up as he understood what he failed to calcte in his attack.

    "Kic energy."

 Chapter 154 - Triggering A Phenomenon

    <h4>Chapter 154 - Triggering A Phenomenon</h4>

    Kic energy¡­ a simple term yet carries unlimited potential.

    After learning the usefulness of kic energy in battle, it opened a new world for Leon and lead him back to one profound truth; only speed is unbreakable.

    Speed could be converted into raw power and that power could be transferred into his attacks. As long as his body was strong enough to cope with the transference, his spear throwing attacks could reach unimaginable heights, ying opponents beyond his level with one shot.

    "I''m going to be a one-shot wonder." Leon smiled, as he inspected the condition of his arm by contracting and rxing his muscles. "It''s seems my body has be a bit stronger after reaching the 9th Layer of Body Tempering Realm. I can withstand threefold with little damage incurred. Once I reach the peak 9th Layer, I should be able to use threefold strength freely without a problem."

    After finishing his inspection, Leon searched the headless body of the member from the Bloodfiend Sect.

    "Damn! This person is a freaking pauper! Not even a single penny on him." Leon grumbled, before poaching some strange pills and a manual on the said body. He took a whiff of the pills and understood its usage. "This is a sort blood replenishing pill¡­ this should be a blood enhancing pill¡­"

    Moving his sights onto the manual, he was a bit moved. The manual was called the [Blood Refining Art]. It was a simple name, but its purpose was easily understood. Leon rubbed his chin in contemtion. To say he wasn''t interested in learning it, he would be lying.

    The reason blood cultivators were despised was because they were unscrupulous in their pursuit of power, murder innocent mortals indiscriminately. Humans weren''t the only race with red blood flowing in their veins either. The beast race had much stronger physique than humans and would naturally have stronger blood vitality as well.

    If he could resolve the grievance and resentment aura and stop it from corrupting his mind, he would have no hesitation in learning the [Blood Refining Art] to strengthen his body.

    "I''ll store it away for now." Leon tossed the pills and manual into his Worldspace and proceeded to return to ckwillow Town.

    ¡­

    At midnight, the streets of ckwillow Town was devoid of life as the town was shrouded in the darkness of the night and the gloomy clouds blotted out the moon from showering the town in its cascading light.

    ckwillow Town was not like the Upper District of the Capital, where the streets are bustling with activities day and night all year round. At ckwillow Town, all residents and visitors retire early to their sleeping chambers.

    Midnight was the point of time, when the forest was at its coldest and the howls and screams of spirits can be hearding from the forest. There were reported cases, where people have gone missing within the safety of the town''s wall. Many believed that the vengeful spirits of the forest roamed the streets at night and spirited away those people. Due to that belief, no one dared to step foot outside at night.

    However, on the second floor of an inn, light could still be seen radiating outside through the open windows.

    KNOCK KNOCK*

    The knock on the door, roused Nina awake. It appeared she had fallen asleep over at the candlelit table at some point. "Who is it?"

    "Esteemed guest, I am the innkeeper of this inn. I''m just here to kindly remind you to close the windows and turn off the lights. It is dangerous around this time of the night and people tend to go missing if they wonder outside." The innkeeper said courteously. In truth, his reminder was one of selfishness rather than kindness. He didn''t want his inn to attract misfortune.

    "Oh?" Nina was surprised as she was not a local and did not know about the town''s superstitions, but she soon nodded in understanding. "I see. Thank you for the reminder."

    She arrived by the windows and prepared to shut it, when the silhouette of a person could be seen walking on the dark streets.

    "Hmm?" Nina intended to pass on the reminder to the fe out of good will, but soon realized who it was. Her cherry lips rose up into a crescent smile. "Your high¡­ Leo, over here!" She hollered. She almost blurted out ''your highness'' but managed to stop halfway.

    Receiving Nina''s call, Leon floated over and entered the room through the window. Seeing she was alone, he asked. "Where are the others?"

    "They have all left. This ce was too dangerous to stay."

    Listening to her reply, Leon nodded. "That''s understandable. The waters of ckwillow Town is surprisingly quite deep." His soon knitted his brows and said, "If I recalled, you were the timidest one in the group. Why are you still here when the others have already left?"

    His reminder made Nina blush in shame. She didn''t want to recall the moment when she had to pathetically beg the ex-team leader for mercy. As an offspring of the Baron-level Lowell family, she had her pride as a noble. But under the threat of death, she had to pathetically beg the ex-team leader for mercy. The events had be a stain on her life; however, she did not me Leon for bringing it up.

    "I¡­ since everyone was leaving, I volunteered to stay back to wait and hand over your share of today''s hunt to you, your highness." Nina said with her head lowered, while passing a bag of money to Leon.

    "I see. Thank you. Hmm¡­since you know I am royalty, you should also know I don''tck this bit of money, right?" Leon said, but he still epted the money.

    Nina''s lips twitched at the contradicting words and action of the prince. However, she put on a smile and said humbly, "Yes, yes, you''re right, your highness. But this money belongs to your highness, as the team has agreed on upon before we had set out to hunt. No one would dare to take the money of royalty."

    Although Leon neither admitted nor denied his status, hisck of reaction towards her form of address was taken as silent admittance. Under that assumption, it strengthened her belief that her choice to stay behind was the best choice she made.

    There were two reasons why she still had courage to stay behind and wait for the prince. Firstly, she thought it would be safe enough inside the town. Secondly, she wanted to establish a connection with the royal family.

    Within the upper ss, establishing connections with other nobles and royalty was beneficial towards one''s business and provide a form of protection. More often than not, the rise and fall of a family was dictated by the extent of their connections. As such, it was quitemon for nobles to host banquets and social gatherings for the purpose of establishing these connections.

    Leon could read her intentions like an open book. He did not despise these types of people as this was what the weak had to do in order to survive. However, he did not like it either. That''s why, he would rather not make his status public to avoid this type of situation.

    "Since I have taken my share, I shall be leaving now." Leon intended to exit through the window he entered with.

    "W-Wait, your highness!" Surprised, Nina tugged on his clothes and blushed. "All the ces offering amodations are closed at this time. How about you stay here for the night, your highness?"

    Her suggestion made Leon silent, as he quietly observed her expressions. Under his gaze, Nina began to lower her head as her face flushed with shyness. "If¡­ If you wish, I could serve you for tonight, your highness." She said coyly.

    If this was in the past, he would have dly epted what was offered to him on a silver tter. However, he was no longer interested in such casual rtionships. Sex without feelings was rather dull.

    "Not interested."

    Leon left after leaving behind his cold reply. Nina was actual relieved after Leon left. She wasn''t a casual woman like she appeared to be.

    As the second eldest daughter of Baron Haldren, she was also required to pull her weight for the rise of the family.

    Strangely, there was also some traces of disappointment in her heart. She did not feel humiliated for being rejected and felt some admiration for the prince instead.

    When Leon left, he flew out of town to a secluded hill to cultivate, as sleep could be reced with cultivation, plus it was more productive.

    "Let''s find out the extent of this heavenly treasure''s ability."

    The Book of Life materialized on top of his palm and began to draw in all the energy of heaven and earth from the surrounding. Its capacity for absorption was rming, whipping up a storm as all energy within a 100-mile radius of him was visibly stirred. The energy of heaven and earth funnelled into the Book of Life from the sky like a descending tornado.

    Strangely, such arge change in the sky did not rm themon popce in the surrounding under the veil of the night. Only the high-level Awakeners that was rtively sensitive to energy was able to sense the change.

    Leon was great startled as he had not anticipated the Book of Life to trigger such a grand phenomenon. He quickly ended the absorption and recalled the Book of Life back into his soulcore, before disappearing from the location.

    A few minutester, several figures began arriving one after another from all directions.

 Chapter 155 - Dispute Over A Hill

    <h4>Chapter 155 - Dispute Over A Hill</h4>

    The sudden phenomenon in the sky was rming. The first people to sense the change were the hidden experts residing in ckwillow Town. The stir in energy had shocked them as they were reminded of the previous phenomenon that urred not long ago.

    The previous phenomenon was caused by a person breaking through to the legendary Transcendent Realm. As such, they couldn''t help but also rte tonight''s phenomenon to another person''s breakthrough to Transcendent Realm.

    Primrose Merchant Association Branch, ckwillow Town, 8th floor.

    "Senior Apprentice Brother, another person is breaking through to the Transcendent Realm in this kingdom! Should we go take a look?" A youngdy in white robe with a bluesilver butterfly image on the back, rushed into the room and suggested.

    "Is that so?" The Senior Apprentice Brother Cal took a glimpse at the sky outside and saw the silent phenomenon taking ce. He rubbed his chin in deep thought. "It looks a bit different to the previous phenomenon¡­ but this tremendous power¡­ there''s no doubt about it. It''s a Transcendent breakthrough."

    Cal donned a simr white robe, before hopping outside from the window. "Let''s go congratte this senior on his breakthrough to Transcendent Realm. It would be beneficial to our sect if we can befriend this senior, Junior Apprentice Sister Celia. We have to be quick, before others get there first."

    Even if it wasn''t a senior breaking through to the Transcendent Realm, it could be the birth of some sort of treasure. In that case, they definitely couldn''t let others get to it first. With that thought in mind, Cal began moving in a rhythmic step, creating fading afterimages and blinked dozens of yards ahead at a time. He was using the [Profound Butterfly Steps] of his sect.

    "Huh? Wait for me for me, Senior Apprentice Brother Cal!" Celia utilized her proficiency of [Profound Butterfly Steps] to chase after her senior apprentice brother.

    At the location of the hill, they were the first to arrive.

    "Huh? This should be the center of the phenomenon, right? There''s nothing here." Celia said doubtfully.

    Cal creased his brows. Was he wrong? Or was he toote? The phenomenon ended too quickly.

    Swoosh**

    Several other figures began appearing on the hill not long after. An elder and two other young attendants, who seemed to be the elder''s disciples. The elder was aged but possessed a certain youthful and domineering vigor to him. They had arrived from the nearby Rainwallow City. The elder scanned the hill before locking onto the two people.

    "You two over there! Where is the Transcendent Master?" The Elder pointed and questioned them overbearingly.

    His overbearing attitude immediately angered the two white-robes. "Hmph! The Transcendent Master is not here. Please leave! The Illusory Butterfly Sect is upying this hill." Cal said sternly with a deep frown.

    "Presumptuous! You want this elder to leave!?" The elder snarled, but then his eyes quickly lit up in the next instance. "Since there is no Transcendent Master here, there must a great treasure! You two can get lost! The Bloodfiend Sect is taking over this hill!"

    "Shameless Old bastard! We were clearly here first!" Celia insulted.

    The Bloodfiend sect elder''s face immediately went dark. He was an expert at the five-star Awakener Realm. "Hmph! How dare a littless like you disrespect me! Let me educate you on behalf of your elders!" The elder sneered.

    He slit his wrist, allowing blood to gush out and formed a giant blood w. It wed at the white-robe duo with great speed, intending to viciously cripple them. However, in the face of such impending danger, the duo did not avert their gazes, facing the w bravely without any panic with their meagre strength at the 9th step Awakener Realm.

    Theposed looks made the elder frowned as he thought these two brats were too pompous and ignorant. Did they think he wouldn''t dare to kill them!? A trace of killing intent shed in his eyes as he made up his mind to rip them to shreds.

    However, before the blood w reached them, some silvery-blue mist shot over at extremely high speed and plunged into the blood w from the opposite direction. The blood w seemed to have been inflicted with some sort of nasty poison, causing the blood w to lose its power. Bubbly spots appeared all over the blood w, before it finally exploded into countless fluttering butterflies briefly. It soon dissipated into nothingness shortly after.

    "Who!?" The Bloodfiend Sect raged. He was filled with great fury and regrets. He did not care whether someone had blocked his attack or not. What he cared was the blood loss he had incurred as a result of that person''s intervention!

    "Old w, how I teach my disciples, it is the responsibility of I, their master. You think you are qualified to take my ce to educate them?" Azy voice drifted over, as an elder in white robes with the trademark butterfly mark on the back appeared with two other disciples.

    "Master!" Cal and Celia happily shouted and walked over to the elder''s side.

    "You two brats are quite daring. If I had not appeared, the both of you would have been dead!" The elder grumbled.

    "We knew master woulde to save us." Celia hugged her master''s arm with a chuckle.

    "You sillyss." The elder nudged her on the head, before his expression turned serious. "Quickly fill master on what happened."

    "Yes, master. We saw the phenomenon in the sky and arrived quickly, but did not see any Transcendent Master, then¡­" Cal recounted the situation briefly.

    After listening, the elder''s eyes lit up for the same reason. If it wasn''t a Transcendent breakthrough, it had to be a treasure!

    "Old w, you can get your people and piss off! My disciples arrived at this hill first, thus this hill belong to my Illusory Butterfly Sect!"

    "Old Poison! So, it was you! How dare you destroy my blood vitality! Are you intending to start a war between our sect!?" Old w said furiously. The culprit was his long-standing rival from the opposing sect!

    "Hmph! So what if I am!? Do you think we aren''t already at war!? Are you pretending we never had conflicts, both in the open and in the dark before!?"

    "Very well! Let''s old scores and new ones today!"

    The two sides began to sh and erupt into a fierce battle. There were five people from Illusory Butterfly Sect, while there were only three people from Bloodfiend Sect. The weaker side was quickly determined in a short sh.

    Old w frowned when his side was outnumbered. His blood boiled when he realized his two disciples stationed in ckwillow Town did not arrive after such amotion. He quickly popped a few pills in his mouth and erupted with greater strength.

    The two attendants from the Bloodfiend Sect followed suit and swallowed simr pills, drew their weapons and battled!

    The Bloodfiend Sect was more careful when battling with the Illusory Butterfly Sect. They avoid using blood techniques in case of being poisoned. The Illusory Butterfly Sect was renowned for their illusory techniques and poison. They were masters of assassination and should''ve been weak in closebat.

    But afterpeting for many years, the Illusory Butterfly Sect had honed their techniques to avoid suffering a loss in closebat. The [Profound Butterfly Steps] allowed the Illusory Butterfly Sect members to freely evade the attacks from the other side.

    After a while, theplexion of the two attendants from the Bloodfiend Sect''s side began to turn purple.

    "Be careful of their poison aura! These people are lunatics, who swallow poison to cultivate! Have you both forgotten!?" Old w bellowed, while evading from Old Poison''s poison aura.

    "It''s toote to save them, Old w! They''ve already been poisoned! They''re as good as dead!" Old Poisonughed, as he continues to press forward. If he could wipe out the Bloodfiend Sect members today, they would have nopetition over the resources of the north for a while.

    Poison aura had different grades of toxicity. The first level poison aura was green in color, the second level was greenish purple, the third level was blueish purple, while the fourth level was bluesilver, which Old Poison has currently achieved. Only the sect leader had achieved the fifth level poison aura, which was pure silver in color.

    It was said that the sect leader''s poison aura was nearing the transparency level and could poison people without them knowing they were even poisoned. Only poison experts could detect it.

    After the two sides fought a deadly battle for a while, the two attendants were soon killed by the poison. However, they managed to drag one person from the other side to theherworld with them.

    "Dammit!" Old w roared and made a powerful sh with his sword as it rippled with a strong blood wave, forcing Old Poison back. "Remember this, Old Poison! This isn''t over!"

    Old w took the opportunity to escape. The situation was too unfavorable for him. If only his two other disciples were present, he would not have suffered such losses.

    "Master, what should we do with Gahan''s body?" Cal asked after the battle.

    "We will take his body and bury itter. Quickly search the hill for the treasure! It could be underground." Old Poison issued.

    However, they were bound to be disappointed as there was no treasure. If the two sides knew that they had been fighting over a non-existent treasure, they would have been angered to death.

    As the bloody dispute over the hill transpired, the culprit, Leon had been quietly cultivating in the Worldspace this entire time.

 Chapter 156 - Let Bygones Be Bygone

    <h4>Chapter 156 - Let Bygones Be Bygone</h4>

    Inside the Worldspace, the concentration of energy from heaven and energy reached the minimum density level for it to be seen with the naked eye. Multicoloured particles of energy could be seen floating about in the Worldspace.

    The energy particles mainly consist of the five elements, but if one looked carefully, they would be able to see a few particles of spirit energy. However, this spirit energy was automatically swallowed up by the Worldspace itself and transformed life energy.

    Unfortunately, the amount of life energy added to the Worldspace was like trying to revitalise drynd with a drop of water. There were no visible changes to the life soil.

    However, Leon did not care about this. He knew the meagre amount of spirit energy would not change anything and simply focused on refining the energy of heaven and earth in the Worldspace. His cultivation swiftly rose all the way to the peak 9th Layer of Body Tempering Realm.

    "Haih¡­ If I have discovered such a quick way of cultivating, I would not have to struggle so much." Opening his eyes and expelling a wave of impure air, Leon sighed. But then he shook his head right after. "No, those hardships were valuable tempering experience."

    As much as he hates to admit, he had been living in vain in his previous life. His 30-year old self of his previous life could not evenpare to his 17-year old self of the present life in terms of maturity. Truly, hardship forces one to mature quickly.

    "I have reached the peak 9th Layer of Body Tempering Realm. It''s time to push for a breakthrough to the next realm."

    The process of breaking through to Energy Condensation Realm was topress and condense all his strands of energy floating in his energy centre into liquid form. For Leon, who struggled to expand his energy centre due to his strong physique, he had a much easier time in condensing his energy.

    The process only took him a few hours to condense all his strands of energy into a few drops of concentrated energy and his energy centre became spacious again. Leon circted the liquid energy throughout his body, causing his body to undergo another impurity cleansing.

    Compared to the first time, there wasn''t as much impurity. What surprised Leon was his body could still be tempered with the energy!

    It seems he had to re-evaluate the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos]! The energy of the Energy Condensation Realm could still be used to temper his body!

    Leon continued to circte the energy and allowed it to strengthen his body, swiftly increasing his raw physical strength.

    Some timeter, when the benefits of circting his energy became negligible, he ended his cultivation and tests his strength with a few normal punches and kicks, whipping gusts of wind.

    "Roughly 1800-jin force. My physical strength is now on par with one-star Awakeners." Leon concluded, before smiling wryly. "This method of cultivating is really great. Unfortunately, it attracts too much attention."

    "I should check if there are still people on that hill." Leon amusingly thought. He had run very fast and was in a secluded location a few miles away from the hill.

    Leon exited the Worldspace and nced in the direction of the hill. Sure enough, there was still people on the hill. With his excellent eyesight, he could see many people digging up holes on the hill.

    ¡­

    "Master, I don''t think there is a treasure here. I think it was a Transcendent Senior, that left quickly after he broke through because he didn''t want to be disturbed." Cal said with a helpless expression.

    For this so-called treasure, it had cost them one fellow apprentice brother. They been digging holes all over the hill without any gains.

    "How can this be? Why is there no treasure!? No, perhaps we haven''t dug deep enough. Keep digging." Old Poisonmanded.

    Listening to his master, he was baffled beyond belief. His master seemed to be very certain that a treasure existed. He would have still thought the same way, but after digging for hours, he no longer had such hopes.

    "How can you be sure there is a treasure here, Master?"

    "I''m not sure at all, but on the off chance that there is a treasure, we definitely can''t miss this sort of treasure." Old Poison eye''s shined as he recalled the phenomenon that drew in all the energy within a 100-mile radius.

    "What sort of treasure are we looking for?" Celia came over and asked grumpily, while wiping dirt off her face. Why did she had to work so hard, while her senior apprentice brother was cking off?

    "An energy gathering formation treasure." Old Poison said with shining eyes, as if he could picture the grand rise of their sect.

    "Ah? Like the one we have in our sect?" Taken aback, Celia asked to confirm.

    Old Poison nodded. "Precisely, but much more powerful."

    With that said, the disciples of Illusory Butterfly Sect began digging with renewed vigor. Leon watched their wasted efforts in amusement.

    "These people have too much time on their hands." Leon chuckled, before returning inside the Worldspace.

    After tending to his herbal garden, Leon spent the rest of the night studying the soul-rted knowledge.

    The following day, Leon visited the nearby Rainwallow City early in the morning and bought all the avable pill bottles from both Lucretius and Primrose Merchant Association, shocking both branches and attracted their attention.

    However, after purchasing the 2000 pill bottles from both merchant stores and have them delivered to a room he booked, he stored them into his Worldspace, before quietly slipping away from the city unnoticed and headed back to Extreme Misty Forest.

    ¡­

    The Capital, Royal Pce, the Queen''s private courtyard.

    "You called for us, your Majesty?" Robert entered with his wife and asked in disbelief. They weren''t sure for what reason they were summoned. The number of people, who could enter the Inner District in thest 17 years could be counted with one''s fingers. They weren''t sure whether they should be worried or feel honoured either. They were filled withplex emotions.

    "Mmm, sit. No need to be formal." Sitting leisurely at the tea table, Elizabeth gestured for them to be seated opposite of her before they continue to talk.

    "Yes, your Majesty." They answered anyway. Seated opposite of the Queen, the Greene couple began to grow nervous, while they waited for the Queen to speak. However, Elizabeth did not immediately speak, but poured them both a cup of tea.

    The couple found it hard to believe the Queen would personally pour them a cup of tea each. They couldn''t guess the Queen''s intentions. "Y-Your Majesty, there''s no need to personally pour for us. We can do it ourselves."

    "It''s fine. I said you don''t need to be formal."

    "Y-Yes!"

    They began topse into silence as Elizabeth proceeded to sip from her own cup. After a while, which seemed like eternity to the Greene couple, Elizabeth finally spoke.

    "Do you hate me for what I did in the past?"

    "W-We wouldn''t dare, your Majesty!" Robert and his wife were shocked by the question. They naturally knew what the Queen meant. They were tormented by it for the past 17 years.

    The [Water of Absolute Nothingness]. They, along with many other noble families were forced to drink this abhorrent poison after being implicated in the rebellion. Some were innocent, some were not.

    Regardless of who was right and wrong, the Greene family should have never been among the list. They had been one of the Crawford royal family''s staunchest supporter and loyal subject. Anyone can betray the royal family, but not them.

    "I wish to apologize for actions back then. Sorry." Elizabeth took the initiative to stand up and bow to the couple as she said this.

    The couple waspletely caught off-guard by the Queen''s actions. They never med the Queen for what happened back then. They understood how much pain and anguish the Queen must have felt after having her family torn apart. But while they understood, the grievance in their heart still exist in the deepest recess of their heart. After all, they had been innocent.

    However, at this point, they suddenly felt the suffering they endured was worth it. How much determination did it take for the Queen to put away her dignity and bow to her subjects? Furthermore, the Queen''s son had already cured them, and they had regained their cultivation.

    Their eyes grew moist as the grievances hidden in the heart finally had an outlet. "We don''t me you, your Majesty. It''s all in the past now¡­ Let bygones be bygone." The couple sighed emotionally. They didn''t expect the knot in their heart would be undone so easily with a simple sorry and bow.

    Elizabeth hadn''t expected the couple to be so understanding. She was filled with guilt and deeply regretted her past actions.

    Matters of 17 years ago had been too strange. The Duke''s rebellion and her rampage. Both seemed to have been under the influenced of some unknown force that clouded their minds and forced them make irrational choices. But that was no excuse for what she did. The apology was what she owed them.

    Receiving the couple''s forgiveness so easily, Elizabeth mood was heavy.

    "Thank you." Elizabeth said with difficulty¡­ She made up her mine to treat the Greene family well in the future. After a moment of silence, Elizabeth asked, "I heard you both have a daughter?"

 Chapter 157 - Assigning A Minister

    <h4>Chapter 157 - Assigning A Minister</h4>

    "Ah?" Robert and Aisha were stupefied why their daughter was suddenly brought up. "Yes¡­ We have one precious daughter." They answered after recollecting their thoughts.

    "I see, that''s great!" Elizabeth pped with a light smile and asked, "What does your daughter think of my son?"

    Elizabeth had received all the information, the Shadowguards could collect on her son in the past 17 years, including his interactions in recent days. She was aware that the couple''s daughter favored her son. However, she wanted to confirm it from the couple''s own mouth.

    "Our daughter¡­ haih¡­" Robert sighed, before asking carefully, "I wonder¡­ what your Majesty''s intentions are in asking such a question¡­?"

    "Oh¡­ I was wondering if you''ll be interested in marrying your daughter to my son." Elizabeth said frankly.

    If Leon heard his mother''s words, he would have gaped in disbelief. How many wives does his mother want to find for him!?

    Robert and his wife widened their eyes in surprise. They didn''t think the Queen would be the one to bring up this sort of matter.

    "Of course, we would be interested! It''s just that¡­" The couple''s eyes suddenly dimmed. "Our daughter favors your son, but where his highness favors our daughter is an entirely different matter. His highness is already engaged to the flower of the Cromwell family and the jewel of the Lancaster family. We also heard his highness has another lover; whose beauty was unrivaled in the kingdom."

    Praises for the Saintess had been the hubbub among themoners. Even they had caught wind of the news, while treating themoners.

    "They are all close to his highness in age, while our daughter is rtively older. Why would his highness fancy our daughter?" Robert continued.

    "Is that so? Age shouldn''t be a problem." Elizabeth simply smiled at their concerns, before continuing with a chuckle. "You may not know this, but my son is a hot topic among my guards and maids. They all see him as a licentious person, who would lust after any beauty. So¡­ as long as your daughter isn''t some ugly duckling, my son wouldn''t have a reason to refuse."

    If Leon knew what the maids and guards thought of him, he would have puked blood out of anger. Was his image so bad!?

    "Is that right¡­? In that case, I''m not trying to boast but our daughter is quite the beauty herself. She truly takes after her mother." Robert said proudly, before turning downcast. "Unfortunately, it''s toote."

    Taken aback, Elizabeth asked, "What''s toote?"

    "Our daughter already left on a journey some time ago. No one knows where she went."

    "Why did she leave? I can send men to look for her." Elizabeth suggested. However, Robert shook his head. "No, this is something she wishes to do. That girl always wanted to go see the world. We don''t want to continue holding her back."

    "I see¡­ fair enough. I shan''t concern myself with her matters further then." Elizabeth said, but she secretly noted to speed up the expansion of the Shadowguard''s forces and have them keep an eye for Greene family''s daughter.

    "Is that all you called us over for, your majesty?" Robert asked politely, believing it was for them to return.

    "No, I actually called you both over for a different reason. I n to reestablish the department of agriculture, tasked with the management of the farnd, food resources and tackle the food crisis the Capital is currently facing. As you know, transporting food from other cities isn''t exactly a long-term n. I wonder if you are willing to take up the ministerial post of this department and assist me in solving the food crisis?"

    After hearing this, Robert and his wife were greatly startled, with astonishment written all over their faces. The minister of agriculture was a lofty government position with great authority and responsibility. They report directly to the king and wasn''t below anyone else, unless a prime minister was assigned. Compared to their current situation, it''s like ascending the heavens. Although Robert had some experience managing a fief, they weren''t exactly the same. He wasn''t sure he was the best candidate for the role.

    "I believe with your experience, loyalty and ability, there is no one more suitable for the role than you." Elizabeth said sincerely, after noticing their doubts.

    That''s right! Their ability wasn''t just useful for healing, but also extremely useful in cultivating crops! If food was in abundance, food prices would be low, and no one would ever have to starve again. Having lived in the Lower District in the past 17 years, it wasn''t umon to seemoners fighting over food or starving to death. He could potentially save more lives as the minister of agriculture than he would as a small-time doctor.

    ''I will never let the people starve again!''

    Robert''s eyes burned with determination and passions like he had just found his true calling. He was about to ept, when his wife, Aisha tugged his clothes. Seeing her worried expression, he immediately knew what she was concerned about.

    The biggest factor that caused the stagnation and deterioration of the kingdom was that there were no ministers. They had all be ughtered by the Queen for joining the rebellion camp, which in itself, didn''t make any sense as only the discontented nobles would join the Duke''s rebellion.

    His wife was afraid that he would be implicated if the Queen decides to clean house again. Robert could guess that much. They had been husband and wife for two decades and weathered many winds and rains together. One could not ask for a better partner than one who can understand them most.

    Robert ced his hand over his wife''s hand and gave her a reassuring smile, before facing the Queen. "Your majesty, this subject is willing to share your burden and do my best to live up to your expectations."

    Elizabeth shed a brilliant smile and said, "I have no doubt that you will do well in your new position." She fished out an exquisitely designed golden badge and handed it over to Robert. It was his unique identification as the new minister of agriculture.

    "As the new minister of agriculture, it will not do if you do not have any subordinates. You may take 4 men from the pce guards as your subordinates." Elizabeth made a gesture and her personal maid, Lily stepped forward and handed over a stack of paper. "These papers contain all the information needed to help you quickly familiarize yourself with your new position. Also, as your old home has been destroyed in the recent crisis. I send someone to apany you in picking your new residence in the Upper Districtter."

    "It seems your Majesty has already prepared everything. I will follow your arrangements." Robert dly epted everything. They couldn''t continue staying in the Guest Courtyard forever.

    After the Greene couple left, Lily, who had not spoken a word, finally spoke something.

    "Your Majesty, the underground mining has been progressing quite well. A lot of rare andmon metal ores have been procured, in addition to some unknown crystals. Maybe it''s time for you to advance your cultivation, your Majesty. You have been holding back and remained on the same level for so long." Lily suggested.

    "Mm. Perhaps, it''s time." Elizabeth nodded. Her cultivation had stagnated at the 7-star level because of theck of metal as cultivation resources.

    All the metal deposits in the western mines had long been depleted to build the wall andid the foundation of their human race. Although, there was a fair bit in the treasury, they were all among the rarer types of metal and she couldn''t selfishly use it all for herself. She had to leave some for her husband, who was still at 9th step Awakener Realm.

    However, now that they no longerck metal, it truly was a good time to advance her cultivation. This was a cruel world ruled by strength. She should try to push all the way to the peak 9-star level.

    "Have someone go collect the resources and deliver it to my cultivation room. An adequate amount is fine. Don''t let it dy the construction projects."

    "Yes, your Majesty." Lily bowed inpliance and went to carry out the task.

    Elizabeth headed to her cultivation room first and did some simple meditation while she waited. Suddenly, a random thought urred to her. She had always been behind her husband in cultivation.

    What sort of feeling would her husband have once he wakes up and find out his wife had left him far behind in cultivation and achieved Transcendence?

 Chapter 158 - Strange Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 158 - Strange Crystal</h4>

    Underground Mines,

    "Old Book, it looks like you are proficient in mining now, eh? Not straining yourself anymore." Old Cookmented, as the clinks and nks of pickaxes hitting hard earthen minerals could be heard resounding throughout the Underground.

    "You are not bad yourself either, Old Cook." Old Book said smugly.

    It''s only been a few days of mining, but they had all cultivated a masculine spirit that could only be found from doing strenuousbor. It was startling and earthshaking, how much these ordinary folks undergone in such a short period.

    Such changes were attributed to their simple cultivation. Although none of them had achieved the firstyer of Body Tempering Realm, they could already be considered cultivators.

    "Anyhow, why are we also mining these strange crystals? I thought we only need metallic ores."

    "I don''t know either. Just follow the superior''s order. They said to mine everything, so that''s what we should do. We don''t need to worry about anything else as long as we are getting paid well. I think someone woulde to collect and sort out these resourcester."

    Ever since their group had started the mining, no one had yet toe and collect the resources they gathered. All the natural resources mined in the underground in thest 3 days were all piled like a mountain in one corner, at the end of an iplete railway that would eventually lead outside.

    "That''s true. The Queen treats us well." Old Book ced his pickaxe down and wiped his sweat, before he began flexing his muscles in front of a noticeablyrge crystal with reflection. "Check out these babies. Where else can we get paid well, eat well, sleep well and train well?"

    Old Cook paused his work with sweat oozing form his own body, before taking a nce at Old Book. He immediatelyughed, "What do you want me to check out with that scrawny body and flimsy arms of yours? You should be checking out mine."

    Old Cook proceeded to making his own masculine poise. The difference between the two of them was like day and night.

    Old Book had never involved himself in any strenuous work prior to bing a miner employed by the royal family. He was tall but skinny to a point where it wouldn''t be excessive to say that he was skin and bones. Under his fatless body, whatever muscles he had was easily seen and traced.

    For someone like Old Book, it wouldn''t be strange if his body was wrecking with pain within first day or two on the job from the strenuous work. As they say; no pain, no gain.

    However, while he still feels some muscle aches, it wasn''t enough to affect his work. This is attribute to their cultivation and diet. Compared to the joblessmoners that eaten in gruel, the miners have some beast meat in theirs, which was greatly nourishing for the body; relieving fatigue and promoting muscle growth.

    On the other hand, Old Cook was quite bulky with a pot belly, but his arms were well trained and powerful inparison with averagemoners.

    At this moment, a group of pce guards arrived under the lead of a captain to collect the resources. This was not their job, but since they werecking able men with strong physical strength to carry the load, they were delegated for the task.

    Once the railway isplete, the royal family would no longer require these strong Awakeners to work likemonborers.

    "May I speak with the person in charge here?" The captain said.

    Old Book and Old Cook looked at each other. Who was in charge here? It certainly wasn''t them. They had a superior overlooking the ce.

    "They weren''t sure how to answer as the question was directed at them. However, they weren''t put on the spot for long, before their superior arrived. "I am in charge here. What can I do for you, Hudson?" The Overseer inquired.

    The person answered was a captain of another squad of pce guards, delegated to keeping the stability of the mines and prevent the miners from both the royal family and noble families from smuggling the goods.

    "I am under her majesty''s order to deliver a batch of the gathered resources to the pce for her majesty''s cultivation." Hudson stated frankly.

    "En, I see. These minerals were all scheduled to be delivered to the Lancaster''s workshop for processing once the mine railway. However, since it is her majesty''s orders, you may take away as much as her majesty''s require." The Overseer nodded cooperatively. Who would dare to defy the Queen''s orders? The Overseer nced at the pile of minerals and crystals, before adding, "I don''t suppose her majesty requires these strange crystals as well?"

    "Strange crystals?" Hudson followed his line of sigh on a crystal and was bewildered. "Aren''t these just regr crystals used for crafting trinkets? Why would her Majesty need non-metallic item for her cultivation?"

    There were red, blue and grey crystals. They shared simr appearances tomon rubies and sapphires. Hudson couldn''t see why the Overseer called them strange. It couldn''t appear anymore ordinary than ordinary.

    "Hmm¡­ you''ll know once you touch one of them. En, try the grey crystal."

    With a peculiar sense of doubt, Hudson did as he was asked and touched the grey crystal among the pile of ores and crystals. The moment his hand came in contact with the grey crystal, he retracted his hand in shock and nces at his own bleeding fingers.

    "Such sharpness!" Hudson eximed. It was just a brief moment of contact, but the crystal sliced through his skin without a shred of resistance. However, that same sharpness didn''t slice through any of the other objects it was sitting on. "That is indeed strange. If it can slice through all objects with such ease, it could be used to craft some divine weapons."

    Listening to Hudson''s exmation, the Overseer simply shook his head. "You are thinking in the wrong direction. These grey crystals are incredibly sharp, but also very brittle. It will shatter on the surface of any hard object with a force greater than 500 jin. It would just be reduced to ordinary crystals if that was to happen. If you haven''t noticed, the crystal itself isn''t anything special. What is special is the pure metal essence inside."

    Being reminded, Hudson thought back carefully and was immediately startled. "That really did seem to be the case!" The grey crystal couldn''t be weaponized, but it was perfectly designed to be used for cultivation. Soon, his eyes lit up marvelously. "Her Majesty will be very pleased with this discovery!"

    The Overseer''s heart jumped when he saw the glimmer in Hudson''s eyes, but he was immediately relieved following the second part of his response. "Yeah, good luck delivering it to her Majesty." The Overseer shrugged.

    "En, Thanks." Hudson nodded with a heavy expression. If he identally drops the grey crystal on his foot, he will have to say goodbye to it. He nced at his men quietly, before ordering, "All of you, focus on carrying the grey crystals!"

    "Captain, we aren''t going to bring the ores?"

    "No, a single grey crystal carried much more essence than 200 pounds worth of iron ores! Be careful not to drop the grey crystal on yourselves!"

    "Yes, Captain!" The pce guards answered with serious expressions. They had seen what the grey crystal could do.

    Strangely, they felt a sense of pressure, while handling the grey crystals. No one wanted to identally lose a limb from careless mishandling. They would rather fight crawlers.

    They used other ores to move the grey crystals. As long as they don''t apply too much pressure, the grey crystal wouldn''t slice through the ores was what they thought.

    Unfortunately, a mishap still happened under the nervousness of one pce guard. The grey crystal slipped out of the binding of the surrounding ores he was holding and dropped on his foot. The pce guard''s expression was fascinating as he watched it dropped in slow motion with horror.

    "Ahhh!!! My foot! Itnded on my foot!" The pce guard cried in shock, despite wearing full ted armor.

    His cry shocked the others and caused them to throw away their own load to check, but they soon red at him with peculiar expressions.

    Hudson smacked him on the head and hollered, "What are you ying at!? Your foot is perfectly fine!"

    "Ah!?" Surprised, the pce guard nced down. The solleret was still in pristine condition and the feeling of pain was absent. "That''s strange¡­ I was sure I saw it dropped on my foot¡­"

    Hearing his doubt, Hudson frowned in thought and crouched down to touch the grey crystal with his bare hands again. Strangely enough, it didn''t hurt him. It wasn''t the same grey crystal he touched before, but he could still feel the same dense essence inside of it.

    "What''s the meaning of this? Why isn''t this one sharp like the other one?"

    The Overseer shrugged and said, "That''s why I said they were strange crystals."

    Seeing the nonchnt response, Hudson shrugged back. "Well whatever." He chose not to pursue the details. "Take them away!" He ordered his men to continue the work.

    The overseer''s expression seemed more rxed as he watched them carrying the crystals and leaving. However, it froze when Hudson paused his steps and turned back. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" The Overseer forced a smile.

    "Oh yes, one sec. I almost forgot something." Hudson said and made his way over to the resource pile and picked up a red crystal-like ruby. "Sure enough, there''s fire essence in this one¡­ and there''s water essence in this one."

    After a brief look, he did not find any crystals with earth or wood essences and rested his eyes on the Overseer, Dn with a questioning gaze. They were peers of equal cultivation, but after a few days, he could no longer see through the other party''s cultivation.

    "You aren''t keeping any crystals with earth essences to yourself, are you?"

 Chapter 159 - A New Threat

    <h4>Chapter 159 - A New Threat</h4>

    "Haiz¡­ I knew you would ask about that eventually." Overseer Dn let out a sigh, before continuing. "As you should know exactly what earth crystal means to Awakeners, a majority of which are earth-users, you should also know how great of a temptation it is to my own men. I had to store it somewhere safe, away from my own men."

    "And use it for yourself, right?" Hudson mocked, before stating sternly, "I have to remind you that all these resources belong to the royal family. As a captain of the pce guards, not only did you not report such amazing discovery immediately to the Queen, you are also keeping the resources to yourself. Stealing the royal family''s resources is equivalent to treason. What do you have to say for yourself?"

    Dn was caught off guard by Hudson''s cynical remark and was dumbfounded for a moment, before he erupted in anger. "Captain Hudson! Exactly what do you mean by those words!? One can eat whatever they want, but they cannot say whatever they want! Don''t you know a tongue may weigh little, but it can crush a man!? My loyalty to the crown is unquestionable!"

    "Is it? So why haven''t you reported such a world-breaking discovery to her Majesty?" Hudson repeated derisively. "Is it something you can''t exin? Like your cultivation for example?"

    Dn''s heart rose and fell in anger at the usation, on the verge of exploding. The pressure of a two-star Awakener pulsated from his body in sync with his emotions. In the end, it deted like a balloon, before he asked with a self-depreciating smile, "You think I used the earth crystals to increase my cultivation?"

    "Isn''t that the case?" Hudson responded with narrowed eyes.

    As captains of the pce guards, they were both one-star Awakeners, just a level stronger than the average pce guards. Although loyalty was of tantamount importance, it was not the deciding factor in bing a captain of the pce guards. Strength had always been the deciding factor, whether in determining one''s status or surviving the world atrge.

    Anyone able to advance beyond the 9th step Awakener Realm had the right to challenge the captain for the new position. As Hudson had suspected, Dn had ascended a level and was now stronger than him.

    ''Perhaps he wanted to secure his position.'' He thought. With the present clues and evidence pointing in such a direction, one cannot me him for thinking like that.

    "Haven''t you realized that the underground is the domain of earth-users? Previously, this ce was overrun with crawlers, we could onlye down to train in killing crawlers, but never really had the chance to cultivate. You might not sense how great this ce is right now with so many elements present, but once you start cultivating, you will know right away. I did not use any earth crystal to advance my cultivation." Dn justified himself.

    Hudson felt doubtful after hearing these words. Was he trying to make me lower my guard by closing my eyes in meditation so he can kill to silence me since I found out? He''s eyes narrowed on Dn''s honest expression and felt greater doubts.

    "Heed my orders, If the Overseer makes any sudden moments, you may attack with the intention to kill!" Hudson retreated a few distance and ordered his men.

    Dn''s expression became ugly listening to his words. This person was too weary of him, taking his good intention for malice. He started to think whether he should just p the person for disrespecting him, now that he was stronger and entitled to greater respect. In the end, he shrugged his shoulders silently in response.

    Under the protection of his own troops, Hudson finally seated himself on the floor in a meditative position with his eyes closed and began to cultivate.

    The underground world seemed to have suddenly came alive as boundless amounts of earth energy began rushing to his location from all direction. Hudson was shocked and immediately ended his short cultivation, but an incredulous feeling continued to linger inside him.

    It was like being embraced and protected by Mother Earth. He had the feeling that so long as he could fully connect with the earth, he would be invincible. He looked at Dn with an apologetic expression and said, "You were speaking the truth."

    "No sh*t."

    "Ahem¡­ anyway¡­ You still haven''t exined why you haven''t reported such amazing discovery to her Majesty."

    "About this¡­ actually I''m a bit embarrassed to say. I wasn''t the first person to discover the special traits of the crystals. My subordinates did, and as you can see, my squad iscking in numbers."

    "What you are saying is¡­"

    "Yeah¡­ I executed some of them. They kept it to themselves after discovering its purpose and began challenging me after making their breakthroughs, one after another. It was my negligence for not discovering the cause of their breakthroughs sooner." Dn awkwardly exined.

    He only had 40 guards left of his original 50. As captains, he had the right to kill first and reportter. However, he was too ashamed to report to the Queen for his inadequate ability in managing his subordinates.

    Since he could make a breakthrough to two-stars, it wasn''t strange for him to think that his subordinates could reach one-star after cultivating a bit. However, that wasn''t the case. They discovered the earth crystals and lost themselves to greed. The earth crystals didn''t just increase their cultivation, but also their understanding of the earthws. It was a miraculous treasure for cultivation.

    It would have only been a matter of time, before a Transcendent Earth-user arises from the pce guards, if they were left to cultivate with earth crystal without restraint. Who wouldn''t be tempted by the prospect of bing a Transcendent?

    It was an existence even the royal family must show respect to. Anyone with the slightest ambition would never be settled with serving under another person forever, not when such an opportunity presented itself to them.

    But as Hudson stated previously, the resources belong to the royal family. It was treason for the pce guards to secretly use these resources without the Queen''s approval and was punishable by death. Thus, he decisively killed them for their undisciplined and dishonorable actions.

    "I see, but no matter what, you should''ve immediately report to her Majesty as your dutypels you." Hudson stated unsympathetically.

    "The resources were scheduled to be collected and sent to the Lancasters for processing in a few more days. I was nning to send the crystals to her Majesty and make my report at that time." Dn replied wryly.

    He did not mention that when he was cultivating for a long period, it had copsed one of the underground pirs, weakening the foundation holding up the Capital. It scared the sh*t out of him.

    He was not afraid of being crushed to death, but he would have been a sinner if he sank the Capital.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, somewhere deep in the underground, a group of ck figures could be seen stationed by an artificially constructed earthen wall with pitched tents and torches brightening up the ce. It was the location of the entrance to the second floor that they had sealed.

    "Leader, the Underground 1st floor map has beenpleted." A Shadowguard presented the maps to Kasif respectfully.

    "Not bad. Toplete such a task in under a week is quite fast." Kasif praised. If this was the past, he would have simply nodded in acknowledgement of his subordinate''s efforts before giving out the next task. Perhaps he had changed a bit.

    Kasif epted the maps after closing an ancient book on insects before the Cataclysm and specifically opened on a page about ants.

    Looking at the map, Kasif sighed in amazement. The 1st Underground Floor had far too many tunnels and caves interlinked. It was impossible to count and record everything down to the minute detail on paper. The map he was reading was very simple, but it outlined all the main connected areas of the first floor. That in itself was an impressive feat considering the sheer size of the first floor.

    Before it was sealed, they had entered briefly to investigate and found that the entrance to the second floor was a veryrge spiral path. They didn''t encounter any creatures, before the leader, Kasif ordered them to retreat and seal the ce. The underground world was like arge dungeon.

    Boom!

    Suddenly the earthen wall was struck by a strong force from the opposite side, causing cracks to appear on it and shook the hearts of all Shadowguards present.

    "Fortify the wall!" Kasif roared. His order quickly jolted the shadowguards into action immediately. Everyone immediately used their abilities to strengthen the wall. They all disyed the strength of one-star, while Kasif''s strength was at six-stars.

    They do not know what lied on the other side, but what they did know was, it was much more terrifying than the crawlers, physically speaking. Like the time Kasif tried to use his [Earth Pulse] to investigate the rift previously, it couldn''t get a read due to a lot of vibrational interference. He could only infer from experience that there were many creatures on the other side of the earthen wall and that they had many legs.

    A shadowguard broke into cold sweat and fell on his rear in relief when the earthen wall was not attacked for a second time.

    "Haih¡­ This isn''t good for the heart."

 Chapter 160 - There Really Was A Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 160 - There Really Was A Treasure</h4>

    Over the past couple of days, Leon''s routine had only been consisting of three things; hunt ghouls, refine longevity blood and search for herbs.

    At this moment, Leon was inside his Worldspace refining a batch of Soul Enhancing Pills. He finally managed to find the prerequisite spirit herb after six days of searching. Although it was only one stalk, it was better than nothing. As for the other spirit herb required to refine the Soul Mending Pill to awaken his father, there was still no luck.

    While not intruding beyond the 500-yard deeper region mark, he had otherwise scoured the rest of the area within a 10-mile radius of the forest during this time. He wagered he would only have a chance of finding the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus in the deeper regions of the forest.

    However, even after making his breakthrough to Energy Condensation Realm, it did not give him any sense of security in treading beyond the 500-yard mark. He did not fear being attacked by vengeful spirits as they were just mindless bodies of energy. But what is to be feared was sentient vengeful spirits that knew how to cultivate. Ghost cultivation was unfamiliar to him, but not unheard of.

    Chasing the profundities of the soul, ghost cultivation was one such topic that would bemonly mentioned by the higher-level divine practitioners back in the Divine Realm.

    Suddenly, Leon''s eyes snapped opened as the pill cauldron lid was removed and nine sparkling azure pills flew out and rested on his palm. The warm texture could still be felt from the freshly refined Soul Enhancing Pills.

    Leon brought the pills closer for a whiff and was only able to smell a very subtle medicinal fragrance from the pills, but this did not cause him disappointment. On the contrary, his eyes lit up with satisfaction.

    "Supreme-rank pills!" Leon eximed with amazement. A deep sense of aplishment welled up inside him, before he sighed with mncholy. "Haih¡­ Even back in the Divine Realm, the amount of times I was able to concoct supreme-rank pills could only be counted with one''s hand."

    As he said this, he nced over at the 2000 plus bottles of longevity blood some distance away. These longevity blood could only be considered as tier-1 spirit elixirs, but after refining so many, his alchemy had improved.

    This was not an improvement in his alchemy level, but an improvement in his pill refining. In addition to the spirit tier of a pill, there is also the quality of a pill. The quality of a pill is determined by how much medicinal essence the alchemist was able to coagte into a pill without any waste. In other words, the pill''s medicinal efficacy.

    A pill with at least 30% medicinal efficacy was qualified to be called a low-rank pill, 50% for mid-rank pills, 70% for high-rank pills and 80% for peak-rank pills. Only pills with more than 90% medicinal efficacy were called supreme-rank pills.

    The reason why the less medicinal fragrance one can smell from a pill, the better, is because the medicinal fragrancees from the medicinal dregs after the medicinal essence was burnt ck and wasted. Thus, the weaker the medicinal fragrance, the higher the pill quality.

    But why should the quality of pill matter, if the purpose of the pill is ensured? Can''t people just make up the deficiency in quality with quantity by increasing the pill intake? Or simply ingest higher tier pills?

    The answer was no, because pill toxins exist. Not only does taking low quality pill affect one''s health, it builds up immunity with every intake. As such, any pills with less than 30% medicinal efficacy was considered a failure and didn''t have a rank.

    However, if there was one, it would be called the trash-rank. No one would dare ingest one unless, they were desperate as the saying goes; desperate times calls for desperate measures.

    Furthermore, a supreme-rank tier-1 pill was as effective as a low-rank tier-2 pill, with the difference being the amount of pill toxin contained within them.

    Only the legendary wless-rank pill with 100% medicinal efficacy was free of pill toxin but refining a wless-rank was as difficult as ascending the heavens, but only in Gaia and other simr lower realms. The number of divine practitioners capable of ascending the heavens in the Divine Realm was amon as cabbages.

    Back in the Divine Realm, only a handful of people were capable of refining wless-rank pills. His father, the Divine Medicine King was one of them.

    "Let me test the effect of this supreme-rank."

    Leon quickly ingested the Supreme-Rank Spirit Tier-1 Soul Enhancing Pill. The results were almost immediate as the medicinal efficacy rushed through his body and cleansed his mind, uplifting his spirit and enhanced his ability to sense things with greater rity. His soul was strengthened.

    "Truly worthy of a supreme-rank Soul Enhancing Pill. I''m capable of extending my divine sense to a 5-meter radius without quickly exhausting myself." Leon licked his lips infort and eyed the rest of the pills in his hand like a ravenous wolf. "My Five-Element Body should be able to ingest a few more pills without worries of overdosing."

    With that said, Leon ingested another three pills and absorbed it medicinal efficacy. His soul strength grew, and his divine sense reached greater distance. After all the medicinal efficacy was absorbed, his divine sense was able to reach a 10-meter radius.

    It wasn''t much, but it was good progress. His only regret was not having a soul cultivation technique to maximize the effect the pill brought him.

    "Hmm¡­ it has almost been a week since I left the Capital. Although, I haven''t found the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus, it''s time I head back. My trip had been quite fruitful." Leon thought. A man should stay true to his word. He promised he would only be gone for a week; thus, he would not returnter than a week.

    Exiting the Worldspace, he appeared in shrubbery spot on the outskirts of ckwillow Town. He had been constantly tailed by people from the two merchant associations, but they were never able to keep up with him. It was far too easy for him to lose them with his swift movements.

    At the same time, the moment he stepped out, he was startled by the sudden raucousughter of an elderly man echoing from some distance away.

    Turning his sight towards the source, he almost keeled over.

    "W-What the hell? That is some serious dedication!" Leon eximed.

    The small hill that once existed, was no longer there. Instead, there was arge crater-like hole in its ce. It was as if the hill had be inverted. The Illusory Butterfly Sect people had been digging for treasure all this time!

    Their beautiful white robes had been stained by the dirt and had be tattered brown, making them look like beggars. It was hard toprehend what drives these people to be somitted to the task.

    The raucousughter hade from Old Poison. With red eyes and disheveled hair but jubnt mood, Old Poison held up a precious round te with strange engravings carefully like it was his most prized possession for a thorough inspection.

    After reaching Energy Condensation Realm, Leon was able to use spirit arts. Thus, He enhanced his vision by activating [Spirit Eyes], allowing him to see the finer details of the engraving on the small round te from a few miles away.

    "A formation te? Holy sh*t, they really did find a treasure. Is this what they call rewarding the diligent? However¡­" Leon''s eyes became round as saucers, but soon shook his head and smiled. "It''s just a broken formation te. How tragic."

    These people from the Illusory Butterfly Sect were bound to be devastated once they find out. Their expressions at that time would be something to behold. Unfortunately, he wasn''t too interested in sticking around to find out. Leon silently headed back to the Capital.

    "Unexpectedly, formation tes exist within such a primitive world." Leon rubbed his chin in thought. Formation tes were used to activate formations, and its uses was dependent on the runes inscribed on the formation te. From what he could see, it was a spirit gathering formation, but unless there were a formation master to fix it, it would just be a useless te.

    ording to his knowledge, the world did not know about formations and arrays, or at least, not within the scope of the Capital.

    "It seems to belong to a bygone era¡­ Perhaps, cultivation was mainstreamed in a distant past, but it regressed due to some unprecedented disaster." Leon spected. "The world-changing Cataclysm may not have been the first of its kind in the long history of Gaia. Perhaps, a Cataclysm urred before, during that era and ended it."

    Whatever the case was, it wasn''t something the current him should be concerned with for now.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at an inn in ckwillow Town, Old w with a dark and deathlyplexion, was seated in a meditative position. It was the room of his disciple stationed in the town. He did not escape, but quietly found an opportunity to slipped back into ckwillow Town to find out where his other disciples were.

    Unfortunately, he did not find anyone, and when he went to look for mutated ghouls to harvest blood vitality to replenish himself, he did not find any. Because of those two reasons, he was almost angered to death.

    He could only temporarily settle for the weak blood of humans. Now, he was biding his time in wait for the arrival of reinforcements and routine inspection team.

    ¡­

    After leaving the vicinity of ckwillow Town and Rainwallow City, Leon quickly picked up speed and returned shortly to the Capital. Upon arrival, he was rooted in shock at the staggering transformation, the Capital had undergone in this short time frame he was away.

    "Is this still the Capital of Crawford Kingdom? Why do I feel like I''ve been left behind by the times?"

 Chapter 161 - I Want To Build A Railway

    <h4>Chapter 161 - I Want To Build A Railway</h4>

    Leon simply couldn''t believe what he was seeing. It was as if he did not leave for a week, but several weeks. There were some high rising buildings, although it was just the building frames, it provided a glimpse into the building''s general look.

    The entire Capital was bustling with activities, with little idlers left in the Commoner''s Camp. Men did heavybor, while woman and children tended new crops in the farnd.

    What surprised Leon was four out of every five person he saw had sessfully achieved the 1styer of Body Tempering Realm. He had estimated that the average person could achieve this level within a week under the scarceness of spirit energy in the heaven and earth, but that was under the assumption that they were also hardworking and there was also the difference between the talented and untalented in cultivation.

    Seeing so many people sessfully bing cultivators, it really showed their determination to be strong.

    Looking at the sky, three airships could be seen hovering just above the Capital, one of which looked familiar and the other was brand new. Leon highly doubted that one week was enough time to repair one airship and produce two new ones from scratch.

    "The parts must have been prepared in advance and only the coreponent of the airship, the levitation stones had been missing. Once the missingponent was found, they only need to piece the parts together. It seems more levitation stones have been found from the Ancient Ruins." Leon concluded from his simple observation and inference.

    Speaking of levitation stones, he had only seen them in books and not in reality. However, ording to his knowledge, every levitation stone mounted on an airship were the size of boulders, made of special alloys and filled with iprehensible engravings, which heter confirmed to be runic inscriptions after awakening his past life memories.

    Levitation stone was such a primitive name. It didn''t do the sophisticated high-tech antigravity artifact from the ancient civilization any justice. But then again, the name came into being hundreds of years ago when the human civilization wasn''t as developed.

    "It would be great if the kingdom could find a few more levitation stones, or it would be even better if we can replicate the technology. The cities and towns are too disjointed due to distance. Its difficult to keep a hold of the situation on the entirety of the kingdom. If airships were widespread, it would make these cities and towns feel much closer."

    Of course, the problem could also be solved with the widespread of steampowered vehicles, but there was arge disparity in capacity and versatility. Steampowered vehicles could only travel on fixed roads, while airships could fly across all terrains within the Human Domain.

    "Your Highness."

    He was greeted by a pair of pce guards, guarding the entrance leading down to the mines. It was located not far from a newly constructed metal bridge, that leads into the Capital.

    "En." Leon acknowledged their greeting. He thought it was a bit strange for pce guards to guard the mine entrance since it was a task that could be left for the city guards, but he did not pay it too much attention.

    While crossing the bridge, he curiously peered down at the underground mines. The numerous clinks and nks of mining could be heard reverberation out to his location.

    He watched the miners collect the ores and dump them in the mine carts and sent them away after they are filled. Watching the loaded mine carts rolling along the fixed tracks, Leon was suddenly enlightened.

    "What if we build arge railway that span through across the entire kingdom and mount a long steampowered vehicle that could travel on it, transporting both goods and people?"

    Airships was obviously still the better choice, but this idea of his didn''t seem half bad as a substitute for it. Who knew how long it would take for people toprehend the secrets of the levitation stone and reproduce it, let alone produce more airships? As long as they couldn''t get more levitation stones, it was impossible to think about spreading airships across the kingdom.

    However, his idea was still within the realm of possibility. As long as the requirements were met, he could be carried out immediately. Leon began to ponder on the feasibility of his idea.

    "It will cost an astronomical amount of money and resources; mainly metal. If it was before, it would have been impossible, unless I n to scrap the pce and Great Wall for metal. Fortunately, these issues are no longer a problem at present. The kingdom had just gained ess to a treasure mountain of immeasurable minerals. Also, I have the means to make a lot of money to carry out the task in a short time."

    When he said this, Leon couldn''t help but grin when he thought back to the over 2000 bottles of longevity blood in his Worldspace. Once his idea is realized, it would also trigger an industrial revolution, leading to the rapid development of the kingdom. This was something that should have happened long ago with the first introduction of steam powered technology, but it was suppressed by a series of restrictions and limitations.

    Suddenly, Leon creased his brows as he watches all the pce guards walking about in the underground mine below. Do these pce guards have nothing better to do than to idle away like this?

    "No¡­ the pce guards are patrolling. Why is there so many pce guards patrolling the mines? There''s 1¡­2¡­3¡­43¡­60¡­80¡­ 100 pce guards. There''s a total of 100 pce guards assigned to the mines. Why did my send so many pce guards to the mine? Is there a problem with the mines?" Leon wondered in puzzlement. That was half of the entire pce guards.

    "You,e over here. Why is happening in the mines? Why is there so many pce guards assigned here?" Leon pointed and called over one of the pce guards, guarding the mine entrance.

    "Answering your Highness, it is due to the discovery of the special crystals, which containrge amounts of elemental essence andprehension that allow Awakeners to break through their cultivation levels quickly." The pce guard answered respectably.

    "What?"

    Leon thought he heard some nonsensical talk. He could understand and ept the elemental essence part as there were spirit stones in the Divine Realm, which were crystals filled with spirit energy. They were somon they were even used as currency by the cultivators. However, what is this talkprehension? What was that about?

    "Yes, it is hard to believe, but the crystals really do containprehension of the elements, your Highness. All Awakeners have already begun to view these crystals had heavenly resources for cultivation. The Queen had ced down a strict order to ensure the stability of the mine. Anyone caught stealing these crystals are to be executed immediately." The pce guard patiently exined.

    Leon still felt incredulous with such an exnation. How can there such an unfathomable thing? What would be the use of cultivating? Just grab some crystals, absorb them and they can be powerhouses?

    "It shouldn''t be a problem, for you bring me one of these crystals to see, right?"

    "This¡­ I''m afraid I don''t have such clearance. Only the Captains are permitted to touch the crystals. We are just following orders, your Highness. You will have to personally head down into the mines and talk to the Captain for it."

    Leon nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. No need to apany me. I will head down myself."

    Leon jumped off the bridge and plunged straight down into the mines. Sparks of fire asionally burst out from beneath his feet and drastically reduce his dropping speed, allowing him tond safely.

    "Are you the captain in charge here?"

    "Yes, your Highness." Dn answered faithfully. Several days ago, after being urged to report to the Queen, he no longer hesitated and steeled his resolve. He did not skip details and twist facts and report the truth of the discovery and the following events in its entirety.

    Not only was he not punished, he was even rewarded with one of the earth crystals, allowing his cultivation to swiftly rise another 3 levels and reached the five-star level before the earth essence in the crystal was depleted.

    There was no doubt that if the information was not controlled, it would spread like wildfire and attract all sort of problems to the Capital from outside. Thus, the heavy security surrounding the mine and its upants.

    After asking repeating the same question to the captain in charge, Leon was given a grey crystal to use without any objection. Looking at the diamond-shaped grey crystal, he could sense the dense metal essence inside, but it stopped at that. He could not see anything else special or rted to the so-calledprehension of the elements

    Thus, he decided to absorb the essence to experience it. The metal essence coursed through his body and fused into his metalseed, quickly filling it up and his metal ability rose at a startling rate. In a short time span, he achieved the 3rd step in his metal ability before he stopped.

    "Incredible!" Leon eximed in amazement. He did not experience the so-calledprehension due to his low level in his metal abilities, but just by the dense essence contained within alone, it was worthy to be called a heavenly cultivation resource. He had barely absorbed a fraction of the essence contained in the grey crystal, yet he already broke through two levels. Who knew what heights he would reach after absorbing all of it.

    Leon held the grey crystal up and inspected it great focus.

    "Exactly what is the origins of these crystals?"

 Chapter 162 - Another Transcendent

    <h4>Chapter 162 - Another Transcendent</h4>

    Leon swept the grey crystal with his divine sense but couldn''t find anything special apart from the cluster of essence swimming inside it. Leon soon shook his head. Comprehension of the elementalws wasn''t something tangible, so how could it be seen?

    "There won''t be any problems if I take this crystal with me, right?" Leon asked.

    "Yes, there will be no problem, your Highness. In fact, there will be problems if you don''t take it instead." Captain Dn said.

    The grey crystal had already been used, and anyone would be able to discern that some of its essence had been absorbed. If the prince takes it, no one will say anything since he is royalty. However, if the crystal stay, someone was bound to be used for secretly absorbing the crystal''s essence regardless of the exnation.

    "I see, thanks."

    Leon stowed away the grey crystal, flew out of the underground mines and began heading towards the pce. He had things to consult his mother. Also, she was more knowledgeable and may have an idea towards the crystal''s origins. There was already a faint guess in his heart, but it was too shocking to believe.

    However, after taking a few steps in the pce direction, Leon stopped with a change in expression and looked up at the sky. The weather was drastically changing as the clouds were being gathered towards the central airspace above the pce in a whirling motion like a hurricane taking form.

    "Is this another Transcendent Phenomenon?" Leon mused. "It doesn''t share the same appearance as Grandpa Don''s breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm, but such changes in the heaven and earth can only be phenomenon created from breaking through to the Transcendent Realm. I haven''t heard of any other cause for a phenomenon outside of it."

    Besides the artificial phenomenon he created from wantonly devouringrge amounts of energy of heaven and earth into his Worldspace, there really hadn''t been any other irregr cases or news. Furthermore, a more experienced person could differentiate the two.

    There was a difference between the gathering of the world''s energy and the energy that seemingly came from the heavens. The skies began to glow with a silver light and an immense amount of metal essence could be sensed within it.

    "Mother must be the person breaking through to Transcendent Realm."

    Leon came to a surprising conclusion. Other than his mother, who was at the level of seven-stars, there couldn''t possibly be any other Awakener of the metal attribute breaking through to Transcendence within the pce grounds.

    Few minutester, after the beam of silver light struck down and disappeared silently as the sky began to regain its usually color and shape of the clouds, the Transcendent Phenomenon ended.

    As usual, the phenomenon did notst very long, but it never ceases to amaze him. Divine practitioners did not get to enjoy such weing baptism and blessings of the world when they ascend a higher realm. Instead, the higher the realm, the great the danger they face as they had to endure the wrath of the heavens.

    "Haih¡­ both paths seem to lead to the evesting, but the difference between them is like the difference between life and death. One was favored by the heavens, while the other goes against it." Leon sighed. Why was there such a disparity between them? What set them apart?

    After a moment of pondering, Leon thought, "Is this the so-called bnce of the world? The Divine Realm was rich with spirit energy and allowed life to thrive. In return, the heavens of the Divine Realm forbid divine practitioners from bing stronger. As such, tribtions called the Divine Damnation exists at thetter stages of cultivation to stop them."

    "While in this world, the conditions are appalling. The spirit energy is scarce, thends was perilous, and every other race threatened the annihtion of humanity. In return, if one can gain the acknowledgement of the heavens, they can gain ess to untold power and their lifespan could also be lengthened. The greater the acknowledgement, the greater the benefits received."

    "But the world is fair, that is why Awakeners had to cultivate to receive the acknowledgement of the heavens, when they reach the prerequisite threshold. However, if one was favored by the heavens and receive the full acknowledgement straight from the start, was it possible for an ordinary person to immediately ascend to the peak of power, bing almighty and evesting?"

    "The lifespan of a normal human was only a mere 100 years, while the vast universe was seemingly eternal. If one can be with it, they would share life with it and achieve the evesting, right? Even if they don''t, they should still be able to live as long as the sun and moon, right?"

    The lifespan of a Divine King Realm practitioner was said to reach 100,000 years, but such lifespan was nothingpared to the billions of years, the sun and moon had.

    "Divine practitioners chase the evesting by recreating their own universe, while Awakeners conforms with the existing one to achieve it. But I have begun to walk both paths. Where would the end road lead me?"

    After a moment of pondering, Leon shook his head. He didn''t expect the phenomenon to provoke him to ponder so deeply about the big unknowns of the world. If it the past, he would not have spared so much thought. But after being betrayed in his past life, itpelled him to understand the unknown.

    If he didn''t understand the unknown, then he wasn''t in control of his own life. If he had understood the hearts of those around him, his father wouldn''t have been betrayed and they would have suffered such an ending.

    The unknowns were unstable factors that could potentially harm his life. Only by understanding the unknown would he know how to face it and be in control of his own life.

    "Congrattions on your breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm, mother."

    Bypassing all guards, Leon arrived at his mother''s cultivation room and congratted. When Elizabeth saw her son return, her mood became jubnt. To her, the breakthrough to Transcendent Realm paled inparison to her son''s safe return.

    "My dear son, you''re home! Come, let mother have a look at you."

    Elizabeth inspected him to make sure he was perfectly fine for her own peace of heart, before dragging him to her nearby courtyard where they could sit down and have a mother-son talk.

    "Quickly tell mother, how was your trip to Extreme Misty Forest?" Elizabeth asked.

    Hearing her question, Leon shook his head. "Never mind that for now. It seems the Capital had made some great discoveries and undergone some startling transformation?"

    "Right, these crystals havepletely flipped the cultivation world upside down. I''m afraid once the news spread to the surrounding kingdoms, all the Awakeners in the Human Domain will flock to the Capital." Elizabeth nodded with a heavy expression, not minding the change of topic. "Mother had taken preemptive measures to lockdown the new and kept within the boundary of the Capital, but if there are any spies within the Capital, it would be meaningless."

    Rubbing his chin, Leon mysteriously said, "This could be both a bad and a good thing."

    "What do you mean, son?" Elizabeth was bewildered. How could it also be a good thing? Such an influx of Awakeners would affect stability of their kingdom and cause chaos. Was getting robbed a good thing?

    "Indeed, it would be bad if they arepletely unscrupulous and try to rob our resources, but mother is now a powerful Transcendent. You can kill as many as theye. The crucial point is that our kingdom is currentlycking capable hands. Undoubtably, they woulde for the crystals once the news spread and they would resort to force to obtain it, if they can get it through normal methods. But if we can recruit them with the crystals as bait, they would be of great help to the development of our kingdom."

    "My son, that is a dangerous thought. That is akin to letting fierce tigers into the house. Don''t you fear being bitten by them and forced to set the house on fire in order to get rid of them?"

    "That is correct, mother." Leon smiled. "But if theye, there is no stopping them froming. So, we might as well let them in."

    Elizabeth crease her brows in puzzlement, "Then your intentions are¡­?"

    "We just have to train these fierce tigers and turn them into tamed kittens." Leon answered confidently.

    If the noble cats of the beast race heard Leon''s belittling words and inferiorparison to tigers, they would have been enraged and rallied together to wage a war to prove their superiority.

    In the Capital, metal was no longer scarce. They were being mined, processed, refined and used for construction throughout the Capital as they spoke. With the spread of so much metal and a Transcendent metal-user at the hem, his mother would have absolute control over the Capital. There was no need to fear things going wrong. This was the reason for Leon''s confidence.

    Elizabeth was not slow-witted. Seeing her son''s expression, she immediately understood his reason and remembered she was now a Transcendent. She had been preupied with her son; she had even forgotten about her recent breakthrough.

    "This¡­ This could work." Elizabeth mimicked Leon''s gesture of rubbing her own chin in deep thoughts¡­ "Even if they were fierce tigers outside, they have to behave themselves here."

 Chapter 163 - Crystal Origin

    <h4>Chapter 163 - Crystal Origin</h4>

    Recruiting foreign Awakeners was a soft approach, but Leon did not make the suggestion because he was afraid of erupting into direct confrontation with these foreign Awakeners that would inevitablye to their Capital. The suggestion was made in consideration of humanity''s dwindling poption.

    If they could benefit from reducing the killing of their own kind to a bare minimum, it would be for the best. But if the foreign Awakeners don''t know what''s good for them, Leon did not mind washing the Capital in the blood of his enemies alongside his mother. The Crawford royal families weren''t pushovers.

    "Speaking of the crystals, I wonder if you have any idea about the its origins or how it came into being, mother?" Leon suddenly asked.

    Leon thought his mother might have a clue since the royal family record and hold many secrets since the founding of the kingdom. However, even if Elizabeth learnt all the Crawford royal family''s secrets, it would only concern the 500-year history of their kingdom. The crystals were buried not far from the ancient ruins beneath their pce, thus it mostly like belonged to the ancient civilization that existed for a longer time and ended god knew how long ago.

    Elizabeth shook her head at Leon''s question. She fished out a diamond-shaped grey crystal and nced at it thoughtfully. "These crystals are too unfathomable. Mother can''t guess its origins. It''s mostly likely another product of the ancient civilization, but that''s not important. What''s important is that it can be use by us and benefit our cultivation greatly."

    His mother''s answer caused Leon to smile wryly. If they could learn its origins, they might be able to find some clues in its manufacturing process. But that was under the assumption that the crystals were man-made and not naturally formed by the heaven and earth.

    It was foolish to believe that such heavenly resources were inexhaustible if his mother''s guess was true. There must be a fixed amount to be found in the underground world and once it is exhausted, there would be no more, not unless they found the manufacturing method of the crystals.

    Leon wasn''t shortsighted and began looking from a long-term perspective immediately. However, that was under the assumption that the crystals were artificial made ording to his mother''s guess. His own spection regarding the crystal''s origins was quite different.

    "Don''t you think the crystals share some resemnce to an Awakener''s elemental seed, mother?"

    "Hmm?" Leon''s question piqued her interest. "Yes, mother thought about this before, but it was just a passing thought. My son, you don''t think these crystals are the elemental seed of an Awakener, right? After all, once an Awakener dies or the elemental seed''s connection is severed, it will dissipate and return to the heaven and earth."

    Leon was aware of this fact. He was probably the most experienced in this topic because no one else had been able to devour the elemental seeds of other Awakeners other than him. His divine sense had given him a natural advantage, no one else in the mortal world could replicate.

    However, he was unable to stop the dissipation process once the extraction of the elemental seedmenced. He was only able to reduce the loss to a bare minimum by bing adept in absorbing the elemental seed.

    The action of reaping the cultivation of others was considered evil, but he had never devoured the cultivation of an innocent person. All those he did, deserved death. He was neither good nor evil. A good person wouldn''t be able to live long, but neither would an evil person have a good ending. His sense of justice was to return kindness with kindness and fight evil with evil.

    "Yes, that is certainly the case for the elemental seed of a cultivator in the elementary Awakener Realm, but what about the Transcendent Realm, or realms beyond that?"

    Elizabeth was startled once these words were spoken. Although she had not kept an exact count, the amount of crystals that entered the safety of the Treasury should have already exceeded a hundred, and this was just a week''s worth of mining. There should be still be thousands of crystals to be excravated form the mines or maybe even tens of thousands. In any case, the number was not small.

    "Going by your spection, son, that would imply that there had been at least thousands of Transcendent Realm experts in the past." Elizabeth said with a startled expression. The reason being, she was partially convinced. After reaching the Transcendent Realm, she could feel that her Metalseed was much sturdier than in the past. But of course, she wasn''t daring enough to sever her connection to her Metalseed and put that to the test.

    If her cultivation was lost, it would be very difficult to retrain to the same heights in the same attribute again. Losing one''s Awakening cultivation was like losing what little acknowledgement they had from the world. If they couldn''t keep it, why would the world continue to acknowledge them? They would lose their qualifications.

    "Yes mother, I''m inclined to believe as such." Leon replied. He believed his mother''s easy breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm was due to theprehension of a past Transcendent Realm expert contained in the grey crystal his mother absorbed.

    "If our assumption is correct, it would be a shocking discovery. It would imply that Awakeners weren''t birthed after the Cataclysm but existed long before it." Leon added. "Also, the location of the crystal mine isn''t far away from the Ancient Ruins. Perhaps, the mine had been the location of an ancient battlefield in the past. As for why we hadn''t uncovered any corpses so far, I think this is normal. It would be strange if anything is left behind after so many years. That ce had been a spider nest previously. Anything that remained would have probably been eaten by them."

    "En, that would indeed be a shocking revtion." Elizabeth nodded. What her son said made sense, but she wasn''t fully convinced by her son''s spection. "But there is one w to your spection. While the essence contained in these crystals is plenty, it is far from what you can expect in the elemental seed of a Transcendent Realm expert."

    When Leon heard this, he smiled. "You have forgotten already, mother. We were just discussing about this. Since the elemental seed of an Awakener Realm dissipates, the elemental seed of a Transcendent Realm would also dissipate, albeit at an incredibly slow rate by the looks of it."

    Hearing her son''s reminder, Elizabeth smacked her own head in realization. "Ai, dear me. Look how forgetful I am already. I must be getting old."

    "You are not getting old at all, mother. In fact, you seem to be getting younger." Leon was not trying to tter his mother. He really thought so. After reaching the Transcendent Realm, Elizabeth''s lifespan had been extending by more than double, making her appearance revert to her prime. Since even Crazy Don could be younger after reaching Transcendence, they shouldn''t find this strange.

    "Ai, mother doesn''t need your flowery words." Elizabeth said, but she still smiled.

    "Let''s not dawdle on this topic. Looking at your present cultivation, you must have made some great gains. However¡­" Elizabeth shook her head with a devious smile and said, "It''s not enough. My daughters-inw have made great advancement in their cultivation with the crystal''s aid during this time you were away. You should really pick out some crystals from the treasury and focus on your cultivation. You wouldn''t want to be weaker than your lovers, right?"

    "Am I so petty? It is a good thing if they had be strong. Even if the foreign Awakeners arrives, they would be able to look after themselves. My heart would rest easy even if they stroll the Capital." Leon was simply happy for his women and show zero signs of jealousy. Why would he be? He was destined to reach the Divine State and leave this world in the future. It would be great if his close ones could apany him. However, now that his mother brought the matter up, he was a little curious. "By the way, what level of cultivation did they reach?"

    Elizabeth grinned when she heard this. "Last, I checked; they have both reached the level of five-stars two days ago. Perhaps, they have already reached the level of seven-stars by now. Not only would they be able to take care of themselves, they might even have to take care of you. Wouldn''t that damage your pride as a man?"

    If the unconscious king heard this, he might keel over in bed and pass away from shock. His wife was already a Transcendent, but he was still a¡­ 9th step Awakener! In the past, 9th step Awakeners was considered very strong in the kingdom, but perhaps when he wakes up, 9th step Awakeners would have already be asmon as cabbages.

    "As for your fianc¨¦e Rachel, I''m not sure. She had been holed up in the Lancaster''s workshop, helping out her parents all this while. Take some time to check up on her." Elizabeth continued.

    Leon''s gawked at the news as his jaws dropped to the ground. He had anticipated that his women would make great progress when he heard they were using the crystals to cultivate, but he still underestimated their Divine Bodies¡­ Leon scratched his head and smiled wryly, "It seems I really need to put effort into my cultivation in order to catch up."

 Chapter 164 - The Lifeless Old Poison

    <h4>Chapter 164 - The Lifeless Old Poison</h4>

    Divine Bodies were the blessing of the heavens. There was no need topete in cultivation speed with a Divine Body coupled with heavenly resources. There was simply nopetition at all. One would only be angered to death if they took it seriously.

    Surprising as it was to find two Divine Bodies in this barren world, it was more surprising to find them both in one city. Leon didn''t think much about such a deste world, but the more he learnt about it, the more startled he became. The world was not as simple as it appeared to be and there was more to it than what meets the eye.

    "Oh right, let me show you something good, mother." Leon suddenly said with a big grin. He took out a bottle of longevity blood and handed it over his mother.

    "Hmm? What is this?" Elizabeth was slightly taken aback by her son''s cheeky smile. Receiving the bottle of red liquid, she was clueless about its usage and was bewildered. "Is this blood? How is this something good?"

    "It is called the longevity blood, and it is the solution to all our money problems. How can it not be something good?"

    "Oh!? Truly??" Elizabeth was astonished by Leon''s answer. She sensed the blood vitality in the bottle, but how would that help their money problem? The amount the needed was after all not small. "What does it do exactly?"

    "It can replenish the lost vitality of Awakeners from using the defective Awakening Pills. This one replenishes 3 years of their natural lifespan." Leon exined.

    As they were already aware, the Awakening Pills draws upon a person''stent potential to forcibly awaken early and harm their vitality. It was like plucking an unripe orange and squeezing it for all its juice.

    The effect of the longevity blood was simr to filling up the squeezed orange with new juice. Elizabeth widened her eyes in disbelief as the hand holding the bottle involuntarily shook once she understood its usage.

    "Is it possible for something so miraculous to exist¡­?" Once Elizabeth heard its usage, she immediately understood its value. Leon did not need to exin it. This was something nobles would go crazy over. It was a priceless elixir that can only be sought. Elizabeth treated the bottle in her hand like it was the most precious thing in the world, more precious than the crystals.

    ''How much can I sell this bottle of longevity blood for? 50,000,000 Craws? 100,000,000 Craws? No¡­ that is nowhere near enough money to fund the full reconstruction project. How much drops of longevity blood are in this bottle? 100 drops? 200 drops? Perhaps, we have to sell it by the drops.'' Elizabeth thought. She did not know that Leon still had more than 2000 such bottles in his Worldspace.

    If Leon knew his mother''s thoughts. He would have broken in sweats. Would a drop of longevity blood still have any effect? They were after all trying to revitalize the kingdom. How can they take their subject''s money and not provide them sufficient benefits?

    "Not only does it exist, there are even more miraculous elixirs that exist out there. Mother, you should consume this bottle of longevity blood." Leon stated.

    "WHAT!" Elizabeth jumped at his suggestion. "This is a priceless treasure! We need to auction it. Mother is now a Transcendent. Mother doesn''t need this little bit of lifespan replenishment."

    Leon clicked his tongue in realization and understood her concerns. He smiled wryly, "Don''t worry, Mother. I still have more than 2000 such bottles."

    Most of his time during his one-week trip outside was spent on refining these longevity blood. It goes without saying, that he would have plenty of them.

    "Oh!? 2000!?" Elizabeth gaped in shock but did notpletely lose her mind. She immediately began doing mental calctions. 2000 bottles multiplied by a minimum of 50,000,000 Craws per bottle was at least¡­ 100,000,000,000 Craws!

    But of course, this was an unrealistic calction. Not every noble family was wealthy enough to afford to pay such a sky-high price. It may even lead to the decline of their family business. The value of the longevity blood would depreciate with each purchase. Thus, this wasn''t something that could be sold all at once. They had to use hunger marketing strategies to ensure their maximum profits, but it would span over a period of time.

    "You''ve done very well, my son. Mother can rest easy for a while." Elizabeth sighed. A burden had been lifted off her shoulders. With the amount of funds, they could raise from the longevity blood, she no longer had to worry about insufficient funds for a period of time.

    "It''s what I should do." Leon smiled lightly. Being part of the royal family, he naturally had to share his mother''s burden. He did not want to see his mother exhaust herself from overworking.

    Elizabeth nodded with a gratified smiled. It was her blessing to have such a capable son. Soon, she began making arrangements to insert a surprise auction in the uing banquet she was nning.

    Before leaving, Leon mention his grand idea of using railway tracks to connect every major city and town in the kingdom and create a steam-powered steel carriage that could run on said track with the capability of transporting many goods and resources.

    It was a brilliant idea, but their hands were tied with many ongoing projects and the production of steel was limited. However, Elizabeth also realized the importance of this railway project. Thepletion of the railway project would herald an age of rapid kingdom development. Although the railway project couldn''t be initiated immediately, preparations can be made.

    After Leon bid farewell to his mother, Elizabeth drafted the idea on paper and sent it to the Lancaster toe up with a suitable design for the steam-powered steel carriage and another one to the Cromwell to map the route for the railway.

    When Leon left, he did not head over to see Aria and Lynne. Instead, he collected some crystals, before heading to the Lancaster''s workshop tower to visit the busy Lancasters. Since Aria and Lynne were cultivating, he would not bother them. It was best if they could be strong as possible. Ever since he returned and saw the festive development of the Capital, he had been feeling a sense of foreboding like some great danger was drawing nearer.

    Scrunching his brows, Leo thought, "Mother and Grandpa Don are both Transcendents, so there shouldn''t be anyone who could threaten our kingdom. Where could this sense of danger being from? Was there an existence that could threaten Transcendents outside of the Perilous Lands?"

    Come to think of it, no one really knew the different levels in the Transcendent Realm. People only knew the Transcendent Realm was above the Awakened Realm, but it also shouldn''t the end. There should be higher realms above the Transcendent Realm.

    ¡­

    "Sect Elder, congrattions on finding the treasure." The Illusory Butterfly Sect disciples congratted, attributing all the credits to the sect elder.

    "Nonsense. This was the result of everyone''s efforts. I will not steal anyone''s credit. When we return to the sect, you will all be equally rewarded." Old Poison

    "Thank you, Sect Elder."

    "Master, are you sure the treasure is the energy gathering formation?" Celia asked. She had to make sure since this was something, they spent a week to dig up. There were many times where she wanted to give up, thinking there was simply no treasure.

    At the moment, all the disciples of Illusory Butterfly Sect gathered around Old Poison, dirtied and ragged. Old Poison rubbed off some of the remnant dirt on the formation te and inspected it carefully.

    "En, I''m sure of it. I recognize the engravings. It''s the same as our sect''s treasure, albeit with some differences." Old Poison said. He thought it was normal for the runic inscriptions on the te to be slightly different since the sect''s energy gather formation was as powerful as what they had witnessed here. "Let''s return to the sect immediately."

    "Maybe we should wash up first, master?" Cal suggested, before joking, "I''m afraid that if we return like this, no one will recognize us as fellow sect members of the Illusory Butterfly Sect. They might see us as people of the Beggar Sect instead."

    "En, you have a point. Let''s return to the Rainwallow City and clean us."

    Returning to the city, Old Poison did not clean himself immediately, instead he gave the formation te a thorough clean instead. It needed to be in a presentable condition when he hand it over to the sect leader.

    After the formation te was clean spotless, Old Poison gave it another inspection and suddenly discovered some problems. Previously, he was too ecstatic to notice, but now that he had calmed down, he saw the issue immediately. The shape was a little strange. It was not t like it should be and was slightly curved around the edges. It did not seem priceless treasure but more like some well decorated bowl and neither was it gathering any energy.

    "Maybe it hasn''t activated yet¡­" He told himself and tried channeling his own energy into the te to activate the runes on the te.

    However, nothing happened. There was no difference between channeling the energy into the te and channeling the energy into the air. There was nothing holding it in ce. The energy simply scattered into thin air.

    "Oh no¡­"

    Old Poison paled at once. He realized why the runes were slightly different. The runes weren''t whole. Parts of it was missing. The formation te was damaged and became useless. A useless treasure was no treasure at all. It was trash. The sect didn''t have anyone capable of repairing formations.

    "Hahaha¡­ All that effort just to pick up this piece of garbage¡­ Hahaha¡­ FUCK!!!!!"

    Old Poisonughed hysterically and threw the broken formation te outside in anger. He was aplete fool! How could he be so stupid!? Treasure? What treasure? Howughable.

    Not long after, his two disciples burst into his room shortly after being startled by his outburst.

    "What''s wrong, master? Where''s the treasure?"

    Old Poison did not respond. He sat on a stool lifelessly like he had lost his soul.

    In a nearby alleyway, beggars frequented the ce. It was prime spot for receiving money from kind travelers staying in the nearby inn. The broken formation te coincidentallynded in front of one such beggar¡­ The Beggar bowed gratefully to the heavens and used the broken formation te as his new beggar''s bowl.

 Chapter 165 - Dukes Inferior Complex

    <h4>Chapter 165 - Duke''s Inferior Complex</h4>

    When Leon reached the entrance of the busy Lancaster workshop tower, he suddenly became hesitant to enter. ording his mother, his fianc¨¦e, Rachel had been holed up in this ce to help with the workload.

    As a descendent of a prestigious cksmithing family, Leon did not doubt that his fianc¨¦e was knowledgeable in cksmithing. However, he could not imagine Rachel holding a hammer in hand with her thin arms and hammering the hot iron with sweat oozing from her body. All the cksmiths he had seen and knew about, had all been incredibly well built and bulging with muscles.

    Looking at the shape of his own body that have grown tall and toned without any excessive muscles, if one did not look carefully, he would still appear quite thin. If his fianc¨¦e had transformed into one of those macho men, his feelings would beplicated to behold.

    "Who are you, sir? Is there something you need here?" One of the guards approached and asked courteously, seeing Leon just standing in front of the entrance and unable to sense his cultivation. As for whether Leon was an ordinary person without cultivation, it did not cross the guard''s mind. There was a difference between sensing an obscured cultivation and sensing zero cultivation. "We would like to kindly remind you that this ce is currently not open for public business."

    With the ongoing projects around the Capital, the Lancaster workshop tower had their hands full processing ores and providing construction materials; ranging from big steel frames to small screws and nails.

    Evidently, the guard here did not recognize him. This was his first time visiting the workshop tower. The Lancaster''s people at the workshop tower may have heard of him, but they had not seen him.

    "Ah¡­ Would you be so kind as to inform the Duke that Leon Crawford hase to visit?" Leon replied.

    "Huh? Crawford?" The guard stared nkly for a moment, before realization dawned upon him. "Ah! Y-Your highness! I will do it right away!"

    Leon was the Duke''s son-inw. The guard wanted to just say he could enter as he please, but he did not have that authority. He was just a guard and had to follow the procedures. At least, that was what he thought. After making his report, he was scolded for not being flexible. The rules were set for the ordinary people. Was the prince an ordinary person? How could he make the prince wait outside?

    The guard returned sometimeter.

    "Sorry for making you wait, your Highness. I hope you aren''t offended. Please enter on your own ord, your Highness." The guard said apologetically with a forced smile.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Just a small matter. Be at ease."

    He wasn''t so narrow-minded as to be offended over such a trivial matter. Time was tight. He wasn''t so bored as to find trouble with the guard over it either.

    Entering the workshop tower, Leon was immediately surprised by the inner workings of the workshop tower. He had anticipated the scene of muscr men hammering the hot iron on anvils, but what he really saw was a bunch of steam-powered machinery operating in ce of manpower.

    He was reminded that the world''s path of development was different to the Divine Realm and the prevalence of machine, eliminates the burden of work required by human hands. However, this did not mean that traditional cksmithing was no longer required. Otherwise, the Lancasters would not be called a cksmithing family and the workshop tower would simply be a factory.

    There were some things machine cannot replicate; the purification and strengthening of alloys through fiery energy-infused hammering of a fire-user cksmith. Thus, all weapons, armor and intricate tools still relied on human hands and not machines.

    "Haha, my good son-inw is back! I was worried when I heard you went to Extreme Misty Forest. But seeing that you are back in one piece, I am relieved that my daughter will not be a widow before marriage." The Duke joked heartily, before he said, "What made you decide to visit this father-inw of yours?"

    A proud aura exuded from the duke as he continues hammering a steel ingot in a rhythmic timing, making it thrum with a strange after glow with each hit. It appeared this was how magisteel was created.

    Seeing the vigor of the Duke and sensing his cultivation, Leon could see why the Duke was in a good mood. The Duke had broken past the bottleneck of the 9th Step Awakener Realm.

    "Congrattions on breaking through the 9th step Awakener Realm, father-inw." Leon did not answer the Duke''s question immediately but congratted him instead.

    "Haiz¡­ It''s all thanks to the red crystal your mother, her Majesty sent, but it''s only enough for me reach the strength of one star in this past week." Ignis sighed.

    "I believe it has to do with your busy schedule in the workshop. If you focus on cultivation, you would surely be able to advance a few more ranks."

    Even his mother advanced all the way to the Transcendent Realm. One might think her smooth advancement was due to the Crawford''s superior cultivation method, but it was due to the crystal itself.

    As he had previously suspected, the crystals were the elemental seeds of Transcendent Realm experts and beyond. Absorbing the crystal was simr to absorbing their remnant cultivation. The water was prepared. They just have to pour it into their own water bottles to make it their own.

    This was why Leon advanced easily, devouring fire and ice elemental seeds of other Awakeners, but unable to do the same with earthseeds. If there was no bottle, how can it be filled? One needed the prerequisite foundation before absorbing the crystals.

    Therefore, Leon was confident that the Duke should be able to advance a few levels with each crystal. What he didn''t know was that Duke Ignis had alreadypletely expended one red crystal to advance his strength to the level of one star.

    There was no problem with the red crystal. There was enough essence to advance his cultivation a few times. The problem lies with the Duke. He was unable to absorb all the essence and wasted most of it

    "Hahaha¡­ no need to tter me, boy. I know my own condition. I won''t be able to advance again in a short time." Ignis said self-depreciatingly.

    "Hm?"

    Leon noticed the Duke''s strained smile and was dumfounded. Could the Duke only able to advance one level with one crystal? How was that possible? Unless¡­ there was a problem with the Duke''s body?

    Leon sent out his divine sense and gave the Duke a sweep. Divine sense couldn''t be seen by mortal eyes; hence the Duke was unable to see what Leon was doing. However, he sensed the change and felt the peculiar gaze. He suddenly felt he could not hide anything from Leon''s gaze. It was an ufortable feeling. He felt vited.

    Unaware of the Duke''splicated feelings, Leon continued his sweep and understood the reason. The Duke had overexerted himself in cultivation and damaged his meridians. He could also see that this wasn''t a condition that happened in the recent week but been ongoing for several weeks.

    "What did you just do, boy?" Ignis asked warily, but his eyes widened in surprise with Leon''s following words.

    "Cultivation overexertion. Meridians damaged and several blood clots formed, blocking the flow and absorption of energy."

    It was a minor case due to the Duke''s cultivation, but in serious cases, blood clots could lead to death.

    "You can tell from just looking?"

    Leon shook his head. "That''s not important. What''s important is I can cure you right here right now."

    He did not pry why the Duke exerted himself so hard in cultivation, but it wasn''t hard to guess.

    The Duke was supposed to be very powerful, second only to the royal members. It must have been quite a blow to the Duke, knowing his cultivation was onlyparable to the pce guards and he wasn''t powerful as he thought he was.

    Duke Ignis felt ashamed, knowing Leon probably guessed why he was in such a state. He coughed awkwardly, "Ahem, please."

    Leon nodded and took out his needles and sterilized it with his fire. Afterwards, he shot them in various points on the Duke''s body, targeting all the blood clots in his meridians with pinpoint uracy. Next, Leon wrapped the blood clots with his energy and removed it along with his needles in a swift manner.

    The treatment waspleted in a matter of seconds. The blood clots were the only real problem. The damaged meridians can heal on its own if the Duke stops using it for a period of time.

    From another''s perspective, it looked like Leon just randomly jabbed a few spots with his needles before retracting it. Although he could just incinerate the blood clots with his fire ability, the lingering ashes would lead to other illnesses.

    "That''s it?" Ignis asked with a peculiar expression of doubt.

    "That''s it." Leon said tly, before adding, "Just give it a few days for the meridians to heal and you would be good as new. You should rest during this time."

    Duke Ignis circted his energy and felt the smooth flow. A smile appeared on his face as he looked at his son-inw with gratitude, before it soon changed to a pleading one.

    "A few days? Can you prescribe me with some pills to speed it up?" Ignis rubbed his hands and asked. His wife had already reached the level of three stars.

    Leon shrugged and gave him a single tier 2 healing pill. In additional, he handed over another 2 bottles with different pills inside asbelled.

    "Hmm? What''s these other two for? Forgetting Nightmare Pill? Reminiscent Trial Pill?"

 Chapter 166 - Runic Inscriptions

    <h4>Chapter 166 - Runic Inscriptions</h4>

    "Those two pills can both cure Rachel''s illness. Of the two, only one is needed." Leon exined.

    "Really!? That''s great news!" Ignis happily eximed, before his brows scrunched together in confusion. "But why is there two, if only one is needed? What''s the issue?"

    His daughter''s illness had been one of his biggest concern. A person who easily bes incapacitated at the mere sight of blood was no different to a cripple. It would be very difficult such a person to survive in the harsh world they live in. While this might not have been a problem previously with the protection of the Duke and Duchess, it was clear that their strengths were now inadequate.

    "These pills each represent a soft and hard method to curing Rachel. The Forgetting Nightmare Pill wipes away her bad memories and experience, while the Reminiscent Trial Pill send her into and endless cycle of reliving those experience until she ovees them by her own will. I may be the doctor, but as to which pill to take, the choice is not mine to make¡­"

    Leon continued to exin the usage of the pills and the potential risks involved in ingesting them. Although the risk is low, it wasn''t something to be taken lightly. The Forgetting Nightmare Pill could result in Rachel bing a different person, for better or for worse, the result was unclear, while the Reminiscent Trial Pill could put her to eternal sleep if she''s never able to ovee her trauma.

    "En, this is indeed a difficult choice to make. I''m afraid I am unable to decide for my daughter. Ultimately, the choice is hers to make. We''ll continue our discussion after meeting up with your fianc¨¦e and mother-inw." Ignis stated.

    "Alright."

    Leon followed the Duke up several floors. On the seventh floor, Amelia and Rachel did not notice them entering. They each held a chisel in hand and inscribedplex lines on a metal sheet with great focus.

    Looking around, Leon noticed the entire floor were filled with piles of such engravings lying about. They looked like the runes that one would find on the levitation stones. It appeared to him that the seventh floor was dedicated to researching the levitation stone.

    Picking up a piece of engraving, he could not find any fault with it. The runic lines were perfectly carved and connected, forming theplete image of a rune. Although Leon didn''t understand runic inscriptions, he could still recognize the runes when he sees one.

    However, the runic piece was just lying about on the floor among many others like scraps. Such skillfully inscribed runes were treated like garbage with no value. The discovery filled Leon with an inexplicable feeling of doubt. With such attainments, why haven''t they created the levitation stones yet?

    Leon and Duke waited patiently for them to finish their work. Half an hour quietly passed, before Amelia and Rachelpleted their runic inscriptions. It was another skillfully inscribed runic inscription with unknown effects, but the two showed disappointment expression upon itspletion.

    "Not good. It''s another failure. There''s nothing special about it." Rachel tossed the inscribe metal sheet into the pile of other failed products.

    "We can only replicate the look and not the effects. It''spletely lifeless. What are we missing?" Amelia pondered with a frown.

    Realization dawned on Leon as he knew exactly what they were missing. All the inscribed sheets had the form butcked the essence. He shook his head with a chuckle. Indeed, if runic inscriptions were so simple, the Lancasters would have already be master artificers, capable of producing spirit artifacts instead of just high-grade ordinary weapons.

    His light chuckle made the mother and daughter frown. Who had the galls tough at them? Turning around, they were immediately surprised.

    "Eh? Leon? When did you get here?" Rachel eximed. She was not expecting Leon''s visit and was caught unprepared.

    During the time they had not seen each other, she had time to reflect on her own feelings and realized she and Leon did not share any strong feelings. Leon was her only good friend from the opposite sex. As such, she wasn''t repulsed by him, but what she felt for Leon wasn''t love. Thus, she became awkward and decided to avoid him.

    Previously, she was against her arranged marriage because she did not want to marry some unknown prince. As a youngdy, she was naturally curious about love. Although she wanted to fall in love and experience it, it was under the notion that it was unadulterated and natural.

    "We just got here." Leon said with a light smile. There was no need to mention the half-an-hour wait and make the other party feel bad.

    "Haih¡­ They say when daughters married outside, they only have eyes on their husband and forget all about their own father." Ignis sighed when his daughter did not greet him.

    "W-What nonsense are you saying, father!? I''m not married yet." Rachel responded bashfully, before greeting guiltily. "Father, you''re also here."

    "What brings you to our workshop, Leon?" Amelia asked. She had not seen this son-inw of hers for a while. She wondered if he brought gifts with his visit today.

    "Let me exin." Ignis said. "Leon has brought us the cure for our daughter. However, there are two cure and there''s a small risk involved¡­"

    Ignis began exining the details to his wife and daughter of what he had learnt from Leon regarding the two cures. His memory was very good and did not miss anything.

    After listening, all eyes were trained on Rachel. Her life, her choice. They patiently waited for her answer and did not pressure her nor injected their own opinions.

    "I¡­ I need some time to think about it." Rachel said. She could note up with an answer immediately. It was too abrupt, and she wasn''t prepared for it.

    "Actually¡­ this isn''t a matter that needs to be rushed. There''s no need to make a choice immediately. Given time, I should be able toe up with a better cure with milder effects and less risk." Leon said. He wasn''t lying in order to lighten the mood.

    The Forgetting Nightmare Pill and the Reminiscent Trial Pill weren''t the only cures. The profundity of alchemy was boundless. There were naturally many methods to curing traumas, but they either required long period of treatment or a high requirement for spirit herbs.

    "Let''s put this matter aside for now." Ignis waved hand, before asking, "Is the levitation stone research not going well?"

    Amelia nodded and said, "Same results as usual."

    They had only been able to study the surface of the levitation stones. They were unable to delve deeper and study its interior. They once tried to dismantle a levitation stone for the purpose of studying its inner workings, but the levitation stone exploded into scraps when they attempted to take it apart.

    From the scraps, they only knew it was made from aplexbination of alloys. They did not try to dismantle the levitation stones again and could only focus on the runes. There were only so many levitation stones they could work with.

    Leon thought it was just a matter of time before they figured out the problem. However, he should give them a push. Runic inscriptions could benefit the development of the kingdom.

    "Steam engines cannot function without its water just as people cannot live without blood. Don''t you think these engravings need some sort of power to fuel it?"

    He thought his words would bring them inspirations, but he was surprised when all he received was the shaking of heads.

    "We had that thought before. In fact, we are sure of it, but when we infuse our energy into it, nothing happens. Not even the slightest reaction outside of the norm. It simply glows red from all the fiery energy we feed it."

    "This¡­" Amelia''s words caused Leon topse into silence briefly, before he asked doubtfully, "Did you infuse your energy into the metal sheet or the runic lines you inscribed?"

    When the words were uttered, Amelia and Rachel were froze on the spot as if they had been struck by lightning. At the same time, Ignis directly picked up of the tossed-aside sheet and infused his energy into the runic lines. His actions spark a different reaction. However, it didn''t activate the rune inscription effect, but simply exploded with ck smoke rising like when a circuit gets toasted from being overloaded.

    The ck smoke painted the Duke''s face ck as he directs a questioning gaze at Leon and caused thetter to scratch his head awkwardly.

    Why look at him like that? You can''t me me for that. I''m only providing suggestions, not some expert in runic inscriptions.

    "Maybe¡­ too much energy was infused into the runic lines, causing it to overload?"

    The Duke picked up another piece and infused less energy this time. Unfortunately, the runic lines simrly exploded. The Duke''s ck forehead was filled with creases.

    Leon''s lips twitched at the sight¡­ He wasn''t sure what was going on either. Maybe it was still too much?

 Chapter 167 - Is This A Test?

    <h4>Chapter 167 - Is This A Test?</h4>

    Back in the Divine Realm, spirit energy had been the main source of energy used by Artificers to activate their runic inscriptions due to its versatile nature to transform ordingly. Furthermore, runic inscriptions had no requirements for user. Even ordinary people could use runic inscriptions because it did not need anyone to fuel it. It was capable of absorbing energy of heaven and earth to activate its effects.

    However, there was clear difference between the runic inscriptions Leon knew and the runic inscriptions on levitation stones of this world. The runic inscriptions he knew had its runic lines filled with crystalized spirit energy, while the runic lines on levitation stones were devoid of such source of energy. It must be deriving its energy elsewhere.

    "Do you have any other suggestions, Leon?" Amelia asked. It was clear that she valued Leon''s opinion.

    Although it seemed like Leon''s suggestions were useless and there was no progress, it gave them a general direction to focus in. Perhaps, Leon had more inspirational suggestions for them. The Duke grumbled on one side as he cleaned his ckened face.

    "Ahem, I need to take a look at the levitation stones, beforeing up anymore ideas. I wonder if there''s a spare one lying around the workshop for me to look at?" Leon asked with embarrassment.

    "Hmph! There''s no spare, but we do have some airships idling in the Capital''s airspace. I will take you to see one in action." Ignis said.

    "Be quick, I believe the airships were scheduled to depart for ckrock City to collect supplies." Amelia reminded.

    "Right. Let''s go, boy. Make haste!" Ignis hushed.

    Leon followed the Duke to the dock on the top floor. Two of the three airships in the Capital had already departed. Fortunately, thest airship had not departed yet and was still parked at the dock. However, it was getting ready to leave.

    ¡­

    Under the Duke''s orders, the airship''s departure was dyed as they boarded the airship and headed to the main engine room, where the levitation stone was located.

    "Well? Amazing isn''t it?" Ignis grinned, before adding warily, "You can only look at it as is. I''m not taking it apart for you. It''s not possible, so don''t think about it."

    They already wasted a levitation stone once when they tried dismantling it for study, they would not waste another. At least, not unless they had levitation stones to spare.

    Looking at the Duke''s expression, Leon shook his head with a small chuckle. He had no intention of asking such a request. There was no need to. He just needs to send out his divine sense and sweep the levitation stone to understand its structuralyout in its entirety.

    But he had to agree with the Duke, the active levitation stone was an eye openerpared to the inactive levitation stone he had only seen through pictures. Even in the Divine Realm, he had not seen so many runic inscriptions weaved together so skillfully to produce antigravitational effect.

    From this, Leon could see that the ancient civilization''s knowledge of runes was very advanced and sophisticated. The runic lines weren''t filled with crystalized spirit energy, but it was conducive of energy. The runic lines in front of him was shimmering with the azure light of spirit energy, causing Leon to slightly salivate. Theck of spirit energy in this world was one of his biggest dilemmas.

    When Leon swept the levitation stone with his divine sense, he was tempted by greed before he forcefully suppressed it. At the center of the levitation stoneid a spirit stone, the runic inscription''s source of power.

    Leon swept the levitation stone a few more times andmitted its structure to memory. With the Lancaster''s pace of research, they may not be able to replicate the levitation stone even after a few hundred years. Theplexity of the interior exceeded his expectation.

    It''s best if he draws up the blueprint of levitation stone for the Lancasters and save themselves hundreds of years of time. However, there was another problem. They would still becking the spirit stones to activate the runes.

    Leon could only hope that they would be able to excavate the spirit stones from the underground mines.

    "Let''s head back. I have seen everything."

    The Duke shrugged at Leon''s words and nodded. He couldn''t understand what Leon meant by everything, but he didn''t ask and just left thing as is. The boy probably wouldn''t exin to him anyway.

    In fact, the Duke''s line of thinking was correct. Leon would not exin his divine sense abilities, but he would not let it stop him from using it either, allowing him to be shrouded in ayer of mystery. He would do what needs to be done for the development of the kingdom. Strengthening the country was a means of protection for himself and those around him against the unknown threats. There was also the demon race that he had not seen a shadow of.

    "How was it? Do you have any suggestions after seeing the levitation stone in action?"

    Amelia asked excitedly after seeing Leon and Ignis return. Levitation stone research making some headway was naturally something to be excited about. However, she was immediately disappointed when Leon shook his head.

    "I need a pen and paper, lots of paper." Leon stated.

    "Hm? What do you need so much paper for?" Her disappointment changed to puzzlement.

    "You''ll see." Leon said mysteriously.

    "Well¡­ alright."

    Although Amelia was puzzled, she got someone to fetch Leon the pen and paper as he requested.

    After receiving the pen and paper, Leon got himself a private room and got to work immediately. The pen in his hand blurred as it filled up one page after another. The task was not as easy as it sounded as Leon mentally dismantled the levitation stone in his mind and record it down in parts. It was test for his mental capabilities.

    "There, it''s done. Have a look and see if it would be useful." Leon said with some fatigue. After six hours of writing, he had finally record everything down on paper. Hepiled the papers and stealthily slipped something under from his Worldspace before handing them over to Amelia. "I''ll be heading back first. Take your time to study it."

    Leon did not wait for a reply from the Lancasters before he left. His hand had grown sore from the hours of quick-paced writing.

    ¡­

    Watching Leon''s departing back view for a moment, Ignis turned to his wife and asked, "What did the boy give you?"

    "This¡­ is¡­"

    Amelia nced down at the first page and was startled. She instantly recognized parts of it as that of the levitation stones. Her expression soon turned to shock as she finished skimming through the first page. She wanted to move onto the next page, but she had difficulty holding such a thick stack of paper.

    "Hold this for me."

    She gave the bottom portion to Ignis to hold, before flipping through the pages one after another. Her expression underwent various changes before it settled on the expression of awe.

    "This is incredible! Such great details! Is this the interior of the levitation stones!? Dear, did you take Leon to dismantle one of the airship''s levitation stone?" Amelia eximed in amazement. However, her question did not receive any response from the Duke.

    Did he not hear what she just said, or did he not care? Doesn''t he understand the value of this stack of paper after what she just said!? However, she did not snap at her husband since she was in a good mood.

    "Dear? What are you reading?"

    Amelia removed her eyes from the stack of paper and nced at her husband, whom appeared to be spellbound, immersed in his reading of what appears to be a cultivation manual. Ignis did snap out of it until he was shaken violently by Amelia''s hands.

    "Ah? What''s up?"

    "I said¡­ what are you reading!? Were you deaf!? Why didn''t you answer my questions?" Amelia said with a hint of annoyance.

    Ignis gawked, before scratching his head wryly. "You can''t me me for this. That boy has given us a priceless treasure. We will not be able to repay this favor."

    "Of course, I know it''s a priceless treasure, but why do we need to repay Leon? The research is tied to the development of the kingdom. It''s not strange for the boy to want to help since he is royalty. His aplish is worthy of praise. What is this about repaying a favor?"

    "Haiz¡­ I''m talking about that. I''m talking about this. How can the chance to reach the legendary Transcendent Realm, not a great favor?" Ignis held up the manual in his hand.

    It was the [Fiery God Manual] Leon practiced in his previously life. However, it wasn''t exactly the same. It had undergone revision with the [Great Sky Refining Art] as reference to suit the cultivation path of Awakeners due to theck of spirit energy to cultivate it.

    "What? That manual has the method to reach the Transcendent Realm!?" Amelia widened her eyes and stared at the manual in Ignis''s hands with great shock. The Transcendent Realm methods was what the royal family kept to stay in power. Could something like that be casually given away!? Was this a test!?

    At the side, Rachel was dying of curiosity from the talk between her parents¡­ She wanted nothing more than to snatch the papers and manual out of her parent''s hands for a look herself.

 Chapter 168 - Mysterious Diviner

    <h4>Chapter 168 - Mysterious Diviner</h4>

    Leaving the workshop tower, Leon did not return to the pce immediately. It had been a week since he was gone. The pill store he bought should have finished its renovation. He decided to stop by and check it out.

    "Young man, would you like to have your fortunes divined?" An Old fortune teller reached out when he saw Leon passing by.

    Leon paused his steps and turned towards the source of the voice. He looked left and right before pointing to himself, before asking suspiciously, "Are you talking me?"

    No sh*t, I am talking to you. Do you see anyone else here besides you? The Old fortune teller wanted to say, but he refrained from doing so and wore a humble smile. He did not want to lose a potential costumer.

    "Yes, yes dear customer. Would you like to have your fortunes divined?" The Old fortune teller rubbed his hands and asked again.

    "Heaven''s secrets aren''t so easy to divulge. Are you sure you can divine my fortune?" Leon asked doubtfully. In fact, he did not believe the fortune teller could divine his fortunes urately.

    Seeing the shady-looking store and the magic crystal ball, Leon immediately deemed the Old fortune teller as one of those ordinary fortune tellers in mortal cities that relied on spouting some hocus pocus nonsense to earn a living. They may sound profound but is actually vague and didn''t mean anything. They don''t really have the skills to predict the future.

    Real divinations relied on skill, not tricks and luck. Withoutprehension in any of the three mysticws of destiny, fate and karma, how can it be considered true divinations?

    "Hahaha, heaven''s secret is like a forbidden fruit stowed away in a locked chest. Unless we have the key, it is impossible to see the whole picture. However, only some slightprehension of the mysticws is needed to peer through the keyhole and catch a glimpse of it."

    "Oh?" Leon was caught by surprise and began evaluating the Old fortune teller seriously. "You know about the three mysticws, Old man?"

    Leon suddenly recalled a conversation he once had with Lina in the library. There was a group of people in the world that could read the stars to divine the world''s fortune. Was this Old man one of them? Would he know more about the world than the ignorant mass?

    "Hohoho¡­" The Old fortune teller chuckled while stroking his long white beard. "Wouldn''t you find out after I divine your fortune? Come, take a seat."

    Leon followed the Old fortune teller''s gesture and sat in front of the crystal ball, before asking, "So how will you divine my fortune?"

    He wasn''tpletely convinced that the Old man was proficient in the mysticws. It was simply too hard to grasp. But of course, this wasn''t the reason for Leon''s doubts. There were all sorts of geniuses in the world. He wasn''t so narrow-minded. The reason for his doubts was the crystal ball in front of him.

    Wasn''t these Diviners meant to read the stars? Why do they need a crystal ball like those other phony fortune tellers?

    "A medium is needed to divine one''s fortune. I would need an item on your body. Something infinitely closer to you, the better."

    "Something infinitely closer to me, huh¡­?" Leon mentally repeated. The closest item on his body would be the Book of Life left behind by his father. It was his greatest treasure and also his greatest secret. There was no way he would take that out.

    What else could he use? Hmm¡­ Leon traced the Dragon Phoenix Jade on him. The Dragon Jade half had been on his body since he was a newborn. Although he didn''t ce any importance on it, it seemed to be tied to his destiny and could be said to be the next closest object on his body.

    "Try this."

    Leon handed the jade over. He was slightly curious of its origins. He still hadn''t figured out what kind of jade it was. He was after all a doctor in his previous life. Not an antique master. He can''t know everything.

    After epting the jade, the Old fortune teller ced it on top of the crystal ball before releasing the folded curtains around the storefront. The room was suddenly doused in perpetual darkness, but Leon did not panic and continued to sitfortably with a cid expression. His divine sense was omnipotent and could see through the veil of darkness. If the fortune teller yed any tricks, it would not be hidden from Leon.

    However, there was no need for such concerns. The Old fortune teller was genuine and wholly interested in doing divinations for Leon with reasons unbeknownst to him.

    Leon was soon colored with surprise when the supposedly ordinary crystal ball shined with luminescent lights and the world''s constetion appeared on it.

    "This¡­ this is no ordinary crystal ball." Leonmented. It made sense why the Diviner uses the crystal ball if it reflects the real constetion of the world. The stars could not be seen during the day. Although the final brilliance of the day was receding with the setting sun, it was more than enough to still obscure the starry sky.

    The fortune teller just smiled mysteriously at thement and continued his star divination. The fortunate teller made some strange incantation gestures with his hands and the jade began to float, while the crystal ball rotated.

    The means of a diviner was too mystical for Leon''s understanding and left him speechless. He hadn''t been able to sense the fortune teller''s cultivation, as it appeared no different to an ordinary person. How was that possible that he could not sense it? Was the fortune teller cultivation-less? But he is clearly using mystical means. Was the fortune teller using runes? Arrays? Formations?

    Leon frowned in thought. He could not see such things. Either it didn''t exist, or the fortune teller was too skilled at concealing it from his prying eyes. Perhaps, the fortune teller had a means of concealing his own cultivation. There was also one other possibility, the fortune teller''s cultivation was actually so high that it simply cannot be sensed, not even an obscured feeling.

    Leon felt this was the most unlikely possibility. He hadn''t heard of such a powerful being and for what reason the person approached him. He would rather believe it was the former possibility.

    The fortune teller was unaware of Leon''splicated thoughts and continued his divination, murmuring iprehensible words and calcted with his fingers.

    Watching the gradually descending jade, Leon assumed it wouldnd on one of the constetions, but which one would it be and what would it entail? Was it going to be the Dragon Constetion or the Phoenix Constetion? Or rather the major Leo Constetion that represents the lion?

    He didn''t have to wait long for the answer, but the answer was not something he had guessed. Even the fortune teller appeared surprised by the result. The jade hadnded on a nk constetion, or rather itnded on the dark star.

    The dark star was not a real star, but a ck hole that devours all of creation. It also represents the unknown.

    "What does this mean?" Leon asked.

    The fortune teller frowned and resuming calcting his fingers, causing Leon to be speechless. What does it even mean to calcte one''s fingers? What purpose does it serve?

    The fortune teller did not seem to hear Leon''s question as he was lost in his own thoughts.

    "This is strange¡­ too strange¡­ how can it be the dark star constetion? The heavens have obscured the destiny of the dragon phoenix union¡­ The fate of the deste is uncertain and the darkness threatens to swallow everything. Does this unknown star represent a great change or theing of a cmity?"

    At the side, Leon''s lips twitched. Are you trying to divine my fortune or the world''s? Does my fortune even have anything to do with the world? But then again¡­ maybe it really does! Hurry and answer my question!

    The Old fortune teller soon shook his head and threw the jade back to Leon. "Young man, your fortunes is protected by the heavens. I cannot divine it."

    His words made Leon''s expression terrible. At least ordinary fortune tellers would spout some rubbish about his fortune, but this one didn''t even tell his fortune and just simply tells him that it cannot be divined? So, was this fortune teller a con man after all? Was he going to be charged for the useless service now?

    However, Leon did not get a chance to utter a word. He was shocked by what happened next. The fortune teller waved his hand and Leon was sent spinning out of the store by an unknown force.

    "Ugh¡­ what the hell, Old man?" Leon shook off his dizziness and hollered. "How dare you kick me out like¡­ Huh? Where did he go?"

    Leon could not find the store nor the fortune teller. Everything had simply disappeared in thin air. All that could be seen in its ce was an alleyway and the soft gust of wind carrying a trail of dust behind it.

    Leon: (¨‘_¨‘)

    He could not make sense of what just happened. There''s no way a store could grow legs and run away¡­ Did he just encounter a ghost or what? In the end, who the heck was that old fortune teller?

 Chapter 169 - Something Big Is Happening!

    <h4>Chapter 169 - Something Big Is Happening!</h4>

    Beyond the clouds in the skies above at a height of 6500 fts, a figure floated. The world would have been shocked greatly if they knew someone could actually bypass the suppression of the sky and fly to such heights.

    The jade was something the figure left behind many years ago. It contained a great secret and could change humanity''s eventual fate of extinction. The figure himself did not know what secret lies in the jade. The knowledge was something he gained through divination. but now the same divination failed him. Heaven''s secrets have been obscured and the future was unknown.

    "I have left the seed of hope and opportunity in that boy''s hands. Whether he can grasp it or not is up to him now. The fate of humanity no longer has anything to do with me." The figure murmured. He took onest look before disappearing.

    ¡­

    Leon did not discover the figure hidden in the clouds above. Dusting his rear, He was still dumbfounded by what happened. What kind of entric fortune teller was this? Can''t divine my fortune? No problem. That''s okay. He was cool with that but tossing him out was not cool. How did that darn fortune teller disappear so fast? Leon found it hard to believe, but the fortune teller may have been someone beyond the Transcendent Realm.

    He felt so helpless and powerless when he was tossed. He still couldn''t sense the fortune teller''s cultivation, despite what happened. The power was absolute and invible. Leon had not been able to put up a shred of resistance at all. Since when did the world had someone like this?

    "Fate of the Deste is uncertain¡­" Leon mused over the fortune teller''s previous words. "I have not seen the whole world, so I can''t say for sure that Gaia is entirely scarce in spirit energy, but this continent definitely is. Perhaps, the Deste in the Fortune teller''s words was referring to this continent? Could he be from a different continent?"

    He had once seen thergely nk map of the world. The continent they currently lived on only upied one tenth of the space. There was bound to be at least one or two other continents out there, he spected.

    Leon had some faint guesses why his fortunes couldn''t be divined. It may have something to do with his very existence. He was reborn in this world, but he was denizen of the Divine Realm. The concept of his transmigration was a mystery, but it can be said that he was regarded as a foreigner in this world, an abnormality.

    Since his soul didn''t originally belong to this world, his soul wouldn''t be recorded and recognized by the world. Thus, when the fortune teller tried to peer through heaven''s secrets and divine his fortune, the jade did notnd on an existing constetion. It was like taking a roll call and calling out a name that wasn''t on the list.

    However, he was still able to practice the awakener''s path that requires the world''s recognition. That was something he couldn''t put a finger on. Perhaps, there would be a problem when trying to make his breakthrough to Transcendent Realm.

    Arriving at his pill store, Leon shook his head and decide to push these thoughts aside. He would tackle the problems as theye. There was an immediate problem in front of him. The pill store was opened for business when it shouldn''t be, and it was selling pills that shouldn''t be on the market.

    They were All-Purpose Healing Pills and Golden Ointment. Leon found out after sweeping the entire store with his divine sense. They were Tier-1 Spirit Pills, but their quality was all at the trash rank. It wasn''t fit for human consumption and would cause various health problems in the long run. Was this his disciple''s doing?

    Leon immediately shook his head at the thought. His newly epted disciple Reginald shouldn''t have known about the pill store. Reginald did not follow him to see the pill store after he bought it. He did not see his disciple in the store when he swept the entire ce with his divine sense either.

    Furthermore, his disciple should still be trying to digest all the knowledge he taught him. But there wasn''t anyone else in the entire Capital that would know the recipe for his pills. Something must have happened to his disciple.

    Leon didn''t believe this was his disciple''s doing, or at least not by his own will. His disciple was aware of his status and should have known better than to sell such trashy pills, which was detrimental to the people and the kingdom''s development. It was an extremely stupid move that would offend him.

    It seems he had to enter to investigate who the perpetrator was. Making up his mind, Leon stepped into the pill store.

    "Hello esteemed customer, how may I help you?" One of the store clerks happily greeted.

    "You are mistaken. I am not here to buy anything. I''m here for something else." Leon looked at the clerk strangely. Does this clerk not know this property belonged to him?

    "This¡­ then what business do you have here, sir?" The store clerk asked with bafflement. His initial enthusiasm was lost when he found out Leon didn''te to buy anything.

    Looking at Leon''s worn out ck attire, the store clerk began to feel uneasy. He''s not here to cause trouble, is he?

    "This pill store belongs to me. Do I need a reason to be here?" Leon replied with nonchnce.

    "Sir, if you are here to cause trouble, I will have to ask you to leave. Who doesn''t know that this new establishment had been jointly opened by the Fischer and Primrose merchant associations?" The store clerk gesture for him to leave sternly, while refraining from losing his temper. Sure enough, this person was here to cause trouble!

    The pill store had only been opened for a few days, it had grown with surging poprity under the influence of the two merchant associations and the demand of the market. Although the pills were low-end products, which were only effective on non-awakened people and negligible to Awakener, injuries weren''t umon in hazardous workces like construction and mining. Even death was a possibility in such workces without safety measures.

    Additionally, the Capital''s human resources has been fully utilized. Every worker lost meant one less worker. The nobles would not be able to employ new workers unless they seek other cities, but there aren''t many people who are willing to work so far from home unless very favorable conditions were offered, and neither were the nobles willing to amodate such high expenses. As such, they had to care for their workers, which result in the pills being very sought after.

    There was a constant flow of customers entering and leaving the premise of the pill store. They naturally overheard Leon''s arrogant ims.

    "Where did this ignorant kide from? Does he think this is the Lower Districts, where the gangs could act unruly andy ims to territories? Doesn''t he know offending the Fischer and Primrose merchant associations is the same as offending all the associate noble families?"

    "Hah¡­ the way I see it, this arrogant kid must have thought his life was too boring and decided toe over and court death."

    Such were the discussion on the truly ignorant mass as they did not bother hiding their contempt for Leon. However, there were also some nobles among the group of customers that disyed startled expressions upon seeing Leon. Something big was going to happen!

    Some of these people had previously defended the western upper wall against the crawlers and seen the prince before. Since the prince said the store was his, it had to be his! Who dares to im otherwise? The Primrose and Fischer merchant associations are too bold! They actually had the courage to step on the dragon''s tail!

    The few nobles kept their silence and looked forward to watching a good show.

    Leon ignored the background discussion and continued to face the store clerk with indifference.

    "The Primrose and Fischer merchant associations, was it? The Lucretius Merchant Association didn''t participate, hm? Make sense. If the Primrose and Fischer merchant associations also knew who I am, they also wouldn''t dare to offend me either, unless they don''t want to do business in this kingdom anymore." Leon said with indifference.

    "This¡­ who are you? Even if you are someone with big background, you can''t just wantonly im other people''s properties as your own, right?" The store clerk asked carefully. Leon''s calm demeanor and words had instilled some doubts into him.

    This pill store had been the prime location eyed by all three merchant associations for the longest of times. Each merchant association wanted the prime location for themselves and was non-negotiable. They were all rivals and didn''t want anyone else to have it. However, the prime location ended up being bought by an outsider! A nobody! How can they allow this!?

    When the prime location finished its renovation, the two merchant associations arrogantly thought that since no one came forward to open it for business, the person must have realized his mistake and didn''t dare to. They concluded that it was just a matter of time before the owner present the title deed with an apology.

    Thus, the merchant associations seized the prime location ahead of time and made concessions to enter a joint venture in operating the ce, splitting the profits equally among them.

    Of course, the store clerks didn''t know any of this. They were just low-level workers and weren''t privy to the details. As far as they were concerned, the owner of the prime location was jointly shared by the heads of the Primrose and Fischer merchant associations.

    However, no one had expected that the Lucretius Merchant Association would take the initiative to reject the joint venture and withdraw all intentions on the prime location. Had the Lucretius Merchant Association gone stupid? Who doesn''t want to make more money? What was Oliver Lucretius thinking?

 Chapter 170 - Youre Not Qualified

    <h4>Chapter 170 - You''re Not Qualified</h4>

    The Primrose and Fischer merchant associations weren''t aware of the reasons why Oliver Lucretius decided to give up the prime location, but as far as they were concerned, it was better that way. You don''t want to share the prime location? Good! More shares for us!

    They weren''t worried about offending the buyer of the prime location. They had done a rough background check on the buyer ''Leon Bradford'' or rather, Vigo Primrose had done a rough background check. He was surprised when they found out the boy was amoner. How could amoner afford the properties in the Upper District?

    Upon further investigation, he was no longer surprised and didn''t ce anymore importance on the boy. The boy was rted to the Cromwell family through a marriage agreement. It was too easy for the wealthy Cromwell family to fund the boy.

    Vigo Primrose was full of disdain when he received this information. Was this the source of the boy''s arrogance that day? The boy was just a parasite leeching off the Cromwell''s wealth. Without the Cromwell''s backing, the boy was nothing. Just amoner trying to worm his way into the upper ss.

    "Ptui!" Vigo spat on that thought.

    What qualifications did amoner have to marry the Cromwell family''s flower? There better choices for a candidate; like his son for example. As long as he breaks the engagement, themoner would no longer have any rtions with the Cromwell family.

    Coincidently, the Cromwell family was hosting a birthday banquet tonight to celebrate Dwight Cromwell turning 70. The exact time of the Normally, Dwight wouldn''t care about it, but Bromley insisted. He was very happy that they had established a connection to the royal family and was nning to publicize it during the event.

    Of course, Vigo Primrose didn''t know any of this. Had he dug deeper; he would have learnt of Leon''s identity. However, he did not and was too busy nning a marriage proposal for his son during the banquet.

    The limited information on ''Leon Bradford'' was handed over to Porter Fischer, the president of Fischer Merchant Association, before he had agreed to the joint venture. Of course, as the president of a merchant association, he did not easily trust the given information.

    Although trust was the foundation of a merchant''s sess, it didn''t go both ways. He couldn''t trust others blindly. If he had done so, he would not have today''s sess.

    Porter Fischer did his own investigation on the opponent, but the results were more or less the same as the information he received from Vigo Primrose. Seeing the information matched, Porter finally agreed to the joint venture. A high status was equal to strong power and provides a form of protection. If themoner had a higher status, why would he hide it? Unless his head was kicked by a donkey?

    As such, Porter Fischer didn''t investigate too deeply. If he knew what kind of mess, he was getting himself into, he would have never agreed to it and withdrawn his intentions from the prime location just like the Oliver Lucretius had done.

    Oliver Lucretius himself was stood by the windows of his office. He peered into the distance with a big grin. He had been notified when Leon entered the pill store. He assumed Vigo Primrose and Porter Fischer had simrly been notified. What kind reaction would Porter Fischer have when he finds out the truth the hard way? Would he go crazy and duke it out with Vigo Primrose? He would very much like to see it happen.

    If the Primrose and Fischer merchant associations destroyed each other or get deported from the kingdom, his Lucretius Merchant Association would have nopetitors and have monopoly of the Crawford Kingdom''s market.

    "Hahaha!" Oliver Lucretiusughed raucously. "One does not fear a godlike opponent, only a pig-like teammate!"

    "President, what made you so happy?" Ady in neat office attire asked coquettishly.

    "Hahaha¡­" Oliver shook his head and pulled his secretary over. "Come over here. Let''s watch a good show."

    ¡­

    "Robbing other people''s property? You say some funny things. Does the Primrose and Fischer like to twist ck and white? Why don''t you open your eyes and see what this is?" Leon took out the title deed and showed it to the store clerk. The name ''Leon Bradford'' was clearly imprinted on it.

    "This¡­ is the title deed to this property?" The store clerk widened his eyes surprise. However, it was only for a moment before he recovered his tough stance. He was just a low-level worker, but he was clear which side he stood on. Behind him was two giant merchant associations. "Sir, you won''t be able to fool anyone by taking out a forged titled deed. I''m afraid we can''t let you leave after seeing that. How can we do business if you damage our reputation like so?"

    When these words were said, the contemptuous nobles began another round of discussion.

    "So, it was a fake titled deed? Aiyo, this boy is quite the trickster. Had me worried for a second¡­ No wait, this name¡­ isn''t this the name of the Cromwell''s son-inw-to-be?"

    "How can someone like that have a fake title deed? The Cromwell family has monopoly of the real estate business for god''s sake!"

    "The store clerk is lying! If the Cromwell family wanted, they could just gift him any property he wanted! There''s no need to forge a title deed! They aren''tcking that bit of money."

    "That''s strange. There''s no way the Cromwell family would have been oblivious to what was going on here. Is there Cromwell family plotting something against the merchant associations? Or was the title deed really forged?"

    The contemptuous nobles grew worried and doubtful at the same time. They weren''t afraid of Leon, but they had to be afraid of the Cromwell family behind him. The Cromwell family was much more powerful and of higher standing than their Baron-level and Count-level families.

    They don''t know who the prince was, but they had at least heard who the Cromwell''s flower was engaged to. Would the boy take revenge against them for the slightest grievance? But if even the title deed can be forged, then the person may not be who he says he is.

    However, without uncovering the truth and the false, the contemptuous noble no longer threw out careless remarks for fearing of bringing trouble to themselves. Disasters originates from the mouth.

    Leon simply ignored the nobles. He did not spare them a single thought. Their words weren''t able affect his state of mind. Given his identity, there shouldn''t be a problem with his high-profile approach.

    It''s not his problem if the two merchant associations didn''t know who they were dealing with. With their resources andwork, it shouldn''t have been difficult to figure out his identity. There was quite a number of nobles andmoners that already knew his identity at this point.

    Did they offend him, despite knowing who he was? Or they were that stupid not to investigate him properly? He wasn''t sure what the two merchant associations were thinking, but it was quite easy to ascertain the matter from exposing his name.

    Seeing how the store clerk reacted to the name ''Leon Bradford'', it was all too clear to him that it was thetter. The store clerk was just a low-level worker. He would not react that way if he knew. Of course, the merchant associations may have chosen to simply not inform their low-level workers in fear of them running away. But if they didn''t know to begin with then the thought wouldn''t even cross their mind.

    "You want to keep me here? You''re not qualified to deal with me. Call out your manager." Leon shook his head and said. The clerk had said some funny things. This much was considered damaging their reputation? Once he exposes their inferior and phony products, what reputation could they possibly have? However, he refrained from doing so. It was not the right time to lose all decorum.

    When the store clerk heard Leon''s question, his face flushed and inwardly groaned. The manager was very attentive. With the smallmotion going on, the store manager should''ve already noticed and stepped forward to deal with it. However, since the store manager had yet to show up, it mean he wasn''t around.

    "Hahaha¡­"

    Aughter was suddenly heard from the store''s entrance. The crowd turned and saw two new figures approaching. It was the store manager apanying a figure of great importance to the pill store. It seems the store manager had disappeared before to inform this person.

    "President."

    All the store clerks greeted the figure respectably. As one had expected, it was Vigo Primrose, one of the two association presidents of the store.

    Vigo acknowledged their greeting before shifting his gaze over to Leon with a big grin.

    "Arrogant brat, do you still remember me? If you kowtow and handed over title deed as apology, I will spare your dog life." Vigo said smugly. "Did you think we could seize your property so smoothly if you were truly valued by the Cromwell family? You were just a shield. How could amoner like you possibly be worthy to be the Cromwell''s son-inw?"

    That being said, only Leon knew why the reason why the Cromwell family didn''t take any action against the two merchant associations. The few nobles that were aware of his status also had some faint spection and began looking at Vigo Primrose with pitiful gazes.

    Offending the money-hungry royal family would not end well!

 Chapter 171 - Pack Up The Trash And Leave

    <h4>Chapter 171 - Pack Up The Trash And Leave</h4>

    "You want me to kowtow and hand over my title deed?" Leon repeated with a strange undertone. "Do you even have the strength topel me?"

    In the world, the strong cared little for thews and only strength reigns supreme. Thus, the two merchant associations didn''t think much about their actions. As long as they didn''t go overboard, who would care about the life of amoner?

    Unfortunately, even at this present time, Vigo was still unaware that he had provoked the one family, no one in the Crawford Kingdom should provoke.

    "This¡­"

    When Vigo Primrose heard Leon''s question, he retreated a step back in fear. That''s right! Even if this brat was amoner, he was amoner that was stronger than him! Something doesn''t add up! How can there be amoner stronger than nobles? Without the resources and nurturing of a great noble family, it didn''t make sense for someone so young to be so strong! It was impossible!

    However, Vigo Primrose did not have time to think too deeply before a reassuring hand patted him on the shoulder.

    "Teacher." Vigo uttered with surprise. Why was his teacher here? Did his teacher follow him secretly?

    "Vigo, even though you are just a student under me, you are still the president of a merchant association. Where is the mental fortitude of one? How can you be so easily intimidated by a brat? Perhaps, it was wrong for your father to retire early and hand over his position to you. You''re clearly not ready." Vigo''s teacher shook his head with disappointment. He was a wizened old man, but his eyes carried wisdom. He was Grandmaster Cato, the second best alchemist in the Capital. "It was good that I came, otherwise you would have lost face for me. Stand to the side. I will deal with this."

    "Yes, teacher." Vigoplied obediently with utmost respect.

    His teacher wasn''t just a grandmaster alchemist, he was a powerful awakener with the strength of seven stars. Not many knew about the star ranking system that exist between the Awakener Realm and the Transcendent Realm, but as a student of Grandmaster Cato, he was made aware while studying under his teacher.

    Even Leon had to take the old man seriously as soon as the old man appeared. Others might not be able to gauge the cultivation of someone much more powerful than them, but Leon was able to with a simple sweep of his divine sense. Seven stars wasn''t a level he could take lightly with his present strength.

    As an alchemist, Grandmaster Cato dabbled with herbs on a daily routine. Over the years, his body developed a strong herbal scent. However, such herbal scent wasn''t unique to him and was prominent among any named alchemists. As such, their status is easily recognized by their smell.

    Grandmaster Cato scrutinized Leon, before he asked, "Are you the brazen brat that looked down on my alchemy?"

    "If you are talking about the person that was outside the Primrose Merchant Association building a week ago, then indeed that person was I." Leon responded calmly. He gave the Old man a sweeping nce before he resumed browsing the pill store.

    "Heh." Receiving his answer, Grandmaster Cato''s expression was full of disdain. "You''re just a kid still wet behind the ears. Do you think it is easy to be an alchemist? You don''t even carry the herbal scent of one and yet you boast your alchemy is greater than mine? You''re just a braggart, kid! Hmph!"

    A strong wave of herbal scent washed over Leon and made him feel nauseous as he shook his head with a sickened expression.

    One must know that even the strong herbal aroma of the second-floor treasury did not make his nauseous. There was no way, the herbal scent exuded from the Old man was on the same level. Thus, Leon had to be nauseous under a different reason.

    However, Grandmaster Cato did not know this and didn''t give him a chance to respond. Seeing Leon''s nauseous expression and roaming eyes, he continued, "You can''t even handle the herbal scent exuded from my body and you expect others to believe your alchemy is better than mine? Look at these pills and burn it into your eyes. They were all refined by me, something you will never be able to aplish."

    "I won''tment on the pill recipe''s origin, but you are right. The pills are trash and the alchemist that refined it was an even bigger trash. There''s no need forparison. You win." Leon said with disgust.

    So much good herbs had been wasted by this wastrel. How can Leon feel good knowing that? He already knew who refined the pills before the Grandmaster Cato even told him. He could smell the pill ingredients on the person''s body.

    Grandmaster Cato''s expression became dark and immediately snarled, "Boy, do you believe that I won''t p you to death with this hand of mine!? What do you mean by those words? Don''t think you can get out of this alive without exining!"

    "I meant exactly what I said. These pills might be good for healing, but its quality is so bad and contained too much pill toxin, it''s not worth ingesting. Those who ingest it would only end up developing other illnesses. As such, it is no different to ingesting poison." Leon said calmly, before continuing in a condescending tone, "Do you think your alchemy skills are determined by the herbal scent you carry? That is the most ludicrous thing I''ve ever heard in my life. Listen well, Old man, you''ve gotten itpletely wrong."

    "A strong herbal scent does not represent the alchemist''s sess. It only represents their ipetence. The herbal scent on your body is a result of your poor pill refining skills, allowing a majority of herbal essence to escape during the pill coagtion step. Hence, there''s nothing wrong saying trash pill and trashier alchemist."

    Grandmaster Cato''s disdain was reced with solemnness. He could not refute Leon''s words. What the boy said waspletely true. His alchemy skills had hit a bottleneck and began to deteriorate to a point where it wasn''t strange if he went from second best to second worse instead.

    That''s why he went out of his way to unt his status and prestige when he felt that it was being attacked by a nobody. How much could a kid possibly know about alchemy? However, he was now regretting his life''s choice. Who knew the kid actually knew a thing or two and could point out the ws in his pills?

    The crowd became busy once more when they saw Grandmaster Cato''s silence and solemnness.

    "Is it true? Had this ce really been selling us such defective pills?"

    "I think it is. I faintly recall one of my workers suffered a long gash after a simple fall in the mines. Although the wound healed up right away after he was treated, he said he didn''t feel so good and began sick."

    "Simr case happened over here too. I didn''t think much about it, thinking it was due to the environment of the mines that made them fall sick, but now that I think about it, it must be due to the pills."

    "Right, I didn''t believe it either. I think it was the same for everyone. No one would believe that a pill that could heal so well would be so problematic."

    Listening to the ongoing discussion, Grandmaster Cato no longer had the face to stay. He turned around and began to leave, but not after making onest ditch effort to save his face.

    "I''m toozy to deal with your nonsense, boy. However, it indeed wrong of the Primrose and Fischer Merchant Associations to seize your property as you are the legal owner of this establishment. As such, we''ll be returning it to you."

    ¡­

    "Teacher, we''re leaving just like this?" Vigo Primrose followed and whispered. He was unreconciled with the turn of events. Does he have to give up on the prime location just like that?

    "We can''t deal with boy in front of so many people. It would only mean we are guilty. I will find a chance to deal with him in the future." Grandmaster Cato replied quietly.

    "I''m afraid it might not be that easy. He doesn''t seem to have a simple background. He seems very knowledgeable in alchemy and has high cultivation." Vigo said warily.

    Grandmaster Cato sneered and linked his hands behind his back when he heard this. "What background could the brat have? In this era, you can gain all sorts of knowledge from the libraries; including alchemy. As long as you are willing to learn, instead of managing your merchant association all day, you would also be as knowledgeable as that brat. The only thing libraries don''t have on alchemy are the pill recipes. Do you remember how the brat avoided the topic?"

    Hearing his teacher''s reminder, it really did seem to be the case. "But how do we exin his high cultivation?"

    "That is the interesting part." Grandmaster Cato''s lips rose into a cold smile. "I could smell traces of the mines on the boy''s body. For amoner from the mines to have such a high cultivation, it could only be one thing."

    "The crystals?" Vigo was not stupid. Although, the news was suppressed and the Capital was on lockdown, allowing no one to leave, he was still able to get news of the gargantuan discovery through his widework.

    "Precisely. Stealing the crystals and secretly cultivating with it is capital offense. Wouldn''t it be interesting if it was reported to the royal family?"

    "So that was the case."

    Vigo Primrose fell assured when he heard his teacher''s exnation. He recalled that when he met the boy, the mining had already been underway. The boy must have been among the first, if not the first to discover the crystal''s usage.

    "Teacher, for this boy''s matter, I hope you can let me deal with it." Vigo requested. He wanted to humiliate boy and see him suffer before ending his life.

    "Well it doesn''t matter." Grandmaster Cato no longer cared too much. The boy was already dead in his eyes. It was just a simple matter of when to report him to the royal family.

    "Thank you, teacher."

    Vigo Primrose quickly summoned a servant and sent the servant back to the pill store with an invitation. Vigo wanted to see the boy humiliated and despair before ending his insignificant life. He was after all the president of a merchant association. When had he ever been embarrassed by a brat before?

    Considering the boy was wasting his time on the pill store instead of preparing to attend the birthday banquet, Vigo Primrose regained his confidence. It must be true that the Cromwell family didn''t ce any importance on the brat. Otherwise, how could he not know about such an uing important event? Not unless, the Cromwell family didn''t inform him!

    But how could this be med on Leon? It was natural for him to be unaware since he only just returned to the Capital not long ago. The Cromwell family had yet to receive news of his return, otherwise they would have sent someone to inform him.

    ¡­

    "Everyone should stop buying these harmful pills and leave. The store is no longer open for business. However, it will be open a weekter with genuine high-quality pills that will be effective to anyone. I can assure you with my title as Divine Doctor." Leon said after Vigo Primrose left with the grandmaster alchemist. He did not stop them. This was the best oue possible. If a battle had erupted, it was hard to guess whether he coulde out unscathed or not. It was only a pity that he couldn''t deal with the two merchant associations right away.

    "Then we will be bidding our farewell, your Highness." A minority of the nobles said respectfully with sweaty palms.

    They had been filled with concerns when the powerful grandmaster alchemist appeared. If the grandmaster alchemist had decided to p the prince to death, would the me be on them for not stepping forward to defend the prince and announce his status? The Queen''s rage would have easy to imagine but impossible to quell. They wouldn''t be surprised if everyone present was ughtered for it.

    However, they were relieved that things did not take such a turn of events. They were slightly disappointed that they didn''t get to see how the prince would deal with the two merchant associations thanks to the grandmaster alchemist''s appearance.

    The other nobles were shocked at the revtion when they heard the few nobles addressing the Leon as his highness and felt weak in the knees. Offending the prince was much worse than offending the Cromwell''s son-inw.

    Carefully studying Leon''s uncaring expression, they were relieved that the prince was not narrow-minded like the Primrose Merchant Association''s president. After apologizing for their previously scornful remarks, they left one after another.

    Soon all the customer left, leaving behind Leon and the uneasy store clerks, especially the clerk that talked Leon. He had been incredibly rude to the prince. What was going to be of him?

    Leon made a sweeping nce at the pills on the shelves, before turning to them with an expressionless face.

    "Your president already left. Why haven''t you packed up the trash and leave yet?"

 Chapter 172 - Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 172 - Invitation</h4>

    "Why haven''t you packed the trash and leave yet?"

    When these words were uttered, all but one store clerk, began scurrying to pack and leave immediately. The remaining clerk stood rooted in the same spot with an unwilling expression.

    "Erm¡­" Faced with Leon''s rhetorical question, this clerk could no longer remain proud without his backing. "Sir¡­ Your Highness¡­ I am terribly sorry for failing to recognize your princely self. Please spare me. I am just a lowly character employed by the Primrose and Fischer merchant associations to work here. I had no idea this establishment was rightfully yours. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have dared to ept the job!"

    There was no evidence to prove Leon''s princely status. However, since several nobles were willing acknowledge him as such, it must be true. With such a terrifying Queen as the ruler, the nobles wouldn''t be so bored as to gamble with their life just y a prank on him, right?

    But this prince of theirs was just too mean! If you are a freaking prince, can''t you at least dress like one? Wasn''t it normal for a prince to dress like a prince? Ifmoners suddenly be royalty, they wouldn''t hold back in showing it off, right? Because if they weren''t recognized, they would continued to be looked down on and bullied by nobles, right?

    Does the prince like being treated like that or does he like looking for trouble¡­? It must be that¡­ right!?

    These were just thoughts he could only think to himself and not be said out loud. However, it wasn''t important what he thought anyway. What was important was there was an opportunity right in front of him. It was up to him, whether he could grasp it or not.

    If he could work for the prince and establish a close friendly rtionship between them, it may be possible for him to rise from an ordinary person like him to rise and enter the upper ss.

    "Hehehe¡­ Your Highness, I wonder if you would allow me to continue working here¡­ It would be a great honor to work for your Highness." The clerk said with a mixture of fear and hope. He already offended the prince, but he hoped the prince wasn''t a person who hold grudges against minor characters like him and let things pass. As the saying went; no discord, no concord.

    However, the clerk must be dreaming if he thought things would go ording to his wish. Leon felt the clerk''s words were too hypocritical and his expression darkened immediately.

    I had shown the title deed¡­ but not only did this clerk not acknowledge it, he even tried to seize it! Now that he knows the prince is standing before him, he wants to switch side and work for me instead!? How could good life be that easy? I only have one word for such person;

    "Impossible!"

    Leon''s loud and powerful voice shook the clerk to core. His hopes and ambition were crushed in a single instant. The prince''s strong rejection wasced with coldness and killing intent. He did not understand what he had just done or said to provoke such strong hostility from the prince. However, the clerk no longer had the courage to linger around and fled the pill store in horror.

    The clerk was like a stalk of grass that leans wherever the wind blows. Although, others might not praise this type of opportunist behavior, it was what any wise person would do; to join the side with the better prospect. The two merchant associations have offended the prince. Their days are numbered. Naturally, it was the right choice to find a bigger tree, and there was no bigger tree than the royal family in the Crawford Kingdom.

    Capable leaders may be willing to ept this type of person because people with clear goals and interest are easy to be utilized by them. These types of people are the ones that would work wholeheartedly if it meant their goals and interest could be met.

    But it was also this type of person, that Leon absolutely despise. When things go south, these would be the first people to betray him and he did not take kindly to betrayals.

    ¡­

    When the store was devoid of people, Leon headed to the rooftop and summoned the nearby shadowguards hidden in the area.

    "What orders do you have for us, your Highness?"

    "I want you to dig up all crimes you have recorded on the Primrose and Fischer merchant associations and bring it back for my perusal. Also, I have recently epted a disciple by the name of Reginald from the Graeme family. Find out his whereabouts. If the situation is dire, you are permitted to mobilize the entire force to save him." Leon instructed.

    "We hear and obey."

    The shadowguards departed from the rooftop shortly.

    Leon could guess that before his disciple fell into his opponent''s hand, his disciple had attempted to record the alchemy knowledge he transmitted, down on paper for fear of forgetting. This should be how Grandmaster Cato got his hands on the pill form for his All-Purpose Healing Pill and Golden Ointment.

    Also, Reginald could have relied on his status as the prince''s disciple to save himself, but seeing that Primrose and Fischer were clueless, it showed that Reginald was loyal and trustworthy. Leon did not judge a person wrongly. Though, it also wouldn''t have mattered if his disciple exposed his status to save himself since his identity wasn''t some secret. In fact, it would have saved them a fair bit of trouble. But since his disciple had most likely suffered a fair bit for this trouble, it wouldn''t be right if he as the master, didn''t make the Primrose and Fischer bleed for it.

    Returning to the ground floor, Leon discovered an uninvited guest.

    "Who are you and what do you want? The store is no longer open for business." Leon stated.

    "Sir, I am a servant of the Primrose family. My master has kindly sent me here to deliver this letter to you." The servant said humbly, but haughtiness could be faintly seen in his eyes. He was a proud servant of the Primrose family.

    The Primrose family wasn''t strong personally. The strongest Awakener in the family was Vigo and his old father. Both were only at the 7th step, however, as merchants, they had immeasurable wealth and connections to powerful people and families, which makes them a force to be reckoned with.

    "What''s this? A challenge letter?"

    Leon epted the letter with knitted brows. What was Vigo''s intention? With his narrow-mindedness and animosity, he would not let Leon off after his attempt to embarrass and destroy their reputation.

    A merchant''s value was based on the people''s trust in them. If it was lost, it was hard for them to do business. Vigo knew this, but he still allowed the sales of the pills because the defects of the pills and ointment weren''t life threatening and slow acting. The life expectancy of an average person wasn''t high to begin with and in a critical situation, the pills and ointment could indeed save a life.

    Vigo and Porter love profits, but they weren''t unscrupulous. The prices they set were very fair and affordable after weighing the pros and cons. They just didn''t publicize the side effects of their products.

    Normally, when people hear about the defects of a product, they would forget all about the good parts and deem it as a bad product overall. The validity of Leon''s words wasn''t proven in the end, but he left behind a seed of doubt. There was no need to prove it. It was just a matter of time before people find out.

    However, what everyone didn''t know was that it was the Primrose and Fischer''s marketing n to sell these trash-rank products. With two merchant association working together, there was a total of six grandmaster alchemists involved. It would be strange if the pills and ointment refined by all these grandmaster alchemists resulted in trash-rank qualities. There were low, mid and even high-rank pills in their inventory.

    Their n was to sell the lowest quality products first, before steadily introducing the higher quality products to maximize their profits. This was the general marketing strategy of any business enterprise; to control the pace of introducing newer, better and higher quality products.

    But even the Primrose and Fischer merchant associations weren''t aware that the trash-rank pills and ointment were all refined by Grandmaster Cato alone, which was why Grandmaster Cato wanted Leon dead, but couldn''t do it openly.

    "The order was to deliver the letter, and deliver the letter, I have. Thus, I shall take my leave. Why don''t you open the letter and read it yourself, sir?"

    The servant said haughtily as he faced the store exit and began leaving. Leon frowned at the servant''s attitude. He nted a foot on the servants back and sent the him flying to the entrance

    "Y-You! You dare kick me!?"

    The servant roared in anger as he tried to get back up, but the crushing weight of Leon''s cultivation pressure sudden bore down on him and forced him on his hands and knees.

    "Know your ce, servant!"

    Regardless of his statuses, he was still a powerful cultivator and was no pushover. The servant was entitled to pay him the proper respects as expected of a person when they meet a stronger Awakener.

    "Mercy, sir! I was blind! Please spare me!" The servant begged, while being drenched in cold sweat.

    Dammit, what the hell was wrong with him? Or rather what the hell was wrong with the world? Even kids under 20 could be such powerful One-Star Awakener these days. Why didn''t anyone inform him about this? What bad luck!

    "Hmph! Get lost!" Leon released his cultivation pressure.

    The servant thanked him quickly and profusely, before scurrying off in a disheveled manner.

    Shortly after the pill store regain its tranquility, Leon opened the letter. Much to his surprise, it was not a challenge letter but an invitation, and to the Cromwell''s banquet no less. Was this Vigo Primrose in a hurry to die?

    "Since it''s the Old man''s birthday, I should prepare a gift." Leon mused. "A pill recipe will do for an alchemy fanatic like the Old man."

    Leon wasn''t fond of social gatherings, but given his rtionship with the Cromwell family, he ought to make an appearance.

    He was already nning to gift the Cromwell family some longevity blood, so it couldn''t be used as a birthday present conveniently. The value was guaranteed but the thought would have beencking.

    After settling on which pill recipe to gift the Old man, Leon made his way to the Cromwell''s estate.

    "Let''s see what this Vigo Primrose is ying at."

 Chapter 173 - Gathering At The Banquet

    <h4>Chapter 173 - Gathering At The Banquet</h4>

    The banquet being hosted by the Cromwell family was not a private event. Regardless of whether one arrived with an invitation letter or not, they would be weed all the same. All who came were guests.

    As such, Bromley Cromwell, the organizer of the event did not send out many invitation letters and mainly spread the news. The few invitation letters were only sent out of respects for the influential figures in the Capital and those the Cromwell family share close business rtionship with.

    "Don''t mind this Old man and just treat this like a normal social gathering, everyone." Dwight said from the seat of honor, before joking, "What is there to celebrate at this age? Bing one step closer to the coffin?"

    "Hahaha, you jest, Lord Dwight. You are still very much still lively and healthy. It shouldn''t be a problem to live for another 20-30 years. Allow me to shamelessly take the first cup, wishing you live to a ripe old age." Vigo promptly downed his wine cup after stating.

    "Hahaha¡­" Dwight chuckled, while stroking his beard in reminisce. Only members of the Cromwell family knew why he was in such good health this following year.

    Who knew that a normal stroll for fresh air would result in a chance encounter with amoner with peerless alchemy skill? And thatmoner would also be the missing prince? Fate was a mysteriously thing. Dwight shook his head and did not make ament on the topic. A pill that could remove impurities would send waves through the Capital. If Leon didn''t n make the pill''s existence public, then he wouldn''t say anything.

    "It is unexpected to have the presidents of all three merchant associations attend our event. It is an honor." Bromley raised his own cup and spoke in his father''s stead.

    "We wouldn''t dare. To be able to attend such a special asion, the honor is ours. I wonder if the Lord Dwight is satisfied with our gifts?"

    Porter Fischer and Oliver Lucretius raised their own cups in kind courteously, when they were mentioned.

    "Sir Porter and Sir Oliver was meticulous in choosing the gift, knowing that my father is passionate about alchemy, you both chose unique spirit herbs. My father is definitely satisfied with the gift. Isn''t that right, father?"

    Dwight shed a light smile at Bromley''s question, neither admitting nor denying right away.

    The gifts received by the three presidents were indeed valuable, but without the skills and right pill form, these rare spirit herbs with unknown usage would only be as good as portraits and paintings; useless and only good for appreciating.

    Only new pill forms or actually with unique usage would move him. What was the point of gifting him something he couldn''t use? A trace of unhappiness was hidden in Dwight''s eyes.

    Although, it seemed the three president''s gift was out of good intentions, there were ulterior motives hidden underneath.

    Who didn''t know that out of the 10 grandmaster alchemists in the kingdom, 9 were associated with the three big merchant associations?

    In the end, they were most likely expecting him to return the spirit herb with a request for one of the grandmaster alchemists to refine it. The three presidents wanted the Cromwell family to owe them a favor.

    Of course, Dwight did not need to do this. He knew a better alchemist and that alchemist was even his grandson-inw.

    Although, Dwight understood the underlying intentions, he pretended he didn''t and kept silence on the matter. It was not good to tear away all pretense. He didn''t want to make trouble for his son, who had to shoulder the family business in his stead.

    For the sake of etiquette, Dwight showed his appreciation for the three presidents''''good intentions''.

    "Thank for the great gifts. I will certainly put them to good use." Dwight said.

    His words brought a smile to the three presidents.

    The number people that attended the banquet was far fewer than what the Cromwell family had anticipated. Although there was still some time until the set time to start the banquet, the number of nobles attending had stopped some time ago.

    With such an open event, it should have been an opportunity for the lower ranking nobles toe seeking to establish connections and business opportunities with the higher-ranking nobles at the banquet.

    Unfortunately, the reality was different to one''s expectations. The ones that actually attended were all magnates of the business world, with the exclusion of the royal family and ten grandmaster alchemists.

    In addition to the presence of the three presidents of the merchant associations, who arrived with 6 associated Counts, there was Earl Nichs Fletcher of the lumber business and Earl Zachary Stanford of the stone quarry business.

    Apart from Steward Sebastian, who came representing the Lancaster family, everyone else came with their wives and children.

    As an Awakener with strength on par with Marquises, no one was displeased with Steward Sebastian''s attendance as a representative of the Lancaster family. He was well received as their peer and equal at banquet table, regardless of his status as a servant.

    Earl Nichs Fletcher and Earl Zachary Stanford both shared a close business rtionship with Cromwell family. The raw building materials for all the Cromwell''s construction projects came from the Fletcher family and Stanford family.

    Soon, everyone in attendance had offered some form of congrattions and gifts. Unsurprisingly, they were also alchemy-rted gifts, consisting of; Awakening Pills and rare herbs.

    Naturally, the Cromwell family no longer cares for the wed Awakening Pills, now that they have the revised True Awakening Pills, but it did not need to be mention. Up to this point, it was still unconfirmed whether the faulty pill recipe was a result of the demon''s machination or not.

    Bromley sighed with some disappointment. It appeared that the others had been scared away by this line up of magnates, who all sat at the same table. The wives and children of the attending nobles were separated to other tables

    "It still early before the set time of the banquet, but it doesn''t seem like anyone else will being." Bromley stated, before asking, "Shall we start the banquet early?"

    "I concur."

    Vigo''s lips rose into a grin. The brat had not arrived yet, which Vigo thought was favorable to him. It would not look good to appearte.

    Everyone else also nodded in agreement with Bromley''s suggestion.

    "Sebastian, inform the maids in the kitchen to bring out the food." Bromley ordered without much thought. However, it brought about two different response.

    "Excuse me?"

    "Yes, my Lord."

    "Oh?" Bromley patted his head. Howe he never realized there were two Sebastians? Probably because he was rarely in the Capital? What a strange coincidence. He nced at Steward Sebastian apologetically, "My apologies, Sir Sebastian. I was ordering my servant, Sebastian."

    Steward Sebastian''s lips twitched upon hearing this and focused his gaze on the servant by Bromley''s side meaningfully.

    "Your name is also Sebastian?"

    "This lowly servant''s name is indeed Sebastian, Lord Sebastian." The servant answered truthfully with a forced smile. Only he knew how nervous he was as he answered this.

    Steward Sebastian''s lips twitched again. It felt like he was being cursed as a lowly servant. He gave the servant a harsh re.

    The servant felt tremendous pressure from Steward Sebastian''s re and almost had a nervous breakdown on the spot. It was not his intention at all. How else was he meant to answer the question?

    "Hahaha¡­ Well this is quite the coincident." Bromleyughed, before saying, "Go do your task, Sebastia¡­ Ahem¡­ Sebas. To save us the confusion, I will call you that for now. That should be fine, right?"

    "Y-Yes, my Lord. I''ll go inform the kitchen right away!"

    "Is there any problem with this arrangement, Sir Sebastian?" Bromley turned and asked.

    "None."

    When the servant left hurriedly, he sighed with mncholy at the same time. Aish¡­ the life of a servant sure is difficult¡­ His name couldn''t even be acknowledged.

    The food was quickly brought out by the maids and soon filled the tables with fine delicacies. As expected of a noble''s meal, it was both sumptuous and elegantly arranged. Each dish was like a work of art.

    "Everyone, please help yourself." Bromley gestured to the food on the table.

    Vigo Primrose, who seemed to have been waiting for someone to arrive, spotted Leon approaching in the distance and began to smile evilly.

    "Go now." Vigo whispered an order to his servant. The servant nodded and shortly left.

    ¡­

    Underground Mines.

    "Captain, a servant of the Primrose family is requesting to see you." A pce guard said.

    "Hmm? What does a servant of those merchants want to see me for? A business proposition?"

    Dn immediately shook his head at the thought. Even if the Primrose Merchant Association was nning to expand into the mining business, they would be taking their business talk to the Queen, not here. A bribe sounded more like.

    "No, Captain. The servant said he had a report to make." The pce guard answered.

    "Oh? Since it''s an official matter, I will go see him." Dn said.

    The underground mines were off-limits to those without a permit. Only those who were employed to work in the mines had a permit. As such, the servant of the Primrose family had to wait at the entrance.

    "I heard you have a report to make. Let''s hear it." Dn said sternly.

    The Captain''s sternness and high cultivation made the servant feel pressured as he made his report as instructed by his lord, without any additional bullsh*t.

    "Y-Yes. My lord instructed me to inform Captain Dn that amoner had stolen some of the heavenly crystals from the mines and managed to secretly it to the one-star level."

    "What!" Captain Dn was immediately in self-doubt. How was that possible? They had strict security. It was impossible for amoner to sneak out of the mines with the heavenly crystals under their watch! He studied the servant''s expression to determine whether there was any falsehood in the servant''s words, but it didn''t seem like the servant was lying. "What is themoner''s name?"

    "Leon Bradford, Captain." The servant answeredpliantly.

    "Leon¡­ Leon Bradford¡­? This name sounds very familiar¡­ Where have I heard this?" Dn pondered, before he was misled by his men.

    "It''s because its very simr to his highness''s name, Captain. There is only a two-character difference in the name." A pce guard answered.

    "I see. No wonder. Did we have someone like that in the mines before?" Dn asked the pce guard.

    The pce guard gawked before answering wryly, "Captain, there are literally thousands of miners. It''s impossible to remember every one of their names. Not to mention, we only have the name list of those employed by the royal family and not the other noble families."

    Dn nodded. What the pce guard said made sense. Searching through all the name list would take too much.

    If there was indeed amoner at the strength at one-star level due to the heavenly crystals, it was indeed a serious crime and dereliction of his duty as the supervisor. It would reflect poorly on him. He had to apprehend the person first, before confirming the truth of the matter.

    Dn did not bother asking if the servant knew where the person was. Since he was ordered to make the report, he should know where the person in question is and what he looks like. He directly ordered,

    "Take me to this person immediately!"

 Chapter 174 - A Predestined Tragedy

    <h4>Chapter 174 - A Predestined Tragedy</h4>

    By the time, Leon arrived at the banquet, the guests had already begun eating and chatting in an elegant manner for some time.

    "Did I arrivete?"

    Leon thought he was quite punctual. He had arrived at the banquet on the dot. At least, ording to the time written in the letter. If Vigo Primrose purposely wrote the wrong time to embarrass him, Leon could only shrug his shoulders. It wouldn''t be a surprise to see petty tricksing from a narrowminded person.

    In fact, this was indeed the case. The banquet starts at 6PM, but Vigo Primrose wrote down 6:30PM in the letter. In addition to the early start to the banquet, it made Leon appear reallyte to the party.

    However, the fact that Vigo Primrose did not know Leon''s identity meant that he had long severely underestimated thetter''s importance.

    The news of Leon''s return had not reached the Cromwell family. Thus, Dwight and Bromley were pleasantly surprised the moment Leon appeared.

    "Leon, my boy. You''re--"

    "Sir Bromley, this person must be your son-inw." Vigo Primrose interrupted, before Bromley Cromwell could finish his words. "Pardon my rudeness. I did not mean to interrupt your words, but I cannot help but speak up the moment I saw this person. I feel that this person isn''t putting your Cromwell family in his eyes at all."

    "Oh?" The previous words Bromley prepared to say were killed in his stomach. Dwight also kept his silence as a profound light shed in his eyes.

    "It is already a good thing that this son-inw of mine still made it to the banquet. He had been away from the Capital for a week. As such, we couldn''t inform him of the banquet. Regardless of whether he puts us in his eyes or not, he is still my son-inw and it could be considered an internal matter of our family. For you to say that in front of all our guests, it doesn''t seem like you are giving our Cromwell family any face either, Sir Vigo." Bromley stated in a less weing tone.

    Leon shed him a wink to remind him not defend him. He wanted to see what Vigo Primrose intended to do. He was already aware that Vigo Primrose was nning to humiliate him the moment he arrived, but this couldn''t be it.

    Receiving Leon''s signal, Bromley hid his displeasure with a smile and added, "What intentions do you have for saying this, Sir Vigo?"

    Vigo Primrose was not facing Leon and missed their short exchange. Seeing Bromley''s neutral attitude, Vigo became bolder like taking a mile when given an inch.

    "Away from the Capital? I''m afraid it was more like thismoner had been ving away in the mines for a week instead, Sir Bromley. Don''t fall for the boy''s lies and tricks. My teacher had already confirmed this. The boy had the smell of a miner." Vigo said, before adding, "It''s an internal matter only if thismoner remains your son-inw, Sir Bromley."

    "What you mean is¡­"

    "Dade,e over here." Vigo gestured to his son, who was sitting at a different table with his wife, before continuing, "What do you think of my son? He might be slightly older than your daughter, but I think they would make a good match. My son is already a 4th step Awakener and willing take over my position in the future. Also, the marriage union between our son and daughter would only benefit both our families."

    Dwight and Bromley couldn''t help but twitched their eyes. Vigo''s meaning was clear. He implied an older partner was more suitable for Lynne because he was stronger and more capable to take care of her.

    If it was a two months ago, Bromley might have considered it, but it would have still been rejected by Dwight if Lynne was unwilling.

    But times have changed, they already found a good partner for Lynne, not to mention Lynne had reached a very high realm. Dade''s 4th step cultivation was just trash in their eyes.

    It was a pity that Vigo Primrose did not know that and spoke confidently with outdated ideals.

    "You already know, my lord father has already set the engagement between Leon and my daughter. Are you asking us to break our word, Sir Vigo?" Bromley said sternly.

    "Sir Bromley has spoken too seriously." Vigo Primrose continued to wear a confident smile. "We are all smart people here. I am aware that it was a fake engagement to prevent further marriage proposals at your doorstep. How could thismoner brat possibly be worthy of your daughter? For the sake of this marriage proposal, I have prepared another gift that you would find hard to refuse."

    "Pft¡­" At the side, Oliver Lucretius couldn''t fully contain his amusement and allowed a portion to escape his mouth. He thought, ''There are definitely smart people at this table, but this idiot is definitely not one of them!''

    "Is there something funny about what I said, Sir Oliver?" Vigo Primrose said with displeasure.

    "Hahaha¡­ No, it''s nothing." Oliver shook his head, before continuing, "However, I''m quite curious what kind of gift you have prepared, to give you such confidence."

    "I''m also quite interested." Porter Fischer added. Under the table, his hand was clenched with sweat.

    He had let his guard down. Although Fischer and Primrose were working together, they were not allies. If Primrose and Cromwell are bound by marriage, it would put his merchant association in an unfavorable position.

    Dammit, he still hasn''t settled the score with Vigo regarding the abandoning the pill store. It was unreliable to ce his trust in Vigo Primrose. Opponent did not seem simple.

    Suddenly, a servant of his Fischer family arrived by his side.

    "Did you get what I asked for?" Porter whispered.

    The servant nodded and passed over a more detailed background report. The exchange between Porter and his servant was short and casual. It did not arouse any suspicion.

    "Well?"

    Porter returned his focus to Vigo.

    Vigo''s lips curved upwards and snapped his fingers.

    "Bring forward the special gift."

    A special jadeite box was soon ced on the table by the servants. The opening of the jadeite box brought forth a wave of escaping cool mist and an exotic spirit herb was exposed to the eyes of all the onlookers.

    "This is¡­ the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus!?" The crowd eximed. No one expected the item sought the Queen would suddenly turn up here.

    Leon, who had not uttered a word since his arrival, squinted his eyes. Went fishing for gold, but end up with diamond. To Leon, the herb was more important than procurring wealth. This was a rewarding trip.

    "Are you crazy, Vigo!?" Dropping the formality, Porter jumped out and condemned him. "You''ve been keeping what the Queen had been looking for! Why haven''t you handed it over yet! Have you gone stupid? The mary reward isn''t much, but a Queen''s favor is priceless. You rather gift it away then to use it yourself?"

    This person was irredeemable. It was a mistake for Fischer to have any rtion with Primrose. If the Royal family knew Primrose found the herb they were looking for, but didn''t hand it over, it would provoke their ire. The Queen''s anger was to be feared. He did not want to be dragged down along with this person.

    "Crazy? No, you are mistaken. I am very sane." Vigo said tly. "The royal family is too difficult to contact. It''s uncertain when the Queen will be reclusive again and the prince had not shown himself. There is not much business opportunity here, but if I gift it to Sir Bromley in exchange for a marriage alliance, it would be much more beneficial. I believe there are many areas where our families could cooperate. Isn''t that right, Sir Bromley?"

    Bromley and Dwight looked at Vigo with an amused yet peculiar expression. This would have indeed been a good way to try establishing a closer rtionship with the Royal family. However, their Cromwell family have already seeded in establishing a good rtionship as their inws.

    "Boy, what will you do after seeing this? "Bromley turned to Leon with a smile.

    Being tantly ignored, Vigo''s face immediately soured. "Sir Bromley, why do you care for the opinions of amoner!?"

    Bromley closed his eyes in silence.

    "That is indeed an interesting question. I cannot overlook this." Leon answered.

    Being ignored not once, but twice, Vigo became furious. However, he directed his anger at Leon. He couldn''t afford to offend the nobles.

    "So, what if you can''t overlook this!? You are just a lowlymoner! I would be worried about my own life, if I were you, Crystal Thief! I have already sent someone to notify the guards! That''s right! I know you have stolen the heavenly crystals from the underground mine to cultivate!"

    Bam!

    Oliver Lucretius mmed the table, before Leon could utter a word.

    "I have tolerated you long enough, Vigo! How dare call his highness a lowlymoner and use him of stealing heavenly crystals! If his highness wishes, her majesty will dly give him all the heavenly crystals in the kingdom¡­" Oliver stood out at this moment and righteously condemned.

    "What nonsense are you talking about, Oliver!? This brat is just a¡­"

    Leon pulled over a spare chair and seated himself with one leg over the other.

    "Commoner, right? Vigo, you are too narrowminded. Before the pce guards arrives, I, Leon Crawford will give you one chance to admit your mistakes. The same applies to you, Porter." Leon stated. Since it was exposed, Leon no longer hid it.

    "Your highness, this subject was blind to have offended you! Please have mercy!" Porter immediately dropped to his knees and pleaded with a pale face. He had just finished reading the report sent by his servant. Oh my god, I tried to steal the prince''s property! I''m so dead!

    After all this trouble, Leon decided to give them one chance as they were ignorant of his status. He was after their wealth and not their life. He had to show some mercy for the ignorant was not guilty.

    "You are seeking death, brat! Dare to impersonate royalty!" Vigo barked. "Once the pce guards arrive, you''re dead!"

    s, some people are not afraid of death until they see the coffin¡­ It was a predestined tragedy.

 Chapter 175 - Put Down The Knife

    <h4>Chapter 175 - Put Down The Knife</h4>

    Half an hour prior to Leon''s arrival.

    "Your Highness, the information you inquired has been gathered."

    A shadowguard handed over the report. Leon directly swept the report before ruminating through the collected information in his mind.

    "Your Highness¡­?" The shadowguard repeated doubtfully, when Leon did not reach out for the report.

    "I don''t need it anymore. You may take it back." Leon opened his eyes and stated.

    "Huh?" Although the shadowguard was confused, he recovered quickly. "Yes, your Highness."

    Leon was quite surprised at how little information the report contained. There were no records of any serious crimes and only a few within the grey area. There was some information on the crimes of the associated nobles of the merchant association.

    However, it wasmitted under personal interest and not the interest of the merchant association. As such, Leon couldn''t really use this information to extort the merchants. There were even some merits of the presidents recorded.

    They had hosted a few charity events to feed the hungrymoners of the Lower District. Whether it was an act of kindness or strategic move to raise their image, it had indeed saved lives.

    Leon secretly noted to give Porter Fischer and Vigo Primrose a chance, but only one chance. There was a limit to one''s mercy. After all, despite a fairly clean history, they have seized his property in his absence. That was without a doubt, a crime.

    "How is the search progress on my disciple?" Leon asked.

    "I''m sorry, Your Highness. Your disciple, Reginald has not been found yet." The shadowguard showed an apologetic expression.

    Leon nodded. He wasn''t expecting the shadowguards to produce any results so quickly and only asked on a whim.

    "Continue the search."

    "Yes, your Highness!"

    The shadowguard disappeared shortly after.

    "It would not be appropriate to attend the banquet in these clothes¡­ Fortunately, there''s still time until the banquet starts." Leon thought.

    Leon visited a tailor and bought a few dozen sets of clothes to save himself from future inconvenience. His ck attire has been slightly worn out from battles and the royal attire was too shy for some asions.

    After dumping everything in the Worldspace, he went on his way.

    ¡­

    Present time.

    Despite Oliver''s condemnation and Porter''s plea, Vigo was not swayed in his belief. No one else had said anything either, but more importantly, the Cromwell family had not said anything.

    If the brat was the prince, why would the Cromwell family do nothing about it?

    "Seeking death?" Leon shook his head. "I''m afraid the one seeking death is you. Do not say that this prince did not give you chance. s, some people cannot ept the truth even after hearing it."

    "Hmph! Just wait for the pce guards to arrive and all will be clear!" Vigo sniggered. He crossed his arms and sat arrogantly.

    ¡­

    While making the Primrose family''s servant lead the way, Captain Dn of the pce guards became suspicious.

    The path they were taking was leading to the Cromwell family''s home and there was currently a banquet there. How could the crystal thief be there?

    ''Leon Bradford¡­ Cromwell family¡­ hm? Wasn''t Bradford the surname of his highness when he was still living as amoner?''

    It suddenly dawned on him why the name was so familiar. He had just met his highness earlier in the day as well.

    When they arrived at the banquet, Dn immediately spotted Leon.

    ''Sure enough, it WAS his Highness!'' Dn confirmed. He immediately felt anger rising inside him. This servant must be tired of living! How dare he used the prince of stealing!

    Hmm no¡­ the servant was just an informant. The real offender is the servant''s master, the current head of Primrose family.

    "Who among you is Vigo Primrose?"

    Dn swept through the people at the banquet with his cold gaze. He wasn''t familiar with the people at the banquet. In the past 17 years, it was rare for the Royal Pce to receive a visitor even once in a blue moon. As such, he didn''t recognize anyone.

    But the opposite cannot be said for the others. Everyone recognized the captain of the pce guards immediately. The Underground Mines had been making waves in the kingdom. Its not hard to find out who the supervisor ced in charge of it.

    "It is I, Captain Dn."

    Vigo''s eyes lit up the moment Captain Dn arrived and answered his question eagerly.

    "You''re the one who sent the servant to make the report?" Captain Dn asked in a low tone.

    "Yes, it was me."

    "And where is the ''Commoner'' who stole the heavenly crystals?"

    "It is that brat!" Vigo pointed at the nonchnt Leon and answered. "Please be careful, Captain Dn. That brat has reached the level of one star!"

    A number of people immediately became amused, while the rest silently watched on with anticipation, not understanding what was happening.

    Receiving his confirmation, Captain Dn took a deep breath, before a chilly light shed in his eyes.

    "Arrest him!"

    As soon as the orders were issued, two pce guards immediately appeared next to Vigo and restrained him. He was dumbfounded and easily brought in front of Dn without resistance.

    Faced with Captain Dn''s cold gaze, Vigo snapped out of his stupor.

    "Captain Dn, you caught the wrong person! I didn''t say I was the crystal thief. I said that brat is the crystal thief!" Vigo tried pointing in Leon''s direction, but his strength was no match for the pce guards. Not only was he unable to move an inch, it was taken as an act of resistance. The pce guards increased their strength and forced him on his knees.

    PA!

    A resounding p was heard as Vigo grabbed his burning cheeks and looked up at the captain of the pce guards with anger. He felt humiliated.

    "Why?"

    "Do you think I''m stupid?" Dn questioned coldly.

    "No, of course not." Vigo immediately denied. Even if he thinks that way, he couldn''t admit it. That was just asking for trouble. But why would the captain ask that?

    PA!

    Unfortunately, another resounding pnded on Vigo''s other cheek regardless of his answer. Why was he pped again?!

    "Then do you think I''m deaf!?"

    Vigo was bbergasted. Was this person mental!? Why is he so angry!? I should be the one angry!

    "I don''t understand¡­" Vigo said.

    "You don''t understand? Then let me make you understand!"

    PAPAPA!

    "Hmph! How dare you use the prince of stealing! Do you think the prince needs to steal!? How insolent!"

    PAPAPA!

    After dishing out several more ps until he was satisfied, Dn turned and saluted to Leon.

    "Your highness, I apologize for not greeting you immediately. I couldn''t ignore this person''s insolence towards you."

    Leon gestured for him to be at ease.

    "Impossible!"

    Vigo was in disbelief. The pce guards only take overs from the royal family! How could he not be aware of the reality at this point? However, the truth was something he could not ept.

    "My teacher said thatmoner stole heavenly crystals to cultivate! There''s no way this brat could cultivate to such a high level using normal means!"

    "So, your teacher was the origin of the usation?" Dn narrowed his eyes dangerously.

    "I¡­ No¡­ Yes¡­"

    Vigo suddenly became fearful. He had the feeling his head would roll if his he didn''t answer truthfully.

    The crowd shook their heads. Such backward thinking. Now was an age of changes. One had to be openminded or they wouldn''t be able to move forward.

    Also, Vigo was too foolish. Not only did he failed to recognize his mistakes, he also dragged his teacher down.

    "Your highness, please give the order. I will execute this animal and gather my men to apprehend the mastermind immediately!" Captain Dn drew his sword and said.

    "Why does everything have to involve killing? Don''t tell me you''ve all been affected my mother''s coldness?" Leon shook his head and stopped the pce guards with a hand gesture. "Put down the butcher''s knife. I will handle this."

    "Yes, your Highness." Dn sheathed his sword and stepped back.

    "I give you two choices. The first, you will surrender all your properties in the kingdom back to the royal family or second, you will turn over half the profits of your merchant association to the royal family annually. Also, you must release my disciple immediately. That is non-negotiable."

    "I can live?" Vigo asked in surprise.

    Leon nodded. He wasn''t too interested in killing if he can''t umte karmic virtues. He didn''t know if killing someone with karmic virtue would deduct his own umtion or not. He rather not take the risk.

    The future was unpredictable and full of unknown dangers. He could use all the luck he can get.

    Vigo blinked at the choices. Although it seemed like Leon have given two choices, there was really only one choice. How could be continue making money if he surrendered all his properties?

    Also, the royal family hadn''t collected any tax in 17 years, so the second option wasn''t exactly too harsh. However, he didn''t understand thest part.

    "Who is your disciple if I may ask, Bra---Your Highness." Vigo asked carefully with doubts.

    "Hm?" Leon raised an eyebrow. This person about to say brat again. Seeing Vigo''s swollen face that looked like a balloon from excessive pping, Leon decided to let it slide with a shrug of his shoulders. "My disciple is Reginald Graeme. Where else did you think the pill forms came from?"

    Vigo: "¡­"

    Suddenly, Vigo felt like crying. Why was fate so cruel to him? That damn kid! If he had such a colossal backing like the prince, why did he not use it!? Vigo would have never touched that kid if he knew the kid''s master was the prince!

    Also, not only would he have not dared to offend the prince, he would have been bootlicking instead if he knew!

    This was a disaster that could have been avoided!!!

 Chapter 176 - Make Him Pay Too

    <h4>Chapter 176 - Make Him Pay Too</h4>

    "Erm¡­ How much do I have topensate, your Highness?" Porter asked nervously, not budging from his kneeling position.

    His punishment should be lighter, right? Apart from being tricked by Vigo to join hands to seize and manage the prince''s property, he had not done anything else that was untoward the prince.

    "Ah¡­" Leon nced Porter for a few breaths, asking, "How much do you think is appropriate forpensation?"

    "This¡­ Are you asking me, your Highness?" Porter asked with doubt and surprise. Was the prince really letting him decide the price?

    Leon nodded.

    Receiving the confirmation, Porter was immediately at a loss. It was a good thing, but he didn''t know how he should answer. If he set a low price, the prince might be unhappy, but if he set too high, he would just be incurring additional losses.

    Vigo''s offense seemed quite heavy, but the prince only demanded 50% from Vigo then¡­

    "How about¡­ 20% of the Fischer Merchant Association''s profits annually for ten years, your Highness?" Porter suggested carefully, testing the waters.

    However, the prince''s frown immediately caused him to panic. Was 20% too low!? Maybe it was! The kingdom imposes a 10% tax of all profits on foreign merchant-operated businesses, but since the event 17 years ago, they had not paid a single tax thereafter.

    Its not that he didn''t want to pay but the financial minister and the whole department were ughtered by the Queen. There was no one toe collect the tax and no one to pay the tax to!

    With no one managing the kingdom, it wasn''t strange for the Capital experience an economic copse.

    If he included the tax debt in his repayment, the actualpensation amount to the prince wasn''t actually much at all.

    "Hahaha¡­ I was joking, your Highness¡­ I meant 30%¡­ How does that sound?" Porter quickly added.

    Leon frown deepened.

    "40%! I won''t go any higher than that, your Highness!" Porter stated firmly.

    He almost sounded like a customer striking a bargain, except he wasn''t buying anything but would still be losing money. A lot of money.

    "Alright. Let''s go with 40%. You have been kneeling for some time. You may rise now." Leon agreed with a peculiar smile after snapping out of his train of thoughts.

    While Porter was thinking his initial prices were too little, Leon thought it was too much.

    Leon already secured a 50% annual ie from the Primrose. Althought it was a lot of money, the money doesn''t flow into his coffers immediately. He was actually thinking an immediate payment of 200,000,000 Craws or so from Porter would suffice.

    However, since Porter misunderstood his expression and offered such a high price, Leon would naturally not say no to extra money.

    "Thank you, your Highness."

    Porter heaved a sigh of relief after receiving the prince''s agreement on thepensation amount. His stomach would have churned with regret if he knew the prince''s true thoughts.

    Moving on, it appeared that his sharpness had lost its edge in these past years offort in the Upper District; to make such a rookie mistake and be blinded by profit.

    He should have noticed something was wrong when Oliver Lucretius rejected the cooperation. It was clear to him that Oliver Lucretius knew the prince prior and wanted their Primrose and Fischer merchant associations to ruin themselves.

    "Your Highness, how will you deal with Sir Oliver Lucretius?" Porter raised his question. He couldn''t stand Oliver''s smug look on the side.

    Oliver''s expression froze. What was this person trying to do?

    "Oh? borate." Leon showed an intrigued expression.

    "Despite knowing you were the owner of the prime location, he didn''t stop us and allowed us to seize your property knowingly. Shouldn''t hepensate your Highness in some way for his inaction?"

    "You do have a point." Leon nodded, before asking, "What do you think, President Oliver?"

    "Haiz¡­ I admit, there was some selfish intentions in keeping my silence. Well¡­ I wonder if your Highness will be satisfied with a single 200,000,000 Craws payment?" Oliver Lucretius sighed and cut straight to the point.

    "En." Leon nodded.

    Receiving Leon''s answer, Oliver heaved another sigh. A single payment of 200,000,000 Craws was an insignificantpared to a recurring payment of 40% of the association''s profits for ten years. Oliver considered it was a small price to pay for antagonizing his opponents.

    "Hahaha, since that is the case. My Cromwell family isn''t free from liability either, isn''t that right, boy?" Dwightughed, before shamelessly adding, "Gift the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus to the prince."

    Watching the servants of the Cromwell family packing up the spirit herb for the prince, Vigo''s face immediately went ck. The spirit herb was still his. It will only belong to the Cromwell family if they ept his marriage proposal for his son.

    At the same time, Vigo thought; others might not have known Leon''s identity, but there was no way the Cromwell family didn''t know either!

    This was a premeditated scheme! The prince and the Cromwell family were in cahoots!

    "Father, does this mean Lynne is my fianc¨¦e now?" Dade whispered.

    "Shh! Don''t be stupid. That shameless old thing didn''t ept the marriage proposal, but still took our spirit herb. Even if he did, do you darepete with the prince for his woman?" Vigo reprimanded in a hushed tone.

    "Do you have something to say, Sir Vigo?" Dwight asked.

    "No¡­ I do not, Lord Dwight." Vigo said with a forced smile.

    Right now, he just wants to get away from the prince and Cromwell family as soon as possible. These people were a pack of wolves.

    Contrary to how others thought, Leon had not been unhappy that the Primrose Merchant Association had been keeping the spirit herb. That was an incorrect outlook.

    He had scoured Extreme Misty Forest for seven days and knew the difficulty of finding one.

    Unexpectedly, he went searching afar, only to find it within arm''s reach. It should be said that Vigo had done him a great favor by finding it.

    Thus, he was quite lenient and didn''t directly expel the Primrose family from the kingdom.

    "Well then, I will thank you for the gift and take my leave first. I wish to refine this spirit herb as soon as possible. Happy Birthday, Old man."

    While he thought he was lenient, if other caughts news of it, they would have thought otherwise. 50% of a giant merchant association''s profits was not a small amount of money.

    "Hahaha¡­ it''s fine. Go."

    Dwight didn''t mind that Leon didn''t stay for long and sent him off with a simple gesture.

    Leon headed straight back to his courtyard for pill refining. The sooner his father awakens, the sooner he might find some answers and leave the kingdom affairs to his father.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Wilnds, there was a situation taking ce.

    In the closest tribe to the Great Wall, the Skysilver Tribe, the beasts have begun growing restless and infighting has been growing.

    "My king, the low-rank beasts have begun fighting among themselves in the tribe again." A beastkin with bear traits, reported in a subservient position.

    Skysilverid on his hill, unaffected by the news. He upied the highest hill and overlooked the entire tribe. Fights were frequent among their race and throughout the tribe. Thus, he doesn''t pay too much attention to the beast fighting.

    As long as the beast don''t kill each other in his tribe, they can fight as much as they want. Fights andpetition on fellow beasts were what makes them stronger.

    "Hm? You know such things aremon among our beast race. There''s no need to report such things to me." Skysilver repliedzily.

    "Yes, I feel this one is worth paying attention to, my king. It was a fight between a fire-tailed tiger and a snow rabbit."

    "What''s there to pay attention to a fire-tailed tiger bullying a snow rabbit?" Skysilver had a trace of annoyance in his tone.

    "My king, it wasn''t the fire-tailed tiger bullying the snow rabbit. It was the snow rabbit bullying the fire-tailed tiger. Not only that, the snow rabbit disyed strength beyond the norm and proceeded to attack all other beasts in a frenzied manner without differentiating between friend and foe."

    "Oh?" Skysilver finally frowned at the exnation of the bearkin. "Among the myriad beast races, the snow rabbits are one of the most timid and docile beasts. What could have caused it to be berserk? Go investigate the cause."

    "Yes, my king." The bearkin obliged.

    ¡­

    Great Wall.

    Bam!

    A sudden loud bang rmed the garrisons.

    "What was that?"

    "I think we are being attacked!"

    Bam!

    The loud bang sounded again. The garrisons tried peering into the darkness of the night but could not see anything. A fire torch was tossed down the wall, illuminating a single bull-type beast ramming into the walls.

    "It''s a beast attack! Sound the rms!"

    "Dammit, I knew we couldn''t trust the beasts!"

    "Wait!" Another soldier stopped the others. "There''s something strange about this beast. There''s only one."

    "Hmm? Now that you mention it, it''s true."

    Moooo! The bull-type beast bellowed and kicked up a dust for another charge.

    Bam!

    The repeated rams broke its horns and cracked its skull with blood beginning to gush out. However, the bull-type beasts seemed possessed and hell-bent on ramming into the wall as if it was trying to take down the wall, even at the cost of its life.

    The soldiers on the wall were all confused by the behavior of the beast.

    "What the hell is wrong with it? It is killing itself."

    Bam! The frenzied beast continues to ram into the wall for a while, before¡­

    Flop!

    The bull-type beast dropped dead at the bottom of the wall.

    "It''s dead¡­"

    "What should we do? This matter is so bizarre¡­"

    The strangeness of the event left the soldiers perplexed. They weren''t sure if the beast was crazy or it was a sacrificial move to ambush them when their head down to investigate.

    "Inform the general¡­ He will know what to do."

 Chapter 177 - Youre Not A Gentleman

    <h4>Chapter 177 - You''re Not A Gentleman</h4>

    "What are your orders, General?"

    The soldiers stood erected on the wall with stern expressions as if a war was about to happen.

    Hendrick stood at the hem and peered into the distancends, obscured by a veil of darkness.

    Vision was limited, but the general marquis did not seem bothered. It was time to test a new ability, he named [Whispers of the Wind]. With this ability, he could detect the presence of all life within a certain radius by listening to the wind, hence the name.

    Eyes closed, the atmosphere began to stir as the wind direction changed and gathered towards the general marquis subtlely. All sound within a mile radius were picked up by the wind and delivered to him.

    He could hear everything, from the soldiers breathing to the swaying grass, the rustling of leaves and even the movements of the clouds.

    Just when he was about to confirm the zero presence of other beasts, he picked up the sound of a pair of beasts battling at the edges of his range.

    Hendrick brows knitted at the beasts'' abnormal behavior of tearing at each other''s flesh in a frenzied manner.

    Shortly after, the presence of both beasts disappeared. They had both died.

    "There''s no need to be rmed. There is no ambush lying in waiting." Hendrick stated.

    The soldiers sighed with relief.

    "Your orders to head down and collect the bull-type beast carcass, General." A soldier saluted.

    "No need." Hendrick shook his head.

    He pointed at the beast carcass at the foot of the Great Wall and flicked upwards.

    "Up!"

    Along with hismand, a spiral column of wind lifted the beast carcass and shot up into the air, beforending on the wall.

    "Deliver it to the research team to study."

    "Yes, General!"

    Afterwards, Hendrick linked hands behind his back and began leaving with a pondering look.

    Something strange was happening in the Wilnds. What kind of enmity would cause two beasts to fight each other to the death in such a savage and brutal manner?

    He didn''t know what it was, but it was an ill omen.

    "I hope the Human Domain won''t be affected by whatever is happening out there¡­"

    ¡­

    Within the courtyard of the prince, Leon was seen in the middle of a session of pill refining.

    In one corner of courtyard, his personal guards were seen quietly ying cards with a depressive mood.

    There was once a time, when they felt proud to be pce guards, to be 9th step Awakeners, but not anymore. Their impression of the prince had gradually transitioned from respect to awe, then from awe to self-ashamed.

    They were already in their mid-30s, but they were still stuck at the peak 9th step of Awakener Realm.

    They had lived their life in vain. How does the prince cultivate? At such a young age, the prince had already reached the level of one star. This was just his cultivation level and not even his battle power.

    Back when the prince was in the 8th step, he already possessed the battle power to surmount a level and fight with 9th step Awakeners.

    After numerous spars, they were no longer a match for the prince.

    Now that the prince was at the one-star level, his battle power must be even greater. As the prince''s personal guards, they felt useless and no longer needed.

    If there was an enemy that even the prince couldn''t handle, then it was even more so for the personal guards!

    They were simply not capable of protecting the prince from stronger opponents, while they weren''t needed at all against weaker foes.

    "Ahh¡­" Howard issued a sigh as he thought about this.

    "It''s your turn, Howard. Just say pass if you can''t beat it." Jeffrey impatiently reminded.

    "Hm? Oh right. Sorry." Howard shoved the depressing thoughts behind him and focused on the card game.

    Jeffrey had just yed a pair of aces. He nced at his own hand. There were only three cards left; a pair of twos and a three of clubs.

    With a smirk, Howard said, "Looks like drinks won''t be on me this round. Double two."

    Howard yed the pair of twos and proceeded to y hisst card as the chances of others beating a pair of twos were small in this particr set of card game.

    "Hold it!"

    Unfortunately for Howard, someone just happened to hold that small probability in their hand.

    "Chop!" Cain immediately mmed down a doublebo capable of beating a pair of twos.

    Howard froze with wide eyes. What were the chances!?

    Stuck with the lowest card in the deck in his hand, he painfully watched on as the other three finished their hands.

    "Aish¡­ cursed my bad luck! Alright, drinks are on me!" Howard grumbled.

    ¡­

    Leonpletely ignored the pce guards'' activities and focused wholeheartedly on his pill refining. He had permitted their activity out of kindness. In his opinion, standing guard all day against the zero possibility of threats would make a person bored senseless.

    "It''s done!"

    Leon''s eyes suddenly snapped open as the cauldron lid removed itself to revealed nine pearly-white pills inside the pill cauldron. These were the Tier-1 Soul Mending Pills.

    "With this, my father can finally awaken from his 17-year longa!"

    Taking a whiff of the pills, Leon smiled.

    "High-rank pills!"

    There was some disappointment in Leon''s eyes as he did not see any Supreme-rank pills among the batch, but considering it was his first-time refining Soul Mending Pills. Achieving high-rank quality was already very good for his first try.

    He should lower his expectations. Setting unrealistically high expectations would only result in disappointments. Heck, one might as well set no expectation, so they would never be disappointment¡­

    Leon immediately shook his head. That was a dangerous thought. If one had no expectation, they would have no drive and ambition to strive to meet that expectation.

    His path was bound to be an arduous one. Every Divine Kings had to put in their fair share of blood, sweat and hard work to set themselves from the mass and stand at the peak of the Divine Realm. The Divine King Realm wasn''t a level, just anyone could reach. If he doesn''t strive his best and work harder than everyone else, how could he expect to surpass the Divine Kings and avenge his father!?

    Leon''s eyes shined with determination. Once the kingdom was on track, he would be able to focus on his own cultivation with a peace of mind.

    Leon ced the pills into his empty pill bottle, before stowing everything away in his Worldspace.

    "I''m leaving."

    Leon informed the pce guards, but in return, all he received was a few grunts and snorts.

    "It''s seems they hold a small grudge against me." Leon scratched his cheek with a wry smile. "No surprise there. They have been tasked to protect me, but they always lose sight of me and end up stressing where I was."

    Shaking his head, Leon proceeded towards the courtyard''s entrance. At the same time, a pce maid entered and shed him a disgusted expression, before it quickly reverted.

    The face of the maid changed quicker than the flip of a page, but fortunately, Leon still noticed it. He had always had this feeling that the pce maids did not like him, but never understood why. Maybe this time, he can find some answers.

    "Why do you show such a disgusted expression when you see me?"

    Leon directed his question, before the maid could open her mouth.

    The maid''s body unnoticeably shook in panic for a moment, before she quickly recovered and answered calmly, "I don''t know what you''re talking about, your Highness¡­ You must have been imagining things."

    "Oh?" Leon frowned. "Are you saying I was blind?"

    "I don''t dare, your Highness!" The maid lowered her head.

    All maids despised the prince, but he was after all, still the prince. They wouldn''t speak about it openly for fear of punishments.

    Seeing the maid''s behavior, Leon sighed.

    "I''ve have always seen you by my mother''s side. You must be her most trusted maid. Thank you for taking care of my mother all this time. There''s no need to be so formal and respectful in front of me. I am simply asking out of curiosity. You may speak bluntly. I will not be offended."

    "This¡­ are you sure you won''t be offended?" Lily asked carefully.

    "I''m sure." Leon nodded.

    "Then¡­ I will speak bluntly?" Lily asked again.

    "Please." Leon gestured.

    "Alright then¡­ Truthfully speaking, everyone sees you as ascivious beast, your Highness. Thus, all maids are on guard against you." Lily answered.

    Leon''s lips twitched and asked, "What did I do to have such an awful image? Howe I don''t know I was such ascivious person?"

    Maybe he was at one point in his past life, but those days were behind him.

    "Because you are not a gentleman, your Highness." Lily stated.

    "Not a gentleman?" Leon scrunched his brows together. "Didn''t I say to speak bluntly? borate."

    "Yes¡­" Lily hesitated for a moment, before saying, "Your Highness is not a gentleman because your heart is not loyal and true to one partner. Every king in the past only had one partner, their queen. However, you, your Highness has yet to ascend the throne, but already have two fianc¨¦es."

    Cough* "Actually, I have three fianc¨¦es¡­" Leon quietly interjected.

    Two were already his women, but the third was not. Their engagement was decided at birth and they have yet to develop mutual feelings. However, Rachel was still his official fianc¨¦e, thus, he mentioned three.

    At the same time, he thought it was unfair for Aria that the people have yet to know of their engagement. He should find some time to change this.

    Lily widened her eyes at Leon''s words. Three!?

    "Ehem** When there is a second, it wouldn''t be a surprise If there was a third, a fourth, a fifth and so on in the future. Such a person could not be trusted to love their partners wholeheartedly and with equal importance. As such, us women would naturally look down on such type of men."

    "I see."

    Leon scratched his head with some embarrassment as he listened to the maid''s exnation. However, there was some prejudice in her words.

    "By that standard, I guess I''m not a gentleman. However, it''s exaggerated to call me ascivious beast, no? I have never forced myself on any woman, nor have I gone around flirting with every beautiful woman I''ve seen."

    "Hm¡­ that''s true¡­ I apologize for my prejudice, your Highness."

    "It''s fine." Leon waved. He didn''t take any of it to heart.

    But then Lily quietly thought, "Maybe the prince doesn''t flirt with beautiful women because he already had the cream of the crop¡­"

    "What did you say?"

    "N-Nothing¡­"

    Seeing the maid''s unwillingness to continue, Leon simply shrugged as the two fell into a brief silence.

    "Oh right, what did youe here for?" Leon suddenly asked.

    "Ah, I forgot!" Lily eximed. "Her Majesty wishes to see you, your Highness."

    "Mother wishes to see me? Just in time. I was just nning to go see her." Leon said. "Let''s go.

    ¡­

    The two left the courtyard together.

    Lily sneaked a nce at Leon''s rxed expression, before heaving a sigh of relief. The prince was true to his words¡­ He wasn''t offended by her words.

 Chapter 178 - Wails Of A King

    <h4>Chapter 178 - Wails Of A King</h4>

    Upon arriving at the study room filled with paperwork, Lily returned to the Queen''s side silently and waited on her next order.

    "I heard you wanted to see me, mother?" Leon asked.

    "En." Elizabeth nodded before continuing, "Come take a look at this design. The railway routes have also been mapped. If we weren''tcking funds and manpower, we could start this project in line with the reconstruction project."

    "It''s finished already?" Leon was surprised to see that the designs of his railway projectpleted so quickly. The Lancaster and Cromwell family were so efficient despite having a mountain of other work on hand.

    Leon had a look at the routes mapped and saw every major city in the kingdom connected to it. This was more or less how he imagined it to be.

    "We can start small, Mother. If we connect the Capital to the major lumber and stone cities first, we can effectively cut down on the transport cost and time of the basic construction materials needed for the constructions in the Capital."

    Leon pointed at two major cities on the map.

    "Rainwallow City is quite close. We can focus on the first project here for the lumber. However, ckrock City might be a bit of a problem. It''s a bit far, but this city is essential for the limestones and cements."

    "That is a good n, Son. However, you have forgotten that the Lancasters have their hands full mass-producing nails and steel frames for construction. If you want them to start producing the railway tracks and steam-powered carriages to run on the tracks for you, they will have to stop their previous works." Elizabeth said.

    "I''m well aware of that, Mother. The people have temporary settlements to amodate them for the time being. It''s fine to dy the building constructions. However, once we have railway up and running, everything else will pick up the pace."

    Not only does the railway enables the transport of goods on arge scale, the reluctant citizens of their kingdom living in other cities might be willing to work in the Capital, increasing the workforce.

    "Also¡­ If mother is willing to coordinating with Lancaster family using your metal maniption abilities, it would speed up the production greatly. Evenying down the railway tracks would be a simple matter for you."

    "This rascal." Elizabeth gave her son a soft smack. "You want to make your mother dobor work!? But you''re right, son. It would a simple matter for mother. s, mother is swamped with more important work."

    Elizabeth felt slightly vexed when she thought about it. Why did she had to ughter all the important officials? Although they all deserved death for rebelling, she should have sent fresh talents to fill their ranks. But then again¡­ no one would have dared to after such massacre.

    When Leon was smacked by his mother, he justughed it off.

    "Hahaha¡­ Yeah¡­ we can train up a few metal-users to take up the job."

    "That''s not something I can decide." Elizabeth shook her head. "Metal maniption had always been unique to the royal family to keep our strong reign and position in the kingdom. I''m afraid allowing others to cultivate the metal element will set their ambition aze and spark another rebellion. Only your father can decide this."

    When Leon heard this, his lips curved up into a smile and said, "Then why don''t we go see father and wake him up?"

    "How can we wake him up just because we want to?" Elizabeth was startled. "Didn''t you say you needed the 7-Petal Frigid Agapanthus to remind the Soul Mending Pill before you can wake your father up?"

    "Yes, Mother. I just received the herb and refined it not long ago. I came to see for this matter, but coincidentally, you were also looking for me." Leon exined.

    "So that was the case¡­"

    Elizabeth tried to remain calm, but she was inwardly shaken with excitement. 17 years! Her husband can finally wake up from his long slumber!

    "Hm?"

    Suddenly, Elizabeth noticed a small detail. If her son found the herb on his trip to the Extreme Misty Forest, he would have mentioned it earlier in the day when he returned. Why would he dy the good news and only mention it now? Unless, he hadn''t found the herb on the trip, but after he returned to the Capital.

    "Where did you find the herb, Son?"

    "Oh, I coincidentally found it at the Dwight Cromwell''s birthday banquet. Apparently, Vigo Primrose had been keeping it for some time." Leon answered nonchntly.

    It was already a past matter since he reaped the benefits and punishment has been meted. As such, he didn''t view it would any further importance.

    However, when his mother heard it, her immediately angered.

    "What! He knew our royal family was looking for this herb and yet he didn''t hand it over right away and had the gall to keep it until now!? Hmph! Looks like this person doesn''t put our royal family in his eyes!"

    "Calm down, Mother. I''ve already made the person pay an appropriate price for his actions. 50% of his business profits to be precise." Leon smiled wryly. His mother look like she was out for blood. Would they still get the money if his mother kills them all?

    "Oh? That''s actually really good, son. How did you manage to get that merchant to fork out so much of his money? The Primrose Merchant Association is a big business that spans across two kingdoms. For them to give up 50% profit of their business is equivalent to not making any money from this kingdom."

    Since his mother could see that, there was no reason Vigo didn''t. But he still made such a choice over being evicted from the kingdom. It goes to show how much importance is ced on the kingdom, especially since the crystal discovery.

    There was also the lockdown in the Capital. Vigo might have feared that he would be silenced before he could even leave the kingdom if he chose such a choice.

    "Never mind that. Let''s go see father."

    "Right, right. Waking your father up takes precedence."

    ¡­

    King''s bedchamber.

    "Pass the pills to mother, son. Mother wants to be¡­ the first person your father sees when he wakes up." Elizabeth said with a shaky tone as she looked at the king with an affectionate gaze.

    "Alright."

    It didn''t really matter who feeds the King, since it would still take time for the medicine to take effect. However, it was his mother''s wish. Thus, Leonplied and handed the bottle of Soul Mending Pills over.

    Elizabeth epted the bottle with shaky hands. It seems that she was a lot more nervous than she thought.

    "Did you say that we shouldn''t wake father up until the Capital regains its stability, Mother?" Leon suddenly joked.

    "Nonsense! Your father has been sleeping for 17 years. It''s time for him to do some work, don''t you think? How could he let his son and wife do all the work, while he just sleepsfortably? Hmph!"

    Elizabeth pressed her husband''s jaw open and shoved a pill inside roughly.

    Leon gawked. He didn''t expect his words to trigger his mother''s violent tendencies. He pitied his father whoid unconscious helplessly at his mother''s mercy. ''Sorry!''

    "Hmm¡­ look son, the darkness around your father''s forehead is receding, but why is his face bing pale instead?"

    "I''m afraid before the pill even takes effect, he would have been killed by you, mother. The pill is blocking father''s airway." Leon said wryly as he stepped forward and used his energy to help his father absorb the pill''s medicinal properties. "Father is unconscious and can''t absorb the pill on his own. We have to guide the pill for him."

    "Ai¡­ Mother is silly. How could I forget such a simple thing?"

    Elizabeth pped her own forehead in realization. She doesn''t seem to be thinking straight. The joy of their family reunion could have quickly turned into a tragedy.

    The king was strapped to high-tech medical equipment and nutrient solutions were provided for him. Elizabeth seemed have forgotten because she never had to feed him and only needed to refill the nutrient solutions.

    After Leon helped his unconscious father absorbed the pill, the darkness around his forehead waspletely dispelled and began to glow with a rosy redplexion.

    Leon and his mother patiently waited for the king to wake up. However, time ticked slowly. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into¡­

    It wasn''t until a full hour had pass that the king finally regained his consciousness.

    "Ugh¡­ Where am I?" Heinrich said weakly. It felt like he had been in a very long dream. He struggled to get up, but his body felt weak. However, his limbs were still capable of slight movements.

    It appeared that the king suffered muscle atrophy from lying dormant for too long. However, it wasn''t to an irreversible level.

    "How are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked as he helped him sit up gently. "This is your bedchamber."

    "My wife¡­"

    Heinrich gazed at Elizabeth deeply and full of affection. Elizabeth also return the gaze in kind as theypsed into silence. Although they seemed to have a lot to say, something seemed to be holding them back.

    Leon could see the love his parents had for one another. He smiled and quietly took his leave thoughtfully; to allow his parents to catch up. He also had things he wanted to ask his father, but he could save it for another time.

    As he closed the door on his way out, he was seen by his father.

    "Hm? Who was that just now?" Heinrich asked.

    "That was our son." Elizabeth answered with a mncholic smile.

    The news was shocking like a bolt of lightning from the skies. Heinrich coughed profusely as a result. He found it hard to ept.

    "That¡­ was our son? How¡­ How long have I been asleep?"

    "17 years¡­ 17 long years." Elizabeth''s eyes became red.

    "17 years¡­ He was just baby, thest time I saw him. Unexpectedly, he is all grown up now." Heinrich felt sad.

    Elizabeth was also infected with his sadness. They had both missed out on the best stage of their child growing up and allowed him to suffer much outside.

    "By the way, did you have any dreams while you were unconscious all this time?" Elizabeth wiped her tears and tried to change the topic. She didn''t want to be depress over the same thing again and again.

    "Hmm¡­ let me think¡­" Heinrich knitted his brows and began retelling his long dream from what he could remember. "I can''t remember everything. It''s bing all blurry now, but I led our kingdom to greatness. Our race prospered and we won the war against the beasts. I was sleeping peacefully one night¡­"

    "But then one night, I was woken up by a fearsome humanoid beast with extraordinary strength. She pulled be out of my bed by the jaw and showed me the Capital bursting in mes,ughed at my despair then fed me a vicious poison that ended everything."

    At this point, Heinrich frowned and traced the contours of his jaw. Strange. Why does his jaws hurt like in his dream?

    "Oh¡­" Elizabeth listened to the story calmly, but then she was suddenly angered. "HAAA!??? Who are you calling a fearsome humanoid beast!???"

    Elizabeth grabbed her husband and shook him violently.

    "My¡­ My wife¡­ I wasn''t talking about you¡­ I was saying it was the fearsome humanoid beast in my dreams!"

    Heinrich was shocked silly. Was this still his gentle wife!? Nevertheless, he thought his wife would calm down after his exnation.

    However, when Elizabeth heard her husband''s words, she became even more angry.

    "B-Bastard¡­ I''ll show you how fearsome I can be!" Elizabeth snapped.

    Heinrich soon came to a startling realization why his jaw hurts.

    Oh dear¡­

    Ahhhhh!

    The screams and cries of the king was soon heard from outside his bedchamber. The pce guards guarding the door jolted in surprised.

    The prince ordered them not to disturb the happy reunion of the king and queen, but they didn''t expect the king was the type of person to enjoy that sort of y.

    They pictured the scene of a tiger ravaging a flower, except the roles of the tiger and flower was reversed.

    "S-So intense¡­"

 Chapter 179 - Underground Wails

    <h4>Chapter 179 - Underground Wails</h4>

    After leaving the king''s bedchamber, Leon paid a visit to the treasury and deposited the 2000 bottles of longevity blood on the second floor. For the uing auction, it was best to store it somewhere safe, but essible for his mother.

    "I guess I should prepare for my next secluded cultivation session while I am here¡­"

    Leon nced around but didn''t see anything of interest on the second floor.

    "The Heavenly Crystals weren''t stored on the first floor, and I couldn''t find it on the second floor. Considering its importance, I guess it can only be on the third floor with the other important techniques and sword arts."

    Heading up, Leon found what he was looking for. It was hard not to notice when the chest of glittering crystals was left in the open.

    Presently, there were already over 200 Heavenly Crystals in the royal treasury. Leon collected one of each element he could find in the chest, namely; the fire crystal, metal crystal, water crystal and earth crystal. He wouldn''t be able to use the earth crystal yet, but it would save him a round trip.

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t find a single crystal with wood element out of the whole 200 Heavenly Crystals in the chest. Was the wood element nonexistent in that ancient civilization?

    Even all the high-tech relics retrieved from the ruins were mainly made of earth and metalponents.

    Leon developed a sudden interest in the ancient civilization. Not only were they technologically advanced, their ranks were filled with numerous Transcendent Realm experts. Yet, such a powerful civilization was destroyed.

    Leon was about to leave, but a brief nce at the stacks of sword arts got him thinking; He had chosen the spear and the sword arts weren''t of much use to him, but maybe he can derive the essence of the sword arts and use it as reference in creating his own spear arts.

    He couldn''t fully rely on his one-shot wonder. If his shot one fails him, it would put him at a great disadvantage in battle. As such it was not wise to invest everything into a single powerful killing blow, but to strengthen hisbat skills at a foundational level. That way, he would be more rounded and have less weakness.

    Also, it was always better to know more than to not know at all. He might not use the sword arts, but the people around him could.

    Thinking to this point, Leon decided to stay back in the third floor for a while. He swept the shelves with his divine sense and began studying the sword art manuals, hoping to receive some insights from them.

    ¡­

    Somewhere deep within the underground world, a battle was taking ce between man and insects. In this world of darkness, nothing could be seen and only the rumbling movements of many creatures could be heard.

    From time to time, sparks of fire would light up the world of darkness and illuminate the dismembering carcasses of cken six-legged insects alongside screechy cries.

    They possess a sturdy and fire-resistant exoskeleton body, a pair of sensory antennas and powerful mandibles capable of crushing boulders. Also, their blood is so acidic, it could melt human flesh at an rming rate.

    These creatures of darkness never move alone and always exist in colonies with a number much greater than the Deadeye Spiders. Evidently, they were much more powerful than the average Deadeye Spiders. The weakest among them cannot be harmed by mes of fire-users with the strength below the star ranking system.

    Yet, it was also these very fire-resistant insects that were currently getting blown apart by asional me explosions in the dark world.

    The one battling these creatures of darkness was none other than Don Astor, also known as Crazy Don and Grandmaster Don, the first me Transcendent expert in the Crawford Kingdom.

    "Leave me alone, you goddamn insects!" Don cursed with an ugly expression.

    His present appearance was not one would expect of the dignified number one grandmaster alchemist in the kingdom, but more like the beggars on the streets.

    His battle with these creatures of darkness had been on and off for the past few weeks and not one made by choice butpelled by the situation.

    A month ago, after the big battle, he went to explore the underground world and was the first to discover the entrance to the second floor.

    Ever since he reached the Transcendent Realm, his affinity with the Fire Laws had reached new heights and could draw energy from heaven and earth to conjure his fire. It wasn''t something he could exin and only those who reached the Transcendent Realm would be able to understand.

    At the entrance of the second floor, he started to sense a great fire source that would be beneficial for his cultivation.

    Considering his best friend, the Old king had also gone missing underground for many years, Don decided to investigate the second floor without reporting back first.

    The second floor was boundlesslyrge. It was like entering a whole new world. Here, he found rarer minerals and more ruins of the ancient civilizations. Ancient relics were found in various ces, half-buried.

    However, retrieving these items was a highly difficult task, even for him, a Transcendent. The grounds, walls and even the high ceiling at a height of 300 feet were concentrated with dense earth elements, making it difficult for him to break apart the earth.

    His investigation led to his encounter with the bothersome creatures. These trifling creatures were no match for his Transcendent mes, but even the greatest of experts would be tired out after battling without rest.

    As such, he was wise enough to return early in preparation for his next trip. But when he reached the foot of the great spiral entrance leading to the first floor, he would unexpectedly find it sealed!

    Backed against a sealed wall and unending army of six-legged insects, he had to defend against attack of the insects while trying to tear down the sealed entrance. He had lost count of how many insects he had killed.

    Each time he made progress in breaking down the very thick wall blocking the entrance, someone on the other side would reinforce it, thus dying his escape.

    He didn''t know which bastard was reinforcing the seal, but when he found out, he cursed for three days straight!

    In order to survive after his rations ran out, his meals were made from the organs of these six-legged insects. But due to their high acidity, he had to cook them to a crispy texture before double checking for its edibility.

    Surprisingly, the organs of these insects were very ptable.

    Don didn''t doubt that with a few seasonings, it had the potential to be one of the best dishes in the kingdom.

    However, there was only one problem each time he had to eat the insect''s organs. He would get stomach aches and diarrhea. Furthermore, each time it happened; he would also be forced to tear a piece of his clothes to wipe his ass.

    Gradually, his clothing was reced by a full exoskeleton armor he made in order to avoid bing full naked.

    This was how he lived for the past few weeks.

    "A chance!" Don''s eyes lit up.

    He suddenly discovered that the other party had stop reinforcing the seal. He only needed onest push to break through and escape this hell hole.

    ¡­

    "Leader, we cannot reinforce the seal any further! It''s about to be breached!" A shadowguard informed with dripping sweat.

    Kasif had a heavy expression when looked at the shaking sealed entrance that continue to fill with cracks. Was their kingdom fated for destruction?

    The Capital had already experience one recent crisis. They weren''t ready for another one. As such, no one knew about this hidden crisis except the highest level of authority, the Queen.

    "Stop reinforcing and prepare for battle!" Kasif barked, before sending away one shadowguard to request for the Queen''s reinforcement.

    The shadowguards and pce guards immediately retreated and positioned themselves into a defensive formation.

    For the entity capable of breaching the earthen reinforcement of 20 shadowguards and 50 pce guards, it must be a Transcendent-level boss.

    The mood was depressive and heavy. The sounds of heavy breathing and dripping sweat could be heard.

    Boom!

    The seal finally exploded with a deafening boom, sending rubbles flying.

    The shadowguards and pce guards all had stern faces as they prepared to face the greatest battle of their life.

    However, a powerful human-like voice caught them by surprise!

    "Atst! I''m finally out!!!" Don roared, before studying his surroundings. Soon, he locked onto head of the group, Kasif with red eyes. "It was you!"

    Kasif was immediately startled by this almighty humanoid insect that spoke in their human tongue.

    "Y-You know me? Who are you? Are you the boss of the second floor?"

    "Am I the boss of the second floor, you say?" Don shook with anger, before he roared, "Yeah! I am the big bad boss, you sons of bitches! How dare you trap me in the second floor! Prepared to feel my wrath! Arghhh!!"

    Don charged at Kasif and raised him high in the air with one hand. Kasif was like a helpless chicken, unable to resist. Don''s previous words continues to ring through his head.

    Trapped him in the second floor!? Wait¡­ Grandmaster Don had been missing since he went exploring the underground. Don''t tell me¡­

    "Y-You are¡­ Grandmaster Don¡­?" Kasif gulped with wide eyes as he studied Don''s appearance, who was decked out in the exoskeleton armor from top to bottom.

    "So, you recognize me, huh!? Why didn''t recognize me before when I was still on the other side!?" Don stared at the rest and warned. "None of you are allowed to leave until I am satisfied beating all you brats up, you hear me!?"

    Everyone shivered.

    Strangely, being stared by Don, they were even more fearful than when they were preparing for the unknown threat.

    "Wait¡­ Grandmaster Don, we didn''t know it was you! Good lord¡­ have mercy¡­" Kasif pleaded, before he began to wail as Don rained punches on his face.

    Ahhhhh!

    After the first wail, came the second! The third! The fourth! Soon, the wails of many men reverberated throughout the area!

    Don patted the dust off his hands with a smile, while everyone elseid on the ground in pain, bruised and battered. It felt good to vent his frustrations! But this was far from enough to satisfy him for the hell-like experience he''d been through.

    He would probably beat them every time he sees them!

 Chapter 180 - Resealing The Entrance

    <h4>Chapter 180 - Resealing The Entrance</h4>

    Among the group of shadowguards stationed at the sealed entrance to the second underground floor, Billy was the youngest and also the weakest.

    When the leader delegated the important mission of reporting to the Queen; the imminent breach in the seal, to him, he knew that the leader was sending him away from the danger¡­ or at least that was what he thought.

    He was overwhelmed by the leader''s consideration.

    In truth, Kasif didn''t think so much. He simply picked the nearest shadowguard to do the job. His eyes had never left the sealed entrance when he issued the task.

    "I will aplish the mission without fail!"

    With those words, Billy had left at his quickest speed.

    ¡­

    Heinrich''s face was swollen like a pig from all the beating. This was not something his wife would do in the past. At most, she would pinch his waist.

    He wasn''t quite mentally ready to ept the stark transformation of his wife. His loving and gentle wife had turned into a ferocious tigress.

    Furthermore, his wife has reached the Transcendent Realm, while he was still at the 9th step of the Awakener Realm. That was harder to ept.

    As a man, even if find it hard to ept, he had to submit to changes. One must know when to retreat when the odds are against them.

    So what if his wife was stronger? So what if she is violent? He was still the bigger man! He shall not fight with his wife!

    Heinrich took his beating like a man!

    Vent it all out, my dear! All the anger and grievance you suffered in the past 17 years, just vent it all out! I can take it!

    But he was wrong! Very wrong! He couldn''t take it!

    He thought after a short beating, his wife would fall into his arms and cry out all her feelings, but that wasn''t the case. His wife didn''t seem to be holding back and there were no signs of stopping.

    He began squealing like a pig being ughtered shortly after the beating started.

    "Stop! I can''t take it anymore! My wife, my dear wife, have mercy!"

    Heinrich pleaded, but Elizabeth only stopped after a shadowguard appeared with an urgent report.

    Billy gulped as he walked in on the scene of the Queen grabbing the cor of a pig-face person with both hands. He did not recognize the king, but considering the person''s loose clothing and the location, he could make a guess.

    The Queen wouldn''t be intimate with any other man other than the king. It appeared that he walked in on their quality time together. He wanted to congratte the king''s recovery, but he forced the words down when he remembered the urgent task on hand.

    If Heinrich knew what the young shadowguard thought, he wouldn''t know whether tough or cry. What part of this was intimate? Look at my face, do I look recovered?

    Since he didn''t know, he can only look at the shadowguard like he was looking at his life savior.

    Elizabeth left shortly after hearing the situation of the underground.

    Heinrich heaved a sigh of relief as he fell back onto to his bed and recollected his thoughts.

    ¡­

    "What the hell happened here? Where is the Transcendent-level threat?"

    Elizabeth had rushed at her quickest when she heard the wails from afar. By the time she arrived, everyone was already squirming on the ground, except one.

    "Ah¡­ you''re here, Elizabeth." Don stretched his limbs. He gave the beaten shadowguards and pce guards a threatening look, before saying, "You don''t have to worry. The Transcendent-level threat has already been eliminated."

    Kasif wanted to curse that the Transcendent-level threat was right in front the queen. However, he also didn''t want to receive another round of beating. His old bones won''t be able to take it.

    The group was forced to swallow their grievance in silence.

    Unaware of the events, Billy gazed at the leader with heartfelt gratitude. He wouldn''t have been able to avoid this disaster if the leader didn''t send him away.

    "You are¡­ Senior Don? Where have you been? What''s with that ridiculous appearance?" Elizabeth asked with surprise.

    Don''s face twitched at her words. They poked right into his sore spot. If he was given a choice, he didn''t want to wear such crudely made exoskeleton armor either. It was too breezy in the wrong ces, making it ufortable.

    "Haih¡­ You wouldn''t understand." Don sighed, before suggesting, "We should quickly build a sturdy gate to block off the entrance. It won''t be good if the creatures down there start pouring out."

    Without Don''s exnation, Elizabeth could faintly guess what happened from his appearance and the scene in front of here. All the shadowguards and pce guards only suffered fleshly wounds. No one suffered any serious injuries. Most likely, they had been beaten by Don.

    As for why, it was because he was trapped on the other side of the seal and suffered a lot of hardships!

    "Why a gate?" Elizabeth asked. If they want to stop the creatures from pouring out, shouldn''t they just seal it off? Unless¡­ there was something good on the other side?

    "There''s a lot of good stuff down there, including the creatures themselves. Not are their organs highly nutritious and tasty, their exoskeletons are very sturdy and can be used to make armor like mine. However, they are quite powerful and numerous. Not just anyone can enter. Anyone below the star rank in cultivation will just be seeking death." Don exined.

    "Is that true?" Elizabeth said with delight. "What kind of creatures are they? Can they really be eaten?

    If what Don said was true, the Capital would have a new source of sustenance and the expenditure on food could be reduced.

    "Kekeke, of course. As long as they are cooked properly, they will be edible." Don said with a sly smile. Good things must be shared.

    "These creatures are¡­" Don suddenly paused as rumbled movements could be heard drawing closer from the second-floor entrance. "Well, you''ll know soon enough."

    Soon, the first creature made its appearance out of the entrance, and everyone was able to get a good look at the six-legged creature that was the size of humans. Countless more followed from behind.

    "Ants! Those creatures are ants!" Kasif jumped in rm, before warning the others, "Be careful. These creatures are said to be endowed with great physical strength!"

    He had once read book on insects. Ants were said to be able to lift 50 times their own weight. Who knows if the special trait of these horrible creatures had been amplified or not after the Cataclysm?

    Suddenly, all the shadowguards and pce guards sprung up from the ground and got into defensive formation with great coordination. They did not seem like people who were in pain from a great beating.

    At some point during Don''s beating previously, everyone hade up with the idea to pretend they were in more pain than they actually were. They were under the mindset that doing so would allow them to receive less beating. Fortunately, it pulled off well.

    "Focus on sealing the entrance! I will clear the path!" Elizabeth quicklymanded, after being stunned for an instance.

    At the same time, Don narrowed his eyes. How dare these brats tricked him!

    Elizabeth shot out her sword at the ants with a silver sh, reaping lives wherever it went.

    Before the ants were sliced in half by her de, sparks were created from the moment of contact between the sword and exoskeleton skin.

    Elizabeth knew that she didn''t utilize much strength in the attack, however, she was still moved by the sight. Senior Don wasn''t exaggerating about their sturdiness. They were great materials for making equipment.

    It wouldn''t be as strong as the steel armor worn by pce guards, but with therge quantity they could collect, it was possible to equip all the soldiers.

    The battle at the underground entrance to the second floor onlysted a few minutes. With two Transcendents on the scene, it didn''t take much effort for the giant ants to be quickly suppressed and the entrance resealed.

    "When did you reach the Transcendent Realm, Elizabeth? Congrattions." Don said after the battle.

    He made his way over, but he was quickly stopped by Elizabeth.

    "Stop! Stay away from me! You should quickly go back and wash up, Senior Don!" Elizabeth said with a terrible expression.

    The foul smell emanating from Don made her feel disgusted. It had a strong scent of human excrete.

    "Err, right¡­"

    Don paused his steps. It was fine when he wasn''t reminded, but once he was reminded, he felt awfully unclean. He couldn''t wash for weeks! It was even worse because his diarrhea was quite explosive and tend to spray everywhere. He had an interest in the art of explosions, but not like this.

    In summary, his trip had been one bad experience.

    "En, I''ll be leaving first." Don nodded and immediately disappeared from his spot in an instance.

    Following a trail of dust, one could only hear the clicks and cks of his armor grinding against each other fading in the distance.

 Chapter 181 - Where Did It Go?

    <h4>Chapter 181 - Where Did It Go?</h4>

    Sometime after Elizabeth left the king''s bedchamber, Heinrich removed the nutrient solution supply cords strapped to his body and intended to roam the Royal Pce. He wanted to see what changed in thest 17 years with his own eyes.

    Also, he wanted to see his son!

    He felt incredibly guilty when he learnt that his son was all grown up!

    With that thought in mind, he immediately left the bed and headed towards the door. He only took a few steps when he was quickly stunned by his actions.

    Normally, an ordinary person would have required a long period of rehabilitation to regain their mobility, but he was no ordinary person. He was a 9th step Awakener. He only needed to execute the breathing technique of his royal family, the Great Sky Refining Art to absorb the surrounding energies to rejuvenate his swiveled muscles.

    However!

    He didn''t execute the breathing technique yet! Where is he getting his strength from?

    Heinrich thought back hard, but the truth had been in in sight. Why would his wife beat him when he was still weak and feeble? Was she not afraid of causing him serious injuries?

    The answer was no! She was not afraid! While she was beating him, she was also helping him recover!

    Metal-user don''t just wield power of metals. They can increase the sharpness of the objects they control and strengthen their own body.

    Since they were both metal users, his wife could strengthen his body by channeling her own energy into him.

    When Heinrich figured out his wife''s good intentions, he felt warm. Except¡­ was it necessary to do it through beating?

    "Haiz¡­" Heinrich touched his swollen cheeks and mournfully sighed, "Others recover through exercising, but I recover from being exercised on¡­ tough love¡­ tough life¡­"

    As he pushed open the doors, the two pce guards outside dropped to their knees respectfully.

    "Congrattions on your recovery, your Majesty!"

    Heinrich''s face twitched, before he gestured, "Arise."

    "Thank you, you Majesty!" The pce guard answered, before requesting, "Please allow us to apany you, your Majesty!"

    Heinrich thought for a moment, before he nodded in approval. Although he could walk without a problem, he was still far from a full recovery.

    He had forgotten what happened 17 years ago. If he suffers another assassination attempt, his hard-kept life would be forfeited. He had to rely on the pce guard''s protection.

    Making his way outside to the open pce grounds, his expression underwent an abrupt change. A blurred shadow was spotted closing in on him fast.

    He just stepped outside and he was already about to be attacked by assassins? What are the pce guards doing!?

    "Assassin¡­!"

    The shadow closed the distance in the blink of an eye and gave him a mighty bear hug, whileughing joyously, "Hahaha! Heinrich, my boy! It''s good to see you awake!"

    Don was just on his way to the bathhouse, but at the sight of Heinrich on his feet, he forgot all about it.

    "Who are¡­"

    Heinrich didn''t get to finish his question before a horrible stench assaulted his senses. His face quickly turned green. He wanted to break away immediately.

    However!

    He was unable to! The person had monstrous strength! He couldn''t break away at all!

    Everything happened so fast. The pce guards could only stare dumbly as they felt no malice from the other party.

    They were slow to react. Only when they saw the king trying to break away, did they snap out of their daze and roared, "Protect the king!

    Swords drawn and shes were made, but the attacks only create scraping sparks and white lines on the ck exoskeleton armor.

    "Hmm?"

    The physical attacks of 9th step Awakeners was like scratching an itch on a Transcendent. Nevertheless, he felt annoyed at the interruption, simr to random strangers tapping him on the shoulders while he was in the middle of something.

    "What the hell are you two doing, attacking me out of the blue? Piss off! Can''t you see I''m trying to catch up with my nephew here?"

    Don waved his hand and sent the two pce guards flying a few yards away.

    Soon, the foul stench proved to be too much for Heinrich to bear. His eyes began to roll back with only the whites showing and started frothing from the mouth.

    Don was shocked.

    "What''s the matter, Heinrich boy!? What''s wrong with you!?" Don eximed.

    The question didn''t need to be answered. He quickly figured out the cause.

    "Ahem¡­" Don coughed awkwardly, before shouting, "Catch the king!"

    Seeing the king being suddenly tossed at them, the pce guards caught the king in a panicky manner like a pair of rough men trying to treat a fragile flower delicacy. They didn''t want the queen to me them then lose their heads for allowing harm to the king.

    Being distanced from Don, Heinrich was able to breathe in fresh air again. He spat out a mouthful of saliva with a disgusted expression like it had been contaminated by human excrete.

    Afterwards, his eyes shifted to the ck armoured figure with a prative gaze. He wiped his mouth and said in an interrogating tone, "Who are you!?"

    The pce guards stood in front of the king with defensive stances and a heavy expression like they were facing a great enemy. Just a casual swipe of this person had sent them flying away!

    "You don''t recognize me anymore, Heinrich boy?" Don asked in a soft and familiar tone. Heinrich''s unfriendly attitude baffled him greatly. Did Heinrich boy get kicked in the head too hard, he forgotten who he was?

    "You know me?" Heinrich frowned. This person appeared very familiar with him. There was only one person who calls him "Heinrich boy," but he couldn''t confirm. "Stop hiding behind your helmet and show yourself!"

    "What do you¡ª"

    "Ah¡­" Suddenly, realization dawned upon Don.

    No wonder, the other party didn''t know who he was. He took off his ck exoskeleton helmet.

    "You¡­ You are¡­" Heinrich began slowly.

    Don showed a brilliant smile, seeing that Heinrich seemed to have faintly remembered him. "That''s right, I am¡ª"

    "Are you Uncle Don''s son?" Heinrich asked doubtfully with creased brows.

    Don immediately staggered at the question. What the hell!

    "Damn brat! I''ve never had a wife! How can I have a son!? Are you trying to poke my sore spot!?" Don roared.

    A lifetime of dedication to the art of alchemy left no room for love. By the time he decided to look for a family to leave behind descendants to carry on his legacy, he was already too old, and none of the women fancied him.

    "U-Uncle Don!?" Heinrich eximed in shock.

    "That''s right!" Don affirmed.

    "What kind of divine beauty elixir did you take!? Shouldn''t you look older after 17 years!? How can you be even younger like you''re still in your prime!?"

    "Heh, your uncle has be a Transcendent. Naturally, I would look younger." Don said smugly.

    With his prime look, perhaps there''ll finally be someone who was willing to ept him and share weals and woes together.

    "Damnnnn!" Heinrich smacked his thighs in amazement. "Congrattions on your sessful breakthrough, Uncle. You have be the beacon of hope for all fire-users in reaching Transcendence."

    Don half smiled before it froze. He wasn''t shameless enough to take all the credit for his sess.

    "Haiz¡­ I''m afraid if it wasn''t for your son''s help, I would have never been able to achieve the Transcendent Realm in this life. Even his attainment in alchemy put this Old man¡ªahem, Uncle to shame." Don sighed and corrected.

    "My son has higher attainment in alchemy than the publicly recognized number one alchemist in the kingdom¡­? How is that possible? My son should only be 17 years old¡­" Heinrich startled by the news.

    He kept receiving surprises one after the other since waking up, but this was the biggest surprise yet.

    Little did he know, there were even bigger surprises waiting for him.

    Heinrich wanted to continue learning about his son, when a certain unpleasant smell began pervading the air.

    What the hell! They were already standing 4 yards apart!

    It didn''t seem quite appropriate to continue talking like this, despite his eagerness to continue listening.

    Heinrich frowned and suggested, "Uncle, maybe it is best that you go wash yourself first, then we can talkter?"

    "Right, right. Then I''ll be heading off first, Heinrich boy. It''s good to see you up and about again."

    Don no longer dallied and rushed straight for the bathhouse. The filthiness was killing him.

    After Don left, Heinrich sighed with relief. He had no idea what caused his uncle Don to appear the way he was, but it seemed like a lot had been going on.

    It seemed like there will be long story to tell over dinner. No, never mind dinner. Perhaps teatime instead. Heinrich doubted that anyone would still have an appetite after listening.

    So much changes, so much surprises.

    "I wonder if the Capital is still the same after 17 years¡­"

    Heinrich found himself a nice vantage spot and began peering beyond the pce walls

    "Oh, there are a few new buildings in the Upper District¡­ Interesting designs." Heinrich thought, before moving on. "Ah¡­ the Lower District. Nothing has¡­ Nothing!?"

    Heinrich''s eyes bulged in shock violently.

    "T-T-The Lower District! Where the hell is the Lower District!?"

 Chapter 182 - Wait For Me!

    <h4>Chapter 182 - Wait For Me!</h4>

    While studying the collection of sword arts, Leon frowned with disappointment. These sword art manuals were iparable to spirit art scrolls from the Divine Realm, which records the visual execution of the spirit art and be viewed by injecting spirit energy into the spirit art scrolls.

    The sword art manuals provided many illustrations, but little to no exnations. It was easy to mimic the physical form, but without understanding the unique energy cirction that powers the skill, it was no better than ordinary sword techniques.

    Furthermore, the meridian pathways in the human body were numerous and filled with countless possibilities. Trying to understand all the possible pathways in the human body was like trying to unravel the mystery of the universe.

    Circting energy through unexplored pathways had to be treated with utmost care. No one could predict what could happen from circting through unexplored pathways.

    In good cases, a new skill could be discovered. In bad cases, a bacsh urs, reversing the flow of energy.

    Normally in such cases, suffering self-inflicted internal injuries was unavoidable, while crippling meridians and even death was not out of the realms of possibility.

    As such, people normally avoid circting their energy blindly. It was not much different with ying with their life.

    In general, the sword art manuals provided vague drawings and high risk in learning.

    "The sword art shown in these manuals seem very powerful, but it''s too dangerous to practice. No wonder they are all locked away here." Leon shook his head. "This was a waste effort. It is better to practice sword arts under the guidance of a sword master than to practice from these manuals. The quality of teaching, these manuals possess are too atrocious."

    Leon frowned. There was no way he would allow his women to practice these sword arts on their own. The consequence of making a mistake was unbearable. While he had the method to repair broken meridians, hecked the herbs.

    Leon closed his eyes and ruminated through his memories from the Divine Realm. Even in the Divine Realm, swords were the most favored weapon of divine practitioners. Along with his father, he had cured a number of sword-users in the past.

    Although, he never took cultivation seriously, he was at least aware of some knowledge pertaining in the way of the sword from his interaction with these sword-users, one of which even held the title of Sword Saint.

    It was said that the way of the sword had four known realms, namely; Sword Spirit, Sword Intent, Swordforce and Sword Domain. Although the path of the sword doesn''t benefit one''s own cultivation, it grants its users unfathomable battle power capable of fighting opponents beyond their realm.

    Most sword-users are only able toprehend sword spirit and qualified to call themselves swordsmen. Those whoprehended sword intent were called sword masters, followed by sword kings forprehending Swordforce.

    In the whole Divine Realm, there was only one person who everprehended the sword domain and became worthy of the title; sword saint.

    Sword Saint Evernight was only a half-step Divine King, but with his sword domain, he could contend with peak Divine Kings. If he could take thest step, he would be the overlord of the Divine Realm.

    "Senior Sword Saint Evernight was once hunted by Divine Kings because of his potential. After ying a Divine King and escaping with grievous injuries, he passed out near our home. He waster found and saved by father and I."

    "In order to repay our favor, he gave us some guidance in the way of the sword¡­" Leon reminisced.

    "The first step to forming the sword spirit is to have the sword in their heart. If one did not have the heart of a swordsman, one will never be able to be one. Cultivate the mind and be one with the sword, through trials by fire then the sword spirit will form."

    In order words, they had to fight! Fight through numerous bloody battles and bond with their sword. There was no shortcut.

    "If I apply the same method to the spear, will I be able to form a spear spirit?" Leon pondered, before shaking his head, "I can only find out through practice, but the Capital has more or less stabilized. There aren''t many opportunities where I can find myself in many life or death battles¡­"

    Leon frowned. There many things to do, but not enough time to do them all. Most importantly¡­

    "I haven''t made any further progress in the stage of five elements ever since my initial sess in the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos]. In the end, my understanding of the five elements arecking and my Five-Element Body has reached a bottleneck. Advancing my cultivation will no longer improve my Five-Element Body. If I can''t improve my Five-Element Body, then I will not be able to increase my mastery of the [Nine Echo Osciting Fist] to use five echoes."

    "It seems I should focus onpleting the five elements to increase my mastery of the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique. I can only look for opportunities as I go to train my spear skills and test the method to form my spear spirit." Leon took a moment to sort out his thoughts, before he decided.

    Toplete his five elements, he still needs to form the earthseed and the woodseed. Considering themonness of earth-users, Leon immediately judged that it would be much easier to form the earthseed than the woodseed.

    However, Leon did not intend to dig up earth books to read. That was too tedious. He didn''t want to go through the same inconvenience to form his metalseed. There had to be a more direct and primitive method.

    The earliest of awakeners did not rely on the knowledge from books to achieve their awakening. In fact, it seems that in the process of creating a structured step to awakening, the awakener cultivation system, they had forgotten the origin of how it started.

    "When divine practitioners toprehend thews, they would do so in an area where thew can be felt strongly. If I want toprehend the earthws and form my earthseed in this world, I must go to the ce where the earth energy is densest¡­ and the ce with the densest earth energy¡­ can only be found deep underground!"

    ¡­

    Leaving the treasury, Leon ran into his mother, who just returned from her short underground trip.

    "Have you already finish catching up with father, mother?" Leon asked, seeing his mother was alone.

    "Not yet, son. Something came up." Elizabeth answered.

    The underground smell mixed with a peculiar strong and unpleasant acidic scent lingering around his mother''s body immediately left an impression on him.

    "You just came back from underground? There''s a strange unpleasant smell on your body. What happened underground?"

    Elizabeth''s eyes bright at the mention of the underground. She did not mind unpleasant smell on her body caused by ant''s blood despite noting into contact with it. It just shows how pungent and pervasive the smell of ant''s blood was.

    Don had mentioned the edibility of ant organs out of spite, to make the surrounding men stationed at the entrance curious and hopefully, suffer the same pains he went through. As the saying went; curiosity kills the cat. However, little did he know, his small act of pettiness would make the whole Capital suffer.

    Elizabeth had bigger ns after receiving the information from Don. If ant organs can be eaten and taste great, why shouldn''t it be utilized and shared amongst themon popce that relies on the royal family''s charitable food distribution to get by?

    "En, that''s right. Mother just came from underground. The second-floor entrance had long been found and just a while ago¡­"

    Elizabeth began recounting events in the underground and the ants she encountered.

    After Leon finished listening to his mother''s recap, his eyes glinted. From what his mother told him; these creatures were at least as powerful as one-star awakeners.

    They were suitable targets for him to train his spear. He was nning to cultivate underground, so this news suited him just fine.

    Leon soon bid farewell to his mother and prepared to set off to the underground entrance immediately, but recalling he had a patient hadn''t checked up on, he decided to make a quick stop by the guest courtyard.

    ¡­

    Leon knocked on the door of a room in the guest courtyard upon his arrival.

    "Who''s there?" A wary voice sounded from inside.

    "It''s me." Leon answered.

    The door crept open after Leon answered and a pale figure was slowly shown.

    "You''re back." The pale figure said.

    Leon was immediately taken aback by the sight.

    Did her condition worsen while he was gone? Why was her skin so pale?

    However, Leon noticed the steady breathing and there was evidently no weakness in the person''s movement.

    "It seems you have fully recovered." Leon smiled, before adding, "But why is yourplexion so pale? Don''t tell me you''ve been shut inside your room this entire time?"

    Lilith thought for a moment before nodding, "En, apart from grabbing the delivered meals by the door, that had indeed been the case."

    "Why?"

    "Because I don''t trust humans!" Lilith said with a sharp look.

    Leon wasn''t intimidated and asked, "But you trust me?"

    "That''s right. You should be honored." Lilith said with a haughty tone.

    Leon was hit with another surprise. Was this her true character after she recovers? Even if she was a princess elsewhere, he was a prince here and this was his home. What''s there to be haughty about?

    He thought for a moment before shaking his head. Never mind, he shan''t bicker with a bird.

    "Now that you have recovered, what are you nning to do?" Leon asked.

    "Hm¡­ What are you going to do?"

    Having his question direct back, Leon''s lips twitched.

    "I''m nning to go cultivate underground, why?"

    "Oh, then I am going too." Lilith said as a matter of fact.

    "Why?" Leon creased his brows. He felt an iing headache.

    "If I''m with you, I won''t have to worry about being attacked by other humans."

    Leon thought for a moment, before shrugging, "Suit yourself. I''m leaving now."

    With the beastkin apanying him, he might finally get an opportunity to learn more about the Wilnds. However, it was no longer a priority.

    News of the nonaggression pact had been spread and he wasn''t uninformed. The Bloodfiend Sect and Illusory Butterfly Sect seemed to be bigger problems currently.

    "Wait for me!" Lilith happily said, seeing things were going her way¡­ Her pearly eyes flickered unnoticeably.

 Chapter 183 - I Totally Understand

    <h4>Chapter 183 - I Totally Understand</h4>

    On the way, Leon and Lilith passed through the Upper District and new Lower District.

    Due to being cooped up in her room ever since Leon brought her to the pce, she had not seen the changes taking ce in the Capital.

    When the Capital was attacked, she had seen the destruction to the Lower District. There was not a spot left unscathed in the big battle and everything was further reduced to ashes.

    Lilith was amazed at how much humans had achieved in rebuilding the Capital in these few weeks since the attack.

    Her eyes wondered about with curiosity, beforending on a building that stood out from the rest.

    "Wow, humans have all sorts of interesting designs, especially that one." Lilith pointed, before continuing, "It feels quite majestic and beautifully designed like a piece of art."

    Leon followed the direction Lilith pointed. He was immediately startled when heid eyes on the building.

    Leon was sure they weren''t in the location of the old Lower West District. Why was this building here? Did someone take interest in his building design and build another one here?

    Leon quickly grabbed Lilith''s hand and quickened their pace without making ament.

    Along the way, all sorts of gazes from the surrounding were directed at Lilith, or more precisely; her ck wing. There were surprises, curiosity, some unexpected appreciative gazes and unsurprisingly; hostile gazes.

    "Can you do something about your wing?" Leon casually asked, before adding, "It''s too conspicuous and attracts attention wherever we go. I''m afraid someone might not be able to hold back and jump out to attack you."

    "Oh? Are worried about me?" Lilith raised an eyebrow and said with interest.

    "No, I''m worried for the person who might attack you." Leon said bluntly. Lilith was stronger than the average pce guards. There was no way the nobles were her match, let alone; themoners.

    Beasts were known for their powerful bodies and physical strength. Although Lilith was a beastkin, he did not doubt that she inherited their powerful fleshly strength.

    While he was aware of that fact, others might be deceived by her delicate appearance and forget such a simple fact. Whether it isnd, resource or knowledge, the humans of this worldcked many things, but the one thing they did notck was stupid people.

    "Oh¡­" Lilith''s mood quickly plummeted at his response and her brows creased into a frown.

    "What do you want me to do? Cut it off? I only have one wing left you know. Isn''t the reason why I''m following you because I''m afraid of being attacked by others? Aren''t you supposed to be the prince? If someone dares to attack me, while I''m right next to you, wouldn''t your status as the prince of this kingdom be a little¡­ too pathetic?" Lilith said strongly with a hint of contempt.

    Leon was dumbfounded by the bombardment of questions. He did not expect to trigger such a violent response.

    "As you know, 500-year history of hatred between our two races is not something easy to resolve. There are bound to be people who will be hostile against you. If you identally hurt someone in your attempt to defend yourself, no one will care about the reason. The fact that a beastkin hurt a human will quickly trigger a chain reaction through the Capital and spiral out of control." Leon exined, before helplessly adding, "I just want to avoid such headaches if possible, alright?"

    He had stayed under the radar to reap as much benefits as he could from the nobles and aristocrat families, but now that he had done exactly that, he was no longer looking for trouble.

    However, before his status is announced to the world, there was indeed not many people that knew of his royal status.

    After listening, Lilith''s mood did not improve. She was aware of such of the hatred between their two races and didn''t need him to tell her. While it was just a matter of a headache for him, it was a matter of life and death for her. She was alone while the humans were many.

    Folding her arms, Lilith grumpily said, "Yeah? So, what do you suggest I do? I was born this way. What are you going to do about it?"

    As a newer generation of beastkins, she did not share the same inborn hatred for humans like the beasts does and considered herself as part of a different race to the beasts. In fact, many shared the same thought. The Wilnds were quite divided between the beasts and beastkins as a result.

    However, she did not need to mention this as they were still considered on the same side as denizens of the Wilnds.

    "Well¡­ cutting it off might not be a bad idea. It is pretty much useless without the other. You won''t be able to fly with one wing anyway, but maybe I can use it to decorate my room. It''s quite a beautiful wing after all." Leon said with a teasing tone. He gazed at the lone ck wing with an indescribable expression and rubbed his chin.

    Hyuk!

    Lilith reacted like a cat getting its tail stepped on. She quickly retreated warily and eyed him with an expression that seemed to imply that if he came closer, she would not hold back in her attack even if he was her saviour.

    "You, you stay away from me!" Lilith shrieked.

    "Hahaha¡­ I''m joking, but it appears that you really don''t have any methods to hide your wing." Leon chuckled, before shaking his head. He had casually asked because of a simple thought.

    The divine beasts from the Divine Realm had a magical technique called the [Hundred Beast Transformation Art], which allows them to transform their appearances into any form they please. Most divine beasts use it to transform into humans, while demi-humans use it to hide their beastly features.

    Although he wasn''t expecting such a high-level technique to exist in this world, he was expecting that a weaker version may exist among the beasts and beastkin. The body practitioners also had the ability to control their body and shape to some extent. It wouldn''t be a problem to retract her wings into her body with such a method, but it seems that he had been expecting too much.

    "Of course, I don''t have a method to hide my wings! Don''t you think I would have used it already to enter your human territory instead of pping my wings around and stick out like a sore thumb!?" Lilith rolled her eyes.

    "Haha, that''s true." Leon smiled wryly, before saying, "Try not to cause for me, alright?"

    "Hmph!" Lilith harrumphed, before continuing to follow Leon closely.

    Fortunately, the trip past the new Lower District was smooth sailing. They did not encounter any trouble.

    The two entered the underground mines and made their way to the seal entrance leading to the second underground floor.

    Along the way, Lilith looked left and right with curiosity, but underneath the fa?ade of her na?ve appearance, she was studying the underground seriously.

    The first underground floor was supposedly a spider''s nest and the source of the Skysilver King''s displeasure. She wondered what secret lies deeper in this dark world.

    "Behind that earthen wall is the spiral pathway leading down to the second underground floor, huh." Leonmented upon arrival.

    The concentration of earth energy in this area was quite good, but naturally, it''ll be even better the deeper he went.

    "Boy¡­ Your Highness." Kasif greeted with a forced smile, before asking, "What is the purpose of your visit?"

    After the shadowguards and pce guards followed suit in their greeting, they began throwing furtive nces at Lilith.

    "I wish to go train in the second floor and explore it. I wonder if that will be possible?" Leon asked.

    "Her majesty intends to send down an elite force to hunt for resources and treasures on a regr basis, but for that purpose, we are making haste to construct a sturdy gate. I wonder if your highness has the patience to wait for itspletion?" Kasif inquired.

    "I can wait." Leon thought for a moment, before he nodded.

    He didn''t know how long the gate will take toplete, but he had four heavenly crystals to keep him busy with cultivation.

    Kasif sighed with relief after hearing Leon''s response. It was too dangerous for the prince to explore the second floor on his own. If the brat dies on the other side, the queen will probably chop off all their heads.

    "Thank you for your understanding, your Highness." Kasif said, before requesting, "May I speak with your Highness privately in my tent?"

    Huh? What does the Old man need to speak with him privately?

    Although, Leon was taken aback by the sudden request, but he still agreed to it.

    Just a few yards away on his left, there were many tents erected and the biggest one belonged to the leader of the shadowguards.

    Lilith intended to follow closely behind Leon, however she was stopped by two shadowguards.

    "The leader wishes to speak to the prince privately." They stated sternly.

    Lilith frowned at their unfriendly attitude and looked at Leon.

    "Wait for me." Leon said.

    Lilith stamped the ground unhappily as she watched Leon enter the tent after Kasif.

    ¡­

    "What''s the matter, Old man? You still want to make me your disciple?" Leon asked as soon as he entered the tent.

    Kasif was immediately caught by surprise and staggered. He looked at Leon with a strained smile and said, "Surely you jest, your Highness. I wouldn''t dare¡­ wouldn''t dare¡­"

    Kasif repeated twice, implying that he had already learnt his lesson. He threw a few furtive nces outside, before he whispered, "This ce is off limit to unrted personnel, let alone someone from the beast race. Is it fine to bring that beast here, your Highness? She might try to escape after learning the secrets here and report back to her people."

    "Oh, you''re worried about this?"

    Leon took a quick peek outside; however, it was immediately noticed by Lilith. She gave him the stink eye, before he popped his head back inside with a wry smile.

    "She''s not a beast. She''s a beastkin. You don''t have to worry. She''ll be under my supervision and won''t be able to escape. Just consider her as an attendant of mine." Leon said.

    Kasif frowned. He wasn''t assured. However, he suddenly recalled some rumours.

    "Oh¡­ okay¡­ I understand, your Highness. I totally understand." Kasif said with a meaningful look.

    Leon wasn''t sure what the Old man understood, but he nodded.

    "En, so long as you understand."

 Chapter 184 - Entering The Second Floor

    <h4>Chapter 184 - Entering The Second Floor</h4>

    Seven days quietly passed in the blink of an eye, before an awe-inspiring silver gate stood erected with towering height in ce of the sealed entrance.

    Leon and Lilith did not leave the area, nor did they stay idle during this time. Two new tents were erected to amodate them while they cultivated.

    Leon had made leaps and bounds in his awakening cultivation thanks to the help of the heavenly crystals. He had sessfully raised all his elemental abilities to one star, except his lightning attribute.

    He never felt it before, but after raising his fire, metal and ice abilities to the same level, he had a feeling he could merge the three elemental seeds into one.

    However, he refrained himself from doing so. He hadn''t obtained all five elements yet. He didn''t know if prematurely merging three elements would cause irreversible and detrimental effects or not.

    "Your Highness, the hunting team has been assembled and ready to enter the second floor. Will you be tagging along? A deep voice was heard from outside his tent, informing him.

    Exiting the tent, Leon gazed upon a pce guard with powerful aura exuding from his body.

    "You are¡­?"

    "I am Zorbek Haynes, Captain of the south, your Highness." Zorbek introduced.

    "Captain of the¡­ south?" Leon asked doubtfully, before he immediately understood. Four directions, four captains.

    "I see. Notify the men to ready themselves. I will be joining them shortly." Leon ordered.

    "Yes, your Highness." Zorbek answered and left, but not after shing a few furtive nces at the tent adjacent to his.

    Shortly after, His voice could be heard loudly in the distance. Every member of the hunting team knew what they were signing up for. They were already instructed that they weren''t required to protect the prince at every moment. This trip was considered part of the prince''s training. He could take care of himself.

    But who were they kidding? Who was the prince? He was the Queen''s darling baby. If he dies on their trip, they can also say goodbye to their heads!

    Leon withdrew the ck spear from his Worldspace and prepared to call Lilith out from her tent, but he before he could, she already exited her tent on her own ord.

    Leon was quite curious how the beasts and beastkins cultivate. Could it be a body cultivation method? Unfortunately, Lilith did not give him any chances to find out from her during the time they were cultivating.

    "Let''s go." Leon said.

    "Alright." Lilith nodded.

    It didn''t take long before the two arrived at the assembling point located in front of the silver gate.

    The hunting team consists of 20 pce guards and Captain Zorbek. Each pce guard exuded an aura that not inferior to Leon and some was even stronger.

    To ensure the efficiency and safety of the hunt, all members on the hunting team had been given earth crystals each to cultivate.

    Leon swept his nces through the surroundings and noticed there were no longer any shadowguards around. Old man Kasif was also gone. It was apparent that after thepletion of the silver gate, they had been given a new mission elsewhere that utilized the skills they trained.

    "Your Highness, the men are ready. Shall we begin?" Zorbek asked respectfully.

    Leon nodded.

    "Open the gates!" Zorbek barked.

    Several pce guards began rotating some gears before the heavy silver gate began to open vertically.

    Leon couldn''t fathom how much the silver gate weighed, but his thoughts did not linger on the topic for long as the darkness behind the gate had grasped his attention.

    Light shined into the darkness and illuminated the empty descending spiral pathway leading to the second floor. The pathway that connects the first and second floor was not exactly short.

    ording to the information provided by Don, it was a two-mile walk. By the time they reach the second floor, they would have already descended more than 500 fts.

    When the silver gate fully opened, cool air began escaping from the pathway.

    "Interesting."

    Leon was immediately intrigued. Why would air escape from the pathway instead of the other way around? Nevertheless, it seems that they won''t be encountering any breathing problems as they head deeper underground.

    "Move out!"

    "Yes!"

    Half down the spiral path, the group encountered their first soldier ant roaming alone.

    SCREEE!

    The Soldier ant immediately spotted their presence and issued a battle cry.

    "Leave it for me!"

    Gripping his ck spear, Leon dashed ahead of the group and straight into charging soldier ant with its powerful mandibles ready to take a big bite.

    "Your Highness!"

    The pce guards widened their eyes in shocked with their hearts almost leaping out.

    Oh no! It''s over. The prince was going to get killed straight from the start of their trip.

    Charging head on into an enemy''s attack was an extreme stupid move! The prince is going to get snapped in half!

    However, just as Leon was about to be snapped in half by the powerful mandibles, his speed increased explosively and got underneath the mandibles before snapped shut.

    Snap!

    The ant''s mandibles failed to catch its target. Leon made a horizontal sweep at the legs with his ck spear, without any technique or elemental empowerment. It was a normal attack with packed with 1800-jin of raw physical strength.

    Shingggg!

    Sparks were created as the spear head drew white lines on the ant''s left legs, before Leon retreated with a big backward leap.

    SCREEE! The ant issued another cry like it was calling for reinforcements.

    "As expected! The defensive properties of these ants are quite high like information said!" Leon eximed.

    However, the information they had were limited and not precise. They only knew the shell-like skins of these ants were tough, but not to what extent.

    The ground cracked underneath Leon''s feet as he leaped up for follow up attack. The spear shot straight through its head from above, before impaling its brain and killing it on the spot.

    This time, he utilized his technique and increase his physical strength by onefold to 3600-jin force. There was little to no resistances.

    "A defensive property of roughly 2500-jin force, huh?" Leon concluded, based on the feeling of his two attacks.

    "Your Highness! Please don''t scare us like that!" The pce guardsined.

    "You don''t have to worry about me. I will in charge of my own life. None of you will be held responsible if I end up dying here." Leon stated, before saying, "Let''s continue.

    The eyes of the pce guards almost popped out of their sockets.

    To hell with that! If you die here, then we will also not be allowed to live!

    They were not assured by the prince''s words at all! Only if the words came from the Queen herself, would they be assured!

    However, they did not dare tosh out at the prince and could only keep it to themselves as they continue with their journey.

    Captain Zorbek was the only person among the pce guards that remainedposed.

    "Why didn''t you go for the head straight from the start?" Lilith caught up to Leon and asked with surprise.

    Leon just physical attack was not weaker than her own. That wasn''t right. From her understanding of humans, she was supposed to be twice as powerful as humans of the same level, physically.

    "I was gauging the appropriate amount of strength needed to kill these creatures as reference for future battles."

    "Why?" Lilith asked curiously, before adding, "Does it matter as long as they die?"

    "To optimize the efficiency of my kills without using excessive force. If theses insects are anywhere as numerous as the spiders that attacked the Capital, if not more, then we are bound to get caught up in prolonged battles. It will get dangerous if we exhaust ourselves too quickly."

    "Make sense."

    "Ya hear that, men? Use adequate strength when killing the ants! Don''t waste your energy." Zorberk hollered at the pce guards.

    "Yes, Captain!"

    The group continued down the path.

    Suddenly, Lilith frowned and pinched her nose.

    "Why is it so smelly here?"

    "Argh! It stinks so bad!"

    "Urgh, what in god''s name is this ce!"

    The faces of all the pce guards began to turn green with disgust.

    Leon also frowned at the unpleasant smell. He circted his energy and produced an unnoticeably thin barrier around his body that warded off the smell.

    ncing around, he noticed many unnatural pits in the area as if it''s been dug by someone.

    "I''m afraid this area was where the number one grandmaster alchemist took his dump." Leonmented.

    "Then those brown smudges are all human excrete¡­?"

    The pce guards looked around with horrified gazes.

    Brown smudges¡­ brown smudges everywhere. Not just in the pits but scattered on the ground and even on the walls!

    Bleurghhh! The pce guards began to retch.

    "Urgh¡­ no wonder¡­ we haven''t encounter anymore ants after thest one cried for help¡­ This¡­This is a no man''snd! Even insects don''t want toe near this ce!" Zorbek failed to keep his usually sternposure.

    They have certainly walked into a sh*t hole.

    "Let''s quickly leave this ce!"

    The suggesting was quickly met with many rigorous nods.

    Fortunately, after travelling a few dozen yards, they were able to escape the smelly area. However, they began to encounter dozens of ants.

    The group made quick work of the ants before pressing forward.

    "Leave the carcasses! We will grab themter when we are returning!" Zorbek ordered.

    By the time they reached huge open space of the second floor, they had already yed more than 200 soldier ants.

 Chapter 185 - First Remnant

    <h4>Chapter 185 - First Remnant</h4>

    "Dampen the lights. From here, we must rely on our other senses. Remember your training." Zorbek ordered as they moved. The space ahead of them grew increasingrge.

    They did not want to rm the denizens of the darkness. They weren''t here to just hunt for carcasses.

    During the one-week preparation, in addition to cultivating hard, they were taught by Kasif. His Earth Pulse was a unique bloodline ability that allows him to detect the surroundings like he was seeing them with a different pair of eyes.

    Under the Queen''s order, Kasif did not reject and carried it out faithfully. The ability was vital to the exploration of the dark world.

    The hunting team couldn''t replicate the ability, but Kasif''s teachings allowed them to gain some insights in the usage of their earth abilities that produce a much weaker effect.

    Although they couldn''t ''see'' like the leader of the shadowguards, they could at least sense the movements in their surroundings.

    "Yes, Captain!"

    The lights from thenterns were killed and the sunstones dimmed into a soft glow. Their vision grew smaller and the dark world felt infinitelyrger as the darkness threatened to swallow them whole.

    "The air is very fresh and rich here." Leonmented, squatting over by the ground.

    "Your Highness?"

    Zorbek took deep breath and all his pores automatically opened. He felt veryfortable, but he soon frowned, "That''s strange. Normally, we would only find such concentration and purity of air in areas with vibrant nts and vegetation like great forests."

    "Exactly." Leon tapped the rock-hard ground several times, before continuing, "The ground is incredibly rock solid. It''s impossible for nts to grow here, not to mention there is no sunlight. Not unless¡­ no, never mind."

    There were tenacious and higher-level spirits nts that could survive in the harshest of conditions back in the Divine Realm. But what were the chances of finding one that can burrow its roots in the rock-solid ground and live without sunlight in this world?

    Leon couldn''t think of any other usible exnation. However, the world was full of mysteries and many things people didn''t have answers to.

    Perhaps, the ancient civilization had technology that drew air from above ground and pumped it into the underground? That didn''t seem likely and even outrageous, but not out of the realms of possibilities.

    Continuing with his outrageous thoughts, why were the remnants of the ancient civilization only found underground? Were they the type of civilization that lived underground? Or did a giant floatingndmass dropped and buried everything under?

    Leon slightly shook.

    The attentive Zorbek noticed and asked, "Is something wrong, Your Highness? Should we head back?"

    Was the prince getting cold feet already?

    "No, we continue forward." Leon shook his head and said determinedly. What he felt wasn''t fear, but excitement and curiosity.

    The history of this world¡­ he wanted to know more about it!

    Having experienced death once, it wasn''t so scary anymore. What was scarier was the loss of a loved one.

    "Yes, your Highness."

    Zorbek obliged and continued leading the group at the forefront.

    For this trip, they have only brought big backpacks, loaded with some food supplies and nothing else. There were no carriages nor wagons. The carcasses were secondary. Exploring the second floor and finding relics was the primary objective of their first trip.

    The group proceeded with caution and limited lighting to avoid rming the creatures lurking deeper in the darkness.

    Surprisingly, the ground continues on a downward slope, the deeper they went despite already arriving at the second floor.

    The second floor was muchrger than Leon anticipated. However, he was curious as to what extent.

    Using his [Spirit Eyes], Leon attempted to peer into the infinite darkness.

    [Spirit Eyes] allows him to improve his eyesight by several folds to hundreds of folds depending on his mastery of the spirit art, whereas the mastery was dependent on his usage. The more he uses it, the higher the mastery. As such, even if he mastered the spirit art in his past life, he had to start from scratch in this life.

    At his current mastery, it was no problem to see up to a dozen mile away in normal cases. However, the darkness of the second floor had heavily restricted his vision to a few hundred yards.

    Over two hundred yards away, he spotted more soldier ants.

    "Zorbek, we''ll head this way."

    Leon pointed to a different direction. It was better to avoid confrontation with the ants.

    Not understanding the reason, Zorbek quietly nodded with a frown. He was the leader of this hunting team, but he still had to listen to the words of the prince.

    Using [Spirit Eyes] takes a toll on Leon''s eyes due to the characteristics of his pseudo-Grandmist energy, which was heavy and made his eyes drowsy. As such, he only used it briefly to scout.

    Sometimeter, Zorbek suddenly stopped and crouch over by a patch of cken earth, before making a swipe with his fingers.

    "What is it, Zorbek?" Leon asked.

    Feeling the ck smudges on his fingers, Zorbek replied, "The ground here is scorched ck, your Highness."

    "I see. No doubt, it must be traces of Grandpa Don''s battle with the ants."

    Leon reactivated his [Spirit Eyes] to observe the traces of battle in their immediate surroundings.

    The side effects of using [Spirit Eyes] kicked in immediately, making his eyes droopy appear nonchnt from an onlooker''s perspective.

    Lilith was surprised and asked, "Could it be that you can see in the dark?"

    "Yes."

    Although she had suspected it, his answer still left her more surprised. Her own eyesight was also not too bad, being able to see up to 20 yards away. Wanting topare, she asks, "How far can you see?"

    "A few hundred yards."

    "How is that possible!?"

    Lilith''s jaw dropped, while the pce guards became shocked. Zorbek turned around in surprise and noticed the soft grey glow in Leon''s eyes.

    "I''m using a special technique."

    A light bulb seemed to have lit up in the heads of Zorbek and the pce guards when they heard Leon''s answer. To think that such a method to see in the dark was possible? They immediately mistaken the grey light in Leon''s eyes to be that of the metal attribute.

    Leon noticed their expressions and warned, "I advise you all not to attempt at whatever it is you''re all thinking right now."

    However, his warning came a tad toote.

    "AHH! My eyes!"

    One of the pce guards cried.

    "Urgh¡­" Leon wanted to facepalm.

    The pce guards were all earth-users. There was no way they could use [Spirit Eyes] with earth elemental energy. It was akin to throwing dirt into their eyes.

    "Nooo! I can''t see!" The pce guard said fearfully with his eyes shut tightly.

    ''Ha! What can you see with your eyes closed?'' Lilith quietly thought as she took pleasure in the pce guard''s suffering. On this trip thus far, these pce guards had been sneakily giving her ill gazes. It''s good for them to suffer a bit.

    Leon inspected the pce guard, before he assured, "Don''t worry, the pain is only temporarily. You''ll be fine after a while."

    True to his words, the pce guard recovered after a short moment.

    "I-I''m fine¡­? Thank god I can see again¡­" The pce guard eximed, not that he could see much in this ce anyway.

    "Don''t do it again. My [Spirit Eyes] isn''t something you can replicate with awakening cultivation." Leon stated.

    "Let''s continue. There''s a building to explore."

    Fifty yards ahead of them, he had discovered a half-buried building sticking out of the incredible tough ground, but not as tough as the building itself. It was made from an unknownposition of alloys.

    The only way to enter was through therge broken windows, but the group did not enter immediately.

    There were engravings on the building''s exterior for the group to study. Upon closer look, it turned out to be runic inscriptions.

    Leon was dumbfounded. Just how advanced was this ancient civilization in runic inscriptions? Even a building exterior could be engraved with runes.

    "There''s some sunstones on the ground." A pce guard discovered.

    "Pack it. We must bring back all the relics we find." Zorbek said with half focus as his mind seemed to be preupied by the previous matter.

    For an instance, his eyes glowed with azure light before disappearing, but no one seemed to notice. He resumed focus on the present task at hand with a satisfied smile.

    Continuing their inspection, there were several empty sockets on the exterior.

    "Could the sunstones be ced into these sockets?"

    Another pce guard attempted to socket the sunstone as they appeared to be of matching size.

    However, his hand was quickly grabbed and stopped by Zorbek.

    "What are you thinking? What happens if the sunstone suddenly gets powered by the runes and light up? Do you want to attract an army of ants over to swarm us?" Zorbek admonished. Leon also looked over with a disapproving gaze.

    "I''m sorry, Captain!"

    The pce guard broke out into cold sweat at his thoughtless mistake.

    "Let''s look inside." Leon said, seeing there was nothing else they could gain from outside. None of them understood runic inscriptions.

    "Yes, your Highness."

    One of the pce guards nearest to the broken windows, was the first to enter upon hearing themand.

    However!

    The pce guard flew back out a few momentster, tackled by a soldier ant that sneak attacked him!

    Snap! Snap! Snap!

    The ant made several attempts to bite off his head!

    Gripping the mandibles with both his hands, the pce guard struggled on the ground as he wrestled with the ant. The soldier ant was too heavy for him to free himself!

    "H-Help!"

 Chapter 186 - Besieged

    <h4>Chapter 186 - Besieged</h4>

    Zorbek and the pce guards drew their swords in response to the cry for help, but someone else responded even quicker.

    Leon''s ck spear flew past them from low altitude before suddenly curving up and shot straight through the soldier ant''s eyes and crushed its brain.

    The ant went limp before the pce guard was able to free himself, tossing the ant to the side.

    The surrounding pce guards became rmed when the carcass continued twitching and movement afternding on the ground.

    "It''s still alive!"

    The pce guards gripped their swords and made several shes, chopping off the head and even the legs.

    Zorbek looked at this scene and felt something was not right. The ant didn''t try fight back at all.

    "Stop! It''s just reacting to stimulus! It''s already been killed under his Highness''s spear!"

    "What? It''s dead?"

    Startled and confused, the pce guards halted their attacks as ordered with perplexed expressions.

    Sure enough, the carcass became motionless after a short moment.

    "This¡­ this wasn''t part of the information we were provided¡­"

    The pce guards gawked with embarrassment. They had overreacted and made a fool out of themselves.

    "A body that still moves even after its death¡­ That''s so creepy." Lilith said.

    Herment received many rigorous nods in agreement. Right, right? They were in the middle of enemy territory. It was normal for them to try and kill anything that moves besides them.

    "Be careful of the acidic blood." Leon shook his head and reminded.

    His kill was very clean, but now it became a mess with blood was spilt everywhere due to their panic attacks.

    He made a grabbing gesture and the ck spear flew back into his grasp.

    Zorbek and pce guards looked back at the prince with surprise. The prince had been very quick and decisive in his actions.

    They also noticed dissipating grey glow from the use of [Spirit Eyes] again.

    The pce guards thought that by having the prince apany them, the prince would just drag them down. But now, they were ashamed to have such thoughts initially.

    He was more qualified for this expedition than any of them. He would have still made this trip, with or without them.

    After being dropped into cave filled with spiders, he knew exactly how dangerous it could get if the ants start swarming them. He had to execute the ant before its cry for help.

    "Your Highness, how many times can you use [Spirit Eyes]?" Captain Zorbek asked curiously.

    "As many times as I want, technically." Leon answered, before proceeding to ask, "Why?"

    After reaching Energy Condensation Realm, auxiliary spirit arts like [Spirit Eyes], which augments the bodily functions and not exert force outside, would not expend his energy reserve.

    He''s only concern in the usage of [Spirit Eyes] was the burden ced on his eyes by the weight of his own energy.

    "Is that right?"

    Zorbek was taken aback. Evidently, he was very surprised. It came to his attention that the prince''s divine cultivation was very advanced. Perhaps, the prince wasn''t really a one-star ranked awakener, but an equivalent divine practitioner.

    This shouldn''t have been a surprise as the breathing technique currently being practiced by the mass were provided by the prince. But with the scarceness of spirit energy, he had no idea how the prince cultivated to such heights.

    "It seems that I won''t be able to use it more than a few times. It decreases my divine cultivation progress with each usage." Zorbek answered with creased brows, before asking, "Is there a way to prevent my loss of spirit energy, your Highness?"

    Practitioners from the Divine Realm would have answered his question sarcastically with, "You can try not using it?"

    Stupid questions will always receive stupid answers. How could a mere Body Tempering Realm practitioner dream of using spirit arts without paying the adequate price?

    However, this was not the Divine Realm, so Zorbek was spared the sneers of contempt from fellow practitioners.

    Instead, Captain Zorbek''s question immediately raised Lilith interest. She was also curious about [Spirit Eyes] and divine cultivation. This was news to her. She perked her ears, ready to listen in on their conversation.

    However, she became frustrated when Leon responded with, "Oh? You seeded in using [Spirit Eyes] on your first try?"

    Selective hearing!

    Her parents were not amicable and were always seen arguing with one another. Back then, she never understood why her mother would always suddenly be angry when talking to her father, but now she was slowly beginning to understand her mother''s frustration. Men only hear what they want to hear!

    Unaware of Lilith''s frustration, Leon continued speaking to Zorbek.

    "I''m surprised you would spend time in practicing that breathing technique, but it''s still too early for you to use [Spirit Eyes] without paying the price."

    "Alright, enough wasting time. Let''s enter."

    Leon ended the conversation without much exnation.

    Zorbek nodded withoutint. They were on a mission.

    Learning there were ants in the building, the group began entering with heightened vignce. Inside, there were several more ants roaming the top floor they were on.

    They quickly made quick work of the ants with clean kills through the eyes. However, some blood still manages to spill on floor with a ''Psh'' sound. Some time-worn papers on the floor were dissolved as a result.

    "Increase the lighting. It should be safer inside."

    "Yes, Captain."

    With the light sources brightening, a clearer picture of the building interior. Several objects and points of interest were revealed. There were runes and high-tech equipment but none of which the usage could be discerned. Few books and papers lied scattered along the dusty floor.

    Leon picked up one such book without much hope of reading, but his eyes widened in surprise at thenguage. It was the universalnguage of the Divine Realm. This¡­ This was something he could read.

    His surprise onlysted a split second, before he recovered and began flipping through the book with fake nonchnce.

    "There''s some crystals here!" A pce guard eximed excitedly. The discovery of more crystal was good news.

    However¡­

    Some shuffled movements that appeared to being from below them soon followed.

    "What was that?"

    The group immediately became tensed.

    "There may be more ants below."

    "We need to kill them quickly before they call for more." Leon said. He closed his book with a frown. There was no time to read.

    "Yes, your Highness."

    The staircase and an elevator were quickly spotted. The pce guards immediately chose the staircase without hesitation. Forget about knowing how to operate something in anguage they didn''t understand, it might not even work!

    As they headed down, the ants were found rushing up towards them.

    "Kill!" Zorbek issued the order.

    However, not long after the order was issued, did he notice a big problem. The staircase only allowed for two people to walk side by sidefortable, three if they squeeze together. The staircase was too narrow for them to fight effectively!

    Even if the pce guard at the forefront could kill the ants by himself, with so many rushing at them, they would be quickly pinned down like the previous victim.

    Furthermore, his senses were picking up several dozens of ants. This was too disadvantageous for them.

    "Not good! Retreat! We can''t fight here!"

    The pce guard immediately retreated.

    Just as thest pce guard was about to make it back up the ants weren''t so lucky and had his waist area caught by its mandibles. The steel armor creaked and started bending under the sheer force of the ant''s bite.

    "Ah! Help!"

    Being caught in his blind spot, he couldn''t kill the ant with his sword. The other pce guards began hesitant as theirrade dangled randomly in front of them. They couldn''t kill the ant when theirrade was being used as a shield.

    "Ahhh!" The pce guard cried in pain as the ant continue to exert force on its bite, crushing the pce guard.

    It was at this moment, Leon''s ck spear shot past. It curved around the pce guard and struck the ant dead under his metal maniption.

    "Grab him!"

    The pce guard dropped to the ground as two other pce guards grabbed his arms and dragged him to safety, while the others fought off the rest.

    Being in open space, it was much easier for them to fight. They fell an ant with each sh with anger burning in their eyes and the carcasses began to pile up around the start of the staircase one after the other.

    "Let me have a look at him!"

    Making his way over, Leon saw the crushed armor. The pce guard survived, thanks to the armor protecting him. But now, it was applying pressure on his ribs and organs.

    Leon used his metal maniption to bend the armor back into shape and free the poor pce guard from the crushing feeling.

    "How is he?" Zorbek asked with concern. He wore a terrible expression. This was a result of his poormand.

    "He is fine." Leon said as he gestured for the ck spear to fly back into his grasp. He noticed Zorbek''s expression and patted him on the shoulder with his other hand. "Don''t be hard on yourself. This one was on me. It could have been worse if not for your quick judgement.

    Zorbek nodded silently.

    Soon, the ants were all killed, and their acidic blood began pervading the area. Lilith pinched her nose with a frown began toin. "It''s started to smell now."

    Suddenly, the floor began to shake with trembling noises. The group did not get to rest before they became rmed once more. The trembling filled them with dread and trepidation.

    "What is going on now?"

    "This trembling ising from outside¡­?"

    "Could it be an army of ants rushing towards our location!?

    "What! How is that possible? The information said these ants rely on their sight. We''ve been inside this building for some time now and the lighting doesn''t make it outside!"

    "It''s smell!" Leon quickly recalled Lilith''sint, before continuing, "These ants attracted by the blood of their kind!"

    Leon peered outside with his [Spirit Eyes] and his expression quickly turned heavy. Arge army of ants just entered his field of vision.

    "We''ve been surrounded! It''s toote to retreat!"

    "Sh*t! What do we do!?" The pce guards began to despair at the news. Nothing seemed to be going right since their got here.

    Zorbek''s mind spun for a solution, as did Leon.

    "Use the ant''s carcasses to barricade the hole!" Leon quickly ordered.

    "This¡­"

    The pce guards hesitated. Shouldn''t they try to break through and escape back the first floor? How will they leave if they trap themselves inside here?

    "Do as his Highness say!" Zorbek barked angrily. They didn''t have the luxury to be wasting time!

    The angry roar jolted the pce guards into action¡­ The heavy carcasses brought over to fill the hole one after another. They were quick, but not quick enough! Battle was inevitable!

 Chapter 187 - It Should Last Us Awhile

    <h4>Chapter 187 - It Should Last Us Awhile</h4>

    The soldier ants were rushing at them was too quick. They only manage to ce down two carcasses before the army of ants reached their location.

    However, the ants did not know what taking turns meant. They tried to squeeze in at the same time and got themselves stuck in the narrow hole. Their heads became easy targets for the pce guards with their swords drawn.

    The brains of these ants were turned into mush with several stabs and their carcasses became new additions to the barricade.

    But it was not over.

    "It''s not over yet! Reinforce the barricade! Don''t let them push their way through." Zorbek barked.

    The barricade was weak, while a whole army of ants lied on the other side pushing their way through. Without support, it was easy for the ants to crush the carcasses of their fallen brethren and break through the barricade with brute force.

    Five pce guards used their bodies hold the barricade, while the rest supported them from behind with all their strength. Sweat formed on their faces as they gritted their teeth through the arduous task.

    "Arghh!"

    One of the pce guards grunted in pain as the acidic blood dripped through his gauntlets and made contact with flesh. However, the pce guard gritted his teeth even harder and endured the burning agony of his flesh melting away.

    Leon noticed this problem and immediately acted. His one-star mes weaved past the backrow guards andtched itself onto the affected pce guard''s gauntlet like a snake, burning his melting flesh.

    Being sneaked attack from behind suddenly was very despicable. Especially, when it came from a member of the royal family, whom they sworn to serve and protect. Damir, the pce guard was immediately filled with resentment.

    However, resentment came quickly as it came as Damir quickly understood the prince''s intention. The me stopped his flesh from melting away and proceeded to swallow up the rest of dripping acidic blood from the carcasses.

    The ant''s exoskeleton was very resistant to Leon''s one-star me, but the acidic blood quickly incinerated into ashes.

    The other four pce guards at the forefront were relieved when their saw this and continued to hold the barricade with all their effort.

    As the pce guards continued to hold their ground, Leon began to think of better solutions. The barricade was holding out well, but it was only temporary. The pce guards weren''t tireless machines. Once the pce guards exhaust all their strength, the barricade will break and the army of ants outside will begin flooding into the building.

    "Let me take over!"

    "Yes, Captain! Thank you, Captain!"

    Zorbek switched ces with the injured Damir.

    Having the powerful Captain join the defence effort with his strength of four stars, it certainly took some load off the other pce guards'' shoulders.

    However, the main issue remains.

    "Sh*t, how can they be sensitive to smell? It doesn''t make sense! If they were sensitive to smell, we should have drawn their attention long ago when we were still in the spiral pathway!"

    "That''s true! We killed at least three times as much as we did here!"

    "They didn''t cry for help either."

    Zorbek frowned in thought as he listened in on the pce guards'' rambling, as they tried to distract themselves from the exhaustion they felt.

    "That ce stinks so bad. I don''t think the ants would know even if several hundreds more of them were killed there." Lilith suddenly said with obvious disgust.

    The pce guards gawked. That does seem to be the reason they made it this far so easily¡­ If they had realized early, they could have still retreated to the first floor. But now, it was toote. There was no path of retreat. What a disaster the Grandmaster left them.

    Zorbek nced back at the idle Lilith with annoyance and said, "Why don''t you try to make yourself useful, instead of just standing there? Everyone is doing the best they can. Why should you do any less than them?"

    The obvious displeasure could be felt in the captain''s tone.

    "I am a girl. Are you trying to make me do heavybour?" Lilith frowned, before she mocked, "Are you a man?"

    "Sorry, none of that sh*t matters to me. I am an advocate of gender equality. Since we are in the same boat, I expect you to pull your own weight." Zorbek said, before goading, "Aren''t you beasts supposed to have great physical strength? Why aren''t you showing it off? Could it that you are actually a weakling?"

    "You!" Lilith stamped her feet in anger at the naked provocation. "Are you looking for a fight!?"

    The cultivation technique of her Deste Crow Tribe does grant her great physical strengthpared to humans; physical strength was never an inherent trait of the bird race. The strength of a Deste Crow lies in their speed!

    To assume such a diverse race to possess the same inherent trait goes to show how ignorant this person was! Hmph, hmph!

    "Stop it. Don''t forget the situation we are in." Leon interrupted, before he suggested to Lilith, "Why don''t you go scout the bottom area for us and see if there''s any path of retreat for us?"

    Lilith nced at Leon and harrumphed. She did not answer him, but seeing Lilith quietly moving towards the stairs, Leon smiled.

    After Lilith disappeared from view, Zorbek scrunched his brows and said, "Your Highness, how can you ce your trust in a beast to do as you say? You should have sent one of us instead. What if that beast finds a way and doesn''te back? Won''t she just leave us here to die?"

    Leon frowned at Zorbek''s words. He knew that although Lilith greatly resembled humans, people would still be hostile and discriminate her based on that smaller portion of beast blood running in her veins. However, it was still unpleasant to hear.

    "That''s enough from you. You have no choice but to trust that she wille back." Leon said, before shaking his head. "Judging from your attitude, you wouldn''t have allowed her to support your backs anyway, so stop causing problems.

    Zorberk was stunned by thetter part of Leon''s words. Of course, when he said the beast should pull her weight, he was expecting her to stand at the forefront like him.

    However, Lilith would never agree to this. With so much force acting on the carcasses, the limbs of the dead creature squirmed about in a disgusting manner in response to all the stimulus. Lilith waspletely horrified. It could be seen by how far away she stood from the barricade.

    Thus, even if she did agree, she would have only supported them from the back.

    "To trust a beast with my back? No way!" Zorbek strongly rejected.

    Leon frowned at Zorbek''s behaviour. He didn''t show so much naked hostility before, why now?

    Feeling the prince''s mood plummeting, Zorbek was immediately startled and apologised, "My apologies, your Highness. I have spoken out of turn."

    "Never mind that. Just focus on holding the barricade."

    Leon shook his head and began looking around for items they could use to fortify the barricade and rece human efforts.

    In the building, there were many objects made of extremely tough alloys he could use. However, they all possess both technological and historical values that could be studied back in the Capital. Given the choice, he would not risk damaging these objects, but the situation didn''t permit it.

    Soon, all the movable alloyed objects began to float under his metal maniption.

    "Everyone, make way! I will strengthen the barricade with these objects!"

    Seeing the prince''s intention, all the pce guards did not object and immediately break away at the same time.

    Control panels, tables, poles, beams, boards, unidentifiable equipment and literally all other movable alloyed objects he could control, began bombarding the barricade. Leon arranged them neatly in a special manner and allowed the barricade to borrow the strength of the sturdy building floor.

    As such, if the alloyed objects connecting the barricade to the floor doesn''t bend or break, they would be safe for the time being.

    "This¡­"

    The pce guards wiped their sweat and gazed at the sturdily fortified barricade that no longer budged.

    "Amazing."

    The pce guards rxed and fell back on their rears, taking deep breaths.

    "Your Highness, that was a great idea! Borrowing the strength of the floor to hold the barricade!"

    "That''s right, if his Highness hadn''t been with us, we would have been done for!"

    Leon was showered with praise for his quick wits, but he wasn''t shameless enough to take all the credit.

    "Enough. This was a result of everyone''s hard work. If you all didn''t work hard to buy me time, I wouldn''t have been able to think of this calmly." Leon said, before his expression turned serious and added, "However, we have a new problem now. If there''s no exit, we will be trapped here."

    Once he uttered these words, the original celebrative moods turned depressive as the entire group entered a long silence. Apart from the banging on the barricade, footsteps could be heard from the staircase.

    The group looked towards the stairs with hope as Lilith re-entered their field of vision.

    "I''m back." Lilith said as she nced at the stable barricade. "Seems like the problem here has been solved.

    "En, you''re back." Leon nodded, before continuing, "and with good news, I hope?"

    "I found the entrance leading outside the building." Lilith said impishly with a short silence.

    "OH!"

    The group became spirited at once.

    However, Lilith wasn''t finished and continued, "But, it''s been blocked off by the hard earth."

    "¡­"

    The pce guards began to despair. Lilith just brought their hopes up before smashing back to rock bottom.

    "We didn''t bring much food supplies. We will begin to starve if the army outside does not leave the area after seven days." Zorbek said with a frown.

    Leon nodded and began ncing at what they had. He wasn''t disappointed by the news as he wasn''t expecting much.

    "There''s still a few dozen carcasses lying around. The information said the organs are edible after the blood has been drained and cooked thoroughly¡­ It shouldst us awhile."

 Chapter 188 - How Does It Taste?

    <h4>Chapter 188 - How Does It Taste?</h4>

    At the mention of eating ant organs, the grouppsed in silence. Although pce guards were just servants of the royal family, they enjoy luxurious meals that weren''t any less than the nobles and perhaps even exceed the nobles.

    With the privilege of having meals personally prepared by the royal chef, they were ustomed to elegant and artistically arranged cuisines with strong aromatic fragrances that easily whet one''s appetite.

    They weren''t opposed to trying new delicacies, but when it is visually unappetizing, the human mind subconsciously develops resistance and repulsion towards it. It would already be a good thing if the thought of eating the organs of insects didn''t lower their appetites, let alone raise it.

    Lilith strongly rejected the idea the moment it was raised. Fortunately, there were some brave souls among the pce guards, who were willing to test the validity of the taste after submitting to their curiosity.

    "Ugh¡­"

    At this moment, the talk was interrupted by Damir''s sudden groan of pain. The few pce guards, who were prepared to volunteer as taste testers, lowered their hands.

    Shaking his head, Leon said, "We''ll worry about thister when it''s time to eat. I''m sure no one is feeling hungry at this moment."

    "Let me take a look."

    Leon helped Damir remove his gauntlet to inspect the wound.

    The state of the wound was very unpleasant to look at. Argeyer of skin was melted, and the bones were exposed. The condition did not exacerbate, and the bleeding was stopped thanks to Leon''s previous act.

    However, Damir paled at the sight. One look at the wound and he knew that his hand had be useless. It might even require amputation to prevent other medical issues from developing as a result of necrosis.

    Leon wore a grim look as he inspected the wound. The blood of these creatures was so tyrannically corrosive. Was it really safe to eat their organs?

    Hope faded from Damir''s eyes as he looks at the prince''s expression. It seems his hand had no hope of recovery. Damir sighed and said, "Don''t worry, your Highness. I don''t me you for this injury."

    Snapping out of his thoughts, Leon responded with, "Hm? What are you talking about? Why would you me me?"

    Leon proceeded to pull out a knife and said, "Grit your teeth. It''s going to hurt a bit."

    "Oh¡­"

    Suddenly, Damir was assaulted by strong waves of pain as he gritted his teeth out of reflex. He wanted to scream, ''A bit!?''

    Leon cleaned the wound with the knife, scraping off all the useless flesh and caused the bleeding to resume. Afterward, Leon pulled out a bottle of Tier-2 Golden Ointment and began applying it to the fresh wound.

    "So miraculous!"

    The surrounding pce guards became ck-jawed at the sight of the flesh regenerating at a visible rate. Leon was quite satisfied with the recovery speed. It could be even quicker if he used Tier-3 Golden Ointment, but it wasn''t necessary.

    The herbal garden in his Worldspace might be growing well, but not enough to waste his precious tier 3 spirit herbs on a trivial wound. He didn''t have that many to spare.

    Soon, the wound fully closed, but Damir did not regain feeling in his fingers. However, Leon wasn''t finished. He pulled out his silver needles and continued his treatment.

    At the same time, he suddenly said, "Don''t just sit there and watch. Go look at the building entrance Lilith mentioned."

    "Our apologies, your Highness. It''s just that your treatment method is too fascinating." Zorbek smiled wryly, before giving his men the order to search the bottom floor.

    However, he, himself did not leave, but asked, "What is the purpose of checking out the blocked entrance, your Highness? If we are looking for alternative ways to escape, I don''t believe going deeper into the underground is the correct choice."

    Leon didn''t answer his question immediately but continued with the treatment silently.

    Some time passed, before the pce guard was able to regain senses in his fingers. He flexes his fingers with amazement nces at the prince with gratification. "Thank you, Your Highness."

    "En, off you go," Leon said.

    After Damir left to join the rest of the pce guards, Leon resumed his focus on Zorbek and nonchntly said, "Haven''t you realized that this building is designed like some sort of watchtower or control tower? If we remove the hard earth, we might be able to find other buildings and facilities in the vicinity if we search."

    After listening, Zorbek seemed to have understood the prince''s intention. The prince did not show any show concern about their present predicament of being trapped. Worrying wouldn''t solve anything. It was better to use their time efficiently while they are trapped to do what they came to do.

    "I understand. I''ll go check on the pce guards, your Highness." Zorbek said.

    Leon nodded and shooed him off with his hands.

    Finally, he made some time for himself to read. Reopening the book, he found, he skimmed through the contents for useful information.

    "Can you read the ancientnguage?" Lilith asked with surprise.

    Leon smiled and didn''tment.

    "Hmph!" Lilith pouted.

    ¡­

    "What''s the situation?" Zorbek inquired.

    "We found a few more crystals, some scattered papers and a journal of sorts. Apart from that, it''s just the engraved runes on the walls as far as you can see, Captain." A pce guard reported.

    With the ants no longer being a concern, the bottom floor was lit brightly. Zorbek nced at the runic walls with zeroprehension.

    "We are taking everything, including the runes on the wall. Take out your notebooks and start recording the runes."

    "Yes, Captain."

    "What about the entrance? Why is no one working on the entrance?" Zorbek suddenly asked, seeing the pce guards idling around the blocked entrance.

    "Erm, the entrance is blocked by a highly concentrated piece of earth, Captain. We tried removing it without earth maniption abilities, but it wouldn''t break apart and felt like we were trying to lift the whole earth."

    "If you can''t move it, you can weaken it first. If you absorb all the earth elements in it, it would naturally be easier to break apart and move with your earth maniption. Are you all brawns and no brains? You didn''t think of such a simple solution?" Zorbek admonished with a frown.

    "Eh? Right¡­ Why didn''t we think of that?" The pce guard, Benny scratched his head awkwardly.

    "Maybe it''s because¡ª" Marcus, another pce guard tried toe up with an excuse, but he was interrupted by someone''s stomach rumbling. Everyone nced towards the culprit, before Marcus joked, "Because we were too hungry to think?"

    Everyoneughed, except Zorbek.

    "Didn''t we all just ate before headed out? How can you be hungry already?" Zorbek questioned with creased brows.

    "This¡­ I''m not sure¡­ It might have something to do with the recovery medicine, his Highness used." Damir scratched his head with embarrassment.

    "Well, since you are hungry, you can be the first to taste-test the ant," Zorbek said firmly.

    The rations they brought couldst months without spoiling, but it was different from the dozens of carcasses if left unchecked. As such, Zorbek thought it was a good chance to have some test

    "This¡­ yes, Captain."

    Damir sumbed to his fate as he understood the Captain''s thought process. Leon caught the news and made his way down.

    Sometimeter, a te of ant delicacy was ced in front of Damir, cooked by the one and only fire-user in the group, Leon. It was meticulously prepared after removing several unsafe organs and only keeping the edible parts. Even an idiot would know that the poison nd could not be eaten.

    Everyone gathered around and waited on Damir with concentrated gazes.

    "Well¡­ here goes nothing¡­"

    Damir gulped and took the first bite. His eyes closed as he sensed the gates of a new world of taste opening to him. The taste was a mixture of mild sourness and extreme spiciness, but it was juicy, and the texture was tender. He had confirmed that the information was not false. It was delicious.

    In Don''s exact words, he said, "Ant organs had an otherworldly taste and will leave an unforgettable experience."

    Not long after the first bite, came the second, the third and so on. Damir ate with great gusto.

    "How is it?"

    "It''s like eating spicy hotpot. Except, each bite is explosive in vor. Hm, simply put; It is too delicious." Damir answered as he smacked his lips with great relish.

    After hearing this, the previous pce guards who intended to volunteer were moved. They began joining one after the other. A new te was served for each person and after they ate, they disyed simr expressions.

    Seeing this, the group was convinced. When it was just one person with such an exaggerated expression, they would doubt and assume that the person was just faking in order to bait the rest of them into eating. But when it is repeated four times, it had to be true.

    The courage of the group grew, and they began joining one after the other. Even if they weren''t hungry, they still joined out of curiosity. As they say, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back to life.

    While the group indulged themselves, only one person remained unmoved. Lilith sat in one corner snacking on a meat jerky as she eyed the bunch of fools with disgust¡­ Instincts told her that she would regret eating ant organs, and she would rather just her instincts than trust humans.

 Chapter 189 - When You Got To Go, You Got To Go

    <h4>Chapter 189 - When You Got To Go, You Got To Go</h4>

    "Who''d knew something this vulgar in appearance, could have such a profound taste. I have been enlightened." Leon patted his belly in satisfaction.

    "Your Highness, if we keep up this level of consumption, we won''t be able tost long. For this meal, we have used up five carcasses." Zorbek reminded.

    Leon nced at the pile of ck exoskeletons. All the unused inwards and dripping blood have been reduced to ashes to eliminate foul smell.

    "That''s true. We need to exercise self-restraint from this point onwards." Leon nodded, before asking, "What''s the progress on¡ª"

    Suddenly, an audible stomach rumble was heard.

    "Ugh¡­"

    Damir groaned. He clutched his stomach and paled with cold sweat.

    "What''s the matter with you, Damir? Are you not feeling well?" Marcus asked with surprise.

    "I¡­ I can''t hold it anymore. I gotta go!" Damir roared, startling the group.

    He undressed his suit of armor and found himself a hidden spot behind the pile of leftover exoskeletons.

    "C''mon, it''s toote to be pretending now. Everyone had already eaten and know the food was safe to eat." Marcus said with an ironic smile as if he had Damir''s sudden behavior all figured out.

    "Don''te over here! Arghh!"

    "Quit ying around¡ª"

    Marcus suddenly paused and clutched his own stomach with a pale face. Simrly, he broke into cold sweats and said, "I¡­ I think I gotta go too¡­"

    Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­

    "Ugh¡­ count me too¡­"

    "And me three¡­"

    Rumble¡­!

    The sound of stomach growling became louder and more numerous. It was set off one after the other like a chain reaction. It didn''t take long until everyone who had a taste of the devil''s food began to fell into the same situation.

    "Good heavens! The power of naturepels me!"

    "Arghh, what the hell! It feels like my backdoor is about to burst open!"

    The pce guards eximed in shock. They weren''t sure what was happening to their body. However, one thing they were sure of was; when they had to go, they got to go!

    No one had the hearts to care about their dignity in the presence of ady, not when their asses were on fire! Everyone found their own holy ground, dropped their pants and squatted in preparation for the grand ritual.

    "Shameless!" Lilith cried, before escaping upstairs like a startled kitty.

    Leon tried suppressing the strong urges by injecting silver needles into himself, but it was no use. There was no escaping. It was a natural process to expel waste and harmful substances from the body. Preventing it would only cause him self-harm.

    Ultimately, he resigned to his fate and sighed. Great journeys start with a trip to the toilet. Leon erected himself a ''throne'' with whatever materials he could scrap together, before seating himself for the inevitable.

    Soon, the suppressed urge was released as everyone defecated uncontrobly like gushing water from the floodgates opening. It was a horrific scene where foul substances flew indiscriminately and tainted the historical remnants on the bottom floor.

    The bottom floor was swallowed in a torrential wave of horrible smell. The pce guards continue to squat through the terrifying experience as they pray to both man and god to end their suffering.

    "Ahhh, it feels like my rear is on fire!"

    "Good lord, please make it end!"

    "Begone!

    The pce guards'' cries could be heard from all the way up top. Lilith tried to block out her hearing. This underground trip was filled with its own horrors. If she knew what she was signing herself up for, she would''ve nevere.

    After what seemed like an eternity, the noise began to die down. The group was in low spirits as they wiped their rears with whatever they could use.

    "Aiyoo, it stings so bad." A pce guard eximed.

    "What a terrifying ring sting. I must say it was ten times worse than eating spicy hotpot." Another onemented.

    "What''s a ring sting?" An ignorant one suddenly asked.

    The others looked at the person strangely, before one of them said, "You never heard of a ring sting? What about the red ringer? The ringer stinger? The red ringer stinger? Fiery a**hole? If you eat spicy food often, you should be familiar with the terms, especially spicy hotpot."

    "I¡­ don''t eat spicy hotpot," Jackson replied.

    The others looked at him like they were looking at an anomaly. Who doesn''t like spicy hotpot? But then they sighed, "You had it easy, man. Or perhaps not¡­"

    It was a love-hate rtionship. Spicy hotpot was so good, but it would always leave them contemting their life''s choices on the throne. Over time, they built some tolerance, but this was definitely the worse experience yet.

    Considering Jackson didn''t eat spicy hotpot regrly, he would have been hit the hardest out of all of them. He would never touch the devil''s food again.

    Everyone secretly cursed the Grandmaster. Grandmaster Don didn''t lie to them, but they felt like they had been tricked. It truly was an ''unforgettable experience''.

    "Bleurgh¡­"

    The pce guards could no longer withstand the foul smell and began gagging without surprise. The horrendous smell had been intensifying with each passing moment.

    "Ah¡­ this smell is going to kill me¡­"

    "Just kill me now. I can''t live with this shame¡­ Bleurgh¡­"

    The group had indeed made a mess and the smell became unbearable, even with Leon''s tolerance he couldn''t keep a straight face. He used his fire abilities to clean up their mess and eliminate the smell.

    He failed to fully eliminate the bad smell, but at the very least, it was brought down to a bearable level.

    Seeing the painful looks on the others, Leon wasn''t sure if it was due to his strengthened body, but his experience wasn''t as bad as the others. However, he never expected that he would have to use one of his sets of spare clothes as toilet paper.

    Hold on.

    Leon suddenly froze. He had spare clothes from his Worldspace to use, but what did the others use? ncing over, he noticed several dirty scrunched papers on the floor.

    "You, what did you use to wipe yourself?"

    Leon interrogated a random pce guard.

    "Eh?" The pce guard was taken aback, before replying, "Err¡­ I used some torn papers from the books lying around, your Highness."

    "You!" Leon was immediately triggered. He swept his gaze through the others with suppressed anger, before he asked, "Don''t tell me, you all did the same?"

    The group nodded guiltily.

    "F*ck!" Leon cursed.

    Those books potentially contained history and knowledge of the ancient civilization. More importantly, they were written in the universalnguage of the Divine Realm, something he could understand. Their values were inestimable. Yet, they were used as f*cking toilet paper, when there were other items they could have used! He never felt so angry since the time his father was killed.

    Seeing the prince''s emotion, the pce guards lowered their heads. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

    However, they didn''t expect the prince to react so violently. These books were written in a foreignnguage. It didn''t possess much value unless they were able to derive thenguage. Thus, they thought it was okay to use it. They had no idea the prince cold read these books.

    Looking at their dumb looks, Leon could only keep his feelings to himself. Leon rubbed his temples and calmed himself with a sigh, before he said, "Ugh, whatever. Handover the remains."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    The pce guards hurriedly presented the items to Leon with dirtied hands. When Leon saw the stains, he immediately backed up, "Holy sh*t! Stay back!"

    The pce guards outstretched dirty hand froze.

    The pce guard retracted his hand awkwardly and simplemindedly said, "Err, I guess they are called holy sh*t now."

    The paper torn from the books were worn out and didn''t have the same flexibility and strength as normal toilet paper. As such, it was easy for pce guards to identally tear it while wiping himself.

    Leon rolled his eyes at thement.

    Summoning arge chunk of ice with his ice ability and melting it with his fire, Leon ordered the group to clean up the mess and salvage what they could. Fortunately, there were still a few books that were left untouched, dirty but not tainted by human waste.

    After the group had done their best to clean the ce, Leon had the group cultivate by the blocked entrance to weaken the earth.

    While they were cultivating, he brought the books upstairs where the air was fresher to peruse. At the same time, he avoided eye contact with Lilith which felt piercing.

    Among the books he had, there were flight records, cultivation books, research journals, and even diaries. The building didn''t seem like a library. As such, he thought it was strange for all these books to gather in one ce. Leon decided to ignore the first three and went straight for the diary first.

    He wanted to understand what happened to the ancient civilization and how it ended, or perhaps who ended it. He thought about the demons, but he had yet to find other traces apart from the demon parasites. Leon frowned when he recalled the Bloodfiend Sect and their blood refining methods.

    Sometimes, the greatest of evil came not from the outside, but from within. Humans could be bigger demons than even the demons themselves.

    With these thoughts, Leon flipped open the first diary.

 Chapter 190 - The Nova Empire

    <h4>Chapter 190 - The Nova Empire</h4>

    The dairy had an old rustic feel, worn out by an inestimable long time and threatened to crumble into dust at any moment. After flipping the diary open, Leon changed his mind and directly swept the diary with his divine sense.

    The diary followed the life of Arden, a young aspiring cultivator in a declining world, where Transcendents were in abundance, but the realm beyond, the ''Celestial Realm'' became increasingly difficult to achieve due to declining levels of spirit energy in the world.

    Celestials became rare and revered existence. It was said that Celestials had the abilities to refine celestial bodies and gain absolute monarchy over the life and death of all creatures living on it

    As such, each could have one ''Celestial Ruler''. Bing a Celestial Ruler also grants them the ability to convert the astral energy of the universe into spirit energy. Also, the greater the size of the celestial body, the higher the requirement of their Celestial cultivation base to refine.

    However, the Gaia did not have a Celestial Ruler to revitalize its spirit energy levels, despite its long history of producing Celestials. Every Transcendent that ever ascended to the Celestial Realm always leaves Gaia behind to transverse the vast unknown universe in search of a better celestial body to refine.

    This is because once a Celestial refine a celestial body and be a Celestial Ruler, they are bound to the said celestial body, sharing life and death with it, and longer able to progress further in their cultivation nor leave its boundaries.

    As such, although refining Gaia would still grant them great power and long life, any ambitious Celestial born on Gaia would selfishly leave in search of better ces to further their cultivation and seek true evesting life. No one wanted to clip their own wings and stay in a cage for near eternity.

    Arden aspired to be the Celestial Ruler of Gaia, but his world was turned upside down when his talents for awakening cultivation was tested at the tender age of 16. He was bullied and discriminate for possessing a rare ''trash'' body constitution that made him inept for awakening cultivation.

    However, as a citizen of the great Nova country known for its great advancement in runic technology, he was not disheartened and chose to be a runic artificer. He soon showed immense talents and got personally recruited by the Nova Government.

    One day, the world witnessed the birth of another Celestial, but like his predecessors, the Celestial left the world of Gaia to seek the distant stars, plunging the world into chaos. Spirit energy became too scarce to produce another Celestial, and all the crops and nts began to decline. The world began to die.

    The world suddenly found themselves experiencing overpoption due to the unexpected global food crisis. To tackle the issue, country Nova waged war on other countries to plunder their resources. With their superior runic technology, they crushed all other existing countries and became the sole overlord country of Gaia.

    The genius artificer, Arden had lost count of how many powerful runic weapons of warfare he had produced to aid this inhuman cause, but the human poption was drastically reduced, and the nts showed signs of recovery as a result of their efforts.

    However, this moment of happiness onlysted a mere two years, before the nts resume declining and the people also began to grow weak and sick with clear signs of premature aging.

    The Nova Government knew the cause, but the truth was hidden from themon mass. Arden, who had made a name for himself and became the head runic artificer of the Nova Government, quickly realized the cause when runic technology began to fail.

    The one causing Gaia to decline had never been the Celestials that abandoned them, but the runic technology the Nova Country was so oh proud of. Their runic technology was powered by the world''s spirit energy, and when it became insufficient, it drew on the lifeforce of its surroundings to make up for the deficit.

    However, this wasn''t what ended the ancient civilization that specialized in runes. It was far from it. Leon was engrossed as he continued reading. He was surprised that he hasn''t found anything about artifact spirits or sentient spirits birthed by runes.

    Arden received enlightenment in a moment of life and death when he began to age prematurely as a normal person without cultivation. He found a way to convert the sun''s sr energy into spirit energy through runic technology. Contrary to the azure-color of true spirit energy, the artificial spirit energy took a light reddish color but mimicked many properties of true spirit energy.

    This runic technology became the key to leading the Nova Country into an age of great prosperity. With many energy conversion nts built around the world, the dying was reborn with even greater vitality than the past. It was especially evident in the trees that grew to staggering heights.

    Nova entered a period of rapid growth along with Gaia''s restoration, but so was their appetite as they harness the limitless sr energy of the sun. Many dreams were realized as they built megastructures such as floating cities, colossal spaceships, and outer world elevators within merely two decades.

    Without reaching the Celestial Realm, it was possible for Transcendents to traverse the stars with their runic technology. Their interster empire began to stretch across several stars.

    Cultivation was easy with the endless supply of converted spirit energy and the Nova Empire gave birth to countless Celestials. However, that''s when they noticed a new problem. The new Celestials weren''t as powerful nor were their lifespan as long as the Celestials in the past.

    A normal Celestial had around 10000 years of lifespan. This was simr to a Divine Origin Realm practitioner from the Divine Realm, but the new Celestials only had half as much.

    At its roots, the problem lied with the artificial spirit energy they relied on. It still contains few properties of sr energy. Sunlight was essential for life, but too much of it will destroy life.

    ¡­

    Towards the end of the diary, Leon found out why the ancient civilization fell. It wasn''t due to some great enemy, but their own greed. Despite realizing that the artificial spirit energy, they use was problematic, they never stopped using it. It was the foundation of their empire.

    Eventually, they were destroyed by what they couldn''t control, the ownerless sun. A great sr storm was all it took to wipe out their civilization. All life exposed to the storm in the outer world mutated. The greater the exposure, the greater the mutation.

    The storm directly killed all the weaker humans in the outer world, who couldn''t support the changes, while the fate of the stronger ones was unknown.

    The connection between Gaia and the outer world was cut as all runic technology malfunctioned from the surge of sr energy. This is especially fatal for megastructures that relied on anti-gravitational runes. All the floating cities dropped out of the sky and nearly wiped out all life on the.

    Arden wrote thisst part while he fell with the floating city to his imminent death.

    Leon was shocked after realizing something.

    ¡­

    While Leon was engrossed in his reading, he had unknowingly generated a small audience from the pce guards in one corner of the building. From the perspective of the pce guards, the prince was just staring at the first page intensely.

    "His Highness has been staring at the first page for more than two hours. Do you think he is trying to decipher the ancientnguage?" A pce guard asked.

    "Shh, keep your volume down. Don''t interrupt the prince''s reading. I have never seen someone, who could stare at foreign texts with such concentration for so long. It must be the case." Another one whispered.

    "Holy F*ck!"

    Leon suddenly jumped at this moment.

    His sudden exmation startled everyone. A pce guard rushed forward and excitedly asks, "Did you manage to decipher the ancientnguage, your Highness?"

    "Hmm?" Leon nced over and shook his head. "No, that''s not important."

    The pce guard''s expression froze. It''s not important? Then why were you staring at the foreign texts for so long? Was he mistaken? Was the prince actually eximing that he couldn''t decipher thenguage and gave up?

    Leon no longer paid the pce guard any further attention. If someone looked carefully, they would notice that Leon''s body was shaking with cold sweats and he was feeling weak in the knees.

    How could he not be? There was a fricking Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone''s head!

    The ancient civilization got wiped out by their own floating cities and these were just the ones within the world''s atmosphere. The Nova Empire was an interster civilization. There were lots of megastructures in the outer world.

    In the past, when Leon gaze into the night sky, he could see Gaia''s asteroid ring and thought it might have something to do with the suppression in the sky, where the gravitational force was so much stronger.

    But heck, it wasn''t a naturally formed asteroid ring. It turns out to be the megastructure remnants of the ancient civilization! If one of these bad boys suddenly gets pulled into Gaia''s atmosphere and drop, they can all say goodbye to their lives!

    "What do you mean, Your Highness? Why isn''t it important."

    The pce guard asked with a perplexed expression after noticing the prince''s silence. Leon could see the illusory question marks hanging over the pce guard''s head, but he did not bother to exin.

    "It''s a dangerous world we live in," Leon said vaguely.

 Chapter 191 - Forming The Earthseed (2 In 1)

    <h4>Chapter 191 - Forming The Earthseed (2 In 1)</h4>

    Leon learned much from Arden''s diary. To be able to find the diary of a legendary figure, who was much involved in the history of the Nova Empire on their first trip to the second underground floor, he could only attribute it to his good luck.

    There were no doubting Arden''s talents as a genius runic artificer. However, if he didn''t have the guidance of a good master, his attainments in runic artificing would have taken much longer to achieve.

    Leon was much more interested in Arden''s runic artificer master than Arden himself. Arden''s runic artificer master, Balthazar was the most authoritative figure in the runic artificer circle. It could even be said that the foundation of Nova''s runic technology was built upon Balthazar''s otherworldly knowledge.

    Before Balthazar arrived, the runic artificer profession did not exist in the Nova country. But after his arrival, the Nova country became the most powerful country with its leading runic technology.

    It was a pity that Arden''s master passed away early from old age during Gaia''s trying times. Fortunately, he imparted all his skills and knowledge to Arden before his passing. In his diary, Arden had mentioned his immense gratitude to his master for noticing his talents early and taking him in as a disciple.

    Leon''s interest revolved around the name ''Balthazar''. The name was widespread even back in the Divine Realm. The owner of the name was coincidentally, also a renowned runic artificer. The only difference was that Balthazar was renowned for his infamy.

    The half-step Divine King, Balthazar diverged from the orthodox path of runic artificing, which sought to create artifact spirits that would be the lifelongpanions of divine practitioners in their pursuit of the evesting.

    Balthazar''s way of runic artificing defies such belief by sacrificing the artifact spirits for greater power. The power of the artifact could further be enhanced by feeding off its user''s lifeforce. As such, Balthazar''s works werebeled as forbidden artifacts.

    Naturally, spirit artifacts were much better than forbidden artifacts due to their growth potential to evolve alongside their divine practitioners. However, this requires an umtion of time and experience, while the power of forbidden artifacts was immediate.

    While it was known that Balthazar was hunted for creating forbidden artifacts, the truth was that the other runic artificers coveted his production method and knowledge of forbidden knowledge.

    Due to his unwillingness to share his life''s work with the self-righteous hypocrites, he was hunted all the way to the boundary of the Divine Realm''s core, a naturally formed mega ck hole that endlessly swallows anything and everything from the universe.

    It was the holynd of cultivation, but at the same time, it was also the most dangerous ce to be. If one was not careful, they would be sucked in by the ck hole''s immense gravitational force.

    No one knew what lied on the other side, but they believe all the people got crushed into oblivion. All who had ever ventured inside never returned to tell the tale.

    When a person reached the end of their road, they would make a final trip inside. Over time, it became the final resting ce of countless divine practitioners.

    In life, they swallow countless energy from the universe to cultivate. In death, they return it all back to the void.

    When Balthazar was cornered, rather than suffering the humiliation entailed after his capture, he chose to end his life by diving into the ck hole.

    20,000 years have passed since then, but the story continues to circte around the Divine Realm. Leon suspected that Balthazar might have reincarnated to the early Nova country.

    ¡­

    A whole day had passed since the hunting group got trapped in the building. The ever-present trembling on the top floor informed the group that the army of ants outside had not retreated and continued to surround the building.

    During this time, the group had another meal to replenish their energy back to the optimum state. Apart from two dare-to-eat gluttons, who weren''t afraid of the aftermath, the rest had returned to eating their prepared rations.

    After reading the diary, Leon had skimmed over the cultivation books. The ancient civilization didn''t rely on pills to awaken and relied on more primitive methods. This coincided with Leon''s guesses.

    The world of Gaia waspletely different from the Divine Realm. It was like Gaia was the Divine Realm after being flipped upside down. Not only was the cultivation system different, but the difficulty inprehending and controlling thews was also much easier.

    At this moment, Leon was meditating in the center of a small cave dug out by the pce guards, under his request. With his level of perception and divine sense, it might be possible for him toprehend the earthws and form his earthseed.

    The small cave connected to a muchrger cave where the rest of the pce guards could be seen cultivating and therge cave was connected back to the building. This was the result of their one day''s worth of cultivating to clear the blocked entrance.

    In order not to be disturbed, he had sealed off the small cave from therge cave. In this dark empty cave with only Leon and the cold earthen walls surrounding him.

    Leon freed his mind of distracting thoughts and soon entered a state of emptiness. In this emptiness state, his perception was enhanced. Soon, his divine sense began to spread out and covered the small cave, as he quietly studied the earth elements.

    The earth element had the characteristics of being sturdy and unmoving. It represented firmness, unyielding to change. In a sense, it was simr to metal, or rather metal was simr to earth. They may have been recognized as separatews, but they may both belong to anotherw of higher order.

    Perhaps, because he already formed the metalseed, but Leon found it easier toprehend the earth. Unknowingly, Leon''s breathing slowed with the passage of time. He became still and unmoving like a boulder. In this state, he felt he had be the earth.

    This change was acknowledged by the world. Within the recess of his sea of consciousness, a budding brown light appeared and found its own spot among his four other elemental seeds of fire, metal, ice, and lightning, as they orbit around his soul core.

    With the appearance of this brown light, the stubborn earth elements began to gather into his body on its own ord. They gathered towards the brown light and form his earthseed.

    The formation of the earthseed caused a stir in the surroundings, as the earth elements became rattled, before rushing towards Leon with great excitement.

    However, Leon remained impassive to such changes for he was still the earth, boundless and amodating, epassing everything.

    The sturdy small cave began to weaken as the rocky walls began to crumble. At the same time, Leon''s newly formed earthseed began to soar in power. The speed of his cultivation was far greater than any other newly awakened 1st step earth-users.

    Soon, he entered the 2nd step and did not stop, but continued onto the 3rd step, 4th step and so on. There was no sign of slowing down. He remained in the mysterious state of being one with the earth. In his hands, the earth crystal could be seen, sped since the beginning of his meditation.

    ¡­

    Outside, the pce guards were startled by the great change, as Leon''s frenzy absorption of the earth elements began to affect and rm them.

    "What''s going on? Someone is swallowing up all the earth elements at an incredible rate!" Lutheran, one of the pce guards eximed.

    "Impossible! How can anyone possibly absorb the earth elements this quickly? We might have identally triggered a hidden treasure. Let''s look for it!" Another one quickly denied, before adding excitedly. If such concentration of earth elements was collected by one person, wouldn''t they be able to shoot straight to the skies in one go? How can cultivation be that easy?

    "Behind this wall seems to be where all the earth elements are gathering¡­ but isn''t this where his highness is practicing his secluded cultivation?" Damirmented doubtfully, as the group arrived before the enclosed small cave Leon was located in.

    "What''s going on here?" Zorbek quickly interrogated upon meeting up with the group of pce guards shortly after.

    "We''re not sure. All the earth elements in the underground seem to have suddenly rushed towards this location, Captain." The group answered.

    Zorbek frowned and asked, "How long has the prince been practicing in seclusion?"

    "Five days, Captain."

    The pce guards did a quick count and answered.

    Staring at the enclosed cave entrance, Zorbek fell into a dilemma. He wanted to tear down the wall to check on the prince, but they had been strictly ordered not to disturb the prince. Strictly speaking, he didn''t think any human could gather the earth elements at such a monstrous rate, especially not the prince when he wasn''t even an earth-user.

    Before Zorbek and the pce guards coulde to a decision, the enclosed caved entrance copsed on its own and the light sources from therge cave shined into the small cave, Leon''s haggard but stable figure. He had been fasting for 6 days.

    Blood veins could be seen all over the prince''s body, while the earth elements visibly funneled inside through the be.

    They could faintly feel Leon''s cultivation and became shocked.

    "His Highness has already reached the one-star level as an earth-user!"

    "Not right. Wasn''t His Highness a fire-user¡­ eh? He seems to be a metal-user and ice-user too¡­"

    "Is His Highness trying to practice all the elements!?" Lutheran gasped.

    "That''s not important! His Highness wasn''t even an earth-user before this, but he is already at the level of one star now and it''s still climbing! His Highness''s body can''t take such a drastic increase in cultivation! We have to do something!"

    "Stop!" Zorbek barked while looking at the prince with a serious look. "His Highness is at a crucial point in his cultivation. Don''t you know how dangerous it is to interrupt someone''s cultivation!?"

    "But His Highness seems to be in the right state of mind! He seems to be believed he is one with the earth!"

    While Leon''s position faced them, his mind was not there and seemed to have wandered elsewhere. Lilith frowned with worry as she assessed the situation with the group. Looking at their faces, they were all hesitating, while Leon''s body was starting to break down.

    ¡­

    Who am I? Where am I going? How will I get there? I am a piece of rock¡­ I am a mountain¡­ I am the earth, stable, firm, unmoving and unflinching for all eternity. Boundless enough to embrace all things and the changes time, but I, myself don''t change. I am eternal¡­

    Leon did not feel the pain and burden of his body as his mind sinking deeper into the dark depths of the earth, seemingly forgotten himself.

    ¡­

    "Two-star level¡­"

    Leon''s cultivation advanced again. At the same time, cracks began to appear on his body.

    Lilith''s silhouette shed by the corner of Zorbek''s eyes as she dashed towards Leon. Zorbek became both shocked and enraged that the beast would choose this moment to act.

    "Beast, what are you trying to do! Don''t you dare harm the prince!" Zorbek roared.

    Ignoring Zorbek''s warning, Lilith continues to dash towards Leon.

    "Wake up!" Lilith cried.

    PA!

    A resounding p swept across Leon''s cheeks, interrupting his mysterious state and brought him back to reality.

    At the same time, the torrential amount of earth elements suddenly lost its target and disperse in all directions, kicking up a small storm that swept Lilith to the side.

    His eyes snapped open from the waves of pangs assaulting his body and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "Beast, I''ll kill you!"

    "Stop!"

    Leon halted with a raised hand.

    "But that beast assaulted you, Your Highness!"

    "Enough! She saved my life!" Leon shouted sternly.

    Zorbek shook slightly from the pressure of Leon''s gaze and bowed apologetically for being impulsive.

    Leon proceeded to sweep Lilith with a grateful look. "Thank you."

    Lilith got back onto her feet and dusted her clothes impassively like it was nothing, before asking interestedly, "What happened?"

    Leon was drenched into cold sweats like someone just dowsed him with a bucket of water when he tried to recall his experience. It had been far too dangerous just now. He would have lost himself if no one woke him up in time.

    Leon brows creased together as he pondered why he would experience such a dangerous situation. There was no mention of any danger in the cultivation books when trying to awaken viamunicating with the elements and connecting to it.

    After a moment, he shook his head. There was no precedent for his case. He was not normal. He was an irregr in this world.

    He was previously a divine state practitioner. Not only does he have a powerful soul and perception, but he had also retained his divine sense and practiced a unique cultivation method that made his body attuned to the five elements.

    A normal person would never be able to reach the same level of connection to the elements. His abilities allowed him to connect on a far deeper level to the elements, at least to the point of thinking he was a piece of rock! Thus, they would never experience the same danger he did.

    ''Fortune and dangere hand in hand. This proverb had never been truer.'' Leon mentally sighed.

    However, he was not disappointed. This was not a disaster but a blessing. He could see the benefits, despite the damage inflicted upon himself. it was not irreversibly and can be healed with medicine. As he continued using this method, he could cultivate extremely quickly.

    Although it was dangerous, he can only me it on his own inadequacy. If his mind was firmer, he would not have lost himself to the deep connection and he would not sustain injuries if his body was tough enough to withstand the burden.

    In the end, he had to cultivate an indomitable will and powerful body, if it wishes to continue using such a method to cultivate. Having finished sorting out his thoughts, Leon said, "I was¡ª"

    Rumble¡­

    "Never mind. Is there something to eat? I''m famished. It seems I have been in secluded cultivation for a really long time." Leon said awkwardly with a smile while rubbing his empty stomach.

    "It''s been 6 days since you shut yourself into this cave, Your Highness. The rations we brought with us have all been finished. There are only ants left to eat. Should I get someone to prepare for you?" Zorbek asked.

    Hearing this, Leon''s smiled became more forced. He nced at his stomach before he returned his gaze towards Zorbek and nodded gritted teeth.

    "Please."

 Chapter 192 - Leaning Buildings

    <h4>Chapter 192 - Leaning Buildings</h4>

    "Wait, hold on. You said it''s been 6 days. A week''s worth of ration was prepared for this trip. How could it be finished already?" Leon suddenly asked, after he adapted to the changes and began healing his body.

    "We still have a day''s worth of ration left, Your Highness," Zorbek answered impassively, despite the contradiction to his prior statement.

    "You still have one day''s worth of ration? Why did you say that all the ration was finished?" Leon raised an eyebrow in questioning.

    "Ahem¡­ What I mean is your share of ration had been finished, but we still have our one day''s worth of ration, Your Highness." Zorbek exined.

    "What?" Leon became dumbfounded, before he said, "You guys got guts. Dare to eat my ration while I was in secluded cultivation?"

    When the pce guards heard this usation, they all put on wronged faces. Although they don''t undergo the same rigorous disciplinary training like the military, their loyalty was unquestionable. They wouldn''t dare eat their master''s food.

    Considering their present situation, even if the prince was just amoner, they still wouldn''t touch Leon''s food. Leon''s abilities were crucial to their survival. So long as there were ants to kill, they would not have to worry about not having clean food to eat and water to drink with his ice and fire abilities.

    While the prince had been in seclusion, they had continued their search for more ruins of the ancient civilization. They managed to excavate a huge cave that connected to several ancient buildings seeping with cold energy.

    Nevertheless, they celebrated their findings over a meal and drinks. However, an idiot decided to talk about ghost stories after being inspired by the ancient site and that''s when things began to go south. The prince''s disappearing ration had be an unsolved mystery since then.

    "You are falsely using us, Your Highness. The food just¡ª"

    The words got stuck in his throats. He wanted to exin, but he couldn''t. How was he supposed to fricking exin that they didn''t touch his food, but it disappeared on its own? Even they don''t dare to believe it. How could they expect the prince to believe it?

    Crunch¡­ Crunch¡­

    Suddenly, Zorbek''s gaze was attracted by the subtle crunching noise of crackers and the sight made his blood boil, while the rest of the pce guards gaped. The culprit was found, but they did not understand how the culprit was able to steal the prince''s food from right under their noses.

    "Aren''t those my crackers?" Leon shifted his gaze and asked bewilderedly.

    Lilith made a peace sign and smiled innocently.

    "You have your own share of ration, why did you eat mine too?" Leon asked with a weird look.

    "You ask some strange things, Leon. How could that little bag of ration be enough for me? My kind has a much stronger appetite than you humans." Lilith said nonchntly without a shred of guilt.

    Even if the rations ran out, the group still had plenty of ant organs to live on. She had seen how the taste of ant organs had galvanized the group, despite its revolting appearance. It was already concluded that the ant organs were truly safe to eat. It just wasn''t something she herself was willing to eat.

    "Your Highness! Just give the word, and I will execute this animal!" Zorbek shouted. However, Leon swept him a cold chilling gaze, startling Zorbek and forced him to back down submissively.

    The prince already stated that Lilith saved his life. Killing the prince''s savior was out of the question. Besides, the food wasn''t that big of a deal. There were plenty of ants to eating and they have constructed their own earthen thrones to defecate in. They even went as far as creating toilet paper out of the earth, but the only problem they had was using these ''bricks'' was like wiping their rears with sandpaper.

    Soon, arge te of fresh ant organs was presented in front of Leon by Damir. While roasting the food with his me, Leon casually inquired about the events of the past 6 days with a nonchnt look.

    Even if there were nothing to eat, Leon would still be fine. With the existence of the Worldspace and a plethora of herbs in his arsenal, it wasn''t a problem to refine himself some Fasting Pills to satiate his hunger. Thus, hunger was never a concern.

    Furthermore, he could also refine more medicinal pills to strengthen his digestive system and prevent another episode of explosive diarrhea. Instead, he would drop a big turd. But even then, it wouldn''t stop the spicy properties from burning his asshole.

    He was caught off guard the first time. Had he known; he could have used this method. However, he hadn''t expected his skills to be used in such a way.

    After listening to Zorbek recount the events of the past 6 days over a great meal, Leon popped a medicinal pill into his mouth and dropped a big turd on his personal throne. He spent the next two hours stabilizing his cultivation and recuperating with pills.

    In the meantime, the pce guards have packed their belongings and prepared themselves for a big exploration under his orders.

    From what Zorbek recounted to him, the group was immediately attacked by another few dozen ants after they uncovered a path that led further downwards to arger underground cave. Inside, there were many building ruins and even aircraft wreckages. They could not see the ends of the cave.

    Due to the uncertainty of the deep unknown, the pce guards did not search the area blindly, but waited for him to finish his secluded cultivation. They did not know if they would rm another army of ants. Thus, they couldn''t move without the prince.

    Shortly after Leon recovered, he gave the order and the group set out for the remnants of the floating city.

    Zorbek led the group, while Leon followed behind alongside Lilith. Along the way, Leon turned to Lilith and thanked her again. "Seems like I owe you one."

    Although they should have been square after saving each other once, Leon still felt like he owes her due to the importance he ced on his own life.

    "Oh, this matter again? It was nothing¡ª" Lilith waved it off nonchntly, but they she froze for a moment, before her lips rose into a sly smile. "Since you owe me, how do you want to thank me?"

    "You ate my crackers. Isn''t that enough?" Leon joked. In fact, she ate all his ration and even pped his face but saying this would only make him seem petty instead.

    Lilith''s smile froze, before she pouted, "Since you''re not nning to repay me, why say you owe me?"

    "I''m just joking." Leonughed lightly, before adding seriously, "I''ve noticed that you still have problems adjusting your bnce brought by your single wing. How about I¡ª"

    "You''re not cutting it off! That''s not how you repay someone!" Lilith cut him off with a shriek and retreated.

    "¡­give you a method to retract your wing into your body¡­" Leon finished with a dryugh, while scratching his head. It seems she still hadn''t forgotten that.

    "Huh?" Lilith became startled when she heard this and drew closer to Leon, forgetting all of her previous wariness. "You had such an amazing method? Why didn''t mention this before? No, never mind that. Quickly teach me!" Lilith said excitedly.

    If she can really learn such a method, she would be able to blend in with human society and not be discriminated against! She can also¡­

    Aiya!

    Just as she was beginning to delve deeper into her darker list of possibilities, it was interrupted by a hard poke on her forehead as Leon transmitted the first part of the [Hundred Beast Transformation Art].

    She stared daggers at Leon, but then she was surprised by the string of information flowing into her mind.

    "Don''t ask how and just study it as we go." Leon ignored her surprise and stated.

    He wasn''t sure if it was the right choice to make to bestow something that could be used against humanity, but he didn''t want to be tied down by this debt of gratitude. As long as his conscience was clear, he would be able to move forward.

    Looking at Leon''s back view, Lilith suddenly found him to be full of mystery. She decided that she would hug onto Leon''s thighs tightly in the future and make him spill all his secrets¡­willingly of course. After all, she hadn''t forgotten that she was under Leon''s protection, while she was stranded in the middle of human territory and that could change depending on her actions.

    "Your Highness, this is the ce." Zorbek said as the group reached the end of the cave and found the opening to a muchrger one.

    Leon strolled forward and used his [Spirit Eyes] to peer into the darkness. Just as Zorbek mentioned, he could see remnants of the floating city.

    Suddenly, Leon was struck with a thought. Since the ancient civilization got wiped out after the floating city dropped out of the sky, the devastation on thend would not be small. Was the steep mountain range surrounding the Human Domain formed after the event?

    No, something didn''t seem quite right. Even if the underground path was leading them towards the center of the Human Domain, they should still be quite far from it. If the mountain range was formed by the drop of the floating city, the floating city remnants should have been found near the center of the Human Domain, not here.

    "Hm?"

    "Did you notice something, your Highness?" Zorbek quickly asked.

    "Oh, it''s nothing¡­ I thought that these leaning buildings are positioned quite strangely."

 Chapter 193 - Pocketing Books

    <h4>Chapter 193 - Pocketing Books</h4>

    Back at the centermost region of the Capital, on the top floor of the Royal Pce, Heinrich was seated outside. He had moved his study to the balcony, where he could bathe in the afterglow of the setting sun and overlook the development of the kingdom.

    Heinrich had a peaceful expression as if he hade to terms with the changes of the kingdom. A ruler shouldn''t be inflexible. He had to be open to change. Only then would he be able to move forward.

    "Rules are made to be broken, huh?"

    Heinrich quietly thought as he gazed into the distantnds, where a silver line could be seen from the Lower District stretching into the north. It was the steel railway track to the Rainwallow City that''s still under construction.

    He had realized many things upon waking up from his long slumber. He had abided by the royal family''s teaching, but at this moment, he truly thought it was outdated.

    A higher wall will not protect humanity, nor would a strong grasp over vital resources develop the kingdom if it is not used correctly. The Crawford Kingdom had undergone more changes in thest three months than it did in thest four hundred years.

    Would they still need to hide behind a wall, if they had powerful cultivation? The discovery of heavenly crystals had ensured that humanity was on the rise. Heinrich hadn''t cked in his cultivation since he awoke. He was driven to catch up to his wife quickly. He estimated it would take another two weeks for him to reach Transcendent if he devotes all his time to cultivate.

    However, that''s not possible. Someone had to keep track of the ongoing projects in the Capital, and he certainly wasn''t willing to dump that work on others.

    The Capital was experiencing its most aggressive development using steal and steam-powered technology, and it filled Heinrich with excitement. He was even tempted to tear down the wall for raw material, but he quickly shook the dangerous thought out of his mind. It was a pity that the production of their alloys couldn''t be quicker.

    Heinrich was nced at a piece of paper on his study table, listing the information of the two sects: The Illusory Butterfly Sect and Bloodfiend Sect. These were the current enemies of the kingdom. One was responsible for the recent disaster befell on the Capital, and the other was suspected for the events of 17 years ago.

    So far, the information they had on hand was too limited. They did not understand the extent of their strengths nor their numbers. It was strange how they had not known about these two sects before. But what was stranger was how the other kingdoms allowed the existence of these sects to grow to the point of threatening their own sovereignty.

    Just what the hell had the Durham Kingdom and the Vran Kingdom been doing!? And what about the other kingdoms? Were there more dominant forces in their kingdoms too? If there was, would they be a friend or a foe?

    Heinrich narrowed his eyes but did not focus on anything in particr as he ponders in deep thought. Each kingdom had its own remnants of ancient ruins. No one could say for certain that there weren''t any strong heritage or heavenly crystals lying deeper in those ruins.

    Heinrich''s concern was if there was, had it already been excavated yet?

    A few sheets of paper were blown by a sudden gust of wind from the balcony, but a pce maid immediately leaped out and collected all the papers in midair in an instant, before cing it back on the table in an orderly and practiced matter. It was apparent that it was not the first time.

    "Thank you, Jenna."

    "Once again, I am not Jenna. I am Lily and it would be great if we can move the study table back inside, Your Majesty." Lily said with veiled annoyance.

    The pce maid and corrected for the Nth time. Jenna was her mother. Heinrich did not seem to have heard her as he seem to be pondering an entirely different matter. At much consideration, he started to write a letter, before sealing into an envelope and passed it to Lily. "Send this letter to the Royal University''s dean and have hime see me at once, Jenna."

    Lily rolled her eyes and epted. Nothing she said was getting through to the king.

    While Elizabeth had Lily serve the king, she was assisting the people in the railway construction. Although Leon might have joked about, she had given it some serious thought after a period of time.

    It was true that if they had more metal-users, it would certainly cut down on the construction time of all projects, but the most present issue wasn''t cultivating a group of metal-users, but a group of experts.

    With the strength of their enemies remaining unknown to them, they did not have the luxury to hoard the heavenly crystals. The crystals were first distributed to the Lancaster family and every member of the royal faction, before finally allocating some quotas to the other nobles.

    A single Transcendent might have changed the fate of humanity in the past, but after 500 years have passed, they can''t expect it to happen again. They weren''t fighting the beasts but among themselves.

    Heinrich rolled back in his seat for some brief rxation, but not long after Lily left, a grumpy Elizabeth returned. He nced at the blood on her armor, before casually asking, "Did something happen along the tracks, my dear wife?"

    "En, some members of the Bloodfiend Sect were trying to sabotage the railway tracks. I tried to capture one alive to interrogate them, but then exploded into a pool of blood." Elizabeth nodded with a grumble.

    "So, the sects are already making their next move, huh? Of course, they won''t let us develop in peace¡­" Heinrich said, before raising an eyebrow with confusion. "But why the hell would they attack the railway tracks? They ce more importance on the railway than the underground mines?"

    Elizabeth was also confused.

    Just what did these sects want from them?

    ¡­

    Back in the 2nd Underground Floor, Leon continued his exploration with the hunting team. He could not detect any ants within 200 yards with his [Spirit Eyes] and began to suggest they split into teams of two to search the nearby buildings, before proceeding deeper. It would save them time, rather than searching each building one by one. After making ns to regather back at the same spot within an hour, the pce guards all picked their partners and left.

    All the buildings at least suffered some degree of damages and half-buried, but there were a few that weren''t. In addition to all the buildings leaning in a single direction, the rocky ground around these buildings wasn''t smooth and was filled with web-like cracks.

    From this, Leon could guess that the buildings may have been ''uprooted'' from the surface of the floating city. As such, these buildings may be here, but the foundation of the floating city wasn''t.

    If his theory was correct, the foundation should be lying somewhere in the central underground region of the Human Domain. But then another question arises. How did these few buildings end up so far away from the impact point?

    No matter how Leon tried to simte a giantndmass smashing into the ground in his mind, he could only imagine the floating city turning into arge pile of rubbles in a seismic explosion, while the surrounding clusters of the earth get sted into the skies before raining back down like meteor shower and thend get swept by a fiery dust storm.

    Considering the state of these buildings, it goes to show how high the defensive properties of these buildings had been to survive the impact. Even an ordinary spirit artifact would not be as tough as this. That is to say that each of these buildings was equivalent to a high-grade defensive spirit artifact or higher, or at least they were.

    Leon did not believe that the building relied on the defensive properties of its building material alone to survive. In fact, he thought that was simply impossible, not unless it was made of divine-grade material.

    The building must have been enhanced with defensive runes. Since they were only equivalent to high-grade spirit artifacts and weren''t true high-grade spirit artifacts, they were bound to have weak points.

    Leon traced his fingers along with the damages of one such building and thought, ''This must be one of the weak points, where the defensive runes didn''t cover.''

    "Why did you suggest for everyone to split up and search?" Lilith suddenly asked curiously.

    Originally, Leon wanted to search alone since they were an odd group of 23 people, but since he brought her along, he had to be responsible for her.

    "It saves time," Leon answered simply.

    "I don''t think that''s the real reason though. What''s your real purpose?" Lilith tried to pry with a cute expression.

    "Think however you wish," Leon responded impassively, beforeing up with a question of his own. "How about you? What''s your purpose for tagging along? I doubt it''s because you are curious about history. Let me guess, you''re looking for something here."

    "How did you know!?" Lilith blurted in shock, before covering her mouth with wide eyes. But it was toote. She had already given herself away. Leon was able to get his answer from her words.

    "I calcted with my fingers," Leon answered sarcastically in a nonchnt manner while mimicking the way a phony fortune teller do their calctions.

    "¡­"

    Lilith was stunned for a moment, before rolling her eyes.

    She understood that asking stupid questions will be returned with stupid answers, but this fe was just too mean! She had blurted the question without thought just now.

    "Hmph!"

    Lilith stamped her feet, before walking off.

    Seeing Lilith heading into a different building, Leon chuckled and enter the building in front of him under the assumption that it was the library. Libraries represent lots of books, lots of books represent lots of knowledge, and knowledge was power.

    He also thought it was a pity if the runic technology of the Nova Empire was lost even though it was the runic technology that ended the ancient civilization. Learning from history to avoid repeating the same mistake was good, but this didn''t mean that they should bury all the knowledge.

    There were benefits to learning runic inscriptions. He had deemed it was not only useful in strengthening the kingdom, but it would also be useful for him to learn it. He was the only one that understood the ancientnguage and he already considered himself a jack of all trades in any case.

    Seeing all the books littered inside the building, his assumption was correct¡­ With no one around, Leon began pocketing all the books into his Worldspace.

 Chapter 194 - Introduction To Runes

    <h4>Chapter 194 - Introduction To Runes</h4>

    The old library was one of the few buildings that were just partially buried. It was fairly wide and had three floors. Leon had managed to enter through the entrance on the first floor without a problem, but the inclination of the floor slightly impeded his movements to explore the building freely.

    Every step Leon took on an upward trend would cause him to slide back to his starting point due to ack of grip in his shoes, caused by the dusty surface of the floor. However, this issue was easily resolved by channeling energy to the soles of his feet and coating his shoes with it.

    [Art of Water Striding] was the name of the spirit art. As the name suggests, it allows him to tread upon the surface of water, but its application isn''t limited to just that. It could be applied to any surface, allowing him to walk up walls and steep cliffs like he was walking on t ground.

    All the books in the building had fallen off their shelves and piled in one corner of the building like a small mountain. While Leon was pocketing all these books, he was wondering how could a leaning building that wasn''t buried, able to remain leaning without the earth holding it in ce.

    Leon made his way up to clean out the subsequent floors, before deciding to investigate the causeter. On the second and third floors, he found more empty shelves and scattered piles of books, some crystals, and sunstones.

    Leon tossed them all into the Worldspace without further thoughts. There were also some strange tablet devices on each floor, but they couldn''t be removed from the stands. He could only sweep it with his Divine Sense and imprint it into his memory.

    Returning to the first floor, Leon illuminated the higher end on the other side of the inclined building with his me. The other end was infested with nt-like roots that managed to prate through the building''s foundation.

    Leon began to scrutinize the roots with caution. Base on the vitality he was sensing from the roots, the nt wasn''t dead. What kind of nt was this? It was able to survive in a world without sunlight and water, but that wasn''t important.

    What was important was the power behind its roots. It could prate the incredibly tough building!

    Leon scrunched his brows together in deeper thoughts.

    Maybe the building was already punctured after the fall and the nt found its way inside afterward? Regardless of the case, he found it worrisome that he could not find its main body even after tracing its roots into the underground. The roots were too long for his senses to reach the main body. With such long roots, the main body could be expected to be evenrge.

    Without seeing the main body, he couldn''t tell what kind of nt it was. At first nce, it looked like tree roots. But upon further nces, it seemed slightly different from tree roots.

    "Let''s hope there aren''t any man-eating nts in the underground world. But then again, it wouldn''t be surprising if there were any considering any living thing found in the underground threatened human existence." Leon quietly mused.

    He had at least figured out why the air was rich and plentiful on the second floor. There were nts on the second floor. Leon hadn''t seen it for himself, but there must be a lot of nts somewhere. Perhaps these nts weren''t exactly devoid of sunlight and water. There may be a water source somewhere deeper.

    Leon pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and entered the Worldspace. With possibly danger lurking in every corner, he had to be more prepared, especially since the danger level of the second floor should be greater than the spiders of the first floor.

    The herbal garden had been growing well. It only took one month to grow a Tier-3 Spirit Herb, but to grow a Tier-4 Spirit Herb, Leon wasn''t too sure. He assumed it would take around a year or longer. As for Tier-5¡­ he should just forget about it.

    "Hm? All the remaining energy of heaven and earth I previously absorbed into the Worldspace seemed to have disappeared. Huh? The blob of earth energy is gone too." Leon was dumbfounded. "Ugh¡­ never mind. I''ll figure it outter."

    Leon grabbed quite a few spirit herbs, ranging from Tier 1 to Tier 3 and nted new seeds in its ce, before making proceeding over to the pill cauldron and whipping up a fire. He spent the next half an hour refining Fasting Pills, Iron Stomach Pills and Poison Cleansing Pills.

    He wasn''t sure if he would need Tier-3 Poison Cleansing Pills, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Considering the presence of nts in the underground, he had to anticipate that there weren''t just medicinal herbs but also poisonous herbs.

    Afterpleting his refinement, he stored them into pill bottles and set his eyes on the mountain of books in one corner. After emptying out the library, there were thousands of books in his Worldspace.

    Unfortunately, only a small portion of the books would contain information on runic technology and its application. The rest covered misceneous topics ranging from cooking to science, with a greater part being a collection of fictional stories.

    "It would be great if I could Arden''s research room instead. It''s almost time to meet back at the gathering point. There isn''t enough time to sort out these books. It would take me forever to sort out the runic inscription-rted books from the misceneous ones¡­"

    "It would be great if I could use the Whitespace to sort them out for me¡­"

    Leon suddenly froze, before his eyes slowly widened. Once the idea came to mind, it was impossible to erase.

    The Worldspace was a physicalndscape he could enter with his physical body, but the Whitespace was more illusory like a dreamscape. He wasn''t sure if he could move the books over, but it was worth a shot.

    Returning to the outside world, Leon materialized the [Divine Book of Life]. His consciousness dived into the Whitespace, while he held tightly onto a random book he selected from the mountain of books. The familiar white world soon entered his sight, but¡­

    "No good, huh? I guess this was to be expected¡­" Leon said disappointedly.

    "Just scan them, Idiot." A soft child-like voice said abruptly.

    "Who!?" Leon''s expression changed with rm. There shouldn''t be anyone here, except him! "Who are you? Show yourself! And what do you mean?"

    Leon scrutinized the surrounding, but he couldn''t find the owner of the voice. It seemed to havee from the whitespace world itself, but at the same time, it entered straight into his own mind.

    Was he being delusional¡­? Did he go crazy!?

    "Who I am isn''t important." The childlike voice said nonchntly, before continuing, "What is important is you don''t know how to use the [Divine Book of Life] at all! Any item in the Sacred Garden can be recorded and stored into the Archive with a simple scan."

    "Look here, Idiot."

    Here? Where is here?

    Leon''s doubts were answered in a moment. A projection of the Worldspace known referred to as the ''Sacred Garden'' soon appeared in front of him.

    "You can see the Sacred Garden anytime from the Archive¡­hm?" The childlike voice froze amidst her exnation. The silence onlysted a few moments, before she continued.

    "What the heck are all these trash? Books? Understandable. Clothes? Projectile weapons? Bricks!? Eeek! What have you done to my Sacred Garden!? Treating it as your own personal storage, huh!?"

    The childlike voiced screamed into his mind directly with shrill cries like a five-year-old child with OCD throwing a tantrum after someone messed up her tidy bedroom.

    Trashes? Projectile weapons? Bricks? Projectile weapons, he can understand, but what about bricks? Leon was confused. Was the child referring to the stainless-steel ingot he never ended up using?

    "You know, you have such a sweet voice, but you say some pretty savage things." Leon rolled his eyes. He already had a faint guess as to the owner of the voice, but with such a childlike voice, he couldn''t take the person seriously.

    In any case, the [Divine Book of Life] was fused to his soul core, making the master. So, what if he uses it as his own personal storage space?

    "Yawn*** Never mind¡­ I need to go back to sleep. Remember to gather more energy." The childlike voice yawned, before fading into silence.

    "Wait! You haven''t exined the scan!" Leon quickly said, but even after waiting a short while, he did not receive any further response.

    ncing at the ''Sacred Garden'' projection in front of him, Leon thought, "Guess I will have to figure it out myself."

    Leon hadn''t forgotten the feeling of omnipotence in the ''Archive'' where things moved ording to his will.

    "It shouldn''t be difficult, right?"

    Leon stared at the mountain of books in the projection and made a mental will for all the information to be recorded into the Archive.

    "Scan."

    He could see a line sweeping across the mountain of books on the projection screen before new empty bookshelves began to rise in the Archive. At the same, new books began to fill the empty bookshelves very quickly.

    "How fascinating!"

    Leon never knew about these functions. If only he could have realized them sooner. He began injecting a string of keywords with his will.

    "Organize. Basic. Runic Inscription."

    The bookshelves disappeared into the floor and rearranged their contents before a new bookshelf rose with all the runic inscription-rted books at the introductory level. Leon casually grabbed at one of the books and it dissipated into particles of energy before all the knowledge on basic runic symbols and their effect flowed into his mind.

    "Haiz¡­" Leon sighed at the name of the book he casually picked.

    [Introduction to Runes for Dummies]

    "Oh no, I spent too much time in here. The others should be waiting for me!"

    Leon quickly returned his consciousness to the outside world, but then he almost got scared to death by what he saw!

    Lilith''s ck, round and pretty eyes stared directly into his own up close. He was immediately attracted and felt like his own soul was going to be drawn into the dark abyss.

    "Woah! What the hell! You scared me!" Leon backed off.

    "Teehee¡­" Lilith made a cute expression, before saying, "It''s your fault for not responding to my calls."

 Chapter 195 - Where Are The Power Sources?

    <h4>Chapter 195 - Where Are The Power Sources?</h4>

    When Leon heard Lilith''s words, he awkwardly asked. "Ahem¡­ How long have I been standing irresponsive?"

    "About five minutes?" Lilith answered with her head leaning sideways, before asking, "What happened to you? Why didn''t you respond to me? It was like you were frozen in shock or something¡­"

    Lilith casually swept the first floor with a nce. As Leon was standing near the entrance like a block of wood, she all her attention had been on getting Leon''s response. Now that she was studying the building, she quickly became shocked.

    "Holy Cow! What happened to the library!? It looks like it''s been ransacked!" Lilith eximed. However, she quickly felt awkward right after. There was a venerable beast worshipped in the Wilnds as the Holy Cow for divine healing powers. If the Holy Cow knew she used its title was used as a figure of speech, it might curse her in the moonguage.

    "It was like this when I got here¡­" Leon said impassively without guilt. Nothing could be derived from his expression.

    Lilith nced at him suspiciously. "Really?"

    "Yeah¡­"

    Leon began rubbing his chin as he looked back at Lilith in thought.

    Lilith did not carry any bag on her and didn''t loot anything from her building. She was looking for something else. She spent the entire time practicing the [Hundred Beast Transformation Art] when she couldn''t what she was looking for.

    Thinking Leon had finally taken notice, she began puffing out her chest and feeling smug.

    "Go on. Praise me."

    Contrary to her expectation, Leon was thinking about an entirely different matter.

    Due to the difference between their races, their culture would undoubtedly be different. The Nova Empire was a human civilization with simr building aesthetics to the Crawford Kingdom, or rather the Crawford Kingdom got their building aesthetics from studying the ancient ruins of the Nova Empire. As such Leon could recognize the library briefly, but how was Lilith able to do the same?

    "How did you know this is the library?" Leon asked curiously.

    "Oh that¡­ I calcted with my fingers." Lilith said.

    Leon froze. "¡­"

    Lilith: "¡­"

    There was a brief silence between them.

    Leon lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as if he was suffering from emotional distress. After he recovered, he said, "Let me rephrase. How did you recognize this building as the library?"

    Lilith smiled coyly and yfully said, "I calcted with my¡ª"

    A bright ball of mes lit up on Leon''s palm as he wore a slightly annoyed expression. Once was enough. Daring to use his own excuse against him twice. The audacity.

    "Okay, Okay. Let''s not resort to violence. There are so many shelves in here. Only a pharmacy, supermarket or library would need so many shelves. I made a lucky guess out of the three options, I suppose." Lilith retreated and pouted.

    "I see. It seems you''re quite familiar with human structures. I suppose the beastkins also live inrge structured cities?" Leon rubbed his chin.

    "Huh!? Of course, we do! We''re not savages!" Lilith was riled by Leon''s remark, but her lips soon curved into a derisive smile. "Our building aesthetics don''t defer much from each other since we assimted human knowledge after all. However, if you think this human city isrge, then it shows how ignorant you are. The city my Deste Crow n resides in is at least 10 timesrger than your human city and our buildings are also much bigger and higher!"

    As Lilith said to this point, she puffed her chest out proudly. While humans spread their influence across thends through several cities and towns, every beast tribes congregate all their forces into one megacity.

    "Oh? Why don''t you tell me more about your Deste Crow n and the Wilnds?" Leon said with interest. He had only been speaking from the perspective of an ordinary human in the Crawford Kingdom. Only he knew who the truly ignorant one was.

    The divine cities of the Divine Realm at a minimum were at least several hundred timesrger than the Capital and the poption usually numbered in the hundreds of millions. This is only possible because divine practitioners didn''t need to eat food to sustain themselves after reaching the Divine Origin Realm. Spirit energy was their sustenance.

    "Hmph! Maybe when I feel like it." Lilith pouted when she didn''t get the response she was hoping for. This fe was only interested in Wilnds and didn''t care about her ims. Maybe he thought she was just boasting? Lilith did not feel good when she arrived at that conclusion.

    "Never mind then. Let''s head back." Leon smiled. He began walking off without waiting for Lilith''s reply. At the same time, he tried to digest the influx of runic knowledge in his mind.

    "Eh? Don''t you have something to say about how I look?" Lilith finally brought up the matter.

    Leon paused and shed a nce over his shoulders. He continued his way after he calmly answered, "None."

    Naturally, he had long noticed the absence behind her back. It was hard not to notice such a conspicuous thing when it goes missing. Although he did not show it, he was quite surprised. He had to admit that Lilith was quite a genius for mastering the art so quickly. However, he ignored it. He did not want to stroke her ego.

    Lilith stamped her feet in anger but still followed Leon. She was expecting some praises but didn''t expect this fe to be so hateful for not satisfying her vanity.

    Zorbek and the 18 other pce guards sighed with relief when they saw Leon. Zorbek would have gone out to look for Leon personally if he did not return within another 5 minutes.

    "It''s good that you are safe, Your Highness." Zorbek soon shifted his eyes onto the petite figure behind Leon. "¡­and who is this lovelydy?"

    What the heck? Was this person pretending to be stupid? Other than the ck wing that she had retracted into her body, she looked practically the same as before.

    Never did it ur to Lilith that Zorbek never put her in his eyes and only recognize her by her wing, otherwise she would have been angered to death. There was a limit to how much the person could dislike her, right!? She hadn''t done anything to them, yet!

    "Are you hitting on me? Sorry, it''s toote to win my good impression. I''m not interested in older men anyway." Lilith said.

    !!!

    Zorbek widened his eyes in shock and almost choked on his own words. What happened to her wing? The others also showed surprised expressions, but they soon started looking at her strangely. The silence made her ufortable.

    "What is it? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Lilith asked doubtfully.

    Leon turned around and asked peculiarly, "If you''re not interested in older men, then are you interested in younger boys?"

    Lilith was startled by Leon''s question before her face soon flush with embarrassment.

    "No¡­!"

    "Hahaha¡­" Leon chuckled lightly. He wanted to continue teasing, but then he frowned. They were still short on numbers. "Alright, enough nonsense. Where''s the rest of the team?"

    "I just sent them out to look for you. They should be back in a bit to report when they can''t find you, Your Highness." Zorbek answered.

    "I see. Never mind then. You can busy yourself with your own work. I''m going to meditate for a bit."

    "Yes, Your Highness." Zorbekplied.

    Leon found himself a spot on the ground and began digesting the rest of the knowledge from [Introduction to Runes for Dummies]. At the same time, Zorbek gathered the pce guards and had them report their findings to him, before jotting everything down on his notebook.

    Everyone had a plentiful harvest in this short hour. This could be seen when they presented their overloaded backpacks. They couldn''t fit everything inside and had to carry the excess on hand back to the gathering point.

    There was more room after depleting nearly all their rations, however, the free space was filled back up with crystals and sunstones. They also found some unknown tools, equipment, and even weapons, which could all be categorized under artifacts.

    One of Leon''s eyes opened when the artifacts were pulled out, but he quickly lost interest. He suspected they were spirit artifacts or maybe even forbidden artifacts, but the runic lines were all damaged and he didn''t sense any artifact spirit from them.

    If the runic lines were damaged, then the artifact was pretty much scraps and only useful for study purposes. He was just beginning to understand basic runic lines. He was still far from being able to repair the damaged artifacts.

    Sometimeter, Leon reopened his eyes and gave the group a brief sweeping nce. Zorbek and pce guards had finished their tallying and were waiting on him.

    "Should we begin preparing for our return journey and check if the path is clear, Your Highness? We won''t be able to carry any more relics if we proceed further." Zorbek asked.

    Leon shook his head. He hadpleted half of his objectives on this trip, but he was still unwilling to return after making it this far.

    Despite searching so many buildings, no one seemed to have located the power sources yet. Leon gave Lilith a brief nce. Was she also looking for power sources?

    Suddenly, Leon swept the group again and frowned.

    "What''s wrong, Your Highness?"

    "The other two pce guards. They haven''t returned yet?"

 Chapter 196 - Bizarre Situation

    <h4>Chapter 196 - Bizarre Situation</h4>

    "The two pce guards. They haven''t returned yet?"

    Zorbek nced nkly at Leon with confusion. The two pce guards had returned some time ago, but the prince would not ask this question without reason.

    "Yes, they had already returned, Your Highness. Why did you¡­"

    Zorbek spotted the two pce guards, Scott and Willy among the group, but he noticed the numbers didn''t add up. They were still short two pce guards from the original 20!

    "Huh? Where''s Damir and Lutheran?"

    Once the question was raised, the group threw nces at each other and became startled. Damir and Lutheran were just with them a moment ago, but they were gone. No one knew or how they just silently disappeared.

    "Damir and Lutheran were just with us a moment ago¡­"

    "I was just talking to them just now too¡­"

    "That''s right. How did they just slip away unnoticed?"

    Suddenly, the cold air made some of the pce guards shiver. Unlike the others, Leon had already learned the history of the Nova Empire. However, even though the pce guards don''t know what happened, they could still guess that a lot of people had died in this ce.

    No matter what caused the ancient civilization to perish, would the people at that time abandon their weapons? The pce guards certainly didn''t think so.

    "Maybe¡­ we disturbed the resting ce of the dead and angered the spirits. Damir and Lutheran could have been spirited away."

    A pce guard gulped when he arrived at this conclusion, while several others paled after listening. Most of them hadn''t seen an evil spirit, but they grew up listening to ghost stories from their parents.

    Parents read ghost stories to scare their children to sleep, saying that the evil spirit will take away if they don''t. Often, the children would either cry or be too scared to fall asleep instead. But the point is, if they were asked if they believe in ghosts, every one of them would nod their heads without a doubt.

    Humans had a rich imagination, but it didn''t stem from nothing. There was always a source that inspired them.

    As for what inspired people toe up with ghost stories, it was Extreme Misty Forest. Anyone who''ve heard the wails of the misty forest would know that ghosts and spirits were indeed real.

    "Ah¡­ rest in peace,rades."

    The pce guards expressed their condolences when they heard that Damir and Lutheran might be spirited away. There''s noing from that one.

    "Enough nonsense. You''re all grown men. How can you still believe in such childhood superstitions?" Zorbek barked.

    Leon frowned. It was no superstition. If a person was possessed by an evil spirit, they turn into a violent bloodthirsty fiend and attack other humans on sight. Only a high-level evil spirit that cultivated its intelligence would possess humans and lure them away.

    But he didn''t believe that was the case either. Although the air in the underground was cold, it wasn''t yin. Even if there were any evil spirits born underground in the ancient past, they would have been drawn to Extreme Misty Forest out of instincts for survival long ago. Only a ce like Extreme Misty Forest could nurture evil spirits.

    The depths of the gloomy underground, the only current source of lighting came from a single sunstone slotted in the center of the gathering point.

    "Can I bother your Highness to use your special eye technique to scout the surroundings for the two men?" Zorbek requested politely after his earth senses failed to pick up anything in its limited range.

    Leon nodded and activated his [Spirit Eyes] to scan the vicinity of their gathering point. He also used his divine sense to search the blind spots inside the nearby buildings. But after a moment, he shook his head. "They''re not in the vicinity. It seems they have left the designated area."

    When he was searching with his [Spirit Eyes], he found many traces of footsteps, some of which lead outside the designated area and deeper into the underground. There was also no trace of a struggle.

    When he saw this, his first thought was the pce guards had gone rogue. But upon further thought, it shouldn''t be the case. The two backpacks of the two pce guards were still here.

    Greed and ambition fester in the presence of great treasures. However, the pce guards were already permitted to train with the earth crystals. Transcendence was within their reach. There was no reason for betrayal unless they had other motives.

    Leon thought of another possibility for the two pce guards'' disappearance.

    Leon already knew there were nts growing in the underground world. There might be a nt capable of emitting hallucinogens and bewitched the two missing pce guards into silently leaving the designated area. Although Leon had yet to confirm whether it was a hallucinogen, he had started to smell a strange scent in the air.

    "Damir and Lutheran left the designated area? Why would they do that?" Zorbek frowned. "Should we go look for them, your Highness?"

    "Wait."

    Leon took in several whiffs of the strange scent to identify it. A Tier-3 Poison Cleansing Pill was already in his hand just in case. The strange scent was slowly drifting over to their location with increasing rity and foulness. It was the smell of turd¡­

    Leon froze and dropped his pill.

    A few momentster, the others also began picking up the smell and discussing among themselves.

    "You smell that? Something smells like sh*t."

    "I don''t think I want to smell that¡­"

    "It seems to being from that direction."

    Leon nced in the direction the pce guard pointed. The direction led deeper into the unexplored ruins. After picking up his pill, he said, "Ahem¡­ Let''s go check it out. We can leave our stuff here."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    The groupplied. With two fewer people, they couldn''t carry everything, and it would only slow them down in the case of an emergency.

    As the group headed over, Leon scouted the area with [Spirit Eyes] for hidden danger. They several buildings but they ignored it and went straight to the source of the smell.

    Within the remains of an alleyway between two half-buried buildings, they arrived at the designation. Although they had already expected it, they were still taken aback by the sight. It was two lumps of fresh turd.

    The group was filled with confusion.

    Seeing the group fall into silence, a pce guard spoke, "We didn''te here to admire other people''s turd, did we?"

    "Why on earth would theye all the way out here to take a dump without a word?" Zorbek frowned. He couldn''t understand the two missing men''s thoughts.

    "Maybe they were embarrassed to disturb the group with the foul smell?" A pce guard spected.

    "Didn''t the smell end up drifting over anyway? What''s there to be embarrassed about? We are all men."

    "Actually, not all of us¡­"

    The group stole several nces at Lilith. They didn''t know how Lilith got rid of her wing, but without it, she looked no different from any other ordinary girl. They couldn''t look at her with the same prejudice without the distinct feature that set their races apart. She was quite a finess.

    Lilith was filled with a weird feeling and oddly creeped out by their stares. She didn''t expect to see such a major change attitude just by hiding her wings.

    "Ahem." Leon interrupted with a cough. He wished the group could take the situation more seriously. "Take a look at the lump of sh*t. It''s been squished and there''s a trail of skid marks leading deeper into the ruins."

    Actually, the pce guards were only trying to loosen the tension. Stiff movements wouldn''t allow them to perform in their optimum state. The pce guard appearedx, but they had never dropped their guard.

    Zorbek followed the traces pointed out by Leon, before he frowned. "Something had dragged them away. There are no other traces of battle or resistance, but it''s safe to say that their chances of survival are close to zero."

    "The trail ends here," Leon stated.

    At the end of the trail, they could see the ground was intertwined with roots and filled with cracks. The cracks exposed many holesrge enough for humans to crawl through. Also, the air was getting fresher.

    They had arrived at the perimeters of an ant nest, but it was strange why the air was getting fresher.

    Did the ants build their nest under a sea of nts?

    "I don''t detect any creatures lurking inside. However, my sense doesn''t reach very far. It will be unwise to enter these holes, your Highness. We could get swarmed by ants." Zorbek warned while looking at the ant tunnels.

    Leon agreed.

    Entering such narrow tunnels will put them at a severe disadvantage by restricting their movements and ability to adapt to changes. It was no different from throwing their life away.

    "Should we abandon them and turn back?" Zorbek suggested hesitantly. Although he was unwilling, he couldn''t endanger the prince.

    "No, we need to get to the bottom of this. If they are still alive, we will bring them back. If they are dead, we will bring back their corpses. They after all part of the elites of our kingdom. We can''t abandon them. I want everyone to be on high alert and watch the ant holes as you pass them. We will continue forward in the open space."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    The pce guards answered with relief and enthusiasm. They were also unwilling to abandon theirrades.

    Although no one knew why the two left the designated area without order, they intended to find out exactly why¡­ There were bound to find the answers on the other end of the ruins.

 Chapter 197 - Elder Tree

    <h4>Chapter 197 - Elder Tree</h4>

    Leon gazed at the path ahead silently and did not issue the order to set off immediately. Undoubtedly, the path beyond the ant holes will be treacherous. It was a miracle that they had managed to advance this close to the ant nest without triggering another army of ants hunting them down.

    "Awaiting your orders, Your Highness," Zorbek said patiently. Throughout this trip, he was supposed to be inmand of the expedition. However, he did not mind that this role was passed onto Leon, the prince.

    He believed it was a good opportunity for the young prince to gain experience in leading others before he takes the throne and leads the kingdom. But little did Zorbek know, Leon was not interested in the throne.

    "Distribute these evenly among yourselves." Leon pulled out a few pill bottles and passed them to Zorbek.

    "This is¡­?"

    "Fasting Pills and Poison Cleansing Pills. As the names suggest, the Fasting Pills can satiate your hunger in ce of meals, while the Poison Cleansing Pills can cure any low-level poisoning. We don''t know what lies ahead. It''s better to be prepared." Leon exined. He didn''t expect for these pills to be required so soon, but it was good that he refined them.

    Zorbek widened his eyes in surprise. He has never heard any of these pills before, but more importantly, the prince was much more prepared for this journey. The prince didn''tck anything and was fully capable of taking care of himself. To begin with, he never heard of an Awakener wielding so many elements. He felt like the prince had a bottomless abyss of secrets and made him felt unfathomable.

    "Yes, Your Highness," Zorbek answered firmly. He must hug firmly onto the prince''s thighs. Only by following the prince would he have a bright future. As the saying goes; when a person achieves a great way, even its dogs and chickens will ascend.

    Leon had refined plenty of pills, but when they are divided, they didn''t amount to much. Nevertheless, everyone was able to receive 3 days'' worth of Fasting Pills, 3 Tier-1, 2 Tier-2, and 1 Tier-3 Poison Cleansing Pill.

    Once the preparation wasplete, the group set forth immediately. Under Leon''s instruction, the group must keep contact with the intertwined roots to a minimum and only tread on the earthen parts of the ground.

    Leon had a nagging feeling that the roots were even more of a threatening existence than an entire colony of ants. However, he also felt that this danger wasn''t directed at them, which caused him to be confused.

    The roots of the unknown nts stretched endlessly into the deeper parts of the underground. The deeper they went, the thicker it was. From this, Leon was made aware that there may not be a sea of nts. Most likely, all the roots stemmed from one ridiculousrge nt and there were norger nts than perennial nts like the trees.

    Perennial nts like the trees could grow to nerve-wracking heights under certain conditions and different ssification exists for them. Once a tree exceeds a height of 1000fts, it will no longer be ssified as a normal tree. Instead, it will be considered an elder tree.

    Different to normal trees, elder trees are sentient and could grow anywhere between 1000fts to 3000fts. In storybooks, they are usually depicted as guardian spirits, worshipped by certain sub-human races such as the elves.

    From what Leon knew, there weren''t any elder trees in the Human Domain, but at least one existed in the Wilnds. The roughly 1500ft elder tree stood proudly within a certain forest and could be seen from the top of the great wall at the western frontier.

    Leon strongly doubted that the tree roots belonged to the elder tree in the west. It was simply impossible. Although they were underground, Leon had not lost track of his sense of direction. They had been heading east this entire time.

    If the terrain of the 2nd Underground Floor had not been on a downward slope all this while, Leon would have questioned why suchrge elder tree had not been seen by anyone in the Human Domain. It turned out that the Human Domain had its own elder tree. It''s just that it had always been hidden underground.

    How can such a big tree grow underground with neither sunlight nor water?

    "This is strange." Lilith suddenly said.

    "What is?"

    "These ant holes. There are far too many in one ce to be the entrances to the ant colony. It''s almost like we are already¡­"

    "Inside the ant colony?" Leon shook his head. "If that was the case, we would have already been swarmed by an army of ants."

    "That''s why it''s strange," Lilith stated.

    "You seem awfully familiar with the habits of ants." Leon pried with a smile. Seeing Lilith''s silence, he shook his head and asked, "What if I said all these ant holes weren''t created by ants alone?"

    Hearing this, Zorbek raised an eyebrow and asked, "If an ant hole isn''t created by ants, what else could have created it?"

    "Why do you think I instructed everyone to keep contact with the tree roots intertwining the ant holes to a minimum?" Leon did not answer Zorbek''s question directly but answered it with another question, engaging him to think.

    The group became startled once this question was raised and began to distance themselves from the roots.

    "Don''t tell me, these roots caused it!?" Zorbek became shocked. The tree roots have been very still. In fact, they had never moved at all. He never expected that these tree roots might be capable of movements, let alone digging holes. Why would the tree roots dig so many holes into an ant colony?

    "Most likely." Leon nodded without giving a definite answer. Until he saw it with his own eyes, it was all mere spections. "Ever since we entered the second floor, I have always pondered a question. What do these ants eat down here now that the spiders are gone? But after seeing these roots, it became clear to me. Just as these tree roots can be eaten by the ants, the tree roots can get its nutrients from the ants in order to survive. Therefore, I dared to proceed forward despite the danger."

    "No wonder we haven''t encountered any ants since we entered this area¡­" A pce guardmented.

    "No, no, no. Something is seriously wrong with that reasoning!" Zorbek eximed. "If the ants and nts eat each other to survive, then the reason we haven''t encountered any ants is that it''s not feeding time yet!"

    "Doesn''t that also mean that when it''s feeding time, this ce will be a hotspot and also a battlefield between the ants and tree roots?" The pce guards were shocked and nearly fainted. Wasn''t this like avoiding the tiger''s ws by jumping into the lion''s den?

    Leon turned around and simply smiled at their terrified faces, revealing the whiteness of his teeth.

    The pce guards became even more horrified after seeing the prince''s smile. It was like seeing the devil''s smile as the devil drag them into hell.

    Madman! The prince is a madman! Even if the prince was tired of living, there was no need to drag them down with him, right!?

    No, wait¡­ if the prince dies, the queen would definitely kill them all and have them apany the prince! But if they knew beforehand, they would have objected against entering this deep!

    There was a difference between a dangerous endeavor and jumping into the jaws of death! One was bravery and the other was in suicide!

    Lilith felt dubious, seeing Leon''s expression. There''s no way he was that stupid, right? He didn''t look like someone who was tired of living.

    "Hold on¡­ these are tree roots?" Lilith asked as a glimmer of understanding flittered across her beautiful ck eyes. If they are tree roots, then¡­

    The pce guards nce back and forth between Lilith and Leon, not understanding what Lilith figured out.

    Leon ignored the pce guards confused looks and nodded to Lilith, before walking ahead with a carefree attitude. It seems that Lilith was aware of some things, which brought her here.

    Naturally, he wasn''t tired of living. In fact, he valued his life very much. He had only mentioned that the tree roots can get nutrients from ants to survive. For something to grow to the size of an elder tree, it would need to rely on something else than just mere nutrients for survival.

    Leon''s first thought was the power source for the floating city. Arden''s diary mentioned that artificial spirit energy was able to revitalize the world and allow nts to grow to unprecedented sizes.

    If the elder tree had something like the artificial spirit energy to depend on, it would be no wonder why it was able to grow underground, where no sunlight and water exists. It wouldn''t even care about the nutrients gained from the ants. The elder tree probably only retaliated when it was annoyed by the ants nibbling on its roots.

    At some point, Leon had stopped walking.

    Lilith, who was following Leon subconsciously while lost in thought bumped into his back. "Why did you stop walking?"

    "Well¡­ I want to, but¡­"

    Lilith followed Leon''s line of sight and nced ahead. She was taken aback when she saw nothing but an earthen wall. "A dead end?"

    "Yeah¡­"

    "What to do¡­" Leon scrunched his brows together in thought, before activating his [Spirit Eyes] to scan the earthen wall. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed a crevice glowing with weak reddish light. "This way."

    Leon led the group over to the crevice in the wall, before readily entering without hesitation. It appeared that what he was searching for was just on the other side.

    He was not disappointed. On the other side was a much vaster open space that seemed to connect the first and second underground floors, and possibly the third.

    The elder tree stood at the center of this space in all its majesty. Its roots curled around an enormous spherical core the size of the pce and the entire space was illuminated by the glowing light of artificial spirit energy all year round¡­ The leaves of the elder tree seemed to have undergone mutative changes due to this and became dyed in a eerie crimson colour.

 Chapter 198 - Attack On The Tree

    <h4>Chapter 198 - Attack On The Tree</h4>

    "My God! What monstrosity is this? Look at the size of that thing! It''s evenrger than the elder tree in the west! Who would have thought something like this existed underground?"

    "How can you even tell if itsrger than the western elder tree? We can''t see the top even if we crane our necks."

    The pce guards eximed the moment their eyesid upon the grand elder tree.

    The red glow suffused the overgrown tree in a sinister but awe-inspiring presence. Neither the elder tree''s crown nor the top of the massive space could be seen. It was like the elder tree had outgrown the space permitted and got suppressed by the earth.

    When the group peered at the space above them, all they could see was a sea of crimson leaves gently swaying in the wind generated by the flow of air escaping through existing passageways and crevices in the surrounding walls.

    "No, it''s definitelyrger than the elder tree in the west," Leon stated confidently.

    "How can you be so¡­ oh."

    The trunk of the elder tree to the group was already roughly 1500fts and this was just gauging the trunk visible to them. Based on this information, the elder tree could be well over 2500fts, maybe even reaching the limits of 3000fts.

    The entire height of the elder tree in the west only amounts to a mere 1500ft. Although this was already very impressive for a tree, it was nothingpared to what was in front of them. This was a tree that is on the verge of breaking through to new heights.

    The universe is cold and unforgiving, but it does not cut off all roads to life. All life has an equal chance of obtaining eternity, even trees.

    Elder trees were already greater than ordinary trees, but if it exceeds the 3000ft limit, it will no longer be considered great. Instead, it will be considered extraordinary. However, exceeding this threshold is more difficult than awakeners trying to reach the Celestial Realm.

    Without the right conditions and blessings of the world, it was almost impossible for an elder tree to grow beyond the threshold in a world like Gaia. But in the unlikelihood that it manages to break through and cross the chasm, it will be a world tree.

    World trees were wonders of the world that can grow to a staggering 30,000ft and its tree saps are so potent and magical it can extend the lifespan of other races by hundreds to thousands of years. It isn''t farfetched to say that the birth of a world tree was a blessing to the world.

    However, each world would only ever have one world tree. This isn''t because the world is incapable of giving birth to more world trees. In fact, it was the opposite. Each world can produce multiple world trees when the right conditions are met.

    But like a mountain cannot house two tigers, the world trees will have a conflict of interest and try to swallow each other in order to propagate itself. This wasn''t much different from cultivators killing other cultivators, whether it was to protect themselves or rob their wealth to advance their cultivation.

    The world had always followed thews of the jungle. Its form may change, but never its source. It is an eternal truth.

    The elder tree lived its entire life underground in eternal darkness, solely dependent on artificial spirit energy, but deprived of water and sunlight. Leon was curious about what would happen if the elder tree received water and sunlight. Would it have a magical effect like rejuvenating a dehydrated man, dying of thirst and bring itself one step closer to bing a world tree? After all, life never strays too far from its source.

    "Um, we are focusing on the wrong thing, no? What is this strange red glow? It looks sinister, but I feel like its beneficial for my body tempering cultivation."

    The group continued to admire the elder tree for a while until a pce guard voiced his doubts.

    "It should be artificial spirit energy. Absorbing it carelessly is dangerous." Leon stated with a frown. The artificial spirit energy was different to what he had read in Arden''s diary. It felt more fiendish like demonic energy.

    "Something like that can be created?"

    The group was taken by surprise.

    "Through the Nova Empire''s runic technology, yes," Leon answered.

    "Nova Empire? Is that that the name of the ancient civilization? How do you know so much?" Lilith doubted before her eyes widened. "Don''t tell me you decrypted the ancientnguage and learned about it from the books you picked up back then?"

    Leon took a moment, before he shamelessly answered, "Yes."

    The group became even more surprised, but after a brief moment, they seemed to have epted this answer. It felt like there was nothing that the prince couldn''t do. It sure is different, having an educated person on the team.

    Did the prince owe this aplishment to the royal university? Maybe they should also study at¡­ Nah, forget it. They had muscles for brains.

    The pce guards didn''t believe Leon was able to learn an entirenguage on such a short trip. The prince must have already had some preliminary understandings in the ancientnguage from his studies at the royal university.

    Little did they know, they couldn''t be further from the truth. The university didn''t have anyone that advanced in their research of the ancientnguage.

    "Um, aren''t we forgetting something?" A pce guard asked. They were supposed to be searching for their missingrades.

    "Ah¡­"

    Everyone immediately remembered their objective foring here, thanks to the reminder. They were too distracted by the elder tree. Priorities.

    "I found them. They''re just ahead." Leon quickly confirmed with his [Spirit Eyes].

    The two missing pce guards were found roughly 2000 yards ahead by the foot of the elder tree. They were bounded by roots and still in their shameful defecating positions.

    Damir and Lutheran also noticed the group as they entered. When they were noticed by the group, they wanted to find a hole to hide in and cry. They were too ashamed.

    "It seems they were kidnapped by the elder tree," Leon added. He didn''t know how the elder tree did it seamlessly undetected, but he started to have an idea why the elder tree kidnapped them.

    "They weren''t killed but kidnapped? Why?" The group was taken aback.

    Although they came with the will to rescue, they didn''t have any expectations. The chances of survival were negligible, and reality was often cruel. They didn''t want to be disappointed. However, Damir and Lutheran were still very much alive and kicking. What luck!

    "Trees are like a man''s best friend; it wouldn''t harm us unless we harm it. We share a very special rtionship of dependence. They provide us with the air we breathe and can even give us life. In return, it consumes the air we exhale and also¡­ use our turds as fertilizers." Leon began exining profoundly but towards the end, he almostughed.

    "The tree is dangerous in its own ways."

    The pce guards added andughed raucously.

    "Pft." Lilith didn''t like vulgar jokes, but she hates to admit it that she also found it amusing as she burst into small repressed giggled.

    However, theirughter didn''tst long and died down at a sudden rumbling. They nced at each other with knowing nces.

    Behind them, they suddenly started hearing rumbling noises like the galloping of a thousand hoovesing from the darkness beyond the crevice that they passed through, but on an exponential scale.

    In the elder tree space, there were fewer ant holes in the ground, but there were many crevices and passageways in the walls from top to bottom. The noise quickly spread to the root ridden ground beneath them and not long after, it beganing from all directions.

    "It must be feeding time¡­" A pce guard gulped.

    Themotion got stronger over time and Leon grew doubtful. It was like the ants weren''t going to aim for the tree roots but attack the main trunk directly.

    "F*ck." Leon cursed.

    "Run towards the elder tree!" Zorbek roared, but the others were already begun running before he even told them.

    Ants began to spill out of every corner andmence their attack on the tree, while the group ran like their life depended on it, literally. If they were too slow, they would get caught in between the battle between the tree and ants.

    The distance between the edges of the space and the foot of the tree was crossed in under a minute. Leon could''ve have arrived in a third of the time if he flew, but he did not leave the group behind and matched their pace instead.

    They arrived at the two root bound pce guards safely but were unable to free Damir and Lutheran from the binds.

    "No good. These roots are too tough." Zorbek shook his head.

    "It''s fine if you guys can''t free us, but can you pull out pants up?" Damir felt like he lost all his dignity as he requested.

    "Don''t worry, this spot should be safe," Leon concluded as he concentrated on the surrounding.

    "That seems to be the case¡­"

    No one paid heed to Damir''s request and focused on the battle outside. Lilith stood especially further away from the two.

    "You normally don''t get to see a spectacle like this often."

    No ants were able to get near the trunk before they were viciously shed in half by the tree roots that came to life and moved like a thousand snakes. The numbers seemed endless, but no matter how many ants came forward, the elder treeshed them apart all the same with absolute domination.

    "This is strange. The elder tree doesn''t seem to be the focus of these ants." Leon frowned.

    "They don''t look like they came here for a snack either," Lilith added.

    If the ants didn''te out for food and the tree isn''t their target, then what is?

    Initially, the ants charge single-mindedly towards the foot of the tree like kamikaze soldiers, tasked with an impossible task. But after seeing no progress, they began to change their tactics and began dividing their forces to focus on the tree roots, while keeping pressure on the center.

    Leon narrowed his eyes when he noticed this. The ants are being controlled by something intelligent. It wasn''t targeting the tree, but what lied under it.

    "They''re aiming for the power source."

    "They''re aiming for the power source."

    Leon and Lilith said simultaneously. They nced at each other, before resume studying the ant''s behavior.

    Leon rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look. Was it the queen or something else? This could be a problem¡­

 Chapter 199 - Suspicions

    <h4>Chapter 199 - Suspicions</h4>

    The battle between tree and ants continue to rage on as ants spilled out of every corner and threw away their lives for their mission. Their numbers were great and unending, but they were nothing more than mere cannon fodders.

    The tree roots weaved around each other struck down every single ant that got within a distance seamlessly with great coordination, never tangling itself and created an imprable line that could not be crossed no matter the numbers.

    At this moment, some ants managed to avoid instant death andtched itself on the tree roots. It nibbled away at the tree roots with its strong mandibles, but the elder tree retaliated in kind with its tenacious roots. The ant ridden roots mmed into the ground, crushing them like pulverized eggshells and kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured the eyes of the spectators.

    The two sides appeared to be caught in a stalemate as they fight a battle of attrition to see whether the roots give out first, or the ants run out of cannon fodders first.

    A battle of this scale wouldn''t happen often, but it did happen at this moment. The group can only me their own luck for the bad timing.

    While the group appeared to be safe, they were also trapped so long as the situation persists.

    "Isn''t this actually pretty dangerous? The tree roots are slowly being worn out by these low-level ants. What will happen when the stronger antse out to attack? We won''t be able to escape since we are trapped here."

    "Doesn''t that mean we are doomed if we can''t escape?"

    The pce guards started to be concerned. Anyone with some knowledge on ants would know that soldier ants don''t operate on their own. They have a queen, and there would be a group of royal guards under the ant queen.

    These soldier ants weren''t much weaker than them. How strong would the higher-ranking ants be?

    "Ah¡­ we shouldn''t havee here. We are all going to die¡­" A pce guard said depressingly. His words were contagious and affected the mood of the rest of the group.

    Leon frowned. The situation was nowhere close to being dire, but the group was already full of negative vibes. It was too disappointing if the elites of the kingdom were truly like this. He expected them to be more steadfast and strong-willed.

    Did they buy their way into the elite team with connections or something was affecting their state of mind? The royal family had spent a lot of effort cleaning the kingdom of its corruption in the past month or two. Thetter possibility seemed more likely.

    "Be careful of the artificial spirit energy! It''s affecting your state of mind!" Leon warned. He had already warned them not to absorb the energy beforehand but to think that they would still be affected by it.

    How pervasive this energy was!

    Luckily, he noticed the problem early and the current symptoms were only mild. If they noticed the problem muchter, it could''ve caused them a lot of trouble.

    Leon didn''t know what kind of an effect artificial spirit energy had, but the fact that it slightly resembled demonic energy was enough for him to keep his guards up. It was unfortunate that he still underestimated how pervasive the energy could be.

    When the group received the warning, they sealed off all their pores and used their own methods to ward off the energy from drawing to them.

    "Your Highness, I would like to interrogate the two men." Zorbek requested.

    Leon gave him the affirmation. He was also interested in why the two pce guards left the designated area.

    They couldn''t be med for getting themselves captured by the elder tree, but it wouldn''t excuse their insubordination. Without a doubt, they had left the area before getting themselves captured.

    It was impossible for them to be captured straight from gathering point soundlessly without alerting anyone. It was even less likely for the tree roots to stop midway to let them chuck a sh*t before bringing them back to the foot of the elder tree itself.

    "C-Captain."

    Damir and Lutheran stuttered when Zorbek stern face frowned upon.

    "Why did you leave you the designated area without order?" Zorbek interrogated the two, who were still trapped in their binds like wanted criminals.

    "We''re actually not sure ourselves. We were already here when we realized it. We don''t remember what happened before that." The two shook their heads.

    "Bullsh*t!" Zorbek roared. Upon hearing their excuse, he was angered. "Are you telling me you don''t even remember going to chuck your own sh*t!? Who are you trying to fool!?"

    The two pce guards, Damir and Lutheran immediately became startled by the Zorbek''s outburst.

    "What we said was the truth, Captain. We really don''t remember!"

    Zorbek frowned as he tried to verify the authenticity of their words through their expressions. Their expression didn''t show any signs of falsehood and appeared genuine.

    "Don''t be too harsh of them, Captain. We should be celebrating that we found them here alive and in one piece." A pce guard tried to plead of their behalf.

    The previous traces of the two had ended near an ant hole, making one naturally assume that they got dragged into the ant hole. However, there were no further traces that indicated that they entered the ant hole nor traces that they were dragged beyond the ant holes either.

    "Yes, Captain. If they had been taken into one of those ant holes back there, I''m afraid there wouldn''t have even been any bodies left for use to pick up." Another pce guard said.

    "What was thest thing you remembered before waking up here?" Leon suddenly asked.

    The two pce guards frowned and try to recall. "We seem to have been helping out with the loot count?"

    "Anything else? Think harder."

    "We¡­ seemed to have smelt something weird before our memories went fuzzy." The two answered.

    "Something weird, huh?" Leon pondered. So there really were hallucinogens? No that shouldn''t be possible.

    It was impossible for any other nt to survive in the underground if they have such an overpoweredpetitor like the elder tree. The elder tree would have wrestled all the resources and left them no room for survivors in order to save itself. Perhaps that''s why there weren''t any wood element crystals?

    Leon suddenly became cautious. If it wasn''t caused by a nt, then there was either an insect with hypnotic effects they had to fail to discover or someone on the team was sabotaging them. Was the team infiltrated by a spy from the Illusory Butterfly Sect? Leon smelled a rat.

    The tragedy of 17 years ago was likely the doing of the Illusory Butterfly Sect, but the sect members involved were never caught. Leon had a hunch such a person must have disguised themselves and blended into the team.

    Perhaps the culprit had intended to kill off the two pce guards silently but never imagined the two men''s urge to sh*t was stronger than the unknown spell cast upon them, which in turn attracted the tree roots to kidnap them.

    Leon mentally sighed. Truly nature''s providence. When a man got to go, he got to go.

    Leon immediatelybeled everyone as a suspect, except for Lilith. It did not cross his mind once to suspect Lilith. Could the art of disguise allow a human to grow wings? Surely not.

    Even the two bound pce guards were not outside of his range of suspicions. Perhaps the spy intended to kill one person instead, but pretended to be a victim after the n went awry. There were many possibilities at this point.

    However, despite figuring out that there was a rat in the team, Leon remained calm and kept silent on the matter. Informing the team of his discovery will cause unnecessary panic and distrust. The spy would also be rmed and be harder to catch.

    It was easier to work under the radar. Although this puts other''s lives at risk, their safety wasn''t guaranteed so long as the spy remains unknown either way.

    "There might have been small flying insects, capable of spraying hallucinogens back there. Be careful." Leon said calmly. By saying this, the spy would not suspect anything.

    "Yes, Your Highness." The pce guards all answered.

    "Can someone help free us from these roots now?" Damir requested.

    Zorbek looked towards Leon.

    "You can try, but you cannot harm the roots. We are all f*cked if you anger the elder tree." Leon stressed, but he had zero expectation that they would be able to seed in free the two men.

    Looking back on the battlefield, Leon concluded that they would be stuck in this situation for a long while. He had no intention of doing nothing during this time, especially not when there was such a rich source of wood energy in front of him.

    The only problem was getting the elder tree to be willing to spare some of its valuable wood energy to help him form his woodcore without angering it.

    "All of you will stay here and observe the battle. Report to me if the situation changes." Leon ordered, before pulling Lilith along with him towards the elder tree.

    "What are you nning to do?"

    "Communicate with the tree spirit to free my two men. I need you to guard me and wake me up if you sense me losing myself." Leon said.

    "Why should I? Anyone can do that." Lilith frowned.

    "Please." Leon pleaded earnestly.

    Lilith softened her stance and pouted, "I guess I don''t have a choice, seeing how earnest you are. Hmph, hmph!"

    "Thank you."

    Leon said sincerely.

    His sincerity seemed to have reached Lilith. She felt her heart slightly race and blushed.

    ''What is wrong with you, Lilith? How can your heart race for a human? Don''t forget that they shot down all your loyal nsmen.'' Lilith mentally spoke to herself and shook her head.

    Suddenly, she thought how Leon might have read all her expression and panicked.

    Seeing that Leon had already had his eyes closed with a serene expression while leaning against the foot of the elder tree in a meditative position, she sighed with relief.

    For some reason, she felt also felt disappointed by this and became grumped.

    "Hmph!"

    "What is it?" Leon''s eyes snapped open with a questioning gaze after suddenly getting kicked by her.

    "Nothing." Lilith pouted.

    Leon was confused.

 Chapter 200 - Impulse To Bang His Head

    <h4>Chapter 200 - Impulse To Bang His Head</h4>

    Within the known universe, while it is true that all life had an equal opportunity at attaining the evesting through divine practice, their difficulty in ascending the realms defers from one another because of existing bnce.

    In the mundane world, which was devoid of spirit energy, perennial nts like the elder tree still had a natural lifespan that far outstrips any other lifeforms between heaven and earth, but in return for being endowed with such a long natural lifespan, it takes a long time for them to gain sentience and develop their intelligence.

    Judging by the extent of the elder tree''s growth, Leon spected that the elder tree was at least 10,000 years old. It should be possible to establish basicmunication between them, hopefully.

    Leon expanded his senses and reached out for the tree spirit within the elder tree with his consciousness. The tree spirit was quickly startled by Leon''s sudden presence and retreated in rm.

    Within the sea of consciousness, Leon had a mental projection of his own body while the tree spirit of the elder tree took on the form of a 5yr old humanoid child adorned in leafy clothing and posses a pair of horn-like branches on its head.

    Leon tried to appease the tree spirit by surrendering his hands in the air and indicate he meant no harm.

    Of course, if he really did have ill-intentions, the tree spirit could easily wipe out their whole party like its doing to the ants. Even a newly ascended Transcendent would have trouble dealing with the wrath of an elder tree, let alone one that is at the peak of its ss.

    Leon had some hidden concerns when he attempted establishingmunication with the elder tree but seeing the innocent child-like appearance of the tree spirit, his worries were washed away.

    The elder tree had relied on absorbing the artificial spirit energy for survival and growth, but it was clear that something was wrong with the energy.

    Leon was worried that the tree spirit would have been corrupted by the foul energy and transformed into an evil tree spirit, but it appeared that his concerns were unnecessary.

    Trees were miraculous existences that could even transform human waste into something useful. Although it wasn''t pure and incorruptible, it wouldn''t be that easy to corrupt it like one cannot simply determine whether a child would be good or evil at birth.

    Sensing no malice from Leon, the tree spirit circled around Leon and studied him curiously.

    "Can you understand me?"

    Leon spoke in the humannguage. However, the tree spirit did not understand his humannguage and simple tilt its head with "???" over its head.

    Leon expected as much and initiated a simpler way ofmunication. He pointed outside the elder tree and began making request gestures of "bound men", "roots", "release" and "please."

    The tree spirit contemted for a moment. As if to affirm that it understood him, it uttered, "Rao!"

    "Thank you."

    Leon smiled, but it froze shortly after. The tree spirit seemed to have misunderstood his meaning and caught his main body with its binds. Leon''s main body became rooted like his two pce guards.

    "Pft, is this your way ofmunicating with the elder tree? It certainly is unique¡­" Lilith had evaded the roots when it happened and looked at Leon''s amusedly. She failed to guard his body, but she wasn''t sorry at all.

    "Rao?"

    The tree spirit gazed at Leon with a questioning look. It seemed to imply, "Is this what you wanted?"

    Leon didn''t know whether tough or cry. Of course, that was not what he wanted!

    "No!"

    Leon had a distressed look as he reattemptedmunication. But no matter what gesture he made; the tree spirit did not unbind him. Theck of progress made him depressed. He did not want his main body to have stuck him this¡­

    The tree spirit seemed to have felt his distress and felt guilty like it had done something wrong. Since it''s birth, it had always been attacked by insects that went after its only means of survival.

    It happened so frequently over the long years that its roots and developed its own self-defense mechanism to retaliate on instinct. It was rare for it to have friendly visitors.

    The bindings on Leon''s body was slowly released and Leon thanked it profusely. It sensed Leon''s joyous mood and also felt its own mood being uplifted.

    Leon did not make any further gestures tomunicate with the tree spirit recklessly, lest he incurs more disaster upon himself. There had to be another way.

    Leon pondered the issue ofmunication, but he had forgotten one method he had yet to use.

    "Can you understand me now?"

    Leon carefully said in the ancientnguage. The tree spirit seemed to have been surprised and nodded excitedly. "Rao!"

    Leon heaved a sigh of relief and continued, "Can you released my two men outside?"

    The tree spirit contemted his words carefully but ultimately shook its head with a reluctant expression. The tree spirit seemed bent on using his pce guards to produce fertilizers for itself.

    Leon smiled wryly and returned his senses back to his body, before attempting to negotiate with the tree spirit. The tree spirit followed him and projected itself outside of the elder tree when Leon pulled out a single healing pill.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the situation was growing restless in the Crawford Kingdom.

    To the west, the number of berserk beasts attacking the wall had been steadily increasing, with a few researchers falling under the same state being exposed to an unknown substance found inside the carcasses of the berserk beasts after they were dissected for study.

    At the same time, there was an increasing number of troop movements along the Crawford-Durham borders and Crawford-Vran borders. Such movements were startling news to the Crawford Kingdom since they already learned that the royalties of their neighboring kingdoms had long be puppet rulers for the sects.

    After learning the news, Heinrich spared no efforts to close the borders and relocate troops from both the southern and western garrisons to strengthen their border defenses.

    The situation of the Wilnds had always been filled with uncertainties. This was even more so without the airships to scout thend ahead of them. As such, an abnormal amount of reserve troops had always been stationed nearby in case of any unexpected changes.

    However, since these reserve troops got relocated to strengthen the eastern borders, the main garrisons of the western frontier had a sense of vulnerability and uneasiness considering the recent events with the appearance of berserk beasts in the west.

    The only person within the western frontier that remained calm about the situation was the general marquis. Regarding this issue, Hendrick only needed to utter four words to quell all the uneasiness in his soldiers.

    "I am still here!"

    These four words may be simple, but it carried weight and conviction of the general marquis. Towards the people and soldiers, Hendrick was a hero and a symbol of hope due to his long years of sessful service in safeguarding the Great Wall and campaigns against the Wilnds. The soldiers were able to firmly believe that everything in the west will be fine as long as the general marquis was with them.

    Back at the Capital, Elizabeth was seen pacing back and forth in front of Heinrich''s study over an entirely different matter unrted to the current problems the kingdom was facing.

    While the people became concerned about the possibility of war being upon them, Elizabeth was concerned for her son. Although she believed in her son''s capabilities, she still had a reason to be worried as a mother.

    The hunting team was scheduled to return after a week at thetest, but even after a week had passed, the hunting team had not returned. There''s no way she wouldn''t be worried. Something must have happened in the underground.

    If not for the great responsibilities bearing down on her and her husband, they would have both left the pce to look for their son.

    "Sigh, you shouldn''t have let our son go with the hunting team, Beth. I knew we shouldn''t have let him go." Heinrich sighed mncholically. He had yet to spend any quality time with this son of his.

    Elizabeth raised her eyebrow and said, "Are you ming me, Richie? Even if I was against it, I can''t stop my son from doing what he wants to do. Does it even make sense that after being separated for 17 years, we can juste back into his life and impose our will on him? Even if our son epts us, do you think that''s fair for our son?"

    "Instead of pointing fingers, how about you figure out a way to save our son and manage the kingdom at the same time? Hmph, hmph! Also, it''s been a week and you''ve only reached the one-star level. Even the guards train faster than you, let alone my daughters-inw!"

    "I¡­ Yes¡­" Heinrich became tongue-tied by his wife''s barrage of unreasonable words. In the end, all he could only answer obediently. He was afraid of his own wife.

    But how can he be med for his slow progress? Ever since he woke up, he had a whole pile of work dumped on him. Not only does he have to worry about the new problems propping up, but he also had to fix the old lingering ones caused by his wife massacring all his officials. The number of existing problems was enough to give him a headache. Where would he find the time to cultivate in peace?

    "Haiz¡­"

    Heinrich issued a long sigh¡­ He had an impulse to just wash his hand of these matters by banging his head and go back into aa. He really wanted to ask his wife, "Why did you only wake me up now?"

 Chapter 201 - Nothing To Teach

    <h4>Chapter 201 - Nothing To Teach</h4>

    Ugh¡­ Let me think."

    Heinrich rubbed his sore temples, before attempting to sort out his thoughts. If he had time, any problem could be resolved. However, the main problem was that his enemies did not give them this time. He could only shelve aside the other matters and focus on the major problems in front of them.

    Up until now, they had suffered sneak attacks on their railways, buildings and even a few nobles had been assassinated. The enemy''s movements were unpredictable, and their goals could not be determined.

    Heinrich couldn''tprehend what the two sects wanted. Was it resources they were after? Secret techniques? Or rather the entire kingdom?

    Heinrich was a conservative ruler and believed that if he could figure out what these sects wanted, they could negotiate a solution and avoid bloodshed. Human lives were precious, and they shouldn''t be wasted on infighting.

    Elizabeth shook her head as she vaguely understood what Heinrich was thinking. Her husband was too soft and gentle. It was also the reason why she fell in love with him. He was neither overbearing nor haughty and was very approachable.

    During peaceful times, he would have been a great ruler, loved by the people, but now was not those times. What they needed now was not a soft ruler, but a decisive and ruthless one.

    Those fools have simply forgotten the type of horrors and devastation the beast could bring upon them in pursuit of their own self-interest.

    She nced upon a sheet of reports on Heinrich''s study table and picked them up for her own perusal.

    "Are these the information provided by the three merchant associations?" She asked.

    Heinrich threw a passing nce at the papers in his wife''s hand and nodded, "En, including our own kingdom, those papers include all the suspicious movements founded and a record of ongoing activities within Durham and Vran. They¡­"

    "I know. I can read."

    Heinrich immediately mummed when he saw his wife frowned. He looked at his wife cautiously with a questioning look that implied, ''If you know then why you asked?''

    Elizabeth rolled her eyes when her husband failed to understand the meaning of her question.

    "I''m asking if they can be trusted."

    In the report, the merchant associations listed many border activities, including amassingrge amounts of troops and supplies of rations, weapons, and equipment. This was a clear indication of war preparation.

    If a full-blown war truly broke out between the three kingdoms; Crawford, Durham and Vran, all sides were bound to suffer devastating losses that may take years, even decades to recuperate. There were no winners in arge-scale war except war merchant, who couldn''t wait to exploit them.

    Not only do they not suffer losses during the war, but they also gain immense profit and fuel the war by selling war supplies.

    This was why Elizabeth doubted the authenticity of the information provided by merchants. They didn''t want a war, but merchants do.

    Although Elizabeth didn''t believe the merchant associations had enough courage to tantly sell them false information, they could be withholding important information in order to guide the direction in their favor to start a war.

    "Ah¡­ So that was what you meant." Heinrich finally understood and began to exin, "Naturally they cannot be fully trusted, but right now, our own intelligencework is still in its infancy stage. If we want to understand the state of Durham and Vran, we have no choice but to rely on the widespreadwork of the merchants."

    Seeing Elizabeth''s frown, Heinrich continued, "Rx. Sessful merchants put great emphasis on their trust to continue their business. They would not sell us false information nor mislead us so long as we provide them with sufficient benefits."

    Elizabeth continued to frown, but she nodded to show she understood it well enough. Although she didn''t like relying on people who haven''t made their allegiance clear, they had no other choice. She issued a long sigh, before she said, "So what good ns to do you have, my dear husband?"

    Heinrich felt a chill and his brain began overclocking, but he still could note up with a good solution to deal with both the border matters and their son. Since that''s the case then¡­

    "Ahem, since you believe our son is very capable, we have to continue believing that he will be able to make it back to the surface on his own. However, the border situation cannot wait. If the other kingdoms truly decide to wage a war, we must be ready for it and this cannot be done without a strong leader at the helm of the border defense¡­"

    As Heinrich said this, he sneakily peeked at his wife. Elizabeth seemed to have understood his meaning as she nodded with a heavy feeling. The soldiers won''t be able to defend themselves in the face of truly strong awakeners. However, it was a different story if a Transcendent had their backs.

    "I will go guard our eastern borders. I will also be taking Aria and Lynne with me. They had just recently finished consolidating their cultivation. If battle breaks out, I believe it will provide them with valuable experience. I can also teach them some sword arts while they are there with me." Elizabeth said.

    "Haiz¡­ I don''t really want you to go but it seems we can only do that. Thankfully we still have Uncle Don to protect the Capital, while you are gone to guard the eastern borders." Heinrich sighed and said guiltily. "Oh right, what has Uncle Don been up to? He should still be in the Capital, right?"

    "Senior Don¡­ Ever since he came back from the underground, he''s been washing himself three times a day and indulging himself in high-end food and drinks in the Upper Districts."

    "Is that so¡­?" Heinrich was surprised. He assumed the Grandmaster Don would be in his usual pill room testing out ''new recipes'', but it seems something had changed in the old man.

    Although, he heard about the details briefly, he presumed that only those who have undergone the same experience would understand the old man''s pains. Being trapped in the underground must''ve left him with an unforgettable experience.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Don was hiding within his own room. He was not indulging himself like Elizabeth had mentioned. That may have been the case two days ago, but not anymore. He was now hiding from someone.

    Two days ago, he had bumped into a brat, who imed himself to be the prince''s alchemy disciple.

    Normally, he would have ignored the nonsense. After all, he held a very grand status. All sorts of people tried to meet him every day when he is in the Upper District. However, the brat managed to catch his attention with ''the prince''s alchemy disciple.'' With a few inquiries, he was able to validate this statement and allowed the brat to meet him.

    He was curious why the brat wanted to meet him, but as it turns out, the brat wanted to learn alchemy from him. He was confused by this. With the prince as his master, why would the brat want to learn alchemy from him?

    The answer soon dawned upon him when the brat asked excitedly, "Grandmaster Don is the number one alchemist in the kingdom. The prince was taught by you, right? Can I also receive some guidance from the Grandmaster?"

    In order to save face and not betray those expectant eyes, he had shamelessly admitted it. However, that was also the start of his dilemma. He had thought that even if the brat was Leon''s alchemy disciple, the brat shouldn''t be that advanced in his alchemy attainments.

    There should be plenty of areas in alchemy he could guide the brat, right? But no, he was gravely mistaken.

    After Leon transmitted his knowledge to Reginald, his alchemy knowledge became on par with the grandmaster. He only needs to practice and absorb all that knowledge to be a qualified Tier-3 Grandmaster Alchemist.

    Don had made the instinctive decision to escape when he realized he had nothing to teach the brat. Why would he stay and embarrass himself? However, the brat was like the bubblegum that sticks to one''s shoes, annoying and hard to get rid of.

    The brat wouldn''t leave him be and followed him all the way back to the pce. The pce guards were aware of Reginald''s status and did not bar his path. After all, he was rescued by them and had been staying in one of the guest courtyards for some time.

    As such, it had led to the current situation of him hiding from the brat.

    "Grandmaster Don, please open up! I truly wish to learn alchemy from you!" Reginald shouted from outside.

    "Go away! The grandmaster is not here!" Don shouted back from inside his room.

    "¡­"

    Reginald was momentarily speechless.

    "Please, Grandmaster Don, I know you''re in there! I sincerely wish to learn from you! Aren''t you my master''s master? That would make me your grand disciple! Why won''t you spare me some guidance in the way of alchemy?" Reginald persisted stubbornly.

    Don flushed with embarrassment when he heard this. The evil we bring upon ourselves were the hardest to bear. He shouldn''t have im credit for other people''s attainment in alchemy. That boy, Leon was a monster and even the disciple he teaches was a little monster. They were both abnormal!

    "Fuck off! I have nothing to teach you!"

 Chapter 202 - A Different Kind Of Ant

    <h4>Chapter 202 - A Different Kind Of Ant</h4>

    The healing pill Leon pulled out from his Worldspace was just one of many tier-1 spirit pills he had in his inventory. There were also tier-2 and a few tier-3 spirit pills he had refined in his spare time when managing the herbal garden.

    To an unknowledgeable person, the healing pill wouldn''t elicit any reaction from them unless they were explicitly informed of its name and usage, however, it was a different case for the elder tree.

    The tree spirit reacted strongly to the healing pill the moment it appeared by uttering a cry of excitement.

    As a nt brimming with wood elements, nothing was more sensitive to the wood element and its properties than the nts themselves. It instinctively knew that the healing pill was beneficial to it, no matter how minor the effect was.

    The tree spirit wanted to snatch the healing pill from Leon''s hand right away, but it resisted the urge as it was afraid of upsetting Leon like a child waiting for permission before it could eat the candy offered to it.

    Leon smiled and tossed the pill to the tree spirit.

    The tree spirit reacted immediately. It caught the pill by impaling it with the tips of its tree root. Once caught, the pill was absorbed and disappeared within the blink of an eye.

    Leon''s action naturally caught the other''s attention as they saw the tree spirit appearing from inside the elder tree in its spirit form.

    It happened within an instance, but everyone saw how the pill shriveled before it disappeared into the tree roots. They felt a certain chill when they thought would happen to them if these tree roots impaled them instead.

    They felt weak in the knees at the thought of having all their body fluids sucked dry and transforming into a shriveled bag of bones in an instant. This tree was very dangerous!

    While the pce guards stared on in horror, the child-like tree spirit screamed with delight.

    "What did you give it? Why does it seem so euphoric?" Lilith asked curiously. The pill didn''t seem like anything special.

    "Just a normal tier-1 spirit pill for healing. It is feeling relieved."

    Leon wore a nonchnt expression as he continues to study the tree spirit. At the same time, Lilith''s expression turned weird when she heard this.

    "A healing pill used by humans also works on trees?" ncing back at the ongoing battlefield, the roots didn''t seem to have gotten any better and were even getting worse from the continued umtion of damage caused by the dauntless sea of ants. "I don''t think it did anything."

    "Although the efficacy of the healing pill is negligible to an enormity like the elder tree and doesn''t help it recover much from the ant''s harassment, the efficacy still provides some minor soothing effect to elevate its pain," Leon exined.

    Perhaps, because Lilith didn''t have much knowledge on nts or she never interacted with sentient spirit nts before, she continues to wear a dumbfounded look, while thinking, ''nts can feel pain?''

    Seeing she wasn''t understanding, Leon patiently continued to exin, "Naturally, the elder tree like any other nts, also feel pain when they get hurt. The only difference is they don''t have a nervous system like us and feels pain quite differently. Their tolerance of pain is also much greater due to this."

    Lilith widened her eyes as if she had been enlightened, but at the same time, she wished she didn''t. She paled at the thought of people uprooting spirit nts and herbs while unaware that its spirits were screaming in agony and begging for mercy. She felt horrible once she thought that while looking at the adorable tree spirit.

    They say women are weak against cute things¡­ Leon smiled and shook his head.

    "Rx, they can only feel it after gaining sentience. Before that, they are just semi-sentient and won''t be able to feel it¡­" As if reading her thought, Leon said.

    "Or they do feel it, but they are unable to react to it," Leon added evilly to tease.

    Lilith''s expression turned ugly at once. She did not feel better after hearing that. "Is that true!?"

    "Hahaha¡­"

    Leon did not exin himself and justughed it off.

    After the tree spirit finished savoring thest trace of the pill, it began eyeing Leon with a pleading expression, begging him to give it more pills.

    Leon pointed at his bound men and said in the ancientnguage, "Free them."

    Under the group''s startled expression, the tree spirit nced at the two men then back at Leon. It shook its head and raised up two fingers with a firm expression.

    "Darn brat, even know how to negotiate, huh? Two more healing pills to free my own men¡­ fair enough."

    Leon fished out another 2 tier-1 healing pills and was prepared to toss it to the tree spirit, but the tree spirit wore a sulky expression and shook its two fingers. "Rao!"

    "Not 2? You want 20?" Leon was taken aback, before asking doubtfully.

    The tree spirit nodded.

    "Oi, oi, your appetite is not small. Greedy little thing¡­ Ahem, not little." Leon corrected himself. If the elder tree was small, then nothing was big. "Fine, 20 it is. You have a deal."

    Whether it was 2 or 20, Leon didn''t care much. He could refine as many tier-1 healing pills as he wants. His tier-1 spirit herbs were growing in abundance.

    Seeing how readily Leon epted, the tree spirit became skeptical whether its asking price was too low. It instantly changed its mind and made a firm decision.

    "Rao!"

    Leon froze when the tree spirit suddenly cried out before his eyes gradually widened at the five fingers raised by the tree spirit.

    Mother fucker¡­ Are you kidding me? They came to an agreement, but it went back on its word and increased the price. Does it think he was a pushover just because he readily agrees to its previous price? How was this a negotiation? This was daylight robbery!

    "Forget it, you can keep my two men."

    Leon waved his hand and stowed away the pills.

    The tree spirit panicked and immediately released Damir and Lutheran from their bindings without the payment. It regretted being too greedy, causing Leon to call the deal off. It began looking at him with an imploring expression.

    "Hmph," Leon grunted to show his annoyance.

    Seeing it had no effect, it turned its eyes to Lilith, hoping she pleaded on its behalf. It even brought over one of its damaged roots to show her and appeared very pitiful. "Raoo¡­"

    Being weak to cute things, Lilith''s heart instantly melted. She turned to Leon asked, "Um, can you help it, Leon? Look how pitiful it is¡­"

    Looking at this scene, Leon thought it quiteical. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders with a smile, before tossing out the full fifty pills to the tree spirit.

    He was only faking a hard stance to teach the tree spirit how precious the spirit pills were. After all, if it cost so much tier-1 spirit herbs just to free his two men, how would he be able to ask it to share some wood element with himter even if he has tier-3 spirit herbs?

    Leon began to question if the tree spirit met anyone before them. It showed the na?ve mentality of a 5yr old, but it was surprisingly crafty.

    The 50 pills were quickly gobbled by the roots of the elder tree and contrary to the first time, the damaged root looked like it had been watered by the spring of life as it recovered at a visible rate.

    The pills only manage to recover a single tree root, but it was brimming with vitality as it rejoined the battlefield, slightly changing the tide in the elder tree''s favor.

    "Look! The ants are retreating! They must have given up!"

    A pce guard suddenly pointed out. The others nced over and also noticed this sudden change. The ants seemed to have received some sort ofmand that resulted in the battle ending prematurely.

    Leon frowned as he thought it wasn''t as simple as the pce guard had said. He asked the tree spirit, "Do the ants usually end their attack this quickly?"

    The tree spirit shook its head. It got harassed all the time, but none ended this quickly.

    Leon frown deepened. He felt that he was at the center of this sudden change. By supplying the tree spirit with recovery pills, he had broken the bnce of the battle. However, the ants reacted too quickly and decisively to cut their losses¡­

    "What is that thing!?"

    Another pce guard eximed horrifically and interrupted Leon''s thoughts.

    In the distant edges of the open space not far from the crevice they enter from, an unknown creature was seen standing on a nearby cliff proudly and overseeing the ant''s retreat.

    Everyone felt a piercing chill when the creatureid its cold eyes upon. They instinctively knew that this creature wasn''t something the current them had any hopes of defeating. It was possibly at the Transcendent level.

    With Leon''s superior vision, he could make out the creature''s appearance in great detail. The creature greatly resembled the ants, but at the same time, it was different.

    Unlike the low-ss soldier ants that crawled on all six legs, this one stood on two and only had another two limbs as its arm. A mutated variant? Or an evolved specie? It was humanoid, but it retained its distinctive ck shell exoskeleton.

    A powerful and dangerous aura was emitted by it, while its cold eyes flickered with great intelligence as it had its gaze locked onto Leon.

    To Leon''s knowledge, an ant like this had never existed before. It did not seem like the ant queen, but its standing didn''t seem inferior to one either as all the ants seemed to obey it. Behind the humanoid ant, there were also another two ants of simr simr figures but less powerful.

    Leon''s expression turned grim when he realized that they had been marked and they could possibly lose their lives if they leave the protection of the elder tree.

 Chapter 203 - A Way To The Top

    <h4>Chapter 203 - A Way To The Top</h4>

    The humanoid ant gave the group onest nced before it left with the receding army of ants. The group fell on their bottoms after the humanoid ant disappeared from their field of vision.

    "That was too scary. This pressure was so much more overbearing and menacing than her Majesty. I feel like I was staring into death itself."

    "Right? I felt the same way. With such a powerful presence down here, it''s no wonder that the spider queen and her underlings only stay on the first floor instead of making this ce their nest."

    "Did anyone notice the two figures behind that humanoid ant? It wasn''t as menacing, but I felt like it was still more powerful than her Majesty."

    "Oi, oi, even if you are joking, that isn''t something you say. How can you talk down on our own ruler? Are you forgetting his highness is still with us?"

    "Ah, right, right. I''m very sorry, your Highness. I hope you are not offended." The pce guard apologized.

    Leon waved it off as he paid no heed to the drivels of the pce guards. It was expected for everyone to be on edge after encountering such a horrifying existence. Not only was its aura extremely powerful, but its killing intent was even more so.

    God knows how much lives must have been taken to emit such a strong killing intent. The underground was much moreplicated than he had anticipated.

    "Does no one have anything to say about that ''humanoid'' ant''s appearance? How is that still an ant? It was standing on two legs for god''s sake!" A pce guard calmed his nerves, before voicing his doubts.

    "That''s also true. I only saw four limbs. Everyone had at least studied [The Encyclopedia of Insects], right? Even among variations of ants, they have always had 6 legs."

    "Oh please, why bother bringing up [The Encyclopedia of Insects]? It is only meant to be used for reference. Have you forgotten what the spider queen that terrorized our Capital look like? Was something like that also recorded in the book?" Another pce guard rolled his eyes.

    The previous pce guard felt awkward and scratched his head in embarrassment.

    "Enough!" Zorbek silenced the group after noticing the prince''s long frown. "Is there a problem, your Highness?"

    "Problem? Big problem. We are in deep sh*t! That thing already marked us. Forget about returning to the surface, I''m afraid it''ll be difficult to keep our lives once we leave the protection of the elder tree." Leon said grimly.

    "T-That is a pretty serious problem¡­ What should we do now?" Zorbek stammered and asked. As the most educated person in the group, perhaps the prince will have a good idea of how to get them out of this predicament.

    However, his hopes were dashed when Leon shook his head and said, "For now, stay within the vicinity and explore the elder tree first. See if we can find anything useful. Also, stay away from that power source. Remember, I can''t save you if you anger the elder tree. It treats that power source as its lifeline."

    "I see¡­ I guess we can only do that¡­ It''s a pity that we didn''t bring our stuff with us, otherwise, we could set up our camp here." Zorbek said disappointedly, before ncing at the tree spirit hovering behind Leon. "By the way, your Highness, what is¡­ that thing? I might have heard wrong, but you weremunicating to it in the ancientnguage, weren''t you?"

    "En, this is the tree spirit of the elder tree. Alright, go search the vicinity now. Make sure to search in groups of at least four." Leonmanded.

    "Ah¡­ yes, right away, your Highness."

    Zorbek obliged incredulously with his doubts unanswered. Why do they have to search in groups of four or more?

    With thest of the ants gone, the elder tree was able to focus on his own self-recovery. Although it was nothingpared to ingesting dozens of tier-1 healing pills, it was still quicker than a human''s natural self-recovery rate.

    Leon did not require to exin himself and return his attention to the tree spirit, whilst lost in thought.

    He came all this way in search of the power source because spirit energy was needed to replicate a working levitation stone, but also, he could use that energy to replenish his divine treasure. But now he found out that energy wasn''t quite what he was looking for, and it was also being monopolized by the elder tree.

    If he wanted the elder tree to give up on the power source than they would have to rece it would something else. Water and sunlight, it can only be one of these two. Water¡­ the amount of ice he could conjure was limited and would be far from enough to satisfy the elder tree. After all, it relied on the power source for survival since he couldn''t get any water or sunlight in this godforsaken ce.

    "Looks like we can only work towards the sunlight¡­ towards the sunlight¡­" Leon mumbled before his eyes lit up.

    It was too dangerous to go back the way they came, but what about upwards? Not only would they be able to stay within the tree''s protection range, but they also have 22 people who could manipte the earth and open a hole to the surface.

    If they make that holerge enough, they could bring down a lot of sunlight for the elder tree to bathe in. The only prerequisite was they had to be able to climb to the top of the elder tree.

    He could simply fly up there, but what about the others?

    Logically, if earth-users can lift the earth with their wills, then there shouldn''t be any reason why they couldn''t simply propel themselves into the skies by standing on the piece of earth they manipte like how his mother manipte metal to induce flight.

    Perhaps, its because the soil from the surface wasn''t hard enough to be used a tform and could easily shatter under the earth-users own weight? Is that why none of the earth-users uses this method?

    Leon felt that this seemed to be the case. It was impractical without precise control like his fire flight ability. If they weren''t careful, they might shatter their own tform due to poor control.

    He also could imagine that even if someone seeded, their tforms could still be shattered and plunge to their deaths if it gets targeted by their enemies.

    However, they wouldn''t have to worry about that here. The ground down here was so dense in earth elements, it was even harder than normal rocks from the surface. It wouldn''t break so easily unless it has been stripped of all its earth elements.

    Leon decided that once the pce guards return from their exploration, they will begin flight practice at once. The ground was filled with cracks. It wouldn''t take long to tear apart a chunk of earth to be used as their tform.

    "What do you n to do now?" Leon suddenly asked Lilith.

    "What do you mean?" Lilith replied with a confused look.

    "You followed me into the underground because you were also looking for that power source, or rather the energy from that power source, right? However, it''s clear that the tree spirit won''t give up the power source so easily, so we must give up on it." Leon continued with a knowing look, thinking it might have something to do with her cultivation.

    Seeing that her intentions were seen through, Lilith shrugged her shoulders and confessed.

    "You''re right, I thought the energy from the power source would be useful for my cultivation, but it seems slightly different from what I had imagined. We seemed to havended ourselves in a dangerous situation. I can only continue following you for a chance of survival."

    As she said this, Lilith rolled her eyes. Was this fe nning to leave her here if she wasn''t nning to continue following them?

    Leon was surprised when he guessed correctly. He was about to continue asking when he and Lilith were forced to freeze.

    The tree spirit didn''t understand the humannguage they two were conversing, but it vaguely understood they were talking about the power source and began to point at them with the tips of its tree roots warily.

    They might have been nice people, but if they were also after its power source then they were still enemies.

    "Woah! Rx, we don''t want your power source!" Leon exined with hands raised in surrender. Lilith mimicked him and did the same.

    "Rao?" The tree spirit looked at him suspiciously.

    "Really!"

    Leon tried to convince it while a drop of sweat dripped from his temples. Those roots were very dangerous! He didn''t want to be a bag of bones.

    "Quick, give it some more of those healing pills." Lilith urged him.

    The tree spirit didn''t point away its root tips until Leon tossed over another healing pill for it to eat. However, it did so reluctantly.

    It had the thought of threatening him for more, but it knew it was wrong to do so. What if the human decides not to give it anymore after that?

    Leon and Lilith both sighed with great relief as they felt like they had just survived a great disaster. The tree spirit had a young mentality, but it was after all an existence that even Transcendents would have a hard time dealing against.

    "Your Highness!"

    Leon shifted his gaze as he heard the pce guard captain calling him. He looked at Zorbek with bafflement and asked, "You''re back already? What''s the matter?"

    "We''ve found a vinery staircase on the other side of the elder tree that leads all the way to the top. I made the decision to report to you first before heading up to investigate."

    "Oh?" Leon was intrigued by this news, before nodding, "You made the right choice. Gather everyone at the foot of the staircase. We will head up together."

    "Yes, Your Highness," Zorbek answered and left.

    Leon nced up with a thoughtful look.

    There wouldn''t by any remnants of the ancient civilization living up there or something like that, right?

 Chapter 204 - Dropped From Above

    <h4>Chapter 204 - Dropped From Above</h4>

    At the foot of the staircase fullyposed of intricately weaved vines, Leon arrived with the Lilith, while the tree spirit tagged along curiously. While waiting for the others to gather, Leon took the time to inspect the staircase.

    At first nce, it was clear that the intricately weaved staircase of vines was not naturally formed, which answered Leon''s previous doubts about the tree spirit. The tree spirit had in fact interacted with people before. Although Leon had yet to confirm if these people were humans, it was clear that they were intelligent beings.

    "These vines don''t seem to be a part of the elder tree. It seems unnatural and mismatched. There aren''t any other vines seen elsewhere around the tree." Lilith remarked.

    "Considering the number of vines needed to weave out this intricate but firm staircase, it could just mean that all the vines had been collected and concentrated here, but no, you''re right. It wasn''t a part of the elder tree."

    "Wasn''t?"

    Lilith picked up the past tense in his words and asked.

    "En, these vines came from other nts, but now it has been integrated and be a part of the elder tree through grafting," Leon exined.

    "Oh¡­ Of course, I-I can tell that much." Lilith said defiantly, showing she already knew what he said. However, it was blown by her following question. "I-It means that someone made it, right?"

    Leon looked at her speechlessly, before answering with a t "Yeah" and shifted his focus upwards, no longer paying attention to her antics. The cluster of swaying crimson leaves made it impossible to see anything within and even makes one nauseous if they stare at it for too long.

    Leon shook his head to get rid of the feeling. Lilith blindly looked up for a while and suffered the same nauseous feeling. "Ah, why do I feel so dizzy from just looking at the leaves swaying?"

    "If you noticed, the staircase blends well with the stump of the elder tree and there''s also supposed to be an opening entrance created for the staircase, but it seems like the staircase just simply disappears into the sea of crimson leaves. This means it''s being concealed, possibly with an illusion formation."

    "Eh? That''s true, no wonder we didn''t notice the staircase from the side we came from, despite the staircase spiraling around the tree and only found out after finding the foot of the staircase." Lilith said in realization, before she asked confusedly, "But what''s an illusion formation?"

    "An illusion formation is¡­ a formation that creates an illusion¡­" Leon said expressionlessly. He didn''t know much about formations; thus, it was the best easy-to-understand exnation he coulde up with.

    But simply put, Illusion formations were the usage of runic knowledge and a medium to induce a specific visual change in its surroundings.

    "Forget that I asked¡­" Lilith was speechless and rolled her eyes. What kind of exnation was that? It was the same as not exining anything.

    Although the base of the elder tree was very wide, it didn''t take long for Zorbek to round up all the pce guards and had everyone assembled before the foot of the staircase.

    "Your Highness, everyone is here." Zorbek greeted.

    Leon returned his greeting with a nod of acknowledgment and carefully instructed, "We will now be heading up to check out the treetop. Chances are there may be a group of intelligent beings up there. They may be hostile to us, or they may not be. However, you are not to attack them unless they attack first. Is that understood!?"

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The group answered firmly. They heard him loud and clear.

    "Alright, Let''s head¡ª"

    At the forefront of the group, Leon was about to finish his words to head up, when he heard a sudden plop sound beside them. The pce guards also followed his gaze to see a sttered mixture of white and green gooey substance that had not been there a moment ago.

    While the group scrutinized their eyes to understand what it was, one of the pce guards felt like his helmet was struck by something as he staggered.

    "Ugh, what the hell is this?" Scott said with bewilderment as he rubbed the spot he was struck and found it to be of simr substance to the one found on the ground.

    "What is it, Scott?" Zorbek questioned.

    "I''m not sure, Captain." The bewildered Scott brought the gooey substance closer for a whiff, before he said, "It doesn''t have any distinctive smell that I know of, but it''s not unpleasant."

    "Pft."

    Lilith tittered and shuffled a few steps back, drawing her distance from Scott, but at the same time, drew the attention of others. They looked at her suspiciously while she was trying to keep a straight face.

    "You seem to know what that is?" Leon asked.

    "Well¡­ I''m not exactly certain, but it does resemble the poop of bird species¡­ Hahaha." Lilith could no longer hold it and giggled after her exnation.

    Scott''s face immediately turned green when he heard this. And to think he said it wasn''t unpleasant¡­

    "Bleurgh¡­"

    Scott began retching.

    "Holy Sh*t! Thank god, I wasn''t the unlucky one. Hahaha¡­" Willyughed as he took pleasure in Scott''s misfortune.

    "Holy sh*t? It dropped from above and it''s also pretty white. Holy sh*t seems like quite the appropriate description¡­ Hahaha¡­"

    "How did you evene up with that? I can''t¡­ I just can''t¡­ Hahaha¡­"

    "Hahahaha."

    The others joined him and alsoughed, while Scott began to look at the prince with a pitiful expression.

    "Your Highness, Can you¡ª"

    "Stop! You better keep your distance from me." Leon cut him off immediately while backing off, afraid that the pce guard might smudge him with the bird poo-like substance.

    He understood what the pce guard wanted and conjured a block of ice for the pce guard to clean himself after melting the ice and poured it into the helm the pce guard took off to be used as the bucket.

    There was once a popr saying back in the old days before the Cataclysm, that one should not stand under a tree. Scott finally understood why after experiencing it firsthand.

    ¡­

    After the group reorganized themselves into position, they were ready to head up the staircase.

    The staircase was wide enough to allow three people walking side by sidefortably, but there was no railing to protect them from the fall in the case of a misstep. Considering the height of the tree, it was enough for them to plunge to their deaths.

    For safety''s sake, Zorbek suggested for the group to head up in single files.

    "Watch your steps." Leon reminded as they set off.

    Without suspense, the group made it up to the halfway point of 750fts, before the staircase disappears into the sea of crimson leaves. At this height, even if their bodies been strengthened by their cultivation base, it was enough for them to plunge to their deaths if they were not careful.

    A heavy mood surrounded the group as they made it up to this point. Everyone had an instinctive fear. Some learn to ovee it, some don''t.

    None of the pce guards were considered cowards, considering they made it this far in the underground. However, even then, they could still feel the pressure brought by the asional chilly breeze that was like a sharp knife chiseling down their willpower and tingling their senses.

    They were under the illusion that if a stronger breezees, they would be swept off their feet and plunge to their deaths. Such thought made their feet feel increasingly heavier, the further they progressed up the staircase path.

    Perhaps, because of his own confidence in his flight ability, he wasn''t feeling the same pressure as the group, but even so, he was able to notice something wrong from Lilith''s nervous and strained expression behind him.

    "Of all the people here, I was expecting you to be the least afraid of height." Leon chuckled as he watched her shake in fear from the height.

    "That was when I could still fly. Do I look like I can still fly?" Lilith rolled her eyes angrily and tried to stomp his foot, but she ended up tripping due to her nervousness. "Ah!"

    "Careful!"

    Leon grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to safety just as she was about to fall off. Lilith felt like she just took a dip in hell and came back, and she broke into cold sweats.

    "This was all your fault! I was doing fine until now!" Lilith pouted angrily.

    "Sorry!" Leon apologized wryly before his face turned stern and warned everyone with assuring tone, "Everyone, calm down! I suspected that there is bewildering formation messing with our senses to amplify our instinctive fear of heights! Don''t be fooled by it! If you cling to the tree and steer clear from the edges, you will be fine!"

    "Y-Yes, Your Highness!"

    Leon hadn''t expected there to be another formation. However, considering he was already aware of the illusory formation concealing the top, he should have realized the possibility of other existing formations in ce. An illusory formation tricks one''s vision but not their mind. It wouldn''t make them dizzy unless there was another formation. That was his mistake!

    Who knew that the tree was riddled with formations and it would be so difficult to climb?

    Fortunately, they had only encountered so far were only support-type formations and not an attack-type formation.

    At the same time, Leon''s curiosity grew as he doubted that these were all naturally formed formations. It was most likely set up by intelligent beings.

    Considering the formations required a deep understanding of runic knowledge, could the intelligent beings be survivors from the ancient civilization?

    However, Leon was baffled when he arrived at that thought because if they were, their poop shouldn''t be greenish-white, should it?

 Chapter 205 - Dont Attack!

    <h4>Chapter 205 - Don''t Attack!</h4>

    Looking at the mental state of his men, Leon shook his head with a sense of helplessness. Although he had given his exnation, it did not help resolve the current situation. Knowing the problem and solving it were two different matters entirely.

    Even if the group knew the hidden formation was causing them problems, if they cannot identify the source and defend against it, then it did not make much difference from not knowing.

    "We will take a break here. Sit down, steady your minds and do your best to resist being influenced by fear." Leon told the group as he scrunched his brows together and worked his brain to think of a solution.

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    Everyone took their seat on the staircase of vines and leaned against the stump of the elder tree.

    While he could keep going without the group, he did not know what dangers lie at the top and may not be able to face it alone. Considering their predicament, he might have to reconsider their current course of action.

    It was clear that these formations exist to stop others from reaching the top, but by forcing their way forward, they are intruding upon the intelligent beings'' territory and may not be weed kindly.

    However, they didn''t have any other choice but to brave the unknown. They were already marked by that powerful creature, who hadmand over the ants. It was impossible to go back the way they came.

    Since they have no choice but to press onwards, Leon began pondering the bewildering formation. He guessed it was a bewildering formation because it was affecting the minds of the group.

    Leon also faintly guessed that he wasn''t affected because the level of the formation was too low to invade his mind and had nothing to do with his mental fortitude. His abundant mental energy acted as a natural barrier that guarded his mind for the bewildering effects.

    If he wasn''t a Divine state practitioner in his past life and didn''t strengthen his soul with a Soul Enhancing Pill, he would''ve most likely sumbed to the same fate as the others.

    Leon''s brows creased together tightly as he pondered harder. The bewildering formation affected their minds, but how was it doing so?

    Formations required a medium to form the runes that would invoke the desired effect. Typically, Formation Masters would carve it on formations tes as they were portable and easy to use. The only limitation of formation tes is its scale.

    Although it was possible for formation tes to generate arge-scale effect, it had a very high demand for energy and grade of material used in the construction of the formation te. Considering the scale of the bewilder formation''s effect, Leon directly ruled out the possibility of a formation te being hidden somewhere. Only a wastrel would use high-grade formation tes to invoke a low-level formation.

    Since it wasn''t a formation te, it can only be a natural formation.

    Natural formations are when the environment bes the medium for the formation itself. It can either be formed by nature itself or under the specific arrangements of a Formation Master.

    But generally, chances of finding a formation naturally formed by nature is much harder than finding a needle in a haystack blindfolded. Also, one would have to be careful not to be pricked by it after finding it.

    Leon extended his senses to the atmospheric surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary could be spotted except the ant holes, crevices, and passageways in the distant edges. Closing his eyes, he could only hear the haggard breathing of the group, the swaying crimson leaves of the elder trees and the asional rustles of the wind from the four directions.

    Leon''s eyes suddenly snapped open and narrowed in on the ant holes and crevices that produces the rustling wind. Most likely, some of these entrances were part of therge-scale formation, or they formed sets of smaller formations that link or resonate together to create arge one.

    Leon did not know much about formations. What he knew was only general knowledge. It was impossible for him to find out which ones were part of the formation and destroy it, but nor does he need to.

    Destroying these openings only would anger the person who set it up, but also it required them to leave the protection range of the elder tree. It was both unwise and dangerous. No one knows if the ants were lurking in the darkness of these openings waiting to assault them.

    He only needs to understand how the formation was affecting the group''s mind and provide a preventative solution to it.

    "I see."

    Leon''s eyes soon shed with enlightenment as he figured out the source of the problem, sound. The problem lies within the rhythmic sound created by the rustling wind traveling towards the elder tree in the center through these open entrances.

    "Everyone, block your ears."

    Among the five senses, the only sound could prate a person''s mind easily and resonate with a person''s soul when left unguarded. It was subtle, but there was a certain low frequency within the rustling of wind that possibly induced their anxiety, fear, and dread.

    The group immediatelyplied and blocked their ears with both hands, before steadying their breathing.

    Ba-dump, Ba-dump¡­ Ba-dump¡­

    Their quickened heartbeat began to reduce its tempo, which confirmed the effectiveness of the method as everyone was able to regain their calmness after a short period.

    Seeing everyone had finished regaining theirposure, Leon said, "Let us continue then." But after taking a few steps, he did not hear any following footsteps behind him.

    Turning around, everyone had blocked their ears so tightly, they simply didn''t hear him. Leon waved his hand in front of Lilith''s face to catch her attention and gave her the wide-eyed look.

    ''What are you doing? Daydreaming? Let''s go!'' was what Lilith seemed to have derived from his look and became upset.

    "What? I can''t hear you!" Unblocking her ears, Lilith pouted and gave him a nasty look.

    "I said, let''s¡­ go¡­" Leon became speechless. Lilith had quickly blocked her ears again and overtook his lead before he could even finish speaking. He could only shake his head wryly and turn to the rest.

    He signaled the group to keep going and received quick responses in return from Zorbek and a few others who could see him in their field of vision.

    "At least I have the others'' attention." Leon murmured while following behind Lilith.

    If Lilith heard him, she would have rolled her eyes and snorted. "Who''d want the attention of a few smelly men?"

    The group was silent throughout the remaining flight of stairs on their way to the top. Without any further difficulties or any unsuspected surprises, they soon arrived at the end of the staircase.

    Lilith stopped in her tracks as the end of the staircase was walled off by ayer of dense crimson leaves and branches.

    "Why did you stop?" Leon nudged her.

    "Can''t you see that it''s a dead-end?" Lilith said with slight annoyance. What does he want her to do? Walk into it? If she had actually voiced these thoughts, Leon would have responded with one word, "Precisely."

    "Did I say it might be an illusion formation?"

    "Might? You want me to walk forward on a might?" Lilith frowned with doubt and nced at the dead end. "It looks pretty real to me."

    "Looks real, but does it feel real?" Leon chuckled and continued with a smile, "Haven''t you noticed that these crimson leaves to sway like the rest? In fact, it''s as still as a rock."

    Lilith gave Leon a long stare filled with suspicion and doubt. The longer she stared, the more pressured Leon actually felt as his smile bes increasingly forced. Although he was confident in his inference, nothing was correct until it was proven true.

    "Aha! I knew something was up! You are trying to embarrass me, aren''t you?" Lilith said confidently with narrowed eyes when she noticed his forced smile.

    Leon froze for a moment before he erupted inughter. He found her especially cute and funny with the alternation of blocking and uncovering her ears like a careful mouse while they were exchanged words. "Hahaha! You are thinking too much."

    With those words said, he strolled past her and disappeared into the wall of crimson leaves, much to everyone''s surprises.

    On the other side, Leon heaved a big sigh of relief, before quickly inspecting the surrounding. It would have embarrassing if he was incorrect about the illusion formation and made a fool of himself.

    The others made it through the illusion one after the other and became awed by what they saw.

    "This is amazing! Who knew that inside the treetop of the elder tree would be such a beautifullyrge vige?" Lilith eximed with wide eyes as she took the beauty of the vige into her sight.

    "Is this the fabled elven vige in the stories?"

    The others simrly tried to engrave the image into their memory as they had never seen a more beautiful vige. It was aplete contrast to the grim and eerie atmosphere outside. The inside was well lit with a shade of green luminescent light.

    Caw¡­

    The group turned the heads towards the source of the sound, which was made distinctly close to their sides and found a group of grotesque bird-like creatures nestled on branches in half squatting positions staring straight back at them curiously.

    "What the hell is that¡­"

    Willymented.

    Although they were described to be bird-like creatures, other than its form, nothing else about it was bird-like. Its entire body wasposed of a barky wood-like substance with green moss oveying.

    asionally, white-greenish substances dropped from their rears. Looking down, the group was surprised to have a clear view of the ground, unobstructed by the illusion. Even more surprisingly, the gooey substance dropped to the foot of the staircase, where they had been!

    A few dumbfounded stares were directed at Scott, while his face turned green and subconsciously rubbed his helmet to see if it was still stained.

    "Damn birds, how dare you sh*t on me!" Scott stared daggers at the bird-like creatures grudgingly.

    Caw! Caw! Caw!

    Startled, the bird-like creatures began pping its wings and crying. Whether they were capable of the flight was a question for another time.

    Their cries were rming, and many shuffled noises could soon be hearding from the vige, before the group evidently found themselves surrounded, not by the beautiful elven race disappointingly but by small trees with human-like mobility.

    In responses to the wooden spears pointed at them, the pce guards all drew their swords and watched them vignt poses. What are these creatures? Mini treants?

    "Don''t attack!"

    Leon halted the group with one hand while gripping his ck spear with the other. He watched the treants carefully for any sudden movements. He had strictly told the group beforehand that they should not attack unless attacked first.

    Both sides were suddenly caught in a delicate faceoff that could potentially erupt into an all-out conflict at any time with a single misstep. Such a situation was unfavorable for them as they were greatly outnumbered in the hundreds.

    Leon was about to test his luck by attemptingmunication with the other party in the ancientnguage when someone from their own group fired an earthen spike and pierced one of the treant''s head.

    Both sides froze and stared nkly as the impaled treant slowly dropped to the floor, lifeless and deader than dead. Leon''s expression turned ghastly at this moment.

    "Fuck."

 Chapter 206 - End The Battle

    <h4>Chapter 206 - End The Battle</h4>

    "Who shot that earth spike!?" Zorbek roared in anger, but he had no time to look back. They had a bigger problem ahead of them now.

    The pce guards were equally as shocked as they watched the treants nervously. Scott, who stood at the very back, had a dumbfounded expression. Having a clear view of everyone''s actions, he should have seen who fired the earth spike, but he didn''t.

    He wasn''t the one who fired it, but he couldn''t tell who did either. Everyone was an earth-user, but someone who could skillfully sneak such a sizable earth spike with them unnoticed by the entire group had to be in a league of their own.

    If no one couldn''t find the culprit, then the me could easily fall on him. Wait, there was no time to be worrying about that. Scott shook his head of distracting thoughts. In order to worry about it, they must first get out of their present situation alive first.

    Leon had a very terrible look. He didn''t doubt that that the one who struck just now had been the mole within their group. One would naturally assume the mole came for the secrets of the underground. From that, Leon could guess that removing a few watchful eyes would make it easier for them to maneuver secretly within the group.

    However, he had gravely miscalcted by assuming that they wouldn''t risk jeopardizing the entire team''s safety at the most crucial point! Like, why would they? Not only was it difficult to explore the underground alone and return back to the surface after, but they themselves also weren''t free from the danger when they put the entire team in danger.

    Unless they didn''t care about their own lives because there was something more important than their primary objective and it required killing everyone or more specifically, him? That does to be the case.

    Leon didn''t know when he had unwittingly be an element that must be eliminated at all cost in the spy''s eyes, however, his eyes shed with a chilling light at the thought. He sent out his divine sense and covered the entire group and scrutinized them for the slightest trace of suspicious behavior. At the same time, his back remained facing them. No one knew that they were all under Leon''s concentrated observation.

    However, no matter which person he observed, he couldn''t find the culprit and had no further time to deliberate. Battle was imminent. Although it seemed like Leon had taken some time for his thoughts and observation, everything had shed in an instance like time had been slowed.

    Afterward, taking advantage of the remaining time before the treants reacted, Leon took thest chance tomunicate to them in the ancientnguage. However, hisst hope was dashed as the treants remained unmoved as if his words fell on deaf ears.

    "Everyone, prepare for battle!"

    Leon roared and took his stance, while the pce guards covered him and took a defensive stance. In the direst of situations, they still had to protect the prince! They couldn''t allow the prince to bear the brunt of treant''s charge!

    Being in the perimeter, Lilith was also protected at the center with Leon by the pce guards.

    The treants roared with great fury and charged at them from all directions. In a short instance, the two sides shed, and the pce guards all grunted from the strong impact. Their steel armor was greatly dented in a single sh, while the treants didn''t seem to suffer any damage at all as they retreated for a second charge.

    The pce guards widened their eyes with grim surprise and drew in cold breaths. If not for the protection of their armor, their bones would have likely shattered! These bodies of trees weren''t simple beings to be trifled with!

    Despite possessing the body of trees, these treants weren''t brittle and weak like ordinary wood. In fact, they were incredibly tough and resilient like they had been born from the elder tree.

    Were these treants considered the elder tree''s offspring!? Leon quickly nced the tree spirit hovering in the air. He sighed with relief seeing that the tree spirit didn''t express any sort of stance and continue to watch on curiously like the fight had nothing to do with it.

    "Your Highness! These treants are incredibly tough! We won''t be able tost long at this rate!" Zorbek made a hacking sh at one of the treants, but his sword failed to slice apart the treant before him and only left behind a shallow cut.

    Dammit, if they were still on the ground level, they could at least borrow the strength of the earth to help them defend rather than using their own bodies.

    Leon frowned. Their bodies were incredibly tough, but the first one fell so easily when it was struck on the head. Looking carefully, each treant had a green oval-shaped jewel embedded in its crown. These were most likely the crystallization of the treant''s spirit and source of its sentient existence.

    "Aim for green jewel on its head!" Leon quickly instructed.

    The pce guards had already noticed the green jewels at first nce and even suspected it to be the treant''s weakness when the first one was killed. The prince''s instruction only served to strengthen this belief. Their swords were ready for the kill when the treants charged in for a second sh, but it was only easier said than done.

    As the most important part of the treant''s beings, it goes without saying that it would be protected. They wouldn''t be caught off guard a second time now that they viewed all the humans as enemies.

    Simr to the first charge, the treants had covered its crown with both arms in a cross and causing the pce guards to fail and bear the brunt of the second charge. Unlike the first charge, the group didn''t just suffer a mere grunt this time as their faces paled and forced back several steps.

    The second charge caused them much more substantial damage as their armor became even more dented out of shape and they all felt a tightness on their chests like it was being pressed down by a mountain. Some of the weaker pce guards even coughed up blood as their organs churned.

    The group began to despair. They already feel weak after the two shes. Even if theye up with a solution soon, they may not have the strength to carry it out as they pushed back and forced to cluster together with limited space to fight freely.

    "Your Highness, we are going to get crushed at this rate. Please use your fire ability!" Damir requested.

    Leon frowned and nced at the tree spirit. The fire would most likely rm the tree spirit. If it took it the wrong way, then using fire would be the nail in their coffin. However, if he didn''t then they would still get wiped out eventually. There was no other choice.

    Leonmunicated his intention to the tree spirit and hoped for its understanding. He also didn''t hesitate to toss a tier-2 pill to it, before he raised his hand and conjured a fiery ze above. Afterward, he clenched his fist and the fiery ze exploded into scattered fiery arrows that shot at all the treants in their immediate surrounding.

    The treants tried to defend themselves, but the moment the fire arrows contacted their dry bodies, their bodies immediately lit on fire like being fueled oil into the me, very mmable.

    The pce guards stared on in amazement at how effective fire was against these creatures as they broke their formation as they ran chaotically without a fixed direction while trying to put out the fire. The ones that didn''t get hit by fire arrows still ended up catching on fire when they tried to put out the fire on their brethren.

    Dammit, if the prince had done this at the start, would they have been forced to suffer?

    "Take this chance to finish them! Don''t let the fire spread to the elder tree!"

    Leon''s sternmand was like a ssh of cold water as the pce guards became shocked and they no longer med the prince. That''s right! If the elder tree catches on fire then even if the treants don''t kill them, the elder tree definitely will!

    The pce guards all roared and charged into the fray of chaotic burning treants with their swords. The treants couldn''t keep lucid thoughts while they were burning and became easy pickings for the pce guards.

    Leon had quickly returned his attention to the tree spirit after voicing hismand and although the tree spirit had a slight crease in its brows, it didn''t take any attention. Leon was relieved, but then he soon frowned at the chaotic mess the pce guards became.

    It was like they had been fed stimnts and chased after the treants until it was dead. If they keep pushing treants into a corner, things could go south very quickly considering everyone was all spread and alone. The spy could also take advantage of this chaos to slip away.

    As if confirming Leon''s thought, the emerald eyes of the treants began to shine with a tinge of redness as they saw their fallen brethren. A lone pce guard found himself surrounded by burning treants as they pounced him and burnt him alive.

    "Ah! Help me! It burns!"

    The pce guard cried in pain as he failed to shake off the treants that stuck to him like glue. The two closest pce guards rushed over to help but they could do nothing but watch as the person gets burnt underneath.

    Leon had also rushed over to put out the fire with a block of water, but it was toote. When the two pce guards removed the ckened treant bodies away, the pce guard had already drawn hisst breath, marking the first death within their group since the start of their journey.

    "Sh*t!"

    A pce guard punched the ground in anger at his own uselessness. At the same time, the tree spirit nced over with a raised eyebrow. "Rao?"

    Leon exchanged look with it before saying to the pce guard, "Even if you are angry, don''t take it out on the elder tree. Look, it''s staring at you."

    ¡­

    Leon returned his attention to the rest of the situation, before using [Lion''s Roar] to get his message across. "Everyone, stop fighting and regroup!"

    Arge body of water was also summoned and sent it over to the burning treants, which they dived into without hesitation. Leon didn''t intend to wipe out the treants. They were the aggressors and were at fault for bringing a spy to cause this tragedy. But more than that, Leon had noticed a group of smaller treants back at the vige looking over nervously. He didn''t want to deprive them of their parents.

    After the fire was put out, these little treants had run out of their homes towards therger treants. Therger treants shielded them nervously while looking in his direction. Leon wanted to force a smile, but he couldn''t. He didn''t wish for this either and both sides have suffered¡­ Hopefully, with this, the treants would listen to him so they can put an end to the battle.

 Chapter 207 - Elder Evergreen

    <h4>Chapter 207 - Elder Evergreen</h4>

    "Your Highness! Look at this!"

    One of the other two pce guards with him called out. Leon''s gaze was directed and settled onto one of the burnt bodies of the treants, or rather a specific section on their burnt body that had snapped off like weak bark from a tree when they were trying to free the pce guard underneath. However, what lied underneath was not the hard-fibrous substance of nts, but something else entirely.

    "This is¡­ flesh?"

    Leon was startled by the discovery. No wonder, these treants were so smallpared to the ones he knew of in his memory. They were not real treants. That is why the tree spirit didn''t care about their life and death. But if they weren''t real treants then what are they?

    "Your Highness, why did we stop? We should just kill them all. They may not be grateful for the mercy you showed them and may even attack us when they regain their strength and courage." Zorbek said the moment he arrived with the rest of the pce guards in tow.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Take a look at their bodies. These treants may be rted to the ancient civilization and might be able to help us understand history better."

    Zorbek followed the direction of Leon''s gaze andnded on the dead body with exposed flesh. However, Leon didn''t intend to wait for Zorbek''s remark before he continued, "Anyway, we have a bigger problem on our hand that requires immediate attention. Check who is missing."

    Hearing this, Zorbek nodded and put on a stern look, albeit with slight traces of surprise remaining in his eyes. He swept his gaze through the group of pce guards and did a quick count. There were two by Leon''s side, 16 newly arrived, and one dead for a total of 19 pce guards. One was missing from the original 20.

    Zorbek removed the helmet from the dead pce guard, but he was unable to confirm the identity of the deceased. The prince''s me was too strong and didn''t leave them much room to identify the dead pce guard by. Everyone pretty much wore the same items.

    "Lutheran and Damir are missing from the group, Your Highness. Pardon my ipetence for being unable to confirm the identity of the deceased." Zorbek said subserviently.

    "Never mind that." Leon waved his hand and told the group in a cold tone, "Take a look at your fallen brother. This fight was something that could have been avoided. If you find the missing person, treat them as the enemy and apprehend them at once. If they resist, kill them!"

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    Everyone answered with firm determination. The prince didn''t explicitly mention it, but it wasn''t hard to guess that the first attack wasn''t a mistake but a deliberate attack. To think there was a spy among them all this time¡­

    Inwardly, Leon was surprised to hear there two namese up. They were the least suspicious in the group, but upon further thought, being the least suspicious was also the most suspicious in and of itself.

    Lilith nudged him and nonchntly said, "Those tree-people are still looking over here nervously. Perhaps, you should say something to them."

    Leon studied Lilith''s calmplexion before he nodded. However, he didn''t make his way over immediately. The pce guards had trouble breathing with their indented armor. As the only metal-user in the group, he should at least fix their armor.

    Leon executed a high level of control with his metal maniption to return their steel armor to their original shape. It looked almost as good as new, albeit with some white dashes marking the outline of the previous dent.

    Leon had realized that regardless of which element he uses, he would be able to execute a high level of control like his fire maniption. The cumtive strength of his elements relied onprehension and cultivation, but the control of his elements relied on the coordination and mental strength of his mind.

    "All paths lead to the same source huh¡­" Leon murmured.

    When the treants saw Leon making his way over to them, they retreated several steps in fear. Leon smiled guiltily when he saw this and thought these reactions were to be expected. He had literally changed the tide of battle with a single fire attack. Although many survived due to his timely conjuration of water, dozens had still been burnt to a crisp after getting hit by too many fire arrows. Wood simply held zero advantage over fire and only served to fuel it.

    The treants hadn''t suffered such a devastating fire attack before, but it only took one for them to develop an instinctive fear of it. Leon had traumatized them badly, especially the ones that took a direct hit and suffered the burning agony.

    Leon paused his steps some distance away from them and looked at their fearful expressions. If not for the asional flickering signs of intelligence in their eyes, Leon would have doubted that they could understand him. It''s not that they didn''t understand his previous words before the fight, it''s just that they had simply chosen to ignore it.

    However, after getting burned miserably, Leon didn''t doubt that they would at least lend an ear to him now.

    "This fight was not one that we wished for, but one started by a spy that was hidden amongst us. But for the damage and grief, I have inflicted upon your vige, I offer my sincerest condolences for your losses." Leon apologized. To show his sincerity, he performed a 90-degree bow. He was truly regretful for what had transpired. If he had smoked out the rat early, they could have avoided this. Also, his karmic virtue value might have even reduced because of this event.

    The treants exchanged nces and began murmuring among themselves. They were slightly at a loss, and unsure how to react to his apology. Thanks to Leon''s excellent hearing, he was able to pick up what they were whispering.

    "It speaks ournguage. What should we do? Where do these outsiderse from?" A treant woman questioned.

    "They share the spitting appearance of our ancestors. Perhaps, there are still humans dwelling on the surface?" A younger treant expressed her doubt.

    "Surface dwellers? Have you forgotten the teachings passed down by our ancestors? The surface was and of death. No humans can survive there without turning into grotesque monsters. I''m more inclined to believe these fiends had crawled out from the depths of hell. They trespassed into our home and kill our people without warning." A half-burnt male treant harrumphed angrily.

    "En, we can''t listen to their lies, especially that person. He is a wicked being who wields the mes of the devil. Not only are they evil, but they are also cunning! We should fight to ourst breath!" A hotblooded treant expressed his agreement,

    "That''s not right. That person can also conjure the water of life. How can he be evil? The guardian spirit would not have allowed them to venture so far if they were truly evil." An elderly treant frowned. What the elderly treant didn''t know was that their so-called guardian spirit had pretty much been bribed by Leon with his healing pills.

    Leon was bewildered by what he heard. mes of the devil? Water of life? Isn''t that too much of exaggeration? He was only using regr one-star me and water! But no, to these treants that never seen the light of day, it was no exaggeration. Fire gave them hell, and water gave them life.

    The burnt cken parts of the treants could be seen receding at a noticeable speed simply by dipping in the pool of water made by Leon. His water seemed to work wonders like a miracle healing drug on these treants. ''Is it because they never received sunlight and water before?'' Leon doubted.

    The treants continued to discuss among themselves and Leon soon find his patience waning. With a forced smile and asked, "Is a representative among you to whom I can speak with?"

    "What do we do? That fiend looks like it is losing its patience."

    "Is it going to attack again?"

    The treants looked at each other with worry and continued their whisper. But at some point, all them went silent then moment they heard a walking cane tapping the ground.

    "Vige chief."

    They greeted and parted ways for the appearance of a new treant that looked much more imposing and ancient than the rest of them. Leon''s heart shook with each step the treant took towards him as he realized the ancient treant before him, was a Transcendent-level being.

    Sweat oozed from his pores as he felt the pressure of the ancient treant''s gaze that was filled with age and wisdom.

    "Answer me this, human. Did youe from the surface?" The ancient treant sounded like a wizened old man nearing the end of its lifespan.

    "Yes," Leon answered honestly. This was a being they could not afford to offend.

    The ancient treant wanted to refute the human''s answer, but there was no reason to lie in front of its presence. After a shortpse of silence, it asked, "Why have youe?"

    "Originally, to understand the history of a bygone era and use its knowledge to improve humanity. Now, we are trying to find a way back to the surface." Leon answered, beforeing up with a question of his own. "I wonder if Elder can answer my doubts. Are you all survivors from the Nova Empire? And are you a treant or a human?"

    "Neither. We are something that exists in between, born out of necessity for survival due to the harsh living conditions of the underground. To be exact, we are not survivors of the Nova Empire, but their descendants. You may refer to me as Elder Evergreen. I am the eldest of this small vige." The ancient treant said.

    Leon looked at the ancient treant with doubt, suspecting that it might have missed an ''N'' in front of its name. There was nothing green about it and was assuming a withering yellow appearance instead. Knowing it was extremely rude to think as such, Leon quickly banished the thought. He was thankful that the ancient treant seems very amodating and didn''t question him about the ''spy'' because even he doesn''t know what the spy ran off to.

    "Elder Evergreen, dating back, it must have been at least 10,000 years since the fall of the Nova Empire. I''m not sure what the surface was like back then, but it is definitely not and of death anymore." Leon said, but then thought about the Wilnds and added, "At least not the same as before. Have you never thought about returning to the surface?"

    Elder Evergreen looked at Leon deeply, before exining, "It''s not that we have never thought about it, but we can''t even if we wanted to. I don''t know how you made it here, child, but Imend you for it. We are surrounded by powerful predators as you should know. Even contact between viges is impossible."

    ''There were multiple viges?'' Leon''s eyes flickered.

    However, Leon was confused by the elder''s words. Even without confronting the ants, they should be able to return to the surface by burrowing through the earth above. After all, the earth above the elder tree shouldn''t be as hard as the earth at the bottom.

    He was going to continue his questioning, but he noticed that the people on both sides had been feeling very jittery like they were waiting for a verdict that decides their life and death. "Elder Evergreen, I would like to continue our talk, but we should probably give our people a peace of mind first, right?"

    Elder Evergreen nodded.

    "Mm, indeed, we should figure out how we should resolve the conflict between our two sides first. It is rare for us to have intelligent visitors who can speak ournguage. For that, I would like to wee you all to stay and talk more. However, that''s not possible until you provide an answer that can satisfy me or prove your im on the spy to my fellow vigers. After all, they don''t believe you and their anger is not easily abated by words alone. So, do you have an answer that can abate their anger?"

    "I don''t know whether I can abate their anger, but I can quench their thirst. As for the spy¡­ I have an idea."

    Leon rubbed his chin while ncing at the tree spirit.

 Chapter 208 - An Unpaid Blood Debt

    <h4>Chapter 208 - An Unpaid Blood Debt</h4>

    As if sensing Leon''s gaze, the tree spirit nced over after it finished savoring thest trace of the tier-2 healing pill like a child would with its candy. "Rao?"

    "I have a favor to ask," Leon said directly.

    "Rao!" The tree spirit uttered without waiting for Leon to say what the favor was. The tree spirit struck an upright and poised standing while facing in a different direction before it reluctantly reached out an open palm in demand while giving Leon a sneaky sideways one-eye nce.

    It did not take long for Leon to guess what it was implying. It was a great elder tree. It will not lower itself to do menial tasks for lesser beings, let alone favors without offerings. There was no free lunch in the world. However, it will reluctantly agree if Leon offered it more healing pills.

    Leon smiled wryly, before asking helplessly, "Oi, oi. I am telling you right now, I don''t have that many pills left, alright? How much do you want in order to help me find the runaway spy?"

    The reason Leon thought the tree spirit would be able to find the spy easily was simple. The whole elder tree belonged to itself, it can understand everything that happens within a certain radius of itself like arge-scale divine sense.

    Leon wouldn''t be fooled by the appearance of the small tree spirit. It was after all the tree spirit of an elder tree at the peak of its growth. The tree spirit only manifested itself to such a small size for easiermunication. If it wanted to, its manifested spirit would be no smaller than the elder tree itself. Looking for someone on its own body wouldn''t even break a sweat, but even so, it was still demanded something for its ''efforts''.

    Leon''s face twitched when the tree spirit raised up five fingers.

    "You want another 50 tier-1 healing pills?" Leon said in a low tone. However, the tree spirit shook its head. It just tasted a tier-2 healing pill, why would it settle for anything lesser?

    "Rao!"

    The tree spirit made several gestures urgently in order to get its message across. Leon sucked in a deep breath and said darkly, "You want 50 tier-2 healing pills for such a small favor? Why don''t you go rob a bank instead!? 5 tier-2 healing pills! Any more than that then you can forget about the deal."

    "Rao!" The tree spirit remained unflinching in the face of his threat to cancel the deal and even looked at him with antagonizing smugness like it was daring him to find the spy on his own. However, it cannot guarantee that it would not y some tricks and make it difficult for him, even if he scours through the entire ce to search for the spy. Also, it was confused about what a bank was, but why would it need to rob a bank when it can rob him instead?

    Leon seemed to have understood its underlying meaning and almost lost his sh*t on the spot. This tree spirit was even more ck-hearted than he was. It had always been him and his mother exploiting others. How can he allow others to exploit him instead? And by a tree, no less.

    Just as Leon was about to explode and call off the deal, the tree spirit quickly made a concession and pointed at the little pool of water that reduced by arge portion after the treants all took a dip in it. Even the supposedly treants that were burnt to death got revived after being tossed into the pool of water. The only ones that didn''t revive were the ones that had their emerald jewel destroyed.

    "You want water like that instead of my healing pills?" Leon calmed himself down and asked.

    The tree spirit answered with a vigorous nod.

    Leon looked tree spirit suspiciously and said in doubt, "From the beginning, the water is what you really wanted, right?"

    "Rao."

    The tree spirit easily admitted abashedly once the question was raised. Leon raised an eyebrow and began looking at the tree spirit differently. The tree spirit might have the mentality of a child, but it was after all a 10,000-year-old tree. One should not look down on it, lest they are in for a reckoning.

    "Fair enough."

    Leon only contemted for a moment, before he agreed. Although the water was also important for hydrating the team and he couldn''t recharge his ice elements quickly in the underground, it could still be done nevertheless due to the presence of elements in the air that could be used in the creation of water, albeit at a slow rate. At leastpared to 50 tier-2 healing pills, his heart would not bleed.

    Leon conjured another body of water of simr size and sent it over to the tree spirit. However, the tree spirit was just a manifested projection of its own spirit and couldn''t absorb the water immediately.

    Some rumbling was heard before a few roots appeared from below and sucked the body of water dry in an instance with its tips. The treants weren''t surprised by the tree roots appearance, but everyone from Leon''s group was very surprised.

    ''The length of the roots is greater than its height huh.'' Leon mused.

    "It''s time for you to honor your side of the deal. Even better if you can bring the spy to me."

    The tree spirit nodded happily. Although the small pool of water was far from quenching its thirst, it was still very satisfying to be able to drink water for the first time. The spy''s location was instantly found and one of the tree spirit''s roots went straight for him.

    Surprisingly, yet at the same time not surprisingly, the direction came from the vige! In a short moment, the horrified scream of a man was heard.

    "Arghh!! What the hell is this!? Why is it catching me again!?! Fuck! Let me go! I didn''t do anything!"

    The culprit was bound tightly and brought before Leon''s cold eyes. There was no mercy for traitors. If not for the culprit still having some use, Leon would have cut off his head immediately. At the same time, Lilith, Zorbek and the pce guards all made their way over as they stared at the identity of the culprit.

    "You didn''t do anything? Then where did you run off to when everyone was fighting? Why did you attack when I said not to?" Leon questioned coldly. His divine sense had long failed to pick up any trace of disguise from his men. That is to say that the mole in front of him had not been using a disguise, but his true look all this while.

    For the elite team to have a mole, the person had either defected to the enemy''s side, or the enemy had managed to nt their spies into their midst from a very early period and garnered everyone''s trust over the long years. Leon suspected that it must have happened shortly after the tragedy that urred 17 years ago.

    "Since you already believe I am a spy, I have nothing to say. Just give me a quick death." Damir admitted fearlessly since there was no point in continuing the act. The victors were kings, while the losers were bandits.

    Leon looked at him coldly before turning to Elder Evergreen. "The rat has been caught. How do you want to deal with this person?"

    "You heard this child. How do you all want to deal with this person?" Elder Evergreen did not answer his question but directed it to the other treants. The treants didn''t mince their words and directly gave Damir the death sentence.

    "Kill him!"

    "Kill!"

    "Make him suffer!"

    "Since you brought him here, you should be the one to finish him off." Elder Evergreen stated. However, there seems to be an underlying meaning behind his words. ''Kill him and you will earn our trust.''

    Leon scrunched his brows as it couldn''t be that simple. Killing the person outright wouldn''t quell the treant''s anger easily and they might even suspect that he was just using Damir as a scapegoat to buy their way into the vige. In order to get the treants to bepletely satisfied and ept them, he had couldn''t give Damir an easy death.

    "What are you waiting for? End me!" Damir urged like he was actually in a hurry to die.

    "Why are you in a hurry to die? Death won''t be that easy for traitors. I''ll have you spill everything you know." Leon said emotionless.

    "Ptui! Forget it. You won''t be getting anything from my mouth except my saliva!" Damir spat.

    Leon dodged the spit and summoned his set of silver needles with a cold smile. "We''ll see if you can still remain tight lip after eating my needles."

    Leon first sealed Damir''s movements then robbed his freedom of speech and erased all possibility of suicide by shooting off his needles into various acupoints on his limbs, chest, and throat. Afterward, he shot several more needles in both his life and death acupoints on the head, heart and major meridians that stimtes pain to the greatest degree.

    Soon, he gave each needle a flick once and the vibrational force generated a shockwave of nerve-wracking pain that wreaked havoc in Damir''s body like a thousand insects eating him inside out.

    ''Ahhhh!!!''

    Damir wanted to scream. But without his voice, he had no outlet to the excruciating pain, making the experience much more torturous. Within seconds, his eyes began to roll back with a pained look. When he is about to pass out, Leon would stimte his nerves and send another wave of excruciating pain through his body to rouse him awake again.

    ''Kill me!'' Damir seemed to beg with his eyes, but Leon paid no heed to it and continued his torturous act. Only by break the person''s mind would they stop resisting and answer his questions. The scene sent shivers down the treant''s spine as they even began to feel bad for the person.

    It took some time before Damir''s eyes dimmed like a soulless puppet that Leon finally stopped and retracted his needles. "Answer my questions. What are your sect and objective? Why did you try to kill me?"

    "A debt of blood must be repaid with blood. The sins of the Crawford family may be erased but not forgotten. The Illusory Butterfly Sect collectively seeks the rich inheritance of old underneath while the master seeks the end of the Crawford bloodline¡­" Damir said lifelessly.

    Leon frowned at Damir''s vague words. Damir did not seem to have had his mind fully broken as a trace of rity miraculously returned to his eyes. He looked Leon coldly and viciously said, "I was not the one who fired that earth spike."

    "Fuck." Leon''s expression changed at once, but it was toote.

    With a cold smirk, Damir made his energy run amok and self-destructed, exploding into a thousand scattering fleshly pieces. Leon only had time to summon a firewall to shield himself from the flying piece of flesh, but a few piecesnded on Elder Evergreen and the others in the surrounding.

    Without being displeased by the sudden filth on his face, Elder Evergreen put on a warm smile and said, "There''s much we can learn from each other¡­ As the vige chief, I wee you all to our humble vige."

 Chapter 209 - Ardens Puzzle

    <h4>Chapter 209 - Arden''s Puzzle</h4>

    Back at the Inner Pce, a round of knocking was heard outside the king''s study room.

    Knock! Knock!

    Heinrich ced down his cup of tea and said, "Come in."

    "I heard you wanted to see me." The person strolled inside and casually pulled a seat over to seat himself opposite the king tantly without care of offending the party.

    Heinrich did not seem to mind and nodded. "En, I wanted to reform the education system to match the current times. Learning is the foundation of a school, but cultivation shouldn''t be neglected. The details can be found in this paper. Have a read and let me hear your thoughts."

    Having said that, Heinrich pushed a sheet of paper towards the person. Wilfred gave the paper a quick read, before cing it back down and sighed. His sigh seems to contain the vicissitudes of life. "After all this time, are you finally nning to open up your coffer and share your rich collections of techniques with the world?"

    "Not the world. Just my kingdom." Heinrich corrected coolly.

    "Fair enough. However, I shouldn''t be the person you should find for this sort of stuff, right?" Wilfred asked slyly. In short, Heinrich wanted to implement apulsory subject to teach students how to cultivate and train their bodies. Thepulsory subject would be put under physical education and wasn''t reserved for just the Crawford Royal University, but all schools within the kingdom.

    "My minister of education is dead, so it makes sense to find someone else authoritative in the education department, right? How about it? Want to be my new minister of education?" Heinrich said wryly.

    "Haiz, you won''t even let an old man off. I''m already old with not much time left. Just let me rx in peace, will you? I can rmend someone in my stead. However, even if the ns on this sheet of paper is carried out, there wouldn''t be any students to teach within the next year or two." Wilfred nonchntly shrugged.

    "What do you mean by that?" Heinrich raised an eyebrow in question.

    "You don''t know? All the students have long been conscripted into military service and sent to the training camp. Only a few managed to stay due to their good background, but it''s not like they still attend school with so little people. Schools had long been suspended until further notice."

    "I really have heard about this." Heinrich gawked awkwardly. It was probably one of the minor problems he had skipped over. However, the ongoing reports of the berserk beast sightings he had been receiving from the western frontier, does cause a need for concern. "You probably haven''t seen such a shut-in king like me."

    "I haven''t seen such a useless king like you!" Wilfred admonished.

    Heinrichughed awkwardly without being offended like a child still getting lectured. Wilfred was one of the few people in the kingdom who could talk to him like this. The dean was his old teacher back in his years of study.

    ¡­

    "You seem bothered by something, child." Elder Evergreen asked casually.

    "It''s nothing."

    Leon waved it off, but he was affected by the spy''s previous words. Although he would like to dismiss it as thest-ditch effort of the spy sowing discord in the group, he couldn''t ignore it once the seed of doubt was nted. As a person who had once died from betrayal once, he was wary of the possibility. There could be more than one spy.

    "Ahem, make yourself at home. We don''t usually receive guests from outside the vige." Elder Evergreen said as they enter his home, which was just a hollow section of the elder tree.

    The elder tree is able to manipte its body at will to shape the treant''s homes and amodate them. This wasn''t something that should be possible, at least ording to Leon''s knowledge from the Divine Realm. It was only possible here in Gaia.

    Leon nodded as he stared nkly at the interior of the elder''s home. After settling the amodation for Lilith and his men, he had followed the elder back to his home to continue their talk.

    The vige exterior was filled with exquisite wonders and beauty, but the inside of their homes was as in as a nk canvas. Itcked the most basic essential tools and appliances for a home. Apart from a few stone seats, tables, and a bed, there was nothing else. Needless to say, Leon''s expectation had taken a steep plunge at the sight.

    Leon casually took a seat at one of the stone chairs, while the elder brought over a handful of plucked crimson leaves. "Ahem, we don''t have much to offer our guest as snack except our most staple food, Crimsonleaf." Elder Evergreen exined.

    Leon did not reach for the crimson leaves, but queried, "How exactly did you be like this that is neither human nor tree?"

    "You''re looking exactly at the source." Elder Evergreen said bluntly, causing Leon''s expression to change abruptly. However, heforted, "Don''t worry. The transformation isn''t immediate but a gradual process that happens over a long period of ingestion. Eating it once or twice shouldn''t affect you."

    ''Shouldn''t¡­''

    Leon noticed with peculiar emphasis and twitched his lips. He rather not take any chances. Instead, he began pulling out a few tools from his Worldspace under the guise of his bag and began brewing his own herbal tea, before pouring a cup for each of them.

    "Please." Leon gestured.

    "Look''s like you came prepared. Very good." Elder Evergreen smiled unsuspectingly without being embarrassed by the fact that the guest had to provide for the host. Being well over 2000 years old, if there was one thing that grew with his old age, it was a thick face.

    "This is good tea." Elder Evergreenplimented as his eyes sparkled at the taste. Living underground all his life, he had never had something like this. The herbal tea was hot, but it was soothing and rxing once it entered his body, making him feel good. "Alright, child. You seem like you have lots of questions. Ask away. I will answer them all the best I can."

    Leon smiled at the fact that a simple tea had won over the elder''s favor.

    The two began chatting away for a full 6 hours. All the doubts that Leon had were answered one after the other. The reason the treants couldn''t return to the surface had to do with the treant''s constitution.

    While the tree-like body grants high defenses and a long lifespan, it also took away their freedom. They were in a sense, a part of the elder tree. The elder tree provides them with all the nutrients needed to survive, thus they were no longer required to eat crimson leaves other than as a hobby.

    Because of that, they are also unable to leave the elder tree. Once they leave the elder tree, their bodies would start wilting and dies.

    Leon also learned that the treants had been eating the leaves just fine for thousands of years. The change only urred in thest 500-odd years. Everyone in the vige was over 500 years old, including the ''children''.

    ''Bing a treant doesn''t increase their lifespan but stretch it from incredibly slow aging. It seems that underground was also affected by the Cataclysm 512 years ago.'' Leon concluded.

    At least from what he had learned, the insects in the underground only grew bigger in thest 500-odd years. The treants only retreated to the elder tree and became what they are today after that event happened.

    But what changed exactly? What exactly was the Cataclysm?

    The information Leon had on history was very vague. It was said that one day, the color of the skies changed, and the world was swept in a violent storm. After that, the animals all started to mutate. Although it never stated how quickly the mutation was, Leon believed it was a gradual process.

    If the process had been immediate, humanity would have never had the time to rally together and retreat to the Human Domain of today. They would have been wiped out there and then.

    As for the Cataclysm, Leon had a faint guess it was just another sr storm like the one that ended the Nova Empire. But how could a sr storm cause such drastic changes to both life and the environment? Something else must be missing from the equation.

    The deeper Leon pondered, the crazier his thoughts became. He recalled Arden''s diary mentioned that in order to revitalize the dying in the past, artificial spirit energy conversion nts were built all over the world, harnessing the power of the sun to produce limitless artificial spirit energy.

    What if some of these conversion nts survived the disaster that befell the Nova Empire?

    No matter how hard he pondered, everything was just mere spection. Leon shook his head and asked, "You mentioned that one of your ancestors built a study room that contained all his knowledge and his life''s research from the old world?"

    "That is correct." Elder Evergreen nodded. While Leon had asked him many questions, he had also gotten a clearer picture of the situation on the surface. A rare emotion to see thends above at least once flickered in his eyes.

    "Can I see it?" Leon hurriedly requested with a glint of excitement, unaware of the elder''s emotion.

    Elder Evergreen ruminated for a bit, before giving Leon an inexplicable smile and said, "Sure, I can bring you there, but whether you can get inside is up to you."

    Leon was confused by the elder''s words, but he still followed the elder.

    As Elder Evergreen led the way, he didn''t forget to grab the teapot and cups with him under Leon''s dumbfounded look. shing Leon a nonchnt look, he asks, "Is there a problem?"

    Leon nced at the teapot then back at the elder, before he smiled.

    "No problem."

    The two shortly made a steep turn around the back of the vige where a lone building stood proudly in the open. The building was constructed simply in a box-like shape, but the building itself was far from being just simple.

    It was made from the same materials as the remnant building ruins Leon had seen and it was also filled with runes. The front entrance was nowhere to be seen.

    Upon further investigation, the entrance was located on the top of the building and was sealed tightly. Apparently, the study room was inside, but it seemed impossible to get in at first nce.

    Leon also noticed the entrance was designed strangely. However, he soon realized it wasn''t that the entrance was designed on top, but the building had been flipped on its sides!

    "¡­"

    "I heard from my elders in the past that if you want to get inside, you have to solve the puzzle set by the great ancestor first." Elder Evergreen exined.

    Leon nodded and continued to study the entrance. Next to the entrance, he found an ancient stone tablet embedded into the building. On it were some texts.

    ''Beyond these doors, lies the legacy of I, Arden Grdi. Solve the puzzle and thee shall inherit everything!''

 Chapter 210 - The Puzzle And The Missing Piece

    <h4>Chapter 210 - The Puzzle And The Missing Piece</h4>

    ''Arden Grdi?!'' Leon waspletely surprised by the name left on the stone tablet.

    ''How was that possible? Is this the same Arden from the diary, the one who couldn''t cultivate due to his special constitution? How on earth did he survive the fall?''

    Leon was filled with doubts regarding Arden''s survival. Furthermore, his inheritance was found in such a shabby location. But upon further thought, it made some sense for the inheritance to be found in such an odd location.

    Even if Arden did manage to survive the fall, unless he managed to find a way to cultivate and cultivate great sess at that, he would still not live much longer after. The tree wouldn''t have been as big as it was now as it was at the time the inheritance was built. The tree''s growth must have been what caused the inheritance building to flip. Still, who would even build their inheritance in a tree?

    Through the texts on the ancient stone tablet, Leon could guess that Arden had been a proud person. Perhaps, he was unwilling to let his lifelong umtion of knowledge to die along with him, thus built the inheritance building in a ce easy to find. But not just anyone can inherit his knowledge, thus the need for a test.

    However, if Arden''s inheritance truly lied on the other side of this sealed entrance, Leon had to get his hands on it at all costs. He couldn''t imagine just how far the runic knowledge contained within would aid the advancement of the kingdom.

    "What do you think, child? Think you can solve the puzzle the great ancestor left behind?" Elder Evergreen asked casually, seeing Leon lost in thought while staring down at the ancient stone tablet.

    Leon did not reply immediately, but the elder was very patient. Elder Evergreen poured himself a cup of tea with the teapot he brought along and quietly observed Leon.

    Although he doesn''t believe Leon could solve the puzzle, he had a slight expectation that the boy could discover something that they haven''t already discovered.

    This expectation stems from the fact the elder saw the boy as someone extraordinary. Even among awakeners of their time, it was rare for a dual-element user to appear. This wasn''t because it was difficult to be a dual-element user. It was simply because it was easier to master one element than to be a jack of all trades and a master of none.

    Every person who had ever decided to cultivate dual elements usually fall into two categories. They were either an ambitious genius or a great fool. From their short exchange, the boy didn''t give him the impression of a fool. Although the boy''s cultivation was a little low, he was quite promising.

    However, if Elder Evergreen was to learn that Leon wasn''t just a dual-element user but a penta-element user, he would be utterly appalled.

    "Where''s the puzzle?" Leon finally said.

    Elder Evergreen smiled and shook his head. "That''s the problem. No one really knows. Many havee to test their luck over the years, but no one had ever figured what the puzzle is. Everyone had assumed the seal entrance is the puzzle itself."

    Looking at the seal entrance, it does stand out differently from the rest of the building with its special engraving and runic lines congregating towards a single point. It was thick and stacked uponyers of other engravings and runes, making it appear like a super lock. However, Leon didn''t follow the same assumption and thought differently.

    Having read Arden''s diary of a lifetime, he could roughly guess the mentality of Arden Grdi. The genius artificer of an era wouldn''t make the puzzle painfully obvious yet set such a high bar for runic understanding that no one would be able to understand it. At least, it shouldn''t be that simple.

    When ites to a master selecting their disciples, they don''t look at their current achievements, but their character and talents. If the disciple''s current achievement was already equal to or greater than the master, even if the master had the audacity, the disciple wouldn''t be willing to acknowledge such a master with inferior skills.

    Through the same thought process, Leon believes the hidden puzzle in the inheritance building is Arden''s way of selecting his sessor.

    Leon sent out his divine sense and attempted to peer through the walls of the inheritance building. However, the moment his divine sense came in contact with the walls, it was bounced back.

    ''This inheritance is foolproof and had no loopholes. It''s not going to be that easy to im, huh.'' Leon smiled wryly as he thought. Since his divine sense couldn''t enter the inheritance building, he wrapped it around the building instead to study the exterior.

    The runes on the seal entrances were too clustered and overlyplicated for Leon toprehend with his rudimentary level of understanding. However, the runes on each side of the building were much simpler. He was able to understand a few runes.

    The walls were filled with an array of messy connector rune tes and chaotic rune tes that linked together like a single entity but also seemed out of ce.

    The connector runes allowed the free flow of energy, while the chaotic runes cause two opposing flow of energies to sh with each other. This reaction would then trigger the runic tes to shift like gears.

    Leon had a feeling he had to turn all the correct connector tes to get the runic lines to align andplete the circuit before something fascinating starts happening. However, when he tried to twist or turn one of the connector tes, it didn''t budge a single bit. It appeared he was still missing something.

    Looking around further, Leon noticed a specific section seemed to be missing from the bottom part of the building with his divine sense. More specifically, it seems to be an empty pendant-like socket that served as a keyhole of sorts. Leon''s eyes flicker as he stared at the socket with his divine sense.

    ''Seems like I need to move the build for a better look.'' Leon thought. ''However¡­ the inheritance building is incredibly heavy without a doubt. If I want to move it, I will need to seek help from the tree spirit again.''

    Leonmented at the fact that the tree spirit will tree to bleed him if he makes another request to it again.

    Some time passed before Leon calmed his emotions and no longer paid attention to the runic walls of the inheritance building for the moment. He returned his attention to the Elder Evergreen and said with a smile, "There won''t be a problem if I manage to solve the puzzle and take all the inheritance, right?"

    "Hahaha, the inheritance was left by the great ancestor for the one who manages to solve his puzzle. We, as his descendants naturally must respect the great ancestor''s wishes. It will just collect dust here if no one ever solves it." Elder Evergreen stated, before saying, "However, I''m quite curious. Did you manage to figure out which section is the puzzle?"

    "Yes. I''m prepared to spend some time here in order to solve it." Leon smiled.

    "Oh?" Elder Evergreen was immediately intrigued and brought his ears closer. "Which section is it, if I may ask?"

    "It''s not a section. The whole building is the puzzle itself."

    "Surely you jest, right?" Elder Evergreen said in denial and surprise.

    After seeing that Leon was joking, the elder soon erupted into self-ridiculingughter as he had once spent hundreds of years studying the inheritance in his younger days, yet never saw it from this perspective nor even realize the possibility. After calming himself down, the elder shook his head and sighed. "Haiz, the inheritance only belongs to the fated one."

    "Elder, I wonder if you will be interested in an alliance?" Leon suddenly changed the topic.

    "Hm? An alliance between our vige and your human kingdom? Not a bad idea, but what purpose would it serve?" Elder Evergreen said but did not understand Leon''s intentions.

    "As you know, the present situation on the surface doesn''t bode well for the Human Domain. I wonder if you can lend us strength in weathering the storm?"

    "You seem to have forgotten that we cannot leave the elder tree and forever doomed to live and die with the tree here. Also, this body seals away my Transcendent power." Elder Evergreen reminded with slight anger, secretly ming Leon for even giving him the slight of vain hope of ever returning to the surface.

    "I noticed that when I mentioned the surface before, Elder had a longing look. What if there''s a way to revert you all back to your former self? What if I can poke a hole through the sky and let the elder tree continue to grow to the surface?" Leon said with absurdity, but his eyes flickered with confidence.

    This confidence didn''t stem from his own abilities, but the greatest treasure in his possession. The [Divine Book of Life] contains great understandings of all nts, herbs, and the way of medicine. There was surely a resolution in its limitless records.

    The elder''s body trembled as he was shaken by his words.

    Elder Evergreen stared at Leon deeply for a long time, before he said in a deep voice, "Bold ims! However, if you can really make these ims of yourse true, you will be an eternal friend of I, Evergreen! No, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you!"

    "There''s no need to go that far." Leon gaped waved his hands.

    However, it goes to show just how much it meant for Elder Evergreen to be human again and even see the sunlight. Most likely, the other treants also share the same thoughts. If he realizes their wish, their addition will be a strong help to his cause.

    At the same time, he thought; getting a Transcendent as a subordinate and leveling up the tree spirit to a world-ss tree, who could possibly threaten him within the Human Domain?

 Chapter 211 - Azure Verdant Plains

    <h4>Chapter 211 - Azure Verdant ins</h4>

    Along the eastern borders of the kingdom of Crawford, there was a notable region called Azure Verdant ins. Azure Verdant ins was the only region where the three kingdoms; Crawford, Durham, and Vran intersects. The Azurely River that runs through Azure Verdant ins serves as a natural borderline that separates thends of the three kingdoms.

    The region was cold all year round and filled with verdant green grass tinged with varying degree blue, silver and purple colors based on its proximity to the Azurely River, a great river that flows through Extreme Misty Forest from the Boundless Sea and splits at the intersection of Azure Verdant ins with one run all the way to the southern wall and the other towards the kingdom of Geyser in the far east.

    The cold waters of the Azurely River were what caused the region to be cold all year round. Sometimes, the water of the Azurely River reaches a frightening degree of coldness, but it will never freeze. This coldness seemed to have stemmed from Extreme Misty Forest.

    Crossing kingdoms from the Azure Verdant ins requires crossing the tri-bridge in the center, followed by entry through the border checkpoint at each end of the tri-bridge that connected the three kingdoms.

    In the past, security was veryx, and passing crossing kingdoms didn''t require any extraneous procedures at the border checkpoint as the neighboring kingdoms were very harmonious and subservient to the Kingdom of Crawford''s reign.

    In recent days, however, the borders have been closed. Even if one wishes to enter the Crawford Kingdom now, they would be barred from entry. The only way they could enter now is illegally by crossing the river, whether by flight or by swimming.

    If thetter was chosen, the person would either be considered tired of living or a madman. After all, the reason the Azure Verdant ins was popr had to with the sea monsters inside the Azurely River. It was a popr fishing spot. As such, there was a popted fishing city located next to the border checkpoint of each kingdom in addition to several small fishing viges along the banks of the river.

    In recent days, these fishing cities had been receiving an influx of soldiers passing through towards the border checkpoint. A military zone created, and the ever-growing camp could be seen very clearly from the city walls, making the liveliness of these fishing cities dampen as the tension grows.

    Even if the people were idiots, they would still be aware that something was not right. The premonition of war filled them with dread and their instincts told them to escape the city.

    The rich had this choice, but the poor did not. Other than their homes, they do not have many assets to bring with them. If they leave, they will be left with nothing. Because of this, they are unwilling to leave and rather die with their homes should the situation escte to such a point. However, they still held onto faint hopes that whatever happens at the border wouldn''t reach their city.

    At a certain location further east along the eastern Azurely River, there was another bridge that connected the Durham Kingdom and the Vran Kingdom.

    At this moment there were two groups of people meeting at this specific spot with an elderly man at the hem of both groups. The two groups wore two sets of uniforms that distinguish their groups apart from each other. One wore full white attires with butterfly patterns, while the other wore full ck with a red lining and a fiendish mark.

    "Look who is finally here, if it isn''t our ''good friends'' from the Illusory Butterfly Sect. Never thought there would be a time when our two sects would have to team up." The elder in ck and red said in a snickering manner, revealing a set of disgusting ck teeth that made him look especially vicious and frightening.

    His eyes were cold and callous, and his wrinkly body exuded a malignant and terrific aura that could easily inspire fear and trepidation in the hearts of ordinary men, and the crushing pressure made it difficult even for the younger men behind the elder in white opposite him. It was clear that his weing words held zero sincerity and full of sarcasm.

    "Hmph! If it weren''t for our temporary alliance, I would have already cut off your head where you stand! Enough bullsh*t. How are the preparations on your end?" The elder in white darkened immediately. With a wave of his hand, he exuded his own towering pressure and aura, dispelling the other party''s imposing aura on his sect members.

    "Quite impatient, are we? It seems our ''friends'' here are quite anxious and shaken by the two transcendent phenomena." The elder in ck chuckled mockingly and sounded especially grating to the ears. He was unaffected by the naked threat. It was questionable whose head would fall if they fought. They were both inner sect elders of their respective sects.

    "Don''t forget it was your side that came begging us for this truce and temporary alliance after losing a few members in the Crawford Kingdom." Hasan, the elder in white ridiculed.

    As one would expect of two rival sects that had always conflicts both in the dark and open, they did not get along well the moment they met. In the words of the Inner Sect Elder of the Illusory Butterfly Sect, a proposal of mutual interest from the Bloodfiend Sect had turned into pathetic begging.

    The Inner Sect Elder of the Bloodfiend Sect, Griego was enraged. However, he did not erupt. Instead, his eyes shed with a chilling light. He was not stupid. Right now, even if he hates their guts, they were allies. Fighting their allies wouldn''t solve anything and would even help their enemy.

    If it weren''t for the intervention of a greater power that forced their heads to bow in servitude, the Crawford Kingdom would have already be history 17 years ago. Although they were forced to submit in the presence of absolute strength, they were unwilling to leave their business unfinished and continue to scheme in the dark to this day.

    However, now that the Crawford Kingdom, who was without a single Transcendent, suddenly gained two Transcendent-realm experts, they began to panic and no longer cared about the warnings of the greater power.

    The Crawford Kingdom was on the rise again and if left be, it would grow to the point where they would face sect extinction. They were like arrows shot from the bowstring. there''s no turning back. They had to snap the problem in its bud and worry about the wrath of the greater powerter.

    "The n to sow chaos in the kingdom with our spies and divert their attention from the borders no longer matters. It had backfired instead. The royal family already caught wind of our intention and strengthened their borders before we couldunch our full force to destroy them in one fell swoop. We can only fight head-on now." Griego said seriously without understanding how the Crawford Kingdom found out so quickly.

    Hasan nodded with equal sternness. The other party did not fall for his provocation and able to remain calm. He secretly admires the Griego''s mentality, but all the more fears him as a terrifying opponent. "How much of your sect''s forces did you bring?"

    "Half."

    "Half?" Hasan frowned. "We are now facing an impending battle that could decide the future survival of our sects and your side only brought half your forces?"

    "You think our sect doesn''t want to send more? We even have our great elder apanying us on this trip! Unlike your sect, you don''t have to worry about the Grand Ocean Pce making a move as they have always been neutral and never encroach on our territories." Griego said menacingly, before continuing.

    "But what about us? Even if we don''t have to worry about the Grand Ocean Pce either, we still have the Burning Heaven Sect behind our back. They have been silent in recent years, too silent in fact. Who knows if they would suddenly stab us in the back while we are fighting the Crawford kingdom all our forces?"

    "Hmmm, your side should send in the cannon fodders to test the waters. Our side will do the same on our end. We can keep waiting. They will only grow stronger with time." Hasan hummed and said, making noment on the previous matter.

    In fact, they had also brought half their forces. Since the Bloodfiend Sect still has half their forces in reserve, they would do the same to guard against them. After all, the people in the Bloodfiend Sect were all unbridled, vicious and didn''t adhere to any codes of morality. These were the type of people who would smile at you in one moment and stab you when you turn your back.

    If they knew the Illusory Butterfly Sect sent all their forces and their territory was empty, it was quite possibly for their hands to get itchy and attack.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, back in the underground where the elder tree was located, Leon had just finished a round of negotiation with the tree spirit and gotten it to flip the cube-like inheritance building back into position.

    His heart ached at the tree spirits greed, but he had no choice but to give in to its demand for its service. He could still remember the tree spirit''s satisfied grin as it gobbled all 30 tier-2 healing pills gluttonously and flipping the inheritance building back effortlessly, before shing him a grin that seems to imply "d doing business with ya."

    Leon shook his head as he believes he would be reward handsomely for the price he paid as he stared at the empty pendant-shaped socket on the new uncovered side.

    ''The union of dragon and phoenix will change the fate of the human race?'' Leon shook his head with a chuckled as he recalled the vague prophecy the Duchess recounted to him. He felt like the mysterious old man was a real prankster.

    The union of dragon and phoenix was simply putting the two jades back together again. It couldn''t be simpler, yet the mysterious old man-made others misinterpret it as the marriage between the two offspring of the Crawford royal family and Lancaster family.

    Suddenly, he recalled that the mysterious old man disappeared into the sky and the mysterious diviner that also disappeared. Were they the same person? Why did the mysterious old man have the Dragon and Phoenix Jade? Where did ite from? Was he a descendent of the Nova Empire or a survivor of its time?

    All he knew was the jade was filled with unfathomable secrets. This was especially so during the time the pale purple light was produced when the two jades became one again. After all, the pale purple light came from an energy even he could not distinguish.

    With these thoughts circting in his mind, Leon took off the Dragon and Phoenix Jade around his neck and slotted it in the empty socket perfectly with a click.

    The jade soon began to shine brightly and instill life in the inheritance building as all the runic lines in the perimeter of the jade lit up with purple light. Leon clicked his tongue as he realized the building was missing a power source.

    Perhaps, once he turns all the runic tes correctly toplete the runic line circuit and makes the entire inheritance building light up, it would be considered solving the puzzle. Life was full of unexpected twists and turns.

    Who could have guessed the jade pendant he had worn since childhood was actually the power stone for the inheritance building?

 Chapter 212 - A Puzzle That Drives One Crazy

    <h4>Chapter 212 - A Puzzle That Drives One Crazy</h4>

    The runic lines on each runic te on the inheritance building was very noticeable as it stood together as a whole, but it was overshadowed by the runic tes itself like looking at a brick wall, an uneducated and ignorant person would only look at the sturdiness of each brick, believing the toughness of the bricks was what made a brick wall strong and not the cement in the gaps between that holds it together.

    However, once the runic lines around the perimeter of the jade lit up, the situation was reversed with the runic linespletely overshadowed the runic tes. The glowing runic lines on the runic te by itself were more intricate than any character of the ancientnguage, and when it conjoined with the others surrounding the power jade, it formed a moreplex but iplete system than spider webs.

    Just as Leon had anticipated, once the inheritance building was powered up, the runic tes became moveable. Unfortunately, he was the only one that got to witness such a fantastic sight.

    Elder Evergreen had returned to his dwelling. Believing that even if Leon could solve the puzzle, it would still take a long time. He wasn''t interested in watching through this entire process. As a semi-treant and a particrly aged one at that, He wasn''t usually this active. Their entire group usually spends most of their time sleeping.

    Leon had noticed that one of the glowing runic lines ran all the to the bottom of the inheritance building''s jade side. Using his divine sense, he found that the bottom side of the inheritance building was already fully lit. This means, of the six sides of the giant cube-like puzzle, he only needed to solve the other five sides.

    ''These runes are actually quite simple. I didn''t expect that difficulty of this test to be set this low.'' Leon thought simply.

    As he twists and turns a few tes, the number of glowing runic lines steadily increased. Leon was surprised by the fact that solving the puzzle would be this smooth.

    While Leon had assumed that Arden wouldn''t set a very high bar for runic understanding, he wouldn''t set such an exceedingly low requirement that any Tom, Dick, and Harry could also solve it. After all, he, himself had yet to cover all the basics of the [Introduction to Runes for Dummies]. The knowledge was there but had yet to digest it all.

    ''I thought this inheritance was made for finding a good sessor with great talents, but maybe it was only meant for the fated one? After all, the prerequisite for solving the puzzle is to have the dragon phoenix jade, and half the jade was given to me since birth¡­ Everything seems¡­ fixed.'' Leon began to feel doubtful.

    However, after he finished lighting up one-fifth of the jade side, he finally encountered his first problem. No matter how Leon turned his current te, or go back and rearrange the previous ones, one of the glowing runic lines on the te will always run into a dead end.

    Each runic te was square in shape and three of the sides would end with a connector, while thest side would be nk.

    At any given time, a runic te will always be surrounded by 4 other runic tes, but only 3 will be connected by their runic lines. To turn the runic tes, he had to first press into it and sink the te inwards before space is created for it to turn, even the runic te with the jade slotted can be pressed and turned.

    ''I see, no wonder it''s called a puzzle and not a test. Even if the runic lines light up, it might not be the correctbination. Only one answer is correct in the truest sense, while the others will eventually cause a connector to run into a dead-end down the track¡­"

    Leon began to sweat. Although one side was already solved for him, also given a starting point, and even realized the problem early, this still didn''t make Leon feel better and his expression turned for the worse very quickly. This was because the puzzle was almost impossible to solve without knowing the answer from the start!

    This wasn''t a simple puzzle where connecting two tes was a simple 3 plus 3 equal 6, but 3 times 3 equal 9! And with each te added, the number of possible solutions increases exponentially!

    There were 100 tes on each side, for a grand total of 600 tes! 100 tes solved means he still has 500 tes to solve. Within these 500 tes, there were some ck tes that Leon deemed as dead tes. It didn''t have any connectors and wasn''t meant to light up at all.

    But what did close to 500 tes mean? It means the number of possiblebinations was almost equivalent to 3 to the power of 500!

    Within this seemingly infinite number of possible solutions, there was only one true solution! The rest will eventually create a dead end at some point!

    ''Fuck!''

    Leon cursed.

    What kind of inhuman mental calction and memory was required to solve this!? The number was enough to make anyone with the hopes of solving the puzzle easily despair! Who would be able to remember all the possiblebinations and mistakes they make while solving this!?

    Even if he goes back 3 steps in order to go 4 steps forward, he might him running into a different dead end!

    Let''s say he even manage to light up the entire jade side on his first try only to find a new dead end, he wouldn''t even know at which point in thebination sequence went wrong. Perhaps it was wrong from the start!

    Even if he manages to solve four sides and get very close topletion but ended running into a dead-end that traced him all the way back to the start, the setback will make him go crazy! Or anyone for that matter!

    Solving the puzzle through trial and error is like walking through an infinitelyrge maze of crystal-clear ss, even if they can see the endpoint, without a guide, they would just keep banging their heads into the ss.

    ''There''s still something missing. Even a hint will be useful at this point.'' Leon contemted.

    He spent the following six hours through trial and error and managed to light up four-fifths of the jade side. He had already lost count of the times he had to retrace his steps to get this far and even then, it didn''t guarantee that the currentbination sequence was the most correct one.

    ''The more runic lines lit, the greater the difficulty. As I thought, try to solve this puzzle purely through trial and error is a pointless endeavor.''

    Leon frowned and rubbed his sore temples. After discovering the problem, just the thought of solving the puzzle was enough to give him a headache.

    He had no choice but to give up on the puzzle for now and return to Elder Evergreen''s dwelling in defeat. The elder had his eyes closed in hibernation, but upon hearing nearby footsteps, he was roused awake. It could be seen that he was very alert despite his idleness.

    "What''s wrong, child? Given up so soon? I thought you found the way to solve it." The elder chuckled at Leon''s defeated look.

    Hearing this, Leon sighed, "Knowing the way and actually solving it are twopletely different concepts. For the specifics, you should go take a look, then you''ll understand, elder."

    "Oh?"

    Elder Evergreen was taken aback, before he said with interest, "Then I better take a look."

    Leon followed after the elder back to back to the site and told the elder his general understanding in solving the puzzle. He mischievously chose not to mention the endless possibilities of the puzzle that made him despair. He wanted to see how the elder reacts upon realization for his own amusement.

    After learning the method, the elder''s long extinguished hope of solving the puzzle was reignited and said, "That sounds pretty simple. How hard can lighting up all these lines be?"

    But within 10 minutes of fiddling around with the arrangements of the runic tes, he also figured out the problem and decisively washed his hands of the matter with a simple statement, "Yeah, Nah. That puzzle is fucked up. It''s all you, child."

    Leon was taken surprise by the elder''snguage butughed right after.

    After a while, Leon calmed down and casually ask, "Do you know if your great ancestor left behind any words or hints regarding the puzzle, or anything outside of the puzzle in general at all, elder?"

    Although Leon was not expecting a positive answer, he was still disappointed when the elder shook his head.

    ''Did Arden really leave nothing else behind other than his inheritance building? How did he expect people to solve his puzzle? It would take hundreds if not thousands of years to input all the possiblebinations unless there was a clue to aid them or godly luck to solve it by a fluke.''

    ''No, that''s not right. He did leave something else behind. His diary!'' Leon''s eyes flickered with hope. Perhaps the hint was contained within the diary!

    Leon had a strong hunch that this line of thinking was correct.

    It didn''t make sense for Arden, who was supposedly mortal to survive the crash of the floating city. There were many floating cities built in that era. A floating city that crashes onnd would create an exceptionallyrge area of devastation but not enough to end the world. A floating city crash on the ocean was a different story, however. The Boundless Sea had enough water to sweep the world!

    Surviving the first crash wouldn''t help him survive what was toe after, not unless he had something to rely on! A secret that wasn''t recorded in the diary, but most likely holds the key to unlocking that secret!

    Why else would a diary that apanied Arden throughout his life be left behind even though Arden, himself had survived that disaster?

 Chapter 213 - Three Stages Of Transcendence

    <h4>Chapter 213 - Three Stages Of Transcendence</h4>

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The space around the elder tree shook and rumbled at the force of its tree roots mming into the ground. The sudden eruption of battle immediately startled Lilith, Zorbek, and the pce guards as they shot up abruptly from their resting spots in rm.

    The treants on the other hand, simply open their eyes for a brief moment before closing them and continued their hibernation. Since the ''birds'' didn''t cackle rmingly, it meant there weren''t any intruders. Evidently, they were used to the ant''s persistent assaults on a regr basis.

    However, it hadn''t been a full 9 hours since thest battle between the elder tree and ants. Even if the ants attack frequently, it shouldn''t be this frequent, right? Their kind would eventually be killed off at this rate, especially when the elder tree was ughtering them like ants in both the metaphoric and literal sense.

    "Do ants usually attack this frequent, elder?" Leon asked curiously.

    "No. There is usually a day to three day''s rest between their attacks. This is the first time they''ve attacked within the same day. Most likely it had something to do with your arrivals." Elder Evergreen responded, before inputting his assumption.

    Leon smiled wryly when he heard this. "You won''t me me for this, right elder?"

    "No, it doesn''t matter. Whether those ants attack frequently or less frequently, the result will still be the same, that is to be nutrients for the elder tree."

    Towards this opinion, Elder Evergreen disyed irrefutable confidence in the tree spirit. He had witnessed many battles and not once had the elder tree''s defenses ever been breached. It was a one-sided massacre.

    Leon nodded in agreement. The elder tree''s strength was unimaginable. But then he remembered the figure of the humanoid ant. It''s strength also couldn''t be measured from that distance, but just based on the pressure and aura exuded, it was exceedingly dangerous and beyond any ordinary Transcendents, he had seen.

    Catching a glimpse of Elder Evergreen''s profile, Leon thought that the elder was also not ordinary among Transcendents, although it was sealed and vaguely sensed.

    "Elder, I have a request to make."

    Leon pondered for a moment before he stated.

    Elder Evergreen gestured for him to continue, neither expressing his eptance nor denial of the request and implied that the elder was willing to listen first before deciding after hearing his request.

    "Can you exin to me about Transcendence and the different levels of the Transcendent Realm?"

    The reason he asked was that he was sure that from the vague mentions in Arden''s Diary, Celestial was an existence that could traverse among the stars, something only Divine Origin Realm practitioners were capable of.

    Considering the elder was a descendent of the Nova Empire, he would definitely know much more about the awakening cultivation system than the current him, or anyone from the Human Domain for that matter.

    He understood that the leap in power from breaking through to Divine State will generally be big, but he felt the leap from Transcendent to Celestial was far, far too big of a leap. If it was topare awakening cultivation to divine cultivation, it was like a divine practitioner leaping from the Revolving Core Realm directly to Divine Origin Realm, skipping Heaven Ascension and Void Realm.

    The gap was just that big. Which is why he suspected there were different levels or stages within the Transcendent Realm.

    "So that was your request?" Elder Evergreen was surprised before shaking his head in a self-deprecating manner. "And here I thought it was going to be some difficult request. Sure, I''ll exin it to you. But first, I want to hear why know. Such a thing should be considered general knowledge, no?"

    Leon smiled bitterly when he heard this. If it was considered general knowledge, then humanity wouldn''t have fallen to such dire straits.

    He began to exin the power structures of the Human Domain and the strongest awakeners he was aware of, before proceeding to further exin the beast''s side with his limited knowledge. The best person to exin this part would be Lilith, but that girl wasn''t willing to divulge much information about the Wilnds.

    After Leon finished his exnation, Elder Evergreen could not help but sigh. Because Leon didn''t mention the current strength of humanity and only talked about their situation in their prior conversation, he had been under the false impression that the foundation of humanity''s cultivation was still as strong.

    Elder Evergreen could not be med for having this misunderstanding. He had lived underground his whole and had been told that the surface was too dangerous for humans to live.

    With his limited and outdated understanding of the world, he had naturally assumed the animals on the surface had grown in the same proportions of the ants, which was around 2000 times.

    2000 times was enough for any animals to be a colossal being among colossal beings. And when Elder Evergreen follows that train of thought, the fact that humans were still alive on the surface made him believe that the western frontier was like a constant battlefield between titans and gods.

    Elder Evergreen was silent for a long time before he recovered with a wry smile of his own.

    "Pardon me, Child. I didn''t expect the cultivation heritage of humanity to have regressed to such point." The elder apologizes beginning his exnation on Transcendents.

    "There are three minor realms that exist within the Transcendent Realm, namely; the Preliminary ession, Seeking Insight, and Acknowledged Paragon. Transcendence is the process of exceeding human boundaries and gaining the world''s recognition for it."

    "This recognitiones in the form of some authority over the worldly energies. With the energy of heaven and earth at your beck and call, it is very easy to begin training in other elements. However, it is also more important that you don''t do that though."

    "I''ve been told that all those who have chosen to train in dual-element, had never seeded in their Celestial Tribtion¡­ Ah, Celestial Tribtion is a test issued by the world when your strength andprehension reach the peak of Transcendents if you also didn''t."

    Leon nodded. he did learn about this vaguely through the diary.

    "If you pass it, the Celestial Tribtion will be part of your strength and grant you full authority over the worldly energy, bing a venerated Celestial. If you don''t, well¡­ you will die. It''s as simple as that. The Celestial Tribtion will destroy your body if you cannot bear it."

    "Dual-element Transcendents will have to face a Celestial Tribtion twice as powerful as single-element Transcendents. Even Transcendents with a single element aren''t guaranteed of oveing their Celestial Tribtion, so you can imagine just how overwhelming it''ll be for dual-element Transcendents."

    When Elder Evergreen finished his exnation up to this point, Leon paled with a single thought on his mind. He was fucked.

    He already has five elemental seed of lightning, fire, ice, metal, and earth revolving around his soul core. He was still expecting to collect the wood elemental seed toplete his cycle of five elements, albeit with an extra lightningseed.

    Wouldn''t that mean if he ended up reaching the peak stage of Acknowledge Paragon, he would have to face a Celestial Tribtion six times more powerful than the regr Celestial Tribtion!? His body might just be grinded down to thest atom!

    "Very overwhelming," Leon said dryly.

    "Don''t worry. With your talents, you can still hope to be the most powerful Acknowledged Paragon within the Transcendent Realm." Elder Evergreenforted.

    Leon gave a forced smile at the elder''s words. He still wasn''t sure whether he would be able to achieve transcendence, but at least he still had divine cultivation to lean back on. In fact, he had never expected to have great sess in awakening cultivation. It was only a tool to aid him in mastering the five-element stage of [Hegemon of Primal Chaos].

    Elder Evergreen soon left and returned to his dwelling. Leon did not take this time to whip out Arden''s Diary to study immediately, but when to check up on the others.

    When he arrived at the designated amodation allocated to their group. He found that apart from the pce guards being present, both Lilith and Zorbek had gone missing.

    Asking around, he found that Lilith went to y with the ''bird-like'' creatures while Zorbek went to check on the situation at the crown of the elder tree. Perhaps, the captain felt a hint of urgency to return to the surface due to the ant''s repeated assault, but Leon was pleased that the captain remembered their objective for climbing up here.

    After suggesting the pce guards follow after their captain and begin work on the top, he went to see Lilith. He had already received approval from Elder Evergreen to dig a hole to the surface from the top of their vige.

    Leon soon spotted the petite figure squatting by the grotesque bird-like creatures, poking and tickling them whileughing.

    "What''s are you doing?"

    Leon snuck up and whispered behind her ears abruptly, making jump her in retreat.

    "Whaa¡­? Oh, it''s you, Leon. Don''t sneak up on me like that again, or else you can''t me me if I identally swing a fist at your face next time, hmph!" Lilith pouted, before asking with adoration, "As you can see, I''m ying with these little birdies. Aren''t they actually the cutest thing ever?"

    Leon looked at the ugly thing briefly before giving his honest opinion without mincing his words to please her.

    "Yeah¡­ Nah¡­ It''s ugly as fuckkk."

    Perhaps, Lilith found it cute because they both belong to bird species, but he did not find it remotely pleasing to the eye at all.

    The ones shown to him were newborns, but they look like featherless and crude wooden puppet baby birds with big round eyes that look like they''ll fall out of their sockets at any time.

    After saying his piece, he fled the scene without waiting for Lilith''s enrage response.

    Leon returned to the inheritance building at the back of the vige and found himself a nice and suitable spot to seat himself, before pulling out Arden''s Diary and flipped to the first page.

    As expected, there was something hidden in Arden''s Diary that he had not noticed the first time he looked at it. Under his second but more focused scrutiny, he found that asionally, there would be words with singr bold characters within them.

    For a great artificer like Arden Grdi, Leon highly doubted that the person would make such mistakes consistently with the high level of dexterity he would have gained from the profession. Also, the bold characters looked rtively newer than the rest like it was edited.

    ''There''s a hidden message¡­'' Leon concluded.

 Chapter 214 - Unveiled Dagger

    <h4>Chapter 214 - Unveiled Dagger</h4>

    The bold characters within the diary didn''t make much sense on their own, but once he ces them together, something interesting will be found. Leon flipped through the pages of the diary from beginning to end. The bold characters could be found throughout.

    Leon pulled out a spare notebook and ink pen and prepared to record down the bold characters from start in sequence, however, his hand paused on the first character before he proceeded to store everything away in his Worldspace.

    Entering the Whitespace, he summoned the Worldspace projection and scanned the diary before creating a copy in the archive.

    Under his will, Leon used the power of the Whitespace to filter out all the unnecessary contents of the copied version of the diary and only kept the bold characters.

    The bold characters were subsequently ced in a new book he formed with his will. However, he was still not done. The bold characters werepacted together and didn''t make any sense as a single entity.

    Leon took the time to personally peruse the filtered content at this specific point to separate thepacted characters before words began to form and the hidden message slowly revealed itself.

    What would have taken him hours through the tedious handwritten method or the mentally draining simtion method of his mind, wasplete in under an incense worth of time. The entire process was smooth and at ease.

    The convenience and prowess of the Whitespace could be seen at this point. It was like delegating all your work to a super-smart subordinate thatpletely understands what you wanted with a singlemand.

    Leon sighed. How many functions did the [Divine Book of Life] had left that he had yet to uncover? He didn''t know, but the artifact spirit definitely would.

    ''The [Divine Book of Life] had existed since the time of antiquity unknown to the denizens of the Divine Realm. However, one thing for sure is the artifact spirit of such a peerless treasure would have definitely umted a lot of wisdom of the long years since the beginning of its existence.''

    ''Knowledge pertaining to cultivation techniques, martial skills, spirit arts, divine arts, and other professions had not been recorded in the [Divine Book of Life], but perhaps the artifact spirit had them all stored in its own memory bank¡­''

    Leon shook his head and focused on the deciphered hidden message Arden left behind in his diary.

    "Life is like a puzzle. There is always a start and an ending. In life, people will be forced to make choices. Some are positive, some are not and fatal even. Even if the endpoint could be seen, it is uncertain whether they will be able to reach it until the path ahead had been tread."

    "If the solution to realizing one''s goal was given, how many would actually choose to believe it and blindly follow through the designs of others? How many can stay true to their conviction? How many would waver?"

    Leon wasn''t sure what Arden was trying to convey in his message but if someone told him he could kill all the divine kings by following that they say, he would think the person was crazy and a fraud that would screw him over.

    Following the message that seemed to contain hidden meanings was a single character ''jade'' that represents the Dragon Phoenix Jade, the starting point of the puzzle.

    Below the ''jade'' character were there directional words of left, right, and upward. Each direction was attached with a string of ''T'' characters that could be seen flipped upside down, rotated sideways, or simply just ''T''.

    It didn''t take Leon hard to guess that these ''T'' characters were referring to the positioning of the runic tes. Leon followed the instructions and turned the runic tes ordingly. After he was done, three runic lines connected the center te on the front entrance of the inheritance building and the jade te.

    Ignoring theplexity of the runic lines itself, the runic tes formed a straight line to the entrance te without any interruption of dead tes on each side of the cubic puzzle.

    Leon waited afterward, but nothing special seems to happen after. However, the hidden clue didn''t end with that set of instructions.

    There was another set of messages afterward that stated, "A teacher points the way, but it is ultimately dependent on the student on how they tread their path."

    Leon smiled wryly at this point. Of course, Arden wouldn''t leave behind something that would solve the puzzle for him outright.

    Arden was still expecting his sessor to be able to solve the puzzle himself, but at least he was given a framework to work with and only needed to fill in the nks.

    By having a set of correct runic tes provided for him, the seemingly difficult puzzle became extremely easy with its infinite possibilities narrowed down to an extremely low number. This was the difference between working blindly and having something to work with.

    It was like taking a multiple-choice test that you haven''t learned about nor studied for. Even if you managed to guess the answer correctly, you might go back and second guess yourself and end up with the incorrect one.

    Of course, these were just Leon''s assumptions. Nothing was proven until he starts solving the puzzle.

    Once he did though, everything became a lot smoother as he expected. Although mistakes were still made, it wasn''t as bad as before.

    Runic lines began lighting up one after the other and after an unknown period of time, every runic line had been lit up before he knew it.

    When thest runic te was rotated into position with a click, the pale purple light from the lit runic lines grew with increasing intensity, before it faded. No, it was more urate to say that it congregated elsewhere, the sealed entrance at the front.

    Heading over, Leon was soon absorbed when he began watching the fascinating mechanism of the inheritance building at work as the firstyer of the seal entrance unraveled itself.

    What was left behind in its ce was a newyer. The entrance had not been opened. However, at the center of the secondyer was a new runic te.

    This runic te differentiated itself from any other runic te he had seen. There were no runic lines on it, nor was it a dead te for the entire te itself was enshrouded in purple light.

    Leon had a feeling that if he pushed on this te with the palm of his hand, it would open the seal entrance before him, or at least something that would allow him inside would happen.

    Just as he ced his hand on it, his body screamed danger! The danger didn''te from the inheritance building itself but from behind him!

    He quickly attempted to steer his body away from the danger by dodging sideways, but his palm was surprisingly stuck to the te shrouded in purple light like it has been fused with it, forcing his attempt to fail.

    ''Fuck.''

    At that moment, he knew it was in trouble as his expression turned ghastly. A sharp object prated his body from behind.

    He had growncent, believing that with the tree spirit''s omnipotent divine sense, even if there was another spy in the group, they would not make a move until they had left the elder tree''s range. The price he had to pay for that mistake was overwhelming.

    Leon paled as he stared down at the tip of the steel sword sticking out of his chest. The sword was of the same designs like the ones carried by every pce guard.

    The sword strike missed his heart due to his quick reaction, but it did not improve his situation. One of his lungs was punctured and strength slowly slipped from his body along with shortness of breath.

    The next strike probably won''t miss. He was trapped and despair gripped his heart. Why did this have to happen here?

    "Che."

    The assant uttered, seemingly disappointed that his strike missed its intended target. Leon wanted to catch a glimpse of the assant as he turned his head. When he actually saw the person, he only had one question.

    "Why?"

    Faced with Leon''s question, the assant did not show any guilt. Only a foreign look filled with coldness, a contrast from his stern but usually warm expression.

    Zorbek cracked a cold smile and mockingly responded, "Birds will flock to greener trees. Thanks for the hard work."

    ''Thanks for the hard work?''

    Leon nced up to where the other pce guards were seen busy digging through the earthen ceiling and realized that Zorbek didn''t go up there before to study the difficulty of their objective but to get a good vantage point to observe him!

    Zorbek must''ve waited for him toplete whatever it was he was trying to do before taking action when the time was right.

    Leonughed self-deprecatingly at his own naivety and carelessness. He still had much to learn.

    "What are youughing nothing at?"

    "Nothing. Don''t expect things will go your way." Leon shook his head and said icily with determination. Excessive words were unneeded against an enemy.

    Zorbek wasn''t sure what Leon was about to do but he wasn''t nning on waiting to find out. He pulled his sword out of Leon''s body to deliver the finished blow, but he still wasn''t quick enough.

    Leon exerted some force with his palm that was glued to the bright purple te, hoping for a miracle.

    Once the te was pressed inwards, a magical scene happened. Leon''s body glowed with the same light before his entire body dissipated into particles of purple light before disappearing into the inheritance building.

    Lilith had a hunch that something bad was going to happen and went to find Leon. However, she came toote, only enough to watch Leon disappear into particles of light as Zorbek hacked at nothing.

    Zorbek''s expression turned ugly. He took momentary delight in his victim''s look of betrayal and despair and ended up failing his mission. He broke the ultimate rule for killing; To be merciless and relentless. Don''t give your opponent chances to make aeback.

    "What the hell did you just do!?" Lilith shouted.

    Zorbek smirked at her and tossed the bloodied sword in his hand over to her. Lilith caught it subconsciously, but her expression swiftly changed as she realized what the other person intended to do.

    "Pce guards, to me!!!"

    Sure enough. In the next moment, Zorbek issued a mighty angry roar to summon all the pce guards.

    ''Bastard!''

    Lilith cursed. The person was nning to frame her!

    She quickly turned around darted away before the pce guards arrive. Her exnations would be useless because she was considered an outsider.

    The pce guards would rather believe the words of their captain than a beast.

 Chapter 215 - Dilemma

    <h4>Chapter 215 - Dilemma</h4>

    Zorbek didn''t chase after Lilith but waited for the pce guard''s arrival. They had all be startled by the sudden call, but within moments, they had all appeared in front of their captain.

    Although they didn''t understand what was going on and had questioning looks, they asked, "What are your orders, Captain!?"

    "The beast girl plotted to assassinate the prince with the sword she stole from me. Luckily, I discovered in time and managed to stop her, but she managed to escape! Quickly go capture her! Dead or alive!" Zorbekmanded.

    ''What!''

    The pce guards were easily roused in anger. Just when they were beginning to trust that beastkin, the person attempted to kill their prince!? That was the same as trying to kill all of them!

    Half the pce guards immediatelyplied and gave chase after Lilith, who had already escaped with the steel sword. She didn''t have a weapon and since Zorbek was so gracious as to bestow her one, she wasn''t going to toss it back. She needed a weapon to defend herself.

    Meanwhile, the other half didn''t move immediately. Suspicion and doubts hung over their faces.

    How did the beast girl even manage to steal the sword from their captain? What would she gain from killing their prince? No matter how they thought about it, she doesn''t stand to gain anything from doing so.

    However, the shelved the thoughts to the back of their minds. The more important thing to worry about was the condition of their prince.

    "Where is his Highness?" They asked.

    "The prince has been swallowed by this building after receiving a stab. His condition is currently unknown. I will stay here and find a way to get his Highness out. The rest of you should quickly give chase. Don''t let the person escape." Zorbek said sternly.

    The pce guards frowned butplied. Orders were orders.

    "Yes, Captain."

    "Wait."

    Zorbek suddenly said.

    "Yes, Captain?"

    The pce guards paused their steps.

    Zorbek pointed at them and said, "I don''t have a weapon. One of you, pass me yours."

    One of the pce guards volunteered and offered his sword to Zorbek, before they all left. Few had offered to stay, but Zorbek rejected.

    With only Zorbek left behind in front of the sealed entrance of the inheritance building, he reverted back to a cold person and began studying the entrance.

    ''The brat seemed to have ced his hand here before he disappeared¡­'' Zorbek mused as he nced at a specific runic te.

    Gripping the new sword, Zorbek ced his hand on the runic te and pushed!

    However, nothing happened. The runic te had already lost its glow and was devoid of power. The entire inheritance building had reverted to its previous lifeless state like nothing had ever happened.

    Zorbek''s expression turned ugly and pushed several more times. His efforts were futile.

    "Sh*t!"

    He cursed and hacked the building anger with all his strength, but no damage was caused to building whatsoever. Not even a white scratch. In fact, it seemed like it was the sword that got chipped instead.

    ¡­

    Lilith was distressed while she was fleeing the scene. There was nowhere to run. She obviously couldn''t leave the elder tree''s protection and fight her way through the ants by herself nor could she stay. She would have to confront the pce guards.

    Although she didn''t fear a one on one with any of the pce guards, if they alle at her, she still wouldn''t stand. In the end, her best bet was the treants as she made her way to Elder Evergreen''s dwelling.

    No one couldmunicate with the treants in the ancient tongue other than Leon. She could only do her best to convey her message across with hand gestures.

    Elder Evergreen was awoken and baffled when the girl barged into his home and started making a bunch of gestures. It didn''t take long before his home became livelier as the pce guards arrived and started spewing a bunch of words.

    He didn''t understand what they were talking about, but it seemed like they wanted to harm the girl and it became apparent to him that the girl sought him for protection.

    Since that was the case, he would not allow any harm to befall her before he fully understood the situation and the best way to understand the situation was to seek the boy.

    The old treant stood in front of Lilith and shielded her, while the pce guards back off slightly as they were intimidated by Elder Evergreen''s pressure.

    Elder Evergreen might have had his Transcendental powers sealed; it was not lost. His body was more powerful than any other treants and a p from him would end them.

    When he took a step forward, the pce guards took a step back in fear. They nced at each other with dismay.

    What should they do?

    When the prince met up with them, the prince didn''t say much but he did mention establishing an alliance with the treants. If that was the case, they shouldn''t attack their allies, but they also couldn''t let the girl go after harming their prince. They were stuck in a dilemma.

    In the end, they could only follow the old treant from a distance as Elder Evergreen brought Lilith with him back to the back of the vige to seek the boy.

    Seeing everyone returning with the beast girl still in one piece, Zorbek''s expression turned dark at once.

    "Why haven''t you killed the beast that harmed his Highness!?"

    "The beast girl is protected by the old Treant, Captain!"

    The pce guards answered when the captain barked at him.

    ''These useless guards!''

    Zorbek secretly gnashed teeth. He drew his sword and charged at Lilith.

    Elder Evergreen frowned at this and swatted the person flying with a pa!

    Zorbek''s body drew an arc through the air beforending with a thud some 30-odd yards. Zorbek got back up with a cooled head and nced at therge dent on his armor, before ncing back at the old Treant warily while cold sweat began to form.

    Lilith looked on with smugness before a light bulb lit up in her head. Clearly, the person was anxious to silence witnesses. She should take this time to expose the culprit since the pce guards weren''t attacking her and had time to think when their heads are cooled.

    "You all shouldn''t be pointing your swords at me. The one who harmed your prince is him!" Lilith pointed.

    "Nonsense! Do you think my men will believe you? What reason do I, a human subject under the Crawford sovereignty have to harm a Crawford royalty, that you, a beast don''t?"

    Her im was immediately refuted furiously by Zorbek. The pce guards quickly joined and jeered at her.

    "Like we will believe you when the captain''s sword is in your hand!"

    "Yeah! The captain told us you stole his sword to kill our prince!"

    "Do you think you canmit such treachery and push the me on our captain that we''ve known for years?

    "Do you seriously treat us like idiots!?"

    Although Lilith was aggrieved, she did not lose her temper. Anger would not help her. She had to remain calm.

    "Does it even make sense that I am able to steal your captain''s sword from right under his nose when it is strapped to his side at all times? Had it never crossed your minds that your captain passed the sword to me so he can frame me after I witnessed his transgression against your prince?" Lilith questioned them calmly.

    The pce guard who refuted with whether she was treating them like idiots immediately kept mum. His face burned, while the rest kept silent and ruminated over her words. Although they didn''t believe, her words did make sense and voiced a few doubts they had.

    Sensing that his men were being swayed by Lilith''s words, Zorbek angrily barked, "What the hell are you all doing!? Don''t let her words sway you! Have you forgotten who I am? I am your captain for god''s sake!"

    The pce guards nced back and forth between the two sides helplessly. This was a problematic situation. If only their prince was present to rify who the culprit that attacked him was.

    Elder Evergreen picked a spot and sat down in a casual yet domineering way. He didn''t say anything, and neither would they understand, but his meaning was clear through his bodynguage. He was going to sit there and wait for their prince toe out.

    Elder Evergreen had faintly guessed that the boy already went inside the inheritance building when he couldn''t find the boy at the site.

    "Pardon our insubordination, Captain, but we are unable to listen to any of yourmands from this point onwards until his Highness''s situation is made known and the real culprit is determined." A pce guard said.

    Zorbek almost exploded on the spot as his already ugly expression went from bad to worse. As he thought, assassins and spies only have one chance. Once they fail, it was hard to avoid death.

    However, he didn''t n on waiting for death. He didn''t doubt that the prince would survive his sword strike he missed the heart and the prince was known for his miraculous medicines. Once the prince exits the buildings, it would be the end of him. He had to escape.

    Zorbek forced himself to remain calm and said, "That''s fine. You will all know once his Highnesses out. However, we all can''t be waiting here. We still have a job to do. Who will follow me in opening up the path to the surface?"

    The pce guards thought for a moment and agreed. They didn''t want to push their captain too far.

    Shortly after, three-quarters of the pce guards immediately followed Zorbek to continue their job, while the rest stayed to watch the beast girl and wait for the prince''s return. Lilith didn''t add anything and just watch them leave. The fewer people present, the less pressure on her.

    Among the 15 pce guards that followed Zorbek, not every one of them followed him because they believe in him, but because his words rang true. They had a job to do. However, there were some that followed in order to monitor Zorbek. If their captain was truly the culprit and was finding an opportunity to escape.

    They would never let him get away for harming their prince even if he was their captain! They would rather abandon brotherly sentiments than face the queen''s wrath, not to mention that their captain might not give a sh*t about their so-called brotherly sentiments at all if he truly was the culprit!

    If so, why would they spare him!? Oh, you tried to screw us over, but we will let you go because we''ve known you for years? Fuck that!

 Chapter 216 - Body Runes

    <h4>Chapter 216 - Body Runes</h4>

    Within the inheritance building, Leon had anticipated it would be a building filled with books on the study of runes, artificer techniques, and everything rted to Arden Grdi''s lifetime of research. But what he didn''t expect to actually find was a single emptyrge room.

    Neither did he expect that of the ways he would enter the inheritance room, it would be directly through spatial maniptions. Spatial maniptions that were created through the power of runes!

    Leon''s eyes glowed at the endless possibilities this discovery entails.

    If a difficultw of higher-order like space can bemanded through the use of runes, then it should be even more possible for primaryws like fire, water, earth, and the like¡­

    Since an artificer can manipte thews with runes, it was also possible to be used for battle and not remain purely as a production-type profession¡­

    After a moment, Leon shook his head with a wry smile. He was profaning an amazing technology with ill thoughts.

    Whether it was the past, present, or future, when it came to the introduction of amazing new technology, people would always think about whether it can be weaponized for military usage. Leon wasn''t an exception from this, especially when he was currently the prince of a kingdom within turbulent times.

    Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Leon felt a little nk and at a loss as he stared around the room. The room was like the starry skies of the night, cold and dark but filled with various tiny spots of light that give color and life to the void.

    If not for the feeling of his feet touching the ground, he would have actually thought he had been sent into the outer world, beyond the boundaries of Gaia.

    The reason he could tell the room was void of any books or the bookshelves that may contain it was not because he had swept the ce with his divine sense, but the tiny spots of light in the room provided him with enough visibility to understand that it was for a fact, empty.

    "Where is the inheritance? The books? The knowledge? The research?" Leon frowned. Did he get scammed?

    Leon took some steps forward and studied the room of the starry sky. It wasn''t something that was seen on the ground, the walls, and the ceiling but in the air as well. It was a three-dimensional starry sky.

    If this starry sky was meant to be all the inheritance Arden had to offer for the future generation then it couldn''t be as simple as it appears to be.

    Although Leon was disappointed that he didn''t find books filled with runic knowledge, he didn''t dwell on it and began to ponder about the starry sky room.

    After a moment, his eyes lit up with a thought. "Could this actually be a star map?"

    Leon became excited just thinking about it. He sent out his divine sense and zeroed in one a single spot of light and his mind, that spotlight was erged by several thousands of times and found it to be a star with 4s orbiting it.

    When he focused even further, he found that these projections of celestial bodies were made with runes, runes that didn''t require engraving on a runic te. It was able to exist on its own as a body of energy like a living rune¡­

    Some words could also be found above the celestial bodies.

    "Gnabestea Star Realm¡­"

    "It really is a star map! Maybe I can finally find out with part of the universe I''ve been sent to for transmigration."

    Leon had seen multiple star maps before back in the Divine Realm. Whether it was the Eastern Region, Western Region, Northern Region, or Southern Region, he had seen them all. As for the Deste Region that exists outside the Divine Realm, he had not seen much about it.

    But as long as the star map contained even a section that belonged to the Divine Realm, he would be able to recognize which region it was a part of, given some time.

    Leon nced at each spot of light that represented a star. Each star that was capable of nurturing life in its system was called a star realm. Thankfully, the star map was rtively detailed with names listed.

    After a while, he scrunched his brows together. He did not recognize any of these star realms nor the region was located in for that matter It wasn''t a big star map. There only around 100-star realms in this star map.

    "Could Gaia be in the deepest part of the Deste Region?"

    The location of Gaia on the star map, Leon had already found it. It was at his original spot when he teleported inside the room, which was at the outer rims. Gaia was found in the Vandelheim Star Realm.

    Surprisingly, it wasn''t the center of the star map, which drew Leon''s suspicion. Usually, star maps are made with the star realm it made in as its center unless the star map represented an entire starfield with no other star realms within its nearby vicinity.

    To Leon''s knowledge, the smallest starfield had at least 300 stars, but this one only had 100. Furthermore, at its center wasn''t another star realm but a big ball of light that was hundreds of timesrger than any other spots of light that represented stars and star realms.

    Leon didn''t know what it was, but he immediately ruled the possibility of it being a star. No star could possibly be that big. The outer world around it would never be dark with such arge star in existence, but most of all, it wouldn''t have gone unnoticed until now. It would have outshined their own sun!

    "Since it wasn''t a star then what was it? The congregation of energy, a divine realm? Surely not, right?"

    "Divine realms were the central region of an entire gxy, a supercluster. There would be a giant ck hole at its center that draws the energy towards it, but this one had no such dark spot."

    Leon''s hand subconsciously clenched into a fist. If he couldn''t even find out where he was, how would he be able to find his way back to the Divine Realm to take revenge for his father?

    Leon made his way over to the center of the room to study the big ball of light. However, by the time he reached the center, he identally triggered something surprising.

    Runic lines lit up on the ground beneath his feet in the form of a formation circle and the star map retracted and disappeared into the big ball of light. The darkroom became a brightly lit one.

    Before Leon couldprehend what was happening, the ball of light shrank in size and shot into his. Information flooded his mind and assaulted it like a headache, throbbing with each wave.

    Leon could feel his consciousness slipping, but it was times like these when he had to persevere through it. There was a big difference between receiving an influx of information conscious and receiving unconsciously.

    Consciously, he would understand the kind of contents transmitted to him and be easier to recall, while unconsciously, if he did not know what he wanted to recall then he would naturally not be able to recall it.

    "Dammit, there really was an inheritance." Leon gritted his teeth and endured the influx of knowledge. He was not prepared for this at all. Shouldn''t there at least be some heads up or warning!?

    However, Leon was shaken by the knowledge flowing into his mind. It wasn''t just the star map being engraved into his memory, there was Arden''s understanding of the runic knowledge, his artificer techniques, but most importantly his life''s research, the secret to his survival.

    Leon did his best to digest everything quickly. He began to understand how Arden Grdi survived the disaster. In truth, Arden had never given up on cultivation even though others had told him that he could not cultivate.

    Arden possessed a divine body called the [Astral Tyrant Physique]. If he had been born in the Divine Realm and cultivated the [Astral Tyrant Emperor Technique], he would have be an overlord of an era.

    It was an overbearing physique that allows one to directly absorb the astral energy of the universe to temper his own body. Pity he was born in a world that didn''t practice divine cultivation and had no ess to such a divine technique.

    Although Arden didn''t know all of this, he never gave up. He had managed to forge his own cultivation path with his rich knowledge as an artificer.

    He never had the [Astral Tyrant Emperor Technique], but he understood that his body needed astral energy to improve. As such, he developed a method that would allow his body to draw in astral energy quicker.

    By engraving runes on his own body, he managed to borrow the power of runes to draw in the energy from the universe and temper his body to terrifying heights.

    It was unimaginable what kind of steel resolve was needed to through themselves through such an experience. To use their own body as the runic te and carve into their flesh.

    Through this method, Arden had gone through untold suffering and pain, but he was also able to gain a body that was vastly more powerful than any other wondrous physique known to man.

    Leon''s eyes flickered. Strictly speaking, this was a body forging method that belongs to the body cultivation system. He hadmented about not having a body forging method, and now one had suddenly fallen into hisp.

    Although the method was unconventional, it was still a body forging method nevertheless.

    If he could strengthen his own body through the power of runes, it might not be impossible to endure the Celestial Tribtion. But he was a divine practitioner. He should be worrying about Divine Damnation instead.

    Celestial Tribtions bless those that ovee it, but Divine Damnation seeks to destroy those that incur it, both body and soul. After all, divine practice was an act that went against the heavens.

    After receiving all the influx of information, Leon spent an unknown period of time to digest it all.

 Chapter 217 - A Startling Thought In Confinement

    <h4>Chapter 217 - A Startling Thought In Confinement</h4>

    Within the inheritance room, time seemed to have flowed at a very quick rate, but in truth, time had always been constant. The only thing that changed was Leon''s perception of it.

    Leon wasn''t sure when he had seated him in a meditative position nor how long he had been digesting the information poured into his mind, but it had felt like a whole lifetime. The moment he opened his eyes, they glowed with newfound wisdom.

    "Truly magical. This feeling¡­ it''s like I, myself have practiced artifact forging, and studied runes for decades and not just some foreign knowledge instilled into me¡­ To think the power of runes was capable of all this¡­"

    "Runes, this mysticalnguage was filled with limitless applications. The only limitation is one''s own imagination in applying it."

    Leon sighed sentimentally. What he received wasn''t just knowledge of artificers, but the entirety of Arden''s study into the runguage.

    Arden''s attainments in the runguage were so profound, he had also dabbled in formations and spiritual arrays.

    While they all seemed like different professions, they all stemmed from the same source like different sides to the same coin, they were all based on the runguage and the power of runes. The only thing that differed and set them apart was their application of it.

    Leon didn''t know much about spiritual arrays, but from the inheritance he had received, spiritual arrays were veryplex andpacted runic circles, constructed for single-use purposes by spiritual array masters.

    If one wanted to construct a spiritual array, they are required a greater understanding of the runguage than artificers and formation masters. Also, only a spiritual array master can construct a spiritual array, but not just anyone can be a spiritual array master.

    A spiritual array master can be an artificer or a formation master, but an artificer or formation master cannot be a spiritual array master.

    To be a spiritual array master, the most fundamental requirement was to be able to manifest their will, an ability that people with great inherent mental strength had a chance of awakening but not guaranteed.

    ''Mind over matter,'' people call it.

    The ability was crucial for shaping spirit energy in the world into runic circles with their mental energy to form the spiritual array, something only possible with mental energy due to its formless and illusory nature.

    Any other form of energy would either directly or indirectly interfere with the construction of the spiritual array.

    It was a delicate process that required the greatest degree of control and concentration from the spiritual array master. The slightest mistake would render the whole process useless and one would have to restart from scratch.

    However, it was said that spiritual arrays were immensely powerful, capable of rendering the heavens asunder.

    No one knows whether this was true though. Spiritual array master was a profession that had died out since the spirit energy in Gaia had almost thinned into non-existence and had never regained poprity during Gaia''s revitalization period.

    "False Tribtion Array¡­"

    Leon frowned.

    False Tribtion Array was supposedly an array capable of summoning the wrath of the heavens to smite one''s enemies. The array was Arden''s own invention and had never been tested.

    Although Leon''s interest in the array was piqued, neither the current him nor Arden of the past was spiritual array masters. He was currently incapable of proving whether the array was grandiose as it was described or whether it even works.

    "Spiritual arrays are currently out of the question, but what should I practice first? Body Runes or artifact forging?"

    Leon mused.

    "Artifact forging is the safer route. Let''s go with that. Engraving runes on one''s body is a dangerous and delicate process. Although I have inherited the knowledge and the skill to carry it out, I won''t know if this feeling is real or illusory until proven through practice."

    Leon decided with a frown. He was definitely not avoiding Body Runes because it was also a painful process¡­ definitely not¡­

    "But to begin artifact forging, it goes without saying that materials are needed, but more importantly¡­ an artificer cannot do without his scribing pen."

    A scribing pen was the most important tool for an artificer. Without it, they cannot engrave runes. An artificer''s scribing pen was made with impable sharpness to carve runic lines on any object. These lines on its own are just ordinarily carved lines and a scribing pen would be no different to a carving knife.

    What makes a scribing pen a scribing pen and distinguish runic lines from ordinary lines is its ''ink''. Anything conducive to energy can be used as the ''ink'' of an artificer''s scribing pen.

    In the Divine Realm, blood from high-level divine beasts was the most ideal ''ink'', while the mostmon was liquified spirit energy.

    Leon didn''t want to seem ungrateful, but how can an artificer''s inheritance note with a scribing pen? The scribing pen of a great artificer like Arden Grdi would definitely be a shabby one.

    ncing around, Leon was at a loss. The room was like a white canvas. It could not be any more nk and empty¡­

    "Hmm?"

    Or perhaps not. Leon noticed an inconspicuous white wooden box that managed to blend with the background in one corner of the inheritance room. It was rectangr in shape and the size was quite appropriate for a¡­

    Leon''s breathing became haggard from excitement.

    ''Perhaps¡­?''

    Leon quickly went over and picked it up before opening it.

    ''Sure enough, it really was a scribing pen.''

    Leon began to study the scribing pen. It looked like fountain pens found in every stationery store within the Human Domain.

    The body was made of star meteorite and was filled with a ck luster. The surface was smooth and in with no runic engravings in sight, making it unremarkably ordinary at a nce.

    However, the butt of the pen was eye-catching due to a spherical purple jade that was embedded into it and held in ce by five ws like a dragon''s grip. In addition, the scribing pen was in pristine condition and hadn''t been eroded by time, making it anything but ordinary.

    "Ravenous ck."

    Leon found the engraved name on the nib''s body. He presumed the interior of Ravenous ck was where the runic characters and circles can be found, and the tough exterior was designed to protect the delicate runes.

    When Leon swept it with his divine sense, he was still caught by surprise. The number of runes found inside had exceeded his expectation.

    There were defense runes, sharpness runes, toughness runes, shock absorbant runes, anti-erosion. Basically, every rune that improves Ravenous ck''s defensive and carving capability was added.

    In addition, there was a bunch of runic circles that formed a miniature formation inside the purple jade point to gather,press and condense energy to be used as magical ink.

    This was a scribing pen that would never run out of ink so long as there was spirit energy in the world to absorb. Leon began to see where the name came from. Not very creative he must say.

    Within the white box, other than Ravenous ck, there was also a note that stated, "The destined one is not one who receives but one who uses effectively, the inheritance. Prove thy''s worth and thou shall leave, or prove thee not and thou shall be forever buried here for the next fated one."

    "Son of a¡­"

    Leon wanted to curse out loud when he read the note. His expression darkened like the looming clouds over one''s head. He looked around but an exit did not exist. The inheritance room was fully enclosed and sealed off by white walls in all four directions.

    He came inside through the power of spatial runes. Most likely, he would also have to get out the same way.

    On that note, he was required to find the spatial rune''s activation point, or worse, create a spatial rune himself in order to himself get out.

    "Ugh¡­ like getting inside wasn''t enough trouble. Now getting out is going to be difficult too."

    "I can''t stay here for long. There are people waiting for me outside and an unsettled business to attend to. I cannot let that bastard escape!"

    "Hm¡­? Something''s not right."

    Suddenly, Leon became stunned as his eyes slowly widened. He had just remembered something significant. It was so significant that he shouldn''t have forgotten it, and yet he had forgotten it anyway.

    "What happened to my chest wound?"

    Leon furrowed his brows when he tried to recall the stab he received previously. If memory served him right, he had yet to tend to his wounds since arriving in this space.

    However, there was no such wound when he inspected himself.

    "Not even a scar was left behind¡­ it''s like the wound never existed¡­ What is going?"

    Leon began to shake his head. Things were getting more bizarre by the moment.

    "Why does the event feel like a distant memory that had happened decades ago when it should have only happened a day ago¡­?" Leon''s frown deepened in self-doubt.

    He began to recall the inheritance process that felt like a lifetime, reliving Arden''s experience and making it his own¡­

    Leon began to pale at a possibility.

    "Don''t tell me I actually did spend decades absorbing the inheritance!?"

    The further he thought about it, the more he felt that was likely the case!

    Absorbing the information from a book or two from the Whitespace was already enough to jam his head full for a period. If the full inheritance was jammed into his head at once, his mind wouldn''t have been able to handle the burden and gone crazy.

    But if he had really spent decades in this space, what had happened to the outside world during this time? How was the kingdom? His parents? His women?

    Leon slumped to the ground with a nk look.

    ''How can this be¡­?''

 Chapter 219 - Getting Out

    <h4>Chapter 219 - Getting Out</h4>

    Within the dreamscape, Leon sat cross-legged on the floor with his arms crossed, his brows furrowed and his gaze piercing. In front of him were the Ravenous ck he had ced on the ground and the object of his gaze.

    ''To create a fake replica to such degree of fine details, it must serve a purpose. Obviously, this purpose is to create a new runic mechanism that will allow me to escape back to my real body, but¡­''

    Leon frown deepened. He didn''t know where to begin. If the dreamscape was his, he would be able to create anything with the power of his imagination. He would just need to simply will a portal to the real world to return.

    After all, a dreamscape is like the world of one''s dream and anyone can be the god of their own dream, dictating what can and what can''t happen.

    Nothing needed to make sense behind the power to create anything, nor did the logic and reasoning needed to be understood for it to happen. If they will it with their imagination, it will happen.

    s, this wasn''t his dreamscape, but someone else''s dreamscape. His will had no power over it.

    Given time though, he might be able toe up with his own unique method of leaving the dreamscape, but time was the one thing he didn''t have right now.

    Instead ofing up with a new method, it would be much quicker if he could just replicate an existing method, Arden''s method.

    At this point, Leon paused for a moment.

    "That''s right, I can just replicate Arden''s method. All the pieces of the puzzle had been given to me. I just have to put them together, while the picture can be found in my memory."

    Leon smacked himself in understanding. He just needed to recall all the details of how he got himself inside in the first ce, reverse-engineer it and he will be able to get himself out quickly.

    ''I might not have understood what was happening before, but now that I have inherited Arden''s knowledge and skill, it should be a piece of cake for me.''

    Having thought that, Leon closed his eyes and recalled his memories of the moment. However, the memory had be a bit blurry and indistinct after he had spent decades in the dreamscape.

    This might not have been a problem for other stuff, but he was trying to recall great details from the moment the runes activated, the purple pulsated and transformed his own body into a body of light, and the instantaneous moment of his transference into the dreamscape.

    He needed details of everything.

    His eyes snapped open and frowned.

    "I can''t miss anything. I probably only have one chance to get out. If I identally fail but tear a hole through the temporal rune barrier protecting the dreamscape, the void will swallow my soul."

    "What should I do?"

    "If my memory is blurry, I just have to reinforce it."

    Leon didn''t even take a moment before he answered his own question. He had a plethora of herbs in his Worldspace.

    ''Fortunately, I took the time to build a small biome and nted the yin-element rted herbs. These are all herbs with nourishing aspects for the soul.''

    ''Also, I should still have some Soul Enhancing Pills from thest batch I refined. Previously, I had only ingested one to strengthen my divine sense¡­''

    ''Although these Soul Enhancing Pills are mainly used to strengthen the soul, it does have some memory reinforcement effects. After all, strengthening the soul covers many aspects including but not limited to information processing, reaction speed, visualization, etc.''

    Leon could have ingested all 9 Soul Enhancing Pills he had previously refined, but he was perhaps too cautious for his own good when it came to the topic of souls.

    The soul was the most mysterious part of the human body that even left Divine Kings pondering for millenniums without fullyprehending, yet all Divine Kings seem to ce great emphasis on the aspect of their souls once their cultivation reached the Divine King realm.

    If Leon had to make a wild guess why this was the case, it is because the key to advancing beyond the Divine King realm was rted to the soul.

    Leon does not know what kind of soul requirement was needed to break through the Divine King realm, but if he did not want to cut his own path short, he had to treat his soul cultivation carefully.

    Improving his soul too quickly might leave lifelong adverse effects that impede his future cultivation.

    Like stretching a dry rubber band, there was a limit to how much it can stretch. Stretch it too far and it will snap. Even if it does not, cracks will appear, and it will never be the same again.

    Until he gets his hand on a soul cultivation technique, he will use Soul Enhancing Pills to improve his own soul at a very controlled pace.

    ''Wait a minute.''

    Leon''s mind froze for a moment.

    ''I should still be able to ess the [Divine Book of Life], right?''

    With a single thought, he disappeared from dreamscape room and reappeared in the Worldspace.

    ncing around at the familiar surroundings and freshly grown herbs, Leon heaved a sigh of relief.

    ''Figures. The [Divine Book of Life] is bound to my soul after all¡­ but then again, nothing is absolute so one can never be too sure. Overconfidence can be one''s downfall.''

    Leon did not linger in the Worldspace for long before hopping into the Whitespace and searched the Archive for rted books.

    After doing a double check on his avable herbs, he settled on a single pill recipe, the Never Forget Pill that met herb requirements. His previous efforts were now paying off.

    He didn''t know who came up with such a name, but he wasn''t going to be picky about trivial matters. In fact, he felt the name was quite simple and straightforward, free of bullsh*t and not overexaggerating.

    The reason he chose the Never Forget Pill over a Soul Enhancing Pill was due to it being the most suitable pill for his cause.

    The Soul Enhancing Pill provides minor memory reinforcement, but the Never Forget Pill will allow him to search through his subconscious memory and pick a section to be photographically reinforced.

    Although all memory declines over time, the efficacy of the pill will allow the user to retain the memory for longer periods of time.

    Since he was using Tier-3 Spirit Herbs, a Tier-3 Never Forget Pill will allow him to retain 1 days'' worth of memory photographically for up to 6 months before it starts to decline.

    Although Leon was refining the Never Forget Pill for the first time, the process was smooth without any mishap.

    Never Forget Pill was a tier-1 spirit pill, but it has risen to tier-3 due to the tier-3 spirit herbs used.

    If he could not even refine a tier-1 spirit pill, he would be an ipetent alchemist no matter how high he had already achieved in alchemy.

    Nine sparkling white pills were revealed, the moment Leon lifted the substitute pill cauldron lid as the medicinal fragrance washed over him.

    With a simple whiff, he had easily gauged each of their quality.

    ''7 mid-ranks and 2 high-rank pills, huh?''

    Leon nodded impassively, neither satisfied nor disappointed. It was all within his expectations. Alternatively, if there had been any low-rank pills or even medicinal dregs, he would have been ashamed.

    ncing at the 9 Tier-3 Never Forget Pills, Leon had mixed feelings.

    "If I had such pills in my previous life, I wouldn''t have spent countless hours and headaches each day memorizing the plethora of herbs, their properties, and usage."

    "Heck, I just had to read everything once and ingest a single pill to memorize everything. I would have been able to ace every written exam during the alchemy tier advancement exam with something like this."

    "Haiz, my father been keeping all the good stuff to himself."

    Leon secretlyined before he lowered his head dejectedly. His father was no longer with him. As for the king, his current father who shares the spitting image of histe father, they were not the same person.

    They had yet to talk, but he had secretly observed his king father for a short period of time. The mannerisms, speech, and behavior were all different.

    Same appearance, butpletely different. Even his own appearance was the same as his previous life''s one. Such coincidence baffled him.

    He never really understood what kind of world he hadnded in, but it matters not. He will eventually find out in due time.

    "Father¡­"

    Leon was only downcast for a short while before his dejected eyes were reced with strong decisiveness.

    "I will make them all pay eventually¡­"

    Revenge was best served cold, not because it granted the greatest satisfaction but because it was more likely to seed.

    If satisfaction were felt after sessfully enacting vengeance, that is when a person know they had not been avenging others but themselves, because avenging others would not make them any happier. It would not bring the dead back to life.

    Without further thoughts, Leon popped the pill in his mouth, selected his memory, and return to the dreamscape.

    Seated at the center in silence with his eyes closed, he reyed the memory repeatedly.

    Once became tens, and tens became hundreds of times. After reying the short 30-second memory 327 times, he had picked up a total of 300 different runes that had activated during that short moment from the point he touched the runic te to entering the dreamscape.

    ''This should be all of them¡­''

    Leon soon returned to the Whitespace and borrowed theputational power of the Archive to visually project the 300 runes instead of using his own mental simtion.

    Under the guidance of his will, he watched as the 300 runes fell into ce and connected to each other, forming multiple runic circles, both big and small in sizes, and each with their own set function.

    Some of these functions had nothing to do with the spatial teleportation and soul transference but were part of the runic te puzzle of the inheritance building.

    Leon removed the irrelevant runic circles from the equation and what was left was 1 big spatial runic circle and 2 smaller runic circles rted to the aspect of the soul.

    After slight modification on his part for the return trip, a single but more intricately designed runic circleid before him.

    Leon firmly memorized the image in his mind, before he returned to the dreamscape for thest time to pick up Ravenous ck and draw his runic circle on the white floor.

    The sharp gib easily carved away the tough yet illusory marbled floor as lines quickly formed with Leon''s steady hand as he drew. Starting from the outeryer, he worked his way inwards towards the center.

    The lines slowly weaved together to form an exact replica of the runic circle imprinted in his mind. At the heart of the runic circle where four runic lines met, Leon finished off with a half-spherical socket carving.

    The progress seemed smooth and quick, but actually, it took longer than Leon anticipated. Nevertheless, after checking his work thrice, he didn''t find any problem with it and nodded.

    "Time to go back."

    Standing inside the runic circle, the Ravenous ck in his hand was flipped on its jade end before it was jammed into the empty socket at the heart of the big runic circle, lighting it up before his own body transformed into light particles and disappeared from the spot.

 Chapter 220 - The Struggle Is Real

    <h4>Chapter 220 - The Struggle Is Real</h4>

    Infinite darkness filled Leon''s field of vision. He could not see anything. He seemed to have been robbed of all his senses, all except his own existence.

    He felt incredibly cold, not from his body but from the recess of his soul like he was fading away from existence. He felt helpless and couldn''t do anything. He was just like a subconscious thought mindlessly drifting through the endless cold void without control.

    ''Did I fail?'' Leon thought.

    He could fill his own consciousness slowly slipping away.

    ''No, that shouldn''t be the case¡­ This dark void is different from that deathly monochrome void. I should have already left the dreamscape and returned to my real body.''

    ''¡­Then was I toote?''

    Leon could not think of any other reasonable exnation for his current state. It seems like his perception of the outside world has been sealed off and he was trapped in his own subconscious space.

    He was still conscious of his own thoughts, but it was waning with time.

    ''This must be the moment of rity before death¡­''

    Leon was disappointed. It seems his body had already died. The reason he was still conscious of his own thoughts was that he had just returned to his body. It was just a matter of time before he was dead in both mind and body.

    ''I did what I could¡­ There''s no use crying over spilled milk now¡­''

    Leon felt death creeping closer to him with open arms, but he did not repulse it, nor did he have the strength to. He was tired. He just wants to sleep for eternity.

    His soul shook when he thought along such dangerous lines.

    ''No! I cannot fall asleep! If I give up now, it will really be over!''

    His mind screamed. His journey had barely started. He still had people to see and things to do! He refuses to beid to rest here!

    ''Fight it! I must fight against this feeling!''

    Leon thought determinedly. He would grit his teeth if he could.

    ''If there''s a will, there''s a way!''

    What he needed to do right now was think, think of a solution to get himself out of his current predicament!

    Leon began wracking his head anxiously. It was a race against time.

    One should remain calm in dire situations to make clearheaded and correct choices, but how can he do that when he knows he will die if he does not do something?

    In Leon''s anxiety, he had forgotten one simple truth. His body was mortal. Only after oveing Divine Damnation and reaching the Divine Origin Realm, would his soul be strong enough to survive without a living body for a period of time.

    Although his current soul had a higher starting point and he had retained his divine sense ability, he was far from the same level as when he was still in the Divine Origin Realm.

    Death would have imed him very shortly if his mortal body was already dead. He wouldn''t even have a fighting chance to hold out as long as he was doing right now.

    Drip¡­

    The sound was very soft and sudden, but within the quiet subconscious space of his mind, Leon heard it clearly no matter how subtle it was. It was just a single drop of blood, but it was like the thin veil over his eyes had been lifted.

    His blood had not run dry just yet. It was still bleeding. Leon was pleasantly surprised. For him to only hear a drop of blood now implies that his body was bleeding at an incredibly slowly.

    Furthermore, it also would not have been possible to hear his blood dripping if his body wasn''t positioned in a way that allows for it to happen.

    ''Should I say my luck is good for such a coincidence? Or should I say it''s bad fornding myself in such a situation in the first ce?''

    Leon despondently thought. Nevertheless, he was pleased to know he was still alive.

    ''It seems my perception to the outside has not beenpletely cut off and had only been sealed inside as a form of self-preservation mechanism of the body, allowing me to hold out longer by conserving energy."

    ''This should be what it feels like to be in a pseudo-death state¡­ but the chances of a person being conscious in a pseudo-death state, I''m probably the first due to a strange string of events and happenstance.''

    Leon continued wryly. He didn''t want to sound arrogant, but he had not heard of such precedents in all his time as a doctor.

    Maybe one day when he had settled down somewhere, he should write a book about his life experience¡­

    Leon shook his mind.

    ''While I am not dead yet, I''m also not far from it and eventually will be if nothing is done to stop it. I cannot wait for someone toe save me; I can only rely on myself. I doubt anyone else can enter after I seeded in escaping the dreamscape.''

    Arden was very thorough in passing his inheritance. There can be multiple candidates, but only one true sessor.

    If he had died inside the dreamscape, the inheritance building would reset itself for the next challenger, but since he managed to escape, the dreamscape most likely no longer exists.

    But no matter how thorough Arden was, the great genius would have never guessed that his sessor was about to die after passing his final trial, ending his legacy.

    Leon could imagine Arden rolling in his grave and cursing his nine generations, should he fail at this point.

    At this moment, what he needed to do was reestablish his connection to the outside world and regain control of his body. This was the hard part. What followed after was the easy part.

    However, Leon did not have any good methods to go about tackling this problem. Everything was dependent on his will.

    Like a person in a vegetative state trapped in a beautiful dream, they would be really unwilling for it to end. Unless they were willing or received strong outside stimulus that aroused their emotion, they would never wake up.

    ''I''m obviously conscious and clear of my reasons and desire to get out¡­ but it''s not working. Why is this so?''

    ''What''s also concerning is I can still feel my elemental seeds, but I can''t tap into their power. Something feels different.''

    ''What is happening to my body?''

    He was supposed to be an expert when ites to human anatomy but mixed with a cultivation system he was still exploring and limited senses, it was like trying to understand something with his eyes covered and hands and feet tied. He did not have a clue.

    He could only guess that this change was brought by his Five Element Body.

    Time trickled by but no matter how hard Leon willed it, it was to no avail. He could not escape his own subconscious space.

    He began losing track of time. A long time seemed to have passed and the sound of his blood dripping could no longer be heard for some time.

    Did his body run out of blood or did his wound finally closed up?

    He didn''t know. His mental strength was slipping away, and his consciousness began fading in and out. He had lost count of how many times this had happened.

    The next time he came to, he was very weak, very cold. His sense of sight seemed to have returned but darkness filled his vision. The room was dark and gloomy.

    His body wasid on top of a stone coffin and his blood that dripped down from it had already solidified.

    "I''m¡­ back?"

    Leon said feebly with parched lips. He had lost too much blood and his body refused to move.

    He didn''t have time to celebrate. Although he came back, he didn''t know when he was going topse in unconsciousness again and perhaps for thest time at that. He knew what he had to do.

    Despite his body''s objection to moving, Leon fished out a pill bottle with the highest tier of healing he had with shaky hands.

    The next hurdle was not one he would have imagined until this day, removing the lid from the pill bottle. It was a real struggle.

    It was like an internal battle between two monkies, representing his mind and body each. They wrestled and one screamed ''noooo'', while the other screamed, ''yessss'' repeatedly.

    A long and arduous battle was fought before the mind won.

    Leon didn''t count how many tier-3 healing pills he had plopped into his mouth afterward before hepsed back into unconsciousness due to exhaustion.

    Half an hourter, he regained consciousness again for the Nth time. This time, although he was still weak, he had finally ovee death and his life was no longer in danger.

    Leon got the chance to finally observe the real interior of the inheritance building. Looking around, he noticed that high-level nts had grown inside here around the stone coffin.

    However, they had all wilted and died. It seemed really recent.

    On the ground, piles of dust filled the ce. Or rather, they were all crystal fragments. Judging by the amount, there were at least several thousand crystals when it was still intact.

    "Are these all from transcendent crystals?!"

    Leon became shocked at once. What happened here!? Did Arden leave a bunch of scraps to tell him something? Or did something else happened here that he doesn''t know about!?

    "It''s impossible for my own body to have absorbed so much energy. It would explode from overloading."

    Leon frowned before his pale face suddenly paled even more.

    "My cultivation¡­ what happened to all my cultivation!?"

 Chapter 221 - Blessing In Disguise?

    <h4>Chapter 221 - Blessing In Disguise?</h4>

    For a while, Leon was nk. He could not think nor speak.

    He couldn''t draw any power from his cultivation base. Both awakening and divine cultivation were dead like still water, not adhering to hismand.

    It was like his cultivation was gone. The only thing stopping him from losing his mind was that he could still feel it.

    However, what was the difference between having his cultivation and not having it, if he can''t use his powers? He would be no different to regr mortals, an ordinary human.

    If he had lost his cultivation, although he would be slightly devastated, he could just start from scratch. The problem is he still has his cultivation, but no ess to it.

    ''Dammit, why do problems keep cropping up one after the other?''

    Leon frowned. He thought he was supposed to have a lucky halo over his head from exterminate evil nobles and umte karmic virtues that bless him with good luck.

    He found that in his weakened state, frowning was also a draining task. Leon weakly rubbed his temples and calmed his nerves.

    "Got to stay calm¡­ I should first investigate the state of my body first."

    His wound was closed, leaving behind a single deep scar and his body was pale from theck of blood.

    Fortunately, he kept some Longevity Blood on him. Although it was meant to be used as gifts, these were desperate times. He would just find another opportunity to refine more or take some from the Treasury once he gets back.

    "Although this 5-Year Longevity Blood is mainly used for minor lifespan replenishments and won''t be able to rece the blood I lost, it will provide some nourishments for my body''s recovery and aid the production of new blood."

    "Do you usually talk to yourself? That''s so lonely." A voice asked him suddenly before it burped afterward.

    "Who?"

    Leon became alerted and looked around. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He became doubtful when his gazended on the stone coffin.

    ''The voice didn''t happen to being from the stone coffin, right?''

    "I''m not the dead geezer in the coffin obviously, idiot. Have you ever seen the deading back to life?" The voice sounded slightly angry like it was insulting to be mistaken for the corpse within the stone coffin, even if the corpse belonged to a prestigious person of the past.

    A little girl soon materialized in front of him. She had starry eyes and pearly skin with a twin ponytail. Her appearance was very adorable and overflowing with cuteness. Anyone would have the sudden urge to hug her once theyid eyes on her.

    However, her starry eyes shone with wisdom that did not match her young appearance, making others stop and not treat her as a simple little girl

    The girl''s image was soon destroyed by her own behavior. She patted her round stomach boldly and unrestraint in satisfaction like she just had a big buffet.

    "You are¡­ the artifact spirit of the Divine Book of Life?"

    "You may address me as Maya."

    The little girl nodded with a sly smile while licking her lips. She seems to still be savoring the sweet aftertaste of a great meal.

    "So, what do you think of this form? Don''t you just want tomit a crime?" Maya said coyly.

    Leon closed his eyes and began chanting like a Buddhist monk.

    ''The heart sees no evil; the heart sees no evil.''

    He was not a lolicon.

    Suddenly, he realized why his father never introduced the artifact spirit after the [Divine Book of Life] was exposed.

    This artifact spirit''s character was rather¡­ peculiar. Despite having an age that most likely longer than his own family''s entire ancestral lineage, it chooses to remain in the form of a child and tease him from the get-go!

    His father introducing the artifact spirit would be the same as inviting misunderstandings that would hurt his prestige and image.

    Although artifact spirits have slower intellectual growth than nts, Leon did not believe that after so many years, the artifact spirit of the divine book did not grow beyond its child form.

    Artifact spirits can freely control their form once they reach a certain level of intelligence. Maya, for whatever sick reason, chose to remain in her child form.

    After Leon calmed down, he chose to temporarily ignore the artifact spirit and perform self-introspection. He will deal with the artifact spiritter. He had more important matters to be concerned about.

    Maya, however, did not seem bothered by his disregard and quietly studied him.

    Within Leon be, his condensed pseudo-Grandmist energy was no longer present. It was reced by a greyish core that rotated at a noticeably slower rate.

    ''Revolving Core Realm?''

    Leon creased his brows. How on earth did he jump an entirerge realm? No, that is not right. The density of energy in the core was notparable to someone who had just entered the ranks of Revolving Core Realm experts.

    Divine practitioners would usually fill their bes to the brim before making their breakthroughs to higher realms because energy is easier to control and collect in its lower state.

    Although Energy Condensation Realm practitioners can enter the Revolving Core Realm at any time bypressing their energy into a core, doing so would just slow down their cultivation.

    If he had really entered the Revolving Core Realm when he was still in the early-stage Energy Condensation Realm, his current strength would only beparable to middle-stage Energy Condensation Realm.

    But then again, none of that matters if he cannot draw any power from it. He didn''t know what was going on, but neither his divine cultivation nor awakening cultivation was reacting to him.

    ''What about my elemental seeds?'' Leon thought with a frown.

    Entering the subconscious space of his soul core, Leon''s body shook. His elemental seeds were all missing. They weren''t orbiting his soul core as they should be. In fact, his soul core looks rather different.

    ''The elemental seeds are merging with my¡­ soul core? This¡­ where did this wood elemental seede from?''

    Leon attempted to analyze calmly, but he was shocked by the additional elemental seed thatplete his five-element cycle.

    ''Was this change brought forth by the unknown changes of my body?''

    From the outside, Leon had his brows furrowed deeply. As this was happening, Maya continued to study him intriguingly. She seems to be more aware of what was happening to him than he was as she was awake during the time he was unconscious.

    Leon slowly opened his eyes with a pale face.

    ''Not good. Nothing''s working.''

    It feels like his cultivation had been sealed with a lock, but with no key to unlock. Did he have to destroy his cultivation and start over?

    Leon became lost.

    "Hey, hey, you look like a little kid that''s about to cry after losing sight of your mommy," Maya said teasingly.

    ncing at the baby-faced artifact spirit, Leon responded with, "I don''t want to hear thating from you."

    "You seem to be wondering what is going on with your cultivation. Good thing is, I know what happened. Bad thing is, I don''t know why it happened.

    Some color returned to Leon''s face as he perked his ears and looked at Maya with rapt attention.

    "Tell me," Leon said bluntly.

    "Is this how you should be asking someone a favor?" The artifact spirit grumbled in dissatisfaction.

    Leon began making aplicated face. He wanted to say since the divine book was bound to him, he was her master, but he did not say this.

    This was an artifact spirit with an attitude. Perhaps, it had switched too many owners, thus no longer disying the loyalty and devotion an artifact spirit would to its master.

    Leon could imagine the artifact spirit exploding and saying something like, "You are not the master of me, I am the master of you!!!"

    Thus, he had refrained from saying something that would displease it, lest it decides not to tell him what he wanted to know.

    However, he could also not get himself to beg. That would be lowering his standing as the master. He did not want to look like a pushover.

    Seeing Leon''s expression, Maya didn''t n on making it difficult for him. She was only asking casually.

    However, she still intended to observe him for a period of time and see if he was a worthy master. None of her previous owners had been able to use her to the full extent of her capability.

    "Well, I don''t know what kind of body you have, but it was like a ck hole, swallowing up all the energy and vitality in the surrounding greedily. Right now, it''s in the middle of a transformation process."

    That is to say, he won''t have ess to his own cultivation until the transformation process ispleted. But what sparked its initiation?

    Did his body know how to gather its energy towards a central point and protect itself? If it did, wouldn''t it have been better if it focused on stopping his bleeding?

    Leon was puzzled by Maya''s statement. His body couldn''t possibly ingest all that energy, not to mention where did all that energy go if it did?

    "My body did? You don''t know anything about my Five Element Body?" Leon asked quizzically.

    "I don''t. The technique you are practicing seems to be more ancient than I am." Maya shook her head and answered.

    "Well¡­ never mind then."

    Leon didn''t fixate on the matter. Since the artifact spirit didn''t know then it didn''t know.

    "But you said my body absorbed all the energy? How are you awake then? You seemed to have recovered enough not to fall back into a deep slumber, not to mention you once told me you needed a lot of energy." Leon looked at the artifact spirit quizzically with a strong gaze.

    Under his strong gaze, Maya became awkward and started fidgeting guiltily with fingers and head lowered.

    "Well¡­ your body couldn''t hold all that energy, so it began seeping into me and allowed me to wake up. Your body was still pretty swelled up and absorbing the excess energy helps me recover quicker¡­ so I decided to help you out by taking some of that energy away too while I was it."

    ''Some, you say? More like everything, no?''

    Leon''s mouth twitched. His own energy didn''t increase, only its state had changed.

    "Wait, what about all the wood energy? Why didn''t it heal my body?"

 Chapter 222 - How Do You Want To Die?

    <h4>Chapter 222 - How Do You Want To Die?</h4>

    "You can me your soul core for that," Maya said grudgingly like she was still vexed over that matter. If Leon''s soul core didn''t snatch all of it, she, of course, would have been the first one to snatch all of it instead.

    Wood energy had great affinity with life energy, and life energy was the most ideal form of energy for her recovery and functions.

    Leon does not know it yet, but the [Divine Book of Life] has an in-built array called the Universal Life Conversion Array that allows the heavenly treasure to refine other forms of energy into life energy.

    This was what allowed her to awaken for a brief period the first time. The problem was that true life energy would always be better than ones created from the Universal Life Conversion Array.

    This is because the Universal Life Conversion Array requires an astronomical amount of energy for conversion, but it only returns a pitiful amount of life energy in return. Wood energy would allow for more life energy production no matter how small it still was.

    Meat was still meat. Maya was not going to be picky, especially when it helps her recover faster. s, she, the great artifact spirit of the [Divine Book of Life] was bound to Leon''s soul core.

    From a visual point of view, she was residing within Leon''s soul core. The excess energy absorbed his body would go through his soul core before it gets to her.

    For her, this was like looking at a delicious cake on disy behind a thin wall of ss. She could see it, but she cannot touch it. She can only watch as it gets gobbled up by someone else and fuels her frustration.

    "My soul core did?"

    Leon was surprised, although he shouldn''t be. He had already seen the wood elemental seed merging with his soul core along with the other elemental seeds.

    The wood energy of the withered nts should have been what formed his wood elemental seed. But for it to form on its own, it was like the time he was in deep meditation to form his earth elemental seed, except this time, he was unconscious.

    He didn''t know that something like this was still possible, but it happened.

    Is this supposed to be his blessing after surviving a disaster? Leon didn''t know whether tough or cry.

    Perhaps, among the withered nts, there were some amazing spirit herbs that could aid his cultivation greatly and the thousands of transcendent crystals could have been used to train thousands of experts to strengthen the Crawford Kingdom.

    But there was no use crying over spilled milk. He now had to look for alternative ways to protect himself until the transformation processpletes and he can ess his powers granted by his cultivation base again.

    ''It seems I will be practicing body forging ahead of schedule¡­'' Leon thought wryly.

    Leon began looking around the darkroom for a specific item, the real Ravenous ck. After rummaging around the ce for a short while, Leon found it within a white box buried underneath the pills of crystal fragments.

    The Ravenous ck was identical to the one he had seen and used in the dreamscape.

    Leon stared at the Ravenous ck in his hand for a while, before he suddenly said to his artifact spirit with a smile, "Say, Maya, do you happen to know any good body cultivation techniques?"

    ¡­

    Outside the inheritance building, another three days had passed since Leon had entered the building.

    During the first day, the group would still patiently wait for Leon.

    They would climb down the elder tree and grab a few ant carcasses during mealtime, but due to the prince''s absence, they had resort to primitive means to cook their food.

    As for water, some chose to drink the herbal sap obtained from crushing the crimson leaves ording to the treant''s instructions, while some chose to wait it out.

    During the second day since the prince''s absence, the Lilith and the pce guards became impatient and anxious. They could no longer wait for the prince to leave the building on his own ord.

    They began searching every nook and cranny of the inheritance building for alternative methods to enter.

    The Dragon Phoenix Jade seemed to have lost its purpose and no longer powered the outer puzzle, or rather the puzzle itself had short-circuited and no longer draw power from the jade.

    At the same time, someone else was even more anxious than them. As time flew by, Zorbek''s bearing became more unnatural as his desire to escape grew stronger.

    The pce guards had silently noticed his behavior and raised their vignce.

    The toughyer of earth above the elder tree had been removed, but it was only around 15-meter diameter in size. It was pin size inparison to the elder tree atrge.

    The pce guard had slowed down their work at this point, despite the earth being easier to move. Zorbek could escape once the opportunity presents itself.

    However, the pce guards did not grant him this opportunity.

    Silently, they were hindering him from escaping, but openly, they were still pretending that nothing had happened and that he was still their captain.

    Such hypocrisy enraged him. Since they suspected him, why keep up the facade? He was not like those people from the Illusory Butterfly Sect. He did not train in their art of disguise and was not good atpletely masking his tumultuous emotions.

    In truth, the pce guards'' thoughts were simple. They wanted to keep the status quo and avoid a direct confrontation. None of them could guarantee that they will incur fatal losses if a battle breaks out between them.

    The old treant seemed to have entered deep slumber while it was waiting for their prince.

    They had to wait for their prince''s return and rouse the old treant awake before they can proceed with Zorbek''s capture.

    No one had said it, but they had all silently sided with Lilith at this point.

    By the third day, something finally happened. The inheritance building began to light up, causing the surrounding pce guards to exim in pleasant surprises.

    A body of light had appeared in front of the seal entrance, before Leon''s silhouette could be slowly seen stepping out. His face was still pale for various reasons, his body seemed to have slimmed down and looked especially fragile and sickly, but his eyes exuded confidence and strength.

    The old treant also opened its eyes at this moment and looked at him.

    "You''re finally out, child. I don''t know what''s going on with the rest of these kiddos, but they''ve all been waiting for you." Elder Evergreen said with slight vexation.

    Although the old treant had appeared nonchnt from their affairs and kept his eyes closed in waiting, it was because he could not understand anything.

    Even if the pce guards proceeded to exin to him patiently, he still wouldn''t understand no matter how many times they exin due to thenguage barrier between them. Only Leon would be able to exin what was going on to him.

    "Your Highness! Thank goodness you are safe!" The pce guards stepped forward and greeted with relief, while Lilith also sighed with relief in the back.

    Leon smile lightly. He proceeded to look around with cold eyes to see if the traitor was among their midst before his sight finally shifted upwards.

    Zorbek seemed to have sensed the changes below and subconsciously nced down from up top. His expression turned ugly drastically.

    He was out of time! Even if he had to break through with brute force, he had to escape now!

    Drawing his borrowed sword, he immediately made a mad dash into the upward tunnel they dug and shed horizontally at one of the pce guard''s neck within.

    The pce guard seemed to have been prepared and immediately drew his own sword to block the blow. The force of their ex-captain''s superior sword blow sent his body smashing into the tunneled walls with a loud ng of metal.

    The pce guard groaned in pain, but otherwise, his life was intact. Ignoring the pain, he roared, "Do it now!"

    The other pce guards 9 pce guards within tunnel looked at each other with tacit understanding and nodded like they hade to a prior agreement without Zorbek''s knowledge.

    The 9 pce guards poured their power together to manipte the weakeryer of earth within the tunnel strike the unprepared Zorbek with arge wave of earthen soil like the rushing tide of a tsunami.

    During this journey, the pce guards had all slowly risen to 3-4 stars, while Zorbek was still in the early 6 stars. His strength was stronger than the strongest person from their group of 9 by twofold, but the 9 of joined together, even Zorbek''s authority over earth maniption was not greater than theirbined might.

    He was unable to stop the earth wave with his strength alone. The earth wave struck him and flushed out of the tunnel like flushing waste down the toilet. He tumbled and smashed into seas of crimson leaves and tree branches on his way down.

    Hended with a loud bang before the mountain of earth buried him. If not for the cushioning of his fall, he would have definitely broken a few bones, perhaps even death if hended on his head.

    The pce guards sighed with heavy emotions. If their captain had not betrayed them, they would have been court-martialed for their actions.

    Zorbek crawled himself out of a pile of earth and coughed heavily, only to find himself not far from Leon''s feet. Looking up, the prince''s cold and merciless eyes stared back at him.

    "How do you want to die?"

 Chapter 224 - I Dont Know!

    <h4>Chapter 224 - I Don''t Know!</h4>

    The runes that shone brightly on Leon''s arm looked like a single and simple symbol, but if one truly thought it was as simple as it appears to be, they couldn''t be more wrong.

    Under the veil of light, they would find that the seemingly simple runic symbol was in fact, made up of hundreds of tiny runic lines and runic circles linked together neatly.

    The introduction to runes is actually quite straightforward and simple, but as one progresses through to higher levels, the structure of runes grows increasinglyplex.

    However, Arden was able to returnplexity back to simplicity, but not in the literal sense, obviously. That would be degrading the runes.

    What is meant by returningplexity to simplicity is organizing. For example, picture runes as the rooms of anymon household. It can be messy, or it can be neat. Whether it is messy or neat, the room will still be a room.

    The difference is finding the items within the said room. One can spend minutes to hours searching a messy room for a single pen, yet only take a few seconds to pull out a drawer and find it there within a neat room.

    This is the height of Arden''s runic attainment that Leon had inherited. Under his own systematic runic structuring, the same rune can be 50% more effective.

    ¡­

    While looking at the shocked expressions registered on the surrounding pce guards in addition to Zorbek''s own horrified look, Leon thought it was to be expected.

    Even he was surprised by the height his body''s defense had reached, despite being the oneing up with the training n that allowed it to happen.

    The artifact spirit had given him a body cultivation technique called [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard], a defensive technique that focuses on refining the body to be hard as the ck Turtle, one of the divine beast of the four directions.

    The first stage of [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] is the skin refining stage. Reaching initial sess will allow him to have a bodyparable to one-star materials.

    This means that one-star ranked awakeners with the physical strength of 1800-jin would not be able to break his body''s defense with ordinary swords.

    Naturally, three days was not enough time for him to reach initial sess with his whole body, but if it was just his right arm, it was more than enough with time to spare.

    In addition to raising his right arm to initial sess in the technique, he hadpleted a defense rune for his right arm as well.

    When Body Rune and ck Turtle Heavenly Guard were coupled together, the defensive effects stacked and worked wonders, raising the defensive attributes of his right arm all the way to 9 stars.

    Furthermore, with such a strong right arm, he no longer had to worry about the repercussions of using the subsequent levels of [9 Echo Osciting Fist].

    Without being able to circte the energy of his divine cultivation, he would normally not be able to retain his physical strength of 1800-jin, but he was also a one-star ranked awakener.

    Although his elemental powers couldn''t be used, his physical strength was still there. This was the difference between divine practitioners that practice the energy cultivations system and awakeners. Energy was needed to boost their body attributes.

    Awakeners didn''t have this problem, and neither did offensive-type body cultivators.

    There are also more bnced techniques among the body cultivation system that grants both even strength and defense, but Leon did not choose this path. Leon felt he had adequate speed and attacking means, and was onlycking in defense.

    His sealed cultivation made him feel vulnerable, but not only did not grow weaker, but he had also grown stronger instead.

    Once he creates more Body Runes and refines the rest of his body, he would be invincible under the Transcendent Realm.

    Leon eyed Zorbek calmly, despite thetter''s sword being so near to his neck. His strong right arm was like an imprable shield, block anything and everything from harm''s way.

    His lips began to curve upwards into a provocative but cold smile. He was still waiting for an answer.

    Zorbek recovered from his shock quickly. His expression darkened immediately and roared, "Don''t get cocky just because you manage to block a blow of mine, bastard!"

    "Let''s see how many you''ll be able to block!"

    Zorbek retracted his borrowed sword before shing at Leon furiously. The sword blurred and many found it hard to follow, but it was no problem for Leon with his sharp eyes.

    ng! ng! ng!

    Each time Leon blocked a blow, the rune on his right arm would shine with blue light upon impact. This blue light did note from true spirit energy.

    After the fall of the Nova Empire, Arden had revised and created an improved version of the artificial spirit energy that appeared in red light.

    The purple light emitted by the Dragon Phoenix Jade was its improved version. It no longer had the harmful properties hidden within it, but even so, it was still not true spirit energy. Ravenous ck also utilizes this improved version.

    The color had turn blue due to Leon mixing it into his bloodstream as part of the process of creating Body Runes. The process is also excruciatingly painful when the blood rejects the energy.

    Each time Zorbek''s blow was blocked, it was like blow to his confidence as his courage begins to waver and reced with fear. But even then, his will to live prevented him from giving up.

    The pce guard''s tensed bodies rxed when they saw how at ease their prince was at blocking the blows. Their prince had the situation under control.

    Zorbek felt like hismon sense had been flipped upside down. In fact, it was the same for the pce guards as well. All, except Lilith.

    However, her mouth still formed an ''O'' shape in surprise. Beasts had superior physiques, but their flesh still takes damage, no matter how little. Leon''s defense was on a whole new level.

    "This is impossible! You, you are not human! You cannot possibly be the prince! My sword was coating with a special poison. Even if the prince is a divine doctor, he could not havee up with a cure to save himself in such a short time! Who are you exactly?!"

    Zorbek roared in denial and incited doubt.

    The pce guards became startled when they heard this, but Leon did not seem to notice their doubt. Even if he did, he would not care. He was the one and only him. Why would he need to prove his identity?

    Leon''s expression was grim.

    "So, you are the reason my cultivation is like this. Since you did not choose how you want to die, I will choose for you!"

    Zorbek''s face fell as Leon closed the small gap between them and gripped onto his sword arm before he could retract it. He was quick, but Leon was quicker.

    "What do you want to¡ª"

    He became terrified by the brutal light in Leon''s eyes. It seemed abnormally vicious and cruel.

    RIP!

    "AHHHH!"

    Leon tore his sword arm from his body and the pain assaulted him like a p of thunder, but that was not the end of it.

    RIP! RIP! RIP!

    Leon tore apart each of Zorbek''s limbs consecutively with ease and unobstructed. Even without his metal maniption, the armor on Zorbek''s body was just like decorations. It didn''t stop him from being pulled apart as the joints were weak.

    Without his limbs to support him, Zorbek''s body plopped onto the ground as his helmet fell off his head and rolled some distance away. His face paled at the state his body had be. He had been crippled. Even if he lived, he would be useless.

    If nothing were done, he would slowly bleed to death. But even if he wanted to save himself, he no longer had the ability to without his limbs.

    "Just kill me," Zorbek said.

    He was still hopeful when he had his limbs intact, but without them, his hope crushed more swiftly than the snap of a finger as he fell into a chasm of despair. He began to regret his choices, but there was no medicine for regret.

    "I gave you the chance to choose a quick death. Now, how you die is for me to decide. If you still want a swift death, that will depend on how cooperative you are." Leon stated expressionlessly, before proceeding to ask, "How many spies are there in the kingdom? How many had defected?"

    "I don''t know." Zorbek shook his head weakly.

    Leon picked up the sword on the ground and jabbed it into Zorbek''s limbless wound before giving it a twist.

    While Zorbek screamed in pain, Leon expressionlessly asked again, "How many?"

    "I don''t know, dammit!"

    Leon hacked away one of his eyes and jabbed a different wound, giving it a more vicious twist to inflict greater pain.

    "How many?"

    The same expressionlessly question rang again in Zorbek''s ears as he looked at Leon with half his vision left. Despair and helplessness could be seen in his single eye. He could no longer take the torment and broke down.

    "I really don''t know! Only the messenger would know, but don''t ask me who because don''t know who the messenger is. They conceal their identity and only contact me when they have a task or needed information from me."

    With tears in his eye, Zorbek exined. He could choose to detonate his own earthseed and end it all, but somewhere deep down, he was still unwilling to.

    How much did it take to force a grown man to cry? The pce guards could see that their prince had pushed their ex-captain to the end of his rope.

    No one spoke up for Zorbek, but everyone felt heavy-hearted, and at the same time, a chill in their hearts at the prince''s cruelty and extreme means.

    The queen was frightening, but the prince was even more so. They were truly a pair of mother and son.

    "It seems you really don''t know."

    Zorbek wanted to cry harder when he heard this. That''s what he had been fucking saying!

    Leon strolled forward and prepared to put Zorbek out of his misery.

    With his impending doom drawing nearer, Zorbek had onest wish he wanted to convey before his inevitable departure from the world.

    "Before I go, I sincerely hope that you can avenge my wife and daughter in my stead by killing all the people from¡ª"

    Zorbek did not get to finish his words before his head was sttered mercilessly with a single hard stomp from Leon.

    Everything finally ended. Lilith strolled forward and asked concernedly, "Are you alright? This person was probably used by your enemy, but he should not have had to suffer through all this. Also, this does not seem like something you would usually do¡­"

    "And how will you know what I would do and not do? Do you know me? Are we close?" Leon responded with a hard gaze.

    "I¡­" Tears began to well up in her eyes. Lilith did not expect just a heartless response.

    Realizing he had misspoken, he chose to soften up a bit.

    "Sorry."

    With his back facing her, Leon continued to exin, "A traitor is a traitor, regardless of their reasons. I especially loathe traitors and will continue to condemn everyst one of them I see."

    It was unknown whether his words were meant for Lilith alone, or for the pce guards around them to hear also.

    Lilith looked at Leon''s back with aplicated gaze. Had he been betrayed before? What kind of betrayal would cause a person to loathe traitors to the point of turning evil?

 Chapter 225 - Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 225 - Encounter</h4>

    After a while, Leon seemed to have returned to his normal self and apologized to everyone and offered the pce guards some praise. They had done well in his absence.

    Afterward, he turned his attention to Elder Evergreen and shed him an apologetic smile.

    "Sorry, you had to see something unsightly."

    "No matter. On the contrary, I got to see something interesting." Elder Evergreen waved it off with a simple hand gesture.

    In some ways, Elder Evergreen felt the boy was simr to him, except he wasn''t as extreme. Perhaps, it was the hot-bloodedness of youths that caused such extremity.

    However, he also followed the principle that a drop of water should be returned with a gushing spring, and blood debts must be repaid a hundredfold.

    Leon smiled wryly while scratching his sideburns. "Something interesting, huh? I suppose to don''t usually see such human gore often down here."

    "Not that." Elder Evergreen shook his head and corrected him. "I''m talking about your right arm. It''s unbelievable how powerful the human flesh can be."

    Leon smiled wryly. As he continues to advance his mastery over the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique, it would only continue to grow stronger. He cannot imagine how they would react then.

    "However, it seems like it is only limited to your right arm, right? The rest of your body doesn''t seem to be as powerful." Elder Evergreen added.

    "For now."

    Leon nodded before Lilith attracted his attention when his right was suddenly lifted. She did not dwell on the previous matter and resumed focus on his right arm like she wanted to understand the secret behind its power.

    "What are you doing?" Leon asked.

    "Hm? Ahem, I was just wondering how your right arm is so powerful." Lilith responded with curiosity. After all, the beasts were known for their powerful bodies, but hers wasn''t as powerful as Leon''s right arm even though she was training in a body cultivation method.

    Realizing something, Leon looked around. The pce guards all had their attention on him. They had not gotten over their initial shock of the scene of him blocking a sword with his arm. It was like the headless corpse on the ground did not exist.

    "It seems you are also all curious how I got my right arm to be so powerful," Leon said to the pce guards as they all nodded like pecking ducks.

    "Yes, Your Highness, we are all very curious!"

    "Are you going to share your secret?"

    "Yeah, I''m also lopsided, but I don''t think¡ª"

    Everyone responded with anticipation, hoping to find out more, but thest line immediately made Leon''s face turn ck.

    Although the pce guard had immediately kept mum, he had said enough for all the men to understand what he was intending to say.

    There was a trend that says that if a man was lopsided then it meant that he¡­

    "I''m suddenly not interested in sharing. Alright, get back to work all of you. I''m sure we all have families who are anxious to find out how we are doing. The sooner we return to the surface, the sooner you all can reunite with them and let them know." Leon said before he left with Lilith and Elder Evergreen.

    The pce guards all nodded heavily at his words, but after their prince was gone, they all began cursing the one that mentioned ''lopsided'' while throwing kicks and punches at him.

    "Look at what you did, you bastard!"

    Pow! Pow! Pow!

    "I didn''t mean it that way¡­" The pce guard wanted to cry. He had called upon an unexpected disaster for himself. Is this what it meant by loose lips sinks ships?

    "Then what did you mean exactly?!"

    Pow! Pow!

    The pce guards were still angry and continued their barrage.

    "Bastard, even if you fap until you are dry, your arm still wouldn''t be as strong as the prince''s arm!"

    Right after that line was said, the pce guard that said it, realized how misleading it was and panicked.

    "I mean¡­"

    He wanted to correct himself, but it was toote.

    Leon and the other two with him in the distance still managed to hear it. His face darkened even further and quickened his steps while thinking, ''The hell''s that supposed to mean?! That they couldn''t fap as much as him!? Dammit, this is one big misunderstanding!''

    He didn''t want to stick around, lest he continues to be the butt of their jokes. If he tried to exin, he would only appear guilty.

    At the same time, he made a mental note to quickly refine the rest of his body to the initial sess stage.

    He did not want to be seen as ''lopsided''. It would only invite misunderstands if word spread within the Royal Pce. Those maids did not seem to like him already. He did not want his image to suffer any more blows.

    "What does fap mean?" Lilith asked innocently as she faced Leon.

    Leon felt his lips twitched as he became depressed.

    "Haha¡­" Elder Evergreen began to chuckle. Clearly, the Old Treant was amused by what was going on.

    Lilith was surprised to hear the Old Treant''s raspyugh. Did she say something funny? She looked at Leon quizzically.

    "It''s¡­ when you y with yourself¡­"

    Leon tried to exin as vaguely as possible. At the same time, he eyed the elder with a warning look. Elder Evergreen stifled hisughter in response, but he still drew Lilith''s suspicion.

    ying by yourself doesn''t sound all that fun. What''s so funny about it?"

    "It''s not fun, not fun at all¡­ Don''t dwell on it. Let''s head back to the elder''s dwelling. There''s something I want to talk about."

    Leon shifted the topic.

    Seeing Leon was unwilling to exin, Lilith reluctantly nodded.

    The pce guard that got pummeled ck and blue only suffered superficial wounds after his armor was stripped and beaten.

    The other pce guards were not actually serious in trying to harm him. They had all been feeling tensed the past few days and needed something to vent on. He just happened to be that something.

    If the pummeled pce guard knew the real reason he was beaten, he would have cried injustice.

    ¡­

    With the tension between kingdoms at the eastern borders and the unknown beast situation at the western frontier, manpower had been tight.

    As such, the general marquis had begun to make use of the enlisted students. It was unreasonable to through them on the frontline when they had yet toplete their military training, thus he had ced them in charge of logistics, carrying the necessary supplies between the western frontier and eastern borders.

    Along the east main road, just west of Azure Verdant ins, this particr stretch of road was currently being passed by a fleet of military trucks with the loaded supplies.

    There were about 200 student soldiers within this entourage with a few veteran soldiers guiding them. Among the 200 students, some were from Crawford University.

    Benjamin Farley has had a very miserable experience while he was in the training camp. Due to his rtively ''thicker'' physique, he had always been deadst in physical training and assessments.

    It made him depressed when the more privileged young nobles and misses were allowed to be exempt from military service after their parents pulled some strings to get them out, while he was still stuck here along with the other students from amon background.

    To make matters worse, his instructor would pick on him by making him do extra training as punishment for always ending up in thest ce. This is to motivate him to work harder but it is nothing short of hell.

    When he is stressed, he would eat and when training is the source of his stress, the harder he trains, the more he would eat. It was a vicious cycle.

    But while he was practicing the breathing technique granted to everyone under this vicious cycle, his body had undergone a strange transformation. He had grown fatter, but he was also much stronger, physically.

    When he tenses his muscles, all his fat would contract and transform into a well-toned body with defining lines.

    As a result of this change, he had steadily improved from deadst to be the forerunner of his group.

    At this moment, he was driving the leading military truck, while Commander Eugene sat in the passenger seat with his eyes closed.

    The road ahead was t and smooth, but the truck suddenly took a dip and stalled, unable to move forward. Eugene''s eyes snapped open due to the sudden bump.

    "What happened?"

    "I''m not sure. I seemed to have run over a big pothole?" Benjamin said with doubt. He did not see any big pothole.

    Commander Eugene was about to call another student on the back of the truck to hop off and check when the truck suddenly sunk deeper into the ground.

    When the leading truck had stopped, the following trucks also stopped not far behind it. The added pressure ced the weak ground on the verge of copse.

    "Stop!"

    Commander Eugene reacted quickly and roared to the back with his head out from the side window. The driver and passenger in the second still truck nced at each other dumbly.

    ''But we''ve already stopped?''

    "Move back!"

    Eugene continued to issue his orders.

    The road was weak. They had to take a little detour off the road around it.

    Unfortunately, when Eugene gave the order for the rest to follow the second truck around while they free the first truck from the ditch, something bad happened.

    The ground next to the main road was even weaker!

    When the second truck drove over that area, not only did the entire ground copse, the truck fell through the hollow ground underneath.

    At the same time, there were sounds of startled cries and surprises underneath.

    "Ahh!"

    "What the fuck!"

    "What is that?!"

    "It''s a fucking truck!"

 Chapter 226 - Information Exchange

    <h4>Chapter 226 - Information Exchange</h4>

    Commander Eugene felt his face burning when the second truck fell through the earth. With how regr the main road was used to travel between regions, he did not think too much about the unstable ground.

    He thought that the ground had just grown weak due to poor weather, but who knew that there was arge patch of hollow earth underneath?

    Why would the earth suddenly be hollow while they were carrying important war supplies to the eastern camp? Were they being targeted?

    "Enemy attack!" Eugene roared.

    The startled cries and surprises must be a distraction. Yes, that must be the case!

    Everyone reacted quickly when the two words were uttered. They all whipped out their military-issued firearm, including the young recruits from the second truck that fell.

    Despite falling into empty space, the second truck did not roll down the slope of the underground tunnel. The second truck had been stopped by 6 pce guards with their bodies.

    They had just back to the end of the tunnel to resume tunneling their way to the surface when the truck came out of nowhere!

    They never realized how close they had been to the surface. None of them had the time to check after the chunk of the earth was removed to flush their ex-captain out of the tunnel.

    After their initial shock and surprises, they became very emotional when they were struck by the first ray of light.

    "It''s the surface¡­ we finally made it back to the surface!"

    "Oh, how I miss the sunlight!"

    It was like they had been subterranean world for years and finally made it back. However, their emotional celebration did notst long when they found several guns taking aim at them.

    "Huh?"

    "Who the hell are you guys?"

    The pce guards interrogated squinted. A strong aura emanated from their body as they said so. At their level with full ted armor, they did not fear firearms, especially when it was held by younglings. It was like what was being pointed at them were not firearms but toys.

    How could these young recruits hope to bear the weight of the pce guard''s pressure? They were at the Body Tempering Realm 2ndyer at best, while the strongest awakened one was only at the 3rd step.

    They all immediately keeled to the pressure with pale faces. Commander Eugene arrived shortly after and wore a heavy look with squinted eyes as well.

    It was an oddly amusing yet strange scene of both sides squinting at each other.

    Some earth around the perimeters of the hole crumbled and more light shone inside the tunnel. The pce guards were still adjusting to the brightness of daylight, while Eugene and the young recruits were squinting due to the reflective light that shone into their eyes from the pce guard''s armor.

    Both sides were caught in a standoff with vignce, but no abrupt movements were made. This scene continued for several breaths before the pce guards were able to make out the outline of the young recruit''s military uniform.

    "You guys are all from the army?" One of them asked.

    "And you are?"

    ¡­

    With the old treant''s dwelling, Lilith sat adjacent to Leon and Elder Evergreen while cluelessly and awkwardly listening to them. At the same time, she was jealous of his proficiency in the ancientnguage.

    Leon said he had something to talk about but what was the point of her being here if she wasn''t part of the conversation? She could only wait until his attention is turned to her.

    "Elder Evergreen, for this alliance to work,munication is of utmost importance. If our two sides cannotmunicate, trust cannot be established, and it will be extremely difficult to work together. That being said, I wonder if your people are willing to learn our Gaiannguage?" Leon stated calmly.

    "Naturally, whether you agree or not, I will still have my side educated in the ancientnguage for the basis ofmunication between our two sides. Although, I do believe learning the Gaiannguage will be useful for you once you returned to the surface." He continued.

    He did not need to speak further to get his message across. The Gaiannguage was the native tongue of the entire Human Domain of the present era.

    Unless the treants don''t intend to interact with the rest of the world and confine themselves to their small vige, it was in their best favor to learn thenguage.

    On the other hand, Leon''s intention to spread the knowledge of the ancientnguage had its own advantages. There were many relics scattered across the world that contained knowledge that they could learn from.

    Not only that, but Leon had also discovered that the ancientnguage was actually derived from the runguage. After receiving the inheritance, he could see the signs that the ancientnguage originated from runes.

    Having his people learn the ancientnguage will help them build the foundation for a swifter understanding of the runguage.

    "Haha, willing, of course, we are willing to learn and integrate with the rest of the world. Judging by your confident manner of speaking, you already found a method to revert us back to our old selves, child." Elder Evergreenughed lightheartedly. He did not ask about the inheritance. That was Leon''s fortune.

    Leon nodded and said, "I''ve had a look into the problem and if I''m not wrong, what you and your people are experiencing is a variant type of petrification disease. It''s an extremely rare disease but not untreatable in the first stage. However, I will need to diagnosis your body to bepletely sure."

    "Alright." Elder Evergreen smiled lightly and asked, "What do I need to do?"

    "You don''t need to do anything. Just don''t resist." Leon stated.

    Receiving the old treant''s affirmation, Leon sent out his divine sense to inspect the old treant''s body in detail. The situation was as described in the Archive, albeit with some minor differences.

    The petrification disease only urs to organic lifeforms into ces of purely wood and earth elements, but even then, it was extremely rare. As for how the entire treant''s vige got infected by the disease, Leon attributes it to the impure energy spilling from the power source.

    The wed conversion method to create artificial spirit energy didn''t just take the positive properties of the sun''s limitless sr energy, but also its negative property, one of which causes the sporadic growth of cancerous cells.

    This was what sped up the process and allowed petrification to ur in their current environment.

    After Leon was done with his inspection, the old treant''s curiosity peaked. The diagnosis was quick and mysterious. He would have thought nothing happened at all if not for the faint illusion of another pair of eyes staring at him.

    "You mention this disease is treatable in the first stage, but what is the second stage? Why is it only treatable in the first stage?" Elder Evergreen asked curiously.

    "Well, how should I put it? The first stage is just the partial petrification stage. While you look like a nt outwardly, you are still human at your core. Treating it will just be like removing dead skin to allowing new ones to grow."

    "It''s just that these ''dead skin'' belongs to the elder tree, which technically makes you all a part of the elder tree like its leaves, hence why you can''t leave it. A leaf that left its branch does not live long."

    "As for the second stage, it is also thest stage of petrification. In this stage, the whole body will be petrified wood. Even if I am considered a divine doctor, forget about bringing stones to life, I can''t possibly revive a dead wood, right?"

    "However, there are someplications if you are to go through with the treatment procedure," Leon mentioned after his exnation.

    Elder Evergreen looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue exining the consequences.

    Understanding the old treant''s silent gesture, Leon continued. "You will all lose your long lifespan and only be able to live for a few more years."

    When this was said, Elder Evergreen did not seem surprised. Such a scenario was to be expected, but it was inconsequential to being human again. He opened his mouth and said, "A few years is enough as long as my people can reproduce again and not have the Nova descendants end in our generation."

    "Very well. We can begin after I make my preparations."

    Leon nodded. Truthfully, he had not exined everything.

    Although the symptoms and treatment were recorded in the Archive, there was one thing that even the Archive did not have a solution for.

    The crystallized spirit on each of the treant''s forehead could not be removed. Removing it would kill the treants regardless.

    He also did not know what problems may arise in the future as a result of leaving it be. Only time will tell.

    Nevertheless, it was no longer his concern as long as he fulfills the treant''s wishes and brought them to his side.

    After Leon finished his talk with Elder Evergreen, he finally turned to Lilith.

    "As you know, I represented my kingdom to establish an alliance with Elder Evergreen''s vige. I wonder if we can establish an alliance between us too."

    Lilith was surprised before she shook her head.

    Whether it was her status in the Skysilver Tribe or the ckwing Tribe that her Deste Crow n ruled, the tribal chief was the ultimate decisionmaker.

    Whatever agreement she makes to Leon would just be empty words unless she first consults her father, the chief of ckwing Tribe, and gets his approval. However, she wasn''t really willing to return.

    In fact, the alliance between the treant''s vige and the Crawford Kingdom was not Leon''s decision to make either. He should be consulting his parents as they were the real rulers.

    However, he doubted that they would reject an alliance that would benefit them in their current precarious situation with the two sects eyeing their kingdom. As such, he had taken action first and only report after he returns.

    "I can''t make that decision. You have to bring that proposal to the tribal chief." Lilith stated.

    "What if it''s not an alliance between your tribe and my kingdom but just between us?" Leon asked.

    Lilith paused in thought.

    "That is possible, but what is the point? Isn''t it better to just be friends?"

    "Then as friends, shouldn''t we be more open with each other?" Leon said with a cunning smile.

    Lilith put on a difficult expression and knitted her thin brows.

    "Never mind. What are the benefits of an alliance between us?"

    "Information exchange," Leon said bluntly.

    Lilith was speechless.

 Chapter 227 - Do That Trick Again

    <h4>Chapter 227 - Do That Trick Again</h4>

    "Information Exchange?" Lilith''s expression abruptly changed and began to look at Leon with rm. "What do you want to know?"

    Leon smiled helplessly at Lilith''s wariness.

    "There''s no need to be this rmed, right? From what I understand, the Beast Race is far stronger than humanity. Just one beast tribe is enough to make humanity struggle on the edges of extinction, yet there should be countless beast tribes spread across the Wilnds, right?"

    Lilith nodded before Leon continued, "Even if all the human kingdoms united, we don''t stand much of a chance against the overwhelming numbers and power of the beast race. Thus, we wouldn''t be able to do much even if we learned about the Wilnds, don''t you agree?"

    "That''s right."

    "So, I don''t understand why you are so guarded against sharing information with me. It''s not like you would be the sinner of the Wilnds, right? And in exchange, I will share my knowledge of the ancient civilization."

    Lilith ruminated over Leon''s words with a thoughtful expression. She was tempted by Leon''s proficiency in the ancientnguage.

    However, there was a reason why she feared humans learning too much. But at the same time, what Leon said did make some sense. She shook her head with a wry smile. Perhaps, she was just too paranoid.

    "You seem to be looking down on your own race a tad too much. Your race is much fiercer than you think, and our race is also not as united as you think."

    Leon smiled, seeing that he had got her to start speaking. At the same time, he nodded in agreement to thetter half of what she said. He had expected this to be the case.

    The beast kingdom operated by thew of the jungle. It was in their blood to fight, kill, consume, and grow stronger. He could imagine the beasts grew strong by constantly waging battles among themselves and between tribes.

    He already understood this from the nature of the beasts within the Divine Realm, thus what he wanted to know wasn''t the beasts'' situation in the Wilnds, nor their strengths.

    Because no matter how strong they were, he just had to grow even stronger. He had that potential and so did the rest of humanity. After all, humans were one of the ruling races of the Divine Realm.

    What he really wanted to understand was the situation of the humans within the Wilnds.

    Logically speaking, the humans left behind during the Cataclysm should have all be food for the beasts, but considering the beastkins are doing quite well in the Wilnds, it means that the humans there should be doing well too.

    From what Leon understood of the beast race from the Divine Realm, they were all quite prideful. If all the humans of Gaia were really as weak as they believed, they would have never been willing to mix their blood with a lower lifeform and allowed the beastkins to rise above them.

    Unless of course, this was not true. Leon was able to confirm that it was really the case from Lilith''s own words. However, there was something she was mistaken about. Leon shook his head andugh.

    "I don''t look down on humans specifically. I simply despise human nature, but never mind that. From what you said, there seems to be a group of especially powerful humans living in the Wilnds?"

    "Not a group, but an entire tribe. We call them the Barbarian Tribe."

    Seeing Leon was unwilling to borate on the topic of why he despises human nature, she chose not to pry and simply answered his question.

    "Barbarian Tribe?" Leon mused over her words and seemed thought of something before asking, "Are the humans from the Barbarian Tribe all taller than 8ft and have monstrous physiques?"

    "Yes. How do you know that? Have you been to the Wilnds before?" Lilith gaped in surprise, but she soon realizes how stupid her question was.

    If Leon had been to the Wilnds before, why would he still need to ask her about it? But then, how does he know about the Barbarian Tribe?

    Truth be told, that was her misperception. He did not know about the Barbarian Tribe, he only guessed what kind of humans came from that tribe.

    In Leon''s knowledge, humans who have grown over 8ft and have monstrous physiques were all survivors of extreme conditions. In the Divine Realm, they were called the Warring Race, but here, they are probably just called barbarians, hence the name Barbarian Tribe.

    Leon guessed that humans from the Barbarian Tribe evolved into the Warring Race after dancing in the palms of life and death with the beast race every day.

    Humans were the weakest race at birth. They were born with nothing and had to be cared for and taught for many years before they were capable of surviving on their own, while beasts instinctively knew how to hunt with the ws and fangs they were equipped with at birth. If not for the existence of cultivation, humanity would never have stood a chance.

    But why were humans, who were the weakest, also the one who is most attuned with the universe and had the greatest potential? Because just as the universe was born from nothing, they too, with nothing, can be anything.

    He did not exin how he knew about the barbarians and reminded, "So we are both in agreement to the alliance, yes?"

    Hearing Leon''s reminder, she soon lost interest in how he knew and was more interested in the knowledge he would share in exchange for the information she provided.

    "Yes, that''s right. Isn''t that why I spoke a bit about the Wilnds so far? Isn''t it time you uphold your end of the bargain and share your knowledge of the ancient civilization? Just saying now, I want to learn theirnguage and be able to speak fluently like you, alright?"

    Lilith said with a clenched fist with a fierce but cute expression that implied that they would have a fall out if he provides her with cheap knowledge. She wants the whole package!

    Leon did not know whether tough or cry. Just for that bit of information, she wanted to learn the entire ancientnguage from him?

    Once she learns thenguage, she would be able to retrieve the lost technology from any relics of the ancient civilization in her possession. This exchange did not seem fair. At least, she should speak about the Wilnds a bit more.

    After a short moment, Leon put on a sly smile and said, "You didn''t say you agree to the alliance until now so I am not obligated to uphold my end of the bargain and share my knowledge with you. The information you provided me until now was of your own free will. It was not part of the exchange."

    Lilith froze before her body began to shake with anger.

    "You! Are you kidding me?! How can you be so shameless!" Lilith pointed her finger at him and said angrily.

    She was beginning to understand why he despises human nature because she too was beginning to despise it!

    Leonughed and said, "I was talking to Elder Evergreen about learning the Gaiannguage before, while I am also preparing to teach my people the Ancientnguage in return to establishmunication between our two sides. Alright, you can sit in and learn along with them once I prepare the learning materials."

    "Hmph! That''s better." Lilith nodded triumphantly, but she soon realized something was off.

    "No, that''s not right. Why do I have to sit in and learn? Can''t you do that trick again? C''mon, here, poke me again." Lilith offered her forehead to him.

    "Ah!"

    She eximed when Leon poked her forehead with a bit of force, but nothing special seemed to have happened. She looked at Leon with confusion, it soon turned to anger when she saw his yful smile.

    "You! Are you ying me!?" Lilith pouted while stamping her feet.

    "You told me to poke you, so poked you, I did."

    Leon responded nonchntly while pretending to be dumb.

    "You! Argh, you are driven mad!"

    Seeing that he was going too far with his teasing, he finally stopped before Lilithpletely snap for real.

    "Hahaha, alright, alright. Don''t be angry, okay? It''s might my mistake."

    Leon said and transmitted some of the information to her. The ancientnguage wasn''t something that can be transmitted all at once. Thenguage was quite broad. It would overload her brain.

    This was different from transmitting tier 3 alchemy knowledge to his disciple that he picked up on a whim. He had only transmitted some techniques, basic herbal understanding, and a few pill recipes to his disciple.

    After all, his disciple did not need to learn every single pill form between tier 1 to tier 3 in his arsenal to qualify as a Tier 3 Grandmaster Alchemist. The only prerequisite for being an alchemist of a tier is to be able to refine a pill of that respective tier.

    This is because higher tier pills are harder to refine. But once an alchemist is able to refine it, the lower tier pills would be easier for them to refine.

    It wasn''t a big deal to Leon whether Lilith learns the ancientnguage or not. Because even if she can use the lost technology from the relics, he had already inherited how to reproduce them and so much more.

    In a way, it was like eating all the meat and giving her the bones. Of course, this cannot be said out loud, lest he incurs her wrath.

    Leon turned his attention back to Elder Evergreen, seeing Lilith had be quiet while trying to digest the information transmitted to her.

    "Is there a spare room I can use?"

    The Old Treant was about to respond when he was interrupted by a timely knock from outside.

    "What is it?" Leon called out.

    "Report to your Highness, we have reached the surface."

 Chapter 228 - The Correct Way To Practice Hegemon Of Primal Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 228 - The Correct Way To Practice Hegemon Of Primal Chaos</h4>

    Leon nced Elder Evergreen with a pleasant surprise at the news but realized the elder did not have the same expression. Instead, a nk one hung on his face.

    He smiled wryly, remembering that Elder Evergreen had yet to learn the Gaiannguage and didn''t understand what the pce guard had just said.

    "My pce guards have just informed me that they have reached the surface. It seems that you will be able to see the sunlight today, elder."

    Elder Evergreen''s eyes glowed brilliantly at his words.

    Logically speaking, sunlight would not be able to reach the elder tree''s subterranean space due to the inclination of the long tunnel. However, reflective mirrors could be used to bend light and beam into the subterranean space.

    After Leon gave the pce guard the instruction, he followed Elder Evergreen to a spare dwelling that used to belong to an older generation treant, but it was not used as amodation for guests after the older generation treant had sumbed to a perpetual stone-like death.

    Leon felt like it was disrespectful to the dead, but it seems that the treants did not think the same way. Perhaps, they were already numb to the deaths of their kin as their numbers dwindled over the long passage of time.

    If this were the case, it might be the reason why he was able to establish an alliance with the treant''s vige so smoothly.

    After all, a few treants had been killed by them. Although it was under the spy''s instigation, it was irrefutable that the treants died by their hands. He was expecting a few treants to still be harboring hatred.

    After they arrived at the outside entrance of the spare dwelling, Elder Evergreen left him to his own devices and followed the pce guards towards the location just beneath the tunnel above.

    "Unless it''s something urgent, do not disturb me," Leon instructed another pce guard that followed him.

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    The pce guardplied as Leon entered the spare dwelling.

    When Leon entered the dwelling, he made sure the surrounding was clear before proceeding to enter his Worldspace.

    Once inside the Worldspace, he immediately sat down in meditation and begun drawing in energy to refine new pseudo-Grandmist energy.

    Although his cultivation was sealed, it did not stop him from refining more pseudo-Grandmist energy. As long as the new energy he refines does not enter the be region and fuse with the Revolving Core, he would still have control of it.

    This was the only loophole he had discovered when he was trying to regain control of his cultivation base. It was only through this little bit of energy he still has control over that he was able to transmit knowledge to Lilith.

    After circting the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique and refining a few strands of energy, Leon ended his short cultivation session.

    He could not have too many strands drifting through his meridian channels when he cannot store it in his be. It would wreak havoc when he is not consciously controlling it.

    But what he found surprising was when the energy wreaks havoc on his meridians, it provides some tempering benefits, strengthening it.

    He started to wonder if he had been practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique wrong this whole time¡­

    As soon as he opened his eyes, Maya appeared in front of him. She started circted around him a few times with a studying gaze while her eyes sparkled with intelligence.

    "What is it?"

    Leon asked inquisitively. Did the artifact spirit discover something?

    "Seeing it for a second time, it still amazes me to end. To think that there was such a heaven-defying technique in the world that is capable of creating Grandmist energy¡­ but it seems iplete. It is pseudo-Grandmist at best." As Maya spoke to this point, her cute brows creased together and slowly said, "It''s just that¡­"

    Leon, who was listening with rapt attention, noticed this peculiarity and said, "Just¡­ what? What''s wrong?"

    "You."

    "Pardon?"

    Leon thought he heard wrong.

    "Are you stupid?"

    "What?"

    "Are you a pig?" Maya continued.

    "I don''t think I follow what you are saying?"

    Leon waspletely nonplussed by the sudden verbal abuse.

    "Why are you cultivating pseudo-Grandmist energy like you are cultivating spirit energy?" Maya questioned him with an expression that said she was asking the most obvious thing in the world.

    Leon was speechless.

    If he does not cultivate pseudo-Grandmist energy like he was cultivating spirit energy, then how else was he supposed to cultivate it? They were both energy and this was the way to cultivate energy.

    But then he suddenly became extremely confused.

    In the [Divine Fiery God Manual], one was supposed to cultivate with the purest fire energy to be a Fire God, but this was obviously impossible.

    No mortal can withstand the high temperatures of the purest mes at the beginning stages of cultivation. They would all be reduced to ashes without exception.

    This was why everyone that had practiced [Divine Fiery God Manual] substituted fire energy with the malleable spirit energy and transformed it into fire-attribute spirit energy.

    [Divine Fiery God Manual] wasn''t created by man but also found from the ancient ruins. Clearly, it wasn''t designed to be cultivated by mortals but gods.

    Nevertheless, whether it was spirit energy or fire energy, the method was the same. It was about refining energy.

    Logically speaking, pseudo-Grandmist energy should fall under the same category. After all, he did not have any problem cultivating it¡­ until the Revolving Core Realm¡­

    Seeing Leon was silent, Maya asked, "What do you think Grandmist energy is?"

    "The source of all matter," Leon answered subconsciously.

    "That''s right, the source of all matter. In other words, the source of ''essence''. Where does energy fit here? Nowhere." Maya said.

    Leon had an abrupt change in expression. He had been fooled by the word ''energy'' in ''Grandmist energy''. Just because it had the word energy in its name, did not mean that it falls under energy refining.

    It was in fact, essence, and what else was essence? The body. Thus, it was actually used for body forging.

    Leon didn''t know whether tough or cry at this revtion. This is what he gets for practicing an iplete technique.

    [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] listed how to create True Grandmist through the five stages of five primal elements, space and time, life and death, creation and destruction, and finally primal chaos, the fusion of all stages through one''s body.

    But it never said what to do with that energy! Assuming energy cultivation was the way was his mistake and also the Divine Realm''s misinterpretation of the technique. He had simply followed what everyone thought.

    "Fuck!"

    Leon could not help but curse, but he was not all that frustrated. He had been practicing wrong all this while, but it could have been so much worse, had he realized the problem muchter.

    Maya said no more and allowed Leon to figure the rest out himself. If he could not even do that, then he was not a worthy master of her.

    Having understood the problem, Leon realized why the Five Element Body exists and why he advances so slowly after reaching initial sess. The Five Element Body corrtes to the five-element stage.

    He would only gain mastery of the five-element stage when he fully tempered his body with pseudo-Grandmist energy.

    Recalling how the energy tempered his meridians when it wasn''t being controlled and bumped against the walls of his meridians, and the body forging method of [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard], Leon understood the general direction he should take to temper his body with the pseudo-Grandmist energy.

    Wait a minute. Leon suddenly paused.

    "Would there be anyplications if I temper my body with both pseudo-Grandmist energy from [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] and improved artificial spirit energy for [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard]?"

    Leon did not hesitate to ask the artifact spirit. Since there was such a knowledgeable artifact spirit besides, it was only right to ask it instead of wasting time pondering the answer himself.

    As the saying goes for efficiency; work smarter, not harder.

    There was nothing wrong with seeking expert opinions. He was neither an expert in martial arts nor the divine way. One must know that his cultivation swiftly rose to the Divine Origin Realm through heavy reliance on divine pills.

    But when Maya heard the question, she silently grumbled at the stupid question.

    "Since you have the superior pseudo-Grandmist energy, why would you still use the inferior artificial spirit energy?" Maya rolled her eyes before she continued, "But answering your question, there are noplications when practicing two simr body forging method. It is just that only the superior one would show results, while the inferior one would be wasted efforts. However, practicing the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] is like putting on a big sturdy shell. It protects the outer body, but not the inner parts. Your pseudo-Grandmist energy should be able to temper your inner body¡­"

    No further exnation was needed. Leon had understood and experienced the internal tempering. After thanking the artifact spirit, Leon refined a few more strands of energy within the Worldspace before his eyes snapped open with determination.

    There was no pain-free body forging methods. Tempering his internal body was no exception and would only be worse than creating his first Body Rune. However, he was prepared.

    Without further ado, he purposely drove the few strands of pseudo-Grandmist energy roaming mindlessly in his meridians, amok.

    His determination was noteworthy, but reality was often brutal. It was he was being electrocuted after being struck by lightning with 10 million voltage of power.

    His meditative posture broke as his body fell sideways in a violent spasm. His eyes rolled back until the whites were seen and passed out, but no real harm befell him.

    The pseudo-Grandmist energy continued to work wonders in his unconsciousness as it rampaged throughout his meridian channels and strengthened them like a bunch of balls scattering from a powerful break in pool.

 Chapter 229 - A Miracle Of Life

    <h4>Chapter 229 - A Miracle Of Life</h4>

    An unknown amount of time passed before Leon was able to regain his consciousness. The turbidity in his eyes cleared and he immediately inspected himself for any damages. There was none.

    As a doctor, he understood that the pain thates from tempering his meridians would be like striking his nerves. The pain would be much greater than creating Body Runes, but he still underestimated his own pain tolerance and passed out.

    "You''re awake."

    Maya said nonchntly on the side.

    "How long had I passed out?"

    "10 minutes."

    "Only 10 minutes?"

    Leon creased his brows. It was a lot shorter than he expected, but he immediately understood why after he finished his self-inspection. He had run out of pseudo-Grandmist energy.

    The few strands he had refined had already merged with his meridian channels during the tempering process and became a part of it.

    He could see parts of his meridians shining with a soft tinge of grey, the color of pseudo-Grandmist, but it was only part and not all.

    "Only about 20% has been tempered, huh?"

    Leon quietly murmured. It was not bad for a few strands.

    "However, If I want topletely temper both inner and outer body, I will need so much more energy."

    Leon slowlypsed in silence.

    The artifact spirit said that he could not use his Revolving Core until itpletes its transformation, but as he discovered that Grandmist energy should be used for body forging, it makes no sense to continue the energy refining path.

    It was already problematic in the Revolving Core realm. Who is to say that Heaven Ascension realm and Void realm won''t have their own sets of problems?

    Leon could already foresee the problem that awaits in him on the energy refining path if he was to continue with it.

    Grandmist energy was the source of all matter that formed the universe. The stars and ster bodies were all formed by Grandmist energy.

    Hypothetically speaking, if he was to make it to the Heaven Ascension, his pseudo-Grandmist energy might reach a certain level of density and solidification that it might just condense into a star.

    Even if it''s just a miniature star, the weight and gravitational force isn''t something a normal Heaven Ascension Realm practitioner can handle. It would crush him to death.

    And to go beyond that, the Void Realm, this realm requires shattering the core to mimic the big bang and form their own miniature universe, the inner world.

    This was the first big hurdle of divine practitioners, the tribtion of man before they face the Divine Damnation of heaven.

    Most practitioners fail at this step and blow themselves up into nihility, but he might not even put a crack on his core even if he miraculous make it to this step.

    Since the future of energy refining with pseudo-Grandmist energy was wrought with problems, he might as well focus all that energy into body forging.

    He would simply just be converting his cultivation from an Energy Refiner to a Body Forger, albeit with a lot of pain to endure in between.

    Having decided on his objective, Leon had a look at his Revolving Core. It was slightly smaller than thest time he checked.

    This was not good news, but it did not mean it was very bad news either. It just means that he had no time to waste. It will be harder to revert the core energy back to a lower state, the denser it bes.

    He currently had no control over it, and he simply cannot wait for the transformation to bepleted on its own. But what method could he use to regain control of his energy?

    "Seems like I have to result to pills," Leon concluded.

    Alchemy was his area of expertise and there were indeed a few pill forms that appear in his mind without having to browse through the Archive in the Whitespace.

    It was not umon for divine practitioners to advance their realms without establishing a firm foundation.

    The ignorant ones would continue to press forward and hope to correct their mistake by establishing a firmer foundation in their new realm, but courageous and ambitious ones would go back when they realized their foundation was not firm enough.

    These are the ones that would seek alchemists to help them correct their mistakes even if it meant dropping an entire realm in cultivation.

    After all, a person cannot build a skyscraper with weak and shaky foundations. It would crumble at some point and the whole thing woulde crashing down.

    Leon took time to check the inventory of his grown herbs and browse through his memories, before settling on a single pill form.

    ''A Tier-3 Realm Reversal Pill should do the trick. Thankfully, I collected a wide range of herbal seeds and nted a lot of supplementary herbs, but I am barely meeting the demands. Out of 10 pill forms, I only have the herbs avable for 2 of them.''

    ''Now that the avable herbal garden had grownrger with the artifact spirit''s small recovery, I should nt more misceneous herbs. I might not need it now, but it''s hard to say in the future.''

    Leon began to n ahead and started grabbing a selected bunch of herbals seeds from a small mountain of seeds he had thrown into one corner of the Worldspace.

    He should really get a cab to organize his seeds, but since he could easily identify each seed anyway, he didn''t think it was necessary.

    ''Hmm.''

    Leon suddenly thought of something. A Realm Reversal Pill was designed for spirit energy, but would it work on pseudo-Grandmist energy?

    ''It seems like I will have to cross-check with the Archive for answers in the end.''

    Leon spent a few minutes in the Whitespace, browsing through the rted information before making some revisions to the Realm Reversal Pill by adding another 5 supplementary herbs.

    Returning to the Worldspace, he grabbed all the required herbs from the herbal garden before nting new seeds in its ce. After he was done with that, he grabbed his pill cauldron as well, but then he suddenly froze.

    ''Well this is awkward. I won''t be able to refine pills as I normally would without my fire maniption ability.'' He thought to himself.

    "It seems my only choice is to go back to using lowly earthly fire. Although there will be a drop in quality, I don''t really have any other options avable to me." Leon muttered to himself.

    He did not have the materials to start an earthly fire in his Worldspace, nor was it possible in the subterranean space. He would need to return to the surface for that.

    "It also seems like I have to temporarily postpone my ns and return to the Capital first before I can resolve my issues and head back hereafter to treat the treants."

    Leon said wryly while scratching his cheek.

    That was life for you. Not everything will go the way you want it, and more often than not, you have to work around what the world had in store for you instead.

    Exiting the Worldspace with nothing except the ck spear he usually carries, Leon was prepared to head outside the spare dwelling and bid Elder Evergreen a temporary goodbye. Little did he know, some startling changes had taken ce while he was absent.

    "Your Highness."

    A pce guard greeted as soon as he exited.

    Leon noticed the pce guard''s yet-to-fade-away awed expression and asked, "Had anything happened while I was away?"

    The pce guard opened his mouth with the intention to exin, but words did not form. He did not know how to describe the situation. In the end, the pce guard said, "It''s better if I take you to see for yourself, Your Highness."

    "Oh?" Leon raised an eyebrow, before he nodded, "Alright. Lead the way."

    The pce guardplied with respect.

    The path was unsurprising. It led towards the tunnel, but due to therge open space of the treetop and theyout of the treant''s vige, Leon only had to climb one point and turn one corner to see what was up.

    It was currently the peak of the day upon the surface. The sun was the brightest at this time and the reflective mirrors in the tunnel had been set up.

    Leon could see the beam of sunlight shining down from the tunnel hole above.

    What was surprising to see was that some of the supposedly crimson leaves in the sunlight''s path had already turned a vibrant green.

    But this was not the reason for the pce guard''s hard-to-describe expression. It was due to the treants bathing in the sunlight. Elder Evergreen was also seen among them.

    At this moment, the Old Treant along with the others looked a lot less like ''treants''. They seemed to have shed their bark-like wooden skin and regained their mortal flesh.

    However, more leaves seemed to have sprouted from their head. It was big, green, and very vibrant.

    Looking at Elder Evergreen''s change in appearance, he finally looked a lot more¡­ well, evergreen.

    Making his way over, Leon asked with surprise, "How did this all happen, Elder?"

    "You''re here, Child." Elder Evergreen acknowledged his presence, before shaking his head. "I don''t know. It just happened after we walked into the sunlight. However, I have not felt this refreshed and pleasant for a long time. I feel¡­ young again."

    Leon also noticed the newfound vigor in the surrounding ''treants''. They were practically overflowing with lifeforce and youthfulness.

    Apart from the green jewel on their forehead and the few branch and leaves on their head, they looked practically human again and they did not look like they were over 500 years of age. Even the Old Treant seemed to have lost a few wrinkles.

    Was this a miracle of life?

    The treants seemed to have undergone a round of evolution, but what about the elder tree? Leon immediately returned his attention back to the elder tree.

    Nothing significant seemed to have happened to the elder tree yet, most likely due to its sheer size. However, the green leaves were spreading beyond the sunlight zone.

    Will all the crimson leaves turn green eventually? What will happen after? Leon couldn''t wait to find out.

    He knew the sunlight would bring about a positive effect, but he would have never thought that the effect would be so exaggerated!

    It was overpowering.

 Chapter 230 - Crisis Call

    <h4>Chapter 230 - Crisis Call</h4>

    If the scene in the subterranean space was retold by the bards on the streets, many people would be fascinated by the rich imagination, but it would be too ludicrous to believe.

    How can a beam of sunlight bring about such great changes? They had lived under the sunlight all their life. Why hasn''t anything incredible happened to them?

    Many people would think like this, but to begin with, humans cannot bepared to nts. Humans can live without sunlight, but they cannot survive long without due to the environment.

    nts, on the other hand, view sunlight as life itself. All its energy is derived from the sunlight.

    The pce guards viewed the beam of sunlight as a beam of sunlight, but to the elder tree and treants, this was not a beam of sunlight but a pir of lifeforce.

    While Leon watched the Elder Tree slowly transitioned its crimson leaves to lush green leaves, his mind was still preupied with the treant''s transformation.

    Their new forms no longer had the resemnce of treants but appeared more like something in between an elf and a nature spirit.

    Leon no longer knows how he should define their race. A nature elf? An elven spirit?

    Regardless of what they should be called, this was for them to decide. A new race had been born on this day, in this subterranean space.

    It was not a regression but an evolution.

    This should be considered good news, but worry hung over Elder Evergreen''s face. Turning to Leon, the elder asks, "Will this change affect the treatment process?"

    The nearby treants also tuned in to listen.

    Indeed, no matter what form they had taken, they were still human at heart and it was in human nature to desire freedom. If they cannot free themselves from the Elder Tree, it would have no meaning.

    Leon did a quick inspection on Elder Evergreen and he was awed by his discovery. Every cell in the elder''s body was thriving with activity and lifeforce. It was hard to gauge how much lifespan the elder had now.

    The problem of petrification seemed to have been resolved by the sunlight. The porous and fibrous structural tissues of wood had all been shed, and what is left is the Elder Tree''s photosynthetic tissues, but here lies the real problem.

    The photosynthetic tissue had all been assimted and became one with Elder Evergreen''s body. It was impossible to separate now. They had be one entity. Leon wore a weird look as this wasn''t exactly a bad thing.

    "Treatment is no longer necessary. Your body has assimted the Elder Tree''s cells." Leon said with a pondering look.

    "Then¡­"

    One could see the disappointment hung on Elder Evergreen and his fellow vigers'' faces when this was said.

    However, Leon wasn''t finished as he continued, "This isn''t exactly a bad thing though. Have you heard of grafting?"

    "Grafting? Like joining two different nt tissues and allowing them to grow together?"

    "Yes, exactly like that. Previously, your fellow vigers all died from final stage petrification after leaving the Elder Tree because there was no sunlight. The nt tissues within slowly died without the supply of energy, but now, that problem no longer exists. It is getting all the energy it is required from sunlight."

    The Elder''s eyes lit up once Leon finished his words.

    "Then that means that¡­"

    Leon pointed upwards said with a light smile, "The surface is yours to roam."

    The vigers were all moved with heartfelt expression. Finally, they can now explore the whole wide world.

    "Thank you."

    The vigers all stepped forward to thank Leon from the bottom of their heart after their vige chief had done so.

    "You all don''t have to thank me. I didn''t do anything." Leon shook his head helplessly. He did not believe that he deserves to be on the receiving end of their gratitude.

    He did not treat their disease and freed them. That was resolved by nature and not by his own efforts. He was not going to take nature''s credit.

    "No, you are wrong." Elder Evergreen said sternly. "You gave us hope and made this possible, child. Before you came, no one would have even dreamt about the surface, let alone attempt to dig a hole to the surface. We were prepared to rot down here for the rest of our lives."

    The vigers all voiced their agreement with their viger chief. This only happened because they came.

    "There''s just one tiny problem left we might have to trouble you with, child." Elder Evergreen said with a pinching gesture, before inching closer and whispered, "Are we still infertile in this new form?"

    Leon was speechless and his lips twitched. He did not have a problem checking before when they were still treants, but now? Sorry, he was not interested in looking at another man''s tool.

    "Why don''t you ask your vigers to test it out? It won''t be the same as two blocks of wood banging each other anymore." Leon said helplessly before cracking a small joke.

    Elder Evergreen was not offended by his words andughed heartily. "Hahaha, that''s right. We are not blocks of wood anymore. Hahaha!"

    Suddenly, the entire Elder Tree rattled and shook violently as everyone within the vige found it hard to stand straight and staggered. Some even fell to the ground.

    Soon after the initial impact, the entire subterranean space began to rumble with the sound of battle.

    "What just happened?"

    Everyone was rmed.

    Leon looked around but nothing seemed out of ce except the gradual color-changing leaves.

    However, the Elder Tree was not undergoing any sudden transformation, which means something else must''ve struck the Elder Tree and it was incredibly powerful at that.

    "I think the Elder Tree is under attack again." He said.

    "The ants? That is impossible. They are strong, but far from enough to shake the Elder Tree so violently." A viger denied the im.

    A certain figure among the ants flickered across Leon''s mind but he does not mention this. Instead, he said, "We''ll know once we have a look."

    "Agreed."

    Elder Evergreen nodded.

    Everyone followed them to the outer perimeters of the vige before peering down at the ground below the Elder Tree.

    Unsurprisingly, it was the ants attacking again. However, the attack this time seems rather different from all the previous attacks.

    "It really is the ants, but what the hell is wrong these creatures? It''s like that had all gone crazy."

    The ants appeared to be desperate and in a frenzy. Everyone could see that the Elder Tree was fully surrounded by soldiers'' ants, worker ants and even the humanoid royal guards had joined the battle.

    The army of ants poured into the subterranean space like an unending stream. No one knew why the ants were so rattled.

    As Leon swept the battlefield with his gaze, he tried to locate the humanoid ant that filled him with dread.

    "Are those humanoid ants? How can there be humanoid ants?!" The vigers eximed with shock.

    "You guys have never seen the humanoid ants before?" A pce guard asked curiously with surprise.

    "Never."

    The vigers shook their heads.

    Supposedly, the vigers all took the ants'' attack as a regr routine and had long lost their interest in spectating the battle because they knew that no matter what, the Elder Tree would keep them safe.

    Elder Evergreen sharp eyes noticed that Leon''s gaze was darting across the battlefield in search of something. The discovery piqued his interest.

    "What are you looking for?"

    "A very powerful humanoid ant, and possibly their king," Leon replied, but his eyes never left the battlefield. Soon, his eyes locked onto a certain location within the throngs of ants. "There! It''s over there!"

    Everyone tried to follow the direction Leon pointed, but there were just too many ants to tell. Even the number of royal guard ants were in the dozens among the millions of ants.

    After so many onughts, the ants were still so numerous. God knows how these creatures breed. Leon made a mental note that when he possesses adequate strength, he would look for the ant queen and kill it before ity any more eggs.

    Suddenly, his expression dropped, and he shouted in warning, "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

    The ground in the distance suddenly cracked as a shadow flickered across the air and¡­

    Boom!

    The Elder Tree shook violently again as the figure mmed into the middle stump of the Elder Tree and left behind arge web-like crack on it.

    Leon''s warning was timely, but many still didn''t manage to react promptly and lost their bnce. Some almost fell off the tree directly and plunge to their death.

    "Holy sh*t! What the fuck was that!" The vigers almost lost their minds. How much physical strength was needed for a creature of that size to shake such arge tree?!

    At the very least, it should have exceeded 100,000-jin. No, even 100,000-jin might be an understatement.

    Elder Evergreen began to frown gravely as he said in a low voice, "The ants are going all out this time."

    "That''s right, they are attacking the Elder Tree directly and not aiming for the power source. It''s like taking down the Elder Tree has be their primary objective. What had triggered them so? Have they discovered something that we haven''t?" Leon said with a pondering look.

    After the monstrous humanoid ant impacted the Elder Tree, it dodged all the tree roots and retreated for a follow-up third impact.

    Despite what was going on, the tree spirit of the Elder Tree was nowhere to be seen and only its self-defense mechanism was in ce.

    The impact should have hurt the Elder Tree quite a bit, but despite that, the tree spirit waspletely silent!

    What is going on with the tree spirit?!

    Suddenly, Leon had a faint premonition of danger as he looked back at the beam of sunlight continuing to supply the Elder Tree with endless energy.

    "You gotta be kidding me¡­ Don''t tell me that it is actually happening¡­" Leon muttered in horror.

    "What is happening? What have you discovered, Leon?" Lilith asked. Her bird sense was also screaming danger.

    "No time to exin," Leon said and turned to Elder Evergreen. "Elder, we need to evacuate everyone to the surface immediately!"

    Everyone could tell the seriousness and urgency in his tone¡­ Elder Evergreen nodded and immediately issued orders to his surrounding vigers to round up everyone and regather at the tunnel entrance.

 Chapter 231 - Nature Is To Be Feared

    <h4>Chapter 231 - Nature Is To Be Feared</h4>

    Boom!

    The Elder Tree violently shook again, but except for the rampaging tree roots outside, the tree spirit itself waspletely dead silent. Everyone was filled with an ominous feeling despite not knowing what was about to happen. They were just told to rushed to the surface as quickly as possible.

    As everyone began making their way through the tunnel, Lilith could no longer hold back her curiosity while they were on the run and turned to Leon at her side.

    "Now can you tell us what is going on?"

    When the question was raised, the nearby runners also perked their ears to listen in.

    "The Elder Tree is trying to take advantage of its first ray of sunlight to push for a breakthrough to be a World Tree."

    The first ray of sunlight on a nt deprived of it will always have the strongest effect.

    "Push for a breakthrough? Trees can cultivate now?" Lilith was bbergasted.

    This was news to her.

    "Heaven never closes its door to life. If it is living, it can cultivate." Leon exined.

    "So, what you''re telling me is even flowers and any random stalks of grass on the field has a chance of cultivating as well?" Lilith rolled her eyes. It sounded unbelievable.

    "If it aged well and developed a sentient spirit then yes, they can!"

    Lilith gaped in disbelief. What in the world! She felt her world turning upside down.

    However, she quickly shook her head and said, "Okay¡­ but what does that have to do with why we need to run to the surface? What''s so dangerous about the Elder Tree pushing for a breakthrough?"

    This question was also what everyone wanted to ask as well as they were listening. They could not put the two and two together.

    "It''s not easy to be a World Tree. In fact, it is extremely difficult. In order to be a World Tree, the Elder Tree will give it everything it has to push through once it collects enough sunlight." Leon exined.

    The crowd was still confused, unsure of where the danger wasing from. Leon''s exnation was rather vague.

    "Since sunlight is the problem, why don''t we just move these mirrors and stop the Elder Tree from getting the sunlight?" Lilith suggested.

    "Don''t touch the mirrors!" Leon barked. He almost jumped with fright. "It''s already begun making its preparation for a breakthrough, but the sunlight is not enough to help its breakthrough! Even the power source will most likely not be enough! In fact, all life within a certain distance of the Elder Tree will be sacrificed for its breakthrough! If you stop it from receiving sunlight now, you will only anger it and get us all killed."

    "What!"

    Everyone was appalled.

    "How can it do that?! With its tree roots?" Lilith asked with horror. She remembered the tree roots of the Elder Tree could seemingly suck anything dry in an instant.

    At her question, Leon made a bitter smile. If only it was that simple, but she was not wrong either. If it wanted, its tree roots can even reach the surface through the tunnel.

    But that was not what he was worried about.

    "No, you are severely underestimating what an elder tree can do. If World Trees are considered deities, then Elder Trees are like demigods. It has the ability to drain all the lifeforce within its immediate surrounding. Think of it as an absolute domain over life and death."

    People were not aware because the Elder Tree had never used its special ability before due to the consumption of energy. Instead, it had always been passive and focused on the conservation of energy for its continual survival in the underground.

    But now that it has the opportunity to break out of the subterranean space and ascend to a higher state, it would naturally give it everything it''s got!

    This was the brutality of the Divine Realm that Leon knew! In the pursuit of the evesting, everything else can be discarded!

    No matter what rtionship they had established with the Elder Tree, it was insignificantpared to its own ascension, and sunlight was the catalyst for what was happening!

    Leon felt incrediblyplicated. Why did blessings and disasters alwayse hand in hand?! Were they a married couple?!

    Elder Evergreen and the vigers all felt a chill in their hearts at the revtion. They had relied on the Elder Tree all their life for survival, but the opposite cannot be said. The Elder Tree did not need them. They were just freeloaders, but perhaps they were kept alive for this moment!

    In the end, they were still considered fortunate for having some rtionship with the tree spirit. They realized why the ants were going all out in their attack against the Elder Tree.

    The Elder Tree must have targeted their lifeforce subtly but got discovered and triggered their frenzy. Why wouldn''t they be? The Elder Tree was going to take everything away from them, including their life!

    The tunnel was long, but it did not take much time to reach the surface through it aspared to climbing up the Elder Tree to reach the entrance of the tunnel.

    Everyone quickly made it outside, and the treants that had yet to undergo their baptism of sunlight underwent an even more exaggerated transformation. Sunlight could be seen drawn to their bodies like particles, but Leon did not have time to admire.

    "We¡­ should be safe now, right?" Lilith asked.

    Leon was about to answer when the vigers all started groaning with difficult expressions.

    "Ugh¡­"

    "What''s happening now?"

    The pce guards were surprised by the sudden change in the vigers next to them.

    Leon turned to Elder Evergreen for an answer. The elder was no exception from the sudden change. Seeing his fellow vigers suffering the same symptoms as him, he said, "Our bodies suddenly feel heavy. It wants to go back down."

    "Fight it. The Elder Tree is summoning you all back. We need to get further away from here. Regardless of whether the Elder Tree seeds or not, there''s a high chance the ground will copse." Leon said with a serious look.

    Elder Evergreen nodded as his big leaf swayed in the wind.

    The group of several hundred people retreated some 3000 yards away before they finally sighed with relief.

    At this distance, the vigers from the old treant vige no longer felt thepelling summoning force of the Elder Tree and they finally felt safe.

    The trembles of the earth could still be felt from the surface, and it was growing with intensity with each passing moment.

    One could imagine that the battle within the subterranean space was very ferocious for it to pass through 300fts of thick earth to reach the surface.

    Fortunately, there were no cities or towns located in the vicinity, and the logistic team from the military had long left for Azure Verdant ins to deliver the supplies as they were assigned to do.

    Thus, even if the earth copse, there would be no casualties.

    "I don''t understand though. If the Elder Tree was draining the lifeforce from the ants to aid its breakthrough, can''t they just retreat out of the Elder Tree''s range? Why do they need to fight?" Lilith voiced her doubts as she sat down on the patch of grass.

    "My guess is that they were greedy and didn''t want the Elder Tree to absorb all that red energy down there. If I''m not wrong, the reason for the ants'' regr attack was to train themselves. The weak ones are killed off, but the strong ones will live on." Leon said.

    "That''s starting to make sense to me."

    Soon, everyone began to show Leon gratitude for his timing warning and bringing them out to safety.

    Pieces of earth surrounding the opening of the tunnel began breaking off and dropping into the darkness below in tandem with the shaking of the ground.

    It wasn''t long before they saw tree roots shooting out of the opening before mming back into the ground.

    "Did the Elder Tree seed in its breakthrough?"

    The people were shaken by the sight.

    "No, it''s still far from it. It''s trying to remove the ceiling and bathe in its entire body in the sunlight." Leon answered seriously before suggesting, "We¡­ should probably back off a bit more."

    As if the ground within a 3000-yard radius of the tunnel opening had lost all its support, the entire region finally copsed.

    Boom!

    The earth shook again with unprecedented force like an earthquake. The power of nature was to be feared. It was simply earthshaking and devastating as its tremors could be felt dozens of miles away.

    It was a scene that everyone present would never forget as they fail to hold their bnce. Slickers of cold sweat dripped from their faces at the thought that they could be buried under all that earth.

    The sheer weight of the earth was impossible to calcte, but it was unlikely for the ants to survive the crushing weight of its fall.

    Everyone scrutinized their eyes into the newly formed and enormous pit as the dust settled. Surprisingly, many ants had survived as they had broken the Elder Tree''s defense andtched on its stump for cover.

    The Elder Tree was revealed to be in a severely battered shape, covered in dirt and ants nibbling on it, but despite all this, it still stood strong and tall in all its majesty. Its leaves had turnedpletely green.

    The Elder Tree began to glow with tripleyers of color after it was exposed to rich sunlight.

    Starting with the innermost being green, red followed in the middle, and finally yellow upied the outermostyer. The threeyers of color formed a beautifullyrge and spherical dome around the Elder Tree like a barrier. It was its domain.

    "It''s starting." Leon quietly muttered.

    Everyone focused their gaze into the distance as they watched the ants suddenly withered like dead nts and dropped from the tree''s stump one after the other.

    Their carcasses crashed, shattered into fine dust, and scattered with the wind. It was like their entire existence had just been erased from the world and never existed.

    Lilith paled and everyone trembled in their hearts at the sight. If they had not escaped in a timely manner and retreated to such safe distances, what happened to the ants would have happened to them as well.

    As knowledgeable as Leon was, it was also his first time witnessing it in person. He couldn''t help but inhale deeply and cussed.

    "Damn nature, you scary!"

 Chapter 232 - Exposed To The World

    <h4>Chapter 232 - Exposed To The World</h4>

    Crawford Kingdom Eastern Border Pass, Azure Verdant ins.

    The war between the three kingdoms had alreadymenced over the tri-bridge in the past few days.

    The Crawford Kingdom was outnumbered by the alliance between the Durham Kingdom and the Vran Kingdom, but both sides were evenly matched on the battlefield without any clear advantages.

    The Queen''s arrival had been a great boost to the morale of the soldiers of the Crawford Kingdom.

    With her at the hem of the battlefield with the 20 thousand strong soldiers gathered from various regions of the Crawford Kingdom, they were able to fend off the 40 thousand invaders.

    During the first confrontation, the enemy had sent out their full force in a bid to take down the Eastern Border Pass as swiftly as possible.

    However, the strong Crawford Kingdom soldiers were alert under the Queen''smand and retaliated. A great battle was fought over the central tri-bridge.

    Sparks of gunpowder exploded all over the battlefield while bullets ricocheted off the great shields of both sides. In this bout of crossfire, the Crawford Kingdom held the advantage.

    Their bullets and firearms were all designed to prate the tough hides and shells of the beasts from the Wilnds. Thus, it only took a few rounds before it broke through the enemy''s steel shield.

    The enemy generals were quick to notice the unfavorable situation their troops were in but pressed forward and forced the Crawford Kingdom''s troops into closebat.

    The casualties on the Crawford Kingdom''s side quickly rose to 2000, while the enemy''s losses tallied up to roughly 4000.

    Their bodies piled up like mountains, while some directly fell into the Azure River to be food for the fishes.

    At the rate the battle was progressing, both sides would just suffer mutual destruction if no changes were made. As such, the Queen changed tactics and went from offensive to defensive.

    She ordered the kingdom''s troops to retreat behind the safety of the walls where they would make their stand.

    The two sects controlling the Durham Kingdom and the Vran Kingdom might not care for the lives of the soldiers lost, but it was not the same for Elizabeth.

    Every life lost in battle was a loss for the Human Domain.

    With the wall as the cover and the soldiers managing it, the Border Pass was like an impregnable fortress. The enemy troops could not take down the Border Pass and both sides ended up in a stalemate.

    This was the situation for thest couple of days.

    The enemy did not send out their sect members to join the battle, so neither did the queen nor the two daughters-inw she brought along.

    Although Elizabeth had entered the Transcendent Realm, she did not let it get to her head. Since the two sects were willing to wage war against them, it meant that they possess a certain level of confidence.

    In the end, the big battle ended prematurely, and only small skirmishes broke out at irregr intervals in front of the wall.

    As the attacker, the enemy''s tactic was to harass and wear down the garrisons before theyunch their next big attack with the main army.

    Elizabeth had realized their intentions and divided her troops to take shifts in guarding the walls through the night. This way, they would get adequate rests.

    The enemy had also realized that strategy was rendered useless. They could only helplessly throw out taunts in front of the wall to provoke the Crawford Kingdom into sending out their troops to do battle.

    Naturally, as the chiefmander of the Border Pass defense, Elizabeth was the focus of their taunts and provocations.

    To such taunts and provocations, Elizabeth responded with a flying sword and lopped off the heads of her taunters.

    Since then, the enemy could only retreat in fear and taunt from afar that could barely be heard.

    Presently, Elizabeth was overlooking the situation of the tri-bridge from atop the Border Pass walls. Lynne and Aria stood behind her with simr gazes.

    The experience in thest few days had caused slight changes to their mentality. They appeared more mature and the naivety brought by their youth was less evident.

    Elizabeth had been strict in her teaching during resting periods. Not only did she taught them sword arts, but she also shared her insights in the way of the sword.

    Formless Sword Art was the name of the sword art she taught them. It was the most appropriate one to teach. It was foundation level sword art that is easy to learn with no upper limit to its potential.

    As the saying goes, there are no invincible martial arts, only invincible martial artist.

    Fixed sword arts were too rigid and inflexible to changes, but the Formless Sword Art allows the user to be formless to counteract all changes in battle. The form of sword art was never fixed and differs from users to users.

    Apart from this, Aria and Lynne were giving magisteel swords and learned how to enchant their weapons with elemental attributes to increase their striking power.

    Elizabeth really wondered how her son managed to find such talenteddies. They were also considered geniuses in her books.

    It wasn''t like she was doubting her own son''s charms.

    After all, his face shares resemnces to his father¡ª Ahem, never mind the face. He was driven and motivated. Women find men most attractive when they are serious and hardworking.

    While facing the empty horizon, everyone on the wall thought that the enemies were not going toe out to taunt them today.

    However, everyone became shocked when the earth suddenly quaked, and the direction seemed to havee from behind them in the west.

    When they thought about the enemy''s inaction of the day and the sudden earthquake that just happened, they all came to the same conclusion.

    The enemy must have crossed the river and snuck around to attack their rear!

    Elizabeth''s expression became serious. The enemy had set camp on the tri-bridge and had not made any sudden movements.

    Was their main army only a diversion from the start? If it was then the situation was not good.

    One had to know that the Crawford Kingdom had to defend the Western Frontier and Southern Wall from possible beast invasion, but also their eastern borders against the two kingdoms.

    However, the two sects might not care about the two kingdom''s stability and round up all the military force they can muster to invade the Crawford Kingdom.

    If that was the case, 40 thousand soldiers were hardly even half of what they had.

    Elizabeth quickly assigned a trustedmander as deputy chief inmand of the eastern borders, before taking Aria, Lynne and 2000 other soldiers with her, before making haste for the source of the earthquake.

    One of their cities could be under attack.

    ¡­

    ck ashes billowed around the Elder Tree as it received a surge in energy after using its ability. The tripleyered energy dome began to amalgamate into a single colored energy dome that rippled with power across thendscape.

    The observers could feel a strong breeze pass them by before the wind was drawn back towards the Elder Tree.

    A more observant eye would notice that the flow of wind was spiraling around the Elder Tree towards the sky. The weather began to change as dark clouds gathered above the sunny sky.

    Everyone was taken aback, but Leon turned serious.

    For the Elder Tree to induce a change in the weather implies that it had reached the threshold for a breakthrough. A tribtion wasing.

    There was no turning back now.

    A World Tree Tribtion was on the level of a Celestial Tribtion. The phenomena will stretch across thousands of miles and the world will be drawn towards its epicenter.

    Whether the Elder Tree seeds or not, it was impossible to keep it hidden. The Elder Tree and the two underground floors were exposed to the world.

    Those who knew of the treasures that lie within will flock over like birds dying for food. Whether he wants it or not, a future great battle for the subterranean resources of this region wasing their way.

    Little did he know, a war had already started in the east and the enemy was much closer than he thinks.

    The energy dome that was filled with lifeforce, artificial spirit energy, and sr energy had yellowy-brown color after their amalgamation, but it did not stay this way for long as the energy dome began to pulse like a beating heart that expands and contracts.

    At the end of each pulse, the energy dome would grow a size smaller until itpletely disappears within the Elder Tree.

    Everyone except Leon thought the Elder Tree was finished at this point until the Elder Tree began to glow again but with overwhelming lifeforce that shot towards the skies like a deration of challenge.

    As this happens, the tribtion clouds above drastically gathered and finished its formation like it had been provoked. The crackle of thunder can be heard within its dark looming clouds.

    Some people felt unsettled and subconsciously stepped back several paces at this sight.

    Suddenly, everything went eerily silent for a brief moment, before a white sh of lightning struck down like the angry wrath of heaven.

    Boom!

    The sky shattered and the earth trembled as the Elder Tree took the hit with great difficulty. The sh between nt and lightning generated a seismic force of wind that billowed outwards.

    Everyone thought they were safe, they were. But the strong rush of wind still blew at them and forced their feet to glide along the surface of the ground.

    Some lightweights were blown away some distance directly, but otherwise, unharmed.

    Lilith was unfortunately one of the few people blown off her feet. She had panicked in that instant and reached out her hands to grab at whatever she could like a wailing baby.

    Leon was doing fine until he suddenly felt anotherpelling force tugging on his clothes from behind, causing him to lose his bnce.

    The two ended up rolling on the ground in each other''s embrace until they separated after the first round of tribtion lightning ended.

    With a face covered in dirt, Leon threw Lilith a dirty look.

    "Hehehe¡­ sorry."

    Lilith apologized with a guilty yet cute expression.

    ¡­

    The World Tree Tribtion was too shy to go unnoticed by the better half of the Deste Continent.

    Whether it was the five kingdoms and four sects of the Human Domain, the western and southern regions of the Wilnds, they have all seen the phenomenon of unprecedented scale.

    The more distant regions of the Wilnds had not seen but they had sensed it, while even the Boundless Sea seemed to have been stirred by the changes¡­

 Chapter 233 - First In History

    <h4>Chapter 233 - First In History</h4>

    After sessfully enduring the first tribtion lightning, the Elder Tree was charred in various parts of its body, and sections of its leaves were burnt to a crisp.

    Therge tribtion clouds above were not like any normal thunderstorm that asionally strikes the earth with its single ray of lightning from time to time.

    No, it was on a grander scale and clearly seeking to destroy. The World Tree Tribtion was almost like the Divine Damnation.

    The formation of the tribtion clouds was like a whirlpool in the deep sea an empty void at its center. However, this empty void was like a portal, a gateway that summoned tribtion lightning from elsewhere.

    The white sh blinding and its destructive force was unfathomable.

    Those who manage to perceive the true form of the strike would know that it was not just a mere ray but a beam, aser, it was an entire pir of white lightning that came crashing down!

    And an especially thick one at that!

    "Inconceivable¡­"

    Pce guards were awestruck with fear in the mix. Their senses tingled with the crackling sky from the remnants of scattered lightning streaking through the air.

    None of them was as knowledgeable as Leon. They did not know about World Tree Tribtion, but they knew about the Transcendent Phenomenon. Transcendents would receive the world''s baptism upon transcendence, but what about this?

    At the very least, they did not believe that it was a baptism. No one could possibly survive!

    They did not doubt that if it were them that stood under that pir of white light, they would have been vaporized from existence.

    "God damn¡­ heaven is angry. How scary."

    "Yeah¡­ this is probably what heaven''s smite would look like."

    Everyone quickly nodded in ession withrge gulps. This was a scene that would be etched into their hearts for the rest of their life.

    "Look! The sky is preparing to strike again!" Someone noticed and pointed.

    The center of the whirlpool of tribtion clouds began to glow with brightness. The World Tree Tribtion was not over.

    Leon''s attention did not linger on Lilith before it was drawn back to the Elder Tree. How would it survive the World Tree Tribtion?

    In his heart, there was some faint hope and anticipation for its sess.

    It was true that with the knowledge he had inherited, he could produce countless improved energy conversion devices to power airships and cultivate his people among many other things he could do with the knowledge.

    However, whether it is wed or improved, artificial spirit energy was after all, still artificial spirit energy. It was not true spirit energy. There might still be problems or defects that even Arden himself did not discover before his passing.

    The situation totally changes if there was a World Tree. It would start producing genuine spirit energy just like a Celestial Ruler revitalizing the.

    Thus, if the Elder Tree seeds, it would be the start of the golden age of divine practitioners on Gaia. All the citizens of the kingdom of Crawford will reap the benefits with their practiced breathing techniques.

    As Leon was lost in his thoughts, the Elder Tree began to glow green and recover from the damages it sustained with the overflowing lifeforce it collected.

    As if the Elder Tree had a lingering fear of the first strike, it also did not take the brunt of the uing second strike. Its long tree roots stretched and weaved together to form a protectiveyer above itself.

    However, the World Tree Tribtion did not give it the time it needed to recover and prepare fully. In the next instance, another white sh was already upon it.

    BOOM!

    The second was noticeably more powerful than thest. Everyone had already shuffled some paces back but the wind pressure from the second sh sent them back several paces more.

    Leon strained his eyes to peer through the brilliance of the tribtion lightning and faintly saw wisps of red energy dispelled from the Elder Tree''s body as it was struck.

    His eyes narrowed at this sight. This World Tree Tribtion seemed a bit different from the records in his memory, but this should not be a surprise.

    The Vandelheim Star Realm in which Gaia was located, operated under simr but different sets ofws. Perhaps even the entire unknown starfield was the same.

    Knowledge from the Divine Realm would not always be urate.

    The red wisps of energy appeared to be the wed artificial spirit energy that the Elder Tree relied on to survive all these years.

    At this moment, it looked like the tribtion lightning was purifying it from this impure energy.

    Leon had to agree that being showered in the white tribtion lightning, the Elder Tree did look more holy despite the damages it was sustaining at the same time.

    After the second strike faded into the darkness created by the dark tribtion clouds that blotted out the sun, everyone could see the shape of the Elder Tree.

    It did not look like it would be able to take a third strike. It was scorched ck in parts of its body and half of its lush green leaves were missing. Only the empty branches could be seen in these parts.

    ''It''s not going to make it.''

    Leon creased his brows. Although the tribtion clouds were taking longer to charge up its third attack like it was gathering up thest of its energy, it was still there. It has not dispersed yet.

    The third strike will be the final strike. This was something everyone present could also guess.

    The Elder Tree had a bigger window of time to recover with the overflowing lifeforce stored inside it, but it may not be enough.

    The ascension of a World Tree benefited all life, but with his knowledge on the usage of spirit energy, humanity will stand to gain more from it.

    He could not let it fail. He had to make some effort to assist it or he would regret it.

    Leon threw his caution to the wind and began withdrawing all the healing pills of all tiers in his reserve and under the startled gazes of his surroundings.

    Their eyes widened like saucers. Where did these pill bottlese from?!

    From their perspective, Leon was pulling the pill bottles out of thin air. If it was not sorcery, then they do not know what it was.

    Toozy to be concerned about their thoughts and suspicions, Leon took his stance and began tossing the pill bottles over the 3000-yard distance to the Elder Tree with his lopsided¡ªAhem, strong right arm.

    The Tree Spirit of the Elder Tree sensed the iing projectiles from Leon and shot out with some of its shorter tree roots to smash the pill bottles before urately impaling each pill before they fell to the ground.

    Whether it seeds in oveing the World Tree Tribtion or not, Leon''s assistance was most weed and will forever be remembered.

    It was not bothered by the fact that Leon''s group escaped its devouring lifeforce domain, an ability thatprised of wood and spatialws.

    As the saying went, a friend in need was a friend indeed.

    Furthermore, the lifeforce and energy from their group of several hundred was an insignificant numberpared to the millions upon tens of millions of ants it devoured.

    Leon did not have much hope to gain from his actions, but a boost to its small chance of sess was better than nothing.

    All the medicinal essence was rung dry from the pills and absorbed into the Elder Tree''s body, but it no longer had the time to enjoy the boosted recovery.

    The third strike finally shot down with nerve-wracking and heart-stopping force.

    If the first strike waspared to a force that could erase mortals from existence, then the third strike was a force that threatened to drill through their very!

    Each consecutive strike was stronger than thest!

    The Elder Tree''s defense did not hold.

    Everyone averted their eyes the moment the blinding light appeared. If they did not, they would have suffered.

    They could only helplessly watch themselves get blown away once more.

    Was this a warning from the heavens to never defy them?

    At the end of the third strike, the dark tribtion clouds had finally used up thest of its energy and began to disperse as daylight returned to the region thereafter.

    At the source of all themotion, the Elder Treeid dormant,pletely scorched ck with no area left unchecked. All its leaves were gone, and it looked no different to a dead tree.

    "I-Is it finally over?"

    A person questioned with doubt. The fearless experience had shocked them silly. The people began to share their opinions among themselves.

    Leon looked silently at the ckened Elder Tree. Disappointment could be seen in his eyes, but he did not look away. He had not given up on it.

    Ba-dump¡­

    Everyone suddenly went quiet. It was as if they had just heard the beating of a heart, but they were not too sure.

    Ba-dump¡­ Ba-dump¡­

    They heard it again. It was not their imagination.

    They looked around, wondering which person among them had such a loud beating heart.

    "Was it you?"

    "No? How about you?"

    "You?"

    "What about you?"

    Questions flew around, but everyone shook their heads.

    Their gazes soonnded on the ckened Elder Tree.

    It would not be the Elder Tree, right? They have heard about the heart of the tree, but it wouldn''t be an actual beating heart, would it?

    With these doubts, they silently watched the dead-looking Elder Tree. Just as they were about to give up, a cracked appeared on its scorched ckened surface.

    Crack¡­

    The crack began to pick up speed and spread to the rest of the Elder Tree''s body before all the charred parts fell apart like broken shells.

    A sparkling new surface was revealed underneath with a tinge of holiness as new leaves began to sprout from the empty branches.

    The Elder Tree was alive. Not only was it alive, but it was also recovering and growing at an rming rate just like a newborn nting sprouting from its seed! The limitless sunlight was aiding its rebirth and growth.

    The ground rumbled as everyone looking down at the Elder Tree from ground level began to look up at it!

    It went from big to bigger!

    Pce guards gaped in shock. They started to rub their eyes like they were dreaming.

    There was only so much someone can take in at once. The series of events had shocked them one after another and they began to question reality.

    The Elder Tree, no, the World Tree did not stop until it reached a grand height of 10000fts and its entire body exuded awe-inspiring holiness.

    Elder Evergreen and his fellow vigers could not help but prostrate themselves and worship it like they had just witnessed the birth of a divinity.

    The tree spirit was lofty and proud of its sess, but it felt like it owes all its achievement to Leon.

    Without the sunlight, it would not have the hope to break through and without the medicinal pills, it would not have survived.

    It had been awfully close to failing, but the healing pills no matter how insignificant it was, it provided just enough to protect the core of its being and kept its spirit alive.

    If the spirit lived, then its body can be revived, but if its spirit is dead then no matter what method is used, the body cannot be revived.

    Leon finally smiled.

    Today, history was made and all are honored to have witnessed it¡­ The first World Tree in Gaia was born this very day.

 Chapter 234 - Return To Capital

    <h4>Chapter 234 - Return To Capital</h4>

    First in History!

    The sense of achievement was inexplicably pleasant. Leon, who had a part of this achievement felt emotionally proud.

    Who would utterly understand how difficult it had been for the tree spirit to elevate to the World Tree level in this barren world?

    No one could also understand what the tree spirit was feeling either. It had lived underground all its life, not know what sunlight even was in its entire life, but the moment the first ray of sunlight shined upon, it felt like it an iplete puzzle that just received its missing piece,pleting it.

    If it knew there was such a thing so close to it and it was only separated by a few hundred feet of earth, it would have long dug its way through to the surface.

    Nevertheless, living underground all its life, the moment rose to the surface, it also rose to the peak of life!

    The World Tree Tribtion lightning destroyed its body but also remolded it and elevated its spirit.

    Right now, if Leon were to talk to it, he would be surprised to find out that they would finally be able to hold a conversation.

    While the people prostrated to it, they had the illusion of the tree spirit standing tall and lofty while looking up at the sun.

    Hm?

    The tree spirit suddenly looked towards the west as if it had discovered something. After a moment, there were some shuffling movements in the earth before the World Tree rose to its full 10000ft above ground level.

    It had pulled itself out of the underground and burrowed its tree roots back into the earth.

    Its action also happened to partly cover up the subterranean space with its enormity, but this would still not stop people froming to visit the monstrosity that appeared out of nowhere.

    If theye close enough, they would also be able to see the empty void of the subterranean space through the gaps where sunlight shone through.

    The World Tree was demonstrating its authority and the Elder Tree in the west shivered in subservience to the World Tree''s rule.

    Endless amount of sunlight was absorbed before spirit energy began billowing out of from the World Tree.

    Afortable and pleasant washed over everyone as their pores opened and tried to greedily devour the newfound energy in the atmosphere.

    The pce guards were surprised, while some with quicker wits directly sat down in meditation and began practicing the breathing technique.

    Lilith blinked for a moment before she reacted the same way, although she appeared to be practicing a different technique.

    Leon trained his eyes on her as he sneakily studied her technique.

    With his observant eyes, sharp ears, and divine sense, he could feel Lilith absorbing the spirit energy, but she did not store it in the energy center in her be.

    Instead, she stored it in her pore after she refined the energy.

    The method slightly surprised him, but it should be a Body Forging method that tempers the flesh.

    While everyone was lost in their own worlds, absorbing the spirit energy that started perforating the air, Leon did a quick inspection of himself.

    Within his sea of consciousness, the elemental seeds seemed to have made some progress in its merge.

    Knowing that it was only a matter of a few days before the merge isplete after doing a quick calction, a burden in his heart was lifted.

    Disregarding the fact that not being able to do what he used to be able to do was an inconvenience to him, the fact that he could refine pills without relying on earthly fire was a bigger problem.

    ''Just a few more days¡­'' Leon silently noted.

    His elemental seedmenced its own fusion when the five-element cycle waspleted. This should be due to his Five Element Body, but when it did not take that long to form his Five Element Body when he reached initial sess.

    Was it taking longer for his elemental seeds to merge due to the presence of a 6th element, the lightning seed?

    After the merge ispleted, would his soul be the Five Element Soul¡ªNo, Six Element Soul? And how would this benefit him? Would he gain some immunity to elemental damages to his soul?

    Leon was amused by his own thoughts. He was not sure, but time will tell.

    "Oh?"

    His attention suddenly turned to one of the pce guards and rubbed his chin.

    "Not bad, already broken through to the nextyer."

    Given time, the spirit energy produced by the World Tree would spread across the continent, but the source of it all would always be the densest.

    Right now, this ce could be considered a holynd of cultivation. It wasn''t on the same density level of the Divine Realm, but maybe one day, it will.

    Should he establish his own sect here? He was a prince and could indeedmand the kingdom''s forces, but it might not be a bad idea to set up his own power of influence.

    Once the thought appeared, it stuck to him like glue.

    Perhaps, in the future when they reach great sess in their cultivation, he would take the loyal ones with him to wage war on the viinous Divine Kings back in the Divine Realm.

    Leon''s eyes glinted.

    Every time he thought of the traitorous subordinates and the vile Divine Kings that returned gratitude with malice, he would get shbacks of his dying father and his heart would be set ame with great fury.

    While rage burned inside him, no changes were seen on the surface. He was gradually learning to control his anger, despite asional outbursts.

    He tried not to think about it and move on.

    ncing around, he began to feel slightly envious of the pce guards. Everyone was cultivating. He was the only one idle.

    "Aish, everyone is cultivating except me," Leon muttered with a slightint.

    He could not cultivate spirit energy until he removes the pseudo-Grandmist Revolving Core from his be. He could only refine some more strands of pseudo-Grandmist energy.

    After refining two strands, he stopped.

    Perhaps, he was biting more than he can chew by intending to practice and learn so many areas of focus, but life was about learning.

    To live is to learn. If one is not learning, are they even living?

    Noticing Elder Evergreen and his vigers have finished their worship, Leon took the initiative to talk.

    "I intend to return to the Capital to grab and prepare a few things. Will you be following me back or staying here to set up a new vige?"

    "What do you mean¡ª"

    Elder Evergreen was confused by his question, but midway through asking, he realized why.

    "Oh."

    Elder Evergreen stared up at the towering World Tree and felt his mouth twitched.

    Their vige was at the very top, but the staircase of vines leading up had been overstretched and snapped from the tree''s rapid growth.

    Having a home that is inessible was the same as not having a home, hence Leon''s question.

    It wouldn''t be difficult to find and set up amodations for the few hundred ''Elven Spirits'' back in the Capital, but they may not be ready to interact with the rest of human society with thenguage barrier between them.

    "I''ll stay and settle my fellow vigers down first. After I am done here, these old bones will be yours tomand as promised." Elder Evergreen said with seriousness.

    Leon was slightly surprised by the elder''s words.

    As he slowly recalled, the elder did mention something like that. Although it did not transpire the way he expected, a promise was a promise.

    Leon found it ironic that the Elder had regained his freedom only to lose it again by subordinating himself to him. Nevertheless, this made the elder trustworthy and a man of his words.

    He felt slightly awkward inwardly, but he calmly nodded, "En, that''s fine with me."

    After expending his two newly refined strands of energy to transmit a slightly bigger package of Gaiannguage to Elder Evergreen, he made some arrangements for some pce guards to stay back and apany them.

    If someone arrives, at least the pce guards would be able to exin and not be troubled by thenguage barrier.

    As for possible conflicts, he believed Elder Evergreen would be able to resolve it.

    After a quick inquiry, he had learned that Elder Evergreen and his vigers had regained ess to their cultivation again in their new forms, albeit with some wood element thrown into the mix.

    Elder Evergreen was a Seeking Insight-Level Transcendent. He could deter many, if not all people with his powerful cultivation.

    With peace of mind, Leon made his way back to the Capital with only half the pce guards.

    Lilith did not follow him and decided to stick with Elder Evergreen and his vigers.

    After receiving the basguage package from Leon, she figured the best way to digest the knowledge was to put it to practice. Likewise, Elder Evergreen also made vain attempts at conversing with her.

    However, whether it was the Ancientnguage or the Gaiannguage, neither of thenguages could be mastered in a single day even if Leon were to transmit the entire knowledge to them.

    The two did not progress past the greeting stage and anything beyond that was just headache-inducing for the both of them.

    They decided to sit down and freshen up on their newfound knowledge before striking up another ''conversation''.

    After Leon left, the Queen, along with Aria, Lynne, and the 2000 troops finally arrived at the scene.

    The pce guards quickly filled them in briefly before a misunderstanding urred between Elder Evergreens group and the Queen.

    They were disappointed to learn that they had just missed Leon.

    "If you leave now, you might be able to catch up to his Highness, Your Majesty." A pce guard said respectfully to the Queen.

    Aria and Lynne looked at each other before looking back at the Queen. Elizabeth nodded with a smile and said, "Go. Be quick."

    She also missed her son dearly, but she was weighed down by responsibilities.

    She could not be away from the frontlines for too long. They were in the middle of a war and the World Tree had caused quite the stir. She had to stay back to control the situation.

    But it was different for Aria and Lynne. Although she could use their assistance, it wasn''t a must to have them by her side, so she granted them temporary leave to catch up with her son.

    Watching the twodies disappear into the horizon with slightly flushed faces, Elizabeth shook her head before her smile gradually faded.

    The pce guard mentioned the prince taking half the pce guards with him in their short briefing, but there was no mention of the captain and when she did a quick count, the numbers didn''t add up.

    The strongest of their group fell in battle, perhaps? That''s is very questionable.

    "Give me the full report. I want to hear everything that happened down there¡­" While facing the pce guard, Elizabeth said with a cold and serious expression.

 Chapter 235 - Who Will Go?

    <h4>Chapter 235 - Who Will Go?</h4>

    nk, clink, clink¡­

    Every day of the week, from day to night and from night to day, the sound of hammering metal never stoppeding from the Lancaster''s workshop tower as steam continue to puff from its steel pipes in rhythmic intervals.

    The number of qualifying apprentice cksmiths gradually exceeded the workce capacity of the workshop.

    As wealthy as the Lancasters were, their money did not supply them enough hands to meet the demands of the ongoing projects in the Capital.

    Concessions were made and the North District''s nobles were happily taken on board. Discontent was quelled and everyone was happy to have a part of the cksmithing industry.

    Sharing slices of a bigger cake was better than hogging a small cake to oneself, especially if it hinders the kingdom''s development. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

    It was a strategy to win back the hearts of the nobles and give them a sense of belonging to the kingdom rather than to exploit them as the Queen and Prince did.

    This strategy was not nned by Duke Ignis, but devised by the king, Heinrich.

    To prosper together or to perish in the annals of history.

    When the kingdom is faced with outside threats, it was more important than ever for the people to be united.

    Right now, a third of the Upper North District had been transformed into cksmithing workshops and metallurgy factories to meet the project demands.

    In addition to the changes to North Upper District, 20% of the Lower District''s reconstruction project waspleted, three surrounding cities have been connected to the Capital via the railway project and the framework design for the underground district was drawn.

    If Leon was present, he would be impressed by the progress during his absence from the Capital.

    Indeed, once production was all on track and the transport system linked up the important and resourceful cities, the Capital was able to receive a steady chain of supplies for their building projects.

    The steam-powered steel carriage, which theyter called the train was able to save dozens of trips and countless days'' worth of time transporting limestones, logs, and various other materials and necessities.

    Half of themoner poption had moved into their new residentialplexes and no longer had to camp on the outskirts of the Capital.

    Moving further outwards,rge fields of crops had been set up all around on the outskirts. To the east was a wheat field that was grown exceedingly quick andrge under the direct management of the Greene family.

    Not only was it almost ready for harvest, but it was also going to be a big bumper harvest.

    Lina''s parents had toiled hard to guarantee that the wheat they have grown will be able to feed the entire Capital for an additional month.

    Everyone in the Capital was surprised when the World Tree Tribtion appeared. For a moment, everyone had all stopped work and looked towards the east.

    Although none of them understood what the birth of a World Tree entails, spirit energy was beginning to fill the world, and this will eventually improve all walks of life.

    Lina''s parents will soon find out that the spirit energy will aid the growth of their crops even further. Everything was turning for the better and they will be able to achieve self-sustainability once more.

    ¡­

    In the Wilnds, within the center of a great forest, amotion was being stirred by a crowd that gathered by the foot of a great tree. Their faces were all fraught with doubts, uneasiness, and confusion.

    "What is going on here?"

    A sweet voice sounded as a youngdy of human stature arrived before the crowd with a basket of herbs.

    The youngdy had long blonde hair, long sharp ears, and sparkling emerald eyes. She appeared to be very young and was the epitome of beauty, but her actual age cannot be urately determined with a nce by ordinary humans.

    The crowd also shared simr appearances as they belong to the same race that is not human but also did not stray too far from human origins. If humans saw them, they would be surprised and exim, "Elves".

    "P-Princess Faelyn."

    The crowd greeted with pleasant surprise and respect as they turned and identify the owner of the sweet voice.

    Princess Faelyn was the fifth princess of their elven tribe, Elvengarde. She was also the youngest princess. She was a down-to-earth princess that likes to pick herbs and interact with elves ofmon birth.

    "T-The Guardian Spirit is¡­"

    One of the male elves stuttered bashfully due to her fairy-like charms.

    "What''s wrong with the Guardian Spirit?"

    Princess Faelyn felt her heart tightened at the crowd''s worried look at the mention of the Guardian Spirit. Did something happen to the Guardian Spirit?

    "The Guardian Spirit is cowering¡­" The male elf finally answered with much difficulty.

    Princess Faelyn dropped the basket of herbs while gasping with wide eyes and one hand over her mouth. The great protector of their tribe was cowering? How can that be? What was it cowering from?

    There were no mid-tier tribes within 3000 miles of their great forest. This means that there should not be any Seeking Insight-level Transcendents within their area.

    But even then, a Seeking Insight-level Transcendent would not be enough to cause their Guardian Spirit. Only those existences from high-tier tribes could instill such fear.

    Noticing her loss of bearing, Princess Faelyn drew in a sharp breath to calm herself down before asking, "Which Venerable Paragon is visiting?"

    The crowd of elves looked at each other cluelessly. They did not have an answer to that question. No one knew what was causing their Guardian Spirit to cower.

    The princess fell silent in thought as theirck of an answer. Did it have something to do with the phenomenon she sensed just now?

    None of the Elves on ground level were aware of the World Tree''s ascension that took ce recently despite sensing the phenomenon.

    They just took it as another Transcendent Phenomenon happening, which was not a rare urrence within the Wilnds.

    The majority of the elves live their entire lives on the ground level within the great forest by the Elder Tree.

    Sunlight rarely enters this deep in the forest, but despite this, the elven tribe was not a ce filled with perpetual darkness.

    The Elder Tree of the great forest was not like the Elder Tree of the underground.

    It was blessed by sunlight all year round and overflowed with the wood element and lifeforce that permeated to its surrounding.

    These wood elemental energy and lifeforce reached a density where it could be seen in the form of glowing green particles and the entire elven tribe was alight by these particles that were neither too bright nor too dark. It was just right.

    The setting suffuses the tribe in ethereal and otherworldly ambiance and outsiders stepping foot into Elvengarde would feel like they had stumbled into the holy sanctuary of another world.

    Although Elves also live up in the Elder Tree as well, that ce was only reserved for royalty and elders of the council.

    While the elves below had no idea what was going on, everyone above was in the know. They could see the World Tree that appeared over the horizon.

    A meeting was being held by the high council of elders along with the elven queen and king as they discuss what course of action they should take.

    A World Tree had appeared, and their own Guardian Spirit had just submitted to it.

    "What thoughts does everyone have? The humans have managed to cultivate a World Tree and our own Guardian Spirit pales inparison. The life and death of every nt on this continent can be decided under the World Tree''s whims. If the humans learn to control the World Tree, then¡­"

    The Elven King did not speak further. Everyone understood the underlying message. They would be at the mercy of the other side.

    The High Elves were inwardly prideful and independent. How could they allow this?

    The rtionship between the Human Domain and Wilnds was not good and can even be considered terrible.

    They also knew just how easy it is to befriend the Guardian Spirit. Tree spirits were sacred and pure entities with child-like mentality the moment they gained sentience.

    With the devious nature of humans, it was easy to trick the World Tree to do their bidding. At least, that is what the Elves believed and feared.

    If a great war between humans and beasts break out once more, they would also be affected.

    The council was split into two sides of opposing views on the matter.

    The extremist believed they should invade and take control of the World Tree before others did. Tree spirits were like deities and the source of their belief. It should not belong to others.

    On the other hand, the conservative group believed they should make peace and establish friendly ties to build a bridge between them and allow their race to visit the World Tree.

    "It''s impossible for humans to have cultivated a World Tree! I do not believe they are capable! It must be the tree spirit''s own efforts!" A proud high elf elder mmed the round council table in disagreement.

    Some elders shook their heads in disagreement, "You mean to tell us that by its own efforts, an Elder Tree that we had no knowledge, much less even seen so close to us, suddenly ascended to the World-level by its own efforts?"

    "Why not?" Another elder interjected. "We''ve been doing all we can to help our Guardian Spirit grow, but has our efforts bore any fruits? No? I didn''t think so."

    One of the twelve elders, who had remained silent, suddenly said, "The Human Domain holds most of the ancient heritage from a bygone era. The humans could have unearthed their secrets and used the knowledge to aid the World Tree''s breakthrough."

    Seeing that the course of the debate was derailing from the main problem, the Elf Queen said, "How the World Tree ascended is not the problem. You can debate all you want, but your theories are all baseless without concrete proof and hold no meaning to this council. What we need to do is understand how this will affect us ande up with a n if the situation is unfavorable."

    "I concur. Regardless of what actions we take, contact with the Human Domain is unavoidable." The Elf said.

    After a heated discussion, the elven council unanimously decided to send an envoy with autonomous authority to act as they see fit after establishing ties with the humans and understanding the situation rting to the World Tree within the Human Domain.

    "Due to the bizarre incident rting to the beasts arising in the Wilnds, we can only send one. Who will go?"

    The Elven King swept his gaze across the round table of elders. Everyone at the table was all Transcendents at the Preliminary ession-level, but everyone avoided eye contact when the king swept pass them.

    Only one can go? That seems quite dangerous. Count me out!

    The Elf King had an ironic smile when he saw this.

    Everyone was quite excited when discussing the problem, but when pushes to shove at spearheading the problem, no one was willing to venture outside theirfort zone.

    "I will go."

    A deep voice sounded from the depths of the room, away from the council table. Everyone was startled by this voice.

    "Supreme Elder, you can''t! We need here to hold the fort!"

    Everyone began to panic.

    The Guardian Spirit was the great protector of their Elven Tribe, Elvengarde, but it was only active when it feels threatened.

    The one defending their borders from outside threats had always been the owner of the deep voice, the Supreme Elder of their tribe, and the only Seeking Insight-level Transcendent among them.

    "The Human Domain holds great animosity for the Wilnds. The sess of our diplomacy will depend on our deterring force and sincerity. For that, I will also be taking those two human prisoners with me and one of your daughters." The Supreme Elder said.

    The pupils of the Elf King shrank before he drew a sharp breath and refused, "You want to use one of my daughters as a tool for negotiation? Absolutely not! I will not let them suffer!"

    One had to know that when they captured the two humans that stumbled into their great forest, they were easily captivated by the beauty of the elves.

    If they were to see any of the Elf King''s daughters, which were the cream of the crop, the hearts of men might just be set aze by fiery lust that can only behave like animals.

    In a situation where the Elves did not know the strengths of the Human Domain, he did not want to risk his daughter''s wellbeing.

    He loved his daughters. Perhaps, a little too much. What about sending one of his sons? Hold on¡­

    He had four daughters, but only one son. He could not possibly send away his only heir, could he?!

    ''How about¡­ making another?'' The Elf King seriously contemted.

    "My words are final." The Supreme Elder said with irrefutable dominance.

    The Elf King''s hopes were dashed like a bucket of cold water poured over him.

    He might be king, but the Wilnds was the world of the strong. The biggest fist has the biggest say.

    He was lucky enough that the Supreme Elder was not interested in his crown, otherwise, he would be forced to abdicate.

    The Supreme Elder was notpletely unreasonable and soften his tone with a sigh. "I had a premonition that the bizarre series of events with the beasts will soon engulf the Wilnds in a violent storm. The World Tree may be our only chance of survival in this unforgiving world."

    The beasts had been growing increasingly violent and powerful in the past week like the prelude to theing of a Second Cataclysm.

    Just in the past week, he, alone, had already in no fewer than a hundred berserk beast.

    As for the princess, the Supreme Elder assured the Elf King that nothing would befall her. She was only there for appearance to make negotiations with the humans easier and no real action was required of her.

    The Elf King could only reluctantly acquiesce to the Supreme Elder''s decision.

 Chapter 236 - Mens Tribulation In Life

    <h4>Chapter 236 - Men''s Tribtion In Life</h4>

    With the appearance of the World Tree, the main road that leads to Azure Verdant ins had been disconnected and a new road was required to be built around it in the future.

    This empty grasnd region the World Tree was found in, used to be the fiefdom of an old Baron. Just twenty miles southwest of the World Tree was a town by the name of Grasscrest Town with a moderate poption of 5000 people.

    Leon and his group of pce guards did not stop by this town. After finding their general direction, they made a straight line for the Capital. However, they had underestimated the distance between them.

    The Capital was not situated in the center of its vast territory but rtively closer to the Great Wall in the west.

    A great distance had to be covered to reach the Capital from the eastern borders.

    Given that Leon had limitless energy to burn to fly at his greatest speed, it would just be a matter of hours to reach the Capital.

    However, he was traveling by foot and with a group of slow pce guards. A matter of hours had been stretched a few days.

    A steam-powered vehicle running at full throttle would still be quicker at this point because machines do not tire as they do.

    At this moment, Leon and the pce guards were taking a break by the main road, hoping for a random vehicle to pass them by so they could hitch a ride. Oh, how they had fallen.

    Leon was not tired and could keep going, but he had to consider the state of his pce guards, who ran in full suits of armor.

    The memory of the prince pulling pill bottles out of thin air still lingered on their minds, but Leon made noment when the question was raised. In the end, it was not their ce to dig into the secrets of royalty.

    While the pce guards quietly cultivated during the rest, Leon did the same.

    Pseudo-Grandmist energy was refined and used to temper his meridians, one strand at a time.

    Learning from his past mistakes, he did not attempt to temper his meridians with multiple strands at once.

    Not only would it put him into shock with his eyes rolling back from the pain again, but he would also be giving the pce guards all a heart attack.

    After two repetitions, Leon sighed and stopped.

    ''It''s too slow!''

    If he wants to make great progress in Body Forging, the pain was something he needed to get used to.

    Leon adjusted his ns and decided to gather whatever dry branches he could find in the surrounding.

    Where there are trees, there are bound to be branches.

    The grasnd was vast and fertile, but it was notpletely t and empty. asional trees and shrubs can be seen growing in various parts of it.

    While picking up the dry branches by the foot of a tree, Leon thought that it was quite appropriate to use the undeveloped grasnd for farming. Crops and medicinal herbs would grow well near the World Tree.

    Leon was naturally prepared to resort to primitive means to start a fire for pill refining.

    "Leon!"

    Leon pricked his ears as he heard his name being faintly called in the distance by two familiar voices. He turned with suspicions, but his eyes glowered with pleasant surprises right after.

    "What are you both doing here? Shouldn''t you both be in the Capital?"

    The nearby pce guards looked at each other confusion. The prince didn''t know? Through their slight interaction with the logistics group, they were made aware of the situation in the eastern borders.

    "Did no one report the news to his Highness that her Majesty and both Miss Aria and Miss Lynne were at the eastern borders?"

    One of the pce guards awkwardly scratched his head and said, "The prince said to absolutely not disturb him unless it is urgent back then."

    The pce guard did not mention that he had forgotten about it after.

    The rest was speechless. It is not urgent, but it is pretty damn important, no? If the Queen is not important then they do not know what is, not to mention the war that started.

    Aria and Lynne were ready to dive into his arms the moment they found him, but they awkwardly froze when they realize that they were not alone in the wild. There was a group of pce guards nearby watching them.

    At the end of the day, they were bothdies with a certain amount of reservations. They did not dare to disy public affections wantonly. Despite that, it did not hide the longing and affections they had in their eyes.

    "Alright, I know you both have missed me. I missed you both too. Come, my darlings."

    Leon had dropped the bunch of dry branches, dusted his hands and spread his arms wide open to embrace them, but despite doing all this, none of the twodies moved.

    The two had heard him but they did not dare as their faces began to flush red with embarrassment.

    Leon retracted his arms after it was awkwardly left hanging. He scratched the back of his head with a wryly smile, wondering if secluded cultivation had turned them both meek.

    It was not the first time they showed affections for another and they been through much further.

    He also did not forget that they were all 17 years of age. Despite having his mental age breaking the hundred years after the inheritance induction, he did not feel any mental burden that he was too old for them.

    In the cultivation world, age was just a number once they all reach adulthood. If both parties were willing, why would it matter?

    However, he did silently rejoice that the inheritance induction only contained the raw knowledge Arden hadprehended throughout his life and not the full package of his private life as well.

    Otherwise, it would not have been as simple as several decades, but several hundreds of years spent in the dreamscape time chamber.

    By then, forget the fact that his mental age would have reached the level of being their founding ancestor, his body would have died. It was quite the close shave with death.

    In any case, it did not change the fact that he was mentally over a hundred years old, enough to be their great grandpas. Perhaps it was true what they say that a thick skin grows with age.

    Seeing that the twodies remained motionless, he took the initiative to step forward and wrapped his arms around both them, and pulled them into his embrace.

    Lynne, who had always been the more energetic and bolder one of the two, found her courage after Leon''s arm wrapped around her.

    She wrapped her own arms around him and hugged him even tighter.

    On the other hand, Aria was more quiet and timid. It was like the confidence she had worked up to no longer hide her beauty under her hair was drained away.

    Her face turned bright as a tomato and softly muttered, "Don''t¡­ there are people watching¡­"

    Her voice grew softer by the moment until she finally burrowed her head in his chest as his hand audaciously and teasingly roamed her back.

    At the same time, Leon shed the pce guards a warning gaze that silently implied, "Had you looked enough?"

    The pce guards choked on their own spit and averted their eyes awkwardly. It would be a lie if they said they were not interested in Leon''s messy love life.

    Each of them either had a single wife or a single girlfriend, but never two. They had enough troubles thate with one partner. They cannot imagine what kind of sh*t storm thates with two or more partners.

    Puppy love was the most intense and shallow in romantic attachment. In this stage, women were the most forgiving and loving. They can even be considered angels.

    They do not have many expectations and do not mind the little fuckups you do, and would be able to smile through it all.

    The following stage was what the pce guards were all looking forward to seeing. That is when they turn into the devil and start fighting over the littlest of things you do that irks them.

    Every one of the pce guards that has been in a rtionship had been through this and still is.

    They would take their helmets off to Leon if he can make it past this stage because when the stormes calling, there is no use fighting back. They can only endure it and admit their wrongs.

    For every excuse mene up with, women would bring up ten more faults to add from their list of bottomless depths.

    Men can never win an argument against women. Even if they were right, they would still wrong. It is frustrating enough to bring a man to tears.

    If the tribtion of life had three types of heaven, earth, and human, then heaven would be the tribtion thates from cultivation, while earth would be the tribtion thates from the dangers the world throws at you.

    As for humans, the pce guards would all undoubtedly agree that women were the human tribtion of life for men. Those pce maids were all too feisty.

    They can be dragons among men and sons of heaven outside all they want, but when they are home with their partners, even if they were proud lions, they can only be meek cats.

    Leon had no idea what sorts of ridiculous thoughts the pce guards were having, but if he knew, he would have simplyughed it off. He was no expert in women, but problems usually arise from forgetting small details.

    With the small boost in memory retention thates from divine cultivation, if they still experience these problems between couples, then he could only say that they were either ipetent or their partners simply weighed that little of importance in their hearts.

    He brought the twodies to the foot of a shady tree seated each of them on hisps. After giving them both a peck on the cheeks that caused them to blush with a rosy color, they began to catch up.

    "How was your secluded cultivation? What happened to the Capital in these past two weeks?" Leon asked.

    It was only then that the twodies noticed something wrong with Leon and paled with concern.

    "Your cultivation¡­"

 Chapter 237 - The Enemys Scheme

    <h4>Chapter 237 - The Enemy''s Scheme</h4>

    "Fret not, this is just a temporary state. It is a bitplicated to exin. Basically, I did not lose my cultivation. I just cannot use it temporarily. But you both do not need to worry about this. I can still defend myself."

    Leon said with a smile as he enjoyed their concerned looks. Seeing that they were unconvinced by his words, he suggested, "How about this, Lynne, you draw your sword and give me your best strike. I will show you."

    Lynne''s eyes began to turn red at his suggestion. "How can you be so cruel? How can you make me do such a thing?"

    In her mind, Leon''s suggestion was no different from borrowing her hand to send him off.

    Not being able to use one''s cultivation was as good as being crippled.

    The loss of one''s cultivation was a big blow to any cultivator, and some would rather end their life than to continue to suffer hardship and public scrutiny.

    Leon did not know whether tough or cry. He could only scratch his cheek with a helpless smile.

    "It''s not what you think. Fine, let me show you myself."

    With that, he quickly drew the magisteel sword from Lynne''s sword sheath and retreated some distance from them before raising the sword high with his left hand.

    "What are you trying to¡­"

    Aria and Lynne were both startled before they proceeded to scream in their mind when they Leon dropped the de on his own arm!

    Noooo!

    That is a magisteel sword! Its sharpness was iparable to an ordinary steel sword, but even then, it was not something that the human flesh can withstand!

    Leon was very quick. They had no chance to stop him at all. They could only close their eyes with despair.

    Pang!

    The ringing sound of metal hitting metal was heard as the twodies slowly reopened their eyes with doubts. That was not the sort of sword cutting flesh sound they were had anticipated, not that they were expecting it either.

    Under their gaze, Leon''s right arm was perfectly intact, and the remnant blue afterglow of the Body Rune being activated could be seen.

    The Body Rune looked very fascinating. It was like some sort of strange stigmata-like tattoo that suddenly appeared.

    Under normal circumstances, it could not be seen and only appear when triggered like a face that only turns rosy after being flushed.

    Nevertheless, their minds did not linger on this as they both rushed forth to check his arm in detail. Only after they had made sure that nothing was wrong, they sighed with relief.

    "How''s that? Convinced now?" Leon grinned.

    He was not proud that only his right arm was currently like this but having this degree of defense made him almost invincible against all weapons.

    Aria and Lynne were relieved that Leon''s right arm was okay, but when they heard his tone, they became rattled and smacked him on the shoulders.

    "Why did you tell us? Are you trying to frighten us to death?!" Lynne snarled.

    Leon felt like he was being wronged.

    He tried to exin, okay? It was you two that believe me!

    Aria had a crimson flush on her face as her eyes darted between his arm and face intermittently. She moved some loose strands of hair behind her ears as her gaze seemed to lose focus and mumbled, "Such a powerful right arm¡­ Was it really that lonely down there?"

    "Aria! I-It doesn''t work that way!" Lynne eximed in shock, but a red hue could also be seen on her face. Obviously, she was not too confident either.

    Aria''s eyes widened upon the realization that she had just voiced her thoughts and ended up covering her face with both hands in shame for having such thoughts.

    Leon wanted to scream hysterically in his mind while on the verge of a mental breakdown. He felt incredibly depressed that even his women had the same misunderstanding.

    At the same time, he felt he had sinned, believing the source of Aria''s corruption was his handiwork.

    ¡­

    "Hi."

    "Hello."

    "My name¡­ is¡­ Green Forever."

    "Name¡­ Li¡­ Lit."

    Back at the outer perimeters of the foot of the World Tree, Lilith and Elder Evergreen continued to practice their introduction.

    Their passion for learning was incredible, but it appears that they still needed to freshen up on their knowledge before they speak.

    Learn to walk before learning to run was the way things should be.

    It was unknown what sort of mimunication would be carried out at the rate these two were going. If Leon were present, he would find it too painful to watch.

    Further away from their group was Elizabeth along with the pce guards and the soldiers.

    After receiving the full report from the pce guards, the atmosphere had suddenly dropped to a freezing point, as everyone felt hard to breathe with still hearts.

    Chilling rays of killing intent flickered across Elizabeth''s eye.

    It was even possible for a captain of the pce guards to betray them, who else could not be possible?

    Due to her negligence all these years, it really was starting to bite back at her. She had almost lost her son!

    Not from the dangers of the underground, but from within their own ranks!

    Everyone had always felt pressured in the presence of the Queen, but after reaching Transcendence, this pressure had even increased by folds.

    Just based on the pressure of the Queen''s aura, they felt their battle efficiency dropped by half.

    If the Queen wanted their life, they would be like fishes on the chopping board, utterly helpless and unable to put up a shred of resistance.

    Thankfully, the bellowing killing intent emanating from the Queen was not directed at them.

    Otherwise, the soldiers, who had yet to even break past the entry 6th step Awakener realm, would all be frothing on the ground.

    Even the amicable Elder Evergreen was rmed in the distance.

    ''Such a dense murderous aura! How many humans have died to cultivate such killing intent?!''

    Elizabeth momentarily closed her eyes. Right now, she just wants to return the battlefield and start a massacre.

    She reopened her eyes with chilling calmness and said, "We rest for another hour. If there is no news, we return to the Eastern Borders!"

    "Yes, Your Majesty!"

    The soldiers answered uniformly.

    They were waiting for news from the scouts that have been sent out earlier to search the distant areas surrounding the World Tree.

    The rming appearance of the World Tree would draw people towards, whether they were friends or foes.

    But disregarding that, they were not so stupid to believe that the Azure Verdant ins would be the only battlefield against two kingdoms.

    The Tri-bridge within the Azure Verdant ins region that connected the Crawford Kingdom to other kingdoms, but it was not the only bridge there was.

    In the other regions along the Azure River that divide their borders, there also other bridges.

    For example, much further down south along the Azure River and between the Crawford-Vran Border was the unaffiliated Aqualeaf Town that exists within the small Aqualeaf Region.

    The Azure River that flows through this town was one of the narrowest parts of the great river.

    In the north, there was also the Extreme Misty Forest they also had to guard against. Who knows if the enemy had ns to invade their kingdom through the cover of the forest or not?

    In truth, the Queen was right to have her precaution, but things never go ording to n. Bad news arrived abruptly.

    "Your Majesty! Ie bearing bad news from the southeast!"

    A shadow guard rushed forward in an extremely sorry state. Soaked in blood and covered in severe cuts and bruises, it was questionable how the shadow guard was even still alive, but his determination and conviction to make it this far was noteworthy.

    Elizabeth had an extremely bad premonition, but she did not immediately ask for the report. If the shadow guard died on her now, it would all be for naught.

    "Someonee and tend to the wounds of this brave soul!"

    "Yes, Your Majesty!"

    A medical soldier stepped forward emergency first aid kit and low-quality recovery pills easily found on the Upper District market.

    However, the shadow guard had more concern for the delivery of the news than his own life.

    "Y-Your Majesty! Eastfell Border Region has fallen! The 5000 garrison troops had beenpletely wiped out! It is now being upied by an army of 20000 soldiers and more are pouring in from Aqualeaf Region!"

    Everyone thunderstruck by the news.

    Although Eastfell Border was a day''s journey away from Azure Verdant ins regional border, there should have been ample time for the news to reach them and allowed them to send support to East fell.

    How could Eastfell Border fall before the news even reached them?!

    "Where''s the rest of the shadowguards? What about Eastfell City?" Elizabeth asked with frightening calmness. She did not me shadowguard as she sensed something fishy.

    At the mention of Eastfell City and the rest of the shadowguards, the rims of the shadowguard''s eyes turned red.

    "Dead! All dead! The Lord of Eastfell City had been hiding powerful masters within his city. He was the one who ordered them to kill all my brothers to seal the news! We were caught off guard before the enemy troops even appeared before our borders! You must avenge them, your Majesty!"

    The shadowguard pleaded with desperation before violently coughing up blood and taking hisst breath.

    "He''s dead¡­"

    The medical soldier said helplessly after checking the body for a pulse. The surrounding soon fell silent with a heavy mood.

    What sort of willpower was required for a 6th step shadowguard to not only avoid the onught of pursuing enemy masters but stick around long enough to determine the numbers of the attacking enemy troops before bringing the news back to them?

    The soldiers could hardly imagine the untold hardship the shadowguard had gone through in order to seed, but this was a person worthy of their utmost respect!

    Every soldier present felt their own eyes turning red with gripped fists.

    Amander took one step forward and saluted to the corpse, "Thank you for your service!"

    The rest of the soldiers followed suit in unison.

    "Thank you for your service!"

    Elizabeth never felt so ufortable after witnessing the death of one of her subjects. She gripped her fist with a vicious gleam.

    Illusory Butterfly Sect! Bloodfiend Sect! These two sects must be eradicated at all costs!

    ''Oh, no!''

    Suddenly, she realized something and barked, "We return to the Eastern Borders immediately!"

    ¡­

    Azure Verdant ins, Tri-bridge, Enemy Camp.

    An Inner Sect Elder of the Bloodfiend Sect stood respectfully before another elderly person from his sect and reported with a wily smile, "The giant tree''s appearance was unexpected but by now, news of the south should have made their way to the enemy and drawn away their Transcendent. Right now, the enemy in front of us is without a master. Everyone is now ready and just waiting on yourmand, Grand Elder."

    When the Crawford Kingdom''s side had a Transcendent present, the Grand Elder of the Bloodfiend Sect did not dare confront the enemy despite being a Transcendent himself. He did not like to partake in endeavors with elements of uncertainty.

    But now that the Transcendent was gone, he had no apprehension about personally charging into the battlefield to y mortals despite his status.

    They only had one mission from the Sect Leader. Take down the Capital with lightning speed!

    The Grand Elder revealed a set of jagged ck teeth and waved his hand.

    "Begin the attack!"

 Chapter 238 - Interspatial Artifacts

    <h4>Chapter 238 - Interspatial Artifacts</h4>

    As the sun began to set, the battle at the Eastern Borders suddenly erupted in full motion and without warning.

    Without the powerful deterring force of a Transcendent on the Crawford Kingdom''s side, the border defense easily copsed under the might of the Grand Elder of the Bloodfiend Sect.

    A simple charge had torn the stone wall apart and all hell began to break loose under the diabolic means of the Blood Transcendent.

    The Deputy Chief inmand of the Crawford Kingdom''s army knew things were not looking good without her Majesty''s deterrence and ordered the troop''s retreat immediately.

    This was not a battle they could win. Being stubborn would only incur unnecessary losses of human lives to the blood fiend.

    But despite the swift order for retreat, not everyone could escape the vicious ws of the Blood Transcendent.

    Those caught by the bloody ws had their entire being rung dry of their blood and turned into empty husks of bones and flesh in an instant as a squirming Blood Pool began to float and grow above the Blood Transcendent.

    The scene was enough to make anyone''s heart run cold like they had been thrown into an icy cavern of hell. The enemy''s army was no exception as they began to doubt their purpose.

    Were they doing the right thing? Were they on the right side?

    "Ahhhh!"

    "Nooo!"

    One victim after another fell to the vicious ws that reaped lives like cutting weeds on the field. They were utterly helpless and unable to put up a shred of resistance as their blood was added to the blood pool.

    Not only their blood reaped, but even their soul also seemed to have been captured as the ever-growing Blood Pool had countless squirming faces filled with agony and despair.

    Even without the order for retreat, the army''s morale had already copsed to fear as everyone fled for their lives. No amount of training could have prepared them for something like this.

    What they were facing was no Transcendent, but a demon!

    "Ahh! Run for your lives!"

    "It''s a demon!"

    The formation of the retreating troops was thrown into disarray as they scattered any and all directions that would get them away from the blood fiend.

    Command became useless and the Deputy Chief inmand felt he had failed her Majesty but this was not something he could control.

    With the mental state of the troops, it was impossible to even rally them.

    As the enemy troops made their way through the open path carved out by the Blood Transcendent, they all felt sick in the stomach as they looked at the dry corpses scattered amongst the broken rubbles and dirt.

    The Blood Transcendent had struck with lightning speed. The retreating army did not even have the time to escape in their military vehicles and ran on foot.

    Only the Deputy Chief inmand had made it on the back of a moving military truck along with a few other apanying military trucks and vehicles.

    Their small group did not even amount to 500 troops from the original 15000 garrison troops that were left to defend.

    "What a disaster¡­ these people are simply inhumane, treating human lives like dirt."

    "What do you expect? This is war! There is no room forpassion on the battlefield."

    "But this is not a battle between men! That was the work of a devil!"

    A few soldiers on the back of a moving truck said with lingering trepidation as they watched the receding view of the Eastern Borders.

    With the skies gradually darkening with the setting sun that was about to disappear over the horizon, the chain explosion of gunpowder in the distance was like the final spark of daylight.

    The enemy troops suffered great casualties amidst the exploding gunpowder, but this was not a pre-emptive n the Crawford Kingdom had set after their retreat but a pure coincidence of one of the gunpowder barrels catching fire amidst the chaos of their retreat from the demon.

    Elizabeth saw the sudden glow in the distance and knew she was toote as her expression quickly turned ugly.

    It was impossible to defend what had already fallen. The Azure Verdant in region was lost but they can still defend the other regions.

    Elizabeth turned to the fewmanders among her 2000 troops and said, "Go recover all the scattered soldiers you can find and regroup back at the Grasnd Region to prepare our next line of defenses. I will head over to dy the enemy''s advances."

    "Alone, your Majesty? Please allow some of us to apany you at least!"

    The soldiers were shocked. How could they let their own Queen charge into enemy lines alone? Some immediately began voicing their concerns and loyalty.

    "There is no time. You will only slow me down. Just do as I say."

    Elizabeth immediately frowned, but her decision was firm. After saying her piece, she immediately took flight in the direction of the Eastern Borders.

    The earlier she arrives and dys the enemy, the more lives they would be able to save.

    Some soldiers sighed with disappointment. Their blood was all pumping with vigor and ready toy down their lives to defend their country.

    If there had been nobles that said this instead, they would have been sighing with relief that the Queen did not take their words seriously.

    This is just how it is among nobles. They can show a disy of valor and loyalty, but it would just be all talk and no realmitment.

    Themanders soon snapped out of the stupor when the Queen disappeared into the distance without waiting for their replies.

    "Well, you all heard her Majesty. We depart for our scattered brothers immediately!"

    "Yes, Commander!"

    ¡­

    Back at the Grasnd Region, Lilith, the few pce guards and Elder Evergreen''s group did not know what happened.

    The Queen''s group had suddenly left without a word after a messenger came and died. Lilith had briefly overheard the messenger''s news and thought the situation was quite precarious for the Crawford Kingdom.

    ''Where there are people, there are bound to be conflicts, huh?'' She silently thought but found it strange that no one was sent to inform Leon nor request more reinforcement from the Capital.

    ''Although the affairs of the Human Domain have nothing to me, Leon had been quite hospitable to me. I should at least let him know what is going.''

    Aria and Lynne know about the war, but they would not know about the news that just arrived.

    Lilith also feltpelled by the alliance between her and Leon and prepared to leave to deliver the news. Surprisingly, the pce guards did not stop her when she did so.

    They had viewed her with prejudice for her race in the beginning, but that was no longer the case.

    Perhaps, it was due to her current appearance, but regardless of the case, she no longer feels like a fugitive and more like a guest.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon was trying to start a fire through primitive means of rubbing the dry branches to create heat friction.

    For the sess of his uing pill refining, he had already reserved a few strands of pseudo-Grandmist energy to control the earthly fire, but no matter hard he tried, he had yet to light the fire.

    "Are you sure this will work?"

    Lynne muttered on the side with skepticism and bored that Leon was such an unromantic person for paying more attention to the branches than them.

    However, she did notin since it seemed to be something important.

    Leon''s mouth twitched at the question. He was confident that his method would surely work, but seeing how his efforts had not event produced the slightest bit of smoke, his confidence has diminished over time.

    "It should¡­"

    Hearing the unconfident tone in Leon''s voice, Aria carefully suggested, "How about¡­ I help you with my lightning element?"

    She was not sure if her help would hurt his pride, thus she refrained from asking until now, but when Leon heard it, he stared into space dumbly for a moment before smacking his own head.

    "Aiya, silly me. How could I forget we have such a genius lightning-user among us here? Ehehe¡­ please." Leon gestured with both hands to the little iplete campfire.

    Aria smiled sweetly, thinking Leon also had his cute sides.

    With a single finger pointed at the iplete campfire, a ray of lightning was shot out¡­

    Bang!

    The power of the lightning was too potent and all the gathered branches within the little iplete campfire exploded into scattered splinters.

    Leon and Aria just stared nkly at the now¡­ empty iplete campfire?

    No, it was not even considered iplete anymore. It was just a ring of rocks. The firewood was all gone.

    "What the¡ª!" Lynne jumped in startlement with wide eyes before asking jokingly, "What kind of enmity did you have with the tree branches for it to deserve such treatment?"

    "Umm¡­ sorry."

    Aria covered her flushed face with guilt as she heard Lynne''s jabbing remark.

    "Erm, it''s fine, it''s fine¡­ I just need to gather some more branches. Don''t sweat it. Maybe¡­ JUST maybe tone down on the power a bit next time, hahaha¡­" Leonughed dryly and waved it off like it was just some trivial matters.

    He could not see Aria''s hidden face, but he did receive a resolute nod of affirmation.

    After he regathered the branches again, nothing unexpected happened and proceeded ording to n.

    The fire was lit nicely before Leon began pulling out the pill cauldron and spirit herbs to concoct the Realm Reversal Pill.

    "How did you¡­"

    Like everyone else, Aria and Lynne were startled by him pulling stuff out of thin air, but fortunately this time, he had prepared a nice excuse.

    "I have an interspatial artifact." Leon smiled and confidently said, "Don''t worry. When we get back to the Capital, I''ll also make another two for the both of you."

    With his current knowledge of spatial runes, it should not be too difficult for him toe up with the designs for one.

    Aria and Lynne opened their mouths, but they reclosed it and noddedpliantly.

    "Mmm."

    They were just surprised and had no other thoughts. They would be happy with anything Leon gift them, not to mention such a convenient tool like an interspatial artifact.

    They had not even known something like that was possible. Thus, it should be especially important and difficult to make.

    For Leon to say he was going to make one for them each showed their great importance to him. Their hearts were filled with warm and fuzzy feelings as they smiled sweetly.

    At the side, the more knowledgeable pce guards were filled with envious gazes and enlightenment. So, it was an interspatial artifact¡­

    They thought it just something they have heard in the legends, but seeing was believing.

    "Ahem, your Highness, we would also like¡ª"

    "Hm?"

    "No¡­ never mind¡­"

    The pce guards changed their minds with awkward and wry smiles.

    What kind of rtionship do they share with the prince anyway? Would the prince also craft such an imaginably valuable interspatial artifact for each of them too?

    Even if they were willing to suck his d*** for one, the prince had to be willing to ept first.

    In the end, they could only continue to look at Leon sneakily with envious gazes and burning desires.

    Leon suddenly shivered for unknown reasons.

 Chapter 239 - Flesh And Meridian Tempering Complete

    <h4>Chapter 239 - Flesh And Meridian Tempering Complete</h4>

    Within Elvengarde, there was a section of the tribe that rarely receives visitors but still does every so often, nheless.

    Between two trees was a web of vines that weaved together into a sizable cage and behind this cage of vines were two humans, who have lost their freedom after unknowingly trespassing into Elven territory.

    They have already lost count of how many days, weeks, and months they held captive in the cage of vines, but their treatment was not as bad as they initially assumed prisoners to be.

    When they first arrived, they were heavily injured under the pursuit of beasts, but not only did the elves healed their wounds but their meals were regrly provided for.

    One could say that other than losing their freedom, they were living quite the life, chatting up visiting elves, and admiring their peerless beauty.

    However, over time, the elves lost interest in these rare humans and no longer visit them like they were paying a visit to the zoo.

    At this moment, another two elves finally arrived at their cage. One was elderly but filled with invisible pressure while the other was a youngdy of unmatched beauty. Both were high elves of notable status.

    The pressure toned the human''s excitement at the rare visitors as he doubted whether something difficult was going to happen today.

    The Supreme Elder waved his hand, causing the cage of vines to disentangle itself and releasing the two humans within.

    "You''re letting us go?" Dales said with incredulity.

    "Not only that, but we will also be returning you to the Human Domain. We only hope that you did not bear any ill will for the treatment you have received from us thus far." The Supreme Elder said.

    "No ill feelings are borne. In fact, we should be thanking you for saving our lives." Dales smiled lightheartedly.

    Compared to the dangers on the frontlines, being captive for a few months where everything was provided for was even considered luxurious.

    The other human, Tom nodded furiously with a mixture of excitement and happiness, "Yes, yes. It was quite an enjoyable stay here."

    "Oh? Then¡­ did you want to continue staying here?" The Supreme Elder was surprised and asked with doubt. Did humans enjoy living in cages?

    Dales and Tom immediately denied furiously but their attention was soon drawn to the peerless beauty beside the elderly high elf. They could not keep their eyes off the princess.

    Princess Faelyn simply smiled and curtsied as a form of greeting. She was still uncertain she was chosen for this trip to the Human Domain.

    The group of four departed soon after for the direction of the Great Wall.

    The Great Forest was filled with its own hostile wildlife outside of Elvengarde that upied the inner region, but none of these a problem with the Supreme Elder.

    With a bit of pressure exerted, these small beasts and birds were all scared away. Elves cherished life and did not needlessly unless they need to.

    "Supreme Elder, why did you choose me among my brother and sisters to apany you?" Princess Faelyn asked curiously along the way.

    The Supreme Elder, who was always calm, felt his eye twitched at the question.

    "Ahem, you should also know why. None of them are suitable." The elderly high elf answered vaguely.

    Princess Faelyn opened her mouth but no words came out. Of course, she soon understood the reason.

    Her elder siblings all had extreme personalities with unique interests. Taking her Third Sister, for example, the Third Princess was battle-oriented and a female supremacist who believe women were superior to men.

    One time, the Third Princess was caught in a losing argument with two other male high elves on the topic, she exploded violently and shoved one elf''s head up the other''s ass.

    Ever since then, a new ass¡ªAhem, world had opened to them that made the two elves docile. They never argued with the Third Princess again. They even adopted feminine behavior and more surprisingly, became the Third Princess''s followers.

    More tragically, this effective method had be the Third Princess''s modus operandi in conquering men and had been the scandalous topic of elven discussion.

    Being battle-oriented was just putting it nicely. The Third Princess was a barbaric brute.

    It was hard to imagine that all the other princesses and prince was simrly this extreme, but fortunately, Princess Faelyn was normal.

    The group took a day''s journey before they exited the Great Forest and saw the faint outline of the Great Wall in the distance.

    ''So, we finally get to return, huh?'' Dales silently thought.

    He did not know what changes have happened to the Human Domain during his absence, but if they could ally with the elves, it might not be a bad thing.

    The Supreme Elder had briefly mentioned such intention along the way as he became aware of the reason why they were freed.

    ¡­

    ''It''s done!''

    Leon silently celebrated as a batch of Realm Reversal Pills were refined.

    Medicinal fragrance escaped from the pill cauldron as he looked inside for the exact contents. Three sparkling brown pills of mid-rank qualityid amidst a pile of medicinal dredges.

    Leon could not help but twitched his mouth as he saw this sorry sight of pill refinement.

    He knew the quality of his pill refinement would drop with theck of good me and inadequate me control due to his Revolving Core problem, but he did not think it would be this bad.

    Nevertheless, he pocketed the pills and requested for Aria and Lynne to guard him while he ingested the first pill.

    As the first Realm Reversal Pill dissolved in his mouth and transformed into a type of medicinal energy that he could control as he guided it towards his Revolving Core in the be.

    A sizzling sound was created the moment he coated his Revolving Core with it.

    If an inexperienced practitioner witnessed their own Revolving Core sizzling, they would have paled with fright because most would assume their Revolving Core was going to explode.

    However, Leon faced it calmly as he knew it was the medicinal efficacy taking ce rather than the Revolving Core losing control.

    Within an incense worth of time, theplete Revolving Core was melted back into a liquid state of energy, but Leon was not finished yet despite feeling his control returning.

    He popped the second Realm Reversal Pill into his mouth to undergo a second round and drop his cultivation one realm further.

    At this point, the energy center in his be was brimming with strands of pseudo-Grandmist energy and threatening to flow out of control.

    "I''m going to start cultivating. Don''t be rmed by my change." Leon quickly said to Aria and Lynne before shutting his eyes immediately and diverted some strands into his meridians and resuming the tempering process.

    As expected, the process was painful without surprises, but the more progress he made in tempering his meridians, the less pain he had to endure.

    After reaching 30%pletion, the pain was great, but it was tolerable with gritted teeth. Sweat oozed from his face anddies showed worried looks as they wiped his sweat with their sleeves like loving wives tending to their husband.

    Two hourster, he reached 50%pletion.

    Four hourster, he reached 70%pletion.

    Six hourster, he reached 90%pletion.

    At this rate, his meridian tempering would be fullyplete in another hour.

    It was also at this time that Lilith finally caught up and discovered their group. She was excited as she got slightly lost on the way and wasted a few hours to find them.

    She spotted Leon seated by a tree and immediately rushed over, but she was stopped by Aria and Lynne before she could get any closer.

    "Stop! Who are you? What do you want with Leon?" Lynne questioned her.

    ''They must be Leon''s women.'' Lilith quickly identified after being stopped, but her mind did not linger on the topic.

    "Never mind that, I have something urgent to tell Leon!"

    Lilith shook her head and said seriously before taking another step forward, but she was shoved backward.

    "I won''t allow it. Leon is currently in a critical period of cultivation. I won''t let you disturb him!" Lynne said with slight anger.

    Who the heck was thisdy? Doesn''t she know it is rude and dangerous to disturb a person''s cultivation session?

    It was only now that Lilith looked at Leon sturdily and noticed the painful expression oozing with sweat. She was rmed and relieved at the same time and no longer felt annoyed for being shoved.

    She would be drowning in guilt if something were to happen to Leon due to her carelessness.

    "Sorry."

    Lilith was quick to admit her fault.

    Lynne shrugged as she started to study Lilith. Such a pretty girl with fair skin, what was her rtionship with Leon?

    Despite living in two adjacent guest courtyards for a period for time, the two had never met, especially when Lilith had practically shut herself in her room during her stay.

    "She sounds like that sister that lived next door¡­" Aria quietly whispered into Lynne''s ears as she was reminded of the time they attempted to eavesdrop.

    The pce guards were intrigued by the situation unfolding. Were they about to witness the confrontation between the new and old lovers of the prince?

    Although the prince had never stated his rtionship with the beast girl clearly, they would not believe that nothing was going on even if the prince said there was no rtionship.

    Who was he kidding? The prince''s fianc¨¦e and two lovers were all top-ss beauties, while the beast girl''s beauty did not fall short.

    Even if there was no rtionship now, it was hard to say about the future. All the beautiful women only seem to fall into theps of great men.

    Because they feared losing their partners, the pce guards had once asked their partners to make themselves uglier, but they all got a beating for it.

    Lynne scrunched her brows when she heard Aria''s whisper. The sister next door? You are already calling her sister? Lynne was speechless. It seems that they need to have a talk with Leonter.

    "What''s the urgent news? You can tell us first." Lynne said.

    Lilith faintly felt unweed, but she nodded. "Around six hours ago, a grievously injured messenger arrived and informed your Queen that Eastfell Region or something had fallen and got taken over a 20 thousand strong army. Your Queen rushed off with her soldiers after that¡­"

    "That does sound pretty serious¡­ no, that ispletely terrible!"

    Aria and Lynne traded looks with tacit understanding. They had ns to apany Leon to the capital, but no longer seems possible.

    Transcendents were almighty, but they were still human. The Queen could be needing their help right now. They had to go assist!

    Lynne bit her lip and unwillingly said, "Please look after Leon for us."

    Lilith was confused by their intention, but she nodded.

    With that, a powerful aura gushed out from the Aria and Lynne as they disappeared from their spots and headed east.

    Since the pce guards had not said anything, the person should at least be trustworthy and should not be lying to them.

    Lilith was spooked. She did not sense anything from the two but when the powerful aura exploded out, she was shocked by their strengths.

    They were far stronger than she was. And here she thought she was a young prodigy. Were all the women around Leon this insane?

    Lilith feltplicated in her heart and even faint jealousy, then she became confused about why she felt like that.

    Because there was someone more superior than her in terms of talent? Yes¡­ that must be the case¡­ Lilith silently convinced herself.

    Leon did not know what had transpired due to his senses being sealed off.

    An hourter, his tempered meridians had finally reached 100%pletion, but he did not stop. Tempering his meridians had only cost a third of his energy.

    He focused the remaining energy on mastering the first stage of [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard]. He did not want people to continue looking at him like a lopsided person.

    When he proceeded with the Body Forging method, he finally experienced the great difference between tempering the flesh with pseudo-Grandmist and spirit energy.

    Pseudo-Grandmist energy was practically made for Body Forging.

    Within half a day, he had used up everyst ounce of his remaining energy and mastered the first stage of [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard].

    Now, he was just missing the apanying Body Runes to raising the defensive level of his body to the same height as his right arm, but no ordinary weapons wielded by one-star Awakeners and below can harm him even if he didn''t use his right arm to block.

    If pseudo-Grandmist energy was already this effective, he wondered how much more ridiculous True Grandmist energy would be.

 Chapter 240 - Carnage And Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 240 - Carnage And Chaos</h4>

    [Hegemon of Primal Chaos].

    The denizens of the Divine Realm did not know if anyone can truly be a hegemon of Primal Chaos by cultivating ording to its instruction, for none had ever seeded before Leon.

    However, they all believed that anything unearthed from the ancient ruins, thest vestige of gods would be anything but ordinary. They were not wrong.

    For that reason, it was widely circted throughout the Divine Realm and never buried in the heartless annals of time.

    Perhaps, everyone was hoping that one day, someone would seed and be a great existence that could enlighten them in the Great Way.

    The desire to be eternal, to be evesting was the pursuit of every divine practitioner.

    Divine Origin practitioners could live up to 10 thousand years, while Divine Kings could live up 100 thousand years, and this was just the natural lifespan granted by their cultivation base and not including the wondrous elixirs of the world that could extend their longevity further.

    Leon had once thought that he was a great genius of his time for being able to seed in practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique, but looking back on it now, it was indeed a naive thought.

    His sess had nothing to do with his own talents, but the world itself.

    Perhaps it was not possible in the Divine Realm due to the maturity of the universe, making it neigh impossible toprehend the Grandmist Law, but it was possible here.

    Why was that so? Because this world was still in its infancy, where Grandmist still exist and it was easier toprehendws?

    Leon recalled the star map in his mind and the big cluster of light at its center. What if all that light was True Grandmist energy?

    The outer section of the light cluster was filled with various energy of different colors, but the inner section was a simr grey to his pseudo-Grandmist energy, so he could be correct.

    However, Leon still felt it should not be that simple like he was missing something, or he could be entirely incorrect. He would only know for sure when he is strong enough to cross the stars and see it with his own two eyes.

    Nevertheless, he was beginning to truly understand why people only Awaken to the five elements at the start of their cultivation.

    The five elements were easier toprehend because they were perceptible to the eye.

    Elements like wind, lightning, space, and time were much harder because they were either rarely seen or cannot be perceived by the eye at all.

    Myriads of thoughts flickered across his mind like a sh of enlightenment as hepletes his Body Forging session.

    It had been a painful process, but afterpletion, all he felt was pleasure and a sense of achievement. He could get addicted to this¡­

    With an ecstatic mood, he wanted to celebrate his achievement with Aria and Lynne.

    Lilith was remarkably close to Leon. She was quite curious about how he cultivates.

    What she did not expect was for Leon to suddenly reach out his hands and pulling her into his embrace just as he was opening her eyes.

    She was so shocked by the sudden situation that she did not resist. As their eyes met up close, her heart thumped like crazy.

    Leon''s half-smiling expression also stiffened up when he realized the presence, he felt was not Aria nor Lynne, but someone else entirely.

    The two locked gazes and Leon also felt his own heartstrings being pulled. Those deep ck eyes and soft cherry lips seem to draw him in as his head inched closer¡­

    Lilith was frozen like a statue, but her mind was in full panic mode as she shut her eyes. Tumultuous thoughts raged in mind with faint anticipation and worry.

    However, at thest moment, Leon seemed to have recovered and steered his head away. He almost got bewitched by her natural charms. That was too scary. It seems his mind was not firm enough.

    "Ahem, what are you doing here? Where did Aria and Lynne go?" Leon awkwardly coughed and released Lilith from his arms.

    Lilith reopened her eyes with faint disappointment¡­

    Huh? Why was she disappointed? That person also took advantage of her. Lilith shook her head furiously and recovered her normal state.

    "They already left. Something came up and it''s not looking good for your kingdom¡­"

    Lilith''s mind did not linger as she began retelling the news seriously.

    "I see."

    There was faint disappointment in his tone, but otherwise, he was still calm and unbothered by the news, causing Lilith to be confused.

    "Aren''t you worried about them? Are you not nning to follow after them?" Lilith asked. For some reason, she did not seem to understand him at all.

    "No. My mother is there to hold the fort. I am confident that even if she cannot handle the situation, she would be able to retreat with them safely. Whether I go or not would not make much of a difference if it is something even my mother cannot handle." Leon said calmly.

    If the situation was as bad as Lilith had described, then he suspected that the Azure Verdant ins region had already fallen along with Eastfell Region.

    In case that, they would retreat to defend Grasnd Region. Elder Evergreen and his people were there. Even if they do not understand thenguage, they could still understand what was happening and offer their hands.

    Lilith rolled her eyes, notprehending his thought process at all. Not much difference is still some difference, no? Why does she seem like she cares more about the kingdom than he does?

    "Is going back to the Capital more important than saving your kingdom?"

    "No, of course not, but having to go to the frontlines does not equate to saving the kingdom while going to the Capital does," Leon said, but he did understand Lilith''s urgency. He needed to visit the Capital, but he cannot spend too much time there.

    Leon turned to the pce guards and said, "All of you don''t need to apany back to the Capital anymore. Go back and assist the east where ever you can."

    The pce guards were ready to object but they remembered the prince was more powerful than them and did not need their protection.

    Their mouths opened awkwardly before they saluted inpliance.

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    "You should return too. I''m going to pay the Capital a quick visit, but I''ll be back soon." Leon said to Lilith as she grudgingly nodded for hisck of exnation.

    With no one to slow him down, Leon headed to the Capital at his quickest speed. He began to put his new powerful body to the test.

    His legs coiled like springs before he catapulted himself off into the distance with rming speed.

    Bam!

    The ground in the prince''s original spot cracked into a sizable crater in the wake of his actions and the person was already gone by the time the dust settled.

    "What powerful leg strength!"

    The pce guards gasped in shock.

    ¡­

    Going back almost 18 hours previously when the night had just arrived and the defense at Azure Verdant ins was lost for some time.

    Elizabeth had flown with great speed and arrived at the border region of Azure Verdant ins ahead of her 2000 soldiers.

    The soldiers of Crawford Kingdom could still be seen fleeing for their lives in the night while the enemy soldiers were hot in pursuit.

    The fastest ones survived, but the slow ones all died. Some tripped and fell, plead for their life but still got mercilessly beheaded by the enemy soldiers. The scene was filled with carnage and chaos.

    Elizabeth was on the verge of exploding at the loss of so many good soldiers.

    In the far back of the enemy line, a ghastly figure surrounded in a diabolic aura could be seen walking at a leisure pace.

    Elizabeth''s body trembled with anger at what she saw above that figure. It was Blood Poolrge enough to dye the field in red. Thousands of lives must have been lost to gather such arge quantity of blood.

    The figure seemed to have expected her eventual arrival and gave her an insidious and provocative grin. The Blood Pool was prepared for their inevitable battle.

    "Bastards!"

    Fury filled the Queen''s being as a sharp anguish roar swept thends before her like a gue and affected every soldier on the battlefield without discrimination.

    Their steel armors and weapons all rattled in response as the enemy soldiers paled and froze in fear at the anger of a monarch.

    "You maye from different kingdoms, but we are all humans! So, what the fuck at you all doing?! Take a good look at that Fiend behind you and tell me whose side are you on! Are you on the side of humanity or are you on the side of that Fiend?!"

    Elizabeth swept her cold gaze across the enemy''s faces from the sky as her biting cold voice rippled across thend.

    The enemy soldiers all wore guilty expressions. This is not what they wanted but they were powerless and at the mercy of the strong. If they do not obey orders, then the one to die would be them!

    "I give you all one chance. Drop your weapons and get lost!"

    Elizabeth gave them her warning. That was her greatest mercy. If they remain unrepentant and continue to attack, she would show no mercy.

    The enemy soldiers were stuck at a crossroads where both choices spelled death. An enemy general sighed andid down his weapon. If he was going to die, he wanted to die with a conscience, to die as a human being.

    Soon after the enemy generalid down his weapon and started walking away, 5000 loyal soldiers followed suit and dropped their weapons with red eyes. They were humans too!

    Some of the enemymanders had the urge to stop these deserters by cutting them down. Even if their general deserted, the one with real power and to whom they had to obey was the Grand Elder.

    The Grand Elder of the Bloodfiend Sect did not stop such a situation and even looked forward to it. He was not confident that he had collected enough blood to fight the Queen of Crawford Kingdom.

    In any case, these soldiers were just cannon fodders to him. He did not care for their lives.

    "What are you all waiting for? Kill these deserters!" The Grand Elder sniggered.

    The enemy soldier who had yet toy down their weapons had an internal conflict between choices before they steeled their resolve and chased all the weaponless fleeing soldiers.

    Elizabeth was not going to watch all these surrendered soldiers die indifferently. At least they still have some conscience left in them and knew when to correct their ways rather than continuing to obey evil despite knowing it was wrong.

    "Since you are unrepentant, die for me!"

    Elizabeth sneered and reached out to the air with a grasping gesture as it started to shake. She had never controlled so many metals from such distances before and was facing great resistance for it.

    The pursuing enemy soldiers had changes of expressions as they felt their helmets tightening with the premonition of death. They finally panicked and threw away their weapons.

    "Your Majesty have mercy!"

    "I surrender! Please spare me!"

    However, the Queen''s following words ruthlessly sliced away any wishful thoughts they had of surviving. Their death sentence will not be waived for her words were absolute!

    "You all had your chances!"

    The Queen finally clenched her hand in a fist.

    "Arghhh! Nooo!"

    The enemy soldiers all sped their helmets and screamed painfully as the helmet began to deform and crush their heads.

    Like watermelons being sttered, several hundreds of heads finally popped with blood and brain matter scattering from the gaps in their concaved helmets.

 Chapter 241 - Battle Between Transcendents

    <h4>Chapter 241 - Battle Between Transcendents</h4>

    A chilling breeze swept across the battlefield after the death of these several hundred-odd soldiers. The instinctive chill did note from the cold winds of the night itself but their inborn fear of death.

    Despite having the numerical advantage of tens of thousands of troops, and a Transcendent on their side, they did not feel like they could win at all.

    The Grand Elder proceeded to stroll forward at his own leisure pace with the Blood Pool hung above his head. Each footstep was like a drum that banged on the hearts of the Durham soldiers and Vran soldiers in his immediate vicinity.

    The pressure that was exerted by the Grand Elder''s presence made them think twice of surrendering to the enemy.

    The quick-witted ones immediately threw away their helmets and armor. These steel pieces of defenses no longer assured them of protection but shackles like an invisible grip on their throats.

    Without their armor and weapon though, they began to wonder how they should fight.

    Step, step, step¡­ The Grand Elder continues to stroll forward without pause.

    When a certain distance was reached, the blood of the dead soldiers began to seep out of their bodies and congregate towards Blood Pool in a grisly manner like the veins in one''s body.

    The soldiers of Durham and Vran all had sharp changes in expression. Even the blood of their own brothers was not spared.

    This¡­ is the person we are serving? This person simply does not view us as humans at all!

    The soldiers of Durham and Vran began to sway in their determination. Was it toote to surrender?

    If they surrender, there was a chance that they would be killed on the spot while trying to free, but if they manage to survive, at least their future was guaranteed.

    Whereas siding with this Fiend, even if they win the war, the future was bleak under the tyranny of these bloodsuckers.

    "If you feel you are standing on the wrong side then step forward and join me. I will not pursue your act of transgression against my kingdom."

    The Queen''s words resounded across the battlefield again. Ruling by oppression and fear could only get a person so far. It was a means but never the way.

    The enemy soldiers no longer hesitated and began fleeing towards her like they had been pardoned.

    Fortunately, their luck was good. When the entire army surrendered, neither the Grand Elder nor the sect members of both sects in the far back attempted to stop them.

    No one dared to interfere as the two Transcendents were about to do battle.

    The Grand Elder simply smiled coldly at the soldier''s fleeing figures. These ants were just clearing the field for the imminent battle between Transcendents.

    The amount of blood he collected was enough to make even his own Sect Master weary. He was confident and no longer cautious of the Queen.

    Elizabeth did not have any hopes for these soldiers to be useful in battle. Them surrendering was already the best oue she could hope for.

    Too much blood has already been shed and these soldiers stood no chance against the sect members of the Bloodfiend Sect and Illusory Butterfly Sect.

    She understood their predicament and granted them another chance to choose. Perhaps, she had be softer after having her son and husband back.

    The 2000 troops rushing over from the Grasnd Region finally caught up to her, while the surviving soldiers of Crawford had also retreated safely and got joined up with the 2000 troops for reorganization.

    Looking at how well prepared the enemy kingdom was to equip their entire army with steel armor for this war, even an idiot could guess that the two sects had been scheming for an exceptionally long time.

    The annual tribute of alloys decreased until it stopped entirely was not due to the depletion of their mines like Crawford Kingdom''s mines had, but because they had been secretly hoarding it for themselves!

    The enemy was long prepared to drown the Crawford Kingdom in a sea of fire, but they had held themselves back until now.

    Elizabeth''s piercing gaze narrowed in on the Grand Elder in the distance.

    Whatever motive they had for plunging the Crawford Kingdom into chaos no longer mattered at this point. Such an evil cultivation sect had to be destroyed.

    Countless ownerless weapons and armors on the battlefield rose to the skies with a lifting gesture before she twisted and bent all the steel pieces into sharp pointy projectiles.

    Without warning, she fired them all at the Grand Elder.

    The battle between Transcendents had already begun. The Grand Elder waved his hand in response and summoned the Blood Pool in front of him.

    The steel projectiles sank into Blood Wall like bullets plunging into the ocean, losing its momentum drastically but failed to stop due to the Queen''s great power.

    The Grand Elder''s rxed expression stiffened at the sight and immediately transformed his Blood Pool into a solidified Blood Iron Wall before the steel projectiles were finally halted in its tracks.

    "Hmph! Attacking without notice, as expected of a Crawford Royalty. You''re all a bunch of savage thieves." The Grand Elder sneered with great hostility in his tone, but inwardly he had be more serious after that brief exchange.

    Comcency was the death of all men.

    A portion of the Blood Pool was divided and wrapped around the Grand Elder like silk before it solidified and hardened into a full suit of armor made purely out of the blood.

    Afterward, the Grand Elder tossed away his own sword and formed a Blood Iron Sword as his weapon. Metal objects were useless against the Queen and would even hinder his own movements.

    "Hmph, I don''t know what enmity you have with the Crawford Kingdom, but the war had already started. Spare me the useless nonsense!"

    Elizabeth''s gaze grew colder. The Grand Elder''s action was like a deration of closebat challenge.

    Withdrawing her treasured sword from its sheathe, she lunges straight down at the Grand Elder.

    Her speed elerated due to gravity and shed with the Grand Elder in the blink of an eye.

    Boom!

    The force of the sh traveled to the ground and cracked the earth beneath the Grand Elder''s feet before another invisible force rippled across the surrounding surface and shattered it into fine dust!

    Arge crater left behind as the two retreated from the repelling force generated by the powerful sh.

    The Queen retreated over twenty yards, while the Grand Elder only retreated ten yards despite being the one on the defensive.

    One could immediately see who wielded superior strength in this single bout.

    Supposedly, the physical limitations of humans peaked at 10 thousand jins once they reached the Transcendent Realm. Without the aid of Body Forging methods, 10 thousand jin was the physical limit of Awakeners.

    However, the destruction caused by the two Transcendents was not something that could be generated by the sh of physical strengths alone even if the Grand Elder wielded greater physical strength.

    It was not just a sh of physical strength but a sh ofws!

    The Transcendent Realm was the stage where Awakeners truly gain insights into the Elemental Laws!

    They were no longer bound by mortal limits and able to power from heaven and earth. A truly aplished Transcendent would be able to summon the wind and rain on the continent!

    Elizabeth was moderately surprised that her sword strike augmented by the Metal Laws failed to shatter the Grand Elder''s lousy weapon formed by blood.

    Although it had not been long since she entered the Transcendent Realm and had not gained much insight into the Metal Law, a weapon augmented by her Metal Law should have had unmatched defense and sharpness!

    Furthermore, her treasured sword was refined from Magisteel, Star Meteorite, and Obsidian Crystals. One could say it was a top-grade weapon among top-grade weapons.

    If Leon were present, he would have ssified the augmented sword as a high-grade spirit artifact. That is say that the Metal Law was able to augment the quality of a weapon by a whole grade!

    The Grand Elder had been in the Transcendent Realm for much longer and knew more about the Transcendent Realm than Elizabeth.

    Hisprehension of the Blood Laws was even a grade higher than the Queen. There was no way his Blood Iron Sword would shatter when the sh ofws would render their advantages useless.

    After the two had retreated from their sh, the Grand Elder did not wait for the Queen to take the next initiative again.

    He harrumphed coldly and raised one hand and flicked downwards. The Blood Pool that continued to hang above them began to spread and formed a solid dome over the crater and trapped them inside.

    Elizabeth realized she had fallen for a trap, but she was not too worried. Although she was isted from all the steel projectiles and equipment she could manipte on the battlefield, she still had her sword and the Metal Law.

    Even so, she was not in a rush to attack again and studied her opponent more seriously.

    The Grand Elder nced at the small chip on his Blood Iron Sword before it disappeared and regained its perfect shape in the next instance.

    His face darkened when he recalled the Queen''s previous words. He felt his anger rising at the face that the enemy they have a blood feud with is not even aware of their blood feud. It was like while they were scheming to destroy their enemy, their enemy could not even care less about them.

    The Grand Elder felt like the efforts of his sect all these years were being denied and it filled him with fury even if he knew the reason for that is because they had kept their origins very well hidden!

    However, it had alreadye to this point. There was no reason to hide it any longer. It was either they seed in destroying the Crawford Kingdom or they face sect annihtion while trying!

    Grand Elder recovered his calmness and said in a slow and unhurried tone, "You don''t know what kind of enmity we have? Perhaps, you will know after hearing the name Denholm Royal Family?"

    "Denholm Royal Family? What? Never heard of it." Elizabeth went nk, frowned, and then shook her head nonchntly.

    The Grand Elder''s mood suddenly became abysmal.

 Chapter 242 - Cleaving Apart The Land

    <h4>Chapter 242 - Cleaving Apart The Land</h4>

    Elizabeth was aware that before the founding of the Crawford Kingdom was established, there was a great cleansing that took ce just after thepletion of the Great Wall. As for the exact parties involved in the cleansing, there were no records and had been buried in history.

    The public was not even aware that such a dark event took ce in history because it was purposely hidden. It was human nature to bury the ugliness of their past and glorify their achievements.

    Back then, there had been far, far too many royal bloodlines of fallen kingdoms within the group of survivors they made it to the Human Domain.

    When the Great Wall was built, the unity humanity had was easily fragmented as everyone turned towards their own interest, fighting for thends to rebuild their own kingdoms.

    Every royal family was used to standing above millions and lording over vast expanses ofnds, they would not be settled with a small piece of the Human Domain and fought for greater benefits. Only a few royal families of that time were satisfied with just upying a small piece ofnd each.

    When the demands of many royal families could not be met, a war was on the verge of breaking out. In order to save the dwindling poption of humanity, the greedy royalties that made up the minority were ughtered in cold blood by the Hero King.

    Elizabeth had never heard of the Denholm Royal Family, but she could guess that one of the descendent of those royal families survived the disaster back then and became the big scourge it was today.

    "I see, you''re a descendent of those royal families. Then allow me to finish off what Hero King had left unfinished!" Elizabeth said coldly.

    Although it was hard to say whether what the Hero King did was right or wrong, humanity being able to thrive again was all due to the Hero King''s action.

    The Grand Elder was already at a boiling point. When he heard the Queen''s words, he began tough insidiously and sneered, "You want to kill me? Hahaha! You don''t even know what kind of situation you are in!"

    Elizabeth soon frowned as she felt her movements being restricted.

    "A Blood Domain that can suppress the movements of those inside it, huh?" She slowly muttered.

    "It''s toote for you to realize!" The Grand Elder grinned and increased the suppression strength.

    Elizabeth was rooted on the spot and the ground beneath her feet began to tremble from the pressure of her attempting to move like she was under a powerful gravity suppression.

    Her blood flowed normally but she was given the impression that it was not.

    Despite the situation looking seemingly unfavorable, she was not worried and looked at the Grand Elder calmly.

    "How can you still remain calm after this? I can kill you any time I want!" The Grand Elder frowned.

    Every member of the Denholm Royal Family had been taught since young that when they had the power, they had to not only kill everyst member of the Crawford Royal Family, they had to make sure they suffer antagonizing deaths.

    Thus, despite over 500 years have passed and the actual people involved were dead, the hatred did not diminish but grew stronger instead under their ancestor''s maniptive teachings.

    Every member was twisted by their ancestor''s teachings that everything the Crawford Royal Family enjoyed today should have belonged to them! They were robbed of their rightful ce and the Crawford Royal Family were all thieves.

    "You think something like this can stop me?" Elizabeth said impassively.

    The suppression effect seemed to have waned until it waspletely ineffective. Elizabeth just had to exert her ownws to counteract the suppression.

    Regardless of theirprehension ofws, they were both Preliminary ession-level Transcendents.

    They have a Field of Authority that stops other Transcendents from manipting the elements within one''s own body.

    Although every Awakener also has a Field of Authority that stops other Awakeners from manipting their body''s elements, it was much weakerpared to a Transcendent.

    Nevertheless, it was still enough to stop a Transcendent from ripping the element out of Awakeners unless direct contact was made.

    Awakeners were the masters of their own bodies. Only when they are dead will their body''s elements be easily manipted through distance.

    The Grand Elder grunted as he felt the Queen imposing her own pressure on him. After all, blood also contains elements of iron.

    But shortly after, he also waived the suppression off him. Such tricks were only effective on lower level Awakeners.

    "Hmph! You''re asking to die!" The Grand Elder roared with an angry tone.

    Elizabeth knew the suppression would not work on the Grand Elder either, but she did it anyway in order to provoke him.

    In battle, it was important to keep calm and not act on impulse. Rash actions were more likely to cost them their lives.

    The Grand Elder stomped his feet and thrust himself at the Queen. He could guess the Queen''s intention and would not fall for such a simple trick at his age. With his sly nature, he yed along to find an opening.

    In a short instance, the two were engaged in battle, both physically and psychologically.

    The two traded blows for blow with their swords, cracking the earth and shattering the air with the force of their shes.

    The Grand Elder''s sword was slowly chipped away but it would immediately repair itself in the next moment.

    They appeared to be evenly matched, but neither of them seemed to have gone all out and was still testing the waters, even now.

    Suddenly, the Grand Elderughed, "While you are here busy fighting me, who''s going stop the southern army?"

    Elizabeth was unmoved and coldly said, "You don''t have to worry about that."

    Although Eastfell Region''s fall and the betrayal of Eastfell City''s Governor was unexpected, there was a contingency n for that. Right now, another army should be heading there from the south to stop their advance!

    "Fine, let''s say you did prepare a backup n to stop the southern army, but did you think I am the only Transcendent that participated in this war? The Transcendent from the Illusory Butterfly Sect is probably leading another army and storming on your capital as we speak!" The Grand Elder sneered as his eyes flickered with an ulterior motive for revealing that information.

    Elizabeth finally had a change in expression while the Grand Elder reacted to the opening he created.

    The Blood Domain transformed into countless Blood Needles and rained down on the Queen, while the Grand Elder charged forward at the same time, leaving the Queen little room to maneuver.

    However!

    Just as the Grand Elder about to hack out with his sword, he had a crisp change in expression and immediately retreated.

    The Blood Needles that rained down on the Queen suddenly changed trajectory at the next moment and shot in different directions, but that was not what caused the Grand Elder to retreat with rm.

    The Queen''s aura suddenly changed and even the air itself seemed to have changed as it billowed outwards.

    A red line appeared on the Grand Elder''s face as he wiped his cheek and trembled when he saw his own blood. Did he get cut? How did he get cut?!

    "What did you did you?!"

    The Grand Elder questioned with a deep interrogative tone. He wasn''t surprised by the fact the Queen could interfere with his maniptive control over blood, but he did not see the Queen attack at all! He was both rmed and iprehensive!

    "If what you said was true then I no longer have time to y with you!"

    Elizabeth said coldly as her sword began to ring with vibrations while the surrounding air surged with sharpness before coiling around the sword with a glimpse of silver sheen.

    The sword was raised in the air before she hacked down at Grand Elder in the distance. A frighteningly fast and powerful sword wave was shot out from the sword as it sliced through the air.

    The Grand Elder turned ghastly paled and dodged with all his might. His instincts screamed danger. That was not something he could block!

    If he tried, he would be sliced apart without a doubt!

    The sword wave narrowly missed the Grand Elder and continued onwards to cleave the earth and parted thends. The Blood Domain was broken and shattered like broken sses.

    Looking at the 200-yard stretch of dividednd, the Grand Elder gasped with lingering fear, before looking back at the Queen. He did not dare stray his attention for too long from this fearsome opponent!

    "That was sword intent, wasn''t it? You''re a Sword Master!"

    Elizabeth waszy to exin and dashed forward while her sword vibrated with sharpness again. She was not a Sword Master, but as a swordsman with the Metal Law, she might as well be!

    "W-Wait!"

    The Grand Elder was frightened and immediately tucked tail and ran. Against an attack that cannot be blocked, he had no hope of winning!

    The broken blood shards turned back into viscous liquid and shot towards the Queen in an effort to impede her movements, but the Queen just hacked out with her sword and another frightening sword wave was sent his way.

    Swoosh!

    An arm was sliced off, but the Grand Elder did not even look back for it and continued to flee for his life. He finally was painfully aware of the fearsome prowess of metal-users.

    Naturally, Elizabeth was not going to let the Blood Transcendent escape and immediately chased after while charging up her next attack.

    If she let the Grand Elder live, she would not be able to soothe the souls of her dead soldiers!

    All blood cultivators must be killed on sight! Death without mercy!

 Chapter 243 - Massacre

    <h4>Chapter 243 - Massacre</h4>

    Eastfell City, like many other cities in the Crawford Kingdom, was designed ording to the old feudal system and was made to be self-sustaining with its future growth in mind.

    It was a beautiful city surrounded by lush fields of agricultural farming and awash with fresh air, but right now, this once beautiful city, the gem of the Eastfell Region had be a zing inferno filled with dense billowing ck smoke and madness. Buildings burned, fields were ruined, and people scrambled for their lives.

    The Southern Vran Army led by sect members of Bloodfiend Sect was currently razing the city to the ground and ughtering its people after the army reached the city.

    A mother carrying her baby daughter was seen being chased by a group of Vran soldiers and tripped over a stone on the street among many other scenes of simr cases of people being hunted down by soldiers.

    "Nooo!" The mother protected her darling baby within her arms as she rolled on the ground. She looked at the soldiers with a fearful expression and tearfully pleaded, "Please, at least spare my girl. She is just a baby!"

    The Vran soldiers wore hesitant expressions as they looked at each other as the mother show her baby to them, but a grunt came from the back and their expression turned resolute with gritted teeth as they shed out with their drawn swords.

    "No!" The mother was both shocked and furious at their heartlessness. She retracted her arms and shielded her baby as she suffered the fatal onught of their attack.

    "Why are you doing this? Are you still humans?!"

    Helplessness, despair, unwillingness, and desperation could be seen in the mother''s eyes as she coughed up blood and strength were drained from her body, before she drew herst breath not long after.

    The baby wailed loudly like it was mourning for her mother''s passing. The Vran soldiers could not bring themselves to kill the baby even after they killed her mother.

    "Kill it. Everyone in this city has to die, otherwise, the one to die will be you!"

    The voice sounded again from behind and the Vran soldiers trembled.

    Soon, the baby''s wail was no more.

    The owner of the voice belonged to an inner sect elder. Seeing the deed was done, the person flicked his sleeve and went to supervise a different area.

    Simr scenes were taking ce all over Eastfell City.

    Apanying the inner sect elder was a group of inner sect disciples and outer sect members. The inner sect disciples remained indifferent, but the group of outer sect members was confused.

    What kind of war was this? They were not conquering but destroying everything and tantly wasting away human resources that could be used for cultivation.

    After the group was gone, the Vran soldiers gripped their fist kowtowed an apology to the dead bodies.

    "We''re sorry!"

    They knew the guilt will gue them for life and they were all probably going to go to hell for it. Nothing could redeem them for the deed they had done.

    ¡­

    Eastfell Governor''s Mansion.

    "What''s the meaning of this?! This was not part of the deal!"

    The Governor roared to a hooded figure with great fury after seeing his beautiful city burned and his people killed from the top balcony.

    "The deal was after we sessfully conquer the kingdom and remove the Crawford Royal Family, the Eastfell Region will be independent and belong solely to you, but we didn''t say in what state we would give it to you!" The hooded figure sneered.

    "Y-You!" The Governor pointed at the hooded figure while trembling with rage. "Arghh! I''ll kill you, you crazy bastard!"

    Before the Governor could attack, another hooded figure suddenly appeared behind him and stabbed him in the heart!

    The Governor turned to the new assant and retreated several weakened steps with his strength and vitality rapidly declining. "Why? How could you burn the bridge after crossing it?! We cooperated for so many years!"

    "Without destruction, there can be no creation." The hooded figure said indifferently. "Since you no longer see eye to eye with us, we no longer need you."

    What the upper circle of the Bloodfiend Sect wanted the total eradication of the Crawford Royalties and all who worships the Hero King!

    "You wanted to wipe out the entire poption of the Crawford Kingdom?! That''s millions of lives we are talking about! You are crazy! You''re all fucking insane!"

    The Governor roared with thest of his strength. He passed away with his eyes wide open. Horror and deep regret could be seen in them.

    "We are pretty much done here. Proceed with the n. When the situation here spreads to the other region like wildfire, I doubt those idiots would open their gates for us willingly." The hooded figure smirked.

    The other hooded figure wiped his dagger nonchntly and nodded. A beacon was fired into the sky to inform their sect disciples in the surrounding regions to proceed with the next step of the n.

    "Wait a minute." The other hooded figure suddenly paused. "We havepany."

    On a distant hill, just outside Eastfell City, A strong army of 10 thousand Crawford soldiers arrived under the leadership of the Brigadier General, Rohan.

    "What madness!"

    Rohan''s mood plummeted at the state of the burning city in front of them, while the eyes of the soldiers turned red from the horrific scene before them.

    The Brigadier General drew his sword and raised it high, before issuing a string of orders with a deep but resonating voice, "Charge into the city and kill all these mad dogs for me and save the people! The airship will provide support from above!"

    "Such atrocity will not be allowed in this kingdom! We will ept no surrender from these fiends! Spare no one!"

    "Go!"

    With their specialized muskets equipped with bays, the soldiers obliged in unison with shocking volume that shook the very earth before they charged like the rumbling of ten thousand hooves!

    "Kill!"

    The army quickly flooded the city upied by 20 thousand enemy soldiers and its dwindling residents. The enemy soldiers were already low in morale from the senseless killing of innocents. They were no match for the high angry spirit of the Crawford army.

    While the city battle took ce, no one knew that two figures were quietly overlooking the situation in the clouds above Eastfell City before they finally disappeared elsewhere.

    ¡­

    Azure River crossing, north, Extreme Misty Forest.

    As mentioned by the Grand Elder, he was not the only Transcendent that participated in the war. The Grand Elder of Illusory Butterfly Sect had also participated.

    To the Illusory Butterfly Sect who had their headquarters situated inside the misty forest, they were extremely familiar with it and intended to use it as cover as they sneak an entire 20 thousand strong Durham army with them around to attack the Capital directly.

    But not after building the bridge to cross the Azure River that split the Extreme Misty Forest in half, they courted disaster on the other side.

    It was the outer region, which was considered the safest part of the forest. Any problem that could be solved by the Transcendent leading the group in this region was not considered a real problem.

    But s, a Perilous Land was, after all, a Perilous Land. Who knew that there was such a monstrous being in this region of the woods?

    Only a few survivors from the Illusory Butterfly Sect was left. The monstrous being was still present, but they had all been rooted by extreme fear and could not escape.

    The entire 20 thousand Durham soldiers were wiped out and the Grand Elder was even eaten whole.

    That monstrous thing had the form of an angel, but when it ate the Grand Elder, it was like the devil that crawled out of hell! The survivors could not stop shivering as they recalled the sight.

    Corpses piled like mountains as a heavy stench of blood filled the ce. Some dangled in the air by silky red strings that could be seen hanging all over the surrounding trees. They were blood-soaked spider webs.

    The Spider Queen Arachnia could be seen sitting on a mountain of corpses while gnawing on the bone of one of her victims with a disgruntled expression.

    The bone was tossed to the side before she eyed the survivors coldly and said, "Tell me, humans, do you know what you did wrong?!"

    The Spider Queen''s wless beauty, none of the survivors had the heart to admire as they trembled and shook with fear. "W-We shouldn''t have intruded on your sanctuary¡­"

    "Wrong!" Arachnia pointed to her copsed hut and roared with fury, "I wouldn''t give a sh*t if you were all just passing by, but you actually all had the galls to destroy the home that I went through great pains to build?! Speak! Where did you alle from?!

    The survivors wanted to cry but no tears would flow. They had truly suffered an unjustified cmity. That shabby and dpidated wooden hut already looked like it was going to copse with a single gust of wind.

    Who knew that it would actually copse from a small bump while they were investigating it?!

    "We¡­ Wee from the Illusory Butterfly Sect¡­"

 Chapter 244 - Brigadier-General Dales

    <h4>Chapter 244 - Brigadier-General Dales</h4>

    The battlefield at the outer rim of Azure Verdant ins ended in a way no one expected. The sect members of both the Illusory Butterfly Sect and Bloodfiend Sect was dazed as they could not believe what happened.

    The Grand Elder of Bloodfiend Sect, a fabled Transcendent had ultimately fled for his life only to be mercilessly chased and cut down in the end.

    Perhaps, if the Blood Transcendent wasn''t afflicted by the defects of the blood cultivation and had a stronger mentality, he would have been able to put up a bigger fight than dying like a pathetic dog.

    Sword Master¡­ The Queen was definitely a Sword Master! That was the exnation they coulde up with for that unrivaled attack power!

    Before Awakeners became mainstream, the path of the sword was the ultimate pursuit of strength.

    However, it was easy to be one with the sword, but to produce sword intent was an enigma that baffled many even before the Cataclysm.

    They knew it existed because few legendary figures have achieved it throughout history and their techniques were left behind for future generations, but none were ever sessful.

    The way of the sword was so profound it had be its own uniquew, but the way of the sword was different for everyone.

    The techniques the Sword Masters passed down was not to be replicated but to help others gain insight into their own sword intent.

    s, none had ever realized it and believed the sword''s path was too difficult, leading to its eventual decline for the more favored awakener''s path.

    The fate of the sect members was decided the moment the Blood Transcendent fell. Elizabeth took her time to clean up the battlefield as these evil cultivators resigned to their fates. It was useless to outrun a Transcendent.

    After the sect members were all ughtered, Elizabeth was at a loss when she looked at the surrendered soldiers that stuck around. What to do with them?

    Aria and Lynne arrived shortly and paled at the bloody scene. The battle at the Tri-bridge paled inparison to the death toll here. So, this is what the brutality of war is like? How terrible!

    On the big battlefield stained by blood, there were many dead bodies amongst both surviving Crawford soldiers and enemy soldiers, but neither side was fighting.

    Was the battle already over? Who won?

    Soon, they found the Queen and made their over.

    "M-Mother¡­"

    "Howe you''re both here?" Elizabeth smiled with surprise.

    "We heard the news and rushed back as quickly as we could to help, but¡­" Looking at the battlefield, it seems their help was not needed here.

    The World Tree''s appearance was unexpected, but the news of the Eastfell Region was most likely intended to draw them away. Thus, they had rushed back to the Queen instead of the Eastfell Region.

    They were strong but they were only two inexperienced girls. It was better to finish the battle at Azure Verdant ins then rush to support Eastfell Region.

    Elizabeth nodded with approval when she heard their response. She was beginning to like these two daughters-inw of her more and more.

    Although an official wedding had yet to be held, she had already viewed them as her actual daughters-inw. She was a traditional woman who views a woman''s chastity as sacred.

    Since thatscivious son of hers had already done the deed with them that should only be done in the nuptial chamber, she had already viewed them as husband and wives from then onwards.

    How did she know they already did it? Well, rumors tend to fly in the Royal Pce. Even if she closed one ear, she would still hear with the other.

    "You''re both very thoughtful and your assistance is very timely. I suspect there is another enemy Transcendent leading an army through the cover of Extreme Misty Forest. They must be stopped, but the reinforcement sent to Eastfell Regioncks experts and will not be able to stop those evil sect cultivators hidden there. Are you both willing to head over there and assist them while I head north?"

    Aria and Lynne looked at each other and decisively nodded, "Yes!"

    "Great!" Elizabeth smiled. "I will assign amander and some troops for you both to lead, but before that¡­ What should we do with these surrendered soldiers?"

    Their gazes all shifted to the Durham and Vran soldiers at the scene. Many had fled but when they heard the Blood Transcendent was in, they began making their way back to the battlefield.

    They had nowhere else to go. They could not go back to their home kingdom. The sect had their eyes stretched everywhere there. They would be killed, but their families might not be spared. They were helpless and could only turn to the Queen for help.

    "Your Majesty, we are willing to follow you. Please liberate the Durham Kingdom and save our families!" The Durham soldier stepped forward and pleaded.

    Watching their actions, the Vran soldiers also stepped forward and pleaded, "Your Majesty, we are also willing to follow you. Please liberate the Vran Kingdom and save our families!"

    Faced with the pleading of over 30 thousand soldiers, it was enough to make anyone''s blood boil with emotion. Elizabeth found it hard to refuse, but she also had her own concerns.

    30 thousand soldiers were not a small number. Where would she send them and how was she going to feed them?

    After a quick contemtion, she made her decision. She will worry about feeding themter.

    "The Bloodfiend Sect and Illusory Butterfly Sect will pay for their wickedness, but don''t forget that you are all prisoners of war! If you want to join the Crawford Kingdom, don''t just speak it, show it! Prove to me that you are worthy of being a part of my kingdom with your actions!"

    The surrendered soldiers clenched their fist with determination. The Queen had given a chance to redeem themselves for the lives they had taken.

    Soon, the surrendered soldiers were reorganized into the Crawford army and divided into three groups.

    One was to follow the Queen north to locate the hidden enemy army, another would head south to Eastfell Region and the rest were to head to the destroyed base to salvage what they can and set up a new military base back in Grasnd Region.

    ¡­

    Great Wall, outskirts.

    "We''re here."

    Dales said with a tearful expression as he looked up at the shining tall and majestic Great Wall that protected humanity from the beast invasion. He did not think it would be able to make it back.

    At the side, the soldier, Tom had a simr tearful expression as he looked up at the Great Wall.

    It was definitely because they were emotional and not because the strong reflective lights of the wall were burning their eyes out¡­

    Elvengarde was wonderful and all but it was good to be home.

    The Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn nodded without looking. They were not used to venturing outside the forest and certainly not used to the brightness of such intensity.

    Even beasts usually steer clear from the wall during bright sunny days.

    On top of the wall, the soldiers on watch duty naturally saw the four figures and already alert the garrisons and took to their battle stations, but they did not attack immediately.

    These four figures look too much like humans to be humanoid beasts. In fact, they really are humans, aren''t they?

    "Who goes there?!" They sounded out by shouting over the walls.

    "Commander Dales and Tom of the Thunderbird team. These two elves next to us are envoys of the Elven Tribe, Elvengarde, here to seek and negotiate friendly ties with our Crawford Kingdom." Dales shouted back.

    The soldiers on the wall became silent for a while before Dales heard from the soldiers again.

    "You''re lying! Brigadier-General Dales fell battle three months ago!"

    Since when was he a Brigadier-General? Howe he hadn''t heard about such a good thing?

    Dales was confused, but then his expression abruptly changed as he recalled that only fallen soldiers get promoted two ranks during the memorial ceremony in the constion of their service.

    Dammit, how was being dead a good thing?!

    "Bastards, are you cursing me?! I''m still alive for god''s sake!" Dales gnashed his teeth with anger. He was still living quite well. How dare they kill him off like that!

    The soldiers on the wall were startled by the angry roar and were at a loss for words. Was Brigadier General Dales really alive? They had nevere across a situation where a fallen soldier they had pronounced dead was brought back to life.

    Do we call him Commander Dales or Brigadier-General Dales? How do we verify his words?

    "Go notify the General Marquis."

    Amanding officer ordered to a soldier by his side, before the soldier nodded and headed off to find the general marquis.

    ¡­

    Western Frontier, Military Camp.

    On an open training field where soldiers normally do their regr physical drills, a crippled person was practicing wind maniption to control the movements of his disabled limbs.

    Although the movements were still shaky and not steady, showing that the person was stillcking in control, he had already proven that it was possible to move like an ordinary person with the support of wind maniption.

    By the side, the general marquis was quietly watching his son practice with both pride and sadness. No father would want their children to be disabled, but he was proud that his son was able to move forward.

    Various things had happened back during the Capital''s crisis, but Hendrick Graham had ended up finding his son on the outskirts of the Capital in the end and brought him back to the Western Frontier.

    At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard as a soldier arrived by the general marquis''s side to report.

    "What is it?" Hendrick Graham signaled for the soldier to speak without taking his eyes off his son.

    "A person iming to be brigadier-general Dales is outside the walls with two envoys of an Elven Tribe presumably, General."

    Hendrick''s body shook at the news and quickly turned to face the soldier agitatedly.

    "What did you say? Say that again!"

 Chapter 245 - Lustful Gazes

    <h4>Chapter 245 - Lustful Gazes</h4>

    Dales'' group did not have to wait too long. 10 minutes have passed when a figure could be seen floating in the air above the wall and gazing down at them. It was General Marquis Hendrick.

    After Hendrick had confirmed that it was indeed Dales, he was ready to order the soldiers to lower the ropedders, but he immediately hesitated after sweeping his gaze across one of the envoys of the Elven Tribe, the Supreme Elder to be exact.

    It was the second time he felt such a strong presence from the Wilnds that could make him feel apprehensive. Although the Supreme Elder was casually standing, Hendrick could feel that this person was even stronger than the Skysilver Tribe''s beast king.

    However, it was just a moment of indecisiveness before the general marquis made his decision. Such a strong personing a representative to seek friendly rtions with their kingdom should be received with care and sincerity, not to mention the wall would seem like a joke to such a strong person if they dide with ill intentions.

    "Lower the ropedders."

    "Yes, general."

    The ropedders tossed over the wall shortly and Tom immediately started climbing excitedly. Dales also made his way forward not before giving the two envoys an embarrassed look.

    "This is usually how we enter the Human Domain when we are not traveling by airships. Please don''t be offended by our crude methods of entering, but the wall was built with the idea of keeping anything from the Wilnds entering in mind."

    "You don''t have to worry about that."

    The Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn looked at the ropedder with interest, but the former had no intention of climbing, while thetter was prepared to give this new experience a go.

    "Wait a moment, Princess."

    The Supreme Elder stopped the Princess from attempting to climb with her untrained limbs.

    ''Princess?''

    The General Marquis gawked and also realized that the crude method was rather inappropriate envoys of royal descent. He had about received them personally with his ability.

    After gaining insights into the concept of wind and breaking through to the one-star ranked awakener level, his following cultivation had been smooth and without bottlenecks, steadily advancing to five-stars.

    His cultivation speed was not inferior to those training with the aid of Heavenly Crystal when he cultivates in the sky above the wall where the wind was strong.

    Sending the group of four over the wall would just be as easy as lifting one''s hand at his current level, but before he could act, he witnessed something magical with amazement.

    The Supreme Elder took out some unknown seeds from his grass-woven pouch and infused them with a green glow before sprinkling them on the ground by his foot.

    The seeds immediately germinated rmingly quick and sprouted strange vine-like roots that weaved around each other like a rope, followed by lively and big green leaves that looked solid and tenacious.

    The Supreme Elder stepped on the new big leaf with the princess before the leaf tform lifted them up to the top.

    After stepping off onto the wall, the bizarre tree shrank from the bottom up and reverted back into a seed that fell into the Supreme Elder''s hand before being stored in his pouch again.

    Everyone was amazed by the envoy''s elven means as their gaze lingered on the pouch for a long time, but they soon had their breaths taken away by Princess Faelyn''s otherworldly beauty.

    "So beautiful¡­"

    Cough*

    The general coughed for them to snap out of there reverie as it was inappropriate to stare for so long.

    Meanwhile, at the bottom of the wall, Tom lost his excitement in climbing. He suddenly found ropedder climbing to be tedious. Couldn''t they have taken him up too?

    Dales smiled wryly and continued to the climb.

    After everyone reached the top, he was prepared to greet the general marquis when thetter gave him a big bear hug.

    "It''s good to know that you are still alive, Old Friend!"

    Creak¡­

    Dales could feel his bones protesting as he did his best to keep a straight smile, but his left eye twitched repeatedly while calmly forcing his words out.

    "General, we can save the sentiments forter. The Envoys of Elvengarde are here."

    "Ahem, right." Hendrick quickly recovered before turning to Supreme Elder with a smile and respectfully greeted, "I am General Hendrick, the one in charge of defending this region. We wee your visit to the Western Frontier of our Crawford Kingdom. How may I address the both of your esteemed selves?"

    "My tribesmen call me Supreme Elder, but you may call me Elder Haldir, and this is the fifth princess of Elvengarde, Princess Faelyn. We are grateful for your weing." The Supreme Elder said cordially.

    Despite being the strongest present, he did not act overbearingly nor humbly. Without grasping the strength of the Human Domain, he did not want to cause unnecessary friction, but neither would he behave in a way that undermines his own status.

    "It''s our pleasure to make your acquaintance, Elder Haldir, Princess Faelyn." Hendrick greeted. "Before we continue, allow us to act as proper hosts and change the scenery to a more appropriate ce for our talk, shall we?"

    After exchanging short pleasantries, they moved to a more reserved spot where they could be seated and served tea.

    The general marquis took the initiative to do a brief introduction to their background to avoid any futureplications and misunderstanding.

    The Crawford Kingdom was the guardian of the Human Domain, but they do not represent the entire Human Domain. Each kingdom was separated by a long distance that made it difficult to keep contact.

    Ordinary people would take weeks to months to travel between kingdoms if they had no ess to steam-powered transportations.

    After the general marquis rification, they moved onto the main topic, the alliance between Elvengarde and Crawford Kingdom.

    The terms of their alliance include the exchange of information and culture, and to help each other in times of trouble.

    Honestly, the general marquis wanted to agree to the alliance on the spot, but it was not his decision to make. He had to report back to the king and await the king''s decision.

    The situation in the Wilnds was something the Crawford Kingdom always hoped to understand and if they could get the help of someone of the Supreme Elder''s caliber, they might be able to save many lives by putting an end to the war sooner.

    However, the general marquis did not understand why the Elves were willing to ally with them. Did it have something to do with the big tree that appeared in the east of their kingdom?

    As they moved to this topic, the Supreme Elder was quite honest and did not hide their intentions.

    "We did seek your kingdom out for the World Tree that appeared in your kingdom, but more importantly, I''ve had a premonition that a great disaster ising to this continent and the only way for the elves of Elvengarde to survive this disaster is to side with your kingdom. I am sure the general has also noticed the strange behavior of the beasts in recent times. I fear it would only continue to get worse."

    The Supreme Elder''s frankness naturally raised Hendrick''s impression of the elves as he wore a warm smile throughout their exchange. But when the beasts were mentioned, the General Marquis became quite serious.

    "Has any of the elves contracted the same symptoms as these berserk beasts?" Hendrick asked.

    "None." The Supreme Elder shook his head, but he soon frowned at the question posed by the general marquis. "The General asked because¡­?"

    "It''s better if I just show you."

    In a certain area of the Military Base''s Research Department, there was a single reinforced cage with a single human researcher inside.

    However, this human researcher had already lost his mind and had shown extreme animalistic behaviors, coupled with abnormal physical prowess to date as various scratches and dents could be seen in the cage.

    After arriving and learning that the researcher became like that after identally inhaling an unknown source of energy that escaped from one the berserk beasts they had dissected for study, the Supreme Elder was shaken.

    If humans could also be infected by this unknown energy, the elves would also not be an exception.

    The Supreme Elder didn''t know where the unknown energy came from, but the discovery filled him with dread and a greater sense of urgency to seal the deal on the alliance so he could start bringing the elves over to the Human Domain.

    The unknown energy described by the humans sounded a lot like the red energy that has been appearing in the Wilnds in recent times.

    "Regarding the alliance¡­"

    "My sincerest apologies, Elder Haldir. Although I am in favor of the alliance, I cannot make that decision. I must trouble you and Princess Faelyn to make a trip with me to the Capital to meet the king before we can progress with the alliance." Hendrick immediately said apologetically.

    As the defender of the west, it was his responsibility to confirm that the envoys came with genuine intentions as they proimed and did note with malicious intent to do harm to their king and kingdom.

    "No trouble at all." The Supreme Elder waved with a genial smile. "We had learned much while we were here, and our talk has been quite enjoyable, to say the least."

    "Father, I would also like to apany you and the esteemed envoys to the Capital." Rowan Graham arrived in a wheelchair and requested as he sneaked a peek at Princess Faelyn by the Supreme Elder''s side with infatuation.

    He had caught a glimpse of Princess Faelyn in passing earlier when they were sipping tea near the training field and he was immediately mesmerized by her beauty.

    Hendrick frowned at his son''sck of consideration. In normal cases, he would have agreed, but as much as he hates to say it, it was disrespectful to the royal envoy to be escorted by a crippled even if he was just apanying him.

    However, Hendrick did not reject outright but turned to the Supreme Elder for an answer. "What does Elder Haldir think?"

    "Hmm¡­"

    The Supreme Elder naturally noticed the lust in the boy''s eyes and frowned with disappointment.

    The general marquis and his son were too different. One was valiant, heroic, and very mindful of his gaze, but the other? Haiz¡­

    Princess Faelyn felt ufortable with such strong passionate gazes, but the other person was the general''s son. They should at least give the general some face.

    "He cane."

    The Princess took the initiative to say out of respect, but Rowan was over the moon when he heard her sweet words and thought that she had a favorable impression of him despite his disability.

    Hendrick silently sighed with disappointment that his son could not resist the charms of beautiful women, or rather¡­ he had no resistance at all!

    ¡­

    On a distant hill on the eastern outskirts of the Capital, Leon stopped to overlook the current state of the Capital and sighed with amazement at its changes.

    After running at his greatest speed for twelve hours with two breaks in between, he had finally reached the Capital.

    Traveling with others and traveling alone had such a great difference in time of arrival, but he was more amazed by his own improved stamina to keep up such running speed for so long.

    Was this one of the benefits of tempering his meridians? What if he tempered his heart? Would his body be inexhaustible to physical exertion?

    Maybe if he tempered his kidneys, he would also be inexhaustible in¡ªAhem, he just thinking nonsense.

 Chapter 246 - I Need To Use Your Forge

    <h4>Chapter 246 - I Need To Use Your Forge</h4>

    Only a bit over two weeks have passed since Leon left for the underground expedition, but the Capital''s rate of development was staggering and seemed to have increased exponentially.

    The construction of the railway and strengthening ofmoners via the breathing technique had indeed greatly boost productivity and work efficiency, but the greatest factor was not rted to Leon.

    The World Tree had only just started introducing spirit energy to the world. It would take some time before the spirit energy spread to the Capital.

    Under normal circumstances, the most talented of miners had only reached the 3rdyer of the Body Tempering Realm. This had indeed boosted the acquisition of raw ores greatly, but half the contribution of raw ore acquisition was actually due to earth-users.

    The power of Awakeners was practically designed for the development of human civilization. Any area of development that required manualbor could be substituted with the elemental maniption of Awakeners.

    During the time Leon was gone, the Capital had experienced arge increase in low-level Awakeners amongst the lower-ss nobles.

    Low-ss nobles were different from many higher-ss nobles and did not discriminate againstmoners and were willing to work alongside them.

    With earth-users and miners working in tandem, the greatest work efficiency was achieved in the acquisition of raw ores from the rich underground mineral deposit.

    Leon could guess where these lower-ss nobles got their Awakening pills. Dwight was an alchemist and the True Awakening Pill form was left in their hands. He no longer needed to refine the pills for them as Dwight could do it himself.

    He did not me Dwight for making the form known, he was only concerned that the increase in earth-element Awakeners would cause instability in the Capital''s foundation and copse it.

    But his worries were for naught. If he could think like that, others could too.

    In the underground, arge framework of steel beams was already being used to hold up the Capital.

    Even without Awakeners, the excessing mining and hollowing of the underground would eventually lead to the instability of the structural integrity of the foundation and ultimately lead to a great tragedy if no preventative actions were taken.

    Thinking back on the True Awakening Pills, Leon was a bit embarrassed about all the talk of demons, but he still felt like something was still amiss.

    Few clues have pointed towards their existence, but not a shadow had been spotted nor had he found any more clues since then. Was he just overthinking and paranoid?

    Leon shook his head and entered the Capital. He was famished after the long run and decided to settle his stomach first.

    Recalling the Steakhouse in the Upper District, he made his choice. He could replenish his energy and enjoy good food. He found himself to be a big fan of steak.

    ¡­

    "Ah, ahem. What would you like to order, esteemed customer?" The waiter, Mary was surprised to see Leon again after so long and slightly stuttered before asking.

    She did not want to be unreasonable and bring up the previous matter. She thought the reason this customer had not visited their Steakhouse in so long was due to her attitude at that time. Thus, she was already content that Leon was willing to dine in at the Steakhouse again.

    Looking at the familiar menu, Leon was hit with nostalgia as he reminisces on the past. Where was Teacher Lina now? He was told that she had left on a journey, but her parents did not know where to.

    Leon did not dwell on it for too long, before he smiled and said, "I want 200-gram of this, this, and this, medium-rare with the Steakhouse special sauce and no sides, thanks."

    A total of three dishes was ordered. Recalling the traumatic experience brought by overeating, he dared not to order too much again and toned down on the cut and dishes. He was only here for a quick feed.

    After 15 minutes, the food was brought out one by one. They were all new dishes he had not tried before. There was quite a variety of beast meat on the menu.

    This time, he was trying the meat of the Fierce Hyena, River Bison, and Mountain Stag. Nevertheless, he finished everything in 30 minutes. Pulling out a grey Transcendent Crystal and chewing on some wood-element herbs, began refining some more pseudo-Grandmist energy.

    No matter how many times he visits the Steakhouse, he was still left amazed by the richness of energy retained in the cooked meat. The Royal Chef back in the pce was slightly inferior.

    Nevertheless, after he was done, he called the waiter to pay the bill.

    "That will be 6200 Craws, esteemed customer," Mary said, but she did not offer any hand to receive the Craw notes in Leon''s hand. Instead, she puffed her chest pocket.

    "You¡­ want me to put it in there?" Leon asked with doubt.

    "Just like the first time." Mary nodded as a red hue slightly crept on her face. Perhaps, she was being too shameless, but she wanted to experience it again.

    "Just the first time?" Leon could not help but rub his forehead as he recalled with a guilty conscience.

    "Exactly like the first time," Mary affirmed as the red hue became more evident.

    "Um, alright¡­"

    Leon understood and smiled wryly. Were all waiters this forward and daring? ¡­Probably not.

    At the corner of his eyes, he could see another waiter peeking over through the gaps of her hand covering her face with a flushed face. He could subtly hear the waiter gasping, ''Mary, you''re so daring~ Fighting~!''

    He slipped 7000 Craw notes into Mary''s chest pocket and disappeared, but of course, not without copping a feel.

    Mary shivered with pleasure and delight from Leon''s magical touch before she looked at the 7000 Craw notes in her chest pocket and ran out of the Steakhouse to shout into the distance, "Thank you for patronage! Pleasee again!"

    The Steakhouse was rtively empty, and business was not doing well since the Capital Crisis, but there were still a few old-time customers in the Steakhouse.

    All sorts of hoots and whistles came from them in response to Mary''s daringness as they teased her.

    "Mary, the kitchen, now."

    A casual aged voice of an olddy resonated from the kitchen and themotion immediately died down as the old-time customers all turned respectful towards the voice. The olddy owner of Steakhouse did not seem happy.

    Mary froze before making her way back to the kitchen with her head down. She snuck a peek at the olddy in the kitchen and gulped. She was definitely in trouble.

    "Grandma¡­"

    ¡­

    After leaving the Steakhouse, Leon headed to the Lancaster''s workshop tower. He marveled at the changes of Upper North District along the way.

    Ding, ding, ding!

    The sound of hammering hot iron and steel could be heard resonating out of the workshop tower as he entered and found the Duke working amongst the other cksmith, topless and soaking in sweat.

    "Hoho, a rare guest hase to visit." Duke Ignis immediately spotted Leon and ced down his hammer to walked over and wee Leon with open arms. "Come, give your father-inw a hug first."

    "Hold it right there!" Leon immediately stopped the Duke before contact was made.

    "Hm? What''s the matter?" The Duke frowned.

    ''What''s the matter, you say? You are literally the embodiment of human sweat!'' Leon mentallyined.

    The workshop was humid and pumping with hot air, making anyone who had yet to adapt to the change in atmosphere ufortable.

    Getting hugged by a sweaty and topless middle-aged man ripping with muscles shortly after would immediately multiply that ufortableness by hundreds fold!

    "Are you looking down on me, boy?" The Duke grinned.

    When the question was raised, the other cksmiths also put down their hammer and looked over.

    Leon could see that the Duke was not offended and was only joking. Recalling what he came to the workshop to do, he smiled wryly. "No, of course not. I wasn''t ready."

    Taking off his own top and showcasing his own lean muscles packed with hidden explosiveness, he puffed out his own chest with gritted teeth and said, "Now I am ready!"

    The Duke took a moment to process before he burst intoughter. "Hahaha! That''s the spirit! Come here!"

    Leon was bear-hugged by the Duke and the feeling of sweaty skining into contact made his face twitched excessively.

    After a while, he was released like a fresh inmate who had just graduated¡ªAhem, freed from prison.

    "Alright, speak. What did youe for? You usually don''t visit your inws without a reason." Duke Ignis said grudgingly that Leon came emptyhanded.

    "I need to use your forge, father-inw." Leon smiled and pulled a package of spirit-grade herbal tea leaves he had prepared beforehand and passed it over.

    "Use my forge? Do you know how to? Hmph! Don''t you know how busy it is around here? I don''t have time to let you fool around and don''t think you can buy me over just because you brought some gifts¡­" The Duke said as he epted the package and looked inside.

    "Oh, these are some good stuff! Ha? What was that? You wanted to use the forge? Haha, you sure can. You can use the one I was just using just over there." The Duke pointed happily.

    Leon was speechless.

    The Duke was sure quick to switch stance when he saw the contents of the gift. Even flipping a page might not be faster than this.

    "Right, how was the underground trip? Any amazing discovery?" The Duke added, recalling that Leon had just taken the package of tea leaves out of thin air and rted it to the gains of the underground trip.

    "Of course. There was some amazing knowledge left down there and the solution to our runic bottleneck is all here." Leon pointed to his one head with a grin. "But first, let me forge a few items then I''ll teach father-inw what they''re used for."

    "Hmm¡­ alright." The Duke decided to patiently watch Leon forge and find out exactly what he learned. The boy did not look like he was joking.

    Duke Ignis was even prepared to give some guidance on the side, seeing Leon had taken an interest in forging.

    Leon practically no longer cared about hiding the fact that he had an interspatial storage. Interspatial storage is only precious due to their extreme convenience and rarity, but once it has been mass-produced, its value will be diminished greatly.

    He was prepared to make interspatial storagesmon like it is in the Divine Realm. Would people still fight over something they can buy with money? He was the only person who could make it and he was on his home turf. There was little for him to worry about.

    Interspatial storages were indeed one of the few items he intended to forge and gift to the people around him, but it was not the first item he was intended to forge.

    After a quick inspection of his soul core and found that it would still take another day for the merging process to bepleted, he gave up thoughts of elemental maniption and prepared to forge replicas of Ravenous ck manually with his father-inw''s assistance.

    Ignis and Amelia had both reached a frightening level of perfection in their runic line drawing. The only thing theycked was the tool to bring life to their runes.

    Once that condition was met, the people can expect to see more airships and many more wondrous creations in the future.

 Chapter 247 - Forging

    <h4>Chapter 247 - Forging</h4>

    The design of Ravenous ck had been inspected enough times for Leon to understand the ins and outs of Ravenous ck like it was the back of his hand.

    A normal person would have had to dismantle the Ravenous ck to understand itsplete design, but thanks to his divine sense, such trouble and risk were avoided.

    Ravenous ck was the only Scribing Pen in his possession. If the functions stopped working as a result of his dismantling, he might just go neck himself.

    The importance of a Scribing Pen was its functions, or in other words, the runes enchanted into it. The materials used to forge it was not all that important unless the designer intending for the Scribing Pen to also be used as a weapon.

    Nevertheless, the materials should be decent since he was gifting the final product to his future inws. He needed to show some sincerity.

    Heading over to the Duke''s personal forge, he found the spare forging material at the side in a storage box of processed ingots. Leon found and selected Magisteel and Star Meteorite Iron or Star Meteorite for short.

    Magisteel had had good conductivity with energy and was good for the engraving of his runic lines and circles, while Star Meteorite was the same as ck Iron in color appeal, except it was a grade higher in terms of toughness and was suitable outer shell of the Scribing Pen to give it that nice ck sheen.

    Maybe he was giving too much favoritism to ckness, but he felt ck was good with almost anything.

    "Father-inw, I''m going to need your help with fire control." Leon requested after he selected the materials and tossed them in the smoking hot furnace.

    "Hm?" The Duke became startled with an appalled expression upon realization. "Your cultivation¡­ what happened?"

    "Some stuff happened, and it can''t be used currently, but it should be back to normal soon," Leon said wryly. The Duke''s reaction was within his expectation.

    The Duke was suspicious, but seeing Leon''s nonchnce in such a sensitive topic, he decided to give the boy the benefit of the doubt. If the boy does not care about it, then it shouldn''t be a big deal.

    "Alright, what do you want to have me do, boy?"

    "I need help speeding up the heating process. I will handle the rest." Leon said as he began familiarizing himself with theyout of the forge and location of all the tools.

    "Hmm, alright."

    The Duke didn''t say much. He was intrigued by Leon''s calmness as he was already preparing for the hammering process with a familiarity that did not seem to have been faked.

    Within a few instances, the Duke has already begun to view Leon as someone with some experience in cksmithing and not aplete amateur who was just looking to pick up cksmithing for fun.

    However, he held back on hisplete evaluation until he sees for himself, how Leon was going to hold the hammer and temper the metal.

    Many things can be determined by observing the precision, strength, and form of a person''s hammering such as gauging the person''s cksmithing skill. It was also possible to predict the quality of the final product if one''s insights were keen enough.

    With the Duke''s assistance, the metal ingots in the furnace quickly reached the perfect state for tempering within mere moments.

    Leon immediately fished the ready-hot Magisteel and Star Meteorite ingots out of the furnace withrge tongs and settled them on the anvil.

    At the side, the Duke straightened his back and was ready to observe and offer pointers to Leon like a veteran cksmith when mistakes are spotted.

    However, when Leon picked up the hammer, his aura changed so abruptly that the Duke waspletely bbergasted. Duke Ignis had the illusion that what he was looking at was not a boy new to cksmithing but an old veteran cksmith with decades of experience.

    This change in aura was brought by the memories of Leon receiving the inheritance in the time chamber dreamscape as he got serious upon holding the hammer.

    Twanggg!

    The first strikended on the red-hot Magisteel!

    Duke Ignis immediately snapped out of his stupor and sighed with relief as the illusory image was shattered with the first hammer strike.

    He thought it was fortunate that Leon was not as monstrous as he had imagined. It was not good for his heart.

    A few mistakes were spotted in the first strike of tempering, no matter how minor it was. the boy''s form was good but there was some awkwardness in the execution that caused a drop in precision and failing to perfectly channel all the force in the metal. The strength used was also slightly higher than necessary.

    A smile crept on Duke Ignis''s face as he thought this was his time to shine. Offer a few pointers and gain the boy''s respect as a peak expert in the field.

    However, when he was about to point out Leon''s mistake, he saw thetter frowned and the following scene made him froze.

    Twangg! Twang! Twang!

    Consecutive blows struck the hot Magisteel with growing improvement. Each blow was better than thest! By the strike, there were no more mistakes!

    There was no hint of awkwardness in the execution, an appropriate level of strength was used, and no force was wasted as it was all absorbed. It was a perfect tempering strike!

    With Leon''s perceptiveness, he had noticed the discrepancy between memory and body. The skill might be ingrained in the mind, but the body had yet to be attuned.

    However, with a few strikes, the problem was fixed.

    The Duke was left with his finger awkwardly hanging.

    Twang! Twang! Twang!

    Each consecutive strike after was filled with perfection and was like a blow to his heart. He almost had a mental breakdown with flowing tears.

    It had taken him five years of hard training before he achieved such a level of mastery in tempering metal, while this son-inw was able to master it in a few strikes after disappearing for two weeks. There was no justice in the world.

    "Hm? Is something wrong, father-inw?"

    "N-No¡­"

    Leon continued onwards with the process of forging all the parts of the Scribing Pen.

    ¡­

    "So, this is the Capital of the Crawford Kingdom¡­"

    In the skies, not far from the Capital, an airship was quickly approaching with speed iparable to ordinary airships.

    On the deck of the airship, the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn were gazing down from the front deck, while being apanied by the general marquis and his son on a wheelchair, who held onto the side rails to prevent himself from rolling to the back.

    The two envoys weren''t necessarily impressed by the capital city itself, but the ce was thriving, and they intrigued by the difference in human architecture.

    "En, we will soon be docking at Lancaster Workshop Tower. Do the esteemed envoys wish to tour the workshop, or quickly continue onwards to meet our king?" General Marquis Hendrick inquired out of courtesy.

    Princess Faelyn''s interest was immediately piqued as a person who was curious toward anything new. She glimpsed at the Supreme Elder before she responded.

    "Can we? Since we will be stopping there anyway, it won''t hurt to take a quick look."

    "Erm, this general will make the request upon docking. The workshop has been in quite a busy period so there might be a chance of it being rejected."

    Hendrick did not think elves would be interested in seeing smoking hot metal and puffing steam as he smiled wryly. Erm, the current human understanding of elves in picture books seems to be incorrect.

    His face was quite big, but they most likely are restricted only a few levels to tour as other ces might be too confidential for foreigners to ess.

    ¡­

    "It''s done."

    Leon said excitedly as he wiped his sweat after drawing thest runic line on each individual piece he had forged in thest two hours.

    The Duke was quite curious when Leon had taken the Ravenous ck out to engrave the runes. When Leon exined it was what they needed to bring runes to life, the Duke wasn''t able to close his gaping mouth in surprise for a long time.

    In front of them, on the metal bench, two sets of Scribing Pen parts wereid out.

    After Leon was done with engraving the runic lines with the purple liquified energy that oozed out of Ravenous ck, he began to assemble the pieces together to form the twoplete Scribing Pens.

    With the Duke''s finishing touches, the two Scribing Pens were perfectly welded and would not fall apart into separate parts again.

    The two Scribing Pen shared simr appearance to Ravenous ck, except a different colored-jewel was embedded on each one.

    After rubbing the runic circles on the nib, the runes came to life and they only needed to be left in the sun for the improved energy conversion function to start gathering and transforming sr energy in improved-artificial-spirit energy, before being condensed and stored in the hollow jewels.

    Since the products werepleted, Leon immediately gifted them to the Duke. "Father-inw, these are for you and Mother-inw."

    The Duke epted them with glee and wonder since he already been exined of their functions, but he still doubted whether these so-called Scribing Pens would actually allow them to finally seed in recreating a working levitation stone.

 Chapter 248 - Misunderstanding And Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 248 - Misunderstanding And Challenge</h4>

    On the top floor of the Lancaster Workshop Tower, the airship was docked on one of the two spare ports of the four existing ones.

    As Amelia Lancaster was located on a higher floor, she was notified of the airship''s arrival ahead of time, while Duke Ignis had zero knowledge of the envoy''s arrival.

    When the people disembarked the airship, the Duchess was already waiting with her people to wee them.

    "Sir Hendrick, a rare guest we have. What brings you to the Capital today, General?" Amelia greeted, as her gaze slowly shifted towards the envoys beside him. She was blown away by their appearances. "And these two are¡­?"

    "Greetings, Lady Amelia. These two are envoys of Elvengarde, The Supreme Elder, Haldir, and Fifth Princess Faelyn. Theye to seek a friendly rtionship with our kingdom." Hendrick introduced.

    Amelia was amazed by the elves'' existence and even better, their willingness to seek humans out for friendly rtions, but she did not forget her noble etiquette as she offered them her own greetings.

    "Wee to the Lancaster''s workshop and Capital of Crawford Kingdom, envoys of Elvengarde. It''s an honor to meet you both, Supreme Elder Haldir and Princess Faelyn."

    "The honor is ours."

    "Before seeking the king, the envoys are interested in touring your workshop, Lady Amelia. I wonder if that would be permissible?"

    Amelia raised an eyebrow and contemted briefly.

    "Apart from the middle floors and higher, which contain confidential research and projects, I don''t mind if it''s just the lower floor workshops."

    The envoys had no problem with that arrangement. They were only curious about what human cksmithing was like.

    Everyone was in agreement. There was no problem.

    "Very well. My husband should be on the first floor. Allow me to guide you along the way." Amelia said.

    Hendrick nodded and gestured.

    "Please."

    The group made their way over to the elevator and entered. A button was pressed, gears began cranking, rushing steam was heard and the elevator descended.

    ¡­

    After seeding in forging the Scribing Pens, Leon was already proficient with the skills he had gained from the inheritance and moved onto interspatial storage forging. There was no more discrepancy between memory and action.

    He had settled on a design andmenced work immediately. The design did not take much effort.

    There were already existing designs of interspatial storages back in the Divine Realm, why bother thinking up a new one when he could use those as temtes?

    As such, he had easily settled on Interspatial Rings. They were small, convenient to wear, inconspicuous, and could not be any more portable.

    The only challenge in creating Interspatial Rings was the demand for high-level dexterity and sight to engrave such minuscule runes on an already small object.

    Magisteel and Star Meteorite were also used as the two defining materials of the Interspatial rings.

    The Magisteel formed the core body before it was engraved and doused in liquid hot Star Meteorite before it was cooled in cold water to form the protective outer coating for the runes on the ring.

    The entire process was moreplicated than Scribing Pens, but each Interspatial Ring forged took less time than the first Scribing Pen.

    At this point, Leon had already integrated with the memory from the inheritance.

    Five shiny Interspatial Rings areid out on the worktable.

    Duke Ignis had assisted Leon throughout the process, but now that they were taking a break, he couldn''t help but ask, "What are these for?"

    "These are¡­"

    The rotating gears of the elevating were easily heard as Leon and Duke Ignis had their attention drawn over.

    In the Lancaster Workshop Tower, each person was assigned enough work that would keep them busy at their work stations throughout the day. Rarely do they have time to leave their work stations.

    But for some time, the rotating gears of the elevator had been happening at irregr intervals and now it was finally reaching the ground floor they were on.

    The elevator doors opened, and Amelia was the first to exit. Her gaze soon locked onto Duke Ignis in therge ground-level workshop as she knew where her husband''s personal forging station was.

    Her eyes lit up when she shifted gaze onto Leon, who was next to her husband and immediately made her way over.

    After Amelia was the two envoys, followed by the general marquis and finally his crippled sonst.

    "You''re back safely, my dear son-inw!"

    Amelia embraced him, not minding his sweaty topless torso. She naturally heard the news that something went wrong when the elite hunting expedition did not return after a week.

    The Duke smiled bitterly at this scene.

    Embracing your future son-inw first instead of your dear husband¡­ this is unfair treatment¡­

    Suddenly, the Duke froze and began to sweat.

    Oh no! I hope she doesn''t see it¡­

    Amelia''s attention was not on Leon for long before it was attracted to a certain opened packaged that was left on the worktable behind Leon when the two were busy forging.

    Her nose twitched twice before she released Leon and shed over to the opened packaged to look at the contents.

    "Ahaha! My good son-inw, how thoughtful of you! Is this for me?" Amelia said with delight.

    Noooo!

    The Duke was inwardly screaming. His wife discovered it after all!

    "T-That''s mine¡­!"

    "What did you say?" Amelia squinted.

    "Nothing¡­"

    The fighting spirit the Duke worked up was immediately deted with defeat. Having been married for two decades, can he not know what that look in his wife''s eyes was implying?

    What''s yours is mine, what''s mine is also mine.

    Duke Ignis sighed with mncholy.

    Leon smiled wryly at how much the Duke and Duchess loved their tea.

    The herbal tea leaves were only tier-1 spirit herb the first time he gifted it to them, but now it was tier-3 spirit herb. Wouldn''t they be even more frenzied over it?

    Thankfully, he was prepared.

    "Ahem, that one is for father-inw. This one is for you, mother-inw."

    Having said that, Leon pulled out another package of herbal tea leaves at the tier-3 spirit herb level.

    "Oh my¡­ you didn''t have to."

    Amelia epted with glee and hugged them both close. Clearly, she didn''t seem to have any intention of giving back the other package of herbal tea leaves to the Duke.

    The Duke felt something breaking inside.

    "Can you not be so selfish?" The Duke said wryly.

    "Hmph! What do you know? These are for our daughter. We already ran out back at home." Amelia scoffed.

    Hearing this, the Duke turned serious and no longerined.

    Leon noticed this and felt that the situation wasn''t right. The herbal tea leaves hest gifted them was already finished? Even if they drank tea every day, it shouldn''t be finished so soon, no?

    Recalling his future mother-inw''s words, he realized something and asked, "Did something happen to Rachel? Right, which pill did she decide to take? Is she at the workshop right now?"

    "That girl¡­ Haiz, she is too stubborn. She''s not here today. In fact, it''s been a while since that girl left the house. You should visit her sometime." Amelia sighed.

    Leon was taken aback by the vagueness, but he nodded.

    At this time, the general marquis made his way over with his son and the envoys. He greeted them both as they both returned his greeting.

    "We meet again, General." Leon smiled and offered a handshake.

    "We meet again, Your Highness." The general epted.

    Leon swept his gaze past the general marquis andnded on the Princess Faelyn. His eyes lit up for a brief moment, but he recovered and refocused on the general marquis. "And these are?"

    The general marquis secretly praised the prince but sighed when hepared his son, who had his eyes glued on the elven princess.

    The conflicted look only appeared for a split second before the general marquis began another round of introduction for both sides.

    "As the prince of Crawford, I wee you both, envoys of Elvengarde."

    Leon was surprised that there was a sudden elven race rocking up, but recalling that there were Elder Trees in the world and the World Tree Ascension event, he was no longer surprised and weed them both naturally without losing his bearing.

    "We are honored to."

    The Supreme Elder had learned the human etiquette in their short interaction in the Human Domain and took the initiative to give Leon a handshake.

    He had been silent gauging the strength of humanity all this while. A 5-star General, 5-star Duke, and 6-star Duchess, but the prince?

    No energy fluctuations could be felt, just like a mortal that never cultivated.

    However, instincts told him that the prince was the strongest human out of those he had seen.

    Sure enough, the Human Domain was not simple.

    The Supreme Elder''s action naturally piqued Princess Faelyn''s curiosity as she studied the human prince while sneaking a few nces at his bare chest muscles.

    This person was royalty just like her, but he was hardworking as one could see from the sweat oozing from Leon''s body and he was also unmoved by her beauty.

    Is he genuinely unaffected, or just feigning?

    Princess Faelyn curiously thought. She was used to people''s gazes and had an urate read on their level of infatuation, but for some reason, she could not see through the human prince.

    It was also Rowan''s first time meeting the prince, but he was already disgruntled like he was meeting a love rival.

    When a person bes jealous of someone else, they start to look at all that person''s shorings and ws.

    Rowan had heard from his father that the prince was heroic and a genius, who fought on the frontlines during the Capital Crisis, but why can''t he see it?

    Sensing the nonexistent energy fluctuation from the prince, Rowan silently sneered. Everything was a pack of lies. A person with zero cultivation can fight against those spiders? Bullsh*t!

    The way he saw it, the prince was a vain person who spread false rumors to uphold his image when he was just a useless mortal who can''t cultivate and can only turn to cksmithing.

    Feeling the Rowan''s hostile and contemptuous stare, Leon was dumbfounded. What did he do to earn this person''s hostility? It''s not like he stole his wife or something.

    "And this person is?" Leon asked quizzically.

    The general marquis saw the look in his son immediately wore a dark look.

    "This is my useless son, Your Highness. Don''t mind him and just treat him like fart." Hendrick tried to respond calmly, but he waspletely disappointed. He didn''t mind too much when his son insisted to apany the envoys but to be hostile against royalty¡­

    As a hot-blooded youth, who was ready to show off in front of Princess Faelyn, Rowan could not stay quiet after hearing his father''s words.

    "Father! My limbs might be disabled but I am not useless! I am already a 9th step Awakener! At leastpared to a useless someone who can''t even cultivate but spread lies of his heroic deeds, I am much better!" Rowan retorted.

    Boom!

    Rowan''s words were like a thunderp in the general marquis''s mind as he almost exploded on the spot.

    No names were mentioned, but anyone could guess who the general''s son was referring to. Amelia and the general marquis were shocked to realize that they could not sense Leon''s cultivation, with the exception of Ignis.

    Bastard!

    Hendrick gnashed his teeth furiously. Without his guidance, how could his son even dream to reach the 9th step so quickly?

    Not to mention up until three months ago, the prince was still missing and had been living in the Lower Districts that was no different to a slum!

    Cultivation or no cultivation, to disrespect royalty, was treason!

    My face has beenpletely lost because of you!

    The envoy didn''t express opinion towards this sudden situation, but the Duke and Amelia both wore ugly expressions.

    "What a good son you have, General!"

    One could hear strong sarcasm in the Duchess''s voice.

    Hendrick''s expression grew worse. He looked at his disgraceful son and roared, "Apologize! Apologize to his Highness right this instance!"

    The general marquis was trembling with anger.

    "I won''t!" Rowan said defiantly.

    Just you all watch! Even if he is the prince, I tear down his fa?ade and show you all his true colors. You''re all being fooled by his fake reputation and deeds!

    Rowan looked Leon directly in the eye and said, "Do you dare ept my challenge to a duel?!"

    Leon looked the general''s son that was barking like a mad dog and understood the heart of the matter. There was some misunderstanding between them due to his unique situation.

    However, he was a prince. He could exin to those close to him, but did he need to exin to everyone too?

    Looking at the person''s cultivation, Leon wouldn''t even need to lift a finger. The other person wasn''t strong enough to harm him, while he could finish the other person with one p.

    However, the other person was still the general''s son so he should at least give the general some face.

    Leon suddenly smiled and said, "I¡­ refuse!"

 Chapter 249 - Absolutely Not

    <h4>Chapter 249 - Absolutely Not</h4>

    Supreme Elder Haldir was disappointed the moment Leon refused the challenge. Not only was he interested in Leon''s true strength, but he was also curious about how humans fought.

    Princess Faelyn on the side, had her brows scrunched together. In Elvengarde, she had encountered this scene numerous times.

    In order to impress someone, people would not hesitate to put down others and step on them to stand out among the masses.

    This is something she abhorred. Only people with a weak heart would behave like that.

    She wanted to immediately stop the matter from escting, but she hesitated and ultimately gave up. The Supreme Elder was here for official matters and this was a dispute between two humans.

    General Marquis Hendrick sighed with relief when the prince refused the challenge. He was still boiling with rage inside and red at his son. "His Highness is magnanimous and doesn''t take your disrespectful behavior to heart. You might be my son, but that doesn''t make you above royalty. Now, step down!"

    Being admonished by his father, grievance boiled in Rowan''s heart and a stronger repulsion exploded out.

    "I won''t"

    Don''t you see it?! He refused my challenge because he is afraid of being exposed. Look at him walking away!

    "Are you running away?"

    The question was directed at Leon.

    Leon was walking back to pocket the five Interspatial Rings on the worktable, but hearing this, he paused.

    "You''re too weak to challenge me." Leon turned his head back and said coldly.

    Just because a lion doesn''t show its might, do you think you can take it to be a sick cat? I was giving your father face!

    "Hmph!"

    Leon turned around and continued to pocket the Interspatial Rings with his back towards the general''s son. He was allowing room for the general to handle his own son.

    Rowan waspletely ignored.

    He was already not thinking straight, but after hearing Leon''s contemptuous words, he lost all reasoning. The real reason for picking a fight no longer mattered. He just wants to teach this person a lesson.

    Me? Too weak to challenge you?! I''ll show you who the real weak one is!

    Sitting in his wheelchair without any movements, wind condensed in front of Rowan and shot out a wind de at Leon''s back.

    Everyone''s expression changed at this moment. To attack behind someone''s back was the lowest of the low!

    A wind de from a 9th step Awakener was fast and sharp. Even Transcendents wouldn''t dare to take such an attack with their bare flesh!

    In such close proximity, no one expected the general''s son to be so daring tounch a sneak attack nor could they react in time.

    The general marquis lookedpletely grim at that moment. What the hell was wrong with his son?!

    Fortunately, Leon was prepared and swatted the wind de away with the back of his hand. The power of his hand caused the wind de to scatter to the surroundings.

    Everyone summoned their protectiveyer of elements to shield themselves, but few forgery equipments was blown away and some benches were riddled with small cuts.

    Before Rowan didn''t think much about what just happened and was already summoning up another wind attack, but the general marquis had already exploded with fury.

    Hendrick knocked his son unconscious and turned towards the prince for forgiveness while kneeling on one knee.

    "Your Highness! I beg you to magnanimous and spare this useless son of mine!"

    What his son did was nothing short of treason and deserved nothing short of death if it was pursued by royalty.

    Even if it wasn''t, his son had thoroughly offended the Lancasters for making a mess in their workshop and assaulting their future son-inw.

    "It''s fine. No one was hurt. discipline him properly" Leon said coolly.

    His hand waspletely unscathed.

    If it wasn''t for Rowan being the general''s son, a different result would have befell him.

    Amelia and Ignis had their expression eased up when they saw that Leon was alright, but then everyone was soon shocked.

    How could his hand be unscathed?

    While everyone else was wonder what the heck Leon''s hand was made of, the general was feeling gratified that he did pursue his son''s matter. If his mother hears about this though¡­

    "Thank you, Your Highness. I will be sure to educate him well, so he does not make the same mistake again!" Hendrick said firmly.

    "Hmph!" Amelia and Ignis grunted with displeasure.

    "I''m sorry for my son''swless conduct. I''ll be sure to repay you both for the damagester." Hendrick said to the Lancaster couple, before turning to the envoys, "Sorry, you had to see such an unsightly thing."

    After that, Hendrick excused himself and sent his unconscious son back to the airship and tossed his son over to his men.

    "If he wakes up, make sure he stays on this airship until I get back! If he doesn''t obey, you may punish him ording to the military!"

    Hendrick m down those words and returned to the ground floor. He had been too lenient with his son. It was time to administer some strict discipline.

    The soldiers on the airship smiled bitterly. This was a difficult task. The general''s son had a higher cultivation than them. If Rowan wanted to leave, they wouldn''t be able to stop him. The only way was to watch him and make sure he doesn''t wake up.

    Back on the ground floor, after some further apologies, the general marquis was prepared to take the envoys to meet the king, but they realized that they had spent too much time in touring the workshop.

    It was nightfall.

    It was no longer an appropriate time to visit the king as visitings hours as close off. This was a time when everyone usually gets off work, have dinner, and rx.

    After some discussions, they decided to find some amodation in the Upper District to settle the envoys in and seek the king''s audience tomorrow morning.

    As they left, Leon didn''t follow them.

    The Elven Princess''s beauty was too dazzling. Even after the envoys left with the general, the cksmiths were still spellbound on her fading silhouette.

    Leon did not doubt that more trouble will follow them while they are booking amodations in the Upper District where there are countless young nobles and young masters. Perhaps, even the nobles will be tempted.

    He did not want to be a part of such troubles and allowed the general to deal with it.

    When he could no longer saw the silhouette of the envoys in the distance, Leon finally took out the Interspatial Rings and gifted each one to Amelia and Duke Ignis.

    "These are Interspatial Rings. You can store items inside by using spirit energy." Leon exined.

    If they sink their perception inside, they will find each ring to have a space of 30 cubic meters. Not a very big size to be a portable treasury, but more than enough to carry daily necessities.

    Although, he said that runic circles were important, but if he actually had some material with spatial elements, he would have been able to forge Interspatial Storages with muchrger storage capacity.

    "So this is an Interspatial Ring¡­ How miraculous." Amelia was beaming as she tested. Since it was a gift from her son-inw, she would naturally not shy away and ept it forwardly.

    The Lancaster couple had both practiced the breathing technique before and had some stored-up spirit energy in them.

    It wasn''t much since the cultivation technique he gifted before was revised for awakening cultivation.

    Nevertheless, the little spirit energy they had cultivated on their own with the widespread breathing technique was enough to use the Interspatial Storages.

    After some small talks, Leon bid them farewell. He had three Interspatial Rings left, not enough gift everyone but he would be back to forge more.

    Leon went to find Aria''s family, who had moved into the Upper District to live to check up on how they were doing.

    They were doing very well. Nobles were willing to befriend them and even suck up to them with extravagant gifts.

    Everyone knew that one of the two ''Saintess'' was their daughter and that the Saintess and the prince were a couple.

    By now, everyone also knows that the missing prince was amoner named Leon Bradford. It was just a difference in thest name.

    However, not everyone had seen what Leon looked like, so some would still fail to recognize him or even offend him.

    Leon also had a preference over wearingmon attire rather than royal and noble attire. Commoner attires wasn''t as appealing and even uses cheap materials, but its selling point wasfort.

    After visiting Aria''s parents, he went to visit the Cromwells.

    The guards knew who Leon was and didn''t stop him from entering.

    Inside the vi, the Cromwell family of three with the exclusion of Lynne was currently having dinner.

    "Boy, so you still remember to visit this old man, huh? Come, sit down and join us for dinner." Dwight said with a pleasant surprise.

    "Sebastian, please bring out another bowl and set of cutleries for my grandson-inw." Dwight ordered.

    "Right away, my Lord." Sebastianplied with a smile.

    Looking at thevish meal, Leon did not reject it. The long hours of forging and sweat had made famished again.

    He had already changed into a new set ofmon attire, but there was still a faint odor surrounding him that wouldn''t go away unless he washes up.

    However, it wasn''t strong enough to earn the Cromwell''s displeasure as everyone looked at him with smiling faces.

    He wondered if the rtionship between Dwight and Lynne''s father, Bromley had improved for them to be siting at the dinner table together.

    "Don''t hold back and eat as much as you want. We still have plenty more in the kitchen." Bromley said to Leon.

    Leon nced table filled with dishes and smiled wryly.

    "With so much food, I don''t think it''s possible to finish it all with just the four of us. Isn''t that too wasteful?"

    "Not at all. Our servants and maids usually dine in after us and finish it for us." Bromley said as a matter of fact.

    Eating leftovers?

    Leon didn''t know how the servants would feel about that, but then again, everything on the table were rare delicacy that regr people wouldn''t be able to afford to eat on a consistent basis.

    Everyone at the dining table were filled with smiles as they watched Leon devoured his food with great relish and even urged him to eat more.

    As they talked over dinner, Leon stated the reason for his visit and in the blink of an eye, he had given out all the Interspatial Rings he had just forged for the day.

    Everyone was delighted and amazed by the invaluable gift. Lynne''s mother in particr was very happy with the gift.

    "Boys your age are still in the growing period. Let me tell you this, girls do not like boys who are shorter than them. Although you are quite tall right now, it''ll be a disaster if our Lynne ends up growing taller than you. Here, eat some more." Lynne''s mother urged with enthusiasm.

    "Please spare me, I really can''t eat anymore¡­"

    Leon didn''t know whether tough or cry. Out of respect, he had eaten everything Lynne''s mother had ced into his bowl, but he is finally at his wit''s end.

    He had already eaten more portions than the three of thembined.

    Rumble¡­

    Leon grabbed his stomach and looked Dwight for a split second before skipping the old man and turned to Lynne''s father instead

    "Can I use the toilet?"

    Dwight''s body trembled at the question.

    "Just go for it. This isn''t something you need to ask."

    Bromley was taken aback but he recovered quickly and smiled.

    At the same time, Dwight had stood up abruptly and mmed the dining table strongly.

    "Absolutely¡­ NOT!!!"

 Chapter 250 - Battle Of Eastfell

    <h4>Chapter 250 - Battle Of Eastfell</h4>

    Dwight''s agitated behavior took Bromley by surprise.

    "It''s just the toilet, what''s the big deal?"

    "What''s the big deal you say? Last time this brat used it; he clogged the toilet stank up the whole ce!"

    At the side, the servant, Sebastian trembled as he listened to his Lord''s words and recalled the bad experience.

    Others only had to put up with the bad smell or leave the vi until the smell is gone, but he had to enter ground zero and unclog the source of contamination.

    "My Lord! Please don''t let his Highness use the toilet again!" Sebastian pleaded on his knees.

    The prince''s turd was so solid and potent, it could probably burn better than coal and firewood.

    "If you need to go, please do it somewhere outside away from this vi," Dwight said to Leon. He still had not got back at the darn brat from running off after the deed was done!

    "You want me to do it outside?" Leon''s lips twitched. How wild.

    "Nonsense! Don''t worry and just go use the toilet. If they stop you, I''ll be the first to fight them!" Lynne''s mother said to Leon, obviously taking his side.

    "That''s right, father. No matter how bad it is, I''ll deal with it. After all, Leon had just gifted use three invaluable treasure." Bromley added, believing Dwight and Sebastian were being exaggerated and rude. How bad can it be?

    "Remember those words. Hmph!"

    Dwight flicked his sleeves. He wasn''tpletely unreasonable. His son was right. They just got some invaluable gifts and their rtionship with Leon was very good, but the darn person''s turd was too horrifying!

    "Where are you going, father?"

    "Outside!"

    Bang!

    The door mmed on his way out.

    Bromley still found it incredulous and couldn''t fathom the situation, but it would not be long before he regrets his word.

    Unable to hold it longer, Leon rushed towards the toilet.

    Having undergone oneplete round of tempering, he did not struggle on the throne as the demon was expelled with ease.

    However¡­

    "As I thought, it''s clogged again huh?"

    Leon muttered wryly. He had given up after the second flush.

    He could only sneakily make his escape out the window again.

    His turd had be so solid, it was like a brick.

    In the Divine Realm, some crystal excrement and metallic excrement of rare and powerful divine beast were used as top-grade forging materials.

    Leon wondered if human turd could also reach such a lev¡ªAhem, he was thinking nonsense again.

    Dwight saw a shadow fleeing in the night while strolling outside and paused before rubbing his new Interspatial Ring.

    "Sebastian, make sure none of the servants and maids help him. He said he will deal with it, so deal with it alone, he shall." Dwight said to Sebastian, who followed behind him.

    "Yes, my Lord."

    Sebastianplied and left to inform the other servants and maids.

    Shortly after, Bromley''s horrific roar could be heard, while Lynne''s mother was fleeing the stinky vi.

    "What in the fucking world!!!"

    In the distance, Leon heard Bromley''s roar and fled even quicker.

    ¡­

    Inside the Eastfell City, the battle between Vran and Crawford soldiers continued to rage on as fire and smoke billowed through the night.

    The Vran soldiers were afraid of death and weren''t just going to offer their necks. The morale of the Crawford soldiers was high, but they weren''t having it easy at all. In fact, they were at a disadvantage.

    In order to save the civilians, they had restrained themselves from using firearms while fighting an enemy army twice their size with sect members hidden among them.

    In a situation where the odds were against them, they could only stay on the defensive and focus on rescuing the civilian, causing the battle to drag out.

    They were buying time for someone who could deal with the sect members arrive.

    Nevertheless, the situation was extremely chaotic as the civilians did not recognize the difference between Vran and Crawford soldiers, and only know that soldiers were killing people.

    Commoners and aristocrats alike ran for their lives, but with so many soldiers inside the city, there was hardly anywhere to go.

    "Please don''t kill us!"

    "Have mercy, we are just defenseless folks who can''t fight back!"

    "Why do you want to kill us?!"

    Seeing that their path of escape was cut off, they shouted with despair. With soldiers pursuing from behind and soldiers waiting in front, they were at their wit''s end.

    There were children and elderlies among as well as many adults. They fled together as a group, but they were united and only looked after themselves.

    They only stuck together for a higher chance of survival.

    Among the group of civilians, there was a young boy forced to carry his old grandpa and another young girl carrying her baby sister. Their parents were nowhere to be seen.

    Some of the adults were overweight aristocrats that needed servants to carry them, while a few others were carrying valuables when they could be helping the young and old.

    Ufortable feeling welled up inside the Crawford soldiers as they saw this.

    "We are soldiers of the great Crawford Kingdom! We are here to help!"

    "Right this way. The others have already been saved. These soldiers will escort you out!"

    The soldiers began exining with a volume that the group of survivors could hear and directed them.

    Some were doubtful and some were not.

    "Their uniform is different from the soldiers pursuing us! It must be true!"

    The people''s eyes soon lit up as they found hope.

    "We''re saved!"

    "Praise the Lord! Thank you!"

    Some began to weep as they were escorted by the soldiers.

    They had no time to wallow in despair when the Vran soldiers started killing people. They could only run with all their might. The ones that did wallow in despair were already killed by the soldiers.

    "Is this thest batch of survivors?" A Captain inquired from his subordinates.

    "The situation in the City is too chaotic. We cannot reach the inner district at all, but this should be thest group from the outer districts."

    Outside the city, a temporary camp was set up for the survivors that numbered in the 2000s. They were being served with a big pot of stew that came from the soldier''s own ration.

    The army had rushed to help and only carried supplies and rations as much as their military vehicles and the single airship hovering above them could carry.

    It was only enough tost the soldiers a few days. No one knows how long the battle wouldst, but they didn''t hesitate to feed the survivors.

    Inside the camp, they could still see survivors shivering from fear as they fail to hold their bowl of stew properly even though they had already escaped from the nightmare that was inside the city.

    On the hilltop next to the camp, Brigadier General Rohan was overlooking the situation of the city with a frown.

    The enemy entered from the east district gate, while his soldiers poured in from the west district gate.

    The outer district was steadily brought under control, but the soldiers couldn''t get close to the inner district of the city.

    The vanguard was exploding rounds of gunpowder at the inner district, but they were being decimated by the sect members.

    They were at a disadvantage.

    They had strong firepower, but the other side had a numerical advantage and high cultivation.

    "General, look! There''s an armying from the north! Could it be more reinforcements from the Queen?" A soldier pointed and reported excitedly.

    "Hm?"

    The brigadier general turned his gaze away from the city''s inner district and focused on the northern outskirts.

    Arge shadow was inching ever closer from the distance. As it got close and got illuminated by the light of the burning city, their appearance was revealed.

    There were roughly 15 thousand to 20 thousand soldiers. The brigadier general could not get an urate read on the numbers at a nce, but his expression quickly turned bad with a big frown.

    If the enemy had reinforcement, then he had no choice but to pull his troops out and retreat. He wasn''t going to let his men get ughtered for nothing.

    "Vran and Durham soldiers! This is bad!" The soldier eximed first as he paled with horror.

    Did the Queen fail to defend the eastern borders? But that is impossible! The Queen is almighty!

    "Hm?" Look again, there are some Crawford soldiers mixed in the army."

    The brigadier general''s brows rxed. The Queen seeded and sent reinforcement to help.

    "What?!" The soldier''s expression turned for the worse. "It''s over! Even our own soldiers had jumped ship and joined enemy!"

    "Nonsense!" Brigadier General Rohan roared and smacked the soldier on the back of the head. "Why the hell are you only assuming the worse? Can''t the army soldiers surrender to our Queen instead?"

    The arriving mixed army was the one led by Aria and Lynne.

    When they arrived, the situation was terrible beyond their imagination. The east district was a dead zone. All the people in that district had already been ughtered.

    The west district''s people were saved by the brigadier general''s army, but there were still people fleeing for their lives in the north and south districts.

    All sorts of screams and madughter could be heard echoing out from the city among the chaos. Some enemy soldiers had fallen into the dark side and gotten addicted to ughtering defenseless innocents.

    "How cruel! Those animals all deserve to die!" The usually quiet Aria said with biting coldness as killing intent radiated out of her.

    Did these people enjoy stepping on other people''s lives because they have the power?

    "Let''s go, Aria sister! Maybe we can still save some people!" Lynne urged.

    Aria nodded strongly.

    The two charged ahead of the army and dashed into the burning city of Eastfell.

    "W-Wait! That''s too reckless!"

    The apanyingmander paled with fright. If something happened to these twodies, he would not know how to exin himself.

    "After them!" He roared to the soldiers.

 Chapter 251 - Realm Of Sword Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 251 - Realm Of Sword Spirit</h4>

    North district of Eastfell City had the greatest number of survivors than any other districts, totaling a count of 4000 people.

    However, the inside was literal hell. One look was enough to make any normal person''s blood boil with anger.

    There were fewer Vran soldiers in the north district, but it was a yground for the sect members.

    Rather than ughtering the innocents quickly, they enjoy watching the innocents struggle for their lives as they die a slow death.

    The fire in the city burned violently and few buildings have already copsed as a result.

    The northern gate was not an exception and had copsed into a bundle of burning hot charcoal that impeded the survivors from escaping.

    Everyone who had attempted to escape through the northern gate had burnt to death without exception and became fuel for the broken gate.

    The entire group of survivors was bundled together before the broken gate. All other paths had been blocked off by Vran soldiers.

    On a high building that had yet to catch fire, the sect members gather to watch the show. In truth, the original idea came from an inner sect member.

    The outer sect members preferred to just refine the blood, but they were only subordinates of the inner sect members.

    "This is getting boring. These vermins are not struggling. Let me help them!" An inner sect member of Bloodfiend Sect licked his lips and said cruelly.

    The inner sect member bit his thumb and formed a glob of blood that rotated on the tip of his finger before taking aim like he was holding a firearm.

    Bang!

    The Blood Bullet was shot and whisked through the air.

    A burning building that was already on itsst leg in the distance was struck and copsed.

    "Nooo!"

    "I don''t want to die!"

    The people next to the building began scrambling with horror but there was nowhere to go. They were already crowded together.

    People began pushing, shoving, and even climbing over each other. Some fell and some were stepped on as they got away from the copsing and ming hot building.

    A few unfortunate victims looked back with despair as the building erged in their pupils. Their bones were broken by the stampede.

    "God, why is this happening?"

    "What did we do to deserve this¡ª"

    Boom!

    Rubbles and ming hot charcoal scattered, iming the lives of dozens and seared the flesh of a few dozen more nearby survivors.

    "Ahhh! It burns!"

    "It hurts! Help me! I think my leg is broken!"

    "Nooo! I''m stuck!"

    Some got trapped under the rubbles of the ruined building and pleaded.

    The cries of the victims sent waves of tremors through the rest of the survivors as they looked at the ming hot broken gate with steely determination.

    "Everyone! We can ovee this obstruction if we all rush at once!"

    Amoner voiced the thoughts of many, but no one was the first to move. Everyone knew what the consequence of being the first runners was.

    They would be sacrifices and stepping stones for others to climb over the broken gate safely, while they themselves will be suffering the agony of being burned alive until thest wisp of vitality leaves their dying body.

    Boom!

    Another building copsed and the survivors no longer hesitated as arge group of people in the back began pushing forward.

    "Noo! What are you all doing?! Stop pushing! Ahhh!"

    People at the forefront could not hold back the strength of so many people and be helplessly pushing into the burning hot broken gate and used stepping stones for others to survive.

    "Bahaha! This is it! Struggle, vermins!"

    The inner sect memberughed insidiously.

    "You are too mean." Another one smirked and enjoyed the cruel entertainment.

    Mean? Mean was a severe understatement!

    The outer sect members shivered. The cruelty of the inner sect members was on a whole different level.

    Aria and Lynne saw what happened and trembled with anger. Others kill for survival but these sect members were hunting people for sport!

    Lynne''s sword glowed with a blueish hue before she shed at the broken northern gate with a wave of cold air that snuffed out the fire and instantly cooled the surface of the broken gate.

    Another sh was sent, and the entire broken gate obstruction crumbled into fine pieces.

    "We''re saved! Thank you, beautifuldies!"

    The people cheered as they found their saving grace and rushed out of the city.

    Aria and Lynne did not say a single word and dashed over the northern wall.

    "Hm? Where did these beautifuldiese from? Did you bothe to y?" An inner sect member said with a grin, while the rest chuckled and stared at the two fairies unrestrainedly.

    Killing intent radiated from the twodies. This was the first time both wanted to kill someone so badly.

    The world was not for the weak-hearted. They have steeled their resolved and prepared to ughter all these inhuman fiends.

    Their future mother-inw had taught them a few military tactics formanding an army but the focus had always been on sword techniques and the [Formless Sword Art].

    At the end of the day, the Queen was not a general, but a warrior.

    If one''s strength was sufficient, what do they have the need for strategies? Just sweep all obstacles with their sword!

    Theughter died down in the group of sect members and looked at the twodies seriously as they felt a powerful aura radiating from them.

    The outer sect members only had cultivation between the 7th to 9th step, while the inner sect members were between 3-stars to 5-stars level.

    "Be careful, these two women are very strong! We need to fight together!"

    Aria and Lynne didn''t feel a need to exchange words with such cruel people.

    In a short instance, the two sides were already engaged in battle.

    [Formless Sword Art]

    Strong icicle element gathered to Lynne''s sword and radiated with frigidness before she swept out with a sword wave imbued with her ice element.

    Lynne knew her shoring. She had yet to master the sword and could only utilize her advantage at long-rangebat.

    "Dodge!"

    An inner sect member shouted, but three outer sect members reacted too slow and got shed in half from the waist.

    It was instant death.

    The frigid chill froze their blood and countered the strong blood vitality of blood cultivators.

    "Kill her!"

    The twodies were surrounded by the sect members of the Bloodfiend Sect.

    When Lynne attacked, an inner sect member at the 5-star level snuck behind and fire numerous Blood Bullets at her back, but Lynne did not even bother looking back.

    Shing, shing, shing!

    In a quick flurry of sword shadows, all the blood bullets were deflected by Aria. Lynne''s back waspletely covered by Aria as they worked together in tandem.

    An equally powerful pressure exuded from Aria, but the sect members felt even more threatened by the sense of danger she was giving off than what they were getting from Lynne.

    There was a certain sharpness in the way Aria stared at them like she was a sword and the sword was Aria.

    "This sharpness¡­"

    A knowledgeable inner sect member had an abrupt change in expression.

    "Realm of Sword Spirit, she''s a Swordsman!"

    "What!"

    The other sect members became shocked.

    "How is this useless kingdom still able to produce such a young Swordsman?!"

    The inner sect member had not guessed wrong.

    Aria was a monstrous prodigy in the way of the sword. When she was given a sword, she only took one week to unite human and sword,prehending the realm of sword spirit to be a Swordsman.

    In the known Human Domain, a Swordsman might not necessarily be able to jump stages and fight those with higher cultivation, but they were almost invincible within the same stage of cultivation

    The Queen waspletely dazed at that time.

    The realm of Sword Spirit was not hard to achieve, but even the most dedicated to the sword would take a year to achieve.

    A genius could achieve it in less than half the time, but one week was unprecedented.

    "Call the elder! We can''t handle such a person on our own!"

    An outer sect immediately ran to call for help, but the twodies did not give them the opportunity.

    Lynne''s sword glowed with a blue hue and another icy Sword Wave was sent the outer sect member''s way, bisecting the person in half.

    Another instant death!

    Everyone felt chill.

    With a Swordsman guarding the back, they could not do anything to Lynne.

    "Sh*t! Focus on the Swordsman first! I don''t believe she can''t take on so many of us at once!"

    "Don''t hold back on your blood vitality! It''s do or die!"

    ¡­

    At the Governor''s mansion, the two hooded figures were still at the scene.

    The Governor''s mansion was the most central and highest point of the entire Eastfell City. The entire situation of the city could easily be seen from there.

    "We have a sudden change in the situation. More reinforcements have arrived."

    "The troops are from Vran and Durham. The northern coalition army has failed. We failed."

    The two hooded figures were both elders of the Bloodfiend Sect, except one was an inner sect elder while the other was an outer sect elder.

    Both of them knew what it means for the northern coalition army to fail. The Grand Elder of their Bloodfiend Sect, a Blood Transcendent was killed.

    "Hm? I sense a Swordsman in the north district, a particrly young one at that." The inner sect elder squinted.

    "Seriously?" The outer sect elder kicked the empty husk of the Governor''s corpse in annoyance. He was the one that made secret deals with the Governor over the years. "Useless thing can''t even provide such important intelligence!"

    "This changes a lot of things. We have all underestimated the Crawford Kingdom far too much. Any ce would have their own hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Fortunately, we still have our Sect Master." The inner sect elder said with grimness.

    "Send the signal. We cannot wait any longer."

    The outer sect elder nodded and pulled out arge cylindrical object from his sleeve and pointed it towards the sky before lighting the rope attached at the end.

    Very shortly, a fiery orb was shot into the sky before it exploded into a round of fireworks and formed the outline of a giant drop of blood.

    The beacon was lit and the message was sent!

 Chapter 252 - Kingdom In Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 252 - Kingdom In Chaos</h4>

    The firework that was a giant drop of blood exploded in the sky was like a beacon in the night that sent a ripple throughout the kingdom of Crawford like a chain reaction.

    After the first firework from Eastfell Region, three more rose from its neighboring region, followed by another five from the neighboring region of those neighboring regions until the giant drop of blood was seen above every major city and town in the kingdom.

    Leon was scuttling on the rooftops of the Upper District when he saw the giant drop of blood in the sky above the nearest neighboring city of the north, Rainwallow City.

    "What''s going on here? A giant drop of blood in the sky?"

    Leon used [Spirit Eyes] and scrutinized every direction and noticed simr firework in the sky.

    "Could this be rted to the Bloodfiend Sect?" Leon guessed with scrunched brows. "Whatever it is, it doesn''t seem like a good sign. The enemy has infiltrated the kingdom more deeply than I expected. I wonder if there are any rats hiding in the Capital¡­"

    A whistling sound was suddenly heard hurling through the air.

    Leon turned towards the direction of the Royal Pce and saw a fiery ball of intensely concentrated energy taking off at great speed.

    In a short instance, it broke past the starting threshold of the Sky''s Suppression and continued to fly higher and higher.

    At the same time, it became shaky and unstable until¡­

    Boom!

    The fiery ball exploded in the high sky and a magnified sun was seen in its ce.

    The night sky was temporarily lit brightly.

    "That''s¡­"

    Leon wasn''t sure if he was hearing things, but he felt like he heard Grandpa Don''s voice, shouting "explosion" with great gusto.

    He immediately facepalmed.

    "This is not apetition."

    Leon''s lips twitched and did not know whether tough or cry.

    Somewhere in the dark alleys of the Capital, two hooded figures looked up at the brightly lit sun in the sky that started to fade as quickly as it came.

    They looked at each other with confusion, while one of them was still holding onto a simr cylindrical object, not sure whether to fire the signal into the sky or not.

    Was there another group in the Capital that they did not know about?

    "To fire or not to fire¡­"

    "Look, that''s not the same as our beacon signal."

    "That''s right¡­ it''s just a zing sun."

    "Someone is messing with our heads."

    Both were speechless.

    "Right¡­ so about this beacon signal¡­"

    "Fire it."

    "Okay."

    The two hooded figures quietly discussed before a simr giant drop of blood appeared in the skies of the Capital after the fiery sun faded into the night.

    "Sure enough, there are still rats in the Capital."

    Leon locked his eyes on the location coldly. It was not far from him at all, still within the Upper West District. A ck spear had already appeared in his hand.

    "If I''m quick, I might be able to catch these rats!"

    With that thought, Leon blinked from rooftop to rooftops, towards the location.

    In a few instances, he arrived with a heavy thud.

    The two hooded figures gasped with surprise. They did not think someone would arrive so quickly.

    Leon studied the hooded figures in the dark alley with a sharp look. Nothing could be hidden from his eyes.

    Their hidden features were revealed to him. Very grotesque but still very human. This was just the form. As for their nature, he had yet to find out.

    "Are you both from the Bloodfiend Sect?" Leon asked coolly.

    The two hooded figures did not answer and lunged at him with their drawn swords.

    "Courting death!"

    Leon swept away both their attacks with his spear like a dragon tail p without holding back.

    The two hooded figures were sent flying by the force of his swing and mmed into the concrete walls of an adjacent building with broken sternums and coughing blood.

    In a single strike, he had already incapacitated the two hooded figures, who were obviously not his match.

    The might of his spear sweep contained four echoes and reached a staggering 7200-jin worth of force. If kic energy were infused into his attack, his opponents might have died on the spot, but that was not what he wanted.

    "You, how can you be so strong?" A hooded figure wiped the blood from his cheek and asked with incredulity.

    None of the two could fathom how Leon''s physical strength could be so tyrannical. With the faint energy fluctuation, the boy was giving off, they thought he was a person who had only just stepped on the road of cultivation.

    "Useless talk. Answer the question. What was that beacon signal for?" Leon frowned while having the two pinned against the cracked wall with his spear.

    "Hehe, you answer my question first, then I''ll answer yours." One of the hooded figures smirked, but that smirk was soon frozen for eternity.

    Leon had snapped his neck with his spare hand without further thoughts.

    The remaining hooded figure also froze at Leon''s decisiveness. "You killed him."

    "I only needed one person alive to answer my questions," Leon said nonchntly.

    How could he not see that they were buying time to heal their wounds?

    The grotesque feature, the blood lust, and the strong blood vitality in their bodies. Leon had practically confirmed that they were blood cultivators from the Bloodfiend Sect.

    "Unless you want to end up like him, you should answer my questions."

    "Ptui!" The hooded figure spat a phlegm of blood at Leon and fearlessly said, "Do you think I am stupid enough to believe that you will let me go after? No need to ask. You will soon find out anyway!"

    Leon had craned his neck and dodged the spit of blood. He frowned at the other party''s words.

    The person did not fear death and hadpletely epted his fate.

    Before Leon could torture the answer out of the person, his attention was drawn away by a sudden scream that ran through the open streets.

    Looking back, he was greeted with a bloodstained grin.

    "Looks like it has started." The person said.

    Leon deepened his frown.

    "Count yourself lucky. I don''t have the time to let you experience a life worse than death."

    With that said, Leon snapped the person''s neck and gave him a quick death.

    The two hooded figures were only 3 stars and 4 stars in cultivation, respectively. If Leon had to guess, they were probably inner sect members.

    Leon searched their bodies, but found nothing of importance and quickly left to check what was going on outside on the streets.

    "Ahhh! Don''t kill me!"

    "What do you want?! Money? I give you all of them! Please spare me, ahhh!"

    "Nooo, I don''t want to die!"

    The street was filled with chaos.

    The sect members of Bloodfiend Sect ran rampant through the streets, setting up fires, destroying buildings, and ughtering people.

    Leon instinctively had a bad feeling. The signal was to inform all Bloodfiend Sect members to wreak havoc and exterminate all life?!

    "Goddammit! That damn evil sect! They''ve gonepletely mad!" Leon gnashed his teeth with rage.

    It was not hard for Leon to arrive at the conclusion that the Bloodfiend Sect was going through senseless killing in every city and town they had their people nted and lit with the beacon signal.

    How many lives will be lost this night?! Some people just want to see the world burn! I will not condone such madness!

    Leon gripped his spear and leaped onto a high-rise building to quickly observe the situation.

    The city guards had been reformed and turned over a new leaf, performing dutifully to uphold thew and security of the Capital.

    When the instance of chaos broke out, they were the first to rush out to dwell the chaos.

    The city guards were currently locked in battle with the Bloodfiend Sect alongside some nobles, but they were clearly at a disadvantage.

    Their cultivation wasn''t as high and blood cultivators possessed a slightly more powerful physique, granted by their strong blood vitality.

    Young nobles and misses were getting killed left and right, and their blood was absorbed by blood-reinforced weapons.

    The hurried footsteps of pce guards could be heard as they arrived at the scene, but the strongest of the group was only at 3 stars, two levels weaker than the strongest member of the Bloodfiend Sect present.

    Simr chaos was breaking out in other districts.

    Out of nowhere, dozens of enemies had appeared in their Capital. So many bloodsuckers had been hidden right under their noses.

    After resolving this issue, a Capital-wide heavy inspection is required to flush out the remaining rats. Evidently, there were hidden passageways and rooms they have no knowledge of in the Upper District.

    "I need to help them." Leon voiced objectively. Rage was still burning in his eyes.

    The pce guards arrived to help, but only ended up locked in a stalemate with the enemy.

    Suddenly, the head of a 3-star level blood cultivator exploded as a jet-ck spear pierced the cracked ground with a boom.

    Soon after, Leonnded with a heavy thud and recollected his ck spear and lunged towards his next closest target like a cheetah pouncing onto its prey.

    He had always been tossing his spear around like a ballistic missile.

    It had great killing power, but this was not the right way to use a spear that was considered the emperor of weapons in the Divine Realm.

    With a quick swipe, Leon felled the head of another 3-star level blood cultivator.

    For a moment, everyone had paused the battle to look at the new arrival. Leon, in turn, locked onto all the blood cultivators on the street.

    He did not kill wantonly, but all these blood cultivators deserve!

    Let all these inhuman fiends be sacrifices for my spear mastery!

 Chapter 253 - Died With Grievance

    <h4>Chapter 253 - Died With Grievance</h4>

    Two swift kills were enough to freeze the entire battlefield on the streets of Upper West District momentarily.

    The city guards, nobles, and pce guards were locked in a passive disadvantage against disciples of Bloodfiend Sect, but with Leon''s timely arrival, the tides of battle were turned in their favor.

    "It''s the prince! The prince is here with us!"

    A city guard rejoiced.

    The spirits of the people were immediately lifted with the prince''s presence. What an honor it was to fight alongside royalty.

    "He is the prince? Forget the others and kill the prince! The head of Crawford royalties is worth more than the lives of ten thousand others!" A 5-star inner disciple barked with frenzy.

    The subsequent attention of all ten outer disciples and four remaining inner disciples of Bloodfiend Sect were shifted to Leon. Their eyes glowed with crimson greed.

    The sect will reward them handsomely for the death of every Crawford royalty they contributed towards.

    In the entirety of the declining Crawford Kingdom, there were only three remaining Crawford royalties. The Queen was out of the question and the King was always secured in the safety of the Inner Pce, where another Transcendent resided.

    They would not be able to find a better opportunity than now to earn some great contribution points!

    Explosive strength burst out of their bodies as they kicked away their opponents and all charged at Leon from different directions.

    [Burning Blood]!

    Burning Blood was a secret skill of burning their blood vitality to gain a momentary burst of strength that exceeds their usual limits, allowing them to fight opponents one to two levels above themselves.

    None of the Bloodfiend Sect disciples hesitated to use this secret skill in order to kill the prince! Their skin glowed with a crimson sheen and bloody steam oozed from their open pores.

    "Hahaha! The first blood of Crawford royalty will be drawn by me!" A 4-star inner disciple roared in early celebration,pletely unfazed by the two dead inner disciples.

    Leon was just lucky to catch the two unfortunate 3-star inner disciples off guard. The art of assassination was just like that, allowing someone to kill stronger opponents through sneak attacks.

    That was what every Bloodfiend Sect disciple was thinking. Nothing more, nothing less.

    The 9th step outer disciples, on the other hand, did not have any hope of delivering the fatal blow and only hoped to gain contribution points by participating in the kill.

    Being the center of the blood cultivator''s concentrated attack, Leon frowned for a different reason.

    Too weak!

    Leon secretlyined. These opponents died too quickly for him to gain any insights into the Way of the Spear.

    Only when he is fighting equally powerful opponents to his heart''s content would he have a chance of increasing spear mastery.

    "Your Highness, be careful!"

    "Watch out!"

    The city guard cried with rm, seeing the prince had yet to move. He immediately regretted exposing the prince''s status to the enemy.

    Who knew that his words would attract all the enemy and cause the prince to fall into a dangerous situation?!

    Just when countless blood-crimson des were about tond on Leon, his body vanished from the spot in an instance.

    Bam!

    The asphalt ground cracked in his ce.

    "Where did he go?!" A 4-star inner disciple roared with frustration. So close! Just a little faster and the prince''s head would have been his!

    Everyone looked around furiously.

    "Above! He is above!"

    A 9th step outer disciple quickly shouted.

    In the sky, Leon was gripping the ck spear tightly over his head and descending with increasing momentum from a height of 100fts.

    "Hahaha! foolish brat, you want to die that badly, huh?! Let me send you on your way then!"

    The 5-star inner disciple guffawed.

    It was very difficult to maneuver in the air without any apanying skills or ability. Logically, this should be a rookie move, and the one on the ground should be the one holding the absolute advantage over the person in the air.

    If nothing unexpected happens, the stupid brat was going to die very soon! At least, that what the inner disciple thought.

    Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

    The hearts of the inner disciples were beating harder, the closer Leon got to the ground for an unknown reason. A sign of impending doom filled their being with hair-raising chills and their expressions soon turned horrid.

    Even the surrounding people from the Crawford Kingdom became appalled.

    Oh no! The prince is going to sacrifice himself!

    Everyone thought Leon was going to trade his life to take down the other.

    He did not show any signs of slowing down. He hadpletely disregarded defense and focused entirely on his attack!

    "Are you crazy?! You want to take us down with you?! Dream on!"

    The inner disciples and outer disciples all retreated out of the way with abrupt changes in expressions, thinking they had decisively lost in a contest of guts against a brat!

    Little did they know, Leon waspletely confident ining out unscathed even if they followed through!

    He only needed to concern himself with the inner disciples. The 9th step outer disciples werepletely incapable of inflicting any damage on his tempered body!

    Bam!

    Leon mmed into ground great force and sunk the already cracked asphalt ground into a small crater.

    A glint flickered in eyes of the pce guards, nobles, and city guards at the opportunity the prince presented to them as the disciples of Bloodfiend Sect retreated towards them with their backs!

    All sorts of attacks were made to target the heart, neck, and heads, while some attempted to directly bisect the evil bloodsuckers in half.

    A few unfortunate outer disciples died on the spot after having a sword lunged into their brains, but many others managed to survive.

    The inner disciples were alerted of the danger and managed to twist their bodies to avoid fatal blows, but the seven surviving 9th step outer disciples weren''t so lucky.

    Some had their hearts impaled, some had shallow cuts on their neck, and one of them had a sword lodged halfway through their waist as the blow was blocked a bit slow but not toote! At least, they still had half their waist to hold their upper and lower body together!

    "Argh! You annoying fleas, I''ll kill you first!"

    The surviving Bloodfiend Sect disciples were enraged, while the few city guards, nobles, and pce guards all widened their eyes with horror.

    What''s going?! Why aren''t these monsters dying?!

    Before a few surviving bloodsuckers could counterattack, Leon had already followed up with his next attack by lunging forward and lop off the heads of one 9th step outer disciples and two 4-star inner disciples with the tips of his spearhead in a single clean twirling motion.

    "These blood cultivators all have strong blood vitality! You have to cut off their heads to kill them swiftly!" Leon warned the others.

    The people beamed with enlightenment, while the remaining six outer disciples and two inner disciples had changes in expression.

    Swoosh!

    Another three heads belonging to two 9th step outer disciple and one 4-star inner disciple suddenly flew through the air.

    A split-second distraction was all it took for Leon to quickly reap another three lives.

    "Fucker!"

    Thest surviving 5-star inner disciple roared with indignation. He sted the pce guard obstructing him away with a palm strike and quickly turned with a horizontal sh.

    If not for Leon already lunging at him, he would have had time to kill the pce guard otherwise.

    The trajectory of the blood-crimson sword from the 5-star inner disciple was aligned with Leon''s own neck, but all he did was swap the ck spear to his left hand and lunge it towards the 5-star inner disciple''s head while raising his own right arm to block the sword blow.

    "You''re fucking crazy!"

    The 5-star inner disciple almost had his eyes popped out.

    Madman! You are a fucking madman! Do you think your right arm is made out of Obsidian Metal?! Because of you, we are both going to die!

    Anyone would have retreated in Leon''s situation, but not him. The defensive capability of his right arm was after all,parable to 9-star graded materials.

    ng! Poof!

    Two subsequent sound was heard. One loud like the shing of metals and one was soft like the drilling of steel through flesh.

    The 5-star inner disciple plopped dead on the ground with his eyes wide in disbelief and indignation. He had died with grievance.

    None of the opponents had ever fought the way Leon did. In fact, no one was capable of such a feat unless they had a monstrously tough physique like Leon.

    It was simple and straightforward, but also savage and unrefined like barbarians.

    The surrounding people were shocked silly and stared at Leon dumbly.

    "Finish off the rest of them!"

    Leon''s voice in their ears, before they snapped out of their stupor.

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    Only the 9th step outer disciples were left, and this was something the pce guards could handle.

    Shortly after, all the disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect within the Upper West District were killed thereafter.

    They had all gathered at this particr street for some reason, but the chaotic situation in the other districts was more widespread.

    He was not worried about the Royal Pce with Grandpa Don there, and no chaos seemed to have broken out in the Lower Districts.

    The Lower District was just recently rebuilt. There was no ce to hide there, but the number of bloodsuckers that had been hiding in the Upper District made Leon''s heart run cold.

    There hadn''t been any reports of missing people or homicide cases in the Upper District after the Capital Crisis incident with spiders, meaning these blood cultivators hadn''t been secretly sucking people''s blood for their cultivation.

    Leon didn''t think these blood cultivators could resist such temptation for so long unless they had a supply of Blood Pills or simply been put to sleep until now.

    The thought of all these blood cultivators suddenly appearing during Capital Crisis made Leon sweat. Although Don would have been able to eventually eradicate them all, the casualty up until then would have been very great.

    Leon rummaged through the dead bodies of the blood cultivators and found a more advanced version of the [Blood Refining Art] on the body of the 5-star inner disciple. There were also some basic versions of the [Blood Refining Art] on the dead bodies of the outer disciples.

    He pocketed them all into his Worldspace. It would be a headache if someone secretly took one and cultivated it in secret.

    "Hm?"

    Leon nced at the corpse of an outer disciple, who was one of the first to die after having his heart pierced.

    He made his way over and stepped on it and felt the corpse slightly shivered. His eyes grew cold and raised his spear.

    "Nooo!"

    The ''corpse'' suddenly cried in rm under Leon''s foot, but the struggling ceased after Leon embedded his spear into the person''s head.

    Leon gave the outer disciple some credit. He had almost overlooked this outer disciple that pretending to be dead in a very inconspicuous spot.

    "Clean up these bodies. Make sure to cut off the heads of any intact corpse."

    After giving out his instruction, Leon waste no further time and departed immediately to assist the other districts.

 Chapter 254 - Lending A Hand

    <h4>Chapter 254 - Lending A Hand</h4>

    Upper North District.

    On the street outside the Lancaster''s workshop, one topless man holding a hammer of fire and one ck-robed man wielding a blood-crimson sword was currently having a face-off.

    Surrounding them were a few dozen corpses of both Upper District residents and disciples of Bloodfiend Sect.

    The residents were killed by normal sword wounds and having their blood emptied out of their bodies, but the disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect had strangely died from mushed brains after having their heads bashed in as it could be seen from their concaved forms.

    Further away, a ring of cksmiths, city guards, pce guards, and other residents of Upper North District gathered at the scene.

    "The Bloodfiend Sect sure is fearsome to have hidden so many disciples in this city for so long. Tell me, exactly what does your sect intend to aplish with this move of yours? Did you expose yourselves only to kill innocents? Ha, I don''t believe it even if you were to say that was the case." Duke Ignis said to the ck-robed man, thest 5-star inner disciple in this particr area.

    The other disciples had all been killed by him with a simple smack on the head with his hammer that resembled the weapon of a mythical lightning god, but coupled with his current overall appearance, he was like some god of fire and smithing.

    The 5-star inner disciple gave the Duke a nasty look, but it was also wrought with disbelief as he stared down at sword hand that was still trembling from an exchange of blows.

    His body was glowing red and bloody mist could be seen subtly oozing from his body.

    It was clear that the 5-star inner disciple had activated his secret skill [Burning Blood], yet he had still lost in a contest of strength against Duke when their cultivation was equal.

    It was not evident at the start, but the longer the battle was drawn out and the effectiveness of [Burning Blood] was burning out, it became crystal clear. But how was that possible?

    "You, how are you overpowering me? I should be the one overpowering you after using my secret skill!"

    Duke Ignis did not hold much hope that his opponent would answer his question. Thus, he was not bothered. Only an idiot or an overconfident fool would spill their secret objective.

    He shrugged nonchntly before looking up with a profound gleam and asked, "What do you think is the most important aspect of utilizing an Awakener''s elemental ability to optimize their battle strength?"

    The 5-star inner disciple was thinking of ways to get out his current predicament. When he heard the Duke''s question, he sneered. "Isn''t that obvious? It''s secret arts."

    Duke Ignis shook his head. He was no longer interested in telling his answer.

    True, secrets arts can help an Awakener unleash power beyond their ordinary means, but it does not optimize one''s battle strength.

    The answer was control.

    Only when control had reached the pinnacle, will an Awakener be able to utilize every ounce of their energy without any waste in the process.

    Only when control had reached the pinnacle, will an Awakener be able topress their power to terrifying levels.

    Fire was destructive by nature and when gathered inrge quantities, the destructive power would naturally increase ordingly. But if the same quantity werepressed very densely, the increase in destructive power would be exponential and no longer as simple as one plus one equals two.

    This was the difference between using crude attacks and using a technique, an art, or simply a secret skill. There wasn''t much difference between the three.

    Going one step further than that, if all that power werepressed into a single weapon that could hold it like the Duke was doing, then they would not be losing any battle strength no matter how many times they attack with their weapon.

    On the other hand, the 5-star inner disciple would only grow weaker after the time limit of his secret skill expires.

    It seems that all future battles would ce great emphasis on the weaponpatibility with the Awakener. At least, that is what the Duke believes.

    Originally, Ignis would not have achieved perfect control over his fire element so soon, but the revised [Fiery God Manual] provided a truly clear, effective, and systematic way of achieving it.

    "Never mind, let''s not waste any more time and get this over with. There are still ces that require immediate assistance." The Duke said.

    His wife had rushed home to check on their daughter, but there were three other ces in Upper North District that were being attacked by disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect.

    The ming hot hammer was raised with ease, but the 5-star inner disciple dared not to underestimate the crushing weight behind it. He had already experienced it firsthand. It was enough to stun him.

    But before the 5-star inner disciple could prepare himself, he was struck with a wave of weakness as his body lost its red glow.

    The duration of [Burning Blood] was over.

    "W-Wait."

    The 5-star inner disciple panicked. He was already a disadvantage. Now that his battle strength had plummeted, he would just be a fish on the chopping board.

    However, Duke did not stop. The hammer fell and the pupils of the 5-star inner disciple finally constricted with fear. He gritted his teeth and raised his sword to defend.

    Time seemed to have been slowed as the hammer grewrger in his field of vision, but before the hammer could make contact, a sudden sharp pain assaulted him, and his consciousness slipped into oblivion instantly.

    Boom!

    Everyone else only saw that the 5-star inner disciple''s head suddenly exploded before a ck spear was inserted into the ground in between the Duke and the headless corpse that soon fell to the ground not long after.

    "This spear¡­"

    Duke Ignis paused his attack and inspected the spear. He naturally recognizes a weapon he had forged himself, but looking around he didn''t see the person he was expecting.

    "Come out, Boy. How dare you steal my thunder?" The Duke raised his voice to the surrounding, but he was not angry.

    Leon''sugh soon followed before he jumped from a nearby rooftop and retrieved his ck spear from the ground. "You were taking too long, so I thought I should lend a hand, father-inw." He joked.

    "Well, you sure picked quite the timing to ''lend a hand'', huh?" The Duke red at him.

    Leon smiled sheepishly before he turned serious and asked, "Where''s mother-inw?"

    "She went home to look after the house." Duke answered, before adding, "Alright, we can talkter. I still need to clear out the remaining enemy in the district."

    "There''s no need for that. I already finished them off while you were busy here. There''s only Upper East District and Upper South District left that are still in trouble."

    The Duke was speechless.

    This boy was really efficient.

    That was what the Duke thought, but Leon wouldn''t think so. Beforeing, he already took a detour through the Cromwell''s vi and the residential area of Aria''s parents.

    He also knew that Upper North District would have no problem with the Duke and Duchess around, but he still came to the north first on the off chance that something might go wrong.

    It was his priority to confirm the safety of his close ones first, before helping others in need. He was no saint, though there was once a time when he did aspire to be one.

    Nevertheless, he was still quick to arrive and help.

    "Then I will go help the next district after I''m done here." The Duke said.

    The bodies of the disciples of Bloodfiend Sect were quickly reduced to ashes, while the other dead bodies were sorted and brought back to their families. The streets were cleaned up to avoid gue and a funeral will likely be held in memory of the deceased.

    ¡­

    Central District.

    A central district didn''t actually exist in the Capital. When one talks about the central district, they are referring to the one to two streets'' worth of buildings thaty right on the outskirts of the Royal Pce.

    For the convenience of meeting the king in the following morning, the general got people to arrange for their amodation in the closest building that offered such services.

    Currently, the two envoys were staring down at the situation outside from the balcony of a luxurious apartment on the top floor alone.

    The general had already left to eliminate the enemy in the area and quell the chaos.

    "Is the Capital of a kingdom usually this rowdy in the Human Domain?" The Supreme Elder asked rhetorically with indifference like the problem outside had nothing to do with him.

    Princess Faelyn observed the outside quietly with concern. The asional screams outside made her uneasy. "Can you help them, Supreme Elder?" She requested.

    "No, don''t forget why we came here. We are seeking an alliance with humans to get closer to the World Tree, but at the same time, we are studying the strength of humans. If they are so weak that they cannot even handle such a small problem, then there is no need to talk about an alliance."

    The eyes of the Supreme Elder glinted with sharpness. If humans were so weak, why do they need to resort to an alliance when they can just take everything for themselves?

    At the same time, he felt doubtful.

    The humans of this kingdom were clearly very weak. The Capital could be considered the heart of this kingdom, but he had hardly seen a single person at thetter stages of the Ranked Awakener realm, and he had only felt the presence of one Transcendent.

    Everyone basically practices the same cultivation technique. The only person he could not see through so far was that boy the humans considered their prince.

    That person was practicing differently from the rest. He would not forget how Leon blocked Rowan''s sharp wind attack with bare flesh without suffering a single wound. That was something only the beasts could do.

    "Continue to observe for now." The Supreme Elder said.

    Princess Faelyn silently sighed.

    Meanwhile, the other cities and towns in the Crawford Kingdom were experiencing hell on earth. They did not have anyone powerful enough to fend off the sudden attackers.

    Two figures high in the clouds frowned while they observed the situation of each ce.

    "A lot of people will die if we just watch and not act." One of the figures said.

    "Why don''t you act then? I only came to watch because I was curious. Personally, I do not care who rules this kingdom as long as they continue to guard against the west. I am just the overseer of the Durham Kingdom, not the Vran Kingdom. This one is on you. I don''t want to get punished overstepping my boundaries." The other one said. "Alright, I need to head back before ''they'' realize I am gone for too long."

    A-CHOO!

    The Durham Overseer sneezed as he left.

    "Hmph!" The Vran Overseer expressed his dissatisfaction with the Durham Overseer''s answer, but he soon smiled when he looked down at the city below.

    "I didn''t see anything." He said to the distance.

    The Durham Overseer heard that and smiled.

    It was a phony sneeze, but to the people below, it was like heaven answering their pleas for help.

    A rain of icicles had suddenly dropped out of the sky and impaled all the disciples of Bloodfiend Sect to death.

 Chapter 255 - The Mountain Of Corpses In The Forest

    <h4>Chapter 255 - The Mountain Of Corpses In The Forest</h4>

    With the darkness of the night as cover, the icicle attack came quickly and without warning. None of the targets were able to escape their fates and neither were there any innocent casualties caught in the middle of it.

    It was quick, subtle, lethal, and so overwhelmingly precise that even among Transcendents, not many are able to pull off.

    Shortly after the hail of icicles barraged a single city and wiped all the disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect, The Durham''s Overseer voice trickled through the air, "One city is enough. The rest is yours."

    The Vran''s Overseer froze after sensing the Durham''s Overseer was gone for good that he proceeded to sigh.

    "Wasn''t I asking for your help precisely because you are skilfully undetected in your attacks? What''s the point of only saving one city?"

    The Overseer shook his head.

    "Aish, forget it. It was my oversight that led to this situation. Those other geezers are going to question me for it anyway."

    With that, the figure kicked against the air and disappeared, before reappearing in the sky of a different city under attack.

    A wave of his hand and a sudden downpour rained on the city before all the disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect rampaging in the city died mysteriously.

    The people originally screamed and ran with fear, but the moment the wickedughter suddenly halted, they nced back and found their motionless body dropped dead with a single pin-size hole in their heads.

    Upon investigation of the deaths, nothing would be found inside their heads except a few drops of water.

    The Overseer did not stop and repeat the same process until he cleansed every rampaging disciple of the Bloodfiend Sect in every other defenseless city and town.

    There were some outer disciples that he did not kill. These lucky survivors were the minority few that still had a conscience and did not mercilessly kill innocents, nor had they refined human blood before.

    That was the only reason they still had a conscience.

    [Blood Refining Art] was a cultivation art with two existing methods. One was to cultivate with human blood, and the other was through beast blood.

    The refinement of human blood offered steep growth in their cultivation but also corrupt their minds negatively with the resentment and despair of the dead, twisting their morality and principles.

    Beast blood also contains the resentment and despair of the dead, but a blood cultivator would have an easier time purifying it through refinement.

    Of course, this only applies to the blood of less intelligent beasts. The blood of highly intelligent beasts is no different from humans.

    Once upon a time, the Bloodfiend Sect was once a sect that the Kingdom of Vran respected and treated as an orthodox sect, but as the Bloodfiend Sect grew and expanded, so did their lust for power.

    The allure of quick cultivation growth was hardly something they could resist, which ended up making them what they are today.

    Even if the descendants of the Denholm Royal family wanted to destroy the Crawford Kingdom, they would not have involved the innocents as they did.

    Their twist beliefs and vengeance-driven minds when corrupted by the resentment and despair of the dead they refined, they were pushed to new extremities.

    "We¡­ we are still alive?"

    The outer disciples muttered in shock are seeing all the inner disciples in his surrounding suddenly fall dead silent.

    At the same time, every other Transcendent in the Crawford Kingdom sensed the disturbance in the energy of heaven and earth due to their heightened perception of the Laws as Transcendents.

    ¡­

    Grasnd Region.

    Elder Evergreen looked to the west with a profound light in his eyes, before shaking his head. "That boy most likely has no idea the Human Domain had such terrifying experts. A Paragon was it? No¡­ but that person is infinitely close.

    "Humans are not to be underestimated." The elder sighed, before directing his gaze to the far east.

    ¡­

    Capital City.

    Grandmaster Don stood up with shock and looked towards the eastern sky. Shortly after, it was shifted to the south, the west, and finally the north. Each change was closer than thest.

    The Overseer''s traveling speed between the cities was nothing to scoff at.

    Don had no idea who was causing the disturbance in the energy of heaven and earth, but he instinctively knew that this person was much stronger than him.

    Ever since he reached Transcendence, he knew there was a higher realm, but he never imagined the difference would be so great and felt so inferior.

    The Overseer''s full power could not be determined with his casual act of cleansing the filth from the Crawford Kingdom, but his mastery over the Water Law was enough to put pressure on those who had yet to reach the same level of mastery.

    At the same, the Overseer wanted the other Overseer to act precisely because he was not good at masking his usage of the Law like the other.

    On the top floor of the luxurious apartment building in the central district, The Supreme Elder''s body stiffened.

    Princess Faelyn looked over questioningly.

    "Haiz¡­"

    "Supreme Elder?"

    "That alliance¡­ we must definitely go through with it." The Supreme Elder said firmly.

    Princess Faelyn widened her eyes in surprise as she had no idea what had suddenly caused the Supreme Elder to change his attitude from ''quietly observe and ordingly'' to ''ally with the humans at all cost.''

    Nevertheless, if they could avoid any form of conflict, that would be great. The Princess smiled sweetly. "That would be for the best."

    The Supreme Elder nodded and watched the outside scene with rekindled interest, but his mind still lingered on the power he felt in the distant skies of the surrounding cities.

    ''The Human Domain really cannot be underestimated. That expert is still not at the level of the chiefs of the high-rank tribes, but at the very at least, that expert is stronger than me.'' The Supreme Elder silently thought.

    Little did he know that expert was not a person affiliated with the Crawford Kingdom, but he would not act in a manner that would make them hostile against humans even if he knew.

    That person was willing to help the Crawford Kingdom when humans are fighting amongst themselves. There was no reason why they would not help again if the Crawford Kingdom was suddenly invaded by a foreign race.

    ¡­

    "Your Majesty?"

    A high-ranking soldier looked at the Queen questioningly, while the rest looked around with alert, thinking her Majesty''s sudden pause was due to her having detected nearby enemies.

    Elizabeth was looking back but could not see anything but mist and tall trees. She shook her head afterward.

    "It''s nothing. Let''s continue. I can sense a dense smell of blood up ahead. Be on alert."

    "Yes, your Majesty!"

    The Queen and her army followed along the Azure River running through Extreme Misty Forest.

    Soon, the shadow of a bridge was seen, and Elizabeth narrowed her eyes into slits, but not because of this bridge.

    The bridge was something she had already anticipated after receiving information that the enemy would be sneaking through the cover of the forest.

    What caused her to narrow her eyes were therge shadowy mountains and the sudden pervasiveness of blood in the area.

    "There''s something up ahead. Be careful of an ambush."

    "Yes, sir!"

    As the army drew closer, the shadowy mountains became clear. They were mountains of corpses. Strings of webs also tied numerous dangling corpses in the air and blood soaked the ground like running rivers.

    "What in the world¡­ happened here?"

    "This is the enemy army that secretly tried to invade us? Who could have done this? Or rather¡­ what could have done this?"

    "I''m sure everyone would also like to know that."

    "No¡­ not really¡­"

    The army broke into amotion immediately. Many gulped with shock and fear as they had never seen such a more gory sight.

    It was like they had just stepped in the lowest level of icy hell and could not help but shiver with chills running down their spines and in their hearts.

    An army of 20 thousand Durham soldiers was wiped out just like that, and no one knew the answers to how they died.

    This was an army led by a Transcendent!

    Everyone''s instincts were practically screaming ''danger'' and ''get out'' immediately. Their nerves were tense and felt like any sudden movements would scare the sh*t out of them.

    The howling whispers and screams of the vengeful spirits of the forest only served to put them further on edge.

    Anyone who grew up in the northern parts of the Crawford Kingdom would know about Extreme Misty Forest and the stories surrounding it, ghosts!

    They can fight beasts and enemy soldiers without fear because that was what they had trained for, but no one had taught them how to fight ghosts!

    Who do you even fight something that was intangible to the physical touch?! Unless you were Awakener, the words ''you are fucked'' could not be said enough times.

    Elizabeth could sense danger, but not to the level that her own life was threatened.

    "Check the corpses. Make sure they aren''t pretending to be dead." She said grimly, although the chances of this being the case were practically zero.

    "Yes, your Majesty!" the soldiersplied with gulps of fear.

    The smell and rivers of blood cannot be faked, and the mountain of corpses would crush those beneath.

    "Dead¡­"

    "They are all dead."

    The soldiers confirmed.

    As if sensing one of the corpses suddenly moving, one of the soldiers nearby flinched.

    "Hahaha! Look at your scared look! You are so paranoid, brother!" A soldier teased.

    The surrounding soldiers joined in andughed, butughed nervously.

    "I wasn''t paranoid! I swear something just moved!" The paranoid soldier refuted.

    "Something just moved? Are sure it wasn''t one of us moving?"

    The surrounding soldiers began tough harder like it would ease their tension and nervousness.

    "Hahahahaha!"

    "Hahaha¡­ aaaAAHHHH!"

    Midway through theirughter, one of the soldiers suddenly screamed with fear after a half a body belonging to one of the corpses dangling in the air suddenly dropped on him.

    Theughter soon died downpletely, and the ce was filled with nothing but silence. Only the distance howling and wailing of vengeful spirits were heard, and a greater fear gripped their hearts.

    Finally, growls were heard and the mountain of corpses began to move¡­ even the dangling corpses began to struggle from their bind.

    "The corpses¡­ The corpses areing to life!"

    "Ghouls!"

 Chapter 256 - Burning Heaven Makes A Move

    <h4>Chapter 256 - Burning Heaven Makes A Move</h4>

    "Did someone say, ghouls?"

    The notion of ghosts filled the entire army with dread, but when the words "the corpses are moving" were uttered, the fear in their hearts was diminished by half.

    Reanimated corpses were something they could at least fight against with their firearms. Nevertheless, a minority of the soldiers still got spooked by the corpsesing back to life.

    Sniff¡­ hmm?

    "There''s a strange smell in the air."

    A new pungent voring was added to the rich and heavy scent of blood that pervaded the area. A quick look around, and the soldiers spotted a wet patch on another shivering soldier''s crotch area.

    "What the hell, brother? C''mon, man. Did you really just piss yourself?"

    "Not cool, man, not cool."

    "Damn, son. Haven''t seen an adult man piss himself before. How old are you?"

    All sorts of attention and questions were directed at the soldier, much to his embarrassment as the wet soldiers blushed with shame, but one cannot me him for this. He was one of the surrendered soldiers from the Vran Kingdom.

    Themon people of the Vran Kingdom had never been in contact with Extreme Misty Forest and was not familiar with it.

    Before the wet Vran soldier could answer, a loud authoritative voice rang in his ears.

    "Silence! Retreat into formation immediately and prepare for battle! Underestimate these ghouls and you''ll be sorry."

    The soldiers were all spread around the several mountains of corpses, but once the order was issued, they immediately retreated with all-time seriousness.

    Elizabeth floated in the air and looked on calmly as themanders issued orders for defensive formations.

    Time passes and the mountains of corpses began to wiggle more strongly. Soon, corpses began tumbling down from the top one after the other before they stood up with growling noises.

    By this point, the soldiers were all in positions. The vanguard had their firearms locked and loaded. Little fear could be seen on their serious faces as they realized none of the undead ghouls had intact bodies.

    Some were missing a limb or two and some were crawling on the ground with just their upper bodies.

    ¡­As for the headless corpses on the ground, they had not moved a single inch and remained motionless since the start.

    It was not long before a round of fire initiated the battle between ghouls and men.

    Elizabeth did not participate but spectated from above. A battle of this level did not require her personal intervention.

    Rather, it was a good tempering experience for the Crawford soldiers and a chance for the surrendered soldiers of Vran and Durham to earn merits to redeem themselves.

    There was no doubt that such a huge army of undead ghouls would cause future headaches for the Human Domain if they were left unchecked. Thus, they had to be eradicated before the problem festers.

    Even so, ghouls with iplete bodies were the least of the Queen''s worries. Even the Transcendent corpse of the Grand Elder of the Illusory Butterfly Sect did not concern her. It was one of the many headless corpses. There was no chance of it reviving as an undead ghoul through vengeful spirit possession. Undead

    What did concern her was what killed them all.

    The strings of webs were one of the distinctive traits of spiders, but she recalled that the spiders had all been eradicated back during Capital Crisis.

    Upon further thought, she shook her head.

    No one could guarantee that the spiders had all been eradicated when the underground was uncharted territory and infinitely vast as the continent itself.

    There were far, far too many passageways to explore the entire first floor. They had only upied the main cave that was almost as big as the Capital itself while leasing out a few passageways and underground plots to some interested nobles. The rest of the passageways were sealed off.

    Even then, the spider queen had been killed back then.

    What else could have been strong enough to y a Transcendent and ughter the entire army? Furthermore, it wasn''t interesting in eating the corpses and left it as is.

    Elizabeth had no idea what it could be, but Extreme Misty Forest had always been an unsettling ce of uncertainties. It was not wise to overstay their wee.

    It could be dangerous if the thing that ughtered everyone came back for them.

    Once Elizabeth''s thought arrived at this point, she was firm to leave once the ghouls were eliminated.

    Fortunately, nothing unexpected urred during the battle. The newly risen undead ghouls had not had any time to grow before they were ughtered swiftly under the suppression of firepower.

    Their missing limbs further made it difficult to maneuver properly.

    Apart from their numbers, which was already less than the mixed army to begin with, the soldiers did not face much pressure when they engaged in closebat after raining bullets on the ghouls.

    After thest ghoul had its head chopped off, Elizabeth did not want to linger in the forest any longer.

    "Fall back into formation. We are leaving."

    In any case, whatever they set out to do, someone or something had settled it for them. There were still problems to resolve back in the kingdom.

    "Yes, Your Majesty."

    The soldiers with absolute obedience.

    None of the soldiers wanted to stick around in such a haunted ce either.

    ¡­

    At the heart of the Vran Kingdom was the Blood Moon Mountain.

    It once went by a different name, but ever since the Bloodfiend Sect took over and made it their headquarters, the name was lost to time and the only thing that remains was deep-rooted fear that struck the hearts of the people when the Blood Moon Mountain was mentioned.

    A dark, gloomy, and oppressive feeling surrounds the Blood Moon Mountain all year round and there was never a time when there was a shortage of disciples entering and leaving the mountain. At least, not until now.

    Although disciples could still be seen, the number was only a fraction of the past and not a single inner disciple or anyone higher in the echelon of the Bloodfiend Sect could be seen for that matter.

    In the Royal Pce of Vran City neighboring the mountain, the king sat on his throne while listening to the report from his subjects on the matter but expressed no opinions.

    The king was a 9-star earth-user, a powerful Awakener that was just one step short from Transcendence and was supposed to carry a strong presence, but none of that could be felt.

    The eyes of the king were dull, uninterested, and without spirit, like he was just listening to another report on civil disputes and management.

    He was already used to being a puppet ruler, a king without real authority while the eyes and ears of the Bloodfiend Sect were spread everywhere. They could even be secretly listening in on their meeting right now.

    All the older generation royalties were killed in cold blood for resisting the tyranny of the Bloodfiend Sect while his wife, heir, and daughter were all taken away to the mountain as hostages.

    20 years have passed since then. It was uncertain whether they were dead or alive.

    "The Blood Moon Mountain is the quietest it has ever been. All the inner disciples and higher-ranking members of the sect are all missing. I suspect that they have all left to join the war efforts against the Crawford Kingdom, including the sect master himself. This could be our chance to liberate ourselves from their control, my King." The royal advisor said.

    "Please give us your order, your Majesty."

    The officials all bowed and said synchrony. They had all been living under the tyranny of the Bloodfiend Sect, but unlike the king, their hearts had not died yet and the mes of hope were still burning inside them.

    The Vran King looked at them with gloomy eyes and said, "And what orders do you want me to give exactly? What you said were just spections. It''s too risky and would just invite a meaningless death."

    "But your family is still on that mountain, sire. Don''t you want to save them?"

    "My family are all dead! There''s no one left to save!"

    A rare trace of venomous anger sparkled in the king''s eyes when his family was mentioned before it faded and be listless again.

    In his mind, there was no doubt that they had long been yed to death and wrung dry of their blood to aid those fiends'' diabolical blood cultivation.

    A devil''s promise could not be trusted.

    Even if his family was not used for cultivation, they would havemitted suicide to not hold him back. Such were the words of his wife before they separated.

    But without his family, there was no meaning in living.

    The officials before him might still have a future if the Crawford Kingdom wins, but for his Vran Royal family, there was no longer any future.

    The Crawford Kingdom will most likely point their swords at his kingdom in the name of removing the evil fiends, and he will likely be removed as well.

    The Crawford Kingdom would not allow such an ipetent king to continue running the kingdom. Communication had long been severed between their kingdoms and tributes had ceased. Whatever existing rtionship they had between them had also ceased.

    Death did not sound so bad. Perhaps, he would be able to reunite with his family.

    At this point, he was simply waiting for death. The only thing stopping him was he could not die until he saw the Bloodfiend Sect fall with his own eyes.

    The royal advisor opened his mouth, but no words came out. The king''s heart was already dead. It was impossible to convince the king.

    He bowed and quietly leave as did the rest of the officials. The king had given up, but they still haven''t.

    ???

    Ishaan Kingdom.

    Being the neighboring kingdom of the Vran Kingdom, the Burning Heaven Sect had always been secretly keeping tabs on the Bloodfiend Sect''s actions.

    The news made their way back quickly to Burning Heaven Sect as they held a council meeting of the highest level to determine the direction of their sect.

    "Sect Master, the Bloodfiend Sect has been severely weakened. Now is the chance for us to expand our influence on the Vran Kingdom." An inner elder said.

    "That''s right. The Bloodfiend Sect has always been a thorn in our eyes. We should take this chance to destroy them once and for all. Those people havepletely lost their minds and walked down the wrong path."

    "I agree, the Human Domain will do better without them. Not to mention, they hadpletely disregarded the warning from ''above'' and attacked the Crawford Kingdom. They will be destroyed sooner orter, but if we can save them the efforts of having to personally act, we could get them to owe us a favor. This would put us in a favorable position for the future."

    The other three inner elders also chimed in.

    The Sect Master contemted silently as he stared at the map on the round table in front of everyone.

    "Mobilize all the avable disciples in the sect to the north. No need to recall the other disciples on a mission." The Sect Master said after some thought.

    The inner elders were all excited. They could finally get some action!

    "However! We will only be targeting the Bloodfiend Sect. Immediately recall all disciples back to the sect after the Bloodfiend Sect is destroyed." The Sect Master added.

    The inner elders all froze with the same thought.

    Why?

 Chapter 257 - Refine Lots, Kay?

    <h4>Chapter 257 - Refine Lots, Kay?</h4>

    "I don''t understand, Sect Master. Why must we withdraw after we destroy the Bloodfiend Sect?"

    The Sect Master''s decision filled the inner elders with confusion. They could notprehend why the Sect Master made such a decision, but they were unwilling to give up such a big that is the Vran Kingdom.

    Taking over the Vran Kingdom meant ess to more resources and a wider circle to scout for talented disciples to strengthen and expand their sect.

    With such a temptation, how could they simply give up?

    The Sect Master knew what they were thinking and snorted.

    "Don''t think for a second that the Vran Kingdom is easy picking once the Bloodfiend Sect is removed from the picture. Do not let greed blind your judgment. Treasures are only good if you are alive to enjoy it."

    Seeing that the inner elders were unconvinced and notprehending his meaning, the Sect Master continued.

    "Although we have learned to co-exist with the Ishaan Royal family and not control them, it is different for the Bloodfiend Sect and Illusory Butterfly Sect. The people of the Vran Kingdom had been terrorized by the sect for so long that they formed a prejudice against sects, not to mention both sects had waged on the Crawford Kingdom. That is to say that if we do not pull out after assisting, it would be seen as us trying to reap the benefits of their efforts. Whatever favorable impression we are trying to build, would be lost, do you understand now?"

    The inner elders scratched their bald heads with some realization.

    Everyone at the round table was bald, tanned brown, topless, and packed with bulging muscles. This was the most distinctive trait of members of the Burning Heaven Sect, which was a result of training their bodies to the limits with the burning sands of the desert that upied most of the Ishaan Kingdom.

    Perhaps as a result of their extreme physical training, they had muscles for brains and were not able to see clearly as the Sect Master could.

    Although none of them was a Transcendent due to the bottleneck of their poor cultivation method, each of them could stand their grown against a Transcendent in a fight. They could not win, but they would not lose either.

    "Since no one no longer objects, start mobilizing the disciples immediately. We will hit them while they least expect it."

    This time, the inner elders all silently agreed withoutint.

    ¡­

    Capital.

    The chaos within the Upper Districts was eventually quelled under everyone''s united efforts. The disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect causing trouble in the Upper District were killed. After a quick count, Leon found that they had numbered over fifty people.

    Fifty people who had been hidden inside the Upper District all this!

    Leon felt grim but did notmence an immediate search for their hideouts.

    The surface situation had stabilized for now but the same could not be said for the other cities. If all the people in the other cities were ughtered, it would impact the whole Human Domain greatly.

    A hint of urgency led him to visit the Royal Pce. The grave situation wasn''t something he could resolve by himself.

    "Grandpa Don!"

    Leon immediately cried out the moment he saw the top Grandmaster Alchemist in the kingdom return to the pce from the sky.

    Grandpa Donnded nearby after hearing his call.

    "Brat, you''re back."

    The grandmaster was excited to see Leon for reasons unbeknownst to him.

    "Where did you just go, Grandpa Don?" Leon immediately followed up with a question, finding it odd that the grandmaster didn''t stay in the pce.

    "I went to check out the city in the north. Why, what''s the matter?"

    "How is the situation there? Were there any disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect rampaging in the city?"

    "Oh, there was, but they are all dead now." The grandmaster responded with a look of awe. The disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect had all died cleanly.

    "As I expected, the Bloodfiend Sect was there." Leon nodded with a look of expectation, mistakenly believed that Grandpa Don was the one who wiped them out.

    "Grandpa Don, I need your help. I suspect that every other city is facing the same situation. If we hurry, we might be able to save a few cities from aplete massacre." Leon continued with a grave look. He had already assumed that was the best they could hope for.

    Grandpa Don realized the misunderstanding and shook his head. "There''s no need for that. A hidden expert solved this problem for us. I just went to confirm that this was the case. All the disciples of Bloodfiend Sect had been dealt with by this person alone."

    "A hidden expert?"

    Leon was startled. It seems he had underestimated the Human Domain a tad too much.

    A brief talk with Grandpa Don allowed him to learn more details on the matter. The hidden expert was a high-level Transcendent with great mastery over the Water Law, something he did not sense because he had reached to touch upon the Transcendent realm.

    "By the way, brat. You need to do something about that disciple of yours. That little monster won''t leave me alone." Grandpa Don said helplessly.

    "My disciple¡­? Ah¡­"

    Leon paused for a moment before he recalled that he did ept such a person under his tutge.

    However, the master had briefly forgotten about the disciple and the disciple did not seem to care about the master and went to seek someone else''s teachings. This was probably the lousiest master-disciple rtionship in the history of all worlds.

    "Where is he now?" Leon asked.

    "He is¡­"

    "Grandmaster Don, there you are! I''ve been looking for you!"

    Grandpa Don was about to answer, but a distant cry interrupted him, and his calm demeanor crumbled with embarrassment. "Ahem, anyway, do something about that little monster, and get him to stop bugging me, alright?"

    Little did Leon know, the grandmaster alchemist had gotten his pill disciple to perform many pill refinement sessions in the name of guidance in the past 2 weeks, but in truth, the grandmaster alchemist had been the one to secretly learn from his disciple instead.

    With little to teach, the grandmaster alchemist naturally resumed avoided the little monster. Don had once shouted the truth that he had nothing to teach, but the blockhead was not easily convinced.

    Before Leon could say something, Grandpa Don had already legged it and disappeared from his view.

    Leon was speechless.

    "Grandmaster! Wait!" Reginald chased after.

    "Stop! Aren''t you going to greet your master?" Leon stopped him.

    "Y-Your Highness."

    Leon raised an eyebrow at this type of greeting. He quite liked Reginald''s passion for alchemy and had a favorable impression, but it seems he had still rushed for a pill disciple a tad too much.

    The disciple still doesn''t seem convinced after all the knowledge he transmitted to the person.

    "Call me master." Leon narrowed his eyes.

    Reginald suddenly found himself under great pressure from the prince''s stare and realized his appropriate form of address.

    He was still not used to having someone only a few years older than him as the master as it was not normal. In fact, it was exceedingly rare.

    Although it rings true that the proficient one is the teacher, but how many people can actually achieve great sess in their profession without the cumtion of time and practice?

    "Master." Reginald lowered his head with obedience, nevertheless.

    Leon nodded satisfyingly. A rough jade that can still be carved.

    "Don''t chase after the grandmaster anymore and follow me."

    "Yes, Master."

    Reginaldplied with cold sweat. He felt like an invisible pressure was suffocating him as he followed behind the prince''s back.

    In a spare pill refining room, Leon ordered with a stern face, "Show me the height of your progress. Refine a batch of All-Purpose Healing Pills and Golden Ointment for me to see."

    Half an hourter, two sets of pills were refined with the spirit herbs Leon provided. He began giving guidance like a proper master when his disciple only produced Tier-1 spirit pills with mid-rank quality.

    "The pill cauldron wasn''t preheated enough¡­"

    "You''re spending too much time extracting the herbal essence, burning it in the process. This will lower the amount of herbal essence you can work with, alternatively lowering the quality of the final product¡­"

    "You''re being too careful with the merge process. You need to be swift and confident¡­"

    After a round of preaching, Leon checked if Reginald understood. Receiving his disciple''s affirmation, he said, "Good, do it again."

    Leon took out another set of spirit herbs for his disciple to refine again.

    After half an hour had passed, two sets of pills were presented in front of Leon. His disciple had corrected the minor mistakes he pointed out and the refined pills were the exact proof of that.

    His disciple had not only seeded in increasing the number of pills in a single batch of refinement to nine, there even a few high-rank quality pills in the batch.

    "Good. Your hands are still a bit shaky, but the improvement is evident. Continue to practice at your own pace." Leon praised lightly.

    "Thank you, Master!"

    Reginald was inwardly shaken.

    If he was unconvinced before, he was totally convinced now. His master possessed true skills. Just a few pointers were enough to raise the quality of his pill refinement.

    His master had already given him the framework. He only needed to straighten out the rough edges.

    "Alright, I have an assignment for you, my disciple."

    "Please tell, Master," Reginald said with newfound respect.

    Leon didn''t say much and directly transmitted new knowledge and pill recipes to his disciple.

    "These¡­ These pills are¡­ what kind of pills are these¡­"

    The disciple was in disbelief as if he had just received something unbelievable. The pill recipes Leon transmitted were all rted to divine cultivation.

    They were namely, Spirit Enhancing Pills, Spirit Condensation Pills, and Core Strengthening Pills.

    "You will know when you take the Spirit Enhancing Pills while practicing the Breathing Technique. Alright, I need you to refine as many of these pills as much as possible. I will pop by from time to time to check on your progress." Leon said.

    "What about the shop, master?"

    "It''s been closed, right? Just continue leaving it closed for now. We will open it when we have a stockpile of the pills to sell."

    After a brief pause, Leon also transmitted the first section of the original [Fiery God Manual].

    "If you have time, practice ording to this. It will help improve your fire control." Leon said.

    These were all preparatory steps for the rejuvenation of authentic spirit energy in the world.

    "Yes, Master!"

    Reginald waspletely mind blown. The things he kept receiving were otherworldly, and his respect, as well as his curiosity, were strengthened greatly.

    "Very good. Make sure to refine lots, kay?"

    After dumping out a truckload of spirit herbs into the room under his disciple''s bbergasted and jaw-dropping look, Leon grinned and left.

    Reginald felt his scalps tingled at the mountain of herbs.

    Alchemy was a money burning profession and no alchemists would everin about not having enough herbs to practice alchemy, but he was starting to feel that it was a mistake to ept the prince as his alchemy master.

    It was clear to him that over the next few months, he would be doing nothing but refining pills on ends like a ve.

    Was this his master''s revenge?

 Chapter 258 - Origin Soul

    <h4>Chapter 258 - Origin Soul</h4>

    After leaving the pill refining room, Leon intended to seek out his father but after spying on his father with divine sense, he changed his mind.

    His father was in the middle of cultivation and interrupting a person''s cultivation was potentially dangerous.

    He left the Inner Pce and summoned a Shadowguard in the Great Hall.

    With everything happening in the kingdom, the avable manpower had been stretched thin, including the Shadowguards.

    He had never checked the Shadowguards training ground under the pce where they train new recruits, but he was aware that the number of qualified Shadowguards in the pce had been reduced to the number of one''s hand.

    "How can I help you, Your Highness?"

    Leon tapped the armrest repeatedly in thought while he was seated before he asked, "Has there been any investigation progress on the whereabouts of my adoptive parents and little sister?"

    The residual energy fluctuation from Leon was almost nonexistent after he converted everything into tempering his body, but when he posed the question, it was like a weighty mountain dropping on the Shadowguard''s shoulders.

    The Shadowguard sweated and dropped to his knees.

    "I beg for your forgiveness for being ipetent, Your Highness. We''ve searched everywhere, but I could not find a single trace. It''s like they had simply disappeared into thin air¡­ However, I believe they should still be somewhere within the Capital."

    When Leon heard this, instead of feeling happy, he became gloomy.

    This is because it was quite the baseless im to say that his adoptive parents and Mia were still in the Capital when they do not have a single clue as to where they had disappeared off to.

    Coupled with the recent confrontation with the Bloodfiend Sect, it was clear that the Capital had many hidden locations.

    From this information, anyone could infer that the Illusory Butterfly Sect must also have their people hidden in the Capital.

    He was grateful to the adoptive parents that raised him and did not want to suspect them, but the clues kept hinting that they share some sort of rtionship with the Illusory Butterfly Sect.

    The world seems to be ying a cruel joke on him.

    When the first doubt festered in his mind, it was like a chain reaction that could not be stopped. Past interactions with his adoptive parents begun appearing one after the other.

    He tried not to recall it as he had wanted to avoid thinking in that certain direction, but it still ended up resurfacing in his mind.

    During the period of his past life memory awakening, his predominant past life mentality created dissonance with his present life and drew distance with his adoptive parents, they happen to get injured on the following day from a run-in with the gang members.

    Leon found this very strange.

    One had to know that his adoptive parents were smart people who understood the state of the Lower District very well.

    Although life in the Lower District was difficult, it was not to the point that they would have days without meals ced on the table.

    Allowing the gang members to freeload from time to time made things harder for them, but never too far that it would push them to the end of their road. There was no need to antagonize the gang members and get hurt for it.

    Getting hurt would only make surviving more difficult.

    They should have known this, but it was like his adoptive parents purposely got hurt to y the sentimental card in order to win back his affection that had been alienated back then. At that time, he had yet to harmonize his dual personality of two lifetimes.

    What to do¡­

    While he started to suspect his adoptive parents, he also felt that their love was genuine. He was conflicted.

    If they were really rted to the Illusory Butterfly Sect, his birth mother would definitely not spare them.

    Also, for what purpose would the Illusory Butterfly Sect have in raising him? To prepare a puppet for the throne while they control the kingdom from the dark? Or something else?

    ''Argh¡­ I don''t know!''

    Leon wracked his head but could note up with an answer for the unknown.

    "Y-Your Highness¡­?" The Shadowguard gulped.

    While Leon was lost in thought, the Shadowguard had been studying the prince''s gradual deteriorating expression and felt great pressure.

    This type of pressure was different from the pressure exerted by one''s cultivation. Leon''s energy fluctuation was faint and was incapable of this, but his true strength had grown much stronger than before.

    It was a type of invisible pressure only the strong can exert on people who feel inferior. The pressure was crushing and unknowingly, the Shadowguard''s ck attire was already drenched with his cold sweat.

    Leon closed his eyes and steadied his troubled mind. When his eyes reopened, there was only calm, and collectedness left.

    "I have a task for the Shadowguards." He said coolly.

    "What are your orders, Your Highness."

    "Cooperate with the pce guards and search every nook and cranny of the Upper District. This includes the private property of nobles and aristocrats. Let them know this is a search of the highest order. Anyone found resisting shall be charged with colluding and hiding away foreign forces to harm the king!" Leon said with a glint of coldness.

    The Bloodfiend Sect already went crazy and killed a lot of innocents. There was no telling if the Illusory Butterfly Sect would follow in their footstep. He was not going to allow this ticking timebomb to linger in the darkness of the Capital.

    "What shall we do if we find the enemy?"

    "Capture them if they surrender, kill them if they resist!"

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    After the Shadowguard disappeared, Leon slumped back on the chair weakly with a bit of absentmindedness.

    Three breathester, he shook his head and stood up.

    Turbulent times did not allow him to rest.

    Since he learned that there were hidden experts on the level of Elder Evergreen and possibly beyond, he found his own strength inadequate.

    He needed to train and be stronger!

    Those who cannot keep with the times will be left behind by the times.

    The Crawford Kingdom had been out of touch with the rest of the Human Domain for too long!

    There was little information on the Ishaan Kingdom and next to no information on the Geyser Kingdom! One could hardly begin to describe how outdated their information was.

    Information on the Ishaan Kingdom dated back 50 years, while information on the Geyser Kingdom dated back 300 years!

    Leon could not possibly begin to imagine how far they had developed in all these years.

    After returning to his room in his private courtyard, Leon locked the doors andmenced his daily routine.

    In the Worldspace, a lot of herbs had been emptied out and he needed to nt new herbs in the Sacred Garden. The avable spiritual soil he could use had increased since the Artifact Spirit had recovered slightly.

    The number of herbal seeds had decreased greatly. He also needed to find some time to restock on his reserves.

    He did not bother Maya, who was indulging herself in the mountain of books he pocketed in the subterranean world as she continued to read with interest and did not seem to notice him entering.

    After he finished tending to herbs, he jumped into the Whitespace and absorbed the information from three soul-rted books from the Archive.

    He initially started with books on soul-rted pill recipes and exotic nts with soul-nourishing properties, but he eventually changed his focus to the understanding of the soul itself.

    Divine Kings wracked their brains for hundreds to thousands of years to understand the profundity of the soul, but here he was, with the [Divine Book of Life] in hand that contained clear knowledge and understanding of the soul.

    He had always wondered why the Divine Realm had three cultivation systems, namely, body, energy, and soul, yet many of the myriad races of the Divine Realm choose to practice the energy cultivation system only.

    Strangely, despite being named the energy cultivation system, it first focuses on tempering the body, to amodate the growth of one''s energy cultivation, before switching to the soul, or at least, that seems to be the case for all the known powerhouses after reaching peak Divine King.

    The soul contained inexplicable secrets about the universe and the evesting. This was the conclusion every peak Divine King arrived at.

    To be honest, they were spot on.

    There was a line in one of the soul-rted books Leon read that especially drew his attention.

    The Origin Soul is Eternal.

    It is said that the soul was not made up of nine parts but ten parts, with the tenth part being the Origin Soul, something that is indestructible and imperishable.

    When the nine parts separate, they be soul fragments that eventually cease from existence, but the Origin Soul does not. Instead, it returns to a ce called the Source of Origin.

    Unfortunately, Leon could not find any further information on the Source of Origin. It seems to be something that even transcended the knowledge of the creator of the [Divine Book of Life].

    After Leon finished absorbing thest particle of information from the soul-rted books, he returned to his room with the Ravenous ck in hand.

    Taking his seat and spinning the Ravenous ck on the top of his fingers, Leon pondered for a bit.

    His next course of action could be guessed. He was going to carve the next Body Rune and increase hisbat and defensive capability.

    Let''s see¡­ Where should I carve my next Body Rune?

    ¡­Pft, do I even need to think? Of course, it''s going to be my left arm!

    Leon had no wish to continue being misunderstood for being lopsided.

 Chapter 259 - Lost Isle Alley

    <h4>Chapter 259 - Lost Isle Alley</h4>

    Aurelia Mountain Road was the most prominent street within the Upper District, where the wealthiest of nobles gathered for the most luxurious of entertainments and the highest ss of eateries. It was a ce painted with riches and mour.

    No other ce couldpare to the thriving business and overblown prices of Aurelia Mountain Road in the Upper District, but as the universal bnce dictates, there were two sides to everything like yin and yang, good and evil, the rich and the poor.

    When asked what the most obscured street in the Upper District is, the answer would undoubtedly be Lost Isle Alley.

    Lost Isle Alley was an unpopr location that is not easily essible from any main roads due to the way many high-rise buildings were designed closely like a clump and creating a dark spot that even sunlight does not reach.

    It was an eerie ce that everyone would avoid like a gue once they learn about it. The temperature of the alley was always low, and the chilly winds send shivers down one''s spine. It was like a little ghost town that no one visits, not even rats would dare to go there if there were any.

    ording to stories, a beautiful young girl was once tricked into that inconspicuous ce and subjected to untold humiliation by a group of scummy degenerate young nobles.

    The girl eventually died from their restless abuse, but before her untimely and gruesome death, she cursed all the young nobles and their families to die a horrible death.

    Since then, strange events began happening in that alley. All the lights lit in that ce would die out and plunge the alley into eternal darkness.

    All the small-time store owners in the alley were unable to do business. They were also terrified of this unexinable phenomenon and sold their stores in the alley and moved away.

    The family of the degenerate young nobles took advantage of the small-time store owners'' plight and bought over their properties at low prices before moving in, but that was when true horror began to unfold.

    The degenerate young nobles would disappear one after another each night, only to be found dead at the center of the alley with their limbs bent out of shape, heads twisted a full revolution and eyes gorged out.

    At the same time, the family of each degenerate young noble caught an unknown disease with rapidly declining health and would have nightmares every night.

    Eventually, it drove them insane until theymitted suicide.

    Apparently, a powerful vengeful spirit was born due to the unique formation and environment of Lost Isle Alley.

    By the time the event blew up, it took the Capital by a storm.

    People always had innate fears of the unknown, darkness, and ghosts.

    Instead of trying to exterminate the vengeful spirit, they sealed off the ce and never tried to demolish the buildings forming Lost Isle Alley.

    People were afraid that doing so would anger the vengeful spirit and set it free to unleash its wrath on the rest of the Capital.

    This was an event that happened over 400 years ago.

    At this moment, a cloaked man was seen walking with hurried footsteps into the taboo alley that people eventually have forgotten with time but still avoid.

    The cloaked man stopped in front of an old decrepit bar and checked the pitch-ck surrounding before he knocked on the worn-out wooden door with a unique rhythmic pattern.

    Tap, tap, tap¡­

    The secret knock contained three fast taps, one slow tap, two fast taps, and repeated the process twice.

    The wooden door crept open and the cloaked man stepped inside.

    "What happened outside¡ª"

    Before the person opening the door could finish his question, the cloaked man walked past him, pulled a secret lever that revealed a secret flight of stairs leading downwards, and entered the hidden chamber under the aged-old abandoned bar.

    The person closed the creaking door and followed the cloaked man downstairs.

    The secret flight of stairs soon disappeared after.

    "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t! Those fucking crazy bastards! They have ruined everything for us!"

    The man threw away his cloak and began cursing at once.

    Underneath his cloak was a set of noble attire carrying the crest of the Marleigh family, a Baron-level family. The cloaked man had revealed himself to be Grant Marleigh, the current head of the Marleigh family and Baron himself.

    He was a lower-ss noble of the Crawford Kingdom and not a very prominent figure, inconspicuous in fact.

    However, he also had another identity, an inner elder of Illusory Butterfly Sect.

    "What exactly happened outside, Elder?"

    Hearing this question, Baron Grant Marleigh''s blood boiled with more anger.

    "The Bloodfiend Sect has gone crazy and deployed all their disciples on a killing spree, shocking the entire Capital! Now, the king is on high alert and a search warrant will most likely be issued soon to have the Capital searched thoroughly!"

    "I have official status, so I will be fine as long as I don''t blow my cover or reveal anything that will put me under suspicion. You all, on the other hand, do not have official status in this kingdom. You will have nowhere to run once they find this ce, especially you two." The inner elder continued grimly while singling out two people.

    The two people mentioned were precisely Leon''s adoptive father and mother, Brian and Helen who had gone missing with Mia since the start of the spider crisis.

    Apart from them, there were 11 other people and one child in the hidden underground chamber. They were all inner disciples of Illusory Butterfly Sect, minus the child.

    "If you two didn''t use the secret passage to flee suddenly, and with a child no less, our n might have still had some hope of seeding."

    "We had no choice. If our son¡­ the prince hadn''t gained phenomenal skills overnight and we were taken to the pce so suddenly. Who would know the prince''s capabilities better than us, the ones who raised him? Even now, we have no idea how he suddenly bes so capable but those unaware would suspect his skills were taught by us. Facing the Queen''s direct scrutinizing gaze. Even if we have a perfect disguise, it''s impossible to guarantee that something won''t slip. It was too risky. We have no choice but to escape while we had the chance." Brian exined with a sigh.

    The inner elder also sighed, but his eyes soon fell on the child with a chilly gaze.

    "And what about this child?"

    His intention was simple. Why did they bring the child and not just get rid of it?

    "This¡­ this child''s history is too tragic, but it''s also because of the tragic experience that no child her age should experience that she has great potential and affinity to learn our arts, elder¡­" Helen said as she tightens her grip slightly on the child''s hand.

    Mia was very sensible for her age. She did not throw any tantrum for her present predicament and just observed everything quietly.

    The inner elder looked deeply into her ck eyes that were deep like the abyss and felt an instinctive numbing chill with tingling scalps. It was not the first time they told him the story.

    A child who experienced the true cruelty and ugliness of reality the world had to offer at such a tender age of 5 would be forced to mature and develop their intelligence early in order to survive. One would not know how terrifyingly crafty the child will be if she was allowed to grow.

    Others would see the child as a child, but he saw a witty little demon. Although the elder had only heard the story from another''s perspective, he believes it was not luck, that the little girl was able to temporarily escape the gang''s clutches and get saved by the prince.

    "Then you should continue to teach her well." The inner elder acknowledged after refreshing his memory, before peeling his eyes away from the little girl. All was well if the little girl doesn''t turn on them once she spread her wings.

    "I heard that both the Bloodfiend Sect and the Illusory Butterfly Sect started a war with the kingdom. Is that the reason for the Bloodfiend Sect''s craziness?" An inner disciple inputted.

    The Brian, Helen, and the other inner disciples were startled when they heard this.

    Although the Illusory Butterfly Sect was also mentioned, no one found it strange that the inner disciple did not add an ''our'' in front of it.

    "When and where did you hear that from?"

    "From an Earl when I was disguised as one of his servants yesterday."

    "You crazy bastard. That was a pretty risky move, but well done. Unfortunately, there are no prizes for that." Another inner disciple said dully. Who would be happy about hearing such bad news?

    Bang!

    Another inner disciple smacked the wall of the hidden chamber with his clenched fist.

    "Dammit! Those fools never learn! They are still walking down the road of self-destruction!" He said with gritted teeth.

    In a single breath, the inner disciple had cursed all the upper echelons of the Illusory Butterfly Sect, but no one rebutted him as they were all had simr thoughts. The underground chamber was soon plunged in a gloomy mood, Brian and Helen included.

    Mia blinked her deep eyes and rubbed Helen''s hand with her little thumb as if to console her. Helen smiled weakly and rubbed the little girl''s head with affection.

    She had truly taken the little girl as her daughter. It was a pity that they were caught in a situation with a bleak future.

    The inner elder sighed, seeing that the inner disciples had also caught wind of the news now and did not deny its authenticity.

    "That''s right, the Illusory Butterfly Sect joined hands with Bloodfiend Sect to wage war against the Crawford Kingdom. In the end, those fools were unable to contain their greed. We are now stuck at an impasse and to be honest, our chances of survival aren''t looking great."

    Everyone felt sad.

    Due to a disagreement in opinions with the ways the Illusory Butterfly Sect were doing things, they had long left the sect and werebeled as traitors as a result of that choice.

    The Durham Kingdom was no longer safe with the Illusory Butterfly Sect hunting them, and the Bloodfiend Sect had always been at odds with the Illusory Butterfly Sect. They could escape to the Vran Kingdom, let alone travel through it to seek refuge in the Ishaan Kingdom.

    With no other choice, they could only hideaway in the Crawford Kingdom.

    The other inner disciples had settled in the other cities, but they hid in the Capital for the sole desire of being able to live openly under the sun freely instead of hiding away in its darkness.

    They were inner disciples when they left, but they are already old enough to be elders now.

    Leon''s birth was their first ray of hope in realizing their desire 17 years ago.

    For that purpose, they had foiled the Illusory Butterfly Sect''s n and saved the baby Leon at that time when he would have died in the fire.

    ording to the original n, Leon would have been slowly introduced to their circle through his adoptive parents and one day be the mediator between them and the royal family, but they nevermenced with the next step because they felt that Leon wasn''t old enough to make mature decisions and intended to wait until he was 18.

    After all, it was the same as handing over their lives to the boy. One misstep and they could lose their lives under the Queen''s de.

    They were no longer affiliated with Illusory Butterfly Sect, yes, but there was no doubt that they once were.

    There was no doubt that they would have died, had they exposed themselves prior and the Queen manages to deduce the mastermind behind the rebellion and saw them as one and the same.

    After a long silence, an inner disciple opened his mouth.

    "How about we take a gamble?"

 Chapter 260 - Strange Request

    <h4>Chapter 260 - Strange Request</h4>

    Once the suggestion was raised, all eyes fell on the inner disciple, silently urging him to borate.

    Not expecting such great attention, the inner disciple scratched his head awkwardly. His suggestion was not anything great, given the options they had. It was not a do or die, but more like a do and die suggestion.

    "Ahem, we can secretly contact the prince andy everything on the table. We are no longer part of the Illusory Butterfly Sect, not to mention we have saved and raised the prince in the past. If he learns everything, I''m sure he will be more understanding and permit us citizenship."

    "That is an extremely stupid idea. Don''t forget we also selfishly took the prince away from the Queen during his best years of growing up. The prince would spare us, but would the Queen? If we were brave enough help openly back then, perhaps we would not have wasted so many years in hiding."

    The suggestion was immediately rejected. They all knew why they didn''t. Exposing themselves openly would have subjected them to being hunted furiously by the Illusory Butterfly Sect.

    It was easy to dodge a dagger in the open than a dagger in the dark. Likewise, being in the open was disadvantageouspared to being in the dark, especially when their opponent was the Illusory Butterfly Sect which specializes in disguise and covert killing with poison.

    Having grown up in such a sect, they might not necessarily die without knowing why but it would be exhausting to be wary every day. Thus, they had chosen what they believed to be a safer choice.

    They had the courage to leave the sect, but chickened out in opposing their ways, ultimatelynding themselves in their current awkward predicament.

    Fortune favored the bold.

    Unfortunately, there was no what if and they could not go back in time to change their choice.

    "Then do you have a better suggestion?" The inner disciple argued.

    They were at the end of their road. They have nowhere else to hide and run once their hideout was discovered.

    Rather than being misunderstood and waiting for their deaths, wasn''t it better to be proactive even if it means handing their life to the other party to decide?

    They were not the enemy, but they could be seen as the enemy. In the end, it alles down to one word, trust.

    If their words are trusted, they live. If not, they die. It was as simple as that.

    No one had an answer when the question was raised, and silence filled the secret chamber with deep frowns and thoughts.

    Helen crouched down to face Mia and smiled. "Mia, do you want to see your big brother Leon again?"

    "Yeah!"

    The adorable response made Helen rub her cheeks against the little thing.

    ¡­

    Royal Pce.

    Leon sat cross-legged within his bedroom with his eyes closed. Heavy perspiration could be seen on his face as his brows locked together.

    The process of carving Body Runes into one''s own body was never easy and free of pain.

    Ravenous ckid beside him as his left arm dripped with glowing blood.

    Originally, he thought might be some problems with carving through his skin after it had been tempered by [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard], but his skin was still split apart easily like a hot knife through butter.

    One could see that the sharpness of Ravenous ck was unparalleled, designed to be able to carve through anything, and also capable of being a great weapon.

    He was in the middle of fusing the liquid energy with his blood before forming the Body Rune in his left arm, which demanded great focus and mental energy. It was both exhausting and enduring.

    In a way, the process was like alchemy, except the body was his cauldron, and blood was his fire.

    By the time, Leonpleted the Body Rune, the sun had already risen high in the sky. The process had taken him an entire night.

    After getting a maid to prepare the warm water, Leon took a bath and cleaned himself before taking out a bottle of Golden Ointment to rub the medicine on his left arm to close the wound left behind fromst night.

    Once he was finished, he was dressed in a set of royal attire and headed out to find his father. He rarely wears his royal attire, but today was a formal asion.

    ¡­

    In the king''s study, Heinrich was already up early and working through some documents that covered a wide range of subjects and concerns within the kingdom.

    Apart from the few documents in Heinrich''s hand, there were two tall stacks of simr documents to the side.

    Just looking at the stack of documents gave the king a headache, but it cannot be helped. If he did not sort them out, who would?

    To ease his workload, he had already begun assigning new ministers and officials to work for him.

    At this moment, the maid, Lily walked in with a new stack of paper.

    "These were sent over today from the new officials," Lily said.

    The new documents contained requests for building permissions of sorts from various nobles andmoners. They were arranged neatly alongside the background details and history of the nobles andmoners making the request.

    The king was only required to read through the document and stamp his approval if no problems were found.

    Nevertheless, Heinrich could not help but twitched his mouth when he saw the new stack.

    After receiving the king''s nod of acknowledgment, Lily ced the stack of requests on the king''s desk and stepped to the side quietly to await further orders.

    Heinrich finished his new present documents and decided tomence with the new stack of documents. They were considered on the lighter side of work among other things on his desk. He did not want to do heavy and be mentally exhausted first thing in the morning.

    Lily prepare the morning tea for the king aptly as Heinrich began reading through the documents.

    ''A request for a new mode of transport to the underground district directly from the upper district? A long cable lift?'' Heinrich read with interest.

    The proposal was ultimately capitalized on the possible profits for nobles, but the idea of making the underground easily essible from the Upper District does have its merits. It was convenient.

    But considering the proximity to the foundation holding the Capital up and preventing it from sinking into the underground, Heinrich felt that the matter had to be tread carefully. A single mistake would damn everyone in the Capital.

    Heinrich flipped the page and begun looking at the thesis and design of the cable lift. Everything was well thought out from the beginning to the end. It was detailed and well exined.

    The king smiled wryly when he found outter that it was jointly proposed by Ignis Lancaster and Bromley Cromwell.

    He was assured if it was these two people working together. Flipping back to the first page, he picked up the royal stamp and stamped the document with his approval.

    Taking a sip of his Earl Grey tea, the king moved onto the next set of documents. It was a request from themoners.

    Anything rted tomoners was a sensitive topic these days. The King had learned after his long slumber that themoners suffered the most in the past 17 years due to the unruly noble treatment, discrimination, and exploitation.

    ''A request for the construction of a church?" Heinrich became serious immediately.

    No religion exists within the Crawford Kingdom. Everyone worships the Hero King and that was enough. The kingdom did not need a bunch of worshippers of some unknown god that may or may not exist. It was detrimental to royal authority.

    Heinrich wanted to toss the document away and move on, but he still forces himself to finish reading at least. By the time, he reached the end, he was dumbfounded.

    The request came from a group of survivors from a human trafficking business. Their story was truly tragic, but in their moment of despair, they were saved by something anyone would find hard to believe.

    This was the strangest thing he read all morning. It was not a request to build a church to worship some god but a holy shield. Looking at the picture attached to the document, it looked like a cauldron lid¡­

    Heinrich wore a really peculiar expression while closing the document. He had approved the request with his royal stamp.

    "Your Majesty, the general marquis, Hendrick Graham, and envoys of an Elven Tribe of the Wilnds, Elvengarde hase to seek an audience." A new maid stepped in and reported.

    Heinrich stared nkly with doubt. Elves were real? And the general marquis personally escorted them here instead of stopping them at the border? These envoys must be important.

    "Did they state the reason for their visit?"

    "The general marquis stated that they havee to discuss an alliance between their tribe and our kingdom."

    Heinrich subconsciously nced in the direction of the World Tree. Did theye for that? Turning to a dark spot in the study room, he asked, "Do we have any news on the big tree in the east yet?"

    "Not yet, Your Majesty. My men are still on their way to find out the reason for its sudden appearance."

    An old voice responded from the dark spot.

    Heinrich creased his brows and turned back to the maid. "Where are the elven envoys right now?"

    "They are currently waiting in the Great Hall, Your Majesty."

    "Very well, let us go meet these elven friends who havee from afar."

    Heinrich nodded and got up. The maids apanied him on the way and the dark spot flickered ever so slightly before bing still again.

    The study room was silent after everyone left.

 Chapter 261 - Unconsiousness

    <h4>Chapter 261 - Unconsiousness</h4>

    The King''s arrival was announced upon arriving at the Great Hall along with Grandmaster Don tagging along. The general marquis was the first to kneel and paid his respects to the king.

    "Greetings, your Majesty."

    "Arise," Heinrich said and nced at the elven envoys. He had affirmed that the beauty of elves depicted in stories was not an exaggeration at all. His eyes lingered on the Princess for a few instances longer before retracting his gaze. He was simply admiring their beauty and had no further thoughts.

    "Your Majesty."

    "Your Majesty."

    The two envoys, the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn greeted.

    "Thank you foring out to meet us. I pray that you are not offended by our sudden visit to your domain."

    "You are too humble. I wee you both to my kingdom." The king said coolly.

    At the side, Grandmaster Don was especially surprised. He had quickly guessed that the Supreme Elder was most likely stronger than him from the fact that he could not see through the other party''s cultivation.

    For a Transcendent more powerful than him to be this respect to a human king who had yet to reach the Transcendent Realm, he found this unbelievable.

    "Thank you, Your Majesty. And this is¡­?" The Supreme Elder naturally noticed Grandmaster Don''s studying gaze and asked.

    "Oh, pardon myte introduction, esteemed envoys. I am Don, a Grandmaster Alchemist of this kingdom." Grandmaster Don introduced himself respectfully, before continuing, "With all due respect for someone stronger than myself, I believe there is no need for the esteemed envoy to be overly humble, right?"

    "Not too humble¡­ not too humble at all." The Supreme Elder waved it off nonchntly as he recalls the expertst night. He really wanted to ask about the experts in their kingdom, but it was insensitive and inappropriate to pry.

    Seeing the grandmaster being so respectful, Heinrich also looked at him questioningly. It took a moment to understand before he looked back at the Supreme Elder with shock.

    This person was also a Transcendent? And he is more powerful than his Uncle Don? An elf really cannot be judged by their appearance!

    The Supreme Elder looked like he was in his 30s and the King totally treated him like a junior! Heinrich gulped with a dribble of sweat. Was there anyone more powerful than this person in their kingdom?

    This was not someone they could offend and should be treated with all due respect. Heinrich was totally caught off-guard by the Supreme Elder''s humble attitude.

    ''So, it was true that all elves were good-natured and humble?!'' Heinrich mistakenly thought.

    "Ahem." Heinrich cleared his throat and asked, "Is it true that your Elven Tribe is seeking an alliance with our kingdom?"

    "Ah, yes. That is correct¡­"

    ¡­

    Leon thought he had gotten up early, but when he went to look for his father, he failed to find the king after visiting the bedchamber and study room. In fact, the king was nowhere to be found in the Inner Pce. Even Grandmaster Don was missing.

    ''Don''t tell me the meeting with the envoys had already started? So early. There are a lot of people that still sleep at this time.'' Leon thought wryly as he scratched his head.

    The sun rises early during the cold seasons just as night also arrives early. Most people would not get up this early in the morning unless they had something to do like early morning exercise before breakfast.

    After asking around, Leon found out that was truly the case. The king had taken the grandmaster with him to meet the envoys in the Great Hall.

    Knowing this, Leon prepared to make his way over. He was interested in what the elves were seeking from forming an alliance with them, although he already had a few guesses in mind.

    It was at this moment that something happened.

    Click.

    Akin to something clicking into ce in his mind, the elemental seeds hadpletely merged with his soul core, slightly ahead of time.

    Leon was pleasantly surprised, but before he could celebrate, something else also happened subsequently.

    "What the¡­ what is happen¡ª"

    He could not finish speaking when his world started spinning and cked out. His consciousness slipped into the darkness of his own sea of consciousness as his body slumped onto the ground with a thud.

    The nearby pce guard sentries were shocked and rushed over immediately.

    "Your Highness! Are you okay?!"

    "His Highness isn''t responding! Was it an enemy attack?"

    "There''s no wound and his Highness''s breathing is steady."

    "Was it a soul attack? The same one that put his Majesty in a deepa?! rm the others and search the perimeters!"

    "Guard his Highness properly!"

    The Royal Pce was quickly stirred, and the pce guards and maid all began freaking out.

    Something happened to the prince and no one knew why or how. What they do know is that if the Queen returns and find out something happened to her darling son in the safety of their own pce, a violent storm will soon shake the entire ce.

    ¡­

    In the Great Hall, Heinrich met with the envoys of Elvengarde and was already in the final stages of their discussion.

    Contrary to what the envoys originally intended; some details they had once discussed with general marquis were changed after the events the Supreme Elder sensedst night.

    Rather than an alliance, they were willing to recognize the Crawford Kingdom as their sovereign so long as the Crawford Kingdom could provide a patch ofnd for the refuge of their people.

    Strangely, the Supreme Elder did not mention anything about the World Tree. Simply said, anynd would do for them.

    Such a thing baffled the king. This went beyond the realm of being humble. They were simply submitting to them, an entire tribe no less!

    "Is this appropriate, Supreme Elder? I don''t think the tribe will agree to this arrangement." Princess Faelyn whispered. She did not doubt that her father would disagree along with the elders of the opposing faction. Elves also have their own pride. How could they lower themselves to humans?

    "Even if they disagree, they have no choice but to agree!" The Supreme Elder said firmly back.

    With the great mountain range as a natural barrier for the Human Domain, they would be able to keep themselves safe from the growing rampage of the beasts.

    The beasts still made up the greatest numbers in the Wilnds. The day all beasts begin rampaging was not something their mid-rank tribe could weather through.

    They must be willing to live under the rule of humans if they want to move their tribe into the Human Domain. Any other reason would be seen as an act of aggression, an invasion of the Human Domain.

    The growing concern of Wilnds was recounted by the general marquis, which in terms gave more credibility to the Elven Tribe''s reason to migrate to the Human Domain.

    Heinrich''s brows were locked into deep thoughts as he carefully considered the matter. The royal family had a more detailed recollection of historical matters.

    When he learned about the concerns of the Wilnd, a different idea formted in his mind. Turning to the general marquis, Heinrich asked with all-time seriousness, "What do you think, general? Do you think the Second Cataclysm is upon us?"

    "Whether a Second Cataclysm is happening or not, I am not sure. But what I am sure of is that the storm forth by a Second Cataclysm will be iparable to the First Cataclysm!" Hendrick stated.

    Heinrich nodded in agreement.

    "The First Cataclysm was the most violent eruption period of sr storms in the history known to men. Not only did beasts grow extreme powerful during this short period, their murderous basic instincts and urges increased exponentially."

    "If the beasts undergo a simr power spike again, I''m afraid that even the Great Wall will not be enough to keep the Human Domain safe. The Second Cataclysm bring forth a storm so violent, it will sweep across the entire continent¡ªNo, the entire world!"

    "Your vassalization proposition, this king epts!"

    Henrich''s words echoed throughout the Great Hall, emanating the grandeur and majesty of a king. A free pie falling out of the sky, there was no reason to refuse.

    "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

    The reason it was a proposition and not simply submission was because there was one thing the Supreme Elder still had to fight for at all cost even if they were yielding to the human king; that is the right to self-govern themselves.

    The Supreme Elder was not stupid. The beauty of their elven race was something humans could hardly resist. He would not offer his tribe''s allegiance without some guaranteed form of protection. They had to protect thest vestige of their dignity at the very least and not simply bes ves to humans.

    "However, this matter cannot be settled by my words alone. We will continue to discuss the allocation ofnd at ater date. There are some people I still wish to speak with beforehand. For now, I shall temporarily grant you the title of Marquis. You may use the guest courtyard for¡ª"

    Heinrich''s speech was interrupted by a group of pce guards barging into the Great Hall. He looked at the pce guards gloomily.

    The pce guard immediately felt the king''s displeasure and intention. If they did not have a good reason for barging into the Great Hall, they would be punished severely. A pce guard shook his head from the pressure and said, "Your Majesty! Something has happened to his Highness!"

    "What!"

    Heinrich immediately stood up from his throne.

    "What happened to my son?!"

    "His Highness had suddenly copsed and fallen into aa, Your Majesty! We''ve checked his Highness''s condition, but we have no idea what is wrong!"

    "Take me to see my son right this instance!" Heinrich urged.

    There had been an invisible wall between father and son that made them feel awkwardly distant from each other, but at this moment when Heinrich heard something had happened to his son, that invisible wall seemingly copsed in the brink of an eye.

    "Yes, Your Majesty!"

    The pce guardplied immediately.

    Hearing something happened to the prince, the Supreme Elder recalled the person he had met in the workshop previously and was interested in meeting the person again.

    "A moment please, your Majesty."

    "What is it? Make it quick!" Heinrich said with knitted brows, obviously anxious to see his son.

    The Supreme Elder was not offended and said, "I don''t wish to brag, but our elven race is quite adept in medicine. Perhaps, we can be of assistance."

    "Is that so? That''s great! Follow me then."

    Receiving the king''s agreement, everyone left and soon arrived in front of the unconscious Leon, whoid motionless in his own bed.

    Alchemy shared a close rtionship with medicine. As a Grandmaster Alchemist, Don also had some understanding of medicine. He was the first to diagnose the unconscious Leon, but within a short instance of taking his pulse, he shook his head.

    "His breathing is perfectly steady and there are no irregrities in his pulse. He is perfectly fine." Grandmaster Don stated.

    ''If my son is perfectly fine when why isn''t he waking up?''

    Heinrich wanted to shout, but held it in and turned to the Supreme Elder. Subsequently, the Supreme Elder turned to the Princess while saying, "The Princess is more adept in medicine than me. Perhaps, she can find an answer."

    Of course, this was not true. The Supreme Elder just wanted to give the princess an opportunity to show off her skills. Her presence waspletely overshadowed by him. He did not want the humans to think the princess of their tribe was just apanying him like a porcin doll.

    Receiving the acknowledgment from both the king and Supreme Elder stepped forth to diagnose the prince as her eyes fell upon Leon''s soundly sleeping face¡­

 Chapter 262 - Nothingness, Devouring, And Fear

    <h4>Chapter 262 - Nothingness, Devouring, And Fear</h4>

    Within a realm of infinite darkness, Leon was dumbfounded and frozen still like a block of wood. The change happened too suddenly.

    "What just happened? Why does this ce look awfully familiar?" Leon scratched his head. Seeing the slight transparency of his own hand from a corner of his eye, he flinched.

    "I am in my soul form? No wonder this ce looks so familiar! Isn''t this my own damn sea of consciousness?!" Leon cursed in understanding.

    There was not a problem with entering his sea of consciousness. The problem was that he did not enter on his own volition! Being trapped in his sea of consciousness once, he developed a slight fear of being trapped inside again.

    Not to mention, he was still outside in the open just a moment ago. His defenseless body was there for others to abuse. Who knows if the maids will be able to resist his charms or not? What if they¡ªAhem, he was thinking nonsense again.

    "Hold on. Something is different."

    Leon frowned and refocused his gaze on the location of his soul core and froze again with wide eyes. His soul core was missing.

    However, he did not freak out. The matter was not as simple as it seems. If the soul core was gone, he would not be alive and conscious of his own thoughts.

    Six threads of energy could be seen drawing towards the center in a steady stream from the outside. These threads of energy corrte to each of the elemental seed he had formed. There were fire, ice, lightning, metal, earth, and wood.

    At the center of his now absent soul core was a ck hole-like object. The energy threads were drawn inside like a vortex and forming a thin ring of multicolored light that made the ck vortex visible in the darkness of his sea of consciousness like a sun-moon eclipse.

    Expanding his divine sense, Leon was able to sense that his soul core was residing inside the said ck vortex.

    "How intriguing. A subspace has been formed in my sea of consciousness." Leon rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression. "Of the possible changes I was expecting from my elemental seeds merging with my soul core, I did not expect this one."

    Rather than being concerned about the unknown, Leon was intriguing in learning the theory behind the change. He had a gut feeling that it contained the secrets of the universe.

    "This is quite simr to the stable inner world of Divine Origin realm practitioners." Leon mused.

    Humans can only contain so much energy in their bodies. The Heaven Ascension realm was the limit for humans afterpressing energy to the limit.

    To go beyond, one must first create more room in their be by shattering the core and form a pocket universe within their be, also known as the inner world.

    Most Heaven Ascension realm practitioners fail at this step and directly blow themselves to death without a speck of their existence left behind. It is one of the most dangerous steps in divine cultivation with a 90% death rate.

    Failure equals death and sess equal stepping into the Void Realm.

    While studying the ck vortex, Leon soon shook his head. It was like an inner world, but that was about it.

    An inner world could store objects and even nurture life at a higher realm, but the ck vortex could only store energy. At least, that was the feeling Leon was getting. But no matter, it was trivial when the Worldspace was already capable of all that.

    "What could have caused this change? Is it because a sixth element was introduced? When the five basic elements are fused, pseudo-Grandmist is formed."

    However, Leon was puzzled. There was no such thing as pseudo-Grandmist. It was something he made up because the Grandmist energy he refined was not as powerful as what Grandmist energy was described to be.

    He thought it was a minor error the creator made in the technique. As a result, he believed that Grandmist energy bes moreplete the higher he advances in the stages, but that no longer seems to be the case.

    Legend states that first, there was Grandmist, then there was Primal Chaos. In other words, Primal Chaos was formed after Grandmist first appeared in the world. But after Primal Chaos was formed, Grandmist energy disappeared.

    Yet, the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] states that Grandmist energy was needed to refine primal chaos energy. This was not right. Grandmist energy should be at a higher level than primal chaos energy.

    After a round of deep and careful pondering, Leon understood where the contradiction exists.

    [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] was an ancient technique created during the primordial era of gods when the disappearing Grandmist still exists, most likely.

    When Grandmist disappears, primal chaos energy bes the next most powerful energy. One who can control primal chaos energy, controls Primal Chaos.

    The reason no one could practice the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] back in the Divine Realm was not that it was iplete, but because it was wed, to begin with. There was a great disparity between the eras and the world was no longer the same.

    No one would be able to seed in practicing the technique in the present era even if they were given a million years. Grandmist had practically vanished from the world and only exists at the center of ck holes, a ce inessible to even Divine Kings¡­

    So, why was he able to practice the technique? Because Grandmist energy was present? Recalling the star map, Leon''s eyes began to shine. He seemed to have understood something.

    The central region of the Divine Realm, the graveyard of divine practitioners¡­ Was that not one massive ck hole?

    "A world within a ck hole, huh? Who would have thought¡­?" Leon softly murmured as many thoughts flickered across his mind. The veil over his mind was lifted. He was enlightened.

    Grandmist formed Primal Chaos, this was true, but it was not the absolute beginning. In the absolute beginning, there was nothing. Everything began with a big bang on the cosmic scale. From nothingness, Grandmist was born. From nothingness, everything was created.

    Looking back at the ck vortex, Leon hovered in the empty space with a profound look. He knew what yed the greatest role in the formation of the ck vortex.

    When he first started practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos], there was a point when he thought he was going to fail in refining the first strand of pseudo-Grandmist energy, but he managed to draw power from an unknown source and seeded.

    That power was his willpower¡ªNo, mental energy¡ªNo, that is not correct either. It was soul energy that came from his very soul.

    The soul was intangible. It was immaterial, illusory, incorporeal, and transcendental. It was nothingness, but from it, anything was possible. What is reality? What is imaginary? With one''s will, the virtual can be reality. Everything can be created with a single thought, including the universe.

    All energy was derived from Grandmist energy, but Grandmist energy was derived from soul energy that is illusory. From nothing came everything, and everything will return to nothing.

    That is what formed the ck vortex in his sea of consciousness. As Leon arrived at this conclusion, he seemed to have gained preliminaryprehension of a greatw and awoken the ck vortex from its slumber as it began to swallow energy like a bottomless pit.

    It was not just the six elemental energy he possesses, but all other energy there was. This includes sr, wind, light, and darkness itself. Everything was drawn into the ck vortex and ground down into fine particles before they were fused together.

    Leon had a feeling the ck vortex would be able to devour everything between heaven and earth.

    ¡­

    Outside, Princess Faelyn began performing her diagnosis on Leon''s body. She ced her delicate fair hand on Leon''s sturdy chest and sent out her energy to scan his body.

    "Hmm¡­"

    At the same, Heinrich blinked as he looked at this scene and hummed a low tune. Much as he was concerned about his son, he was also concerned about the future.

    He was not stupid either. The elves'' presence was a pleasant surprise, but their beauty was also a source of future trouble. No doubt, there would be friction between their two races due to blind and greedy people. The world nevercked idiots after all.

    If the Supreme Elder were enraged due to such a conflict, the king doubt there was anyone in the Crawford Kingdom that could contain the rage of such a Seeking Insight-level Transcendent.

    How could he bind their two races together more strongly? Something stronger than a verbal agreement between vassal and lord? A marriage agreement?

    ''Fuck it, he already engaged to multipledies. One more won''t hurt.'' Heinrich looked at his son''s sleeping face and thought.

    Like Grandmaster Don, Princess Faelyn found no irregrities with Leon''s body condition itself. The problem seems to stem from the soul. As she swept her energy towards Leon''s be to investigate, she gasped with surprise and retreated.

    "Ah!"

    "What happened?"

    The Supreme Elder caught the princess and asked.

    "I''m not sure¡­ Something is wrong with his¡­ his Highness''s soul."

    The wood energy of elves had curative powers like any wood-user. It could mend any physical wounds, except mental ones. But as she was checking Leon''s soul, she felt a strong tug, and her wood energy was wrestled out of her control.

    She had decisively cut off her connection to that bit of energy before she sustained any more losses and damage to her own spirit.

    "Allow me." The Supreme Elder said with a serious look. He had said that the Princess Faelyn''s proficiency in medicine was greater than his, but if none of them could even cure the prince, it would be a great smack to their faces.

    He sent out his own powerful energy to diagnosis the prince''s soul. He immediately frowned when he felt the same tug, but he did not resist and allow the force to drawn him in.

    It was not long after he was sinking deeper inside that he felt that this was a terrible mistake. He felt like he was staring into the deep abyss that wanted to swallow him whole.

    The Supreme Elder''s face soon changed to one of sheer terror. His cultivation was being devoured! It was not just his wood energy but even hiswprehension that was being devoured!

    ''Nooo!''

    He inwardly roared with fear. Theprehension ofws was the lifeblood of Transcendents. It was more important than the energy that could be replenished anytime.

    The Supreme Elder tried to wrestle back what was lost but to no avail. Instead, the more time he wasted, the more energy andprehension into thew of wood he lost.

    ''Son of a¡­ Arghhh! Give it back!''

    At the same time, inside his sea of consciousness, Leon suddenly felt a surge of energy. He did not know where it came from, but he devoured it happily. His reinstated and unified awakening cultivation began to rise at an rming rate.

    Three-star level¡­

    Four-star level¡­

    Five-star level¡­

    ''S-Stop¡­ Stop it!''

    The venerated aura of a Seeking Insight-level expert was gone, and in its ce was a 400-yr old elf begging like a child who had his candy snatched.

    Six-star level¡­

    Seven-star level¡­

    Eight-star level¡­

    The Supreme Elder was at his wit''s end. He was about to drop back down to the Preliminary ession level. He was the venerable Supreme Elder of Elvengarde. Their Elven Tribe will be more vulnerable with one less Seeking Insight-level Transcendent!

    ''How can this be?! How is this happening?! Why am I losing with my strength? Arghhh¡­ Dammit!''

    Seeing that someone at his level had no chance of wrestling back his lost cultivation, he finally decided to cut off his connection. If he were not so stubborn and had done it immediately, he would have cut his losses to a bare minimum.

    The Supreme Elder paled and retreated a few steps before falling on his buttocks.

    "Are you alright, Supreme Elder?" Princess Faelyn rushed over to support the Supreme Elder.

    "What happened?"

    The king and Grandmaster Don were both surprised. What on earth did the Supreme Elder see? Peeking into someone''s sea of consciousness can bring a Seeking Insight-level expert on their knees?

    The Supreme Elder''s mouth twitched profusely at the question as he stared at the peacefully sleeping face of Leon with lingering fear.

    "M-Monster¡­"

 Chapter 263 - Fleeing The Scene

    <h4>Chapter 263 - Fleeing The Scene</h4>

    After escaping the ordeal, the venerate aura of the Supreme Elder was all but gone, and all that was left was a disheveled look like the Supreme Elder had suddenly aged a few decades.

    Although Leon remained unconscious and soundly asleep, the rise in cultivation did not go unnoticed. Heinrich, Grandmaster, and Princess Faelyn had all sensed it, let alone the Supreme Elder who had experienced it firsthand.

    "Are you alright, Senior Haldir?" Grandmaster Don chose his words carefully, sounding the Supreme Elder out. He hoped the Supreme Elder would not be hostile from his loss in cultivation.

    "Haa¡­" The Supreme Elder peeled his eyes away from Leon and exhaled deeply. His face was still a bit pale from the experience. "I''m alright¡­ I just need some time to rest for a while."

    The Supreme Elder sounded rather despondent and depressed. There were no feelings of malice towards the prince, only the small trace of lingering fear. This was what he reaped for being stubborn.

    "O-Of course, allow me to escort you to the guest courtyard," Heinrich said, feeling slightly guilty for the Supreme Elder''s state.

    "That won''t be necessary, your Majesty." The Supreme Elder shook his head and declined courtly. "It''s improper for your Majesty to personally escort me. A maid or servant will do."

    "Alright then." Heinrich did not beat around the bush, seeing the Supreme Elder was firm in his decision. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "About my son¡­ Was there any problem?"

    The Supreme Elder shivered slightly at the mention of the prince, but he calmed himself down and answered, "His Highness is perfectly fine and seemed to have entered a strange cultivation state. His Highness should be able to wake after hepletes his cultivation. I probably don''t need to mention this, but I do strongly advise against any further careless actions of peeking into the prince''s sea of consciousness."

    Recalling the experience, the Supreme Elder had never felt so shaken. He did not know what the ck vortex he nced upon was, but it was not a power he could mess with. It contained the force of a Great Law¡ªNo, Supreme Law behind it!

    In front of thisw, he was like an insignificant speck of dust in existence. Nothing couldpare to it. Was this even something mortals canprehend?!

    The Supreme Elder had experienced too many surprises since his arrival in the Human Domain. He needed some time alone where he could calm his nerves.

    After Heinrich called for a maid to send the Supreme Elder away to his living quarters in the Guest Courtyard, the king turned to the elven princess.

    "Princess Faelyn, if it''s not too much trouble, may I trouble you to look after my son for a while in case anything happens?" The king requested.

    Faelyn thought that it was strange that the king was making this request to her when any maid will do. Perhaps, the king was still concerned about the prince and was not assured unless an expert in medicine was watching over the prince.

    "I don''t mind looking after his Highness¡­ You can just call me Faelyn, your Majesty." Princess Faelyn thought for a moment before she answered.

    "Thank you very much. With that, I am assured." Heinrich said, before shaking his head. "However, that won''t do. I cannot agree with that. In any case, you are still the princess of a tribe. It is only proper that I show you the basic level of courtesy and recognition deserving of royalty."

    Princess Faelyn smiled wryly and said courtly, "As per your wish, your Majesty."

    "These maids will tend to all your basic needs and necessity during your stay here. If there is anything you need, feel free to summon them and order them as you wish. They will right outside."

    "Thank you, Your Majesty."

    Princess Faelyn soon curtsied in response to the king bidding his leave with the Grandmaster Alchemist after.

    After everyone left, it was just Princess Faelyn and the unconscious Leon in the room, while two maids stood outside patiently. Princess Faelyn could not help but heave a sigh of relief. She could rx for a bit.

    It was just too exhausting dealing with royalties and nobles with formal speech. She preferred to spend her time among themoners within her tribe due to this reason. She could speak more freely.

    Having some time to think, she could not help but think that the king was giving her preferential treatment. There was this look of approval the king had in his eyes when he looked at her.

    Things had also progressed rather smoothly on their trip to the Human Domain. There were some minor scuffles with some young nobles within the Upper District on their way to their amodationst night, but it was all handled by the general marquis.

    ncing back at the unconscious prince, she found drawn to him. What kind of person was the prince and what kind of secrets were hidden inside his body? She had never seen the Supreme Elder in such a sorry state.

    She was also worried about the future. Her father and the elders would not agree willingly to be vassals of humans. There were bound to be disagreements. She only hoped that things do not take a drastic turn for the worse.

    If the future was as grim as the Supreme Elder predicted, they should avoid conflict at all costs and work together.

    Time slowly passed within the small room. Princess Faelyn felt a bit bored and decided to check on the prince''s condition again.

    ¡­

    Inside his sea of consciousness, Leon felt a bit regretful that the surge of energy ended so soon. Just a little bit more and he would have advanced his cultivation to 9 stars.

    ''Oh well, beggars can''t be choosers.'' He shook his head.

    After the surge of energy ended, he realized he could leave his sea of consciousness whenever he wishes. However, he did not decide to leave immediately.

    The ck vortex was no longer devouring energy greedily, but six streams of energy continue to flow towards it in a steady motion.

    "Something feels a bit different about my cultivation¡­ Receiving such arge intake of wood energy, I expected my cultivation to lean towards the wood element, but that doesn''t seem to be the case. My awakening cultivation feels¡­ uniform."

    Inside the ck vortex space where his soul core now resides, there was a ring of grey energy circting around his soul core. It was not Grandmist energy, but a type of neutral energy without any distinct element.

    However, Leon had an instinctive feeling that it can be any elemental energy he wants it to be if he wills it. He was not sure how he knew, but after gaining someprehension into thew of nihility, his mind had gained a greater sense of rity.

    The distance between virtual and reality seemed to have blurred and there was an elusive yet omnipotent feeling of being able to bend the world ording to his will.

    ''I should return and test the extent of my newfound abilities.'' Leon decided.

    Exiting the sea of consciousness, Leon''s perception returned to reality. But before he opened his eyes, he decided to keep it close and studied the surrounding with his divine sense.

    He could feel the presence of someone touching him. It was the elven princess, Faelyn.

    ''What kind of situation is this? What the heck happened while I was out? Why is she in my room alone with me? Where are the others?'' Questions flooded his mind.

    ''Oh, she''s holding my arm now¡­ what does she want to do?''

    Not knowing that the prince had regained consciousness, Princess Faelyn cluelessly held the prince''s left arm closer to her face and inspected a faint scar that she had failed to detect previously.

    It was the scar left behind by the Body Rune engraving processst night. The Golden Ointment had closed the wound, but a faint scar was left behind.

    A refreshing ball of green light began to light up on Princess Faelyn''s delicate finger as she used it to trace along the scar line.

    The scar disappeared almost immediately.

    ''Oh, she''s removing my scar. How thoughtful. She seems to be skilled in medicine. Did my father ask her to look after me because I suddenly passed out?'' Leon thought.

    Leon silently did self-introspection on himself and failed to find any problem with his body. He was perfectly healthy.

    ''I guess she should be done now¡­ hm?''

    Princess Faelyn did not ce Leon''s arm back down even after a while had passed. She appeared dazed and there was even a slightly envious look in her eyes as she traced along Leon''s skin.

    ''How can a guy have such nice skin?'' She thought.

    Although Leon''s skin was not as fair as her, it was stic, silky smooth, but also packed with hidden explosiveness underneath.

    She could tell that these were very sturdy arms, despite its delicate appearance. Looks were deceiving.

    She was confused by the contradiction between sturdiness and delicateness. She did not know it was possible to achieve both things.

    ''How can this be? How did he do?''

    She took a glimpse at Leon''s ''sleeping'' face and continuing her investigation.

    Meanwhile, Leon was feeling conflicted in his heart.

    Even if ced in the entire Divine Realm, the beauty of the elven princess could be ranked amongst the very top.

    Logically speaking, any guy would die happy if they were being felt all over by such a level of beauty, so where does this conflicted feelinge from? Because such a beautiful princess was secretly a pervert?

    ''This is considered harassment, right?'' He thought wryly.

    ''Not good, I can''t continue pretending like this.''

    Leon felt like his heart was continuously being tickled. He was not immune to this level of beauty. His little brother was getting a reaction. If the princess notices the rising tent, he will lose all his face.

    Right then, his eyes decisively snapped open and got up.

    "I must say, princess, are you trying to awaken the dragon?! Why are you so touchy?"

    Leon stared straight into her emerald eyes.

    Princess Faelyn froze as her brain got short-circuited in response. Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

    "Hey!"

    Leon waved in front of her.

    "Ah?"

    Princess Faelyn snapped back to reality and her eyes widened as she registered his previous words and realized that Leon had been pretending to be asleep for some time. Recalling what she was doing, she was so surprised for words, she could only yelp.

    "Ah!"

    "Are you alright?"

    The princess had stumbled backward with a deep crimson flush on her face. Her heart was beating like crazy and her mind was in chaos. She just wants to find a hole to crawl into. The embarrassment was killing her!

    "I¡­ I should go!"

    The princess fled the room like a frightened rabbit no sooner than the words she uttered. Leon could not help but chuckle and shake his head wryly.

    "What happened? I heard a scream and the elven princess running¡­" Heinrich returned to the room in an unnaturally timely manner. He was pleasantly surprised to find his son waking up so soon.

    Apparently, the king had been camping around nearby.

    Recalling the elven princess fleeing with a flushed face, he seemed to have understood something and a wide smile crept on his face.

    He intended to discuss this matter with his son beforehand, but it appears that there was no need. His son was already making his move.

    The beauty of the elven princess was irresistible. Why wouldn''t his son want an elven wife?

    "Nice one, son."

    The king gave his son a thumbs up.

    "What are you talking about?"

    Leon was speechless.

 Chapter 264 - New Ability

    <h4>Chapter 264 - New Ability</h4>

    Ever since the World Tree ascended, the tree spirit had yet to show any sign of activity like it had fallen into some sort of deep slumber. The reason was not far from the truth. The tree spirit had entered a semi-dormant state to adapt to its new realm.

    The rapid growth and absorption of sunlight had tired out its spirits like a person experiencing fooda from eating too much. Nevertheless, the World Tree continues to supply the region with spirit energy autonomously from the tree spirit''s will.

    As long as the World Tree continues to absorb sunlight, it would produce spirit energy without pause.

    In a mere two days, the region had already be rich in spirit energy and began spilling to the surrounding region. People would find themselves more lively and refreshed while they are in this region.

    Elder Evergreen and his vigers had not been idle during this period. With the help of the pce guards left behind to acquire materials from the nearby city, the nature spirits had quickly rebuilt themselves a new vige by the foot of the World Tree.

    The vige mainly consists of grass huts, constructed by weaving together oversized grass the vigers had cultivated with their newfound wood abilities. It had grown well under the spirit energy-rich environment, or perhaps it should be said that it had grown a little too well.

    "Elder Evergreen, are you helping out the soldiers again today?" Lilith asked in the ancientnguage. It was stillcking but basicmunication had been achieved.

    "En, that''s right. There are still a lot of wounded soldiers to heal. How about you,ss? Looking at your getup, it seems like you are ready to join the exploration group and exploring the underground?"

    "Yup, there are still a lot of relics yet to be uncovered and we have left quite a few things behind due to the danger. I think it should be safer to explore now." Lilith said enthusiastically.

    "Hoho, aren''t you quite passionate about this?" Elder Evergreen asked. "There''s really nothing great about the Nova Empire. This was a civilization that ended up destroying themselves and the world. There''s nothing to learn from their relics."

    "I have to disagree, elder. This civilization had many amazing technologies we can learn from. If we could learn how they were destroyed, we could also learn to avoid the same mistake and prevent history from repeating itself."

    Elder Evergreen shook his head, seeing he cannot convince thisss against it.

    "Be careful down there. The danger is ever-present in the subterranean world," he warned.

    "I will!" Seeing the exploration ready to leave, Lilith said, "Ah, they''re leaving now. I''ll see youter, elder. Bye!"

    Seeing thess leave, Elder Evergreen shook his head and made his way over the nearby military camp. The battle seemed to have ended but many wounded soldiers returned to get treated.

    "You''re here again, elder. We will be in your care again."

    Amander wrapped in bandages said to Elder Evergreen with respect. The battle in Eastfell City had been quite fierce.

    They had suffered various degrees of injuries, including losing their limbs. If not for the miraculous healing abilities of the nature spirits, a lot of his brothers would have lost their lives even if emergency first aid had been performed.

    "En." Elder Evergreen nodded and nced at the wounded soldiersying on the stretchers in the hospital tent. "Looks like there is no one severely wounded among today''s batch of soldiers. You won''t refuse my treatment this time, right?"

    "That''s right, Commander! We can wait for our turns. You have already waited an entire night, despite being one of the first batches to arrive!"

    "You don''t have to worry about us, Commander! Please get yourself treated! Taking two sword blows from an inner disciple is already you can brag about for days. Compared to that, this is just a scratch!"

    "Just a scratch, huh? Why don''t we see whether this scratch will hurt or not if I press it?"

    "Please¡­ Please don''t¡­ Aiyo¡­ so much pain¡­" the soldier wailed.

    "Alright, stop acting tough and let the elder and the others treat you all first." Themander said stubbornly. "This is what you call a real scratch. See? It doesn''t even hurt. Hahaha¡­"

    "Umm¡­ Commander, you are bleeding."

    "Nonsense. I know my body well¡ª"

    Thud.

    The sound of a body pping the ground was heard.

    "Themander passed out!"

    "Quick, save the Commander!"

    The soldiers shouted in panic.

    A soft green glow appeared on Elder Evergreen''s palm as he hovered it in over the Commander''s bandaged upper body.

    Although his cultivation was high, it appeared that there was a limit to how quickly wood energy could heal a person aspared to cultivating nts.

    This soldier had suffered two long cuts across his chest. Although the wound was not deep enough to reach the organs, a lot of blood had been lost.

    The elder was amused by the soldier''s stubbornness.

    ¡­

    After having a long talk with his son, Heinrich left the courtyard and returned to his study room to deal with the daily piles of work that did not seem to have an end.

    Back in the courtyard, Leon was standing in the open space. From time to time, a ball of me would light up on his palm. At other times, there was a ball of lightning, a block of ice, a germinated seed, a piece of rock, and a sharp silver glow.

    "This is interesting. Each element is at the 8-star level." Leon mused.

    Rather than saying that each of his elemental abilities had been raised to the 8-star level, it was more urate to say that any element he conjured would possess the strength of 8 stars.

    He had discovered that when he uses his fire ability, the grey ring of neutral energy within his ck cortex would transform into a ring of fiery energy. When he switches to a different element, the ring of energy would transform ordingly to allow him to use the ability of that corrting element.

    Leon attempted to conjure a ball of wind, but he failed. He made simr attempts with light, darkness, and space but nothing happened. The grey ring of energy in his ck vortex did not transform.

    "It seems like I still need toprehend the requiredws if I want to control the rted element¡­" Leon pondered and frowned, "Hold on, I''m missing something. What can I control if the ring of energy remains neutral?"

    Leon nced at a teacup on the table and lifted it with earth maniption. The grey ring of energy did not change.

    Leon was confused.

    "It didn''t change?"

    He waved his hand and separated the tea from the cup with his ice maniption. The grey ring of energy also did not change. Leon manipted the tea back into the teacup and ced it back on the table.

    He began to ponder.

    "The energy only transforms when I''m trying to conjure the element. It doesn''t change if I manipte an existing element?"

    As if to confirm his suspicion, Leon did not try to conjure another ball of wind. Instead, he tried to draw in the existing air from his surroundings.

    Swoosh¡­

    The air was moved into action and gather to his palm in a whirling motion. Leon widened his eyes in surprise before he shot it away.

    The ball of wind whirled through the sky for some great distance before it lost all momentum and dissipated.

    "I can''t conjure wind, but I can control wind¡­ This doesn''t make sense." Leon was a bit dumbfounded, but he found it quite mystical.

    Looking down at his shadow, a thought entered his mind.

    Soon, something amazing happened. It was like a pair of invisible hands were blocking out the sunlight as his shadow on the ground expanded out of shape and actually formed a circr-shaped dark spot around him.

    He was not blocking the sunlight, but bending the light itself with his will. Leon found himself a bit shaken. This kind of ability was¡­ amazing!

    Leon continued to test the extent of his abilities. His feet left the ground, but nothing was holding him up. He was suspended in the air without any support.

    His body floated higher and all sorts of maneuvers in the air were tested with his will.

    "The speed is quite fast, but I think I can still go faster¡­"

    Boom!

    Leon kicked against a wall of air in the sky and sparks of fire and wood energy exploded like gunpowder in an instant and his figure shout outside the Capital like a meteor. He flew so fast he lost control and crashnded on a small hill outside.

    Dirt and dust scattered at the crash site before a human head popped out of a little crater in the ground.

    "Pfft."

    Leon spat out a mouthful of dirt.

    "Aiyo, I think I might have broken a few bones¡­"

    He pulled the rest of his body out of the ground before heid down helplessly. He nearly died just now. He had a big leap in cultivation and did not take any time to stabilize his foundation. He was practically asking for trouble.

    Thankfully, his body had undergone a few rounds of tempering and was not so fragile anymore.

    Leon rested on the hill as he allowed a green glow to wrap about his body and enjoy the healing effects brought by wood energy.

    He had more or less confirmed his new ability. It was the so-called ''mind over matter'' ability that only a few selected individuals with powerful mental strength could awaken.

    "My soul has grown much stronger."

    Leon''s eyes beamed¡­ The soul can grow stronger byprehending powerfulws.

 Chapter 265 - Reforging The Black Spear

    <h4>Chapter 265 - Reforging The ck Spear</h4>

    A few minutes passed before Leon was fully healed back to peak condition. Looking at his dirtied clothes, Leon shook his head before returning to the Capital.

    "Might as well sweat a bit in the workshop, since I''m already this dirty¡­"

    Leon headed straight for Upper North District on his way back. Shortly after entering, he arrived in front of the workshop tower.

    "What brings you so early to my workshop this time, my boy?" Ignis greeted him jovially with a few pats and gave the ragged Leon up and down nces. "What happened to you?"

    Leon shook his head. "Never mind that, I came to use your forge again, father-inw."

    The atmosphere in the workshop was the same as yesterday, bustling, and noisy. Nothing has changed. It was like the attack on the entire Upper Districtst night did not happen.

    Some people grieved for their lost ones and an uingrge-scale funeral service will be held soon. It was said that the king would be attending personally and making a speech, but that would be it.

    It was unfortunate, but the world would still be spinning, and life had to go on. There was work to do and money to be earned.

    "Sure, sure you can use my forge again. Do you need my help again¡­ hm?" Duke Ignis paused as he realized something. "I guess you don''t."

    The Duke sounded a little depressed towards the end of his words. After Leon recovered his awakening cultivation and even maderge strides in it. The Duke could not see through it, but he could tell that his son-inw''s cultivation was already higher than his.

    However, the Duke was not a person who would remain dwell on his depression for long periods. In a short instance, he had already recovered and moved on.

    "Oh, that reminds me. The Scribing Pen was amazing! It worked wonders as you had described it! Do you want to see the first working levitation stone we made? I can''t believe such a simple answer gued us for years."

    "¡­Nah, I''m good here." Leon smiled wryly. He already expected such a result. The Lancasters had perfected runic lines engravings.

    Although they did not understand the details behind the effects, he had given them the blueprint for the levitation stone inner workings. Once everything was retraced by the Scribing Pen, it was not strange for the levitation stone toe to life after receiving the energy to kickstart it.

    "I¡­ I see¡­" Duke Ignis was a bit disheartened that Leon did not share his enthusiasm for such a groundbreaking matter. "Aren''t you a bit excited at all, boy? Don''t you know what this means? Think about it, it will be the booming age of airships!"

    Duke Ignis was simply sparkling at the thought. How amazing would that be? However, Leon was not moved.

    "What''s so great about airships if you can already fly and have interspatial storages to carry stuff?" Leon asked nonchntly.

    Duke Ignis was immediately tongue-tied for words and began questioning his life''s work. Leon had a great point. He had nothing to counter that argument and became depressed.

    "I mean¡­ Not everyone is able to fly and have interspatial storages, so it would still be a great asset to the kingdom. At least there will be no shortage of people who would want to own one¡­" Leon tried to console the Duke.

    "Alright, let''s not talk about that anymore." Duke Ignis shook his head and his eyes became sharp. "Let''s talk about you."

    "What about me?"

    Leon became stunned at the sudden shift of topics.

    "When are you going to visit my daughter? You know, both of you have been engaged since birth and it has been some time since you bothst seen each other. If you do not interact, how do you n to cultivate your feelings? I don''t know what happened, but as future husband and wife, you both need to get along harmoniously, no?

    The Duke skillfully fishing out two pills from his interspatial ring and returned them to Leon. Leon nced at the two pills and frowned with confusion. They were the Forgetting Nightmare Pill and Reminiscent Trial Pill he refined for Rachel.

    "Rachel¡­ she hasn''t taken any of these pills yet?"

    It was obvious in in sight with the presence of the two pills in front of Leon, but he still could not help but ask the question with doubts. He wanted to know why.

    "She''s¡­ quite the stubborn girl." Duke Ignis said helplessly. "She wanted to ovee the trauma by her own efforts and not take the easy solution provided by you."

    "By her own efforts, you mean¡­"

    "She''s been facing a bucket of blood every day."

    Leon was speechless. What was Rachel trying to prove? A woman''s thoughts were hard toprehend.

    Fear of blood was not difficult to ovee, but the blood that invokes a traumatic memory was not so simple to ovee. Rachel was basically torturing herself by going about it the hard way when she did not need to.

    Nevertheless, he had to at leastmend her for her spirit if that was what she had been doing for the past month without giving up.

    "I''ll visit her after I''m done here, father-inw." Leon shook his head and said.

    "Alright¡­ then I''ll leave you to it for now."

    After the Duke took the lift to a higher floor in the workshop tower, Leon went ahead and fired up the forge and prepped the materials.

    There were quite a few items he intended to forge today now that his awakening cultivation had been unsealed. With his metal and fire maniption, the forging time was cut down to a fraction of the previous time taken.

    By the time Leon was done, there were several more interspatial rings, a few swords with rune enchantments, and even his own ck spear had undergone reforging and enchanted with the power of runes.

    Leon was quite satisfied with his work. If there was one thing to nitpick about all the items he produced in the span of four hours, it would be his aesthetic sense.

    Ignoring the underlying runes hidden underneath and the quality of materials poured into it, the surface appearance of the sword itself was as in as any othermon sword found in the kingdom.

    There simply no intricate design or beauty to it. Anyone would mistake it for cheap swords and rings at first nce.

    Nevertheless, there was nothing to nitpick about the sword''s performance. It was just slightly inferior to his enchanted ck spear that received a 150% improvement to its overall quality, whether it was its durability, attack power, and sharpness. The ck spear also weighs a staggering 400-jin, thanks to weight rune enchantment he added.

    Nodding with satisfaction, Leon wiped his sweat and stowed away the items in his Worldspace before leaving.

    Shortly after a quick wash at a public bathhouse, Leon arrived in front the Lancaster''s mansion. It had been some time since hest visited.

    "Halt! Who goes there?!"

    A servant guarding the gate stopped him at the entrance.

    Leon looked left and right, before pointing to himself with a weird expression of doubt. Was 3 months too long of a period that servants of the Lancaster family would forget a person of his status? He was not just the prince but the Duke''s future son-inw.

    Another new guy that did not do his homework, perhaps? Did Bloodfiend Sect also attack the mansionst night and killed some servants? Where did the Lancasters find this guy?

    "Are you talking to me?" He asked doubtfully.

    "Who else would I be asking if not you? Quickly state your business here. Not just any cats and dogs can enter this estate." The servant rolled his eyes rudely.

    "You must be new, right? With your cultivation, any cats and dogs are still stronger than you. I really wonder where your arrogancees from." Leon shook his head as he was toozy to bicker with a servant. "I came to see Rachel."

    "You want to see the pearl of the Lancaster family? Who do you think you are? So, what if I am new? I have the Lancaster family behind me. Don''t you know the Lancaster family will soon be rted to the royal family by marriage? Stop dreaming about the youngdy and just give up. You don''t have a chance!" The servant said with disdain.

    With Leon''s young appearance and noble attire, the servant hadpletely taken him for another annoying young noble admirer who came to pester the youngdy.

    Leon was quite speechless.

    "Who do I think I am? Who do YOU think I am?"

    "Hmm, why don''t you state your family name and I will tell you who you are? I am quite familiar with all the young nobles in the Capital." The servant said pretentiously after studying Leon''s features.

    "Crawford family," Leon said tly with a not-so-impressed expression.

    "Crawford family, huh? Then you must be¡­ wait, Crawford?" The servant started off with an arrogant momentum, but the nervousness in his tone could not be hidden towards the end of his words. "Hahaha¡­ I must have heard wrong, what did you say your name was again?"

    "Leon Crawford."

    Boom!

    It was a casual response, but it rang like thunder in the servant''s mind as the servant''s knees began wobbling with weakness. He did not hear wrong, it really was the Crawford royal family! There could only be one person from the Crawford royal family that would match the person in front of him.

    It''s over! How could he behave so atrociously and rude to the prince? Who gave him such courage? Who?! If only he knew¡­

    "Erm¡­ please enter as you wish, your Highness." The servant said with an ashen face and forced smile that looked worse than crying.

    Leon strolled forward with an impassive expression. As he walked past the servant, he patted the servant on the shoulder.

    "A word of advice. Riding on the Lancaster family''s fame does not give you the right to be arrogant. Learn to be more humble in the future, lest you lose what you got by luck. The Duke and Duchess really hate these types of people."

    Leon did not need to say too much and just left. Recalling the past, he had been quite impulsive. Now, he did not care too much about making things difficult for these small fries.

    After he entered the estate, the servant copsed to the ground with trickling cold sweat.

 Chapter 266 - Rachels Tears

    <h4>Chapter 266 - Rachel''s Tears</h4>

    In the garden behind the Lancaster mansion, a youngdy was seen sitting directly in front of a bucket of red blood. The bucket of blood was a mixture from various beasts that could easily be bought with the Lancaster''s prestige andwork.

    Although it was not human blood, it did not matter as the intended result was still the same. The trauma in Rachel''s childhood memory was invoked. This could easily be determined from the paleplexion and slight trembles of the delicate figure.

    At the side, two servants patiently waited to serve the delicate figure.

    The servants immediately spotted Leon upon his entry into the back garden and wanted to offer their greetings, but before they could, he shushed them with a simple gesture of pressing a finger against his lips.

    Leon quietly observed the delicate figure that was akin to a single stalk of grass swaying in a violent storm, fighting a battle against her helpless past with determination.

    If this were in the past, Rachel would have beenpletely rooted at the sight of blood and faced with violent shbacks that reyed like a loop until she passed out. However, she was now holding her ground as she stared daggers at the bucket of blood like she was staring at her worse nemesis.

    Perspiration could be seen, and her lips cracked with dryness. It was apparent that she had been going at it for some time.

    Leon was moved by Rachel''s determination to ovee her weakness with her own efforts rather than relying on the effects of pills. If she seeds, he could see the prospect of her forging herself a strong heart.

    If a cultivator wants to walk far on the road of cultivation, a strong heart was imperative. There would always be ups and downs in life, wins and losses are to be expected. If they cannot ept defeat with grace and move forward from life''s setback, they would not be able to achieve great things.

    Leon did not have any ill feelings towards the fact that his efforts to help had not been appreciated. He was not so narrow-minded. As a man, he should have a bigger heart and not be so petty, especially when it considers one''s future.

    Nevertheless, he still could not help but shake his head as he took out the two pills and nced at them in his palm.

    Everyone had inner demons and he was no exception. The helplessness, injustice, grievance, despair he experienced during his father''s moments of death was his own inner demon.

    Despite the collected way he usually behaves, only he knew that he was like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any given moment.

    If he could not find tranquility and settle the zing fury of in his heart, the inner demon would fester and consume him during the Soul Tribtion that practitioners must undergo to advance their stages during the Divine Transformation realm.

    That being said, his divine cultivation had reset back to ground zero. He was a long way away from reaching the Divine State.

    In his past life, he had only reached the Divine Origin realm, not even the Divine Star realm, let alone reaching the Divine Transformation realm.

    However, if he took that as an excuse for himself to dy ridding his inner demon until he was more advanced in his cultivation, that would be irresponsible of him.

    The presence of an inner demon represents the imperfection in one''s state of mind and a weak heart. Only by ridding the inner demon would he have a strong heart, and a strong heart will be universally useful throughout his journey to the apex of life.

    The world is unforgiving and dangerous. Trials, challenges, and tribtions exist at every turning point in one''s life. Sometimes, they would be nigh impossible to ovee, felling even the best of men and making one feel nothing but utter despair.

    It is especially during these times that a strong heart would show its true worth. Only by not giving up, would it be possible to subvert the odds and turn the impossibility into a possibility.

    The wise sages of old once said, "When there''s a will, there would be a way. The world is unforgiving, but never shuts off all doors to life, and helps those who help themselves."

    Nothing is possible if you give up when the odds are against you but anything is still possible when you do not give up.

    In any case, he was practicing myriads of thing and he also could not be sure that there will not be a simr tribtion like the Soul Tribtion in the path of awakening cultivation.

    Leon had to be prepared for anything. He decided that he would delegate some efforts to get rid of his existing inner demon.

    Knowing there is a problem is not a problem. Knowing there is a problem and not being proactive to resolve the problem, however, is a problem.

    It is fortunate that he was quite self-aware and knew his ws. At least, that was what he believes. It would be quite frightening if one does not even know there was a problem when there is one, and only realize that fact when it is toote.

    At this point, Rachel seemed to have exhausted herself and fell weakly sideways. Leon''s thoughts were interrupted by the change. His feet were quick, but light. In an instant, he arrived by her side and caught her leaning figure with one arm before the servants could do so.

    "Thank you, Ga." Rachel said weakly, but then she felt something was not right about the servant''s arm that caught her. Turning her head, she froze. It was not her female servant that caught her as the female servant, Ga went to carry the bucket of blood away.

    "Why are you so silly?" Leon asked.

    "Why are you here?" Rachel said coldly.

    "I came to visit you." Leon scratched cheek at the cold treatment before he smiled lightly. "Also, I needed to thank you. I just realized something while watching you."

    "You realized something while watching me?" Rachel''s heart skipped a beat, but she remained cold. "I know we are engaged, but so long as you haven''t left those two women, it''s not possible between us. I will not ept it."

    "Hm? You have misunderstood me but never mind that. It is impossible for me to abandon Aria and Lynne just for you. It is not my principle. If I am that type of person, what makes you think I would not abandon you when I find someone better? Anyway, we were at least friends before we learned about the engagement, is there a need to treat me so coldly?" Leon shook his head and said helplessly.

    Rachel freed herself from Leon''s arm support and bit her lips with her head lowered. Is it possible to have a pure friendship between girls and boys? Perhaps, it could be. But she knew it was not the case for her. She was already crushing on Leon from an earlier time, although she kept it hidden.

    "I don''t want to see you." She said.

    "I''lle to visit you again sometime." Leon took out an interspatial ring with an enchanted sword inside it and slipped it into Rachel''s hand as he said wryly.

    There were some things that were out of his control. Some women did not mind sharing their men with other women, but others also abhorred it. Rachel belonged to thetter.

    After Leon left, Rachel''s eyes welled with redness at his disappearing figure.

    Feeling something in her hand, she nced down and saw the item. What is the meaning of this? Because they were engaged, he decided to gift her an ugly ring? There was no sincerity at all. Is this to spite her for what she said?

    A wave of indignance and grief welled up inside as Rachel threw the ring away and cried to herself. The ring drew an arc in the air and disappeared into the big garden.

    The female servants were not sure how they should deal with this and went to inform the Duchess. A few minutester, Amelia arrived and was stunned.

    "What is wrong, my baby girl? Who bullied you? Mother will take revenge for you." Amelia tried to console her daughter.

    Rachel shook her head and hugged her mother with tears. She was unwilling to say. Instead, she asked, "Why are boys so fickle and promiscuous?"

    Amelia took a moment to process, before she asked, "Are you talking about Leon?"

    "I¡­ I¡­ was not." Rachel denied.

    Amelia shook her head at her daughter''s obvious lie. She had more or less figured out why her daughter was crying as she had met Leon on the way home. She understood her daughter''s bias against men with multiple wives.

    "Leon is a bit fickle in rtionships, but do you think he is only capable of loving physically and not spirituality?"

    Rachel thought and nodded.

    "It''s true that there are many men who only love women for their looks, and women who share a man are usually not happy, but there are also a select few who are. Take Baron Sterling for example. Despite having 4 wives, his wives are happy and harmonious. Baron Sterling treats them all very well. The key is sincerity. Do you think Leon is an insincere person?" Amelia said.

    Recalling the ugly ring, Rachel''s eyes reddened and nodded.

    Amelia was stunned as she did not expect this answer. She pulled her daughter away and looked her in the face seriously. "How can that be? I feel Leon is a very sincere person who treats his rtionships very seriously.

    Rachel felt something off about her mother''s grip on her shoulders. Seeing a simr ck ring on her mother, she froze. Didn''t she already throw this ring away? Why does her mother have it?

    "Mom, why do you have this ring?"

    "Interest? Probably, not. You must have also gotten one, that''s why you are asking, right? It''s a bit crude in design since the boy forged it himself, but it''s still a priceless treasure."

    Rachel''s heart trembled slightly with regret. The ring was forged by Leon, himself?

    "Why is it a priceless treasure?" She asked doubtfully.

    "The ring is an artifact with an interspatial storage. Why wouldn''t it be a priceless treasure? Look." Amelia thought it was strange that her daughter didn''t know yet, but she still exined and demonstrated for her daughter to see.

    Rachel saw a piece of clothing appeared and disappeared back into her mother''s interspatial ring. She suddenly paled and her heart trembled furiously. A look realization dawned on her. She had misunderstood him!

    She wiped her tears and convinced her mother she was fine before sending her away.

    After Amelia left doubtfully, Rachel immediately dive into the garden and searched for the ring desperately.

    ''Where is it? Why can''t I find it?''

    Rachel was desperately anxious. She did not know how an artifact was created, but it must have taken a lot of effort! If she knew the ring was forged by Leon, she would not have thrown it away!

    She did not mind that her clothes were soon dirtied by the soil and continued to search for the ring. When she found it a pot nt after half an hour, she hugged the ring close to her heart like it was very dear to her.

    There was a big difference between receiving a crude ring forged by the person and receiving a crude ring bought cheaply by the person.

 Chapter 267 - I Can Explain

    <h4>Chapter 267 - I Can Exin</h4>

    After leaving the Lancaster''s mansion, Leon headed to check on the Golden Lion Gang in the new Lower West District. He wondered if they had reverted to their old ways and up to no good during his absence.

    The Golden Lion Gang''s headquarters was one of the buildings that took priority during the reconstruction project. Not only was it one of the first buildings to bepleted, but it was also opened for business.

    This was an amazing feat to aplish in such little time. The building was not very tall, having only three floors, but it was very wide and capable of housing over two hundred people.

    Considering that he left the wealth of the Four Great Families in their hands to manage, even if the Golden Lion Gang did not open for business, it would still be enough to support the Golden Lion Gang for a lifetime.

    That being said, the wealth was considered the prince''s property. The Golden Lion Gang would not dare to use it wantonly without his permission. Given that Leon rarely visits to manage the gang, they had no choice but to open business early to produce some form of revenue.

    That is alright. This was not a problem. However, the problem was the type of business they were doing!

    When Leon arrived at the finished building, he almost spat blood in anger.

    "What the¡­ fuck!"

    A big que was hung in front of the Golden Lion Gang''s main building depicting the building''s name in three big, conspicuous, and¡­ jarring words!

    "The Lion''s Paradise¡­!"

    The building design based on a brothel from his previous world had turned into a real fucking brothel!

    At the front entrance, there were two pretty courtesans with voluptuous figures in incredibly attractive and seductive maid uniforms, serving as the front entrance receptionists. They enticed customers with sweet words and weed them with alluring smiles.

    No matter how Leon saw it, this was without a doubt, a brothel!

    Leon stood there like a block of wood, too shocked for words. He had this urge to copse the entire building and erase its proof of existence! Such a building! Such a name! This was too damaging to his image! Or perhaps, the damage had already been done!

    After all, there was only a letter difference between Leon and lion, not to mention that they essentially have the same meaning.

    ''The Lion''s Paradise? Fuck, might as well call it the Prince''s Harem!'' Leon almost fainted from anger.

    "Hi~ Handsome, why are you just standing out here? Would you like to dine in and have a good time?" One of the pretty courtesans came over and greeted with enticement.

    Leon calmed himself before ncing down at the two giant ''mounds'' pressing against his arm. His mouth twitched unnoticeably.

    ''Very big, but strange.'' He frowned. Something was off.

    They were very domineering and stood out like two pointy erected mountains. He did not notice from a distance, but now that they were up close and personal, everything about these two ''mounds'' was very unnatural. In fact, they were more like oval melons. The shape and size defied the logic of gravity.

    ''Torpedo tits.'' He secretlybeled the two big pointy melons that managed to stand without being weighed down by gravity. It looked quite ufortable and the person most likely experienced bad back pain quite often.

    "These are fakes, right?" Leon said drily as he pointed.

    ''How rude! Hmph, just you wait! I am going to milk you dry!''

    The alluring courtesan was immediately irked by his words with pursed lips, thinking Leon was also making fun of her breast like the rest of the male customers.

    However, in order to attract Leon, the courtesan tried not to show her displeasure and bit her lip enticingly like a temptress instead.

    "Won''t you know if they are fake or not after you touch them? Do you dare? It''s not free though~ " The courtesan said seductively as her lips curved up into an alluring smile.

    She had studied Leon''s features. He might not have the best of faces, but he had the presence and looks of a noble, and nobles usually tend to be rich.

    The pretty receptionistdy with odd boobs was already secretly concocting an evil n to make Leon select the most expensive menu and empty out his pockets.

    Women were vengeful creatures. One rude remark could put you on their cklist for life!

    ''F**k!''

    Such seductiveness was quite a lethal weapon against men! If Leon had not awakened his memories and merge his past and present self, the innocent version of himself might have already gotten a nosebleed from the excitement like other ordinary boys would.

    However, Leon was not someone ordinary. He would not shy away from something like this, not to mention he was quite curious how such voluptuous melons were able to defy gravity unnaturally and stand.

    "How much do you charge for a touch?" Leon''s lips curved up and looked like a big bad wolf. Despite that, he was not interested in the courtesan. Strictly speaking, he only wanted to cop a single feel for scientific research purposes.

    The courtesan was surprised by Leon''s response. She thought he would at least blush as young boys do, but she was wrong. This person was an experienced veteran. His wicked smiled made her feel ufortable like she had been stripped bare and seen through.

    She unconfidently raised on five fingers and sound him out. This was not part of the establishment''s provided service, but her own special service for rude customers who doubt her own assets.

    She could prove their authenticity while collecting some interest. It was killing two birds with one stone.

    "5000 Craws, huh? Alright."

    Leon found it quite pricy, but he was not one to haggle over such minor details and just nodded. The courtesan stunned at his Leon''s misunderstand. She only meant to say 500 Craws, but before she could correct him, he had already inserted the 5000 Craw notes in between her melons and copped a feel.

    "Here you go."

    "Ah?"

    A soft moan escaped her lips and made her flustered. She did not expect to lose herposure so easily to a brat. She looked at the boy''s hand like they were a pair of magical hands. It was strange. She had not felt this great from having her bosom touched before.

    It was a single touch. Nothing more, nothing less. Leon had got what he wanted to know.

    The secret behind the courtesan''s abnormal melons was quite simple. There was a congestion of earth elements that umted inside, which caused them to be stiff and rigid.

    It was not some rare disease or anything like that and would only cause some minor inconvenience in the back for a normal person. Any cultivator with a slightly stronger body than normal people will not have this problem. The only problem would just be the appearance.

    "Young Master, you have misunderstood. I only meant 500 Craws. You can touch me some more¡ªNo, please touch me some more."

    The courtesan said pleadingly with pink luster in her eyes and rosy cheeks. She was immediately ashamed that she was actually making such a shameless request.

    However, Leon pretended not to have heard her.

    On the second floor, Manager Doug was sitting by the balcony while looking up at the sky with a pensive mood. It has been some time since the prince, the boss had visited them, but there was also a part of him that hoped the prince does not. He was a bit afraid of what could happen.

    He sighed as he looks down at the bustling street. In the next moment, he was shocked at the sight of a familiar figure and immediately ducked down into hiding.

    ''Oh sh*t, the boss is here. Did he see me? Is the boss angry?'' Manager Doug thought nervously. In truth, there was no reason for him to be.

    ''Weird, why am I hiding from the boss, and why am I so nervous? It''s not like I did anything wrong nor am I operating any illegal business, right?''

    Manager Doug peeked over the balcony, but he froze in the next moment as his eyes directly met with the boss''s gaze.

    "Come out and greet me now, Doug."

    The boss''s young voice was heard. Manager Doug secretly cursed his bad luck that he was the first to encounter the boss and not any of the other core members.

    Since the boss called, he dared not dy and quickly went down to the entrance. Having not seen the boss for a while, the boss''s pressure and aura were stronger than ever.

    "Hahaha¡­ You are finally back, Boss! We really miss your presence!"

    Seeing the Manager of the establishment bootlicking and hugging the young boy''s thigh, the courtesan was stunned.

    ''The Manager is calling this boy the boss? But the boss would mean¡­" The front entrance receptionist with odd boobs gasped with surprise and her eyes began to sparkle along with the other receptionist. They had finally met the prince.

    "Fuck off." Leon kicked away the bootlicking manager and red at him. "Quickly exin to me what the hell is going on here, and what the hell is up with that name? You have some galls to open a brothel under my name, huh?"

    "B-Boss, I can exin. I-It''s not what you think."

    Manager stuttered with a bit of embarrassment as he also knows that the current establishment had strayed a bit from the adventurer''s guild n the boss had envisioned.

    "It''s not a brothel!"

 Chapter 268 - Frightening Cultivation Speed

    <h4>Chapter 268 - Frightening Cultivation Speed</h4>

    "It''s not a brothel!"

    When Manager Doug said these words, Leon shed him a disdainful nce.

    "Who are you trying to fool? Are you taking me for a 3-year-old? That name and these bustydies with maid uniforms say it all." Leon said.

    ''Not to mention, with some cash, she let me cop a feel.''

    Leon cast a sidelong nce at the courtesan with odd boobs.

    Manager Doug could not read Leon''s thoughts, but he did not need to. He only needed to look at the courtesan with odd boobs to understand everything.

    "Boss, it''s really not like that."

    Manager Doug tried to exin before casting the courtesan a re.

    "Have you been charging customers to touch your breast again, Khloe?" He interrogated.

    "No, Manager Doug." Khloe denied with her neck shrunk like a turtle hiding its head inside its shell. However, the cash stuffed in the valley of her twin mountains were clearly seen. "Yes¡­"

    Khloe ultimately admitted as the evidence was in in sight. Manager Doug harrumphed.

    "Ahem, Boss. Khloe was a courtesan in the past. Actually, most of the female workers inside were all courtesans from a brothel in the past¡­ but we really aren''t operating brothel, Boss. There''s a reason for this." Manager Doug exined awkwardly.

    "That''s right. This is a legitimate restaurant and bar. There is nothing dirty going on here." Khloe added.

    "Nothing dirty going on, huh? Not very convincing. Why don''t you go ahead and tell me what this reason is?"

    Khloe wanted to exin but she was immediately shot down by a re from Manager Doug, especially when the cash was still protruding from her chest.

    "Actually¡­ it wasn''t our intention to recruit thesedies, but they all came flocking over when they learned that you, Boss, was our backer. Most of thesedies were pitiful and unwilling souls who were forced into the brothel business during the tyranny of the four gangs and great families."

    "I found it hard to reject their request since there were many regrs even amongst themoners. They would be harassed constantly without our protection. After all, no one would dare to misbehave in the territory of our Golden Lion Gang back by the prince."

    "Ahem, the name was something we came up after. After all, thesedies are no longer working as courtesans, but waiters and they also have our protection. Men can see but they can''t touch."

    After listening to Manager Doug''s exnation, Leon''s mood did not improve. In fact, it got worse as it basically reinforced his first impression.

    Basically, all the courtesans were under his protection. However, this could be easily misunderstood as all the courtesans working as waiters in the ''The Lion''s Paradise'' as his women.

    Leon almost fainted from anger.

    "You¡­ you''re really good." He spat the words out sarcastically. Veins could be seen protruding from his forehead as he red at Manager Doug.

    A mountain of pressure simrly gushed out and weighed down on the Manager and two receptionistdies, making the surrounding air feel suffocating. This was not Leon purposely pressuring them, but a result of his depressive mood.

    His reputation was basically down the drain¡­ not that he really cares about his reputation. But it would be a problem if his own family anddies ask about it. He could feel an iing headache.

    "On the bright side¡­ business has been really good. Thedies attract a lot of customers toe to dine in." Manager Doug coughed and said drily with difficulty.

    "I''ll be the judge of that."

    "After you, Boss." Manager Doug respectfully gestured for Leon to enter the premise and see for himself.

    "Hmph!"

    Leon strolled inside The Lion''s Paradise and the boisterous and rowdy atmosphere of the interior sted in his ears. There was nothing sketchy going on at first nce and Manager Doug really did not lie to him. The business was going really well.

    The first floor was filled to the brim with people and activity. Members of the Golden Lion Gang intermixed with other customers as they cheered, bumped their wooden mug,s and downed their cold beverages.

    As Leon observed theyout of the first floor, he nodded. The Golden Lion Gang did not make any changes to his arrangements.

    The first floor was a public space for both members and non-members alike. It was, however, separated into three sections; a restaurant to serve the food, a bar to serve the drinks, and spare socializing spots with tables and seats provided.

    There was also a receptionist counter and arge mission board in that section. However, there weren''t much many mission avable as the guild was still in its infancy of nning, but the ones that were avable all had to do with odd jobs around the Capital.

    There were traces of tasks being ripped off the mission board, a few of which could be seen in the hands of some core members.

    Leon scrutinized his eyes to read the details from a distance. The task was not a difficult one. It was posted by the Cromwell family, looking to hire more earth-users for the construction projects.

    Indeed, earth-users were more desirable for construction projectspared to ordinary works as they were more work efficient. However, this only applies if the earth-users were adept with their earth maniption.

    At this moment, all three sections were fully upied as waiters busily brought out food and drinks from the kitchen to provide for the customers. They were all construction workers that came to rx during their breaks.

    As the first restaurant and bar to open in the Lower District, the poprity of the ce could be clearly seen.

    Leon hummed a low tune. The previous ill-feelings had dissipated with the wind. The Golden Lion Gang did not disappoint him.

    The build exterior was too misleading, making people believe the ce was a brothel, but he was quite satisfied with everything he had seen inside.

    "What do you think, Boss?" Manager Doug said carefully. He was quite proud of what they achieved, but it was not about what he thinks. It was about what the Boss thinks.

    "Very good."

    Leon did not to attract too much attention. As such, he discouraged Manager Doug from announcing his presence. He quietly finds a spot on the second floor and listened to the Manager Doug recount of events in his absence.

    The second floor was like the first floor, except it was reserved for VIP members, while the third floor was for amodations.

    After refining a few batches of True Awakening Pills, Leon handed them over to the manager to manage and reward some core members that had yet to awaken.

    Leon soon left after listing a few arrangements for the manager to handle. Everything was basically on track. He did not have any hopes that the Golden Lion Gang would be a powerful force that could aid him on his journey. His only

    Many of the core members were quite aged and had low potential. Training them into experts would cost much more resource than training younger people.

    The core members were disappointed that they missed the opportunity to thank their boss in person before Leon left. As for the female waiters, they were devastated to learnt that the prince that they had been hoping to meet had passed them by without them even knowing.

    Anyone who could catch the elusive prince''s interest would have been able to ascend to the top of the socialdder in one breath. It was unfortunate that the prince was not interested in any of them.

    Leon dropped by the pill refining room in the pce to check on his disciple''s progress and offered some pointers before he heads back to his own courtyard and whipped out the pill cauldron to refine a few pills.

    Amongst the various healing pills, he needed to restock as life-saving measures for unexpected situations, Leon also refined some Spirit Enhancing Pills, Spirit Condensation Pills, and Core Strengthening Pills, the same pills he assigned his disciple to refine.

    After Leon was done with his pill refinement session, he selected another three books from the Archive to study, before researching his new ability some more.

    The usefulness of his new ability was far too great as it had a wide range of applications that could not be fully explored in one sitting. For such a powerful ability, he decided to name it Divine Will; the ability tomand anything with his will.

    It was previously established that he could only conjure elements he hadprehended, but anything already existing between heaven and earth was for him tomand¡­ naturally, this should include the energy between heaven and earth!

    Leon tested the full extend of his Divine Will as he faced the sky. The tranquility of the energy between heaven and earth within 200 yards of Leon was disrupted and stirred into being as they gathered to him like the gushing tide.

    Such an ability to gather energy far outstripped any divine breathing technique in his collection. His meridians could feel the pain from the overabundance of energy flooding into his body as they made their way to the ck vortex.

    Leon bore the pain with gritted teeth as he wondered if there was a way to channel the energy into his ck vortex directly.

    As soon as he had that thought, a channel was opened directly at his be as the energy funneled through there like a twisting tornado.

    The change in the sky did not go unnoticed to the pce inhabitants. All the pce guards and maids turned to look.

    In the king''s study, Heinrich paused his writing to look in Leon''s courtyard direction. In one of the pill refining room, Grandmaster Don got distracted and another pill cauldron wen kaboom.

    In the Guest Courtyard, the Supreme Elder opened his eyes.

    "Did you sense that, Supreme Elder?" Princess Faelyn asked.

    Supreme Elder, Haldir nodded. "Let''s go take a look. I have not seen such a monstrous gathering speed."

    Princess Faelyn agreed.

    Back in Leon''s courtyard, his eyes had already been shut as he focused in on his sea of consciousness.

    Energy flood his ck vortex as they were rapidly grinded, fused, and refined. As his cultivations rapidly rose, he could sense his mental strength decline even more rapidly!

    In a short instance, he was already experiencing mental fatigue as the tornado of energy dispersed and ended.

    Leon reopened his eyes with some regret.

    "Haiz, just a little bit more and I would have broken through to the 9-star level." Hemented, but did not dwell on the matter. This sort of cultivation speed, although it was short, it was indeed quite frightening.

    If he had such an ability back in the Divine Realm, perhaps achieving the Divine King realm within three years might not be impossible, provided that there was no bottleneck and he does not die to his own tribtions.

    "An afternoon nap might be good." Hezily thought, feeling a bit sleepy. It was only midday though¡­

    Leon soon shook his head out of that thought and took out a Soul Enhancing Pill. It was one of thest 7 pills from the batch of Soul Enhancing Pills he refined the first time a while back.

    The Soul Enhancing Pill could replenish his mental fatigue and strength his soul, killing two birds with one stone. He felt he was ready to take another Soul Enhancing Pill.

    In fact, Leon felt he could take quite a few Soul Enhancing Pills.

    Afterprehending the greatw, his soul had undergone a qualitative transformation like upgrading from a rubber band that can stretch a bit to a rubber band that can stretch a lot.

 Chapter 269 - Gifting A Pill As Compensation

    <h4>Chapter 269 - Gifting A Pill As Compensation</h4>

    After popping the Soul Enhancing Pill in his mouth, Leon worked to replenish his mental strength by spreading the medicinal efficacy to work its magic quickly.

    A cold soothing sensation waved over his soul. His mental fatigue was elevated and 50% of his mental strength was recovered.

    The core of the Soul Enhancing Pill was to enhance and not to recover. As such, he did not recover as much mental strength as he had hoped to, but his soul did improve a bit.

    His divine sense and Divine Will could now reach up to 220 yards away. It was an improvement of 20 yards with one pill.

    The range of Divine Sense for a Divine Origin practitioner was up to 1000 yards. Compared to a Divine Origin realm practitioner, he was still far from his peak. Butpared to Revolving Core practitioners, his soul was already many folds more powerful.

    "If I want to sustain such a frightening cultivation speed for longer periods, I have two choices. I can continue to enhance my soul, or refine some soul recovery pills that focus on the replenishment of mental strength." Leon ruminated.

    Ideally, enhancing the soul was the better choice as he could also improve his divine sense and Divine Will ability.

    However, he was not sure how many times he could enhance his soul with Soul Enhancing Pills before his soul starts to feel the strain from overstretching. If that happened then, the loss would far outweigh the gain.

    He was quite sure that the secret to breaking past the Divine King realm was greatly rted to the soul.

    "It seems I should start looking into soul recovery pills." Leon decided. "But before that¡­ let me test one more thing."

    He was not done with his Divine Will experiment. There was one more test, possibly the one he is most curious about.

    Leon expanded his divine sense and gathered all the faint traces of spirit energy in the sky to his palm. The scarcity of spirit energy only allowed him to gather enough to produce a speck of azure glow.

    He creased his brows, thinking that such a pitiful amount was not even close to drawing the simplest of runic circles.

    Could his grey ring of energy also transform into spirit energy topliment what wascking?

    Sure enough, the grey ring of energy began to change under his Divine Will and a stream of spirit energy channel out of his body and merged with the tiny speck in his palm.

    In a brief moment, the tiny speck became the size of a walnut. Under his Divine Will, the walnut-size spirit energy began to tten and spread to form a simple array of runic circles and symbols interlinked together.

    The process onlysted a couple of breaths before the array was formed. It was much quicker than manually engraving runes. If Leon had a clear and concise image in his mind, the array would easily from like its been drawn from several points rather than from a single point.

    Crack¡­

    Unfortunately, the fire-type attack array he invented on the spot with the help of his rich runic knowledge fragmented and dispersed the moment it activated upon itspletion.

    "Sure enough, there is no spirit energy in the surrounding to support the activation of a spiritual array, causing it to consume its own energy and copse."

    The ancient spiritual array master did not die out without reason.

    Leon shook his head. He had met the prerequisite to bing a Spiritual Array Master, but the scarcity of spirit energy between heaven and earth did not allow him to witness the might of a spiritual array as vaguely mentioned in the inheritance.

    A series of distant footsteps immediately perked Leon''s ears as listened to the sounds drawing closer. He turned towards the courtyard entrance as expected iing guests.

    Leon smiled wryly as he did not find it strange at all for his eye-catching experiment to draw other people''s curiosity over. In fact, it would be strange if it did not.

    The head of the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn soon popped around the corner with two pce maids. If not for some procedures that had to be done to enter the Inner Pce, they would have arrived much sooner.

    "Good afternoon, Esteemed Envoys. How may I help you?" Leon greeted and asked casually, but it was enough to cause the Supreme Elder to flinch. He was immediately amused as he could see a trace of fear in the person''s eyes. A powerful Transcendent was afraid of him? Why is that so?

    "Ahem, greetings, Your Highness."

    "Pardon our sudden visit, Your Highness. We were curious about the phenomenon that just happened here. If I may be so impudent as to ask, what was it?" The Supreme Elder continued while maintaining a respectful distance from Leon and under his curious gaze.

    "Oh, that? Just something I was testing out. Since you are both guests here, please allow me to perform as a proper host. Come, have a seat while we chat over tea. I believe it''s hardly appropriate to talk over such awkward distance." Leon invited them over to the tea-table.

    He had missed the negotiation talk previously, but his father had informed him afterward about what went down. He was quite surprised to learn that the elves were willing to be vassals of their Crawford Kingdom to ovee a cmity that may or may not happened.

    Nevertheless, he highly doubted that their only reason foring here. Surely, they hade from the World Tree. The timing was too coincidental.

    "It''s fine¡­ Since your Highness is unwilling to divulge, we do not want to impose upon you." The Supreme Elder respectfully rejected the offer.

    "You seem to be afraid of me?"

    The Supreme Elder was caught off-guard by Leon''s bluntness and coughed, "Ahem, no¡­ that is certainly not the case¡­"

    "Is that really not the case?" Leon moved forward a few steps as the Supreme Elder retreated and responded with, "It definitely isn''t."

    Leon took another step forward, and the Supreme Elder retreated again.

    "¡­"

    A drop of sweat ran down the side of the Supreme Elder''s face. Afraid? Of course, he was afraid! The boy in front of him had robbed a chunk of his cultivation when he was still unconscious! Who knows what could happen now that the boy was awake? If he is not cautious, he might just get his entire cultivation stripped with a touch!

    Princess Faelyn was also a bit nervous but she stepped forward to exin.

    "Your Highness¡­ it was like this¡­ While you were unconscious, your father, the king had permitted us to demonstrate our medical expertise by treating you. However, we are quite ashamed that not only were we unable to rouse you awake, but the Supreme Elder had also lost a portion of his cultivation to you, Your Highness."

    "I see¡­"

    Leon was quite surprised when he heard the Princess''s exnation. No wonder there was a sudden surge in his cultivation. It came from the Supreme Elder.

    It appeared that he also had the ability to steal other people''s cultivation. Leon was both pleasantly surprised and guilty at this revtion as he nced at what had be of a proud Transcendent.

    He had no scruples when ites to robbing the cultivation of his enemies, but if it happened to his allies, and future subordinates, he feltpelled topensate the other party.

    But¡­ what would be suitable aspensation for someone''s loss in cultivation? Leon wracked his brain in thought.

    Seeing that the prince was at a loss, the Supreme Elder did not want to make it difficult for him. He was a temporary Marquis of the Crawford Kingdom now, and his own stubbornness was to me.

    "There''s no need to feel guilty over something¡­ something like this, Your Highness. My own stubbornness was to me." He waved it off lightly, but everyone present could tell that the Supreme Elder''s expression was a bit forced.

    Within the Transcendent Realm, the further one progresses, the more difficult it bes. At the Seeking Insight stage, hard work was no longer enough. Innate talent was more important. If one did not have a high level of perceptiveness of thews, it was difficult to progress further.

    What the Supreme Elder lost was equivalent to a few decades worth of cultivation. His talent was considered ordinary within the tribe. The reason he was the strongest was that he was also the eldest in the tribe. He had cultivated longer than the others.

    But now, it was just a matter of time because one of the elders of the council or royal members surpasses him unless he receives another spark of insight or lucky chance.

    "Regardless of what happened, it can also be said that you have aided me greatly in my own cultivation. As my father has granted you the status of a Marquis, your contribution could be considered merit worthy of a reward."

    "But¡­"

    Leon raised a hand to stop the Supreme Elder from interrupting him and continued, "As a royal member of the Crawford Kingdom, we do not treat our people unfairly. I will see to it that you will be rewarded andpensated fairly for your loss. Take this pill aspensation. You may find it unexpectedly useful."

    Leon was firm in his words and decisive in his choice, handing over a Soul Enhancing Pill to the Supreme Elder. He would be left with 5 Soul Enhancing Pills afterward.

    It was only a Tier-1 Spirit Pill and the effects are not too strong, but an enhancement in the soul covered a wide range of aspects such as improving mental strength, fortifying memory, heightened perception, quicker reaction, and information processing.

    Supreme Elder Haldir epted the Soul Enhancing Pill with doubt. A single pill was hispensation? What does it even do?

    "May I ask what kind of pill this is, Your Highness?"

    "It''s called the Soul Enhancing Pill. As for its exact effects, you''ll know when you take it."

    The Supreme Elder appeared shocked when he heard Leon''s vague exnation, but he swallowed the pill without hesitation. Princess Faelyn also covered her mouth in shock.

    Leon raised an eyebrow at their shocked reactions.

    "You know about Soul Enhancing Pills?" Leon asked Princess Faelyn curiously, seeing as the Supreme Elder had quickly entered deep meditation to absorb the pill''s efficacy.

 Chapter 270 - Having Tea With The Elven Princess

    <h4>Chapter 270 - Having Tea With The Elven Princess</h4>

    "There isn''t a single elf in Elvengarde that doesn''t know about Soul Enhancing Pills. The Soul Enhancing Pill is regarded as a divine pill in our tribe." Princess Faelyn exined with a rare trace of envy on her face.

    "Why is it considered a divine pill in your tribe?" Leon knitted his brows together as he failed to understand what was so great about it. Did he miss something?

    "Not just our tribe. I believe any Awakener would also regard it as a divine pill. As you know, innate talent is extremely difficult to improve. If a person''s innate talents are terrible, it would be difficult to achieve anything in awakening cultivation. However, Soul Enhancing Pills can improve a person''s innate talent, allowing them to progress further and smoother in cultivation. The Supreme Elder was fortunate enough to consume one in his younger days. Wouldn''t your Highness also agree that something like this should be regarded as a divine pill."

    "That''s true??? in that case, it is truly deserving to be considered a divine pill." Leon agreed with a wry smile, but he was rather startled.

    If that was true, why had he not realized such benefits yet? Because his starting point was originally much higher than others as a former Divine Origin realm practitioner? These Soul Enhancing Pills were like icing on the cake for him, but that was not the same for others.

    Leon gave it some thought and smiled wryly. If the soul could be quantified in numerical values, his soul would be at 220 points, a normal person''s soul would be roughly around 20 points, and a Transcendent''s soul would be around 40 points.

    A single Soul Enhancing Pill would grant around 20 bonus points to one''s soul. It would make sense that a normal person has a different reaction to Soul Enhancing Pills inparison to him.

    Also, he had been increasing his awakening cultivation through unconventional methods such as cultivation resources. He had not sat down and cultivated normally as his focus has always been on divine cultivation and body forging.

    Furthermore, only when he had reached the Transcendent Realm, would the importance of one''s innate talent be highlighted.

    "Your Highness¡­ are these Soul Enhancing Pills easy to manufacture in the Human Domain?" Princess Faelyn asked hesitantly.

    What she was actually hoping to ask was if she could also have one. However, she found it quite inappropriate as she was not sure if Soul Enhancing Pills were also extremely rare in the Human Domain.

    Leon felt that he should not carelessly let other people know that he could refine soul-rted pills, lest he carelessly arouses the greed of unscrupulous hidden Transcendents, and gets himself kidnapped to be a pill ve.

    The Crawford Kingdom was no longer the strongest kingdom in the Human Domain like it was 500 years ago. The fact that there was absolutely no information on the Geyser Kingdom had made him even warier.

    As the only kingdom that had ess to the open sea, they cannot possibly be weaker than the other three kingdoms, right?

    "Hmm, it''s not easy to manufacture. In fact, I do not know anyone who can refine these Soul Enhancing Pills in the Human Domain. I was just lucky to find these on an underground trip."

    "Oh¡­"

    The disappointment in Princess Faelyn''s eyes could be clearly seen. She was still hoping she could at least buy one for herself. She was not so ignorant that she did not understand the importance of strength in this world, especially for one as beautiful as her.

    Where there are people, there would always be conflict. Even if you are minding your own business and did your best not to offend anyone, there was a chance that someone would still find trouble with you.

    Leon felt a heartstring being pulled but there was no other way. An urge to spill his secrets to make the elven beauty in front of him came abruptly, but he resisted. They were not familiar with each other enough for him to trust her with a secret that could endanger his life.

    "Thank you for bestowing such a treasured pill to this one, Your Highness. This one will forever remember your grace and benevolence." The Supreme Elder said subserviently with a heart full of emotion after he had finished absorbing the Soul Enhancing Pill.

    A single Soul Enhancing Pill was far more valuable than his few decades of cultivation. He would at most, spend a few years to regain his cultivation as it was easier to re-cultivate to a previous level than to cultivate to a higher level.

    But now that he had ingested another Soul Enhancing Pill, his soul had reached a new state of rity and clearness. Comprehending thew of wood has be 50% faster for him. In other words, his cultivation speed has increased by 50%! The difference was clear who had gained more out of this.

    If the Elven King, Queen, and elders of the council saw the current Supreme Elder, they would have felt nothing but betrayal. Their pride did not allow them to be human vassals, but their strongest expert was kneeling with gratitude to a human.

    "It is what you deserve. Quickly get up, it''s not appropriate for the Supreme Elder to kneel." Leon did not dare to ept the Supreme Elder''s kneeling. The other was considered his senior in terms of both age and cultivation.

    "Hahaha, appropriate¡­ totally appropriate¡­" The Supreme Elder chortled.

    Princess Faelyn felt a bit helpless as tried to pull the Supreme Elder up with an expression that says, ''I understand how you feel, but think about your status.''

    "Your Highness, this one had gained some sudden insights and would like to request his leave to cultivate."

    "Insights are indeed rare opportunities and hard toe by. You may leave." Leon nodded and permitted helplessly. With such a reason, he could not keep the Supreme Elder around for a chance to learn more about Elvengarde.

    "Thank you, Your Highness." The Supreme Elder did a traditional elven half-bow gesture to show his highest degree of respect, but it did not appear solemn as he could not hide the glee on his face.

    Regardless of whether they came because of the uing cmity or for the World Tree, just the fact that he had received a Soul Enhancing Pill had made the trip worth it.

    After receiving Leon''s permission, the Supreme Elder turned to Princess Faelyn and his eyes turned bright. "Princess Faelyn, please apany his Highness in my stead."

    "Yes, Supreme Elder."

    Princess Faelynplied but she was a bit speechless as she saw through the Supreme Elder''s hidden intention.

    The Supreme Elder had promised her not to force her into a political marriage, but he could still try to matchmake them.

    "Princess Faelyn, I am quite curious about your Elven Tribe. Would you care to join me for a chat over tea?" Leon asked after the Supreme Elder was gone and out of sight.

    "Your Highness, you can just call me Faelyn. I would love to join you for a chat over afternoon tea. I do have a few questions of my own if you don''t mind me asking." Faelyn said courteously.

    "Feel free to ask, but I can''t promise I will answer all of them. You can also just call me Leon. It''ll be easier for us tomunicate seeing as we are of simr age."

    "Y-Yes."

    Faelyn was surprised at how easily the prince had agreed and how easy going he was. She thought that the prince only said so because he was interested in her beauty. However, the prince''s calm collectedness did not show any sign that implied he was interested. She blushed for thinking too much.

    "Is there something on my face?"

    "N-No¡­" Faelyn''s ear went red.

    "Please have a seat." Leon took his seat and gestured for Faelyn to sit on the steel stool across the tea table.

    "Your Highness, shall I go prepare the tea?" One of the two pce maids apanying Faelyn asked.

    "No need. I will prepare it myself."

    Although that was what Leon said, he was already seated and did not seem to have any intention of touching the teapot on the table.

    As the pce maids were confused and wondering whether to pick up the teapot and go brew the tea, the teapot began moving on its own as it hovered up.

    The lid came off, after which a block of ice entered the teapot while a ball of me was alighted underneath. After the teapot was given a round of cleansing, the teapot was drained of its contents before a new block of ice was tossed inside to be melted.

    A dried stalk of Tier-3 Achromous Valerian Root appeared in his hand before it was sealed inside the teapot. Leon casually and patiently waited for the herbal tea to reach a boiling point. When steam began to escape the mouth, Leon extinguished the fire and proceeded to pour the princess before pouring himself a cup.

    Sure, there was a more refined way of prepare herbal tea, but considering he had used a Tier-3 Spirit Herb, Leon didn''t feel the need to go through the additional troublesome steps when the quality and taste is all but guaranteed.

    Throughout the process, Faelyn was too stunned for words. What had she just witnessed? Earth¡­ Fire¡­ Water¡­ and¡­ the Crawford Royal family was apparently a family of metal-users.

    Four elements?! That was unheard! And did she just see an herbal nt appearing out of thin air? What was that? Magic?

    Leon picked up his teacup and an unknown gust of wind cooled the herbal tea for him to drink.

    Five elements?!

    Faelyn found it hard to keep a calm look. The person in front of her had shown her one too many surprises.

    "What would you like to ask me first, Faelyn?" Leon gave her the honors of having the first question as he sipped on his herbal tea. The fragrance of the herbal tea assaulted the princess''s senses and immediately made her captivated.

    "This isn''t tea, is it?" Faelyn asked dazedly amongst the myriads other questions she could have asked as she took a sip.

 Chapter 271 - You Are Adopted, Right?

    <h4>Chapter 271 - You Are Adopted, Right?</h4>

    "This isn''t tea, is it?"

    It was Leon''s turn to be dazed as he did not expect that to be the elven princess''s first question. He shook his head with a softugh as he could also see that Faelyn had wanted to ask something else. She had a look that could not wait to dig out his secrets.

    "That''s right, it''s not traditional tea. It''s called herbal tea." Leon smiled, thinking back to the number of times he had to exin the same thing.

    Herbal tea was a concept new to the current world. He was not exactly sure which noble sage came up with it either.

    "It''s very invigorating." Faelyn found herself really liking the herbal tea. It smells nice, tastes nice, and feels nice. But then she recalled the Mandrake Root-like herb Leon ced in the teapot and she was no longer smiling.

    "What herb did you use? It looked like a Mandrake Root. Mandrake Roots might look like a nt, but it also has a life of its own. It''s pure evil to kill it for tea." Faelyn admonished.

    "Now, now. I believe it is my turn to ask the question. If you find it evil, then stop drinking the herbal tea." Leon chuckled slyly.

    Faelyn opened her small mouth dumbfoundedly before closing them with a pouted.

    "What do you want to ask?" She asked gloomily as she quietly sipped her tea.

    "Wow, someone''s not happy." Leon found the princess easy to tease andughed lightly. "The herb used for herbal tea is called the Achromous Valerian Root. It''s not one of those mischievous little nts that like to prank people, so you can rest easy and drink with a piece of mind."

    "En."

    "My question is how big is your Elven Tribe, Elvengarde?"

    "Elvengarde is a mid-rank tribe with a poption of 800,000 elves," Faelyn said in a forward manner that even surprised Leon.

    It appeared that Faelyn was much easier to talk to than Lilith.

    "800,000 elves, huh?" Leon mumbled.

    The Capital only holds a poption of 50,000 people. If he were to calcte all the people scattered throughout the Crawford Kingdom, it would still only add to a mere 500,000. Yet, a single mid-rank tribe in the Wilnds has a poption of 800,000.

    It should also be mentioned that elves had low reproductive rates. Their longer lifespans made it harder for female elves to conceive, while male elves were not sexually driven like humans.

    "How do you feed such arge poption?" Leon could already guess the answer, but he still felt it was important to ask.

    Faelyn gave him a dirty look for asking another question. Nevertheless, she still answered with a proud look.

    "Any other tribe can go hungry, but our elven tribe will never be."

    "I thought as much." Leon nodded. It was not the exact answer he was looking for, but he understood the reason behind it. The elves were highly sustainable at cultivating crops.

    If they could incorporate the elves into their kingdom, they would never experience a shortage of food again. Although Lina''s parents were doing their best, two wood-users were hardly enough to feed the Capital, not to mention trying to expand it.

    "Alright, ask me any two questions."

    "How many elements can you control?"

    "Now that is an interesting question." Leon smiled. In essence, he hadprehended six elements, but with Divine Will, all the elements were his to control so long as they exist in his surroundings. "It depends on how you view it guess. It can be six or it can be all."

    Faelyn''s curiosity was drawn.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Is that what you really want to ask for your second question?"

    "Leon, you are being very unfair. You did not answer my question properly!" Faelyn pouted with annoyance. She had been straightforward with her answers. Was it too much to ask for the same?

    ''Sigh, women.'' Leon shrugged his shoulders. Faelyn did not go into details about how her tribe themselves either.

    "It''s a bit hard to exin. I am not sure if you can understand it. Basically, I have six core elements I can control, but due to a special ability I have awakened, I can control anything, understand?"

    "What do you mean?" Faelyn did not understand at all.

    "¡­And that is exactly what I mean." Leon sighed helplessly. Divine Will was still new to him. It was hard to find a precise exnation for something he had yet to fullyprehend the full extent of. The reason he even bothered to mention it at all was due to Faelyn being quite open.

    "Exactly what you mean? If you don''t want to answer, then just say you don''t." Faelyn pouted.

    Leon was speechless.

    "I''m surprised you haven''t asked me about the World Tree yet. Isn''t that what you came for?" Leon shook his head and said.

    Faelyn did not expect Leon to be the first person to bring it up and her eyes opened wide with surprise.

    "You are willing to talk about that?" Faelyn asked with a bit of excitement.

    Leon nodded.

    "Fire away your questions. I will do my best to answer them. Oh, did I also forget to mention that probably no one else in this kingdom knows more about the World Tree than me?"

    "Che! Brag some more." Faelyn curled her lips into a smile. They were of simr age. How much could you possibly know? However, Leon was very mysterious to her so he might actually be stating the truth.

    "I personally saw it ascended myself," Leon stated confidently.

    "Anyway, that is what you said! You can''t go back on your words!" Faelyn said. Her eyes were lit up as she took a deep breath. "How old is the World Tree? How did the World Tree ascend? What happened during its ascension? Is thend there opened? Can my tribe move there? Do we have¡ª"

    "Hold it right there!" Leon stopped her from talking further while his mouth twitched unnoticeably. "One question at a time. I can''t answer them all at once."

    Faelyn realized she was carried away in questioning and blushed.

    "Sorry."

    "Don''t worry about it." Leon waved it off nonchntly. "Anyway, I cannot give an exact number, but the World Tree is at least 10,000 years old, old enough to witness the destruction of the ancient civilization."

    Leon paused and peeked at Faelyn. She was listening very intently.

    "As an elf, you should already know that sunlight and adequate water is vital for the survival and growth of a nt. Before the World Tree ascended, it had been buried underground all this time. I yed a part in allowing it to receive its first ray of sunlight and push for ascension."

    "You did?"

    Faelyn''s twinkling eyes of admiration made Leon embarrassed. In some sense, he did y a part by ordering the pce guards to dig the tunnel and arrangement of sunlight through mirrors. But if he was asked how much he contributed, the answer was he had put in zero effort.

    "Ahem, yes," Leon responded with a dry cough.

    "Ehhh, really?"

    "Of course."

    "Why are you looking away then?"

    Faelyn had inched closer to pry for any falsity from his expression.

    "Because you''re being too close."

    "Is that the only reason though?"

    "Stop asking."

    "Oh, okay," Faelyn said with a smile. She sat back down jovially with a carefree expression like she had just won a victorious battle.

    Leon was not sure if this was what her true nature was like or if it was the tea that made her rxed like this, but she was really enjoying herself, huh?

    "How childish. Are you really a royal princess?" Leon doubted.

    "I could ask the thing the same about you." Faelyn giggled.

    "If I''m a royal princess or not?" Leon joked.

    "¡­"

    Faelyn pouted.

    "You know what I mean."

    "Haha, what can I say? I spent 17 years as amoner." Leon shrugged his shoulders. "It''s not strange for me to be morefortable speaking informally."

    If he did care about formality, he would have never asked Dwight if the old man was an idiot for spending decades without sess in alchemy the first time they met.

    Of course, he had also taken into ount the old man''s good nature at that time. Otherwise, any other noble would have swatted him to death.

    "You spent 17 years as amoner?" Faelyn blinked and restudied his features that looked no older than the number of years he had mentioned spending as amoner. Her eyes widened as she asks with surprise, "Did you get adopted into royalty? Do the King and Queen have trouble conceiving a child?"

    "Pft." The maids quickly covered their mouths.

    "Ugh¡­" Leon groaned like he had just suffered critical damage. "How did you even arrive at such a conclusion?"

    "Eh, it''s not?" Faelyn appeared shocked that she had guessed wrong.

    ''Why are you so shocked for?!'' Leon was betweenughter and crying. No, rather he wanted to puke blood from holding back at cursing!

    "NO!"

    "Uh¡­ Sorry¡­ I didn''t mean it." Faelyn awkwardly apologized while fiddling her fingers.

    "Forget it."

    Leon waved it off grudgingly before rubbing his temples like he was suffering from a migraine.

    What a disaster.

    If such a serious misunderstanding made their way to the ears of his father and mother¡­ Even with all the love that they have for him, he was afraid that someone would still have a hard time avoid getting their ass flogged, and by someone, he meant himself.

    He was an ex-Divine Origin realm practitioner and the son of the Divine Medicine King. He refuses to be subjected to such possible humiliation.

    "Not a word of this gets out, understand?"

    He red at the pce maids with a piercing look¡­ The pce maids nodded meekly like pecking ducks.

 Chapter 272 - Stepping On A Series Of Landmines

    <h4>Chapter 272 - Stepping On A Series Of Landmines</h4>

    At the tea-table within the prince''s private courtyard, there was a period of silence as Leon readjusted his riled emotions.

    During this time, Faelyn fiddled her fingers and feet nervously like a bad child who knew she had done something wrong and was waiting to be punished. Perhaps, she had gotten toofortable and uttered some shocking things that should not be said normally.

    The maids knew it was wrong, but they were caught off guard and failed to hold back theirughter. Leon could no longer hear their muffledughter, but their shoulders still shook from time to time.

    ''I''m so dead. I''m going to be punished for this.'' Was what the two maids were thinking when the prince red at them.

    "Anyway, the World Tree already has owners. If your tribe wants a ce by the World Tree, you will have to consult them and not me. However, if you do not know the ancientnguage, then it''ll be difficult to negotiate sincemunication won''t be easy."

    Leon was not sure how much knowledge from the basguage package the elder had absorbed, but it should not be that much. Anguage was not something that can be learned overnight.

    Of course, this also only applies to normal people. A Transcendent''s learning speed was slightly faster than a normal person. As for Leon, his learning speed was over tenfold quicker than a normal person. It all had to do with the strength of one''s soul.

    "The ancientnguage? I don''t know any ancientnguage."

    "Then it will be difficult. You can wait until Elder Evergreen bes proficient in the Gaiannguage before trying." Leon shrugged his shoulders. "Other than that, there isn''t many other choices. I don''t have the time to teach you the ancientnguage."

    Faelyn''s eyes lit up when she minced over his words.

    "But you do know the ancientnguage, right?"

    "That''s right."

    "Wow! That''s incredible! My tribe has a few relics and ancient texts, but none of our elders had been able to make any heads and tails out of it. How did you manage to decipher thenguage?"

    "I''m a genius. I did it with this." Leon pointed to his own head and said shamelessly.

    In a way, he was not lying. With his super-fast learning speed, he could be considered a genius at this point. However, he did not decipher the ancientnguage with his own efforts but inherited it from his previous life.

    Nevertheless, Faelyn did not seem to doubt Leon as she totally believed him. Leon had shown her too many surprises.

    "Incredible."

    "Oh, you actually believe it?" Leon was intrigued.

    "Should I not?" Faelyn asked with a confused look.

    "No."

    "That''s good then."

    Leon was puzzled by Faelyn''s relieved expression and asked, "What''s good?"

    "It''s good that I didn''t believe in vain. You should reward for it." Faelyn said.

    Leon was immediately amused. He seemed to have understood where she was getting at and yed along with a sly smile. "And what kind of reward do you want from me?"

    "Teach me the ancientnguage!" Faelyn said with a hopeful gaze. Seeing Leon''s lips curving up into a big smile after what she said, she felt excited with rising anticipation. There was a chance!

    "No." Leon rejected tly.

    Faelyn was appalled and devastated like her hopes were dashed just like that. "What! Why??? That''s too cruel." Faelyn whined.

    "I don''t have time." Leon chuckled.

    As the onlookers, the pce maids felt like the prince and elven princess were almost flirting with each other. They nced at each other incredibility and wariness and decided to keep their interaction with the prince to a bare minimum.

    ''As expected of the womanizing prince. His skills are off the charts. Even the elven princess was not spared.''

    If Leon could read their thoughts, he would have cried injustice!

    "You don''t have time to teach me, but you have the idle time to chat?" Faelyn gave Leon the dirty look.

    "This is not idle chat but an exchange of information, don''t you agree? I have been answering your questions for some time now. Don''t you think it''s you answer some of mine?" Leon stated while casually pouring himself a new cup of tea. He did not forget to do the same for Faelyn

    Faelyn opened and closed her mouth several times before she grudgingly asks, "What do you want to know?"

    "How much do you know about the Wilnds? I would like to know about the general division of strength between the tribes."

    "Why do you want to know about that? Aren''t you interested in learning more about my tribe at all?" Faelyn raised an eyebrow.

    They had been talking for so long, but Leon had beenposed the entire time and moved by her beauty in the least. Was he not actually not interested in women? Faelyn gave Leon a peculiar look.

    "Of course, I''m interested."

    "Then why¡ª"

    "This is more important," Leon said firmly.

    Faelyn did not know why, but she felt extremely ufortable hearing this, so much so that her gloomy aura could be felt as she gritted her teeth. Her tribe was not as important as the rest of the Wilnds, is that right?

    "If the world is going to be hit by the seconding of the Cataclysm, the beasts will go wild and out of control. Don''t you think its reasonable that I would at least want to know what their strengths and numbers are, so the Human Domain could prepare for what''s toe?" Leon exined with a bit of speechlessness.

    "Eh, you''re right. That makes sense." Faelyn felt better and giggled with a bit of awkwardness and shyness. What was wrong with her?

    "Elvengarde only upies one corner of the Wilnds so we don''t know too much about the whole situation. But generally, low-rank tribes are ruled by Transcendents at the Preliminary ession stage or beasts with an equivalent level of strength and their poption usually does not exceed 200,000."

    "Mid-rank tribes like ours are ruled by a Transcendent at the Seeking Insight stage with a poption ranging anywhere between 1 million to 2 million beasts and beastkins. As for High-rank tribes, they are ruled by Paragons with poptions usually over 10 million."

    Faelyn patiently exined. Leon was mentally prepared to hear some ridiculous numbers considering the sheer size of the Wilnds, but the numbers still shocked him deep. These were only the numbers for a single tribe of each rank.

    "How many tribes are there?" Leon said drily.

    "I''m not sure. There are too many low-rank tribes and mid-rank tribes." Faelyn shook her head. "But heard there are 12 high-rank tribes. And¡­"

    "And?"

    "This is just hearsay, but I heard there''s an even higher rank tribe than high-rank tribes called king-rank tribes. Supposedly there are four such tribes, each ruled by demigod-level existences that had taken half a step into divinity." Faelyn said hesitantly, unable to confirm the rumors.

    Leon felt an unprecedented level of pressure at the revtion of such news, but he also sneered at the mention of demigod-level existences.

    Faelyn was frightened by Leon''s attitude. Does he look down on the demigod-level existences?!

    "Careful! I heard that these demigod-level existences also possess powerful consciousness that could reach very distantnds." Faelyn warned.

    "Didn''t you say that these were just rumors? Look how frightened you are."

    "It''s still good to be careful, lest you identally court a cmity onto yourself. Hmph!"

    Leon chuckled lightly, but he acknowledged her warning and no longer openly show his disdain.

    Still, even the peak Divine Kings of the Divine Realm did not dare to im that they have reached the level demigods nor anywhere remotely close to it. Leon felt that these four so-call demigods-level existences were quite audacious.

    Hm?

    Leon frowned as he entered a deeper level of thought. It might not be all that audacious. Celestials were existences capable of living as long as the sun and moon if they refine celestial bodies and be Celestial Rulers.

    Even if they were not as powerful as True Gods, they would have at least gained the lifespan of one. Putting it nicely, it was not farfetched to be called a demigod-level existence at the Half-step Celestial realm.

    "Thank you, that was highly informative. I want to hear more about your elven tribe now."

    "Hmph! Teach me the ancientnguage first." Faelyn made stand with her hands pressed on her hips. She had the look of one that would not yield unless he gave her what she wanted.

    "You can join the ss that will be teaching the ancientnguage at Crawford Royal University." Leon smiled with a hint of craftiness.

    "Will be?" There isn''t one yet?"

    "Not yet, but there will be one. I still need to prepare the learning materials." Leon exined.

    "Eh? Ah? Really? Wait no." Faelyn shook her head and recollected her thoughts. She was forgetting the point. "Why did you agree so easily?"

    "You told me what I really wanted to know, so there''s no need for me to hold back my cards further."

    Faelyn''s information on the Wilnds was much more detailed than the bit of information Lilith told him.

    "Oh, so you were holding back for this reason." Faelyn frowned. "Why? Was I not being open enough?"

    "That''s hard to say." Leon shrugged. "I gotta prepare my cards for the worse. Women can be quite unreasonable."

    Boom¡­

    It was like Leon''s word had set off andmine as the pce maids looked at him with disapproving looks, while Faelyn felt especially riled. She felt Leon was implying that she was unreasonable. She did not hear the "can be" and only heard it as "women are unreasonable."

    "You¡­ Who did you say is unreasonable?" Faelyn gritted her teeth.

    "Am I wrong?" Leon widened his eyes. "Are you telling me women don''t have double standards?"

    Leon felt this was quite true from what he had seen from Amelia and her mother. Their treatment of their husbands was quite the contrast.

    Unfortunately, he was looking from the wrong point of view and stepped on anotherndmine.

    "Y-You¡­ Ah¡­ I''ll fight you!" Faelyn cried and immediately pounced on Leon like an angry cat.

    Leon did not expect the elven princess to pounce of him and ended up getting tackled to the ground as Faelyn rained scratches on him.

    "What are you doing?!"

    "I''m fighting for the dignity of all women! Who did you say is unreasonable?! Who did you say have double standards?!"

    "Y-You''re crazy!" Leon cussed.

    Boom! Off went anotherndmine.

    The things men should not say to women, Leon had said them, not once, not twice, but thrice! He was asking for trouble!

    "Argh! You are driving me mad!"

    Faelyn rained, even more, kicks and scratches on Leon. She was only a 7-star Ranked Awakener. Her strength could not break through the defense of Leon''s arms but the same was not be said for the rest of his body.

    Leon had been going easy as she did not try to seriously injure him, but he began fighting back when she tried to bite him and aim for his face! Things got heated!

    He grabbed both her wrists and flipped over to be on top and pressed her to the ground.

    "Let go of me!"

    "No! You will just try scratching me again!"

    The two pce maids had long run off to report. They did not like what Leon said either, but a fight between the prince and elven princess was a serious issue that could cause a diplomatic fallout!

    "My son, what''s going on?"

    The king''s voice was heard as his head popped around the corner and froze. Leon and Faelyn also froze when they looked at the king. Their clothes were messy, and their position was quite ambiguous.

    "Oh¡­ Ahem, hohoho¡­ I seemed to havee at a bad time. Don''t mind me, please continue on with your business." Heinrich coughed awkwardly and left after giving Leon a meaningful look.

    Leon and Faelyn nced back at each other, clearly dismayed by the situation and quickly separated.

 Chapter 273 - Asking For Pen And Paper

    <h4>Chapter 273 - Asking For Pen And Paper</h4>

    While the king had left in a pleasant mood, there were two other maids who had remained behind and also seen the ambiguous position the prince and elven princess were in. Oh, how the tables have turned when they only left for a short while. The prince had tried toy his wolfish ws on elven princess.

    Leon could feel their cold contemptuous stares that seem to say, "you disgust me." He smiled ruefully. In their positions, it really did look like he was forcing himself on the elven princess.

    ''Ah, that''s another image down the drain.'' Leon inwardlymented.

    After the two had separated, Faelyn''s head was a mess as she could not believe what she had done. She had lost her temper and assaulted the royal prince of a human kingdom.

    Although she did not exert much strength at her level of cultivation as she still had some self-restraints, did not seek to harm the prince, and their scuffle could even be seen as intimate yfighting, it did not change the fact that she had indeed assaulted the prince.

    She worried that there would be some diplomaticplications due to this and began to consider her apology.

    At the same time, she subconsciously rubbed her stomach and frowned. Something seemed to have poked her tummy just now.

    It was just a passing thought and did not dwell on it. When she looked at Leon while thinking of ways to apologize, she felt her anger rising again. Leon had truly infuriated her. That fe did not have any tact.

    There were many things a man should not say nor question about a woman. For example, her age, her weight, her appearance, personality, her sanity, her¡ªIn short, if you do not have anything nice to say, do not say it at all.

    Women only like to hear positive things, but even if youpliment them, they might not believe you. Oh, how women are truly hard to please creatures.

    "I humbly apologize for what happened just now. It seems I have misspoken and provoked your ire. However, it was an enjoyable chat with yourpany, Princess Faelyn. How about we call it a day for today?"

    Leon''s unexpected apology caught Faelyn by surprise. She did not expect him to be the first one to apologize. She felt a tightness in her chest and veiled pressure from the way Leon had returned to using formal speech.

    "Ah? No¡­ I should be the one to apologize¡­ It was my fault for not controlling my temper well. I beg for your forgiveness, Your Highness. I¡­ I also enjoyed yourpany." Faelyn said apologetically.

    By now, she understood that although Leon had said some infuriating things to her, it waspletely unintentional and not him trying to pick a fight with her.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Don''t think too much. We both made mistakes, but as I said, I really enjoyed yourpany. If you do not mind, I will invite you for tea another time."

    "So, you''re not sending me away because you are offended by me, Your Highness?" Faelyn carefully asked.

    "Not at all. I can at least tell you were pulling your punches and were not seriously trying to harm me. It''s just that I still have things I need to do now." Leon exined.

    Despite what he said, Faelyn still felt guilty for the few scratch marks on Leon''s face. She was hesitant for a moment, but she still stepped forward towards Leon.

    "One moment please, Your Highness."

    Leon was a bit surprised by Faelyn''s approach, but he calmed down after feeling a cool soothing sensation of Faelyn''s hands on his cheeks that were coated in ayer wood element healing property.

    It was the first time Faelyn was this intimate with another person of the opposite gender and she could not help but blush as she healed his light scratches.

    Her blush entuated her beauty and made her look more mesmerizing as Leon felt his heartbeat quickened slightly.

    "Then¡­ I''ll be going now, Your Highness." Faelyn said softly and escaped with a flushed face after she was done.

    Leon nced at her retreating figure with a slightly dazed look. Elves really are one of the most beautiful races.

    Leon shook his head as he made a mental note to be mindful of his words when he is in front of another woman in the future, lest he identally offends a powerful woman that can swat him to death with a single p.

    He had not realized the fact that he could say some displeasing words before because he was favored by his status and shared a good rtionship with those he had interacted with, but the elven princess was different.

    This was someone with a status of equal standing to his, or rather, Princess Faelyn''s status could even be considered even higher than his.

    After all, the present Elvengarde was bigger and stronger than the Crawford Kingdom. Just the fact that the Elven King, Queen, and twelve elders of the council were all Transcendent-level figures shows how powerful they were.

    Not to mention, all the elves below them that had some form of aplishment in cultivation.

    As for the people of the Crawford Kingdom, most of them had barely stepped on the cultivation path. There was really no room forparison. The disparity in the strength of the two nations was just that great.

    They had really exhausted their luck for the elves to approach them with a humble attitude and willingness to be their vassals. It was like a pie falling out of the sky.

    After Leon strictly reminded the maids to spread the word of the matter again, Leon went to trouble his father.

    "How was it?"

    Leon was dumbfounded by the first question his father posed upon greeting him.

    "How was what?" Leon said with a puzzled look.

    "Oh, don''t give me that look, son. You know what I mean. How''s your progress with Princess Faelyn?" Heinrich said with a meaningful smile.

    Leon finally understood his father''s meaning and shook his head helplessly. "It''s not like that at all, father."

    "It''s not?" Heinrich''s smile froze, before he barked, "Why is it not like that? Son, you better work hard to court Princess Faelyn, understand?"

    "Are you asking me to bring home another wife, father?" Leon smiled wryly while scratching his cheek.

    ''There''s Aria, Lynne, and Rachel. That makes it three already, yet you want me to get another one?? I''m afraid they will not be happy. Just how many grandchildren do you want to hold?'' Leon thought.

    Heinrich shook his head.

    "Nothing is more unreliable than an oral promise. We cannot guarantee that the entire elven tribe is willing to be our vassals. Don''t forget that the envoys are only here as representatives of their tribe. The keyword is ''representatives.'' The Supreme Elder is a representative with high status, but he is not the ruler of Elvengarde himself."

    "So long as it is not the Elven King of Elvengarde himself that spoke to us in person, there is still a chance that something could go awry. Does it even make sense that someone as powerful as the Supreme Elder would humble himself to us so willingly without an ulterior motive? Even if he has an ulterior motive, we can''t do anything about it."

    "This is someone with the strength to wipe out everyone in the Capital! However, it is fortunate there is still room to maneuver. A royal princess had apanied the Supreme Elder on their trip to our kingdom. Marrying the princess will put us in a more favorable position, understand? The binding of marriage is much more reliable than an empty promise."

    Leon was given an earful by his father.

    At the same time, he was awed by his father. As expected of a ruler, his father had his own concerns and considerations. The king did not blindly believe that everything they had negotiated with the elven envoys would go smoothly.

    "I understand, father. I will do my best." Leonplied with his father''s wishes.

    What his father said was not something that did not cross his mind, but like his father also said, they were too weak to do anything. The only person who could contest with the Supreme Elder when things go south is Elder Evergreen, but the elder was quite far from the Capital.

    It was for that reason that he was still mindful of actions and did not dare ept the Supreme Elder''s kneel of gratitude.

    "Good!" Heinrich nodded approvingly before asking, "Oh right, what did youe to see me for?"

    "I was actually looking for some nk paper and a pen to write with. Seeing that father deals with paperwork every day, I figured that father would know where I can grab some."

    "Is this enough?"

    Heinrich rummaged his messy desk and pulled a few nk white sheets of white paper.

    "Not enough. I need a lot. Preferably about this much." Leon gestured by disying the gap between his hand. It was enough to fit a few hundred sheets of paper. "Oh, I will also need 10 extra pens just in case."

    Dafuq?

    "Get lost. Are you trying to empty out my office? Where would I find so much spare paper lying around here?" Heinrich chided. Why would he need so many pens and paper for?

    "I''m being serious."

    "You know there''s are plenty of stores outside that sell these kinds of stationaries. Go look for them and stop troubling me." Heinrich shooed. His son was so crazy about cultivation. What is the need for so much paper and pen? Did he suddenly feel like bing a schr? He did not believe it.

    Leon smiled wryly.

    His father''s study room was just a short walk away from his private courtyard¡­ Of course, he woulde here to check first and save himself a potential trip outside.

 Chapter 274 - It Was A Mistake

    <h4>Chapter 274 - It Was A Mistake</h4>

    Just when Leon was at a loss and was prepared to go shop in the Upper District, Lily''s weak voice rang out from the side.

    "Your Highness, we have plenty of these stationaries back in Violet Plum Courtyard. If you would like, I can go fetch them for you now."

    "That would be great."

    Leon was not sure why there would be plenty of spare paper and pens ced there, but he did not think too much since he was getting his pen and paper. Perhaps, that was also where they store some misceneous items.

    "You sound a bit unwell there, Lily. Is everything alright?" Heinrich asked.

    "Yes, Your Majesty. Everything is fine." Lily said, but one could tell she was sleep-deprived from the bags under her eyes.

    "You can go back and rest after you are done." Heinrich permitted with a look of understanding.

    The pce maid curtsied and left. Violet Plum Courtyard was where the living quarters for the pce maids were located.

    While the king seems to know why the pce maid was sleep-deprived, Leon did not. He nced at his father with a bit of curiosity, but it was not enough to ask.

    Nevertheless, Heinrich began to exin on his own ord. Just the thought of his son misunderstanding something gave him the chills.

    "It should be her mother''s illness acting up again. She used to be the head of the pce maids and was the one who took care of all my chores in the past. I am not sure what illness she had contracted but none of the doctors were able to find out." Heinrich sighed with a mncholic look.

    "I wasn''t asking."

    "I''m just talking to myself."

    Leon speechless.

    After being told all that, it was clear that his father wanted him to do something about it, but was afraid to personally make the request. Was there some hidden story between his father and Lily''s mother that he does not want mother to know about?

    While waiting for Lily toe back with the items, Leon casually nced at his father''s work. Heinrich did not mind his son''s presence and continued looking at an old map. It was an old map of the Capital.

    As Leon''s gaze shifted to the map, it naturally drew his attention. On the old map, there were a few dubious spots circled in red ink, some of which were crossed out. He immediately thought about the ongoing search in the Capital.

    "What are these red circles for, father?"

    "Hm? Oh, these red circles? These are the various abandoned and haunted areas within the Capital with backstories behind them. People tend to avoid these ces in case they rub off some bad luck from the area, but that also makes them the most suspicious ce to hide people."

    "Haunted? Do people still believe in superstitions in this time and era where the supernatural is the norm?"

    "Superstitions or not, every source has its origin. If you can see it, why wouldn''t you believe it? Take this Silentside Avenue for example." Heinrich point to a red circle on the map. "On the night of every full moon, Silentside Avenue goespletely silent during the wee hours of 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM."

    Silentside Avenue? Goespletely silent during a time people are usually dead asleep? Leon was curious who even came up with such an ''auspicious'' name.

    Heinrich studied his son''s expression before he continued.

    "If it were just this then it wouldn''t really matter. But this is during the time when the moonlight is the brightest and the wandering spirits of children can be seen. It is said that hundreds of years back, there was a serial killer that kidnaps naughty children that do not sleep when they are supposed to."

    "Although the serial killer was caught and hanged in the end, the children that were kidnapped were never found. Later, everyone believed that these wandering spirits were the souls of those missing children."

    Leon gave his weird look. It sounded like some ghost story to scare the children to sleep.

    "Fine, let me you about another one. This one was a pretty big case that happened 400 years back or more. I''m not too sure anymore." Heinrich pointed to Lost Isle Alley. "A young girl was humiliated to death by a group of young nobles and became a vengeful spirit that killed everyone, including their families. The family died of sickness while the young nobles were all died gruesome deaths. How about that? Did it give you the chills?"

    Leon was speechless. When he ventured into Extreme Misty Forest, he had faced thousands of such vengeful spirits. What does one matter?

    "Was the vengeful spirit every pacified or exterminated?"

    "No. The people of that time had no idea how and just avoided it."

    Leon frowned. That sounds like trouble. Letting a vengeful spirit grow like that. Fortunately, this was not Extreme Misty Forest, where the yin energy was dense and overflowing. The vengeful spirit should have been able to grow much despite the long years.

    "Not even fazed, huh? Or perhaps these ghost stories are not interesting enough for you, son?"

    "Rather than that¡­ I''m more interested in how the search is going."

    Heinrich appeared stunned and coughed awkwardly.

    "Ahem, it appears that we have trailed off-topic, haven''t we? Right, the search was it? The pce guards have not started the search on these areas yet, especially Lost Isle Alley. Don''t you reckon some ces are better left unchecked, son?" Heinrich''s mouth twitched as he asked.

    "Why not?" Leon was puzzled. Did his father like keeping rats?

    "It won''t be good if we provoke the vengeful spirit''s ire."

    Leon was dazed by his father''s response.

    "Father, you don''t happen to afraid of ghosts, are you?"

    "Nonsense! How can a King be afraid of some trifling spirits?!" Heinrich said with grandeur and majesty, but he could not hide the goosebumps on his arms.

    Leon''s lips curved upwards and came up with an evil thought.

    The windows creaked open and a soft gust of wind sneakily entered the room. It roamed the room skillfully and avoided affecting the documents and papers on the desk. It only had a very singr purpose as it crept towards its prey and finally attacked!

    Heinrich''s slouched body suddenly sat upright with all his hair standing on end as he was assaulted by the chilly wind. Such sudden movements caused the king to thump the desk with his knee and exim with fright.

    "Is something wrong, father?" Leon did his best to ask with a straight face, but his cheeks trembled from time to time. He could not believe that his father was really afraid of ghosts!

    "Ah? Uh, no, it is nothing." Heinrich forced augh andmented, "The wind is a chilly, huh?"

    "Pftt¡ªAhem, maybe?"

    Heinrich looked Leon with doubt. "You did something just now, didn''t you?"

    "No, if there''s nothing else. I''ll be heading back first, father." Leon made an excuse to leave but failed to hold hisugh again. "Pft."

    Heinrich widened his eyes and barked, "You dare prank me? You little rascal,e back here!"

    Leon escaped in a fit ofughter. Heinrich shook his head and smiled after Leon was gone. Suddenly, the opened mmed shut with a bang and made him jumped again.

    "Arghh!!"

    ¡­

    Leon did not escape far, just around the corner outside the study room as he leaned against the wall. He was no longer jovially but rather depressive instead. A single teardrop had suddenly dripped from the corner of his eyes with a trail.

    ''Father, your son really misses you!''

    He sighed at the sudden rush of sadness as he thought of his previous life''s father. Sometimeter, subtle footsteps could be heard, but Leon did not seem to have heard it.

    "Your Highness?" Lily softly called out to him in a half-dosed and curious manner, while carrying the box of pens and papers. Seeing Leon like this, she was not sure why, but it invoked a strong feeling of sympathy from her. "Is everything alright?"

    Leon wiped the faint trail on his face and nced at the bewildered Lily, secretly embarrassed that someone saw him like this. Was it his time of the month?

    "Yes, it''s nothing. Thanks for fetching the stuff for me." Leon grabbed the box from Lilly''s arms and said, "You should really get some sleep. You look like you are about to pass out."

    "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but I will be fine," Lily said despite her baggy, sloppy, and red eyes.

    "You do you." Leon shrugged. He had already advised her. He pocketed the box in his Worldspace and did not even take more than a dozen steps when he heard a soft thud.

    He turned around and lo and behold, the pce maid, Lily had fallen asleep while standing with her head rested against the wall.

    Leon was speechless. It takes some made serious skills or determination to be able to sleep while standing.

    "Oi."

    "Zzzz¡­"

    Leon went back to shake her awake, but her body started tilting instead. It was no good. She had already entered deep sleep.

    ''Guess I''ll take this chance to go check on her mother''s condition on the way.'' Leon mused.

    Lily had a cute sleeping expression as she seems to mumble some iprehensible food terms, but her drool made him frown. He decided to pick her up and ce her over one of his shoulders like a dead log.

    ''I think Violet Plum Courtyard was in this direction.'' Leon chose his direction.

    "What are you doing with Lily?" Heinrich came out to check who banged on the wall and saw his son with a ''dead'' Lily.

    "Hm?"

    Due to Lily being ced o Leon''s left shoulder as he rotated his body back anti-clockwise, her head pped the wall with another thud. Heinrich''s eye twitched, while the corner of Leon''s lips did.

    "I''m taking her back to the maid''s courtyard since she fell asleep as you can see."

    Lily: "Zzz."

    "I can see that, but why are you carrying her like that?"

    "It''s more convenient this, I think?" Leon said as he waved his spare right arm.

    "Alright then¡­ Be more careful on your way. Lily is still a delicate young girl."

    "Yes, father."

    Thud¡­

    Lily''s head pped the wall again when Leon turned back.

    "¡­"

    "Ahem, that was a mistake, a mistake. I will be careful now." Leon coughed.

    Heinrich was seen heaving up and down as he tried to calm his nerves and vexed mind¡­ If Lily were awake, she would have been in tears.

 Chapter 275 - A Chilly Gaze So Frighteningly Cold

    <h4>Chapter 275 - A Chilly Gaze So Frighteningly Cold</h4>

    On the way to Violet Plum Courtyard, Leon ended up finding a nearby pce maid to escort him there. It could not be helped.

    With the unjustified prejudice, the pce maids have against him, walking into Violet Plum Courtyard with a sleeping Lily in his hand would be like stirring the ho''s nest.

    Along the way, the pce maid would peek at Leon from the corner of her eye from time to time. She did not feel the same repulsion, the older pce maids had for the prince.

    She felt there was something wrong with her senior maids'' way of thinking. It should be a great thing if the prince fancied them. Why were they disgusted instead?

    Perhaps, this was the difference in views between the traditional and newer generation¡ªNo, nobles andmoners? Or simply the taken and the single?

    "You''re were one of the girls saved from the underground auction back then, weren''t you? How is your current life working out for you? Do you like it?" Leon spoke. The pce maid''s subtle nces did not escape his notice.

    The pce maid was overjoyed. Although the memory of nearly being auctioned off into very was not a pleasant one, being remembered by the prince was a great honor.

    "Thank you for saving Sherry back then, Your Highness. Sherry will never forget the kindness your Highness has bestowed upon us and allowed us to work in the Royal Pce. Life¡­ Life has been good, Your Highness." The pce maid, Sherry said softly with her head lowered.

    Noticing something slightly off about Sherry''s subtle action, Leon frowned slightly. There was a slight hesitation and her smile seemed more forced towards thest part of her words.

    "Are there some difficulties in the pce that you are not telling me about?"

    "I-It''s nothing, Your Highness." Sherry panicked slightly.

    Her panic made Leon furrow his brows. He gave Sherry a deep look noticed some bruising and swelling on her face. Although the pce had tried to hide it under her bangs, nothing can be hidden from Leon''s divine sense.

    "Where did you get that bruise?"

    "Ah? I¡­ I just tripped and hit my head earlier today, Your Highness. Please don''t ask anymore." Sherry averted her eyes and bit her lips.

    Seeing her like this, Leon did not try to pry any further. He no longer needed to. He had a realization that admitting these youngdies into the pce might not have been a good thing, that is if they did not have any backing.

    Maids who can work in the royal pce are all women who came from reputable families. As such, pce maids were different to maids from noble households. Leon had neglected this detail.

    A pce maid was also referred to as ady-in-waiting. They work in the pce to find their future husbands amongst the members of the pce with status.

    If they could not find one, the Queen could also find one for them. They were not normal servants, or rather they were not servants at all. They were assistants.

    As such, in ordinary circumstances, royalties would not wilfully punish them if they did not step out of line ormit any crime worthy of punishment. At least, that was how it was in the past.

    "We are here, Your Highness." Sherry dered softly.

    Leon nodded and took a step forward, but then he suddenly paused.

    "Which room does Lily''s mother stay in? What about Lily?"

    "Senior Maid Lily and her mother both live in the same room to the furthest left."

    It did not take long for Leon''s pupils to contract when he stepped inside Violet Plum Courtyard. He had swept the courtyard with his divine sense to confirm the location of Lily''s room and found her sickly mother in bed.

    However, there was also something else going on in the courtyard that made his mood soured immediately.

    There were several pce maids gathered inside of a room on the right side instead of attending to their daily chores around the pce. Normally, a pce maid was very busy every day. There were simply too many chores to keep such arge pce clean every day.

    A gathering of pce maids in their living quarters was also not a problem, even cking off a bit did not bother Leon. The Outer Pce had too many spare courtyards filled unupied living quarters it was silly.

    What DID bother him was that the pce maids were separated into two groups, the senior maids and the new maids.

    The new maids were surrounded by the senior maids as they were thrashed and condemned with harsh words. It did not take a genius to guess that the new maids were being bullied by the senior maids.

    At this point, even if Leon did not know how Sherry got her bruises, he could already see why through the images his divine sense was feeding him.

    "Follow me," Leon said with a low tone. He walked in the direction of the rooms on the right side.

    Sherry was confused, but kindly reminded, "Eh? Senior Lily and her mother''s room is in the far-left room, Your Highness."

    "I know. There''s something else to take care of first."

    ¡­

    Inside the third room of Violet Plum Courtyard.

    "Filthymoner, I gave you such a simple task like cleaning my room because I looked highly upon you, yet you dare to steal my stuff?! Where did you hide my cultivation resource?! Cough it up!"

    A senior maid pulled the hair of a new maid and gave her a resounding p before proceeding to give a kick to the stomach.

    The difference in strength between senior maids who enjoyed the cultivation resources of the pce and the new maids who had barely started on their cultivation was simply too great!

    The new maid almost lost consciousness from that single p and immediately spat blood after the kick.

    "Wuwu¡­ I didn''t steal anything." The new maid wept with a pale face full of tears while coughing up more blood. Obviously, the kick had seriously injured her!

    "Bullsh*t! If you didn''t then who did?! Do you think I would believe that my cultivation resource would just disappear on its own!?"

    "Stop it! You seniors are too overbearing! Not only do you seniors take away the monthly quota allocated to us, you even beat us for no good reason! Ellie is one of the kindest girls I know! She would never steal! If you want to find the culprit, you should ask that senior! I saw her walking out of Senior ire''s room earlier before Ellie entered!"

    Another new maid tried to defend the grievously wounded new maid, Ellie but she was immediately pinned down and stepped on by another senior maid.

    "Nonsense! Sister ire and I have been very good for years! How dare you use me of stealing from her! You two must be aplices! Sister ire''s cultivation resource must be on you! Where did you hide it!"

    "Ahhh!"

    The new maid screamed in pain as she had hand broken after being stepped on with excessive pressure.

    Tears filled the new maid''s eyes, but she gritted her teeth and endured tenaciously. Even if she gets killed, she will not plead for mercy. She was fed up with the excessive bullying!

    "Kill me if you dare, Darcy! See how you will exin to Senior Lily when she finds out!"

    The senior maid, Darcy''s eyes grew cold with killing intent and broke the other hand. "You think I don''t dare?! You''re just amoner! No one will care if you die!"

    "You''re wrong! The prince will care! We were saved and taken in due to the prince''s benevolence! What you doing to us is nothing short of stepping on his Highness''s grace!"

    The new maid spouted nonsense. She was not sure if the prince would care or not, but she no longer fears speaking carelessly in the face of death.

    "Melody¡­ I really didn''t steal anything¡­" Ellie weakly called out before coughing up another batch of blood while fearing for her fellow sister''s life. She felt a heavy feeling of drowsiness as her eyes became unfocused.

    All the new maids still had theirmoner and inferior mindset. It was also for that reason that they had kept silent about the bullying until now.

    "I know Ellie¡­ I know¡­"

    Melody tried not to cry. She could sense Ellie''s lifeforce was slipping away.

    The three senior maids were hesitant after hearing Melody''s ims. It was not without reason and might very well be true! But only if the prince finds out the truth!

    Darcy and ire both glinted with ruthlessness in the next moment! They were prepared to silence the two new maids.

    ire no longer cared who stole from her. The new maids only need to cry to the prince, and she would be in deep trouble for being too heavy-handed if they report to the prince. And by the looks of it, the new maids no longer feared them and were prepared to do just that! They had to die!

    No one will know the truth except them if the two new maids both die! She could just make up some treacherous crimes and pin it on them after!

    "Stop it, Darcy! I won''t allow any further harm to these two girls. You both have been far too heavy-handed this time! Ellie needs to be treated immediately!" The third senior maid finally spoke up with a frowned and stopped them.

    As ady of noble birth, she shared the same disdain formoners and was also inclined to believe that the new maid Ellie had stolen from ire. Thus, it will not matter if they die.

    However, despite being at death''s door, the new maid did not plead guilty, making her finally convinced that the new maids were innocent. Her moral principalspelled her to intervene!

    "Don''t stop us, Ember! They must die for us to live! If you don''t step aside, you will have to join them!"

    Ember was silent. They were all 9th step Awakeners, but it would be too much for her to take on the both of them if she wanted to intervene.

    Ember clenched her fist as she was stuck between a crossroad. Does she risk her life to intervene or turn a blind eye to the injustice in front of her?

    After waging a furious battle between choices in her mind, her fist loosens. She had decided to turn a blind eye!

    It was also at this moment that a mountain of pressure came crashing down on the room as the door to the room was swept open by a gust of wind.

    Leon stepped inside with a chilly gaze so cold it felt like the three senior maids have been plunged into the lowest level of frozen hell!

 Chapter 276 - Rescue And Punishment

    <h4>Chapter 276 - Rescue And Punishment</h4>

    The mountain-like pressure suffocated the senior maids as their breathing became difficult while their backs were drenched in cold sweats. They never knew the prince''s gaze could be so frightening!

    The three senior maids were frozen solid, not daring to move a single inch. They were under the illusion that if they did, they would die! The prince''s ck pupils were like endless dark abyss that would swallow them whole!

    The sleeping Lily was still mounted on Leon''s left shoulder like a dead log, while Sherry had followed right behind.

    When Sherry looked inside and saw the state of her fellow sisters, she quickly gasped with watery eyes. "How horrible!"

    "Your Highness!"

    The joy in Melody''s eyes could not be hidden as tears she had been trying to hold back burst like a copsing dam. The prince''s timely appearance represented hope for Ellie!

    ''Please save Ellie!''

    Without saying a single word, Leon had already flickered right in front of Ellie before Melody could voice these words.

    Under his Divine Will, the grey ring of energy lit up with a bright green glow and spun at high speed. Layers afteryers of wood element spilled out of his body and gently wrapped around the dying Ellie who had already closed her eyes.

    At the same time, a Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pill shot out of his Worldspace and entered Ellie''s mouth before melting into pure medicinal essence that quickly spread throughout her body.

    Leon was elerating the absorption of the recovery pill with his Divine Will, while he observed the situation and changes of her body with his divine sense. He was wholly focused on Ellie''s recovery.

    It was a race against time, but he knew he was going to make it! Nevertheless, a drop of sweat still managed to trickle down the side of his face!

    Several shattered bones and multiple crushed organs. From the shape of concavity outside, Leon could tell it was the result of a single kick and a terribly vicious one at that!

    The new maids were only 1st step Awakeners, while their divine cultivation was surprisingly at the 4thyer of Body Tempering Realm!

    With the monthly allocation of cultivation resources to all pce maids and pce guards, it was no problem for the new maids to have reached the 4th step Awakener Realm by now. What the hell was going with that?!

    Leon did not know what had transpired before, thus he did not hastily mete out punishment. Otherwise, the two senior maids would have been crippled by him.

    When he had swept his divine sense over to the room, the two new maids were already grievously injured with the three senior maids surrounding them.

    Ellie, in her unconsciousness state, she had a dream. She felt like she was floating down a river stream of ice and fire.

    One half of her body was freezing from the loss of blood and decreasing body temperature, while the other half was burning from the pain.

    Her body was powerless and could not respond to her will as her body continued to be carried by the flow.

    Just when her body was about to reach the edge of the stream and plunge down the waterfall of ice and fire, the lush green trees on each side of the stream extended countless rope-like leaves and caught her from plunging over the edge.

    As more and more leaves wrapped around her body and slowly pulled her back, she no longer felt the burning fire nor freezing cold, but a gentle warmth from autumn and a soothing coolness from spring. In short, she felt like she had returned to nature''s embrace.

    Before she realized it, everything ended as her consciousness returned and her eyes slowly opened. What greeted her next was the prince''s wholehearted attention and focus. Thefort she felt hade from the prince healing her!

    Ellie felt that all the unfair treatment she had suffered in the past two months was for this exact moment. Her young maiden heart was snatched away as she looks at the prince with a quiet gaze and warm trickling tears.

    "Everything is alright now."

    Leon sighed with relief as the new maid''s condition had stabilized. He swept his cold gaze across all three senior maids.

    "Who can tell me what happened here?"

    "I¡­ can tell you what happened, Your Highness."

    Melody''s unsteady voice mixed with pain drew Leon''s attention.

    ire did not know when, but she had long released her grip of Ellie''s hair, but Darcy still had one of her feet on Melody''s broken hand.

    Leon''s gaze fell on the foot before he shot Darcy a casual look before the senior maid retracted her foot and retreated with a pale face.

    In that single nce, she had seen the manifestation of death itself in the form of a behemoth-shaped ck gassy aura. Everything seemed like it was just an illusion, but her body would not stop trembling with fear.

    Leon''s gaze returned to Melody, silently acknowledging her continuation. Another All-Purpose Healing Pill found its way into her mouth and traveled to her two broken hands as they recovered slowly.

    "Thank you, Your Highness."

    Melody silently appreciated the miraculous effects of the pill before she drew a sharp breath and steadied her mind.

    "Everything happened after Senior ire used Ellie of stealing Senior ire cultivation resources while cleaning her room. But your Highness, I know Ellie! She would never steal! In fact, I saw Senior Darcy entered Senior ire''s room before Ellie entered to clean it!"

    Although Darcy had anticipated it, her expression still changes abruptly and quickly countered. "She''s lying, Your Highness! I did do such a thing!"

    "Quiet."

    Leon''s re immediately shut the senior maid up. He turns back to Melody and nodded.

    "Continue."

    "After that, it was as your Highness would expect. I tried to defend Ellie and had my hands broken. Ellie''s injuries have resulted from Senior ire''s ruthless beating. I tried bringing up your Highness''s name with the intention to report all the bullying we suffered since we came here to your Highness if I managed to survive. As a result, they tried to silence us. Senior Ember tried to stop them and that''s when your Highness appeared before us."

    "Anyone have anything to add or different to say to that?"

    ire and Darcy nced at each other and knew that whatever they say would not be convincing. The swept Ember with a pleading look. Only her words could save them.

    Everyone''s eyes soon rested on Ember, except Ellie who only had her gaze on Leon and nothing else. Ember suddenly felt some pressure from the attention and tried to calm herself with a deep breath.

    What should she say?

    When she had tried to defend the new maids, ire and Darcy had been prepared to kill her too. Even if she saves them, their rtionship would never be the same, not to mention there was no guarantee that her lie would save them.

    Ember no longer needed to think further. She had made her decision. There was no need to disadvantage herself for them.

    "Everything was exactly as Junior Melody had said."

    Boom!

    It was like an explosion had gone off in the heads of both ire and Darcy as they paled. It is over! Ember''s words were no different than a death sentence for them.

    "What about your cultivation levels? Care to exin why you and Ellie are still at the 1st step Awakener Realm despite the monthly quota of cultivation resource all pce maids should be receiving?" Leon asked Ember while giving Sherry a nce.

    Sherry was also a 1st step Awakener, but she was less talented than Ellie and Melody as she was still at the 3rdyer of the Body Tempering Realm.

    "Except for the Awakening Pills we had taken to awaken, all our cultivation pills had been taken away each month by our seniors under the so-called reason of tuition fee."

    Boom!

    Melody''s sent another round of explosion in the two senior maids'' head. It really was over for them. Ember also felt a trickle sweat. She had never taken any of the new maids'' cultivation resources, but Melody did not rify this and simply said "seniors."

    "Alright, I understand everything now. I will now judge this case and mete out punishment ordingly." Leon said while giving Darcy in particr, thest nce. "Anything you want to confess before I start? It might lessen your punishment."

    Darcy widened her eyes and trembled, but still gritted her teeth.

    "No!"

    ''It was impossible! His Highness was bluffing! There''s no way that he could have found out she was the thief! She had hidden very well!''

    Leon''s gaze soon turned cold.

    "The thief who stole the cultivation resources was her." Leon pointed at Darcy for everyone to see, before contemptuouslymenting, "It''s the first time, I''ve seen such a shameless person hiding the stolen goods in their womb!"

    "You truly know how to make full use of your womanly assets." Leon snickered sarcastically. No one would ever think of searching such a spot and the bodily fluids could conceal the medicinal smell of the cultivation pills. It was truly a shameless ce to hide it. "Take it out!"

    Leon''s words shocked everyone. When Darcy did as she was ordered, everyone was filled with an even greater shock! How did the prince even find out it was there?! How!?

    "I can''t believe it was you all along!" ire red.

    Darcy plopped to the ground in disbelief. She could not understand how the prince knew. Moreover, her move had moved on its own! What just happened!

    "Now for the punishments."

    Leon''s cold words rang in Darcy''s ears. She felt the prince''s vice grip on her head as she was lifted and epted her fate with closed eyes. A strange force was pulling away from her cultivation.

    "Ahh! Is this some mistake, Your Highness? Ahhh¡­"

    "No!"

    ire''s cries made Darcy reopened her eyes. ire was simrly gripped like her.

    After crippling both their cultivations by draining them all and making them his own, Leon broke through to 9-stars before tossing the two senior maids like lifeless dolls to Ember''s feet.

    "Throw them into prison and send words to their families to reim their lives for 50 million Craws each within seven days! Otherwise, have the pce guards execute them after the seven days expires!"

    No one felt sorry for the two senior maids. It was what they deserved.

    "Ah? Am I not going to be punished too?" Ember asked with surprise.

    "Did you do anything that deserves to be punished?"

    "N-N¡­ No?"

    "Then do you want to be punished?"

    "N-No!"

    "Then why are you asking! Go now!"

    "Y-Yes, Your Highness!"

    Ember picked up two senior maids and quickly left to toss them into prison with a slightly embarrassed face.

    "Your wounds will fully heal in the next few minutes. Alright, everything here has been settled. I''ll be leaving now."

    Tier-1 recovery pills would have done the trick, but Leon used Tier-3s on them. It was not strange for their recovery to be quick.

    Leon left with the dead-asleep Lily still on his shoulder. He was amazed that the was able to sleep through all of that. Exactly how much sleep was shecking?!

    "Huehuehue¡­ meat¡­ zzz." Lily mumbled in her sleep with two reddish bumps on her forehead, one of the left and one on the right.

    Leon gave her a nce and his expression went stiff. His left side waspletely slobbered in drool!

    Back in the third room.

    "Why would his Highness go through the trouble of finding the culprit if the same punishment was going to be given to the two seniors anyway?" Sherry wore a confused look.

    Melody furrowed her brows in thought.

    "His Highness wanted to prove my innocence," Ellie said dazedly with warm flowing tears, but a radiant smile also hung on her face. "Melody¡­ Sherry¡­"

    "Uh¡­ yeah?"

    "I think I am in love."

 Chapter 277 - Yin Poisoning

    <h4>Chapter 277 - Yin Poisoning</h4>

    "You''ve fallen in love with his Highness?" Melody widened eyes with surprise. "We can be considered quite pretty, but everyone by his Highness''s side are wless beauties. Besides, we are also ofmon birth. I''m afraid his Highness would not be interested in any of us¡­"

    Ellie shook her head with a dampened look. "I know, but his Highness was too dazzling. I do not have high hopes, but I also cannot control my feelings. I only hope that I can apany his Highness on his journey, staying by his side and tending to his chores."

    "That''s might still be difficult. His Highness is so powerful. We would just be baggage slowing him down¡­"

    "So¡­ does no one want to keep those?" Sherry asked hesitantly while to point the three slimy pills the crippled Darcy had "excreted" from her flowerpot.

    Ellie and Melody nced at the slimy pills with a repulsive look before looking at Sherry with aghast.

    "Don''t tell me, you still want to consume those pills?!"

    "Of course not! Even if I clean it, I will still find it disgusting!" Sherry blushed.

    "Then what do you want it for?" Melody asked with doubt.

    "Of course, I want to ''gift'' it to those seniors when they ask for more tuition fees from us during next month''s quota allocation," Sherry said with a wicked smile.

    "That is so¡­ evil." Ellie was shocked, but her lips curved up. "But I like it."

    "I don''t think his Highness will leave things as they are now that his Highness knows that the other sisters and we are being bullied by the seniors."

    "Hehehe, it''s alright. If that happens, we can just try to really gift it to them then."

    "That''s true. Sherry, you are so mean~ But I like how you think!" Melody smiled.

    "Hmph! They asked for it! You don''t know how shocked I was when I saw you two! Especially, you Ellie! I was so scared! I thought you were a goner!"

    "I thought I was too." Ellie held her hands close to her chest with a mesmerizing look. "But then His Highness came and save me like a prince charming. Eh? That''s not right. His Highness is a prince and he is charming."

    "He''s a real prince charming!"

    "Mmm, Mmm."

    The girls chatted for some time until the wounds of Ellie and Melody were fully healed. There was some awkwardness in the movements of Melody''s fingers, but she felt it would return to normal with some time and practice.

    "Eh? I think that was Senior Lily on his Highness''s shoulder, wasn''t she?"

    "Oh yeah, I think it was."

    It was only now that Ellie and Melody recalled the ''dead log'' on Leon''s shoulder throughout the whole ordeal.

    "What does his Highness want to do with Senior Lily?"

    "I think his Highness was just bringing Senior Lily back to her room?" Sherry answered with uncertainty.

    "Let''s go take a look."

    "Mm."

    ¡­

    Leon had shortly arrived outside the room in the furthest left of the Violet Plum Courtyard after leaving the third room. The metal door was closed and locked, but no metal lock was truly a lock in front of a metal-user.

    Of course, Leon could just search Lily''s body for the key, but it was inappropriate. Plus, using Divine Will was quicker.

    Click.

    The metal door opened, and a nauseating rush of strong medicinal scent assaulted him as he entered.

    "Lily? Are you back?" A sickly woman tried to get up, but she could only turn her head while coughing heavily. She immediately froze on the sight of the unfamiliar figure carrying her daughter. "Who¡­ Who are you? What did you do to my daughter?"

    "You must be Lily''s mother. I¡­ I am the divine doctor your daughter found for you before she fell asleep as you can see here."

    "Divine doctor? Aren''t you a tad too young,d? There''s no need to try and deceive me with vain hope. Neither the chief physician nor the doctors were able to find a cure in the past six years. I have alreadye to terms with my illness."

    Simply put, Lily''s mother, Sara had already given up on getting cured. Leon understood her doubt, but he simply smiled without ament.

    He proceeded to ce Lily onto the empty bed next to Lily''s mother like he was unloading a bag of rice from his shoulder. The springiness and softness of the bed ensured that no harm befall Lily as a result of his coarse actions.

    Lily''s mother''s brows were slightly furrowed as she noticed two swollen bumps on her daughter''s forehead before she became slightly nervous.

    Rather than falling asleep, it looked like her daughter was knocked unconscious. Was this person actually a kidnapper? But that would not make sense either. Would a kidnapper bring the person to their home, and in the pce no less?

    "Why does my daughter have two bumps on her forehead?"

    Leon''s lips twitched slightly when the question was raised, before he shamelessly answered, "She fell asleep while standing, causing her head to hit the wall before her body nted and hit her head on the ground after."

    "Is that so?"

    Sara''s forehead was furrowed with dark lines with strong doubt. The two bumps were so evenly matched. There was no way hitting the ground would be softer hitting the wall, right?

    "Ahem, let''s talk about your illness instead, Madam." Leon interrupted her train of thoughts with a cough.

    Looking at Sara''s condition, Leon drew in a sharp breath and became serious after a thorough inspection with divine sense.

    Lily''s mother''s body was filled with casts keeping her body in ce from the neck down, but Leon could see that it was already a thorough mess despite the preventative measures. The bones were all out of ces and some were even applying pressure on her core organs.

    Two small bones also protruded from Sara''s forehead like horns, coupled with poor blood cirction that makes herplexion deathly pale, it appeared like some devilish transformation.

    Leon could see that this was not the result of some illness or rare disease but poisoning, or rather yin poisoning to be exact.

    This type of yin poisoning was very vtile and likes to hide within the bone marrow, eating it from inside out.

    It was a small amount of yin poison, but it had wreaked havoc in Lily''s mother''s body for so long, her bones have be very fragile and deformed.

    The yin poison itself can be easily cured, but the problem was no one had the skills nor technology to locate it. As long as the yin poison was not removed, even if the person continues to consume recovery elixirs, the condition will still continue to deteriorate, albeit slightly slower.

    Continuously consuming elixirs was only dying the inevitable and not a solution. Not everyone could have divine sense and directly see the source of the problem guing Lily''s mother like Leon.

    It was quite surprising for someone like this to still be alive, but the heavy scent of medicine made him understood that a lot of rare elixirs and herbs had been used to prolong her life in the past six years.

    "There''s no need to be despondent, young man. Like I said, I have alreadye to terms with it. No one can cure it." Sara took Leon''s frown as a look of incapability. She had already expected this.

    "You''re wrong. It can be cured."

    "Really?" Sara was surprised. "Then why do you frown?"

    "It''ll be a very painful process. The question is, are you up for it?"

    Sara quietly looked at her sleeping daughter. She did not have much time left. For the past three days straight, her daughter had not slept in order to take care of her due to her health taking a turn for the worse.

    Even so, she wanted to stay with her daughter for a little longer. She did not know the young man and could not trust his skills. If anything went wrong, she might just die on the spot. She was ready to reject his offer.

    "You don''t seem to trust me." Leon shook his head wryly as he read her thoughts. "Your body should be in a lot of pain right now. It''s admirable that you were able to endure it for so long. Allow me to demonstrate some of my skills by easing the pain for you."

    Leon did not wait for Lily''s mother''s agreement. Silver needles flew out of his hands shot into various parts of her body.

    The bones were deformed, organs have shifted and even the acupuncture points were slightly off, but Leon could see everything through his divine sense as the silver needles were inserted into their rightful ce.

    Sara was colored with surprise. Her body felt numb, but the pain had been reduced to such a low level that it even feelsfortable like taking the weight off a person who carried a big boulder on his back all his life.

    "It appears that I have severely underestimated you, young man. I apologize for doubting your skills."

    It would not have been so easy to convince Sara, but Leon did not even touch his silver needles. She could see that the young man possesses mystical skills and decided to pin her hopes on a miracle for onest time.

    "Please begin the treatment." Sara gritted her teeth in preparation. If Leon said it was going to be painful despite being able to numb her pain, then it means that it was truly going to be a painful process.

    Leon nodded.

 Chapter 278 - Recovery And Joy

    <h4>Chapter 278 - Recovery And Joy</h4>

    Receiving Lily''s mother''s consent, Leon made some preparations by taking out an empty pill bottle and scribbled some reinforcement runes onto it with Ravenous ck.

    The treatment process had already been thought out into three simple steps: removal, resetting, and nurturing.

    Firstes the removal of the yin poison. If it were before, he would have chosen to burn the yin poison directly, but now he had an even more effective method that would not leave behind any dregs in the bone marrow.

    With Divine Will and divine sense, he was able to lock onto the yin poison and extract it directly. When Leon first removed the casts, Sara''s sunken body was exposed. Parts of it were quite t.

    Sara''s head was slightly inclined, just enough to see parts of her body. It was also the first time she had seen the state of her own body in years as she drew in a sharp breath to calm herself. It was beyond terrible.

    Soon, she saw tiny specks of greenish-silver mist rising from various spots on her body as they gathered towards Leon.

    After Leon made sure that he had extracted every bit of yin poison in Lily''s mother''s body, he sealed them in the reinforced pill bottle he prepared beforehand. He was keeping it for researchter. He wanted to know its origins.

    The yin poison only erodes the bone. It does not cause Lily''s mother to have a pair of horn-like bones protruding from her forehead. This was an abnormal growth in the bones and was rted to something else.

    Within the greenish-silvery mist, Leon had detected a faint trace of dark miasma. It was so faint that he had almost missed it.

    "This is the root cause of my suffering in the past six years? What is it?"

    "Correct, it''s a type of yin poison that likes to hide in bone marrows and eroded it from inside out. Do you remember how you might havee in contact with this?"

    After Sara shook her head, Leon did not press Lily''s mother for an answer. She was not exactly in the best state to answer. It is not toote to ask again when she has recovered.

    "That''s fine. You can take your time to recall when you are better."

    Sara nodded, before asking, "Is the treatment finished? That''s wasn''t so bad. I didn''t really feel anything."

    "You might want to grit your teeth now. It''s going to be very painful." Leon stated as he made Lily''s mother swallow a Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pill.

    He had to fix all the bones and organs back into ce before the recovery. If Leon allowed for the Lily''s mother''s body to recover as is, the current bone structure would settle and be trickier to fix.

    He had to do it while the bones were still flexible and malleable. However, the fragility of the bones would no doubt cause it to crack and shatter during the reforming process. Thus, the bones needed to be healed while he was fixing their deformity.

    The pain Leon mentioned, came from the continuous cycle of breaking and healing of the bones.

    "I''m ready." Sara gritted.

    Leon did not hesitate once he was giving the confirmation. The silver needles were removed to not obstruct his treatment. The pain receptors were unblocked but a greenyer of wood element softly wrapped around Sara''s body as he started with the upper body.

    Lily''s mother spasmed with pain as she felt more of her bones breaking, but she was able to endure it with her great tolerance.

    However, after the first wave woulde a second wave, then a third, a fourth, and so on until Leon finishes reforming her bones. By the fifth wave, she already started grunting from the pain with beads of sweat.

    Her bones cracked and broke as Leon reformed them with a frown. The process required his absolute focus as he had underestimated the fragility of the bones. They were more fragile than he expected. He had to exert his Divine Will to prevent them from shattering into fragments.

    Sweat oozed from Sara''s forehead and tears formed at the corner of her eyes but she continued to endure without uttering a single scream. Leon secretly admired Lily''s mother''s endurance.

    Outside the room, there were three pairs of curious eyes peeking inside from the window frames. There was no excruciating scream, nor any bloodied process taking ce, but they were still given a great scare.

    The excruciating look of pain on Lily''s mother''s face and the state of the body revealed after the removal of the casts was quite the frightening sight.

    "How terrible. I knew Lily''s mother had contracted some sort of terribly rare disease that left her bedridden, but I didn''t think it would be this bad." Sherry whispered with shock and horror.

    "Yeah¡­ she looks like a¡­" Melody covered her mouth. She did not speak further but the trio all had simr thoughts.

    Lily''s mother''s body below her neck was quite t like a human pancake or a bag of grounded candies. They weren''t sure if they would be able to endure living under such disabling conditions.

    Back inside the room, Leon did notice the spying of the trio due to his great focus. He only noticed them half an hourter after he finished setting all of Sara''s bones and organs back into ce and waited for the healing effects to stabilize them.

    At this point, Sara had already passed out.

    "No need to peek from outside. You can alle in and help me." Leon said he wiped his sweat. Using Divine Will for so long was quite taxing.

    The trio was embarrassed after being caught but they obediently walked inside in files. "How can we help you, Your Highness?"

    "Remove the remain casts and clean Lily''s mother up for me. It''s inappropriate for me to do it. Also, be gentle. Her bones are still quite weak." Leon said.

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    While Ellie, Melody, and Sherry went to get Lily''s mother''s body cleaned with wet towels and changed into fresh clothes, Leon had gone outside and found himself an open spot to summon his pill cauldron.

    The fire was soon lit, and spirit herbs were tossed inside as he began a round of pill refinement. Half an incense stick of timeter, two new batches of pills were refined. They were Blood Nurturing Pills and Bone Reinforcement Pills used to aid the recovery of new blood and growth of bones.

    They were all Tier-2 Spirit Pills. Due to it being quite a long time since hest refined these types of pills in his previous life, there were a few Mid-rank pills among the High-rank pills within the batch of nine pills he refined for each.

    Leon kept a single of each pill and stored away the rest before returning inside the room to feed Lily''s mother the two pills and helped her absorb its efficacy.

    The painful process of reforming the bones had made her passed out several times, only to reawaken shortly due to the pain. By the end of the treatment, she had passed out again, having exhausted all her mental strength.

    At this moment, she was awakened once more by Leon''s subtle movements.

    "How are you feeling?" Leon asked.

    Sara studied her body carefully and said, "Better than ever. Thank you for your treatment, Divine Doctor. You have given thisdy a chance to walk under the sun again. I''m not sure how we can repay you."

    With such divine skill and medicine, Lily''s mother figured that the cost would note lightly. She was rather concerned that her daughter and she would not be able to afford the treatment fee.

    However, the Divine Doctor had given her a new lease on life. This was a debt of gratitude she had to repay at all costs.

    "There''s no need for you to be concerned about that. It was just a small favor." Leon waved it off nonchntly, but Ellie saw that there were still few beads of sweat on his forehead and took the opportunity to wipe it for him. "Err¡­ Ahem, thank you."

    "Well then, my job here is done. I still have other matters to attend to so I will be excusing myself first."

    Ellie, Melody, and Sherry respectfully bid him farewell with a curtsy.

    Seeing that Leon was unwilling to dwell on the matter, Lily''s mother did not keep him as Leon left. The trio also left shortly after cleaning up the room a bit.

    Lily continued to sleep with drooling out from her mouth, while her mother sat upright in the other bed with a pondering look.

    She was still clueless about Leon''s identity as he had referred to himself as a divine doctor and she was not awake to hear the three maids address him as "Your Highness" either.

    From the limited information she gathered in her mind, she concluded that the young divine doctor might be the new royal physician working in the pce.

    If that was the case, there were plenty of chances for their mother and daughter to repay the divine doctor''s good grace.

    "Uuu."

    At this moment, Lily was finally awoken from her two-hour deep sleep. She rubbed her eyes as she surveyed the familiar room. When her drowsy eyesnded on her mother, she was roused awake.

    "Looks like my lovely little girl has finally woken up." Sara smiled.

    "Mom?! Are you okay?! How are you sitting up?!" Lily was given a huge fright. She knew how bad her mother''s condition was. It was impossible to sit up like this! She hurried over and inspected her mother anxiously with concern.

    "It''s alright. The divine doctor you found had already treated me." Sara said to her daughter with gentleness.

    Her face was no longer pale and even have a rosy hue. She still feels a bit weak, but her pain was gone. She felt veryfortable. It was a blessing to be alive.

    Lily was confused by her mother''s words, but this confusion onlysted a moment as it was swept away by the overwhelming joy she felt for her mother''s recovery. She could see the transformation. There were no casts supporting her mother''s body.

    "Mom! It''s so great that you are well again!"

    Lily rubbed her face in her mother''s embrace affectionately with joy and tears as Sara rubbed her daughter''s head lovingly with a bit of redness in her eyes. It had also not been easy for her daughter to take care of her all this time.

    Life was hard, but they made it through. Tomorrow would be a new beginning chapter of their life.

    "It''s been hard on you."

    Lily cried hard when she heard this and the two stuck together for some time before Lily finally calmed down.

    "Why does my forehead feel so sore?" Lily suddenly frowned and rubbed her forehead. Before Sara could answer, Lily had already dashed in front of the mirror and came rushing back. She cried while pointing to her two big bumps, "Mom, this is bad! I think I identally caught your disease!"

    Sara was briefly stunned, before she angrily chided, "Nonsense!"

 Chapter 279 - Spiritual Replenishment Pill

    <h4>Chapter 279 - Spiritual Replenishment Pill</h4>

    Just like any other day in the Royal Pce, it was boring yet tiresome for the life of a shadowguard to be stationed here.

    Rarely does anything ever happen to or in the Royal Pce, but despite that, the shadowguards are required to observe everything with alertness while keeping themselves hidden in in sight.

    At this moment, the shadowguard stationed to keep watch over the Outer Pce was yawning from the top of a building not far from Violet Plum Courtyard.

    Suddenly, an invisible forced tugged at him and the shadowguard became alert once. There was no one on the building top except him.

    "Who''s there? Is it time to rotate shifts already? You better not be ying a prank on me." The shadowguard said to seemingly no one.

    The invisible force came again, but stronger, causing the shadowguard''s body to slide a bit towards the edge.

    "Oi, oi, cut it out. This is not funny!"

    A hint of nervousness was heard in the shadowguard''s voice. The shadowguard could not tell where the person was pranking him came from.

    If this was someone from their shadowguard group, it was impossible for him to not have heard of such a prodigy with this high level of stealth.

    But, if it wasn''t another shadowguard, then who or what was it? A ghost?

    The invisible force came again, but this time stronger than ever and directly pull the shadowguard over the edge. The shadowguard was shocked and horrified as he grabbed onto the edge to stop his fall.

    However, the invisible tugging force did not stop and continue to increase its force over time.

    "Ah¡­ S-Stop! I''m going to fall¡­ Ahhhhh!"

    The shadowguard plunged headfirst. At the bottom of the building, a young man was standing there while looking up at him. The young man was Leon.

    Just when the shadowguard was about crash into the ground, his falling momentum suddenly came to a halt a few inches from the ground. His body soon pped the ground with a softnding afterward.

    "Y-You need me for something, Your Highness?" The shadowguard asked after kneeling one knee, disheveled, and dismayed by what just happened.

    Leon did not answer immediately as his mind was elsewhere. It was apparent to him that Divine Will had some limitations.

    He had noticed this limitation when he was treating Lily''s mother earlier, but it seems that the consumption of mental strength increased by twofold when he tries to control a living person of equal mass.

    When the other party bes resistant to his control, the consumption even increases exponentially.

    ''A sh of wills?'' Leon thought.

    He still had plenty of mental strength leftover, but it was not the sort of consumption rate he could keep up for long.

    He concluded that it was extremely inefficient to be used directly forbat, but this type of crowd control ability could still be used at crucial moments to catch his opponents off guard.

    It was a trump card that can decide the life and death of his opponents.

    "Your Highness?"

    Leon finally focused on the shadowguard and nodded. "How much are you aware of the bullying between the senior maids and new junior maids?"

    "Forgive me, Your Highness. I did not know such a thing was taking ce." The shadowguard apologized with surprise.

    "You are tasked to watch over the pce, but you don''t know such a thing had been going on for so long?" Leon''s brows were furrowed.

    "Most of the shadowguards have been dispatched to other cities and neighboring kingdoms to collect intel, Your Highness." The shadowguard lowered his head and continued, "Currently, it is just me and another person taking turns watching over the Outer Pce on a 6-hour rotation."

    "I see. That was my oversight. You do not need to apologize." Leon nodded in understanding.

    The pce was far too big for one person to watch over at any given time. It appeared he could not punish the other bullies immediately without evidence.

    "From now on, I want you to investigate the pce maids and record every misdeed and form of bullying theymit and report back to me. The training camp should have a lot of recruits, yes? Take some people to assist you. I believe some actual field experience and direct teaching from a senior shadowguard on the job is more effective than training in the dark underground all the time."

    "However, if the bullying is found to be excessive that it threatens the life of the junior maids, you must intervene and report to me immediately. Two junior maids nearly died today, if not for my direct intervention. I do not want a repeat of this, is that understood?"

    "Yes, Your Highness! I hear and obey!"

    The shadowguardplied submissively with an exaggerated salute. There was a certain majesty and something in the air the prince carried and the prince''s words thatpelled him to dly demonstrate his loyalty.

    Leon was surprised. He was not purposely using Divine Will but felt it could also empower his speech to give a moremanding and reverential presence.

    "Go."

    Leon waved.

    After the shadowguard left to carry out the task with haste, Leon returned to his room and took out the box of paper and pen.

    It was time to record some of his knowledge down andpile it into a book, then have it mass copied for the people of the kingdom to learn.

    He did not have the energy to be transmitting his knowledge to every person. He would only do it a few more times on a few selected individuals and have them teach others with the help of the book he would soonpile.

    This was the best method Leon could think of without dying his cultivation too much. Of course, Princess Faelyn might be slightly disappointed. He did mention that the elven princess could attendnguage ss, but he did not say that he would be the one teaching.

    Once the people of the kingdom understand the ancientnguage, they can begin studying the relics and recovering the lost technology of the ancient civilization on their own.

    Furthermore, the ancientnguage was a simplified version of the runguage. Once they master the ancientnguage, it will be easier toprehend the runguage.

    At that time, the kingdom is bound to experience a great technological advancement.

    Leon began to practice writing on a piece of paper with his Divine Will. After he got the hang of writing with Divine Will, he increased his writing speed by double, writing on two pieces of paper at once with the additional ink pens.

    This was something Leon could already do upon awakening his memory. It was a unique nature of possessing the dual personalities of two lifetimes. He was capable of two separate thoughts be dividing his consciousness.

    However, with his current soul quality, Leon believes he could further divide his consciousness and achieve an even greater writing speed, although he was not exactly sure to what extent he could divide his consciousness until he tested it himself.

    Slowly but surely, Leon increased to writing on three sheets of paper at once, then from three, he went to writing on four sheets of paper at once!

    When Leon tried to push the number to five, problems began to ur. His thoughts became messy and iprehensible scribbles began to appear on the fifth piece of paper like it was drawn by a 3-year old.

    "So, four is my limit¡­ for now." Leon mumbled.

    To write on 4 separate pieces of paper at high speed, the consumption of mental strength was not little. Leon had expended a fair bit of his mental strength today already.

    After pilling up 20 pages worth of Ancient-to-Gaiannguage definition and exnations, Leon took a break and entered the Archive to study some soul recovery pill recipes and knowledge.

    He crosschecked on the ingredients required and became disappointed that the simplest Soul Replenishment Pill still missed a single key ingredient.

    "It seems I would need to revisit Extreme Misty Forest in the near future to look for more rare herbs." Leon frowned. "What else can I do? Oh, I know."

    Leon went back into the Archive and searched for pill recipes rted to mental strength recovery. There was a difference between soul recovery pills and mental recovery pills.

    Although both also recover mental strength, the effects contrast greatly. Soul recovery pills replenish his mental strength almost immediately, but mental recovery pills only boost his natural system''s recovery rate of mental strength over time.

    It was a difference between recovery amount and recovery speed. The superior one was clear.

    Nevertheless, mental recovery pills would still save him some time, and the ingredients are most likely to be moremon as it had more to do with stimting the body, and less to do with the soul itself.

    It was not wrong to say that the body nurtures the soul.

    "A Tier-3 Spiritual Replenishment Pill can speed up the recovery of mental strength by 30%¡­ If taken before sleep, the effects of the pill can further improve by 50%, making it 45% recovery speed, huh? That''s almost half. Not bad. Do I have enough Tier-3 Spirit Herbs for this?" Leon spoke to himself.

    There was a high chance he had all the ingredients, but he was not sure they were all been grown to Tier-3 Spirit Herbs.

    After a quick look at the ingredient list for the Spiritual Replenishment Pill, Leon nodded pleasantly.

    "Great! I have all the ingredients. I didn''t expect one of the ingredients to be the Achromous Valerian Root though. It seems I can''t gift away too much of these anymore until I grow more of them."

    "My future inws really enjoyed the herbal tea though. I''m afraid they will call my stingy¡­" Leon smiled wryly and rubbed his chin. "Maybe it''s time to introduce a different type of herbal tea to them?"

 Chapter 280 - The Illusory Palace Within Extreme Misty Forest

    <h4>Chapter 280 - The Illusory Pce Within Extreme Misty Forest</h4>

    Extreme Misty Forest.

    At a hidden location with the eastern parts of the forest, two figures were seen approaching a white marbled gate in the distance. The whiteness of the gate blends well with the color of the mist. Withouting within a certain range, the white gate would not be visible to other people.

    The two figures continued to approach the white gate guarded by two people in ordinary white attire, but with a unique blue butterfly pattern sewed on. They were disciples of Illusory Butterfly Sect.

    "Halt your steps! State your identities and reason for visit! Beyond this gate is the territory of Illusory Butterfly Sect!"

    "I am an outer disciple." One of the two figures showed the two guards his status te with trembling hands as he cautious turned to the other figure. "And this¡­ this person is¡­"

    "Stop! Did you hear what I said?!"

    The guard barked.

    The Spider Queen did not stop when she was told. These lowly humans did not have the right tomand her.

    Theck ofpliance did not anger the guards. Rather, their eyes lit with anticipation as they saw the peerless beauty of the Spider Queen.

    They were given a reason to make things difficult for the other party and perhaps, take some liberties. Unbeknownst to them, they were walking down a dangerous path.

    "It seems you do not put my words nor the Illusory Butterfly Sect in your eyes. I suspect you are a spy from another sect! I will arrest you and take you back for interrogation. If you don''t want to make things harder for yourself, give up any form of resistance!"

    The guard reached out his grubby hands with a lewd smile.

    A trace of chilling light flickered across the Spider Queen''s eyes and the grubby hands of the guard soon froze in its ce.

    The outer disciple continued to shiver in fear as he had already anticipated what would happen to the guards who act untoward the Spider Queen.

    A soft wind blew past and the guard''s body dropped to the ground, headless. The guard''s head had been cleanly separated from this head and disappeared off to some unknown distance in an instance.

    The other guard''s smirk froze with trepidation and a looming sense of death. He did not know how the first guard died. Everything happened to quickly, but it was clear that it had something to do with the beautiful woman in front of him.

    As the Spider Queen walked past, the second guard did not dare to move an inch. He even forgot to breathe. The outer disciple followed behind carefully with dread. He did not dare to run away.

    The closed gate was blown apart from a kick as the Spider Queen stormed through in a domineering manner. Her home was left in shambles, so she came to trash their ce!

    However!

    The Spider Queen stopped in her tracks when sheid her eyes on the majestic white marbled pce in the distance. It had an illusory and ethereal feeling when it is covered in mist.

    "This Queen has changed her mind." Spider Queen Arachnia, or rather Arana said as she turned towards the outer disciple. "Go inside and tell everyone to get lost! This Queen has taken a liking to this ce."

    The outer disciple tremble as he listened. He was just an outer disciple. Who was going to listen to him? Forget about the elders and the Sect Master, even the inner disciple could kill him with a p for his impudence if he told them all to get lost.

    "I''m¡­ I am just an outer disciple. I''m afraid they would kill me if I delivery them your message, your Excellency¡­"

    "Then are you not afraid that this Queen will kill you right now if you don''t go?" Arana said teasingly with her lips curved into a sly smile.

    The outer disciple was drenched in cold sweat.

    "I''ll go now¡­"

    The outer disciple ran as fast as he could. Getting the opportunity, he also wanted to get as far away from the Spider Queen as possible as he dashed towards the Illusory Pce of the Illusory Butterfly Sect.

    At the same time, quite a few outer disciples and inner disciples were attracted by the booming noise of the busted gate and were drawn to it.

    "Beautifuldy, do you not know whose gate you just kicked down? Do you know where you are right now?" An inner disciple reproached, but his eyes were sparkling as he checked the person out with a disrespectful gaze.

    "Beautifuldy, if you promise to spend a night with me, I can plead leniency to the elders for you."

    "Ptui! Beautifuldy, don''t listen to him. Be my woman and I will guarantee your safety."

    The male inner disciples approached the Spider Queen one by one with their own agendas and intention.

    "What a bunch of blind and horny dogs. They don''t even know how the word death is written!"

    "Yeah! Do they think just anyone can kick down our gates like that?"

    "We should alert the elders. Someone capable hase to cause trouble at our sect."

    "En."

    The female inner disciples were more level-headed and saw the situation more clearly, but at the same time, they were jealous someone was getting so much more attention than them.

    The person who could bust down their gate and not run away when they are all alone had to be someone extremely confidant or an idiot. But even if the person was an idiot, it should be a powerful idiot.

    "You all better scram. If you all continue to gaze at this Queen so disrespectfully ande within 30fts, be prepared to die." Arana said with chilling light, but she did not move an inch and continue to wait for the bigwigs toe out.

    "Yo~ Thisdy is quite feisty."

    "Hahaha, right? What if I want toe within 30fts of you, your royal Majesty?" The male inner disciple said sarcastically as he took a step within.

    Poof!

    Blood sprayed from the male inner disciple''s headless body as soon as he did and died without every knowing how he died. The headless body fell and twitched a few times before it ultimately stopped forever.

    The other approaching inner disciples widened their eyes and immediately paused their steps as beads of cold sweat trickled down the side of their foreheads.

    "What just happened? Anyone saw how he died?"

    "Holy mama¡­" A person fell back on his rear and peed his pants. "That person was Inner Disciple Greg¡­"

    "Greg¡­ A 5-Star Ranked Awakener died just like that¡­ Who the hell is this person?"

    "Transcendent¡­ She''s gotta be a Transcendent! Call the elders¡ªNo, call the Sect Master!"

    ¡­

    Inside a certain meeting hall within Illusory Pce, a group of elders were discussing their next n for overtaking the Crawford Kingdom with the Sect Master. There were also a few core disciples among the mix. There were all people who had achieved the strength of 7 stars and higher.

    "How is the western expedition doing? Has anyone received news from the Grand Eldertely?"

    "None. With the Grand Elder''s strength, they should have reached the Capital and already started fighting by now. I willing to bet those rinky-dink Crawford Royalties didn''t expect this oneing, haha! I believe it won''t be long before we get to hear some good news."

    "You''re being too optimistic, Third Elder."

    "Oh? Do you have some news, Fifth Elder? Or do you simply have a different opinion? Do you have something against me, Fifth Elder?"

    "Something against you? You think too much, Third Elder." The Fifth Elder said coolly.

    "News? I have some. I think everyone will be interested to hear what I found. ording to my own sources, The Grand Elder of Bloodfiend Sect had fallen in battle and the main force was absorbed by the enemy."

    When the Fifth Elder said this, the hall waspletely silence as everyone gathered around the table fell into deep thoughts.

    The Sect Master wore a grave look as leaned forward with his elbows rested on the table and fingers locked together.

    After sweeping everyone a look, he spoke, "With the nature of the Bloodfiend Sect and our long-time rivalry, we can expect that the Grand Elder of Bloodfiend Sect spilled some vital information to the enemy to get even with us before he died."

    "The lost of a Transcendent is enough to send waves through an entire kingdom. What the Sect Master said is most likely true. The Grand Elder of Bloodfiend Sect would not let us have the advantage and would have done something to take our Grand Elder down with him to even out the ying field."

    "Those selfish bastards!" Another elder mmed the table in anger. "This might be why we haven''t received any news from the Grand Elder."

    The Sect Master looked at Fifth Elder and asked, "Did you find out how the Grand Elder of Bloodfiend Sect was killed in battle, Fifth Elder? Did the¡­ Overseer intervened?"

    The Sect Master was cautious when the Overseer was mentioned. The Overseer''s origins were unclear but each one of them could summon the winds and rains in the Durham kingdom.

    Fifth Elder shook his head and sighed despondently.

    "We have miscalcted this time and stepped on the dragon''s toe. The Grand Elder of Bloodfiend Sect was killed by the Queen of Crawford."

    "That''s impossible! Queen Elizabeth is just a newly ascended Transcendent! There''s no way she would be a match for an experienced Transcendent like the Grand Elder of Bloodfiend Sect!" The Third Elder was quick to refute.

    "What if the Queen was a Sword Master?"

    "Then¡­ Then¡­" Third Elder slumped back on his seat with a slightly pale look. "Who would have thought that¡­ that stagnant ce that focus on rubbish things like steam power could produce a Sword Master?"

    "Not just any Sword Master, but a Sword Master that IS a Transcendent¡­"

    "Sword Masters are known for their heaven-defying attack power. We are in deep sh*t this time. Fortunately, our sect is quite hidden."

    The Sect Master sighed.

 Chapter 281 - Illusory Butterfly Formation

    <h4>Chapter 281 - Illusory Butterfly Formation</h4>

    "With such a strong person holding the fort, it won''t be possible to take over the Crawford Kingdom now. We should have hit them with everything we had instead of being cautious of the Bloodfiend Sect ying tricks behind our backs."

    "Everyone already knows that. Don''t speak if you have nothing constructive to say."

    "Y-You! You do have something against me, don''t you?!" The Third Elder was angered, before slowly smirked, "Oh, I think I know why. Is it because I took away your favorite female disciple and yed with her for a few days?"

    The Fifth Elder''s expression became solemnly dark.

    "Enough! We should be discussing our next course of action!" Sixth Elder voiced his words, displeased, before suggesting, "Should we pull back all our disciples to avoid our disciples being captured and selling out our own sect''s location?"

    "That won''t work. Even if we did that, there is still Second Elder and the disciples who followed him. The n would be for naught if they decided to reveal themselves and sell out our sect''s location." The Sect Master frowned.

    "Have we found out where they are hiding yet? We need to get rid of this ticking time bomb before it bites us back." Fifth Elder said.

    "It already 17 years ago. If not for that traitorous Second Elder''s interference, we would have seeded recing the Crawford Royal family with our pawn and takeover the Crawford Kingdom. But not only did we failed, but the Overseer also came and taught us a lesson." Sixth Elder sighed.

    "But if we didn''t fail, we would not have learned the existence of Overseers and the people above them. But it was also true that if we had seeded, then they would not have bothered with us either. After all, the dead cannot be revived."

    "I still can''t wrap my head around the existence of these people stepping on our heads. How can they be so powerful yet be such gullible idiots as to believe in a fortune teller''s words? How is it possible for someone with the destiny to break humanity out of its cage that is the Human Domain, possibly born in that backward kingdom?" A Core Disciple spoke.

    "I also find it nonsensical, but what''s important isn''t what we believe, but what THEY believe. We are too helplessly weak in front of absolute strength." The Third Elder said, before shifting topics.

    "Anyway, we don''t have to worry about Second Elder too much. He had been struck by my Poison Palm. He would have had no choice but to abolish his cultivation and start over. He can''t be powerful and cause any big waves without the resource and the environment to cultivate."

    "En, I''ve guessed that he should be hiding somewhere in the Capital." The Sect Master said, before asking, "Any news from the Blood Mountain? The Sect Master of Bloodfiend Sect had been quiettely. We could look into¡ª"

    Bang!

    "This is bad, Sect Master! Ie bearing bad news!" The Sect Master was interrupted by an outer disciple barging into the hall unannounced.

    "Outrageous! Is this the ce a lowly outer disciple like you can enter as you want!?" The Third Elder jumped with the intention to kill the outer disciple with a single palm strike.

    The outer disciple paled with pure terror. He did not intend to deliver the Spider Queen''s words, but it did not stop him from being killed by the enraged elder.

    "Stop it, Third Elder! I believe we should at least listen to what this outer disciple has to say first. I believe this disciple would not ignore sect rules and barge into the meeting hall without a proper reason for doing so." Fifth Elder stopped the Third Elder''s attack promptly, before saying, "Isn''t that right?"

    The outer disciple nodded like a pecking duck.

    "Dammit, Fifth Elder! You''re bent on going against, aren''t you?!"

    "Enough, Third Elder. What Fifth Elder said was reasonable. Besides, Eldest Brother had not said anything yet. Don''t you think you are acting out of line? Or do you think your authority supersedes Eldest Brother''s authority as Sect Master, hmm?" Sixth Elder said.

    Third Elder felt a significant amount of anger bottled up inside him. What Sixth Elder said was insidious and vicious, directing pitching him against the Sect Master.

    Feeling the Sect Master''s chilly gaze, the Third Elder had no choice but to back down and retract his hand.

    "Of course not. I would never think as such. I just thought this outer disciple was extremely rude for disrupting the Sect Master''s words." The Third Elder said with an appealing smile, but a bottomless pit of fire was raging on inside.

    "What do you think, Eldest Brother?" Sixth Elder asked.

    All the numbered elders and sect master were all fellow direct disciples of the same master, the previous sect master. Still, the way they address each other shows their rtionship to one another.

    The Sect Master nodded and spoke one word.

    "Speak!"

    The outer disciple sighed with relief and was about to exin when an inner disciple barged into the hall this time.

    "This is bad, Sect Master!"

    "What is it?"

    The Sect Master said with a low tone. Having disciples from the sect barge in twice, the new must be important.

    "An outsider is killing our disciples outside! I suspect the outsider is a Transcendent!"

    "What about you, what did you want to report?" The Sect Master asked the outer disciple grimly.

    "Exactly as the inner disciple had said, Sect Master!" The outer disciple trembled. What was his value if someone else also came to report it?

    Instead of exploding with outrage from the news, the elders and core disciples around the table sunk into grim silence with a heavy feeling.

    "Did the Overseere to punish us?"

    "This timing is too coincidental. It¡­ should be the case."

    The outer disciple opened his mouth, seemingly having something to say but weren''t sure whether to say it.

    While stuck in a dilemma, the Sect Master noticed this.

    "Speak!"

    "Y-Yes, Sect Master! I''m not sure who this Overseer the elders mentioned, but this Transcendent is a frightening woman. The Grand Elder, along with the other disciples and the 20,000-strong army was wiped out by this one person alone while we were traveling through to the western parts of Extreme Misty Forest."

    The news did not make anyone feel better. It was equally bad as it showed that the Transcendent was powerful, possibly more potent than the Sect Master.

    "And you brought this person here?" Third Elder asked impassively.

    "Yes."

    The outer disciple quickly answered before his expression warped in horror as he noticed the error in his words.

    "I can kill him now, right?" Third Elder asked the Sect Master.

    "Go right ahead."

    Everyone gave the outer disciple an indifferent look. The outer disciple was pale as a sheet.

    "Mercy, Sect Master! Merc¡ª"

    Bam!

    The Third Elder mmed his palm down right on top of the outer disciple''s head with great force and sttered the entire body, from head to toe, into a bloody mess in the ground. He had taken out all his anger on the outer disciple.

    "Let''s go see what the intention of this Transcendent is. Perhaps, there was a misunderstanding, and we can negotiate with her and maybe even bring her onto our side." The Sect Master said.

    "If we can seed in this, we will have another chance at winning the war."

    Everyone''s eyes lit up with hope as they followed the Sect Master outside.

    Outside, a few headless corpses had already turned into dozens, while the survivors had long escaped.

    Arana had be impatient and told people to get lost from her new home, but the disciples just retreated some distance away. They were all killed after receiving a second warning.

    Seeing so many dead inner disciples, the elders and core disciples all knitted their brows as they shifted their gaze onto the lone figure in the center of all the corpses.

    With her white web-woven dress stained red with blood, Arana was like a beautiful red rose filled with thorns. Although she was beautiful, no one had the heart admire the Spider Queen''s beauty.

    "Is there some sort of misunderstanding between us, your Excellency? Why must you kill so many of our disciples?" The Sect Master approached with a soft stance, but the Spider Queen was utterly unreasonable.

    "No misunderstanding. This Queen had taken a liking to your ce and want all of you to get lost. Have you not been informed as such by my messenger?" Arana beamed with a cold smile.

    A few elders and core disciples sweated. Who was the messenger? That outer disciple? A few gazes gradually shifted to the Third Elder.

    The Third Elder became angry at this and snapped, "What are your intentions by staring at me like this?!"

    The Sect Master''s brows deeply furrowed. The Illusory Pce was the foundation of their sect, holding over two centuries worth of heritage and resource. There was no way they could give it away.

    "Illusory Pce is our sect''s foundation. Is it possible to negotiate something else?"

    "No negotiation. I wasn''t asking, so get lost."

    Arana immediately struck with a sweeping kick. The Sect Master was both startled and enraged, but he still guarded with both arms protected by ayer of reinforced yin energy.

    However!

    The Sect Master''s eyes almost popped out of their sockets in the next instance as an immense force still broke both hisyer of defense and his arms and sent him flying into a distant wall with a loud boom!

    "Sect Master!"

    Everyone cried.

    Boom!

    Almost immediately after crashing, a bloodied Sect Master jumped out of the rubbles of the ruined wall and roared, "Goddammit! Just because I was being nice, do you think you can just step all over me!?"

    "Illusory Butterfly Formations! Now!"

    The elders and core disciples reacted immediately and quickly surrounded the Spider Queen. Waves and waves of poison yin mist billowed out from their bodies and formed a giant cage with everyone inside.

    Everyone''s figures grew indistinct as mere shadowy figures within the poison mist cage as the Sect Master flew on top to control the sect''s signature Illusory Butterfly Formation that required ten people working in tandem.

 Chapter 282 - The Sects Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 282 - The Sect''s Destruction</h4>

    Within the Illusory Butterfly Formation, the Spider Queen stood at its center with a nonchnt look. Her vision was obscured and the poison yin mist filling the area seemed harmful to ordinary people, but she was not in a hurry to retaliate.

    After waiting some time, she raised an eyebrow.

    "What kind of garbage formation is this? It does absolutely nothing." Arana snickered.

    "You''re too arrogant! The longer you stay in our formation, the quicker you die! You should not have let us set up our formation, or even better, you should not have crossed me!"

    The Sect Master''s voice ovepped with the surrounding mist and came from every direction, making the Spider Queen unable to discern the correct direction of the source.

    "Insignificant tricks. You can''t even hide your shadow and movements."

    The Spider Queen dashed towards a shadowy figure moving within the poison yin mist and made a swipe at it. The shadowy figure in the mist seemed to have detected the Spider Queen''s attack and try to escape, but it was outmatched in speed.

    "Nooo~!"

    The shadowy figure seemed to have cried as the Spider Queen''s attacknded.

    However!

    Arana froze in the next moment with confusion. No feeling was transmitted to her as the shadowy figure and mist disperse from her attack.

    "What?"

    The shadowy figure in the mist were scattered into countless shadowy butterflies and reformed into another shadowy figure elsewhere.

    A jarringugh soon followed the Spider Queen''s failed attack, making her look foolish.

    "Kekeke¡­ Like I said, you are too arrogant! Did you think you can catch any of us in our own formation, miss Transcendent?! In this formation, the most unreliable thing to trust are your senses! Your arrogance will be the death of you! You may be powerful, but no matter how powerful you are, once trapped in this formation, you will still have to kneel!"

    "You want to make this Queen kneel? You are not worthy. How dare you trick this Queen."

    Arana''s eyes were suffused with cold light as she felt humiliated. Sheshed out at several more moving shadows in the mist, but like the first time, they all scattered into butterflies and reformed themselves.

    "Kekeke¡­ Oh, I think I felt that one. Keep trying. Maybe you will catch one of us next time."

    Arana was mocked by the Sect Master. She was irritated but continuing to attack the shadowy figures in the mist will not produce any result.

    "This Queen might have underestimated your formation a little, but if this Queen wants to leave, what can you do about it?"

    "You can try." The Sect Master snickered.

    "Hmph."

    Arana dashed in a single direction. Her movements were quick, easily covering a few thousand yards in a short time.

    It was then that she felt something wrong and halted her steps. With the distance she travelled, she should have easily left the vicinity of the Illusory Pce by now.

    She did not run into the gate she broke down either. The world around her was still a dense poison yin mist.

    "Cease your foolish actions. It is useless. You cannot escape once you are trapped. No one has ever seeded. There is only one result for everyone that has been trapped by our Illusory Butterfly Formation, and that is death! I have already told you that your own senses cannot be trusted. That includes your sense of direction! Did you know you just look like an idiot running in circles? Hahaha!"

    "You talk to much. Apart from meddling with my senses, your stupid formation has no other merits. Still a useless formation. I can wait all day, but how long can you keep the formation active? Once you are exhausted, I will just kill you all then."

    "Big talk for someone who is about to die! The poison should have invaded your system any minute now!"

    The Sect Master was smirking when he said this. As a sect specializing in poison arts, thebination of being able to trap and poison their opponents to death was the most fearsome aspect of their Illusory Butterfly Formation.

    The Sect Master, elders and core disciples were confident that without taking further action, the Transcendent Beauty will simply sumb to their poison and die within the formation.

    Arana simply smiled coldly. She was aware of the poison, but there was a transcendental me burning inside her that reduces the poison down to level even her body''s immunity system could handle.

    "I could choose to wait for you to exhaust yourselves powering this stupid formation, but that would not be the style of this Queen. You have been far too impudent for this Queen to allow you all to live any longer. As such, you can all die now."

    Suddenly, everyone''s heart palpitated with a dangerous feeling. They were confused where the danger wasing from when the person was practically trapped in their formation.

    In the next moment, they found out why.

    Silky strands of web shot out from the Spider Queens fingers andshed at the surrounding indiscriminately. It was an omnidirectional attack that would not care for its friend or foe.

    Swoosh!

    The attack summoned a torrential storm of its own as the surrounding was barraged in hundreds¡ªno, thousands of whips from the ten silky thin strands of webs from the Spider Queen!

    Except for the Sect Master who managed to react quickly, everyone else hidden in the formation was diced into hundreds of fleshly pieces. They could not be deader than dead.

    Everything happened too quickly.

    With no one left to supply power to the formation, the thick poison yin mist dispersed. The ground within a 200-yard radius werepletely devastated with innumerable marks.

    All tricks and schemes were nothing in the face of absolute strength.

    "There you are. You ran pretty quickly."

    Arana locked onto the Sect Master.

    The Sect Masterid on the ground with a pale face just outside the marble gate. He had managed survive the onught of whip-like attacks, but only with half his life. He had lost his legs and one arm in the attack. He was basically crippled and unable to escape.

    "I didn''t expect for the tables to be turned so easily." The Sect Master chuckled bitterly.

    If he knew the person was powerful to this extent, no matter how unwilling he was, he would have still conceded to the person''s demand.

    "Just who are you? The only person who would address themselves as ''this Queen'' is the Queen of the Crawford Kingdom, but that person shouldn''t be you."

    "You don''t need to know."

    Arana did not waste further words on a dead person.

    The Sect Master was killed by a thousand cuts, before Arana turned towards the beautiful white Illusory Pce.

    "Now to im by prize."

    Her lips were curved up as she took her steps towards the white pce. Only a queen was fit to live in such a majestic building¡­

    Creak¡­

    The subtle sound caused Arana to suddenly freeze as her eyes opened widened. The creak and grinding sound became more evident as half of the Illusory Pce copsed into countless diced rubbles.

    Arana wore a dumfounded expression and stood on the same spot for a long time.

    "At least there is still half a building left¡­" Sheforted herself as she took another step towards her new home.

    However¡­

    The other half lost its structural integrity and shortly copsed with a boom after. Arana was rooted on the spot nkly.

    Something inside seemed to have also cracked.

    ¡­

    While Leon was spending his time in the Capital, his mother, Elizabeth had returned to the temporary military camp in the Grasnd Region with her army after taking a detour through a nearby town in the north.

    "Congrattion on your victorious return, Your Majesty! May you ever be victorious in a thousand more!" The soldiers at the camp shouted while they saluted on one knee.

    Elizabeth waved for them to be at ease helplessly as she shook her head and thought to herself, ''What victorious return? The enemy was already ughtered when we got there and had to clean up the mess instead.''

    "Report. What''s the current situation on camp?"

    "Yes, Your Majesty! All the wounded on camp has been healed and are all ready for battle, except for a few whose limbs we could not retrieve. The elite team of pce guards have also returned to the underground to collect relics." Amander faithfully answered.

    Elizabeth nodded before she paused and asked, "Did you say healed? Not treated?"

    "Yes, Your Majesty! Elder Evergreen and his people had lent their hand and healed all the wounded soldiers with their miraculous wood ability!"

    Elizabeth was surprised to learn there was so many wood-users from that group of underground vigers. "That''s great! I must express my gratitude to them! But before that, tell me the rest of the report. What''s the situation in the south?"

    "Eastfell City has been burned and destroyed. Many innocent residents had also been ughtered by the enemy. Supposedly, members of the Bloodfiend Sect had given the order to ughter the innocents and burn the city."

    "Brigadier-General Rohan is currently guarding the Eastfell Region border, while some troops had been delegated to escort the surviving residents of Eastfell City to other cities to take temporary refuge."

    Elizabeth''s eyes glinted with a cold light while clenching her fist when she heard the news of the innocents being ughter in Eastfell City. The people of the Bloodfiend Sect were not humans!

    After giving the oversized army a sweeping look, she ordered, "Rally the soldiers. After Ie back meeting Elder Evergreen, we will depart for the Vran Kingdom!"

    "Yes, Your Majesty!"

    The Commander shouted with an excited look.

 Chapter 283 - Realm Of Spear Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 283 - Realm Of Spear Spirit</h4>

    To some people, time would pass slowly, while others would feel it had passed quickly. Whatever the case was, the day still shifted forward. The sun settled and disappeared off the horizon, marking the arrival of the night. Along with it, the brilliance of the moon appeared as cascading light rained down upon the Capital.

    In the past few hours after Leon had exhausted most of his mental strength, he had refined some Spiritual Replenishment Pills and ingested one.

    Following that, he spent the rest of the time practicing some simple spear thrusts and swings to be more familiar with his ck spear. His entire body was soaked in sweat as he was training topless.

    His spear strikes might be simple, but each attack was full of explosive power and would kick up a gust of wind. They were not half-hearted attacks but attacks that he had put every fiber of his being into, resulting in him exhausting himself quickly.

    Amidst the sweat and aching body screaming for him to stop, Leon''s eyes were still full of spirit and drive. He did not find such physical training dull and tedious but rather quite enjoyable.

    Each extra swing represents progress and a step closer to his goal, no matter how minuscule it may be.

    To avenge his father and pull every Divine King involved in his father''s death, down from their throne, he must work harder than anyone else, even the Divine Kings.

    Which one of the Divine Kings hadn''t have their fair share of sweat and blood to get to where they were now? If he wants to surpass that, he must work even harder and seek higher fortuitous encounters. Only then would he have a chance at avenging his father.

    In the art of sword cultivation, to achieve the first realm of Sword Spirit and be a qualified Swordsman, a person must be one with the sword.

    Bing one with the sword was not somethingplicated. It simply means to be familiar enough with the sword that it would move like an extension of one''s limbs.

    Leon was applying the same logic in his practice to be one with his spear and achieve the realm of Spear Spirit.

    This was something that usually took a lot of practice and had no shortcut, but a talented person could indeed cut down the required time and practice needed.

    With Leon''s level ofprehension, he felt he had already achieved primary mastery of the spear and reached the threshold needed.

    Swoosh~!

    Another powerful spear strike thrust out as the wind billowed against the courtyard''s wall, but Leon could not help but frown.

    "Not right. I''m not there yet. Something is still missing¡­ but what could it be?"

    Leon''s frown deepened as he thought about all the Swordsmen, Sword Masters, and Sword Grandmasters he had met in his previous life. Also, his mother as well. She was a Swordsman. What did they all have inmon with the sword?

    "A Swordsman does not need to fight to be recognized¡­"

    Leon recalled this saying in the Divine Realm.

    "Does not need to fight to be recognized¡­"

    "To be recognized¡­"

    "How can a person recognize a Swordsman if they don''t fight? Just by their sword?"

    Leon shook his head.

    Just because a person holds a sword, it did not mean they were qualified to be called a Swordsman. However, the Divine Realm indeed had numerous Swordsmen. Anyone with a sword was at least at the realm of Sword Spirit.

    "Sword Spirit¡­ Sword¡­ Spirit?" Leon repeatedly mumbled as his eyes start to glow brightly. "I understand. It''s the sharpness of one''s spirit. A Swordsman can be recognized by sensing their sharp spirit. The spirit of a Swordsman must be sharp like the sword."

    Leon thought about his mother.

    Swordsman could hide their sharp spirit, but the only time his mother bothers to hide, or ''sheathe'' her sharp spirit is when she is looking at him. At any other time, his mother''s sharp spirit is always evident for others to sense.

    With his mother''s strength, status, coldness, and sharp spirit, it makes sense why people are always under enormous pressure and fear when all these aspects are put together.

    "A sword-user must be sharp like the sword. The greater the attainment, the sharper the spirit." Leon nodded in understanding. He understood that his spear strikes werecking a sort of spirit.

    Swords had to be sharp, but what about a spear?

    Each time he swung his weighted spear, it was heavy, strong, explosive, overpowering, and unstoppable. A heavy spirit? Can a spirit be heavy? Strong spirit? Explosive spirit? The hell is that? Might as well be dead. Overpowering spirit? Unstoppable spirit? Dafuq? Now that is just ridiculous.

    A Spear Spirit had to contain all these aspects. Not one, not two or three, but all of them. A spear had to be¡­ domineering!

    Leon closed his eyes and envisioned himself as a general on a great battlefield in ancient times. A single swing of his spear would send dozens of enemy soldiers flying like broken kites. Yes¡­ this is how a spear should be used.

    Suddenly, Leon gripped the spear hard and snapped open his eyes before making a mighty swing! The wind blew explosively into the courtyard''s wall again. This time, the power behind the spear strike was much stronger than all his previous attacks, about 30% stronger.

    "Yes, a spear-user should have a domineering spirit. The weapon of an overlord must be domineering."

    Leon nced down at his trembling hands. Thatst blow had sapped all the remaining strength in his arms, but if he does not push himself at this point, how would he ever ovee his limits?

    "I can probably push for one more swing¡­ probably."

    There are no clear indicators to assure a person when they achieve the Realm of Spear Spirit like divine cultivation does, but there was no need to second guess it. The 30% improvement in power was the best proof.

    Gripping his spear, Leon could feel a sense of powerlessness. His grip was not firm. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and pushed it! One more swing!

    Leon went through the motion of another horizontal sweep. At the same time, he saw a person''s head popped around the corner of the courtyard''s entrance, but it was toote for him to stop.

    To make matters worse, the ck spear slipped out of his grip and flew straight towards the person!

    Princess Faelyn had gone to revisit the prince to make up earlier in the day, but after she turned into the courtyard''s entrance, a ck spear impaled itself in the courtyard''s wall right next to her with a loud bang!

    Her whole body froze with a start before turning her head mechanically to the side to look at it. Was that a warning strike?

    "Err¡­ sorry for bothering you, Your Highness. I''ll¡­ leave now."

    "Ahem, Faelyn, wait. That was a mistake. My fingers slipped."

    Faelyn turned back and looked at Leon with suspicion. Her soon eyes fell on his trembling hands. After that, they roamed back onto Leon''s naked upper body, and a blush crept on her face.

    While wiping away his sweat with a towel, Leon asked, "What brought you here again?"

    "I¡­ I still feel apologetic about what happened earlier today and wanted to invite you out for dinner to make up for it. I heard there''s a really nice restaurant on Aurelia Mountain Road."

    "There''s no need to worry about that. However, I''ll take you up on your offer." Leon said with a smile. He was a bit interested as he had never tried the food there due to their exorbitant prices. "Do you mind waiting a bit first?"

    "Not at all." Faelyn happily said, seeing Leon agreed.

    "Alright, wait for me," Leon said before he entered his room and closed the door.

    After giving himself a quick wash in a big tub of warm water, he prepared himself, he dried his body and adorned a fresh new outfit before returning to Faelyn outside 10 minutester.

    "Did you wait long?"

    "Nope!"

    "Alright, let''s go eat then," Leon said with a bit of anticipation. The food in the pce was not as good as the Steakhouse outside. He wondered how much better the food on Aurelia Mountain Road would be.

    In the Divine Realm, there was a profession known as Spirit Chef. Spirit Chefs were known for being able to prepare extraordinarily delicious meals capable of also aiding one''s cultivation. Each dish prepared by a Spirit Chef was always brimming with spirit energy.

    The food in the pce and the Steakhouse were also like the food prepared by Spirit Chefs. They were able to retain the energy of the beast meat after cooking it.

    If Leonpared the chef at the pce and the Steakhouse, then the chef at the Steakhouse was on a higher level. This exins his curiosity towards the food on Aurelia Mountain Road.

    Seeing Faelyn not moving, Leon asks, "What''s wrong? Why aren''t we going?"

    "I don''t know where it is." Faelyn blushed and looked towards her two maids for help. They immediately waved their hands and said, "We also don''t know where it is. We have never left the pce and had only heard stories about it."

    Faelyn and the two maids soon directed their eyes back to Leon.

    Taken aback, Leon scratched his head wryly and said, "I also don''t know where it is."

    "You don''t?"

    "Err, I know the general direction," Leon stated as he recalled the map in his father''s study¡­ Lost Isle Alley was not far from there.

 Chapter 284 - Dining At Twilight Palace

    <h4>Chapter 284 - Dining At Twilight Pce</h4>

    Under Leon''s lead, the group of four left the pce and made their way to Aurelia Mountain Road. Before departing, Leon did not forget to retrieve his ck spear and stored it away.

    The two maids were ecstatic to be able to tag along, despite knowing it was their task to apany the elven princess.

    They had a chance to enjoy some high-end food from Aurelia Mountain Road, depending on the prince''s generosity and elven princess.

    Since Leon only knew the general direction, he asked some random nobles along the way for directions. As a result, they managed to arrive at Aurelia Mountain Road directly without passing Lost Isle Alley.

    "So, this is the famous Aurelia Mountain Road?" The pce maids had their eyes wide open. "It''s even morevish than the pce!"

    "Heh, of course, it is. This ce is where the wealthiest in the kingdom gather."

    While Faelyn and the two pce maids admired the luxuriousness of the ce, a different voice spoke to them. Turning to look, it was a young noble.

    "It must be your first time here, right? If you do not mind, please allow me to show you around." The young noble offered, but his bright eyes were glued to the elven princess.

    Leon was speechless. As expected of the ce where the profligate sons of powerful nobles and aristocrats gather. They did not arrive for long, yet Faelyn''s beauty had already attracted someone over.

    "There''s no need. We only came here to eat."

    "That''s even better! Allow me to treat you all to dinner!" The young noble said enthusiastically.

    Leon was even more speechless, while Faelyn''s brows were furrowed. If this young noble treated them, then how was she going to treat Leon?

    Just Faelyn was about to say something, Leon subtly gestured for her not to speak, before he said with a smile, "Sure. Since someone is willing to treat us, we should give him face and ept his offer."

    "It would be my honor to treat you and all these lovelydies here. Where would you all like to eat?" The young noble conducted himself like a gentleman, but he was screaming with excitement inside.

    ''An elf! This person must be the elven princess, one of the two envoys that arrived the other day. The other two lovelydies must be pce maids assigned by the king to attend the elven princess! What luck! I can win the elven princess''s heart; my status will shoot through the roof!''

    The young nobles were filled with ideas on how to get close to Princess Faelyn. As for Leon? He was utterly disregarded by the young noble. He was not interested in men.

    The young noble was too blinded by the elven princess''s beauty to notice that Leon was the group leader. If he had at least spared Leon some thought, he would have noticed that Leon''s status could not possibly be ordinary.

    "Where is the best ce to dine in around here? Leon said coolly. He had a few thoughts of his own.

    He had noticed that the pce maids had shining eyes when the young noble offered to shout them all. Since someone was happy to take all the aggro, why would hein?

    "The best ce to dine would be the Twilight Pce. How about I bring you all over there now?" The young noble suggested.

    Receiving Leon''s silent gesture, Faelyn nodded with a single word, "Sure."

    "Great!"

    The young noble was filled with energy after hearing Faelyn''s voice and took the lead. Leon and Faelyn followed behind the young noble while the pce maids followed them.

    "What are you doing, Leon? If you let him treat us, how will I be able to treat you?" Faelyn whispered.

    "That''s true, but do you have any human currency on you? How will you pay?"

    "Will that not take elven currency?"

    "No."

    Faelyn was stumped by the revtion and became abashed.

    "There''s always a next time."

    ¡­

    A beautiful flower would shine like a diamond, wherever it goes. Countless eyes were attracted to the elven princess before they subsequently squinted their eyes to study the rest of the group.

    "That''s an elf, right? How can elves be so beautiful? She must be royalty, right?

    "I heard there were two envoys that recently arrived. Supposedly, one of them was an elven princess. This person must be that elven princess they mentioned."

    "Is that news reliable? How did they find out?"

    The other young nobles in the area did not immediately approach the group but discuss amongst themselves.

    "Apparently, the elven princess''s appearance caused a stir in the Upper District. Quite a few young nobles flocked over to befriend the elven princess, even some older nobles also tried their luck but had their asses kicked and sent packing by the general marquis. I got my news from one of them."

    "I see, but now the general marquis is not here, and the other envoy is also not here. This could be our lucky chance to approach the elven princess. Who are those other people?"

    "The one strutting in front looks like the second son of Earl Walter of the Donahue family, Nelson Donahue."

    "Nelson Donahue? Ah, I think you''re right. He''s a regr around here. There aren''t many Earls and Marquises that have a second son. Quite the pity, I must say. He ispletely suppressed by his elder brother for heirship but never mind that. The other twodies seem to be pce maids, but what about that other guy? Any idea who he is?"

    "He could be the fable prince, but I''m not sure. Let''s follow them first and see after.

    ¡­

    Twilight Pce.

    "Good day, esteemed customers. Will you be dining in or¡ª"

    "All five of us will be dining in today. Please give us one of your VIP lounges." The young noble cut off the receptionist.

    "Right this way, esteemed customers." The receptionistdy was not offended and smiled sweetly as she led them to one of the spare VIP lounges, a private dining room. Dealing with experienced customers saved her the trouble of exining.

    "When you are ready to order, just inform this gentleman here." The receptionistdy handed each of them a menu and showed them the waiter attending them before making her exit humbly.

    Returning to the entrance, she was stunned by the crowd of young nobles flooding in.

    "Hello, esteemed customers¡­ Will you be dining in¡ª"

    "We are just looking around. Right, which room did that group five enter?" One of the young nobles hurriedly said.

    The receptionist''s expression became dark. It was clear that this group of profligate young nobles and master were here to cause trouble, making things difficult for her.

    VIP lounges were VIP lounges for a reason. It is for their customers to enjoy their meals in peace without being disturbed. She would be breaking the rules if she led this group there.

    Just when the receptionist didn''t know what to do, a familiar voice made her rxed.

    "What are you all doing? Are you trying to disturb my family''s business?"

    "Oh, if it isn''t, Young Master Conrad. We are not here to disturb your business. We just want to meet someone dining in one of your VIP lounges." Another young master exined.

    "Oh? Why don''t you tell me who that person is then? Surely, for someone to attract all of you here, that person must either have an extraordinary status or is an extraordinary beauty!"

    "Hahaha! You''ve guessed it! It''s the elven princess that arrived yesterday, someone with both status and beauty."

    "Hahaha¡­ I see." Conradughed lightly while rubbing his chin before he said indifferently, "Get out."

    The young nobles and masters who were initially full of smiles froze and soon wrinkled their brows into frowns.

    "I''m afraid that''s not appropriate, no? Are you sure you want to send us all away and hog the elven princess to yourself?"

    The threat in the young noble''s tone was clear. If Conrad offended all of them, even if his family owns the top restaurant in Aurelia Mountain Road, his family could still be bankrupt if all their families join forces to suppress his family''s business.

    Conrad frowned as he weighed his choices.

    ¡­

    Inside the VIP lounge.

    "Wow! These prices are freaking expensive! Are you sure we are food and not gold?" The maid''s eyes were bulging when they looked at the menu.

    "Is this really expensive?" Faelyn asked Leon. She was not familiar with the prices.

    "Expensive, really expensive! Let''s just say 5,000 Craws is more than enough to buy yourself a decent meal elsewhere, but each dish on this menu is at least 50,000 Craws or higher. Wouldn''t you also think this is expensive?" Leon exined

    Faelyn''s jaw dropped as she nodded.

    "Are you really treating us?" Leon asked carefully.

    "Of course! A gentleman does not go back on his word." Nelson said warmly, but he looked at Leon like he was looking at a plebian that has not seen the world.

    "Alright then!" Leon burst into a fit ofughter and called the waiter. "Waiter, I want this, this, and this!"

    In a short instance, Leon ordered seven dishes.

    Faelyn was shocked.

    "Are you sure you will be able to finish them all?"

    "I''m not sure, but this is a rare opportunity. I won''t get a chance to dine at a high-end restaurant like this often. Since someone is willing to treat us, we should go all out. Otherwise, it would be seen as us looking down on the person treating us! Isn''t that right?" Leon said shamelessly, pretending to be overwhelmed by the rare opportunity.

    "Yeah¡­"

    Nelson''s lips twitched, but he kept a warm smile like it was nothing, but in fact, he was already starting to feel regret deep inside.

    The Prince and Queen ckmailed so much money out of so many nobles. What rare opportunity? The royal family was so wealthy! Who are you trying to fool?!

    The two maids giggled when they heard the prince''s words, but they did not expose him.

    Faelyn, on the other hand, had bought entirely into Leon''s lies. Perhaps, the Crawford royal family was not all that well off?

    "Err¡­ really? Is that how it is? You, humans, have such weird customs."

    Despite saying that, Faelyn still ordered three dishes of her own, while the maids ordered two each. In total, there were 15 dishes ordered, before the waiter left with the list.

    The total reached a staggering 820,000 Craws, enough to make Nelson''s heart bleed and cause hatred to form against Leon.

    "Right, I don''t think we''ve introduced ourselves yet. I am the second of Earl Walter, Nelson Donahue." Nelson said as he finally paid interest to Leon, wanting to find out his enemy''s identity. "And you¡ª"

    His words were interrupted by a knock on the door to their VIP lounge.

 Chapter 285 - The Taste Was Unsatisfactory?

    <h4>Chapter 285 - The Taste Was Unsatisfactory?</h4>

    The knock on the door came abruptly, but it saved Leon from speaking. Without using divine sense, he could already tell who was on the other side of the door. Being tailed by a group of young nobles, it was hard not to notice. It could only be them.

    Nelson Donahue had the same guess. He had booked a VIP lounge precisely to stop these people from disturbing his business with the elven princess. In the end, the door was still knocked by these people.

    "I wonder how I should address each of you?" Nelson politely asked as he continued with the introductions. He had decided to ignore the door knock since he knew who was on the side.

    "I am Princess Faelyn, the fifth and youngest princess from Elvengarde''s royal family. You can call me Faelyn."

    "We are the pce maids assigned by his Majesty to attend to Princess Faelyn. I am Sharleen, and this is¡ª"

    "I am Shirley."

    "It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, beautifuldies."

    The pce maids introduced themselves after Faelyn. Nelson followed each of them with his gaze before his gaze made their way back to Leon.

    "And you are¡­?"

    "Leon."

    Leon ultimately said.

    He should learn to be more forgiving and give people a chance to redeem themselves. After all, the person still intended to foot the bill despite the sky-high price of 820,000 Craws. Even Leon would find himself unwilling to fork out so much money for a meal.

    The royal family had lots of funds, but it was all needed for the kingdom''s development ns.

    "Leon¡­ Leon¡­ Leon¡­" Nelson repeatedly mumbled to himself as he pondered which noble or high-ranking official went by that name.

    A sudden realization dawned upon him as his eyes slowly widened and looked at Leon in shock. Wasn''t that also the name of the prince?

    "Y-Your Highness! Please forgive my ignorance and impudence for not recognize your Highness sooner!" Nelson said with cold sweat.

    He was nervous because he knew the prince was displeased when he ignored the prince''s subtle unweing message and disregarded the person earlier. It was a behavior deserving of punishment if the prince were to be offended by it.

    In that regard, paying 820,000 Craws for a meal did not seem so expensive anymore. Nelson guessed that he had gotten off lightly only because he had offered to pay for the meal. Also, the prince had needed someone to attract the attention away from the prince.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The door was knocked repeatedly with increasing volume. The other side was growing impatient that no one answered the door.

    Everyone furrowed their brows at the disturbance.

    "Why don''t you go and send the people outside away? I don''t want to be disturbed during my meal." Leon suggested coolly.

    "Will do, Your Highness!"

    Nelsonplied with enthusiasm. He did not mind even bing the prince''sckey. It could be considered an opportunity to get closer to royalty. The royal family''s power in the kingdom was too strong.

    There was a time when nobles still held some weight in front of royalty. But now, they can only know to unt their superiority by bullyingmoners. They were nothing in front of the royal family.

    Nelson scurried to the door, but before he could open it, it got opened from the outside. The first person toe into his view made him even more sullen.

    "What is the meaning of this, Young Master Conrad? Disturbing the customers from a VIP lounge, are the rules of your Twilight Pce just for show?" Nelson said with annoyance.

    Young Master Conrad was displeased by Nelson''s words for obvious reasons. He had brought the young nobles over due to their pressuring, and not because of his own volition.

    "The rights and privilege of the VIP lounges are set up by the Twilight Pce, and Young Master Conrad''s Montgomery family owns the Twilight Pce. So what if he breaks a few? What are you going to do about it?" A young noble chided.

    "That''s right. We all know the elven princess is inside. If you know what''s good for you, then step aside. We all deserve an equal chance at befriending the princess." Another young noble added with a threatening tone.

    All the young nobles bundled together and tried to peek through the opened door. But with Nelson blocking the way, their view was limited.

    Nevertheless, they still caught glimpses of the elven princess, and their eyes could not help but lit up. The maids were also not bad. It was worth befriending them.

    The young noble''s threat did not deter Nelson. Usually, he would not dare to offend all of them, but now, the prince has his back. Of course, he would have the courage.

    Nelson stepped outside and closed the door, before standing in front of it defiantly to show his stance.

    "What''s the meaning of this, Young Master Nelson? Are you sure you want to offend all of us?"

    The young nobles wrinkled their brows.

    "What do you think?" Nelson smirked.

    "Very good! It seems Young Master Nelson has grown brave in these past few years, huh? I wonder if Young Master Nelson can still be like this when we spread rumors to your Elder Brother''s ear that you have intentions topete with him for heirship over your father''s title?"

    Nelson''s body shook slightly, but he remained firm. It wasmon for the younger generation topete when there are multiple heir candidates.

    However, he had no intention topete with his elder brother. So long as his heart was firm and his conscience was clear, there was nothing to be afraid of.

    Real gold fears no fire.

    "The people inside this VIP lounge want to enjoy their meals in peace. They sent me out to deliver you all a single message, piss off!"

    "Bullsh*t! The elven princess might be royalty, but this is not her elven tribe! This ce is our Crawford Kingdom! The way I see it, you''re the one that wants us to piss off! We must be disturbing your good time with the elven princess, right?" A young noble sneered.

    Evidently, Nelson''s words did not make them piss off, but they were definitely pissed off! A few young nobles crackled their knuckles while they eyed Nelson Donahue venomously.

    "I think the Young Master Nelson here has grown toocent and be blinded of his self-worth. Just because your father was also willing to pay a hefty sum pull you out military service, it does not mean you are on the same standing as us, first-borns."

    "That''s right! We ought to teach this Bastard his ce!"

    Despite what these young nobles said, they were all the same in the eyes of the royal family. The only reason the royal family was willing to ept payments and exclude them from military service was that the royal family needed lots of funds.

    Also, these good-for-nothings would not have benefited the army if they took interest and assumed high-ranking positions in the future. It would be like equipping the military with paper swords; they will doom the kingdom!

    Young Master Conrad had been quietly spectating the verbal exchange between the two sides passively, but things were about to get heated with physical violence. He had no choice but to step in and stop them.

    "Exactly where are you treating this ce? Do you think Montgomery family will let you all do whatever you want?! I don''t care if you fight verbally, but if you get physical and cause trouble here, I will do everything in my power to kick you all out!" Young Master Conrad said coldly.

    The young nobles shed Young Master Conrad looks of disapproval, but they still nodded and backed down unwillingly. When a person gets pushed too far, things be unpredictable.

    The two sides kept a respectable distance from each other with res and continued a back-and-forth war of words.

    A line of waiters carrying food trays walked passed them with bafflement before entering the VIP lounge and ced all the dishes on the round table neatly for Leon''s group to enjoy.

    The door was closed once more on their way out. Only one waiter stayed behind, ever ready to serve.

    VIP lounge.

    "Will that guy alright out there? Those people are still outside, and they look like they are about to beat him to death." Faelyn said with concern. She noticed the situation during the moment the door opened.

    "Nah, everything is fine and under control. Let''s dig in and eat." Leon said in a carefree manner.

    The VIP lounge had excellent sound instion, but Leon could still see everything outside with his divine sense.

    "Hmm, alright. If you say so." Faelyn did not dwell on the manner and took a whiff of the food''s aroma. "Smells so good~! I''m excited to see what human cuisines taste like now."

    The maids looked Leon expectantly as they waited for some signal.

    "You can both dig in too."

    "Thank you, your Highness!"

    Each dish on the table was well bnced between veggies and beast meat while it was arranged neatly and masterfully like pieces of art.

    As everyone dug in, Leon also picked up a slice of beast meat with his fork and savored it before swallowing.

    The male waiter was quite expectant of everyone to sing praises of the taste, but seeing a frown form on Leon''s face, the male waiter got taken aback.

    "Is there something you find unsatisfactory about this dish, Esteemed Customer?"

 Chapter 286 - Elves Eat Meat Too!

    <h4>Chapter 286 - Elves Eat Meat Too!</h4>

    "There''s nothing wrong with the taste. The food is delicious. There''s no doubt about that." Leon said. As he picked up another slice of beast meat from one of six other dishes, he continued, "However¡­"

    "However¡­?"

    "The food was not worth the price." Leon sighed with mild disappointment.

    Eating at Twilight Pce was not much different from eating back at the Royal Pce. The taste was on the same level. Even the energy contained in the meat was also on the same level.

    "Would you mind borating, Esteemed Customer?" The waiter asked politely. However, the male waiter''s smile had be more forced.

    "It''s nothing much. I was just expecting something better."

    Leon shook his head.

    "I see¡­ If there''s nothing else, I shall leave and allow esteemed customers to enjoy your private meal." The waited bowed and took his leave.

    Leon shook his head again.

    He could tell that the waiter had taken his words the wrong way, but he was toozy to exin. Even the pce would not charge as much as this ce if they were to open their doors for business.

    The Steakhouse also served better food at a much lower price. The taste was important, but the energy was even more so. This was a world where strength trumps everything.

    Despite holding such clear advantages, the Steakhouse was still not as famous as this Twilight Pce on Aurelia Mountain Road. As for the reason being, Leon could faintly guess why.

    The differencey in their menus. In this regard, Twilight Pce had been more meticulous. They had their rmendations for each dish to cater to the different tastes of people and the constitution of Awakeners.

    The human body wasposed of the five elements. There was usually no problem with ingesting mild amounts of each element.

    However, substantial amounts would make an Awakener feel ufortable and even unwell if the element was ipatible with their body.

    Death was also a possibility depending on their conditions.

    With the high-energy content of the meals provided by the Steakhouse, it was not strange that there would be people who enjoy it and people who would note back a second time. It was like a gamble; it was all about first impressions.

    Faelyn did not n to say anything, but since Leon said something, she also decided to input her opinion. "Hmm, I do feel the food is a bitcking."

    "Specifically speaking, you are talking about both the taste and energy, right?"

    "Yeah!"

    Leon smiled wryly and said, "You cannotpare human food with elven food. That is just in bullying. We don''t have many wood-users to cultivate high-quality fruits and vegetables like your elven tribe do."

    Listening to Leon''s exnation, Faelyn did feel a bit embarrassed as Leon made it sound like she was looking down on human food. She red at him, before biting her lips softly and said, "This sd feels a bitcking, but the meat was quite nice."

    "Is that so? That is interesting to hear. It seems that the preconception that elves do not eat meat got broken today." Leonughed lightly.

    "What are you even trying to say?" Faelyn said coyly. "It''s true that a majority of our elven tribe only eat fruits and veggies, but that''s because our self-cultivated crops taste so much better. It''s not like our tribe has any rule that prohibits us from eating meat."

    "Our hunter warriors are all big meat lovers. We consider it a big sin if the meat of a beast we killed doesn''t get eaten instead. After all, our elven tribe often gets attacked by beasts wandering into our great forest yearly. We have no choice but to kill them since we have no means to tame or send them away. It would be a waste not to eat them."

    The maids listened attentively with wide eyes and gaping mouth. Like the prince had mentioned, their preconception of elves had been destroyed today.

    Not everything depicted in storybooks is urate. But then again, they did not know elves were even real until the envoys arrived.

    "Since you have nothing against eating meat. I will take you to a better ce to eat meat next time. Of course, you must be prepared to pay for my meal then." Leon smiled.

    Faelyn looked at Leon with doubt and cautiously asked, "Will the meals there be even more expensive since you say it is better?"

    "You don''t have to worry about that. The prices there are very fair, unlike this ce. This ce is simply unreasonable with its pricing." Leon curtly said as he picked up another piece of meat to eat.

    The meat was not as good when it is cooled.

    However, his hand wobbled out of his control and made the forked meat miss its intended destination,nding on the side of his mouth.

    The forked meat retracted a bit before missing again. This time, itnded on the other side of Leon''s mouth.

    Only on the third attempt did he seeded in cing the meat in his mouth. However, there were two smudges of sauce on the sides of his mouth.

    Wiping his mouth with a tissue, Leon was a bit gloomy while Faelynughed, "What are you doing? Are you alright?"

    "I''m fine."

    Picking up another piece, Leon could feel his arms losing control again when his muscles contracted to bring the forked meat closer.

    Having undergone intensive training and exhausting all his arm strength previously, both his arms were now like dead logs that refused to move. When he attempts to move his arms, they will shake profusely.

    "I know you are a bit dissatisfied, but it''s too much to be ying around with your food, don''t you think?" Faelyn said after seeing Leon waving the forked meat around in front of his face.

    Leon''s lips twitched upon hearing this.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, outside the VIP lounge, the young nobles had degraded to throwing insults along the lines of "Your mother is a¡­" and "Your father is a¡­" and so on.

    "Young Master Nelson, I know you are not usually this brave unless you have found yourself a powerful backer. We all know the elven princess is inside along with two pce maids. They shouldn''t be your backer. It must be thest person, right? Why don''t you tell us who he is?" A young noble asked withpromise. His throat was parched, and his voice was hoarse.

    Despite a hint of tiredness being seen in Nelson''s eyes, he still answered confidently, "He is someone you cannot offend!"

    The young nobles wanted to rebuke immediately, but they did not have the same energy as they did previously. They slowly andzily sneered, "And who would that be? Can he offend all of us?"

    The used the same tactics they did not Young Master Conrad, believing they had strength in numbers.

    The Montgomery family was quite sessful and influential, but did they not also get Young Master Conrad to bend his will for them?

    Young Master Conrad was simrly tired from keeping this crowd in check. However, upon hearing Nelson''s words, his brain began to churn into gear. He made a startling guess and soon steeled his heart with resolution.

    The young nobles and young masters were more or less acquainted with one another.

    Although they would have their social circles, they were familiar enough to know about each other due to the nobles'' various social functions and gatherings.

    If he had to name one person, he was not familiar with, or rather everyone was not familiar with, someone that also had enough status for Nelson to be willing to offend everyone for, it would have to be¡­

    "Everyone, you have crowded around here and impacted my family''s business for long enough. I think everyone should leave while I am still asking nicely." Young Master Conrad said firmly.

    "What the! There''s no one walking around here. We aren''t obstructing anyone''s path!"

    "Why did this Young Master Conrad suddenly want to kick us out? Did he realize something?"

    The young nobles all began to frown and discuss, but no one was moving.

    "Where are my guards?!"

    "Holy sh*t. We''ll leave, alright?"

    The young nobles were finally startled into moving after Young Master Conrad exerted his authority to call the guards. They were good with words but strength-wise? They were no match for the Montgomery family''s guards.

    "Damn¡­ it''s the first time I''ve seen Young Master Conrad snapped. How scary."

    "I think he has grown impatient and ate some gunpowder or something."

    "Man, my throat is so dry. Maybe I can grab a cup of water or something¡­"

    "Same here¡­"

    The young nobles unwillingly mumbled as they left.

    At the same time, they were more curious about what Young Master Conrad realized. Who was inside the VIP lounge?

    Young Master Conrad watched them leave with a sigh of relief, but then he frowned when he realized there was still one person that remained behind.

    This person had chosen a very inconspicuous spot to sit in the back. Thus, he had not noticed this person until after the young nobles moved away.

    "Baron Grant? Aren''t you a bit old to also be chasing after the elven princess along with the rest of these kids, Sir?" Young Master Conrad asked jokingly with some respect.

    "I did note for the elven princess. I have something private I wish to speak with the prince. Thus, I do not mind waiting." Baron Grant said while shing a light smile.

    Young Master Conrad sighed with relief as he had made the right call. It was indeed the prince inside the VIP lounge.

    At the same time, the young nobles had yet to leave very far when they heard this piece of information and trembled with trepidation.

    Back inside the VIP lounge, Leon wore a pondering look of curiosity as nothing outside had escaped his divine sense.

    "I''ll be excusing myself for a bit."

    Faelyn was taken aback as she looked at the table full of food. Looking at Leon, she asks, "Where are you suddenly going?"

    "Meeting someone outside who wishes to speak with me."

 Chapter 287 - There Was No Sky

    <h4>Chapter 287 - There Was No Sky</h4>

    Exiting the VIP lounge, Leon directed his gaze and Baron Grant and confidently said, "I heard you wished to talk to me in private?"

    Both Young Master Conrad and Baron Grant were startled by Leon''s appearance and nced back at the VIP lounge behind with doubt.

    Knowing what they were thinking, Leon stated, "There''s nothing wrong with the VIP lounge''s sound instion."

    Young Master Conrad was immediately relieved with a trickle of cold sweat.

    If there had been a problem with the sound instion, it would mean that everyone inside the VIP lounge was disturbed by themotion outside the entire time!

    After he was relieved, a bigger question appeared in both his mind and Baron Grant.

    How did the prince find out what they were talking outside if there was no problem with the room''s sound instion? Did it not also imply that the prince still knew everything that happened outside despite the sound instion?

    "Your Highness, I did not mean to disturb your mealtime. Please continue to enjoy your meal with peace of mind. I do not mind waiting." Baron Grant said politely.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Rather than that, I''m more interested in what you wish to speak with me."

    "This¡­ then shall we find somewhere else to talk?" Baron Grant suggested, seeing how the prince had already expressed his interest. It would be rude not toply after the prince had said so much.

    "Where do you want to talk?" Leon agreed and allowed for Baron Grant to lead the way.

    Shortly after Leon and Baron Grant left, Young Master Conrad said to Nelson, "You do not need to pay for today''s meal. I will cover all expenses."

    Nelson was pleasantly surprised, but he soon understood why. He smiled and said, "Well then, I will have to thank Young Master Conrad, for your generosity. I hope Young Master Conrad can be forgiving and not pay any heed to what I have said to the Young Master earlier."

    "To forgive is to forget. I hope Young Master Nelson can put in some good words in front of his Highness for me."

    Nelson smiled wryly. He was not close to the prince and had even been rude. He was not sure if he could be one of the prince''s followers.

    Returning to the VIP lounge, Nelson Donahue became more respectful despite the prince''s absence. He was not sure if the prince was also interested in the elven princess, but he did not darepete with the prince. Thus, he no longer had his eyes on the elven princess.

    ¡­

    Leon followed Baron Grant and arrived outside Lost Isle Alley.

    Leon became more confident that the person had some rtion with the Illusory Butterfly Sect, but not because he could detect the unique cultivation of the sect on the person''s body but because the person was afflicted with lingering traces of the yin poison cultivated by the sect.

    "Bringing you here, Your Highness might have already faintly guessed my identity, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Grant Marleigh, the former second elder of Illusory Butterfly Sect and the current title holder of Baron in this kingdom."

    Baron Grant took the initiative to speak at this point. The entrance to Lost Isle Alley was deste and devoid of people. If he did not talk at this point, the prince might just attack him.

    "The former second elder, you say?"

    "Correct, Your Highness. Due to a conflict of differing views, I have left the sect with a group of disciples roughly 20 years ago. We have been on the hunt ever since."

    "And what do you want to achieve by telling me this?" Leon rubbed his chin with wild surprise, not expecting such an answer from Baron Grant.

    "To show you our sincerity and prove we are not your enemy¡­" Baron Grant dropped onto one knee and said, "We wish to pledge our loyalty to you."

    "And why should I ept your loyalty? There are plenty of people who would willingly pledge their loyalty to me if I were to express my intention to take in followers." Leon said calmly. He was not in a rush to ept.

    "I¡­" Baron Grant was briefly stunned by the question posed before he recovered. "I have information not privy to the kingdom that your Highness might find interesting. If your Highness wishes to learn the truth of the events of 17 years ago, I can also recount to you, your Highness."

    Leon was silent for a moment.

    "My adoptive parents, they are¡­"

    "They are also former disciples of Illusory Butterfly Sect."

    Sure enough, his adoptive parents were rted to the Illusory Butterfly Sect. Leon had mixed feelings of relief and concern upon learning this news. Things had gottenplicated.

    "I want to see them first," Leon stated firmly.

    "As you wish, Your Highness. All the former disciples have been hiding away in this ce. I will lead you to them right this instance." Baron Grant respondedpliantly.

    "En. However, I must say, you all sure know how to pick your hiding ce. Did you defeat the vengeful spirit of this ce, or did you make peace with it when you moved in?"

    Leon''s eyes fell on the darkness of Lost Isle Alley''s entrance and could not help but wrinkle his brows. The people did not avoid this ce without reason. The ominous vibes the area was giving was rather heavy.

    Baron Grant was taken aback by Leon''sment, before he corrected, "Vengeful spirits only exist in Extreme Misty Forest, Your Highness. Surely, you jest."

    When Leon heard this, he paused his steps with a deeper frown and turned to Baron Grant with an inquisitive look. "You''re telling me you have never encountered the vengeful spirit that lurks in this ce? Have you not heard of the stories about this ce?"

    "So, this ce had a story behind it, after all." Baron Grant mumbled before he said, "Not at all, Your Highness. Despite living in the Capital for so long, I have never encountered anyone mentioning this ce. It was like this ce never existed, which in turn, provided us the perfect ce to hide. For fear of arousing a topic of discussion and attention to this ce, I have never asked anyone about it."

    Leon was a bit speechless. Aren''t you people a bit too careful? However, if they had never encountered the vengeful spirit, then where was it hiding? Or has it long left this ce? Shaking his head, Leon waved his hand. "Continue leading the way."

    "Yes, Your Highness. This way, please."

    Baron Grant led Leon into the darkness. Leon''s brows were furrowed along the way as he detected traces of dark miasma amidst the cold yin energy in the area. Before he could ponder deeper, they had already arrived before an abandoned bar.

    The Baron made some rhythmic knocks on the door, but no one answered after they waited. Baron Grant frowned and repeated the knocking pattern. Still, no one answered the door after they waited a bit longer.

    "Stop fooling around and open the door! It''s me!" Baron Grant snappily said.

    "The door is not locked¡­" Leon stated.

    He reached out for the door handle with his shaky hand and gave it a slight twist, but the entire door crumbled into pieces, leaving him with only the door handle in his hand.

    "Hmm, this door is quite worn out¡­"

    Baron Grant gave him a look but said nothing.

    They soon entered the bar and searched the ce, including the underground chamber, but no one was found.

    "Something''s wrong, Your Highness. Please believe me when I say I am not trying to fool you. Everyone should have been waiting for me here, but now there is no one around! Their items are still here."

    "I understand. I can see that."

    Leon frowned.

    The Baron did not have a reason to lie. He began to worry about his adoptive parents.

    The moment he stepped into Lost Isle Alley, he had been feeling nothing but unease. There was something seriously off about this whole ce.

    "Do you ever use any of the other ces here?"

    "None. We only ever use this abandoned bar to lower the risk of being found."

    "Let''s head back out first," Leon suggested.

    Having no reason to reject, Baron Grant agreed.

    Once they were outside, Leon had the chance to study the ce on a deeper level. He sent out his divine sense, but surprisingly, before they try to enter the ground and sky, they were bounced back. There was a hidden force interfering with his divine sense.

    "As I thought, this ce is not simple," Leonmented.

    "Your people never noticed anything wrong with this ce during the time they hid here?"

    "It''s not that we have never noticed anything wrong with this ce, it''s that even if there was, we had no choice but to use it as sometimes the most dangerous ce is also the safest."

    Leon wanted to ask why they did not escape to the Wilnds or deeper into the Perilous Lands instead, but he ultimately refrained himself. There was still a difference between dangerous and in suicide.

    "So, what have you noticed?"

    "Well, for instance, there is a big problem with the sky."

    "There is no sky." Leon casually said after a quick look above.

    However, he immediately realized the problem and became alert like he had just been doused in cold water.

    There was no sky!

    In an open space, utterly unobstructed by any ceiling, the stars and moonlight of the night could not be seen.

    The sky above Lost Isle Alley was covered inplete darkness!

 Chapter 288 - Three Origin Theories

    <h4>Chapter 288 - Three Origin Theories</h4>

    Noticing something was eerie about Lost Isle Alley, Leon''s first thought was to retreat. In the face of the unknown, only fools would proceed without preparation.

    "Baron Grant, your loyalty, I ept! We are leaving!"

    "Thank you, Your Highness!" Baron Grant bowed solemnly and obliged.

    Outside Lost Isle Alley, Leon had Baron Grant apanied him as they circled the outer perimeters of the three old buildings.

    "Tell me everything you know about this ce."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    Noticing the sternness in the prince''s tone, Baron Grant also became solemn.

    "From what I know, there are four bizarre points about this area. Apart from not being able to see the sky inside, there is one asion when it can be seen, and that is during the night of a full moon. Moonlight would shine down on the center of Lost Isle Alley."

    "Apart from that, light quickly dies out in this ce, and the strange cries of a young girl can also be heard asionally. Strangely, we could never locate the young girl, though."

    "Over time, we began to ept that it was the sound caused by the whistling wind blowing through the well. Now that I think about it, it might be the vengeful spirit you have mentioned, Your Highness."

    As Baron Grant said this, A bead of cold sweat trickled down from the side of his face. It was quite spooky to learn a vengeful spirit had always been so close to them without their notice.

    "Moonlight can enter this ce? The center of the Lost Isle Alley was¡­ the well, wasn''t it?" Leon mumbled to himself as he nced at the moon in the sky. Calcting the cycle, it should have been a full moonst night.

    Leon gave an indecipherable nce.

    Any other ordinary person under the same situation as these former sect disciples and elders would have been driven crazy if they had to hear such spooky cry regrly while hiding in perpetual darkness.

    However, considering the Illusory Butterfly Sect could harness yin energy for their cultivation, they should have possessed a few methods to exterminate spirits and ghosts.

    Following that line of thought, the reason these people have never encountered the vengeful spirit might be that it knew they were people capable of erasing its existence.

    If that is the case, it will imply that the vengeful spirit was quite the intelligent one.

    Intelligent vengeful spirits were so much more fearsome than regr vengeful spirits due to their ability to cultivate and evolve to a higher level of existence.

    At a certain level, they be tangible and powerful enough to walk under the light of day without being burnt away. Without special sight, it would be hard to determine their existence among a crowd of people.

    "What else is there to add? Just say it." Leon said, having noticed Baron Grant''s hesitation.

    "Yes, Your Highness." Baron Grant did not dare to disrupt the prince''s deep thoughts. After he was given the cue to continue, he obligedpliantly. "The area is usually much colder than what it had been tonight. I wonder if it is rted to everyone''s disappearance in some way?"

    "Yin energy is cold in nature. From what you are saying, there is fewer yin energy density in this areapared to the past?"

    "Yes, Your Highness. That is exactly what I have sensed." Baron Grant admitted.

    Leon began to frown.

    An area would only experience a drop in energy levels when a considerable amount has been absorbed, whether it was used for cultivation or as fuel for an array or formation.

    Perhaps, there was an array or formation hidden within Lost Isle Alley under the obscurity of darkness, but hecked information to conclude.

    "Wait here."

    Leon said to Baron Grant before his body became weightless and rose high into the sky. A clear overall view of the three abandoned old buildings forming Lost Isle Alley was presented to him.

    "Hm? This ce looks different from what I''ve seen on the map in father''s study." Leon recalled the map and wore a deeper frown.

    If he had not overlooked the ce from above, he would have missed out on some details. For example, the top of the three buildings was actually connected and formed a perfectly symmetrical triangle.

    There were cracks all over the buildings, but they also looked like intricate runic lines from another perspective.

    A ball of me was conjured on Leon''s palm before it was tossed down the hollow center, intending to illuminate the darkness.

    However, the ball of me did not get far before it disappeared inside the darkness like it had been swallowed rather than snuffed out.

    Nevertheless, the building''s roof was illuminated briefly enough for Leon to record a clear picture in his mind. Using his powerful visualization, he kept the crack lines and removed the buildings from the initial image in his mind.

    What was left behind was a highlyplex formation made of several small runic circles interlinking within a bigger runic circle. From a simple point of view, it looked like an eye with multiple pupils within a pyramid.

    "I did not expect I would find a high-level formation here," Leon said with surprise before his surprise quickly changed to graveness. "Unexpectedly, I cannot figure out what kind of function this formation possesses with the rich knowledge I received from the inheritance immediately."

    "I will need some time to study this formation before I can figure out its functions, but what I find more concerning is¡­ who constructed this formation?"

    For a moment, he thought of demons.

    Although it cannot be said that there were demons wherever there is dark miasma, it is undeniable that dark miasma is rted to demons.

    Leon began to sigh. If a teleportation formation caused the people''s disappearance, the situation did not look good for his adoptive parents.

    After all, his adoptive parents were not like the other former disciples. They had chosen to abolish their cultivation like Baron Grant to live asmoners in the kingdom.

    Although he had given them True Awakening Pills to be Awakeners, they could not have progressed far without additional resources.

    Returning to the ground, Leon pondered what to do next.

    "Did you figure out anything, Your Highness?" Baron Grant asked.

    "There''s a formation at the top, but it shouldn''t be the only formation. I am not sure who constructed it, but one of these formations could be a teleportation formation. This is just a guess of mine. Nothing is concrete yet."

    Leon shook his head.

    "Teleportation formation? Where could they have been sent?" Baron Grant asked.

    Although the prince had stated that it was only a guess, Baron Grant had taken it as the truth. It was the only logical exnation for everyone''s disappearance.

    "Where indeed¡­" Leon said.

    He gave the Baron a nce with something else on his mind.

    "Is there something you need, Your Highness?"

    "I want to see your true appearance," Leon stated.

    The Baron was slightly taken aback before he nodded and peeled off his face mask. The Baron''s old face was reced by a rtively younger face of a middle-aged man with fewer wrinkles.

    Leon took the face mask and studied it with interest.

    "This is quite a high-quality mask. Even I cannot tell the difference between this and a real face."

    "That is because a real face was used in the creation of these fakes."

    Hearing the Baron''s exnation, Leon quickly tossed the face back to the Baron, no longer interested in fiddling with it.

    Facing the prince''s re, the Baron coughed, "Ahem, this was also one of the reasons I did not see eye to eye with the sect. Although the sect was not righteous, we have only ever used the face of criminals and never harmed an innocent. However, the sect has been corrupted by power and became unscrupulous in their means."

    Leon felt a bit better after hearing this. Nevertheless, it was still an evil technique and should no longer be practiced. Baron Grant agreed with this point.

    "What shall we do now, Your Highness?"

    Leon thought for a moment and said, "We will head back for now. The investigation will resume tomorrow during the day."

    As much as he wanted to save his adoptive parents, he had to be alive to save them. Anything involving demons had to be treated with care.

    Among the myriad of races, the demon race was one of the most dreaded races with unclear origins due to their aggressive and invasive nature.

    No one knew where the demons came from, but they were powerful enough to dominate one of the divine regions of the Divine Realm after their arrival.

    There were multiple theories regarding their origins.

    One group believed they are an alien race that invaded Primal Chaos from beyond its boundaries as their first appearance was discovered in the outer perimeters of the deste region.

    Another group believed they were the results of some mad experimentation going wrong after a crazy expert secretly carried it out in the deste region.

    Thest group believed demons were the denizens of the darkness, and the personification of all the negative feelings of Primal Chaos, given birth to bnce the world due to divine practitioners stealing the energy of the world for themselves.

 Chapter 289 - The Vengeful Spirit At The Bottom Of The Well

    <h4>Chapter 289 - The Vengeful Spirit At The Bottom Of The Well</h4>

    Twilight Pce, VIP lounge.

    "It does not seem like his Highness will being back anytime soon. Let us continue to eat before the food goes cold." Faelyn said to the two maids and Nelson Donahue, who ordered another two dishes for himself happily.

    Faelyn had always been a vegetarian, not because of some customs but because the meat the elves cooked was simply not that good, while their vegetarian food was like the taste of heaven.

    However, things have changed after she had a taste of the food prepared by Twilight Pce. Although the veggies and sd cooked by humans were mediocre, the beast meat was different.

    She did not know beast meat could taste so good. It appeared that every race had its own specialty.

    Unknowingly, Faelyn had cleaned out all the meat from her dishes but left out the veggies. Feeling that her hunger had yet to be satiated, she began to eye Leon''s food on the table.

    ''I don''t think he can finish all of this by himself, and it''ll quite cold by the time he returns. I should help him finish it. En, I am helping him." Faelyn convinced herself.

    That night, Leon did not return to Twilight Pce to continue his meal and sent a messenger to inform Faelyn and the others that he would not be returning.

    The mystery of Lost Isle Alley had grabbed all his attention. Spreading out his divine sense, he located the nearest shadowguard in the area and summoned the person to his position.

    "What are your orders, Your Highness?" The shadowguard saluted subserviently with a bit of confusion, unsure if the prince had called him over or not. What

    Leon had used Divine Will to transmit his message across space to the shadowguard. What the shadowguard heard was akin to a sound transmissionmonly used between divine practitioners.

    "I need you to return to the pce and inform my father to recall the search on the Capital. There aren''t any more hidden enemies in the Capital." Leon said to the shadowguard before asking the Baron, "Isn''t that right, Sir Grant?"

    "Yes, that is right, Your Highness." Baron Grant recovered from a quick surprise and admitted, before proceeding to exin. "Ever since we foiled the sect''s ns 17 years ago and covertly killed all their spies, they changed their focus to other cities and had not sent another spy to Capital since."

    Leon nodded before turning back to the shadowguard with a stern look.

    "Also inform my father to treat Lost Isle Alley as a danger zone and send people over to seal off this ce. If he asks for details, tell my father I will recount what I discovered here personally when I return to the pce. That is all. Go now."

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The shadowguard obliged solemnly after being infected with the prince''s sternness. He did not dare to dy and immediately disappeared from his spot to deliver the message to the king.

    Not even two breathster, something else happened.

    "Your Highness!" Baron Grant shouted suddenly.

    "What is it?"

    "Take a look! Something is happening inside!"

    When Leon turned to look, there were flickers of white light escaping from the darkness of Lost Isle Alley''s entrance, and the sudden cry of a young girl soon followed.

    "Wuwuwuu¡­"

    "It''s the strange cry from the young girl¡ªNo, vengeful spirit again." Baron Grant stated.

    Leon raised a hand and gestured for the Baron to keep quiet as he perked his ears and listened to the young girl''s cry. His ears were picking something different.

    "Save me¡­ Save me¡­ It hurts¡­!"

    Leon could hear the vengeful spirit crying for help from the bottom of the well like it was suffering from great torment. He could not sense any malice and hatred in its tone like a vengeful spirit should innately possess.

    At the same time, pulses of energy could be felt emanating outwards, and the ground subtly shook.

    With these few points of observation, Leon could infer that the vengeful spirit was incredibly powerful and intelligent. Still, it was also confined and violently struggling as it was in great pain!

    Such discovery immediately fueled Leon''s curiosity. He sent out his divine sense to seek a clearer picture of the situation.

    Unfortunately, his divine sense could not prate the darkness and could only rely on his sense of hearing and feeling. He had to enter Lost Isle Alley if he wanted to get a clearer understanding of the situation.

    However, Leon was in no hurry due to a few doubts in his mind.

    The vengeful spirit had not been hiding but trapped! Someone or something had confined it here! Could it be the demons?

    But then, there was a bigger question. For what reason was the vengeful spirit trapped at the bottom of the well? Was there another hidden formation down there?

    The gears of Leon''s mind quickly spun as he sought to formte an answer that would solve this mystery.

    ''A formation and a trapped vengeful spirit? What is the rtionship between these two? A formation would not be active without any form of energy to fuel it.

    The yin energy, moonlight, and dark miasma could all be used as fuel, but it would hardly be enough for a big formation unless arge amount had been umted.

    Can a vengeful spirit be used as fuel for a formation? Leon posed himself a question. The answer was apparent to him. Yes, it can!

    Vengeful spirits were bodies of energy. Theoretically, it should be possible to use vengeful spirits as a catalyst to power formations and arrays.

    "Your Highness, it could be dangerous! The ground had never shaken like this during the cry of the vengeful spirit before! Something is different about tonight''s events!" Baron Grant advised Leon against entering Lost Isle Alley to investigate.

    "Then you can wait here. I need to understand what is happening inside." Leon said firmly. This was something he had to do. He was the best person for the job.

    Of the people present in the Capital, his current strength was only second to Grandmaster Don. As for runic knowledge, there is most likely no one more knowledgeable than him.

    "How can I allow Your Highness to brave the dangers alone. If you are bent on entering, I will follow you, Your Highness!"

    "Your good intentions are well received, Sir Grant. However, you should sit this one out. With your level of strength, you will not be able to help and may even burden me with your safety." Leon denied him.

    He was only going in for a quick look. Should something go wrong, he was prepared to retreat at the first sign of danger, but it would not be possible if Baron Grant is with him.

    He still needed this person''s knowledge. There were too many things they did not know. The Capital had been out of touch with the rest of the Human Domain for too long.

    "This¡­ then please be careful, Your Highness."

    "I will."

    Leon calmly said as he stepped into the darkness of Lost Isle Alley for a second time.

    The flickers of white light came from a beam of energy shooting out from the bottom of the well. The energy seemed to be special as each beam of light could briefly illuminate the darkness of the area.

    Surprisingly, Leon''s divine sense was also able to catch a glimpse of everything above and below during this instance.

    The vengeful spirit was confined by special dark chains glowing with runes at the bottom of the well. It had already achieved a half corporal state and regained its former appearance from when it was still alive, which was the appearance of an innocent youngdy. This was hardly the look of a vengeful spirit.

    The vengeful spirit seemed to have also detected Leon''s presence in the exact moment he found it with his divine sense as it gazed back at him through space.

    "Save me." It spoke.

    Leon felt all his hair rising in that instance but shortly recovered when he did not sense any malice directed at him. Furthermore, the vengeful spirit could not escape on its own.

    There was small-scale formation lying underneath the vengeful spirit''s feet. The formation drew energy from her and fed it to an array floating within a dense cluster of dark clouds within the middle space above Lost Isle Alley.

    If not for the limited source of light, Leon would not have known about these things due to them always being obscured by the darkness.

 Chapter 290 - Demon Seeds

    <h4>Chapter 290 - Demon Seeds</h4>

    "Who''s there¡­? Please help me¡­ I know you can see me¡­ Please, it hurts so much¡­" The vengeful pleaded from the bottom of the well. Each time her power was drawn, it was like a part of her existence was ripped away.

    When Leon heard this, he understood that the vengeful spirit had sensed his precise positioning, but cannot actually see him.

    "Are you really a vengeful spirit? Who trapped you here, and why did they? What happened to the other people who have been living here?" Leon inquired with a slightly raised voice for the vengeful spirit to hear.

    "You¡­ You can understand me? That''s great! Someone who can finally understand my words! Please help me! I will be forever grateful!"

    The vengeful spirit was overjoyed. A glimmer of hope lit up in its dull grey eyes, but Leon could not see it.

    "Answer my questions."

    "Will you help me if I answer them?" The vengeful spirit hopefully asked.

    "That would depend on your answer," Leon said, neither agreeing nor denying. Of course, he would blindly trust a vengeful spirit''s words after listening to it. He would try to derive the truth after hearing what it had to say. "Who made these formations?"

    "I don''t know¡­ I have never seen anything so frightening like them¡­ They are not humans¡­ well¡­ at least they don''t look like humans to me, but they were the ones who made these things and trapped me here a long time ago¡­"

    "It had been slowly draining my power for the past 200 years¡­ but nothing like what happenedst night¡­ It started drawing my power like crazy and attracted the others over to investigate. The next thing I knew, they were already gone."

    Contrary to Leon''s expectation, the vengeful spirit had been held captive for too long to be taking any chances. The prospect of being freed made it spill everything it knew without holding anything back.

    However, Leon did not know this as he furrowed his brows. What the vengeful spirit said was the same as not saying anything at all. It was vague and did not exin any of the things he wanted to know.

    "It seems like you don''t want my help at all. Helping you will just be endangering myself!" Leon snorted coldly.

    "Noo! Please, I''m not a bad spirit! Wuwuu¡­ I already said everything I know¡­ Wuwuu¡­ Even if I want to know, I can''t see anything down here in this darkness." The vengeful spirit cried.

    Leon started to be suspicious and, at the same time, felt guilty. Why does it feel like he had be the viin?

    It was strange that he could not sense any malice and hostility from the vengeful spirit, but considering it was an intelligent vengeful spirit, it might have learned to mask them.

    Leon had his guard raised as he made sure not to fall for the vengeful spirit''s tricks and tender voice that sounded no different to a normal youngdy.

    "If you are not a bad spirit, then why did you kill all those noble families back when you first became a vengeful spirit?" Leon snorted.

    "They were bad people. Why can''t I kill them? They were the reason I died. Is it also wrong to take revenge?"

    "Of course not, but you did not stop at just killing those young nobles. You killed off their entire families. Don''t tell me, their parents, grandparents, and kids were all bad people too?" Leon said, he also understood the logic of ending enmity by removing the roots. He only asked for the heck of pushing the vengeful spirit to reveal its true nature.

    "Bad, of course, they are also bad people! The parents who raised those evil spawns and turned a blind eye can''t possibly be good people! They''ve done their share of¡ªAhhhh! It hurts! Help me! Ahhhh!"

    Another round of energy was drained from the vengeful spirit to feed the hidden array in the dark clouds above.

    Leon paid no heed to the vengeful spirit''s painful cry and sent out his divine sense to record all the details he could see from the formations under the well and array above. As long as their image was engraved in his memory, he could peruse and study them. He would not have to stay on site.

    Suddenly, Leon narrowed his eyes as he saw a few figures dropped out from the dark clouds as the light from the energy were faded.

    The figures numbered four and did not slow their momentum as they m into the ground with a heavy thud. They did not move and wore painful expressions. It appeared that they were unconscious.

    ''Are these the missing people?'' Leon thought. He could not confirm, but Baron Grant could. He carefully walked over and rounded them all up, dragging the four bodies by their cor with two in each hand.

    He made his way towards the exit of Lost Isle Alley and did not bid farewell to the vengeful spirit, but it could hear him growing distant.

    "Are you leaving? Why won''t you save me¡­ wuwuuu¡­" The vengeful spirit cried before the youngdy''s voice changed, bing malevolent and full of malice. "You must also be a bad person! Only a bad person would ignore a person in need and not save this poor girl here! Argh!! People like you should also die for making this girl cry!"

    The tone of the vengeful spirit was oppressive and filled with coldness. He left Lost Isle Alley with a few beads of cold sweat trickling down his face.

    Sure enough, the vengeful spirit had problems. An old intelligent vengeful spirit trapped 200 years cannot possibly normal. An average person would have developed mental issues in its situation. Leon was d he did not rashly try to free it from its confinement.

    However, he was also confused. The vengeful spirit spoke strangely like it was a different person and not the same one h had conversed with earlier.

    Did it have a multiple personality disorder? A vengeful spirit has? How peculiar!

    "Your Highness! You manage to find them?" Baron Grant greeted Leon with a pleasant surprise.

    "Have a look. Are these your people?"

    Leon dumped the unconscious bodies carefully in front of the Baron to inspect. One of the unconscious people have matching body proportion as his adoptive father, but the face was unfamiliar.

    Considering his adoptive parents were both former disciples of the Illusory Butterfly Sect, they might have also been using fake faces like the Baron. Although Leon felt this was likely the case, he still had to wait for the Baron''s confirmation.

    How embarrassing would it be if he mistook a stranger as his adoptive father and acted all sentimental towards the person? Leonmented that he had never used divine sense on his adoptive parent''s face.

    "No doubt about it, they are my people." The Baron confirmed.

    "And this person is¡­?"

    "He is your adoptive father."

    Leon sighed. It was fortunate to get one of his adoptive parents back, but his adoptive mother was still missing.

    "Something seems to be wrong with them." Baron Grant spoke with unease as he surveys their expressions.

    Leon nodded before sending out his divine sense to diagnose the problem on his adoptive father. Familial rtionships naturally took priority.

    It did not take long before a frown found its way on Leon''s face. Dark miasma was found in each of their bodies as they were being contaminated by it. Apart from that, Leon made a more startling discovery. Everyone had a Demon Seed imnted in their heads.

    If everything about demons before were just mere spection, then it became conclusive that everything regarding the peculiarities of Lost Isle Alley was rted to the demons.

    A Demon Seed was something demons use to demonize other races to increase their poption. However, it was a slow and gradual process.

    Demon Seeds were like parasites that feed on the nutrients provided by its host. It would continue to nurture itself until it fully germinates and alter the physiques of its host. Only then would the host be demonized.

    While the dark miasma and demon seeds were no problem for Leon, he had yet to recover his mental strength fully. He would need to exert himself a bit to remove all the dark miasma and demon seeds from their bodies.

    More importantly, things have be serious. The demons were making a move, but Leon could not guess their intentions. Why don''t the demons just send their army through the teleportation instead of capturing people and sending them back?

    Did the Human Domain or the entire continent had something the demons were wary of that made it only resort to this to test the waters?

    Leon wanted to ask what his adoptive father and other three saw on the other side of the teleportation array, but it would have to wait after they recover.

    A group of pce guards, city guards, and shadowguards arrived at this moment and greeted Leon.

    "Your Highness, the king has sent us to assist you. What are your orders?"

    "I want this ce sealed off and watched over. This ce has be dangerous and full of uncertainty. I do not want any civilian entering this premise without my permission. The shadowguards are to enter Lost Isle Alley directly and observe the situation for inside."

    "There is a teleportation array hidden inside. If any unconscious bodies are appearing, you are to bring them out and inform me immediately. If anything else appears, you must also retreat and inform me immediately. The pce guards must hold their positions. Is that clear?"

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    "Good, begin immediately!"

    The group surrounded the area and got to work, using their earthen abilities to make the ground rise, and set up a temporary earthen wall to enclose the area.

    At the same time, Leon got the Baron to help him to carry the unconscious people back to the pce to be treated.

 Chapter 291 - Maya, The Bookworm

    <h4>Chapter 291 - Maya, The Bookworm</h4>

    During the night, Elizabeth led her army and rejoined with the army led by Aria and Lynne as they marched onward, towards the Vran Kingdom.

    The bulk of their armyprised of 30 thousand mixed Durham-Vran soldiers with only a few leading Crawford soldiers tomand them, while the rest were left behind to guard the kingdom.

    On the following morning, they have passed through three regional cities as they pressed onwards toward the king city of the Vran Kingdom.

    Surprisingly, during the three regional cities passed, no battle took ce. As they arrived at each regional city, they had found the city gate wide open with people weing them with heartwarming cheers and joy.

    There were no traps, no schemes, and no defenses.

    They found that at the center of each city was a pile of unrecognizable burnt corpses that supposedly belonged to the members of the Bloodfiend Sect.

    They encountered no enemy and no resistance. Everyone that should have been killed, had already been killed. All that was left was the heartfelt reunion of soldiers with their families.

    The army grew smaller with each passing city, but Elizabeth paid no heed to this. Not everyone in the army was a trained veteran. They were just ordinary folks who were forced into conscription for the war, and Elizabeth had no way feeding all these people.

    Elizabeth was far from the Capital and had no way of knowing of the elves'' visit and submission. If she knew of the elves'' capability, she would have had other ns for the Vran Kingdom.

    By the time they left the third city, the army was already reduced to 25 thousand, but such an army was still powerful enough to travel through the kingdom unhindered when apanied by a Transcendent.

    The Vran Kingdom was not as big as the Crawford Kingdom and had fewer cities. Still, unlike the Capital, the king city of the Vran Kingdom was much more significant, with arge poption of 200 thousand people.

    This information was willingly provided by the Vran soldiers in their army. Elizabeth was made aware that the Vran Kingdom had no troops left to defend themselves.

    Everyone had been sent out for the war enforced by the sect. Even if they still had people to recruit, they no longer had the tools of war to equip the new soldiers.

    But even if the Vran Kingdom had the resource for war, they would not want to continue the fight. To begin with, this was not something they had wished for, but one forced upon them by the Bloodfiend Sect.

    Inside of a slow-moving military truck, Elizabeth satfortably along with Aria and Lynne by her side. They were the only three people on the back of this military truck, and there was a little table in front of them with an old, outdated map of the Human Domain.

    Several objects were ced on top of the map, representing various cements of troops, kingdoms, and known sects.

    "What are your thoughts on thest three cities we have passed? Do you think the king city will be the same and have their city gate open wide for us to enter?" Elizabeth quietly asked the two girls.

    Aria thought hard on the matter, but Lynne had quicklye up with an answer and spoke, "I think the enemy is plotting to reduce our numbers and lower our guard. We had no way of identifying those corpses and could not simply believe in the local people''s words. For all we know, those corpses could just be the corpses of random civilians, and the enemy had made them lie to us."

    "This kingdom has a terrible history of living under the Bloodfiend Sect''s tyranny. The people''s fear of the sect is deep-rooted. It should not be easy for the people to step out of the sect''s shadow. The enemy is most likely waiting for us to walk into their trap at king city."

    "Lynne''s reasoning is quite sound and logical." Elizabeth shortly praised with no additionalments and turned to Aria. "What about you, Aria? Do you have anything to add, or do you have a differing view?"

    "I think the king city will still wee us with their city gates wide open like thest three cities we have passed. The Bloodfiend Sect is most likely no more¡­" Aria said with slight hesitation.

    Elizabeth was intrigued by Aria''s answer as it seemed to coincide with her own.

    "Oh? What makes you say that? Why don''t you borate for us?" Elizabeth said with a smile.

    Aria wore a difficult expression as she tried to piece together her thoughts. Soon, she slowly spoke, "The Bloodfiend Sect had mobilized arge part of their forces for this war and suffered heavy losses, making them the weakest they have ever been. If the Vran royal family ever wanted to free themselves and their people from the sect''s tyranny, now would be their best chance to retaliate."

    "But if the Vran royal family were strong enough to free themselves on their own, they would not have fallen under the sect''s control so easily¡­ unless another major sect had intervened and helped them out¡­ like the Burning Heaven Sect from the neighboring Ishaan Kingdom, for example."

    Aria finished off her speaking while pointing to the Ishaan Kingdom on the map.

    Elizabeth had a big smile on her face as she gave Aria bigger praises. "Excellent, Aria. You did not neglect the other neighboring kingdoms that might partake in this war."

    "My thoughts are the same. We must not ignore this possibility. If the Burning Heaven Sect had joined into the fray, we have to consider whether they are friends or foes." Elizabeth added.

    "Considering how the other two sects are like and the timing of their participation, I feel like they are more likely to be our enemy¡­" Aria said with glum.

    "That''s right. They could be ying the fisherman to reap the benefits after our two sides weaken each other." Elizabeth agreed before her eye shed with a sharp look. "But if they think they can profit from our conflict, they are going to be sorry for it."

    Lynne felt that her answer was very good, but after hearing the exchange between Aria and Leon''s mother, she became dejected.

    Elizabeth had noticed and began to console her, "Don''t feel too down. You might not be wrong. Everything is still just a possibility. We don''t know anything until we receive more intel or arrive at king city."

    What she really wanted to say was that Lynne''s answer was good, except she needed to widen her scope. To not focus on just the box, but to also consider the possibilities outside the box. However, if she said that, she felt that it would have run counteractive to her constion.

    "En."

    Lynne nodded.

    ¡­

    Capital, Royal Pce.

    Leon awoke to the bright sunlight of the day and found himself within his private bedroom.

    He briefly took a few moments to recall the previous night and remembered that after returning to the pce, he treated everyone and became too tired he fell asleep on the spot.

    Leon got out of bed and did a long stretch. It felt like he had not gotten a night of good sleep in such a long time. This was all due to him ingesting a Spiritual Replenishment Pill before falling asleep.

    He was fully rested and in full spirit.

    Stepping outside the bedroom, Leon summoned a shadowguard.

    "You called for me, Your Highness?"

    "En, any news from Lost Isle Alley overnight?"

    "A few people had been drawn over by the sudden appearance of the wall, but they were shooed away by the team. Apart from that, there had been no further updates, Your Highness."

    "Very well. You may leave."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    After the shadowguard returned to his hidden post, Leon fished out a Fasting Pill to satiate his hunger after feeling his stomach rumble.

    Afterward, he found himself a nice shady spot in the courtyard to sit to peruse over the array and two formations he recorded in his memory.

    As he sat down and closed his eyes, there was a nudge in his mind. It was a calling from the Divine Book''s artifact spirit, Maya.

    It was rare for the artifact spirit to contact him when it had been so preupied with reading through the mountain of books dumped inside.

    Leon shortly entered the Worldspace with a single thought and found a grumpy Maya sitting on top of the mountain of books.

    "What''s up with you? Why do you look so grumpy?"

    "There''s nothing left to read."

    "What do you mean there''s nothing left to read? You''re literally sitting on a mountain of them." Leon said with mild surprise.

    "I''ve already finished reading all of them." Maya harrumphed.

    "All of them?"

    "All of them!"

    Leon stared at Maya in shock. There were several thousand books in the Worldspace, and it had been about a week or two since the artifact spirit recovered enough to be conscious. What kind of reading speed was this?

    "Why don''t you read the things from the Archive then? That would keep you busy for a long time." Leon suggested.

    "Those aren''t books. They are not interesting enough to read. Also, I am the artifact spirit of this ce. I can ess all the information from there anytime." Maya said in a snarky manner.

    "How are they not books? They might not be physical copies like these, but they are all containers of knowledge. Exactly what kind of book would you find interesting?"

    Leon was confused.

    Maya gave Leon a sidelong nce and toss a book over. She said, "I want to read those kinds of books."

    Leon flipped open the book for a quick skim, and his jaw quickly dropped. He soon swept the mountain of books and realized that a third of them were all storybooks.

    "Alright, I understand now. I''ll find some time to bring you more of these kinds of books." Leon said while rubbing his forehead as he found out what kind of books the artifact spirit had gotten hooked into reading.

    ''A spiritual entity needs its share of spiritual fulfillment, huh?''

    Leon shook his head.

    Taking this chance when the artifact spirit was not busy, he should try to get it to cough up some more incredible techniques.

 Chapter 292 - Mysteries Of The World

    <h4>Chapter 292 - Mysteries Of The World</h4>

    Maya''s mood slightly improved when she saw how quickly Leon had agreed to her request. She permitted Leon to ask her any two questions, to which she would answer without any conditions.

    With the artifact spirit''s pompous attitude, Leon began to wonder if she was the master, or if he was master. But since he was beggar, it was not wise to irritate the artifact spirit, lest he can forget about asking the two questions he was granted.

    How did his father put up with the artifact spirit when he was still the master of the [Divine Book of Life]?

    Thinking back on it¡­

    Histe father had never revealed any other otherworldly techniques or cultivations methods to him.

    The Divine Medicine King had wholeheartedly focused on cultivating the way of medicine and helping people his entire life. He reached a height, no one else could dream ofing close to achieving in the art of medicine.

    But this height can be achieved by merely studying the alchemy knowledge stored in the Archive and did not require any supreme technique.

    Leon faintly guessed that histe father may have never met the artifact spirit.

    When the first question was raised, it was as Leon had guessed, Maya had not once conversed with Leon''s father because she had deemed his father''s talent to be too lowly for her to recognize him as her master.

    As such, while Leon''ste father had bound the [Divine Book of Life] to his soul core and became its master, he was not its true master, not without the artifact spirit''s recognition.

    In the artifact spirit''s eyes, Leon''s talents were also considered low, initially. If not for needing Leon''s help, Maya would not have deigned to seek him out.

    Leon was not aware that when his soul traveled to this world and fused with his identical self, the artifact spirit was briefly conscious and inspected his body''s talent before falling into a long slumber.

    Also, the world traveling transmigration was an instantaneous process. No distance was actually covered when Leon''s soul entered this world. It was like a character dying in a game and return to a spawn point, except that spawn point was in the world of Gaia and not in the Divine Realm.

    To visualize Leon''s transmigration, it would not look like two souls fusing but rather one soul suddenly bing the size of two.

    As such, Leon experienced confusion with one part believing he had reincarnated, while another believing he had awoken past life memories when he also knew for a fact that they were both him.

    There was a theory on parallel universes that when one dies, the strength of the dead person is transfer to all their parallel selves. Leon''s transmigration was simr, except only one soul received everything.

    The strange part is that Gaia is not part of a parallel universe but an extraordinary world that might exists within the ck hole at the center of the Divine Realm. This was the greatest riddle on Leon''s mind.

    The ck hole was thought to be a ce impossible for any life to survive with its immense crushing gravitational force that can reduce the stars down into mere atoms.

    As someone who is bound to Leon''s soul, Maya was equally puzzled by the riddle. A regr leap through spacetime would not have injured her so.

    She was, after all, a peerless treasure created by the Old Gods, divine beings who were born by the Grandmist during the early formation of Primal Chaos. It was clear that a great force had impacted her entry into this world.

    The whole mystery regarding Leon''s transmigration might contain some secrets as to why the age of gods ended.

    Apart from Maya''s interest in the present world, she grew interested in Leon after reassessing his talent thest time she woke up. This is all due to the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] practiced by him.

    If not for Leon''s talents being changed by the effects of practicing [Hegemon of Primal Chaos], she might not have bothered to pass him the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard].

    As the artifact spirit of a peerless treasure created by the Old Gods, Maya enjoyed an evesting life like the gods. She had every right to look down on all mortals who had little to no chance of attaining godhood. They were beneath her notice.

    However, Leon was different.

    [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] was a lost technique of the Old Gods that could no longer be practiced in the present era of the Divine Realm.

    As baffled as Maya may be about the mystery of the present world and if such a technique existed back in the primordial era of gods, she could at least tell that this was a powerful body forging method capable of raising Leon''s body to the ranks of gods.

    The primordial era was ruled by the Old Gods, and to be a Hegemon of Primal Chaos is to be above the Old Gods.

    Whether a mortal''s body can surpass the Old Gods that existed at the beginning of creation or not, Maya was curious to find out if Leon could reach heights.

    "What is your second question?" Maya asked.

    Leon already knew what kind of question he wanted to ask for his second question as he asks, "Do you have any soul cultivation methods?"

    Cultivating his soul would significantly improve his usage of Divine Will. If his soul were powerful enough, this skill would even be omnipotent. It has so much potential he had yet to tap into.

    "I do, but it''s not the same type of soul cultivation method you are hoping for and will not be beneficial to you," Maya said nonchntly.

    Although Leon was expecting it, he was still surprised when the artifact spirit admitted. However, this surprise quickly changed to puzzlement.

    "What do you mean?"

    Maya shed him a look and said, "Although I said I will only answer two questions, it seems you won''t be satisfied with just that answer. Alright, take it as I am expanding on that question."

    "Although I do have some soul cultivation methods in my memory, these soul cultivation methods cannot be considered true soul cultivation methods."

    "These soul cultivation methods all require the use of energy to strengthen the soul, but this type of strengthening is like adding ayer of armor on a bare man. It can improve your defense against soul attacks and improve your strength, but it will not increase your mental qualities."

    "Not only that, but you also cannot practice both soul cultivation and energy cultivation. It is the same as practicing two different energy cultivation methods and will sh with one another. The bacsh will leave you severely injured, if not crippled, or even death."

    "That is to say that this type of fake soul cultivation method will not improve my Divine Will¡­" Leon mused to himself with furrowed brows.

    Maya nodded and continued, "Unless you have a true soul cultivation method, it is better to stick to consuming miracle elixirs,prehendingws and increasing your divine cultivation. Only these can improve your soul without affecting your soul''s purity."

    Leon was about to ask, but Maya was not finished.

    "You should already know that a soul in its purest form is formless and colorless. It cannot be seen and can only be vaguely sensed."

    Leon nodded. He learned about this from the Archive. If a pure soul could be seen, the big question about whether people had a soul would never have been asked throughout history.

    From what he had just learned, the way vengeful spirits cultivated were also not true soul cultivation. They should be considered impure souls that only know how to absorb yin energy to preserve their existence, like covering oneself in ice.

    "A true soul cultivation method should improve your soul''s quality and quantity without affecting your soul''s purity. If you can create a true cultivation method, you would have already surpassed the Old Gods."

    "The soul should be something connected to us but exists on a higher ne of existence. Thus, it should not be possible to cultivate the true soul on the physical ne."

    Leon''s jaw slowly dropped at the mention of Old Gods, something people of the Divine Realm only managed to uncover records of in ancient ruins that hinted of their existence since time immemorial.

    "Alright, that''s enough answering. Go find me some books to read. I''m going back to sleep."

    Maya immediately shut Leon down before he could ask about the Old Gods. It was a sensitive topic that Maya believed would not benefit Leon if he knew, as it would divert his focus from cultivation with useless worries.

    There were some things that the artifact spirit also did not have answers to. For example, what happened to the Old Gods.

    When she woke up for the first time many years ago, when the Divine Medicine King found her in an ancient ruin and bound her to his soul, she had already found out that most of her memory was nk with nothing except raw knowledge like they have been wiped.

    Seeing the artifact spirit dematerialized from view and be silent to his callings, Leon felt a bit frustrated. He barely had any chance to speak at all.

    He did not understand the artifact spirit. When it is in a good mood, it might joke around and tease him, but any other time, it would be solemn, cold, or distant. In any case, he felt it was entric.

    Nevertheless, he had learned much from conversing with the artifact spirit.

    In the end, Leon helplessly returned to the outside and focus on studying the formations and array.

 Chapter 293 - Alarming Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 293 - rming Discovery</h4>

    Leon slowly opened his eyes to the outside as he found himself back in his exact seated spot. He was ready to close his eyes again when his eyes twitched at the sound of iing footsteps.

    "Your Highness." A senior maid greeted with courtesy.

    "What is it?" Leon asked coolly.

    "Baron Grant wished to inform you that Brian Bradford had awakened, Your Highness."

    Leon''s eyes shed with a peculiar light before he nodded. "I understand. You may return and inform the Baron that I will head over shortly."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    The senior pce maid curtsied and respectfully took her leave.

    After the senior pce maid left, Leon called for another pce maid. It did not take long before the junior maid, Ellie arrived at his private courtyard with a joyful look.

    "How can I help you, Your Highness?" Ellie asked courteously.

    "I need you to go contact a printingpany to process these papers into a book and have the copy sent back to my father. The king will know what to do with it then."

    Having said that, Leon handed the stack of paper over and a bag of cash. After a short pause, he added, "Also, get a pce guard or two to apany you for protection."

    The task was simple, but Ellie was amoner before she started working for the royal family. Having a pce guard to apany her was just a precaution to avoid any unnecessaryplications that may arise from carrying out his task in the Upper District.

    "Yes, Your Highness. Thank you for your concern." Ellie said with joy before asking with a hopeful gaze, "Is there anything else you need to be done, Your Highness?"

    "No, that is all for now."

    "Oh¡­"

    Ellie appeared disappointed, but she immediately cheered herself up and excused herself to carrying out the task Leon assigned.

    Leon shook his head and shortly left his private courtyard. It was not long before he arrived at the Guest Courtyard and headed for the room, hest remembered leaving his adoptive father to recuperate.

    Brian Bradford and Baron Grant appeared to be talking about something, but they paused the moment Leon entered.

    With apletely different face that Leon was used to, Brian Bradford looked at Leon with guilt.

    "Do you me me?"

    "Not at all." Leon shook his head and said, "In fact, I am grateful for what father and mother had done for me."

    The life and hardship of amoner was not something that Leon experienced in his previous life but needed. It provided him with some aspects of life he had been ignorant of and awoke a drive and ambition not apparent to him before.

    If he had relived the life of another prince from the start, with his memories of the Divine Realm, he would have been an empty shell that lived and die for revenge. Even if he seeded, that would be the end of it and nothing more.

    With the values embedded in his current life and the memories of his past life, he realized how precious life truly was. A doctor can decide the life and death of his patient, but he is not the master of life and death. Some things were out of his reach unless he had the strength.

    Thus, in this life, histe father must still be avenged, but he would not forsake everything for revenge. He would cherish his loved ones and live life to the fullest, no longer taking it for granted.

    It was also what histe father had wished and sacrificed his life for.

    Brian Bradford looked at Leon with a gratified smile after knowing Leon still considered them as parents in his heart. Leon was raised for a purpose, but they imparted important values and raised him like a real son.

    "How are you feeling, father?" Leon asked despite knowing the answer.

    "Good, good¡­ not too shabby, Haha¡­ if only your mother was also here." Brian transitioned from humorous to being dispirited.

    At the side, Baron Grant courteously asked, "Should I leave so you can have some time together, Your Highness?"

    "There''s no need." Leon waved as he refocused his eyes on his adoptive father with an air of solemnity. "Do you remember what happened to you and everyone else before you lost consciousness, father?"

    That is right. His mother was still on the other side of the teleportation array. They had to quickly save the rest of the people trapped on the other side.

    Brian thought hard through his vague memories and began to recount what he knew.

    "We¡­ we were hiding under the old bar like usual when there was a sudden tremor on the surface and the cry of a youngdy we asionally hear, except the cry this time was terriblepared to the past."

    "As such, we all went to investigate and tried to peer down when a bright light suddenly shot out from the well and illuminated the dark clouds that we never knew existed above the area. After that¡­ after that¡­"

    Brian began to frown as his memory grew fuzzy. He thought harder until many creases were formed on his forehead before the obscurity became clearer.

    "I remember now. After that, the dark clouds started to shine with a red light. When we saw the red light, we all lost control of our bodies and became weightless as some unknown force pulled up into the dark clouds. Before we knew it, we were already in a dark swamp of apletely different ce."

    At this point, Brian Bradford trembled at his own vivid memory like he was reliving the scene.

    "That ce was very strange¡­ very dark¡­ and hard to breathe." Brian''s eye widened as he reached a more crucial point. "There was a blood-red moon in the sky, and the world was covered in its eerie dark and dim red light with bones littered everywhere¡­ There were no signs of other life, and it seems that we all passed out shortly after arriving there¡­"

    "How can there be a blood moon? And bones littered the ce?" Baron Grant was visibly shocked. "Are you sure you are not describing hell?"

    "It indeed seemed like we had stumbled into hell. I''m still not sure how we got there and how I managed toe back¡­" Brian sighed with a heavy feeling.

    Leon also felt heavy at heart. His adoptive father did not provide enough information for him to learn where the other side was, but at the very least, he was confident that it was a ce very suitable for demon habitat.

    After speaking a few words, Leon shortly left the room and returned to his private courtyard to study the two demon formations and array wholeheartedly.

    It took three days for Leon to fullyprehend the two demon formations and array, but not because he was stupid.

    The demon formations and array were all Tier 4 while Leon was only a Tier 3 Runic Master who can only produce Tier 3 formations, arrays, inscriptions, and artifacts.

    Arden was an innovator who researched the depth of the runguage and not the height of its application.

    However, it was also due to this kind of inheritance that Leon possesses an iparably sturdy foundation in the runguage.

    Like a mathematician knowing all his mathematical forms, it was just a matter of time before any equations were solved. He would also gain experience in solving simr problems and increase his own proficiency.

    As such, Leon was qualified to be a Tier 4 Formation Master and a Tier 4 Array Master. He now possesses the knowledge to produce his own Tier 4 formations and Tier 4 arrays.

    If there were Tier 5 formations and arrays to study, sure, the time would take even longer toprehend, but Leon would also reach Tier 5 Formation Master eventually.

    Others would require years of study and umted knowledge before they were ready to produce formations of higher tier and upgrade their professions, but Leon only needed to study an existing one to be a formation master of the corrting tier.

    This was the most significant gain from Arden''s inheritance.

    However, none of this mattered to Leon. The moment he understood what the two demon formations and the single array was used for, his eyes immediately snapped open as he shot to his feet with rm.

    The two formations were energy gathering formations. They collect energy from heaven and earth and feed it to the central array to create a portal that leads to another location.

    Leon already understood this much when he observed Lost Isle Alley.

    What rmed him is that the heaven gathering formation and earth gathering formation were both rigged to breakdown.

    Whether the heaven gathering formation copses first from the structural disintegration of the old buildings or the vengeful spirit bound to the earth gathering formation dies first, either of them would cause the central array to be unstable and create a spatial copse.

    When that happens, one of two possible scenarios will happen. The surroundingndmass will be swallowed and brought over to the other side, or vice versa.

    In other words, if their side got swallowed, they would be dropped into the middle of demon territory.

    On the other hand, if the other side were brought over to their side instead, the demons would have seeded in cing an anchor on their continent, where they will spawn andmence an invasion.

    None of these were ideal scenarios. In fact, they spell a terrible cmity!

 Chapter 294 - Simple Reinforcement

    <h4>Chapter 294 - Simple Reinforcement</h4>

    Three days have passed since Lost Isle Alley had been enclosed by a 3-meter high wall.

    Anyone with a bit of cultivation could jump over this wall, but when it is guarded by pce guards, they will not dare even if they could. The king had sent his word, and people have been informed that Lost Isle Alley had be a restricted zone.

    It was unfortunate that Leon had not received news of any further incidents urring during these 3 days amidst his frequent visits to crosscheck the formations and array.

    That is to say that his adoptive mother and 8 other people were still trapped on the other side. Their situation bes more unfavorable with each passing moment.

    For that reason, he did not waste a single moment toprehend the formations and array as soon as possible.

    Furthermore, ording to Leon''s adoptive father, Mia should also be on the other side of the teleportation array. He had not seen that little girl in a while. It was tragic how such a young girl had to experience so much danger and hardship.

    Leon left his private courtyard immediately. He made a quick stop by the Royal Treasury to pick up some items before heading to Guest Courtyard.

    The Supreme Elder, or rather Marquis Haldir now was informed of his visit and was overjoyed.

    He had finished his short cultivation session two days ago and went to seek out the prince to express his gratitude. However, he did not get this opportunity due to the prince being busy.

    "You finally came to see me, Your Highness. Once again, I wish to thank you for the precious pill you have bestowed this one." Marquis Haldir respectfully expressed his gratitude with cupped hands.

    "You''re too humble, Senior. It is what you deserved." Leon gestured for the Supreme Elder to be at ease with a wave of his hand. "I came this time to ask you for a favor. I wonder if you are willing to grant it?"

    "Just say the word, Your Highness. As long as it is within my ability, I will be most willing." Marquis Haldir agreed without hesitation.

    The divine pill was more potent than he had expected, and the loss of cultivation had already been recovered. Marquis Haldir no reason to reject the prince''s request.

    "Then, I will thank you in advance. It is definitely something you can do." Leon smiled and said, "I need you to apany me to a ce first. Are you free to leave now?"

    "Of course. After you, Your Highness." Marquis Haldir gestured.

    Leon took the lead with Marquis Haldir in tow. Just as they were leaving, Faelyn caught a glimpse of their figures as she exited her room adjacent to the Supreme Elder''s room.

    "Supreme Elder! Your Highness!" She called out. As the two turned around, she took the chance to catch up to them. "Where are you both heading?"

    "Lost Isle Alley, to do something important."

    "Can Ie?" Faelyn''s eyes lit up before asking with a shifty look, "There''s been nothing to dotely¡­"

    Leon felt slightly awkward when he heard this. They had prettye to a decision to vassalize the elves.

    However, they were just missing one final step, the allocation ofnd for the elves to settle in. A poption of 800,000 elves was not exactly a small number.

    Leon and Heinrich had to wait for Elizabeth to return to discuss whether they should absorb thends of the Vran Kingdom and the Durham Kingdom, transfer the people over to their kingdom, and allocate one of the empty territories for the elves to settle in.

    The size of a city had always been proportional to how much the city can feed its people.

    The Crawford Kingdom was not as advanced in their agricultural techniques to other kingdoms due to their heavy reliance on beast hunting for meat.

    However, if they can have a group of elves to manage their crops, they would be able to experience bumper harvest every cycle. Once that happens, they would no longerck food supplies and could finally start looking into expanding the Capital.

    Leon thought for a moment, before granting Faelyn''s request. "Alright, you cane."

    The elves were, no doubt, a force to be reckoned with. Their assimtion would be a great addition to the kingdom should the demons or beasts invade them. There was no problem letting them know about what they might face in the future.

    "That''s great!"

    Faelyn rejoiced after receiving Leon''s permission. At the same time, her curiosity towards Lost Isle Alley that had caused quite amotion in the Capital grew.

    Their group made their way over to Lost Isle Alley, and a pce guard approached to greet them upon sighting them a short distance away from the entrance.

    "Greetings, Your Highness, Esteemed Envoys." Said the pce guard, before carrying out his regr report every time Leon visited during the past 3 days. "The situation has been the same asst time, Your Highness. Lost Isle Alley remained quiet all this while, but the building''s deterioration is elerating."

    "Understood. You may return to your post." Leon acknowledged and said.

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    The pce guard bowed and took his leave.

    Under Leon''s lead, Marquis Haldir and Faelyn stepped inside the vicinity of the three old buildings just past the earthen wall.

    Looking up at the decrepit old buildings in front, Marquis Haldir could not guess Leon''s intention for bringing him here. "What do you need me to do here, Your Highness?"

    "These buildings are on the verge of copse, but we cannot allow that to happen," Leon stated. Not nning to hide anything from them, he began to exin, "Within these buildings, there is a hidden teleportation array that leads to demon territory. If these buildings copse, a spatial rift will open and swallow everything around it."

    Having said that much, Leon looked into Marquis Haldir''s eyes with solemnness and said, "I need you to use your ability to hold this whole ce together and prevent them from copsing. There must be no mistake. Can you do that for me?"

    "Yes, Your Highness." Marquis Haldir solemnly answered.

    Like Leon had said, this was something he could definitely do, but the possibility of failure still made him feel pressured.

    "You aren''t surprised hearing about demons?" Leon asked with surprise.

    "I am surprised, Your Highness." Marquis Haldir stated calmly.

    "I am also very surprised," Faelyn added.

    Leon looked at them with doubt.

    "But you both did not react all that surprised like a normal person would. Can you tell me why this is the case?" Leon asked when a sudden yet subtle creaking building was picked up, causing his expression to abruptly change.

    "Never mind. We can talk about itter. Marquis Haldir, please." Leon gestured.

    Marquis Haldir nodded. A few seeds were taken out of his Magic Seed Pouch and infused with wood energy before they were tossed to the foot of each old building.

    The seeds germinated quickly and sprouted into small trees with

    The marquis stepped forward and ced one hand on the tree before countless vine-like branches proliferated andtched onto the walls of the old buildings while some entered the interior andtch onto the floors and ceilings.

    The marquis could see and control everything like he had countless pairs of extra eyes by seeping his consciousness into the nt. It was an ability he called Spirit Vision.

    The process was slow and gradual, but by the time it was done, the three old buildings looked like one giant treehouse as it was covered in firm woody branches.

    Even Leon could not tell what kind of nt the Supreme Elder had used as its form was altered ording to his will to support the old building from gradual copse.

    There was a reason why Leon chose the Supreme Elder for the job rather than having some pce guards reinforce the old building with their earthen abilities.

    The Supreme Elder had greater control over his element due to his high cultivation base, and the nt method had fewer risks.

    Reinforcing the building would undoubtedly apply some pressure on the old buildings during the reinforcing process. Leon did not dare gamble whether the old buildings would be able to withstand the added pressure before the reinforcement ispleted or not.

    "It is done, Your Highness." Marquis Haldir stated as he wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead.

    "Thank you, Senior."

    Shortly after expressing his gratitude, Leon flew into the old building and stood atop the sturdy branches. A single steel ingot appeared in his hand before it grew hot rapidly and melted.

    Leon had a casual look like he was not holding molten steel but warm water in his hand. This level of heat did not affect him.

    The molten steel was soon dripped through the gaps in the tree branches and rapidly cooled over the countless cracks inside the buildings.

    He did not bring enough steel ingots to coat the entire building in metal, but this much work was enough to ensure that it was stable.

    "It''s done. There''s no need to reinforce it further. If someone manages to slip past the guards and purposely destroy the building, it would all be naught anyway." Leon stated after he finished applying simple reinforcements.

    "Before something like that can happen, all that is left to do now is¡­ deactivate the array."

    To be exact, deactivate the array and modify it to save the vengeful spirit.

 Chapter 295 - Modifying Array

    <h4>Chapter 295 - Modifying Array</h4>

    Stepping into Lost Isle Alley once more, the ce was dark and lightless as usual. Whether it was night or day, this had not changed for the past few hundred years.

    The captive vengeful spirit had grown much weaker during this period. Despite sensing another person''s arriving into Lost Isle Alley, she did not say anything and remained soulless at the bottom of the well.

    Leon did not pay immediate attention to the vengeful spirit as he lifted his head with a narrow but glowing look, seemingly able to peer through the veil of darkness and see the hidden array within the dark clouds above.

    The array was like a thin disk of red light. It hovered in the air and rotated at a slow but consistent rate. The portal to the other sideid just underneath the array.

    Portal cannot be seen as the array acted as the portal itself. While it is active, people would only need to go through the array from bottom-up to be sent to the other side.

    Traces of dark miasma leaked out from the array and spilled into the surrounding area of Lost Isle Alley. Within that small trace of dark miasma, there was an even rarer and fainter trace of darkness profound energy.

    Like how humans need air to breathe, dark miasma was the source of life for demons. Not only that, but it was also their source of power. Darkness profound energy was derived from refining dark miasma.

    While demons are a very invasive and aggressive race, they cannot survive where there is no dark miasma. Only high-level demons could ignore this restriction.

    Aside from drawing in the energy of heaven and earth, the heaven gathering formation and earth gathering formation also acted as a cage that traps the energy inside.

    The darkness of Lost Isle Alley was formed because of all these dark miasma and darkness profound energy trapped inside. It is also due to the devouring properties of darkness profound energy that any light source is swallowed shortly inside.

    Leon was not fond of the person who set up the formations and array in this ce. Still, he had to admit that the ingenious use of the two formations and the single array was impressive.

    It also proved that the person was very skilled, possibly peak Tier 4 Formation Master and peak Tier 4 Array Master.

    Shooting off his feet, Leon flew into the dark clouds and circled around the array before floating just above it.

    Having fullyprehended the Tier 4 Array, it did not take long for Leon to locate the heart of the array and struck it with his own wave of energy.

    Akin to being short-circuited, the array was deactivated as its cirction slowed down to aplete stop and hovered motionless in midair with dimmed lights.

    The portal to the other side was naturally closed as a result.

    The vengeful spirit at the bottom of the well, raised her head and looked up, feeling the changes. Although she was shackled by chains, her power was no longer sapped away by the chains to feed the array above her.

    "Who''s there? Are you here to save me?" Some hope rekindled in the vengeful spirit''s eyes.

    "¡­"

    Leon did not answer and continued to focus on the array. Freeing the vengeful spirit was the same as introducing unnecessary risk factors. He did not need to release it to save it.

    A spatial copse would not happen once the array was deactivated. Thus, it no longer mattered if the vengeful spirit dies or the heaven gathering formation breaks at this point.

    However, some people still needed saving on the other side. It was inevitable that he would have to go over to the other side to save them, but not without making some preparations.

    Thinking to this point, Leon took out his Ravenous ck scribing pen and some conductive Magisteel ingots and began making some alterations to the array''s runic lines. The Magisteel was melted and used like solder. He was hijacking the array.

    Once Leon was done with the alterations, the array was no longer set to self-destruct from the destabilization of either of the energy gathering formations and form a spatial copse. It was no longer possible.

    That n had been foiled by Leon.

    Leon''s eyes soon lingered on a few stones embedded into the floating array disk. There were a few stones embedded in the heaven gathering formation, and he assumed it was the same for the earth gathering formation.

    These two formations and array are not powered by spirit energy, wherein his interest lies. The stones were ck but semi-transparent like ss and crystals. The ck stone glowed with a crimson hue as a different source of energy was stored inside.

    It was demonic energy, the primary energy source to power the formations and array. All other energies gathered through the formations were just supplementary to increase the activation time of the array.

    "These should be¡­ Demon Cores¡­" Leon rubbed his chin in thought. "This is a bit interesting."

    Demon Cores are found in every demon. It was the source of their power, and their quality varies ording to the demon''s strength.

    For the number of Demon Cores present, it was safe to assume that an equal number of demons had been killed.

    The demons were indeed a brutal race. They do not even care for members of their own race and used them as a convenient source of energy for their arrays and formations.

    Leon slightly wrinkled his brows at another possibility.

    The array and formations might not have been set up by the demons, but by another group that hunted them.

    ¡­

    Elizabeth led her army and stopped on a distant hill as they took in the breathtaking sight of King City that stood proudly at the heart of the Vran Kingdom with its highly erected walls.

    Lynne and Aria were awed by the vast surrounding farnd and the colossal aqueduct that ran overhead and channeled water directly to the majestic city from the nearby river.

    On one side of therge city stood a towering mountain. It was the Blood Mountain where the headquarters of the Bloodfiend Sect was located.

    Elizabeth sent out some scouts to search the region ahead. It did not take too long before they returned with intelligence.

    "Report," Elizabeth ordered calmly with her sight fixed on the distant city.

    "Merchants and farmers alike are entering and leaving the city at will with no security check. The city gates are left wide open, and few city guards can be seen atop the walls, but they are waving a white g, Your Majesty." A scout reported dutifully.

    Elizabeth nodded and issued amand for the army to advance under lead. Aria and Lynne followed quietly by her side, but their eyes disyed a readiness to face any uing challenges.

    The army advanced with caution, but even after entering the city, no potential enemy was found. Themon people simply made way for them and bowed submissively as they were passing.

    They reached arge square deeper within the huge city where found another pile of burnt bodies stacked together like they did with the other cities they had passed through.

    However.

    This time, the number of burnt bodies had reached at least two hundred.

    A group of officials waited for them there, and a bulky tanned person stood at the front of them. Seeing Elizabeth''s army approaching, the bulky tanned person stepped forward to greet them.

    "Greetings, I am Denzell, an elder of the Burning Heaven Sect. May I ask to whom I am speaking to?"

    "Queen Elizabeth stands before you," Elizabeth said coolly after signaling the army to halt their steps. "What are the intentions of your sect for being here?"

    "Ah, apologies for not recognizing, Your Majesty." Denzell expressed his respect with a slight bow and said, "I am representing my sect to express our wish to establish friendly rtions with your kingdom, Your Majesty."

    "And these burnt corpses are¡­?"

    "Disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect. You do not need to doubt this. This is our greeting gift to you, Your Majesty. I hope you like it." As if remembering something else, Denzell added, "This letter was personally written by our sect master and carries some vital information you may be interested in. If you would read it, please, Your Majesty."

    Elizabeth carefully took the sealed letter from the Burning Heaven Sect''s elder¡­ After unsealing the letter and giving it a quick read, she immediately frowned.

 Chapter 296 - News Of The Geyser Kingdom

    <h4>Chapter 296 - News Of The Geyser Kingdom</h4>

    From the letter, Elizabeth learned a bit about the nature of the Burning Heaven Sect and how they had no interest in expanding outside of the Ishaan Kingdom.

    The sect master exined how they were a ''good'' sect and did not see eye to eye with an ''evil'' sect like the Bloodfiend Sect that treats human lives like dirt. However, they were not as powerful as the Bloodfiend Sect and could not do anything to them until now.

    In a few words, the sect master had differentiated the two sects between good and evil.

    The Bloodfiend Sect would have been uprooted eventually. Still, the Burning Heaven Sect intervened to establish friendly rtions. They believed they could get along well despite there being little to no interaction between their sides due to the great distance between them.

    Towards the end of the letter, the sect master expressed his regret that they could not locate the sect master of the Bloodfiend Sect on the Blood Mountain and told Elizabeth to be careful of an ambush.

    This was also the cause for Elizabeth''s frown as the threat posed by the unknown whereabouts of an enemy Transcendent was quite significant.

    The Burning Heaven Sect also did not loot anything from Bloodfiend Sect when they arrived to ughter all the remnant disciples. The loots were all rounded up and left on the Blood Mountain for Elizabeth to deal with. However, the sect master did suggest that those evil techniques should all be destroyed.

    Elizabeth folded the letter after she was done and stored it away in one of her gauntlets.

    "Your sect''s wishes and gift, I have received them. You can be assured that my kingdom will not be hostile to your sect." Elizabeth said.

    "Thank you, Your Majesty. If there is nothing else, I will return to my sect to deliver your words." Denzell said politely.

    "Leaving so soon? I assume your sect had already returned to the Ishaan Kingdom but does this kingdom holds nothing of interest to your sect? I find it hard to believe that your sect would help us without gaining anything."

    Denzell shook his head and said, "That is where you are wrong, Your Majesty. Establishing a friendly rtionship with your kingdom would be the greatest gain on this trip for our sect. A Sword Master such as yourself is respected anywhere you go in the Human Domain, even in the mysterious far eastern Geyser Kingdom."

    Denzell had not finished talking, but the mention of the Geyser Kingdom quickly drew Elizabeth''s attention as she asks, "Why do you say the Geyser Kingdom is mysterious?"

    "That''s because I don''t know much about the Geyser Kingdom, Your Majesty. In fact, I am sure it is the same for everyone. Although the Durham Kingdom and our Ishaan Kingdom neighbors the Geyser Kingdom, not many have the qualification to travel there."

    "Why is that so?"

    When Elizabeth asked this, Denzell appeared surprised before he had a look of understanding. "It''s actually quite old news now, but 300 years ago, the Geyser Kingdom decided to construct a great wall and seal themselves off from the rest of the Human Domain."

    "Although it is not as impressive as the Great Wall that holds back the beast invasion from the Wilnds, it is still impressive. Also, border security is very strict. Unless we have a rmendation from someone important there, it is very difficult to enter the Geyser Kingdom."

    Elizabeth had a look of doubt after she heard all this. Even if that was the case, people should have attempted entering the Geyser Kingdom illegally, right?

    As if knowing what the Crawford Kingdom''s Queen was thinking, Denzell said, "You do not need to doubt my words, Your Majesty. Anyone who lives near the border will know this. Of course, people have tried entering illegally, but they have all been killed without exception."

    "I can''t say much for the rest of the Geyser Kingdom as I am ignorant, but the person guarding the border is very powerful. So powerful that I can confidently say that even if the sect master of Illusory Butterfly Sect and Bloodfiend Sect stood before that person, they would just be ants."

    "You speak like you have seen how powerful this person is, personally," Elizabeth said. If what the elder said was true, then this person was also stronger than herself.

    Denzell nodded and admitted, "The first-generation sect master and ourst sect master were both killed with a single p from that person."

    The elder of the Burning Heaven Sect felt a bit embarrassed as he exposed this part of history from their sect.

    Forget about the first-generation sect master, the previous-generation sect master was a person with body cultivation equivalent to the first stage of Transcendent. The sect was overjoyed when the previous-generation sect master had broken through to this level of strength.

    However, the previous-generation sect master was too arrogant and decided to challenge the rules set by the Geyser Kingdom by illegally crossing the border openly. He gathered the sect to send him off that day.

    The sect had also been confident that nothing would happen since few Transcendents had crossed the borders in the past, albeit while following the regtions. In the end, the sect did not expect that they were sending their sect master off to theherworld, rather than the Geyser Kingdom.

    The elder could still remember the strict and domineering words of that person after pping their previous-generation sect master to death with a single palm.

    "Whether you are Transcendent or mortal, in the Geyser Kingdom, all must respect itsws!" Was what that person had said.

    "What about the people from the Geyser Kingdom? Has anyone crossed the border to enter the Ishaan Kingdom?" Elizabeth asked. She was very intrigued by information on the Geyser Kingdom and paid no heed to the officials waiting on the chance to speak to her.

    "Yes, Your Majesty. There have been few instances where people have crossed the border over to our side, but we could never catch them to learn more about the Geyser Kingdom. However, one of them had spoken a few words to us before we lost sight of them."

    "What did they say?"

    "Crawford guard the west, Geyser guard the east. The person said this with a deep sigh." Denzell answered.

    "Crawford guard the west, Geyser guard the east¡­"

    After hearing this line, Elizabeth fell into deep thoughts.

    "The Crawford Kingdom guard against the beasts of the Wilnds, but what does the Geyser Kingdom guard against?" She mumbled to herself.

    "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave, Your Majesty," Denzell said courtly.

    The elder of the Burning Heaven Sect was a bit impatient to return back to his sect. He had missed out on quite a few days of cultivation time.

    Only by returning to the Ishaan Kingdom could he continue to train in the burning sands of the Ishaan Desert.

    "En. The information you provided had been beneficial. If you ever visit my Capital, I will be a good host and wee you generously."

    "Thank you, Your Majesty."

    Denzell bowed slightly with a cupped fist before taking his leave. After he was gone, Elizabeth pushed the matter of the Geyser Kingdom to the back of her mind. It was something worth looking into once she returns to the Capital.

    Her gaze soon fell on the officials of the Vran Kingdom as she rubbed her chin in thought.

    "Now, what should I do with all of you?"

 Chapter 297 - Searching The Blood Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 297 - Searching The Blood Mountain</h4>

    Once the Queen''s sharp gazended on the group of Vran Kingdom officials, the group of officials all had their heart thumped like the gallop of a thousand hooves.

    The group of officials all stepped forward and offered their salutations with utmost respect and dread.

    "Your Majesty."

    "Where is the king?" Elizabeth asked after giving the group of officials aprehensive look. The king of Vran did not seem to be among them. After a short pause, she added, "Or rather, is there anyone left from the Vran royal family?"

    When the officials heard these questions, their eyes grew red and became stricken with grief as they dropped to their knees.

    "There is no one left¡­ the Vran royal bloodline ended when his Majesty took his own life." One of the officials spoke.

    Elizabeth furrowed her brows at their emotional state.

    The Bloodfiend Sect had terrorized and ruled over the Vran Kingdom for years. If the Vran royal family died out a while back, Elizabeth found it strange for these officials to be so overwhelmed with grief.

    After all, time heals everything, even if scars remain behind.

    It was not like these officials were the king''s lovers or something. There was no need for them to still be so emotional, not unless the Vran king took his life very recently instead.

    "When did this happen? And why did your king take his own life?"

    "Yesterday, Your Majesty¡­ The king took his own life just yesterday. The king''s family had been held captive by those bloodsucking fiends many years ago. When the Burning Heaven Sect arrived to help, we led our forces up the Blood Mountain and ughtered the rest of those monsters."

    "However, when the battle was over, and we went to look for the king''s family¡­" At this point, the official tightened his fist and gnashed his teeth. "Those people were not humans. They never intended to keep their promises. The king''s family had long departed the world. Their heads were hung in front like trophies."

    "Don''t be too hard on yourself. If I had not insistently persuaded his Majesty to lead our forces up the Blood Mountain with the Burning Heaven Sect, his Majesty would not have stumbled upon such a scene and taken his own life on the spot. I am to me for this."

    "Don''t be stupid. I was the closest to his Majesty. I should be the one to me for his Majesty''s death. If I had just been a little faster, I would have stopped his Majesty from taking his own life."

    "You? Don''t be ridiculous. His Majesty''s cultivation was one step away from Transcendence. None of us could have stopped his Majesty when he is vehement on dying."

    The officials med and consoled each other.

    "Enough!" Elizabeth frowned with impatience. "I did note here to listen you talk among yourselves. The Vran royal bloodline has ended. The Vran Kingdom is without its ruler and heir. What will you all do now?"

    The officials nced at each other with a tacit understanding before lowering their heads to the Queen submissively. They simultaneously spoke, "We were hoping you would take over and lead us, Your Majesty."

    "Oh? Don''t tell me that no one among you is interested in stepping up to take the throne for yourselves?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, despite expecting this answer. She did not believe that they did not have this ambition.

    The officials all had wry, bitter smiles when they heard this.

    "Please do not tease us, Your Majesty. Even if one among us has the ambition of a king, if we do not possess the ability of one, we will be leading a path of self-destruction of not only oneself but the kingdom."

    Elizabeth nodded with a pleased look.

    "Being self-aware of one''s abilities is a good thing. Good that you all know that. Very well, the Vran Kingdom will be part of the Crawford Kingdom. Henceforth, there will no longer be a Vran Kingdom, and you will all be subjects of the Crawford Kingdom."

    After saying this, Elizabeth swept everyone a look. "Does anyone have a problem with what I said?"

    "None, Your Majesty."

    The officials all lowered heads even more submissively.

    To them, the Vran Kingdom was a thing of the past and had only existed in name ever since the Bloodfiend Sect took over the kingdom. Under their tyrannical control, there was no Vran Kingdom and only a Bloodfiend Sect.

    The Queen was simply making this official with her statement. They were more epting of this change. Compared to the inhuman Bloodfiend Sect, being under the Crawford Kingdom''s ruling was a better choice.

    "We pledge our loyalty to the Crawford Kingdom and the Crawford royal family to who we serve."

    "Very good!"

    Elizabeth pped her hands together and gave them another look before asking, "Who among you had the highest official rank in the kingdom?"

    There were shuffling movements among the group of officials as they separated, and nced at a single person among them. The person subjected to their stares was the person who med himself for persuading thete king to lead the forces up the Blood Mountain, the royal advisor.

    "Ahem." The royal advisor coughed. "That would be me, Your Majesty. I was the royal advisor for thete Vran King."

    "I see. You shall be in charge while I am away. The army will be left here for you tomand."

    "Yes, Your Majesty." The royal advisor bowed.

    Elizabeth turned to the rest of the officials and said, "The rest of you will work with him to return stability to the kingdom and record every problem you encounter. I want to see aplete report the next time I return. Is that understood?"

    "Yes, Your Majesty."

    "Good."

    Elizabeth prepared to take only a handful of troops from the army and head up the Blood Mountain with Aria and Lynne.

    "Hold on, Your Majesty." The royal advisor said after a slight hesitation.

    "What is it?"

    "Are you returning to Capital? Will you not stay for a bit longer? What should we do about the Durham Kingdom?"

    "Leave them be for now. You have the army to help you stabilize the kingdom and guard the Vran-Durham borders. Deal with things ordingly in my absence, understood? I need to return for some urgent matters, so no, I will not be staying." Elizabeth said decisively.

    "Yes, Your Majesty." The royal advisorplied with a slight bitter look. After the Queen left with her small group, the royal advisor nced at the group of idle officials. "Well, you all heard the words of her Majesty. Time to get to work."

    "Yes, sir."

    Everyone scurried back to the pce and became busy at once as they begin looking into matters that needed attention.

    After Elizabeth left with herpany, she headed straight to the Bloodfiend Sect headquarters on top of Blood Mountain.

    There were no corpses on their path, and only dried bloodstains left behind amidst the peach blossom. Everyone wore heavy looks as they passed numerous stake-impaled skulls along the way.

    They quickly found them were to the main square where arge pile of scriptures and scrollsid among other items used by the Bloodfiend Sect.

    After a quick skim through one of the scrolls, Elizabeth tossed it back into the pile and ordered the troops to burn everything.

    Perhaps there might have been something useful amidst the pile, but Elizabeth did not entertain any thoughts of taking any of these filthy techniques and treasures back. She did not want to see another Bloodfiend Sect.

    "Search the area and see if there''s anything left hidden. Report back to me if you find anything. Go, be quick!" Elizabeth gave out the orders to the 500 soldiers that followed her.

    Noticing the impatient tone in Leon''s mother, Aria asks, "Is there something troubling you, mother?"

    Elizabeth gave her a slight warm smile before she nodded with a solemn look. "En, the Sect Master of the Bloodfiend Sect is still alive and missing. I have this nagging feeling that something bad will happen back at home. We have to hurry back after we are done here."

    "What are we looking for here?" Lynne asked, thinking they would have already left if they were not searching for something in this ce.

    "I''m not exactly sure myself. I have this feeling that there may be some deep secrets contained within this ce. The technique practiced by the Bloodfiend Sect is very diabolical and harmful to human life. Considering the current situation of the Human Domain, who would create such a technique? This is something worth looking into."

    "Come, we will head to the library to look. We might be able to discover something there¡­" Elizabeth said to Aria and Lynne.

 Chapter 298 - A Deal With The Vengeful Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 298 - A Deal With The Vengeful Spirit</h4>

    Back in the Capital.

    Having finished with the array''s modification, Leon began to tackle the next set of problems that follows.

    If he wanted to use Teleportation Array and make the return trip after he was done on the other side, he would have to make sure that there was sufficient energy.

    As it stands, he could not afford to wait until the two gathering formations collect the required amount for both trips. Sacrificing the vengeful spirit also seemed like a waste.

    Although he could not trust the vengeful spirit, it was not like he did not have any methods to guarantee his safety.

    Considering he would not be able to bring others to the other side to help him look for the missing people due to the dark miasma, the vengeful spirit might prove useful in this regard if he can subdue it.

    Leon had taken a few Heavenly Crystals, or rather Transcendent Crystals from treasury just in case. The Transcendent Crystals on him definitely had enough supplementary energy for the array.

    However, he was still worried about another matter.

    The demonic energy contained within the Demon Cores came from different demons, making them violent and unstable. As such, continuous usage would cause wear and tear in the formations and array regardless of his modification.

    Although a spatial copse was no longer possible thanks to his modification, it would still be troublesome if the Teleportation Array suddenly breaks down while he was on the other side.

    Yes, it would only be troublesome at best. With Leon''s current knowledge, he could recreate another Teleportation Array to send himself back.

    But the problem with this was, it would require some umon materials and effort to set up the array, something he could not afford to waste his time finding in uncharted territory where safety and danger would be separated by a thin thread.

    As such, it was better if he could swap demonic energy out for another more ideal source of energy, something like spirit energy, which was generally used for everything back in the Divine Realm.

    Leon briefly paused at this thought.

    It had been several days since he left the Grasnd Region. Considering the capabilities of the World Tree, spirit energy would have reached a certain level of density and spread out to other regions by now.

    To verify this guess, Leon exited Lost Isle Alley straight from the hollow center, flying to the top of the triple building andnded softly on the sturdy frames of branches holding the structure together.

    Eyes closed and sense extended outwards, Leon begun to feel spirit energy level in the surrounding atmosphere.

    A few momentster, he reopened his eyes with a sigh. The spirit energy level had risen a few degrees and was no longer as scarce as previously.

    However, the amount of spirit energy in the Capital was a far cry to what he needed to keep the Teleportation Array up and running.

    "It seems I will need to make a quick trip to the World Tree." Leon mused to himself.

    This was just right. He needed to check up on the others back there anyway. Also, news of the frontlines reaches the Grasnd Region faster than it would reach the Capital.

    He could also get a clearer picture of the current war situation.

    "But before that, there''s something else I need to settle first."

    Leon stopped by the edge of the building and peered back down into the darkness of Lost Isle Alley, like he was looking at the well below directly. This was just an illusion. He could not actually see through that cover of darkness.

    Although he could alter the formation''s functions to disperse the darkness, the faint miasma would harm the citizens living in the nearby area if they were to unknowingly inhale it.

    Furthermore, the darkness makes a good cover from prying eyes. With that in mind, it was better to leave the darkness alone, for now.

    Leon stepped forward into the empty air, and his body slowly descended back down to Lost Isle Alley. He made his way directly to the center well after his feet touched the ground.

    Leaning forward, Leon stared straight down the dark well and said, "Yo, I''m back again. You awake down there?"

    The vengeful spirit shackled at the bottom of the well opened her eyes. The proximity of Leon''s voice made her rather excited.

    "It''s you again? Why did youe back? Are you going to help out this time?"

    "Well, I could. But why would I do that? Didn''t you threaten to kill if you were able to get outst time?"

    "W-When did I say that? Howe I cannot recall saying such a thing happening? I don''t think there is any enmity between us that would warrant your death. Besides, isn''t it too much to threaten the person that might be able to help me?"

    The vengeful spirit appeared shocked at Leon''s usation. At the same time, Leon had his brows furrowed as he surely felt there was a problem with this vengeful spirit''s head¡ªNo, mind.

    "In any case, that was what you saidst time."

    Leon shrugged his shoulders nonchntly.

    The vengeful spirit wracked her memory, but she still failed to recall such a thing as a section of her memory was nk. She fell silent, feeling both wronged and depressed.

    "Well, it''s not impossible for me to help you. However, I have a few conditions you must ept for that to happen."

    The vengeful spirit''s eyes lit up, and without hesitation, she said, "I will ept those conditions!"

    "You will? Even when I have yet to tell you what those conditions are?"

    "It doesn''t matter. I have been trapped down here for so long. I will do anything if it means I can leave this ce instead of just waiting to die." The vengeful spirit said determinedly.

    Leon was intrigued and asks, "Even if it means limiting your freedom?"

    "This¡­ what are your conditions?" The vengeful spirit asked with embarrassment.

    "The first condition is you are not allowed to indiscriminately harm humans without a justifiable reason. The second condition is you need to apany me on a trip and help me save some people. Thest condition is you need to open your spiritual sea and allow me to leave a blood imprint on your soul core."

    "I can agree to the first two, but what do you mean by the third condition?" The vengeful spirit asked warily.

    The soul core was the most vulnerable part of her existence. If Leon damaged her soul core, it would greatly hurt her if it did not kill her outright.

    "I do not trust you, so I need some guarantee. This would allow me to destroy your soul core with a single thought if you were to even have the intention of betraying me." Leon said coldly.

    Blood Imprint was the mostmon method of enving people. It wasmonly used everywhere in the Divine Realm, except histe father''s Divine Kingdom, the kingdom of medicine.

    His father had looked down on such a technique because it can make a person do their every bidding, but it will not earn their loyalty.

    However, if histe father, the Divine Medicine King, had used the Blood Imprint on his subordinates, how would they have had the chance to betray them?!

    The vengeful spirit was silent for a short while before it voiced its agreement.

    "Alright."

    "Are you sure? There''s no going back after this." Leon tried to sound out the vengeful spirit in case it was ying tricks on him. Perhaps he was overly cautious, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

    "I am sure! Hurry up and get it over and done with! I want to get out already!" The vengeful spirit urged him with gritted teeth.

    "Alright."

    Leon smiled and drifted down the well. He waved his hand and used Divine Will to part away the darkness gathered at the bottom of the well.

    Although he did not need to wave his hand to use Divine Will, he found that it was less taxing on his mental energy this way.

    Leon made sure he did not touch the formation at the bottom of the well as he did not want to be ensnared by its shackling chains like the vengeful spirit.

    A Peak Tier 4 formation like this one was able to trap almost every Seeking Insight level Transcendents and below.

    "Open your spiritual sea," Leon said expressionlessly after producing some light on the tip of his finger.

    The vengeful spiritplied soundlessly withoutint as a rift to her soul core opened on her forehead.

    Leon bit his thumb and produced some blood essence before allowing it to float in front of himself as he made some hand seals and separated a part of his divine sense and added it to the drop of blood essence.

    After this was done, he sent the drop of blood essence into the vengeful spirit''s sea of consciousness and imprinted it on her soul core.

    "It''s done."

    The vengeful spirit was quite nervous, but after hearing Leon''s words and sensing nothing wrong with her soul core, she was relieved. Her mood quickly improved as she excitedly said, "Help me now."

    "I will."

 Chapter 299 - Ill Be Okay!

    <h4>Chapter 299 - I''ll Be Okay!</h4>

    Having sessfully nted the Blood Imprint on the vengeful spirit, Leon would naturally carry out his side of the deal. He did not need the vengeful spirit to tell him twice.

    "Wait a minute."

    Leon lowered his gaze onto the Peak Tier 4 formation below and began to search for the eye of the formation. Every formation had one. It is where the core runic circuit of formation is located.

    Once the eye of the formation is located, deactivating the Peak Tier 4 formation would be as easy as turning over one''s hand, just like Leon had done with the Tier 4 Teleportation Array.

    It only took a few breaths for Leon to find the eye of the formation. Once he saw it, he sent out a wisp of energy into one of the core circuit''s runic lines and made it flow in reverse. The formation was shortly deactivated, like turning off a switch after it was short-circuited.

    The ck chains that once shackled the vengeful spirit soon lost their solidity and loosen their constraints. They slowly faded until they ultimately disperse into the darkness like ashes in the wind.

    Leon had his guard up immediately as the vengeful spirit''s figure blurred and disappeared. The vengeful spirit was not trying to attack him. It simply shot out of the well to enjoy its moment of freedom.

    "Ahhh~! I am finally free! How long has it been since I was able to move this freely?"

    The vengeful spirit was ecstatic, hopping, and skipping around with great joy and celebration like a little girl. Seeing the vengeful spirit like this, Leon could not see it as something that would be regarded as evil.

    What is good? And what is evil? Was this not something humans came up with? Perhaps he had treated the vengeful spirit too unfairly.

    The demons were considered a type of extremely evil race by the Divine Realm and hated by the myriad races. This was without a doubt.

    However, this did not mean every demon is evil. There were also good demons among them, albeit extreme few and in between.

    If even demons can be good, why can''t vengeful spirits?

    Leon shook his head as he flew out of the well.

    "Do you have a name?" Leon asked with a soft tone.

    "Hmm¡­ I think I did have one a few hundred years ago." The vengeful spirit did not notice Leon''s slight change in attitude as she pondered his question. "Ah, I remember now! My name is Lumi."

    "Then, I will call you Lumi from now on." Leon smiled. "You can also just call me Leon."

    "Alright!"

    Lumi hummed before mumbling his name to herself repeatedly like she was afraid of forgetting if she did notmit it to memory.

    Leon shook his head, thinking that if people did not know Lumi was a 400-year old vengeful spirit, they would mistake her for a lovely 16-year old girl.

    "I need to make a trip somewhere. I hope you can behave and stay here until Ie back." Said Leon, suddenly.

    "Hm? Where are you going? Can Ie?" The vengeful spirit asked curiously. She was unwilling to spend another moment in Lost Isle Alley when she had already done so for 400 years.

    Leon pondered for a moment before he nodded, "That''s also fine, but won''t you feel ufortable under the sunlight?"

    "Ah¡­" Lumi''s eyes dimmed slightly, recalling that she was no longer human but a spirit. However, she cheered herself up with a somewhat stiff smile. "I''ll be okay. I''m not that afraid of sunlight anymore."

    As Lumi said this, she made some exaggerated masculine poses to tell Leon that she was very strong. That''s right, she was already Half Corporeal state vengeful spirit.

    Half Corporeal state vengeful spirits were powerful enough to resist sunlight and other yang elements to some degree.

    To vengeful spirits, reaching True Corporeal state was the equivalent of humans achieving Transcendence.

    At the True Corporeal state, they were no longer semi-translucent and appear no different from any other humans. Sunlight no longer poses a problem for them at this point.

    But while Lumi was still Half Corporeal, it is enough to make even knowledgeable Transcendents, wary of her existence. This is because vengeful spirits specialize in soul attacks, making it hard for others to guard against their attacks.

    The Banshee''s Scream was one such soul attack. It can stun people by shaking their souls directly.

    This is also the reason why Leon was so wary of a Half Corporeal state vengeful spirits. They might not be as strong as Transcendents, but they were more troublesome to deal with than Transcendents.

    Leon had his considerations for allowing Lumi to tag along. He did not know when Lumi''s other personality might take over and go on a rampage. It would be a disaster if he were not present to prevent it.

    "Let''s go then."

    "Okay!"

    Leon gave a light smile.

    Making their outside, Faelyn and Marquis Haldir immediately greeted them.

    "Is everything settled¡ªWho is this¡­ person next to you, Your Highness?" Marquis Haldir said with a rather startled look. The sunlight evidently made the vengeful spirit appear more translucent.

    "Are you alright?"

    Faelyn gave Lumi a worried look.

    "Ehehe¡­ It''s a bit hot, isn''t it?" Lumi said with a light chuckle as she fanned herself with both hands.

    Leon also turned to his side for a nce and became speechless in the next moment.

    A little trail of white smoke was seen rising from Lumi''s head.

    "Excuse us for one moment," Leon said before dragging Lumi back into Lost Isle Alley. Lumi was too surprised by Leon''s firm grip on her hand that she did not resist.

    Faelyn and Marquis Haldir gave each other a nce. Obviously, the person they just met was not human, or rather¡­ it was hard to call it a living thing.

    "Didn''t you say you would be okay in front of the sunlight? How was that okay? You were literally burning." Leon admonished with a bit of speechlessness.

    Lumi did not reply. Her thoughts continued to linger on Leon''s hand.

    As a Half Corporeal state vengeful spirit, no human should have been able to grab her so effortlessly like Leon did.

    "Are you listening?"

    "Ah? Yes!" Lumi finally snapped out of her thoughts and answered. She became slightly embarrassed and began to think about the cause.

    "Never mind. I understand why." Leon said with a dull tone.

    Leon did not wait for Lumi toe up with a reason before arriving at his own conclusion. Lumi had be weakerpared to her former peak state. This was due to the formation draining her power.

    Hearing Leon''s tone, Lumi started to panic, thinking Leon was no longer going to allow her outside.

    "What should I do? Are you going to leave¡ª"

    Suddenly, Lumi''s expression became nk before she was able to finish her words. Her pupils became darker, and the surrounding air began to change as malevolent aura spilled out from her body.

    ''It''s happening again!'' Leon thought with narrowed eyes and drew his distance.

    He did not expect for the other personality to switch over at this moment. What exactly was the trigger?

 Chapter 300 - Full Speed Ahead!

    <h4>Chapter 300 - Full Speed Ahead!</h4>

    With deep ck pupils, the ''different Lumi'' casually surveyed her surrounding with a careful look before proceeding to inspect her own limbs. Seeing that she was no longer shackled by demon chains, she broke into a wide grin.

    It was not long before her gaze fell on Leon''s general direction. Due to the faint connection established by the Blood Imprint, she immediately recognized Leon.

    "Kukuku¡­ I''ve said this before that if I were to be freed, I will kill you!"

    Having said that, she pounced towards Leon.

    Leon was prepared for her attack and had already drawn sufficient distance between them. With a single thought, the Blood Imprint on Lumi''s soul core began to vibrate.

    Outside of causing the Blood Imprint to explode, which would immediately cause death, the vibration of the Blood Imprint could torment the soul with soul-piercing pain.

    The vengeful spirit''s attack fell short as it dropped to the ground while hugging its head with both hands.

    "Ahhh! What is happening?! What have you done to me?!"

    "This is the Blood Imprint Lumi allowed me to nt on her soul core! If you don''t want to die, then behave yourself!" Leon said coldly without a hint of mercy.

    This other Lumi was malevolent and evil. Ignoring the reluctance in his heart, Leon will definitely follow through with his words if it forces his hand.

    "Blood Imprint? My sister did? Ahhh!"

    "Your sister?"

    Leon narrowed his eyes into slits as he picked up some interesting information.

    The other Lumi resisted the pain and got back onto her feet before staring back at Leon with murderous eyes. She did not answer him.

    "What kind of damn thing is a Blood Imprint?! You must be the one seeking to harm us! I will kill you!" The other Lumi said while gnashing her teeth with great hatred and killing intent.

    "Us?"

    Leon frowned and increased the intensity of Blood Imprint''s vibration, causing the other Lumi to fall back onto one knee.

    "I won''t deny that the Blood Imprint is a vile technique, but we had a deal. Lumi epted the Blood Imprint for my help. I was the one who freed you!"

    "What are you even saying? You were the one that freed us?" The other Lumi shook her head vehemently and spoke, "Arghh! I don''t know anymore! I don''t get it at all! I''m going back!"

    Soon, the malevolent aura dissipated, followed by Lumi''s scream.

    "Ahhh! It hurts! I don''t know what I did wrong, but I''m sorry!"

    Leon hurriedly stopped the Blood Imprint from vibrating, but Lumi could not endure the pain like her ''sister'', fainted.

    Leon caught the copsed Lumi as his brows were furrowed with questions. He felt that Lumi''s condition was not as simple as a mental disorder like a split personality but something moreplex.

    Furthermore, the good Lumi seemed to be aware of the good Lumi, but the good Lumi was unaware of the evil Lumi. It even referred to Lumi as its sister.

    It appears that Lumi was someone with a story to tell. He was not so self-centered as to believe that he was the only one with a tragic past. In fact, he was considered more fortunate than most people.

    "Now, what should I do with you?" Leon spoke to himself as he stared at the unconscious Lumi in his arms.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon exited Lost Isle Alley alone. Lumi was nowhere in sight. Marquis Haldir was the first to step forward. Strangely, his first words were not about the vengeful spirit.

    "Are you done with everything here, Your Highness."

    "For now." Leon nodded before saying, "I need to make a quick trip to the World Tree."

    The Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn were no interested in prying about the vengeful spirit if Leon did not bring up the matter. However, once Leon mentioned a trip to the World Tree, their eyes immediately lit up.

    "You''re going to the World Tree? Really? Can Ie?" Faelyn asked excitedly.

    Marquis Haldir did not say anything, but it was clear that the Supreme Elder was also interested in tagging along.

    "Are you quick on your feet?" Leon gave Faelyn a nce, wondering where she would slow him down if he was to bring her along. He was only going to collect some spirit energy for the Teleportation Array.

    "Are you going to say no if I say I''m not?"

    "Yes," Leon said straightforwardly.

    "Then the answer is I am," Faelyn said shamelessly.

    "¡­"

    Leon was somewhat speechless.

    He could tell that Faelyn was not a fast runner. She would not have asked that question otherwise.

    As he was wondering what to say, an arriving airship in the sky caught his attention. This airship came from the east and carried quite a fair bit of civilians. At this moment, the airship was heading straight for the workshop tower.

    Considering the workshop tower only had four docking bays on its top floor, there was nowhere for the airship tond. All four docking bays had been wholly upied.

    Apart from the Lancaster''s transport airship upying one bay, the other three bays were upied by one newlypleted airship and two other airships in the making.

    Leon gave Faelyn a smile and said, "Alright, we''ll be taking the airship to the World Tree. If you don''t need to prepare anything, we leave right away."

    "If you were going to take the airship, why did you need to ask if I was quick on my feet?" Faelyn asked with confusion, before adding, "Oh, I get it. You don''t want me to tag along, right? That''s how it is, isn''t it?"

    "That wasn''t it. I only thought of it just now." Leon shook his head and admitted bluntly.

    An airship travels much quicker than any steam-powered vehicles, but it was not muchpared to Leon''s own movement speed. However, the travel speed of an airship could increase drastically with good wind.

    A bit unsatisfied with Leon''s answer, Faelyn still had no choice but to ept it.

    "Fine." Faelyn pouted and said, "I don''t need to prepare anything. How about you, Supreme Elder?"

    "I''m good to go." Marquis Haldir answered with a light smile.

    "Then let''s head over to workshop tower to borrow an airship," Leon stated, before turning to a pce guard. "I''m counting on all of you to guard this ce well during my absence."

    "You can leave it to us, your Highness!"

    "Good! I''ll be leaving then."

    "Have a pleasant trip, Your Highness."

    The pce guards saw them off.

    ¡­

    "Father-inw, I need to borrow one of your airships to go somewhere far." Leon immediately made the request upon arriving at the workshop tower with the Supreme Elder and Faelyn.

    "This brat¡­ You onlye to visit me whenever you need anything." Ignis grumbled withint.

    Leon gawked with guilt and embarrassment. He scratched the side of his cheek and prepared to apologize, but the Duke stopped him and said, "Never mind that. You''re a busy person, I understand. Hmm¡­ the timing is just right. The new airship needed a test flight anyway."

    "However, you will need a crew to help you pilot the new airship. I suppose I need to arrange this for you too. Am I right, boy?" The Duke asked.

    "Yes." Leon smiled wryly with awkwardness.

    "Alright, just sit around and wait a bit. I''ll have it done in a jiffy."

    Half an hourter, the Duke saw the new airship take off into the sky with his wife, Amelia Lancaster, by his side. They were rather moved that the newly installed levitation stone was working well.

    The first official working levitation stone reproduced by them!

    As the airship slowly rose, particles of light could be seen gathering towards the airship. The runic mechanism on the levitation stone was working in full throttle, transforming the light particles into avable artificial spirit energy to enable its anti-gravity function.

    It did not take long before the airship reached an altitude of 500fts in the sky.

    ¡­

    On the airship''s deck, the crew''s captain turned to Leon and asked, "Where are we heading, Your Highness?"

    "We are heading to the World Tree. You don''t need me to tell you where that is, do you?" Leon said with a joking tone.

    "Hahaha, surely you jest, Your Highness." The airship captainughed.

    The World Tree was so big, it could be seen from several tens of thousand miles away, let alone several hundred miles away. Only a blind man would not know where it is.

    Shouting out several orders, the rest of the crew got to work, feeding the coal into thebustion chamber to heat the boiler and work the steam engine as the airship propellers begin to spin.

    The captain spun the helm, and the airship turned its head towards the direction of the World Tree.

    "If you may, I''m in a hurry, Captain," Leon said.

    "Understood, Your Highness." The airship captain said before shouting, "Full speed ahead!"

 Chapter 301 - Fortune Favors The Bold?

    <h4>Chapter 301 - Fortune Favors The Bold?</h4>

    Amidst the piles of ck ash and rock-solid soil of the underground space below the dormant World Tree, pce guards and regr soldiers alike gathered before several simple constructs of rope lifts that could take them back to the surface.

    Their group was tasked with exploring the unknown underground and collecting various items of value from this designated region.

    Few archeologists dedicated to the study of ancient history and relics were transferred over from the Capital to join them during this period while the rest of the kingdom was busy with other concerns.

    Lilith had be especially popr among these archeologists due to her profound knowledge of the ancientnguage.

    The archeologists relied heavily on Lilith for simple trantion of the ancient texts and relics unearthed in the underground and did not discriminate against her for being a beastkin.

    Over time, Lilith was nominated as the head archeologist of their exploration group and enjoyed great respect from the archeologists despite her young age.

    In any, when a person is passionate about their area of study, they do not concern themselves with the seniority of one''s age and only have respect for the wiser.

    To them, greater knowledge was the true representation of seniority and not age. The group of archeologists was precisely like this.

    Lilith felt like she had found a ce among the humans and fitted right in, but she knew that her current treatment and privilege were all thanks to Leon.

    As she thought about Leon, she felt warm and gratified. She wondered what Leon was up to and when he would be returning to the World Tree.

    "Stay in line and stick to your group! Do not fall out of order! There is no need to rush. Everyone will get their turn to use the rope lift!"

    A pce guard strictly warned to keep the rowdy bunch from falling into chaos.

    During this exploration and excavation period, there were two instances where they had overloaded the rope lift and caused a bunch of injuries due to the vine rope of the rope lift snapping.

    It was fortunate that the ident urred rtively early. Otherwise, no one would have been able to survive the full dive of over 3000fts.

    Watching the rope lifts finished their returning descent, a pce guard said, "The rope lifts are back. The next group may proceed forward to use the rope lift. I do not think I need to mention this again, but please follow all the safety precautions to prevent another ident."

    No one stepped forward after the pce guard made his announcement, causing the pce guard in charge to frown slightly.

    "Group Three, that is your call. Please proceed to use rope lift!"

    Everyone began to look around with confusion when no one stepped forward after this second call.

    "Sir, Group Three is not here." An ordinary soldier from the crowd informed.

    The pce guard was displeased, but that was about it. Group dys were a regr urrence as the subterranean world was dark without sunlight and challenging to keep track of time.

    "Alright, Group Four may proceed to use the rope lifts." The pce guard strictly issued.

    The depths of the subterranean world were unknown, and they could not ount for every danger lurking.

    That being said, a list of designated zones that were considered rtively safe has already been established. As long as no one left this designated zone, no punishment would be meted out for tardiness.

    "Nice, it''s our to turn to leave. Let''s go, everyone." Said a person within Group Four.

    Large leather and hard grass-woven bags were seen being carried in each of their hands. These bags contained various items ranging from ancient relics, Transcendent Crystals, and books to ck ashes, exotic earth soil, and identifiable clumps of alloys.

    As every group eventually made their way back to the surface and hand in their loots to keep inventory, they were returned to their camps to prepare for dinner and rest for the day.

    "Thank you for your hard work, Howard. Was there any problem with today''s work?" A pce guard asked, seeing how the pce guard in charge of the underground returnedter than usual.

    The pce guard, Howard, smiled wryly and retorted, "What hard work? All I did was stand around, giving orders all day. I''d take this job over looking after his Highness any day. There wasn''t any problem, Jack. Just Group Three being tardy again."

    "Group Three? Them again?" Jack wrinkled his brows and said, "Might as well let them spend the night down there. That will teach them not to bete again."

    "That was exactly what I was nning." Howard smiled.

    The two pce guards talked as they made their way over to the storage area. This was where all the loots were packaged into crates and stored away after they had been ounted for.

    "We have collected quite a lot of items from the underground, haven''t we? There isn''t much room left. We might have to expand the storage area." Howardmented as he nced at the crates stacked as high as twice his own height.

    "Nah, that probably won''t be necessary. I heard we will be getting an airship to transfer these goodies back to the Capital tomorrow." Jack exined.

    "Airship? Are you talking about Brigadier General Rohan''s airship? The one carrying a bunch of survivors from Eastfell City?" Howard asked.

    "Actually, I heard the airship belongs to General Marquis Hendrick, but yeah, that is the one. There aren''t that many airships left in the kingdom." Jack answered.

    The two pce guards soon engaged in idle chat as they made their way back to the main camp.

    ¡­

    At another location, deeper within the subterranean world, a group of explorers was venturing through a narrow earthen passage while holding brightly lit oilmps.

    These people were all from Group Three.

    "Dammit, I knew we shouldn''t have listened to you and try to explore the ant holes. Look at where we are. Lost! We arepletely lost! Should have known when the higher-ups made this ce prohibited!" One of the soldiers in the group scowled.

    Group Three were part of the explorer''s group. They were tasked with finding new passageways and undiscovered areas in the subterranean world. However, they were also aware implicitly aware that the ant holes were off-limits.

    Nevertheless, they had entered an ant hole to try their luck. Only with sufficient contribution points would they be able to exchange for Transcendent Crystals.

    The king had introduced a contribution system with Transcendent Crystals as one of the many rewards. This was to ensure the explorers'' loyalty while they work to unearth the countless treasures waiting for them in the subterranean world.

    Everyone was aware that this was part of a scheme to strengthen the kingdom and match the country''s ongoing rapid development.

    It was a hard-toe-by opportunity to get their hands on the Transcendent Crystals without breaking thew. They could not let the opportunity slip past their fingers. It would be toote for regrets once the Transcendent Crystals were removed from the contribution exchange list.

    "You can''t me me for this. This was what we had all agreed to do. Only by making big discoveries would we be able to earn swift contribution points to exchange for good cultivation resources." The group leader said coldly.

    "What the group leader said is correct. We should be figuring out how to get back rather than point fingers." Another person defended the group leader.

    Like the group leader had said, they would not have entered the ant hole if they had not all agreed to do it. This is because they all had the same thoughts at that time.

    Fortune favored the bold!

    "Sigh, there''s something wrong with these passageways. I''m sure that we had marked our way here, but these marks had all disappeared." Another member of Group Three pointed out the crux of their problem.

    Everyone frowned with heavy hearts at this reminder.

    There were far too many connecting passageways within the ant holes, making the ce one massive maze. They were smart enough to leave marks to help them find their way back, but they still ended up lost.

    "I think we might have missed the correct path a while back." The archaeologist within the group suddenly said.

    "What do you mean?"

    "The passageways are dark, and our visions are limited by what our lighting shows. It would not have been strange if we had overlooked a crossroad and mistaken for a single passageway." The archeologist exined.

    A few faces became deathly pale at this revtion.

    "Then what should we do? Continue? Or go back?"

    "Hold on. I hear somethinging from ahead of us." The strongest of their group suddenly said. The others turned towards the soldier.

    "What do you hear?" The group whispered.

    "I hear¡­" Suddenly, the person''s face stiffened as he shouted, "Run!"

    "You hear run? What do you mean¡ª"

    Due to the current passageway being slightly wider, the soldier could bolt past the group and escape ahead.

    It was not long before they start to hear the soft but numerous and incalcble tremors. Their faces warped in horror when they listened to the distant ''scree'' sound.

    "Ants!"

 Chapter 302 - Unexpected Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 302 - Unexpected Disaster</h4>

    "How can there still be ants?!"

    Everyone felt their hair rising with goosebumps and trickling cold sweat as they were terrified by the discovery.

    "Who cares why there are still ants! Fucking move it, or we all die!" The group leader bellowed angrily.

    Hearing the reminder, everyone quickly turned around and began running. The group leader, who was at the forefront of the group initially, became deadst. If the group were too slow, he would be the first to die!

    "Which path are we taking at the crossroad?" One of the members hurriedly raised a question. They had not yet reached the crossroad, but it was not wrong to n ahead of time!

    "The left one!" The group leader shouted. Being pressed for time, he did not have the luxury to backtrack the way they went. He could hear the ants closing in fast.

    "Ahhh!

    As they drew closer to the crossroad, they heard a painful scream from the left passageway. Everyone''s faces fell. The voice belonged to the soldier that managed to escape while they were still confused about the danger!

    "Right! Take the right passageway!"

    It was a race against time and a life or death situation. Everyone immediately followed suit and entered the right passageway as they sensed the danger from the left passageway.

    No one cared whether that soldier lived or died in the left passageway. They were not even sure if they were going to keep their own lives! Why would they have the time to care about others?!

    The right passageway led them through twists and turns that were foreign to them. They were made aware that it was an entirely new passageway they had yet to explore.

    "Not good! I remember thest crossroad we passed had three passageways! Why are there only two?!"

    "Don''t tell me it was another crossroad we had overlooked?!"

    "Darn it! What kind of godforsaken ce is it! We should have nevere here!"

    "Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t! We are all going to die!"

    "Shut up and run! If you have the energy to scream, then put some effort into running faster!"

    The entire Group Three was thrown into a chaotic mess when their lives were at stake. Running through a maze of endless and narrow passageways, they felt trapped and enclosed.

    With the threat of death lingering ever behind them, it was enough to make them go crazy as they ran with all their effort.

    At some point, the passageway began to widen enough for them to all run side by side.

    "It''s open space! We made it out of the passageway!" A person celebrated.

    However!

    That celebration was short-lived as everyone''s joy soon turned to despair when the light from the oilmp illuminated part of the vast open space.

    "No! this is not the way we came from!"

    "There are so many ants here! We are really at the end of the road this time." The archeologist said despairingly. Everyone else also felt the same despair, like finding a ray of hope only for everything to juste crashing down rock bottom into the abyss.

    Group Three found themselves surrounded by an army of ants. As the ants screeched agitatedly and pounced on them, the entire Group Three was devoured clean without being able to put up much of a fight. Even their painful screams were drowned out by the noise created by the sea of ants.

    Surprisingly, the bodies of Group Three did not enter the stomach of any of these low-level ants. Ants brought a mouthful of their remains back deeper into the cave with the crunching sounds of bone breaking as they chewed on it.

    After arriving before a humanoid ant thatid on a stone bed, seemingly asleep, the low-level ants each spat out a ball of ground flesh, blood, and bones.

    The humanoid ant was the Ant King that led the attack on the Elder Tree before the tree ascended to the world level.

    Many parts of the ck exoskeletal shells were missing from the Ant King, and numerous cracks were seen in what was left of it. Underneath its ck shell was human-like flesh, stained in blood, not of the color, red, but a yellowy greenish color.

    It may greatly resemble humans, but it was still an ant at its roots.

    The Ant King''s chest rose and fell along with the rhythmic beating of its heart. It was heavily injured, but very much still alive.

    Screeee!

    (Please eat and heal yourself, my King!)

    The ants all urged their Ant King to eat. Eating the blood and flesh of humans could help the Ant King recover swiftly!

    The Ant King was born different at birth, but it gave rise to the most exceptional innate abilities of them all. Whether it was physical strength or recovery, its capabilities far outstripped any other ant the Ant Queen had ever given birth to.

    That is why it is the Ant King! It was the most powerful, and most worthy of leading all the ants!

    When the Ant King was born, the Ant Queen was no more. It died giving birth to the Ant King over 400 years ago, which was also around the same time the Hero King disappeared.

    The Ant King opened its blood-red eyes. It weakly reached out for one of the flesh balls and proceeded to munch on it. It started off slow but began to increase with speed and vigor with every bite.

    After everything offered by the ants was devoured clean, the Ant King''s severely wounded flesh began to heal at an incredible rate!

    Although the Ant King could not recover its broken ck exoskeletal shell, its flesh grew back stronger than ever.

    When the Ant King''s recovery wasplete, the Ant King stood up proudly as a tyrannical aura exploded out from its body.

    Screee!

    (Thank you, my subjects! Now that I have recovered, it is time to take revenge for our fallen kin! Our attacks may have failed, our numbers may have dwindled, but this, for sure, we will be victorious!)

    The Ant Kingmunicated to the ants and infected them with its overwhelming confidence, confidence that came from its increased strength after absorbing the nutrients from the humans!

    Scree! Scree! Scree!

    (Long live the king!)

    (Long live the king!)

    (Long live the king!)

    The ants rejoiced with excitement and frenzy like a group of devoted believers. The base intelligence of ants was not high, but their loyalty was unquestionable. They were all born for one purpose and one purpose only; to live and die for the king!

    ¡­

    At the same time, no one on the surface was aware of what was happening in the subterranean world.

    Lilith was in arge tent with a group of archeologists studying a select few ancient texts and relics, among other items collected from underground. She found a giant white orb but failed to recognize what it was and asked around.

    "What is this thing?"

    "Ah, Lady Lilith, I believe this is¡­ hmm." An archeologist proceeded to exin, but frowned when he also failed to recognize the white orb. "Does anyone know what this is?"

    "Hmm¡­ I''m not sure, but I heard quite a few of those were found on the first underground floor, where it was full of¡­ webs¡­ hmm?" Another archeologist spoke, before recalling something. "Now that I think about it, isn''t this a spider egg? Who brought this here?"

    "What?"

    Lilith faintly felt something squirming inside the ''white orb'' and tossed it away in shock after hearing what the archeologist said. She hates spiders!!!

    "Someone, burn this thing!" Lilith frowned, feeling she had forgotten something very important, but could not quite remember.

    After watching someone burn the spider egg, only to see a spiderling hatch from it and enjoy the fire, Lilith recalled what the important thing was.

    "Oh sh*t!" Lilith cussed in shock and smacked her own head. How could she forget something so important!!! Only she had seen the Spider Queen survive the fire and be human, but she had yet to inform anyone about this!

    ''Lilith, ah, Lilith, why are you so stupid?'' Lilith med herself, believing the human kingdom was going to face another disaster after giving the Spider Queen time to repopte.

    "My word, Lady Lilith. Yournguage¡­" The archeologists were taken aback.

    "Sorry! I must have been hanging out with the soldiers too¡ª"

    Boom!

    Suddenly, the earth shook from a shocking and explosive impact.

    "What was that?! Did something just explode?!"

    "It sounded more like something being struck with great force!"

    Everyone in the tent was confused.

    It did not take long for chaos to break out as sounds of fighting could be heard outside. Heading out, they saw ants swarming out from under the World Tree and waging war on it.

    "Protect the World Tree!"

    Elder Evergreen''s urgent voice was heard. The tree spirit had entered a dormant state and did not retaliate.

    The Ant King frowned when his powerful blow did little to no damage to the World Tree. However, his ruby-like eyes began to glitter when he sawrge numbers of humans on the surface.

    SCREE!

    (Forget the tree and attack the humans!)

    The Ant King issued a powerfulmand to all his subjects across thends. There were so many humans to aid its evolution!

 Chapter 303 - Ant Kings Horrifying Might

    <h4>Chapter 303 - Ant King''s Horrifying Might</h4>

    The battle between man and ant was abrupt and unexpected. No one was prepared for it, and fewer were able to kill the ants.

    The ck exoskeletal shells of the ants were tougher than the hides of low-level beasts in the Wilnds.

    Hundreds of rounds were fired by the soldiers, but not a single ant fell under their barrage.

    The ants appeared unscathed, but there were numerous white marks on their ck exoskeletal shells with a few cracks among them upon a closer look.

    The beast-piercing shells fired by the soldiers were not utterly ineffective against the ants. IF they could concentrate their fire in a single point, they would be able to break through the ant''s hard shells.

    Unfortunately, there were few skilled marksmen amongst the soldiers to make this possible. Theycked both skills and firepower.

    When the ants halted their attacks on the World Tree and began rushing towards the soldiers from the nearby camp, chaos broke out. The soldiers felt despair and the looming sense of death.

    Luckily, there were still pce guards and earth spirits present to hold the fort.

    "Construct an earthen wall to hold them back! We must contain them! Don''t let them break through our line of defense!"

    "Dammit! Why are they not attacking the World Tree anymore?! Why are they going for US?!"

    "It must be the Ant King giving them themand! The Ant King appears to be more interested in us than the World Tree!"

    "Why?! It''s not like we were the ones who ughtered the ants!"

    The pce guards spoke to one another as they used their earthen abilities to raise the earth and erect an earthen rampart to hold back the advances of the army of ants that numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

    With only 10 pce guards on the scene, they were naturally not enough to construct an earthen wall big enough to cover the entire camp quickly.

    Elder Evergreen and his people were able to help with their earth-wood abilities, aiding and reinforcing the earthen rampart.

    "Hold your ground and protect the others! I will take care of these ants!" Elder Evergreen spoke with amanding presence.

    After the earthen wall was finished, Elder Evergreen dived straight into the sea of ants from atop the earthen rampart with a heavily m as rings upon rings of earthen spikes shot out from the ground and smashed into the ants one after another like ripples with Elder Evergreen at its center.

    Some ants were directly impaled to death, while others had their ck exoskeletal shells cracked badly andunched high into the skies.

    One attack, several hundreds of ants, maimed or dead!

    "So powerful!"

    "Is this the true power of Earth Transcendents?"

    The pce guards and soldiers were badly startled and awed by Elder Evergreen''s majestic disy of strength. They gripped their fists with excitement and determination.

    Earth-users were not to be looked down upon!

    However!

    Contrary to what the others were feeling, the elder himself frowned with dissatisfaction. The ripples of earthen spikes only contained a fraction of his power, but it should have been more than enough to kill all the ants targetted.

    Unfortunately, that was not the case! His earthen abilitiescked prative power! Elder Evergreen had miscalcted. Hundreds of years of inaction had dulled his battle senses.

    Elder Evergreen sighed.

    The best way to use the earth is to crush all opponents with its sheer overwhelming weight! But while such methods were efficient for killing, it was also crude and exhausting!

    Elder Evergreen could not use such a method. The Worker Ants and Soldier Ants before him were just small fries. He had to conserve his power for the Ant King!

    Fortunately, Elder Evergreen was not just any Earth Transcendent. He was an earth spirit that had also gained an affinity with the wood element!

    On the Grasnd Region, where the fields of greens stretched as far as the eye could see, every stalk of grass¡ªNo, every de of grass could be used as his weapon!

    A mixture of brown and greenish energy gushed out of Elder Evergreen before seeping into the scattered grass along the ground, destroyed by his earlier attack.

    The grass on the ground was all curled up and listless like broken dolls, but after receiving the elder''s energy, they all became sharp and erected upright like they had just received aphrodisiac¡ªAhem, steroids.

    Elder Evergreen dispelled the many pirs of earthen spikes with a wave of his hands and sent the countless straight des of grass flying into the charging ants like he was tossing knives.

    In that instance, the des of grass proved to be incredibly lethal. With the tenacity of wood, the hardening of earth, the des of grass diced up the ants into countless pieces.

    "Incredible! Such Lethality! I can''t believe grass can do so much!"

    "You are looking at it wrong! It''s because Elder Evergreen is already an almighty Transcendent that grass can produce such results!"

    "Yeah, although I already suspected it, seeing is believing. Elder Evergreen really could manipte both wood and earth!"

    "Ha¡­ You have forgotten that there are still another 500 people from Elder Evergreen''s vige that can also manipte both elements."

    "Who would expect that there would suddenly be so many dual elemental users. Since when did people possessing dual elements bemonce?"

    With Elder Evergreen fending off all the ants, the pce guards directly behind him on the earthen wall had it easy and were able to cheer for him.

    At this time, Lilith arrived with the group of archeologists. Seeing Elder Evergreen fighting alone on the other side of the earthen wall, she said, "I''m joining the battle too!"

    "You mustn''t, Lady Lilith! It is too dangerous! People like us won''t be able to do anything in this kind of battle!"

    The archeologists were shocked by Lilith''s statement. As schrs who have devoted all their time to studying ancient relics andnguage, the archeologists did not possess much fighting prowess. They had rarely ever cultivated.

    Although they were of noble descent, the strongest amongst them were only 2nd step Awakeners, and not even one of them was at the 1styer of Body Tempering realm.

    As someone more knowledgeable in the ancientnguage yet also younger than them, the archeologists all assumed that Lilith did not possess a single ounce of cultivation.

    However, Lilith did not listen to them and directly leaped on the 5-meter high earthen wall and dived straight into the fray.

    The group of archeologists was significantly shocked, but they did not overthink. They chased her up the earthen wall and quickly cried, "Quick! Save Lady Lilith! We can''t let someone as knowledgeable as her d¡ª"

    The words stopped short as the archeologists almost had their eyes popped out of their sockets at the sight of Lilith cracking the head of one Soldier Ant with a single punch.

    Gulp!

    "My Lord! Lady Lilith was this powerful?!"

    "How can a petite body possess such brute strength?"

    The archeologists were shocked silly at the sight of Lilith''s tyrannical fighting style with her bare hands.

    "Please retreat back to the camp. It is not safe for you all to be here." A pce guard said after giving them a sidelong nce. These bookworms might not be so shocked if they learned that the person they much respected was a beastkin.

    In the end, two people fighting on the frontline was not enough to hold back the entire army of ants, unless Elder Evergreen took it up a notch. They were only able to cover one side.

    The ants began to circle around and attack their nks, but Elder Evergreen was not too worried. There were still 500 other people from his vige to fend off the ants.

    Although none of them had reached the Transcendent level, they were not pushovers either. Killing some ants was too easy for them.

    Suddenly, the situation took an abrupt change.

    "Elder Evergreen, look out!" One of the pce guards cried in warning as he barely kept up with the blurred shadow of the Ant King shooting towards Elder Evergreen like a cannonball with his eyes.

    "Hmm?"

    Elder Evergreen had been keeping half his attention on the Ant King by the World Tree and naturally knew when the Ant King made a move. However, he was still surprised by the Ant King''s closing speed.

    "Too fast!"

    Nevertheless, Elder Evergreen was still able to react in time. Stomping the ground, tenyers of sturdy thick earthen walls appeared between Elder Evergreen and the Ant King in a straight line.

    However!

    In the face of absolute strength, the defense conjured by Elder Evergreen disyed little to no effect on stopping the Ant King!

    The tenyers of earthen walls were smashed right through as the Ant King continued shooting straight towards Elder Evergreen without losing momentum.

    Elder Evergreen was greatly shaken. The physical might of the Ant King was more horrifying than he could ever imagine.

    The elder was only able to conjure ast-second earthen armor to protect himself before receiving the Ant King''s full-powered punch with his arms crossed in front of his body.

    Boom!

    The force of the collision was horrifying.

    With bone-crunching noises, Elder Evergreen shot back like a cannonball, smashing straight through the 5-meter earthen rampart behind him.

    His body continued to crash into several soldiers and tents before grinding along the surface of the grasnd. The elder''s body only came to aplete stop after rolling some further distance away.

    Being shot over 300 yards and turning into a broken mess with all his limbs bending in odd angles, Elder Evergreen''s life and death became unknown.

    Everyone was full of fear and disbelief as they cried out loud.

    "Elder Evergreen!!!"

 Chapter 304 - Elder Evergreens Full Power

    <h4>Chapter 304 - Elder Evergreen''s Full Power</h4>

    After taking down the strongest person from the human, the Ant King did not continue to attack and simply nced at the humans on to of the earthen rampart with a teasing, yet bone-chilling smile.

    (I just took down your strongest expert! What will you all do now? Come! Struggle for me, puny humans!)

    Screeeee!

    (Go, my subjects! Kill them all! Today, we feast on their blood and flesh! Tomorrow, we take our revenge on the tree!)

    The Ant King''s cry was not very loud and powerful, neither could anyone understand what the Ant King was saying, but they could sense the killing intent and the omen of death contained within its cry.

    Its arrogance and confidence were practically shooting through the high heavens. The human Transcendent went down in one shot, and the World Tree was not retaliating. Who could possibly be its opponent?!

    Lilith suddenly found herself in a dangerous predicament after Elder Evergreen went down in a single blow. Being the only person left on the battlefield, she quickly decided that she had to retreat back to the earthen rampart as quickly as possible.

    The pce guards were stricken with fear and rooted on the spot under the Ant King''s gaze. They were too terrified to make any sudden movements and even forgot to breathe.

    Only the earth spirit people were still able to move as they fended off the attacking ants and covered Lilith''s retreat.

    "This way, Lady Lilith! We will cover you!" One of them shouted as they worked in unison to impede the ant''s movements with earth and wood maniption. Grass grew to vine-like lengths and restricted dozens of ants as they wrapped and entangle them.

    Behind the rampart, the ordinary soldiers were free the Ant King''s terrifying gaze and were not stricken with fear.

    Part of the group quickly made their way over to check on Elder Evergreen and see whether the elder could still be saved.

    When they arrived, they almost choked with grief when they saw the gruesome state of the motionless elder''s body. It was unknown how many bones were broken, but the numbers would not be small.

    "This is horrible! There''s no way anyone could have survived a blow like this¡­ the elder¡­ he is¡­"

    "Shut up! Don''t say it! Earth-users bolstered the greatest defense while wood-users are known for their great vitality! There''s no way a mighty Transcendent like Elder Evergreen could have fallen from just this!"

    "Just this, you say?! Did you not see what just happened?! That punch was not something a human can withstand! Even being hit by the force of a thousand trucks would not have been as bad as this!"

    "That''s right! That was like being hit by a freaking mountain, man!"

    "Then, are you cursing the elder to death?! Nothing is conclusive yet! Quickly see if the elder is still breathing!"

    The soldiers were divided between optimistic and negative opinions as they red at each other.

    Another portion of the soldiers went to check on the other soldiers that suffered coteral damage from being hit by the flying elder to administer first aid treatment.

    All of them were severely injured by the collision, with several bones broken. Unfortunately, some were hit in fatal areas that broke their neck and crushed their organs. These soldiers died on the spot.

    "Not good. These brothers can no longer be saved. They''re already gone." A medical soldier sadly concluded after inspecting the lifeless bodies.

    "Tend to the ones that can still be saved."

    "Dammit, what the hell was that thing? I''ve never seen anything like it in the [Encyclopedia of Insect]!"

    "It might be an ant that underwent a second mutation, or it might be an evolved form of the ants."

    "Sh*t, this is too horrifying. That thing is too monstrous! How can we hope to even beat it?!"

    Just as they were falling into despair, there was a smallmotion over Elder Evergreen''s side. The soldiers over there were rejoicing when they saw one of the elder''s fingers suddenly twitch.

    "The elder is still alive! Quickly help him out¡ªNo, do it gently and carefully!" A soldier shouted.

    "Cough¡­ No need¡­" Elder Evergreen coughed and said as his body was recovering quickly.

    After opening his eyes, an intense green light burst out, as a tremendous amount of wood energy was gathered towards him in particles of green light.

    The weeds and grass within a 100-yard radius began to shrivel up and die when the elder absorbed all their lifeforce and energy.

    The elder''s body was soon covered in ayer of green light, and all his wounds began to heal at an even more rapid rate.

    Starting with the right arm returning to its correct form, the elder used this avable arm to bend the rest of his limbs back into shape to save time and hasten the recovery process even further.

    After that was done, the elder stood up and cracked his stiff neck with a determined look.

    "Are you alright, Elder Evergreen?"

    "Will you be okay?"

    "Are you going to fight that thing again?"

    The medical soldiers gathered around the elder, asked one after another with a gulping expression as they have never witnessed such insane recovery.

    The elder was practically on the brink of death. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he returned to a perfect state, full of vigor and majesty.

    "I am fine. All of you step back. I was careless just now." Elder Evergreen said with a narrowed look as his eyes burned with battle spirit, and a grand aura began to spread out from his body.

    "Topete with that thing, I should have made ample preparation and gone all-out straight from the start! Step back now!"

    The soldiers all did as they were told and hurriedly retreated a few steps.

    "Haaa!"

    With a great shout, the ground cracked as a towering pir brown, and green light shot out from Elder Evergreen in a surging tide while the surrounding air rippled outwards.

    All the soldiers were still standing too close were forced several more steps backward by the wind pressure generated by the elder''s explosive aura as he channeled his full power.

    The pir of light was the manifestation of all the energy contained within him. As they seemingly surged towards the heaven, the surrounding energy of heaven and earth also gathered and blended into the pir of light.

    "Earth,e!"

    Elder Evergreen mmed his palm into the ground, and the rising pir of light immediately plunge straight down into the field below.

    The earth rumbled, and an enormous amount of earthen mass began to rise from underneath the elder and swallowed him inside. At the same time, a massive crater was formed in the absence of the earth gathered to the elder.

    The soldiers had no idea what the elder was doing, but they soon found their answer as they quietly watched the enormous earthen mass formed the outline of a giant human.

    The earthen masspressed, bing rock-solid and transformed into a colossal rock golem with a pair of glowing green eyes.

    The soldiers were awed at this sight.

    At the same time, they were concerned if the rock golem was mobile and whether the elder could even see or breathe inside, but their worries were unfounded.

    The rock golem took its first step forward, and the earth shook under its sheer weight. It climbed out of the enormous crater and made its way back to the earthen rampart.

    "My lord! I''ve only seen rock golems in picture books for children! I didn''t think I would actually get to see one in real life and one as big as this on top of that!"

    "The gap between Ranked Awakeners and Transcendents is so vast!"

    "Everyone, quickly make way! Getting identally stepped on by the rock golem is noughing matter!"

    "That''s for sure!"

    All the soldiers tried to scurry out of the way, but the rock golem was not moving in their direction. The rock golem was bigger than the camp itself! It would tten the camp and everyone within if it did not circle around it.

    The rock golem moved very slow due to its sheer size and weight, but this spoke volumes of its great power! An attack from a rock golem of this magnitude would definitely be¡­ earthshaking!

    However!

    Elder Evergreen was not finished with the rock golem transformation!

    After the elder controlled the rock golem to step on a fresh patch of grass that had not been withered to death, they proliferated and intertwined themselves around rock golem, like countless bandages.

    With each step taken, a new patch of grass would join the mix and add ayer of greenness over the rock golem until it covered the rest of the body in green.

    By the time this was finished, the colossal green rock golem was already back on the battlefield as it stared down at the tiny Ant King with its glowing green eyes.

    The Ant King looked back at the colossal rock golem with interesting. Unexpectedly, the person behind the rock golem did not die. Does it have the tenacity of a cockroach?!

    Scree!

    (Interesting human, show me what you got!)

 Chapter 305 - Let There Be Wind!

    <h4>Chapter 305 - Let There Be Wind!</h4>

    When the colossal rock golem appeared before the Ant King, Elder Evergreen waste a single moment. As soon as the Ant King finished screeching, the colossal rock golem had already lifted itsrge feet and stomped hard on the Ant King.

    Compared to its initial formation, the colossal rock golem was much more mobile after being equipped by theyer of green grass.

    The force of the stomp generated incredible wind pressure that forced the surrounding ants in the vicinity into the ground like they were suffering from tenfold gravity.

    The Ant King stare up at the imposing feet without a hint of fear or intention to dodge. Instead, the Ant King was bold and full of arrogance. It raised its own arm to receive the colossal stone golem''s stomp with a punch.

    Boom!

    Both attacks connected, and the force of impact generated a seismic shockwave that rippled across the battlefield.

    Web-like cracks formed underneath the Ant King''s feet as the rock golem''s feet were shattered, albeit only a fragment of its entirely, as the rest of the foot proceeded to press into the ground and tten the earth.

    BOOM!

    The second impact was like a p of thunder as the earth quaked with a deafening explosion. Dirt and soil rose into the sky, along with many fractures formed across the region.

    The fractures reached all the way to the earthen rampart and beyond, affecting everyone on it and back at the camp as they failed to keep their bnce.

    However, this was nothingpared to the epicenter of the impact that directly crushed thousands of ants underneath the rock golem''s feet. Tens of thousands more ants were sent into disarray as they were swallowed by the forming fractures in the earth.

    "I thought the Ant King was monstrous enough but isn''t the elder even more monstrous?!"

    "Right? This level of destruction is unbelievable!"

    "I can''t believe the attack would reach all the way here. We should retreat further back!"

    The pce guards and soldiers began to retreat with the earth spirits guarding the rear. Excluding the earth spirits, all the other earth-users within the group could be seen clenching their trembling fists, but they were not trembling because of fear.

    "We can win this! Elder Evergreen will definitely be able to beat that thing!"

    "This is how an earth-user should fight! I''ve been wielding the earth incorrectly!"

    They were trembling from excitement. It was like the mist obscuring their vision had been cleared as they could see the direction to pursue to be a great earth-user.

    After the dust was settled, the few hundred thousand ants could be seen rushing towards the rock golem from the World Tree while a few ten thousand more climbed out of the fractures to join the fray.

    The rock golem could be seen lifting its other feet and stomping down on the ants with another deafening impact, crushing thousands of ants and sending tens of thousands more flying away from the generate air pressure.

    These low-level ants were not deterred by the overwhelming difference in strength. After getting back on their feet, they rushed towards the rock golem and climbed onto it before biting with their powerful mandibles in a frenzied manner.

    Scree!

    Underneath the rock golem''s foot, the Ant King screeched with anger and a hint of helplessness that no one else could hear. It was pinned into the ground in a squatting position, under the rock golem''s immense weight, and could not move.

    It was clear that its strength was greater! So, how can it be stuck in such a sorry state?!

    Scree!

    (How can a superior being like myself suffer such embarrassment from the likes of these inferior humans?!)

    (You have sessfully angered this king!)

    The Ant King''s eyes glowed with a brighter crimson light as its body began to bulge and expand to twice its original size.

    The earth underneath its feet began to crack further as it slowly lifted the rock golem''s feet up with both hands and through the rock golem off bnce with a final push.

    The rock golem fell back with a heavy thud, kicking up another storm of dirt and dust as the Ant King pounced on top of the rock golem and rained down a barrage of punches.

    The low-level ants were unable to damage the rock golem that had been reinforced by Elder Evergreen''s energy.

    Some even had their tough mandibles broken when they snapped at the golem''s hard rocky surface, but under the Ant King''s barrage, the rock golem easily cracked and deformed terribly.

    When Elder Evergreen tried to swat the Ant King away, the Ant King would quickly evade the swing and rain another barrage of attacks until each limb on the rock golem were disabled.

    The rock golem was strong! But it was equally slow! Meanwhile, not only was the Ant King strong, it was equally fast!

    They were not on the same level!

    Lilith showed a worried look while everyone was stunned by how quick the situation changed.

    ¡­

    Standing on the deck of the new airship, while Faelyn and Marquis Haldir quietly enjoyed the scenery from up high, Leon had a frown on his face as he listened to the distant booms that reached them from the World Tree.

    As the airship drew ever closer, these booming noises became more evident to the point that they could feel the rumbling earth despite being high in the sky.

    Only then did the elven princess and Supreme Elder nced towards the direction of the World Tree.

    "Seems like something big is going on over there!" Faelyn pointed ahead.

    Marquis scrunched his brows together and slowly sensed the ripples in the World''s Laws, before saying, "I sense a powerful Transcendent fighting, but I cannot tell who that person is fighting."

    "The Transcendent fighting must be Elder Evergreen. As for who the elder is fighting¡­ we will know once we get there. At the very least, we know something big is happening if Elder Evergreen is the one fighting. We need to hurry over!"

    "Your Highness, the main propellers are already spinning at maximum speed. The airship cannot go any faster unless we have some good wind."

    "Then let there be wind!" Leon said domineeringly.

    "What are you even saying¡­"

    The airship captain was speechless.

    He felt a wave of frustration in his heart as he thought that the prince was being unreasonable. How can there be wind just because the prince says so? The prince was not General Marquis Hendrick!

    The airship captain was ready to talk some sense in the prince when he was quickly stunned silent by what followed.

    Leon had made a grasp of the empty air behind him and brought it forward, after which came a rush of wind pushing against the back of the airship and propelled it ahead.

    Swoosh!

    The airship''s flight speed was directly raised by at least 50%! This was the power of his Divine Will! Bending the world''s elements to his will with a single thought!

    "¡­Your Highness."

    The airship captain gulped and swallowed the rest of his words that got stuck on the tips of his tongue. He looked at the prince with amazement and awe. He had never heard of the prince being a wind-user, but damn!

    The prince was so domineering!

    Leon did not pay any further attention to the airship captain as he faced the front with a troubled look.

    The magnitude of the battle could be felt so far away. Obviously, whoever the elder was fighting was very powerful!

    "Your assistance be needed very soon, Senior."

    "I''ll be d to be at your service, Your Highness¡­" Marquis Haldir said as he slightly bowed with one hand over his chest.

 Chapter 306 - Can You Even Aim?

    <h4>Chapter 306 - Can You Even Aim?</h4>

    In the Grasnd Region, it had not been long since the sun had finished setting. As the darkness of the night swallowed thest traces from the light of day, so did the people feel the darkness swallowing their hearts and sealing their grim fates.

    If Elder Evergreen could not win, none of them would survive.

    The Ant King''s pounding on the defenseless rock golem was like a hammer on their hearts. Each pound would make them sink a little deeper into despair.

    The Ant King was more monstrous than any beast they hade across. Even the Skysilver Beast King would not be as tyrannical as this. These were the thoughts of the few soldiers who had been to the Western Frontier and witnessed the grandeur of the Transcendent beast king.

    Elder Evergreen had suffered greatly under the Ant King''s barrage of attacks. Although the denseyers of earth absorbed most of the damage, the shockwave still reached the elder hidden within.

    It was foolish of the elder to believe that he could overpower the Ant King with his current cultivation.

    Although the rock golem possesses a lot of power, it was too easy of a target with its slow speed. If Elder Evergreen had another choice, he would not have conjured a rock golem to fight.

    There had to be a better way to optimize his fighting potential. His power was too spread out in the rock golem. IF he couldpress everything, his battle potential would rise.

    Unfortunately, Elder Evergreen was helpless in his current state.

    The battered rock golem was the only thing protecting his life.

    If he tried to change tactics while being immobile, he would be giving an opening for the Ant King to finish him off.

    Elder Evergreen brainstormed for solutions but came up with none to get him out of his current predicament.

    ''Haiz¡­ It seems like this old life of mine will end here tonight.'' Elder Evergreen quietly thought while trying to endure the shockwaves from the Ant King''s attacks.

    The people had retreated quite far from the camp. The earthen rampart had been too close to the battle and had already been destroyed by the attacks of the Transcendents.

    Despite being quite a distance away, they could still tell that the situation was not good. The earth spirits were still protecting their rear against the ants going after them, but it was not long before they be surrounded.

    "What to do? What to do? We need to help Elder Evergreen, but we are also too weak to help. Is there nothing we can do?"

    Lilith was anxious, but so was everyone else. They were holding out for now, but if nothing changes, then they were only dying inevitable.

    Buzz¡­

    Suddenly, a low distant droning noise began making its way into the ears of everyone present amidst the sounds of the battlefield and the booming blows of the Ant King.

    Over time, the droning noise became loud enough not to be ignored.

    "Does anyone hear that sound? Where is iting from?"

    "Why are you even worried about that? We should be worrying about how to survive this mess!"

    "Hang on, I think I know this sound¡­ Isn''t this the noise made by airships?"

    The soldiers from the Western Frontier were more familiar with the airships. Once they heard the mention of the airship, everyone''s eyes lit up.

    "An airship ising?"

    "We have reinforcements!"

    "We are saved¡­ or not."

    "Urgh¡­ So, what if there is reinforcement? Who could possibly stop that monster?"

    "Ah¡­ that''s true. Elder Evergreen is the strongest person I ever met, but even the elder is not a match for that thing¡­ sh*t, we are still fucked."

    It did not take long after the soldier''s short celebration that they became dejected once more. Nevertheless, they still searched the sky to locate the direction of the airship.

    ¡­

    In the sky, the airship began to decelerate as it drew closer to the World Tree. Leon stood on the bow with Faelyn and Marquis Haldir as they gazed ahead.

    Princess Faelyn was awed by World Tree, the closer they got. She knew the World Tree was big, but she did not expect to be THIS big. Seeing up close gave a different feeling to seeing from afar. It was an eye-opener for her.

    Marquis Haldir did not express any opinion, but it was also clear that he was also admiring the World Tree. Even the darkness of the night cannot hide its towering grandeur.

    While the two of them had their sights on the World Tree, Leon was pleased with the density of spirit energy in the area. It was vibrant and very suitable for cultivation, but he did not forget he needed to collect arge amount of spirit energy for the Teleportation Array.

    Leon quickly refocused his attention on the more pressing matter at hand.

    Stirring the ck vortex in the depths of his sea of consciousness, the ring of grey energy transformed into spirit energy and traveled through his meridians channels to his eyes. Soon, his eyes began to glow.

    Leon was using [Spirit Eyes] to survey the source of the rumbling earth in the distance below. He quickly located the humanoid ant battering a broken colossal earth golem, but could not tell who was controlling it.

    His sight moved onto the group of humans and earth spirits much further down south. Their situation looked precarious as they were surrounded by ants, but they were actually holding out well.

    He found Lilith among them but did not see Elder Evergreen. His eyes immediately shot back to broken rock golem being battered by the humanoid ant, and his expression became more serious.

    There was no need for him to guess at this point. Elder Evergreen was the one controlling the rock golem.

    As the airship entered the range of the battlefield, or more precisely, the range of the World Tree, the airship was suddenly uplifted with increasing altitude.

    The airship soon broke the limit of 600fts and continued rising without any sign of stopping. Although Leon was surprised, it was not the time to be pondering why the airship was able to break through the altitude limit set by the unknown suppression of the sky.

    "Begin the descent!" Leonmanded.

    The airship captain proceeded to order the crew to slowly lower the power output of the active levitation stone. The airship stopped rising and began making its descent.

    At this point, Leon turned to the Supreme Elder and asked, "What do you think, Senior? Are you able to handle that monster?"

    The deafening booms as the Ant King pummeling the broken rock golem made the Supreme Elder turn stiff with wariness, but he still answered, "My cultivation is low. I''m afraid I am not that thing''s opponent. However, if I team up with that other Seeking Insight-level Transcendent, we might be able to stand a chance."

    Leon nodded, expecting this answer.

    Elder Evergreen was much older than the Supreme Elder and should have been in the Seeking Insight-level Transcendent Realm for much longer than the Supreme Elder.

    If Elder Evergreen were not the Ant King''s match, then the Supreme Elder would not be its match either, but it was as the Supreme Elder had said. If they joined forces, they might be able to stand a chance.

    In the Divine Realm, body refiners always suppress energy refiners of the same realm, but this did not mean that body refiners were infallible.

    "Please help us out, Senior." Leon sped his fist and requested.

    "As you wish, Your Highness." Marquis Haldir slightly bowed with a smile.

    Leon smiled in turn, but his expression suddenly froze midway when he saw the Supreme Elder directly jump off the airship, which was still hovering at about 400fts. Of the five basic elements, wood, water, and earth could not be used to fly.

    ''Did he just force the Supreme Elder tomit suicide? Was the Supreme Elder actually not confident despite what he said and nned for an early grave?''

    These were just passing thoughts before Leon stopped his nonsensical thinking. The Supreme Elder would surely have his own methods to reach the ground safely.

    Sure enough, the Supreme Elder took out a seed from his pouch that quickly grew into arge cloverleaf that helped the Supreme Elder slow down his descent.

    During his descent, the Supreme Elder also tossed out a handful of seeds instilled with his energy at the Ant King.

    Scree!

    (Hmph! I wasn''t nning to y with you neers until I''m done with this one, but since you are in a hurry, I''ll send you off!)

    The Ant King snorted as it turned to Marquis Haldir with grim crimson eyes.

    Just as the Ant King was about to swat away the seeds shooting at him, he suddenly paused. The seeds did not even hit the Ant King. Instead, it shot into the rocky golem just by its feet.

    (???)

    The Ant King nced at the seed before looking back up.

    Scree!

    (Stupid, human. Can you even aim?)

 Chapter 307 - Greater Earth Armament

    <h4>Chapter 307 - Greater Earth Armament</h4>

    "Um, you won''t be asking me to help out too, right?" Faelyn asked after watching the Supreme Elder jumped off the airship.

    "You must be kidding. Neither you nor I will be surviving a hit from that thing. Wouldn''t I be asking you to die?" Leon responded rhetorically.

    "Err, that''s true." Faelyn patted her chest with relief before shing Leon a questioning nce. "Then, what are you doing?"

    Leon was seen stretching his limbs and muscles.

    "I can''t join this level of battle directly, but I can still assist them from the sidelines," Leon said while focusing on the situation below attentively.

    "Will your assist even be of any help at all?" Faelyn doubted.

    Towards this, Leon did notment and just smiled lightly.

    Indeed, even with Leon''s current 9-star Ranked Awakener cultivation, the power difference was too vast for him to hurt the robust body of the Ant King. Heck, he might not even be able to tickle it.

    A Preliminary ession-level equivalent Transcendent beast, or in other words, a Rank 1 Transcendent beast possesses a physical strength of 100 thousand jin and beyond.

    For a powerful creature like the Ant King that was on par with Seeking Insight-level Transcendents, it was a Rank 2 Transcendent and a powerful Rank 2 Transcendent.

    The physical strength of Rank 2 Transcendent beasts and creatures went beyond one million jin. This was far greater than the measly 10 thousand-jin physical strength limits of human Transcendents possess.

    And for a creature to possess over one million jin worth of raw physical strength, it goes without saying that its body would be equally powerful.

    If humans want topete with such monstrous beings, relying on just their awakening cultivation alone would not be enough, not unless they figured out how to utilize their elementalws to their full potential.

    For Leon, who was not even a Transcendent, harming a Rank 1 Transcendent beast might still be within the realms of possibility, but damaging a Rank 2 Transcendent creature like the Ant King was just not possible.

    Of course, this is onlyparatively speaking for hisbat prowess. Whether he had a method of ying Transcendents was an entirely different matter.

    "Che."

    Faelyn pouted and faced away in another direction after being ignored. Shortly after, she saw the situation on Lilith''s side and pointed.

    "Shouldn''t we help those people over there?"

    Leon shed a quick look and shook his head.

    "No, they will be fine for now. They are holding out well. We need to kill the humanoid ant down here if we want to win the battle decisively."

    "Eh, but they will have an easier time if we help them."

    "Then you can head over there with the airship. I''ll be staying over here."

    After saying that, Leon hopped off the airship and used Divine Will to float in the sky.

    Faelyn had her brows furrowed as she had no idea what Leon was nning. People of their level were too weak to provide any form of assistance.

    The Ant King was simply too monstrous, so monstrous it would only take one punch for them and the airship to be done for.

    ncing back at the airship captain on the deck, Faelyn said, "Well, you heard the prince. Take us over there."

    "As you wish, Princess Faelyn."

    The airshipplied willingly.

    ¡­

    After Marquis Haldir threw out the seeds imbued with his power, the seeds shortly grew into long thorny vines that caught the Ant King by surprise as the thorny vines wrapped about the Ant King and entangled it.

    Scree!

    (Foolish humans. Do you think something like this will be able to restrain me? If I want, I can snap this apart just by exerting a little bit of¡­ hmm? This thing is tougher than I thought. Interesting.)

    "Take this chance to escape!" Marquis Haldir shouted to the broken golem while the Ant King was still preupied with the strange thorny vines.

    Elder Evergreen did not waste any time after he was given the opportunity. He quickly withdrew all the energy reinforcing the broken golem back into his body and shot out from the broken golem''s head.

    "Many thanks for your timely help, Fellow Transcendent." Elder Evergreen expressed his gratitude with sped hands afternding besides Marquis Haldir.

    "Never mind that. We need to work together to take that thing down! Do you have a n?" Marquis Haldir asked urgently as he exerted all his power to reinforce the thorny vine entanglement.

    Hearing this, Elder Evergreen became solemn.

    "The Ant King''s is too hard! We need a Transcendent of the fire or metal element to be able to kill it! But if you can buy me enough time, there is something I want to try. If I am sessful, I will be able to handle our defenses."

    The first half had Marquis Haldir furrowing his brows as he was unconvinced, but the second half had his eyes lit up.

    "If you can handle the defense, then I will handle the attack. How much time do you need?"

    "As much as you can give me."

    "Hmm¡­ alright, but don''t take too long."

    Receiving Marquis Haldir''s agreement, Elder Evergreen began his preparation. During the battle with the Ant King, he was able to gain further insights into the Laws of Earth.

    "Earth,e!"

    Countless earthen soil flew towards Elder Evergreen from the remains of the broken golem and stopped just in front of the elder.

    These earthen soil from the rock golem were only rocky under the elder''s reinforcement of earth energy. Once the energy was removed, they had naturally returned to normal soil.

    But they had beenpressed once and appeared clumped together like rubbles.

    "Compress!"

    Elder Evergreenpressed these clumps of earth even further. In fact, he used all his power topress them to the limits of his ability. As they shrank, their density and hardness increased drastically until they turned in countless rectangr-shaped earthen tes.

    After this was done, these earthen testched themselves onto the elder. The overgrown grasses were used like thin ropes as they proceeded to fly over and weave the earthen tes together into a full suit of ancient-style battle armor.

    [Greater Earth Armament]

    Elder Evergreen decided to call it that.

    "This is what you wanted me to buy you time for?!" Marquis Haldir appeared greatly disappointed as he was expecting something big. "How can this possibly be used to defend against the Ant King?!"

    "Don''t look down on this new move of mine. This is my most powerful state yet."

    Elder Evergreen''s eyes glistened with confidence.

    If [Colossal Rock Golem] was conceptualized on attack, then [Greater Earth Armament] was conceptualized on defense.

    Only a fraction of the rock golem mass was used for [Greater Earth Armament], but its weight and defensive capability was not something to be looked down upon.

    The ancient-style battle armor glistened and glowed with a yellowish sheen and appeared almost metallic.

    A ridiculous amount of earth energy had been poured into it, and even now, Elder Evergreen''s power was freely flowing through the battle armor. It was almost like anotheryer of defense made of pure earth energy.

    Elder Evergreen was not lying when he said it was his most powerful state. His power had been too spread before, but now it was allpressed in this tiny frame.

    A simple step forward was taken, but the earth easily cracked under its weight. Marquis Haldir had a change in expression at this sight and was forced to reevaluate the potential of the battle armor.

    Suddenly, Marquis Haldir had another change in expression.

    "Oh, no!"

    Prak!

    The thorny vines snapped, and the Ant King set itself loose from the restraints after losing interest. The thorny vines were tough, but still not enough to hold the Ant King back when it bes serious.

    Scree!

    (Which one of you want to die first?)

    No one understood its meaning, but Elder Evergreen stepped forward and shouted, "Your opponent is me!"

    (Very well. It shall be you then!)

    Boom!

    The Ant King closed the gap in an instance and shot out a punch straight at Elder Evergreen''s chest before anyone could even react.

    Pang!

    The elder could not guard in time and flew over 300 yards away!

    Fast! Too fast!

    Marquis Haldir''s expression was terrible to behold. He was about cuss when he suddenly heard another explosion behind as Elder Evergreen shot back towards the Ant King in a raucous mood.

    "Hahaha! Again!"

    Elder Evergreenughed as his eyes burned with great battle spirit. The blow just now had barely hurt him at all!

    Pang!

    Elder Evergreen struck again, but he had his knees bent in a guarding position. He managed to resist the force of the blow. Still, he was sent 30-yards back with deep trailing marks on the ground.

    "Again!" Elder Evergreen shouted again with glee. The battle armor was holding out well with little to no damage to it and himself. Against an opponent of this caliber, this battle was exhrating!

    The Ant King was incited. In the next 20 exchanges, Elder Evergreen became its punching bag as he was sent flying around continuously by its powerful blows.

    "Oi, oi, oi! When are you going to help?!" Elder Evergreen shouted in panic after a crack finally appeared on his battle armor.

 Chapter 308 - Charred Crispy

    <h4>Chapter 308 - Charred Crispy</h4>

    The Ant King was puzzled how [Greater Earth Armament] could be so sturdy when it was able to pummel the [Colossal Rock Golem] into ruins. The ''human'' it once looked down on had suddenly be so formidable and hard to kill like a tenacious cockroach.

    Nevertheless, [Greater Earth Armament] was not perfected and indestructible. Under the Ant King''s constant barrage of attacks, the ancient-style battle armor started to wear out and cracked.

    After receiving Elder Evergreen''s reminder, Marquis Haldir roared, "Watch my spear!"

    A powerful-looking green spear overflowing with lifeforce was seen in the Supreme Elder''s hand. This green spear was made of several squirming nts intertwined and appear alive. There were numerous small thorny spikes on the spear, and even its spearhead was one menacinglyrge thorn.

    The spear was thrown at the Ant King with high speed after Elder Evergreen retreated.

    The Ant King narrowed its crimson eyes with disdain at the iing spear. Such speed was slow in its eyes and could easily be dodged or swatted away.

    Before the Ant King could p the spear away, the spear suddenly separated into numerous nts and dodged the Ant King''s palm. They squirmed around Ant King and restrained it like the previous thorny vines.

    Scree!

    (This trick again? You do not learn, do you? It does not work on this king!)

    The Ant King screeched with coldness.

    To use the same move twice despite its ineffectiveness, it was clear that it was not being taken seriously! This person was not a worthy opponent. There was no need to waste time on this insect!

    However, Marquis Haldir was not finished.

    "Devour him, my babies!"

    The tips of each thorny vines proliferated into heads of nt-eaters and proceeded to bite at the Ant King with their drooling mouths, full of razor-sharp thorns. Their drool was not real drool, but a type of fluid, filled with paralyzing toxins that help the nt-eaters devour their prey.

    "Watch your spear? How is that a spear?! What kind of nts of those?!" Elder Evergreen widened his eyes at the sight.

    The nt-eaters appear menacing. Unfortunately, it was useless! Instead of tearing away at the Ant King, the nt-eaters looked like they were just nibbling or y biting. Their thorns failed to pierce the Ant King''s skin!

    (A bit interesting, but it is useless!)

    The Ant King grabbed a nt-eater and tore it away with its bare hands. When the nt-eater was ripped apart, it quickly withered and died.

    "No!"

    Marquis Haldir cried with a pained look. These nt-eaters were not just any ordinary nt and were exceptionally rare. Even if he supplied them with wood energy, he would not be able to revive them!

    The nt-eaters were torn apart one after another, and the Supreme Elder became deathly pale at a loss. He had relied on these nt-eaters to fend off Rank 1 Transcendent beasts from the Great Forest of Elvengarde.

    "How can this be?! How can its skin be this tough?!"

    Elder Evergreen dashed forward and blocked a blow from the Ant King while the Supreme Elder was staring nkly into space.

    "If you have any bigger moves, now is the time to used it!"

    "That was my best move!" Marquis Haldir was ashamed. It was as Elder Evergreen had said, only metal or fire Transcendents of the same level would be able to kill the Ant King. Their own attacks were too weak.

    "Take everyone and get as far away from here as possible, while I hold it back! It cannot be killed!"

    Boom!

    Not long after Elder Evergreen made the call, a ck spear dropped in front of Elder Evergreen while a sword dropped in front of Marquis Haldir, followed by Leon''s calm words, "Don''t give up just yet. It might not be impossible. Use these weapons and buy me some time, Seniors!"

    Elder Evergreen looked up and asked, "What are you nning, boy?"

    "You will see!"

    Elder Evergreen shook his head before he was alerted by a sense of danger and quickly grabbed the ck spear to block the Ant King''s sudden attack.

    Leon''s lips twitched when he saw the state of his ck spear after one blow. A ck spear forged with top-grade materials and enchanted with Tier 3 runes were bent out of shape just like that¡­

    "Why are you using my spear to block instead of your armor?!"

    "My bad, boy! It was a reflective action, haha!" Elder Evergreenughed awkwardly as he skidded back from the Ant King''s attack. "But this spear not half bad! Quite durable and the weight feels just right! The sharpness should not be too shabby, right! You can probably kill Rank 1 Transcendent beasts with a weapon like this!"

    "Good weapon!"

    Marquis Haldir praised after a few practice swings with the sword enchanted by Tier 3 runes, before jumping into the fray. His arm blurred in a quick session of shes on the Ant King, before receiving a blow from the Ant King.

    Pang!

    Marquis Haldir sent flying over 500 yards away with mild injuries that quickly healed, but Leon closed his eyes with a pained expression as the sword was also bent out of shape.

    "It seems I need quicklyprehend Tier 4 runes." Leon mused, before shifting his thoughts.

    "Lumi!"

    Leon summoned the spirit girl after flying outside the range of the World Tree. That''s right, Leon had ced the vengeful spirit in his Worldspace. As it was nighttime, it was alright to take her out.

    The poor spirit girl had no idea where she was when she woke up in the Worldspace before she was suddenly kicked out.

    "Eh? Eh?! W-What happened? Where am I?" Lumi looked around with a lost expression. "Ah? Leon? Did you call me just now? Where was I just now?"

    "In my spatial artifact. Alright, never mind that. I need your help right now. Will you help me?"

    Faced with Leon''s solemn request, Lumi, who had yet to adapt to the situation, stuttered, "Eh? O-Okay, what do you need my help with¡ªWoah, what a big tree!"

    As a spirit, she could fly freely. Lumi''s eyes wandered back to the towering presence before they shifted upwards with wide eyes as the World Tree grabbed all her attention.

    "Yes, that is the World Tree. Anyway, I need you to protect me against that thing down there if it attacks me. Can you do that?"

    Lumi peeled her eyes away from the World Tree reluctantly. After shing a look at the Ant King below, she gave Leon a confident, okay.

    "Thanks!"

    Leon took a deep breath with a feeling of refreshment and closed his eyes to recall the inheritance. The condition was right, it was time to test the authenticity of the legends!

    After locking onto a specific image in his memory, his eyes snapped open and waved his hand at the sky with Divine Will. Abundant spirit energy began to gather and transform, en masse under his will as they form the initial shape of a giant spiritual array.

    He once attempted to create a Tier 1 Spiritual Array in the capital, but it failed due to insufficient spirit energy. This time, there was abundant spirit energy in the atmosphere. As such, he was going to go big and form the best attack-type spiritual array he knew!

    Spiritual arrays were divided into tiers by the number ofyers required in their construction.

    For the spiritual array Leon was constructing, it needed threeyers! It was the Tier 3 spiritual array, Heaven''s Wrath, that he received from the inheritance.

    After the first big spiritual array was formed, Leon became more proficient and created the following two, subsequently smaller spiritual arrays in quicker session.

    "Start luring it over here!"

    Leon called out the two elders fighting the Ant King with their life. Elder Evergreen and Marquis Haldir were quick to react as they retreated in his direction.

    As the Ant King got close, Leonbined the threeyers of spiritual arrays to activate the Tier 3 Spiritual Array, Heaven''s Wrath.

    Dark clouds were formed above the spiritual array, and many more clouds in the skies were drawn over. As the dark cluster grew bigger, the crackling sounds of thunder could be heard within. A threatening sense of annihtion was spread to all who stood beneath.

    The Ant King stopped abusing the two humans and nced up with caution, only to see Leon shing it a provocative smile.

    Leon had no other choice but to resort to this. He needed to provoke the Ant King''s pride and stop it from escaping. At the same time, the spiritual array required more time to gather power.

    Spirit energy was poured continuously into the spiritual array and transformed into cracking lightning, full of destructive power.

    Scree!

    (A puny human like you dare to look down on this king?!)

    The Ant King was incited by Leon and flew straight towards Leon with an almighty jump. It could tell Leon was the source of the dark clouds gathering. He did not need to escape. He just needs to kill this puny human, and the problem would resolve itself.

    "Lumi!"

    The spirit girl had been watching and immediately used Banshee''s Scream.

    "Rahh!"

    The Ant King had no means of defending itself against such a bizarre attack. The soul attack struck its soul directly and shook it greatly.

    The Ant King was stunned and narrowly missed Leon as it continued its upward momentum, almost reaching the spiritual array in the sky before crashnding with a boom!

    Soul attacks had always been the bane of pure body cultivators. After this failure, the Ant King would surely try to escape, and no one would be able to stop!

    "Everyone, get out of the way!" Leon warned.

    Although the Tier 3 spiritual array was not fully charged, Leon could not afford to wait any longer after the two elders escaped to a safe distance while Lumi went into his Worldspace.

    "Heaven''s Wrath, Unleash!"

    BOOM!!!

    A thick beam of light shot down like tribtion lightning and ripped the earth asunder with its thunderous power of annihtion.

    The Ant King did not recover from the soul attack in time, and in the end, did not know how it died as it was swallowed by the destructive lightning that shot down from the sky.

    After the lightning subsided and the dark clouds dispersed, all that was left of the Ant King was a crispy charred body.

 Chapter 309 - Cant You Poke Softer?

    <h4>Chapter 309 - Can''t You Poke Softer?</h4>

    After the fall of the Ant King, the ant problem within the Grasnd Region was basically resolved. What was left was the cleanup of the remaining ants that went berserk after the death of their king.

    These berserk ants pose no challenge without a powerful Transcendent to lead them. In a short while, the Grasnd Region was littered with their carcasses.

    The shock brought by the appearance of Heaven''s Wrath did not wane even after the dust settled. While everyone became busy with the clean up of the battlefield, their heads were still wrapped around the scene of lightning descending from the skies, and more surprisingly, the person who made it possible.

    The power was not as destructive as real tribtion lightning, but it was hardly something a person could withstand. With the ability tomand such devastating power of annihtion, who could possibly be the prince''s opponent?

    While Leon was being revered by countless admiring gazes, he shook his head helplessly. The condition to set up spiritual arrays were strict and too time-consuming to use. It was not practical in battle.

    Although they had managed to pull it off, there were too many lucky factors to consider, such as the opponent''s unfamiliarity to spiritual arrays, the Ant King''s easily provoked pride, and Lumi''s presence.

    Lumi was the decisive factor.

    Without the Banshee''s Scream of a Half Corporal state higher vengeful spirit or higher, it might not have been possible tond the hit on the Ant King.

    Luckily, they have managed to pull it off, even if the Tier 3 spiritual array only manages to disy a fraction of its full power, it was still more than enough.

    "Boy, that was truly a big surprise. Who knew that you would have such an impressive ability? Impressive, very impressive. You''ve saved us all." Elder Evergreen praised in a jolly mood.

    Staggering from Elder Evergreen''s big pats on the back, Leon smiled wryly, "You have overpraised me, senior. It was everyone''s united efforts that save us all."

    "No need to be so humble, Your Highness. We all know that without your ability, killing that Ant King would not have been possible. Oh, right. That youngdy was also impressive. Where did she go?" Marquis Haldir said.

    Facing the curious stares of the people gathered around him, Leon shrugged and sent Lumi out of the Worldspace.

    "How did you do that, Leon?"

    "What is she really? Are my eyes ying tricks on me?"

    "She looks kind of transparent."

    "Seems that way to me too."

    Everyone watched as the cute spirit girl appeared out of thin air right in front of them. Their eyes widened with surprise and turned to Leon with questioning gazes.

    "I have a spatial artifact," Leon admitted. It was no secret at this point.

    "Spatial artifacts? That''s very interesting, Leon boy. Normal spatial artifacts aren''t able to contain living things." Elder Evergreenmented.

    "Are you actually a Beast Tamer instead? I heard Beast Tamers possess special spiritual worlds that can store their pets." Faelyn asked with curiosity, while Lilith shed with a look of wariness.

    "Hmm?"

    Leon was taken aback by the question, before shaking his head.

    Beast Tamers were also a known profession back in the Divine Realm. However, he does not know the method of bonding used by Beast Tamers to store pets in the so-called special spiritual world. He only studied medicine with his father in his past life and never touched on the topic of beast taming.

    "I''m not a Beast Tamer, and Lumi isn''t a living thing. She''s a vengeful spirit."

    "What?"

    "Vengeful spirit as in, a ghost?"

    Everyone suddenly kept their distance with great shock at the revtion.

    Lumi took some time to adapt to the change of environment again before understanding what was happening. She did a little curtsy and greeted, "Hi, I am Lumi."

    Everyone revealed another round of shock.

    "You must be joking with us, Leon boy? When were vengeful spirits this well-mannered?"

    "Yeah, vengeful spirits are so ugly and grotesque looking. How can this¡­ this little sister here be a vengeful spirit?"

    Leon could not be bothered with these questions andzily said, "Why don''t you all ask the spirit herself? I won''t be staying here for long. After settling a few things, I''ll be returning to the Capital."

    "Oh, right. Lumi." Leon suddenly said.

    "Y-Yes?" Lumi answered with slight apprehension and nervousness as she recalled the painful experience.

    Leon felt slightly guilty seeing her reaction, but there was nothing he could do about it. At the end of the day, Lumi was a vengeful spirit with an unstable factor. If he was careless, people could die to the evil Lumi.

    Nevertheless, he reminded with a softer tone, "¡­Try to behave yourself¡­ and not kill anyone, okay?"

    "O-Okay!"

    After being surprised by Elder Evergreen''s progress in the Gaiannguage, Leon introduced the two elders to each other before dragging Lilith away from the group.

    The others began to circle around Lumi curiously and barrage her with questions after oveing their initial fear of vengeful spirits.

    "Are you really a vengeful spirit? Howe you don''t look scary at all?"

    "Yeah, you look quite human to me."

    "No kidding! Vengeful spirits were originally humans when they were alive. If she doesn''t look human, then what is she supposed to look like?"

    "C''mon, you know that''s not what I mean, and besides, not all vengeful spirits were humans. Don''t you know that? They can be from other races too!"

    The two elders just stood aside and listened while the youngerds among the pce guards and soldiers vied for a chance to talk with Lumi.

    "Enough, all of you get back to work! We have a lot of clean up to do! Don''t you know these creature''s blood is very corrosive? This ce will be a wastnd if we don''t clean it up!" An older pce guard walked over and said sternly.

    "Eh? Ah¡­"

    "Ah, what?"

    "Ah, yes¡­"

    "Hm?"

    The older pce guard raised an eyebrow at the soldiers'' response.

    "I mean¡­ Yes, Sir!" The soldiers corrected and skedaddled, afraid to face the pce guard''s iron fist discipline.

    "Hmph!"

    The pce guard snorted.

    In the end, only Faelyn and the two elders were left with Lumi after the rest left the area.

    "Hey, hey, can I try touching you?" Faelyn asked, filled with curiosity. She has heard of vengeful spirits back in the tribe, but it was her first time actually seeing one.

    "Um¡­"

    Lumi was unsure how to respond to that. If It was a guy asking, she would have considered it harassment.

    ¡­

    Some distance away, Leon had pulled Lilith away from the group.

    "Hey, hey, hey! I also want to talk to Lumi!" Lilithined.

    "There''s no hurry. You will get your chance. Anyways, how have you been? I see that you have be quite proficient in the ancientnguage."

    "I''ve been pretty good! Everyone seemed to have epted me, and some even respect me! Well, until everything suddenly went crazy with the ants anyway." Lilith said before noticing something in Leon''s words and became surprised. "Huh? When did you learn about that?"

    "I have pretty good eyes. I saw you talking to some of the vigers during the battle earlier." Leon smiled before continuing, "Since you are already down with the basics, I''ll transmit to you the intermediate level. Brace yourself, there''s a lot of information to digest."

    After giving his warning, Leon poked Lilith in the forehead, just like he did the first time. Lilith winced as the sea of information rushing into her head. She took some time to recover, before pouting, "Can''t you poke me a bit softer? You''re not gentle at all."

    While rubbing her forehead, she continued without waiting for Leon''s reply, "Anyway, thank you. I will definitely put this knowledge to good use."

    Leon smiled lightly and said, "I''ll be relying on you to be my guide in the Wilnds."

    "You want to go to the Wilnds?"

    Lilith was startled.

    "Not now, but in the future. Maybe when everyone in the kingdom is settled. I definitely have to explore the world and see what it has to offer."

    "Aren''t you being too ambitious? The Wilnds is much more over dangerous and chaotic than you think. Only the strongest of beasts would be able to traverse the Wilnds freely like an unfettered bird. Why not ask me some more questions about the Wilnds for now? I''ll try and answer them all."

    Leon began heading in the direction of the World Tree. With his back facing her, he waved while saying, "Maybe another time."

    "You can go talk to Lumi now, but try not to make her sad or feel threatened. She can be crazy like a real vengeful spirit."

    Lilith was left withplicated feelings as Leon left for the World Tree. She felt she owed Leon too much and became confused about their rtionship.

    Leon seems to ce a lot of trust in her for him to be uncaring about more vital information on the Wilnds. Was he not afraid that she would run off and disappear one day?

    Leon would have lost big time if that happened, but she would not do that. She was not an ungrateful person.

    Sometimes, she feels that they were more than just allies adhering to a business deal. She felt that they were more like good friends, or perhaps something more¡­

    Lilith blushed as her thoughts went off the rail.

    ¡­

 Chapter 310 - Wealth In The Palm Of Ones Hand

    <h4>Chapter 310 - Wealth In The Palm Of One''s Hand</h4>

    Unaware of Lilith''splicated thoughts, Leon arrived at the foot of the World Tree and began ascending with Divine Will.

    The soldiers and pce guards did not need his direct supervision in dealing with the aftermath of the battle and knew what to do. They were trained to handle situations like this and had a steady chain ofmand. It would be too arrogant and conceited of him to believe they need his leadership.

    300fts¡­ 400fts¡­ 500fts¡­

    Leon continued to ascend along the trunk of the World Tree. The higher he flew, the denser the spirit energy in the air became.

    "If my spections are correct, then¡­ It should be possible for me to reach the crown." Leon thought as he was drawing closer to 600ft altitude, even though the World Tree is over 10 thousand feet high.

    No, the World Tree has grown slightly taller in the days he had been away. 10 thousand feet was just the initial height of World-level trees.

    World Trees still had a lot of room for growth after reaching this height and can grow to a staggering 30 thousand feets.

    550fts¡­ 580fts¡­

    Soon, Leon flew past the 600ft altitude mark, but he still had a long way to go before reaching the bottommost level of the World Tree''s crown. The crown should be where the spirit energy was the densest.

    700fts¡­ 800fts¡­

    "As I thought. I have already broken past the 600ft altitude mark, but I have yet to feel the sky''s suppression. The unknown force that makes one difficult to fly higher does not apply within the World Tree domain."

    Leon felt a bit excited as he concluded this point.

    Flying had always been something achievable by any Heaven Ascension realm practitioners and beyond when he was back in the Divine Realm. But here in Gaia, it had be a luxury only the strong can afford to achieve.

    Being infected by the contagious Gaian mentality, Leon felt the joy of being able to fly high. The higher he flew, the further he could see.

    At a certain point, he would be able to see the entire Human Domain. He might also be able to see the rest of the Wilnds if he could train his [Spirit Eyes] to the next level and not get his vision obscured by the veil of clouds.

    It did not take long before Leon broke past the 1000ft mark, but he did not show any sign of slowing down, nor any signs of being suppressed by the unknown force from the sky.

    "About another 5000fts to reach the bottom level of the World Tree''s crown, huh? I should reach it." Leon concluded. He depended on Divine Will to fly, but the expenditure of mental energy was minimal. This was something Leon had noticed after his various experiments with the usage of Divine Will.

    Divine Will expends the most mental energy when used on intelligent lifeforms with their own wills, moderate amounts when used on the environment, and the least amount when used on himself.

    It was surprising that body augmentation under Divine Will experienced the most significant benefit under the least expenditure, although he had yet to test its extent.

    Putting all thoughts aside, Leon increased his pace and shot up even faster like he had just kicked the air itself, leaving behind a spiraling trail of wind.

    ¡­

    His actions did not go unnoticed. He had attracted a few curious gazes even before he started shooting into the skies.

    "What are you doing? Why aren''t you working?" A pce guard questioned many soldiers who had stopped pushing their earthen wheelbarrow filled with ant parts.

    A few soldiers rubbed their eyes as one of them proceeded to answer, "Sorry, Sir. I might be seeing things, but I think I just saw the prince break through the sky''s suppression."

    "What nonsense are you talking about? Only Transcendents can easily fly within the suppression zone."

    "He''s not speaking nonsense, Sir! Take a look!"

    A few soldiers defended and urged the pce guard to nce at the direction they were pointed. It did not take long before the pce guard became just as surprised as the rest of them.

    Elder Evergreen and the Elven Tribe''s Supreme Elder were having a small chat when they also paused due to the ongoingmotion.

    "This boy is full of surprises, isn''t he? I am sure that he had yet to reach the Transcendent realm. Is he supposed to be flying with such ease?" Elder Evergreenmented after listening to the crowd.

    Elder Evergreen was intrigued. Living underground his entire life, he had never heard of the suppression of the sky.

    "That''s for sure. I''m rather interested in what ability the prince is using to fly. I cannot sense any maniption of elements from His Highness." Marquis Haldir said, before adding, "As for the sky''s suppression¡­ there isn''t any."

    Elder Evergreen was taken aback. It was true that he could not sense any force pressing down from the sky, but the soldiers would not spout rubbish without reason. And when there is a whole crowd doing it, there must be some truth to it.

    "There is indeed a tremendous force suppressing the entire sky, but we will not experience while we are within the World Tree''s domain, Senior. The World Tree is blocking off the suppression."

    Marquis Haldir was rtively aged, butpared to an old monster like Elder Evergreen, he was still considered rather young. He was also slightly inferior in cultivation. As such, it was only right for him to address the other person as senior despite both being in the same realm.

    Both the Supreme Elder and the elven princess Faelyn were familiar with the cause due to their experience with their Elder Tree. As such, they did not share the crowd''s sentiments when they witness Leon ascending with ease.

    "I see. That is interesting. Still, I am quite curious about what that boy is nning to do up there. What do you think?"

    "I''m afraid only his Highness can answer your question. I am just as clueless, Senior."

    "Never mind then." Elder Evergreen gave the Supreme Elder a look and asked, "It seems you also have something you want to talk to me about?"

    "It seems I can''t hide anything from Senior''s discerning eyes. There is something I wish to discuss with Senior about¡­"

    ¡­

    As the two elders continued their discussion, Leon finally stepped foot on the bottommost level of the World Tree''s crown. The ce was seething with spirit energy that it was naked to the human eye.

    Leon took a deep breath as his eyes brightened with a refreshing feeling, before mumbling, "If I can practice divine cultivation here, it should not be a problem breaking through to Revolving Core in a month."

    This is just base on the standard breathing technique of absorbing and refining spirit energy. If he relied on additional abilities and cultivation pills, his divine cultivation speed would shoot up drastically.

    Let alone one month, it might be achievable in a single week, provided that the density of spirit energy did not decrease.

    "Haiz, better focus on the first two objectives first. I cane back again after resolving everything the present problems."

    Leon shook his head as he recalled what he came to do. After reaching the central region of the World Tree''s crown, Leon sat down on a thick branch that was no different from a very fat log.

    "Let''s try something first!"

    Leon swallowed a Spiritual Enhancement Pill and regted his breathing before activating Divine Will.

    "Spirit energy, gather!"

    Swoosh!

    The leaves rustled with the gushing wind as dense amounts of spirit energy began to rush towards Leon''s palm from every direction like numerous pythons.

    After the ball of spirit energy floating above his palm became as fat as 16 watermelons, Leon stopped gathering further spirit energy and began to slowly clench into a fist.

    "Condense!"

    Leon''s eyes lit up when the ball of spirit energy shrank into liquification, but he did not stop and went one step further.

    "Compress!"

    The spherical liquified spirit energy began to shrink even more until it finally solidified into a walnut-sized crystal rock.

    "It works!" Leon was overjoyed as the ball of solidified spirit energy dropped onto his palm. Feeling the texture of the object and sensing the spirit energy inside, Leonughed, "Hahaha, I created a spirit stone, and it''s a spirit stone of the highest grade!"

    "If anyone had this kind of ability back in the Divine Realm, they would never have to fear having no money!"

    Spirit stones were the primary source of currency in the Divine Realm and were divided into four grades of low, mid, high, and supreme.

    100 low-grade spirit stones were equal to 1 mid-grade spirit stone, and 100 mid-grade spirit stones were equivalent to 1 high-grade spirit stone. By that subsequent order, 1 supreme-grade spirit stone was worth 1 million low-grade spirit stones.

    Looking at the size of his walnut, it was quite smallpared to the standard supreme-grade spirit stones, but it was a supreme-grade spirit stone nevertheless! It should be worth at least 500 thousand low-grade spirit stones!

 Chapter 311 - Settling Eastfell Citys Survivors

    <h4>Chapter 311 - Settling Eastfell City''s Survivors</h4>

    After some time, Leon''s excitement toned down. Thinking back, being able to create supreme-grade spirit stones was impressive, but the current world has no market value.

    Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time before it does as people discover their usage in cultivation, formations, and arrays.

    At least for now, having the ability to create spirit stones ensured that he would notck the resource to power his formations and arrays.

    After storing the supreme-grade spirit stone in his Worldspace, Leon began to produce his second piece of supreme-grade spirit stone.

    Spirit stones were divided into four grades, but their grades were determined by their purity. A spirit stone made of pure spirit energy can only be a supreme-grade spirit stone, while low-grade spirit stones are usually stones with some spirit energy inside them.

    In a short moment, another supreme-grade spirit stone of a simr size was solidified into shape.

    "Haiz¡­ How great would it be if divine cultivation also works the same way? Unfortunately, refining energy is not that simple. If I replicate this method, I will feel like having a dead brick in my be. The quality will be terrible, and drawing power will be slow. This would be like having the energy reserves of a Revolving Core realm, but only being able to exert the strength of a Body Tempering realm."

    Leon sighed before shaking his head.

    "Never mind. Although I do not need to fear the rush of energy with my tempered meridians, there is no need to rush my divine cultivation. It will be too troublesome to remove itter when I properly start training. The loss time would far outweigh the gains. I better focus onpleting my main objectives first."

    Time flew in the following period. Leon exhausted all his mental strength to produce a total of 8 supreme-grade spirit stones.

    After that, he moved onto his second objective and manifested the [Divine Book of Life] to absorb the remaining spirit energy in the surroundings to help the heavenly artifact recover.

    The power of a heavenly artifact that came from the era of Old Gods was never to be underestimated, even when it is a damaged one.

    Leon witnessed the powerful absorption ability of the [Divine Book of Life] once more as it whipped up a terrible storm of energy and threatened to devour the spirit energy clean. If not for the World Tree continuously producing spirit energy, he feared that it would have been the case.

    After the spirit energy was funneled into the Worldspace, the energy was directly dumped into the [Universal Life Conversion Array] that began to rotate like a grinder after it was activated by the presence of energy.

    Once the spirit energy was broken down and transformed into life energy, it was spat out from the other side of the [Universal Life Conversion Array] and scattered onto the Sacred Garden like a water sprinkler.

    Some grey zones on the edges recovered their color, and many spirit herbs grew more lively as their growth slightly elerated.

    Several stalks of Tier 3 spirit herbs, which were initially going to take a whole year to reach Tier 4, began showing signs of a breakthrough. As for Tier 2 spirit herbs and below, they all leveled up directly.

    "Mine, mine, mine, all mine!"

    Maya ran into the Sacred Garden and beganpeting with the spirit herbs for the life energy like a child trying to drink the rainwater. In the end, she managed to wrestle away arger portion of the life energy, and the Tier 3 spirit herbs failed to reach Tier 4.

    Nevertheless, the timing has been greatly reduced, and it was only a matter of time before they reach Tier 4 spirit herbs eventually.

    Leon did not mind the artifact spirit''s action and allowed it to do as it pleases. There were no urgent needs for Tier 4 spirit herbs, and the artifact spirit was considered the heart of the heavenly artifact.

    He would be too short-sighted if he prioritized a few trivial Tier 4 spirit herbs over the recovery of the artifact spirit.

    The manifested [Divine Book of Life] was returned to his soul core after seeing the spirit energy level in the surrounding reduced to a bare minimum.

    After spending the following half an hour resting to recover some mental strength, Leon returned to the surface level.

    ¡­

    The surface of the Grasnd Region glowed with many dots of light sources as the soldiers continued to clean up the region through the night.

    Many areas near the foot of the World Tree were devastated with sshed of ant blood and deep craters created during the battle.

    The two elders had not been idle and contributed significantly to the restoration of the Grasnd Region. The craters were patched up, and the corrosive blood were all purified.

    Arge mountain of ant carcasses could be seen to one corner of the field as the soldiers continued dumping more scattered ant parts to the pile with their earthen wheelbarrows.

    There were less than 3000 soldiers on the job, not a significant amount of manpower to clean up the several hundred thousand carcasses in a few hours.

    Most of the work had been done by Elder Evergreen after he shifted them to one side like a bulldozer under his maniption of the earth. The soldiers were only in charge of cleaning up the remnant parts left behind.

    Nevertheless, it still took some time to settle everything.

    After thest wheelbarrow full of parts were dumped onto the mountain of carcasses, work was pretty much done. There were stillrge patches ofnd devoid of grass, but this was not a problem.

    Everyone celebrated thepletion of the task and began prepping for dinner and rx for the night.

    ¡­

    After reaching the ground, Leon quickly found Lilith and Faelyn sitting by a small fire with teary expressions next to Lumi. Heading over with a peculiar look, he asked, "What''s wrong with you two?"

    shing Lumi a quick nce, Leon continued, "Did Lumi bullied you two or something?"

    "No, not at all!" The two girls quickly denied in unison. "Lumi''s story is just so sad. No woman should have to suffer like her."

    Sniff¡­ Sniff¡­

    Recalling the story of how Lumi became a vengeful spirit, Leon did find it unfortunate, but that was it. He was unable to sympathize with the spirit girl like the twodies are. There is simply too much injustice in the world.

    After some small talk, Leon left them and found a rtively high-ranking soldier to inquire about the war.

    "Is there something I can help you with, Your Highness?"

    "What''s thetest news on the war?"

    "d you asked, Your Highness." The soldier''s eyes lit up with excitement at the question before continuing, "The messenger just arrived earlier today, Your Highness. It was our overwhelming victory. The Bloodfiend Sect was destroyed, and the Vran Kingdom submitted to our ruling. However, I heard it was the Burning Heaven Sect that destroyed the Bloodfiend Sect."

    "The Burning Heaven Sect did? What do they want? Don''t tell me they want to y the fisherman in this war?"

    "Not at all, Your Highness. They departed as soon as they destroyed the Bloodfiend Sect and left all the loots behind as a greeting gift to express their goodwill to us."

    "I see¡­"

    Leon''s brows were knitted, but he no longer bothered the soldier and allowed the soldier to return to his meal after getting all his questions answered.

    It appeared that his mother was returning with Lynne and Aria, but he would not be around to wee them as his adoptive mother''s situation grows bleaker with time.

    After settling a few things and sending Lumi back into the Worldspace, he began making his journey back to the Capital alone through the night.

    Marquis Haldir and Princess Faelyn did not wish to follow him and stay behind to learn more about Elder Evergreen and his people.

    ¡­

    Capital.

    Earlier in the day, just after Leon departed with Marquis Haldir and Faelyn for the World Tree direction, the Capital became busy dealing with the new arrivals from Eastfell Region.

    A long line of survivors was seen queueing up for identity recording after their airship was forced to disembark outside the Capital.

    After getting their names and previous upations recorded, they were escorted to a temporary refugee camp until appropriate lodgings were arranged.

    The survivors were verypliant, and everything proceeded smoothly with the pce guards keeping the order. s, it was notpletely smooth.

    Trouble started arising when a few defiant survivors failed to drop their hoods as they were asked to have their facial appearance recognized.

 Chapter 312 - Silent Night

    <h4>Chapter 312 - Silent Night</h4>

    "Next."

    A bulky man with rough hands stepped forward after being called out by the official clerk. The official clerk nced at the man brimming with tight muscles, before proceeding with the paperwork.

    "Name?"

    "I am John. Just John, Sir."

    "Age?"

    "38, turning 39 in 3 months."

    "Past upation?"

    "I was a carpenter back in Eastfell City, before all hell broke loose, Sir." The bulky man spoke with lingering uneasiness.

    "Alright, that''s enough. Follow this man to the back to have your picture drawn, then you will be escorted to the camp for your temporary amodation. You''ll be notified when your residential permit and lodgings in the Capital are approved and arranged."

    The clerk was not interested in the man''s story and carried on with his work. After scribbling down the information and passing it to another clerk, he urged the man to move on.

    "Next."

    "Wait, Sir. What about my family?" The bulky man asked as he nced back at his wife and two sons lining up in the queue behind him.

    "They will rejoin after having their information recorded." The clerk paused before adding, "If you are notfortable with that, you can wait here and head off together after I am done with recording their information."

    "I will do just that. Thank you, Sir."

    Towards the bulky man''s sincere gratitude, the clerk nodded and called out, "Next!"

    A total of ten booths were set up for the sake of processing the group of survivors. As the survivors slowly shuffled forward in line, they were still baffled by the strict regtions as city guards, and pce guards were guarding the area.

    "What''s going on at the front? Does anyone know why we need to line up here? I heard that the royal family would provide us with new homes and food, is that true?"

    "It should be. I don''t think there''s anything to gain from lying to usmon folks, but it has never been this strict to enter a city before."

    "This isn''t just any city. This is the Capital. I heard it is a new regtion being implemented by the king. The Capital is currently undergoing huge developments and needed a lot of manpower, but they don''t take in just anyone."

    "Eh? Where did you hear this from?"

    "From the city guards. I have a pretty good pair of ears and overheard them whispering about it just a little while ago."

    "Eh? That''s pretty impressive."

    The survivors at the far back of the queue were seen quietly whispering to each other. Suddenly, there was amotion breaking out upfront.

    "Eh, something is happening up ahead. I wonder what it is?"

    "We were promised food and housing, what kind of trouble could there be? Could the royal family be going back on their words?" A person said nervously.

    "Shh, don''t say that. Are you crazy? Oh right, wasn''t there a guy with good hearing here? Tell us what''s happening up ahead."

    "It seems like a few people are refusing to cooperate." The person said after listening.

    In the back of one booth, three hooded survivors refused to lower their hoods to record their facial appearances.

    "Please cooperate nicely. If you do not drop your hoods and let me draw your faces, you will not be allowed to enter the camp, let alone the Capital."

    The three survivors remained silent as they hugged their hoods tightly and refused to let go. From time to time, their bodies could be seen shivering.

    Theirmotion drew the city guards'' attention over as one of them began to question, "What is going on here?"

    After the clerk helplessness exined his dilemma to the city guards, they became alerted and eyed the three survivors with sharp looks and swords drawn.

    "Refusing to reveal your appearances? I think the three of you are very suspicious!" A city guard said, before forcefully shouting, "They might be spies! Apprehend them for interrogation!"

    "No¡­"

    The three hooded survivors were noticeably shaken by the usation and made an effort to defend themselves as they spoke feebly, "We are not spies¡­"

    "If you are not spies, then why are you refusing to reveal your appearances?! What are you hiding?!" A city guard interrogated strongly.

    The three hooded survivors bit their lips and removed their hoods reluctantly. Once their appearances were revealed, the clerk and city guards all gasped with surprise and shock.

    "Oh my god, such terrible burns!"

    "Their faces are disfigured to the point of being horrifying! Their life is as good as ruined with such appearances!" A city guard made ament after noticing there were two women among the three survivors.

    The disfigured survivors lowered their heads with shame as they quickly cover with their hoods again.

    Smack!

    "What''s the matter with you? No tact at all."

    The city guard was quickly smacked on the back of the head before another city guard turned to apologize, "Sorry about that, we did not know your faces were ruined. However, we still need to record your facial appearances before allowing you into the camp."

    "What''s the situation? Did we catch a spy?" A few more city guards were drawn over by themotion.

    "Nah, it was a false rm."

    The city guard shook his head and urged the others to return to their post as the situation was shortly settled.

    Back in the queue, a survivor saw one of the returning city guards. He hurried over and politely inquired, "May I ask what is going on back there, sir?"

    "Nothing much. Just a few survivors refusing to show their faces for recording." The city guard answered.

    Shortly after, he gathered all the survivors'' attention before announcing, "Everyone must remove their hoods and cooperate with the clerks nicely! Do not dy the process further, or your entry will be refused!"

    The announcement did not make too much of an impact on the crowd. Only a few had suffered facial burns, while many had sustained burns and injuries in other parts of their bodies.

    Nevertheless, there was still some discontent.

    "Tch."

    A hooded survivor in the queue was disgruntled.

    "Shh. Don''t affect the n."

    "I know."

    A simr disfigured appearance was revealed behind the hood, but it was slightly different from the others upon closer inspection. The disfigured appearance seems to have been caused by self-muttion, but no one noticed this.

    ¡­

    Three hourster, all survivors were processed and escorted to the temporary camp. It was not easy for the drawers to sketch a few hundred faces during this time.

    Night arrived, and the survivors were served stew and bread for dinner. After finishing their meals, the survivors gathered and talked about their losses and future ns, while others hit up the camp''s oldermoners for a chat.

    Nothing seemed out of ce, but upon deeper scrutiny, a group of survivors was inquiring about the Capital and royal family.

    Their inquiry did not draw any suspicion from the patrolling guards. It seemed perfectly normal for these survivors from the Eastfell Region to be curious about the new regtions and security circling around the Capital.

    When all survivors had long returned to their designated tents to rest, and fewer guards were awake for their patrol shift, a group of survivors from the camp began making their move in the dead of night.

    Without rming anyone, they quietly killed off all the patrolling guards before killing off everyone else asleep, including themoners and survivors in the camp of roughly 1500 people.

    Despite all the killing, the thick scent of blood was absent from the air, and only dried corpses were left behind.

    After the corpses were hidden, the group of killers regathered at the camp''s center and kneeled before another person with an unfathomable aura and pressure that only Transcendents have.

    "Sect Master, everyone on the camp has been killed, and their blood has been collected. How should we infiltrate the city without rming the watchers?"

    "Strip the dead guards and use their armor. We will enter the city under the guise of city guards."

    "I''m afraid if all of us enter, ourrge group would still draw their attention and suspicion."

    "We will lead a small group to enter and kill off their watchers first. The rest of you will enter after my signal."

    "Understood, Sect Master."

    This group of killers was thest of the Bloodfiend Sect. They were also the best of the best within the sect.

    None of their cultivation was lower than 5 stars. They were all eligible to be inner elders, but they were not. They were the core disciples.

    The Sect Master faced the direction of the Capital with dense killing intent and resentment and gave a cold, confident smile.

    The overseer may have interfered with their ns, but he had long predicted that to happen and made contingencies for it.

    No one would have been able to guess that the Sect Master was willing to use the entire sect as a diversion.

    This was a ssic example of sacrificing one''s own headquarters to destroy the enemy''s headquarters (Capital).

 Chapter 313 - Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 313 - Confrontation</h4>

    In the dead of night, the group of blood cultivators approached the sentries stationed by the eastern bridge leading to Capital''s Lower East District.

    The sentries immediately noticed them, but they were not alerted due to the city guard''s armor adorned by the blood cultivators. Despite that, they were still puzzled why these city guards were returning to the city at this hour.

    "Good evening, brothers. What brings you here at this ungodly hour?" A sentry guard called out, but as the torchlight slowly revealed their uing appearances, the sentry guard froze at the unfamiliar faces. "Who are¡­"

    The sentry guard did not get to finished asking before one of the blood cultivators closed the distance in an instance and drilled his hand through the sentry guard''s leather armor and crushed his heart like a piledriver.

    "Y-Y-You¡­"

    In a state of shock and disbelief, the sentry guard stuttered with wide eyes while pointing with a trembling hand.

    At the same time, the other sentry guard reacted quickly to the situation and turned around to rm the others.

    "Sound the¡ª"

    Unfortunately, his words stopped short after another blood cultivator dashed forward and swiped at the two sentry guard''s neck with his hand.

    Shortly after, their heads slowly rolled to the ground, deader than dead.

    "Go for the head. Don''t give them a chance to speak, understand?" The person spoke as he wiped his hand clean with a cloth.

    "Yes, Sect Master."

    The blood cultivator retracted his hand after draining all the blood from the sentry guard and tossed the headless dried corpse to one side like throwing away trash.

    At the same time, the rest of the blood cultivators rushed in with subtle steps and began taking out the rest of the nearby sentries, including the one on the sentry towers withrge bells.

    "Hm?"

    The Sect Master hummed after noticing a slight movement in the shadows of the city on the other side of the eastern bridge and spoke, "A rat got away."

    "Allow me to finish him off."

    "Do it cleanly."

    The Sect Master nodded after one of the core disciples quickly volunteered and dashed off in pursuit. Shortly after, the core disciple returned with a dried head.

    "This must be one of those shadow guards mentioned by Zagan."

    At the mention of Zagan, the Sect Master eyed the said person and snorted with displeasure, before asking, "How''s the transnt?"

    "Pretty good, but not as good as the real one. Thanks for asking, Uncle Balthazar."

    "Hmph! That is what you get for acting on your own! If you were not part of my Denholm family, I would have had you killed for your insolent actions." The Sect Master of the Bloodfiend Sect, Balthazar Denholm, flicked his wrist and proceeded to order a core disciple, "Go call the others over."

    "Yes, Sect Master."

    After the Bloodfiend Sect gathered, their group of 30 entered the Capital sneakily and climbed onto the rooftops.

    "Ignore the others. We head straight for the pce and kill the king first. Others can live, the royal family must die!" Balthazar Denholm spoke.

    As they quietly darted across the rooftops and scaled over the upper wall, quickly entering the Upper District and continued straight for the pce, several more shadows shifted in the night.

    "There are more rats here. Quickly take them out."

    Four core disciples immediately dashed out in the four directions of the escaping shadow guards, pursuing them like chasing shadows.

    The rest of the members continued advancing along with their Sect Master until they suddenly discovered something.

    "Wait." Balthazar Denholm halted everyone with one hand. After crouching towards the edge of the rooftop and gazing at the buildings ahead, he hummed in thought. "Hmm."

    "There seems to be something important about this ce for it to be walled off and guarded by pce guards." A core disciple whispered softly with narrowed eyes.

    While the Bloodfiend Sect quietly inspected the area, the other four core disciples caught up and rejoined their group.

    Suddenly, one of the pce guards below shouted, "Who goes there?!"

    The shout caught the Bloodfiend Sect by surprise. They all grabbed the hilt of their swords, ready for battle.

    "How did they discover us?" A core disciple said gloomily, but another person quickly said, "It''s not us. Look."

    ¡­

    Shortly after the pce guard shouted, the other pce guards rushed over from their post as they surround the approaching figure with all their weapons drawn.

    The figure had an indifferent expression as he walked out of the darkness and into the illuminated area surrounding Lost Isle Alley.

    "It''s me." The person spoke.

    The pce guards all showed surprises after getting a good look at the person before they sheathed their weapons, and respectfully greeted, "Your Highness!"

    ¡­

    Your Highness?!

    In that instance, the members of the Bloodfiend Sect lurking on the rooftops all expressed their surprises. They did not expect the royal prince to deliver himself right to them before they even reached the pce.

    At the same time, Zagan gazed at the prince in the distance and felt a stabbing pain in his chest area with unreconciled hatred, causing intense killing intent to surge inside. He failed to suppress it and allowed a trace of killing intent to escape.

    There was a slight pause in Leon''s steps before he resumed his movements like nothing had happened. After whispering some words to the pce guards, he sent all away on an errand.

    "Hahaha, Lady Luck is smiling upon us. This stupid boy actually sent all the pce guards away. Sect Master, we should take this golden chance to kill him while we are still in the dark!" A core disciple whispered excitedly.

    Another core disciple did not share the same excitement. With a calm look, he asks, "What are your orders, Sect Master? Shall we kill the prince right here and now, or do we continue to aim for the king first?"

    "We need to kill that little bastard. We have already been exposed."

    Balthazar had a look of indifference as he already viewed the royal prince as a dead man. The royal prince would not be able to escape his clutches from this distance.

    "What? We are already exposed? How?"

    Contrary to Balthazar''s indifference, the core disciples were surprised by the news. They immediately understood after the Sect Master shed Zagan Denholm a nce. But then they wrinkled their brows with confusion afterward.

    "If we are already exposed, why would that little bastard send away all his pce guards?"

    "Maybe his head had been kicked by a donkey?"

    "Or maybe he was dropped when he was born?"

    Hearing thesements, Balthazar''s lips rose into a smile and chuckled coldly, "Hahaha, perhaps! Overconfidence is also a form of stupidity. That little bastard is already at 9-star Ranked Awakener realm. None of you are his match, but he is still an ant to me!"

    "What?! That kid is?"

    "Isn''t this kiddy prince only 17 years old?"

    The core disciples were greatly shocked by their sect master''s words, while Zagan had disbelief written all over his face.

    "Impossible! That little bastard was only at the 9th step two months ago!"

    Little bastard? More like a little monster! Weren''t his talents a bit too terrifying? These were the thoughts of the core disciples.

    ¡­

    Leon erected a stone throne from the ground before seating himself. He casually nced in the general direction of the killing intent he sensed earlier and quickly locked onto the rooftop lurkers with his divine sense.

    "Come out! There''s no use hiding."

    Leon spoke with amanding tone. At the same time, he was intrigued by his own luck, running into the enemy just after returning from the World Tree.

    If he did not sense the faint trace of killing intent, he would not have realized the enemy had snuck into the Capital.

    None of these remaining blood cultivators looked like pushovers. The weakest of them was at 5 stars of the Ranked Awakener realm, while the pce guards were between 3-4 stars of the Ranked Awakener realm. They would have died in vain if they stayed.

    "Hahaha! Little bastard, you are very arrogant!" Balthazar spoke while jumping down from the rooftop.

    "You must be the Sect Master of the Bloodfiend Sect. You are even more arrogant than I am bying here."

    "Hahaha! If I can''t even handle a little runt like you, I would have cultivated it in vain! Do you think you can buy enough time for the Transcendent toe save you?" Balthazar spoke with extreme confidence as he instantly saw through Leon''s ''n.''

    While it was true that pce guards were sent to alert Grandpa Don and the others, Leon did not ce his hopes on their help. He gazed at the Sect Master with a burning battle spirit.

    A Preliminary ession-level Transcendent was different to a Rank 1 Transcendent beast. Human flesh was innately weak. As long as there was an opening, he still had a chance at killing a Transcendent.

    "There''s no need for Grandpa Don''s help. I, alone, am enough to handle all of you!" Leon said domineeringly as he pulled the ck spear out from the Worldspace.

    "¡­"

    Balthazar narrowed his eyes as he looked at the ''L'' shaped spear in Leon''s hand with anger, feeling humiliated.

    "Ahem, my bad. I grabbed the wrong weapon just now." Leon coughed. He forgot to fix the ck spear.

    "Is this some sort of joke? You want to deal with me using that broken toy of yours? It seems a little bastard like you do not take me seriously! I ought to teach you that Transcendents are not to be trifled with!"

    Balthazar exuded dense killing intent and pressure exerted by Transcendents. He had thoughts of capturing the prince to lure out the king¡­ But after being angered, he just wants to kill the cheeky runt.

 Chapter 314 - Transcendental Battle Power

    <h4>Chapter 314 - Transcendental Battle Power</h4>

    "I''m going to have fun dismembering your limbs and parade your head around the city after I''m done, but don''t take it too personally, kid. You only have yourself to me for being born into the wrong family and kingdom."

    "Less nonsense and just fight!"

    Leon was not interested in listening. Any ce would have its own struggles and hardship.

    "You are too insolent, kid! Since you are in a hurry to reincarnate, let me send you off!"

    Balthazar growled as a malevolent aura gushed out his body like a tidal wave with pulsating pressure. After drawing his sword and slicing his own body, his flesh split open, and ckish-red blood oozed out of his fresh wounds like goo.

    The ckish-red blood was incredibly thick and evil. It spread like boiling bubbles and contained thousands of human faces that appeared like their very souls were trapped within.

    It was uncertain how much lives were taken to reach such a sickening state of blood refinement that emanated a pungent and putrid stench of iron and death.

    After covering Balthazar''s entire body, sword included, the blood hardened into a ck armor with crimson sheen.

    [Blood Armament]

    Balthazar locked onto Leon''s figure with sharp eyes, and his billowing malevolent aura surged with sharpness as they start to converge on the tip of his sword.

    Whether it was bravery or foolishness, Balthazar had no intention of going easy on Leon just because of his superior cultivation level.

    "Eat my sword!"

    Balthazar hacked out with a vertical sword sh, and an energy wave of bloody aura swept towards Leon in the form of a crescent moon!

    Crimson Moon sh!

    Realm of Sword Spirit! Infusing spirit into one''s attack!

    "So, you are also a Swordsman!"

    Leon dodged to the side without any intention of changing his weapon as the bloody aura narrowly missed and cleaved the earthen wall behind apart. Since he had taken out the ''L'' shaped ck spear, he will use it!

    The bloody aura did not stop and continued to strike the old buildings of Lost Isle Alley, but Leon did not turn to check the damage. He could not afford to divide his attention in the middle of battle.

    The ring of grey energy within the ck vortex of his sea of consciousness was set aze and transformed into a ring of fire.

    Leon tightened the grip on the ck spear and channeled the fiery energy into his spear along with his infused indomitable spirit before sweeping out with an attack of his own!

    However!

    Due to his spear''s shape, the fiery energy was discharged oddly like an ill coiling dragon learning how to be a frog. As it headed towards Balthazar, it seared the ground with each bounce.

    "Hmph! What a joke!"

    Balthazar snorted.

    Such an attack was aplete embarrassment!

    The fiery coiling dragon attack lost half its momentum and power by the time it reached Balthazar and was directly pped away with ease. No burns were suffered due to the protection of Balthazar''s Blood Armament.

    "Old bastard, help me straighten out my spear!"

    Right then, a forceful spear blow dropped down from above Balthazar''s head as the mes of the fiery dragon attack disperse from the p. After his first attack, Leon had not been idle and had followed close behind the fiery dragon like he chasing the dragon''s tail before leaping in the air with a downward swing.

    "Hmph! Want topete in physical strength? You''re not¡ª"

    Balthazar snorted and received Leon''s blow with confidence, but his expression drastically changed when the sword and spear were contacted.

    "What!"

    Boom!

    It was like Balthazar had been struck five times in the span of one attack, as Leon struck with the force of five echoes, a fivefold increase in his physical strength. Under the augmentation of Divine Will, his attack received a further 50% boost in physical strength.

    Balthazar''s hands trembled greatly and cracked the ground beneath his feet with the first wave, while the subsequent waves forced Balthazar down on one knee as he suffered the brunt force of Leon''s almost 70,000 jin spear strike.

    If not for the Blood Armament reinforcing Balthazar''s defense, he would have been crushed into the ground. What kind of strength was this?!

    Balthazar flushed with rage after losing to Leon in a contest of brute strength. Was this little bastard actually a beast in human skin?!

    A 9-star Ranked Awakener only had 9000 jin of physical strength, while a Transcendent''s physical strength was 10,000 jins!

    "Haaa!"

    With an intimidating shout, Balthazar empowered himself with surging blood energy and struck out forcefully as he stood up.

    The force not only push Leon back, it also sent him flying! Leon mmed into the earthen wall behind him. He grunted from the impact but did not suffer substantial damage.

    "Good fucking job, little bastard. You certainly outdid yourself this time! I''ve underestimated you! But don''t think I am the same as that useless brother of mine who fell under your mother''s de!"

    Balthazar spat and red at Leon with a vicious gleam.

    Unaffected by Balthazar''s re, Leon nced at the glowing red spear that he had been feeding with his fiery energy before shouting, "Again!"

    Leonunched himself forward from the wall and sent out a flurry of attacks in quick session, while Balthazar received them calmly.

    Cling! Cling! ng!

    In a short instance, the two exchanged over two dozen blows as their weapons shed. Each time Leon''s fiery spear and Balthazar''s blood sword contacted, Leon would get blown away, but he would shoot straight back like an infallible cockroach.

    Any other human in Leon''s shoes would have already suffered numerous bone fractures and be disabled from fighting. However, thanks to his incredible physique and stage one of [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard], he was quite durable and only suffered bruising.

    "Haha! Old bastard, your strikes are pretty weak! Eat another one of my spear strikes!"

    Leon raised his strength to six echoes. Coupled with Divine Will augmentation, the force of his spear reached 81 thousand jins, but still 19 thousand jin shy of Balthazar''s casual strikes.

    Peng!

    Leon flew back again. This time, he did not crash into the earthen wall or any buildings but slid along the ground afternding.

    Six echoes were Leon''s current limit.

    This is due to him having yet to master the execution of seven echoes and not because his body could not endure the stress of seven echoes. [9 Echo Osciting Fist] was just a foundational technique for body forging practitioners.

    After reaching stage one in [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard], tempering his meridians and possessing the Five Element Body physique, his body could endure the strain of seven echoes. Anything beyond that, Leon was not confident unless he tempers his bones.

    "Again!"

    "Again!"

    "Again!"

    Leon and Balthazar exchanged another five dozen blows, but Leon did not show any signs of tiring. After reaching six dozen shes, Leon retreated some distance andughed, "Haha! Many thanks for helping me straighten out my spear, Old bastard!"

    "What!? You dare treat me like a tempering hammer?!"

    Balthazar almost coughed blood from anger.

    He found it strange that the ''L'' shaped spear got straighter with each sh. He initially thought it was a coincidence due to his great strength, but it turns out that the little bastard was not kidding when he asked him to help straighten his spear!

    "Hahaha! Now I can fight seriously!" Leonughed.

    If not for Leon focusing on heating his spear and making it more malleable, it would not have been possible for Balthazar to strike a Tier 3 weapon back into shape so easily.

    Balthazar was a little startled with Leon''s outrageous ims and asked with suppressed anger, "Are you telling me, you have been holding back all this time?"

    "Did you think it was so easy to straighten a weapon enchanted with Tier 3 runes back into shape with just your strength alone?" Leon looked at Balthazar with a mocking smile.

    Balthazar was stunned. What the hell are Tier 3 runes?

    It was unheard of for a 9-star Ranked Awakener to be this powerful, and yet this 9-star Ranked Awakener could still be stronger? Wouldn''t that mean that the little bastard possessed the strength to rival Transcendents without reaching Transcendence?

    Seeing Balthazar''s iprehensible look, Leon shook his head. "Never mind. An uncultured person like you would not know what runes are."

    Balthazar was immediately enraged.

    To think that someone like him, the Sect Master of the Bloodfiend Sect, was forced to go all out against someone who had not even stepped into the Transcendent realm.

    "Little bastard, you are far too insolent! So what if you the power to rival Transcendents? Even among Transcendent of the same level, there is a great difference in strength! I''m going to make sure you die a painful death!"

    After those words were spoken, Balthazar''s eyes turnedpletely bloodshot. Along with his increased heart rate, his body temperature rose sharply with skin turning red, and veins protruded all over his body.

    Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum!

    After sensing the dangerous transformation taking ce within Balthazar, Leon became solemn.

 Chapter 315 - Timely Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 315 - Timely Arrival</h4>

    As Balthazar pumped his blood and underwent his transformation, the core disciples had been incredibly shocked while they spectated at the back.

    "Seriously, that brat is only at the 9-star Ranked Awakener realm with that much strength? Even if you guys beat me to death, I still would not believe it!" A core disciplemented with disbelief. Even now, he could not wipe the shock off his face.

    It was known that no matter how strong Ranked Awakeners were, they were only ants in front of Transcendents. The difference in power was a great chasm; they could never hope to ovee. But right before their eyes, Leon had overturned their world views and shattered their beliefs.

    "That''s for sure! The strength of that little monster is very close to the threshold of Transcendents! And by the sound of it, he can still be stronger! When was there ever such an absurd existence as this?!"

    "But no matter how strong that brat is, he is still no match for the Sect Master when he is serious. That kid is out of luck now. After all, he might have achieved the unthinkable and possess the power to rival Transcendents, but that only applies to newly ascended Transcendents."

    "That''s right, the Sect Master has been in the Transcendent Realm for so many years. The quality of Sect Master''s blood refinement has reached a qualitative state capable of breaking human limits."

    As the core disciples observed their Sect Master''s transformation, they could feel their own blood boiling. Their bloodlust spiked with the urge to kill forming in their hearts like an itch that could not be scratched.

    "Argh, I can''t sit still anymore. I need to kill someone! I need blood to quench my thirst!"

    "Hehe, my hands are feeling a bit itchy too. How about I join you?" A core disciple spoke while rubbing his hands as his eyes flickered with cold light.

    Their violent tendency and evil nature were aroused by the Sect Master''s overwhelming bloodlust and began losing their mind. However, some disciples resisted and retained their rational minds.

    Pak!

    After smacking the head of a core disciple affected by the bloodlust, a senior core disciple spoke, "Help me clear the mind of these fools."

    "Yes, Senior Brother!"

    Pak! Pak! Pak!

    The infected junior core disciples all received a good nudge on the head by their senior brothers. After their minds regained rity, they apologized, "Sorry, senior brothers. This junior brother''s mental state is stillcking."

    "Don''t forget we still have a mission to aplish. If we are divided, we will not be able to use our grand technique."

    ¡­

    Knock! Knock!

    The pce guards arrived at the Grandmaster''s living quarters and banged on his bedroom''s door. They urgently shouted, "Grandmaster Don, Grandmaster Don! Please wake up!"

    "Who the hell is calling for this old man at this ungodly hour?! Sleep! Ever heard of it?!" Grandmaster Don roared.

    The doors to his bedroom were flung open. Don swept his gaze through the pce guards before his doorstep with an angry look. Being woken up in the middle of the night, his terrible mood was to be expected.

    "What the hell do you all want?"

    "Our apologies, Grandmaster! The royal prince is requesting your presence in the Upper District!" The pce guards all dropped to one knee in apology.

    "That brat is? And he needed to send for all of you to fetch me? Are you all stupid or what? Isn''t one of you enough?"

    "T-This¡­"

    The pce guards did not know how to reply. They found it strange too, but it was the royal prince''s order. They had to follow it.

    "Enough. No need to answer."

    Grandmaster Don silenced them and turned towards a specific direction. He quickly understood the gist of the situation after sensing the disturbance in thews.

    "Transcendent."

    Grandmaster Don''s eyes narrowed at the discovery.

    "Go alert the pce and protect the king! The Capital is under attack by enemies! I will go help that brat!" Grandmaster Don ordered the pce guards beforeining, "Just what the hell was he thinking? Facing the enemy Transcendent alone."

    "What! His Highness is?! Please allow us to assist you, Grandmaster Don!" The pce guards were startled. After being made aware of the situation, they were ashamed for not realizing the prince''s intention sooner.

    "No need! I, alone, am enough!" Grandmaster Don firmly denied their request.

    They were sent away because they could not help. Sending the pce guards back would only get them killed. Not everyone was a freak like Leon.

    Grandmaster Don did not bother changing out of his pajamas. He took to the skies and flew in the direction of the disturbance after mes exploded under his feet.

    ¡­

    Crawford University, main building.

    A person was seen sitting on the top balcony outside the principal office of the building. The old dean leisurely appreciated the beauty of the night sky during a time most people are found asleep.

    shing a nce in a particr direction, the old dean softlyughed, "They don''t give up, do they?

    "Are you not going to stop them?"

    The old dean twirled his wine cup and appeared to be alone, but another voice was heard from an indiscernible direction.

    "Why should I stop them? I''m not an Overseer." The old dean spoke indifferently.

    "You''re not an Overseer, but with your strength, you might as well be one. As long as you are here, the High Council deems it unnecessary to delegate an Overseer to this kingdom." The owner of the indiscernible voice appeared speechless.

    "Heroes do not rise in peaceful times, my old friend. If we interfere too much, when will the sparrows ever learn to spread their wings and soar the skies like mighty eagles?"

    "Aren''t you afraid of the sparrows dying if you don''t interfere?" The voice spoke in frustration.

    "If it dies, then it dies. Simple as that. It just means that our human racecked destiny and doomed to perish. We need an overlord, not a pampered chicken." The old dean spoke with an enigmatic view before savoring the wine in silence.

    "Never mind. You do you." The owner of the indiscernible voice gave up on persuading the old dean. Before leaving, the voice owner asked, "Are you not going to return to the High Council?"

    "This is some good spirit wine. Send the High Master my regards."

    Hearing the old dean''s indirect response, the voice did not press further.

    Shortly after, the balcony regained its original tranquility.

    ¡­

    "Little bastard, try not to die too quickly, alright?" Balthazar spoke in a warped voice.

    In that instance, Leon''s pupils shrank.

    Balthazar''s figured blurred and disappeared from his vision, followed by an impending sense of danger from the side. Without thinking further, Leon immediately lowered his center of gravity and lunge forward.

    Boom!

    A sword wave swept pass and formed a long crevasse in his original spot. Leon drew in a sharp breath as he gouged the force of that sword wave to be around 150 thousand jins. Transcendents were not to be underestimated.

    "Interesting, you managed to dodge that. Try this one."

    Balthazar sent out another sword wave of intense energy. The sword wave flew with more incredible velocity and carried a force of 180 thousand jins. Leon had no choice but to utilize his movement technique to evade.

    Extreme Vanishing Step!

    Swoosh!

    "Ah?! Everyone, quickly dodge!"

    The sword wave flew past Leon but continued its trajectory towards the core disciples. The core disciples were shocked and immediately scurried out of the way.

    The core disciples evade sessfully with no casualties, but they were left in a disheveled mess. They looked at the newly formed crevasse in the ground with cold breath before retreating some distance.

    When the Transcendents are fighting, the mortals will suffer.

    Balthazar wrinkled his brows at Leon''s speed in dodging his second attack. He might not necessarily be faster than this!

    "Little bastard, you are very quick on your feet! It seems your speed is even more impressive than your strength!"

    "Old bastard, watch my spear!"

    Leon dashed forward and swept out with his spear from a tricky angle, aiming for Balthazar''s neck. Powered by the additional elemental force of fire and metal, Leon''s spear strike reached a force of 100 thousand jins.

    "Child''s y."

    Balthazar''s blood boiling state increased his physical abilities, but it also heightened his sense. The spear strike''s trajectory was easily anticipated.

    Peng!

    Their weapons shed, and the excess force of Balthazar''s sword swing swept Leon off his feet and sent him flying up with spinning momentum.

    The sect master was relentless and was about to give chase with a follow-up attack. But before he could, a timely zing ball of hellfire shot towards his location from another direction and interrupted him.

    After Balthazar retreated, he spat towards the neer, "Who are you?"

    "Hahaha, old thing. How shameless are you to bully a junior? You do not need to know who I am. You only need to know that your opponent is me!"

    Sensing the firews surrounding Don, Balthazar shed Don a disdainful nce.

    "You must be the Fire Transcendent in the Capital. Hmph, a newly ascended Transcendent is nothing to me!"

    "Hahaha, we will see about that."

    Hovering in the sky, Don grasped the air and condensed a mingnce in his hand before he shed Leon a nce. "Brat, why don''t you go deal with the small fries and leave this one to me?"

    "Alright, Grandpa Don. Be careful. He is very strong!"

    Leon nodded.

    Don''s timely arrival allowed him sufficient time to regain his bearing in the sky and saved him from a dangerous pickle¡­ It appeared he was still not strong enough to take on the Bloodfiend Sect''s sect master.

 Chapter 316 - Don Vs Balthazar

    <h4>Chapter 316 - Don Vs Balthazar</h4>

    After Don conjured his mingnce in preparation for battle, his sunshine and flower-patterned pajamas were illuminated in the night sky. His appearance looked veryical, contrary to his solemn expression.

    Pfft!

    "Hahaha¡­ Hahahaha¡­ Hahahaha!"

    Facing such a joke of an opponent, Balthazar failed to keep a straight face and broke into hystericughter.

    "What''s so funny?" Don questioned in a low tone.

    "Old thing, old thing¡­ Aren''t you pretty old yourself? Why are you pretending to be young? You look ridiculous! Hahahaha!" Balthazar cackled raucously.

    Don''s expression became ck as charcoal. Theughter was very grating to his ears. Gnashing his teeth, Don spatted.

    "¡­You''re dead!"

    The mingnce was tossed with great strength and velocity as it shot towards Balthazar with swirling motion. It seemed like a simple attack, but the destructiveness packed within cannot simply be ignored.

    "Hmph!"

    Balthazar was full of contempt towards such an attack and swung out with another of his sword wave packed with sharpened blood energy.

    Ka-boom!

    In that instance, the mingnce and crimson crescent moon sh collided, and an explosion of fiery blood energy erupted from their sh.

    "Hm?" Balthazar frowned slightly, before saying, "Such a simple attack was able to offset my sword sh? Not bad."

    "Ignorant fool who does not appreciate the beauty of explosions, try eating another one of my attacks." Don shook his head with a sigh and condensed another mingnce in his hand.

    Despite carrying a sword on him, he did not have any intention of entering close-quarterbat with the enemy.

    The second mingnce took longer to condense, but it was also packed with more fiery energy. After it waspressed to half the size of the previous mingnce, the fiery energy inside became more vtile and active.

    Swoosh!

    The mingnce shot, but Balthazar wore the same contemptuous look and swept out with a stronger sword sh to match the attack.

    Kaboom!

    A bigger explosion erupted from their sh, and sparks of fiery blood arrows scattered to the surroundings, quickly melting through buildings with its high corrosive temperature.

    "Beauty of explosions? How ludicrous. Why would I care for something like that? Strength is the only thing that matters. How na?ve of you to becent just because you seeded in stopping my attacks. I''ve only used half my strength, you stupid fool."

    "And I only used a quarter."

    Ptui!

    "How childish!"

    Balthazar became noticeably colder.

    This person was only trying to waste his time. There was no need to take him seriously.

    "Childish? You are just an ignorant flea who has not seen the true beauty of explosions. What do you know about strength? True explosions are strength!" Don continued his charade.

    "You don''t even make any sense, you crazy bastard!"

    Balthazar tightly gripped on his sword and red at Don. The sword emitted a bloody light that soon became a crimson brilliance packed with a dense amount of power poured into it.

    There was no doubt that this next sword strike will contain the force of Balthazar''s full strength. After stomping the ground, Balthazarunched himself straight at the grandmaster alchemist with the murderous intent to hack the person apart in one swing.

    "Haiz, why are you in such a rush to end things? It''s a rare opportunity to have another Transcendent as my opponent." Don sighed.

    A burst of mes propelled Don higher in the sky like thrusters as he retreated from Balthazar with a solemn look. In short instance, he already broke into the sky''s suppression zone and widened the gap between them.

    Seeing this, Balthazar knew that he would not be able to reach the Fire Transcendent.

    Crimson Moon sh!

    Balthazar discharged his crimson brilliance with a mighty swing after his body began to fall from peak altitude.

    Swoosh!

    The sword wave with crimson brilliance rushed towards Don, but its trajectory erred without Don needing to dodge after it entered the suppression zone. Its course was hindered by the irregr gravitational force within the suppression zone.

    Balthazar''s expression went from ugly to uglier when he saw this.

    "Hahaha, that''s too bad. I wouldn''t mind showing you the true strength of my explosions if you cane up here." Don taunted Balthazar.

    Evidently, Don had been restraining his strength due to concerns. An all-out battle between Transcendents would devastate the Capital.

    "Hmph!"

    Balthazar was disinterested in dancing to his opponent''s rhythm despite being annoyed by the amount of time wasted. He could not fly, but it did not mean he could not force the Fire Transcendent down.

    "Stay up there all you want, but I don''t believe that you would note down very soon!" With that said, Balthazar sent out a sword wave and tore down a nearby buildingplex from Upper District.

    The people hiding inside their homes had awoken by themotion for some time. When the building was struck, everyone was stricken with terror as they helplessly watch the building crumble down upon them.

    Even with their slightly stronger body granted by small sesses in cultivation, it was no match for their own home''s crushing weight. A few hundred jins of strength was not much in the face of several tens of tons.

    Unsurprisingly, everyone on the bottom floors was killed in the copse. The more unlucky ones were directly sliced apart by the passing sword wave. Only the top floor residents had hopes of surviving the crash.

    Climbing out from the top of the rubbles, the few survivors thought they had survived a disaster, but they were soon met with more iing sword waves, cutting off all possible chances of survival.

    Their fates were sealed by the inhumane grim reaper.

    Balthazar was both ruthless and merciless. He felt nothing for their insignificant lives. After ughtering everyone, he absorbed the blood from their ownerless corpses and replenished his own strength.

    No matter how shameless Don was, he was still a person who stood on the side of righteousness. After witnessing such acts of cruel and evil, he was full of gloom.

    The Bloodfiend Sect and their diabolic practices must be uprooted and eradicated from the face of the earth!

    "Kekeke, that didn''t feel good, did it?" Balthazar rhetorically spoke with glee.

    Don closed his eyes and steadied his emotions before they snapped open with a sharp glint.

    "It seems this fight is unavoidable. I will take your life to appease all the victims felled by your fiendish ws!"

    "That''s more like it," Balthazar smirked coldly.

    Don knew he was no match for Balthazar in a direct confrontation with his current abilities, but nothing was absolute.

    Victory and defeat are not predetermined. Advantages and disadvantages can be reversed under certain conditions, and life and death can be decided in a single exchange.

    ncing at Balthazar''s crimson ck blood armor, some ideas gathered in Don''s mind before taking form.

    "I was just starting to like this new set of pajamas too¡­" Don softly muttered before his entire body erupted into zing mes.

    Balthazar was pleased to sense Don''s battle spirit, but he became grossly disgusted when thetter reduced all his clothes to ashes after erupting with more zing mes.

    [me Armament]

    The fiery mes werepressed into a set of zing armor tailored to optimize Don''s battle power.

    After drawing his sword and channeling his remaining power into it, the battle between the two Transcendents immediatelymenced in full swing without a single word spoken from either side.

    The full-powered sh of swords between the two sent ripples of shockwave across the battleground, blowing away all dirt and rubbles in the area while new cracks formed on nearby buildings amidst shatter sses.

    Don lost the exchange, but surprisingly not by much as he only shot back a few dozen yards. The overbearing and destructive nature of fire was not to be underestimated.

    After that, the two continued to shed swords in several instances under different sceneries. From the grounds to rooftops, rooftops to the skies, and the skies back onnd, they fought, causing wanton destruction to the surroundings in their wake.

    Such destruction was totally unavoidable. Don did not dare to avert his attention and only focused on finding a single opening to fell the evil fiend.

    The entire Capital was woken up by their great battle.

    Under the king''s order, every avable pce guards, city guards, and soldiers within the Capital were sent out to assist the citizens'' evacuation from the area of the battle between the Transcendents.

    ¡­

    In another area not far from the battle between Transcendents, another battle took ce between Leon and the core disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect.

    With Leon''s transcendental battle power, he thought he could quickly wipe out the core disciples and return to assist Don. However, the core disciples proved themselves to be much more challenging than Leon had initially presumed after revealing the ace up their sleeves.

    After activating their grand technique, the core disciples of the Bloodfiend Sect were able to transfer all their cultivation to one person.

    They did not hesitate to resort to this secret method of passing their cultivation to another after witnessing Leon''s might. It was theirst resort, but also their ultimate trump card.

    Under this grand technique, an 8-star Ranked Awakener was directly elevated into the ranks of Transcendents. Although this cultivation was only temporary, it was the power of Transcendents, nevertheless!

 Chapter 317 - Leons Method

    <h4>Chapter 317 - Leon''s Method</h4>

    Great Blood Transference Technique. That is the name of the grand technique, the trump card of the Bloodfiend Sect.

    As previously exined and as the name suggests, it was a special technique capable of transferring one''s cultivation to another and grant them a temporary boost in their own cultivation.

    The Great Blood Transference Technique had no limits to the number of participants. As long as the blood cultivator had practiced the grand technique to the small sess stage, they can join the group and transfer their cultivation to one person.

    If it were only that simple, Leon would not find it troublesome to deal with these so-called ''small fries''beled by Don.

    He just had to kill all the weaker disciples first before focusing on the Transcendent-level disciple, but that was where the problemy. There were no weak disciples.

    Under the Great Blood Transference Technique, the umted Transcendent power could be freely passed between the disciples.

    This means that any one of the disciples could suddenly gain the power of Transcendents at any given point, making them hard to kill like cockroaches.

    The roughly 30 core disciples stood not too far from each other, but not too close either. The distance between them was just sufficient, not to impede the mobility of each other.

    At the center of the group was a giant blob of dark blood with number tentacle-like blood threads attached to each core disciple and linked them together like nerves.

    It was apparent to Leon that the giant blob of dark blood was the disciples'' umted power. He had tried to destroy it, but it was not easy. The giant blob of dark blood could freely attack and defend under the will of the selected disciple.

    Sometimes it would transform into a hardenedrge shield. At other times, it would attack Leon with a barrage of hardened blood arrows.

    These hardened blood arrows were tougher than steel and shot incredibly fast, not at all inferior to any casual attacks from a Transcendent. Despite that, none of the attacks had sessfullynded its intended target, Leon.

    After these blood arrows miss, they would revert to liquid form and rejoin the giant blob of dark blood. As such, the core disciples can maintain the same attack level and not lose any power.

    Leon had tried to attack from different angles and also attempted targeting multiple disciples simultaneously with silver needles. Still, they were all blocked effortlessly despite only one person being in control of the Transcendental power at any given time.

    After testing a few more variations of attacks, he confirmed that the core disciples could not only share their power but also shared their senses to cover their weakness, possibly through the blood link.

    "It''s useless. You won''t be able to break our defense." Zagan said smugly with a warped expression.

    After getting his heart destroyed by Leon, Zagan returned to the sect with great difficulties. After that, he got a transnt and relied on his status to consume sect resources to swiftly advance his cultivation to the 8-star Ranked Awakener realm.

    The Blood Refining Art was a cultivation technique that granted quick advancement in cultivation, but it was equally punishing when cultivation is rushed. As a result, Zagan''s mind was corroded by the negative energy residues hidden in his halfheartedly refined blood.

    Leon paid no mind to Zagan''s smugness.

    A few months back, Zagan was a strong opponent capable of pushing Leon to his limits, but he was no longer fit to be Leon''s opponent a few monthster.

    If there was no grand technique supporting him, killing Zagan would be as easy as lifting a hand if they fought again.

    Leon retreated and evaded another flurry of blood arrows with a sharp look as he brainstormed for solutions to break the status quo.

    The grand technique of the Bloodfiend Sect was impressive to make up the quality difference in cultivation with quantity. Still, it is also because of this remarkable feat that there should be existing limitations.

    Practitioners can be invincible but not techniques. No matter how good a technique is, it still depends on who uses it to show its true worth.

    If Leon wanted to break the Great Blood Transference Technique, he had to cut their link and disrupt their excellent coordination.

    However, it is easier said than done. With so many pairs of eyes covering their blind spots, their defense was almost impregnable.

    There was no difference between trying to cut their link and trying to destroy the giant blob of dark blood. It was all the same, exhausting with a low chance of sess.

    Did he have to waste so much effort and time to deal with these ''small flies'' just because they have an impressive technique? There had to be a more efficient method in dealing with these people.

    Leon frowned in thought.

    Watching the giant blob of dark blood recovering its droplets of blood arrows for the Nth time, Leon was struck with a sudden spark of inspiration.

    Trying to break the enemy''s technique from the outside was exhausting, but what about from the inside? It would be remarkably easy.

    Naturally he, himself would not be able to slip past their defenses, but other things can. There was nothing more lethal to blood than poison.

    Leon''s eyes glowed with a nefarious light. He had just the right type of poison in mind for the job.

    However, to destroy the core disciples and their technique thoroughly, he had to make some preparations.

    Leon distanced himself further from the core disciples and made a mental list of herbs needed for his n. The list consists of supplementary herbs, while the poison was the main ingredient.

    In normal circumstances, Leon would use a pill cauldron to refine his pills, but since he was in the middle of battle, he conjured his mes and extracted the essence from the supplementary herbs directly.

    Under Divine Will, the herbal essence was protected being burnt in the fire.

    Leon took out the main ingredient, the pill bottle of yin poison with a trace of demonic energy, and emptied the pill bottle''s content into the fire to merge with the herbal essences.

    Spirit herbs produce miraculous effects when they are fused together. Not only can they be divine medicine, but they can also be dreadful poison. It all depends on the intention of the alchemist.

    In Leon''s case, he used the herbal essence to fuse with the yin poison and transformed its bone-eroding properties to blood-eroding properties.

    Under the usage of Tier 2 to Tier 3 supplementary herbs, the effects of the blood-eroding poison were greatly amplified.

    Afterpleting the merging steps, Leon divided and condensed the poison essence into 18 blood-eroding poison pills before coating them in a very thin iceyer.

    The pills were only half the standard pills'' size, but any one of these pills could kill a person ten times over. It was dreadful beyondpare.

    Leon never thought that they would be a point in his life where he would have to resort to refining poison with his alchemy knowledge.

    "I don''t know what you are trying to do, but don''t think for a second that I will just let you do as you please!" Zagan shouted when he saw Leon refining his poison pills.

    However, the process was extraordinarily swift and finished in several breathes. This was possibly Leon''s quickest record of pill refining. Poison was much easier to refine than medicine. Likewise, it was easy to poison a person but harder to cure them.

    After feinting an attack and evaded the next round of blood arrows, Leon spread out his divine sense and shot out all 18 blood-eroding poison pills in different directions. As if this was not enough, Leon had further injected wood energy into the pills before threw them.

    After that, he used Divine Will to guide the poison pills into the liquid-state blood arrows beneath the core disciples'' notice.

    The core disciples saw Leon throwing out some things, but could not guess his intention. After sensing nothing wrong, the current controller, Zagan, recalled the blood arrows to rejoin the giant blob of dark blood floating above them.

    "Ha! Have you gone crazy? Where were you aiming?" Zagan mocked in a jovial manner.

    "It''s too early for you to be happy." Leon said coolly. his lips soon curve up into a cold smile before he added, "In fact, it''s toote for you to be happy."

    "What do you mean?"

    Zagan frowned.

    The cold smile filled Zagan with uneasiness, but he could not tell where the anxiety came from.

    However, it did not take long before the expression of every core disciple warped with horror.

    The thinyer of ice coating melted very quickly, followed by the poison pills dissolving right after. Once that happened, the poison spread like cancerous cells, eroding the blood cells while increasing its toxic mass.

    "Something''s wrong!"

    A core disciple shouted after noticing something. However, even if Leon wanted to stop it at this point, it was impossible.

    Under the propagating effect of wood energy, the poison spread at an elerated rate. Wherever the blood went, the poison would follow.

    In a short instance, the entire blob of dark blood lost all trace of its redness. It did not end there. The poison continued to travel through the blood link that connected the disciples.

    The quicker ones were able to react quickly and cut off the blood link before the poison entered their bodies, but as for the slower ones? Their bodies rapidly wilted like dying flowers, before ck goo oozed out of their orifices and pores.

    The scene was especially horrifying.

    Being the creator of the venomous poison, even Leon paled at the sight.

    This blood-eroding poison¡­ wasn''t this a little too effective?! It was outright fearsome!

 Chapter 318 - Turning Point

    <h4>Chapter 318 - Turning Point</h4>

    The blood eroding poison was vicious to the extreme. Not only did the poison transformed all the blood touched by it to ck gooey substances, but all the core disciples were also either killed or effectively crippled by it.

    Blood was the source of their cultivation, and when said blood is eroded by poison, it is naturally rendered useless. The giant blob of dark blood, the umtion of all their cultivation, had be nothing more than a pool of ck goo after dropping to the ground.

    "Nooo! My cultivation¡­ it is gone!"

    "Argh! This can''t be happening!"

    The core disciples despaired when they felt the weakness thates with the loss of their blood and cultivation. They were mortals again!

    "It wasn''t supposed to be like this! Do you know what you have done?! How dare you use such a despicable method! Arghhh!"

    Zagan roared hysterically.

    He red at Leon venomously, along with the remaining half of the survivors, for his underhanded tactic. They were the type of people that enjoyed harming others but cannot ept others harming them.

    "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Maybe this will teach you how to be better humans in your next life IF there is a next life."

    Leon said coldly with indifference.

    Without giving them a chance to plead for mercy, Leon reduced them to ashes with a horizontal swipe of his ming spear.

    After all the core disciples were killed, Leon turned his attention back on the battle between Don and the Bloodfiend Sect''s sect master some distance away.

    All the surrounding buildings in the area had been leveled to the ground, and the structures of Lost Isle Alley some further distance away were also not left unscathed from their battle.

    Chances were, the energy gathering formations are broken, but Leon did not care too much about this. So long as the Teleportation Array was intact, it was still usable. He had more than enough spirit stones to power up the array.

    Leon quickly recovered a portion of the ck goo and began smearing his spear and silver needles before storing the remainder into 5 empty pill bottles.

    After that, he subtly moved closer to the other battlefield and waited for a chance to catch Balthazar off guard while he was focused on Don.

    The battle between Don and Balthazar was very intense.

    Due to the level of their battle, none of them paid any attention to their surroundings and only focused wholeheartedly on their opponent. It only takes a single slip of concentration to give their opponent a fatal opening.

    Don was riddled with wounds from his battle with Balthazar, but despite that, it was verymendable that he could continue holding his ground against Balthazar for as long as he did.

    This was the perks of being an alchemist.

    No matter how heavily injured they were, they could just ingest some recovery pills and heal themselves in the midst of battle.

    Because of this shameless tactic, Balthazar was almost angered to the point of puking blood. Of course, that would not happen with Balthazar''s ability over blood.

    Nevertheless, there was a limited amount of recovery pills Don could carry on his body, especially when his pajamas were not designed for many pockets.

    After all, pajamas were a type of sleepwear. Why would you even need pockets while you are sleeping? It was strange enough that Don''s pajamas had some.

    On top of that, Don''s Tier 1 recovery pills were not very effective at his level.

    He needed Tier 3 recovery pills, but Tier 3 spirit herbs had always been rare, to begin with. Gaia could not nurture many spirit herbs with itsck of spirit energy.

    However, that was all in the past. With the presence of the World Tree, Gaia was bound to give birth to a plethora of spirit herbs in the future. Not only that, but Gaia would also be a holynd of divine cultivation.

    That is how miraculous of an existence a World Tree is.

    Even in the Divine Realm, the number of World Trees that existed across the countless star realms and starfields were not that many. The ones that did exist were all monopolized by Divine King realm powerhouses.

    Even so, it was due to the existence of World Trees that the Divine Realm was always rich in a never-ending amount of spirit energy despite the ckhole consistently swallowing everything in existence with its mighty gravitational force.

    Going back to the battle between Don and Balthazar.

    As they continued to fight, Don was quickly reaching his limit. His recovery pills were finally expended, and his flowery-patterned pajamas were in tatters.

    On his body were numerous cuts caused by bloody sword aura, but they were all shallow cuts. None of them were deep, and neither was he bleeding from these wounds. In fact, they had been seared shut by Don''s me.

    This was not a mistake on Don''s part. He had intentionally seared his own wounds. If he did not seal his injuries, the blood seeping out of his body would be absorbed by his opponent to replenish their strength.

    "You''re very hard to kill, you know that? But it seems like you are finally reaching your limit."

    Balthazar smirked coldly.

    "If I had to guess, it would only take one shot to end you. Being the generous person that I am, I am willing to give you the chance to muster all your remaining strength for one final struggle. It''s the least I can do to show my respect to you for being able tost this long against me."

    "Then keep your eyes peeled open to appreciate what you are about to see. I will be using my strongest move!"

    Don said deeply as he stared at Balthazar intently from the sky.

    Despite not believing what Balthazar had said, Don had no choice but to hope that it was true. This is because the result would be the same either way.

    Don raised his hand and began drawing in all the fiery energy between heaven and earth, gathering them towards a single point on top of his palm.

    The fiery energy pulsated as Donpressed the fiery energy each time the fiery energy ball grew significantly.

    Don being Don, the nature of his attack was an explosive one. To create a miniature sun and replicate a supernova explosion. Even if his attack is worlds apart from the real one, it would still be his strongest attack.

    As expected, Balthazar did not wait for Don to finish charging his attack beforeunching a sneak attack.

    Although Don was hoping this would not happen, he had anticipated such a scenario. Trusting the words of these inhuman blood cultivators is like believing chickens could bark like dogs.

    Just as Don was about to execute his attack early to repel Balthazar''s strike, Leon, who had been lying in wait, finally made his move.

    Throwing his ming ck spear with explosive might, the spear shot towards Balthazar with incredible speed and aimed for his unguarded area.

    The crimson ck armor did not grant Balthazar absolute protection. If it did, it would limit his movements. There were openings around his neck, armpits, and knee pits. Of these unguarded points, only the neck was fatal, and it was also the target of Leon''s attack.

    With Balthazar''s keen sense for danger, he knew that he would not be able to finish Don off, not unless he wanted a spear logged into his neck in exchange.

    Leon''s spear attack ended up failing, but he managed to disrupt Balthazar''s attack and attention. That split-second distraction was all Don needed.

    Don fired his miniature sun straight at Balthazar.

    The attack was not fully charged, but if he did not attack now, when? Opportunities were hard toe by.

    Being unable to dodge the attack, Balthazar was forced to receive the miniature sun head-on.

    Kaboom!

    The miniature sun exploded with great fury and rapid expansion, ballooning to thousands of times its initial size!

    The force sent Balthazar mming into the ground, where he would continue to endure the searing heat of mes within the explosion radius.

    At the same time, Don was swept away by the aftershock of the explosion.

    His body drew an arc in the sky beforending on the ground with a thud some distance away.

    Leon quickly made his way over to Don''s location, where the grandmasterid on the ground, battered and devoid of strength. Despite that, the grandmaster was in an excellent mood.

    "Hahaha! Brat, you''rete!" Donughed.

    "Betterte than never." Leon smiled before taking out some Tier 3 recovery pills to offer Don. "Take these. It will help you recover quickly, Grandpa Don."

    "Don''t worry about me and quickly go finish that person off. My attack might not have killed him, but he would definitely be severely wounded!" Don urged, but still epted the pills.

    "En."

    Leon nodded.

    After the explosions subsided and disappeared entirely, a huge crater was left behind in the Upper District. Roughly at the center of the crater, Balthazar could be seen standing back up with great difficulty.

    His crimson ck armor was broken in various parts while his exposed skin was charred ck by the hellfire. These were just the injuries seen on the surface. There were also internal damages

    As expected, Balthazar was seen coughing up a pool of blood due to the internal injuries sustained. After that, he red at Leon venomously from a distance.

    "It''s over for you, old man¡­ Just ept your death!" Leon said as the ck spear flew back into his grasp from using Divine Will.

 Chapter 319 - Watch My Needles!

    <h4>Chapter 319 - Watch My Needles!</h4>

    "Hmph! I underestimated you, little brat! To think you were able to deal with my people so quickly! But don''t think for a second that I am going to let you off easy! I may have failed, and I may very well die today! But I will at least take down one Crawford Royalty with me if it''s thest thing I do!"

    "Careful, Leon boy!"

    Don quickly warned.

    Balthazar all the lost blood back into his body and shot towards Leon with the blood sword in his hand, aiming for his waist.

    Leon was prepared for Balthazar''s attack and attempted to parry it upwards with the rising dragon stance.

    Peng!

    Leon was sent flying by the excess force of 50 thousand jins! Evidently, the strength of a severely injured Transcendent was still powerful!

    He had learned his lesson from their previous exchanges. Against overwhelming strength, tackling it head-on would only hurt himself significantly from the excess force.

    The philosophy of military arts was to use the opponent''s strength to their advantage, fighting hard with soft.

    Recalling this, Leon immediately applied it byunching himself back during the moment he was struck. Thus, rather than being attacked by the 50 thousand jin of excess force, it was more like being pushed back by it.

    Leon was able to reduce the damage to a minimum ande out unscathed.

    Balthazar shed Don at the side a cold look and said, "Busybody, go die!"

    Balthazar aimed to finish Don off before the person could recover, but Leon would not allow that to happen, not on his watch.

    While he was still flying back, Leon twisted his body midair and threw the ck spear with all his might. The ck spear shot towards Balthazar''s exposed head filled scathing burns.

    Balthazar Blood Armament armor had been destroyed by Don''sst attack. Various parts were missing on his body.

    His armor''s remaining parts include half a helmet, one shoulder pad, a pair of gauntlets, and most of the lower half intact, except for one boot. The rest were destroyed.

    Balthazar readily deflected Leon''s spear. His eyes shrank when he saw the spearheadced with a ck substance.

    "Poison?! Sneaky brat! So, this is how you dealt with my men! Hmph! Too bad, you threw away your best weapon! Don''t think about getting it back!"

    Before Leon could recall his weapon with Divine Will, it was grasped tightly by Balthazar''s free hand.

    Leon frowned.

    He had been using Divine Will to control his spear ever since it was enchanted by runes. This was because the power of runes interfered with his metal control.

    Just like how Awakeners could not freely control the elements of another person due to their individual will, the primalw that gives powers to runes had a simr effect to a sentient will that render elemental maniption of Awakeners useless on it.

    If Leon wanted to use metal maniption on his Tier 3 spirit artifact, he would first need to advance to the first stage of the Transcendent realm, the Preliminary ession level. But even at this level, the extent of his metal maniption would still be limited.

    Once a spirit artifact develops its own sentience and gives birth to the artifact spirit, it would be entirely impossible to manipte it with an Awakener''s abilities.

    However, Divine practitioners did not have Awakeners'' abilities, to begin with, but they were still able to control their spirit artifacts freely back in the Divine Realm.

    This is because artifact spirits of spirit artifacts can be spiritually connected to Divine practitioners after being bound by blood. Through the spiritual connection, the artifact spirit would freely follow the will of their master.

    As such, Leon would no longer need to use Divine Will nor stronger awakening power to control the ck spear once its sentience develops.

    That being said, Leon did not have time to think about all this. He only frowned for a short moment before shrugging his shoulders.

    "If you like it so much, I will let you hold onto it for now. I still have other weapons I can use. Watch my needles!"

    Having said that, Leon shot several steel needlesced with blood-eroding poison. These needles were all aimed at Balthazar''s vitals.

    That being said, whether the needlesnded on these vitals or not was not important. What is important is whether any of these needlesnded.

    No matter how strong Balthazar was, his body would still sumb to the overbearingly vicious poison if it was allowed to pierce his skin and enter his system.

    Balthazar narrowed his eyes into slits as he could barely follow the trajectory of the silver needles. Not only was it currently dark at night, but the silver needles were also small and fast.

    Even for someone like him, it was difficult to deflect all these needles with just his sword alone under these conditions. Nevertheless, grunted, "Hmph! Paltry tricks!"

    A simple blood iron shield was used to block all the needles. The needles were quick, a testimony to Leon''s adeptness in throwing weapons, but it stillcked power. Balthazar did not have to exert much effort to defend himself.

    Balthazar pulled out the incredibly thin silver needles and inspected them before ring at Leon.

    "Acupuncture needles? First, you use poison, now you use them with hidden weapons?! Hmph! You''re pretty insidious, huh?!"

    The deformed steel needles were thrown back.

    Balthazar was not adept at throwing. Thus, his strength was not correctly distributed into the needles, causing the already deformed needles to stray further from their intended target.

    The uracy and speed were terrible.

    The deformed needles found their way back to Leon''s hands effortlessly before they straightened back into shape under the maniption of Leon''s metal ability.

    Balthazar''s expression darkened. That would be thest time he would try using hidden weapons.

    "I don''t want to hear thating from someone like you." Leon said with a frown before shouting, "Watch my needles!"

    Balthazar immediately defended himself with another blood iron shield,rge enough to block his own vision.

    Ding! Ding! Ding!

    Leon did not stay in one spot and began circling around Balthazar and shoot from better angles where the blood iron shield did not cover.

    He had given up on closebat.

    "Watch my needles!"

    Ding! Ding!

    As expected, Balthazar was able to shift his blood iron shield and defend against it in time.

    With Leon''s call exposing his own location, it only served to make it easier for Balthazar. But even without his call, Balthazar would still have been able to defend against his attack.

    "I don''t know what you are trying to do, but you are making this too easy for me, brat! Did thatst hit make you go stupid?" Balthazar mocked before coughing violently.

    Leon did not seem to have heard him, or rather he hadpletely ignored it and continued to repeat the same move.

    "Watch my needles!"

    Ding! Ding!

    "It''s useless, brat! Try something else!" Balthazar sneered, but he did not lower his guard and continued to block each needle attack solemnly.

    A few beads of sweat trickled down his temples. It only takes one of these smeared needles to kill him in his current condition.

    "Watch my needles!"

    "Watch my needles!"

    "Watch my¡­!"

    ¡­

    At some point, Balthazar could still hear Leon''s cry, but he no longer felt the impact of the needle attack. After figuring out why, he became livid in the next moment.

    "You dare to trick me?!"

    "Watch my needles!" Leon shouted once more.

    Balthazar immediately hid behind his shield again, but nothing happened. Popping his head back out from behind the shield, he was met with Leon''s cynical smile.

    Balthazar fell for Leon''s trick again! He was so incensed he coughed up more blood. After wiping his mouth, he red at Leon coldly.

    If looks could kill, Leon would have died thousands of times over.

    "It seems you are out of needles!" Balthazar stated with a deep voice.

    As if to confirm his guess, he saw Leon taking out a sword. His eyes glinted with a greedy light. If he lives through this, he definitely had to find out where the brat was hiding all his weapons!

    "Come!"

    Balthazar gave a cruel smile.

    Leon immediately lunged forward with his sword at his call. As Leon closed the distance and hacked out with his sword, he shouted, "Watch my needles!"

    "Do you think I will still believe that?!"

    Balthazar roared loudly and hacked out with his own sword to receive the attack.

    He did not notice that Leon made a flicking gesture with his other hand shot out multiple needles and retreated abrupted before their swords made contact.

    Poof! Poof! Poof!

    The needles shot through Balthazar''s left knee, right thigh, one straight through the stomach.

    "Y-Y-You! You trick me!"

    Balthazar pointed at Leon with trembling fingers. He was so angry he could not be any angrier. He was the Sect Master of the Bloodfiend Sect! When had he ever been yed like this?!

    "That''s right, I tricked you! So what?" Leon said nonchntly while giving Balthazar an impassive look. Once his attack seeded, there was no saving the Blood Transcendent.

    The poison spread quickly.

    "You''re despicable and shameless to the extreme!" Balthazar roared indignantly as his body grew weaker by the moment. He was unwilling to ept this type of oue.

    "All is fair in war." Leon shrugged, before adding. "I do not mind getting my hands dirty if ridding the world of one evil means saving countless innocent lives."

    "Hahaha¡­"

    Balthazarughed with resignation while shaking his head like he heard something ridiculous. He became so weak that he could no longer stand. No matter how unwilling he was, death was inevitable.

    "Trying to be a hero, eh? No matter how much evil you eradicate, this world is already doomed to perish. I am just the beginning, but they? They will be the end."

    With that, Balthazar''s eyes dimmed and quietly passed away.

 Chapter 320 - No Work, No Meat!

    <h4>Chapter 320 - No Work, No Meat!</h4>

    Leon sighed after the ordeal was finally over. With the death of the sect master, the Bloodfiend Sect was finished in its truest sense.

    However.

    Leon frowned when he recalled Balthazar''sst words. It was full of hidden implications and did not seem to have been said out of spite.

    The origins of the Bloodfiend Sect''s techniques were quite dubious. Could they have been colluding with demons? In that case, Balthazar would have been referring to the demons. The demons were nning to destroy the?

    That should not be the case. Demons ughter the weak and enve the strong, but they still needed a habitable to survive.

    Wiping out the would mean wiping out themselves, not to mention they need to have an incredibly strong demon at the level of the Divine King realm, a Demon King, to pull it off.

    If there was a Demon King on Gaia that intended to destroy the world, the world would have been fucked long ago.

    Leon furrowed his brows and began to ponder deeper, but no matter how much he pondered, everything was mere spections.

    "It seems I need to start looking on the other side if I want to find my answers." Leon softly murmured before he had a look of determination. "Wait for me, mom! I wille save you soon!"

    In the distance, Don''sughter could be heard echoing over as the said person soon dragged his body over and patted Leon''s shoulders with both hands. "Hahaha! Well done, Leon boy! I¡ªAhem, I knew you could do it!"

    Leon gave Grandmaster Don a sidelong nce and said, "Did you, Grandpa Don? Did you really? You didn''t seem all that confident in me when you retreated so far away, though?" Leon doubted.

    "I¡ªEr¡­ Of course, I was confident. I was trying not to get in your way, don''t you know that? Did you forget how that old thing almost hacked me to death?" Don retorted shamelessly.

    Leon shook his head with a softugh.

    "How are you feeling, Grandpa Don?"

    "Great, actually!" Don''s eyes lit up before he praised, "The recovery medicine was super effective! Do you have any left? How about gifting Grandpa Don some more?"

    Leon did not refuse Don''s request and directly passed the grandmaster two pill bottles of Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pills.

    Don dly received the pill bottles before opening one of the caps and took a whiff on the high-quality medicinal scent.

    "Leon boy, you actually have so many pills of this quality?" Don was pleasantly surprised after finding 10 pills in each bottle, before asking, "Where did get all the high-quality spirit herbs to refine these?"

    "If Grandpa Don needs spirit herbs, perhaps Grandpa Don should pay a visit to the World Tree some time and ask some wood-users to help Grandpa Don cultivate them. The spirit energy there is vibrant." Leon answered in a roundabout way.

    "Oh? Grandpa Don was nning on travel after this. It seems Grandpa Don must pay a visit to that ce first."

    "You were? Where are you nning to go, Grandpa Don?" Leon asked with surprise.

    After a quick talk, Leon found out where Don was heading and why he was heading there.

    The Transcendent realm was not the same as the Awakener and Ranked Awakener realms. If one wants to progress further in the Transcendent realm, one needed a suitable environment toprehend thews.

    For this purpose, Don intended to head to the Ishaan Kingdom, where it was said to be the hottest ce in the Human Domain.

    "Alright, Grandpa Don''s going to find your father for a talk and ease his worries."

    "But before that, Grandpa Don might want to go find some clothes," Leon said with a softugh.

    The grandmaster alchemist''s pajamas were burnt away in the battle. All he had left to cover himself was ayer of mes.

    Don was taken aback after a quick nce at himself before he nodded without the slightest shame, "En, that''s true."

    After Don left, Leon swept at look at the destruction around him before shaking his head.

    "It seems the Upper District will also need to undergo some reconstruction. Fortunately, it''s only the Upper East District that has been mainly affected by the battle."

    Soon after, Leon''s eyes fell back on Balthazar''s corpse with ck goo oozing out of his pores and orifices.

    "I should clean up my mess first¡­ father will take care of the rest." Leon mused.

    He bent down and carefully searched through Balthazar''s half-destroyed clothes with divine sense. Finding nothing of importance, he shifted his focus to the head.

    "No Transcendent Crystal?"

    Leon was surprised to find nothing, nothing at all.

    Elemental seeds quickly disperse all its energy after Awakeners die, but Transcendent Crystals hold the crystallization of theirw''sprehension and would not dissipate for a long time.

    Therefore, they were able to find so many Transcendent Crystals from the previous era when they unearthed the deeper parts of the underground.

    "Hmm?"

    Suddenly, Leon discovered something in the heart region and located onto it with his divine sense. The thing seemed to have also realized that it was found out and quickly shot out from Balthazar''s chest and tried to escape.

    "Where do you think you''re going?!"

    Leon made a quick grasp with his hand and controlled the earth''s surrounding rubbles to wrap around the thing and restrict its movement. Shortly after, it was brought back in front of him for a closer inspection.

    The thing squirmed within the countless rubbles stered to its body. It resisted and try to break free, but to no avail.

    It had the appearance of blood crystal but appeared to be tainted with demonic energy. Two pairs of ck pointy legs could be seen sticking out from the bottom and seemed rather creepy.

    Leon sighed.

    "Even Transcendent Crystals can be demonized. This must be the result of a Demon Seed fusing with the blood crystal. Too bad this blood crystal can no longer be used, but that is fine. This discovery more than makes up for it."

    The Bloodfiend Sect was rted to the demons.

    Leon clenched his fist and crushed the crystal demon, shattering it into fragments like broken ss. After that, he waved his ming hand and reduced everything to ashes, including Balthazar''s corpse.

    He cleaned up every trace of blood-eroding poison and proceeded to do the same to the rest of the poison where the core disciples were killed.

    It was too irresponsible of him to leave behind such a dangerous thing for others to clean up. It would be bad if it fell into the wrong hand.

    Once Leon was done with clean up, he collected his spear and silver needles scattered across the area before making his way over to the tri-building of Lost Isle Alley.

    One of the buildings had been cleanly shaved off diagonally from the middle. The other two buildings were also either missing a third or a quarter of their upper section.

    None of the buildings were in one piece, and the darkness profound energy escaped after the heaven gathering formation was destroyed, revealing the inside of Lost Alley Isle.

    Leon sighed with relief after seeing the Teleportation Array in one piece.

    If any of the attacks had been 6 feet lower, the Teleportation Array would have been caught in the attack.

    "I should make some preparations and recover some strength first." Leon carefully considered with a frown.

    If he chooses to teleport to the other side of the Teleportation Array now and run into a strong demon, not only would he not be saving anyone, he will also lose his life in vain.

    After cleaning his body, Leon tossed away the ragged old clothes and took out a new set ofmon clothes from the Worldspace.

    "I''ll probably need to buy some new clothes while I''m at it."

    Leon recalled the nice tailor shop in the Lower District he visited once. He wondered if the tailor shop''s owner had been able to survive the spider disaster back then.

    The first ray of sunlight soon shined on Leon''s face and started the next day. He ran back through an entire night and fought until morning, but he did not feel tired.

    In fact, he felt rxed. No rest was needed. What is sleep even?

    Shaking his head, Leon ingested a few pills and decided to head over to the workshop and fix his weapon, and forge some more items while he was over there.

    ¡­

    Shortly after Leon left, pce guards arrived at the site and began directing dozens of city guards, hundreds of soldiers, andbor workers. They worked together to clear out the rubbles and patch up the cracks and craters in the ground.

    "Move it, move it, move it! We have a lot of work to do today, people! Those who are too slow will not be getting any meat for breakfast!" A stern pce guard shouted.

    "Ehhh? That is too cruel, Sir! You can''t do that!"

    A few people at the 2ndyer of the Body Tempering realm protested while the rest of thebor workers at the 3rdyer of the Body Tempering realm went straight into work withoutint.

    "I''m afraid I can! His Majesty has given me free rein to decide what you can and cannot eat!" The pce guard grinned.

    "Don''t you know? Meat is a luxury now! All beast meat businesses with the Western Frontier had been cut off due to the recent strange events happening in the Wilnds! You should be happy that I am even giving you the option of having meat! If you don''t want to lose it, then quickly get to work!"

    "Y-Yes, Sir!"

    The few ignorantbor workers were immediately shocked with wide eyes. They were not allowed to purchase beast meat from the Western Frontier anymore? What exactly was going on over there?

 Chapter 321 - Departure

    <h4>Chapter 321 - Departure</h4>

    The Upper East District was soon bustling with activity. Earth-users could be seen moving loads of rubbles and into carts, while sturdybor workers transport them.

    The supervising pce guard pulled over by another pce guard before the person said, "Hey, are you sure you should be telling them that? Are you not afraid of starting a panic?"

    "It''s fine, it''s fine. The King will be making this news public soon anyway. Besides, if I don''t give them a heads-up now, wouldn''t they starting rioting and refusing to work when they suddenly stop getting meatter? At least, they will find it more eptable and notin if they knew in advance."

    "Eh? Is that the case? I guess what you say makes sense."

    The pce guard agreed.

    "En. Alright, if that is all you are asking, then hurry up and move it."

    "Huh?" The pce guard was taken aback before asking, "What do you mean?"

    "Don''t huh me and get to work! Do you think you can have it easy before we know each other?" The supervising pce guard grinned evilly.

    "Motherfucker! I am your older brother! You seem to have grown some guts just because you got lucky enough to be ced in charge of this operation, huh?!"

    "My mother is your mother!"

    "Eh? Oh yeah¡­ You right, you right."

    "Hmph! I am just trying to do my job faithfully! There''ll be no special treatment from me, so hurry up and beat it! No work, no meat!"

    "Y-Y-You¡­ Fine! I will remember this, my dear little brother!" The pce guard scoffed with an embarrassed look before scurrying off to help clear the rubbles.

    ¡­

    Western Frontier, Great Wall.

    These past few days, the frequency of berserk beast sightings and attacks has increased with each passing day.

    Usually, this would have been a good source of ie for the military. Beast carcasses had always been in high demand by merchant beast buyers.

    But ever since the first soldier got infected with the same berserk beast symptoms from eating their beast meat, they no longer dared to sell the beast carcasses to the merchants.

    In fact, the chances of the berserk beast problem posing a severe threat to the kingdom were very likely. As such, the consumption of beast meat was strictly prohibited after General Marquis Hendrick returned to the Western Frontier with his son.

    Anyone caught selling the beast carcasses outside of the Western Frontier would be meet with capital punishment, death.

    General Marquis Hendrick had the foreboding feeling that the berserk beast symptoms were highly infectious and should be treated with all due seriousness like the ck Death.

    ck Death was a terrible gue in human history that once wiped out half the poption before the Cataclysm urred.

    They must not let the madness spread to the rest of the kingdom!

    At the military camp''s research facility, a few researchers and over a dozen soldiers held in captivity behind cages of reinforced magisteel bars.

    Without a doubt, these captive soldiers are the soldiers infected by the berserk beast symptom.

    Whitecoat researchers were seen gathered around said cages. They studied the infected soldier''s behaviors and jotted down notes with their pens.

    "Alright, don''t stick too close to the cages now. If you let them scratch or bite you, we will have no choice but to lock you behind a cage as well." A researcher reminded.

    "Yeah, yeah, we know. Who would want to be like this?"

    After Hendrick arrived at the facility, the whitecoat researchers all paused their work and saluted.

    "General Marquis!"

    "Carry on with your tasks." Hendrick acknowledged and waved them off before strolling over to the head researcher. "How''s the study going? What have you found?"

    "Have a look, General."

    The head researcher passed Hendrick a sealed vial of ss. Inside the ss vial, a cluster of red mist twirled like an inverted cyclone trying to drill out of the sealed vial.

    "This should have been extracted from the berserk beast, and should also be the root cause of their berserk state, right? Have you found out why?" Hendrick Graham asked.

    "Yes, that is correct, General. This is the red energy extracted from the berserk beast. However, it might not be the root cause of the berserk state." The head researcher stated.

    "In our studies, we have found that infected people with mild effects share simr traits to the berserk beast state. However, the more extreme cases showed loss of intelligence and a strong thirst for blood."

    "This red energy does have the effect of aggravating one''s emotions and stimting the body''s potential¡­ but I feel like we are still missing something important. I can''t quite put my finger on it, but it shouldn''t be this simple¡­"

    Hendrick''s brows furrowed at the head researcher''s exnation for a moment with a pondering look, but he soon shook his head.

    He patted the head researcher''s shoulders and said, "You are the most authoritative person in this field. If you believe something is missing, then something is missing. Try to figure out what that is, then report back to me."

    "Yes, General!"

    The head researcher felt honored by General Marquis Hendrick''s unreserved trust in him. He patted his chest, and resolutely said, "I will not fail you!"

    "En, I know you won''t. Continue the good work!"

    ¡­

    Back at the Capital.

    After Leon finished his business at the Duke''s workshop, he dropped by the royal pce to make some prior arrangements with his father before his eventual departure for the other side.

    But before he left the workshop, he had handed Duke Ignis theplete method for Tier 1 to Tier 3 runic engravings of the interspatial artifact and spirit artifact making.

    Leon did not know how long it would take him to get back from the other side, but he knew he would not be around when his mother returns to the Capital with Aria and Lynne.

    As such, he had gifted his father a set of Tier 3 interspatial ring and sword before handing over another three such sets for his father to pass onto his mother, Aria, and Lilith in his stead.

    When he tried to leave the pce, his father had attempted to persuade him from going to the other side of the Teleportation Array due to the unknown dangers. When his father suggested sending troops to explore the other side first, Leon firmly rejected the idea.

    It was a terrible idea.

    From what they had learned from his adoptive father and the other returners, the other side''s environment was harsh and not suitable for humans.

    The other side wascking in sunlight and spirit energy. On top of that, darkness profound energy loomed the ce among various other elements harmful to humans.

    The troops would not be able to adapt to changes in the environment. They would just pass out within the first hour of arriving from the suffocating feeling like his adoptive father had experienced.

    If they could not get these troops back, it was basically the same as sending them to the other side to get killed or demonized.

    Even if they did manage to recover the troops from the other side, just the fact that he had to remove the demon seeds was very bothersome and exhausting.

    The n was clearly not feasible.

    In the end, it was still better that he went alone.

    He had a much tougher constitution due to the practice of [Hegemon of Primal Chaos].

    Furthermore, Divine Will could ward off the impure energy, while the pure spirit energy from his supreme-grade spirit stones could rece the air he breathes.

    Also, he was not exactly going alone. He has a Half Corporeal-state spirit to apany him on this trip.

    There was a reason why Leon did not rely on Lumi''s help in his battle against Balthazar previously, despite having the spirit girl lyingfortably in his Worldspace by the little cold biome he set up to cultivate his yin-type herbs.

    Soul cultivators are strong against body cultivators, but soul cultivators are also weak against energy cultivators.

    Although Balthazar was not an energy cultivator, he had used energy attacks empowered by his bloodw and sword spirit. One such attack was enough to kill Lumi.

    When Leon returned to Lost Isle Alley, the surrounding rubbles had been mostly cleared. The cracks and craters were also patched in this short span of a few hours since he left.

    One could see that the work efficiency of the people was very high. Everything was so much simpler with the Awakener''s abilities.

    The area was crowded with workers on break, but none of them dare to draw too close to Lost Isle Alley. This is because it was guarded by pce guards.

    Leon''s arrival drew a few curious nces over. Some recognized him, some did not. Regardless of whether they did or not, no one dared to speak carelessly and kept quiet as they enjoyed their food.

    "Your Highness!"

    The pce guards all greeted after seeing the prince approached them.

    Leon silently acknowledged them with a nod before hopping on top of the Teleportation Array. After he inserted the empty power sockets with 4 supreme-grade spirit stones and activated the array, the spatial portal to the other side opened.

    His eyes flickered with a determined look. All preparations were done.

    "Your Highness, are you leaving now?" A pce guard hurriedly asked.

    "En!" Leon nodded.

    "You know what you have to do. Protect this ce well for me!"

    Shortly after, he disappeared through the spatial portal. A new world was waiting for him on the other side!

 Chapter 322 - Black Swamp

    <h4>Chapter 322 - ck Swamp</h4>

    The other side. The demon''s territory. Thend of darkness.

    In this world, dark clouds loomed over the skies and blotted out all the sunlight all year round. If not for the red moon''s dreary crimson light, the world would be plunged into perpetual darkness.

    One could even say that on thisnd, day and night are reversed. Night is day, and day is night.

    "So, this is what lies on the other side?" Leon quietly murmured to himself.

    After arriving, his vignce was raised to the max and refrained himself from scouting with divine sense.

    Some creatures were sensitive divine sense. He could not guarantee that using divine sense would give away his location.

    [Spirit Eyes]

    His ckish-grey pupils began to glow with a silver light.

    Smothering ck gas filled his vision while the ground felt wet and soft. He found himself in a ck swamp with water levels reaching his knees while countless bones littered the ce.

    Everything he could see was painted ck by the boundless darkness profound energy.

    "No signs of demons so far," Leon concluded after sensing no nearby lifeforms. Shortly after, his brows furrowed.

    "There are so many bones belonging to demons, beasts, and even humans are in this ce. A big battle must have happened here long ago¡­"

    Leon suddenly paused.

    He picked up a white human skull and rubbed the texture, before continuing his analysis, "¡­However, a portion of these bones are very fresh. Their age doesn''t match the rest of the bones."

    At this point, Leon''s heart trembled slightly on a certain possibility, but he quickly shook his head out of such thinking.

    "No, these skulls greatly resemble humans, but there are also some minor differences. Nothing is conclusive yet. Mom and the others might still be alive."

    With that in mind, Leon continued to study the surrounding.

    "It''s no wonder that adoptive father and the others passed out so quickly after arriving. There is such a high concentration of miasma in this ce. Something big must have also happened here recently. Also¡­"

    At this point, Leon slightly lifted his knees and checked each leg. He shook his head when his long pants had transformed into shorts. Wiggling his toes, he found that his leather boots had also disappeared.

    In that regard, Leon felt a bit helpless.

    He had prepared quite a few spare sets of clothes for the trip, but he did not prepare extra shoes. It appeared that he would barefooted until he finds something to wear.

    "¡­This ck water possesses some level of corrosiveness. It is not enough to threaten me in the short term but soak in it for a few days, and I would also be joining the rest of the bones.

    The corrosive ck water only affected Leon''s skin with mild itchiness, but he did not fancy the idea of bing a pile of bones. Thus, it was better to leave the ck swamp soon.

    Divine Will rippled out from his body and subtly warded away the surrounding ck gas. The ck swamp water was also divided, revealing the Tier 4 Teleportation Array below his feet.

    This Tier 4 Teleportation Array was different from the one in Lost Isle Alley, but both were absolutely necessary for spatial travel between the two locations.

    If someone tries to jump through a teleportation array without having the other one, the chances of being sent into the void were rtively high.

    That being said, both teleportation arrays do not need to be activated simultaneously for spatial travel. One was enough, but the other one must be activated for the return trip.

    As Leon studied the array, his eyes shed with an understanding look.

    "I see, the array is hidden in quite an unassuming location, and the demon core''s energy had also been depleted."

    From these clues, he was able to determine the reason why the others failed to return with the rest of the group.

    "But¡­ who would build such a profound array in such an obscured location? It''s like they don''t want anyone to find it."

    Leon frowned with a pondering look.

    This was contrary to his belief that the demons were plotting something against them.

    But whatever the case may be, it was at least certain that the one whoid the teleportation arrays was very familiar with both locations.

    However, he did not ponder too deeply. He believed that the answer woulde to him eventually. First and foremost, he needed to find his adoptive mother. Everything elsees after.

    Leon continued to search for clues within the ck swamp.

    Amidst the mountain of bones found in the area, he also found some interesting weapons and equipment under the ck water. In fact, they were fascinating!

    A bone sword was soon picked up for study.

    "These weapons are quite primitive, but bone is quite sharp and strong. These are some good bones, but the runic enchantments are even better!" Leonmented as he studied the Tier 2 runic engravings.

    "Hm?"

    Suddenly, Leon noticed something different from the weapon.

    "This bone sword had an artifact spirit, but¡­ it''s already dead¡­ The runes on this bone sword are all focused on increasing the weapon''s attack power and destructiveness. Could this be a forbidden artifact?"

    The discovery surprised him.

    Forbidden artifacts could not evolve like spirit artifacts, but they had much higher base power than spirit artifacts without their artifact spirits.

    There was only one person in the history of the Divine Realm who knew how to create forbidden artifacts.

    Furthermore, the Divine Realm was once swept in a great storm because this person refused to share his knowledge with others, leading to multiple powers hunting him down for his runic knowledge.

    Eventually, this great master artificer was forced into a dead end after he dived into the Divine Realm''s ckhole.

    Upon closer inspection, Leon shook his head.

    Even if that great master artificer survived, he would not craft such a low tier weapon. Some minor details did not match with what he knew of forbidden artifacts.

    Leon felt a faint trace of malevolent aura from the dead artifact spirit.

    "No, this bone sword is a bit different from a forbidden artifact, but it''s not quite a spirit artifact either." Leon mused while resting his chin on the back of his hand.

    "A demonic artifact?"

    The sudden thought urred to him. Although he had not heard of demonic artifacts, it did not mean that they did not exist. Anything was possible. There were many things in Gaia that the Divine Realm did not have.

    "In any case, this is a decent weapon. It would be a waste to not keep it. Perhaps, I can pass it onto one of my subordinates."

    With that thought, Leon tossed the bone sword into his Worldspace and began pocketing all the weapons he could find.

    In the end, he looted over 200 items from the ck swamp. These weapons all ranged from Tier 1 to Tier 4.

    Leon was very satisfied with his findings. Of the 200 items looted, there was six Tier 4 weapons, and of these six Tier 4 weapons, one of them was a bone spear. This bone spear was much stronger than his current ck spear.

    Suddenly, Leon sighed.

    "Haiz, I ended up getting sidetracked. If mom and the others are still alive, they would have already left the ck swamp. I need to look elsewhere." Leon frowned.

    "Hey Leon, let me out. I want to see the world, as well." Lumi suddenly transmitted her thoughts to Leon from inside the Worldspace.

    "Hm? Alright, give me a sec." Leon agreed.

    Shortly after, Lumi appeared from the void and floated beside him.

    "Wow, there''s so much yin energy in the air." Lumi immediately gasped with a content expression.

    "If you are already like this with this little bit of yin energy, then it is hard to imagine what you will be like when you go to Extreme Misty Forest," Leon said wryly.

    "Extreme Misty Forest? I''ve heard of that ce, but I''ve never actually been there. Is there really a lot of yin energy there?" Lumi asked curiously.

    "It has yin energy if nothing else," Leon said confidently with a smile. He did not doubt that vengeful spirits many times stronger than Lumi exists within the forest.

    It was unfortunate that he could not venture too deep before he chickened out by the terribly ominous vibes it gave off.

    But that is fine. Leon still had a long road ahead of him. There are plenty of chances to explore the forest once he reaches the Transcendent realm.

    "Really?"

    "Really!"

    Lumi had her doubts, but her eyes soon glowed brightly after receiving Leon''s affirmation. However, her eyes dampened shortly after.

    As if knowing what she was thinking, Leon said, "Don''t worry. I will honor my words. Once we rescue the people here, I will release you from the Blood Imprint regardless of the results. You''ll be free to go explore Extreme Misty Forest all you want when we return."

    "Alright!" Lumi said excitedly before adding, "What are we waiting for then? Let''s go save the people!"

    Leon shook his head wryly at Lumi''s excitement. She was easily convinced like an innocent and sweet little girl. When he recalls the story of how Lumi became a vengeful spirit, he found it quite unfortunate.

    Being born beautiful was a disaster when you do not have the strength to protect yourself. Aria would have likely gone through the same experience if they had not met.

    "Alright, alright! There''s nothing here, so we head north to look."

    Leon shoved the unpleasant thoughts to the back of his head and focused on the journey ahead of them.

 Chapter 323 - The Weeping Forest

    <h4>Chapter 323 - The Weeping Forest</h4>

    "Leon, Leon, have a look! Is this useful?" Lumi handed over a piece of white bone that appeared to have been the tooth of an incrediblyrge beast.

    The tooth was sharpened and enchanted with runic engravings.

    After a careful inspection, Leon nodded, "A Tier 3 Bone Dagger, this is good stuff. Nice find, Lumi!"

    "Hehe!" Lumi giggled and said excitedly, "I''ll go look for more!"

    With that, Lumi darted back into the pile of bones and rummaged for more treasures. All this while, Leon continued to split the swamp water ahead of them with Divine Will for easier findings.

    He had been looting all the treasures he could find along the way, causing Lumi to be interested in joining him after her curiosity was piqued by his actions.

    After three hours of travel, they had looted more than 500 items in total. As for the number of bones collected, it was an even more significant amount!

    Some of these bones were incredibly ancient and sturdy, making them rtively good materials for crafting weapons. Since Leon had suchrge storage space, it was waste not to collect everything he deemed useful.

    "We''ve seen at least millions of bones if not tens of millions since we got here. These bones even range between thousands of years old to as short as a few hundred. Do you have any idea what might have happened here, Lumi?" Leon casually asked.

    "Um, um, maybe some sort of big battle?" Lumi answered unconfidently with her head tilted to the side while rubbing it with a long piece of white bone in her hand.

    "Hahaha, right." Leon smiled wryly.

    Lumi''s was a bit simpleminded.

    "But it''s not just one big battle, but also many battles. Perhaps a great war had broken out long ago, but this ck Swamp isn''t just a graveyard, it''s still an active warzone."

    "Despite that, we have yet to run into anyone or anything since we arrived. Why is that the case? What about you, Maya? What do you think?" Leon asked his artifact spirit instead.

    Since the [Divine Book of Life] was bound to his soul core, it was not strange for him to have the ability to share his senses with Maya.

    After continuous usage of [Spirit Eyes], his pupils'' color has be noticeably more grey.

    At this moment, the ckish-grey pupils lit up with a soft golden glow. Through his eyes, Maya was able to see the outside world.

    "Maybe you are just lucky to have arrived after thest battle ended." After a quick nce, Maya answeredzily before asking, "Where are the books you promised me?"

    "Ahem, soon¡­ soon¡­ You''ll get them soon." Leon coughed with a slightly embarrassed expression. He had been so busy he had forgotten about Maya''s one tiny request.

    After that, he agreed with Maya''s view.

    "En, thest battle must have happened roughly a few days ago, ording to some of these bones'' freshness. If we don''t want to get caught up in the next battle, we need to quickly leave this area."

    "That''s enough, Lumi. We are leaving now!" Leon hollered.

    "E-Eh? Howe? I think there''s still a lot of useful stuff lying around." Lumi asked with a slightint while holding onto three items in her arms. She was just having fun treasure hunting.

    "If we do not leave quickly, it might be troublesometer. Besides, there are so many bones of demons, beasts, and humans, but so little treasures lying about."

    "Evidently, there are also people whoe to reim these things. If we take them all, those people will realize something ande looking for us." Leon exined patiently.

    He did not doubt that if they spent the time to scourge through the entire ck Swamp, the number of treasures would likely exceed ten thousand. However, the chances ofnding themselves in an unfavorable situation were also highly probable.

    It is fine to be greedy but being too greedy was a disaster.

    "Hmm¡­ fine."

    Lumi reluctantly acquiesce.

    After passing two items over for Leon to store away in his Worldspace, Lumi held onto thest artifact and refused to let go.

    It was a bone whistle enchanted by Tier 3 runic engravings and appeared to be quite useful in amplifying sound attacks.

    The way Leon saw it, the stronger Lumi was, the better off they were in this unknownnd ruled by demons. There was already conclusive evidence that demons ran rampant in thesends.

    As such, Leon did not quibble with Lumi over this small matter.

    The bones of true demons were vastly different from the bones of other races. Anyone with a little bit of knowledge about demons would be able to recognize them easily.

    This is because the bones of true demons are not white like other races, but rather jet ck in color. Even demonic beasts do not possess ck bones.

    After spending another 2 hours traveling north, Leon and Lumi finally left the ck Swamp region full of miasma and arrived before a patch of drynd covered with towering trees.

    "Wow, what kind of trees are these? I have never seen trees like these before! Look, Leon, look! It''s so pretty!" Lumi eximed while pointing. Her wide eyes were practically glued on the forest ahead of them.

    "I can see that."

    Leon smiled lightly.

    "Surprisingly, there are nts that could survive in an environment like this," Leonmented.

    Shortly after, he softly murmured, "It seems the Divine Realm needs to re-evaluate the way we view darkness profound energy."

    Many races in the Divine Realm, also referred to darkness profound energy as death energy. This is because darkness profound energy was found harmful to all life.

    Other than demons, only a select few individuals with extraordinary physiques had been known to be able to wield darkness profound energy.

    The trees were all roughly 500fts tall, not a very impressive heightpared to the World Tree, but its height was never the focal point.

    The trunk and branches were all white as pure snow while the leaves were of a floral violet color. The entire tree emitted a soft glow and gave off a devilish yet otherworldly vibe that could be mistaken for being holy.

    Leon''s eyes became unfocused, and a faint feeling of wanting to prostrate to worship the tree sprouted in Leon''s heart. His knees started to bend slightly.

    Lumi noticed Leon''s strange action, and curiously asked, "What are you doing, Leon?"

    As soon as she asked, Leon immediately snapped out of his daze, and cold sweats began breaking out all over his body like he had just be sshed with a bucket of cold water.

    "What the hell was I nning to do just now?" Leon asked himself before looking at Lumi with a grateful look. "Thanks, Lumi. You saved me just now."

    "Eh? When did I do that? You are talking funny, Leon." Lumi was confused, but she still epted his gratitude with a bashful look.

    Leon shook his head with a smile before ring at the forest with a sharp look.

    "This forest is dangerous! I was too careless and almost got myself ensnared by its illusions. As expected of the demon''s territory. Danger lurks at every corner."

    Leon began to frown.

    Danger that can be sensed is no real danger as they can be avoided. On the other hand, danger that cannot be sensed is indeed perilous.

    "I don''t think this type of tree is recorded in the [Archive]. What do you think, Maya? Do you recognize what they are?"

    He was not too sure if the [Archive] had records of it, but it was simpler to ask Maya since she was the artifact spirit. She had ess to everything within the [Divine Book of Life].

    Leon''s eyes briefly glowed golden again as Maya nced at the otherworldly trees through Leon''s eyes.

    Shortly after, she became speechless. What nonsense are you talking about? More like you are toozy to check! The [Archive] obviously has records of this tree!

    "I''m toozy to exin. Have a look at the information yourself!"

    A string of information was shortly transmitted to Leon''s mind directly from the [Archive].

    "Ahem, I''m just trying to create more chances for us to talk more. Look, we obviously need to rely on each other, so isn''t it a good thing for us to learn more about each other to cooperate better?" Leon suggested after issuing a dry cough.

    "What utter bullsh*t. You are just trying to learn more heavenly techniques from me."

    "That''s not true at all!" Leon tried to deny, but his face was flushed with embarrassment for being called out so quickly.

    Maya rolled her eyes inside the Worldspace and asked, "Where are my promised books?"

    Leon was immediately silenced.

    "Where are my promised books?" Maya asked again.

    "Why are you asking about that again?" Leon rubbed his temples. He felt an iing

    "Where are my promised books?"

    "¡­"

    In the end, muted the artifact spirit by cutting off her connection to his mind. As the master of the heavenly artifact and his own body, he at least had this power over the artifact spirit.

    Inside the Worldspace, Maya realized her connection to the outside was cut off and became annoyed. Did that brat just mute me? Son of a¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Tranquility returned to Leon. He began to peruse the information with a piece of mind.

    "I see, the trees before me are called Weeping Trees, a yin-type nt. They produce a type of traceless and odorless hallucinogen that draws their victims into an illusive sad dream. This is where the origin of its namees from."

    Understanding this much, Leon began to frown deeply.

    There was a reason why he does not sleep¡­ Even if he were to sleep, it would not be alone.

 Chapter 324 - There Are Only Two Types Of Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 324 - There Are Only Two Types Of Techniques</h4>

    When Leon recalled the death of his father, he was surrounded by a bit of gloomy air. The memory remained vivid like it had just happened yesterday.

    He would never forget, never forgive, and never relent! Kill those who deserve to be killed and spare those who deserve to be spared!

    The ungrateful and greedy Divine Kings of the three Divine Regions had once received many favors from his father, and the traitorous subjects who broke their oaths to pursue their own self-interest.

    If he were to add anyone else to his to-kill list, it would be his so-called ''best friend,'' Bartram Maganti, the young master of the Maganti family.

    The Maganti family was the most powerful family that resided in their Divine Pill Kingdom. They were only slightly inferior to his royal family back in the Divine Realm.

    The [Divine Book of Life] was a tightly guarded secret of his father that even he did not know until muchter. How the news found its way to the ears of the Divine Kings was beyond him.

    Leon was not sure if Bartram Maganti and Maganti family yed any part in their downfall, but he was at least confident that Bartram had once plotted against him, making them enemies. It was also muchter that he learned Bartram had been infatuated with Aria.

    Leon''s eyes flickered with a sharp look, and the surrounding air became oppressive as he recalled the matters of his past.

    Lumi had been excited about entering Weeping Forest, but after seeing Leon like this, she behaved herself and kept very silent.

    The oppressive feeling did notst for long before Leon reined it in. He was still far from taking revenge. He had to be much, much stronger.

    After the oppressive feeling retracted, Lumi became slightly braver and hesitantly asks, "Leon, Leon, are we going to go through there?"

    Lumi pointed at the Weeping Forest with a hint of anticipation. The Weeping Forest was richer in Yin energy, something quite beneficial for spirits like her.

    "Yeah, sorry about that. Let us go." Leon nodded after temporarily pushing the gloomy thoughts to the back of his mind.

    It was fortunate that he had Lumi to apany him. Even if he were to be affected by the hallucinogens again, Lumi would be there to rouse him awake.

    The hallucinogens do not affect spirits because they did not possess any physical bodies. However, it was hard to say whether this would remain unchanged or not after they be fully corporeal.

    Leon swallowed a Poison Cleansing Pill to rid himself of the hallucinogens in his body, he summoned an invisible barrier of Divine Will to protect himself.

    After they reached the Weeping Forest, Leon flew up andnded one of the Weeping Trees'' top branches.

    Lumi floated along his side with a curious look and asked, "What are we doing up here, Leon?"

    "We are going to wait here for a bit. This should be a pretty good spot, right, Lumi?" Leon asked.

    The Weeping Tree branches gave off a cold chilly feeling due to the dense amount of Yin energy residing inside.

    "Mm! Mm!"

    Lumi nodded as she stered herself to the Weeping Tree and greedily absorbed the Yin energy. However, she did not quite understand the details. Thus, she lifted her head and asked, "But why do we need to wait here?"

    "Although we cannot really see through the ck Swamp''s miasma, this spot still gives us a good view. If anyone or anything approaches the ck Swamp, we would know. There is a good chance that we will be seeing some humans if we wait patiently. They might be able to tell us where the missing people are."

    Searching blindly for the missing people did not seem like a good n.

    Since he had discovered some rtively fresh human bones among the mountain of bones in the ck Swamp, it meant that there are still other humans living in this godforsakennd.

    If anyone was to know where his adoptive mother and the other missing people went, it would be these people.

    "Ah, I see~ I understand now¡ªWait a minute, doesn''t this feel like we are hiding up here?"

    "That is because we are, Lumi. Sometimes, humans can be even scarier than demons. It would be bad if they turn out to be demon followers instead. But even if they were not demon followers, the possibility of them being hostile to outsiders like us still exists. So, we need to observe the situation first and act ordingly."

    "Eh? I never thought of things like that. Why are humans soplicated? Shouldn''t humans be united against amon enemy like in the stories?"

    Lumi''s brows were cutely knitted together.

    "The world ain''t all sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately." Leon sighed.

    He recalled the times he spent apanying his father on his tours around the mortal kingdoms in the lower star realms back in the Divine Realm. In those ces, humans were always waging war against each other.

    "With sufficient benefits, humans are willing to betray their own friends and families for their own interest, while desperation will lead them to betray their own kingdoms. As such, it would not be strange to see humans betraying their own race if their lives are at stake."

    Leon shook his head.

    "We don''t know what we will be facing until we face it. Take this chance to cultivate and get stronger." Leon said before asking, "Lumi should know how to cultivate, right?"

    Lumi nodded vigorously and truthfully answered, "Mm! Mm! Little Big-Chested Sister taught me how to!"

    "Little Big Sister?" Leon repeated. He gave Lumi an odd look before asking, "Who is your Little Big Sister?"

    Lumi panicked slightly, not knowing how to answer his question. After careful consideration, she replied, "Little Big Sister is¡­ is Little Big Sister."

    "That¡­ never mind. Just go cultivate."

    Leon decided to just drop the topic. It was not important. However, shortly after Lumi began cultivating, he was quickly stunned.

    A little whirlpool was formed as Lumi greedily devoured the Yin energy and refined them all at an incredible rate. It was extraordinarily quick!

    Vengeful spirits knew how to cultivate subconsciously when they gained awareness, but it was a different story entirely whether they had a good soul cultivation method to use or not.

    Leon had expected Lumi to be using the standard soul cultivation method, but Lumi should be using a very impressive soul cultivation method to cultivate from what he was seeing.

    His mind was changed quickly. He was now interested in who this ''Little Big Sister'' Lumi spoke of. He knew that Lumi should not have been in contact with many people since she was always hidden in Lost Isle Alley.

    The soul cultivation method could not have been taught by Lumi''s other personality unless it was actually not another personality but another soul residing in Lumi.

    "Ahem, say Lumi, where did this Little Big Sister teach you such an impressive soul cultivation method?" Leon could not help but ask. He was too curious.

    "Um, Little Big Sister taught Lumi inside of Leon''s world."

    "Huh?"

    Leon was able to draw a conclusion after hearing this much. The one who taught Lumi such a high-grade soul cultivation method was undoubtedly Maya. It must have happened during the short time Lumi stayed inside his Worldspace.

    However, he was surprised as much as he was confused. Why was Maya called Little Big Sister?

    After a quick peek inside the Worldspace, Leon understood the reason. Maya had transformed into a beautiful maturedy from her usual child form.

    He was not aware of what had transpired between them, but having understood that the soul cultivation method came from Maya, Leon no longer found it strange and was even slightly amused.

    After some small talk, Leon closed his eyes and began to focus on his own cultivation.

    Darkness profound energy was supposedly harmful to the human body, but this did not apply to Leon, thanks to the unique physique from practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos].

    If Leon still did not know what the purpose of the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique was at this point, then he would be an idiot.

    The [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] is used to forge a God Body and not just any God Body but also a God Body amongst God Bodies. True to its name,plete mastery of this [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique would allow him to lord over everything with his physical body alone.

    He was still far from reaching that stage, but at the very least, the technique had allowed him greater resisters and affinity to all the elements.

    Knowing that Darkness profound energy would not harm him, Leon began devouring Darkness profound energy at a leisure pace.

    Having reached the 9-star Ranked Awakener realm, Leon was not sure how to advance further. It would take more than just energy to achieve transcendence. He needed toprehend a deeper level into thews, but he also had too manyws toprehend.

    Ifprehending aw was all it took to reach transcendence, he would have already broken through to be a Fire Transcendent, upon reaching 9-stars with his current Fire Law''sprehension. However, that was not the case.

    Leon realized that his path to transcendence was bound to be different from others. But without any solution to the problem, he basically stuck at a bottleneck.

    Since it was not possible to advance his Awakening cultivation, Leon shifted his focus to something else.

    Leon took out the [Blood Refining Art] manuals he had previously looted from the dead disciples and began to study them in earnest. Perhaps, he could learn something useful.

    "There are no evil techniques, only evil cultivators." Leon quietly whispered to himself.

    There were only two types of existing techniques in Leon''s dictionary: the useful ones and the useless ones.

 Chapter 325 - A Ghastly Face

    <h4>Chapter 325 - A Ghastly Face</h4>

    The new [Blood Refining Art] manuals Leon pocketed were much moreplete than the other manuals he previously looted from the other disciples back in Extreme Misty Forest.

    But no matter howplete the [Blood Refining Art] is, if the essence of the technique is wed, it would not be beneficial for Leon to practice it.

    "Reap, wash, and assimte¡­ With the power of blood, one will never know weakness¡­"

    Reading the first part of the manual, Leon began to frown. After he finished the rest of the first passage, his lips subconsciously twitched.

    The wording of the first passage was too vague to understand the core values of the technique. What was the focus? What is the goal of practicing this technique? It did not exin anything in detail.

    Leon did not know anything about the [Blood Refining Art], but he could immediately tell that the technique was problematic at a nce.

    The introductory verses were one of the most important sections of a technique.

    It must not only impart the core teachings of the technique but also give the practitioners a clear direction of practice.

    If an introductory verse is vague, it bes susceptible to misinterpretation. Misinterpretation then leads to variations. In the end, the chance of practicing the technique incorrectly was highly probable.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not give up on the [Blood Refining Art] immediately and continued to study it. The manual was recorded with notes of the core disciple''s experience and doubts during their practice.

    He felt that the [Blood Refining Art] would be useful for him, but what he needed was not another Awakening cultivation technique either.

    As such, he was not seeing how the [Blood Refining Art] could be useful to him. The contradiction baffled him.

    Shortly after reading through all the cultivation manuals in their entirety, Leon gained a more in-depth understanding of the technique and drew some conjectures.

    The original version of the [Blood Refining Art] should have been entirely different from the current version when it was first founded by the Bloodfiend Sect.

    Leon would not find it surprising if the original technique were altered due to its ipleteness or ipatibility to Awakeners.

    Whichever the case was, he believed that the original version [Blood Refining Art] focused on something else entirely.

    Generally, when Leon hears the name [Blood Refining Art], he would not think of it as some Awakening cultivation technique. Instead, he would think it is a body forging method.

    When he thought of this point, he figured out why the [Blood Refining Art] might be useful. He was in dire need of body forging methods, and the original version might have been one such method.

    The iplete [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique provided him with pseudo-Grandmist energy for tempering his body. But without a proper body forging method, he can only temper his body blindly.

    He might havepleted his meridian tempering previously, but this was much more useful for energy cultivation than body cultivation.

    After all, only energy cultivation ce particr emphasis on channeling energy through the countless meridian pathways, while body cultivation focuses on the overall strengthening of the body.

    Leon recalled the little bit of body cultivation knowledge from treating body cultivators in his past life and remembered that body cultivation had five primary areas of focus in body forging.

    These five areas of focus are flesh, blood, bone, marrow, and viscera. If Leon were to divide these into stages and named them, they would be called Tempering Flesh, Refining Blood, Forging Bone, Cleansing Marrow, and Consolidating Viscera.

    The order of these five stages did not matter in body cultivation. The only true measurement for the level of body cultivators is the weight of their punches.

    Leon had the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] for flesh tempering, but he was stillcking body forging methods for the other four areas.

    "If I can grasp the original version of the [Blood Refining Art], I will make better progress in the blood refining stage. The Bloodfiend Sect''s headquarters might have a copy of the original version. I should pay a visit when I get back." Leon mused.

    If Leon learns that his mother had burned all the books, scriptures, and manuals on the Blood Mountain before leaving, he would be quite depressed.

    "It''ll be some time before I get back, though. How can I make use of this [Blood Refining Art] now?" Leon began to ponder with a frown.

    "Reap, wash, and assimte¡­ With the power of blood, one will never know weakness." Leon repeated the first verse again.

    "This verse should at least be original¡­ Hm?" Leon was in deep thoughts when he felt Lumi''s presence appear next to him.

    "What do you want¡ª" Leon turned to ask when he suddenly froze at an unfamiliar and ghastly face smiling creepily at him.

    "What the fuck!"

    Leon was so spooked he almost fell off the tree branch. However, he recovered quickly and reacted immediately.

    Swoosh!

    Leon reflectively backhanded the ghastly face away with a ming strike. The ghastly face was very weak. After one ming palm, it sent zing away until it vaporized into nothingness by the fire.

    "Fucking hell! That scared me. Where did this thing pop out from?" Leon cussed.

    The ghast face appeared spiritual and had no body.

    "Lumi, stop cultivating! We havepany!"

    Lumi was deeply immersed in cultivation and did not know what happened. Only after Leon shook her was she roused awake from deep cultivation and became startled in the next moment.

    "Ah? W-What is it, Leon?"

    "We havepany," Leon repeated.

    "W-Where?" Lumi looked around but did not see where this so-called pany'' was. She looked around with confusion before asking, "Are you ying a prank on me, Leon?"

    "No, I''m not. There was something here just now, but I killed it."

    Leon frowned.

    After activating [Spirit Eyes] to search the surrounding, he found nothing. Even his divine sense did not pick up anything.

    "This is strange. I am not picking anything." Leon stated. His senses would not fail him, not unless he was experiencing an illusion or a hallucination of some sort.

    Did he unwittingly get himself affected by the hallucinogens again? No, that should not be possible. He would not feel anything from an illusion or hallucination, but he definitely did when he struck the ghastly face.

    "How did that thing sneak up without me noticing though?"

    Leon began feeling a bit of dread towards the Weeping Forest. People had always feared the unknown, and he was no exception.

    "Um¡­"

    "What is it, Lumi? Did you discover anything?"

    "Well¡­ I don''t know what you saw earlier, but there seem to be peopleing from over there though."

    Lumi pointed in the distance to the left of them.

    A few hundred yards away, a group of six figures traveled on the thin stretch of empty drynd located between the ck Swamp and the Weeping Forest.

    These people wore fur cloaks and had fairly massive buildspared to the average adult human. Some had bone swords and daggers strapped to their side, while the others hadrge bone hammers and spear strapped to their back.

    Although they were all hooded, Leon could tell that they were humans through his [Spirit Eyes]. After he confirmed this, he said with surprise, "Oh? It''s a group of six humans."

    "Really? We didn''t have to wait long at all."

    Lumi was also surprised, not expecting to encounter humans first.

    Also, they had only been on top of the Weeping Tree for 20 minutes at most.

    "Yeah, but we do not know if they are friendly just yet, so we will continue watching them for now. Try not to make any noise for now."

    "Mm, got it."

    While Leon was facing the approaching six humans'' direction, he vignce was raised to the max.

    He had not gotten over the previous matter with the ghastly face and did not know when another one would suddenly pop out.

    If possible, he did not want to stay in the Weeping Forest for too long. It seemed very eerie and dangerous. But at the same time, he also wanted to get to the bottle of it.

    ¡­

    "Pick up the pace, everyone. If we are too slow, we may not have time to pick up treasures."

    "Haiz, why did the Chief have to send us out to look for survivors? If anyone had been left behind in the ck Swamp, they would have already joined the pile of bones. Don''t tell me, the Chief wanted to collect their remains?"

    "Maybe. In any case, those people don''t t seem to be from around here. They wear strange clothes and know some weird skills too. Perhaps, the Chief found some use for these people."

    "Do you remember the way, Big Brother?"

    "En, it should have been around here. Alright, let us get this over and done with quickly. We don''t want to lose ayer of skin while we are in here now." The leader of the group said.

    "Haha, I''m not worried about that at all. I can hold on for a whole day before these ck waters do me any harm. I am more concerned about whether we run into more of those patrol demons." The most robust person said.

    "Alright, alright, can we hurry? You all have Tier 4 soul weapons, but I''m still using a Tier 3! I want a Tier 4 soul weapon too!" The younger male of the groupined.

    With that, the group of six soon disappeared into the shroud of miasma.

    Meanwhile, back on the Weeping Tree''s top, Leon''s eyes lit up slightly as he overheard their conversation¡­ The talk was brief, but he was able to learn a lot.

 Chapter 326 - They Are Being Chased

    <h4>Chapter 326 - They Are Being Chased</h4>

    "What do we do now, Leon?" Lumi asked shortly after the people disappeared into the ck Swamp. When Leon told her to be quiet, she had been so nervous that she even forgot to breathe¡ªOh, wait a minute¡­

    Leon shed Lumi a nce and took a moment to ponder.

    "We will continue to wait. After theye out, we will follow them and find out where their tribe is. We can decide on our next course of action after that."

    "Hmm, alright¡ªEh? Is that the thing you were talking about before?" Lumi suddenly eximed after noticing a ghastly face appearing from behind Leon.

    "What?"

    He quickly turned.

    After seeing the ghastly face creepily smiling at such close proximity, his expression dropped.

    "Piss off!"

    Swoosh~!

    In the blink of an eye, the ghastly face was swatted with another ming palm strike.

    Just like the first ghastly face, the second one was sending zing into nothingness. But before it disappeared, it retained the same creepy smile like it had not felt the pain of its existence burning away.

    Leon felt his hair rising at this scene. It was too bizarre. No one can endure the searing pain of their soul burning. Yet this ghastly thing felt nothing, utterly nothing.

    "Dammit, I let another one sneak up on me. Did you see how it appeared, Lumi?"

    "Eh? N-N-No, it was already there by the time I noticed it."

    Lumi could not help but distance herself from Leon by a few steps. She felt some fear of Leon''s ming palm strike. There was a trace of lightning in the attack that felt way scarier than the fire.

    Leon did not notice Lumi''s reaction, but he would not find it odd even if he did.

    Lightning was an element of extreme Yang and contained the Power of Annihtion. Even living people are afraid of lightning, let alone spirits.

    It was perfectly normal for vengeful spirits of Yin alignment like Lumi to be afraid of extreme Yang.

    Leon had his brows tightly knitted.

    The ghastly face was not an illusion nor a hallucination, but it was able to bypass his detection. And not just once, but twice it did.

    ''Nothing under the Divine Origin Realm should be able to bypass my divine sense. For something like this to happen more than once, it cannot be a mere coincidence. This ghastly thing sure is something else, alright.''

    Leon was quite confident in his divine sense. It had never failed him before.

    And because he was confident that he did not miss anything with his divine sense, there were only a few usible exnations he could think of.

    For instance, the ghastly faces could have spatial abilities, allowing them to warp through space and appear next to him from outside his detection range. This would exin how he was only able to sense their presence next to him after they appeared.

    But to do that, their spatial ability had to be pretty powerful. They themselves had to be pretty powerful too, but this does not seem to be the case.

    At his current level, if he wanted, the range of his divine sense could reach up to 300 yards.

    However, he could barely feel any energy fluctuations from the ghastly faces, nor could he see anything from the Weeping Forest.

    His divine sense only reached 300 yards, but he can still see quite far with his pair of eyes. The Weeping Forest was not densely clustered together.

    The fact that he found nothing meant that it should be another possibility.

    It was also hard to say that ghastly faces were even sentient beings. He could not sense any will or any shred of intelligence from them. They seem like soulless dolls that only know how to smile. This might exin why they feel no pain from burning, but he was not too sure. It was only a brief nce. He needed to observe another ''live'' one to be sure.

    Even so, a soulless soul makes no sense.

    Leon wracked his brain, trying to figure out how these ghastly faces were appearing behind him.

    "Look! It''s another one, Leon!" Lumi spotted.

    Leon''s eyes turned sharp and immediately created some distance between him and the ghastly face. Why do these ghastly faces like sneaking up on his back so much? It was already the third time.

    Seeing that Leon did not kill the ghastly face, Lumi was about to ''eat'' it instead.

    "Wait, Lumi. Don''t kill it just yet." Leon said in a hurry.

    "Eh? Why not? I want to eat them. They kinda look delicious."

    To Lumi, the ghastly faces were just Yin energy for her to absorb.

    Leon was speechless.

    What part of a ghastly face looks delicious to you? It has the face of a person who died horribly!

    Although Lumi had regained her humanity, it seems she was still a vengeful spirit in the end.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Let me observe it for a bit. It won''t be toote to kill it if it attacks us."

    After the ghastly face appeared, it did not attack or anything. It merely continued to smile creepily at Leon.

    "It seems this ghastly thing is only attracted to living things."

    Leon swept his divine sense over it, but all he picked up was a body of Yin energy.

    The ghastly face was not a ''live'' spirit like Lumi. It was just the empty shell of a vengeful spirit without any sentience.

    After some time, the ghastly face descended and disappeared into the Weeping Tree''s branch they were standing on.

    Shortly after, Lumi eximed, "Ah! It''s behind you again, Leon!"

    While Leon was worried about potential danger, Lumi found it fascinating. Since she was not the one being targeted, she had nothing to worry about.

    Leon''s eyes flickered with shock.

    He swept his divine sense over the Weeping Tree but still failed to find the ghastly face in the tree. All he picked up was rich amounts of Yin energy.

    It was brought to his attention that he had been too trusting of his divine sense. The world was full of strange and unexpected things. He could never be too sure of something.

    "I was too confident in my divine sense. I have been humbled." Leon sighed.

    Time and time again, his preconception and understanding of the world were challenged. His knowledge and abilities from the Divine Realm had been useful, but it would only take him so far.

    He already understood that Gaia was nothing like the Divine Realm. A different yet more powerful set ofws seemed to govern this world. Even so, he was still surprised by each and every new discovery.

    Why was this world different from the Divine Realm? What made it different?

    He wished he had answers to these questions, but he was still too weak to seek out the truth of the world.

    "What are you talking about, Leon? What is divine sense?"

    Lumi was confused.

    "Never mind that. I think I have a general understanding of what these ghastly faces are now."

    "Aren''t they just bodies of Yin energy?"

    "Yes, and no. To be exact, these ghastly faces are bodies of Yin energy that contain a memory fragment of the Weeping Tree''s victims at the time of their death."

    "Normally, people with a strong mind would not be affected much by the hallucinations, but people with weak minds would fail to escape and be eternally trapped within sad dreams. They would be tormented by tragic events continuous until they receive a single ray of salvation at the end."

    "But that is also when the victims are sessfully lured inside the Weeping Trees and be their nutrients. In other words, the Weeping Trees eat away at people''s minds and absorb nutrients from their bodies."

    Leon exined.

    "So, these so-called Weeping Trees basically eat people?" Lumi was startled. She looked at the trees in a different light, before returning to Leon, "Since there''s only a memory fragment of the victims in these bodies of Yin energy, why do they keep appearing next to you, Leon? And aren''t you afraid of bing these tree''s next victim?"

    "Nah, not really. We are only on the outskirts of the forest. I would be worried if we to enter deeper into the forest, though. As for that matter¡­"

    "¡­This is only my guess, but the memory fragments might have contained the victims''st wish at the time of their deaths. This is why they are drawn towards living things."

    Leon no longer paid too much attention to the ghastly faces after realizing they were harmless. The real threat came from the Weeping Trees and the Weeping Trees alone.

    "Ehhh? Then that means that the victims must have broken free from their dreams at thest moment and realized their impending doom!" Lumi said in realization with wide eyes and gaping mouth.

    Leon pped his hands and praised Lumi with a smile, "That''s right. That should have been the case. Lumi has gotten smarter."

    "Hehe¡ªWait, what do you mean by smarter, Leon? Are you saying I was stupid?" Lumi pouted with her hands on her hips.

    "Err¡­ I mean, Lumi is so smart."

    Leon smiled wryly.

    "Hmph!"

    Suddenly Leon''s ears were perked before he hushed with a quiet but urgent tone, "Shh! Those humans areing back!"

    Although Lumi was a bit disgruntled, she nodded and tone down her volume.

    Shortly after, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Don''t you think they came back a bit too quickly? We spent 5 hours to leave the ck Swamp, but they haven''t been gone for even an hour."

    Leon furrowed his brows and said, "They are being chased."

 Chapter 327 - Bone Calamity

    <h4>Chapter 327 - Bone Cmity</h4>

    Lumi followed Leon''s line of sight and gazed in the direction of the ck Swamp''s outer perimeters.

    The cloud of miasma covered the entire ck Swamp and made it impossible to see anything inside.

    Lumi could not find the people mentioned. She whispered in a doubtful tone, "Where are the people being¡­"

    She did not finish asking before she began hearing the sound of sshing water. It came from the ck Swamp.

    Shortly after, she saw the humans came out of the cloud of miasma and continue rushing straight towards their direction.

    These humans did not see Lumi and Leon hiding on one of the Weeping Trees. They intended to enter the Weeping Forest.

    "Eh? Why are they running over here? I thought this forest is supposed to be dangerous for living things¡­"

    "Maybe they believe running to this Weeping Forest will give them a better chance at survival."

    Leon already deactivated [Spirit Eyes], but he continued to observe with a serious gaze.

    The six humans ran with frantic looks and urgency. In their hurry, their hoods dropped and revealed their facial features. A hint of horror could be seen in their eyes.

    It appeared that whatever was chasing them must be quite powerful, if not outright horrifying.

    "Who''s chasing them, Leon? Could it be the demons?" Lumi asked. She was quite curious about demons. She heard of them in the stories, but she has never actually seen one.

    "There''s a chance it could be the demons, but there''s also a chance it could be something else. Whatever it is, we will find out soon enough." Leon answered vaguely with a bit of speechlessness.

    "What the heck? What difference is there between saying that and saying nothing at all?"

    "I don''t have the Heavenly All-Seeing Eyes or something like that, alright? You ask me, but who do I ask?" Leon shrugged.

    "Ahh¡­ I was just asking anyway." Lumi pouted.

    "Let''s just observe quietly for now. I''m curious to see what is chasing them."

    "Are we just going to observe? If we help them, they will be grateful to us, you know?"

    "Ha¡­ that goes without saying. But if we want to help them, we must first ask ourselves if we can even help them or not."

    From what Leon could see, these people had very robust bodies. They might be body cultivators, and reasonably strong ones at that. They might not be all that much weaker than he was.

    If Leon were sent out his divine sense, he would be able to gauge their level, but doing so would also give away his location.

    ¡­

    After the six humans entered the Weeping Forest, they did not stop until they were roughly 50 yards deeper into the forest.

    The group leader swept the others a look and frowned immediately. He barked, "What are you all waiting for? Quickly put on your gas masks! Do you want to hug trees until death or something?!"

    Everyone hurriedly wore their gas masks after hearing the group leader''s stern reminder.

    "Big Brother, can you tell us why we needed to give up on the mission? We haven''t even found the people were tasked to find, nor did we get time to look for treasures! How are we going to exin to the Chief?"

    "Yeah, what exactly is going on, Big Brother? Demon patrols are easy to spot, but I did not see any signs of them. Even if we run into one, there was no need for us to fear them, right? We did finish off thest group of patrols we encounteredst time¡­"

    "We rarely get the chance to enter the ck Swamp. Why did we have to leave without looking for some treasures? Boohoo, I still want a Tier 4 soul weapon¡­" The youngest maleined.

    No one except the group leader seemed to understand what was going on. They were suddenly told to quickly get the heck out of the ck Swamp and run towards the Weeping Forest if they did not want to die.

    They had never seen the group leader so fierce before. But because of that, they were able to understand that they were in a dangerous situation.

    "Shut up! Forget about the mission. We will just tell the Chief that the people we were looking for are dead! As for the treasures¡­ We can forget them too! We need to worry about our own lives right now!"

    Beads of cold sweat ran down the side of the group leader''s face, and his eyes darted between the ck Swamp from time to time.

    Evidently, the group leader was incredibly nervous. Everyone noticed this and frowned.

    Their group leader was by no means a coward. Otherwise, he would not have been able to be their group leader. Only the more valiant of warriors within the tribe can be group leaders.

    The group leader was someone who can go toe to toe with Lesser Demons on their own. Although he stood no chance against Greater Demons, he would not show such fear. Only Archdemons could instill such fear in the group leader.

    Could it be that they were being hunted by an Archdemon?

    While everyone was guessing the danger, the group leader exhaled a wisp of foul air and recovered his wits. He then swept everyone a sharp look, and his ferocious aura exploded.

    "Alright, which one of you motherf*ckersid your hands the ancient bones? Have you all forgotten about the number onew of the ck Swamp?! Soul weapons can be looted, but NEVER touch the ancient bones!!"

    The group members all looked at each other with confusion.

    The ck Swamp''s number onew was ingrained into every hunter before they are allowed to explore the ck Swamp. This is something enforced by not only their tribe but every human tribe that neighboured the ck Swamp.

    After the initial confusion, their bodies shook upon realization.

    "Oh, no! The Bone Cmity! Is it happening again!?"

    "That''s right! Whoever did it bettere forward and admit now! I promise I won''t beat you to death!" The group leader''s eyes zed with fury as he spat these words.

    If the culprit could not be found, the me would fall on his shoulders! Sparking the Bone Cmity had always been punishable by death! Even if the Chief spared him, the other tribes would not.

    How can he not be angry?! Was someone scheming against him for his position?!

    "It wasn''t us, Big Brother! We would never be so stupid! We wouldn''t dare even if we had ten lives!"

    "That''s right, Big Brother! How could you suspect us?! Don''t you know what kind of punishment awaitswbreakers?!"

    "It must be those people, the Chief sent us out to find! I don''t know where they came from, but only they would be stupid enough to break thew! That must be the reason why the Chief sent out to look for them!" The youngest member shouted.

    After listening, the group leader found this reasoning quite sound. He retracted his ferocious aura, and his anger was somewhat abated. Afterward, he apologized, "What you said makes sense. I have med you all injustice."

    "Never mind that, Big Brother. We need to hurry back and warn the tribe!"

    "It''s toote for that. We won''t make it. Every tribe will be affected by Bone Cmity. We can only brace ourselves for what''s toe." The group leader shook his head and sighed.

    Back on the treetop, Leon overheard everything. After Lumi shed him a peculiar look, Leon rubbed his head with a slightly guilty conscience. Obviously, they both knew who the culprit was.

    It did not take long before there was a great stir in the ck Swamp.

    The low rolling clouds of miasma began to gather and rise to form a colossal ancient demon''s visage with two horns and three eyes.

    "Wretched humans! For the act of profaning this sacrednd with your insatiable greed, I grant you death!"

    "Arise! Arise, my children! Arise and punish these wretched humans for disturbing your king''s slumber!"

    The colossal figure spoke with deafening volume that seemed to ripple across space and entered the ears of every being within a 10-thousand-mile radius.

    After that, the colossal figure mmed into the sea of bones with its billowing body of miasma, disappearing shortly thereafter.

    For an unknown period of time, the darkness looming over the ck Swamp was cleared, and thend within was revealed for all to see.

    The endless miasma had disappeared without a trace, and the sea of ck water dried up. All that was left behind was the rattling of bones.

    The rising of the undead army was nigh.

    Leon stared dumbly as he watched everything unfolded.

    Unexpectedly, taking a few ancient bones would summon a fricking army of endless skeleton soldiers!

    "Leon, Leon¡­ You shouldn''t have taken their bones¡­ Look, you made them mad. Do something."

    Lumi tugged his sleeve.

    "Do you think they''ll be happy if I return their bones and apologize?" Leon asked rhetorically with a stiff smile. He wanted to cry, but no tears woulde out.

    If the people found out he was the culprit, he would most like be hunted by every human tribe.

 Chapter 328 - Whos Luring Them Over?

    <h4>Chapter 328 - Who''s Luring Them Over?</h4>

    Leon never realized how big the ck Swamp region was until he triggered the so-called Bone Cmity.

    After the ck Swamp was revealed, he realized it was much bigger than he had assumed. He could not see the ends of it. Only the tip of the iceberg had been revealed. The deeper parts of the ck Swamp were still obscured by the darkness of miasma.

    If Leon had headed in a different direction, it was unknown how long it would take him to leave the ck Swamp region.

    Chances are, he would not have survived. The deeper parts of the ck Swamp were demon territory.

    If he had not left the ck Swamp and encountered the humans, he would have found himself in the middle of an ocean of undead skeleton soldiers.

    When Leon thought of this point, he could not help but break into a cold sweat. Sure enough, the other side was dangerous, iparably dangerous.

    Subconsciously, Leonbeled the ck Swamp as a Perilous Land, a ce on the same level of danger as Extreme Misty Forest, if not more dangerous.

    Leon observed the changes of the ck Swamp with an iparably serious gaze.

    The colossal demon figure just now was only a remnant will, but it was the will of a mighty ancient demon when it was alive.

    Archdemons were onlyparable to Void Realm practitioners in strength, but what Leon sensed from the colossal demon figure seemed stronger than that.

    A being of a higher level than Archdemons could only be Demon Lords. These were powerful existences with the ability toprehend the Laws of Death.

    The miasma from the outer parts of the ck Swamp had not truly disappeared. They were infused into the millions of bones that rest within the ck Swamp.

    Threads of darkness weaved around the bones like snakes and pieced them together to form the bodies of undead bone soldiers.

    Their empty eye sockets were dark as the abyss, and no sign of life could be seen from them¡ªonly a strong feeling of death and oppressiveness.

    However, a dot of red light soon appeared in their empty eye sockets, and the menacing feeling of oppressiveness and death was magnified by twofold.

    Their bodies erupted with miasma, and ayer of darkness wrapped around them like a cloak made of ck mes.

    Bone soldiers were one of the weakest types of demons, but these Bone Soldiers cloaked in ck miasma gave off a different feeling.

    Although they were weaker than Lesser Demons, their sheer numbers made them a terrifying force to behold.

    As if this army of a million Bone Soldiers were not enough, a more terrifying Bone Soldier rose from among them.

    This Bone Soldier was thrice the size of the average Bone Soldier, and its eye sockets shed with a more profound and brighter ray of red light. It was the spark of intelligence.

    This Bone Soldier was called the Bone King, and its entire body wasprised of ancient bones. Its strength was naturally different from the average Bone Soldiers. It was a Lesser Demon with power on par with Transcendents.

    The surrounding Bone Soldiers did not disy an ounce of intelligence, but despite this, they still knelt in the subservience of the Bone King.

    There was no sentience in the Bone Soldiers. There was only a will to carry out the Bone King''s orders, the servant of their master.

    As if that was still not bad enough, there was more than one Bone King. Within every 100 thousand Bone Soldiers, a Bone King would rise tomand them.

    Rumble¡­

    The Bone Army began to march on the spot in unison, and their collective might shook the earth.

    The Bone Kings issuedmands with a mighty roar, and the marching stopped. Shortly after, a bunch of Bone Soldiers collided into each other. Their bone dislocated and began reconstructing themselves to form one giant bone weapon after another for their Bone Kings.

    There were giant hammers and buster swords among other varieties of strange weapons such as spiky maces and giant sickles.

    After grasping their weapons, the Bone Kings each pointed their weapon towards a different direction leading outside the ck Swamp and gave a mighty howl.

    "KILL!"

    With that, the army of bones began marching out of the ck Swamp. Gradually, they started picking up the pace before finally charging in all directions.

    As undead beings under the influence of the Death Law, the Bone Soldiers were quite sensitive to the lifeforce of living beings.

    Seeing a portion of the army heading their way, Leon quietly muttered, "I hope this works."

    Ayer of Divine Will soon wrapped around Leon and masked away his presence, body, and lifeforce, blending himself into the background.

    For some time, it seemed like Leon had turned invisible. One would not notice anything amiss if he did not move or paid particr attention to his location.

    "Huh? Leon? Where did you go?"

    Lumi was surprised to see Leon disappear before her eyes. She began to panic as she thought she just got ditched.

    Seeing her reaction, Leon knew that his Divine Will was working as intended. He immediately patted and assured her.

    "I''m still here."

    Lumi calmed down slightly after hearing his words. Nevertheless, her surprise and curiosity grew. She could see some sort of distortion in the air. After reaching out her hand to touch the distortion, she asks, "Eh? How are you doing this, Leon? What kind of ability is this?"

    "Just some ability to bend light and darkness. Alright, you can stop picking my nose now."

    Lumi was immediately given a fright and retracted her hand, but Leon was not serious. After she found out, she pouted with annoyance.

    Leon ignored her and focused on the group of humans below.

    Things had gotten a little chaotic after a portion of the Bone Army entered the Weeping Forest.

    "Dammit, they sensed our presence! Keep retreating! We can''t fight here!" The group leader shouted with a stern and desperate look.

    "It''s just a group of 50 Lowly Bone Soldiers. There isn''t even a Bone Knight among them, Big Brother! We should make our stand here and fight them off! On the other hand, it''ll be much dangerous if we continue retreating deeper into the forest! Our gas masks aren''t made for venturing that deep in the forest!" The youngest male spoke.

    "Dammit, what do you know?! If we fight them here, we will attract more of them over! We can fight off 50, but what about 500? 5000? They will just keeping until they exhaust us to death! We have a better chance if we fight a bit deeper inside the Weeping Forest!" The group leader shouted.

    "What Big Brother said makes sense. If we fight here, we will soon find ourselves overwhelmed. But don''t you think this strange, Big brother? How did they sense our presence? The forest should have helped us mask our lifeforce¡­"

    "I do find that strange, but there''s no time to think too deeply. We need to retreat for now!"

    Once the group leader finished his piece, there were no more objections.

    If they were to learn that Leon was the reason why a group of 50 Bone Soldiers was headed their way, they would have been livid with indignation. Leon was like a disaster ma for them. Perhaps one of them would even think that they may have been archenemies in their past life or something.

    After reaching 100 yards deeper into the Weeping Forest, the group leader spoke, "This should be deep enough. The other Bone Soldiers shouldn''t be attracted if we fight here. Let''s quickly finish these off these small fries and head back. We can''t stay here for too long."

    "Haha! I was just waiting for those words! How dare these lowly Bone Soldiers forced us this deep into the Weeping Forest?!" The youngest member roared.

    "That''s right, this is the first time I''ve been this deep into the Weeping Forest." The only female member said.

    "It''s the same for me too."

    "Are you guys going to help, or are you all just going to stand around and talk?" The youngest member asked.

    After charging into the group of Bone Soldiers with his heavy bone staff, the first Bone Soldier was directly pulverized from head-down in a single swing. The group joined him shortly after he took down another five Bone Soldiers.

    After the group of Bone Soldiers was finished off, they were revived shortly after by the Death Law''s lingering power.

    However, the Bone Soldiers were noticeably weaker than before. The group of Bone Soldiers stopped reviving after they were killed over ten times.

    Just when the human group thought they were done, another 100 Bone Soldiers made their way over and forced them to battle. Among the 100 Bone Soldiers were 5 Bone Knights.

    The strength of Bone Soldiers is usually between 1-6 Stars, but the Bone Knights were all slightly stronger than 9-Stars.

    "Dammit! Why is there another grouping?! Who the fuck is luring them over?" The group leader cursed with red eyes.

    "I think someone has a grudge against us or something. Today is such a bad day. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong¡­" The female member said with a depressed look.

    Back on the treetop, Leon scratched his head with distress.

    ''I swear I didn''t do it on purpose!''

 Chapter 329 - Following The Group

    <h4>Chapter 329 - Following The Group</h4>

    No matter what he did, he must not let the humans discover he was the culprit, the bringer of their misfortune. They would surely hate his guts and hunt him down to the ends of the earth.

    ''I haven''t been here for a day, and I already brought such a huge disaster upon the humans¡­ Ahem, they sure have it hard.''

    Leon quietly watched the humans battle and observed their fighting style.

    "Leave the Bone Knights to me." The group leader said strictly, leaving no room negotiation.

    "Hahaha, by all means, take them, Big Brother. We know our limits. Bone Soldiers are not a problem, but Bone Knights are still a little too strong for us to handle alone. There''s just too big of a jump between the two."

    "That''s right, Big Brother. I ain''t going to fight you over that."

    Everyone was more than happy to let the group leader handle the Bone Knights. Time was short, and they could not drag out the battle.

    "Good to know."

    The battle was resumed shortly after the distance between the two sides was shortened.

    The group leader was, no doubt, a powerful fighter. He easily swept the Bone Soldiers towards the others and dived straight into 5 Bone Knights.

    Bang!

    A Bone Knight was directly cleaved in half by the downward sh of his giant bone sword, kicking up a storm of dust from the ground.

    The battle against the second group of undead was immediately thrown into full swing.

    Although they were quickly surrounded and outnumbered, the human group did not feel the slightest pressure, not in the least. Rather, there was a battle-crazed look on their faces with glints of excitement.

    And despite that, the battle was not disorderly but very clean and well-coordinated. They could cover each other''s nks and dish out attacks continuously like flowing water, constant and without pause.

    This level of coordination could be said to have reached the epitome of perfection. The coordination brought out 100% of their battle efficiency, and they moved like a practiced choir, very well synced and harmonious.

    It was clear that this kind of coordination cannot be achieved overnight but through long years of constant battles and growing familiarity.

    These people were all certified warriors with great battle sense, honed through hundreds of life or death battles.

    Leon''s eyes flickered subtly.

    If he had these kinds of people as subordinates, they would greatly aid him in his conquest when he kills his way into the Divine Realm''s Four Divine Regions.

    There was no use of fancy techniques and abilities. Just raw, overwhelming strength brought forth by the explosive might of their bulging muscles.

    Each attack was simple, clean, and very straight to the point. One blow to fell one Bone Soldier.

    Over time, Leon''s interest was shifted to the Soul Weapons.

    He could see that the Soul Weapons allowed humans to disy battle prowess beyond their level.

    The runes on each weapon were suffused with strange powers and glowed with a whitish-blue light.

    Each time the whitish-blue light contacted the undead beings, the ck me-like darkness on their body would diminish slightly and weaken the empowerment of Death Law.

    It could be seen that these Soul Weapons were vital for fighting the undead forces. Without it, the undead army would indeed be undying and infallible, reviving endlessly.

    Just as Water counteracts Fire and Light counteracts Darkness, Death was counteracted by Life.

    Although elements of the Yang-alignment like Fire, Lightning, Light has some effects in destroying Death, it is not as effective as Life energy.

    That being said, the Soul Weapon did not seem to use any of these elements to destroy the Death and Darkness Profound Energy within the Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights.

    Rather than destroying the Death and Darkness Profound Energy, the Soul Weapon appeared to be absorbing them instead.

    Leon noticed this subtle detail when he sensed the aura surrounding the Soul Weapon growing stronger.

    "These weapons can grow stronger by hunting undead beings." Leon softly muttered. He was pleasantly surprised by the discovery.

    Half an hourter, the battle between the two sides ended.

    The 100 Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights were reduced to piles of bone fragments, while the humans barely suffered a scratch.

    Shortly after, the whitish-blue lighting from the Soul Weapon began to dim. Traces of Darkness Profound Energy were seen seeping out from the weapons and flowing back into the humans.

    "What?"

    Leon widened his eyes.

    After being surprised for a moment, he quickly recovered and began to reevaluate the humans below him.

    Their bodies were well built, and theirplexion was on the darker side of colors. It was a simr tan to the people of the Ishaan Kingdom.

    However, this tan was not caused by strong sunlight, but long-time exposure to the Darkness Profound Energy on this darknd.

    That being said, Leon did not notice any obvious signs of difort from their facial expressions after the Darkness Profound Energy had settled inside their bodies.

    Their physiques had grown tough to adapt to the harsh environment, but this should not have been enough for them to wield Darkness Profound Energy, not unless they all possess Special Physiques or be demonized.

    However, Leon found these two possibilities to be very unlikely.

    It was hard to imagine that an entire tribe of these humans were all in possession of Special Physiques, let alone the 6 of them.

    On the other hand, the changes of a demonized person were undeniably obvious. ording to his knowledge, every demonized person or beast would experience deformity in some way.

    Whether it is growing extra pairs of limbs, eyes, heads, horns, or anything different for that matter, it was not something a ''normal'' person would usually have.

    Leon did not discover any of these unique features on the six people, but he did not outright deny these two possibilities after the failed instance with his divine sense.

    Nevertheless, he began looking into a third possibility.

    "Perhaps these people have developed a suitable refinement method for Darkness Profound Energy¡­" Leon narrowed his eyes in thought.

    If that were true, it would be hot news in the Divine Realm, spreading like wildfire. Everyone would be dying to seek out such a method, especially the people that live near the Divine Demon Region.

    Shortly after the battle ended, one of the group members, Big Tooth asked, "What are our ns now that the Bone Cmity is here, Big Brother?"

    "It has been some time since the Bone Cmity started. The Bone Army should have already left the ck Swamp region. This is our chance to leave the Weeping Forest and¡ª"

    "And search for treasures in the ck Swamp?!" The youngest member interrupted with sparkling eyes.

    Whack!

    "Search! Search your fucking head! There''s an army of undead heading for our tribe right now, and yet you still have the mind to be thinking about treasures?!" The group leader snapped and smacked the person on the back of the head.

    "Aiyo, it was my bad, alright? I won''t think about treasures anymore! Did you need to hit so hard, Big Brother?" The person rubbed his sore withint.

    "Hmph! We will head back to the tribe and check out the situation there. If there''s a chance, we must get inside the tribe!"

    "Isn''t that just asking to get killed? By the time we reach the tribe, it would already be swarming with Bone Soldiers. We won''t be able to get close, let alone inside the tribe, Big Brother." The male with the biggest build raised his opinion.

    "It''s going to be difficult, but we have to try. To cower in the face of adversaries is not the warrior''s way. Ask your conscience, Big Bone. Will you be happy hiding away while your brothers and sisters are doing their best to protect your families and the tribe?" The group leader eyed the male with the biggest build.

    "I will not be happy!"

    Big Bone answered without hesitation.

    "What about the rest of you?" The group leader shifted his gaze to the rest of the group members.

    "We will not be happy!"

    "We will not be happy!"

    The other four answered in unison.

    "And that is why you are on this team. Remember this, our Darkmoon Tribe only has brave warriors. There''s no room for cowards."

    "Yes, Big Brother!"

    The group leader nodded with a smile and pped, "Alright, we all don''t want to stay in the Weeping Forest for any longer. Let us leave quickly."

    "That goes without saying, Big Brother. Let us hurry! I don''t want to spend a second longer here!"

    Everyone obliged withoutints. No one was willing to stay within the Weeping Forest for any longer.

    By the foot of the Weeping Trees, they could see a bunch of skeletal remains wrapped in the tree roots.

    They would barely see any of these near the outskirts of the Weeping Forest, but they could see many of these skeletal remains when they are deeper inside.

    Not all of the skeletal remains belonged to humans. Some belonged to demons, some belonged to demonic beasts.

    The human''s strong bodies provided some resistance against the Weeping Trees'' hallucinogens, but it was not enough to be fully immune to it.

    It was okay if there was someone to drag them out of the Weeping Forest when they get affected by hallucinations. But if they did not have anyone there for them, then they might as well forfeit their lives.

    "We''re moving too, Lumi. We are going to follow them. Try not to make any big noise, alright?" Leon instructed after seeing the group almost leave the Weeping Forest.

    "Alright, alright." Lumi gave a halfheartedly response, before she inaudibly muttered, "Stop treating me like a kid¡­"

 Chapter 330 - Infertile Plains

    <h4>Chapter 330 - Infertile ins</h4>

    After the small group of humans left the Weeping Forest, they traveled westward along the empty path between the two dangerous regions. To their left was the ck Swamp, and to the right was the Weeping Forest.

    As they continue to take this road, the distance between ck Swamp and Weeping Forest would gradually widen and lead them to an open field where their tribe lies.

    Some distance behind their group, Leon darted from tree to tree nimbly like a monkey in following. Lumi floated by his side while matching his pace.

    After hopping past a few Weeping Trees, Leon raised an eyebrow as he looked back.

    "It doesn''t seem like every tree has these ghastly faces popping out. I don''t know whether my luck is just too good or what, hitting the jackpot on the first pick." Leon quietly muttered with a rueful smile.

    Apart from the very first Weeping Tree he climbed and a few Weeping Trees deeper in the forest, he had not encountered anymore Ghastly Face while he was traveling along the very edge of the Weeping Forest.

    "Did you really need to eat it?" Leon asked after a quick nce to the side. Parts of Ghastly Face were sticking out from Lumi''s mouth as she was trying to devour it.

    As a body of Yin Energy, the Ghastly Face was easily twisted and deformed out of shape to fit her small mouth.

    Slurp!

    After hearing Leon''s question, Lumi quickly swallowed the remaining parts of the Ghastly Face and smacked her lips with great relish before licking her fingers like they still had lingering Yin Energy from the Ghastly Face on them.

    Lumi''s actions were like a cat swallowing its mouse prey with some tail sticking out, and when they finish their meal, they will clean their paws.

    On one hand, it was kind of cute, but on the other hand, it was actually quite terrifying if you think about it.

    Yin Energy was tonic to vengeful spirits like her. When she devours Yin Energy and absorb them, a refreshing feeling would wash over her soul.

    "Am I not allowed to eat them? It is actually very nice and refreshing, Leon. Have you ever had ice cream or cold drinks before? It is kinda like that. You''ll understand if you try one." Lumi said coyly before suggesting with a reluctant look.

    Leon looked at her speechlessly for a moment before saying, "Not interested."

    "Hmph, hmph! You don''t know how to appreciate favors. Fine, I wasn''t willing to share it anyway!" Lumi pouted.

    Leon rolled his eyes and focused on not losing the group ahead of them.

    The Yin Energy on the Ghastly Faces came from dead people. He would not be surprised if there were traces of Corpse Energy in them.

    Ingesting something like that, even if he does not get sick, poisoned, or catch some strange disease, he would most likely not have a good time on the toilet for a few days.

    They were in a situation where a fight could break out at any time. If he were to have an unstoppable urge to drop a big turd in the midst of battle, his life would be very miserable.

    Leon recalled a few instances in his younger days when he went out to eat somemon street delicacies from the Lower District and shivered. The food is often not clean and gave him terrible stomachaches each time.

    More often than not, he would not be able to make it home in time and had to knock the doors of strangers to borrow their toilets.

    The feeling of needing to use the toilet badly, but not being able to are one of the worse feelings.

    Leonmented that he had not awakened his memories sooner. His medical knowledge would have saved him from these embarrassing experiences.

    Shaking his head, Leon pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and continued to follow the group. From time to time, he would sh a nce towards the ck Swamp on his left.

    The outer regions of the ck Swamp had been swarming with undead beings earlier, but not even an hourter, they were all gone.

    Nothing was left behind except muddy grounds andrge ancient bones. These were all excellent materials for weapon crafting, but Leon resisted the urge of going over to pocket them.

    These ancient bones contain the remnant wills of powerful demons during their prime.

    He did not doubt that all the Bone Soldiers, Knights, and Kings woulde pouring back into the ck Swamp if he touched any of these ancient bones.

    On that note, the ancient bones he already looted also contained remnant wills. If not for them being stored in an independent space, the Bone Army would have easily locked onto his location.

    He needed to find some time to erase these remnant wills to avoid futureplications, but not now. The human group has had enough trouble. There was no need to recall the Bone Army back and give these people more trouble.

    ¡­

    1200 miles west, the Darkmoon Tribe was located on the Infertile ins.

    The Infertile ins was a barrennd with rocky ground, devoid of any nts, or rather ''live'' nts. Only dead, withered grass could be seen.

    As its name suggests, it was and that cannot be cultivated. But it was precisely this type of barrennd that the Darkmoon Tribe have settled their people and made it their home.

    The Infertile ins was also home to many demonic beasts. Hunting was their way of life and survival.

    There is never a peaceful day for the Darkmoon Tribe on this barrennd, but this is also the norm for the Darkmoon Tribe. They are a warring tribe that lives for battle. Demonic beasts were their primary source of sustenance and also the source of all their clothing.

    The demonic beasts'' hunts humans, and the humans hunt them back. It was and for the survival of the fittest.

    The precise location of the Darkmoon Tribe was situated around the bottom of a rocky teau. Unsurprisingly, the Darkmoon City of the Darkmoon Tribe was built very primitively.

    Whether it was due to a scarcity of resources, technology, or both, one should not have expected a tribe of warriors to be proficient in anything else.

    Nevertheless, Darkmoon City had its own unique sense of beauty.

    From the buildings to the walls and gates, everything was built from with demonic beast bones as the frames and special bricks made from the mixture of y and demonic beast blood, painting the entire Darkmoon City a reddish-ck color.

    Atop the rocky teau, there were only two buildings, the tribal pce where the Chief resides and the colossal amphitheater where the finest of the tribe''s warriors contested each other for entertainment and positions of authority within the tribe.

    Even the position of the reigning tribal chief can be challenged on the battle arena within the amphitheater. As such, the tribal chief was usually the strongest warrior within the tribe.

    At this moment, the current reigning tribal chief was standing on the edge of the rocky teau with another two warriors, overlooking the bustling Darkmoon City as the tribesmen man the defenses.

    "Do you remember how long thest Bone Cmitysted, Sabertooth?" Chief Valencia asked casually.

    Chief Valencia was a person with a veryrge build that makes even many men pale inparison. Standing at a height of 6fts and 10 inches, she was indeed a behemothpared to some men who could not even reach 6fts in their lifetime.

    She had ocean blue eyes, long wavy chocte brown hair, and a creamy tanplexion. She wore a furry cloak and little to no other clothing, just enough demonic beast hides, and leather clothing to cover her body parts. The rest of her exposed skin was riddled with battle scars.

    As one should have already guessed, the current reigning tribal chief of the Darkmoon Tribe was not a man but a woman. But despite being a woman, Chief Valencia was indeed the current strongest warrior in the tribe with her battle record of 9984 wins and 0 losses.

    She was the undefeated champion of the battle arena.

    "Itsted 14 nights, Chief Valencia," Sabertooth answered.

    "And the Bone Cmity before that?"

    "21 nights, Chief."

    "And the previous Bone Cmity even before that one?"

    "30 nights, Chief." Sabertooth continued to answer faithfully, despite being unsure of whether the Chief was heading with this conversation.

    "What about the one before that?"

    "There wasn''t another one, Chief Valencia."

    Chief Valencia nodded.

    She stared towards the ck Swamp direction and continued, "There had only been a total of 3 Bone Cmities in the past, and today marks the start of the fourth one. Bone Cmities have been getting shorter, but each time theye, it''s always been stronger than thest."

    The ck Swamp had not always been called the ck Swamp. It used to be called the Bone Mountain. But after the past 3 Bone Cmities, the number of bones on the Bone Mountain had significantly reduced.

    "If you are worried about the Bone Cmity¡ª"

    It''s not this Bone Cmity that I am worried about." Chief Valencia interrupted with a shake of her head before continuing, "We can expect quite a few Bone Kings this time round, but this not what I''m afraid of."

    "With my strength, I will fear no Bone King, but what about the next Bone Cmity? What if something stronger than Bone Kings crawls out of that wretched ce? I''m afraid no one would be prepared for what''s toe then."

    "And to avoid that possible oue, we must¡ª"

    Chief Valencia suddenly paused and narrowed her eyes on the distant horizon.

    It was at this moment that an army of darkness could be seen advancing towards their Darkmoon Tribe. Their numbers were great, and the earth rumbled with each of their marching steps.

    "So they havee."

 Chapter 331 - Battle At Darkmoon City

    <h4>Chapter 331 - Battle At Darkmoon City</h4>

    After the Bone Army spotted the Darkmoon Tribe, they continue to charge with full momentum. The battle had already started when they were summoned from the ck Swamp and given the order to kill all humans.

    The Bone Army was relentless and inexhaustible. They did not know what it means to tire. Their only will is the will to executemands given to them.

    As the Bone Army closed in on Darkmoon City, the people of the Darkmoon Tribe did not stay idle either. They had been waiting on the city walls ever since the colossal demon figure''s powerful voice rippled across the surrounding regions.

    "The Bone Cmity is here! Let us show them the might of our Darkmoon Tribe. Charge out with me, Brothers and Sisters!" A bulky man with a terrifying scar on his face shouted in a deep but prating voice.

    The person with the terrifying scar on his face was one of the Great Warriors of Darkmoon Tribe. Under his leadership, the Darkmoon Tribe people leaped off the city walls and charged at the iing Bone Army fearlessly.

    "Everyone, follow Big Brother Scarface''s lead!"

    "OOOH!"

    With an earthshaking war cry, the Darkmoon Tribe people had their blood pumping with excitement as their battle spirits were raised to the peak.

    The warriors of the Darkmoon Tribe were not used to fighting passively. Even if their Darkmoon Tribe of 20 thousand odd warriors were vastly outnumbered by the million-strong enemy, they would not shy away from the battlefield.

    How can they disy their valor if they stayed behind on the city wall while everyone else was fighting at the forefront of the battlefield?

    Thepetitive spirit of the warriors did not allow them to fall behind. When one person charged, the rest followed. No one stayed behind.

    Boom!

    A shadowy figured dropped from the sky andnded at the forefront of the battlefield with a heavy boom. As the dust settled, the tall figure of Chief Valencia holding her Tyrant Bone Halberd became visible.

    "Hahaha! The warriors of my Darkmoon Tribe do not shy away from a battle of such grand scale. How can I, the Chief, dare to fall behind them?!" Chief Valencia spoke wildly on the battlefield.

    Her overpowering presence immediately dampened the pressure of the iing Bone Army and raised the morale of the Darkmoon Tribe to greater heights.

    "Chief!"

    "The Chief is here to join us!"

    The Darkmoon Tribe warriors all cheered.

    "Hahaha! Even the Chief has joined us! You all better not embarrass yourself, ya hear me?! Show these wretched things that are neither dead nor alive the might of the Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors!" Another warrior spoke in a deep and powerful voice.

    This person was another Great Warrior of the Darkmoon Tribe. He wielded an excellent battle mace that kind of looks like a giant gardenmppost, but the sheer weight and power behind this weapon was not to be looked down upon.

    Although the Great Warrior made the weapon look light as a feather, the battle mace weighed 3000-jin.

    Many warriors had physical strength exceeding 3000-jins, and this might not seem like a lot of weight, but just because a weapon can be lifted, it did not mean it could be used.

    To use the heavy battle mace as easily as the Great Warrior, they would need a physical strength of 30000-jins or greater.

    "Big Brother ckbear is also here!"

    "Ahh, I am so excited! Under Big Brother ckbear''s lead, everyone!"

    These warriors were not in the same location as Chief Valencia. As such, they naturally followed under Great Warrior ckbear''s leadership on the battlefield.

    They were on the southeast side, while the main Bone Army came from the southmost direction. However, the Bone Army quickly spread out to surround their Darkmoon City.

    Very shortly, both sides collided with great force as they battled furiously!

    Swoosh!

    Great Warrior ckbear swept away dozens of Bone Soldiers with a mighty swing of this excellent battle mace. The Bone Soldiers were not his opponent at all!

    "Hahaha! Come! This is not even enough for me to break a sweat! At this rate, I alone can take on a 100 Bone Knights!" ckbear boasted boisterously. His voice could be heard a few dozen miles away!

    BOOM!!

    On the southmost parts of Darkmoon City''s outskirts, dozens of Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights alike were shattered into splinters by an even more tyrannical strike. At the same time, hundreds more were swept away by the generated wind pressure.

    This attack came from a casual swing of Chief Valencia''s Tyrant Bone Halberd. The weight of this weapon did not seem inferior to ckbear''s battle mace and might even exceed it!

    Chief Valencia was like an overlord on the battlefield. Every swing of her Tyrant Bone Halberd would crush dozens and send hundreds more flying.

    The previous concerns about the future had vanished entirely from her face. Only the will to do battle was left.

    The worries of the future shall be left in the future.

    Right now, all she was concerned about was finding a worthy opponent on the battlefield! None of the Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights were her opponent!

    She cleaved her way through the Bone Army like she was clearing out the trash. Her strikes were domineering and overpowering while her momentum was unstoppable!

    She only had one target in mind. The Bone Kings! Only the Bone Kings are worthy opponents! The rest was a waste of her time! Those can be left to her tribesmen!

    The Bone King in the back of the Bone Army carefully eyed Chief Valencia with its chilly gaze. The red light in its empty eye socket sparkled with increasing intensity as it watched the lone human quickly mowing down its soldiers.

    "Hmph! Arrogant human! Let me be your opponent!"

    A terrible aura of death exploded from its body as it shot forward with rming speed. In an instance, it closed the distance between then and swept out with its awfullyrge bone weapon!

    "Hahaha! Just what I was hoping for!"

    Chief Valencia met the Bone King''s attack head-on.

    nggg!

    A powerful shockwave was generated from their sh and swept away the surrounding Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights, and cleared arge space of emptynd for them to fight.

    "Stay back! This human is mine!"

    The Bone King issued its order, and the Bone Army no longer focused on Chief Valencia. They resumed their attack on the other humans before them.

    While the Darkmoon Tribe was busy fighting, simr situations were ying out at other human tribes.

    Apart from the Darkmoon Tribe, twelve other human tribes had also settled their homes on the Infertile ins. But of these dozen human tribes, there were only two other tribes that lived neighboring the ck Swamp.

    They were the ckwind Tribe and Crimsonfog Tribe.

    These two tribes were also of simr strength to the Darkmoon Tribe and had a poption of 20 thousand warriors.

    However, at this moment, the ckwind Tribe was struggling to fend off the Bone Army that headed their way. They were under siege by a 2.1 million strong Bone Army.

    Among this 2.1 million Bone Army, there were 1.8 million Bone Soldiers, 300 thousand Bone Knights, and 21 Bone Kings.

    ckwind Tribe failed to take the initiative of the war and were forced on the defensive side. Unlike the battle at Darkmoon City, the Bone Kings had been very proactive in their fight against the ckwind Tribe.

    They were able to hold on tenaciously under the leadership of their tribal chief, ckarrow, but the situation was not looking good.

    If they cannot break the status quo, they will eventually be worn out by the Bone Army''s relentless attack.

    "Dammit, why are there many Bone Kings?! This Bone Cmity is much stronger than thest one!" A Great Warrior for the ckwind Tribe spoke withint as he busily hacks down numerous Bone Soldiers that tried to climb the city wall.

    "The Bone Cmities had always been getting stronger each time it struck us, but it was never strong to this extent! I fear that our ckwind Tribe had taken the brunt of the Bone Cmity''s attack!"

    "Fuck, fuck, fuck! And you wonder why that is the case, huh?! Our ckwind City is too goddamn close to the ck Swamp! I have suggested relocation many times, but you guys always shoot me down! Ya bastards are all too greedy for treasures! Now, look where itnded us!"

    "Do you think relocation is easy?! Everything had been fine until the Bone Cmity happened! They better not let me find out which bastard triggered it! I''ll fricking skin him alive and torture him for 100 days before I quench my burning fury!"

    ¡­

    Somewhere on the Infertile ins, not too far away from the Weeping Forest¡­

    "Achoo!"

    "Are you alright, Leon? That''s like the 7th time you sneezed already." Lumi asked with amusement rather than concern.

    "After what I did, I wouldn''t be surprised if some people are cursing me right now." Leon shrugged after rubbing his itchy nose.

    "Achoo!"

    He sneezed again.

    In fact, it was not just some people cursing him. It was a lot of people cursing him! So much that he could drown in them!

    "People''s curses can cause you to sneeze?" Lumi asked with a dubious expression. Wasn''t that just a superstition?

    "Actually¡­ I am allergic."

    "What are you allergic to?"

    "Curses. Curses directed at me."

    "¡­"

    "Ahem, jokes aside, I might really be allergic to something," Leon said as he recalled the strange flower, he picked up not long ago.

    Anything that can grow on this seemingly barren and uncultivatablend had to be something extraordinary.

 Chapter 332 - Plagued With Bad Luck

    <h4>Chapter 332 - gued With Bad Luck</h4>

    "Achoo!"

    Leon sneezed before rubbing his nose again. The pollen from the strange flower was like an itch that would not go away no matter how much he scratches it.

    "Haiz, I me this silly hand of mine. Why must I pick up every interesting thing I see?" Leon shook head helplessly with a sigh.

    It was a good thing that they were several miles behind the human group. Otherwise, the constant sneezes would have given away their location.

    Leon had locked onto the human group with [Spirit Eyes]. As such, despite the long distance between them, he had not lost track of the humans.

    ''There weren''t many situations where I would need to use [Spirit Eyes] in the past due to energy constraints¡­ But now that I am here, [Spirit Eyes] has be an essential tool in navigating my way through this darknd.'' Leon mused.

    Ever since he had arrived, he had been using [Spirit Eyes] more proactively and frequently. The continuous usage of [Spirit Eyes] had not only allowed him to be increasingly proficient in the skill, but the pseudo-Grandmist Energy used to activate the skill had also tempered his eyes and permanently strengthen them.

    ''At this rate, I could try upgrading [Spirit Eyes] to the [Earthly Spirit Eyes]. This will allow me to see through all earthly things and not have my vision obstructed by the darkness.''

    Achieving the [Earthly Spirit Eyes] was not just breaking through to a higher stage but also a higher realm.

    Even in his past life, Leon had never reached the level of [Earthly Spirit Eyes], but this is also because he never needed to.

    The Divine Sense ability unlocked by divine practitioners after reaching the Divine Origin Realm was superior to [Earthly Spirit Eyes] in terms of its ability to see through all things. As a doctor, this was honestly all he needed to use to diagnose patients back then.

    But now, things were different. He was no longer pursuing the path of a doctor, but that of a fighter.

    [Earthly Spirit Eyes] suited his needs better. Its range was far more extensive, and neither was it easily detected like Divine Sense.

    The barren and cracked rocky ground filled with dead, withered grass made the strange flower very inconspicuous amongst them. Nevertheless, it was easily spotted by Leon''s active [Spirit Eyes].

    He did not recognize the nt, and neither did the [Archive] had any information on it. This astonished Leon.

    The [Divine Book of Life] supposedly had a record of every nt in existence during the age of Old Gods. The fact that it did not record this strange flower implies that the flower was a rare breed that did not exist during that age but appeared muchter.

    Leon had carefully stored the flower away, but he did not expect to still be infected by its pollens.

    "Achoo!"

    "Haiz, this won''t do. I need to cure this sneeze. It''s not going away."

    Having firmly decided, Leon inspected his own body with Divine Sense and located the flower pollen in his body.

    The flower pollen had the appearance of cauliflower, except it was yellow with an outer shade of purple in color and was extremely small on the microscopic level.

    Leon cannot detect these tiny flower pollen with his normal eyesight, but he had indeed seen these flower pollen when he harvested the strange flower previously and even used Divine Will to iste it.

    It was only natural for him to use Divine Sense to inspect when hees across an unknown nt. Otherwise, he would never know when and how he got poisoned.

    Despite the caution, he was still infected by the flower pollen. This could only mean the effective range of the pollen spread was much more extensive than he anticipated.

    Perhaps, he was already infected by the time he noticed the strange flower on the ground.

    Come to think of it, the human group did not remove their gas masks after they left the Weeping Forest but continued wearing it throughout the journey to the Infertile ins.

    It became apparent to Leon that the gas masks were not made solely for Weeping Forest expeditions. They were made to protect the humans from other harmful chemicals and substances that could be found throughout thend. The Weeping Tree''s hallucinogens just happen to be one of them.

    Shaking his head, Leon quickly locked onto the flower pollen. Most of the flower pollen was stuck in his nose like glue, while very few had managed to slip past and infiltrate his respiratory system.

    Nevertheless, it took him less than five minutes to locate them and remove them via Divine Will. He did not need to resort to medicine nor any other usual medical practices to cure himself. The convenience of Divine Will was unparalleled.

    "Are you sure we haven''t lost the other humans yet, Leon? I can''t see anyone ahead at all." Lumi asked while looking left and right into the distance with squinted eyes.

    All she could see was an uneven rockynd filled with cracks, forming small andrge fissures in some areas. Apart from that, she also spotted a few skeletal remains of demonic beasts.

    Reactivating [Spirit Eyes], Leon quickly located the human group several miles ahead of them.

    The distance had widened by another two miles, but it was still very well within the range of what his [Spirit Eyes] could see.

    "I''m very sure." Leon nodded before he said, "Let''s go, Lumi. We might actually lose track of them if we let them gain any more distance."

    His [Spirit Eyes] covered a lot of distance, but it was still significantly limited by the absence of daylight.

    "Alright, it''s not like I can see them anyway."

    Lumi shrugged.

    For all she knows, they had longst track of the human group. Nevertheless, she chose to trust Leon and take his words at face value.

    "Haha, we are going to increase our pace. Try to keep up, Lumi." Leon spoke with a partial taunt.

    "Hmph! Don''t you dare look down me, Leon! I can move very fast!" Lumi pouted with a haughty look. She took his words as a challenge deration.

    "Oh? Then let us see who is faster." Leon smiled.

    "Alright! We start on the count of three!" Lumi had a glint ofpetitiveness before she said with a shrewd smile, "Ready? One, two¡ª"

    The counter did not even reach three before Lumi dashed ahead of time.

    "This girl¡­"

    Leon shook his head.

    Crack!

    Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, the ground beneath Leon''s foot caved in and caused him to stagger and tripped.

    Lumi was feeling very gleeful despite ying dirty and giving herself a head start. She could feel the distance between them widen very quickly. As such, she decided to look back smugly when her smile froze.

    Shortly after returning to Leon''s side, Lumi asked, "What happened?"

    The surface of the concaved area was rough, dry, and filled with cracked lines, just like any other parts of thend, but surprisingly, it was hollow underneath.

    No, rather than hollow, it was soft and mushy.

    Leon got back up and dusted his clothes. His forehead was full of ck lines when he looked at the sole of his feet stained in brown gooey substances.

    "I stepped on sh*t!"

    "Pfft! You what?"

    The unexpected answer took Lumi by surprise, but she soon broke down into heavyughter. If she were still human, her tummy would have hurt from the hardughter.

    "You stepped on poopoo? Of what kind? Hahahaha¡­"

    Oh, this was too funny! How can someone be so unlucky? Of all the ces, he just had to walk over a demonic beast''s droppings.

    Hearing Lumi''sughter, at normal times, it would have been cute. But at this moment, it felt very grating to the ears and made him felt even more terrible. Despite that, he still answered her question, albeit with a gloomy expression.

    "Probably from demonic beasts."

    It was the first time he stepped on turd. Everyone had to have stepped on turd at some point in their life, right? Even if he escaped thest life, he could not possibly escape this time, right? Leonforted himself.

    "Hahaha¡­"

    Lumi had yet to calm down when she heard his answer and began tough even harder.

    At the same time, Leon was wondering what he did to deserve this? Actually¡­ he did a lot of things to deserve this, but that was not the point.

    If there were free treasures just lying around on the ground, what would people usually do? They would take it, right? How could he have known that it would trigger a Bone Cmity and implicate everyone? Can he really be med for that?

    Leon felt like all his umted karmic virtue had vanished at that moment. He did not doubt that a lot of people will most likely be dying during the Bone Cmity.

    Anything with the word ''cmity'' in it cannot possibly be a small matter.

    Not only did he feel like he had lost all his karmic virtue, but he might also be drowning in karmic sin instead.

    That would exin why he was suddenly struck with such ill fortunes when he caused the Bone Cmity! He was being gued by bad luck!

    Whether it was intentional or not, Leon had to admit that it was indeed his fault. He had to help the humans ovee the cmity. That was the least he could do to make up for his mistake, Leon decided.

    Hearing Lumi''s ongoingughter, Leon snappily said, "Have you had enough?!"

    "Hahaha¡­ Sorry¡­ But¡­ I, I just can''t¡­ it''s too funny! Hahahaha!"

    "I''m leaving!"

    After rolling his eyes, Leon spat those words and left, but not before conjuring some water to wash his feet crystal clean.

    "Hahaha! Wait for me~!"

 Chapter 333 - Disguising Himself

    <h4>Chapter 333 - Disguising Himself</h4>

    Outside of Darkmoon City, the Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors continued fighting fiercely with the Bone Army.

    "Chief Valencia! We cannot continue fighting like this! We are taking too many casualties! At this rate, we will be wiped out!" Great Warrior Scarface shouted with dripping sweat and numerous wounds on his body.

    He was not the only person like this. In fact, the other 15 thousand warriors on the battlefield were all like this. Despite having a poption of 20 thousand people, not all of them were able to fight.

    Among the 5 thousand people who stayed behind in the city were elderlies too old to fight, pregnant women, and children below 13.

    "You speak too seriously, Scarface! We have only lost about 200 people. We can still fight! It''s too early to retreat! Look around you, we are winning!" Another Great Warrior''s voice rippled across the noisy battlefield.

    "Only 200! That''s 200 of our brothers and sisters you are talking about, you hotheaded fool! How many more must we sacrifice for this Bone Cmity?! Don''t forget that the Bone Cmity cannot be ended in a single day!"

    After several hours of battle, they had managed to y 300,000 undead from the 1 million-strong Bone Army. However, the remaining 700,000 undead became even more troublesome than when they numbered 1 million.

    "Hmph! Where is your valor and spirit, Scarface?! Don''t be such a big wuss. Our fallen brothers and sisters had fought valiantly to the end. As a Great Warrior, aren''t you ashamed for wanting to retreat behind our walls when their bodies are still lying on the battlefield?!"

    "There''s a difference between bravery and foolishness! Our stamina and injuries will not let us keep up the offense for long! Defending is the only way! Don''t forget that the more of them we kill, the stronger the remaining ones be!" Great Warrior Scarface barked with a deep frown.

    He was one of the most ferocious-looking warriors due to the big scar that runs across his face. His bravery did not lose out to anyone. How dare the person used him of being a coward?! He was simply more level-headed and saw the bigger picture!

    What he spoke about was the most significant problem of the Bone Cmity. It would not be called a Bone Cmity without it.

    When these undead beings are killed, they revive with weaker strength. But once they are no longer able to revive, their remaining bones are absorbed by the other undead. As a result of this, the undead bes bigger, stronger, and tougher to kill.

    "How do you n to fight when these wretched things when we be exhausted while they grow to the size of behemoths?!"

    Once this question was raised, the other Great Warrior did not know how to answer it.

    Great Warrior Scarface immediately followed up, "Nothing to say, huh?! If you have nothing to say, then shut up for me! I am trying to reach Chief Valencia!"

    Chief Valencia was deep behind enemy lines. Even if she heard Great Warrior Scarface''s voice across the battlefield, she did not have spare effort to respond.

    From time to time, the tribesmen would see dozens to hundreds of Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights swept up in the battle between her and the other Bone Kings.

    A total of 10 Bone Kings had led their armies to attack the Darkmoon Tribe.

    While Chief Valencia held her ground against 7 Bone Kings, some of the stronger Great Warriors were also keeping the other 3 Bone Kings at bay and stopping them from wreaking havoc amongst their tribesmen.

    Their tribe had hundreds of Great Warriors, but only a few were able to put up a fight against the Bone Kings. This was also a testimony of how powerful their Tribal Chief was!

    Chief Valencia''s strength had long exceeded the ranks of Great Warriors! She was a Battle Master, someone who was on par with likes of Rank 2 Transcendent beasts!

    "Pitiful human, cease your useless struggle and embrace death! Death is not the end of the road for someone of your caliber! You have the right to join our ranks amongst the undead!" One of the Bone King snarled.

    "You wish to recruit me? And the prerequisite for that is that I must die first? Hah! How ludicrous! I will never join you wretched things that are neither dead nor alive!" Chief Valencia spoke with unwavering determination and grandeur.

    Although they talked, their bodies never stopped moving as they continued to dish out attacks one after the other.

    To someone people, they would have thought that it was a great loss that a fine woman like Chief Valencia was riddled with bulging muscles and scars. Someone like her would have been a great beauty had she live in a different environment.

    Unfortunately, she was born and raised a warrior on these harshnds.

    Chief Valencia did not find it a shame that she was riddled with scars and even looked at them with pride. Each scar contained her history and achievement on the battlefield.

    ¡­

    Some distance away, a small group of six humans finally made their way back to the Darkmoon Tribe. They hid at a rtively safe distance and quietly observed the battle taking ce outside their Darkmoon City.

    "I think I can also see the Chief fighting 7 Bone Kings in the depths of the Bone Army!" Soft Bone stated with her clenched fist tightening. As a fellow woman, she naturally looked up to Chief Valencia, the object of her idolization.

    Everyone was already fighting. They should also be doing something as well since they were already here.

    "What are your orders, Big Brother?" Big Bone asked the group leader, but his gaze was fixed on the battlefield ahead with burning intent.

    The group leader observed the situation for some time before speaking seriously, "We will naturally be joining the fight!"

    "The Bone Army greatly outnumber our people, but their ranks have been spread thin after surrounding our Darkmoon City. We will charge straight into their thinnest ranks and attack their nks! If we can rejoin with our brothers and sisters on the other side, we will be able to break the encirclement and change the tide of battle in our favor!"

    Gasp!

    "Wow, Big Brother is so smart¡ª!" Soft Bone praised.

    To be praised by the brightest member of their lot, the group leader''s ego was inted. He wore a smug look and said, "Of course, I am! Do you think I became a group leader just for my strength as a Great Warrior?"

    However, Soft Bone was finished as she continued, "Except¡­"

    "Huh? Except? Except what?"

    "Except it''s useless!"

    The group leader''s expression immediately froze as he asks, "Why?"

    "The n might work if we were up against someone else, but what we are up against isn''t a someone but a something! They are undead! nking them would not sow any chaos and confusion! Not to mention, there are only six of us! Even if we nk their thinnest ranks, we will still be going up against ten thousand of Bone Solders and Bone Knights!"

    The group leader''s mouth twitched before he pouted, "I didn''t say it would be easy."

    "I concur with Big Brother''s n. Although I doubt it will be as impressive as changing the tide of the battle, our efforts should at least cause some ripples and ease the burden off some of our brothers and sisters." Big Tooth spoke after being quiet previously.

    "Sounds like a solid n. Allow us to join you guys in your endeavor." A casual voice spoke to them suddenly.

    "Who?!"

    The entire group immediately jumped in rm at the unfamiliar voice and quickly directed their gaze towards the source. It was a male human and a female human spirit.

    The male human had a tannedplexion and wore rags for clothes.

    Although the male human was not very tall and muscr like a veteran warrior, and the ragged clothes were also strange, the person did have the look of a fellow tribesman living on the Infertile ins, not from their tribe, but perhaps another tribe.

    As for the female spirit, everyone''s expression dropped sharply as they shifted all their focus onto her like they were facing a great enemy.

    How did these two sneak up on them without any notice?!

    "A Banshee!"

    Banshees usually sided with the demons and were a source of incredible headaches for warriors like them. They have little means of defending themselves against the screams of a banshee.

    "Who are you? What do you want?" The group leader stepped forth asked with amanding presence.

    The human and spirit were precisely Leon and Lumi. Half an hour earlier, Leon made some necessary precautions in order to help the humans openly without being found out and hunted by themter.

    He altered his appearance by ripping up spare sets of clothes and tying them into a primitive-looking rag, while a color-changing cream was applied to his skin.

    The color-changing cream was something he concocted on the spot and used up simple ingredients. Simple as they were, one of the ingredients was not something Leon wished to be reminded of.

    Lumi knew precisely what that ingredient was and could not stopughing for a small incense worth of time. Even now, her body was still twitching from time to time as she did her best to keep a straight face.

    "Easy now, we are not your enemy. In fact, we can be considered your ally. We are here to help your Darkmoon Tribe ovee this Bone Cmity." Leon spoke with a surrendering gesture.

    The group leader''s eyes glinted with deep thoughts as he further confirmed Leon''s identity as a person of the ins. This boy knows about the name of their tribe and also the Bone Cmity¡­

    Nevertheless, the group leader was still dubious of Leon''s ims and said, "How can we trust what you say is true?"

    "Isn''t that simple? Lumi and I will just prove it on the battlefield by killing as many of those as we can."

    Leon pointed with his thumb and shrugged nonchntly.

 Chapter 334 - Sincerest Gratitude

    <h4>Chapter 334 - Sincerest Gratitude</h4>

    "You will? You make it seem like it''s a simple thing to do." The group leader gave Leon a quick look-over before his gaze turned disdainful.

    Although the human boy had a pretty solid and lean build, he was still considered scrawnypared to the rest of the Warriors and Great Warriors of their Darkmoon Tribe.

    "You are too arrogant, kiddo, but I gottamend your warrior''s spirit. At least you are brave enough. If you want to gain our trust, then you should leave the charge." The group leader spoke firmly, leaving no room for negotiations.

    "That goes without saying." Leon nodded in agreement.

    He had no scruples with this arrangement. It was only natural for them not to trust an unfamiliar person and even most so, a ''banshee'' with their backs.

    "Alright, after we locate the weakest point, you and your¡­ banshee friend will immediatelymence the charge. We will follow after." The group leader spoke.

    Leon shook his head and said with a straight face, "There''s no need to look. I have already done that earlier while looking for a chance to join the battle. The weakest point in the Bone Army is on the northeastern side of the city. I''ve only approached you after realizing there were other people nearby."

    Naturally, Leon was speaking untruthfully. He had been trailing some distance behind the human group to their Darkmoon Tribe. He couldn''t have arrived before them.

    However, it only took a sweeping nce of his [Spirit Eyes] to locate the point with the thinnest line of undead beings in the Bone Army.

    The group leader looked at Leon deeply before turning to Big Tooth. He ordered, "Go check that area out quickly."

    "Yes, Big Brother!"

    Big Tooth thumped his chest twice with honor and left swiftly. After the group waited patiently for some time, Big Tooth returned and faithfully reported, "Big Brother, it is indeed much thinner on the northwestern side. I doubt the other side will be any thinner than this."

    The group leader nodded before carefully patting Leon''s shoulder, "I don''t know which tribe you came from, but you have at least proven to be a little bit trustworthy. I don''t dare represent the entire Darkmoon Tribe, but know that you have earned the goodwill of I, Great Warrior Ironhead!"

    After saying that, the group leader retracted his hand before his nose suddenly twitched.

    "If we make it through this Bone Cmity together, I am definitely taking you to visit our tribe''s bathhouse. Even among the tribesmen that I know, no one stinks as bad as you!" Ironhead said with a frown.

    He was given the impression that the boy was not part of any tribe but a vagabond living on his own. Also, this boy most likely had never washed once in his life. After all, the boy smelt like¡­

    Leon could only smile wryly after hearing the group leader''s words while feeling bitterness in his heart.

    In his attempt to rid his pleasant odor and match the smell of someone from the ins, he used something he had intended to use as fertilizer.

    Shortly after the group arrived at the northeastern side of the battlefield, Ironhead urged, "We''ll follow-up after you."

    "En, no need to tell me twice." Leon nodded.

    This was what they had already arranged and would not change just because their impression of him had improved. It was not easy to gain theirplete trust.

    All he did was saved them a little bit of time. The information he provided could be gained either way.

    Leon quickly unwrapped the clothed Tier 4 Bone Spear he had been carrying all this while. He had seen all the humans using bone weapons.

    To strengthen his disguise as a person of the ins, he did not intend to use the ck spear and only intended to use the bone spear.

    The ck spear was forged of rare metal and easily draw suspicion, while Soul Weapons also seemed to be mainstream on the Infertile ins.

    Ironhead and all the group members immediately narrowed their eyes in surprise when they fell on the unwrapped Tier 4 Bone Spear in Leon''s hand.

    ''This Soul Weapon¡­'' Ironhead hummed inaudibly in thought. He seemed to have seen this bone spear somewhere before¡­

    At the same time, the youngest member cast a covetous gaze as he stared at Leon with jealousy. He could not ept the fact that Leon using a Tier 4 Soul Weapon.

    He was a peak Warrior soon to be a Great Warrior. What gives a scrawny person like that person the right to use Tier 4 Soul Weapon when he was still using a Tier 3 Soul Weapon?

    "Let''s go, Lumi." Leon wielded the Tier 4 Bone Spear and said, unconcerned with the thoughts of the group. He was not afraid of someone lusting after his weapon.

    The stronger warriors of the Darkmoon Tribe all had their own Tier 4 Soul Weapon. They had no reason to eye his weapon. On the other hand, he was confident of deterring the weaker warriors with his own strength.

    "Mm."

    Shortly after, Leon dashed straight into the battlefield with Lumi by his side. It was time to test the might of the Tier 4 Bone Spear!

    A few hundred yards ahead of them, the Bone Army was ever busy fighting the valiant warriors of the Darkmoon Tribe.

    As they closed in on the Bone Army''s rear, the numerous Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights at the back of the army picked up Leon''s living presence and began turning around.

    "Let''s give this a try."

    Leon immediately tightened his grip on the Bone Spear, and traces of Divine Will began pulling in the surrounding Darkness Profound Energy and fed it to the Bone Spear.

    There was some resistance, but the Bone Spear epted the Darkness Profound Energy before lighting up with whitish-blue light.

    Leon only frowned for a split second before no longer paying any mind to the problem for the time being and sweeping out with a powerful horizontal swing empowered by his Spear Spirit.

    Shinggg!

    The unstoppable spear swept through the undead army and severed dozens of Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights alike. The strength disyed in this attack was not inferior to a Great Warrior.

    "Such strength?" Ironhead softly eximed with surprise.

    "One cannot judge a book by its cover, huh? Those thin arms pack some seriously ferocious power!"

    Suddenly something clicked in his mind. A vagabond who can survive the brutal conditions of the Infertile ins on his own could not possibly be a weak person.

    Great Warriors are weed wherever they went, just for their strength alone. A tribe could never have too many Great Warriors. The more Great Warriors there were, the greater chance a tribe had at survival in these chaotds.

    Ironhead was not the only one impressed and surprised. The rest of the group had also been incredibly surprised and rmed, and among them, their youngest member experienced the most significant impact.

    Just a moment ago, he thought of ways to get his hands on the person''s Tier 4 Soul Weapon. But as a warrior, he would naturally not think of dishonorable means.

    He had been prepared to challenge the person in the battle arena openly with the Tier 4 Soul Weapon as the prize and offer something of simr value, but who was kidding? Challenging a Great Warrior? He was simply dreaming!

    After the group recovered from their surprise, they did not keep Leon waiting. Ironhead wielded his Giant Bone Sword and cleaved a path towards him with the group members following right behind.

    "Don''t focus on fighting! Focus on cutting straight through their ranks and join up with our brothers and sisters fighting on the other side!"

    "Yes, Big Brother!"

    Leon did not have any problem cutting through the enemy''s ranks, but he had an easier time with Lumi''s [Banshee Scream].

    Although the Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights did not have any souls and acted purely on themands of their Bone Kings, the [Banshee Scream] was still capable of interrupting their basemands and effectively stun them.

    As such, the Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights before Leon were no different to sitting ducks waiting to be ughtered after suffering a round of Lumi''s soul attack.

    Under the amplification effect of the bone whistle, Lumi''s soul attack became far-reaching. Tens of thousands of victims were caught in each attack, undead and humans alike.

    However, the impact on humans became negligible under her deliberate and considerate control.

    Some 400-odd yards away from their location, one of the Bone Kings noticed the abnormality and snorted, "Damn, Banshee! How dare you side with humans! Die for me¡ª!"

    "Where do you think you''re going?! Your opponent is me!" Sabertooth roared after hacking out with a powerful sh and stop the Bone King from leaving.

    Sabertooth was one of the few Great Warriors who could fight toe to toe with Lesser Demons like the Bone Kings.

    After blocking Sabertooth''s attack promptly, the Bone King was evidently incensed as it roared, "Argh! You wretched humans are so annoying! Since you are in a hurry to die, I''ll kill you first then!"

    "Bahahaha! That is more like it! Come at me!" Sabertoothughed wildly and traded blow for blow with the Bone King head-on.

    At the same time, the news of a Banshee helping the humans quickly found its way to every corner of the battlefield.

    "I don''t know why you are helping us, but you have our sincerest gratitude, Banshee!"

 Chapter 335 - Behemoth Class

    <h4>Chapter 335 - Behemoth ss</h4>

    Words filled gratitude were expressed to Lumi from across the battlefield.

    Although [Banshee Scream] only allowed her to stop the Bone Army from moving for a few seconds, this was more than enough time for the warriors to cut down the enemies before them and take a breather.

    The hours of intense battle have left them sweating, tired, and wounded. Lumi''s help was the break they needed to continue soldiering on for a bit longer without retreating and recuperating.

    "Looks like you got yourself some reinforcements, but no matter. One rouge Banshee is not enough to save you pitiful humans from your inescapable fates! You will only get weaker while we grow stronger!" A Bone King sneered.

    Chief Valencia refused toment, but her eyes grew brighter as she fought the 7 Bone Kings. It was an unexpected windfall to receive help from a Banshee.

    It was known that Banshees or vengeful spirits, in general, had never been fond of living beings. Although they were once human and regain parts of their memories as they grow stronger, their nature was changed after death.

    As such, it was very rare to find a Banshee willing to assist humans. In fact, it was the first time she heard of one. Clearly, this Banshee was not simple.

    Nevertheless, Chief Valencia did not have time to ponder too deeply as she was kept busy by the 7 Bone Kings she was fighting.

    The 7 Bone Kings were only Lesser Demons, but they were quite troublesome to deal with, even for a Battle Master like her.

    Although she could suppress them with her unrivaled strength and y them numerous times, they continued to revive without fail. Not only that, they did not get any weaker but also be stronger instead.

    On another part of the battlefield, Leon bulldozed his way through the army of undead with Lumi''s help and managed to join up with the other warriors on the other side.

    The warriors were immediately surprised by Leon''s small build and young age, but none of that really mattered. What they respected was strength, and strength was something they had witnessed from Leon.

    "This Little Brother, you are very strong! Which great tribe do you hail from?" A Great Warrior approached amicably, but it was hard to determine this from his fearsome expression when he cut down the enemies ferociously.

    "I don''t belong to any tribe," Leon answered as he blew another several dozen Bone Soldiers with his bone spear.

    Although it might draw some suspicion, it was easier to say he was alone than to say he was affiliated to one. If these tribesmen were reallymitted to doing some digging, they would eventually find out his lie.

    "Hahaha, is that so? How about joining our tribe? We can use a Great Warrior of your caliber." The Great Warrior offered.

    "I''ll think about it."

    Leon rejected indirectly. He gave off the impression that he was used to the vagabond life outside of tribes.

    "Hahaha, take your time thinking. There''s no hurry, no hurry¡­" The Great Warriorughed it off lightheartedly.

    He did not see anything wrong with the person''s reply. Vagabonds were all like this. Although there were not that many of them, there were indeed quite a few warriors that chose the vagabond life to avoid responsibilities andmitments to their tribes.

    "It''s rare to still see someone like youe and aid us in our times of trouble," Ironhead interjected into their conversations.

    Vagabonds were usually selfish people who engage in banditry or had been exiled from their tribe for felonies theymitted. In short, vagabonds were generally not good people.

    "As a fellow human, I naturally cannot standby and watch you all fight alone. It is times like these that humans should be united more than ever. If the Darkmoon Tribe falls, it would also implicate the other tribes and people of the ins."

    "Hahaha, well said! It''s great that there is still someone like you out there. We never expected any help from others, to begin with. It is already a great blessing that they don''te and kick us when we are down. What is your name, Little Brother? Just for those words, I¡ªPiss off!"

    The Great Warrior suddenly roared after being interrupted by the undead and swatted them all away with a hefty swing of his giant club.

    "Ahem, sorry about that. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Even if you decide not to join our Darkmoon Tribeter, you will still be regarded as a friend of I, Strongarm."

    "And I, Ironhead."

    Great Warrior Ironhead added with a look of admiration when he nced at Leon. The rtionship between the human tribes in the Infertile ins was not harmonious at all.

    "Whether we be friends or not, we can worry about that after oveing this Bone Cmity. My name is¡­" Leon gave it some thought before he said, "Leonhardt."

    "Leonhardt¡­ Strong and brave. It''s a good name!" Great Warrior Strongarm praised. He found the name umon, but it was a warrior''s name, nheless.

    Leon was slightly surprised that the person could faintly guess the meanings behind the name. This person was rather educated and not just a muscle head.

    Some distance away, Lumi was making a funny gagging gesture at Leon to express her distaste. How could he keep lying with such a straight face?

    But after Leon directed her a warning gaze, she simply poked her tongue at him before going back to blowing her whistle to stun the enemy.

    At the same time, the two Great Warriors were busy sweeping out the undead mobs and did not notice the little exchange between Leon and Lumi.

    Nevertheless, they were full of respect and admiration for Leon and Lumi.

    With these two on their side, the Darkmoon Tribe was having an easier time oveing the Bone Cmity. Although most of the contributions came from Lumi, Leon''s efforts could not be ignored either.

    There were myriads of questions they wanted to ask like how Leon became so strong at his age and how he managed to befriend the Banshee, getting it to help them, but these were questions for another time.

    "Hahaha, what''s up, brothers! I''vee to help!"

    Raucousughter entered the ears of everyone fighting on the northeastern side as another Great Warrior made his way over.

    "Knucklefist? What brings you over to our area? Won''t the little brothers under you suffer without you by their side?"

    "Hahaha, that''s true! That''s why I mustn''t be gone for too long!"

    "Knucklefist is right! I can''t be gone for too long, either!"

    "Darkeye, you''vee too? What the hell is going on here? Why are you alling over to my side?" Great Warrior Strongarm frowned.

    "Hahaha! With the Chief too busy fighting the 7 Bone Kings to give us anymands, and Scarface and ckbear arguing back and forth over whether to retreat or not, that''s when we noticed the situation on your side!"

    "If we break the encirclement here and turn around to nk those Bonies, we can greatly change the tide in our favor!" Great Warrior Darkeye exined.

    "For the record, that had been my n all along!" Great Warrior Ironhead stated.

    "Yeah, yeah. No one''s going to fight you for your credit, alright? How was the trip to the ck Swamp, by the way? Did you end up locating the people the Chief sent you to find?" Great Warrior Darkeye asked.

    "No, those people are probably all dead. I had my whole team pulled out the moment I noticed the signs of the Bone Cmity. Otherwise, my team and I would have been dead already."

    As the Great Warriors chatted in the midst of battle, the Bone Army''s slowly closing wedge was widened until their line finally broke apart.

    The Bone Army on the northeastern side had been dropping rapidly with the aid of Lumi''s [Banshee Scream], but with the appearance of two extra Great Warriors, they began to fall even more quickly.

    In a short amount of time, everyone managed to cut down 150 thousand undead in the area and break out from the Bone Army''s encirclement.

    After that, everyone split into two groups. Great Warrior Dark led one group left to nk the northern side''s Bone Army, while Knucklefist led another group right to nk the eastern side''s Bone Army.

    Boom!

    Chaos suddenly broke out on the right side of the northeastern area.

    Everyone saw a twirling white storm of bone fragments and bone dust as a towering bone figure rose from within it.

    When everyone saw this towering bone figure, they all had sharp changes in expression.

    "A Behemoth-ss Bone Demon! A Bone Soldier had evolved into a Behemoth-ss Bone Demon!"

    "What! That''s too early! How can there be Behemoth-ss Bone Demon already?! These things only appear near the end of every Bone Cmity!"

    "Bone Cmities had always been getting stronger than thest one! There''s no guarantee that the Behemoth-ss Bone Demons would always appear near the end!!"

    While everyone was eximing in shock at the unprecedented case, Great Warrior Ironhead turned to Leon and said, "Care to join me in taking down this thing, Little Brother Leonhardt?"

    "Sure. This thing must be pretty tough, right?" Leon asked while eyeing the towering bone figure in the distance.

    "That''s right. You have never seen one before, right? It is quite fortunately for us that it is only a Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier. Their strength is usually around the peak of Unranked Demons. Their quite close to being Lesser Demons but still not quite there yet. If It were a Behemoth-ss Bone Knight or Behemoth-ss Bone King¡­ Well, let''s just say that things would get ugly for us."

    Great Warrior Ironhead exined.

 Chapter 336 - Signal For Help

    <h4>Chapter 336 - Signal For Help</h4>

    After listening to Great Warrior Ironhead, Leon began to frown. The situation was more precarious than he thought. The Darkmoon Tribe was treading on tightropes, where the situation could turn for the worse at any moment.

    Behemoth-ss Bone Demons would only continue to appear from this point onwards, but it was not like they could just stop killing the undead. Even if they stopped killing the undead, the undead would not stop trying to kill them.

    "In that case, we better finish off this Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier quickly so we can join the others in taking down the Bone Kings. It''ll be troublesome if one of them evolves to Behemoth ss like you said."

    "Hahaha, Little Brother Leonhardt is very positive." Great Warrior Ironhead said wryly before continuing to exin, "Although Behemoth-ss Bone Soldiers only possess strength equivalent to the peak of Unranked Demons, they boast extremely high defense due to their sheer size andyers of Bone Fortification. This makes them just as difficult to kill as ordinary Bone Kings."

    Bone Kings were Lesser Demons with at least 100 thousand jins worth of strength, simr to the strength of Rank 1 Transcendents.

    Meanwhile, Ironhead was an Early-rank Great Warrior with a strength of 70 thousand jins. Also, from what Ironhead had seen, Leonhardt possesses simr strength to him.

    Thus, even if they wanted to take the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier down quickly, it would still take them awhile. What Ironhead did not know was that Leonhardt had yet to go all out.

    "Is that right?" Leon was mildly surprised before calmly stating, "Then I guess I better fight more seriously."

    "Hahaha, Little Brother Leonhardt sure likes to joke." Great Warrior Ironhead gave a forcedugh. It was hard for him to imagine that the small body of the boy before him could possess any more strength than what he had already witnessed.

    Leon did not try to convince Ironhead of his ims and simply shook his head with a light smile. It was easier to prove it with his actions rather than his words.

    He tightened the grip on his bone spear and immediately lunged towards the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier in the distance with Lumi following him shortly after.

    Watching Leon dashed ahead, Great Warrior Ironhead also shook his head and thought, ''This boy possesses great strength, but he is still a hotheaded youth in the end. He won''t be convinced until he sees the reality of things with his own eyes.''

    Not long after the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier appeared, Great Warrior Knucklefist, who had headed right, was the first to engage it in battle.

    His strength was around 75 thousand jins, a tad stronger than Ironhead, but he was also an Early-rank Great Warrior. The strength of a Mid-rank Great Warrior was needed to y the giant Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier if they do not join forces to kill it.

    Knucklefist caused big cracks to form on the surface of the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier''s body with his attacks, but these cracks would soon repair themselves shortly after.

    After Knucklefist spotted Leon rushing over, he was overjoyed. He watched as Leon leaped high into the air before shouting, "This thing is incredibly tough! We need to work¡ª"

    Shinggg!

    The Behemoth-ss Bone Soldiers stood dumbly on the spot and had its head toppled off with a shing ray of whitish-blue light.

    No matter how strong the Bone Soldier had be, it was still a mindless puppet that easily froze after suffering from one round of Lumi''s soul attack.

    Knucklefist had his eyes widened when he saw Leon shaved off the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier''s head in one clean swipe of his bone spear.

    "¡­Together."

    After finished thest of his words drily, Knucklefist gulped. Ironhead was not too far behind when he also witnessed the scene and almost had a heart attack from shock.

    "What the in the world¡­?"

    Ironhead stared dumbly into the distance with ck jaws before quickly recovering and smacked his thighs in jubtion.

    "Damnnn! This Little Brother was actually holding back so much strength! No, with that much strength, I should be calling him Big Brother instead!"

    Ironhead''s eyes glowed brightly with excitement.

    Anyone who can cut the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier down in one blow definitely had the fighting strength to battle Lesser Demons like the Bone Kings.

    At the same time, the other warriors were having a more significant reaction from witnessing the sight.

    "Oh my god! What just happened?! Someone just took the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier down in one blow! Did anyone see clearly who did it?"

    "I did! It was the outsider that did it! He is such a little monster! How can such a little body contain so much power?! With that much strength, he should be at the Mid-rank Great Warrior level, at least!"

    "What outsider! Anyone willing to help our tribe ovee the Bone Cmity is a friend!"

    "Hahaha! It''s such an incredible blessing to have such a powerful expert assist us!"

    The warriors'' blood boiled, and their fighting spirits were raised. At the same time, praises were also directed at Lumi.

    "Don''t forget about the banshee''s help! If not for her soul attack, The Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier wouldn''t have just stood there to have its head chopped off!"

    "Oh yeah, you''re right about that! We are so fortunate to have such a powerful banshee on our side! Thank you, Banshee!"

    Words made their way into Lumi''s ears. She had never been appreciated by so many people before. It filled her with a wondrous feeling and caused her to hum a melodious tune in tion.

    Leon chuckled lightly before shaking his head.

    It was true that he possessed the strength to fight Bone Kings, but without a good weapon, it would not have been possible to behead the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier so easily with its incredibly thick defense.

    After using the bone spear for some time, he had realized why there was some resistanceing from the bone spear whenever he channeled his power through it.

    It was because the Soul Weapon was remarkably simr to a Spirit Artifact with an artifact spirit. He needed to bind the Soul Weapon to himself to have ess to its full capabilities.

    Once Leon had realized this, he had subtly cut his finger with his thumbnail and bound the Soul Weapon to himself with his blood essence.

    After that, the Soul Weapon did not let him. Its attack power was not something his current Tier 3 ck Spear couldpare to. Its sharpness was on another level.

    It was also fortunate that he had realized the issue early. The Darkmoon Tribe warriors would have found it weird if they had realized that he had yet to bound the Soul Weapon to himself.

    "Big Brother Leonhardt, quick! Keep attacking until you absorb all its power! Don''t let the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier revive!" Great Warrior Knucklefist shouted. He had also view Leon as a ''Big Brother'' unwittingly.

    Leon naturally did not need to be told this, but he still acknowledged Knucklefist words by giving him a simple nod.

    "En."

    An umted amount of Darkness Profound Energy and Death Energy was gathered inside the head of the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier.

    After Leon hacked it into diced pieces, the energy was all absorbed into his Bone Spear.

    Perhaps, because he had yet to form a Darkness Profound Seed, or because he did not know the cultivation method of the Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors, the energy did not proceed to flow into his body but was wholly absorbed by the bone spear.

    "Hahaha! Big Brother Leonhardt, you sure know how to hide your power!" Ironhead said as he strolled over in joyousughter.

    "Well, I wasn''t really hiding it, though? Using my full strength on weaklings is just in wasteful, don''t you think?"

    "Err?? right¡­ that makes perfect sense." Ironhead was immediately stunned speechless by Leon''s sound reasoning. He quickly recovered with a cough and said, "Ahem, since Big Brother Leonhardt is so powerful, I hope you can continue to help us take down the Bone Kings."

    "I intend to. No point stopping here when I''vee to help, right?" Leon smiled lightly.

    "Thank you, Big Brother Leonhardt. Our tribe is indebted to you and your friend." Ironhead spoke sincerely from the bottom of his heart.

    No one could deny Leon''s and Lumi''s contribution to this war. The Bone Cmity was much more challenging than the previous one, but they had hopes of defeating the Bone Army in a day with their help.

    Leon found it weird to be addressed as ''Big Brother'' by someone much older than him, but he pretended not to mind it as it seemed to be part of their tradition.

    Just as Leon directed his gaze towards the battle between Sabertooth and the Bone King he was fighting, he noticed a light signal shooting into the sky from the far southwestern direction before exploding brilliantly like a firework.

    Some faint guesses formed in his mind, but he still asked, "What does that signal?"

    When Ironhead turned to look at where Leon pointed, his expression became grave as he answered solemnly, "That''s the signal for help from the ckwind Tribe!"

 Chapter 337 - Guarding A Crazy Person

    <h4>Chapter 337 - Guarding A Crazy Person</h4>

    Leon did have some faint guesses that the light signal was a call for help, but after Ironhead confirmed this, he began to feel terrible.

    He had seen how proud these warriors of the ins are. If the ckwind Tribe''s warriors are just as proud, they would not have sent the signal for help unless the situation was absolutely dire.

    ''It seems a lot of people are going to die during this Bone Cmity.'' Leon mused with a depressed sigh.

    As the culprit who caused the Bone Cmity, the death of every warrior during the Bone Cmity is directly rted to him.

    His luck was bad enough after starting the Bone Cmity. He cannot imagine how much it will get after his karmic sin piles up from the death toll.

    While Leon wasmenting over his misfortunate and grim future, the Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors on the battlefield also began to notice the ckwind Tribe''s signal for help in the distant southwestern skies one after another.

    Anything brightly lit in the skies of this darknds is like the candle mes in the darkness; it was just too easy to spot.

    "Everyone, look! That''s the signal for help!" A warrior shouted while he was drenched in sweat, riddled with bloody wounds, and locked in a contest of strength against a Bone Knight.

    "This direction¡­ it''sing from the ckwind Tribe! The ckwind Tribe is calling for help!"

    The momentary distraction caused not only the warrior but many others to suffer an extra wound on their bodies, but no one med that warrior. The discovery was just too rming and shocking.

    "Unbelievable! That proud ckwind Tribe actually did?! They were always hit the hardest and suffered heavy casualties in the past Bone Cmities, but they had never called for help before! The situation must be absolutely dire over there!"

    "With our present situation, it is impossible to send any reinforcement to back up the ckwind Tribe! I am afraid the ckwind Tribe is finished! It is only the first day! Once the ckwind Tribe falls, we will be hit with the next wave!"

    "We won''t be able to send help, but the Crimsonfog Tribe might be able to! I hate to admit it, but they are the strongest of our three tribes! If they send help, the ckwind Tribe will definitely be saved!"

    "Don''t ce your hopes on it. The Crimsonfog Tribe might be the strongest, but they have their hands full guarding the Death Passage!"

    As the warriors entered a furious discussion as much as they were hacking and chopping down Bone Demons, Leon was able to pick some interesting information.

    It appeared that while the human tribes were divided, there were also alliances between some of them. For instance, there was a total of seven tribes living near the ck Swamp that entered an alliance.

    In addition to the Darkmoon Tribe, ckwind Tribe, and Crimsonfog Tribe that were the closest to each other, the other four tribes belonging to their alliance was situated on the other side of the Weeping Forest.

    A more interesting point was the ''Death Passage'' mentioned by the warriors, but it was unfortunate that the warrior did not go into detail.

    ''It seems I can only try to fish for more information after I help the Darkmoon Tribe ovee the Bone Cmity.'' Leon mused.

    He had not forgotten why he came to the darknd, but he should not waste the chance to learn more about the overall situation of the darknds and the demons.

    Suddenly, he turned his gaze towards the eastern side and picked up the wildughter of a Great Warrior echoing from the battlefield over there.

    "Bahahaha! Finally, dead for good!" Sabertoothughed wildly.

    After killing the Bone King many times, the Bone King was finallyid to rest on the cold, rocky ground with its skull detached from the rest of its body.

    Bang!

    Sabertooth stomped down hard and crushed the Bone King''s skull into countless fragments beneath his feet.

    The warriors were briefly taken aback by the powerful and vigorous aura that Great Warrior Sabertooth exuded as they saw his moderately long hair danced wildly in the wind.

    "Thismanding presence¡­ it''s much more powerful than the past! Big Brother Sabertooth has broken through to the High-rank Great Warrior Realm!"

    "No, he has not broken through yet! But he will soon!"

    At that moment, a tremendous change was taking ce within Great Warrior Sabertooth''s body. The Bone King''s raw energy was refined by his Soul Weapon and soon transferred to his body.

    Under normal circumstances, Darkness Profound Energy was genuinely harmful to living beings, which was still the case for Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors.

    However, under their unique body cultivation method, they were able to control the damage caused by Darkness Profound Energy to temper their own bodies.

    While Sabertooth was breaking through, he had his perception of the outside world shut off. The surrounding warriors quickly realized that the Great Warrior had left himself utterly defenseless for his breakthrough to a higher rank.

    "Oh, no! Big Brother Sabertooth is too focused on his breakthrough! Quickly protect him!" A warrior cried.

    A wide gap was created during the battle between Sabertooth and the Bone King. But after the Bone King fell, the Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights immediately started closing the gap to attack Sabertooth.

    Although they had lost their Bone King, it did not stop them from executing their most basicmand to kill humans.

    "Crap, we won''t make it in time!"

    The warriors were appalled when they realized this. No one wanted to be too close to the Great Warriors when they fight, but at this moment, they regretted being too far away.

    Great Warrior Sabertooth was one of their tribe''s best warriors. They could not afford to lose someone like this. It was too big of a loss for their tribe.

    The warriors never stopped trying to get closer to Great Warrior Sabertooth, but there were too many Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights between. Their eyes became red when they saw Great Warrior Sabertooth about to be overwhelmed.

    "Dammit! Wake up, Big Brother Sabertooth! You are too crazy! Why would you try to make a breakthrough in the middle of the enemy''s army?!" The warriors cried, hoping their voices would reach him.

    Despite their best efforts, it was all in vain.

    Nevertheless, they knew precisely why Sabertooth was willing to take the risk. The further one progresses through the Great Warrior Realm, the more increasingly difficult it gets. If they did not take the chance when the opportunityes, it could set them back several years before their next opportunity for a breakthrough.

    Not everyone was a monster like their Chief Valencia. Her determination and drive to be strong was not something many men possess.

    To reach the Battle Master Realm at her age, talent alone was not enough. It also required incredible hard work. She was a woman of focus,mitment, sheer will¡­

    Just as the Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights were about to hack Great Warrior Sabertooth to death, a soft whistling scream made its way over and caused all the undead to freeze on the spot. It was Lumi''s [Banshee Scream].

    A blurred shadow flickered across the air andnded right next to Great Warrior Sabertooth shortly after sweeping all the enemy before him with a mighty swing of his bone spear.

    That person was Leon, without a doubt.

    Bang!

    "No need to fret, I will guard this person!" Leon spoke strongly as he mmed the butt of his spear into the ground domineeringly and exuded his tremendous pressure.

    s, these mindless undead beings did not know the meaning of fear and were not deterred by him. They continued to charge at him, only for Leon to lift his bone spear and sweep them all again away.

    "Thank you, Great Warrior Leonhardt! Thank you for saving Big Brother Sabertooth!"

    "It has been fortunate to have someone like you to fight alongside us!"

    The warriors spoke with heartfelt relief one after another. Nothing was more reassuring than to have another Great Warrior guard their Big Brother Sabertooth while he is breaking through to the next rank.

    Once the burden in their hearts was lifted, they focus all their energy on fighting the remaining Bone Army.

    Leon did not know how hard it was to progress through the Great Warrior Realm that these warriors spoke of, but how could a breakthrough in one''s cultivation be more important than one''s life?

    ''This Sabertooth person beside me is either too crazy or too confident in believing someone was going to guard him.'' Leon mused with narrowed eyes.

    In truth, there was no need for Leon to guard Sabertooth''s breakthrough as his strength was better utilized elsewhere.

    However, he had his own motive for guarding the person. At such proximity, he observed how the person was cultivating his body to advance his strength.

    ''Sure enough, these warriors have a method to cultivate Darkness Profound Energy¡­ However, this energy isn''t used to further theirprehension of the Darkness Profound Law, but actually to temper their body. To think they would use Darkness Profound Energy like this¡­"

    Leon was mildly surprised as he watched the darkness squirm under the person''s skin like countless small snakes. Just as thest traces of darkness was about to disappear, Leon began to narrow his eyes in thought.

    ''This person is about toplete his breakthrough!''

    Sabertooth''s eyes soon snapped open and immediately let out a mighty roar while his vigor and aura surged with significant momentum.

    "Hahaha! I''ve finally broken through this damn bottleneck!" Sabertoothughed boisterously with joy. It was not long before his gaze fell onto Leon.

    "You''re the one who protected me?"

    Leon casually swiped away another group of Bone Soldiers before nodding, ''En."

    "Many thanks, friend!" Sabertooth thanked with a grin.

 Chapter 338 - Where Are They?

    <h4>Chapter 338 - Where Are They?</h4>

    After being thanked, Leon waved it off nonchntly with a simple reply, "Don''t mention it."

    Despite his calm attitude on the surface, he felt slightly pressured by Sabertooth''s vigorous aura.

    Every advancement in the Great Warrior Realm was a significant leap in strength. After one breakthrough, Sabertooth was much stronger than Leon.

    Sabertooth was not targeting anyone in particr, but seeing how Leon could resist his powerful aura and keep hisposure, he could not help but be slightly impressed.

    He silently acknowledged the person with a nod before saying, "I would like to talk more, but it will have to wait."

    Leon nodded in agreement.

    "Well then, let us talkter. I''ll be sure to repay this favor once we ovee the Bone Cmity." Sabertooth stated before he grabbed his saber and dashed in Chief Valencia''s direction.

    Countless Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights blocked his path to Chief Valencia''s side, but he swept them away with ease.

    After achieving the High-rank Great Warrior Realm, his physical strength had reached a staggering 150 thousand jins.

    "Congrattions on your sessful breakthrough, Big Brother Sabertooth!"

    "Hahaha! This is great! Now we have one more High-ranked Great Warrior in our Darkmoon Tribe!"

    The warriors congratted Great Warrior Sabertooth one after another as he passed them by. The warriors watched Sabertooth''s back grow smaller in the distance with a look of excitement and determination as they clenched their fists.

    "Our victory is guaranteed, but opportunities to advance our strength in times like these are rare! C''mon, brothers! We must work harder! I don''t believe that I won''t be able to break through at least once today!" A warrior rallied.

    The Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors were obviously weary from battle, but they never stopped pushing their bodies.

    After killing so many Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights, their bodies had also been tempered a fair bit. Although it was not enough to reach a breakthrough, they were nearing the verge of one.

    They just needed to push a little harder to ovee their body''s limits, and the breakthrough wille naturally.

    Some might view the Bone Cmity as a great disaster, but it was also an excellent opportunity to grow stronger. As they say, disaster and blessings always go hand in hand.

    "OOHHH!"

    The warriors roared with motivation and determination. The prospects of bing stronger fueled their tired bodies with new energy as they fought with greater ferocity.

    While the Bone Army dropped rapidly in numbers, Leon did not follow Sabertooth to assist Chief Valencia. There was no need to. Instead,

    With his [Spirit Eyes], he had seen Chief Valencia ying 3 of the 7 Bone Kings. It was unknown how many times they have fallen under her de, but they have hit the limit of their revives.

    The remaining 4 Bone Kings were naturally no longer able to stall Chief Valencia and began dying even quicker under her de.

    She was worthy of being the strongest warrior of the Darkmoon Tribe. Her strength was unrivaled.

    "Chief Valencia, I''vee to help you!" Sabertooth shouted as he neared the tribal chief.

    After Chief Valencia felled another Bone King, she gave him a sidelong nce and calmly said, "Your help is not needed here."

    If a Battle Master like her needed help against mere Lesser Demons like the Bone Kings, she would be considered an ipetent warrior.

    "Right¡­" Sabertooth stopped in his tracks with slight embarrassment, before saying, "¡­Then I will go help the others!"

    "Go on." Chief Valencia shooed him away before softly snorting, "Wanting to steal my prey?"

    Bone Kings were juicy preys packed with lots of Darkness Profound Energy. How could she let others steal her prey after she did all the hard work?

    Sabertooth overheard her words and ran away with quickened steps. It did not take long before he got close to another battle between a Bone King and a Mid-rank Great Warrior.

    "Brother ckbear, I''vee to help!"

    "Piss off!"

    "Ahem, alright."

    ¡­

    Each time undead beings are killed with Soul Weapon, a portion of their power is absorbed and refined by the Soul Weapon. However, it was not muchpared to what thest kill has to offer.

    By now, Chief Valencia had in the 7 Bone Kings a total of 67 times. Thest 3 Bone Kings were all on their final life.

    "Come and ept your deaths, Bone Kings! Let us end this once and for all!" Chief Valencia roared with great vigor, intending to finish the battle quickly.

    "ept our deaths, you say? No, no, no. You can destroy our vessels, but our souls will forever be with our lord. With our lord''s protection, we can never truly die. We are imperishable." One of the 3 Bone Kings said with a smirk.

    The Bone Kings seemed to have epted that they would fail, but they did not seem to treat it as a big deal.

    "Is that right? Well, I do not really care! I''ll just have to kill you every time youe back!"

    "You¡ª"

    Another Bone King was shattered into bone fragments by Chief Valencia''s sudden attack. She was not intent on listening to the Bone King''s idle chat as she continued to hunt them down one by one.

    "Such an impatient human, hmph! No matter. We will see each other again sooner than you think!" Thest Bone King spoke ominously as its skeletal structure hit its revival limit and fragmented.

    The blob of darkness within the Bone King''s skull was soon absorbed into Chief Valencia''s Soul Weapon, but a small part of the darkness managed to slip away and disappeared into the void.

    Shortly after the Bone Kings were all in, the Darkmoon Tribe'' warriors were finally able to get close to their tribal chief.

    "Chief Valencia, the ckwind Tribe had sent their distress signal for help. What are your orders?"

    "En, I saw. Clean up the remaining Bone Demons on the battlefield and give our fallen brothers and sisters proper burials first. We will decide after we are recovered." Chief Valencia said.

    They would naturally help the ckwind Tribe if they could, but not at the expense of their own people.

    Chief Valencia swept the battlefield with her gaze and saw that her warriors were not ready for another big battle. And to be honest, she was not optimistic about the ckwind Tribe''s situation either.

    ¡­

    As the battle against the undead entered the final stages, Behemoth-ss Bone Demons began to appear more frequently.

    Leon and Lumi toured around the battlefield and assisted many Great Warriors in taking down these giant creatures. The Behemoth-ss Bone Demons simply could not resist her formless soul attack.

    Many warriors began to break through and advance their strength to a higher level during this time, but only a few were able to step into the Great Warrior Realm.

    Sometimeter, the battle finally ended with Chief Valencia cutting down the Behemoth-ss Bone Knight the size of a small mountain.

    "It''s finally over! We did, brothers and sisters! We managed to defeat the Bone Army in under a day!" A warrior rejoiced with heartfelt relief.

    Although the battle durationsted under 14 hours, it was incredibly challenging and hard-won. If not for the help of outsiders, they would have been forced to fight defensively and drag the battle out for much longer.

    While some were rejoicing at the end of the battle, some were also mourning for the fallen warriors.

    After the battlefield was cleaned up and the bodies were rounded up andid down in rows outside their Darkmoon City''s gate, Chief Valencia walked down one of the empty aisles. To her left and right were all bodies of fallen warriors, some of which were even familiar faces.

    "What''s the number of casualties?" Chief Valencia asked with a grave expression.

    "A total of 3092 of our warriors were lost, Chief. Among them were 2327 Fighters, 753 Warriors, and 12 Early-rank Great Warriors." A Great Warrior reported.

    3092!

    Chief Valencia closed her eyes painfully. Unexpectedly, they had such a high casualty count! That was one-fifth of their avable fighting force! It would take years to recover from such heavy losses!

    After some time, Chief Valencia reopened her eyes with a firm and unyielding look.

    "Send our fallen brothers and sisters back to their families and arrange a proper grand burial for them. Their names must be recorded on the Great Tombstone. They had fought valiantly and given up their lives for the survival of our tribe. They deserve to be eternally remembered."

    "Thank you, Chief! I will have it done right away!" The Great Warrior said gratefully with slightly red eyes. His little brother was among the fallen.

    After the Great Warrior left to make the arrangements, Chief Valencia''s aura suddenly turned sharp as she called Ironhead.

    "Yes, Chief!" Ironhead stepped forward and answered. Beads of cold sweat began to form on his forehead under Chief Valencia''s pressuring gaze.

    He knew what the Chief would be asking. Even though he knew he was not at fault, his life could still be forfeited if he did not answer carefully.

    After all, a scapegoat might be needed to appease the fallen warrior''s families'' fury if the culprit of the Bone Cmity was not found.

    "I sent you to find people in the ck Swamp, where are they?"

    It was a simple question, but Ironhead felt like death was staring right at him.

    At the same time, all the surrounding warriors focused their gaze on Ironhead once the question was raised, hoping to hear a satisfactory answer.

    Leon and Lumi were found among the crowd. While Lumi was inwardly feeling nervous, Leon had his fist slightly clenched despite wearing a calm look.

    He felt heavy-hearted and guilt-ridden as the number of deaths weighed down on him.

 Chapter 339 - Hunting Team Returns

    <h4>Chapter 339 - Hunting Team Returns</h4>

    "I was unable to make it far into the ck Swamp with my team before we were forced to retreat and temporarily hide in the Weeping Forest due to theing Bone Cmity, Chief," Ironhead spoke truthfully with a sigh.

    After that, he added, "Most likely, those people you want to find are already dead, Chief."

    Chief Valencia was silent for a moment before she said, "Is that right? Never mind then."

    Huh?

    Ironhead was surprised. That was it? The Chief was not going to pursue the matter further?

    "Err, Chief? You''re not going to punish me?" Ironhead could not help but ask. After all, he had failed the task of finding the people and bringing them back alive.

    "Punish you? Did you do something that needs punishing?" Chief Valencia asked nonchntly.

    "Um, no¡­"

    Who was he kidding? There was no way Ironhead was going to admit it. His group had rushed to the ck Swamp as quick as they could, but despite that, they were still toote. That was beyond his control.

    "Hahaha! Look how scared you are, Ironhead! Did you think we are going to me you for Bone Cmity?!" A Great Warrior shouted heartedly from the side.

    "What do you think, brothers and sisters?!"

    "Of course¡ªNOT!"

    The Fighters, Warriors, and Great Warriors gathered around, all answered in unison with a mighty shout.

    "Hahaha, look at how scared you were just now, Ironhead." An Early-rank Great Warrior grinned.

    "What the heck? There is something wrong you all¡­" Ironhead muttered as he swept them a look with confusion in his eyes.

    Just a moment ago, many of them were still grieving for their fallen brothers and sisters, but now they were all looking at him with warm smiles. There is something wrong with the script¡­

    As if knowing what Ironhead was thinking about, one of them spoke, "It is true that many of our brothers and sisters have fallen today, but they had fought valiantly to protect our tribe. We must not dishonor them by thinking any less of their deaths."

    "That''s right. We should be proud of them because we have won¡ªTheir deaths were not meaningless. They died for glory! So, we will not keep grieving. They would not want us to be like that if they were still among us." Another warrior added.

    Chief Valencia did not say anything and allowed them to talk because she shared the same sentiments as the rest of them.

    "Even if you guys do not me me, how are we going to answer the other tribesing asking for the one that started the Bone Cmity?" Ironhead said with knitted brows.

    Suddenly, Ironhead felt the Chief''s aura spiked shortly after he finished his words.

    "We will not sell off one of our own people! How the fuck would they know it was us that started the Bone Cmity?! For all we know, it might have been one of them instead! I dare them toe pointing fingers at us!" Chief Valencia said with domineering ir.

    She was not afraid of falling out with the other tribes from the alliance. Their tribe was not easy to bully.

    Once the Chief has spoken, everyone felt their blood pumping in high spirit as they roared in agreement, "YEAH! Well said!"

    Leon was awed by their unity. He had yet to learn of the power levels between the different tribes, but just by seeing this, he could tell that the Darkmoon Tribe was very powerful.

    If the entire Human Domain had been this united, how strong could they have be?

    "You guys¡­" Ironhead was touched. He shook his head with a smile and said ruefully, "It seems I was overthinking¡­"

    He had been mentally prepared to be the scapegoat for their tribe, but now, he saw that it had been unnecessary from the start.

    "That''s right, where are our two friends?" Chief Valencia suddenly asked.

    Shortly after, the warriors near Leon and Lumi all shuffled away. Suddenly, all attention was on him.

    "Chief Valencia, these two have been of invaluable assistance to our battle. Our losses would have been much higher if not for their help! Their contribution should be rewarded handsomely!"

    Ironhead spoke for Leon and Lumi. He was the most familiar with what these two had done for their tribe.

    Chief Valencia nodded.

    "That goes without saying. If we do not wee these two little friends to stay in our city and treat them to a great feast at the very least, others would say that we are ungrateful and a bad host."

    After saying that, Chief Valencia then turned to Leon and Lumi, "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your help, friends. Your assistance has been most weed. Please join us for a meal tonight. Your presence will be most anticipated."

    Chief Valencia was quite curious about these two, but she decided to save her questions forter. At the same time, she was not in a rush to recruit them as it might not be the ideal timing.

    "You are too humble, Chief Valencia. If we are not intruding, I will just take you up on that offer. It''s been a while since Ist visited a big tribe." Leon said calmly.

    "I can see that." Chief Valencia''s nose twitched when she picked up the horrible stench from Leon and offered, "Perhaps, you would like to pay a visit our bathhouse first?"

    "That would be appreciated." Leon smiled wryly.

    "Since you seem to be the most familiar with these two friends, why don''t you be their guide and show them the way to the bathhouse, Ironhead?"

    "With honor, Chief." Ironhead patted his chest twice and urged, "Come, Big Brother Leonhardt, and¡­"

    "Lumi."

    "Lumi. Got it." Ironhead nodded before continuing, "Let me show you two the way."

    After that, he led them away into the city.

    "Start sending our fallen brothers and sisters back to their families and begin making the arrangements for the big funeral to honor them." Chief Valencia ordered a warrior before to another person. "Sabertooth, how are you feeling?"

    "Never better." Sabertooth grinned.

    He was tired and had several light wounds, but he was still in excellent mood from seeding in his breakthrough to High-rank Great Warrior Realm.

    "That''s good. I want you to go scout the situation at ckwind Tribe for me." Chief Valencia stated impassively.

    Sabertooth''s grin immediately froze.

    "Actually¡­ my body is still rather sore and weary from battle¡­ How about¡ª"

    "Go!"

    "Alright¡­" Sabertooth answered despondently. Who else could he me but himself for his cheeky answer?

    "Hahahaha! I am back, brothers! Where is the big battle?!"

    A Great Warrior''s powerful voice was suddenly hearding from the northwestern side of Darkmoon City.

    "This voice¡­"

    "It''s Brother Goldeneye''s voice. The hunting team is back!" The warriors immediately recognized the voice.

    Shortly after, the hunting team was seening from the side of the city''s walls. It was a reasonablyrge groupprised of 195 Early-rank Great Warriors and 5 Mid-rank Great Warriors. Each of them could be seen dragging the carcasses of demonic beasts in their hands.

    "Where are the Bone Demons? Where is the Bone Cmity? Isn''t there suppose to be a big battle here?"

    "You''re toote, Goldeneye! The battle has already ended!" Strongarm said.

    "What?! It already ended?! So soon? It hasn''t even been a day!" Goldeneye was surprised.

    His hunting team had rushed back from the distant Infertile ins as soon as they heard the start of the Bone Cmity.

    "Never mind that. I can see that your team had quite a sessful hunt! Three-tailed Blue Lizard! Scarlet-winged Chicken! And the Big-horned ck Buffalo! Oh my! I can''t wait to dig into these goodies!" Strongarm said while rubbing his hands together and licking his saliva.

    "Hehe, your team must be weary from the long travel back. Here, let me hold on these guys for you." Strongarm said.

    He reached his hands out towards the Scarlet-winged Chicken with its tongue sticking out in Goldeneye''s firm grasp.

    Pak!

    "Buzz off! This is for the entire tribe!" Goldeneye pped the hand away defensively.

    "Haiz, it''s going to be eaten tonight anyway, isn''t that right, Chief?" Strongarm directed the question at Chief Valencia.

    "That''s right." Chief Valencia nodded and said, "Your team came back at just the right timing. We are going to have a great feast to celebrate our victory tonight. The nutritious meat from these demonic beasts will help our warriors recuperate well. You can pass the meat to these brothers to handle. I have another job for you."

    "Since the Chief has spoken, I will definitelyply. What job do you have for me?" Goldeneye said withoutint. "Here, take it!"

    "Sure!" Strongarm grinned.

    "The ckwind Tribe had sent their distress signal for help some time ago. Originally, I was going to send Sabertooth to scout the situation. But since your team is back, go and see if you assist the ckwind Tribe. Report back to me if the situation is too dangerous."

    "Haiz! That is unfortunate. I actually wanted to go. But since the Chief has spoken, I shall leave this task to you, brother." Sabertooth patted Goldeneye on the shoulder. He appeared reluctant, but in truth, he was celebrating inside.

    The warriors all silently sneered at how shameless Sabertooth was.

    "Since Sabertooth is so dedicated, he will be joining you, Goldeneye." Chief Valencia said indifferently.

    "Understood." Goldeneye acknowledged.

    At the same time, Sabertooth immediately froze again. He did not know whether tough or cry. Damn his bad habit!

    "Actually, I''m not all that keen on going¡­ Chief, please don''t send me¡­" Sabertooth hugged her thighs and begged.

 Chapter 340 - Unforgettable Experience At The Bathhouse

    <h4>Chapter 340 - Unforgettable Experience At The Bathhouse</h4>

    Walking down the spacious streets of Darkmoon City, Leon''s mind was preupied with expectations towards the Bathhouse.

    "What do you think of our city, Big Brother Leonhardt?" Ironhead raised the topic while he led the way.

    "The city is quite impressive. It is surprisingly clean, orderly, and spacious. Although it seems like each building are constructed randomly, they are actually nicely arranged with careful consideration."

    Leon gave Ironhead his honest thoughts as he praised the city.

    He was under the impression that the city was being powered by formations. If he had a bird''s eye view of the city, he would be able to confirm if it was indeed the case.

    Furthermore, although the city was built with primitive means, the interior was far from what he had expected. The city''s hygienic practice was surprisingly meticulous, and the air was much fresher than the outside.

    He everything had to do with the formations of the ce.

    At the same time, he had a greater expectation for their Bathhouse. He was quite curious where the Darkmoon Tribe was procuring all their water source from when the Infertile ins was so barren that any precious resource would be extremely scarce and valuable.

    "Also, the city has a surprisingly pleasant scent. It does not have a stench at all. Many demonic beast blood and bones should have been used in the construction of this city, right? How did you guys get rid of the bad smell?" Leon asked with interest.

    "Hahaha, Big Brother Leonhardt has a very keen eye and a keen nose to have noticed these small details. This is all thanks to the efforts of our Venerable Shamans and their divine powers." Ironhead said with a proud look.

    Shamans?

    Leon''s eyes flickered ever so slightly at the unfamiliar term, but he was not in a hurry to ask in case Ironhead finds it strange.

    Shortly after, Ironhead continued to boast, "On thesends, Big Brother Leonhardt will not be able to find many tribes with a cityparable to ours."

    "Is that right? I did find it strange that such an impressive city actually existed on these barrennds. This is undoubtedly an awesome feat and a work of miracle. You have every right to boast about it."

    Leon had not seen the other tribes, but he had to agree with Ironhead''s boast. With these people''s lifestyle, he had expected the city to be reeking with blood and sweat. But that was indeed not the case.

    "We''re here. This is our public Bathhouse. Feel free to use it for as long as you like, Big Brother Leonhardt. This ce is free of charge."

    "Oh right, in case you are not familiar with our signs, the left sign is for men only, while the right sign is for women only. However, if you are looking for a bit of excitement, you can just go ahead and head down the middle and use the mixed bath." Ironhead said as he gave Leon a cheeky grin.

    "How obscene!" Lumi eximed with an embarrassed look after listening. If she still has a living body, her face would have been flushed red like a tomato.

    "Hahaha! Obscene? No, no, no. This is actually pretty normal here. Everyone mainly uses the mixed bath. Rarely, does anyone ever use the other baths." Ironheadughed heartedly.

    "You probably don''t want to see me bathing, right? Do you want to head inside for now?" Leon asked on the surface.

    In truth, he was afraid that Lumi would continue to say things that Ironhead would find strange.

    "Of course not!" Lumi rolled her eyes at him before saying, "Quick, let me inside. I want to go see Little Big Sister."

    "Little Big Sister¡­"

    Leon smiled wryly and nodded. Shortly after, Lumi vanished right in front of Ironhead''s eyes as she entered the Worldspace.

    "This¡­ Big Brother Leonhardt, where did she go?" Ironhead was surprised the Banshee''s sudden disappearance. Vengeful spirits should not have such abilities, right?

    "She¡­ went into my spiritual world. I''m a Spirit Tamer." Leon lied with a straight face.

    "Spirit Tamer? I''ve heard of a Beast Tamer, but what is a Spirit Tamer? Is it something simr?" Ironhead asked.

    "Something like that." Leon nodded before changing the topic with a casual question, "Water must be abundant for your tribe to be this extravagant with its usage. Is this also thanks to the Venerable Shamans?"

    He could hear the overflowing sound of water inside the Bathhouse. Also, he had seen the waterworks system that transfers water to various parts of the city.

    After the question was raised, Leon began to grow nervous due to Ironhead''s brief silence. Had he misspoken?

    However, Ironhead cracked a smile andughed while patting Leon''s back, "Hahaha! You are a funny guy, Big Brother Leonhardt. Who doesn''t know that water can only be procured from the underground water vein?"

    Leon was startled at the revtion, but he did not show it on his face as he also smiled andughed, "Hahaha, I was only joking."

    "Hahaha, alright. Big Brother Leonhardt can go on ahead and use the Bathhouse. I would also like to join you and wash these wounds of mine, but I need to go arrange your amodations first." Ironhead said.

    "You can still do that after, right?"

    "No can do. You are our benefactor, friend, and guest. We will be a bad host if we have to make the guest wait." Ironhead said firmly, leaving no room for negotiation.

    Leon was a bit speechless.

    It was not like he was going to rest after he washes. He still wanted to explore the city and try to fish for information about his adoptive mother, Mia, and the others'' whereabouts.

    Although he found the person to be rigid, he did not hate this kind of person as he smiled and said, "Alright, I won''t try to convince you otherwise then. However, you must start dropping the ''big'' and just call me Brother Leonhardt. I am not ustomed to being called a big brother."

    "If you insist, then I shall call you that from now on, Brother Leonhardt." Ironhead agreed with an understanding look, and his expression became warmer.

    He did not find what Leon said to be strange. It conformed with how lone vagabonds usually are. Vagabond groups might still pay great attention to these trivial formalities, but lone vagabonds simply do not.

    After Ironhead left, Leon nced at the public Bathhouse ahead.

    ''Now which bath should I use?'' Leon mused.

    The women''s bath was a no go, but he was not interested in seeing only men bath. Also, Ironhead mentioned it was normal for people to take a mixed bath.

    ''I guess it''s gotta be the mixed bath then.'' Leon decided.

    However, he was soon to discover a problem.

    At that moment, every bath was packed to the brim. Rarely does this ever happen, but everyone had just finished a great battle. It was expected for them to want to enjoy a nice hot bath.

    Apart from cleaning their wounds, taking a bath at the Bathhouse was a great way of rxing their bodies as the hot bathwater had a natural effect of washing away their fatigue.

    Leon waited for some 20 minutes before he saw some men leaving the mixed bath. He took his chance to enter right after with some anticipation and curiosity.

    How can people of different gender share the same bathing area? It must be chaotic inside, right?

    Not long after entering the mixed bathing area, Leon was not only disappointed but scarred. Everyone was butt-naked without the slightest intention of covering their privates with a towel.

    More importantly, there were no babes nor beauties to feast his eyes on, just muscles on top of bulging muscles. It was a muscle galore.

    He should have expected this, but s, that faint bit of hope was crushed ruthlessly.

    If there was one thing Leon found surprising about this mixed bathing area, it was that everyone did not part with their Soul Weapons and brought it with them inside.

    ''Toote to turn back now. I am already inside.'' Leon sighed as he noticed that many people have already spotted him.

    "Oiyah? Who do we have here? Isn''t this Big Brother Leonhardt, our friend, and benefactor? Come join us!" A warrior spoke.

    Everyone had a keen interest in wishing to speak with him. Leon could only smile wryly and approached them.

    "Wait, Big Brother Leonhardt. You can''t enter the hot bathwater yet. You need to scrub yourself clean on the side over there first." Another warrior pointed.

    "Ah, I see. That was my bad." Leon apologized.

    The warrior stepped out of the hot bath water with his bone sword and offered, "It must be Big Brother Leonhardt''s first time using the Bathhouse. Allow me to help you wipe your back."

    "There''s no need for that. I can do it myself." Leon quickly rejected with a shake of his head.

    However, the warrior noticed how bad Leon smelt and feltpelled to do something about it.

    "This brother must not have washed in a long time. This will not do. I insist on wiping your back. You must be squeaky clean before you can enter the bathwater." The warrior said firmly.

    "That''s right. We always have each other wipe our backs for us. If you want, we can do it instead." A female warrior offered.

    "I see¡­ it''s fine. This brother will do." Leon reluctantly allowed the male warrior to wipe his back for him while he cleaned the rest of his body with the scrubber and soap the facility had to offer.

    "Don''t worry, Big Brother Leonhardt. I''ll make sure you''ll be squeaky clean and free of this bad smell." The male warrior patted his chest with a determined look.

    "Thanks."

    What else could he say? He could only force a smile.

    Sometimeter, he frowned and said, "This brother¡­ would you mind putting away your sword?"

    "What do you mean?" The male warrior asked, taken aback.

    "¡­"

    Leon peeked over his shoulder and saw the bone sword on the ground next to the male warrior, untouched.

    At that moment, he paled in realization. A thousand ''fuck'' went off in his head and his heart beated like a thousand rampaging cicadas.

    In short, words could not describe what he was feeling in that exact moment.

 Chapter 341 - Arm-Wrestling Match

    <h4>Chapter 341 - Arm-Wrestling Match</h4>

    "Arghhh!"

    Leon immediately shot up like a frightened rabbit. Various emotions could be seen in his eyes, but the most apparent ones were disgust and anger.

    "What happened? Is there a problem, Big Brother Leonhardt?" The male warrior asked with a dumbfounded expression.

    "Is there a problem, you say?!" Leon red at the male warrior and roared, "Of course there is a fucking problem!"

    His gaze shot downwards at the male warrior''s ''little brother'' and he felt even angrier. The thing was not even awakened. Why the heck was it so big?

    He was repulsed beyond imagination. Dammit, he would rather swim in a pile of dung than get touched by another man''s tool.

    "You are the problem! Goddammit, how dare you rub my back with your rod?!"

    "Err¡­"

    The male warrior was shortly stunned before he put on an embarrassed look.

    "This is a misunderstanding, Big Brother Leonhardt. I swear it was unintentional!" The male warrior said.

    Despite that, there was a hint of pride on his face at the mention of his rod. Even among men, there were not many that had a rod as big as his.

    "Hahaha, I knew that big ding dong of yours was going tond you in trouble one day, but I did not expect it to happen like this!" A male warriorughed, finding the situation quiteical as he made snide remarks at the male warrior.

    "I can totally understand how Big Brother Leonhardt is feeling! Even I feel disgusted if any of you touch me with your tools! Hahaha!"

    Other male warriors also began tough. In any case, it did not happen to them. Thus, they were able tough it off.

    "Hehe, Brother Leonhardt should have just epted my offer instead. That way, you would not have been grossed out by him." The female warriorughed.

    She tried to be coquettish, but her voice and appearancecked the appeal to charm Leon. Her voice was deep, rough, and full of masculine vibes superior to many men in the Crawford Kingdom. That was definitely not his preference.

    "Brother Goldenrod, how about I go ask the Venerable Shamans if they have a way to shrink your ''goldenrod'' for you? Hahaha!" Another male warrior jeered.

    "Oh, piss off! You guys are all just jealous of me." Goldenrod smirked.

    Indeed, Goldenrod was his name, not by birth, but given by others. The Darkmoon Tribe warriors rarely use their birth names once they are formally recognized as warriors and only use their nicknames and titles.

    "Big Brother Leonhardt, I''ll be more careful next time. Allow me to continue wiping your back."

    "Piss off! I have my own two hands and feet. I can clean myself just fine. I do not need your help!" Leon said sternly with a deep frown. Regarding this matter, he should have been firm from the start.

    Goldenrod began to frown. No matter what, he was still a proud warrior. How could he ept this sort of treatment even if he were in the wrong?

    "I call you Big Brother Leonhardt because I respect your ''strength'' and what you have done for us, but that does not mean you can disrespect me like this. And to be honest, I am not convinced that you are as strong as others imed you to be. How strong can you be with a small body like that?"

    "Oi, oi, oi, Goldenrod, you can''t talk to our benefactor like that." A female warrior said with a frown.

    "Why not? Has anyone actually seen him fight?" Goldenrod asked as he swept everyone in the mixed bath a look.

    "That¡­"

    No one was able to answer that question.

    They had all fought on the western side of Darkmoon City. Thus, they have only heard the news of Leonhardt''s strength and have not seen it for themselves.

    The feeling of doubt had been lingering in them the moment their eyesnded on Leonhardt, but no one wanted to be rude to their guest by asking the person in question to validate his strength.

    This person was supposedly a Great Warrior, and no one wanted to offend a Great Warrior. Especially when most of them were only peak-level Warriors, still a step short from the Great Warrior Realm.

    Goldenrod had indeed popped the question they all wanted to ask. How can Leon''s small body contain so much power?

    "Well, what do you have to say about it, huh?" Goldenrod pressed.

    "So what if you are not convinced? I do not need to prove anything to you. That is your problem, not mine."

    "If you do not even dare to prove yourself, it just means that you aren''t as strong as what others say you are. Perhaps, you are just riding on the borrowed fame from the Banshee." Goldenrod spoke in a goading manner and shrugged.

    It was known that Lumi had yed a pivotal role in ending the battle as quickly as it did and saving the lives of many while she was at it. On the other hand, Leon''s individual contribution was not as grand.

    The Darkmoon Tribe had many Great Warriors. Leonhardt was just another Great Warrior, but Lumi was not just another banshee.

    Leon''s brows were slowly furrowed.

    This person was seriously trying to pick a fight with him. He was the guest they had invited into their city. He did not need to prove anything.

    If not for the sake of trying to maintain a good rtionship with the Darkmoon Tribe, he would have already beaten up this rude person to a pulp.

    "How do you want me to prove my strength?" Leon asked impassively as he restrained his anger.

    Goldenrod smiled and shouted at the other warriors, "Quick, bring the table over! We will settle this with an arm-wrestling match!"

    Very soon, a table made of ckwood was brought in front of them. It had been lying in one corner of the mixed bathing area with soaps and scrubbers ced on top of it, but now it was used for arm-wrestling.

    Leon could tell that this seemingly ordinary ckwood table was reinforced with runes and had extraordinary resilience. It seemed to have been built specifically for arm-wrestling.

    Suddenly, the mood became festive as a middle-aged male warrior spoke with enthusiasm, "Hahaha! I wasn''t nning to bring it up since everyone is worn out. But now that Brother Goldenrod brought it up, I want to ask, who dares to challenge me to a match after?!"

    "I will challenge you!" A younger male warrior immediately spoke excitedly, "I''m warning you right now, brother. I have made great progress in the earlier battle. Your number one spot below Great Warrior Realm will be taken over by me today!"

    "Then, we shall see whether you can walk the walk and not just talk the talk!" The middle-aged male warrior grinned before striding over to Leon''s side and patting him on the shoulder.

    "I apologize for Goldenrod''s rudeness earlier, Big Brother Leonhardt. He is actually not a bad guy. As you can see, we normally engage in arm-wrestling matches here topete with each other for entertainment."

    "I understand."

    Leon nodded.

    Although the middle-aged warrior did not say it directly, he understood the warrior''s hidden meaning.

    The Darkmoon Tribe was not trying to be ungrateful, but their tribe ced heavy emphasis on strength.

    They would still show him the basic level of respect as required of them for what he had done. But if he wanted to earn their genuine respect, he had to prove that his strength was worthy of respect.

    ''This must be what Ironhead meant by the excitement in the mixed bath.'' Leon mused wryly. He could not help feeling like he got baited. The ''excitement'' was different from what he had imagined.

    "A normal arm-wrestling match is too dull. How about we spice things up a bit with some bets?" Goldenrod suggested provocatively.

    "How do you want to bet?" Leon asked calmly.

    Seeing the look in Goldenrod''s eyes, the middle-aged warrior frowned. Nothing good coulde out from that kind of look.

    "Don''t take it too far, Goldenrod. Just simple bets will do." He warned sternly.

    Goldenrod simply ignored the warning as he eyed Leon''s bone spear and said, "If I win, you give me your Tier 4 Soul Weapon. If I lose, you can decide what to do with me."

    Bang!

    "What did I just say, Goldenrod?! You''re taking things too far!" The middle-aged warrior mmed the table in anger.

    The stakes were too high.

    It had been a tacit agreement to never go after a warrior''s Soul Weapon, but today, Goldenrod has broken that agreement.

    The middle-aged warrior turned to Leon and said, "There''s no need for you to take this bet. This is not how we usually do things."

    Leon shook his head and looked directly at Goldeneye.

    "If I win, you have to be my subordinate! Do you dare ept it?!"

    Goldenrod narrowed his eyes as he studied Leon''s expression cautiously. He became uncertain of whether to ept the bet or not.

    Suddenly, he smirked. Trying to scare me?

    "I ept!"

    The middle-aged warrior sighed at both party''s decision and said, "Fine. Since both sides have made their decisions, I will facilitate this match. On the count of 3."

    "1¡­ 2¡­ 3!"

    Bang!

    The match ended in an instance, following Goldenrod''s cries as he hugged his dangling right arm and broke into cold sweats.

    Everyone was immediately startled with wide eyes and drew in sharp breaths. As expected of a Great Warrior''s strength! Leonhardt was not to be trifled with!

    At the same time, Leon looked at Goldenrod calmly.

    Just because he could not beat up the person, it did not mean he would not teach the person a small person. He was no saint. If someone repeatedly tries to offend him, he would not let the person off easily.

    "This match, I have won. Do you ept?"

 Chapter 342 - Rite Of Baptism, Black Pool

    <h4>Chapter 342 - Rite Of Baptism, ck Pool</h4>

    "This match, I have won. Do you ept?"

    The mixed bathing area was silent once Leon uttered these words. Everyone had their gazes fixed on Goldenrod, awaiting his answer with curiosity.

    A warrior should be true to his words and ept losses with honor, but they also understood how difficult it was for Goldenrod to ept such an oue.

    All warriors were naturally proud, with eyes aspiring for greatness. It was hard to imagine any of them lowering and subordinating themself to an outsider.

    Nevertheless, this was something Goldenrod had brought onto himself. He only has himself to me. The middle-aged warrior had already warned him and tried to mediate the matter.

    "I lost fair and square. Why wouldn''t I ept this loss?! I am a man of my words! From now on, I am your subordinate! It''s not a shame to lose to a great Warrior!" Goldenrod spoke strongly. He would not dishonor himself by being a sore loser.

    "Goodd. At least you still have your warrior''s honor." The middle-aged warrior praised.

    Shortly after, he started to frown slightly as he nced Goldenrod''s dangling arm. He turned to Leon and asked, "However, don''t you think you have been a bit too heavy-handed, Big Brother Leonhardt?"

    "I think it should be broken, but this is what I deserve for provoking a Great Warrior." Goldenrod said self-deprecatingly while shaking his head.

    "Heavy-handed? Broken? Not at all. It''s just a little bit dislocated." Leon said indifferently.

    In truth, his current base strength was inferior to Goldenrod. He had to rely on his explosive strength to win. He could beat Goldenrod in a normal contest of strength without his Divine Will and folded strength technique.

    If these warriors also had techniques that applied the same concept of [9 Echo Osciting Fist] to their attacks, they would also experience an increase of multiple folds in their strength.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not see the need to exin as he simply strolled over to Goldenrod.

    "What do you¡ª"

    Goldenrod was not able to finish his words before Leon grabbed his right arm and gave it a quick yank and twist.

    Kacha!

    The sounds of bones clicking were heard as Leon fixed Goldenrod''s arm. Goldenrod grunted and sweated from the brief rush of pain.

    At the same time, Leon''s intention was misunderstood as the middle-aged warrior deepened his frown and said, "You have already won, and punished Goldenrod enough for his offense. Don''t you think you are taking things too far by continuing to bullying him with your strength?"

    In any case, Goldenrod was still one of them, while Leon was an outsider. They would not standby while Leon bullies their people.

    "That''s not it. Big Brother Leonhardt was helping me fix my arm." Goldenrod stopped the middle-aged warrior for speaking further after discovering his arm was back to normal, much to his surprise.

    "Oh?"

    The middle-aged warrior and everyone else was also surprised seeing Goldenrod wave his arm around without a problem.

    "It seems I have been mistaken and misunderstood your intentions, Big Brother Leonhardt. Forgive me for my rudeness just now." The middle-aged warrior apologized.

    "It''s fine. I did not take it to heart. If you really feel sorry, then just call me Brother Leonhardt. I am not used to being called a big brother by someone who is old enough to be my father." Leon spoke.

    Pfft!

    "Did you hear that, brothers and sisters? Big Brother Leonhardt said Brother cktiger is old enough to be his father! Hahaha!"

    "Hahaha! Brother cktiger definitely has the looks! Do you want me to call you daddy, Brother cktiger?"

    "Hahaha! Big Daddy cktiger!"

    Everyone immediately broke intoughter as jokes and snide remarks were made at the supposedly ''middle-aged'' warrior.

    "Oh, piss off! Are you guys really going to make fun of my face right now?! Do you also have to embarrass me in front of Brother Leonhardt?!" cktiger barked.

    Leon was taken aback by everyone''s response as his eyes started to flicker with doubt when he looked at the ''middle-aged'' warrior.

    Noticing his inquisitive gaze, cktiger rubbed his bald head with embarrassment and exined, "Despite how I look, I am actually only 25 years old."

    "What? Motherfucker, you look 50!"

    Leon was given a great shock as his eyes darted between the other people at the mixed bathing area. Everyone appeared to be within their 20s to 30s.

    Are these people also younger than what they appear to be?

    He soon fixed his gaze on a warrior who looked to be roughly 20 years of age and wondered if this person was like 10 years old or something.

    "Don''t tell me, everyone here is also¡­"

    "No, they are all normal. I am the odd one." cktiger shook his head and proceeded to exin further, "I''ve be like this because I was too stubborn during the Rite of Baptism and overstayed my body''s limit in the ck Pool."

    Rite of Baptism? ck Pool?

    Leon''s brows furrowed ever so slightly at the more unfamiliar terms. Nevertheless, he could faintly guess it might have something to do with their body cultivation method.

    "Brother Leonhardt doesn''t know about the Rite of Baptism and the ck Pool?" cktiger asked, noticing Leon''s confusion with his keen perception.

    Leon was inwardly startled. He was prepared to make an excuse when cktiger continued to say, "Brother Leonhardt must have been a vagabond since birth and never undergone any Rite of Baptism before, right?"

    "It would make sense that Brother Leonhardt does not know about the Rite of Baptism and ck Pool. After all, your body doesn''t look much different to everyone before they underwent their Rite of Baptism in the ck Pool. It must have been hard outside on your own all this time¡­" cktiger spected.

    He had a look of confidence, totally convinced by his own conjecture that this was truly the case. Leon gaped in a dumbfounded manner, not knowing where his confidence came from.

    ''Sure thing, dude. Whatever you say.''

    "You know what? You are exactly right! That is indeed the case!" Leon nodded in agreement, following along with cktiger''s assumption.

    cktiger was not the friend he wanted, but he was the friend he needed. It saved him a great deal of trouble exining himself.

    "Hahaha! Just as I have assumed." cktigerughed.

    After receiving Leon''s confirmation, he was more smug andcent with himself.

    "Brother, when are we going to have our match?" One of the warriors asked with an urging tone.

    Obviously, he did not care much about Leon''s story. He was more concerned with beating cktiger and iming the number one spot under the Great Warrior Realm.

    "Oh right, sure, sure. Let us see what you got! I hope you won''t disappoint me." cktiger was in high spirits as he grinned.

    "Hahaha, I shotgun the next challenge if cktiger wins."

    "Then, I will take the one after!"

    The male and female warriors began to gather around the arm-wrestling table with interest as they began to ce bets and queue up for challenges.

    With no one left to bother him, Leon focused on scrubbing his body to cleanse himself of the revolting smell. While he was at it, he was not concerned in the least whether the color-changing cream he applied to his skin would wear off or not.

    Spirit herbs with strong purifying properties were needed to remove the colored cream on his body, and the soaps provided by the Bathhouse did not have this kind of purification.

    He had already checked this and was rechecking it. The soap did not seem to have been made from anything that could be found on the Infertile ins. At least, not from what he had seen on the surface anyway.

    "Just a kind of word advice, brother. Don''t drop the soap." A warrior advised him.

    "Hm? Alright. I''ll keep that in mind. Thanks."

    Leon was a bit speechless. What did that person mean by that?

    Shortly after, he hopped into the now vacant mixed bath and enjoyed the rxing warmth of the hot bathwater.

    He was conscious enough to have a towel wrapped around his lower body. He was not ustomed to being butt-naked around other people.

    Nevertheless, no one found this strange and thought he was just unfamiliar due to his vagabond life.

    As Leon watches the Darkmoon Tribe warriorspete in arm-wrestling matches, he sank into thought, pondering about his next course of action.

    ''All sorts of information are usually found in a pub, but considering the tribal chief has invited me to join their great feast tonight, it would be improper to visit the pub today, lest it arouses their suspicion.''

    Right now, Leon was all alone, while Lumi was not inconspicuous enough to help him scout the city. Meanwhile, every other person in Darkmoon City could be Chief Valencia''s eyes and ears. He had to be mindful of his actions.

    It had only been a brief exchange, but he found the tribal chief unfathomable and impossible to read through. He could only tell that this person seemed to be plotting something.

    ''For now, I should familiarize myself with the city. A tour guide will help me prevent arousing suspicion. I should also look further into these people''s Rite of Passage and ck Pool when I can. It might be useful for my body cultivation¡­'' Leon mused.

 Chapter 343 - Dark Crystal Currency

    <h4>Chapter 343 - Dark Crystal Currency</h4>

    When Leon thought about a tour guide, his gaze began to shift towards the candidate he had in mind.

    The person had tried not to pay Leon any attention and focus solely on the arm-wrestlingpetition. But after Leon had his gaze fixed on the person, the person sighed and made his way over.

    "What orders does Brother Leonhardt have for me? I must let you know that even if I have be your subordinate, I will not do anything that causes me to betray my conscience or my tribe." Goldenrod stated his bottom line firmly.

    Leon raised an eyebrow before he nonchntly waved it off with a calm answer, "Don''t worry. It is nothing crazy like that. I just need a tour guide to show me around the city. This much, you can at least do, right? Your Chief has invited me to a feast, but it is not my style to sit around and do nothing until then."

    "Just a tour guide?" Goldenrod was taken aback, but he soon nodded, "En, this much I can do."

    "Great. We will leave in a bit." Leon stated.

    "Alright."

    Goldenplied withoutint.

    Nevertheless, Leon could see a slight reluctance in the person''s eyes. It seemed that Goldenrod wanted to stay until thepetition ended and see who the final victor will be, but he did not share the same interest.

    The arm-wrestlingpetition itself was quite interesting, but not so much when many butt-naked macho people participated in it.

    After a five-minute rxation in the hot bath, Leon got out and returned to the dressing room where he left his ragged clothes in a straw basket.

    "Could it be that Brother Leonhardt only has this set of clothing?" Goldenrod asked after seeing him put on the dirty clothing.

    Naturally, he had quite a few sets of clothes stored in his Worldspace, but it was not like he could wear any of them in this ce due to their unique style and material.

    "That''s right." Leon could only say.

    "I suppose Brother Leonhardt would like to pay a visit to the tailor store first?" Goldenrod assumed and suggested.

    "Definitely."

    To be honest, Leon did not have any ns to finish the tailor shop at all. But since Goldenrod suggested the tailor shop, they might as well head there.

    "What currency do you use to trade in this city?" Leon asked.

    He made sure to emphasize ''this city'' to imply that he knew the standard currency from other tribes, but just was not sure if it was the same for the Darkmoon Tribe.

    Goldenrod did not think soplicatedly into the manner and simply answered, "Dark Crystals are the standard currency for trading, but Demon Cores and demonic beast meat are also epted too."

    "I see¡­ what if I don''t have any of those?" Leon asked.

    "Well¡­ generally, anything can be used for trading as long as both parties reach an agreement¡­" Goldenrod exined before asking, "Could it be that Brother Leonhardt is¡­"

    "I''m t broke," Leon admitted wryly.

    There were many things in his Worldspace, but none of them could be used. All Goldenrod could see on his body was the ragged clothes and Tier 4 Bone Spear.

    On the other hand, Goldenrod wore a leather pauldron, leather skirt, had a Tier 3 Bone Sword strapped to his side along with a leather pouch.

    Inside this leather pouch, he could see dozens of so-called Dark Crystals. They were only the size of pellets, but he could sense Darkness Profound Energy in them.

    ''These Dark Crystals are actually the crystallization of Darkness Profound Energy. These Dark Crystals doesn''t juste from nowhere. There must be a Dark Crystal Mine nearby.''

    Leon''s eyes narrowed in spection.

    Seeing how Leon was starting at his leather pouch so intently, Goldenrod found himself in an awkward position.

    After a quick mental battle, he carefully said, "I don''t mind lending you some Dark Crystals if you promise to pay them back in the future, Brother Leonhardt."

    He did not want to offend Leon further, but he had to make sure Leon knew he was a subordinate and not a ve. Leon was not entitled to all his wealth.

    Leon shook his head at Goldenrod''s cautiousness and said, "Don''t think too much and just lead the way. Material objects are not necessarily needed to make a trade. You said so yourself. As long as both sides reach an agreement, anything goes."

    "I did say that, but what exactly can you trade that''s not material?" Goldenrod asked with a look of doubt. He was not nning to sell his body for a bit of clothing, is he?

    It might work if the store owner is a female, but unfortunately, the tailor shop owner is a male. Actually, he could not be too sure. The store owner might have some strange interests and hobbies¡­

    Leon had no idea what Goldenrod was thinking about, but he would have surely puked blood from anger if he did.

    "We''ll have to see when we get there." Leon simply said and ended the talk there.

    ¡­

    Sometime after Leon left the Bathhouse, Ironhead returned but failed to find Leon inside.

    "Big Brother Ironhead? If you are looking for Brother Leonhardt, then you came a bit toote. Brother Leonhardt had already left 10 minutes earlier with Brother Goldenrod to tour the city." cktiger spoke.

    "Is that right? Never mind then."

    Ironhead was slightly disappointed, but his mind did not dwell on it for long before it looked at the warriors arm-wrestling with a bit of nostalgia.

    "Arm-wrestling, huh? It has been a while. Who''s holding the number one spot now?" Ironhead asked.

    cktiger immediately smirked, "It''s still me."

    The other warriors immediately grumbled. They were all Peak-level Warriors, but they still failed to topple cktiger''s throne after 10 consecutive challenges.

    "It''s you? Brother cktiger, you are already so old, yet you are still holding onto the top spot? Don''t you think it''s about time to breakthrough to Great Warrior and give the other youngsters a chance to sit on the throne?"

    "Big Brother cktiger¡­ I am only¡­"

    "Oh, right. Silly me." Ironhead immediately smacked his head in realization andughed, "Hahaha, forget what I just said. I often forget how old you actually are."

    cktiger did not know whether tough or cry at Ironhead''s statement.

    "Alright, don''t mind me. You, youngsters, continue to have fun." Ironhead prepared to leave.

    "Big Brother Ironhead is not going to rx while you are here?" cktiger asked. He could see that Ironhead had yet to take a bath.

    Ironhead shook his head and waved him off, "Nah, I still have things to do."

    He left the Bathhouse decisively. On the way out, he was quickly startled after bumping into a towering figure.??

    "C-Chief Valencia." Ironhead immediately greeted.

    The Chief nodded and casually asked, "How is our guest doing?"

    "Err, our guest has already left to tour the city with Goldenrod while I was arranging the guest''s amodations, Chief." Ironhead retold what he heard from cktiger.

    Chief Valencia acknowledged his words and said, "Walk with me."

    "Yes, Chief."

    Ironheadplied without questioning.

    But after walking 20-odd yards down the street, he asked, "Is there something the Chief wish to ask this little brother?"

    "What do you think of the guest''s Soul Weapon?" Chief Valencia casually asked, but Ironhead was immediately rmed.

    "It couldn''t be that Chief Valencia wants to¡ª"

    "No, that is not it." Chief Valencia stopped Ironhead from speaking further with a hand gesture before continuing, "I just find the Soul Weapon slightly familiar. You had more chance to look at the Soul Weapon. What are your thoughts on it?"

    "Now that the Chief has mentioned, I do find it familiar as well. I feel like I have seen it somewhere before, but can''t quite pinpoint exactly where." Ironhead frowned as he tried to recall his obscured memories.

    "Since you can''t remember, then just leave it at that. It will surelye back naturally at some point." Chief Valencia sighed.

    She had the same dilemma, but there was no point in forcing the issue. It would just cause unnecessary stress.

    "As the Chief wishes."

    Ironhead was happy toply withoutint.

    The human brain was like a rebellious child that likes to throw random fits. It knows the answer you are seeking, but sometimes, it just does not feel like giving it to you.

    The more you force it, the more it denies you. Only by coaxing and making it happy will it give you what you want.

    ¡­

    Unaware of the attention surrounding Leon''s Soul Weapon, he arrived before a tailor store.

    "This is the best tailor store in our city. You won''t be able to find a ce that sells finer quality clothing and armor in the city than here." Goldenrod proudly introduced.

    Leon was immediately speechless. You know I am t broke, but you still led me to the best tailor store in town? If the items are too expensive, he would only be able to look and not buy.

    He rolled his eyes and said, "Let us go in and take a look."

 Chapter 344 - Meeting A Shaman

    <h4>Chapter 344 - Meeting A Shaman</h4>

    As soon as Leon stepped inside the tailor store and nced at the items on disy, his expression was cid. There was neither surprise nor disappointment. The sartorial fashion was as he had expected.

    The Darkmoon Tribe''s garments were all made from materials that can only be gained from demonic beast carcasses. Namely, they are bones, leather, fur, feathers, and scales.

    If there was one thing he had to point out about this store, it was not quite the tailor store he was expecting. It was more suited to be called a light-armor store.

    There was no such thing as garments made solely for the sake of covering oneself. Everything was created with the word ''protection'' in mind, whether it be for defensive purposes or simply to keep your body warm from the cold.

    "Wee to the best tailor store in town, esteemed customers. Here, we have¡ªAh, Big Brother Goldenrod! Wee, wee. Are you here to buy the leather guards you''ve been eyeing?"

    A naive young voice greeted them from behind the counter with enthusiasm.

    "Little Bone? I''m not the one shopping today." Goldenrod shook his head before walking over and ruffle the little boy''s head. "I see you are already old enough to be helping out with the store. Where is your grandpa?"

    Leon shifted his gaze over and studied the little boy, who appeared to be roughly 9 years of age. The little boy was still normal and did not have an excessivelyrge muscle build like what he had seen from every adult warrior in the tribe.

    "Grandpa is working on his next piece of equipment in the workshop at the back." Little Bone answered simply before curiously asking, "If Big Brother Goldenrod is not the one shopping, then is it this¡­ brother here?"

    Goldenrod was not given time to answer, before Little Bone''s eyes lit up and followed up with another question, "Brother, which great family are you from! How do you grow so quickly?"

    The little boy had mistaken Leon for another child who had yet to take the Rite of Baptism and bath in the ck Pool to formerly begin warrior training.

    Goldenrod smiled wryly and corrected the child''s thinking with a shake of his head, "Little Bone, this person here is a Great Warrior. You should address him respectably as Big Brother Leonhardt."

    "Ah? Really??? You are not lying to me, Big Brother Goldenrod?" Little Bone doubted.

    "Why would I lie to you? Quickly go fetch your grandpa for me, alright?"

    "Hmm, alright."

    Little Bone had his doubts, but he was easily convinced since an adult had told him so.

    After a cute little nod, Little Bone hopped down from the tall stool behind the counter and ran off to call his grandpa in the back.

    "Isn''t this ce supposed to be the top store in town? There is no one watching over the store except a little kid. Are they not afraid of someone stealing their goods?" Leon casually asked, seeing how absent the store has be.

    "Steal their goods? Hahaha, Brother Leonhardt sure knows how to joke. No one dares to steal from a Shaman. You must know that Shamans enjoy a very lofty status. To offend a Shaman is to offend the entire tribe. No one would be stupid enough to do that." Goldenrodughed before adding, "Why not take this time to see if there''s something that catches your eye?"

    A Shaman running a tailor store? Leon found this strange.

    "Alright, I''ll do just that."

    Leon gave Goldenrod a sidelong nce before inspecting the items on disy with a more serious gaze.

    He did not know much about Shamans, but he had at least recognized that Shamans were people with some knowledge in runes. Surely, a store run by an Old Shaman would have unordinary items for sale.

    ''These items are all enchanted with runes! Hm? Some of these items even have Tier 5 runic enchantments!''

    Leon''s eyes glimmered with interest after making this discovery. Studying these Tier 5 runic enchantments would benefit him surely.

    The runes were well hidden in the interior of the garments. It was due to this that Leon had not noticed them until he scanned with his divine sense.

    "How much is this leather chest piece?" Leon casually asked Goldenrod as he pointed at the leather armor with Tier 4 runic enchantments.

    "That would be 5,000 Dark Crystals, young man. Are you nning to buy it?" An aged voice answered in Goldenrod''s stead as an old man could soon be seen walking over with Little Bone following behind him.

    "Venerable Shaman." Goldenrod greeted respectfully.

    "En."

    The Old Shaman acknowledged his greeting with a nod.

    "5,000 Dark Crystals, huh?" Leon quietly mused while he subtly studied the old man, who might be one of the so-called ''Shamans.''

    The old man appeared to be roughly 80 years of age, but his body was still vigorous and perfectly healthy without suffering a single ailment, or at least that was all Leon could see for now from his diagnosis with his sense of sight and smell.

    His brows were furrowed slightly.

    Since he did not know how valuable Dark Crystals were, he turned to Goldenrod and asked, "Is 5,000 Dark Crystals a lot?"

    "Very much so! At my current level, it would take 3 years of earnings to gather that much!" Goldenrod answered seriously.

    "Oh," Leon replied casually, but he soon red at Goldenrod.

    "Since it is so expensive here, why did you bring me to this ce? Did I not tell you I was t broke, or did you not listen to what I said?"

    "I was¡ª"

    "Are you saying that you can''t afford it, young man?" The Old Shaman frowned at once after hearing the words Leon said to Goldenrod.

    What he hated was people interrupting his work and wasting his time. Looking at the two''s attire, he could tell that Goldenrod did not carry many Dark Crystals while Leon basically had nothing.

    "Don''t tell me you are nning to trade your Soul Weapon for this piece of equipment? Although I am more than happy to ept, I do not think you are stupid enough to make that sort of trade, right?" The Old Shaman continued to press.

    A Tier 4 Soul Weapon was much more valuable than a piece of Tier 4 equipment.

    Leon''s frown deepened at the trouble Goldenrod had brought him. He did think about using his medical skills to trade, but only if the other party was gravely ill or had someone close to them that was gravely ill.

    Looking at the Old Shaman, this person was perfectly healthy. In fact, he could not be healthier!

    Also, he could not just casually ask, "Do you have any important person dying?" That was like cursing the person''s family. It would totally offend the party if it were not the case at all!

    He should have inquired from Goldenrod beforehand, but now it was not the appropriate time to ask.

    ''It seems I would have to look for an alternative method.'' Leon mused as he quickly pondered for an answer. He had more than just medical skills.

    However, his thoughts were interrupted after Goldenrod said, "Venerable Shaman, calm your anger! This person is a doctor and might be able to help cure your son!"

    "Is that true, Big Brother Goldenrod? Can Big Brother Leonhardt really cure my papa?" Little Bone asked with a hopeful gaze.

    "I hope you are telling the truth! You must know that the consequences of lying to me are very severe!" The Old Shaman said profoundly but did not refute Goldenrod''s ims.

    He had his doubts, but no one was stupid enough to fool a Shaman. A Shaman''s wrath was not something anyone in the tribe could bear.

    "Very well, follow me. If you can truly cure my son, forget about the leather chest armor. You can pick as many items as you want!"

    As the Old Shaman guided them to his home in the back, Leon turned to Goldenrod and curiously asked with amazement, "When did you figure out I was a doctor?"

    He had to re-evaluate this person. He was not as stupid as he had made himself to be.

    "When you fixed my arm, Brother Leonhardt. You did it some easily and casually like you were well-practiced in it."

    "I doubt it was just based on that alone, though, right?"

    "En, Brother Leonhardt lives a vagabond life and a Great Warrior, but your body has no scars at all. I was able to guess that you must be very skillful in medicine, or at least be a Shaman with some special healing powers."

    Leon gave himself a quick self-inspection and nodded, "I see."

    He had been too careless and neglected this point, but this was not actually a bad thing. In fact, it was a good thing.

    The survival rate of a lone vagabond was abysmal. But if Leon is a Shaman with healing powers, it would make perfect sense to them why he could survive in the Infertile ins for so long by himself.

    ''If Goldenrod were able to see this much, I''m sure the tribal chief and the others would have guessed this much too¡­ I''m sure this also yed a part in their zealous and friendly treatment towards me.''

 Chapter 345 - What Kind Of Doctor Is This?

    <h4>Chapter 345 - What Kind Of Doctor Is This?</h4>

    "Actually, I was not too confident if Brother Leonhardt is a skilled doctor or not, but seeing that Brother Leonhardt had not denied it really puts my heart at ease." Goldenrod rubbed his hands together and spoke with an embarrassed yet honest smile.

    "If you were not confident, then why would you still bring me here? Aren''t you just asking for trouble if I was not as skilled as you had hoped? The Shaman''s son shouldn''t be suffering from a normal illness, no?"

    Leon was a bit speechless. Perhaps, he was giving Goldenrod too much credit.

    "Brother Leonhardt might have already realized this, but the Venerable Shaman had been looking for skilled doctors to treat his son. Anyone who can cure his son will be entitled to take anything they fancy from the Venerable Shaman''s store or make a single request of the Venerable Shaman."

    "All the medical experts have already tried their luck, but not a single one of them had been sessful in treating the Venerable Shaman''s son in the past 2 years." Goldenrod quietly whispered to Leon.

    There was a reason why he took Leon here. If Leon was able to cure the Venerable Shaman''s son, the Venerable Shaman might also let him pick a few items as a reward.

    Shortly after they entered the courtyard, the Old Shaman directed, "Wait here for a bit."

    The Old Shaman did not provide any exnation and disappeared into his humble abode with Little Bone.

    Goldenrod looked at the Venerable Shaman''s disappearing back, before he continued to whisper to Leon in a lower voice, "What you don''t know is that for the past 3 months, the same doctor has been attending the Venerable Shaman''s son. The Venerable Shaman is also very respectful towards this new doctor."

    "Oh? Sounds the Venerable Shaman met a capable doctor. If that is the case, what reason is there for me toe here?" Leon asked nonchntly without a hint of emotion.

    Obviously, he did not believe what he said. If the doctor was truly capable, it should not take more than 2 months to treat a patient.

    That being said, the Infertile inscked the environment needed to grow medicinal herbs, and Leon did not know anything about the local doctors'' methods in treating their patients.

    He was only speaking rtively due to the Old Shaman''s respect for the person.

    "Capable doctor? No, that person is a quack doctor. I have seen his methods, and I believe Brother Leonhardt has a better chance at curing the Venerable Shaman''s son than that person." Goldenrod said as he tried to bootlick Leon.

    What else could he say? If the quack doctor does manage to cure the Venerable Shaman''s son, wouldn''t he lose the opportunity to upgrade his equipment?

    Naturally, Leon did not buy into Goldenrod''s bootlicking. Nevertheless, he was curious about what kind of illness the Old Shaman''s son had contracted to cause all the doctors in the tribe to be helpless.

    "Since you have seen the quack¡ªAhem, that doctor''s methods, surely you must have seen the condition of the Venerable Shaman''s son as well. Exactly what is he suffering from?"

    "Demon Possession."

    The one who answered his question was not Goldenrod, but the Old Shaman.

    After the Old Shaman exited his abode, he nced at Leon and said, "Are you really here to treat my son? How can you not even know what he is suffering from? Such news should have spread to every corner of the tribe long ago."

    ''I haven''t even seen your son. How would I know what he is suffering from until I diagnose him?'' Leon''s mouth twitched, but he chose to remain silent.

    Demon Possession was not an illness exclusive to the Old Shaman''s son. Although it was notmon, it was not exactly rare for humans on the Infertile ins to suffer from this illness.

    No cure had been found for people who suffered Demon Possession, but the Old Shaman had never stopped hoping that a time woulde when there will be one.

    "Venerable Shaman, if I may speak freely." Goldenrod respectfully requested.

    After the Old Shaman gave him an acknowledging nod, Goldenrod began to exin, "Brother Leonhardt is not someone from our tribe, and I had brought him here shortly after the battle ended. This is why he is unaware of your son''s symptoms."

    "Oh? I see I see. So, you''re the Leonhardt." The Old Shaman stroked his grey beard with a look of understanding, and his impression of Leonpletely changed.

    "You''ve heard of me?" Leon smiled inly.

    "Of course, I have. Don''t underestimate how fast rumors travel, kiddo. You are the talk of the town right now."

    "Makes sense." Leon nodded in agreement.

    The Old Shaman gave Goldenrod a look and said, "Leave us."

    "Eh?" Goldenrod was taken aback, but he recovered quickly with a bow and said, "I pray for your son''s sessful treatment, Venerable Shaman."

    Shortly after Goldenrod left the courtyard to give Leon and the Old Shaman some privacy, the Old Shaman calmly asked, "You''re not from around here, are you?"

    Leon was surprised by the sudden question, but he did not lose hisposure. He responded calmly, "As Goldenrod had said, I do note from this tribe."

    "You know as well as I, that was not what I was asking, but don''t worry. If you really cure my son, I can help you keep your secret." The Old Shaman stated.

    It did not take an idiot to guess that the Old Shaman had figured out Leon was not someone from the Infertile ins.

    Leon''s brows were furrowed. But after a moment, they were rxed with a sigh.

    "Can I ask how you found out?" He asked respectfully.

    "A normal person would have at least shown some reaction at the mention of Demon Possession, but you did not. And neither did you have the look of respect that everyone should have towards Shamans. You were too calm in both instances, so calm that I found it strange." The Old Shaman exined.

    "But if I am a Shaman and know how to treat Demon Possessions, wouldn''t it make perfect sense for my calmness?" Leon refuted.

    "Then, if I was to ask you what a Shaman is, and what a Demon Possession is, would you be able to answer them?" The Old Shaman chuckled as he stroke his beard.

    Leon could only shake his head ruefully as he was silenced by the question the Old Shaman posed. Theck of information was his undoing.

    "Alright, follow me. I will take you to my son. Be mindful of your steps, and don''t interrupt the other doctor during his treatment." The Old Shaman said.

    Leon nodded and followed the Old Shaman inside quietly. As they passed a few rooms and headed towards the furthest room from the entrance, he began to hear soft mumbles that grew more audibly as they drew closer.

    "Demon Possession is deemed to be incurable, but I don''t believe it. What do you think? Now that you have seen it, are you confident in curing him?" The Old Shaman asked shortly after they entered the room.

    On the bed, Leon was able to see a sleeping middle-aged man tightly restrained by high-level bindings that are reinforced with runic enchantments.

    The middle-aged man had a simr appearance to all the other male warriors he had seen. He was tanned, huge, and extremely muscr.

    The only difference was that horns were growing on his forehead and scales partially formed on his arms. As for anything else, it could not be observed on the surface with his eyes.

    "A half-demonized, huh?"

    Leon rubbed his chin in thought as he observed the middle-aged man. He was not in a hurry to inspect with divine sense, lest he awakens the half-demonized man.

    Demon Possession was exactly as it sounded like. It was the process of Demon Core germinated and demonizing its host.

    It had be apparent to Leon that even though these humans were able to harness Darkness Profound Energy, they were not freed from the risk of demonizing themselves.

    "There''s a chance, but it won''t be easy," Leon stated after some thought.

    Although the demonizing process had alreadymenced, the situation was still salvageable if the victim''s mind had yet to be devoured by the Demon Core.

    "As long as there''s a chance." The Old Shaman said with a rare smile. Every time a doctor diagnosed his son, he had always been left with a disappointing answer.

    "However, I want to ask¡­" Leon slowly said as he shifted his attention towards the person sitting beside the half-demonized man.

    This person must be the ''quack doctor'' that Goldenrod was referring to.

    He could hear the person continuously chanting lines like "go to sleep, get better, it''s going to be okay, and begone demon."

    These four lines were repeated with such seriousness and so oftenly that although he had just arrive and had not been around for long, he was already getting headaches from it. Simply said, he was sick of hearing it.

    "¡­What kind of doctor is this?"

    "A Witch Doctor." The Old Shaman answered with a hint of respect in his eyes.

    Leon was immediately left speechless.

 Chapter 346 - Beast Tamer

    <h4>Chapter 346 - Beast Tamer</h4>

    Witch Doctor was another unfamiliar term to Leon. He had no idea what a Witch Doctor can do, but he assumed anything with a doctor in its name had to have something to do with treating people.

    "This is¡­ hypnotism, isn''t it?" Leon asked.

    "Interesting, so you can also understand this much with a nce. That is right. Master Woodrow is using hypnotism to stop my son from rampaging." The Old Shaman exined with an approving nod. If the person could not even see this much, he would begin to doubt his judgment.

    The reason he decided to trust Leon despite the person having nothing to prove he was a skilled doctor or a doctor at all for that matter, was not because the Old Shaman was crazy.

    It was because the Old Shaman had sensed a particr wavelength from Leon that only Shamans possess and decided to wager on that small possibility that Leon could do it.

    "If not for Master Woodrow''s help, my son would havepletely demonized by now, and for that, I owe him a great favor. I have sought many doctors in the past, but they were all helpless to cure Demon Possession and only been able to dy the demonization process slightly."

    "However, Master Woodrow is different. His hypnotism also affects the Demon Core and stop the demonization process." The Old Shaman further exined.

    Leon nodded thoughtfully with understanding. He could tell that it was not just simple hypnotism to put the Demon Core to sleep. Although the Demon Core was not a sentient thing, it could indeed be treated as such.

    "But in the end, this is just another dying method and not a true solution to the problem." He stated.

    "Be that as it may, it is better than my son demonizing."

    The Old Shaman was silent after saying this, and Leon understood the reason.

    Once a person is demonized, the Old Shaman would be forced to kill his son to prevent his demonized son from harming others.

    "Why don''t you tell me more about the Demon Possession and how your son managed to contract it," Leon asked.

    "A Demon Core is naturally formed when our people are soaked in the ck Pool for the Rite of Baptism. But as you know, A Demon Core is something demons have, and humans would demonize if they have it. But thanks to the method our great ancestors had managed to develop in the past, we can refine the Demon Core, make it our own, and thereby granting ourselves the power of demons."

    "However, sometimes, and under various conditions, control of the Demon Core is lost, allowing it to germinate and demonize its host. This all public knowledge, and many of these cases are recorded. But the exact cause for the loss of control was never figured out."

    "All this information can be found in the tribe''s central library. If you think reading them will help you treat my son, I can take you there to peruse them first." The Old Shaman suggested after a lengthy exnation.

    Leon did not reply immediately fell into deep contemtion.

    Recalling how his adoptive father and the ex-disciples of the Illusory Butterfly Sect all had Demond Cores inside them upon their return from the darknds, he figured that the so-called ck Pool must be ck water collected from the ck Swamp.

    As for whether any changes had been made to this ck water, he could not exactly say, but he does believe the Darkmoon Tribe would have made some changes to the ck water to suit their cultivation.

    He found out that the humans on the Infertile ins are all daredevils. It was basically keeping a ticking timebomb within themselves.

    In the Divine Realm, no one thought about forming a Demon Core to gain the ability to control Darkness Profound Energy.

    If it was found out, except for the Demon Divine Region, they would be mercilessly hunted down by the other three Divine Regions.

    "That won''t be necessary. We can begin the treatment immediately." Leon declined the suggestion and said with a shake of his head after some time. That being said, there was still a glimmer of interest in his eyes.

    It would be a lie to say that he was not interested in visiting the tribe''s central library. He had not anticipated there being one and was pleasantly surprised that there was indeed one.

    Libraries held a vast collective amount of knowledge. Even if the library only contains general knowledge, it was still beneficial for Leon to learn them. It will help him understand the Infertile ins and human history on these darknds.

    "If you have any preparatory request, feel free to state them now," The Old Shaman shortly response with a hint of eagerness.

    Leon nodded and said, "In that case, please ask the Witch Doctor to end his hypnotism and retreat from the patient. I do not wish to be interrupted during the treatment process."

    "This¡­" The Old Shaman slightly hesitated.

    Leon understood the Old Shaman''s concerns and shrugged, "Well, you can choose not to inform him, but I cannot guarantee that there won''t be any problem during the treatment in that case."

    "Then I''ll leave my son in your care. Don''t disappoint me." The Old Shaman said decisively with seriousness.

    The Old Shaman did not say it, but Leon understood that if he failed and cause the Old Shaman''s son to demonize, he had to be prepared to face the Old Shaman''s wrath.

    After the Old Shaman informed the Witch Doctor, the person appeared to be disgruntled as he ended his chant and shed Leon a displeased look.

    "I won''t be taking any responsibility if something goes wrong!" Master Woodrow said.

    "You don''t need to worry about that," Leon said coolly.

    "You can begin at any time, but the sooner, the better, of course." The Old Shaman said ordinarily, but it was clear that he was urging Leon.

    Since the Witch Doctor was no longer using his hypnotic chant, the slightest disturbance could awaken the half-demonized man.

    Leon did not need the Old Shaman''s remaindered and chose not to respond as he focused all his attention on the bedridden person. His divine sense was sent out and swept over the person.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, outside the southern entrance of Darkmoon City, the hunting team had begun to gather after finishing their preparations.

    "Are you setting off now?"

    "Yes, Chief," Goldeneye answered, feeling honored that Chief Valencia personally came to see them off.

    "Remember, if you find the situation to be too dangerous, retreat immediately. Do not force the issue. The tribe cannot afford to lose someone like you." Chief Valencia kindly reminded.

    "Thank you, Chief. I will keep that in mind."

    Goldeneye suddenly recalled something essential and said, "Oh, right. On our way back, my brothers and I noticed an unusuallyrge number of vagabonds heading south towards our direction. I found this strange and thought that the Chief should know."

    Chief Valencia immediately furrowed her brows as she found something amiss with the intel. Vagabonds should be fleeing in the opposite direction of the Bone Cmity, not head towards it unless they were tired of living.

    "I doubt they areing to help fend off the Bone Cmity. Are you they were vagabonds?"

    "This¡­" Goldeneye scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "I''m actually not too sure about this, Chief. I was in too much of a hurry to study them carefully."

    Chief Valencia could only shake her head after hearing his reply. She could only alert the sentries to keep an eye on their outer perimeters for suspicious movements.

    "Since you don''t know, then never mind. You don''t need to concern yourself with this issue any longer."

    "Understood."

    Goldeneye did not question the Chief''s decision. She would naturally know what to do with his information.

    After bidding his goodbye, he departed the city with 200 other Great Warriors on foot. They left with haste, and after three hours into their journey, Darkmoon City was already out of sight.

    "Big Brother, the distress signal was sent many hours ago. Even if we rush there, they would have resolved the problem by now. Is there a need for such haste?" A Great Warrior asked.

    They had traveled a great distance back to their tribe, and before they were sufficiently rested, they were forced to set out on another long trip.

    Goldeneye shook his head and said, "This Bone Cmity is much stronger than thest one. It always has been. Don''t forget how many of our brothers and sisters have fallen in battle. The fact that the ckwind Tribe sent a distress signal clearly proves how much trouble they are having."

    "Big Brother, look! It''s another distress signal¡ªNo, there''s two of them!" Another Great Warrior suddenly pointed in the distant skies.

    "For them to send another two distress signals, the situation over there must have reached a critical point," Goldeneye said solemnly with a frown.

    Everyone suddenly realized how dire and desperate the ckwind Tribe''s situation must be in for them to send another two distress signals.

    The journey to ckwind Tribe was going to take another 12 hours, roughly at their current pace. By the time they get there, there might not be a ckwind Tribe!

    "Continue to journey. I''ll head there first to check the situation." Goldeneye said decisively.

    "Big Brother, are you going to¡­"

    Goldeneye nodded.

    He brought his thumb and index finger together and gave a deafening whistle that traveled far and wide.

    Shortly after, a loud cry was heard, before the enormous shadows of a Dark Wyvern could be seen descending from the skies above them¡­ Goldeneye hopped on its back and took off into the distance.

 Chapter 347 - Blackwind Falls

    <h4>Chapter 347 - ckwind Falls</h4>

    Watching their team leader fly off on his Dark Wyvern, the group of Great Warriors was all filled with respect and envy.

    "Aiya, I wish I was also lucky enough to find a Dark Wyvern Egg and raise a Dark Wyvern to be my lifepanion as well." A Great Warrior said enviously.

    "Hahaha, keep dreaming! If you really want one, you should just visit the Dark Wyvern Nest and steal one." Another oneughed.

    "Ptui! You really want to see me gone, huh? Who doesn''t know the strength of adult Dark Wyverns? Going there is simply suicide! What I meant is to be lucky enough to find a random Dark Wyvern Egg like Big Brother Goldeneye!" The Great Warrior spat.

    "Honestly, I''d be happy having any flying mount at all. s, demonic beasts are too difficult to tame with their high aggressiveness and low intelligence. Only demonic beasts like the sub-species of True Dragons, Dark Wyverns are rtively easier to tame if raised since birth."

    "That''s for sure. Adult Dark Wyverns are simply too prideful to be tamed." The vice-leader of the group shook his head before he said, "Alright, that''s enough chit-chatter. Let us pick up the pace. We still need to save our allies."

    "As if you care about that, vice-leader. You just don''t want to fall behind after seeing how much stronger the others have grown from the battle with the Bone Army." A Mid-rank Great Warrior smirked.

    "No need to call me out like that." The vice-leader smiled.

    ¡­

    The ckwind Tribe was not inferior to the Darkmoon Tribe. They had their own Shamans and defensive formations to prevent their ckwind City from being overrun, but despite that, the situation could be described with one word, tragic.

    Since the start of the Bone Cmity, they had lost more than 70% of their fighting force. 50% of those losses happened in thest few hours after their first line of defensive formation was torn down.

    The total death count equated to more than half of their tribe''s poption and continues to climb ever higher with time.

    In addition to the losses they sustained throughout the battle, they had also wiped out 90% of the 2.1 million-strong Bone Army.

    Looking at the statistics, it seems like it would be a pyrrhic win, but that is actually far from the truth.

    Even if the remaining 8 thousand people fought with everything they have, they were still up against 210 thousand Bone Demons. Among these 210 thousand Bone Demons were also several hundreds of Behemoth-ss Bone Demons.

    It was just a matter of time before they face annihtion.

    "Where are the reinforcements?! It has been many hours since we sent the first distress signal! Our defensive line has already been breached! At this rate, we are all going to die!" A ckwind Tribe''s Great Warrior said with agitation.

    Despite having hundreds of wounds and losing half an arm, the Great Warrior continued to fight furiously with desperation at the forefront of the battlefield.

    "They are most likely too busy fighting their own battles! It''d be a miracle for help toe this soon!" Another ckwind Tribe Great Warrior spoke.

    The Great Warrior continued to fend off the onught of Bone Demons desperately like everyone else, but the mes of hope in his eyes had already died out.

    Death Energy has corroded his body through his numerous wounds, as ckened spots could be seen in various ces. His blood has turned ck, and his body exuded a pungent smell of death.

    Even if the ckwind Tribe manages to repel the Bone Army, he would still die, nheless. No one was more familiar with the Great Warrior''s condition than himself.

    Despite knowing death was inevitable, he did not give up on fighting. On the contrary, he fought even harder. The more Bone Demons he eliminates, the higher the abysmal chance of his tribe''s survival.

    "Chief, we won''t be able tost much longer! Our city wall has been broken, and our defensive formations have been rendered useless! What should we do?! The Bone Demons are getting too strong!" A Great Warrior cried on another part of the battlefield.

    As the Tribe Chief of ckwind Tribe, ckarrow was naturally aware of the dire straits they were in despite being tied down by many Bone Kings.

    "Razorleaf, go back and gather all the remaining survivors towards the North Gate! Help will not being! If we want to live, we must cut open a path and flee to the north! Go! Leave this ce to me!"

    ckarrow continued to fend off the Bone Demons with a Bone Saber he was not ustomed to.

    Chief ckarrow was another Battle Master, but unlike Chief Valencia of the Darkmoon Tribe, he was a rare bow-user with incredible firepower.

    With his Tier 5 Dominator''s Bow, ckarrow had sniped down many Bone Kings and other Behemoth-ss Bone Demons that had arisen in the past few hours.

    Nevertheless, bow-users had a very extreme limitation, their ammunition. After fighting for so long, ckarrow had long run out of arrows to fire, which was also around the time the distress signal was sent.

    "Are we abandoning the tribe, Chief?! What about you?! You are not used to using saber-type Soul Weapons, Chief! How will you be fine without me here to assist you?!" Razorleaf questioned.

    "We are not abandoning the tribe! The ckwind Tribe is its people, not the city! The city can be rebuilt, but people cannot be revived! Understand? Don''t worry about me and go! Someone needs to cover the rear, and that person can only be me!"

    "But how can we go without¡ª"

    "Stop being a pansy and go!!!" ckarrow roared angrily.

    Seeing how headstrong his Chief is, Razorleaf had no choice but toply. He nodded silently with red eyes and left.

    ¡­

    By the time Goldeneye reached the ckwind Tribe, half of ckwind City was already destroyed and almost overrun by the powerful Bone Army.

    "This situation here is so much worse than what I had imagined! It is already toote! The ckwind Tribe is finished! I must quickly report back to the Chief, so we can have ample time to prepare for what''s toe!"

    Goldeneye was shocked.

    The city was on fire and smoldering thick ck smoke billowed into the night skies while towering white giants bulldoze their way through the fallen city.

    "Hm?"

    Goldeneye was about to pat his Dark Wyvern and take off when he suddenly noticed a situation in the city''s northern parts.

    "There are still people left! They are trying to break free from the encirclement and flee north!" Goldeneye concluded after a short observation.

    To help or not to help?

    He was told to retreat if he found the situation too dangerous, but he cannot ignore the lives of so many people! He must stay true to his Warrior''s Way and honor the alliance! After a short moment of hesitation, Goldeneye made his decision. He must help!

    "Let''s go, pal. Let us help these people out and give them a chance at life!" Goldeneye rubbed Dark Wyverns neck.

    Roar!

    The Dark Wyvern gave a mighty roar in response to his words and began its dive with great speed towards a group of Bone Knights on the ground.

    "Mama, look! It is a Dark Wyvern! A Dark Wyverning straight at us!" A child pointed at the sky and eximed while being carried by a female warrior.

    "Oh no, what bad luck! Why is there a Dark Wyvern! Are we destined to die here?!" Another female warrior wailed in anguish.

    At this moment, the ckwind Tribe had less than 7000 people left. While the warriors led the charge and fought their way through the 30 thousand Bone Knights on the northern side in a wedge-like formation.

    Razorleaf was at the forefront of the group, but he still managed to slip a quick peek at the sky before his eyes lit up.

    "That Dark Wyvern belongs to the Dark Wyvern Rider, Goldeneye of Darkmoon Tribe! Help is here, everyone! Charge with me!" Razorleaf roared with hope.

    "Dark Wyvern Rider, Goldeneye?! I''ve heard of him! Ah, I also want a flying mount! How envious!"

    "Now is not the time to be worrying about that!"

    The warriors were evidently rattled with excitement by Goldeneye''s arrival with their chatter.

    Although the Dark Wyvern tamed by Goldeneye had yet to reach adulthood, its strength was stillparable to a Rank 1 Transcendent. After all, Dark Wyverns were one of the superior species among the Dark Continent''s demonic beasts.

    "Goldeneye, my brother! You arete!"

    After the Dark Wyvern swooped down and wed through the crowd of Bone Knights with its powerfully sharp talons, Goldeneye raised an eyebrow and shouted, "Betterte than never!"

    "Hahaha, and for that, we are very grateful!" Razorughed excitedly. When he failed to see anyone elseing, he asked, "Where''re the others?!"

    "I''m the only one! The rest of my team are still on their way! I can only assist your people in fleeing from here! As for your city, I am sorry to say this, but it is f*ked!"

    "Dammit!"

    Razorleaf was rather disappointed to hear this. He thought there was hope in overturning the situation and reiming their city, but that hope was quickly dashed.

    In the end, they were still forced to abandon their city! Their home!

 Chapter 348 - Crimsonfog Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 348 - Crimsonfog Tribe</h4>

    Over at the Crimsonfog Tribe, apletely different situation yed outpared to the ckwind Tribe.

    While Darkmoon Tribe suffered moderate losses, and the ckwind Tribe suffered disastrous losses, the Crimsonfog Tribe could be said to have suffered barely any losses at all during the Bone Cmity.

    The 2 million-strong Bone Army was utterly decimated by them.

    Although each tribe was simr in strength, this was only known on the surface. In truth, the Crimsonfog Tribe was the most mysterious of the three tribes.

    This is due to their city''s unique location that lies directly west of the ck Swamp''s central region and north of Darkness Mountain Range.

    Their tribe had the duty of guarding the Death Passage that led to the other side of Darkness Mountain Range and had the appearance of a ck mountain after it was cleanly cleaved in half by some great power.

    It was said that on the other side of Darkness Mountain Range lies the origin of demons and also the ce most dense in Darkness Profound Energy. It was rich to the point that Darkness Profound Energy could be felt billowing out from the Death Passage.

    At this moment, Crimsonfog City could not be seen from outside as it was hidden within an iparably vast and dense fog of swirling blood mist.

    This blood mist was generated by a specially constructed defensive formation, specifically built to protect the city from the Bone Cmity by obscuring vision and giving off false senses of vitality.

    The Bone Army could not even get close to their city. The moment they stepped into the blood mist, their undead army was thrown into disarray and confusion before they were picked off one by one by the warriors of the Crimsonfog Tribe.

    It was aplete one-sided victory.

    Inside the blood mist, the tribe''s warriors could be seen collecting bones as they clean up the battlefield and bring the bones back to the tribe to be processed.

    The city was full of activity as the Crimsonfog Tribe prepped for a celebratory feast.

    Knock! Knock!

    A warrior stood outside of an office and knocked on the door, before a casual voice filled with vigor and majesty answered from inside, "Come in."

    "Chief Baskara." The warrior greeted before getting straight to the point. "The ckwind Tribe sends multiple distress signals. Are we just going to sit here and watch them fall to the Bone Cmity?"

    "That is their own problem. No one asked them to be so greedy for treasures and settle their home so close to the ck Swamp. Perhaps, they are also the one to spark the Bone Cmity. I can only say that they have brought this upon themselves. If they are smart, they will abandon the city before taking too heavy a loss." Chief Baskara began to speak.

    "Also, I need to correct you on one thing, Redfang. We are not just sitting around here." Chief Baskara''s aura became more solemn as he said sharply, "We have a noble duty in guarding the Death Passage and must be ever ready for whatever crawls out from that hellish ce. We can save the ckwind Tribe, but if we lose the Death Passage in the process, we lose everything. Don''t you forget that."

    "Y-Yes, Chief Baskara. I have misspoken." The warrior kneeled in apology.

    Chief Baskara nodded and said, "Since you understand, then get up. A man should not kneel so readily, and as a warrior of Crimsonfog Tribe, you must always stand tall and proud."

    "Only to you, I kneel, Chief Baskara." The warrior buttered up the Chief with a smile.

    Chief Baskara turned a blind eye to the person''s bootlicking and nonchntly asked, "Is that the only reason why you came to see me?"

    "Err, yes, Chief." The warrior scratched his head awkwardly.

    "Then you can take your leave now." Chief Baskara said coolly.

    After the warriorplied and closed the door on his way out, Chief Baskara resumed inspecting an ancient scroll in his hand with the other hand behind his back.

    If not for the bulging muscles and vigorous aura on his body, he would have given off the impression of a schr in ancient times. That being said, he did not understand a single word on the ancient scroll.

    Nevertheless, it did not stop him from being interested in the information recorded on the ancient scroll.

    "Continue with your findings, Sonia." Chief Baskara ordered.

    He was not the only person in the office before the warrior entered. There was another person by the name of Sonia.

    Sonia was tanned like everyone else, but she not muscr like the other female warriors in the tribe. Her skin was silky smooth without a single scar, and her eyes were dark and charming like the starry skies that could only be seen when the dark clouds are cleared.

    She was a woman of great appeal, but what Chief Baskara appreciated was not her beauty. It was her wisdom.

    "Yes, Chief. ording to my research, this ancient scroll appears to be a sort of diary, several thousands of years old. The scroll itself is made of oak, while the ink¡ª"

    "I don''t want to hear any of that. Just tell me what it says on the scroll." Chief Baskara interrupted her, but she was not offended by the Chief''s rudeness and simply smiled respectfully, "Yes, Chief."

    Although Chief Baskara showed great interest in the history of the items he managed to scour from the ruins on the other side of the Death Passage, he was still an Early-rank Battle Master.

    It was not worth it for her to show discontent and risk angering such a person. It would only put her in an unfavorable position and waste valuable research time.

    In any case, she was just getting to that diary part. After a short nod, she continuing to recount her findings, "The scroll speaks of a fallen star that once crashnded on the continent many years ago, and from that fallen star, all manners of strange creature spilled forth along with the spread of darkness."

    Chief Baskara tapped his feet in thought with a frown. Afterward, he shifted his gaze from the ancient scroll and onto Sonia before doubtfully asking with a solemn look, "Are you sure that is what the scroll records?"

    One could not me him for asking this. He had heard simr things many times in the past by the same person whenever he brought a new scroll for the person to decipher.

    "You can doubt my character, but you cannot doubt my ability!" Sonia responded strongly with a frown. This was one thing she cannot ignore.

    In the Crimsonfog Tribe, a useless woman can only be used to warm the bed. If the Chief deemed her useless, she would lose her backing and protection. That was not something she wanted.

    "Then how do you exin this? You have said simr things for 9 times in a row. Do you think I am easily fooled?" Chief Baskara asked gloomily.

    "How the hell is it my fault if you keep giving me scrolls of different people recounting a catastrophic event that they had witnessed? I should be the one doubting whether the subsequent scrolls you give me are real or not!"

    Seeing how upset and angry Sonia was, Chief Baskara could tell that she spoke seriously without any falsehood.

    He felt awkward and guilty for doubting the person, but his pride as the tribal chief did not allow him to apologize. He chose to outright ignore the issue by changing the subject.

    "Ahem, in the end, what can you surmise from your research?" Chief Baskara asked with a poker face.

    Sonia did not expect a formal apology from the Chief, nor did she hope for one. As long as her ability was not being questioned, she would not pursue the matter.

    "From the clues that I have gathered, the fallen star mentioned in the text does not seem to be referring to an actual fallen star from the Outer World, but something enormous, nheless. No matter what that thing is, though, I have spected it to be the source of demons and the abundant Darkness Profound Energy appearing in our world."

    Hearing this, Chief Baskara sighed and said, "I have also guessed as much from what you have told me much earlier. Can''t you give me something new?"

    "If Chief Baskara can give me aplete scroll to study, perhaps I might also be able to learn something new instead of deciphering these repetitious recounts of events." Sonia rolled her eyes and said.

    "I also want to, but it''s not easy exploring those ruins. They are always teeming with demons. We''ve already lost two Peak-rank Great Warriors to that ce in thest expedition." Chief Baskara said with a deeper sigh.

    Peak-rank Great Warriors were one rank higher than High-rank Great Warriors and one rank below the Extremity-rank Great Warriors, which was also the apex rank of the Great Warrior Realm. After that is the Battle Master Realm.

    Peak-rank Great Warriors all had strengths of over 200 thousand jins. One can imagine how pained the Chief looked for losing such capable warriors on such a trip.

    ¡­

 Chapter 349 - A Shamans Ability

    <h4>Chapter 349 - A Shaman''s Ability</h4>

    Boom!

    A bloodied figure mmed into the ground at the ckwind City''s center square with enough force to turn an ordinary human into a meat paste as a small crater was formed underneath from the impact.

    That person was the ckwind Tribe''s chief, ckarrow, an Early-rank Battle Master. The body of such a person has been tempered beyond the boundary of ordinary human limits. It was incredibly tough and capable of exerting strengths of up to 500 thousand jins.

    The impact was naturally not enough to crush the person.

    At this moment, ckarrow was surrounded by powerful Bone Demons on all sides. As soon as he picked himself off the ground, he was forced to receive the next barrage of attacks from Bone Kings and Behemoth-ss Bone Knights.

    He was given no time to rest, and his situation looked especially grim with no hope of survival. His only saving grace was that the Bone Demons could all attack him at once due to their huge sizes.

    Not only that, but the Bone Demons would also get caught in the attack of their own kind. Behemoth-ss Bone Knights would sweep some Bone Kings, and Bone Kings would sweep some smaller Bone Demons like the unevolved Bone Soldiers and Bone Knights.

    Swoosh!

    A Behemoth-ss Bone Knight with an arrow stuck in its head swept ckarrow with another one of its colossal attack in an upward swinging motion. ckarrow had limited space and had no choice but to do his best and receive the blow head-on with his saber.

    Pang!

    ckarrow wasunched into the air and sent flying in another direction along with many Bone Demons that were also caught in the attack.

    "Watch where you are attacking, you f*cking giant goofball!" A Bone King roared angrily as he kicked the foot of the Behemoth-ss Bone Knight.

    A crimson light flickered in the Behemoth-ss Bone Knight''s empty eye sockets as it lifted its giant bone feet and stomped down.

    Boom!

    The stomp missed its intended target as the Bone King hurriedly dodged it, but a few other Bone Demons were not so lucky.

    Their bones were crushed into fine sand before apelling force pulled them towards the Behemoth-ss Bone Knight and absorbed into its already humongous body.

    "Are you trying to rebel?!" The Bone King growled as it sensed the Behemoth-ss Bone Demon no longer listening to itsmands.

    "Don''t bother antagonizing it. It has begun to develop its own sentience. It is normal for it to be a little rebellious if you make it view you as an enemy." Another Bone King spoke. If it had a face, it would be frowning as it said this.

    "Stop wasting time and get that human! Such a strong human would make a fine vessel for our soul once he is killed!" A third Bone King said excitedly with shes of red light in its dark sockets.

    Boom!

    A stable stone tower was still standing tall amidst the wanton destruction of ckwind City. But after ckarrow was sent smashing through it, the top half tipped off and scattered into a pile of rubbles on the ground.

    The impact caused not so much of a grunt from ckarrow as he twisted his body in midair to face the direction he was flying. It was towards another crowd of Bone Demons with a towering Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier among them.

    Despite being sent flying left and right, the Bone Saber remained firmly grasped in ckarrow''s hand. To lose his weapon was to plunge his already abysmal chance at survival deeper into the abyss.

    He hacked out with a powerful sh and cleave through the Behemoth-ss Bone Soldier as a dense amount of Darkness Profound Energy was absorbed shortly after, strengthening both him and the Soul Weapon.

    "For whom do you fight so hard, human?!" Bone King said as it caught up and shed with ckarrow.

    "You''re the only one left in this city! The people you were protecting have long left and abandoned you! There is no longer a need for you to fight so hard! Give up, human! You have done enough! They are safe! You can rest now!"

    The Bone King tried to entice ckarrow and weaken his determination, but not only did it fail to do so, but it also reinforced ckarrow''s will instead.

    "Such tactics will not work on me! My people did not abandon me! I chose to stay behind for them! And the more of you I kill, the safer they will be!" ckarrow said firmly as they continued to sh.

    "Hmph! Incorrigible human! You could have a ce among our ranks, but instead, you choose the path of death! In that case, just roll over and die for me!"

    "Hahaha!" ckarrowughed wildly like he had heard the most ridiculous thing ever before. He red at the Bone King and sneered, "To embrace death or to resist and be killed? What difference is there between the two?!"

    ckarrow continued to fight valiantly.

    Bang!

    After the other Bone Kings and Bone Demons caught up, the Behemoth-ss Bone Knight with an arrow stuck in its head swept out with another one of its colossal attacks and sent ckarrow flying away again.

    "What the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to kill the human or help the human?!" The Bone King roared and kicked the bone giant again.

    The bone giant immediately responded by attacking all the other Bone Kings and Bone Demons in its vicinity with its gigantic bone mace.

    "Look at what you did! You made it terribly upset!" Another Bone King med after getting implicated in the attack.

    "That is not it, there is something wrong with this fe! He has gonepletely rouge!" The Bone King exined.

    It was not long before the Bone Kings caught wind of something amiss before one of them roared, "The humans must have done something to it! It is no longer one of us! Take it down!"

    The Behemoth-ss Bone Knight never stopped attacking. After ''it'' heard the Bone King''s words, it attacked even more strongly and quickly.

    s, Behemoth-ss Bone Knights may be slightly stronger than Bone Kings, but when they are ganged up on by multiple Bone Kings and other Behemoth-ss Bone Demons, they will fall eventually.

    ckarrow also did not realize the bone giant had been helping him, but he faintly guessed something after ncing at the arrow stuck in the bone giant''s head.

    He was a bow-user, and a bow-user did not just need a good bow but also good arrows. Naturally, all his arrows had been enchanted by one of his tribe''s Venerable Shamans.

    ¡­

    The ckwind Tribe''s survivors had already broken away from the encirclement and fled several dozen miles north with the help of Goldeneye and his Dark Wyvern.

    Pfft!

    An old man suddenly spurted blood within the group and copsed to the ground with a pale face before a boy cried, "Grandpa!"

    "Venerable Shaman!" The crowd also cried shortly after the boy. As they were moving at a rtively fast pace, it was quickly noticed by everyone the moment they stopped.

    "Make way, make way!"

    Razorleaf pushed his way through the crowd and asked, "What happened? Why did you all stop¡ª"

    He stopped abruptly after he nced down at the weakened old man just as the person spurted another mouthful blood.

    "What happened to you, Venerable Shaman?" Razorleaf asked in shock before his eyes turned ferocious and red at the crowd, "Who did this?!"

    He was incredibly mad.

    Shamans did not have great individual fighting strength, but they dabble in many things rted to magic and runes and are the greatest supporting pirs of the tribes.

    The weakened Shaman was their ckwind Tribe''s only Soul Weapon Maker. His importance could be imagined.

    "No need to look. It was the Bone Demons that harmed me." The Shaman said weakly with a bitter look before he fell unconscious.

    Razorleaf and everyone else was confused, but the boy quickly exined, "Grandpa has been secretly assisting our Chief, but it must have been found out."

    After hearing this, they were even more confused. They are already so far from the city. How could the Venerable Shaman have assisted their Chief left behind in the city?

    Noticing their confusion, the boy had no choice but to further exin, "The Bone Demons are like mindless puppets that only follow the wills of others. As long as we inject our wills into them, we can overwrite themands of the higher-ranking demons and control them as we please."

    "It has been had on the Venerable Shaman." The crowd sighed with admiration.

    After understanding the reason, the crowd was filled with greater respect for the Shaman. They were not sure of the exact details, but the Shaman''s soul must have been harmed significantly.

    "Who would like the honors of carrying the Venerable Shaman?" Razorleaf asked the crowd.

    Many hands were raised, but Razorleaf only needed to pick one.

    "You will do." Razorleaf pointed at a young male warrior.

    Shortly after, he said, "Alright, we need to continue moving before the Bone Army catches up. Do not let our Chief''s efforts go to waste."

    Everyone immediately nodded with a heavy heart¡­ Although the chances were slim, they prayed that their Chief was also able to escape safely.

 Chapter 350 - Bicker At The Storefront

    <h4>Chapter 350 - Bicker At The Storefront</h4>

    Darkmoon Tribe, Old Tailor''s abode.

    "Do you want to keep this thing?" Leon asked nonchntly as he showed a ss bottle with a squirming Demon Core sealed inside to the Old Shaman.

    The Demon Core shown in the ss bottle was not the same as the one he hadst destroyed after his battle with Balthazar in the Capital.

    This one did not have any sharp legs and lost its solidness. It was like a blob of sticky ck slime with a bit of sentience and wouldtch onto any living thing in its vicinity like a parasite.

    It needed a host to live. Without one, it will eventually die and solidify back into its spherical crystal form.

    "What? No way. Take that thing away from me and destroy it!" The Old Shaman said decisively with repulsion towards the ss bottle in Leon''s hand.

    The Old Shaman had seen what a Demon Core looked like, and it did not look anything like this. Every warrior had their own Demon Core, and he was also no exception.

    His Demon Core was round and filled with Darkness Profound Energy, but this ''Demon Core'' before him was tainted with a mixture of Demonic Energy inside it.

    Leon nodded.

    He had expected such an answer and had only asked out of courtesy. After all, it was the Demon Core of the Old Shaman''s son.

    Without the Demon Core, the Old Shaman''s son would no longer be able to manipte Darkness Profound Energy to temper his body and will forever be stuck at the High-rank Great Warrior Realm.

    The Demon Core seemed to have sensed the impending doom that would soon befall it and tried to break free from its containment, but it was futile.

    It was too weak to even put a crack on the ss bottle. Before it could resist for long, Leon''s hand burst into scorching hot mes and engulfed the ss bottle entirely.

    Boom!

    The Demon Corebusted after the red mes contacted the Darkness Profound Energy and Demonic Energy inside. However, under Leon''s strict and skillful maniption of his mes, the explosion was carefully contained.

    The Old Shaman and the Witch Doctor only saw the red mes transformed into a revolving ball of ck mes before it was reduced in size and disappeared into thin airpletely.

    "How is the treatment? Is it done?" The Old Shaman asked shortly after seeing that his son had yet to awaken from his slumber.

    "For now. The first step is already done. Let me rest for a bit, then I will help your son recover and wake him up." Leon said tiredly.

    "Alright. Shall I arrange a room for you to rest in?" The Old Shaman nodded and offered.

    Leon shook his head and said, "There''s no need. Just here will do. I only need a few minutes to recover some energy."

    After that, he sat on the cold floor and closed his eyes in meditation.

    The treatment had been rtively straightforward and smooth ording to the n. Nevertheless, it has also taken much of his time and mental energy in the process.

    To stop the Old Shaman''s son from demonizingpletely, he only needed to extract the Demon Core, the source of the problem. But this was not something medicine could do and required the use of his Divine Will.

    He could have chosen to destroy the Demon Core while it was still inside its host body, but this was a much riskier move as the Demon Core would retaliate and endanger the host.

    The Demon Core had also tried to retaliate when he was extracting it from its host with Divine Will, but it was not as violent.

    Even so, the Old Shaman''s half-demonized son had awoken during the treatment process. However, Leon had made preparation for this by immobilizing the person through sealing their acupoints.

    As such, the half-demonized son could not move a single muscle throughout the treatment process thatsted a few hours.

    It was almost time for the start of the great feast.

    At this moment, Ironhead was at the front of the tailor store waiting with Goldenrod. It had taken him half an hour to find Leon''s location at the tailor store and had been waiting there ever since he learned that the person was treating the Venerable Shaman''s son.

    "Do you really think Brother Leonhardt will be able to cure Demon Possession? We don''t even know much about Brother Leonhardt''s medical skills¡­ yet you took him here to treat Big Brother Hardrock¡­"

    "¡­If something goes wrong, it''d be difficult for Brother Leonhardt to withstand the Venerable Shaman''s wrath¡­ If something happens to our guest, you best be prepared to exin yourself to the Chief." Ironhead said solemnly to Goldenrod.

    "Huh? The Chief cares that much about this person? No matter what he had done for our tribe, it does not change the fact that he is an outsider. Why would the Chief care so much about this person?"

    Goldenrod was startled.

    "Outsider?"

    Ironheadughed coldly and said, "He might be an outsider, but he is still someone the Chief wants to recruit! Even if that is not the case, what do you think will happen when the other tribes and vagabonds here that the guest our Chief personally invited, died on the same day they were invited into the city?"

    "They will think we are untrustworthy people who repay gratitude with malice! Who would still want to join our tribe if we werebeled with such a bad reputation?! It would be like a p on our Chief''s face. Even if you have the Dark Wyvern Rider as your blood brother, he will not be able to protect you from the Chief''s wrath!"

    Goldenrod was inwardly shaken after Ironhead spoke and gave him a stern re. The pressure from a Great Warrior was not something he could easily withstand.

    "Big Brother Ironhead has spoken too seriously." Goldenrod said with a forced smile before he continued, "These things will not happen. Brother Leonhardt will definitely be able to treat Big Brother Hardrock!"

    "Not a single person has been sessful in treating Demon Possession in the past! How can you be so sure that he will?" Ironhead questioned seriously.

    It was not like he was doubting Leon''s abilities and hoping Leon would fail. In fact, it was the opposite. It was just that the consequence of failure was too severe for it to be taken lightly.

    "I''m not sure at all. I am hoping that he will be able to treat the Demon Possession! If we do not even have a little bit of hope, when will the Demon Possession ever have hope of being cured?" Goldenrod said.

    Shortly after, he sighed, "Actually, I did not think it could be such a serious matter. I was just trying my luck and hoping to be rewarded with the leather guards for referring Brother Leonhardt in case he seeded."

    After being silent for a moment, Ironhead coldly said, "In case he seeded, you say? What a good F*cking ''In case he seeded!'' If Brother Leonhardt seeds, you also get a chance of being rewarded. But if he fails and gets killed by the Venerable Shaman, you would be freed. Either way, it is a win-win situation for you! I did not know you were such a schemer!"

    "With such a scheming mind, how can you not have foreseen such a huge potential problem? Perhaps, you do not care about the tribe at all? Well, why would you, right? As long as you have your brother, you two brothers would still be epted anywhere you go!"

    Goldenrod was so shocked he began to sweat profusely. That is some serious usation! He quickly retorted, "Why are you trying to viinize me, Big Brother Ironhead? You are wrongly using me!"

    "Am I? I heard you lost a bet to Brother Leonhardt and forced to be his subordinate."

    "Well, that is true¡­ but this is unrted!" Goldenrod defended himself before he suddenly thought of something and said, "Hold on. Do you have a grudge against me or something, Big Brother Ironhead? Don''t tell me, I''ve slept with one of your women before?"

    "What did you say?!" Ironhead red at Goldenrod and almost exploded.

    "Ahem, ahem, forget what I said. I have misspoken, Big Brother Ironhead." Goldenrod retreated awkwardly and almost choked on his own words.

    He had slept with so many women in the tribe that he could not even remember all these names and rtionships with other men.

    Unbeknownst to the two people''s bickering, Leon had already seeded in treating the Demon Possession and only needed to nurse the Old Shaman''s son back to health.

 Chapter 351 - You Must Be Pulling My Leg!

    <h4>Chapter 351 - You Must Be Pulling My Leg!</h4>

    After 15 minutes of quiet meditation, Leon recovered some energy back and opened his eyes.

    The Old Shaman and Witch Doctor had been very patient and did not disturb his meditation during this time.

    Initially, the Witch Doctor had looked down on Leon. But now, those traces of contempt had been wiped clean from his face. He had no right to look down on a fellow Shaman.

    "Are you sure you have rested enough? Feel free to rest some more." The Old Shaman spoke out of concern. He was unsure if the second step had any more risks involved, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

    "There''s no need. I''ve rested enough."

    Leon shook his head. He naturally understood what the Old Shaman was thinking and said, "You don''t need to worry. There is no danger to your son. The most important step has already beenpleted sessfully."

    "Is that right? That''s good then." The Old Shaman nodded with relief as he nced upon his son''s sleeping face.

    The Demon Core has been removed, and the demonization process has been stoppedpletely, but the slight demonic changes to his son''s body were still present.

    "Is there something you can do about these scales and horns?" The Old Shaman asked.

    "I can tear them off if that is what you want. Your son''s natural regenerative capabilities will be able to heal his body back to normal, but do you really want me to do that?" Leon asked.

    Looking at the state of the person''s body, it did not really look like someone who had undergone a demon transformation.

    "Personally, I think it looks pretty cool. These changes do not really make your son look like a demon but more like someone with a dragon bloodline. Perhaps, it is better to ask if your son wants them removed or not after he wakes up." Leon continued to suggest.

    Hearing what Leon said, the Old Shaman hesitated. While demons are hated, dragons, on the other hand, are a symbol of strength.

    After a short ponder, the Old Shaman nodded, "What you say makes sense. It is my son''s body. It is best to ask him for his opinion on the matter."

    "Alright, allow me to finish off with the treatment and wake him up," Leon stated as he pressed his palm onto the person''s chest.

    Very soon, his palm began to glow with a soft green light as the regenerative properties of Wood Energy were channeled into the body of the Old Shaman''s son.

    Trivial injuries throughout the person''s body, new and old, slowly healed at a visible rate as the Old Shaman and Witch Doctor saw a few scars disappear.

    Five minutester, Leon unsealed the person''s acupoints and retracted his hand.

    "Is it done?" Old Shaman quickly asked as he inspected his son.

    Leon nodded, "He should be waking up very shortly.

    True to his words, Hardrock woke up a few breathster.

    "Ugh¡­ Where am I?" Hardrock immediately shook his head as his whole body ached and felt sluggish. It was like he had been sleeping for a very long time.

    "Papa!"

    Little Bone had been very sensible on the side. But after seeing his father wake up and speak familiar words instead of crazy growls, he immediately pounced onto his father''s chest in joy.

    "Hoho, easy there, little guy." Hardrock rubbed Little Bone''s head warmly before he suddenly paused in discovery. "Hm? You''ve grown a bit bigger, haven''t you?"

    "It''s been two years since the outbreak of your Demon Possession. It''s good to have you back, son." The Old Shaman sighed emotionally.

    "Two years, huh?"

    Hardrock was still a bit confused and disorientated after waking up, but his mind soon regained rity and said, "Wait, did you just say Demon Possession? How am I still¡­"

    "¡­Alive? You can thank these two for that. This little brother Leonhardt here is the one whopletely cured you of your Demon Possession, but without the help of Master Woodrow''s hypnotic mysticism, you would have also turned into a mindless demon long ago." The Old Shaman exined as he introduced the two to his son.

    "Oh? Demon Possession finally has a cure?"

    Hardrock was astounded as he nced at Leon and Master Woodrow. He was even more surprised when he saw how young Leon appeared, but he quickly epted the fact.

    His father would not be so bored as to y such a joke upon his recovery. Moreover, what could be more surprising than curing Demon Possession?

    "I thank the two esteemed Witch Doctors for saving my life," Hardrock spoke with heartfelt gratitude.

    There was nothing wrong with what he said. Curing Demon Possession was akin to getting a second chance at life.

    He wanted to get up and pay his deepest respects to both of them, but his body struggled to carry out his will.

    "You have just recovered. Justy down and continue to rest. There will be plenty of chances for you to pay your respects in the future."

    Master Woodrow nced at Leon before he shook his head with a wry smile, "Also, I don''t dare im to be a Witch Doctor in front of this little brother. My ability is nothingpared to his."

    Leon was not fully aware of what defines a Witch Doctor. Thus, he chose to remind silent and not offer his opinion.

    Although he did not speak, the Old Shaman did.

    "Hahaha, no need to be so humble, Master Woodrow." The Old Shamanughed heartily. It was natural for him to be in a joyous mood after his son''s sessful recovery.

    "Little Brother Leonhardt''s abilities are indeed astounding, but we must not ignore your own ability and contribution. By definition, a Witch Doctor is someone who can heal people afflicted by the supernatural."

    "Although you could not heal my son''s body like Little Brother Leonhardt did, you were able to soothe his soul and free his mind from the agony of Demonization. Isn''t that right, my son??? The Old Shaman soon directed the question to Hardrock.

    "Eh? Ah, yes. Yes, that is right. I felt like I had been in a very long pleasant dream. I had no idea I was afflicted with Demon Possession until I was told so just now." Hardrock gave an improvised response.

    "Hahaha, thanks."

    Master Woodrow smile wryly, feeling a bit better after hearing their words. Their good intentions, he had received them.

    "Alright, I shan''t keep you both waiting any longer. Let us leave and head back to the storefront. I am sure my son could use some rest. Also, I stand by my words. Since my son has been cured, the both of you may take anything from my store." The Old Shaman said straightforward.

    Havingid in bed for so long, Hardrock wanted nothing more than to get out and move around, but after being given a look by his father, he shook his head ruefully and chose not to voice his objection.

    He was a fully grown man, but no matter one''s age, they will always be humbled before their parents.

    "Anything, you say?" Leon said as he rubbed his chin in thought.

    The Old Shaman strangely had a bad feeling from Leon, but he was a man of his words. He nodded and firmly stated, "Anything!"

    "I did not do much. I will not be asking for too much. Just the Tier 4 Fur Cloak will do for me. Surely Little Brother Leonhardt does not have a problem with this decision, right?" Master Woodrow asked.

    "If Master Woodrow does not have a problem with it, then surely I will not have a problem with it either." Leonughed lightly in response.

    This Master Woodrow has given him a good impression. He was nothing like the quack doctor Goldenrod had mentioned. And from what he had learned, this Witch Doctor was also a Shaman.

    "What Master Woodrow? If Little Brother Leonhardt is fine with it, you can just call me Brother Woodrow or Woodrow by name."

    "Then, I will call you, Brother Woodrow." Leon smiled.

    Master Woodrow immediately nodded with a satisfied look. It was never wrong to build a good connection with such a talented and promising young Shaman. The Shaman circle is initially small, to begin with.

    As the group of three headed back to the storefront, Ironhead''s eyes lit up as he immediately spotted them.

    "Brother Leonhardt, you are alright!" Ironhead said before he proceeded to greet the other two along with Goldenrod.

    "Greetings, Venerable Shamans."

    "Venerable Shamans."

    The Old Shaman and Master Woodrow acknowledge their greeting with a nod. Shortly after, Master Woodrow strolled over to the left disy and picked up the Tier 4 Fur Cloak from the wooden stand.

    "I have been away for a few months, and my family is surely missing me, so I will head back first. If Little Brother Leonhardt is not busy, feel free to visit me at my Fragrant Tea Abode."

    "If I''m free, I will be sure to pay you a visit," Leon assured.

    Shortly after Master Woodrow had disappeared from view, the Old Shaman asks, "So what would you like, Little Brother Leonhardt?"

    Leon proceeded to look left and right at the items on disy. His brows began to furrow as he contemted. The bad feeling in the Old Shaman''s heart grew worse after seeing Leon like this.

    After some time, Leon asks, "Can I take everything?"

    The Old Shaman''s heart was shaken and almost keeled over from shock as his hunch was right. He inwardly cried, ''You must be pulling my leg! Please learn some self-restraint!''

 Chapter 352 - Three Factions

    <h4>Chapter 352 - Three Factions</h4>

    "Little Brother Leonhardt must be joking." The Old Shaman said wryly with a stiff smile. "If you take everything, my tailor store will be forced out of business for some time¡­ must you do this?"

    He was, after all, a person of great status. Others would at least be mindful not to take too much, but Leon did not seem to be concerned about this at all.

    "I guess taking everything is a no-go then, huh?" Leon continued to rub his chin in thought.

    "Since I have said you can take anything, you can indeed take everything. But do you really want to do this? Little Brother Leonhardt should learn some self-restraint and not be too greedy. Why not take a step back so everyone can be happy?"

    The Old Shaman did not refuse Leon. This means that Leon could, indeed, take everything. It is just that the other party will not be happy with it.

    Leon shrugged and said, "Alright, I don''t need to take everything. So long as the store can remain operating for business, you will still be fine with me taking anything, right?"

    The Old Shaman''s brows were furrowed, but he did not see anything wrong with Leon''s words. Thus, he nodded, "Yes!"

    After that, Leon resumed browsing the wares of the store before he said, "These leather chest, guards, skirts, shin guards, leather boots, I''ll take the full set."

    The Old Shaman gave an approving nod of acknowledgment. He did not have a problem with this. It seemed that his words had reached the person.

    There were several dozens of items on disy, but the set of leather armor only ounts for five of them.

    However, Leon was not done and nced at another item on disy before saying, "That lion head cloak, I will also take it."

    A wolf head cloak and bear head cloak was also on disy in the same section, but he thought the lion one suited well.

    He was rtively small in buildpared to the warriors of the ins, but if he wore something like this, it would at least make him look quite domineering and powerful.

    Of course, that was not actually important. It all came down to how impressively made the lion head cloak was thatpelled Leon to select it. It was enchanted by Tier 5 runes.

    "Is that everything? Shall I wrap everything up for you?" The Old Shaman asked.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Nah, it''s fine. I intend to wear them right away. Also, there''s just this one more thing I wanted."

    "What is it?"

    The Old Shaman gave Leon a cautious look.

    "The leather pouch behind the counter," Leon said with a wolfish grin.

    The Old Shaman felt his scalps tingle. The leather pouch was an interspatial storage item used for holding Dark Crystals. How did the person know there was a leather pouch behind the counter?

    The Old Shaman''s brows were slowly furrowed, but they began to rx shortly after, as a smile was formed on his face.

    "Alright!"

    Sometimeter, Leon left the store with a leather pouch in hand as he repeated throw it in the air and catch it.

    "Brother Leonhardt sure knows how to maximize his gains. I wonder how much Dark Crystals are in there?" Ironhead asked curiously by Leon''s side.

    Leon paused his steps as he recalled the Old Shaman''s strange smile. Reasonably thinking, the Old Shaman should not have part with the interspatial pouch so readily if it held a fortune inside.

    "I''m quite curious too," Leon said.

    Shortly after, he opened the interspatial pouch and swept his divine sense inside for a quick look. After a few breaths, he retracted his divine sense and shook his head with a sigh.

    There were only 2500 Dark Crystals inside the interspatial pouch. It was no wonder that the Old Shaman was able to part with it so willingly.

    There must have been another interspatial pouch kept elsewhere that holds the Old Shaman''s entire wealth and savings.

    "Whatever. 2500 Dark Crystals are good enough." Leon shrugged.

    "There are only 2500 Dark Crystals inside?" Ironhead was also taken aback by the amount before he said, "Brother Leonhardt sure is unlucky. The Venerable Shaman must have transferred the Dark Crystals to his private pouch recently. I heard that 20 thousand Dark Crystals are usually kept inside."

    "But Brother Leonhardt does not need to feel like you have suffered a loss. The interspatial pouch itself is worth around 20 thousand Dark Crystals. Also, with Brother Leonhardt''s strength and ability, it would be far too easy for you to make that much Dark Crystals if you wanted to." Ironhead said.

    He was not lying. The Old Tailor''s store was a high-end store for Great Warriors. It was easy for Great Warriors to make a few thousand Dark Crystals by selling the Transcendent-level demonic beasts they hunt.

    It was only people like Goldenrod, who had yet to reach the Great Warrior Realm that finds it challenging to save up a few thousand Dark Crystals.

    Goldenrod had been following behind them silently with a forlorn look. The leather guards he had been eyeing was taken by Leon.

    It was okay if Leon did not want it, but since he did, it was not right for Goldenrod to ask for it. He could only sigh mncholically.

    "There is still roughly an hour left until the start of the great feast. Does Brother Leonhardt want me to take you to your amodation to get familiar with the ce, or what would you like to do?" Ironhead asked.

    "How do you tell the time around here?" Leon asked curiously, considering it was dark all year round outside of the city and only rtively brighter during the night of the crimson moon with its cascading red light.

    "Oh? Brother Leonhardt doesn''t know?" Ironhead asked rhetorically before nodding in understanding, "Makes sense. Brother Leonhardt is not from around here."

    "Do you see that fire tower over there?" Ironhead pointed before he proceeded to exin, "We tell the time by how big the me is. It burns the brightest at the start of the day when it is lighted and usually burns out by the end of the crimson moon."

    Looking at the clear burning tower, Leon''s eyes shed with understanding. There were clear indicators to measure how high the fire burned and as such.

    At this moment, there was roughly a quarter of the me left. This indicates that three-quarters of the day had almost gone by.

    "I see." Leon nodded in understanding before he said, "I will have to trouble Brother Ironhead to take me to my ce of amodation."

    "Hahaha, Brother Leonhardt does not need to worry. This is no trouble at all." Ironheadughed lightly.

    "If you say so." Leon smiled before turning to Goldenrod. "You don''t need to keep apanying me. You might have be my subordinate, but I will not restrict your freedom. Feel free to do what you want. I will call you again if I need you."

    "In that case, I will bid goodbye here. Until next time, Brother Leonhardt, Big Brother Ironhead." Goldenrod paid his respects to both of them with a small gesture before leaving.

    Watching Goldenrod''s departing back, Ironhead turned to Leon and said, "Brother Leonhardt should be careful around this person and should not trust him easily, lest he brings you trouble."

    "Oh? What makes you say that?" Leon smiled. He could see where Ironhead wasing from, but he was curious about what he had to say, nheless.

    "You might not know this, but while our tribe seems very united on the surface, that only implies to outside threats. Inwardly, we are divided into three factions and are still stricken with internal conflicts. Aside from the neutral Shaman Faction, we have the Chief Faction and the Beast Tamer Faction. You can probably guess what faction this person belongs to." Ironhead exined.

    "Is this something you should be telling me, an outsider?" Leon smiled at Ironhead.

    "Err¡­" Ironhead froze at a loss for words. Shortly after he recovered, he rubbed his bald head embarrassedly and said, "Actually, we were hoping you would join our Chief Faction."

    "Why don''t you tell me more about the conflicts between the factions within your tribe?" Leon asked.

    Ironhead felt a bit excited when Leon did not quickly refuse him. That means there was a chance at recruiting this person.

    Just as he was about to exin, he noticed that Leon had unwittingly stopped following him as his attention was quickly grabbed by where the person was looking. It was a kid''s yground.

    He walked over and asked. "Brother Leonhardt is fond of children?"

    "Hm? Sorry about that. Yeah, I am actually." Leon admitted, but his mind was still preupied with the familiar little girl he found among the crowd of children ying. It was Mia.

    He did not expect to find one of them so soon. Also, Mia seemed to be doing just fine ying with other children and not held in captivity as he had anticipated.

    Shortly after, Leon left with Ironhead and continued their trip to his arranged living quarters.

    At the same time, Mia had nced over with confusion¡­ She felt like someone had been staring at her just now.

 Chapter 353 - Starfall

    <h4>Chapter 353 - Starfall</h4>

    "Tag! You''re it!"

    A small boy of roughly 6 years old patted Mia on the shoulder before running off with the other kids on the yground.

    "Ah? Hey, that''s not fair!" Mia pouted.

    She pushed the previous thoughts to the back of her mind and chased after the other kids as they yed a game of tag.

    Ring~!

    Not long after, the bell rang before a female teacher holding a walking stick came out to fetch the kids on the yground and take them back to the academy nearby for schooling.

    "Alright, children. ytime is over. It''s time to head back and resume ss." The limping female teacher said warmly to the children.

    The female teacher was another Great Warrior, but she had a lean build without excessive muscle mass like the other warriors at her level.

    It was apparent that her body was not well trained since she had taken up post as a teacher. She had retired from battle after sustaining an injury to her leg and could not walk properly without her walking stick''s support.

    "Teacher Brunhilde!"

    The children all ran over obediently once they were called and gather around the female teacher. Some were even hugging onto her legs, causing her to wobble uncontrobly.

    "Easy, children easy. Teacher''s leg is not in good shape. Teacher will fall if you continue to shake." Teacher Brunhilde said helplessly.

    Most children immediately let go in fear of hurting their teacher, but there were still two naughty ones who refused to let go.

    "Fall, fall, fall!" The two naughty children shook harder with excitement.

    ''These little sh*ts¡­'' Teacher Brunhilde inwardly cussed.

    Teacher Brunhilde was fond of children. Otherwise, she would not have chosen to be a teacher after retiring from the hunting team. However, she was only fond of the obedient and quiet ones. The loud and mischievous ones were annoying little runts.

    "Still not letting go?"

    Teacher Brunhilde red at the two naughty children with the imposing aura of a Great Warrior.

    "Ahh! Teacher Brunhilde has be scary!" The two naughty children cried in fear and retreated while the other childrenughed, "Haha! Serves you right for not listening to Teacher Brunhilde!"

    "Alright, children. Be good now. Let us head back to ss." Teacher Brunhilde put on her best smile again.

    She only needed to use a little bit of her Great Warrior aura to scare the naughty children into obedience. If she had exerted a slightly stronger aura, they would have broken down into loud wails instead.

    "Come, Mia. Don''t fall behind now." Teacher Brunhilde called out after seeing Miagging behind the others.

    Mia nodded and picked up her pace slightly. Although she came out to y with the other children, it was clear that she was still not used to her new environment.

    Nevertheless, it was already fortunate that she did not suffer any bullying from the other children for having different skin colors.

    Inside the ssroom, there were no tables nor chairs for the children to be seated. There were only soft fur cushions stuffed with straws for the children to sit on.

    After everyone was seated, Teacher Brunhilde began the lesson with a question, "Now, where did we leave offst time?"

    "Teacher was about to talk about the Age of Darkness!" A boy answered after raising his hand.

    "Oh, yes. I remember now. Thank you, Little Hector. But next time, remember to answer only after I call you. Otherwise, it will not be fair for the others who have also raised their hands. Do you understand?"

    "Yes, Teacher Brunhilde." Little Hector said obediently.

    Teacher Brunhilde nodded approvingly before she said, "It was said that before the Age of Darkness came, the world used to be a much brighter ce. A sun would hang in the sky and illuminate thend in all its brilliance and glory."

    "Torches of fire were not needed to light the tribe during the day, and at night, the moon would shine thend with its bluish-white light. But ever since the Age of Darkness came, the dark clouds blotted out the sun, the moon turned crimson, and humankind has never seen the light of day since."

    Seeing Mia raised her hand, Teacher Brunhilde asks, "Yes, Little Mia?"

    "What is the Age of Darkness, Teacher?" Mia asked curiously.

    She naturally did not know much about the Dark Continent''s history as she was new to the ce, but her question made the other children rowdy.

    "Ehhh? How can you not know about the Age of Darkness?"

    "Not like you know about the Age of Darkness until a week ago, either!"

    "Oh yeah¡­"

    As the children chattered, Teacher Brunhilde smiled.

    "Now, now, children. Be nice. Mia is still new around here. It is normal for her to be unaware of our history. But since I have talked about the Age of Darkness before, will you all be fine with me going over it again for our little friend Mia here?"

    "Yes, Teacher!"

    The children said in unison. They have yet to be familiar with Mia, but she was personally brought by the Chief to attend the academy. She had to be someone important.

    Although they were only first-graders, they had enough self-awareness not to slight someone who could potentially have significant backing.

    "Since that is the case, I will begin to talk about the Age of Darkness again. But before that, we must first talk about the Starfall that started everything. 3000 years ago, a colossal object fell through the atmosphere like a falling star and crashnded into our world."

    "This fallen star managed to pierce a hole in the sky and transformed the entire south into a deste wastnd. The Age of Darkness came roughly 2500 years after that, which also happens to be 500-odd years ago."

    Teacher Brunhilde spoke vaguely about history. In fact, what she knew was much lesspared to the Crimsonfog Tribe. She only learned about it by word of mouth from her ancestors in the past.

    "Yes, Little Hector?" Brunhilde asked after seeing Little Hector raised his hand.

    "Does the Starfall and Age of Darkness have any rtion to the existence of Demons in our world, Teacher?" Little Hector asked.

    "That is an excellent question, Little Hector. Even I do not know the answer to that question, but it has been a popr topic of debate nowadays. Some theorists say the demons came to our world through the eye in the sky created by the Starfall."

    "Others believe demons first appeared after humans got too close to the eye in the sky and got punished by the Sun''s wrath."

    "Which theory does Teacher believe in?"

    The children asked after listening to this point.

    "Me? Interestingly enough, I believe in both theories. They are at least more usible than the crazier theories out there."

    "Eh? There are more theories regarding the existence of demons in our world?" Little Hector was surprised.

    "Of course, there are. Some say that the demons are the minions sent to carry out the Sun''s wrath and punish the beings that treaded on the Sun''s dominion in the past, and the reason demons are ck is due to being scorched by the Sun."

    "There''s another opposing theory that states that the demons are not the Sun''s minions, but the minions of a more primal demon sealed within the Sun. The demons escaped after the seal weakened due to the Sun dying."

    "Whatever is the case, it is true that demons are our worse enemy and must be exterminated. It is either they die, or we die. The world we live in is dangerous, and without sufficient strength, we cannot hope to survive in it. Not long ago, we were almost overwhelmed by the Bone Cmity." Brunhilde inserted her own opinion at the end.

    Other teachers might try to paint a beautiful world to give the children hopes and dreams, but Brunhilde was the opposite of this and did not hide anything from them.

    She thought it was best to make them aware of the reality of things to prepare themselves for what they had to face once they grow up. The tribe needed warriors and not soft persimmons, grown in a greenhouse.

    Various thoughts shed in Mia''s eyes. While the others had not seen the Sun, it was not the same for her. However, she was self-aware enough not to boast about it.

    "What is it, Little Hector?" Brunhilde asked again, seeing Hector raising his small hands again.

    "How does Teacher know so much? Even my parents don''t know about these things."

    "Are you sure they don''t know about these things? Have you asked them about it before?" Brunhilde asked patiently with a smile.

    "Ahh¡­"

    ¡­

 Chapter 354 - Return To Capital

    <h4>Chapter 354 - Return To Capital</h4>

    "Hoho, I am also fond of children. They are just so energetic and carefree. It really makes one envy their youthfulness as they have yet to learn the dangers of the world we live in. What about you, Brother Leonhardt? Why are you fond of children?" Ironhead said.

    "Children are innocent and pure when they are still young, na?ve, and untainted by the ugliness of human nature. They do not know greed, nor do they scheme against others, and their honest words can be trusted." Leon spoke after some thought.

    Although Ironhead felt disagreeable with Leonhardt''s opinion, he did not voice them as there was also some truth to what the person said.

    He believes that not all children are honest and tend to lie when they want to get themselves out of trouble. But if they had not been negatively influenced by adults in the first ce, would they have started to pick up bad habits?

    "It seems Brother Leonhardt has had it rough living the vagabond life. Have you thought about settling down in a tribe? I can''t say you will be free of worries within a tribe, but at the very least, you would not have to worry about scavenging for food and resources with other vagabonds on the ins."

    Leon smiled wryly, seeing that Ironhead had not given up on the chance to sound him out and try to recruit him into their Chief Faction.

    ''Joining the Darkmoon Tribe might not be a bad thing. I will have a higher chance of finding the others if I can gain their trust and learn some inside information.'' Leon thought.

    Nevertheless, he could not join the Darkmoon Tribe so easily. He needed to make it a bit difficult for them. Otherwise, they might find it a bit strange.

    "Why don''t you tell me more about the internal conflicts within our tribe first?" Leon smiled lightly.

    Ironhead shook his head wryly after seeing Leon change the topic. He had expected as much and did not try to press the matter.

    "Brother Leonhardt might have already guessed, but our Darkmoon Tribe sits on top of a very rich deposit of Dark Crystals. Whether it was the past or present, the Dark Crystal Mine has always been controlled by the tribal chief. It was their duty to manage and distribute the Dark Crystals as rewards to the tribe''s warriors fairly."

    "But ever since Goldeneye tamed a Dark Wyvern, he has been gaining a growing number of supporters that wish for him to be the new tribal chief and take control of the Dark Crystal Mine."

    As Leon followed Ironhead down the busy street, he gave him a nce and asked, "The position of chief has always belonged to the strongest warrior. Why would these people want to support someone who isn''t?"

    "That is the main problem for the conflict between our Chief Faction and the Beast Tamer Faction. Goldeneye may only be a Mid-rank Great Warrior, and it is uncertain whether he would ever breakthrough to Battle Master Realm, but it''s a different story for his Dark Wyvern."

    "His Dark Wyvern has the potential to rival Battle Masters once it reaches adulthood, and this isn''t even the end of its growth. If it is groomed well, its strength could even rival Battle Kings. This is why people wish to use Dark Crystals to speed up the Dark Wyvern''s growth."

    "It is fortunate that these are only the hopes of the people supporting Goldeneye and not the person himself. Goldeneye is still rather loyal to the Chief. As such, conflicts between the two factions have only been verbal thus far. However, I fear for the day our tribe bes torn and divided by physical conflicts."

    "I see."

    Leon understood the gist of the situation after listening to Ironhead''s exnation.

    In short, the Chief Faction supports Chief Valencia''s fair distribution of Dark Crystals, while the Beast Tamer Faction wishes to monopolize all of the Dark Crystals for the Dark Wyvern''s growth.

    Personally, he favors the Chief Faction. The Beast Tamer Faction was too extreme. The Dark Wyvern might be tamed, but it was still a demonic beast, nheless. It was hard to say if the Dark Wyvern would always remain loyal to its master and not go rogue.

    Seeing Leon appeared slightly nonchnt and did not express any opinion on the matter, Ironhead was somewhat disheartened. However, he did not bring up the topic of recruitment again. That would be left to the Chief.

    "It seems we are here," Ironhead said abruptly after stopping outside the gate to a private courtyard with a single abode inside.

    After unlocking the gate and passing a wooden key that looks like a three-legged stool to Leon, Ironhead said, "This is the key to the property."

    "Oh? I get this whole ce to myself?"

    Leon was mildly surprised.

    Although the interior was crude, it was considered luxurious in this ce. The building was located within the inner city and appeared to have been previously upied by another individual.

    Ironhead nodded and said, "Yeah, the previous owner is deceased, so this ce is currently without an owner."

    "I''m sure Brother Leonhardt would like to rest inside. I wille back and pick Brother Leonhardt up for the great feast half an hourter."

    "Why note inside for a chat? There are a few things I would like to ask Brother Ironhead about." Leon offered.

    Ironhead smiled warmly and epted.

    The private courtyard was rtively spacious and appeared to have been used as a training ground with a stone tform at the center and stone tables and chairs at the sides.

    "What would Brother Leonhardt like to ask me about?" Ironhead asked after he took his seat on a stone chair.

    Leon took the stone seat opposite of Ironhead and asked, "The great feast doesn''t seem like just any big, sumptuous meal. What is it exactly, and where is it held?"

    "Brother Leonhardt must have seen the huge amphitheater at the top of the rocky teau in the center of our Darkmoon City."

    Leon nodded, "Something like that is hard to miss."

    "That is where the great feast will be held, and you are right to guess that it not just any normal meal. The meals for the great feast will be specially prepared by our tribe''s finest Spirit Chefs to help our warriors recover quickly, to celebrate our victory, and to honor the fallen."

    "If Brother Leonhardt had never tasted the cooking of a Spirit Chef before, I''m sure you will find the meals to be much to your liking." Ironhead said confidently before adding, "The food will taste great, and there will also be a good show to watch."

    "It is also normal for there to be hotheaded warriors who will want to take the chance to challenge others in the battle arena at the center and show off in front of the huge crowd. After all, the entire tribe will be there."

    "Is that so? Then I will be looking forward to it."

    Leon smiled with interest before he continued to chat with Ironhead about some trivial things around the Darkmoon Tribe.

    ¡­

    Human Domain, Crawford Kingdom.

    Around this time of the day, the sun had risen high into the sky. Elizabeth and the twodies returned to the Capital from their long war expedition.

    "What happened here? Where did all the buildings go?" Elizabeth pulled over a city guard and questioned him with amanding tone.

    "Y-Your Majesty, wee back! We were attacked by the Bloodfiend Sect sometime ago, but they were repelled by His Highness and Grandmaster Don."

    The city guard quickly recounted everything he knew to the Queen without hiding anything. After Elizabeth understood the gist of the situation, she asked, "En, I understand. Where are they now?"

    "Err¡­ Grandmaster Don has left the Capital. He said he is going on a long trip to the Ishaan Kingdom to train and perfect his art of explosion¡­"

    "Tch, that madman¡ªAhem, what about my son?" Elizabeth clicked her tongue and coughed awkwardly before asking.

    "His Highness¡­ It is better if His Majesty exins this. I am not too sure of the details regarding His Highness disappearance. We were ordered to inform you to see His Majesty as soon as you were to return to the Capital, Your Majesty."

    Elizabeth''s brows were furrowed after learning her son had disappeared. She was not happy to hear about this after being away from the Capital for some time.

    Nevertheless, she nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. You can return to your post."

    "Yes, Your Majesty!"

    Shortly after, Elizabeth turned around to ask the twodies, "Do you two want to follow me to the pce to see the king or head home first and see your families?"

    "We wish to follow you to the pce, mother." Aria and Lynne answered in sync.

    They missed their families, but they were not too concerned about their well-being as the Upper District''s destruction was not close to their families'' home.

    On the other hand, Leon''s disappearance has drawn their attention.

 Chapter 355 - Their Pride

    <h4>Chapter 355 - Their Pride</h4>

    "My wife is back! It''s good that you are safe. It has been hard on you."

    Heinrich smiled with bright eyes the moment Elizabeth entered the study room. He ced down the ink pen and strolled over with his arms open wide to embrace his wife.

    "Did you find yourself a mistress while I was gone?" Elizabeth asked shortly after noticing the ck luster of a ring on Heinrich''s hand. Her sharp aura surged immediately.

    Heinrich''s arms froze awkwardly as he nearly keeled over from the shock.

    "W-What are you talking about? I''ve been so busy with kingdom affairs, I have barely any time to cultivate. Where would I get the time to find a mistress?" Heinrich smiled ruefully.

    If he did go and find himself a mistress while his wife was working hard fighting on the frontlines for the kingdom, wouldn''t she break his dog legs when she finds out?

    Noticing a few strands of grey hair on Heinrich''s head, Elizabeth could tell that work had been stressful and not easy for Heinrich either. She would rather fight on the frontline than be stuck behind a desk drowning in paperwork.

    Nevertheless, she could not relent and pressed, "Then how do you exin the ck ring on your finger?"

    "The ck ring on my finger?"

    Heinrich did not whether tough or cry when he heard this. Such a precious gift from their son had been mistaken for¡ªHaiz, forget it.

    Heinrich rubbed his head ruefully and helplessly said, "My Queen, this is priceless treasure personally forged and gifted by our dear son."

    The ring in question was precisely one of the interspatial artifacts refined by Leon. Although the ring was unrefined in design and looked like a metal nut. It was an interspatial artifact, nheless.

    "Our son made this?"

    "That''s right." Heinrich affirmed before saying, "Speaking of this, our son has made a few items for you and the two littledies too."

    Three sets of weapons and interspatial artifacts suddenly appeared in front of Elizabeth. Heinrich passed one set to her before he proceeded over to the twodies, who were yet to be familiar with the king, Leon''s father.

    "Aria and Lynne, right? These are for you two."

    Heinrich passed the other set of rings and swords to them before quietly watching the three women inspect their gifts with interest.

    Aria and Lynne epted the gifts with willingness and anticipation. They would not reject anything from Leon, especially when it is personally passed to them by the king.

    A metal nut of a ring and a sword of simple design.

    "Pft. Is this supposed to be our engagement rings?" Lynne jokingly asked. Despite that, she happily wore it on her ring finger with glee.

    Aria did not express an opinion, but it was clear that she was also delighted from the way she wore the ring.

    Although they were Leon''s lovers and unofficially engaged, nothing was a better guarantee than a physical proof of their rtionship.

    Contrary to these two, Elizabeth naturally thought differently. As Leon''s mother, it was too scandalous and outrageous if she thought her son was also giving her an engagement ring.

    "How did you do that?" Elizabeth asked Heinrich with surprise.

    Heinrich naturally knew what his wife was talking about and proceeded to exin with a nod, "En, I was just about to exin their usage."

    "To use the interspatial ring, you need to channel Spirit Energy into them before you can sense the existence subspace and items stored inside. If you have achieved some sess in the publicized breathing technique, manipting Spirit Energy should be easy for you."

    "I have not practiced that breathing technique before," Elizabeth said with her brows.

    She believed that only by focusing on a single cultivation path would people have hopes of reaching the zenith. As such, she had never practiced the technique, not even once.

    Never had she expected that because of this, it would stop her from being able to use the priceless gift her son had forged for her.

    Fortunately, Leon had anticipated that this might be the case and gave his father a detailed exnation of the World Tree''s importance.

    "You don''t need to worry too much. You might not be able to use it now, but you definitely will be able to soon enough. Our son said that the World Tree is overflowing in this so-called Spirit Energy. As long as you practice the breathing technique there, you will be able to achieve sess in refining Spirit Energy very quickly."

    "The same goes for you, girls. If you haven''t already¡ª"

    "Oh, this is interesting! The sword disappeared inside!" Lynne excitedly eximed. She grew increasingly fond of the interspatial ring.

    Heinrich shook his head and wryly smiled, "It seems my words were unnecessary."

    At the same time, Aria had also learned to use the interspatial ring freely as the gifted sword disappeared and reappeared before her repeatedly.

    She could not quite put her finger on it, but it seemed almost second nature to her despite being her first time using an interspatial artifact.

    "These girls¡­ are very talented!" Heinrich could not help but say.

    He felt a little helpless, seeing how freely they were able to use the interspatial rings. It took him several attempts before he could sessfully store his first item into the interspatial ring.

    Swoosh! Swoosh!

    Elizabeth gave a few practice swings of the sword before her eyes lit up. She traced the long de with her fingers in appreciation as she praises, "This sharpness, weight, and solidity. This is an extraordinarily good sword! Startear is nothingpared to this sword."

    Startear was the name of her other sword.

    Swordsman knew their swords, and Elizabeth was not an exception. A quick inspection was all she needed for her to understand the quality of the sword. It was tiers above the sword she previously used in battle!

    Heinrich was a little dismayed when he saw all the paperwork on the desk blown around by the gust of wind generated by his wife''s sword.

    After a moment, he shrugged and deigned to think about it too much. He had been behind the desk for so long. Even a king needed to take his break.

    "Aren''t you overpraising it? I know our son is very impressive, but Starter is, after all, forged by Ignis with all the top-grade material avable to us." Heinrich asked with doubt.

    One could not me him for not knowing. He was not a Swordsman, nor had he made any time to test how good the Tier 3 sword was. He knew it was a good sword. He just did not think it was THAT good.

    "What do you know?" Elizabeth chided before saying, "If I don''t reinforce Starter with my power, it with break upon shing with this sword without a doubt."

    Breaking was an understatement. The Tier 3 sword would slice through it like hot knife through butter. This was the difference between a weapon enchanted by runes and a weapon without.

    Aria and Lynne also began to trace their Tier 3 swords fondly after hearing how impressive they were and felt a little sweet inside.

    Leon was able to forge priceless treasures, but they were still able to have such unassuming appearances. He was kind of like a bad artist even after mastering all the techniques. The artwork produced might be rubbish, but it is still a masterpiece.

    When Aria and Lynne thought it like that, they found it cute and quietly giggled to themselves.

    Buzz!

    The noisy sound of propellers on airships was suddenly heard. ncing outside the window, Elizabeth soon noticed the appearance of four airships in the sky.

    "Why are were four airships here? Did you summon all the airships back from the frontlines?" Elizabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.

    Heinrich also nced outside before his head.

    "No, those are new airships recently made at the Lancaster Workshop. They must be going out for another flight test." He exined.

    Elizabeth immediately widened her eyes in surprise and said, "But that would mean that¡ª"

    "Yes, Ignis and Amelia managed to reproduce the levitation stones from the ancient civilization called the Nova Empire. I heard it was also thanks to our son''s assistance." Heinrich smiled widely.

    The reproduction of the levitation stone had always been a dead project pursued by the Lancaster Family for years without any leads nor breakthrough.

    Heinrich and Elizabeth were both aware of this. They felt immensely proud of their son for solving the Lancaster Family''s biggest headache.

    "Our son is such a lucky star!"

    "That''s for sure!

    Elizabeth and Heinrich both sighed.

    They were not there to raise and guide their son, but they felt gratified, knowing Leon grew up well and dependable.

    "Ah, that''s right!" Elizabeth suddenly eximed. She smacked her head as she just remembered. "I heard our son has disappeared. What the hell is that about?"

    Aria and Lynne also perked their ears as they listen intently.

    "Ahem." Heinrich cleared his throat before he said, "About that¡­"

    Shortly after, he began to recount the details of Leon entering the teleportation array and traveling to the other side to rescue the missing people that included his adoptive mother and Mia.

 Chapter 356 - A Filthy Mouth

    <h4>Chapter 356 - A Filthy Mouth</h4>

    Bang!

    Elizabeth mmed the desk heavily with force in anger, causing cracks to form on it while scattering some more paperwork. Heinrich looked at his wife''s agitated reaction with a rueful look.

    "What did you say?! You let our son leave for some unknownnd that could be thriving in demons?! How could you let him go to such a potentially dangerous ce?!" Elizabeth roared.

    At the same time, Aria and Lynne slightly paled at the news. Demons were depicted as the definition of evil and cruelty in stories. They treat all life as insignificant and wantonly ughter humans for their pleasure.

    And now they were told that Leon went to such a ce? Was Leon going to be okay over there?!

    "My Queen, calm your anger."

    "Calm? How do you expect me to be calm after hearing my son went to thend of demons?!" Elizabeth quickly rebuked.

    "Haiz¡­" Heinrich sighed and said, "I also wanted to stop our son from going. But you should know that once our son makes a firm decision, there is no stopping him from changing his mind."

    "¡­"

    Seeing his wife fell silent, Heinrich took the chance to change the topic. He asks, "How is the situation at the frontlines now? I heard you charged all the way into King City."

    "Surprisingly, the Burning Heaven Sect eradicated the Bloodfiend Sect by the time we got there. Afterward, the Vran Kingdom submitted to our ruling. No surprises there. We rushed back after we failed to locate the Sect Master."

    "I did not expect that the Bloodfiend Sect''s Sect Master really snuck into our kingdom andunch an attack on our city. It is good that everything is fine now. We were fortunate to have Uncle Don hold the fort." Elizabeth said with relief.

    There was no need for her to mention what she found back in the Bloodfiend Sect''s headquarters. There were tens of thousands of bones hidden under the Blood Mountain, and it was indeed a horrid discovery. It was better left unsaid.

    "Actually, it was also our son that dealt the finishing blow to the enemy. It was truly a close call. Things could have gone terribly wrong at the slightest misstep." Heinrich corrected with a sigh.

    His hand subtly clenched into a fist as he mentioned this. He was too weak to contribute to the battle. It was apparent that he needed to put extra effort into reaching Transcendence as soon as possible.

    The times have changed. He had been aware of this more than once.

    Heinrich shook his head, and he asked with a frown, "The Burning Heaven Sect of the Ishaan Kingdom eradicated the Bloodfiend Sect within the Vran Kingdom? What did they want?"

    "Friendly rtionship between us. They do not seek domination of thends like the other two sects." Elizabeth answered.

    "I see." Heinrich rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he said, "Speaking of the other sect, the Illusory Butterfly Sect seemed to have mysteriously vanished without a trace. A delegate from the Durham Kingdom came the other day bearing news of their surrender."

    "A few dayster, the Durham Kingdom''s surviving royal members will arrive to speak with us further on this matter. If we do happen to assimte both kingdoms under our ruling, I think it will be appropriate to rename ourselves under the Crawford Empire."

    "Crawford Empire, huh?" Elizabeth quietly muttered before she smiled, "Sounds powerful enough. But unfortunately, you will need to work hard to truly make it a powerful empire, my King."

    "Haiz, this¡­ can''t be helped." Heinrich smiled ruefully.

    After some small talk, Elizabeth left with the twodies to check out the site of Leon''s disappearance and left the messy study room for Heinrich to clean up.

    A momentter, Lily entered the room with freshly brewed tea after a polite knock on the door. Heinrich''s eye lit up at once.

    "Please collect the scattered papers for me, Lily."

    "Yes, Your Majesty." Lilyplied at once. Nevertheless, she was taken aback as she asks, "What happened here?"

    "This¡­ Haiz, you don''t need to worry about it."

    Heinrich smiled wryly with a shake of his head. He did not want to talk behind his wife''s back. It would make him seem petty.

    "I see¡­"

    Lily looked a bit hesitant, seemingly having something to ask but not sure whether to ask. Heinrich managed to notice from the corner of his eyes and said, "Speak freely if you have something to say."

    "Ah? Y-Yes, Your Majesty. Do we have a new chief physician? I have been asking around the pce, but no one seems to have heard or seen this young divine doctor."

    "A new chief physician? Not that I am aware of." Heinrich answered before he had a sh of realization. "Are you asking about the one who cured your mother''s illness?"

    "Yes, Your Majesty!" Lily nodded.

    "Hmm¡­"

    Heinrich smiled with interest.

    He found it amusing that none of the daughter and mother knew who treated them was.

    "Only one person has been hailed as a young divine doctor in this city. You really don''t know who that person is?" Heinrich asked vaguely.

    Lily shook her head. She rarely leaves the pce. She would not know about the rumors outside.

    "I see, I see." Heinrichughed. "You will know if you ask around in the Upper District."

    ¡­

    At another location within the Royal Pce, three junior maids were sweeping the fallen leaves off the ground.

    "I hope the prince will make it back safely. I heard there are demons where the prince was headed to." Ellie said concernedly with a distant look.

    Sherry clenched her fist and said, "His Highness is extremely capable with extraordinary means. He will definitely make it back safely."

    "En, you are right. His Highness definitely will."

    "Shh, the senior maids areing," Melody warned with a cautious look.

    Having been bullied by the senior maids and nearly killed by them in the past, it was normal for Melody to fear them. After all, she almost saw Ellie die in front of her.

    "Eh?" Sherry notice who the two senior maids were and smiled evilly. She pompously said, "There''s no need to be afraid of them. We are no longer the same as we were in the past."

    Shortly after the incident with the senior maid Darcy and ire, they were picked on by another two senior maids shortly before all the senior maids were strictly warned about bullying. These two senior maids were precisely the two people currently passing them.

    However, things had yed out differently after Sherry gifted them the cultivation pills from Darcy''s flowerpot.

    "Greetings, Senior Josie. How did the cultivation pills you took from mest time taste?" Sherry greeted superficially.

    Barf!

    Senior Josie immediately started gagging with a pale face. Her stomach felt queasy every time she recalls the incident.

    Who would have thought an opportunity to extort more cultivation pills from the junior maids would turn into such a terrible lesson? If she had learned what happened to Darcy and ire sooner, she wouldn''t have dared to bully the junior maids.

    "You! Don''t take things too far!" The other senior maid red at the three junior maids before she helped drag her friend Josie away.

    "Hehehe!"

    Sherry smiled victoriously as she watched them leave in a hurry.

    "You are so mean, Sherry! How could you remind Senior Josie of that incident? Now we have to clean up her mess too." Ellieined as she looks at the small patch of bile on the ground.

    "But it was worth it, right? These senior maids have always been overbearing, looking down us junior maids ofmon birth and bullying us too much." Sherry said with a grin.

    "They cannot bully us anymore thanks to the king''s warning to them, but you are right! They deserve it!"

    Not far from them, two pce guards witnessed the short exchange.

    Bullying had be so serious of a matter that it had even reached the ears of the king. As pce guards, they had naturally heard of the details.

    One of them shook their head and said, "Josie is so unlucky, but her reaction is way too exaggerated. Isn''t it just some cultivation pills that have been inside of Darcy''s bearded m? Just give it a wash, and it''ll be clean for ingestion."

    "You wouldn''t be saying that if you were in her shoes. How would you feel if you found out you ate something stained by my baby batter? Not so good, right? Just like how straight men are disgusted at the thought of sucking another man''s Herman Von Longschlongenstein, it is the same for straight women."

    The analogy provided by the pce guard mildly grossed the other pce guard out as he retreated a few steps from the person.

    "You and your filthy mouth. Nothing clean everes out of it." The other pce guard shook his head before he said wryly, "But when you put it like that, I guess I can understand how disgusted Josie feels¡­"

 Chapter 357 - Towards The Citys Center

    <h4>Chapter 357 - Towards The City''s Center</h4>

    "By the way, Brother Ironhead. At the yground, I have noticed a little girl with pale skin. You do not usually see people with that kind ofplexion around here. Where is she from?"

    Leon found an opportunity to stir the direction of their conversation around to learn more about Mia''s situation in the Darkmoon Tribe.

    "That kind ofplexion, you say?" Ironhead took a moment to understand Leon''s question before eximing in realization, "Oh! You must be talking about Little Mia, right? Indeed, she does note from around here, but no one really knows where shees from either."

    "You mean you don''t know her origins?" Leon questioned with surprise.

    He found this rather strange.

    ''Given the abilities like Master Woodrow''s hypnotic mysticism, it should not have been difficult for this Darkmoon Tribe to extract information from the others even if they were unwilling to divulge knowledge of the Crawford Kingdom and the Human Domain.''

    As Leon quietly pondered, Ironhead shook his head and said, "Not exactly. We found Little Mia along with another group of humans. With the help of Master Woodrow''s hypnotic mysticism, we learned a great deal of information from them."

    "However, there is a problem. Although we learned that they came from a flourishing ce called the Human Domain, we have yet to find the way to get. No matter which person we interrogated, they all gave the same answer. We only know that the teleportation array they traveled through is located somewhere in the ck Swamp."

    ''So, it is not that Darkmoon Tribe had yet to learn about the Human Domain, but the fact that they have yet to locate the teleportation array leading there. It seems the Darkmoon Tribe does not have any rtion to the person that set up the teleportation array."

    Leon had a look of understanding.

    "Is this also something you should be telling me? Aren''t you too trusting of me, Brother Ironhead? What if I was a spy from another tribe? Wouldn''t the Darkmoon Tribe lose out if another tribe were to locate and take control of this teleportation array first?" Leon asked curiously.

    "Hahaha! The fact that you are asking these questions shows that you are not one!" Ironheadughed heartily before he said, "Besides, if another tribe wishes to take control of the teleportation array and migrate to the Human Domain, they can take it by all means."

    "No matter how prosperous that Human Domain is, our Darkmoon Tribe is not interested. Dangerous this ce may be, our roots and homes are still here. Our way of life lies in thisnd and will not change so easily."

    The tribal chief had already made her decision on the matter and received many voices of agreements. They were only interested in learning more about the Human Domain but had no intention of migrating there. At least, not in the short term.

    Great Warriors like Ironhead were part of the upper echelon of the tribe. It was natural for him to have heard a great deal of information from the interrogation.

    The so-called Human Domain was a sunny ce with little to no Darkness Profound Energy, Demonic Beasts, Demons, and followed a different cultivation path.

    Such a boring ce. How would they cultivate and keep themselves entertained through blood-boiling battles over there?

    Afterward, Ironhead gave Leon a light punch on the chest and said, "We have only just met, but I trust Brother Leonhardt will not bring harm to our tribe. Otherwise, you would not have helped our tribe fight the Bone Cmity."

    "Brother Ironhead is too trusting of people. I''m afraid Brother Ironhead would find it unbearable if you were betrayed one day. It could have just been my means of gaining your trust and ess to the city." Leon shook his head with a wry smile.

    Ironhead gave Leon a studying look.

    It appears that this boy had experienced his fair share of betrayals. Much should be expected from the vagabond life¡ªall the more reason for this person to join their tribe.

    "Hahaha, be that as it may. Brother Leonhardt is still someone who has fought on the battlefield alongside me, Ironhead. For that, I regard you as arade, a brother, and a friend. I believe trust is something to be given until it is lost. If we don''t have trust, we don''t have anything."

    If they do not have this basic level of trust, then there was no need for any friendship between them. Anything without would just be fake. Ironhead was neither interested nor bothered to build a rtionship of such a fa?ade.

    Leon smiled wryly when he heard this. Perhaps, only a person like Ironhead could say this. When he is betrayed, he would ept everything and move forward, knowing he had not disappointed others, but they disappointed him.

    Ironhead was not someone Leon could aspire to be. He cannot ce his full trust in anyone and became very prudent in choosing his friends. As a result, he had yet to find someone he can regard as a true friend outside of family.

    "Brother Ironhead might be right. But some caution is advised, lest the losses caused by betrayals lead to lifelong regrets." Leon said as he recalls the sad memory of his father''s death.

    Ironhead patted him on the shoulder to console him, "It seems that Brother Leonhardt had experienced much sadness outside. But you do not need to worry about that here. So long as you regard me as a brother, I will treat you as a bosom friend."

    "Brother Leonhard seems interested in the Human Domain, but I suggest you don''t think about going to such a ce." Ironhead suddenly said.

    Leon was confused. He asked, "Why?"

    "That ce must be filled with pretty sick people! Brother Leonhardt has already seen Little Mia, but you do not know how pitiful she is. She is just a little girl, but she has already lost her parents and had one of her kidneys extracted. The Chief took great pity on the little girl and took her under the Chief''s wing and care."

    "But that is beside the point. Which sick bastard would have the heart tomit such an act of cruelty on a little 6-year-old girl?" Ironhead growled with a clenched fist, feeling outraged for the wrongs the little girl had experienced.

    Ironhead really did seem fond of children and did not discriminate against skin color. Leon already knew about Mia''s history, but he still needed to pretend to be surprised and outraged.

    "What?! There is such a thing?! The fiend that did should be condemned to hell!" Leon said.

    Of course, Leon had mostly like sent the person to hell personally already. After all, he had pretty much ughtered the entire Red Smander Gang by himself.

    At the same time, Leon senses an arising problem.

    The Darkmoon Tribe might not be increased in migrating, but who was to say that they will not invade the Crawford Kingdom if they believe the ce was filled with such evil beings?

    Now that the ck Swamp''s water receded and the pile of bones was reduced due to the Bone Cmity, the teleportation array would be easily noticed should someone head there.

    He needed to find a chance to head back to the ck Swamp and conceal the teleportation array. Also, he needed to fix whatever misperception the Darkmoon Tribe may have of the Crawford Kingdom.

    Ding~! Ding~!

    The city bell suddenly rang.

    "Oh? It seems we have lost track of time chatting. The Great Feast is about to begin." Ironhead said with surprise. "Come, Brother Leonhardt. I will take you there now. We should not keep the Chief waiting."

    "Alright."

    Leon nodded.

    The two of them shortly left the courtyard and made their way towards the centermost region of Darkmoon City, where the rocky teau stood high.

    The closer they got to the broad flight of stairs leading to the top of the rocky teau, the more audible the sound of mining became. The sound came from the multiple dark entrances that also lies at the foot of the rocky teau.

    ''It seems the Dark Crystal Mine lies directly underneath the center of Darkmoon City. I quite curious what it looks like down there.'' Leon silently mused.

    Multiple water channels could also be seen streaming out from the dark entrances to the mine.

    At this time, there were hundreds of other tribesmen making their way up the broad flight of stairs. It was evident that Leon and Ironhead were not the only ones who decided to head to the Great Feast at thest minute.

    ''Hm? The entire tribe should be gathering for the Great Feast¡­ Who could still be mining down there at this time?'' Leon thought.

 Chapter 358 - Start Of The Feast

    <h4>Chapter 358 - Start Of The Feast</h4>

    Considering the Darkmoon Tribe''s attainment level in runes, Leon would not find it surprising if the Darkmoon Tribe used runic machinery to rece manpower for Dark Crystal mining.

    Leon no longer concerned himself with Dark Crystal Mine and continued up the flight of stone stairs with the others. It was only a passing thought.

    The amphitheater that lies atop the rocky teau was colossal and purely made of stone. Leon cannot imagine the amount of manpower and effort that was put into building it. With a seating capacity of 60 thousand people, it was a work of wonder.

    As Leon drew close to the colossal amphitheater, the festive mood inside could be sensed.

    Only a third of the seating space was used. An array of food was lined up in rings on every third row of stone seats, and even more food was brought out continuously in streams.

    "Worthy of being called a Great Feast. It''s the first time I''ve seen a gathering of this magnitude." Leon sighed emotionally.

    "Hahaha, it is too early for Brother Leonhardt to be feeling impressed. Wait until you try our food, then you will know what impressive is." Ironheadughed as he led the way inside.

    A waft of exquisite aroma made its way to Leon. His entire body felt energized after a quick whiff, and his eyes sparkled with greater anticipation.

    Good aroma does not necessarily mean good food, but it does raise one''s expectation for one.

    At this moment, not a single person had touched the food. Their attention was all drawn towards the center of the amphitheater.

    The Great Feast had yet to start, but two Great Warriors were already duking it out on the square battle arena.

    Whilepeting for rankings, they also liven up the atmosphere by giving everyone a show to watch.

    "Go, Big Brother Hardknuckles! Take him down! You can do it!"

    "Good punch! Keep it up! Don''t give him a chance to fight back!"

    "What are you doing, Big Brother Spearback!? You gotta fight back! Don''t keep dodging! You can''t let Big Brother Hardknuckles suppress you like this!"

    "Fight! Defend your ranking, Big Brother Spearback!"

    While the younger generations cheered for each side, the older ones entered a deeper level of discussion.

    "Who do you think will win this time?" Strongarm asked.

    "Hard to say. Hardknuckles and Spearback are quite close in strength. One thing I can say is everyone had made great strides in their cultivation during the previous battle. There is bound to be a great shuffling in the rankings today." ckbear said.

    "Hardknuckles'' attacks are very ferocious, and his momentum is on the rise. Spearback has no chance to fight back at all. I''d say Hardknuckles got this one." Scarface said.

    "Hm, that''s true. Spearback is being forced back by Hardknuckles'' barrage of attacks. At this rate, it is just a matter of time before he is forced off the battle arena and loses by default." Strongarm agreed before asking, "What about you, Knucklefist? Do you reckon your brother will win?"

    Knucklefist shook his head and said, "He will lose."

    "Oh? Why do you say that?" The others asked with interest.

    "In a battle between two sides of equal strength, it is only natural for the victor to be the one thatsts longer. Although my brother Hardknuckles currently holds the momentum, he will not be able to keep it up forever. Can''t you see the fatigue that is already written all over his face? Sess can''t be rushed." Knucklefist said with a sigh.

    He was evidently disappointed. His little brother was still inexperienced despite reaching the Great Warrior Realm.

    "Eh? Knucklefist is right. Look at their faces. Hardknuckles will not be able to continue executing such high-level attacks for long. On the other hand, Spearback is still calm and collected. He has not broken a single sweat!"

    Shortly after, the situation in the battle arena changed.

    Spearback was forced to the edge of the battle arena, and he was about to be knocked off. However, at that very moment, Hardknuckles'' barrage of attack weakened due to umted fatigue.

    Spearback instantly grabbed the chance to swiftly sidestep around to Hardknuckles'' back and give him a palm strike, sending the person flying off the battle arena.

    Hardknuckles was sent flying off the battle arena.

    "Aiya! Big Brother Hardknuckles just lost!"

    "What! How did Big Brother Hardknuckles lose?! Wasn''t he about to win?! Can someone tell me what just happened?!"

    "Hahaha! I knew Big Brother Spearback would not let me down! He sessfully defended his ranking!"

    The crowd immediately broke into fervor discussions.

    "While it seems like Spearback is being suppressed, this is, in fact, far from the truth! He has been conserving his energy and biding his time for a decisive attack." Strongarm said with a wry smile.

    "This kid not bad. He has patience and wits. It will not be long before he breakthrough to Mid-rank Great Warrior and challenge us. It seems we need to work harder on our cultivation if we do not want to lose this kid." ckbear praised with a smile.

    Knucklefist cracked his knuckles and said, "Now I''m itching for a fight. How about it? Anyone want to have a go with me?"

    On the Mid-rank Great Warrior ranking, Knucklefist had always held a firm grip on the second position. However, after Sabertooth broke through to High-rank Great Warrior, Knucklefist was moved up to the first spot.

    "Nah, we good ay. We don''t stand a chance." ckbear quickly declined with a wave of his hand. "Brother Knucklefist might be unhappy with Hardknuckles'' loss, but there''s no need to take it out on us."

    "Alright, pipe down. Chief Valencia is about to make her announcement. If you want to fight, you can fightter." Sabertooth spoke at this moment.

    Sure enough, Chief Valencia began to speak as she saw Leon approaching with Ironhead in the lead.

    "Our Guest has arrived. Come, take a seat by my side." Chief Valencia said amodatingly.

    "I''m afraid this is not appropriate, right?" Leon asked wryly out of courtesy.

    No matter what, he was still an outsider. It was not right to sit beside the tribal chief, who upied the prime seat of honor at the high seating tform''s center.

    Not only did the high seating tform has the best view of the battle arena but also the whole interior of the amphitheater.

    There are fewer seats here, and only people of the highest echelons within the tribe were deserving of sitting here alongside the tribal chief.

    Several elder figures sat along the same row, and Leon could tell that they were all people of great importance to the tribe. This was seen by the fact that the Old Shaman and Witch Doctor Master Woodrow were sitting among them.

    "We meet again, Little Brother Leonhardt." The Old Shaman stroked his beard with a smile and asked, "What is not appropriate about this?"

    "That is right. You are someone who can and has cured the Demonic Possession. If someone like you is not worthy of sitting here, then no one is worthy." Chief Valencia said straightforwardly.

    "Ahh, it appears Chief Valencia has already learned of this matter. In that case, I will longer refuse."

    Leon nodded and soon took the only empty seat left beside Chief Valencia without reservation.

    "You are pretty interesting."

    Chief Valencia was mildly pleased with Leon''s behavior. He neither offered false pleasantries nor tried to please her.

    After ncing at all the upied seats, Chief Valencia nodded and stood up to face the thousands of tribesmen seated in the distance.

    "Since everyone is here, I will make the announcement."

    "Today, we may have lost 3092 brothers and sisters, but grieve not that they have fallen, for they will be remembered! This is a day of remembrance and recovery. Eat your fill! Drink away your sorrow! Be proud of their contributions! And be proud of yourself for having lived another day! With this drink in honor of the fallen, I mark the official start of the Great Feast!"

    With that said, Chief Valencia downed a cup of special wine.

    Her rich and mighty voice quickly traversed the distance and reached the ears of every listener in the amphitheater. The tribesmen all stood up with their raised wine cup and drank in honor of their fallen brethren.

    Leon mimicked everyone''s action to honor the dead on the high seating tform and also downed a wine cup prepared for him.

    He was immediately amazed by the special wine. It was intense and burned in his throat like raging fire, but after the initial burn, came a soothing mellowness that invigorates him, washing away any sense of fatigue in his body. Even his mind was slightly cleared up.

    "This is wine is very exceptional!" Leon praised.

 Chapter 359 - They Can Warm Your Bed

    <h4>Chapter 359 - They Can Warm Your Bed</h4>

    "d you like it. This type of wine is not easy to make, nor are the ingredients easy to procure. Only on rare asions like these would we be willing to take it out and drink." Chief Valencia said.

    Leon nodded.

    He could guess as much. The special wine made him reminisce of the days back in the Divine Realm. The special wine could be said to be a type of spirit wine.

    Something like this cannot be made without at least a few dozen supplementary spirit herbs. Herbs were something the Infertile inscked.

    As Leon nced at the thousands of seated tribesmen, he found it hard to imagine that they would also get to enjoy the same wine. He did not believe the Darkmoon Tribe had the resource needed to treat everyone to the same special wine.

    Knowing what Leon was thinking, Chief Valencia exined, "The wine drank by the other tribesmen is not the same as what we drank. Theirs is rtively moremon and easy to make. However, it is not bad either. At least, the strength is not inferior to our special wine."

    Sure enough, Chief Valencia''s words confirmed Leon''s thoughts. Nevertheless, he had no intention of taking another shot of wine.

    It was the first time drinking in this lifetime, but one shot was already enough to make his face flush red with tipsiness.

    Although he could forcibly expel the alcohol to regain soberness, he felt it was not bad to asionally stay in such a state. It helped him rx and ce down the burden of responsibilities.

    One could say that ever since Leon had awakened his memories, he had never really given himself proper rxation. There was always something going on that required his attention.

    It was not strange for people to go into secluded cultivation for 3 months to several years per session back in the Divine Realm due to the ample richness of Spirit Energy and resources that were held in abundance.

    But here, it would already be great if he could even cultivate a week straight without needing to do anything else.

    Simply said, the Divine Realm''s denizens were too idle with their long life, while mortals on Gaia had little time to do many things.

    ¡­

    Without asking whether anyone would like another shot, a servant maid faithfully poured each important person on the high seating tform, a new cup of special wine.

    Leon was not given the opportunity to refuse. It was like a given that everyone would ask for another shot.

    Chief Valencia gave the servant maid an approving nod.

    Just as Leon was finding it strange that the stone table before them was still void of food, Chief Valencia pped her hands and said, "I''m sure everyone here is famished. It''s time to bring out the food."

    After Chief Valencia gave the signal, the female servants carried an array of exquisite and freshly cooked meals and ced them on the stone table one after. These dishes came straight from Chief Pce''s kitchen.

    It became apparent to Leon that the colossal amphitheater was connected to the Chief Pce next door.

    "Food is best served when fresh. Everyone, please dig in." Chief Valencia gestured with a smile.

    "Great! I couldn''t wait any longer!" An old Shaman spoke without courtesy and shame as he immediately rushed to grab a drumstick with his outreached hand.

    However, someone was even quicker and snatched the drumstick before the old Shaman could. Although it was called a drumstick, it was the size of an ordinary boar''s leg ham.

    "Hohoho, Old Tinker sure is in a hurry. However, such a fine piece can only be enjoyed by me." Another old Shaman spoke.

    "Y-You! Haiz! I''m toozy to bicker with you. There''s still another piece of drumstick for me." Old Tinker said.

    Unfortunately, the other drumstick was also snatched by another person as the old Shaman reached out for it.

    "Hahaha, don''t mind if I take the other one." The personughed.

    When eating a fried Golden Pheasant, there was no doubt that the drumsticks were one of the best pieces to go for. It was not strange for people to fight for it.

    "You guys¡­ why are you fighting over the drumsticks with me? Don''t you all know how much I love drumsticks?" Old Tinker asked ruefully, feeling regretful for not having quicker hands.

    "You always take the drumsticks during mealtime whenever a Golden Pheasant is caught and ced on the dining table. Don''t you think it''s about time to share your drumsticks with the others?" The old Shaman spoke as he tore through the drumstick with his mouth and ate with great gusto.

    "Don''t just fight over the drumstick. The thigh of the Golden Pheasant is even better than the drumstick. Look, the cook was even considerate enough to divide it into pieces. Everyone will be able to get their share." Master Woodrow tried to mediate between them.

    There was no doubt that thighs were evenrger than drumsticks. If it were not divided into pieces, it would have been troublesome to eat.

    Leon quietly grabbed a piece with his bare hands and took his first bite before a wondrous color painted his face.

    He thought it was just ordinary fried chicken if he ignored the size, but he could not be more wrong. All the herbs and spices were stuffed inside.

    The moment he took the bite, all the hidden vors and aroma burst forth explosively and assailed his senses.

    Old Tailor had been studying Leon''s expression and could not help butugh, "Hahaha, it seems that our Little Brother Leonhardt here has been too impressed for words."

    "Haiz¡­" Leon issued a long sigh with a subtle nostalgic look as he praised, "This is some f*cking good chicken."

    The quality of the food has transcended what was usually served back in the royal pce and steakhouse. If not for the absence of Spirit Energy, the fried Golden Pheasant would be considered on par with Tier 2 to Tier 3 spirit food.

    Leon''s use ofnguage was vulgar, but all the old Shamansughed. He could not have been any more on point. Even Chief Valencia had smiled.

    Afterward, Leon took his time to try the other dishes while engaging in small idle chats with the Darkmoon Tribe''s VIPs. The taste of the other dishes was also not inferior to the fried Golden Pheasant.

    Through their idle chats, Leon could clearly see how much everyone held him in high regard. This was not because he was a fellow ''Shaman,'' which had yet to learn much about. It was because he can cure Demonic Possession!

    The worse fear of every human embarking on the path of body cultivation in the Infertile ins is to lose control of their Demon Core and be demonized. Chief Valencia was no exception to this fear.

    The more advanced they were in their body cultivation methods, the higher the risk of losing control.

    Therefore, the eldest generation in the tribe would destroy their Demon Core once their body starts to decline from age to significantly reduce the risk of Demon Possession.

    Leon had noticed this after subtly studying the differences between the elders and the other warriors in the tribe.

    He also noticed that only the elderly people in the tribe were Shamans. None of the younger generations could be Shamans. At least, he has not heard of any apart from ''himself.''

    ''Is this a coincidence, or is there some rtion between destroying the Demon Core to be a Shaman?'' Leon quietly thought.

    As he was musing, a voice interrupted him.

    "I wonder what Little Brother Leonhardt could be thinking about so deeply?" Chief Valencia.

    As someone who wishes to recruit Leon to her side, it was expected that she would be paying a great deal of attention to Leon.

    Leon shook his head, wryly.

    "Aha, it''s nothing. I just thought the Darkmoon Tribe to be full of outstanding warriors. I just did not expect for there to also be ordinary people amongst your tribesmen." Leon said as he nced at the servants.

    They had average builds like ordinary people from the Human Domain. Without any of those excessive muscles, the female servants were actually quite stunning and beautiful.

    At least, Leon found them appealing to look atpared to Chief Valencia and the other female warriors in the tribe.

    "This is normal. There will always be a small group of people with no talent for cultivation. To be born beautiful with no talent for cultivation, only a cruel fate would await them. As such, I have taken them under my wing for protection."

    "However, if Little Brother Leonhardt fancies any one of them, I don''t mind sending them to warm your bed tonight. I''m sure they would be happy to serve you." Chief Valencia offered straightforwardly with a smile.

    Cough!

    "Ahem, there is no need for that." Leon refused with an awkward cough¡­ However, he frowned inwardly at the Chief''s offer.

 Chapter 360 - Void Bodies

    <h4>Chapter 360 - Void Bodies</h4>

    When the female servants heard Chief Valencia''s offer to Leon, they unwittingly trembled and lowered their heads.

    Leon could not see their expression, but he could tell they were feeling anxiety, fear, and apprehension. Perhaps there was also a little bit of anticipation mixed within.

    It might have just been his imagination, but there seemed to have been some disappointment from some of them when he rejected the tribal chief''s offer.

    Nevertheless, Leon was unsettled by Chief Valencia''s offer. Although the tribal chief was trying to do him a favor, the treatment was unfair to the female servants.

    To win him over, Chief Valencia did not hesitate to use the people she should be protecting. It was all a matter of when they are useful or not.

    Noticing Leon''s unsettled expression, Chief Valencia asks, "Do you feel that my offer just now is unfair to these girls?"

    Leon did not answer. However, he tacitly admitted with a forced smile.

    "Well, I don''t me you for feeling that way. It is a bit heartless to them, but they will be thankful to me for it one day. After all, if you cannot cultivate, you have no status. Being weak is a sin. However, if they can be your mistress, their status will naturally rise like growing phoenix feathers."

    "Also, I cannot shelter them for a lifetime. They must make the decision to choose their spouses eventually. Otherwise, I will choose one for them. Even if they are destined to never be a warrior, they can still give birth to one. You see, the Darkmoon Tribe does not breed useless people. Moreover, it would be their fortune to mother the child of a talented person like you."

    Hearing to this point, Leon could not help but roll his eyes inwardly. In other words, the tribal chief is hoping he could knock up one of their tribeswomen so they could get his ''superior genes''.

    ''I never thought about having a child until I establish a stable foothold in this life. But even if I were to father a child, I certainly wouldn''t be leaving it in this godforsaken ce.''

    Also, he was not a stallion.

    Unaware of Leon''s thoughts, Chief Valencia continued to advertise, "You do not need to worry about these female servants being loose. They are still chaste virgins."

    Men seemed to pay particr attention to this detail when picking a partner.

    Leon found it surprising how persistent a woman like Chief Valencia was offering other women to a man. Perhaps, Chief Valencia was not biased between genders and only cared about the difference between the weak and strong.

    "I think that is beside the point, but never mind that. It can''t be that only a minority of women have no talent for cultivation, right? Also, how do you determine that they have no talent for cultivation? Pardon my ignorance. I have lived outside of tribes my whole life."

    Leon attempted to shift the topic.

    "Hahaha, that''s fine. I''ll be happy to answer your questions." Chief Valenciaughed as her eyes lit up subtly.

    Living outside of tribes, his whole life implied that Leonhardt has never been affiliated to any tribe. This represents a clean te. Chief Valencia was more determined to win this person over.

    "It is quite easy to determine whether one has a talent for cultivation or not. Everyone will undergo the Rite of Baptism during theiring of age to formally embark on the path of cultivation. Surely, Little Brother Leonhardt already knows this?" Chief Valencia asked.

    After Leon nodded, Chief Valencia continued to exin, "The determining factor for the talentless is their bodies'' affinity to absorb Darkness Profound Energy. No matter who it is, everyone should at least exhibit some change when their body contacts Darkness Profound Energy."

    "However, this is not the case for the talentless. Like these girls, they have what we call a Void Body. Darkness Profound Energy neither harms them nor empowers them and just flows in and out of their body like breathing air."

    "Oh? Are Void Bodies unique to women?" Leon asked.

    "Not at all. You see, men are less picky with their partners. All the talentless male servants serving me had already chosen their partners. It''s just these girls that have yet to." Chief Valencia exined. After a brief pause, she asks, "Could it be that Little Brother Leonhardt is interested in men?"

    As Leon heard this, he almost spat out the food he was eating. Everyone else gave him peculiar nces.

    "Not at all! I do not have such a strange taste! I am a straight man." Leon firmly denied while waving his hands.

    "Hm? Is that right? But you do not seem too interested in their beauty. Perhaps a woman such as myself is more to your liking?" Chief Valencia guessed.

    Ahem!

    All the men on the high seating tform issued a strong cough when they heard this. At the same time, Leon swallowed the food down the wrong hole and started choking violently. He pounded his chest and gasp for air.

    "Are you alright, Little Brother Leonhardt?" Master Woodrow asked with concern.

    Leon raised his hand while coughing.

    "Ahem, ahem, I''m fine. I was just caught off guard. Chief Valencia sure knows how to jest. These girls are all fine beauties. I''m just not ready to settle down yet." Leon exined.

    What else could he say? He was supposed to be a lone vagabond. He could not say that he already has a few lovers back in the Human Domain, could he?

    "I see, I see. Ahahaha, it was my bad." Chief Valenciaughed. "Allow me to take this cup as an apology."

    Having said that, Chief Valencia downed another shot of special wine.

    She was not offended by Leon''s violent reaction in the least. She did not find this surprising. Just as female warriors favored tender men in the tribe, men also favored delicate women.

    Everyone apart from Leon clicked their tongues when the tribal chief''s action. If all it took was an apology to allow them to drink, they would not minding up with random reasons to apologize for.

    "Since Little Brother Leonhardt has said as such, I will no longer press the matter." Chief Valencia smiled.

    "Oh? It seems like our enthusiastic tribesmen can no longer wait."

    Everyone''s attention was shortly drawn to the battle arena below. At that moment, another two Great Warriors onto the stage toplete.

    "This time, it is between ckbear and Scarface, huh? I heard there was some friction between them on the battlefield prior," Old Tailormented with interest.

    "It was just petty arguments. Nothing too serious." Chief Valencia nodded. "Their strength had always been more or less equal to each other. Seems like we will have another match without a clear winner."

    Battles were more exciting when the oue is unknown.

    "My Dark Crystals are on ckbear. If I remember correctly, he should be the 4th Ranker on the Mid-rank Great Warrior ranking." Old Tinker said.

    "What remember correctly? You are getting old, Old Tinker. The Ranking Board is just behind us. You can''t even spare a second to check?" Another Shaman said.

    "Oh, it is too. Hahaha, I forgot. It has been too long. You know me. I do not usuallye here to watch the youngsters fight anymore. I rather spend my time in the workshop. Old folks like us don''t find this ce too interesting." Old Tinker said.

    "I can''t speak for the others, but I am quite looking forward to our little friend Leonhardt''s battle on stage." Old Tailor said.

    "My battle?"

    Leon was taken aback.

    "That''s right. Don''t you know you are quite the hotshot right now? You can expect a few hotheaded youths challenging you tonight." Old Tailorughed.

    Hearing this much, Leon was no longer surprised as he shook his head wryly. There would always be people seeking shortcuts to bing famous.

    Surely there are more famous warriors in the tribe to challenge, but their strengths are already attested through numerous battles. Only his power remains dubious to many due to his small build. It gives them the illusion of an easy victory, shooting to instant fame.

    "Can I choose to refuse if they challenge me?" Leon asked.

    Unless it was a Great Warrior challenging him, he would not be bothered to fight otherwise. It would just be a waste of time, bullying opponents much weaker than him.

    "Everyone has the right to refuse a challenge. But if you do, it might be seen as cowardice." Chief Valencia said.

    Hearing this answer, Leon could only shrug nonchntly. It seems he has no choice but to fight if challenged. He did not want to appear weak.

    Throughout Chief Valencia''s battle career, she had not refused a single challenge. Of course, not many dare to challenge her anymore unless they wish to spend a few weeks in bed.

    At this moment, a warrior approached Chief Valencia and quietly whispered into her ears. Chief Valencia frowned shortly after and slowly stood up.

    "Everyone, please continue to enjoy the show without me. I have some matters to take care of¡­" Chief Valencia said and left with the warrior.

 Chapter 361 - The Seven Stinks

    <h4>Chapter 361 - The Seven Stinks</h4>

    Outside of the amphitheater, Chief Valencia stood by the rocky teau''s edge and gazed into the distant horizon.

    The Infertile ins was barren, but it was not t. The hills, crevasses, and craters on the barrennd created numerous blind spots.

    Chief Valencia frowned when she could not detect anything despite the sentries informing of suspicious movements outside the tribe.

    "You said there were suspicious movements outside the tribe? Where?" Chief Valencia asked the warrior.

    "ording to the sentries, there were numerous small movements in the distant shadows from the northwest direction. They weren''t able to conclude any identities, but they are certain that the irregrity did not belong to the movements of the clouds."

    Chief Valencia nodded.

    Under the crimson moonlight, the shadows of the slow-moving clouds can be seen everywhere. Chief Valencia was about to refute this point, but there was no longer a need after listening to the warrior''s full report.

    Her gaze prated the northwest direction and scoured thend with her sharp sight. After seeing nothing of interest, she retracted her gaze. She frowned when she recalled Goldeneye''s information.

    "Double the sentries and stay vignt of our surroundings. It could be fake vagabonds scouting the situation of our tribe."

    After a short pause, Chief Valencia added, "It''s not fair that the sentries are missing out on the Great Feast. Let them know that everyone participating in sentry duty tonight will receive 500 Dark Crystals each."

    "Yes, Chief! Thank you for your consideration and benevolence!" The warrior answered happily.

    500 Dark Crystal was a hefty sum for a single night watch. Many would be happy to sign up for the job.

    It was not the first time the Darkmoon Tribe have been scouted by other tribes. In fact, it was a regr urrence, both during the period of the Bone Cmity and outside of it.

    The warrior was only confused by Chief Valencia had paid particr attention to the fake vagabonds sent as scouts by the other tribes this time around.

    ¡­

    Shortly after Chief Valencia left, an old Shaman said, "Old Tailor, you are the most familiar with our little friend here. Don''t you think you should introduce us?"

    "Hohoho, that''s a good idea. I believe our little friend here has yet to learn who we are. Old Tailor, you should really introduce us." Another Shaman chimed in.

    "You''re asking for that now? Why didn''t you say so before when Chief Valencia was still around? Anyway, since when was it my job to do the introduction? You Old Farts don''t know how to introduce yourselves?"

    The Old Tailor was a bit speechless. What most familiar? He just met the boy not long ago.

    "Haiz, it''s just a little introduction, Old Tailor. Why do you have to make it sound like such a drag?" Old Tinker said.

    "You want me to do the introductions? Fine." Old Tailor spat and turned to face Leon.

    "Listen up, Little Brother Leonhardt. This Old Fart here is called Old Tinker. If you have a lot of Dark Crystals on hand and looking to have your trinkets enchanted, then you are looking at the right person. His character is questionable, but his skills are undeniably the best in the tribe."

    Old Tinker unted a proud look, but halfway through Old Tailor''s introduction, his expression froze.

    "Oi, oi, oi. What do you mean my character is questionable?" Old Tinker scowled. "Don''t listen to his nonsense, kid. Just swing by my trinket store if you need some quality goods. I guarantee my prices are most fair."

    Old Tailor snickered and continued, "This ck sheep is called Old Hammer. In terms of weapon enchantment, he is the best of the best in the tribe. However, unless you are looking to empty your wallet and lose ayer of skin while you are at it, I suggest you visit another weapon store¡­"

    "¡­This Old Hag is Old Baba, the top alchemist in the tribe. Since Little Brother Leonhardt is a proficient healer, I do not need to say too much here. Even I do not dare to drink her healing potions. Do not get me wrong, her healing potions are super effective. It is just that they stink like her dirty old water¡­"

    "This Old Crook is¡­"

    Old Tailor proceeded to introduce another three Shamans of notable status, each with their own specialization in a different field.

    Old Fjord was an expert in charge of the tribe''s underground water collection and distition. Old Alexis oversaw the tribe''s defense mechanism and formation. Lastly, Old Wiz was a master of puppetry and automaton studies.

    "They are all experts in their respective fields and big moneymakers. However, their hygienic practices are appalling. Together, they are called the Six Stinks of the tribe."

    Towards the end of Old Tailor''s introduction, the six Shamans'' faces were as ck as charcoal. They started to regret allowing Old Tailor to do the introduction.

    "What the hell, Old Tailor? Even if you do not respect us, you still need to leave us some face in front of the younger generation, right? What kind of nonsensical introduction was that?" Old Hammer frowned.

    "Six Stinks? The Seven Stinks, you mean? Aren''t you forgetting yourself?" Old Baba snorted coldly.

    "Ahem, did I say anything else incorrectly?" Old Tailor coughed and said, "Last time I drank one of your smelly potions, I had to sit on the toilet for the seven days straight!"

    "Hmph! What do you know? That is just the potion''s effect of expelling the impurities! If you do not like it, then do not drink it! I think Old Mate here still holds a grudge fromst time!" Old Baba growled, unwilling to back down.

    It was not long before the other five Shamans had a look of understanding.

    Apart from spending most of their time on their respective hobbies, they would gather to y card games for entertainment in their old age. Naturally, gambling was a must for old folks like them with too many Dark Crystals on their hands.

    "Dammit, Old Tailor. Didn''t we agree that whether we lose or win, there would be no hard feelings?" Old Fjord rubbed his bald head andined.

    "No hard feelings? How can I not have any hard feelings after that?! If it were not for you Old Farts conspiring against me, would I have lost so miserably?!" Old Tailor barked, feeling indignant.

    "Hahaha, it is just a little bit of Dark Crystals. You can make that much back in no time." Old Wizughed.

    ''A little bit?!''

    Old Tailor almost blew his top and cut ties on the spot. Despite that, he did not do so. Their rtionship was actually really good. It is just that they can be annoying and deserves a punch in the face sometimes, like a best friend, for instance.

    "If 200 thousand Dark Crystals is a little bit, I suppose Old Wiz don''t mind losing 500 thousand Dark Crystals to me next time.??

    "Err¡­ maybe we went a little overboard on the bets. How about we join forces and pick on someone else next time?" Old Wiz suggested with a forced smile.

    Leon scratched his head wryly as he watched the people bicker with amusement. It seems that this group of Shamans were not as harmonious as he had assumed.

    After a while, Old Tailor calmed down.

    "Everyone should have already heard about Little Brother Leonhardt, so I don''t need to say much here."

    "En, I also heard that a Banshee assisted the tribe. Is that true?" Old Wiz asked with interest.

    Old Tailor was surprised when this was mentioned. He did not seem to have seen the Banshee yet.

    While all attention was focused on Leon, he gave Lumi a heads-up telepathically before letting her out. Everyone was mildly startled when she appeared from the void.

    However, they recovered quickly with surprise when they discover Lumi''s harmless nature. She did not possess the vengeful and murderous disposition a Banshee should have. It even made them question themselves if she really was a Banshee.

    "This is¡­ amazing! To think there was a Banshee that took the side of humans!"

    "I''ve seen people taming Demonic Beasts, but this is the first time I''ve seen someone tamed an evil spirit. How did you do it?" Old Wiz asked curiously.

    Lumi felt unhappy to hear this, but she remained silent. If Leon goes back on his words and never return her freedom, she might as well be a tamed evil spirit. Having experienced that tearing pain to her soul once, she would not have the courage to disobey Leon.

    Just as Leon smiled and prepared a reply, a sudden shout from below the high seating tform grabbed everyone''s attention.

    "Leonhardt, I challenge you to a duel! Do you dare ept it?!"

 Chapter 362 - Getting Wasted

    <h4>Chapter 362 - Getting Wasted</h4>

    Leon rubbed his head, ruefully. In the end, someone did challenge him. After a brief sigh, he red at the person standing in the battle arena.

    "Are you sure you want to challenge me?"

    For some reason, the warrior felt incredibly pressured when Leon asked this. Beads of cold sweat formed on the warrior''s face, and his body shook unnoticeably.

    ''Am I feeling fear?''

    The warrior''s eyes opened wide with surprise. How could he be intimidated with a single question? Does this person really have the strength of a Great Warrior? No, it cannot be. That is impossible!

    The warrior quickly denied his thoughts with a shake of his head and stopped his body from shaking forcefully. A warrior must not show fear, at least not in front of so many people!

    ''He must be trying to intimidate me into back down! His real strength shouldn''t be all that strong¡ªnot with a body like that!''

    The warrior was convinced the more he thought this way.

    Humans might not necessarily believe what they hear, but they will believe what they see. The young warrior had the rigid belief that muscle equaled strength.

    Since Leon did not have much muscle mass, the young warrior firmly believed that he was not as strong as the rumors made him out to be. It was all a sham, a publicity stunt to promote the person''s status in the tribe.

    The young warrior did not think too deeply about why Leonhardt was qualified to sit next to Chief Valencia on the high seating tform. Perhaps, Leonhardt was the long-lost son the chief had once abandoned in the wild.

    "Of course, I am sure! Why? You don''t dare?!"

    Once Leon heard this, he shook his head. If he does not show his might, these hotheaded youths will think he was a pushover.

    "Try not to cause any trouble, okay?" Leon gave Lumi a brief nce and said.

    Lumi poked her tongue out at him. What trouble can she cause? He should be the one worrying about causing trouble!

    Shortly after, Leon jumped straight down from the high seating tform andnded on the battle arena with a heavy thud.

    As Leon faced the young warrior, he coolly said, "Very well, I ept your challenge."

    "Take out your Soul Weapon. I do not want others thinking that I only won because of a weapon advantage," Said the young warrior.

    He spoke as if he was sure he was going to win.

    Leon shook his head.

    He did not know where this confidence came from. Being confident is good, but having too much blind confidence is just in arrogance.

    "Well, if you insist."

    Leon shrugged nonchntly.

    The battle between them was already not a fair contest from the start. Since the other party likes to be bullied, Leon can only oblige. Some people needed to be spanked before they be aware of reality.

    Leon flicked his wrist before the Tier 4 Bone Spear appeared in his grasp. He did not need to hide that he possessed an interspatial treasure since he had taken Old Tailor''s leather pouch.

    In the crowd of tribesmen, opinions were divided.

    One portion of them had personally seen Leon fought on the battlefield. As such, they all shook their heads wryly. They already knew who the winner will be. Unless Leon went full retarded, it was impossible for the young warrior to win.

    Another portion of the crowd shared the same opinion as the young warrior standing in the battle arena. Their only regret was not being quick enough to challenge Leonhardt first.

    Finally, a small group of spectators remained neutral. Although they had never seen such a skinny Great Warrior, they did not jump to conclusions. Seeing was believing, and only time will tell the truth.

    "Hm? Brother Goldenrod, are you not interested in watching their battle?" A Peak-rank Warrior asked as he noticed Goldeneye wholeheartedly eating without so much as a nce at the battle arena.

    Goldenrod shed the warrior azy nce and nonchntly said, "Watch what? There is nothing interesting to watch. I already know the oue."

    "We all know the outsider is going to lose miserably, but it will still be interesting to see the person''s expressions once his farce is uncovered."

    Goldenrod frowned and nced at the Peak-rank Warrior again.

    "You''re wrong. The one to lose miserably will not be Brother Leonhardt." Goldenrod stated confidently.

    Like the other na?ve young warriors, he had already experienced firsthand Leon''s strength. As unassuming as Leon was, his power in the Great Warrior Realm was the real deal.

    Nevertheless, he did not see the need to share his defeat among his peers. It was not something worth bragging about.

    "Huh? How can that be?"

    The Peak-rank Warrior was in disbelief. However, Goldenrod would not be so assuring unless he had some basis for it.

    It was at this time that the crowd eximed loudly with cheers, shock, and surprise. The Peak-rank Warrior quickly directed his gaze towards the battle arena.

    Unsurprising to Leon, the challenger was sent flying off the battle arena with a single sweep of his Bone Spear.

    He stabbed the spear into the ground with a heavy thud and gazed sharply at the rest of the young warriors with shocked expressions.

    "Anyone else wants to challenge me?"

    The amphitheater fell silent.

    Just a moment ago, these young warriors were very eager to challenge Leon and be famous with a single battle, but now they can only avoid his gaze with embarrassment.

    Challenge a Great Warrior? You must be kidding! That is just asking to be humiliated!

    Only the tribesmen in the Great Warrior Realm would challenge Leon, but none of them looked interested. Leon was an outsider. Beating him would not affect their ranking. And on the off chance that they lose, they might even lose their ranking!

    Since there were only demerits, why would they challenge him?

    Bang!

    The young challenger finallynded outside the battle arena after being sent flying high in the sky and back down.

    After the dust settled, a bunch of tribesmen rushed to check on the young warrior''s condition. They were surprised to discover that apart from some minor injuries from the fall, the young warrior was fine otherwise.

    Leon was only teaching the young warrior a lesson. There was no need to go out for blood.

    The young warriorid on the ground, disheveled with a dazed expression, and appeared slightlyical in the eyes of others.

    "Hahaha! Look at his silly expression! It''s like he is still trying toprehend what happened!"

    "Pfft! Thankfully, I was not the first one to challenge the outsider. Otherwise, I would have made a joke of myself."

    No matter who won and who lost, the crowd was entertained, nheless.

    Just a moment ago, the young warrior was still dreaming about bing famous through a single battle, and he had indeed achieved his aim. However, it was not the sort of fame he wanted. He had be the butt of jokes.

    Seeing no one step forth to challenge him, Leon stored away his Bone Spear. He leaped onto the high seating tform and returned to his seat.

    "I apologize if I had been overbearing and offended anyone just now," Leon said courteously to the Shamans.

    "Hahaha, not at all¡­ not at all¡­"

    Old Hammer stroke his beard and studied Leon top to bottom with a look of wonder. He had been one of the neutral spectators.

    Seeing Leon''s disy of might, he really wondered how Leon''s body was built. How could such a small body contain so much power?

    Although the Shamans had self-destructed their Demon Core, they were all Battle Masters during their prime. Although their strength had degraded with old age, they still have substantial muscly physiques like anyone else.

    "They say heroese from the young. Our little friend, Leonhardt''s potential, is limitless. Come, let me toast you. May your future be full of brilliance and wonder." Old Wiz spoke.

    Leon noticed his wine cup had already been poured. He gave the female servant holding the wine jug a brief nce before helplessly taking the wine cup and return Old Wiz''s gesture by downing the wine cup.

    After two shots, Leon was no longer thinking straight. His tolerance may be low, but he had a tough body. It was clear how strong the special wine was.

    "The night is still long¡ªOh, who am I kidding? It is always night. Let us enjoy ourselves a little." Old Tailorughed and also toasted Leon.

    That night, Leon continued to ept the Shamans'' toasts and got wasted. His alcohol tolerance was no match for these frequent drinkers.

    One side of him had said he should expel the alcohol and sober up. It was wise to stay clear-minded in unknown territory.

    However, another side of him had said he should just put down the burdens and let loose once in a while.

    In the end, Leon passed out after taking his twelfth shot.

    "I did not expect Little Brother Leonhardt to be such a weak drinker." Master Woodrow said wryly before ordering a servant, "Someone,e arrange a room and take my Little Brother Leonhardt back to rest."

    "Drinking wine is a luxury. Our little friend probably did not have much opportunity to taste wine outside." Old Hammer shook his head.

    "Let us continue drinking. We aren''t stopping until we all pass out too." Old Fjordughed and raised another cup.

    That night, Leon slept soundly with inexplicablefort and peace.

    He had a pleasant dream of his childhood days of touring the Divine Realm while grasping onto the warm sturdy hands of his father, the Divine Medicine King.

    Strangely, the scer changed to his first night in the brothel.

 Chapter 363 - Rolling In Bed

    <h4>Chapter 363 - Rolling In Bed</h4>

    The following day.

    Leon woke up, sluggishly to an unfamiliar environment. Memories of the previous night were fuzzy and blurred. As he tried to get out of bed, he froze. He was not alone.

    One of the female servants he had seenst night was sleeping soundly beside him with her head rested on his arm.

    Leon sweated.

    This seems like big trouble!

    A warm fur nket covered her pristine naked body, but he could feel the smoothness akin to silk from the contact between their skin. All their clothesid scattered messily along the floor.

    "Mmm¡­"

    The female servant issued a gentle moan and repositioned herself to a morefortable position.

    ''What the hell happenedst night?''

    Leon gave up on the idea of getting out of bed¡ªNot with his arm held hostage. He tried to recall the previous night but found nothing. It was a nk te after he passed out.

    Studying the scattered clothes, Leon realized the clothes were torn. Afterward, he studied the female servant''s facial features.

    She was a fine beauty¡ªnot on the same level as Aria, but still a beauty, nheless. Given some sess in the practice of divine cultivation, anyone can transform into a stunning beauty.

    Those who can look like fairies from the paintings are few and far between. After all, divine cultivation nourishes the body with Spirit Energy to bring about a beautifying effect. It does not change one''s inherent ws.

    If a person practicing divine cultivation looked like a toad, they would only be a better-looking toad. However, a better-looking toad was still a toad, nheless.

    Anyway, that was beside the point.

    Leon noticed a few dried tearstains and felt an iing headache.

    Piecing the clues together, it seems that the female servant had not crawled into his bed willingly. Instead, it seemed like he had been a beast who forced himself on her.

    Of course, Leon did not jump to conclusions just yet.

    He did not rule out the possibility that everything could be an borate scheme from the other party to make him think that way and guilt-trip him into taking responsibility for the deed he has done.

    That being said, he was not going to evade responsibility. It was undeniable that he had taken the female servant''s chastity. The patch of dried blood on the bed could be seen at a nce and cannot be faked.

    "Haiz¡­"

    Leon sighed.

    To think all of this had been the result of some alcohol. Alcohol was indeed a source of trouble. Look at the mess it left him. He was just thankful it was not a female gori that he woke up in bed with.

    At some point, the female servant woke up and noticed Leon''s dilemma.

    "You''re awake?" Leon gently asked.

    The female servant nodded and softly said with consideration, "You don''t need to feel responsible for what happened. We can pretend that nothing ever happened."

    It took her a great deal of courage to say this because she was aware of the reality of things.

    She was just a little servant with no status. Even if Leon chooses to wash his hands of the matter and leave, she can do nothing about it.

    Furthermore, chastity was not really valued in the tribe. Many men and women switch partners often. People of the Darkmoon Tribe were quite open to rtionships.

    Thus, even if she fails to be Leon''s mistress after having her first time taken, there would still be other men in the tribe willing to ept her as a mistress or concubine.

    Finding a partner was never her concern.

    The importance was how a talentless person like her would be treated. Even if she bes the mistress of a Great Warrior and have her status elevated, a Great Warrior usually had multiple lovers. She would just be suppressed and bullied by them.

    Just Chief Valencia''s harem alone included 6 other people, and they are not all men. If Leon were to learn of this fact, he would be in for quite the shock.

    When Leon heard the female servant''s response, he shook his head and shelved all theplicated thoughts aside.

    "There''s no use crying over spilled milk. What''s done is done." Leon shrugged before saying, "I just feel a little regretful."

    He had a dejected look.

    "May I be so bold as to ask what it is that you regret, Young Master?" The female servant asked shakingly with a dulled look.

    Was she not good enough?

    It was true that she had been unwillingst night, but the wild Leon had conquered her with his dexterous fingers.

    The first time should have been painful, but she only remembered drowning in pleasure. It would not be bad to be Leonhardt''s lover.

    "There''s no need to be so formal with me. You can just call me Leonhardt." Leon shook his head before he sighed, "I just regret not remembering anything!"

    "Err?"

    The female servant was stunned, unable to follow his words. These were not the words she was expecting.

    Not caring about the female servant''s stunned expression, Leon continued to speak dejectedly, "Since we already did it, at least let me enjoy it! Why can''t I recall a single thing? Ah, how unfortunate!"

    "Erm¡­"

    The female servant blushed with a crimson flush, and heart raced like the gallop of a thousand hooves.

    "If you want¡­"

    "Hm?"

    The female servant spoke in a tiny voice. Her eyes shifted away, and her eyes turned red as she suggests, "If you want, we can do it again¡­"

    "You''re not against it?" Leon asked with surprise.

    With her face as red as a tomato, the female servant softly answered, "No¡­"

    Leon began to smile wolfishly.

    He did not hesitate to toss away the fur nket and admire her body with appreciation. Since the deed had already been done once, he did not have any mental barriers holding him back from doing it again.

    "Ahh!"

    The female servant softly cried in surprise at his sudden action.

    "Since I have received your express permission, I shall enjoy myself to a feast then!"

    One could say the special wine had been very potent. If Leon is not an aplished alchemist, he would have doubted that the wine was an aphrodisiac.

    He still has excess energy to vent and had been holding himself back!

    The female servant was embarrassed at first, but she eventually opened herself up to him. As Leon slid his fingers down her silky body, the touch sent pleasant shivers through her body.

    "Mmm!"

    She moaned in pleasure.

    ''This is it! This is the feeling!''

    The female servant felt like she was bing addicted to Leon''s touch. She did not understand his touch could be so magically. Was this the legendary ''God''s Hand''?

    The room was soon painted into a pinkish atmosphere as the smell of sweet nectar spread throughout.

    The two rolled in bed for several hours before the female servant copsed onto Leon''s chest. Her energy was spent from climaxing too many times and soonpsed into a deep sleep.

    As the female servant slept, her arms wrapped around Leon''s body subconsciously tightened as her brows began to crease. Leon rubbed her head gently before she returned to a rxed state.

    He could guess that she was afraid of him disappearing after she wakes up.

    Leonid there and pondered how he would exin things to his family when returning to the Human Domain.

    ''Umm, yeah¡­ I went to rescue people, but I ended up bringing back another wife¡­?''

    Leon shook his head wryly as he thought this exnation would not do.

    Some time passed before the female servant was awoken from her slumber. She was very relieved to find herself in Leon''s embrace. He did not abandon her!

    "You''re awake."

    Leon smiled.

    "Mm."

    The female servant nodded softly and snuggled in Leon''s arms with a sweet smile.

    "I have yet to learn about your name. Will you tell me?" Leon asked.

    "Darlene. My name is Darlene."

    The female was a little taken aback by Leon''s sudden question, but she soon answered with joy. His question implied a form of recognition.

    "Just Darlene? You don''t have a family name?"

    Leon slightly frowned.

    There was something he did not understand. Even if there were talentless people, they would not degrade to servants if they had good families. Could it be that¡­?

    Darlene shook slightly before she answered with a dull look, "I did, but not anymore. I was disowned."

    Leon had a look of understanding.

    Sure enough, the female servants only be servants because they were abandoned by their own family. It seemed talentless people were much more despised than he thought.

    Leon patted Darlene''s back infort and apologized, "Sorry. It was insensitive of me to have asked."

    "It''s okay. I don''t mind.

    Darlene shook her head and resumed resting her head on his chest.

 Chapter 364 - A Battle God?

    <h4>Chapter 364 - A Battle God?</h4>

    Darlene felt strangely serene and secured in Leon''s arms. Talentless people like her were used to the scornful gazes of others and being insignificant.

    Even the tribal chief that sheltered them did not hold any expectations of their futures. Talentless people with Void Bodies cannot practice even the most basic body cultivation method widespread throughout the Infertile ins.

    That is the undeniable truth.

    However, when Darlene look at Leonhardt, there was no prejudice or contempt in his eyes. Only sympathy¡ªnot because she was talentless but because of the treatment talentless people like her were receiving.

    Talentless people without backing were like ves. They have no rights and no means to defend themselves. They were prohibited from having children and only lived to serve others.

    ''Darkness Profound Energy-based body cultivation is not the only cultivation path in existence. Darlene might not be able to cultivate the Darkmoon Tribe''s body cultivation method, but the same cannot be said for awakening and divine cultivation.''

    Leon quietly pondered and made a mental note.

    As they enjoy each other''s warmth in bed, Leon rustled her hair in silence.

    Various thoughts and questions were gathered in Leon''s mind. It was rather extreme of people to disown their own children for being talentless.

    "I don''t think any normal parent would disown their children even if they have no talent for cultivation. The treatment of people with Void Bodies seems rather harsh." Leon frowned and asked, "Is there a particr reason for this?"

    It might be insensitive of him to continue asking, but he needed answers.

    Darlene was slightly surprised and turned her head to stare into Leon''s eyes. If not for his genuinely curious expression, she would have thought Leonhardt was joking.

    Ask anyone in thisnd of darkness, and they will be able to answer such a simple question. It was something everyone should know. It was strange that Leonhardt did not know.

    Nevertheless, Darlene did not think too deeply. Since she epted Leonhardt, she would not question his origins.

    Whether he was a friend or foe of the Darkmoon Tribe, it no longer matters to her. Talentless people like her never had a strong attachment to their tribes.

    "Talentless people are people forsaken by the Battle God, or so everyone believes. Also, everyone believes that talentless people will only breed more talentless people. Having a talentless person like me in their family is both a stain and a disgrace to any reputable family. The more reputable they are, the more this is so." Darlene said, self-mockingly.

    ''Battle God?''

    Leon''s brows furrowed slightly.

    After he quickly inspected Darlene''s body with divine sense, he gently rubbed her head before shifting her body to meet her eyes.

    "If I said you can cultivate, will you believe me?" Leon lightly smiled.

    He was not nning on revealing anything just yet. However, it did not hurt to give Darlene hope. It would be even better if he could give her some confidence and get rid of her inferiorplex entirely.

    Cultivation starts with the will. If there is no will to cultivate, then there is no need to bring up cultivation.

    She can cultivate? How was that possible?

    Darlene felt a little dizzy by Leon''s question and shook her head. Was he just saying that tofort her? There was no need to. She was not so delicate that she would be depressed over such a matter.

    "You don''t need to say that tofort me, Young Master Leonhardt. I am fine. I''ve longe to terms with such¡ªAhh!"

    Darlene suddenly issued a short cry after Leon smacked her rear. She red at him slightly while feeling wronged. Why did he¡ªhe suddenly beat her ''there''?

    "I said there''s no need for formality between us. Just call me Leonhardt." With a slightly displeased look, Leon said. After a short pause, he added, "Hubby is also fine."

    Darlene''s heart fluttered wildly. She lowered her head shyly.

    "Then, I will call you, Hubby?"

    "En."

    Leon nodded.

    He no longer brought up the matter of cultivation. Actions speak louder than words, but now was not the right time to prove it. It was sufficient to instill a little bit of doubt.

    If Darlene gives it some thought, she would see the possibility of other cultivation methods out there. His body was the best proof¡ªA body with strength rivaling Great Warriors yet mismatched in size.

    Leon had ns to reveal his identity as someone from the Human Domain to negotiate friendly rtions with the Darkmoon Tribe and possibly an alliance. There were areas where they can benefit from each other by working together.

    However, until he possesses sufficient strength, he will not do anything that risks exposing his identity. He currently did not have enough weight to bring to the negotiation table. Agreements are made when interests align, benefits are clear, and both sides are equal.

    For now, he shouldy low and learn more about the Darkmoon Tribe while looking into the whereabouts of his adoptive mother and the rest of the missing people.

    ''I need to quickly improve my strength.''

    Leon frowned.

    Many things required his attention and focus, yet he had so little time to aplish them all. What a busy life he was living.

    "Is something wrong?" Darlene asked nervously.

    "No, it''s nothing." Leon shook his head and smiled. While giving Darlene a head rub, he said, "Tell me more about the Battle God."

    "H-Hubby does not even know about the Battle God?" Darlene asked with her eyes wide. Why does it seem like her man is ignorant of everything? Had he been living under a rock?

    "Hmm. As far as I can remember, I have alone." Leon said.

    Knowing her man was a lone vagabond, she suddenly felt like he was even more pitiful than her. At the very least, she had a fulfilling childhood until the age of 13 and knew who her parents were.

    On the other hand, it seemed like her man never knew his parents and was forced to toil outside from a young age.

    As Darlene looked at her man sympathetically, Leon ruffled her hair and said with a light smile, "Don''t think so much and tell me more about the Battle God."

    Leon felt uneasy, but it was necessary to keep up the fake identity. Chief Valencia''s eyes and ears could be anywhere.

    If his guess is not wrong, Chief Valencia is going to bring up the matter of joining the tribe again the next time they meet.

    After all, unless Chief Valencia had implicitly allowed it to happen, someone would have stopped him frommitting the actst night in his drunken stupor.

    "The Battle God is¡ªeh?"

    Darlene was interrupted by a series of sudden movements and urgent calls outside, following the ringing city bell.

    "Something is happening outside."

    "We can continue to talkter. Let us get dressed and head out for a look."

    It only took a few breathes for Leon to fully dress. On the other hand, Darlene was still in bed.

    "Umm¡­"

    A shade of red painted her face as she lowered her head and hesitated in bed with the nket wrapped around her. Her clothes had all been torn apart by Leonst night.

    "Ahem, right." Leon coughed and said, "I''ll head out first to find someone to fetch you some spare clothes."

    "Ah? No, there''s no need for that. There are some spare clothes in the drawers here, Young¡ªHubby. I-I will go put it on right away!"

    Although it was a little bit embarrassing to change in front of Leon, she did not want to be left behind.

    Young Hubby?

    Leon raised an eyebrow and could not help but punish her by smacking her round bottom as she walked past with her wrapped nket.

    Pak!

    "Ahh!"

    Darlene cried and threw Leon a dirty look full of question marks.

    "My little wifey has be quite bold. Who is a ''Young Hubby''?" Leon questioned.

    "Ah, no. I did not mean it like that¡­"

    "Oh? What did you mean then? Also, is there a need to cover yourself? I have seen everything already."

    "I¡­ I¡­"

    Darlene was stumped for words.

    What could she say? She was trained about ady''s etiquette and was not a wild exhibitionist like some female warriors out there.

    Noticing Leon''s grin, Darlene stamped her feet angrily.

    "Y-You''re teasing me!"

    "Hahaha¡­"

    Leon chuckled lightly and did notment.

    Shortly after Darlene was dressed and head outside with Leon, he grabbed a passing female servant and asked, "What is going on, if I may ask?"

    The female servant was rudely stopped, but she was still surprised by Leon''s politeness. There was no need for a Great Warrior to be this polite to a lowly talentless servant like her.

    "The hunting team just came back with ckwind Tribe survivors, but they also brought back a powerful Bone Army with them. Everyone is preparing for the big battle."

    The female servant answered faithfully with a light blush.

 Chapter 365 - Battle Preparations

    <h4>Chapter 365 - Battle Preparations</h4>

    "I see, thank you. You may go do what you need to do."

    "Yes, Young Master Leonhardt."

    The female servant curtsied to Leon respectfully. Before she left, she shed Darlene an envious nce.

    Since Young Master Leonhardt was quite courteous to her, she could imagine that someone he fancied would not be mistreated. Why was the one who carried the young master to his arranged guestroom, not her?

    Being the object of envy, the female servant''s gaze did not go unnoticed by Darlene.

    As fellow sufferers of the same fate, Darlene shared a rtively good rtionship with all the female servants. If opportunity permits it, she hoped her fellow sisters can all find their happiness in life.

    "Young¡ªHubby."

    Darlene opened her mouth to speak, but she immediately froze. She hadmitted the same mistake! Seeing the subtle change in her man''s expression, she knew the situation was not good.

    She turned around and ran, but how was it possible for her to escape from Leon''s clutches?

    Pah!

    Leon evilly smiled and reached out his hand to smack Darlene''s round bottom once more.

    "Ahh!"

    Darlene cried.

    "What did you just call me again?"

    "Hubby, I was wrong!"

    Leon nodded with a satisfied look and rubbed her round bottom to soothe the pain.

    "That''s better. What did you want to say?" He asked.

    Darlene had no choice but to enjoy Leon''s intimate ''treatment'' with an embarrassed blush. She heaved a sigh of relief after seeing no one else around.

    "This might be too much to ask, but can you also ept all my sisters?" Darlene asked.

    "Huh?"

    Leon nearly keeled over in shock.

    There was no way he can ept all of them into his harem. If he did so irresponsibly without considerations for his other partners'' feelings, he would not know when the house catches fire.

    "Ahem, no. That is not possible." Leon refused.

    Darlene looked disappointed.

    However, Leon was not finished and added, "But if they are not against it, I will see if Chief Valencia is willing to let them follow me. Believe me, once they can cultivate, they will no longer need to be servants."

    "Mn, I believe you. My sisters will definitely wish to follow you once I talk to them."

    Leon nodded and said, "Alright, let us go and find the chief now."

    But after taking several steps, Leon frowned and turned back to look at Darlene, who followed behind him faithfully.

    "What are you doing?"

    "Me? I am¡­ following behind my Hubby?" Darlene answered unconfidently with confusion, not understanding what the problem was. Was there a problem with what she was doing?

    Leon shook his head, helplessly.

    It seems he would need to help her break her old habits. She was not just a servant anymore, but his woman.

    He reached out and grabbed her hand before pulling her to walk alongside him.

    "Remember this. You are my woman now, and not just a servant. You do not need to walk behind me, understand?" Leon lectured.

    He might have picked up this little wife by ident due to alcohol, but he will treat all his women fairly.

    As they headed outside the pce, Leon had a sudden thought.

    The kingdom was entirelycking in manpower and poption. If better wine could be introduced and widely distributed to food businesses, the kingdom''s birthrates will most likely increase.

    Hmm¡­

    No, this thinking was too simple.

    The reason the kingdom had low birthrates to begin was due to the poor living conditions of its people. They would not consider having a child when they are already struggling to feed themselves.

    It seems he needs to push forward the Elven Tribe migration n when he gets back.

    Once the elves are integrated into the kingdom, the problem of food will not exist with their advanced crop cultivation techniques and abilities.

    Outside the pce, Chief Valencia was found at the edge of the rocky teau with her hand linked behind her back while she gazed into the distant horizon.

    When Leon and Darlene approached, Chief Valencia immediately noticed them.

    "You''re here. I trust you had a pleasant experiencest night." Chief Valencia said and shed Darlene a meaningful smile.

    Darlene reacted shyly with a blush.

    Everything had been under Chief Valencia''s arrangement. She knew it was unfair for Darlene, but looking at it now, it seemed everything worked out alright.

    The tribal chief became curious how Leonhardt could win Darlene''s heart over in such a short time despite thetter being resistant at first.

    Could it be that Leonhardt''s skills were truly impressive? In that case, she tempted to have a swing with Leonhardt and experience his skills for herself. Maybe she should invite him over and get him drunk.

    Lately, her partners have been unable to satisfy her.

    Leon could faintly guess what the chief was thinking about and felt his skin crawling.

    The chief was an immensely powerful body practitioner who was more manly than a man. If she was even a little careless with her strength, his little brother might just snap in the process.

    "Ahem!"

    Leon coughed awkwardly. After a quick shake of his head, he cut straight to the point. "How strong is the iing Bone Army?"

    Once this question was asked, Chief Valencia wore a solemn expression.

    In the distant horizon, the dark sky grew darker.

    It was like the world''s Darkness Profound Energy were all gathering towards the approaching Bone Army.

    "ording to intelligence, the iing Bone Army is quite powerful! There will be many Behemoth-ss Bone Demons. I fear this battle cannot be won with my strength alone. I will have to trouble the Venerable Shamans to assist us."

    ???Will you continue to lend your strength to our tribe?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "Of course. As fellow humans, we should all work together to ovee these difficult times."

    "That is gratifying to hear. Unfortunately, someone like you is not part of our tribe. Are you sure you do not want to join our tribe?"

    Leon slightly narrowed his eyes. He expected Chief Valencia to bring up this matter again sooner orter.

    "Well¡­"

    Leon pretended to hesitate and shed Darlene at his side a nce. After which, he appeared to be in deep thought before asking, "What kind of benefits can you give me if I am willing to join?"

    Chief Valencia''s eyes lit up immediately.

    Leonhardt did not refuse her but asked for conditions. This was different from the reports she has been receiving from Ironhead. It was apparent that his stance against joining the tribe has changed.

    ''In the end, men are all the same. They are quite simple. Just give them beauties, and they will be swayed.''

    Chief Valencia''s lips curved into a smile as she thought this. As she was about to speak, a warrior rushed over to report abruptly.

    "Chief Valencia!" The warrior greeted.

    Chief Valencia''s brow slightly furrowed at the inopportune timing, but she still nodded and said, "Speak!"

    "Yes!"

    "The hunting team led by Big Brother Goldeneye and the ckwind Tribe survivors have safely entered the city. The temporary leader of the ckwind Tribe survivors is currently seeking an audience with the chief to discuss the battle arrangements for his people."

    "Understood. Bring him to see me now."

    "Yes, Chief!"

    After the warrior acknowledged her order and quickly left, Chief Valencia turned to Leon and said, "It seems we will have to talk about the benefitster."

    Leon nodded and shrugged.

    "It can''t be helped. There is an impending battle to worry about after all. How much time do we have until they arrive?"

    Chief Valencia turned to the warrior beside her and asked, "How much time?"

    The warrior held a strange shell with runic engravings and brought it to his ears before speaking and listening to it.

    It appeared to be some sort of long-distancemunication artifact, ording to Leon''s observation.

    After some time, the warrior nodded and said, "ording to the scouts, they will arrive within half an hour at their current pacing, Chief."

    "What about our preparations?"

    "The defensive measures are being set up while war supplies are still being delivered to the walls. However, everything should be ready by then."

    "Very good."

    "Will you be heading over to the wall, Chief? Your presence will certainly boost the morale of our warriors."

    "I will, but not now. As for boosting morale, I think someone is already doing a fine job over there."

    Chief Valencia directed her gaze towards the southern walls.

    On the southern walls, warriors were lined up like disciplined soldiers. Sabertooth gave them all a stern and solemn look.

    "Listen up, ya hotheaded maggots! This battle will be nothing like the one we fought the other day. I do not want to see anyone charging out like an idiot, ya hear me? Warriors of the Darkmoon Tribe can be brave, but they cannot be stupid. Is that clear?!"

    "Yes!"

 Chapter 366 - Missing Peoples Whereabouts

    <h4>Chapter 366 - Missing People''s Whereabouts</h4>

    "By the way, Chief Valencia. Have you seen my friend Lumi anywhere? Hopefully, she had not caused any major trouble when I left her unattendedst night." Leon asked.

    He inwardly sweated when he recalled Lumi''s evil alter ego or whatever it was. It would have been a disaster if something happenedst night and cause her to switch personality.

    "Lumi? Ah, yes, the Banshee. She did not cause any trouble. On the contrary, she was very well behaved and friendly. It is hard to believe that she is a Banshee. She is practically human if not for her spiritual body."

    Chief Valencia took a moment to recall. Afterward, she turned to the side and ordered a female servant to lead Leon to Lumi.

    Leon knew Chief Valencia was meeting someone soon to discuss important matters unrted to him. It was only right for him to leave.

    Shortly after Leon bid goodbye and left with Darlene and the female servant, Goldeneye arrived with Razorleaf, the temporary leader of the ckwind Tribe.

    Goldeneye had arrived much earlier on his Dark Wyvern give his warning. After that, he returned to his team to lead the rest of the way for the survivors.

    "Chief Valencia."

    They both greeted.

    "En."

    Chief Valencia acknowledged their greeting with a nod.

    "Razorleaf, right? I remember you were still a brat thest we met at the Seven Tribe Summit. It is impressive how much you have achieved in this time. You have grown into a fine man."

    Her gaze roamed Razorleaf''s well-developed and chiseled body.

    Thest summit between the seven-tribe alliance was held 15 years ago. At that time, Razorleaf was not the Great Warrior he was today, nor was Chief Valencia a Battle Master and tribal chief then.

    "Such achievements are insignificant inparison to you, Chief Valencia. I thank you for allowing my people to take refuge in your city." Razorleaf smiled wryly with a bit of helplessness.

    Fifteen years ago, they were roughly equal in strength, but fifteen yearster, the gap between their cultivation was as wide as the Grand Chasm.

    Chief Valencia is the daughter of the Darkmoon Tribe''s previous tribal chief, while he is only from a branch family that served the ckwind Tribe''s tribal chief''s family for generations.

    Nevertheless, he had nothing but respect for Chief Valencia.

    The previous Darkmoon Chief died prematurely while exploring the ruins beyond the Death Passage with the other two tribal chiefs from ckwind Tribe and Crimsonfog Tribe.

    With the tradition of the tribal chief position belonging to the strongest warrior in the tribe, Chief Valencia''s Dark family would have lost their long reign to another family if not for her efforts.

    Her current position and power are worthy of envy. Many know of her glory, but how many remembered her desperation and grueling hard work to defend her Dark family''s longstanding rule and honor?

    "Feel free to stay for as long as you need to recuperate. It was unfortunate what happened to ckarrow. He was a great man and a great leader. My condolences for your losses. There''s no need for your people to participate in the uing battle." Chief Valencia spoke.

    The survivors were worn out from the long journey and consisted of elderlies and children. Only a few capable warriors remained in their group.

    If they participate in the uing battle, Chief Valencia was afraid that ckwind Tribe will be wiped out and be history.

    Personally, this did not really concern her. But if the other tribes in the alliance jump out to point fingers and ostracize the Darkmoon Tribe for it, she would be annoyed to death.

    It seemed like something they would do for petty gains.

    "No, this is what I came to discuss. We want to fight alongside you." Razorleaf said with firm conviction.

    "You want to avenge your chief?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "No."

    "Oh? Am I wrong?"

    "Well, not exactly. I won''t deny that intention. We just cannot sit around and let the Darkmoon Tribe clean up our mess. If you do not mind, I want to fight together with the Darkmoon Tribe as one."

    Chief Valencia raised an eyebrow. Razorleaf''s words were somewhat ambiguous; it almost sounded like some unromantic proposal. However, she knew that was not what he meant.

    "You mean¡­"

    "Yes."

    Razorleaf nodded before Chief Valenciapleted her question.

    "ckwind City has beenid to ruins, and the majority of our warriors have been in in battle. Even if we survive this ordeal, the ckwind Tribe cannot stand up again. In this case, the best choice for my people is to join another tribe. If Chief Valencia does not mind us joining, we would like to be part of the Darkmoon Tribe."

    Chief Valencia almost failed to hide her excitement as her lips rose slightly when she heard this.

    To say that she was not interested in swallowing the ckwind Tribe would be a lie, but she also knew that it was not appropriate to bring it up first.

    Since Razorleaf brought it up first, it was an entirely different matter.

    "If you and your people are willing to join, then why would I be unwilling?!" Chief Valencia epted with grandeur andughed heartily.

    Razorleaf soon paid his respects to Chief Valencia once more and swore his allegiance to the Darkmoon Tribe.

    "About our battle arrangement¡­"

    ¡­

    As Chief Valencia and Razorleaf discuss battle arrangements for the survivors, Leon and Darlene arrived at Lumi''s location under the female servant''s lead.

    She was found in the Chief Pce''s outer courtyard. The ce was crude and straightforward without any decorations, but it was to be expected. Thend was infertile. It was too much to expect them to have a garden full of nts.

    "Leon!"

    Lumi was excited to see him and darted over totch onto him. Due to her momentum, her body weightlessly swung a few cycles around his body beforeing to aplete stop.

    She was about to share a piece of good news, but her excitement dampened when she realized that they were not alone. She immediately covered her mouth with both hands cutely before the words could escape.

    She looked at Darlene cautiously before bringing her head close to Leon''s ear and whispered, "I found the whereabouts of the people we are looking for¡­ I think."

    Lumi felt smug about her aplishment, but at the same time, she was not too confident. She had never seen the faces of the missing people, but neither had Leon.

    However, the people she saw had pale skin. Suchplexion was so rare in the Darkmoon Tribe that she felt they were likely the people she was looking for.

    "Oh? Where are they being held captive?"

    "Eh? They are not being held captive."

    Leon was immediately taken aback and asked, "They''re not?"

    Lumi shook her head.

    "They are working as servants here in the pce," Lumi answered in a low voice only audible to Leon.

    "What?"

    Leon was surprised by this revtion.

    The situation was different from what he expected. His brows furrowed in ponder for some time before his eyes lit up with enlightenment.

    "I see, I see. So, that''s how it is. Alright, I understand. That is some good news."

    Leon nodded.

    He was able to infer everything.

    It was a simple rule of survival. If you cannot beat them, join them. His adoptive mother and the others made the most logical choice they could make to survive and joined the Darkmoon Tribe.

    Not only does the Darkmoon Tribe treat their people well, practicing the body cultivation method will eliminate the risk of the Demon Cores germinating in the short term.

    With Master Woodrow''s hypnotic mysticism, they would not be able to hide any secret anyway, so there was no point in being stubborn, nor did they really had a ce back in the Crawford Kingdom. Settling in the Darkmoon Tribe was not a bad choice.

    On the other hand, it was not necessarily bad for the Darkmoon Tribe to learn more about the Human Domain either.

    It will be easier to negotiate trades and alliances once they gain a better understanding of the Crawford Kingdom.

    But before that, he still needed to improve his strength.

    Lumi was confused when Leon said he understood. What exactly did he know? Why can''t she seem to follow what he was saying?

    If she knew how much Leon had inferred, she would have been amazed.

    At the side, Darlene had an even more bewildered look. She was sensible enough not to eavesdrop on the conversation and distanced herself for them to talkfortably. Even so, she did not see Leon''s lips moved once. Were they even talking?

    Throughout the entire exchange between them, Leon did not utter a single word. Everything had been mentally transmitted to Lumi through a skill of his.

    When Leon saw how sensibly Darlene behaved despite her curiosity, he could not help but reach out and rub her head.

    "Hehe."

    Darlene enjoyed Leon''s intimate head rub with content. Although she moved away mainly due to her old habits as a lowly servant, she thought it was worth it.

    "Who is this?"

    Lumi studied Darlene seriously. The intimate contact between Leon and Darlene naturally did not escape her notice.

    After Leon did a short round of introductions, he told Darlene to stay back in the pce before preparing to head out with Lumi.

    No matter how unwilling Darlene was feeling in her heart, she could onlyply with Leon''s wish and watch them leave.

    "What shall we do about the missing people working in the pce?" Lumi asked.

    Leon briefly paused and answered, "If what you said is true, then they should be doing fine for now¡­ The uing battle is our bigger concern."

 Chapter 367 - Liches And Ghouls

    <h4>Chapter 367 - Liches And Ghouls</h4>

    ckwind City.

    The remnant mes died down, and the scattered ruins of the city sank into deeper shades of darkness.

    Soul Weapons, equipment, and tools among various misceneous items could be seen littered on the surface, yet not a single corpse was present, nor bloodstain remained behind. If not for the lingering heat, it would appear like the city had been deserted for decades.

    Along a broken street riddled with rubbles and cracks, two humanoid figures masked in cloaks of darkness casually strolled as they scoured the area.

    These cloaks of darkness were not made of material substances butprised of Darkness Profound Energy and Death Energy.

    A gust of wind blew against their cloaks and scattered traces of darkness along the ground, leaving a trail of destion.

    "Keke, those pile of bones really did a number on this ce. Much to my disappointment, there is nothing left for us to collect. Just when I was expecting to pick up a few minions on this trip too." One of the figures spoke in a ghastly and eerie voice.

    The figure grinned, but an average person would be able to tell. Both figures were skeletal without an ounce of flesh. Also, they appeared to be unrted to the Bone Cmity and moved independently with free will.

    They were Liches.

    "Gaining some low-level minions is inconsequential. The real prize lies in the ckwind Catbs. But before that, we must collect all the remnant negative feelings for our lord, Astaroth." The other Lich spoke with a glimmer of red light from its eye sockets.

    When the first Lich heard this, it smiled wickedly.

    "It''s a great pity that Lord Karau''s undead army only knows how to kill and not torture humans. This ce would have been seething in negative energy, otherwise. The foolish humans never learn their lessons. I wonder which foolish one made Lord Karau upset this time."

    The Liches each held an unsealed ck gourd in their bony hand and drew in ckish air from time to time.

    The ck gourds were Demon Artifacts specially manufactured for the collection of intangible and negative feelings such as despair, anger, and hate.

    "Nothing we can do about it now. Lord Karau needs a gargantuan amount of souls to revive while our lord needs negativity to restore his power. If not for the existence of that intolerable Demigod, we would not need to be so lowkey."

    "We should hurry. It''ll be troublesome if a Battle King arrives."

    "You don''t need to worry about that. The Bone Cmity has not caused enough waves for the humans to wake those slumbering old monsters from their underground coffins. The Demigod will not interfere either if we do not tantly reveal ourselves. However, I do agree. We need to hurry. The Primal God race is showing signs of awakening. One Demigod is already enough to give us a headache. We do not need more." The second Lich said.

    "Right."

    The first Lich grinned.

    The two Liches paused at the copsed entrance of the ckwind Mines.

    The first Lich waved its bone hand, and a wave of ck mes swept towards the broken rubbles impeding their path to the mines.

    An eerie scene yed out as the broken rubbles corroded into fine dust, like withering nts dying quickly after experience a significant change in the flow of time.

    Shortly after, the two Liches disappeared into the darkness of the mines.

    ¡­

    Darkmoon Tribe.

    The Darkmoon Tribe warriors lined the walls at the front, while the ckwind survivors provided support at the back. This was the arrangement made after the discussion between Razorleaf and Chief Valencia.

    Closebat fighting was the most preferred method of the warriors, but it was only the only way.

    The city walls were equipped withrge siege weapons like Ballistas and Catapults for long-distance attacks. It was rarely used, but now it was being managed by ckwind survivors and other tribesmen below the Great Warrior Realm.

    Tobat the powerful Bone Army, the ammunition used for these siege weapons were naturally not ordinary. It could be said that ammunitions prepared were equivalent to many Tier 3 Soul Weapons and above.

    It was an extravagant waste of resources to manufacture something rarely used. Still, such extravagant waste has now be a necessary expenditure for the survival of the Darkmoon Tribe against the Bone Cmity.

    "Don''t think for a second that I will acknowledge you people as one of us just because we will be fighting together. Exactly what is your ckwind Tribe plotting? I don''t believe the great ckwind Tribe could fall so easily." Goldenrod said in spite.

    As a Peak-ranked Warrior, Goldenrod felt humiliated to be put in the same group as the ckwind survivors. Someone like him should be standing at the front, along with the other Great Warriors.

    Why did his elder brother ce him together with these little children, elderlies, and disabled warriors?

    Goldenrod''s words made all the ckwind Tribe survivors feel ufortable in their hearts, but they chose to remain silent. If their ancestors were still alive, would they have fallen to such a miserable state?

    Battle Masters were rare, but Battle Kings were even rarer. Even so, every tribe had at least one or two ancestors at the Battle King realm.

    Due to them being very few and far between with extremely high risks of undergoing Demon Possession, the Battle King ancestors mostly spend their time in deep slumber underground until they are needed.

    They were the true guardians that guard human tribes andnds against the demons of the south.

    The ckwind Tribe had two Battle Kings. They were the ancestors of the ck family and the Wind family. But because of a conflict of interest five years ago that ended in a civil war, both Battle Kings lost their lives in the battle against each other.

    Goldenrod was ignorant of such events. Seeing the survivors keeping their silence, he continued to mock them.

    "Hmph! You useless things better not hold me backter."

    "That''s enough, Goldenrod! The battle is imminent. What the hell are you trying to do by sowing discord at this moment?" Chief Valencia harshly rebuked after overhearing his displeasing remarks that affected the morale of the troops.

    "It does not matter whether they were from the ckwind Tribe in the past. What''s important is that they are now one of us. You better start treating them with proper respect."

    "Y-Yes, Chief! I''m sorry!"

    Goldenrod quickly apologized.

    He did not expect the tribal chief to have such sharp ears and overhear him from the main southern tower.

    Not only did Chief Valencia heard him, but a lot of other people on the main southern tower did so as well. One of them was his elder brother, Goldeneye.

    Goldeneye swept his little brother an impassive nce, filled with hidden disappointment. His little brother was a frivolous person who liked to butter up to important people, but things did not y out as he had hoped.

    ''This is a battle of unprecedented danger. I ced you in the back to protect you! At the same time, it was your chance to get closer to the ckwind Tribe''s Shamans. But not only did you fail to do so, but you also embarrassed me! Why do I have a useless brother like you?''

    As the earth began to rumble in the distance, no one further paid Goldenrod any attention and directed their gazes to the front with a solemn expression.

    When the Bone Army came into view, a few narrowed their eyes while most widened them with shock.

    "What the hell is that?"

    "Can that still be called a Bone Army?"

    "An army of Ghouls seems more appropriate, no?"

    "Right, they look like freaking Ghouls!"

    "Is this the true nature of the Bone Cmity?! To prey on the flesh on the living and revive?!"

    The warriors broke into discussions with sheer shock. They had never encountered such a situation, or rather the problem was never dire enough to reach such a point!

    "Ah, that''s our chief! Chief ckarrow is still alive!"

    "Wrong! That is not Chief ckarrow! Look carefully! Something is different about him! He is leading the Bone Army!"

    The ckwind survivors were excited for a moment before they sank into deeper despair. If Goldenrod were not afraid of being reprimanded again, he would have jumped out to criticize these emotional people.

    ''You are all part of the Darkmoon Tribe now. What do you mean by ''our chief,'' huh? Chief Valencia is your chief now, not ckarrow.''

    "So, they got him too."

    Chief Valencia had a forlorn look.

    In the distance, the ''Bone Army'' was being led by a Bone King that assimted with Chief ckarrow''s body.

    All the Bone Demons following behind also had someyer of flesh attached to them. They were absorbed by the dead warriors back in ckwind City.

    ''Chief ckarrow was an Early-ranked Battle Master when he was alive. Now that he is an Undead, he can only be much stronger. I am afraid that his strength should be somewhere around the High-ranked Battle Master Realm now. The Bone Demons behind him do not look like pushovers either. This battle is going to be¡­ difficult!''

    Chief Valencia quietly analyzed the situation.

 Chapter 368 - Start Of Battle

    <h4>Chapter 368 - Start Of Battle</h4>

    On the left tower of the southern wall, Leon was deployed here together with Lumi and a small group of Shamans, whom he had already met the night before.

    They were Old Tailor, Master Woodrow, and Old Hammer.

    He was the most familiar with Old Tailor and Master Woodrow amongst all the Venerable Shamans in the tribe. Perhaps, they were ced together because Chief Valencia was aware of this.

    The rest of the Venerable Shamans were ced in the right tower next to the central southern tower.

    "How do you feel, Lumi? Do you think your soul attack will be effective against them?" Leon asked as he watches the enemy approaching.

    The 100 thousand-odd Fleshies were like tireless machines. When the Darkmoon Tribe came into their view, their momentum neither slowed down nor sped up. They had been moving at maximum speed.

    It was the reason they managed to catch up so quickly despite the survivors getting several hours head start.

    An ordinary person would not be able to gauge the enemy''s strength across such distance, but Lumi was not an ordinary person.

    She was a spirit, and spirit sees the world differently to living entities. They had a particr set of eyes that allow them to gaze directly into a person''s source and see their soul form.

    To Lumi, the form of Leon''s soul was no different from what he usually look to others on the outside. They were the spitting image of each other. This is because the body contains one part of the soul.

    However, the Bone Kings were different. They were dead, and the body they possess are not their own.

    When Lumi looks at their soul, all she sees is a ball of grey fire, muchrger than her own. As for the mindless army, only a tiny wisp that did not even belong to themselves could be seen.

    "There are several strong presences that my soul attack will not work on, but the rest will be at my mercy."

    "That is good enough¡ªNo, it''s perfect. Those strong presences must be the Bone Kings. If the rest can be immobilized, we will have a better fighting chance." Leon said.

    Having Master Woodrow to fill him in on the demon ssifications of the Bone Cmity, Leon knew where the problem lies.

    The evolved Behemoth-ss Bone Demons might be strong, but they were nothing if they cannot move. It was the evolved Bone Kings that they had to worry about.

    "It has been a long time since I''ve stretched these old bones of mine. Who knew that I would still have to fight after retiring from the battlefield?" Old Tailor mildlyined.

    A huge bone saber was rested on his shoulders with an awe-inspiring aura, and vigor Leon had not felt before was emitted by Old Tailor.

    "You canin all you want after we survive this battle."

    Master Woodrowughed lightly.

    As the army of Fleshies entered a certain range, Leon immediately cried, "Lumi!"

    Without hesitation, Lumi knew what she had to do. She leaped off the tower and soared forward away from the humans on the wall.

    "Hm? A Banshee?"

    The Bone Kings immediately took notice of her, but before they could think further, Lumi blew hard on her bone whistle and sent out a formless sound attack to swept across the field.

    "Fire!"

    Chief Valencia roared at the top of her lungs.

    With her weapon pointed at the enemy in the distance, two dozenrge enchanted bolts and boulders were fired from the heavy ballista and catapults mounted on the wall.

    Thergest of the Behemoth-ss demons were the easiest to fall prey to the first round of fire asrge bolts directly pierce through their hardened bone and onto the next, while boulders exploded on impact and burst into a sea of mes.

    These boulders contained the fat and oil extracts of demonic beasts inside them.

    Despite the damage taken, none of the enemies died. Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes and began issuing a string ofmands.

    New bolts and boulders were loaded before they were fired at will. The people wanted nothing more than to continue rain hell on these evil creatures.

    Suddenly, Chief Valencia felt a looming sense of danger and immediately barked, "Deploy the barrier!"

    The tribesmen worked quickly to activate the city''s formations as a dome-shaped barrier of semi-transparent red light epassed the city.

    Boom!

    A bone arrowed struck the barrier and sent ripples along its surface like the ocean waves battering against the sandy shores.

    The barrier shook considerably, but it withstood the attack while the bone attack was ground to dust against the barrier.

    Leon studied the defensive barrier seriously and thought how much lives could have been saved if the Darkmoon Tribe had fought defensively in the first battle.

    But then again, the activation of such arge and strong barrier would have consumed arge number of resources, something that is scarce, and the Darkmoon Tribe would refrain from using if given a choice.

    "Is that a bone arrow?"

    A warrior widened his eyes with great shock, fear, and cold sweat. If not for the chief''s timely warning, he would not have seen the attacking.

    A section of the wall would have been destroyed if not for the barrier''s protection. Even so, the Darkmoon Tribe did not know how many times they can continue to withstand such attacks.

    Their demonic beast cores were not unlimited, and a gargantuan amount of energy was consumed continuously just to uphold the barrier.

    "There''s only one in this region of the Infertile ins who uses bow and arrow. That shot must have been from Chief ckarrow!"

    "Well, it is not Chief ckarrow anymore, but a demon-possessed ckarrow!"

    "That''s true!"

    "Buckle up, everyone! We''re in it for a tough one!" Sabertooth shouted.

    What will happen, will happen.

    There was only so much the ballista and catapults can do. The enemy''s advance was slowed but not stopped. Both sides eventually collided as the flesh demons rammed into the protective barrier.

    The earth shook, the city walls shook, and the barrier popped like a broken bubble.

    "Attack!!!"

    Weapons drawn, Chief Valencia fearlessly dived straight into the enemy. The Great Warriors followed suit under her lead while the nonbatants stayed behind and sling bottles of mmable liquid over the walls.

    Some reached far while some fell short, yet strangely, none of the Great Warriors at the front was hit by their own people. The fiery bottles all found their way to the enemy as if guided by a mysterious force.

    "Do you know what the most defining trait of a Shaman is?" Old Tailor suddenly asked amid battle.

    Leon shook his head.

    To date, he had yet to understand what it means to be a Shaman. He only knew they were people that wield special abilities like Awakening powers and had in-depth knowledge of runes.

    Nevertheless, for Old Tailor to bring this up now, he could guess that it had something to do with the mysterious force he had sensed.

    It felt the same as his Divine Will, but he did not say anything and allowed Old Tailor to exin despite knowing this.

    Old Tailor smirked at Leon''s response.

    He had expected this and began to put on a wise front as he lectured, "Listen up, boy. The history of mankind can be traced back to several thousand years to tens of thousands of years, but the truth is, we have existed much longer than this¡ª"

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Old Tailor was interrupted by a wild bone arrow.

    In that instance, the old man''s seemingly fragile arms exploded with 500-thousands-jins worth of strength and swept the arrow away with his heavy saber like he was swinging a light feather.

    Old Tailor realized he did not have the time to give a lengthy exnation and decided to jump straight to the point.

    "Ahem, the point is¡ªthe most defining trait of a Shaman is to manifest their Will. Although there are rare cases of Shamans awakening specialized abilities like you, this is not actually a good thing."

    "This is like learning how to walk before you can even crawl. You might know how to use them, but it will be difficult to improve the ability if you do not understand the process. I must admit that you are a very talented youngd, so I would hate to see your talents buried."

    "This is why I am teaching you to work on your Will. Once you can freely manifest your Will, it will be easier for you to improve your special ability."

    Old Tailor had high hopes for Leon. If his ability grows stronger, he could treat more people with Demon Possession symptoms without being so easily worn out after the treatment.

    "I see, thanks. I will keep that in mind, Old Tailor." Leon said with gratitude.

    He truly meant it.

    Although the Old Tailor knew nothing about Awakening cultivation, what he said was not without reason and logic.

    There was truth behind it.

    It seems logical that one should learn how to manifest their Will before they awaken their elemental abilities.

    Why do the denizens of the Divine Realm not have these awakening abilities that are apparent in humans of Gaia? In the end, what is awakening, really¡ªand why do people have it?

    Leon had pondered these questions before, but this time, he felt like he was on the verge of discovering a big secret.

    Unfortunately, the situation had given him no time to ponder further.

    Lumi gave her best efforts to keep the enemies at bay with her soul attacks, but it also ced her in a dangerous position.

    "Lumi, you are too deep behind enemy lines! Retreat immediately!"

    Leon warned.

 Chapter 369 - Situational Change

    <h4>Chapter 369 - Situational Change</h4>

    "What the hell is a Banshee doing all the way out here¡ªand to assist the humans, no less. The Banshee Lord is a huge joke! He doesn''t even know how to keep his Banshees under control."

    The demon-possessed ckarrow watched as the lone evil spirit in the sky hindered its army''s battle efficiency with the constant harassment of soul attacks.

    A gloomy air suffused its surroundings as its ck pupils turn a shade darker like two small ck holes that threaten to swallow everything.

    "Banshee or not, since it dares to assist the humans, it is an enemy that must be eradicated!" The demon-possessed ckarrow spat.

    An arrow was drawn from the quiver and nocked before the demon-possessed ckarrow aimed the Tier-5 Dominator''s Bow at Lumi in the sky.

    It was at that moment that Lumi heard Leon''s warning, but it was toote. A bone arrow traveling at terrifying velocity headed right for her.

    Lumi was unable to dodge in time and took a direct hit as the arrow pierced through and sent her plunging into the enemy''s ranks below.

    Physical attacks did not work on her, but the bone arrow was suffused Death Energy harmful to her. The demon-possessed ckarrow knew precisely what was effective and ineffective against Banshees and other evil spirits.

    "Lumi!!!"

    Leon cried.

    Seeing Lumi plunge into the sea of enemies, he reacted immediately, hopping onto the ledge of the tower, and prepared to propel himself into the crowd to fetch her.

    "Don''t do it, boy! It is too dangerous!" Old Tailor warned.

    It was a massive loss for the entirety of humanity on the Infertile ins if something happened to Leonhardt.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not adhere to Old Tailor''s warning and took off. An invisible burst of mental energy exploded at the soles of his feet and propelled him forward like a cannonball.

    At the same time, Chief Valencia also wanted to rescue Lumi. Lumi''s ability was far too important for the battle. It was hard to imagine the casualties without her support.

    "Chief Valencia, you mustn''t! If you leave the formation, our defensive line will immediately copse!" A Great Warrior strongly advised.

    "Dammit!"

    Chief Valencia gritted her teeth in frustration.

    Without Lumi''s support, the pressure on the warriors was immense. If they also lose their chief''s help, they will fail to hold back the enemy and be overrun.

    The two sides fought like a meat grinder in a contest of strength while the backline continued to sling incendiary bottles over to burn the enemy.

    As Chief Valencia was caught in a dilemma, Old Tinker spoke, "Do what you need to do,ss. These old bones will hold the fort for you."

    "Venerable Shaman!"

    Chief Valencia was pleasantly surprised before she nodded.

    They still had the seven Venerable Shamans participate in the battle alongside!

    Although the seven Venerable Shamans could no longer progress further as warriors, they were all terrific Peak-ranked to Extremity-ranked Battle Masters at their prime!

    It was hard to say how much strength they still wield now, but it was definitely still within the realms of Battle Masters!

    "Allow me to clear you a path."

    Old Tinker said with a sharp, prating gaze.

    He tightened his grip on the handle of his heavy sword before he swung his heavy sword in a quick sh of whiteness, sending out a shockwave with unstoppable momentum towards the enemy in front.

    All the Behemoth-ss demons that blocked the sword''s path were directly cleaved in half along with the solid earth.

    Behemoth-ss demons were strong, but Old Tinker was stronger!

    Evolved Behemoth-ss Bone Demons with stered human fleshes were allparable to Lesser Demons, with strengths ranging between Early-ranked Great Warrior to Extremity-ranked Great Warrior inparison to humans. However, it was ultimately still within the Great Warrior Realm.

    They were no match for a Battle Master, and even more so, a Battle Master that is a Swordsman almostparable to Sword Masters.

    "Go now!"

    Old Tinker urged.

    The other Venerable Shamans were no longer passive and jumped straight into action, forming a stable defensive line that is not inferior to Lumi''s support.

    Leon hovered above the area Lumi disappeared and frowned as the bone spear shed into his hands.

    His heart worried for Lumi but not enough for him to lose his mind. He knew that he would be throwing away his life if he tried to dive into the sea of demons below to search for her.

    His battle power may beparable to Mid-ranked Great Warriors, but it was not worth mentioning when the entire army was around this level and higher.

    He could only harass the enemy to attract their attention and draw them away from Lumi.

    "You can fly?"

    Chief Valencia was stunned when she cleaved her way over with her Soul Weapon and found Leon in the sky. Nevertheless, now was not the time for her to be distracted.

    At the same time, Old Tailor was even more stunned than she was when he nced over from a distance.

    It became evident to him that Leonhardt already knew how to manifest his Will. Otherwise, it cannot exin how the person was able to hover in mid-air.

    All that previous talk about Will made his face flush red with embarrassment like he had been pped before he vented his feelings on the numerous bone demons before him.

    Leon was thankful that Chief Valencia was willing to brave danger to save Lumi. However, when the area was cleared, they did not find Lumi. Instead, a ck dome was discovered.

    None of the bone demons were able to put a dent on the sturdy ck dome, and their attacks were repelled instead.

    Something more bizarre began to happen when the evolve Behemoth-ss Bone Demons stayed close to the ck dome for extended periods.

    The human flesh stered on their bony bodies began to melt off while the Death Energy and Darkness Profound Energy within their bodies were stripped away by the ck dome.

    Shortly after, these evolved Behemoth-ss Bone Demons became nothing more than a pile of bones on the ground.

    From Leon''s connection to Lumi through the Blood Imprint, he knew she was inside the ck dome, and she had been hurt badly by the previous attack.

    However, an eyebrow was raised when he sensed the Blood Imprint being erased slowly like a burning talisman paper.

    "How is this possible?"

    The discovery startled him.

    If it were not for the fact that he was the one who cast the Blood Imprint on Lumi, he would have doubted that there was someone who can undo their own Blood Imprint without outside help.

    Something big was happening. His instincts picked up a foreboding sense of danger greater than the threat posed by the Bone Cmity.

    "Chief Valencia, we should quickly retreat!" Leon advised.

    Although he did not know what was going to happen, he trusted his gut instincts. This is even more so now that the Blood Imprint keeping Lumi in check was gone. Once her alter ego takes over, it was hard to tell if she was still a friend or foe.

    "What is going on? What about your friend, Lumi?"

    "I don''t know, but for the time being, she should be safe. Us, on the other hand, we will be in grave danger if we stay."

    "En, I also have this ufortable foreboding sense of danger. It seems something terrible is about to happen."

    Chief Valencia acknowledged.

    They retreated to the wall safely. The evolved Behemoth-ss Bone Demons did not attack Chief Valencia as she retreated to the wall, nor was Leon attacked as he flew back.

    The demon-possessed ckarrow had every opportunity to snipe him while he was in the sky, but it chose not to. Perhaps Leon was not a threat worthy of it wasting its limited arrows.

    The battle unexpectedly stopped as the enemy retreated.

    The 6 hidden Behemoth-ss Bone Kings returned to the side of the demon-possess ckarrow, controlled by the soul of the 7th Bone King.

    "What is going on? What is this nervous tension I am feeling? I only get this feeling when I am about to meet the Lord."

    "To think there is something else out there that can make me feel deep fear and trepidation other than our Lord."

    "The problem seems to stem from the rogue banshee." The demon-possessed ckarrow spoke. Its dark eyes never left the ck dome.

    "That Half Corporeal state vengeful spirit? Impossible!"

    The Bone King denied.

    An ominous feeling soon spread through the entire region along with the increased presence of the howling wind.

    The dark clouds began to gather en masse in the sunless sky above as crackling thunder was heard and shes of lightning were seen.

    The phenomenal event resembled a breakthrough phenomenon, yet at the same time, it did not.

    Lumi was just Half Corporeal vengeful spirit. Even if she was breaking through to the Corporeal state, it would just be on the level of a Transcendent''s breakthrough.

    What was happening was far, far bigger than that.

    No matter how Leon looked at it, it did not seem like good news.

 Chapter 370 - First Sign Of Divinity

    <h4>Chapter 370 - First Sign Of Divinity</h4>

    The dark clouds swirled like the formation of a hurricane as the winding wind grew stronger, and the crackling thunder grew louder.

    Purplish-white lightning shed in the sky like fast-forming cracks, and the world was illuminated from time to time.

    Darkness swallowed the world once more with the transformation of lightning as it transitioned from purplish-white to pure ckness, and its appearance brought forth an unprecedented level of dread and danger.

    "What kind of phenomenon is this? Is this still the phenomenon of a transcendental breakthrough?! Who can possibly attract such a terrible phenomenon?"

    "Do you even need to ask? Look where its center is! The eye is pointing right at the ck dome where the Banshee Lumi disappeared! It has to be the Banshee causing this!"

    The warriors began to discuss nervously.

    The situation was something they had never seen before. Forget about them; even Leon and the demons had never seen anything like this before.

    Old Baba heard their discussion and forcefully interjected, "That is impossible. I have been to the Dark Lands that lie on the other side of Darkness Mountain and witnessed evil spirits breaking through to the Corporeal state before. I can tell you now that it does not look anything like this."

    "Boy, you had really given me a scare when you flew deep behind the enemy lines. I thought you were going to recklessly throw your life away, but I am d that you made it back safely." Old Tailor said to Leon.

    "That''s right, Little Brother Leonhardt. If something happened to you, it would have been too much of a loss for the whole of humanity." Master Woodrow added.

    "My apologies."

    Leon was apologetic, but given the same choices, he would have done what he did again. He had brought Lumi to this dangerous ce.

    If something happened to her and he did nothing about it, he would regret it. He did not need something like that weighing on his conscience.

    Knowing his words had no weight on Leon''s decisions, Old Tailor could only shake his head and shift the topic as he focuses his gaze on the ck dome in the distance.

    "Still, I thought your friend was just a Half Corporeal state Banshee? This phenomenon is not something a Half Corporeal state Banshee can create. What is she really?" Old Tailor asked.

    "You are asking me, but who do I ask? I also want to know what is going on."

    Leon shrugged.

    He appeared nonchnt, but he could not hide the concerns in his heart. He could no longer sense Lumi''s condition now that the Blood Imprint was erased.

    "Do you know what is happening, Maya? Exactly what kind of cultivation did you give her? How can it be so powerful?"

    "Hmph!"

    Maya grunted when she heard his questions and felt the connection being established to share senses between them.

    A single short response was enough for Leon to know that the artifact spirit was still upset with him. Nevertheless, he did not have the time to be concerned about cating the artifact spirit when there were more pressing matters at hand.

    "Maya!"

    Leon urged.

    The strong pleading and urgency in his tone made Maya aware of the severity of the situation.

    She unwittingly took a nced through Leon''s visionzily before she suddenly became attentive and studied the phenomenon with a serious expression.

    At that moment, both Humans and demons suddenly trembled as dark rays descended upon the ck dome quickly, yet quietly like cascading moonlight on snow.

    There was no deafening impact. Just an eerie silence that fills one with an inexplicable sense of unease.

    Ba-dump!

    The hearts of men thumped with a quickened beat, and the bones of demons rattled subconsciously from a wave of pressuring aura thatpels them to prostrate to the ck dome¡ªor rather, the one inside the ck dome.

    They resisted thepelling force as they watched the ck dome slowly shed its shell, and a fairy-like figure in ck dress stepped out from its dissipating ck light.

    It was like an invible existence was stepping into being and all lower lifeforms have no other choice but to submit and bend to its will.

    An otherworldly aura of holiness radiated from the fairy in ck dress, but her cold, gloomy gaze could freeze the hearts of people and send them plunging into the depths of icy hell.

    It was a contradictory feeling between evil and divine.

    "Divinity."

    Maya uttered a single word in shock as if she could not believe what she was seeing. When Leon heard her, he jumped with greater shock.

    "A Divinity?! The same as the Old Gods from primordial times? Lumi is?"

    Leon was in disbelief.

    He was aware of Lumi''s history. She was just a regr human 400-odd years ago when she was still alive. How could she be a divinity?! Was it rted to her other persona? Could it have been the soul of a Divinity all this time?

    Leon stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure in the distance with wide eyes. Previous lily-white Lumi has be a ck rose filled with thorns.

    From her countenance, he could immediately guess that it was not the normal Lumi he usually interacted with, but the other persona filled with resentment and murderous intent.

    "Divinities have limitless lifespans, but they are not necessarily all gods; they can also be devils. In this case, she is a Devil. I don''t know how, but the Devil Aura on her body cannot be faked." Maya said.

    "How strong is she?" He asked.

    If Lumi was a True Divinity, wouldn''t she be able toy waste to the whole world¡ªor rather, destroy the world as a whole in an instance?

    "Not that strong. She is not a True Divinity. She has only awakened the fragment of Devil Soul in her. ording to this world''s ssification, I''d say she should be around the half-step Celestial realm?" Maya said.

    "A half-step Celestial is not that strong?"

    The corner of Leon''s lips twitched when he heard this.

    "What do you know? The power of a Divinity is not something the likes of you mortals can understand nor dream of reaching! If not for her true cultivation at the Corporeal state and newly awakened Devil Soul limiting her, her strength would be much greater!"

    "The Gods and Devils were beings who understood the Great Way and heavenlyws to destroy and create stars as they please. Would you still think the strength of a half-step Celestial is greatpared to this?" Maya asked.

    "I see¡­"

    Leon''s neck could not help but shrink.

    His entire discussion with Maya had been through mental transmission, and nothing has been uttered verbally at this while. Nevertheless, Master Woodrow still noticed his strange behavior and asked, "What are you doing, Little Brother Leonhardt?"

    "Shh, let me hide for a bit. I don''t know what is going to happen, but it will be bad if Lumi sees me." He whispered softly.

    "I thought you two had a great rtionship?" Master Woodrow said with doubt.

    "Hahaha¡­"

    Leon chuckled bitterly.

    He had a pretty good rtionship with the good Lumi, but the evil Lumi? Not so much.

    There was a high chance he would be killed by her if she spots him. Even worse, he would not be able to resist at all!

    ¡­

 Chapter 371 - Law Of Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 371 - Law Of Destruction</h4>

    The demon-possessed ckarrow and Bone Kings gather around with doubt and wariness as they watch the ck-dressed Lumie into being with apletely different aura to her previous self.

    "This sort of presence¡­ is not inferior to our Lord. Just who is this banshee? How can she make us feel such deep reverence and fear with her aura alone?"

    "There is only one way to find out, and that is to ask the banshee in question. Trying to guess will not get us anywhere."

    "Since you say so, you should do it. We will watch you from behind."

    "What kind of undead demon are you? Can you not be so cowardly? You are embarrassing me. We all have our Lord''s divine protection. Even if our vessels are destroyed, our souls will still return to our Lord. There is nothing to be afraid of."

    "Then stop speaking nonsense and go ask already."

    "Hmph, I will!"

    The demon-possessed ckarrow and the Bone Kings quietly discussed before the army cleared a path for the brave Bone King to approach the banshee.

    "Who are you, and what is your rtion to our Lord? Why do you assist humans and go against us?"

    The brave Bone King questioned with an interrogative tone. The demon-possessed ckarrow facepalmed itself when it overheard this from a distance.

    "This idiot¡­"

    It muttered and no longer cared about the Bone King. It had one job and could not even do it right due to its pride.

    The ck-dressed Lumi had been quietly studying her surrounding to understand her situation. Seeing the hole in her chest, she immediately frowned and ced one hand over it.

    Darkness immediately gathered towards her pale hand before she used it to fill the empty void in her chest. Within a blink of an eye, her chest was restored perfectly without a single blemish or scar to indicate the wound once existed.

    Only then did she sweep her chilly gaze over to the foolish Bone King that provoked her and snorted coldly in response.

    "I do not like your tone. Such insolence towards me is deserving of death!"

    The ck-dressed Lumi said.

    Her condescending attitude, in turn, angered the Bone King.

    "I don''t know how you cause such a stir in the world, but do not forget who put that hole in you, banshee. You are just a Corporeal state evil spirit. Do not think that a little breakthrough will make you unstoppable! If I want, I can easily¡ª"

    The Bone King immediately froze after sensing an invisible yet powerful force of suppression weighing down on its very soul.

    The suppression was so strong that it could neither speak nor move. Despite feeling like an insignificant ant in front of that power, it could notprehend why that is so.

    "Easily, what?"

    The ck-dressed Lumi coldly asked.

    The Bone King wanted to answer, but it could not do so despite strongly resisting the power of suppression with all the strength it could muster.

    All that could be heard as a result of its efforts was the rattling of its own bones.

    "All that talk and this is all you can amount to. Trifling weakling. Just disappear from my sight." The ck-dressed Lumi said.

    A deathly wind blew past the Bone King before the crimson light in its eye sockets dulled and faded into nothingness shortly after.

    The bone-rattling stopped, and the Bone King bes still without the slightest movement, but not for long. Its human flesh ckened from corrosion, and its bones creaked before breaking down into the finest of bone dust.

    Eventually, the body dropped to the ground with nothing left behind.

    The flesh had vaporized into thin air, and the bone dust scattered to the wind.

    As for its soul, it faded from existence.

    Like the mandate of heaven, invible and absolute, the Bone King disappeared just as the ck-dressed Lumi had spoken.

    The Bone King was erased from existence in both body and soul.

    An evolved Behemoth-ss Bone King with battle strength rivaling Greater Demons, and Battle Master had been killed just like that.

    The battlefield was so silent, only the whistling of the wind was heard. Not a single human dared to breathe as they stood frozen with fear.

    The scene was too eerie and frightening.

    None couldprehend the powers andws that worked behind it. It was beyond the realm of mortal understanding.

    "Can you tell whatws she used to erase the demon from existence, Maya?" Leon mentally inquired with a glimmer in his eyes.

    He had a preliminary understanding of the Nihility Law and knew that Nihility Law could also erase things from existence.

    However, what he witnessed seems to be slightly different from what he knew about the Nihility Law. It was not true nothingness.

    There seemed to have been traces of multiplews such as the Death Law, Temporal Law, Wind Law, and Darkness Profound Law, but he was not sure.

    He felt like he was still missing anotherw, the most important one, but his perception andprehension were too limited to understand what thatw was.

    Nevertheless, he had this feeling that if he could gain some understanding of thatw, he would be able to use it to further hisprehension of the Nihility Law.

    Maya did not answer his question directly but quizzed him with a question of her own.

    "If the Old Gods were the masters of creation, then what do you think the Devils were the masters of?"

    "Destruction, the Devils were the masters of destruction."

    Leon answered.

    It was not a difficult question when Maya put it like that. The answer quickly came to mind when he referred to the concept of cosmic duality governing the world.

    "Correct."

    "The Destruction Law, huh?"

    Leon quietly muttered.

    He sat down on the spot and closed his eyes in meditation as the scene reyed in his mind.

    Supremews were almost impossible toprehend because they were difficult to observe.

    However, if he had a basis for observation, things would be rtively easier. Nevertheless, the Destruction Law was a supremew belonging to Divinities. He was not sure if he couldprehend it at his level.

    Even so, he already had a preliminary understanding of the Law of Nihility. What could be moreplicated than that?

    Because he wields multiple elements, he cannot achieve transcendence through conventional methods.

    The peak of the Ranked Awakener realm had be his bottleneck. If he did not want to be stuck at this bottleneck forever, he needed to forge his own path to transcendence.

    While Leon attempted toprehend the Destruction Law, there was an uproar in the enemy''s ranks after the ck-dressed Lumi suddenly disappeared.

    "Where did she go?"

    The Bone Kings searched their surroundings nervously. They have not felt such fear in a long time after serving their Lord faithfully.

    "B-Behind you!"

    The Bone Kings froze as the demon-possessed ckarrow swiftly turned around to check behind it. There, the ck-dressed Lumi stood.

    No one had been able to catch her movements. She had simply disappeared and reappeared like teleportation through spatial maniption.

    "May I ask what your divine self needs from this lowly being?" The demon-possessed ckarrow asked respectfully.

    It was not stupid.

    Someone who can casually destroy a Greater Demon with a mere wave of its hand had to be on the level of Demon Lord, or at least, infinitely close to the Demon Lord level.

    Resistance equaled death.

    The ck-dressed Lumi had her eyes rested on the Dominator''s Bow in the demon''s hand and asked, "You were the one that shot my sister?"

    The demon-possessed ckarrow was immediately confused. Nevertheless, it would be a fool to admit anything that antagonizes this divine being.

    "No, it was the humans over there that did it."

    "¡­"

    The ck-dress Lumi did not even bother to look where it pointed. Her eyes turned a shade colder as the Bone King''s spirit got forcefully ejected from ckarrow''s body.

    "I do not like liars. You have one more chance to speak truthfully." The ck-dressed Lumi stated grimly.

    The was only one bow-user on the entire battlefield. She was not foolish enough to believe in such a tant lie that might only work on children.

    The Bone King''s spirit trembled with fear. It had no control over its own life and was wholly at the mercy of the divine being.

    No matter which answers it gives, death was undoubtedly the only oue.

 Chapter 372 - Unstoppable

    <h4>Chapter 372 - Unstoppable</h4>

    The patience of the ck-dressed Lumi grew thin as she waited several breaths for the spirit of the Bone King to reply.

    After waiting for a few more breaths without receiving any response, her cold eyes flickered with surging killing intent.

    The answer was no important, anyway.

    Since she intends to kill, nothing can stop her. All who harms her sister must pay the price regardless of who they are.

    The Bone King sensed the divine being''s surging killing intent and trembled with greater fear. It knew that its time was up.

    With no other ideas on stopping the divine being from carrying out its divine punishment, the Bone King resorted to itsst option.

    It immediately reached out to the wisp of will thatid ever dormant within its soul. It was the will of its Lord that can be found in all of the Lord''s close followers.

    ''Save me, my Lord!''

    It cried.

    As if receiving some response, a deathly aura immediately gushed from the Bone King''s soul and manifested the Lord''s will in the form of arge ck skull with a jade serpent coiling out from its empty eye sockets.

    The ck-dressed Lumi was surprised by the sudden change, but not enough for her to retreat with caution.

    Nevertheless, she halted her execution and observed with interest, no longer in a hurry to kill.

    As the ck skull apparition appeared, the other Bone Kings all retreated and kneeled behind it.

    "This servant greets you, my Lord!"

    They all spoke.

    The ck skull apparition acknowledged their greetings before sweeping the surrounding with its studying gaze.

    After gaining some general understanding of the situation, a wave of deathly aura swept over the Bone King''s soul and freed it from its immobility.

    "Thank you, my Lord!"

    The Bone King''s soul showed his deepest gratitude before repossessing ckarrow and joining the other Bone Kings behind the apparition.

    There is a price to pay for summoning its Lord''s will, but at this moment, it was not feeling any of the pain thates with that price, the price of offering half of its umted energy.

    It was just thankful for being alive.

    "En, I have pretty much understood the situation."

    The ck skull apparition said.

    It proceeded to face the ck-dressed Lumi after.

    "I sense great power of understanding of the Death and Darkness Profound Laws from you. Judging by the aura, I sense on you; you should be one of my kin. There is no conflict that cannot be resolved among us denizens of darkness. Why not pardon my little follower and let him go? I will be most appreciative."

    The apparition suggested.

    In response to its words, the ck-dressed Lumi raised her hand and snapped her fingers. In the next moment, the repossessed ckarrow''s body exploded like scattered ashes before dispersing into the void.

    Nothing was left of it; destroyed and reduced to atoms.

    The other Bone Kings trembled with fear. Even if they hide behind their Lord''s manifested will, they can still die if the other party wants them to.

    That being was utterly unstoppable!

    "You are just the wisp of a Demon Lord''s soul. You are not qualified to negotiate conditions with me. Besides, if I want to kill, nothing can stop me!"

    The ck-dressed Lumi said imperiously.

    The ck skull apparition''s expression cannot be seen, but its surrounding aura grew more decadent and dark with gloom.

    It did not understand thew that destroyed its follower, but it was evidently offended by her actions.

    "You are making a mistake. Now is the time for the denizens of darkness to unite and regather our strength. We should not be fighting amongst ourselves. It does not benefit anyone. You will only make yourself an enemy of everyone."

    The apparition spoke with a threatening tone.

    "Whether I am making a mistake or not, I do not know. But I do know that your words have cost you another follower."

    The ck-dressed Lumi said.

    She snapped her fingers, and another Bone King exploded into scattering white powder before vaporizing into thin air.

    The apparition became gloomier.

    Yet again, it did not understand how its follower killed in both body and soul. None of its followers had ownership of their soul. They all belong to it, the Demon Lord Karau.

    Even so, it could do nothing except sense its follower''s soul disperse to nothingness beyond its control. The banshee used aw it did not understand. How could this be?

    "You¡­ You are not one of us¡­ Your aura is simr, but it is actually different. Who are you¡ªNo, what are you?"

    The ck-dressed Lumi responded with another snap of her fingers, sending another Bone King into oblivion.

    The apparition was immediately enraged.

    Each follower was exclusively bound to it by a contract between master and servants. Not only were the followers; faithful servants, they were its collectors of souls.

    "You¡ªYou arepletely unreasonable! Do you really want to go against me for these humans?!" The apparition howled.

    "For these humans, you say?"

    The ck-dressed Lumi paused for a moment to nce in the direction of the Darkmoon Tribe before she snickered, "I couldn''t care less about the humans."

    "Then, why?!"

    "Because your minions hurt someone, it should not have hurt."

    The ck-dressed Lumi coldly answered.

    The remaining Bone Kings began to disappear one after the other. No expression could be seen on their faceless head, but their despair could be felt.

    "My Lord¡­"

    Thest Bone King cried its final words before it faded from existence like the rest.

    "Dammit! I will remember you!"

    The apparition growled.

    Many Bone Kings have been killed in the Bone Cmity, but those were only the destruction of the bone vessels. The souls of the fallen Bone Kings had all returned to its embrace. With appropriate vessels, they can be revived endlessly.

    However, it was different this time. It had permanently lost 7 followers. The lost pained it so.

    The Darkness Profound Energy and Death Energy began to gather and congealed into a strange symbol before the apparition shot it forward.

    Faced with the iing symbol, the ck-dressed Lumi simply blew at it, and the strange ck symbol dispersed.

    "You want to mark me with a Death Symbol to keep track of my whereabouts? You are not qualified!"

    The ck-dressed Lumiughed coldly.

    A powerful pressure soon weighed down on the ck skull apparition before it slowly dissipates from the Destruction Law destroying it.

    However, due to its high understanding of the Death Laws, it was able to resist the Destruction Law somewhat and not wholly disperse in an instant.

    In the end, the ck skull apparition was just a wisp of will and not its true self. It did not possess any substantial battle capabilities.

    "Hmph! If you have the courage, thene find my true body in the Land of Darkness."

    The apparition left these words before thest traces of it dispersed.

    ¡­

    On the human side, everyone was still rooted on the spot, stricken with fear and uncertainty. No one rejoiced despite seeing their strongest foes eliminated before their eyes.

    "All the Bone Kings were killed just like that¡­ is this still the banshee we know? Is she still a friend or a foe?" A warrior asked nervously.

    "How did she be so powerful? She ispletely unstoppable!"

    "I''m afraid only Leonhardt can answer these question, but¡­"

    Following the warrior''s gaze, the surrounding warriors turned to Leonhardt, who was seated in meditation.

    "¡­He is meditating¡­ Not sure if this is the best time for that¡­"

    "It shouldn''t be¡­ He is a proimed spirit tamer. Maybe he ismunicating with the banshee telepathically¡­"

    "True¡­"

    The warriors attempted to understand the situation. Unfortunately, their guesses were all wrong. Leon was truly meditating.

    Furthermore, he did not have all the answers.

    "What are your orders, Chief?"

    Sabertooth asked.

    Chief Valencia furrowed her brows in thought. For better or worse, the battle had been halted, and they had not suffered significant casualties like she had assumed¡­

    ¡­But their future remains uncertain.

    The ck-dressed Lumi was too different from her previous self. It was like she had be an entirely different person. Her aura hadpletely changed and appeared more malevolent and wicked than any vengeful spirits they have ever seen.

    How and why she had be like this, Chief Valencia did not know. She only knows that if her hostility is pointed at them next, they could very well be facing total tribe annihtion.

    "Everyone is to remain on standby and hold your positions. We will continue to observe the situation for now."

    Chief Valencia said.

 Chapter 373 - Sweeping The Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 373 - Sweeping The Battlefield</h4>

    When all the sentient leaders of the Bone Cmity''s undead demon army were ughtered and absent from the ranks, the Behemoth-ss ghoul-like Bone Demons resumed their most basicmand to hunt down the humans in sight.

    In a short moment, the undead demon army began to charge towards the city walls once more,pletely ignoring the ck-dressed Lumi that stood in the middle of their ranks.

    The Darkmoon Tribe warriors did not have to standby for long before they were forced into battle once more.

    "Prepare for battle!"

    Chief Valencia roared.

    Standing at the front to receive the brunt of the charge along with the 7 Venerable Shamans, they were the only 8 Battle Masters in the tribe.

    Not all Shamans can achieve the Battle Master realm during their prime. Many fall short at the Extremity-rank Great Master realm before their eventual decline.

    "Haiz, it seems these old bones got to be put to work after all."

    Old Fjord said.

    The Battle Masters shed with the undead army of Behemoth-ss Bone Demons and crushed hundreds of them in the first wave of attacks.

    As the battle resumed, the ck-dressed Lumi watched with indifference from a distance. The undead demons were not her allies, but neither were the humans.

    Now that she was free, she began to ponder some things. An invisible force of destruction weaved around her hands as she casually yed with it.

    There was a fragment of foreign memories in her mind that did not belong to her nor her little sister, the real Lumi.

    That being the case, the memory fragment appeared to have been awakened from within her¡ªor rather her little sister and grant them grant highprehension of multiplews.

    It was unclear why they innately possessed such a godly memory fragment, but some conditions must have been met to trigger its awakening.

    Her little sister was not receptive to pain as the stimulus triggers deep trauma buried within her. This was also how she came into being.

    She was the strong persona her little sister had subconsciously created to bear all the pain and suffering her little sister cannot handle¡ªAt least, that is what she thinks.

    Sometimes, she was not sure what she was. However, she grew to ept her role as the strong big sister that protects her little sister.

    This is also why her little sister was never aware of her existence while they shared the same body since her little sister subconsciously buries and rejects all the negative emotions.

    She only takes over when her little sister suffers grievance and pain she cannot bear.

    Reviewing the memories before her little sister cked out, the ck-dressed Lumi figured everything out.

    The attack that punctured their chest had been too fast for her to take over immediately, causing her little sister to bear the full brunt of the damage.

    The great stimulus might have been what led to the forceful awakening.

    There was not much personal information within the memory fragment for her to find out about the memory''s owner''s true identity.

    Still, it was not important as far as she was concerned. What is important is that this newfound power is useful to them.

    After settling aside these thoughts, the ck-dressed Lumi swept her gaze over the ongoing battle in the distance.

    She was looking for the one that tried to enve them and brought them to this dark world. In her opinion, her little sister would not have suffered if that person did not bring them to thisnd.

    She snorted when she failed to locate the person.

    Nevertheless, the person should be hiding somewhere nearby. Knowing this, she began making a beeline for the southern walls of Darkmoon City.

    "You''re in my way. Move it."

    She headed straight through the ongoing battlefield and waved her fair white hands like she was shooing away flies.

    The power of destruction swept over the Behemoth-ss Bone Demons impeding her path and reduced them to scattered ashes.

    Her high-profile movements could not be missed by the Darkmoon Tribe.

    "Everyone, retreat! Lumi ising over! Be careful not to get swept up in her attack!" Chief Valencia warned.

    "Yes, chief!"

    The warriors efficiently retreated under the cover of the Battle Masters.

    Hundreds of Behemoth-ss Bone Demons were destroyed within moments of the ck-dressed Lumi''s approaching figure.

    The gruesome and bloodied flesh of dead humans stered on their beings were not something even she wanted near her.

    Despite the Behemoth-ss Bone Demons getting ughtered along the way, the entire Darkmoon Tribe grew more nervous and anxious with the ck-dressed Lumi nearing them when they were facing the bone demons.

    They could still resist when they are facing the bone demons. But if they were to be touched by that strange power, they would disappear from the face of the earth.

    They were not so conceited as to think that their bodies were more formidable than the Bone Demons.

    By the time the ck-dressed Lumi reached the foot of the city walls, several thousands of bone demons were erased from the battlefield.

    A trail of sweat trickled down Chief Valencia''s face.

    Even a battle-hardened warrior like her cannot help but feel a bit nervous standing in front of the ck-dressed Lumi after her unstoppable disy of might.

    "You¡­ you''re Lumi, right?"

    Chief Valencia.

    The ck-dressed Lumi nced at her and did a quick memory check. Although the person had not treated Lumi well, the person had also not mistreated her. It could be said that their rtionship was rtively normal.

    Since there was no beef between them, there was no need to be hostile. She nodded and moderately answered, "Yes, but also no. You can call me Duna instead."

    The ck-dressed Lumi naturally puzzled everyone who overheard her answer.

    Duna? A split personality disorder? Two souls sharing one body? Or something else entirely?

    Although Chief Valencia was puzzled, she did not voice her doubts. Duna did not seem like a patient person.

    "I see¡­ I wonder what I can do for you?"

    "I am looking for someone. I don''t think you need me to say who I am looking for, right?" Duna asked.

    Chief Valencia nodded and pointed Duna in the right direction of Leonhardt''s location. Little did she know that her action might put Leonhardt in danger.

    Duna offered her thanks and continued on her way. But after a few steps, she stopped and looked back.

    The Darkmoon Tribe continued to fight against the undead army with their lives on the line, but despite this, Chief Valencia did not request any help from her.

    Perhaps, the person understood that Duna did not have any concerns for the humans and might not help even if they asked.

    Nevertheless, Chief Valencia had done Duna a favor, no matter how small it was. She did not like owing anyone anything.

    She turned towards the demon army''s direction, and the surrounding air suddenly intensified like an invisible power was being gathered.

    Afterward, Duna made a swiping gesture at the demon army, and more than half of the remaining 80-thousand-odd army was obliterated in an instance.

    Deep within the ck Swamp''s inner region that lies on the other side of Darkness Mountain, the Land of Darkness, Demon Lord Karau was dealt a massive blow due to the loss.

    A wisp of will was attached to every undead, and follower Demon Lord Karau controlled. Losing a few dozen to hundreds at a time was only like a scratch to it, but losing more than 40-thousand wisp of will at once was like suffering from a terrible soul attack that not only harmed its core but impacted its cultivation.

    "ARGHHH! CURSED YOU, BANSHEE!! I SWEAR THE DAY I AM FREED; I WILL FIND YOU AND MAKE YOU SUFFER A THOUSAND DEATHS!!!"

    Demon Lord Karau swore venomously with great anguish and pain.

    His demonly figure cannot be seen, but his powerful voice echoed far and wide from a bottomless, dark pit of enormous proportions thatid at the center of the ck Swamp''s innermost region.

    Despite Demon Lord Karau''s great fury, only the nearby demons that resided within the region were aware of it. His voice did not reach the Infertile ins.

    Back at the Darkmoon Tribe, Chief Valencia and the other warriors showed their gratitude to Duna before fighting with new vigor.

    Duna flew over the walls and soon stopped in front of Leon. The warriors guarding him all ran away after Duna shed them a cold look before resting on Leon.

    Due to his deep meditation, Leon was unaware of the danger before him.

 Chapter 374 - The Way To Achieve Transcendence

    <h4>Chapter 374 - The Way To Achieve Transcendence</h4>

    Unbeknownst to his surroundings, Leon had wholly sealed off his senses from the outside world to focus onprehending the Destruction Law.

    Snippets of the scene reyed in his mind from dozens of times to hundreds of times to thousands of times. Despite the countless reys, he made zero progress inprehending the Destruction Laws.

    ''Aw beyond mortal understanding.''

    He thought.

    His soul was far stronger than any Transcendent, but it was still not enough for him to perceive the Law of Destruction.

    The Law of Destruction is a supremew that stands above any individualws part of the cycle of five elements. Even the Laws of Life and Death cannotpare to it, let alone the Laws of Space and Time.

    The Laws of Destruction and Creation were bothws infinitely close to the source of beginning born from nothingness.

    Withoutprehending the Laws of Space and Time, Life and Death, there were little hopes of him understanding the Destruction Law.

    The [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] also required the mastery of the first three stages before themencement of the fourth stage.

    But he had not even started on the second stage of space and time, let alone begin the third stage of life and death. The fourth stage of creation and destruction was far out of his reach.

    Leon began to ponder deeply as the scene continued to rey in his mind.

    How can the Destruction Law help him further hisprehension of the Nihility Law when he cannotprehend it at all?

    He decided to stop the rey and enter his sea of consciousness to visit the ck Vortex for answers. After all, that was where he was enlightened to the Law of Nihility.

    Thews of the five elements were weak on their own, but they produce a power much closer to the source of beginning and more than the Destruction Law when merged together.

    After all, the Destruction Law cannot produce pseudo-Grandmist energy on its own. It was supremew in breaking things down to their most universally basic building blocks.

    If he is not wrong, the fusion of the Creation Law and Destruction Law will produce a far moreplete Grandmist energy than the fusion of the five elements could.

    That being the case, the same could also be said for the fusion of the life and deathws, and the fusion of space and timews.

    ''Hm?''

    Leon suddenly paused in front of his soul core.

    The color of his soul core seemed to be slightly different from how he remembered it. In addition to colors brought by the merge of the Fireseed, Iceseed, Lightningseed, Metalseed, Earthseed, and Woodseed, there seems to be another color. It was the color ck.

    The faintws emanating for the ck patch made him doubtful. When did he have the time toprehend anotherw?

    "This is¡­ Darkness Profound Law¡ªNo, this is Spatial Law!"

    Leon was rmed.

    Or rather, he was pleasantly rmed!

    "But how?"

    The discovery puzzled him. He quickly spun his mind for an answer before shortly arriving at term he recently learned about, Void Body.

    "From Darlene?"

    He became even more confused.

    Darlene could not cultivate¡ªNo, that is not correct. She definitely can cultivate, just not in the darkness body cultivation methods of the Darkmoon Tribe.

    The correct way to put it should be that she had not cultivated yet, because she had yet to awaken.

    That brings him back to the same question, how? How else did he gainprehension into the Spatial Law? Because he was a Divine Origin realm practitioner in his past life?

    He relied on cultivation pills to swiftly reach such a level. Hisprehension of Fire Laws was substantial, but his Spatial Lawprehension was mediocre at best.

    From what he had observed, all his partners were already Awakeners before he benefited with them through intimate dual cultivation.

    Leon felt like he was thinking too deeply that he blinded himself from the simple truth. The answer was present all along.

    ''Darlene''s inferiorplex runs quite deep. She has been ingrained with the idea that she cannot cultivate.''

    Leon pondered.

    An Awakener''s ability is heavily reliant on their will to control their element. If Awakeners strongly believes they cannot do something, they will never be able to do it¡ªNot because they cannot, but because they have never tried.

    ''Hmm¡­ It is quite possible that Darlene may have already awakened to the spatial element but have yet to realize it.''

    He figured.

    Awakeners needed to cultivate to improve their abilities, but they did not necessarily have to cultivate to awaken.

    The very first Awakener to walk thend did not awaken because they knew how to cultivate. Cultivation methods were created after they learned of awakening.

    Awakening coulde naturally, or it cane forcefully. It was an innate power hidden within themselves.

    Suddenly, Leon paused.

    ''Humans were not born with the innate ability to control the elements. Awakening made this possible, but not all humans can awaken. Only in this world, they can.''

    He remembered the Destruction Laws Lumi awakened to control during battle and came up with a startling possibility.

    ''What if there is a fragment of Divinity in every human?''

    He pondered.

    As ridiculous as it sounds, it all made sense to him.

    Why were the humans here able to manipte the elements upon awakening while the denizens of the Divine Realm must toil hard and longprehending and learning for countless years before they can do the same?

    Everything fits if he said there was a fragment of Divinity in everyone.

    Awakening, bloodline abilities, special physiques, and divine bodies, everything can be understood if a fragment of Divinity dwells within the souls of every being in this world.

    Once this possibility cemented in his mind, he no longer found it strange that humans can awaken, nor was it a coincidence that Aria and Lynne both had special physiques that he failed to notice at first nce.

    They were awakened after.

    ''The Divine Realm searched their whole life for the vestige of gods and the path to evesting, but nothing was ever found except the records they left behind. As it turns out, all of it was here, in the one ce they never searched, the ck hole that swallows everything.''

    Leon began to review the star map etched in his memory.

    The small starfield was most likely formed after the age of Gods and Devils ended. How their era ended, Leon did not know.

    What he did know was the Gods and Devils were supposedly born during the formation of Primal Chaos. Thus, their bodies were made entirely of Grandmist energy.

    If all that Grandmist energy gathered inside the ck hole en masse, it would not be strange for it to form a sub-universe the size of the starfield he was seeing on the star map.

    ''Is this the true secret of this world? The remains of their body formed the world, and their scattered soul fragments gave life to it? Should I call this a small starfield or the fabled God Realm everyone was looking for?''

    After a moment, Leon shook his head. Everything was just inference and conjectures and needed more evidence. Even so, he was more or less convinced that this was as he had imagined.

    He came across an amazing discovery, but he had strayed far from his initial purpose, which is to further hisprehension of the Nihility Law.

    The answers to his path to transcendence lie within the secrets of the ck Vortex.

    Despite gaining an initial understanding of the Nihility Law, why did it not form a seed ofprehension like the otherws?

    Because it was the Nihility Law, the Law of Nothingness.

    It cannot be seen or felt, but it was present¡ªor perhaps not at all.

    It is so profound and mysterious that even if he partly understood it, he felt like he understood nothing at all.

    The Nihility Law is the most primordialw, more grand and powerful than even the Laws of Creation and Destruction.

    It was the ultimatew, existing yet not existing before the beginning of time, before the appearance of Grandmist, and before the formation of Primal Chaos.

    Leon cannot transcend because he wielded too manyws, none of which were powerful enough to be the governingw that rules over the other existingws.

    But if there was even a possibility of transcendence, it would lie within the Nihility Law that stands above all.

    If he can reach a certain level of understanding in the Nihility Law, there might just be hope for transcendence.

    He was not sure how to further hisprehension of the Nihility Law before, but the presence of Spatial Laws had pointed the way for him.

    Destruction Law cannot beprehended for the time being, but within the destruction, there was devastation, breaking, corrosion, withering, decay, and so on.

    The Laws of Darkness, Death, Time, and other minorws were present.

    He needed toprehend the Temporal Laws and use the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique to merge space and time.

    Whether it will give him insights into the Nihility Law or not is still a possibility, but the production of a moreplete Grandmist energy is a certainty.

 Chapter 375 - Temporal Law

    <h4>Chapter 375 - Temporal Law</h4>

    The battle between the Darkmoon Tribe and the remaining undead demon army raged on, but the Darkmoon Tribe was not as desperate as they were before.

    There were no more enemies with battle strengthparable to Greater Demons within the enemy''s ranks. As such, they were all easy pickings for the 8 Battle Masters.

    Even so, 8 Battle Masters were not enough to cover the entire battlefield.

    Many warriors were still required to put in the efforts to fend off the enemy attacks and stop them from breaking into the city to ughter their helpless children and elderlies.

    Casualties were ensured.

    With each brave soulying down their lives to protect their home and family, the surviving warriors fought more fiercely.

    While Leon was oblivious to everything outside, Duna''s killing intent grew with each passing moment, so much so that even though Leon was not aware of it, his skin was still instinctively crawling with goosebumps.

    Duna despised Leon for what he had done, even if it was part of a cooperation agreement between him and Lumi.

    They had been trapped and treated like an inexhaustible power supply for hundreds of years. Although they had regained their movements, they have not truly regained their freedom.

    Anyone that encroached on their freedom was deserving of death.

    Duna raised her hand and prepared to drop the execution hammer upon him. However, just as she intended to do so, she paused with a frown.

    Duna and Lumi were essentially one being.

    Although Lumi was not aware of Duna''s existence, Duna was fully aware of hers. Even Lumi''s feelings were passed onto her and affected her own judgment.

    ''Why am I hesitating? Lumi, ah, Lumi, why are you so na?ve? This person tried to enve us. There is no proof that this person would keep his promise and set us free after.''

    ''If we had not awakened this godly power, I''m afraid that we will continue to be at his every beck and call. He is a detestable human encroached upon our freedom. He deserves death! Just let me end him!''

    Duna was conflicted with her desires and fell into a dilemma between whether to kill or not kill. In a short while, she began to vaguely sense the disturbance in thews surrounding Leon and gave herself an excuse not to kill.

    "Trying toprehend the Destruction Law? Interesting, I will watch you struggle and let you live a little longer."

    She quietly muttered.

    Duna lowered her hand and found her spot on the ground some distance away, where she can squat down and observe Leon attentively.

    Some further distance away from her, a few tribesmen supporting the battle from the backline sweated when they witnessed everything.

    Did the banshee just try to kill her master?

    They looked at each other and saw the doubts in each other''s eyes beforeughing nervously. Hahaha¡­ Nah, probably just their imagination.

    ¡­

    Inside the sea of consciousness, Leon resumed reying the memory in his mind. He knew it was not a good time to be meditating, given the current circumstances, but it was a rare chance to deepen his understanding of the Nihility Law.

    Also, the evil persona of Lumi did not like him. If she wanted to kill him, can he escape?

    If she did not awaken, no one would have ever known there was a Divinity fragment deep inside her. But why was her awakening so much more powerful than anyone else? What was the prerequisite to draw out this hidden power?

    Is it because she already lost her physical body and only exists as a spirit, so there is not much left to be hidden when she is awakened? Or perhaps the few hundred years of suffering that brought her close to this point?

    What about himself? As a reincarnated being, did he also have a Divinity fragment within himself? How can he awaken it?

    These were questions that he can only ponderter.

    The universalws were intangible and mystical. The higher their level, the more profound and difficult toprehend.

    These were known facts.

    The best way toprehend them is to be in the same ce where the source of their presence is strong. It is not easy to understand through memories alone.

    Memories were just memories. All the precise feelings of that moment in time be vague and indecipherable the longer they are left as memories.

    Therefore, Leon wasted no time to revisit the scene countless times in his mind. He needed to keep the memory fresh in mind.

    Comprehending the Destruction Law was already a near-impossible task. One can only imagine how much greater the difficulty if it is done with a vague memory.

    However, since his focus is no longer on the Destruction Law but the Temporal Law within it, the difficulty should be lowered by at least two levels.

    What is the Temporal Law? Or in other words, what is time?

    Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events from the past, through the present, and into the future.

    It is elusive and can be said to exist on a higher dimension of reality. It cannot be seen, felt, nor tasted, but its passage can be measured.

    Everything in existence had time. It can be a short time, or it can be an indefinitely long time.

    Regardless of how much time everything has, they will crumble, wither, or decay from existence once time expires.

    Leon reyed the memory in slower motion as his concentration peaked.

    The disintegration of the Bone Kings, the breaking down of its physicalponents, and the scattering of its being.

    Leon focused solely on observing the aspect of time and ruled out the otherw factors in y in the destruction of the Bone Kings.

    What was left is the eleration of time.

    The ancient bones of the Bone King were something that existed for more than 10-thousand years and may very well continue to exist for 100-thousands more years. However, give it 1-million, 10-million, or even 100-million years, and the answer bes indefinite.

    Even the toughest of steel can be eroded by time, let alone something thates from living beings with clear expiry dates.

    Leon does not know much time had to be elerated in an instance to produce such a result on its own, but it was clear that it was not something mortals can hope to achieve.

    This was the Realm of Divinities.

    Even so, Leon did not hope to elerate time in the millions of years. Just being able to elerate time by the minutes or even seconds would do.

    If he cannot even elerate the time of others, he could at least elerate the time of himself. But if that is not even possible, there were still other aspects of time that can be studied and applied.

    eleration was not the only aspect of time.

    If time can be elerated, then it can also be decelerated.

    But that is also not all that can be done with time. There were endless possibilities for applications. The only limitation is one''s own imagination.

    Duna quietly watched Leon''s futile attempt atprehending the Destruction Law with ridicule, but her expression stiffened when she sensed fluctuations in the flow of time surrounding him.

    "Oh?"

    Her surprise soon turns to amazement.

    For Leon to distort the flow of time around him after such a short period of meditation, his perception andprehensive talents could be said to be quite terrifying.

    What might have easily taken other people tens of years before they gain a rudimentary level of understanding into the Temporal Laws, Leon had achieved it in one short session.

    "Is this luck, or something else¡­?"

    Duna pondered.

    She suddenly found Leon to be quite mysterious and became curious. Come to think of it, neither she nor Lumi knew much about this person.

    "Hm?"

    Duna suddenly felt a tug on her arm. A little boy had unknowingly approached her as he carefully addressed, "Big¡­ Big Sister Spirit."

    "What do you want, little runt?"

    Duna asked.

    "Can¡­ Can you help us?"

    The boy pointed over the wall to where the sounds of the ongoing battle were happening with fear and anxiety, but more importantly, worry. Therge casualties from the first battle made him fear for his father''s safety.

    Duna wanted to refuse, but she suddenly found out that she was actually not good at dealing with children.

    She could only furrow her brows and say, "I don''t do things for free."

    The boy bit his lips and rummaged through his small pockets for something before taking out a pea-sized Dark Crystal and showing it to her with tears that threatened to flow.

    "Will¡­ Will this be enough?"

    The boy asked.

    "¡­"

    "Is that a¡­ no?"

    "It is enough."

    Duna epted with a sigh.

    The Dark Crystal was a little bit useful, but she must be crazy for selling her service so cheap.

 Chapter 376 - Second Level, Stagnation

    <h4>Chapter 376 - Second Level, Stagnation</h4>

    Cling, ng, the battle rang.

    The Warriors shed with the enemy, but few could deal the finishing blow.

    The power of the enemies was reaped but mostly went to Great Warriors and Battle Masters alike, putting many on the verge of breakthroughs.

    Even so, the few Warriors the seeded advanced immediately under the influx of power from the undead demons.

    Not only did they advance their strength, but they also advanced multiple ranks, allowing them to jump straight to the peak of the Warrior realm, one step away from the Great Warrior realm and with excess energy to keep going.

    However, no one managed to take the final step to break through to the Great Warrior realm.

    This was not because they could not or did not want to, but because the situation did not allow them.

    The Great Warrior Realm required meditative focus to guide the rampant energies through the right channels of one''s body before hammering down the walls of the Great Warrior realm to achieve the breakthrough.

    It was different from the Warrior realm that simply allowed the rampant energy to temper the surface of one''s flesh.

    Not everyone possessed the same insanity Sabertooth did and attempt a breakthrough in the midst of battle. It was no longer about courage but in suicide.

    No one would be able to cover them. They would only be offering their own necks to the enemy to chop.

    Even so, the Darkmoon Tribe enjoyed a qualitative boost in their strength as dozens of warriors reached the gates of the Great Warrior realm.

    As for the ones that were already in the Great Warrior realm, they had all suppressed their breakthrough.

    It was only the Battle Masters that did not face the same problem. They had long discarded the root of their body cultivation and could no longer progress further.

    Only the chief of the tribe still could.

    "Lass, you should be on the verge of a breakthrough, right? You should take this opportunity to breakthrough. I will cover you!"

    Old Hammer said.

    Swinging out with his heavy Soul Weapon, a wave of enemies was blown away.

    "You will cover me, but who will cover the area you leave behind? Strength is important, but I cannot trade the lives of my tribesmen for it."

    Chief Valencia shook her head.

    She hacked out with her own Soul Weapon and swept away all the Behemoth-ss Bone Demon before her like an impregnable fortress. None were able to make it past her defense.

    Old Hammer smiled approvingly and no longer continued the topic. This is how a great leader ought to behave.

    A strong leader can indeed lead the tribe, but only a selfless leader can lift it from the ground up.

    The enemy''s army was reduced to 35-thousands in a short time, but the number still greatly outnumbered their capable warriors.

    As they continued to fight and defend the city wall, a silent aura of destruction shot past Chief Valencia and disintegrated a group of enemies before her.

    Duna''s voice shortly sounded after, "What if I cover you?"

    Chief Valencia''s eyes slightly widened with surprise and asked, "Why are you helping us?"

    She did not think that Duna woulde back so soon and help them, no less when she had expressed zero interest and intention in doing so.

    "I was paid."

    "You were paid?"

    Chief Valencia was more confound by her words and wore a stupefied expression.

    She found it rather hard to see through Duna and understand the nature of her character. Who paid her, and what kind of price was paid for her willingness to help?

    Duna nodded.

    She tossed and caught the pea-sized Dark Crystal in her hand before it was ground to dust and absorbed all its contents.

    Afterward, she waved her hand, and a bigger wave of destruction swept over the undead army and reduced thousands of enemies to atoms.

    Her brows furrowed shortly after.

    ''It seems there are still some limitations in using power far beyond one''s capability. The Destruction Law puts too much strain on our body¡­''

    Duna pondered.

    Chief Valencia noticed the reduction in the scale of Duna''s attacks and asked, "What''s wrong?"

    "Nothing. Just do what you need to do."

    Duna said indifferently.

    It was not her character to show weakness.

    "Then¡­ many thanks, Duna. I owe you one."

    Chief Valencia nodded.

    Without further ado, she sat down and meditated for her eventual breakthrough to the Mid-ranked Battle Master realm.

    Duna''s coverage was not small.

    Many supporting Great Warriors and Warriors in the area also took the opportunity to meditate for their breakthrough after suppressing their cultivation for so long.

    Duna noticed this, but she did not say anything.

    She continued to wave her lily-white hands, sending out a smaller scale aura of destruction and disintegrated the enemy in its wake.

    The strain on her body soon hit a concerning level as cracks began to form on the surface of her hand like the slow shattering of sses.

    ''This job is proving itself more tedious than I have imagined. Our body will notst much longer. It is already beginning to experience the bacsh of the Destruction Law.''

    After seeing this, she became more passive in her attacks, only striking the enemy when they drew too close to the humans and kept them out of harm''s way.

    Power does note without a price, and even more so, it cannot be used indiscriminately without consequences.

    ''However¡­''

    Duna frowned.

    She had given her word to help. She was not someone who goes back on her word, and even more so, abhor the people that do.

    In the end, she should not have been soft-hearted when she epted the task, or were those Lumi''s feelings affecting her decision?

    No!

    Duna shook her head of those thoughts.

    It is wrong to me her sister for that. She was the one in control. She was the one who made a choice. It was her decision, and hers alone. She was also a person.

    More cracks formed and spread to her arms.

    At this point, Duna no longer dared to use the almighty Destruction Law. It was too powerful, and the bacsh was too much. She was destroying their body.

    Duna narrowed her eyes and changed tactics.

    Temporal Law, Second Level - Stagnation!

    An elusive aura swept across the battlefield before a transparent dome-like barrier rapidly expanded and covered the region, painting the inside with a monochromatic feeling as the iing Behemoth-ss Bone Demons became immobile.

    No, it was notplete immobility. They just moved perceivably slow! This was the effect of decelerating time!

    Everyone within the temporal domain has their time decelerated. As such, not only were the enemy decelerated, even the humans were also decelerated!

    The temporal domain did not differentiate between friend and foe. All within its area of effect was affected by decelerated time! Only Duna, herself was immune to the effects of Stagnation!

    "What kind of power is this?!"

    "Is this the power of time? Time has been stopped!"

    "No, time hasn''t been stopped! It has been decelerated! Look, they are moving slowly, but surely!"

    The warriors eximed in shock.

    Everything inside the temporal domain moved incredibly slowly to the world outside, but to the affected people inside, time was moving normally.

    That was the scary aspect of Stagnation. The people inside the temporal domain did not even know their time had been decelerated!

    "This is our chance! If the Behemoth-ss Bone Demons are moving this slowly, we can kill them!"

    "No, wait! If you rush in, you might also be¡ª"

    A warrior with a brighter mind tried to warn, but it was toote. The foolish warriors rushed into the temporal domain and got themselves affected by decelerated time.

    "These idiots¡­"

    The brighter warriors sighed.

    The warriors were foolish, but they cannot be med. They could not think of anything else after seeing the prospects of killing Behemoth-ss Bone Demons.

    It was the dream of every Warrior to enter the Great Warrior realm. If there was a chance to do it without risk, why not?

    It was nice to dream and all, but unfortunately, reality was much different from what they had imagined.

    Of course, the decelerated warriors still had no idea. They are still thinking they can kill the ''slow'' Behemoth-ss Bone Demons inside.

    Creak¡­

    At the center of the temporal domain, the cracks of Duna''s arms spread all the way to her upper body and made her heart chilled.

    She did not expect that the Temporal Law would also put some strain on her body and almost killed both her and Lumi as a result of casting such a vast temporal domain.

    ''It seems I can only use the Darkness Laws!''

    Duna paled slightly.

 Chapter 377 - Devour, Sensory Deprivation, And Time Seed

    <h4>Chapter 377 - Devour, Sensory Deprivation, And Time Seed</h4>

    ''It was unwise of me to use the Second Law of Temporal Law. Fortunately, I did not overdo it and use the Third Level, Temporal Suspension.''

    Duna pondered.

    The strain brought by using the third level would have pushed her body beyond the breaking point. She would have destroyed themselves.

    Although Temporal Suspension had no offensive capability, its power was not inferior to the First Level of Destruction Law, Disintegration.

    In other words, Divinities that haveprehended the Third Level of Temporal Law wereparable to Divinities thatprehended the First Level of Destruction Law.

    If the Second Level, Stagnation, was the deceleration of time, the Third Level, Temporal Suspension, was the actual stopping of time.

    But even then, the Third Level was not the highest level of attainment a being can achieve in the Temporal Law.

    Duna found out through the Divinity fragment that there were rumors of a fourth and fifth level. However, Divinities capable of achieving such heights during that age should have been few and in between.

    Duna treaded the barren ground and drew herself closer to the enemy until she stood right before a Behemoth-ss Bone Demon, mismatched in size.

    The Behemoth-ss Bone Demon was 4 times her height, but she was not intimidated by the difference. Nothing could intimidate her, and even more so when affected by Stagnation.

    She reached out her pearly white but crack hands and ced them on the leg of the Behemoth-ss Bone Demon before a powerful suction force began to rob the undead demon of all its power.

    ''Darkness Law Third Level, Devour!''

    The Darkness Profound Energy and Death Energy forcefully entered Duna''s half corporeal body and became apart of her strength.

    As for the Behemoth-ss Bone Demon, it was no more, returned to death''s embrace after Duna absorbed the force that steered it.

    The Behemoth-ss Bone Demon still had its shape, but it was already beginning its slow decline into a heap of bones on the ground under Stagnation''s effect.

    ''I should be able to mend myself with this¡ªno, it''s not working. It can only help me recover slightly. The damages brought by the Destruction Law cannot be healed. Dammit! The consequences are direr than I anticipated. What can I do? I cannot let Lumi see her body like this.''

    Duna frowned.

    She grabbed another Behemoth-ss Bone Demon and absorbed its power, but there were no longer any changes to the cracks on her body.

    She bit her lip in frustration.

    ''Stagnation is about to end.''

    She observed the increasingly unstable temporal domain before retreating towards her original location.

    After the temporal domain copsed and dispersed, the flow of time in the area returned to normal, and the battle between the two sides resumed like nothing had happened.

    Only the others could tell what had happened.

    ''Sigh, it is all my fault. If It is not because I wanted to test these powerfulws, our body would not have been in this current state.''

    Duna felt regretful, but she did not have time to dwell on it. She can only seek the solution after the battle.

    ''Darkness Law Second Level, Sensory Deprivation!''

    The power of darkness gathered and swallowed Chief Valencia and the surrounding warriors attempting their breakthrough.

    "What''s going on here? What is the banshee trying to do?!"

    "I cannot see anything! My¡­ my voice! I cannot hear my voice! But I am surely talking!"

    "It seems only my sense of touch is still here¡­"

    Many warriors panicked.

    Everyone in the area was also caught in the skill and found themselves in a world of absolute darkness and robbed them of their sense of sight, smell, and hearing.

    Duna stood outside of the dark dome and picked up the bone whistle hanging around her neck before ying a ghostly tune.

    An elusive power rippled across the battlefield and stunned all the encroaching enemies with her soul attack.

    The humans in the range of the soul attack also suffered some minor nudges to their souls, but the ones inside the dark dome were utterly unaffected by everything outside.

    It was Duna''s consideration to the people trying to breakthrough.

    "It''s Duna''s soul attack!"

    "Yes, with this, the Behemoth-ss Bone Demons will no longer be a threat to us."

    "Thank you, Duna! You have done a lot for us! Please do not overexert yourself further! We can take it from here!"

    "This is a chance Duna has given us. Make use of it wisely, everyone! You won''t get a better chance than now to harvest these demons!"

    "OHH!"

    The warriors roared.

    Many Warriors jumped down from the city walls and joined the others with a frontal charge towards the enemy.

    The battle quickly entered a climax. If there were no other unexpected variablesing into y, the Bone Cmity guing the western side of Weeping Forest would soon be brought to an end.

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to meditate with closed eyes.

    The Temporal Laws surrounding Leon were no longer vague as they were moments ago. They have be more distinct and clear that the abnormal flow of time in Leon''s surrounding air could be sensed by others.

    Suddenly, the air quickened and kicked up a gust of wind that billowed outwards from Leon. Shortly after, everything returned to a tranquil state like nothing had happened.

    Within the sea of consciousness, Leon nced at the newly formed Seed of Time that fused with his soul core shortly after.

    The Temporal Law was sessfullyprehended.

    No matter how superficial his understanding was, the seed''s formation indicated that he had reached the required threshold to begin manipting the power of time.

    He wanted to keep going and fuse the Spatial Law and Temporal Law, but he had neglected the battle for too long. He should at least check on the situation.

    He opened his eyes shortly and observed the surrounding.

    Despite shutting off his senses to the outside world, he seems to instinctively know how much time had psed since the start of his meditation.

    The Seed of Time granted him a heightened awareness of the flow of time and not just the ability to elerate time.

    At his current rudimentary level of understanding, he could only elerate his own flow of time. This ability was akin to burning his own lifespan, but it allows him to move quicker in return.

    It was like the brain entering a hyperactive state and granting the human body superhuman reflex and quick thinking.

    A deeper level ofprehension was needed before he can elerate the time of anything beyond himself.

    Leon heaved a sigh of relief after checking that his body was still in one piece and the evil Lumi was not in his immediate surroundings.

    ''It seems I am still alive.''

    Suddenly, his body shivered abruptly as Duna''s previous strong killing intent finally struck him and goosebumps reappeared on his skin.

    ''It seems I was spared.''

    He assumed wryly.

    Shortly after, he turned his attention to the ongoing battle and sent out his divine sense to observe the situation.

    ''The Bone Kings are gone, and only a small number of the undead demon army is left. Things are going surprisingly well and will be ending soon. This¡­ should be Lumi''s work. Did she manage to snap back to her good self? I wonder where she is now¡­''

    Leon casually extended the range of his divine sense and searched the battlefield¡­ He frowned shortly after spotting Lumi near Chief Valencia.

 Chapter 378 - Broken Hand

    <h4>Chapter 378 - Broken Hand</h4>

    After sensing the peculiarities of the situation on Lumi''s side, Leon shot to his feet and made his way over.

    When he arrived at the location, he immediately pulled a nearby warrior over and asked, "What is going on here? What happened to¡­ Lumi?"

    "Lumi? Ah, no, that ck-dressed Lumi calls herself Duna, the older sister of Lumi. She helped us wiped out half the enemy and had been protecting the others as they try to advance their cultivation. I''m not exactly sure what happened to her, but it might be rted to the strange power she was using before."

    The warrior exined.

    "Duna? The old sister of Lumi?"

    Leon was confused.

    "I don''t understand either, Big Brother Leonhardt. That is all I''ve heard and understand." The warrior said.

    "I see, thank you. You can go."

    Leon released his grip and allowed the warrior to rejoin the battle.

    Afterward, his brows furrowed.

    So, it seems that Lumi had not been the one assisting the humans, but the other one called Duna? It seems he has misunderstood this person.

    He thought that Duna was the evil nature of the vengeful spirit that have been split apart from the original human Lumi, but this no longer seems to be the case.

    A real vengeful spirit would not be helping humans but killing them.

    He became curious about this ''Duna.''

    What was she exactly? Why does she call herself the older sister of Lumi? Was she really Lumi''s older sister and not a split personality? In fact, she can be Lumi''s older sister and a split personality at the same time.

    There were medical records of twins having higher chances of developing split personalities of their other half when one of them dies in the womb and fails to be born along with the other.

    However, Leon was unsure if this was the case or if another soul was also dwelling inside Lumi''s body. He did not know much about Lumi, to be honest. He can only ask her about itter.

    The more concerning problem now was the state of their body!

    "Maya, take a look at Lumi''s body. Is this the bacsh of using the Destruction Law?" Leon asked and share his senses with the artifact spirit.

    "Hmm."

    After a quick nce through Leon''s vision, she nodded, "That''s right. This is the result of overusing a power beyond one''s ability. The Destruction Law is not something just any being can use without consequences. It is natural for there to be a price in using it. It''s the power of the Greater Divinities after all."

    "Greater Divinities? Are there also hierarchy differences between Divinities as well?" Leon asked.

    "You ask a pretty stupid question. Of course, there are. Just as there are Gods and High Gods, there are also Devils and Great Devils. Only 7 High Gods and 7 Great Devilsprehended the Creation and Destruction Supreme Laws during ancient times."

    "Hoh? That means that Lumi awakened the memory fragment of such an incredible Divinity? Can you tell which Great Devil it is¡ªNo, that is not important. Is it possible for Lumi''s body to recover from the side effects of using the Destruction Law? It doesn''t seem like it will be simple." Leon asked with a frown.

    He was not well-versed in treating vengeful spirits, or rather he is not well-versed in treating vengeful spirits at all!

    He only treated living things before!

    "Aren''t you supposed to be a doctor? You already have everything needed to heal her. Why don''t you figure it out yourself?" Maya said with an attitude.

    "Are you kidding me? Do you think my medicine and acupuncture will work on a non-living entity? Howe I don''t know that?"

    Leon suddenly frowned.

    Vengeful spirits were not exactly non-living entities. Their physical bodies may have died, but their souls were still alive.

    "Hmph! Anyways, I have spoken enough. You can figure it out yourself." Maya stated before goingpletely silent.

    Leon''s lips twitched.

    It seems that Maya was still dissatisfied with him, but why does she have to stop at the most important part?

    "That''s enough, Lumi. You have done more than enough. You need to start taking care of your own body." Leon called out to her.

    "I am Duna."

    Duna snorted after hearing his words and continued to send out her soul attacks to assist the battle until it ended.

    "Duna, it is then."

    Leon acknowledged.

    He did not try to persuade her after noticing that although the state of her body was quite serious, the condition was not aggravated by her soul attacks.

    At this point, there were not many enemies left to kill. The battle was about to end, and the warriors were about toplete their breakthrough.

    "Why are you pushing your body so far for us humans? I thought you didn''t like humans." Leon asked.

    Strangely, he did not feel any fear of Duna. If she wanted to kill him, she would have already done it.

    "Hmph! Who said I didn''t like humans? I feel closer to humans than anything else. I just don''t like you!" Duna snorted.

    "Eh? I guess that is true¡­"

    Leon was shortly stunned before scratching his cheeks wryly. He needed to stop seeing her as another vengeful spirit.

    "Howe you haven''t killed me?"

    "Why so much nonsense for? Do you want me to kill you? You should be grateful that I don''t feel like it right now, hmph hmph!" Duna red at Leon feistily with two hands on her hips.

    Crack¡­

    One of Duna''s hand cracked under the slight pressure and detached itself from her arm, and fell to the ground, causing both of them to freeze.

    After a moment, they slowly nced down at the broken hand.

    "Your hand broke."

    "I can see that."

    "Can it be fixed?"

    "Cannot. I''ve already tried."

    "Hmm¡­"

    Leon furrowed his brows as he stared at the broken hand. After getting detached from the main body, it began to disintegrate slowly.

    Duna''s body was like a fragile vase that threatened to shatter apart at any time. He could not imagine how she would survive if that were to happen.

    "What methods have you tried?" He asked.

    "Third Level of Darkness Law, Devour," Duna stated.

    Seeing Leon have no idea what that means, she exined, "Devour uses the power of darkness to strengthen and recover the body by swallowing other forms of existing energy. However, it is of no use."

    "I have discovered that there are some traces of Destruction Law on my body, which obstructs the healing process. I can only recover once the traces of Destruction Law disappears, but I cannot ascertain when that will be."

    Leon frowned after hearing this.

    The Destruction Law can be counteracted with the Creation Law, but no one is capable of that.

    After pondering for a moment, he came up with an idea. They might not necessarily need to remove the traces of Destruction Law. They just need a power that can ovee it.

    He realized why Maya said he had everything needed for Lumi''s body to recover.

    Thinking up this point, he reached out his hand and said, "Try absorbing this to heal yourself."

    "Did you not listen to a word I said? It''s no use¡ª"

    Duna paused when she saw the grey energy that concentrated towards the tips of Leon''s fingers before he passed the pseudo-Grandmist Energy to her.

    Shortly after, her eyes widened with surprise.

    How was it possible for this person to have Grandmist Energy?! Just who exactly is Leon? Grandmist Energy should have gone extinct long ago after the formation of Primal Chaos!

    "It''s not the real deal, but it is still more potent than any other source of energy out there. I call it pseudo-Grandmist Energy." Leon exined.

    He knew that since Duna had awakened the Divinity fragment, there was a chance that she would have gained some knowledge about Grandmist Energy.

    "Hm?"

    Leon raised an eyebrow when Duna suddenly grabbed his hand. A powerful suction force came after that and absorb all the pseudo-Grandmist Energy he offered on the tips of his fingers, but that was not enough for Duna.

    She was greedy for more.

    Leon widened his eyes when he realized that the little devil was actually taking advantage of his kindness and trying to suck him dry!

    The Law of Nothingness suffused in the ck Vortex protected the grey ring of energy around his soul core from being absorbed, but the same cannot be said for the few Body Runes in his body!

    They disappeared are having their energy rung dry by Duna!

    Nevertheless, Leon was not pained by the disappearance of these Body Runes forged with artificial Spirit Energy. In fact, it could be said that she helped him.

    "Aren''t you being a little too greedy?" Leon calmly asked.

    Duna became rather embarrassed and touched at the same time. She did not know that Leon had offered all the pseudo-Grandmist Energy he had.

    However, this was her misunderstanding.

    She was unaware of the Nihility Law in Leon''s body, which hid the rest of his power from being seen and devoured by her.

    Duna did not want to show her embarrassment, so she scowled, "Hmph! So what? What are you going to do about it?"

    "Um, nothing, I guess?"

    Leon could only respond.

 Chapter 379 - Times Up

    <h4>Chapter 379 - Time''s Up</h4>

    Seeing theck of anger from Leon, Duna felt even more guilty. She could not help but think that there was something wrong with this person. Did he like being abused? Was he a masochist?

    "Hmph!"

    She could only grumble and storm off to absorb the concentration of pseudo-Grandmist Energy given to her after picking up her broken hand.

    The pseudo-Grandmist Energy was worthy of being called pseudo-Grandmist Energy. Even though it was not the real thing, it was still a very close imitation to the source that birthed everything in existence.

    It was the best source of energy for rebuilding the body or forging a new one.

    Countless cracks on Duna''s body disappeared one after another. Within a few breathes, the body was fully restored. Not a single crack could be seen, and the broken hand was reattached.

    The pseudo-Grandmist Energy had worked wonders on Duna''s body with excess energy to spare, which she began to channel into building the foundation for her Corporal state.

    She had just recently entered the Corporeal state and had yet to build her foundation.

    The Corporeal state was not the state of being Corporeal, but the state of bing Corporeal. Once the foundation is built, she will have a material body no different from humans.

    The cultivation of evil spirits was a strange one. Rather than cultivating to be a strong ghost, it was more like cultivating to be alive again.

    Perhaps, this was why evil spirits harbor resentment towards the living.

    It was because they had died unjustly before their time and wanted to live again, so they prey on the flesh of the living to rebuild their mortal body.

    Fortunately, Duna and Lumi did not have to go through this process. With enough pseudo-Grandmist Energy, they would build a more perfect body than what the flesh of humans can offer.

    While Duna was busy building her foundation, Leon quietly observed the battlefield.

    The battle ended shortly, and therge dark dome began to disappear, showing the Great Warriors trapped inside.

    Every one of them hadpleted their breakthrough. It was only Chief Valencia that was still in the middle of her breakthrough to the Mid-rank Battle Master realm.

    After this great battle, the Darkmoon Tribe lost a few hundred more people, but they also gained a few hundred more Great Warriors at the same time.

    Thus, although their number of warriors have been reduced, they have be collectively stronger as a tribe.

    Sabertooth assumedmand of the tribe in Chief Valencia''s ce and began issuing orders to the warriors, "Clean up the battlefield and collect the bodies of our fallen brothers and sisters!"

    "Yes, Big Brother Sabertooth!"

    "Send the seriously wounded brothers and sisters back for emergency first-aid immediately!"

    "Yes, Big Brother Sabertooth!"

    "Don''t leave a single of those precious bones and other equipment on the battlefield behind! Get someone to fetch them back. They make good materials for Venerable Shamans to tinker with!"

    "Yes, Big Brother Sabertooth!"

    "You¡ªYou don''t need to go! Stay here and guard the chief¡ª!"

    Boom!

    As Sabertooth directed the warriors on the field, the ground beneath Chief Valencia cracked as she shot to her feet angrily with surging momentum and vigorous aura.

    Her breakthrough was a sess, but she was not happy!

    "SABERTOOTH!"

    Chief Valencia exploded.

    "Yes, Chief Valencia?"

    Sabertooth answered with a startled expression.

    "What the hell are you doing?!" The chief roared.

    Sabertooth was perplexed by the question and said, "Why I was issuing orders to clean up the battlefield in your stead, chief."

    "Issuing orders, my ass!"

    Whack!

    Chief Valencia smacked Sabertooth in the back of the head and sent him tumbling into the ground.

    "Chief?"

    Sabertooth had no idea what he had done wrong.

    "Why the f*ck are you doing it over here?! Are you trying to break my concentration and annoy me to death with your loud f*cking mouth?!" Chief Valencia cussed.

    Only then did Sabertooth realized where he had erred.

    "My apologies, chief. It was not on purpose."

    "Whatever. Get out of here. Go do your thing somewhere."

    Chief Valencia kicked him away and observed the surrounding with a frown. The breakthrough took longer than she thought. There was no opponent for her to test her newfound strength on.

    "Congrattions on your breakthrough, Chief Valencia," Leon said.

    Chief Valencia turned to Leon and nodded.

    "Un, it is all thanks to Duna. I would like to express my gratitude to her. Where is she now?"

    "She''s just right over there, but I believe now is it not a good time to talk to her. She is currently recuperating." Leon pointed and exined.

    "In that case, I can only postpone forter. It is our tribe''s greatest blessing to have you two this time around. Our losses would have been disastrous otherwise." Chief Valencia said with heartfelt appreciation as she watched the warriors clean up the battlefield in the distance.

    Leon shook his head wryly and denied, "You give me too much credit, chief. I did not do anything in this battle. Everything was redited to Lumi¡ªand Duna''s efforts."

    "Even so, I would like to thank you for what you have done for us."

    "Then I will shamelessly ept these feelings of gratitude."

    "Chief!"

    A warrior rushed over with an urgent report.

    Chief Valencia nced at the warrior before returning her attention to Leonhardt and said, "Let us continue our talk another time. A room has been reserved for you in my humble abode. Feel free to return and get some rest if you wish. I need to take care of some matters."

    Leon''s mouth twitch.

    The giant pce was considered a humble abode? Well he be damned. The chief was too modest.

    "Don''t mind me, Chief Valencia. Please go ahead and do what it is you need to do."

    After Chief Valencia nodded and left, Leon ran into some familiar faces for some small talk before they all busied themselves with their own matters. Everyone had something to do except him.

    He nced around to see what he can do to help. After spotting a warrior bleeding profusely while be carried, he made his way over and said, "Put him down. He is going to bleed to death at this rate. Let me heal him."

    Healing was his expertise.

    "Do it quickly!"

    "Y-Yes!"

    The young warrior hesitated before responding after Leon''s solemn urging and ced the bleeding warrior down.

    "Can my arm still be saved?" The bleeding warrior asked with cold sweat while gripping on his right arm, which was only attached by a small piece of flesh.

    "Your arm should have been beyond saving at this point, but fortunately for you, you met me."

    "Please help me!"

    The wounded warrior.

    Leon nodded.

    The wounded warrior''s arm was basically cut off, but so long as the arm was still alive, it can be saved.

    Divine-tier medicine could indeed mend broken limbs and regrow new ones, but Leon did not have any divine-tier medicine on him.

    It was just the right time to practice a new medical technique he had developed. It infuses his existing medical knowledge with his new abilities.

    "Hold his arm like this for me."

    "Yes!"

    Leon instructed the young warrior after pressing a few acupoints and stopping the bleeding.

    Afterward, his hands glowed with the green aura from wood energy and began to forming refined energy strings on the tips of his fingers before shooting the green strings into the arm.

    The green energy strings intricately weaved around the broken nerves, muscles, and bones and connected them together before the regenerative properties of wood energy healed the damaged tissues.

    A few minutester, the wound on the arm was closed, and the wounded warrior regained his arm''s senses.

    "What a divine miracle! I thought I lost this arm for good! Thank you, Big Brother Leonhardt! You are a Divine Doctor!"

    "Alright, try not to move it too much. I have only healed it superficially." Leon turned to the young warrior and said, "You can take him back for the rest of the procedure now."

    "Yes, right away!"

    The young warrior answered.

    He was honored to have witnessed such a miraculous sight. The person''s method of healing was practically a work of art!

    After the duo left, Leon went to find his next gravely wounded patient. He did not invest too much into one patient to maximize the number of patients he could treat.

    As long as the severe aspect was treated, the rest can be left for the tribe''s medics to handle.

    In the following two hours, several dozens of warriors were saved from permanent disabilities as a result of Leon''s efforts.

    At this moment, Duna opened her eyes and sighed with a bit of regret. Few people were left on the battlefield.

    "I need more pseudo-Grandmist Energy to build a perfect corporeal body. I should find that person and ask him where he got this amazing thing."

    Duna decided with clenched fists.

    She felt guilty, but she will be shameless for herself and for her little sister if it is what it takes to get her hands on some more pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    "Hm, where could he have gone?" Duna looked around before grabbing a nearby warrior and asked overbearingly, "You, tell me where Leonhardt is."

    "Ah? Big Brother Leonhardt should be in the medical bay where the wounded warriors are taken." The warrior answered nervously.

    "I see, thanks."

    Duna nodded and took a few steps before suddenly pausing after sensing something in her mind.

    "It seems like the little girl is waking up. My time is up."

    There was a subtle sad look in Duna''s eyes, but she quickly shook her head and closed her eyes.

 Chapter 380 - Being Followed

    <h4>Chapter 380 - Being Followed</h4>

    Shortly after Chief Valencia left with the warrior scout, she asked, "What news do you have for me? If it is not important, then make it short. There is a lot of clean-up work to be done."

    "It''s the group of vagrants, chief."

    The scout stated.

    "Oh? The vagrants? What do they want? Are they still hiding sneakily near the borders?"

    "No, chief. Most of the vagrants have already left during the start of the battle. However, a small group had secretly snuck in from the northern side while the tribe was busy fighting in the south. Although they were very subtle, my team still tracked and locked onto all their locations."

    The scout reported.

    "They dare sneak into our tribe without my permission? They must be spies from the other tribes on the ins."

    Chief Valencia''s eyes turned cold, and asked, "Did you find out how strong they are?"

    "I am very sorry, chief. My team has yet to ascertain their cultivation. Please punish me!" The scout said regretfully.

    "No, that is fine. It is good to be cautious and not rm the enemy. You did are very good. Continue to monitor them covertly and find out what they after. If it is detrimental to the tribe, you are to engage the enemy at once and capture them for me. However, if you deem that they are too strong, report to me at once!"

    "Yes, chief!"

    The scout bowed and prepared to leave at once.

    "Wait!"

    "Is there anything else, chief?"

    Chief Valencia did not answer immediately. She pondered for a moment before asking, "Which direction did the rest of the vagrants headed to?"

    "I believe it was the southwestern direction, but I am not exactly confident. However, it has not been too long since I sent one of my men to follow them. He should still be in the range of the long-distance voice transmission shell. If you can give me some time, I will ask him to validate the truth."

    "Then do it at once." Chief Valencia ordered.

    "Yes, chief!"

    The scout obliged and took out a white shell with intricately carved red patterns and beganmuting to the other side through it.

    A few breathester, the scout nodded and said, "I have confirmed with my men. The vagrants are indeed headed southwest and have not changed directions since they left our borders. Is there a problem, chief?"

    Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes coldly.

    "Not so much of a problem for us, but what they are nning to do is very disrespectful; it might as well be a personal problem. Tell me, how do you feel if others took advantage of you?"

    "I will be aggrieved and want to right the wrong. Why do you ask this, chief?"

    The scout was confused.

    "You still haven''t realized it? What do you think is in the southwest direction?"

    "In the southwest from here is¡­ the ckwind Tribe. But the ckwind Tribe has fallen to the Bone Cmity, so there should only be a city of ruins left there. If the vagrants are headed there, they will find¡­"

    The scout thought aloud and soon understood why the chief did not seem happy to know that the vagrants were heading southwest.

    Seeing the scout''s somber look, Chief Valencia knew that the scout had understood what she was implying.

    "Right, the ckwind Tribe may have fallen, but its survivors have been assimted into our tribe. Therefore, everything that is left behind in the ruins of the ckwind Tribe rightfully belongs to us¡­ These vagrants are nothing more than thieves trying to steal in our backyards!"

    "These vagrants are too audacious! How dare they take advantage of the chaos to rob us of what is rightfully ours! Even if we don''t want it, it belongs to the Seven Tribe Alliance! Who the hell do these people think they are to waltz into our territory and take our stuff?! Chief, I suggest for us to quickly arrange a punitive force to go teach them a lesson!"

    The scout said angrily with gritted teeth and a firmly clenched fist.

    "I understand how you feel, but the situation does not permit it. We have just finished fighting arge-scale battle. The warriors need time to recuperate and rest. Also, we do not know how strong these vagrants, not to mention that they number in the thousands. If we arrange such arge force to go after them, it will leave our tribe vulnerable. Perhaps, that is what the enemy wants us to do!"

    Chief Valencia sighed and shook her head.

    The scout scratched his head in frustration after listening to the chief''s carefully analytic view on the matter.

    "Dammit, how is this still a group of vagrants? It is more like a damn army! Are we just going to let them do as they please? Toe and go as they wish on ournds?"

    "Naturally not, but this is not something for you to concern yourself with. Just continue to carry out the task I have for you. I am going to use the grand transmission pir tomute with the distant Crimsonfog Tribe and notify them of the situation." Chief Valencia said coolly.

    "It seems the chief already has a n. Then this subordinate will take his leave."

    The scout bowed and took his leave.

    ¡­

    After Duna closed her eyes, her consciousness faded into slumber as another consciousness awoke and took control of the body.

    The ck dress lost its power source and faded away, returning to the lily-white dress, usually adorned by Lumi.

    "Eh? Ehhh~? Where is everyone? What happened to the battle? What is going on???"

    Needless to say, Lumi was totally confused and oblivious to the current situation. Her memory was a nk sheet when she tried to recall.

    The warrior on the side wore a peculiar look as he looked at her strangely.

    Did she seriously not know? Or is she trying to y a prank on him? Why does she seem like apletely different person to the one she was a few moments ago? Lumi? Duna? Does she have something like a multiple personality disorder?

    Lumi suddenly recalled something and panicked as she quickly nced down at her chest. She heaved a sigh of relief to see that nothing was wrong with it but found that was strange in and of itself.

    She was sure that she was struck by a powerful arrow. The pain was vivid in her memory. How did the hole disappear? Was she going crazy?

    ''I should go ask Leon.''

    She decided.

    Looking around, she failed to find Leon, so she approached the nearby warrior and politely asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Leonhardt is?"

    "Big Brother Leonhardt is at the med bay where the wounded warriors are taken to¡­" The warrior repeated the same answer he gave to Duna moments ago with a strange studying gaze.

    "I see. Thank you."

    Lumi quickly expressed her gratitude and left.

    Nothing from her expression seemed false. The warrior was baffled by the fact that a banshee could have split personalities. In fact, it was the first time he witnessed anyone with split personalities.

    ¡­

    Over at the Med Bay, many wounded warriors were ced on stretchers made from bones and hides of demonic beasts.

    No matter how severely wounded they were, not a single one of them uttered a cry of pain. They were warriors, and injuries were a frequent urrence to them. They have long gotten used to the pain and developed a high tolerance for it.

    "I''ve done what I can here. I''ll leave the rest to you guys." Leon said to the medics in charge of applying first-aid treatment to the wounded warriors.

    "Thank you for the hard work, Big Brother Leonhardt. You are a real miracle worker. Your divine healing has saved many warriors from permanent disabilities. It is a great shame that you are not part of our tribe."

    The medic said.

    He understood that with Leonhardt''s abilities, he could go to any tribe and be most weed. The tribes nevercked warriors; theycked capable healers.

    More often than not, many warriors are forced to give up on their warrior''s path due to getting crippled by their grave injuries in battle.

    If not for such cases, there would definitely be more powerhouses on the Infertile ins.

    "Well, things are still open for discussion with your chief," Leon said with a smile.

    Everyone in the med bay perked their ears to listen as their eyes lit up excitedly.

    "You mean¡­?"

    "Yeah, I could be joining, but we will have to see."

    Leon left shortly after leaving those words behind. He decided to head back to the chief''s pce to meet Darlene, but not before passing through the yground to secretly check on Mia.

    As he walked down the empty streets, he noticed a cloaked figure had been secretly following him from the darkness since he left the med bay.

    He paused his steps and shouted, "Come out! Why are you following me?"

    "Sorry to rm you, Young Master Leonhardt¡­ I have heard words of your recent exploits and wanted a chance to meet you. May I have a moment of your time to move to a private ce to discuss some important matters?"

 Chapter 381 - Power Of Spacetime

    <h4>Chapter 381 - Power Of Spacetime</h4>

    "Interesting."

    Leon extended his senses and searched the area to see if the cloaked figure had any aplices nearby.

    The breath was weak, but he managed to detect the presence of another human. However, this person seemed to have been secretly monitoring the cloaked figure. They did not appear to be on the same side.

    After knowing this, Leon nodded, "Lead the way."

    "Thank you for your understanding, Young Master Leonhardt." The cloaked figure smiled unsuspectingly under his hood and led Leon into a more isted and dark area away from the main street.

    You are not from this tribe, are you? Which tribe do you belong to?" Leon casually asked the cloaked figure, but he was ready to retreat at the slightest sign of danger.

    "Yes, I am not from this tribe. I wonder if Young Master Leonhardt have heard of the Great Ironhawk Tribe?"

    "The Great Ironhawk Tribe?"

    Leon furrowed his brows. The name did not ring a bell. Apparently, this tribe was not part of the alliance the Darkmoon Tribe belonged to.

    "It seems Young Master Leonhardt has not traveled beyond the territories of the Seven Tribe Alliance. This is understandable. Someone like you has long been noticed by everyone if you have visited the central ins before."

    "The Great Ironhawk Tribe is from the Infertile ins'' central region. Our tribe possesses 3 ancestors at the Battle King realm and 20 warriors at the Battle Master realm. We are considered one of the rtive stronger tribe out there." The cloaked figure introduced.

    "Is that right¡­ and so? What do you intend to achieve by revealing this bit of information to me? Are you not afraid of being hunted down by the Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors? I heard the Seven Tribe Alliance share a terrible rtionship with other tribes beyond their borders." Leon said intriguingly.

    "It is a risk I am willing to take if it means I can invite Young Master Leonhardt to the central region to join our tribe. What do you think of our tribe? Whatever the Darkmoon Tribe intends to offer Young Master Leonhardt, we are willing to double the benefits."

    "Hoh¡­?"

    On the top of a building some distance away, the scout overheard everything and gnashed his teeth angrily while simultaneously clenching his fists.

    ''F*ck! So it''s a rat from the Great Ironhawk Tribe! How dare this mother f*ckere into our city and sneakily try to poach our people! I must cripple him and teach him a lesson he will never forget!'' The scout viciously thought.''

    Just as he was about to move in for the strike, a silent hand reached out from behind and applied pressure on his shoulder and stopped him, following the person''s whispering voice, "Wait."

    "Big brother?" The scout uttered after getting a careful look at the person. It was another scout in the same line of duty as him.

    The person brought the index finger of his other hand to his lips and hushed, "Shh, be quiet."

    "What are you doing here? What about the target you were monitoring?" the scout quietly whispered.

    The person did not exin and directly pointed in a specific direction. After the scout followed the trajectory directed by the person, he was quickly startled to realize that there was someone else nearby.

    That person had not been there earlier when he checked and must have arrived sometime after. However, the person was very subtle. The scout would not have noticed unless his big brother pointed the person out for him.

    Leon stood there and appeared to be in deep contemtion of the cloaked figure''s offer, but in truth, he was counting the number of people that were arriving with his superhuman hearing.

    After some time, his count stopped at 7 people. Including the cloaked figure in front of him, there were a total of 8 other people.

    ''About for from each side, huh?'' Leon silently mused before directing his attention back to the cloaked figure''s offer.

    "Although I have yet to negotiate with Chief Valencia, your offer is quite tempting. However, what will you do if I were to refuse?"

    When this question was asked, the cloaked figured raised an eyebrow and said with a frown, "I cannot understand why you would refuse. Our tribe is stronger, and the benefits we are willing to offer is greater. No matter how you look at it, you only stand to gain from this. You have no reason to refuse."

    "You seem to forget that we are in the middle of the Darkmoon Tribe. To enjoy the benefits your tribe is offering, we must first get out of here alive. However, there''s a more important point. You do not seem to hold any great position in your tribe. There is no weight in your promises. How can I guarantee that my interest will be met when I arrive in your tribe?"

    Leon wore an amusing smile.

    From the start, he had zero intention of following the cloaked figure to the Great Ironhawk Tribe. It was too far from the teleportation array, not to mention that his important people were right here, in the Darkmoon Tribe.

    When the cloaked figured realized that the other party had zero interest even after all that talking, his expression became more somber and gloomy under the hood.

    "It seems Young Master Leonhardt has no intention of epting the offer. In that case, I can only forcefully take you back with me. And should that fail, I will have no choice but to¡ª"

    The cloaked figure did not finish his words before his eyes shed with a cold light and immediately made his move.

    The distance between the cloaked figure and Leon was closed in an instance. Although Leon was prepared, he was still surprised by the cloaked figure''s speed!

    Too fast!

    Leon could not follow the person''s movements!

    ''el World!''

    He cast temporal eleration on himself, and the world immediately became slower¡ªNo, it should be said that the world appeared slower!

    Time was constant, and as it should be! Only his perception of it was quicker, making everything around him to appear slower!

    The cloaked figure''s incredible speed suddenly became readable to him as he followed the person''s movement and saw the person''s attack trajectory.

    The person wanted to incapacitate him with a single chop!

    Although Leon could read the movements with his eyes, his body was not fast enough to dodge the attack!

    ''Distortion!''

    Leon bent the space in front of him with his Spatial Laws, and the cloaked figure swiped horizontally at empty air. His body may be slow, but his mind was fast!

    "What!"

    The cloaked figure was greatly rmed that his sure-hit chop had missed its intended target! Leon took the chance to retreat as far as he could with a single leap!

    At the same time, everyone secretly in hiding reacted quickly and made their move!

    "Big Brother Leonhardt is in trouble! Quickly assist him! Do not let these bastards get to him!" One of the senior scouts roared.

    "That person is a Peak-rank Great Warrior! None of us will be able to hold him back for long! Quickly send the signal!" Another scout urged as he dashed forward and quickly engaged another cloaked figure in battle.

    A signal re was soon fired into the air and lighted up the sky above the area.

    "Dammit, Ardeshir! We strayed from the main objective for this, yet you cannot even grab a kid at the Early-rank Great Warrior realm! Are you even a Peak-rank Great Warrior?! How can you fail?!"

    A cloaked figure on the other side barked in annoyance as he forcefully fended off the scouts that suddenly appeared.

    "How the f*ck would I know how I fail?! I was so certain I was going to knock the kid out, but it was like space was suddenly stretched!" The cloaked figure barked back in frustration and went after Leon again.

    However, two scouts at the Mid-rank Great Warrior realm appeared between them and blocked the Peak-rank Great Warrior''s path.

    "Out of the way!"

    The two scouts stood no chance against the Peak-rank Great Warrior as they were flung away like swatted flies. Their bodies flew like cannonballs and broke through the walls of several buildings.

    "Why do you have to make this so difficult on yourself?! Just follow us, obediently!" The Peak-rank Great Warrior roared as he closed in on Leon.

    "You better not f*ck up again. We don''t have much time now that we exposed ourselves!" Another cloaked figure aplice barked.

    "I know!"

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior swiped at Leon again, but he managed to evade with ease the second time around.

    The difference between going into el World and already being in el World might not seem like a big deal, but it made a huge difference!

    Even though the opponent''s strength and speed vastly outstripped Leon, he had the situation under control! With the power of spacetime on his side, he was nigh uncatchable!

    "What! How could I fail again?! What darn sorcery is this?!"

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior was in disbelief¡­ His notion of absolute strength trumps everything was in tatters. How can a little Early-rank Great Warrior be so f*cking difficult to catch?!

 Chapter 382 - Witty Escape

    <h4>Chapter 382 - Witty Escape</h4>

    On another side of the city, another group of cloaked figures hiding in a dark alley turned their heads up towards the signal re in the distance.

    "That area is where the others went. Something must have happened there. I should quickly head over and check it out. They could be in trouble and need our help." One of them whispered with a womanly voice.

    "Are you a damn fool or what? So what if they are in trouble? That is their fault! We are trying not to avoid attention, so we carry out the task assigned to us, not attract it! You hear me?!" Another one chided in a repressed voice.

    "Right¡­ that was my mistake. I''m sorry." The person was quick to acknowledge her wrong.

    "I know your lover is over there, but do not forget why we are here and think of the bigger picture. If we fail the task and return to the tribe, the chief will not spare us."

    Hearing mention of their chief, the group shivered.

    Their fear of the chief was a deeply rooted one.

    The tribal chief of the Great Ironhawk Tribe was a ruthless and cold-blooded leader who would not think twice before executing anyone that provokes his ire.

    The number of humans killed by the chief was enough to form a river of blood and a mountain of bones. Many men and women died for the smallest and stupidest of reasons, for example, being too ugly.

    "Let us continue with the mission¡­"

    "Right."

    The group quietly disappeared towards the city''s center.

    ¡­

    Leon''s maniption of higher-orderws was something the people of the Infertile ins were unfamiliar with.

    Forget about the Peak-rank Great Warrior''s iprehensiveness; even the scouts did not understand how he could evade the attacks of someone clearly out of his league.

    The prevalence of body cultivation was dominant on the ins, but awakening cultivation was something still in its infancy.

    "I don''t believe it! If I cannot catch you, then I can only kill you! You should have just obediently followed us back to our tribe! Why do you have to make things harder on all of us?!"

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior drew his dagger and lunged at Leon with increasingly faster and more ferocious attacks.

    With the swooshing sounds of the fluttering wind as the dagger''s de ripped through the air at incredible speed and sharpness, each thrust and swing aimed for Leon''s life!

    Nevertheless, Leon continued to retreat, sidestep, and move in irregr ways to evade each and every strike with the assistance of his Spacetime Laws.

    Even so, it was not as easy as he made it look!

    Hisprehension of the Spatial Law and Temporal Laws were still at a rudimentary level. His application was limited, and the Peak-rank Great Warrior was too strong!

    While he could dodge, he could not escape! It was impossible to get the person off his tail!

    The dense killing intent made him feel incredibly pressured as the slightest mistake will cost him his life! Even so, if he cannot escape, he will retaliate!

    "If I don''t want to leave, no one can make me! Don''t think that I will continue evading your attacks forever; I can also attack!"

    Leon spat coldly.

    A bone spear suddenly appeared in Leon''s grip before burning hot mes ignited on the tip of the spear, adding ayer of lethality to it.

    Shortly after, Leon made a downward vertical swing at the Peak-rank Great Warrior with his ming spear.

    "Bahaha! Asking for death! Do you think an attack of this level will work on me?!" The Peak-rank Great Warrior sneered. He was surprised by the person''s ability to conjure mes, but that was not important.

    The boy''s attack was fast, but not fast enough!

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior struck out with his dagger, but he did not aim to receive Leon''s blow! He was aiming to slip past it and deal Leon a fatal blow!

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior predicted the scene in his mind, but the reality was different!

    Peng!

    The spear and dagger strangely connected after space was distorted!

    "WHAT! It''s that strange power again! Wait! This feeling¡ª!?"

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior quickly noticed the feeling of the sh during the moment of impact was off. It did not produce an explosive effect of two shing forces!

    Leon did notmit to a full-powered sh with the other party. Rather, he used the other person''s strength as a springboard to propel himself away and escape!

    "Later, sucker!"

    Leon purposely taunted the Peak-rank Great Warrior and made a provocative gesture with his free hand as his body flew back at incredible speed from the repelling force.

    He had quickly concocted the retreated n after the two scouts were blown away. With the disadvantage in both numbers and strength, it would have be dangerous if another cloaked figure went after him.

    "ARGH! How dare you trick me! I''m going to kill you!"

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior was livid with rage after being treated like a fool. The humiliation drove him furious!

    "Enough! How you fooled around enough?! We need to retreat before reinforcements arrive! It is clear that our movements have beenpromised from the start! We have underestimated the Darkmoon Tribe''s intelligence severely!" A cloaked figure barked angrily.

    "You guys retreat first! I will leave after I kill this f*cking brat! A warrior can be killed, not humiliated!" The Peak-rank Great Warrior stated madly.

    "Hmph! Suit yourself! Everyone, retreat!" The cloaked figure did not waste time and immediately spoke to the other two cloaked figures.

    The cloaked figure did not waste his breath on persuading the person. It was clear that the Peak-ranked Great Warrior had lost his rationality due to rage.

    The other two scouts were unable to hold back the three cloaked figures from escaping. It was clear that they were no match for the cloaked figures.

    The other three cloaked figures were all High-rank Great Warriors, while the scouts were only Mid-rank Great Warriors.

    "You are truly a stupid muscle brain. Is killing me more important than your own life?" Leon continued to taunt as he retreated from the Peak-rank Great Warrior''s pursuit.

    The person was truly a madman with no regard for his own life. Did the person think he can just tantly chase and hunt him down in the heart of the Darkmoon Tribe?!

    "Hmph! You don''t know your own worth! If our Great Ironhawk Tribe cannot have someone like you, no one else can! This is what you have forced me to do! If you cannot be used by us, then you will only be detrimental to our tribe alive! You are better off dead!" The Peak-rank Great Warrior roared.

    Leon created some distance between them with his wits, but with the Peak-rank Great Warrior''s speed, it was only a matter of time before the person catches up.

    As they darted through the streets, a tyrannical bone saber suddenly flew over and impaled itself in front of the Peak-rank Great Warrior!

    Boom!

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior was forced to give up his pursuit as his expression turned ugly in the next moment.

    "Who did you say is better off dead? I think you are tired of living! How dare you behave rampantly in my tribe! Who the hell do you think you are?" Chief Valencia spoke as she arrived promptly.

    "It''s good that Chief Valencia came. I was beginning to think that no one was." Leon sighed as he was finally given a breather.

    The chase took quite the toll on him after all the extensive treatment he gave to the wounded warriors back at the med bay.

    "Sorry for the dy, Little Brother Leonhardt. I had somethings to take care of¡ªWhere do you think you are going?!" Chief Valencia suddenly snorted and gave chase after retrieving her Soul Weapon.

    The Peak-rank Great Warrior tried to escape at the first opportunity given to him. No matter how brave and tough he thought he was, he knew that he was no match for a Battle Master.

    It was only now that he began to regret his rashness.

    Nevertheless, it was impossible for a Peak-rank Great Warrior to escape from a Mid-rank Battle Master.

    In a short instance, Chief Valencia caught up to the Peak-rank Great Warrior and showed him who''s boss.

    The battle did not evenst a few breaths before the Peak-rank Great Warrior was floored to the ground with all his limbs broken and crippled.

    More reinforcement along with the scouts arrived shortly after, but everything was already over.

    "Chief Valencia."

    The people greeted.

    "Take this person to the cell to be locked away and go request for Master Woodrow to swing by and interrogate the person." Chief Valencia ordered the scouts.

    "Yes, chief!"

    The scout obliged.

    A High-rank Great Warrior approached and asked, "Is something like this necessary to trouble the Venerable Shaman? Why not let me interrogate the person?"

    "No doubt that a Peak-rank Great Warrior will have tight lips. I do not doubt your interrogative skills, but we are short on time. Don''t forget that we still have a few rats on the loose. No doubt that the capture of one will rm the rest. This issue needs to be solved quickly. Themotion has rmed everyone, and we need to keep the streets safe for the people."

    "I understand."

    The High-rank Great Warrior bowed and acknowledged Chief Valencia''s wise decisions.

 Chapter 383 - Picking Up The Little Girl

    <h4>Chapter 383 - Picking Up The Little Girl</h4>

    Meanwhile, Lumi continued to search for Leon over at the med bay. When she arrived, everyone became so tensed, some of the wounded warrior''s wound reopened and spurted blood like a little sprinkler.

    "Ah, medic! I''m bleeding again!"

    Although she no longer had the heavy and dense aura of resentment surrounding her, no one forgot the mysterious and frightening power she disyed. It was still fresh in their memory.

    If they were to displease this banshee, there was no telling where the banshee will identally erase them from existence.

    The thought of that was simply too scary to imagine.

    "Hey, you!" Lumi picked a nearby medical-looking person and called him over, "Can I ask you some question?"

    The person''s heart jumped from the abruptness and stuttered, "Y-yes? How can I help you? I mean, what would you like to ask?"

    "Can you tell me where Leonhardt is? I was told that he came here earlier." Lumi asked nicely.

    Seeing the banshee being so polite, the fear in his heart was considerably abated. The person nodded and said, "The Divine Doctor¡ªNo, Big Brother Leonhardt was here, but you are toote. Big Brother Leonhardt had already left some time ago."

    "Ah, really? Did he tell you where he was going?" Lumi asked with mild disappointment. Was that person avoiding her? He did not even wait for her and left her on the battlefield all alone. How hateful.

    The medical person shook his head and said, "Big Brother Leonhardt did not specify his destination, but he had expended a great deal of energy to treat everyone. If I''m not wrong, Big Brother Leonhardt should have gone back to rest."

    "I see, thank you very much!" Lumi expressed her gratitude before leaving promptly.

    The medical person shook his hands and said, "No, no, it was nothing really! d to be of help!"

    Shortly after Lumi was gone from sight, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. This white-dressed version was so much more approachable and easy-goingpared to the ck-dressed one.

    Nevertheless, there was a certain pressure from the individual that still made them nervous and uneasy.

    This veiled pressure came from the Devil''swprehension that Lumi herself was not aware of it. But if she so wishes, she would be able to wield this power as simply as Duna did.

    She flew back and reached the pce first. When she failed to find Leon, she did not continue to go look for him. She believed that he would return to the pce sooner orter as there were matters in the pce for him to deal with.

    "Oh wow, they have fireworks! The people here sure are quick to celebrate their victory." Lumi eximed after seeing a signal re shoot into the sky, mistaking it for celebratory fireworks.

    ¡­

    After Chief Valencia settled her businesses with the surrounding warriors, she turned to Leon and said, "You''re a valuable and heavily sought-after person, Little Brother Leonhardt. It is not safe outside during this following period. I suggest you don''t wander around without anypany. How about we return to my ce for now?"

    Leon thought briefly for a moment before nodding, "Alright."

    "Ah, but before that, there is a ce I must stop by. I hope you won''t mind?" Chief Valencia stated.

    "Not at all," Leon replied with a headshake as he bes slightly curious. Nevertheless, he did not ask and followed the chief silently to find his answer.

    The route they took coincided with the same path Leon originally intended to take. They stopped by the yground next to the academy for children.

    The ce was not only an educational facility but a great shelter with good instion.

    Many families could be seen waiting outside for their children to leave the academy grounds and find them so they could head home together.

    Giggles andughter could be heard as children dive into their parents'' arms.

    Apart from a select few who had not been within the shelter, most of the children were ignorant of the battle that urred outside. The adults wanted to protect the children''s innocence while they are still young and free from responsibilities.

    Even so, not every child had a family to return to. Some children stood on the yground searching for their parents, but to no avail.

    Not everyone made it back from the battle alive.

    "What ns does the chief have for the orphans?" Leon curiously asked.

    "Someone will take care of them and arrange new homes for them." Chief Valencia answered as she continued to search the crowd of outgoing children on the yground.

    Leon assumed that the chief hade to pick up her children, but then again, he had not heard of the chief having any children despite having multiple lovers.

    As they watch the crowd of children on the yground together, Leon wondered if he would be able to spot Mia among them.

    After a moment, he recalled something he had heard from Ironhead and realized that the chief might be waiting to pick up Mia.

    As if you confirm his spection, he spotted Mia''s appearance and saw the chief waving her hand over shortly after.

    "Aunty!"

    Mia ran over and dived towards Chief Valencia as she knelt down to catch the little girl with her open arms.

    "How was school today, Little Mia? Did you behave well? Did anyone bully you? If they did, you can tell me. I will get someone to teach them a lesson." Chief Valencia said warmly.

    Leon watched the chief doted on Mia greatly.

    ''Anyone bullying this little princess would only be other children. Was the chief seriously going to beat up other people''s children if the little girl was bullied? No, maybe it had already happened.'' Leon quietly mused.

    The little girl giggled and nodded, "Un, Mia was very good today! The teachers all praised Mia for being well-behaved! After Aunty taught all those naughty kids a lesson, no one dared to bully Mia again!"

    "Bahaha, is that so? That''s good, that''s good."

    Chief Valencia nodded approvingly.

    She had zero guilt for the fact that she had beaten up children before. Naughty children needed to be disciplined early, or they grow up spoiled and pick up many bad habits that stick with them for life.

    Nevertheless, Leon sweated at the fact that the chief had no scruples beating other people''s children.

    What did the parents do when that happened? Did theyin? Did they harbor resentment towards the chief for it? Or¡­ maybe not?

    With the chief''s great prestige, perhaps the parents might even felt that it was an honor for the chief to discipline their naughty children and offer their gratitude.

    This could indeed be a good thing if the parents are too soft-hearted and doting to discipline their own children when they are naughty.

    If they cannot do it, they should let others do it.

    Raising a child was like raising nts. With the right amount of water and sunlight, they will grow nicely. But if too much water is given, they will drown and die.

    As such, a loving parent might not necessarily be a good parent, while a strict and cold parent might not necessarily be a bad parent either.

    The topic was quite subjective.

    "Oh, right. Let me introduce you. This is Brother Leonhardt. He is very skilled in the art of healing. So, if you ever get hurt, this brother can fix you good as new." Chief Valencia introduced.

    Leon had been standing inconspicuously behind the chief. As such, the little girl had totally overlooked him.

    However, at that moment, their eyes finally met. The little girl''s eyes quickly widened. Leon smiled wryly as he understood that the little girl had recognized him through the lion-headed cloak he was wearing.

    Apart from a change in his skin tone, he practically looked the same as before. There were no surprises there.

    He winked at Mia at once with one eye, and the little girl was bright enough to understand his meaning as she quickly held back the words that hung on the tips of her tongue cutely.

    "Why don''t you say hello to Brother Leonhardt for me?"

    "Hello, Brother Leonhardt."

    Mia greeted after Chief Valencia''s urging.

    "This little girl here is called Mia. She is somewhat like a daughter to me. I hope you can look out for her whenever you can while you are here in the city."

    "No problem."

    Leon smiled lightly.

    Even without the chief''s request, he would still do it. The little girl was his adopted little sister. Although they had spent a short time together, he treated his rtionships seriously.

    This was even more so for Mia. She would never forget how Leon treated her and took her out of the slums to eat good food and wear nice clothes.

    It was a single act of kindness, but a lifetime of gratitude.

    "Hello there, Mia. This brother is still new in this city and has not prepared any meeting gift. Would little Mia be willing to show this brother to some good food ces and clothing stores around here?"

    Little Mia''s eyes reddened slightly as she nodded, "Un!"

 Chapter 384 - A Problem Of Two Souls

    <h4>Chapter 384 - A Problem Of Two Souls</h4>

    After picking up Mia, they headed back to the Chief Pce together. Along the way, Chief Valencia was surprised by how well the other two got along.

    She did not sense the slightest aversion to strangers from the little girl. Even she did not get such treatment.

    The little girl was still a little wary of her when they first met. After her initial surprise, she thought with rm, ''Aren''t they getting along too well?!''

    "Is Little Brother Leonhardt fond of children?" Chief Valencia asked, seemingly casual on the surface.

    Ironhead had also asked Leon this question before. Thus, he did not think much of it and acknowledged it with a nod, "Un, I am fond of children."

    Some distance between Mia and Leon was immediately created as Chief Valencia pulled Mia away and looked at Leon warily.

    "I''m warning you, there''s a line you cannot cross! Little Mia might be cute and adorable, but she is too young!" Chief Valencia warned while shielding Mia from Leon like a mother hen protecting its chick.

    Leon was stunned before his eyes widened in horror and said, "Woah, hold on a f*cking minute! You are sorely mistaken! It''s not like that!"

    "It''s not like what exactly?"

    "It''s not like¡­ argh!"

    Chief Valencia''s wary gaze pierced right through Leon''s heart. He received a serious mental blow after being looked at like he was some lolicon.

    After furiously trying to exin himself out of the quagmire, the group of three made it back to the Chief Pce. Leon only managed to dodge a bullet after he finally convinced the chief of her misunderstanding.

    Sweat trickled down his forehead after the ordeal while Mia could be heard giggling.

    "I''ve heard Little Brother Leonhardt had exhausted himself while treating numerous warriors after the battle. Feel free to use the washroom and get some rest. We will meet againter after you are properly rested."

    Chief Valencia bade goodbye to Leon before turning to the little girl and said, "Let us go see your mother, Little Mia."

    "Alright, Aunty. See you next time, Brother Leon¡ªLeonhardt!" Mia waved cutely while Chief Valencia carried her away.

    Leon wave back but froze after seeing Chief Valencia turning her head around to give him a warning look.

    It seemed that she was not entirely convinced.

    Leon could only scratch his head wryly and ept the fact that Chief Valencia will continue to be guarded against him. He wondered what he had done wrong to be seen as a child predator.

    "Haiz¡­"

    He sighed despondently and headed back to the room he shared the night with Darlene. That girl must still be waiting for his return.

    After taking a few dozen steps downs the guest rooms, he bumped into Lumi shortly after.

    "Aha! I knew I would run into you here sooner orter! Why did you leave me behind outside the city all by myself?" Lumi said with an aggrieved expression.

    "Ah, sorry about that. It must have slipped my mind while I was tending to the wounded warriors." Leon awkwardly said.

    Lumi immediately pouted.

    However, she shortly recalled the respect and admiration the wounded warriors had in their eyes when she mentioned Leon''s name back in the med bay. Since he was busy doing good deeds, she could only unwillingly forgive him for leaving her behind.

    "Never mind. There is something I want to ask you. What happened to the battle? I can''t seem to remember anything¡­" Lumi began asking.

    "Hmm¡­" Leon contemted for a moment before asking back, "Do you really not remember anything while you were out."

    Lumi shook her head.

    Apart from before the scene of her getting shot, everything else was a nk te until she woke up.

    "Hmm, what can I say? A lot had happened. But before that, did you ever have an elder sister named Duna?" Leon inquired.

    "An elder sister named¡­ Duna? Hm? Duna¡­ Duna¡­" Lumi mumbled the name repeatedly like she had heard it somewhere before, but it had be too distant and vague to remember.

    When Lumi forced the issue, she suddenly lost strength and passed out as her body began to fall towards the ground.

    "Lumi!"

    Leon caught her before she hit the ground and felt the weight of her body. It was heavierpared to her weightless past. It could be said that she had gained weight.

    This was possibly due to absorbing his pseudo-Grantmist Energy after Lumi advanced to the Corporeal state.

    Leon ced Lumi inside his Worldspace and quickly reviewed some rted books in the Archive with a slight frown.

    Since Lumi passed out, Duna should have awakened. However, that was not the case. The both of them seemed to be unconscious.

    "What''s wrong, Lumi?" Maya appeared beside Leon and asked curiously.

    "She passed out after I tried to mention her elder sister Duna to her," Leon answered promptly as he continued to peruse information on the matter.

    But no matter how he looked, there did not seem to be any precedented medical cases that exined what happened to Lumi.

    ''An unprecedented case that has not been recorded in the [Divine Book of Life]? This is a first¡­'' Leon frowned.

    "You told her about her elder sister? Oh, you shouldn''t have done that." Maya said.

    "I can see that, and I am trying to understand why it is a problem. Do you know something?" Leon asked after seeing how Maya was quite willing to talk.

    Since she seemed so cooperative, why would he continue using the Archive when he can ask the knowledgeable artifact spirit directly?

    "Well, you should give up on checking the Archive for answers. Lumi''s case is a special one. If I''m not wrong, her problem is no longer as simple as a psychological disorder nor a problem with the soul, but a problem that is a fusion of both problems."

    Leon nodded.

    The book in his hand dissipated into energy particles and flew back to the high-rise bookshelf before converging back into a book on the shelf. The high-rise bookshelf descended into the ground and disappeared shortly after, returning the Archive back to its t white state.

    "A fusion of both problems, huh? That is assuming that another soul is residing inside her apart from the fragment of Devil Soul. And that soul is supposedly Lumi''s elder sister Duna. However, she seems to have forgotten this person due to her psychological disorder, which passed all her negative feelings onto Duna and merged with her¡­"

    Leon began to analyze the problem quickly after Maya gave him a heading. His years of studying medicine did not seem to be in vain.

    "So should Lumi bes fully aware of Duna, her split personality would be fixed. But in the process of taking back the negative feelings she had given to her elder sister Duna, she will also be absorbing Duna herself¡­ which leads to the merging of both their souls. But in the process of merging two souls, the more dominant one will take control, while the other one disappears¡­"

    "You''re quick to understand the heart of the matter. That is also what I have guessed. Thus, the reason she passed out with Duna not waking up either is none of them subconsciously want to merge with the other." Maya stated.

    "It seems I should not bring up the topic of her elder sister again in the future," Leon said with a concerned frown. This matter was quite delicate.

    "Yes, unless you want Lumi to disappear forever. Although she is the main host, Duna is definitely the stronger one of the two." Maya said.

    Leon nodded.

    Hepletely agreed with Maya''s statement. Lumi soft and gentle, while Duna was vengeful and overbearing. Lumi definitely would not stand a chance against her elder sister if they fuse.

    However, there was also another possibility, and that is Dunapletely surrenders herself and allow Lumi to be the dominant one during the merge. Still, then Lumi would definitely not want that either. Thus, both of them fell into a self-induceda, with neither one of them waking up.

    "This is problematic. Let this matter end here."

    "Sure, now about the matter with the new stories you promised¡ª"

    Swoosh!

    Before Maya could finish her words, Leon''s spirit had already disappeared from the Archive and returned to the outside world.

    "This bastard sure is quick to run!" Maya stamped her in rage. Having lived such a long life, she found everything dull and boring. Reading novels has be her hobby, but Leon would not even grant that for her.

    However, it was not that he did not want to, but the fact that there is none to give her!

    The Darkmoon Tribe had a library, but the tribe was, after all, a warring tribe where everyone''s life regrly dances on the precipice of danger. No one neither had the luxury nor boredom to be writing novels for others to read.

    "Uh¡ª"

    Leon was met with Darlene''s face up close as soon as he opened his eyes, causing him to let out a sound of surprise.

    "You''re back. What were you doing just standing here? Were you too tired and just took a nap on the spot?" Darlene inquired with a sweet smile before grabbing his hand and pulling him along. "Come, let us go back to our room."

    "Wait, I have not washed up yet."

    "Then let''s go to the washroom. I will help wash your back." Darlene said proactively with a slight blush.

    Shortly after, Leon''s little brother woke up energetically as soon he began having dirty thoughts.

    "Well¡­ hehe¡­ let us go wash together then."

 Chapter 385 - Divine Demon Tree

    <h4>Chapter 385 - Divine Demon Tree</h4>

    At the center of a courtyard within the Chief Pce, there was a single tree of an unknown breed with special runes surrounding it to keep it alive.

    The trunk and branches were crimson red like fresh blood, while the leaves were pitch ck with a mysterious glow like ck obsidian stones.

    The tree looked quite demonic, but several servants were sitting by the foot of the tree in meditation. The Darkness Profound Energy near the ck tree was much denserpared to other parts of the Darkmoon Tribe.

    It was a rare breed capable of producing Darkness Profound Energy; this alone made the ck tree''s value inestimable. It was an invaluable and peerless treasure solely possessed by the chief of the Darkmoon Tribe.

    Despite that, several selected servants were permitted to cultivate by the ck tree. Their status was anything but ordinary.

    A few more servants could be seen sweeping the fallen ck leaves on the ground further away from them. The status between sweeping servants and the servants cultivating by the tree was like the difference between heaven and earth.

    They simply cannot bepared.

    The moment Chief Valencia stepped inside the courtyard while carrying Mia in her arms, the sweeping servants quickly took notice and humbly greeted with their heads lowered, "Chief Valencia."

    "Un."

    Chief Valencia acknowledged their greeting and lowered herself to let the little girl down.

    Mia wanted to run towards the ck tree, but Chief Valencia held onto the little girl and said, "Wait, your mother is cultivating. Don''t disturb her."

    The little girl immediately adorably covered her mouth before the word ''mother'' escaped her mouth and waited patiently with the chief for the servants by the ck tree to finish their cultivation session.

    These servants were precisely the missing people Leon was looking for.

    Even though Leon inferred that their living conditions were quite good working in the pce, he would have never thought that they were valued this greatly by the chief.

    After some time, Helen and the other ex-disciples of the Illusory Butterfly Sect woke up from their cultivation session and noticed the nearby Mia and Chief Valencia.

    "Chief Valencia, Mia, you''re both here." Helen and the others greeted, before Helen asks, "How is the situation outside."

    "The battle is over. We lost quite a few people, but it was a great victory, nheless. Many warriors advanced their strength, and so have mine." Chief Valencia answered her question with a wide smile. Evidently, she still felt good about her breakthrough.

    "That''s great news. Congrattion on your breakthrough, Chief Valencia!" Helen and the others congratted.

    "Thanks. After cultivating by the Divine Demon Tree for some time, what level have you all reached now?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "We''re not sure yet. Allow us to test our strengths."

    After the chief nodded, Helen and the ex-disciples began executing some practice punches at the empty air. The force of their strikes was urately sensed by the chief.

    "The force is around 18,500 jin, huh? Not bad. You''re all growing quickly." Chief Valencia praised before she felt Mia''s small movements and realized she was still holding onto the little girl.

    "Mother!"

    Mia darted into Helen''s arms after being released. Helen picked up Mia and carried her with a gentle expression.

    "How''s my little girl? Did anyone bully you in school today?"

    "No!"

    Mia answered cutely.

    Chief Valencia watched them interact briefly with a warm expression before she said, "I''ll let you two catch up. I have things I need to do."

    After everyone bade goodbye to the chief and watch her disappear from the courtyard, Mia pulled herself closer to Helen''s ears and whispered excitedly, "Mother, guess who I saw today?"

    "Oh? Who did you see?" Helen asked casually with a warm smile.

    She did not think much of the question, but when the little girl whispered the name in a lower volume only audible to Helen, she widened her eyes and whispered back, "Is that true? You saw your big brother?

    "Definitely saw!" Mia said with heavy emphasis.

    Helen became rmed and nced around with a bit of caution before she quietly said, "Let''s head back to our room first. We will continue to talk there."

    "Okayyy."

    ¡­

    In another part of the Chief Pce, several hourster.

    After washing up, the afterglow on Darlene''s face could still be seen as they exited the washroom together.

    "You''re a real nymph, you know that?" Leon poked her nose while she was clinging to his arm like honey.

    Leon shook his head wryly when he recalled the moment he thought that Darlene genuinely wanted to help him wash his back. Who knew that she was aroused than he was and be the one to initiate things?

    "Hehe!"

    Darlene simply giggled sweetly and shed Leon a flirtatious look. In return, Leon smacked her round apple booty a p and said, "Trying to seduce me again? Watch how I teach you a lesson!"

    "Ahh! Don''t~!"

    Darlene said coquettishly and tried to escape Leon''s grasp as he teasingly chased after her. However, at that moment, their little game of cat and mouse was interrupted.

    "Ahem!"

    A female servant coughed with a slight blush.

    After catching Leon''s attention, the female servant spoke, "The chief would like to see you, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "I see. That much time has already passed, huh? I understand. I will see the chief shortly." Leon nodded to the female servant. It seems that he had spent too much time ''washing'' with Darlene back in the washroom.

    "Then I will take my leave first." The female servant said and curtsied politely before taking her leave.

    Shortly after, Leon turned his attention to Darlene and said, "Why don''t you head back to the room first? I have something important to talk to the chief about."

    "Then I will wait for hubby. You know where to find me." Darlene threw Leon a seductive look before she hurried off in case Leon punish her bottoms again.

    ''This seductress¡­''

    Leon shook his head wryly and began heading off to see Chief Valencia. Along the way, his brows wrinkled slightly as he felt something was slightly off.

    Although he did not mind his women taking the initiative with him, he felt that Darlene was too proactive in trying to please him.

    This did not seem to match with the information that female servants were supposedly very reserved.

    Was Darlene still afraid that he would throw her away after popping her cherry? He could only contemte these thingster as he was about to meet the chief.

    Shortly after Leon was gone, Darlene turned around. She nced in the direction he left with an indecipherable expression for a moment before continuing to enter the guest room reserved for Leon.

    ¡­

    "I heard you want to see me," Leon spoke as soon as he entered the main hall and spotted Chief Valencia seated by the dining table, filled with an array of exquisite dishes.

    Chief Valencia nodded and said, "I supposed you have not eaten yet. Come, join me. We will talk over the meal."

    Looking at the appetizing food on the table, Leon''s stomach began to rumble with eagerness. The food gave off an aromatic scent not inferior to the food on the night of the great feast.

    "Since the chief has offered, I shall humbly ept," Leon said and brought himself over to the dining table before seating himself opposite of the chief.

    No dining utensils were prepared, but an empty te was ced there. The warriors of Darkmoon Tribe ate with their hands and do not rely on any tools.

    "Please, dig in. No need to wait."

    "Don''t mind if I do then."

    Leon immediately dug into the food. The smell of delicious food made him feel famished. However, he began to feel awkward shortly after noticing the chief watching him eat without touching her own food.

    "Ahem."

    Leon wiped his mouth and cleared his throat before he initiated the topic, "I''ve given it some thought. I can join the tribe, but I have several conditions."

    Before the meeting, Chief Valencia was already mentally prepared to satisfy Leonhardt''s requirements to recruit him. His abilities were simply too valuable to pass on.

    Just the fact that Leonhardt can treat the Demon Possession problem means that he is a person that must be protected at all cost.

    The elder generations of warriors all cripple their Demon Core once they reach a certain age because the chances of contracting Demon Possession be noticeably higher the older one ages.

    No one cripples their Demon Core after contracting Demon Possession. This is because they would have already lost control of their Demon Core and unable to safely self-destruct it.

    Because of the threat posed by Demon Possession, the elderly warriors always had the regret of not knowing how far they could have progressed in their cultivation before contracting Demon Possession.

    However, everything changes with Leonhardt around. Everyone would try to hit their absolute limit because they would know that they can still be saved after contracting Demon Possessing.

    The chances of Battle Masters breaking through to Battle Kings would also be higher due to that.

    Chief Valencia nced at Leonhardt with anticipation and tried to calm her excitedly heart before asking, "What are your conditions for joining our tribe?"

 Chapter 386 - Cannot Hold It

    <h4>Chapter 386 - Cannot Hold It</h4>

    "Firstly, I do not want my freedom to be limited or restrained by anything or anyone. I will take up residence in the tribe and contribute towards its development and survival, but I will not heed the orders of anyone. I do not like people forcing me to do something I do not want to do." Leon stated.

    "This condition is not a problem. We will treat you like how we treat the other Venerable Shamans. What are your other conditions?" Chief Valencia nodded forthrightly. Her goal was never to control Leonhardt but to convince him to stay in their tribe. So long as he is around, they could seek him out and request his help.

    She knew that vagabonds are unfettered people who like to travel a lot. Asking the person to stay was already a big request. To ask for the person''s allegiance was simply asking them to run away.

    She had to make sure not to cross his bottom line.

    "My second condition for you to give Darlene and the other female servants with Void Bodies to me. This won''t be a problem, right?" Leon asked.

    "Oh?"

    Chief Valencia was slightly surprised by this condition and said, "I can understand if it just Darlene, but why do you also want the other female servants with Void Bodies? What do you n to do with them?"

    "I don''t n to do anything to them except use them as servants to look after my designated home. It was Darlene''s request that I take them with me." Leon stated as he peeled a piece of meat from one of the dishes on the table and popped it in his mouth casually.

    "It was Darlene''s request, huh? It seems Little Brother Leonhardt has grown quite fond of this little servant. Very well, I will agree to this condition. Anything else?" Chief Valencia asked.

    Leon smiled lightly and did notment on her opinion. After a short moment of contemtion, he nodded and said, "I do have another condition, but think of it as more of a request from me. I need a permanent residence and a ce to open my medical clinic. Will this be a problem?"

    "Not at all! I cannot be happier to satisfy this request." Chief Valencia stated eagerly.

    Since Leonhardt was taking the initiative to set up his clinic, they would not need to ask him for favors. They just needed to visit his clinic when it is opened to be treated. She only hopes that Leonhardt does not charge a sky-high price for his constion fees.

    "I remember Ironhead had arranged a private courtyard for your amodation. What did you think of that private courtyard? Was it to your liking?"

    Leon recalled the courtyard in his memory and nodded, "I''ve only stayed briefly, but I have seen the interior. It''s truly not a bad ce."

    Although he felt it was still a little barren and could use some renovation, he did not mention this. After all, wherein the Infertile ins could he grow lush green nts?

    "How about making that private courtyard your permanent residence?" Chief Valencia suggested.

    "Is that alright? I heard the private courtyard still belongs to the family members of a deceased warrior."

    "You do not have to worry about this. I will negotiate with the family and transfer the property under your name once I purchase the property from them."

    "This doesn''t seem proper, no?" Leon asked with slightly furrowed brows. The chief definitely has the purchasing power with her wealth, but he did not want to owe too much, especially when he did not earn it.

    Chief Valencia shook her head and said, "It''s a necessary expense to get you to join us. Are there any more conditions? Feel free to list them all at once."

    "No, that is all."

    "Well then, just to rify. In order to satisfy your first condition, I will not be providing you with any fixed amount of Dark Crystals regrly. You are fine with this, yes?"

    "Of course. That is only to be expected." Leon nodded.

    He only chose to live with the Darkmoon Tribe and did not choose to work for them. It is only natural that he does not get paid.

    "Very well. Allow me to formally wee you to our tribe." Chief Valencia strode over and offered a handshake with a big smile. A burden seemed to have been lifted off her shoulders.

    "d to be part of the family."

    Leon epted the handshake with his greasy hands, but Chief Valencia did not seem to mind this. Her own hands were dirtied during the meal.

    A subtle hint of disappointment was seen in Chief Valencia''s eyes. The ideal result would be for Leonhardt to work for her, even if she had to offer a high wage.

    But she also understood that with Leonhardt''s skills, it would not be difficult for him to earn Dark Crystals. None of the Venerable Shamans had difficulty making Dark Crystals, and he was the youngest addition to them.

    "We will be in your care in the future." Chief Valencia lightly before bidding farewell, "I will leave first to take of the requests as promised. Feel free to dine on your own and leave at your own pace. A servant will clean the tableter."

    "Alright."

    After Chief Valencia disappeared, Leon enjoyed a sumptuous feast at the dining table to himself. The food on the table was enough to feed 10 people.

    Nevertheless, Leon could not help but eat three people''s worth. He never realized the joy of eating until he reincarnated into his second life.

    Leon patted his bulging belly in satisfaction before he amusingly thought, "I am sooo going to regret thister¡­ but it was worth it."

    It was like going to a buffet. People do not go there to enjoy top-quality food. They go there to eat their money''s worth.

    "This will be a waste if no one eats them." Leon thought as he looked at the remaining food on the dining table.

    After ncing around and confirming he was the only person in the main hall, he pocketed all the food into his Worldspace.

    ''Best save it forter.''

    Leon licked his lips.

    The Infertile ins was far from flourishing like the Human Domain. Still, they had some terrific cooking techniques in addition to some exquisite spices and ingredients only unique to the Dark Continent.

    ''Time to leave.''

    Sometimeter, Leon returned to the reserved guest room, where Darlene was seen waiting on the bed patiently for him.

    "Wee back, hubby." She said.

    "Un, I''m back."

    Leon nodded and entered the room before taking a seat on the bed just beside Darlene. A feeling of weariness soon spread to every inch of his body.

    Surprisingly, it was not the fatigue umted during the day, but the food weighing him down and making him drowsy. Darlene noticed his expression and started to give him a shoulder massage quietly without a word.

    Leon smiled at her thoughtful gesture and began to talk, "I had a talk with the chief earlier about joining the tribe."

    There was a slight pause in Darlene''s message before she resumed massaging his shoulders and curiously asked, "How did that go? Did hubby decide to stay in the tribe?"

    "Yes, not only that, but the chief has promised to give us a permanent resident to stay and also agreed to hand you and your sisters over to me. You do not need to continue working as a servant anymore."

    Darlene began to tremble as she asks, "Ah? Really?"

    Leon turned to the side and looked her directly in the eye and said with a gentle smile, "Do I need to lie to you about this?"

    Darlene quickly shook her head and dived into Leon''s arms emotionally.

    "I love you, hubby!"

    Leon smiles slightly withoutmenting.

    Love¡­ this word cannot be used lightly. Liking was easy, but love requires dedication andmitment. It was too early for them to be talking about love.

    The only thing Darlene seems to like him about right now is¡­

    Pak!

    Leon lightly pped away the hand Darlene was using to sneakily reach for his little brother before he said, "Don''t. Now is not a good time for that."

    "You don''t want me?" Darlene asked with watery eyes.

    "I do, but now is really not a good time¡­" Leon tried to stress with a difficult expression.

    His mind was telling him "no," but his body¡­ The dragon was awakened, but his stomach felt uneasy with gas building up inside. He seemed to have eaten something funny.

    Nevertheless, Darlene did not seem to have heard thetter part of his words as she reached for his erected rod and brought her head closer. She wanted to please him with her mouth.

    However!

    Leon''s face became more constipated by the moment until he could hold it anymore and let it rip!

    "Not good, it''sing out!" He cried.

    "Whating out? I haven''t started yet¡ª"

    Phhhrt!

    Leon let out a quick fart, and a short burst of methane gas entered Darlene''s nose, causing her face to instantly pale with a tinge of greenness.

    "Ugh¡­ Bleurgh!"

    Darlene gagged.

    Leon felt so embarrassed he could die, but since it already happened, it happened. He cannot do anything to change that fact.

    Sometimeter, Darlene recovered and red at Leon with a wronged expression, "How can you do that to me?"

    "Ah, don''t give me that look¡­ I tried to warn you already, did I not?" Leon tried to exin while avoiding her piercing gaze, but after a moment, he thought of something, and a short, suppressedughter escaped his mouth, "Pft!"

    "Is this amusing?!"

    Leon knew Darlene was going to hate him for some time for this, but he could not be bothered to dwell on it too much. Since it happened, it happened. Just let it be.

    "Well, kind of? You know what they say about the first step in a rtionship. It''s not the first kiss but the first fart. Hahaha." Heughed with a rxed expression.

    "Huh?" Darlene widened her eyes and pouted angrily with a heavy blush, "Who the hell even came up with that!"

 Chapter 387 - An Incident At The Lavatory

    <h4>Chapter 387 - An Incident At The Lavatory</h4>

    "Who indeed¡­ Ahem, that is not important. You really cannot me for this, alright? I did warn you¡­"

    Leon coughed and attempted to cate Darlene. Unfortunately, starting a fire was easier than putting one out. No matter what he did to please her, it did not work.

    He took out the food he took earlier, but Darlene did not have an appetite after sniffing his fart. He gave her a special message, but she simply shrugged his hands off.

    "Hmph!" Darlene pouted grumpily.

    Leon could only smile wryly.

    Nevertheless, he enjoyed seeing this side of Darlene. Although she was defiant due to her anger, it was still better than being submissive and amodating. She was bing more of a lover and less of a servant.

    "Alright, alright. Don''t be mad anymore, okay? I was wrong¡ª"

    Rumble¡­

    Leon stopped talking abruptly.

    He held his queasy stomach that was building up for round two and warned, "Oh, no. It''s going toe out again!"

    Darlene had no time to angry. She immediately panicked when she heard his words and cried, "Go¡­ go away!"

    Leon clenched his rear and quickly fled the room. A female servant was just passing by when she was immediately stopped by him.

    "Which way is thevatory? Quick, answer me!" Leon urged with desperation like he would murder someone if they did notply with his wish.

    "Ah? Y-Yes!" The female was badly frightened before she pointed, "You just go straight down that path, turn left towards the outside, and it''ll just be on the right!"

    "Thanks!"

    Leon attempted to rush for it as he felt the urge to chuck a big turd along with the gas building up inside of him. He felt like the two were working in sync to torment him.

    ''Dammit, exactly what did I eat wrong?!'' He cussed in his mind. Clearly, something was not mixing well in his stomach.

    At the same time, the female servant realized something and quickly eximed, "Oh, no! I identally gave the young master the directions to the femalevatory! I need to stop the young master. Young Master Leonhardt, wait¡ª!"

    Phhhrt!

    Leon identally exerted himself, and hell''s gate was squeezed open by the built-up gas inside of him, leaving a trail of noxious fumes in its wake.

    The poor female servant chasing behind Leon quickly inhaled the horrendous smell and caused herplexion to quickly turn green from disgust and revulsion.

    "Bleurgh!"

    She gagged furiously and failed to stop the young master!

    Sometimeter, Leon''s loud voice could be heard from inside the female''svatory as he struggled to push the big turd out.

    He felt like a mother hen trying toy an oversized egg, where the surface was revealed but ended up getting stuck halfway!

    And if he gave up on pushing it out, it would go back inside like a shy skunk that doesn''t want toe out of its hole! It was the worse toilet experience he had since his reincarnation!

    "Get out! Get out now!!"

    "Begone, demon!"

    "Haaaaaa!!!"

    Several female servants were attracted to themotion and gathered outside the femalevatory before discussing and specting the situation inside with concern.

    "What''s going on here?"

    "Someone is fighting the demon inside!"

    "How can there be a demon here?"

    "Yeah, exactly. What would it be doing inside of a femalevatory?"

    "I''m not too clear on the details, but listen to it! You can tell someone is fighting inside!"

    Bam! Bam! Bam!

    Inside the femalevatory, Leon banged on the sides of the walls as hisplexion turned purple from constipation. Gas was still building up, but it was trapped inside due to the big turd blocking the backdoor.

    "You damned stubborn ass demon! Begone at once!

    "Haaaaa!!!"

    However, to the outside, it sounded like an absolute battlefield inside! And it was! But not in the same sense that they were imagining!

    "How did a demon sneak inside here? The person inside needs help! You can tell he is definitely fighting for his life!"

    "What can we do? We are just talentless servants who cannot cultivate, and the chief is not present in the pce!"

    "Quickly find some Great Warriors nearby and call them over to help!"

    The female servants panicked for instructions. They were used to receiving orders and did not know how to make decisions for themselves.

    The female servant that gave Leon the direction to the femalevatory wore a doubtful look as she knew the person needed to use thevatory. Can this be anymore exaggerated?!

    However, the violent tremors shaking thevatory and ground made her think otherwise. Perhaps, there really is a demon inside!

    Boom!

    There was a loud thud before everything subsequently went silent.

    "Hold on, everyone. I think the battle ended! The noise stopped!" A female servant said.

    The others turned back and looked at the park entrance on the femalevatory with apprehension. Who won?

    Sometimeter, Leon''s figure could be seen exiting thevatory with exhaustion written all over his face like he had just survived a great battle. It was the most difficult battle yet, but he was victorious!

    "Young Master Leonhardt? You were the one fighting the demon? Where is the demon now? Is it dead yet?"

    "What was the demon doing inside the femalevatory?"

    The female servants quickly surrounded Leon and fired questions one after the other. He raised an eyebrow and looked back at thevatory entrance with half droopy eyes.

    ''Femalevatory? No wonder it looked a bit strange inside.'' He thought.

    Suddenly, he felt awake as embarrassment exploded out from his chest, causing his lips to repeatedly twitched while he attempted to keep a calm demeanor.

    After he got his feelings under control, he looked back at the female servants that were waiting for his answer and calmly said, "Don''t worry. The demon has already been expelled."

    "What kind of demon is it?"

    "This demon is a¡ªHold on,dies! You cannot go inside!" Leon was about to answer, but he interrupted himself to stop the female servants from trying to enter thevatory.

    "Eh? Is there a problem? Why can''t we go inside?"

    "This is because it''s a smelly demon. You will not be able to survive its stench if you go it now." Leon tried to exin calmly, but he slightly jumped as he nced at the entrance.

    The smell of fart was formless and had no fixed shape or color, but it was like Leon could see its true appearance by the entrance in the form of a green spiritual demon. It looked wicked and full of maliciousness as it slowly encroached upon the outside world.

    ''Not good. I need to get out of here before they figure it out.'' Leon decided.

    "What kind of demon is a smelly demon? Does anyone know?"

    "Nope! Never heard of them!"

    "Ahh! What''s that terrible smell!" The female servant closest to the entrance cried suddenly and attracted the attention of the other female servants.

    ''Chance!''

    Leon immediately took the opportunity to disappear from sight like a gust of wind as their sights were drawn away from him. He knew he would regret eating so much, but he did not think that it was going to be THAT bad.

    "Oh, Lord! It smells so bad I want to faint! Young Master Albion was right. This smelly demon''s stench is horrendous!"

    "Hmm¡­ this smell¡­ it kind of smells like¡­ well, you know. The thing we got to do when we go to thevatory."

    "Eh? Where did Young Master Leonhardt go?"

    The female servants began to wonder.

    Leon did not know that sometime after he fled the scene and washed his hands of the matter, the female cried with outrage from their discovery and had to call in a turd-collecting specialist to remove the source of abomination.

    While the female servants were firmly repulsed by what they saw, the turd-collecting specialist looked at the piece of turd like it was a rare treasure. It was the size of a fist, weighed as heavy as 10-jin, and was rock hard like metal.

    It was taken away to be studied and used as a great source of fuel after going through processing. If Leon knew this, he would have mixed feelings and not know whether tough or cry.

    Within the Darkmoon Tribe, the turd excreted by Great Warriors and above is usually collected and processed as fuel sources for many things in the city.

    If Leon gave it some thought, it would not be hard to figure out what the tribesmen are using to keep the mes in the Darkmoon Tribe brightly lit.

    After returning to the guest room, Darlene nced at him and went, "Hmph!" before turning to face the side. It was clear that she was still upset with him.

    Leon simply smiled and wordlessly made his way over and suddenly picked her up like a princess.

    "Ah! What do you want to do?" Darlene panicked and pounded on his chest weakly with her hands.

    "We''re leaving. I''m going to take you elsewhere." Leon stated and left the room with Darlene in his arms as such.

    "Put me down! I can walk on my own!"

 Chapter 388 - Training Darlene (1)

    <h4>Chapter 388 - Training Darlene (1)</h4>

    "You''re quite the handful, aren''t you?"

    Darlene continued to struggle in Leon''s arms, but shortly after he silenced her by sealing her soft lips with his own, her resistance grew weaker and weaker.

    Leon pried open her cherry red lips and invaded inside with his tongue like a predator seeking its prey. The frightened rabbit inside the cave tried to escape, but it was caught and coiled by the snake.

    "Mmmm!"

    As their tongue intertwined and exchanged a long passionate kiss, Darlene''s body became weak and soft in Leon''s arms.

    "Finally feel like behaving?" Leon looked at the quiet Darlene, breathing haggardly after their lips parted.

    "I have no choice. I can''t win against you anyway." Darlene pursed her lips and said with a small blush. She nestled her head morefortably against his chest and went silent after.

    Leon grinned and took her away.

    They left the pce and descended through the air from the top of the rocky teau. The wind brushed against their faces and made Darlene''s hair flutter in the wind as her heart thumped with a bit of nervousness and greater excitement.

    ''Is this what flying feels like?'' She wondered.

    Her hands subconsciously wrapped around Leon''s neck and hugged him tightly in fear of falling as she looked at the distance to the ground.

    Even so, she felt that shaman abilities were quite wondrous and incredible. She wondered if she could ever fly like this one day.

    However, it was just a fleeting thought. She knew that she cannot cultivate and will never be able to achieve anything significant.

    "Where are we going?" Darlene asked in a small voice like a timid mouse. It has been a while since shest left the rocky teau area and return to the tribe''s ground area. She silently hoped that they would not run into her old family.

    "To the private courtyard that will be our future permanent residence," Leon answered.

    "Oh¡­"

    Darlene uttered and did notment further.

    But shortly after, she began to wonder why her hubby wanted to take her there while her sisters in the pce are left behind.

    Didn''t her hubby say that the chief had agreed to him taking them away with her? Why is it just the two of them heading there now? Maybe her hubby wanted them to do ''it'' in a ce more private without anyone around?

    Darlene blushed at her own thoughts and tightened her hold around Leon''s neck. However, a weird smell shortly pervaded her nose and caused her expression to crumple.

    "By the way, hubby."

    "Hm? What is it?"

    "You stink!"

    Darlene pinched her nose cutely in disgust. Leon was taken aback and immediately said, "How can that be? I made sure to clean myself before I came back."

    His rear still felt like it was on fire as he was sure as hell that he was suffering from hemorrhoids after the big turd tore open his backdoor and dropped like an air cannon, but he still wiped his rear and even conjured water to rinse himself.

    ''Did I not wipe properly?''

    Leon began doubting himself.

    "Not that. It''s your skin that smells." Darlene exined and tried to peel herself away, but to no avail. They were still gliding through the air, and she did not want to fall.

    "I see." Leon quickly understood what Darlene was referring to before asking, "Is it that bad?"

    "Very bad. Too stinky!" Darlene fanned her nose.

    Leon smiled wryly.

    His skin''s subtle bad smell came from the demonic beast excrement he found and used in his skin color changing cream. The scent will not be very noticeable with regr washing, but it is still present, nheless.

    It seems that he would need to find some time to concoct a new cream to remove the bad smell permanently.

    Sometimeter, theynded directly inside the private courtyard. Despite that, Darlene continued to cling to Leon tightly.

    "We''ve arrived," Leon stated in case she had yet to realize it. Darlene knew, but she was not in a hurry to stand.

    "Why did you bring me here alone? Are we going to do ''that'' here?" Darlene inquired with great blush and averted her eyes.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Physical intimacy is good and all, but excessive indulgence is bad. I do not want our rtionship to only be about using each other''s bodies for carnal pleasure and satisfying our lust. We should look towards understanding each other better and improve our rtionship on the spiritual level."

    "Did hubby only bring me out here for us to talk?" Darlene asked with a look of doubt. They did not need to go all the way out here if it was just that, right?

    "Ahem, no." Leon gave a dry cough and said, "Actually, I brought you here because the private open space is suitable for what I want to try and achieve."

    Darlene continued to look at him with doubt before he continued to talk, "I once said that you will be able to cultivate, and I n to make good on my words. But before that, I need to confirm something. Keep still for a second."

    Darlene''s heart lightly raced.

    She had alreadye to terms with the fact that she cannot cultivate long ago, but can she really cultivate? It would be a really cruel thing to do if her hubby lifted her hopes up only to crush it back down more ruthlessly.

    Darlene felt something strange enter her body as Leon used his divine sense to observe the situation inside her sea of consciousness.

    As expected, there was a Seed of Spatial Law inside of Darlene. However, the Seed of Spatial Law was different from what Leon had imagined.

    In fact, the Seed of Spatial Law was simr to the ck Vortex inside of his own sea of consciousness. It was a ck hole that upied the central region where the soul core should have been.

    As Leon sent his divine sense closer, he could feel the power of attraction, pulling his spirit into the ck hole. He was not sure if he would be able to extricate himself from the ck hole if he were to enter it.

    However, he did not need to go that far.

    He could sense Darlene''s soul core inside along with arge amount of Darkness Profound Energy. The ck hole was the reason behind why Darlene could not cultivate.

    All the Darkness Profound Energy used to train her body was swallowed by the ck hole the moment they entered her body.

    Leon did not know how this came to be, but he began to guess that this must be some sort of unique soul constitution. Even so, there was a bunch of Void Bodies in the Darkmoon Tribe. Does this mean that they also have this kind of soul constitution?

    How can there be so many people with spatial alignment in one ce? Perhaps, it has something to do with the Sky''s Suppression being weaker in the Dark Continent and the hole in the southern sky?

    Whatever the case was, it was not too important. What is important is he could sense great power sleeping inside of the ck hole. If Darlene was able to tap into this dormant power, how strong can she be? He was curious to find out.

    Shortly after, Leon retracted his divine sense.

    "What was that just now, hubby? I feel like something just entered my body." Darlene said ufortably as she felt like her body had been strip bare with nothing to hide.

    "I was using one of my many abilities to take a look inside you to confirm whether you can cultivate a different method," Leon stated.

    "You have an ability that let you look inside my body?" Darlene blinked with a nk look before herplexion turned red from blushing. She coquettishly spouted, "H-Hubby is a big pervert."

    Leon almost choked on his own saliva after hearing this. However, he can only ept it like a man and not make any excuse.

    He scratched his cheek wryly and said, "Alright. Stand up now. Today will be the day you begin cultivation."

    "Can I really? You''re really not lying to me?" Darlene asked with watery eyes.

    Leon nodded and said, "There is another method avable to you. It won''t be the same as what everyone else is cultivating, but it is not toote to start on that once you seed in this alternative method."

    Leon was not lying.

    If Darlene can learn to control her ckhole and stop it from devouring everything, it should be possible for her to also practice the body cultivation method of the Darkmoon Tribe.

    "Alright, let us begin immediately." He said.

    "Is it like some sort of Shaman ability? What do I have to do, hubby?" Darlene asked with a bit of apprehension and doubt.

    "It''s simr but not quite the same. First, I need you to be aware that you already have the power of the Spatial Laws dwelling inside your body. I am going to help you learn how to use this power." Leon exined.

    By now, he had already understood that Shamans are people with strong mental strength and the ability to move things with their minds.

    They are people who have satisfied the prerequisite for bing Spiritual Array Masters but have not embarked on the path due to the insufficiency of Spirit Energy in the atmosphere.

    "I have the power of Spatial Laws? Howe I don''t know about this? How will you help me, hubby?"

    Darlene''s brows were wrinkled with confusion. At this point, everything Leon had told her seemed too incredulous and nonsensical.

    Leon began picking rocks from the ground and said, "I''m going to help you learn using these."

 Chapter 389 - Training Darlene (2)

    <h4>Chapter 389 - Training Darlene (2)</h4>

    "How are these rocks going to control my power over Spatial Laws? I don''t even know what Spatial Laws is or what I can do with it¡­ Don''t tell me you are going to throw rocks at me?" Darlene asked doubtfully.

    "Yes, that''s exactly what I''ll be doing. I will be throwing these rocks at you, and you are not allowed to dodge them. There is nothing difficult to understand about Spatial Law. To manipte it is to bend, twist, and distort space itself. At higher levels, you can expand,press, or even tear it apart."

    "You''re kidding, right? You really want to throw rocks at me, hubby? That''s so cruel¡­ Do you really have the heart to do that to me?" Darlene asked with watery eyes.

    She did not have the confidence at all. How can she just believe she can do something she had never done before, just because her hubby told her she can do it?

    "I''m serious. Don''t worry, I''m doing this for you. You''ll forgive for this¡­" Leon continues to exin, "We won''t start with anything difficult. I just need you to bend space and change the trajectory of the rocks I throw¡­"

    "¡­If you don''t want to get hit by them, that is." He added teasingly.

    "Y-You''re enjoying this, aren''t you? Are you trying to make sport of me? Is it because I was grumpy? I''m sorry for being mad at you, okay? Let''s not do this¡­" Darlene used him in a trembling voice.

    "No? How can I possibly enjoy doing such a cruel thing to you¡­?" Leon defended with a disbelieving expression, but the corners of his lips subtly lifted into an evil smile.

    "Get ready. We''ll start with a few practice rounds, then I''ll aim them at you seriously, my dear." Leon warned after moving to a suitable spot some distance from Darlene with the rocks in his hands, readying for a throw.

    "W-Wait! I''m not mentally prepared for this¡ªAh, I hate you¡ª!"

    Darlene screamed as she dodged the flying rocks.

    Poof! Poof!

    The walnut-sized rocks embedded themselves in the wall opposite of Leon like glue after he tossed them.

    Darlene looked at the firmly embedded rocks with disbelief. Was her hubby trying to kill her? She shot Leon an angry look and snappishly said, "Are you crazy!? Why are you throwing them so hard?! What if you hit me?!"

    "Why are you dodging the rocks? What if you get hit? It''ll hurt a lot, you know?" Leon said with slightly furrowed brows.

    "That''s why I''m dodging them!"

    Leon shook his head and said, "They were aimed to narrowly miss you. But if you try to dodge them, there''s a much higher chance of them hitting you! You cannot use your body to dodge; you need to use your mind to bend the space."

    "Let us start again, my dear." He stated.

    After some time, Darlene unwillingly got back up and faced Leon directly on the opposite side of the courtyard. She mustered her courage and mentally prepared herself before she said, "Okay, I''m ready this time."

    Her hubby was doing this for her own good. She needed to put in the effort too. If there is no will, there will be no change. If there is no change, then she will continue to remain the talentless and uncultivated person she always has been¡­

    Poof! Poof!

    Darlene ended up dodging the rocks once again when Leon tossed them. He looked at her said helplessly, "Why are you dodging them again? Are you trying to get hit, or do you simply not trust my aiming¡­? It defeats the purpose of this training if you only use your body to dodge, my dear."

    "Of course, I trust you. But it is easier said than done! My body just reacted instinctively when I saw the rocks hurled at me." Darlene pouted.

    Leon tapped his feet in thought and nced around the courtyard for ideas. A few dead logs were lying around on the barren ground, both long and short ones. Also, there some items inside the bedrooms that he could use.

    An idea was quickly formed inside his mind in a short instance as he gave Darlene an evil look and said, "I have an idea that can help you focus, but you are not going to like it."

    "If I am not going to like it, then let''s not try it." Darlene quickly said reflectively. She did not like the look in Leon''s eyes.

    "Hahaha, you don''t have a choice in this matter." Leon chuckled sinisterly.

    He walked over to the longest dead log and used his hand like a carving knife to chip away one of the log''s end into a sharp point. Afterward, he brought it over to Darlene and stabbed it into the ground next to her like a stake before making his way off into one of the courtyard''s room.

    Darlene watched him work with curious eyes, not knowing what he was up to. But when he came out with a self-made rope sometimeter and nced at her, she understood his intention and felt a chill in her heart.

    "No, absolutely not! Hubby, you cannot do that to me!"

    Darlene immediately tried to make a break for the exit. However, she was no match for Leon''s speed as she was quickly caught and slumped over one of his shoulders.

    "Nooo!"

    She threw kicks and punches at the empty air as she tried to resist and escape from Leon''s grasp, but it was no use. She was quickly brought to the stake and had her hands and feet tied firmly.

    "This is a bad idea! I don''t want to do this anymore! Stop this at once, or I will really get mad. Wuwu¡­ you are bullying me!" Darlene cried while she resisted and attempted to wiggle her way out of her binding.

    Nevertheless, her efforts were futile. She was tightly bound to the stake like amb ready to be roasted on the spit.

    "You''ll forgive me for this."

    "No, I won''t!" Darlene said defiantly.

    Leon smiled wryly in response and collected more rocks off the ground before getting into position and readied his hand.

    "Remember, my dear, you need to imagine space being curved. But what''s more important is the mind. You need to will for it to bend for it to work. Alright, here we go." Leon instructed and threw his rocks.

    "Ahh, I hate you to death!" Darlene screamed as she saw the iing projectile and instinctive closed her eyes.

    Swoosh!

    The rocks zoomed past her and smashed into the walls with a poof! Shortly after, Darlene peeked one eye open and confirmed she was okay before opening the other.

    "See? My throwing is very precise. These will not hit you¡­" Leon said, before cheekily adding, "But only if I don''t want them to."

    Despite being teased, Darlene felt a bit more confident after thest miss. She did not need to dodge after all.

    She hummed and said, "Okay, I''ll ready to try this time."

    "That''s a good girl."

    Leon nodded and started throwing the rocks one after the other. The rocks zoomed past narrowly and still caused Darlene to half close her eyes.

    But after several more shots, she became fully confident in Leon and even hummed as the rocks flew past. However, none of the rocks had curved in their trajectory.

    "Are you even trying to curve the rocks?" Leon sighed.

    Darlene giggled, "Hehe, I knew hubby would not have the heart to hit¡ªAhh, my forehead! Y-You hit me!"

    Her forehead was struck by a slow rock as punishment. It was a feeble shot, but it still left her forehead swelling slightly, causing her eyes to tear.

    "Yup, and I will continue hitting you from now on. If you don''t want to be hit, you will have to make use of the power of Spatial Laws sleeping inside you." Leon stated.

    He had been too lenient on her, causing her to growcent. It seems that she would not learn unless she suffers a little.

    "Nooo, it hurts~! Wuwuu, Hubby is a big Meany." Darlene cried. All her built-up confidence was destroyed in a single hit. She did not doubt that Leon would really dare to hit her with rocks again.

    "Ahh!"

    Darlene screamed with horror as she watched the rock fly directly at her forehead again with wide eyes. It will definitely hurt badly if she cannot dodge it!

    ''Move! Move! Move!''

    Darlene urged in her mind in that split second. She watched as space suddenly distort and curved the rock from its initial trajectory. Shortly after, she was ecstatic that the rock missed.

    It was true! She can manipte space!

    "Hubby, I did it!" Darlene shouted with joy.

    "Well done, my dear. Now, let us try it again." Leon spoke back to her with a light smile. In truth, he was the one who manipted space to curve the rock.

    Somewhere deep down, Darlene still did not believe she can manipte space. As such, Leon was tricking her into firmly believing she can¡­ Only in that way will her Spatial Laws finally manifest itself.

 Chapter 390 - Training Darlene (3)

    <h4>Chapter 390 - Training Darlene (3)</h4>

    In order to trick Darlene into believing she was the one distorting space to curve the rocks, Leon had purposely hidden the fact that he could also manipte the Spatial Laws.

    He could have chosen to demonstrate it to give Darlene a feel of what manipting space was all about.

    But if he had done so at the start, it would only prove that he can do it. It did not necessarily mean that she can too.

    If she had such thoughts and failed, it would no longer be possible for him to trick her then. She would believe that every space distortion was caused by him and not her own abilities.

    "Eh? Already? Since I manage to manipte space, how about you let me off and let me practice on my own?" Darlene requested. She still had some fear of rocks being hurled at her.

    Leon shook his head and denied, "No, you can practice on your ownter when you be more proficient in manipting space. Right now, it is still better to practice with rocks. My dear will improve quicker under pressure this way."

    What a joke. If he did agree to her request, she would quickly find out that something is wrong when space remains unchanged.

    He would not be able to trick her either, as it would be too difficult to guess how she wanted to manipte space with such freedom. Only by practicing with throwing rocks could he guess how she would react and trick her ordingly.

    "Hmm¡­ fine. Hubby does have a point." Darlene unwillingly agreed. It was not like she had a choice to begin with. Feeling the ufortableness of being bound to the stake, she shortly requested, "Can hubby unbound me at least? I promise I won''t try to run away."

    "No. Just put up with it for now, my dear. It is all for your own good. Unbinding you now and returning freedom of movements to your body will lower the effectiveness of this training exercise." Leon denied her request again.

    "Che, stingy."

    Darlene pouted with puffed cheeks.

    Leon smiled lightly.

    "I''m going to aim for your forehead again, my dear. Try bending space to curve it to the left this time." Leon suggested before tossing the rock at said destination.

    Darlene widened her eyes and saw the flying rock hurled at her forehead again before it was suddenly curved left due to spatial distortion.

    Poof!

    The rock embedded into the left sidewall. Without turning her head to look, she snarled, "What do you have against my forehead? Don''t bully my forehead! Why don''t you aim somewhere else instead?! Can''t you see how swollen my forehead is?!"

    Leon looked at Darlene''s forehead, and it was indeed a little red from being swollen even though he exerted a minuscule amount of strength and controlled the impact force with his abilities.

    He softened up and said, "I can, but it will be harder for you, my dear. You see, if I aim for your forehead, the rock will be directly in your line of sight and allow you to react more clearly and decisively due to your rmed state of mind."

    "But if I aim elsewhere, it will not produce the same result. Perhaps, your mind will not be as rmed and too slow to react. If that happens, the chance of you being hit will be greater. Are you sure that is what you want, my dear? It will hurt a lot, you know?"

    Darlene became hesitant after listening to his exnation. However, she quickly rolled her eyes. She was nearly fooled by Leon.

    "But at the very least, I reckon it would still be better than getting hit in the forehead if I fail to curve the rock!" Darlene argued.

    If she was struck in the head at such velocity, her head might just crack open and kill her! Getting struck in the arm or leg painfully was much betterpared to that!

    "That won''t happen!" Leon said confidently.

    "Huh?" Darlene looked at Leon with doubt and asks, "And how can you be so sure about that?"

    When Leon heard this question, he sweated.

    Because he will distort space and curve the rock for her? He obviously cannot say such a thing. He would lose all her trust and destroy the confidence and belief she had built up so far.

    "Because I believe in you!" Leon firmly said.

    "Hubby¡­"

    Darlene was immediately touched by his words and be emotional. Shortly after, her eyes were filled with determination before she said, "Since hubby believes in me so much. I will continue to do it!"

    She was filled with fighting spirit. She had to live up to her hubby''s expectations. Little did she know, she had been tricked all this time.

    "That''s the spirit."

    Leon smiled warmly and secretly wiped his sweat. He had just dodged a bullet. He continued to hurl rocks at Darlene, while ''she'' would manipte the Spatial Law to curve the rocks left and right under his instruction.

    After hurling numerous rocks, Leon began to frown and doubted if what they were doing was effective or not.

    Although he can feel that Darlene had be very confident in her ability to manipte space, he had yet to sense Darlene manipte space for herself.

    Just as he was about to stop the training exercise, something unexpected happened. The rock that was supposed to curve left suddenly curved right after space was distorted twice.

    He immediately used Divine Will to reduce the velocity of the flying rock, but it was not enough to stop the inevitable from happening as the rock struck Darlene in the head.

    "Ahhhh!"

    Darlene gave a short scream before she was knocked off.

    "Oh sh*t!"

    Leon quickly rushed over and unbound her from the stakeying her body on the ground to check her condition.

    The rock had narrowly missed her temple and struck slightly upper left of it, which was closer to the front part of her head.

    The front part of the skull was the strongestpare to the other parts of it. Coupled with his quick reaction, the rock did not do much damage to Darlene.

    In fact, the impact was so soft that there was not even any redness or bruising on Darlene''s head. It was much weakerpared to thest one he struck her with on the forehead.

    "Fortunately, there aren''t any serious injuries, or rather, there are no injuries¡­" Leon confirmed that Darlene''s life was not in danger. However, he was confused and slowly muttered, "But this is strange¡­ The force should not have been great enough to knock Darlene out. Why did she pass out?"

    "Hm?"

    Just as Leon was pondering this, Darlene''s arm suddenly wrapped around his neck and pulled his face closer to hers before she opened eyes and smooched him on the left cheeks.

    "Hehe, surprised?"

    "Haiz, you have really given me a great scare just now." Leon sighed with relief, realizing he had been tricked by Darlene.

    "It''s your fault for bullying me. Did you really believe you can continue to track me without me realizing?" Darlene asked.

    "When did you realized?"

    "I began sensing that something was a bit off with the timing during the 10th shot, and after the followingst three shots, my doubts were confirmed. It was only then that I realized you were manipting space this whole time to trick me into believing it was me." Darlene exined.

    "Do you me me for tricking you?" Leon asked.

    Darlene shook her head as she understood why he was doing it. It was to help her develop her belief in her own ability.

    She looked at Leon lovingly and said, "No. Hubby is so good to me. I was able to awaken my ability in the end, thanks to you. Why would I me you?"

    "Still, you yed a dangerous prank just now. If I had not reacted in time, you could have suffered serious head trauma. Do you believe that I will punish you for this?"

    "Hehe, I believed that hubby would not let me suffer. How will hubby punish me?" Darlene giggled. She was not afraid of his punishment.

    In fact, she daringly drew her head closer and blew warm breath on his neck while drawing circles on his chest with her finger to taunt him.

    Leon felt her warmth and became aroused. However, he suppressed his lust and said, "The punishment can wait forter. How are you feeling? Can you manipte space more freely now?"

    Darlene was not sure. Thus, she reached out her hand and tested. Space was immediately twisted and bent ording to her will.

    This time, she was sure that this was her own power.

    "Un!"

    She nodded.

    "That''s good. You only need to work on improving this ability to be stronger in the future. Do you believe me now when I said you will be able to cultivate?"

    "Un!"

    Darlene nodded again and nestled her head against his chest, docilely with a palpitating heartbeat. Leon infused wood energy into his hand and rubbed her swollen forehead.

    Shortly after the redness disappeared, Darlene let Leon picked her up like a princess and carried her into one of the bedrooms¡­

 Chapter 393 - Unwelcomed Visitors

    <h4>Chapter 393 - Unweed Visitors</h4>

    The fusion ofws of higher orders will, no doubt, produce stronger energy. After the stage of mastering spacetime, there was still the stages of life and death, creation and destruction, and finally primal chaos.

    Each stage will produce a type of pseudo-Grandmist, but thest stage, the stage of mastering primal chaos, required the fusion of the previous four stages to create True Grandmist Energy.

    Leon furrowed slightly as he could not fathom the difficulty of thisst step. Nevertheless, this was the untrodden path he had chosen.

    He will see it through to the end.

    ''Should I try to fuse the two types of pseudo-Grandmist now? What will happen if I do?'' Leon contemted.

    After a moment, he decided, ''I will try it.''

    ''But first, I will finish producing this stronger type of pseudo-Grandmist Energy. Since it was fused from the greatws of space and time, I will call it Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy to differentiate the two types of pseudo-Grandmist Energy.''

    The universalws were divided into four tiers based on their power. Starting from the lowest order to the highest order; they are primary, great, profound, and supreme.

    The five elements were primaryws. Space and time were greatws, life and death were profoundws, and creation and destruction were supremews. However, the Nihility Law surpassed all of that and exists beyond.

    If there was a higher tier, that would be where it belongs. However, it did not exist. It was non-existent, just like thew itself.

    Sometimeter, Leon finished converting all the Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy he had into Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    ''Let us begin.''

    Leon took out a few bottles of tier 3 recovery pills and prepared himself in case a mishap urred during the experiment.

    Afterward, he drew the two grey energy out from the ck Vortex in his sea of consciousness and circted them through his meridian channels.

    The two types of pseudo-Grandmist Energy shared remarkable simrities. The difference can be seen when they are lined up next to each other in contrast. Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy had a deeper shade of greypared to normal pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    Leon increased the cirction speed, and the two types of energy drew closer and closer. At the moment of contact, the two types of energy were greatly repulsed as they rejected each other.

    The types of energy spiraled out of control and wreaked havoc in his meridians, causing him great pain as he spat out an arrow of blood.

    Momentster, he spat out another arrow of blood with a paled face before wiping the trace of blood on his lips with his hand.

    ''I overestimated myself.'' Leon bitterly thought as he popped open a pill bottle and swallowed some tier 3 recovery pills to heal himself

    Sure enough, the difficulty was exceedingly great as he expected. Fortunately, the repercussion of failure was not too serious, and he had only suffered some minor damages to the meridians.

    If his meridians ruptured because of the energy''s violent repulsion, he would have some trouble healing them. Thanks to the round of tempering he conducted on his meridians in the past, they did not break.

    ''Hmm¡­ Maybe I can undergo another round of tempering with this stronger type of pseudo-Grandmist Energy?'' Leon thought.

    Once the possibility entered his mind, it settled like glue and gave him the urge tomence the tempering process right away.

    However, he suppressed the urge.

    ''Haste makes waste. I am still in the middle of healing. It''s not toote to temper my meridians after they are fully healed.'' He decided.

    Sometimeter, there was a sudden knock on the entrance doors to the courtyard. Leon wondered who was visiting.

    He got off the bed and fully equipped himself in his leather armor and lion-headed cloak before making his way over to receive the unexpected guest. He closed the doors to the bedroom on his way out.

    However, before he arrived at the entrance and open the doors for the unexpected visitors, the other side sted the doors open and entered forcefully.

    Leon immediately paused and frowned at the broken doors that flew to his feet. Shortly after, his gaze slowly shifted upwards to observe the uninvited guests.

    "Boy, you sure are quite courageous to make us wait and force me to invite myself in." An elderly warrior spoke. Another two middle-aged warriors stood behind the elderly person.

    The elderly warrior had an unfamiliar face, but Leon recognized the other two people as warriors of the Darkmoon Tribe.

    As such, he did not have to worry that these were spies from the Great Ironhawk Tribe,ing to kill or abduct him. Even so, the three unwee visitors did not seem toe with good intentions.

    He was displeased by the elder''s arrogant disy of overbearingness to break into his private courtyard and talk to him like that upon their first meeting.

    "Who are you?" Leon interrogated with a not-so-pleased tone.

    A middle-aged warrior immediately stepped forward and barked, "Watch your tone, boy! You are talking to Lord Goldenfang."

    Leon furrowed his brows when he heard this.

    The strength of three uninvited guests was not to be looked down upon. From their vibrant aura and strong heartbeats, he guessed that the two middle-aged warriors were around the Mid-rank Great Warriors.

    As for the elderly warrior, Leon could not see the depths of the person''s strength. He was possibly a Peak-rank Great Warrior, or even stronger than that.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not show any fear nor cower in the face of such strong opponents. He could even escape the pursuit of an Extremity-rank Great Warrior. What did he have to fear?

    "And? Are we familiar with each other? Do you expect me to show you great respect after you rudely busted down my doors and entered uninvited?" Leon said his piece and crossed his arms with an impatient attitude.

    The time it took him to get dressed and walk over to the entrance did not even exceed a dozen breaths, yet it was enough to make these people grow impatient and bust his door down.

    The elder''s status must be truly impressive. Otherwise, they were far, far too arrogant.

    However, he thought he had already met all the important people in the Darkmoon Tribe. So, where did this old donkey crawl out from?

    Where was he when everyone was fighting on the front line to defend their tribe from the Bone Cmity? Was his status above Chief Valencia and the Venerable Shamans? That did not seem likely.

    "It seems you do not know who you are talking to." The other middle-aged warrior stepped forth with a threatening gaze and said, "Lord Goldenfang is an Extremity-rank Great Warrior. So, you better fix that attitude of yours, or I will fix it for you!"

    "Only an Extremity-rank Great Warrior? And here I thought I was in the presence of a Battle Master with the way you are behaving. And so? What does this Extremity-rank Great Warrior want with me?" Leon asked nonchntly, not taking the person''s threat seriously.

    He did not put a Mid-rank Great Warrior in his eyes, and neither was an Extremity-rank Great Warrior strong enough to garner respect from him.

    "You! I''m going to break your legs¡ª!"

    "Enough!" Lord Goldenfang interrupted with a hand gesture and ordered the two middle-aged warriors, "You two may step back. I will deal with this."

    "Yes, Lord Goldenfang!"

    The two middle-aged warriorsplied withoutint and respectfully retreated behind the elderly warrior. It was clear that the elderly warrior''s status was very high in their hearts.

    Shortly after, Lord Goldenfang stepped forward and stood before Leon with his tall build before looking down at him, full of arrogance and haughtiness.

    "I am you to join our faction." Lord Goldenfang said.

    Leon raised an eyebrow immediately as he understood why these people havee and sought him out. Word of him joining the tribe must have quickly spread. As such, he was now involved in the tribe''s internal conflict between the factions.

    However, the only people who should have known this information was Chief Valencia and Darlene. It was impossible for Darlene to have told someone else as they had been together the whole time. As such, it could only have been spread from Chief Valencia''s side.

    Perhaps the private courtyard owners got hold of the information and spread it when the chief dealt with them. He doubted that Chief Valencia herself would spread the word before making an official announcement.

    "What if I refuse?" Leon looked up and said.

    "Oh? You dare to refuse me? Do you even know who I am? Whose faction I represent in this tribe?" Lord Goldenfang said with slightly furrowed brows, not taking a liking to Leon''s answer.

    "You''re representing the Beast Tamer Faction, no? There''s a Goldeneye, a Goldenrod, and now there is a Goldenfang. You are their grandfather, I supposed." Leon said calmly with a hidden agenda.

    Lord Goldenfang''s dignified expression became slightly forced, and said, "No, I am not their grandfather."

    "No?" Leon raised an eyebrow. His lips curved up into a mocking smile, and said, "Am I wrong? Don''t tell me you are their great grandfather, or even great, great grandfather instead?"

    "I am their father!" Lord Goldenfang corrected with a raised voice and red at him.

    However, Leon was not intimidated by the person''s re and even smiled back mockingly in response.

 Chapter 395 - An Expensive Gift

    <h4>Chapter 395 - An Expensive Gift</h4>

    "I don''t mind indulging your curiosity, but I hope Chief Valencia will not continue to y little tricks like this again. I do not like being used like this." Leon said impassively. He was slightly displeased with Chief Valencia''s method.

    He was not stupid. He understood that everything had been orchestrated by Chief Valencia. It was too strange that no one came to find out the situation even after hearing such amotion in the private courtyard.

    "You''re right, Little Brother Leonhardt. I apologize for this. It won''t happen again." Chief Valencia quickly acknowledged her mistake with a nod before asking, "Can you tell me how you found out now?"

    Leon nodded.

    "Actually, it was not hard to guess. It was not possible for the Beast Tamer Faction to get news of me joining the tribe so soon on the same day I joined, not unless you purposely divulged the information to them. Why would you do this, you might ask? I presumed that you understood the Beast Tamer Faction will learn the news sooner orter, so you made the best of this information to benefit your side."

    "For example, finding a way to secretly deliver the news to someone important within the Beast Tamer Faction, whom you were also certain that they were going to displease me. This way, it will cause the rtionship between the Beast Tamer Faction and me to not be harmonious and force me to lean towards your faction."

    "If Lord Goldenfang had actually raised his hand against me, you would have mostly like intervened and stopped him from doing so. Thus, you had to be in a position that is close to me while not being found out by me but also convenient for you not to be suspected by me when you make your move. It just so happens that this courtyard building I''m standing close to is in line with the direction to your pce and presented the best hiding spot for you while you watch over the situation."

    Leon gave a detailed exnation to Chief Valencia.

    However, she still had some points she was uncertain about and asked, "But how can you be so sure that I was the one who divulged the news to Lord Goldenfang? If there were spies or the previous owner of this courtyard was a person of the Beast Tamer Faction, the news would have still easily reached Lord Goldenfang."

    "Yes, I had thought about this point when Lord Goldenfang arrived abruptly with his people. However, I highly doubted that Chief Valencia was not aware of this fact when you were to purchase their property. Thus, I believe you had a level of certainty that the person would deliver the news to Lord Goldenfang without requiring you to expend much effort. You just needed to wait and reap the rewards." Leon exined.

    "Did you think I would not find it strange that no one came to assess the situation here even after such a loudmotion? Who else but you can arrange this? Furthermore, Chief Valencia should not underestimate my senses. No one can escape my detection within a certain radius of me. Thus, I already knew the moment Chief Valencia arrived on my roof." Leon added.

    Chief Valencia was astounded after she heard everything from him. She was awed by his level of deduction and shook her head ruefully.

    Her little scheme had been seen right through.

    Like the person had said, she should not continue to y these tricks on him. It was already a blessing that the person had decided to settle down in her tribe. She should kill all hopes of recruiting this person into her faction and not push her luck. Otherwise, the person might just get up and leave.

    It should have already been clear that Leonhardt was a person who likes to be free and unfettered, considering the conditions he had set for joining. They can cooperate, but it is impossible to tie this person to her war chariot.

    "Little Brother Leonhardt is very perceptive. I have made a fool of myself. Oh, right. Before I forget, this belongs to you now, Little Brother Leonhardt." Blurted Chief Valencia as she reached out and pass a small wooden tablet to Leon.

    Leon epted the wooden tablet and read "Barren rock Courtyard" on it before asking, "Is this the name of this property?"

    "Yes, that''s right." Chief Valencia nodded and said, "That wooden tablet serves as the property deed to this ce and serves as your proof of ownership."

    "Oh?"

    Leon was slightly surprised. He did not think that the Darkmoon Tribe would have something sophisticated like property deeds. It was his misimpression that the Darkmoon Tribe was primitive. In fact, they were quite developed in multiple areas. They only look primitive due to their way of living, which is forced upon them by the limited resources of the barrennd they live in.

    "How much did this thing cost for you to get it from the previous owners of this property?" Leon asked.

    "Not too much, only 80 thousand Dark Crystals." Chief Valencia answered nonchntly.

    ''Only 80 thousand Dark Crystals?''

    Leon''s lips twitched slightly.

    That was four times greater than the amount he gained from the interspatial pouch he took from Old Tailor! How many top-quality Soul Weapon and Enchanted Equipment could he purchase with that amount of money?

    Thus, he knew that although Chief Valencia appeared nonchnt about it, it was actually an astronomical amount of money spent. After all, the private property was just a ce to stay. It might be close to the center of the tribe, but that was it. It had no practical value except saving a bit of time.

    On the other hand, if these Dark Crystals had been invested into good Soul Weapon and Enchanted Equipment, it could mean saving one''s life in their future battles.

    "What is the market value of this ce? Surely it is not worth 80 thousand Dark Crystals." Leon asked.

    "Sure enough. Nothing gets past you, Little Brother Leonhardt. You even realized this. That''s right, this property is only worth around 30 thousand Dark Crystals normally." Chief Valencia admitted.

    "But the previous owners are part of the Beast Tamer Faction. It is only normal for them to ask for a sky-high price and try to milk as many Dark Crystals out of me as possible. However, I have given you my word that I would gift this property to you. You don''t need to worry about the price. It is not enough to dent my wealth." Added Chief Valencia while waving it off nonchntly.

    After all, she was the chief of the tribe, and the Dark Crystal Mine belonged to her. She could have as many Dark Crystals as she wants. Even so, 80 thousand Dark Crystals was not a small amount. However, if this is all it takes to appease Leonhardt, it would be worth it.

    No matter how Chief Valencia tried to y it off coolly, Leon could not help but frown at the astronomical amount of Dark Crystals. The price Chief Valencia paid for the property was almost tripled its market value!

    This was a tant robbery! The greed of the previous owners was simply insatiable!

    "Then I will thank Chief Valencia for the generous gift." Leon expressed with a cupped fist gesture.

    His impression of Chief Valencia had dropped slightly after the little trick she yed on him, but it was still rtively good.

    After all, even if Chief Valencia did not purposely attract attention to him, the Beast Tamer Faction would have eventually tried to sent other people to recruit him.

    They did not care about him before, but now that he is part of their tribe, he was included in their dispute.

    And the more he was involved with the Darkmoon Tribe, the more he realized that Chief Valencia was not as simple as he had assumed.

    She was not just a powerful body cultivator, filled with muscles. She was also equipped with intelligence. It makes him wonder what else he was not aware of.

    Chief Valencia was aware that even though the Beast Tamer Faction had no chance of seeding in their campaign to invest all the Dark Crystals into nurturing the Dark Wyvern, she still had to expend some efforts to remove the problem peacefully.

    Furthermore, the Beast Tamer Faction''s existence was not entirely bad as it increasespetition and stimtes the tribe''s growth.

    If she simply uses force to remove these dissidents from the tribe, she will lose the hearts and respect of many people and simply rule over them through fear. That was not what she wanted.

    That is what a tyrant dictator would do, not a leader.

    Leon could faintly guess that Chief Valencia was using a soft approach to neutralize the Beast Tamer Faction''s growth, but he disagreed with her methods.

    She would make a great leader during peaceful times, but chaotic times require more decisive and ruthless methods. At least, that is what he believes.

    "Allow me to offer Chief Valencia some advice. However, it is up to Chief Valencia whether you want to consider it seriously or not. A pot mixture of poisonous insects can indeed produce a more poisonous insect, but fear the poisonous insect killing the poison master." Leon said profoundly.

    ''A pot mixture of poisonous insects can indeed produce a more poisonous insect, but fear the poisonous insect killing the poison master.''

    Chief Valencia had a crumpled expression as she mulled over Leonhardt''s words. Why did he suddenly mention this? What does he mean by it?

 Chapter 398 - Visiting Fragrant Tea Abode

    <h4>Chapter 398 - Visiting Fragrant Tea Abode</h4>

    Inside the bedroom of Barrenrock Courtyard, Chief Valencia sat on the bed and listened to Darlene''s recount of the events between her and Leonhardt.

    "Alright, that is enough. Continue to monitor him and use the voice transmission tool to contact me when you have something new to report." Chief Valencia said.

    "Yes, chief."

    Darlene answered emotionless like she was a puppet. She had recounted to Chief Valencia about how much she had done it with Leonhardt when they were together.

    Whether it was in the pce or here in the Barrenrock Courtyard, their time together was filled with nothing butscivious actions and carnal pleasure.

    Chief Valencia had listened to so much of Darlene''s detail pleasurable experience recount that she became sick and tired of hearing more. She wanted to end the report there and return to the pce at once.

    Outside of Barrenrock Courtyard, Leon was seen leaning against the back wall with his eyes closed. After leaving the courtyard, he did not go far before circling back to the backside to eavesdrop against the wall.

    ''I cannot let my guard down anywhere, can I?''

    Leon thought amusedly with a smile before opening his eyes and left the area to look for Master Woodrow. He had heard enough.

    Chief Valencia was truly not simple. Leon could fathom the depth of her intelligencework within the Darkmoon Tribe. Nevertheless, he was right to assume that everyone in the tribe could be her ears and eyes.

    If he had not returned to the courtyard, he would not have been able to confirm that Darlene was a spy that Chief Valencia had nted by his side. Nevertheless, he had been suspicious since that night he passed out from drinking.

    Even so, thatss was not bad. That girl did not tell the chief everything. Although he felt weird having his intimate moments with Darlene exposed to the chief, at least thatss did not mention her training and power over space.

    All that effort into doting on her was not in vain.

    He will continue to influence her and make her someone entirely on his side while pretending that he does not know anything. Only by keeping his cards hidden would he have more cards to y.

    Shortly after strolling around the streets of Darkmoon City and asking people for directions, Leon finally arrived in front of Fragrant Tea Abode sometimeter, the ce Master Woodrow once mentioned previously.

    The Fragrant Tea Abode contained three floors and was divided into two parts. The front was a tea store, while the back was his private residential home.

    "Wee to Fragrant Tea Abode, Young Master Leonhardt. How may I help you today? Are you here for tea, or are you here to look for Master Woodrow?" The female waiter greeted Leon at the entrance.

    Leon studied the pretty female waiter who appeared to be another person with Void Body, feeling inwardly alerted.

    "How do you know who I am?"

    "Young Master Leonhardt sure knows how to joke. Everyone in the Darkmoon Tribe knows who Young Master Leonhardt is after your benevolent act of treating the wounded warriors after the battle ended." Responded the pretty female waiter and gave Leon an alluring smile like she was trying to seduce him.

    Leon shook his head ruefully, thinking he might be overthinking. The pretty female waiter did have a point. His appearance was quite unique and easily recognized unless he decides to have a change of clothes.

    She might not be another person under the chief, but it was too early to rule out that possibility.

    "I''m here to see Master Woodrow. Is he avable?" Leon asked.

    "Understood, Young Master Leonhardt. I will go and inform Master Woodrow of your visit. Would you like to take a seat inside and try some of our fine tea while you wait?" The pretty waiter suggested.

    "Sure." Leon nodded.

    "Right this way then, Young Master Leonhardt." The pretty female waiter gestured with her hand for him to follow her.

    After Leon followed the female waiter inside the tea store and took his seat on the third floor by the balcony where there were fewer people and better scenery, the female waiter left promptly to find Master Woodrow.

    Leon nced at the regr teapot on the table curiously before pouring himself a cup and have a taste of the standard tea.

    The taste was ordinary and had no peculiarities about it, but that was a peculiarity in and of itself. Thend was too barren to grow tea leaves.

    Wherever the tea leaves were procured, it was not within the Infertile ins, not unless a unique biome was set up to grow them. But that would also require the procuration of the tea tree in the first ce.

    While Leon was guessing the origin of the tea, Master Woodrow shortly made his way over in a jovial manner, "Hahaha, Little Brother Leonhardt has finally decided to visit me. I am honored. How can I let you drink our Fragrant Tea Abode''s standard tea? Nora, go prepare the premium tea for our special guest."

    "Yes, master."

    Nora curtsied.

    She gave Leon a suggestive wink before swaggering off with her shaking hips to carry out Master Woodrow''s order and prepare the premium tea.

    Apparently, the name of the pretty waiter was Nora.

    Leon smiled wryly and said, "Brother Woodrow should really try to control your servants. This Nora girl has been giving me suggestive hints. If I am not getting the wrong message, I would think that she wants me to f*ck her."

    "Hahaha, if Little Brother Leonhardt fancies this little servant of mine, I don''t mind giving her to you. Actually, I implore Little Brother Leonhardt to take her away." Master Woodrow pleaded.

    "Oh? Why would Brother Woodrow say that? I''m not interested in loose women, however." Leon waved his hand and refused.

    "Believe it or not, she is still a virgin. I have not touched her once since I took her in. It has been quite the torturous experience having her around, and I would be more than happy if you take her away." Master Woodrow sighed.

    While mentioning this, Master Woodrow seemed to have aged a few years due to stress. Leon noticed this and became curious about what exactly Master Woodrow experienced.

    "It seems like Brother Woodrow is someone with a story to tell," Leon said with an amusing smile.

    "Haiz¡­" Master Woodrow sighed before he looked at Leon seriously and asked, "What do you think men fear the most in this world?"

    "Huh?"

    Leon was slightly taken aback by the question. He did not expect Master Woodrow to suddenly ask this question. However, since Master Woodrow asked him seriously, he should also do his best and answer it seriously.

    ''What do men fear the most in this world?''

    Leon creased his brows and pondered for a moment. This seemed like a pretty broad topic with no right and wrong answers.

    Men fear many things in life, such is normal for humans to be. Only by oveing those fears will they be strong men.

    However, Leon understood that Master Woodrow was seeking a specific answer. Thus, he should be thinking, ''What does Master Woodrow fear the most in this world?''

    Master Woodrow was a Witch Doctor and a highly respected Venerable Shaman in the Darkmoon Tribe. There should not be many things he would fear. What could it be, he wonders?

    Master Woodrow watched Leon ponder the question very seriously while pouring himself a cup of standard tea before he shook his head.

    "Ahem," He cleared his throat with an awkward cough and said, "It''s not supposed to be a difficult question. No need to ponder too deeply into it and give me a simple answer."

    "Oh?"

    It seems that Leon was looking into it too deeply. Thinking back, he collected the clues. Nora was still a virgin despite her flirtatious behavior, and the question was something all men fear most in the world¡­?

    "I suppose all men fear being impotent the most?" Leon answered honestly.

    Pfttt!

    Master Woodrow took a sip of his tea when he heard Leon''s answer, causing him to spit everything out to the side before coughing profusely. After he recovered, he wiped his mouth.

    "Excuse me?"

    "Err¡­ is it not?"

    "Ahem, well¡­ you are not exactly wrong, but it is not quite the answer I was looking for." Master Woodrow said with embarrassment.

    When he thinks about it, he did give off the impression he was impotent. It was not strange for Leon to arrive at this answer.

    "Why don''t Brother Woodrow enlighten me?"

    "Wife, it''s wife. Men fear their wives the most in the world." Master Wood said seriously like it was the absolute truth in the world.

    Leon smiled wryly and said, "I''m afraid I cannot rte, but it seems that Brother Woodrow''s wife has quite the strong leash on you."

    "Haiz¡­"

    Master Woodrow sighed. No matter how great his status was, he could not even beat his own wife. It was normal for men to have multiple wives and lovers; his wife was not one who liked to share her man.

    "Little Brother Leonhardt does not need to understand it now, but you will understand it one day. Women have such frightening talents for twisting words in their favor. You can be right, but you will also be wrong. In short, you can never beat them in an argument. However, the most frightening part is when youmit a mistake. You can apologize for it, but if you don''t know what you did wrong, they will give you literal hell until you do."

    Master Woodrow had a disheveled look like he had been significantly tormented by these experiences, as he was exining.

    "And if the problem is not settled early, they will bring up several mistakes from the past that you have no idea about and make you feel guilty and miserable." Master Woodrow added.

    Leon was amused, but he felt like he should keep a note of Master Woodrow''s experience¡­ It might prove to be helpfulter in the future.

 Chapter 399 - Scan Them All!

    <h4>Chapter 399 - Scan Them All!</h4>

    Leon continued to chat casually with Master Woodrow and learned about the drama revolving around Master Woodrow and his wife. He understood why it was torturous to have someone like Nora around.

    No matter how Master Woodrow was, he was still a man. To take in a pretty servant but not being able to touch was indeed quite torturous, especially when thetter is willing and tries all manners of seduction to arouse Master Woodrow.

    Leon shook his head. This was Master Woodrow''s problem. He did not want to take a dip in these muddled waters. There was no telling whether Nora was another one of Chief Valencia''s secret chess pieces for collecting intelligence or not.

    Sometimeter, the pretty waiter Nora brought out the premium tea and served Leon and Master Woodrow each a cup. "Your premium tea, master, Young Master Leonhardt." She said.

    Master Woodrow nodded and quickly tried to dismiss her. Nora could only bow andply with her master''s wish. She left to serve other customers.

    "By the way, I doubt Little Brother Leonhardt havee all this way just to see this old man. What does Little Brother Leonhardt need?" Master Woodrow brought up the main topic of Leon''s visit.

    "I heard you keep a collection of books for study purposes. I was wondering if I could also peruse them if it is not too much to ask?"

    "Oh? Little Brother Leonhardt has an interest in perusing ancient books? I do have a collection of books, but they are mostly written in an ancient dialect. It is not a problem at all to let Little Brother Leonhardt view them, but I''m afraid it won''t be easy for you to understand. Is Little Brother Leonhardt still interested in perusing them?"

    "Of course."

    Leon stated straightforwardly.

    "Very well, I will take Little Brother Leonhardt thereter. But first, why don''t you taste my store''s premium tea and tell me what you think?" Master Woodrow suggested.

    Leon nodded. He picked up the teacup and twirled the tea in his hands before bringing it close to study the tea''s aroma. After that, he finally took a sip.

    The tea''s warmth quickly traveled to his stomach before spreading to all parts of his body, giving him a rxing feeling while his mind became clear.

    "This tea should have undergone the same process as the standard tea. However, the taste and effects of the teas are vastly different." Leonmented as he rubbed the teacup with his thumb in thought.

    "That''s right, but can Little Brother Leonhardt tell why it is vastly different?" Master Woodrow further pressed Leon to borate.

    It was the same tea leaves, same preparation, same brewing process, but the taste and effect were wholly different. This could only mean one thing.

    "It''s the age."

    Leon shrugged.

    It was just like the difference between ordinary herbs and spirit herbs; the effects between the two were heaven and earth apart.

    The tea leaves used to prepare the premium tea were slightly different frommonly grown Camellia sinensis. If Leon had to guess, he would say that it had been mutated.

    Thus, even if it was not a spirit nt, it will still bring out a surprising effect due to its age. Nevertheless, this type of tea was not purely beneficial as there were some toxins in them. However, this was also negligible because of the warrior''s resilient bodies.

    "Sure enough, someone adept in the art of healing like Little Brother Leonhardt would be very perceptive and see through the herbal properties of the tea."

    Master Woodrow and Leon continued to chat until they finished the premium tea.

    Leon learned that the premium tea was called the Tea of rity. It was very effective in rousing awake the people under the influence of the Weeping Forest''s hallucinations.

    "Alright, I shan''t keep Little Brother Leonhardt here any longer. Let us head over to my book collection area." Master Woodrow said.

    Leon smiled and said, "I was just waiting for Brother Woodrow to say these words."

    They made their way to the back of Fragrant Tea Abode''s third floor and stopped before an ordinary wooden shelf holding various small objects of interest such as sculptures and rare mineral oddities.

    Master Woodrow pulled on a candle holder at the side of the shelf like a lever, and the bookshelf clicked opened, revealing a secret room filled with ancient scrolls and books.

    "Here we are. This is the entirety of my book collection." Master Woodrow introduced.

    Leon''s eyes immediately flickered with interest as he gazed upon the ancient scrolls and books glittering with a rare shine of gold. These scrolls and books appeared to be more ancient and extraordinary than what he was hoping for.

    He was expecting them to be a few hundred to thousands of years old, but they appeared to be far, far older than that.

    "What does Little Brother Leonhardt think of it?" Asked Master Woodrow.

    Leon picked up a scroll made of unknown lustrous white wood and opened it to study while asking, "These look incredibly ancient, yet at the same time, they have been preserved well and not worn by time thanks to the material they are made from. Where did Brother Woodrow get these from? These scrolls and books must be at least several millions of years old, if not older."

    The texts on the white scroll were written in a pure runguage and seemed to be filled with ancient power.

    Leon immediately understood why the Infertile ins people were more advanced in the study of runes than the Human Domain. They had uncovered a more profound heritage from the ancient past.

    Each runic word was still filled with energy running through their lines. They were nothing like the ones from the Nova civilization that had been dried up and devoid of power.

    "Hahaha, several millions of years old is an understatement. They are possibly several hundred million to billions of years old. No one can precisely guess how old they are thanks to the runic power preserving their conditions."

    Leon was slightly surprised before he nodded, "I''ve also noticed this, but I guess I was still too conservative with my estimation."

    "O-ho? So Little Brother Leonhardt does have some knowledge in runes. You sure are multi-talented for your age." Master Woodrow smiled wryly.

    All of Leonhardt''s peers would have been put to shame if they were topete with this monster. He was lucky to not be born in the same generation.

    Master Woodrow shook his head bitterly at his own thoughts before proceeding to exin, "These were all unearthed in the ruins down south in thend of darkness beyond the Darkness Mountain. It was our ancestors that guesstimated them to be up to billions of years old."

    "Thend of demons, huh?" Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    He had yet to learn much about thend of darkness and the demons that reside there. Perhaps, the Crimsonfog Tribe would know more about this topic.

    "Precisely. It was not easy to procure these ancient items from there, so I do hope that Little Brother Leonhardt will handle them with care while perusing them. Also, if Little Brother Leonhardt learns something from these ancient scrolls and books, I hope you can also share your insight with this older brother."

    "Naturally." Leon nodded before asking, "Is Brother Woodrow leaving?"

    "Un, this older brother still needs to go back and tend to his nts." Said Master Woodrow. In fact, he was middle of it before Leon visited.

    "Is Brother Woodrow not afraid I will run off with all of these scrolls and books while you are not around?" Leon said jokingly with an amused look.

    Master Woodrow nked for a moment before he waved his hand and left with augh, "Hahaha, not afraid!"

    It was not even a question of trust. Only a foolish person would attempt such a thing, and Master Woodrow believed Leonhardt was not such a person.

    Leon shook his head wryly after Master Woodrow was gone. But after a moment, he could not contain the excitement in his heart.

    The ancient books and scrolls before him were most likely from the primordial era of gods and devils. There was a high chance of godly cultivation methods, techniques, and battle skills within the batch.

    ''Maya, quickly scan all of these and make a copy in the Archive for me!'' Leon immediately urged the artifact spirit resting in the Worldspace.

    "Hm?"

    Mayazilyid on top of a mountain of books with an opened book covering her face from the artificial sun in the Worldspace.

    She frowned and said, "You are still too weak for me to acknowledge you as my master. You do not have the right to tell me what to do."

    ''Haiz, who cares about that? Didn''t you want some books to read? I got a bunch of books and scrolls here. Who knows, maybe there be some novels among them?'' Leon transmitted his thoughts to Maya.

    After hearing this, Maya was immediately roused awake.

    "Why didn''t you say so earlier?"

 Chapter 400 - Translated Heritage

    <h4>Chapter 400 - Tranted Heritage</h4>

    After receiving Maya''s cooperation, Leon began to hover his hands over the scrolls and books within the secret room as light shot out from his palm to scan them.

    Sometimeter, all the scrolls and books within the secret room were sessfully copied and stored in the Archive.

    Maya was the first to connect to the Archive to search the newly recorded information and pick out a book for herself to read. However, after a moment, she was quickly angered.

    "What the hell? Where there is not a single novel here! They are cultivation techniques and battle skills! Leon, how dare you trick me?!" Maya threw a tantrum.

    Leonughed and said, "Oh, is that so? That is unfortunate. How did I trick you? I said there might be novels among them. I did not say that there are. It is you who believe that there was. But seeing how certain you are, it seems you can read them all?"

    "So, what about it?" Maya pouted with puffed cheeks in her child form.

    "Can you trante them for me?"

    "No!"

    Being rejected so firmly by Maya, Leon could only smile wryly.

    Although he understood the reason for her behavior, he could not help but feel that she was bing more like a child despite her archaic age. He remembered that she still needed an astronomical amount of energy to fully recover.

    Leon shook his head.

    That aside, with his strong foundations in the runic knowledge, it was still possible for him to trante the ancient runic text. However, the difference between him and Maya tranting the ancient text is worlds apart in efficiency.

    Maya would be able toplete everything within a few breaths while he would need to take time tranting rune for word one by one before guessing the overall meaning of each passage.

    Leon entered the Whitespace and essed the Archive before picking out a random scroll from the pile of new copies recorded.

    However, the moment he opened the scroll, he was surprised to find that it was not written in the runguage he was expecting but the ancientnguage used by the denizens of the Divine Realm.

    "Maya, this is¡­"

    "Hmph."

    Leon smiled and said no more. The artifact spirit was surprisingly cooperative. Although she said one thing, she did another.

    He started to suspect whether the reason she refuses to teach him better techniques is actually because she had lost most of her memories and did not remember any other good techniques to teach him.

    Leon quickly refocused his attention on the scroll.

    The original scroll was made of white wood, and the runic texts were written in the blood of an unknown beast that was possibly a God beast if the scroll truly belonged to the primordial era of gods and devils.

    Although what he was looking at now was just a copy made of energy, the Archive was able to replicate the aura of the original source. Thus, the ck scroll written in blood exuded an extraordinarily ancient aura.

    [Immortal Meridian Tempering].

    Leon immediately glowered with interest. Just the word ''Immortal'' in its name alone was enough to make it sound extraordinary.

    "Sure enough, these techniques are actually from the primordial era of gods and devils! This is one hell of a discovery! This one is a body forging method for meridian tempering. The main requirement is¡­ True Grandmist Energy?"

    Leon furrowed his brows slightly before browsing the other books and scrolls.

    [Evesting Blood Mantra]

    [Indestructible Bone Transformation Method]

    [Archaic Flesh Refining Technique]

    [Godfiend Body Forging Method]

    [Divine Soul Refinement]

    [Star God''s Finger Art]

    [Overlord Spear Art]

    [Sun God''s Fiery Dance]

    [Devil Emperor''s Tome of Darkness]

    [Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity]

    ¡­

    He found numerous body, soul, and energy cultivation methods, techniques, battle skills belonging to both gods and devils. He took a quick scan through each one of them and found twomon points.

    "All these methods, techniques, battle skills have a fundamental requirement for True Grandmist Energy before it can be practiced¡­ Moreover, all of them are iplete¡­ I cannot find a singleplete method, technique, or battle skill."

    Leon frowned.

    Some contained two to three volumes out of five volumes. Some even went up to the seventh volume, but all the previous volumes were missing from the collection.

    When Leon narrowed it down, only three books were left containing the first volume.

    [Godfiend Body Forging Method]

    [Devil Emperor''s Tome of Darkness]

    [Star God''s Finger Art]

    "Just these three, huh?" Leon began musing with a pondering look, "I wonder if pseudo-Grandmist Energy can be substituted to practice these methods."

    In theory, it should be possible. The only downside is that the effect would not be as significant as recorded within the methods.

    "I should give it a try when I find a quiet and secluded ce to cultivate. For now, I should return." Leon decided.

    He checked on the condition of the unconscious Lumi inside the Worldspace before returning his consciousness to the outside world.

    During this time, his body had been standing still with an opened book in his hand while his dull eyes stared at the opened book intensely like he was in a trance.

    In the next moment, light returned to his eyes as his spirit finished returning.

    Leon nced around and found out that no one was still around. He was still alone in the secret room. He closed the book and ced it back in its original spot before making his exit from the room.

    This trip had been an unexpected windfall.

    ''If I could obtain theplete volumes, that would be even better¡­ It seems I will also need to pay a visit to the other Venerable Shamans and make formal requests to view their book collections. Still, I cannot get over the fact that there is actually so much heritage from the primordial era of gods and devils around here.'' Leon silently thought.

    He recalled that Master Woodrow mentioned everything had been unearthed from the southern ruins within thend of darkness, where the demon''s territory was, and became immensely interested.

    ''With my current strength, going deep into the demon''s territory is the same as throwing my life away.'' Leon thought self-deprecatingly.

    After a moment, he paused and rubbed his chin in deeper thought, ''However, if I have Lumi with me, it might not be impossible for me to explore these ruins.''

    "Oh? Did you learn anything from your perusal time, Little Brother Leonhardt?" Asked Master Woodrow. After watering his nts, he had returned shortly.

    However, that short span of time was more than enough time for Leon to plunder Master Woodrow''s entire book collection. Furthermore, Leon was still hoping to collect from the other Venerable Shamans too.

    "I did learn something, but it seems like all of these scrolls and books in your collection are iplete, aren''t they? Was the cultivation method created by the Darkmoon Tribe''s ancestors inspired by these ancient scrolls and books?" Leon asked.

    "Oh? That''s right. Our ancestors did create the Darkmoon Body Forging Method after gaining some inspiration from this ancient heritage." Master Woodrow admitted. "As for the iplete collection. There is nothing we can do about it. These were all collected from the southern ruins, after all. It''s an exceedingly dangerous expedition where even Battle Masters have the risk of losing their lives."

    "I see. However, I heard that Chief Valencia and the other Venerable Shamans each have their own private book collection. If we were to pool these together andplete the ipleteness, perhaps we might be able to learn something?" Leon suggested with an underlying intention.

    "Hmm¡­"

    Master Woodrow appeared to consider Leon''s suggestion seriously. After a moment, his eyes brightened and Leon''s shoulders with his hands.

    "Little Brother Leonhardt has suggested something very interesting. No one has thought about this before. It could be the key to us understanding the secrets behind the ancient heritage of the distant past. I will bring this suggestion to the attention of the chief and the others at our next meeting¡ªNo, I should meet them now." Master Woodrow said.

    The heritage from the southern ruins was unearthed and umted over hundreds of years.

    At first, no one understood anything from the ancient texts. Thus, everything was divided between many families for private study and had passed through many hands over the years.

    Now that their understanding of the runguage has reached a substantial level, they should no longer be as clueless as in the past. If they put together the matching iplete volumes, they might just obtain aplete volume and learn something from it.

    "Then this younger brother will not hold Brother Woodrow back and will leave first. However, I hope Brother Woodrow will bring this younger brother along when the timees if the chief and the others agree to the suggestion."

    "Of course!"

    Master Woodrow gave his word.

    Leon smiled and bid his farewell shortly after, leaving the Fragrant Tea Abode before making his way into the shopping district to find some nice clothing and equipment to gift Darlene. He did rip her clothes to shreds, after all.

    It did not bother him whether his suggestion would allow the Darkmoon Tribe to obtain many godly and devilish cultivation methods, techniques, and battle skills.

    The heritage belonged to them, after all.

    However, even if they did obtain theplete and tranted copies, they would never be able to practice the rted method, technique, or battle skill without the prerequisite of True Grandmist Energy.

    If pseudo-Grandmist Energy could indeed be substituted for True Grandmist Energy, then he might just be the only person who will be able to practice these methods, techniques, and battle skills.

 Chapter 401 - The Gift Can Wait

    <h4>Chapter 401 - The Gift Can Wait</h4>

    Sometime after leaving Fragrant Tea Abode, Leon arrived at the big market within the Darkmoon Tribe.

    Various items were being sold in this location, and everything could be found, from low-tier Soul Weapons to high-quality demonic beast meat.

    Apart from those, the market also had people selling low-quality Enchant Equipment, essories, clothing, demonic beast materials, rare minerals, healing potions, and strange oddities.

    The highest quality of items can only be found in the stores owned by the Venerable Shamans of their respective professions.

    Leon found a tailor shop selling women''s garments and made his way over to it through the bustling crowd of tribesmen.

    "Brother Leonhardt is here! The Divine Doctor hase to visit our big market!" A tribesman noticed Leon and hollered to the crowd.

    What?!

    The crowd immediately exploded with fervor and excitement. They pushed and shoved each other in apetitive manner as they rushed to be the first person to greet Leon.

    Leon was taken aback by the fervor everyone was feeling but soon understood the reason for their enthusiasm.

    "Divine Doctor, thank you for curing my husband''s leg! It is all thanks to you that he can continue to join the hunting team to scavenge for demonic beasts!"

    "¡­thank you for curing my father''s arm¡­ he can continue to¡­"

    "¡­thank you¡­"

    ¡­

    Leon received countless gratitude from the surrounding tribesmen, so much that his ears buzzed and made him feel dizzy.

    He smiled wryly in response and said, "Please make way, everyone. I am just here to buy some stuff. There''s no need to shower me with your gratitude. I just did what anyone would have done."

    "Even so, we would like to thank you! Please, whatever you need to buy here, we will gift it to you for free!" A store owner said.

    Once those words were spoken, the other store owners also chimed in.

    "Yes, yes, yes! What do you need to buy, Brother Leonhardt? We would like to gift them to you!"

    "I have some low-tier Soul Weapons here. Does Brother Leonhardt fancy any of them?" Asked a middle-aged store owner in charge of a weapon store before getting whacked by his wife.

    "Nonsense! Brother Leonhardt has a Tier 4 Bone Spear. Would he care about our Tier 1 Soul Weapons?"

    "How about some demonic beast meat, Brother Leonhardt? We have some quality pheasants and bear meat cuts here? The fatty cuts are good too. They are very juicy." A butcher offered.

    "I appreciate the goodwill, everyone, but I am just here to buy some clothes for my woman," Leon said to the crowd with a wry smile.

    After he saw that, the crowd immediately quiet down before a few tailor store owners step forward to invite Leon to their stores.

    "How about taking a look at my store, Divine Doctor? My store mainly sells womenswear. There might be a few things that you would like to buy for your woman."

    "My store doesn''t specialize in womenswear only, but there might be something that catches your interest, Brother Leonhardt. How about you take a look there?"

    Leon smiled helplessly.

    "Alright, there''s no need to fight with each other. I will take a look at both your stores." Leon shortly turned to the crowd and said, "Sorry, everyone. Maybe next time."

    Shortly after, Leon followed the store owners to their tailor store, and the crowd slowly dispersed back to their usual business with disappointment.

    Two burning incense of timeter, Leon walked out of the second tailor store with an extra six sets of clothing; two sets for himself and four sets for Darlene. Everything was stored inside the interspatial pouch with 19-thousand Dark Crystals.

    He had sneakily slipped 500 Dark Crystals behind each of the tailor store''s counter. It would only be sometimeter before the store owners realize the extra Dark Crystals behind their counter when they calcte their total earnings for the day.

    Leon could have epted their gifts for free, but he was not the kind of person who liked to owe people favors.

    After leaving the big market, Leon made his way to Old Tailor''s store.

    As the Dark Continent was dark all year round due to the ck clouds that blot out the sky, the Darkmoon Tribe had no concept of night and day. They only have the fire tower to keep track of time.

    Market trades, work, and sleeping hours were totally dependent on the tribesmen''s mood. While some are working, others could be sleeping. While others are working, some could be sleeping.

    Unless the tribe was hosting events or they were being threatened by outside threats, very rarely were every tribesman awake at the same time.

    Leon frowned slightly when he sensed a trace of hostile intent targeting him. However, the person was very sharp and managed to mask their intent before he could track their location.

    That person was very cautious.

    Nevertheless, there were not many people in the Darkmoon Tribe that would try to harm him. As such, he could only guess that it was the spies from the Great Ironhawk Tribe going after him again.

    ''It doesn''t seem like they will make a move while there are other people around me on the streets. This means they wish to make a move against me, but they do not wish to expose themselves while doing so. In that case, I do not need to worry about them too much¡­''

    Leon analyzed the situation while continuing to stroll along the busy street with a casual expression. Even so, he decided not to fully drop his guard as that would be unwise of him.

    Sometimeter, he made it to Old Tailor''s store without the secret stalker making a move once. Leon shrugged and entered the store.

    "Big Brother Leonhardt! Are you here to buy something today?" Little Bone ran over to greet Leon. He was excited to see his father''s savior.

    Leon rubbed the little boy''s head and said, "Working hard at the store counter aye, Little Bone? Aren''t you the diligent one? Where''s your father and grandfather?"

    "Grandpa is teaching papa how to craft Enchanted Equipment in the backyard. Is Big Brother Leonhardt here to see them? Should I go tell them about big brother''s visit?"

    "Nah, no need to bother them. Big brother was just curious. Does the store have any interspatial leather pouches for sale?" Asked Leon after giving the store a quick nce over the goods on disy.

    Little Bone nodded rigorously and exined, "Grandpa said that in-interspatial leather pouches are special due to the di-difficulty in making them, so we should keep them behind the drawers and only take them out if people spe-specifically ask for them."

    The little boy struggled to pronounce big words. Leon could not help butugh and rub the little boy''s head again. He was quite an adorable little thing. He wondered if his own kids will be like this when he has them.

    "I''ll go take it out to show big brother." The little boy said with a bit of embarrassment and ran back to the counter before pulling out a sliding and detachable wooden tray.

    The counter was a bit too high for the little boy to ce the wooden tray on top. However, there was a small wooden tform behind the counter that seemed to have been prepared for exactly these kinds of situations.

    After Little Bones stepped onto the tform and ced the tray onto the counter, Leon had nced at the seven objects shown.

    All had simr designs and ranged between Tier 1-4 in quality. However, there was only one Tier 4 Interspatial Pouch while the other 3 came in pairs. A wooden tag was ced beside each item, listing the price of the goods.

    A Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch had a storage capacity of 10 cubic meters, a Tier 2 had 40 cubic meters, Tier 3 had 160 cubic meters, and Tier 4 have 640 cubic meters.

    Looking at the price of each item, Leon almost had a heart attack. The lowest quality interspatial pouch went for a whopping 4000 Dark Crystals, while each consecutive higher tier item cost double the previous price.

    Leon checked his interspatial pouch''s storage capacity, which had 160 cubic meters, and scratched his cheek wryly. It was a Tier 3 Interspatial Pouch with a value of 16000 Dark Crystals.

    ''Never mind, Darlene does need a big interspatial pouch. It is enough as long as it can contain everything she needs.''

    He decided.

    In the end, he bought the lowest Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch in addition to a few Tier 3 Enchanted Equipment; a leather breast armor, leather boots, leather shin guard, leather wrist guard, and a fox-headed cloak.

    The total came to a discounted price of 17600 Dark Crystals, and Leon shortly left the store with 1400 Dark Crystals left in his pockets.

    He was broke after a single big purchase.

    "Haiz, I''m too poor," Leon said to himself with a shake of his head as he left the store. "Hm¡ª?!"

    His mind suddenly became alerted to the sense of danger. He immediately utilized all his abilities to duck from an iing projectile that narrowly missed his head before gazing into the direction of the attack.

    The attacker did not continue to attack and fled after the sneak attack had failed. Seeing a few shadows quickly moving in pursuit, Leon decided not to give chase. He might not necessarily be able to beat the attacker anyway.

    Nevertheless, Leon found it strange that the spies had not been cleaned up. Have they not found out what the spies were trying to aplish in the tribe?

    Leon shook his head. Sometimeter, he returned to Barrenrock Courtyard and entered his room.

    Darlene was quick to greet him, "Wee back, hubby."

    "Un, I''m back." Leon nodded and said, "I got something to give you¡­"

    His voice slurred towards the end as he gazed upon Darlene''s voluptuous figure, enticing him in a vulnerable and alluring position on the bed. Blood immediately shot to his head.

    ''Well, the gift can wait tilter.''

 Chapter 403 - Realms Of Body Cultivation

    <h4>Chapter 403 - Realms Of Body Cultivation</h4>

    When power is introduced to people, they usually learn to use it first before they even try to sustain or even reproduce it. It makes sense that in an era where True Grandmist Energy was held in abundance, it would be taken for granted.

    All cultivation methods, techniques, and battle skills created during the primordial era were made to make use of the True Grandmist Energy and never reproduce it.

    When Leon thought of this point, it became more apparent that the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] had a deeper originpared to all these other heritage from the primordial era of gods and devils.

    Exactly what was the origin of the Hegemon of Primal Chaos technique?

    It was found in ancient ruin before it was circted throughout the Divine Realm, but not a single Divine Practitioner could achieve sess in this technique.

    Yet, it was precisely this technique that can reproduce the very source of energy that gave birth to everything in existence.

    For the first time, Leon felt like his fate and destiny was not his own to decide, but more like he was being guided by an unknown force at work; like believing he had choices to make all this while when, in fact, he had been walking down a single linear pathway.

    The thought scared him.

    After a moment, he shook his head and tried not to think about it.

    If there was such a strong entity that can manipte the fates and lives of every being in the universe, such a powerful being should be considered the one True God or True Creator.

    Even if he were to figure that such a being truly existed, there would still be nothing he can do about it. He was far, far too weak to break the chain of fate set by such an entity.

    If he wanted to break away from the chain of fate set by someone else, he just had to keep cultivating until he bes stronger than such a being.

    In the first volume of the [Godfiend Body Forging Method], Leon was introduced to the realms of the Body Cultivation System from the primordial era.

    Namely, there were four major realms within the Body Cultivation System. These four realms were called the Body Tempering Realm, Body Transformation Realm, Eight Hidden Gates, and Nine Star Pces.

    As the names implied, the Body Tempering Realm focuses on tempering the body to the limits, and the Body Transformation Realm focuses on transforming the body beyond the limits.

    However, the Eight Hidden Gates and Nine Star Pces were different from the first two realms and could be apletely different set of their own cultivation systems.

    At the realm of Eight Hidden Gates and beyond, one can no longer strengthen the body through the standard method of using energy to refine the body.

    They are also required to seek worldly treasures and wondrous elixirs to further aid them in bringing out the absolute potential that lies dormant within the body.

    This is why it is called the Eight Hidden Gates.

    Regardless of race, it is said that every living entity had eight hidden points within its body that contain untapped power from another dimension.

    These eight hidden points are like the ck holes in the universe that always draw things inside and never let anything out. To draw out the power from deep within, Body Practitioners had to go to great lengths to force them open.

    However, each opened hidden gate was equally rewarding. The power boost was immense, allowing Body Practitioners at this realm to be on equal footings with Celestials and practitioners at the Divine State.

    Beyond that was the Nine Star Pce Realm that is on par with Divinities. This was a realm beyond mortality, and no mortals can achieve this realm no matter how great their talents and body potential, at least not on their own.

    At the Realm of Nine Star Pces, there is no more potential within the mortal body to draw out. As such, Body Practitioners must build these so-called Star Pces to achieve greater strengths in their Body Cultivation.

    Each Star Pces was akin to a miniature universe. As such, having nine Star Pces was akin to having nine energy centers, whereas most divine practitioners of the Energy Cultivation System would only ever have one, which lies in their be region.

    From this, it could be seen how terrifying a Body Practitioner at the Nine Star Pce Realm is like.

    After Leon understood the introduction to the Body Cultivation System, he read through the instructions for the [Godfiend Body Forging Method].

    His eyes flickered with determination after he memorized the contents.

    ''Time to test whether my pseudo-Grandmist Energy can indeed be substituted for the True Grandmist Energy or not.''

    Leon decisively thought.

    He drew out the Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy from his ck Vortex and manipted it ording to the [Godfiend Body Forging Method].

    The Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy was shortly energized and vibrated at high frequency, turning each particle of Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy into sieve-like particles.

    Leon felt a slight chill and sighed, ''This is going to hurt like hell! ¡­However, the body forging methods were never a pain-free process!''

    Leon gritted his teeth and immediately began the tempering process on his body. The pain that followed was as he had expected. It was like ayer of his skin was being iled and ground away as numerous waves of electric shock assaulted his mind in continuous streams.

    Despite the pain he was feeling, no visible damage was seen on his flesh.

    It was all in the mind.

    ''It''s effective! Pseudo-Grandmist Energy can indeed be substituted in ce of True Grandmist Energy!''

    Leon thought excitedly.

    He endured the pain with bloodshot eyes and felt the changes taking ce to his flesh.

    After the sieve-like Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy grind against his flesh, it blended and fused into his flesh.

    ''Hm?''

    Leon suddenly discovered something.

    [Godfiend Body Forging Method] could indeedplement the practical aspect the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] wascking, but that did not stop him from practicing the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] to temper his flesh at the same time.

    [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] produces the energy, [Godfiend Body Forging Method] teaches how to maniptes it, and [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] directly applies it.

    Leon immediately tried to put his thoughts into practice, utilizing both techniques to temper his flesh.

    ''Hm, it''s a bit difficult to practice both simultaneously, but it''s still manageable for me.''

    Leon thought.

    The results were as he presumed.

    This fleshly strength and defensive properties began to grow at an rming rate. The [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] ''s stagnant first stage began to rise and inch closer and closer to the second stage.

    After losing his Body Runes, his arm''s 9-star Ranked Awakener defensive strength dropped back to the 1-star Ranked Awakener defensive strength.

    However, once he breakthrough in his [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] to the second stage, his entire body''s defensive strength will rise to Transcendent first rank. In other words, no attack below 100 thousand jin would hurt him!

    Not only that, but his body''s physical strength was also rising at the same time! It was the benefit of practicing the [Godfiend Body Forging Method]!

    The peak of Body Tempering Realm in the Energy Cultivation System only gives Divine Practitioners the physical strength of 1000 jin.

    However, in the primordial Body Cultivation System, 100 thousand jin was the peak of the Body Tempering Realm!

    With Leon''s base strength of roughly 20 thousand jin, he would have only been considered a Rank 2 Body Tempering Realm Practitioner back in the primordial era!

    He still had a long way to go!

    ''The difference between the strengths of the current cultivation systems and the cultivation systems of the past is so immensely vast. No wonder everyone that lived in that age was considered a living god even if they had yet to achieve Divinity and obtain evesting life!''

    Leon mused.

    ''Evesting life¡­ evesting life¡­''

    He began to mumble.

    What kind of disaster could have befallen the gods and devils for their era to end when they had evesting life? Were they truly wiped out by some great disaster, or did they leave their legacies behind and left for some distant ce?

    Leon always seems to have a lot of his mind and delve into deep thoughts, but the mysteries of the past can only be unraveled slowly.

    For now, just keep cultivating!

    Only by bing stronger will he have the strength to travel to ces previously too dangerous for him to explore. For example, the depths of the Extreme Misty Forest, one of the four Perilous Lands in the Human Domain!

    As Leon continued to endure the painful process of tempering flesh and exhaust his Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy reserves, his physical strength steadily climbed from 20 thousand jin to 30 thousand jin.

    With the right technique and conditions, his strength soared quickly! After all, the Body Tempering Realm was only the beginning of body cultivation!

    ¡­

 Chapter 405 - Darlenes Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 405 - Darlene''s Thoughts</h4>

    "Never mind. Since the spy had an Exploding Secret Rune nted inside his mind. Most likely, the other spies will also have one nted in them too."

    Chief Valencia began to think.

    If she wanted to understand the Great Ironhawk Tribe''s motives for sending their people to her tribe, she needed to find someone who can remove these runes from the mind. Only then can she begin interrogating them.

    The other method is not really a solution. It is to continue monitoring the spies'' movements ande up with an educated guess based on their area of operation.

    Chief Valencia immediately summoned a scout before asking the scout, "What is the situation on the spies? Where are they right now?"

    "Some time ago, a few of them tried to assassinate Young Master Leonhardt before fleeing. However, they failed due to the young master''s quick reflex, fortunately. As for the other spies, they are mostly concentrated in the tribe''s central region."

    Chief Valencia''s eye glinted with a fierce look and asked, "They tried to assassinate Leonhardt? They didn''t try to capture him at all?"

    "No, chief."

    The scout answered and appeared to be hesitating about something. He was unsure whether he should say it or not as it was only a guess, and he did not want to mislead the chief because of it.

    "What is it? Say it." Demanded Chief Valencia after noticing the scout''s hesitant look.

    "Y-Yes, chief! I feel that the spies going after something from our mines. I don''t believe our tribe has anything else of interest apart from the things in our underground mines that would make theme all this way. Not unless they were fooled by some false information by their rivaling tribes that led them here."

    After exining, the scout added, "However, this is just a guess of mine. Chief Valencia does not need to take it seriously."

    "No, what you just said; you have a good point. These spies may very well be after something from our underground mines." Chief Valencia took the scout''s opinion seriously.

    The underground mines only have three main points of interest; the Dark Crystals, the water vein where they collect their water, and the catbs where the slumbering ancestors dwelled.

    Of these three points of interest, the water vein was the least likely to be the Great Ironhawk Tribe''s objective.

    The water vein could be found anywhere in the Infertile ins as long as they dig deep enough into the underground world. Even lost treasures and ruins can be located amidst other things and entities that dwell below the earth.

    The water only needed to be filtered before they be drinkable. With the widespread method for filtering water, there was not a single tribe on the in that did not have ess to drinkable water.

    Thus, it was nigh impossible for the water vein to be sought after, although no one knew where all the underground water in these water veins came from.

    The next unlikely point of interest was the catbs. Unless the spies were seeking death, no one would enter the catbs and wake up the slumbering Battle Kings.

    Although the highest quality of Soul Weapons, Enchant Equipment, and essories are all found there, it was impossible to steal these treasures from the Battle Kings that guard them.

    There are mechanisms set in ce to arouse the sleeping giants once someone steps foot inside and intrudes the area.

    After the catbs were the Dark Crystals. This seems to be the most likely point of interest for the Great Ironhawk to target. However, they would not be going after this unless¡­

    When Chief Valencia arrived at this point, she suddenly burst into ridiculingughter.

    "Don''t tell me that the Great Ironhawk Tribe have exhausted their Dark Crystal deposits? They are many other tribes on the Infertile ins, but they decided toe here and eye our tribe''s Dark Crystal deposit. Do they think our Darkmoon Tribe is easy to bully?" Chief Valencia sneered.

    The closer one was to the southern Land of Darkness, the richer the underground Dark Crystal deposits were. As such, the underground Dark Crystal deposits in Infertile in''s central region cannot bepared to the southern region.

    "Send down my order; kill all these rats from Great Ironhawk Tribe. There is no longer any purpose in keeping them alive." Chief Valencia ordered.

    However, she suddenly frowned slightly and corrected her order, "Just in case, capture a few of them and kill the rest."

    "Yes, chief! I hear and obey!"

    The scout patted his chest excitedly and left to carry out the chief''s order. His eyes glimmered with a bloodthirsty sheen.

    ¡­

    Barrenrock Courtyard.

    Some time has passed since Leon left and burrowed himself underground to cultivate in peace. At that moment, Darlene woke up and stretched her limbsfortably before observing her surroundings.

    She was slightly surprised when she discovered she was in a new room. A warm feeling sprouted in her heart after she quickly understood the reason behind it.

    Shortly after, her eyes nced down upon a leather pouch lying on the bed next to her. Her heart immediately skipped a beat.

    ''Is this an Interspatial Pouch? These things are very costly¡­ why is this here?'' Darlene thought with puzzlement.

    She nced around the empty room.

    Seeing no one, she became a bit suspicious and doubtful of the leather pouch''s presence. Should she look or should she not look inside?

    ''Is this a test?''

    She thought with discouragement.

    Although a strong sense of curiosity urged her to open the Interspatial Pouch and take a glimpse inside, she fought back the urge and refused to touch it.

    If Leon knew Darlene''s choice, he would not know whether tough or cry.

    After Darlene finally managed to push her thoughts about the leather pouch to the back of her mind, she began thinking about her spatial ability.

    A rare trace of excitement was shown on her face as there was no one around to see it. Her heart began beating quicker, and she took short breaths.

    She raised her hand and began to y around with her spatial ability by distorting and bending the space in front. However, after a moment, her hands drooped down, and pensive sadness overwhelmed her.

    She was good at concealing her true emotions. This was something she picked up from a young age after being abandoned by her family and being told that she was useless.

    But at this moment, she no longer bothered to hold back her emotions and let them flow naturally. Bitter tears silently dripped down her cheeks slowly as all the grievance she felt over the years were poured out from her heart.

    Darlene wept for some time before her emotions slowly calmed down. Her heart felt lighter and more peaceful¡­ like something heavy pressing her down all this while has been taken off her shoulders.

    A serene expression was seen on her face. But after a moment, it was reced by determination as she slowly clenches her small fists.

    ''I will practice this spatial ability diligently and be someone strong one day. Then I will tell all those who have wronged me in the past that they were wrong about me! I am not useless! I can also cultivate! And make sure they regret abandoning me!''

    Darlene silently swore an oath for herself.

    However, her determined look crumpled with awkwardness after a moment of realization. She immediately burrowed her face into the fur pillow, stuffed with dead grass.

    She did not even know how to cultivate yet!

    It is so embarrassing that she was already thinking of proving her worth when she had yet to learn how to cultivate!

    Her face was flushed slightly.

    Nevertheless, she believes that her hubby will teach her how to improve her spatial ability eventually.

    What she could do now was to try and understand her spatial ability. She should explore ways in which she can use this ability effectively.

    Her hubby never mentioned it, but she did not n to reveal her ability to anyone without his explicit approval. Even if it was the chief of the tribe.

    For some reason, Darlene''s eyes were subtly drawn back to the leather pouch on the bed again before she quickly averted her eyes. Her curiosity was killing her, but she should not peek at things that were not hers.

    ''Hold on. What am I supposed to do without any clothes? My previous clothes were all torn to pieces by hubby again¡­ and I won''t be able to go out like this¡­''

    Darlene suddenly thought.

    Maybe she had misunderstood her hubby''s intention? Perhaps he had gone out to buy some clothes for her instead? And it might be in the Interspatial Pouch?

    ''This might really be the case.''

    Darlene became convinced of her conclusion, the more she thought about it. She was definitely not being influenced by the urge to peek inside the leather pouch¡­

    "Just a peek won''t hurt¡­ It''s not like I''m taking anything¡­" She muttered softly, giving herself justifications.

    After Darlene took a glimpse inside the Interspatial Pouch, her heart fluttered with joy.

    Women''s clothes were seen inside! Really lovely garments for women! And it seems to be a perfect fit for her! Her hubby would not wear something like this, so it had to be bought for her!

    Suddenly, Darlene felt like she was really blessed. Perhaps, all the hardship she had experienced until now was so she could meet her hubby.

    A heartfelt expression was seen on Darlene''s face as she smiled brilliantly and beautifully like the blooming of flowers.

    ''I wonder where he is right now¡­''

    Darlene wondered with joy in her heart¡­ She has this urge to find him and throw herself into his arms.

 Chapter 406 - High-Speed Traveling Idea

    <h4>Chapter 406 - High-Speed Traveling Idea</h4>

    Crawford Kingdom, Lost Isle Alley.

    Ever since Queen Elizabeth returned to the Capital with Aria and Lynne, the area around the Teleportation Array had been crowded with researchers.

    "Have you still not figured out how this thing operates yet?! How old are you? And how old is son?! My son figured out how this thing operated in three days! How long has it been now? Three days! How much more time do you need?!" Elizabeth barked at the group of researchers that had been studying the mystical Teleportation Array for the past few days.

    The head researcher bowed his head in shame and said, "My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty. I ashamed of my own ipetence."

    "No, it''s fine." After a moment, Elizabeth sighed and shook her head, despondently, "I''m just in too much of a hurry to see my son."

    After calming down, Elizabeth seriously asks, "What have you found out so far about this thing?"

    "It appears to be a type of spatial device capable of transporting people from one ce to another. Although it is activated currently, something seems to be stopping it from opening the spatial portal from the other side. Perhaps, His Highness sealed it to stop others from following him over?"

    After hearing this, Elizabeth furrowed her brows. What the head researcher said might just be the case. If so, no one would be able to travel to the other side even if they understood the mechanism of the Teleportation Array.

    She sighed again and said, "Continue to study this Teleportation Array. Even if we cannot use it, we should learn how to reproduce it. If we can master this profound teleportation technology, we can effectively travel anywhere in the kingdom in an instance."

    "Yes, Your Majesty."

    The head researcher and other researchers bowed inpliance. Shortly after, Elizabeth left the area and returned to the pce.

    Within the king''s study room, Heinrich was seen reading through some documents. Seeing Elizabeth enter the room, he ced the paper down and smiled, "How''s the progress of the Teleportation Array?"

    "Still the same." Elizabeth shook her head and asks, "What about the girls?"

    Heinrich nced outside the balcony before shrugging and said, "See for yourself."

    "Are you upset that even one of your daughters-inw is being one step ahead of you in cultivation and advancing to the Transcendent Realm?" Elizabeth asked with her lips curled before she walked to the balcony.

    Outside the study room, a person could be seen meditating on the pce grounds'' open field while a dozen pce guards secured the perimeters. No one was able to get close to the person at the center.

    Clouds slowly gathered above, and cold lightning crackled in the sky. It was the Transcendent Phenomenon of someone achieving Transcendence.

    Nevertheless, the Transcendent Phenomenon was different from all the other Transcendent Phenomenons in the past. The appearance of a Transcendent Phenomenon depended on the element the Awakener was achieving Transcendence with.

    Even so, Aria''s Transcendent Phenomenon was unique even among Transcendent Phenomenons. It appeared to be the Transcendence of dual elements, but it was the Transcendence of a single element in truth. It was the lightning element, but with traits of the ice element in it.

    "Once Aria seeds, we will have an additional Transcendent in our kingdom. That girl¡­ she never ceases to amaze me. Her talent is simply overflowing. Lynne, on the other hand, worries me." Elizabeth sighed with a concerned look.

    "She''s a littlepetitive, but she''s also a good girl. I hope that she will be able to achieve her aim by going to the World Tree." Heinrich said.

    Elizabeth nodded before saying, "Speaking of the World Tree, I heard from Amelia that you were nning to expand the railway and build a route to connect the World Tree to the Capital, dear?"

    "That''s right."

    Heinrich admitted with a nod and said, "Now that the lumber city and stone city is connected to the Capital, we are getting a steady supply of construction materials. It is just a matter of time before the Capital is rebuiltpletely."

    "However, our kingdom''s territory has expanded to triple its size after the assimting the territories of the Durham Kingdom and the Vran Kingdom. If we want to govern such arge expanse ofnd effectively, we will need to move our Capital somewhere more central."

    While listening to Heinrich''s exnation, Elizabeth nodded in agreement. What her husband said made a lot a sense. However, she had some doubts.

    "You are nning to make the World Tree the location of our new capital? There are more central regions we could choose from to be the location of our new capital. Why the World Tree''s region?" Elizabeth asked.

    Heinrich smiled at her question.

    "My wife, you asked an excellent question. Let me tell you about an interesting piece of news I recently learned about. You are also aware that the sky has a suppressive gravitational force that stops us from flying beyond a certain height, yes?" He asked.

    Elizabeth nodded.

    "What about it?"

    "The suppressive force of the sky does not exist under the umbre of the World Tree. This means that our airships can fly at least 10,000fts high within the vicinity of the World Tree, and even higher as the World Tree grows." Heinrich spoke with a profound look.

    Elizabeth could not understand where her husband was getting at with this topic and furrowed her brows in confusion.

    "Even if the airship can fly to such heights, it is still confounded within the vicinity of the World Tree. Why would that be important in deciding the location of our new capital? Once airships leave the range, it will plunge due to the suppression force of the sky."

    Heinrich chuckled mysteriously and shook his head, "That''s is where you are wrong, my dear. Although the airship will not retain the same altitude once it leaves the range of the World Tree, it will not be a steep plunge either. Rather, it will be a gradual decline while the airship is elerated due to the suppression force. Do you understand now what this implies?"

    Elizabeth was not stupid. Once her husband exined this much to her, she understood everything without further exnation.

    "This means that the airship will be akin to a slingshot or plunging rollercoaster once it leaves the World Tree''s zone, flying at an incredible speed. Considering the gravitational force applied on the airships, I suppose it is possible for them to elerate up to multiple times their normal speed!" Elizabeth said.

    "That''s right! Whether it is deploying troops, sending supplies, or simply traveling, it will be possible for us to reach any parts of the kingdom within a much shorter period of timepared to any other avable modes of transport."

    "It seems my husband already has ns to build arge airport near the World Tree." Elizabeth smiled before mentioning a critical problem, "However, how do you n on solving the stress problem? I doubt any of our current airships will be able to withstand such high flight speed without falling apart from the resistance putting stress on the structural integrity of the airships."

    "As the king of the kingdom, why do I have to be the one to solve it?" Heinrichughed before proceeding to say, "I only need to provide an idea. It is up to others to realize it for me. I''ve already consulted Ignis on this matter, and he has already started researching a new airship design to bear the burden of high-speed flight."

    "So my husband already has everything nned out. It seems the only thing left is to wait for thepletion of the railway construction between the Capital and World Tree. I''ve been a bit free these days anyway. Maybe I will go speed up the construction process." Elizabeth said while preparing to leave.

    Heinrich stood up from his seat and did a light stretch before strolling over and held Elizabeth''s waist intimately.

    "I''ve been cooped up in the pce and buried behind paperwork for so long that I could also use a little exercise. How about I join you, my dear? We''ve been so busy, we had little time to spend together these days." Heinrich suggested.

    Elizabeth smiled and gave Heinrich a peck on the cheek before responding with, "If my husband wishes."

    However, the pce maid, Lily, suddenly arrived by the open entrance and became slightly startled.

    "Ahem, I''m terribly sorry for disturbing your intimate moments, Your Majesties. Marquis Haldir and Princess Faelyn havee to bid farewell." Said Lily.

    "Oh? They''ve returned from the World Tree so suddenly? Seems like their business at the World Tree is finished. They should be nning to return to Elvengarde to inform their tribe.

    "I will go first and leave you to deal with this matter," Elizabeth said with a smile before leaving from the balcony.

    Heinrich shook his head with slight disappointment. After a moment, he recovered his regr expression and said, "I''ll go meet them now. Where are they?"

    "They are just waiting in the Great Hall, Your Majesty." Lily dutifully answered.

    "Alright, I understand."

    Heinrich nodded.

 Chapter 407 - Inverting Right And Wrong

    <h4>Chapter 407 - Inverting Right And Wrong</h4>

    Royal Pce, Great Hall.

    "Your Majesty."

    The Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn both greet upon Heinrich''s arrival.

    After Heinrich acknowledged their greeting and sat down on the throne, he gestured for them to be at ease and take their seats on the sides.

    "I heard you were going to be returning to your tribe, Marquis Haldir?" Heinrich asked.

    The elven Supreme Elder nodded and admitted, "That''s right, Your Majesty. We have stayed in the kingdom for much longer than we have originally nned to. If we do not return and let our tribesmen see our well-being soon, I''m afraid that they might grow restless and do something rash."

    "I understand. That would be a bit troublesome, wouldn''t it? Have you settled your matters at the World Tree?"

    "Yes, Your Majesty. We have met with the esteemed Elder Evergreen and came to an agreement with his vige, but I wonder what you have nned for my tribesmen, Your Majesty?"

    Heinrich paused for a moment before he said, "I have given it some thought. Originally, I nned to gift you a fiefdom to settle your people in the kingdom. But after a talk with my son one time, I have decided that we should let the people of our two races interact and not be alienated from each other."

    "Your Majesty''s intention is to¡­?" Haldir was slightly doubtful as he looked at the king for answers.

    Heinrich nodded and said, "A new capital will be built by the World Tree, and both humans and elves should live together in it. No doubt, the quickest way for two races to get along is to interact and understand each other."

    "Even so, the elven tribe is not small. It will take some time before a cityrge enough to house everyone is built. As such, I n to divide your people into groups and settle them down in the kingdom''s surrounding cities and towns. This way, your tribesmen can also help with the various crop cultivation throughout the kingdom and boost the economy while interacting with my people."

    While listening to Heinrich talk, Haldir appeared to have some concerns for his tribesmen under this arrangement.

    Heinrich understood what those concerns were and continued speaking, "I know what it is that you are concerned about, and I am also aware of theplications that will arise from this forced interaction between two races. Without a doubt, there will be discrimination and exploitation¡ªSuch is the nature of some people."

    "However, we cannot let our fears of these things halt us in our steps and stop us from advancing towards our desired futures. If we are not even brave enough to take the step forward, when will we ever achieve our goals¡ªright?" Heinrich said meaningfully.

    Haldir repeated the king''s meaningful words in his mind before he smiled self-deprecatingly. To think he would be educated by someone many times younger than him. Perhaps, this is why the person was king¡ªa wise king.

    "You''re absolutely right, Your Majesty. If we are too fearful of moving forward, when will we ever achieve our desired future? ¡ª these words have struck me profoundly. I will follow the arrangements of Your Majesty. I only hope that your guarantee fairness for my tribesmen and not be bias towards your own people." Haldir said.

    Heinrich chuckled slightly and embarrassingly admitted, "Actually, someone else had said those exact words to me in the past. It is why the capital could adapt some crazy ideas and achieve such transformation."

    "Also, you are mistaken about something, Marquis Haldir." Heinrich suddenly corrected with a promise, "You are all my people. I will naturally guarantee fairness for all my people. There will be no favoritism and bias due to race. You have my word."

    "On behalf of the elves, I thank you, Your Majesty." Haldir solemnly saluted the king with a respectful bow. Princess Faelyn followed suit and did the same.

    "Alright, I understand that you have ces to be and things to do since you have made your decisions. I shan''t keep you around any longer. I pray that you have a safe and pleasant trip." Heinrich bid his farewell.

    "Yes, thank you for your blessings, Your Majesty. I n to bring more tribesmen over after this trip back to Elvengarde." Said the elven Supreme Elder.

    "Is His Highness around, Your Majesty? I also wish to bid the prince farewell before we leave." Princess Faelyn suddenly said to the king.

    However, Heinrich shook his head, "I am afraid that will not be possible. My son has left for somewhere far away. It is uncertain when he will return the kingdom."

    "Is that so?"

    Princess Faelyn expressed mild disappointment, but she quickly got over it. She bade her goodbye with a curtsy, "Thank you for receiving us and seeing us off, Your Majesty. Until we see again."

    "Until we see again. Oh right, feel free to stop by the Lancaster''s Workshop Tower and take one of the airships back. I''m sure it will be more convenient for your travel." Heinrich added.

    Haldir and Princess Faelyn expressed their gratitude once again before they left the pce. They followed the king''s suggestion and dropped by the Lancaster''s Workshop Tower.

    Shortly after, the Duke and Duchess lent them a spare airship and crew before they took off for the west.

    ¡­

    Infertile ins, Darkmoon Tribe.

    Within the tribe''s central district, near the foot of the rocky teau at the center, there was a rtivelyrge plot ofnd, walled off on all sides and belongs to the Golden family.

    Inside of arge hut within the said plot ofnd, Lord Goldenfangid asleep on the bed with several other people gathered outside with looks of concern.

    At that moment, Goldeneye stormed into the hut and gazed upon his father''s weak sleeping face before his expression dropped.

    "Brother, you''re finally here." Goldenrod greeted from the side of the bed.

    Goldeneye nodded before asking heavily, "How did this happen to father? He did not look this pale earlier in the day."

    "I''m not sure either. I have just arrived not long ago and have yet to learn about the situation. However, the men outside appear to know what happened to father." Goldenrod exined.

    "I see."

    Goldeneye immediately left the hut and swept everyone a sharp look before asking in amanding tone, "Who can tell me what happened to my father?"

    The group of people immediately shivered and dropped to their knees. Goldeneye is usually approachable and easy-going, but it is enough to terrify everyone present once he is mad.

    They had never seen Goldeneye kill a tribesman before, but they have seen him feed other humans to his Dark Wyvern during confrontations with other groups on their big hunting trips.

    No one wanted to face the wrath of the Dark Wyvern.

    "My Lord, it was like this¡­"

    A brave warrior at the Early-rank Great Warrior Realm from the Beast Tamer Faction began to recount what he knew to the Goldeneye.

    In summary, the Beast Tamer Faction''s White family sold their Barrenrock Courtyard to the chief and learned firsthand information of Leonhardt joining the tribe. They ryed the information to Lord Goldenfang after learning that Goldeneye was absent from home.

    "Is this true?" Goldeneye furrowed his brows deeply and questioned the few people from the White family.

    They did not dare to hide anything and nervously admitted, "Y-Yes, Lord Goldeneye! We are terribly sorry. We did not know that Lord Goldenfang would end up like this!"

    Goldeneye closed his eyes briefly and repressed his turbulent emotions. He reopened his eyes after calming down slightly, and impassively said, "You should not have done that."

    "My father has dedicated his entire life to raising the Golden family''s status to greater heights in the tribe. He''s been pushing me for the tribal chief position, but this is not an easy position to obtain without absolute strength. Nevertheless, father has be impatient in recent years due to his old age and declining health¡­ he should have been thest person to speak to about faction matters."

    Goldeneye appeared to be speaking to himself before he shook his head and refocused his gaze on the White family members with a sharp glint.

    "I will punish you all to 20 hardshes, do you ept?" He asked.

    "We ept!"

    Goldeneye turned to the side and gestured to the other warriors to carry out the punishment. The warriorsplied and took out a terrible and lethal-looking bone whip, made from a demonic beast''s spine with numerous sharp points to administer the punishment.

    No doubt, the reinforced skin of warriors will still becerated if they were to be whipped with such a weapon. Despite that, the White family epted their punishment dly.

    While the punishment was being carried out, Goldeneye inquired the rest of the details from the two warriors that followed Lord Goldenfang to meet Leonhardt previously.

    The two warriors recount the event to Goldeneye. Still, they did not forget to invert ck and white, making themselves out to be the reasonable party while Leonhardt was unreasonable and overbearing.

    "Lord Goldenfang invited that person so courteously, but that person was just too arrogant and disrespectful. Not only did that person refuse Lord Goldenfang rudely, but he also insulted your family! My Lord, you must take revenge for this injustice!" The warrior said.

    Goldeneye watched the two warriors speak with an indifferent look before calmly asking, "Is that what really happened?"

    Lord Goldenfang was old-fashioned and ced great importance on the seniority of one''s age. Goldeneye cannot imagine his father extending an invitation to someone from the younger generation politely without throwing his weight around.

    The two warriors immediately sweated and dared not to utter another word of nonsense after hearing Goldeneye''s question.

    His eyes shortly flickered with a cold glint.

 Chapter 408 - Rank 5 Body Tempering

    <h4>Chapter 408 - Rank 5 Body Tempering</h4>

    "If you two speak untruthfully again, be prepared to be punished! This time, I will let it slide. But do not let there be another time, understood?!" Goldeneye sternly warned.

    "Yes, Lord Goldeneye!"

    "Hmph! This matter should be dropped today. Do not pursue that person for revenge." Goldeneye left those words with a flick of his wrist, heading back inside the hut to watch over his father.

    "Are you just going to leave it like that after what that person did to our father, brother?" Goldenrod asks.

    Goldeneye nced at his younger brother and said, "Leonhardt isn''t someone we can touch right now. At least it cannot be known that it is done by our faction. He enjoys great fame right now, and even his importance far outstrips mine. Do you understand the difference between us?"

    "Brother''s Dark Wyvern represents the birth of a future Battle King." Goldenrod wrinkled his brows and said, "However, Leonhardt can cure Demon Possession. His existence represents the possibility of birthing many Battle Kings."

    "Exactly. This person has the ability to raise the tribe to the sky and upset the power bnce of the entire Infertile ins! It no longer matters where this person came from. What is important is his ability to cure Demon Possession! Anyone who touches him will be the enemy of the entire human race!"

    Goldenrod frowned and said, "But I heard that the rats from the Great Ironhawk Tribe tried to assassinate him after failing to recruit him to their side."

    "That is because they are narrowminded and selfish! They know that so long as Leonhardt stays with our tribe, our Darkmoon Tribe will rise to greatness. Thus, since they cannot have him, they do not want anyone else to have him! Right now, news of Leonhardt''s abilities and feats have only spread in our tribe. It is the only chance they have to kill Leonhardt without suffering the consequences."

    "I see. If news of Leonhardt''s existence is spread to the rest of the Infertile ins, the Great Ironhawk Tribe will not dare to assassinate him again. They can only do so now while Leonhardt is still rtively unknown to the Infertile ins. Thus, even if we use them, they can just deny that such a person existed."

    "That''s right. That should be exactly the logic of those rats when they made their move against Leonhardt." Goldeneye nodded.

    "Still¡­" Goldenrod nced at their father and said, "Are we just going to let our father suffer in silence like this without doing anything?"

    Goldeneye fell silent for a moment.

    After a while, he opened his mouth and said, "Although we cannot touch Leonhardt for the betterment of the tribe, it does not mean we need to suck up to such a person either. We are destined not to get along after what has happened to our father. Thus, it''s fine to find some trouble with Leonhardt as long as we don''t take it too far."

    "I understand." Goldenrod suddenly had an idea. They cannot make a move against Leonhardt himself, but maybe they can touch the people around him.

    Nevertheless, this would just be a petty move.

    Goldeneye furrowed his brows slightly. He recalled a matter and asks, "I heard you made a bet with the person and became his subordinate after losing?"

    "You also heard about that?"

    Goldenrod immediately became awkward.

    ¡­

    Barrenrock Courtyard.

    After Darlene tried on each set of clothes found inside the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch, she picked the one she was mostfortable wearing and put the rest back in the pouch.

    ''Hubby also bought me Enchanted Equipment¡­ these must have cost a fortune.'' Darlene thought as she nced at the leather armor inside the pouch while feeling sweet inside.

    She had never received anything so expensive before. She was a little afraid to wear the Enchanted Equipment, lest she damages it and feels pained.

    After cing the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch in a secured drawer, Darlene headed outside for some fresh air and to look for Leon.

    However, she found no one in the courtyard. She searched every room but still failed to find a trace of Leon. The entire courtyard was empty, and even the entrance was busted down.

    What happened here? Did something happen to her hubby while she was asleep in the bedroom? Feeling that something serious might have happened, she decided to contact the chief. She did not know that the entrance had been busted down much earlier.

    Back inside the bedroom, Darlene sealed the door before loosening her hair bun and took out the voice-transmission stone hidden within.

    In the Chief Pce, Chief Valencia was in the middle of a discussion with Master Woodrow, who suddenly visited when she felt her voice-transmission stone lighting up.

    "Sorry, Master Woodrow. Something came up." Chief Valencia furrowed her brows and spoke.

    She moved to a more secluded spot away from the Great Hall before she answered the voice-transmission stone.

    "What is it?"

    "Young Master Leonhardt is missing, chief," Darlene answered from the other side of the voice-transmission stone.

    "When did this?"

    Darlene recounted her intimate moments with Leonhardt again before passing out and how he was already missing when she woke up and discovered the busted door.

    "Alright, I understand. Remain on standby and do not go anywhere. I will handle this."

    "Understood, chief."

    After Chief Valencia ended the call with Darlene via the voice-transmission stone, she summoned the scouts and inquired, "Where is Leonhardt right now?"

    "Leonhardt should still be inside Barrenrock Courtyard, chief. None of my men have reported Leonhardt leaving that ce." The scout answered.

    Chief Valencia frowned.

    "Are you positive?"

    "Very positive, chief."

    Chief Valencia rubbed her temples before asking, "How''s the rat extermination task going?"

    ??We''ve taken down five and captured two. Apart from that, there is still another two spies at the Extremity-rank Great Warrior Realm on the run, chief."

    "Speed it up. Request from the senior warriors if you need to. I want these rats off my streets as soon as possible."

    "Yes, chief!"

    "And send some men to look into Leonhardt''s disappearance. See if it has anything to do with those rats or the Beast Tamer Faction." Chief Valencia ordered.

    "Understood, chief!"

    After the scout left, Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes coldly and softly muttered, "Don''t let me find out Leonhardt''s disappearance had something to do with you people."

    She had been very amodating of the Beast Tamer Faction and left them to their own devices. However, if they do not know what is good for them and yed a part in Leonhardt''s disappearance, she will not hesitate to wash the Beast Tamer Faction in blood.

    Perhaps, this was what Leon meant by those words he left thest time they met. When a group of people and her do not see eye to eye, it is better to cut them off before they grow and bite her back painfully.

    "What happened?" Master Woodrow asked curiously upon seeing Chief Valencia return to the Great Hall.

    Chief Valencia sighed, "Leonhardt went missing."

    "What?"

    Just a moment ago, Master Woodrow was happily discussing with Chief Valencia about gather the Venerable Shamans and pooling all their ancient book collections together. But hearing about Leonhardt''s disappearance, his mood immediately plummeted.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon was still cultivating under Barrenrock Courtyard. He did not know that his disappearance would cause such a bigmotion in the tribe.

    He refined every ounce of Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy he could before continuing to temper his flesh ording to the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] and [Godfiend Body Forging Method].

    In a short few hours, his body''s strength and defensive capabilities had jumped by leaps and bounds in cultivation. Under the right conditions, his cultivation had improved at a tremendous rate!

    Ding!

    Leon pushed through the barrier and broke through to Rank 5 Body Tempering Realm! At this level, his base physical strength reached 50-thousand jin!

    There was no exaggerated effect or sound when breaking through to higher levels in the Body Tempering Realm. It just an instinctive feeling when his body reaches a certain threshold of strength.

    On the other hand, his body''s defense has reached a terrifying level of 500-thousand jin! He was halfway through to the third stage of the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique!

    Leon''s eyes suddenly snapped open.

    He exhaled some turbid air from his mouth before shaking his head with mild disappointment.

    "If I did not run out of pseudo-Grandmist Energy, I would be able to keep cultivating!"

    He had expended both his primary pseudo-Grandmist Energy reserve and Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy reserves.

    Although the ring of grey energy revolving around his soul core in the ck Vortex was able to transform into any element heprehended, it was more challenging to replicate pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    After all, he did not have something like a Grandmist Seed or Nihility Seed either.

    To refine more pseudo-Grandmist Energy, he still needs to gather more energy from heaven and earth, especially Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy, which was sparse in his current location. They are most abundant in the void, where everything else seems absent.

    Furthermore, his body cultivation improved the quickest when he was tempering his body with Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy!

    "I need to refine more Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy! But I also cannot break through this''s sky with my present cultivation, let alone enter the void!"

    Leon sighed.

    Not having enough energy for cultivation has always been the biggest problem since his transmigration.

    Suppose he wants to leave Gaia to cultivate in the void¡­ In that case, he might need to rely on alternative methods before his awakening cultivation reaches an adequate level for breaking through the world''s atmosphere.

 Chapter 409 - Fist Cannon

    <h4>Chapter 409 - Fist Cannon</h4>

    "There''s another problem I need to address soon."

    Leon began to frown in thought while his body was still glistening with sweat from his cultivation session.

    "The first three stages of the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique required spirit, fire, lightning to temper my flesh subsequently. I was able to bypass these requirements by simply using pseudo-Grandmist Energy to cultivate."

    However, there was a big problem if he wanted to continue cultivating the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique.

    "From the fourth stage and beyond, the requirements be more stringent. Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy alone will no longer be sufficient to practice this [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique."

    Leon pondered.

    "ording to the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique, I will need the ck turtle bloodline if I want to continue practicing the technique from the fourth stage onwards. There are seven stages to the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard], and the fourth stage represents the start of thetter stages."

    "In the legends, ck Turtles were bolstered for their body''s ultimate defense. It is impossible for mortals, let alone humans, to achieve this level of defense with True Grandmist Energy alone. If I want to practice this technique to the zenith and achieve god-level defense like the ck Turtle God Beast, I will need its bloodline¡­ but, where the hell am I going to find myself some ck turtle bloodline?"

    This was a question he had no answers to. It was apparent that many of the god and devil heritage required their bloodline to practice.

    "It is impossible for mortals to achieve Godhood without the bloodline of the Divinities? Is this the real problem that gue Divine Kings from breaking through to a higher realm? Is Divine King the peak of mortals?"

    Leon frowned.

    After a moment, he shook his head.

    "I don''t the strength of the gods and devils to take my revenge on the Divine Kings and traitors that yed a part in my father''s death. I just need to be stronger than they are!"

    With the godly cultivation methods in his grasp, it would not be an impossible dream for him to be an existence stronger than the Divine Kings of the Divine Realm.

    Furthermore, he had yet to explore the entirety of Gaia, let alone the entire starfield as recorded on the star map engraved into his memory.

    The possibility of other heritages from the primordial era of gods and devils still exists. Perhaps the ck Turtle God Beast''s carcass was preserved and just lying hidden somewhere, waiting for him to find it!

    "For now, I should return to the surface and check on Darlene." Leon decided.

    Once his strength reaches the adequate level, he will travel the world and search for the ancient heritages belonging to the ck Turtle God Beast''s bloodline and the bloodline of other god-level existences from the primordial era.

    Leon stowed away the partially depleted supreme-grade spirit stone and dug his way back up to the surface. After reaching the surface, he used his earthen abilities to patch up the hole in the ground.

    Shortly after, he shook his head when he noticed his new clothes drenched in sweat and slightly dirtied by the ground''s soil.

    ''I should have taken them off before I started cultivating¡­ Never mind, I''ll just wash them and wear the other set I bought for now.'' Leon inwardly decided.

    "Hubby!"

    Darlene''s cry was suddenly heard. Shortly after, Leon felt a pair of soft mounds pressed against his back as Darlene leaped and clung onto his back like a cat.

    After hearing some noise in the courtyard, she had gone out to check right away. She was surprised to see Leon climb out of a hole in the ground, but at the same time, she was overjoyed that nothing had happened to him.

    It seems that it was a false rm.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Leon nced over his shoulder with a smile before pinching her cheeks in teasing. Darlene pouted and said, "What were you doing underground? I thought something happened to you?"

    As Darlene said this, she subconsciously nces towards the broken doors. Leon understood her meaning andughed it off nonchntly with a smile oozing with confidence, "What could happen to me?"

    Darlene was slightly surprised.

    She felt like her hubby had grown much stronger. Although nothing seemed to have changed, she was under this illusion that his body was faintly glowing with vigor.

    Leon turned around and nced down at Darlene''s clothes before asking with a smile, "How''s the dress?"

    "I love it! It fits perfectly! Thanks, hubby!

    Darlene smooched him on the cheeks. Leon smiled lightly at her words. Of course, it would fit perfectly. He specifically selected her clothes based on her dimensions.

    Nevertheless, Leon felt that something was missing and asked, "Where''s your Interspatial Pouch? You don''t like to wear it on your body?"

    "Ah? The Interspatial Pouch? Oh, right! I''ll fetch it right now!"

    Darlene pulled herself away from Leon before rushing into the bedroom. She took out the Interspatial Pouch from the drawers. After she emptied out the contents into the drawer, she ran back to Leon and passed him the Interspatial Pouch.

    "Here you go!"

    Leon epted the pouch and nced inside briefly before he looked back at Darlene and said, "What do you mean by this, my little wifey? Where did the stuff inside go?"

    "Eh? I took it all out and put them in the drawers. Didn''t you want the Interspatial Pouch back?" Darlene asked with a confused look, unsure by his questions.

    Leon shook his head in a ''what am I going to do with you'' manner with a smile and chuckled softly.

    "No, of course not. That Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch is for you, silly. I have my own right here." Leon tapped Darlene on the head with the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch before showing his own Tier 3 Interspatial Pouch strapped to the side of his waist.

    Darlene was surprised and looked at Leon unbelievably. However, he did not seem to be joking. She epted the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch back and felt a bit overwhelmed by emotions.

    "Why are you so good to me?"

    "You are my woman. If I am not good to you, then who should I be good to?"

    Leon shook his head and turned her around in the direction of the bedroom before patting her butt off.

    "Alright. Go and pack the stuff you took out back into the Interspatial Pouch. I''m going to practice for a bit, then I will start teaching you how to cultivate, okay?" He spoke.

    "Mmm¡­"

    Darlene nodded obediently before running off into the bedroom with a flushed look. Leon watched her leave before he took off his top and faced an empty wall.

    His eyes zed with seriousness before he started throwing a few practice punches to test his new strength.

    Swoosh! Swoosh!

    The air blew wildly from his punches.

    Each casual punch contained the shocking force of 50-thousand jins! He reached the level of Early-rank Great Warrior as a Rank 5 Body Tempering Realm Practitioner!

    "Time to get a bit more serious." Leon softly muttered and cracked the stiff joints in his neck due to sitting still.

    Boom!

    He threw out another punch using Five Echoes Osciting Fist, and the wind exploded. A fist mark formed purely from wind pressure imprinted itself on the wall.

    Despite that, Leon was unsatisfied with the force of his punch as his brows furrowed slightly in question, "The fist strength does not match¡­"

    He was only able to exert 150-thousand jin in that punch. Logically, he should have exerted 250-thousand jin at Five Echoes.

    Now that his body''s defensive strength has reached 500-thousand jin, he could easily execute Nine Echoes without mutting his arm if he wanted to do.

    "Let??s try again."

    Boom!

    A Six Echoes Osciting Fist was thrown, and another fist formed from wind pressure imprinted itself on the wall. However, the force exerted was still 150-thousand jin.

    After he tested Seven Echoes, all the way to Nine Echoes, the results did not change. It was still the force of 150-thousand jins.

    "I understand now. 100-thousand jin is the limit of the Nine Echo Osciting Fist. No wonder, it is only a foundational-level fist technique for Body Cultivators." Leon spoke to himself in realization.

    He would have realized this fact sooner if he had tempered his flesh to the adequate level of withstanding Nine Echoes sooner.

    Nevertheless, 150-thousand jin was not the limit of strength he can exert at his current level. He had not utilized all his abilities.

    Boom!

    Leon tossed out another fist with Divine Will Enhancement, causing the wind swirled and blew a hole straight through the wall like some air cannon.

    "Huh?"

    Leon was rather startled.

    The fist''s force reached 200-thousand jins, which was within his calctions, but blowing a hole in the wall was beyond his imagination.

    "It seems I have unwittingly created a battle skill." Leon rubbed his head with pleasant surprise before his eyes narrowed into deeper thought, "However, this battle skill still has room for improvement."

    200-thousand jin force is not a weak punch. It was equivalent to the attack of a Peak-rank Great Warrior. However, the force of the air cannon itself was only around 50-thousand jin.

    There was a 150-thousand jin deficit in force. What can he do to improve this battle skill and channel the full 200-thousand jin force into his range attack?

    Leon pondered.

 Chapter 410 - Keep It Toned Down, Okay?

    <h4>Chapter 410 - Keep It Toned Down, Okay?</h4>

    From time to time, Leon would continue to test his air cannon''s effect by throwing out more punches enhanced by Divine Will, creating more holes in the wall.

    ''I understand now.''

    Leon quickly understood why his 200-thousand jin punches would only produce an air cannon of 50-thousand jin.

    When he enhanced his punches with Divine Will, he also subconsciously revolved andpressed the surrounding air to the tip of his fist.

    The air cannon was created by punching this ball ofpressed air and shooting it. If he can consciously gather andpress this air more firmly, he would produce a stronger air cannon.

    ''Let''s try it.''

    Leon decided.

    At the same time, an angry neighbor living on the other side of the wall was attracted to themotion caused by Leon.

    The person walked over to the hole in the wall andined, "Oi! Keep it down, will ya?! You''re also making a mess of my¡ª"

    Swoosh~!

    The person did not finish speaking when another air cannon blew a hole in the wall and send several more wall fragments crashing into his home, narrowly missing him and giving him a slight scare.

    "I''m so sorry about that. What were you saying just now? Didn''t quite catch thest bit." Leon apologized with a slightly awkward expression.

    He was too focused on improving the self-made battle skill that he left out his considerations for his neighbors who live on the other side of the wall.

    "Ah, no¡­ it was nothing¡­ Just keep it toned down, okay?" The person softened his stance with a humbled expression.

    Leon smiled wryly when the person quickly left before he could give the person his answer. He decided to stop using the wall for target practice.

    He had more or less figured out the finer details of new battle skills. Consciouslypressing the air with Divine Will does generate a greater force, but he was still losing a lot of power when he tries to channel the strength of his punch into it.

    Rather than punchingpressed air, he needed to reduce the distance between thepressed air and his fist to zero and push it instead.

    Only by achieving this would he channel the strength of his punch efficiently and shoot out an air cannon of equivalent force.

    ''If I add elemental powers to this fist force, it will enhance the power and destructiveness of the fist force further and make it more practical in battle situations.'' Leon mulled.

    He already decided to call it Fist Force. Depending on the attribute he adds to the battle skill, it can be Lightning Fist Force, Fiery Fist Force, or Icy Fist Force, etc. These were variations he could y with.

    Darlene had been watching from the side quietly after returning from the bedroom, unwilling to disturb Leon''s practice. After seeing Leon finally stopped his training, she walked over and called him.

    "Please use this, hubby."

    Darlene offered a towel for Leon to wipe his sweaty body. She blushed slightly when Leon epted and said, "Thanks, wifey."

    Leon called her as such before, but the feeling she received this time was different from before. It left her heart jittery and dancing with joy.

    She smiled happily and proceeded to pick up the soaked top Leon had previously tossed aside and prepare to go wash it, but Leon stopped her.

    "Ah, don''t worry about washing that. I can just wash thatter." Leon wrapped his hands around her waist and took the top from her hands.

    Darlene''s heart skipped a beat, but then she argued, "How can I let you do that? These menial tasks should be left for me to do. It''s the least I can do for you."

    "Well, only if you want to." Leon smiled before had a shrewd look and teased, "But my pants are also soaked and dirtied. Are you going to take these off me to wash them too?"

    Darlene was surprised and quickly nce around. There were holes in the walls, broken doors, and even a few taller buildings in the surrounding area. If someone wanted to spy inside Barrenrock Courtyard, they can.

    Her lips slowly curled up into a sly smile and teased back, "Hubby won''t mind if I strip you here and let others see your little wiener down there?"

    She nced down at his crotch daringly.

    Leon felt a little embarrassed that Darlene was daring enough to make aeback at him, but it also proved that she was slowly changing from her previously more subservient self.

    "Ahem." Leon coughed and said, "Never mind that. Come, I will teach you how to cultivate today."

    This time, Darlene was startled and give the surrounding another sweeping nce before she said, "Are you going to teach me right here, hubby? Won''t it be a problem for hubby if someone sees us while you are teaching?"

    "Of course not."

    Leon smiled calmly at Darlene''s considerations and reached out his hand to rub her head like a little kid. She pouted with displeasure but still enjoyed the head rub like a cat that likes to be caressed.

    "Rather than a problem, it will be advantageous for me instead."

    Leon added.

    By now, he understood that Chief Valencia and other people in the tribe were bing more and more suspicious of his origins. This is also the most probable reason why he was secretly monitored.

    But the more this was the case, the more he was not afraid to showcase his abilities and show his worth, even if it is at the risk of exposing his true identity as someone from the Human Domain.

    Hiding his abilities is only advantageous towards him when he is being viewed as a threat by others. However, if his abilities are beneficial to others, it bes a disadvantage to hide them instead.

    Thus, he was not afraid to disy his abilities. The more he reveals, the higher his standing in the hearts of the people will be.

    He was someone akin to their savior, someone who can bring salvation to them, and he is indeed working in such a direction.

    Thus, when his identity is revealed, people will not care about it even if they learn about it. They would only care about the benefits he can bring to them.

    While others were scheming about how to make use of his abilities, he was not passive either. He was also plotting how to bring them all under his wing.

    The average strength of humans living on the Infertile ins was much higher than the people living within the Crawford Kingdom. There was no way he was going to pass up on such a strong fighting force.

    "How so?" Darlene asked, unsure of her hubby''s statement. Isn''t it better when secrets are kept hidden? Nevertheless, her heart thumped with anticipation for Leon''s teachings.

    Leon shook his head with a light smile. There was no need for him to exin to Darlene. She will understand eventually.

    "Sit."

    "Okay¡­"

    Darlene obeyed Leon''smand obediently and sat down stiffly while hiding the excitement in her heart. She was not too bothered that her hubby ignored her question.

    Everyone had secrets.

    Leon observed her seated meditative posture before he crouched over and started massaging her stiff shoulders.

    "Rx. You are too stiff. You will not be able to cultivate properly like this. Let me help you¡­"

    "Mm~! Hubby, your hands are being naughty!"

    Darleneined as a soft moan of pleasure escaped her mouth due to Leon''s dexterous touch.

    Leon shortly denied her usation, "Nonsense, I am just helping your body rx so you can begin cultivation practice effectively."

    "Do you also help others rx by teasing their bosom?" Darlene pouted with a light blush.

    Leon nced down and suddenly eximed, "Aiyo!"

    He gave himself a light p on the back of the hand before saying, "Curse these roguish hands of mine. There, I punished them??Are you happy now, wifey?"

    "Now you are just silly!" Darlene giggled.

    Leon observed her with a slight smile.

    Seeing that she was rxed in both and mind, he began to instruct her, "Alright, no more nonsense. Close your eyes and empty your mind. Don''t think about anything and just listen to my voice while feeling the changes to your body."

    "Apart from the cultivation of the body, there is the cultivation of the energy, the soul, and thew. What you will be learning is the cultivation of thew, called awakening cultivation. To cultivate thew, you must first sense the element most intimate and close to you, which we already happen to know is the spatial element. Can you feel them around you?"

    With her eyes close, Darlene only saw the dark expanse that exists inside her mind when her sense of sight is shut.

    She was not sure how she was supposed to feel the spatial element surrounding her, causing her expression to crumple slightly.

    "The spatial element may feel very indistinct and sparse as it is hidden among the various other elements that surround us. Don''t try to feel it with your body. Feel it with your mind, but not so much as to feel as it is to know it."

    While Leon instructed, he expanded his senses and used Divine Will to gather the surrounding spatial elements hidden in the surrounding for Darlene to feel.

    "I think I feel something. It feels familiar, but I''m not sure if these things are the spatial elements you are talking about, hubby." Darlene softly stated while her eyes remained closed, and her expression slightly eased.

    At the same time, Leon also felt a slight tug on the spatial elements he gathered towards her. He nodded approvingly and said, "That''s it, those are the spatial elements¡­ Focus your mind on them and pull them in like your mind is forming ropes to catch them."

 Chapter 411 - Void Soul Constitution

    <h4>Chapter 411 - Void Soul Constitution</h4>

    After Leon instructed Darlene, he focused on sensing the changes to the elements in the surrounding. Darlene''s brows furrowed slightly when she tried following his instruction at the start, but after a moment, her expression rxed.

    His lips slightly rose into a smile as he felt the spatial elements pulled towards Darlene. It was her first time absorbing the spatial element, but Leon knew she could do it before even teaching her the standard breathing technique.

    "That''s it. You got it. Now, gather them towards a single point at the center of your stomach." Leon continued to instruct.

    Darlene gathered the spatial elements to her stomach as she was told. After she was done, she asks, "I did it. What do I do now, hubby?"

    Leon seat himself directly behind Darlene and ce one of his palms on her back, causing her to be startled for a moment before quickly recovering her calm.

    "Remember these routes within your body," Leon said.

    Shortly after, he seeped his divine sense into Darlene''s body and took control of her spatial elements with Divine Will before driving them through a particr set of cirction routes,pletely several cycles.

    "When you circte the spatial elements like this, the spatial elements will gradually be refined into Spatial Energy with your spiritual imprint on it, making it belong solely to you. Once youplete this step, you need to store it. Do you know where it is?"

    "Um, I think so, but I''m not too sure," Darlene answered hesitantly.

    She vaguely felt a part of her mind that wants to devour the newly refined strands of Spatial Energy, but she was not confident that it was the right ce to send the few strands of Spatial Energy.

    Nevertheless, Leon was not nning to go easy on her and said, "If you know where it is, just send the Spatial Energy there."

    "Are you sure? Will there be any problem if I send it to the wrong ce?" Darlene asks nervously with unease.

    "Don''t worry. Trust yourself and have some confidence. Even if something goes wrong, I am still here."

    "Okay."

    Leon''s words were not reassuring as it was supposed to be, but the words "I am still here" was enough to calm down Darlene''s nervousness. This showed the amount of trust she had in him.

    After Leon returned control of the Spatial Energy to Darlene, she began sending it towards the ck Hole within the deepest parts of her sea of consciousness.

    When the energy entered within a specific range, it was immediately pulled and devoured by the ck Hole''s attraction force. Despite that, Darlene did not lose track of the Spatial Energy strands. Her senses were still locked onto it.

    She felt the strands of Spatial Energy dropping an abyss like a drop of water falling into the ocean as it stirred ripples and seemed to have awakened something dormant inside her on a deeper level.

    Leon bypassed the terror of ck Hole and subtly followed Darlene''s consciousness inside of it. What he inside the ck Hole made him greatly surprised.

    There was no Spatial Seed inside of the ck Hole. There was only the soul core at the center, enclosed in crystallized energy of unfathomable depth. Other than that, there was nothing else.

    The Spatial Energy ripple resulted from itnding on the wall of crystallized energy surrounding the soul core.

    Rather than there being no Spatial Seed, it could be said that the ck Hole itself was most likely the Spatial Seed.

    However¡­

    ''This is so strange. This is the first time I''ve seen a soul core being inside of an elemental seed. This world sure has all sorts of peculiarities.'' Leon thought before he shortly paused.

    ''No, I can''t really say that my elemental seeds are normal either, now that they have fused with soul core and that the ck Vortex, this subspace formed around it.''

    Leon quietly observed the inner space of Darlene''s Spatial Seed like a leech attached to her consciousness. Nevertheless, he could not observe for long before Darlene''s consciousness left the inner space and returned to the outside of it.

    She did not leave on her own ord¡ªRather, she was kicked out, and him along with her.

    A surge of power exploded from within Darlene''s body and shot to the sky as if connecting heaven and earth. Like something elusive and almighty acknowledging''s Darlene''s spatialw, Leon began to sense her cultivation.

    Not only did he sense it, but he also felt it rising rapidly! In a few breaths, Darlene''s cultivation broke the first step and advanced to the third step without any sign of slowing down!

    4th Step Awakener!

    5th Step Awakener!

    6th Step Awakener!

    It was like a powder keg going off. Darlene''s cultivation just kept rising with explosive momentum. The few strands of Spatial Energy thatnded on the crystallized energy wall within her Spatial Seed was like an ember falling into a sea of oil, setting everything ame.

    Leon had already retreated and observed Darlene''s changes from some distance away. Themotion also attracted even more people to Barrenrock Courtyard.

    Nevertheless, he did not care so long as they do not get too close and interfere with Darlene''s advancement through the cultivation ranks.

    ''Is this the result of our numerous coption?'' Leon pondered.

    He recalled that his partners would also enjoy slight benefits to their cultivation after enjoying a passionate session with him. It seems that all the benefits had been umted in Darlene''s Spatial Seed for this moment.

    Furthermore, her Spatial Seed had been naturally gathering all sorts of energy since a young age, which prevented her from practicing body cultivation.

    Now that everything had been set ame, her energy was driven furiously on its own as waves after waves of spatial elements spilled out from the Spatial Seed.

    They circted through her cultivation routes and transformed themselves into Spatial Energy before returning to her Spatial Seed and continuously enhancing her cultivation.

    The speed of refinement was staggering, but the rate of Darlene''s cultivation was even more so. In several more moments, she broke through the 7th Step Awakener Realm!

    Leon watched everything unfold and thought, ''There was nothing about Darlene''s body that was out of the ordinary. Calling this a Void Body is incorrect. Her soul, on the other hand, is quite unordinary¡­ It should be called a type of Void Soul constitution instead.''

    It was strange that all his partners were extraordinary in a sense¡­ or was it his unique body that made them extraordinary? Nevertheless, Darlene''s cultivation was the fastest he had seen.

    ''With this kind of momentum, I don''t think she will stop at the 9th Step Awakener Realm¡­ However, this steep power growth and rush of energy are concerning¡­'' Leon knitted his brows in worry, silently hoping that Darlene does not lose control.

    A crowd gathered outside Barrenrock Courtyard, but no one dared to enter without permission after seeing who was inside. Everyone was afraid to offend the Divine Doctor despite their intense curiosity.

    The pir of spatial power surging into the sky from Darlene''s body was colorless, but not formless. They could see the slight distortion in the space above Darlene.

    Swoosh~!

    A figure descended from the sky andnded inside the courtyard with a heavy thud on the ground, causing Leon to frown with slight traces of anger.

    "It would be appreciated if Chief Valencia can be quiet and not disrupt Darlene''s concentration. Even if you are the chief, I will not be polite if something goes wrong." Leon warned.

    "It seems you care about this servant greatly."

    Chief Valencia was surprised, but no visible displeasure was shown despite Leon''s words. However, she realized the inappropriateness of her words. Darlene was no longer her servant, at least on the surface, ording to her.

    "My apologies, I have been insensitive. I''m d that you are safe. Can you exin to me what is going on here?" Chief Valencia said. She had rushed over, thinking the Barrenrock Courtyard had been under attack.

    Leon raised an eyebrow. He turned towards her and asks, "Am I not supposed to be safe? Never mind, I also apologize for saying some unpleasant to Chief Valencia."

    "I don''t mind. I was in the wrong first." Chief Valencia said.

    Chief Valencia was startled by her slip of tongue, but she was shortly relieved that Leonhardt did not pursue the matter.

    "Anyway, Darlene is currently in the process of awakening thetent powers that dwelled within her. You can also say that she is awakening her Shaman Ability. However, her ability is particr towards a single element, space." Leon exined without going into too many details.

    Nevertheless, the exnation was enough to startle Chief Valencia and everyone that overheard it, copsing their understanding of people with Void Bodies.

    "Incredible. So people with Void Bodies can awaken their Shaman Ability without having to train Body Cultivation first. This is a great discovery!" Chief Valencia eximed.

    Actually, anyone can awaken these so-called ''Shaman Abilities.'' There is more than one cultivation path, after all. Nevertheless, this was not something he needed to exin to Chief Valencia unless she took the initiative to inquire from him.

    Crack!

    It was like an invisible barrier was broken. Darlene''s cultivation broke past the 9th Step Awakener Realm and stepped into 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm before her cultivation speed started to diminish.

    Shortly after, her cultivation ceased its rise like it had finally run out of fuel to burn, stopping just a bit short from the 2-Star Ranked Awakener Realm.

    Leon sighed softly.

    It could be said that Darlene had shot to the skies with a single leap¡­ He faintly looks forward to seeing Darlene''s reaction after she learns how strong she had suddenly be.

 Chapter 412 - Interrogation Room

    <h4>Chapter 412 - Interrogation Room</h4>

    After the strong spatial aura dissipated, Leon began making his way over and gave Darlene''s inner self a quick diagnosis with his divine sense.

    He was relieved to see that she has broken all the through to 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm smoothly and without any lingering problems.

    Seeing Darlene kept her eyes closed, Leon smiled and softly said, "You can open your eyes."

    "How are you feeling?" He asks.

    Darlene felt a bit disorientated and confused, but after a moment, she adjusted and recovered. She started feeling the changes to her body before her eyes lit up with joy.

    "I felt like I am overflowing with energy!"

    "That is because you have broken through many levels and reached 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm in a single cultivation session¡ªno, it was not even a session. It onlysted a few moments. You won''t have this kind of effect the next time you cultivate. Even so, this kind of speed can be said to be heaven-defying and invites the envy of others."

    "Uwaaa~! Thank you, hubby!" Darlene eximed joyfully and leaped into Leon''s arms, giving him many pecks on the cheeks while oblivious to her surroundings.

    She did not know how strong the 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm was, but the feeling of bing much stronger made her heart bursting with joy. She began to look forward to the future with hopeful expectations. She was not useless!

    Seeing how overjoyed Darlene was reacting, Leon found her to be very cute at this moment.

    "Ahem!"

    Chief Valencia interrupted Darlene with a cough, causing her to be startled. Seeing so many pairs of eyes ncing in her direction, she became mildly embarrassed. She distanced herself from Leon to calm herself down.

    "Your strength should be around the same level as a person in the early Fighter Realm, but the spatial ability will give you an edge over them. Why don''t you go there and practice on your own for now, while I deal with Chief Valencia?" Leon said to her.

    Darlene subtly nced at Chief Valencia, who was giving a vague ''I''ll be talking to youter'' before she noddedpliantly to Leon, "Mm, I will listen to you."

    She briefly hesitated before giving him another peck on the cheek before running off to practice and adjust to her new strength in the corner of the courtyard.

    "Are all Void Bodies able to be like her¡­?" Chief Valencia carefully asked, unsure if her question was touching upon a sensitive topic to Leon.

    She vaguely sensed the powering from within Darlene. It was still weak and insignificantpared to her own strength, but it gave her a strange and cautious feeling. In any case, Darlene was no longer as useless as she used to be.

    She had beenpletely transformed by Leonhardt and bloomed brilliantly like some peerless treasured flowering into being.

    "It should be possible for all Void Bodies to unlock this ability, but whether they can reach the same level as Darlene in a short time is another matter," Leon exined.

    Chief Valencia was surprised and thought of something before she shook her head. She did not believe his words. If Darlene could do it, it should be the same for every other Void Bodies too.

    "Little Brother Leonhardt has not been entirely honest with me. This must be the real reason you wanted those other female servants with Void Bodies, right? I suddenly regret giving them away to you so easily." Chief Valencia said with half a smile.

    She believed Leonhardt had the method to awaken all the female servants'' special abilities with Void Bodies. This would give him a group of people with strange powers.

    "You can choose not to believe it if you want. I truly just asked for them to satisfy Darlene''s wishes." Leon said in response with a nonchnt shrug.

    Unless he also popped the cherries of these female servants and enjoy intensive coption with all of them, the chances of them breaking through to 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm upon awakening was very slim.

    "All of you, leave."

    Chief Valencia smiled wryly and dispersed the crowd watching from afar, outside of the courtyard. After they left, she curiously asks, "I wonder if Little Brother Leonhardt is willing to talk more about this 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm? What kind of realm is that?"

    "It is the realm of an entirely different cultivation system."

    "No doubt, Little Brother Leonhardt also has the method to practice this set of new cultivation system, right? Is Little Brother Leonhardt willing to sell this method to me?" Chief Valencia asked with interest.

    Leon gave Chief Valencia a profound smile and said, "That depends on how much Chief Valencia is willing to pay for it. However, let us put aside this matter for now. This isn''t the best ce to discuss this."

    Chief Valencia quickly agreed with this point.

    "Chief Valencia should have another reason foring to see me, right?"

    "Oh, yes. I almost forgot this matter, now that you''ve mentioned it. But before that, is true that Little Brother Leonhardt used some uncanny ability to remove the demon core from Old Tailor''s son and cure his Demon Possession disease?"

    Leon rubbed his chin and said, "Why ask what you already know? You should have already validated this information from Old Tailor himself, no?"

    "That is correct, but I just wanted to confirm with the person in question myself. It''s important, so I hope Little Brother Leonhardt can answer truthfully." Chief Valencia requested with a respectful tone.

    "Un."

    "That''s great!"

    After Leon gave Chief Valencia the silent nod of admittance, Chief Valencia pped her hands together.

    She proceeded to exin, "We''ve caught a few spies from the Great Ironhawk Tribe, but we have also been unable to extract any information from them. I thought Little Brother Leonhardt might be interested in knowing, considering they have been making attempts on your life."

    "Brother Woodrow¡ªAhem, you weren''t able to obtain any information from them even with the help of Master Woodrow and his hypnotic mysticism?" Leon asked with surprise.

    He figured that they would be able to extract any information they seek from a person they target with this ability.

    Leon did not doubt that Chief Valencia had already learned the awakening cultivation system and ranks from his adoptive mother and other ex-disciples.

    For example, the reason she still asked him about it was to lead him into the topic and probe his willingness to sell his own cultivation method to her.

    "We did request the Venerable Shaman''s assistance in the matter. However, it was useless. There''s a big problem stopping us from proceeding with the interrogation process."

    "And I supposed this big problem is something I can deal with, is that right?" Leon presumed.

    Chief Valencia nodded but shortly shook her head after.

    "I am not too certain. However, if Little Brother Leonhardt cannot solve it, then I do not think anyone in this tribe can. How about it, Little Brother Leonhardt? Are you interested in paying a visit to the prison cell with me?"

    "Alright, just give me a moment." Leon agreed.

    "Of course, there''s no hurry."

    Leon returned to Darlene''s side and said, "Come with me. We will be taking a trip to the pce. We can also pick up your sisters on the way back."

    "Right now? Are you find going out like this, hubby?" Darlene asked in surprise and nced down at his soaking wet and dirtied pants. "How about taking a quick bath while I wash the dirty clothes for you, hubby? Will the chief be fine with waiting?"

    Leon pondered for a moment before he nodded in agreement, "It should be fine. Let us do as you suggested."

    After giving Chief Valencia a heads up, he entered the room to undress and enter the cold wooden bathtub. At the same time, the dirtied wet clothes were taken away by Darlene to wash.

    About ten minutester, Leon exited the room in a fresh set of clothes. Darlene was still washing Leon''s clothes, but he did not n to keep the chief waiting further.

    "Come, you can continue to wash itter."

    "Ah¡ª!"

    Darlene was happily washing Leon''s manually over a small wooden bucket of water when she was suddenly lifted and carried away by Leon.

    Chief Valencia mentioned that they had caught some spies, meaning there were still more enemies out there. It was too dangerous to leave Darlene home alone, lest they decide to move against her to get to him.

    After they met up with the chief outside the courtyard, Chief Valencia nodded to Leon. She had no problem with Darlene tagging along and asks, "Ready?

    Leon nodded back.

    Fifteen minutester, they arrived within the interrogation room next to the prison cells, located under the colossal amphitheater next to the pce.

    The ce reeked with a strong smell of blood and all sorts of torture tools hung on the sidewalls. However, none of these were currently needed with Master Woodrow around.

    "We meet again, Little Brother Leonhardt."

    "Yes, much sooner than I expected, Brother Woodrow." Leon and Master Woodrow greeted each other with a handshake.

    "Oho, quite the firm grip you got there. I see that you have be much stronger in the short time frame since west met." Master Woodrow said with surprise.

    Leon smiled withoutmenting.

    Chief Valencia gave Leon a quick nce. She also felt the changes to Leonhardt''s body. However, she had not said anything until because Darlene''s changes came as a greater shock to her.

    "So, what is the problem with these two people, that it would render Brother Woodrow helpless from extracting information from them?" Leon gazed towards the center of the room and asked.

    Two warriorsid on top of stone beds at the center of the room, bound and unconscious¡­ This was to prevent them from resisting andmitting suicide.

 Chapter 413 - Great Ironhawk Tribes Objective

    <h4>Chapter 413 - Great Ironhawk Tribe''s Objective</h4>

    While and uproar was going on outside due to Darlene''s breakthrough to the 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm with her spatial element earlier,

    After Leon jumped straight to the point of himing to the interrogation room, Master Woodrow and Chief Valencia no longer idled with meaningless talk and became solemn.

    They nced at each other in silent debate, like they were deciding who should exin for Leon. After a moment, Chief Valencia shrugged and said, "Fine, I will do it."

    She turned to Leon and said, "We have discovered that every spy sent by the Great Ironhawk Tribe has an Exploding Secret Rune imnted inside their head. Because of these Exploding Secret Rune, the spy''s head will just explode when Master Woodrow hypnotizes them into divulging their secrets."

    "Exploding Secret Rune, huh?" Leon muttered with a thoughtful look.

    It was the first time he heard of such a name, but he could guess what it could do based on its name and the situation troubling Chief Valencia and Master Woodrow.

    "I see. I supposed you would like me to remove this Exploding Secret Rune from them?" Leon asked.

    Chief Valencia nodded, "If you can, that would be great."

    "Alright, I will have a look."

    Leon did not try to negotiate any benefits for his service. He was also interested in the secrets that these spies have to offer him.

    His divine sense immediately shot into the unconscious spy''s body lying on the left side and searched for the Exploding Secret Rune.

    "Oh?"

    Leon quickly discovered the rune and eximed softly in surprise shortly after. Whoever imnted the rune was not simple, by any means.

    "Is there a problem?" Chief Valencia quickly asked.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Not too sure yet. I found the rune, but I still need to study it for a bit longer."

    The so-called Exploding Secret Rune wasprised entirely of Demonic Energy and found to be imprinted on the spy''s soul core.

    To create and nt the rune in such a delicate location proves that the mastermind did not just have the Divine Will ability that Shamans had, but also some sort of irvoyance or omnipotent ability like Leon''s divine sense.

    ''The Demonic Energy used in the creation of this rune should havee from the Demonic Cores of Demonic Beasts. This shouldn''t have anything to do with demons¡­ but the possibility also cannot be ruled out. One thing for certain though, the person capable of producing an intricate rune of pure energy like this is already capable of bing a Spiritual Array Master.''

    Leon pondered.

    Or maybe he should call it a Demonic Array Master?

    He knew that Spirit Energy was needed to create Spiritual Arrays, but he was not sure if Demonic Energy would do the same. Considering it can be used in runes, arrays, formations, it should be theoretically possible.

    However, Demonic Energy was so unstable, it was hard for Leon to gauge the destructiveness produced from it. Nevertheless, this was something to ponder another time.

    More importantly, he needed to remove the Exploding Secret Rune uncover the Great Ironhawk Tribe''s secrets.

    ''Chances are, this Exploding Secret Rune will immediately activate if I even try to touch it with anything¡­'' Leon furrowed slightly, feeling the vtile energy coursing through the rune.

    ''If I want to remove this rune, I cannot even short-circuit it. Doing so will cause it to explode immediately¡­ If that is the case, the only way to remove this rune is to make it disappear instantaneously before it can be activated¡­''

    Leon did not doubt that even if he touches it with his divine sense slightly, the rune will activate and explode when it detects his foreign will. Only the original creator would be able to remove the rune with ease.

    ''If myprehension of the Nihility Law were higher, I could simply just make it vanish like it never existed, to begin with¡­'' Leon mused.

    After pondering his options, he figured out that he only had one safer method to use. The rest were too risky. Even so, it was not like this ''safer method'' was not without its own risks. It depended on how quickly he can remove the rune from the soul and toss it into his Worldspace.

    ''Well, there''s another body in case I f*ck up on the first try.'' Leon thought. However, it would be preferable if he seeds on the first try.

    Seeing Leonhardt getting closer to the stone beds and cing one of his hands on the left spy''s forehead, Chief Valencia queried, "Do you have a solution?"

    "I do have a solution, but I cannot guarantee 100% sess. Is that fine?" Leon asks.

    "There are still two more rats on the loose outside, so it''s fine even if you fail both attempts. We would just have to go out and catch more." Chief Valencia said straightforwardly.

    "That''s good then."

    Master Woodrow shortly retreated and cautioned for the others to do the same, giving Leon some space to focus without being disturbed.

    Leon began gathering his concentration.

    In order to throw the rune into his Worldspace quickly, he had to open the spatial rift next to the rune. It was the first time he had to open the spatial rift, connecting to the Worldspace, remotely away from his body.

    Nevertheless, he had the hunch he would be able to pull it off. As the saying went, ''if there''s a will, there''s a way.''

    As he anticipated, the spatial rift directly appeared next to the Exploding Secret Rune when he concentrated his Divine Will.

    ''Sess! That''s one hurdle out of the way. Now, onto the most important step; removing the rune from the soul core and quickly tossing it into the rift!''

    Leon did not know how strong the Exploding Secret Rune was, but he did not n on ruining his own garden. The Exploding Secret Rune was going to be directly thrown into the Universal Life Conversion Array.

    ''Now''s the time!''

    Leon used el World with the Temporal Law and went bullet time, causing everything to be quicker for himself.

    In an instance, his Divine Will transformed into a scythe-like weapon and sliced apart the point of contact between the rune and soul core, cutting the connection, before driving the spatial rift forward and swallow the rune into the Worldspace.

    Ka-boom!

    The explosion went off in the Universal Life Conversion Array, but it did not expand far before everything was swallowed by the array and broken down to the finest particles.

    Unfortunately, nothing was produced from the Universal Life Conversion Array after devouring the explosion. Nevertheless, that was not important. What was important was that he seeded!

    "Phew¡­ it''s done!" Leon said with a relieved expression. Darlene immediately walked over and wiped his forehead with her clothes'' sleeve like a diligent wife.

    "You''ve worked hard."

    It was as if she could understand how much effort Leon put into the removal process in order to seed.

    Leon smiled wryly.

    If he did not have to worry about the rune damaging the soul core, it would not have taken so much effort.

    "Thank you for your hard work." Master Woodrow and Chief Valencia also stepped forward to say, although they understood less than Darlene and only out of courtesy.

    Leon smiled lightly and said, "It''s up to you now, Brother Woodrow. I''m going to rest my mind a bit."

    "Un, leave it to me." Master Woodrow nodded.

    Leon found himself a spot to meditate on the ground with his eyes shut while Master Woodrow woke up the spy andmenced his hypnotic interrogation, "What is your name? Where are you from? And why are you here?"

    His voice had a strange, vibrant frequency that put the person in a trance and seemingly pleasant dream.

    "My name is Ironback¡­ I''vee from the Great Ironhawk Tribe¡­ and I havee to the Darkmoon Tribe to carry out a great mission assigned by the chief." The person called Ironback slowly answered.

    Master Woodrow frowned and changed his question, "What is the great mission you were sent by your chief to do here? Was it to steal from our Dark Crystal Mine?"

    "Dark Crystal Mine¡­ No, I was not sent here to steal Dark Crystals¡­ Such a thing pales inparison to the great mission of destroying the Darkmoon Tribe''s Water Vein¡­"

    Chief Valencia''s aura immediately surged fiercely like her tigress tail had just been pulled. She red at Ironback murderously with killing intent and barked, "What did you just say?!"

    Of the three possibilities she had previously guessed, the Great Ironhawk Tribe is actually after the least probable yet most important one of the three?!

    "Say that again! Why does the Great Ironhawk Tribe want to destroy my Darkmoon Tribe''s Water Vein?!" She questioned with amanding and overbearing tone. She had to get to the bottom of this!

    However, her words did not produce the desired response from the person. Instead, her powerful voice snapped the person out of his trance and woke the other one up!

    Master Woodrow had to expend extra efforts to put them back under control.

    Afterward, he turned to Chief Valencia and reprimanded sternly, "Calm down,ss! What were you thinking? If you want an answer, just tell me. I will do the questioning. Things could have gone terribly wrong just now."

    "¡­I''m sorry, Venerable Shaman. I have made a fool of myself. What the spy said just now was too great of a shock; it angers me so¡­"

    After a short moment, Chief Valencia quickly recovered her calm and said, "I''m fine now. Please continue."

    At the side, Leon also furrowed his brows. Why would the Great Ironhawk Tribe target the Water Vein, which was the lifeline of the Darkmoon Tribe? Did they want to start an all-out war?

 Chapter 414 - Celestial Water Spark

    <h4>Chapter 414 - Celestial Water Spark</h4>

    The Darkmoon Tribe can do without the Dark Crystals, but it cannot do with the Water Vein. On the Infertile ins that run amok with Demonic Beasts, water was equivalent to life. Without water, life cannot be sustained. The humans would all die of thirst.

    As such, if the Great Ironhawk Tribe had seeded in their ns, the Darkmoon Tribe would have slowly ceased to exist if they could not find another Water Vein in the underground to regain ess to drinkable water.

    Leon began to understand why they would go to such lengths to keep the secret sealed. The Great Ironhawk Tribe wanted to destroy the Darkmoon Tribe, but they do not want to fight an all-out war.

    This should also be why the spies no longer tried to recruit him and made attempts on his life. It was not a closed secret that he can cure Demon Possession. If the spies stayed within the tribe for a period of time, they woulde to learn this truth.

    They had no other choice but to kill him since he could potentially remove their runes once they are caught, which in the end, did happen.

    "Why is the Great Ironhawk Tribe doing this? Why target the Water Vein? Does the Great Ironhawk Tribe want to destroy the Darkmoon Tribe?" Master Woodrow questioned with his hypnotic voice.

    "The Great Ironhawk Tribe does not intend to destroy the Darkmoon Tribe specifically¡­ Other groups had also been sent to aim for the Water Veins of ckwind Tribe and Crimsonfog Tribe as well." Ironback said with a struggling expression, as if not knowing how else to answer the question.

    "Oh?"

    Master Woodrow narrowed his eyes dangerously and exchanged a nce with Chief Valencia.

    "The Great Ironhawk Tribe want to destroy the entire Seven Tribe Alliance by themselves? Or do they want to force us to migrate to the central ins and surrender to them? Either way, the Great Ironhawk Tribe sure has a big appetite!"

    Ironback continued to struggle and failed to answer any further questions. He knew some information, but he did not know the most vital parts of the great mission assigned to him and the others.

    "The chief did not mention this in his ns¡­" The spy could only say.

    After Master Woodrow asked a few more questions without gaining anything useful from the spy''s answers in return, he said, "It seems this person does not know anything else."

    "Since he is no longer useful, then he also no longer needs to live." Chief Valencia said coldly, giving the person the death sentence.

    She had been holding back her fury while the interrogation was underway. But now, there was no longer any need of her to hold it back. She immediately used her hand as a sharp knife and decapitated the person.

    "Haiz,ss, you''re letting your anger blind you!" Master Woodrow sighed with a shake of his head after Chief Valencia killed Ironback.

    Leon also nodded and added, "It was a waste to kill him so soon. He might not know anything else pertaining to the mission directly, but we could have learned more information about the Great Ironhawk Tribe. If we can understand the Great Ironhawk Tribe''s situation, we might be able toe up with an educated guess for the reason behind their motive."

    After hearing this much, Chief Valencia was slightly startled and refrained from killing the other unconscious spy.

    Nevertheless, she did not feel good. She wanted nothing more than to immediately set out and ughter every person from the Great Ironhawk Tribe.

    "What you said makes a lot of sense¡­ I will have to trouble Little Brother Leonhardt againter," Chief Valencia said wryly with a forced smile.

    "Don''t worry about it."

    Leon smiled lightly in response. However, he could not help but start to think about the Water Vein. He had yet to see the Darkmoon Tribe''s Water Vein for himself; thus, he was quite curious about it.

    "What do you have on your mind, Little Brother Leonhardt?" Master Woodrow asked after noticing Leon''s thoughtful expression.

    Leon gathered his thoughts for a moment before he said, "There''s something I''ve always found strange. The tribes on the Infertile ins have always been using the Water Veins for the past few hundred years?"

    "That''s right. That has always been the case. Without the Water Vein, it is challenging for a tribe to prosper. After all, one would be at the mercy of others if they have to buy water from them. Has Little Brother Leonhardt never seen a Water Vein before?" Master Woodrow asks.

    Leon shook his head.

    "Would like you to check it out?" Chief Valencia offered.

    Leon turned to the chief and asks with surprise, "Is that fine?"

    Considering how furious Chief Valencia is after learning the Water Vein was being targeted, he would assume that he would not be getting a chance to check it out.

    "It''s fine. I need to get out of here anyway. The more I look at these people, the angrier I be." The chief nodded with a solemn look, suppressing her boiling emotions.

    It was her family''s ancestors that founded the Darkmoon Tribe. Her anger was understandable when the tribe''s prosperity and all tribesmen''s lives are being threatened by other tribes.

    After giving some instructions to the warriors outside to guard the unconscious spy securely, Chief Valencia took the group down to the underground mines to show Leon the Water Vein.

    Under her lead, Leon followed with Darlene closely beside him as he nced left and right at the mining equipment inside the Dark Crystal Mine. Everything was automated byrge runic machinery, from drilling in the earth to sorting out the Dark Crystal ores.

    It was an impressive sight to behold. If the Crawford Kingdom could rely on such mining technology, they could increase the kingdom''s mineral production by many folds and cut down on the required manpower, allocating it elsewhere.

    "It seems Little Brother Leonhardt has taken a great interest in the Dark Crystal mining equipment." Master Woodrowmented after seeing Leon looking around with rapt attention.

    Leon nodded and admitted, "That''s right. It is quite impressive that all of this can be used to rece the need for manpower. I''m quite curious about the technology behind it."

    As it turns out, all the metallic minerals and Demonic Core harvested from Demonic Beasts were all concentrated here, in the mines.

    Chief Valencia listened to their exchanged and silently made a mental note of Leonhardt''s interest.

    The group continued to venture deeper into the underground mines. After some time, they eventually took a turn and headed for another underground section through a spacious passageway that took them away from the mining area.

    This new section had many metal pipes running along the side of the walls, and Leon could also hear the sound of constant flowing water.

    Not long after, the end of therge passageway led them to a vast open cavern. Two points of interest immediately captured Leon''s attention.

    There was a huge pond at the center of the cavern, where many pipes were connected to and could be seen pumping water out of the pond. After this, the unclean water undergoes some sort of purification process before transferring outside through other pipes.

    At the furthest back of the cavern, there was a massive metal gate, engraved in countless runes and sealed tightly. Water flowed out from small pocket holes in the metal gate and flowed into the pond.

    "Is the Water Vein behind thoserge metal doors? What else is behind it? It is not just the Water Vein, is it? Leon asked curiously.

    "That''s right. Behind those doors are the Catbs, where the location of the Water Vein is located. However, our tribe''s greatest treasures are also stored there, and everything is guarded by our slumbering ancestors." Chief Valencia exined.

    "I see."

    "What are your thoughts after seeing this, Little Brother Leonhardt?" Master Woodrow asks.

    Leon knitted his brows briefly and said, "I supposed this is as far as you can show me? No one is allowed to enter the Catbs, right?"

    Chief Valencia nodded.

    "That''s right. No one is permitted to enter the Catbs unless the tribe is facing a cmity as per the ancestors'' instruction."

    "Hmm¡­" Leon pondered thoughtfully before he said, "That is to say that no one has ever checked on the Water Vein all this while?"

    "¡­That is also correct. Why does Little Brother Leonhardt ask about this? Do you suspect something is wrong with the Water Vein?"

    Leon smiled wryly and said, "It''s hard not to suspect something. Think about it, so many tribes relied on the Water Veins for so many years, but where does all this watere from? Supposed all these Water Veins are connected to the same source, don''t you think there would be a day when the water is all used up?"

    "That''s impossible!" Master Woodrow denied with rm.

    Leon nced at him and asks, "Why not?"

    "Because these water and Water Veins are all formed by the Celestial Water Spark!"

 Chapter 415 - Competing For Hegemony?

    <h4>Chapter 415 - Competing For Hegemony?</h4>

    Master Woodrow was steadfast in his answer. It was like he was very confident that the Water Veins will have an inexhaustible supply of water¡ªor rather, he dared not think about what would happen if the Water Vein''s water does happen to run dry one day.

    "Celestial Water Spark? What is that?" Leon asked with surprise.

    "The Celestial Water Spark is a celestial object, filled with an unfathomable amount of power. Don''t ask me where it came from, though. I don''t know much about that. Maybe the Dark family¡ªAhem, I mean maybe Chief Valencia knows more about this."

    After Leon turned to face Chief Valencia, she pondered for a moment before deciding there was no need to keep such a secret.

    "It''s no big secret, really. The Celestial Water Spark was, as you would expect, it was found underground, a long time ago when our predecessors decided to pioneer in the Infertile ins for a new ce to live, away from the cold winters of the Northern Snonds." Chief Valencia said.

    "I see." Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    He was filled with doubts about this Celestial Water Spark. Anything with ''Celestial'' in its name cannot possibly be ordinary.

    "So, this celestial object has always been hidden underground since its discovery? No one tried to take it away? Not even once?"

    "Hahaha, in history, people naturally have. Who wouldn''t want to get their hands on a celestial object with the power to produce an unlimited amount of water? Whoever wields it gets to control the fate of all humans living on the Infertile ins."

    "However, it is not that easy. People fought for it, but they could not even get close to touching it when the victor tried reaching for it. After all, celestial objects are capable of changing the surrounding environment itself. The Water Veins weren''t naturally formed by nature, but due to the high-pressured water from the Celestial Water Spark drilling its way through the earth."

    After listening to Chief Valencia''s talk of the celestial object, Leon vaguely started to guess what the Celestial Water Spark was.

    To be able to change its surrounding environment implies that the Celestial Water Spark contained an extreme power ofw. Furthermore, it had ''Celestial'' in its name. This cannot be a mere coincidence.

    After knowing that Transcendents leave behind Transcendent Crystals after their deaths, Leon had wondered what Celestials would have left behind.

    At this moment, he might have found his answer.

    "Seems like this Celestial Water Spark is very amazing, huh? But who decided that its power was inexhaustible? How was this determined?" Leon asked.

    "This¡­"

    Chief Valencia was rendered speechless by Leon''s question. She had no way to prove her answer''s authenticity, even if she could provide one for Leonhardt.

    The predecessors said the Celestial Water Spark was inexhaustible, so it was taken as the truth. However, what if they were wrong? They might not have predicted what would happen hundreds of yearster.

    Seeing Chief Valencia was silent, Leon asks, "Does the Great Ironhawk Tribe guard the Celestial Water Spark?"

    "No, but the ck Warbear Tribe next to the Great Ironhawk Tribe does." Master Woodrow answered for Chief Valencia.

    "The ck Warbear Tribe? How strong are they?"

    "Strong, very strong! As a tribe with five living Battle Kings, they are among the strongest tribes within the Infertile ins and can be considered a ruling tribe."

    "Hmm¡­ that is to say that if the ck Warbear Tribe to the Great Ironhawk Tribe, they would obey it?" Leon asked an important question.

    "Oh?" Master Woodrow furrowed his brows and asked back, "Do you think the ck Warbear Tribe ordered the Great Ironhawk Tribe to destroy our Water Veins?"

    "I cannot be sure, but think of it this way. Suppose the Celestial Water Spark is truly running out of power, and the Water Veins of tribes situated outside of the central region are all destroyed. Who do you think will be the biggest beneficiary in this ordeal?"

    Chief Valencia and Master Woodrow immediately felt heavy as they pondered in silence with a solemn expression.

    "If all the Water Veins are cut off, only the one situated closest to the Celestial Water Spark will still have ess to water at its source," Leon added.

    "Do you believe the celestial object is truly running out of power, Little Brother Leonhardt? Just give me your honest opinion. Whatever you say, I will take it as the truth." Master Woodrow said, cing great trust in Leon. He was the first to deny Leon''s im but also the first to support his guesses. It was quite ironic.

    Leon shook his head and said, "I honestly don''t know unless we can obtain more vital information. However, I cannot think of another reason why the Great Ironhawk Tribe would risking starting a war with multiple tribes to destroy the Water Veins. They are strong, but not strong enough to take on thebined might of seven¡ªWell, six other tribes now."

    "¡­Not unless they have the backing of the ck Warbear Tribe." Master Woodrow said thoughtfully.

    "Exactly my point."

    At that moment, Chief Valencia suddenly spoke, "Let us say that the Celestial Water Spark is running out of celestial power to produce more water. Even if the ck Warbear Tribe is destroying the Water Veins to enjoy more water for themselves, they are not so strong that they can cover the entire Infertile ins with one hand. If they are unwilling to share their water, they will only be destroyed under everyone''s fury."

    "Yes, I have also thought about this point. However, what if their goal were never to destroy other tribes and save more water for themselves, but to gather everyone for something else entirely?"

    "You mean¡­?"

    "No matter how much water is saved, it will still be gone once the Celestial Water Spark runs out of power eventually."

    The one who suddenly said this was Darlene.

    Chief Valencia and Master Woodrow turned their gazes to focus on her, causing Darlene to feel slightly embarrassed and fidget nervously. Perhaps, it was not her ce to interrupt their serious conversation.

    Leon reached out his hand towards her, causing her to cower slightly and shut her eyes. However, the expected hit did not arrive. Instead, she felt a hand pat her on the head and gently caressed her.

    She reopened her eyes to Leon''s warm expression. All the apprehension and extraneous thoughts that she might have overstepped her boundaries were immediately washed away in that instance.

    "Yes, it''s exactly as Darlene has said. No matter how much water is saved, it will all be gone eventually." Leon continued the topic and said, "So, why not give it all away to buy everyone''s loyalty and achieve hegemony under the ck Warbear Tribe?"

    Hegemony!

    The word immediately gave everyone goosebumps and made their blood boil with excitement.

    However, their minds were shortly brought to reality upon further thought. Only the strongest tribe can be a hegemon. The Darkmoon Tribe was far from this level.

    Chief Valencia frowned and said, "If the ck Warbear Tribe wants to achieve hegemony, it still won''t be easy. The Holy Sunfire Tribe, Mighty Whitewolf Tribe, and Divine Tortoise Tribe will not agree to their hegemony without a fight."

    "Those tribes are¡­?"

    "They are also ruling tribes with five living Battle Kings."

    The corners of Leon''s lips shortly twitched after Chief Valencia answered his question.

    The Infertile ins did not seem like they had a lot of Battle Kings when looking at each tribe individually, but there is actually quite a number of them when pooled together.

    "It seems like the fight for hegemony will be quite ferocious in the near future¡­ In any case, all of these are just hypothetic guesses. However, The Great Ironhawk Tribe trying to destroy our Water Vein was real. What will you do about this, Chief Valencia?" Leon asked.

    Darlene and Master Woodrow both turned to face Chief Valencia, awaiting her decision. Whether she wants war or not, her decision will affect the entire Darkmoon Tribe.

    Chief Valencia tapped her foot in thought for some time before she stated, "We will not take any action against the Great Ironhawk Tribe for now. I''m going to summon the other tribes in the alliance to a summit to discuss what we talked about today."

    "Understood."

    Leon nodded.

    Chief Valencia made a wise choice.

    If the Celestial Water Spark dries up in the future, the Infertile ins will be inhabitable with the absence of water. Arge-scale migration will ur, and a fierce war for territory will be fought in the newnd.

    The local power would not allow such arge-scale migration of people to take over their territory without fighting.

    Leon did not know how strong the regional powers outside of the Infertile ins were, but he can expect the battle to be a giant bloodbath.

    The Darkmoon Tribe might not be able to survive this.

    Of course, another option could be opened to them if he decides to build arge Teleportation Array and bring them over to the Human Domain.

    ''I wonder how much time the Infertile ins have¡­'' He silently pondered.

 Chapter 416 - Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows

    <h4>Chapter 416 - Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows</h4>

    While Leon and the others were discussing in the underground cavern, the tension at the Crimsonfog Tribe was high.

    "Chief, the Undead Battle Kings and Liches have been sighted at the borders!"

    Chief Baskara held a voice-transmission stone and listened to the scout''s report before he said, "Alright, I got it. You can retreat now. Get out of there at once."

    "Yes, chief¡ªOh, no! Arghhh¡ª!"

    The voice-transmission ended abruptly.

    Chief Baskara stored away the voice-transmission stone in his hand and sighed before he gazed into the horizon from atop the tribe''s wall, while rows of warriors lined the walls, geared and ready for the battle of their life.

    "Your orders, chief?"

    A warrior beside him asked.

    "Start the Crimsonfog Formation!"

    "Yes, chief!"

    Once Chief Baskara gave his order, the warriors immediately started cing ck Demonic Cores the size of oranges into empty sockets found along the bottom of the tribe''s walls.

    Another group poured basins of demonic beast blood mixed with human blood into several manholes found in the ground by the foot of the walls.

    Shortly after, the dark crimson blood started filling in the gaps of the engraved runic lines on the ground surrounding the manhole. The blood followed the runic pathways and ran up along the wall before connecting to the Demonic Core stuck in the wall sockets.

    Once that happened, the dark blood began to increase in temperature and glowed with bright crimson light.

    Bloody mists spewed out from these runic lines and pervaded the entire tribe before spreading out outwards. In a short while, the Crimsonfog Tribe was hidden within a dense cloud of blood mist.

    "What are your next orders, chief? Please give us yourmand!"

    Bam!

    Chief Baskara wore a scaly crimson armor and held arge bone halberd, the Dragon Bone Halberd in his hand as he gazed through the crimson fog silently with narrowed eyes before he firmly said, "Now we wait!"

    Bam!

    The Dragon Bone Halberd was thumped into the ground with a heavy thud, while his aura exploded with battle intent.

    Sometimeter, the two Liches shrouded in darkness could be seen visibly approaching the tribe from a distance. The two Undead Battle Kings trailed behind them like mindless puppets.

    "Oh? An interesting sight we have here. Seems like these humans have expected our arrivals and prepared to wee us." One of the Liches said, intrigued by what it saw.

    "Kekeke¡­" The other Lichughed creepily and said, "Since that is the case, it will be rude of us not to follow through."

    "Go y with the humans."

    After the two Liches gave the orders, the two Undead Battle Kings immediately shot forward like blurred shadows and disappeared in the crimson fog, followed by the earth repeatedly quaking shortly after.

    Boom! Boom!

    Within the crimson fog, the Undead Battle Kings mistook the particles of blood mist for the vitality of humans and began attack randomly, creating shockwaves and craters in the ground.

    "The Undead Battle Kings has entered the Crimsonfog Formation, Chief!" A warrior reported.

    Chief Baskara nodded and barked, "Get the Artillery Team to lock onto the Undead Battle Kings and load the Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows!"

    "Yes, chief!"

    A group of messengers answered and left without questioning the chief''s decision.

    The Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows were the strongest type of ballistic arrows they have. It was tough and costly to create, but each arrow supposedly had the power to y Arch Demons.

    These arrows were usually sent to defend the Death Passage from the demons that try to invade the Infertile ins from the Land of Darkness. However, they brought over for this moment; to be used against at the Undead Battle Kings!

    Even so, these Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows have only ever recorded ying Greater Demons in the past. They have yet to actually used the Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows to y an Arch Demon with it before!

    In other words, they were not confident if the Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows could fell the Undead Battle Kings, but it was worth a shot!

    Sometimeter, the messengers returned and reported, "The ballistas are locked and load! The Artillery Team is ready to fire on yourmand, chief!"

    Chief Baskara nodded and refocused his attention in the obscured distance.

    The earth continued to tremble and quaked from the Undead Battle Kings'' powerful attacks. The Undead Battle Kings were still confused and lost in the Crimsonfog Formation!

    However, tremors and earthquakes grew louder and stronger each time. This was a sign that the Undead Battle Kings were drawing closer to their tribe!

    It was a matter of time before they pass through the thick red mist and discover their tribe! Chief Baskara was not going to wait until that happens.

    His eyes became fierce before roaring, "Bombard it!"

    His powerful voice quickly traveled across the entire tribe! Everyone heard it loud and clear!

    "Fire!"

    Twang! Twang! Twang!

    Ballistas were fired, andrge bolts of destruction flew!

    Boom!

    It was a direct hit!

    The Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows activated their enchanted runes on impact and erupted with an almighty explosion of hellfire, ripping apart the earth and threatened to tear the sky asunder!

    Vast clouds of burning soil shot into the air, kicking up a big storm of dust in its wake that blew away the blood mist in the area!

    The Two Liches stood outside of the crimson fog and waited to hear the terrified screams of humans, but what they got was a deafening explosion that shook the earth fiercely and threw dirt and hot soil into their faces, rming them to the unexpected oue.

    "What the heck just happened?!"

    "What kind of power is this? what did these humans do!?"

    "I remember! This must be the demon-ying arrows that were said to be used at the Death Passage to keep the demons away!"

    "Darn thing! They actually brought such a weapon over to deal with us!"

    After the dust settled and the crimson fog cleared, a 200-yard-diameter crater was seen by both. The edge of the explosion was only roughly 70 yards away from the foot of Crimsonfog Tribe''s wall. The shockwave was close enough to knock everyone off the wall.

    However, an invisible barrier had been activated and protected everyone within the tribe from the shockwave and flying hot soil.

    "Impossible¡­"

    "How can they still be moving after that¡­?"

    The tribesmen were filled with disbelief as they gaze into the distance and saw the Undead Battle King still standing at the epicenter of the crater.

    Even so, the undead battle Kings was not unscathed after being hit by an explosion of such magnitude.

    Many parts of their body were seared and scorched ck, while some arms and legs were also missing. Either way, the Undead Battle Kings'' movements were impaired one way or another.

    "Do we have any more Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows?" Chief Baskara asked seriously with his gaze fixed on the severely damaged undead battle Kings.

    "None, chief! We used them all!"

    "Then use the Tier 4 Demon-ying Arrows! Continue the bombardment! Don''t allow it to fight back!"

    As Chief Baskara gave his orders, the Undead Battle Kings also gazed back at the tribe ahead of them. After the Crimson fog was cleared, there was no longer anything obstructing its vision or confusing its senses.

    In that short instance, Chief Baskara felt a dangerous chill and cursed, "Sh*t!"

    The Undead Battle Kings lunged forward with their limping bodies and missing limbs. Their speed was significantly reduced, but not to a level that they should be underestimated.

    "Those below Battle Master Realm, assist me with projectile weapons!"

    Chief Baskara gripped his Dragon Bone Halberd and leaped off the wall to fight them head-on. The other tribesmen would just by sitting ducks.

    "Those at the Battle Master Realm, join me!" He cried.

    Six figures immediately shot out from the crowd with their own unique Soul Weapon and lunge at the Undead Battle Kings from different directions.

    Chief Baskara dodged one Undead Battle King''s w attack and swung out his Dragon Bone Halberd at the other.

    Dang!

    However, the other Undead Battle King struck back. A tremendous amount of force passed through the Dragon Bone Halberd, sting Chief Baskara away along with his Soul Weapon!

    The Undead Battle Kings immediately chased after Chief Baskara, but numerous bone arrows and bolts rained down on the two Undead Battle Kings. The projectiles bounced off their sturdy bodies and caused no damage, but it was enough to dy them slightly.

    At the same time, the six Venerable Shamans of the Crimsonfog Tribe closed the distance and unleashed their own set of attacks on the two Undead Battle Kings.

    Ding! Ding! Puchi!

    Several attacksnded, but only the strongest of the six, a Peak-rank Battle Master, could only damage one of the Undead Battle King slightly.

    Even so, the Peak-rank Battle Master''s Soul Weapon, a Tier 4 Bone Sword, ended up getting stuck between the Undead Battle King''s bones in the neck!

    The person''s expression dropped when he was forced to abandon his Soul Weapon and retreat from the Undead Battle King''s follow-up w attack!

    "Dammit, these Undead Battle Kings'' strength is inferior to their former selves, but their body''s defense has shot up to inconceivable levels!" The person shouted.

 Chapter 417 - Cost Of Victory

    <h4>Chapter 417 - Cost Of Victory</h4>

    "If I was still at the prime of my warrior days, this thing''s head would have been dropped already!"

    "Ha! At least, you are still better off than the rest of us, old fools. Our strengths have already declined to the mid-high ranks, while you are still at the Peak-rank Battle Master Realm!"

    While the Venerable Shamans were getting frustrated over not being dealing enough damage, Chief Baskara recovered to his feet and shouted, "The Undead Battle Kings are only moving due to the Liches'' power and will! We don''t need to destroy it! We just need to exhaust its power with our Soul Weapons, and it will be inanimate once more!"

    "Easier said than done, Boya! This thing hits you once, and it''s all over for you!" A Venerable Shaman said while dodging a w attack from the single-armed Undead Battle King.

    Due to it also missing a leg, the single-armed Battle King lost its bnce and fell to the ground.

    "F*ck it up!" Another Venerable Shaman roared, taking the opportunity dish in a few shes on the single-armed Battle King''s back.

    Two more joined the fray before a Venerable Shaman with a pickaxe as his Soul Weapon warned, "Watch out for the other one!"

    Swoosh!

    The other Undead Battle King swiped one of three Venerable Shamans with its ws. Thanks to the prior warning, everyone managed to evade the attack in time.

    However, one of them barely dodged the attack with a Limbo-style retreat, bending backward in an arc while the Undead Battle King''s nails lightly grazed his wrinkly left cheeks.

    "Woo, that was a close one! It almost got me!" The Venerable Shaman eximed excitedly in retreat. Dancing on the thin line between life and death in battle was exhrating!

    Kacha!

    However, the Venerable Shaman''s expression suddenly stiffened after a sharp electrifying pain shot up his back!

    "Aiyo! I pulled my back! I''m too old for this sh*t!" The person copsed to the down cursed in pain.

    The other Venerable Shamans had a change in exchange as one of them shouted, "Quickly get back!"

    "I got him!"

    Chief Baskara''s figure shed next to the Venerable Shaman with the strained back and quickly dragged the elder to safety before one of the Undead Battle King could get to him.

    The sudden movements sent another jolt of pain through the elder''s back as the Venerable Shaman cried, "Woah--! Easy there, Baskara Boya! This Old Man can''t take it!"

    At the same time, an Undead Battle King''s attacknded on the elder''s original spot, shattering the ground apart with a deafening explosion!

    Dirt and gravel flew into the air as the elder looked back and gulped as they drew further away from the area.

    "Do you prefer to be a meat patty under that thing''s hit? I can toss you back if that is what you want, Venerable Shaman." Chief Baskara said.

    The elder with the strained back quickly shook his head and sigh, "Now you are just bullying this Old Man."

    "Chief, the Tier 4 Demon-ying Arrows are loaded and ready for firing!" A warrior shouted at the top of his lungs from the wall.

    "I got it! Artillery Team, be ready to fire on my signal!" Chief Baskara shouted back to the walls before saying, "Venerable Shamans, please retreat first! I will lure them away!"

    "Alright, be careful!"

    The Venerable Shamans were all old. They were no longer capable of fighting drawn-out battles; thus, they quickly agreed.

    After passing the Venerable Shaman with the strained back to them, Chief Baskara went ahead to grab the two Undead Battle Kings'' attention.

    Meanwhile, the two Liches continued to watch everything from afar. Nevertheless, their expressions were terrible to behold.

    The turn of events has been far from desirable. Before their Undead Battle Kings could get close to the human settlement and y with the humans, they were already severely damaged by the human''s deadly weapon of mass destruction.

    "Darn it, these humans are not easy to deal with! Why is there such a huge disparity in their tribes?!"

    "This human tribe is, after all, the one guarding the Death Passage. They would naturally not be weak if they can keep other demons at bay. We have lost big on this one. Even if we manage to harvest some more negative here, the amount is insignificant to the price paid in the process."

    "¡­Right. Losing two Undead Battle Kings is a big loss! We can repair their bodies, but their quality will not be the same¡­ We should consider retreating." The Lich said.

    They were Greater Demons, but their personal battle prowess was not high. They were not the Battle Masters'' opponents on their own.

    "Retreating is good. If we don''t pull them out now, there will be nothing left to pull out." The other Lich agreed.

    The Undead Battle Kings were already missing a few limbs, and their undead flesh was scorched ck. One of them even have their bones exposed at the waist and looked like they could snap in half, but that is still far from the case.

    However, just as the Liches were about to issue themand to their Undead Battle Kings, a human''s voice could be heard roaring powerfully, "Fire now!"

    Twang! Twang!

    The Artillery Team immediately fired the giant ballistas as ordered. Simultaneously, Chief Baskara broke away from the Undead Battle Kings and distanced himself as much as he could in a short instance!

    Boom!

    Numerous Tier 4 Demon-ying Arrows exploded on the two Battle Kings'' broken bodies. Without any vision obstruction, everyone could see the zing ball of hellfire erging from the impact point!

    The power of Tier 4 Demon-ying Arrows cannot bepared to Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows, but it was powerful enough to ying Greater Demons and the like! The twin Liches'' faceless expression plummeted at the sight of inferno before them.

    "ursed humans! They still had more of these wretched things!" The left Lich snarled venomously with a hint of fear. If the two Liches were hit by such weapons, they would be incinerated in body and soul!

    Creatures of darkness and death alignment had a natural weakness against extreme Yang elements like fire, light, lightning, and life.

    While Chief Baskara escaped early, the explosions still rapidly expanded, closing the distance between them.

    "Oh, no! The chief is not going to make it!

    "Watch out, chief!"

    The warriors on the wall cried out concerns and warnings. Tier 4 Demon-ying Arrows might not necessarily kill all Greater Demons with strong defenses, but it is more than enough to kill even Battle Kings if they took the hits directly!

    After all, the human flesh is weak without Enchanted Equipment to protect them!

    "Arghh!"

    Chief Baskara growled in pain as the zing hellfire reached him and contacted his back. His crimson armor protected him from direct contact, but the scorching high temperature still overheated the armor and burned his back!

    It was only for a brief moment before the explosion reached its peak and stopped expanding. Chief Baskara was propelled forward by the force of the st!

    His body flew, bounced along the ground a few times before rolling towards the foot of the wall. His body did not stop until it hit the wall.

    The Great Warriors immediately jumped down to fetch him after seeing their chief lying motionlessly.

    They flipped him over to carry on one of their backs when they found out that the end of Chief Baskara''s head was scorched terribly. All the hair had been reduced to ashes, and the skin was melted.

    "The chief needs immediate medical attention! Where is the doctor?!"

    "Pass him to me. He cannot be treated here. We need to bring him back to my ce!" One of the six Venerable Shamans stepped forward and said to the Great Warrior.

    He was the best doctor in the tribe! But even so, he was not a Shaman with unique healing abilities! He relied on his understanding of medicine to heal others!

    "Yes, Venerable Shaman!" The Great Warriorplied and carefully handed the unconscious Chief Baskara over to the Venerable Shaman.

    After they left, another Venerable Shaman stepped forward and loudly spoke, "Chief Baskara is gone, but the battle must go on! Load the next round of Tier 4 Demon-ying Arrows!"

    Everyone immediately busied themselves under the Venerable Shaman''s order. Someone needed to takemand, and the Venerable Shaman became that someone.

    The tribe cannot be without a leader, especially during an important battle. Otherwise, the tribe would fall into chaos!

    Eventually, the fire from the explosion died down, and the sight was clear again. The two Undead Battle Kings were seen in an even more broken-down state.

    The actual damage paled inparison to when they were hit by Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows. Even so, the Liches lost their will to continue fighting. They did not want their new toys to be destroyed, just like that.

    "Cursed those humans! They are preparing to fire even more of those wretched bolts of fire!"

    "Come back here, you, useless things! We are getting out of here!"

    The Undead Battle Kings started to retreat back to the Liches awkwardly with their broken bodies after they were ordered.

    "They''re retreating!"

    "We''ve won!"

    The tribesmen watch them suddenly leave with surprise before they started breaking into cheers. However, another group was happy with the turn of events.

    "But at what cost? We cannot let them leave! If theye backter, it will be even more troublesome! We must finish them here once and for all!" A Great Warrior said objectively.

    A Venerable Shaman immediately rejected, "No! We cannot chase them. Pursuing a retreating enemy is never wise! Not only will we lose the advantage of our ballista, but we will also have to face the Liches."

    "Liches are weak atbat, but they are still Greater Demons¡­ Push them too far, and we will suffer for it."

 Chapter 418 - One Day Challenge Rule

    <h4>Chapter 418 - One Day Challenge Rule</h4>

    The Crimsonfog Tribe''s battle could be said to have ended in a big victory, considering their casualties were almost negligible. However, they had exhausted their strategic weapon against the Land of Darkness, and the fate of their chief is unknown.

    It would take a long time to gather the resources needed to produce more Tier 5 Demon-ying Arrows to equip the Death Passage.

    As the warriors cleaned up the battlefield, the five remaining Venerable Shamans gathered around with pondering expressions. The future of their tribe looked grim.

    "Venerable Shamans, the long-distance voice transmission pir has received another message from the Darkmoon Tribe." A messenger came to report after failing to deliver the news to the chief.

    "Oh? What kind of message did the Darkmoon Tribe send to us this time?" One of the Venerable Shamans asked.

    "Chief Valencia of the Darkmoon Tribe has requested for the chiefs of the seven tribes to convene at Darkmoon Tribe for a summit; to discuss important matters concerning the future of the Seven Tribes Alliance and the Infertile ins as a whole."

    After the messenger finished speaking, the five Venerable Shamans nced at each other with furrowed expressions.

    "What do you all think the Darkmoon Tribe has to discuss that it would concern all seven tribes? Hm, it should be called the Six Tribes Alliance now that the ckwind Tribe has be history." A Venerable Shaman said, unbothered by the destruction of the ckwind Tribe.

    "Six Tribes Alliance sounds good. The ckwind Tribe has always been the weakest yet also the greediest out of the seven tribes. As for the matter of the summit¡­ I cannot tell. Perhaps it has something to do with the Bone Cmity."

    "If I recall correctly, it has not been long since the Bone Cmity started. The other four tribes on the eastern side of the Weeping Forest should still be busy dealing with it on their end. I doubt they will be free to attend the summit right now."

    The Venerable Shaman speaking shortly turned to the messenger and asked, "What else did the Darkmoon Tribe say?"

    "The summit will be held a weekter, two days after the guesstimated end of the Bone Cmity. Those who want to attend, attend. Those who don''t, don''t. However, Darkmoon Tribe will not be held ountable for the future destruction of our tribes if we choose not to attend. Those were the words of Chief Valencia, Venerable Shamans." The messenger said respectfully.

    The five Venerable Shamans frowned with deep thoughts. The strained-back Venerable Shaman spoke, "If it is that serious, I don''t think the matter is about the Bone Cmity."

    "If Baskara is awake, we could be asking for his opinion. We are quite old and don''t concern ourselves with these matters anymore." A one-eyed Venerable Shaman sighed.

    After a moment, another Venerable Shaman suggested, "Let us go check Baskara''s condition first. Maybe Daal has already finished healing him."

    The five Venerable Shamans quickly approved and headed to Venerable Shaman Daal''s abode. Just as they arrive, they found a huge crowd gathering outside.

    They thought the tribesmen were concerned about Chief Baskara and were waiting for his recovery outside. However, that was not the case. The tribesmen were divided into two groups and argued over a particr matter.

    "Has your morals been fed to the demons?! What the hell are you people thinking at a time like this?! How dare you take advantage of Chief Baskara''s weakness!" A young Peak-rank Warrior shouted.

    On the opposite side of the young warrior''s group was a group of much older tribesmen. They were all Great Warriors. The one at the front of them was even an Extremity-rank Great Warrior.

    "Morals? I don''t care about that. I only know that Chief Baskara is in aa with no certainty of waking up while someone is needed to lead the tribe! I am thinking of the tribe''s best interest!" The Extremity-rank Great Warrior said shamelessly.

    The young Peak-rank Warrior sneered, "The tribe''s best interest or YOUR best interest?"

    "You¡ª!" The Extremity-rank Great Warrior was immediately angered by the young warrior''s tant disrespect for him and said, "It seems that someone needs to teach you some manners and how to behave in front of your elders!"

    "What, you want to get violent? Bring it! I might not be able to beat you, but that doesn''t mean I have to be afraid of you! You won''t get past me!" The young Peak-rank Warrior spoke and blocked the entrance.

    The other young warriors also bravely blocked the entrance to the Venerable Shaman''s abode alongside the young Peak-rank Warrior.

    Just as the two sides were about to sh, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman within the group of five Venerable Shaman stepped forward and angrily roared with hismanding presence, "What is going on here?!"

    His powerful voice shook the ground and startled the crowd into halting their steps.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was the only Peak-rank Battle Master among the six Venerable Shamans in the tribe. When he is angry, it is enough to instill fear into people andmand their obedience.

    "V-Venerable Shamans!"

    Both sides stopped to greet the five Venerable Shaman with slight shivering expressions, evidently shaken by the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s roar, which was unexpected like gunpowder suddenly exploding in their eyes.

    "You speak!"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately singled out the Extremity-rank Great Warrior, who appeared to be the strongest person present in the crowd, to exin the situation to him.

    "I¡­ I¡­"

    The Extremity-rank Great Warrior stuttered with trepidation and hesitation, causing the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s patience to be stretched thin quickly.

    "I, what?! Answer the damn question properly!" The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman barked angrily before insulting, "Is it true that the more one ages, the more cowardly they be? Where is your courage!? Are you a warrior, or are you still a baby, sucking on your momma''s tits?!"

    The Extremity-rank Great Warrior''s face was flushed red, but he could only lower his head with tightly clenched fists. He dared not to talk back to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman when he is angry.

    At the side, the other four Venerable Shamans shook their heads and quietly thought with amusement, ''Old Mate One-Eyed is going at it again.''

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had always been the one with the fiercest temper among them Venerable Shamans in the tribe.

    Seeing the Extremity-rank Great Warrior not talking, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman turned to the young Peak-rank Warrior and said, "You, exin to me."

    "Yes, Venerable Shaman!"

    The young Peak-rank Warrior shivered slightly but still stepped forward to answer proudly. This was the difference between a person acting with a clear conscience and a person without it.

    "After Venerable Shaman Daal took Chief Baskara inside to treat him, these men shortly arrived after to find trouble with the chief, saying they want to challenge Chief Baskara in the tribe''s Battle Arena!"

    The young Peak-rank Warrior had more to say, but the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stopped him there and turned his attention back onto the Extremity-rank Great Warrior.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman solemnly asked.

    The Extremity-rank Great Warrior continued to have his head hung low in silence to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s question.

    "What? You dare to act but not dare to admit it? And you still wanted to be the chief like this? Pathetic." The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s gaze became serious, shouting, "Answer me! Did you or did you not issue a challenge to Chief Baskara!?"

    "He did, Venerable Shaman!"

    The young Peak-rank Warrior shouted.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman raised his hand to stop the person from speaking further before stating in a grave tone, "I want to hear the answer from the person in question himself."

    "Well? What is it? If you are not going to answer my question, then just run along back home to your momma."

    Under the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s repeated insults and provocation, the Extremity-rank Great Warrior exploded, "Yes! So, what if I did!? Are you going to punish me for it?!"

    "No."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman answered so tly and calmly that the person became stunned and confused.

    Even the group of young warriors were confused by the Venerable Shaman''s answer. They thought that the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had stepped forward to administer justice on behalf of Chief Baskara, but that does not seem to be the case.

    "This person did not break any rules of the tribe, and the one-day challenge rule has always been a tradition of the tribe. This will not be changed and must be enforced. We will go see if Chief Baskara has recovered consciousness. If he is not awake to ept the challenge, then his position of chief shall be forfeited to this person."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman left those words before entering Venerable Shaman Daal''s abode with the other four Venerable Shamans following behind him.

    The group of young warriors immediately broke into an uproar, filled with indignant expressions due to the Venerable Shaman''s words.

    Sometimeter, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman returned and unhappily stated, "Chief Baskara is indeed unable to wake up, so from henceforth, that person will be the new chief."

    "What! But Venerable Shaman, we cannot ept this decision! Is there no justice?!" The young Peak-rank Warrior immediately objected.

    "Even if you cannot ept it, you have to! It is the rule of the tribe! If you are not happy with it, then challenge him!"

    "But I am not strong enough to beat him!"

    "Then find someone who can beat him!" The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said before flicking his wrist and reentering the abode.

    The Extremity-rank Great Warrior was excited.

    However, he did not get to enjoy that excitement for long before another Extremity-rank Great Warrior arrived at the scene and barked, "I want to challenge you on the Battle Arena!"

    "¡­"

 Chapter 419 - Clearwater Tribes Movements

    <h4>Chapter 419 - Clearwater Tribe''s Movements</h4>

    Back in the Darkmoon Tribe.

    Half an hour earlier, Leon and the others returned to the pce from the underground water supply cavern before Chief Valencia went and used the long-distance voice-transmission pir to connect with the other tribes in the alliance.

    After Chief Valencia waited some time for the other tribes to respond to her summit call, she headed back to the Great Hall, where Leon and the other two waited for her return to continue their discussion.

    "When''s the summit decided?" Asked Master Woodrow while seated on the left side''s first seat. Leon sat beside him while Darlene stood behind him after going against his wish for her to sit on the other empty seat beside him.

    "Seven dayster. It should be ample time for them to finish off any unsettled businesses in their tribe and arrive for the summit. Only if they areing, that is." Chief Valencia said.

    "If they areing?" Master Woodrow raised an eyebrow and asked, "Something like the Celestial Water Spark drying concerns everyone''s fate. Did you not mention this to them?"

    Chief Valencia shook her head.

    "It''s too bothersome to exin such a crucial yet sensitive topic to each tribe one by one, not to mention they might not believe it. I would only be wasting my time, in that case. It would be more convincing to get the spy to the secrets before inserting our own assumption."

    "True. We, ourselves, did not believe it at first when Little Brother Leonhardt mentioned it. It was only after listening to his reasoning and thoughts that we became more convinced of such a possibility."

    Master Woodrow rubbed his chin before asking, "How many ended up responding to it?"

    "Only four. The Crimsonfog Tribe, the Fallen Star Tribe, and the Cold Raven Tribe will attend the summit. The Berserk Dragon Tribe said they will think about it. There is no need to mention the ckwind Tribe. However, thest tribe, the Clearwater Tribe, did not give any response." Chief Valencia said.

    Leon was not familiar with the seven tribes of the alliance; thus, he listened quietly to Chief Valencia and Master Woodrow converse.

    "The Clearwater Tribe didn''t? That''s concerning. If I recall correctly, they were also situated quite close to the ck Swamp¡­ Don''t tell me something also happened to them like the ckwind Tribe?" Master Woodrow asked with surprise.

    Chief Valencia''s expression furrowed slightly in thought before saying, "That shouldn''t be the case. Unless something also happened to their Battle King Ancestors, the Clearwater Tribe would not fall that easy. Perhaps the Clearwater Tribe''s chief is busy or away from the tribe¡ª?"

    "Speaking of which, the Crimsonfog Tribe''s chief also did not respond. It was the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman from their tribe that responded in his stead. Seems like something also happened to Chief Baskara and their tribe."

    "One-Eyed Venerable Shaman did? That''s a surprise." Master Woodrow said.

    Chief Valencia was confused by this statement.

    "Why is that a surprise to you, Venerable Shaman Woodrow? Is there something about the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman that I do not know about? I do know that he is the Crimsonfog Tribe''s best weaponsmith, but this shouldn''t be it¡­"

    "Hahaha, it''s not strange that you do know not much about the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s history. You were still a toddler when he was making waves in the territory of the Seven Tribes Alliance." Master Woodrow chuckled slightly.

    "Before he shattered his core and awakened his Shaman powers, bing a master weaponsmith thereafter. He was an Extremity-rank Battle Master with only a thin step away from reaching the legendary Battle King Realm. If he had seeded, the Crimsonfog Tribe would have weed their 4th Battle King and assumed the seven tribes'' leadership position. Unfortunately, something happened, causing him to shatter his core early."

    Chief Valencia soft gasp with amazement. Everyone who can achieve the Battle King Realm was a prodigy of their generation. Although the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman failed, it did not hinder her from having admiration and respect for such a figure.

    Nevertheless, she was still confused and asks, "But what''s surprising about this person responding to my voice transmission?"

    "Well, you see, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman never assumes any managerial roles in the tribe nor participate in them, like never." Master Woodrow emphasized thest part.

    Leon rubbed his thoughtfully and muttered, "Someone who never involves themself in the managerial activities went and respond to Chief Valencia''s voice transmission in Chief Baskara''s stead. One cannot help but what happened in the Crimsonfog Tribe topel this person to assume the role."

    "Right."

    Both Master Woodrow and Chief Valencia were also curious about what happened there.

    After a short moment, Chief Valencia summoned a scout and assigned the person the mission to determine what happened at the Crimsonfog Tribe. It was quite a distance from the Darkmoon Tribe, but the scout epted dly without a trace of unwillingly and left.

    Not even two breathes after the scout exited the Great Hall, another of warriors entered and greeted with a respectful gesture, "Chief Valencia."

    "Venerable Shaman Woodrow."

    "Er¡­ Big--Young--Ahem, Divine Doctor Leonhardt."

    They proceeded to greet the other two awkwardly, uncertain of which would be the appropriate form of address. Leon narrowed his eyes andmented, "Quite the unique title you got for me there."

    "My apologies, Divine Doctor. I did not mean to offend you." The group leader said with his head lowered.

    Leon waved his hand, nonchntly, "No offensemitted. Big Brother Leonhardt, Young Master Leonhardt, or Divine Doctor. Just pick whatever. No need to try and fuse them all."

    At the same, Darlene giggled softly from behind Leon, taking delight in his plight and taunting him. Leon shortly conjured a palm of air from behind her and smacked her supple rear with his Divine Will.

    "Ahh!"

    Darlene immediately eximed and turned around to check who pped her butt but failed to see anything. She became lost as to what could have hit her.

    "What''s wrong?" Leon turned around with surprise.

    "S-Something hit my butt!"

    "Oh? Who would dare do such a thing to you while in my presence?" Leon said defensively, but he could not hide the wicked grin on his face.

    Darlene noticed this and pouted. She could not exin how Leon might have done it, but it must have been him. There was no other reason why her butt would be targeted.

    "Ahem!" Chief Valencia coughed and asked the group leader, an Early-rank Great Warrior, "What have youe to report?"

    "Reporting to Chief Valencia, we have finished the task of scouting the ck Swamp, as per your orders." The Early-rank Great Warrior stated.

    "Oh." Chief Valencia nodded and nced at the subtly glowing new Soul Weapon; a Tier 4 Bone Sword hung at the person''s waist. "I see your trip has been quite fruitful. And what have you found out for me?"

    "The entire ck Swamp''s Outer Region disappeared."

    "Disappeared?"

    "Yes. The cloud of darkness has receded, and even the ck water has too. The entire outer region has been revealed. We have also spottedrge numbers of tribesmen from the Clearwater Tribe exploring the area."

    "Oh? The Clearwater Tribe?" Chief Valencia repeated with surprise. She exchanged a brief nce with Master Woodrow before asking the Early-rank Great Warrior, "Did you also spot their chief? And what about the inner region? Did you find anything on that?"

    The Early-rank Great Warrior shook his head and said, "No, we did not get close enough to find out if the Clearwater Tribe''s chief was among. Due to our party''s limited strength, I did not dare risk my group members'' lives to lead them too close to investigate. There were many Wraiths and Horned Demons in the area."

    "I see. Alright, if you have nothing else for me, then you may return home with your group members to rx and entertain yourselves. I''ll summon you when I have another task for your exploration group." Chief Valencia nodded before adding, "Oh, don''t forget to collect your reward from the Mission Hall."

    "Understood. Thank you, Chief Valencia!" The Early-rank Great Warrior and his group expressed their gratitude.

    Shortly after they left, Leon asks, "Does Chief Valencia have any ns?"

    "There''s seven days until the summit. Until then, there are a few things I want to settle. Considering the Clearwater Tribe''s movements, it seems like there is something good to be found in the ck Swamp. Such a good thing should not be missed by us. I will organize an expedition and lead it myself."

    Chief Valencia shortly turned to Master Woodrow and said, "However, before that, let us gather the Venerable Shamans and pool together ancient book collections like we have discussed earlier, Venerable Shaman Woodrow."

    "Of course. I was just waiting for you to say those words! I will go talk to those Old Fogies right now!" Master Woodrow responded with eagerness.

    Ever since the ancestors created the Darkmoon Body Forging Method, the Darkmoon Tribe all enjoyed its benefits. However, it had always been Master Woodrow''s greatest wish to improve this body forging method, which had not been modified and improved since its creation.

    After Master Woodrow disappeared from the Great Hall, Chief Valencia said to Leon, "I heard that Little Brother Leonhardt is also proficient in the runguage. You will be joining us, won''t you?"

    "If Chief Valencia does not mind my presence, I will naturally be happy in joining you and the Venerable Shamans during the pooling of ancient book collections." Leon agreed.

    "That''s great! We will be relying on your profound knowledge to understand the secrets of the past."

    "Chief Valencia has spoken too humbly."

 Chapter 420 - A Lack Of Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 420 - A Lack Of Techniques</h4>

    Sometimeter, Chief Valencia left Leon and Darlene in the Great Hall. She shortly summoned the scout leader and inquired, "Has thest two rats been caught yet?"

    "Apologies, chief. We have lost track of their movements. However, they should still be hiding somewhere within the tribe." The scout leader knelt in shame.

    Chief Valencia''s crumpled slightly, but she did not me the scout leader for his ipetence. He was a Peak-rank Great Warrior.

    "Thosest two rats were Extremity-rank Great Warriors, weren''t they? Request more help from the senior warriors if need be. I want this mattered concluded quickly. Once you catch them, cripple their limbs, and keep them in a state of unconsciousness. I want them alive for the summit seven days from now, is that understood?"

    "Yes, chief!"

    "Then go!"

    "Yes!"

    ¡­

    Back in the Great Hall.

    Shortly after Darlene watch Chief Valencia leave, she turned to Leon and asked, "How did you do that?"

    Leon naturally knew what she was referring to. He began lifting a seat with his Divine Will in a demonstration for Darlene to see while confidently exining, "All the Venerable Shamans can begin to do this to some extent. Nevertheless, whether they are as proficient as me as a different matter."

    He was simply in a whole different league to the Venerable Shamans with his powerful soul at 220 points of soul strength.

    Considering he could gain an additional 50-thousand jin worth of strength when he enhances his body with Divine Will, each point of soul strength could be said to grant him nearly 230 jin of physical force.

    Furthermore, considering each Soul Enhancing Pill increases his soul strength by 20 points after ingestion, this was equivalent to an increase of more than 4500 jin of physical strength enhancement!

    While this might seem like a lot, it was not much considering the frequency of ingesting soul pills to improve.

    Seeing the culprit tantly admit himself, Darlene pouted, "So, it WAS you!"

    She immediately reached out and pinched Leon''s waist. She used moderate strength, not enough to hurt Leon with his insane high defense. Nevertheless, he pretended to be in pain, "Aiyo~!"

    "Che! That is so fake!"

    This time, Darlene smacked him on the shoulders before stamping her feet to express her discontentment. It was rather cute, in Leon''s opinion. He could not help but tease her more.

    He pinched her soft cheeks and said, "Yo~ My little wife has be more and more daring these days. Do you wish to be punished?"

    "So what if I do? How will you punish me?" Darlene pursed her lips and said coquettishly.

    ''F*ck!''

    Leon cursed in his mind.

    She was a damn demoness, daring to seduce him anywhere!

    He immediately raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, I give up. Please don''t tempt me anymore, or I might not be able to control myself. We need to think about the time and ce for these things."

    "What kind of things are you talking about exactly?" Darlene asks.

    Leon''s face crumpled with a shaking fist before he reached out and smacked her rear with a ''whack!''

    "Ahh~!"

    "Still want to misbehave?" Leon asked with a half-joking, half-stern look.

    Darlene rubbed her sore butt that did not hurt much due to Leon being lenient on his hit. She smiled flirtatiously and said, "Why don''t you tell me? Should I misbehave or not?"

    Smack!

    "Ahhh!"

    She was immediately met with another whack on her rear, albeit heavier, causing her to cry out in pain. Seeing Leon raise his hand again, she shivered.

    "I''m sorry, hubby! I won''t do it again!"

    "That''s better. Let us go pick up your sisters."

    Darlene quickly nodded and wrapped her arms around one of his before Leon led them outside the Great Hall to find the 6 female servants with Void Bodies.

    While walking around the pce, Darlene rubbed her rear slightly andined, "Did you have to hit so hard?"

    "You asked for it," Leon said.

    Darlene immediately sulked.

    Suddenly, Leon paused his steps. Darlene was confused and looked up before seeing a little girl in the distance gazing back at her¡ªor rather, staring at Leon.

    "Well, look who we have here?" Leon lowered himself and said, "Why don''t youe over and say hi to your big brother?"

    "Big Brother!"

    Mia immediately broke into smiles and ran over excitedly before jumping into Leon''s weing arms.

    Leon picked her up and sat her on one of his shoulders.

    "How have you been doing, living in this ce? Has anyone been bullying my little sister?"

    "There used to be, but not anymore after Aunty Valencia taught them all lesson. Now, they are afraid of being bullied by Mia." Mia clenched his fists and showed off her small biceps, trying to appear tough.

    Leon smiled at the little girl''s cute gesture and pinched her cheeks with his other hand before softly lecturing, "Don''t bully the other kids too much if they don''t deserve it, okay? There''s nothing good about being a bully."

    At the side, Darlene was surprised by their close interactions. She did not know when these two have be so close or did they already know each other?

    Noticing Darlene''s suspicion, Leon calmly said, "I''ll exin another time."

    Darlene acquiesced with a silent nod.

    Suddenly, Mia began to cough. Leon nced at her with worry and asked, "What''s wrong, Mia? Are you not feeling well today?"

    "It''s just a regr cough, Big Brother. The doctors said it''s nothing serious." Mia exined.

    However, she started to cough even more heavily.

    Leon immediately frowned and lowered her body before checking her pulse. There was no such thing as a regr cough without problems!

    Leon recalled that Mia was a victim of organ trafficking. Although he managed to heal her, he was unable to recover a new kidney for her.

    For a small child, who was still in the age of developing her body, this was quite detrimental to her health. Problems would naturally arise.

    Considering they had been apart from each other for quite some time, Leon wondered how much Mia had been suffering such conditions.

    After Leon inspected Mia''s condition, he confirmed that the problem with Mia''s health indeed stemmed from the missing kidney, but not entirely due to it.

    Mia''s body was weakpare to other kids her age. Her body was unable to cope with the Dark Continent''s harsh environment, causing impurities to gather in her body without properly expunging as wastes from the body.

    Unless Mia begins cultivation early to strengthen her body, staying in the Dark Continent will develop more severe health conditions in the long term.

    His hand glowed with a gentle green light and provide Mia with a warm and soothing feeling, easing away the difort in her chest.

    Sometimeter, he asks, "How are you feeling now?"

    "Mia feels veryfortable!" Mia answered. The slight crease on her forehead was rxed.

    "Just tell Big Brother if you feel unwell next time. Don''t hide it, okay? Otherwise, Big Brother won''t be able to help Mia feel better." Leon said.

    "Mm! Sorry, Big Brother!"

    Mia lowered her head sadly. Leon smiled and ruffled her hair while saying, "Don''t worry. I am not ming you."

    Shortly after, he began to frown again.

    He was thinking about Mia''s condition. She needed to start her body cultivation; the sooner, the better.

    However, the Darkmoon Tribe''s [Darkmoon Body Forging Method] cannot only be practiced at the age of 13 and above. Younger children would not be able to bear the burden of the body forging method.

    On the other hand, his [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique was too advanced for Mia. A slight mistake could rupture all her meridians and cripple her from cultivating.

    In other words, hecked a suitable method for Mia to practice.

    Nevertheless, the seven Venerable Shamans and Chief Valencia were going to pool their ancient book collection together soon.

    Perhaps he would not only be able to find more suitable methods for himself, but also for Mia to practice then.

    "It seems we will have to dy our ns a bit. I wish to spend more time with Mia. Is that alright with you, little wifey?" Leon said to Darlene. Considering the chief was busy, it was an opportunity for him to meet the others.

    She immediately shook her head and said, "I''m happy that you are putting my feelings into considerations, but you do not need to care too much about my opinions. When you want to do something, just do it."

    "I see. Thank you." Leon nodded and said to Mia, "What do you want to y with Big Brother today?"

    "Can I?" Mia''s eyes lit up excitedly. After Leon gave the nod, she eagerly said, "Yeah!"

    "Alright!"

    Leon smiled.

    "But before that, let us go and see mother, shall we? Do you think she will be free and also want to see Big Brother?"

    "Of course!" Mia answered. Shortly after, she hesitantly drew close and whispers in Leon''s ears, "But¡­ won''t cause trouble for you, Big Brother? Aren''t you trying to hide your identity?"

    Mia took a few quick glimpses of Darlene warily.

    Leon smiled and shook his head, "It won''t. Big Brother is a very important person to the tribe right now. It won''t affect Big Brother much and might work in Big Brother''s favor instead."

    "How so?"

    Mia asked curiously, oblivious to the reasoning behind it. However, Leon shook his head without answering and ruffled her hair again.

    "Let''s talk about thatter."

    Meanwhile, Darlene was even more doubtful of Leon''s identity. She knew she would learn the truth from Leon eventually. However, she was dying of curiosity.

    It was like a strong itch that needed to be scratched.

 Chapter 421 - Meeting Helen

    <h4>Chapter 421 - Meeting Helen</h4>

    In the innermost pce courtyard, Helen and the ex-disciples continued to cultivate under the Divine Demon Tree.

    At this moment, Leon and Darlene arrived outside under Mia''s lead.

    However, the innermost courtyard was a tightly guarded ce. Without earning the chief''s trust or receiving her permission, no one could enter it. Leon was stopped by the servants guarding outside.

    "I will go and call mom!" Mia said.

    Leon nodded, "Alright. Try not to cause trouble, though."

    "Mia knows! Mia is very sensible!" She said unhappily.

    "Alright, alright. Big Brother was wrong, okay? Go on now."

    "Mm!"

    Shortly after, the servants opened the gates for Mia to enter. In that brief moment, Leon was able to gaze inside. His eyes narrowed on the crimson tree with ck leaves at the center.

    From a single nce, he could tell that it was an extraordinary tree.

    Nevertheless, the doors were shortly shut afterward, stopping for gazing at it further. He could only wait outside with Darlene.

    "Do you know anything about that tree inside?" Leon asks Darlene, who chose to wait outside by his side.

    She nodded and pulled Leon some distance away from the entrance to exin in a low voice, "That is Chief Valencia''s most prized possession, the Divine Demon Tree. It belongs to a really rare breed of mutated trees, capable of producing an endless amount of Darkness Profound Energy for cultivation."

    "Hmm¡­ I see."

    Leon hummed softly in thought. He could tell from a nce by the way the people were meditating below it and the strong Darkness Profound Energy emitting from the area.

    But was it really rare, though? Where could the rest of the Darkness Profound Energy on the Dark Continent being from?

    "Do you know where she got this tree from?" He inquired.

    "Hmm¡­" Darlene pondered for a moment with a frowning look before she recalled something she heard and said, "I think it was found and brought back from the Land of Darkness by Chief Valencia''s father, the previous chief."

    "The Land of Darkness, huh?" Leon softly mused.

    So, the Divine Demon Tree was procured straight from thend of demons.

    This means that there was a possibility that it was not all that rare after all¡ªit was only rare in the sense that the Darkmoon Tribe had only managed to obtain one of them.

    Leon did not ponder long before the doors to the courtyard were opened again. The little girl was seen trying to drag their mother Helen out.

    The face was unfamiliar to Leon. It was a younger face, but the aura and shape of the person were familiar to him.

    He could tell that this was his mother, Helen, who spent 12 years raising him along with his father, Brian, back in the Capital''s lower district.

    Helen was rather nervous about being suddenly dragged out by her adopted daughter, saying that they would meet her son, whom she had not seen for a while. However, when she finally saw the person, she could not help but be stunned.

    "You are¡­?" She asks hesitantly.

    The appearance was mostly the same, but the tone of her son''splexion was utterly different from her memories. He was tanned.

    Leon smiled at her and said, "What, you don''t recognize your own son anymore?"

    "Eh, well¡­ you used to be¡­ well, you know--whiter." Helen responded. after a moment, she shivered from realization and asks, "You still recognize me as your mother?"

    Leon nodded and said, "Regardless of the reasons, you did raise me for 12 years after all."

    Helen became emotional with watery eyes. She was afraid that her son would not recognize them anymore after learning the truth, but it turns out that they still have a ce in his heart.

    "This isn''t the ce to talk. Come with me." Helen wiped her eyes and spoke.

    Leon nodded and followed his mother after picking up Mia. Darlene also followed behind them, but then Helen stopped. She nced back at Darlene with doubt before turning to Leon.

    "She is¡­?"

    "My woman." Leon smiled wryly.

    "Another one?" Helen looked at her son, speechlessly for a moment before saying, "You¡­ Haiz, I don''t know what to do with you. How many more women are you nning to have?"

    "I don''t know, really. Whatever happens, happens, I guess." Leon rubbed his head, awkwardly. It was not like he nned for this to happen. It just happens.

    At this point, if Darlene had not figured out the rtionship between these two people, then she would be an idiot.

    It came as a great shock to her andpletely caught her off guard. However, quickly recovered and muster up her courage, and stepped forward.

    "H-Hello, mother. I am Darlene." She greeted nervously.

    Helen gave Darlene a careful look before she nodded, "Mm. You''re not bad."

    It was a shortment, but it was enough for Darlene to be overjoyed, surprisingly. To be acknowledged by her hubby''s mother, she could not be more relieved.

    What she did not know was that Helen was only her hubby''s adoptive mother. There were more surprises in store for her when she meets his parents.

    Nevertheless, Darlene was surprised by their previous exchanged and looked at her hubby for answers.

    "I have other women, as well. You are not the only one. Are you disappointed?" Leon admitted calmly.

    Darlene shook her head and said, "No, someone as great as hubby is bound to have many women."

    Despite saying this, there was still a hint of disappointment in her eyes. Nevertheless, she had expected this day woulde sooner orter.

    There are many warriors of both genders; there were typically fewer men than women in the tribe.

    This is because women will get pregnant and give birth in the tribe while men head out to hunt outside. They were creatures prone to doing stupid sh*t to relieve boredom and had higher chances of getting themselves killed.

    As such, it was customary for men to have many partners to bnce out the differences in gender ratios. Otherwise, many women will probably die single.

    Leon noticed Darlene''s disappointment, but he said nothing. This was something all his women had to ept. He cannot be monopolized.

    Sometimeter, they arrived in Helen''s room and sat around the round table.

    "How are you finding this ce, mother? Do you wish to return to the Human Domain? I can bring us back." Leon inquired after inspecting the simple room.

    Helen shook her head and said, "No, Mother will stay here in the Darkmoon Tribe. This ce is more to mother''s liking."

    Although Leon had already faintly guessed that his mother''s answer would be like this, he could not understand why she would prefer this dark, barren ce over the lush greennds.

    He figured that it might be due to his mother''s concerns about the threat of the Illusory Butterfly Sect and his other mother, Elizabeth. However, his mother shook his head when he brought this matter up.

    "Although thend here is fraught with dangers all around, people put in their best efforts every day to live a fulfilling life. Chief Valencia wishes to vanquish the demons and open newnds for the people to live. It is also Mother''s wish to help this person realize this dream."

    The living conditions of the Human Domain was much better than the Dark Continent. However, she spent twelves year living in hiding there.

    Meanwhile, the people here all face their life''s challenges bravely and straightforward. She wanted to cultivate her courage to live like this while doing what she can to improve their living conditions.

    "You might have also noticed this, son, but this ce also contains deep heritage pertaining to the distant past. If we can unravel the secrets of that ancient period, perhaps we can learn something about the Cataclysm." Helen continued.

    Leon was surprised.

    He did not expect his mother to have such a noble goal. However, he frowned after a moment and asked, "What should I tell father?"

    "Tell him that if he wants to stay in the Human Domain, then he can stay there. However, I will be staying here to work for my goal." Helen said. After a moment of silence, she added, "It seems that you will be going back soon. When do you n on going, son?"

    "I haven''t decided yet, but quite soon. Possibly within the next two days. I''ve been away from the Capital for some time. It''s time I head back and check on the kingdom. Everyone will probably lose their minds if I don''t go back soon." Leon answered after some thought.

    Helen nodded before asking Mia, "How about it, Mia? Would you like to stay here with your mother or go back to the Capital with your big brother?"

    Mia looked back between Leon and Helen with indecisiveness.

    She enjoyed thepany of her big brother, but she had been together with her adoptive mother longer and had grown attached. Also, she made some friends in the tribe while she had no one back in the Crawford Kingdom.

    "Mia¡­ Mia wants everyone to be together." She said with her head lowered.

    Leon rubbed the little girl''s head and said, "Just stay here with mother. It will not be a forever goodbye. Once Big Brother builds a big Teleportation Array to connect the twonds, we will be able to visit each other whenever we want."

    "Is that true?"

    Mia''s eye lit up excitedly.

    Helen was surprised by her son''s im. He waspetent. However, at the same time, she was a little concerned.

    She did not mention it to avoid making things difficult for her son, but she knew that she would never be able to get along with Queen Elizabeth and King Heinrich.

    The King and Queen can never forgive the people that took their son away from them. Thus, living in the Darkmoon Tribe was the most correct choice to make things easier between the two parties.

    The group of three began to speak about misceneous topics rting to their experiences in the past few weeks while Darlene listened quietly at the side.

    Leon took note of the time and suddenly got up.

    "It''s good to see you doing well, mother. However, it is time for Darlene and me to leave. We still have some matters to take care of."

    Helen nodded and said, "Remember to visit mother whenever you are free."

    "We will have to y another time, Mia," Leon said apologetically to the little girl. Although Mia was a bit disappointed, she was sensible enough not to make things difficult for Leon.

    "Next time then! It''s a promise!"

    After they gave each other hugs, Leon left with Darlene.

    Meanwhile, the seven Venerable Shamans and Chief Valencia were just finished gathering in the Great Hall.

    ¡­

 Chapter 422 - Transcribing Ancient Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 422 - Transcribing Ancient Techniques</h4>

    "I think the Venerable Shamans should have heard from Venerable Shaman Woodrow why we have gathered here today." Chief Valencia while looking at everyone in the Great Hall.

    The Venerable Shamans nodded.

    "Don''t waste any more time, Valencia. Let us begin immediately." Old Fjord said eagerly with his hands rubbing together.

    Chief Valencia nodded and said, "Then let us all put our collections into the center."

    After saying those words, Chief Valencia picked up the Tier 3 Interspatial Pouch attached to her waist. All the contents that she had collected from the vault earlier were shortly poured onto the ground.

    The six Venerable Shamans followed suit also poured out the ancient book collections from their Interspatial Pouches.

    In a short instance, the Great Hall''s open center was immediately filled up with a mountain of glittering and shining books and scrolls dating back to the primordial era.

    "Venerable Shamans, this is your area of expertise, so I will leave it to you all to sort these out." Chief Valencia said.

    She was not proficient in the runguage like the Venerable Shamans were due to all her time being invested into cultivating the Darkmoon Tribe''s Darkmoon Body Forging Method like a madman.

    She would not have reached the Mid-rank Battle Master Realm in her 40''s, otherwise. It was a realm where most warriors can only achieve in their senior years, typically around the age of 70 and above.

    Within enough resources, a warrior can indeed reach the Battle Master Realm much sooner, but no sooner than 60 years of age.

    Tribal chiefs are people capable of reaching the Battle Master Realm at 50 years of age, but few could reach it in their 40''s like Chief Valencia.

    Her cultivation was a testimony of the sheer effort and hard work she poured into cultivating her body.

    "Just leave it to us."

    The Venerable Shamans nodded at Chief Valencia''s words and began scouring through the mountain of ancient books and scrolls.

    Meanwhile, after Leon and Darlene left Helen''s room, they were quickly spotted by servants searching for them. Not long after that, they were brought to the Great Hall, as per the chief''s instruction.

    "Oh? Looks like I was a bitte." Leonmented while stepping into the Great Hall. The Venerable Shamans had already started reading and sorting the ancient book collections.

    Chief Valencia walked over and smiled, "Betterte than never. We''ll also be relying on Little Brother Leonhardt''s knowledge to help us sort these out."

    "Leave it to me."

    Leon nodded and strolled over to the busy Venerable Shamans to join them. Darlene followed right behind Leon before she was stopped by Chief Valencia.

    "No one else is allowed inside while Little Brother Leonhardt and Venerable Shamans are working." Chief Valencia stated after seeing Leon nced back.

    "Alright." Leon nodded and said to Darlene, "Wait for me outside."

    Darlene curtsied and followed Chief Valencia outside. The Great Hall entrance was sealed with only Leon and the seven Venerable Shamans inside shortly after.

    Leon suspected that Chief Valencia would inquire Darlene and the other servants about his previous whereabouts, but he simply shrugged.

    It did not matter.

    He shortly made his way over to the mountain of ancient books and scrolls before picking up an item carefully to inspect quietly.

    No one greeted nor spoke a word.

    Everyone was focused on tranting the runic texts in their hands before making mental notes of it. It was clear that everyone was used to working alone.

    Leon felt that this work efficiency was rtively low.

    "Everyone, I have something to say." Leon suddenly said while closing the ancient book in his hand. It was already scanned and recorded in the [Archive] without anyone noticing it.

    The Venerable Shamans shortly turned Leon with furrowed brows, displeased by his interruption of their thought processes.

    "Oh? Little Brother Leonhardt. You''re here. When did you arrive?" Master Woodrow greeted, followed Old Tailor asking, "What do you want to say, young friend?"

    Only Old Tailor and Master Woodrow greeted him warmly.

    "I''ve just arrived." Leon smiled to Master Woodrow before turning to the others and said, "I can see that everyone is used to working at their own pace. However, it will take forever to get through this mountain of books at this pace."

    Old Tinker frowned and said, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

    "Naturally, we need tomunicate. For example, this book in my hand is called the [Moon God''s Cascading Steps], second volume. I know this, but do you all know this if I did not say so? What happens if someone finds the first volume but does not inform me? I would be wasting time searching for it in the pile."

    "My suggestion is we stick a piece of paper on each of these books with their transcribed names and call it out after we are done. That way, we would know when someone else has the following volumes under the same name." Leon stated.

    The Venerable Shamans began pondering his words with an understanding look. Their eyes widened slightly as they realized their current method was truly rigid and inefficient.

    "Little Brother Leonhardt here offered an excellent suggestion. Let us follow his suggestion, shall we?" Old Hammer said to the other five Venerable Shamans.

    The six quickly reached a unanimous agreement.

    Sometimeter, a few servants brought in stacks of paper and ink brushes for the Venerable Shamans to write on as they were instructed.

    Leon and the Venerable Shamans quickly divided the items amongst themselves before getting back to transcribing the names of book and scroll.

    The Darkmoon Tribe''s ink and paper were not well developed. The paper was not white like the paper used in the Crawford Kingdom, but brown.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not care about this and cut the big sheets of paper into small slips.

    He grabbed a new ancient book and transcribed its name on the brown slip before saying, "Big Dipper Fist, first volume."

    No onemented.

    Thus, Leon ced the [Big Dipper Fist] First volume on an empty spot on the ground away from the big pile. Of course, he did not forget to scan the book and record it in the [Archive] covertly while he was holding it.

    He proceeded to pick up another ancient book to transcribe.

    On average, it took the Venerable Shamans three minutes to transcribe each book''s name, while it only took Leon thirty seconds.

    "Nirvana Heaven Finger Art, fifth volume."

    "Ode of the Ice Phoenix, second volume."

    "Divine Soul Mantra, ninth volume."

    "Breath of the Dragon God Technique, first volume."

    "Fire Emperor Blood Refining Method, third volume."

    "Dragon God Bone Forging Method, first volume."

    One by one, the books and scrolls had their titles written down and recorded. All manners of cultivations techniques for the soul, energy, and body were recorded down.

    Lawprehension methods, breathing techniques, battle skills, and even weapon art; the pile contained a broad range of focus.

    However, the broader the techniques, the less likely theirplete volumes would be found in the big pile of ancient book collections.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not lose heart and took the opportunity to record everything into the [Archive]. So long as he possesses the first volumes, the practice of the said method can bemenced.

    "Earth God Heavy Sword Art, first volume."

    "White Monarch Divine Eye Technique, first volume."

    "Dragon God Inferno Heaven, third volume."

    "Overlord Spear Art, first volume."

    "Demon God Bone Refining Method, second volume."

    "Evesting Blood Mantra, first volume."

    "Dragon God Bone Forging Method, second volume."

    As the Venerable Shamans continued to call out one name after the other, few names began to ovep. At the same time, they were startled by the few demonic methods found in the midst.

    Leon''s eyes narrowed on a few methods listed.

    [Overlord Spear Art.]

    [Evesting Blood Mantra.]

    [Dragon God Bone Forging Method.]

    The Overlord Spear Art; he had already obtained the second volume during his trip to Master Woodrow''s Fragrant Tea Abode. Now that there was also the first volume, he can start practicing the technique all the way to the second volume!

    [Evesting Blood Mantra.]

    He has also obtained this method previously. Unfortunately, it was the third volume. He was still missing the second volume. Nevertheless, he can start cultivating the first volume if he chooses.

    However, he was not in a rush.

    He can decide after finding all his possible options. [Evesting Blood Mantra] might not be the best method for him, nor the most powerful method there was.

    It was also a dual technique of energy cultivation and blood refining method. This might conflict with Leon''s own energy cultivation method when he resumes energy cultivation.

    [Dragon God Bone Forging Method.]

    This method particrly sparked Leon''s interest.

    Dragons had always been viewed as revered and extremely powerful existences. For there to be a dragon god, it could be said to be the dragon among dragons.

    ''Is this a method specifically designed for the dragon race? Or can humans also practice this method? If possible, can humans really have dragon bones?''

    Leon pondered silently.

 Chapter 423 - Strong Dragon Heritage

    <h4>Chapter 423 - Strong Dragon Heritage</h4>

    Things were getting quite interesting.

    The number of cultivation methods rting to dragons showing up was much more frequent than any other ancient heritage. Leon found this surprising.

    Why was there a richer dragon heritage? Would there also be dragon carcasses hidden somewhere?

    [Breath of the Dragon God Technique.]

    [Dragon God Bone Forging Method.]

    [Dragon God Inferno Heaven.]

    The Venerable Shamans called out the names of cultivation techniques and battle skills every two minutes or so. The Dragon God Bone Forging Method had already been matched with its two volumes, while the others were still on a single volume.

    Nevertheless, more dragon-rted methods continue to appear more frequently amidst other methods over time.

    "Roar of the Dragon King, first volume."

    "Draconic Ruler of the Sky, second volume."

    "Divine Empyrean Sutra, sixth volume."

    "Fiery Dance of the Dragon King, seventh volume."

    "ck Turtle Heavenly Guard, third volume."

    "Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method, fourth volume."

    The Venerable Shamans spoke consecutively. Leon widened his eyes after hearing a familiar name within the series.

    [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard]!

    Nevertheless, he already had theplete version memorized after being taught by Maya. He was simply surprised to hear it elsewhere; nothing more, and nothing less.

    The [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method] interested Leon greatly, for no other reason than it being a body forging method for consolidating the viscera.

    ording to the five phases of body forging mentioned within the [Godfiend Body Forging Method], consolidating the viscera was most important after flesh tempering, especially when living on the Dark Continent.

    Consolidating the viscera has the benefit of fortifying the inner body, increasing one''s lifespan, and granting heightened immunity against poison and diseases, leading to a healthy, strong body.

    If Leon canplete the consolidating viscera phase, he would not have to worry about contracting any strange diseases from the Dark Continent and even drink poison as he wishes.

    He might be hailed as a Divine Doctor and possess the method to all cures, but he was only as good as the medicine allowing him to be. If he contracted something only Tier 4 medicine and above can cure, then he would be screwed.

    After the consolidating viscera phase,es the bone forging phase. Bone forging leads to explosive growth in strength and inner body fortification after viscera consolidation, eliminating the final weakness in one''s defense.

    The blood refining phasees next. Refining the blood leads to explosive improvement in one''s speed, regenerative capabilities, and stamina.

    If one had powerful blood, it was possible to never know exhaustion in battle, fighting forever until they suffer a fatal blow that cannot be recovered by their blood''s regenerative capability.

    The final phase was the most challenging phase within Body Cultivation, the cleansing marrow stage. The marrow cleansing heightens new blood productivity, granting more outstanding regenerative capabilities and an explosive increase in one''s lifespan.

    It was not farfetched to say that one can be near-immortal afterpleting the cleansing marrow phase. They will recover from any non-fatal injuries, including damages to the organs.

    As long as the organs are not removed or utterly destroyed, they can be recovered to a perfect state even if they are damaged beyond recognition.

    Generally, there is no order topleting the five phases. Any phase can be first orst, depending on the Body Cultivator''s choice.

    However, the cleansing marrow is usually left forst, even thoughpleting the body forging phase would increase the difficulty of cleansing the marrow.

    This is because Body Cultivators prioritize strength and defense above all else. Without strength, one would only be bullied to death by stronger opponents. On the other hand, if their defense is strong, they would not get hurt and need to heal in the first ce.

    Cleansing marrow would only be a priority when they are running low on lifespan.

    ¡­

    While Leon and the six Venerable Shamans were transcribing in the Great Hall, things were getting heated in the Crimsonfog Tribe.

    The Crimsonfog Tribe was simrly founded on ate rocky teau.

    At the tribe''s center, where the colossal amphitheater was constructed, thousands of tribesmen gathered to watch two warriors battle on the Battle Arena.

    One was the new chief, while the other was his challenger. Both were Extremity-rank Great Warriors of equal strength.

    "Are you sure you want to do this? You can still choose to forfeit and give up now. Otherwise, neither of us will end well." The new chief, cktooth spoke.

    The Battle Arena had no rules in fighting other than the fact that there can be no outside interference.

    Due to injuries and even death wasmonce in the Battle Arena, both sides are free to employ whatever methods they wish.

    The challenger pointed his Soul Weapon at the new chief and barked, "Less nonsense and let us fight! A morallycking person like you will never be fit to be the tribe''s chief!"

    "And you are? You''re not better than I am!" cktooth sneered.

    The challenger''s face darkened. He said with a deep tone, "What are you trying to say?!"

    "Don''t think that just because you are acting righteously that you will fool me! I know you wanted to be chief just as badly! However, you are more insidiously than I am! You waited for me to challenge Chief Baskara first and gather the tribe''s hatred before you challenge me! You are just a hypocritic! At least I am upfront in my actions!" cktooth said contemptuously.

    The thousands of tribesmen in the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves while pointing fingers in the challenger''s direction. All sorts of disdainful remarks and jeers were hurled at him.

    The challenger''s face immediately flushed red with both rage and embarrassment before he roared, "You are talking nonsense! You are just trying to drag my reputation down with you!"

    "Am I? Considering how quick you showed up to challenge me, you were definitely hiding nearby for the opportunity! Or am I wrong? Do you dare say that you weren''t?!" cktooth used.

    The challenger was immediately livid. He had no way to refute because that had indeed been the case. He would be seen as someone untrustworthy if he denied it while admitting it would get him scorned.

    Neither of the choices benefited him!

    "Go, die!"

    The challenger immediately lunged at cktooth with his Soul Weapon, an insidious-looking ck scythe made of bones!

    cktooth''s gaze turned solemn.

    He received the attack with his own Soul Weapon, arge, heavy sword made of bizarre red bones. It looked like crystals but felt like cold metal.

    Boom!

    The two exchanged blows with equal strength and repelled each back severalrge steps on the Battle Arena. Despite the fact that their strengths wereparable, the challenger ended up taking a single step further than cktooth.

    Evidently, cktooth had a more robust foundation¡ªor rather, his body was more formidable due to refining other areas in his body that were not covered by their tribe''s body forging method.

    "Impossible! I don''t believe you are stronger than me!"

    The two people began to lunge at each other to exchange another round of blows. At the same time, the crowds were cheering loudly!

    A small group cheered for the new chief, while another small group cheered for the challenger. However, the most significant portion of the crowd was actually cheering for both sides to f*ck each other up!

    That''s right!

    Once the two warriors are grievously wounded and exhausted, another person will step up to challenge the winner regardless of who won!

    Not many had the galls to be the first to slight Chief Baskara.

    However, once someonemitted the deed, everyone would not mind joining in and having a crack at bing chief, even if it is only for one day!

    On the Battle Arena, the two Extremity-rank Great continue to fight. Sparks emitted from their sh of Soul Weapons.

    After exchanging dozens of strikes, shallow wounds began appearing on both their bodies. Once injuries urred, it starts bing more frequent!

    Even so, both Extremity-rank Great Warriors were veteran fighters. Despite going at each other''s necks, they were able to avoid lethal blows, albeit narrowly.

    Suddenly, the situation changed drastically.

    cktooth kicked the scythe-type Soul Weapon out of the challenger''s grasp from an uncanny angle!

    At the same time, the challenger''s expression plummeted and immediately broke past cktooth''s guard and grappled him, putting him into a chokehold from behind!

    Shortly after that, the heavy sword-type Soul Weapon was also kicked away from cktooth''s grasp while they tussled in close quarters!

    Both Soul Weapons flew into the out-of-bound area outside Battle Arena, bing usable for their ensuing battle. Stepping outside the Battle Arena was an automatic forfeit!

    "Argh! You sneaky bastard!" cktooth roared after the other Extremity-rank Great Warrior jabbed at his open wounds.

    He immediately delivered a punch to the person''s face, resulting in a swollen ck eye. Afterward, they began targeting each other''s faces and wounds alternatively.

    A victor was not decided until both contestants had their bodies battered with bruises and their faces swelled like pigs. They were both beaten ck and blue.

    In the end, the challenger lost in a contest of stamina.

    After his strength was exhausted, cktooth took the chance to kick the person out of the Battle Arena. He spat an arrow of blood before wiping his mouth and raising his hand victoriously to the crowd.

    However!

    There were no cheers. Just hundreds of challenge requests from both Peak-rank Great Warriors and other Extremity-rank Great Warriors!

    "I want to challenge you, cktooth!"

    "No, I challenged him first!"

    "Piss off! I did!"

    Listening to their challenge requests, cktooth snorted, "I''ve alreadypleted mypulsory challenge! I don''t need to ept any more challenges for the day. Come back and try again another day if you want to challenge me!"

    "Hmph!"

    cktooth dragged his battered body and left the Battle Arena amidst the crowd''s jeers and taunts. He paid no need to it.

    Now that he was chief, he needed to make every second count and cultivate all he can with the resources reserved for chiefs!

 Chapter 424 - Depart For Darkmoon

    <h4>Chapter 424 - Depart For Darkmoon</h4>

    Within the crowds gathered at the Crimsonfog Tribe''s colossal amphitheater, there were senior warriors among them. These people were all elderly warriors with at least 70 years to their age. Not only that; they are all Battle Masters!

    Senior warriors were warriors who shattered their cores and retired from the warrior career. Not all senior warriors were Battle Masters, and even less were lucky enough to be Shamans.

    At this moment, they were simply watching everything unfold calmly. It was not that they were not interested in the chief position, but the fact that they had no right topete for it. Warriors with shattered cores like them were no longer eligible for the position.

    After cktooth collected his heavy sword-type Soul Weapon and left the area, the hype did not die down. Extremity-rank Great Warriors began challenging Extremity-rank Greater Warriors, and Peak-rank Great Warriors began challenging Peak-rank Great Warriors.

    They knew that the Extremity-rank Great Warrior, cktooth, would only ept challenges once a day to try and keep his chief position for as long as possible.

    As such, they had to beat down the other keen challengers to reduce theirpetitors.

    "The nature of humans is quite ugly, but this kind of situation is not bad. Competitions like this will push these young warriors to work harder and grow faster. Our tribe will be stronger collectively as a result." Said a senior warrior.

    Another senior warrior nodded in agreement before disagreeing, "However, that is only if thepetition continues to be friendly and not take it too far. Crippling injuries and death will weaken our tribe instead."

    "That is also true."

    A senior warrior shortly stood up from his stone seat and barked towards the Battle Arena, "You brats better keep it friendly and not go too far! If I see you¡ª"

    "Alright, that''s enough words." Another senior warrior pulled the person back down to his seat and said, "The younger generation knows what to do and not to do. If you try to control them too much, it will limit their growth instead."

    "I guess you are right." The person said after some thought and no longer instructed thepeting warriors.

    Outside the colossal amphitheater, cktooth made his way directly to the chief pce. However, he bumped into a Venerable Shaman before reaching it.

    "One-Eyed Venerable Shaman." cktooth greeted before inquiring hesitantly, "Are you going to stop me from entering the pce?"

    "Me? No. I am here to inform you that Chief Valencia has initiated a summit summoning to discuss an important matter. It will be held seven dayster at their Darkmoon Tribe, and I suggest that you attend it to figure out what is going on." The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said calmly.

    cktooth was shortly stunned by the Venerable Shaman''s words before he quickly became overjoyed. Was this not the perfect excuse to get away from the tribe and avoid the challengers without forfeiting by default?

    "If I decide to go, will the One-Eye Venerable Shaman also help me attend it? My strength is still inadequate. I''m afraid that I will lose face for the Crimsonfog Tribe if I attend alone." cktooth said sneakily.

    He was just an Extremity-rank Great Warrior. He definitely had to bring at least one of the Venerable Shamans with him to face the other Battle Master chiefs calmly.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman pondered for a moment before he agreed, "Alright. I wille with you. When do you n to set out?"

    "How about we leave right away after I grab some stuff from the pce?" Chief cktooth suggested.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s expression immediately darkened as he understood the person''s intention. Nevertheless, he had to praise the person for his craftiness. At least this person knows how to maximize his benefits.

    "Alright. I will wait here. Go quickly!" The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman urged.

    He did not stop cktooth from ransacking the pce. This was his right as the new chief. Everything in the pce belongs to the chief.

    cktooth nodded excitedly and said, "Thank you, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman!"

    He immediately rushed into the pce.

    There were beautiful servants left and right, and even some of Chief Baskara''s women were spotted. They were gorgeous beyond belief, and cktooth gazed at them covetously.

    Nevertheless, he knew his limits. If he touched Chief Baskara''s women, he would be doomed when the person recovers from hisa.

    cktooth ignored the women and headed to the treasure vault. The moment he entered, his eyes lit up with greed.

    ''Truly worthy of being called the treasure vault. This ce is brimming with treasures!'' cktooth eximed in his mind.

    Dark Crystals littered the ce with several other items mixed in the lot. Boxes contained rare and exotic medicinal herbs from different regions, high-quality Soul Weapons, Enchanted Equipment, Enchanted essories, and numerous ancient books collected from the Land of Darkness.

    None of the Soul Weapons, Enchanted Equipment, and Enchanted essories ced in the treasure vault were below Tier 4. There were dozens of Tier 4 items, while Tier 5 items were fewer but still present.

    When cktooth gazed at these high-quality items then nced at his own set of Tier 3 equipment, he felt like he was wearing pieces of trash.

    He immediately switched out for the Tier 5 heavy sword-type Soul Weapon and grabbed some of Tier 4 to Tier 5 Enchanted Equipment.

    Afterward, he found a higher quality Interspatial Pouch and filled it up with Dark Crystals. He did not take too much nor too little¡ªabout 50-thousand Dark Crystals; enough tost him a long while.

    Sometimeter, he reappeared before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman with a satisfied look and said, "Let us go now, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman."

    "Not yet. You cannot go yet." The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated with a solemn tone.

    cktooth was taken aback and asked, "Why not?"

    "You need to inform the tribe of your departure and reason, then arrange for the tribe to self-manage themselves during your absence. Do you think you can just leave irresponsibly without a word ormitment to your tribe? Being a chief is not a simple task."

    "Eh, you''re right, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman. I was inconsiderate just now. I will go inform the tribe now." cktooth wiped his sweat under the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s pressurizing gaze.

    Shortly after, he returned to the colossal amphitheater, where most tribesmen were gathered to make his announcement.

    After the tribesmen learned about the summit summoning, many tribesmen immediately voiced their eagerness to apany cktooth on the trip to the Darkmoon Tribe.

    Of course, all the Peak-rank Great Warriors and Extremity-rank Great Warriors volunteered so they can challenge cktooth the following day at the Darkmoon Tribe''s Battle Arena when they arrive there.

    cktooth naturally rejected them all, but at the same time, he could not just bring no one except himself and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman on the trip.

    As such, he epted some Early-rank to Mid-rank Great Warriors along with a few dozen young Peak-rank Warriors to apany him to the Darkmoon Tribe for the experience.

    The group of roughly fifty tribesmen quickly made preparations for their departure after they were selected.

    Sometimeter, everyone gathered outside the gates of the Crimsonfog Tribe.

    The One-Eye Venerable Shaman faced the other few Venerable Shamans seeing him off, and said, "Watch over the tribe while we are gone."

    "Naturally." One the Venerable Shaman said before asking, "Do you really need to leave now? The Darkmoon Tribe is only a day''s journey away, while the summit is seven days from now. There is no point arriving so early."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately shook his head and disagreed with the Venerable Shaman''s words. While it was true that they were leaving due to Chief cktooth''s selfishness, there merits to arriving early at the Darkmoon Tribe.

    "There is a point, actually. Considering the severity of Chief Valencia''s tone in the voice transmission, I doubt that she is just an rmist. It will do us good to learn about the potential threat as soon as possible. That way, we will be more prepared for what is toe." The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said.

    "Also, it''s a good chance for our people to interact with other tribes and strengthen the rtionship between the tribes in the alliance. If there truly is a problem threatening the Seven Tribes Alliance, unity will be the key to our survival."

    The Venerable Shaman nodded with an understanding look.

    "What you said makes a lot of sense. In that case, I think it will be good to bring these people along. Sonia is young, but her understanding of the runguage even puts me to shame. She will be useful for discussing matters rting to this topic with the Darkmoon Tribe''s experts. As for these other three gents, perhaps the Darkmoon Tribe will have a method to remove their Exploding Secret Rune." The Venerable Shaman said.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman gazed with surprise at Ironfist and the other two Extremity-rank Great Warrior that recently defected to their tribe.

    "It seems you have already had your own considerations. Alright, I bring them along." The One-Eyed Venerable agreed. Shortly after, he turned to Chief cktooth and asked, "That won''t be a problem, right?"

    cktooth looked at the three Extremity-rank Great Warrior with apprehension. It seemed like he did not really have a choice but to bring them along.

    "There won''t be any problem¡­" He said hesitantly.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded approvingly and said, "Good. Let us be on our way then."

    The group shortly departed for the Darkmoon Tribe.

    Along the way, Ironfist walked up to cktooth and said, "Don''t worry, I am not interested in challenging you for the chief position. The other two are also of the same opinion as me¡­ So, you can rest assured."

 Chapter 425 - Truth Behind The Slumbering Battle Kings

    <h4>Chapter 425 - Truth Behind The Slumbering Battle Kings</h4>

    Ironfist and the other two Extremity-rank Great Warriors were naturally self-aware of their own strengths and positions.

    The chief position might be really appealing, but it was not worth offending everyone for it. The short-term benefits were not worth the price in the long term.

    Once Chief Baskara recovers from hisa, Ironfist can expect many naughty kids to be spanked.

    ¡­

    Darkmoon Tribe, Great Hall.

    Leon and the six Venerable Shamans continued to transcribe the ancient book collection. Much more dragon-rted heritage began to appear so frequently that they were allocated their own section in the Great Hall to be ced.

    Of course, the one who volunteered to move the dragon-rted books was Leon. And he did so shamelessly with an honest look, saying that the young had more energy and should naturally work harder when in truth, he was just scanning a copy of everything in the [Archive].

    "Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method, first volume."

    "Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method, second volume."

    "Divine Empyrean Sutra, second volume."

    "Roar of the Dragon King, third volume."

    "Star God''s Finger Art, second volume."

    "Devil Emperor''s Tome of Darkness, fourth volume."

    Leon continued to hear dragon this and dragon that from the Venerable Shamans.

    At the rate that they were going through the piles of ancient heritages, he estimated that there would at least be fivepleted volumes of techniques rting to dragons by the time they are done with it.

    Dragon heritage aside, other techniques began making recurring appearances, such as the Star God''s Finger Art, Divine Empyrean Sutra, and Devil Emperor''s Tome of Darkness.

    "Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity, first volume."

    "Archaic Flesh Refining Technique, second volume."

    "Evesting Blood Mantra, second volume."

    "Indestructible Bone Transformation Method, fourth volume."

    At this point, Leon has heard at least one body forging method for each of the five phases pertaining to Body Cultivation. However, there did not seem to be a technique rting to tempering muscles and meridians.

    This is because muscle tempering was included in the tempering flesh phase, while meridians were part of the consolidating viscera phase.

    When Leon understood this point, he was relieved that he did not cultivate incorrectly when he tempered his meridians.

    Nevertheless, it seemed that his meridians would undergo another round of tempering after he obtains a suitable consolidating viscera method.

    Two hours quickly passed in the blink of an eye before Leon, and the six Venerable Shamans sorted out the mountain of ancient heritage, containing hundreds of books.

    Each technique, method, and battle skills were neatly arranged into their own separate stack on the ground.

    Not everything was techniques, methods, and battle skills. There were also a few diaries, maps, and even letters. These were ced in a misceneous section in the corner of the hall.

    "Haiz, let us divide these books into two groups; theplete volumes and the iplete volumes." Old Tailor said with a sigh.

    Master Woodrow raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why do you sigh, Old Tailor? We are making good progress right now."

    "Haiz¡­" Old Tailor shook his head and sighed again. After he cracked his stiff neck and said, "Maybe I am getting old. I''m getting a bit tired. It took us nearly two houses to transcribing the titles on these things. However, each title is only a few runic characters long. Can you imagine how long it will take us to trante the entire texts in each of them?"

    "Each of these books contains at least hundreds to thousands of runic characters. I''m afraid it will take us a long while to finish tranting them all." Old Hammer said with a startled expression.

    "A year at the very least, I''d say." Master Woodrowmented.

    "But this only if we are trying to trante everything. We just need to focus on one at a time. However, what do we focus on is the question. Do we work on the cultivation methods of ancient times, or do we work on the misceneous items and learn about our ancient past?"

    "What does everyone think?" Old Tailor asked.

    When this question was raised, everyone was immediately in favor of tranting one of the ancient cultivation methods over learning history.

    Learning history would satisfy their curiosity, but the ancient cultivation methods could improve the [Darkmoon Body Forging Method] and strengthen their tribe.

    "How about you, Little Brother Leonhardt?" Master Woodrow turned to Leon, who did not insert an opinion.

    "Me? I''m equally interested in both. I do not mind what we focus on." Leon said wryly. In truth, it did not care too much what the Venerable Shamans decided. He had taken his chance to scan everything he could.

    "Fair enough."

    Master Woodrow did not ask further.

    The six Venerable Shamans gathered around to discuss which method to trante. There were numerous grand and imposing names, but they had to choose carefully.

    The [Darkmoon Body Forging Method] was created after the Darkmoon Tribe''s ancestor gain inspiration for several individual volumes of different techniques.

    There were traces of energy cultivation and body forging methods pertaining to the consolidating viscera, forging bone, and tempering flesh phases within the [Darkmoon Body Forging Method].

    While Leon listened to the Venerable Shamans discuss which techniques would best help them improve the [Darkmoon Body Forging Method], he gained a clearer understanding of the Darkmoon Tribe''s body forging method.

    It seemed that the Darkmoon Tribe''s ancestors were aware that the godly techniques from ancient times cannot be practiced precisely as they were described due to the absence of Grandmist Energy.

    As such, they took into ount the abundance of Darkness Profound Energy in the Dark Continent when they created the [Darkmoon Body Forging Method].

    Even so, the [Darkmoon Body Forging Method] was not without its ws. It did not include the refining blood and cleansing marrow phase.

    Furthermore, the consolidating viscera and tempering flesh phase were also shallow. Only the forging bone phase had great emphasis within the [Darkmoon Body Forging Method].

    From this, Leon could see that while the Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors could gain incredible strength from practicing the [Darkmoon Body Forging Method], their defense was not high like demonic beasts, nor did they enjoy longer lifespans.

    ''Most likely, warriors practicing the [Darkmoon Body Forging Method] do not live past 150 years. However, the Darkmoon Tribe still have two Battle King Ancestors that have lived a few hundred years¡­ It seems they were put into a deep sleep in the Catbs to preserve their diminished lifespans.''

    Leon quietly pondered.

    Deep sleep was not enough to stop the body from aging. There had to be deeper secrets hidden within the Catbs that allowed the Battle King Ancestors to preserve their diminished lifespans.

    ''So, the reason the Darkmoon Tribe is reluctant to rely on their Battle King Ancestors is that the Battle King Ancestors will eventually exhaust their lifespans and die after waking up¡­''

    The Battle Kings are the ultimate trump cards and fighting force of every tribe. Once they are gone, it is tough to recover from the loss due to the difficulty of reaching the Battle King Realm.

    Suddenly, Leon recalled the story of the ckwind Tribe''s internal conflict.

    ''I supposed the ckwind Tribe''s Battle King Ancestors were not stupid to the point of fighting to the death and kill each other off. It seems the truth of the matter was that they died after exhausting their already diminishing lifespans.''

    Leon understood.

    Sometimeter, the Venerable Shamans finally settled their decision on the [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method]. This method had seven volumes, enough for everyone to work on a part each if they include Leonhardt.

    Leon understood why they chose this method.

    The consolidating viscera method could increase one''s lifespan. However, he was not so sure if this would help much for the Battle King Ancestor''s already depleted lifespans with one foot in the coffins.

    Their body is aged, and their organs are already failing. Even if the technique sessfully injects more lifespan into them, it would only be a small fractionpared to what younger warriors would enjoy if they practice it.

    Furthermore, Darkness Profound Energy was ill-suited for the human body. Perhaps, it would shave away more life than it would give.

    If the Venerable Shamans'' goal were to extend the lives of the Battle King Ancestors, miracle life-extending elixirs and pills would do a better job.

    If they aim to produce new Battle Kings, they should work on the energy cultivation aspect instead. Greater control over their energy core will reduce the chance of getting corrupted by Demonic Energy and undergoing Demon Possession.

    In the end, these were just Leon''s voiceless opinions. Even if he mentioned it, it was not like they could switch to a different energy source for Body Cultivation.

    Darkness Profound Energy was still the core of their practice.

    Momentster, they packed everything back into the Interspatial Pouches and headed outside, where Darlene and Chief Valencia waited with some servants guarding the entrance.

    "How did it go?" Chief Valencia asked.

    Old Tailor shook his head and said, "We''ve made some progress, but we still have a long way to go before we can produce something useful. Keep these locked away safely in the vault, Valencia."

    Old Tailor proceeded to pass all the Interspatial Pouches to Chief Valencia. She was surprised by this, but after the Venerable Shamans informed her of the reason, she nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon bid his leave and took Darlene to fetch the six female servants before heading back to the Barrenrock Courtyard together.

    Leon was eager to find some time alone to browse the new contents in the [Archive].

 Chapter 426 - The Consolidating Viscera Methods

    <h4>Chapter 426 - The Consolidating Viscera Methods</h4>

    After the six female servants were brought back to the Barrenrock Courtyard, they stuck close to each other while looking at Darlene and Leon with nervous expressions.

    Chief Valencia had informed them that they would be serving a different master, but they did not know why the chief would just give them away like this. However, they seemed to have faintly guessed something after seeing Darlene close to their new master.

    "There''s plenty of rooms, so feel free to go help your sisters settle down. I will be meditating for a bit." Leon said to Darlene.

    "Alright."

    After Darlene nodded, Leon entered his room and closed the door before sitting on the bed and sending his consciousness into the [Archive].

    Outside, the six female servants gazed at Darlene with doubt and suspicions. She was not the same person she was before. There was a subtle yet confident aura surrounding her.

    "Do you know what is going on, Darlene? Why did the chief give us to Young Master Leonhardt? Was this really your doing?" One of the pretty female servants asked.

    "That''s right." Darlene admitted, "I wanted for us to be together again, so I mentioned my wish to Young Master Leonhardt¡ª"

    "How can you do that to us, Darlene? I thought we were close like sisters."

    "Yeah! We were doing just fine, serving under Chief Valencia. Why did you drag us down with you?"

    The female servants began using her with a look of betrayal.

    "I didn''t¡ª" Darlene wanted to correct them, but she was interrupted.

    "The Young Master also secretly look down on useless people like us who cannot cultivate, right? Everyone is like that!"

    "What has the Young Master done to you? Does he treat you like a ything? Is he going force himself on us and shame us like that too?"

    "You''re no longer chaste, are you? Ah, why did you do this to us, Darlene? Just why?"

    "We are already lowly servants. We don''t have anything except our beauty and chastity. If we lose our chastity, who would still want us? How can we still hope to find our future man, who would treat us right?"

    "What was it like, Darlene? Was the Young Master rough? Did he ravage you like an animal?"

    The female servants continued to question her with despairing looks. Darlene wanted to interrupt them several times, but she was not given a chance.

    Although she understood the reason for their misunderstanding, she still did not like to hear them bad-mouthing her hubby. It made her frustrated and angry.

    "That is enough, everyone! You''re all overthinking it! It''s not like that!" Darlene shouted angrily.

    At the same time, the space around her began to warp and twist out of shapes. On the ground, the twigs were seen snapping, and the peddles cracking.

    The six female servants all retreated in fear and stared at Darlene in shock and iprehensibility of the phenomenon.

    After a moment, the spatial distortion disappeared as if nothing had happened. However, the snapped twigs and cracked peddles on the ground were proof that something had indeed happened.

    "Darlene¡­ what was that just now? Did you do that?" One of the female servants asked.

    Darlene nodded and said, "This is the result of Young Master Leonhardt teaching me how to cultivate. People with the Void Body like us are able to cultivate, and we are definitely not useless!"

    The six female servants stare at Darlene with wide eyes, shocked and dumbfounded by the revtion. It seemed to have shattered their belief regarding people gued with Void Bodies.

    "I guess you have been holed up in the pce and have not heard the rumors spreading around the tribe. Everyone is talking about it now. You would know if you just go around and ask them about it." Darlene said to them.

    "¡­Can you show us again, Darlene?" A female servant called Tia asked expectantly with a gulping expression.

    "Alright."

    Darlene quickly agreed.

    After a few rounds of demonstrating the spatial ability, the six female servants concluded that Darlene''s power was real¡ªthat their eyes were not ying tricks on them. The realization made them stare at Darlene in awe.

    Seeing the shock and awe in her sisters'' eyes, Darlene felt jittery and excited inside. She was filled with a sense of satisfaction and became smug.

    "What kind of ability is this? How are you doing it, Darlene? What does it feel like? Will the Young Master also teach how to use this ability?" Another female servant inquired with excitement. Her name was Chana.

    The other female servants also looked at Darlene eagerly, awaiting her answer. The previous apprehension in their heart was burned away by a fiery hope for the future¡ªthe future of cultivating!

    Darlene curled her lips with amusement before saying, "ording to Young Master Leonhardt, this spatial ability is supposedly inherent in people like us¡ªpeople who possess the Void Body. This power lies dormant in all of us. We just must look inside ourselves and tap into it. It won''t work if you do not believe in yourself."

    Shortly after, Darlene could see all sorts of flustered and constipated expression on her sisters. At the same time, they performed strange andical gestures to copy the same spatial ability she demonstrated earlier.

    "Pft!"

    She gave a suppressedugh.

    "Why isn''t it working? Are you making fun of us, Darlene?" Siennained unhappily with a small blush, embarrassed by her previous actions. She must have looked like a fool in Darlene''s eyes.

    Tia and the others also started to throw usive gazes at Darlene.

    Darlene waved her hands in denial while giggling, "Hahaha, don''t look at me like that. Do you think it was easy to control this ability? The Young Master tied me to a stake and threw rocks at me mercilessly before I could use this ability! I couldn''t even follow the rocks and thought it was my life shing before my eyes!"

    "Is that so?" Tia asked for confirmation. She shook her head shortly and requested with determination, "Please tie me to a stake and throw rocks at me too, Darlene! I want to be able to use this ability like you!"

    "Let''s leave that forter. Come, I''ll show you all to your rooms!" Darlene said with a smile and gestured for them to follow her.

    The six female servants did not carry much on their body¡ªjust a thin leather bag with a few sets of clothes. After they settled their stuff down into their new rooms, they quickly regathered back outside, in the courtyard.

    Seeing her sisters so eager to learn from her, she felt like she has be the group''s eldest sister. Her hubby once said that there was no issue with other people knowing about her spatial ability; thus, it should not be a problem for her to teach her sisters.

    "There''s six of you. How about you split into teams of two and practice with each other? There''s already one stake in the ground, so we just need to stick another two in the ground and find some ropes." Darlene suggested.

    Tia and the others quickly agreed and began busying themselves. They did not bother Darlene further and relied on themselves to find the materials.

    Meanwhile, Leon was browsing through the [Archive] inside the Divine Book of Life''s Whitespace. Everything had already been tranted without Leon requesting Maya''s help.

    Maya was considerate enough to do it without being asked. At that moment, she was still lying on top of the book mountain in the Worldspace.

    A holographic copy of an Old God''s diary could be seen floating in the air in front of Maya''s face. The pages flipped from time to time as Maya enjoyed her time reading the diary slowly.

    Leon used the [Archive]''s feature to filter through the hundreds of new books with his mind to show only a specific type of category.

    [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method] (Seven volumes;plete)

    [Star God Consolidating Viscera Method] (Seven volumes;plete)

    [Moon God Consolidating Viscera Method] (Seven volumes;plete)

    [Ice Phoenix Consolidating Viscera Method] (Five volumes; iplete)

    [Void God Consolidating Viscera Method] (Five volumes; iplete)

    [Devil Emperor Consolidating Viscera Method] (Three volumes; iplete)

    [Demon King Consolidating Viscera Method] (Two volumes; iplete)

    ¡­

    A whole list of body forging methods for the consolidating viscera phase was shown to Leon. There were quite a few on the list. However, only three methods contained thepleted volumes.

    [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method]

    [Star God Consolidating Viscera Method]

    [Moon God Consolidating Viscera Method]

    "Just these three, huh?" Leon mused for a moment before deciding, "Let''s take a look at this one first."

    He reached out and selected the golden books containing the title ''Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method.'' It sounded like the most powerful of the three methods.

    Nevertheless, he was not in a rush to practice it. He was going to read the other two methods after, before he decides to pick out the most suitable method for him to practice.

    He only picked the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method first because it was the one that interested him most by just the title alone.

 Chapter 427 - A Courtyard Tragedy

    <h4>Chapter 427 - A Courtyard Tragedy</h4>

    [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method]

    As the name implied, it was a body forging method rting to the Dragon God. The seven volumes contained detailed information regarding the first two realms of Body Cultivation: The Body Tempering Realm and the Body Transformation Realm.

    The first two volumes focus on two areas within the Body Tempering Realm: The viscera containing the five major organs and the meridians.

    Thest five volumes of the Body Transformation Realm focus on the five major organs of the body; the heart, spleen, lung, kidney, and liver. Each volume was dedicated solely to one of these five organs.

    Leon found with surprise that there was also detailed anatomy and diagram of the dragon body.

    The most surprising part was the dragon body closely resembled humans. Apart from the outer appearance being humanoid with dragon features, the inner body was almost identical.

    Even so, the dragons that existed during the primordial era possessed two forms. One was the humanoid form shown in the anatomy diagram, and the other was the true dragon form.

    ''It seems that even dating back to the primordial era, the human form is still the most popr among the diverse races. I wonder why this is so?'' Leon pondered.

    Is it because the human form is considered the peak form of evolution? Or because the True Creator that he does not know even exists was a human?

    Nevertheless, Leon did not dwell on the topic and continue reading through the [Dragon God Consolidating Method].

    If the human body and dragon body was truly simr, as shown, then it should be possible for humans to practice dragon methods. s, it was only simr and not identical in the end.

    The Body Tempering Realm can be achieved, but the Body Transformation Realm required dragon bloodline to practice.

    Leon wrinkled his brows and moved onto the other two methods: The Star God Consolidating Viscera Method and the Moon God Consolidating Viscera Method.

    Like the Dragon God Consolidating Method, the seven volumes were divided into two volumes for the Body Tempering Realm and five volumes for the Body Transformation Realm.

    The Star God Consolidating Method and the Moon God Consolidating Method were both methods for human practices. However, the Body Transformation Realm also required Star God Bloodline and Moon God Bloodline.

    Leon wanted to cough up blood when he read to this point.

    The Star Gods and Moon Gods were both human gods, but he still needed their unique bloodlines to consolidate his viscera to the Body Transformation Realm? What kind of logic was that?

    ''Whether it is the Dragon God Consolidating Method, Star God Consolidating Method, or Moon God Consolidating Method, these are all methods made for offspring and descendants of the Dragon God, Star God, and Moon God. Not just anyone can practice it.''

    Leon scratched his head with distress. After a moment, he began to quietly ponder deeply in thought.

    ''No matter which method I choose, I can only consolidate my viscera and meridians to the peak of the Body Tempering Realm. However, I do not need to be fixated on a single method. If I find a better method for the Body Transformation Realm, I can just switch over after Ipletely consolidate my viscera to the peak of Body Tempering Realm.''

    The solution was not a good one, but it was a solution, nheless.

    Leon recalled how Rogue Cultivators back in the Divine Realm would find a new cultivation method to practice each time they broke through to a higher new realm.

    Rogue Cultivators were lone cultivators who are not affiliated to any sects or powers. As such, they do not have the resources nor the higher-level,plete cultivation methods that the sects and strong powers do.

    They scavenge for their own resources and techniques to cultivate.

    Usually, this would create an unstable cultivation base, but there were also methods to fix it. As such, the numbers of Rogue Cultivators in the Divine Realm were not small. In fact, the number of Rogue Cultivators exceeds the number of Cultivators belonging to sects and kingdoms.

    There were numerous Divine Kings among the Rogue Cultivator group, but whether they could reach the peak of the Divine King Realm was an entirely different matter.

    ''Considering the presence of strong dragon heritage, there''s a possibility that I might not need to switch methods. If I can find some dragon blood to refine, it will be possible to continue practice thest five volumes.''

    Leon silently mused.

    At least for the [Dragon God Consolidating Method], it was more straightforward in needing dragon blood to cultivate; the higher the dragon blood quality, the better¡ªWith the blood of the Dragon God being the most ideal for practice.

    But what would happen if he practiced without dragon blood anyway? The core of the [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method] still relied on Grandmist Energy.

    ''It seems I will only find out once I start practicing.''

    Leon made his decision.

    The Star God and Moon God methodscked information on their bloodline requirement. It only mentioned that the Star God Bloodline was called Divine Starlight Blood, and Moon God Bloodline was simrly called Divine Moonlight Blood.

    After deciding on the [Dragon God Consolidating Method], Leon began pondering other issues.

    He found quite a few suitable methods for people around him, but without Grandmist Energy, no one would be able to practice the techniques.

    The methods rting to the Ice Phoenix were both suitable for Aria and Lynne.

    There was a method called the [Ice Phoenix Frozen Cmity]. It was an energy cultivation method with great insights into the Ice Law that could aid theirwprehension and boost their awakening cultivation subsequently.

    Unfortunately, the method was iplete.

    The Void God methods were suitable for Darlene and other Void Bodies, but it was also iplete.

    If there is a chance, he will look for the following missing volumes when he can.

    After a moment of rumination, Leon began copying the words in the [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method] onto a nk piece of paper.

    He wrote down the tranted version of the first volume, the volume he was assigned to trante by the other Venerable Shamans. It was best to get it out of the way so he does not have to worry about itter.

    Sometimeter, Leon finished written down the first volume. Afterward, hepiled the papers together and stored them safely in the Worldspace.

    Lumi continued toy unconscious on an ice bed within the small Yin-biome in the herb garden. Leon checked on her condition for a short while before finally returning to reality.

    The moment he returned, all sorts of cries could be heard in the courtyard. Leon furrowed his brows and shot to his feet immediately before heading out to check.

    Three female servants were tied to stakes while the other three threw rocks at them from a distance.

    Naturally, they did not have the same precision nor strength as Leon.

    The three servants tied to the stakes were stuck in various ces by rocks several times. Their face was also swollen in a few areas like eyes, cheeks, and forehead.

    "Boohoo¡­ I don''t want to do this anymore¡­ it hurts."

    "Aiyo~ Let me off, please. I cannot endure it anymore."

    "Wuwuwu¡­ this is so painful. It''s not working at all!"

    While the three tied servants were crying, the other three female servants hesitated to continue throwing rocks at them.

    However, Darlene, as the big sister, was relentless and said, "Keep throwing! If you don''t want to get hit, you have to focus hard and use your ability to curve the rocks!"

    This was called tough love!

    "Yes!"

    The three servants holding rocks immediately steeled their hearts and tossed them. Another round of cries was heard shortly after.

    Smack! Smack!

    "Ahh¡ª! Stop, I cannot do it!"

    "It''s not working! Spare me!"

    Leon quickly spotted Darlene standing nearby with her arms crossed, supervising the group''s ''training'' activity.

    "What''s going on? Did your sistersmit some sort of mistake? Why are you punishing them like this?" Leon asked.

    "Ah, hubby. You''re here. I am not punishing them. I am teaching them how to use their spatial abilities like me."

    "You¡­"

    After Leon heard Darlene''s exnation, he could not help but facepalm and rub his forehead with distress and speechlessness.

    "Eh? What''s wrong, hubby? Did I do something wrong? Wasn''t this how you taught me?" Darlene asked with doubt.

    Leon''s lips twitched before he said, "Yeah, but your ability was already awakened before that while your sisters have not awakened their abilities."

    "Ah?! So then, this training is useless for them right now?!" Darlene eximed loudly with surprise.

    Leon nodded.

    When the three tied servants heard this, they started to wail louder with grievances. So, all their efforts were made in vain? They endured the suffering of the training for nothing?

    "Boohoo¡­ It hurts¡­"

    "Why did we do this to ourselves¡­?"

    "Wuwu¡­ I think my forehead is bleeding¡­"

    These female servants were Tia, Chana, and Nora.

    After receiving her hubby''s confirmation, Darlene felt so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to crawl in.

    She could feel the betrayed looks of the other three sisters staring at her back as if saying, ''What a horrible thing you made us do¡­''

    "Ahem, please untie our sisters," Darlene said to them with a flushed face.

    After a moment, she turned back to Leon with puppy eyes, begging him for an answer.

    She was confused about how she became awakened while her sisters were not. What was different between her sisters and her? When did she awaken her ability?

    Leon issued a dry and cough and whispered, "It''s because we''ve done ''it'' before the training¡­ You should have already realized this, but my body is unique."

 Chapter 428 - Stop Pushing

    <h4>Chapter 428 - Stop Pushing</h4>

    After hearing Leon''s exnation, Darlene gaped in surprise.

    "Don''t tell anyone about this. We wouldn''t want anyone to know about¡ªNot unless you want to sell your hubby off to be a stallion that sleeps with other women all day and night." Leon said with a bit of mild teasing.

    Darlene immediately nodded obediently like a pecking duck. She immediately made a mental note in her heart. If others learn about it, she will have less intimate time with her hubby.

    ''I cannot let another soul learn of this secret!'' Darlene silently vowed.

    Although she knew she cannot monopolize Leon for herself, it did not stop her from trying while she still has him for herself.

    After the female servant Tia, Chana, and Nora was untied, Leon walked over and handed them each a Tier 1 Healing Pill¡ªA Tier 1 Healing Pill was enough to help them recover their light injuries.

    "Swallow this."

    Tia, Chana, and Nora were simultaneously surprised when they received the small brown pellets each. They studied it for a moment before Tia asked, "What is this, Young Master?"

    "Just swallow it, and you will know," Leon said bluntly without further exnation. Letting them experience the pill''s effect themselves was the best exnation.

    The three of them nced at the pill suspiciously. After a moment, Tia, Chana, and Nora all popped the pill in their mouths decisively.

    They had not done anything that would warrant the Young Master to harm. The Young Master was also hailed as a Divine Doctor, so it might be something good.

    The pleasant medicinal scent softly emitted from the pill was a testimony of this. Furthermore, they cannot reject the Young Master''s orders either way.

    Shortly after the Tier 1 Healing Pill was swallowed into their bodies, the pill immediately began working its magic. A pleasant feeling flowed through their bodies and soothed away their soreness.

    Within several breathes, the pain in their bodies eased away, the swollen parts disappeared, and the light cuts and scratches recovered without any scars left behind.

    "Wow, Tia! Your bruises and cuts are all gone!" Chana eximed with eyes while gazing at Tia.

    Tia was startled and nced back at Chana before her expression was also colored with surprises.

    "Wow! You too, Chana! Your injuries are all gone!"

    "What kind of medicine is this? It''s so effective¡ªit''s almost miraculous!" Nora said while feeling her cheeks and previously sore body parts. All the pain had vanished without a trace.

    "Young Master, this is too amazing! You are too amazing!"

    "Young Master is a Divine Doctor, after all!"

    Tia and Chana began chirping around Leon, singing praises, and hugging onto his arms each. Shortly after, Nora also joined them.

    The other three female servants, Tess, Zoe, and Kiara, were also considering whether to join them or not. They stood on the spot with hesitation.

    Darlene nced at them unbelievably.

    Were these still the same sisters who unwilling to serve her hubby? They look like they are trying to fawn over him now.

    Their attitudes changed too quickly!

    However, after a moment, Darlene started to be suspicious. They were getting too close and touchy with her hubby! No, they were not fawning! They were seducing him to earn his affections with hidden intentions!

    Where was their dignity¡ªtheir chaste maiden attitudes? Was it so easily thrown aside for the chance to cultivate?

    ''These vixens!''

    Darlene gritted her teeth and immediately stormed over, pulling Leon away from the female servants.

    "Hubby, how about we retire to the bedroom for the day?" Darlene suggested while hugging Leon''s left arm.

    She threw a nce back at her sisters as if warning them not to thinking about it. It was like her silent message was saying, ''You all didn''t like the idea of serving Young Master Leonhardt at first, so don''t think about trying to seduce him! He is mine!''

    The three female servants Tia, Chana, and Nora, immediately understood the underlying message and immediately puckered their lips in protest.

    ''You can''t do that! You cannot have the Young Master to yourself! You still owe us an exnation for the suffering we underwent in vain!''

    Nevertheless, they can only re back in silence. They did not have the courage to voice their demands in front of Darlene.

    Invisible fiery sparks shed between their gazes, but that was it. The female servants were passive because they were the neers.

    Shortly after, they could only watch as the Young Master nodded and pulled away to the bedroom by their sister Darlene.

    "Let us get familiar with the area first. This ce could use some tidying and clean up after." Chana sighed. Cleaning was what they do as servants.

    The other five servants quickly agreed.

    Inside the bedroom, Leon nced at Darlene, who stuck close to him. He studied her slight blush and asked, "Are you in heat again?"

    Darlene nced up into Leon''s eyes with a passionate gaze and wrapped her arms around his neck slowly.

    "I still haven''t expressed my gratitude and how grateful I am for the clothes you bought for me. It must have cost a lot of Dark Crystals, right?" Darlene asked.

    Leon shook his head before he said, "The cost is nothing¡ªso long as you are happy."

    "I am very happy! Say¡ªHow should I thank you?" Darlene said coquettishly while licking her lips.

    Leon''s lips curved slightly before he said, "There''s no need for such things as thank you between us¡­ But it seems like you already know how you want to thank me, so I will just be taking you up on your offer."

    Darlene giggled and willingly let Leon pick her up like a princess and carry her to their bed to make love. Their clothes were slowly undressed¡­ the following details will be omitted.

    ¡­

    Several hourster, Darleneid on top of Leon''s bare chest, exhausted with a content look.

    The moans in the room have stopped, and the sweats from their steamy session of passionate lovemaking could be seen on her lustrous, smooth body.

    "Hubby, I think I seemed to have grown stronger again¡­" Darlene said with doubt in Leon''s embrace, feeling the changes in her body. This time, she did not fall asleep.

    Leon inspected her body before he stated, "Un, you''ve just broken through to 2-Stars Ranked Awakener Realm.

    "Will this continue to happen everything time we copte?" Darlene asked with a pleasant surprise.

    ''Was it actually so easy for her to be stronger without cultivating? Wasn''t this too amazing?'' She thought.

    However, Leon shook his head and said, "No, not every time. That would be too heaven-defying. You still need to cultivate to make the most out of it."

    "Oh¡­"

    Darlene was a little disappointed. Even so, her resolve and determination to cultivate harder were strengthened.

    "Do you still remember the cirction route and element gathering process I taught youst time?" Leon asked.

    "Mm!"

    "That''s good. Next, I will teach you a simple breathing technique to help you gather these elements more quickly. Come follow these steps¡­" Leon began to instruct her on the rhythmic breathing exercise.

    The simple breathing technique was to gather the elements through her mouth and lungs. After teaching her the simple breathing technique, Leon mentioned that the ultimate goal was to achieve the advanced breathing technique.

    The advanced breathing technique was to breathe through one''s pores and gather the elements into the energy center directly, which was the ck Hole in her case¡ªthe Spatial Seed.

    Darlene took in all his words seriously despite being glued together. It was quickly memorized in her heart after a few rounds.

    "Alright, let us get dressed and practice outside," Leon said.

    Darlene immediately tightened her arms around Leon. She was a bit reluctant to part from herfortable position.

    Nevertheless, the determination to cultivate overcame her.

    "Alright."

    After rubbing her cheeks on Leon''s chest like a purring cat for a moment, she finally agreed and got up groggily.

    Leon got up and went for a quick bath. After he was done, he got dressed and refilled the bathtub with fresh, clean water for Darlene to use next.

    "You''ll feel more rejuvenated after a cold bath and meditated cultivationter. I''ll wait for you outside."

    "Mm."

    After Darlene nodded, Leon made his way over to open the doors and head out.

    "Shh, stop pushing¡ª!"

    "Shh, I can''t hear anything."

    Muffled whispers could be heard outside. The moment Leon pulled open the doors, Tia and Chana fell forward into his chest, followed by the rest of the female servants behind them.

    Leon nced down and questioned them, "What are you all doing?"

    "Y-Young Master!"

    Tia and Chana immediately retreated with blushes while female servants immediately scurried back to their feet with taut backs and panicky expressions.

    "What were you all doing, lurking outside the room?" Darlene scowled from the bed while covering herself with the fur nket.

    "W-We were¡­"

    They did not know how to exin.

    Leon waved them off with a soft sigh and said, "There''s no need to exin. Just don''t do it next time."

    "Y-Yes, Young Master!"

    The female servants shortly made way for Leon to step outside. As he walked out, his gazended on the neat and tidy courtyard.

    The entrance was missing, and holes were still present in the walls; however, the ground was swept clean. All the peddles and rock were moved to one side while the small logs and broken wood moved to another.

    "Oh? You girls did a pretty good job."

    "Thank you for your praise, Young Master."

    The female servants curtsied with their heads slightly lowered. Leon pulled them up and nced at them for a moment.

    "Join me in the courtyard. I will teach you all how to cultivate."

    "Yes, Young Master!"

    The female servants were immediately overjoyed after hearing Leon''s words.

    Leon will teach them what they need to know, but it will depend on how quickly they will awaken after his teachings.

 Chapter 429 - Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 429 - Exposed</h4>

    Within the Barrenrock Courtyard, the six female servants, Tia, Chana, Nora, Tess, Zoe, and Kiara, were seated in meditation on the floor.

    After Leon taught them the basics, he left them toprehend and awaken at their own pace and headed to the rocky teau with Darlene.

    At the edges of the top of the rocky teau, where the breeze was good, and the altitude was high, Leon chose the spot for Darlene to cultivate with him.

    The higher they were, the more spatial elements were present. Spatial elements existed everywhere, but they were sparse on the ground level due to the abundance of other existing elements in the surrounding.

    While Darlene cultivated her spatial ability, Leon practiced the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] to refine more Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy for his Body Cultivation.

    Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy gathered towards them in steady streams as they cultivated in silence beside each other.

    An unknown period of time passed before footsteps were heard nearby.

    Leon slowly opened his eyes and ended his cultivation session right there, while Darlene remained deep in meditation, oblivious to her surroundings.

    "Did I interrupt your cultivation session?" Chief Valencia asked wryly.

    Leon shook his head and said, "It''s fine. Let us talk somewhere else."

    "Alright."

    Leon and Chief Valencia moved some distance away for their discussion in case they disturb Darlene''s cultivation.

    "Do you need me for something, chief?"

    "I''m about to head to depart for the ck Swamp. I wonder if Little Nephew Leonhardt will be interested in joining this expedition and chatting with Aunty Valencia along the way." Chief Valencia said.

    "Aunty Valencia, huh? Sure." Leon said with a raised eyebrow.

    Suddenly, he had be a generation younger than the chief. Considering the chief was around the same age as his parents, it would have been normal for the chief to address him as ''Little Nephew.''

    However, he was used to the chief addressing him as ''Little Brother Leonhardt.''

    Nevertheless, she changed to addressing him as ''Little Nephew Leonhardt'' implies that she had understood the rtionship he shares with Helen, his adoptive mother, and learned of his true identity.

    "That''s great. Little Nephew Leonhardt sure hid it well¡ªor should I call you the Crown Prince Leon? Who knew that we were all family after all this time? You should have told me. I would have treated you more warmly."

    "It''s fine. They''re all just names. You can call me whatever you want, chief. I had my misgivings. I hope that you understand." Leon said wryly.

    What a joke.

    If he did not forge friendly rtionships with the tribesmen and earned himself such an excellent reputation within the tribe, showcasing his importance, he would have been treated like a spy and have all his deepest secrets interrogated out of him by now.

    Although it seemed Chief Valencia and his mother Helen had gotten close like sisters, he still felt like it was a superficial rtionship even if they were now working towards amon goal.

    He understood this after considering the difference in the chief''s treatment of his mother and other regr servants.

    The chief was good at using people.

    Perhaps all leaders inherently possess this skill or developed it during their career when they step into a position of power over others.

    "Then I will continue to call you Little Nephew Leonhardt." Chief Valencia nodded.

    "You''re not going to treat me differently after learning that I am someone from the Human Domain, right?" Leon asked.

    Chief Valencia smiled wryly and said, "Of course not! The tribe still needs to rely on you. Besides, you are a part of the tribe now. We are family."

    "I see, in that case, I should give you this."

    Leon nodded and took out a stack of papers before passing it over to Chief Valencia. After she nced at it, she asked, "This is¡­?"

    "The Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method, the first volume tranted in its entirety," Leon stated calmly and watched the chief''s eyes slowly widened in shock and rm.

    Chief Valencia skimmed through the tranted text before she stared at Leon dumbfoundedly. After a moment, she inquired, "You managed to trante the whole volume in such a short time?"

    "Yes."

    Leon shamelessly admitted.

    "Impress. Haiz, Little Nephew Leonhardt never ceases to amaze. Your talent is envious." Chief Valencia praised with an emotional sigh.

    Comparing one''s own talents to someone like Leon would just make them depressed.

    "Right, I''ve been away from the Human Domain for some time now. Thus, I n to return to check on the situation halfway through the expedition if Aunt Valencia doesn''t mind." Leon mentioned.

    Chief Valencia was rather startled and asked, "How long will you be gone?"

    "Perhaps for a few days if nothing unexpected happens. I n to return to attend the summit at the very least." Leon answered.

    After a moment, he suggests, "If we can bring back the Teleportation Array, it would not be a problem for the tribesmen to visit between the Dark Continent and Human Domain freely."

    "A few days is alright."

    Chief Valencia nodded before she noticed something and said, "So there''s a Teleportation Array within the ck Swamp after all. It was strange that paled skin people made their appearance there one day, unexpectedly."

    "Speaking pale skin¡­ Little Nephew Leonhardt, your skin is¡­" Chief Valencia turned her attention on Leon''s tannedplexion.

    "Oh, this? Just some skin color changing cream I concocted and applied to blend in with the natives of thisnd." Leon exined with a light smile. "You won''t me me for deceiving everyone like this, right?"

    "No, but I should me you for starting the Bone Cmity, shouldn''t I?" Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes, causing Leon to freeze.

    Afterward, Chief Valencia slyly added, "However, if you are willing to teach my tribesmen the awakening cultivation methods, I can overlook this matter."

    Leon mildly studied the chief''s expression before he rubbed his forehead wryly. It seems the chief did not n to pursue the matter despite him being the culprit that caused the deaths of many tribesmen during the Bone Cmity.

    Everything paled inparison to the benefits he could bring to Darkmoon Tribe.

    Leon thought he knew his worth, but it seems like he still underestimated himself.

    At least, Chief Valencia was someone who knew his worth and saw the bigger picture. She would not harm him and would go all out to protect him.

    "I can agree to this," Leon said.

    "That''s great."

    Leon took out some leftover spare paper and ink brush from the Worldspace and began writing down the methods.

    After he was done, he passed it over to Chief Valencia to peruse. Offering up the awakening cultivation methods Leon knew was a small price to pay for his mistake.

    "With this, the debt is cleared, right?" Leon asked.

    Chief Valencia skimmed through the awakening cultivation method and nodded. It was simr to the Illusory Butterfly Technique, but there was also a significant difference between them.

    "That''s good," Leon said after receiving Chief Valencia''s confirmation.

    Nevertheless, he could no longer use the awakening cultivation methods as a bargaining chip to buy the runic mining technology from Chief Valencia.

    He would have to use alternative bargaining chips to purchase it. s, he just so happens to know what exactly Chief Valencia would find equally attractive as the awakening cultivation method.

    It was something the Infertile inscked¡ªSpirit herbs! It was definitely something he can provide, and even better after they are refined into high-quality healing medicine!

    "Aunty Valencia, what do you think of this?" Leon suddenly asked, grabbing Chief Valencia''s attention.

    "Hm?"

    In the next moment, Chief Valencia saw Leon summoning the Tier 4 Bone Spear and slicing his own hand with its incredibly sharp spearhead. With his 500-thousand jin fleshly defense, the Tier 3 ck Spear would not be able to reproduce the same result.

    "What are you doing!" Chief Valencia immediately cried with surprise. "I''m not ming you for the Bone Cmity. There''s no need for you to punish yourself like this!"

    Leonhardt''s body was practically a treasure. How could she bear for any harm toe to him?! She needed his help if she ever contracts the Demon Possession disease.

    "It''s not like that." Leon shook his head and said, "Watch this."

    Leon took out a bottle of Tier 3 Golden Ointment and began pouring some of its contents on his flesh wound. Shortly after, the bleeding stopped, and the wounded closed up at a naked rate.

    Within dozens of breaths, the wound disappeared with a single trace of scarring left behind.

    "What kind of medicine is this?!" Chief Valencia inquired with shock.

    "This is called the Tier 3 Golden Ointment. What do you think about its healing effect? It should work on all Great Warriors. As for Battle Masters, the effect should be weaker."

    After Leon exined, Chief Valencia''s eye continued to be glued onto the pill bottle in his hand with glittering eyes like she had just found a treasure.

    "Can I test its effectiveness?"

    "Of course! Take it."

    Leon handed the bottle of Tier 3 Golden Ointment over to Chief Valencia. She did not do anything crazy, like using her own Soul Weapon to cut her flesh.

    Her flesh was not as tough as Leon, nor does she realize the toughness of Leon''s fleshly defense. This was why she was considerably startled by his actions, which was crazy in her eyes.

    Chief Valencia simply exerted a decent amount of force and sliced her flesh with her nails. The wound began to bleed immediately.

    After she dabbed the Golden Ointment onto her wound, it began closing even quicker than Leon''s cut¡­ Either way, it was much more effective than Old Baba''s medicine.

 Chapter 430 - Laying Out The Cards

    <h4>Chapter 430 - Laying Out The Cards</h4>

    "This Golden Ointment seems to be even more effective on me than it was on you. Why''s that?" Chief Valencia questioned Leon with a look of doubt.

    "Err¡­"

    Leon was speechless for a moment before he said, "Never mind that. What do you think of this medicine? Do you wish to purchase it?"

    Chief Valencia carefully studied Leon''s expression for a moment, as if trying to gauge his secrets. Unfortunately, she was unable to discover anything unless Leon was willing to exin.

    "I doubt you brought this medicine out just to sell it for some Dark Crystals. What is it that you want in exchange¡ª?"

    "Chief, the team is ready to set out for the expedition! We are just waiting for you, chief!" A warrior reported clearly upon arrival.

    Chief Valencia furrowed her brows slightly before she said, "Let us continue to talk along the way."

    "Alright. Let me go call Darlene."

    Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, he returned to Darlene''s side, who was still cultivating with deep focus. Seeing her like this, Leon did not interrupt her immediately.

    He watched the spatial elements gather towards her at a consistent rate, neither fast nor too slow. While the gathering speed was steady, the refining speed was on a whole different level.

    After entering Darlene''s body, it was like the spatial elements were pulled into a region of strong gravitational force. It revolved through the cirction route at an elerated rate before rushing into the Spatial Seed.

    ''This is should be part of the benefits of having the Void Soul Constitution¡­'' Leon pondered silently.

    The body was like a bottomless rift that swallowed everything without changes. The gathering speed was simply unable to keep up with the refining speed for Darlene to cultivate effectively.

    ''She could be cultivating much faster.'' Leon concluded.

    He briefly turned to Chief Valencia and said, "You won''t mind waiting a bit, will you?"

    "Not at all. The others can wait." Chief Valencia responded nonchntly.

    Even if the other warriors waiting on them were not happy, they could continue waiting for all she cares. She was much more interested in what Leonhardt was nning to do.

    "Thanks."

    Leon quickly took off and flew into the sky above Darlene.

    The rocky teau was already roughly 200ft high. However, Leon flew higher than 300ft above the teau and still failed to sense the sky''s suppressive force.

    He knew that the sky''s suppressive force in the Dark Continent was much weaker, but he did not know to what extent.

    He thought it had something to do with the crack in the sky in the Land of Darkness, but it was actually due to the epassing dark clouds covering the sky that lifted the suppressive force like the World Tree''s cover, perhaps?

    Nevertheless, Leon did not fly higher than 300ft above Darlene. The spatial element at this altitude was already much richer than the surface level.

    Leon spread out his senses and began gathering the spatial elements towards him with Divine Will. He used his strong mental strength to gather them like a tempest.

    However, he did not absorb them for himself but funnel them straight down to Darlene below him.

    While Darlene was in the middle of her cultivation, her mental state was very serene, like she was a leaf floating on a body of water without any ripples¡ªWhen suddenly, a torrential amount of spatial elements rained down on her.

    Her body crazily devoured the spatial elements and transformed them into Spatial Energy before being simrly consumed by the Spatial Seed and stored.

    Darlene''s cultivation rose quickly and nearly broke through to 3-Stars Ranked Awakener Realm in a single leap. However, the burst onlysted a moment before losing all its momentum.

    She opened her eyes shortly after with a sigh of disappointment. After a moment, she recovered and began to look around with confusion, wondering where the burst of spatial elements came from.

    Leon slowly descended in front of her, causing her to be mildly surprised before she got up and approached him.

    "Hubby, did you do something just now?" Darlene asked with doubts and uncertainty.

    Leon quickly admitted with a smile, "That''s right. Did you like the gift?"

    Darlene quickly nodded.

    She wanted to continue asking further about it, but Leon suddenly patted her butt and said, "Alright, put on the Enchanted Equipment I bought you. We are heading outside the tribe with Chief Valencia and some other warriors. Let''s not keep them waiting."

    "Where are we going?" She asked with surprise. She was taken aback and caught off guard by the sudden news.

    Nevertheless, she still did as she was told and took out the Tier 2 Enchant Equipment from her Interspatial Pouch and equipped it over her current clothes.

    "The ck Swamp. We are joining Chief Valencia on her expedition. However, we will also be parting from the group midway. I will be taking the Teleportation Array to return to my homnd. You will soon learn about who I truly am¡ªthat is unless you do not wish to follow me and stay back in the tribe."

    When Leon finished saying this, Darlene quickly shook her vigorously and said resolutely, "No! Wherever you go, I want to go with you! I want to know more about you!"

    "Then, we are all good then."

    "Are we done now?" Said Chief Valencia after choosing an appropriate timing to walk over and ask them.

    Leon nodded.

    "Great! Let us head off!"

    Shortly after, Leon and Darlene followed Chief Valencia to meet up with the rest of the expedition group waiting outside the tribe''s southern entrance.

    There were a few senior warriors in their 70''s at the Early-rank Battle Master Realm, among dozens of middle-aged warriors in the Great Warrior Realm. No one was below Great Warrior Realm within the group.

    After meeting this group, Darlene spotted someone and went silent. Considering she was speaking, to begin with, Leon did not notice her change.

    Chief Valencia nced at the group and studied everyone''s preparation. They were all geared and ready to set off at any time.

    After a moment, she nodded and thundered, "Let us set off!"

    "Yes, chief!"

    Everyone shouted in unison. They grabbed their Soul Weapons and double-checked their Interspatial Pouches before chasing after Chief Valencia, who took the lead to rush ahead.

    The pace was not too fast, but it was not slow either. The Great Warriors were able to keep up with this speed, but Darlene was unable to. She was carried on Leon''s back as he ran alongside the chief.

    Chief Valencia nced to her side and said with consideration, "Feel free to let me know if you get tired or if I am moving too quickly. We can stop for breaks."

    "No need. This is nothing. You do not need to worry about me. I will be able to keep up." Leon said casually, not breaking a sweat while carrying Darlene on his back.

    Chief Valencia smiled and did notment.

    She thought Leon was just trying to act tough in front of his women. He would have to cave in and request for a break at some point.

    "About what we were discussing earlier¡­" Chief Valencia began bringing up the topic of Leon''s medicine.

    "The Infertile insck the proper environment to grow precious herbs and medicine. However, the same cannot be said for the Human Domain. I am willing to supply the Darkmoon Tribe with arge number of precious herbs and medicine. Also, water can be resolved if we set up a proper channel is set up. What does Aunty Valencia think of entering a long-term trade and alliance with the Crawford Kingdom?"

    Chief Valencia''s eyes flickered for a moment before she furrowed her brows in deep thoughts. What Leon said was very lucrative, but she could not agree so quickly until she figures out how this would benefit Leonhardt''s side.

    There was no such thing as a free lunch in the world.

    "You mentioned some tempting offers, but what would the Crawford Kingdom gain out of this deal? What can the Darkmoon Tribe possibly offer you in return? Don''t tell me that this is all for just the runic mining technology?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "Well, there''s that. The runic mining technology will greatly help the kingdom develop and all, but more importantly, we want your friendship. With the Human Domain upying only one corner of the Deste Continent, humanity''s fate does not look too bright. This is especially so when humans are fighting amongst ourselves. Having one more friend is better than one more enemy, don''t you think?"

    "One more friend is better than one more enemy. Hahaha! Little Nephew Leonhardt speaks some wise words! Let us continue to discuss in detail." Chief Valencia said light-heartedly.

    In truth, when the matter of Celestial Water Spark drying up, she did think about invading the prosperousnds of the Human Domain.

    Nevertheless, she did have her misgivings towards an unknownnd filled with people practicing a different type of cultivation system.

    However, if a stable supply of water can really be established between their two sides, that would be for the best.

    She was much more interested in the Wilnds than the Human Domain itself. After all, the Darkmoon Tribe was full of meat lovers who also enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

    While Leon and Chief Valencia were discussing, the Great Warriors and Battle Masters following in the back were utterly lost due to being ill-informed.

    Darlene remained silent throughout the journey as she hugged Leon''s neck and buried her head.

    At this point, Leon finally felt something off. He figured that Darlene would be curiously asking him questions by now, but that was not the case.

    "What''s wrong, Darlene? You''re awfully quiet."

    At the same time, an Extremity-rank Great Warrior in his 60''s turned his head in surprise and asked, "Did you say, Darlene?"

    "Darlene? Is that you?" The Extremity-rank Great Warrior continued to ask after his eyes fell on the person being carried by Leon.

    Darlene hugged Leon''s neck more firmly when she heard all this, causing Leon to be more surprised. Why did she seem so frail?

 Chapter 431 - The Dar Family

    <h4>Chapter 431 - The Dar Family</h4>

    At roughly halfway through the journey to the ck Swamp, the Extremity-rank Great Warrior said, "Chief, I would like to request that we stop for a break."

    "Alright. Everyone, let us stop for a quick break." Chief Valencia said after some thoughts.

    After giving Leon a quick nce, she was surprised that he had not broken a sweat. He was still fit to keep going despite carrying Darlene the entire time. He was not joking when he said that she did not have to worry about him.

    On the other hand, the two senior warriors at the Battle Master Realm were puffing from exhaustion. They were getting old, and their organs were not performing like they used to.

    "Thanks for the consideration." One of them said to the Extremity-rank Great Warrior.

    The Extremity-rank Great Warrior smiled lightly. He did not request a break for the senior warriors. Instead, it was because of another reason.

    He made his way over and gazed at the person on Leon''s back. After a moment, the aged Extremity-rank Great Warrior spoke, "Darlene? It''s your father."

    Leon could feel Darlene''s body tremble for a moment after hearing the Extremity-rank Great Warrior speak. However, it was only for a moment. After that, her body started shivering¡ªshivering with anger, that is.

    Darlene looked up with red eyes and red at the person hatefully.

    "You''re not my father!"

    The Extremity-rank Great Warrior was not offended. He simply smiled it off and said, "How can you talk to your father like that? No matter, my blood runs in your veins.

    After hearing this, Darlene''s mind became even more unstable. Her eyes became dark and ominous, and her aura became wrathful and malevolent.

    "So, what if I have your dirty blood? Did you forget how you disowned me and toss me aside when you found I was useless?! Do you think you still have the right to be called my father?!" Darlene barked with baleful eyes.

    The surrounding space began to twist and distort out of form due to her heightened emotion that transformed her anger into power.

    The Extremity-rank Great Warrior''s eyes lit up after seeing Darlene''s disy of power. He confirmed that the rumors he heard were right, and his lips curved into a bigger smile.

    "Whether you like it or not, I am still your father.??

    "Go away! You''re not worthy of being my father!"

    Darlene shouted threateningly when she saw the Extremity-rank Great Warrior take a step closer, causing the person''s smile to be noticeably forced.

    No matter what, he was a proud Extremity-rank Great Warrior. There was a limit to his tolerance when he is being disrespected by others.

    At the same time, Leon lowered Darlene down from his back and soothed her with a backrub. The unstable spatial distortion was affecting him. However, it was like a soft pinch¡ªthanks to his insanely high fleshly defense.

    He did not me Darlene for this, but the person that made her be like this. He nced back at the Extremity-rank Great Warrior and impassively said, "You should do as she says."

    "Divine Doctor, I would be most grateful if you do not interfere in our family matters." The Extremity-rank Great Warrior said respectfully after turning to Leon.

    The Extremity-rank Great Warrior''s name was Darren. He was from the Dar family, which had a long-standing history within the Darkmoon Tribe that was only inferior to the Golden family.

    At this moment, Chief Valencia and the others have already moved some distance away from them. They were not interested in involving themselves in Darren''s family matters.

    But while they were not interested, Leon was.

    "I don''t know what family matters you are talking about. I only know that she''s my woman, and she does not wee your presence, so step back." Leon spoke with a bit of warning in his tone.

    Darren''s expression became glum when his respect was not reciprocated. Nevertheless, he knew what to do and not to do. Chief Valencia was watching.

    "We''ll talk another time," Darren said to Darlene before turning around and walked away, finding a boulder some distance away to sit on.

    Leon turned to Darlene and consoled her with gentle words and a backrub, "It''s fine now. He''s gone."

    Darlene dove into Leon''s arms and buried her face in his chest wordlessly. Leon did not expect a response from her and continued to hold her in silence until she calmed down.

    Everyone had their weakness.

    It became apparent to Leon that the event had left quite an emotional scar on Darlene''s heart when she was abandoned by her own family.

    Leon narrowed his eyes when he watched the person iming to be Darlene''s father leave. He did not sense any deep emotion from the person like one would expect between a father and daughter reunion. What he saw were only fake smiles.

    The only real emotion he saw from the person was the flicker of excitement when Darlene disyed her power and when the person spoke respectfully to him.

    The person wanted to patch up their father-daughter rtionship after finding out that his daughter was no longer useless? Or did the person wanted to get closer to him after learning how close the rtionship they shared?

    ''An opportunist.''

    Leon concluded the person to be.

    After resting some time, Chief Valencia stood up and announced with her clear and powerful voice, "Let us continue the journey!"

    "Yes, chief!"

    The expedition group shortly gathered before they continued their journey to the ck Swamp. Leon carefully picked Darlene up and ce her on his back. She seemed to have fallen asleep.

    A few hourster, they finally stopped running after arriving at the perimeters of the ck Swamp''s outer region.

    "Wow, the ck Swamp really disappeared. There is nothing left here. All the lost treasures can be easily seen now!" An Early-rank Great Warrior eximed, feeling excited.

    "Can the ck Swamp still be called the ck Swamp without its ck swamp?"

    "There''s no ck water left here, but the same cannot be said that the inner region. So, I would say, yes?"

    "Chief, can we start scavenging for treasures?" Another Early-rank Great Warrior inquired the chief with two hands rubbing each other, failing to suppress his eagerness.

    Chief Valencia nodded, "Go! Take what you want, but don''t touch what you shouldn''t!"

    The expedition group immediately praised the chief before rushing into the ck Swamp''s outer region ahead to scavenge, leaving just Chief Valencia, Leon, and Darlene on his back behind.

    Chief Valencia mildly shook her head at her tribesmen''s enthusiasm before turning to Leon at her side.

    "Do you remember the location of the Teleportation Array, Little Nephew Leonhardt?"

    "It should be roughly a dozen miles to the left from here, closer to the Weeping Forest," Leon answered after a brief observation of the area.

    "Then we shall head in that direction."

    "Thanks."

    "It''s nothing. If this Teleportation Array can be moved, we must back it back to the tribe and not let it fall in the hands of the others." Chief Valencia said.

    Leon nodded.

    He had overlooked this matter.

    He should have stored the Teleportation Array into his Worldspace upon his arrival. It was his only opportunity before the Bone Cmity struck and forced him to steer clear of the ce.

    "Ahh! What the hell is this?!"

    "What happened? What is it?"

    An Early-rank Great Warrior suddenly cried with rm, causing the others to nce in his direction and immediately question him.

    "I don''t know! Something suddenly grabbed my leg, but there''s nothing when I looked!" The Early-rank Great Warrior exined.

    Chief Valencia furrowed her brows and said to Leon, "Let''s go take a look."

    "Alright."

    Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, he shook Darlene on his back, awake.

    "Wake up."

    "Uuu¡­"

    Darlene gave a groan before waking up groggily. After her mind regained rity of the situation, she immediately blushed and asked, "I''ve shown you something unseemly today. What''s happening?"

    "Don''t overthink it. It''s nothing." Leon smiled before exining, "There seems to be something happening in the ck Swamp. We are going to check it out now, so I need you to be awake in case something happens."

    Darlene''s grew more solemn before she nodded in understanding.

    "I understand. I''ll try not to get in hubby''s way."

    "That''s not it. I''m telling you this so you can watch out for yourself in case I fail to protect you." Leon corrected her.

    "Oh."

    Darlene responded with a sweet smile and hugged Leon''s neck firmly with affection. It appeared that she misunderstood him.

    Leon continued to carry Darlene on his back and followed the chief shortly after. When they arrived at the area where the Early-rank Great Warrior made the startled cry, they found nothing after listening to the warrior''s recount.

    Chief Valencia noticed a hole in the wet ground and said with a frown, "Dig this spot."

    "Yes, chief!"

    At the same time, Leon casually sent his divine sense into the ground to inspect before he was suddenly given a scare and barked, "Don''t do it!"

    The High-rank Great Warrior holding his Soul Weapon in a shoveling stance froze at once.

    Shortly after, Chief Valencia turned to Leon and asked, "What is it, Little Nephew Leonhardt? Did you notice something serious?"

    "I did, but let us get away from here first!" Leon''s lips twitched as he responded urgently. He silently swore he had just seen the ugliest thing he had ever in existence.

    Chief Valencia nodded and quickly urged everyone to move. After they returned to solidnd outside the ck Swamp, she queried, "What did you discover?"

    "An abomination."

    Leon answered tly¡­ He felt it suited the ghastly thing hidden underneath the ck Swamp quite crisply.

 Chapter 432 - Wheres Your Chief?

    <h4>Chapter 432 - Where''s Your Chief?</h4>

    "An abomination? What kind of abomination? I''ve never heard of such a thing." Chief Valencia furrowed her brows, unable to recall anything being called an Abomination.

    Leon shook his head and said, "It''s not a name, but what I am calling it. That thing is very huge, ugly, grotesque, fleshly, and slimly with a lot of tentacles."

    "I''m guessing that it was one of its tentacles that touched you, right? Was it cold, fleshly, slimy, or gross?" Leon asked the Early-rank Great Warrior, who previously cried in rm.

    The Early-rank Great Warrior immediately widened his eyes in shock, notprehending how Leonhardt knew when he did not even see a trace of what it was. However, the description was stated precisely.

    "Yes, that was exactly what I felt!"

    "A fleshly giant with many tentacles? Can anyone think of anything by this description?" Chief Valencia asked the crowd, only to receive shaking heads.

    She turned to Leon and asked, "How did you find out there''s such thing underneath the ck Swamp, Little Nephew Leonhardt?"

    "It''s another ability of mine, something I was born with. I call it Divine Sense. This ability grants me something akin to the omnipotent vision of my surroundings." Leon came clean and exined his ability.

    "Something you were born with? A bloodline ability?" Chief Valencia started to feel a little dizzy, considering how many abilities Leon had revealed. "Are you the son of heaven? How can you have such an envious ability?"

    Leon smiled withoutmenting.

    He did not know how to answer that question.

    But if he thinks about it, with the advantages he hading to this world, in addition to his heaven-defying luck and fortuitous encounters, he might as well be the son of heaven.

    Meanwhile, Darlene unknowingly smiled with glee. The more amazing Leon was, the happier and luckier she felt.

    "Is it strong?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "I''m not sure. I cannot tell just by looking at it, but my instinct tells me that we best leave it alone and not provoke it."

    Leon shook his head.

    He had only managed to catch a glimpse of its entire being. However, it was enough to shivers down his spine. He had simply never seen such a grisly thing. Even demons look prettypared to this thing.

    "Of all the past Bone Cmities, no one had evere this close to ever explore the ck Swamp during its eruption. There is a lot of secrets and history buried here¡­" Chief Valencia mentioned.

    There was a part of history that seemed to have been erased or best forgotten.

    At the very least, the ancestors had never mentioned how the ck Swamp came to be when humans first migrated to the Infertile ins from the cold north.

    Leon furrowed slightly.

    The area he scanned around here was different from the spot he checked when he first arrived in the ck Swamp.

    Over there, the soil underneath was more solid without bones. Only some asion spots would have bones buried slightly deeper with the earth.

    However, over here, there were still numerous bones of various races buried and intermixed with the wet soil, even all the way down to the 80ft range where he spotted the huge abomination.

    It was like a giant pit that had been patched up with countless corpses and soil.

    Rather than an ancient battlefield, it was more like a burial ground!

    "What''s the history of this ce? Do you know about it?" Leon asked.

    Chief Valencia shook her head and said, "I''m not clear. I only know that a great battle once happened here, whether humans were fighting the demonic beasts, the demons, or something else. Only the ancestors know the exact details that transpired during that time."

    "Apparently, there was a time when the Seven Tribe Alliance boasted the most Battle Kings and lead all the human tribes of the ins¡­ However, this is only hearsay. No can confirm it. Never mind. Let us move on."

    After Chief Valencia spoke, Leon and the group nodded.

    Shortly after, the group began heading towards the location of the Teleportation Array. Along the way, Leon continued to send out his divine sense to sweep the area underneath.

    As he suspected, the area underneath the soil was different. Some ces were just filled with wet dirt, while some contained bones as far as 30ft underground, but nothing as deep as 80ft.

    Leon was unsure whether they were just lucky or unlucky that they discovered such an abomination deep under the ck Swamp upon their arrival in that area.

    Even so, this was only the very perimeters of the ck Swamp''s outer region.

    If more bones were revealed to be buried deeper, the further they venture into the ck Swamp, the estimated total bone count would reach an astronomical numberpared to what Leon previously predicted.

    It would at least be in the billions!

    That equates to billions of lives, regardless of race! All were buried in one ce, the ck Swamp. How big would the pit in the central region have been if all these buried bones and corpses were removed? Was it truly a battle of enormous proportion? Or did something else killed them all?

    The thought chilled Leon''s heart.

    Nevertheless, he was filled with a curiosity towards the ck Swamp''s inner region that was still veiled in darkness.

    What sort of secrets lies within?

    He did not know the answer to this question, but one thing for sure; it is a dangerous ce.

    The most dangerous ces in the Divine Realm were not referred to as Perilous Lands like the Human Domain¡ªNo, they were called the Burial Grounds.

    It was because despite knowing full well of the extreme danger that lies within, Divine Practitioners still venture into these Burial Grounds to seek its fortunes.

    If Leon recalled, the mortality rate of the Burial Grounds was 95%. Only 5% make it out alive, and only because they explore the outermost parts of the Burial Grounds.

    "What are you thinking?" Darlene asked curiously.

    Leon smiled lightly and casually said, "It''s nothing much. I was just wondering what lies within the ck Swamp''s central region."

    He was not sure whether the ck Swamp''s danger could be ssified as a Burial Ground, but the death count in this ce had indeed reached the threshold of one.

    Sometimeter, the group arrived not too far from where Leonst remembered the location of the Teleportation Array.

    However, at that moment, Leon, who was walking in the lead with Chief Valencia, suddenly halted his steps.

    "Why did you stop?" Chief Valencia asked.

    Leon furrowed his brows and activated [Spirit Eyes] to gaze into the distance with a sharp look. After a moment, he said, "There seem to be some people hanging around the Teleportation Array."

    "Oh? Must be people from the Clearwater Tribe. How many people are there?"

    Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes.

    She could vaguely see people in the distance, but she could not guess their exact numbers. Once more, she was surprised by Leon''s abilities. It was like he had no weakness.

    "Not many. Only 10 people near the Teleportation Array. There doesn''t seem to be anyone else nearby either." Leon answered calmly after surveying the surrounding area ahead.

    Darlene was surprised.

    She strained her eyes to peer into the distance, but she failed to determine anything from that distance and pouted silently.

    "Is that so?" Chief Valence nced back at their group of 50 people before she said, "Let''s go and greet them."

    "What if they don''t let us take away the Teleportation Array?"

    "Then we will take it by force." Chief Valencia answered the question straightforwardly.

    "Even if they are allies?"

    "Even if they are allies."

    Leon curved his lips into a smile and nodded, "Understood."

    Shortly after, they traversed a few miles through the muddy ck Swamp and confronted the Clearwater Tribe''s people guarding the Teleportation Array.

    "Stop! What are you people doing here?"

    The Clearwater Tribesmen were rmed by their presence.

    "Oh?"

    Chief Valencia wrinkled her brows.

    When was thest time someone dared to yell at her like this?

    Still, she put on a devious smile after a moment and said, "I could be asking you the same thing. Move aside before someone gets hurt!"

    The Clearwater Tribesmen immediately drew their Soul Weapons after seeing Chief Valencia continue to approach them.

    "Do you know who we are?! You don''t want to mess with us!"

    "No, you don''t want to mess with US!"

    Chief Valencia talked back, drawing her Soul Weapon and letting her vigorous Mid-rank Battle Master aura billowed outwards with an awe-inspiring ir.

    ''A Battle Master!''

    The Clearwater Tribesmen were immediately deterred as they retreated several steps while staring at Chief Valencia in shock.

    Who was this person? How could there be such a strong Battle Master this young? Was this person a chief from one of the tribes? They are not that unlucky, are they?

    "Well, are you all reasonable people are, after all?" Chief Valencia said, sheathing her Soul Weapon back in the Interspatial Pouch before walking over.

    Shortly after, she nced down at the thick stone b filled with runic carvings and crystallized energy circuits before crouching over to pick it up with one hand.

    The Clearwater Tribesmen simply watch her do as she pleases with helpless expressions filled with indecisiveness. The strongest of them were only High-rank Great Warriors.

    They were clearly outmatched.

    "Oh, right¡­ Where is the rest of your tribe? Where''s your chief?" Chief Valencia casually asked like she was just having a chat with her neighbor despite robbing them.

 Chapter 433 - Crimsonfogs Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 433 - Crimsonfog''s Arrival</h4>

    "Where and what the chief is doing is none of your business! Since you dare take things from us, do you dare to leave your name and affiliation?" A Clearwater Tribesman barked with some courage.

    However, immediately after, another Clearwater Tribesman anxiously said, "Stop it! We are not their match. Do you want to get us killed?"

    "Just because we cannot beat them, it does not mean we have to please them! Do not bring dishonor to our tribe!" The Clearwater Tribesman talked back.

    "That''s right!"

    The other Clearwater Tribesmen also chimed in.

    While they were deterred by Chief Valencia''s powerful strength and knew that it was futile to fight, it did not stop them from openly showing their dislike. Only a few within the group were timid.

    After listening to the Clearwater Tribesmen barked at her, Chief Valencia smiled and said, "Sure, why not? The name is Valencia Dark, from the Darkmoon Tribe. If you have a problem with us taking this Teleportation Array from you, then tell your chief toe to the Darkmoon Tribe and openly challenge me for it back!"

    As she said this, Chief Valencia exuded great confidence¡ªthe confidence of a Mid-rank Battle Master.

    She was unsure if the Clearwater Tribe''s chief had also reached the Mid-rank Battle Master Realm during the Bone Cmity, but she was not afraid.

    She had never lost a battle.

    "Valencia Dark of the Darkmoon Tribe? Why does this name sound so familiar?" A Clearwater Tribemanment.

    "Idiot, it''s the name of the Darkmoon Tribe''s chief! Why wouldn''t it be?!"

    "The Darkmoon Tribe''s chief? No wonder she is so strong!"

    After learning that the Darkmoon Tribe''s chief was standing before them, the Clearwater Tribesmen immediately fixed their attitude.

    "Ahem, so it is Chief Valencia. We apologize for our rudeness. You may take away the Teleportation Array¡ªbut please be assured that we will report to our chief exactly what happened here." A Clearwater Tribesmen said.

    Chief Valencia grinned at them before passing the big stone disk over to a fellow tribesman behind her.

    "Hold onto this for me. Be careful with it, though. You do not want to break it." She warned.

    "Don''t worry, chief. Just leave it to me."

    After the Peak-rank Great Warrior spoke, Chief Valencia nodded. Shortly after, she returned her attention to the Clearwater Tribesman.

    "Well, it''s time you guys answer my question, though. In case you have forgotten, I will ask again. Where is your chief? What is he nning by mobilizing such arge force to the ck Swamp?" Chief Valencia questioned while cracking her knuckles, implying that she would beat them if they did notply with her demands.

    The Clearwater Tribesmen nced at each other with the same dilemma shown in their expressions.

    After a moment, one of them sighed and exined, "The chief is investigating the changes to the ck Swamp. After all, this is the first time the ck Swamp''s outer region has been revealed to the world so clearly. The chief¡­ he should be somewhere closer to the inner region over there."

    The Clearwater Tribesman did not want to get beaten for nothing.

    Chief Valencia, Leon, and the other tribesmen all followed the Clearwater Tribesman''s pointed finger''s trajectory and gazed into the distance.

    Looming dark clouds and ck mist covered the distant region down south. Although they could see it, walking there would take at least half a day to a day''s worth of trekking through the soggy ground to get there.

    "Investigating the ck Swamp, huh?" Chief Valencia mused.

    At the same time, Leon inspected the Teleportation Array for damages while the Peak-rank Great Warrior held it up sideways.

    The stone disk was very huge and thick. It was roughly 30ft long in diameter and 3ft in thickness, filled with runic carvings.

    If the Peak-rank Great Warrior was not holding the big stone disk firmly, it looked like it would roll down a slope and disappear from their sight.

    After Leon finished with his inspection, he patted it with a satisfied look. The Teleportation Array was still in good condition. It was just missing the Demon Cores that were supposed to be in the empty sockets.

    Leon had previous taken them away when he left the ck Swamp.

    Suddenly, he realized that he would have to dy his return to the Human Domain for a bit longer. If something were to happen to the Teleportation Array, he would not be able to make the trip back to the Dark Continentter.

    It was best if he could build another Teleportation Array in a secure location as backup in case something happens to the Teleportation Array in front of him.

    "What will you do now, Aunty Valencia?" Leon asked.

    Chief Valencia rubbed her chin and said, "That is a good question. I wish to continue exploring the ck Swamp and see what the Clearwater Tribe''s chief is investigating outside the inner region. However, it''s inconvenient to carry this Teleportation Array¡ª"

    "If it is inconvenient, then just give it back to us." A Clearwater Tribesman interrupted.

    After Chief Valencia swept the person a nce, the Clearwater Tribesman''s courage deted like a balloon and lowered his head in apology, "Sorry¡­ please continue."

    "Will Little Nephew Leonhardt be returning to the Human Domain now?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "No, not yet." Leon shook his head and said, "I''ve decided to postpone it until we return to the tribe."

    He recalled the abomination lurking beneath the ck Swamp and felt unsettled in his heart. It did not look like it was alive, but its numerous feeler tentacles were moving back then. Thus, it could have been in a semi-slumbering state.

    "Oh? That is great. In that case¡ªhm?"

    Chief Valencia suddenly paused mid-sentence with a frown and took out a glowing long-range voice transmission stone.

    "What is it?" She answered the voice transmission call.

    After listening to what the other side had to say, Chief Valencia was taken aback by surprise before she said, "Alright, I understand. Request the Venerable Shamans to amodate them as best they can. Do not let them view us like bad hosts. I will return as quickly as I can."

    Chief Valencia stored away the voice-transmission stone with an inexplicable frown shortly after. When she looked up, Leon and the others were looking back at her with questioning looks.

    "There''s been a change of ns. We will be splitting into two groups. Darren¡ªyou and the seniors, will lead the others and continue exploring the ck Swamp. I will be returning to the tribe with a few others." Chief Valencia stated.

    Everyone was immediately taken aback. It has only been a few hours since they arrived, and yet, the chief was now heading back to the tribe?

    "I understand, but¡­ what happened back at the tribe?" Darren asked, confused like everyone else in the group.

    "The Crimsonfog Tribe''s chief arrived rather early, ahead of time for the summit. I will have to return to amodate them in case something goes wrong." Chief Valencia exined, feeling rather strange inside. Was Chief Baskara so free these days?

    "Little Nephew Leonhardt will be following me, yes?"

    "Of course."

    Leon answered.

    Chief Valencia did not bother asking Darlene. This girl would naturally follow whether Leonhardt goes.

    After speaking a few departing words, the expedition group separated from Chief Valencia and continued to investigate the ck Swamp while collecting treasures at the same time.

    ¡­

    Darkmoon Tribe.

    At this moment, a few Great Warriors were leading the group of Crimsonfog Tribesmen headed by the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Chief cktooth into the Darkmoon Tribe.

    The Venerable Shamans were quickly notified by the scouts via voice-transmission stones, but only Master Woodrow and Old Tailor volunteered to receive the guests.

    "Wee to Darkmoon Tribe, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman. It''s been a while since west meet." Master Woodrow greeted while offering a handshake.

    The One-Eye Venerable Shaman epted the handshake with a firm grip and smiled, "It has indeed been a while, Venerable Shaman Woodrow. It''s a pleasant surprise to see you are doing well¡ªand you too, Venerable Shaman Hardfist."

    Hardfist was the name of Old Tailor.

    Old Tailor also greeted the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman with a handshake and smile before he swept his gaze through the group of Crimsonfog Tribesmen.

    After failing to find a specific person, Old Tailor asked, "Where your tribe''s chief? Did that kid Baskara note with you?"

    "Ahem!"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman straightened his back and cleared his throat before introducing the person beside him, "Baskara did note. The new Crimsonfog Tribe''s chief stands before you, right here."

    "Huh?"

    Old Tailor and Master Woodrow both had a stunned expression as their gazes slowly fell on the Extremity-rank Great Warrior with a severely swollen face.

    "Who the heck is this pig?"

    "You must be joking, right?"

    Two Venerable Shamans eximed with different responses simultaneously. However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman gave them a look that he was serious.

    Chief cktooth''s face twitched profusely.

    He knew that he would not be taken seriously before reaching the Battle Master Realm, but he did not expect to be disregarded this badly.

    Nevertheless, he had to behave courteously to the elders.

    "Hello, Venerable Shamans. I am the new Crimsonfog Tribe''s chief, cktooth?" Chief cktooth greeted with a smile that looked worse than crying due to his swollen face.

    "cktooth? Are you sure it''s not ckface instead?" Old Tailor raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

    "That''s enough, Old Tailor." Master Woodrow nudged Old Tailor with a reprimanding gaze before returning shortly returning his attention to Chief cktooth.

    "Wee to the Darkmoon Tribe."

 Chapter 434 - Silent West

    <h4>Chapter 434 - Silent West</h4>

    Crawford Kingdom, Western Frontier.

    Some several miles away from the Great Wall, an airship was seen sailing through the skies, 600ft above ground.

    The Elven Supreme Elder Haldir and Princess Faelyn could be seen standing on the ship''s deck, gazing in the distance. The strong winds brushed against their face and made their silky golden hair flutter wildly.

    "We''ll be passing the Great Wall shortly, Marquis Haldir." A crewmate reported.

    "I got it, thanks." The Elven Supreme Elder nodded and said, "I can see it from here."

    The towering mountain range and massive ck walls could be seen ahead, while the sizeable military city was just at the foot of it.

    While the airship flew 600ft high into the skies, it still could not bepared to the high mountain range surrounding the Human Domain, which threatens to pierce the heavens.

    "You look a little reluctant to leave, Faelyn." The Elven Supreme Elder said, noticing Princess Faelyn???s distant and lost look.

    Princess Faelyn smiled wryly and nodded.

    "There were many interesting things to be found within the Human Domain that we would not normally find back in the tribe. Also, the air around the World Tree is very pleasant to breathe in. If we did not need to leave, I would not want to leave that ce." Faelyn said.

    "True. That ce is simply thriving with life. It is suitable for the cultivation of nts and crops¡ªbut also Wood Cultivation." The Elven Supreme Elder nodded in agreement.

    Shortly after, he added, "It should have taken you another 3 months to breakthrough to 9-Star Ranked Awakener, but managed to achieve it after staying there for a few days. When we get back to the tribe, you should go into seclude training in the heart of the Elder Tree and focus on achieving your Transcendence."

    "Yes, Supreme Elder. I will follow your advice." Princess Faelyn said with a little curtsy.

    "s, I don''t know how much time we have left until the nexting of the Cataclysm. I can sense this ill-feeling growing inside me by the day, but I do not know when it will erupt." Supreme Elder Haldir sighed with a worrisome look.

    "Maybe you are just overthinking it, Supreme Elder. Maybe things are not as bad as you are imagining. It''s been over 500 years since the Cataclysm happened, but no one knows exactly why it even happened." Faelyn said with a slightly wrinkled expression.

    During their stay in the Grasnd Region by the World Tree, they learned a bit of history about the Nova Empire that once existed over 10 thousand years ago.

    "That is exactly why it concerns me even more! You should know that my hunches have never been wrong. Wood-type Transcendents share a closer affinity to the world than any other elements. We can sense when something is wrong with the world. This foreboding feeling I sense doesn''t just stem from nothing."

    The Supreme Elder furrowed his brows as he exined.

    Wood Transcendents had a strong affinity with nts. They do not just have control over them; the nts can also transmit what they are feeling back to them.

    "It''s too weird that a single sr re from the sun was enough to wipe out an entire civilization in their most prosperous era. There must be more details that have been omitted from history. It was said that the sun also emitted a strong sr re during the Cataclysm over 500 years ago. However, this only brought great changes to the world, not destroy it like during the Nova Era."

    Listening to this point, Princess Faelyn could not help but agree with a nod. The Supreme Elder had made an excellent point.

    Suddenly, Princess Faelyn picked up a stale scent in the air, causing her expression to wrinkle slightly with difort.

    "Do you smell that, Supreme Elder? She asked.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded, "I do!"

    As the airship steadily flew closer to the Great Wall, the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn both frowned. The crewmate aboard the airship also felt off about the area.

    "Something is wrong! This ce wasn''t like this when west came here!" Princess Faelyn as she gazed down at the military city below.

    The whole ce was devoid of soldiers¡ªor any people for that matter. Buildings were damaged, and military vehicles were parked messily on the roads, some of which were crashed into buildings.

    Boxes of military supplies, rations, and misceneous equipment and weaponry were spilled over, littering the streets. Bloodstains were seen, but not a single body was found.

    Nothing was tidy nor orderly. Everything was a mess.

    On the outer perimeters of the city, barbed wires and barricades formed a defensive line. However, rather than preventing people from entering the city, it was closer to stopping them from getting out.

    "What on earth happened here? It looks like a battlefield! Where are all the people?" Princess Faelyn eximed with shock.

    The closer they were, the clearer the scenic view below them.

    Countless bullet shells were scattered, littering the streets in thousands. Buildings and crates were punctured full of holes, tires were t, and the bloodstained were smudged like the bodies were dragged, disappearing into the darkness of building entrances.

    The Supreme Elder furrowed his brows and pulled over a crewmate to ask, "Do you know what is going on here?"

    "I-I don''t know, Marquis Haldir¡­ It''s the first time I''ve seen the Wester Frontier in such a terrible state¡­" The crewmate said slowly with a look of sheer shock.

    "Was the Great Wall breached by a beast invasion?"

    "No, that would make no sense. The Great Wall still looks fine, and there are no corpses or carcasses of beasts to be seen anywhere."

    "That''s true¡­ but what else could have happened then? Everything is a mess¡­ like a great battle had been fought inside the city¡­"

    "I wouldn''t say great, but definitely chaotic and desperate."

    A few crewmates began to discuss among themselves as their gaze over the airship''s edge and observed the situation below.

    "Right now, the captain is in themunication room, trying to contact the Great Wall. Regardless of what has happened here, we will have an answer soon."

    "What if no one from the Great Wall responds?"

    "This¡­"

    The crewmate was stumped for answers.

    The ce below was like a ghost town.

    There were ten thousands of people living here, but now there was not a single person in sight. He was not confident whether the situation on the Great Wall would be the same.

    "If no one on the Great Wall responds, then¡­" The crewmember shortly turned towards Marquis Haldir for an answer.

    Ideally, a sense of responsibilitypelled him to suggest that they immediately return to the Capital to report the Western Frontier''s situation. It was too eerie that no news of the Western Frontier''s situation had made it out of this ce.

    However, they were also tasked to deliver Marquis Haldir and Princess Faelyn back to the Elven Tribe.

    "We will investigate and figure out the situation here before deciding what to do further." The Supreme Elder said.

    "Understood, Marquis."

    Shortly after, the airship captain walked out of themunication room with a shake of his head and said, "No one is responding to the call.

    The Supreme Elder frowned.

    The skies gradually darkened as the sun began setting on the western horizon, causing the towering Great Wall to cast a looming shadow over the military city below and plunge it into darkness.

    The red sky gave the Supreme Elder an ominous feeling as the nearby grasnd and nts on the surface vaguely transmitted their unease to Haldir.

    "Begin preparing for our descent on the Great Wall, captain." The Supreme Elder said, seeing that they were gradually approaching the ck metal wall.

    As they grew closer to the Great Wall, the foot of the wall on the Wilnds'' side began to unravel.

    Piles upon piles of charred-ck bodies were soon revealed. They stacked like mountains and formed a staircase that nearly reached the top of the wall.

    "What in the world¡­"

    Everyone on the deck of the airship gradually widened their eyes with shock and severity. Things seemed to have gotten serious.

    "So, there was a beast invasion? But why wasn''t any news sent back to the Capital?! Where''s the General Marquis!? What exactly happened! Where are all the soldiers?!" A crewmate spoke with a ming tone, feeling that the General Marquis had failed to live up to his expectations.

    "Look carefully! Those charred-ck bodies aren''t the carcasses of beasts! They are the corpses of humans!" Supreme Elder Haldir stated after he confirmed the origins of the scorched bodies.

    "What?!"

    The crew eximed in disbelief while Princess Faelyn softly gasped in horror.

    For the bodies to piles like mountains¡ªto the point that it would nearly reach the top of the Great Wall, it would take at least several hundred thousands of human bodies!

    However, the Western Frontier did not have this kind of poption guarding the Great Wall against the beast invasions from the west!

    "There must be countless beast carcasses littered underneath!" A crewmate concluded.

    Suddenly, a shadowy figure shot from the Great Wall towards their airship! However, due to miscalction, the shadowy figure drew an arc over the deck and shooting past the airship.

    "Raoooo¡ª!!!"

    The creature cried as it was passing, before making its plunge into the darkness of the military city below!

    "What the f*ck was that?!" A crewmate eximed with shock. The shadowy creature flew past too quickly for him to discern what it was.

    At the same time, Princess Faelyn turned to the Supreme Elder unconfidently for confirmation, "Did you see what that was, Supreme Elder? It looked like a¡­"

    "Un, it was a Wingrat."

    The Supreme Elder nodded.

 Chapter 435 - Berserk Humans

    <h4>Chapter 435 - Berserk Humans</h4>

    "Wingrat? What''s a Wingrat?" A crewmate overheard Supreme Elder Haldir''s words and asked.

    "Exactly what it sounds like. It is a rat with¡ªErr, maybe not exactly. It''s a rat with impressive leaping strength that it can almost be seen as flying." Princess Faelyn answered for in the Supreme Elder''s stead.

    The crewmate was taken aback.

    "What kind of fat rat is that?" He asked.

    However, he shook his head after a moment and said, "No, that is not important. Rats usually follow inrge groups like a gue. If that was a rat, then beneath those mountains of corpses are¡­"

    "The carcasses of numerous Wingrats, most likely."

    "Right."

    Shortly after, the Wingrat disappeared into the darkness of the city below; its screeching cries could be heard amidst the growls of other creatures or things as they were thrown into a violent struggle.

    However, a few breathester that; the ground became silent once more.

    The crew felt a chill in their hearts.

    "I thought there were no living beings down below. Where did all those growlinge from?"

    "The buildings? They were hiding in the buildings!"

    Princess Faelyn creased her brows and said, "Those growling isn''t the kind of noises a normal human would make when they are fighting beasts, right?"

    The entire crew immediately frowned.

    That was definitely not what normal humans would sound like. However, it did not change the fact that what they heard also sounded like the voices of humans.

    What the f*ck was going on?

    "Are we still descending, Sir Marquis Haldir?" The captain asked behind the wheel. Faced with the unknown danger, he could not help but doublecheck with the Elven Supreme Elder.

    "Descend!"

    Supreme Elder Haldir spoke one word.

    "However, do not make a full descent. Everyone will stay on the ship. It is enough for me, alone to go investigate." He added.

    No one argued with the Supreme Elder.

    None of them werebat orientated, nor were they high-level Awakeners. They have only made some minor aplishments in the Body Tempering Realm. Neither of them was above the 4th Layer of Body Tempering Realm.

    "As you wish, Marquis Haldir." The captain nodded.

    Shortly after, the captain began barking orders at the crew, and the group got busy throughout the airship. Gears were turned, propelling speeds were reduced, and the levitation device''s power was lowered.

    The airship soon started to descend at a slow but steady rate.

    "That''s enough. This height will do." Supreme Elder Haldir jumped off the airship at an altitude of 100ft above the Great Wall.

    The Supreme Eldernded with a heavy thud on the Great Wall.

    Momentster, it was like a ho''s nest being stirred as fragments of small objects, and random pebbles on the wall began to tter from the distinct vibrations of nearby movements.

    The movements soon turned into rumbles as a few towering mountains of bodies copsed, and numerous Wingrats poured out from the crevices and cracks in between the scorched bodies.

    "Rats! This ce is still swarming with rats!" A crewmate cried out at the appearance of Wingrats pouring from underneath in droves.

    "Be careful, Marquis Haldir!"

    "No, YOU be careful. Worry about yourselves!" The Supreme Elder barked back while reaching his hand into his leather pouch of magic seeds.

    The captain immediately realized the dangerous situation they were in and immediately thundered at the crew, "Quickly get to work! Take up back up!"

    The numerous ck Wingrats shortly squeaked madly, rushing up the mountain of scorched bodies and threw themselves at the Supreme Elder fearlessly with red eyes.

    At the same time, Haldir had infused his power into the magic seeds and tossed them out! They grew into countless thorny vines andshed out at the Wingrats in a frenzy.

    The Wingrats were not strong!

    Their greatest strengths were not their defense! It was their speed and numbers! Nevertheless, they were not faster than the vines whips protecting the Supreme Elder!

    Dozens of Wingrats were shredded into pieces within half a breath''s time. In the next half, the numbers spiked to the hundreds. And by the end of the second breath, it had already soared to thousands!

    Despite being killed en masse, the Wingrats were not deterred! They continue to throw themselves at the Supreme Elder and get ughtered inrge numbers!

    They were frenzied, they were berserk¡ªlike they are being influenced by something to behave as such beyond their control!

    In a matter of several breaths, the kill count had already soared into the tens of thousands!

    Even so, the Wingrats did not show any signs of reducing. Instead, it continued to increase. Their numbers can only be described with one word¡ªTerrifying!

    The airship managed to return to an altitude of 600fts above the ground level and slipped out of immediate danger.

    Although the Wingrats could scale this distance in a single leap, they were fixated on the target closest to them¡ªthe one in front of him.

    None could slip past the Supreme Elder''s defense. All that tried and continued to try were diced into numerous pieces.

    In a short time, the Great Wall was littered with the severed parts of Wingrats, piling like small mountains while their blood sttered, spilled, and trickled down the walls like flowing rivers and pouring rain.

    The pungent stench of blood soon pervaded the surrounding area and descended to the ground level like the cascading moonlighting out at night.

    Roar!

    The smell immediately provoked a response from the city below in the sound of growling that grew increasinglyrger in numbers very quickly!

    Shortly after, their thundering footsteps could be heard as the earth rumbled and the buildings shook in tandem with their massive movements!

    "What is going on now?!"

    "Something ising from the city!"

    Princess Faelyn could only watch in silence with a worrisome expression while the crew eximed with shock and surprises at each and every change that took ce below in a short time.

    It only took moments before the owners of the growls and heavy footsteps were revealed to them as their figures could be barely seen pouring out of buildings in the city, en masse!

    They were humans! But at the same time, they did not behave like humans! They had undergone drastic and eerie changes!

    Their damaged skins were paled due to ack of blood and looked like they had been scratched and wed countlessly without a spot left unchecked.

    However, the most distinguishing points were their red eyes that glowed demonically! They were under the same berserk state as the Wingrats!

    After these demonic-like humans rushed out of hiding, they took a brief moment to gaze up towards the top of the wall.

    Once they located the source of fresh blood and flesh, they immediately stampeded to the foot of the wall and piled up like mountains, climbing over each other blindly to reach the top!

    Gulp!

    A crew felt a bit dry in his throats while looking at this scene and immediately swallowed his saliva.

    "What happened to these people? They are behaving the same way as the rats! However, their intelligence has degraded! They''re not even using the stairs and lifts!"

    "Holy crap, I don''t even know what is going on anymore. Are we experiencing another Cataclysm?! But where is the sr re that marks the beginning of the Cataclysm as recorded in history?!"

    "More importantly, take a look at them! Are humans being affected like the beasts now!?"

    "What does it look like to you!? Sh*t, what''s going to happen to us?"

    The crewmates panicked with fear.

    At the same time, Faelyn''s expression became more creased with worry.

    The situation on the Western Frontier was already like this. What about the situation at her tribe, which was located deeper in the Wilnds without the protection of high walls?

    Suddenly, the sound of something being shot erupted in the far northern parts of the Great Wall. In a short instance, an object whisked its way through the air at great speed, smashing into the rising mountain of berserk humans.

    Boom!

    The object exploded into a fiery ze, blowing the bodies of berserk humans apart! The rising mountain copsed instantly!

    Their angry roars and rage could be heard and felt at the bottom of the Great Wall as they suffered a setback in reaching their goals.

    Shortly after, they began forming a new human mountain to try again.

    At the same time, the people on the airship shot their nces to the northern wall with surprise. Someone was helping them!

    It was not hard to guess what this meant. There were still other people around! Sane people that is!

    "Over here!"

    A person from the north barked at them, urging them toe over.

    "Supreme Elder!" Faelyn immediately called out.

    "You all leave first! I will followter!" Supreme Elder Haldir shouted while focusing wholeheartedly on his defense.

    "But¡­"

    "Leave!"

    He thundered.

    The Wingrats continued to assault him from the front, and the berserk humans quickly close in from behind.

    Although everything was minced and diced to pieces by the thorny vines, the Supreme Elder could not move from his spot.

    "Princess Faelyn?" In the sky, the captain asked, awaiting her answer.

    Faelyn creased her brows while watching the Supreme Elder massacre the Wingrats below.

    Although the Supreme Elder was pinned to his current spot and appeared to be in a seemingly precarious situation, he was not in any real danger. It was just that the Wingrat''s onught gave him no chance to retreat.

    "Let us go." She sighed.

    After receiving Princess Faelyn''s permission, the captain nodded and returned to take the helm, barking out instructions to the crew.

    Shortly after, the stilled airship hovering in the sky began moving once more, swerving right and heading in the direction further north along the Great Wall.

 Chapter 436 - Observers In The World

    <h4>Chapter 436 - Observers In The World</h4>

    Crawford Kingdom, the Capital.

    The sun was setting, but the looming dark clouds continued to swirl in the skies above the Royal Pce with Aria seated at its center, eyes closed.

    Many hours have passed, but the process of Transcendence did not seem like it would end any time soon.

    Clouds gathered, and white lightning crackled with streaks of blue and purple. The power umted in the clouds was ever-rising, but without its descent, Aria cannot be baptized andplete her Transcendence.

    Heinrich and Elizabeth shortly returned after tending to matters in the east, helping with the railway construction that would connect the Capital to the World Tree¡ªonly to be surprised by the scene before them.

    "How much time has psed since Aria started sitting here? Her Transcendence hasn''t ended yet?" Elizabeth said, taken aback before her brows creased with worry.

    Heinrich frowned.

    "We were gone from a whole day, but Aria has still been sitting here. This is probably the longest Transcendence in history. There won''t be any problem, would there?"

    "Why are you asking me? I should be asking you!"

    "How would I know? I don''t know everything." Heinrich responded dumbfoundedly.

    Shortly after, Elizabeth pulled over a pce guard and queried, "Anything happened while we were gone?"

    "None, Your Majesty." The pce guard answered, honestly.

    Heinrich and Elizabeth fell into silence.

    After a moment, Heinrich softly said, "Well, let us hope nothing goes awry. This Transcendent Phenomenon is rather different from previous ones, after all. Perhaps, it has something to do with Aria''s unique attributes. Maybe something good wille out of it."

    "Un, maybe you are right. We can only hope and pray that things go well." Elizabeth nodded, but she cannot hide the concerns in her heart.

    They both gazed into the whirlpool of dark clouds in the sky worriedly.

    Suddenly, the whirlpool of dark clouds began to spin with increasing velocity, forming a clear eye at its center.

    The entire sky was blotted out by the clouds. But at this moment, a clear glimpse into the void was projected through the eye. However, this void did not seem toe from their world.

    The starry eyes depicted was different. It did not match the same constetion they usually see in the sky at night. It was as if the eye was a portal, leading to a different world.

    It was not long before a few sprinkles of soft glittering light particles fell from the eye of heaven like falling stardust. Theynded gently on Aria''s head before disappearing like melting snow.

    Deep in her consciousness, Aria fell into a dream. The dark depths of her sea of consciousness fade as she was pulled into another world¡ªa world of snow.

    ''This ce¡­''

    ''I''ve seen this ce before¡­''

    ''In my dream.''

    Aria gazed at the distant yet familiar surroundings. She was on a snowy mountain peak, where arge pce was built.

    Below was the kingdom belonging to the said pce, flourishing in the grasnd with fresh air, which was contrary to the coldness of the tall mountain peak.

    A plethora of herbs could be seen in every household, some of which were built grand and impressively, only slightly inferior to the pce on the snowy mountain peak.

    She nced down at her own hands and feet, waving them in doubt before her eyes gradually widened with please surprise.

    ''I can move on my own this time.''

    Aria concluded.

    She resumed observing the world in her surroundings.

    It was beautiful beyond belief, thriving with life and fantastical elements she had not seen in the Human Domain.

    Distant mountain peaks surrounded the kingdom, and floating inds could be seen high in the skies amongst the clouds while flowing water poured down from them ceaselessly like waterfalls.

    Rivers of clear water ran through the heart of the kingdom and spread to every direction. These clear waters seemed to possess magical properties that nourish the nts and herbs it touches, allowing them to proliferate and bloom with wonders.

    Beyond the sky, was the heavens.

    It was filled withrge celestial bodies, both close and far like distant stars. However, the close ones were bigger and brighter than the moons in her memory.

    They appeared so closely; it gave her the illusion that they were only a short flight away as long as she could have the ability to traverse amongst the stars.

    Walking around, her feet were bare. The snow was soft and cold, but not to the point of freezing. Instead, it was cool and refreshing, like the ocean breeze in spring.

    Even so, her footsteps in the soft patches of snow left no footprints. When she reached for a few cial flowers growing in the snow, her hands phased through it like trying to touch an illusion.

    However, she knew that the world was not an illusion. Rather, she was the illusion in this unknown world.

    ''How did Ie here?''

    ''Why am I brought here?''

    ''What purposes does my presence serve here?''

    Aria was puzzled by these questions.

    The prosperous kingdom below was thriving with people and activities, while the pce felt detached and lonely.

    At that moment, she heard some voices nearby.

    It came from the courtyard ahead of her. She made her way over to the entrance without stopping and did not bother to reach out for the door handles.

    Her body quickly phased through the doors at the moment of contact, just like the cial flower she tried to touch before.

    She was not a person of this world¡ªonly a silent observer. The people in this world did not know she existed while she was quietly watching them.

    Inside the courtyard, her eyes soon fell on two young men. One was seated on a stone bench, hunched over with a depressed look while the other person tried to cheer him up.

    The depressed person resembled Leon.

    However, this person appeared younger and na?ve, but also more handsome, except not by much. He simply had fairer skin.

    Aria had seen this person in her dream fragments before.

    His name was Leon Esdus, the Crown Prince of the Divine Pill Kingdom, and son of Heinrich Esdus, the Divine Medicine King.

    The other person was his best friend, Judas Gahfrit, a young master from the Gahfrit family, a Great Family residing within the Divine Pill Kingdom.

    "What is the matter with you, man? How can you expect that person to know how you feel if you do not tell her how you feel about her? What is the point of being depressed over doing nothing? If doing nothing is making you depressed, then do something about it! Some things won''t happen unless you say it." Judas Gahfrit said.

    "I''m not confident that she will reciprocate my feelings due to the rtionship we share. After all, we''ve been close like real brothers and sisters." Leon Esdus sighed.

    "Hmm¡­ is that so?"

    Judas Gahfrit''s eyes flickered with deep thoughts before he said, "If you believe you arecking confidence, thene with me to the Red District! I know just the ce that will help you build up your confidence!"

    "There''s a ce that can do that within the kingdom?" Leon Esdus naively asked with doubt and anticipation.

    Judas Gahfrit nodded.

    "Of course! Once you experience it, you''ll be overflowing with confidence like me!" Judas Gahfrit imed while secretly snickering inside his heart, ''Not only is there a ce like that in the kingdom, but it can also be found in almost every city!''

    After getting the affirmation from his best friend, Leon Esdus looked up at Judas Gahfrit, who seemed to be the personification of confidence.

    "What are we waiting for then? Let us go right now!" Leon Esdus immediately urged with eagerness. Once he has his confidence, he will be sure to confess his love.

    His best friend had made a point. If he does not even confess, then nothing will change.

    "Alright!"

    Aria watched everything unfolded and felt that something was not right about this situation.

    "Wait! Don''t go!"

    She tried to stop them, but it was no use. Her hands simply phased through their bodies, and her voice could not be heard.

    Shortly after, the two left the courtyard and flew down the snowy mountain on their summoned Spirit Artifact.

    "Dammit!"

    Aria hit the ground with a clenched fist, feeling helpless and useless for not being able to change anything. She did not know why she was even trying to change anything.

    Subconsciously, she was treating Leon Esdus and Leon Crawford as the same person.

    There were fragment dreams that depicted scenes when Leon Esdus fell into the quagmire of lust and depravity. This event might have been the impetus that led towards it.

    Suddenly, there was a soft but distant sigh.

    Aria was surprised that were was still someone else nearby. She quickly turned towards the source, which seemed to havee from the sky, and found a person¡ªNo, a goddess floating in the air.

    It was the goddess in her fragmented dream who shared a simr appearance to her, except this person radiated with a fairy-like beauty and etherealness, making the person feel much beautiful.

    "If you were me. What would you have done differently?" The person asked.

    Aria was startled.

    She did not expect that this person could see her, believing that no one in this world could see her. With doubts in her heart, she pointed at herself and asked, "Are you asking me?"

    "That is correct."

    The person shortly nodded with a slight but forlorn chuckled, asking, "If not you, then who else could I be asking around here? We are the only two observers here."

 Chapter 437 - Events After Death

    <h4>Chapter 437 - Events After Death</h4>

    "The only two observers in this world?" Aria mumbled with a frown before asking, "Who''s world is this? Did you bring me here?"

    "This is the world of my memories. Everything that happened here, has already happened. They are all past events. As for you are here, I do not know why. I did not bring you here." The person exined.

    She slowly descended onto the soft snow with her jade white feet and slowly entered the courtyard. Aria quickly followed her blindly.

    "If this is the world of your memories, then there should be another you in this world, right? Where were you when all of this happened? And why do we look so alike?" Aria asked.

    The person shook her head and said, "I do not know why we look alike, but it seems that there is some profound and inseparable connection between us. The answer to your other questions lies over there."

    After the person pointed, Aria nced up the top of the building adjacent to the courtyard. On the very top floor, the other person in the world of memories was quietly ncing into the distant kingdom below the mountain.

    Aria wrinkled her expression.

    "You were this close? You should have overheard everything then. Why didn''t you stop them from going?" Aria queried.

    The person gave a despondent sigh.

    "If I knew, I would have. Look again carefully. We were all young back then. How would I have known that the so-called gaining confidence was to go sleep with cheap women in a brothel?"

    When Aria heard this, she nced at the other person on the top building''s balcony more carefully.

    The person was much a much younger version than the other talking to her. In fact, this younger person was almost identical to her.

    "How can there be two exact same people in this world?" Aria could not help but bring up this question that had been pushed in the back of her mind.

    "This world, huh? That''s an interesting point. Actually, I''m not too confident in this ce being the world of my memories." The other Aria said.

    Aria was confused by the other Aria''s words and asked, "What do you mean?"

    "Before you came, I did believe that this was the world built by my memories. But now, I am not so sure. It is impossible to replicate events that I have not seen before. Let me show you."

    The other Aria waved her hand, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

    They were now standing on a bustling street within the kingdom. Not only that, but it was also within the Red District.

    Aria saw the two boys, Judas Gahfrit and Leon Esdus entering one of the buildings with flirtatious women in revealing clothes standing on the balcony, waving at ongoing crowds of people passing through the streets.

    "This is¡­"

    "The Red District."

    After Leon entered the building with Judas, he was taken aback by what the ce really was. He tried to persuade Judas to leave the area, but it did not work.

    Judas assured him that they were only there to drink.

    Nevertheless, after being peer pressured into drinking many wine shots, Leon got drunk ording to his friend''s n.

    When Leon woke up the next day, he was surrounded by beauties in his arms, naked, and the night before slowly became vivid to him as he tried to recall.

    The other Aria shortly fast-forwarded this scene before she confusedly said to Aria, "I was not around to see when this happen. As such, it should not have existed within my memory now that I think about it."

    Aria was surprised.

    This person, who seems so strong and knowledgeable, also had times when she felt lost and clueless about what was really happening.

    "What kind of world is this, really? I have never seen magical ces like this before. How are those inds floating in the sky?"

    "Oh? Are you not someone from the Divine Realm? The Deste Region outside the Divine Realm, perhaps?" The other Aria tried to guess.

    "So, this ce is called the Divine Realm¡­" Aria mumbled before she wrinkled her brows and asked, "What is the Deste Region?"

    "The Deste Region is referred to ces that exist too far from the Divine Realm''s central region, which gathers all the power in the universe toward its center. The Deste Regions have next to no Spirit Energy to sustain effective Divine Cultivation."

    Perhaps, because the other Aria had been too lonely in this world by herself, she was incredibly talkative, answering all of Aria''s question.

    Aria matched some of the knowledge she found from the fragmented dreams with the other Aria''s words and gained a clearer picture of the Divine Realm and Deste Regions.

    The Human Domain seemed to be precisely the same as the Deste Regions the other Aria describe. It also had a scarce amount of Spirit Energy¡ªthat was until the World Tree came into being.

    "Eh, it seems my world might be in one of these Deste Regions you mentioned. Spirit Energy used to be scarce, but now we have the World Tree to provide for us." Aria said.

    "Your world has a World Tree?"

    "Yes."

    Aria nodded.

    The other Aria immediately shook her head and said, "It''s impossible to give birth to a World Tree in the Deste Region. You¡­ should not be in one of these Deste Regions. Another world, perhaps?" The other Aria guessed, but she was not too confident.

    "Perhaps the world outside has changed since my death." She added.

    Aria was immediately confused by this line.

    "What do you mean ''after your death?'' Are you not alive right here? Can you not get out of this world?"

    "I have been trapped in this ce by myself for many years, unable to get out nor kill myself. I would hardly call this living, don''t you think? I cannot live, but I cannot die either." The other Aria said.

    She waved her hand, and the world rapidly changed once more, fast-forwarding by many years into the future. In this new timeline, the Divine Pill Kingdom was on fire.

    "In this timeline, everyone I loved is already dead. I made my way back as soon as I heard the news, but it is already toote." The other Aria slowly exined.

    Buildings were on fire, and battles broke out in every corner of¡ªnot only the kingdom, but the entire Divine Realm. It was a grand battle between numerous Divine Practitioners, but also myriads of races!

    "Why is everyone fighting?" Aria asked, confused by this scene. It was not included within her fragmented dream.

    "News of the Divine Medicine King''s death caused grief and outrage throughout the entire Divine Realm. You see, Leon''s father, Heinrich Esdus was a saintly doctor who treated everyone equally, regardless of their race and background.

    "This made him beloved by all races, including the demon race from the Northern Devil Region. The entire Divine Realm was thrown in turmoil after the Demon Empressunched an attack on the other three Divine Regions."

    While the other Aria was exining, they soon arrived at a specific open area within the pce, atop the snowy mountain.

    In this spot, two corpses were seen lying in the cold snow, stripped of anything valuable to them except their clothes.

    Aria soon saw the fairy-like Aria of the world arriving at the scene shortly with a frosty divine sword in her hand.

    The person did not see her and the other Aria.

    The person''s gaze was fixated on the two cold corpses before rushing forward to hug one of the bodies dearly to herself, heartbroken as tears began flowing her cheeks.

    "Why did this happen?! Is there no justice in this world?!" The person cried towards the heavens with grievances.

    How could two people who umted karmic virtue by saving lives all their lifee to such a miserable end?! Do they have no divine protection from garnishing so much good karma?!

    The heavens also seemed upset that things hade to this. It thundered with streaks of powerful lightning in the skies. Its power was enough to even annihte Divine Kings, but no one was hit.

    "Aria! It''s great that you''re back! But we cannot stay here anymore! The demon army is about to overrun this ce! Come with me. We need to get out of here!" A person shortly arrived pulled the fairy-like Aria''s tender white hands.

    However, the fairy-like Aria simply looked at the person coldly before flicking her wrist with an outburst of Divine Energy, causing the person to loosen his grip and flew away like a cannonball, mming into a wall.

    "Judas, I have misjudged you! What kind of heartless friend are you to leave Leon''s body here in the cold like this?!" The fairy-like Aria said hatefully with tears and anger.

    "I¡­ It''s not like that, Aria! I''ve just got here! I have been fighting the demons on the frontlines until now! I would never leave their bodies like this if I were not tied down by the demons!" Judas Gahfrit exined.

    The fairy-like Aria shot the person a ridiculing look and said, "Then why are you here? What about before the demon army even reach the borders of our Divine Pill Kingdom? What about then, huh?! Save your sugary lies for someone else. I won''t believe a single one of your words!"

    Aria and the other Aria both watched this scene and felt deep sadness gushed out of deep within their hearts. They were mournful of the losses.

    The other Aria had revisited this scene many times, but it saddens her greatly every time.

    "The people dearest to me have already left this world. What meaning do I have left to continue living in it?!"

    "Stop, Aria! Don''t do it!" Judas barked.

    However, he could do nothing against the fairy-like Aria''s powerful Divine King-level cultivation suppressing him.

    She severed her own heart veins and sent power Energy Palm Strike to her own forehead to annihte her soul before her body copsed on top of the other two bodies.

    "Nooo!" Judas roared mournfully before rushing over.

    The other Aria sighed and waved her hand to end the scene before looking back at Aria.

    "Now, you know why I should be dead¡­ Yet here I am stuck in this strange world."

 Chapter 438 - Icesoul Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 438 - Icesoul Coffin</h4>

    Suddenly, Aria had a bad feeling.

    If this person was stuck in this memory world, then what was going to happen to her? Was she going to be stuck in this world too?

    She was supposed to be in the middle of her Transcendence!

    "Is there really no way to leave this world? I can''t be stuck here. I was still in the middle of a breakthrough before I entered this ce!" Aria said with an urgent tone.

    The other Aria nced at Aria with surprise and asked, "You didn''te here after dying, but while you were in the middle of a breakthrough? What realm were you breathing through to?"

    "What? Of course not!" Aria denied the possibility of her dying. Shortly after, she exined, "I was in the middle of breaking through to the Transcendent Realm."

    "The Transcendent Realm? What kind of realm is that?" The other Aria asked with furrowed brows. She had not heard of this realm within the realms of Divine Cultivation.

    "The Transcendent Realm is the realm thates after¡­" Aria began exining to the other Aria about Awakening Cultivation and theprehension ofws.

    After she was done, the other Aria had an understanding look while saying, "I see. That sounds like a really interesting cultivation system. However, something would not be possible in the Divine Realm. It seems we are really from different worlds."

    The other Aria recalled the World Tree that Aria mentioned in her world¡ªA World Tree that bloomed in a world with scarce Spirit Energy.

    "Why don''t you tell me more about your world? Maybe we will be able to figure out a way to leave this ce if I get a clearer understanding of your situation." The other Aria exined.

    She was intrigued by Aria''s world.

    Aria nodded.

    "It''s rare to have someone to talk to. I shouldn''t keep calling you, you, and the same goes for you too. My name is Aria White. And you are?" The other Aria decided to finally introduce herself.

    Aria nced back at Aria White in surprise.

    Not only did they look the same, but they also share the same name? Although it was only the first name, it was enough to prove that some profound and separable connection truly existed between them.

    "I am Aria Rivera."

    "Ah, another Aria. I see. We really do share some sort of inexplicably intertwined fate. Come to think of it, you share the spitting image of my younger self. If you were to practice my divine cultivation technique, we would be like twins in a few years."

    "Is the divine cultivation technique called the [Ice Phoenix Divine Canon]?" Aria asked.

    Aria White was immediately taken aback before she said, "So you also know that name of this divine cultivation technique too. It seems we will have a lot to talk about."

    "It''s a pleasure to meet you."

    "Likewise. I have so much I wish to learn from you."

    When the two Aria tried to shake hands, something happened.

    Their hands phased through each other just like when they tried to interact with the memory world¡ªHowever, that was not all. Aria White''s body became slightly translucent, like a part of her being was absorbed by Aria Rivera.

    The scene stunned them both.

    "I-I''m sorry¡­ I did not expect for this to happen¡­" Aria apologetically said, taking a few steps back with shock and iprehensibility.

    In mere moments, she experienced a greater shock as a source of information flowed into her head.

    "Y-Your memories¡­ I have them in my mind¡­"

    "So that is how it is¡­"

    The other Aria said.

    She nced at her slightly translucent hand for a moment before she seemed to have understood what was going on.

    Shaking her head, she said, "No, don''t be sorry. This is fine by me. I am supposed to be dead anyway. This could be the secret to leaving this ce. Destiny brought us together for this moment¡ªI was kept alive for this moment. Let us be one."

    "No! There had to be another way!" Aria denied while retreating backward. Her hand was still clear as can be, while only Aria White had be translucent. "You will die if this continues!"

    "Yes, as it should have been years ago." The other Aria nodded, thinking nothing of it. Her heart had died long ago.

    The only she was still alive in this ce was because she cannot kill herself.

    Aria frowned.

    "Don''t you want to know more about my world? We can sit down somewhere; I will tell you more about it!" She persuaded.

    "There''s no need for that."

    "Besides, your world''s power is centralized aroundwprehension. In that case, you will find my knowledge especially useful. You see, this ce is ideally the best ce toprehend the Temporal Laws."

    Aria was startled when the other Aria suddenly disappeared in front of her.

    When she thought about it, they were both observers in this memory world. Yet, the other person could freely change the flow of time to show her specific events within the history of the memory world.

    At this moment, the other Aria was also disying the usage of Spatial Laws. Aria was amazed that this person could freely control the Spatial and Temporal Laws despite not being an Awakener.

    ''Divine Kings were amazing.'' Aria thought.

    However, she was wrong.

    Aria did not know that even among Divine Kings, no one is able to control the Temporal Law as well as Aria White had shown.

    "Time moves in a linear path. The first step is to speed up the flow of time, achieving Temporal eleration."

    The other Aria reappeared in another location and lectured Aria while showing a demonstration.

    "The second step is to slow down time, achieving Temporal Stagnation¡­"

    "The third step is to stop time, achieving Temporal Suspension¡­"

    "The fourth step is to reverse time, achieving Temporal Reversal¡­"

    "This is what I haveprehended. If there is a fifth step, allowing you to reverse time back to the beginning of time¡­ Well, I suppose you would have the same power as the Creator¡ªif there''s one, of course."

    The other Aria flickered and disappeared again, reappearing andunching a surprise hug from behind, wrapping her arms around Aria.

    "That''s about it. You should understand the rest once you absorb my knowledge. s, I do not know how useless this knowledge will be in your world. However, I pray that you make the most of it."

    "Stop it, Aria! Let go of me! You''re disappearing!" Aria struggled, but she could not great free from Aria White''s embrace.

    Aria White''s body gradually turned more transparent. Parts of her body faded into nothing, but a smile hung on her face while her eyes appeared clouded and unfocused.

    Her mind was preupied with something else.

    "I see¡­ he was reborn into that world. You were a lot braver than I was¡­ I hope you can take care of him well for me¡­ my other self." The other Aria spoke before thest trace of her beingpletely vanished into Aria''s body.

    "Noooo!" Aria cried.

    The invisible force restricting her movements were lifted, along with Aria White''s disappearance. Aria tried to catch the final fading particles of light, but they just vanished into her hands.

    Two streaks of tears ran down Aria''s cheeks while an endless stream of information entered her mind.

    They were absorbed directly into her soul core and grew increasingly like a patch of snows being added to a rolling snowball. It was not like a growing balloon; there was no stress on her mind.

    Shortly after, cracks began to form on the distant edges of the memory world. It broke down in parts asrge pieces of the sky fell to the ground one after the other and shatter like sses until everything disappeared.

    The world outside the memory world was not the infinite void of darkness but a great grey expanse. Aria only managed to catch a few glimpses of it before she felt an invisible tug on her mind and brought her back into her sea of consciousness.

    Everything had disappeared in an instant and gave Aria the surreal feeling that everything she had witnessed was nothing more than an illusion.

    ''What kind of spiritual world was that?'' She mused quietly with a forlorn expression.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, somewhere in the Divine Realm.

    A man wearing a traditional silk robe with luxurious dragon patterns was seen inside a dark but spacious underground tomb with dimly lit candle fire.

    The temperature of the underground tomb was below freezing point, and the soft billows of cold mists could be seen filling the ce. Any ordinary person who touches this cold mist would freeze in an instant.

    Nevertheless, the man in dragon-patterned silk robes did not seem bothered by this coldness. A faintyer of Divine Energy shielded his body.

    His cultivation was not very high, only within the middle stages of the Divine Transformation Realm. Even so, it was more than enough to protect him against the cold.

    He was seated by an ice coffin made of something called ''Icesoul Crystals,'' something used to preserve the body of the dead in their most pristine state.

    Legend had it that when someone is preserved in the Icesoul Crystal Coffin for 100 thousand years, their soul fragments would slowly gather in that timespan until the person is finally revived.

    However, at this moment, the Icesoul Crystal Coffin suddenly cracked. Extreme frosty air began to spill from inside immediately as the coffin walls gain translucency, revealing the person of a fairy-like woman with otherworldly beauty inside.

    "No!"

    The man cried with destion and misery immediately.

    He shot to his feet and tried to quickly seal the crack in the Icesoul Coffin before roaring with anguish, "Why did this happen?!"

 Chapter 439 - Meat Grinder

    <h4>Chapter 439 - Meat Grinder</h4>

    Western Frontier, Great Wall.

    In the upper north, the airship passed a fortified wall adjacent to the Great Wall, which sessfully sealed off a section of the military city.

    The erected wall was not high; it only amounted to roughly 12fts in height on average as it was uneven.

    It was hastily made using scrap resources the people could gather,prising broken stone blocks, wooden crates, nks, random metal sheets, bars, and frames.

    The airship descended andnded on an empty patch ofnd after they were directed by the soldiers.

    "General Marquis!"

    The captain and crew of the airship immediately greeted when General Marquis Hendrick boarded.

    Hendrick nodded.

    He swept the airship a look and spotted Princess Faelyn before asking, "Were you heading back to Elvengarde with Marquis Haldir, Princess Faelyn?"

    "Yes, that''s right." Faelyn nodded before asking with a frown, "Exactly what happened here?"

    The captain and crewmembers all tuned their ears in to listen immediately. They were all dying of curiosity to find out the situation.

    "Haiz," Hendrick sighed before exining, "We were struck by a double disaster. The beasts have been growing aggressively in recent days, and we had sought to study the cause. However, our people were infected as a result. Although we quickly contained it, we were shortly attacked by those rats you just saw. They had breached our underground sewage system."

    "Anyone bitten by these rats will be infected with the same berserk symptoms, bing a berserk human¡ªbut only if these rats don''t devour you down to thest bone, that is. These rats struck quickly, but we also resisted desperately until the hour of sunrise arrived."

    "That was when they retreated and gave us breathing room. They appear to fear the sunlight. Even so, many people were bitten in the process, and we ended up losing control of the central region."

    After listening, the airship captain could not help but ask, "Why wasn''t any news sent back to the Capital?"

    "The rats were too frenzied. Wherever there were people, there were rats. Themunication tower was destroyed, and the only airships we had at the port in the central region were swarmed while they were taking off." Hendrick stated.

    "We were attacked overnight. And as you can see, no one has much energy left to move. A messenger has already been sent, but it will still take a few hours before reaching the Capital. I, myself, could have gone, but I cannot leave and abandon themands here."

    Faelyn and the crew were immediately surprised and nced around. It was no wonder that everyone they see was in low spirits.

    "Everything was built up overnight?" A crew muttered.

    It looked like the Western Frontier had been at war for three days and three nights. It was unbelievable that they managed to erect such walls to seal off the central region of the city in one day.

    "It good that we have Marquis Haldir here with us now. With his strength, we will have a greater chance of resisting the endless waves of rats. But¡­ I''m afraid it is still going to be a long night." Hendrick said.

    "It''s a pity that we don''t have Grandmaster Don or another strong fire Awakeners here with us. Only with their abilities can we sweep this ce clean and not would about this strange berserk disease lingering in the air and infecting anyone else."

    General Marquis Hendrick shook his head with concern before walking onto a high tform to observe the situation on the Supreme Elder''s side.

    Droves of rats continue to throw themselves at the Supreme Elder like moths flying into the fire. Simultaneously, the berserk humans finished scaling the high walls with their human mountain before lunging themselves forward.

    Not only did the berserk humans threw themselves at the Supreme Elder, but they also attacked the Wingrats!

    In an instance, it had be a three-way battle between the Supreme Elder, the Wingrats, and the berserk humans.

    Nevertheless, whether it was the Wingrats or the berserk humans, all were shredded to pieces under the Supreme Elder''s thorny vine whips.

    ''A Transcendent''s power is high, but not inexhaustible.'' Hendrick mused. He needed to give the Supreme Elder some room to breathe.

    "Stay here."

    Hendrick gave the order to the soldiers.

    While the Supreme Elder pondered how to break free from his current situation, Hendrick flew over in the sky and summoned a wind tempest towards the scorched mountains of bodies.

    In a short instance, numerous Wingrats were swept off their feet while the mountains of scorched bodies copsed. Countless wind des diced the Wingrats into pieces and blew them away from the Great Wall.

    Hendrick''s attack not only swept away the Wingrats, but he also cleared the foot of the Great Wall, allowing the Supreme Elder to maneuver for his previous stalemate.

    The Wingrats were much quicker than the berserk humans.

    However, Hendrick was surprised when the Supreme Elder did not take the chance he had given to retreat.

    Instead, the Supreme Elder jumped down from the Great Wall while reaching into his hands into his pouch to grab several more seeds!

    At the bottom of the Great Wall where the mountains of scorched bodies had been was now a t ground. However, there was also a massive hole whererge numbers of Wingrats could be seen pouring out endlessly!

    Supreme Elder Haldir tossed his seeds straight into the hole. Those seeds proliferated into countless more thorny vines that begancerating everything in its surrounding.

    At the same time, several other thorny vine seeds proliferated in the Supreme Elder''s other hand before they intertwined themselves and transformed into a super long javelin of roughly 150ft in length!

    The super-long javelin was immediately stabbed into the ground while the Supreme Elder was still free-falling forward, causing the javelin to bend like an arc.

    While this was happening, the berserk humans had followed the Supreme Elder and leaped off the walls after him!

    They narrowly missed each other when arced javelin flung the Supreme Elder back into the sky like a catapult.

    General Marquis Hendrick was taken aback by the scene, but he reacted quickly. He immediately flew over and caught the Supreme Elder in midair.

    Thanks to the Supreme Elder''s quick thinking, he had eliminated himself from the equation and allowed the berserk humans and Wingrats to battle amongst themselves.

    Berserk humans continuously threw themselves off the walls while Wingrats poured out from the big rathole. All of this happened while the thorn vines spun andcerate them like a meat grinder, reaping thousands of lives by the seconds.

    "Nice follow-up." Supreme Elder Haldir chuckled and said, "I was not sure what would have happened if you did not catch me."

    After hearing these words, General Marquis Hendrick smiled wryly, "That was quite the dangerous stunt you pulled there, Marquis Haldir."

    "Hohoho, indeed it was." Haldirughed it off lightly.

    "However¡­"

    Hendrick frowned while observing the ground below with the Supreme Elder in the sky with him.

    There was also a tinge of sadness in his eyes while he watched the countless berserk humans get killed without an intact corpse left behind.

    Among them were mostly civilians, but there were also soldiers who have served him for many years. s, the world they lived in was a cruel one.

    "Once all the berserk humans are killed, we will still have to fight the endless tide rats. What do you think we should do, Marquis Haldir?" Hendrick sough the Supreme Elder''s opinion.

    The Supreme Elder shortly furrowed his brows before ncing towards the great forest in the northwestern direction.

    He wondered how the situation was back in Elvengarde.

    Roar!

    A strong howl suddenly came from the west.

    Hendrick and Haldir both turned their heads to look immediately. Faelyn and the others on the Great Wall also nced into the Wilnd''s direction.

    "Awoooo!"

    On a distant hill, arge grey wolf with three tails appeared.

    It was not a Transcendent-level beast, but there wererge numbers of themselves. They were lured over by the pungent stench of blood pervading the air from dozens of miles away.

    After lining up on the hill and gazing into the distance for some time, they began making their charge once the leader howled.

    "Oh, give me a break already. We have our hands full dealing with these rats. And now, there are also wolves to deal with?!" A crewmembermented with despair seeping into his hearts.

    He did not sign up for this when he was assigned to send the two elves home.

    Faelyn furrowed her small brows and said, "We might not necessarily need to deal with Wingrats and wolves at the same time."

    After all, the beast races were not harmonious with each other.

    As Faelyn expected, the wolves soon shed with Wingrats. They mmed heavily into each other and tore at each other''s neck with frenzy.

    The same red glint was seen in the wolves'' eyes.

    "These wolves have also gone berserk! Just what is happening in the Wilnds right now? Is the Cataclysm reallying again?!"

    A few soldiers on the Great Wall began to sob¡­ They were simply too tired of everything that had happened; losing their loved ones, the beast attacks, the struggles, everything.

 Chapter 440 - Visitors From The East

    <h4>Chapter 440 - Visitors From The East</h4>

    Grasnd Region, World Tree.

    In the high skies above the clouds, two figures are seen fluttering through the air; one young and one old. If anyone saw them, they would have been surprised.

    These two people were both Transcendents, but the most surprising point was how young one of them was.

    This person had long golden hair, but it was not smooth and silky like the elves. Instead, it was dry and messy. His eyes were blue and sharp, exuding confidence and pride, while hisplexion was pale white.

    The older Transcendent also had simr defining features, but they were not rted by blood. They simply originated from the same group.

    They wore simr outfits, strange metallic arm bracelets, and ankle bracelets that swished and swooshed with water inside.

    Around their necks was a glowing pendant that emitted a soft red light from time to time while they were flickering through the sky at high speed.

    As they were flying past the sky above the World Tree, the younger Transcendent asked, "Elder Gustavo, why don''t we stop and check out this giant tree? The air around here is very pleasant¡ªso much better than the ocean breeze."

    "Young Master Judas, please do not cause any trouble for this old man. Remember that Master Lucian only permitted us to go check out the situation in the Wilnds to gauge how much time we have left until the eruption of the Cataclysm." Elder Gustavo said.

    "We better not cause trouble for the Master. Otherwise, it will be hard for the Master to answer to the High Council."

    "Fine, fine. Whatever you say, Elder Gustavo."

    Judas took onest nce at the World Tree before leaving the region unwillingly, continuing their forward flight to the west.

    At the same time, Elder Evergreen casually nced up at the sky, in the direction that they had left. He pondered for a moment before standing up from his wooden seat.

    "Are you going somewhere, Elder Evergreen?" Lilith asked, noticing the elder was leaving the camp.

    Elder Evergreen nodded and said, "I''m going to go on a trip. It might take a few days to weeks before I return. Inform the others of my departure for me."

    "You can leave it to me¡­ but why the suddenness?"

    "Let us just say I feel like exploring the world a little."

    Elder Evergreen gave a light smile before heading off, taking a few steps to disappear into the distance.

    Traces of the earth being manipted was left behind in the form of nted fist pirs sticking out from the ground.

    Before Lilith was able to inquire further, Elder Evergreen was already gone.

    "Miss Lilith, there are some things I don''t understand about this text. Can you help me trante it?" A schr walked over and asked.

    Lilith pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind before turning to the schr.

    "Alright."

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Judas and Elder Gustavo continue to fly at high speed in the sky. As they drew closer to the west, the clouds gradually darkened and clumped together.

    "Elder Gustavo, it seems like someone is¡­"

    "Breaking through to the Transcendent Realm."

    Elder Gustavo said, narrowing his eyes and gazing into the distance.

    Judas nodded.

    Shortly after, he showed an expression of doubt and said, "However, this does not seem like an ordinary Transcendent Phenomenon. It is way too big!"

    They had not realized at first as they were shuttling through the clouds. But once they flew above the clouds or below them, they soon discovered the abnormity of the cloud cluster.

    "Right. The grander the Transcendent Phenomenon, the greater the potential of the individual. Whoever is breaking through to the Transcendent Realm either possesses a uniquely powerful element or has unparalleled talent in Awakening Cultivation."

    "The biggest Transcendent Phenomenon recorded in the Geyser Kingdom history was said to be around 500 miles. This Transcendent Phenomenon was performed by the High Priest. The Sea Emperor was slightly inferior, amounting to 495 miles. However, this Transcendent Phenomenon has got to be at least 1000 miles big¡­" Judas stated.

    "Haiz¡­"

    Elder Gustav sighed emotionally and said, "Perhaps, in the future, this person will breakthrough into the fabled realm above Transcendent. Unfortunately, we might not have enough time to see it happen. Who knows how many people will survive once the Cataclysm erupts this time?"

    "I don''t whether the Cataclysm is real or not, but we should befriend and bring this person to the east. The Geyser Kingdom will provide better opportunities to nurture this person."

    "Don''t even think about it. The Overseers will be watching. We must not interfere with anything in the Crawford Kingdom. We are only going to check the situation in the Wilnds, then return home. Is that clear, Young Master Judas?" Elder Gustavo warned.

    Judas shrugged and said with a sighing tone, "Whatever you say, Elder Gustavo."

    ¡­

    The moment Aria returned from the spiritual memory world, the void-like portal in the eye of the clouds above the Capital copsed.

    The wind grew stronger, swirling the tumultuous whirlpool of cloud in the skies above and sweep objects off their feet on the ground below.

    For a moment, the sky brightened from the brilliant sh of lightning, and the world went silent. After that, the deafening crackles of thunder was heard.

    Tworge streaks of lightning; one blue and one purple, intertwined while descending towards Aria like two coiling dragons.

    Boom!

    The force of the twin lightning dragon immediately shattered the ground upon impact. Aria''s body disappeared in the bright sh of light, and powerful pressure blew away all the surrounding pce guard!

    "Aria!" Elizabeth immediately cried out.

    "Don''t go!" Heinrich held his wife back and warned, "It''s too dangerous!"

    Elizabeth dropped to her knees and stared at the scene before her in disbelief. It was the first time she witnessed a Transcendent Phenomenon that could potentially kill the person achieving Transcendence.

    "How can the baptism from a Transcendent Phenomenon be so powerful?" She muttered.

    Other Transcendents would get a baptism in a steady stream of light, but Aria was struck by everything in a single shot instantaneously.

    After the twin lightning dragon shed into Aria''s body, they did not get discharged and disperse into the air. Instead, they weaved and coiled around Aria''s body like it was trying to strain her while her body hovered in midair.

    However, if one looks carefully, the twin lightning dragon did not actually touch Aria''s body. There was a tiny gap between them like some invisible spatial force was preventing the two from contacting.

    Aria''s eyes snapped open with two streaks of tears running down her cheeks, but her expression was determined.

    The twin lightning dragons of blue and purple immediately roared as they began to deform and sucked into Aria''s be like a powerful vacuum.

    Once the entirety of the two lightning dragons was devoured into Aria''s Ice-Lightning Seed, traces of remnant lightning flickered across her eyes.

    Bzzt!

    Aria''s body slowly descended, and her feetnded on solid ground. A few strips of electricity immediately escaped and ran across the shattered ground like snakes before dispersing into nothing.

    Shortly after, Heinrich let go of his wife after determining the situation was safe. Elizabeth shot to her feet and made her way over.

    "How are you feeling, Aria? Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?" Elizabeth asked with concern.

    Aria was confused by Elizabeth''s overly concerned and began waving her hands and feet, studying her body''s condition.

    After determining her body was in perfect condition, she wiped her tears and temporarily pushed her sorrow aside before shaking her head.

    "I''m fine, Mother. It does not hurt anywhere."

    "Does that mean you''re a Transcendent now?" Elizabeth asked with a bit of doubt.

    Heinrich also nced at Aria with suspicion andmented, "Aria''s Transcendent Phenomenon was unprecedented. Not only was it big, but the process was also long, and the baptism was instantaneous. However, the power coursing through her body is real. There''s no doubt in my mind that Aria has achieved Transcendence sessfully."

    After Elizabeth sensed the power in Aria''s body, she agreed with a nod.

    "Try testing your strength, Aria," Elizabeth suggested.

    Aria nodded.

    She distanced herself from Leon''s parents with a few steps and closed her eyes, feeling the power in her body. At this moment, she felt like she was filled with energy and wisdom.

    The Ice-Lightning Seed had changed into crystallized form after absorbing all the ice-lightning power from the twin lightning dragons.

    However, that was not the only Transcendent Crystal existing within Aria''s sea of consciousness. There were vague forms of two other Transcendent Crystals that revolved around the Ice-Lightning Transcendent Crystal.

    They were like transparent sses, an empty shell.

    Despite that being the case, they were gradually growing more distinct at a slow but steady rate. The soul core emitted soft particles of light that fluttered over to the two hollow Transcendent Crystals like glitter.

    In the sky, the dark clouds were still present.

    However, they slowly dissipated after exhausting their power of lightning. Despite that, Aria raised her hand to the sky, and the dispersing dark clouds began to gather once more.

    In a short moment, the rumbling thunder was heard, and the shes of lightning were seen brightening the dark sky.

    Bzzt!

    A strip of lightning descended and danced around Aria''s fingertips harmlessly before zapping around her body yfully like a tamed pet.

    The lightning was entirely under her control, and the scene appeared especially beautiful, like Aria was some goddess of lightning.

    "Truly extraordinary!"

    A distant exmation was heard.

    Judas'' eyes lit up when his gazended on Aria''s fairy-like figure and became enraptured,pelling him to descend from the sky and greet her.

    "Young Master Judas!" Elder Gustavo growled in warning, but it was toote.

    They had already exposed themselves.

 Chapter 441 - Hit And Run

    <h4>Chapter 441 - Hit And Run</h4>

    Elizabeth, Heinrich, and Aria turned towards a certain direction in the sky and saw two figures descend from high up in the sky suppression zone.

    It did not take long for them to furrow their brows.

    It could be immediately understood that these two unexpected guests were extraordinary in both cultivation and background.

    After Young Master Judasnded, he simply walked past Elizabeth and Heinrich. They did not enter his eyes as he had his gaze fixated on Aria.

    "May I have the honor of learning your name, mdy?" Young Master Judas requested, performing a gentlemen bow while reaching out to her hands for a kiss.

    However, Aria avoided Young Master Judas'' hand and retreated to Elizabeth''s side while giving him a cautious look.

    "Who are you?" She asked with a frown.

    She was evidently displeased that a stranger she was meeting for the first time had tried to touch her.

    "My apologies. It was rude of me to act so forwardly, although we just met." Young Master Judas retreated a few steps and introduced, "My name is Judas of the Cortez family. Baron Beau Cortez is my father."

    Heinrich and Elizabeth furrowed their brows, obviously never heard of the name Baron beau Cortez, nor the Cortez family.

    These two Transcendents were not from their kingdom. However, that did not matter presently. What was important was these two people came uninvited and trespassed on pce ground.

    What did they take this ce to be? Their backyard?

    "We have never heard of the Cortez family, nor the name of your father, Baron Beau Cortez. But regardless of your status and background, it does not give you the right to be here. I suggest we move to the Outer Pce''s Great Hall." Heinrich said.

    Young Master Judas'' good mood dropped at once, hearing someone else was speaking to him while he was awaiting a reply from the name of the beauty in front of him.

    "I was not talking to you, insect. Hmph!"

    Young Master Judas narrowed his eyes dangerously at Heinrich, who was not even a Transcendent and covered in dirt.

    Naturally, Heinrich and Elizabeth had been toiling away at the railway construction for a whole day and had yet to wash after returning.

    Without warning, Judas Cortez sent out a water wave and struck the unprepared Heinrich, sending him flying back.

    "Heinrich!"

    "Father-inw!"

    "Your Majesty!"

    "Young Master Judas!"

    Numerous people cried out at once.

    Aria shed Young Master Judas a dangerous look before she rushed over with Elizabeth to check on Heinrich''s condition.

    The King was struck on the shoulder, and a terrible gash could be seen while blooding was pouring out from them. Anger immediately seeped out from Elizabeth''s heart.

    At the same time, Elder Gustavo appeared by Young Master Judas'' side and chided, "I warned you not to cause trouble, Young Master Judas!"

    "I apologize for the transgression my Young Master has caused. Please ept this aspensation." Elder Gustavo said to the trio.

    A leather bag of unknown contents appeared out of nowhere from Elder Gustavo''s ring hand before tossing it over.

    Shortly after, Elder Gustavo quickly grabbed Young Master Judas and flew into the sky, fleeing from the pce.

    The pce guards rushed over, but they were helpless to stop the two from leaving.

    "Hold it right there!" Elizabeth roared furiously, shooting to her feet before taking off in pursuit. "Do you think you can juste and leave as you please after you what you just did?! Where do you think this is?! Who do you think we are?!"

    At the same time, Aria used her Ice-Lightning power to seal the gashing wound on Heinrich''s should before gazing into the sky with a worrisome expression.

    If she knew how to fly, she would have followed Leon''s mother and definitely not leave her to chase after two Transcendents on her own.

    "Thank you, Aria," Heinrich said with knitted brows, enduring pain in his shoulder as he gazed in the direction his wife left.

    Aria shook her head and said, "It is what I should do."

    Meanwhile, Elizabeth continued to pursue the two escaping Transcendents.

    "Come back here!" Elizabeth roared.

    However, she was surprisingly unable to catch up to the two Transcendents!

    They flew straight into the sky suppression zone and beyond, but their speed did not decrease!

    On the other hand, her speed began to plummet drastically due to the increasing gravitation force weighing down on her, the higher she flew!

    It was like the suppressive force in the sky had no effect on these two unknown Transcendents!

    In mere moments, Elizabeth lost their trail. She was forced to return empty-handed while the two Transcendent seeded in their escape.

    "Dammit!" Elizbeth cursed in frustration.

    ¡­

    Some distance away, Young Master Judas struggled in Elder Gustavo''s grasp and said, "Do we need to flee like cowards, Elder Gustavo? I can''t believe youpensated them with your Interspatial Bag for just a small wound! What did you have in it?"

    "What else but everything I owned?!"

    Judas Cortez widened his eyes and said, "How could you give them everything?! That making such a big deal out of a small matter! That person was just an insect!"

    "An insect?! Are you f*cking kidding me, Young Master Judas?! Do you seriously believe that or are you just ying dumb with me?! Do you think anyone can enter the pce? Did you not hear what those pce guards call that person?! Hmph! I knew I shouldn''t have brought you along! Wait until your father heard about this! See if you will still cause trouble then!" Elder Gustavo scolded.

    Judas Cortez was immediately startled.

    It was the first time he had seen Elder Gustavo so furious with him. Even when he pulled his beard and lit Elder Gustavo''s rear on fire through some of his pranks and stunts, the elder was never this furious with him.

    He took a moment to recall before he eximed, "That person was the king?! How could the ruler of a kingdom be so weak and dirty?!"

    "This is not the Geyser Kingdom, Young Master Judas! You do not know the history of this kingdom, so why can''t a person with low cultivation like that be the king? As for why he was covered in dirt, that is his business! You have caused by trouble this time, Young Master Judas! Let us hope the Overseer doesn''te after us for this!" Elder Gustavo said.

    Judas Cortez''s lips twitched, and he could not help but me his impulse. Even so, he felt it was a pity that he had left so soon. He did not catch enough glimpse of the new Transcendent.

    Her beauty had him captivated.

    ¡­

    Back at the Royal Pce.

    "Did you get them, Mother?" Aria quickly asked after seeing Elizabeth returned so soon.

    Elizabeth shook her head with disappointment before frowning shortly after and said, "They have some strange ability to ignore the suppression of the sky. I was unable to catch up to them."

    Aria was taken aback.

    There was something that can help people ignore the suppression of the sky? Why has she not heard about something like this? It seems they were not people from around here¡­

    Aria''s brow slowly creased before she asked, "Where do you think they came from, Mother?"

    "Probably from the far eastern Geyser Kingdom," Elizabeth said with a frown.

    "However, the Geyser Kingdom is far stronger than I have imagined. To think that a Baron family from the Geyser Kingdom would have two Transcendents. The Cortez family is more likely to have more Transcendents than just those two, though."

    Heinrich smiled wryly and said, "I cannot imagine how many more Transcendents are hiding within the Geyser Kingdom. I have yet to see it, but I heard a tall earthen wall sealed the Geyser Kingdom off from the rest of the Human Domain."

    "That''s right." Elizabeth nodded before asking, "How are you feeling?"

    "Not bad, but not good either."

    Elizabeth gazed at Heinrich''s wound that had been sealed through scalding and freezing. It was not exactly a good emergency treatment method, but it was better than nothing.

    "We should get your wound properly treated right away." She suggested.

    Heinrich gazed at the leather bag on the ground in the distance and said, "Before that, we should take a look at what they left behind for us. Who knows, maybe there will be something good inside."

    "I almost forgot about that," Elizabeth said with surprise.

    Shortly after, Elizabeth went over to pick up the leather bag and had a nce inside. The contents within the leather bag immediately left her stunned.

    "What''s inside, my Queen?" Heinrich asked, feeling curious.

    Aria also showed a curious look.

    "There''s a lot of Transcendent Crystals inside along with a few strange items I have never seen before¡­"

    "A lot of Transcendent Crystals? How much can one small bag hold? Unless¡­"

    "It''s an Interspatial Storage item."

    "Quite generous. I can feel the sincerity in the elder''spensation. It seems he really didn''t mean to cause trouble. However, that young man was¡­" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes coldly.

    Heinrich nodded and said, "Quite outrageous. Just another spoiled young master, huh?"

    ¡­

    Around this time, the active Teleportation Array within Lost Isle Alley suddenly brightened and opened the spatial rift at its center, causing the nearby sentries guarding the area to be surprised.

    They immediately drew their weapons in rm and faced the Teleportation Array with vignce, not knowing what might being out from the spatial rift.

    Sometimeter, two figures were seening out from the spatial rift and slowly descended to the ground below the hovering Teleportation Array within the center of Lost Isle Alley.

    Leon nced around at all swords pointed at him with surprise and said, "Well, this is quite the weing. I''ve only been gone for some days, and you''ve all forgotten who I am already?"

    "Huh?"

    The group of elite pce guards was taken aback by Leon''s familiar tone, but they could not see his face under the night of the dark sky.

    Leon pushed back the Lion-headed cloak, and his face was revealed under the soft cascading moonlight that shone down after the dark clouds cleared.

    "Wee back, Your Highness!"

 Chapter 442 - Great Fire Plan

    <h4>Chapter 442 - Great Fire n</h4>

    "Y-Your Highness, what happened to you?" A pce guard could not help but ask. Their prince went to the other side with pale skin but came back tanned like chocte.

    "You must have suffered a lot over there, right?"

    "Not at all. This is just some color-changing cream I applied to my skin." Leon said amusedly with a shake of his head. Rather, he was the one who caused suffering to others.

    After receiving the prince''s answer, the pce guard nodded before taking a nce at the person by the prince''s side.

    "This is¡­"

    Darlene had been hugging close to Leon, never leaving his side. While having her arms wrapped around one of his, she nced around curiously at her new but dark surroundings.

    "So this is the Human Domain¡­ Doesn''t seem much different to the Infertile ins¡­" Darlene softly muttered.

    Leon overheard her and ruffled her hair with a smile before saying, "You haven''t seen anything yet. Wait till we leave this ce."

    "Un." Darlene nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon turned to the pce guard and said, "Tell me everything that had happened in my absence."

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The pce guard saluted with honor and began recounting the details to Leon, listing three main points of interest.

    The first was the integration of the three kingdoms, forming the soon-to-be Crawford Empire.

    The second was the redirection of the railway construction focus to connect the Capital to the World Tree and concentrating resources in the Grasnd Region to build a new capital.

    Leon listened attentively.

    Heinrich''s ns to achieve high-speed transportation was no closed secret. After Leon learned about this n from the pce guard, he was amazed.

    His father had some pretty innovative ideas.

    After the pce guard finishing informing Leon of thest point, he nodded and said, "Alright. I understand now. You can go back to your post."

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The pce guard left.

    Leon nced up at the skies and saw the dispersing dark clouds. It appeared that Aria''s Transcendence waspleted not long ago.

    Recalling that angelic look, Leon''s heart burned with a desire to see her right away.

    "Come, I''ll show you the Capital on our way to the Royal Pce," Leon said to Darlene.

    "Mm."

    Darlene quickly hugged close to Leon firmly. He held her around the waist before they both took off into the sky, flying straight to the center of the Capital.

    The night sky of the Human Domain was clearer than the Dark Continent, and the Capital was thriving with activity and light.

    Darlene''s eyes slowly widened as she slowly took in the breathtaking view of the Capital.

    The exquisite building infrastructures, designs, and materialposition, the billowing smokes from the north, and the gushing springs of the south, everything was new and exciting to her.

    More importantly, she had never seen the lush green grasnds before. The world beyond the Capital made her widen her eyes in awe. The grassy hills, fields of crops, and rustling leaves of trees astounded her.

    "How is it? Still think the Human Domain is simr to the Infertile ins?" Leon asked during their flight.

    Darlene immediately shook her head and said, "I was wrong. This ce is beautiful."

    Leon smiled lightly and increased the speed of their flight.

    In a short instance, they quickly arrive at the Royal Pce. After spotting a few familiar figures within the Inner Pce, Leon shortly made his way over before descending.

    "Mom, dad, Aria. I''m back¡ª"

    Leon called out, but he quickly frowned when his gaze fell onto his father, Heinrich''s shoulder.

    Elizabeth and Aria turned their heads over in surprise.

    They were immediately baffled by Leon''s appearance. However, after a moment, it was changed to a pleasant surprise when they recognize the person.

    "My son!"

    "Leon!"

    Leon made his way over with Darlene with a deep frown and immediately carried out medical treatment on his father while asking, "What happened here? How did father get hurt like this? Who did it?"

    Elizabeth and Aria both had many things to say to Leon, but they could only save it forter, after hearing his strings of questions.

    "We were visited by two unexpected Transcendents of unknown origins, iming to be people from the Cortez family. The younger one attacked your father when he was interrupted while trying to ask for Aria''s name¡­ I tried catching them but failed to keep up with them in the sky suppression zone."

    Elizabeth began exining the events that transpired.

    After Leon understood everything, traces of anger began sprouting in his heart. Not only did this person had their eyes on his woman, but this person also attacked his father unreasonably.

    "Which direction did they go, Mother?" Leon asked with a low tone, suppressing his rage.

    Heinrich''s wound recovered to a perfect state after Leon applied some Tier 3 Golden Ointment and further boost the recovery speed with Wood Energy.

    "Don''t bother chasing them, son. These two Transcendents have deep backgrounds. Although the young one was rash, I am fine in the end. Besides, the older Transcendent has given us richpensation." Heinrich said before adding, "Most importantly, you have not achieved Transcendences yet. It''s not toote to look for them when you are stronger."

    "So, we should just let them go, running around our kingdom as they please? I cannot ept that!" Leon stomped the ground with a loud boom, causing a deep imprint on the metallic floor.

    How could he let go of someone who tantly trespasses on pce grounds, attacking royalty and harming his father?

    "I will make that person pay for what he did to you, father!" Leon said with a tightly clenched fist.

    The shockwave of the stomp startled everyone around him. Only Darlene was not surprised by his brute strength. As a denizen of the Dark Continent, she had seen far greater physical prowessing from humans.

    "It seems you have made great improvement in your strength while you were on the other side of the Teleportation Array. It was my bad for underestimating you, son." Heinrich apologized.

    Shortly after, he added, "However, I still think you should not pursue them and just drop the matter. Those people are most likely from the Geyser Kingdom, which we know next to nothing about. These past couple hundred years had allowed them to grow far more prosperously than we could ever imagine."

    "Aria."

    Leon nced at Aria for an answer, seeing that his parents were unwilling to divulge the two foreign Transcendents'' direction.

    "They went that way¡­" Aria pointed towards the western direction after a moment of hesitation. She did not want to go against Leon''s wishes.

    "Thank you."

    Leon was gratified, giving her a soft peck on the forehead. Her heart melted instantly, despite the pressure of Leon''s parents gazing at them.

    A deep blush hung on her cheeks.

    "Please take care of Darlene for me¡­ She is¡­ Ahem, another sister I brought home."

    Leon did not exin much bursting forth into the direction of the west, pursuing after the two foreign Transcendents that had long left.

    He did not stick around long enough to notice a few subtle changes to Aria, while Darlene was left behind to fend for herself without much choice.

    "Heinrich¡­"

    "Elizabeth¡­"

    Elizabeth and Heinrich cuddled each other while they watched their son leave with incredible speed and sighed pensively.

    Aria arrived by their side and apologized with her head lowered. However, they shook their heads in response.

    "It''s fine, Aria. It would not have been easy to change his decision once he sets his mind on something." Elizabeth said.

    "When children grow up, they will learn to make their own decision. It''s unfortunate that our son has already sprouted his wings before we could watch him grow." Heinrich sighed.

    Shortly after, Aria returned her attention to Darlene, who stood frozen like a wooden block, not knowing what to do.

    "Hi, I''m Aria."

    Aria was open-minded and took the initiative to greet warmly, causing Darlene to be overjoyed immediately.

    She was not getting ostracized and treated coldly like some outsider. Her apprehension was dispelled instant under Aria''s warm and gentle aura.

    "Hello, Big Sister Aria! I am Darlene. Please take care of me from now on!"

    After they shook hands enthusiastically, Elizabeth and Heinrich switched their attention to Darlene sometimeter, after Leon was long gone.

    Darlene immediately felt tensed under their stares.

    "These two are¡­" Aria began introducing Leon''s parents to her.

    ¡­

    Western Frontier, Great Wall.

    The battle continued to rage on between the rats and wolves.

    Fleshes were torn, and blood was spilled; the two sides fought ferociously and desperately in a frenzied manner.

    The rats were weak and numerous, while the wolves were fewer in numbers but stronger. Despite the differences, both sides were equally matched, one way or another.

    While the two sides were busied fighting each other, General Marquis Hendrick directed the soldiers to reim the Great Wall''s central region.

    Barrels of oils were transported over from their warehouse. Despite the fact that their reserves were running low, General Marquis Hendrick did not hesitate to sacrifice all their fuel to start a great fire.

    "Quickly, move it! The pungent stench of blood is strong, and the night blows west! We must be quick before more beasts are attracted to the Great Wall!"

    "Move, move, move! Move it, men! Put your back into it!"

    The barrels were huge, enough for two soldiers to roll them side by side atop the Great Wall.

    As a high-ranking soldier directed, a group of soldiers could be seen rolling oil barrels.

    At the same time, another team was in charge of gathering firewood, sticks, branches, and anything that can be used to further fuel the fire-to-be.

    They were exhausted. Their limbs felt like leads while sweat soaked their bodies. Each step was a great struggle, but they pressed forward, nheless.

    They had to do what must be done.

 Chapter 443 - Ill Kill You!

    <h4>Chapter 443 - I''ll Kill You!</h4>

    Suddenly, one of the soldiers stumbled, and therge barrel slipped out of their control.

    "Oh, no!" The soldier cried out loud.

    However, a steady hand was firmly ced on the rolling oil barrel, bringing its forward momentum to a stop.

    "Be careful. These are currently precious resources."

    "Thank you, General Dales! I will be more careful next time, sir!"

    Brigadier-General Dales nodded and urged with an encouraging tone, "Keep up the good work!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    The soldiers continued to roll the barrels to the designated spot.

    Meanwhile, on the edge of the Great Wall''s central region, the General Marquis and Supreme Elder gazed down at the battlefield below.

    "These Wingrats are endless." Supreme Elder Haldir''s brows furrowed deeply.

    The number of Wingrats ughtered already numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but their army showed no sign of reducing.

    In the end, the wolves were too few in numbers. They were slowly being overwhelmed by the Wingrat''s immense numbers. For each wolf, there would be hundreds to a thousand Wingrats ganging on it.

    "Wingrats, huh? Is that what you call them? However, these wolves will notst. We need to do something about these rats. There''s too many of them." General Marquis Hendrickmented before pondering deeply for a solution.

    The Supreme Elder nodded.

    If the situation were already this bad, he could not imagine what the case was for the Wilnds and Great Forest. He needed to check on his tribe and could not stay for long.

    As Supreme Elder Haldir controlled the thorny vines to continuecerating the Wingrats pouring out of the rathole, he thought out loud, "The Wingrats are onlying from the underground. If we can toss a great fire inside and plug up the rathole, we could suffocate them all to death."

    "These Wingrats are pouring out of the rathole ceaselessly. It will be too difficult to put a good fire inside from there¡­" General Marquis stated before his eyes flickered with a solution. "However, it is easier to start it from the underground sewage system while they are still distracted by the wolves."

    The underground passage was connected to the sewage system after the Wingrats burrowed their way through.

    Even if they do not n to smoke the rats, they had to seal that passageway. Otherwise, the endless tides of rats would pour into the Crawford Kingdom after they are done with the wolves.

    "Then we better do it quickly. Those wolves won''tst much longer." Supreme Elder Haldir stated.

    "Without a doubt."

    General Marquis Hendrick nodded before roaring, "Attention, men!"

    "Yes, General!"

    The surrounding soldiers immediately stopped and gave the General Marquis their rapt attention, awaiting further instruction.

    "Change of ns. We will direct half of the fire and fuel resources to the central sewage system." General Marquis Hendrick said.

    After that, he selected the strongest batch of surviving soldiers to follow him into the sewage system and locate the underground hole. Once hepleted issuing his orders, he returned his attention to the Supreme Elder.

    "Please take care of things here, Marquis Haldir." General Marquis Hendrick requested.

    "Naturally."

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

    General Marquis Hendrick left the Great Wall shortly after receiving the Supreme Elder''s confirmation.

    Sometimeter, the Elder Gustavo and Young Master Judas arrived at the Great Wall. While they were flying high in the sky, they overlooked the situation below.

    "It is as father predicted. It is not just the sea monsters that have be frenzied. Even the beasts in the west have gone crazy. This means that¡­"

    Elder Gustavo nodded with a solemn look and said, "Right. These signs have confirmed it. The Cataclysm will indeed happen, and the world shall be plunged into a great upheaval once more."

    "But we do know what kind of change the Cataclysm will bring to the world this time. Thest Cataclysm pushed forward the evolution of all beings while the one before that ended the world. This next Cataclysm could bring us good fortune. Of course, it could also be the end of all life."

    "Well. Looking at this scene right now, does Young Master Judas think the Cataclysm will bring good fortune to humanity?" Elder Gustavo asked with narrowed eyes.

    Judas Cortez frowned.

    "It''s too early to tell. In the beginning stages of thest Cataclysm, it was said that the beasts also went on a rampage¡ª"

    "However, that is the beginning stages of the Cataclysm after the world brightened from the sun''s powerful sr re. Right now, that had yet to happen, Young Master Judas." Elder Gustavo corrected.

    "Listen to the High Priest''s prediction. Nothing good wille out of this Cataclysm. Since we have already seen what we came to see, we should return to the Cortez Fiefdom, Young Master Judas. I doubt the Overseer wees our presence here that much."

    "You don''t want to lend these people a hand, Elder Gustavo?" Young Master Judas asked, feeling somewhat unwilling to return after going such a long way to reach the Great Wall.

    It was the first time he saw the Wilnds, even if he was only glimpsing at a small part of it from a distance.

    Elder Gustavo shook his head.

    "Why do we have to help them? They are doing fine on their own. Our intervention will only bring us unnecessary troubles."

    "Didn''t I cause some trouble back in the pce? I should make amends for my mistake by giving their people some help." Young Master Judas said, but there was no chivalrous glint in his eyes. Instead, there was only disdain when he looked at the weak humans below.

    Elder Gustavo frowned immediately.

    "Please do not cause any more trouble for me, Young Master Judas. Have you forgotten what you promised me before we set out? Just because there are few Transcendents here, it does not mean we can act as we please. The people above are ever watching." He lectured.

    Elder Gustavo had seen Judas grow and knew what his character was like. Most likely, Young Master Judas only wanted to unt his strength in front of the people below.

    However, they were only at the early stages of Preliminary ession Transcendent Realm. This was nothing to boast about, much less in the Geyser Kingdom.

    "Hm?"

    Young Master Judas'' attention was suddenly grabbed by something, causing him to turn his head to look. After a slight furrow, he immediately smiled, "They can handle rats and wolves, but what if a Transcendent-level lion beast joins the fray? They will definitely need our help then."

    "What do you mean¡­?"

    Elder Gustavo frowned, following Young Master Judas'' gaze to see a ''lion'' flying towards the Great Wall at shocking speed from a much lower altitude than them.

    Since when could lions fly?

    "Young Master Judas, that is not a Transcendent-level beast¡ª!" Elder Gustavo tried to warn, but it was toote.

    Judas Cortez had already flown over and shot a water sh directly at the ''lion.'' The so-called lion was precisely Leon in his lion-headed cloak!

    "Hm?"

    The water sh was very fast!

    In a short instance, the water sh closed most of the distance by the time Leon realized something was shooting at him! However, a brief moment was all he needed to evade the attack!

    Swoosh!

    Space slightly distorted while Leon twisted his body slightly, allowing the water sh to zoom past him. Even so, the tips lion-head cloak was nipped slightly, but no real damage was done to his Enchanted Equipment.

    Leon''s high-speed flight was brought to an abrupt stop before he looked up coldly.

    "Unexpectedly, the person I was looking for woulde throwing himself at me." Leon eyed the person above him with a sharp glint. Only the people he was looking, could fly so high up and with such ease as his mother had described.

    The Tier 4 Bone Spear immediately appeared in his grasp.

    At the same time, Young Master Judas paused with surprise after Leon nced up at him. Unexpectedly, it was a person and not a Transcendent-level beast.

    "Wait. Hold up, this was a mistake¡ª"

    Swoosh!

    Veins bulged on Leon''s arm before he threw the Tier 4 Bone Spear at Young Master Judas without much care for what the person was saying.

    Since the person wanted a fight, it was a fight he was going to get!

    The bone spear zoomed through the sky, heading for Young Master Judas at a greater velocity than this own water sh!

    "Young Master Judas, look out!" Elder Gustavo warned at the top of his lungs, rushing over quickly while knowing full well he would not make it.

    "Sh*t!"

    Young Master Judas cursed, sensing the threatening power of the bone spear shooting straight at him. He immediately retreated while conjuring his best defense!

    A wall appeared in front of him, spiraling at highspeed! Water Shield, it was one of the Water Awakener''s most fundamental skill for defending!

    However, the bone spear prated the Water Shield like paper! Young Master Judas widened his eyes in shock when the bone spear continued with great momentum and directly pierce through his body armor!

    "What?!"

    Elder Gustavo''s eyes immediately bulged at the sight of the bone spear shooting straight through the young master''s body armor.

    That was a runic-enhanced armor!

    By the time Elder Gustavo reached Young Master Judas''s side, a hole had been punctured through his stomach! Although it was not a fatal shot, it caused Young Master Judas'' face to be pale.

    "Young Master Judas, are you alright?" Elder Gustavo asked with concern.

    Judas Cortez nced down at the hole in his stomach dumbfoundedly. Since he was young, when had he ever suffered such a terrible injury?

    His shock quickly transformed into rage. His attack was a misunderstanding, but this person wanted his life! That was uneptable!

    He red at Leon and furiously roared, "I''m going to kill you!"

 Chapter 444 - A Beast In Human Skin?

    <h4>Chapter 444 - A Beast In Human Skin?</h4>

    "Don''t be rash, Young Master Judas! This person is not simple! Please tend to your injury first!" Elder Gustavo stopped Judas Cortez from blindly charging at the enemy before them.

    "I know!" Young Master Judas said.

    He took out a pill bottle from his Interspatial Storage before popping a pill from the bottle into his mouth. His wounds began to heal at a naked rate.

    Leon''s pupils shrank at this sight.

    At the same time, Elder Gustavo stepped in front of Young Master Judas, shielding him from any further attacks from the enemy before them.

    Leon had been ready to follow-up on his attack, giving the person to quarters to rest. However, he froze upon hearing the person''s name.

    Why did this person from the Cortez family have the same name as that person? Even son, it gave him another reason to dislike this person.

    The Tier 4 Bone Spear flew upward with significant momentum, shooting into the distant skies before the increasing pressure of abnormal gravitational force brought it plunging back down.

    Leon extended his divine senses, reiming the Tier 4 Bone Spear with Divine Will as soon as it fell into his range.

    Seeing the bone spear flew into Leon''s grasp, Elder Gustavo''s eyes widened with surprise. What kind of Elemental Awakener was this? A Bone Awakener? Was there such a thing?

    While Elder Gustavo and Young Master Judas were dumbfounded by Leon''s ability, he spun the bone spear in his hand and took a battle stance.

    His eyes shortly brightened with a flick of indomitable spirit before he kicked the air andunched himself forward.

    Elder Gustavo immediately had a solemn look.

    He quickly flicked his wrist, summoning a sword and small gourd. The gourd was uncapped before ck water flowed out, weaving around Elder Gustavo''s de.

    After that, he defended against Leon''s attack by shooting the ck water out in a spiraling manner.

    Leon used [Nine Echoes] and [Divine Will Augmentation], bursting forth with a strength of 200 thousand jins in his strike.

    However, the ck water was bizarre.

    Under Elder Gustavo''s maniption, the ck water was like a whirlpool of countless snakes, wrapping around Leon''s bone spear and quickly draining away the force of his spear strike.

    By the time Leon''s strike reached Elder Gustavo, the force of his attack was already reduced to a level that could be deflected with the elder''s sword.

    At the same time, Elder Gustavo summoned another body of ck water from the gourd, forming a Water Fist that struck Leon square on the chest and sent him flying back.

    "Please wait, young friend! Everything was a misunderstanding! My young master had mistaken you for a Transcendent-level beast!" Elder Gustavo spoke.

    If one look carefully, his sword hand was shaking slightly.

    Although Elder Gustavo had dispelled most of the force, the remaining raw strength was still able to make his hand numb.

    Young Master Judas was displeased immediately.

    "There''s no misunderstanding, Elder Gustavo! He tried to kill me! And for that, he has to die for me!"

    "No, Young Master Judas! That is because you attacked first!" Elder Gustavo roared, feeling deeply frustrated by the young master''s impulsiveness.

    Without speaking further words, Young Master Judas had shot towards Leon. A gourd was summoned, and simr ck water poured out from its uncapped lid, revolving around Young Master Judas'' body like ayer of armor.

    Another body of ck water flowed to Young Master Judas'' hand and formed a long ck waternce that squirmed and vibrated at high frequency.

    At the same time, Leon''s body came to a stop in midair some distance away after the Water Fist''s momentum was expended.

    His inwards were slightly shaken, but he was fine otherwise.

    ''It seems I need to quickly consolidate my viscera¡­ otherwise, it will be my weakness.''

    Leon''s pupil shrank slightly, feeling confused by his sh with Elder Gustavo. His strength was obviously greater, but his attack was still skillfully parried.

    Obviously, these people were not simple and had some pretty impressive skills.

    Nevertheless, he did not have time to ponder further. He gripped his bone spear tightly and lunged back at the approaching enemy.

    Young Master Judas abruptly stopped and retreated with a frown after seeing Leon shuttling through the skies towards him with ease.

    They were not deep within the sky suppression zone, but it was the sky suppression zone, nheless! How was this person able to move with such ease without any assisting equipment?!

    Young Master Judas quickly threw his ckwater Lance at Leon''s fast approaching figure before quickly conjuring a new one in its ce.

    The ckwater Lance zipped through the air swiftly with a strange buzzing noise.

    Leon''s eyes narrowed.

    Heshed out with his bone spear without holding back. He did not dare to underestimate his enemy and used all his strength.

    The powerful spear swing shed with the ckwater Lance and pped it away. However, the ckwater Lance did not break surprisingly under his strength.

    Instead, only its trajectory was only changed as it flew away while emitting a droning noise.

    Leon frowned before sweeping away the second ckwater Lance.

    A simr scene yed out.

    It was like being tossed into a raging river. His spear was able to make a ssh before it was carried away by the river current.

    If not for his firm grip, perhaps his weapon would have flown out of his hands.

    "Stop fighting!"

    "Piss off!"

    Elder Gustavo attempted to get in between the fight, but he was swept aside by Leon''s bone spear. If not for his quick reaction to defend himself, he would have been cleaved in half.

    "Who are you, young friend? Isn''t it better to put down the hatchet and befriend each other instead? Your strength is impressive for your age." Elder Gustavo said with a sigh, trying to persuade Leon.

    However, Leon sneered, "You want to be my friend? That is fine. Just let me kill this mongrel first!"

    Elder Gustavo''s expression stiffened immediately.

    "There''s no use talking to this person! He wants to kill me, Elder Gustavo! Quickly help me kill him!" Young Master Judas urged, tossing out another two condensed ckwater Lances.

    Leon immediately swept them away.

    However, he heard a droning noise from behind and quickly turned around. The previously thrown ckwater Lances came zooming back towards him under Young Master Judas'' control.

    After the other two ckwater Lances shot into the distance, they returned sometimeter and pursued Leon like a homing projectile. In the end, Leon was repeatedly assaulted by four ckwater Lances.

    No matter how many times he swept them away, they woulde crashing back after him. Leon furrowed deeply with frustration.

    ''What kind of water is this?''

    At the same time, Elder Gustavo and Young Master Judas were shocked by Leon''s disy of brute strength.

    "Who the hell are you, really? Are you sure you are not some beast in human skin?!" Young Master Judas interrogated.

    "Who am I? How ridiculous! You came to my kingdom and assaulted my father, the king of this kingdom, yet you still ask who I am?!"

    Elder Gustavo was immediately stunned by Leon''s words.

    Young Master Judas was considered a prodigy within the Geyser Kingdom''s younger generation.

    Elder Gustavo did not expect the Crawford Kingdom would have someone who couldpete with Young Master Judas on equal footing, much less the prince of the Crawford Kingdom.

    Even so, was this person really the crown prince of the Crawford Kingdom? He looked like someone from the Ishaan Kingdom.

    Did the queen have an affair?

    If Leon and his parents knew the thoughts of Elder Gustavo, they would hunt him down to the ends of the earth.

    "You''re the Crawford Kingdom''s crown prince? We have already apologized and given youpensation for the troubles we have caused. Why are you stilling after us?" Elder Gustavo asked with a frown.

    Leon nced at them coldly and sneered, "Do you think somepensation is enough to drop the matter? Do we look like beggars to you? You look down on us too much!"

    "You''re the Crawford Kingdom''s crown prince? Who are you kidding! I would believe it if you said you were the prince of the Ishaan Kingdom instead!"

    Leon turned his gaze to Young Master Judas and smiled coldly, saying nothing. It was a waste of breath exining to a dead man.

    While they exchanged words, they never stopped fighting.

    Leon continued to deflect Young Master Judas'' ckwater Lances while Elder Gustavo watched from the side with a hesitant look. He could not stop them, but he could not help Young Master Judas kill the Crawford Kingdom''s crown prince either.

    Why were these two going at each other''s necks like they were mortal enemies even though they just met? Were they destined to be rivals due to their high talents?

    "Hmph!"

    Young Master Judas snorted after being ignored. He conjured another two ckwater Lances and targeted Leon with all six ckwater Lances.

    Leon furrowed his brows slightly while he was pushed back by the six ckwater Lances. Even so, Judas was not finished.

    Judas continued to conjure more and more ckwater Lances, firing them at Leon one after the other. He was bent on killing the person before him.

    Leon did not expect Early-stage Preliminary ession Transcendents to give him so much trouble. He figured that no early Transcendents would be his match with his increased strength, but he was wrong.

    The Geyser Kingdom was full of surprises. It was a ce filled with experts.

    Even so, he had not utilized everything.

    ''It seems I have to fight seriously.'' Leon thought.

    mes burst forth from Leon''s body before weaving around his bone spear and cloaked it in me, augmenting the bone spear with the power of fire.

    "Let''s go again!" Leon roared with an indomitable spirit.

    On the side, Elder Gustavo''s expression immediately turned serious.

 Chapter 445 - Intense Killing Intent

    <h4>Chapter 445 - Intense Killing Intent</h4>

    Back in the Capital, Aria was a bit absentminded shortly after Leon left while she was still in the Inner Pce grounds with Elizabeth, Heinrich, and Darlene.

    Elizabeth noticed and said with a smile, "Aria, you don''t need to stay here with us. If you want to chase after Leon, go for it."

    "But Leon asked me to look after¡­" Aria said hesitantly while looking at Darlene.

    "It''s fine. Leave Darlene with us and go." Elizabeth smiled and helplessly said, "Someone needs to keep him in check. Otherwise, he will force all the maids and guards out of the pce for his wives and children one day."

    Darlene''s face immediately reddened. She lowered her head in shame.

    However, Elizabeth walked over andforted her, "Don''t worry. I am not ming you. It is just that my son is¡­ He is¡­ Well, sigh. Never mind. You''ll see."

    "Then¡­ I''ll be off?" Aria asked hesitantly in confirmation.

    "Go."

    Elizabeth and Heinrich nodded.

    "Thank you, mother, father."

    Once Aria received the Queen and King''s confirmation, she turned her sight in the western direction.

    Cold lightning began seeping out of her body slowly, contrary to ordinary lightning that would dance and sparkle everywhere¡ªno, the ice-lightning was more tamed.

    Even so, after the white ice-lightning cloaked Aria''s body, her aura immediately surged wildly as the ice-lightning behave erratically and actively.

    Boom!

    Aria disappeared into the distance in a single instance like a zap of lightning! The power of ice-lightning allowed her to travel and incredible speed, breaking the sound barrier!

    She left behind a trail of remnant static electricity that sparkled in the chilled air.

    "Incredible¡­"

    Darlene was awed.

    She had never seen someone move so quickly. Even Chief Valencia was incapable of moving this fast¡­ Were all her hubby''s women this capable? If so, her abilities were nothing inparison.

    Darlene silentlypared herself to Aria and felt despondent.

    She was not the only one surprised by Aria''s speed. Elizabeth and Heinrich were equally astounded. It was also their first-time seeing Aria''s move at lightning speed after achieving Transcendence.

    Lightning Transcendents¡ªNo, Ice-Lightning Transcendents appeared to be extremely powerful! Elizabeth began to ponder whether the idea of single-element mastery was too rigid.

    How did Aria achieve the fusion of the Ice and Lightning to be an Ice-Lightning Transcendent? The power of elemental fusion was nothing to scoff at.

    ''Perhaps, I should consider fusing the metal and fire elements to achieve something greater.'' Elizabeth silently mused.

    However, it was only a passing thought. She shortly pushed it behind her before smiling warmly at Darlene.

    "Come, tell me more about yourself and everything that has happened on the other side. How did you meet my son?" Elizabeth tugged at Darlene, wanting to pull her over to the stone table and seats in the short distance.

    However, Heinrich paused her.

    "Perhaps, we should consider washing up first." He suggested.

    Elizabeth nced at their dirty faces and soiled clothes and chuckled lightly, agreeing with Heinrich''s suggestion, "True, we should wash up first."

    "Darlene, was it? Let us chatter, alright?" Elizabeth said.

    Darlene nodded obediently, thinking she was not in any position to refuse. She wanted to leave a good impression on Leon''s parents.

    "Men!" Elizabeth summoned.

    "Yes, Your Majesty?"

    A few pce guards quickly stepped forward, awaiting her orders.

    "Escort Darlene to the prince''s courtyard and get some maids to help arrange for her amodations there," Elizabeth ordered.

    "Right away, Your Majesty!"

    "Miss Darlene, this way, please." The pce guard politely gestured.

    After Darlene left with the pce guards, Heinrich walked over and said, "My wife, hehe, you know it''s been quite a long time since we were intimate¡­"

    "What about it, Heinrich?"

    Elizabeth looked back at her husband strangely, finding his body gestures to be rather odd and suspicious.

    Heinrich nced around before pulling himself closer to Elizabeth''s ear and whispered, "How about we go wash together¡ªAiyo~!"

    Heinrich eximed after Elizabeth pinched his waist.

    "Don''t even think about it."

    "Haiz¡­ wifey, I am still a man in my prime. Men need to do these kinds of things often to relieve their stress. If you are unwilling, I might end up finding mistress to do it with."

    "You dare?!" Elizabeth immediately red.

    Heinrich choked on his words and awkwardly coughed, "Ahem, I was only joking. Of course, I only have you in my eyes."

    "Hmph! That better be the case!"

    Elizabeth stormed off.

    Heinrich was in between tears andughter as he looked towards the west and sighed, ''Haiz¡­ my son, do you know how much your father envies you?''

    ¡­

    While the battle between the rats and wolves raged outside the Great Walls, Leon continued to confront the two foreign Transcendents in the skies.

    The intensity of Leon''s mes immediately made Elder Gustavo rmed.

    Although it was not at the Transcendental level, the me will still reduce the young master''s water element advantage.

    "Be careful, Young Master Judas! This person is very dangerous!" Elder Gustavo warned vigntly, uncertain of how much ability the Crawford Kingdom''s crown prince was still hiding.

    Unexpectedly, this person was a dual Awakener and Body Refiner!

    "Hmph!"

    Young Master Judas immediately snorted and said, "Instead of warning me, why don''t you help me quickly dispose of this person?! Otherwise, I will report to my father that you simply watched while I was fighting for my life when we get back!"

    "Why must you make things difficult for this old man? You know we cannot kill this person! Otherwise, it will invite disaster upon not only ourselves but also the Cortez household!"

    "If we get rid of all the evidence, who will know¡ª?!"

    Young Master Judas'' expression abruptly changed as Leon lunged at him, swiftly disposing of his ckwater Lances.

    The moment the ckwater Lances contacted Leon''s ming bone spear, they ended in mutual destruction, exploding into water vapor! The fire was extinguished while ckwater was vaporized in an instant!

    With a quick flick of his wrist, Leon''s bone spear was cloaked in me once more as he continued to close the distance between him and Young Master Judas.

    Young Master Judas retreated higher into the sky suppression zone while tossing out ckwater Lances consecutively to halt Leon''s advances.

    However, each ckwater Lances continued to burst into water vapor upon contact with Leon''s ming bone spear!

    "Elder Gustavo!" Young Master Judas cried out.

    Swoosh!

    Elder Gustavo immediately made a move the moment he sensed the young master was in grave danger. He conjured several ckwater Lances of his own and shot them towards Leon''s back.

    Leon was forced to halt his advance to defend against the water projectiles.

    Boom! Boom!

    The ckwater Lances exploded into water vapor continuously!

    Leon''s ming bone spear was like an undying candlelight, refusing to bepletely snuffed out. No matter how many times it gets extinguished, it will reignite brilliantly.

    In truth, Leon was quickly depleting his energy reserves through this method.

    He narrowed his eyes and wondered how the two Transcendents were able to fly in the sky suppression zone while he had to rely on Divine Will to block the gravitational force bearing down on him.

    In a short instance, his eyesnded on the pendant blinking with red light and adorned by both foreign Transcendents.

    ''Is this the reason?''

    Leon''s pupil shrank.

    His divine sense spread over, and he immediately noticed a faint red barrier covering their bodies. The pendant shortly became his target.

    At the same time, Elder Gustavo reached Young Master Judas'' side.

    "You finally decided to help me. You should have helped from the start!" Judas Cortez said, feeling his heart thumped with a bit of fear.

    He started to feel humiliated that someone else among the younger generation could make him feel like this. Staring at the person, his killing intent intensified.

    "Hmph! We would not be in this mess if you had controlled your impulse and not strike the king!"

    "How would I know if he was the king or not?"

    Young Master Judas defended irresponsibly, unwilling to ept his mistake. He believed the fault lies in the other party for looking like some poor and dirty servant.

    "So Young Master thinks it''s fine to hit people if they weren''t the king of a kingdom?" Elder Gustavo said gloomily while his eyes never left the enemy in front of them, vignt of any sudden attacks.

    "What''s wrong with stepping on a few insects if they are insects?"

    Young Master Judas''sst words made Elder Gustavo sigh. He was utterly disappointed in his household''s young master. This was a problem of excessive pampering since young.

    "Never mind. Let us get rid of this person quickly and return to the kingdom before the Overseer discovers us."

    "I was just waiting for those words! Don''t you dare hold back, Elder Gustavo! The quicker we kill him, the better!" Judas Cortez said.

    Elder Gustavo snorted and said, "This person is extraordinarily powerful, physically. Do not engage in closebat with him. We will pincer from the front and behind with our waternces, understood?"

    "Yeah, yeah, I got it."

    Elder Gustavo and Judas Cortez spoke in a low voice, but they did not know that everything had been overhead by Leon.

    Leon suddenly smirked.

    He retracted the me from his bone spear and retreated, knowing that the two Transcendents were intent on killing him.

    "He''s running! He must have exhausted his power! This is our chance to kill him!" Judas Cortez shouted excitedly, taking Leon''s bait, and immediately gave chase.

    "You fool!" Elder Gustavo roared.

    If the opponent gave up hunting down the young master, they should just take the chance to leave! Why was the young master hellbent on killing this person?!

    Elder Gustavo felt helpless, but he still flew in pursuit right after the young master.

 Chapter 446 - Fleeing

    <h4>Chapter 446 - Fleeing</h4>

    Young Master Judas and Elder Gustavo chased after Leon in the skies, descending closer to the ground.

    At that moment, they were several thousands of feet in the sky. However, their speed could not bepared to Leon.

    While they had the protective bubble generated by their treasured pendant, Leon had removed the Divine Will Barrier shielding his body from the gravitational force of the sky, allowing himself to plunge at great speed.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not increase the distance between him and the two foreign Transcendents and even shortened it steadily, giving them the faint illusion that they were faster than him.

    Shortly after, Young Master Judas and Elder Gustavo drew close enough, they began conjuring numerous ckwater Lances.

    In a short instance, theirbinednces numbered thirty before they were shot at Leon.

    "Die!!!"

    Young Master Judas roared with red eyes due to the strain on his mind from controlling fifteen ckwater Lances.

    Elder Gustavo was stronger than Young Master Judas and was slightly better off, but it was clear that they were going all out to kill Leon.

    The ckwater Lances zoomed through the skies, closing quickly on Leon''s back. However, Leon did not sh with the ckwater Lances.

    He simply evaded every one of them before suddenly halting his retreat, turning around to closed the distance on Young Master Judas.

    "Be careful, young master!" Elder Gustavo warned. The change happened abruptly, causing him to fail to react in time.

    Young Master Judas'' expression immediately fell while his pupils shrank. In his field of vision, Leon''s bone spear headed straight for his head.

    His ckwater Armor immediately shifted their defense and concentrated towards his head. Simultaneously, Judas drew a sword from his ring hand and counteracted it with a sh at Leon''s neck.

    The Tier 4 Bone Spear suddenly ignited in mes and shed with the ckwater, causing another miniature explosion of water vapor.

    Young Master Judas'' head tilted from the impact and narrowly evaded the deadly bone spear as it grazed his forehead.

    Leon immediately narrowed his eyes, discovering two thinyers of flesh from the slight graze of his spear; one real and one fakeyer of flesh.

    This person was hiding his real face!

    At the same time, he blocked Young Master Judas'' pitifully weak sword strike with his bare hands. Young Master Judas'' eyes bulged in shock immediately.

    How robust must this person''s flesh be to withstand the sharp de of his sword?!

    "What!!!" He eximed.

    "Young Master!"

    At the same time, Elder Gustavo roared while shooting over, hacking at Leon''s back with his sword infused in high-pressured ckwater, which vibrated at extremely high-speed like some razor de.

    Leon twisted his body, sweeping out with his bone spear that reignited into a great zing fire. The two weapons shed and offset each other, exploding in water vapor.

    Elder Gustavo''s arms broke from the sh.

    His body was swept away by the force of Leon''s bone spear while he, himself, borrowed the momentum to weave around to Young Master Judas'' back before extending his hand out.

    Leon wanted to peel off the person''s fake face and see his true appearance; however, he suppressed his urge and curiosity.

    His hand immediately snatched the treasured pendant and ripped it away from Young Master Judas'' neck.

    "Is this the secret to flying freely in the sky suppression zone? Quite an interesting tool! Let us see how you fare without it!" Leon said.

    He immediately giving Young Master Judas'' back a strong kick shortly after.

    Ding!

    He felt like he had kicked a thick iron te.

    Even so, he still felt and heard something crack from the person!

    Boom!

    Young Master Judas wailed as he was shot, plunging down towards the surface with incredible velocity!

    "Young Master!" Elder Gustavo roared.

    Elder Gustavo came flying back, shooting straight after the falling young master. Even so, his movement was inferior to Young Master Judas'' plunging speed!

    "Break your fall, Young Master!" Elder Gustavo roared in warning, knowing he would not be able to catch up to his young master.

    "Uarghhh!"

    Young Master Judas roared with gritted teeth, forcing his bloodshot eyes to open against the wind resistance sting his face.

    At the same time, he endured the pain of his broken back and tried to break his fall. Even if he was fully equipped in runic armor, he would still plunge to his death if he fails to slow down his fall!

    Kacha! Kacha!

    "Arghhh!!!"

    Young Master Judas wailed painfully.

    His weak limbs immediately broke from going against the strong momentum propelling him downwards! Even so, he gritted his teeth hard and continued to slow down his fall!

    The momentum reduced, but he was still dropping too quickly! Knowing he could not break his fallpletely, he braced himself for impact!

    All the remaining ckwater in his gourd was poured out, forming a vast bubbly body of water before him to act as a cushion!

    Boom!

    Young Master Judas mmed through the bubbly body of ckwater and into the ground, causing a slight tremor in the earth.

    All the bones in his body shattered, damaging his organs, and causing him to cough out a puddle of blood.

    "Young Master!"

    Elder Gustavo''s roar could still be heard in the sky while quickly drawing closer. Shortly afternding beside Young Master Judas, he took out a medicinal pill and popped it into the young master''s mouth.

    "Let us quickly leave, young master! This person is too powerful and devious! He actually lured us into thinking his energy is expended to lower our guard!" Elder Gustavo said, shortly picking up the young master to flee with his unbroken arm.

    Young Master Judas'' face was pale. He did not utter a word nor nod his head, but the emotions in his eyes showed that he agreed with Elder Gustavo''s suggestion.

    Back in the sky, Leon narrowed his eyes.

    ''These medicinal pills must at least be around Tier 4 or above! How could they get their hands on such high-quality spirit medicinal pills?'' Leon pondered.

    Nevertheless, he did not think too deeply while the enemy was trying to get away.

    Leon stored the pendant away before shooting straight down at his enemies! He knew better than to let his enemies live!

    Swoosh!

    Leon tore through the air, closing in quickly on the two foreign Transcendents from the sky.

    At the same time, the two Transcendents had been in the middle of the military city when theynded. Their appearance immediately caused confusion amongst the busy soldiers.

    Only Supreme Elder Haldir had been aware of the two Transcendents'' presence when they arrived and fought in the sky.

    Even so, he did not try to intervene in their battle.

    Not only could he not fly, but he also did not know who the two Transcendents were, nor who they were fighting. They had been too distant for him to confirm their identities.

    In the end, they arrived in closer proximity, but Supreme Elder Haldir still could not guess who they were after seeing their faces. He had not seen them before.

    Since they did note to help, it would be better that they leave without causing trouble.

    Meanwhile, Elder Gustavo sensed Leon''s quickly approaching figure and shouted, "Young friend, isn''t it better to leave a way out for everyone?! Do not push us too far!"

    At the same time, Elder Gustavo increased his speed and dragged Young Master Judas along with him.

    The medicinal pill was very effective!

    Moments ago, Young Master Judas was on the brink of death! However, it only took a few breathes to mend his broken body and return a lively flush to his face!

    Even so, he no longer had the will to continue fighting, regardless of whether he still had secret moves he had yet to use. It was not worth it!

    Young Master Judas med his impulsiveness.

    Who knew that someone below the Transcendent Realm would be so difficult to kill when there were two of them? They should have escaped when they had the chance!

    Seeing that Leon did not respond to them, Elder Gustavo''s gloomy mood plummeted further. In any case, he had to make sure his young master escape safely!

    It was his duty as a servant of the Cortez household!

    "Young Master Judas, please leave first! I will hold this person back!" Elder Gustavo said after seeing the young master had quickly recovered from his previously grievous injuries.

    "Alright! Give me the pendant."

    After Young Master Judas received the pendant, he immediately shot off into the distance without another word.

    Elder Gustavo felt aggrieved that the person did not even spare him a nce despite the chance that he might not make it out alive.

    "Where do you think you''re going?!" Leon barked.

    He zoomed in on the fleeing young master and ignored Elder Gustavo. However, Elder Gustavo immediately kicked the ground and shot up to intercept Leon!

    "Piss off!"

    Leon roared, sending a forceful kick at Elder Gustavo, who hurriedly reused the swirling water technique to disperse the force of his kick.

    Even so, Leon''s feet still nted on Elder Gustavo''s chest with some residual force and sent the person mming into the ground.

    Seeing Young Master Judas getting further away, Leon entered a throwing stance. He gripped his bone spear tightly with bulging muscles before tossing it with great power.

    The bone spear immediately zipped through the air.

    "Careful, Young Master Judas!" Elder Gustavo warned strongly before coughing profusely.

    Young Master Judas quickly turned with a look of horror. Having exhausted his ckwater reserves, he could only rely on his Transcendental Water Element.

    Despite Judas''s best effort to defend in a split second, the bone spear pierced his runic chest armor and nipped his heart''s artery, causing his face to be pale quickly.

    Nevertheless, he did not stop and continued to flee.

 Chapter 447 - End Of The Road

    <h4>Chapter 447 - End Of The Road</h4>

    "Young friend, stop pursuing my young master! Otherwise, I cannot guarantee the lives of these soldiers!" Elder Gustavo threatened desperately, sending out a few warning water shots that missed the soldiers.

    Leon was forced to stop his pursuit and focus on Elder Gustavo.

    "Quite the nerve you have to threaten me! Nevertheless, your loyalty ismendable. However, is it worth it? Your young master did not have a single concern for your life!" Leon said gloomily.

    "Be that as it may, he is still the young master of the Cortez family, whom I am greatly indebted." Elder Gustavo smiled sadly as he struggled to get up.

    Leon nced at the person''s broken arm that hung loosely on the side.

    Evidently, the high-quality medicinal pills were not something the two foreign Transcendents had in abundance and could abuse. Otherwise, Elder Gustavo would have already mended his broken arm and healed his internal injuries.

    At the same time, a figure quickly shot over andnded not far from them. After a moment, the person said with surprise, "So the lion-looking person was you. We meet again, young prince."

    "Marquis Haldir? What are you doing here at the Great Wall?" Leon asked. However, he quickly frowned at the surrounding scene and added, "What happened here?"

    "A lot has happened, actually."

    "It''s the post-Cataclysm." Elder Gustavo said with a slightly guarded expression, not expecting another Transcendent to appear, and someone familiar with the Crawford Kingdom''s prince, nheless.

    Whatever faint hopes Elder Gustavo still had of escaping was extinguished.

    Leon nced at Elder Gustavo and questioned, "You seem to know something. What do you mean by the post-Cataclysm? And for what reasons have youe here?

    "I do know some things, but why should I tell you? Isn''t it a bitte to be asking these things?" Elder Gustavo shook his head bitterly before asking, "Would you let me go if I do?"

    "No."

    Leon rejected without room for negotiation.

    "Someone from the Geyser Kingdom is likely to have quite some useful information. Even if you don''t talk, I have ways to make you talk after I capture you." Leon said.

    Elder Gustavo smiled bitterly, expecting as much.

    This was the result of the young master''s impulsiveness. There was no way the prince would let go of the people who hurt his father, the king of Crawford.

    Elder Gustavo summoned all the remaining ckwater from his gourd that revolved around him, forming a ckwater tornado.

    Leon quickly entered a battle stance.

    Supreme Elder Haldir also prepared to assist Leon. He did not know why the young prince was going after these people. But since the young prince wanted to capture this person, he had to help.

    However, Elder Gustavo did not attack them.

    The ckwater tornado shrunk and shredded Elder Gustavo''s body apart, causing him to scream in immense pain.

    "Arghhh!"

    Shortly after, the person''s body was torn to pieces.

    Elder Gustavo had refused to be captured and humiliated. Thus, he ended his own life.

    "Sh*t."

    Leon frowned at the scattered mess.

    "I didn''t expect he would choose this option. I figured this person would still have some trump cards to help him escape at least, or perhaps I was simply overthinking." Leon said with a shake of his head.

    Shortly after Leon recovered from his disappointment, he searched through the scattered mess. He retrieved a few items found on the person''s original body, including the Interspatial Ring and gourd.

    Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head expressionlessly.

    He was not familiar with the person to feel any sympathy for the person''s choice of taking his own life.

    He made his way over to Leon and said, "It''s good that you are here, young prince. We could use an additional helping hand. The situation is rather dire."

    "What happened? Fill me in on the details." Leon stated.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

    "So, it''s like this¡­ the beasts¡ª"

    ROAR!

    Supreme Elder Haldir was suddenly interrupted by an earthshaking beast roar.

    Leon and Supreme Elder Haldir immediately exchanged nces before they nodded and rushed towards the top of the Great Wall.

    ¡­

    A few dozen miles from the Western Frontier, a streak of lightning could be seen rushing westward at high speed.

    However, the streak of lightning suddenly came to an abrupt stop, revealing Aria''s figure. A white bone spear could be seen hurling over from the skies.

    Boom!

    The bone spear nted itself into the ground forcefully, almost burrowing itself entirely into the earth.

    Aria retrieved the bone spear with furrowed brows before ncing back into the skies from whence the strange weapon came.

    Her eyes shortly narrowed on a figure flying at low altitude with a deathly pale face while blood dripped from his pierced chest.

    The person was Young Master Judas.

    Connecting the dots, Aria immediately guessed who the bone spear belonged to¡ªit belonged to Leon.

    She quickly stored it in her Interspatial Ring before ring at the person in the skies with a frown. She had yet to learn how to fly.

    Young Master Judas flew at roughly 1000fts, but his altitude gradually decreased over time as lifeforce slowly slipped away from his body.

    He searched his Interspatial Ring for effective medicine to treat his wound, unaware of Aria watching him from below.

    Aria closed her eyes and browsed the sea of knowledge embedded in her mind¡ªthe knowledge that came from the other Aria.

    After a moment, her eyes snapped open brightly.

    A solid blue sword was condensed out of ice-lightning powers before Aria stepped on the blue sword and manipted it to take her into the sky, heading straight for the fleeing person like a sh of lightning.

    "Hm?"

    Young Master Judas quickly noticed the danger, but it was still toote!

    The blue sword shifted from the soles of Aria''s feet to her hands before she shed straight at the person!

    "Ahhh!"

    Young Master Judas eximed painfully, narrowly dodging Aria''s sword sh but lost his arm in the process.

    He retreated some distance after shooting a Water st at Aria; however, the attack was frozen after contacting Aria''s ice-lightning sword and dropped from the sky like dead weight.

    "Wait, you can''t kill me! I am the son of Baron Beau Cortez! My father will not spare you and the Crawford Kingdom! We have many Transcendent-level experts!" Young Master Judas cried.

    Aria immediately paused with a frown.

    Seeing Aria stopped attacking, Young Master Judas got excited and said, "Yes, that is right! The Crawford Kingdom does not have the right resources to nurture you, but the Geyser Kingdom definitely does! Why don''t you help me return to the Geyser Kingdom and be my concubine instead? I will request my father to write a rmendation letter to admit you into the Grand Ocean Academy¡ª!"

    Swoosh!

    Before Young Master Judas could react, Aria blinked behind him and stabbed her sword straight through his heart. The power of ice-lightning immediately frosted his dying heart and destroyed his inner body.

    Young Master Judas nced at the sword sticking out of his chest and felt despair and coldness in his heart.

    "Why¡­? With your talents, you should not limit yourself to the Crawford Kingdom. The Geyser Kingdom is far more powerful than you can imagine¡­"

    "Those bearing ill-will against my loved one, no matter who or where youe from, shall bear the wrath of my sword!" Aria said coldly. At the same time, she felt disgusted by the person.

    After a moment, Aria frowned and tore the mask off the person''s face, revealing the true appearance under.

    Her face was immediately colored with surprise.

    "It''s you?"

    Although the face seemed to have suffered burns that disfigured the person, she was still able to recognize the person after matching the name and face.

    However, Young Master Judas could no longer respond¡­ He drew hisst breath and plunged towards the ground.

 Chapter 448 - Long Live The Prince!

    <h4>Chapter 448 - Long Live The Prince!</h4>

    Divine Realm, Eastern Divine Region.

    Divine Pill Kingdom.

    This ce was once destroyed in the raging tides of war against the Demon Race amongst many other kingdoms and regions destroyed during the period.

    However, many yearster, it was rebuilt under the Esdus family''s leadership andter became the ruler of the kingdom.

    The Demon Army was pushed back to the Northern Divine Region during thetter years of the Great War, also known as the Divine Demon Region.

    Although the Demon Army was pushed back to their home ground, the war against the Demon Race never ceased.

    When the myriad races of the three Divine Region thought they could eradicate the demons of the Northern Divine Region once and for all, the other Demon Emperors joined the war and gave them a rude awakening.

    The Demon Emperors were much stronger than Divine Kings. They were existences considered to be the closest to Divinity.

    There were only four Demon Emperors in the Northern Divine Region, and the Demon Empress was one such being amongst them.

    No one knew much about the Demon Emperors.

    Only the Demon Empress had been revealed to be a Dark Fae during the outbreak of war.

    The most distinguishable traits of the Dark Fae Race were their ck-feathered wings, twin horns, and pointed long ears.

    Skinplexion varied among their race, but that is what the Demon Empress is¡ªa Dark Fae. She was also considered a beauty among beauties within the Dark Fae Race with her lustrous fair skin.

    Nevertheless, no one had the heart to admire her beauty, for her fearsome strength had terrorized the entire Eastern Divine Kingdom.

    Many early-stage Divine Kings felled under her ws, while those below the Divine King Realm were ughtered in far great numbers.

    No one knew the exact numbers, but the Demon Empress alone was believed to have ughtered at least 10-million Divine Practitioners within the first few years of the war.

    At this moment, Judas Esdus was seated within a lustrous golden bedchamber with his eyes closed in meditation.

    However, his eyes suddenly snapped open with a paled expression before spitting out an arrow of blood.

    "Young Master Judas!"

    Two pce maids immediately cried, startled by the sight. They immediately rushed over and asked with concern, "Are you alright, Young Master Judas? What happened?"

    "Have you forgotten what I told you already? I am no longer a young master!" Judas Esdus wiped the trace of blood on the corner of his mouth and red at the pce maids.

    The two pce maids trembled with fear after realizing the error in their words. They quickly apologized, "We''re terribly sorry, Your Highness Judas!"

    "Never mind. Both of you, leave!" Judas Esdus shooed them outside his golden bedchamber.

    After the two pce maids bowed and took their leave, closing the doors on their way out, Judas Esdus'' eyes immediately zed over with confusion.

    He did not understand what grave mistake he had made in his Divine Cultivation to cause him to cough up blood.

    The blood was very fresh and glistening with redness. Obviously, this was not bad blood but his blood vitality!

    A sense of fatigue suddenly overwhelmed Judas Esdus'' mind, making him feel weak, frail, and lethargic. However, after a moment, his eyes shortly sparkled with divine enlightenment.

    He immediately popped a Spirit Replenishment Pill into his mouth and recover his seated meditative position, resuming his Divine Cultivation.

    The boundless Spirit Energy in the world began to gather quickly towards the miniature universe within his be.

    He had gained insights to advance his cultivation to a higher stage within the Divine Transformation Realm!

    ¡­

    Some distance from the Western Frontier, Crawford Kingdom.

    Aria shortlynded on the ground and stared at Young Master Judas'' lifeless and familiar face with a frown. It was the face of someone she had seen before in the memory world.

    Suddenly, her heart burned with frustration.

    If she knew Young Master Judas shared such a simr appearance to that person in the memory world, she would not have given the person such an easy death.

    She would have at least tried to annihte his soul!

    Having met Aria White, she subtly understood that there was a profound connection between the world she lived in and the world of the Divine Realm.

    Nevertheless, it was toote to mull over her actions now.

    What has been done, has been done.

    Aria collected everything value on Young Master Judas'' corpse before she frosted the body with ice-lightning power and shattered it into a million pieces.

    Shortly after, she resumed her journey west to the Great Wall after storing everything in the Interspatial Ring that Leon forged for her.

    ¡­

    Western Frontier, Great Wall.

    Shortly after Leon and Supreme Elder Haldir made their way on top of the wall, they gazed into the distance to search for the source of the mighty beast roar.

    An enormous grizzly bear of roughly 60fts in height was seen in the distant hill.

    "A Transcendent-level beast!" Leon and Supreme Elder Haldir determined with their quick judgment.

    Very shortly, Leon''s gaze fell on the bloody battle between rats and wolves below the Great Wall. He immediately understood the reason for the Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear''s appearance.

    It was attracted over by the pungent stench of blood pervading into the air!

    Seeing the enormous Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear charging over, Leon flicked his wrist and gripped onto his summoned ck spear, readying to face it.

    If such a strong beast mmed into the Great Wall, all the weak soldiers on the Great Wall would most likely be flung off by its sheer force.

    "Careful, young prince. It seems like this Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear has also gone berserk!" Supreme Elder Haldir warned.

    Leon quickly studied the rats and wolves carefully and noticed that they were also under the same berserk state.

    He shortly wrinkled his brows.

    ording to the Cataclysm recorded in the Crawford Kingdom''s history, the beast went crazy after the great sr re eruption.

    Such a grand event would have been easily noticed in the Human Domain, where the skies were clear, and the ring of debris in the void could be seen among the moons and stars.

    Did the Cataclysm alreadymence while he was still in the Dark Continent?

    "Did a great sr re ur in the past couple of days?" Leon asked the elven supreme elder.

    Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head, "No, young prince. If you are thinking about the Cataclysm, then it has not erupted yet. However, it should being soon."

    "You''re telling me it hasn''t erupted when the beasts are already like this? What do you think will happen once the Cataclysm erupt then?"

    "I''m not sure, but it will definitely be unprecedented, whether for better or worse." Supreme Elder Haldir said.

    "General Marquis Hendrick knows more about the beasts'' berserk condition, but unfortunately, he is currently busy underground in the sewage system."

    Leon could not help but frown deeply.

    Something was seriously wrong with this situation!

    If the beasts were already berserk before the urrence of the sr re, then the great sr re during thest Cataclysm was not the cause of the beasts going berserk but something else entirely!

    He had a nagging feeling that this unknown variable was very important!

    However, Leon did not have time to ponder further.

    He immediately tightened his grip on the ck spear and leaped off the Great Wall, shooting straight towards the iing Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear!

    ROAR¡ª!

    Penggggg!

    Before the Grizzly Bear couldplete its great roar, it was given a loud resounding p across the cheeks by Leon''s sweeping ck spear!

    The Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear was immediately swept off its feet and flew sideways, crashing into the earth some distance away with a boom!

    The eyes of many soldiers on the Great Wall immediately bulged with shock. They could not believe their eyes!

    Even if the Grizzly Bear was only a newly ascended Rank 1 Transcendent Beast, its weight must be in the tens of thousands of jins!

    Yet such a heavy thing was thrown off its feet by the sweep of a spear using brute strength, a feat aplished by a human, no less!

    Can humans really achieve such ridiculous physical strengths with their bodies alone?!

    "Long live the prince!" A solder began cheering after his initial shock.

    "Long live the prince!"

    A solder began cheering after his initial shock. Shortly after, it transformed into a boisterous cheer with more soldiers joining in.

    "Long live the prince!"

    "Long live the prince!"

 Chapter 449 - Burn The Rats!

    <h4>Chapter 449 - Burn The Rats!</h4>

    Underneath the military city, the underground sewage system''s ceiling shook with mild tremors, causing loose dust and rock shards to fall into the sewage water with a plop.

    General Marquis Hendrick led a team of elite soldiers and gather at the hole that connected the underground rat passageway to the sewage system.

    The hole was not big. It was roughly the size of an adult human, just big enough for three fat rats stacked atop each other to pass through.

    "Fortunately, the hole is not big. Otherwise, we would have huge trouble dealing with the rats pouring through this point." General Marquis Hendrick said with a cloth covering half his face.

    The group of elite soldiers simrly covered half their faces with wet cloths. The foul stench of the sewage was not exactly something anyone of them wanted to endure in its entirety.

    General Marquis Hendrick held a lit torch and illuminated parts of the rat passageway.

    The light did not travel far, but the hollow billows of wind and endless corridors of darkness showed that the rat passageway runs deeply.

    No one could fathom the depths of the underground passageway.

    However, considering the endless tides of rats pouring the rathole outside the Great Wall, the underground space had to be of enormous proportions.

    After checking the downward slope of the empty rat passageway, General Marquis Hendrick quickly ordered, "Bring the first oil barrel over!"

    "Yes, General!"

    Two soldiers immediately carried a heavy wooden barrel of oil over and unsealed the lid.

    The big oil barrel was unable to fit through the small gap. Thus, the earth-users among the soldiers manipted earthen ground and formed a mini canal before they dumped out the oil.

    In a short while, they went through all five oil barrels they had on hand before proceeding to tossed down every burnable material brought with them that could create the smoke they needed.

    Suddenly, an earthshaking roar shook the underground sewage terribly, causing few soldiers to lose their bnce.

    Nevertheless, it only took a moment before they regained their footing. Even so, they were rmed by the mighty roar.

    "What was that just now?! That beast roar was so loud!"

    "I think a Transcendent-level beast just arrived outside the Great Wall!"

    A few soldiers immediately gulped.

    "Your orders, general?" A soldier asked.

    General Marquis Hendrick immediately said, "Don''t worry about what is happening on the surface and quicklyplete the task at hand!"

    "Yes, General!"

    At the same time, they began to hear numerous squeaks from the deep passageway before it grew louder and closer at an rming rate!

    General Marquis Hendrick''s expression immediately changed.

    "We''ve run out of time! Quickly light it up! The rats areing!" He barked.

    "Yes, General!"

    The closest soldier to the rat opening immediately took the torch and tossed it into the deep, dark passageway.

    In a short instance, the oil caught fire and ignited into a fiery ze, rushing down the sloped passageway wherever it was connecting by the soaking oil like a chain reaction.

    For a moment, the soldier was able to see the depths of the passageway before the searing heat of the fire forced him to retreat!

    The wailing screams of rats were quickly heard right after!

    They burned in mes along with the wood scraps and blocks of firewood tossed into the passageway, generating greats fumes of ck smoke.

    "Move!"

    General Marquis Hendrick immediately ordered the soldiers to make way for him before using his wind ability to fan the escaping ck smoke down the rat passageway.

    At the same time, he turned to the side and ordered a soldier, "Go alert the other team that it has started!"

    "Yes, General!"

    "Apart from you two, the rest of you can also return to the wall and assist the others." General Marquis Hendrick added.

    "Yes, General!"

    Shortly after, only two earth-users were left with General Marquis Hendrick to help him plug up the holeter.

    Meanwhile, once the other soldiers left and made it to the top of the Great Wall, they were shocked by the sight before them.

    "Oh, you guys are here? That means the fire has already been started underground, hm?" Supreme Elder Haldir casually asked for confirmation.

    "Yes, Marquis Haldir!"

    The soldiers quickly nodded before their gaze was drawn back to the scene beyond the Great Wall.

    A tanned person with a lion-headed cloak was seen flinging a huge Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear around like a toy with his ck spear!

    At the same time, numerous rats tried to swarm the two, but the person''s speed was incredible! None of the rats could keep up with him!

    However, what was more incredible was the person''s strength! With each swing of his ck spear, a powerful force would be generated and sweep all the rats away!

    Tyrannical! Overbearing! Domineering!

    The soldiers could only think of these three words as they watch the person send rats and Transcendent-level beast alike, flying left and right with a swing of his spear!

    A soldier gulped.

    "Who''s fighting out there? What kind of inhumane strength is that?" The soldier asked.

    Another soldier answered with a reverent look, "That is His Highness, Prince Leon!"

    The neer soldiers were immediately awed by the revtion, turning to watch the person dance on the battlefield with newfound respect and veneration.

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to swing his ck spear wildly, hacking countless Wingrats to pieces. Their guts and blood sttered everywhere, blown away by the force of Leon''s spear swing.

    Leon narrowed his eyes as he tried to briefly the contents of the rat blood in between his attacks. He wanted to understand the source of the beasts'' berserk state.

    Roar!

    The Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear growled in pain.

    Despite being flung left and right by Leon, it was surprisingly in good shape. Leon had not dealt it a lethal blow.

    Furthermore, the Grizzly Bear''s thick flesh acted as a good shock absorbent.

    However!

    At this moment, the Rank 1 Transcendent Grizzly Bear was currently being swarmed by Wingrats! The Wingrats did not just target Leon; they also targeted the Rank 1 Transcendent Grizzly Bear!

    They quickly scaled the Grizzly Bear''srge build, sticking to it like a colony of ants before gnawing into its thick flesh furiously like starving piranhas!

    Surprisingly, these Wingrats had incredibly sharp teeth despite their physically weak bodies! With their rming numbers, they make a fearsome force to behold!

    They can terrorize the Crawford Empire if left unchecked.

    Even so, the Grizzly Bear was not just a Rank 1 Transcendent for nothing. It put up fierce resistance, crushing tens of thousands of Wingrats beneath its heavy body!

    Back on the Great Wall, Supreme Elder Haldir quickly said, "Alright, enough watching. Bring the barrels here. We willmence the next step of the n."

    "Yes, Marquis Haldir!"

    The soldiers shortly answered after snapping out of their self-absorbed viewing.

    Shortly After, Supreme Elder Haldir began hurling therge wooden barrels of oils over the Great Wall.

    Theynded in various parts of the battlefield, while a fewnded inside the rathole.

    "Light them up!" Supreme Elder Haldir ordered.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Boom!

    The soldiers fired their firearms, and the patches of oil burst into mes!

    The endless tides of Wingrats were immediately plunged into chaos! Even when they are berserk, they cannot ovee their basic fear over the mes!

    At the same time, Supreme Elder Haldir extended his hand outwards towards the direction of the rathole and clenched his hand into a fist.

    Immediately, thecerating thorny vines around the rathole weaved together and proliferated further, forming a dense that trapped the Wingrats in their hole!

    Squeak!

    The cries of dying rats trapped in smothering mes made the soldiers wear unsettling expressions.

    Even if the rats were pests to be ughtered en masse, the rat extermination still made them ufortable.

    God knows how many rats were still lurking in the rathole. Perhaps, in the millions or tens of millions!

    Nevertheless, their dying squeaks were enough to give people nightmares.

    "Is it considered a sin to reap so many lives, even if they are rats?" A soldier sighed.

    "Don''t think too deeply. This kind of thought is a type of luxury we; soldiers cannot afford on the battlefield. We are fighting for our survival. Remember that."

    "That''s right. It is either they die, or we die. If even the basic right to live is considered a sin, then everything we do is also considered a sin." Another soldier added.

    His unsettled expression was the same as everyone else.

    No one was born murderers into the world. However, the world conditioned them as such! That is the world they live in!

    Compassion was cruelty to oneself!

    The soldiers watched the scene solemnly with steeled hearts.

    The ground could be felt rumbling from the numerous Wingrats beneath the surface, bashing into each other as they tried to squeeze their way through.

    The earth slightly rose under the rat''s united efforts, but the thorny vines were deeply rooted and sturdy like an inescapable.

    The rats were unable to breakthrough.

    The only thing they could aplish was to quicken their deaths by crushing their brethren against the of thorny vines.

    Time slowly past but not only did the fire down, but it also increased its intensity instead. The Wingrats were akin to oil themselves¡ªhighly mmable with their body of dry fur!

    The fire n worked better than they anticipated! The rats were seared to death before they were smothered by the smoke!

    Eventually, the rat''s resistance died down, and their wailing squeaks ceased.

    Only the stragglers on the surface remained, but their numbers quickly reduced under Leon''s ck spear.

    The Rank 1 Transcendent Grizzly Bear died under Leon''s quick spear thrust through its head.

    Leon had ended its misery after it was already half-eaten by the rats.

 Chapter 450 - Mine To Bear!

    <h4>Chapter 450 - Mine To Bear!</h4>

    Wilnds, Skysilver Tribe.

    Like the Great Wall, a simr situation was urring to the low-rank beast tribe.

    Millions of Wingrats roamed the ins and swarmed the tribe suddenly after a section of the earth copsed, exposing the underground world underneath.

    Boom!

    A powerful tail swept away hundreds of frenzied Wingrats before they could draw close to Skysilver, the Beast King of the Skysilver Tribe.

    The Rank 1 Transcendent Iron-tailed Wolf stood proudly on the top of its hill, gazing into the distant west while tides of rats surrounded its tribe.

    Skysilver simply paid no attention to the nearby rats attacking it.

    Its three iron tails formed an impregnable line of defense that cannot be breached. No matter how hard the Wingrats try to cross the line, they were swept away all the same.

    The Wingrats was incapable of harming the beast king.

    Even so, the same cannot be said for the rest of the Skysilver Tribe.

    The tribe''s defensive line was easily breached with the Wingrats swarming in from the sky with a single great leap!

    The weaker beasts were immediately drowned in the endless tide of rats, while the stronger beasts put up better resistance.

    Nevertheless, it was a matter of time before they were overwhelmed by the endless tide of rats! The Wingrats continued pouring into the tribe like a gue of death,ying waste everywhere they went.

    "My king, the vermin aren''t strong, but their teeth are sharp, and their numbers are too overwhelming! At this rate, the tribe will notst! Please lead us, my king!" A Birdman arrived and cried after scouting the tribe''s situation from above.

    Perhaps the Birdman drew too close to the ground, but it immediately attracted hundreds of Wingrats that lunged at it!

    In a short instance, it was pulled down from the sky and swarmed by the Wingrats!

    "Arghhh! Save me, my king!" The Birdman wailed while get gnawed by countless Wingrats.

    Awooo!

    Skysilver issued an earthshaking howl, generating a powerful sound wave that shook the earth and blew away all the Wingrats!

    "Thank you, my king!" The Birdman said, coughing up blood.

    In a short instance, it had lost many bite-size chunks of its body, and its wings were both ruined with white feathers scattered everywhere.

    Only a high-quality healing medicine would be able to save its life, but such thing was non-existent within the low-rank beast tribe.

    In other words, it was doomed to die. Even if it managed to survive somehow, it was no longer able to fly.

    Such a life was cruel to a creature of the sky.

    Skysilver nced at the Birdman indifferently while its three iron tails continue to sweep away all the attacking Wingrats in their surroundings.

    "You should know your body''s situation. Anyst words you would like to say?" Skysilver asked.

    The Birdman''s expression immediately dimmed.

    Whileying weakly on the ground, it struggled to tilt its head and nce at its bloodied mess of a body.

    "Please make it quick." The Birdman said sadly.

    Skysilver nodded.

    "Have a pleasant journey to the afterlife," Skysilver said before stomping the Birdman with itsrge paws.

    Boom!

    The earth shattered, ttening the Birdman to death in the process.

    It was an instant kill.

    Afterward, Skysilver turned its gaze to observe the state of its tribe. It wasplete chaos without any chains ofmand.

    It was every beast for themselves.

    The swarming sea of rats simply gave them no chance to gather and unite their strength in resistance!

    Any attempts to do so would leave openings in the beasts'' defenses, causing them to be quickly overwhelmed and killed by the rats!

    Roar!

    Suddenly, a strong twin-tailed white fox howled in a frenzied manner! Its red eyes shed with madness before it charged into the sea of rats and tore at the rats with its sharp ws and fangs!

    Roar! Roar! Roar!

    Shortly after, numerous strong beasts started exhibiting signs of madness, going berserk and tearing the rats to pieces in a simr fashion!

    In fact, the beasts that used their mouths and fangs to ughter the rats all quickly went berserk!

    Skysilver observed everything happening and knew that it was the end of its tribe. Nothing can be done to salvage this situation.

    "What are your orders, my king? What should we do?" Another Birdman asked loudly from high in the sky, too afraid to get close to the ground.

    300 bird-type beasts and beastkins wore lost expressions as they also hovered high in the sky and overlooked the chaos within the tribe.

    Skysilver nced up and said, "The Skysilver Tribe is finished! All of you, leave this ce! Go find another home to settle down!

    "What about you, my king?!"

    "I will stay behind!" Skysilver said determinedly.

    The Transcendent Beast King''s eyes glinted with cold killing intent. It will not leave until it ughters every single rat!

    Disaster had struck too suddenly.

    A tribe with hundreds of thousands of beasts had been reduced to no more than a few thousand beasts. Even then, the surviving beasts were quickly losing their minds and going berserk like the rats!

    What was a beast king without its citizens?

    Awoooo!

    The Transcendent Iron-tail Wolf gave a mighty howl before leaping high into the sky!

    The wind whistled strongly in its ears as it soared through the air and break into the sky suppression zone in an instance!

    Shortly after, its huge body began to plunge towards an area located outside the tribe with great speed before mming into the sea of rats on the ground with a seismic boom!

    The earth ruptured instantly with fissures and cracks quickly spreading outwards from the epicenter of the impact!

    Thousands of rats were crushed under the Transcendent Iron-tail Wolf''s huge body while hundreds of thousands more were swept off their feet and blown away by the impact force!

    Roar!

    Skysilver growled intimidatingly before it started ughtering the endless tide of Wingrats left and right!

    Back in the skies, the beast-type beasts and beastkin watched their beast king fight alone before a Birdman spoke, "Let us leave. This ce is now and of death."

    No one voiced any objection.

    At the same time, the Birdman was silently acknowledged as the new leader. They followed under his lead, flying westward towards the neighboring tribe in the adjacent region.

    The endless tide of rats covered the fields and hills on the surface, rampaging in all directions. Millions was an understatement of their numbers.

    "Look over there! That must be where the Wingrats areing from!" A Birdman suddenly pointed.

    The group shortly turned to look.

    In the distance, a great fissure where numerous Wingrats pouring out could be seen along with a rising column of red mist, spreading faintly in all directions.

    The group shortly flew overhead, inhaling the faint red mist obliviously before disappearing off into the distance.

    ¡­

    Great Forest borders.

    "Hold your position, men! Don''t you dare let them vermin slip past our defense!" An elven general barked.

    "Yes, sir!"

    Two rows of elves stretched as far as the eyes could see within the Great Forest.

    In front of them, a tall wall made of thorny vines was seen holding back the endless tide of rats while numerous more tried making the leap over.

    However, they were quicklycerated into pieces by countless other thorny vine whips and dropped out of the air!

    Their carcass pieces quickly piled like mountains while their blood flowed like rivers, drowning the area in a pungent stench that caused elves to wince with disgust.

    Nevertheless, they endured the difort with gritted teeth and continued doing their best to keep the rats at bay!

    An elf shortly appeared beside the elf general and mentioned his concern, "There are too many rats, sir! The rats are quickly forming a staircase mountain out of their fallen brethren! It''s just a matter of time before they scale our walls and overwhelm us!"

    "I know that!" The elf general said with a frown.

    He naturally knew the problem, but there was not much they could do to hold back the endless tide of rats that kept throwing themselves at the thorny vine wall without regard for their own life.

    Bits of mashed flesh and blood oozed through the small gaps in the thorny vine walls and made the elven warriors nauseous.

    The elf general nced back at the piles of rat carcasses that littered the deeper parts of the Great Forest. Some were diced into dozens of pieces, while some were scorched ck by mes.

    Elvengarde was lucky enough to fend off the first wave of rats and quickly established a defensive line that held the second wave of rats back, but not for much longer!

    The elf general''s eye fell on the scorched carcasses of rats before silentlying to a firm decision.

    "Heed my orders, the logistics team are to quickly head into the tribe and bring back all the oil the tribe has to offer!" The elf general barked.

    "All the tribe''s oil? Don''t tell me we are going to¡­"

    "That''s right! We will light the forest on fire! These rats seem to fear the mes! It will keep them away!" The elf general affirmed the elven soldier''s doubt.

    The nearby elven soldiers were quickly shocked and dumbfounded.

    "We cannot do that, sir! Burning the forest is a sacrilegious act punishable by death! The king will have us beheaded for it, sir!"

    "I fully understand the consequence of my decision, but we have no choice. It''s do or die. You do not need to worry about your lives and carry out my order faithfully and quickly."

    The elf general said calmly before his eyes shed resolutely.

    "This sin is mine to bear alone!"

 Chapter 451 - Arias Pleasant Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 451 - Aria''s Pleasant Arrival</h4>

    Great Wall.

    Amidst the burning mes and scattered carcasses on the ground, Leon continued to cut down every Wingrat before him, quickly shaving away their numbers.

    Supreme Elder Haldir did not remain idle on the Great Wall and descended on a long vine, joining Leon in cleaning up the remnant vermin on the field.

    At the same time, the elven supreme elder recollected his thorny vines blocking the rathole, which had be ckened by the fire.

    However, after it was infused with Wood Energy, the thorny vines regained their green luster and liveliness once more.

    Sometimeter, Leon finished cutting down thest Wingrat.

    Afterward, he waved his hand, summoning arge wave of scorching hot mes to clean up the battlefield littered carcasses and blood.

    Everything was reduced to ck ashes except for a few selected carcasses, including the Grizzly Bear''s giant carcass for study purposes.

    But before Leon could inspect the preserved carcasses, a thin figure fell from the sky, casting a shadow over the ground.

    Leon turned his head and nced up to look.

    Aria had leaped off her ice-lightning sword upon arriving and was seen freefalling towards him, causing Leon to be immediately startled.

    Leon quickly exerted some strength in the sole of his feet and lightly leaped into the air to catch Aria in his arms.

    They spun a few times in midair as Leon dispelled the force of Aria''s fall before they descended slowly andnded safely back on the ground.

    Shortly after, Leon immediately nudged Aria on the heading with a gentle chiding tone, "What were you thinking, jumping down like that? Didn''t you know it was dangerous?"

    "I knew you would catch me." Aria softly giggled,ughing it off lightly, but it also showed her unreserved trust in Leon.

    After wrapping her arms around Leon and enjoying his warmth for a moment, they separated.

    "Don''t be silly. I might not catch you next time." Leon smiled, giving her a light bump on the head before asking, "Why did youe here?"

    "I wanted to follow you. Wherever you go, I want to be by your side. Is that not allowed?" Aria nced up at Leon with watery eyes.

    After being taken aback for a moment, Leon smiled warmly, "Of course, it''s allowed! I''m sorry for leaving you behind."

    "I got some things for you," Aria said.

    Her Interspatial Ring shortly flickered, and a bunch of contents was emptied onto the ground, including Leon''s Tier 4 Bone Spear.

    Leon picked up the bone spear and shed Aria a look of surprise.

    "Where did you get these things?"

    "I picked them up along the way after disposing of the person that hurt father-inw, the king," Aria answered.

    "Well done, Aria!"

    Leon was pleasantly surprised.

    He quickly pulled Aria back into his embrace and gave her a few pecks on the forehead. A woman like this, what more can he asked for?

    He started to feel bad, leaving so suddenly upon returning¡ªbringing back another woman, no less.

    At the same time, a small blush appeared on Aria''s cheeks.

    "Ah, right. Congrattions on reaching Transcendence." Leon suddenly said after storing the items on the ground, intending to inspect themter.

    He was quite surprised to find out Aria reached the Western Frontier so quickly. It seemed that the Transcendent Realm had granted her an impressive boost in movement speed.

    "Mm."

    "I don''t mean to interrupt your moments, but what ns do you have now, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked, feeling slightly awkward at the side.

    Seeing that the elven supreme elder appeared to be troubled by something, Leon asked, "What''s the matter, Marquis Haldir?"

    "If my service is no longer need here, I would like to resume my journey back to Elvengarde. I am rather worried about my people, considering the situation that transpired here." Supreme Elder Haldir said.

    Leon was surprised.

    He nced at the remaining carcasses and contemted for a moment before he said, "The General Marquis should be able to settle the matters here. On that note, you will not mind if I apany you, right? Marquis Haldir?"

    "Not at all! In fact, I will be overjoyed to have yourpany, young prince." Supreme Elder Haldir said.

    Leon nodded and asked, "Do we have an airship?"

    "Yes, young prince. His Majesty and the Duke was kind enough to lend us one on our travels. Right now, it should be docked somewhere in the north¡­"

    Supreme Elder Haldir slowly stopped talking, suddenly.

    A figure was seen descending towards them from the Great Wall.

    The person was immediately stunned after Leon turned to face the person. However, the person quickly recovered and saluted respectfully to Leon, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

    "Greetings to you too, General Marquis." Leon nodded in return before adding, "I trust that I can leave things here to you?"

    "Are you leaving, Your Highness?" General Marquis Hendrick quickly asked.

    "We will be taking the airship and head for Elvengarde," Leon admitted while casually sending out his divine sense.

    He swept the area underneath the surface and detected therge underground passageway used by the Wingrats.

    Large numbers of charcoal-ck carcasses could be seen buried underneath, densely packed together like coal towards the rathole.

    Nevertheless, Leon could not see the subterranean world''s depths with the full range of his divine sense.

    Leon slightly furrowed his brows.

    The subterranean world simply exists everywhere; it was concerning. Was it formed by something? Or did it already exist during the previous era?

    Looking at therge ring of debris floating in the orbit of Gaia in the void, arge amount of Gaia''s resources was definitely used to construct those remnant infrastructures.

    "Is something wrong, Your Highness?" Asked General Marquis Hendrick, noticing Leon''s subtle expression.

    "It''s nothing." Leon shook his head and said, "I trust you will make the right decisions, general. However, I do suggest you seal up the rathole quickly and abandon any thoughts of exploring it."

    "Of course, Your Highness." General Marquis Hendrick patted his chest and said, "I always put the safety of the kingdom before anything else."

    "That''s good to hear."

    Shortly after, the airship was called over.

    After Supreme Elder Haldir boarded the airship, Leon stabbed the two rat carcasses on the ground with his ck spear and carried them.

    Aria shortly tugged on his cloak, causing him to turn around and nced at her questioningly with a smile, "What''s the matter? You don''t want toe with me anymore?"

    When Aria heard Leon, she quickly shook her head and stuck close to him.

    Leon held her hand firmly before they boarded the airship together.

 Chapter 452 - Did You See?

    <h4>Chapter 452 - Did You See?</h4>

    "Take care, Your highness." General Marquis Hendrick said from the ground.

    "Un, look after the big carcass for me and don''t eat it. I''lle back for it," Leon said jokingly.

    General Marquis Hendrick nced at the smelly body of the Grizzly Bear and twitched his mouth. Unless someone wanted to be berserk, no one would be willing to eat it.

    "You jest, Your Highness." General Marquis Hendrick said stiffly.

    "Loosen up a bit, general. You''re too formal and upright all the time." Leon chuckled before turning his head to the top deck and barked, "Alright. Take us up, captain!"

    "Aye, aye, Your Highness!"

    Shortly after, the crew busily got to work under the captain''s instruction before the airship steadily rose into the skies.

    At the same time, Princess Faelyn made her way and curtsied, "We meet again, Your Highness."

    "It''s been some time, Princess Faelyn." Leon returned her greeting.

    "You''ve changed quite a bit since we''vest met, Your Highness," Faelyn said. Naturally, she was referring to his skinplexion and bizarre equipment.

    Leon smiled wryly.

    After exchanging a few words with Princess Faelyn, he excused himself and pulled Aria along with him into a private cabin.

    Aria observed Leon curiously as he busied himself, taking out a few spirit herbs and pill cauldron from the Worldspace, and began concocting alchemy.

    It did not take long for him to finish his refinement, revealing a pasty and creamy substance.

    Shortly after, he began undressing his equipment. Aria quickly blushed with a crimson shade and made her way over to help him undress.

    Leon smiled gently, appreciating her considerate gesture, but then he noticed her expression and gave her a light chop on the head.

    "Ah!" Aria eximed, looking back at Leon confusedly.

    He smiled amusingly and asked, "Just what are you thinking in that little head of yours, hm?"

    "I¡­ I thought you wanted to¡­" Aria stuttered with a flushed face.

    "Wanted to what, hm? Your mind is totally in the gutter, my dear wifey." Leon chuckled, thinking he might have corrupted her.

    He shortly shook his head and said, "I am dirty and reek of rat blood. We can do itter after I am cleansed."

    "W-Who wants to do it? I didn''t say anything!" Aria denied vehemently with a flushed face, deeply embarrassed.

    "I''m joking. We don''t have time."

    Leon chuckled.

    "Help me rub this on my back."

    "Mm, okay."

    Aria quickly epted a portion of the white cream and began rubbing it on Leon''s bareback with her hands. She was quickly surprised when the tanned skin faded, revealing Leon''s original paleplexion.

    Sometimeter, Leon and Aria returned to the deck.

    The distance between the Great Wall and the Great Forest was not far, but it was close either. It can be seen from a distance, but the exact situation was not clear.

    After the airship reached the peak altitude of 600fts and began propelling forward, passing a few hills, the situation of the Great Forest became known to everyone.

    Leon quickly realized the grey field surrounding the Great Forest was actually the endless tide of rats covering up the t green grasnds!

    The army of grey rats stretched as far as the eye could see, reaching deep into the Wilnds!

    Even when Leon activated [Spirit Eyes], he could not see the end of the rat tide in sight. They were simply everywhere!

    "There are so many rats!"

    The crewmates were shocked after peeking into the distance. The thought of falling into such an enormous tide of rats made them tremble with fear.

    They would be devoured down to the bones within seconds!

    Supreme Elder Haldir gazed into the distance with a solemn look and said, "The situation does not look good. Even Transcendents can be exhausted fighting so many rats!"

    "The Great Forest is on fire!" Faelyn suddenly eximed, covering her mouth with great shock.

    The eruption of fire happened suddenly and quickly, running along the edges of the Great Forest like a chain reaction!

    In mere moments, the mepletely enclosed the Great Forest and formed a ring of fire! The grey field of rats immediately drew their distance from the fire right after!

    "This sort of coordination¡­ this is not an ident, but a nned strategy!" Supreme Elder Haldir stated with a heavy expression.

    No matter what, the Great Forest was still his home. Seeing the Great Forest burning pained his heart.

    "Burning the forest to keep the rats away¡­ the tribe would not have resort to this method unless they had no other choice¡­ the situation must be dire."

    "Then I guess we better hurry over," Leon said objectively, raising one hand up.

    Swoosh!

    The wind suddenly surged around the airship.

    After Leon dropped his hand forwardly, the surge of wind immediately propelled the airship forward at more incredible speed.

    "Kyahhh!"

    Faelyn eximed after her skirts were blown upward by the wind. She quickly held it down before shing Leon a deadly re.

    "Did you see?"

    Leon was taken aback for a moment before he immediately raised his hands up in surrender, "I swear it was not on purpose."

    "Did you see?" Faelyn stressed again with a pouted expression.

    Leon shortly averted his eyes while scratching his cheeks, "Well¡­ I might have seen a little bit."

    Princess Faelyn''s face quickly turned scarlet after hearing his answer and lowered her head down in silence, too embarrassed to press further.

    At the same time, Aria stood beside Leon, humming a low tune with an indecipherable expression, "Hmm¡­"

    Leon rubbed his forehead with distress, thinking things had taken a strange turn. Like, why was he singled out when others might have also seen it too.

    "Ahem." Supreme Elder Haldir coughed, dispelling the awkward atmosphere before stressing, "Now is not the time for this. We have a serious problem on our hand here."

    "Young Prince, the airship is not flying high enough. We will not be able to enter the Great Forest like this. What do you think we should do?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked for Leon''s opinion, seeing they were quickly approaching the Great Forest.

    "Hmm¡­"

    Leon began rubbing his chin thoughtfully with a deep look.

 Chapter 453 - Leons Work Of Art

    <h4>Chapter 453 - Leon''s Work Of Art</h4>

    The airship quickly closed in on the Great Forest, flying overhead of the grey field of Wingrats.

    The loud propellers immediately drew the attention of the rat tide, causing them to nce into the skies.

    Shortly after, waves after waves of rats to leap into the sky, attempting to attack and destroy the airship that was the source of their irritation.

    The Wingrats were great leapers, but the best height amongst theirrge numbers did not exceed 180fts, causing them to fall short by 120fts from the airship.

    Nevertheless, it still made the entire crew apprehensive.

    The leaping rat tide moved like the ocean waves, except it was not the salty seawater battering against the sandy shores but a sea of death.

    The crew gulped nervously while the airship flew past the endless rat tide. It was not only a terrifying sight to behold, but the rats'' incessant squeaks were grating to the ears.

    Leon had no time to inspect the two rat carcasses he brought with him and could only leave them forter. After pondering for a moment, he recalled something.

    "What is this?" Asked Supreme Elder Haldir after Leon pulled out two strange pendants from his interspatial storage space.

    "This?" Leon inspected the two enchanted pendants in his hands for a moment before he said, "Probably something that can help the airship fly over the Great Forest."

    The enchanted pendants could shield people from the gravitational pressure of the sky, allowing Transcendents to fly freely without restraint within the sky suppression zone.

    It was up to Leon to figure out how to increase the enchanted pendants'' output coverage to epass the entire airship.

    If the gravitational pressure of the sky were removed, the flight altitude of all airships equipped with levitation devices would definitely not be limited to 600fts!

    When Supreme Elder Haldir recalled the two Transcendents flying deep in the sky suppression zone previously, he quickly guessed the enchanted pendants belonged to them.

    "How?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked curiously with great interest.

    "Hmm¡­"

    Leon pondered for a moment beforeing up with a solution in his mind.

    "I got it."

    He quickly dispelled the wind current driving the airship forward and ordered the captain to reduce its flight speed.

    "Give me a moment to tinker with these things," Leon said.

    He took a seat on the t deck and took out his special scribing pen and a few fat spirit stones. Before he started tinkering, he scanned the pendants with his divine sense and engraved everything into his mind.

    Going a step further, he requested Maya to scan and record the pendant''s diagram in the Archive in case he screwed up and destroy both enchanted pendants.

    Once he finished his preparations, he began tinkering immediately.

    Aria, Princess Faelyn, and Supreme Elder Haldir gathered around Leon, observing his handiwork with curious gazes.

    The red crystals embedded in the pendants were scraped off with the special scribing pen, Ravenous ck. These red crystals were artificial-Spirit Energy in their crystallized form.

    Although Leon was curious where the Geyser Kingdom procured them, he could only ponder about itter.

    He shortly altered both pendant''s socket sizes to refit the fat, round supreme-grade spirit stone.

    Of course, the fist-size spirit stones were too big to entirely fit inside the pendants'' empty sockets. Only a fraction of its side fitted, but that was all Leon needed to get it working.

    Once he achieved that, he used a rope and bind the two objects together firmly, removing the possibility of the spirit stones falling out of the pendant''s sockets.

    In a short while, the alterations werepleted.

    "It''s done," Leon eximed, appearing satisfied with his improvised work.

    The three people nced over at the object expectantly with curiosity. However, their expression quickly turned dubious with suspicions.

    "Are you sure this¡­ thing¡­ will work, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked doubtfully while staring at the two enchanted pendants and jade-like rocks tied together messily with a flimsy rope.

    It looked like something they would find at a roadside antique store after it was scrapped together by the owner in the hopes of increasing its artistic value to sell at a higher price.

    Not only was it unpresentable, but its functions were also questionable¡ªAt least, that was the impression they were getting from looking at it.

    "What do you mean? This is a masterpiece¡­ Ahem, never mind." Leon slowly coughed and said, "We''ll know once we test it."

    The improvised tool was shortly activated after Leon drove the Spirit Energy inside the spirit stones with his Divine Will.

    An invisible barrier immediately expanded from the improvised tool, sweeping past everyone and enveloped the entire airship in an instance.

    Swoosh~!

    Everyone''s hair fluttered like a gust of wind had just blown past them before the airship shook and surged upwards, rising in altitude at a steady pace.

    "Hahaha, so it''s working after all." Leon chuckled lightly.

    Everyone was shortly floored, having understood that Leon had no confidence whether it was genuinely going to work or not.

    Nevertheless, it worked out in the end.

    They quickly recovered and nced ahead with anticipation amidst the rising dense smokeing from the Great Forest''s outskirts.

    Princess Faelyn shook her head and watched the burning forest with deep emotion and worry. Once the fire dies, the rats will sweep the ce once more.

    Her people will have no choice but to face the endless rat tide with nowhere else to go. It was a long trek to the Great Wall by foot.

    The rat tide would not leave them be if they tried to evacuate everyone towards the Human Domain.

    Princess Faelyn sighed silently.

    It did not take long before the airship rose above the Great Forest.

    Once the airship reached roughly 1000fts altitude, Leonmanded, "Lower the levitation device''s power outage, captain!"

    "Yes, Your highness!"

    Shortly after the captain ryed orders to the crew, the airship rise came to a halt.

    Leon did not doubt that the airship would rise to an incredible height if they continue to let the levitation device run at full power after the gravitational pressure had been removed from the airship.

    "Where to now, Marquis Haldir?" Leon asked.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nced at the burning forest with great billowing ck smoke for a moment, thinking that the forest will continue burning for a long while.

    Thus, the defensive line did not need their immediate assistance.

    "Please take us straight to Elvengarde, young prince. I need to need to make a report to the council and n for the tribe''s evacuation. You have seen the rat tide for yourself. Their numbers are unending. My people will not survive if they continue to stay here."

    "Sure, no problem."

    Leon nodded in agreement.

    Even he was not sure if the Great Wall would be able to hold out against such arge rat tide. Their numbers were simply too huge!

    That being said, the Great Wall was still equipped with a better defense than the Great Forest had to offer.

    "You heard the Marquis, captain. Take us straight to the big Elder Tree at the Great Forest''s center."

    "Aye, aye, Your Highness!" The captain answered.

    Shortly after, the airship made headway for the elves'' home under the big Elder Tree at the center of the Great Forest, Elvengarde.

 Chapter 454 - Arriving In Elvengarde

    <h4>Chapter 454 - Arriving In Elvengarde</h4>

    "General, look! There is something louding from the skies above!" An elven warrior alerted.

    Vroom~!

    The airship flew overhead with loud running steam engines and spinning propellers, causing many elven warriors within the Great Forest to turn their heads up and look.

    However, none of the elven warriors near the outskirts could see anything. The towering billows of ck smoke obscured their visions from seeing the sky beyond the treetop.

    The elf general narrowed his eyes into slits and spoke, "Follow me to take a look. The rest of you continue to hold your ground and contain the spread of fire!"

    "Yes, general!"

    Shortly after, the elf general and another elf warrior hopped between branches and quickly climbed to the top of the trees to look.

    The trees of the Great Forest were very tall, averaging 600fts. Some fell short, while others also exceeded the mark and extended into the sky suppression zone.

    The tougher trees remained standing upright, but the weaker ones slightly curved under the gravitational pressure.

    "Ugh, I can never get used to this feeling, general." The elf warriormented with an ufortable feeling. The heavy feeling was not badpared to the pressure weighing down on his organs.

    "Get used to it. Enduring the gravitational pressure is a good way of tempering the body." The elf general casually said while staring up at the passing airship.

    "This¡­ should be the so-called airship¡­" The elf general said after some thought.

    The elf warrior immediately disyed a confused expression and asked, "What''s an airship?"

    "In short, an airship is a type of transportation created by humans for traveling. Do not ask any further. I do not know much about it, alright? I''ve only heard a bit about it when we had human visitorsst time." The elf general exined before narrowing his eyes.

    "It''s heading for our tribe¡­"

    Hearing the general''s soft muttering, the elf warrior''s eyes suddenly lit up and said excitedly, "Maybe the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn have returned from the Human Domain with reinforcements!"

    "Perhaps, but it is no longer our concern. If the Supreme Elder had indeed returned, then we should be getting news from the tribe soon. For now, we just need to focus on containing the spread of fire. Let us head back!" The elf general said with a shake of his head.

    If only they had a way to see the other side of the fire and observe the movements of the rat tide. It would give them clear understandings of the situation and decide whether to keep the fire burning or extinguish it.

    The elf general had to n carefully.

    It would not be easy starting another great forest fire to repel the rat tide should they decide to extinguish it.

    After returning to the ground level, the elf warrior whispered, "General, the royal guards are here."

    A group of elves in golden leather armor could be seen actively looking around the defensive line, clearly searching for someone.

    After they spotted the elf general, they quickly made their way over and coldly stated, "The king summons your presence, general. It would be in your best interest to follow us back willingly. Resistance will only increase the severity of your crimes."

    The elven royal guards had all achieved 9-Star Ranked Awakener Realm, the same cultivation as the elf general.

    "Understood."

    The elf general sighed with furrowed brows.

    Considering the royal guards'' attitude towards him, the king will most likely behead him after questioning his decision on burning the forest, regardless of his reasons.

    He had anticipated this oue.

    Hemitted sacrilege against the Great Forest, the home of all elves. It was a crime punishable by death.

    Even so, he cannot help but feel disappointed.

    ¡­

    Elvengarde.

    The airship arrived at the heart of the elven tribe and hovered in the skies right under shades of the Elder Tree''s crown.

    Many elves could be seen exiting their trunk homes at the bottom of the Elder Tree and gathering towards the tribe''s square before they observed the foreign airship above curiously.

    On the airship, Leon stored away the altered pendant contraption seeing as it was no longer needed¡ªat least while the airship remained under cover of the Elder Tree.

    At the same time, a line of royal guards lined up on the edges of the Elder Tree''s crown with bows and nocked arrows aimed at Leon and the rest of the people on board the airship.

    "Hmph! Withdraw your bows! Or have you forgotten who I am?!" Supreme Elder Haldir roared at them with displeasure.

    Some royal guards were immediately startled and withdrew their bows, while other royal guards continued to aim their nocked arrows¡ªnot at the Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn, but the humans onboard.

    "Hey, didn''t you hear the Supreme Elder''s order? Pull away your bow!" The royal guards began urging the other stubborn royal guards.

    However, the stubborn royal guards asked with indifference, "Are you the Supreme Elder''s personal guards, or are you the king''s royal guard?"

    The question immediately stunned all the royal guards that withdrawn their bows upon the Supreme Elder''s words, too speechless to retort.

    The Elven King was disappointed that more than half his royal guards followed the Supreme Elder''s orders. It showed where their loyalty lies.

    Nevertheless, he quickly hid his true emotions.

    Shortly after, the Elven King spoke in a clear and firm voice, "Lower your bows!"

    The remaining royal guards quickly withdrew their bows and nocked arrows away immediately before retreating a few steps and making way for their king.

    "Wee back, Supreme Elder." The Elven King greeted with a warm expression. "You too, my daughter. It''s been hard on you."

    "Not at all, father. I had fun on this trip." Princess Faelyn said.

    Supreme Elder Haldir furrowed his brows slightly but nodded shortly after, hopping off the airship with Princess Faelyn.

    Leon could not help but frown in his heart after noticing the slight tension between the Elven King and Supreme Elder.

    This was not a good sign.

    Was someone like the Elven King really willing to live under humans'' rule in the Human Domain? He was unsure, but he vaguely sensed the brewing of trouble.

 Chapter 455 - King Erendriels Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 455 - King Erendriel''s Attitude</h4>

    "How did negotiations with the Human Domain go, Supreme Elder?" The Elven King asked after Supreme Elder Haldir and Princess Faelyn stepped onto therge treetop branch using vine maniption.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nced around before he said, "We can talk about that during the council meeting. For now, there is someone you should meet."

    "Oh? Who?"

    The Elven King nced down at the airship hovering not far below and inspected the humans on board, one by one.

    "Is it that person?" The Elven King asked while pointing to Leon. "Who is he?"

    While Leon did not have the appearance of someone who would like the most important person on board the airship, he did have the most unusual look of the lot.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before cautioning Leon.

    After Leon received the signal, he held Aria''s hand and flew up onto the same treetop branches the elven group was standing on top of.

    As soon as hended, the royal elven guards quickly aimed their bows at him once more. However, the Elf King raised his hand, gesturing for them to lower their weapons immediately.

    "Put away your bows! You''re being rude to our human guests!" The Elf Kingmanded with a chiding tone while appearing proud and dignified in front of Leon.

    His head was held high.

    However, the Elf King was only slightly taller than Leon, causing the grandeur presence he was trying to disy to diminish by half.

    "Allow me to do the introductions." Supreme Elder Haldir frowned slightly before he gestured towards Leon and said with respect, "Hailing from the Crawford Kingdom¡ªOh no, I should say Crawford Empire now, this is Prince Leon. By his side is Miss Aria."

    "And here, we have the Elven King of Elvengarde, Erendriel faran." Supreme Elder Haldir introduced.

    "Well met, Your Majesty, King Erendriel." Leon shortly extended his hand, offering a handshake with the Elf King.

    However, King Erendriel simply gave Leon''s hand a slight nce before nodding to Aria with a subtle flicker in his eyes.

    "Well met, Prince Leon and Miss Aria."

    Shortly after, King Erendriel returned his attention to the Supreme Elder Haldir and said with solemness, "I will summon the Elders to the council. Let us convene in the Great Hall. I believe everyone would like to know the gains of your trip to the Human Domain."

    Leon smiled stiffly, retracting his extended hand in silence.

    His impression of the Elf King plummeted after the tant disregard. The Elf King did not seem to look favorably upon humans, and he only showed his recognition to Aria due to her Transcendental strength.

    Apparently, the Elven Tribe was not united in their opinions as he had anticipated. This trip to the Elven Tribe was bound to be anything but peaceful.

    At the same time, Aria''s eyes flickered with a cold glint that quickly disappeared like nothing had happened. Only she knew what she was thinking.

    "Lyn, why don''t you show our guests around the tribe while I am discussing with the Supreme Elder and the other Elders?" King Erendriel suggested shortly after.

    His intention was clear.

    Leon and Aria were not weed to their high council meeting. Hiddenly, he did not want them on the treetop, which was considered the High Elves'' residence and holynd either.

    "Yes, father." Princess Faelyn answered obediently despite feeling diforted and uneasy inside her heart.

    "Apologies for not being able to entertain you, Prince Leon and Miss Aria. There are urgent matters that require my attention." King Erendriel said coolly before leaving with the royal elven guards following shortly after.

    Supreme Elder Haldir looked at Leon apologetically before following King Erendriel to the Great Hall, located in the heart of the Elder Tree''s crown.

    Sometimeter, Supreme Elder Haldir and King Erendriel were gone from sight.

    Princess Faelyn approached Leon and said with guilt, "I apologize for the cold reception my father has shown you, Leon. My father¡­ is someone that likes to be obsessively clean and does not like being touched by others."

    Leon immediately smiled wryly.

    Was that not implying that he was unclean?

    Leon knew Princess Faelyn did not actually mean this. Thus, he shook his head ruefully and said, "Don''t worry about it."

    "Then¡­ I''ll show you around the tribe?" Princess Faelyn asked hesitantly, considering it was not really the time for that.

    The tribe was under the threat of the rat tide, and the outskirts of the Great Forest was currently on fire, producing vast volumes of smoke.

    Even the oblivious citizens will notice something wrong once they spot the conspicuous ck smoke blowing past their tribe in the open skies that can be viewed from the center of the tribe.

    "We should probably find out the situation on the front lines instead," Leon suggested objectively.

    "Mm, Mm. You''re totally right, Leon."

    Princess Faelyn nodded fervently.

    After Leon gave orders for the captain and the rest of the airship''s crew to remain on standby, he headed down the spiral vine staircase around the Elder Tree''s trunk with Aria and Princess Faelyn, leading to the tribe that lies at the bottom.

    ¡­

    Elvengarde, ground level.

    The elves continued to observe the wonders of the airship floating in their airspace as more tribesmen slowly joined them, gathering into a huge mass.

    Suddenly, an elf noticed a glimpse of the ck smoke peeking out from over the treetops on the edges of the tribe''s central region where the Elder Tree''s roots end.

    "Everyone, look! There''s smokeing from the distance! The Great Forest is on fire!" The elf eximed in rm.

    "What? How can there be a fire in the Great Forest? There''s had never been any cases of a forest fire before!"

    "I remember the warriors came to collect all the cooking oil in the tribe earlier. The fire must have been deliberately started!" Another elf shouted in realization.

    "What! Why would they do that?! Wait, I suddenly remembered the tribe''s warriors were all mobilized much earlier as well! What exactly is happening outside the tribe?!"

    "Yes! Why hasn''t anyone told us what is going on?!"

    The elvenmoners were confused and began panicking with growing unease, ignorant of the unknown disaster that their tribe could be facing.

    However, it was not long before they discovered a group of royal guards escorting the elf general back to the tribe.

    ''Why was the general being treated like a prisoner?''

    All sorts of wild thoughts began running through their elvenmoners'' minds.

 Chapter 456 - Third Princess Thessalia

    <h4>Chapter 456 - Third Princess Thessalia</h4>

    The group of royal guards continued to escort the elf general towards the center of the tribe. Many elfmoners made way for them, afraid of obstructing their path and getting in trouble.

    However, a tall, beautiful yet valiant figure in golden-green armor stepped forward and blocked their path, causing the royal guards to pause their steps in response.

    "Third Princess Thessalia." The royal guards all greeted, not minding that the third princess had obstructed their path.

    Thessalia faran nodded.

    Shortly after, she gazed at the elf general and said, "Do you know what you have done wrong?"

    "I don''t know whether what I did is really wrong. I only know what I needed to do for the survival of the tribe." The elf general said impassively.

    Third Princess Thessalia faran smiled lightly for a brief moment before reverting to indifference.

    "Well, it does not matter what opinions I have on this matter. It is up to my father, the king, to decide how to punish you. I pray that you will at least be able to keep your head. I will be taking overmand of the front-line defense." She said.

    "Please."

    The elf general gestured.

    Someone was needed to takemand after his absence.

    Thessalia faran nodded and said to the royal guards, "You may continue on with your task of escorting the general to see my father, the king."

    "Yes, Third Princess Thessalia." The royal guards acknowledged.

    Shortly after, the group of royal guards left with the elf general, Thessalia faran nced back.

    Behind her stood four dozen warriors, mainlyposing of beautiful females. However, there were also a few male warriors within the mix.

    They were all her personal guards.

    "We shall go see the exact situation of the fire on the Great Forest outskirts. Let us move now!" Thessalia faranmanded.

    "Yes, Princess Thessalia!"

    ¡­

    Elvengarde, central region.

    Leon, Aria, and Princess Faelyn shortly finished heading down the vine staircase and arrived in the heart of the tribe.

    At the same time, they saw the group of royal guards approaching.

    "Fifth Princess Faelyn."

    After the elf general and royal guards finished their greeting, they continued to brush past them and take the vine staircase up to the Elder Tree''s crown after receiving Princess Faelyn''s acknowledgment.

    Nevertheless, Princess Faelyn frowned.

    Seeing Faelyn had stopped moving to watch the group of elves leaving, Leon curiously asked, "What''s the matter? Who are those people?"

    "Those were the royal guards¡­ and they were escorting the elf general." Princess Faelyn said with furrowed brows.

    "Oh?"

    Leon softly eximed.

    "The elf general should have been the one inmand of the defenses, starting the great fire to ward off the rat tide, right?" He asked.

    Faelyn nodded.

    Her brows tightly knitted before she said, "However, considering the general is being taken back to the crown, I''m afraid that he has been summoned by my father to answer for his crimes¡­"

    "The crimes of burning the forest¡ªburning the forest to save the tribe from being flooded by the overwhelming rat tide?"

    Leon shook his head with a satirical look before he said, "That is no crime. That is a feat. The elf general is a hero."

    "I also think so."

    Faelyn nodded.

    "However, not everyone thinks that way. Everyone treats the Great Forest as the holynd and the Guardian Spirit as our deity. It would be difficult for the general to escape punishment, although I do pray, nothing bad will happen to him."

    Perhaps, if Faelyn had not seen the endless rat tide, she would have thought differently¡ªbut she had seen the terror of the rat tide. Thus, the burning forest felt inconsequential to the survival of the tribe.

    Still, most of the tribe was oblivious to the fact.

    The burning of the forest would incite the tribe, and the Elf King might sacrifice the general to appease the angry mob, even if it meant keeping them in the dark of the outside dangers.

    Informing the tribe would only incite panic, and nothing was more chaotic than a panicking mob.

    "Marquis Haldir is with your father, King Erendriel. I highly doubt the Marquis would allow any misfortune to befall the general in his presence." Leon said.

    A war hero should not be criminalized.

    Aria tugged on Leon''s hand, drawing his attention over while she gazed at the numerous elves in the tribe.

    "However, the fire is only a temporary solution. Once the fire dies out, the rat tide would be swarming this ce. How are we supposed to get all these people away from here?" Aria asked.

    "Right."

    Faelyn nodded.

    It was also what she had been concerned about.

    Leon pondered for a moment before he said, "If there''s a will, there''s a way."

    That being said, he also did not have a good solution on hand at the moment. The rat tide was simply toorge in numbers; it was fearsome. As expected from one of the fastest breeding species.

    Even so, rats'' natural predators would not have allowed them to breed to such an uncontroble state. Where on earth had they been hiding¡ª?

    Leon suddenly recalled the rathole and frowned.

    It was the underground again. Deep secrets were always found there.

    If there is a chance, he would like to explore the subterranean world once more. He vaguely remembers something calling for him that he had previously overlookedst time¡ªsomething that felt like a fire source.

    Nevertheless, it was something he could only worry aboutter.

    While the three made their way out of the tribe, Leon spread out his divine sense and made contact with the Guardian Spirit of the Elder Tree through its roots.

    The Guardian Spirit was much younger than the World Tree. Its form was no different from an infant, but it was very sentient¡ªhaving heard the elves'' countless prayers.

    While they could not exchange words, it was still possible tomunicate through their thoughts.

    Aria and Faelyn noticed the Elder Tree''s roots squirming from time to time. The sight only aroused Aria''s curiosity, but it came as a great surprise for Faelyn.

    All year round, elves would sing their prayers to the Guardian Spirit. But rarely does it ever respond to their wishes or reveal its spiritual form and show its existence to the elves.

    However, at this moment, it was moving actively¡ªeven if it was just the tree roots.

    Faelyn immediately nced towards Leon, vaguely believing it had something to do with him.

    "What are you doing?" She asked.

    "Me?"

    Leon nced back at Faelyn while casually taking out a supreme-grade spirit stone. The roots of the Elder Tree quickly moved and epted the gift from him before shriveling in delight.

    "I''m making some preparations." He said.

    "Preparations?"

    Faelyn was immediately confused by hisck of exnation. However, she did not have time to ask as their path was shortly obstructed by the elvenmoners.

    In a short instance, they were surrounded by numerous elves. Various expressions could be seen on their faces, but it was mainly anger and doubt.

    "Fifth Princess Faelyn, you''re back! Please tell us what is happening! Why did the general burn the forest?! What kind of madness possessed him to burn our sacred home?!"

    The angry mob demanded answers.

 Chapter 457 - Gathering Of Elders

    <h4>Chapter 457 - Gathering Of Elders</h4>

    Faced with the countless questions thrown at her, Princess Faelyn was at a loss for words. She did not know how to answer the tribesmen''s questions without inciting panic.

    At the same time, Leon quietly observed the surrounding elves.

    King Erendriel was a Preliminary ession-level Transcendent, and the royal guards were all 9-Star Ranked Awakeners.

    This was a strong lineup.

    However, even amongst the Elven Tribe, there were strong elves, and there were weak elves. He had seen the strong.

    As for the weak, they were before him.

    Every elf in Elvengarde had some achievement in their Awakening Cultivation, no matter how big or small. Even so, none of the elves before him were above the 9th step of the Awakener Realm.

    He could see the disparity between themon elves and the high elves.

    "Quiet! Can''t you see that you are all making it difficult for the Fifth Princess?! We should be asking this human here instead!" Said a hot-headed male elf, who was a fervent admirer of Princess Faelyn.

    Once the words were spoken, the male elf quickly gained supporters.

    Amongst the four princesses and crown prince, the fifth princess, Princess Faelyn was the most favored by themoners within Elvengarde.

    "He''s right, guys! Let us not make it difficult for Fifth Princess Faelyn!"

    "Sorry, Fifth Princess! Human, please tell us what is going!"

    "What is happening outside? Why hasn''t the king told us anything?"

    The elves shouted one after the other.

    They gathered dangerously close, causing Leon to frown slightly. In response, the infant Guardian Spirit used its tree roots to ward off the elves.

    "Uwahh!"

    The elves eximed.

    As they retreated in rm, one of them asked with surprise, "Why is the Guardian Spirit shielding this person?"

    "Right? I believe this is the first time this person had visited our tribe. How did this person earn the Guardian Spirit''s favor so quickly?"

    The elvish tribesmen were all puzzled.

    It was not like they were going to attack the human or anything. But even then, why was the Guardian Spirit so protective of this person?

    "Human, what did you do to our Guardian Spirit!" A female elf interrogated.

    The female elf felt envious that the Guardian Spirit favored a human so heavily upon their first meeting, while she had been faithfully praying to the Elder Tree every day without any gains.

    Leon patted the tree root calmingly before casually answering, "Nothing much. I just befriended it, is all."

    "How can you befriend the Guardian Spirit so quickly? What secret method did you use?"

    "Mind your manners." Princess Faelyn warned with creased brows, displeased by the female elf''s inquisitiveness.

    Even she was curious about Leon''s method, but what right did they have to ask? It was simply rude to dig into people''s personal secrets.

    She did feel it had something to do with the green stone, but she did not ask.

    "This person here is the Crown Prince of the Crawford Empire from within the Human Domain, Prince Leon. Please show him the proper respect." Faelyn said with a soured expression.

    The female elf had overstepped her boundaries.

    When the male elves saw their idol princess like this, they all threw deadly stares at the rude female elf, causing the female elf to be startled.

    "I''m terribly sorry, Fifth Princess Faelyn." The female elf quickly apologized.

    At the same time, the crowd slightly calmed down by Princess Faelyn''s royal aura¡ªor perhaps it was her personal charisma that calmed them down slightly.

    "I know you are all anxious regarding the fire in the forest. However, I request you all to be a little more patient. My father, the king, will surely make an announcement soon enough regarding this matter." Faelyn said solemnly.

    Some of the elves were slightly surprised.

    Their Fifth Princess appeared to have be more mature after her trip from the Human Domain.

    "We understand, Fifth Princess Faelyn."

    "Thank you for understanding. Please make way now. I am going to head to the outskirts to check on the situation with Prince Leon and Miss Maria here." Princess Faelyn said to the crowd.

    The group of elves shortly made a clear path for them to leave.

    ¡­

    Elder Tree Crown, Great Hall.

    An elderly elf in a luxurious golden-white robe pushed opened the doors made of hardened vines and entered the building.

    At the back of the Great Hall, there was a vine staircase leading up to another room. After making his way over and pushing open the second set of doors, he gazed into the room.

    Inside sat King Erendriel, Supreme Elder Haldir, and five other Elders of the High Council.

    He was the sixth elder to enter.

    "Where are the other six elders?" The Sixth Elder asked.

    "Still on the outskirts of the Great Forest. I have already sent out my royal guards to fetch them. They should be here soon." King Erendriel answered calmly.

    "I see."

    The Sixth Elder nodded and took his seat by the round table.

    Shortly after, there was a knock on the door to the council meeting room, which everyone was seated inside.

    "Come in." King Erendriel''s voice rang out clear and audibly.

    A royal guard quickly came in and reported, "Your Majesty, the general has been brought into the Great Hall for questioning."

    "Understood. Wait outside for me." King Erendriel nodded.

    "Yes, Your Majesty!"

    The royal guard saluted before exiting the council meeting room as the king directed him.

    One of the Elders shortly turned his head over to King Erendriel questioningly and asked, "What is this about?"

    "We will put the discussion of the Supreme Elder''s gains in the Human Domain on hold for now. Let us head outside and see the general, Elders. You will all know very shortly." King Erendriel said calmly, standing up from his seat before walking out shortly.

    "Alright."

    Two Elders followed shortly.

    Supreme Elder Haldir wrinkled his brows slightly in question, feeling something was off. Nevertheless, he stood up and headed out after some dy.

    At the same time, the remaining four Elders of the council stood up and followed only after the Supreme Elder had done so.

    It was clear whose side they leaned towards.

    ¡­

 Chapter 458 - Elf Kings Rage

    <h4>Chapter 458 - Elf King''s Rage</h4>

    In the Great Hall''s main area, King Erendriel gazed down at the elf general from the second floor''s edge at the end of the vine staircase.

    "General Paeris, do you know what grave sins you havemitted?" King Erendriel questioned with solemnity.

    ''Grave sins?''

    The two elders were puzzled.

    The High Elves were not so rigid and pedantic that they would punish someone ording to the oldws for bringing harm to the Great Forest if it were done in the best interest of the tribe''s survival.

    Of course, they were them, and the Elf King was the Elf King. They could not be sure that their thoughts aligned with the Elf King.

    Even so, after a short moment, they vaguely understood what King Erendriel intended to do and chose to remain silent.

    Supreme Elder Haldir and the rest of the Elders exited the council meeting room shortly after.

    The elf general, Paeris Gilvalur, had some misgivings meeting King Erendriel. But after seeing Supreme Elder Haldir, his heart became calm and steady like still water.

    "No, I do not, Your Majesty." General Paeris answered calmly.

    "Oh?"

    King Erendriel wrinkled his brows slightly.

    With General Paeris'' character, King Erendriel was sure that the general would ept all consequences for burning the forest.

    "I did not expect you of all people have forgotten the tribe''sws? Do you need me to reiterate it for you to remember?" King Erendriel asked.

    Supreme Elder Haldir frowned, not understanding what King Erendriel was nning. The oldw was a joke inparison to the tribe''s survival.

    What was this person trying to do?

    "No need, Your Majesty. He, who willfully harms the forest, sacred home of the elves, in any way, shall be punishable by death." General Paeris said calmly.

    King Erendriel nodded.

    "Since you know, then you do not need me to tell you what is going to happen to you, right? Can you hear it? The angry cries of the tribesmen below? We need to appease them before it gets out of control."

    "This is getting ridiculous! You want to put to death one of our tribe''s finest warriors over such a stupid reason? There are more important things at stake here!" Supreme Elder Haldir growled, unable to watch the farce any longer.

    King Erendriel nced back at Supreme Elder Haldir calmly and said, "What do you mean stupid reason? I am just enforcing thew."

    "To hell with thew! Can thew be more important than the tribe''s survival? Have you not seen what lies outside the Great Forest?!" Supreme Elder Haldir snarled.

    By now, the six Elders within the Great Hall seemed to have understood what was really happening.

    General Paeris was one of the Supreme Elder''s staunchest supporters!

    The Elf King was trying to weaken the Supreme Elder''s influence within the tribe by removing the Supreme Elder''s supporters!

    But why would King Erendriel try to do this now? Was he crazy?! Has he forgotten the Supreme Elder was a Seeking Insight-level Transcendent?!

    However, King Erendriel should be that stupid.

    He must have something up his sleeve to have the courage to challenge the Supreme Elder''s authority.

    The Elders pondered silently, not in a hurry to choose sides.

    At the same time, the six remaining Elders returned from the frontlines, entering the Great Hall, and stumbled upon the scene before them.

    "What is going on here?" One of the Elders asked with a frown.

    "Ah, the remaining Elders have all arrived at the right time. Since we are all here, let justmence with the meeting right here and now." King Erendriel stated after seeing the six Elders arrived.

    Shortly after, King Erendriel calmly said, "Does Supreme Elder Haldir care to exin why you were so respectful to a human prince, who is not even a Transcendent when you, yourself is a respectable Seeking Insight-level Transcendent? Exactly what did you negotiate with the humans?"

    The twelve Elders wore surprised looks and turned towards Supreme Elder Haldir questioningly.

    "If you understand Prince Leon''s strength and talents, you will also show him the same respect I do. For our people to have a ce within the Human Domain, I have pledged our tribe''s allegiance to the Crawford Empire." Supreme Elder Haldir said calmly.

    The twelve Elders immediately frowned.

    "Hmph! As I suspected. You submitted to the human''s ruling! I did not agree with this decision! You were supposed to negotiate an alliance of equals for the tribe! What absurd negotiation is this?!" King Erendriel barked furiously.

    At the same time, the twelve Elders frowned.

    They were all High Elves, who enjoyedvishly high statuses within the tribe. What would also be of them once they move to the Human Domain to live under the ruling of humans?

    "How is the strength of the Human Domain, Supreme¡ª" An Elder inquired, only to be interrupted by King Erendriel''s rage.

    "I am a king! How can I live under the rule of humans? What would be of my status in the Human Domain? This is preposterous to the extreme!"

    Supreme Elder Haldir frowned and said solemnly, "You are a king, but don''t forget who put you on that throne! Since I can make you king, I can also strip that status away from you!"

    "Do you think I am still the same I was years ago? I refuse to live in your shadows further!" King Erendriel roared.

    King Erendriel snapped his fingers, shattering the green jewel found on the ring of his index finger beforeunching a sneak attack on the Supreme Elder!

    Boom!

    Caught unprepared, Supreme Elder Haldir was immediately sent flying back into the council meeting room by the force of King Erendriel''s powerful punch!

    At the same time, King Erendriel stamped his feet and lunged forward, chasing after the Supreme Elder, not intending to give the Supreme Elder any chance to recover and retaliate!

    "Supreme Elder!"

    General Paeris shot to his feet in rm.

    "Have you gone mad, King Erendriel?! How dare youunch a sneak attack on the Supreme Elder!" One of the Elders barked, intending to pursue after the enraged Elf King.

    However, he was stopped by another Elder, who patted his shoulders.

    "Why are you stopping me? We need to stop them! This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves!"

    "Can''t you sense it? King Erendriel''s cultivation is rising at an rming rate!"

    The Elder frowned.

 Chapter 459 - Wood Transmogrification

    <h4>Chapter 459 - Wood Transmogrification</h4>

    Shortly after Supreme Elder Haldir mmed into the council meeting room''s back walls, King Erendriel smashed into him with a powerful body m!

    Boom!

    The wooden back walls shattered, and the two flew outside the Great Hall!

    King Erendriel''s overwhelming disy of brute strength greatly surprised Supreme Elder Haldir as he spat out a mouthful of blood from the damage incurred.

    The Supreme Elder''s body shortly mmed into the home of another High Elf, causing cracks along the surface of the building.

    "Ugh."

    Supreme Elder Haldir grunted in pain for the impacts before he red at King Erendriel in the distance with a cold glint.

    The Supreme Elder''s organs were damaged, and bones were broken, but a gentle green light shortly suffused his body, healing the Supreme Elder''s injuries back to a perfect state.

    "What kind of power is this? This isn''t the sort of brute strength a Wood-type Transcendent should have."

    Supreme Elder Haldir frowned.

    He could sense King Erendriel''s cultivation rising rapidly, surpassing the Preliminary ession-level Transcendent, and entering the Seeking Insight-level Transcendent Realm.

    At the same time, King Erendriel was undergoing a startling transformation.

    A dense amount of Wood Energy burst out from King Erendriel''s body and enveloped him. Twin branches of wood protruded from his forehead, elbows, and knees, with few green leaves sticking from the tips.

    His forearms and fists erged with rigidity and rough wooden textures while his pupils glowed with intense green light.

    "What kind of diabolic change is this?!"

    The High Elves living in the area gathered in the surrounding due to themotion and became shocked by King Erendriel''s transformation.

    They never knew Wood Energy could be used like this; to transform Wood Energy into raw physical power, significantly boosting the body''s defense at the same time.

    On the other hand, King Erendriel was turning himself into a nt.

    "Do you think now is the time for us to be fighting? Is this what a king should be doing?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked with a frown while making his own battle preparations, infusing Wood Energy into his vine seeds.

    The vine seeds quickly germinated and proliferated, weaving around the Supreme Elder to form a set of green Vine Armor.

    Another set of vines intertwining to form a longnce for the Supreme Elder to use as his weapon.

    It was a rare form for the Supreme Elder to take on, but it was needed to cope with King Erendriel''s fearsome physical strength.

    "Are you surprised by my strength, Supreme Elder Haldir?" King Erendriel grinned while his green eyes shed with an ominous glint of battle intent.

    "It seems talk is useless."

    Supreme Elder Haldir was quite surprised by King Erendriel''s behavior, but he shortly understood the Elf King had let his jealousy got the better of him.

    After all, the Elf King did not have the same influence befitting of one. This is all due to the Elf King''s cultivation beingckingpared to the Supreme Elder, who was the strongest elf in Elvengarde.

    Supreme Elder Haldir was sorely disappointed by King Erendriel''s action in prioritizing his own self-interest over the tribe, especially when disaster was right outside their doorstep.

    ''Battle was inevitable.''

    In a short moment, King Erendriel exposed his grim killing intent and lunged towards Supreme Elder Haldir aggressively, initiating the battle between them.

    Back inside the Great Hall, the Elder shortly followed the battle to the hole in the back wall and watched the fight outside.

    "Can everyone feel it? King Erendriel''s cultivation has reached the threshold of the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm." An Elder said.

    "I can." Another Elder nodded before his brows furrowed in doubts. "But what kind of ability is this? Since when did King Erendriel possess the ability to promote his cultivation base to the next stage directly?"

    "Maybe King Erendriel has been hiding his true cultivation from us all this time, but why would he need to do this?"

    "I don''t think that is the case. There is something strange about this ability and that form. It feels rather ominous."

    "Although it feels like King Erendriel entered the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm, his woodws have not improved at all. Rather, only his physical attributes have been given a huge boost."

    "It''s rare, but this could be King Erendriel''s bloodline ability. It might have been awakened very recently. It is impossible for King Erendriel to breakthrough to Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm without anyone noticing, otherwise."

    The Elder''s words quickly received nods of agreement from the other Elders present. Bloodline ability was the most usible exnation for King Erendriel''s transformation.

    "I''m not happy with Supreme Elder Haldir''s decision, but King Erendriel''s behavior is also unseemly as Elvengarde''s king. Who will you all support?" The Sixth Elder asked.

    The other eleven Elders became quiet before the First Elder spoke, "Supreme Elder Haldir never makes unwise decisions. There must be a reason to submit to the humans. Perhaps, the Human Domain is far more powerful than we could have imagined?"

    "Unfortunately, we did not get to hear the details from the Supreme Elder before King Erendriel started the fight." The Third Elder sighed.

    "We need to stop this fight!" General Paeris stated objectively with concern.

    Although he did not like what King Erendriel had be, Elvengarde could not afford to lose any of these two Transcendental figures.

    "Stop the fight?" An Elder nced back at the general casually and said, "If you have the ability, then you can try and stop them. This isn''t the sort of battle we can intervene in."

    The Elders might also be Transcendents, but they were only at the Preliminary ession stage.

    A casual hit from King Erendriel or Supreme Elder Haldir might just send them into oblivion before they could heal themselves.

    Boom!

    King Erendriel and Supreme Elder Haldir shed explosively before the Supreme Elder Haldir was sent crashing into another distant home, shaking the treetop slightly.

    However, the Vine Armor protected Supreme Elder Haldir and allowed him to get out unscathed from the impact. Not his organs were slightly shaken.

    General Paeris frowned.

    Suddenly his eyes flickered, shortly darting his eyes around in search of someone. Elf Queen would be able to stop the fight without intervening directly.

    "Where is Queen Radelia?" General Paeris asked after failing to find the Elf Queen.

    The twelve Elders gave each other nces before one of them asked, "Has anyone heard from Elf Queen in the past few days?"

 Chapter 460 - Princess Thessalias Plan

    <h4>Chapter 460 - Princess Thessalia''s n</h4>

    Great Forest Outskirts, frontline defense.

    The billowing fires of the forest were ever raging, producing an endless mass of ck fog that filled the skies in significant volumes.

    Even so, the forest fire spread was slow, entirely under the elven warrior''s control. By sending a steady stream of Wood Energy into the burning trees, they could preserve the trees'' life while they continue to burn.

    At this moment, Third Princess Thessalia arrived at the scene with her personal guards and frowned at the madness.

    The trees burned brightly while hot embers scattered everywhere, causing the temperature of the surroundings to increase significantly.

    "How cruel¡­" A female elven guard said, looking at the sight.

    "They must be suffering great agony but have no way to express it." Another elven guard said, sympathizing with the burning trees.

    Although none of them could hear it, they felt like the trees were crying in pain from being burned alive consistently.

    After all, trees were also living things.

    "Third Princess Thessalia!"

    An elven warrior quickly noticed Thessalia faran''s arrival and came over to greet her promptly, drawing the attention of the other nearby elven warriors.

    In a short moment, they followed suit and greeted, "Third Princess Thessalia!"

    "At ease!" Princess Thessalia said.

    Shortly after, she gazed ahead at the smoldering mes solemnly and said, "I havee to takemand of this area. You will listen to my orders!"

    "Yes, Third Princess Thessalia!"

    The elven warriors saluted obediently with cupped fist gestures before a higher-level elven warrior stepped forward and respectfully asked, "What orders do you have for us, Third Princess Thessalia?"

    "You will put out the fire immediately!" Thessalia faran said firmly.

    "Yes, Third Princess Thessalia!" The elven warriors nodded and said, "Right away¡ª"

    Suddenly, the elven warriors paused and widened their eyes with startled expressions as they registered the Third Princess''s order.

    "D-Did you say put out the fire, Third Princess Thessalia? It will be difficult to start another fire once we put it out!" An elven warrior repeated for confirmation.

    Thessalia rafan''s eyes shined with a fierce glint before she barked, "I will not repeat myself a third time! Put out the fire, and clear the way for me!"

    "I will take a look at the gue that frightens you all so!" Thessalia faran added resolutely.

    "It''s dangerous, princess! I don''t think this is a good idea! This rat tide is nothing like we have ever seen before! There''s just no end to them!" A male elven warrior warned.

    Smack!

    Thessalia faran pped the warrior across the cheeks, causing the male elven warrior to tumble to the ground and spit out some blood along with a few of his teeth.

    Shortly after, she red at the elven warrior on the ground and said coldly, "I do not need you to tell me what and what not to do!"

    "Do you think burning the forest is the solution to the problem?! This is a passive stance! While we exhaust ourselves and harm the Great Forest, the rat tide takes no damage!"

    Once the elven warriors are drained of their energy and the fire is extinguished, they would be too weak to even put up a fight against the rat tide!

    "Open the path!" Thessalia faran roared.

    The elven warriors were immediately startled into action.

    "Fetch the water!" A high-level elven warrior barked towards his subordinates.

    The other elven warrior quickly went and fetched the buckets of water prepared to extinguish the fire.

    A section of the burning trees was extinguished quickly, creating an empty gap in the ring of fire before the previously erected vine walls were revealed.

    The elven warriors used their wood maniption to take down the vine walls that wrapped between trees like a tight shortly after.

    Once the vine walls were removed, a mountain of scorched rat carcasses came rolling down in pieces.

    Thessalia faran had a grim look, feeling repugnant by the sight of the charred rats.

    Nevertheless, she waved her hand for the personal guards to move the carcasses out of the way, clearing the path outside the Great Forest.

    "You,e with me." Said Thessalia faran, pointing her finger at a high-level elven warrior.

    The person shortly answered, "Yes, Your Highness!"

    "Where are the rats?" Thessalia faran asked shortly after they exited the Great Forest.

    The distantnds of green and grey felt empty with no beasts in sight¡ªat least, that was what Thessalia thought.

    The elven warrior shortly pointed into the distant grey field and said, "Those are the rats."

    The grey ins in the distance could be moving at a visible rate, drawing closer to the point that Thessalia faran could discern their true appearances.

    The rat tide had initially left in search of other prey to devour. However, the rat tide immediately came rushing back when they picked up the scent of elves in the open field.

    Thessalia faran''s pupils shrank with rm.

    "This is the rat tide? It''s much bigger than I have imagined." She said seriously with a stern look.

    The elven warrior gazed at the iing rat tide nervously and asked with an urgent tone, "W-What are your orders, Third Princess Thessalia?"

    "We retreat!"

    Shortly after the group retreated back into the forest, Princess Thessalia barked, "Stop extinguishing the fire! Quickly erect the defenses! We will make our stand here!"

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    A new vine wall was quickly erected, closing off the cleared path in between the burning trees.

    Within moments, the rat tide returned and mmed into the vine walls, snapping a few vines in the process.

    However, the elven warriors poured Wood Energy into the vines and allowed the vine walls to quickly repair themselves.

    At the same time, the numerous grey Wingrats quickly piled on top, crushing each other in the process while thousands more began lunging over the vine walls from the top of their brethren!

    "Kill them!"

    Princess Thessalia roared.

    Numerous vine whips immediatelyshed out at the Wingrats in the air, dicing them into pieces and scattering their flesh and blood.

    "Do we have a battle n, Your Highness?" Asked One of Princess Thessalia''s close personal guard.

    Princess Thessalia observed the surrounding before she said, "We will construct three adjacent vines walls; two long and one short, forming a rectangr box and funnel these rats in for the ughtering!"

    "Ry my orders at once!"

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

 Chapter 461 - The Tactics Flaw

    <h4>Chapter 461 - The Tactic''s w</h4>

    Sometimeter, the three new vine walls were erected: two sidewalls and one back wall.

    Simultaneously, a group of elven warriors remained behind the front vine wall, killing Wingrats ceaselessly.

    A single long strip of vine could be seen wrapped around each other waist. The other end of the vines was held by another group of elven warriors, stationed on top of the vine walls.

    Once the preparation waspleted, Princess Thessalia ordered, "Pull them out now!"

    The group of defending warriors was immediately dragged out by the vines yanking them.

    Their body quickly flew outside the walled-off cage as Wingrats began pouring in after the front vine wall was dispelled.

    Princess Thessalia stood atop the trees and solemnly gazed down at the Wingrats quickly poured into the walled-off cage for a moment before she barked, "Kill them all!"

    The rows of elven warriors lined up atop the walls immediately manipted their vines tocerate everything with the walled-off cage.

    Some distance away from the frontlines, Leon arrived with Aria, Princess Faelyn and witnessed the sight before them.

    "Oh? This is a pretty interesting tactic." Leon shortly praised Princess Thessalia''s strategy while they approached the area.

    As they drew closer, Princess Faelyn shortly discovered themander of the elven warriors and pleasantly eximed, "It''s my third eldest sister!"

    Although Leon''s praise had been directed at Princess Thessalia, Princess Faelyn still felt pride welling up inside her.

    She was proud of her sister.

    At the same time, Aria quietly studied the battle formation.

    "To funnel the Wingrats into an enclosed area and ughter the rats from three different sides¡­ This is a good strategy for killing the rats and reducing their numbers quickly. However, I don''t think this is a good method¡­" Ariamented softly.

    Leon nodded.

    "There''s a fatal w to this strategy." He said.

    High up in the trees, a person overheard Leon''sment and immediately snorted. The person leaped down with a heavy thud before gazing into Leon''s eyes sternly.

    "And what kind of fatal w is that, human? Who are you to judge my tactics?" Princess Thessalia said, ring at Leon.

    "Third Eldest Sister."

    Princess Faelyn greeted from the side, causing Princess Thessalia to turn over in surprise, temporarily ignoring Leon.

    They quickly held hands before Princess Thessalia asked excitedly, "Baby sister! Why didn''t you tell me when you got back?"

    "Didn''t I tell you to stop calling me that? You''re embarrassing me." Princess Faelynined softly with a pout while sneaking a peek at Leon''s expression.

    "I just returned to the tribe earlier. How could I have informed you?"

    "Hahaha, I see, I see. Well, no matter what, you are still the baby girl in the family." Princess Thessalia chuckled lightly, noticing Faelyn''s subtle eye movement.

    She shortly returned her attention to Leon and Aria at his side before she asked, "And who are these two people?"

    After Princess Faelyn did a short introduction of both sides, Princess Thessalia nodded at them in acknowledgment. Leon offered a handshake in greeting but was coldly rejected with a ridiculing look.

    Leon retracted his hand awkwardly, starting to wonder if the entire elven royal family despised the idea of shaking his hand¡ªthe hand of a human.

    However, Princess Faelyn quickly pulled him to the side apologetically.

    "My third elder sister is not targeting you intentionally¡­ she has a superiorityplex and looks down on all men, and not just humans." She quietly whispered in Leon''s ears.

    Her gently cool breath caused his heart to itch.

    Nevertheless, Leon quietly nodded, expressing his understanding. He did not take Princess Thessalia''s rejection to heart.

    Princess Thessalia frowned and pull Princess Faelyn away before ring at Leon fiercely.

    "You said my strategy is wed. Exin." She demanded.

    Even after learning Leon''s identity as the crown prince of the Crawford Empire from her baby sister''s introduction, Princess Thessalia''s attitude did not change much.

    "Take a look yourself. Can you not see the problem? It should be quite evident if you observe carefully." Leon urged Princess Thessalia to look.

    After Princess Thessalia turned around, but her expression remained calm.

    The space within the walled-off cage was quickly being filled up with mountains of rat carcasses that steadily rose and reduced the distance to the top of the surrounding vine walls.

    "It''s a good strategy for killing. However, killing is useless if you cannot wipe out the rat tide. Initially, there was one side to defend. Now, you have three sides to worry about." Leon said.

    The walled-off cage did not even need to be fully filled up.

    Once the mountain of rat carcasses reached a certain threshold, the Wingrats would be able to lunge over the walls and directly attack the elven warriors.

    At that point, the pressure on the elven warriors will increase tremendously, with the risk of being overwhelmed and cause the defensive line to copse.

    Princess Thessalia had understood all this.

    After a moment, she snorted, "I just need to have the elven warriors retreat after more cages are erected to contain these rats!"

    "True. However, you will need to construct a more giant cage to contain all three sides. Once that is filled up, you would need to erect an even bigger cage to contain the previous cage''s openings. You can continue to repeat this method, but do you have enough warriors to cover such arge area?"

    As Leon asked this, he nced at the few warriors in the area.

    Elvengarde was a Mid-rank Tribe with a poption of 500-thousand elves.

    Even if half of this poption were warriors, the numbers would have already been stretched thin to form the defensive line covering the entire Great Forest Outskirts.

    "Of course, there is enough¡ª" Princess Thessalia shortly paused after realizing the shortage of warriors in the area.

    Unwilling to admit defeat, she snorted, "I just need to summon the warriors stationed in the other areas! With the ring of fire warding off the rats, they do not need to defend their locations."

    Princess Faelyn felt awkward for her sister.

    She initially thought her third elder sister''s strategy was good and felt proud about it. But now, she felt slightly embarrassed after hearing her third elder sister''s point.

    Once the elven warriors guarding the other areas are moved away, the fire would quickly spread through the Great Forest without restraint.

    "What do you think we should do, Leon?" Princess Faelyn asked, seeking his advice.

    Leon pondered for a moment before he said, "I believe we should¡ª"

    He suddenly paused with a frown.

    "Shhh."

    Leon shortly shooshed with his index finger on his lips, demanding silence before spreading his divine sense to the limit of his range.

    "Ha, and here I thought you would have a better strategy than mine, considering how much you criticized mine." Princess Thessalia immediately sneered after Leon went quiet.

    Aria disliked Princess Thessalia''s attitude and immediately said displeasedly, "Can you shut up?"

    "What did you just say? You want to fight?!"

    "Sister!"

    Princess Thessalia was riled, but Princess Faelyn quickly cried with a begging expression. Seeing her baby sister like this, she could only soften her stance.

    "Hmph!"

    Nevertheless, Princess Thessalia still snorted to express her displeasure before bingpletely silent.

    "What''s the problem?" Aria softly asked.

    Shortly after recalling his divine sense, Leon said, "There arerge movements of rats passing through in the underground passageways beneath us."

 Chapter 462 - Faelyns Blush

    <h4>Chapter 462 - Faelyn''s Blush</h4>

    "Hmph! You are just spouting nonsense to dodge the question. There''s no way you can know something like that unless you have some divine irvoyance skill." Princess Thessalia snorted.

    "I do have something like that." Leon shrugged.

    "Sister!"

    Princess Faelyn begged her third eldest sister at the same time, causing Princess Thessalia to snort in silence.

    Princess Thessalia could not understand why her baby sister would have such great trust in this human prince from the Human Domain.

    ''Don''t tell me, my baby sister like this man? Impossible! That cannot happen. I will not allow a human to taint our royal elven blood!'' Princess Thessalia mentally swore.

    Unaware of her third eldest sister''s thoughts, Princess Faelyn shortly turned to Leon and asked, "Can you tell how big the underground passageway is and where the rats are headed?"

    "My detection range is still limited. I am unable to gauge how big the underground passageway is." Leon shook his head and said, "However, I do know where the rats are heading. The underground passageway is leading them towards the center of the forest."

    "Towards the center of the forest?" Princess Faelyn mulled over his words with a wrinkled expression.

    The center of the forest was where their Elven Tribe, Elvengarde, was located along with the Elder Tree. If the rats were heading towards there via the underground passageway, then¡­

    "Does Elvengarde have any entrances connected to the subterranean world?" Leon asked Princess Faelyn with a wondering look.

    If there was, it would only spell disaster for the elven tribe, especially if they cannot be warned in time.

    Princess Faelyn shortly shook her head, "Not that I know of."

    Plop!

    A fresh piece of shredded rat flesh sttered on the ground not far from the group, causing them mild surprises.

    It was not long before several more pieces of fresh rat chunksnded by their feet with soft thuds, followed by the rain of rat blood.

    Aria conjured a barrier of ice-lightning to shield herself and Leon from the downpour, while Third Princess Thessalia covered Faelyn with a huge green banana leaf she had quickly summoned.

    At the same time, an elven warrior''s cry could be heard shouting over, "Your Highness, we won''t be able to contain them within the cage for much longer! There are too many of them!"

    "Commence the next step of the n immediately! Team two will fall back and erect a bigger cage while team one will continue to hold on until team twopletes the construction!" Princess Thessalia quickly hollered hermands with a solemn look.

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    Shortly after, Princess Thessalia gazed back at Leon and stated, "If Prince Leon and Miss Aria are not here to help, then please return to the tribe with my little sister at once. Do not get in my way. I do not have the time to entertain you all any longer!"

    "Sister, I can help!" Princess Faelyn shouted as Princess Thessalia prepared to return to the top of the trees to assist the elven warriors in ughtering the rats and ease their pressure.

    Princess Thessalia shot a nce back and said, "It''s too dangerous here! Go back to the tribe! You won''t be able to help much with your current cultivation level!"

    "But I am also a 9-Star Ranked Awakener like you now, sister!" Princess Faelyn argued.

    "Oh?"

    Princess Thessalia was forced to do a double nce and inspect her baby sister''s cultivation. She was surprised that it was true.

    However, she still shook her head and said, "A 9-Star Rank Awakener is still not enough! Even a Transcendent''s strength might not be enough! The rat tide is too big, while an individual''s strength is limit! My word is final. Go back now!"

    Princess Thessalia did not spare another second and immediately shot to the top of the trees, leaving Princess Faelyn and the others behind.

    Princess Faelyn shortly sighed.

    "Your sister seems rather rude and blunt, but she does mean well for you. Seems like your sisterly rtionship is quite strong." Leon patted Faelyn on the shoulder and consoled her.

    Princess Faelyn nodded, "I know. I hope my sister had not offended you two. She can be quite crude and pedantic, but she is a good person at heart."

    Faelyn''s eyes flickered with resolve, undeterred by her sister''s words as she had her own ideas on helping with the problem at hand.

    Although her sister''s word rang true about an individual''s strength being limited in the current situation, it did not apply to everyone.

    Her third eldest sister''s mindset was too rigid to be persuaded with a few words.

    Seeing the look in Princess Faelyn''s eyes, Leon smiled wryly with a shake of his head, "It seems my words were unnecessary."

    "I still have to thank you for your kind intentions." Princess Faelyn said with a smile.

    Very shortly, her expression turned serious as she suddenly grabbed both of Leon''s hands. She looked him in the eyes and pleaded, "Can you help us?"

    She believed that Leon would be able to help her people. He had too many mysterious abilities¡ªnot to mention one of them being fire, which the rats were very afraid of.

    Leon was surprised by Faelyn''s boldness in holding his hands. However, he recovered quickly and gave his answer, "Of course!"

    Even so, he did not release Faelyn''s hands immediately.

    Her hands gave him a soft and cooling sensation, making them feel very pleasant to the touch. He could not help but give them a few rubs with his thumbs.

    "Thank you¡­"

    Faelyn retracted her hands immediately, feeling embarrassed and shy at the same time. She averted eyes with a deep blush, unable to look at Leon directly.

    "Hmm¡­"

    Aria hummed at the side, giving Leon an inexplicable look. Her expression was indecipherable.

    Leon was shortly startled, knowing whether Aria was jealous or mad by his interaction with Princess Faelyn just now.

    "Ahem." Leon coughed, pretending not to notice before he said, "Well then, I''ll go help now."

    Shortly after, he flew up to the top of vine walls.

 Chapter 463 - Stunning The Elves

    <h4>Chapter 463 - Stunning The Elves</h4>

    After flying straight into the air above the vine walls, Leon gazed over the edge and saw the battle situation. It had reached a dangerous turning point where the rats could leap at the elven warriors any time.

    At the same time, Princess Thessalia quickly noticed him and barked, "What are you still doing here?! Did I tell you to leave with my little sister and now get in my way if you are not going to help?!"

    "Well, obviously, I am here to help now. Duh." Leon rolled his eyes.

    Shortly after, he quickly flew straight into the cage amidst the sh between the numerous rats and the elven warriors'' frenzy vine whips.

    Princess Thessalia''s eyes immediately bulged in shock.

    This idiot was sending himself straight into the jaws of death! Even if the vine whips do notcerate this person into pieces, the rats will surely devour him clean!

    "Are you crazy?! She angrily roared before barking her orders, "Stop the attack immediately!"

    In the instantaneous moment, Princess Thessalia had actually chosen to prioritized Leon''s life over the lives of her own elven warriors!

    Even so, the elven warriors could not react immediately as they doubted her decision.

    Stopping the attack would undoubtedly cause them to be swarmed by the rats immediately if nothing unexpected happens!

    "Did you say to stop the attack, Your Highness?" A high-level elven warrior asked for confirmation, but his eyes left the front not his attacks stopped.

    Meanwhile, Aria and Princess Faelyn moved to a good vantage point up in the trees to overlook the situation from above.

    When Princess Faelyn saw Leon diving into the cage of rats and numerousshing vine whips recklessly, she cried despairingly, "Nooo!"

    She immediately regrets her decision to ask for Leon''s help. Although she knew Leon definitely had the ability to help, she did not expect him to act recklessly like this.

    Princess Faelyn averted her eyes while Princess Thessalia closed her eyes. They were both unable to look.

    ''Sorry, baby sister. I have already tried. You cannot me me for this.'' Princess Thessalia mentally thought in that split instant.

    Only Aria continued to watch without blinking, disying her tantamount trust for Leon. Even so, her heart was not as calm as she looked on the surface.

    Faced with such a dangerous situation, even she cannot help but feel concerned for Leon.

    However, what was considered dangerous in everyone''s eyes was of no danger to Leon at all!

    At the same time, Leon''s impression of Princess Thessalia increased slightly.

    Shortly after, his body wasshed by numerous vine whips.

    Most vine whipsnded on his lion-headed cloak, while somended on his leather armor and various other parts of his body.

    But regardless of where theynded, it caused absolutely no damage to Leon''s powerful equipment and fleshly defense.

    Only the ordinary clothing worn underneath was torn apart.

    Just as Leon was about to sh with the numerous Wingrats that made him their new target and lunged at him, a powerful wave of mes immediately burst out from his body!

    The first wave of rats was immediately incinerated into ck ashes and blown away by the mes'' outburst!

    At the same time, all consecutive waves of rats that lunged at him after that immediately twisted their upper bodies around while their limbs paddled against the air furiously in their best effort to get away from the scorching mes.

    However, the strong initial momentum propelled them forward into mes, nheless! Theirst-ditch effort to escape was futile!

    Pish! Pish! Pish!

    Like moths drawn to the me, thousands of rats quickly vaporized in the zing mes, transforming into scattering ck ashes like the brethren that went ahead in the short instance before it!

    Shortly after, the outburst of mes gathered towards a single point and formed a firewall in front of Leon.

    He pushed the wall of mes forward, and the rats immediately retreated as quickly as they could, withdrawing from the area and exiting the Great Forest in a great hurry like they were being chased by the grim reaper from the gates of hell!

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The rats'' numerous cries could be heard.

    The mountain of rat carcasses was incinerated into ck ashes all the same when it contacted the scorching mes.

    Leon cleared out the trash and cleansed the area of the rat filth that littered the ce.

    Shortly after, Leon hollered at the dumfounded elves, "Hurry up and erect another wall to seal off this area from the outside!"

    The elven warriors immediately snapped out of their stupor and quickly rushed forward to construct another vine wall as ordered by Leon.

    Up in the trees, Princess Thessalia saw her warriors taking orders from a human, but she was too stunned to admonish them on this point.

    Fire was undoubtedly the most effective method in dealing with the rats. Even so, Leon had resolved their immediate problem so effortlessly¡ªor so she thought.

    Leon''s energy reserve was not limitless.

    Incinerating so many rats did not drain much of his power. Even so, it was not like he could use it ceaselessly to wipe out the entire rat tide.

    At most, he can be used to scare the rats away or control their movements.

    "So, this is the power of a Fire-type Awakener? The mes of a Fire-type Awakener are so much more destructive than ordinary mes!" Princess Thessaliamented with awe.

    The person''s powerful mes had left her dumbstruck.

    Sometimeter, Leon dispelled the me wall and hopped back inside the Great Forest,nding on top of the new vine wall.

    "I shall leave this ce back into your capable hands to guard." Leon patted the shoulders of two elven warriors as he was passing.

    The two elven guards were surprised for a moment before they thumped their chests with their fists proudly, "Yes, sir! Thank you for your assistance!"

    Shortly after, two figures dashed over.

    Arianded on Leon''s left side, while Faelyn on the right. They both checked his body for injuries before quickly bing astounded.

    "Why did you act so recklessly? Did you how scared I was¡ªhow can there be no injuries?" Princess Faelyn shortly eximed, seeing shredded clothes but no visible wounds on Leon''s body.

    Her strong concerns caused Leon and Aria to nce at her curiously. She quickly blushed with embarrassment under their gazes and immediately let go of Leon''s arm.

    "D-don''t misunderstand! I was looking for wounds to heal. I''m a Wood-type Awakener after all!" Faelyn exined with a red face.

    "Wasn''t asking."

    Leon grinned.

 Chapter 464 - Unknown Law

    <h4>Chapter 464 - Unknown Law</h4>

    Princess Faelyn blushed shyly under Leon''s cheeky grin.

    Her face became hot, and she found it hard to look Leon straight in the eyes, causing her to avert her gaze elsewhere.

    She shortly spotted her third eldest sister approaching and found a venue to change the topic, avoiding further embarrassment.

    "Sister!" Faelyn called.

    Princess Thessalia nodded upon her arrival before focusing her attention on Leon. After inspecting his woundless body, she gave him a deep look and said, "I have sorely underestimated you. I apologize for that."

    She had many questions regarding Leon''s body but found it inappropriate to ask and pry into his secrets.

    "Apology received." Leon smiled lightly.

    "We might have started off on the wrong footing, but allow me to reintroduce myself again. I am the Third Princess of Elvengarde, Thessalia faran." Princess Thessalia said, extending her hand to offer a handshake.

    Princess Faelyn was immediately surprised by her sister''s willingness to take the initiative in offering a handshake with a person of the opposite gender.

    "Leon Crawford."

    Leon gave a short introduction and epted the handshake.

    Princess Thessalia had recognized Leon as someone more capable than her. Although he was not a Transcendent like the Elders, his fire abilitiespelled her to treat him with the same level of respect.

    His abilities were absolutely necessary for oveing the threat of the rat tide. On that note, she cannot treat him rudely.

    "Now, we are back to square one. What do you think we should do from here, Prince Leon?" asked Princess Thessalia as she turned to face the in swarming in rats outside the forest.

    The berserk rats were like mindless beasts.

    They did not learn their lesson after they were flushed out of the Great Forest by Leon and began charging back towards them.

    In a short moment, the battle between rats and elves were thrown in full motion once more as the elven warriors actively ughtered the rats from atop the vine walls.

    Leon pondered for a moment before he said, "The best way to deal with these rats is undoubtedly to use fire. But before we find out a suitable fire method, there is something I would like to find out. The state of these frenzied rats is rather concerning."

    Shortly after, a ck spear was summoned into his grip before Leon hurled it out.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    A few Wingrats were immediately shot by the ck spear like arge meat skewer before Leon used metal maniption to pull the ck spear.

    "Now that you mentioned it, this does seem like something critical that requires investigation." Princess Thessalia nodded while looking at the frenzied rats stuck in Leon''s ck spear.

    She had not thought about why the Wingrats have be like this. The urgent situation at hand previously had left her with no room to ponder this issue.

    After Leon found an open space away from the vine wall, he manipted the ck spear to stab vertically into the ground firmly, causing the two live Wingrats'' attempt to escape to be futile.

    "Live specimens are better." Leon mused, remembering he had left two rat carcasses back on the airship.

    After sweeping the Wingrats with divine sense, Leon frowned.

    Noticing Leon''s change of expression, Princess Thessalia asked puzzledly, "Did you discover something, Prince Leon?"

    She could not tell what kind of ability Prince Leon had, but it seemed like the person had already finished his inspection.

    Aria and Faelyn gazed at Leon patiently in question.

    "These rats contain traces of Demonic Energy and Artificial Spirit Energy in their bloodstream," Leon said after some time.

    His creased brows did not rx upon this discovery. Instead, the discovery left him even more perplexed regarding the rat''s berserk state.

    While Demonic Energy seemed to be the root of the problem, Leon had never seen such an overbearing form of Demonic Energy.

    It seemed to contain an extremely powerfulw within¡ªaw that he could not guess. However, it was filled with malice and wrath.

    "What do these two types of energy have to do with the rat''s berserk state? Or rather, what kind of thing are Demonic Energy and Artificial Spirit Energy?" Princess Faelyn asked curiously.

    She was unfamiliar with the two terms.

    At the same time, Princess Thessalia was also puzzled by the two terms. However, she remained silent since her little sister already asked the question she wanted to ask.

    "You should know what Spirit Energy is, right?" Leon asked.

    Faelyn nodded.

    "Artificial Spirit Energy is, as its name implied, Spirit Energy that has been artificially produced. As for Demonic Energy, it''s the pr opposite of Spirit Energy. If Spirit Energy is positive, then Demonic Energy is negative. Inverting Spirit Energy will give you Demonic Energy." Leon exined.

    Princess Thessalia and Faelyn both listened attentively before Faelyn asked with understanding, "So, Demonic Energy is the root cause of the rat''s berserk state, right?"

    "I believe so." Leon nodded.

    "However, why would the rats have these energies in their body? Where do theye from?" Princess Thessalia asked with a pondering look. After a moment, she added, "From underground?"

    "Most likely. If there are any ancient relics from the Nova Empire still in operation, it will produce these Artificial Spirit Energy."

    "The Nova Empire?"

    Princess Thessalia showed a confused look before Faelyn exined, "Sister, the Nova Empire is an ancient civilization that once existed 10-thousand-odd years ago."

    Faelyn had learned a bit about this civilization during her short trip to the World Tree with Supreme Elder Haldir.

    "I see." Princess Thessalia showed a surprised look before she smiled, "After we deal with this situation, you have to tell me more about your trip in the Human Domain, okay baby sister?"

    "Of course, but stop calling me that!" Faelyn pouted.

    Princess Thessalia chuckled lightly and said, "Alright, alright."

    At the same time, the attentive Aria hugged Leon''s arm and asked, "Are you concerned about the origins of the Demonic Energy?"

    "Yeah¡­"

    Leon nodded with a deep frown.

    "If it was just ordinary Demonic Energy, I might have guessed that an ancient relic producing Artificial Spirit Energy had malfunctioned. However, the Demonic Energy in these rats are much more overbearing than ordinary Demonic Energy."

    The unknownw made the Demonic Energy even more potent than the Demonic Energy cultivated by regr demons!

 Chapter 465 - Gone Berserk

    <h4>Chapter 465 - Gone Berserk</h4>

    "What''s different from this Demonic Energy?" Aria asked curiously.

    Leon paused for a moment before he broke the necks of two Wingrats, killing them in the process.

    Afterward, he took out an empty ss bottle and locked his divine sense onto the Demonic Energy in the rat carcasses before extracting them with Divine Will, filling up the bottle.

    "There''s some sort of powerfulw behind it," Leon exined.

    Shortly after he sealed the bottle, three pairs of eyes gazed at the clear ss bottle in his hand in wonder.

    "This is the Demonic Energy you speak of, Prince Leon?" Princess Thessalia asked while gazing at the red mist within the sealed ss bottle.

    "Yes, that is correct. This is Demonic Energy." Leon nodded before he said, "Be careful. This overbearing Demonic Energy can also cause you to lose your mind and go berserk too."

    Once this was said, Princess Faelyn quickly pulled her third eldest sister back with trepidation.

    "It''s true. There were many berserk humans back at the Great Wall!" Princess Faelyn said to her third eldest sister.

    Meanwhile, Leon had a hard time connecting the dots between the Demonic Energy sealed with the bottle and the past Cataclysms.

    Most of the rats'' physique changes came from the unstable Artificial Spirit Energy, including their evolution of intelligence.

    This coincided with what he knew of thest Cataclysm.

    "What are you thinking about?" Aria tightly hugged Leon''s arm in question. "I want to hear your thoughts."

    Leon smiled wryly.

    He caressed her soft cheeks gently and said, "I was thinking that maybe the great sr re that urred during thest Cataclysm 512 years ago wasn''t the root cause of the beasts'' evolution."

    "That''s true."

    Aria agreed while holding Leon''s hand on her cheeks, continuing to enjoy his caress before inputting her opinion, "It doesn''t make much sense for a strong burst of Sr Energy to cause drastic changes to the world. After all, we are exposed to Sr Energy every day."

    "That''s right. However, it''s a different story if the remnant Artificial Spirit Energy-producing ancient relics in the world received that burst of Sr Energy to mass-produce more Artificial Spirit Energy."

    "Hold on."

    Princess Faelyn interrupted, "Doesn''t that mean the Demonic Energy has nothing to do with the Cataclysm?"

    "ording to the tribe''s history records, the beasts were very aggressive during thest Cataclysm¡ªbut not to the point of going crazy berserk like this." Third Princess Thessalia inputted in realization.

    There was a huge discrepancy between the current rats'' behavior and the previous cataclysmic event.

    Leon nodded.

    "The beasts might have been exposed to small amounts of the Demonic Energy during thest Cataclysm." He said.

    Aria pulled away from Leon in a startled manner before staring into his eyes.

    "Doesn''t that mean the rats have been exposed to a much higher amount of Demonic Energypared to the beasts during thest Cataclysm? What''s going to happen once the Great Sr re urs again?" She asked.

    "Perhaps all life will be exposed to Demonic Energy and go berserk. However, if we can locate the source of the Demonic Energy and destroy it before the Great Sr re urs, perhaps we can avoid the worse from happening." Leon said objectively with solemness.

    Princess Thessalia and Princess Faelyn creased their brows with a heavy feeling.

    It came to their attention that the uing Cataclysm will be far, far more fearsome than thest Cataclysm.

    The Demonic Energy robs their reason and intelligence, rather than increasing it!

    "Another thing to point out is the frequency of the Cataclysms. Until this point, we''ve only known about Cataclysm that urred 512 years ago and the one 10-thousand years ago. Except for these two Cataclysms, there has been no mention or records of any other Cataclysms urring during this past 10-thousand year period¡ª"

    Awooo!

    A distant howl interrupted Leon''s words.

    Everyone shortly turned their gazes towards outside the forest before ncing at each other. After a quick nod, they headed up onto the vine wall and joined the elven warriors.

    "What''s the current situation?"

    "Your Highness, we''re about to be overwhelmed by the rat tide. Your orders, please." An elven warrior informed with a crumpled expression.

    Princess Thessalia gazed down at the new mountain of rat carcasses that had quickly piled up during their short discussion away.

    Beyond the forest was just a field of grey, upied by the numerous Wingrats rushing over.

    After a quick nod, she turned to Leon.

    Before Princess Thessalia could make a formal request for his assistance, Leon waved his hand and sent out a surge of mes, sweeping away the rats below.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The carcass mountain was reduced to ck ashes as Leon watched the surviving rats desperately escape from the wave of mes chasing after them.

    Shortly after, Leon and the others fixed their sights in the distance, scanning left and right for the source of the howl they heard earlier.

    "Where did that mighty howle from? I don''t see anything except rats, rats, and more rats." Faelynmented while squinting her eyes to look as far as possible.

    Shortly after, everyone''s pupil narrowed on a specific hill of rats that suddenly got flung into the skies, revealing a big three-tailed wolf underneath.

    Awooo!

    The big three-tailed silver wolf howled furiously.

    It mmed the ground repeatedly with its mighty paws, quaking the earth and crushing hundreds of rats before it rolled painfully on the ground to shake off the numerous rats on its body!

    Thousands of rats were quickly crushed underneath the weight of the three-tailed silver wolf''s oversized body.

    The arrival of the three-tailed silver wolf immediately drew a portion of the rat tide away from the vine walls as they all swarmed towards it!

    "It''s a Transcendent-level beast!" An elven warrior eximed.

    "It''s not just any Transcendent-level beast! It''s the Skysilver Beast King from the nearby low-rank tribe!"

    "What''s the Skysilver Beast King doing here? What about its tribe?" An elven warrior asked.

    Princess Thessalia frown.

    Elvengarde rarely interacts with the surrounding beast tribes outside the Great Forest. However, she had interacted with the proud Skysilver Beast King before.

    Although they did not get along, she should put aside their difference and help each other out in times of trouble.

    "The Skysilver Beast King looks like it is in trouble. It might be a Transcendent-level beast, but it won''t be able to handle the rat tide alone. We need to help it."

    "Wait, sister. Something seems wrong with the Skysilver Beast King." Faelyn pulled on her sister''s arm.

    Hearing her baby sister''s words, Princess Thessalia paused to study the furious Skysilver Beast King tearing the rats apart and devouring them with its fangs while its eyes glowed with redness.

    "The Skysilver Beast King has gone berserk!" Princess Thessalia realized.

 Chapter 466 - Helping Skysilver

    <h4>Chapter 466 - Helping Skysilver</h4>

    Awooo!

    The Skysilver Beast King continued rampaging in the endless tides of rats, crushing them with brute strength that shook the earth.

    No matter how furiously it fought to shake the rats off its body nor how many it crushed and killed, numerous more rats will take their ce and leap on its back.

    Awooo!

    The Skysilver Beast King did a big barrel roll, ttening ten thousands of rats in the process before rolling back to its feet and mming another batch on Wingrats on the ground!

    Boom!

    The earth shattered, and soil rose into skies along with numerous rats swept off their feet, falling into the Skysilver Beast King''s line of sight!

    Grrr-rah!

    The Skysilver Beast King immediately gnawed at the rats in midair with sharp fangs, devouring them into its stomach along with the soil.

    Shortly after, it did a wide-body swing with all three tails and generated a powerful gust of wind that swept away the numerous rats in its immediate surrounding before leaping into another group of rats in the distance!

    Swoosh!

    The gust of wind reached the Great Forest, causing the rustling of tree leaves and the fluttering of people''s hair.

    The strong wind stung a few elven warriors'' eyes and caused them to shield their faces with their hands. Those that tried to endure it received dirt and grovel flying into their faces.

    Meanwhile, an invisible barrier shielded Leon and thedies around him from the strong winds and flying soil.

    Princess Thessalia was not stupid.

    She immediately realized it was Leon''s work. Although she did not know how he was doing it, he was the only person within their group of four with a calm expression.

    While Faelyn and Aria expressed their surprises, Leon subtly frowned and said, "The Skysilver Beast King is drawing closer towards us."

    "Should I kill it?" Aria suggested as ice-lightning power danced on the palms of her hand.

    With the Skysilver Beast King''s strength, it would definitely destroy numerous trees if it continued its rampage within the Great Forest!

    "Please wait!"

    Princess Thessalia cried, urging Aria to stay her hand.

    At the same time, she was greatly surprised by Aria''s power. Although she faintly guessed the person was a Transcendent, she did not expect the person to have such a unique element.

    Aria nced back at Princess Thessalia questioning with a look that says, ''Don''t you elves love your forest? Make it quick, or your precious forest is going to suffer some serious damage.''

    "Prince Leon, do you have any methods to cure the Skysilver Beast King of his berserk state? It will be quite a loss to lose such a strong ally in these troubled times." Princess Thessalia queried.

    Leon rubbed his chin amusedly and asked, "What makes you think I have a way to cure him?"

    "Although I am not sure exactly what kind of ability you have, you seem to be able to bend anything to your will. Can you use this ability to extract the Demonic Energy out of the Skysilver Beast King to help him recover his sanity, Prince Leon?"

    "Quite perceptive. Sure, I can give it a try." Leon nodded.

    At the same time, Princess Faelyn quickly tugged her third eldest sister''s sleeve andined, "Sister! How can you make such a dangerous request from our guest? To cure the Skysilver Beast King, Prince Leon would have to get close to it! This means going through the endless wave of rats! Not to mention, the berserk Skysilver Beast King will also attack if it sees Prince Leon!"

    "I know. That''s why I am only asking."

    Princess Thessalia returned her gaze to Leon and sincerely stated, "If you feel it is too dangerous, there''s no need to ept my request, Prince Leon."

    "It''s fine. You are still underestimating me." Leon waved his nonchntly before turning to Aria and caressed her cheeks with a light smile, "I''ll be back shortly."

    "Mmm."

    Aria nodded.

    Leon extended his arm behind his back.

    Shortly after, the ck spear stabbed in the ground with the impaled rats some distance away suddenly shot out from the earth and flew into his grasp.

    Leon immediately leaped off the vine wall and took flight, shooting straight towards the berserk Skysilver Beast King at breakneck speed.

    The Skysilver Beast King was too busy shaking the rats off its body for it to be bothered with Leon. The numerous rats nibbling at its body was a much more pressing concern than a single human.

    Numerous bite-size wounds could be seen on the Skysilver Beast King''s body as Leon drew close.

    At the same time, his presence also attracted some of the Wingrats'' attention as they lunged at him.

    However, they were quickly swept away by the powerful swing of his spear, including the rats on the back of the Skysilver Beast King.

    The Beast King''s attention was immediately drawn to Leon and made a swipe at him with its paws, causing him to twist his body in midair to evade its quick attack while closing the distance andnded on its head.

    Awooo!

    This Skysilver Beast King howled and shook fiercely, but Leon grabbed a handful of its fur to stabilized his footing before it discharged a wave of mes that scared all the rats away from them.

    The rats on the Skysilver Beast King''s body were immediately charred ck while the three-tailed silver wolf''s bleeding wounds were seared.

    "Woah, there," Leon eximed.

    He quickly kicked off the Skysilver Beast King''s head as it was doing a body roll before softlynding on its head once more after it got back on its feet.

    In that instance, he swept out his divine sense and scanned the Skysilver Beast King''s body. It only took a moment for Leon to lock onto all the Demonic Energy within its body.

    Undoubtedly, the Skysilver Beast King had tougher skin than the Transcendent-level Grizzly Bear. However, the Demonic Energy still seeped into its bloodstream and umted in its head.

    Leon''s eyes flickered with a decisive glint as he tightened his grip on the ck spear and stabbed a non-lethal blow into the Skysilver Beast King''s head, inflicting pain, nheless.

    Awooo!

    The Skysilver Beast King howled.

    While it shook fiercely in retaliation, Leon held onto his firmly-rooted spear tightly and roared, "Come out!"

    Divine Will was exerted to the brink as Leon extracted the Demonic Energy through the gap he created in the Skysilver Beast King''s skull in one swift motion!

 Chapter 467 - Loss Of Intelligence

    <h4>Chapter 467 - Loss Of Intelligence</h4>

    A stream of red mist followed the tips of Leon''s spear as he yanked the ck spear out from the top of the Skysilver Beast King''s head along with a spray of blood.

    Awooo!

    The Skysilver Beast King cried anguish as a wave of pain assaulted its head. Its clouded red eyes receded along with thest trace of Demonic Energy exiting its head as it quickly regained its rity!

    Leon quickly condensed the red mist and stored them in empty pill bottles before taking out some Tier 3 Golden Ointment and pping them on the Skysilver Beast King''s wound.

    "Awo!"

    The Skysilver Beast King howled.

    It tried to shake Leon off its head once more, but Leon grabbed tightly onto its fur as it channeled Wood Energy into its head and sped up the recovery speed of its wound.

    Shortly after, the Skysilver Beast King slowly stopped trying to shake Leon off as it felt thefort of the recovery brought by his actions.

    It was not long after that the rats resumed their relentless attack, causing the Skysilver Beast King''s eyes to flicker with a cold glint.

    It might not have remembered what happened in the past few hours, but the numerous stings and itches on its body told it that the rats were the culprit behind it.

    "Awoo!" The Skysilver Beast King gave a mighty howl before sweeping that wave upon waves of rats with his tail swings.

    Meanwhile, Princess Faelyn and Princess Thessalia heaved a soft sigh of relief. While they were observing from a distance, their hearts were lurching.

    Although they guessed that Prince Leon had an iparably tough body, they could not ovee their impression of Transcendental beasts.

    The thought that a single smack from the Skysilver Beast King could shatter all the bones in the fragile bodies of humans and elves ced them on edge.

    "It seems that everything worked out well." Princess Thessalia said. She could not help but be more curious about Leon.

    This person wields many abilities. How did this person achieve this?

    "Baby sister, tell me more about Prince Leon. What did you encounter in the Human Domain? How did the negotiations go?" She asked.

    If all the human experts were as capable as Prince Leon, Princess Thessalia found it hard for their tribe to establish an alliance of equals.

    Even if an alliance was established between them, it would be difficult to ask fornd. Elvengarde would not offer up a portion of their forest if arge group of humans moved in either.

    No matter how Princess Thessalia looked at it, she could not see any reason for the humans to ept them unless they¡­

    Princess Faelyn pulled herself closer to her sister''s ears before she whispered, "In order for elves to have a ce in the Human Domain, Supreme Elder Haldir negotiated for the elves to all be subjects of the Crawford Empire."

    "What?"

    Princess Thessalia''s eyes widened fiercely in objection at once.

    However, after a moment, she sighed in defeat, "That''s the only way, huh?"

    "Yes."

    Princess Faelyn nodded.

    Shortly after, Princess Thessalia frowned, "Father would not ept this decision, and many Elders might also support his objection. Now I am afraid something will happen back in the tribe."

    "Not a surprising oue. You won''t find many people in positions of power who are willing to give up their authority to live under another person''s rule, let alone another race." Aria casuallymented.

    Princess Thessalia turned to face Aria and said, "Miss Aria was aware of this possibility but still came to our tribe with Prince Leon; are you not afraid of what would happen if the Supreme Elder fails to convince the rest of the tribe?"

    "I don''t care about that. I only care about one thing."

    "Oh? And what is that?"

    Aria gazed into the distance and smile, "Wherever he goes, I go."

    Swoosh~!

    Leon flew over and sent out a me wave, clearing out the rats attacking the vine wall beforending shortly after.

    Aria immediately dived into his embrace before Leon turned to the others and asked, "What are you all talking about?"

    "Nothing much." Princess Thessalia shook her head before asking, "How is the Skysilver Beast King?"

    Leon shortly turned around and pointed, "As you can see, it has recovered slightly and will continue to ughter rats without affecting the forest. However¡­"

    "However?" Princess Thessalia asked with a raised eyebrow.

    Leon paused in thought for a moment before he said, "It has lost its intelligence, regardless of whether the Demonic Energy was removed or not."

    After he kicked off the Skysilver Beast King and returned to the forest, the Skysilver Beast King had sensed his departure and barked with gratitude.

    "Right now, it is no different to an oversized pup, behaving on instinct to survive and can no longer speak the human tongue," Leon added.

    Princess Thessalia, Faelyn, and Aria all gazed into the distance with surprise.

    The most distinctive trait of the three-tailed silver wolf was the three iron tails it uses in battle.

    However, at this moment, the Skysilver Beast King can only be seen attacking with its paws, fangs, and body rolls.

    It did not rely on its proud tails and attacked primitively.

    "Thest Cataclysm helped the beasts evolve their intelligence. However, it seems this next one will rob them away." Princess Thessalia said with a solemn expression.

    Leon nodded.

    "If we all be infected with this type of overbearing Demonic Energy, we all degenerate into animals¡ª"

    Leon shortly paused.

    Rumble¡­

    Suddenly, the earth below could be subtly felt shaking mildly before everyone nced towards the Skysilver Beast King in the distance.

    "These tremors aren''t caused by the Skysilver Beast King. It feels much more distant¡­" Aria concluded.

    "Yeah¡­"

    Princess Thessalia and Faelyn gazed deep into the forest behind them before Princess Thessalia''s eyes flickered.

    "Something big is happening back in the tribe!"

    Swoosh~!

    Leon immediately took flight, flying into the skies above the Great Forest before he used [Spirit Eyes] to gaze into the distant Elder Tree, where Elvengarde was located.

    Sometimeter, he dropped back to the ground.

    "Did you find out what is happening, Leon?" Faelyn asked.

    Leon shook his head and said, "It''s too far to tell what is going on exactly¡­ However, the tremors are caused by the Elder Tree."

 Chapter 468 - Heart Of Spring Chamber

    <h4>Chapter 468 - Heart Of Spring Chamber</h4>

    Elvengarde

    Supreme Elder Haldir and King Erendriel continued to fight within the Elder Tree''s crown, causing wanton destruction to the High Elves'' surrounding homes in the area.

    Buildings were smashed apart, breaking branches and scattering leaves. Even the Elder Tree itself was impacted by their battle, causing the Guardian Spirit of the Elder Tree to be enraged.

    Rumble!

    The region shook from the violent movements of the Elder Tree''s branches, causing more High Elve''s homes to copse in the process!

    Swoosh! Swoosh!

    Numerous branches moved like flexible vines and assaulted both Supreme Elder Haldir and King Erendriel!

    However, King Erendriel shortly shed an elven ring with flickering green light and shouted, "O great Guardian Spirit! Please help me vanquish this traitorous elf, who has forsaken the forest and its people! He is the one who wishes to cause you harm!"

    Rustle!

    The Elder Tree branches immediately redirected all its attack on the Supreme Elder, regardless of whether King Erendriel was speaking truthfully or nonsense!

    Supreme Elder Haldir''s pupils quickly shrank into slits at the iing attack and braced himself for impact.

    Bang!

    Supreme Elder Haldir''s Vine Armor protected his body, but he was smacked flying out of the Elder Tree''s crown, drawing arge arc in the skies!

    "Uwarrgh!"

    King Erendriel growled loudly.

    Two pairs of wingsprised of branches and leaves sprouted from his back before King Erendriel immediately shot after Supreme Elder Haldir!

    Before Supreme Elder Haldir recover his bearing in the sky, King Erendriel quickly caught up and struck down on his chest squarely with tworge conjoined fists like a piledriver!

    Boom!

    The Supreme Elder plunged straight down from the mighty blow and crashnded into an elf''s home at the bottom of the Elder Tree, smashing it apart with shattering splinters flying everywhere.

    "Ah! What happened?!"

    "M-My home! Nooo!"

    The elvenmoners living at the foot of the Elder Tree were greatly startled by the Elder Tree''s movements before one of them cried at the destruction of his home.

    Before the dust of Supreme Elder Haldir''s fall settled, King Erendriel came crashing down and smashing into the cloud of dust, causing more significant destruction to what was left of the home!

    At the same time, the tree roots at the foot of the Elder Tree began moving towards the direction of the impact, continuing to target the Supreme Elder.

    Back in the Elder Tree''s crown, the Elders looked at the mess with solemn looks as one of them spoke, "This is getting out of hand! Everyone''s homes are being implicated in this mess!"

    "Right, even the Guardian Spirit has been involved! We need to stop this madness immediately!" Another Elder said before heading down to the tribe.

    It was fine when it was only between Supreme Elder Haldir and King Erendriel. But now that it involved the entire tribe, they can no longer remain idle and watch.

    "I''m going too!" Another Elder said decisively, knowing he might die if he got hit by either sides'' attacks.

    A several more Elders followed shortly after, leaving behind four Elders on the Elder Tree''s crown. Sometimeter, General Paeris returned.

    "Did you find the Queen Radelia?" An Elder asked.

    General Paeris shook his head and said, "The Elf Queen is not here. Words from the royal guards told me the Elf Queen went to add the Crown Prince and Second Princess in their secluded cultivation in the Heart of Spring Chamber."

    "The Heart of Spring Chamber?" An Elder repeated before nodding, "I see, no wonder we haven''t heard from any of them. The Heart of Spring Chamber is the most highly guarded ce in the tribe."

    The Heart of Spring Chamber was a hidden space within the Elder Tree itself and contained the most abundant amounts of Wood Energy.

    "It seems like the Crown Prince and Second Princess are preparing for their breakthrough to Transcendence¡­ What should we do?" Another Elder sough the others for opinions.

    It was taboo to interrupt another Awakener''s secluded cultivation. However, time was of the essence, and only the Elf Queen could talk some sense into the crazy Elf King.

    Boom!

    The Elder Tree suddenly mmed the ground where the Supreme Elder was located with its powerful tree roots, forming a fracture that quickly spread along the surface and tore apart the houses and buildings within its path!

    The earth shook from the impact along with the Elder Tree itself, causing the few Elders and General Paeris to nearly lose their bnce and stumble.

    "We''re running out of time. We need to decide quickly. At this rate, the entire tribe is going to be torn apart by King Erendriel and Supreme Elder Haldir''s battle!" said an Elder.

    Suddenly, General Paeris'' eyes flickered with doubt.

    "Hold on, something does not seem right. No matter how stable the Heart of Spring Chamber is, the Elf Queen, Crown Prince, and Second Princess should have been alerted by such a hugemotion in the tribe."

    Once this was said, the four Elders nced at each other with the same doubt.

    "Maybe they have reached a critical point in their cultivation?" An Elder guessed.

    A hint of decisiveness flickered in General Paeris'' eyes before he said, "I will go check on the situation outside the Heart of Spring Chamber."

    "Hmm¡­ in that case, we are going too." An Elder nodded, followed by the other three Elders also agreeing to tag along.

    In any case, they were doing nothing, and it was better than risking their lives to stop the battle between King Erendriel and Supreme Elder Haldir directly.

    They did not want to admit it, but they were cowards.

    While the Heart of Spring Chamber was not located on the Elder Tree''s crown, the path leading towards the secret chamber was.

    The group arrived at a quiet courtyard located within the Royal Pce, just next to the Great Hall.

    At the center of the courtyard, arge hollow staircase illuminated by floating particles of soft green light was revealed, while twenty royal guards surrounded the area.

    The Elder Tree was, in truth, hollow on the inside.

    "Stop! This ce is off-limits! Without the king''s permission, no one is allowed to step beyond this point!" An elven royal guard stated sternly, stopping General Paeris and the four Elders from approaching any closer with an outstretched hand.

 Chapter 469 - Negotiations Failed, I Presume?

    <h4>Chapter 469 - Negotiations Failed, I Presume?</h4>

    General Paeris wrinkled his brows and asked, "I would like to ask if Queen Radelia has exited from the Heart of Spring Chamber yet or not?"

    "Whether Queen Radelia exited or not is none of your business, general. Please leave." The royal guard said rudely.

    The Elf General might be well received among themoners, but the same cannot be said for the royal guards. They did not need to give the Elf General any preferential treatment.

    General Paeris immediately frowned.

    Even if the royal guards did not respect him, they did not need to respond so rudely. Something about their behaviors felt awfully suspicious to him, like they were purposely hiding news of Queen Radelia.

    However, there was no point because he already found out the Elf Queen was inside the Heart of Spring Chamber from the other royal guards.

    "What if I am the one asking?" An Elder stepped forward and asked with a stern gaze while emanating the aura of his transcendental cultivation.

    The expressions of all the royal guards immediately stiffened as they stood with their backs straight.

    "Esteemed Elder, we are just following orders. Please don''t make things difficult for us." One of the royal guards said politely, a clear contrast in attitude to the treatment the Elf General received.

    "Oh?"

    The Elder frowned and questioned, "And what could be so important about the Elf Queen''s whereabouts that you cannot even answer such a simple question, hmm?"

    "Well¡­"

    The royal guards hesitated for a moment before one of them spoke, "The Crown Prince and Second Princess are at a critical junction in their breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm."

    "Are you hinting that Queen Radelia is still inside the Heart of Spring Chamber with the Crown Prince and Second Princess?"

    "¡­"

    The royal guards did not answer further, causing the Elder''s expression to turn gloomy.

    Apart from the smoke billowing from the burning forest, the sky was clear. There was no indication of a Transcendent Phenomenon urring.

    Even so, the Elders did not press further.

    Rumble¡­

    The tribe continued to shake from the devastation of the battle outside.

    Supreme Elder Haldir narrowly evaded the Elder Tree''s roots by a hair''s breadth before he red at King Erendriel.

    "Look around! You need to stop this madness at once! You''re destroying the tribe!" He shouted.

    At the same time, the Supreme Elder frowned at King Erendriel''s means tomunicate with the Guardian Spirit.

    "O great Guardian Spirit, it is not I who wish to cause you harm but he who has been blinded by jealousy and madness!"

    Despite Supreme Elder Haldir''s words, the Guardian Spirit did not listen and continued to attack him.

    King Erendriel''s sneered with a mocking expression, "Give up! The Guardian Spirit will not listen to you! Not while I have this!"

    The Elf King shed his emerald ring before he added, "You don''t need to worry about the tribe! Once you die, everything will be better again! So long as the tribe''s foundation is still here, it can be rebuilt after you are gone!"

    Boom!

    Supreme Elder Haldir narrowly evaded another one of the Elder Tree''s roots, causing the ground to rupture in his ce.

    The impact of the Elder Tree''s attacks formed web-like fissures along the surface of the earth, tearing apart homes and swallowing countless elves in the process

    "Calm your anger, O great Guardian Spirit¡ªAhh!"

    "Nooo! Save me!"

    The elves tried to escape, but they could not outrun the spread of the shattering earth.

    Supreme Elder Haldir shot back in retreat as he gazed at the scene with an ugly expression.

    So many innocent lives were being implicated in their mess!

    Supreme Elder Haldir red at King Erendriel, hovering in the sky with a cold glint as killing intent began seeping out.

    He did not know what the emerald ring in the Elf King''s possession was, but he knew it had to remove it from the Elf King.

    The Elf King had gone too far!

    At the same time, King Erendriel''s form gave insights into ways the Supreme Elder had never thought of trying previously.

    New vines intertwined themselves with old ones and began sprouting leaves from his back, forming his own pair of wings.

    In a short instance, the Supreme Elder took flight into the skies to face King Erendriel, no longer nning to hold back.

    The longer the battle was dragged out, the more suffering the innocent elves would have to experience!

    Around this time, Leon exited the periphery of the inner parts of the Great Forest and arrived on the outskirts of Elvengarde with Aria and Princess Faelyn.

    The state of the elven tribe left Leon and Aria astounded, while Princess Faelyn was devastated by the sight. The fearful and mournful cries of her fellow tribesmen amidst the chaos broke her heart.

    "Why did the tribe be like this?" Faelyn muttered.

    Boom!

    The Elder Tree tried to p the Supreme Elder out of the sky with one of its roots but missed and impacted the ground, causing more devastation within the area.

    Leon quickly grabbed Aria and Princess Faelyn''s hand and pulled them away before the impact reached their area.

    "The Supreme Elder and my father are fighting!"

    Princess Faelyn quickly discovered the two figures in the air after Leonnded them safely some distance away.

    She was quickly shocked by her father''s form.

    At the same time, Supreme Elder Haldir overhead Faelyn''s exmation and turned his gaze over to their direction in surprise before he shouted, "Young prince, Miss Aria, Princess Faelyn! All of you should quickly leave! It''s not safe here!"

    However, Leon shortly flew over after leaving Aria and Princess Faelyn on the outskirts of the tribe, not taking the Supreme Elder''s warning to mind.

    "I take it that negotiations have failed?" He casually presumed before shortly gazing at King Erendriel''s bizarre form in the distance.

    Although he subtly anticipated something like this would have happened, the Elf King''s drastic transformation still left him surprised.

    Knowing Leon''s strength, Supreme Elder Haldir no longer persuaded him to leave as he could use Leon''s assistance.

    The Supreme Elder shortly nodded, "I''m rather embarrassed to admit it, but yes, the Elf King cannot ept the terms we agreed upon."

 Chapter 470 - Wood Essence Extract

    <h4>Chapter 470 - Wood Essence Extract</h4>

    After receiving the Supreme Elder''s confirmation, Leon nodded. However, he quickly frowned at the devastation of the tribe.

    Not a single piece ofnd was left untouched in the area.

    The whole ce was fragmented with deep fissures and crevices, revealing the subterranean world underneath the surface.

    The situation of the elves could be described as tragic. Some elves clung to each other in silent prayers, while other elves desperately clung to edges like they were clinging onto their lives, refusing to fall into the dark crevices.

    Some elves tried to pull these struggling elves up from the edges, but the unstable slopes only cause them to lose their footing and fall into the chasm.

    "How terrible. With the prior agreement in ce, these elves can be considered my people. For such a tragedy to befall them, the culprit needs to be held ountable for this." Leon said before ring at the Elf King in the distance.

    King Erendriel heard Leon''s words, and his expression immediately frosted.

    "They are my people! Not yours! Understand that I am the king of this tribe, and I did not agree with Supreme Elder Haldir''s decision! Whatever was negotiated between your two sides does not apply here!"

    "Is this true, Marquis Haldir?" Leon asked after pausing for a moment.

    Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head at Leon''s question before he exined, "Not true at all, young prince. Although I rarely involve myself with the tribe''s management, I am still the tribe''s Supreme Elder; a position of authority and prestige that supersedes even royal power. My word is thew here. Whether King Erendriel agrees or not is inconsequential to the agreement we made."

    "I see."

    Leon nodded in understanding and casually said, "So, he just being a sore loser. Understandable."

    The Supreme Elder was like a boss who only hires workers for his restaurant and never does any of the actual work himself.

    In other words, Supreme Elder Haldir was the true ruler of Elvengarde, who waszy and crowned King Erendriel to take on the responsibility of managing the tribe for him.

    While Leon could understand King Erendriel''s anger under these circumstances, he could not understand the person''s actions. The tribesmen did not have to suffer for it!

    When King Erendriel''s insulting remark, he became even more enraged and barked, "You''re asking for death!"

    However, his eyes brightened with enlightenment and immediately controlled his outburst of violent emotions, disying a frightening calmness.

    "Crown Prince of the Crawford Empire, was it? Kekeke, do you think the Crawford Empire will still care to uphold the agreement that you negotiated on behalf of the tribe if this person dies here, Supreme Elder Haldir?" King Erendriel asked, but incredibly strong killing intent was hidden within his eyes.

    Supreme Elder Haldir immediately frowned and warned, "Careful, young prince. King Erendriel wants to kill you!"

    "Oh, I can see that." Leon nodded calmly.

    At the same time, King Erendriel raised his hand and shed his glowing emerald ring.

    "O great Guardian Spirit, please lend me your strength to end this human who also seeks to harm your!" King Erendriel prayed audibly.

    The Elder Tree quickly reacted to King Erendriel''s words and shot out itsrge tree roots toward Leon and Supreme Elder Haldir.

    "It''s that ring again! Dodge, young prince!"

    Supreme Elder Haldir quickly frowned before he moved to evade the iing tree roots on his own, trusting Leon would do the same.

    However, his eyes quickly widened in horror when he nced back to check on Leon, who continued to stay in his original spot without moving.

    "Watch out, Prince Leon!" Supreme Elder Haldir roared.

    While he knew that the young prince had an extraordinary physique, he did not believe it is strong enough to withstand the Elder Tree''s might!

    King Erendriel''s eyes immediately gleamed.

    Was the Crawford Empire''s Crown Prince too scared to dodge? That was good! The quicker the person dies, the better off he''ll be!

    The tree roots shot over quickly!

    Supreme Elder Haldir knew it was toote for him to head back in time to save the young prince!

    However, just as the tree roots were about to collide with Leon, it suddenly slowed down rapidly to aplete stop.

    Shortly after the tree roots resume moving again, it wrapped Leon and rubbed against him intimately like a pet snake.

    "Impossible!" King Erendriel''s eyes snapped wide open in disbelief. Why was the Guardian Spirit behaving like this with a human it just met?!

    "O great Guardian Spirit, please kill that human!" King Erendriel urged while shing his shining emerald ring.

    However, the Guardian Spirit no longer respond to his words.

    Meanwhile, Leon patted the Elder Tree''s roots calmly and fished out another supreme-grade spirit stone, and waved it in front of it like he was holding a dog treat.

    "You want another want of these, right?" Leon extended his divine sense andmunicated with the Guardian Spirit on a deeper level.

    The Guardian Spirit quickly responded by mimicking people''s expressions, moving the tips of its roots up and down like it was nodding its head.

    Leon smiled lightly and said, "You can have this if you help me capture that person!"

    The Guardian Spirit''s tree roots nodded again before shooting straight for Elf King in the distance.

    "Why, why, why?! This ring is made from the purest Wood Essence Extract of the Elder Tree itself, allowing the wearer to appear no different to the Guardian Spirit''s kin! Why does it listen to you over me?!" King Erendriel roared with a nasty expression as he retreated.

    "Wood Essence Extract?"

    Leon wore an amused expression before he ridiculed, "A bit of tree sap secreted by the Elder Tree is enough for it to treat you as its kin? Don''t kid yourself, King Erendriel! Would you choose your own cum stains over treasures?!"

    Dozens of tree roots shot after King Erendriel¡ªa clear contrast to the single tree root that targeted the Supreme Elder previously, which also showcases the Guardian Spirit''s determination to capture the Elf King!

    Spirit Energy was an incentive that it simply cannot pass on!

 Chapter 471 - Heartless Response

    <h4>Chapter 471 - Heartless Response</h4>

    The numerous tree roots shot after the escaping Elf King from every direction. However, the Elf King easily evaded every single attack with his agile maneuvers in the air, weaving through the gaps in between the tree roots.

    The tree roots collided with each other, but they did not shatter into fragments like brittle wood. Rather, they branched off, splitting apart to form dozens of smaller sub-roots before shooting after the Elf King.

    In a matter of moments, the few dozen roots were transformed into thousands of sub-roots after several collisions and formed countlessrges after tangling themselves.

    However, theserges connected and formed an enormous cage that trapped the Elf King inside.

    "Dammit!"

    King Erendriel shot straight into the cage''s wall, intending to break through the enclosure with brute force!

    Bam!

    He struck the wall of roots with all his strength, shaking the root cage mildly before being repelled by the counterforce of the rebound!

    The enormous Elder Tree''s tree roots have been reduced to the thickness of a human finger and might seem easy to break due to its lowered defense.

    However, the weaving and intertwining of countless sub-roots actually raised its defensive strength to a higher level than its former shape and created an unbreakable cage!

    Shortly after the Elf King was bounced back the counterforce, the Guardian Spirit began to tighten its countless sub-roots, shrinking the unbreakable cage in size.

    With nowhere to go, the Elf King''s movements were quickly restricted and bound by the sub-roots like some object wrapped in manyyers of rubber bands that formed a ball.

    "Uwarghhh!" King Erendriel roared.

    He tried to resist and break free but to no avail. His efforts were futile.

    "Good girl."

    Leon nodded with a smile and tossed the supreme-grade spirit stone over to one of the Guardian Spirit''s spare tree roots.

    The Elder Tree caught the supreme-grade spirit stone with joy and quickly absorbed all the Spirit Energy in an instance before writhing in pleasant delight.

    Meanwhile, Supreme Elder Haldir was dumbfounded by the change of events.

    He made his way over to Leon with a puzzled look and asked, "Young prince, what exactly is going on here? Why does it seem like the Guardian Spirit adores you? Just what did you give it?"

    "I gave it a supreme-grade spirit stone, formed from the purest of Spirit Energy that the World Tree produces." Leon casually exined.

    Supreme Elder Haldir was startled.

    He had been to the World Tree and sensed the overflowing richness of life that the World Tree gives off.

    However, he did not expect that the vast amount of Spirit Energy could be so concentrated, it would crystalize into a solid form.

    "Don''t tell me, this ''supreme-grade spirit stone'' was made by you, young prince?"

    "That''s right, I was the one who created it. Otherwise, it would take tens of thousand years before a supreme-grade spirit stone is formed naturally."

    Leon admitted.

    Once again, Supreme Elder Haldir was astounded by Leon''s means.

    Shortly after, Supreme Elder Haldir nced at the tightly bounded Elf King before he asked, "What do you n to do with Elf King, young prince?"

    "What do I n to do with the Elf King, you ask? Nothing." Leon shrugged and said, "Since this your tribe''s problem, I should leave it to you on how you want to handle it, Marquis Haldir."

    "Understood, young prince."

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

    If Leon killed the Elf King, it would cause a rift in the rtionship between humans and elves. This runs countern to what they were trying to achieve after integrating the elves into human society.

    "Stop the fight!"

    "Supreme Elder, we havee to assist you!"

    A group of 8 Elders suddenly rushed over before they paused and looked around. After a moment, they looked back at Supreme Elder Haldir in the skies with confusion and asked, "Where''s King Erendriel?"

    "Aren''t you guys a bitte ining forward to help?"

    Supreme Elder Haldir wrinkled his brows with displeasure before he said, "King Erendriel is right over there!"

    The Elders gazed at the round top of the pir made from tree roots in the distance. Shortly after, they discovered a person hidden inside with only his face revealed on the surface.

    Their exaggerated expressions of being dumbfounded made Leon rolled his eyes. These cowardly old fogies were obviously pretending not to know anything when they already do.

    "If you''re done being stupid, then hurry up and go help the tribesmen!" Supreme Elder Haldir growled.

    "Y-Yes, Supreme Elder!"

    The Elders were immediately startled into action and quickly left.

    Leon shook his head andmented, "The higher-ups in your tribe seems rather hopeless, Marquis Haldir."

    "Haiz¡­" Supreme Elder Haldir sighed and said, "Years of peace andvish lifestyles dwindled the spirit of their past selves. The older one ages, the more they cling to life¡­"

    Leon nodded in agreement before he suddenly recalled something and said, "Do what you must do and let us talkter, Marquis Haldir. There''s something I need to check on."

    "Alright."

    Shortly after Leon excused himself and descended towards one of the big crevices on the surface, Supreme Elder Haldir nced back at King Erendriel with a cold glint.

    "Now, what should I do with you?"

    At the same time, Aria flew over with Faelyn on the back of her ice-lightning sword before Faelyn quickly asked with an anxious look, "Supreme Elder, may I asked you n to do with my father?"

    "I will kill him. But before that, there are some things that I need to find out from King Erendriel." Supreme Elder Haldir frowned for a moment.

    The colors in Princess Faelyn''s eyes quickly dulled with a look of sorrow.

    Although she had expected such an answer from the Supreme Elder, she was still sad to hear the Supreme Elder''s death sentence.

    "May I have a few moments with my father first, Supreme Elder?"

    Supreme Elder Haldir paused for a moment before he nodded, "Alright, but make it quick."

    "Thank you, Supreme Elder." Faelyn curtsied gratefully.

    Shortly after, she turned towards her father and asked, "Why have you be like this, father? Why did you go against the Supreme Elder and cause such a huge mess in the tribe? Do you have any idea how many tribesmen have died because of this?"

    "Why does that matter? They are just bottom feeders anyway. Their lives are inconsequential to ours." King Erendriel gave a heartless response.

    Although a smile was hung on King Erendriel''s face, he was emotionless, causing Princess Faelyn to only feel coldness in her heart.

    Was this still the father she knew? Why does it feel like her father''s mentality has been twisted into someone different entirely?

 Chapter 472 - Outburst Of Cries

    <h4>Chapter 472 - Outburst Of Cries</h4>

    Great Forest Outskirts

    At a particr location along the fiery line of burning trees surrounding the Great Forest,rge groups of elven warriors showed significant signs of exhaustion.

    Shortly after, a few elven warriors exhausted themselves and copsed on the ground before a few other elven warriors quickly pulled them away from the fiery trees.

    "We got another few copsed over here, sir!" They reported.

    "Understood." The elven captain in charge of the area nodded and said, "Quickly take them back to rest!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    After the group left with copsed elven warriors, another elf approached the elven captain and stated, "Sir, the rest of the warriors will not be able to control the fire for much longer. We should pull back."

    The elven captain observed the tired-worn expressions on the elven warriors'' faces and nodded.

    "Alright. Go inform the Third Princess and the other captains in the surrounding areas that we are pulling out warriors back."

    "Yes, sir!"

    The elven warrior quickly left.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, back at the vine wall where Princess Thessalia and her personal guards were located¡­

    Boom!

    An object was hurled into the rat tide before it exploded brilliantly, bursting into great mes that swallowed hundreds of Wingrats in an instance!

    The fortunate Wingrats quickly squeaked away from the mes in horror while their unfortunate brethren burned to death.

    "These exploding pills are amazing!" an elven warrior eximed with awe as it gazed at the red pill in his hand.

    Another elven warrior nodded and said, "Tell me about it. Who would have expected such a small pill to contain so much power?!"

    "Oi, oi. You all better careful with those exploding pills now. One careless mistake, and we will all burst into mes!" A higher-level elven warrior warned.

    "Yes, captain! We understand!"

    The elven warriors on the vine wall all nodded.

    Princess Thessalia looked at the burning mes in the distance with fascination as the rats retreated in fear.

    She never knew mes could be so beautiful.

    However, shortly after, she shook her head, thinking that it was dangerous for an elf to be fascinated by fire.

    Half an hour earlier, she had stopped the human prince from leaving before a solution to the rat tide problem was provided.

    In the end, the answer given by the person were these exploding pills.

    She could still remember the person shaking his head after pulling high-quality spirit herbs out of thin air and mixing them with rat blood to concoct hundreds of exploding pills on the spot.

    "Haiz, Grandpa Don will probably like what I am doing around here if he knew¡­" The person had said shortly afterpleting his pill refinement and leaving.

    Although Princess Thessalia did not know who Grandpa Don was, she assumed it was some respectable figure rted to Prince Leon with great interest in explosions.

    Seeing the elven warriors having fun hurling the explosive red pills, she barked, "We might have a few hundred of them, but they will be expended quickly if we don''t use them sparingly when needed!"

    "Ahem¡ªY-Yes, Your Highness!" The elven warriors answered seriously after being scolded by the Third Princess.

    ¡­

    Elvengarde Outskirts

    Princess Faelyn gazed at King Erendriel with disbelief and said, "How could you say something like that, father? You weren''t like this in the past. You used to say that the people''s interest alwayses first before you own."

    "My daughter, you are so na?ve." King Erendriel smiled mockingly.

    "That was just a gimmick I often used to align the people''s hearts with my own interest. Who really cares about their interest if they don''t benefit me in any way? Not that none that matters anymore. I''m tired of ying the good king."

    Princess Faelyn felt weak and faint at heart. It was like the image of her father she built up her whole life had been nothing but a big lie.

    "Where is mother? Why haven''t I seen her?" She suddenly recalled.

    Such a hugemotion should have been noticed by her mother long ago. However, her mother was nowhere in sight.

    "Your mother? You can find her in the Heart of Spring Chamber, along with your eldest brother and second eldest sister¡ªor at least is left of them anyway." King Erendriel grinned.

    Princess Faelyn quickly paled.

    "What did you do them?!"

    "It''s not what I did to them, but what they did to themselves." King Erendriel said with ridicule, but a rare trace of emotion was shown in his eyes.

    It was sorrow.

    Supreme Elder Haldir frowned and asked, "Does it have something to do with your ability to convert Wood Energy into physical strength?"

    "I have nothing to say to you." King Erendriel responded to the Supreme Elder with a fierce glint.

    However, seeing his daughter''s questioning look, King Erendriel softened and said to Faelyn, "Go to the Heart of Sprint Chamber. Once you find the hidden room there, you will understand everything."

    "Why can''t you just tell me?"

    Tears started welling up in Faelyn''s eyes.

    She was afraid¡ªafraid of what she might see inside that ce. She preferred her father to break the truth to her directly instead of keeping her suspense.

    King Erendriel did not answer her question.

    "In this dog eat dog world, the winner takes it all while the loser takes the fall. If you cannot be the strongest, you will die trying. The long reining peace will end, and chaos will engulf the world." King Erendriel rambled with a lost look.

    Princess Faelyn and Supreme Elder Haldir were unable to follow the Elf King''s words. However, before they could ask, there was a sudden outburst of heart-wrenching cries below.

    ncing down, the elves on the surface could also be seen with startled expressions before they tried peeking into the dark crevices below for answers.

    The cries came from the underground.

    The ground began to rumble withrge movements as rocks and pebbles could be seen shaking, shortly followed by the endless squeaking of rats.

    "Rats! The Wingrats have found passage to the tribe through the subterranean world!" Supreme Elder Haldir stated conclusively with a grave expression.

    Recalling Leon had left to enter one of the dark crevices, Supreme Elder Haldir quickly realized that the young prince must have been aware of this potential problem and went to check earlier!

 Chapter 473 - Evacuating The Elves

    <h4>Chapter 473 - Evacuating The Elves</h4>

    Under the surface of Elvengarde, there was great chaos amongst the surviving elves.

    "Uwahhh, save me! I don''t want to die!"

    "Nooo! Don''t leave me behind!"

    The elves cried.

    In the enormous underground expanse just below Elvengarde, numerous elves could be seen running for their lives, rushing towards the fiery ball of mes at the center.

    The fiery ball of mes was naturally conjured by Leon to light up the subterranean world.

    In the far edges of the illuminated area, the endless rat tide could be seen pouring out from numerous revealed passageways and chasing after the elves.

    While the elves ran, only a few were able to run in optimum shape. Not surprisingly, these elves were all at the 9th Step Awakener Realm and above.

    The rest of the elves with lower cultivation could be seen limping and crawling, injured by the fall from the surface.

    Due to their low cultivations, they could not heal as quickly as they as hoped. Fleshly wounds healed quickly, but broken bones were slow to mend.

    At the same time, many elven bodies could be seen littered on the subterranean ground. They were the ones that did not make it after the fall due to their frail bodies.

    Even so, not all of the fallen elves weremoners with little-to-no cultivation.

    There were also some rtively higher level Wood-type Awakeners among them. These elves were the truly unfortunate ones.

    While broken limbs can be mended after a significant fall, a broken neck or blow to the head from such height would only send them straight to oblivion.

    As Leon held the fiery ball of mes high and illuminated the dark subterranean expanse, he gazed at the desperate elves in the distance with a solemn expression.

    ''They won''t make it.'' Leon determined with a narrowed look.

    Even the fastest runner was not necessarily quicker than rats¡ªto say nothing in the least for those that limp and crawl their way to safety.

    ''Even when the situation is seemingly hopeless for them, they are still doing their best to survive. I should create a chance for them.'' Leon pondered.

    After a quick observation of the surroundings, he immediately pped his hands towards the fiery ball of mes floating above him before separating his hands like he was tearing apart a long piece of cloth.

    Simultaneously, the fiery ball of mes immediately exploded, scattering outwards like fireworks before they rained down like numerous fire arrows.

    Shortly after, a ring of fire was formed on the periphery of the subterranean expanse.

    Although it was not apleted ring of fire and had gaps in between each scattered mes, its scorching temperature was enough to ward off the approaching rat tide¡ªbut not for long.

    Meanwhile, the 8 Elders could be seen helping the elves evacuate by constructing a dozen vine staircases that led to the surface.

    "Quickly, everyone! Move it, but do not shove your fellow tribesmen!" A nearby Elder urged with hand gestures while keeping the order of the evacuation.

    Each of the vine staircases was not big. Only enough to fit two elves running alongside each other. As such, arge crowd of elves was gathered at the bottom of each vine staircase.

    For a big Mid-rank tribe like Elvengarde, although the entire tribe was not affected by the battle between the Elder Tree, King Erendriel, and the Supreme Elder, the destruction still caused tens of thousands of elves to fall into the subterranean world.

    It would take time before the elves were all evacuated to the surface¡ªbut even then, they would not be safe unless the rat tide was dealt with.

    Meanwhile, the other Elders went to fend off the rat tide in different directions on the edges of the fire ring Leon just created while helping the elvesgging behind enter.

    Leon might have made the ring of fire as big as possible, but there were still many elves that fell outside his range.

    His abilities were not omnipotent¡ªat least not with his present cultivation.

    Shortly after the ipleted fire ring was created, Leon conjured another fiery ze and scattered them into the edges, creating more scorching hot zones that warded the rats away.

    Once he was done, the Tier 4 Bone Spear retrieved by Aria shed into his grip. With a strong stomp, Leon immediately shot himself forward towards the endless rat tide in the distance.

    Boom!

    Leon smashed straight into the groups of rats, immediately crushing several of them to death in an instant before he sent out a mighty sweep of his bone spear and sted hundreds of more Wingrats away!

    As Leon fought the rats tyrannically with brute strength to conserve his energy, he suddenly perked his ears to the subtle cries of a baby.

    After sweeping away another wave of rats, he quickly located the source of the baby''s cry some distance away from his present location.

    It came from the corpse of a female elf that died after falling t on her back, cracking her head against the edge of a rock.

    Leon''s expression abruptly changed as he realized a baby boy was wrapped in the female elf''s arm.

    The female elf was most likely the baby''s mother, who died while shielding her baby from the fall with her body.

    Seeing that the baby was about to drown in the sea of rats swarming over, Leon immediately lunged over to grabbed the baby before the rats could reach it.

    After sweeping the rats away, he stored the mother''s corpse in his interspatial storage and retreated with the baby boy in his spare arm.

    At the same time, Supreme Elder Haldir shortly arrived with Aria and Princess Faelyn.

    Seeing Leon flying over with a baby in his arms, Princess Faelyn quickly offered to look after the infant, "Let me take care of the baby boy."

    Leon nodded and passed the baby to her.

    "Unexpectedly, such a vast space exists right below Elvengarde!" Supreme Elder Haldir shortly eximed with surprise after assessing the situation.

    Leon nodded.

    The subterranean world hid many secrets pertaining to the ancient past.

    Relics could be seen half-buried everywhere while old corpses were nowhere to be seen. But that was also to be expected.

    Most likely, those old corpses have all be nutrients for the Elder Tree long ago.

 Chapter 474 - The Savior

    <h4>Chapter 474 - The Savior</h4>

    "Have you settled business with King Erendriel?" Leon asked while subtly studying Princess Faelyn''s expression.

    Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head and said, "No, not yet. We came as soon as we heard the outburst of cries."

    "I see. Let us worry about thatter then. We have a bigger problem to deal with now." Leon said as he gazed at the rat tide increasing in numbers by the moment.

    "Agreed."

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded with a solemn look before he ncing at the crowd gathering by the vine staircases.

    "The tribesmen are evacuating too slowly." Supreme Elder Haldir stated with a frown before preparing to lend his assistance there.

    However, Leon stopped him and said, "Forget about the elves here and save the stragglers outside the fire ring. I''ll handle this problem quickly."

    "Alright. I''ll leave it to you then, young prince." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded and pped his green wings of leaves, shooting into the distance.

    Leon shortly used his divine sense tomunicate with the Guardian Spirit.

    "Everyone, make room!" Leon shouted at a crowd of elves some distance away from the vine staircase that most elves were gathered towards.

    "Quick, do as our savior says!"

    Very shortly, the elves began shuffling away to create arge space between under Leon''s orders despite it bringing them further away from the vine staircases that had already been built and closer to the rats.

    Although they wanted to leave quickly due to the rat''s threat, they havee to respect Leon greatly and trusted that he would do something to help them.

    If the person wanted to harm them, why bother saving them in the first ce¡ªwas what the elves thought.

    Sometimeter, the surface soil from a distant region shook fiercely as the Guardian Spirit moved its spare roots over and nted itself in the ground before the crowd of elves, creating a colossal bridge that could fit dozens of elves running side by side at once.

    "Go!"

    The elves immediately cheered before rushing onto the colossal bridge that would lead them back to the surface.

    At the same time, themotion immediately drew the attention of the crowd gathered in waiting near the vine staircases.

    "Hey, look! The Guardian Spirit created a huge bridge to the surface for us!"

    "Taking the bridge is definitely faster than the vine staircase the Elders constructed! I''m not waiting here!"

    Therge crowd of elves immediately begun rushing over to the colossal bridge made from the Elder Tree''s roots.

    "Thank you, Guardian Spirit!"

    "All those prayers finally paid off!"

    The elves cheered.

    At this point, they had already forgotten they had fallen into their current situation due to the Elder Tree''s rampage.

    Life worked in strange ways.

    When bad things happen, people forget all the good and only remember all the bad. Simrly, when good things happen, they remember the good and forget the bad.

    Nevertheless, some elves in front quickly pointed out, "Hey, you! You''re mistaken! The Guardian Spirit didn''t help us of its own volition! It is the savior that got it to help us!"

    "Yeah! If you want to thank someone, thank our savior! He is the only one who canmunicate with the Guardian Spirit and tell it what to do!" Another elf quickly chimed in.

    The elves in the back of the group were immediately stunned.

    "Huh? He canmand the Guardian Spirit? Doesn''t that make him sound like THE savior from the prophecy?" An elf mentioned.

    "That''s why we are calling him our savior! He IS the savior mentioned in the prophecy! The one canmand the Guardian Spirit and bring us salvation in times of great chaos! Everything fits as recorded!"

    The elves began to speak excitedly with reverence, almost to the point of worshipping and forgetting the dangers behind them.

    In the air some distance away with Aria and Faelyn hovering on the ice-lightning sword, Leon overheard everything with his sharp hearing.

    His expression quickly changed to confusion.

    "What prophecy are the elves talking about?" Leon questioned the most knowledgeable person present before him for answers.

    "What prophecy are you talking about? There is no such t¡ª" Princess Faelyn frowned for a moment before quickly widening her eyes in exmation, "No wait, there is one! There''s a prophecy, but ites from a widely popr and well-circted story within Elvengarde!"

    Her loud voice immediately caused the baby in her arms to cry.

    Shortly after Faelyn soothed the baby, she continued, "The story speaks of a time in which the Cataclysm woulde again and cause great chaos throughout thends. However, the elves shall not fear, for the one who canmute with the Guardian Spirit will rise and lead them to salvation."

    "So, you''re saying the elves are taking the prophecy inside of a story seriously?" Leon felt rather speechless by the coincidences.

    Aria giggled.

    "What''s funny?" Princess Faelyn furrowed her brows in question.

    Aria quickly shook her head and said, "Nothing much. Just that they probably never thought that the savior in their stories turned out to be a human instead of an elf."

    "Ah, you''re right. I would never have anticipated this day." Princess Faelyn said.

    Leon shook his head wryly.

    "Alright, enough of that. We have elves to save and a rat infestation to deal with. Take the baby to safety. I''m going." Leon stated before heading back to deal with the rat tide.

    After watching Leon leave, Aria asked Faelyn, "Can you head back on your own?"

    "Alright¡­ Thank you for letting me ride with you, Miss Aria. Just let me off down there." Princess Faelyn said with embarrassment. She felt ashamed at her inability to fly and for holding Aria back.

    "It''s fine, Princess Faelyn."

    Shortly after letting Princess Faelyn off, Aria quickly shot after Leon on her ice-lightning sword.

    At the same time, Leon quickly arrived at the Supreme Elder''s location and inquired, "What''s the situation?"

    "All the elves have been evacuated towards the center. Just these pesty rats left to deal with." Supreme Elder Haldir replied while dicing the rats into pieces with numerous vines that grew out from the ground.

    "Does the young prince have any good solution?"

    Leon gazed into the distance for a moment before he said, "We can copse all the passageways and end the influx of rats entering before cleaning up the rest of them in this space."

 Chapter 475 - Divine Retribution

    <h4>Chapter 475 - Divine Retribution</h4>

    While the elves were evacuating from the subterranean space, the other elves on the surface watched them returned safely with curious looks.

    "Hey, what''s going on down there?" Asked an elf, shortly after pulling over a female elf from the group of elves arriving.

    "Rats! There are a lot of frenzied Wingrats down there! Like¡­ a lot!" The female elf responded, but none of her previous fears could be seen on her face¡ªonly a rare hint of excitement that cannot be exined.

    The elf was taken aback before he said doubtfully, "That sounds pretty damn serious. Why aren''t you afraid?"

    "Afraid? Of course, I am afraid! But more than that, I am excited!" The female elf said.

    "Huh?"

    The elf furrowed his brows.

    Was this person damaged in the head? How could she be afraid and excited at the same time? Was the situation down below very severe?

    "Are you in heat or something?" The elf thought the female elf was not bad looking and said, "If you want, we can go back to¡ª" The elf suddenly paused, recalling that his home had been destroyed.

    At the same time, someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind before he heard the female calling out, "Hubby!"

    The elf turned around, only to see a more burly and head-taller elf standing before him intimidatingly.

    "I heard you have something to say to my wife?" The burly tall elf said.

    The elf immediately flinched.

    "Err, no¡­" The male elf shriveled his neck cowardly.

    His eyes darted around at the group of elves arriving from below before he asked, "I am just confused why everyone seems so excited. Should you all be sad and afraid?"

    "We should, but we try not to think about it for the time being¡ªespecially since we have found the Savior. We like to hope that everything will turn for the better from here."

    "The Savior?"

    The elf was even more confused.

    Meanwhile, a crowd of elves gathered below the Elder Tree''s roots where King Erendriel has been bounded some distance away.

    "Everyone, everything that has happened to us is because of our king! He caused all this!" An elf angrily used while pointing his finger up at the Elf King.

    "That''s right! If King Erendriel didn''t start a fight with the Supreme Elder and involved the Guardian Spirit, none of this would have happened!" Another one spoke.

    "My home, my family, I lost everything! The king is to me!"

    "My home is gone, and my wife and son are still missing! Who knows if they are even still alive?!"

    "Everyone has lost something here! The king should be held ountable for his crimes! Death to the king!" An extremist said.

    Once the words were spoken, it struck a chord with the angry crowd and caused them to furiously chant, "Death to the king!"

    "Death to the king!"

    "Death to the king!"

    As if chanting was not enough, the angry elves began picking up stones and pebbles from the ground and hurled them up at the Elf King''s face.

    With his body bound by the Elder Tree''s roots, King Erendriel had no other choice but to take the hits directly.

    However, the only thing these stones and pebble hurt was his pride rather than his face. It was more humiliating than it was painful.

    Even so, King Erendriel did nothing except smiled coldly.

    Do them right, and they will only be grateful for a moment. However, do them wrong, and they will hate you for a lifetime.

    King Erendriel gazed at the elves like he was looking at fleas, immediately making several elves lose their courage and cower in retreat.

    Shortly after, Princess Faelyn arrived with the baby in her arms before making her way through the crowd.

    "Everyone, please stop!"

    Although Princess Faelyn urged the angry crowd, there was no strength in her voice. She was in no position to stop them for what her father had done.

    Even so, she felt that her father should not be humiliated.

    "Fifth Princess Faelyn, please don''t stop us. We know you have nothing to do with King Erendriel''s actions, so please don''t make us hate you too!"

    "Yeah! King Erendriel''s might be your father, but he is a heartless king! Please step aside!"

    The elves began speaking.

    At the same time, an ignorant elf could not help but asks, "Why did King Erendriel start a fight with the Supreme Elder?"

    "It was because the Supreme Elder had decided to migrate the tribe to the Human Domain and submit ourselves to one of the human kingdoms there to tide over the dangers of the forting Cataclysm." A well-informed elf spoke.

    When this was mentioned, the elves immediately frowned.

    They could understand the Supreme Elder''s choice, but must they lower themselves to humans? Would they still have any rights once they moved to the Human Domain?

    "I heard the agreement was already made. That is why Prince Leon from the Crawford Empire hase to visit our tribe."

    "Prince Leon? Is that the name of our Savior?" An elf asked with surprise.

    The elf nodded, "That''s right!"

    The crowd''s frown was quickly reced with surprises once the truth came to light. They immediately became more epting of the Supreme Elder''s decision and more dissatisfied with King Erendriel.

    "The king is selfish." One of them said.

    King Erendriel gave them a ridiculing gaze, thinking they were just hypocrites. Selfishness exists in everyone''s heart.

    "Why don''t you maggots spout your rubbish elsewhere? You''re clogging my ears¡ªUwarghhh!"

    Ba-dump!

    King Erendriel suddenly screamed as he was suddenly assaulted by nerve-wracking pain that came from his heart.

    Princess Faelyn quickly turned around in shock and asked, "Father, what is wrong with you?"

    However, King Erendriel did not answer.

    Ba-dump!

    "Arghhhh!" King Erendriel roared horribly again from the second wave of pain from his heart like it was being squeezed by someone.

    His heart-wrenching cries immediately sent chills through the heart of the surrounding elves as they shortly retreated in fear.

    No one knew what was going on, but they were too afraid to stay close.

    The Elf King continued to cry painfully until his voice became hoarse, losing all his strength. His face quickly shriveled, and his eyes lost their color.

    It was not long before the Elf King went utterly motionless and silent with an appearance no different to a withered nt that simply looked remotely elvish.

    "This¡­ This must be divine retribution!" An elf assumed.

 Chapter 476 - Ever Seen A Migrating Tree?

    <h4>Chapter 476 - Ever Seen A Migrating Tree?</h4>

    "The king''s heartlessness have angered the heavens into action! This must definitely be divine punishment from the heavens!" The elf continued to speak self-convincingly.

    However, the rest of the crowd thought differently.

    "You''re speaking nonsense. Divine punishments should be apanied by worldly phenomenons like thunderous clouds and smiting lightning. This should be the Guardian Spirit''s doing." Another elf believed.

    As if the elf''s words had angered the Guardian Spirit, the ground quickly shook from its root''s movement before the broli¡ªer, no. Before the Elf King''s corpse was tossed to the ground.

    "Ahh, forgive me, O great Guardian Spirit!" The elf was quickly frightened into pleading for forgiveness.

    Shortly after, the crowd soonid their eyes upon the Elf King''s corpse before bing greatly shocked.

    At the same time, Faelyn did not know whether to be heartbroken or simrly shocked.

    The Elf King''s form was too startling.

    With an ashen-yellowy greenplexion and top that sprouted numerous green curd-like substance amongst the branches and leaves sticking out of the Elf King''s head, the body greatly resembled brolis.

    In other words, the Elf King''s had transformed into a nt.

    Princess Faelyn and the crowd had never seen such a bizarre and startling transformation.

    They immediately ruled out the possibility of the Guardian Spirit absorbing all of the Elf King''s body nutrients with its tree roots and killing the Elf King in the process.

    Except for the face, the rest of the body was far from looking like a shriveled husk.

    "This should be my father''s bacsh after using his secret ability to greatly boost hisbat prowess to the Seeking Insight level." Princess Faelyn guessed.

    Sorrow filled her heart, but no tears would flow for her to mourn her father''s death.

    It was not long before her father''sst words suddenly rang in her head. The tragedy of her family and her father''s change; she had to get to the bottom of it.

    Princess Faelyn''s eyes became resolute.

    After finding a female elf with a motherly figure to take care of the baby in her arms, she departed for the Elder Tree''s crown to seek out the secrets that lie within the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the elvenmoners were mostly evacuated from the subterranean space below the southern parts of the tribe.

    Thest batch of couple hundred elves had at least made it onto the bridge. They were the slowest batch due to their movement impairments.

    "The tribesmen have all made it onto the bridge. We should also pull back before the rats surround us, Third Elder." The Sixth Elder said while manipting the vines to y the rats.

    The Third Elder observed the surroundings and nodded, "Alright."

    The two Elders shortly made their retreat back towards the bridge and recovered the vines from the erected staircases.

    The other six Elders in the subterranean space also began making their retreat towards the bridge.

    The mes from the fire ring were gradually dying out, allowing the rat tide began pouring inside the warded zone.

    "What did the Supreme Elder say?" The Sixth Elder asked after regrouping with the other six Elders as they defended the foot of the bridge.

    "Defend the bridge until the tribesmen are all safely evacuated. The Guardian Spirit will know when to pull back its roots."

    "Understood."

    The Sixth Elder and Third Elder nodded.

    Together, the 8 Elders formed a defensive formation surrounding the foot of the bridge and defended the point from the iing rats.

    Leon could be seen squatting by the ground at another location while fanning the mes heating his pill cauldron within a cage of vines that prevented the rats from interrupting him.

    The Supreme Elder dropped by and tossed a few rat carcasses inside from the top before the vine cage was sealed again.

    "Say, why do you need the rat''s blood again, young prince? I thought our n was to copse the passageways?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked.

    Leon drained the blood from the rat carcasses and fed it to the pill cauldron while using his Divine Will intricately to keep the rat blood and reactive herbal essence from contacting.

    "It still is. You will see." Leon responded vaguely.

    At the same time, Aria could be seen flying on her ice-lightning sword in the distance.

    Suddenly, she leaped high into the air while manipting her flying ice-lightning sword to shoot into the sea of rats, prating them one after the other.

    Arcs of ice-lightning surged from each contact and bounced to nearby rats, causing a chain reaction that scalded every rat with biting coldness.

    A short momentter, shended back on her ice-lightning sword and flew towards one of the passageways to destroy it.

    However, she was unable to reach it.

    The endless rats poured out from the passageways like water from the floodgates. It was impossible to get through without removing the rats from the equation.

    Aria was forced to go back to just killing the rats.

    "I''m not sure what you are nning to refine, but wouldn''t it be easier to ask the Guardian Spirit to use its roots to help us copse the passageways?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked doubtfully while killing the rats outside the vine cage.

    "No, the surface ground has already be too unstable due to its previous movements. If it draws more roots over, the surface might just copse on us. Besides, we cannot tie the Guardian Spirit down here." Leon exined.

    "Why not?"

    Supreme Elder Haldir expressed his confusion.

    Leon paused his pill refinement for a moment before ncing at the Supreme Elder in question.

    "Aren''t we migrating the entire tribe to the Human Domain? Don''t tell me you were nning to leave your revered Guardian Spirit behind?"

    "Huh? Wait a minute¡­ Oh, my god." Supreme Elder Haldir widened his eyes in shock and asked, "Young prince wants to bring the Guardian Spirit with us? Is that even possible?"

    "Why not? Haven''t you seen how it moves its tree roots? It definitely can. I guess it''ll be the first time to see a migrating tree for you, Marquis Haldir. Better make sure to enjoy the breathtaking sight when the timese."

    "Moving its roots is different to moving its entire body¡­ can the Guardian Spirit really support its own weight?" Supreme Elder Haldir was ckjawed.

    The Elder Tree''s main body was so huge, while its tree roots were so small inparison. Was it really possible?

    The Supreme Elder was in doubt.

    However, Leon did not answer the Supreme Elder''s following question and focused onpleting thest step of his pill refinement.

    The exploding pill works by mixing the Demonic Energy contained within the rat blood with the Spirit Energy in spirit herbs, causing a reaction akin to water and fire.

    With a few supplementary herbs added, the destructiveness of the reaction would be magnified many folds in an instant.

    Of course, the actual mixture within the exploding pills does not take ce until the capsule-like pill is pinched.

    "The first batch is done. Try pinching one of these before throwing it at the rats." Leon shortly tossed over an exploding pill.

    The Supreme Elder Haldir caught the pill before opening his palm and stared at it while asking dazedly, "What if I identally crushed it already?"

    "Huh? Then throw it quickly¡ª!" Leon barked.

    Supreme Elder Haldir reacted instinctively before Leon could even finish warning.

    Boom!

    The slight dy caused the pill to explode into brilliant mes in midair as waves of hot air quickly swept across the Supreme Elder''s face.

    However, the Supreme Elder''s eyes remained wide open in aghast at the sight before cussing, "What the f*ck!"

 Chapter 477 - Alchemists Must Be Gifted Arsonists

    <h4>Chapter 477 - Alchemists Must Be Gifted Arsonists</h4>

    "Oh, my lord, f*cking goodness sakes." Supreme Elder Haldir continued to cuss with shock and incredulity before he said helplessly, "A bit of warning next time, please, young prince."

    "I did tell you to throw it as soon as you pinch it." Leon shrugged in response.

    Shortly after, he chilled the exploding pills to harden the outer coatingyer, preventing idents from happening before storing them in arger pill bottle.

    "Here, take these exploding pills and go nuts." Leon shortly tossed the pill bottle over to Supreme Elder Haldir, giving the person a huge fright.

    "Don''t worry. These ones won''t be as easy to crush as the previous one." Leon chuckled slightly before working on the next batch of pills.

    Supreme Elder Haldir was a little dismayed before he recovered and nodded.

    The half-blue half-red color gave the exploding pills an appearance simr to candies, but one would be in for one hell of a surprise if they were to consume them¡ªa surprise trip to theherworld, that is.

    Boom! Boom!

    Explosions were shortly heard after the Supreme Elder left.

    The brilliant burst of mes sent numerous rats squeaking in retreat while their unlucky brethren burned in agony.

    The rats were like oil; once set ame, they would keep burning, even in death, until their bodies that fuel the mes run dry.

    As a dweller of the forest, Supreme Elder Haldir was naturally not a fan of the mes.

    However, at this moment, he could not help but admire the brilliant mes that burn these wretched vermin in all its beauty.

    "The young prince sure is full of surprises. To think small pills like these can produce suchrge devastation." Supreme Elder Haldir sighed emotionally before ncing at the pill bottle containing roughly three dozen exploding pills.

    Boom! Boom!

    Most exploding pills were tossed out, burning rats in its wake and quickly clearing a path towards the distant passageways for the Supreme Elder.

    Once an area was set ame, the rats could only avoid it¡ªlest they burn along with their unfortunate brethren!

    The mes made their way to one of the passageways, and the rats'' advancement was halted by fire, immediately cutting the influx of rats from the said passageway.

    Supreme Elder Haldir formed a long de made from vine armor and immediately shed the passageway''s entrance into pieces, causing it to copse.

    After forcefully closing off the passageway, he made his over to the next closest passageway while clearing the path with the exploding pills in his hands.

    Meanwhile, Aria continued to y rats with uncanny skills and graceful movements that Leon had never seen Aria disyed before.

    The longer Leon watched her fight, the more he found her movements familiar as if he had seen them before¡ªin his past life.

    Leon''s eyes gradually widened.

    ''No, they''re not just familiar. Those are the exact same set of movements Aria uses!" Leon confirmed.

    Of course, the Aria he was thinking of was not the one before his eyes but the one engraved in his memories!

    ''How can Aria know the same set of movements?'' Leon pondered.

    Although Aria was not performing to the set of intended movements to the same acme of perfection, he could see that she was quickly improving.

    His heart was shaken by what he had discovered.

    Perhaps, the people of Gaia with spitting images of people from the Divine Realm were more than just people who looked the same?

    There seems to be a profound yet deeply hidden and intricately linked rtionship between the two.

    ''I must confront Aria and get to the bottom of this at once after the situation here is dealt with.'' Leon decided with a resolute look.

    Perhaps, it was time to share secrets of his origins with his loved ones.

    Shortly after, he began speeding up his pill refinement process, not intending to stop until hepleted a few hundred exploding pills.

    Over at the foot of the bridge, rats were being diced to pieces left and right by the 8 Elders.

    It was not long before thest batch of evacuating elves made it to the surface before the ground rumbled from therge movements of the tree roots pulling back.

    "The elves have evacuated, and the Guardian Spirit have pulled back its roots. Let us regroup with the Supreme Elder and¡ª"

    Boom! Boom!

    The Elder suddenly paused to look at the sudden explosions rumbling in the distance.

    "What on earth is the Supreme Elder tossing at the rats?"

    "I don''t know, but it''s very effective!"

    The Elders quickly nodded in agreement, "That''s for sure!"

    Their eyes flickered with awe.

    There were a particr pleasure and enjoyment in watching these wretched rats squirm and burn in agony.

    ¡­

    Great Forest Outskirts.

    A group of informants quickly arrived and greeted, "Third Princess Thessalia!"

    "Report!" Princess Thessalia barked after acknowledging the elves'' greetings.

    "Yes! The surrounding elven warriors have exhausted their powers and began to retreat under their assigned captains'' orders. We can no longer control the spread of the forest fire, Your Highness!"

    "Understood."

    Princess Thessalia nodded.

    Shortly after, the group of elves was suddenly startled by the nearby explosions. They quickly realized the source came from the reddish-blue pills the elven warriors were throwing.

    "May I ask what those things are, Your Highness?" One of the elves asked while they all gulped in amazement.

    Mountains of scorched-ck rat carcasses could be seen ahead.

    "Those? Those are exploding pills."

    "Pills can also be used like this?" The group of elves was both shocked and surprised.

    Princess Thessalia nodded and said, "Well, what can I say? Alchemists must be gifted arsonists."

    Shortly after, she refocused her eyes sternly. She called over an elven warrior and asked, "What''s the inventory on our exploding pills?"

    "Report to your highness, we are down to three dozen pills left." The elven warrior answered.

    Princess Thessalia nodded.

    "I see. Go inform all our warriors that we will be retreating."

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    Shortly after, a personal guard beside Princess Thessalia asks, "Are we going to leave the Skysilver Beast King to fend for himself?"

    Princess Thessalia shortly gazed back into the distance, where the Skysilver Beast King could be seen standing atop the ck mountain of rat carcasses without much trouble.

    The surrounding sea of rats was unable toe close due to the fires burning in the area.

    "The Skysilver Beast King will be fine on its own¡­" Princess Thessalia said.

 Chapter 478 - Faelyns Resolution

    <h4>Chapter 478 - Faelyn''s Resolution</h4>

    On the Great Forest''s southern outskirts, millions of rats wereid to rest as their charred-ck carcasses filled up the burning fields like mountains.

    Even so, the rat tide was endless. The deaths of their brethren hardly made a dent in their numbers.

    The rats circled around outside the periphery of the burning fields while the Skysilver Beast King gazed at them coldly.

    "Awooo!"

    The three-tailed silver wolf howled and suddenly swept a pile of fresh burning carcasses into the sea of rats before resuming its never-ending battle with the rat tide.

    Whether the elves departed and withdraw themselves from the battle or not didn''t bother it in the least.

    It would still continue to hunt down the rats.

    Meanwhile, the 8 Elders regrouped with Supreme Elder Haldir back in the subterranean space below the tribe.

    After Leonpleted refining several more batches of exploding pills, the 8 Elders were also given the opportunity to y around with the incendiary capsules.

    Sometimeter, all passageways connected to the subterranean space were eventually sealed by the group.

    Patches of burning rat carcasses wereid waste to the area, lighting up the entire subterranean space and exposing the remaining rats moving in the periphery.

    "Let us clean up these remaining rats and return to the surface." Supreme Elder Haldir state.

    "Yes, Supreme Elder!"

    The 8 Eldersplied.

    Leon joined the cleanup operation with his bone spear, hacking, shing, and sweeping the rats with one hand.

    After killing the rats, he would stab into their carcasses like skewers and throw them over to the nearest burning point to be set ame and reduce to ck ashes.

    Rats were known as the carrier of diseases.

    Leaving their carcasses lying around would only breed unnecessary problems.

    Just as Leon tossed another group of dead rats into the mes, the group in the area suddenly copsed.

    A new passageway leading deeper into the subterranean world was revealed while strands of red mist could be seen escaping the entrance.

    Leon''s eyes quickly flickered.

    He reacted quickly, sealing the passageway with earth maniption before collecting all the escaped red mist into empty pill bottles with his Divine Will.

    As he pondered about whether to explore the passageway and investigate the source of the red mist, Supreme Elder Haldir informed, "Young prince, the rats have all been exterminated."

    "Seems like we are done here." Leon casually said.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

    Shortly after, Aria''s figure was seennding nearby.

    "I''d like to press forward with the migration n, but the situation outside the Great Forest doesn''t look favorably upon us. I wonder if the young prince has a solution to this?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked.

    If the tribe were to take everything valuable with them on the journey towards the Human Domain, the load would slow them down.

    With the rat tide swarming outside, the tribesmen would only be overwhelmed unless something is done.

    Leon pondered for a moment.

    His eyes quickly flickered with an idea when he recalled their trip to the Great Forest.

    "We will lure the rat tide away to create a safe passage for the tribe to leave the Great Forest. However, this n will require ample preparations and brave warriors." Leon said.

    "Oh? What how are you nning to lure the rat tide away, young prince?"

    "We will use¡­ this¡­ and this¡­" Leon began filling the Supreme Elder Haldir on the details of his idea.

    Shortly after, the Supreme Elder furrowed his brows with worry and said, "This n seems feasible. However, the risks are extremely high."

    "With such arge rat tide just outside the Great Forest, there cannot be ns without risks. However, you are right, Marquis Haldir. That''s why we will need backup ns. As for these backup ns, it''ll involve¡­"

    Leon slowly turned towards the nearby mes.

    Supreme Elder Haldir immediately understood the young prince''s meaning before he said, "I will go inform the tribe to make their preparations for the departure at once."

    With the forest on fire, their time was limited to begin with. It was better to make the preparations early, rather thanter.

    "Alright."

    Leon nodded.

    Shortly after Supreme Elder Haldir left with the 8 Elders, Leon turned to Aria and said, "Let us head back to the airship. There''s something I want to talk about."

    Aria was quickly taken aback.

    The words ''something I want to talk about'' immediately made her feel apprehensive and worried, like she was in trouble.

    Typically, this would only happen girls say it to guys.

    Nevertheless, Aria nodded with a serious look, "Alright."

    ¡­

    Elder Tree''s crown, Royal Pce

    "Princess Faelyn, you''re here." General Paeris greeted after Faelyn arrived at the pce courtyard leading to the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    "General Paeris."

    Princess Faelyn returned the Elf General''s greeting with surprise before she said, "Elders, you''re here too."

    The four Elders nodded.

    "What are you all doing here?" asked Princess Faelyn.

    "We noticed something was strange regarding Queen Radelia. However, we were unable to proceed forward to meet her Her Majesty due to the royal guards barring our way." The Elf General exined while gazing at the royal guards.

    Princess Faelyn''s heart shook subtly.

    A feeling of fearpelled her to run and not find out what happened inside the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    However, Princess Faelyn steeled her heart and stepped forward, approaching the entrance guarded by the royal guards.

    "Your Highness, please turn back. Without His Majesty''s permission, no one is allowed to proceed beyond this point." The royal guard immediately said.

    Princess Faelyn''s expression dropped before she barked, "My father just passed away! On who''s authority are you barring my path now?"

    "His Majesty did?"

    The royal guards questioned with doubt, greatly startled by the Fifth Princess''s words. Still, they made way for the Fifth Princess, nheless.

    "If you head down to the tribe''s southern region, you''ll quickly find out it''s true!" Princess Faelyn stated before making her way down the vine staircase.

    At the same time, the Elf General and Elders tried to follow her.

    However, Princess Faelyn spat, "No one shall apany me, nor anyone else is allowed to enter except me!"

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The royal guards quickly blocked the entrance once more, obstructing the Elf General and Elders from following.

    They wrinkled their brows slightly but chose toply with Princess Faelyn''s orders.

    Sometimeter, Princess Faelyn arrived at the bottom of the vine staircase within the Elder Tree''s hollow center, where a huge ashen-old gate stood before her.

    After taking a deep breath, Princess Faelyn pushed on the big white doors with her hands.

 Chapter 479 - Royal Tragedy

    <h4>Chapter 479 - Royal Tragedy</h4>

    The huge white doors slowly crept open without much resistance from Princess Faelyn''s push before another flight of vine stairs were revealed, leading deeper below the surface level.

    Princess Faelyn''s eyes quickly narrowed with creased brows in repulsion from the subtle foul stench that escaped from the Heart of Spring Chamber''s entrance.,

    ''Something is wrong with the Heart of Spring Chamber! How could the ce containing the densest and purest wood elements in the entire Great Forest possess a foul stench? Was the spring contaminated?''

    Princess Faelyn quickly discovered.

    Her heart quickened with unease, and the dreadful feeling inside her intensified. Princess Faelyn was forced to take in another deep breath and calm herself.

    ''Whatever lies beyond here, I must find out what it is!''

    Faelyn gritted her teeth before taking her first step beyond the entrance, proceeding to enter the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    The space beyond the entrance was brightly lit with an overflowing warm green light while numerous small softer glowing green particles of light floated in the air.

    However, the source of the brilliant green light came from the glowing green spring at the bottom of the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    As Princess Faelyn made her way down, droplets of green liquid could be seen dripping down from the chamber''s ceiling and falling into the spring, filling it up.

    The green liquid was the concentration of the Wood Energy that exists within the green light particles mixed with the Elder Tree''s Wood Essence Extract.

    Undoubtedly, the Heart of Spring Chamber was the ideal location, whether it is to push for a breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm or cultivating in general.

    Wood-type Awakeners would experience a significant boost to their cultivation speed by submerging themselves inside the pure wood essence spring.

    Princess Faelyn suddenly halted her steps upon arriving at the bottom of the Heart of Spring Chamber, stunned from the sight before her.

    Shortly after, tears welled up in her eyes before overflowing, dripping down her soft cheeks ceaselessly.

    The Heart of Spring Chamber''s walls and ground have been ravaged by numerous w marks, indicating a big battle had urred here.

    However, the w marks did not belong to any beast nor insect that might have unwittingly stumbled inside the Heart of Spring Chamber through some secret passage.

    Instead, the w marks belonged to unclipped elven nails like they had been grown for years.

    In other words, it was the work of elves¡ªand those elves were none other than her eldest brother and second eldest sister.

    They have died inside the arms of her mother, the Elf Queen, with both their hearts crushed. At the same time, their teeth sunk into her mother''s shoulders.

    Various parts of her mother''s body were also missing, like they had been gnawed off by her eldest brother and second eldest sister.

    Evidently, something had possessed the minds of her eldest brother and second eldest sister to try eating their mother.

    Despite that, her mother passed away with a peaceful expression while she was holding her dear children.

    This broke Faelyn''s heart further like someone was trying trying to wrench out her heart. She copsed to the ground in tears and cried her lungs out.

    "Uwahhhh! Mother! Brother! Sister!"

    Numerous vines wrapped around the three bodies and bound them firmly together. Evidently, this was the Elf Queen''s doing.

    The Elf Queen was a Transcendent while the Crown Prince and Second Princess were only 9-Star Awakeners.

    If they fought all out, the Crown Prince and Second Princess would still not be the Elf Queen''s match even if they joined forces.

    Evidently, the Elf Queen had held back against her children, whichnded the three in their present state.

    However, the one who dealt the final blow, crushing the hearts of the Crown Prince and Second Princess, was not the Elf Queen but someone else.

    Princess Faelyn sobbed on the ground for a long time until tears dried up. She understood that her father was likely forced to kill her eldest brother and second eldest sister.

    The frenzied expression on her eldest brother and second eldest sister could still be seen¡ªit was the same expression as people who have gone berserk under the influence of Demonic Energy.

    She had seen the same expressions of the faces of the berserk humans back at the Great Wall.

    After some time, Faelyn got on her feet and wiped her swollen eyes.

    She wanted to close her eldest brother and second eldest sister''s eyes to give them rest peacefully. However, even such a simple wish could not be achieved.

    The body of the three people had all been transmogrified into nts. Leaves with branches and curds sprouting from their heads while their flesh has wood-like textures.

    ''Father also became like this after he passed away¡­''

    Faelyn wrinkled her brows.

    She had never heard of elves bing like this after they die. Thus, something had changed in recent days that caused this change.

    After offering some prayers to her mother and elder siblings while performing a few kowtows as a sign of filial piety, Faelyn got back to her feet and gazed around the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    Shortly after, she locked her gaze on what she guessed she was looking for.

    Behind the big spring hid a small passageway.

    Without carefully looking, the small passageway would be easily missed due to the fountain of wood essence springwater flowing down like a small waterfall from the higher spring pool.

    The foul stench became noticeably more pungent as she drew closer to the small passageway behind the spring.

    On the other end of the small passageway lies the hidden chamber her father had mentioned to her before passing away in a gruesome manner.

    Inside the hidden chamber, she found it to be a private cultivation chamber. A few books and a desk could be seen on the side.

    The Heart of Spring Chamber was formed naturally.

    However, Faelyn could immediately tell the hidden chamber was constructed by someone, just like the vine staircases.

    Faelyn did not immediately enter the hidden chamber.

    Strands of red mist could be seen floating in the air before here. It was not long before Faelyn located the source of where it came from.

    It was seeping out from gaps in the vine wall on the other end of the hidden chamber, exposing traces of a deeper passageway.

    However, it had been evidently sealed up by the vine wall.

 Chapter 480 - The Elf Kings Body

    <h4>Chapter 480 - The Elf King''s Body</h4>

    "Supreme Elder! What are your ns for the tribe? Please do not keep us in the dark. We heard that we will be moving to the homnd of our Savior!"

    An elf shouted from amongst the crowd after quickly discovering the Supreme Elder flying to the surface from the subterranean space.

    "Yes, Supreme Elder! Please tell us your ns! What will we do from here?"

    "What is happening outside the Great Forest, Supreme Elder? Please tell us!"

    The crowd quickly joined in voicing their doubts and worries.

    At the same time, Princess Thessalia led her personal guards and elven warriors from the Great Forest Outskirts and returned to the southern edge of the tribe.

    Furthermore, tribesmen from the other parts of Elvengarde had gathered towards the southern area to investigate themotion.

    At that moment, at least 200-thousand pair of elven eyes stared at the Supreme Elder hovering in the skies with question looks while the Supreme Elder gazed back at them.

    "The Savior?"

    Supreme Elder Haldir was quickly confused by some of their words.

    After a short moment, he understood their meaning and chuckled, "Hahaha! That''s right, the entire tribe will be moving into the homnd of the Savior!"

    The Supreme Elder''s loud words spread far and wide. All the distant elves in the region heard him audibly.

    At the same time, Leon was stunned after hearing the Supreme Elder''s words on his way up with Aria in his arms.

    "The Savior is here!"

    "Thank you for saving my life, Savior!"

    Upon Leon''s appearance, the elves erupted into booming cheers while the others took the chance to express their gratitude.

    "Theing days of the Cataclysm is upon us! The Great Forest has kept us safe for hundreds of years, but for longer, it shall not! Theing Cataclysm is like nothing like the past! There will be great chaos! There will be great danger! Naturally, there will be death! Only the Savior''s homnd can keep us safe!"

    Leon smiled wryly, thinking the Supreme Elder Haldir was turning him into some mascot for the tribe or something.

    Even so, Leon did not interrupt the Supreme Elder and continued to listen quietly.

    "That is why we must move there! Thends beyond the forest have already be infested by a rat tide, turning it into a ce of death! Once the forest fire dies out, the vermin will swarm our tribe! Time is of the essence! We must be quick to move out!"

    Once the Supreme Elder said this, the unrest within the tribe was to be expected. Many elves panicked and tried to move but failed to do so due to the densely packed crowd, causing great disturbance.

    Many wonder how they could leave if the outside has be and of death due to the swarming rat tide.

    "But fret not! There is a way for us to make it past the rat tide! More importantly, we have the Savior with us! Even so, it would not be easy¡ªnot unless we stay united and work together orderly!"

    "Ou!"

    The crowd roared with raised fists in response, understanding the importance of the Supreme Elder''s message.

    At the same time, Leon''s cheeks twitched profusely from the cringes, causing Aria to giggle quietly in his arms.

    Her mischievous giggles caused Leon to squeeze her supple rear.

    "Ah!"

    Aria eximed with surprise before throwing Leon a dirty look¡ªonly to see him respond back with a smirk. She smacked him lightly on the chest with a pout.

    Unaware of their actions, Supreme Elder Haldir continued to speak to the crowd, "Go now! Pack your valuables! Take only what you can bring! But do it orderly! Do not push your fellow tribes, or there will be severe consequences! We gather in the west of Elvengarde!"

    Shortly after receiving the Supreme Elder''s warning, the crowd began to disperse obediently. Only the ones met with misfortunes in the southern area remained behind with concerns.

    Many of them had lost their homes to the crevices and fractures that appeared. Anything of value that they owned would have already fallen down to the subterranean space.

    "You all do not need to worry. Your living expenses will be covered by me until you are all able to settle down in the Crawford Kingdom." Leon said to the crowd.

    "Thank you, Savior!"

    The remaining crowd quickly cheered.

    Shortly after, Princess Thessalia approached with her people from below and asked, "What orders do you have for my warriors and I, Supreme Elder?"

    Supreme Elder Haldir did not answer but looked towards Leon.

    Leon shortly nodded and said, "Princess Thessalia, please round up all the able warriors in the tribe and gather at the foot of the Elder Tree. In the short time that we have, they must all learn how to fly."

    "I will supervise their training, of course." Supreme Elder Haldir added.

    Although Princess Thessalia was rather disgruntled that Leon was giving her orders, she still nodded, "Understood."

    However, she only gave the orders to her personal guards and did not leave personally.

    She had yet to understand the events that transpired in the area. After a brief inquiry, she quickly understood everything from the Supreme Elder''s words.

    "I see¡­ So, it turned out like that." Princess Thessalia said with a hint of sorrow, anticipating as much.

    Seeing as the Supreme Elder had yet to execute her father, she requested, "Where is my father? I would like to see him onest time."

    "He is right over¡ª" The Supreme Elder''s hand suddenly froze.

    The direction he pointed was empty. Only now did he realized the Elf King was not bound where he should be.

    Did King Erendriel escape?

    However, Leonmunicated with the Guardian Spirit and the broli¡ªAhem, the Elf King''s body was brought over via the Elder Tree''s roots.

    Everyone was quickly appalled.

    "What happened?" Princess Thessalia inquired, hiding the grief and anger in her heart. She did not believe that the Supreme Elder would just lie to her.

    Supreme Elder Haldir frowned and said, "Did the Guardian Spirit do this?"

    The Guardian Spirit immediately rumbled in discontent,

    After Leonmunicated with the Guardian Spirit with his divine sense, he nodded understandingly and stated, "The Guardian Spirit has nothing to do with the Elf King''s condition."

    "Then¡­ it must be the bacsh from that secret ability to transform Wood Energy into physical strength." Supreme Elder Haldir shortly guessed.

    "It seems the ability to forcefully push one''sbat prowess to the next stage of cultivation is not without its side effects. However, this sort of price is too great¡­" Leonmented with a frown.

    He sent out his divine sense to study the Elf King''s transmogrified body before he was quickly startled by his discovery.

    ''There''s actually so much Demonic Energy inside the Elf King''s body? How did this person not be berserk?'' Leon''s eyes flickered.

    No other expression was shown on the surface as he pondered deeply.

    At the same time, Princess Thessalia was confused. She never heard of her father having such a secret ability.

    "Secret ability? My father did?" She asked.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

    Princess Thessalia furrowed her brows deeply in response before she suddenly thought of someone and began looking around.

    After failing to locate the person, Princess Thessalia quickly asked, "Where is my little sister?"

 Chapter 481 - Arias Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 481 - Aria''s Misunderstanding</h4>

    "Where is my little sister?" Princess Thessalia asked.

    Leon nced at Aria.

    Although he knew Aria had been hunting down rats with him in the subterranean space, she was, after all, thest person he saw with Princess Faelyn.

    Perhaps, she had some idea where the princess might have gone.

    Aria frowned for a moment before she shook her head, "Ist saw Princess Faelyn leaving for the surface with the evacuating elves. I don''t know where she is now, but maybe one of the elves would know?"

    Shortly after, Princess Thessalia lowered her head to gaze at the crowd around her.

    "Does anyone know where the Fifth Princess is?" She asked.

    The crowd quickly broke into a heated discussion amongst themselves about the Fifth Princess''s whereabouts.

    Sometimeter, the crowd cleared a path for a female elf carrying a baby.

    The person made her way over to Princess Thessalia before she answered, "The Fifth Princess left me this baby to look after before heading to the crown, Your Highness."

    "I understand. Thank you for the information." Princess Thessalia nodded before saying, "I will go look for her now."

    Shortly after Princess Thessalia departed, The female elf cradled the baby gently in her arms and prepared to disappear back into the crowd.

    However, Leon suddenly called out, "Hold on."

    "Can I do something for you, Savior?" The female elf asked eagerly with anticipation.

    Leonnded on the ground near the female elf before Aria parted away from him considerately, giving him room to talk with the person carrying the baby.

    At the same time, Leon bit speechless at the adoration and reverence he received from the female elf and surrounding elves'' gazes.

    How was this a simple prophecy from a famous story? It was crazy enough to be a goddamn religion!

    Leon shook his head wryly.

    "Have you checked if this baby still has any family left?" He inquired.

    The female elf was surprised by Leon''s question, but she quickly recovered.

    "I have, Savior! However, it''s rather tricky to determine the baby''s family from just the baby''s appearance alone. After all, a few families with infants had gone missing when the ground copsed. Several people have stepped forward, iming to be the baby''s parent."

    "I see¡­"

    Leon rubbed his forehead.

    He did not expect the elves to have trouble over this matter. It was good that he had brought the body of the baby''s mother with him.

    Leon flicked his wrist before the mother''s body appeared from his storage space.

    "This is the baby''s mother. See if you can find the baby''s father."

    "So it''s Viessa and Haemir''s child." The female elf muttered with surprise, recognizing the person the Saviorid gently onto the ground.

    "Yes, Savior! I will definitely¡ª"

    However, the female elf did not finish her words before a young male elf cried out from the crowd, "Viessa!"

    "Everyone, please make way! That''s my wife and child!"

    Shortly after, Haemir made his way through the crowd and dropped to his knees on the ground, hugging the Viessa''s cold body while breaking out into tears.

    "Viessa!"

    The male elf cried.

    "Your child, Haemir." The female elf offered the baby to the male elf.

    Haemir took hold of his child from the female elf''s hands before he expressed his gratitude while sobbing, "Thank you, Daethie! Thank you, Savior! Thank you for bringing my wife and child back to me!"

    "Know that your wife died protecting your child to the best of her ability. Even in death, she did not let her childe in harm''s way."

    Haemir held his child and wife more dearly to his chest with both hands and sobbed loudly.

    As the crowd saw this scene, they silently mourned for Haemir''s loss. At the same time, they came to have greater respect for the Savior¡ªalmost to the point of idolizing and worship.

    Shortly after, Leon gestured to Aria before they took off to the skies together.

    "Continue with the n, Marquis Haldir." Leon said.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

    The crowd watched their Savior fly towards the airship in the sky with heartfelt emotion. It was not bad to follow this person.

    ¡­

    "Your Highness, You''re back!" The captain and crew greeted after Leonnded on the airship with Aria in his arms.

    Leon nodded.

    After taking out the modified pendant device and activating its anti-suppression function on the airship, he ordered, "Take us southward out of the forest, captain."

    "Are we leaving by ourselves, Your Highness?" The captain quickly asked with surprise and doubt.

    The Great Forest was burning, and the rat tide flooded the ins outside. Were they really leaving all these elves behind?

    Leon shook his head.

    "No, we are going rat fishing."

    "Rat fishing?"

    The crew was quickly taken aback, obviously never hearing such a term before. Of course, they would have never heard of the term before¡ªLeon had made it up on the spot.

    Leon nodded.

    "I-I understand, Your Highness!" The captain said before barking out orders to the crew to quickly get to work.

    They will find out eventually.

    Initially, Leon brought the two rat carcasses on deck to study, but that was alreadypleted when they visited the forest outskirts.

    Nevertheless, the two rat carcasses were still useful for making more exploding pills.

    Even so, two carcasses worth of exploding pills would be enough to support the elven tribe''s journey to the Great Wall, should things go south.

    If he had thought a few steps ahead and saved a few more carcasses instead of burning them all in subterranean space, then they would not have to make this trip.

    However¡­

    ''This is fine. We can go scout the situation outside the forest ahead of time.'' Leon silently mused.

    Everything is working out fine.

    Shortly after, the airship propellers began rotating, turning the ship around to face southward before heading off.

    Aria tugged on Leon''s arm and whispered nervously, "What did you want to talk about?"

    "Let''s talk privately in the cabin," Leon stated, thinking such an important discussion should not be overheard by others.

    However, Aria misunderstood his intention and blushed with her head lowered, "Okay¡­"

 Chapter 482 - Quickie

    <h4>Chapter 482 - Quickie</h4>

    Inside the airship cabin

    Shortly after Leon locked the cabin doors, Aria quickly ''understood'' his action and began undressing Leon, starting with his lion-headed cloak.

    Leon turned around in surprise and asked, "What are you doing, Aria??"

    "Eh?"

    Aria was startled and asked confusedly with a slightly bashful expression, "Did you want to do¡­ that?"

    "Huh? Did I say that?" Leon responded, taken aback.

    "You said you wanted to¡­ uh¡­"

    Aria''s face quickly flushed with embarrassment and shame as she lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.

    At the same time, Leon quickly realized that he should not make his women feel like this. It takes courage for them to be open about these matters with him.

    He should not make them feel ashamed.

    "Uh, yeah¡­ I wanted to talk with you¡­ Ahem, in bed." Leon coughed and quickly said before wrapping his arms around the surprised Aria, pulling her into his embrace.

    After breathing in the fragrant scent from her hair, tainted with the pungent smell of rat blood, Leon swept Aria off her feet and carried her in his arms.

    "It''s been a while since we werest intimate. Let''s take a bath together." Leon said, bringing her over to an empty space beside the cabin bed.

    "Mmm."

    Aria nodded docilely in his arms.

    Her shame and embarrassment transformed into shyness and bashfulness.

    A wooden bathtub was summoned from his Worldspace before it was filled with ice and melted into warm water.

    Once the temperature was set and herbal essence with cleansing properties was added, the clothes shortly slid off their bodies before they entered the bath together.

    Aria regained her confidence and initiated a passionate kiss; their soft lips touched, and their tongue intertwined.

    After Leon sat her on hisp in the water, his hands roamed her body yfully before settling on her supple white rabbits.

    He drew circles before lowering his head to give light nibbles on the tips, sending a wave of pleasure rushing through Aria''s body as she moaned while biting her lips, "Mmm~!"

    Without needing to scrub each other''s body, the herbal essence with cleansing properties mixed in the bathwater worked their magic and removed the filth from their body for them.

    After ying around for some time, enjoying his light snacks in the water, Leon moved onto the main dish.

    Aria wrapped her arms around his neck and shivered with delight as they connected. The pure euphoria made her gasp and moan with unrestraint.

    She was unable to suppress them.

    "Ahhh~!"

    It was hardly the time for such passionate acts of lovemaking.

    Still, Leon deemed it will be alright if they do not lose themselves to carnal pleasure and overindulgence, just make it quick with a single round or two.

    A quickie, in other words.

    Sometimeter, Leon carried Aria out of the bathtub after climaxing twice before storing the bathtub away in his Worldspace.

    "Are you nning to keep that bathwater?" Aria asked curiously while drying her hair. A crimson glow could still be seen on her face, making her looked refreshed like the blooming flowers.

    "Huh?"

    Leon was taken aback for a moment before shaking his head and said, "No, I will dispose of itter. I do not have any strange fetish in our dirty water."

    He gave Aria a quick smack on her supple rear, causing her hips to jiggle while she eximed with a light giggle, "Ahn~! Hehe!"

    Seeing Aria brimming with energy, Leon smiled wryly.

    Women and men were not created to be equals.

    When Leon thought about it, women bloomed brightly like flowers the more they climax. On the other hand, men be shriveled like wilted flowers.

    They adorned fresh sets of clothing taken from their Interspatial Storages after they finished drying before Leon pulled Aria with surprise, falling onto the cabin bed together.

    Side by side, Aria gazed into Leon''s eyes with a sweet smile before she made a sneak attack on his right cheeks with a light peck.

    She became abashed shortly after.

    Leon could not help but pulled her into his embrace and cuddled her in bed, simply enjoying each other''s warmth without any other intentions.

    Aria rubbed her cheeks against his chest before positioning herselffortably.

    Sometimeter, Leon suddenly said, "Let''s talk."

    Aria was startled for a moment, but she quickly recovered and solemnly nodded, "Alright."

    She was unsure what Leon wanted to talk about, but she could at least confirm there was no problem in their rtionship with their intimate lovemaking session earlier.

    This gave her the confidence and courage to face whatever serious topic that Leon wanted to talk about with her.

    Leon pondered for a moment, trying to figure out the right words to tackle the topic. However, he felt it was better to just be straightforward.

    "Do you believe in past lives?" Leon asked.

    Aria quickly wrinkled her brows.

    She recalled her experience and encounter with Aria White in the mirror world during her breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm.

    Although they shared the exact spitting image of each other in their youth, they seemed to be two fundamentally different people.

    It was hard to say that she was the reincarnation of Aria White of the Divine Realm. After all, how could the two of them exist simultaneously if they were one person?

    Even so, there was undeniable proof of the intricate link between them¡ªlike the memories she absorbed from Aria White.

    If she had to exin this connection, it was like the connection that is shared between the clones and the host.

    In conclusion, she was not Aria White''s reincarnation.

    However, perhaps it was different for Leon?

    Aria''s heart suddenly shook when she recalled Aria White''s parting words. Aria White seemed so sure that Leon was one and the same person as the Leon Esdus of the Divine Realm, rather than a clone who inherited Leon Esdus''s memories.

    "I do. I firmly believe it." Aria said.

    It was Leon''s turn for his heart to be agitated as he asks, "Then you are¡­"

    "No, I am not Aria White''s reincarnation."

    Aria''s firm denial made Leon''s face lose its color in an instance.

    He missed the person dearly, but it was impossible to return to the Divine Realm to see the person again with his current strength, nor did he know the way.

    Suddenly, his eyes snapped back at Aria and asked, "But how do you know that name?"

 Chapter 483 - The Host And Clone?

    <h4>Chapter 483 - The Host And Clone?</h4>

    How does Aria know about Aria White if she was not the person''s reincarnation? Where else could she have learned this name?

    Leon was confused.

    "I am not Aria White''s reincarnation, but I have inherited her memories¡­" Aria exined.

    "Inherited her memories¡­? But that is¡ª"

    "It''s not the same as reincarnation." Aria quickly shook her head and said, "During my breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm, my consciousness was brought into this strange world. It was there that I met Aria White."

    Aria felt some sorrow when she recalled her experience with Aria White before she continued exining, "The world seems to be a construct of Aria White''s memories. I was about to learn about the events of the Divine Realm there¡­"

    She felt uneasy recounting the next bit of information, but she quickly steeled her resolve. Leon would not want her to hide anything from him.

    "I also found out that Aria White took her life after returning to the Divine Pill Kingdom and learning of your death¡­ However, her soul was preserved in that strange memory world for many years¡­"

    "But in order to let me leave, she willingly allowed herself to be absorbed into me when our bodies made contact¡­ Now only her memories exist inside me¡­"

    Hearing news of Aria White''s death, Leon felt pained in his heart. Tears quickly filled his eyes but refused to overflow.

    Even so, his face paled, and his body felt lethargic.

    "Why must you be so stupid? Why did you take your own life¡­?" Leon spoke to himself with sorrow, seemingly lost in his own world.

    ''So Aria White was no longer in the world as well¡­''

    Seeing Leon like this, Aria also felt like someone was gripping onto her own heart. She had never seen him so weak and lost before.

    At the same time, she began to wonder if Leon only loves her because she resembled the Aria White that he loved.

    The confidence she had suddenly disappeared and only insecurity remained behind, gripping her heart. Was Leon''s feelings for her fake all along?

    She shivered at the thought and buried her face deeply into Leon''s chest with her arms wrapped around him, feeling she would lose him if she did not hold onto him tightly.

    Leon was pulled out of his mncholy.

    He quickly realized the emotions and insecurities that might be guing Aria''s heart and mind.

    After a long mental sigh, he closed his eyes sorrowfully before embracing Aria more tightly in his arms.

    Aria White was gone, but Aria Rivera was still here, in his arms, where she was close and not going anywhere.

    It seemed like everything tying him back to the Divine Realm was gone. There was no one left in the Divine Realm that was close to him.

    The only ones left behind were his enemies¡ªenemies that must be killed at all cost! If they did not lust after his father''s treasure, the tragedy could have been avoided!

    Everything stemmed from their greed!

    His path was clear.

    After the flicker of killing intent disappeared from Leon''s eyes, he nced down at Aria and rubbed her head.

    He moved her bangs and nted a warm kiss on her forehead before aligning his eyes to meet with her.

    "I had my doubts, but I never once tried to push my feelings for Aria White onto you. I know that would have been unfair for you. Just know that whether it is you or Aria White, I love you both. My feelings for you have been and will always be real, okay?" Leon said.

    Although he felt hypocritical saying this considering his love was divided, it is what it is.

    Aria held his hand on her cheeks and nodded with happy tears flowing down her cheeks, "Mm!"

    They were not the best nor the most romantic words to hear, but they were the words she wanted to her most.

    The insecurity in her was dispelled in an instance.

    They resumed enjoying each other''s warm embrace for some time before he said, "Tell me more about your encounter with Aria White in that memory world. Why are you so sure you weren''t Aria White''s reincarnation? I want to hear your thoughts on this matter."

    Aria yfully drew circles on Leon''s chest before her expression suddenly became serious after hearing his question.

    "Reincarnation is the process of the soul ferrying into a new body to be reborn anew. In this regard, I can''t be Aria White''s reincarnation if we are two people existing in the same timeline. Instead, it feels like our connection was that between the host and clone. Except, who is the host and who is the clone is undetermined."

    "Hmm¡­"

    Leon hummed a low tune in deep thought. Aria''s point of view really made him think about why the world might be like this?

    "If we follow this line of thought, then there is a possibility of everyone having a copy in this vast expanse of a world." Leon inserted his opinion, building on Aria''s idea.

    He had thought of this possibility before but no way to confirm with just himself.

    Now that there was also Aria, who also possessed knowledge of the Divine Realm, maybe they will be able to figure out some things.

    "Speaking of this¡­" Aria suddenly recalled her fight with one of the foreign Transcendent and said, "I met the copy of Judas Gahfrit in this world¡­"

    Leon''s eyes immediately snapped wide open after hearing her words and gazed at her solemnly in question with both his hands gripped on her shoulders, "Where and when did you meet him?"

    "Ahh¡­" Aria''s softly eximed in pain.

    Aria''s expression crumpled from the strength of Leon''s grip, causing him to be startled and release his grip in apology, "Sorry."

    "Ptui!"

    Aria pouted before sticking her tongue out at him. Shortly after, she said, "He was the younger Transcendent that assaulted father back in the kingdom. I killed him on the way."

    "So it was that person¡­ It''s good that he is dead." Leon nodded with a light smile before reaching out to caress Aria''s head.

    "This is all thanks to you."

    "Hehe!"

    Aria enjoyed Leon''s doting.

    But then she suddenly frowned and asked, "However, I realized toote and didn''t destroy his parting soul in time. Would this cause us trouble in the future?"

 Chapter 484 - We Are One

    <h4>Chapter 484 - We Are One</h4>

    Looking at Aria''s cute little frown, Leon moved his hands over and eased it with his thumb massage yfully.

    Despite his actions and expressions, he had not gotten over the news of Aria White''s death. In fact, he probably will not be able to.

    Even so, he could only bury the sorrow deep inside him. There were so many things that must be done, and no time to wallow in his sadness.

    After pondering Aria''s question, Leon said, "If Judas'' soul crossover to the Divine Realm and merge with Judas Gahfrit''s soul, allowing him to learn about this world, it could indeed be a source of future trouble¡­"

    "However, the Divine Realm has no knowledge of this world despite people dying every day¡­ this includes powerful figures. So, the chances of that happening is unlikely¡­ Even in the unlikelihood that it does happen, there is not much we can do about it for now."

    Aria nodded.

    Suddenly, she thought of something.

    If the Leon was the same Leon Esdus of the Divine Realm, what about the original Leon Bradford she remembered in their middle school years?

    Furthermore, which of the two was she in love with? She became confused with her own feelings and could not help but frown.

    His situation seems to be different from hers and Aria White.

    "H-hubby¡­"

    "Hm? What is it?"

    Leon studied Aria''s change in expression.

    "Which Leon are you? Are you Leon Esdus of the Divine Pill Kingdom, or are you Leon Crawford of the Crawford Empire¡­?" Aria asked with doubt, not sure what kind of answer she was hoping for.

    "Would your feelings change if I was one or the other?" Leon smiled.

    Aria furrowed her brows deeply.

    She liked the boy from middle school, Leon Crawford, but the one she had been with was possibly Leon Esdus, the reincarnated. But if it is also true, then what happened to the original Leon Crawford?

    Did he die?

    Aria felt lost when she thought of that.

    Seeing her like this, Leon smiled and no longer kept her in the dark as he says, "Whether it is Leon Crawford or Leon Esdus, they are both me¡ªor I am both of them. We are one."

    "Huh?"

    Aria widened her eyes in surprise.

    The confusion in her heart became stronger, rather than less.

    How can two people be one person? If Leon Esdus reincarnated into Leon Crawford''s body and inherited the person''s memories, this does not make him Leon Crawford.

    "How can you be both Leons at the same time if you are two different people?" Aria asked.

    "My situation is a little specialpared to yours and Aria White, Aria." Leon smiled and exined, "I could say that we were originally two different people. However, our souls have merged to be one. Neither of us has died and be inherited memories of the other¡­"

    "¡­So, this is why I am both Leon Esdus and Leon Crawford. They are both me, and I am both them. We are one. There is nothing wrong with this saying."

    Leon smiled.

    While he was exining to Aria, he also answered some of his own doubts regarding himself.

    Right, the original soul of Leon Crawford never died. He was on the brink of death but lived due to the arrival of Leon Esdus'' soul and the Divine Book of Life.

    He was confused for a long time regarding this matter, but the veiled fog was finally cleared.

    One cannot see the whole picture if they are inside of it.

    However, it is a different story if they are outside of the picture or have someone else outside to look at the picture for them.

    "I see¡­ you are both of them¡­" Aria said.

    She felt Leon''s exnation was the most ideal answer to her dilemma. She could not choose between one and the other, but everything fits perfectly if they were one and the same.

    As the two cuddled in bed together, they took turns inquiring and listening to each other''s experiences during the time they were not together.

    Sometimeter, Leon separated from Aria and said, "I''m d we had this talk."

    "I''m d too," Aria said.

    Not only did they feel like their bonds have be stronger after learning more about each other, but they also found amon goal to strive for.

    The mystery of the world and the truth behind it¡ªtheir strong curiositypel them to understand its secrets.

    Why was the world built the way it is?

    "Let''s head out. There''s much work to be done." Leon stated objectively with a smile.

    Aria smiled back sweetly, "Alright."

    Shortly after, the two returned to the deck.

    "Your Highness, we will be exiting the Great Forest shortly." The captain informed before giving out his warning, "Everyone, brace yourselves."

    "Aye, aye, captain."

    The crew answered.

    Right up ahead, the thick clouds of smothering ck smoke produced by the burning forest could be seen filling up the airspace before them.

    As the airship flew straight for the billowing clouds of ck smoke, Leon casually waved his hand and parted the ck clouds with his Divine Will, creating a clear path ahead.

    Swoosh~!

    The crew gazed at the walls of ck smoke on either side of the airship as they flew past. The captain and crew sighed emotionally.

    They were impressed by the prince''s ability.

    After passing the ck smoke cloud, the airship shortly exited the Great Forest, and the situation outside wasid bare to their sights.

    The endless rat tide filled the vast ins, painting the greenery in grey.

    Leon gazed down at the ck batch on the surface below where the rats had been burned to death by numerous rounds of exploding pills.

    The Skysilver Beast King could still be seen battling the rats intensely within the burned area after the mes died out.

    As if sensing Leon''s gaze, the Skysilver Beast King nced up at him before it howled excitedly.

    Its momentary distraction allowed dozens of rats to leap onto its body and bite into its flesh, causing it to growl angrily with a body roll before sweeping them away with tails.

    Leon was taken aback back on the airship, but he did not think too deeply into the Skysilver Beast King''s excitement.

    "Time to go rat fishing."

 Chapter 485 - Ice Lotus Sword Formation

    <h4>Chapter 485 - Ice Lotus Sword Formation</h4>

    "Lower our altitude, captain."

    "Y-yes, Your Highness?"

    The captain responded confusedly before asking, "how low do you want the airship to fly, Your Highness?"

    "Not that low, don''t worry. Just low enough to attract the rats, but still out of their reach." Leon stated.

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The captainplied.

    Although the captain did not know what the royal prince was nning, he just needed to follow the prince''s orders.

    It was not like the prince will get them killed¡­ probably.

    "That giant silver wolf wouldn''t attack us, would it?" A crewmate gulped while looking at the massive body of the Skysilver Beast King below.

    Another crewmate followed the person''s gaze and quickly shivered, "I hope not. It looks very powerful!"

    "Of course, it is powerful! That''s a Transcendent-level beast, the Skysilver Beast King!" Another crewmate informed.

    The two crewmates quickly jumped in fright.

    Shortly after, the airship propeller''s booming noise quickly attracted the rat tide''s attention as they gazed up at the airship, slowly descending towards them.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    A small portion of the rat tide was quickly drawn over as they began leaping towards the descending airship while the majority continued to rush after the Skysilver Beast King.

    Evidently, the Skysilver Beast King''s massive fleshly body was more attractive to the hunger-crazed berserk rats than the body of steel flying overhead with few people onboard.

    Waves after waves leaped at the airship but failed toe close to the airship as it continued to descend.

    After reaching a certain distance from the ground, the captain quickly ordered the crew to stop the descent and hold their altitude.

    "How is the altitude, Your Highness?" The captain asked before nervously adding, "Do we need to go lower?"

    "No need."

    Leon shook his head and said, "It''s perfect."

    The airship hovered just out of the numerous leaping rats'' reach and looked like the airship was sailing atop the sea of rats.

    Squeak! Squeak!"

    The endless squeaking made the crew covered their ears as if it was the thunderous weather of the raging sea shouting at them.

    Leon leaped onto the airship''s side railing, and the Tier 4 Bone Bear quickly shed into his firm grip before he shot the bone spear at the sea of leaping rats.

    Swish¡ª!

    The bone spear pierced several rats before he recalled the bone spear with his Divine Will like he was harpooning flying fishes in the sea.

    As the bone spear flew back with the caught rats, the ck spear flickered into his other hand before he also sent it flying out.

    "So, this is rat fishing¡­" The captain muttered.

    He did not know whether to be speechless or amazed by the prince''s creativity. Seeing what the royal prince was doing, rat fishing seemed to be quite the apt term for it.

    Leon stopped at four rounds of rat fishing and piled the dozen rat carcasses in the corner with the other two carcasses on the deck after killing them.

    The pill cauldron and spirit herbs were shortly pulled out from his Worldspace before Leon proceeded to begin his pill refinement of exploding pills.

    "I will fetch the rats for you," Aria stated.

    "Thank you, Aria."

    Leon nodded.

    However, Aria suddenly paused her step. She shook her head before asking, "Is there any need for that between us?"

    "I suppose not," Leon responded with a smile after a moment.

    Aria smiled back.

    Shortly after, she conjured her ice-lightning sword and took off from the deck on her sword, flying over the sea of mindless leaping rats.

    She did not want to stand around idly while Leon is doing all the work. Rather than watching and doing nothing, it was better to kill the rats and toss some over from time to time when Leon needs more carcasses for their blood.

    The Tier 3 Steel Sword refined by Leon shortly shed into Aria''s hand before she raised the steel sword towards the heavens and conjured additional ice-lightning swords into her surroundings.

    One by one, the ice-lightning swords began to appear.

    It was not long before 36 ice-lightning swords appeared around Aria. Unlike the Tier 3 Steel Sword that cannot be controlled via her thoughts, the set of 36 ice-lightning swords could.

    After all, they were made from her ice-lightning powers.

    Shortly after, the set of 36 ice-lightning swords separated intoyers, forming three rings of swords that began revolving quickly around Aria.

    While the crew observed Aria''s action from the airship curiously, they noticed the revolving sword rings took on a shape simr to the lotus.

    At the same time, Leon paused his work of draining the rat blood from the carcasses to nced over at this sight.

    His eyes quickly flickered with surprise.

    "This is¡­ the Ice Lotus Sword Formation from the Ice Phoenix Divine Sect?" Leon muttered.

    The Ice Lotus Sword Formation of the Ice Phoenix Divine Sect was a technique that required 36 ordinary disciples working in tandem with their flying swords to pull off.

    A hint of sorrow flickered across Leon''s eyes at the reminder of Aria White, but it quickly disappeared as it came.

    Divine Kings like Aria White could definitely pull off this difficult technique by themselves with their strong souls, but can Aria Rivera do the same?

    Although Awakeners had lower requirements to pull off this technique due to their affinity with the World Laws, Leon could not understand why Aria was attempting this difficult technique.

    Condensing ice-lightning power into 36 solid ice-lightning swords would have drained a lot of her energy.

    ''She''s trying to improve by pushing herself.'' Leon figured after pondering for some time.

    Shortly after understanding her intention, Leon stopped paying attention to Aria and resumed his dyed work of refining exploding pills.

    Aria took some time to adapt to controlling the 36 ice-lightning swords before she made them descend towards the numerous rats below.

    Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

    The rats leaped into the three descending sword rings and killed themselves, diced into numerous pieces like a meat grinder as the Ice Lotus Sword Formation continued to make its descent.

    Thousands of Wingrats were annihted in an instance!

 Chapter 486 - Skysilvers Behavior

    <h4>Chapter 486 - Skysilver''s Behavior</h4>

    After the crew overcame their initial fear of the rat tide, they watched Aria Rivera ughter numerous rats with ease like she was cutting down weeds.

    The lives of rats were too cheap.

    "Haiz, you don''t get to see Transcendents fight often." A crewmate sighed with amazement at the breathtaking sight.

    The crewmate beside him nodded, "Right, better keep our eyes peeled and enjoy the sight while we can."

    "Of course!"

    As Aria controlled the Ice Lotus Sword Formation to ughter thousands of rats, she would descend and stab a few rats with her Tier 3 Steel Sword and send them Leon''s way from time to time.

    After draining the blood from the rat carcasses, Leon tossed them off the airship and resumed his pill refinement.

    Within minutes, a batch of few dozen exploding pills waspleted before Leon cooled them down and stored them into empty pill bottles.

    As the idle crew watched Aria kill rats from the airship''s side railing, they suddenly noticed the prince making his way over.

    "Is there something you need, Your Highness?" One of them asked respectfully.

    "Not really." Leon shook his head and said, "But you all look bored, so I will give you some work. Here, take this and go y with them."

    The bottle of exploding pills was shortly passed over to them.

    As the crew had yet to witness the magic of the exploding pills, they gazed at the pill bottle curiously before asking, "What do you want just to do with this, Your Highness? Do we eat them?"

    "If you eat them, you will die and blow up the entire airship along with you," Leon said with a teasing smile while picturing the powerful st caused by the chain reaction of all the exploding pills going off.

    "What?"

    The crew was immediately shocked and stepped away from the person holding onto the exploding pill bottle like he was holding a hot potato.

    At the same time, the person''s hands could be seen shaking nervously before he asked with dry lips, "Y-You''re joking, right? Your Highness?"

    "Nope! These are called exploding pills. You pinch them until you feel the crack before quickly throwing them away." Leon exined after recalling the incident with Supreme Elder Haldir.

    He took out an exploding pill and demonstrated it for the crew to see by doing exactly as he had exined before tossing it into the rat tide below.

    Boom!

    The loud explosion quickly startled the crew, causing them to jump in fright at the sight of the quick burst of mes swallowing hundreds of rats in an instance.

    "Holy sh*t!"

    "F*ck!"

    The crew quickly eximed with curses.

    Leon nodded approvingly, expecting such reactions from the crew. After refining several batches of exploding pills, he hade up with a new form and improved the exploding pills'' destructiveness by 30%.

    Shortly after Leon went back to pill refining, a crewmate patted his chest and said, "Good lord, that gave me a scare!"

    "Why do these pills remind me of a particr elderly person back in the capital?" said another one while his lips twitched.

    Nevertheless, the crew shortly began fighting over the exploding pills as they were eager to test its destructiveness with their own hands.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Explosions went off from time to time as Leon refined more batches of exploding pills while Aria continued to supply him with the rat carcasses during the period.

    Sometimeter, Leon nced at the dozens of bottles containing several hundreds of exploding pills in his Worldspace and wondered if he might have overdone it a little.

    If an ident caused them all to explode at once, it would be a grand spectacle to behold. There was so much firepower it could probably obliterate the capital in an instance.

    Leon''s lips twitched at the thought.

    Nevertheless, he quickly shook his head and called out, "Aria, we''re leaving!"

    "We are done here?" Aria asked shortly after returning to the airship. Beads of sweat could be seen on her forehead from the extensive battle with rats.

    It was unknown how many rats she had ughtered during this period, but several hundreds of thousands was definitely a safe estimate.

    "Un."

    Leon nodded.

    A clean cloth appeared in his hand as he wiped the sweat off her face while saying with a smile, "You worked hard."

    "Hehe!"

    Aria enjoyed Leon''s tender care.

    "Your bottle, Your Highness." A crewmate shortly returned the pill bottle back to Leon.

    Leon nced at the empty bottle before gazing over the burning fields below and casually said, "Well, you all certainly had your fun ying with the exploding pills."

    "That''s for sure!" A crewmate responded excitedly.

    After getting elbow-nudged in the hip by one of the other crewmates besides him, the person stepped back apologetically, "Excuse my manners, Your Highness. I was too excited."

    Leon waved his hand nonchntly, expressing that he did not care about such manners of formality and did not mind.

    He turned to the captain and said, "Take us back to Elvengarde, captain."

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The captain nodded.

    Shortly after the captain barked out his orders, the airship began rising in altitude and rotated towards the Elder Tree''s direction.

    The nearby Skysilver Beast King shortly noticed their intention to leave and suddenly gave a mighty howl, "Awooo!"

    Not surprisingly, the crew was given a scare.

    "Oh no, is the Transcendent-level wolf going to attack us?!" One of the crew asked nervously.

    Leon frowned before gazing back at the Skysilver Beast King in the distance. Noticing the new wounds all over its body, he said to the captain, "Give me a moment."

    Shortly after, he flew over to the Skysilver Beast King within the field of charred-ck rat carcasses, devoid of any live rats due to the surrounding mes that had yet to be snuffed out.

    The Skysilver Beast King simply sat on its back legs and watched Leon approach without any intention to attack. It remembered this human.

    After Leonnded nearby, he cleaned its wounds and made it swallow severalrge dosages of tier 3 healing pills due to its big build.

    The Skysilver Beast King wagged its three tails happily as its wounds quickly healed before catching Leon off-guard with a sudden lick, slobbering his entire body in its rat blood-mixed saliva.

    "F*ck!" Leon cursed.

    His angry cursing immediately made the Skysilver Beast King whimpered with its head down like it had done something wrong.

    As Leon wiped away the blood-mixed saliva from his face, he noticed its behavior and could not help but think the Skysilver Beast King was behaving like a pet dog.

 Chapter 487 - Tamed Beast, Silver

    <h4>Chapter 487 - Tamed Beast, Silver</h4>

    After giving the oversized silver wolf a head rub to prove his doubts, the Skysilver Beast King began wagging its three tails again.

    Leon was surprised.

    When stopped rubbing the Skysilver Beast King''s head, its three tails also slowly stopped wagging. After he resumed rubbing its head again, its tails also began wagging again.

    ''To think the Skysilver Beast King has been regressed to this state.'' Leon pondered. He found the discovery quite concerning.

    If humans were infected by the overbearing Demonic Energy, would they also regress to such infantile intellect even if he cured them?

    On one hand, this was a serious problem, while on the other hand, he seemed to have gotten himself a pet wolf, albeit a veryrge one.

    "What should I do with you?" Leon mused while moving back to look at the big three-tailed silver wolf as it also looked back at him patiently with curiosity.

    If he kept it and brought it back with him to the Human Domain, feeding it would be quite a huge problem.

    Shortly after, he frowned from the pungent stench of the saliva mixed with rat blood on his body before he sternly said, "No more licking! Licking, bad! Understanding?"

    "Arf, arf!" The Skysilver Beast King barked and wagged its tails in response.

    Leon was uncertain if it actually understood his words, but he continued to speak to it, "Hmm¡­ I can''t leave you here, can I?"

    "Ar-roof?" The silver wolf titled its head.

    The Skysilver Beast King was a very proud Transcendent-level Beast King. To see whether it can be Leon''s tamed beast, he flew up and sat on its head to gauge its reaction.

    No signs of rejection were detected.

    The Skysilver Beast King simply moved its head up slightly, trying to look at Leon while continuing to wag its tails.

    "I guess you''ll be my tamed beast from now on. Since you are no longer the same as the former Skysilver Beast King, I will just call you Silver." Leon stated while patting the silver wolf''s head.

    "Arf, arf!" Silver barked excitedly, seemingly epting of its new name as its three tails wagged energetically in response.

    Shortly after removing the new umtion of Demonic Energy inside Silver''s body, Leon observed the rat tide outside the region of charred-ck burning carcasses in the distance.

    At that moment, the numerous rats continued to leap at the airship as it was slowly gaining altitude in the sky.

    "Huh?"

    Leon''s eyes suddenly flickered in discovery.

    After leaping into the sky, the rats would eventually have to fall back to the ground. In a normal situation, they would havended safely on the surface.

    However, that was not the current case from what he was witnessing. The number of rats getting crushed to death by the overwhelming weight of their own fellow brethren was actually staggering.

    The situation could not have been seen from the sky above due to the rat''s overwhelming numbers obscuring the sight, but the scene was observable from the bottom.

    As such, it had not been discovered until now.

    "There are actually so many rats that they are crushing their brethren at the bottom to death! It seems that the n will need some adjustment." Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    Shortly after, Leon suddenly called out, "Silver!"

    "Arroof!" The giant silver wolf answered with a bark and stood up on all four legs like it was heeding his summoning call.

    "Good. It seems you recognize your new name pretty well." Leon nodded with praise and rubbed its head.

    "Arf, arf!"

    Silver responded with its tails wagging.

    "Wait here for a moment. I will be right back."

    "Arf!"

    Silver sat back down on its hind legs.

    Seeing this, Leon nodded.

    It seems the Transcendent-level three-tailed silver wolf could still understand the human tongue despite losing its maturity and ability to speak itself.

    Shortly after, Leon stood up and took off from Silver''s head, flying back to the airship rising in the skies. After hended, Aria passed the modified pendant device to him.

    However, he shortly passed it over to the captain.

    "Your Highness?" The captain asked, confused by the prince''s intention to pass such a valuable tool into his hands.

    "Take it and head back first," Leon said before adding, "There are still some things I need to do here. I will return on my own, so there is no need to wait for me here and go back to Elvengarde first."

    "What will you be doing, Your Highness?"

    "I need to take care of that big wolf."

    Seeing the prince was firm in his decision, the captain did not try to persuade Leon andplied, "Alright, we will head back first. Take care, Your Highness."

    "Naturally."

    Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon turned to Aria and said, "I need you to head back with them and deliver these to Marquis Haldir. Do you still have the Interspatial Ring I made?"

    "I keep it on me at all time," Aria said while showing Leon the ck ring.

    When he noticed the Tier 3 Interspatial Ring was worn on Aria''s ring finger, he gave her a look that immediately made her blush shyly, "There''s no special meaning on which finger I wear this¡­"

    Although she said that, Leon felt like that was not the case.

    He figured that while they were happy the way they are, Aria might still want something to authenticate their rtionship¡ªan official status of sorts.

    After thinking about this, he shortly said, "When we return to the capital, let''s get married."

    "Er¡­ no, there''s no need to do that. I''m fine with the way things¡ª"

    "Let us get married," Leon said firmly.

    Seeing his determined eyes, Aria no longer tried to object. Warm tears quickly filled her eyes as she nodded, "Mm!"

    "Wait, I am dirtied with wolf saliva and rat blood," Leon said as he retreated a few steps backward.

    However, Aria simply lunged into his arms while saying, "I don''t care! I am happy!"

    "Haiz, silly girl." Leon sighed helplessly.

    Sometimeter, Leon emptied the exploding pill bottles into Aria''s interspatial ring and bid his goodbye before returning to Silver on the surface below.

    After he watched the airship leave, he turned his gaze back on Silver''s big build and helplessly asked, "Why do you have to be so big?"

    "Arrff¡­"

    Silver issued a weakint while bobbing its head down in a downcast manner like it was saying it cannot be med for this.

 Chapter 488 - Faelyns Voice

    <h4>Chapter 488 - Faelyn''s Voice</h4>

    Shortly after Leon flew onto Silver''s head and gave it some soothing pats to cate it, he began to ponder what to do with the Transcendent-level silver wolf.

    Silver tilted its head and wagged its tails in response, "Awrff?"

    Sometimeter, Leon''s eyes quickly flickered enlightenment before patting his forehead in exmation, "The Hundred Beast Transformation Art! How can I forget I had such a technique?"

    If the Hundred Beast Transformation Art can transform beasts into human forms, it naturally had the ability to shrink and erge beast bodies at will.

    He was not expecting Silver to undergo a full human transformation, so there was no need to worry about the stringent demand for the Hundred Beast Transformation Art''s mastery.

    It was not possible without having high Divine Beast Cultivation and abundant Spirit Energy.

    Silver was only required to shrink until it could pass through the gaps found in between the trees from the Great Forest.

    Leon took out a half-depleted supreme-grade spirit stone and absorbed some of its Spirit Energy.

    After channeling the power to the tips of his fingers, he pointed it at the three-tailed silver wolf''s forehead and transmitted the Hundred Beast Transformation Art to it.

    Silver remained still and epted the information flowing into its mind willingly with simple curiosity.

    Once the transmission waspleted, Leon ordered, "Silver, quickly practice this technique and shrink yourself a bit."

    "Awrff?"

    Silver tilted its head further in response, not quite understanding what Leon was trying to get it to do. At the same time, its action nearly caused Leon to roll off its head.

    However, he quickly grabbed a handful of its fur and stabilized his position on its head.

    "It seems it would not be easy to get Silver to learn this technique right off the bat¡­" Leon smiled wryly, thinking he will need to put in some effort to teach it.

    ¡­

    Elvengarde.

    At the foot of the Elder Tree''s vine staircase, Supreme Elder Haldir gazed down at the tens of thousands of elven warriors gathered before him.

    The road before the only vine staircase leading up to the Elder Tree''s crown was naturally the broadest within the tribe. As such, it was used to gather the elven warriors.

    More and more elven warriors began to arrive at the main road before the vine staircase before they gazed back at the Supreme Elder, uncertain for the reason of their gathering.

    "Hey, do you have any idea why we are gathered here?" An elven warrior asked after nudging another elven warrior beside him.

    "Hm? No, I am just as clueless as you are. We were only told toe here and await the Supreme Elder''s orders," The other elven warrior responded.

    "I see¡­ sorry to bother you."

    "It''s fine. Don''t mind it."

    Shortly after, the elven warriors returned their attention to the front.

    As the sun began to set as nightfall crept closer, the wind''s direction changed and started blowing northwards towards the Supreme Elder''s face.

    At the same time, the Supreme Elder saw the distant ck smoke from the forest fire slowly inching ever closer.

    Seeing as it would take a while before all the elven warriors are gathered in the tribe, Supreme Elder Haldir decided not to wait any longer.

    "All of you might be wondering why you are all gathered here. The answer is simple. You must all learn how to fly by the end of today," Supreme Elder Haldir stated.

    His powerful voice reached far and wide, entering the ears of all his listeners loudly and clearly before therge group of elven warriors quickly broke into amotion.

    The Supreme Elder wanted them to learn how to fly by the end of the day? Was that even possible? Or rather, could Wood-type Awakeners like them even fly?

    Confusion and doubts were written over the faces of many. Only a few of the early returners in the tribe had witnessed the Supreme Elder flying previously.

    At that moment, Supreme Elder Haldir had already retracted his vine armor and wings, reverted back into seeds, and stored away in his leather pouch.

    "How do we fly, Supreme Elder? Please instruct us," an elven warrior said with the intent and willingness to learn.

    Undoubtedly, All the elven warriors had seen the rat tide outside while fighting on the frontlines at the Great Forest''s outskirts.

    Regardless of whether Wood-type Awakeners can fly or not, the elven warrior was aware of what the possibility entailed¡ªa greater chance of survival.

    "You don''t need to worry. That is what I am nning to do!" Supreme Elder Haldir assured before adding, "Now, take a look clearly! This is how Wood-type Awakeners will fly."

    Shortly after, Supreme Elder Haldir demonstrated by instilling his Wood Energy into his magical vine seeds and proliferated them into a pair of vine wings attached to his back.

    After leaves sprouted like feathers, the Supreme Elder was shortly lifted into the air with the first p of his wings.

    "Simple enough? Now all of you shall do the same." Supreme Elder Haldir ended his lesson after a single demonstration.

    The elven warriors were quickly taken aback¡ªnot by how quick the lesson ended, but by how the Supreme Elder made it look so easy.

    That being said, no one had anyints about the lesson being too short.

    For Awakeners like them, all it took was a single demonstration to insert the idea into their minds. What follows after is there ceaseless practice to master the skill.

    "Understood, Supreme Elder!"

    The elven warriors saluted in unison before they found their own space and began the practice of growing their own pair of wings.

    "Feel free to ask me questions if there is something you don''t understand." Supreme Elder stated as he watched them practice.

    He could not be too irresponsible with his teachings. He needed them to know how to fly proficiently for the n.

    "Yes, Supreme Elder!"

    The elven warriors responded.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Princess Thessalia stepped foot into the guarded courtyard within the Royal Pce atop the Elder Tree''s crown.

    "Princess Thessalia!" General Paeris and the Elders shortly greeted the Third Princess upon her arrival.

    "Un. I see you are all here." Princess Thessalia acknowledged their greetings before asking, "Did my sister went down to the Heart of Spring Chamber?"

    "Yes, Your Highness," General Paeris answered respectfully.

    "Thanks, I will go look for her now," Princess Thessalia stated, not thinking too deeply into why they were waiting at this location.

    However, Princess Faelyn''s impassive voice was shortly heard, "No need to look for me¡­ I am right here, sister."

 Chapter 489 - Training Silver

    <h4>Chapter 489 - Training Silver</h4>

    "There you are, baby sister!" Princess Thessalia strolled over excitedly and gave Princess Faelyn a warm hug before asking, "Have you seen what happened to Father?"

    Shortly after speaking, Princess Thessalia realized the blunder in her words. Of course, her little sister would have already known about their father''s death.

    Seeing Faelyn behaving so indifferent to her usual teasing, Princess Thessalia figured her baby sister was in grief and said, "Err, don''t be too sad about father''s death, little sister. We still have Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Eldest Sister, and Fourth Sister."

    "Fourth Eldest Sister has been missing for years. Whether she is alive or dead, no one even knows anymore. As for Mother, Eldest Brother, and Second Eldest Sister, they are all dead. It''s just us left, Third Eldest Sister." Princess Faelyn said impassively, but sorrow could be seen in her eyes.

    Princess Thessalia immediately trembled with shock before quickly denying, "Baby Sister, that''s not something you should joke about!"

    "I''m not joking!" Princess Faelyn spat with an angered expression before adding, "You will know once you see what happened inside the Heart of Spring Chamber!"

    Princess Thessalia was greatly startled by her little sister raising her voice at her for the first time before she quickly said, "Wait here for me. I will go take a look!"

    Without waiting for Faelyn''s response, she immediately stormed towards the vine staircase leading down to the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    "Move aside!" She barked.

    "Y-yes, Your Highness!"

    The royal guards barring the Third Princess''s path to the Heart of Spring Chamber quickly scurried out of the way after she made her demand.

    Shortly after Princess Thessalia went down to the vine staircase and disappeared from sight, General Paeris began to approach Princess Faelyn.

    "Is it true that Queen Radelia, the crown prince, and the second princess have all passed away?" He asked.

    Princess Faelyn gazed at him before she coldly said, "Do you think I will also joke about my family''s lives?"

    "My apologies, Your Highness! That was not my intention!" General Paeris immediately dropped down to one knee in apology.

    At the same time, he was pressured by the Fifth Princess''s gaze!

    This pressure did not juste from the difference between their statuses, but also their cultivation!

    The Elf General found much to his shock that during the short period he had not seen the Fifth Princess, she had already surpassed him in cultivation!

    They were both 9-Stars Ranked Awakeners, but even 9-Stars Ranked Awakeners had their differences¡ªno matter how slight the differences are.

    "Never mind." Princess Faelyn furrowed her thin brows and said, "Tell me what has happened in the tribe during the time I was inside the Heart of Spring Chamber."

    "Ahem, I am not exactly sure, to be honest." General Paeris coughed, feeling embarrassed for being unable to answer the Fifth Princess''s question before he added, "We have been waiting here, hoping to meet¡­ meet Queen Radelia¡­"

    Princess Faelyn''s expression became more deeply furrowed before she sternly said, "Instead of wasting your time here, don''t you think you could have been doing something else while the tribe is still under threat?"

    "My apologies, Your Highness. I have no excuses," General Paeris lowered his head in shame.

    At the same time, the Elf General was surprised deep within his heart. The Fifth Princess was no longer the same amiable and easy-going person he remembered.

    Nevertheless, the change was understandable.

    "Go report yourself to the Supreme Elder. See what he has for you to do." Princess Faelyn stated coolly.

    The Elf General quicklyplied, "Understood, Your Highness. I will leave at once!"

    Shortly after General Paeris left, Princess Faelyn turned towards the royal guards and said with a slight frown, "You all go report yourselves to the Supreme Elder too. There is no longer a need to guard this ce. The tribe will be relocating to the Human Domain."

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    Shortly after the royal guards left, Princess Faelyn also left the courtyard to meet the Supreme Elder¡ªbut not before giving the idle Elders a silent look.

    "We should also go see what ns the Supreme Elder has for the tribe." One of the Elders said wryly before receiving the nods of agreement from the other Elders, "Right¡­ Let us go."

    The Elders soon departed from the courtyard.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to teach the three-tailed silver wolf how to use the Hundred Beast Transformation Art.

    At the same time, the three-tailed silver wolf began to embark on a new road of cultivation to be a spirit beast¡ªor possibly even a divine beast in the future.

    Thus, even if Silver cannot redevelop its intelligence naturally, the Divine Cultivation method for beasts will develop it either way.

    "Sit! Rollover! Bark twice!"

    "Arf, arf!"

    Silver responded ording to Leon''smands while wagging its tails, thinking they were ying a game.

    s, somewhere in the middle of teaching the Hundred Beast Transformation Art, it had changed to training Silver how to listen tomands.

    "Ahem," Leon coughed after realizing he had erred.

    Nevertheless, the three-tailed silver wolf was no longer clueless like it was before.

    It had achieved some sess in practicing the Hundred Beast Transformation Art after swallowing one of Leon''s smaller supreme-grade spirit stones.

    Leon gazed at the big silver wolf and barked, "Silver, shrink!"

    "Arf, arf!" The three-tailed silver wolf responded and began to used the Spirit Energy in its body to shrink its body.

    However, it suddenly fell on its side with a bang after shrinking only its legs and whimpered, "Awroo¡­"

    "Stop ying around, Silver." Leon admonished it.

    "Awroo!" The three-tailed silver wolf responded withint, feeling wronged as it struggled to get back up with its dangling little legs.

    Leon nced at Silver''s small legs speechlessly before he said, "Don''t just shrink your legs! Shrink the rest of your body too!"

    "Arf, arf!"

    After struggling for some time, Silver finally managed to reduce its huge build down to the size of a standard elephant.

    However, this was not just a mere reduction in size, but thepaction of its cells, fortifying its entire body.

    As Leon patted Sliver''s toughened skin, he could tell its defensive strength has been raised by threefold, equating to roughly 200-thousand jin.

 Chapter 490 - The Frightened Elves

    <h4>Chapter 490 - The Frightened Elves</h4>

    Leon hopped on the back of the three-tailed silver wolf and patted, "Let''s go, Silver. To the forest!"

    "Arf, arf."

    Knowing where Leon wanted to go, the three-tailed silver wolf barked twice before charging straight into the burning forest.

    Regr fires might be feared by low-level Wingrats, but it was like summer temperature for a Transcendent-level beast like the three-tailed silver wolf.

    Nevertheless, Silver did not get to showcase its resilience to fire as Leon waved his hands and parted the smothering mes of the Great Forest ahead of them, along with the ckened vine walls that crumbled apart like broken charcoal.

    Swoosh~!

    They immediately brushed past the divided mes and scattered ck ashes in an instance with lightning-fast speed, carrying a trailing rush of wind along that blew apart the divided mes and scattered ck ashes further!

    Leon was surprised by the three-tailed silver wolf''s rming speed, but he managed to grab hold of its fur before he was swept off its back by the wind pressure.

    "Quite the fast one, aren''t you?" Leon rubbed its back with his spare hand before asking, "But how fast can you really go?"

    "Arf, Arf!''

    The three-tailed silver wolf suddenly paused in tracks before lowering its hind legs like it was recoiling springs. At the same time, its three tails pressed against the ground like they were another set of three legs.

    "Awooo!" Silver issued a mighty howl before bolting forward immediately with more incredible speed than previously shown!

    "Hahaha! Nice, Silver! Keep it up!" Leonughed with praise, enjoying the thrill of the ride as they raced back to the elven tribe.

    His jubnt mood also infected Silver, causing it to be excited and want to test the limits of its speed by pushing itself.

    As Silver''s speed steadily increased, Leon silently calcted with surprise, ''At this rate, I will be able to return to Elvengarde in no time.''

    He honestly did not expect the Transcendent-level silver wolf to possess such incredible speed. It was far from what it had shown during its battles with the rat.

    If it had raced at this sort of velocity from the start, it would easily bulldoze its way through the rat tide with ease and crush all rats to death upon impact with its body.

    Leon forgot to ount for the fact that the three-tailed silver wolf had be stronger after shrinking its size and consuming the supreme-grade spirit stone he fed it.

    Sometimeter, Silver arrived at the southern outskirts of Elvengarde with Leon on its back.

    Leon''s hair had all been blown back by the strong wind, giving him a fresh look despite being covered in dried up saliva and blood.

    "Ahhh! There''s a beast in the tribe! What is it doing here?!"

    "Ahh, noo! It''s a three-tailed silver wolf! Everyone, run!"

    Silver''s sudden appearance in the tribe quickly frightened the nearby elves into fleeing from the area with all their strength.

    The matter blew up and quickly drew the Supreme Elder''s attention, along with thousands of elven warriors rushing over.

    "Huh? Isn''t that the Skysilver Beast King? How did it get into the forest?" an elven warrior eximed with wide eyes upon arriving at the scene.

    However, another elven warrior quickly refuted, "The Skysilver Beast King? How can the Skysilver Beast King be so small?"

    "Is this the Skysilver Beast King''s offspring? Why is it here without its father?"

    "Nonsense, the Skysilver Beast King doesn''t have any offspring."

    Another group of elven warriors guessed Silver''s identity before it was also quickly refuted by another group of elven warriors.

    When Silver saw so many elves looking at it warily with defensive stances, it also became guarded and howled mightily to exert its dominance, "Awooo!"

    "Ahh!" Some elves began to cover their ears from the three-tailed silver wolf''s mighty howl and retreated several steps, intimidated by its strong presence.

    "Transcendent-level beast!"

    Some of the elven warriors quickly determined before one of them spoke, "There''s only one Transcendent-level three-tailed silver wolf around here, and it is none other than the Skysilver Beast King itself!"

    "Oh my god, how did the Skysilver Beast King be so small? Wait, there''s someone on its back!" Another elven warrior shouted in discovery.

    At the same time, Leon calmed the three-tailed silver wolf down with a few pats, "Easy, Silver. Everything is going to be okay."

    "Arf, arf!" Silver barked in response, indicating that it understood and no longer prepared to attack the elven warriors.

    Nevertheless, it still growled at them, "Grrr!"

    Eeek!

    Few elves were sessfully intimidated before the three-tailed silver wolf raised its head pompously, satisfied with the elves'' reactions.

    "Quit it."

    Leon gave it a quick nudge before hopping off Silver''s back,nding on the ground with a thud.

    Shortly after, Supreme Elder Haldir and Aria arrived as they descended from the sky,nding not far from Leon.

    "Young prince."

    "Leon, you''re back."

    They both weed him back before Supreme Elder Haldir turned his attention to Silver behind Leon and asked uncertainly, "This is¡­?"

    "The Skysilver Beast King." Leon smiled before adding, "Well, it''s my tamed beast, Silver now."

    "How is that possible?" Supreme Elder Haldir widened his eyes in surprise.

    He thought he had seen many things, but nothing was surprising like this since the World Tree''s appearance.

    "Never mind that." Leon shortly shook his head and said while gazing up at the sky, "You taught the elven warriors well."

    Thousands of elven warriors could be seen pping their wings in the sky, while there were also those standing on the ground with their own pair of wings.

    "Not really. There were just quick learners." Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head, not intending to take credit for the elven warrior''s efforts.

    Leon nodded before asking Aria, "Did you pass the exploding pill bottles to Marquis Haldir?"

    "About that, I asked Miss Aria to continue holding onto for the time being. It''s far too dangerous to have those things lying around." Supreme Elder Haldir quickly interjected wryly before Aria could answer.

    "True." Leon nodded in agreement.

    The exploding pills were made for their survival, but they must be careful not to be burned by their own chief weapon against the rat tide.

    A single mistake would cause a greater tragedy than what the rat tide could bring them.

 Chapter 491 - A Womans Intuition

    <h4>Chapter 491 - A Woman''s Intuition</h4>

    "How are the tribesmen''s preparations going?" Leon asked while gazing at the idle tribesmen in the distance.

    Supreme Elder Haldir followed Leon''s gaze before he exined, "These tribesmen have lost their homes during the ground copse. They have nothing to bring with them except whatever is left below. As for the rest of the tribe, they will still need some time. It''s not easy to mobilize the entire tribe."

    "I see." Leon nodded.

    After pondering for a moment, he said, "It will be a waste if we leave anything of value behind like the herbs lying around. The Crawford Empire is not exactly abundant in herbs. The tribesmen should help carry these herbs and seeds. In return, they will be rewarded."

    "Not a bad idea, young prince. It will keep these tribesmen busy and help them take their mind off their losses." Supreme Elder Haldirmented with a nod before saying, "I will arrange it."

    After calling over a few elven warriors and speaking a few words to them, Supreme Elder Haldir sent them off to ry his message to the idle tribesmen.

    "The rest of you, continue to practice your flying skills!"

    "Yes, Supreme Elder!"

    Shortly after the surrounding elven warriors left the area, Supreme Elder Haldir returned his attention to Leon before asking, "What happened to your attire, young prince? If you don''t mind me asking."

    "Oh, this?" Leon nced at the dried saliva and blood on his body before gazing at Silver, "I also wonder about that too. You should know what happened, right?"

    "Ar-rooff!" Silver responded while shaking its head dumbly.

    Supreme Elder Haldir quickly understood Leon''s meaning and became surprised by Silver''s yful behavior.

    Doubts seeped into his heart before Supreme Elder Haldir asked, "Is this really the Skysilver Beast King? What happened to it?"

    Seeing the Supreme Elder pointed at his head when he said this, Leon answered, "A deterioration of intellect after being infected by Demonic Energy. Right now, it''s no different to a child."

    "I see¡­ To think there would be a day I get to see the Skysilver Beast King reduced to a pet¡­ Ah, no. I did not mean anything by this. Congrattions on gaining a powerful pet, young prince." Supreme Elder Haldir said.

    Leon waved his hand, not minding the Supreme Elder''s words at all. On the other hand, Silver snorted with displeasure.

    "Oh, yes. There are some changes to the n, Marquis Haldir. I believe with this improved n, the risks will be much lower." Leon suddenly said.

    "Oh?" Supreme Elder Haldir was pleasantly surprised before he said, "Let us hear it, young prince."

    Leon nodded.

    While Leon began exining the details of the new n to the Supreme Elder, Aria took out a fresh white cloth from her interspatial ring and wiped Leon''s face clean with tender care.

    After Supreme Elder Haldir finished listening to Leon''s n, he went silent while running the visual simtion in his mind.

    Sometimeter, Supreme Elder Haldir spoke while pping his hands together, "shy. But I like it. Although the rat tide will be closer, it''s actually more foolproof. I don''t see any problem with this n."

    Leon smiled lightly in response.

    "I will take all the proficient flyers with me to set the route ahead for us." Supreme Elder said before preparing to leave immediately.

    It was a long way to the Great Wall by foot, especially while carrying goods with them. The sooner the road is paved, the less they would be dyed.

    "Alright." Leon nodded before saying, "Take the airship with you, Marquis Haldir. Its loud noise is a good source of attraction."

    "I will. Thank you, young prince."

    "Safe travels, Marquis Haldir."

    Shortly after Leon big his farewell, the Supreme Elder Haldir round up the elven warriors and departed for the eastern direction.

    The migration route was as follows; exiting from the Great Forest''s eastern outskirts before making a beeline southeast for the Great Wall.

    If not for something Leon wanted to check before he leave Elvengarde, he would have offered to apany the Supreme Elder.

    Not long after Supreme Elder Haldir left, Princess Faelyn could be seen making her way over through the busy group of elves scavenging the area for anything useful to take with them on the journey.

    Princess Faelyn seemed to have something to talk about but changed her mind after seeing Leon''s appearance and decided to bring it upter.

    "Would you like to pay our tribe''s bathhouse a visit for a wash, Prince Leon? Us elves quite pride ourselves on our hygiene." Princess Faelyn suggested politely with a light boast.

    After Leon sniffed himself and crumpled his expression slightly from the stench, he nodded, "Alright, I think I will just take you up on that offer, Faelyn. Is there enough space in the bathhouse for this big oaf too?"

    Princess Faelyn followed Leon''s pointed-thumb gesture before bing startled by the big three-tailed silver wolf soaked in dry rat blood behind him.

    "Arf, arf!" Silver barked twice in response even though it did not know what Leon meant by big oaf. It only understood that it was going to get cleaned.

    "This is¡­" Princess Faelyn began to question.

    "The Skysilver Beast King."

    "Oh, the Skysilver Beast King''s offspring¡­"

    "No, the Skysilver Beast King itself." Leon corrected Princess Faelyn''s misunderstanding, causing her eyes to shortly widened in response.

    However, Princess Faelyn quickly recovered and nodded, "The public bathhouses in the tribe are built to hold hundreds of elves. There will be plenty of space."

    "I see, that''s great."

    Shortly after, Leon turned to his side and asked with a smile, "Do you want to join me, Aria?"

    Seeing the hidden intention in Leon''s smile, Aria smacked his chest lightly with a blush, "We¡ªI am still clean from thest bath. You can enjoy your bath alone. I will find something else to do."

    There were other people around. She was not bold enough to ept his invitation.

    "Alright. Wait for me." Leon smiled, not minding Aria''s rejection in the slightest. He shortly returned his attention to Princess Faelyn and said, "Please lead the way, Faelyn."

    "Of course. Right this way, Prince Leon." Princess Faelyn gestured.

    Leon nodded and called out, "C''mon, Silver. Let''s go get ourselves washed up."

    "Arf, arf!" Silver responded excitedly.

    Just as Princess Faelyn was about to leave with them, Aria pulled her over and whispered, "Is everything alright, Princess Faelyn?"

    Princess Faelyn''s expression changed slightly before it quickly disappeared with an impassive nod, "Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern, Miss Aria."

    Shortly after, Aria released her hand and watched them leave together. Her expression could not help but wrinkle her brows, feeling something was wrong.

    Princess Faelyn did not seem like her usual self. Did something happened?

 Chapter 492 - Faelyns Move

    <h4>Chapter 492 - Faelyn''s Move</h4>

    Elder Tree''s crown, Royal Pce''s courtyard

    A long time seemed to have passed since Princess Thessalia entered the Heart of Spring Chamber, and everyone guarding the area had left in preparation for the tribe''s big departure from the Great Forest.

    At that moment, the proud and tough Princess Thessalia was weeping like a little girl within the Heart of Spring Chamber before the remains of her mother, elder brother, and elder sister.

    This was quite the contrast to Princess Faelyn, who had entered before her.

    The weaker Princess Faelyn had taken a much shorter time to shelve her sadness aside and move forward.

    On the other hand, the tougher Princess Thessalia continued to weep, unable to extricate herself from her sorrow.

    "Why did this happen?" Princess Thessalia struck the ground while tears continued to flow from her eyes, dripping down her cheeks and into the soil.

    Her family was her pir of support that allowed her to stand firm in front of the tribesmen. But now that they were all gone, she felt small and lost¡­

    ''No! I still have my little sister!'' Princess Thessalia suddenly shot to her feet and wiped her tears.

    She recalled her sister had been calm when they met at the entrance.

    Her baby sister had always been the softest of the four sisters. There was no way her baby sister could be fine after learning of their family''s death! She must be hiding it!

    As the bigger sister, Thessalia had to remain strong and look after her only family member left! Otherwise, her baby sister might do something stupid in her grief!

    "Right, Baby Sister should have known what happened here! I will go find out the truth from her!" Princess Thessalia stated while clenching her fist with a determined look.

    After washing her face and removing all traces of sorrow, she patted her cheeks with both hands and returned to the surface to look for her baby sister.

    ¡­

    "This is the bathhouse, Prince Leon." Princess Faelyn introduced to Leon as they arrived at the entrance of therge bathhouse ahead of them.

    "It certainly isrge enough." Leon nodded after gazing at the big bathhouse before asking with wrinkled brows, "Didn''t we agree to drop the honorifics between us, Faelyn?"

    "Ahh, we certainly did. I apologize, Leon." Princess Faelyn curtsied in apology before calmly asking, "Will you be washing the Skysilver Beast King by yourself, or shall I arrange for people to do it so you can enjoy your bathing experience?"

    "There''s no need to apologize," Leon said before gazing at the big three-tailed silver wolf.

    His lips shortly twitched.

    Although it had been reduced in size, it was still huge. It would take a while to cleanse all the blood from the three-tailed silver wolf, even if five people were on the job.

    "Then¡­ I will trouble you to find some people to wash Silver for me, Faelyn." Leon requested while scratching his cheek wryly.

    "It''s no trouble at all. It will be my honor to help the future sovereign ruling over my people." Princess Faelyn said politely with a curtsy

    Leon creased his brows at these words.

    He studied Faelyn''s expression, only to see her smile back at him. He could only pass it off as a joke to called over Silver, "Make sure not to cause any trouble for the people cleaning youter, understood?"

    "Arf, arf!" Silver barked.

    Shortly after, Leon followed Princess Faelyn''s lead into the bathhouse.

    The bathhouse was separated into three sections; the male, female and mixed sections. Within each of these sections, there were also private rooms.

    As the tribe was preparing for their departure, the entire bathhouse was vacant of business.

    Even so, Leon was slightly scarred from his experience with thest mixed bath. Thus, he decided to enter a private male bathroom while Silver was taken to an open mixed bathing area.

    The elven tribe''s public bathhouse was simr to the Darkmoon tribe''s bathhouse.

    He undressed and unloaded his dirty clothes into a leaf bucket in the changing room before grabbing a clean towel provided by the establishment and entering the bathing area.

    After scrubbing and rinsing himself squeaky clean of the rat blood and saliva on his body, Leon finally took a dip in the perfectly warm bath water to rx.

    ''After I''m done here, I should investigate the source of Demonic Energy under the tribe.'' Leon silently decided, not forgetting why he stayed back in the tribe while Supreme Elder Haldir had gone ahead to pave the road for the elves.

    Shortly after, Leon used his divine sense tomunicate with the Guardian Spirit, persuading it into leaving the Great Forest with them.

    The Guardian Spirit was resistant against such an idea at first, but it shortly agreed after Leon baited it with the allure of Spirit Energy, albeit reluctantly.

    Creak¡­

    "Hm?"

    The private bathroom door suddenly creaked open from the changing room, causing Leon to sweep his divine sense over.

    However, he was quickly stunned in the next moment. His divine sense was locked while his breath was taken away by the divine sight.

    "What are you doing here, Faelyn?" Leon gulped while gazing at the naked elven princess with only a white towel covering her private parts.

    Princess Faelyn was, without a doubt, a beauty with her supreme elven genes. Even then, she was considered the cream of the crop.

    At that moment, Leon found her especially alluring in her current appearance and felt an immediate reaction in hisher region, causing him to silently cuss.

    He was quite resistant to beauties in ordinary circumstances, but not when they be this revealing, especially a top beauty to boot.

    He ultimately still a man.

    Was he actually sexually frustrated? Leon began to ponder with a slightly forced expression before suddenly picking up the scent of perfumeing from Faelyn''s body.

    "This smell¡­" Leon frowned in thought.

    "Please allow me to join you, Leon," Faelyn said with a smile before slipping into the bathwater and sitting beside Leon without waiting for his response.

 Chapter 493 - Unveiled Intention

    <h4>Chapter 493 - Unveiled Intention</h4>

    "Ahem, isn''t this supposed to the men''s only bathing area? I''m afraid it''s not appropriate for you to be here." Leon said with a cough while turning slightly to the side to hide his boner.

    Nevertheless, the pleasant scent waiving off Faelyn''s body made his bulging rod rage more fiercely like it was threatening to pierce through the towel wrapped about his lower body.

    Seeing Leon being a gentleman and refraining himself from looking at her inappropriately, Faelyn smiled slyly and inched closer until Leon could practically feel her breath on his ears.

    "Do you not enjoy mypany, or do you think I am not pretty enough?" Faelyn whispered before blowing onto Leon''s ears with her cool breath.

    Her enticing actions immediately made Leon''s body shivered with excitement, causing him to almost lose control of himself and pounce on her.

    However, he forcefully suppressed the urge with his strong willpower. He was not stupid and understood that Princess Faelyn was trying to seduce him.

    If a woman as beautiful as Faelyn wanted to throw herself at him, he would dly take her and avoid the torment of only see but cannot touch.

    But not before he understood the reasonpelling her to behave as such!

    "Of course, I am happy to have thepany of a beauty such as yourself, Faelyn. However, I am confused. We are not that close. Thus, I do not understand why you are doing this." Leon forced himself to give a calm reply.

    Faelyn peeked over Leon''s shoulders and saw his bulging tent. Her long golden eyshes trembled slightly before she suddenly giggled, "At least you are honest enough."

    "The reason is quite simple. I like you, and you like me too, right?" Faelyn said.

    Leon felt Faelyn''s cool hands ced on his shoulders before she embraced him from behind with her supple twin peaks.

    He almost lost control then and there.

    A vein protruded on his forehead before Leon spat with gritted teeth, "I don''t! At least, it has not reached such a stage."

    Although he appeared to be resistant to Faelyn''s advances, he did not make any move to stop her. It was like resisting his urge took all his strength.

    The nefarious fire inside hisher region grew ever stronger by the moment.

    "You really don''t like me?" Faelyn did not appear to be disheartened by Leon''s words and slyly whispered, "Then what kind of reaction is this down here?"

    She reached out daringly, slipping her hand under Leon''s towel to stroke the bulging dragon raging underneath.

    Leon''s body immediately trembled.

    He turned around instantly and shove her against the bath wall with his hands on her shoulders.

    With reddened eyes, Leon spoke, "This is a natural reaction! Now answer my question, or I will really push you down. Don''t test my patience further."

    Faelyn was not intimidated by Leon''s threat.

    In fact, she weed it with an alluring smile, "Even if your feeling has yet to reach such a stage, we can work on that together. Make love to me, Leon."

    She wrapped her arms around Leon''s neck and pulled him in for a kiss while her legs wrapped around his waist.

    However, Leon pulled his head away before Faelyn''s soft lips could make contact with his own lips after seeing his threat produced the opposite effect.

    There was an aphrodisiac pill in Faelyn''s mouth.

    He had swept her with his divine sense earlier, but he could not see anything wrong with her except for the self-induced excitement brought by the aphrodisiac properties in her perfume and pill.

    Leon separated himself from Faelyn angrily before gazing at her sternly, "You''re looking down on me too much if you think you can drug me with the aphrodisiac pill hidden in your mouth, Faelyn! Just what are you after?!"

    Faelyn shivered after being found out.

    However, she quickly recovered and answered stubbornly, "I''m not after anything! I am in love with you so much I want to make love with you! Why do you reject me so?"

    Tears began spilling out from Faelyn''s eyes.

    However, what Leon saw was not the tears of having her love rejected but the grief of losing her loved ones.

    Leon was surprised by this discovery before he softened his stance with a sigh, "You know as well as I know that this is not true, Faelyn. This is not like you. Tell me what happened¡­"

    His soft and gentle words filled with concern immediately struck a chord in Faelyn''s heart, causing her tears to flow more uncontrobly as she crumpled to her knees in the bath.

    "My mother¡­ my eldest brother¡­ my second eldest sister¡­ they''re all gone! I only have my third eldest sister, and the tribesmen left¡­ I had to do this to secure their future!" Faelyn cried ceaselessly, feeling the crushing weight of the elven kingdom on her shoulders.

    Leon finally understood the reasons for Faelyn''s behavior.

    At the same time, he was surprised to learn of the Elf Queen, Crown Prince, and Second Princess''s deaths.

    Shortly after, he dropped down and pulled Faelyn into his chest before rubbing her head soothingly, causing her to weep even harder in his arms.

    "You don''t have to do this to secure your people''s future. All elves and humans will naturally be treated equally in my empire¡­" Leon assured before frowning, "How did they pass away? No¡­ don''t you still have another big sister?"

    He recalled Princess Faelyn was the Fifth Princess, while he knew about Third Princess Thessalia and just learned of the Second Princess''s death.

    But what about the Fourth Princess?

    "My fourth eldest sister missing many years ago when my father intended to betroth her to one of the elder''s son. No one knows where she nor whether she is still alive or dead. Third Eldest Sister is my only family left¡­"

    Shortly after exining, Faelyn shook her head with strengthened resolve, "I can''t entrust the entire fate of the elves on an oral promise alone!"

    She had seen the overwhelmingscivious expressions from humans.

    Evidently, she did not believe a Marquis position was high enough to elevate the elves'' status in the empire and deter greedy humans from secretly exploiting them.

    However, it was a different story if she could be the queen or concubine or the empire''s future monarch.

    She would have a greater say then.

 Chapter 494 - A Beautys Tears

    <h4>Chapter 494 - A Beauty''s Tears</h4>

    Suddenly, Faelynunched herself up and sealed her lips with Leon before prying his mouth open and slipping the aphrodisiac pill inside with her soft tongue.

    A part of Leon wanted to continue savoring her supple lips, but he knew he would lose himself andmit something he might regretter if it let the aphrodisiac pill take effect.

    The aphrodisiac pill melted quickly in Leon''s mouth and flowed into his body under Faelyn''s wood maniption.

    However, she had underestimated what Leon could do. With his Divine Will, the medicinal essence was quickly gathered back towards his mouth before being absorbed by his body.

    After separating from Faelyn, Leon spat out the medicinal essence of the pill to the side before wiping his lips, "Stop being silly, Faelyn. Even if you give your body to me, it will not change anything if I don''t want to ept you. Please show yourself some respect."

    Hearing this, Faelyn immediately trembled.

    Leon was right.

    What was the point of giving her body to Leon if he does not ept her as one of his women?

    "Then what must I do for you to ept me? Do you not want me? Or am I not good enough?" Faelyn asked as despair gripped her heart.

    Her father was a true hero, but the people will never know.

    Even so, she had a duty to her people¡ªto carry on what her father would have done. He was undoubtedly a great king, but at the same time, a terrible father.

    More and more tears flowed down her cheeks as she recalled what was written in the diary found within the hidden chamber.

    Through the diary, she had learned of the secrets hidden underneath the tribe, and at the same time, understood everything her father had done.

    She did not have the confidence to continued leading the people alongside the Supreme Elder like her father had secretly entrusted.

    However, if it was Leon, she felt like she could entrust everything to him. With her elevated status and Leon''s ability, her people would be guaranteed fairness in the newnd.

    s, her n seemed to have failed. It was wed, to begin with.

    Seeing Faelyn sad, Leon felt ufortable in his heart like someone was clenching it. The tears of beauties are hard to bear.

    Leon pulled Faelyn up and embraced her before wiping her tears with a sigh, "I do not want to take advantage of your weakness like this. Let us take it slow, shall we? No need to rush into things. How can I have the heart to refuse a beauty such as yourself?"

    He felt that if he had followed what Faelyn intended and took her chastity to establish their rtionship, something else inside her would also break and create an irreversible rift between them.

    "Despite having multiple women, I did not know that you were quite the sentimental and romantic person," Faelyn said with a bright smile hung on her face while tears continued to flow down her cheeks.

    Leon continued to wipe Faelyn''s tears as he spoke with a light smile, "I do not wish to have a loveless rtionship with any of my women. Call me greedy, but I want for all of our feelings to be mutual."

    Distance creates disunity, and disunity births conflict. If even the rtionship with his women was not good, how could he then expect them to get along with one another?

    There would be disharmony and chaos.

    "Maybe this is what I like about you," Faelyn smiled while resting her head on Leon''s robust chest.

    To be honest, she did not know what she liked about Leon. She was just looking for reasons to convince herself that she had feelings for him.

    At least, she was starting to believe it had be true as she felt like something had slightly filled the void in her heart.

    "What you like about me, huh?" Leon repeated softly, finding it hard to believe.

    It would be more believable if she said she admired him instead. Perhaps, she was looking for a new pir of support in him.

    Faelyn suddenly herself away from Leon''s embrace before asking, "Did you think I was joking when I said I like you?"

    "To be honest, I don''t be¡ª" Leon was suddenly stunned silent as he watched Faelyn''s wrapped towel loosened and fell, revealing her lustrous twin white peaks.

    "Ahhh¡ª!" Faelyn eximed while covering herself with her hands, ducking into the water to hide from Leon''s prying eyes.

    After Leon recovered, he suddenly smiled teasingly, "Where did all the courage you have earlier go?"

    "D-Don''t look! Th-This is different!" Faelyn quickly grabbed the fallen towel in the bathwater with one hand before wrapping herself.

    How can the ice tower remain tall after melting? Her defense was lowered. Naturally, she would not have the same preparedness and determination she had a moment ago.

    While Faelyn lowered herself in the bathwater, her line of sight was also aligned with Leon''s bulging tent, causing her face to flush with redness.

    Leon''s expression immediately crumpled with awkwardness before shortly sitting back down in the bathwater.

    The two entered a strange silence.

    A few momentster, Faelyn asked in a small voice, "Is it painful?"

    "What would you do if it is?" Leon responded to her question with another question.

    "I¡­ I will help you relieve it!" Faelyn said with gritted teeth after a brief moment of hesitation.

    "Oh?" Leon gazed at Faelyn with surprise and studied her blushing expression before asking, "Really? You would really help me relieve it?"

    "Y-Yes! A-After all, it became like this because of me." Faelyn stuttered.

    "But how will you relieve it? Will you hands, your mouth, or will you use¡­?" Leon shortly gazed down on her hidden twin peaks.

    "H-How vulgar!" Faelyn cried. A momentter, she answered with, "I will use my hands!"

    "It''s fine, it''s fine. I was only teasing you. I can settle this myself." Leon chuckled light for a moment before his expression suddenly turned solemn. "What happened? I want to hear it from you in detail."

    Faelyn was distracted and had taken her mind off this matter. But after being reminded by Leon, her expression quickly turned sorrowful once more.

    s, it was something he had to do. He wanted to learn about what happened, and he could only hear it from Faelyn herself.

    Her mind was more stable now.

 Chapter 495 - Touched Heart

    <h4>Chapter 495 - Touched Heart</h4>

    After listening to the recount of Faelyn''s discovery inside of the Heart of Spring Chamber below the Elder Tree, Leon''s brows were furrowed.

    "I see¡­ Your eldest brother and second eldest sister were both infected by Demonic Energy while cultivating¡­ I''m sorry for your loss¡­ and for making you recall this," He said before continuing to frown in thought.

    "Don''t be." Faelyn shook her head with a sad but helpless look. No matter what, she cannot change what had already happened.

    Seeing Leon seemed to have something on his mind, she could not help but ask, "What are you thinking about?"

    "I think I am starting to understand King Erendriel''s series of actions now. He was actually a good and wise king, wasn''t he? Your father, that is." Leon shortly spoke.

    Faelyn''s eyshes trembled along with her heart.

    She had not intended to tell anyone about her father''s good deeds and keep the secret buried in her heart.

    It was better if the elves never learn the truth and have their hearts aligned with the Supreme Elder and humans. Otherwise, her father''s efforts and sacrifice would be in vain.

    However, it seemed as though Leon had understood something about her father without her telling him about it.

    "You¡­ What makes you say that? You don''t dislike my father after how he treated you?" Faelyn queried with a slightly trembling voice while doing her best to hide it.

    Leon nodded and said, "If we think about it, the n to relocate the elves to the Human Domain had proceeded far more smoothly than I would have hoped. There should have been some elves that are reluctant to leave¡­"

    "¡­But thanks to your father''s act, he had pushed all his supporters to the Supreme Elder''s side instead. This seems far too convenient to be a mere coincidence¡­"

    "¡­On top of that, your father did not seem to have pulled have sharp punches at the Supreme Elder when they battled. While it seemed like he was out for the Supreme Elder''s blood, he had only used blunt attacks¡­"

    "¡­Another thing to note is that I''ve found an incredible amount of Demonic Energy inside King Erendriel''s head. Such quantity should have made him berserk, but he was able to retain his sanity for so long due to the defense he constructed around his mind¡­"

    "¡­s, he must have known that it was only a matter of time before he wentpletely berserk due to his wed defense. This must be why he concocted such an borate n to gather hatred onto himself and force everyone to leave¡­"

    Of course, the tribe can be forced into leaving with their sheer strength and authority, but the tribe would not be as united, leaving behind a seed of trouble and dissension for the future.

    However, thanks to King Erendriel''s actions, Leon would not have to worry about the elves causing trouble while integrating them into the Crawford Empire. He would only need to worry about the human''s side.

    "¡­Everything makes sense if we follow this line of thinking. Your father should have been quite the wise ruler for decades. It makes no sense for him to suddenly stumble at thest moment due to prejudice against humans¡­"

    As Leon continued to speak, he was still unsure if King Erendriel had also predicted the rat tide using the subterranean passageways to arrive in the tribe.

    If King Erendriel had known this and made use of the information by giving the tribesmen first-hand experience of the danger, which forcefully raised the elves'' awareness of the threat underneath the tribe andpelled them into leaving, then King Erendriel''s foresight was simply too terrifying.

    "¡­Towards a king who thought and sacrificed himself for the wellness of his people while knowing his time was limited, I only have admiration and respect for such a person," Leon stated.

    s, if Elf King''s symptoms were realized sooner, he could have removed the Demonic Energy and cured the Elf King.

    However, King Erendriel had most likely chosen this path of self-sacrifice after losing his will to live. The depression that came from the loss of his wife and the killing of his two children must have broken the person.

    "Uh¡­ What''s wrong, Faelyn?" Leon asked after realizing silent tears have been dripping down from Faelyn''s cheeks all this while.

    As he wiped her tears, Faelyn grabbed his hand and held it on her cheeks before smiling brightly, "Nothing¡­ I just think I really like you now¡­ like a lot!"

    His words had brought her great constion, and at the same time, touched her heart greatly.

    Knowing there was at least another person who recognized her father''s deed and sacrifice gave her heart some peace andfort.

    If she had heard Leon''s words of respect after exining everything about her father to him, then the impact would not have been significant.

    However, it was precisely because Leon understood everything on his own that his words had a significant impact on her heart.

    Leon was taken aback by Faelyn''s words before asking intriguingly with a grin, "Now? What happened to saying that you liked me earlier then?"

    "Uh¡­ I don''t know what you are talking about. We have been inside the warm bath for a long while now. W-We should leave." Faelyn said as she changed the topic and got out of the bath to leave.

    However, Leon grabbed her hand and gave a sudden yank, causing Faelyn to fall back into the bath with a ssh as she cried, "Kyaaa!"

    "What are you doing, Leon?!" Faelyn asked with a reproving gaze. Her hair had be soaked in the bathwater.

    Leon suddenly pulled her closer before he whispered into her ears, "On second thoughts, I''ll have you help me relieve this little brother down here."

    "W-What?" Faelyn herself away slightly with an angry blush before she hammered his chest, "You''re a rogue! I thought you were a gentleman."

    "A gentleman is when courting women, while a rogue is after having courted women," Leon grinned before standing up.

    His bulging dragon was shown in the full disy after the towel fell loose.

    "Kyaaa!" Faelyn immediately eximed after taking a nce. Her face became deeply flushed as she cried, "Don''t show me such a thing!"

    "Are you saying you don''t want to help me?" Leon asked slyly after seeing Faelyn peeking between the gaps in her fingers. "Just your hands will do."

    "F-Fine¡­" Faelyn shortly agreed in defeat.

    A brighter flush of embarrassment was hung on her face after knowing her sneaky peek was found out.

 Chapter 496 - Bathhouse Moans

    <h4>Chapter 496 - Bathhouse Moans</h4>

    Sometimeter, Leon and Faelyn exited the private male bathing area together in fresh, clean clothes.

    A satisfied and refreshing smile hung on Leon''s face while Faelyn''s face remained flushed with a deep red color.

    Walking alongside Leon while peaking at his side profile from time to time, Faelyn saw his calm look and could not help but wonder what exactly was their current rtionship considered.

    "What are you thinking about?" Leon asked, noticing a hint of insecurity in her eyes as he secretly paid attention to her.

    Faelyn was surprised for a moment before feeling warm from his concern. However, it shortly disappeared as she asks, "Are we considered lovers now, Leon?"

    "What do you think?" Leon returned her question with a smile.

    However, Faelyn knitted her brows before she said, "I don''t know. Isn''t that why I am asking you?"

    "Oh? You really don''t know?" Leon grinned with a teasing look before he queried, "Do you do that sort of thing with just any guy if they wanted you to?"

    "What sort of¡ª"

    Faelyn was about to ask when she suddenly blushed deeply in understanding. She quickly smacked Leon on the shoulder before she pouted, "Of course not! Do you think I''m some sort of loose woman?!"

    "Oh? Then are we friends with benefits?" Leon asked casually as he continued to tease.

    Faelyn paused in her tracks and stared at him with disbelief, "F-friends with benefits? W-Who would do something like that between friends?!"

    "Actually, there are people like that out there, you know? People are capable of doing anything, after all." Leon shrugged his shoulders nonchntly.

    "T-That might be right for humans, but elves are very conservative! I wouldn''t do something like that for just a friend!" Faelyn responded agitatedly.

    Friends with benefits? Che! Who can ept such a thing?!

    Seeing Faelyn throwing a tantrum like a riled cat, Leon chuckled lightly. Shortly after, he held her cheeks with both hands and gazed into her eyes seriously before asking, "You don''t do that with anyone else, and you also don''t want us to be friends with benefits. So, what are you confused about?"

    "I¡­ I¡­" Faelyn stuttered, not sure how to answer. Exactly, what was she confused about?

    "Of course, we are lovers," Leon assured her with a smile before stealing her soft lips with a sudden hot kiss.

    "Mmf¡ª!"

    Faelyn was caught unprepared by Leon''s sudden attack as her hands tightened in resistance subconsciously on reflex.

    However, she could not pull away from Leon before his experienced tongued pried into her mouth and intertwined with hers, exchanging a long and passionate.

    It was different from her inexperienced attempt previously.

    Under Leon''s guidance, she experienced the true sensual pleasure of kissing and melted in his arms as her arms slowly dropped before wrapping around his body.

    Sometimeter, their lips separated with a thin thread of saliva connected between them.

    However, Faelyn was not satisfied and wrapped her arms around Leon''s neck before pulling him in for another long and passionate kiss.

    It was not long before Faelyn''s breathing began haggard and looked at Leon with a feverish gaze.

    "Leon, I¡­ I want¡ª"

    Faelyn''s words were interrupted with Leon''s index pressed on her lips before he shook his head, "Not now. We have important things to do now. Let us save it forter, okay?"

    "But I feel so hot right now¡­ It''s ufortable¡­ I want it." Faelyn said feverishly with pinkish glints in her eyes while her body squirmed in his arms.

    Leon realized that he may have been too intense with his kisses for Faelyn''s first time, making her unnaturally excited, along with the aphrodisiac perfume that had taken effect on her.

    "Then¡­ how about I relieve you the same you relieved me with your hands?" Leon suggested after a moment of thought.

    Faelyn nodded her head shyly, "Mmm!"

    Shortly after, they head back into the private male bathing area, where there was no one else around, unlike the public mixed bathing area with the open sky as its ceiling.

    "Mmm~!"

    "Ahhh, ahhh~!"

    Faelyn''s loud moan could be hearding out from the area as she felt inexplicable waves of pleasure assaulting her body from Leon''s dexterous fingers.

    Female elves assigned to washing Silver in the big open mixed bathing area all blushed from hearing their Fifth Princess''s erotic moans as they began to feel strangely excited themselves.

    s, they could only endure it and continue with their task at hand.

    Half an hourter, Leon and Faelyn exited the male private bathing area once more. They did not cross thest line since Leon only used his fingers and nothing more.

    Even so, it was enough to make Faelyn climax a dozen times within such a short time frame. Her body was especially sensitive to his touch.

    When Leon made his way to the public mixed bathing area with Faelyn, the atmosphere of the ce appeared somewhat off and peculiar.

    They could be seen entering the ce together hand in hand.

    "Your Highness. Savior. It will just take a bit longer before we finish washing the Skysilver Beast King." One of the female elves informed blush as they snuck subtle nces at both Leon and Faelyn.

    Leon quickly understood they had overheard Faelyn''s moan earlier and shortly nced at her, only to see a crimson blush appeared on her cheeks.

    Nevertheless, Faelyn tried to keep herposure before she calmly said to the female elf, "Alright, I understand. Carry on with your work."

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    Shortly after the female elf left and rejoined the other five female elves washing Silver, Leon moved his head closer to Faelyn''s ears and whispered, "It seems the private bathing area wasn''t very sound-insted."

    "I know! No need to remind of that," Faelyn whispered back with a hushed tone as she stepped on his feet grudgingly.

    Naturally, Faelyn did not use excessive force and only appeared yful in Leon''s eyes.

    "Hey, hey. Don''t make it seem like it was my fault."

    "It was your fault!" Faelyn pouted unhappily.

    Hearing this, Leon could only shake his head with a wry smile. The struggles of men. Even if you are right, you are still wrong.

    "How is it feel over there, eh? Silver?" Leon hollered.

    "Awooo!" Silver howled and wagged its tails to expressing its contentment.

    At the same time, it caused chaos in the surroundings as the female elves cried while water sshed everywhere.

    "Yikes," Leon uttered facetiously.

 Chapter 497 - Paving The Way

    <h4>Chapter 497 - Paving The Way</h4>

    Great Forest''s eastern outskirts.

    Not surprisingly, the region was filled with smothering ck smoke rising into the skies while droves of rats roamed the wide-open ins outside.

    Supreme Elder Haldir stood on the deck of the airship as it flew above the tall forest trees engulfed in mes before briefly disappearing into the clouds of ck smoke.

    Momentster, the airship reappeared on the other side of the ck cloud, exiting the boundary of the Great Forest. The Supreme Elder waved his hands and dusted away the ck smoke on his body.

    "Do you remember the n, captain?" Supreme Elder Haldir queried the person dusting the ck smoke beside him.

    "Yes, Marquis Haldir." The airship captain nodded in response. He had been briefed on the mission before they departed from Elvengarde earlier.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before gazing down on the ground behind their leading airship.

    Several dozens of elven warriors had boarded the airship, awaiting the Supreme Elder''s orders, while thousands more were making their way through the burning forest on the surface.

    Shortly after, Supreme Elder Haldir gazed at the swarming sea of rat tide on the ins ahead before he nodded, "Let us proceed with the n, captain."

    "Understood, Marquis¡ª" The captain suddenly paused before he gazed up in the sky with Supreme Elder Haldir.

    Aria''s figure could be seen standing on top of her ice-lightning sword as she descended andnded softly on the airship.

    "Miss Aria, you''vee. What about the young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir greeted with surprise.

    "He won''t being yet. He still has something to do." Aria shook her head before saying, "How could you leave without these exploding pills, Marquis Haldir?"

    A wooden crate filled with bottles of exploding pills was taken out from Aria''s interspatial ring and dumped on the deck with a soft thud.

    "Hold on, there''s still more," Aria said while preparing to take out the remaining crates of exploding pill bottles in her interspatial ring.

    "W-Wait!" Supreme Elder Haldir eximed with a raised hand to stop her before he said, "There''s no need to take them all out now, Miss Aria. Let me distribute these first."

    At the same time, the captain beside them broke into cold sweats as he gazed at the crate of exploding pill bottles by their feet.

    Although they all knew that the exploding pills were not so easily broken, they still could not help but feel anxious.

    The exploding pills were far too dangerous and had to be treated with utter care.

    "Alright," Aria said before dropping her ring hand back down.

    Shortly after, the Supreme Elder called an elven warrior over to take the crate away and distribute an exploding pill bottle to each warrior on board.

    "Can I trouble you to distribute the rest to the warriors on their way over from below?" Supreme Elder Haldir requested.

    "Alright." Aria nodded.

    She hopped on her ice-lightning sword and took off to deliver the exploding pill bottles to the other elven warriors moving along the surface.

    "Take us down, captain," Supreme Elder Haldir said, shortly after Aria left.

    "Yes, Marquis Haldir!" The captain answered with honor, feeling mildly excited with a hint of anticipation for what was about toe.

    "Lower the power output!"

    "Increase the rotary speed!"

    Shortly after barking out a few instructions, the airship began descending closer to the ground and attracted millions of rats in the surrounding region.

    "I guess it''s time I also make my preparations," Supreme Elder Haldir muttered before making his way forward to the front of the airship.

    "Are we beginning, Supreme Elder?" One of the elven warriors on the deck quickly asked as the Supreme Elder approached them.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

    "Come. Your assistance are all needed. We are reinforcing the airship right now!" Supreme Elder Haldir urged.

    "Yes, Supreme Elder!"

    Shortly after, numerous vines proliferated from the seeds in everyone''s hands before making their way to the edge of the airship.

    They wrapped and weaved around each other, forming a thick wovenyer of vines underneath the airship to reinforce the airship''s outer hull.

    As the airship pulled all the rats away from the forest outskirts, the elven warriors charged out of the burning forest and immediately took flight into the skies.

    Aria flew over and passed the crates over to their highmands for distribution.

    Boom!

    An exploding pill went off in the distance, engulfing hundreds of rats in its fiery mes while the surrounding vermin quickly fled from the burning spot.

    At the same time, the drumming noise of the airship was loudly heard as it continued to descend towards the countless rats leaping at it.

    However, the airship did not hover above their range this time.

    No, the airship descended slightly further and rammed straight into the endless sea of rats and sailed on their mountain of flesh and blood!

    Bam!

    The heavy airship immediately bulldozed thousands of rats out of the way as thorny vines protecting the airship''s hull ripped them to countless shreds!

    At the same time, the strong impact of the collision sent the airship flying higher before it descended into the sea of rats once more like it was sailing through rocky waves on stormy weather.

    Boom! Boom!

    More exploding pills were tossed out from both sides of the airship as they sailed through the rat tide, paving the path southeast towards the Great Wall''s direction!

    "That''s the signal! Follow the n!" A high-level elven warrior immediately barked at the first sign of an explosion.

    "Yes, sir!"

    The army of elven warriors flying high in the sky immediately formed two divisions and separated themselves by rough 500 yards.

    Shortly after the rat tide was attracted to theirrge numbers of fleshly bodies, the two armies of elven warriors began to fly in the same direction as the airship, albeit at a moderately slow pace.

    Waves after waves of rats leaped towards them but fell short out of their reach. The situation was incredibly dangerous, and the sight, especially nerve-wracking for the elven warriors.

    A single mistake would pull them down to their deaths, drowned and devoured clean by the swarming rat tide.

    Nevertheless, they pressed forward with the n.

    Aria hovered on her ice-lightning sword in the sky and witnessedrge numbers of rats crushed to death by their brethren as the two elven armies flew away from the Great Forest and pulled the rat tide along with them.

    Shortly after, two tall walls made by mountains of rat carcasses were revealed in their trail.

 Chapter 498 - The Heros Journey

    <h4>Chapter 498 - The Hero''s Journey</h4>

    Aria continued to hover in the sky on her ice-lightning sword and watched everything proceed ording to n, which was, in truth, quite simple.

    It required the airship to act as a vanguard and trailze ahead, clearing out the rats from the center while two teams would then attract the rat tide to kill each other and form two walls of rat carcasses on either side as seen before Aria.

    These two walls will extend all the way to the Great Wall, forming a safe passage for the tribesmen, who were preparing for their departure back in Elvengarde.

    "Everything seems to be proceeding smoothly," Aria muttered softly to herself.

    Sometimeter, another elven warrior army exited the Great Forest behind Aria before she heard one of them barked, "The advance team already went ahead! Proceed with the n!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    After the elven warriors answered, they covered the lower half of their faces with wet cloths like surgical masks before advancing to clean up all the carcasses left behind in between the two walls.

    Night arrived and plunged the world into darkness, but the situation was visible as the remnant fires of exploding pills and burning rat carcasses lit the road ahead.

    Their job was to clear the road and patch up any openings in the two walls of rat carcasses. Evidently, the pungent stench of blood in the area was too intense for the elves to breathe normally.

    "Although the advance team has cleared the road ahead, we don''t know if any stragglers were left behind! Keep your eyes peeled for any sudden movements, understand?"

    "Yes, sir!"

    The elven warriors brought branches with them from the Great Forest and lit them on fire like torches to increase their visibility in the region before carrying out their work.

    Aria observed them for some time before flying off into the distance.

    Boom! Boom!

    Exploding pills were thrown out of the airship from time to time as they continued to cruise through the sea of leaping rats and mow down all the vermin in their way.

    "We''ll continue on this course all the way to the Great Wall," Supreme Elder Haldir stated before summoning his pair of wings and vine armor from a handful of seeds.

    "Yes, Supreme Elder!" The elven warriors onboard answered before one of them asked with slight anxiety, "Are you leaving us here, Supreme Elder?"

    "Yes, the Great Wall''s garrison needs to be alerted of arrival and make preparations to receive our 500-thousand tribesmen." Supreme Elder Haldir stated while gazing into the distant night.

    He also needed to check the situation of the Great Wall.

    ¡­

    Elvengarde

    Shortly after the bathhouse''s chaos settled down, Leon left the building with Silver and Faelyn before she suddenly tugged on his sleeve.

    "Hm? What is it, Faelyn?"

    "I want to retrieve my father''s body."

    "Alright. I''lle with you." Leon shortly agreed to apany Faelyn to retrieving her father''s body from the southern area.

    A great person like King Erendriel should be properly buried instead of being left in the open to rot. That being said, the person''s body was transformed to that of a nt and would not rot.

    When they arrived at the tribe''s southern area, most of the tribesmen had already moved to the eastern parts of Elvengarde.

    However, a few elvish children could still be seen ying around with their parents nearby. They were throwing stones and pebbles at King Erendriel''s transmogrified body for fun.

    Leon saw the sadness and grief in Faelyn''s eyes as her eyshes trembled. After sighing softly, he made his way over to the group of elvish children.

    "Ahh! It''s the Savior!"

    "The Savior is here!"

    The group of children quickly eximed excitedly as they flocked over to Leon''s side and gathered around him with keen interest.

    "What are you doing here, Savior?"

    "Did you alsoe to punish the evil king, Savior?"

    Children were most easily influenced, especially when it came to fairytale stories that are catered to them.

    As such, they all showed preferential reverence and respect for Leon, who was supposedly the hero and savior of their favorite fairytale story.

    Leon bent his knees and lowered himself to their height before he asked with a smile, "I''vee to take the evil king away. Is that okay?"

    "Yeah!" An elven boy of roughly 9 years of age answered.

    "Thank you." Leon smiled and reached out to rub the boy''s head before curiously asking, "What are you all still doing here when the rest of the tribe have already gathered towards the eastern area? Are you all not afraid of getting left behind?"

    "Not afraid~!"

    "We have the Savior here!"

    Leon smiled wryly at their cute answers before a little girl gave him a proper response, "Our parents are still busy packing up some things in our home, Savior."

    "I see. Thank you for answering my question." Leon quickly understood before giving the little girl a head rub.

    While many elven homes were destroyed in the area, there were still some that managed to survive the disaster.

    "Me too!"

    "Oh, oh, me too!"

    The kids were strangely excited to be patted by him.

    After giving them all a head rub, his gaze shortly fell back onto the book the little girl''s arms and asked, "Is this the book about the Saviour?"

    The little 7-year old girl nodded.

    "Can I take a look at it?" Leon asked with a gentle smile.

    The little 7-year old girl hesitated for a moment before she finally decided to pass the book to Leon with a cute nod.

    He was quite interested after hearing about the prophecy.

    After epting the book, he quickly skimmed through the fairytale story called ''The Hero''s Journey'' before recording everything into the Archive for readingter.

    Maya would also be interested.

    "Thank you," Leon said after passing the book back to the little girl.

    Shortly after, he looks at the surrounding kids. He was afraid they might run off and get lost after taking their source of entertainment.

    "Try not running around and wait here patiently for your parents to pick you, okay?" He instructed.

    "Okay~!" The children agreed obediently.

    "That''s good." Leon nodded.

    After picking up King Erendriel''s transmogrified body, Leon returned to Faelyn and gently whispered, "They''re just children that don''t know anything. Don''t me them, kay?"

    "I wouldn''t. I know better than that." Faelyn softly shook her head before saying, "¡­and thank you for apanying me."

    She knew that Leon had something to do, but he was taking his time to apany her. The small act was enough to make her feel warm inside.

    "Don''t worry about it. It''s nothing." Leon quickly shook his head with a smile before asking, "Where do you want to bury your father?"

    "I want to take my father back to Heart of Spring Chamber and ce him together father with my mother, brother, and sister," Faelyn answered.

    "Oh?" Leon''s eyes flickered with interest before suggesting, "How about we also go there together? We can store their bodies in my interspatial storage and take them with us. That way, you can still visit their grave once the tribe is moved to the Human Domain."

    "That would great¡­ Thank you, Leon." Faelyn said with her head lowered while feeling gratified inside for Leon''s consideration.

    However, it was just a passing thought he came up with. His real interest lies in the sealed subterranean entrance in the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    He intended to enter from the ce he previously sealed in the subterranean space, but entering from the Heart of Spring Chamber was also fine.

    More secrets might be hidden there.

 Chapter 499 - Wrath Law

    <h4>Chapter 499 - Wrath Law</h4>

    "Baby sister!" Princess Thessalia rushed over and gave Princess Faelyn a big sisterly hug when they arrived outside the royal pce.

    "Third Eldest Sister." Faelyn greeted.

    While epting her third eldest sister''s warm hug, she felt her third eldest sister''s hidden emotion and began to feel overwhelmed by grief once more.

    The death of their family was not something easy to get over. They can be distracted and have their minds off of it, but it will always be there in the end¡ªsticking with them for the rest of their life.

    Princess Thessalia wanted to act tough in front of her baby sister, assuring her that everything will be okay with her around.

    However, they shortly ended up weeping in each other''s arms.

    Looking at this scene, Leon decided to quietly go on ahead and leave them together for some alone time. He knew they would take up some time.

    "Stay with them and look after them for me, Silver," Leon quietly said to the three-tailed silver wolf that had followed them up to the Elder Tree''s crown.

    "Arf, arf¡­" Silver mimicked Leon with a quiet response before bringing its head closer to the ground byying down.

    Seeing Silver being obedient, Leon ruffled its fur, "That''s a good boy."

    He shortly fished out a supreme-grade spirit stone and fed it to the three-tailed silver wolf before leaving for the Heart of Spring Chamber, which he found out to be located inside the royal pce from Faelyn on the way.

    Silver did not gobble down the entire supreme-grade spirit stone that Leon was beginning to run low on. Instead, it treated it like candy and licked it repeatedly.

    Shortly after Leon left the area, the Elder Tree made some movements with its branches, wanting to steal the supreme-grade spirit stone from Silver.

    Silver''s fur immediately stood up as it softly growled at the branches and leaves poking near it. There was no way it was going to share with the Elder Tree.

    Meanwhile, Leon could hearints from the Guardian Spirit with his divine sense as he headed inside the royal pce to find the Heart of Spring Chamber''s entrance.

    "Don''t worry. You can have as many as you want once we move to the Human Domain." Leon spoke to the Guardian Spirit, taking some time to pacify it.

    The leaves rustled gently in response before the Guardian Spirit retracted its leaves and branches back from the three-tailed silver wolf outside the pce.

    Sometimeter, Leon found the entrance to the Heart of Spring Chamber and made its way down the long spiral of vine steps before reaching the big gates.

    The Elf Queen, Crown Prince, and Second Princess were quickly found at the bottom of the Heart of Spring Chamber beside the rich wood essence spring.

    "It is as Faelyn said, the Crown Prince and Second Princess have be berserk from the Demonic Energy contaminating this ce¡­" Leon spoke to himself while confirming the facts from Faelyn.

    After removing the Demonic Energy inside hidden inside the three bodies wrapped together, Leon stored them inside the Worldspace before recalling, "Oh right, the Demonic Energy inside the Elf King hasn''t been removed either."

    "This could have gone terribly wrong¡­" Leon thought wryly.

    An extraordinary amount of Demonic Energy had been umted inside the Elf King.

    If this Demonic Energy had made its way outside and infected the surrounding tribesmen when the Elf King''s body was left unattended, it would have caused a disaster.

    As Leon prepared to remove the Elf King''s Demonic Energy inside the Worldspace, Maya was curiously attracted over to the bottles of Demonic Energy he had stored.

    "What are you doing?" She asked.

    "Ah, Maya, you came at the right time," Leon paused his attempt and urged her over, "Come take a look at this. Can you tell what this is?"

    "This is¡­" Maya studied the bottle before saying, "Isn''t this just Demonic Energy?"

    "I know that. I''m talking about the overbearingw infused into the Demonic Energy. You also cannot tell what kind ofw it is?" Leon asked.

    He had wanted to ask Maya about this, but perhaps the artifact spirit also does not know? s, he was just overthinking. The artifact spirit was very knowledgeable.

    "This¡­" Maya scrutinized the Demonic Energy before her gaze turned serious and wore a solemn expression. "This is the Law of Wrath."

    "The Law of Wrath?" Leon wrinkled his brows. He had never heard of suchw before. No wonder he could not tell what kind ofw it was.

    Maya nodded.

    "It''s not surprising that a mortal like you don''t know about the Law of Wrath. This isn''t something easy toe in contact with unless youprehend the Law of Destruction."

    Leon was startled before quickly asking, "What does the Law of Destruction have to do with the Law of Wrath?"

    "A lot of things, really. After all, the Law of Wrath is a specializedw of the Destruction Law. This isn''t the kind ofw you canprehend unless you follow the path of the Devil." Maya exined.

    "As I thought, this Demonic Energy infused with the Wrath Law came from a Devil after all, huh? But if such a strong Devil still exists, isn''t this world done for?" Leon asked.

    Only Great Devils couldprehend the Destruction Law. These beings were Devil amongst Devils, Divinity amongst Divinities. Who could possibly beat them?

    Suddenly Leon paused and shifted his gaze over to Lumi''s silently sleeping face and recalled Duna also wielded the Destruction Law.

    The owner of the Wrath-infused Demonic Energy might not necessarily be a living Great Devil but a regr person or demon who had awakened one of their Devil Soul Fragment.

    As if agreeing with Leon''s thoughts, Maya exined, "Not necessarily. A Great Devil''s body can infect the surrounding with its powerfulw even if it''s dead, not to mention itsprehension ofws can be consolidated into solid objects."

    "Ah, like Transcendent Crystals and Celestial Sparks, right?"

    "Right." Maya nodded before asking Leon curiously, "What are you collecting the Demonic Energy for anyway?"

 Chapter 500 - Lumi Awakens

    <h4>Chapter 500 - Lumi Awakens</h4>

    "Hm? Uh, I was going to dump them into the Universal Life Conversion Array. Such powerful Demonic Energy should be able to produce a lot of Life Energy, right?" Leon answered.

    "You want to what?" Maya gasped with shock before angrily crying, "Holy mama, it was good that I asked! Are you fricking stupid?"

    "Huh? Why? What did I do?" Leon asked while furrowing his brows in confusion. "Is there a problem with this?"

    "Problem? Of course, there is a problem! A big problem! Do you know water and fire don''t mix well?! The same goes for Life and Death, Spirit Energy and Demonic Energy! Basically, any two opposing forces should not be mixed!" Maya exploded like someone had fed her hot pepper.

    Leon wrinkled his brows before he said, "You''re telling me the Universal Life Conversion Array cannot ept Demonic Energy?"

    "Not just Demonic Energy, but also Deathly Energy and Destructive Energy. Basically, any force on the darker side of the spectrum should not be added to the Universal Life Conversion Array."

    "Dafuq? Why is a Universal Life Conversion Array even called a Universal Life Conversion Array if it''s not even universal?" Leon asked with an incredulous look.

    Hearing Leon''s question, Maya''s angry expression immediately crumpled with a bit of awkwardness.

    "Err¡­ well, it''s not that the Universal Life Conversion Array cannot produce Life Energy from Demonic Energy¡­ It''s just that I¡ªAhem, it wouldn''t have an easy time doing so." Maya said.

    Leon stared at Maya with a dubious look before bing enlightened suddenly like a lightbulb lighting up in his head.

    As the artifact spirit of the Divine Book of Life, it was not wrong to say that the Universal Life Conversion Array was one part of Maya.

    Looking at it from another angle, the Universal Life Conversion Array could even be said to be Maya''s mouth and digestive system.

    "So, devouring Demonic Energy is like eating spicy hotpot and getting a ring sting? The poop will stille out in the end, but you will just have a fiery asshole experience, huh?" Leonmented with an understanding look.

    "No¡­ well, yes," Maya admitted before ring at Leon with a repulsive look. "Dammit, do your words have to be so vulgar and nasty?"

    "So it is true then. Well¡­ if my analogy is spot on, then why not?" Leon shrugged nonchntly before his gaze turned serious. "The Worldspacecks the energy to nourish the herbs, and your spirit also needs to be recovered. Now is not the time to be picky with what you eat."

    "Wait¡­ you are not nning to¡­" Maya saw Leon picked up the bottles of Demonic Energy and making his way over to the Universal Life Conversion Array before she cried, "Don''t do it! Noooo!"

    The few bottles of Demonic Energy was directly tossed into the array pool.

    "Arghh, I will remember this!" Maya spat before her manifested form disappeared into hiding.

    Shortly after, the Universal Life Conversion Array rumbled loudly like it had eaten something terrible and had difficulty digesting.

    The entire space began to shake like the arrival of Armageddon, threatening to copse and destroy everything inside.

    However, the Divine Book of Life was a peerless treasure of its age. It would not be so easily ruined by some Demonic Energy, even if it is infused with the Law of Wrath.

    After some bubbly rumbles and growlings from the Universal Life Conversion Array, the Worldspace began to regain its calm as the scattered light particles of Life Energy descended from the sky and nourished the herbs and soil of the Sacred Garden.

    "As I thought, higher-quality energy will naturally produce higher-quality energy." Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    He observed the herbs'' growth elerating and dead soil regaining life, bing suitable for nting more herbs.

    "Uuu¡­" A soft groan was heard shortly after the Worldspace regained its calmness, causing Leon to shift his gaze over to the Yin area with surprise.

    He quickly shed over.

    "You''ve finally woke up. How are you feeling, Lumi?" Leon asked with concern as he helped her get up from the ice bed.

    Lumi''s eyes flickered for a moment before she studied her body''s condition with a frown, waving her hands and feet.

    "I''m¡­ fine, I guess?" Lumi answered unconfidently, uncertain of what answer Leon was hoping for. "How was I asleep?"

    "Not too long. Only a few days." Leon responded.

    "Oh, only a few days?" Lumi raised an eyebrow before asking suspiciously, "What seems to be the problem, then?"

    "Eh? No problem, I suppose."

    "Huh? What is that supposed to mean? Stupid."

    Leon smiled wryly.

    Spirits do not need to sleep due to existing in their soul forms andck of mortal bodies. Only problems and damages inflicted on their souls would induce them to sleep.

    That being said, Leon was not entirely sure. The soul was still a profound learning topic, researched by many back in the Divine Realm¡ªeven Peak Divine Kings.

    However, he did not want to mention any of this, lest he identally makes her recall something unfavorable andpse into unconsciousness again.

    Nevertheless, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that it only took a bit of shaking for Lumi to awaken from hera.

    "Well, it''s good that you are awake now. What will you do now? We are currently in the Wilnds beyond the Western Frontier. If you want, you can leave after we return. The Extreme Misty Forest a great ce to¡­"

    Leon slowly stopped talking as he saw Lumi shaking her head before shortly saying, "I''m not leaving. I like it around here, so I will stick around for a while longer."

    Lumi roamed the surrounding with her gaze before patting the ice bedfortably, making herself at home.

    "If that is what you want, then suit yourself." Leon smiled wryly.

    Seeing Maya have not reappeared, Leon went back to the Elf King''s transmogrified body to remove the Demonic Energy.

    At the same time, Lumi followed him curiously, checking out what he was doing. As his eyes shortly paused on the emerald ring, he decided to reach out for the ring and study its runes.

    However, he suddenly recalled the words he previously said to the Elf King and shortly retracted his hand awkwardly.

    "Is there something wrong or interesting about this ring? Why are you hesitating to take it?" Lumi asked curiously after grabbing the emerald ring and inspecting it closely.

    Leon''s lips twitched before he said, "It''s nothing."

 Chapter 501 - Sliver Of Will

    <h4>Chapter 501 - Sliver Of Will</h4>

    "Weirdo. There''s nothing interesting about this. You can have it back." Lumi failed to find any point of interest from the emerald ring before tossing it back to Leon.

    However, Leon dodged the ring like it was a gue, causing it to fall to the ground some distance away from them.

    Lumi nced at Leon suspiciously before she asked, "Why did you avoid the ring?"

    "Ahem, it''s nothing. Don''t think too much into it." Leon coughed before returning his attention to the Elf King''s transmogrified body.

    Seeing Leon unwilling to exin, Lumi could only shrug it off.

    After Leon locked onto the Demonic Energy with divine sense, he began pulling them out with his Divine Will.

    However, something unexpected happened.

    The moment the invisible mental power of Leon''s Divine Will contacted the umted Demonic Energy inside the Elf King''s transmogrified body, the Demonic Energy became active like it was sentient.

    It followed the traceless mental powering from Leon''s Divine Will and rushed out of the Elf King''s body before invading his mind!

    "What?!"

    Leon was caught unprepared as the Demonic Energy poured into his mind through his seven orifices, rushing straight towards soul core!

    "No!" Leon tried to resist their advances with his Divine Will. However, the Demonic Energy was like slivery snakes that could not be caught by his Divine Will!

    There was a stronger existing will within the overbearing Demonic Energy that could negate the power of his Divine Will!

    Leon''s eyes immediately turned red as he exerted his Divine Will to the max!

    At the same time, he willed the power within his ck Vortex to form a protectiveyer around his soul core to ward off the Demonic Energy and prevent them from trying to corrupt his mind!

    However, another unexpected situation took ce in the split second the Demonic Energy invaded into the region of his sea of consciousness!

    Before the Demonic Energy could evene close to his soul core, they suddenly lost all sense of versatility before getting pulled in by the ck Vortex''s powerful attraction!

    Crunch!

    The strips of Demonic Energy were crushed and grounded down within the ck Vortex until the sliver of sentient will hidden inside the Demonic Energy was destroyed!

    Shortly after, everything was refined into raw power that Leon could manipte before joining the grey ring of energy and circting around his soul core.

    Momentster, when everything seemed to have calmed down, Leon could still be seen trickling in cold sweats.

    The situation hade too abruptly. And before Leon could do anything, the domineering ck Vortex inside his sea of consciousness had resolved everything for him¡ªeven granting him a boost in power.

    "Are you alright, Leon?" Lumi asked with concern. She had witnessed the Demonic Energy flooding into Leon''s head but was helpless to do anything to stop it.

    Everything had happened too quickly for her to react.

    "I-I''m fine¡­ probably," Leon replied unconfidently.

    "Probably? So, are you fine, or are you not?"

    "I''m notpletely sure yet. Give me a moment to check."

    Shortly after, Leon performed an introspection on himself and visited the grey ring of energy within his ck Vortex.

    Few red strips of Demonic Energy could be seen following the cirction of the grey energy revolving around his soul core like the asteroid belt in orbit around the stars due to gravity.

    However, Leon could no longer sense any overbearingness from the Demonic Energy.

    In fact, they have be so tamed and docile that he felt they could be manipted easily like any other forms of elementary energy.

    Shortly after, the Demonic Energy was pulled away from the grey ring of energy and moved around within the ck Vortex Space ordingly to his will.

    His doubts were confirmed to be true.

    He did not expect to be able to manipte Demonic Energy so freely like he was manipting Spirit Energy, even though he did not practice the demonic path.

    ''What on earth was that sliver of will, though? Who did it belong to? A Great Devil? No, that should be very unlikely.'' Leon furrowed in thought.

    No matter who it belonged to, it was not on his side since it tried to invade his mind and possess him. That was for sure.

    ''No wonder the Elf King did not go berserk with such quantity of Demonic Energy inside him. The Demonic Energy was special¡ªin possessing the sliver of will from some being¡­''

    Leon began to reconsider his ns.

    The trip to the subterranean world might be proven to be far more dangerous than he had previously anticipated.

    If the sliver of will from some being was already strong enough to overpower his Divine Will, then that goes without saying that the said being was most likely more powerful than him as well¡ªand this was not by a small margin.

    He would just be a sitting duck if he ran into such a powerful being.

    ''However, I am only scouting the situation of the subterranean world in this area¡­ there''s no need for me to venture too deeply. Perhaps, I won''t run into such a being.'' Leon began to contemted.

    If he could find the source of the Demonic Energy and put an end to its production, then that would be for the best¡ªprovided that the Demonic Energy came from an ancient relic''s malfunction, responsible for producing artificial Spirit Energy.

    However, if his theory was proven wrong and that the source came from the powerful demonic being, he would be f*cked if he ran into such a being even if he had nine lives.

    After a bit of back and forward thinking, Leon ultimately sighed mentally, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Furthermore, dangers and fortunese hand in hand. As I thought, I should still take a look."

    Suddenly, he noticed something shined for a brief moment while his divine sense was still inside the ck Vortex.

    A few transparent objects were floating outside the grey ring of energy. He had nearly missed it if not for the slight gleam that came from the soft refraction of light.

    ''Is that¡­?" Leon began to gleam with realization. The destroyed sliver of will had actually left behind somew fragments for him toprehend!

 Chapter 502 - Life-Saving Means

    <h4>Chapter 502 - Life-Saving Means</h4>

    ''To think this ck Vortex Space is capable of grinding down the being''s will intowprehension fragments. No matter how impressive the Destruction Law and Wrath Law are, they are still nothing in front of Nihility, huh?'' Leon mused.

    The [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] was starting to live up to its name. It was this technique that allowed him to gain a preliminaryprehension of the Nihility Law.

    As thew that marks the beginning and end of all things, it truly did deserves to sit at the peak of allws.

    If he could fullyprehend thisw, bing the Hegemon of Primal Chaos would not be a farfetched dream.

    ''Let''s see what thesew fragments contain,'' Leon wondered.

    His divine sense slowly drifted over and contacted the firstw fragment before a series of profound information in the form of images were transmitted into his mind.

    He saw the waning moons and copsing stars, the shattering of countless celestial bodies that were supposedly eternal in the dark and endless expanse.

    Whether they were stars, star fields, or even star clusters; anything can be destroyed, and nothing seemed eternal in front of destruction.

    Leon vaguely felt that thew fragment had something to do with the Destruction Law. Nevertheless, he could not understand anything from these jumbled images alone.

    ''Seems like I need to absorb them first.'' Leon thought.

    Thew fragment was shortly pulled towards his soul core before disappearing inside like droplets falling into the sea, but without its ripples.

    A series of profound images flowed through his mind once more. However, they were no longer and jumbled and confusing as before.

    As he suspected, it was theprehension fragment of the Destruction Law.

    Even so, Leon''sprehension of the Destruction Law did not immediately improve after absorbing theprehension fragment.

    Just because the knowledge was there, it does not necessarily mean that he would immediately understand it.

    ''It seems I will still need to gain insight from studying these profound images if I want to understand Destruction.'' Leon thought wryly.

    He thought he could advance by leap and bounds in an instant¡ªsimply by absorbing thew fragments.

    ''I guess there is no way there would be such a thing in the world. You can try to teach a donkey how to drink water. But if it''s too stupid to understand, any teachings would be ultimately fruitless, huh?'' Leon pondered to himself.

    In the end, thew fragments were another being''sprehension of thew and not his own.

    He needed to interpret the being''sprehension in his own understanding to make it his own¡ªjust like how a teacher imparts their knowledge to their student.

    That being said, the Destruction Law Fragment will help him gain insight into thew at a much quicker rate than if he was to attempt it through regr means.

    Not to mention, it was the Destruction Law!

    This was not supposed to be something mortal can easilye in contact with, let aloneprehend it with their mortal perception!

    However, an opportunity was presented before him!

    ''Let me see what the rest of thesewprehension fragments contain.'' Leon shortly cast his covetous divine sense onto the remaining scattered fragments.

    There were not too many fragments. Only seven pieces were found floating around aimlessly in the ck Vortex Space, and not all of them contained the Destruction Law.

    There were also the Death Law and Darkness Law, while the Wrath Law was nowhere to be found. However, Leon did not find this strange.

    ording to Maya''s words, the Law of Wrath is a specializedw within the Destruction Law.

    This is to say that the Destruction Law was so broad and profound that even the Great Devils from the primordial age could only focus on one aspect of destruction.

    After all, there were different types of destruction.

    That being said, Leon had no clue how wrath is rted to destruction. Perhaps, thew was too profound for him to understand.

    Nevertheless, he did not dwell on it.

    After absorbing all seven fragments, Leon ended his introspection and opened his eyes to the Worldspace in his surroundings before letting out a soft sigh.

    Evidently, he had entered the Worldspace with his real body rather than projecting his mind inside, forming an astral avatar like usual.

    There was no one around inside the Heart of Spring Chamber to witness him disappear, nor was he going to spend too much time inside the Worldspace.

    However, there had always been something he was curious about whenever he enters the Worldspace with his real body¡ªwas anything left outside when he enters?

    It could be a life-saving method if he understood the answer to this question.

    "How are you feeling, Leon? Everything okay?" Lumi asked.

    Leon smiled and nodded, "Everything is good¡ªNo, great! Anyhow, I am going to return to the outside world now. Are youing?"

    "Of course," Lumi answered before casting him a curious gaze. "By the way. I''ve been meaning to ask, but what kind of space is this?"

    Lumi''s eyes narrowed in question.

    "Perfect, I''ll send you outside first," Leon state whilepletely disregarding her previous question.

    "Eh? Wait, answer my question f¡ª"

    Poof.

    Lumi''s figure immediately warped through space and disappeared¡ªkicked outside the Worldspace by Leon with a single thought.

    Not long after Lumi was booted, Leon appeared outside shortly after her.

    "Did you see anything?" He asked.

    "See what? I did sort of feel something, though¡ªNo, never mind that. Answer my previous question!" Lumi shook her head and urged with strong curiosity.

    Hearing her words, Leon understood that the Divine Book of Life does not manifest itself in his ce when he brings his body inside the Worldspace¡ªhowever, its existence could be subtly felt.

    This was neither good nor bad news.

    But if he can properly use this information, hiding inside the Worldspace could be a means to save his life in extreme situations.

    "Tell me~!" Lumi grabbed his arm and began swinging them as she threw a tantrum.

    Leon shortly nced at her with a smile, causing Lumi''s anticipation to rise. But contrary to her expectation, he replied, "I don''t wanna~!"

    "Che! Be that way!" Lumi immediately pouted unhappily while stomping her feet, no longer pressing Leon for an answer.

    That was his secret.

    If he did not want to tell her, then there was nothing she can do about it.

 Chapter 503 - Not Simple

    <h4>Chapter 503 - Not Simple</h4>

    "Let''s just say that at a certain realm in Divine Cultivation, one will be able to form their own inner world like you have just seen inside my world," Leon said.

    Of course, he did not specify which realm, nor did he mention that a Divine Cultivator''s inner world could be infinitely vaster but cannot sustain life.

    In fact, even Peak Divine Kings are unable to sustain life in their inner world¡ªat least not the lives of mortals who have yet to achieve the Divine State.

    After all, the inner worlds'' existence is not meant to carter living space for mortals but to be the vessel to contain the Divine Cultivators'' power.

    "Divine Cultivation? What is Divine Cultivation? And at what realm can Divine Cultivators form their inner worlds? The realm shouldn''t be that low, right?" Lumi asked.

    Leon smiled and refused toment, causing Lumi''s reignited enthusiasm to dampen shortly after. At the same time, she could not help but feel that Leon spoke with half-truths and half-lies.

    However, she cannot affirm her doubts, seeing as Leon had no intention to continue on the topic. She would not get her answers.

    Nevertheless, there was no rush. The road ahead is long. There will be plenty of opportunities to hear the answer from Leon.

    Shortly after pouting a bit, Lumi asks, "What are we doing here?"

    "We are going to explore the subterranean world and investigate the source of Demonic Energy that is currently guing life on the surface."

    Leon began to fill Lumi in on the details of the recent events; theing Cataclysm, the berserk changes of beasts, and the Demonic Energy spilling from underground.

    "It''s going to be quite dangerous. Maybe it''s better if you don''t follow me outside." Leon suggested after his briefing.

    "Haa? Do you even realize who is stronger between the two of¡ªAhem, I mean¡­ I understand. However, I am stilling." Lumi stated.

    "Strong between the two of¡­?"

    "No, it''s nothing. Don''t worry about it."

    The first half of her words immediately made Leon looked at her suspiciously, which in turn caused her to avert her eyes and look elsewhere with a hint of nervousness.

    Leon narrowed his eyes with stronger suspicion.

    Objectively speaking, Lumi was far stronger than him by andslide. The power over Destruction, Time, and Darkness made her almost invincible under the Celestial Realm¡ªif not for the bacsh, that is.

    Even so, not many people or beings were her opponents in a quick battle.

    Nevertheless, Lumi should not be aware of awakening such abilities¡ªor at least that is what Leon thinks, but it seems she was fully aware of it.

    After all, if Duna can wield those powerfulws, Lumi would be able to utilize them too¡ªjust like two sides of the same coin.

    "Whatever. Let''s just leave it at that then. We''re going to now." Leon said with a shrug, deciding to pay too much attention to the matter.

    There were more important things to do.

    "Where to?" Lumi asked.

    ncing around, the Heart of Spring Chamber seemed to only have one entrance and no other room except the one they were standing in.

    Leon already knew there was a hidden room in the Heart of Spring Chamber, but Faelyn had not specified where.

    Even so, it was not difficult for him to find it as he gazed directly at the little waterfall at the back of the spring.

    He did not even need to use divine sense. His sensitivity to Demonic Energy pointed him in that specific direction.

    "Let''s go," Leon said.

    "Err, alright," Lumi responded, deciding not to overthink. She just needed to follow Leon. If they get lost, she would just me him.

    She was quickly surprised to find the hidden entrance behind the little waterfall.

    The entrance seemed to have been recently sealed up with vines. Leon quickly understood it was Faelyn''s doing.

    After tearing down the seal, a burst of Demonic Energy escaped from the hidden room, gushing straight towards Leon''s face.

    However, he did not defend himself. Instead, he weed the wave of Demonic Energy and absorbed them into his body.

    Shortly after the Demonic Energy was refined in his ck Vortex, Leon was slightly disappointed at the absence ofw fragments.

    ''Well, this much is to be expected¡­'' Leon thought.

    There was no hidden will inside the Demonic Energy he devoured. Naturally, there would not be anyw fragments for him to absorb.

    "Are you alright? Didn''t you say this Demonic Energy makes people lose their sanity and go berserk?" Lumi asked concernedly.

    "Yes, but it won''t work on me. I have a way to defend myself against the corruption." Leon stated before entering the hidden room ahead of Lumi.

    "Eh? Why not? Hey, wait for me!" Lumi shortly followed after Leon before asking, "You didn''t exin how you can stop the corruption."

    "Aren''t you being very nosy? Fine, I will tell you. It''s because¡­ of a secret."

    Lumi had perked her ears to listen to Leon with rapt attention. However, thetter half of his words immediately made her angry.

    "You''re teasing me!"

    "That''s right. What are you going to do about it? Bite me?" Shortly after Leon said this, Lumi immediately pounced on him for a bite.

    "Oi, oi! You''re seriously trying to bite me?" Leon held her face back with his hand while studying theyout of the hidden room.

    "That''s right! What are you going to do about it? Bite me back?" Lumi said defiantly, mimicking Leon''s previous words.

    Leon shook his head and said, "No, but I can throw you back inside my Worldspace, and you will not be able to leave."

    "If you do that, then I will wreck all your precious herbs!" Lumi threatened.

    Leon was immediately struck speechless. If she was reallymitted to doing such a thing, the loss would pain him greatly.

    Lumi was not someone to be trifled with.

    "Alright, alright. It''s my loss, okay? Quit it now. We have something to do. I will tell you about it another time, alright?"

    "Eh, you''re right. Fine, I will let you off for now."

    Shortly after Lumi calmed down, Leon made his way over to the hidden room''s back wall and tore down the vine wall sealing the entrance.

    Leon''s eyes quickly flickered at the well-built passageway as waves of Demonic Energy burst out from deeper inside the subterranean world.

    "This ce is not simple¡­" Leon muttered with a frown.

 Chapter 504 - Leons Avarice

    <h4>Chapter 504 - Leon''s Avarice</h4>

    At first nce, the passageway appeared no different from othermon passages found in the subterranean world.

    However, the passageway before them was not naturally formed.

    It was man-made, or at least made by some being. This can be observed by the chiseled walls and semi-t ground like it had been carved and leveled out.

    What surprised Leon was at the other end of the passageway, which was actually not that long and still within the range of his divine sense.

    "Ruins of the Nova Civilization, huh?" Leon mumbled.

    His eyes flickered with understanding.

    "Eh? What did you say? Did you discover something?" Lumi suddenly asked while trying to peer into the gloomy crimson passageway, overflowing with Demonic Energy.

    "Nothing. You''ll see soon enough, Lumi." Leon responded with a shake of his head

    "Fine¡­"

    Shortly after, Leon pointed his index finger upwards before a bright me came to life on the tip of his finger and brightened up the area.

    Lumi distanced herself from Leon subconsciously.

    Leon noticed her subtle movement and smiled wryly, thinking that she was still a spirit at the end of the day. She still cannot ovee her natural weakness and fear against extreme Yang elements.

    The two followed to the end of the passageway before entering the remnant ruins of the Nova Civilization from ten thousand years ago while passing through the cluster of Demonic Energy in the area.

    Leon had some apprehensions against absorbing too much Demonic Energy; thus, they were collected and dumped into the Universal Life Conversion Array.

    "Leon, don''t push things too far!" Maya''s strong voice thundered throughout the Worldspace and quaked the ground. "Otherwise, don''t me if I make all your precious herbs wilt!"

    "Haiz¡­ this girl¡­ don''t know what''s good for her." Leon shook his head with a wry sigh before he mumbled grudgingly, "Why do these women always have to threaten me with my herbs? What did it ever do to them? Some spirit herbs never hurt nobody."

    After seeing the herbs growing nicely, Leon withdrew his consciousness from the Worldspace.

    If he could keep supplying the herbs with stable Life Energy, it would only be a matter of days before the leading herbs advance to Tier 4 Spirit Herbs.

    That is much quicker than the one-year timeframe he had initial predicted when the Sacred Garden was damaged andcking in Life Energy.

    With the rightbination of Tier 4 Spirit Herbs, he could concoct batches of Heaven Ascension Pills and allow peak Core Revolving Realm Divine Cultivators to breakthrough to the Heaven Ascension Realm directly.

    This was a realm equivalent to Seeking Insight Transcendent.

    s, there are no Core Revolving Realm Divine Cultivators in the Crawford Kingdom. At most, there are Peak Body Tempering Realm Divine Cultivators amongst the citizens.

    ''It seems I need to raise the bar for cultivations amongst the people once I return to the empire.'' Leon mused.

    Each condition for the flourishing age of Divine Cultivation has been met one by one.

    He has the World Tree for its endless supply of Spirit Energy, the Sacred Garden for producing high-quality spirit herbs, and himself with the knowledge of Divine Cultivation to achieve each realm.

    If there was one thing these things all had inmon, it was that they are all rted to him in one way or another.

    What does this imply?

    It implies that not only will he be the leading figure pioneering the flourishing age of Divine Cultivation, he will also be making bucket loads of money, money, and money!

    Important things had to be mentioned thrice!

    Leon''s eyes glowed avariciously.

    "Hahaha!" Leon suddenly burst into maniacal deepughter upon thinking about the endless wealth he could be making and caused Lumi to jump with fright.

    "What the heck, Leon? Have you gone mad?" Lumi asked with shock before her eye''s flickered with some sort of enlightenment. "Oh, no! It must be the Demonic Energy! Don''t worry, I will pull you out right away!"

    "Ahem, stop¡ªstop it. I''m fine. I was just thinking about something." Leon coughed awkwardly and exined while Lumi was trying to drag him back to the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    Lumi paused to gaze at him suspiciously before asking, "What were you thinking about?"

    "¡­Money. A lot of money." Leon scratched his cheek ruefully.

    Lumi was surprised by this answer before she said, "I would have never thought you were such an avaricious person."

    "Haiz, me too." Leon sighed while shaking his head. He was not such a person in his past life. It was the mortal struggle of poverty that corrupted him.

    The empire needed a staggering amount of wealth and resources for its development.

    As long as he was the prince of the empire, he had a duty and responsibility to help his parents develop the country.

    ''Why does it feel like the wealthiest people were also seem to be the poorest?'' Leon mulled over these thoughts.

    If the truly poverty-stricken people knew he thought like this, they would have pointed fingers and cursed him to death, drowning him in their saliva.

    Shortly after Leon and Lumi reached the end of the passageway, an intense crimson light weed them before their eyesid upon arge open area, nted on a downward slope.

    Marbled limestones and refined alloy walls of old buildings stuck out from the ground, half-buried, while a tilted tower brimming with Demonic Energy could be seen at the bottom of the long slope.

    Leon narrowed his eyes on the crimson tower with a studying gaze.

    "What the heck is that thing?" Lumi eximed before pointing straight at the crimson tower he was observing, "That must be the source of all this Demonic Energy, right?"

    "That''s right."

    Leon nodded.

    "If I''m not wrong, that should be one of the old relics from the Nova Civilization, responsible for converting the Sun''s Sr Energy into artificial Spirit Energy. However, something must have gone wrong and inverted the artificial Spirit Energy¡­"

    "The Sun''s Sr Energy? But this is the underground! There isn''t any sunlight here!"

    "And that is precisely what worries me¡­ but to think there was an ancient ruin this close to the elven tribe in the underground¡­"

    Leon did not expect to find the source so quickly¡­ However, that seems to have be the least of his worries.

 Chapter 505 - Sturdy Tower

    <h4>Chapter 505 - Sturdy Tower</h4>

    Looking at the energy conversion tower pumping out Demonic Energy inrge quantity, Lumi frowned for a moment before saying, "We just need to destroy this tower, right? Why do I feel like it won''t be enough to solve the problem?"

    "Because it won''t," Leon replied with a deeper frown.

    For the Elder Tree to grow to its current height, it must have relied on the artificial Spirit Energy produced by this energy conversion tower under it.

    He had suspected this.

    However, something happened that caused the energy conversion tower to stop producing artificial Spirit Energy and started producing Demonic energy.

    Logically speaking, the inversion of artificial Spirit Energy should only create artificial Demonic Energy. But there was nothing but True Demonic Energy in their surrounding.

    Just this point alone is enough to raise a serious question and problem; how was this done?

    "Oh?" Lumi gasp softly with surprise before asking, "Did you figure something out?"

    "Think about it, this is just one energy conversion tower. Although it''s producing a lot of Demonic Energy, its coverage isn''t all that great. At least one energy conversion tower is not enough to spread beyond the Great Forest and infect so many rats from the wide ins of the Wilnds," Leon exined.

    "Hmm¡­ so, in other words, there should be a lot more energy conversion towers out there, right? We just have to find them all and destroy them all, no?" Lumi asked.

    Leon shook his head and said wryly, "If only it was that simple."

    "Huh?" Lumi eximed softly with confusion before asking, "Did I miss something?"

    "You see anything wrong with this?"

    "How can I? I don''t even know how these energy conversion towers operate." Lumi responded with a shrug.

    "Fair enough." Leon nodded.

    He did not me Lumi for herck of runic understanding. If he had not inherited Arden Grdi''s runic knowledge, he would also be just as clueless.

    "The Nova Civilization constructed these energy conversion towers to produce artificial Spirit Energy for their consumption and development. One or two energy conversion tower malfunctioning to invert artificial Spirit Energy can be attributed to coincidence. But all of them malfunctioning? Definitely not just a mere coincidence."

    After listening to Leon''s analytically exnation, Lumi''s eyes flickered with understanding before asking, "Are you suspecting that someone or something had tempered with these energy conversion towers to produce Demonic energy?"

    "No, I don''t suspect it." Leon shook his head before stating confidently, "I ampletely certain of this being the case."

    "Not to burst your ego bubble, but how can you be so sure?" Lumi asked with a hard look of doubt while the two of them approached the energy conversion tower.

    None of the Demonic Energy were able toe in contact with her body. Upon careful look, one would notice a thin barrier of Yin warding off the Demonic Energy.

    Leon scouted the area carefully with his divine sense along the way but failed to detect any signs of life in the surroundings.

    "Remember when I was assaulted by the Demonic Energy I was trying to remove from the Elf King''s body earlier?" He asked.

    "Yeah, what about that?" Lumi nodded.

    "There was a hidden will inside that Demonic Energy. Whoever it belonged to, they had tried to invade my mind and possess my body. Too bad for them, they failed. However, they should be rted to the energy conversion towers producing Demonic Energy." Leon exined.

    Shortly after, he sighed, "If only they can send a few more sliver of will my way and try to possess me again."

    "Are you secretly an M?" Lumi asked with astonishment.

    "What?" Leon nearly staggered from her question before he quickly denied, "Of course, n¡ª"

    "Ha, I knew it. To think that you were such a person. Honestly, I am rather surprised and disappointed." Lumimented before Leon could finish speaking.

    He was immediately struck speechless.

    "Like I was saying¡­ I''m n¡ª"

    "It''s alright. I totally understand." Lumi cut him off again while nodding with an understanding look, causing the corners of Leon''s eye to twitched profusely.

    ''No, you don''t understand at all!''

    "You¡ªhaiz, whatever." He waved his hand in defeat.

    Why did he need to exin himself? It would make him seem more guilty. So long as he knew he was not one, that was enough.

    More importantly, the sliver of will was found inside the Elf King''s body. This means the Elf King had long fallen under this unknown enemy''s control.

    Most likely, the Elf King had visited this remnant ruin on multiple asions and might even have yed a part in tempering the energy conversion tower.

    However, there were some things Leon did not understand.

    If the Elf King had been controlled by this unknown powerful being the entire time, it would contradict his previous assumptions about the Elf King''s sacrifice for the tribe.

    Why would that powerful being throw away one of its pawns in that case?

    Suddenly, Leon''s eyes flickered with a thought.

    What if that being''s control was limited¡ªonly able to influence the Elf King subconsciously like in his sleep, for example?

    This was a rather terrifying thought.

    Knowing when a person is being controlled is not scary. What is scary is not knowing that person is being controlled.

    ''The demons are more deeply rooted in this continent than I thought.'' Leon frowned.

    Shortly after, Leon and Lumi arrived at the foot of the energy conversion tower before they studied the surroundings.

    "Seems like there were people around here recently¡­ but not at the moment," Lumimented while looking at the signs and traces of footsteps.

    Leon nodded in agreement.

    After gazing up at the energy conversion tower, Leon turned Lumi with a gesture, "Would you like to do the honors?"

    "Nah, I''m just tagging along. I''ll leave that job to you." Lumi spoke carefully after pondering for a moment.

    Leon shrugged at her answer before flicking his wrist. Shortly after the bone spear appeared in his firm grasp, he made a diagonal sweep at the energy conversion tower.

    ng!

    A powerful ring resounded through the area from the sh, but the energy conversion tower remained standing after being struck. Only a portion of its edge had been chipped off.

    "Hm? It''s more sturdy than it looks¡­" Leon wrinkled his brows before preparing a more powerful attack.

 Chapter 506 - Rising Temperature

    <h4>Chapter 506 - Rising Temperature</h4>

    Western Frontier, Great Wall.

    General Marquis Hendrick stood atop the ck metal wall while another reputable person stood beside him. They both gazed down at the fiery wall of mes preventing the rat tide from advancing a step closer to their border in the dark of the night.

    "It''s great to have you take time out of your busy schedule to help us here at the frontlines, Duke Ignis." General Marquis Hendrick said.

    Duke Ignis shook his head and said while waving his hand, "You spoke too humbly, General Marquis Hendrick. Against a threat like this rat tide, it is only right for me to lend my hand. Even King Heinrich is paying great attention to this matter."

    "His Majesty is?" General Marquis Hendrick asked with surprise. He had sent a messenger during the first outbreak, but no news nor reinforcement had made their way back until the following day.

    "Of course. The New Capital n has been put on hold, and the Railway Construction n has also been redirected to the Great Wall. The railway route towards the Western Frontier is being built as we speak." Duke Ignis exined.

    General Marquis Hendrick was astonished by the news before he asked with doubt, "I don''t mean to be rude to His Majesty, but what took so long for His Majesty to respond?"

    "Ah¡­ that. I heard King Heinrich and Queen Elizabeth was both away from the Capital, toiling at the site of the railway construction." Duke Ignis said wryly. "Call it bad timing, I suppose?"

    "That is not just bad timing. That is terrible timing," General Marquish Hendrick rubbed his forehead with distress before saying, "Just my luck, huh?"

    "In any case, what matters is that we are here now." Duke Ignis said optimistically. He did note alone.

    General Marquis Hendrick nodded before returning his gaze to the front, observing the rat tide''s situation below.

    A group of Fire Awakeners could be seen maintaining the firewall from atop of an earthen wall, erected by another group of high-level Earth Awakeners guarding them.

    "Are these everyone?" General Marquis Hendrick asked casually without a hint of disappointment, despite the group of reinforcement numbering less than a hundred people.

    Although the two groups consisted of cksmiths and pce guards, they were also the strongest amongst the Fire Awakeners and Earth Awakeners in the empire.

    He could not have asked for a better reinforcement than this, especially the Fire Awakeners. Their destructive element was far too useful in dealing with the rat tide.

    Nevertheless, Duke Ignis shook his head, "No, Queen Elizabeth will being with her entourage, and further 10-thousand troops are making their way over from the eastern side of the empire."

    "So many?" General Marquis Hendrick was taken aback before asking concernedly, "Has the situation in the east stabilize?"

    "More or less. Either way, the situation here in the west requires more attention than the stability of the east. If we lost the Great Wall to this rat tide, it would be an unprecedented cmity, rivaling the Crimsom War."

    "Right¡­" General Marquis Hendrick nodded solemnly.

    Shortly after, Duke Ignis suddenly noticed somethinging from the corner of his eyes before quickly warned with a serious expression, "Something ising!"

    Seeing the ier shooting towards them with incredible speed, Duke Ignis immediately conjured a mence in his hand before aiming at the fast-approaching figure.

    General Marquis Hendrick scrutinized his eyes on the figure in the distant dark skies before they suddenly widened with surprise.

    "Wait, Duke Ignis!" He immediately reached out his hand to stop Duke Ignis before the person could fire his mence. "It''s not an enemy!"

    "Not an enemy?" Duke Ignis repeated, taking General Marquis Hendrick''s word at face value, and dispersed his mence.

    The person''s appearance became clear to Duke Ignis shortly afternding atop the Great Wall to greet them, "Duke Ignis. General Marquis Hendrick. We meet again."

    "Marquis Haldir? How''s the situation in your tribe? Why are you back alone? What about the airship and its crew?" Duke Ignis rained questions on the Supreme Elder.

    Supreme Elder Haldir smiled wryly.

    "The situation is not good, I''m afraid. The rat tide is far, far too great in numbers. We had to light up the Great Forest to keep them at bay. However, the fire will not keep them out of the forest forever. The airship and its crew are on their way here as we speak," He answered.

    "So that is what the smoke ising from." Duke Ignis nodded.

    He had seenrge clouds of ck smoke rising from the Elder Tree''s direction. However, it could no longer be seen after the skies have gone dark.

    Shortly after, he furrowed his brows slightly before asking, "What about the rest of your tribe? Do you have a n to evacuate them from the rat tide?"

    "That''s what I am here for. The young prince hase up with a suitable evacuation n for the tribe." Supreme Elder Haldir chuckled lightly before saying, "I hope you can prepare to wee my 500-thousand tribesmen that will being from the northwestern direction over that distant hill."

    Duke Ignis and General Marquis Hendrick gazed at the distant hill in the pointed direction with wry smiles.

    "500-thousands tribesmen is not a small number. You certainly have ced a difficult task on our shoulders, Marquis Haldir." General Marquis Hendrick spoke wryly.

    The Western Frontier can amodate up to 100-thousand tribesmen at most after the central region is cleaned up.

    However, what about the rest? Also, ration to feed 500-thousand elves would be a huge problem.

    As if knowing what General Marquis Hendrick was considering, Supreme Elder Haldir softly chuckled.

    "You might have misunderstood me, General Marquis Hendrick. You do not need to worry about our amodation and ration supply. You only need to help us wee them over the Great Wall safely." Supreme Elder Haldir exined.

    "I see¡­ that would certainly make things less difficult on my side¡­" General Marquis Hendrick replied, guessing the elves are carrying loads of goods with them.

    "Well then, I will be leaving to take care of things on the other end. Let us meet againter," The Supreme Elder Haldir spoke briefly before taking off from the Great Wall.

    "Marquis Haldir appears to be in a great rush." Duke Ignismented thoughtfully while watching the Supreme Elder''s departing figure in the sky.

    General Marquis Hendrick nodded in agreement before he said, "Perhaps, the looming Cataclysm is closer than we expect¡­"

    "Perhaps. I do feel the world''s temperature is rising these days." Duke Ignis said.

    General Marquis Hendrick nced down at the bright dancing mes on the surface before asking, "Are you sure that is not the heating from the firewall?"

    "¡­"

    "Ahem, maybe." Duke Ignis coughed awkwardly.

    ¡­

 Chapter 507 - Fleshly Abomination

    <h4>Chapter 507 - Fleshly Abomination</h4>

    Boom!

    The top of the energy conversion tower came crashing into the ground after Leon exerted more strength in his spear strike and sliced off the building, diagonally in half.

    At the same time, ck blood spurted out like a fountain from the remaining top of the sliced tower before a dreadful high-pitched cry rang out from within.

    Kriiii!

    "What the hell is that thing?" Lumi eximed in shock at the sight of fleshly heap revealed from both parts of the tower as she shielded herself from the raining ck blood.

    "A fleshly abomination!" Leon stated with surprise.

    He had seen a simr fleshly abomination under the ck Swamp in the Dark Continent. However, the one before them was much smaller inparison.

    His expression turned grave before he quickly retreated from the red tentacles that shot out from the wriggling fleshly heap!

    Swish! Swish!

    The red tentacles were sliced to pieces by Leon''s bone spear as he retreated while some red tentacles were directed towards Lumi.

    However, before they could coil around Lumi, they were diced into numerous pieces by threads of darkness.

    After the diced up red tentacles dropped to the ground, they continued to wriggle before morphing into numerous mini fleshly heaps with growing tentacles.

    "Ew! That is so disgusting!" Lumi cried with repulsion as the small fleshly heaps chased after her and Leon with their thread-like red tentacles.

    "Welp! At least, we know what is really generating the Demonic Energy here!" Leon said with a frown while hacking away all the tiny tentacles with his bone spear.

    The fleshly abomination was able to absorb artificial Spirit Energy into their bodies before outputting the Demonic Energy.

    In a sense, they were the opposite of World Trees.

    After the small fleshly heap was hacked into pieces, they shortly morphed into even smaller fleshly heaps with tentacles.

    The ck blood was absorbed into their bodies, and Demonic Energy was also drawn back towards them to fuel their growth.

    Shortly after, they began to proliferate rapidly on a cellr level before merging together to form arger fleshly heap.

    Bam! Bam!

    Leon evaded a few tentacles as they mmed into the ground with impressive force, cracking the earth while hurting themselves in the process as ck blood spurted.

    However, its damaged tentacles regenerated back to peak condition in a short instance.

    Leon''s eyes flickered at the sight before he spoke while retreating further, "These things aren''t very strong, but their lifeforce and vitality are off the charts! I have never seen anything like this before!"

    "And I have never seen such ugly things in my life! How are they not dying after being chopped up like this?" Lumi frowned with disgust before a wave of destruction obliterated the tiny fleshly heaps into ashes.

    They did note back after that.

    "It seems the Destruction Law is still effective against them." Leon mulled before burning the fleshly heaps with his conjured mes.

    At the same time, he shed Lumi a subtle nce, seeing she resort to using the Destruction Law so casually without regard for its bacsh.

    Kriiii!

    The fleshly abomination cried in pain.

    Its fleshly parts squirmed in the scorching hot mes. However, it regenerated as quickly as it burned, rendering Leon''s mes ineffective in dealing it a finishing blow.

    "Not good enough, huh?" Leon frowned while evading a ming tentacle attack before retaliating with an upward spear sweep, cutting off the fat ming tentacle.

    Kriiii!

    The fleshly abomination continued to cry painfully before attacking more furiously, focusing all its attention on Leon.

    Lumi shortly appeared beside Leon as they retreated together.

    "I think your fire made it mad." She casuallymented.

    Leon swept her a nce and noticed she was enjoying his plight while not seeming all that concerned herself.

    "I can see that much." Leon shrugged before requesting, "Can I entrust you with the task of finishing it off for me, Duna? It seems by my abilities alone are not enough to deal with it."

    At that moment, the fleshly abomination had crawled out of the energy conversion tower and merged with all its counterparts, swelling to five times its original size.

    It was nothing more than a big ball of meat with excessive flesh.

    Its so-called tentacles turned out to be its arms and legs. However, they were ridiculously long and fleshly that they were not so easily recognized as limbs.

    Meanwhile, countless eyeballs could be seen poking out of the surface of its round main body. It was a truly grotesque appearance and could be said to be a living abomination.

    "See? You need me after all¡ª" Lumi shortly smirked before she suddenly froze, shing Leon a look of surprise, "When did you realize?"

    "I had my suspicions since earlier, but the real nail in the coffin is your utilization of the Destruction Law. Lumi shouldn''t be able to cope with the bacsh so calmly like you." Leon exined before smiling ruefully, "Just what are you scheming by pretending to be Lumi anyway?"

    To be honest, he was puzzled by their aura swap after discovering Lumi had actually been Duna the whole time.

    Lumi was usually white like lilies when she is in control, while Duna would be apanied by her ckening aura of malevolence and darkness.

    It was strange to see Duna in white, but it also made him concerned about Lumi''s well being. Their condition was rather puzzling andplicated.

    "Eh? No real reason. I don''t need to tell you anyway." Duna said nonchntly while flourishing her white dress made of Yin Energy.

    A tiny crack could be seen on her hand.

    Suddenly, the two of them leap out of the way moments before arge tentacle arm mmed down at their original spot.

    Boom!

    After softlynding some distance away, Duna negotiated, "I don''t mind dealing with this thing if you transfer some of that Pseudo-Grandmist Energy and help me recover from the bacsh after."

    "Of course." Leon agreed straightforwardly without trying to haggle with her.

    He had yet to refine much Great Pseudo-Grandmist Energy, but he did not mind giving them all to Duna if the present situation could be dealt with swiftly.

    The longer they lingered in the subterranean world, the more unpredictable the situation be.

 Chapter 508 - Mutation

    <h4>Chapter 508 - Mutation</h4>

    Duna was surprised by Leon''s straightforward answer and wondered if she should have demanded more.

    However, it was toote to change her mind since Leon had already epted. Besides, she was not that unscrupulous.

    "Alright." Duna nodded.

    Shortly after, the power of destruction manifested in her palm before she waved them at the approaching tentacles.

    The fleshly red tentacle arms and legs were immediately vaporized into ashes when they came into contact with the wall of destruction before it continued onwards, straight towards the fleshly abomination''s main body.

    Kriiiii!

    The fleshly abomination exhibited its fear before retreating from the invisible wall of destruction advancing towards it.

    However, its main body was iparably slowpared to its tentacle limbs and failed to outrun the destruction wave before half its main body was cleanly shaved away from existence.

    Kriiiii!

    A piercing scream was heard, resounding throughout the underground space before the other half of the fleshly abomination quickly attempted to regenerate its missing half, albeit at a much slower rate than it had previously showcased.

    "Duna, quickly finish it off!" Leon shouted with a frown. He was concerned that the fleshly abomination''s cry would attract more powerful enemies towards them.

    "I know! I don''t need you to tell me what to do!" Duna responded unhappily with furrowed brows, not expecting her first attack to be insufficient.

    The slight crack on her hand expanded, spreading through her fingers as a result of wielding the Destruction Law. Nevertheless, it was far from reaching the same level asst time.

    Another wave of destruction was birthed into existence, gathering around the tips of her finger with a gloomy crimson glow.

    Evidently, this concentration of destruction was greater than her previous attack as its form could be partially seen like a ck hole, except eerily crimson in color.

    At the same time, the tips of her fingers cracked at an elerated rate.

    However, Duna did not hold the power of destruction for too long and sent it shooting towards the escaping fleshly abomination.

    Kriii¡ª!

    The fleshly abomination was struck as the power of destruction shaved off another portion of its body before making its way towards the standing energy conversion tower and disintegrated it into dust.

    "Tch!" Duna snickered at her unexpected miss.

    Before she could summon the power of the Destruction Law again, the fleshly abomination copsed to the ground with a thud.

    "Did it just die?" Duna gazed at the motionless corpse that started rotting as ck blood flowed out of its body.

    "It seems this thing had a weakness hidden somewhere in its body, and you had inadvertently destroyed it," Leon spoke after analyzing the fleshly corpse.

    The internal structure of the fleshly abomination was not much different from humans. In fact, its flesh was also made from the sameponents as humans.

    The only difference about its internal structure¡ªwhich was also the most significant difference, was that it had far more organs than a single person should have.

    It was like numerous people had been fused together through some sort of diabolic means to produce such a grotesque abomination.

    However, of all the organs Leon detected with his divine sense, the heart was missing, and only half a brain remained.

    "What kind of weakness could it have? With its powerful regenerative ability, I wouldn''t be surprised if it can regenerate its missing organs." Duna said.

    "That''s true." Leon nodded in agreement before saying, "However, the heart is missing, and half a brain is left before it died. This cannot be a coincidence, can it?"

    After all, the heart was a vital organ responsible for pumping the blood flow and was the source of a person''s vitality.

    "Well, it doesn''t matter. Let us quickly get out of here." Leon suddenly said before Duna could respond to his previous question.

    At the same time, he collected as much Demonic Energy as he could fill his empty pill bottles.

    "We are not going to explore deeper? There are multiple entrances down here. It might lead us to more of those energy conversion towers you wanted to destroy." Duna said with surprise.

    Leon shook his head and said, "No, destroying all those energy conversion towers is no longer my priority. Returning to the empire is. We don''t have time to go looking for all these energy conversion towers out here in the Wilnds."

    If there are energy conversion towers producing Demonic Energy in the Wilnds'' underground, then chances are, there are also energy conversion towers back in the Human Domain''s subterranean world.

    Those were Leon''s concerns.

    Why would he still care about the Wilnds when he still had his own home to look after? That was like putting the cart before the horse.

    "I see¡­" Duna shrugged.

    She was just tagging along anyway. Whatever they decide to do rests on Leon''s shoulder. She would just follow along since she had nothing else to do.

    "How''s your hand?" Leon asked while staring at the cracks on Duna''s arm.

    She waved her hand around for a moment nonchntly before she answered, "It''s alright. But it can do better after you supply me with some Pseudo-Grandmist Energy to absorb."

    She licked her lips as she said this.

    "Right, absorb it as we leave. I don''t want to linger around here any further." Leon nodded as he channeled a few strands of Great Pseudo-Grandmist Energy out of his body and send them to Duna.

    "Alright." Duna nodded happily while receiving the Pseudo-Grandmist Energy from Leon.

    The Pseudo-Grandmist Energy were quickly absorbed into her body before repairing the cracks in her hand, while the excess amount reinforced her Corporality.

    "By the way, what do you think that fleshly thing was? For something that produces Demonic Energy, it sure didn''t look like your average demon¡­ uh¡­ actually, it doesn''t look like a demon at all." Duna mentioned while they were leaving.

    "Right," Leon nodded before speaking with a thoughtful frown, "It looked more like a giant tumor that grew controbly¡ªWatch out!"

    He immediately warned after sensing danger.

    Bang!

    A bone arrow struck the ground a split second after they quickly retreated from the spot before Duna turned her head to spot the assant.

    "Oh, damn. Now, what the heck is that thing?" She eximed with a raised brow.

    It was another being with tumorous flesh all over its body. However, it appears more humanoid, except for its extra third leg, four arms, nine eyes, and numerous bone pikes growing out of its body.

    It was quite a monstrous figure, but not quite demonic.

    If Leon had to define just a hideous figure, he would say it looked more like a mutation gone wrong¡ªterribly wrong from intense radiation exposure or something simr, in fact.

    "A mutated person, perhaps?" Leon frowned before his eyes flickered with a possibility.

 Chapter 509 - Leons Speculation

    <h4>Chapter 509 - Leon''s Spection</h4>

    Screee!

    After missing the first shot, the mutated person roared angrily before pulling out another one of its bone spikes and hurled it at Leon like a javelin with incredible arm strength.

    Swoosh~!

    "It''sing again!" Leon warned with narrowed eyes as the bone spike whizzed through the air in an instance, heading straight for him.

    Bang!

    Leon dodged the bone spike with a quick sidestep as it imnted itself into the ground deeply, with slight web-like cracks forming around the impact point.

    "It''s going after you. Why don''t you take care of it?" Duna found herself a spot on top of a boulder to sit before gazing at Leon with amusement.

    At the same time, she continued to absorb the strands of Pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    "I intend to."

    "Off you go then." She urged.

    Leon was a bit speechless before nodding. It seems that they would not be able to leave until they finish off the mutated person or creature.

    After clenching his bone spear, Leon immediately lunged towards the mutated being with a quick burst of speed, closing the distance in a matter of seconds.

    ng!

    The two exchanged blows like the shing of metals between Leon''s bone spear and the mutated being''s bone spike, producing a loud ring before the mutated being was flung into the distance.

    Leon himself retreated a few steps after exerting 100-thousand jin strength in his strike.

    Evidently, the mutated being was physically capable on the level of Transcendents despite its grisly and sickly appearance.

    After realizing this, Leon stomped the ground and shot in pursuit.

    However, another bone spike suddenly hurtled over from a different direction, causing Leon to twist his body in midair.

    Bang!

    The bone spike struck the ceiling of the subterranean space and shook the area mildly.

    "Hurry up, Leon. Did you say you wanted to leave early? Why are you holding back and taking your time?" Duna said from a distance before narrowing her eyes to observe him fight, curious to see the extend of his abilities.

    "No need for you to tell me twice," Leon replied before furrowing his brows. These mutated beings were stronger than they appear.

    The second mutant appeared from a dark corner, revealing its hideous appearance that looked slightly different from the first one.

    This one had four legs and two arms. However, from these two arms had another four arms growing out of them.

    The ghastly sight was enough to send Leon goosebumps.

    Shortly after, he engaged the two mutants inbat as they charged at him with bone weapons that grew out from their bodies.

    After parrying one of their attacks, Leon immediately used his full strength to slice off one of their arms, causing the mutant to cry in retreat while waving its remaining half arm.

    Screee!

    At the same time, Leon frowned while sending the mutant flying with a bone-crushing sweep of his powerful spear.

    Although he managed to slice off half an arm, the attack was not as clean as he had anticipated. Evidently, the mutant was not only physically strong, but their bodies were also incredibly robust.

    After sending out his divine sense, he understood the reason.

    The mutants'' inner structure was almost entirely encased in bones like a hard exoskeleton shell protecting its vulnerable organs.

    The heart was ck like its blood, but it was strangely filled with abundant amounts of lifeforce.

    Leon watched as the mutant''s bones rapidly grew before a new arm was formed, albeit without itsyer of tumorous flesh.

    Unsurprisingly, these mutants also had extreme regenerative abilities.

    However, they seem to belong to a different ss from the fleshly abomination. The fleshly abomination could regenerate its flesh while the mutants regenerate their bones.

    Even so, the mutants were not hard to deal with, once Leon learned of their weakness.

    After driving his bone spear through their hard skeleton shell, prating their ck heart, and scorching it with his mes, the mutant''s resistance became weak, seemingly lost all its strength.

    "Oh? It''s not dying yet? Such impressive vitality." Leonmented with surprise before withdrawing his spear from its chest to finish it off with a prative blow to its head, destroying its brain.

    Afterward, the mutant finally died.

    Screee!

    The other mutant cried with a high piercing pitch like it was mourning for its loss before pouncing towards Leon in a frenzy.

    However, its entry-level Transcendental strength was no match for Leon.

    With each swing of his bone spear, a limb was removed from the mutant''s body, one after the other, until it finally fell t on its back, limbless.

    Leon stomped on its chest, stopping it from getting back up before he triedmunicating, "Can you understand my words?"

    Screee!

    The mutant struggled furiously while its limbs were regrowing.

    "I suppose not."

    Shortly after ending the mutant''s life by destroying its heart and brain, Leon returned to Duna''s location promptly.

    "You look a little disappointed."

    "Well, I did expect them to put up a stronger resistance than that. But then again, I don''t know what the heck they are. They are neither humans, beasts, nor demons. Any ideas?" Duna replied with a nod before hopping off the boulder she was seated on.

    She was only able to witness his impressive disy of brute strength and none of his other abilities. To say she was disappointed was not wrong.

    "If I''m not wrong, these mutants might have been survivors from the Cataclysm over 10-thousand years ago," Leon made a guess after some thought while they were beginning to leave the subterranean space together.

    "The Cataclysm from 10-thousand years ago? Are you sure they can live for so long, given the sort of extreme regenerative ability they have?" Duna responded with doubt before adding, "I would not be surprised if such ability even shortens their lifespan."

    "Well, it''s just a guess. I could be wrong. However, I don''t think I am. At least, I believe these mutants should be rted in some way. I can''t think of any way these mutants could possess such grotesque appearances other than getting scorched by the sun''s sr re during the Cataclysm directly without Gaia''s atmospheric protection."

    "Without Gaia''s atmospheric protection?" Duna was surprised before she asks, "You mean they might being from¡­?"

    "The void¡­" Leon nodded while pointing directly upwards.

 Chapter 510 - Retreat

    <h4>Chapter 510 - Retreat</h4>

    The Gaia Civilization expanded and lived in the void outside of Gaia during their most prosperous era. Remnants of their interster age could ever be observed in the high heavens above, day and night.

    The debris ring orbiting Gaia was none other than their ruins.

    After Duna received Leon''s answer, she realized this.

    "If these mutants came from the orbiting debris in the void, how did they get here? And of all ces, hide underground?" Duna asked.

    Undoubtedly, she believed falling at high speed from the void would kill any life the debris carried with them.

    Leon shook his head and said helplessly, "I don''t know. We can only find out in the future whether my spection is true or not."

    "I suppose." Duna shrugged.

    Shortly after, Leon and Duna passed through the short passageway they came from and returned to the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    However, Duna suddenly noticed Leon pausing his steps before asking, "Why did you stop? You still have something to do back there?"

    "Not really. I''m just going to seal this ce. Give me a moment," Leon said before waving his hand at the passageway.

    The earth quickly broke apart and copsed the passageway before Leon clenched his hand,pressing the copse rubbles and reinforcing the blockade with earth maniption.

    "Alright, I''m done." Leon patted his hands before saying, "I guess it''s also time for you to go."

    "Go? Go where?" Duna asked while raising her eyebrow in confusion.

    Leon smiled wolfishly at her before stating as a matter of fact, "Back inside the Worldspace, of course."

    "What? Why do I have to hole back in there?" Duna asked unhappily with a frown.

    Leon shrugged, "It''s too troublesome to exin to the others about your sudden appearance and existence in and of itself."

    "Oh. I. See." Duna furrowed for a moment before smiling sweetly at Leon.

    Seeing her smile, Leon smiled back, "Great, I will let you out l¡ª"

    "I guess it''s not as troublesome as growing new herbs after I wreck your herb garden, eh?" Duna spoke casually, but her threatening undertone was clear.

    "Uh¡­" Leon froze.

    Shortly after, he rubbed his forehead with distress before saying wryly, "On second thoughts, you can stay outside."

    "That''s what I thought." Duna nodded with a smug look.

    Leon shed her a helpless nce before asking, "How''s your hand?"

    Duna''s smug look disappeared with her antagonizing attitude before waving her fair hand to Leon.

    "As you can see, it''s all better now¡­ thanks to your Pseudo-Grandmist Energy." She added at the end.

    "That''s good." Leon nodded.

    Seeing that Faelyn have yet to enter the Heart of Spring Chamber, he spoke, "Let us head back up--"

    Boom!

    The sealed passageway behind them burst open with flying rubbles after suddenly being struck with immense force.

    In that split instance, Leon instinctively reached out and pulled Duna into him before they were blown away from the st together.

    His body shielded Duna from the flying rock bullets that struck his back repeatedly before they tumbled on the ground and mmed into the wall on the other end of the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    Duna''s eyes were wide open while gazing at Leon before they quickly shifted to the passageway behind the waterfall, trying to locate the assant.

    "Are you alright?" Leon asked after bringing them back to their feet and patting the dust off his clothes.

    "I should be asking you that. You shielded me with your body and took the brunt of the force." Duna peeled her gaze away from the exposed passageway to study his body''s condition with a frown.

    "I''m fine¡ª" Leon suddenly coughed up blood before he could finish speaking, causing Duna to gaze at him more sternly.

    "How is this fine? You''re coughing up blood!"

    "Don''t worry about it. My organs are just a bit shaken." Leon wiped the blood on the corner of his lips before saying solemnly, "More importantly, what attacked us?"

    His efforts in sealing the passageway were easily blown apart with little-to-no resistance in a single shot. Whatever attacked them was undoubtedly strong.

    Hearing Leon''s question, she immediately return her gaze on the dust-covered passageway with seriousness.

    "I''m not sure. I didn''t get a good look." She said.

    Leon activated divine sense to peer into the dust-covered passageway while cing a hand on his chest and healing his internal injuries with Wood Energy.

    At the same time, his Wood Energy was replenished from absorbing the rich Wood Essence in his surroundings.

    Suddenly, Leon''s eyes narrowed as a shadow shot out from the passageway before the dust cloud settled.

    Bam!

    Leon immediately received the figure''s w attack with his summoned bone spear before his eyes widened at the excessive force blowing him away.

    "Leon!" Duna cried as Leon mmed back into the wall behind them again. She immediately sted a wave of destruction at the enemy.

    However, the enemy was extremely fast and managed to evade her attack at point-nk range before retreating far away after sensing the fatal threat in her Law of Destruction.

    It was another mutant.

    However, unlike the previous mutants, this one had the most humanoid appearance. Yet, it was also the most powerful one Leon and Duna had encountered!

    "We need to leave quickly! This space is too narrow to fight it!" Leon stated before coughing up more blood.

    "How are you faring?" Duna asked while supporting him as they headed for the vine staircase to escape from the Heart of Spring Chamber together.

    "My body is fine, but my inner organs are not," Leon replied with a frown before spurting more blood from his mouth.

    His inner body was far too weak and fragile!

    He needed to quickly consolidate his viscera if he was going to battle physically strong opponents in the future!

    "What? That doesn''t even make sense!"

    "It makes perfect sense!" Leon asserted.

    Duna quickly sent out another destruction wave before the strong mutant got close, forcing it to evade and retreat once more.

    However, the destruction wavended on the Heart of Spring Chamber wall, disintegrating a portion of the woody wall and caused the Elder Tree to rumble in anguish as the entire space shook!

    Everyone outside was immediately rmed.

 Chapter 511 - The Tribesmens Doubts

    <h4>Chapter 511 - The Tribesmen''s Doubts</h4>

    At that moment, tribesmen had already begun to depart from the eastern parts of the tribe inrge groups under the direction of the elven warriors some time ago.

    These elven warriors were further supervised by the few Elders who remained behind to oversee the procedure while the rest led their own groups and families to collect valuables from the Elder Tree''s crown.

    The tribesmen''s departure could be seen forming a long line that stretched all the way to the outskirts of the Great Forest while elven warriors were stationed sparsely on both sides as they guided them.

    Mixtures ofplicated emotions could be felt when the tribesmen passed the burning forest point, billowing with clouds of ck smoke.

    "Move quickly and orderly, people! Do not dilly dally around here. You are holding up the people behind you! This smoke is not good to breathe in!" An elven warrior urged with care.

    "You have a long trek ahead of you all! Please continue on your way! Time is of the essence!" Another elven warrior spoke.

    "Sorry about that, noble warriors. We will be on our way now."

    The tribesmen shortly expressed their apology before continuing on the guided path through the gap in the burning forest the elven warriors have created.

    At the same time, the leading group of tribesmen ahead finally exited the Great Forest before they witnessed the fire-lit road ahead of them.

    The distance to the Great Wall was not far for trained Awakeners with their enhanced physiques and greater stamina.

    But for ordinary elves like them, the journey ahead could be considered quite far and strenuous. Not only were they traveling by foot, but they were also carrying many things when there are hills ahead to cross.

    "Are we really traveling through the night? How long will it take us to reach the Human Domain?" A tribesman wondered curiously.

    It was the first time leaving the Great Forest for many tribesmen, let alone seeing what the outside world was like.

    They expected to see the big wide world, but it was limited by the darkness of the night and two distant dark walls on their sides.

    Only the road ahead was clear to them.

    "Where are the rats, though? I heard from a warrior who shall not be named that the ins outside are swarming with them." A female elf mentioned carefully.

    "Eh? So secretive. Who is that warrior? Why can''t he be named? Are they still keeping secrets about the situation from us, even in a time like this?" A male elf queried unhappily.

    The tribesmen began to whisper amongst themselves before their concerns reached the ears of the nearby elven warriors.

    "There''s nothing to hide. The rat tide is beyond those dark walls you see in the distance to your left and right. I''m not afraid to also tell you that those walls are made from rat carcasses!"

    "You all better stick together and not wander off!" Another elven warrior warned.

    Although the elven warriors were stationed to keep them in check, there was no telling when a few mischievous kids or naughty children will slip past their guard and sneak off on their own.

    "These walls aren''t precisely firm, so you all best not have any designs on going near them and mess around! Is that clear?!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    The tribesmen answered.

    They were greatly astonished to learn to such tall walls were built from the bodies of rats. Just exactly how many rats were out there?!

    While many tribesmen decided toply obediently, there were also some who had their doubts.

    "How many rats would it take to build these walls? And it''s supposed to reach the Human Domain as well? Doesn''t that sound a little too ridiculous?"

    "It does! Even if the surrounding tribesbine their poption, it might not reach such a number! Has anyone even seen a single rat? What if we are being fooled into leaving our homes?"

    As the tribesmen spoke their doubts, it began to grow like a disease, spreading to other tribesmen and infected them with the same doubts.

    The elven warriors noticed this situation before they nced at each other with the same look. They must quickly quell the disorder before the tribesmen rile out of control!

    "Ahh! Help! The warriors are attacking ordinary folks!" A tribesman with a loud mouth suddenly cried within the crowd after getting grabbed by a high-level elven warrior.

    While pressing the tribesman''s head into the ground, the high-level elven warrior spoke fiercely with sternness, "We spent a lot of effort cleaning the field to give people like you a morefortable time traveling! You might not be able to see the rats from here, but you can still smell their pungent stench in the soil, can''t you?! Exactly what are you plotting by sowing chaos in the crowd?!"

    "You are ndering me! I am not trying to sow chaos! I am just voicing my doubts! What is wrong with that?! You¡ªow, ow! You are hurting me! Let go! Are you trying to silence me to hide something?!" The tribesman said defiantly while being forced to grovel in the ground.

    "Hide something?" The high-level elven warrior snorted coldly before his eyes flickered with a fierce glint and exerted more force

    Ka-cha!

    The tribesman''s arm being held behind his back was snapped before he cried painfully, "Ahhh! You broke my arm! Save me! These warriors are abusing their powers!"

    "So, what?"

    The high-level elven warrior could not care less and stepped on the tribesman''s back, pressing further into the ground before gazing at the surrounding tribesmen with an oppressive glint.

    "You all better listen carefully. As we speak, my brothers and sisters are risking their lives to lure the rat tide away out there¡ªjust to keep you all safe! The least you can do is to cooperate nicely and not cause any trouble. Is that too much to ask?!"

    The crowd immediately quietened down.

    Those who intended to raise the voices to help the oppressed tribesman immediately cowered from the high-level elven warrior''s intimidating aura.

    "It''s true¡­ it''s faint, but there''s a stench of blood in the ground. That noble warrior might be speaking the truth." A male elf spoke after sniffing a handful of soil.

    The high-level elven warrior snorted at the word ''might'' before barking, "You have all wasted enough time! Now continue on your way! We are doing this to save you all, so stop being f*cking idiots and making our jobs harder!"

    There would always be pessimistic people like this. Without confirming with their own eyes, they would always assume the worst of things ording to their own imaginations.

    Shortly after the tribesmen fell back into order and continued treading on the guided straight path ahead, a distant rumble from the Great Forest was heard.

    The high-level elven warrior nced back to look but failed to see anything due to the dense clouds of ck smoke and dark sky obscuring his vision.

    "I wonder what is happening back in the tribe¡­" He mumbled with a frown.

    Meanwhile, a group of royal guards returned to the royal pce on the Elder Tree''s crown back in Elvengarde before Silver barked, "Arf, arf!"

    The royal guards paused some distance away from Princess Faelyn and Princess Thessalia after being warned before one of them spoke respectfully, "Your Highnesses, everyone has begun to leave to the tribe. Pleasee with¡ª"

    Rumble!

    The Elder Tree''s suddenrge movements shook the entire space.

    "What''s going on? Who infuriated the Guardian Spirit?" Princess Thessalia wiped her face before asking with startlement.

 Chapter 512 - Calling The Kettle Black

    <h4>Chapter 512 - Calling The Kettle ck</h4>

    The Elder Tree shook wildly, causing everyone on the Elder Tree''s crown to lose their bnce while some stumbled and dropped the goods they carried.

    Some even fell from the treetop and plunge towards the surface. However, the royal guards and high elves were able to grow wings and fly before they hit the ground, thanks to their earlier training.

    While the outside was pondering the cause of the Elder Tree''s fury, Leon and Duna continued to escape from the strong mutant.

    After exiting the Heart of Spring Chamber, they rushed up the next flight of vine staircase that would take them back to the top of the Elder Tree''s crown.

    However, the strong mutant was no longer their only concern as the Elder Tree targeted Duna with its green leaves that came pouring down from above.

    Leon tried his best to cate the Guardian Spirit, but it would not listen to him. It was hell-bent on destroying Duna for the damages she caused.

    The Heart of Spring Chamber might have been located under the Elder Tree, but it was still a part of it¡ªjust like its tree roots, but more important.

    Its fury was understandable.

    "Duna, hide inside my Worldspace! The Guardian Spirit wants to kill you and won''t listen to me!" Leon quickly urged.

    "But what about you?" Duna was surprised by Leon''s suggestion before adding, "We still have that mutant on our tail!"

    "I''ll figure something out on my own!" Leon said with a pondering frown before waving his hand at Duna.

    Before she could react, Duna was quickly sucked into his Worldspace before Leon took off from the vine staircase and flew up directly.

    Duna''s disappearance made the Guardian Spirit immediately redirected its sharp green leaves to curve around Leon, avoiding contact with his body.

    It was only after Duna and did not want to harm Leon. He was reassured by this fact as he heaved a sigh of relief before he continued to shoot to the top.

    Boom!

    The ground below cracked as the strong mutant shot in pursuit of Leon with a powerful jump.

    However, the Elder Tree''s flurry of sharp green leaves did not try to avoid the strong mutant. Thus, the strong mutantcerated itself while breaking through the downpour of thousands of leaves.

    Leon''s eyes flickered with an idea while gripping his Tier 4 Bone Spear firmly in preparation for receiving the strong mutant''s blow.

    Bang!

    In a short instance, the distance between them was closed before the strong mutant mmed into Leon''s defending bone spear!

    The force of 500-thousand jin immediately catapulted Leon upwards with significant momentum as the distance between them increased once more!

    At the same time, Leon coughed out another mouthful of blood from having his organs shaken from the impact!

    Even his bone creaked, threatening to fracture from the impact! However, if his muscles had not been tensed, it definitely would have!

    The force of 500-thousand jin seems to be the limit of the strong mutant''s strength!

    It could be considered a mid-level Rank 1 Transcendent, the equivalence of a Mid-rank Battle Master in strength.

    Leon quickly swallowed a Tier 3 All-Purpose Recovery Pill before his eyes narrowed on the strong mutant some distance below him.

    After the strong mid-level Rank 1 Transcendent mutant broke through the cluster of sharp leaves with brute force, its entireyer of flesh was shredded away!

    At that moment, nothing else could be seen except the exoskeleton-like bone shell hidden underneath its flesh!

    "That mutant is the one who wishes to harm you! Direct your anger at that thing instead!" Leon spoke to the Guardian Spirit, helping Duna pin the me on the mutant.

    His body quickly reached the top and flew out of the courtyard.

    "Arf, arf!"

    Silver quickly barked excitedly while wagging its tails after picking up Leon''s scent in the vicinity, causing Princess Faelyn and Princess Thessalia to turn and look from outside the pce.

    "Leon!"

    "Stay back!"

    Leon quickly warned after Faelyn called out to him.

    Shortly after, he continued to convince the Guardian Spirit, "If that thing did not try to attack us, you would not have been hurt in the process! It''s all that thing''s fault! It is to me for the damage you incurred!"

    The Guardian Spirit went silent and began to ruminate over his words as it recalled the events happening inside Heart of Spring Chamber.

    This seems to be the case, not to mention the mutant had also hurt it, albeit slightly after leaving behind footprints in its jump.

    "Look, it''s trying to kill me. I won''t be able to give you any more spirit stones if I die!" Leon ultimately said.

    Thesest words were the real nail in the coffin.

    The Guardian Spirit was immediately riled up like a child that just got its candy stolen and immediately sprung into action, directing all its attacks at the mutant as it just climbed out of the center.

    "Scree?"

    The mutant gazed up before a mountain of leaves dropped down and bombarded it, flushing it out from the treetop before numerous branches and tree roots assaulted it in a flurry of attacks!

    B-B-B-B-Bam!

    Countless strikesnded in quick session without the mutant being able to resist!

    Undoubtedly, the Elder Tree was the strongest being in the area who can crush the mid-level Rank 1 Transcendent mutant without much effort.

    If Leon used his trump cards, he could also kill the mutant. But why would he do that when he can incite the Guardian Spirit to help him?

    He quickly caught up to the edge of the treetop and watched the Elder Tree pulverized the mutant with heavy strikes that sounded like sonic booms in midair.

    Shortly after, a mashed-up ball of flesh and powdered bones fell from the sky andnded on the ground with a soft thud.

    The Elder Tree''s attack had transformed it into mush.

    Leon lip''s twitched at the sight of the motionless remains of the mutant. Surely, such an attack would have killed it.

    "What''s going on, Leon? What was that thing¡ª" Faelyn inquired after making her way over before she suddenly paused. "You''re hurt."

    She quickly used her sleeve to wipe the trace of blood on the corners of his lips carefully after discovering while Leon enjoyed her tender care.

    "We ran into some trouble down below, but it''s been taken care of now¡­" He replied to her question shortly after.

 Chapter 513 - Rocky Ride

    <h4>Chapter 513 - Rocky Ride</h4>

    "We?" Faelyn noticed Leon''s choice of words before asking curiously, "What do you mean by ''we''? Was there someone else with you?"

    "Ah¡­"

    Leon realized the error in his words, but it was toote to hide it from Faelyn. As such, he decided toe clean and nodded, "Right, let me introduce someone to you. You two should have met before."

    Shortly after, Duna reappeared from before them.

    "Are you alright? How''s the situation? Where''s the mutant?" Duna quickly asked while studying the state of Leon''s body.

    "Ahem, it''s been taken care of." Leon pointed down at the mush object at the bottom of the Elder Tree before introducing the two, "Anyway, this is Princess Faelyn of Elvengarde, and Faelyn, this is Duna, a vengeful¡ªahem, a good spirit. Two have met before, sort of."

    Unsurprisingly, his introduction was not very reliable. The one Faelyn met in the past was Lumi, but Leon found it hard to exin this to her in a few words.

    Duna and Faelyn had to rely on themselves.

    "Well met, Princess Faelyn. I am Lumi''s elder sister." Duna spoke.

    Faelyn was surprised by their spitting image and aura before asking, "You look exactly the same as Lumi. Are you perhaps, twins?"

    "Yes, that''s correct." Duna nodded after a brief pause before the two of them exchanged simple pleasantries.

    Shortly after, Princess Thessalia joined them.

    Leon was surprised by Duna''s patience. He did not take her to be the social type, interacting with people she was not familiar with.

    "What is it?" Duna noticed his odd look and frowned.

    "It''s nothing."

    Leon shook his head before his gaze paused on Duna''s fingers that have be cracked once more while they were escaping from the Heart of Spring Chamber.

    "Anyway, it was thanks to you that we made it out alive. I''ll transfer you some more Pseudo-Grandmist Energy once I have more of them." Leon expressed.

    Duna hid her hand under her long sleeve before she said, "It''s not like I wanted to save you or anything. I was just saving myself, idiot."

    Leon could only smile wryly in response.

    "What was that thing? Did that thinge from Heart of Spring Chamber?" Princess Thessalia inquired.

    "Yes¡­" Leon nodded before shaking his head, "¡­and no. To be more precise, it came from a secret underground space connected to the Heart of Spring Chamber."

    "There''s such a secret passage connected to the Heart of Spring Chamber?" Princess Thessalia eximed with shock.

    Did this have something to do with her family''s death?

    "Yes¡­" Faelyn answered her third eldest sister''s question before gazing at Leon questioningly, "Did you¡­"

    "They''re in my storage space." Leon nodded, knowing what Faelyn wanted to ask before saying, "Let''s make a proper grave for them once we return to the Human Domain."

    "Mmm." Faelyn nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon stated objectively to everyone, "We should quickly begin our departure. We don''t know how if there are any more mutants hidden below. It''ll be bad if a stronger onees out."

    He was not sure what the mutants were doing underground, but he vaguely believed that they were also puppets controlled by a sliver of will.

    The being with those sliver of wills concerned him.

    Princess Thessalia furrowed her brows slightly at the interaction between her baby sister and Leon before she agreed with Leon''s statement, "Prince Leon is right. The tribesmen have already departed. We should not fall too far behind."

    Leon gazed towards the eastern parts of Elvengarde below.

    Most of the tribesmen have already left the tribe. Only a few Elders, royal guards, and High Elves remained behind on the Elder Tree''s crown.

    Shortly after, Leon nodded, "I guess there are only a few of us people left behind. Please tell everyone to buckle up, Princess Thessalia."

    "Tell everyone to buckle up? What do you mean?" Princess Thessalia raised an eyebrow in question.

    Leon grinned and sat down before patting the big branch he was sitting on, "Time to go."

    Rumble!

    The Elder Tree began to shake once more, causing many elves on the Elder Tree''s crown to stagger. But unlike before, the shaking was not as fierce. As such, no one lost their bnce and dropped their goods.

    "Arf, arf!" Silver barked with shivering nervousness when it sensed the Elder Tree rising, increasing in height as it uprooted itself and stood up like it had grown numerous pairs of legs.

    The situation naturally startled many elves.

    "Oh my god! The Guardian Spirit is moving!" a High Elf eximed in shock while carrying a crate of herbal goods.

    "The Guardian Spirit is going to follow us to the Human Domain? Hooray! We don''t have to part with the Guardian Spirit!"

    The elves cheered before one of the elves sighed emotionally, "The Savior is truly the Savior. We are truly blessed to have the Savior around!"

    "Looks like we don''t have to go anywhere."

    The High Elves grinned at the special treatment, feeling privileged for not needing to tread the surface like the rest of the tribesmen.

    That being said, their happiness did notst long.

    The shaking became greater and greater with each booming step the Elder Tree took with its mighty roots.

    Boom!

    The ground cracked apart under the Elder Tree''s immense weight, copsing the earth and revealing pocket spaces and caves underneath wherever it moved.

    "Careful, everyone. We are in for a bumpy ride!" Leon grinned.

    Faelyn was suddenly swept off her feet, but Leon grabbed her, pulling her towards him before holding her firmly in ce as his body stuck to the branch like glue.

    Princess Thessalia quickly used her vines to tie herself to the ground while barking out orders for the others to do the same time.

    "Ahh! Please, let me off! I prefer to walk!" a High Elf cried while tightly hugging the floor of the tree branch he was situated on.

    Nevertheless, Leon asked the Guardian Spirit to stop for a moment so that the elves could better prep themselves.

    When all the goods and elves were bound firmly to the Elder Tree''s crown, the rocky journey resumed under Leon''smunication with the Guardian Spirit.

    However, the High Elves did not ount for everything in their preparation for the rocky ride ahead of them.

    A huge object was suddenly dropped out from the treetop before it came crashing into the surface and shattered into splinters.

    One of the High Elves'' eyes bulged in disbelief while watching the scene unfolded before he cried, "Sh*t! My house fell!"

 Chapter 514 - The Fiery Plains

    <h4>Chapter 514 - The Fiery ins</h4>

    On the Great Forest''s eastern outskirts, thest batch of tribesmen had already left the forest and followed the crowd in the distance, treading over their first hill.

    The elven warrior army followed closely behind them and on both sides, guarding the tribesmen against all sides.

    Meanwhile, many more elven warriors flew above the distant rat walls while observing the rat tide''s movements outside.

    Rumble¡­

    At that moment, the elves all felt the subtle rumbles of the earth before they all gazed back at the Great Forest in surprise.

    However, they could not see anything.

    Nevertheless, it did not take long before the clouds of ck smoke parted, revealing the towering Elder Tree following after them.

    "T-The Guardian Spirit is moving!" A male elf eximed. He was shocked, but more than that, he was excited to see the Elder Tree moving!

    He had lived at the bottom of the Elder Tree his entire life, worshipping the Guardian Spirit every day, and had long grown attached.

    One can only imagine the emotions bottled up inside him to learn that he did not have to part with the Guardian Spirit, who had been his symbol of hope and security.

    Many tribesmen shared the same sentiments.

    "¡­It must be the Savior! The Savior convinced the Guardian Spirit to follow the tribe!"

    "That must be the case! Only the Savior can move the Guardian Spirit! Long live the Savior!"

    The tribesmen cheered.

    At the same time, the elven warriors urged, "Alright, don''t dy the trip, people! Keep moving! You won''t have an easy time once the Guardian Spirit catches up!"

    "What if we want to wait for the Guardian Spirit so we can catch a ride along with our Savior?" A male elf asked curiously.

    "If you want to wait, then wait. However, we will not be staying with you. You''ll be on your own." The elven warrior stated.

    "Eh?" The male elf was surprised. He wondered why the elven warrior was not interested in riding on the Elder Tree before asking, "Why not?"

    "If you are interested in seeking death, and it doesn''t affect the rest of us, why should I stop nor join you?" The elven warrior responded before pointing, "Can''t you see what''s happening?"

    The tribesmen peered at the Elder Tree in the distance with strained eyes before noticing objects getting thrown out from the treetop.

    They were the homes of High Elves.

    Gulp!

    "On second thoughts, I will just continue walking." The male elf said wryly.

    Many tribesmen who shared simr thoughts with the male elf also abandoned their ideas of riding on the treetop with their Savior. They were not sure their hearts could endure such thrills.

    Meanwhile, Leon observed the situation outside with his [Spirit Eyes] while the Elder Tree moved out from the Great Forest.

    After noticing the distant rat walls shaking from the tremors of the Elder Tree''s heavy movements, he immediatelymunicated his wishes to the Guardian Spirit.

    "Eh? Why did the Guardian Spirit suddenly stop?" Faelyn looked outside and asked curiously after the tremors stopped before turning to face Leon while snuggling in his arms, "Did you say something to the Guardian Spirit?"

    "Yeah, I''m afraid the rat walls might copse if we continue at this rate. We will wait for the tribesmen to gain some distance before we resume the journey¡ª"

    Leon suddenly paused.

    Seeing Leon seemed to have noticed something with narrowed eyes, Faelyn remained silent for him to concentrate.

    "Oh? This looks pretty bad, doesn''t it? Did you ount for a situation like this in your n?" Duna suddenly said teasingly after she also happened to notice the situation ahead.

    In the darkness of the night ins, the rat tide could be sensed rushing towards the rat walls on either side of the traveling tribesmen.

    "What''s happening?" Princess Thessalia inquired with a frown.

    "The rat tide is being attracted to the tribe''s scent from both sides. They are rushing towards the rat walls as we speak." Leon calmly exined, despite the elven warriors failing to lure away the rat tide further.

    He sensed Faelyn''s anxiousness as she tightened her grip on his sleeve before he smiled at her reassuringly, "Arge tribe like Elvengarde cannot go unnoticed by the rat tide, even if we have two big rat walls obstructing them. However, there''s nothing to worry about. Such a situation has been ounted for. There''s no way I would have overlooked this point."

    As Leon finished speaking, Duna, Faelyn, and Princess Thessalia all gazed outside.

    In the far distance ins beyond the rat walls, the scouting group luring away the rat tide were the first to notice the situational change before the sentries stationed above rat walls did.

    "Captain, the rats are no longer following us! They have caught onto the scent of our tribesmen!" an elven warrior at the 9th Awakener Realm informed urgently.

    "Un, I know. Light the signal immediately!" The captain barked.

    Shortly after, all members of the scouting group immediately tossed out their crushed exploding pills at the rat tide below.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!"

    Explosions after explosions went off in various parts of the ins, briefly lighting up the night skies in their area.

    No matter where the sentries were stationed on the long route toward the Great Wall, all of them saw the bright exploding signals in the distance.

    "That''s the signal warning us of the rat tide''s movements! Proceed with the n!" A high-level elven warrior at the 5-Star Ranked Awakener Realm immediately urged his men.

    "Yes, sir!"

    The sentries answered.

    Very shortly, the elven warriors stationed in various parts along the rat walls used their exploding pills and set the two rat walls on fire, creating two long ming walls that brightened up the night sky!

    The Wingrats leading the charge immediately halted their steps at the sight of fire.

    However, the brethren following closely behind them were slower to react and forced them to tumble forward into the fast-spreading mes!

    Screech!

    The rats cried in burning agony.

    Duna, Faelyn, and Princess Thessalia all watched with astonishment as the ming walls immediately halted the rat tide''s advancement.

    At the same time, the fire spread to various parts of the ins like a chain reaction as an increasing number of Wingrats caught on fire.

    The High Elves were awed by the beauty of the fiery ins.

    "Now, we are really pressed for time," Leon said softly.

 Chapter 515 - Asking For Some Seeds

    <h4>Chapter 515 - Asking For Some Seeds</h4>

    "Pressed for time? What do you m¡ª" Princess Thessalia was about to ask when her eyes quickly flickered in realization. "Once the mes die out, there will be nothing left to stop the rat tide!"

    "Exactly."

    Leon nodded.

    "You understood quickly. That''s right. That''s the situation we are in now." He said before picking Faelyn off hisp in order to get up from his seated position.

    "Where are you nning to go?" Faelyn asked.

    Leon gazed towards the rat tide in the distance before he said, "I''m going to go thin out the herd."

    Of course, with such arge rat tide, his so-called thinning out the herd would make no difference whatsoever.

    However, it was better than doing nothing.

    "I have a bad feeling that not everything will go ording to n if I just sitting around doing nothing," Leon said with a worried frown.

    Faelyn gasped with startlement before admonishing him, "Don''t say something like that. What if you jinx it and something terrible really does happen?"

    "A wise man once said anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. There''s also a famous proverb that goes; man proposes, but God disposes. As such, we should do everything in our power to prepare for the worse." Leon stated.

    "When did you suddenly be a schr?" Faelyn asked with a short giggle before she stared at Leon with solemnity, "This is my tribe, and these are my people. I don''t want to wait here idly and do nothing. Please let mee and help too."

    "Maybe not. It might be a bit dangerous for you¡­" Leon denied her request out of concern.

    "Huh?" Faelyn furrowed her brows before pouting with a puffed chest, "Are you looking down on me? Despite how I look, I am still a 9-Star Ranked Awakener."

    "Do you have a lot ofbat experience? Can you fly?" Leon asked.

    His questions immediately made Faelyn dete like a balloon. Her head was bobbed down before she answered softly, "Not a lot¡­ and I can''t fly¡­ yet."

    "Let mee and help. I have a lot ofbat experience. Like my baby sister said, this is our tribe and our people. We cannot let Prince Leon do all the work." Princess Thessalia requested while patting her chest with valiance.

    "Oh?" Leon turned towards the elder sibling before he asked, "And can you fly?"

    "Uh¡­" Princess Thessalia immediately froze, unable to answer Leon''s question.

    He shortly shook his head and helplessly said, "Even if you can fight well, you will just be rat food if you don''t have a single means of escape from the rat tide."

    The two princesses'' heads were hung down in low spirits.

    "Practice how to fly with your elder sister first, then you cane and join me," Leon said while caressing Faelyn''s head with a smile.

    Shortly after, he suddenly thought of an idea and quickly added, "Ahh, but there''s another way you can help your tribesmen."

    "How¡­?" Faelyn asked with uncertainty.

    What else can she do except kill rats with her high cultivation?

    "You''ll find out soon enough. Come, we''ll pay the tribesmen a visit together first."

    "Alright."

    Faelyn nodded.

    "I''ming too," Duna suddenly stated.

    "Oh? You also want to help me that much?" Leon turned to Duna before he said concernedly, "But you might aggravate the cracks on your hand. Maybe you shouldn''t do anything until it recovers."

    "No, I don''t. Stop ttering yourself, Leon." Duna wrinkled her brows before saying, "I''m bored here, and killing some rats just happens to be able to relieve my boredom. It''ll be fine if I don''t rely on the Destruction Law."

    "Fine, fine, whatever you say," Leon shrugged with a wry smile.

    Just as they sorted everything out, Leon prepared to take off when Silver suddenly whimpered pitifully some distance away, "Awrooo¡­"

    "Ah¡­"

    While looking at the three-tailed silver wolf that had been bound firmly to the floor by countless vines, Leon said wryly, "You also want to tag along, huh?"

    Considering the Elder Tree was no longer moving for the moment, there was no need for everyone to remain shackled by vines.

    Silver was released from its binds before it immediately shot to its feet excitedly while wagging its tail and kicking up a gust of wind.

    "Alright, alright. We''re leaving now." Leon calmed down the big wolf before putting Faelyn on its head and picking it up with his brute strength.

    Shortly after Leonmunicated with the Guardian Spirit, he took off from the treetop with Faelyn and Silver while Duna flew beside him.

    "The rest of you shouldn''t stay here and go make yourselves useful as well." Princess Thessalia shortly said to the others before leaving with a royal guard, whom she made her flight instructor.

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    ¡­

    "Savior is here! Everyone, the Savior is here!"

    "The Savior hase to see us with Her Highness!"

    "Savior, why have youe? We are blessed with your presence."

    The tribesmen greeted.

    Leon''s lips twitched at their excitement and reverence while trying to adapt to their form of address. He was not used to being put on such a high pedestal.

    "Ahem, some silence, please." Shortly after, Leon quickly requested for silence with a wave of his hand, the noise in the crowd died down.

    Afterward, he turned towards Faelyn and asked, "Do you have seeds I can borrow?"

    "Yes, of course," Faelyn answered.

    At the same time, the tribesmen began to offer up their own magic seeds, "Savior, I also have some seeds here. Please use mine!"

    "Please use mine too, Savior. I just need a moment to make them!" A male elf spoke while unbuckling his belt, causing Leon and Faelyn to retreat in horror.

    Whack!

    The male elf was immediately bombarded with angry smacks on the head before one of the tribesmen admonished, "Not that kind of seed, idiot! How dare you try to show your vulgar junk in front of the Savior and Her Highness!"

    "F*ck, let''s beat this idiot up, everyone!"

    "Ah, ah, it was a mistake! Spare me!"

    The male elf was quickly taken away for a beating, but of course, the tribesmen did not go too heavy on their punches and kicks.

    "Fuu¡­ that gave me quite a scare." Faelyn patted her chest with relief.

    Neither she nor Leon expected such a situation to crop up for a simple request, such as asking for some seeds.

    "There are all sorts of interesting people even amongst themon folks in the elvenmunity, isn''t there?" Leon smiled wryly.

 Chapter 516 - Vine Carts

    <h4>Chapter 516 - Vine Carts</h4>

    Faelyn nodded rigorously at Leon''sment before she said, "I''ve frequently interacted with themon folks in the tribe, but it''s also the first time I''ve encountered such a situation."

    "They revere you so much, even male elves want to give you their seeds~!" Duna teased with a softugh as she enjoyed seeing Leon in distress.

    Leon naturally understood what she meant and could not help but feel goosebumps crawling on his skin as he shivered.

    "Please do not joke like that, Duna. I don''t need no maning onto me," Leon said with a bitter smile. He was not amused.

    "But what do you need the seeds for anyway? How will these help the tribesmen?" Faelyn asked after passing her entire grass-woven pouch of seeds to Leon.

    Leon noticed this small detail and smiled before he started exining, "You can see that the tribesmen''s pace is rather slow due to the goods they are carrying with them. This is quite an inefficient way of transport and will only tire them down quickly if they were required to increase their pace."

    "But how will you use these seeds to help them?" Faelyn asked curiously, wondering what Leon was nning.

    "You have been to the Human Domain and have seen the modes of transport in the Capital." Leon exined patiently with a smile before asking, "What do you think the tribe iscking inparison?"

    "Elvengarde does not have any of those steel moving objects. They''re called trucks and cars, right?" Faelyn said.

    Leon nodded.

    "Ah¡­ yes, Elvengarde doesn''t have steam-powered vehicles like the Crawford Empire. But let alone steam-powered models of transport, the elves do not seem to even utilize any form of carriages." He shortly stated.

    "Ah? Right¡­ We don''t, do we?" Faelyn''s eyes suddenly flickered in realization before she asked, "Then that means that you want to¡­?"

    "That''s right. We''ll make some carriages. The power of leverages will lighten their burden and quicken their pace," Leon stated.

    He knew the elves were a self-sufficient race, but it was surprising that they do not even use wheeled constructs to carry their load.

    Shortly after, he took out some seeds from Faelyn''s grass-woven pouch before channeling his Wood Energy into them.

    It was the first time he would be utilizing his wood abilities outside of healing.

    Nevertheless, he had seen others manipte vines with their wood abilities so many times that he had vaguely grasped the trick behind it.

    In a short moment, the seeds germinated and quickly grew into vines before Leon manipted them, shaping them ording to his thoughts.

    First came the four wheels, then the cargo area for holding, and finally the shaft for pulling. It was a rtively simple design, but not bad for Leon''s first attempt.

    With a single thought, the vines could be soft, hard, brittle, or even stretch like rubber. But for the carriage, it was naturally made hard and firm like ironwood.

    It was definitely not the typicallymon breed of vines that could be seen every day.

    "This is the carriage? It''s a bit small." Faelynmented with a hint of doubt. She had seen much bigger carriages back in the Human Domain.

    "No, not quite." Leon shook his head and said, "At most, this is just a cart. Hang on, I am still experimenting with the designs. I will make a bigger carriage soon."

    "Why don''t you help the tribesmen load their goods onto this cart first, then find some able warriors to do the pulling and give them tasks to recreate simr carts for the other tribesmen?" Leon suggested.

    "Alright, I will do just that," Faelyn nodded and summoned the nearby elven warriors to do just ask Leon suggested.

    At the same time, Leon gazed towards Silver and said, "You''re going to have a big job to doter."

    "Arf?"

    The three-tailed silver wolf tilted its head sideways in confusion. However, it vaguely picked up a bad feeling due to Leon''s gaze.

    It was the feeling of going to be exploited.

    As expected, half an hour, Leon made an impressivelyrge carriage that could carry hundreds of tribesmen and their goods.

    It was hardly considered a carriage due to its sheer size. No, it should be called a massive ship with wheels attached¡ªnumerous wheels attached.

    Leon made Silver stood at the forefront to pull the oversized carriage.

    If not for consideration of the weight limit the carriage could bear, Leon would have made the oversized carriage even bigger.

    At the same time, the elven warriors created thousands of vine carts of various sizes for all the tribesmen. They did not stop production until every tribesman was able to unload their goods onto the carts.

    Although the work ended up dying the trip, the overall time toplete the journey was shortened. The pace was increased by at least twofold with the help of the idle warriors pulling the carts

    "Only the elderly and children can board this carriage. If you are not one of them, please make way for them." Faelyn shortly stated.

    Everyone wanted to hop on the huge carriage driven by the big three-tailed silver wolf, but obviously, not everyone would get the opportunity.

    Many tribesmen were disappointed, but they did not protest and cooperated obediently, allowing the elderly and children to pass through.

    Leon watched as everyone boarded the carriages and resumed the trip before he said, "Seems like my work is done here."

    "I''ll be relying on you to help these tribesmen reach the Great Wall, bud." Leon shortly patted the three-tailed silver wolf.

    "Arf, arf!" Silver barked with dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

    "Don''t worry. I''ll make sure to reward you plenty once we return to the Human Domain." Leon said with a smile while ruffling its thick fur.

    Silver could only agree with a nod at the mention of rewards, albeit unwillingly.

    Shortly after, Leon spoke some words to Faelyn and returned the seed pouch to her before leaving with Duna.

    "You know, if you wanted to kill some rats, you did not need to wait for me," Leon said to Duna with a smile while they were heading back to the Elder Tree.

    "Huh?" Duna furrowed her brows before she snorted, "I was not waiting for you, alright? I was just fascinated by what the elves were doing and wanted to watch them for a bit."

    "Oh, I see. Then why are you still following me? I''m heading back to the Elder Tree for a bit, you know?" Leon asked nonchntly.

    "This¡­" Duna was at a loss for words before she suddenly said snappishly, "Why are you asking me so much nonsense? Just shut up and do what you need to do!"

    Seeing Duna behave like this, Leon could only respond with a wry smile.

 Chapter 517 - I Am Going Too

    <h4>Chapter 517 - I Am Going Too</h4>

    After returning to the Elder Tree''s crown, Leonmunicated with the Guardian Spirit to resume its journey.

    With the current situation outside, even if the ming rat walls copse, it would still be a sea of fire that the rat tide would not cross to reach the elves.

    Nevertheless, Leon made the Guardian Spirit take a different path.

    "You want to use the Elder Tree to mow down the rat tide?"

    Duna quickly guessed Leon''s intention before he nodded.

    "That''s right. Might as well utilize this big girl to the fullest," Leon said while patting one of its big branches.

    "Oh? The Elder Tree is a girl?" Duna asked with surprise before adding, "I didn''t know trees even had genders."

    "Oh, but they do. Trees are divided into four genders, in fact. Some trees can even change their genders as well, going from males to females," Leon exined with his wealth of knowledge on nts and herbs.

    Duna was merely curious and not all that interested.

    After listening to Leon''s exnation, she casually changed the topic with a question, "How about you? Have you considered bing a woman?"

    Leon was caught off guard by the question and nearly staggered before his lips twitched profusely. What kind of question was this?

    "Of course not. I was born as a man, and I will die as a man."

    "Uhm, sure," Duna responded with a lightugh.

    Leon shook his head helplessly.

    Sometimeter, the Elder Tree moved, taking a short turn to the right before proceeding forward with rumbling steps that shattered the earth.

    The sea of fire posed no threat to the Elder Tree as it continued onward without fear and quickly reached the rat tide. It was not fazed by weak mes.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The rats were immediately thrown into frenzied disarray at the Elder Tree''s heavy steps quaking the earth while hundreds of their brethren were crushed underneath its footsteps made of tree roots.

    Many High Elves, Elders, royal guards had left the treetop to make themselves useful previously under Princess Thessalia''s order, and only a few remained behind.

    At that moment, Princess Thessalia could be seen flying in the sky with other royal guards and High Elves as they slew the rats.

    As expected, Princess Thessalia was a fast learner and already took off to kill rats once she mastered the flight skill¡ªor so Leon thought at first.

    However, he quickly noticed that her flight was shaky from time to time.

    "This elven princess¡­ sure is reckless," Leon mumbled with a bit of speechlessness. She was definitely one of those muscle for brains type, he thought.

    Shortly after, Leon took off with Duna to y some rats and refine more exploding pills with their blood.

    Whether he liked it or not, he chose an area not too far from Princess Thessalia to watch over her. In any case, she was Faelyn''s elder sister.

    He could not let anything happen to her.

    ¡­

    Grasnd Region, World Tree.

    At that moment,rge numbers of troops were busying themselves about in preparation for departure within the military encampment near the foot of the World Tree.

    Lilith exited her tent after hearing the busy footsteps.

    "What''s going on here? Why are there so many movements at this time of the night? What are you all doing?" Lilith pulled over one of the soldiers for questioning.

    "Miss Lilith, I''m not too sure exactly. I''ve only just received orders from my superiors to prepare for departure. I heard the others talking that we might be mobilizing to the Western Frontier." The soldier said.

    Lilith was surprised before she furrowed her brows.

    "The World Tree is now the focal point of the Crawford Empire, and the king''s intention to construct the new capital here is no close secret¡­ For the army to be mobilized away from here, something big must have happened in the Western Frontier¡­" Lilith analyzed.

    "Yes, I also believe something big has happened at the Western Frontier, Miss Lilith." The soldier agreed with her analysis.

    Lilith gazed at the soldier with a pondering look before asking, "Do your superiors know more detail about what is going on in the Western Frontier?"

    "I would like to believe so." The soldier did not give a definite answer.

    Nevertheless, Lilith nodded and requested, "Please take me someone in highmand. I would like to inquire them about what is going on."

    Anything happening in the Western Frontier would most likely be rted to the Wilnds. As such, she could not ignore what might be happening over there.

    "I''ll be my honor, Miss Lilith. Right this way, please." The soldier patted his chest with a big smile and gestured for Lilith to follow him.

    The soldier quickly met with his superior to receive permission for his temporary leave before he went to carry out Lilith''s wishes.

    Sometimeter, they reached a big tent.

    "Reporting to themander, Miss Lilith would like to see you, sir!" The soldier spoke audibly with a disciplined salute outside the big tent.

    Some movements were heard within the big tent before a middle-aged soldier with a strong presence exited the big tent in surprise.

    "Is there something you need from me, Miss Lilith?" Themander asked courteously, showing Lilith preferential treatment.

    "I was hoping you can tell what is going on in the Western Frontier, Commander. Why is the king mobilizing the army there?" Lilith asked politely.

    "This¡­" Themander hesitated for a moment before Lilith urged, "Please, Commander."

    "Well, alright. However, you cannot divulge what I tell you carelessly, Miss Lilith. It will cause unnecessary panic among the schrs and citizens." Themander stated.

    Lilith nodded, "I can agree to this."

    "That''s good." Themander nodded back before turning to the soldier, "You did well to escort Miss Lilith here. You may return to your post and prepare for the departure."

    "Yes, sir!"

    Shortly after the soldier, themander gestured towards his tent, "Let us talk in private, Miss Lilith."

    "Alright." Lilith nodded.

    Shortly after she entered the big tent, themander followed closely after her. However, momentster, Lilith stormed back out of the tent in a hurry.

    "Miss Lilith, please wait! You mustn''t follow us. The situation in the Western Frontier is unclear, but it definitely won''t be safe."

    "Don''t stop me, Commander. If the Cataclysm is impending and the Wilnds is in turmoil due to the rat tide like you said, then I aming along, whether you like it or not¡­ I must return to my n!" Lilith said resolutely.

 Chapter 518 - Bad Omen At Dawn

    <h4>Chapter 518 - Bad Omen At Dawn</h4>

    "T-This¡­" Themander began breaking into cold sweats. He wanted to continue convincing Lilith otherwise.

    However, Lilith stated willfully, "I''m going."

    "Haiz¡­ As you wish, Miss Lilith," Themander quickly gave up after seeing how resolute Lilith had made her mind.

    "The advance group will be leaving would our transport arrives while the second group will be departing by foot in two hours. Please be present when our transport arrives, Miss Lilith. Otherwise, we will be leaving without you." Themander informed of the army''s departing schedule.

    Lilith quickly nodded gratefully, "Thank you,mander."

    Shortly after Lilith left to pack her belongings, themander rubbed his forehead with distress. He could imagine the angry schrs once Miss Lilith leaves the World Tree''s region.

    "I won''t be around anyway, so I would have to deal with theirints. I hope they don''t me me and rely on their noble backgrounds to make life difficult for me, though¡­" Themander mumbled.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at a particr location by the foot of the World Tree, a beautiful youngdy in a blue dress could be seen sitting quietly in meditative cultivation.

    The surrounding air was cold with frigid energy, while the surface of the ground was frosted in a thinyer of ice.

    No one dared to approach the area due to the terrifyingly low temperature, nor did they dare interrupt the person''s cultivation session either way.

    A tight wrinkle could be seen on Lynne''s face while she was in deep concentration.

    Within her sea of consciousness, she was trying to fuse her Awakening Cultivation and Divine Cultivation together.

    However, the Ice seed revolving around her soul core refused to bulge from its orbital position, while the Revolving Core in her energy center cannot be moved into her sea of consciousness.

    "I have achieved the Revolving Core Realm, but why can''t I fuse Awakening Cultivation and Divine Cultivation together like Aria did?" Lynne softly mumbled with a sigh shortly after opening her eyes.

    As fellow Divine Cultivators, she had long noticed Aria had practiced Divine Cultivation and merged it with her Awakening Cultivation.

    However, she was unable to seek answers from Aria on how to achieve the fusion due to herpetitive spirit.

    The Ice Phoenix Divine Canon required Frigid Energy to cultivate. As such, the Frigid Energy in her Ice Seed significantly sped up her Divine Cultivation while she fused them with the Spirit Energy she refined.

    If she could merge the Revolving Core and Ice Seed, she would be able to further enhance her cultivation speed.

    "It is because I advanced to the Revolving Core Realm too early?" Lynne pondered in silence, beginning to believe that this was indeed the case.

    "Perhaps, If I had made the Ice Seed the energy center for Divine Cultivation from the start, merging Awakening Cultivation and Divine Cultivation would have been possible?" Lynne bit her lips as she thought of this.

    It was toote to back over that step unless she wanted to restart her Divine Cultivation.

    The Revolving Core has settled firmly in her be region while she had reached a bottleneck in Awakening Cultivation.

    If she restarted Divine Cultivation, it would dy her progress considerably.

    "I have no choice but to push forward with Divine Cultivation if I want to continue growing stronger." Lynne furrowed in thought.

    Something was wrong with her Awakening Cultivation.

    Although she had reached 9-Star Ranked Awakener Realm, something stopped her from making the push for Transcendence¡ªno matter how much she tried toprehend the Law of Water.

    She began to feel that her ice ability was not simple¡­

    "Never mind. I will think about this issue another time. I should consolidate my early-stage Revolving Core Realm before making use of the environment to push for the middle stages." Lynne decided before closing her eyes and entering deep meditative focus.

    Her aim was to at least reach the Heaven Ascension Realm.

    ¡­

    Western Frontier, Great Wall.

    An entire night quickly passed before the rising sun revealed its first ray of brilliance, illuminating the eastern horizon and dispersed the receding shadows.

    Light gradually reached the Great Wall before shining into the Wilnds, revealing the neverending swarm of rats in the ins.

    The wall of fire continued to hold back the rat tide under the united efforts of Fire Awakeners while mountains of ckened carcasses littered the ins.

    Cling! ng!

    The hammering of metals could be hearding from the military city by the Great Wall in the early morning.

    While Fire Awakeners have moved to the Western Frontier to assist in the Great Wall''s defense against the rat tide, it never stopped the cksmiths from continuing their work.

    The military city had its own set of workshops.

    Nevertheless, many soldiers had gotten used to the sound of hammering metal and fallen hard asleep atop the Great Wall.

    Only a few were awake to keep watch over the situation below on the Wilnds'' side, albeit with red eyes, while the rest of theirrades slumbered from exhaustion.

    Suddenly, the soft, distant rumbles of the earth and shaking of the Great Wall woke up many soldiers.

    "What''s going on?" A soldier rubbed his eyes with a yawn before he suddenly stared into the distance with wide eyes.

    "I-I-Is that a tree?! A moving tree!" Another soldier eximed.

    The discovery immediately shocked many soldiers awake before they stood up and gazed into the distance with focus.

    The two fiery walls in the distance were old news to them sincest night, but where did this giant treee from?!

    Many soldiers'' jaw dropped in astonishment.

    "I-Isn''t that the Elder Tree from the Great Forest?! Look, the Elder Tree is not there anymore! This had to be it!" A soldier pointed in the direction of the Great Forest.

    The soldiers quickly shifted their gaze before another soldier eximed, "The elves have arrived!"

    After an entire night of burning, the forest fire had already died down, and the clouds of ck smoke dispersed into the skies.

    Nevertheless, the skies above the Wilnds was not as bright as it should be. In fact, it was gloomy with dull grey clouds.

    In the distance, Leon paused.

    He gazed up the skies with a frown as it began to crackle with increasing frequency.

    The elves'' destination was right in front of them, but the omen in the sky was not a good sign for the tribesmen in the far back of the line.

    "This could be bad¡­"

 Chapter 519 - Into The Thunderclouds

    <h4>Chapter 519 - Into The Thunderclouds</h4>

    Boom!

    The skies crackled loudly with thunder and grew more potent by the moment like it was gathering strength for a big thunderstorm!

    With so much heat and smoke dumped into the atmosphere, chances of a thundercloud forming were to be expected.

    "Leon!" Faelyn called out after seeing Leon flying over to her.

    Leon nodded to her before looking at the backline tribesmen that were still quite some distance from the Great Wall.

    "We need to urge the tribesmen to pick up the pace. The surrounding fires are already on theirst legs. If it rains, the tribesmen will be in trouble!" Leon stated.

    The rat walls had been burning for an entire night, thanks to everyone feeding more fuel into the fire. However, it would notst much longer before they are snuffed out.

    "Right! I notified the tribe right away!" Faelyn nodded heavily with solemnity, understanding the severity of the situation.

    Rain is not always apanied by thunder, but thunder is always apanied by rain. No matter how much water is stored in the clouds, it would only take a little sprinkle to snuff out the mes!

    "Everyone, please increase your pace! The Great Wall is just within sight! I know you are all tired, but we only need to push a little bit further!" Faelyn spoke with urgency.

    Although her voice was not harsh and loud, it was clear and well-articted, reaching the ears of her tribesmen.

    Shortly after, panic spread within the crowd.

    Although Faelyn did not mention it, the tribesmen could all guess the situation from looking up at the looming thunderclouds in the skies.

    "Let''s go, everyone! Just a bit further! We can do it!" A male elf tried inspiring his fellow tribesmen to strive harder despite the exhaustion they were feeling from the long travels.

    "Right, it''s just a little bit of distance to go. Don''t make Her Highness worry about us, everyone!" Another male elf spoke despite the nervousness in their heart.

    Even though there was panic in the crowd, no one had the energy to rush ahead of the others and gain a lead in reaching safety first.

    On the Great Wall, General Marquis Hendrick gazed at the thunderclouds with a deep frown.

    The rain would not just put the elves traveling on the ins in danger; the Great Wall would also face the threat of the rat tide.

    "Go call Duke Ignis over from the workshop," General Marquis Hendrick ordered a nearby soldier.

    "Yes, sir!"

    Shortly after, Duke Ignis was brought over before General Marquis Hendrick stated, "We have a problem on a hand."

    "What seems to be the prob¡ªoh." Duke Ignis paused on the rumbling thunderclouds in the sky. "Oh, that does look like trouble."

    "Any solution?"

    "Nope!" Duke Ignis said.

    General Hendrick Marquis looked at him with doubt. How can Duke Ignis give him such an answer without any looks of concern?

    "My son-inw will figure something out." Duke Ignis shortly said with a beaming smile, causing General Hendrick Marquis to look at him speechlessly.

    The Duke''s daughter was not even married to the Crown Prince yet.

    "How is your daughter, anyway? I have not heard much about her with the prince. On the other hand, the prince''s harem seems to grow bigger each day. It seems they aren''t all that fated to be together." General Hendrick Marquis said.

    "Haiz¡­" Duke Ignis sighed with concern after General Marquis Hendrick brought up the matter. "I''m also not sure what my daughter is thinking, but she is very immersed in cultivation these days. I''m sure the two children have some feelings for each other. Perhaps, I need to consult my wife about stepping in and giving them a push¡­"

    Shortly after, Duke Ignis shook his head and said, "Never mind. Let us not talk about this matter. We have the situation in front of us to worry about it."

    "Right¡­" General Marquis Hendrick said with a soft sigh.

    He also had his own son to worry.

    Ever since he returned to the Western Frontier with his son, the person had been sitting in a daze every day. Evidently, Rowan was smitten by the elven princess and daydreams about her every day.

    General Marquis Hendrick had no idea how to resolve this.

    "Haiz¡­"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, everyone out hunting in the vast ins swarming with rats began to return to the traveling group after realizing the weather condition.

    The royal guards, the High Elves, the Elders, The Supreme Elder, and Princess Thessalia were shortly seen returning from different directions.

    Shortly after, the airship was also seen in the distance.

    However, it did note closer within a certain distance from the Great Wall to continue attracting the rats to kill each other.

    A white figure could be seen flying over on her ice-lightning sword before leaping off and diving onto Leon''s back while he was considering a solution.

    "What are you thinking about?" Aria asked curiously, not at all concerned about the current weather in the area.

    "A solution to the current thundercloud problem," Leon spoke with a contemting look while looking at the thunderclouds in the sky.

    The thunderclouds are brimming with lightning essence. It was evidently an excellent ce for Lightning Awakeners to train and replenish their energy reserves.

    "Do you have a solution yet? If not, we can try mine."

    "Oh? I do have one, but let''s hear it." Leon said with a smile.

    Aria nodded before she exined, "I am an Ice-Lightning Transcendent. As long as I get close to the thunderclouds, I can absorb all the Water Essence before it rains."

    "What a coincidence. I was thinking the same. Of course, I cannotpare to you when ites to absorbing the power of lightning and water." Leon smiled before he said, "Let us go together."

    Aria was surprised before a sweet smile hung on her face. It was a pleasant feeling, knowing that their thoughts were in sync.

    "I borrowed this from the airship captain earlier." Aria took the modified pendant device from her storage space.

    Leon''s eyes quickly flickered with surprise before he said, "So you came prepared."

    "Un." Aria nodded with a small blush on her face.

    Shortly after separating the modified pendant device into two pendant devices, Leon and Aria shot up into the thunderclouds above together.

 Chapter 520 - Dunas Army

    <h4>Chapter 520 - Duna''s Army</h4>

    Not long after Leon and Aria flew towards the thunderclouds in the high skies and disappeared within, the downpour of rain urred quickly ahead of time.

    It was like the heavens did not want the elves to survive.

    "Quickly, everyone! Hurry! The rain has begun!" Elven warriors urged with waving gestures while over elven warriors pulled their carts and carriages with a quickened pace.

    The Fire Awakeners quickly received orders to create a passage for the elves before Silver brought the first batch of elves to the foot of the Great Wall.

    The ropes and lifts were shortly lowered for the elves to climb and transport their goods to the top.

    Nevertheless, the Great Wall was never equipped to take in so many people at once. As such, arge crowd was quickly gathered at the foot of the Great Wall.

    "This is troublesome. Our equipment can only bring in a few hundred at a time. At this rate, it will take several hours before we finish bringing in the whole elven tribe." General Marquis Hendrick muttered.

    At the same time, Supreme Elder Haldir realized the situation and made his way over.

    "Marquis Haldir."

    "General Marquis Hendrick."

    The two greeted each other before General Marquis Hendrick mentioned, "About this situation with the elves¡­"

    "No need to concern yourself with this matter, General Marquis Hendrick. I will solve this issue," Supreme Elder Haldir stated before he studied the rope lifts used to transfer the tribesmen and goods to the top.

    After he understood the rope lifts'' simple mechanism, he found empty spots along the Great Wall to construct his only rope lifts¡ªones that are wholly made of vines.

    Once the first construct waspleted, the thorny vines began rotating in gear and lowered the tform to the ground before a group of tribesmen was shortly brought up.

    "Haiz, Wood Awakeners sure are versatile in their abilities." General Marquis Hendrick sighed with emotion.

    They can heal people, elerate the growth of crops and herbs, and construct many things with their magical mutant vines.

    Compared to Wood Awakeners, it did not seem like there were not many things Wind Awakeners could do with their wing ability except use it forbat.

    Nevertheless, General Marquis Hendrick would still choose his wind ability despite his envy for Wood Awakeners.

    An ability equipped forbat suited him just fine. Perhaps, there were many ways to wield the wind. It was just that he had not thought of them yet.

    "There are also many things that Wood Awakeners cannot do," Supreme Elder Haldir responded casually before shifting his attention to the batch of tribesmen brought up by his vine lift.

    "Supreme Elder."

    The group greeted respectfully.

    Among the group of tribesmen brought up, there were a few high-level elven warriors within their midst.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

    "The warriors will stay." He said before assigning a single elven warrior to lead the rest of the tribesmen, "The rest of you will follow this person. He will lead you down the Great Wall to our designated gathering area."

    "Yes, Supreme Elder!"

    "You will take charge of this vine lift. The rest of you, follow me." Supreme Elder Haldir began instructing the warriors shortly after the group of tribesmen left.

    "Understood, Supreme Elder. Just leave it to me."

    The elven warrior patted his chest proudly.

    While Supreme Elder Haldir could construct several vine lifts, he could not mentally operate them all on his own while he is busy producing new vine lifts.

    It would be too exhausting on his mental strength.

    As such, it was left for these elven warriors to operate and manage. Not to mention It was more efficient this way.

    Meanwhile, the fires on the ins grew weaker with each drop of rain from the sky.

    As the tribesmen saw the mes reducing in size along with the sizzling sound of rain turning into steam and water vapor.

    "Ahh!" Several tribesmen cried as their carriage was overturned from hitting a small bump on the ground in their hurry.

    "What the hell are you doing! Don''t block the road and dy the rest of us!" A male elf immediately shouted with a ming yet nervous tone.

    Evidently, everyone was beginning to panic greatly at the sign of danger.

    "What''s going on here?" Faelyn shortly arrived.

    "Your Highness, those fellows over there are blocking the road!" A middle-aged female elf used the group with a pointed finger.

    Faelyn shifted her gaze over.

    "We didn''t do it on purpose, Your Highness! The carriage struck a bump and tilted over on its own!" The group quickly exined in fear of punishment.

    Faelyn frowned and made her way over to help the warriors clean up the scattered goods on the ground with her wood maniption.

    The carriage was flipped back on its wheels, and everything was ced back inside before Faelyn spoke, "Go. Don''t dy the others further."

    "Thank you, Your Highness!"

    The tribesmen expressed their gratitude before they left.

    "I know you are concerned but don''t forget you still have warriors protecting you. There is no need to fight amongst yourselves over a small mistake. We will make sure you get to the Great Wall safely!" Faelyn assured everyone with a determined look.

    At the same time, explosions were heard in the surrounding distances.

    Princess Thessalia and a group of royal guards could be seen tossing out exploding pills in areas with weakened mes about to turn into openings for the rats.

    During the night trip, Leon had refined hundreds of additional exploding pills, and as expected, the preparation was not made in vain. Apparently, they can never have too many exploding pills.

    The exploding pills were all put to good use.

    In another location, deep within the rat tide, Duna stood on the grassy fields alone while the rats rushed past her.

    None of them seemed interested in her.

    Nevertheless, a ck barrier of darkness surrounded Duna and corroded every single rat that came in contact with the barrier to death.

    "Arise," Duna uttered from time to time.

    Shortly after, the ckened rat carcasses would rise to their feet before lunging at other living rats in their surroundings.

    Suddenly, Duna narrowed her eyes in the distance¡­ The edge of the seemingly endless rat tide was finally within sight.

 Chapter 521 - Descending Beams Of Light

    <h4>Chapter 521 - Descending Beams Of Light</h4>

    In the sea of raging thunderclouds above the ins, static electricity could be seen jumping from clouds to clouds unpredictably.

    At first nce, everything seemed normal.

    However, the thundercloud''s movement was unnatural. It was gathering strength at an unbelievable rate.

    Gravity was twisted, and space became distorted.

    "Something''s not right about this¡­ this region is unstable¡ªno, should I say the entire sky is unstable instead?" Leon mumbled with furrowed brows.

    Aria nodded before saying, "In any case, we still need to make the rain stop, or the elves will be in trouble."

    "Then I will trouble you to get started on that first, Aria. Either way, this ce is beneficial for your cultivation." Leon smiled lightly before stating, "I will go investigate what is happening up there. It''s giving me an ominous feeling."

    "Alright, be careful."

    "Un, you too, Aria. You might be a Lightning Awakener, but these are, after all, thunderclouds that can potentially form the Heavenly Tribtion. It won''t be a little more careful."

    "I got it." Aria smiled sweetly.

    After giving Leon a quick peck on the cheek, she immediately separated from him, taking off on her ice-lightning sword to find a suitable spot in the thunderclouds to absorb the Thunder Essence and Water Essence umting within.

    A static barrier was shortly formed from the lightning aspect of Aria''s ability as it surrounded her, protecting her from stray bolts of lightning.

    At the same time, the lightning barrier acted as a lightning rod, quickly attracting all of the thundercloud''s static discharge towards her.

    The temperature quickly started to drop as the surrounding space was shortly affected by Aria''sw of ice and lightning.

    Water vapors became frosty and emitted icy cold energy as they were drawn towards Aria, while some fell like hail from the sky.

    Ice and Lightning Energy collided on the surface of Aria''s barrier, bashing against each other until they merged and formed strands of white ice-lightning energy.

    Leon watched Aria refined the energiesing from the thunderclouds for a moment before he proceeded to further into the skies, quickly rising several thousand feet in altitude.

    As he flew above the thunderclouds, he began to frown.

    Although he had the pendant device protecting him from the sky''s suppression with its anti-suppression rune, he could tell that the sky''s suppression force has weakened.

    "No, the sky''s suppression has not precisely weakened. It is fluctuating¡­ but what is causing this fluctuation?" Leon mumbled in thought.

    As Leon continued to rise higher and higher in the sky, he reached an extremely high altitude¡ªan altitude that he had not previously thought of reaching before breaking through to Transcendent.

    He had reached the stratosphereyer at roughly 100,000fts.

    There were no clouds in thisyer¡ªor rather only a few types of clouds ever appear in thisyer, such as; pr stratospheric clouds, extreme cumulonimbus clouds, and clouds rted to the formation of hurricanes like the one seen right below.

    It was also considered the first heaven.

    "If not for the fluctuating force of suppressing weakening, I''m not sure I would have been able to reach this height with my present cultivation even if I have anti-suppression runes," Leon muttered.

    In the early morning, the airspace within the first heaven was below the freezing point. However, such coldness was still well within Leon''s level of tolerance.

    More importantly, there were fewer elements in this region. The air was cold, and the winds were strong, while space was felt in abundance.

    There was no doubt that the higher Leon climbs, the more spatial elements that could be sensed in his surroundings.

    Even so, just cultivating at this altitude would increase his refinement of Great Pseudo-Grandmist Energy by many folds greater than cultivating on the surface.

    Nevertheless, this was the least of Leon''s concern at the moment.

    As Leon observed the surrounding space above the clouds for suspicious points of interest, his gaze soon paused on the brilliance of the sun.

    Although the sun was not yellow, it was generally observed as such from the surface. However, what Leon saw was more than just yellow.

    It had a strong tint of red.

    "We are running out of time. The sun is about to erupt!" Leon determined.

    He realized that all the fluctuation of forces happening within the suppression zone were foreboding signs of the Cataclysm''s eruption!

    At the realization, Leon immediately plunged back towards the surface.

    Just as his figure disappeared into the clouds below, the sun suddenly shed with intense red light as its surface erupted with an explosive burst of extreme scorching hot mes!

    The powerful wave of sr re bursting out from the sun affected every celestial body in its immediate surroundings.

    ording to the star map embedded in Leon''s memory, Gaia was the third closest to the sun within the Vandelhelm Star Realm.

    There were two others before Gaia, which was the small red of Ouphus and the slightly bigger yellow of Laetis.

    However, the surface of these twos was immediately scorched by the sun''s sr re! Even their atmosphere was blown away by the powerful passing me wave!

    Within moments, the sr re reached Gaia!

    Although the explosive me waves themselves failed to reach the, Gaia was still greatly affected by its heatwave!

    The debris ring surrounding Gaia was distorted as smaller pieces of debris were immediately pushed out of orbit!

    Some were flung far away from the Gaia while several more descended towards the''s surface alongside scorching sunlight piercing through the veils of clouds!

    A few beams narrowly missed Leon by a small margin.

    However, he could feel the intense heat radiating from these pirs of light as they shot past him and descended on the earth like the arrival of judgment day.

    "Ahh, my eyes! It burns!"

    Several people cried after ncing up subconsciously when light beams descended, while many resisted the urge after hearing their painful cries.

    "I can''t see! It hurts so much!"

    "I think I''m blind! Help me!"

    They continued to wail.

    Many people trembled at their suffering while they endured the world''s rising temperature as it quickly reached the peak of summer.

    Many knew that this day woulde again.

    However, no one was truly prepared for it when the time actually came! The Cataclysm arrived too swiftly and without warning!

 Chapter 522 - Falling Debris

    <h4>Chapter 522 - Falling Debris</h4>

    Whether it was on the Great Wall, by the foot of the wall, or on the ins, shouts and screams were heard everywhere after the light beams descended.

    "Ahh, It burns! The light is so hot!"

    "Everyone, quickly take cover!"

    Tribesmen cried after being scalded by the light while elven warriors warned them before conjuringrge shields made of vines for everyone around them.

    On the top of the Great Wall, high-level elven warriors also made vine covers for themselves and other soldiers in their vicinity before they continued to bring up their tribesmen located at the bottom.

    At the same time, a great change took ce within the sea of rats on the ins as the scorching sunlight seared them after vaporizing the rain.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The rats struck by the intense sunlight were paralyzed on the spot as they dropped to the ground and squirmed in burning agony!

    Their furs were reduced to ashes, their limbs bent in weird angles, and needle-like spikes began poking from under their flesh!

    It was like they were undergoing a transformation¡ªno, a mutation!

    The entire world experienced its own series of troubles brought by the Cataclysm''s arrival as timbered buildings within cities were set ame amidst panicky citizens seeking cover and molten steel beams falling apart.

    Outside of towns and cities, the cold rivers boiled while the snowy peaks of the Great Mountain Range melted.

    Hot water descended from their steep cliffs like waterfalls, transforming the nearby regions into swamps and flooded areas.

    Within the deep Wilnds, twelve pirs of red light surged towards the high heavens from their ancient relics.

    Wingrats were not the only beasts guing the Wilnds.

    They were not the only breed of rats as there were also Groundrats, Shadowrats, and variant species of rats guing the Wilnds with their incredible numbers.

    Even so, not all regions within the Wilnds were gued by rats.

    In different parts of the Wilnds, the rabbit race was an even bigger problem than the rats!

    Rabbits were docile omnivorous beasts, considered to be one of the weakest species amongst the beast race existing within the Wilnds.

    However, their numbers were even more fearsome than the rats!

    And when all these cute bunnies are transformed into ferocious, hunger-crazed, berserk rabbits, their threat level can only rank them higher than the rats!

    No one truly knew how dangerous they were until they all crawled out from the rabbit holes!

    Many Low-rank beast tribes and Mid-rank beast tribes fell to the swarms of rabbits and rat tides while survivors fled for higher ranking beast tribes for even a fighting chance of survival during the outbreak.

    Outside of High-rank beast tribes and King-rank beast tribes, carcasses piled like tall mountain peaks, and blood flowed like rivers!

    These tribes were the absolute hegemons of the ins!

    Their tribesmen numbered in the tens of millions while their Transcendent-level warriors numbered in the tens of thousands!

    It was not possible for such behemoth tribes to be toppled by weak races like the rabbits and rats, even if their numbers were in abundance.

    Absolute strength could not be defeated by numbers alone.

    ¡­

    Back in the Western Frontier, Leon descended from the skies, shortly returning to Aria''s side within the thunderclouds.

    Aria had long reopened her eyes due to the events happening. Seeing Leon returning, she quickly asked, "Did the Cataclysm¡­?"

    "Yeah¡­ it has arrived," Leon admitted with a nod.

    Seeing that Aria was nning to follow him, he stopped her while shaking his head, "Stay here and continue to cultivate, Aria. You don''t get many opportunities to cultivate in ces with much Lightning Essence."

    "But¡­" Aria wanted to speak.

    However, Leon shook his head again, "No buts. Stay here obediently and cultivate. Now that the Cataclysm is here, the future is uncertain. As such, we must use every chance we have to raise our strength as quickly as possible. I will go see the situation outside."

    Aria immediately bit her lips.

    She understood Leon''s reason andpletely agreed to it. As such, even though she was unwilling, she nodded with her head lowered, "Be careful."

    "I will." Leon smiled.

    The strong sunlight was able to pierce through gaps within clouds.

    However, the thick and concentrated thunderclouds were one of few ces where even the sunlight could not prate.

    As such, it was almost entirely safe as long as Aria remained cautious and did not purposely allow herself to be zapped by the full brunt of the thundercloud''s high voltage.

    Shortly after Leon left, Aria gazed in the direction of his departure with eyes filled with hidden emotions.

    "You''re giving me this chance to cultivate and quickly raise my strength, but who will do the same for you?" Aria muttered with a soft sigh.

    She did not doubt that many areas on the surface required attention and help now that the Cataclysm arrived¡­

    And the person who wanted to raise his strength more than anyone, is being forced to busy himself helping others.

    Leon was tied down by responsibilities.

    This made Aria feel extremely ufortable in her heart. She wanted to share his burden, but it seems that reaching Transcendent was still far from enough.

    Her eyes immediately became sharp and determined before she closed her eyes and focused wholeheartedly on her cultivation within the thunderclouds.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Leon descended out of the clouds, the chaotic situation on the surface became clear to him.

    The rain stopped, and the fires were stuffed out.

    Normally, this would have been bad for the elves still waiting to be transported to the top of the Great Wall. However, the rat tide was paralyzed by the sunlight as they underwent strange mutations.

    On the Wilnds'' distant horizon, burning debris shortly fell from the heavens and parted the earth with colossal amounts of soil rising into the skies.

    Rumble!

    The earthquake generated from the crash reached all the way to the Western Frontier with a strong gust of wind as the Great Wall shook and several tribesmen staggered, falling off the rising tforms.

    "Ahh, save me!"

    "Help me!"

    They cried with fear.

    Leon immediately shot over without much thought, but there were also much closer people who reacted and caught the tribesmen before him.

    "Young Prince, you''re here."

    "Marquis Haldir."

    Leon returned the Supreme Elder''s greeting with a nod shortly after the person saved his tribesmen from the fall.

 Chapter 523 - Wrathful Demonic Energy

    <h4>Chapter 523 - Wrathful Demonic Energy</h4>

    "That looks like bad news, doesn''t it? How do we stop that, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked while gazing at the rising earth in the distant horizon.

    Leon creased his brows.

    Without a doubt, a firestorm was quicklying their way. Hot winds will blow, and fiery rocks will rain from the skies like a meteor shower.

    Even if they can hide underground, they cannot move everyone below within the limited time given to them.

    This was not something Leon could solve with his current capabilities. Even so, it did not stop him from pondering for a solution.

    "For now, we should quickly transfer all the tribesmen to the other side of the Great Wall," Leon stated.

    They should do what they can. Perhaps, their lives can only be left up to fate after giving their all to survive.

    "Right." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before he said, "We are already doing the best we can. However, it is still too slow."

    Leon nced at the long queue of tribesmen waiting for their turn to use the lifts at the foot of the Great Wall before he nodded, "That''s for sure¡ª"

    Rumble¡­

    Suddenly, a huge rumble was heard from the distant horizon.

    When Leon turned to look, he saw that the rising columns of earth were blown away in another direction before it was further repelled by some colossal forces.

    Leon felt his hand shivering while everyone hiding under vine covers on the Great Wall gazed at the scenic view in awe.

    There would also be a day when he will have the strength tomand the winds and rains and reshape the earth on such magnitude.

    "That must be the power of Acknowledged Paragons. Their strengths are every bit insane as one would imagine them to be," Supreme Elder Haldir sighed with emotion.

    "Acknowledged Paragons, huh?" Leon muttered before adding, "Even so, for them to be able to avert a disaster just like that, they have to be Paragons even amongst Paragons¡­"

    To avert the disaster as Leon had witnessed, he would assume the Paragons had strengths of up to 100-million jin strength.

    It was hard for him to imagine that early-Rank 3 Transcendents could wield this much strength when Rank 2 Transcendents peak at roughly 10-million jin worth of strength.

    "Right¡­ You have a point, young prince. Perhaps, it was the Demigods themselves that made a move," Supreme Elder Haldir guessed.

    Demigods¡­

    Leon smiled wryly at this term.

    Only existences that have transcended and stepped half a foot into the realm beyond Transcendent Realm could call themselves Demigods.

    s, this was a joke.

    The journey to godhood was much, much further, more treacherous, and more difficult to reach than the Wilnds believe it to be.

    At least, Leon was aware that the Celestial Realm exists between Transcendence and Godhood. Nevertheless, he did notment on this topic.

    "Now that the immediate danger has been averted, we should focus on the other problems in front of us," Leon stated.

    "Right." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before asking, "Does the young prince have any solution?"

    "Leave the tribesmen here to me and go deal with the rats while they are still immobilized. I have a feeling they will be an even bigger threat after theyplete their mutation." Leon said objectively.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nodded solemnly before departing immediately without questioning Leon''s means.

    If he had a quick solution, then he surely had a quick solution.

    Naturally, Leon''s method was quite simple. After the Supreme Elder left, he made a whistle and called over the Elder Tree in the distance.

    As the Elder Tree answered Leon''s call and made its way over, its huge towering crown immediately cast an enormous shadow over the Great Wall, sheltering everyone from the strong sunlight.

    The 300ft Great Wall could not bepared to the over 2000ft Elder Tree.

    "Everyone, take cover behind the Elder Tree!" Leon barked shortly.

    The giant Elder Tree not only provided shelter from everyone, but it also blocked the iing fiery rock and soil that slipped past the Paragons.

    After all, the Paragons'' priority was to protect their own tribe and not some human settlement located thousands of miles away.

    Meanwhile, shortly after hearing Leon''s order, the elves that were spread out along the foot of the Great Wall immediately gathered towards the center of the Elder Tree''s shadow, albeit with difficulty as they trekked through the muddy ground.

    Even so, everyone made it under Faelyn''s encouragement.

    Swoosh~!

    The hot winds quickly blew past, and few fiery rocks struck the Elder Tree.

    Nevertheless, the Elder Tree was able to endure the blows without sustaining substantial damage. The elves that took shelter under it werepletely protected.

    Shortly after the situation calmed down, Leonmunicated with the Guardian Spirit before the Elder Tree used itsrge roots to transport the tribesmen to the top of the Great Wall.

    "Arf, arf!"

    The three-tailed silver wolf''s barking was heard before Leon shifted his gaze over and saw that it was still tied to the big vine carriage it was pulling.

    After using wood maniption with a wave of his hands, the vines shrank and reverted to seeds before flying into his grasp.

    "Awrooo!"

    Silver howled with excitement, enjoying its freedom after being released from the vines that were no different from shackles.

    "Go wild, Silver."

    Leon pointed into the distance.

    "Arf, arf!"

    The three-tailed silver wolf barked in response, understanding Leon''s intention before it took off with a giant leap and dived straight into the paralyzed rat tide.

    Shortly after watching the three-tailed silver wolf crush the helpless mutating rats beneath its feet, Leon began looking left and right for other parts that required his attention.

    Suddenly, he paused of the figure of Princess Thessalia and several royal guards flying back to the Great Wall from the direction of the Wilnds, albeit weakly.

    After reaching Leon''s location, Princess Thessalia almost copsed into Leon. However, she forced herself to remain strong before warning, "Be careful of the sunlight. There''s something wrong with it."

    "You were struck by the initial beam." Leon immediately noticed as his eyes flickered with surprise before furrowing his brows.

    Princess Thessalia and the several royal guards suffered from various burns from the initial wave of sunlight.

    "Yes¡­"

    Princess Thessalia nodded.

    They did their best to heal themselves with Wood Energy. However, the wounds regenerated slowly like something was obstructing their recovery.

    Traces of Wrathful Demonic Energy were noticed in their wounds.

    In fact, Leon could sense Wrathful Demonic Energy in every direction since the moment the sun''s wave of sr re arrived!

 Chapter 524 - The Suns Hidden Secret

    <h4>Chapter 524 - The Sun''s Hidden Secret</h4>

    After Gaia was struck by the heatwave, the world''s temperature swiftly rose for a period of time and was also the''s hottest period.

    Nevertheless, after some time, the world''s temperature would eventually return to normal. Until then, the people needed to do their best to avoid direct sunlight and survive.

    Leon locked onto the Wrathful Demonic Energy within Princess Thessalia and royal guards before he extracted them with Divine Will, absorbing the energy into his body before it corrupted their bodies further.

    "What are you¡­"

    "You were all gued by a type of Wrathful Demonic Energy, which prevented your wounds from being healed. However, it should be fine now," Leon exined casually.

    Princess Thessalia and the royal guards were surprised.

    Nevertheless, Princess Thessalia quickly shook her head and said, "Never mind that. What about you? Isn''t this energy very harmful? Are you going to be okay?"

    "Don''t worry. I know what I am doing. You should take the rest of your people and return to the top of the Great Wall to recuperate, Princess Thessalia. I will take care of the situation here," Leon suggested calmly.

    Princess Thessalia stared hard at Leon for a moment before she nodded with a sigh, "Alright. Sorry for troubling you with our responsibilities, Prince Leon."

    "Don''t mind it. You will all be the citizens of my Crawford Empire. As such, it is my duty as its crown prince to take care of all of you."

    Princess Thessalia furrowed her brows slightly after Leon''s words, but she shortly nodded and excused herself, dragging her body along with the royal guards to leave.

    Not many would dare to absorb Demonic Energy, let alone this type of Demonic Energy that contained traces of the Wrath Law.

    If Leon did not have his ck Vortex Space and Nihility Law, he would also be the same as the others. But since that is not the case, he was naturally destined to be different from other people.

    Shortly after the Wrathful Demonic Energy was refined by the ck Vortex and absorbed into Leon''s energy ring, he noticed tiny fragments of Wrath Law in the mix.

    His eyes immediately shone with a glint.

    Although thew fragments wereparable to a single grain of rice in a rice bowl, insect meat was still meat. It was better than nothing.

    With enough umtion, it will turn into something useful.

    However, the discovery of thesew fragments came as much of a surprise as it rmed him!

    For there to bew fragments present after the refinement, this implied Leon had absorbed someone, something, or some supreme entity''s sliver of will!

    Princess Thessalia and the royal guards were directly scalded by the sun''s surge of concentrated Sr Energy.

    As such, the Wrathful Demonic Energy could only havee from the Sr Energy, which in turns, came from the sun directly!

    "Wrong, wrong, everything was wrong. The fleshly abominations did not produce the Demonic Energy. They filtered them from the Sr Energy the Energy Conversion Tower collected!" Leon muttered in realization.

    He did not even dare to imagine what this entailed.

    ncing down, Leon could see his own hands trembling before he tried to stop it with his other hand. He was trembling in fear.

    Whatever life challenges were thrown at him, he would always find a way to ovee them.

    But when the difficulty of the life challenge is set so tremendously high and seems nigh impossible to ovee, Leon suddenly felt lost.

    He did not know what to do.

    The Cataclysm was a cmitous event that did not frequently happen throughout history. In fact, there were no records of it beyond the era of the Nova Civilization!

    However, it was urring for the third time within a 10-thousand year period. Something has sparked the Cataclysm to happen, and at an elerated frequency at that!

    Artificial Spirit Energy Conversion Relics.

    It can only be that.

    Something dreadful was sealed within the sun, and the seal was unwittingly weakened by the Nova Civilization''s endless greed for energy to support their development.

    Although they were ultimately destroyed by that greed, they have started the timer to unleash something horrible on the world.

    The Cataclysm was not a cmitous event. It was just the prelude to the true catastrophic event!

    Suddenly, a pair of supple mounds pressed against Leon''s back before soft white hands wrapped around his neck.

    "It''s not like you to be distracted in the middle of a crisis. When you are feeling lost, you can consult those around you, you know?" Faelyn''s words entered his ears.

    She was not sure what Leon was thinking about. However, she wanted to share his burden and be there for him, just like when he was there for her.

    Leon shook his head with a rueful smile.

    He was tired of being weak. Naturally, he had to remain firm and strong in front of those he wanted to protect.

    Although Faelyn interrupted his thoughts, she also calmed him down. It definitely had nothing to do with the pair of soft mounds pressing on his back. Ahem, definitely not¡­

    After Leon calmed down, he was able to think about matters more thoroughly.

    There might be some sort of almighty devil sealed within the sun, but the seal has not been broken yet. There was still time¡ªtime to prepare for the worse.

    After taking a deep breath, Leon''s eyes flickered with determination.

    "Thanks, Faelyn. But it won''t be necessary." Leon held Faelyn''s hand on his cheek to feel her warmth. However, he suddenly felt her hand trembled slightly before he noticed her wound.

    He separated from Faelyn to study her hand''s wound carefully before he said with a frown, "You got scalded by Sr Energy as well?"

    As he said this, Leon extracted the trace of Wrathful Demonic Energy from Faelyn before quickly healing her wound with Wood Energy.

    Faelyn gasped softly with surprise before recovering after a moment.

    "Un, but it was just a minor burn. However, quite a few tribesmen suffered much more terrible burns than mine during the first wave," She replied.

    Leon nodded.

    "Let''s go gather them all for treatment. It will be a problem if the Demonic Energy in their burns are left untreated." He said.

    If the corruption infiltrates the elves'' minds, they would undoubtedly go berserk¡ªor much worse, undergo some strange mutation after extended exposure to the sun.

 Chapter 525 - Dunas Absence

    <h4>Chapter 525 - Duna''s Absence</h4>

    Located on the other side of the Great Wall, the elves pitched camp on an open field outside of the military city.

    The entire area was soggy wet from the downpour of melted snow from the nearby mountain peaks, and steam could be seen rising as the water boiled from the heat.

    Many elves suffered burns from the sunlight and scalded from the swampy boiling water and steam that flooded the area.

    Nevertheless, the tribesmen built raised tforms of vines in the area to avoid the water.

    "Everyone, quickly gather around. Your Savior, Prince Leon, will purify you from the sun''s scorching burns," Faelyn spoke clearly shortly after arriving with Leon.

    He nced at helplessly in question, "Do you really need to address me as such?"

    "The tribesmen take you to be their Savior. Can''t you at least put up with it to live up to their expectations?" Faelyn whispered with a pleading tone before giving him a soft nudge.

    Leon shrugged with a sigh, "Alright."

    Shortly after, Faelyn''s words spread throughout therge crowd before the injured tribesmen gathered towards her and Leon.

    "You''re all afflicted by Demonic Energy, which prevents your wounds from healing. Once they are removed, you will be able to recover normally. As such, don''t hesitate toe forward for treatment if you''ve been hurt in any way!" Leon urged the hesitant tribesmen that pretended they were fine.

    "This isn''t normal Demonic Energy. If you let it corrode your body for a period of time, it will also corrode away your mind and make you go berserk like the mindless rats!" Faelyn added.

    Once these words are spoken, no one dared to hide their injuries, even if they were injuries unrted to the current situation.

    After Leon confirmed everyone was gathered with his spirit sense, he immediately extracted their Demonic Energy with Divine Will.

    Everyone was shocked when they saw strands of red mist seeping out of their bodies.

    "This is Demonic Energy?"

    "When did this get inside me?"

    They eximed with questions.

    In fact, Wrathful Demonic Energy could be found anywhere in their surroundings. The entire world was currently overflowing with Wrathful Demonic Energy.

    However, few will be able to sense it.

    Most of the Wrathful Demonic Energy was fused with Sr Energy and hidden within its light. As such, not many people will be able to see it, let alone sense it.

    In addition to the Wrathful Demonic Energy hidden within the elves, Leon also absorbed the surrounding Wrathful Demonic Energy hidden in the air.

    As therge quantity of Wrathful Demonic Energy poured into his body, Leon suddenly felt like he was being stared at by a mighty and vicious beast that caused his entire being to freeze.

    However, it onlysted a moment before the Wrathful Demonic Energy was ground down to the finest of particles and refined by the ck Vortex Space.

    "The Savior was right! My wounds are starting to heal now!"

    "Same here! My wounds are healing normally too!"

    "But why was there something like that hidden inside of our bodies?"

    The tribesmen quickly cheered after seeing their wounds closed quickly under the healing effects of their Wood Energy while others questioned the Demonic Energy''s existence.

    At the same time, Leon staggered slightly before Faelyn supported him with worry and rm, "Are you alright? Why are you absorbing so much Demonic Energy? Are you sure it won''t be a problem?"

    "I''m fine. I was just a bit startled." Leon smiled wryly.

    Nevertheless, his back was drenched in cold sweats.

    He did not expect just the gaze alone could freeze his entire being due to fear. Whatever was sealed inside the sun, it must not be let loose

    "Savior, will you be alright? Isn''t Demonic Energy harmful?"

    "Why did you absorb the Demonic Energy, Savior?"

    A few tribesmen approached Leon with worry before a child tugged his clothes and asked, "Savior won''t suddenly turn into some terrifying demon, right?"

    "Don''t worry, I will be just fine." Leon knelt down and ruffled the elven boy''s head before he exined reassuringly, "I have an ability that allows me to purify the Demonic Energy, so it will not be able to harm me."

    "Is that so?"

    "Of course."

    Leon nodded reassuringly.

    He was not really lying. Considering the ck Vortex separates the Wrath Law from the Demonic Energy, it was basically purifying¡ªexcept the Demonic Energy was still harmful to those that cannot use it anyway.

    Not that it really matters, since no one else would be using the refined Demonic Energy except him either way.

    Sometimeter, Leon returned to the Great Wall to check on the rat tide situation while Faelyn remained behind to take care of the tribesmen and settle them into a new area.

    The soldiers and Fire Awakeners have all evacuated from the foot of the Great Wall along with thest of the tribesmen.

    At that moment, only elven warriors, royal guards, soldiers, General Marquis Hendrick, and Princess Thessalia remained on the wall.

    Supreme Elder Haldir and the Elders continued to fight alone on the ins with the three-tailed silver wolf as they ughtered the helpless rat tide like sitting ducks.

    Nevertheless, not all rats were paralyzed from being inside the sunlight areas. The thunderclouds blocked out most of the sunlight on the ins, and only a few made it through the gaps in the clouds.

    Leon greeted the others on the wall with a silent nod before he continued to observe the situation while absorbing the Wrath Law Fragments in his ck Vortex Space.

    Suddenly, he paused.

    The sealed entity in the sun seemed to have its consciousness fused with the Wrath Law itself.

    Wherever there was Wrathful Demonic Energy to devour, the ck Vortex Space would also producew fragments for him to absorb.

    This implies that he was shaving away a part of the entity''s consciousness and soul every time.

    ''Would I be able to weaken that being if I keep devouring its Wrathful Demonic Energy?'' Leon seriously considered.

    Shortly after, Leon frowned when he failed to spot Duna among the group in the area.

    Her absence made him feel uneasy, especially considering the sun''s current Sr Energy was an extremely potent Yang Element that was harmful to spirits of Yin alignment like Duna.

    "Nothing could have happened to her, right?" Leon muttered with worry.

 Chapter 526 - Black Region

    <h4>Chapter 526 - ck Region</h4>

    No matter when Leon searched, Leon could not find Duna anywhere nearby. Undoubtedly she was not anywhere close to the Great Wall.

    They had traveled an entire way from the Great Forest.

    The carcasses of rats could be seen littered all over the ins as they were hunted throughout the night. Duna could have been anywhere along this journey.

    Knowing that Duna could potentially be in danger, Leon could not remain still. He had to search for her proactively if he wanted to make sure she was alright.

    It would be toote for regrets if something happened while he waited and hoped for her wellbeing.

    "I will leave everything here to you, Marquis Haldir. Please take care of everyone while I am gone." Leon flew over and spoke to the Supreme Elder before preparing to take off in search of Duna.

    "Of course." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded solemnly despite his initial surprise. Nevertheless, he could not help but ask, "May I inquire where you are going, young prince?"

    "To find a missing friend."

    Supreme Elder Haldir also realized that the female spirit was not seen anywhere in their vicinity as he butchered another rat on the ground.

    Suddenly, he recalled something and mentioned, "If you are looking for Miss Duna, I remember that she ventured off quite deep into the south while we were still around halfway through the trip."

    "I got it, thank you."

    After giving the Supreme Elder his thanks, the three-tailed silver wolf in the distance barked at Leon, "Arf, Arf!"

    "Stay here and continue to help me clear out these pests, Silver," Leon flew over and spoke while wiping some rat blood off the three-tailed silver wolf''s fur before patting its head.

    Silver whined like a child about to be abandoned and wanted to follow Leon, causing him to smile wryly in response.

    "Fine, you cane along."

    "Awrooo!"

    The three-tailed silver wolf howled excitedly after receiving Leon''s approval.

    "However, in return, I will need to give your reward to the Guardian Spirit to do extra work in ce of your absence here," Leon said seriously before taking out one of his few remaining supreme-grade spirit stones.

    After the Elder Tree was called over from the Great Wall, Leonmunicated with the Guardian Spirit and quickly received its willing agreement before tossing the spirit stone over.

    Silver wanted to immediately snatch the supreme-grade spirit stone from the Guardian Spirit.

    However, its limbs were suddenly bound by sneaky small roots from the Elder Tree before the Guardian Spirit gobbled down the supreme-grade spirit stone with its thicker roots.

    As if it was not satisfied with having anticipated the three-tailed silver wolf''s intention, it further antagonized it by waving its roots in front of the three-tailed silver wolf like it was saying, "Too bad for you."

    "Grrr!" Silver growled unhappily while baring its fangs at the Elder Tree.

    However, the three-tailed silver wolf was suddenly given a smack on the head by Leon before he casually said, "What are you getting all unhappy about? This is what you chose! Suck it up and let us go!"

    The three-tailed silver wolf felt wronged, but Leon was right. It could only follow behind Leon obediently.

    Looking back, the Elder Tree could be seen making some sort of victorious gesture with its roots before the three-tailed silver wolf snorted and no longer looked back.

    "If you are so slow, I am leaving you behind, Silver," Leon stated before he took off into the distance with the Tier 4 Bone Spear in his hand, sweeping away rats after rats in his path.

    He flew low while his divine sense expanded to its maximum range to sweep the area.

    "Awrooo!" The three-tailed silver wolf howled in response like it was epting a challenge before chasing after Leon, stepping on numerous rats, and crushing them underneath its feet to death with its weight.

    The ins were littered with Wingrats everywhere.

    The living rats feasted on the flesh and blood of their dead brethren, but after picking up Leon and Silver''s scent, they immediately joined the other rats, who already made their move ahead of them.

    Nevertheless, these rats posed no problem.

    Leon and Silver bulldozed their way through the rat tide and continued on their journey through the ins.

    From time to time, Leon would increase his altitude to observed the surroundings from a high vintage for any peculiar sightings that might give him clues towards Duna''s location.

    The deeper he headed into the Wilnds, the further he realized thend was not t but continued to rise on a gradual slope.

    Considering the enormity of the Wilnds, it would not be strange if the ground level of the middle and central regions of the Wilnds was well within the supposed sky''s suppression zone.

    The twelve rising pirs of Demonic Energy appearing at different vertical positions in the far reaches of the horizon further confirmed his guess.

    Perhaps this was the secret to the powerful strengths of the beasts and humans living on the Wilnds.

    Their bodies were consistently tempered by strong gravity as their bodies adapted to live in such harsh environments.

    Sometimeter, Leon spotted a peculiar ck region in the southern direction while he was on routinely high altitude search.

    "Silver, we are heading this way!"

    "Arf, arf!"

    Shortly after, Leon and Silve made their way over and arrived at the ck region on the grassy ins.

    Rat carcasses could be seen everywhere, inside and outside of the ck region.

    What came as a surprise to Leon was that they had reached the end of the rat tide. There were no rats in the surroundings except for the ones they attracted over on their journey.

    After finishing off the remaining rats attacking themselves, Leon entered the ck region with Silver.

    The region had fewer clouds in the sky and allowed for more sunlight to shine clearly in the area, revealing the mountains of ckened rat carcasses.

    "These rats weren''t charred ck¡­ they were corroded by Darkness and Death Energy!" Leon quickly determined.

    His heart surged with worry due to the amount of sunlight in the region.

    "Duna! Where are you?!" Leon shouted.

    Silver also wanted to help, so it mimicked Leon''s method of searching for Duna and howled loudly, "Awrooo¡ª!"

 Chapter 527 - Porcupine-like Mutation

    <h4>Chapter 527 - Porcupine-like Mutation</h4>

    Wherever Leon looked and swept with his divine sense, all he found were ck rat carcasses on top of ck rat carcasses.

    Nothing else.

    Nevertheless, Leon had a feeling Duna was somewhere in this region while he was searching left and right.

    "Duna has to be in this ck region somewhere¡ªshe has to be!" Leon strongly believed while muttering, "There shouldn''t be many beings who can wield the Darkness and Death Law outside of the Dark Continent unless they are demons¡­"

    Not only were wielders of thesews were few, but Leon also did not believe demons would be so kind as to help them clean up their rat problem.

    Boom. Boom.

    Distant rumbles were heard from time to time,ing from the far horizon where the twelve crimson pirs of Demonic Energy shooting into the heavens were located.

    Nevertheless, the chaotic situation deep in the Wilnds was none of Leon''s concern. That was something for the local beasts and humans residing there to worry about.

    "Where are you, Duna?! Answer me if you hear me!" Leon continued calling out as he scoured the ck region with the three-tailed silver wolf.

    "Awrooo!"

    Silver howled periodically.

    Although the area was searched by Leon''s divine sense, the three-tailed silver wolf still knocked over piles of rat carcasses as it followed some distance behind him.

    "Just how many carcasses are there here? It must be in the tens of millions at least." Leon furrowed his brows while pondering. "To think Duna ughtered all these rats by herself in one night¡­"

    Duna''s killing speed was a little too terrifying for Leon to imagine as he pondered, "How did she achieve this much in one night?"

    Nevertheless, he did not think too deeply before his attention shifted to a specific mountain of ck carcasses in the distance.

    The sunlight in the area was also especially intense.

    Underneath the piles of ckened rat carcasses, Duna''s sleeping figure was quickly locked onto by Leon''s divine sense.

    "Duna!" Leon shouted.

    He immediately shot over before he lifted the mountain of carcasses with Divine Will.

    While keeping the carcass mountain as cover from the sunlight, Leon slid his arm under Duna''s spirit body in ck dress and picked her up slightly before studying her condition.

    "As I feared, Duna has been harmed by the sun''s strong surge of Sr Energy!" Leon quickly determined with a frown.

    Duna''s pale white spirit body felt very soft to the touch and very simr to a female human''s delicate flesh, except there was no warmth exuded from her spirit body.

    Leon could only feel icy coolness.

    At that moment, Duna''s pale body was ckened like charred firewoods and filled with cracks like broken chalks.

    She appeared to be in a very weak and fragile state.

    At this realization, Leon was afraid to move her too further in case of aggravating her condition.

    Even her ck dress made of Yin Energy had mostly disappeared in various areas, revealing much of Duna''s fair body that was beautiful like sculpted jades.

    Leon studied her body seriously without any lewd thoughts. Definitely not.

    "Awroof!"

    Silver suddenly barked.

    "Ahem." Leon coughed lightly after his thoughts were interrupted by the three-tailed silver wolf before he took out spare ck clothes and draped them over Duna''s exposed body.

    "What is it?" Leon nced at the Silver impassively.

    The three-tailed silver wolf snorted.

    Shortly after, Leon thought of something was nced back at Duna and took a peek under her draped clothes before his brows furrowed.

    Generally, the soul dress made of Yin Energy is white. It only bes ck after mixing with Darkness Energy, which has also be a distinguishable trait of Duna and Lumi switching personas.

    However, Duna became white-dressed since her awakening while Lumi was nowhere to be seen. Now that they have be ck-dressed, does this mean Lumi has reimed control of the body?

    Even if that was the case, she was still unconscious. And more importantly, what about Duna? Was she okay?

    "You worked hard."

    Leon sighed softly while gazing down at Duna and Lumi''s sleeping face.

    After a moment, Leon carefully sent their body into the Worldspace and ced them on the ice bed within the Yin-biome of the herb garden.

    This was done to preserve their body and prevent their present condition from possibly deteriorating.

    Furthermore, there was no better ce for Leon to put them. Evidently, the ice bed was the best choice avable to him.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s frown did not rx after his astral avatar disappeared from the Worldspace and returned his consciousness outside.

    "Duna and Lumi will not be able to recover if they cannot regain their consciousness¡­" Leon muttered while rubbing his frown.

    "Hm?"

    Leon suddenly paused with a thoughtful look.

    "I recall reading about a type of spiritual treatment technique that allows a person to dive into the consciousness of their patients to rouse them awake from their longas and vegetative states¡­ I should look further deeper into this once I get back."

    In truth, he had started reading into this technique that was called [Soul Dive] while he was researching soul-rted treatments in the Archive when Duna and Lumi had fallen unconscious previously.

    However, he thought that it was no longer necessary after Duna awakened. But as it turns out, it was still required in the end.

    "Silver, we are done here. Let us head back to the Great Wall!" Leon called out to the nearby three-tailed silver wolf.

    "Awrooof!" Silver responded.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, back at the Great Wall, the rat tide situation became intense after the ratspleted their mutation phase.

    Their danger level was raised to new heights.

    "Herees another wave! Raise your shields, men!" General Marquis Hendrick barked to human soldiers and elven warriors alike.

    At that moment, everyone had retreated back to the top of the Great Wall, equipped with vine shields.

    After hearing General Marquis Hendrick''s orders, they immediately raised theirrge shields together and entered a tortoise-like formation as numerous spikes shot over from below.

    The Wingrats became simr to Porcupines after their drastic mutation. Their entire missingyer of fur was reced by hundreds of spikes that could be projected from their bodies like missiles!

    Even worse, these spikes could be quickly regrown!

    At the bottom of the Great Wall on the Human Domain''s side, several soldiers could be seen skewered to death by said spikes.

    Evidently, everyone had already experienced the threat of the spikes firsthand and made countermeasures.

 Chapter 528 - Rain And Lightning

    <h4>Chapter 528 - Rain And Lightning</h4>

    Phft! Phft! Phft!

    The rain of spikes shortly struck the vine shields repeatedly with swishing sounds as the soldiers and elven warriors endured the onught.

    While the rats have mutated into a deadlier beast, their strength had not grown too big.

    Even so, few weaker soldiers and elven warriors in the rear formation were unable to withstand the repeated battling of spikes as their arms gave way.

    After their vine shields dropped, they were skewered until they fell off the wall and plunge to their deaths. With the number of spikes pierced into their bodies, even if they somehow survive the fall, they were beyond saving either.

    "Take cover, everyone!" An Elder warned.

    At the bottom of the Great Wall, numerous survivors from the military city immediately screamed at the downpour of spikes that made it past the Great Wall.

    Everyone immediately scurried for shelters within the buildings after being warned by one of the Elders.

    However, there were few exceptions.

    Some were too fricken with fear that they were rooted on the spot as they gazed at the iing rain of spikes with wide eyes.

    The few Elders and elven warriors stationed at the bottom were able to save some of the survivors, but not all of them.

    The few unfortunate ones were immediately skewered to death.

    Back on the Great Wall, General Marquis Hendrick did not have the luxury to keep tabs on the casualty.

    Shortly after the rats fired their spikes, another wave of rats immediately rushed forwards and scaled the Great Wall by leaping on top of each other.

    "Burn them!" General Marquis Hendrick quickly roared after the volley of spikes ended.

    The soldiers and elven warriors immediately disengaged from their tortoise-like formation before Fire Awakeners stepped forward and produce arge me wave that dropped down on the mutated rats!

    Alongside them, the soldiers quickly brought forward the wine and oil before pouring them over the wall to feed the mes and create a bigger fire!

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The mutated rats immediately cried in burning agony before the piling mountain of rats quickly copsed back to the ground.

    Even so, the rats quickly avoided the area like a gue before rushing to other ces without fire to scale the Great Wall.

    mes were not as effective on the mutated rats as they were before the rat''s mutation.

    Meanwhile, roughly 80 yards away from the Great Wall, the airship hovered high in the sky under the Elder Tree''s crown while the Elder Tree busied stomping down on rats en masse with itsrge roots.

    Boom! Boom!

    Every m shattered the earth and copsed the ground, revealing the subterranean space underneath as the mutated rats in the area were plunged into chaos.

    Nevertheless, the mutated rats ignored the Elder Tree''s onught and continued to rush towards the Great Wall.

    The berserk mutated rats were never interested in anything they could not eat.

    If they cannot pick up the scent of other living fleshly beings, they would feed on the flesh of their own dead brethren. And if there were no deceased rats nearby, only then would they attack each other.

    "How many exploding pills do we have left?" Princess Thessalia inquired while she observed the situation on the surface from the edge of the airship.

    The personal guards following Princess Thessalia immediately checked the inventory before one of them answered, "We are down to four dozens pills left, Your Highness!"

    "I see." Princess Thessalia nodded before she requested from the airship captain, "Please take us closer to the wall, captain. We will use these few remaining exploding pills to assist the Great Wall''s defense by targeting the mountains of rats!"

    "Understood, princess."

    The captain nodded.

    Under the airship, numerous dents could be seen on the airship''s hull. Evidently, the airship had also been targeted as it carried more than fifty people on board.

    Although damaged, none of the spikes had managed to prate the hull.

    As the airship descended in altitude, a portion of the rat tide was quickly attracted over as they aimed at the flying steel boat in the sky with the spikes on their back.

    Phft! Phft!

    The spikes ripped through the air, closing in on the airship swiftly!

    However¡­

    Bip! Bip! Bip!

    The sound akin to hail on a rooftop was hearding from the airship''s hull before numerous spikes were bounced off while several others snapped on impact!

    Nevertheless, the spikes rained back down on the mutated rats before several dozens to hundreds were impaled to death shortly after.

    Crackle!

    The thunderclouds in the sky above the Elder Tree crackled with thunder before a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the ground in a sh some distance away!

    Bzzt!

    Several mutated rats were immediately fried as they were struck by the scattered electrical discharge.

    Within the dense rolling clouds of thunder, Aria did not continue to cultivate after recharging her energy reserves to the brim.

    Instead, she tamed the thunderclouds and controlled the rain and lightning in the sky after paying attention to the situation on the surface.

    The thunderclouds moved like a singr object under her will and steered away from the Great Wall before she rained lightning bolts on the mutated rat tide like some thunder god!

    It had be her personalized nimbus!

    Bzzt! Bzzt!

    The power of the lightning bolts was great, but its killing efficiency was not!

    However, it did not take long before a sudden downpour of rain descended on the surface and soaked the region in icy coldness.

    The rain''s freezing temperature slowed down the mutated rats'' movements and cooled their minds, forcefully snapping them out of their berserk state!

    Unfortunately, the rats did not regain their sanity for long before a bolt of lightning descended and caused a chain reaction as the powerful electric discharge zapped through the water!

    Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

    Tens of thousands of rats were immediately wiped out in an instance!

    Shortly after, more bolts of lightning descended one after the other! Aria''s kill count soared rapidly as she shocked the mutated rat tide to death, en masse!

    On the Great Wall, General Marquis Hendrick and the other saw the barrage of lightning and felt a chill in their hearts.

    It only takes one stray lightning to stun¡ªif not outright kill everyone on the Great Wall!

 Chapter 529 - Frozen Calamity

    <h4>Chapter 529 - Frozen Cmity</h4>

    Grasnd Region.

    Moments before the Cataclysm erupted, the advance party of the army had departed for the Western Frontier.

    Lilith sat in the back of arge military truck along with two dozen other soldiers despite being offered the privilege to sit in the front seat with the driver, where it was more spacious.

    Lilith had insisted on sitting in the back with the other soldiers.

    She did not want to take up the seat of another high-ranking soldier due to special treatment from themander leading the advance party of roughly 2000 men.

    The military truck traveled along the main road with 100-odd other military trucks following in tow behind one another, forming a long single row of military trucks.

    Lilith''s military truck was the leading vehicle in the advance party.

    At that moment, when the entire world was struck by the eruption of the sun''s great sr re, the entire advance party managed to avoid the scorching heatwaveing from the sunlight.

    Even so, the temperature quickly soared, causing the military trucks'' interiors to be hot and stuffy.

    The leading military truck came to an abrupt stop due to the sudden change, causing the rest of the transport vehicles following behind to also stop.

    "What happened? Where did this heatwave suddenlye from?" A soldier spoke in the back of the leading military truck.

    "I don''t know, but this heat is killing me! I''ll go out and check!" said another soldier, who was seated on the far rear just opposite of Lilith.

    However, the soldier only stuck his head out before the intense sunlight burned him.

    "Ahhh!" The soldier cried from the searing heat before another soldier seated near the front urged, "Quickly pull him back inside!"

    Nevertheless, the nearby soldiers had immediately reacted and pulled the soldier back inside before the person could finish speaking.

    Shortly after, they gazed at the burns on the soldier''s head before gasping with shock, "How can sunlight be so intense?!"

    "How bad is it?" The burned soldier asked with a bitter smile before saying, "I will make sure to always wear my helmet from now on¡­"

    Meanwhile, themander sitting in the front passenger seat narrowed his eyes before he stated, "The Cataclysm must have erupted!"

    "What shall we do now,mander?" The driver asked.

    "We can''t stay here in the open sunlight. We need to quickly find some shade. Go, take us off road!" Themander spoke before pulling out amunication device to notify the others.

    Commander quickly understood that the temperature would eventually drop after the initial surge. However, everyone would be grilled before that happens.

    "Yes, sir!"

    The driver answered.

    Unfortunately, the truck refused to move like it was stuck in something.

    "What''s the matter? Why aren''t we going?"

    "Sir, I think the tires have melted!"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Demonic Energy surged from the deep subterranean space underneath the World Tree after the cataclysmic eruption.

    Lynne''s eyes snapped open from her meditated cultivation before shooting to her feet with furrowed brows.

    Looking at the heatwave transforming the world around her into a field of red, Lynne muttered, "Is this the so-called Cataclysm recorded in history. It came so suddenly¡­"

    Shortly after, she frowned at the red energy seeping out from underneath the World Tree while the screams and growls of explorers within could be heard.

    She was suddenly surprised by a deep sense of loathing for the red mist despite not knowing what it was. The feeling seems to be surging from deep within her very soul.

    A few people managed to take the rope lifts and escaped the subterranean space before they were stopped by soldiers.

    "What is happening down there?" The soldier interrogated.

    The explorer''s eyes darted left and right at what was also happening outside before he responded with panic, "I don''t know! Red mists suddenly surged from out of nowhere before people started going crazy and tore at each other!"

    "People went crazy and tore at each other¡­?" The soldier repeated incredulously before he suddenly noticed the explorer''s eyes turning red from numerous blood veins. "Hey, are you alrigh¡ª"

    The explorer suddenly lunged at the soldier and bit his neck, tearing off a piece of flesh from the person before the soldier wailed, "Ahh! Get him off me!"

    "Are you f*cking crazy, cannibalistic psycho!" Two nearby soldiers quickly pulled the frenzied explorer off the soldier.

    Bang!

    The frenzied explorer was shot dead in the head by another more decisive soldier before the person urged, "Leave the body here and quickly take this brother to get treated by a Wood Awakener!"

    "Yes, sir!" The soldiers said after a moment of surprise.

    Blood spurted crazily from the soldier''s bitten neck while the person tried to stop the bleeding with his hands.

    Nevertheless, strength rapidly left the soldier''s body due to the blood loss.

    "Quickly! We are losing him!"

    "Yes, sir!"

    At the same time, numerous people in the World Tree vicinity could be seen rushing towards it while holding items of all kinds above their heads, shielding themselves from the intense sunlight.

    Without a doubt, the World Tree provided the biggest cover from the sunlight and was also the coolest spot in the Grasnd Region!

    Anyone taking shelter elsewhere is either too far away or simply idiots! Even so, the World Tree was not exactly the safest ce to be either!

    "What should we do, sir? We cannot stay near these red mists, but we cannot leave the region either," Asked a soldier as he hoped for a good solution from his immediate superior.

    The higher-ranking soldier furrowed his brows in thought before he noticed Lynne approaching the red mist.

    "Be careful of the red mists, Miss Lynne! They are dangerous!" The person warned.

    However, Lynne did not seem to have heard the soldier.

    She continued walking towards one of the many entrances leading to the subterranean space underneath the World Tree before she waved her hand.

    A cold breeze quickly flew past, freezing all the red mist before they dropped to the ground like blocks of ice and shattered into countless pieces.

    "Leave the subterranean space to me," Lynne said impassively.

    While she approached the entrance equipped with rope lifts, her eyes glowed with blue light.

    Frosty mists exuded from her being and surrounded her in biting coldness while every step she took left behind patches of frozen soil.

    The coldness froze all the red mist before they coulde close to Lynne. Even the nearby soldiers suddenly shivered from the chilly air.

    On one side, they were freezing from the temperature drop, while on the other side, they were melting from the rising hot temperature.

    The temperature around Lynne continued to drop below freezing point, causing the surrounding ground to quickly freeze as they were no longer limited to her footsteps.

    Even her ck hair quickly turned white again.

    Shortly after arriving at the edge, she took her first step into the air before stepping onto a quickly forming staircase of ice.

    After reaching the bottom of the subterranean space, all the berserker explorers and researchers in the area were quickly attracted to Lynne''s scent and rushed towards her.

    Facing a few familiar faces among the group, Lynne''s expression was surprisingly calm as she softly uttered, "Ice Phoenix''s Absolute Blizzard of Frozen Cmity."

    Swoosh¡ª!

    A blizzard storm surged out from her body and instantly transformed the entire space into a domain of frozen hell.

    The red mist, the people, the ground, the walls, the air itself, everything was frozen in ayer of ice.

 Chapter 530 - Ballistic Missiles

    <h4>Chapter 530 - Ballistic Missiles</h4>

    Wilnds.

    In the far western parts beyond the Great Wall, the carcasses of both normal and mutated rats filled the ins as Leon and Silver quickly returned.

    The skies gradually became less bright as the initial wave of the sr re passed, returning the world to its previous brightness while the temperature dropped at a slow but sure rate.

    Leon suddenly paused in the middle of the journey before he observed the surroundings with creased brows.

    "Death Energy is increasing due to the dead rats in the area¡­" Leon muttered before shifting his gaze to the Wrathful Demonic Energy suffused in the air.

    At the same time, Silver''s paws dug up dirt as it came to a grinding halt before it looked back at Leon confusedly, "Awroof?"

    "No, it''s nothing. I''m probably just overthinking." Leon shook his head before he said, "Let us continue heading back."

    "Arf, arf!"

    Shortly after, Leon and Silver resumed their journey.

    ¡­

    Great Wall.

    The battle between people and rats continued to rage on.

    After the Aria''s rain of lightning bolts shaved away arge portion of the mutated rat tide, the mutated rat''s movement took a sudden change.

    "The mutated rats are retreating!" An elven warrior eximed with surprise.

    Everyone watched the mutated rats retreated from the foot of the Great Wall, heading towards the lightning-ridden region with excitement.

    "We won! We defeated the rat tide!" Another elven warrior dered before a weary soldier gazed at the retreating mutated rat tide and muttered, "Did we really win just like that?"

    However, General Marquis Hendrick frowned.

    Generally, the mutated rat tide is still under the berserk state. They would not leave unless a bigger prey attracted their attention.

    "They must have been frightened away by Miss Aria''s bolts of lightning! Lightning Awakeners are so overwhelming!"

    "I agree that Lightning Awakeners are powerful, but if the rats are truly frightened by lightning, they should be running away from that lightning region and not towards it!"

    The elven warriors and human soldiers debated.

    Within the lightning-ridden region, remnant traces of lightning danced between puddles of water and in between mutated rat carcasses and their spikes.

    The area had be a sea of lightning after bing energized by the numerous lightning bolts that struck the area.

    In the sky, Aria frowned at the mutated rat tide''s movement.

    "What are these rats up to? If they rush into this lightning-ridden region, they will electrocute themselves to death." Aria muttered.

    The following scene went precisely as she expected it.

    The mutated rat tide dived into the sea of lightning and electrocuted themselves to death. White smoke rose from their fried bodies as they piled on top of their already electrocuted brethren.

    As more mutated rats dived into the area, the lightning-affected region gradually became less effective as the lightning power diminished.

    Just as Aria prepared to send down more bolts of lightning, she, as well as everyone else, was surprised by the mutated rats sinking their sharp teeth into the cooked flesh of their fallen brethren.

    "The mutated rats are eating their own kind!" a person eximed while the elven warriors and human soldiers on the Great Wall all widened their eyes in shock.

    They could not understand why this was happening.

    "Could it be that they prefer cooked flesh over raw flesh?"

    "But that is their own kind! What the hell is wrong with them?"

    "Everything is wrong with them, actually!"

    As they continued to observe the situation in the distance, one of the soldiers wondered, "Would they leave us alone after they fill their bellies?"

    "Maybe if they are normal, but they are not normal at all. The rats have all gone berserk! Even if they are not hungry, I believe they would still try to kill us for the sake of killing!" another person spoke.

    At the same time, Princess Thessalia was also observing the situation from the airship in the sky.

    As the mutated rats consumed the electrocuted flesh of their fallen brethren, a few sparks of electricity appeared on the mutated rat''s spikes.

    Princess Thessalia''s pupils immediately shrank at the scene.

    "Miss Aria, they are gaining lightning immunity from eating the dead rats! They are bing intelligent!" Princess Thessalia shouted.

    Once Aria heard this, her eyes immediately flickered.

    The mutated rat tide was already a problem in their berserk state.

    If they were bing smarter whilst still in their berserk state, it was hard to imagine how much more significant of a threat they would pose to everyone.

    Aria quickly reacted and rained down more bolts of lightning on the mutated rat tide.

    Bzzt! Bzzt!

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The mutated rats cried while getting struck by lightning. White smoke rose from their seared flesh, but the lightning was shortly drawn to the spikes on their backs.

    Shortly after, the spikes lit up with electricity dancing between them like lightning rods!

    This was not as simple as gaining lightning immunity. No, the mutated rats have gained lightning attributes, which made them resistant to lightning!

    "Oh my god, these mutated rats can gain the power of lightning from eating lightning-infused flesh just like that?!"

    Many people''s jaws dropped.

    However, more surprises were waiting in store for them!

    Shortly after gaining lightning attributes, the lightning-mutated rats began rushing back to the Great Wall, stopping some distance away from the foot of the wall before raising their backs with pointed lightning spikes.

    "These mutated rats are resistant to lightning now, but they should still be weak to fire! Use your remaining exploding pills now!" Princess Thessalia barked.

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The personal guards quicklyplied and dumped their few remaining exploding pills on the lightning-mutated rat tide below.

    Boom! Boom!

    Bursts of mes immediately swallowed the lightning-mutated rats before lightning and fire shed, generating a greater explosion!

    BOOM!

    Lightning-mutated rats exploded into pieces like firecrackers as their bodies burst into mes with sparks of electrical discharge scattering!

    Shortly after, the other lightning-mutated rats immediately directed their lightning spikes at the airship hovering in the sky above.

    Princess Thessalia felt a chill and quickly roared, "Take us out of here, captain!"

    "At once, Princess Thessalia!" The captain quicklyplied.

    Unfortunately, they failed to escape in time.

    The lightning spikes projected from the mutated rats like a sh of lightning as they zipped through the air and prated the airship''s hull like being barraged by ballistic missiles!

    The airship was turned into sieves before it began dropping out of the sky.

 Chapter 531 - Icicle Shower

    <h4>Chapter 531 - Icicle Shower</h4>

    "Princess Thessalia!"

    Many elves on the Great Wall cried while everyone else widened their eyes in shock at the prative power of the mutated rat''s ballistic lightning spikes.

    Swoosh~!

    Supreme Elder Haldir immediately took off from the Great Wall after equipping his vine armor and wings, flying towards the plummeting airship in hopes of saving Princess Thessalia.

    "Please be safe, Princess Thessalia!" The elves quickly prayed.

    In the elven camp outside of the military city, Faelyn suddenly turned towards the Great Wall, vaguely sensing something that made her heart anxious.

    "Is everything alright, Your Highness? Your face looks a bit pale," An elvish man asked out of concern after cing down a barrel and wiping the sweats off his forehead.

    Faelyn touched her cheeks absentmindedly before she shook her head, "It''s fine. I''m just feeling a little unsettled for some reason."

    "Perhaps, something big has happened on the Great Wall? If it puts your heart at peace, you can go check, Your Highness. You do not need to worry about us. We''ll be fine on our own for now." Another elvish man spoke.

    At that moment,rge banana leaf trees were erected everywhere in the area, sucking up all the water in the ground and casting a massive shade over the elven camp for the tribesmen to take shelter from the hot sun.

    Many tribesmen could be seen resting on the vine floor, massaging their sore muscles from the long trip, while others fanned themselves due to the heat.

    At the same time, a few elven volunteers could be seen distributing bananas around to the tribesmen to satiate their hunger and recover their energy.

    "Then I will go and check for a bit," Faelyn said hesitantly while looking around at her tribesmen, urging her to leave.

    "Yes, Your Highness. Don''t worry about us and go with a peace of mind."

    "Yeah, maybe you can share with us what is happening out there when you are back, your Highness."

    The tribesmen spoke.

    "Alright, thank you, everyone." Faelyn nodded before she departed the elven camp with a big banana leaf over her head.

    Shortly after, Faelyn arrived on the Great Wall.

    "What''s the current situation?"

    "Y-Your Highness? Y-You''re here."

    The elven warriors were surprised before Faelyn nodded with furrowed brows and said, "Yes, is that a problem?"

    "Perhaps, it''s better not toe here. It''s not safe, Your Highness." An elven warrior warned with a mixture of fear and concern.

    Nevertheless, the elven warrior did not retreat from his post.

    Faelyn could immediately sense the tense atmosphere on the Great Wall before she made her way through the rows of elven warriors and soldiers lined up on the wall.

    Before she could reach the front, she heard General Marquis Hendrick shouted, "Raise your shields and brace for impact! Herees another volley of spikes!"

    At the same time, General Marquis Hendrick snapped his fingers and summoned a winding tempest in front of the Great Wall to divert some of the iing lightning spikes.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Thousands of ballistic lightning spikes quickly rained on the Great Wall in quick sessions, causing audible rumbles on the wall before some soldiers and elven warriors were struck from the front!

    The power of the ballistic lightning spikes immediately pierced the shields of several dozen soldiers and elven warriors, sting them off the Great Wall along with everyone else behind them!

    Faelyn froze as the few people besides her were blown off the Great Wall along with the other unlucky soldiers and elven warriors struck by the ballistic lightning spikes.

    The remaining soldiers and elven warriors drew deep breathes to calm their tight nerves before their expression turned extremely grave.

    No one knew when the next volley of ballistic lightning spikes would strike them next.

    Even so, they cannot retreat unless they were given the order to withdraw. No one also knew when the next breath they draw will be theirst, but they were prepared to be killed at any moment!

    "Such power¡­ this isn''t something people below the 9th step Awakener can withstand!" General Marquis Hendrick frowned.

    Looking at the gaps in their formation, he was about to order the troops to reform themselves and fill the gaps.

    However, such orders were the same as sending the weaker troops to death.

    Faelyn shortly recovered before searched the sky.

    "Where''s the airship? Where''s my elder sister, Princess Thessalia?" Faelyn quickly asked a nearby warrior after failing to locate the airship. After a moment, she also added, "Where''s the Supreme Elder as well?"

    "Princess Thessalia and the Supreme Elder are¡­" The elven warrior shortly responded while turning his gaze towards the front.

    Faelyn frowned and quickly made her way to the front before noticing the airship had crasnded on the surface in the middle of the mutated rat tide.

    Although a dome of vines fully enclosed the deck and sessfully prevented the mutated rats from breaking through, the condition of the people inside remained uncertain.

    In the sky, Aria bit her lips with a heavy and guilt-ridden expression.

    Although she slew arge portion of the mutated rat tide, she also made the situation worse for the others.

    Who would have known the mutated rats were capable of such transformations?

    Shortly after, Aria''s eyes became resolute with intense killing intent.

    If lightning attacks are no longer effective against the mutated rat tide, she will use elemental ice attacks instead!

    She raised one of her hands into the sky before the surrounding temperature quickly plummeted below the freezing point.

    Shortly after, the raindrops transformed into sharp icicles, frozen in midair around Aria.

    Once her raised hand was dropped, volleys of icicle attacks immediately rained down on the mutated rat tide, impaling thousands of mutated rats to death!

    Some dozen miles away from the Great Wall, Leon arrived on a distant hill with Silver stopping beside him.

    The rat tide had shrunk significantly since hest left the Great Wall.

    However, the situation appeared quite delicate and dangerous as he observed the ongoing icicle shower ahead with [Spirit Eyes].

    Shortly after, his gaze shifted to the fallen airship and spikes in the Great Wall.

    "To think the Great Wall would fall to such dire straits even with the Elder Tree''s help in the area¡­" Leon muttered with a raised brow before he quickly urged, "Let''s go, Silver! Time to hunt!"

    "Awrooo!"

 Chapter 532 - Explosive Enchantments

    <h4>Chapter 532 - Explosive Enchantments</h4>

    Inside the vine dome, Princess Thessalia opened her eyes to a dark surrounding. Her body was wracked with pain and weakness, while her memory was a blurry and jumbled mess.

    The only source of light was the soft green glowing from the Supreme Elder''s Wood Energy.

    "Supreme Elder?" Princess Thessalia muttered weakly.

    "Shh, don''t talk and just focus on healing." Supreme Elder Haldir hushed with a solemn look before he focused on healing Princess Thessalia''s wound in silence.

    Princess Thessaliaid still on the broken deck and tried to recall what happened.

    However, her memory was still fuzzy, causing her to shake her head before covering her mouth and started a sudden fit of violent coughing.

    Shortly after, she noticed her hand was filled with blood.

    "Save your energy and don''t make any sudden movements. You can move all you want when your body is in better shape." Supreme Elder Haldir frowned with a chiding tone.

    "Sorry, Supreme Elder." Princess Thessalia apologized.

    Her gaze shifted down before color was quickly drained from her face after seeing the state of her body under the weak green glow of Wood Energy emitted from the Supreme Elder''s palm on her stomach.

    Her body was ridden with holes from the neck down with blood gushing out from them.

    Supreme Elder Haldir did his best to stop the bleeding and preserve the organs of her upper body, but her legs could not be felt.

    Suddenly, she froze.

    If her body was in such a state, what about the others?

    Princess Thessalia scrutinized her eyes and tried to peer into the darkness of her surroundings before she discovered the bloodied corpses of the airship crew and all her personal guards.

    Tears quickly filled her eyes.

    Everyone was leaving her one after the other. First was her family. Now, even her loyal personal guards have left her.

    Only her baby sister was left.

    "Calm your emotions." Supreme Elder Haldir''s voice rang out again after noticing her agitated emotions before he exined, "I was unable to save everyone, unfortunately. Only you managed to survive."

    The Supreme Elder had caught the elf princess before the airship crashed at the foot of the Great Wall.

    The airship crew and Princess Thessalia''s personal guards had all died in the crash. Even if they managed to survive the crash, they would not have lived for long.

    Supreme Elder Haldir did not have enough hands to have healed everyone''s punctured wounds.

    Princess Thessalia closed her eyes painfully in sorrow before she wept silently.

    ¡­

    On the Great Wall, General Marquis Hendrick was ready to give the retreat order for everyone below the 9th step Awakener Realm.

    He did not want to sacrifice good soldiers to senseless casualties that could be avoided.

    Just as he raised his hand and about to give the order, a soldier suddenly eximed, "The Skysilver Beast King has returned!"

    "That Transcendent-level three-tailed silver wolf is? Then that should also mean¡­"

    "His Highness has returned!" Another soldier shouted with excitement before the other soldier could finish speaking.

    At that moment, Leon dived straight into the mutated rat tide with his Tier 4 Bone Spear, while Silver followed not too far behind him.

    Boom!

    Leonnded heavily inside the middle of the mutated rat tide like some fiery meteor, immediately crushing a mutated rat under his feet to death!

    Swoosh~!

    The earth underneath quickly cracked and formed a small crater from his heavynding before he swept out with his bone spear, sending dozens of mutated rats hurling into the air before their bodies separated into diced pieces from lethal wind pressure.

    Some distance away from Leon, the three-tailed silver wolf crushed dozens of mutated rats before sweeping away hundreds more with its iron tails.

    "Awrooo!"

    Silver gave a mighty howl, exerting its dominant presence on the field.

    The mutated rat tide''s attention was quickly attracted, but they did not swarm their way over. Instead, they raised their back and pointed their lightning spikes at Silver and Leon.

    "Silver!"

    "Awroof!"

    In a short instance, countless lightning spikes were shot their way.

    However, thanks to Leon''s warning, the three-tailed silver wolf did not dare take the lightning spikes lightly. Even its instincts screamed danger.

    Nevertheless, the hundreds of lightning stillnded on the three-tailed silver wolf''s body.

    However, they were no different from soft pricks for the three-tailed silver wolf after its body was reinforced from shrinking.

    What the three-tailed silver wolf really needed to protect was its vulnerable eyes.

    After a quick body roll, the three-tailed silver wolf evaded all the lightning spikes aimed at its eyes before it lunged straight into another group of mutated rats and began its rampage.

    At the same time, numerous lightning spikesnded on Leon''s body, but none was able to harm him. His tempered flesh resisted all damage while his lion-headed cloak protected his head.

    Nevertheless, a few lightning spikes got stuck in between gaps on his lion head.

    After removing them all for a quick study, he snapped them in half with a clench of his fist, causing electrical sparks to quickly escape and disperse into the surroundings.

    His eyes quickly flickered before tightening his grip and ignited his bone spear on fire, causing the mutated rats in Leon''s surroundings to immediately retreated.

    Although Leon was surprised by their self-awareness of danger, he did not give them any chances of escaping and dashed right after them.

    Boom!

    After sweeping out with his ming spear, the fire contacted the mutated rat''s lightning spikes and generated a violent reaction!

    Boom! Boom!

    Hundreds of mutated rats exploded aftering into contact with Leon''s sweeping me wave!

    At the same time, Aria continued to rain icicle showers and assisted Leon from the sky as they battled with diminishing mutated rat tide.

    "Well, don''t just stand there and watch while my son-inw is fighting out there alone. You should all help too." Duke Ignis arrived before speaking on the Great Wall.

    "Duke Ignis? Where have you been at this time?" General Marquis Hendrick nced over at the Duke''s face covered in soot and sweat.

    "Working on a new product, of course!" Duke Ignis grinned before barking to the cksmiths behind him, "Bring them over to the idle cannons!"

    "Yes, Your Grace!"

    "Are these all cannonballs?" General Marquis Hendrick gazed into the wooden crates filled with round ck objects before he raised an eyebrow at the engravings on them, "No, these aren''t normal cannonballs, are they?"

    "Nope, they are all enchanted with explosive runes!"

 Chapter 533 - Grand Surya Desert

    <h4>Chapter 533 - Grand Surya Desert</h4>

    The cannons were quickly adjusted and loaded with enchanted cannonballs before the cksmiths awaited the Duke''smand.

    "Fire!" Duke Ignis immediately barked.

    Once the order was heard loud and clear, the cksmiths quickly fired the cannon with their fire abilities.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    A series of deafening roars were heard from the cannon before the enchanted cannonballs shot into the distance.

    Ssss¡ª!

    The enchanted cannonballs whistled through the air with incredible speed before losing momentum rapidly before dropping on the mutated rat tide.

    BOOM!

    The enchanted cannonballs immediately erupted into a massive fiery ze of epic proportions upon impact!

    Everyone on the Great Wall was greatly startled by the grand explosion before them as the mes soared rapidly, swallowing tens of thousands of mutated rats.

    Boom! Boom!

    Numerous micro explosions urred in quick session as the mes and lightning chain reacted within the mutated rats'' bodies.

    Some explosions took ce exceedingly close to the fallen airship, causing Duke Ignis to bark, "Watch where you''re aiming!"

    "I am deeply sorry, Your Grace!" the cksmith apologized with guilt after being smacked on the head.

    "Let my soldiers handle the cannons. Your cksmiths are not familiar with these tools." General Marquis Hendrick stated.

    "Not familiar, you say?" Duke Ignis shook his head before he asked, "And who do you think made these cannons?"

    "That is not what I mean, Duke Ignis. Being good at making something does not mean one is also good at using said something." General Marquis Hendrick exined.

    "I see. My apologies. You can have your men correct the aim. However, the cannon still needs to be fired by my cksmiths. Enchanted cannonballs won''t activate properly otherwise and might even blow up the cannon on the spot." Duke Ignis also exined the condition.

    General Marquis Hendrick gasped at Duke Ignis''s exnation as he drew in deep breaths to calm himself.

    "Understood." He nodded shortly.

    Duke Ignis had outdone himself and created something incredible this time. The enchanted cannonball''s destructiveness had exceeded everyone''s expectations.

    It could hardly be called a cannonball anymore and should be called an extremely powerful bomb instead!

    As the people loaded the next round of enchanted cannonballs, Leon cleaved his way through the mutated rat tide and headed towards the fallen airship in the center.

    Although he was not present when everything happened. It only took a few simple observations to piece everything together.

    The airship was shot down by the mutated rats, and the people on board are mostly all dead.

    Leon only hoped that there was no one important to him on board.

    In a short while, Leon entered within a certain distance from the fallen airship before sending out his divine sense to sweep the wreckage.

    His face turned grave at the sieved corpses before he discovered Princess Thessalia''s condition.

    Although she was not important to him, she was important to Faelyn and the elven tribe. Nothing can happen to her!

    Boom!

    Leon immediately increased his pace and shot over swiftly, cleaving away every mutated rat in his path with repeated sweeps of his ming bone spear.

    Boom! Boom!

    More explosions urred in his surroundings before he arrived next to the fallen airship.

    Meanwhile, General Marquis Hendrick barked back on the Great Wall, "Stop your fire! Be careful of hitting Prince Leon! Readjust the cannons and aim further away!"

    "Yes, General Marquis!" The soldiers answered.

    At the same time, Duke Ignis gazed at the quickly depleting ammunitions of enchanted cannonballs before shaking his head.

    Hours of hard work, only to be used up within moments.

    Duke Ignis gave a soft sigh before shifting his gaze into the distance to observe the big explosions in all their beauty.

    "Is this Grandmaster Don''s passion affecting me? I''m starting to appreciate the art of explosions too." Duke Ignis muttered softly.

    Let alone him, even the soldiers and elves were also appreciating the beauty of explosions. There was a sense of satisfaction in watching the mutated rats burst into mes.

    The irony of the elves was that they have realized they were not as nature-loving as they thought they were.

    ¡­

    Ishaan Kingdom

    In the burning sands of the Ishaan Desert, a person suddenly sneezed.

    "Master, are you cold?" A young girl with an eyepatch asked while holding onto the person''s hand.

    She appeared to be around 15 years of age. She had short ck hair, a very tanned but smoothplexion, and seemed very cute and lovely.

    Evidently, she was a native of the Ishaan Kingdom.

    The Ishaan Kingdom had always been known for its incredibly high temperatures. But after the Cataclysm erupted, its temperature had soared to new heights, bing not only the hottest region in the Human Domain but the entire Deste Continent.

    Nevertheless, the two people traveling in the burning desert appeared to be quite fine despite its scorching temperatures.

    Grandmaster Don rubbed his nose to get rid of his itch before he smiled wryly at his newly epted disciple, "My precious disciple, the whole world has literally turned into hell. How could I possibly feel cold?"

    "¡­Maybe because it''s not hot enough for master?" The young girl answered innocently.

    "Haiz¡­ If it gets any hotter, we will both be roasted like barbecued pork, my dear disciple." Grandmaster Don sighed helplessly at his disciple''s adorable response before saying, "Some sand probably got into my nose¡­"

    "Oh¡­" the eyepatch girl responded with no apparent opinion before she asked, "Where are we heading again, master?"

    "Legend says that in the heart of the Grand Surya Desert, there exists a second sun, which is responsible for the high temperature of the surrounding Ishaan Desert and the Ishaan Kingdom as a while," Grandmaster Don mentioned the local myth without saying their destination directly.

    Nevertheless, the eyepatch girl was bright enough to have understood from Grandmaster Don''s words before she asked in confirmation, "We are going to see the second sun with the Grand Surya Desert, master?"

    "That''s right." Grandmaster nodded.

    Before returning to the Crawford Empire, he wanted to see whether the legend was true.

    As one of the four Perilous Lands of the Human Domain, the Grand Surya Desert was considered and of death to many.

    Even Grandmaster Don was not confident of exploring the region with his transcendental cultivation.

    "Are you afraid?" Grandmaster Don asked with a smile.

    The cute eyepatch girl quickly shook her head, "Not afraid!"

 Chapter 534 - Sun Gods Descendant

    <h4>Chapter 534 - Sun God''s Descendant</h4>

    After hearing the cute eyepatch girl''s answer, Grandmaster Don rubbed his disciple''s small head dotingly.

    There were three reasons why he had epted this little girl by the name of Anya as his disciple, one of which was why he dared to explore the Grand Surya Desert.

    She had a unique physique that allows her to resist extremely hot temperatures.

    Grandmaster Don was able to resist the surrounding hot temperature due to his cultivation as a Fire Transcendent, but his disciple could do the same at the 3rd step Awakener Realm.

    It definitely had something to do with her physique¡ªa heavenly blessed physique so great that it could possibly resist the scorching hot temperatures of the sun.

    Ordinary people would assume she was the sun god''s descendent if they came to know of her physique. Even Grandmaster Don did not know what her physique was called.

    When Grandmaster Don found Anya in her home vige, she was not revered as the sun god''s descendent but some cursed child instead.

    This was mainly due to her unique hobby and also the reason why Grandmaster Don took her in as his disciple.

    They were two people who share the same passion for explosions. There was no way Grandmaster Don would leave such a gem to remain unknown in some backward vige.

    No, with such a heaven-blessed physique, Anya was destined for something much greater.

    What she needed was an opportunity to spread her wings, and Grandmaster Don was the person who will give her that opportunity.

    As two trekked through the scorching sands of the Ishaan Desert, leaving behind a trail of footprints that slowly disappear under the wind.

    Shortly after, Grandmaster Don and his disciple stopped on the top of a hill.

    In the distance ahead of them, a colossal sandstorm was revealed, obstructing their visions from seeing further beyond.

    "So this is the entrance to the Grand Surya Desert," Grandmaster Don muttered with few sweats oozing from his forehead.

    The sweats evaporated within moments, causing Grandmaster Don''s skin to appear dry and dehydrated.

    Nevertheless, Grandmaster Don''s attention was focused on the sandstorm in the distance with hints of both dread and anticipation in his eyes.

    Fire Energy was especially strong within the region. Such environments made it the ideal ce for Fire Awakeners to cultivate.

    Most people would avoid this ce.

    However, Burning Heaven Sect''s disciple frequently visited the Grand Surya Desert''s outer region to train.

    Those who ventured deeper into the inner region, however, never made it back¡ªand that was precisely where Grandmaster Don was heading with his disciple, Anya.

    "Let''s go, my dear disciple. Be careful not to catch sand in your eyes, though." Grandmaster Don warned.

    "Yes, master!"

    Shortly after, Grandmaster Don conjured a me barrier that surrounded the two of them before they disappeared into the sandstorm.

    ¡­

    Great Wall.

    At that moment, the mutated rat tide continued to get pincered by explosive cannonballs at the front and icicle showers at the back, significantly reducing the endless mutated rat tide to a level where a glimpse of victory could finally be seen.

    Nevertheless, the mutated rat tide was still great, numbering in the millions. The battle would not end any time soon.

    "Marquis Haldir, I will create an opening for you. On my signal, take Princess Thessalia and retreat back to the Great Wall for proper treatment." Leon shouted from outside the vine dome.

    "Young prince? You''re back? That''s good." There was some relief in Supreme Elder Haldir''s voice before he said gravely, "Princess Thessalia''s injuries are too severe for her to be moved! Her condition will quickly deteriorate if I stop supplying my Wood Energy, even for a brief moment!"

    "This¡­" Leon quickly frowned.

    With a quick scan with his divine sense, he was able to see a clearer picture of Princess Thessalia''s condition up close despite still being outside of the vine dome.

    While hacking away some mutated rats and block their ballistic lightning spikes, Leon''s frown deepened further.

    It was as Supreme Elder Haldir said.

    Princess Thessalia''s wounds were so severe, it was practically a miracle that she was even still alive. Her body was punctured in so many ces that pierced even her bones and organs.

    She was surviving purely on the Supreme Elder''s supply of Wood Energy that healed her fleshly wounds, stopped her bleeding, and continued to regte her body in ce of her failing organs.

    Although Wood Energy had excellent healing properties, it still had its limits.

    Wood Energy can boost the body''s natural regenerative rate by hundreds to thousands of times greater depending on a Wood Awakener''s capability, but it cannot do what the body already can not¡ªregrow missing limbs and organs.

    At the very least, it did not seem like it was possible in the Transcendent Realm.

    And although Princess Thessalia still had her limbs and organs, so many parts were missing that it was no different from not having any.

    After fending off another wave of attacks from the mutated rats and observed the surrounding battle, Leon said, "Then create an opening and let me in. I will help."

    "Alright." Supreme Elder Haldir quickly agreed.

    After Leon gave the Supreme Elder his location and timing, Supreme Elder Haldir diverted some of his attention from Princess Thessalia to create a vine dome opening.

    Once Leon saw the opening, he entered immediately before the gap in the vine dome quickly closed up behind him.

    Shortly after, several lightning spikes struck the vine dome.

    "What do you think, young prince? Are you able to heal this level of injury?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked.

    Leon observed the state of Princess Thessalia''s body before falling silent in quiet contemtion of a suitable method of treatment.

    Princess Thessalia was weak, but she overheard their conversation.

    No one knew better about the state of her body than herself. Seeing that the Supreme Elder was helpless and Leon was silent, her will to live slowly faded as she began to lose hope.

    "Just let me die and save yourself the troubles. No one can save me," Princess Thessalia spoke weakly with a paled face and listless eyes.

    "If you really want to die, I won''t stop you. But don''t forget that there are people who will mourn for you, like Princess Faelyn. Are you sure you want to leave behind your only sister left behind in this world alone?" The Supreme Elder said.

    He had also presumed that Princess Thessalia''s case was hopeless after observing Leon''s silence on the topic of solutions.

    "Then what do you suggest we do, Supreme Elder? I cannot continue living on your life support forever. Your Wood Energy is not endless, and I am not that selfish!" Princess Thessalia spoke emotionally as tears dripped from her face.

    Shortly after, she threw another fit of violent coughing.

    To not be able to move and had to rely on the kindness of others to stay alive, how can she stand living like that?

    Such a life was no better than dying.

    "I haven''t said anything yet. So why are you already giving up on life? Did I say I couldn''t treat your grave injuries?" Leon finally spoke.

    "Oh? Do you truly have a way to save Princess Thessalia, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir was pleasantly surprised to hear Leon''s word.

    Leon nodded.

    "If you had a way, then why didn''t you say something sooner?" Princess Thessaliained while wiping her tears with her hands. She felt wronged and med Leon for making her feel sad for no reason.

    "I was thinking. How would I know if I can or not without checking?" Leon responded with furrowed brows before adding, "Anyway, seeing you act like this is much more preferablepared to your usual self. No man will ever like such a tomboyish woman."

    Leon thought that one day, he would eventually leave Gaia. And when he does, he would take all his women with him¡ªincluding Faelyn.

    If Princess Thessalia never gets married and produces any descendants, wouldn''t that mean that he would have basically ended the royal elvish bloodline on Gaia?

    Not that it bothered him all that much, considering the Supreme Elder was the true ruler of the elven tribe.

    It was just a passing thought.

    Nevertheless, after Princess Thessalia heard Leon''s words, she felt embarrassment overwhelmed her as she covered her face like she was trying to hide from being seen in such a vulnerable state further.

    "For now, just swallow this first." Leon casually said, unaware and unconcerned of Princess Thessalia''s present emotions.

    He took out a Tier 3 All-Purpose Healing Pill before forcefully slipping it into Princess Thessalia''s mouth and making her swallow it, albeit with some resistance.

    Although the All-Purpose Healing Pill cannot regrow missing bones and parts of the organs, it supplemented the regenerative process of the flesh and muscles that had already been mostly recovered by Supreme Elder Haldir.

    As such, less Wood Energy was required to maintain Princess Thessalia''s condition as they were all directed into regting the body''s functions.

    Shortly after, Leon ced his hand over Princess Thessalia''s chest and supplied his own Wood Energy as he took over the Supreme Elder''s role.

    "You can leave Princess Thessalia to me and head out to assist the others while I am conducting the treatment, Marquis Haldir," Leon said.

    Supreme Elder Haldir gazed at Leon for a moment.

    "Alright. Well then, I will be leaving Princess Thessalia, young prince." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before shortly leaving Leon and Princess Thessalia inside the vine dome alone.

    The Supreme Elder had vaguely guessed that the young prince''s medical treatment would be unorthodox and involved some secrets that the person did not want to be known by others.

 Chapter 535 - Treatment Process

    <h4>Chapter 535 - Treatment Process</h4>

    After Supreme Elder Haldir left the vine dome, he was immediately barraged by lightning spikes from different directions.

    Nevertheless, he was prepared.

    The tworge vine wings immediately pped, pping away from the Supreme Elder before he took to the sky to observe the situation.

    "Supreme Elder!" Faelyn called from the top of the Great Wall.

    Supreme Elder Haldir nced over with surprise and asked while he was in the midst of fending off the next wave of mutated rats attack, "Princess Faelyn? What are you doing out here? You should go back. It is dangerous here."

    As The Supreme Elder said this, a vinence was conjured in his palm before impaling a mutated rat in the head with a single thrust.

    "How is my third eldest sister? Is my third eldest okay?!" Faelyn hollered from a distance with urgency and worry.

    "To be honest, Princess Thessalia''s condition does not look good. I am helpless to help. However, she is in good hands now. We have no choice but to believe in the young prince''s ability." Supreme Elder Haldir exined without hiding anything.

    As expected, once Faelyn learned of her third eldest sister''s grave condition, her worry shot through the roof.

    If the Supreme Elder could not heal Princess Thessalia''s wounds with his cultivation, it was more impossible with Faelyn''s own ability.

    As Supreme Elder Haldir said, they have no choice but to believe in Leon.

    Faelyn could only pin all her hopes on Leon. If something happened to her third eldest sister, she would not know what to do anymore.

    "I will help with the battle. I am, after all, still a 9-Star Ranked Awakener. My strength is adequate." Faelyn said decisively.

    The mutated rats that hurt her third eldest sister, she was not going to let them off easy.

    Faced with Faelyn''s resolute look, Supreme Elder Haldir did not try to persuade her otherwise.

    "Be careful." He said.

    Shortly after, Faelyn burrowed some vine seeds from the nearby elven warriors before equipping her own vine armor.

    Nevertheless, she did not leave the Great Wall. She was self-conscious enough to know that she could participate in the battle but could not fight the mutated rats head-on like Supreme Elder Haldir, Leon, and the Transcendent-level silver wolf.

    She would be quickly overwhelmed by the mutated rat tide''s numbers due to herck of battle experience.

    Vinences were formed from the seeds in Faelyn''s hands before she stood on the edge of the Great Wall and hurled them down at the mutated rats below.

    Meanwhile, back inside the vine dome, Princess Thessalia was curious how Leon was possibly going to heal her damaged organs and missing bones.

    Leon closed his eyes and descended into the Worldspace with his consciousness in the form of a spiritual avatar.

    After ncing around, his gaze fell on the bottles of Wrathful Demonic Energy he had previously collected.

    "Pardon my offense, Maya. This is an emergency situation." Leon spoke while Maya was nowhere to be seen.

    However, as soon as Leon grabbed the bottles of Wrathful Demonic Energy and made his way over to the Universal Life Conversion Array, Maya quickly manifested.

    "Don''t you dare, Leon¡ª!" Maya roared.

    But it was toote.

    Maya watched the bottles of Wrathful Demonic Energy tossed into the Universal Life Conversion Array before her face paled.

    "Nooo¡ª!" Maya cried before quickly vanishing without a trace again.

    The Worldspace rumbled violently as the Universal Life Conversion Array broke down the Wrathful Demonic Energy and transformed them into Life Energy.

    Before Life Energy descended and sprinkled on top of the herb garden, they were all collected into a pill bottle with Leon''s Divine Will.

    After receiving a specific concentration of Life Energy, Leon condensed it into liquid form before sealing the cap and brought it out of the Worldspace.

    Princess Thessalia immediately noticed Leon''s eyes reopening before her gaze shifted to the bottle of glowing white liquid that suddenly appeared in his right hand.

    While Wood Energy could not regenerate bones and organs without the Awakener reaching a certain level of attainment, Life Energy definitely could without such requirement.

    Even so, it was not like it would be over once Leon dripped some Life Energy liquid on Princess Thessalia.

    No, doing such a thing would only fill Princess Thessalia''s body withrge amounts of lifeforce and prevent her from dying, which the Wood Energy was already capable of doing.

    As such, it was a very wasteful way of using Life Energy.

    To make the most of Life Energy, Leon had to make his only own preparations. Only refined pills can regrow bones and regenerate organs the Leon wants them.

    However, only Divine-Tier pills were capable of such effects, but with Life Energy in his grasp, Leon can make up for what iscking.

    In addition to his own medical techniques to guide the regeneration process, it should be possible for Princess Thessalia to make a full recovery.

    "What kind of energy is that in your hands?" Princess Thessalia queried with curiosity but received no response from Leon.

    He took out his pill cauldron and two specific sets of Tier 3 Spirit Herbs from the herbal garden in his Worldspace before he quicklymenced pill refinement.

    Princess Thessalia pouted and did not speak any further. She was not in any condition to expend her energy bickering with Leon.

    Meanwhile, Leon could not stop supplying Wood Energy to Princess Thessalia for too long. The efficacy of the Tier 3 All-Purpose Healing Pill will eventually run out.

    As such, he had to be quick with his pill refinement.

    Sometimeter, two batches of pills were refined; Bone Regrowth Pills and Nirvana Pills. Of course, they were the only Tier 3 Spirit Pills, simplified versions of the actual Tier 1 Divine Pills.

    After Leon waved his hand, summoning his set of acupuncture needles and sterilized them in me, he shifted his attention onto Princess Thessalia''s body.

    "Pardon my offense, Princess Thessalia. I will bemencing the treatment immediately." Leon said after dousing the Bone Regrowth Pill and Nirvana Pill in liquid Life Energy.

    All preparations werepleted.

    "What do you mean?" Princess Thessalia asked weakly with confusion, but it did not take long before her confusion was cleared in an instance.

    Leon tore away Princess Thessalia''s punctured clothes and removed all obstacles that may affect his treatment process.

    "What are you doing!" Princess Thessalia cried after being stripped bare of what little clothes she had left to cover her fair body.

    Seeing Leon cast his serious gaze on her naked bare body, Princess Thessalia''s anger exploded. How can her bare body be seen by someone other than the person who would be her other half?!

    Her body was being tainted by Leon''s gaze!

    Nevertheless, before Princess Thessalia could resist, Leon pressed a few acupoints and immobilized her body from moving during the treatment process.

    "Just kill me. I will not be humiliated and defiled like this. How can I marry after being seen by you?!" Princess Thessalia cried.

    "With your tomboyish nature, no man would want to marry you anyway," Leon said nonchntly before force-feeding Princess Thessalia the Tier 3 Bone Regrowth Pill and Tier 3 Nirvana Pill.

    Shortly after, he added, "If you die, Faelyn will be sad and alone. Is that what you really want? This is a necessary step in the treatment."

    "Pah! A necessary step, my ass! You are just taking advantage of me! Even if no man wants me, it is not important with my status. I can just make them marry me after finding the one I like!" Princess Thessalia said defiantly.

    Leon began stabbing acupuncture needles into various points on Princess Thessalia''s body to control her blood flow and realign her bones and organs.

    "Since you already think like that, why would you still need to worry whether you can marry or not when you n to force the man you like to marry you anyway? Besides, there is no happiness in such a forced marriage." Leon casually spoke while continuing the treatment.

    Princess Thessalia was immediately tongue-tied for words.

    Shortly after, Leon used his hands to massage Princess Thessalia''s body. Some parts cannot be aligned with acupuncture needles alone.

    Although he could use Divine Will to fix the organs and bones into proper cements, the additional assistance of his hands would spare him some of the mental energy expenditure.

    Of course, none of this needed to be exined to Princess Thessalia when she already hates his guts for what he was doing anyway.

    He was notpletely guilt-free either.

    Princess Thessalia''s body was well-toned from numerousbat experiences and practice. Even so, they still retained their suppleness and smoothness, making them feel nice to the touch.

    Leon was enjoying himself.

    Princess Thessalia was, after all, still Princess Faelyn''s elder sister and a natural beauty in her own right, even though not much else can be said about her personality, otherwise.

    While Leon continued his treatment and made Princess Thessalia drink the remaining contents of the liquid Life Energy, the person herself was livid beyond doubt.

    Not only was her body tainted by Leon''s eyes but also his hands!

    But no matter how angry she was, she could not do anything about it while her body was immobilized with sealed acupoints.

 Chapter 536 - Whats Going On Here?

    <h4>Chapter 536 - What''s Going On Here?</h4>

    Leon shortly directed the Life Energy throughout Princess Thessalia''s body with Divine Will. The Life Energy quickly linked with the medicinal essence of the Bone Regrowth Pill and Nirvana Pill before their efficacy was boosted.

    Missing parts between bones were gradually regrown and connected before they were reinforced while organs slowly reformed themselves under Leon''s observant divine sense.

    At the same time, Princess Thessalia gazed at him coldly.

    As she felt her body''s condition improving, the cold and piercing gaze that Princess Thessalia red at Leon with gradually turnedplicated.

    Nevertheless, the healing process was slow and gradual.

    Outside of the vine dome protected by Supreme Elder Haldir, the battle continued to rage on, and time quickly flew past.

    The mutated rat tide quickly dwindled in numbers.

    Eventually, thest mutated rat was in by Aria''s icicle attack from the sky as it was escaping from the region.

    "It''s finally over," General Marquis Hendrick sighed on the field littered with mountains of mutated rat carcasses.

    After the mutated rat tide was reduced to less than ten thousand in numbers, the General Marquis directly joined the battle and fought alongside the Supreme Elder.

    "Yeah¡­" Supreme Elder Haldir spoke.

    Nevertheless, the Supreme Elder paid little attention to the mutated rat carcasses on the battlefield. Instead, his gaze was fixed on his vine dome located at the airship''s crash site.

    Many hours had passed since he left, but the treatment process was still ongoing.

    At the same time, the explosive cannonballs forged by Duke Ignis and his group of cksmiths were depleted.

    Many mutated rat carcasses had exploded into numerous pieces of flesh after the violent reaction effect of shing lightning and fire. Theyid scattered all over the battlefield with their lightning spikes fragmented into dull shards.

    While many pieces like this could be found everywhere on the battlefield, many whole carcasses were also preserved with their lightning spikes intact.

    These were the mutated rats killed by Aria, the Supreme Elder, and the General Marquis.

    Shortly after, the General Marquis began issuing his orders for the soldiers on the Great Wall to descend to the foot of the wall where the General Marquis awaited them.

    However, many rope lifts had been destroyed by the mutated rat''s volleys of lightning spikes. As such, some time was taken for high-level elven warriors to construct new rope lifts for them.

    "What are your orders, General Marquis?" A leading soldier inquired in salutation with a group of soldiers right behind him.

    "Go clean up the battlefield. Also, collect the lightning spikes and send them to Duke Ignis to be studied. See if the Duke has a way to make use of these lightning spikes. It would be a waste to throw them away, otherwise." General Marquis Hendrick ordered.

    "Yes, General!"

    "Also, give me a count on the casualtiester." General Marquis Hendrick added.

    The soldier saluted, "Yes, General!"

    Meanwhile, Aria descended from the sky andnded near the airship crash site before she awaited Leon''s emergence from the vine dome.

    Shortly after, Faelyn also arrived and waited with a concerned look.

    "Sorry. This would not have happened if I did use my lightning powers." Aria apologized to Faelyn with guilt and self-ming.

    However, Faelyn shook her head and held Aria''s hand before reassuring her, "This was not your fault, Miss Aria. No one could have predicted the rat tide was capable of mutating like this. As such, I do not me you, no matter what happens to my sister."

    "Thank you¡­" Aria said with difficulty.

    Who knew how much harder it was for Princess Faelyn to try and console Aria when her heart was gued with her own worries for her third eldest sister''s safety.

    Seeing Faelyn''s tight wrinkle as they gazed at the vine dome, Aria knew it was her turn to console Faelyn.

    "Don''t worry too much. If it''s Leon, your sister will definitely be healed. When ites to medical skills, I believe he is the best in the world," Aria spoke confidently.

    Faelyn was not sure where Aria''s confidence came from, but she nodded, having understood Aria''s kind intention in trying to reassure her.

    Sometimeter, inside of the vine dome, Princess Thessalia was fully healed.

    Once Leon was done with the treatment, he unsealed Princess Thessalia''s acupoints before draping a piece of clothing from his Worldspace over her bare body.

    Surprisingly, Princess Thessalia did not attack Leon after her mobility was recovered.

    Instead, she wore the clothing Leon gave her before thanking him in a cold and emotionless tone, "Thank you."

    Shortly after picking herself up, Princess Thessalia made her way over to her personal guards'' corpses and gathered them in silence, intending to give them a proper burial elsewhere.

    Seeing his business done here, Leon waved his hand at the vine dome and manipted it to dismantle itself.

    "Leon!"

    "Sister!"

    Two different voices were quickly heard.

    Aria approached Leon before she lowered her head in guilt, still feeling terrible about what happened.

    Leon pulled her into his embrace and caressed her head gently with one hand as he said soothingly, "Don''t worry, you did well to minimize the casualties while I was gone. There''s no need to be hard on yourself. Not everyone can be saved. However, it''s alright now."

    It was a pity for the airship crew and the Third Princess''s personal guards, as well as the soldiers and elven warriors that died.

    But at the very least, Princess Thessalia survived.

    "Mmm." Aria nodded before resting her head against Leon''s chest.

    Meanwhile, Faelyn had rushed over and embraced her third eldest sister from behind.

    "I''m so d that you are okay, sister. I don''t know what I would do if you were to also leave me like father, mother, big brother, and big sister." Faelyn said with relief.

    Princess Thessalia lightly smiled with little emotion in her eyes before she said, "Sorry to have worried you, baby sister, but I''m fine now. You can let me go now. I need to give collect my personal guard''s bodies."

    "Let me help you, sister." Faelyn quickly offered, but Princess Thessalia shook her head and said, "I want to do this myself."

    "Alright¡­" Faelyn reluctantly left her sister alone.

    Shortly after, she made her way over to Leon. Seeing Aria was within Leon''s embrace, Faelyn could only stand by his side while waiting her turn.

    "Thank you for saving my sister, Leon!" Faelyn said shortly after giving Leon a sudden peck on the cheeks to express her gratefulness for what he had done.

    Leon shook his head and said with an unnatural smile, "It''s what I should do."

    Faelyn''s peck on Leon''s cheek did not escape Aria''s eyes as she pulled herself away from Leon before looking at them with a raised brow in question.

    "What''s going on here?" Aria queried suspiciously.

    Leon chuckled wryly before she exined awkwardly with a cough, "Ahem, well¡­ some things sort of happened back in Elvengarde¡­"

    "We''ll be sisters in the future, Miss Aria. I hope we can get along from now on." Faelyn said guiltily with a shameful blush.

    While hugging one of Leon''s arms close to her chest and feeling bad for getting in between them, Faelyn did not want to give Leon up.

    Aria was stunned, speechless.

    She had let her guard down and allowed Leon to pick up a new sister. That being said, she was not angry¡ªjust a little surprise.

    She could also immediately see that Leon and Faelyn''s bonding was good for the rtionship between humans and elves.

    This would be important for the elven tribe''s integration.

    "You don''t have to exin to me, Leon. I am not angry¡ªjust a little surprised. You should think about how you are going to mother instead." Aria said.

    Leon smiled wryly.

    "You don''t dislike me?" Faelyn asked Aria with surprise, thinking Aria would have developed some ill feelings for having to share her man.

    However, Aria shook her head.

    "No, I have long known that I cannot keep Leon to myself. Besides, you are not the only one. The other sisters are waiting for us back in the empire."

    Aria shrugged.

    Shortly after, she whispered into Faelyn''s ear teasingly, "Besides, I cannot satisfy Leon by myself. It''s good to have some sisters to help me. You might have to do some extra work, though."

    Faelyn''s face quickly flushed red from Aria''s words.

    At the same time, Leon was a little speechless after overhearing Aria''s words. Despite how she was behaving in front of Faelyn, she was actually a conservative woman.

    Perhaps, Aria was trying to assume her role as the head wife that looks after her little sisters in the harem.

    After Leon gave Aria a peculiar nce, she immediately averted her gaze from him with a crimson blush on her cheeks.

    Sometimeter, Supreme Elder Haldir and General Marquis Hendrick approached them.

    "Thank you for saving Princess Thessalia, young prince. Your abilities never cease to amaze me," Supreme Elder Haldir praised Leon, seeing that Princess Thessalia was alive and kicking.

    Leon smiled lightly in response.

    Although the Supreme Elder was very curious about Leon''s method, he knew that the person did not want to disclose the secret. As such, the Supreme Elder intended to inquire from Princess Thessaliater.

    Shortly after, Leon turned to General Marquis Hendrick, who appeared to have something to say before he smiled, "Let us head back to Military City and discuss our next course of actions for this Cataclysm. It''ll be great if I can contact my father and mother back in the Capital quickly."

    There was no doubt that chaos has spread throughout the Crawford Empire due to the Cataclysm''s eruption.

    There was a mountain of issues that required immediate attention and arrangement.

    "Yes, Your Highness." General Marquis Hendrick fixed his expression and patted his chest solemnly before he said, "I will arrange the Communication Tower''s repair immediately. It should not take too long¡­ You can use it to contact the Capital."

 Chapter 537 - Bring Her Back

    <h4>Chapter 537 - Bring Her Back</h4>

    After General Marquis Hendrick finished speaking, Aria furrowed her brows and said, "Just wait a moment, general. I would like to speak to you in private."

    General Marquis Hendrick was slightly surprised before turning towards Leon.

    At the same time, Leon was also curious about what Aria had to say to the general. Nevertheless, he gave the General Marquis a nod.

    "Of course, Miss Aria," General Marquis Hendrick said.

    Shortly after, Aria and General Marquis left to find a spot some distance away from Leon before General Marquis Hendrick turned to Aria and said, "What did you want to talk about, Miss Aria?"

    "Pardon my offense, general, but don''t you think you are relying on the prince too much? Don''t you know the prince is a very busy person? Aren''t you the General Marquis? Can''t you take the initiative to think and do things yourself? Stop leaving things to His Highness, and do them yourself. The prince also has his own things to worry about!" Aria spouted without pause.

    General Marquis Hendrick was surprised by Miss Aria''s words before bing rmed in his heart at the sudden realization.

    "You''re absolutely right, Miss Aria. The Western Frontier is my responsibility, but I have been swept by His Highness''s charisma." General Marquis apologized.

    He was not offended by Aria and even felt thankful.

    If she had not brought this matter up, he might not have realized it himself. When did he started leaving things to other people? Was it when his own strength had be inadequate?

    "It''s good that you know." Aria nodded.

    Shortly after, the General Marquis excused himself and returned to Leon''s side before he said, "Your Highness, you don''t need to worry about the matters here at the Western Frontier. Just leave everything to me and tend to your own matters."

    "Oh? Did Aria say something?" Leon figured.

    However, General Marquis Hendrick shook his head and said, "Miss Aria just made me realized some things. Your Highness might be the Crown Prince of the empire, but you do not need to feel responsible or pressured to take on everything by yourself¡­"

    "¡­As the future ruler of the Crawford Empire, you should also learn to use people. Although our abilities and wits might notpare to yours, please don''t hesitate to use us where we are needed. Don''t let us hold you back." General Marquis Hendrick stated.

    After listening to the General Marquis''s words, Leonpsed in silence as he mulled over the person''s words.

    There was truth in General Marquis Hendrick''s words.

    If Leon continued to take on every issue in the empire by himself, he would never have time to do what he wants and needed to do.

    "Then¡­ I will leave it in your capable hands to discuss with my father, the king, about what needs to be done after the Communication Tower is repaired," Leon said after some time.

    General Marquis Hendrick patted his chest and said, "Yes, Your Highness. Just leave it to me."

    Once Leon decided not to involve himself further with the empire''s issues, he felt like a huge load had been taken off his shoulders.

    Nevertheless, his concerns were still present.

    Even so, he had no other choice but to believe the others would do an excellent job in surviving the Cataclysm and the threats it imposes.

    He truly had urgent matters to take care of.

    Shortly after General Marquis Hendrick left, he turned to Faelyn and said, "Can I entrust you and Marquis Haldir the task of bringing the Guardian Spirit over the Great Wall?"

    "Mm, I will do my best." Faelyn nodded after giving her busy sister a quick check.

    It might be a bit troublesome to get the Elder Tree over the Great Wall, but after listening to the exchange between Leon and the General Marquis, Faelyn also wanted to do her best to help in any way she can.

    Nevertheless, she asked doubtfully, "but will the Guardian Spirit listen to me?"

    "Hmm¡­"

    Leon and Faelyn''s gaze slowly shifted into the distant field.

    The Elder Tree could be seen slowly wandering in the vicinity. From time to time, it would spot a surviving mutated rat hidden within the piles of carcasses before stamping it to death with its roots.

    Needless to say, the Guardian Spirit was still diligent in the task of hunting rats Leon had given it, even after the battle was over.

    "The mutated rats are bing intelligent in their berserk state¡­" Leon muttered with a frown.

    If the mutated rats were changing like this, the same should be expected from the other berserk beasts throughout the Wilnds.

    Nevertheless, that was something for them to worry about another time.

    Leon shook his head before he said to Faelyn, "Don''t worry, the Guardian Spirit will definitely listen to you once I talk to it."

    "Mmm." Faelyn nodded.

    Once Leonmunicated with the Guardian Spirit via divine sense, the Elder Tree began making its way over to the Great Wall.

    Shortly after, some roots curled around Faelyn and lifted her up into the skies before cing her on its crown.

    Faelyn was surprised as she was carried away before she noticed Leon''s odd gaze. ncing down, she realized her panties were shing before she pressed down on her blowing skirt in embarrassment.

    Leon turned away and scratched his cheeks wryly after being caught.

    "Well, I will be leaving too, young prince." Supreme Elder Haldir spoke.

    "Un." Leon nodded.

    Shortly after everyone left, Leon saw Aria returning to his side before his lips curled into a helpless smile.

    "You know you didn''t need to¡­"

    "Someone had to do it. Otherwise, when will you be able to do your own things?" Aria said with a shake of her head before slipping into Leon''s arms and resting her head on his chest.

    Leon smiled lightly.

    He held Aria firmly in his arms before caressing her head dotingly with a sigh, "Sure enough, you understand me best¡­"

    ''¡­Or she understands me best.'' Leon thought with a trace of sadness before it was hidden in the depths of his heart.

    His eyes flickered with determination.

    He believed Aria White still exists somewhere inside Aria. As long as there was even a trace of her left, he will do everything he can to bring her back!

 Chapter 538 - Cultivating In The Sky

    <h4>Chapter 538 - Cultivating In The Sky</h4>

    After some time, Leon and Aria separated.

    "Don''t waste any more time and go cultivate. Those thunderclouds won''t stick around forever." Leon urged after ncing up at the sky.

    Aria nced up before she nodded, "Mm!"

    After giving Leon a peck on the cheek, she flew back into the thunderclouds on her ice-lightning sword to cultivate.

    Meanwhile, Leon pondered for a moment before also leaving the field of carcasses for the soldiers to scavenge and clean up.

    Using the pendant device around his neck, Leon soared into the sky and shot back into the stratosphereyer located above the high clouds.

    However, Leon was dissatisfied with the stratosphereyer and continued to soar higher until he reached his limit.

    Above the stratosphereyer was the mesosphereyer, which was also the coolestyer among Gaia''s atmosphericyers.

    At that moment, the air was still hot from the sr re, and traces of Wrathful Demonic Energy filled the entire sky.

    After Leon entered the mesosphereyer located roughly 150-thousand feet above the surface, he felt the pendant device trembled due to the pressure of the suppressive force in the airspace.

    "Seems like this is the limit of the pendant device," Leon muttered.

    He did not dare to climb higher.

    The suppressive force in the mesosphereyer would crush him once the pendant device''s invisible protective barrier is broken.

    "Never mind, this ce will do. However, there''s too much Wrathful Demonic Energy in the surrounding air. It seems I will have to clear them first." Leon mused with a slight frown.

    In any case, he needed to restock on his reserve of Wrathful Demonic Energy for Life Energy conversion during emergency situations.

    After swallowing a Tier 3 Spiritual Replenishment Pill to restore 30% of his Mental Energy over a set period of time, Leon drew the surrounding Wrathful Demonic Energy towards him with Divine Will.

    The Wrathful Demonic Energy was quickly gathered in empty pill bottles before they were safely stored inside the Worldspace.

    At the same time, hidden within the Worldspace, Maya witnessed the empty pill bottles disappear from the Worldspace before they dropped back inside, filled with Wrathful Demonic Energy.

    Looking at the Wrathful Demonic Energy bottles, Maya immediately hissed like a cat with all its fur standing on end.

    Nevertheless, she did not take any action.

    After Leon filled all his empty pill bottles with Wrathful Demonic Energy, he frowned at the remnant Wrathful Demonic Energy in his surrounding.

    "It seems I will have to absorb these Wrathful Demonic Energy for myself before I can cultivate with Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy in peace¡­" Leon mused.

    Whenever he recalled the dreadful gaze, Leon could still feel fear in the depths of his heart. Even so, he must not sumb to fear¡ªhe cannot let fear stop him from moving forward.

    After taking in a deep breath, Leon closed his eyes and spread out his divine sense and Divine Will before drawing Wrathful Demonic Energy into his body.

    The sliver of wills hidden in the Wrathful Demonic Energy gathered, forming a terrifying eye that glimpsed at Leon, freezing his body once again.

    However, it onlyst a moment before the Wrathful Demon Energy and slivers of wills was devoured by the ck Vortex Space and refined into tamed Demonic Energy andw fragments.

    Even so, a moment was all it took for Leon to break into cold sweats.

    "Haiz, I don''t think I can get used to this feeling¡­" Leon sighed before shaking his head shortly after, "Never mind, I just have to suck it up and do what I need to do."

    Once the immediate surroundings were cleared of Wrathful Demonic Energy, Leon shortly entered a state of higher meditative concentration to absorb Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy whilst perceiving thews within them.

    The two types of energy were divided like Yin and Yang; Temporal Energy flowed in Leon''s body from the right side, while Spatial Energy flowed into his body from the left side.

    Eventually, the two types of energies converged towards the center of his body before they flowed through the set of cirction routes ording to the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos].

    Once Great Pseudo-Grandmist Energy was refined, they were deposited into the ck Vortex Space''s energy ring circting around his soul core.

    Leon gradually shut off his senses from the outer world and focused whole-heartedly on refining Great Pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    Not only were they needed for Body Cultivation, but they were also required for repairing Duna and Lumi''s damaged body.

    But before that, he still needed to review the [Soul Dive] method recorded within the Archive and make all necessary preparations before attempting such a delicate yet risky technique.

    Such rigorous attention to detail was a must for anything pertaining to the soul, for a single mistake could lead to irreversible damages.

    As Leon continued to cultivate in the mesosphereyer 150-thousand feet above the surface, the sun gradually set on the western horizon of the Wilnds.

    It was not long before the skies finally darkened at the weing of nightfall. With the absence of sunlight, the temperature quickly dropped, and the world became cooler.

    At this time, the world seemed more alive than it was during the day as people left their shelters and busied themselves in dealing with the aftermath of the Cataclysm''s eruption.

    Capital, Royal Pce.

    Seeing the skies have darkened, Elizabeth strapped a few metallic essories on her body before she swept the few necessities before her into the Interspatial Ring.

    "Are you heading out now?" Heinrich asked his wife, who was preparing to depart for the Western Frontier.

    Elizabeth nodded.

    "The Western Frontier cannot be contacted since our son left in that direction. The situation at the Great Wall is unclear since thest messenger arrived with the request for reinforcements. I have no choice but to head out and see myself." Elizabeth said.

    "I''m sorry for leaving this matter in your hands, my dear." Heinrich apologized.

    However, Elizabeth shook her head.

    "Don''t be. I''ll just treat this as a trip to see how our son is doing in the west. Also, I''ll be taking Darlene with me. On the other hand, I feel sorry for you instead, my king. You''ll be stuck here to deal with the mess in the Capital." Elizabeth said.

    Being reminded of the Capital''s issues he was burdened with, Heinrich immediately felt a headache before he chuckled bitterly, "Sometimes, I wonder if life will be simpler if we were justmoners."

 Chapter 539 - Consolidating Viscera

    <h4>Chapter 539 - Consolidating Viscera</h4>

    Within the mesosphereyer, Leon continued to refine Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy into Great pseudo-Grantmist Energy.

    Compared to cultivating on the surface, Leon''s Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy''s gathering speed in the sky was many folds greater.

    In fact, the difference was so significant; it was like the difference between heaven and earth, literally.

    Even so, no matter how much greater Leon''s gathering speed was within the mesosphereyer, there was still a limit.

    This limit is set by the rate Leon expended his Mental Energy to gather Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy with Divine Will.

    After all, Temporal Energy and Spatial Energy were types of energies from Great Laws that did not exist in tangible forms. They cannot be gathered through breathing techniques like the Primary Laws.

    Leon also realized this problem.

    If he cannot solve this problem, he would not be able to cultivate in the sky continuously and be forced to return to the surface before his Mental Energy is depleted.

    ''But how can I gather Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy without using Divine Will?''

    While he pondered this problem, he did not stop refining Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy before they were deposited into the central region of his ck Vortex Space.

    His eyes suddenly flickered.

    The ck Vortex Space was a subspace within his sea of consciousness with especially powerful Spatial Laws pertaining to ck Holes with traces of Nihility Law at its center.

    If he could control its suction force and expanded outside his body, not only would he be able to cultivate continuously, he would also be able to increase his cultivation speed further.

    ''But if I want to achieve this, I must learn how to control the ck Vortex Space¡­ if I want to do that, I must further myprehension of Spatial Laws and Nihility Laws.'' Leon mused.

    Spatial Laws should not be difficult toprehend.

    He had some foundation in Spatial Laws when he used to be in the Divine Origin Realm, even though he had only achieved such a cultivation base through the assistance of pills, and his foundation was not stable.

    Nevertheless, some foundation was better than none.

    The most important task he needed to do was to deepen hisprehension of the Nihility Law. Without doing so, he will never be able to breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm.

    Leon felt a headache while thinking about this point.

    Nevertheless, his gaze became decisive in the next moment before taking out a Soul Enhancing Pill and ingested it, boosting his Soul Strength by another 20 Soul Points.

    It had been some time since he took one. It should be fine to take another one.

    With the boost in Soul Strength, his Mental Energy Capacity also increased, allowing him to continue cultivating in the sky for a more extended period.

    Shortly after, Leon resumed the refinement of Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    The Nihility Law was still out of reach for him unless he finds a source of nothingness to aid hisprehension.

    ''How can you sense something in nothingness when there is nothing to sense at all?'' Leon mused wryly with a helpless expression.

    Finding a source of nothingness that can beprehended was just wishful thinking.

    The systematic way to understanding the Nihility Law was to follow the practice of the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] and learn all the prerequisitesws first.

    At this moment, he had gainedprehension of the Great Laws of Space and Time.

    He was still missing the Profound Laws of Life and Death, and the Supreme Laws of Destruction and Creation.

    While it seems like it was an impossibly long way before heprehends any of thesews of a higher order, he was much closer than he thinks.

    ''If I continue to absorbw fragments from the Wrathful Demonic Energy, I might just be able toprehend the Destruction Law. I don''t need a great understanding of it. Even just a superficial understanding is enough¡­''

    ''The Profound Law of Life can beprehended from the [Divine Book of Life]. As such, I am only missing a method toprehend the Profound Law of Death and the Supreme Law of Creation, huh?''

    Leon silently pondered.

    Time slowly passed before a sizable quantity of Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy was refined and umted within Leon''s ck Vortex Space.

    Seeing the umted amount, Leon nodded, ''Time to patch up my first and foremost weakness.''

    Shortly after, Leon reviewed the [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method].

    Once hepletely understood the steps of the first volume, he immediately put them into synchronized practice with the [Godfiend Body Forging Method].

    Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy was transformed into countless needles before they drilled into his profound veins, his meridians, his heart, and the rest of his organs.

    Waves of sharp and nerve-wracking pain assaulted Leon, but it was not like something he had never experienced before.

    He gritted his teeth and endured the tempering process with veins protruding on his arms, legs, and face while sweats oozed from his pores.

    At the same time, he felt his untempered viscera consolidating at an rming rate after being tempered by Great pseudo-Grandmist for the first time.

    First times always experience the most significant rate of improvement!

    Within a matter of moments, the defensive strength of Leon''s viscera soared to 10-thousand jin. However, this was only the beginning.

    It was hardly anythingpared to his fleshly defense of 500-thousand jin!

    The ideal state is when his outer and inner body defense reached a delicate bnce of equilibrium. Only when his body is well-rounded would he have no weaknesses!

    From 10-thousand jin, the viscera''s defensive strength began to soar to 20-thousand jin¡­ 30-thousand jin¡­ 40-thousand jin¡­

    It was not long before Leon''s viscera reached a defensive capability of withstanding 100-thousand jin worth of force!

    ''Not yet! This is far from enough! I still have plenty of refined Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy! Even if I run out, I will refine more and continue!'' Leon gritted while his body was already drenched in sweats.

    ''I won''t stop until I advance my strength by leaps and bounds!'' Leon decided resolutely.

    Before reaching Transcendence, Body Cultivation will be his primary source of strength!

 Chapter 540 - Heinrichs Headache

    <h4>Chapter 540 - Heinrich''s Headache</h4>

    After confirming the [Dragon God Viscera Consolidating Method] could indeed be practiced in its early stages, Leon continued to consolidate his viscera with Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    During this time, the Western Frontier was bustling with activities.

    Torches were lit throughout the region, and many surviving citizens evacuated with soldiers and their families as they cleared the area for the Elder Tree.

    For a period of time, the Elder Tree appeared much taller than usual as it crossed over the Great Wall in a tip-toed-like manner.

    The region was filled with loud rumbles due to its movements.

    Apart from the noise caused by the Elder Tree, the source of sound within the region came from the smithies within the Military City and the building''s reparations.

    Even after being moved to the Western Frontier, Duke Ignis and the cksmiths never rest their metalworks in the forge.

    Meanwhile, the elven tribe''s camp was shifted away from the marshy field outside of Military City after the Elder Tree entered the Human Domain.

    After the Elder Tree rooted itself on a grassy in further away from Military City and off the main road, the elven tribe pitched their camp around their revered deity tree under the Supreme Elder''s leadership.

    "Will we be setting up our new home here with our Guardian Spirit, Your Highness?" An elf boy asked as he tugged Faelyn''s sleeve after she descended from the Elder Tree''s crown.

    Faelyn lowered herself for their eyes to meet before she rubbed the boy''s head with a smile, "Definitely not. The Crawford Empire has vast plots of emptynds. There will be many ces for us to choose our home¡­"

    "¡­However, it seems like the Guardian Spirit will not be moving from this location. If people like to stay here with the Guardian Spirit, they will not be forced to move."

    "Is there something special about this spot specifically, Your Highness? Why did the Guardian Spirit choose to be rooted here?" A middle-aged male elf asked with doubt.

    "This¡­" Faelyn hesitated slightly with uncertainty before she answered with a shake of her head, "I am not sure either. Perhaps, we cannot only wait for the Savior tomunicate with the great Guardian Spirit before we get a definite answer."

    The Elder Tree had followed Faelyn''s instructions as Leon promised it would.

    However, after they had reached their present location, the Elder Tree had rooted itself on the spot without following any further instructions from Faelyn and the Supreme Elder.

    As such, Faelyn was helpless.

    It was uncertain whether the Elder Tree favored the area or because of other reasons that forced it to choose this particr stretch of grassy ins.

    Back in Military City, the Communication Tower was quickly repaired and cleaned up before General Marquis Hendrick checked themunication devices'' conditions.

    There were no spares for these ancient relics that were retrieved from the underground ruins. If they were damaged beyond functional, they would not be able to contact the Capital through it.

    Fortunately, that was not the case.

    General Marquis Hendrick was quickly connected with someone on the other side of themunication device within the Capital.

    In a short moment, the initial receiver passed hands before another person spoke through themunication device, "General Marquis Hendrick? How is the situation in the west?"

    "The Great Wall had almost been overrun by mutant rats, but fortunately, we have seeded in repelling the mutant rat tide, Your Majesty. Also, the elven tribe''s people have arrived and pitched their camp outside of Military City along with their tree." General Marquis Hendrick responded.

    On the other side, Heinrich attempted to peer into the darkness in the western direction outside of his balcony.

    A vague but towering shadow stood tall in the distance could be seen.

    "Un, I can see it. What about my son? How is he? He hasn''t caused any issues for you in the west, has he?" Heinrich inquired casually.

    General Marquis Hendrick quickly shook his head while on the call.

    "Not at all, Your Majesty! On the contrary, His Highness has contributedrgely to our victory with Miss Aria and the Transcendent-level silver wolf. We could not have done it without their help. Even the tree listens to His Highness."

    Heinrich was surprised like he had heard something wrong before he asked for confirmation, "Can you repeat that?"

    After General Marquis Hendrick repeated his words, Heinrich was even more surprised.

    "You''re telling me that ever since my son headed into the west, he was able to tame the Skysilver Beast King of the Skysilver Beast Tribe and the revered deity tree of Elvengarde?" Heinrich queried with twitching lips.

    When was it so easy to tame these two behemoths?

    Either of these two beings was much stronger than Heinrich himself! After all, he had yet to reach the Transcendent Realm!

    "Yes, Your Majesty. More importantly, what should be during this Cataclysm? What are your ns, Your Majesty?" General Marquis Hendrick inquired.

    "Haiz, no need to tell you about this now¡­" Heinrich responded with a sigh, still in shock from his son''s feats before he said, "My Queen is headed for the Western Frontier. You can discuss the matter with her when she arrives."

    "Yes, Your Majesty," General Marquis Hendrick responded.

    Shortly after, the call ended.

    Heinrich had his hands full in dealing with the Capital''s problem while issues from other cities were pouring onto his table one after the other.

    He simply could not handle them all.

    Heinrich considered assigning some ministers to share some of his burdens. However, there were not many talents in the empire for him to select from.

    The 17 years tragedy had not only frozen the empire''s development, but it also regressed instead¡ªthe education system included.

    Knock, knock.

    A few knocks were heard on the door to the study room before Heinrich saw the maid Lily and gestured for her to enter.

    "What is it?" Heinrich asked.

    Lily curtsied respectfully in greeting before she said, "A few more letters have arrived from ckrock City, Redsand City, and Stillwater City, Your Majesty."

    Heinrich immediately felt a headache before he sighed helplessly, "Alright, I understand. You can leave them on the table over there, Lily."

    "Yes, Your Majesty."

    ¡­

 Chapter 541 - Equilibrium

    <h4>Chapter 541 - Equilibrium</h4>

    Back in the mesosphereyer, Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy flowed towards Leon''s body, refined, merged, and transformed into Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy, then consolidated his viscera.

    At that moment, Leon''s entire body was drenched in sweats while popping veins were seen everywhere. However, a serene expression was shown on his face.

    This was not to say that the pain of tempering his body had disappeared. No, the pain was still present at its usual intensity.

    Leon''s level of tolerance has been raised to endure it.

    Suddenly, his eyes snapped open after reaching a certain threshold of viscera consolidation and roared at the skies.

    His voice shocked the heavens and threatened to tear the skies asunder like the mighty roar of a divine dragon.

    500-thousands jin!

    His viscera has been consolidated to withstand the force of 500-thousand jin, the same as his fleshly body! He has reached equilibrium!

    Blood surged through his body in tandem with the rhymic beat of his heart as Leon felt like he was overflowing with power.

    Despite the feeling of attaining 500-thousand jin in defense, his personal brute strength has not increased after he consolidated his viscera ording to the [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method].

    But while his had not increased, his consolidated viscera had increased his natural lifespan, raised his poison immunity, improved his speed, and heightened his five senses!

    "Is this what it feels like to have a dragon body¡­?" Leon muttered before shaking his head shortly after with a soft chuckled, "No, this is still far from that."

    While his viscera was far from beingparable to dragons, he could still agree that it had be less human.

    A dragon''s body was simply far superior to the fragility of humans.

    This is the result of tempering his body ording to the [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method].

    "Given enough time and Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy, I can continue to consolidate my viscera to 1-million jin defense. Beyond that, it will be difficult without any dragon blood, however¡­" Leon mused.

    The same could be said for his fleshly body.

    It will be difficult to progress beyond the 1-million jin mark without the aid of divine turtle blood for his [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard].

    This was not to say that there would be no more improvement after reaching the 1-million jin milestone.

    It just simply means that his rate of improvement will decrease significantly without the supplementary bloodline.

    "Where on earth am I going to find dragon blood and turtle blood? And high-grade ones, nheless." Leon frowned in question.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not ponder too deeply.

    Now was not the time for that. He had to make use of all his time to quickly raise his strength as much as possible.

    "My fleshly body and viscera have reached a defensive strength of 500-thousand jin, but my own physical strength falls short by arge¡­" Leon pondered his next practice steps.

    If he wanted to raise his physical strength significantly within a short time, he would need to temper his bones.

    "What bone forging method should I use?" Leon wondered.

    Within his Archive, hundreds of iplete methods rted to the primordial age of gods and devils were recorded.

    However, it was had to say which method suited him best.

    When Leon could not figure which bone forging method was best suited for him, he began to think from a different view.

    "Considering the fact that I am already practicing two body forging methods pertaining to two different divine beasts, I should not pick bone forging method rting to turtles and dragons¡­" Leon mused.

    If he cannot find any turtle or dragon blood to cultivate his [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard] and [Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method], practicing another method rting to the two would be the same as shooting himself in the foot.

    "I should practice a variety of methods to give myself a higher chance of finding a matching bloodline." Leon decided.

    Shortly after, he browsed all the bone forging methods in his Archive before settling on a single method, the [Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method].

    "Although I only have the first volume of the [Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method], I only need to practice the first volume for now¡­"

    Suanni Lion was a mythical divine beast that looked simr to the hybrid of a dragon and lion. It was known for its mighty strength and fierce appearance.

    Although paths lead to the same source in the end, practicing the [Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method] will give him the most significant physical strength improvement within the early stages.

    Once Leon settled on his bone forging method, the first volume of [Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method] quickly broke down into particles of light before flowing into his mind.

    Strings of information quickly engraved themselves firmly into his memory after reviewing and familiarizing himself with the [Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method].

    Shortly after, hemenced practice immediately.

    "Grr¡ªahhh!" Leon quickly roared.

    If tempering flesh was akin to the grating and consolidating viscera was akin to prickling with needles, then bone forging was akin to hammering.

    The Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy was transformed into heavy pellets with dense mass before they mmed against his bones repeatedly like being hammered.

    The bones fractured on a microscopic level before the energy was partially absorbed into the bones and reformed.

    The process repeated as such, causing Leon to fall into a vicious cycle of having his bones repeated broken before they were reformed.

    The pain inflicted upon him was naturally more significant than the consolidation of his viscera.

    One can only imagine how much more painful the cleansing of his bone marrow would be once hemenced that phase.

    Although the pains were great, gains were even greater!

    Under the repeated cycle of destruction and creation, the bones became tougher and stronger! Thus, allowing him to exert more power!

    From 50-thousand jins, it soared to 100-thousand jins!

    In a short instance of a few breathes, Leon had broken through Rank 5 Body Tempering Realm and advanced to Rank 10 Body Tempering Realm directly!

    Even so, this was only the beginning!

    "Grr¡ªraaaah!" Leon howled in pain as he continued to forge the rest of his bones with bone-breaking Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    He gritted his teeth so tightly they could be heard grinding against each other. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before!

    Even so, he will press on bravely!

    "Soldier on, Leon! There is no gain without pain! The greater the pain, the greater the gain!" Leon told himself as he tried to convince himself that it would all be worth it in the end.

    Ka-cha!

    The elusive sound of breaking through another threshold of strength was imagined within Leon''s mind as his physical strength soared to 150-thousand jins!

    If the Human Domain knew how rapidly Leon''s physical strength was growing, they would be shocked beyond belief!

    Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy was simply this heaven-defying! It was hard to imagine how much more heaven-defying True Grandmist Energy would be!

    Even if it was not present, Leon caught a glimpse of the grandeur that once existed back in the primordial age of gods and devils.

    "Keep going! Don''t stop!" Leon roared with red eyes.

    At that moment, veins popped all over his body while his flesh glowed with redness from the color of his blood pumping.

    The newfound vigor of his viscera worked in overdrive and made them hot-blooded.

    Take the pain to discipline the mind and temper his will! Create a truly indomitable spirit! Unbending, uncowering, firm, and solid in the face of adversaries!

    Ka-cha!

    Leon''s physical strength soared again!

    His strength quickly reached 200-thousand jins, a grand 100-thousand jin greater than the average Rank 10 Body Tempering Realm Body Cultivators!

    He had entered the Half-step Body Transformation Realm.

    The soft bottleneck of Rank 10 Body Tempering Realm was easily broken, making it almost non-existent!

    However, this was not attributed to the [Godfiend Body Forging Method] nor the [Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method].

    No, this was attributed to Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy alone.

    Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy was not the only source to temper the body, but it is the greatest source below True Grandmist Energy and those in between.

    Whether it was fire, lightning, wind, water, earth, gravity, or any element, any medicine for that matter. They can also temper, enhance, refine, and improve the body.

    But unlike Grandmist Energy, these methods were more ordinary and will definitely experience the soft bottleneck that is Rank 10 Body Tempering Realm.

    Since Leon was using the source of the beginning, the power of gods, why should he be subjected to mortals'' woes?

    Time quickly flew.

    Eventually, Leon achieved his desired, hard-earned, hard-struggled physical strength of 500-thousand jins after much suffering.

    His eyes slowly opened before they flickered with sharpness and indomitability that onlysted a moment before they disappeared.

    "Fuuu¡­" Leon exhaled a deep breath of foul air as he rxed his body after much toil and bathed in the moonlight of the night sky.

    This sort of heaven-defying growth in strength would draw the envy of many, but now, he had the power to tackle problems as theye.

    At the very least, he was much stronger now.

    Not only did his outer and inner body defense reach equilibrium, but even his defense and strength also did so as well.

    "That''s enough rest. Now, I need to refine some more Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy for Duna and Lumi''s recovery." Leon thought out loud before he resumed gathering Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy.

    At the same time, he divided a part of his consciousness and delved into the [Archive] to review the [Soul Dive] technique.

    ¡­

 Chapter 542 - Into The Dreamworld

    <h4>Chapter 542 - Into The Dreamworld</h4>

    In the mesosphereyer, time quickly flew by.

    By the time Leon became aware of his surroundings, the world had reached the peak of nighttime, dropping the temperature below freezing point

    Frigid winds billowed and battered against Leon''s formless barrier while Wrathful Demonic Energy and burning hot temperatures of the day had seemingly all disappeared.

    It was like the Cataclysm had never erupted, but in truth, it was just the darkness of the night obscuring everything.

    "I should check on the situation below¡­" Leon mused after he hadpletely understood the [Soul Dive] technique.

    It was a special method of manipting spiritual senses to inject one''s consciousness into the deep consciousness of others.

    In his case, it was the maniption of his divine sense. Divine sense was also a type of spiritual sense, except it is far superior to ordinary spiritual senses.

    "Still, I never knew spiritual senses could be used like this¡­" Leon muttered.

    He had always used divine sense in a simple manner, projecting it outward to understand his surroundings.

    However, the [Soul Dive] technique required him to condense his divine sense after it is projected outward.

    "Now that all preparations are done, I shouldn''t waste any more time. The longer it takes to treat Duna and Lumi, the greater chances of unexpected variablesing into y¡­" Leon pondered.

    After checking the surroundings, Leon shortly entered the Worldspace with his true body, leaving nothing behind except a vague book that can only be subtle felt of its existence and not be seen.

    Bound to Leon''s soul core, the [Divine Book of Life] existed in a different dimension that runs parallel with reality.

    Inside the Worldspace, Maya immediately jumped upon seeing Leon''s appearance and hissed at him dangerously.

    "No need to be rmed. I won''t be dumping anymore Wrathful Demonic Energy into the [Universal Life Conversion Array] for now," Leon chuckled lightly.

    "For now¡­"

    Maya picked up the specific words from his mouth. After hearing that, she did not dare to rx and continued to re at Leon observantly.

    "I''m watching you!" She spat.

    Leon shrugged nonchntly.

    Shortly after, he made his way over to the ice bed within the small Yin-biome where the slumbering Duna and Lumi''s body was ced.

    Leon ced at their peacefully sleeping face briefly before sitting down beside the ice bed and closed his eyes in meditation.

    Waves of divine sense quickly gushed out from his body before they congregated towards a single point and condensed themselves, forming a miniature avatar of Leon.

    There was a reason why Leon had never attempted to condense his divine sense before.

    Not only was it self-restricting in scanning the area, but it was also dangerous and put Leon in a vulnerable state.

    Leon''s soul core would only be hurt slightly, akin to a jolt in the head if his divine sense was in their widespread state.

    However, if his divine sense was attacked in their condensed state, his soul core would suffer so badly he might just turn into a vegetative person.

    After all, the condensed state of divine sense was akin to the soul leaving the body.

    Nevertheless, the Worldspace waspletely safe to carry out the [Soul Dive] technique. It was his holynd. No one can attack him here.

    "Let me see what you are dreaming about in your slumber¡­" Leon muttered shortly after the spiritual avatar was condensed from his divine sense.

    Hisplete consciousness was transferred to the spiritual avatar before he slipped into Duna and Lumi''s body, heading straight for their soul core.

    Once his spiritual avatar contacted Duna and Lumi''s soul core, his consciousness''s sense of sight turned intoplete darkness like he was sailing through the void for a period of time before he eventually saw the light.

    The light expanded rapidly and epassed his entire vision.

    Before Leon knew it, he had already entered the world of dreams that existed within Duna and Lumi''s consciousness.

    Shortly after, he realized his spiritual avatar was floating in the skies.

    "This is¡­"

    Leon subconsciously gazed down at the surface before realizing he was in the sky with his spiritual avatar.

    "This is the Capital¡­?" He muttered.

    There was something different about the Capital before him. It was not the same Capital he recognized in his memory.

    No, the Capital before him appeared to be in its earlier development stages after the city was founded.

    "If I recall correctly, Lumi became a vengeful spirit over 400 years ago. Does that mean this is what the Capital looks like in the early year 100s of the Human Restoration Era?" Leon contemted.

    The early year 100s of the Human Restoration Era was a period after the Hero King Aldrich passed on his throne to his son before vanishing from the face of the earth.

    At that moment, the skies were dark, and lights could be seen brightly lit all over the Upper District. Comparatively, the Lower District was much darker and almost swallowed inplete darkness.

    "I wonder what the specific year is¡­" Leon wondered before his spiritual avatar descended towards the Capital below.

    Shortly after his feetnded on solid ground, his gaze shifted around at the hustle-bustle of the Upper District''s nightlife.

    Numerous aristocrats and nobles chattered andughed as they walked past Leon, while some even phased through his spiritual avatar before they continued on with their business.

    No one seemed to have taken notice of Leon''s presence.

    This is because he did not exist in this time period, or more specifically, he did not exist in this world that seemed to be a reconstruction of the past from Lumi''s memories.

    "Since I am taken here in this specific time and ce, Lumi should also be hidden somewhere around here¡­ I should start looking for her," Leon contemted.

    However, after a few steps, he suddenly paused.

    "This is a good chance to learn about Lumi''s past and deepen my understanding of the special rtionship that is shared between Lumi and Duna¡­" Leon thought.

    If he finds Lumi, would he also find Duna? Or just Lumi alone? In that case, where would Duna be? And how did shee to share Lumi''s body?

    These were questions worth looking into.

 Chapter 543 - Lumis Past (1)

    <h4>Chapter 543 - Lumi''s Past (1)</h4>

    The Capital of the past had a strong resemnce to the present Capital when Leon had been observing from the sky. But after he descended on the ground, the surroundings did not give him a single sense of familiarity.

    "Where am I? Considering where Inded, this should be somewhere in the Upper West District¡­" Leon gazed at his surroundings with a lost expression.

    The Upper West District should have been the most familiar of the four Upper Districts to him, considering traveled through the Upper West District every time to reach Crawford University.

    However¡­

    "Nothing looks familiar at all. The span of 400 hundred years is enough to change many things, huh? The lifestyles of mortals cannot bepared to the lifestyles of Divine Practitioners in the Divine Realm¡­" Leon casually spoke to himself as he tried to feel the rough surface of a stone pir.

    Without any surprises, his hands phased through.

    Nevertheless, Leon appeared unconcerned about this as he continued with his train of thought, "Mortals know their time is limited. As such, they make the most out of their time, leading to significant changes. Inparison, thousands of years can go by in the Divine Realm without a single change except its inhabitants¡­"

    Due to abundant resources, Divine Practitioners spend most of their lifespan in quiet cultivation, leading to fewer interactions between Divine Practitioners and slower advancement of the cultivation civilization.

    "Fewer struggles, fewer interactions¡­ no surprise that there could be thousand-year-old young masters with the mentality of spoiled kids, while inparison there could be kids with the maturity of adults on Gaia."

    Shortly after, Leon smiled wryly, "I''m kind of d I didn''t turn out like one of these whiny useless young masters from the Divine Realm¡­"

    After pushing the matter to the back of his mind with a shake of his head, Leon eavesdropped on the conversations in his surroundings.

    ¡­

    "Hey, have you heard? Another beast tide has begun attacking the Great Wall?" A nobleman spoke on the second floor''s balcony of a nearby tea shop.

    "Ah, yes, I have heard about this matter." Another nobleman sitting opposite of the first nobleman nodded before asking casually, "What about it?"

    "You''re not concerned in the least?" The first nobleman asked with surprise. "That''s the beast tide we are talking about!"

    "Don''t we have the Great Wall?" The second nobleman said nonchntly before adding, "We are no longer the same helpless people we were during the Cataclysm. With the Great Wall''s protection and our weapon advancement, evenmoners can kill some beasts if they are equipped. There''s nothing to worry about."

    "True, but we can never be too careless with this matter, no? If the Great Wall falls, the rest of humanity will not have an easy time against the beast tide."

    "I see your point, but it has been over a hundred years since we enjoyed the protection of the Great Wall. If those beasts can breach the Great Wall, they would have already done so. Besides, there are other people who take care of this stuff. Thus, we don''t need to worry about anything else fattening our own pockets."

    "I suppose so¡­"

    As the two noblemen continued to converse, Leon decided not to stick around further and left with a sneer.

    He had heard enough.

    "It was people who think like this that reinforcement came sote when the Great Wall needed them most, resulting in the tragedy of the Crimson War," Leon muttered.

    Shortly after, he concluded, "It seems this should be around the year 118 H.R¡­"

    Year 118 H.R, the year of the Crimson War, the day in which the bodies piled mountains and blood flowed like rivers in humanity''s desperate attempt at defending the Great Wall against the beast tide.

    Leon remembered his history lessons.

    The Crawford Kingdom paid a painful price for theircency and negligence after enjoying peace and prosperity for a hundred years.

    Suddenly picking up the faint stench of blood in the air, Leon slowly shifted his gaze towards the distant western direction.

    "It seems the event of the Crimson War is already urring as I speak¡­" Leon muttered softly before ncing at the nobles and aristocrats and chattering andughing in ignorance. "And yet these people still don''t have a clue what is going on."

    Shortly after, Leon shook his head again with a mncholic sigh.

    Even in history lessons, the exact death toll of the Crimson War was never mentioned. All he knew was that the Crawford Kingdom experienced a steep plunge in its poption.

    "Where was Lumi during this time?" Leon pondered with a frown while finding his way towards Lost Isle Alley.

    Although it was the location of Lumi''s tragedy, it was a start to finding Lumi''s whereabouts, her home, and her family during this time period.

    Even so, finding Lost Isle Alley was a hassle.

    Where there were supposed to be vacant plots ofnd, there were buildings. And where there were supposed to be blocks of buildings, they were vacant plots ofnd.

    Leon felt like someone was messing with his head as he navigated his way to Lost Isle Alley in ordance with his memory.

    After much struggle, he arrived before the entrance of Lost Isle Alley.

    "At least these three buildings are exactly the same as I remembered¡­ No surprise there. These buildings were left abandoned and haunted for 400 years."

    While searching the area, Leon frowned.

    Before Lost Isle Alley was haunted, it existed under a different name; Gagher''s Hidden Market, as written on the entrance board before him.

    However, when Leon searched the depths of his memory, he recalled that Lumi''s family name was also Gagher.

    "Considering the Gagher family is wealthy enough to own this entire area, it''s strange that I have not heard of any other existing Gagher family. Such a prominent family wouldn''t just vanish during the past 400 years without a cause."

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    "After Gagher''s Hidden Market became the haunted Lost Isle Alley, their properties were sold at low prices to the noble families of the scions that killed Lumi¡­ Of course, these noble families were shortly killed off by Lumi or Duna after, but did they also killed off their own family too?"

    While Leon pondered, a weakly young girl suddenly fell to the ground after getting kicked out of the store in front by a fierce man.

 Chapter 544 - Lumis Past (2)

    <h4>Chapter 544 - Lumi''s Past (2)</h4>

    Leon''s gaze slowly focused on the fallen girl before he quickly recognized the person to be Lumi Gagher when she was still alive.

    "Lumi¡ª" Leon called out before he suddenly remembered that she would not be able to hear him.

    She was not the right Lumi Gagher he was looking for. The one before him was just a distant memory that existed in Lumi''s past.

    Shortly after, Leon frowned.

    The current Lumi Gagher appeared to be roughly 16 years old, a tender and delicate age for a youngdy. It was the age when they begin to sprout into true dazzling beauties.

    However, Leon could not see any of those qualities on the current Lumi Gagher before him.

    Instead, all he could see were cuts, bruises, scratch marks, and scars on her fleshly body while an ominous and deathly aura surrounded her entire being.

    It was definitely the traces of abuse¡ªand not exactly a short-term one.

    No, judging by the sheer number of scars umted on Lumi Gagher''s body, Leon could definitely determine with his medical expertise that Lumi Gagher had been a victim of child abuse and bullying for many years!

    Perhaps, the abuse already started since the day she was born!

    The difference between the current living Lumi Gagher and the vengeful spirit Lumi, who he had always known without her blemishes, was such a clear contract that Leon was utterly shocked by the discovery.

    "Just what sort of hatred is needed for Lumi to be ill-treated like this? Does it have something to do with her deathly aura?" He frowned with wonder.

    Leon watched the situation unfolded to learn more about Lumi''s story, for he can do nothing except watch.

    He cannot change something that had already happened and only exists as a memory.

    Even so, he could never have imagined Lumi''s past would be so tragic even before the incident of her death.

    ¡­

    "I told you that I didn''t want to see your face! How many times must I repeat myself?! Go! Get lost! If you don''t disappear from my face right this instance, I will beat you death!" The fierce man roared hysterically.

    A few people immediately rushed out of the nearby stores before they hurriedly stopped the fierce man from following through with his words.

    "Master, contain your rage! Do you really have the hearts to kill her?!" One of the servants spoke before quickly urging, "Quickly take the young miss away! Who brought here?!"

    Under the servant''s urgings, the other servants quickly picked the young Lumi up and gently spoke with urgency, "Let us leave quickly, young miss."

    Lumi nced back at the fierce man reluctantly with a face filled with tears despite quivering in fear of getting hurt before the servants quickly dragged her away to safety.

    Compared to the scars and wounds on her body, her heart hurt more.

    "Do I have the hearts to kill her?! Of course, I do! I want to kill her every time I see her face! Even in my nightmares, I want to kill her! She deserves to die!" The fierce man thundered as he shot the departing Lumi a furious re filled with deep hatred.

    "But she is your only daughter! Your only kin, master! That child is innocent! You can''t keep ming her for what happened back then! She has never done anything wrong!" The middle-aged female servant continued to hold the fierce man back.

    As it turns out, the fierce man was Lumi Gagher''s father, Yahir Gagher, a small but sessful baron who owned the entire Gagher''s Hidden Market.

    At that moment, Leon still could not tell why a father would hate his own child so much. However, seeing Lumi receiving ill-treatment in such a state caused his heart to ache.

    "Innocent? Never done anything wrong?! Wouldn''t my wife still be alive then?! You were the one who delivered that ursed child! Have you forgotten how gruesome my wife''s death was? How much pain she was in before she died?! That ursed child didn''t just kill her mother, but also her twin sister in the womb!" Yahir Gagher barked.

    Whenever he recalled how his wife cried in pain during childbirth while her body rotted and dried up like an empty ck husk, he would have nightmares the same night!

    The sight was simply too horrifying and without precedence! What else could his daughter be except cursed?!

    "Be that as it may, that child is innocent! She might have been born differently, but she has never done anything wrong!" The middle-aged female servant became choked full of tears.

    During the early years after Lumi Gagher''s birth, she was just like anyone else, shocked and filled with dread towards Lumi Gagher''s unexinable existence.

    However, things changed over time as she slowly realized the child was still human like everybody else.

    "I delivered that child with my own hands! And watched her grew up step by step with my own eyes! Despite all the ill words and unjust physical violence you''ve thrown at her, she had not once developed any resentment towards you, nor had she misbehaved! Even when she is so afraid of being beaten by you, don''t you know she still longs for your fatherly love?!" The middle-aged female servant argued back.

    Yahir Gagher''s heart quivered ever so slightly. Even so, he remained stubborn in his attitude towards his own daughter.

    "I do not want to give her hope! It is better if she dies! The world will not ept her existence! No, they will reject her! Don''t you know what they talk about beyond these buildings?! Why must you all stop me at the most crucial juncture every time?! It is too cruel to let her experience a lifetime of suffering!"

    "And it is even crueler that she had never known the love of her father from the day she was born! Instead, she was despised, abhorred, and abused! Even if the world rejects her existence, isn''t it the father''s duty to shield her from the winds and rains of the outside world so she could live a good life?!"

    Yahir Gagher''s heart trembled at the servant''s words.

    Seeing that the master fell silent, the middle-aged female servant took the opportunity to hammer the final nail in the coffin, "I didn''t n on speaking about this, but I can''t remain silent any longer. Back then, you saw your wife''s pain but did you see her determination?"

    "You¡­ what do you mean by that?" Yahir Gagher''s heart shook with a bad feeling.

 Chapter 545 - Lumis Past (3)

    <h4>Chapter 545 - Lumi''s Past (3)</h4>

    "We actually had a chance to save Madam Karma''s life. However, it would have meant killing her daughter. Madam Karma knew this. That''s why even when she was in so much pain, she still wanted to let her daughter see the world!"

    "You''re lying!" Yahir Gagher paled.

    "¡­Yet after all the pain she suffered, the sacrifice she made, you, the father of the child, did not protect her but detested her, hated her, abused her, and even wanted to kill her!" The middle-aged female servant spoke emotionally.

    "Why are you only telling me this now?" Yahir Gagher staggered slightly, feeling lethargic and pale as sheets.

    "Everyone knew how much you loved Madam Karma. When we saw you deeply detested Miss Lumi for being born, we knew that you needed the anger to cope with your grief. Otherwise, you would not have been able to bear with the loss¡­"

    "¡­However, it''s been many years already! Even if Miss Lumi was born a demon, she was born a good demon! If you kill your only daughter, you will have no one left! Do you think your wife would have been happy to see you treat her daughter like this?! It''s time to stop, master!"

    Once the middle-aged female servant finished speaking, Yahir Gagher froze like a wooden block with a lost expression.

    Seeing that her words have finally gotten through to the master, the middle-aged female servant bowed before silently taking her leave, giving her master some time alone.

    The day quickly grew dark, with grey clouds gathering in the skies before the rain fell.

    Even so, Yahir Gagher remained unmoving from his spot. His body was slowly soaked while raindrops fell on his face.

    "What have I been doing¡­?" Yahir Gagher finally uttered after some time. With his head raised, the raindrops battered against his face in quiet contemtion.

    No one could see his tears hidden in the rain.

    After some time, Yahir Gagher softly muttered, "I have done my daughter so much wrong¡­ I have to make it up to her."

    However, that chance never came.

    That same night, Lumi, who had never left the confines of Gagher''s Hidden Market, was seen, bullied, humiliated, and ultimately killed by the scions of noble families living nearby.

    Leon''s fist clenched tightly.

    He did not watch how Lumi''s final moments yed out. He already knew what would happen and could not bear to watch it.

    Although Lumi had been filled with bruises and scars from much physical abuse, it could not hide her beauty.

    When everyone found out about Lumi''s gruesome death at the center of Gagher''s Hidden Market, Yahir Gagher cried tears of blood that day.

    Before he could correct his mistake and shower his daughter in the love that she had missed all those years, the world took her away from him.

    Leon found it strange that Yahir Gagher did not take revenge for his daughter but sold his properties to the enemy before quietly disappearing off the face of the earth.

    Many points in Lumi''s past were not revealed after her death and before she reawakened as a vengeful spirit.

    Leon could only make guesses.

    Even so, Yahir Gagher''s actions and disappearance were none of his concern. What grabbed his attention was Lumi''s deathly aura at birth.

    "This sort of deathly aura is not normal. Even unique physiques and soul constitutions required time to awaken¡­" Leon muttered with a frown.

    As such, Lumi possessing such a deathly aura powerful enough to kill her mother and twin sister during childbirth should not have been possible.

    Furthermore, he was even more puzzled by Duna''s identity.

    In the end, did Duna''s charactere from the soul of the twin sister that died in the womb during childbirth, or was she just a personality created by Lumi to cope with the torment she endured?

    Thinking about the matter, the former seemed more likely to be the case. Even so, it seemed like there was more to it.

    The deathly aura appearing on a baby during childbirth was just too abnormal.

    After a hard ponder on the matter, Leon could onlye up with one possible exnation. Although it seemed unlikely, it also appeared to be the most usible.

    "A Devil''s Incarnate, huh?" Leon muttered.

    Her existence, her malevolent aura, her dark powers, and her overwhelming highws; all of them made sense if he pinned everything about Duna under the term ''Devil''s Incarnate.''

    "I didn''t expect you to figure out this much from watching the past," A familiar voice sighed in the background.

    Leon was surprised.

    Immediately turning towards the direction of the source, Leon spotted Duna phasing out from a building before he asked, "How long have you been there?"

    "Right from the start," Duna answered calmly.

    "Right from the start, huh¡­? And what about Lumi? Is she also hiding somewhere nearby?" Leon queried while scrutinizing the surrounding buildings.

    However, Duna shook her head with another calm response, "No, she is not here. But she is hidden somewhere in this world."

    "So, even you don''t know where Lumi''s consciousness is hidden in this memory world, huh?" Leon muttered softly before asking, "If you don''t mind, can you tell who you are? Are you really a Devil''s incarnate? Or are you Lumi''s twin sister?"

    "You can say I am a Devil''s Incarnate, and you can say I am also Lumi''s twin sister, or you can simply say I am neither of them at the same time," Duna answered vaguely.

    However, Leon understood her words.

    Simply put, Duna was just like him; someone who is both Leon Crawford and Leon Esdus, but at the same time, neither of them because they fused together.

    Leon did guess that Lumi and Duna both had a fragment of a Devil''s Soul sleeping deep within them, but he never expected for one of them to actually be the Devil''s Incarnate herself.

    "I see¡­ The deathly aura belonged to you." Leon nodded before he asked with a furrowed bros, "However, if you are Lumi''s twin sister, how did you ended up bing one with Lumi instead?"

    Although Leon could make a vague guess, he would rather hear the exact answer from the person herself.

 Chapter 546 - Dunas Touches

    <h4>Chapter 546 - Duna''s Touches</h4>

    "You don''t seem amazed or concerned after learning I am a Devil''s Incarnate," Duna mentioned with furrowed brows.

    Leon smiled lightly before he corrected, "Oh, don''t get me wrong. I am surprised. It''s just thatpared to what I''ve experienced and discovered in the past few days, I wouldn''t be surprised as much as I would be. But never mind that. Tell me more about your situation."

    Once Leon inquired about Duna''s situation for a second time, a rare trace of sadness appeared in her eyes before she gave a soft sigh, "Fine."

    "I won''t go into details on how I was awoken and incarnated as I don''t recall much myself. After all, I was only a baby ready to be born with only a fragment of my former self. My memory was fuzzy and unclear¡­" Duna spoke.

    Leon furrowed his brows thoughtfully before he inserted, "Because you were just an infant with a fragment of your Devil Soul, you were unable to control yourws. Thus, the uncontrolled deathly aura destroyed your fleshly body and those around you, right? How did Lumi survive this?"

    "Yes, that is correct. Lumi was gifted with a divine body that made her body adaptable and immune to deathly energy. But as you can guess, the heavens was not fair and did not bestow me the same talents¡­"

    "¡­Perhaps, the Devil Soul Fragment part of me was meant to incarnate in Lumi''s body, but it incarnated into me and slowly eroded my body to death instead. I was prepared to die at that point, but Lumi took me in and saved my life."

    Duna wore a forlorn expression as she recalled the past.

    "Lumi shouldn''t have the mental capacity to ept your soul into her body consciously. It should have been her divine body absorbing your Devil Soul Fragment due to theirpatibility instead, no?" Leon spoke after some thought.

    Duna nodded before she said sadly, "Be that as it may, it does not change the fact I still exist thanks to Lumi and that it was also because of me that she had to suffer¡­ I owe her a lot."

    "That exins why you are the defensive elder sister, while Lumi has developed such a deep-rooted fear and reaction to pain." Leon nodded in understanding before he sighed.

    Being physically abused by her father while growing up, it was no surprise for Lumi to develop a trauma.

    It was amazing that Lumi did not bear any resentment towards her father, Yahir Gagher, after all the abuse she went through.

    Perhaps, if she did not have the support of the servants, then her character would have taken a different turn.

    ''No, wait. It doesn''t add up. Lumi was too pure and innocent. There was no way she can remain like this even if she had such mental support from the servants!'' Leon thought before he nced at Duna.

    As if knowing what Leon was thinking, Duna admitted with a nod, "All her negative emotions are swallowed by me."

    That was right.

    Even if Duna and Lumi were twin sisters originally, their souls have be one now.

    However, Leon suddenly paused his train of thought. That was not right.

    If their souls have fully fused, only one of them would exist.

    It was not possible for both Duna and Lumi to exist, given they were two different people fundamentally. As such, it was not a perfect fusion but a partial one.

    Duna was aware of Lumi''s existence because she possessed the Devil Soul Fragment, making her more dominant.

    But considering they were fused, even partially, Lumi should have gained the same benefits from the Devil Soul Fragment.

    Was Lumi truly unaware of Duna''s existence, or was she simply avoiding Duna to prevent something from happening?

    Leon scratched his head while he was thinking about the profoundly intricated situation that Duna and Lumi shared.

    Nevertheless, he suddenly realized that he had been too bent on finding Lumi. Since Duna was also half the body owner, he should be able to wake them up with Duna''s help.

    "Do you know the current state of your body right now? We should quickly wake you up so you can begin repairing your¡ª"

    Leon was suddenly silenced by a single pressed on the lips of his spiritual avatar.

    "I''m aware of our current state, but there''s no rush. Since you havee here, I am more interested in learning how you entered. I''ve been answering your questions for a while now. It''s time you answer mine," Duna stated with a strange flicker in her eyes upon contact between them.

    Leon smiled wryly before he asked, "Can''t that wait until you recovered first? Aren''t you getting your priorities mixed?"

    "Anyway, I used a special technique to reach this ce." Leon answered anyway before urging with a question, "Now, can we go?"

    "No, it''s been a long time since I felt the fleshly touch of another person''s existence besides my own. It''s good that you havee here. I didn''t expect that I could feel alive again in this spiritual world just by having another person''spany." Duna said before she began to touch Leon in various ces with a studying expression.

    Although it was just his spiritual avatar connected with his consciousness, Duna''s touch felt no different from another human''s touch in the real world.

    "Are you done yet? Dying your recovery will only increase the chances of unexpected variablesing into y." Leon spoke while feeling strange from Duna''s intimate touches like his heart was being tickled.

    Nevertheless, Duna did not stop touching and poking him in random spots.

    "There''s no rush. Time flows differently inside the spiritual worldpared to outside¡ªwhat is this?" Duna suddenly paused on a rising tent before she snickered after, "Are you kidding me? Just a few touches are enough to excite you?"

    "Being felt up by a beautiful woman, what else would you expect? This is a normal human reaction." Leon justified himself while covering his rising tent.

    "Do you think it''ll make me happy if you call me beautiful? Hmph, idiot." Duna gave a satirical look before she ridiculed, "You already have human and elvish lovers, yet you can still get excited over spirits¡­ You really are an irredeemable animal."

 Chapter 547 - Spiritual Pleasure

    <h4>Chapter 547 - Spiritual Pleasure</h4>

    "You must be kidding me." Leon smiled stiffly like his little brother before he said, "How can this be considered the same? In this space, your touch isn''t any different from another living human."

    "Hmph, all I hear are excuses. Even if that is the case, you cannot deny the fact that the one touching you is still me, a spirit, and that your junk is standing right at this moment." Duna snickered coldly before she reached into his pants and grabbed his little brother.

    Leon was immediately shocked by Duna''s boldness, "What are you doing?"

    "What does it look like I am doing?" As Duna said this, she started stroking Leon''s tool.

    The cool sensation from Duna''s hand was transferred through Leon''s body, causing him to tremble with a pleasurable feeling he had never felt before.

    Nevertheless, he had not lost his ability to think straight due to pleasure and was able to ask, "What''s the point of you doing this for me? It''s not like you like me or anything. I can relieve it myself."

    Although he said this, he did not try to stop Duna from pleasuring him with her hand. It felt too good of an opportunity to waste.

    The experience was fresh for him. In fact, it was a fresh experience for both of them. It was pleasure of the highest degree, spiritual pleasure!

    "Do I need to like you to do something like this? Idiot. You make it seem like such a big deal. But I will tell you what, this is nothing." Duna said with a contemptuous look.

    Even so, Duna did not stop stroking.

    Leon felt weird inside his heart when he saw the proud Duna lowering herself to y with his rod like this when she was mostly cold to him.

    "Is that so? Why don''t you try using your mouth?" Leon suggested.

    "Hm?" Duna paused before shooting Leon a cold re, "Don''t push your luck."

    Leon scratched his cheeks wryly, thinking Duna still had her limits in the end.

    It was already a tremendous surprise that Duna was willing to do this sort of thing with him.

    He figured that she would have been repulsed by the idea instead, considering how Lumi and Duna died in the past.

    Perhaps, her willingness was rted to the Devil Soul Fragment within her?

    Leon was suddenly struck with a sense of immense curiosity towards what kind of Devil the Devil Soul Fragment belonged to.

    ''It wasn''t some subus demon, was it?" Leon silently thought.

    In a short while, he was already nearing his limit. As he reached this point, he was still wondering if something would evene out. After all, he was only a spiritual avatar.

    However, it did not take long before he found his answer.

    Without any warning, Duna''s face was suddenly sprinkled with lustrous white sticky substances.

    Leon immediately felt weakened. But at the same time, he seemed to have reached a higher state of pleasure and felt satisfied.

    "Sorry."

    Leon quickly apologized after noticing Duna''s dark and silent look as she was wiping the sticky white substance off her face.

    However, Duna suddenly paused with a doubtful look before she actually ced the finger full of sticky white substances in her mouth.

    Gulp!

    Duna swallowed it.

    Shortly after, her eyes flickered with wonder before she shot Leon a peculiar look.

    "What is it?" Leon asked with a taken aback expression, uncertain of what Duna was thinking.

    At the same time, he was uncertain if his senses were ying tricks on him, but he thought Duna''s body glowed for a brief moment.

    Nevertheless, Duna quickly gobbled up the rest of the white substance before she suddenly pounced on top of Leon, pushing him down to the ground.

    Before Leon could even begin to question her actions, Duna saddled on top of hisp and slipped his hard rod straight into her cave of wonders under her ck dress.

    Both their bodies immediately trembled from the overwhelming wave of euphoria.

    Duna bit her lip and suppressed the urge to moan before she continued to ride Leon''s little brother silently with a flushing face.

    Their breathing became haggard with quickened heartbeats, and lust began to fill Leon''s eyes as waves after waves of pleasure assaulted his lower body.

    At this point, he no longer cared if there were any special feelings shared between them. He just wanted to taste Duna to the fullest and enjoy the passionate moment.

    Thinking to this point, Leon reached under Duna''s ck dress with both hands and made his way up to her pair of round white rabbits.

    Pak!

    Leon''s hands were immediately pped away by Duna before she red at him coldly, "No touching!"

    Despite the cold attitude, Duna''s flushed face made her appear incredibly charming and seductive, tickling Leon''s heart greatly.

    Since he could not use his hands, he will just use his lower body.

    As Duna was riding Leon''s little brother with increasing tempo, he suddenly gave her a strong thrust and reached deep inside her.

    "Ahhn~!"

    An uncontroble and erotic moan full of euphoria escaped Duna''s mouth even though she had been trying to suppress her voice.

    Both their bodies trembled greatly from the climax before Duna copsed on Leon''s chest.

    However, it onlysted a brief moment before Duna picked herself back up and red at Leon angrily.

    Pak!

    A red palm print appeared on Leon''s left cheek under Duna''s p.

    Duna immediately shook slightly with regret at her impulse. However, she quickly steeled herself before she coldly said, "No moving or touching!"

    Leon could only chuckle bitterly to himself for not being allowed to enjoy himself while Duna did as she pleased with his spiritual avatar body.

    Meanwhile, his spiritual essence was poured inside Duna''s body as she felt her being getting transformed in some way like a butterfly shedding its cocoon.

    Shortly after experiencing the wonders of Leon''s magical essence, Duna continued to have her way with Leon''s spiritual avatar for a few more rounds while heid there like a wooden block.

    Sometimeter, the two separated before Duna could be seen fixing her ck dress like nothing had happened.

    However, her body emitted a soft white glow.

    "I think I have fully recovered." Duna suddenly said in a good mood. But she recalled what happened and uttered with hesitation, "Um, I¡ªno, never mind. It''s nothing."

    She wanted to apologize but ultimately chose not to.

 Chapter 548 - Congee Serving

    <h4>Chapter 548 - Congee Serving</h4>

    "Did you say you have fully recovered?" Leon repeated with surprise, "How is that possible?"

    Duna''sst p was not taken to heart at all. On the contrary, her proimed recovery came as a shock to him.

    "I can''t confirm for sure since we are still inside Lumi''s spiritual world. However, I do have a strong feeling that my wounds have all healed."

    As Duna said this, she gave Leon a peculiar look, "I didn''t expect for your body to be this unique."

    "I did not expect this either. Who knew that your body can be recovered this way," Leon said with a wry smile.

    After practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique, not only did his body constitution change but also his soul constitution.

    Did he manage to transfer some of his Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy through his spiritual avatar?

    After shaking his head, Leon urged, "Come, let us continue. Maybe there are still more things for us to discover together."

    As Leon took a step closer, Duna could be seen retreating a step before giving him a disdainful look.

    "You really are an irredeemable animal. Don''t get ahead of yourself. Just because we did it a few times, it doesn''t mean anything changed between us. Don''t think that you are someone special. If there had been other candidates that are also able to enter this spiritual world, I would have done that same to them," She stated coldly.

    Leon immediately raised an eyebrow and shot her a fierce re, "You dare?!"

    "Hmph!" Duna turned her head away from Leon with a snort and averted her gaze. She was not being serious.

    "Ahem." Leon coughed before changing the topic, "Since you believe you have recovered, are you able to wake up on your own? Or do you need my help for this?"

    "And how will you help me exactly? I am warning you; you better not have done anything weird to our body. What happened is only between us. My sister is off-limits!" Duna said defensively with a guarded expression.

    Leon felt awkward being viewed like some sex fiend.

    Nevertheless, he raised an eyebrow before he said, "Why are you speaking like I would take advantage of your unconscious state? Do you think your body was in any state for me to do anything? Don''t forget that you were also the one who pushed me down and rode my dragon. You were a bigger animal than I was!"

    Although this was what he said, he did not deny the possibility that he would not have done anything if Duna and Lumi''s body was in a good state otherwise.

    Boom.

    The surrounding temperature around Duna seemed to have dropped while her head was lowered, and her expression could not be seen before a malevolent aura surged out from her body.

    "Ahem, I was just joking¡­ just joking. I didn''t mean it. If you can wake up on your own, then I will be leaving first." Leon stated before preparing to escape.

    "Wait."

    Duna immediately grabbed his hand and stopped him, causing Leon to turn his gaze back before he asked, "What is it?"

    "¡­Help me." Duna spat with her head lowered and her facial expression hidden under her long ck hair. She did not know how to get out.

    "Alright."

    Leon smiled.

    At the same time, his thumb rubbed against Duna''s soft hand as he wondered if her hands would have also been this supple and delicate if she was still alive with a living body.

    Duna furrowed slightly at his sneaky action, but she chose to remain silent this time.

    Leon was a little surprised that Duna did not resist despite taking small advantage of her and began to feel a little excited. Shortly after, he began to suggest, "Before that, how about we¡­"

    "No." Duna immediately shot him down before he even got to finish speaking.

    "Okay¡­"

    ¡­

    Western Frontier, Great Wall.

    During the first night of the Cataclysm, the air was cooled, and torches were lit throughout Military City, illuminating the area.

    Soldiers transported heavy loads of supplies from nearby cities and moved heavy rubbles from broken buildings while civilians swept the streets, assisting where they can.

    On the Elder Tree''s side, elves have begun constructing new homes out of vines around the foot of the big tree while another group was tasked with plottingnds and cultivating crops in the nearby fields.

    Meanwhile, Faelyn participated in therge-scale cooking with other fellow tribesmen and made huge congee portions with herbal spices and vegetable toppings before they were distributed to both elves and humans in the region.

    Although the congee looked simple, it was definitely not your average everyday congee¡ªat least, the soldiers and civilians in the Western Frontier thought so.

    The rich, mellow taste, the fragrant smell that whets their appetite, the soothing warmth as it flows down their throats, and the invigorating feeling as it settled in their stomach.

    "This is some good stuff. Who knew elvish delicacies could reach such impressive heights? I''m a meat person, but this is something else."

    "Right? If you told me just a bit of grain, vegetables, and spices could produce something like this in the past, I would not have believed it. But now? I certainly do!"

    The soldiers chatted merrily over their breaks in the midst of the Cataclysm.

    As Faelyn continued to stir the big pot of congee, a suddenmotion broke out in the distance before she raised her head to look.

    Princess Thessalia was seen covered in dirt and soil as she made her way through the crowd and picked up an empty bowl from the big bowl stack.

    Everyone made way for her with looks of concern while some offered their services to prepare fresh clothes and baths for her.

    Nevertheless, Princess Thessalia ignored them and reached the congee pot before she held out her empty bowl with both hands and said, "I''m hungry."

    "S-Sister? Why are you so dirty?! What have you been doing?" Faelyn asked with a near-shrieking tone in surprise.

    Only after Faelyn brought up the matter did Thessalia nced down and inspected herself. She gave a slow nod before she said, "Oh, I was digging graves for my fallen guards."

    Faelyn immediately dropped thedle in the congee pot before she grabbed her third eldest sister''s hand and dragged her away, "Come with me! This is no way for ady to look!"

 Chapter 549 - Elizabeths Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 549 - Elizabeth''s Arrival</h4>

    Princess Thessalia was helplessly pulled away from her congee pot by Faelyn aftering so close to it. She watched the congee pot getting further away before she said, "But I am hungr¡ª"

    "No buts!" Faelyn said stubbornly.

    Her third eldest sister was covered in dirt from top to bottom. It was not just her closes that were dirtied. Even her hands, her face, and her messy blonde hair were covered in dirt.

    What was the point of eating like this?

    She would just get dirt in the congee bowl and possibly get an upset stomachter.

    Although such a thing was normal for people, Faelyn still wanted her sister to avoid situations if possible. After all, it is not exactly pleasant.

    Shortly after, Faelyn brought her third eldest sister to the newly constructed bathhouse and helped Thessalia wash up.

    Once they were done, Faelyn continued to help Thessalia dry her hair in front of a mirror.

    The both of them could be seen wrapped in white towels. Even so, it did not hide Thessalia''s battle-hardened body and well-toned muscles without any excessive mass and weight.

    The only difference was her old scars have all disappeared, giving her fair skin a refreshing look like a newborn baby after the bath.

    Faelyn was surprised before said, "Sister, you have such nice skin! You need to take care of your image more. Although you don''t really care about these trivial things, but you are, after all, ady and a princess nheless. If you dress up a bit and apply a touch of make-up, men would fawn all over you!"

    "Do you also think really think so? Am I really too in and tomboyish?" Thessalia asked after she quietly nced at herself in the mirror and recalled Leon''s words.

    "Uhh¡­ I wouldn''t say tomboyish. That''s a bit of an understatement. How should I put it?" Faelyn began finding her words before she exined, "You''re not feminine at all, sister. No, you''re more manly than the average man."

    Faelyn never really minded how her third eldest sister was in the past. But after she established her rtionship with Leon, she also began looking into her own third eldest sister''s happiness.

    Thessalia fell silent.

    She appeared to be contemting some things for a moment before she requested, "Then¡­ can you also teach me how to be moredy-like and beautiful too?"

    "I would love to, sister!" Faelyn smiled with bright eyes, seeing that her third eldest sister seemed to have taken an interest in these things.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, General Marquis Hendrick organized a reception to wee the Queen''s arrival.

    Tables and seats were neatly arranged on an open hill beforevish food and drinks were ced on top by the general''s personal servants.

    As General Marquis Hendrick observed the setup and nodded with satisfaction, a particr change in the windpelled him to turn and look towards his eastern direction on the right.

    Elizabeth softlynded on the hill with a shivering girl in her arms before they separated.

    Darlene thought she was going to die during her hubby''s mother''s high-speed flight. She would much prefer to fly in Leon''s arms.

    "Your Majesty, you must not have eaten during your trip yet. I have prepared dinner to wee you." General Marquis Hendrick quickly greeted before his eyes fell on Darlene. "And this is¡­?"

    "Her name is Darlene, and she is one of my daughters-inw," Elizabeth stated casually before she frowned at the luxurious food.

    "You did not need to prepare such extravagance to wee us. We are in the middle of a crisis that concerns the fate of everyone in the Human Domain. You should learn to be stringent when possible."

    "Understood, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick bowed while smiling wryly in his heart.

    If he did not know the Queen was arriving, would he prepare suchvishness? He was not an extravagant person either.

    But if he did not cut at least an arm to wee the Queen properly, it would be considered disrespectful.

    "You can offer it to your servants. They had certainly earned. I am not hungry. More importantly, where is my son? And what is the current situation?" Elizabeth searched the surrounding with her gaze but failed to locate Leon within the crowd anywhere.

    "I understand, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick nodded before turning to his servants, "What are you waiting for? Show your gratitude to the Queen."

    "Thank you, Your Majesty!" The servants quickly expressed their gratitude before dining into thevish food on the table with mouth-watering expressions.

    They did not expect that they would get an opportunity to enjoy suchvishness only fit for nobles and royalties.

    At the same time, General Marquis Hendrick shortly answered Queen Elizabeth''s inquiries, "His Highness is cultivating in the sky, Your Majesty. The elves have settled by the trees, and the soldiers are cleaning up the mess in Military City. As for the Wilnds, it is currently not affecting, but you should be able to tell how chaotic it is."

    Listening to the distant rumblesing from the far west that can be heard and felt from time to time, Elizabeth knew that the General Marquis was speaking the truth.

    She could hardly fathom how strong someone had to be to generate force that can be felt from so far away.

    Nevertheless, Elizabeth did not dwell on the matter.

    "Where is my son cultivating in the sky? I don''t see him." Elizabeth furrowed her brows while searching the dark skies.

    Although the darkness lowered her vision, her vision should have been good enough to see anything below the sky suppression zone.

    "You won''t be able to find him, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick smiled wryly.

    "The prince has flown deep into the sky suppression, and possibility reached beyond the clouds. I could hardly believe it at first, but the prince had really done it¡ªwhether it was by his ability alone or with the help of some specialized tool."

    "Is that so?" Although Elizabeth was surprised, it was not entirely outside her expectations as she recalled the foreign Transcendents that attacked her husband had also dropped from beyond the suppression zone.

    "Never mind then. Let us move onto business then."

    Once Elizabeth said this, General Marquis Hendrick nodded with a solemn expression, "Yes, Your Majesty."

 Chapter 550 - Not What It Looks Like

    <h4>Chapter 550 - Not What It Looks Like</h4>

    "What direction does His Majesty n to take, Your Majesty?" General Marquis Hendrick inquired respectfully with a solemn look.

    "You should have heard about the New Capital n. Now that the Cataclysm has erupted, my husband will be pushing forward with this n, concentrating the empire''s poption and power towards a single point."

    General Marquis Hendrick was surprised by Elizabeth''s words before he asked, "What about the rest of the empire? And here in the west, Your Majesty? With the new capital so far away, would it not be a problem if the Western Frontier cannot receive timely reinforcements?"

    "The Great Wall is the foundation that safeguards humanity. You will continue to defend the Western Frontier as your duty requires you to, while we will take away every civilian, every elf, and gather towards to the World Tree. In return, we will send every troop and every expert your way." Elizabeth

    General Marquis Hendrick quickly furrowed his brows and queried, "His Majesty intends to take the families away from the soldiers guarding the Great Wall?"

    "With the current threats of the Cataclysm and Wilnds, the civilians as they are now will only get in the way here. However, the condition surrounding the World Tree will help them improve their strengths swiftly. Once they are ready, we will send them back. But for now, their manpower is needed for the megacity''s construction," Elizabeth exined.

    "Understood, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick nodded before he suddenly thought of something and asked, "What will happen to the current capital?"

    "The current capital turned into the empire''s central mining city and governed by Duchess Amelia. Only cksmiths, miners, and personnel in administrative positions will remain behind in the city. The rest will head to the Grasnd Region to contribute to the megacity''s construction along with the surrounding cities'' poptions."

    Once the General Marquis heard this, he was immediately taken aback. However, it onlysted a moment before he felt his body tremble with anticipation.

    "This is probably thergest-scale movement in the history of the Crawford Empire since the founding of the Great Wall¡­" General Marquis Hendrick said with an emotional sigh. "Something like this would not even be possible if not for¡­"

    "The elves." Elizabeth nodded.

    Without the elve''s wood ability, they would not be able to cultivate enough crops to keep up with the people''s food consumption required on the trip and endeavor.

    In fact, the n would not even be considered if they did not have the elves on their side.

    "Just thinking about the future of the Crawford Empire gets my blood boiling." General Marquis Hendrick clenched his fist beforemented about himself, "However, I''m not sure if my strength is adequate to continue leading the Great Wall''s defense against the Wilnds'' threats."

    He was feeling the pressure from everyone else''s improvement except for his own. He felt like he was falling behind and eventually be left in the dust.

    Nevertheless, Elizabeth did not appear concerned when General Marquis Hendrick brought up the matter.

    "6-Star Ranked Awakener, huh? This does seem a little low for the hero of the west, who has been defending the Western Frontier for decades, to have¡­" Elizabeth softly muttered after she inspected General Marquis Hendrick''s cultivation.

    After General Marquis Hendrick overheard the Queen''s words, he lowered his head in shame, "I am embarrassed for my inadequacies, Your Majesty."

    "Don''t be." Elizabeth shook her head before she took out a luxurious jade box from her Interspatial Ring, "I intended to gift you thister, but it doesn''t matter for it to happen sooner."

    "This is¡­!?" General Marquis Hendrick epted the gift from the Queen before he opened the jade box and trembled with shock, "These are Heavenly Crystals?!"

    "Yes. Well, to be not exact, we call them Transcendent Crystals now--Transcendent Wind Crystals, that is. We were fortunate enough to discover five in the mines."

    "You intend to give them all to me, Your Majesty? How can I ept all of them? Just one or two is good enough for me," General Marquis Hendrick spoke humbly.

    After all, each Transcendent Crystal represents a chance to reach Transcendence--and the Queen gave out five just like that?

    Nevertheless, Elizabeth shook her head and said, "No, it is my husband''s wish--as well as mine, that you have them. Your service in defending the west and loyalty towards the empire all these years cannot go unrewarded. Take it. You deserve it."

    "Yes, thank you, Your Majesty! I will not let your gift go to waste! I will quickly reach Transcendence to better safeguard the empire!" General Marquis Hendrick vowed on one knee.

    "En, I believe you can do it." Elizabeth nodded.

    Shortly after, she asked, "Who leads the elven tribe? Take me to see that person. I will need to discuss with the person about what I mentioned earlier."

    "Yes, Your Majesty! The one currently leading the elven tribe is their Supreme Elder, Marquis Haldir. However, there are also the 12 Elders of the High Council, and the two princesses of the royal elf family; Third Princess Thessalia and Fifth Princess Faelyn." General Marquis Hendrick proceeded to exin before offering, "I will lead you to them at once."

    "Alright." Elizabeth nodded before following the General Marquis and headed towards the Elder Tree shortly after.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon reopened his eyes back inside the Worldspace before they flickered, "Did it work?"

    He shifted his nce to Duna and Lumi''s body and quickly discovered their perfect state without a trace of damage.

    Shortly after, Leon reached out his hands and began inspecting their cold but delicate arms without a trace of warmth.

    When vengeful spirits and ghosts reach the Corporeal Realm and rebuild their bodies, they only create a physical vessel to nurture their souls.

    It was not like they wereing back to life, although their physical vessels are most often closely resembling their former selves.

    As such, Duna and Lumi''s supple arms still felt nice and cool to the touch.

    But while Leon enjoyed his ''inspection,'' his eyes suddenly locked onto Duna''s cold gaze staring right back at him.

    He froze immediately.

    "Ahem, this is not what it looks like¡­" Leon coughed and tried to exin himself.

 Chapter 551 - Envious Talents

    <h4>Chapter 551 - Envious Talents</h4>

    "I was just checking to see if your body has fully recovered or not¡­"

    "Why do you need to check? Can''t I check myself? If I didn''t wake up in time, would you have peeked under my skirts for your so-called ''inspection'' too? Animal." Duna coldly snickered.

    Leon''s eyes and lips twitched like he had just taken critical damage.

    It was not the first time he was called an animal by Duna, but why were her words so jarring that it shot straight through his heart this time around?

    "Of course not! You are falsely using me!" Leon defended his honor, "I would never do such a thing, not without receiving consent!"

    "Hmph!" Duna did not n on listening to his nonsense and coldly asked, "How long are you nning to hold onto my arm."

    Once Duna spoke these words, Leon immediately released his hands with an embarrassed and awkward expression.

    "Ahem, I forgot."

    "Sure!" Duna rolled her eyes before getting up into a seated position. After shooting Leon a fierce re, she spat, "Don''t bother me."

    Shortly after, Duna closed her eyes and entered a state of meditative focus, performing introspection.

    Leon smiled wryly and scratched his cheeks before standing up. However, he suddenly felt lightheaded and staggered.

    "It seems spiritual intimacy with Duna wasn''t exactly beneficial for me¡­" Leon furrowed his brows before we went to find a spot on the grassy fields outside of the herbal garden and sat down in meditation.

    Shortly after he began self-introspection, he entered his sea of consciousness and sailed directly towards the ck Vortex Space with his condensed spiritual avatar.

    Nothing seemed to have changed inside the ck Vortex Space¡ªnothing except his Soul core looking a little fainter than usual.

    "My Soul Energy has been drained¡­" Leon was momentarily silent at this realization before he broke into cold sweats, "No wonder my divine sense felt weaker. If we had continued going at it for a few more rounds, I might have been put into eternal sleep¡­"

    "Now I know how Duna was able to recover their body. My body and soul were reforged into the Five-Element Body and Soul from practicing the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique¡­" Leon muttered.

    As such, pseudo-Grandmist Energy traces were incorporated into every part of his being, and they are further enhanced after pseudo-Grandmist Energy tempering through Primordial Body Cultivation.

    "I didn''t expect Duna was able to absorb the Soul Energy and pseudo-Grandmist Energy integrated into my spiritual avatar¡­ Did Duna know about this--that''s why she stop?" Leon thought.

    However, after a moment, he felt like an idiot for thinking that and shelved the thought, "Nah¡­ probably not¡­"

    Nevertheless, Leon could not help but frown.

    He thought Duna''s recovery was attributed to the benefits of dual cultivation, but it seems dual cultivation benefits did not apply to spiritual pleasure. But then again, Leon felt like that made even less sense, considering the nature of the benefits.

    So then, where was the problem?

    Leon''s frown deepened, thinking that perhaps, Duna''s Devil Soul Fragment really did belong to a powerful subus demon in the distant past.

    "Hm?"

    Suddenly, Leon notice traces of soft white lights flowing out from his spiritual avatar before they were directly devoured by the ck Vortex.

    Shortly after, streams of Law Fragments were spat out afterpleting their refinement.

    Among the Law Fragments, there was Darkness Profound Laws, Temporal Laws, Destruction Laws, and Death Laws.

    Leon was surprised at first before he became ecstatic.

    "Looks like there were benefits after all!"

    Leon quickly sent the Law Fragments into his soul core for absorption before a stream ofwprehension was ryed back to his consciousness inside the spiritual avatar.

    Shortly after, Leon returned his consciousness before his eyes snap open with a bright flicker.

    If he continued to gain more Law Fragments from Duna and study them, it was only a matter of time before heprehended the Profound Law of Death.

    And with the [Divine Book of Life] in his possession, the Profound Law of Life was also guaranteed.

    Once he has both, he can practice the third stage of [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] to refine Profound pseudo-Grandmist Energy, bringing him one step closer to refining True Grandmist Energy!

    It was not farfetched to say that Duna''sws helped him save a great deal of time. If she had not told him to not bother her, he would have run over and hugged her, giving her many pecks on the cheeks in joy.

    Of course, he would also get pped if that does end up happening.

    As if sensing Leon''s peculiar gaze, Duna briefly opened her eyes before furrowed her brows and coldly spat a single word, "Disgusting!"

    Shortly after, she closed her eyes and resumed self-introspection.

    On the other side, Leon froze like a wooden block for some time before he smiled wryly while rubbing his forehead with distress.

    "Haiz¡­" Leon issued a prolonged sigh before he, too, closed his eyes and focused onprehending the Profound Law of Death.

    Just like that, the two entered a serene silence as they cultivated within the Worldspace.

    ¡­

    Time quickly passed in the outside world. The thunderclouds never stopped crackling with lightning in the night sky.

    While Elizabeth was discussing important matters with Supreme Elder Haldir within the Elder Tree''s crown, the increasing rumbles of the heavens caused her to turn her head for a look.

    "This thundercloud isn''t normal." Elizabeth frowned while gazing into the night skies as it shed with lights of blue and white.

    Supreme Elder Haldir chuckled lightly before he nodded, "Of course, it''s not normal. Miss Aria is cultivating up there."

    "Oh?" Supreme Elder Haldir''s words caught Elizabeth by surprise before she resumed watching the thunderclouds in the sky with amazement, "So, that''s where that girl was. She''s quite the diligent one."

    "Un. She sure i¡ª" Supreme Elder Haldir nodded with a light smile before his expression stiffened.

    Sensing the surging power of lightning and frost gathering towards a focal point in the thunderclouds, Supreme Elder Haldir suddenly asked, "Do you know how old Miss Aria, Your Majesty?"

    "She should be turning 18 this year. Why?" Elizabeth responded with doubt, uncertain of the Supreme Elder''s discovery.

    Supreme Elder Haldir''s expression quickly turned to wry helplessness as he muttered, "A Seeking Insight Transcendent below 18 years old¡­ such shocking talents."

 Chapter 552 - Beautiful Twins

    <h4>Chapter 552 - Beautiful Twins</h4>

    Once Supreme Elder Haldir finished speaking, Elizabeth''s eyes widened in surprise before she nced back at the thunderclouds with focus.

    It appeared that a Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent''s breakthrough to the Seeking Insight-stage was different from how she imagined it.

    Although she was not an Ice-lightning Transcendent, observing Aria''s breakthrough could give her insight into her own path towards the Seeking Insight Stage.

    Nevertheless, Elizabeth could not help but smile wryly, "In the blink of an eye, Aria had already surpassed me¡­ to think she had only just reached Transcendence less than three days ago¡­"

    Elizabeth''s soft mutter was overhead by Supreme Elder Haldir, causing his expression to immediately stiffen.

    "Did you just say Miss Aria only reached Transcendence less than three days ago, Your Majesty?" The Supreme Elder asked in shock.

    "That''s right!" Elizabeth nodded, "You heard correctly, Marquis Haldir."

    "But that''s impossible!" The Supreme Elder was quick to deny the possibility.

    Elizabeth''s immediately crumpled with displeasure, "I was there when Aria made her advancement to the Transcendent Realm. What do you mean by impossible? Are you saying I am lying? Exin yourself, Marquis Haldir."

    "My apologies, Your Majesty. I did not mean it like this¡­" Supreme Elder Haldir responded with a wry smile, "I just find it hard to believe that the Seeking Insight Stage can be reached so easily¡­"

    "The heaven isn''t fair. Some people are just born different. Comparing yourself to such people will only make you frustrated," Elizabeth spoke with furrowed brows, "Still, I did not expect a heaven''s favorite child could be this heaven-defying."

    "Haiz¡­ This is beyond heaven-defying¡­ At this rate, I would no longer be surprised if Miss Aria can breakthrough to Acknowledged Paragon Stage in a month, and the fabled Celestial Realm in a year." The Supreme Elder sighed.

    "Celestial Realm, huh¡­? I''ve heard a bit about this legendary realm but are there any Celestials in this world? Is such a fabled realm possible to reach in this present era?" Elizabeth asked the Supreme Elder, who appeared to be more knowledgeable in this matter.

    However, the Supreme Elder shook his head, "Perhaps, only the Paragons and Demigods, who are the closest to Celestials, are able to learn of their existence. That knowledge is far out of reach for people at our level."

    "I see¡­ So, even Marquis Haldir does not know about this¡­" Elizabeth smiled slightly with a hint of helplessness as she felt how insignificant their existences were in front of such mighty beings.

    The Human Domain would not hold a candle to such beings if they decided to pay the Human Domain and wipe them out of existence¡ªor so Elizabeth believes.

    "I''m afraid not, Your Majesty." Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head again.

    Rumble!

    The thunderclouds crackled with lightning.

    However, at that moment, a change began to ur in the skies as it suddenly entered a brief moment of silence.

    Shortly after, the wind picked up, and the clouds began to twisting and gather towards the center of the thunderclouds, where Aria quietly hovered on her ice-lightning sword with her eyes closed.

    "The clouds are condensing," Elizabeth stated with narrowed eyes as she engraved every detail into her memory for future reference.

    "Un," Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before he began to exin, "When Transcendents advance to the Seeking Insight Stage, the quantity of our power doesn''t increase, but rather, its quality changes on a fundamental level that grants us even greater power."

    "I see¡­" Elizabeth uttered.

    Nevertheless, Supreme Elder Haldir could not help but still think back on their conversation.

    Was the Seeking Insight Stage really possible to attain purely based on heavenly-gifted talents alone? Were there no other factors at y here?

    "Supreme Elder."

    A soft and gentle voice suddenly interrupted the Supreme Elder''s train of thoughts before he nced over and saw a pair of peerless elvish sisters approaching.

    Faelyn was in her usual elven dress of leafy green and leather brown while looking a bit fresh after a bath.

    However, her third eldest sister, Princess Thessalia, on the other hand, had undergone a huge transformation.

    Contrary to the usual battle dress Princess Thessalia usually wears, at that moment, she was wearing a regr green dress.

    Her golden blonde hair was silky smooth and well-braided, her fair skin glowed with a polished shine, and her face was innocent and pure like an angel¡ªor rather, it was like she had suddenly be ten years younger.

    With the two princesses standing next to each other, the two could be hardly differentiated and could be mistaken for a pair of beautiful twins.

    Nevertheless, Supreme Elder Haldir could immediately tell the two apart. He shifted his gaze to Faelyn before asking, "What is it? What mischief are you twoss up to?"

    "Supreme Elder, It wasn''t me who called you just now, but my sister." Faelyn immediately chuckled softly before turning to her third eldest sister, "See? I told you that the Supreme Elder and others would be fooled if you spoke like this."

    "Not only the voice but even your appearances had me fooled," Elizabeth interjected before she inspected the two princesses with lit eyes.

    Thessalia felt slightly ufortable under the Queen''s gaze before she smiled lightly, "I hope we aren''t interrupting anything. It''s just that we heard from the General Marquis that Your Majesty intends to take the people and tribesmen away from here?"

    "En, I just discussing this with Marquis Haldir a moment ago, and he had agreed. However, I won''t be forcing anyone to leave if they are unwilling to part with the Elder Tree. Still, I do hope that you will all be able to persuade them into leaving." Elizabeth admitted.

    It would be a problem to carry forward with the n if most of the elves decided to remain behind with the Elder Tree.

    "That''s great." Princess Thessalia nodded with relief before she performed a curtsied to the Queen, "We will do our best to persuade our tribesmen, Your Majesty."

    She, herself, was quite eager to see the World Tree first-hand.

    Right at that moment, the thunderclouds that had just been in the skies a moment agopletely vanished before a powerful pressure was emitted from Aria''s glowing body!

    She had sessfully reached the Seeking Insight Stage!

 Chapter 553 - Appearance Of Divine Beasts

    <h4>Chapter 553 - Appearance Of Divine Beasts</h4>

    Rumble!

    The skies continued to rumble with thunder, but not a speck of thunderclouds nor the shing sight of lightning could be seen.

    The only thing that could be seen in the night sky was Aria''s brightly glowing body of bluish-white light.

    The thunderclouds were utterly devoured by Aria and now existed inside of her sea of consciousness.

    It gathered tightly around the Transcendent Ice-Lightning Crystal like a neb and would sparkle with icy-cold electrical discharge from time to time. Some discharges even reached the soul core, which was considered lethal to most people.

    However, Aria was perfectly fine with her soul intact.

    On the contrary, the icy-cold electrical discharged swam along the surface of Aria''s soul core intimately without trying to destroy it.

    A Transcendent shared great affinity with their element and can never be destroyed by their own power¡ªnot unless they lose the connection they share with their element.

    "So this is the Seeking Insight Stage¡­" Aria studied her newfound strength after opening her eyes in the sky, "This much strength should be around the same level as a Heaven Ascension Realm Divine Practitioner¡­"

    Even so, Aria was also surprised to have reached the Seeking Insight Stage so quickly.

    ording to her estimation, it should have taken her at least three months, which was still considered extremely fast by the world''s standards.

    However, it was like someone was urging her to be stronger and assisted her inprehending the Laws of Ice and Lightning, which ultimately led to her breakthrough.

    "Someone helped me¡­ but whoever it was, it wasn''t Aria White for sure¡­" Aria muttered with furrowed her brows.

    Contrary to feeling the joy of reaching the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm, Aria was riddled with concerns that there might be someone or something hidden in her own soul that she had no knowledge of.

    "This is concerning¡­ I should talk to Leon about thister¡­" Aria decided before closing her eyes to stabilized her cultivation.

    However, it was not long before her eyes snapped open after sensing a humongous presence descending towards her from the distance ahead.

    "Something ising!"

    It was not just Aria that sensed the presence. The sentries on the Great Wall were quickly rmed after they heard the loud whisking wind and felt the increasing pressure of being pressed down by the wind.

    Supreme Elder Haldir and Queen Elizabeth immediately shot to their feet and gazed towards the west with solemn expressions.

    "Something big ising."

    "Un, I can feel it too!"

    The two uttered.

    ROAR!

    KREE!

    The mighty roars and cries of two different creatures of epic proportions were quickly heard, despite their figures not being seen in the night sky!

    It was an instinctive guess determined by the volume of their voices.

    However, it was not long before the illuminating figures of a ming golden crow and a misty blue bird popped out from the high clouds!

    The two enormous flying beasts battled and tore at each other with their ws as they continued to plunge from the night skies!

    "Is that the legendary Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan?!"

    "I thought these Divine Beasts were just a myth, but oh my god, they are huge!"

    No matter who was watching, whether they were on the Great Wall or by the big Elder Tree, everyone was shocked by the two creatures'' sheer size.

    "I thought the Transcendent-level silver wolf was big, but this is something else! They must be at least 1000 feet tall!" A sentry spoke with wide eyes, unable to extricate his gaze from sight.

    Everyone felt infinitesimally small in front of such colossal beings!

    Nevertheless, another soldier immediately nudged the soldier, "Don''t you have other things to worry about?! Quickly run!"

    "Oh my god, you right! Run, everyone! They''reing our way!" The sentry was startled awake before he quickly rmed the others, who were still stunned by the two divine beast''s appearances.

    As everyone quickly evacuated from the Great Wall, Aria also stood up on her ice-lightning sword before swiftly retreating from the area.

    Boom!

    The ground outside of the Great Wall immediately tore apart under the immense impact of the two colossal birds'' crash!

    The earth copsed all the way down to the subterranean world''s second floor while the surrounding ground shook wildly along with the Great Wall!

    Even the ground underneath the Great Wall copsed along with a portion of Military City as they connected with the vast crater!

    If Great Wall had not been incredibly long and made of sturdy metal, it would have also copsed along with them!

    "Ahh!"

    Many soldiers immediately lost their footing under the earthquake, while some directly flew off the Great Wall before they plunged into the dark abyss of the subterranean world underneath!

    "Retreat! Everyone, quickly retreat!" Amanding soldier inside Military City cried as he escaped from the copsing ground.

    "Ahhh, nooo! Save me!" People cried as they could not outrun the copsing ground before they were swallowed into the subterranean world.

    It was unknown whether they had survived the fall.

    Nevertheless, the copsing ground eventually stopped upon reaching a certain point.

    Even so, a fifth of Military City was swallowed by the crater, and empty space was formed between the remaining parts of Military City and the Great Wall.

    Shortly after, people were directed further away from the enormous crater, evacuating outside of Military City, where it was deemed safe.

    At the same time, Supreme Elder Haldir and Elizabeth nced at each other before they took off from the Elder Tree''s crown and flew into the skies, joining up with Aria as the three made their way over to investigate the newly founded crater.

    "Did those two creatures die from¡ª"

    Elizabeth did notplete her question before the subterranean world resumed shaking from the battle between the Three-Legged Golden Crow and the Blue Luan.

    "They''re not dead! Quickly retreat!" Supreme Elder Haldir immediately cried, "This ce is not safe! These creatures must be Paragon-level existences!"

    After hearing the Supreme Elder''s warning, Elizabeth and Aria immediately retreated back.

    Once they reached the Great Wall, Elizabeth frowned, "Those creatures are Paragon-level existences? Why would they bring their fight to this ce?"

    "In a battle between life and death, anywhere can be their battlefield, Your Majesty. It''s not up for us to decide where they fight¡­ However, the more important question is why are they fighting?" Supreme Elder Haldir sighed with concerns.

 Chapter 554 - Golden Crows Vs Blue Luans

    <h4>Chapter 554 - Golden Crows Vs Blue Luans</h4>

    While the Western Frontier''s region was getting devastated by the battle of two incredibly powerful beasts that was believed to be the legendary Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan, Leon continued toprehend the Law Fragments inside the Worldspace.

    After a period of quiet meditation, he ended his session ofprehending the Profound Law of Death.

    When he reopened his eyes, his gaze quickly fell on a pair of deep ck pupils staring directly back at him from up close before he was taken aback, "What are you doing?"

    "Nothing." Duna pulled her head back before casually asking, "How are you feeling?"

    "Hmm¡­"

    Leon studied himself for a moment and noticed his Soul Energy had strangely recovered, whilst his Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy had slightly depleted.

    Nevertheless, he responded with a smile, "Never better. Thanks for your concern, Duna."

    "It was not like I was concerned about you or anything, idiot." Duna averted her gaze before storming back to her ice bed.

    Leon could not help but smile wryly.

    Shortly after, he turned his attention back on the Law Fragments and quietly mused, "If I could meditate in an environment filled with Death Energy, my speed ofprehending the Profound Law of Death would increase by twofold, probably¡­"

    As he thought of this point, he recalled the ck region littered with death-decayed ck carcasses where he found Duna in her unconscious state.

    "That ce is quite suitable¡­ but it''s quite some distance from the Western Frontier¡­" Leon frowned.

    Although he was told to focus on his cultivation and leave the empire''s matters to those in charge, he could not help but still concern himself with the empire''s issues.

    "I should at least check that everything is on track before I leave¡­ but before that, I should also pay a visit to the forge¡­ There are a few things I need to make before I leave." Leon contemted.

    After nning out his next course of actions, Leon shot to his feet before making his way to Duna.

    Feeling a shadow was cast over her, Duna peeked with one eye open before she nonchntly asked, "What do you want?"

    "I''m leaving this Worldspace. Are youing or staying?" Leon asked casually. He did not mind whichever choice Duna chooses. He just thought he should at least ask.

    After hearing Leon''s question, Duna immediately shot to her feet, "I''ming!"

    "Alright." Leon nodded before he frowned at a sudden thought, "It''s been a while since I''vest seen Lumi. How is she?"

    "Why? Are you tired of seeing me?" Duna responded back coldly.

    Leon was taken aback before he shook his head helplessly, "Why are you so ready to fight me or something? I''m merely asking out of concern for her."

    Duna studied Leon''s expression for a moment before her brows furrowed, "Lumi is still sleeping. I know because I can sense it. She will wake up when she wants to wake up."

    "I see¡­" Leon frowned slightly.

    Duna did not exin to him clearly, but he decided not to pry deeper if she was unwilling to tell him the details.

    "Let''s leave," Leon stated.

    Duna nodded before closing the gap between them to hug one of his arms, causing him to be slightly surprised before giving her a quick nce in wonder.

    However, Duna shortly spat, "Don''t think too much. It''s not like I''m doing this to make it more convenient for you or anything. I just don''t want to be thrown outside randomly."

    Leon smiled ruefully.

    Shortly after, he willed for the spatial portal to open before the two of them quickly returned to the outside world.

    In that instance, Leon''s surroundings werepletely different from when he entered the Worldspace, causing him to be shocked, "What the hell is happening?"

    "Just what kind of mess did you bring us to?" Duna quickly frowned at the huge battle taking ce in the high skies of the mesosphereyer.

    Caw! Caw!

    Kree! Kree!

    Thousands ofrge Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans fought furiously, tearing at each other''s throats and wings!

    Despite his shock, Leon still wrapped his hand around Duna''s waist and quickly retreated from the battlefield in the airspace. Duna furrowed slightly, but she did not resist.

    "How would I know? These big birds weren''t here when I entered the Worldspace," Leon quickly exined while evading the ws and talons of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans.

    The attacks were not aimed at him directly. He was simply in their way.

    "If they weren''t here before, then why are they here now? Why are they fighting, and with such intensity? These creatures all Transcendent-level beasts at the very least!" Duna observed the surrounding battle while be carried by Leon.

    Leon''s eyes immediately flickered at Duna''s words.

    ''Rather than asking why they are fighting, it should be asked what they are fighting over? Were these giant birds attracted to the Divine Book of Life''s subtle aura?'' Leon silently mused with shock.

    If that was the case, these birds are incredibly perceptive!

    Suddenly, Leon noticed the Three-Legged Golden Crows'' eyes were fiery red like berserk beasts under Wrathful Demonic Energy''s influence, while the Blue Luans'' eyes were a typical blue hue.

    ''Maybe it was just a coincidence?'' Leon began to doubt his spection.

    "In any case, this ce is too dangerous for us to stay!" Leon stated objectively while weaving his way through the army of Transcendent-level flying beasts battling each other to the death.

    Even with 500-thousands jin worth of fleshly defense, he could still fill the threating from their sharp ws.

    Un, get to it then!" Duna urged, but her expression remained casual and unconcerned with the dangerous situation they were in.

    "What do you think I am currently trying to do?" Leon responded with a bit of speechlessness while evading another iing w, followed by a forward flip onto the huge back of a Blue Luan before leaping off.

    Duna''s lips slightly rose before she spat with repressed excitement, "Well, try harder!"

    She was thoroughly enjoying the thrill of the ride.

 Chapter 555 - Rescue And Evacuation

    <h4>Chapter 555 - Rescue And Evacuation</h4>

    Rumble!

    Back on the surface, The Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan continued to battle in the dark depths of the subterranean world.

    Roar!

    Kree!

    Bursts of golden mes and frosty blue mist shed furiously, illuminating the enormous crater as the earth shook and the skies trembled.

    It was a sh between titans!

    The humans and elves at the Western Frontier had never seen such a battle of epic proportions that could instantly change the environment around them!

    Rather than a sh between titans, the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan were like gods to people like them.

    And when gods fight, the mortals suffer!

    "Everyone, leave quickly! Evacuate to the Elder Tree! Drop your stuff and just go! Your possessions might be important, but is it more important than your life?!" General Marquis Hendrick barked whilemanding the soldiers to help the civilians flee the area.

    The arrival of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan hade too abruptly. God knows how many people had been swallowed by the subterranean world!

    Even if those people managed to survive the fall, the scorching golden mes and freezing blue mist would guarantee the end of their existence!

    Their survival chance was basically non-existent!

    A soldier quickly stopped by to inquire, "General Marquis, what about the people that fell into the abyss?"

    "Leave them. Those people are as good as dead! Focus on saving who we still have!" General Marquis Hendrick did not even bother sending a rescue team to search for those fallen people.

    Such a dangerous operation would only cost him more men than people he could save!

    "Yes, General Marquis!" The soldier nodded with a heavy expression.

    Shortly after the soldier left to rejoin the other groups, General Marquis sighed. He did not even get a chance to cultivate with the Transcendent Wind Crystals gifted by the Queen before disaster struck.

    ''Haiz, did His Highness also felt like this? One problem solved, and two more will rise. Two problems solved, and four more will rise! This really is a godforsaken world to live in!'' The General Marquis thought.

    "Master, the Young Master has been safely evacuated." A servant reported shortly after arriving by the General Marquis'' side.

    General Marquis Hendrick nodded, "Well done, but there''s no need to report to me. Quickly return back to my son''s side and protect him well."

    "Understood, Master!" The servant in 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm quickly bowed before leaving.

    Meanwhile, in the skies above the Great Wall, Elizabeth frowned at the situation below, "The soldiers are all stranded on the Great Wall. We need to help them escape."

    At that moment, the Great Wall continued to shake in tandem with the earthquakes caused by the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan''s battle, throwing thousands of trapped soldiers off their bearing.

    "Ahhh!" Getting tossed left and right continuously, several soldiers were eventually thrown off the Great Wall that dangled on empty space.

    Elizabeth, Aria, and Supreme Elder Haldir immediately shot down and caught as many soldiers as possible.

    Even so, not everyone was saved.

    "Ahhh!"

    The few unfortunate soldiers continued their plunge into the dark abyss before a sudden burst of golden mes from the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow swallowed them whole.

    Everyone''s faces were grave as they felt the surge of heat against their faces from a distance. There was noing back from that one.

    Aria attempted to construct a long bridge of ice between the Great Wall and Military City remains. However, the ice bridge quickly copsed under the intense rumbles caused by the Paragon-level beasts battling.

    "It''s no use. Building a bridge will not work. Leave this to my tribesmen," Supreme Elder Haldir stated before issuing a loud whistle with his thumb and index finger in summoning.

    Shortly after, thousands of elven warriors flew over before they grabbed a soldier each and took them back to safe grounds under the Supreme Elder''s instruction.

    Once all the stranded soldiers on the Great Wall were evacuated to safety, the trio returned their focus on the battle between Paragon-level beasts.

    "What should we do about these two mighty Paragon-level beasts, Your Majesty?" Supreme Elder Haldir sought Elizabeth''s opinion for a solution.

    While gazing down at the enormous crater divided in half by frozen walls and molten earth, Elizabeth said with a frown, "The better question is what can be done? These Paragon-level creatures aren''t something people of our level can interfere with. We can only bring out our people away."

    "I suppose we can only do that." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded in agreement. They were helpless against such mighty beings.

    Roar!

    Kree!

    The Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan''s cry became more distant as they sunk deeper into the earth, possibly reaching the third underground floor a few thousand feet deep.

    Meanwhile, Princess Thessalia and Faelyn were quick to direct their tribesmen and the arriving human civilians to retreat to the eastern side of the Elder Tree and beyond.

    Despite such a big battle between Paragon urring in the region, the Elder Tree remained stably rooted in its original spot with no intention of moving.

    It did not seem intimidated by the Paragons.

    But while the Elder Tree was not intimidated, the elves and humans taking shelter behind it were shaking in their boots!

    "Everyone, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth intends to move everyone towards the Grasnd Region where the World Tree is located. However, no one will be forced to leave if they do not want to. That being said, who is willing to follow us?" Princess Thessalia spoke to the crowd.

    Faced with the present threat of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan, nearly everyone agreed almost immediately.

    "When are we leaving, Your Highness?" Many tribesmen queried. Their intent to leave was clear.

    Thessalia nced at her sister Faelyn briefly before she spoke, "Once we confirm with Queen Elizabeth, we will leave immediately!"

    "Great!"

    Everyone eximed with eagerness.

    ''I didn''t expect so little effort was needed to convince the tribesmen into leaving once disaster strikes¡­'' Faelyn thought wryly in silence.

 Chapter 556 - Mixed Breeds

    <h4>Chapter 556 - Mixed Breeds</h4>

    "Your Majesty, when do you n to take away the people towards the World Tree? Most of the tribesmen are ready to leave anytime," Faelyn asked upon Elizabeth''s arrival.

    Elizabeth scanned the crowd behind Faelyn before she nodded, "We can leave immediately once everyone is gathered."

    Shortly after, Elizabeth furrowed her brows before she spotted General Marquis Hendrick in the distance and made her way over.

    "General Marquis Hendrick, have you seen Duke Ignis?" Elizabeth queried.

    "Duke Ignis, you ask?"

    So much was happening, General Marquis Hendrick could not pay attention to everyone. But now that the question was raised, he realized Duke Ignis was nowhere to be found.

    "Duke Ignis¡­ he wasst seen hanging in the forges," General Marquis Hendrick responded with knitted brows after some thought.

    "And where are the forges?" Elizabeth continued.

    "The forges are¡­" General Marquis Hendrick fell silent. The forges were swallowed into the rift.

    Elizabeth only needed to read the General Marquis''s expression before she understood. With a heavy face, she sighed, "I understand. Continue with the evacuation. The further away from this ce the people are, the better."

    "Understood, Your Majesty," General Marquis Hendrick saluted inpliance with a somber look.

    As the retreat arrangements were being made, the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan continue to fight ferociously.

    The distant earthquakes quickly grew more intense before their humongous bodies were seen flying back out of the enormous rift.

    Boom!

    The two colossal birds crashed on the field of piled-up rat carcasses further away from the Great Wall, kicking up dirt and ashes as they tumbled together down a slight slope.

    Roar!

    Kree!

    The twopeted in a contest of both strength and frenzied cries, seeing who was stronger, fiercer, and more domineering of the two!

    Wounds covered their bodies from top to bottom with fresh blood gushing out like fountains while they tore at each other''s necks with sharp beaks and mighty ws.

    Shh~!

    Fresh golden blood sshed onto the ground and sizzled with steam from the high heat while dim crimson blood froze the area.

    Even so, the vitality of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan remained strong like mighty dragons; unyielding, and seemingly unending!

    The two were caught in a deadlock with near-equal strengths as they continued to sh before their widespread wings pped furiously and took them back into the skies.

    Just when people thought the two creatures were gone, smaller versions of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans fell out of the skies and crashed into the ground with booms like heavy meteor showers.

    Back in the mesosphereyer, Leon weaved through the air with Duna in his arms as they continued to evade the numerous Rank 1 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans.

    "There''s so many of them here. Forget about a thousand; there''s got to be at least a few thousand of them!" Leon furrowed his brows in question, "Just where did theye from?"

    "There''s a lot of things about the Wilnds that we still don''t know about. The Human Domain only upies a small corner of the Deste Continent after all. Still, I wasn''t expecting visits from two types of legendary Divine Beasts," Duna spoke with interest in the topic.

    "It''s true that we only upy a small corner of the continent¡­" Leon nodded while stepping in the head of a Three-Legged Golden Crow before taking off, "However, these creatures aren''t Divine Beasts."

    "They aren''t? But their appearance closely matches what is described in the stories of Mythical Divine Beasts," Duna said with a crumpled expression.

    "Closely resembling doesn''t mean that they are," Leon smiled lightly before swiping a few drops of golden blood off his face to study, "There''s no doubt that these two creatures have Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan ancestry, but their bloodline has been diluted over the years. They''re nothingpared to real Divine Beasts."

    After all, how can Divine Beasts be considered Divine Beasts if their strengths measure up to Divine Practitioners in the Divine Origin Realm at the very least?¡ªwhich was the equivalent of Early-stage Celestials.

    "If you look carefully, these Three-Legged Golden Crows don''t all look the same. Traces of eagles, hawks, and features of other birds can be seen on their bodies. These Three-Legged Golden Crows'' only distinctive traits are their three legs and golden mes," Leon added.

    His words quickly made Duna frowned with confusion, "Isn''t that enough to call them Three-Legged Golden Crows? Why are you saying that they are not?"

    "When did I say that they aren''t Three-Legged Golden Crows? They can be considered a mixed breed of Three-Legged Golden Crows. I only said they are not Divine Beasts¡ªat least not yet. Same for the Blue Luans." Leon grinned.

    "Huh? Of course, I knew that. I was just seeing whether you knew the difference," Duna said with a frown, not wanting to admit herck of knowledge.

    Leon smiled wryly at her dishonesty.

    However, after falling silent for a moment, Duna could not help but ask, "So, what''s the difference between these mixed breeds of Three-Legged Golden Crows and a real Three-Legged Golden Crow Divine Beast?"

    "Real Three-Legged Golden Crow Divine Beasts should at least have strengths that rival Celestials, if not greater. That being said, these mixed breeds do have a chance at bing Divine Beasts, no matter how slim their chances are," Leon exined wryly as Duna found herself engrossed in his knowledge.

    Whoosh~!

    Leon and Duna were suddenly blown away by the wind current of a nearby Blue Luan''s mighty wing p as it shot past them before Leon twisted and flipped onto the cold back of another Blue Luan.

    "Whoops, that was a close call," Leon softly eximed.

    Duna remained unconcerned that they nearly crashed into a Blue Luan as she asked, "What are the exact conditions for them to Divine Beasts?"

    "I thought you already know about these things?" Leon asked slyly with wry amusement.

    Duna''s eager look quickly changed to a frown before she spat stubbornly, "Just shut up and answer the question!"

    "So, do I shut up, or do I answer the question? Which one is i¡ªAhem, okay, fine¡­ Just don''t snap, okay?" Leon quickly gave up on teasing Duna after sensing the surrounding air around her became dangerously cold.

 Chapter 557 - Spirit Wall Boundary

    <h4>Chapter 557 - Spirit Wall Boundary</h4>

    "There are two ways for mixed breeds to be Divine Beasts. The first method is to awaken their ancestor''s bloodline, following their ancestor''s footsteps to be a Divine Beast. If the Three-Legged Golden Crow fully awakens the Golden Crow Bloodline, their mes would contain the scorching heat of the sun," Leon exined.

    Duna listened with rapt attention before she suddenly frowned from the way Leon held her like he would hold onto logs under his armpits.

    "What are you¡­" Leon uttered after Duna suddenly twisted her body and slipped out of Leon''s grasp.

    While they were still on the cold back of a Blue Luan, Duan quickly leaped onto Leon''s back and hugged his neck from behind before she stated, "Continue."

    "Alright." Leon smiled wryly after a moment before he resumed, "The other method is to plunder heavenly resources between heaven and earth to create their own unique bloodline, starting a new family tree for their future descendants."

    "Oh? Is there any difference between these two methods?" Duna queried with interest while the giant talons of a Three-Legged Golden Crow descended upon them.

    Duna did not make an effort to warn Leon as he quickly lept off the Blue Luan with Duna on his back before they dropped into the clouds, on their way back down to the surface.

    However, even the clouds were not free of Transcendent-level birds with mixed bloodlines as they shortlynded on the back of another Blue Luan.

    "It''s going to be troublesome for us to get out of this mess," Leon frowned.

    Being right in the middle of a war between two mighty tribes, there was not a moment when a giant bird did note their way.

    "Continue." Duna urged by shaking Leon''s shoulders.

    Leon felt a bit helpless at Duna''s sense of priorities. Nevertheless, while the situation seemed dangerous, the Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans did not give him any pressure.

    However, it would be a totally different story if they began the main targets of the Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans'' attacks.

    "There''s a big difference between the two methods, of course," Leon said while leaping down from Blue Luan to another like they were hopping down the stairs. "The first method is easier to aplish. However, there are limitations to this method. Even if they sessfully be a Divine Beast, they will only reach the same height their ancestor had achieved."

    "And the other method?" Duna pressed.

    "The other is more difficult, of course. However, if the beasts can sessfully forge their own unique bloodline, their potential would be limitless. But while this also sounds grand, there''s no guarantee that they could surpass their ancestor''s bloodline."

    "I see¡­" Duna''s eyes brightened slightly with understanding before she casually remarked, "You seem to know a great deal about Divine Beasts."

    "Well¡­ if I said that, I used toe in contact with all sorts of Divine Beasts and even treated them. Would you believe me?" Leon responded, deciding to open up slightly.

    "How is that possible?" Duna immediately raised an eyebrow before she inquired with surprise, "Are you also a Devil''s Incarnate? Or are you a God''s Incarnate?"

    "Why do you assume that I can only be either of these two options?" Leon scratched his cheek wryly before shaking his head, "No, I am neither the incarnate of a God nor a Devil. Just an outsider who managed to slip into this realm and be reborn."

    "You''re lying. That''s not possible." Duna was quick to deny Leon''s ims, causing him to be taken aback with surprise.

    Shortly after, Leon''s eyes flickered with a sudden thought before he asked, "How can you be so sure?"

    "Because no one can leave or enter this realm so long as the Spirit Wall exists at the boundary," Duna stated confidently, spilling vital information regarding the world''s structure.

    "I see, so there''s a Spirit Wall that exists at the boundary." Leon nodded while reviewing the star map engraved in his mind.

    He always wondered how the starfield was not crushed by the Divine Realm''s ck Hole if it existed inside of it.

    But if there was an incredibly more powerful barrier protecting the realm from the crushing force of the ck Hole''s gravity, it all made sense.

    "Are you fishing for information from me?" Duna was angered by Leon''s remark. She did not like being used.

    However, Leon was quick to shake his head and deny her usation, "Why do you make it sound so bad? I would call it an exchange of information. Since we are so close, it''s normal for us to share our secrets¡­ Don''t be angry, okay?"

    Shortly after he said this, Leon snuck a quick peck on Duna''s cheeks while unprepared.

    Duna was stunned by Leon''s sneaky action for a moment before her expression quickly turned cold, "Do you want to die? I told you that we are not¡ªWatch out!"

    "Hm?!"

    Leon''s expression quickly changed with rm right after Duna''s warning.

    The Blue Luan they standing on was suddenly swept to the side along with the clouds in the area as two incrediblyrger Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan shot through the sky!

    Swoosh~!

    Leon and Duna were swept away by the powerful wind current of these two giant creatures passing through. Even so, Leon held onto Duna firmly while she had her legs wrapped around him during that moment.

    "Don''t let go, no matter what!" Leon shouted as he did his best to dispel the force and regain their bearing.

    Duna nodded her head vigorously while tightening her arms around Leon''s neck.

    Nevertheless, they were able to stabilize their bearing after a short moment of struggle when the mighty wind current weakened and eventually dispelled.

    "What the heck? That Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan are at least three times bigger than the rest of them!" Duna widened her eyes.

    Roar!

    Kree!

    The two grievously wounded birds continued to be locked in a deadly battle while the surrounding Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans shortly flocked over to assist their monarchs.

    "These two must be at the Paragon-level!" Leon quickly determined with a glint.

 Chapter 558 - Troublemaker

    <h4>Chapter 558 - Troublemaker</h4>

    Roar! Roar!

    Kree! Kree!

    Blue Luans flocked over to take the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow while the Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows followed after and attacked them from behind.

    It could be seen that a steady chain ofmand existed within the ranks of the Blue Luans while the Three-Legged Golden Crow just followed their instincts.

    Even so, it still allowed them to help their Paragon-level monarch indirectly.

    Swoosh~! Swoosh~!

    Blood sshed and rained while bursts of solid winds hammered against Leon''s body, pushing him and Duna further and further away from the epicenter of the Paragon-level battle.

    The war between two bird races was fierce, but the intensity was dropping. Given time, one side will fall while the other stands victorious¡ªthat, or the two Paragons both fall in battle!

    Either way, Leon was not interested in sticking around to find out!

    They were like stalks of grass pping in the wind, not knowing when a single instance could cost them their lives.

    After spotting an opening, his eyes immediately brightened, "This is our chance to leave!"

    With that said, he immediately darted through the gap that existed on the Blue Luan''s side and flew away from the big battlefield in the sky!

    "Hey, hey! Aren''t you interested in watching such an exciting battle of this magnitude?" Duna quickly asked with a disappointed expression as they flew further and further away.

    A wry smile appeared on Leon''s face before he helplessly said, "You might be tired of living, but I''m not."

    "But I''m a ghost! How can I still be considered living?" Duna argued.

    "Your body is dead, but isn''t your soul still alive?" Leon''s lips twitched slightly before adding, "You can still die a second time if your soul is destroyed, no?"

    "You''re no fun at all." Duna spat with a crumpled expression while looking back.

    At the same time, Leon furrowed his brows slightly in thought.

    The souls of Divine Origin Realm Practitioners and beyond were strong enough for them to exist without their mortal flesh for a period of time, giving them time to find a new vessel to possess and revive themselves.

    By this train of reasoning, would Duna and Lumi be able to grant themselves a second chance at life if they were also able to find a suitable living vessel to possess?

    Nevertheless, it was only a short passing thought before Leon shook his head of the idea.

    Duna and Lumi were fundamentally different from Divine Practitioners, who had their divine bodies destroyed.

    It could be said that Duna and Lumi''s souls were of the Yin alignment, while the Divine Practitioners'' souls were of the Yang alignment.

    As such, it should not be possible for Duna and Lumi to revive themselvespletely.

    That being said, there was still much to learn about the soul and the universe as a whole. Nothing was impossible unless proven otherwise.

    ¡­

    Shortly after, Leon and Duna broke out from the clouds of the troposphereyer before the surface region was revealed to them.

    "Is this still the Western Frontier?" Leon muttered in shock.

    An enormous rift reced the ckened ground outside of the Great Wall while a roughly 10-thousand ft stretch of the metal wall hung over empty space.

    The burden of the Great Wall''s weight could be seen as it formed a slightly downward curved after losing the support of its foundation.

    At the same time, Duna nced down at the devastation in the region before she whistled, "Wow, those mighty birds sure did some damage in this ce. It''s almost unrecognizable."

    "I hope everyone is safe." Leon smiled bitterly at Duna''s nonchnt attitude before they descended towards the Great Wall.

    Within the enormous chasm of the formed rift, radiant heat of molten earth and frigid mist of frozen soil continued to sh at the center.

    "The power of golden mes and frigid snow is quite strong in these two Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luans. It seems they have awakened a fair bit of thetent power within their ancient bloodline. Is this due to their own efforts or the change brought by the Cataclysm?" Leon mulled.

    "Leon!" A familiar voice called in the distance before Leon noticed Aria''s figure shooting over on her ice-lightning sword.

    However, after Aria discovered Leon''s back was upied by a beautifuldy of pale skin, her excitement dampened before she came to a screeching stop in front of him instead of diving into his arms.

    "Aria." Leon smiled affectionately before his eyes brightened at once, "You broke through to Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent?"

    "Mmn¡­" Aria nodded and wanted to share her experience with Leon, but she restrained herself as they were not alone.

    Her gaze slowly shifted to Duna with a slight frown.

    "Hm?"

    Duna seemed to have noticed something from Aria''a gaze and gave her a provocative and teasing smile after a quick smooch on Leon''s cheeks and wrapping her arms around his neck more firmly.

    Aria''s expression immediately froze.

    Shortly after, she shifted her gaze back to Leon with a questioning look before he sweated. He could feel the gunpowder in the air.

    Aria was usually quite amodating, but at that moment, there were subtle hints of displeasure in her eyes.

    After Leon quickly realized Duna was provoking her, he punished her with a tight squeeze on her rear.

    Unfortunately for Leon, not only did his action failed to stop Duna''s provocation, it even encouraged her as she let out a seductive cry, "Ahn~! You''re so naughty, Leon."

    He immediately cursed in his mind before throwing Duna off his back.

    Duna drew an arc in the air beforending gracefully on her feet some distance away like her body was weightless.

    However, this was not truly the case after she began building her corporeal body with Leon''s pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

    "Sheesh, so angry. It was just a joke¡­ But s, some people are just too sensitive," Duna shrugged nonchntly before she stopped paying attention to the both of them, hopping on the Great Wall''s edge to observe the chasm below.

    Leon found himself quite dismayed by Duna, this troublemaker.

    After rubbing his forehead with distress for a moment, he returned his attention to Aria and asked, "How''s the situation? Is everyone alright?"

 Chapter 559 - Dunas Potty Mouth

    <h4>Chapter 559 - Duna''s Potty Mouth</h4>

    Seeing Leon was from Duna''s clutches, Aria finally dived into his chest before giving the female spirit a narrowed look over his shoulders.

    However, Duna did not even nce back.

    She continued to sit on the edge of the Great Wall with dangling feet and continued to observe the enormous rift below while listening to the wall''s creaking sound.

    "The Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan''s battle came abruptly. We were unable to save everyone¡­" Aria shook her head and began answering Leon''s question, "Quite a few people have lost their lives, but we did what we could to save everyone that could be saved."

    "Un. Some casualties are expected when disasters strike so suddenly. As long as you know you did your best, there''s no need to feel burdened by the inevitable," Leon rubbed Aria''s head, thinking she neededfort.

    "Mm." Aria enjoyed Leon''s caress for a moment before she hesitated, "It''s just that¡­"

    "It''s just that¡­?"

    "Duke Ignis went missing."

    "What?" Leon shortly pulled away from Aria before gazing into her eyes directly with shock, "Duke Ignis went missing?"

    Aria nodded.

    "Duke Ignis was believed to be working inside the nearby forges when the ground copsed and swallowed by the rift."

    After hearing this, Leon fell silent.

    However, it was not long before Duna suddenly uttered, "Hey, there seem to be some people still alive down there."

    Leon quickly made his way to Duna''s side and nced down into the rift with narrowed eyes. He followed Duna''s pointed finger towards the molten side before he noticed a few figures moving ever slightly.

    "Duke Ignis might still be alive." Leon eximed with surprise before he directed, "Stay here. I will go down and check by myself. You two might get hurt by the golden mes."

    "Have fun," Duna said casually.

    Aria gave her re before nodding to Leon, "Be careful."

    "Rest assure, Aria. If a few cksmiths can survive the golden mes and scorching heat down there, I should be fine," Leon smiled.

    He found it quite fortunate that the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow''s awakened bloodline was not very high.

    It had terrifying brute strength, but its golden mes were far from being on the same level.

    Shortly after Leon descended down towards the molten side, the scorching temperatures quickly rose the closer he approached.

    cksmiths were lucky to still be alive due to their cultivation at the 3-Star Ranked Awakener Realm, but their bodies were scorched badly.

    As for everyone else below this level, it seemed that they did not make it.

    Leon channeled Wood Energy in his hands and grabbed the few badly-scorched cksmiths out of the molten soil and brought them back to safety.

    After popping Tier 2 All-Purpose Healing Pills into their mouths, Leon resumed his search for Duke Ignis at the bottom.

    However, Duke Ignis was nowhere to be seen.

    Back on the Great Wall, Aria shifted her attention back on Duna after being left alone together.

    "What''s your rtionship with Leon?" Aria inquired carefully.

    "Hm?" Duna turned her head towards Aria before nonchntly responded, "What does that have to do with you?"

    "I''m his wife!" Aria spouted with a subtle blush.

    "Wife, huh? I don''t see your wedding ring anywhere." Duna stated with amusement while studying Aria''s expression.

    However, Aria quickly lifted up her hand and showed Duna her ck Interspatial Ring, "This is my wedding ring!"

    The red shade on Aria''s cheek grew deeper at her own lies.

    Although Aria and Leon had acknowledged each other as husband and wife, they had yet to undergo the official rites of the wedding ceremony.

    "That''s a wedding ring?" Duna''s lips twitched slightly after gazing at the ck ring. If her soulmate gave her such an ugly and cheap-looking wedding ring, she would butcher the person.

    "Well, whatever works, I suppose." Duna shrugged nonchntly before deciding to answer Aria''s previous question, "We are¡­"

    After a brief pause, her lips curved slightly before she decided to spout, "We are f*ck buddies, I suppose."

    "W-W-What did you just say?" Aria was immediately dumbfounded by what came out of Duna''s mouth. It was not that she did not hear it, but that she could not believe it.

    How can ady that looks so innocent and pure like Duna in her white snowy dress and fair skin say such a thing?

    "You heard it correctly. We are f*ck buddies!" Duna grinned wicked.

    "Stop saying that!" Aria''s face was flushed more deeply than when she was spouting lies about her own marriage. "How can ady say such a thing?"

    "What''s the big deal? It''s not like you are chaste anymore. Why the need to act innocent? Why don''t you tell me about your experiences, and I''ll share mine with you too?" Duna suggested with a casual look.

    "This isn''t even about being chaste or not! It''s about the conservativeness of a properdy!" Aria felt her face burning with embarrassment when faced with Duna''s straightforwardness. "Don''t you feel any shame?"

    "You want to preach to me about being a properdy? Me? A spirit? Really? What is shame? Can it be eaten? There are really only three you should remember about me; I say whatever I want, do whatever, and f*ck whoever I want." Duna spoke with three fingers raised before she added after a brief pause, "But then again, I''m not all that interested in this matter, and we are only f*ck buddies in spirit."

    "What does that even mean?" Aria''s raised her brow in confusion. To begin with, how can a human and spirit do ''that'' together?

    Duna grinned before she said, "The literal meaning. If you want to hear more about it, I don''t mind telling you about our pleasurable experience together. Come closer. I''ll tell you all about it~!"

    "I''m not interested in listening!" Aria spat with a red face before she hopped onto her ice-lightning sword and fled towards the Elder Tree''s direction like a frightened rabbit.

    Duna looked at Aria'' retreating back and smirked smugly and proudly in triumph, ''Want topete with me? You''re too green, little girl!''

 Chapter 560 - A Lucky Chance

    <h4>Chapter 560 - A Lucky Chance</h4>

    While searching the molten ground inside the vast rift, Leon furrowed his brows before spreading his divine sense.

    However, all he found were a few broken parts of scorched corpses belonging to weaker cksmiths like how charcoal would crack apart like chalk.

    Duke Ignis was nowhere to be seen.

    "With Duke Ignis''s strength, his body shouldn''t be among one of these scorched corpses," Leon muttered with a frown.

    He was not aware of what level his future father-inw had reached in his cultivation, but he was confident that Duke Ignis was the strongest Fire Awakener within the group of cksmiths.

    It did not make sense for such a person to fall while 3-Star Ranked Awakeners survived, albeit with a single breath of life left in them.

    "Hm? The moltenva is flowing into the tiny passageways, leading deeper into the subterranean world. Could Duke Ignis have been swept inside one of these passages?" Leon''s frown deepened in thought.

    At the same time, more Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans began falling out of the skies over time, crashing into the ground with heavy thuds.

    Their robust bodies formed craters from the impact while their blood sttered out from their pre-existing wounds umted in battle.

    Even in death, their slightly awakened bloodline did not stop affecting their surroundings as their blood either burned the already corroded battlefield or slowly froze the ckened soil in the region.

    Back on the Great Wall, the cksmiths quickly showed signs of recovering under the medicinal effect of Tier 2 All-Purpose Healings Pills.

    Even so, the healing pills were limited in their degree of healing due to the range of damage inflicted on the cksmiths'' bodies.

    They were pulled out from the jaws of death, but their fleshly bodies were scabbed all over, making them painfully sore and unable to move.

    "This beautifuldy, will you be so kind as to escort us back to the Elder Tree so we can receive some treatment from the elves?" A cksmith requested after he managed to open his eyes and spotted Duna seated on the edge of the wall.

    Duna casually nced back at the cksmiths lying on the floor with ckened skin while pus oozed out from some cracks in between as new skin was formed underneath.

    "Not interested." Duna spat.

    "You¡­" The cksmith was triggered by Duna''s heartless response. However, he quickly restrained his anger before formally said, "I am a Baron of this empire. If you take me to seek the elves'' treatment, I will reward you handsomely. Otherwise¡­"

    "Otherwise, what?" Duna immediately narrowed her eyes coldly with a dangerous glint. Her malevolent aura surged outwards before she questioned the cksmith, "Are you going to threaten me?"

    "You¡­ you''re not human!" The cksmith''s face was quickly drained of blood under Duna''s intimidation.

    At the same time, the other wounded cksmiths were also rmed. However, they kept their silence for fear of getting implicated.

    "That''s right. I''m a ghost, and a devil. If you want to ask a favor from a devil, you have to pay the price!" Duna stated menacingly.

    The cksmith shivered slightly before asking, "May I ask what sort of price that is?"

    "Hmm¡­ how about you offer your souls to me?" Duna licked her lips.

    The cksmiths were immediately shocked.

    Such a small favor required their souls as payment? Isn''t that the same as asking for their life? Thisdy really is a devil!

    "Hold on, aren''t you a friend of His Highness? You''re just scaring us, right? We are in so much pain. Can''t you just help us out a little?" A cksmith suddenly mentioned.

    "Ah? Is that so? I was wondering there was a ghost here¡­" Another cksmith uttered before saying, "Please help us out, Miss Ghost. This pain is unbearable."

    "Quit cryin'' like little bitches over a little bit of pain and wait patiently. Help wille to you soon enough!" Duna spat after her fun was ruined before she added with indifference, "And the name''s Duna, not some Miss Ghost."

    The cksmiths were immediately silenced with bitter looks.

    They were scorched from top to bottom. Even though new flesh was formed underneath, causing their charred skin to be scabs, the mixture of pain and itchiness was killing them.

    Nevertheless, Duna did not lie.

    After some time passed, a group of elven warriors really dide to pick them up. Evidently, they only arrived after Aria departed earlier to inform the elves.

    Meanwhile, somewhere deeper inside the subterranean world filled with flowing magma, Duke Ignis''s scorched body was carried with the current.

    After passing through a long underground passageway, his body was spat back into the open space before plunging into a pool of boiling hot water at the center and bottommost parts of the vast rift.

    The remnant element power of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan was strong in this area.

    Although the Blue Luan''s icicle powers were melted into boiling water with rising steam by the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s golden mes at the bottom, it was not entirely evaporated by the heat.

    Gallons of blood could be seen at the very bottom of the boiling pool as their elemental powers of fire and ice continued to sh.

    After Duke Ignis''s scorched body appeared and fell into this pool, Leon was quick to discover.

    However, Leon only flew for a short moment before he suddenly paused in the air and silently gazed down at the boiling pool with a raised eyebrow.

    "Duke Ignis''s scorched body is already beginning to absorb the Fiery Energy inside the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s blood. This could be his lucky chance to achieve a breakthrough in the revised [Fiery God Manual]¡­" Leon''s eyes flickered in observation.

    He could see that while Duke Ignis''s body was scorched from top to bottom without a single hair left on his head, he was in a fair better situationpared to the other cksmiths, who only had a single breath of life left in them when he found them.

    Duke Ignis''s disaster was actually a blessing in disguise.

    "Perhaps, only Fire Awakeners can follow the authentic practice of the true [Divine Fiery God Manual] that father and I were unable to back in the Divine Realm¡­"

 Chapter 561 - Assimilating Bloodline

    <h4>Chapter 561 - Assimting Bloodline</h4>

    [Divine Fiery God Manual]

    Without tempering the body in fire and undergo the baptism of a thousand mes, how can one ever hope to achieve significant progress in this technique?

    A True Fire God fears no fire.

    The Divine Medicine King had practiced this technique to the Divine King Realm, but that was the height of his achievement.

    The tempering of true fire cannot be the same as the tempering of fire-attribute Spirit Energy.

    Even so, the tempering of true fire was not something a Divine Practitioner could aplish with their weak bodies.

    Only Fire Awakeners can withstand true fire tempering with their Fire Laws and higher resistance to mes.

    While Leon was astonished by this discovery, he did not express any interest in practicing the [Divine Fiery God Manual] again.

    "This is the Lancaster family''s heritage and destiny now. I have my own path to follow." Leon muttered softly.

    As Leon observed Duke Ignis subconsciously absorbing Fiery Energy inside the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow''s blood inside the pool, he suddenly frowned.

    "As father-inw absorbs more Fiery Energy from the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s blood, the temperature in the pool drops due to the Blue Luan''s blood¡­" Leon''s frown deepened in observation, "At this rate, he will freeze before he can achieve anything out of the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s blood."

    Once he came to this conclusion, Leon immediately flew out of the vast rift before gazing at his surroundings.

    After spotting the bodies of Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows in the distance, he immediately shot over and picked up two of them with his vice-like grips and brute strength.

    Even with 500-thousand jin of raw physical strength, two Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows was his limit due to their sheer size and weight of 300 feet and 200-thousand jin, respectively.

    The Wrathful Demonic Energy hidden inside the two Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crow''s carcasses were immediately absorbed into Leon''s body before he proceeded to drain their slightly awakened blood into the pool.

    "The power of these Three-Legged Golden Crows'' golden mes are pretty weak inparison to the Paragon-level one. However, I can only make do with them for now¡­"

    Leon furrowed his brows slightly.

    "It''ll be a bit risky going back for the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow''s blood, not to mention the distance and time it will take¡­"

    Shortly after the golden blood waspletely drained into the pool below, Leon tossed the 300-foot big carcasses over to the vast rift''s frozen side with brute strength.

    Boom!

    Therge carcassesnded with a heavy thud before the frigid energy in the area quickly crawled onto the Three-Legged Golden Crows'' bodies and preserved them in ayer of ice.

    Leon was a little bit curious about how the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s meat would taste. As such, it was a good idea for him to preserve them just in case they be spoiled.

    Shortly after he was done with the two carcasses, Leon went to fetch more Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crow''s carcasses he could find in the area.

    "Good stuff should be shared with everyone. It would be a waste if we just leave all this potential food lying around out here to rot¡­" Leon quietly mulled while carrying out his task.

    At the same time, he could sense Duke Ignis''s absorption rate of Fiery Energy growing faster by the minute.

    He definitely did not have time to fly back to watch the Paragons battle.

    Meanwhile, the elven warriors were utterly shocked by Leon''s disy of brute strength. One of them even dropped the cksmith they were carrying back onto the Great Wall.

    Thud!

    "Ahh, f*ck! Be careful, please!" The cksmith cried after hitting the hard metallic floor.

    The elven warrior was immediately embarrassed before he apologized, "Sorry about that, Sir cksmith. The Savior''s physical strength was simply so astonishing, it left me dumbfounded."

    Several nearby elven warriors also expressed simr thoughts.

    The other cksmiths were intrigued after listening. However, the elven warrior shortly took them away to get treated by the Elder Tree after they insisted.

    They simply could not stand the mixture of pain and itchiness.

    After they were gone, only Duna remained behind on the Great Wall as she continued to sit on the edge and quietly observed Leon.

    "Interesting¡­ his strength has grown by leaps and bounds within such a short time since west met¡­" Duna narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, "It definitely has something to do with his pseudo-Grandmist Energy. How is he procuring them?"

    Although they were not True Grandmist Energy, the source of Divinities, pseudo-Grandmist Energy, was still far more effective than any other avable energy source in building her corporeal body.

    "I need to get stronger¡­ for mine and Lumi''s sake." Duna lifted her head and shifted her gaze to the sun with narrowed eyes, "The world is running out of time."

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon drained the blood from his tenth Three-Legged Golden Crow before adding the carcass to his collection on the vast rift''s frozen side.

    At that moment, the water pool had already be a viscious pool of golden blood, and Duke Ignis''s consciousness was recovered.

    After realizing Leon''s efforts and receiving the original version of the [Divine Fiery God Manual] via transmission, Duke Ignis nodded gratefully before focusing wholeheartedly on practicing the technique.

    Fiery Energy gathered into his body with quickened pace, searing his insides with their high heat.

    However, the pain was nothingpared to the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow''s mes that scorched his body ck.

    He endured the painful tempering and allowed the Fiery Energy to refine, reforged, and transformed his body while traces of the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s bloodline was also absorbed into his body.

    "Hm?" Leon noticed the small detail.

    "Father-inw managed to absorb the Golden Crow''s bloodline for himself? Would this affect the practice of the [Divine Fiery God Manual] in any way?" Leon quietly mused before he sensed Duke Ignis''s surging vitality.

    Shortly after, the surface of Duke Ignis''s ckened skin cracked apart.

    His body shed off its scorched flesh and revealed ayer of new skin underneath that glowed with a crimson tint due to the exuberant boiling blood within Duke Ignis''s body.

    "Haaaa!"

    With a sudden howl, Duke Ignis made a breakthrough in his technique as his body surged with golden mes!

 Chapter 562 - Not Going To Lie, I May Have F*cked Up

    <h4>Chapter 562 - Not Going To Lie, I May Have F*cked Up</h4>

    "Bahahaha!" Duke Ignis''sughed raucously after his howl.

    His mighty voice traveled in all directions as he felt his bare body''s surging with strength¡ªstrength that an average human would not possess.

    "So this is what it feels like to have a powerful body? I feel I could break mountains with my bare hands!" Duke Ignis eximed as he clenched his fist and felt the vigorous blood coursing through his body.

    The scalding hot pool of blood became no different from a dip in lukewarm waters.

    Shortly after, the golden mes were retracted into Duke Ignis''s bare body before he shot out of the blood pool.

    "Hahaha, my precious son-inw! This is all thanks to you!" Duke Ignis flew towards Leon with a burst of heartyughter.

    At that moment, he felt like he could go toe to toe with a Transcendent, even if his own Awakening Cultivation had yet to reach Transcendence.

    While Leon understood Duke Ignis''s joy, he did not share the same sentiments.

    Seeing a naked grown man rushing straight towards him for a bear hug, his face quickly lost its color before he barked, "Hold it right there! Don''te any closer!"

    "Ugh." Duke Ignis froze in midair as bursts of golden mes from the soles of his feet kept him levitating before he asked, "Why?"

    ''Why, you say?!''

    Leon immediately rolled his eyes at Duke Ignis''s question before he sshed the person with some bathwater found inside his Worldspace, cleansing Duke Ignis''s dripping body in bird blood.

    Shortly after, a set of clothes were tossed over to Duke Ignis.

    "Thanks,"

    Duke Ignis epted Leon''s spare set of clothes and expressed his gratitude blindly before Leon inquired, "How are you feeling?"

    However, shortly after asking, Leon''s expression immediately froze.

    A patch of white stain could be seen on Duke Ignis''s shiny bald head.

    "Great! In fact, I never felt better!" Duke Ignis answered enthusiastically before his nose suddenly twitched.

    After wiping his head, he found some white gooey substance in his hand before he asked, "Is this¡­?!"

    "Not going to lie, I may or may not have sshed you with my used bathwater¡­" Leon covered his mouth with an aghasted expression that seemed to say he definitely f*cked up.

    Listening to Leon''s words, Duke Ignis''s face immediately spasmed before he broke into outrage, "Some used bathwater, you say?! This is more than just some used bathwater!¡ªArghh!"

    With an anguished roar, Duke Ignis erupted into golden mes and incinerated all the filth that might have gotten on his body.

    Even bathing in bird blood would have been more pleasant than this!

    "My mother might be looking for you. Father-inw should go see what she needs from you¡­" Leon''s voice trickled into Duke Ignis from a distance as he was quick to flee the area.

    "Hmph!" Duke Ignis growled with discontent before he spat, "I will deal with youter!"

    Duke Ignis flew out from the vast rift and went to find Elizabeth in the direction of the Elder Tree.

    "Looks like I''m saved for now¡­" Leon heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that Duke Ignis did not actively pursue the matter.

    Duna gracefully flew over to Leon''s side from the Great Wall before she curiously asked while ncing back at Duke Ignis''s departing figure, "Didn''t you just helped him breakthrough? Why was he so angry?"

    "This¡­ Alright, I will tell you¡ªbut don''t tell anymore else."

    "Alright, I promise you."

    Shortly after, Leon began to whisper the details into Duna''s ears before¡­

    Pfft!

    Duna immediately broke into loud peals ofughter, "Bahahaha! You, what?! You sshed your future father-inw in the same bathwater you used to have fun with Aria in?!"

    "Shhh¡ª!" Leon''s expression immediately darkened with a hushed tone, "Didn''t you promise not to tell anyone?!"

    "Who am I telling? I just talking to myself¡ªHahaha! You''re killing me! This is too funny!" Duna continued tough while hugging her stomach before she suddenly thought, "Oh, but I am already dead. Ahaha, just a little ghost joke."

    In the distance, Duke Ignis heard Duna''s voice and almost puked blood from excessive before he roared, "Better prepare yourself next time we meet, Leon!"

    Meanwhile, Leon''s expression became beyond terrible to behold.

    Seeing him like this, Duna''sughter shortly died down before she felt a tiny hint of guilt, "Ahem, you cannot me me for this. You should know better than to trust a Devil''s words."

    "Hmph!" Leon snorted before shooting back down into the vast rift to collect his frozen meat.

    However, his ears suddenly twitched before he nced up into the skies.

    Shhhh¡ª!

    The massive bodies of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan could be seen plunging out of the skies.

    Even Paragons were not infallible!

    Boom!

    The two Paragons crashed heavily with great impact, forming two new craters just outside the vast rift.

    "The Paragons have fallen!" Leon''s immediately brightened before he thought, "Their bodies are considered heavenly treasures in and of themselves."

    Leon quickly shot back out of the vast rift after storing the ten frozen Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows into his Worldspace.

    However, before he could get close to the Paragons'' carcasses, his expression abruptly changed before he began retreating instead.

    Caw! Caw!

    Kree! Kree!

    The two flocks of Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans descended from the skies like intertwining vines.

    As they were locked into battle, they continued to approach their fallen monarchs, whose bodies were riddled with wounds of various sizes.

    In a short instance, the area was swarmed with giant birds as they fought on both ground and air within the vicinity of their fallen monarchs.

    "Are they trying to protect the fallen Paragons? No, that can''t be it. These Three-Legged Golden Crows have all gone berserk. They would not consider such a thing¡­"

    Afternding on the Great Wall, Leon carefully observed before his eyes suddenly widened in discovery, "No, they want to¡­!!"

    Three-Legged Golden Crows bit into the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow''s flesh, while Blue Luans bit into the Paragon-level Blue Luan''s flesh!

    All of this happened while the two sides still tried to kill off each other!

 Chapter 563 - This Isnt Over!

    <h4>Chapter 563 - This Isn''t Over!</h4>

    Looking at the scene of two flocks of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans trying to devour their own their fallen Paragons, Duna was astonished.

    "Why are they eating their own kind? I can understand if it''s just the berserk Three-Legged Golden Crows, but why are the Blue Luansmitting cannibalism as well?" Duna asked with surprise.

    "It''s because they want to absorb the Paragon''s awakened bloodline and enrich their own bloodline!" Leon exined without shifting his gaze away from the scene.

    Shortly after, Duna nced back with interest, "So for a chance to be stronger, they would not hesitate to eat their own kind. How primitive."

    "This is just how the world works ording to thews of the jungle; survival of the fittest." Leon shook his head and spoke, "Absorbing their Paragon''s bloodline won''t just give them a chance to be stronger¡ªbut also be the new Alpha of the pack."

    "Hmm, I see¡­" Duna hummed before she noticed Leon''s summoned spear, "What are you doing?"

    "Me? I''m going to join the fray," Leon stated with a decisive glint.

    Duna immediately furrowed her brows and said, "You might have grown stronger, but your strength is onlyparable to the middle-stages of Rank 1 Transcendents. You''re going to get yourself killed!"

    "If I die, then I''ll be a ghost like you and keep youpany," Leon flirted with a soft chuckle, catching Duna unprepared as she was stunned.

    However, Duna quickly recovered after a brief moment before she coldly said, "This is not the time for jokes!"

    "Are you that worried about me?" Leon asked.

    "I-Idiot, where did you go and get that idea from? It''s not you that I''m worried about! I''m just worried about losing my only energy supplier!"

    "Don''t worry. Even if I die, I''ll make sure to supply you with plenty of ''energy'' before that happens," Leon chuckled.

    Duna''s expression immediately turned frosty before she coldly spat, "Do you want to die?!"

    "It''s a joke¡­ hahaha¡­" Leon''sugh became more forced under her surging malevolent aura. It seemed that she understood the hidden insinuation in his words.

    Shortly after Leon stopped teasing Duna, his expression turned serious.

    "The berserk Three-Legged Golden Crow''s numbers need to be reduced. If the Blue Luan''s side loses the battle, the berserk Three-Legged Golden Crows will eventually turn their attention on the people behind me." He exined.

    Duna immediately wrinkled her expression.

    However, before Duna could say anything, Leon shook his head and quickly added, "You seem to be looking down on me. My strength has indeed grown by leaps and bounds, but I am not overestimating myself here."

    "If we were still deep inside the sky suppression zone, I would not have dared to join the fight at all. But since we are on the ground, I am at least confident in keeping my life. Besides, this is a chance to befriend the Blue Luan tribe." Leon exined.

    After listening, Duna silently nodded and gave up persuading Leon otherwise. She understood his reasons and knew that it was no use.

    "Oh? Are you joining me?" Leon asked after seeing Duna standing up from her seated position.

    "Hmph, you''re still weak! If I don''t tag along, who knows if you will really lose your life or not?!" Duna said snappishly.

    The corners of Leon''s lips quickly rose before he said with a smile, "So you are concerned about me after all."

    "I¡ª" Duna froze for a moment before she coldly spat, "Nonsense! I am just bored and wanted to exercise my corporeal body a little! Hmph, even if you are not going, I will still go without you!"

    "Hmm¡­ Is that so?" Leon''s smile grew bigger, turning into a grin as he watched Duna changed her reason for tagging along while averting her eyes.

    Duna snuck a few nces back at Leon, but she was suddenly caught as their eyes met, causing her to feel deeply embarrassed inside.

    However, his cheeky grin quickly pissed her off.

    "What are you looking at?! Hurry up and f*ck off already! Go kill some birds or something before I kill you myself!" Duna coldly snapped.

    Leon immediately burst intoughter before shooting off.

    He did not take her threats seriously and even wanted to add something. But he was afraid that if he said it, she might really attack him.

    "Hmph!" Duna snorted after Leon left.

    After a short moment, she also took flight from the Great Wall and followed behind, heading straight towards the Three-Legged Golden Crow and Blue Luan''s enormous battlefield on the other end of the vast rift.

    ¡­

    On the eastern side of the Elder Tree, Duke Ignis saw the gathering of humans and elves preparing to depart from the region.

    After spotting Queen Elizabeth directing people at the helm of the crowd, he descended towards her location before quickly asking, "Your Majesty, I heard you were looking for me?"

    "Ignis? You''re alive! That''s great!" Elizabeth eximed with joy. She could not imagine how devastated Amelia will be if she learned of his death.

    Shortly after, Elizabeth quickly added, "I had some vague hopes when I saw the elven warriors carried back a few cksmiths. Still, no one could even get close when the Paragons were still fighting down there. How on earth did you even survive?"

    "Hm?" Duke Ignis frowned after noticing some discrepancy in his information.

    How could Elizabeth be looking for him if she did not even know he was alive? Would she be looking for his corpse instead?

    Duke Ignis quickly realized that he had been fooled into leaving by Leon before he silently cussed, ''That brat! This isn''t over! Hmph!''

    Shortly after, Duke Ignis began to recount his vague memories to Elizabeth.

    Meanwhile, on the southern side of the Elder Tree, a new thundercloud could be seen rapidly growing in the sky.

    However, no one was rmed by its appearance. Everyone saw when it first expanded from within Aria''s body.

    After it fully formed in the sky, the weather quickly dropped before hail descended for only a short period as humans and elves began collecting the ice blocks, stocking up on their water supply for the long trip.

 Chapter 564 - Prideful Blue Luans

    <h4>Chapter 564 - Prideful Blue Luans</h4>

    In the busy crowd of the joint human-elf camp, a group of soldiers rushed with quickened steps.

    "General Marquis Hendrick!" The soldiers immediately saluted upon their arrival.

    The General Marquis quickly frowned before he barked, "What is it? Report!"

    "Yes, general! His Highness is fighting the Three-Legged Golden Crows!"

    "What did you say?" General Marquis Hendrick''s eyes widened for a moment before he nodded, "I understand. You may leave."

    "Yes, general!"

    Shortly after, General Marquis Hendrick went to seek out Queen Elizabeth with a serious look.

    At the same time, news of Prince Leon joining the big battle between Three-Legged Golden Crowd and Blue Luans was spread throughout the camp.

    When the news reached Aria, she quickly dropped whatever she was doing and rushed towards the west to join.

    The looming thunderclouds followed her shortly after.

    "You''re not going to save your son, Your Majesty?" General Marquis Hendrick inquired while ncing at Elizabeth''s clenched fist at the corner of his eyes.

    "No." Elizabeth sighed before she said with a sharp glint, "My son isn''t someone that needs saving. He wouldn''t do something so dangerous without some level of guarantee. Besides, someone already went before me."

    Elizabeth nced at Aria''s figure flying on her ice-lightning sword in the distance before getting back to business, "How''s the preparation?"

    "With the current rate of progress, everything should be packed and ready within the next four hours, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick answered after recovering from his surprise.

    "Hmm¡­".Elizabeth frowned for a moment before she shook her head, "Four hours is too long. Make it two. I wanted these people moved to the Grasnd Region as soon as possible. Can you do it?"

    "I will make it happen, Your Majesty." General Marquis Hendrick patted his chest with resolution.

    "Good! I''m counting on you, general." Elizabeth nodded.

    ¡­

    "You look like you join them." Princess Thessalia nced at her baby sister in question.

    Faelyn''s hand shook slightly while gazing into the distant west before she sighed, "My strength is not high, and my battle experience is even worse. I will get only get in the way if I join the battle."

    "I''m relieved that you are aware of that. Here I thought that I would have to persuade you otherwise." Princess Thessalia patted her chest with a soft sigh.

    Shortly after, she shook her head andforted Faelyn, "You can''t join now, doesn''t mean you won''t be able to join forever. Once we are done settling down our people, I can teach you how to fight if you want."

    "Un, thank you, sister."

    "However, I don''t really encourage it. You''re not really suited for battle. But there are alternative ways in which you could of help to Prince Leon." Thessalia added before she was lost in her own thoughts.

    "Some other ways I can be of help, huh¡­?" Faelyn muttered softly before she pondered with furrowed brows in silence.

    Leon seemed to be good at everything. What could she possibly be of help with?

    ¡­

    Boom!

    On the enormous battlefield ofnd and sky, Leon shot straight into the back of a Three-Legged Golden Crow with lightning-quick speed.

    Caw! Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow immediately pped its wings furiously after getting drilled by Leon''s Tier 4 Bone Spear.

    It tried to shake him off but to no avail.

    With his sturdy hands gripped tightly on his bone spear, he stuck to the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s back like glue.

    "Go away, puny human! This fight doesn''t concern you!" A Blue Luan spoke in the human tongue after noticing erratic behaviors in its opponent.

    Leon was slightly surprised by the Blue Luan''s talk, but he quickly shook his head, "I''m afraid it does! If your side cannot win, these Three-Legged Golden Crows will cause trouble for my side!"

    Despite getting engulfed in the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s Golden mes, Leon showed slight changes in his expression.

    The weak mes were not able to harm him.

    "Are you looking down on us, puny human?!" The Blue Luan cried with anger. It felt the pride of its race getting challenged by a mere human.

    "I wouldn''t dare. However, it is clear that you need help!"

    After saying this, Leon quickly increased his grip on the bone spear and dragged it along the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s back!

    A long but shallow wound was drawn on the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s back, running all the way toward its head!

    Caw! Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried furiously.

    After a quick frown, Leon immediately leaped up from Three-Legged Golden Crow''s back. His arms bulged with raw power and muscles before he mmed back down on its head with his spear!

    Boom!

    The bone spear directly shot through the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s head!

    It easily tore through the hard skull before wreaking havoc in the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s brain under Leon''s Divine Will. Brain juice and matter spurted out from the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s orifices before its eyes quickly lost their colors.

    Shortly after, the Three-Legged Golden Crow''srge body fell out of the sky and crashed on the ground with a heavy thud.

    After the Three-Legged Golden Crow died, Leon nced back at the Blue Luan without fear as it loomed over his head with an oppressive aura.

    "Even if your side wins, how many of your kind will be left in the end? I only wish to help and befriend your race." Leon changed his stance.

    The Blue Luans were descendants of the Ice Phoenix. Even if they did not inherit all of their ancestor''s divine bloodline, they certainly inherited all of its pride.

    They are an excessively proud race like the dragons!

    The Blue Luan nced down at Leon dangerously in silence for a moment before it finally decided to speak to Leon.

    "What said is not without reason, and it appears that I have also looked down on your strength. You have certainly proved yourself. However, know this; we did not request your help! It is you wanted to help¡ª"

    Boom!

    The Blue Luan was interrupted by the strike of another Three-Legged Golden Crow before it cried furiously!

    Kree!

    "Fight first, talkter!" Leon nodded before quickly shooting off in the direction of another Three-Legged Golden Crow to hunt.

    Nevertheless, the Blue Luan made its words clear.

    With their pride, they would not lower themselves to request Leon''s help¡­ But if Leon helped them on his own ord, they have nothing toin about.

 Chapter 565 - Each Persons Methods

    <h4>Chapter 565 - Each Person''s Methods</h4>

    Within a flock of Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans duking it out in the skies above the Paragons'' carcasses, a ghostly figure flew silently from one Three-Legged Golden Crow''s head to the next.

    Each visit would result in only one ending for the Three-Legged Golden Crow, death.

    Afternding gracefully on the head of another Three-Legged Golden Crow, Duna could be seen patting the berserk Three-Legged Golden Crow''s head gently.

    However, her gentle pats were akin to the kiss of death.

    If one observed carefully, the power of the Profound Law of Death gathered into the tips of her palms before invading the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s head and eroded its brain with Death Energy.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow''s crimson eyes changed to grey, then ultimately ck, before it closed its eyes andpsed into eternal sleep.

    Duna''s method of killing was effortless like a Reaper of Death, harvesting lives as she pleased.

    But at the same time, her method spared the berserk Three-Legged Golden Crows from a torturous and painful death.

    It was graceful like an art.

    By the time Leon slew his second Three-Legged Golden Crow, Duna was already done with her fifth.

    It was not long before the rest of the Blue Luans realized that they had little helpers fighting the Three-Legged Golden Crows alongside them.

    However, they carried on with their own battles, silently epting the help without a word.

    Shortly after, Duna shifted her gaze back to check on Leon''s side before realizing Leon did not have any difficulties with his own battles.

    Her brows furrowed slightly before flying over with a question, "Why aren''t these Three-Legged Golden Crows attacking you?"

    "Unless I directly after them or fall into their direct line of sight, the Blue Luans are a bigger problem as far as the Three-Legged Golden Crows are concerned in their berserk state," Leon exined.

    "Did you know this beforehand?" Duna raised an eyebrow.

    However, Leon smiled lightly without answering.

    Sometimeter, Aria arrived on her ice-lightning sword and immediately shot into battle with lightning speed!

    Bzzt!

    Ten ice-lightning swords were conjured in an instance before flying off to find their own targets!

    However, the ice-lightning swords quickly bounced off when Aria manipted them to prate the Three-Legged Golden Crows'' heads.

    After a quick frowned, Aria immediately changed her tactic and targeted their weakness.

    Very quickly, ice-lightning swords found their way into the eyes of the Three-Legged Golden Crows, wreaking havoc in their heads before exiting out the remaining eyes.

    Caw! Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crows cried and squirmed painfully on the ground before their torturous deaths without surprise.

    "Why did youe?"

    "Why you go, I will follow."

    Leon smiled wryly. But shortly after, he noticed the hems of Aria''s dress were burned, reduced to ashes.

    His expression turned solemn before he warned, "Be careful of their Golden mes. Their attention is locked onto the Blue Luans, but we shouldn''t underestimate their strengths."

    "Mn, I will be more careful." Aria nodded sweetly.

    Shortly after the thundercloud was brought over with its crackling lightning, Aria began to exert the true strength of an Ice-Lightning Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent.

    "Don''t hurt the Blue Luans. We are helping them to help ourselves." Leon spoke with a hint of nervousness, seeing the lightning dance wildly.

    If the Blue Luans were also attacked by them, they would have to prepare themselves for the Blue Luan''s wrath.

    Leon could not see their chances of winning in that scenario.

    "Un, I got it." Aria pouted slightly.

    With their current rtionship, she could easily guess Leon''s intention from just a few clues and actions made by him. There was no need to warn her.

    Even so, Leon felt that important things must be mentioned at least once.

    "Bahahaha! Why didn''t you also invite this old man to join you, young prince?" The Supreme Elder''s voice trickled over from a distance.

    Swoosh~!

    A strong gush of wind blew past as the Supreme Elder came to an abrupt stopped nearby with the strong p of his vine wings before shooting a strengthened vine spear in hand like a javelin toss.

    Caw!

    A Three-Legged Golden Crow cried in the distance shortly after.

    The vine speared had pierced straight into its eyes before it proliferated inside its head, wrappings its vines around the target''s brain before tightening.

    Caw! Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried even more terribly in agony before its brains were turned to mush. Blood spurted out from its orifices before it dropped out of the sky with a heavy thud, motionless¡ªlike its life had been literally squeezed out of it.

    Soldiers stationed inside the remains of Military City could have heard the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s horrific cries over the long distance.

    Few soldiers immediately paled with uneasiness like they could have imagined the insufferable agony the Three-Legged Golden Crow experienced before its gruesome death.

    "Are you really a nature-loving elf?" Leon questioned the Supreme Elder with his lips twitching. The Three-Legged Golden Crow''s cry was very jarring.

    "Ahem, I am an elf without a doubt, but I don''t know about nature-loving." Supreme Elder Haldir coughed embarrassedly before he said, "Perhaps, my method was a little too gruesome¡­"

    "Oh, you don''t say?" Leon responded wryly before shooting back into battle, where the Three-Legged Golden Crows could be seen gathered around the Paragons.

    He did not want to give the Paragon''s precious blood to any of these Three-Legged Golden Crow! Such precious treasures should be saved for the people around him!

    The Supreme Elder was about to join the fray when a Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan''s towering figure appeared before him¡ªlooking down on him with a repulsive look even.

    "Your methods disgust me, elf." The Blue Luan spat.

    "The Three-Legged Golden Crows might be our enemy, but they were once a proud race of birds like us! Even if they have lost their minds, this is not how they should be treated!"

    Swoosh~!

    The proud Blue Luan pped its wings at the Supreme Elder with a domineering ir in warning before flying back off into battle.

    "Don''t let me see such an unsightly thing again!" Its voice trickled into the Supreme Elder''s ears from a distance shortly after.

    ''These birds are more cocky and proud than the peacocks themselves!'' The Supreme Elder frowned slightly at the Blue Luan''s arrogant disy.

 Chapter 566 - Hidden Enemies

    <h4>Chapter 566 - Hidden Enemies</h4>

    "Miss Lilith, we will be making a quick stop at Redsand Region to restock supplies. Is there anything you need from the city?" A soldier inquired.

    "No, I''m good. Thank you for asking." Lilith shook her head before gazing into the west, "It''ll be great if we can reach the Western Frontier as soon as possible."

    "Yes, Miss Lilith. We are already moving at our best pace. Unfortunately, there isn''t much we can do about our¡­" The soldier smiled ruefully as they listening to the rattling of metal grinding on the rocky road.

    "The tires, huh?" Lilith sighed with a slight headache.

    The wobbling of melted rubber and sharp metal clings were annoying to constantly listening to.

    Nevertheless, nothing can be done about this unless they want to halt their journey.

    "I wonder how my tribe is doing¡­" Lilith softly muttered with concern.

    ¡­

    In the Lower Districts of the Capital, a few screams would be heard asionally, followed by the rattling armors of a group of city guards quickly rushing towards the sources.

    "Help! Get him off me! He wants to eat me! Ahh--noo!" Ady screamed on the ground while resisting a man on top of her.

    A city guard immediately grabbed the frenzied male and toss him to the group of city guards behind him, "Quickly detain this person and take him to the cells!"

    "Yes, captain!" The city guards answered after pinning down the frenzied male''s limbs.

    "Hello, young miss. Are you alright? Have you been bitten or scratched anywhere?" The city guard captain inquired politely.

    The youngdy shivered before hiding her sleeve, "No¡­"

    "Haiz¡­" The city guard captain sighed before he ordered, "Take thisdy to the quarantine area to be ced under a 24-hour watch."

    "Yes, captain!" Answered another city guard.

    "Noo! I am fine! I haven''t been bitten or scratched!" The youngdy struggled but to no avail.

    She was no match for the city guard and was shortly taken away, "Don''t worry, miss. You don''t need to be rmed. We are trying to help you¡­"

    "You''re lying! All the people who have been taken to the quarantine area were never seen or heard from again!" The youngdy cried.

    Nevertheless, the two soon disappeared from sight.

    "That makes it the 12th person tonight." The remaining city guard sighed, "It would have been less troublesome if these people just report their sunburns like they are told."

    "Not much we can do about it. Someone has been spreading false rumors about the quarantine area and the holding cells to sow chaos." The city guard captain frowned.

    "Yeah¡­" The city guard nodded, "We can only wait for the good news from the shadow guards."

    "Un."

    ¡­

    Royal Pce.

    "Have you found the one sowing chaos in the Capital yet?" Heinrich questioned while gazing out the study room''s balcony with a calm look.

    "Not yet, but we will be sure to find them soon, Your Majesty. We have already caught their traces and received few reports from the civilians. The culprits do not seem to be locals," A shadow guard kneeled before the king.

    Heinrich furrowed his brows before tapping his feet thoughtfully, "The Capital has been in lockdown for some time. Unless the sentries are failing the duties, only messengers and military personnel had been entering and leaving the Capital¡­ How''s the situation of the underground district?"

    "There was a smallmotion near the second-floor entrance during the first outbreak. But after it had been resolved promptly, no one is able to approach the gate anymore." The shadow guard reported.

    Heinrich recalled the event before uttering, "Because of the colding from deeper inside the subterranean world?"

    "It''s more than just cold, Your Majesty. The temperature there is freezing. Even the red mist that gave us some trouble had been frozen solid."

    "I see¡­" Heinrich muttered with surprise. Clearly, he had not been informed about this.

    "Alright, continue to track down the culprits sowing chaos in the Capital. Report back to me once they are caught. I want to know exactly who our hidden enemies are."

    "Yes, Your Majesty!"

    After Heinrichmanded, the shadow guard quickly epted and disappeared from the balcony.

    Silence returned to the king''s study room for some time before Heinrich called, "Lily, go call in your mother. There''s something I need to talk to her about."

    "Yes, Your Majesty," Lily calmly answered with a bow at the door.

    ¡­

    Outside of the hanging Great Wall, the ferocious battle between Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans continued.

    Caw! Caw!

    Kree! Kree!

    Three-Legged Golden Crows and Blue Luans fought intensely by the two Paragon-level carcasses, ripping their fleshes out with pointy beaks and gouging eyes with sharp ws.

    Seeing a Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow feasting on the Paragon''s golden blood, Leon dived straight into the heart of this intense battlefield.

    Bam!

    The bone spear slotted straight into the Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow''s head!

    However, the attack was too shallow and failed to fully prated the skull''s tough defense!

    Caw! Caw!

    The Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow cried while shaking its head furiously in pain.

    Leon held onto his spear tightly without being swept away by force!

    But after a short moment, he suddenly released his grip and shot into the sky! An ancient fat bone appeared in his hands before his body plunged with quickened speed!

    Bam!

    The Tier 4 Bone Spear was hammered straight into the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s head to wreak havoc in its brain!

    The impact rang far and wide before Leon tossed the ancient bone back into his Worldspace.

    Caw!

    After a short cry, the Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow slumped on top of the Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow''s carcass with a few twitches before it was stilled.

    A Rank 2 Transcendent was sessfully in by Leon, but he had no ns to celebrate. After retrieving his Tier 4 Bone Spear, he immediately chose another target surrounding the Paragon.

    "Puny human, what is your rtionship with the Barbarian Tribe of Warring Races?" Another Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan questioned him with surprise.

    "Hm?" Leon paused slightly before he answered casually, "No rtionship."

    "Impossible¡­ A small and puny human like you can''t possibly possess such raw physical strength unless you are from the Warring Race!" The Blue Luan denied his answer.

 Chapter 567 - Changing Tide

    <h4>Chapter 567 - Changing Tide</h4>

    "The Warring Race of the Barbarian Tribe might be powerful, but this does not mean other humans can''t be as powerful as them. After all, the Warring Race is also of human origins," Leon spoke.

    He has once heard about the Barbarian Tribe from Lilith.

    If there''s a chance, he would also like to meet the Warring Race, which was said to be a group of humans who have pushed the boundaries of their bodies to the extreme.

    How could they achieve it without relying on the body forging heritage from the primordial era of gods and devils?

    Perhaps they did have such heritage, or maybe they do not. Leon could only found out after visiting the Barbarian Tribe one day.

    "Are you trying to say I am ignorant, puny human?" The Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan queried with a cold, intimidating gaze.

    "I wouldn''t dare." Leon shook his head before he questioned the proudful Blue Luan, "However, can you say for certain that you know everything there is to know in the world?"

    "Hmph, of course not. iming to know something that I clearly do not is a shameful act unbefitting of our kind. The Blue Luan Race is proud without such arrogance." The Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan pped its wings with grandeur.

    "Then don''t act like you do¡­" is what Leon wanted to say, but he was sure to offend the Blue Luan if he did.

    "I see." He simply uttered.

    Leon was unwilling to continue talking to the Blue Luan.

    The Blue Luan''s pride as high as the empyrean heavens made it difficult for Leon to get along with them. Although they look majestic and beautiful, they were not fun to talk to at all.

    If he ever found a Blue Luan egg and decided to raise a Blue Luan, he would definitely break its pride and brainwash it into thinking it is a dumb chicken or something.

    "You''re thinking about something very disrespectful just now, aren''t you?" The Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan interrogated with a dangerous gaze.

    While fighting Three-Legged Golden Crows left and right, the Blue Luan had paid a great deal of attention to Leon.

    "Not at all. You just imagine things." Leon quickly denied with a straight face before shooting off to hunt another Three-Legged Golden Crow, "Stop bothering me and go kill some Golden Crows so that more of your kin may survive or something."

    "Are you ordering me, human?" The Blue Luan narrowed its eyes.

    Leon frowned slightly before he corrected the Blue Luan with a smile, "No, I am merely giving you a suggestion."

    "Hmph." The Blue Luan snorted before finally minding its own business.

    Leon sighed with relief before pulling his Tier 4 Bone Spear out from the head of a Rank 1 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow.

    ''The Blue Luan''s intelligence is rtively high, but it is still possible to trick them with words.'' Leon pondered slightly before focusing wholeheartedly on the battle.

    The battle near the Paragons was the most intense. But at the same time, the Three-Legged Golden Crows feasting on its flesh and blood were also the most vulnerable.

    While Leon was picking off kills in this area, the others were also busy killing Three-Legged Golden Crows in their own region of space.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow''s death rate began to climb before they were slowly overwhelmed by the Blue Luan''s numbers.

    As the battle dragged on, the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s numbers eventually plunged into the hundreds while the Blue Luans remained in the thousands.

    "Are this rate, the Three-Legged Golden Crows will surely be wiped out by the Blue Luans. I think we have helped more than enough for them to win the battle on their own now," Aria''s voice trickled into Leon''s ears from a distance.

    Leon nced over with a bit of surprise after ying another Rank 1 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow before flying over to her side.

    Shortly after, another Three-Legged Golden Crow shot past them and dived straight into the newly vacant spot around the Paragon''s carcass, kicking the other bodies out of the way.

    Humans were truly small inparison to these 300-feet big behemoths.

    "If we are going to help them, we should help them all the way. Besides, nothing is certain until the battle is truly over," Leon spoke before holding onto Aria''s soft hands with a slight smile, "Why have youe over here?"

    Amidst the booming noises and cries of the battlefield, a quiet snort was mixed within.

    Aria ncing back at Leon with a sweet smile, "I just wanted to see how you were¡ª"

    Rumble¡­

    She did not get to finish speaking before both their face''s abruptly changed as the earth suddenly started shaking due to a surge of powerful aura.

    "Be careful!" Leon immediately warned while pulling Aria into his chest and shield her with his body.

    Boom!

    One of the Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow erupted with huge golden mes, mming against Leon''s back before the two were swept away!

    The surrounding Blue Luans and Three-Legged Golden Crows were also pushed away by the eruption of golden mes before the Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow raised its head towards the heavens.

    Kreeee!

    The Golden Crow issued a long and mighty cry before the golden mes surged with greater intensity, burning everything around it!

    "Leon! Are you alright?!" Aria cried in Leon''s arms as they were blown away by the sudden eruption of power.

    Swoosh~!

    In a short instance, Duna and the Supreme Elder quickly flew over and gathered by their side.

    "Are you alright, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked out of concern while Duna silently inspected his burnt back.

    "Ahem, I''m fine," Leon coughed slightly with a frown while feeling the searing pain on his back that exceeded the scope of his body''s fire resistance, "This much damage is nothing to me. More importantly, we have a bigger problem on our hands now!"

    Kree! Kree!

    The Blue Luans cried out to each other, "Gather, everyone! The Golden Crows have taken a step ahead of us, but the Blue Luans do not and will not cower!"

    "Stop it! Don''t let that Golden Crowplete its awakening!"

    Kree! Kree!

    All the Blue Luans quickly concentrated their attacks on the Golden Crow to interrupt its awakening, diving straight into the surging golden mes!

 Chapter 568 - Demonic Array

    <h4>Chapter 568 - Demonic Array</h4>

    "Did these proud birds suddenly go stupid?" Leon immediately frowned while the Supreme Elder healed his back with Transcendent Wood Energy.

    Kree! Kree!

    The Blue Luan''s cried shortly after diving into the surging walls of golden mes!

    Their frigid mist could not resist the intense heat!

    "Isn''t this actually pretty bad? The Three-Legged Golden Crow''s rise to the Paragon level after its awakening¡­" Aria frowned at the rising aura and pressure.

    "Kek¡­" Duna let out a soft snicker.

    "Did I say something wrong?" Aria''s brows creased at Duna''s response, "Paragons are not to be taken lightly."

    "It might be bad for these pompous snow birds if they continue to suicide like this, but not for us¡ªAt least, nothing will go wrong with me around. At worse, I will just wipe it out with my power," Duna casually added.

    Leon furrowed his brows at Duna''s words.

    With Duna''s Supreme Law of Destruction, he did not doubt for a moment that she would not be able to y a Paragon-level Three-Legged Golden Crow.

    However, her corporeal would crumble from the side effects of using the Destruction Law every time. The greater the power, the more severity of the damage.

    Duna is casual about these matters due to her excellent tolerance and fortitude, but he knew that such damages would cause an average person immense pain and suffering.

    Leon did not want to put Duna through this.

    "No, you don''t need to intervene in this matter," Leon spoke to Duna before he added, "I will handle this."

    "And what can you do? You might be strong, but are you stronger than those Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luans over there? Just a bit of contact with the golden mes, and you nearly lost your life¡­" Duna slowly stopped speaking upon seeing Leon''s warm smile.

    Leon waited patiently before he said, "There are multiple solutions for this problem, actually. Three-Legged Golden Crow is awakening its bloodline and bing strong as we speak, but even if it achieves the Paragon-level, I can still do something about it¡­"

    "The first method is to give the Three-Legged Golden Crow an equally strong opponent to deal with. With my medical and alchemic knowledge, there''s a high chance I can help the Blue Luans awaken their bloodline." Leon stated.

    "However, the Blue Luans are neither our friend nor our allies. We are simply working together to take out amon enemy. There''s no need for me to boost their strength if it cannot be used by us¡­" Leon continued.

    "That''s not a bad choice to make." Duna nodded before inputting her opinion, "Even Paragons can go berserk due to the Wrathful Demonic Energy in the atmosphere. With these cocky birds'' attitude, they wouldn''t stick around to be human pets to express their gratefulness. There''s no point exhausting your energy and resources on them."

    "Right, and if they turn berserk ande back to bite us, it''ll be troublesome instead, huh?" The Supreme Elder mused before turning to Leon, "So what does the young prince intend to do?"

    "I will smite it with the power of the Heavenly Tribtion," Leon nced up at the sky filled with hidden Wrathful Demonic Energy.

    "Oh?" Supreme Elder Haldir was slightly surprised before he queried, "But young prince already has a little miss Heavenly Tribtion right here. Are you sure the power of Heavenly Tribtion will be enough to smite the Three-Legged Golden Crow?"

    Aria turned to Leon in question, "What Heavenly Tribtion are you two talking about? If the Heavenly Tribtion is endured, wouldn''t the Three-Legged Golden Crow be propelled into the Celestial Realm instead?"

    "We are not talking about True Divine Damnation undergone by Void Realm Divine Practitioners breaking through to Divine Origin Realm. You''ll see what I mean soon," Leon rubbed Aria''s head with a soft smile before he turning back to the Supreme Elder, "Have you forgotten how the Ant King was fried?"

    "Young prince, not matter, the Ant King was extremely mighty, but it was still a Rank 2 Transcendent. Here, we are talking about a potential Rank 3 Transcendent now. It should not be viewed the same, no?"

    "That''s true," Leon nodded before saying, "I guess we will just have to see how effective it turns out, won''t we?"

    After a slight smile, Leon took off into the skies and flew straight into the clouds above the surging pir of golden mes that fluctuated like a pulse.

    "Last time the Tier 3 Spiritual Array Heaven''s Wrath was used, it was not charged to its maximum strength. But this time will be much different," Leon mused.

    Thest time he smited the Ant King, he burrowed Spirit Energy from the World Tree to produce the Tier 3 Spiritual Array.

    "This time, I will be using the destructive power of Demonic Energy. I wonder what sort of effect it will produce?" Leon wondered.

    Wrathful Demonic Energy quickly gathered under Leon''s Divine Will before they began to form runic lines. Lines after lines of glowing red light soon connected, forming runic circles of big and small size.

    Demonic Energy poured out from Leon''s ck Vortex Space to further fuel the formation of his Tier 3 Spiritual Array¡ªNo, Demonic Array.

    In a short instance, the threeyered Demonic Array waspleted.

    Upon itspletion, the surrounding weather immediately changed. The wind grew stronger, and the clouds were pulled over, bing darker and more ominous.

    Bzzt!

    The first sh of lightning was quickly seen within the thunderclouds where the Tier 3 Demonic Array floated from Leon''s grasp.

    However, it was neither blue, purple, nor white. Instead, it was a bright crimson color with hints of darkness.

    A Blue Luan quickly flew over and interrogated, "What demonic art is this? Human, what exactly are you nning to do?!"

    The threeyered Demonic Array drew in the surrounding Wrathful Demonic Energies and continuously expanded, transforming into a vast threeyered magic circle that hung overhead in the sky.

    "Charging up a powerful attack that will y the Three-Legged Golden Crow obviously! You should bring your kin away from this area and protect me from the other Three-Legged Golden Crows while I charge this Demonic Array!" Leon spoke.

 Chapter 569 - Demonic Heavens Wrath

    <h4>Chapter 569 - Demonic Heaven''s Wrath</h4>

    The Blue Luan narrowed its eyes dangerously at Leon''smanding words.

    However, after a short nce at the dreadful array hanging in the sky, the Blue Luan simply snorted and flew off to inform the others.

    Not long after, the Three-Legged Golden Crows in the region seemed to have taken notice of the looming danger in the sky.

    Caw!

    The Awakening Three-Legged Golden Crow issued a mighty andmanding cry at once.

    Swoosh~!

    All the Three-Legged Golden Crow turned and flocked towards Leon''s direction like they had just received an imperial edict.

    "Tch!" Leon clicked his tongue.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow was already beginning to influence the other Three-Legged Golden Crows, even in their berserk states.

    "Seems like it is getting quite close to the Paragon-level¡­" Leon narrowed his eyes in observation as he controlled the Demonic Array, "Paragons are like kings and emperors. Their words hold power over their own races¡­"

    "Still, perhaps there''s a chance to recover the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s sanity from its berserk state?" Leon thought for a moment before quickly shelving the idea.

    Even if the Three-Legged Golden Crow recovered its sanity, it would still be an enemy. He had already killed so many of its brethren.

    It was impossible for them to reconcile this hatred.

    As Leon watched the Three-Legged Golden Crows approached him, the Blue Luan did not remain silent.

    Kree! Kree!

    "Protect that human! Don''t let the Golden Crows get to him!" One of the Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan spoke.

    Many Blue Luans immediately flocked over to impede the Three-Legged Golden Crows'' path while some protested, "Why do we need to protect a mere human? And a human of the wicked path, no less!"

    "Because this human is helping us! Even if we did not ask for it, he is still helping us! Our pride as descendants of the Ice Phoenix will not allow us to just standby and watch this human harmed by our enemies!" The Blue Luan spoke.

    Once these words were spoken, the voices of dissent within the Blue Luan Tribe immediately died down.

    They raised their heads and pped their wings furiously to defend their honor, taking off to join the rest of the Blue Luans and attack the Three-Legged Golden Crows.

    Duna, Aria, and the Supreme Elder watched the battle from a distance.

    Seeing Duna had no intention of joining to protect Leon, Aria wanted to throw a jab at her to get back at her.

    However, she remembered that the lightning element was of the yang alignment, whether it was spiritually or demonically produced.

    As such, Duna should not get close to the thundercloud looming above the giant Demonic Array.

    Aria decided to leave her spot quietly.

    However, Aria was quickly stopped by Duna before she turned her head back with a frown, "What is it? Even if you cannot help, it doesn''t mean I can''t either."

    "No, even worse, you will just ruin his efforts," Duna stated indifferently without giving Aria any face, "You have high affinity with lightning. Your presence will disturb the Demonic Array from functioning properly."

    "You seem awfully familiar with how Demonic Energy works," Aria furrowed her brows, but she did not continue to leave and assist Leon. "How do you know?"

    "I am a devil," Duna stated with a calm look.

    Supreme Elder Haldir was surprised, but he chose to remain silent.

    Sensing the vague gunpowder in the air between these twodies, he decided to retreat a few steps and not get involved.

    At the same time, Aria nced back at Duna with doubt, "Aren''t you suppose to be a 400-year-ago vengeful spirit? Why are you suddenly a devil? Where are your horns and wings?"

    "How ignorant must you be to ask that? Do you think all devils have to have horns and wings? Even a human like you can be a devil as long as you meet the right requirements to be one," Duna spoke coolly, "I am a spirit with a devil''s soul."

    "Oh, why not add old hag to your description too?"

    "What did you just say?" Duna immediately narrowed her eyes with a dangerous glint as the surrounding temperature quickly dropped.

    Having found a way to get back at Duna, Aria''s lips curled into a smirk without backing down, "You heard me correctly, Old Hag."

    The two red at each other with sparks flying between their eyes.

    Aria exerted her own pressure without losing out, causing Duna to widen her eyes with mild surprise.

    She quickly discovered that Aria must have also inherited a powerful soul that boosted her own soul in order to exert such soul pressure.

    ''Is it a devil''s soul or god''s soul? Considering this world belongs to the demons, it should be a devil''s soul, right?'' Duna silently thought.

    Unfortunately, it was neither of those guesses.

    It was hardly the time for the twodies to be fighting. As such, Supreme Elder Haldir opened his mouth on multiple asions.

    However, he ended up closing his mouth without speaking a word in the end.

    Nevertheless, he made a mental note to pay more attention to Duna, the vengeful spirit. Devils and demons were supposedly the harbingers of death and enemy of all living things.

    As such, he could not ignore Duna after she made such a im.

    ''This person is dangerous,'' Supreme Elder Haldir silently thought.

    Meanwhile, Duna quickly realized Aria''s intention and smiled coolly, "I''m toozy to bicker with a little girl like you."

    "Whatever, Old Hag." Aria shrugged.

    Although Duna realized Aria''s intention to annoy her, being called an old hag was not a pleasant thing to hear. As such, her eyes twitched slightly.

    Rumble!

    Power continued to gather in the thunderclouds as it flicked with bright shes of crimson light.

    The Demonic Array barely reached its limit, but it already began to shake due to the unstable nature of Demonic Energy.

    Knowing the Demonic Array would copse if he waited any longer, Leon immediately shouted at the Blue Luans, "Everyone, get out of the way!"

    Kree!

    The Blue Luans acknowledged his words with a cry.

    Shortly after the Blue Luan flew out of the area with Three-Legged Golden Crows hot on their tails, a clear path was opened between Demonic Array and the Awakening Three-Legged Golden Crow.

    Caw!

    Three-Legged Golden Crow cried as its instincts screamed with intense danger, causing it to forcefully stop its awakening at a critical juncture to flee.

    However, he did not allow it.

    "Smite it into oblivion, Demonic Heaven''s Wrath," Leon dropped his raised hand.

    Boom!

    A thick streak of red lightning quickly descended on the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s huge body in an instance!

 Chapter 570 - Bluewinter

    <h4>Chapter 570 - Bluewinter</h4>

    Tiny sparks of red lightning scattered into the surroundings like skipping snakes while the Three-Legged Golden Crow was struck with the full brunt of the Demonic Array''s attack!

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The red lightning snakes vaporized patches of soil in an instance, forming numerous small craters¡ªto say nothing in the least for the Three-Legged Golden Crow!

    However¡­

    Caw!¡ªRoar!!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow gave a hoarse cry like some mighty divine lion as its body was disintegrated by the demonic lightning!

    Its flesh melted from the intense heat before it dried up and cracked. Ultimately, falling apart like broken charcoal!

    CAW!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow gave a mighty cry in anger with its head raised against the sky!

    A huge hole was revealed on its enormous body, prated straight through to the ground! Blood gushed out from its open wound, but its heart was still beating and lively!

    "The Demonic Array actually failed to deliver a fatal hit?" Leon frowned.

    Using Divine Will, Leon changed the Demonic Array''s angle slightly to shift the lightning beam to shave right through the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s beating heart and finish it once and for all.

    However!

    Crack!

    The unstable Demonic Array could not withstand the prolonged burden of its own attackprised of Wrathful Demonic Energies and copsed under pressure!

    Boom!

    The Tier 3 Demonic Array exploded with an outburst of demonic discharge shooting outwards from the epicenter!

    The thunderclouds were blown away in an instant before the surroundings were affected by a brief gust of strong winds!

    Aria and Supreme Elder Haldir were forced to shift their heads away from the wind for a moment while Duna simply narrowed her eyes.

    Shortly after, the grievously wounded Three-Legged Golden Crows locked its gaze on Leon.

    Although it failed to ascend to Rank 3 Transcendent at the most critical moment, it was still at the peak of Rank 2 Transcendent with strength nearing 9-million jin!

    Its cold gaze immediately sent a chill down Leon''s spine.

    "Dammit, I have not only failed to deliver a killing blow but also drew its attention onto me. This isn''t an opponent I can take on!" Leon muttered with a heavy expression.

    At the same time, the Blue Luans cried at each other, "The Three-Legged Golden Crow lives! However, it is seriously wounded! Come, my brothers and sisters! Don''t let it recover!"

    "In the words of humans, strike when the iron is hot! This is our chance to finish it off! Attack!"

    The Blue Luans shot straight at the severely wounded Three-Legged Golden Crow in a united effort under the leadership of several High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luans.

    CAW!

    With a single powerful cry, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow reignited with surging golden mes and swept the Blue Luans away!

    At the same time, the other Three-Legged Golden Crows flew into action, attacking the Blue Luans while they were off guard, even when there was a significant disparity in their numbers!

    Swoosh~!

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow pped itsrge feathered wings and took off from the ground.

    Leon''s expression turned grave in an instance.

    "I mustn''t endanger the others. No one canpete with this thing," Leon made the decision to retreat away from the others while the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow was hot on his tails.

    Swoosh!

    Leon shot into the skies immediately with rapid speed.

    At the same time, Duna narrowed her eyes. But after a short moment, they immediately widened in realization, "This idiot!"

    Duna quickly closed the distance as much as she could, but she was too far to catch up to them.

    Even so, the power of the Destruction LAw gathered to the tips of her hand inrge quantities before she quickly fired it at the rising Three-Legged Golden Crow!

    Caw!

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow immediately cried from having its tail, and one of its legs disintegrated by the power of destruction.

    However, it did not change its target and continued to pursue Leon furiously!

    Compared to the massive hole running through its body, the loss of a tail and leg was nothing!

    "Tch!" Duna clicked her tongue.

    If she had not already started forging her corporeal body, she could have continued to follow.

    But because she did, she was forced to stop. The suppressive force of the sky weighed down on her, preventing her from flying too high.

    Golden mes surged from the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow''s body and enveloped its entire body.

    It used the golden mes to burn its own wound, stopping the bleeding. At the same time, its speed increased before chasing after Leon with greater momentum.

    At the same time, Aria had also flown over when she realized Leon was in danger.

    In an instant, she quickly shot past Duna and continued on her upward path with her quickly conjured ice-lightning sword, breaking through the clouds.

    "Stay back!"

    Leon''s figure could not be seen along with the huge, but his voice trickled into Aria''s ears, causing her to tremble slightly.

    "No! I can''t let you face this danger alone!" Aria shouted back defiantly.

    She continued cutting through the clouds, but the shadows of Leon and the Peak 2 Rank Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow was still nowhere to be seen.

    "How can they be so fast?!"

    "Believe in me!" Leon''s voice trickled down again before Aria''s body shook once more. He was forcing her to stop!

    Aria immediately bit her lips.

    Swoosh~!

    Therge bodies of a few Mid Rank 2 and High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luans swooped past before one of them spoke in passing, "Leave the human to us. We will make sure to bring him back to you in one piece."

    "Alright¡­" Aria nodded heavily with knitted brows.

    Energy was drained from her body as she slowly returned to the surface. She did not want to betray Leon''s trust in the end.

    Since he said to believe in him, she had to believe in him.

    "We can''t rely on humans to win our battles. In the end, we can only rely on ourselves. Bluewinter, take this chance to absorb the monarch''s bloodline and awaken. You are the strongest of us all and have the highest chance of seeding!" A Blue Luan spoke to another on the surface.

    "Alright," A soft cool response was heard from a High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan.

    It was the same bird that convinced the other Blue Luans to protect Leon previously.

 Chapter 571 - Weightless Like The Void

    <h4>Chapter 571 - Weightless Like The Void</h4>

    "Why have youe back? Where''s Leon?" Duna quickly asked after seeing Aria returned alone.

    "Leon is still being chased by the Three-Legged Golden Crow," Aria spoke with a sigh, "He told me to believe in him¡­"

    "So, you just leave him? I am honestly disappointed in you," Duna said to Aria before she demanded with an extended hand, "Give it to me."

    Aria bit her lips.

    Duna''s words stabbed right into her heart.

    At the same time, she knew precisely what Duna wanted and passed the pendant device that allowed her to ignore the suppressive force and fly freely in the high skies.

    "Your hand¡­" Aria suddenly noticed one of Duna''s hands was missing.

    However, Duna was nonchnt about it, "It''s nothing. Just a result of using a power too strong for me to control freely at my present level.

    "As I thought, only I can help him. You should have given this to me straight from the start!" Duna spat after wearing the pendant device.

    Swish~!

    She took off into the sky immediately.

    After Aria watched Duna''s figure disappear into the clouds, Supreme Elder Haldir tapped her on the shoulder, "There''s no need to feel bad. No matter what choice you made, they were both respectable in their own way.

    "I don''t think she will be able to catch up. I can only believe in Leon¡ªbelieve that he still has some trump cards up his sleeve to deal with the Three-Legged Golden Crow." Aria sighed.

    Of course, there was also the Blue Luans that followed after.

    However, Aria did not have high hopes for these proud birds. The strongest amongst them only possessed 7 million jins worth of strength.

    It still fell short by 2 millionpared to the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow.

    Even worse, the Blue Luans were suppressed by the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s golden mes¡ªsuch is the rtionship between two mutually opposing elements.

    Only one side needed to be slightly stronger in order to suppress the other side.

    "Yes, we can only believe in the young prince," Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before he said, "However, there is still something for us to do instead of waiting idly."

    His gaze felt the remaining couple of hundred Three-Legged Golden Crows getting swarmed by the few thousand Blue Luans.

    "You''re right," Aria nodded with a sharp glint and rising battle spirit. All her unhappy feelings were transferred to the Three-Legged Golden Crows.

    Shing¡ª!

    Twenty ice-lightning swords were conjured in a split second before Aria shot off on one of them like a white sh of lightning.

    Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head slightly before joining the closing battle.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to fly upwards, fleeing from the pursuing Three-Legged Golden Crow hot on his tails.

    In a short while, Leon re-entered the expansive mesosphereyer that loomed above the highest of clouds.

    However, the Three-Legged Golden Crow showed no sign of deterrence and continued to chase with increasing speed.

    The gap between Leon and the Three-Legged Golden Crow was reduced by the moments.

    "Tch! As expected, the mesosphereyer is its domain," Leon narrowed his eyes with a decisive glint, "But let me see how long you can continue to chase me in such cold weathers!"

    The mesosphere was known for having the lowest temperature¡ªreaching almost negative 100 degrees Celsius!

    Swoosh~!

    Leon pushed his speed to the limit and shot through the mesosphereyer with increased momentum, reducing the rate at which the distance between him and the Three-Legged Golden Crow closes.

    Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried.

    "You are starting to feel the cold pain, are ya?" Leon smirked for a moment before his expression abruptly reverted to a solemn one.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow stubbornly persisted in its chase, not resting until it catches Leon and tear him apart with its own ws.

    However, Leon had a bigger problem on his hands.

    The suppressive force in the mesosphereyer continued to rise rapidly with every increase in altitude, causing the pendant device to reach the limits of its effectiveness.

    It shook vigorously on the verge of breaking before he tried to reinforce it with Divine Will and prevent it from copsing with his sheer will.

    The pendant device was quickly calmed.

    "It won''t be possible to produce another Demonic Array in this situation even though the Wrathful Demonic Energies in the air is denser. The rapid movement will quickly cause its copse." Leon analyzed for a solution.

    "Furthermore, there are no clouds. It won''t be possible to form thunderclouds for Tier 3 Heaven''s Wrath," Leon mused before questioning himself, "What can I do?"

    It did not take long before Leon pulled out an ancient bone and tossed it down at the Three-Legged Golden Crow.

    Bang!

    The ancient bone struck the Three-Legged Golden Crow with impressive momentum and force like some extremely powerful ballistic missile!

    Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried in anguish.

    Some distance was created between them before Leon pulled out another ancient bone and tossed it with great power!

    Bang!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow was struck again!

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Leon continued firing ancient bones at the Three-Legged Golden Crow one after the other. He never thought that he would be using the ancient bones like this, but it is what it is.

    Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow surged with golden mes, but it failed to reach Leon at all.

    The sheer difference in the high mesosphereyer''s suppressive force and the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s rising speed immediately caused its golden mes to be snuffed out in an instance.

    Before Leon could feel any rejoice, he suddenly felt like he hit a wall in the sky.

    Ka-cha!

    In that instance, the pendant device shattered beyond the state of repair, and an enormous gravitational pressure poured down on him.

    Bam!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow mmed straight into Leon''s body shortly after!

    The impact nearly obliterated his consciousness as all his bones shattered, and blood spurted from all his orifice!

    The strength of a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent was not something he could withstand!

    At the same time, the Three-Legged Golden Crow gave him that final push to break through the invisible barrier, propelling him beyond the mesosphereyer.

    But none of that seemed to matter when death seemed to be around the corner.

    Even so, what awaited Leon in the ionosphere was not an even more terrifying suppressive force but nothing.

    Nothing at all.

    His body floated weightlessly in the ionosphere like he was drifting through the void.

 Chapter 572 - Precipice Of Death

    <h4>Chapter 572 - Precipice Of Death</h4>

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow was repelled after ramming Leon through the invisible barrier.

    Caw! Caw! Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow quickly mustered in strength and rammed into the invisible barrier, intent on breaking through to reach the Leon motionlessly floating in the distance.

    However, thest traces of the anti-suppression force dissipated into thin air along with the fragmentation of the pendant device.

    Bam! Bam!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow rammed in the barrier but failed to breakthrough.

    Without the effects of the pendant device, the heavily concentrated gravitational force formed an imprable barrier.

    Everything inside was kept inside, and everything outside is kept outside.

    Caw!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow gathered golden mes in its mouth before shooting its fiery breath at the invisible barrier!

    Swoosh~!

    However, the golden mes were quickly snuffed out upon contact with the barrier.

    Shortly after, the group of Blue Luans following in pursuit finally caught up before they saw the scene ahead.

    "That human broke into the neutral zone! How did he do it?" The Blue Luans nced at each other in shock.

    "No aerial beasts could break into the neutral zone¡ªnot even our monarchs. Perhaps, humans have unique constitutions or tools that allowed them to bypass the barrier?" Another Blue Luan wondered.

    "No matter the case, the human is a goner! We were toote! The Three-Legged Golden Crow got to him first!" Said a male Blue Luan.

    They could see blood sprayed everywhere.

    However, the blood floated in the air just like the human was floating, motionless and without aim or direction.

    It was a zero-gravity zone with an atmosphere.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow continued to strike the barrier for some time, but no direct contact was made before the Three-Legged Golden Crow was repelled by the powerful barrier.

    Only explosions of air were heard.

    Shortly after, he finally gave up on the human. He determined that the human was unreachable before shifting its gaze on the Blue Luans some distance away.

    "It''sing! Prepare for battle!" One of the High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan warned.

    "Yeah!"

    ¡­

    Inside the neutral zone, Leon barely held on to thest traces of consciousness as his body floated aimlessly.

    He knew that if he closed his eyes, he might not ever wake up again.

    However, keeping his consciousness from fading was the most he could do. His body was crushed by the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s attack and would not respond.

    He had lost all bodily feelings and felt detached.

    A strong sense of fatigue urged Leon to close his eyes, but he firmly refused with everyone ounce of strength he had left.

    ''I don''t even have the strength to connect to the Worldspace¡­ What can I do?'' Leon thought bitterly. He had overestimated himself.

    He felt the looming shadows of death crawling over.

    However, strangely, he did not feel any regret and only eptance.

    He did not want to die. There was much to do, and but if death was inevitable. He would have no other choice but to ept it. He had already done his best to survive in this world.

    As such, there were no regrets. Only unwillingness.

    Was it the shadows of death that made him think like this? He was not sure. He no longer had the energy to think.

    He just wanted to think nothing, feel nothing, and be nothing and free from worldly problems.

    Leon''s vision was blurry, and he began to fade in and out of consciousness.

    Death was just around the corner¡ªin fact, he was so close to death, he immediately broke through thest step andprehended death.

    ''I understand now,'' Leon''s listless eyes brightened for a moment before it faded again.

    The Profound Law of Death gathered the deathly energy exuding from Leon''s body before forming a Death Seed and merged with his soul core.

    The absence of death returned so life to Leon, buying him more time.

    However, it was only temporary.

    With his severe injuries, death began to gather around Leon''s body once more, wanting to epass his body and ferry his soul to the world beyond the world of the living.

    It was not long before Leon''s droopy eyes wanted to close once more.

    However, once again, life returned to Leon''s body, pushing death away. Except for this time, it was not due to the Death Law.

    Powerful Life Energy gushed out from within himself, wanting to repair his wounds and revive his body.

    ''Maya¡­?'' Leon thought.

    ¡­

    Inside the Worldspace, Maya''s connection to Leon was cut off due to Leon''s weakened mental state.

    Even so, Maya roared as if Leon could hear her, "You better not die on me, Leon, you bastard! Do you think you can just suddenly die off after making me suffer these days?!"

    "To think I''ll be forced to expend my Spiritual Energy like this!" Mayained while sending all of Leon''s collection of Wrathful Deemonic Energy into the Universal Life Conversion Array with her own will.

    The Worldspace shook with tremors, but not just because of the Universal Life Conversion Array but also due to Leon''s condition.

    After Life Energy was produced, Maya waved her hand and sent them outside the Worldspace while the other hand held onto her rear.

    Arge portion of her spiritual strength was immediately depleted from acting on her own, causing Maya''s manifested body to be faint.

    "Seems like I will be falling back into slumber after this¡­" Maya muttered with an exhausted tone before her figure dispersed into light particles and disappeared.

    ¡­

    Life Energy flowed through Leon''s body autonomously without guidance, infusing Leon with more lifeforce and repairing his wounds, albeit slightly.

    Nevertheless, it was enough for him to cling onto dear life as a trace of rity returned to his mind under Life Energy''s curative and soothing effects like the warm kiss of mother nature.

    "Maya?" Leon called, but he did not receive any response in return.

    He repeated a few times, but the result was still the same. No answer.

    His body remained irresponsive, but with a single thought, he could enter the Worldspace.

    However, he did not do this.

    The ce does not ce if he could not do the simplest motion of swallowing some healing pills.

    As such, he began looking into alternative solutions.

 Chapter 573 - Profound Law Of Life

    <h4>Chapter 573 - Profound Law Of Life</h4>

    ''If I can''t even lift my hand, I will not be able to even swallow pills for recovery¡­ Once the Life Energy sent by Maya is depleted, death will eventually im me¡­'' Leon mentally sighed.

    ''If I had not consolidated my viscera, I would not have evensted this long¡­ The Three-Legged Golden Crow''s blow would have been instant death¡­''

    ''I don''t seem to have any possible options to survive this predicament--no, if there''s a will, there''s a way.'' Leon pondered while Life Energy flowed through his body, keeping him alive.

    ''Hold on a minute. Life Energy?'' Leon paused for a moment before his eyes glimmered with light, ''It''s a small chance, but if I can pull it off, I will definitely survive.''

    ''Time is ticking. I shouldmence immediately before all the Life Energy in my body disappears,'' Leon silently decided.

    His only choice was toprehend the Profound Law of Life in the shortest time possible.

    ''There''s no way around it. This is the only way.'' Leon settled his decision and focused all his attention on the source of Life Energy inside his body.

    It was a make or break.

    Whether he lives or dies will be up to hisprehensive talent.

    The Neutral Zone was void of gravity. Without movements, it was also void of sound--free of distractions.

    It was the perfect environment to meditate on the Great Way.

    ¡­

    While Leon''s body quietly floated in the Neutral Zone of zero gravity, the small elite group of Blue Luans fought with the Three-Legged Golden Crow several thousand feet below.

    Boom! Boom!

    The huge 900-feet Three-Legged Golden Crow mmed into the Blue Luans and tore at their wings with its remaining w!

    Kree!

    The Blue Luans cried with blood spurting from their mouth as they began to plummet from the sky without control.

    "This Three-Legged Golden Crow is too strong. Even if it failed to reach the monarch level, we can''t beat it!" A female Blue Luan cried.

    "Even if we can''t beat it, we have to stall it! Once Bluewinter awakens her bloodline, victory will be ours!" A male Blue Luan spoke.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow watched the Blue Luansmute with each other. Suddenly, its red eyes flickered with traces of intelligence.

    "The likes of you weaklings want to stall?" The Three-Legged Golden Crow smirked with surging golden mes before shooting straight past the Blue Luans, "You can keep dreaming!"

    Kree!

    "Oh no, the Three-Legged Golden Crow can speak! It has regained its sanity and knows of our n! Stop it! We can''t let it get to Bluewinter!" The female Blue Luan cried with shock and rm.

    At the same time, The High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan in the group cried, "Wait! Since you regained your sanity, there''s no need for us to stop fighting!"

    "Oh? Then stop following me then!" The Three-Legged Golden Crow snickered with a ridiculing smile before shooting down to the surface with greater velocity.

    The gravitational force increased its speed by many folds over, causing its golden mes to grow more significant with tints of redness.

    "Sh*t! It is hell-bent on fighting our tribe to the end! Get him!" The High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan cried with urgency.

    "Did you fools think enmity between our tribe will be written off just because my sanity has been recovered?" The Three-Legged Golden Crow smiled coldly in the distance.

    The annihtion of its tribe must be avenged, regardless of who was right or wrong!

    Not to mention, it cannot forgive the one that destroyed its tail and one of its legs. However, that person wields a strange power.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow was wary of Duna''s Destruction Law.

    "It''s not toote to take my avenge of that b*tch once Iplete my awakening and ascend to Paragon level," The Three-Legged Golden Crow narrowed its eyes in thought.

    However, its expression suddenly froze.

    Its entire 900-feetrge body came to a sudden halt in the bottommost parts of the mesosphereyer as it spotted a ghostly figure just ahead.

    Particles of ck and red light started gathering towards the palm of Duna''s remaining hand the moment she spotted the Three-Legged Golden Crow.

    Without a word, Duna shot forward with the umted power of destruction in the palms of her hand.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow''s expression changed abruptly at the sight of the ominous and dreadful power in Duna''s hand before it actually turned and fled.

    Duna''s hand was quickly filled with cracks, but she did not show any concern.

    She immediately shot out her Destruction Law before the Three-Legged Golden Crow could increase their distance.

    Caw!

    One of the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s wings struck, obliterated into nothing along with half of Duna''s remaining arm!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow could not keep flight with just one wing and quickly cut through the air, plummeting towards the surface!

    "Arghh! I give up! Don''t kill me!" The Three-Legged Golden Crow cried after seeing the distance between its and Duna was quickly closing.

    The power of destruction gathering on the tips of Duna''s feet was stopped before she coldly interrogated, "What happened to the human you were chasing?"

    "He¡­" Three-Legged Golden Crow realized it had no way of avoiding''s Duna wrath before it surged with a quick burst of golden mes inughter, "Hehehe, he is dead!"

    Swoosh~!

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow shot past Duna with a victorious gaze as Duna was forced to retreat from its golden mes.

    But before the Three-Legged Golden Crow could celebrate, it heard Duna coldly snorted, "Cheap tricks."

    Bzzt!

    A small but quick beam of destruction shot through the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s head as the deathly winds blew against its frozen face.

    Life quickly faded from the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s eyes as its enormous body continued to plunge without control.

    Kree!

    The group of pursuing Blue Luans pped their wings and halted abruptly with strong gusts of winds in the distance.

    After watching the Three-Legged Golden Crow continued its fall to the surface lifelessly, they shifted their gaze back onto Duna with shock.

    ''Did this person just y the mighty Three-Legged Golden Crow just like that?'' The Blue Luans silently thought with disbelief.

 Chapter 574 - Glimpse Of The Past (1)

    <h4>Chapter 574 - Glimpse Of The Past (1)</h4>

    Swoosh~!

    The blizzard-cold winds blew, and the world was suffused in soft snow, as far as the eye could see without change and all year round.

    "Where is this?"

    Leon suddenly found himself surrounded by mountains and snow after opening his eyes.

    "Did I fail?" He thought.

    He quickly realized his body had recovered without a single trace of any wound, and he could move freely without any limitations or impediments.

    "My body shouldn''t have recovered this perfectly if I had seeded inprehending the Profound Law of Life," Leon frowned before observing the snow world in his surroundings, "Is this afterlife?"

    No one truly knew what lies on the other side of living after death. It was not like those that died could pass on the knowledge of what they experienced after death.

    Leon knew reincarnation and transmigration were possible, but not everyone was fortunate to receive such lucky chances.

    If they were not so fortunate, where do they go? What do they see? Was it like this snow world Leon sees in front of him?¡ªfull of cold and solitude?

    "This ce seems vaguely familiar¡­" Leon had a sudden realization and began to feel doubtful regarding the snow world.

    He trekked through the snow for sometime before he spotted life in the snow world apart from himself.

    In the distance, two people were also trekking through the snow in thick winter clothing¡ªone adult and one child, to be exact.

    When Leon saw their faces, Leon froze on the spot before he became emotional, "So that ce is where I am¡­"

    ¡­

    "Father, where are we going? It''s cold around here," The boyined while holding onto his father''s hands. His teeth chattered, and frigid breath escaped as he was breathing.

    Heinrich Esdus smiled warmly and said, "Endure it. If you can''t stand it, channel your energy to resist the cold. Your cultivation is still low, but the refined fires of the [Divine Fiery God Manual] should help. There''s something we need to find here, my son."

    "I''m already channeling my energy, but it''s not enough. I''m still cold," The boy continued toin.

    Heinrich Esdus nced at his son acting spoiled before he sighed helplessly, "What am I going to do with you?"

    Nevertheless, Heinrich Esdus picked up his son and carried him on his shoulders.

    His son possesses a unique Yang constitution and practices a fire-attribute cultivation method. Anyone in the world can feel cold, except his son.

    "Hehe, what are we looking for, father?" The boy asked.

    "There are records of an ancient buddha sect that once existed somewhere in this snow region," Heinrich Esdus spoke while gazing at the snow, "We are looking for its entrance."

    "And what will we do after we find it, father?" The boy asked curiously.

    "The ancient buddha sect were masters of meditation and entering the tranquil state, keeping calm and making collected decisions. It is said that this is all due to the [Heart of Saint Mantra] they recite and practice."

    "The [Heart of Saint Mantra]? But Father is already a saintly doctor and a Divine King. What do you need this technique for?"

    "It''s not for me," Heinrich Esdus pinched his son''s tiny nose and said, "It''s for you."

    "For me?" The boy responded with surprise.

    "Un," Heinrich nodded, "You''re too easily distracted and yful, never able to stay focus for long. However, the [Heart of Saint Mantra] might be able to help¡­"

    Suddenly, Heinrich Esdus paused his steps before the boy nced ahead with confusion.

    "Snow Tigers!" The boy eximed.

    A group of small Snow Tigers could be seen following behind a bigger adult-size Snow Tiger just ahead of the father-son duo.

    The adult Snow Tiger was quick to notice the duo before it also paused its steps. It gazed back at the father-son duo with a guarded and wary expression while protecting its young.

    "Grrr," The adult Snow Tiger growled softly with a warning.

    The boy frowned before Heinrich Esdusforted, "Easy, son. That Rank 2 Snow Tiger is a mother that is just trying to protect her children. It shouldn''t attack us if we don''t get any closer. It''s fine. We can just take a detour around them."

    Heinrich Esdus was not concerned for his son''s safety with him around.

    Furthermore, his son was young, but he is already in the Revolving Core Realm due to the ingestion of high-quality cultivation pills.

    "Alright," The boy nodded.

    However, he continued to stare at the Rank 2 Snow Tiger as they were leaving. At the same time, the Rank 2 also stared back with soft growls.

    The repeated growls made the boy''s frown deepen with annoyance before his eyes slowly glowed with a crimson sheen.

    Roar!

    The Rank 2 Snow Tiger felt threatened before it roared at the boy.

    Swoosh~!

    The boy immediately reacted as if triggered by the Rank 2 Snow Tiger''s roar, leaping over from his father''s shoulders with intense blood lust in his eyes.

    With the boy''s cultivation in the middle stage of the Revolving Core Realm, the Rank 2 Snow Tiger was no match for the boy.

    In a few exchanges, the boy sliced up the Rank 2 Snow Tiger with his short sword like a frenzied beast, sttering the Rank 2 Snow Tiger''s flesh and blood all over the white snow.

    The baby Snow Tigers nudged the Rank 2 Snow Tiger''s motionless body before they issue weak roars like a cat''s meow.

    The boy raised his short sword in preparation for killing them all too, but he was stopped by Heinrich Esdus.

    "That''s enough, Leon. You did not need to kill them," He admonished with a sigh.

    The crimson sheen of blood lust faded before the boy apologized, "Sorry, father. My body reacted on its own again."

    "I know. You need to learn to control your Devil''s Impulse better," Heinrich Esdus lectured.

    "The saying goes as; the impulse is the devil, father," The boy corrected.

    "Right, right. Impulse is the devil," Heinrich Esdus nodded wryly.

    Shortly after, the boy spotted something in the distance before he softly eximed with a pointed finger, "There''s a small vige up ahead, father."

 Chapter 575 - Glimpse Of The Past (2)

    <h4>Chapter 575 - Glimpse Of The Past (2)</h4>

    "Oh? I haven''t heard about any vige being around these parts of the Divine Snond Region. It might be a mortal vige," Heinrich Esdus wondered before he said, "We will head over and check it out."

    "Since the vige were locals in the area, they might have some helpful information regarding the entrance location to the ruins of the ancient buddha sect."

    "What about these baby Snow Tigers, father?" The boy asked.

    Heinrich Esdus nced at the four tiny Snow Tigers that could barely walk properly for a moment before he said, "We will take them with us. Since you have killed their mother, you have to be responsible for raising them."

    "Can''t we just leave them to grow up on their own?" The boy asked.

    "No," Heinrich Esdus shook his head before he exined, "If we leave Snow Tiger Cubs here like this, they will not survive for long in this wild. Most likely, they will be food for other beasts before they starve to death."

    "Either way will generate bad karma. As such, they are your responsibility now, understand?" Heinrich Esdus nced at his son seriously.

    "Oh¡­" The boy lowered his head in contemtion before he nodded, "I understand, father."

    "Good," Heinrich Esdus smiled.

    Shortly after, Heinrich Esdus waved his hand before the four Snow Tiger Cubs were picked up by formless traces of Divine Power like they were being grabbed from the back of their necks by invisible hands.

    The Snow Tiger Cubs meowed like cats in protest, but they could do nothing to resist Heinrich Esdus''s Divine Power.

    "Let''s go," Heinrich Esdus urged.

    The boy wanted to be carried by his father again.

    However, Heinrich Esdus shook his head and refused his son''s simple request with a stern look, "No, you have to walk and reflect on your mistake."

    "Uu¡­ Yes, father¡­" The boy answered with his head lowered.

    It did not take long before they reached the entrance of the small vige.

    The wooden buildings and humble houses were covered in thickyers of snow, while some were half-buried, and not a single human could be spotted.

    "Seems like this ce have been deserted for some time now," Heinrich Esdus sighed with disappointment before taking his first step into the vige.

    The Snow Tiger Cubs were dragged along in midair while little Leon followed not too far behind Heinrich Esdus.

    However, after a few steps past the vige gates, little Leon tripped and facented into the thick snow.

    "Are you alright, son? Be careful with your steps. The snow is quite thick in this area." Heinrich Esdus said.

    The boy quickly shook his head and said, "There''s something in the snow, father,"

    "Oh?" Heinrich paused for a moment.

    Shortly after, he scoured the entire vige with his powerful divine sense.

    Numerous bodies belonging to both the young and the oldid frozen and buried underneath the thickyers of snow with sword wounds all over their bodies.

    "So this vige was raided by bandits," Heinrich Esdus sighed at innocent lives lost.

    Suddenly, he picked up a weak breathing from one of the houses before he said, "Come, son. Seems like there''s still a survivor."

    "Yes, father." The boy nodded.

    ¡­

    Leon quietly observed the memory of his past from a distant hill.

    "This was where I met Aria and cured her under father''s instruction," Leon sighed with destion as he recalled that none of them were alive anymore.

    As for the four Snow Tigers that were raised, he had no idea how they are.

    They were still some distance from the Divine Beast Realm as hest recalled leaving them in the care of another person.

    Either way, Leon did not grieve anymore.

    He was way past that point already. Even so, Heinrich Esdus and Aria White''s deaths were forever voids in his heart that can never be filled.

    "Is there a reason for me being taken back to this point in time?" Leon began to ponder, "I feel like I missed something important."

    He felt like his conversation with his father was much longer than what was shown before him.

    "Strange, why is it so hard to recall these memories," Leon frowned.

    In fact, if not for the world reying his past memories to him, Leon would not have been able to recall them so vividly.

    Even so, he could not get over the feeling that something was missing.

    Leon began to ponder hard.

    ¡­

    Suddenly, the scenery changed.

    It was still a world of snow, but with an extrapanion added to the father-son duo''s trip in search of the ancient buddha sect''s ruins.

    "Father, why is it that even though Divine Practitioners have so much timepared to mortals, they don''t spend their time living life but instead spent most of it in secluded cultivation for even more time?" Little Leon asked.

    "It''s ironic, isn''t it?" Heinrich Esdus chuckled softly while carrying a little girl on his back, "In fact, there''s no definite answer to this question."

    "Some seek to be the strongest and reign over the Divine Realms like Divine Kings, some seek the truth of the Evesting, and some simply don''t wish to die."

    "Why do I feel like mortals live more fulfilling lives than we do?" Little Leon asked.

    "Because they do. Mortals know their time is limited, so they make the most of it to ensure they live without regrets. While Divine Practitioners have so much time, we don''t really know what to do with it except grind for more time to figure out exactly that," Heinrich Esdus chuckled.

    Shortly after, he stared at his son solemnly, "Maybe there wille a day when you will be able to figure it out for everyone and save our pour souls from this vicious loop of chasing blindly."

    "Can I really do something that others can''t?" Little Leon queried doubtfully.

    "That''s hard to say, son¡­ However, your existence in itself represents a hope that anything could be possible," Heinrich Esdus rubbed his son''s head warmly before gazing into the distant north with a longing look.

 Chapter 576 - At Last

    <h4>Chapter 576 - At Last</h4>

    "I don''t understand what you mean, father," The young Leon said with knitted brows in thought.

    Heinrich Esdus smiled warmly and said, "You don''t need to understand now, but one day when you grow up, you will."

    "I still don''t understand¡­" Leon''s lips twitched as he watched the past being reyed from a distance.

    Suddenly, Leon paused.

    "Come to think of it, I never found out who my mother was, where she was, nor what happened to her¡­" Leon muttered, "Every time I mention to father, he would also have the same distant look and change the subject¡­"

    Leon furrowed slightly before ncing in the northern direction, "Was his birth mother somewhere in the north?"

    As Leon pondered, his younger self asked his father, "Why do all Divine Practitioners meditate when they cultivate, father? Why don''t they cultivate in their sleep or any other positions?"

    "Because it''s the easiest position to enter the tranquil state and focus, son. The standard meditative posture is not definite. If you can achieve it any other way, then there''s no need to follow conventional means." Heinrich Esdus exined.

    "And why must Divine Practitioners enter the tranquil state to cultivate? Does it have something to do with finding the [Heart of Saint Mantra], father?" The young Leon continued to ask questions while Leon furrowed his brows.

    "I don''t remember any of this¡­" He muttered.

    Heinrich Esdus paused his steps in the snow before turning his head towards Leon''s direction with a profound look.

    Leon froze as if his father was gazing directly at him.

    At the same time, Heinrich Esdus spoke, "The tranquil state is also called the state of emptiness and mind zero, free from all distracting thoughts. Only when we are empty of all thoughts can we feel the vastness of the world and everything within. The [Heart of Saint Mantra] can help you enter this state quicker."

    "To feel everything, you have to feel nothing? Why does this sound so contradictory?" The young Leon wore an iprehensive look.

    "It doesn''t make much sense to father either, but not everything has to. The sense is what we make of the world. But in the beginning, there was nothing. It was from nothing that came everything. Nothing and everything is much closer than you think, just like two sides of a coin, son. With a flip, nothing can be everything and vice versa¡­"

    As Heinrich Esdus exined, Leon fell into deep contemtion, "Nothing bes everything¡­ Everything bes nothing¡­?"

    Suddenly, Leon found himself sitting on the ground, reciting the verses of the [Heart of Saint Mantra] to clear his mind and enter a tranquil and calm state. It was like he had touched upon a profound truth.

    The surrounding snow world faded like a dissipating illusion before only a dark empty void remained.

    The night sky was dark, and his body remained afloat in the Neutral Zone of zero gravity. His bones were still crushed, but all his bleeding have stopped.

    There was no feeling in his body.

    From Leon''s perspective, with his senses shut, he was not floating in the zero-gravity Neutral Zone but the vast emptiness of the void.

    Ka-cha!

    Leon broke through his bottleneck and advanced his Nihility Law''sprehension to a higher level.

    There was no worldly phenomenon signifying his breakthrough to transcendent; no change was seen, no sound was heard, not even an instinctive feeling, nothing.

    He just understood in that instantaneous moment.

    People would even question if a breakthrough like this could be considered Transcendence.

    But regardless of any doubts that might have surfaced¡ªif there were even any spectators in the vicinity, everything changed the moment Leon opened his eyes.

    The 30-feet radius of space surrounding Leon''s body was transformed into a real void.

    All the air and all the elements, light and darkness, space and time itself, were warped, broken back down into their purest form of energy since the beginning of time!

    Boom!

    All the energy particles surged into Leon''s body, and his gathering and refining speed of Grandmist Energy exploded forth by a hundredfold!

    Regardless of their elements, they were all transformed into True Grandmist Energy!

    True Grandmist Energy surged explosively, filling the ck Vortex Space before seeping out to nourish every part of Leon''s and rebuild it.

    His body''s constitution quickly transitioned from the Five-Element Body into the True Grandmist Body, bypassing the pseudo stages.

    Leon quietly studied the changes to his body before he sighed emotionally with incredulity, "I did not expect the first level of the Nihility Law, thew of nothingness, to be this overbearing¡­"

    Achieve Transcendence was a huge step, but he felt that his current aplishment far more than just a huge step.

    "I anticipated that True Grandmist Energy was something I can only refine after fusing Destruction and Creation Laws with the otherws¡­"

    "But the Nihility Law returns all matter to their original form, True Grandmist Energy¡­ This is something even the Temporal Law cannot reverse¡­"

    The Law of Nothingness was truly unparalleled.

    Leon did not doubt that even True Grandmist Energy itself will be reduced to nothingness at the higher stages of Nihility Law and return to inexistence.

    "Atst, I have achieved Transcendence and be a Nihility Transcendent¡­" Leon spoke to himself before muttering thoughtfully, "The first stage of Nihility Law does not grant me incredible battle power¡­"

    But what it did give him unparalleled speed in cultivation.

    As long as there is matter, it can be transformed into True Grandmist Energy for his Body Cultivation.

    "Even the stars will be nothing more than balls of energy for my cultivation, huh?" Leon mused before shaking his head ruefully.

    His strength was still weak, but his confidence has already reached the level of the gods.

    Shortly after, Leon began to study his body''s condition more closely.

    His bones were being strengthened, and even his wounds have all closed. But his organs were like mashed potatoes.

    However, he was not dead.

    Evidently, he had also seeded inprehended the Profound Law of Life, which bought him the time he needed to go one step further and breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon fully recovered his damaged organs after swallowing healing pills and refined his own Life Energy.

    With the Profound Life Seed, Nihility Law, and ck Vortex, his Life Energy refinement was not inferior to the Universal Life Conversion Array.

    Nevertheless, he entered still entered the Worldspace after his recovery.

    "Maya!" Leon called out received no response from the Worldspace.

    When he relied on his connection to the [Divine Book of Life] to reach the artifact spirit, he still received no response.

    Shortly after, Leon noticed his collection of Wrathful Demonic Energy had all disappeared.

    "Seems like Maya exhausted herself to save me and fallen back into a deep slumber¡­" Leon thought while feeling warm inside.

    The artifact spirit was not the same as her former self. Leon could see that Maya was still far from making a full recovery.

    "Artifact spirits receive nourishment from Spirit Energy¡­ Once I return to the World Tree, I should supply the [Divine Book of Life] with its boundless Spirit Energy¡­" Leon decided.

    "If not for Maya''s help, I might have really died this time around¡­ However, given the same situation again, I would have still made the same decision¡­" Leon frowned.

    Shortly after, he shook his head and thought, "I should head back for now. I''m not sure how much time has passed, but the other should be worried sick about me¡­"

    After he decided, he exited the Worldspace.

    But after returning to the Neutral Zone, Leon paused, "What is this ce? This shouldn''t be outer space if there''s still air to breathe¡­ But why is there no gravity?"

    His body floated weightlessly in the zero-gravity zone as he pondered, "Could this have something to do with the sky''s suppressive force? Never mind, I figure it outter."

    The no-gravity zone was a perfect ce to train¡ªthat was before heprehended the Nihility Law. Now, it did not matter where he cultivated.

    Even so, it did not change the fact that the no-gravity zone was an excellent ce for cultivation.

    However, he was concerned about the others.

    "With the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s strength, it would be hard-pressed for the others to deal with it without relying on Duna''s Destruction Law¡­" Leon could only hope for the best.

    Leon exerted his Divine Will and descended from the no-gravity zone in the sky.

    However, just as he reached the invisible barrier separating the no-gravity zone from the mesosphereyer, he was repelled.

    "Hm? Such a strong wall of gravitational force has been gathered here¡­" Leon was surprised for a moment before he muttered, "This might have been a problem in the past, but not anymore."

    The Power of Nothingness spread out from Leon''s body and formed a barrier that reduced everything into True Grandmist Energy for his consumption.

    After the Power of Nothingness contacted the barrier,rge amounts of energy particles immediately burst into existence before they were quickly devoured by Leon''s ravenous body.

    At the same time, his body easily slipped past the barrier and continued his descent towards the surface.

    An ocean wave of suppressive force immediately weighed down on Leon''s body and elerated his descent.

    However, the force was significantly reduced by the Nihility Law before it could crush his body, bing True Grandmist Energy to nourish and strengthen his body instead.

    It was like the world was pushing for his growth, but in fact, he was closer to a ck hole that swallows everything it pulls in.

    ¡­

 Chapter 577 - Dunas Condition

    <h4>Chapter 577 - Duna''s Condition</h4>

    Leon plunged out of the clouds, and the surface ground came into sight.

    The battle was long over, but the Blue Luans had yet to leave the devastated region outside the hanging Great Wall.

    They stood on the giant carcasses of the Three-Legged Golden Crows with their heads raised victoriously.

    Boom!

    Suddenly, Leonnded heavily nearby.

    "Human, you are still alive!" Bluewinter spoke with an awe-inspiring aura, "I heard you took an attack from the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow. I did not expect you were able to survive that. It seems you are quite the resilient one."

    It was the majestic aura of a Paragon.

    "Un, I was quite lucky and fortunate to have survived," Leon nodded calmly before he said, "Congrattions on bing a Paragon¡­?"

    "Bluewinter. You can call me, Bluewinter," The Paragon-level Blue Luan said coolly before adding, "You should hurry back to your people. You have been gone for an entire day."

    "I will," Leon nodded again before turning to leave.

    However, after a few steps, he paused and nced back, "Your tribe is not nning on leaving this ce yet?"

    "Our Blue Luan Tribe may be proud, but we are not ungrateful," Bluewinter stated before exining, "Your side was a great help in defeating our rival tribe, the Three-Legged Golden Crows. We will guard this ce for a period of time."

    "That would be much appreciated," Leon said with gratification.

    If the Western Frontier was attacked by another tribe of simr strength, it was unknown whether they could fend off the enemy in their current state.

    They needed time to recover.

    "It is what the Blue Luans should do," Bluewinter said coolly before adding, "Either way, I need to reorganize the ranks in my tribe."

    "I see¡­" Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, his gaze paused on the carcasses for a moment before he asked, "You won''t be needing the bodies of these Three-Legged Golden Crows, right?"

    "My tribe ns to take them back as trophies to unt our achievement in front of the Netherfrost Bird Tribe, but I suppose just the Paragon''s head will do," Bluewinter paused before asking, "You wish to use their bodies, human?"

    "If you are not taking them, I will dly ept all of them. There is so much meat in these Three-Legged Golden Crows that it could sustain my people for a long while."

    "I suggest you banish that thought, human," Bluewinter suddenly said with a stern look, "These Three-Legged Golden Crows might have extremely high nutritional values, but their bodies have been corrupted by the devil."

    "Unless you want your people to be bedeviled like these Three-Legged Golden Crows, I suggest that you and your people do not eat them," Bluewinter advised.

    "Thanks for the kind suggestion," Leon smiled lightly before shaking his head, "But your worries are unfounded. These Three-Legged Golden Crows have been infected by Wrathful Demonic Energy."

    "Once the Wrathful Demonic Energy are removed, their meat will be safe for consumption. And as you would have it, I am the best man for this job," Leon stated confidently.

    Bluewinter was mildly surprised before she studied the tiny human before her carefully.

    "You know the root cause of the beasts rampaging, human?" The new ascended Paragon-level Blue Luan queried.

    "Naturally. The world has been filled with an overflowing amount of Wrathful Demonic Energy due to the Cataclysm," Leon patiently exined before pointing into the west, "The purest form of Wrathful Demonic Energy are those red energy pirs you see in the distant horizon."

    "Wrathful Demonic Energy in small quantities can be resisted to some extent. But raw power from those red energy pirs will make beasts go berserk without a doubt. Even Paragons are no exception by the looks of it," Leon added.

    Shortly after, Leon advised the Paragon-level Blue Luan, "I suggest that your tribe does not fly at high altitude nor approach any of these pirs for the sake of not going berserk like these Three-Legged Golden Crows."

    "Un, these Three-Legged Golden Crows have only changed after approaching one of those red energy pirs. There is truth to your words," Bluewinter nodded before she said, "I thank you on behalf of my tribe for the valuable information."

    "It''s nothing," Leon waved his hand casually before he said, "In times of troubles like these, we should help each other where possible to ovee the cataclysmic waves."

    "Then you would not mind helping us out a bit further by sending us a portion of these Three-Legged Golden Crows after you purify the Wrathful Demonic Energies from their bodies, would you?" Bluewinter lowered her pride to make the request.

    "I do not mind," Leon responded with surprise, "However, I just did not expect that you would¡­"

    "A Blue Luan can be proud, but pride alone will not help the Blue Luan Tribe survive the Cataclysm," Bluewinter sighed while gazing at her tribesmen in the distance, "A monarch must be farsighted to lead the tribe well."

    Evidently, the Blue Luans were famished after a prolonged battle with the Three-Legged Golden Crows.

    However, they did not dare to eat the Three-Legged Golden Crows'' flesh.

    "You have won my respects, Bluewinter."

    "As you have won mine, human." Bluewinter returned Leon''s gesture with a nod.

    "I am honored," Leon said before pping his hands together, "Well then. If you will excuse me, I take some time to meet some people who might be grieving over my supposed death first."

    "Un, no problem," Bluewinter nodded before she urged, "Go. My tribesmen can wait."

    Shortly after, Leon took flight in the sky and left the area before reaching the Elder Tree''s side in a short instance.

    "Seems like the people have already vacated the area and left for the Grasnd Region," Leon muttered afternding on a hill beside the empty camp.

    A soldier walked out from a nearby tent before he froze on Leon''s figure.

    Shortly after, the soldier eximed with joy, "Y-Your Highness! You''re alive!"

    "Of course, I am. Did you wish I was dead?" Leon responded wryly.

    "I would not dare, Your Highness!" The soldier eximed with shock before he said, "Please excuse me, Your Highness! I need to quickly inform the General Marquis."

    "Alright, go on ahead," Leon nodded.

    ¡­

    Within another part of the military camp set up in the Elder Tree''s vicinity, Aria was seated on a log by the campfire outside of a big tent.

    A boiling pot hung over the fires, but it did not have Aria''s attention despite falling directly in her line of sight.

    She stared at seemingly nothing with her gaze unfocused like she had lost her soul and purpose in life.

    "How long are you nning to cook that pot of soup, Aria?" A familiar voice suddenly rang in Aria''s ear, causing her body to shudder for a moment.

    Shortly after, she turned her gaze and met with Leon''s approaching figure.

    Tears immediately welled up in her eyes before she immediately got up and dived straight into Leon''s chest.

    "I thought that you were¡­ you were¡­" Aria wept in Leon''s arms. She could not stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks as she failed toplete her sentence.

    Leon caressed Aria gently with a warm smile before he said, "Didn''t I say to believe in me?"

    "But¡­ but the Blue Luans said that they saw your body floating motionlessly in the Neutral Zone¡­ They even said¡­" Aria did not finish her words.

    The Blue Luans informed her that after taking the brunt force of the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow''s attack, it was impossible for Leon to survive.

    At that point, she still held onto hope in her heart.

    But after the Blue Luans described the severity of Leon''s injuries in detail from what they had observed, even she would be discouraged.

    "Ptui! Those lousy birds were just jumping to conclusions and speaking nonsense to scare you," Leon admonished the Blue Luans unjustly before he said, "All is well now that I am here."

    "Mm." Aria rested her head on Leon''s chest.

    Feel the heat emanating from Leon''s body and being held in his arms, Aria wasforted with a peaceful expression despite her tear-stained face.

    Shortly after, Leon casually inquired, "Did my mother and the others also thought I was dead?"

    "No, mother had already departed the area with the two elven princesses before they could learn about your situation¡­" Aria shook her head.

    "That''s good," Leon nodded with relief.

    It was hard for him to imagine how his mother would have reacted upon hearing news of his death even though he was still alive.

    ''Would she have shed up every Three-Legged Golden Crows'' carcasses into unrecognizable states?'' He mused wryly with slight amusement.

    Leon suddenly paused before he asked, "What about Duna? How is she?"

    "Duna¡­ She is¡­" Aria hesitated to speak while shifting her gaze in the direction of the big tent beside the campfire.

    Leon''s heart nearly stopped before he asked, "Is she inside?"

    "Yeah¡­" Aria answered.

    The two quickly entered the big tent, where Supreme Elder Haldir could be seen seated beside the bed in the center.

    "Young Prince, you''re alive! That''s great news," Supreme Elder Haldir eximed.

    Leon nodded before shifting his gaze to Duna''s body lying on the bed.

    When he saw the terrible state Duna''s unconscious body was in, his expression instantly turned heavy and gloomy.

    "Duna¡­ she wanted to retrieve your body from the Neutral Zone, even if you were dead¡­ However, the Neutral Zone''s barrier was too strong, even for her Destruction Law¡­"

    Aria started to exin, "Despite that, she still stubbornly attempted until she became like this¡­"

    All of Duna''s limbs were missing, and the remains of her body were riddled with cracks.

    She was in a far worse state than when she slew the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Three-Legged Golden Crow.

    Her remaining body looked like it could shatter at any moment.

 Chapter 578 - Yes, My Lady

    <h4>Chapter 578 - Yes, My Lady</h4>

    After listening to Aria''s words, Leon felt sorrowful in his heart before he sighed, "This girl¡­ why is she so stupid?"

    Although he was unsure if Duna''s personality was subtly affected by Lumi, he knew that while she usually acted coldly, she was, in fact, quite a warm person inside.

    At least, Leon thought so.

    "I have thought hard for a treatment solution, but I am clueless as to where to even begin," Supreme Elder Haldir said with a sigh, "I am helpless here¡­"

    "I understand. Thank you, Marquis Haldir. Don''t worry too much. As long as her core is still safe, I have a way to fix her," Leon said before he requested, "Can I trust you to guard the outside with Aria while I carry out the treatment process?"

    "Naturally. If that is your wish, young prince," Supreme Elder Haldirplied with a slight bow of respect.

    At the same time, a trace of doubt surfaced in his eyes. There seem to be something slightly different about the young prince.

    The Supreme Elder could not quite put his finger on it, but he was getting this vague feeling that the young prince might have be a Transcendent.

    However, he was puzzled because he could not feel the young prince''s Transcendent Aura.

    ''How strange¡­'' Supreme Elder Haldir thought with furrowed brows.

    At the same time, Aria nced at Leon and asked, "You want me to leave too?"

    "Un," Leon nodded.

    "I can only feel relieved if you are the one guarding outside with Marquis Haldir. No one must disturb me during the treatment." Leon gazed into Aria''s eyes seriously while gently caressing her Aria''s cheeks.

    Feeling Leon''s deep trust in her, Aria solemnly nodded, "You can leave it to me. Please help Duna recover quickly."

    "I will."

    ¡­

    Shortly after, Leon was left alone with the unconscious Duna while Aria and Supreme Elder Haldir headed outside to guard the entrance.

    Leon gazed at Duna''s sleeping face filled with cracks before he sighed, "I took on great risks to prevent you from relying on the Destruction Law and harming yourself¡­"

    "¡­And yet you still went ahead got yourself battered to this state¡­silly girl." Leon shook his head helplessly before studying Duna''s condition carefully.

    "Now that I have True Grandmist Energy and have be quite proficient in the study of the soul, I should be able to fix you on my own¡­" Leon muttered in thought.

    cing one over Duna''s chest without contact, he began to channel True Grandmist towards his palms before they were sprinkled over Duna''s body.

    In a short moment, Duna''s body was suffused with a soft silver glow, and the terrible cracks on her body began to close at a noticeable rate like erasing lines.

    "It''s working as I expected," Leon narrowed his eyes in observation before he suddenly noticed Duna''s eyes were opened.

    However, she was ring at his palm.

    When he realized that his hand had unwittingly started groping one of her twin peaks, his expression froze.

    Duna shifted her gaze to meet Leon''s eyes before he forcefully retracted his hand.

    "Aiya. Look at this naughty hand of mine, moving on its own. It deserves to be punished." Leon pped his naughty hand with a wry smile.

    After Duna red at Leon for a moment with a frosty expression, she simply closed her eyes again.

    However, Leon could have sworn he noticed a trace of yearning in Duna''s eyes just before she closed them.

    Shortly after, he scratched his head with a thought, ''What was that? An invitation?''

    When Leon recalled his experience thest time he entered Duna''s spiritual world, he quickly decided to patch up Duna''s treatment before using [Soul Dive] to enter her spiritual world again.

    "You really did enter my spiritual world again, you horny dog," Duna spat after suddenly pouncing on his back.

    Leon immediately coughed with awkwardness, "Ahem, wasn''t it you that invited me in?"

    "Hmph, I invited you? When did I say that?" Duna snorted while clinging to his back like a cat.

    Leon gaped speechlessly.

    He had no words to refute her question. Perhaps, it really was just his imagination.

    But before Leon could think further, Duna agilely wrapped around to his front before pushing him to the ground with herself saddled on top.

    Being caught in such a familiar position, his little brother quickly awakened like a raging dragon.

    However, Duna''s soft hands shot over like a snake and tightly clutched the awakening dragon before it could fully raise its head and roar to the heavens.

    In a short instance, the raging dragon turned into a sickly turtle that flushed deeply like a chicken being gripped by the neck.

    "Your little brother is very lively, huh? So ready to y and all¡­" Duna teased coldly while increasing her grip strength, "It needs to be punished!

    Leon immediately broke into sweats.

    He lost all strength andid weakly on the ground under Duna''splete mercy.

    His spiritual avatar possessed all the senses of his true body but none of his tempered defense.

    Thus, even if he was a mighty dragon outside, he could only be a sick cat inside Duna''s spiritual world¡ªwhile she had him by the balls, literally.

    "Pft!" Duna giggled and released her grip after punishing Leon enough before she said coldly, "That is what you get for throwing yourself in danger like that!"

    "I¡ª"

    Leon opened his mouth, only to have it suddenly sealed by Duna''s supple lips.

    His little brother gasped for air after regaining his freedom before it was suffocated once more, but inside of Duna''s tender cave of wonders.

    Cool and pleasant sensation suffused Leon''s entire body before he gave himself to lust, allowing Duna to ride his bulging rod as she pleases.

    "Mm~!"

    A suppressed moan escaped Duna''s mouth as the two of them drowned themselves in the sea of pleasure, causing Leon to instantly shoot his shot.

    "Ahh~!"

    Duna''s body spasmed in response.

    Nevertheless, the two continued their passionate session for several more rounds before Duna rested her head on top of Leon''s chestzily.

    "Don''t you dare run off on your own again."

    "Yes, mydy," Leon smiled wryly.

 Chapter 579 - Western Frontiers Plans

    <h4>Chapter 579 - Western Frontier''s ns</h4>

    After exiting Duna''s spiritual world, Leon noticed a portion of his energy was depleted once again; a sense of lightheadedness struck him.

    But after he circted True Grandmist Energy a few cycles around his body, the feeling dissipated and his mental state quickly recovered.

    Shortly after, his gaze fell on Duna''s wless body.

    Not only did her body fully recovered without a single part missing, but there was also a certain silvery glow that made her body seemed otherworldly.

    The silvery glow came from his True Grandmist Energy.

    It softly ovepped with the surface of Duna''s body while slowly merging with her body, and at the same time, transform it.

    "I thought Duna would wake up right away, but it seems that she decided to enrich her corporeal body first¡­" Leon muttered softly.

    Shortly after, he exited the big tent and allowed Duna to cultivate quietly.

    "How did it go, Young Prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir inquired upon seeing Leon leave the tent, "Did you seed?"

    "Un, it was aplete sess." Leon nodded before he said, "Duna is now cultivating. Let her cultivate in peace."

    "Then I will ask a soldier to guard the tent to prevent her cultivation session from being disturbed," Supreme Elder Haldir stated.

    "That would be appreciated," Leon gave the Supreme Elder a nod before Aria immediately glued herself onto his body, "Let''s go see the General Marquis."

    "I am right here, Your Highness," General Marquis Hendrick''s voice suddenly trickled over from within a nearby tent before Aria could respond.

    The General Marquis had arrived earlier to confirm the news of the prince being alive with his own eyes¡ªonly to be stopped by the Supreme Elder and Aria.

    "Oh?" Leon was surprised for a moment before he nodded, "Let us go for a walk."

    "Yes, your Highness," General Marquisplied.

    As Leon casually walked towards the Elder Tree''s direction with the General Marquis on his right and Aria in his arms on the left, he suddenly inquired, "How''s the situation?"

    "With Her Majesty departing for the Grasnd Region with most of the people and supplies, this ce has be quite deserted," The General Marquis answered.

    "And to be honest, I''m not sure how we are going to hold this ce if we are attacked by another tribe. However, we are doing what we can to patch up the rift and repair the Great Wall."

    "True¡­" Leon nodded for a moment before shaking his head, "However, you won''t need to worry about that."

    "Oh? Do you have a solution, Your Highness?" General Marquis Hendrick asked with surprise.

    However, Leon shook his head again, "That''s not it. I simply talked with the Blue Luan Tribe and learned that they will guard us for some time to repay the favor."

    "As for the rift and Great Wall, you should just leave it as is. The biggest problem isn''t the Western Frontier''s broken defense but theck of strength we have. In my opinion, you should focus on achieving Transcendence first, general."

    "Even if I achieve Transcendence, I am afraid that my strength will still becking if we were to encounter another opponent on the level of Paragons after the Blue Luan Tribe leaves, Your Highness." General Marquis Hendrick smiled ruefully.

    "You''re right. A single transcendent won''t make any difference in a battle like the Three-Legged Golden Crow Tribe and the Blue Luan Tribe. However, an enormous opportunity to grow strong is presented to everyone here," Leon stated.

    Aria immediately furrowed with confusion.

    At the same time, General Marquis Hendrick nced at Leon with doubt, "What do you mean exactly, Your Highness?"

    "All the soldiers that remained behind to defend the Western Frontier¡ªround them all up and gather here by the Elder Tree. I will teach everyone a cultivation method that will help them grow strong by leaps and bounds within a short time. You will know then, general."

    "This¡­ Alright. I will inform everyone immediately, Your Highness." General Marquis Hendrick bowed inpliance with many doubts.

    However, he can only find outter.

    Leon did not n on waiting idly until the General Marquis gathered all the soldiers in the Western Frontier.

    He pulled Aria towards his chest and took flight towards the west.

    "What are you nning to do, Leon?" Aria asked like a curious kitten in Leon''s arms, holding onto him dearly like she was afraid of losing him.

    Leon felt the slight tremor in her arms and knew that Aria had yet to recover from the previous shock, even though he had returned to her side.

    After caressing her head gently, Leon exined, "We are going to fetch to the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s bodies and cook a great feast for the soldiers."

    "Are you nning to help them all be Body Cultivators with Three-Legged Golden Crow''s valuable meat?" Aria quickly understood before asking with surprise, "The Blue Luan Tribe is willing to just give them to us?"

    "Yep. The Blue Luans were willing to give them all to us due to their fear of getting corrupted by the Wrathful Demonic Energy," Leon answered before he added, "However, I promised to leave them a portion after the meat is purified."

    "I didn''t know the Blue Luans could be so generous¡­" Aria muttered.

    "They probably wouldn''t be this generous if they didn''t have such a wise leader," Leon cracked a smile and casually said, "It seems like we are pretty lucky."

    "Can you really say that we are lucky when the Western Frontier is like this¡­?" Aria said before she suddenly pounded Leon''s chest with her small fists, "And you nearly lost your life too! Did you know how worried I was?"

    Aria broke in quiet sobs.

    "Sorry for making you worried¡­" Leon apologized with guilt.

    However, Aria quickly shook her head and wrapped her hands around his neck before she pulled him in for a kiss proactively.

    Their lips touched, and a long passionate kiss was exchanged between them.

    Shortly after their lips separated, Aria said emotionally with teary eyes full of relief, "I''m just d that you made it back to my side alive in the end."

    "Yeah¡­ me too¡­" Leon held her tightly.

 Chapter 580 - Reinforcements Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 580 - Reinforcement''s Arrival</h4>

    Sometimeter, Leon collected few frozen Three-Legged Golden Crows into his Worldspace.

    After nodding to Bluewinter in the distance, he returned to the Western Frontier''s side and found himself arge open field next to the temporary military camp.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow''s frozen bodies were quickly brought out before Leon defrosted the ice and extracted remnant traces of Wrathful Demonic Energies in the bodies.

    "You don''t have to watch if it''s too boring," Leon said while getting his hands dirty from plucking the feathers earnestly.

    "Not boring at all," Aria quickly shook her head. She found Leon very attractive when he is working earnestly¡ªshe could watch him for days.

    However, she did not n on being idle.

    Aria quickly tied her hair and rolled up the sleeves and hems of her light blue dress before she said, "Let me help."

    "You don''t have¡­" Seeing Aria''s determined look, Leon quickly shook his head and smiled, "Alright."

    With two people working on the job, the first Three-Legged Golden Crow was quickly de-feathered despite itsrge size.

    "I think one body is enough for now," Leon muttered while looking at the big featherless bird.

    "Mm," Aria nodded in agreement.

    After wiping some golden bloodstains off her face, Aria added, "One body has is more than enough meat to feed the whole army."

    "Maybe not just a whole army, but a whole city," Leon added with a smile before his gaze fell on Aria''s bloodstained dress.

    Compared to Aria, Leon was still clean, considering the bloodstains have only gotten on his hands.

    After shaking his head, Leon suggested with a slight chuckle, "Why don''t you go wash and leave the rest to me?"

    "Hmm¡­" Aria paused for a moment to inspect herself before she nodded, "Alright."

    Aria threw an ambiguous look over her shoulders before she left, but Leon could only smile wryly. There was much work to do.

    He can only enjoy himselfter.

    Shortly after, Leon was left alone on the field with the de-feathered Three-Legged Golden Crow.

    "After this, I will need to de-feather a few more for the Blue Luan Tribes as well. But I wonder if they will like it raw or cooked¡­" Leon began pondering before shifting his gaze onto the mountain of plucked feathers.

    "These feathers are suitable materials for making projectile weapons and equipment with runic enchantments¡­ the meat are highly nutritious and beneficial for Body Cultivators without a doubt¡­"

    The bones of the Three-Legged Golden Crows were even better materials for weapon and armor crafting.

    The Three-Legged Golden Crow''s body was undoubtedly a heavenly treasure trove filled with valuable parts that humans could use.

    "As for the blood¡­" Leon shifted his attention to the golden blood, "The golden blood has already lost its potency¡­ no one will be able to obtain the Golden Crow''s bloodline from absorbing these golden blood."

    "However, it will be a waste to just throw them away like this¡­" Leon mulled for a moment before his eyes flickered, "Seems like they can be used tomence by blood refining phase¡­"

    There were not many options for him to choose from, but he had be strangely interested in the Evesting Blood Mantra.

    With the ck Vortex and Nihility Law on his side, he was no longer concerned with any side effects the technique may have that could affect his mental state.

    "I haven''t nned on it, but perhaps, Blood Cultivation might be the most suitable energy cultivation path right now¡­" Leon pondered thoughtfully.

    Given the chaos that the Cataclysm brought to the world, the Wilnds would be thriving with berserk beasts and bloody battles.

    The ideal location to cultivation Blood Cultivation had always been the battlefields, and there could not be a bigger stage for this than the Wilnds.

    "Unlike other primordial body cultivation techniques, the Evesting Blood Mantra requires refining many different types of blood aside from True Grandmist Energy to cultivate¡­Hm."

    As Leon pondered, the General Marquis shortly arrived beside him and reported, "Your Highness, the soldiers have been gathered."

    "Alright. Let us head over." Leon nodded.

    His dirty hands were cleansed shortly by the power of nothingness in an instant, transformed into energy that was absorbed by him.

    ¡­

    A few dozen miles away from the Western Frontier, argepany of military vehicles could be heard traveling along on the main road.

    "Miss Lilith, it won''t be much longer before we reach the Western Frontier. The Great Wall should be within sight from here," A soldier spoke after seeing the familiar stretch of road and scenery from the back of the leading military transport vehicle.

    "That''s great to hear," Lilith responded with surprise despite ack of energy.

    Heavy bags were seen under her eyes, as well as every other soldier onboard the transport vehicle. None of them were able to get a wink of sleep from the rattling wheels moving on the road.

    Lilith poked her head out to inspect the road ahead before she suddenly gasped with surprise, "Where did that treee from?"

    "What tree are you talking about, Miss¡ª" A soldier followed suit with a doubtful expression before his eyes widened in shock.

    "Holy sh*t! Isn''t that the Elder Tree from the Great Forest?! What is it doing here in the Western Frontier? How???"

    Everyone on board was startled by the soldier''s cry before themander sleeping in the front passenger seat also woke up with a start.

    Only the driver had been aware of the situation ahead much earlier but chose not to say anything¡ª afraid that he would be reprimanded for interrupting themander''s beauty sleep.

    "What happened to the Great Wall!?" Themander eximed after shifting his gaze beyond the Elder Tree in the distance.

    The Great Wall did not appear as tall as it remembered it¡ªThat was until themander noticed the enormous rift beyond that caused the Great Wall to bend slightly from its immense weight.

    "The situation in the Western Frontier is much worse than I anticipated!" Themander stated with a heavy expression.

    "If the Western Frontier has been devastated to this degree, wouldn''t we be throwing away our lives by trying to defend this ce?"

    "Can anyone survive whatever devastated this region? Is anyone still alive? No wonder why we saw Her Majesty leading all the civilians and elves away earlier¡­"

    The soldiers were terribly shocked, assuming a grim fate was awaiting them at the Western Frontier.

    However, the noses suddenly picked up the aromatic smell of cooked meat, and their appetite was instantly whetted.

    "What is that smell? It smells so good¡ª!" A soldier asked. He could not stop his mouth from drooling.

    He was not the only one.

    Many soldiers in the back of the transport vehicle began drooling as the fragrant smell seemed to pervade the entire region.

    "I have never smelt anything like this before¡­dammit, even if I have to risk my life, I must find out what it is and take a bite at least!"

    "Right? It smells like someone is cooking some legendary roasted pheasant! How can the smell reach so far outside the Western Frontier?!"

    "Hmm¡­ The situation in the Western Frontier might not be as bad as we imagined! At least, we were informed that the elite cultivators of the empire are all gathering there¡­"

    "The Duke, the General Marquis, the Supreme Elder of the Elven Tribe, and even His Highness is all there¡­"

    While listening to the soldiers talked, Lilith furrowed slightly. She did not share the same enthusiasm towards the so-called aromatic scent that they mentioned.

    Although it did smell pleasant, it also made her nauseous at the same time¡ªlike she was about tomit cannibalism on her own kind or something.

    Sometimeter, the advancepany finally reached the temporary military camp outside Military City and beside the big Elder Tree.

    "What the¡­"

    Themander and the others'' gazes quickly fell on the scene ahead before they were stunned, speechless.

    Soldiersughed and talked raucously while enjoying themselves beside a colossal campfire, where giant chunks of unknown meat hung on a spit over the fire and oozed with heavenly deliciousness.

    "What kind of situation is this?" Themander finished his question after finally recovering from his surprise.

    Lilith''s pupils narrowed slightly as she sensed the powerful and vigorous aura emanating from the soldiers in the distance while their muscles bulged with power.

    ''When did the humans have so many powerful Body Cultivators?'' Lilith questioned with doubt in her mind.

    "You guys must be reinforcements returning from the Grasnd Region," A robust-looking soldier spoke in a deep and powerful voice upon approaching Lilith''s group.

    "That''s right. I am themander in charge of this advance group, Commander Julio," Themander nodded after peeling his eyes away from the campfire.

    "I see. Greetings, Commander Julio. I am Captain Reuben." The robust-looking soldier saluted before saying, "Please wait here for the moment,mander. I will send someone to quickly inform the General Marquis of your arrival."

    "Alright. Please do¡­" Commander Julio nodded.

 Chapter 581 - Stay That Way

    <h4>Chapter 581 - Stay That Way</h4>

    Shortly after, Captain Reuben called a soldier over before sending the person off to inform the General Marquis.

    While gazing at the sturdy body and vigorous aura of Captain Rueben and the other soldiers, Commander Julio bitterly thought, ''Since when did lower-ranking soldiers be so powerful?''

    Commander Julio had the impression that he could be snapped with one of their fingers.

    After rubbing his head with distress, he turned to Lilith and inquired, "What does Miss Lilith intend to do now that we have reached the Western Frontier?"

    "I would like to return to my tribe as soon as possible, but the situation in the Wilnds is uncertain to me," Lilith furrowed in thought for a moment before she said, "I will look for my friend first and see after."

    "I see." Commander Julio nodded before turning back to Captain Rueben, "May I ask where His Highness is?"

    "His Highness is just over there on that hill." Captain Rueben pointed north of the Elder Tree before adding, "You should be able to find the prince on the top."

    "Understood. Thank you, Captain Rueben." Commander Julio said before turning to Lilith again, "You heard him, Miss Lilith. His Highness should be over on that hill if you are to look for him."

    "Mm, I heard. Thank you,mander. Then I''ll be heading off first."

    Shortly after Lilith left, One of Commander Julio''s men could not help but speak out, "Captain Rueben, sir! If I may ask, what is everyone eating over there by the big campfire?"

    "Curious, aren''t you? It''s the meat of a Transcendent-level Three-Legged Golden Crow. It''s taste¡­ even the most heavenly chicken you tasted cannot bepared to it." Captain Rueben said with a tease, "I''m sure you are all dying to have a taste."

    Seeing all the 2000 soldiers gathering behind Commander Julio nod their heads, Captain Rueben''s smile grew widely before he said, "Well, too bad. You all cannot eat it until you see the General Marquis and learn the rudimentary Body Cultivation techniques first."

    "Haiz, I guess we can only wait¡­" The soldiers expressed their slight disappointment.

    With the strong scent pervading the area, it was like torture to see but cannot touch.

    ¡­

    On the distant hill, Leon enjoyed himself by lying on Aria''sp and fed with meat skewers by Aria.

    During the past several hours, he had de-feathered at least 20 Three-Legged Golden Crows with the help of others after teaching them all Body Cultivation.

    After that, it was the soldier''s own efforts to cut and cook their meat.

    Meanwhile, Aria quietly watched the soldiers enjoy themselves over the campfire while feeding Leon and felt proud for her man.

    "Where did you learn such techniques? Those body cultivation methods you taught them shouldn''t havee from the Divine Realm¡­" Aria casually asked.

    "I found them on the Dark Continent along with many of techniques belonging to the primordial era of gods and devils." Leon did not hide anything from Aria.

    "In fact, I feel like we will be able to find something if we dig deep enough. I''ve found a suitable method for Lynne to cultivate, but I''m not sure in your case¡­" Leon added.

    Aria seemed to have forged her own path by merging ice and lightning.

    He did not have any lightning cultivation methods, let alone ice-lightning cultivation methods. In fact, he did not have a single technique that involved dual elements.

    Seeing Leon''s frown, Aria massaged his eyebrows with a smile while saying, "You don''t need to fret over my case. I don''t think I will be hitting a bottleneck anytime soon."

    Leon quietly nodded with his eyes closed.

    However, he still thought of exploring the ancient ruins and procuring more heritage of the gods and devils in his mind.

    Suddenly sensing someone approaching, Leon opened his eyes before he said with surprise, "Well, if it isn''t Miss Lilith. It''s been a while since west met."

    "It has been a while¡­" Lilith nodded before staring at Leon with his head rested on Aria''sp while being fed before she added, "I see you are enjoying yourself out here¡­"

    "I worked hard and nearly died, so I must say I do deserve to spoil myself a bit," Leon responded calmly. He did feel more rxed after bing a Nihility Transcendent.

    It was hard to say whether it was due to a change in his mental state or whether he had more room to breathe after reaching a significant milestone.

    "You did? Are you alright?" Lilith asked out of concern before her gaze was quickly filled with doubt, "You look fine, though? No?"

    "I am fine now, but I wasn''t before. But never mind that." Leon shook his head before asking, "Why have youe here? You¡­ don''t have a problem with us eating this, do you?"

    Lilith stared at the meat skewer in Aria''s hand before she furrowed her brows slightly and asked, "What kind of meat is that?"

    "Three-Legged Golden Crows," Aria answered.

    "Three-Legged Golden Crows?" Lilith heaved a sigh of relief before she said, "Three-Legged Golden Crows and Deste Crow n are part of the Crow family, but we don''t have any direct rtionship. It doesn''t bother me as long as it''s not me eating."

    "I see¡­there''s no problem then," Leon smiled lightly.

    "Un." Lilith nodded before she said," As for why I am here, I am nning to return to my n in the Wilnds. I''m worried since the Cataclysm¡ªis that the Skysilver Beast King?!"

    Lilith''s eye suddenly widened in shock after taking notice of the Transcendent-level silver wolf resting by the foot of the Elder Tree.

    At the same time, Silver lifted its head to nce over. Seeing that it was not Leon calling, it lowered its head and continued to take a nap.

    "Yep," Leon answered Lilith''s questioned before she eximed, "When did it be so small?!"

    "The same way you retracted your wings," Leon casually said before his expression turned more somber, "About the Wilnds. It''s too dangerous for you to go alone."

    "That may be the case, but I must still go. I have to make sure my parents are okay." Lilith said while clenching her fists with a determined look.

    Leon studied Lilith''s expression carefully before he shrugged, "Well, I didn''t say I was stopping you. I just said you shouldn''t go alone. I was nning to explore the Wilnds, so you wouldn''t mind if I tagged along, would you?"

    Aria''s hand suddenly paused while she was holding the meat skewer before she resumed feeding Leon.

    Although she did not say anything, Leon immediately understood and smiled at her, "Don''t worry. I won''t go without bringing you along with me."

    "Mmm." Aria nodded sweetly.

    Seeing the lovely atmosphere between Leon and Aria, Lilith felt a bit awkward, as if she was interrupting their moments.

    Nevertheless, after a short moment of hesitation, she continued to speak, "If you can apany me, I would be more assured. But is it fine for you to leave this ce? Don''t they need you here?"

    "Everything is moving on the right track. My job is done here and can be left to the General Marquis''s care. That being said, don''t leave yet. We''ll leave after I talk to the Blue Luan Tribe and craft a few times in the forge."

    With that said, Leon hopped up from Aria''sp. He had rxed enough.

    "Blue Luan Tribe? Did you say there''s also a Blue Luan Tribe here?" Lilith quickly asked with surprise.

    It had been nothing but a series of astonishment after the other ever since she arrived at the Western Frontier.

    "You heard correctly." Leon nodded before pointing into the distance, "You can find them camping on the other side of the Great Wall."

    "Good lord, to think there would be a Paragon-level bird tribe all the way out here¡­" Lilith softly muttered in shock.

    However, Leon raised an eyebrow before asking doubtfully, "It was a battle between two Paragon-level tribes. You are surprised about the Blue Luan Tribes, but not for the Three-Legged Golden Crow Tribe?"

    "What?! Those Three-Legged Golden Crows were part of a Paragon-level tribe?! How did you all even survive?" Lilith gaped.

    "Didn''t I say that I nearly died?" Leon shrugged before he inquired, "Are there multiple Three-Legged Golden Crow Tribes in the Wilnds?"

    "Yeah," Lilith admitted.

    Her knowledge used to be her protection. But given their current rtionship, she no longer had any scruples with sharing everything she knew about the Wilnds with Leon.

    "The Three-Legged Golden Crow Tribe is quite expansive and spread over several tribes while there is only one Blue Luan Tribe known in the entire Wilnds," Lilith exined.

    "Well, it''s fortunate to know that we saved the Blue Luan Tribe from bing extinct." Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he added, "It would have been a lost otherwise."

    Shortly after, he continued with a chuckle, "As for these Three-Legged Golden Crows, they are quite active, aren''t they? Not surprising, considering they are ''big birds'' full of ''Yang'' energy."

    Aria immediately blushed at Leon''s dirty joke, while Lilith did not seem to get it.

    "¡­What?" Lilith uttered confusedly.

    "Ahem, it''s nothing important. Don''t worry about it." Leon coughed before stating, "I''ll go make the preparations for the trip."

    "Why don''t the two of your stay and have a chat or something?" Leon suggested before leaving without further notice.

    The twodies stared at Leon''s departing figure before they nced at each other.

    "You want some?" Aria offered the half-finished meat skewer in her hand before Lilith quickly retreated with a startled expression.

    "It was a joke¡­ a joke¡­" Aria giggled slightly before she stopped with a serious look, "What is Leon to you?"

    "Excuse me? He saved my life, but we are just friends." Lilith was taken aback.

    "I see, I see." Aria nodded approvingly before biting onto the meat skewer, "Friend is good. Stay that way."

    "???"

    Lilith was confused.

 Chapter 582 - Devil Spirit Body

    <h4>Chapter 582 - Devil Spirit Body</h4>

    Outside of Duna''s big tent, two soldiers guarded the entrance faithfully and vigntly.

    Achoo!

    One of the two soldiers suddenly sneezed while the other had cold shivers.

    "I wonder who we are guarding inside¡­ why does it suddenly feel so cold all of a sudden?" One of the soldiers spoke while rubbing his nose.

    "I heard it''s the spirit that follows His Highness around. You know¡­ the one that was rumored to be the evil ghost that haunted Lost Isle Alley back in the Capital some hundred years ago¡­" The other soldier said.

    "Huh? That''s kind of spooky¡­" The soldier was startled before he spoke with curiosity, "I wonder how His Highness was able to tame the spirit to be docile?"

    Suddenly, the temperature dropped even further before the two soldiers heard a woman''s voice that sounded like the devil''s whisper, "Who did you say tamed who?"

    The two soldiers immediately felt a chill run down their spines.

    Duna walked out of the tent with a white cloth wrapped around her body like a dress. Her fair skin emitted a soft luster that faded shortly after.

    A chilling sensation surrounded the two soldiers.

    However, they quickly realized it was not a change in the temperature but the aura being emitted by the person that seemed to freeze their very souls with fear.

    "Uh¡­ we were just speaking irresponsibly. Please don''t kill me¡­" One of the soldiers said as he felt Duna''s smooth fingers traced along the veins of his neck.

    His body trembled, but at the same time, he was startled inside his heart.

    Although there was no warmth in Duna''s fingers, the sensation the soldier was receiving was no different from human flesh.

    ''Wasn''t this person suppose to be a ghost?'' The soldier questioned in his mind with shock.

    Shortly after, Duna retracted her hand before she snorted, "Your jobs are done here. You can scram now."

    "Y-Yes! Thank you, Miss Duna!" The soldiers quickly spoke before scurrying off like they had just seen a ghost¡ªno, a devil!

    Sometimeter, the two soldiers were gone from sight.

    Duna raised her hand towards the sky and nced at the moonlight shining on it without passing through before she silently mused, ''Unexpectedly, I was able topletely forged the outer shell of my Devil Spirit Body.''

    ''To think that True Grandmist Energy still exists in this world and has yet to vanishpletely¡­ or did Leon brought back its existence? That person is truly an enigma, filled with surprises¡­'' Duna licked her lips.

    She could hardly contain her thirst and wanted more.

    ''Just now, I had a strong urge to kill those two soldiers and suck their blood dry¡­'' Duna quickly frowned in thought.

    ''Now that first step of building my corporeal body isplete, I am no longer considered a spirit.''

    Although it was just the outeryer, Duna became entirely physical without any transparency like an average person¡ªand not some ss vase like before.

    But with this change, she was now something akin to an undead. A constant thirst for the blood of the living now burns within her unless she is satiated.

    Shortly after, Duna nced down at the cloth she wrapped around her before she mused, "I need to find some proper clothes too¡­"

    "I should go find Leon." Duna quickly decided before heading off to look.

    Duna''s beauty quickly attracted the attention of some ignorant soldiers who just arrived at the camp. They did not expect to find such an alluring woman in wrapped cloth walking around in a military camp.

    One of the braver soldiers decided to approach Duna with a lewd gaze before he asked, "Hey beauty, what are you d¡ª"

    "Piss off!" Duna spat coldly.

    The soldier''s gaze irked her greatly.

    At the same time, the soldier''s courage instantly vaporized under Duna''s cold gaze.

    His face paled like his soul had just been plunged into the lowest level of frozen hell while his body shook with trepidation and fear.

    "S-So sorry for bothering you!"

    After falling t on his rear, the soldier quickly turned tail and ran.

    Another group of soldiers by the campfire witnessed the scene andughed before shaking their heads wryly shortly after.

    "That guy must be tired of living or something to try and hit on Miss Duna. Does he not know that she is a ghost?" A soldier muttered.

    However, another soldier''s gaze quickly clouded with doubt.

    "Strange, but Miss Duna doesn''t really look like a ghost anymore. Instead, she appears more human now despite possessing this ethereal beauty and feel I can''t quite describe¡­"

    "Huh? You''re right¡­ Miss Duna does seem a bit different from usual¡­"

    The soldiers began breaking into discussions as Duna strolled around the camp to inquire about Leon''s location.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon arrived at the new forge set up outside of Military City. Duke Ignis and a few cksmiths could be seen at the location, but no work was currently in progress.

    "Father-inw," Leon greeted Ignis upon his arrival.

    "Ah, Leon!" Duke Ignis cracked a smile at Leon with pleasant surprise, thinking how nice it was for this future son-inw to visit him.

    But upon recalling the previous matter, Duke Ignis''s smile quickly faded before his gaze turned fierce, "You little rascal, Don''t think¡ª"

    "Everyone seems quite idle around here¡­" Leon interrupted.

    "Eh? Yeah¡­a bunch of materials was lost during the battle between the Paragons. And with the current Great Wall like this, we are unsure what we need to make right now," Duke Ignis exined seriously before¡ª

    "Oh? That''s great. Actually, I have tons of materials on me right now," Leon quickly said before Duke Ignis could bring up the previous matter again.

    Shortly after, he added, "With the current growths of the soldiers in Body Cultivation¡ªfather-inw included, you all need more powerful weapons to match your growing physical strength."

    "That''s true, but we don''t have any spare material for that. All the alloys are in high demand for the new capital construction right now¡­" Duke Ignis stated with furrowed brows.

    However, Leon waved his hand, and an endless amount of ancient bones poured out from his Worldspace.

    "Alloys can''t be used, but what about these? They are perfect materials for weapon crafting and very conducive for rune engraving," Leon stated before Duke Ignis''s eyes widened in surprise.

    "Where did you get all of this?"

 Chapter 583 - Both Is Good

    <h4>Chapter 583 - Both Is Good</h4>

    "From the Dark Continent. There were just lying around, so I just picked them all up as I pleased," Leon casually responded.

    However, he was smiling wryly in his heart.

    Because of his actions, the Bone Cmity started and caused great disaster for the surrounding tribes in the region.

    ''There should be about 2 days left until the Darkmoon Tribe''s summit meeting with the other tribes of the alliance¡­" Leon silently mused before he nodded, ''There''s more than enough time for me to craft a portable teleportation array.''

    ''I already know the spatial coordinates of the Darkmoon Tribe''s Teleportation Array and the Capital''s Teleportation Array¡­ I should make one for the Western Frontier and a few to carry with me. This will allow me to travel to any of these locations instantaneously.''

    Leon quietly nned out the items he needed to craft at the forge.

    Aside from the portable teleportation arrays, he also intended to make a few other items, such as anti-gravity tools and suppression-nulling devices, for example.

    While Leon was pondering, Duke Ignis and the few cksmiths quickly inspected the ancient bones before their hands tingled with urges to craft immediately.

    The sturdiness of the bones and the sharpness of the ws¡­

    The experienced cksmiths could immediately tell that great weapons could be crafted out of the ancient bones.

    Sometimeter, Leon finished contemting and found his own workspace at the forge.

    At the same time, Duke Ignis and the other cksmiths sorted out the ancient bones into different sizes and shapes, forming several small mountains of ancient bones in the area as they kept inventory of the items.

    Despite the piles of ancient bones presented in the area, it was only a fraction of what Leon took out of his Worldspace.

    ''I''m not sure if father-inw and the others will be able to handle the shock if I unload everything¡­ I should also keep some for myself, just in case I need to craft something during the journeyter¡­'' Leon mused.

    After watching Duke Ignis and the others for a moment, Leon began formting the design for his portable teleportation array with ancient bones as the raw ingredient.

    Once Leon settled on a design in his mind, he pulled out several more ancient bones of very specific sizes and shapes.

    Just as Leon was about tomence his work, his sharp senses detected a person silently sneaking up behind him on tippy-toes.

    It was Duna.

    "What were you nning to do?" Leon queried with a sly smile after turning his head before his eyes brightened.

    Duna became more beautiful despite appearing seemingly the same. Perhaps, a change in her disposition, aura, or¡­

    ''Seems like she seeded in whatever she was doing¡­'' He thought after noticing her fleshly body.

    Although Leon knew True Grandmist Energy could be anything, it was still very skillful of Duna to sessfully transform it into human flesh.

    As expected of someone with a Devil Soul Fragment.

    After being called out, Duna straightened herself with a calm look before she nonchntly spat, "Nothing in particr. It''s not like I was trying to surprise you or anything. Don''t overthink it."

    "Is that right?" Leon smiled widely in question.

    Duna averted her gaze, but their gaze met after she snuck a nce shortly after.

    "What are you looking at? Stop asking and pass me some clothes! I need new clothes!" Duna suddenly barked after getting caught.

    "If you need clothes, you should ask Aria¡­ I''m sure that she carries quite a few sets of spare clothes inside her Interspatial Ring¡­ Why would you ask me? I don''t have any women''s clothing on me," Leon was taken aback.

    "Just pass me one of your set of spare clothes! Would I be asking you otherwise?" Duna frown before she said, "I don''t want to ask her."

    "Oh?" Leon was surprised by Duna''s words before his brows wrinkled in question, "Did you two had a fight or something?"

    "No fights. I just don''t want to, okay?" Duna responded.

    Nevertheless, after Leon took out a set of white clothes from his Worldspace and passed it over to Duna, she immediately epted the clothes before disappearing off into an empty tent to change.

    Sometimeter, Leon saw Duna returning before he suddenly had a thought, ''Could it be that Duna and Aria don''t get along because one is an evil spirit and the other possesses the lightning attribute?''

    The more he thought about this, the more he felt that it was likely the case. He was reminded of Rachel and Lynne''s interaction.

    ''Hmm¡­'' Leon hummed for a moment.

    Shortly after, he shook his head. Duna and Aria''s matter did not seem like something he could do something about.

    ''Let''s just focus on crafting the portable teleportation arrays for now.'' Leon decided to push back the issue for another time.

    Throwing Duna a nce, Leon had to admit that she looked stunning, even while wearing men''s clothing.

    "I might not have said it yet, but congrattions on your advancement, Duna," Leon suddenly.

    "Mm, it was all thanks for you." Duna nodded.

    Her nice response gave Leon a mild surprise before she grew close to his ears and whispered, "But now there''s a problem."

    "What kind of problem?" Leon was startled.

    "I will have a constant thirst for fresh blood due to my Devil Spirit Body''s current stage." Duna did not hide her problem from Leon and added, "I am telling you because I know you will not let me kill some soldiers to satiate my thirst, so you need to think of a solution for me."

    "I see¡­" Leon frowned in thought before he asked, "Can you wait until we set out for the Wilnds? There will be plenty of beasts to satiate your hunger then."

    "I can wait, but I can''t promise that someone won''t die due to my bloodthirst getting out of control." Duna casually responded.

    Leon''s frown deepened for a moment before he asked, "Do you want to suck some of my blood to relieve the thirst for now, or will True Grandmist Energy resolve the problem?"

    "Hmm¡­ both is good." Duna licked her lips charmingly while wrapping her arms around Leon''s neck before she suddenly asked for confirmation, "Are you sure I can drink your blood?"

    "It''ll be great if you don''t try to suck me dry," Leon said wryly.

    At the same time, he began to ponder her issue further in his mind. Did Duna evolve into an undead or something?

 Chapter 584 - Spiritual Sense

    <h4>Chapter 584 - Spiritual Sense</h4>

    "What kind of cultivation technique are you practicing? How did you end bing like this? Are you an undead now?" Leon asked a series of questions after feeling the soft and tender touch of Duna''s cold skin.

    "Yeah, I can be considered an undead being now. As for my cultivation technique, that''s a secret." Duna winked before eyeing Leon''s neck. She licked her lips and revealed her sharp fangs.

    Ding!

    Leon''s neck was tougher than steel, causing Duna''s sharp fangs to fail in piercing his flesh and nearly break instead.

    "Your flesh is too tough." Duna frowned while rubbing her fangs.

    Leon smiled wryly before slicing his own wrist with sharpened nails before reaching out his bleeding wrist to Duna

    "Here."

    Duna quickly held Leon''s hand and slurped his blood without wasting a drop. A hint of redness could be seen in her eyes due to her aroused thirst for blood.

    Leon wrinkled his brows slightly as he pondered on her previous words, "If you can evolve to undead from a vengeful spirit¡­is it possible for you to evolve further into a living being again in the future?"

    "It''s definitely possible, but it will not be as a human being when that timees." Duna nodded before she resumed drinking Leon''s blood.

    Shortly after, the redness in Duna''s eyes disappeared before she added, "Will hate me when I be a devil?"

    "I¡ª" Leon suddenly paused.

    In the Divine Realm, demons and devils were detested races by the rest of the myriads of races and denizens that lived there.

    However, he remembered that his father would always lecture him that all life was equal, and no race deserves to be wiped out from existence due to their nature.

    Sometimes, demons and devils could be even more merciful and generous, while humans could be the vilest of all existences.

    Nothing was definite.

    After he recalled this, Leon continued calmly, "As long as your character doesn''t change, I don''t care what you be."

    "You''re lying," Duna denied his answer.

    However, Leon looked at her directly in the eye and asked, "Does it look like I am lying to you?"

    "Ahem, please go somewhere else to talk." Duke Ignis coughed and said, "You''re disturbing us here."

    It was weird to see his son-inw tantly flirting with other women in front of him, especially when the person is not his daughter nor a human being, in fact.

    "Sorry." Leon smiled wryly before he said to Duna, "We will talk about this another time. I need to make some things before he set out on our journey. Go find something to do."

    "Oh¡­sure," Duna said.

    After seeing Leon''s wrist fully healed, she did not walk very far before finding a decent spot and sat down, looking back at Leon.

    "Don''t mind me. Just do what you need to do."

    "Alright¡­" Leon nodded. Duna had decided to watch him work quietly.

    Time quickly passed, and night turned to daytime.

    However, no one was absent from the forge during the entire period. Duke Ignis and the other cksmiths all worked on crafting various weapons alongside Leon.

    Leon nced down at the portable teleportation arrays, anti-suppression pendants, and levitation rings.

    Apart from these items, there were also a few interspatial rings and a couple dozens of bone spears, all at Tier 3 after he engraved them.

    Shortly after, Leon nced over and saw that Duna was still watching before asking, "Aren''t you bored?"

    "I am bored, but there really isn''t anything else to do until you are free," Duna stated.

    Leon wrinkled his brows before he asked, "What do you need to do that requires me to be free?"

    "That is an excellent question. I wonder what it could be~?" Duna spoke vaguely with an alluring smile, full of hidden implications.

    Leon immediately felt his heart scratched.

    "Ahem!"

    Duke Ignis coughed before Leon snapped out of Duna''s charm with an awkward. Leon gave Duna a ming look, but she pretended not to see it.

    Shortly after, Leon stored his items in his Worldspace.

    "Father-inw, I will be leaving the Western Frontier sometimeter today. However, there are still numerous untouched Three-Legged Golden Crows here," Leon raised a problem to Duke Ignis.

    "That''s true¡­" Duke Ignis nodded and said, "All this potential food will go to waste if there is no one to prepare it."

    "So? What do you intend to do about it?" Duke Ignis asked shortly after, believing Leon already had ns to resolve the issue.

    "I will teach you a technique and leave you in charge of the meal preparation and negotiations with the Blue Luan Tribe, father-inw."

    "Oh? What kind of technique is it? Is it the same as what you use to remove the Wrathful Demonic Energies from the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s bodies?"

    Shortly after Duke Ignis asked, Leon shook his head and exined, "Not quite the same, but you will be able to do what I do¡ªjust not on the same level of effectiveness as me."

    "Stinky brat, less boasting." Duke Ignis spat.

    Leon chuckled lightly before he poked Duke Ignis''s forehead and transmitted [Spiritual Sense] to him with True Grandmist Energy.

    "This technique¡­" Duke Ignis immediately entered a state of deep contemtion as he perused the string of information.

    "Take your time to ponder and learn it, father-inw."

    Spiritual Sense was much inferior to Divine Sense, but Leon did not doubt that Duke Ignis would be able to master it.

    With the growing Spirit Energy spreading out from the World Tree and Duke Ignis practicing the [Divine Fiery God Manual], Duke Ignis met all the conditions to know how to use Spiritual Sense.

    Once he learns it, he will naturally know how to use the skill to detect Wrathful Demonic Energy ande up with his own method to remove it.

    Duke Ignis did not respond to Leon, and he did not bother Duke Ignis further¡ªleaving him to absorb all the information effectively.

    "Let''s go," Leon said to Duna, suddenly picking her up and heading straight for an empty tent while she was stunned by his actions.

    He felt a fire burning inside him.

 Chapter 585 - Leons Tragedy And Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 585 - Leon''s Tragedy And Revenge</h4>

    After cing Duna down on the bed, she suddenly asked indifferently, "What are you trying to do?"

    Leon immediately froze like his head was poured with a bucket of cold water as his excitement cooled down.

    "Didn''t you want some of my True Grandmist Energy?" Leon asked with doubt.

    "Un, I do." Duna nodded before she looked at Leon slyly and asked, "But that doesn''t require you to do whatever it is you were thinking of doing to me, right?"

    "Ughk¡­" Leon was immediately stunned, speechless.

    Duna had a point.

    He could just transfer his True Grandmist Energy to her directly, but he had been lured into thinking¡­ Haiz, never mind.

    Duna giggled before she suddenly pulled Leon on top of her on the bed. After wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered in his ears, "Well, I liked what you said before, so just this once, I''ll let you do whatever you want."

    "That is what you said! Don''t regret it!" Leon''s excitement was raised to a new peak after hearing her words of enticement.

    He quickly undressed the both of them, letting their clothes lie scattered on the ground while Duna did not resist or p him.

    Nevertheless, she suddenly asked, "We are not going to into the spiritual world?"

    "It might be a bit selfish, but I want to have a taste of your new physical body," Leon spoke earnestly.

    "Hmm¡­" Duna hummed with an indecipherable expression before giving Leon the nod, "Okay."

    As an undead, she would not really feel anything. Only Leon would be able to enjoy the full extent of the pleasurable session alone.

    "Selfishnesses with a price, though. I hope you will be prepared," Duna smiled slyly with a wicked idea.

    "What kind of price is it?" Leon asked, but his hand did not stop moving.

    After feeling every inch of Duna''s cold but soft and tender skin, his bulging rod slipped straight into her icy cavern of pleasure.

    His body immediately trembled with delight.

    The pleasant sensation in hisher region immediately rushed through his entire body in waves after waves of pleasure as his hips moved on their own with quickened tempo.

    In a short while, Leon reached his climax and unloaded his Yang essence, mixed with True Grandmist Energy.

    "How many rounds you are going after?" Duna asked calmly.

    "Just one is enough. After all, you weren''t able to enjoy it, right? Let us move into your spiritual world and continue," Leon said softly as he looked into Duna''s eyes with a tender gaze.

    Faced with Leon''s affectionate words, Duna appeared to hesitate slightly before she steeled her resolve. She wrapped her hands around Leon before nting a kiss on his lips.

    Leon noticed Duna taking the initiative to pry his mouth open, but what came after was not her supple tongue¡ªbut something warm.

    "Hm?!"

    Leon''s face paled in an instance.

    He quickly separated from Duna before spitting out whatever was inside his mouth. After getting a good look at the white substance, his face paled even further!

    Leon pointed at Duna with an agitated expression and shaking hands while looking at Duna and the white substance intermittently, "You¡­ You¡­ how¡­?!"

    "I told you there was a price for selfishness," Duna licked her lips seductively before swallowing the remnant traces of Leon''s Yang essence and True Grandmist Energy back into her body.

    "You see, I''m currently still pretty hollow on the inside¡­" Duna gave Leon a wicked smile.

    "Arghhh! Dammit, Duna!!" Leon roared before immediately disappearing into his Worldspace shortly after.

    Sometimeter, Leon reappeared in front of Duna with a grim look while his mouth smelled oozed with pleasant fragrances of herbs and mint.

    His mouth practically beamed with daisies and flowers.

    "Hahaha¡­" Duna broke into softughter. She found the current state of Leon to be both cute andical.

    "Hmph!" Leon immediately snorted before he spat, "Watch how I will punish you!"

    Shortly after, Leon pounced on Duna''s bare body and initiated his [Soul Dive] skill, sending his spiritual avatar straight into Duna''s consciousness.

    Their two physical body immediately went limp on the bed.

    ¡­

    Inside Duna and Lumi''s spiritual world, Leon spotted Duna and pounced on top of her like a wild beast, quickly tearing apart her spiritual clothes and stripping her bare naked.

    "You are being too rough!" Dunained with a frown.

    However, Leon looked at her and responded with, "Didn''t you say I could do whatever I want? Are you going back on your words?"

    "Well¡­ I did say that, but you can never trust a devil''s w¡ª" Before Duna could finish her words, Leon rammed his raging dragon into her flowery cave of sweet nectar.

    "Ahhh~!" Duna gave an unexpected moan.

    The fierceness, precision, and tempo of Leon''s thrust struck her straight in the sweet spot, causing her to moan in delight uncontrobly.

    Her body trembled, and her arms wrapped around Leon''s waist immediately tightened as she wed into his spiritual flesh under the rushing tide of euphoria.

    "You''re feeling it now, aren''t you?" Leon smirked before giving Duna another strong, sending another surge of pleasure through her body.

    "Ahhh~!" Duna moaned again without control.

    "W-Why is it so different fromst time?! What is this feeling? It feels so¡ªgood~!" Duna eximed erotically in tandem with Leon''s thrusts.

    "Don''tpare your amateur moves with mine, Duna. I''m the experienced one in this field," Leon spoke while caressing her body and enhancing her senses.

    "Mm¡ªAhhh~!" Duna failed to suppress her voice.

    "But that''s impossible! I am the devil of¡ªMmf~!" Duna gave another muffled cry as her body screamed in delight from Leon''s soft touches and rough movements.

    The harmony of soft and hard produced an indescribable wave of bliss that overwhelmed her body in pure joy.

    At the same time, Leon felt like Duna was about to reveal something important.

    However, his body could not stop moving. His hips continued thrusting uncontrobly like an animal in heat as he drowned the both of them in an ocean tide of carnal pleasure.

    True Grandmist Energy supplied his spiritual avatar with endless vigor, allowing him and Duna to battle for many rounds¡ªfrom the flowery garden to the grass fields, they spread their seeds of love and love nectar everywhere.

    Sometimeter, Duna copsed weakly on top of Leon''s chest, exhausted with haggard breathing and flushed cheek.

    Unexpectedly, she was the one to lose the battle in their long session of lovemaking.

    "How¡­?"

 Chapter 586 - Soft Feather

    <h4>Chapter 586 - Soft Feather</h4>

    On a hill some distance away from Leon and Duna''s tent, Aria sat in a meditative position as she quietly drew in the world''s natural energy to cultivate.

    After a moment, Aria opened her eyes and expunged a breath of foul air.

    Lilith walked over shortly and found herself a seat on the grass beside Aria before gazing at Leon and Duna''s tent ahead.

    "Are you not going to do something about your man? I can smell some spicy business is about to go down in there. After all, a man and woman in a tent alone, something is bound to happen," Lilith said with a curious gaze.

    "As his wife, my only wish is to be able to amodate his desires. Who he chooses to spend time with is his choice to make. I will not stop nor interrupt his moment," Aria said coolly before shing Lilith a look.

    Shortly after, she added, "But if you are so interested in snooping on their business, feel free to go ahead. I won''t stop you."

    "Wait, you two are already married? When did this happen? Where was the mad invite?" Lilith was startled.

    "Eh? Ahem," Aria issued a slight cough before she said with a bit of embarrassment, "We are not officially married yet."

    "I see¡­ Well, it''s none of my business anyway," Lilith said. But after a moment, she asked for confirmation, "Are you sure I can peek?"

    Aria raised an eyebrow before ncing at her, "Didn''t you say it''s none of your business?"

    "Well, it being none of my business, and me being curious is two different things, right?" Lilith asked with a dumb look.

    Aria was a bit speechless.

    Nevertheless, she shrugged and gave Lilith the nod of approval.

    However, not long after Lilith left, Aria saw hering back with a panicky expression before she asking, "What''s wrong?"

    "I think Leon is dead."

    "What?" Aria immediately shot to her death before asking, "What do you mean by that? Why do you think that? Did Duna killed him?"

    "Eh? No¡­ They are both lying motionlessly on the bed without a single movement¡­" Lilith exined with a particr expression.

    They could not have passed out so quickly after doing the deed, right? That would seem a little pathetic.

    Meanwhile, Aria studied Lilith''s expression carefully incase the person was ying a mean prank on her.

    After a moment, she furrowed her brows before making her way over to check for herself.

    However, just as she was about to lift the veil and enter, it was raised on the inside. Leon exited with a refreshing look while Duna followed behind.

    "Oh? You''re both here. Just in time. Come with me to see the General Marquis and Blue Luan Tribe''s monarch, then we can set out on our journey together."

    Shortly after Leon said this, Aria shed Lilith a questioning gaze¡ªonly to see her return a look that says she does not know what is going on either.

    She could only turn her gaze back to Leon and asked, "Are you alright, Leon?"

    "Oh? I''m perfectly fine, Aria. Why do you ask?" Leon was slightly surprised by her question before he suddenly paused.

    Thinking back, he had yet to have much intimate moments with Aria while he had been with Duna twice already.

    This was not good.

    Aria might misunderstand and think that he was showing Duna favoritism while leaving her behind.

    Thinking up to this point, Leon moved his head closer and whispered softly into Aria''s ears, "You are curious, Duna and I were doing togetherter when we are alone."

    Aria immediately blushed and pounded Leon''s chest with a ming look before she whispered back shyly, "Don''t talk about private matters when others are around¡­"

    "Right¡­" Leon smiled wryly before he quietly apologized, "It was my bad."

    Shortly after, the group left and paid the General Marquis a trip.

    However, they did not stay for long, nor did Leon speak too much with General Marquis Hendrick.

    After finding a nice spot toy down one of his portable teleportation arrays, he left the General Marquis with a few instructions to protect the teleportation array.

    ''Can this thing really allow people to travel between two points instantaneously?'' General Marquis Hendrick wondered.

    He nced at the round disk made of bones that seemed to be drawing in the so-called hidden Wrathful Demonic Energy from the surroundings.

    The size was not big, but it could fit roughly five people at a time.

    ''I guess I can only find outter when His Highness uses it to return¡­''

    ¡­

    On the other side of the big rift, Leon quickly arrived with Duna while Aria followed shortly behind with Lilith on her ice-lightning sword.

    "You''re nning on leaving, human?" The Paragon-level Blue Luan, Bluewinter, asked before Leon could speak.

    "You can tell?" He asked.

    Bluewinter nodded herrge head before she said, "I can tell from reading your expression¡­ But once you are gone, who will cleanse the evil energy from the food for us?"

    As the Blue Luan said this, the icy bird showed a bit of embarrassment.

    " You need not worry about this, Monarch Bluewinter. I have already made arrangements for someone capable to take over for me while I am gone."

    "I see¡­ If someone else can do it, then there is no problem¡­" Bluewinter nodded.

    Leon paused for a moment.

    He contemted for a moment before he made a sudden decision.

    "Monarch Bluewinter, if you don''t mind, I would like to transmit a technique to your mind directly as a token of my sincerity," Leon stated with respect.

    Bluewinter gazed at Leon deeply in silence, seemingly trying to see through him and understand his intentions.

    However, she frowned in failure.

    After a moment, she ultimately nodded her head, "Alright. This monarch will ept your token of sincerity. How will you transmit your technique to my mind directly?"

    A lot of concession was made on Bluewinter''s end. A normal Blue Luan would not allow a human to their head directly.

    "Like this."

    After Leon flew over with a nod, he poked Bluewinter''s crown and transferred a technique into her mind with his True Grandmist Energy.

    A glimmer of surprise shed in Bluewinter''s eyes before she stared at Leon deeply in silence for some time.

    "This Monarch will not say any words of gratitude. However, I do believe that sincerity must be reciprocated in kind."

    After the Paragon-level Blue Luan said this, she issued a soft cry that reached far into the group of Blue Luans camping in the distant field behind her.

    Sometimeter, a noticeably smaller Blue Luan flew over swiftly before she asked, "You called for me, mother?"

    Although the Blue Luan was said to be noticeably smaller, this was inparison to the other Blue Luans.

    Being 200 feet big, it was still humongous to the likes of humans.

    "Un." Bluewinter shortly nodded before she turned her head back to face Leon and introduced, "This is my daughter, Soft Feather. She is not very strong in the tribe, but she is amongst the fastest."

    "Although I am not sure what you will be doing in the Wilnds, I believe she will be of excellent assistance on your travels."

    "You want us to mount your daughter?" Leon asked with surprise.

    With the Blue Luan''s pride, it was almost impossible for them to allow this to happen. He did not expect that the Paragon-level Blue Luan would offer up her own daughter as a mount.

    At the same time, Blue Luan was immediately caught off guard by Leon''s question as her expression crumpled in astonishment.

    But shortly after she recovered, she cleared her throat and said, "That''s a strange way to phrase it¡­ but yes. Please use her as a mount for your journey."

    "Mother, you want me to be a mount for humans?" Soft Feather looked at her mother with disbelief.

    How could her mother subject her to such humiliation? Was this still her mother?

    "That is exactly what I wish of you. Why? Do you want to object to your mother''s decision?" Bluewinter looked at her daughter.

    Soft Feather gazed back with a hard look before she unwillingly stated, "If mother orders me as such, I willply as you require me so. I only ask one question; why me?"

    "As I have ascended the Paragonal throne and be the monarch of our Blue Luan Tribe, that makes you a princess."

    After a slight pause, Bluewinter continued to exin, "As the Blue Luan Tribe''s princess, it is your responsibility to share some of its burdens."

    "And this responsibility requires me to lower myself to the humans and be their mount?" Soft Feather frowned with iprehensibility.

    "Naturally, there are other candidates, but you must know that I chose you because this will be beneficial for you. You might hate me for this now, but you will be grateful for my decisionter¡­" Bluewinter said with a sigh.

    "Just know that it is crucial to remain close and friendly with this human, okay? The rise of our tribe may depend on it."

    "I understand, mother." Soft Feather lowered her head inpliance. She understood that she did not understand anything her mother told her.

    However, since it was her mother''s decision, she can only follow obediently.

    Meanwhile, Leon listened in on their entire exchange despite the fact that Bluewinter and Soft Feathermunicated in the beastnguage.

    Little do they know that Leon had understood every word they had spoken to each other.

    ''Interesting¡­'' Leon''s eyes flickered in thought.

    Shortly after, Bluewinter turned her attention back to Leon and spoke, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

    "Not at all¡­" Leon smiled lightly.

 Chapter 587 - Rank 1 Body Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 587 - Rank 1 Body Transformation</h4>

    "Well then, Soft Feather, we will be in your care," Leon smiled at the Blue Luan.

    After a short snort, Soft Feather asked with a grudging tone in the human tongue, "When are we heading out?"

    "Very shortly. Just give me a moment, please."

    After Leon requested, he made a loud whistle that echoed all the way to the Elder Tree. Shortly after, Silver''s figure could be seen on the Great Wall before leaping over the wide rift to their side within moments.

    "Awrooo!" Silver howled.

    Leon quickly rubbed its big head before its tails could be seen wagging excitedly.

    "So it seems you already have a ride¡­ It appears that my arrangements were unnecessary." Bluewinter smiled wryly.

    She was surprised to see a Transcendent-level silver wolf acting as Leon''s pet, causing her impression of the human rise to a new peak.

    "Not at all." Leon shook his head and said courteously, "Your sincerity is much appreciated, Monarch Bluewinter."

    "That is relieving to hear. Well, I shan''t keep you around further. Safe travels to you all, and please take care of my daughter. She might be a little rebellious, but she is a good child."

    "You can rest assured, Monarch Bluewinter. We will ride her well." Leon reassured with a casual look before getting subtly nudged in the ribs by Aria, causing his expression to crumple slightly.

    At the same time, Monarch Bluewinter also felt the corners of her eyes twitched slightly, but she retained a smile on her face.

    Shortly after, Leon turned to Soft Feather, "If you will, Miss Soft Feather."

    Soft Feather snorted and reach out with one of herrge feathered wings, allowing Leon and the threedies to walk on like a bridge before they made it onto her back.

    "Until next time, Monarch Bluewinter," Leon bid his farewell to the Paragon-level Blue Luan as a form of respect.

    Shortly after Bluewinter returned the gesture, Soft Feather took off from the ground and flew into the skies swiftly.

    Swoosh~!

    The Transcendent-level silver wolf quickly followed from the ground as Lilith directed Soft Feather towards her n.

    Within several dozen breaths, the group was gone from sight, and Silver''s trail was nowhere to be seen as it kept up with Soft Feather''s pace without a problem.

    "Why did you send the little princess off to be their mounts, Monarch Bluewinter? Is it worth it to be lowering our pride to a mere human?" A High Rank 2 Blue Luan raised a question with doubt.

    Bluewinter continued to gaze into the western horizon with a deep look.

    Sometimeter, she shook her head and said with a sigh, "If all humans were half as capable as that person, the human race would have dominated the entire continent long ago¡­"

    "How capable is that human exactly, Monarch Bluewinter?" The High Rank 2 Transcendent Blue Luan was filled with questions, but his monarch did not borate.

    Instead, she instructed with an indifferent tone, "Watch over the tribe, and help out the humans if they are trouble for me, Cold Talon. I am going into secluded cultivation."

    "As you wish, Monarch Bluewinter."

    Shortly after, the surrounding temperature dropped, and frosty mist filled the surrounding, forming an ice barrier that enclosed therge body of the Paragon-level Blue Luan, Bluewinter within.

    ¡­

    On Soft Feather''s back, Lilith could not help but ask Leon with curiosity, "What kind of technique did you transmit to that Blue Luan Paragon, Leon?"

    "You really want to know?" Leon responded with a casual nce.

    After Lilith nodded vigorously with enthusiasm, Duna and Aria also showed subtle signs of interest despite feigning an aloof and unconcerned look.

    Nevertheless, Leon noticed the subtle signs before he smiled with interest.

    "What I taught Monarch Bluewinter is¡­"

    Duna and Aria immediately quietly perked their ears alongside Lilith as they inched slightly closer before Leon said with a slight chuckle, "¡­a secret."

    The threedies'' expressions darkened immediately.

    Before they could raise their voices with aint, Leon said to Lilith with a severe look, "Continue to direct Soft Feather in the right direction, Lilith."

    "Am I not already doing that?" Lilith pouted slightly.

    Nevertheless, she was grateful to have such a strong lineup apanying her to her home. Everyone was at least at the Transcendent level besides her.

    "We don''t know what sort of danger is awaiting us, so we should take this chance to raise our strength quickly before we reach the Deste Crow n," Leon stated before he closed his eyes andmenced cultivating straight away.

    "How much strength can you raise in such a short time? Isn''t it just a nearby Mid-rank tribe? With my speed, we will reach there in no t¡ª" Soft Feather was quick to retort his words.

    But before she could finish speaking, she immediately paused with a startled look. What is happening on her back? Why did the human''s aura suddenly grow stronger all of a sudden?

    Rumble¡­

    A soft grey glow epassed Leon''s entire body as his aura grew stronger from another breakthrough in his strength.

    After dividing his mind to multitask and simultaneously tempering his flesh, forging his bones, and consolidating his viscera with True Grandmist Energy, his strength was quickly raised to 700-thousand jins without obstacles.

    Rumble¡­

    Leon''s aura surged again, and his strength was raised to 800-thousands jins.

    Aria was startled, but Lilith was shocked beyond disbelief as she could not fathom nor understand how Leon''s strength could increase so rapidly in a short time.

    Even though Leon made it seemed easy, he was, in fact, enduring three times the usual pain by cultivating three different phases simultaneously.

    Within moments, his pores oozed with sweats, soaking his body and highlighting his well-defined muscles.

    Lilith gazed at Leon''s bulging arms and sense a terrifying force hidden within. It quickly grabbed her attention and filled her with a strong sense of curiosity, urging her to inspect his arms.

    Her hand subconsciously reached out before she froze under Aria''s narrowed gaze, forcing her to retract her hand awkwardly with a wry and embarrassed smile.

    A white cloth shed into Aria''s hand before she diligently wiped Leon''s sweats like a caring wife.

    Meanwhile, Duna did not pay any attention like Aria and Lilith did.

    After she sensed Leon''s swift growth in strength, she quickly closed her eyes and focused on progressing her Devil Spirit Body to the next step with the True Grandmist Energy stored inside her body.

    Swoosh~!

    Within moments, Duna also seemed to have made a breakthrough as her body sank slightly with increasing mass.

    Each time Leon advanced his strength by a significant step, his body also increases in weight ordingly.

    ''Dammit, what the hell is going back there? How can these two people cultivate so quickly?'' Soft Feather''s curiosity reached an all-time high like an itch that cannot be scratched.

    Within a few breaths, she finally caved in on her desire and craned her neck back to see what was happening behind.

    The Blue Luan''s t back suddenly tilted to the left on a slope, causing everyone to nearly fall off from Soft Feather''s back.

    Soft Feather was startled before she quickly steered back.

    Even so, Lilith was given the scare of her life. She was the sole person within the group that could not fly.

    "Hey, watch how you are flying!" Lilith cried while gripping firmly onto Soft Feather''s feathers.

    "Hmph!" Soft Feather snorted slightly and said, "If you don''t like how I fly, you are free to walk on your own, human!"

    "I''m not a human! I''m a beastkin that is part bird and human!" Lilith retorted.

    "Ptui!" Soft Feather spat like she had heard the most ridiculous thing ever and coldly said, "Are you mocking my intelligence, human? If you are part bird, then what am I? Part human? How preposterous."

    Sensing the disdain in Soft Feather''s words, Lilith quickly frowned with displeasure.

    "I wasn''t mocking your intelligence, but I might as well be now. Because you are stupid," Lilith insulted before she tantly undressed her top and spread out her single ck feathered wing, "Take a good look, idiot."

    Leon opened his eyes briefly and almost had a nosebleed before he quickly closed his eyes again, unwilling to partake in the catfight between Lilith and Soft Feather.

    ''Or should it be called bird fight?'' Leon thought with amusement.

    At the same time, Soft Feather took a quick nce back before she was surprised that she had misjudged the person.

    Even so, she was unwilling to admit her mistake.

    "Ha, bird-kin that cannot fly. Who''s the real idiot now?" Soft Feather spoke sarcastically. But after she finished speaking, she immediately regretted it.

    Lilith''s eyes dulled with a sad look. After retracting her wings and dressing, she sat back down in silence.

    Rumble¡­

    Leon made another two advancements and reached 1-million jins of strength in flesh, bone, and viscera before willingly opening his eyes.

    With the benefits of True Grandmist Energy, he had quickly achieved Rank 1 Body Transformation Realm, the equivalence of Rank 2 Transcendent, in Primordial Body Cultivation.

    If the Body Cultivators of the Burning Heaven Sect, who were still struggling to achieve Rank 1 Transcendent with a meager strength of 100-thousand jin, learned of Leon''s swift improvement, they would probably puke blood from grievance.

    Shortly after, Leon threw Lilith a nce before he quickly reprimanded Soft Feather, "That was not a nice thing to say, Soft Feather. You should apologize to Lilith,"

    "I¡­ I¡­" Soft Feather stuttered while feeling aggrieved.

    She was already letting them ride on her back, yet they were even demanding her apology. Isn''t this too much bullying?!

    "Well, I won''t force you if you don''t want to¡­ Just know that what you said is wrong," Leon lectured with a calm look.

 Chapter 588 - Bloody Vines

    <h4>Chapter 588 - Bloody Vines</h4>

    Soft Feather pouted slightly with her head facing the front after being lectured by Leon before she went silent, unwilling to talk further.

    Perhaps, she would just make things worse if she continued to talk.

    Leon threw a nce at the depressed Lilith for a moment before he inspected her cultivation level in Body Cultivation that did not seem to have grown by much in the time he had not seen her.

    ''Seems like she has been practicing Divine Cultivation like everyone else, huh?'' Leon silently mused, noticing that Lilith had reached the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering Realm, a step short from the Energy Condensation Realm.

    ''Ninth Layer of Body Tempering Realm, huh?''

    Leon was not surprised that Lilith had reached this level, even if she only casually practiced Divine Cultivation. After all, she had been staying by the World Tree, where the Spirit Energy was densest and growing in abundance.

    "Lilith,e over here for a second," Leon suddenly called out to Lilith before she turned to face him with brows wrinkled in confusion and tears in the corners of her eyes.

    "What is it?" She asked.

    Leon held Lilith''s hand before he took out one of his levitation rings and slotted it into her index finger, causing Lilith''s heart to thump slightly with surprise, "What is this about?"

    "You''ll see in a moment."

    With a casual look, Leon proceeded to take out one of his anti-suppression pendant devices as well before he put it on Lilith for her.

    "You''ve been practicing Divine Cultivation, so you should know how to manipte Spirit Energy by now. Try channeling some Spirit Energy into the pendant, then channel some Spirit Energy into the ring after," Leon instructed.

    "Ahh!"

    Lilith eximed with surprise when her body suddenly floated in midair after she followed Leon''s instruction.

    "I-I''m flying!" Lilith cried with pleasant surprise.

    "Yes, but not quite." Leon floated close to Lilith and nodded before he exined, "You are only levitating, but you can control the altitude with the levitation ring. You still need an impetus to help you fly¡­"

    "With only one wing, you have always had trouble with your bnce and flight coordination. But with the assistance of the levitation ring, you should be able to fly on your own now¡­"

    As Leon was exining to Lilith, Aria has hopped on her ice-lightning sword and flew over.

    Only Duna remained on Soft Feather''s back, cultivating in a state of deep focus while Soft Feather continued to fly ahead with a sulking expression.

    However, doubt suddenly sprouted in her heart, "Why did it suddenly get lighter?"

    "Huh? Why is there only one left? Where did the others go?" Soft Feather eximed before she quickly nced down towards the surface, thinking out loud, "Did I identally drop them?"

    Eventually, Soft Feather heaved a sigh after spotting the three people in the sky some distance away before flying back to them.

    "Awroof?" Silver came to a sudden stop after sensing Leon''s scent growing fainter before it nced back and waited.

    Meanwhile, Aria shortly arrived beside Leon before she softly whispered into his ear with a slight pout, "Being too nice to girls is not a good thing, you know?

    "Is that vinegar I smell?" Leon smiled slightly, sensing Aria''s jealousy before he said wryly, "I am just trying to cheer her up a bit. She was too depressed."

    "That little ''cheering'' might just cause her to fall for you if you are not careful. What are you going to do if that happens? Will you ept her feelings or reject them? Knowing you, you will probably ept them!" Aria pouted.

    You''re just overthinking. That won''t happen, Aria." Leon smiled lightly before pinching Aria''s puffed cheeks, "Why would you think that of me?"

    "Well, can you name at least one woman that you are close to but not your lover?"

    "Of course, I ca¡ª" Leon suddenly paused without any further words to retort her im.

    Aria threw him a dirty look before Leon chuckled ruefully while scratching his cheeks with an embarrassed look, "It seems there isn''t any¡­"

    "Hmph." Aria gave a soft snort.

    ¡­

    While Leon and Aria were interacting with each other, Lilith took the chance to sprout her wing and began to test her flight.

    "Uwaaa!" Lilith eximed with joy.

    After regaining her lost feeling of freedom in the sky, she was in an exuberant mood as she pped her ck wing and shuffled through the air, adapting to her new form of flight.

    "This is¡­ amazing!"

    Being born for the sky, Lilith''s movement quickly began less awkward and more graceful and swift at a noticeable rate.

    Lilith quickly mastered one-winged flight within a short time as her singr ck grewrger to adjust to her mastery and increasing speed.

    Sometimeter, Lilith flew back to Leon''s side.

    "Leon! Mwah!" She quickly expressed her joy with a soft peck on Leon''s cheeks before asking excitedly, "What''s the function of this pendant?"

    "Haven''t you noticed that we are quite high in altitude?" Leon asked.

    Perhaps because he was affected by Lilith''s joyful mood or simply feeling happy for her, he began to exin with a warm smile, "That pendant helps remove the sky''s suppressive force and allow you to fly much higher than ever before¡ªBut to a certain extent, of course."

    "Really?!" Lilith''s eyes widened in surprise and realization.

    Swoosh~!

    Without waiting for Leon''s response, Lilith immediately shot higher into the skies, reaching the clouds shortly.

    Leon''s head was raised, following Lilith''s trail with his gaze¡ªeven seeing her panty sh from below, before he felt Aria''s gaze on him.

    "Did you see what I mean?" Aria said with a slightly disgruntled look.

    Knowing what she was talking about, Leon rubbed his cheeks before he exined with a wry smile, "She was just expressing her gratitude¡­ Ahem, don''t overthink it¡­"

    "Yeah, right. Do you think anyone will just give you a smooch on the cheeks if there isn''t any trace of love hidden within her heart?" Aria rolled eyes before she sighed, "Seems like I need to prepare to ept another sister."

    "I don''t know about that, but it seems like someone has been a little grouchy." Leon wrapped his arms around Aria''s body from behind and nibbled on her ear, "Perhaps, I haven''t been giving you enough of my affection?"

    Feeling Leon''s warm breath on her ears, Aria''s face quickly flushed with embarrassment.

    The open disy of intimacy made her further embarrassed as she spoke shyly in a soft tone, "There are people around¡­"

    "Hm?" Leon noticed the subtle implication in her message before he smiled mischievously and whispered softly, "Then we will continue when no one is around."

    Aria''s face flushed deeper before parting from Leon''s hold, but she did not object and even tacitly agreed with a silent nod.

    At the same time, Leon silently thought in his mind, ''I already missed thest opportunity. I can''t miss this one too.''

    Lust aside, Leon wondered how much Aria will benefit from their next intimate session now that his body has been remolded by True Grandmist Energy.

    Swoosh~!

    "Uwaa! Leon, I love it! These tools are amazing!" Lilith returned with a rarely seen joyful look that Leon had not seen since they met.

    Mwah! Mwah!

    Lilith gave Leon a few more pecks on each cheek before she parted from Leon and asked expectantly, "Can I keep these two items?"

    "Of course. The anti-suppression pendant and levitation ring are my gifts to you. Keep it by all means. I still have a few more," Leon said casually.

    If he had worked on his phrasing a bit, it would have been a nail in the coffin.

    Nevertheless, Lilith''s eyes brightened before she wanted to give Leon a few more pecks to share her joy.

    "Ahem!" Aria faked a cough loudly.

    Lilith''s exuberant mood was cooled before she nced over to Aria. She realized what she had done before her expression turned awkward.

    "Oh, sorry. Something was caught in my throat. Was I interrupting something?" Aria said with a dumb look.

    Leon was a little speechless.

    Aria''s jealousy could not be any more obvious, causing Leon to smile at this cute side of her. But before Leon could tease her, Silver''s howl immediately alerted everyone.

    "Awroo!"

    Swoosh~!

    Leon quickly shot over to the Transcendent-level silver wolf''s side.

    Aria and Lilith followed not too far behind while Soft Feather descended at the sound of trouble with Duna on her back.

    "Silver, what wrong?" Leon asked before Silver whimpered with its legs caught in red vines, unable to break free.

    "Awroo!" Silver struggled.

    But the more the Transcendent-level silver wolf resisted inside the blood vines, the tighter it coiled around the silver wolf''s limbs and tails, binding it to the ground.

    Leon frowned.

    The Tier 4 Bone Spear quickly shed in his hand before he hacked at the blood vines¡ªonly for it to bounce back before the blood vine shifted its aggression to Leon, immediately coiling around him.

    "Leon!" Aria cried.

    She immediately conjured a few ice-lightning swords while Lilith revealed her w-like sharp nails in preparation to free Leon.

    However, Leon raised a hand against the bloody vine''s constraints and stopped them, "Don''t attack just yet. These bloody vines are pretty strange and fascinating. Let me investigate a bit."

    The bloody vine''s resilience drew his curiosity.

    After instructing the silver wolf to stop resisting, Leon observed the surrounding bloody vines that seemed to have grown out from the blood-soaked soil littered with mutant rat carcasses.

    Aria and Lilith pegged their noses from the putrid stench in the area while Leon muttered with interest, "How peculiar¡­"

 Chapter 589 - Skysilver Tribes Ruins

    <h4>Chapter 589 - Skysilver Tribe''s Ruins</h4>

    "Try not to breathe too much around here. Rodents are the carriers of diseases and gues, let alone after being mutated and infected with Wrathful Demonic Energy," Leon warned thedies.

    Soft Feather''srge bodynded on a patch of bloody vines and mutant rat carcasses before her frigid mist spread out and frozen the area, foul air and decaying corpses alike.

    "If we don''t breathe, then are you asking us to suffocate to death?" Soft Feather threw Leon a questioning nce.

    Leon raised an eyebrow before he responded, "¡­Or you can just leave the area?"

    "Ughk¡­" Soft Feather was immediately stunned, speechless. Why didn''t she think of that?

    Leon studied the bloody vines with interest, but then he suddenly noticed that the bloody vines did not try to ensnare Soft Feather.

    The frigid cold spread to the silver wolf''s area before the bloody vines became rigid.

    Crack!

    The bloody vines coiling around Silver were shattered like ss from a slight movement, freeing the silver wolf from its bindings.

    "Awroo!" Silver howled excitedly.

    The Transcendent-level silver wolf began prancing around on each patch of frozen bloody vines and shattering them all into pieces for revenge.

    Seeing this situation, Leon quickly lost interest in the bloody vines.

    The power of Nihility spread out from Leon and reduced his bloody vine bindings into energy particles before he absorbed them into his body.

    "Weren''t you interested in studying these bloody vines, Leon?" Aria asked with a curious look.

    "I did." Leon smiled lightly before saying, "These bloody vines have some incredible resilience to resist my attack. But if it has such a fatal weakness against the cold, it will not be very useful to us."

    "That being said, I should collect some samples to study. Perhaps, there will be some other usage for it."

    Recalling that the entire elven tribe mainly used vines as their primary weapon, Leon decided to grab a bit more samples before storing them neatly in the Worldspace.

    Meanwhile, Soft Feather''s pupil shrank from Leon''s disy of power, unable toprehend what kind of ability he just used.

    But the fact that Leon could convert the bloody vines into absorbable energy left her shell-shocked.

    Recalling her mother''s words, Soft Feather had no choice but to admit that human was not simple.

    After Leon finished collecting his samples, he turned to Soft Feather and said, "Let us continue on our journey."

    "Well, hop on then." Soft Feather responded with a grudging tone that was evidently less resistant than before.

    Shortly after Aria fly onto Soft Feather''s back, Leon noticed that Lilith remained unmoving, seemingly lost in thought.

    Leon snapped his fingers in front of her face to catch her attention before he asked, "What''s up? What are you thinking about in a daze?"

    Lilith did not respond immediately but nced at the mutant rat carcasses littered like mountains in the surroundings with few beasts of different species buried underneath without an intact body.

    "The Skysilver Tribe is not far from here, yet the scene is like this¡­ Makes me wonder how my family is doing¡­" Lilith said with knitted brows.

    "Worry about it now won''t do you any good. We will know the situation once we get there. You can worry then." Leon thought for a moment before he added, "How far is the Deste Crow n from the Skysilver Tribe?"

    "It''s about a 600 miles stretch west from the Skysilver Tribe to reach the borders of the Deste Crow n''s territory and another 700 miles after that before we can arrive at the main tribe."

    After listening to Lilith, Leon was quick to raise an eyebrow in response, "You''ve run quite a distance away from home there, missy."

    "Why did you run away from home in the first ce?" Leon could not help but ask with his curiosity piqued.

    Lilith pouted slightly before saying, "Well, I guess there is no point hiding this matter from you. I was simply running away from an arranged marriage set by my parents."

    "Oh?" Leon''s curiosity increased.

    Nevertheless, he hopped onto Soft Feather''s back before he said, "Let us talk while we are on the move."

    "Alright." Lilith nodded.

    Shortly after Leon instructed the silver wolf to keep up, Soft Feather took off with everyone on her back and resumed the journey.

    "I thought you were a little princess or something within the Deste Crow n. Why would your parents force you into an arranged marriage?" Aria stole the words from Leon''s mouth and cast Lilith a curious nce while squeezing in between them.

    Leon smiled wryly.

    "The Deste Crow n is considered a Mid-rank tribe in the Wilnds, but it lives under the sovereignty of a High-rank tribe, the Deste Netherbird Tribe, along with three other ns."

    "Lilith issued a sigh before she added, "This is why we are called the Deste Crow n and not the Deste Crow Tribe."

    "A High-rank tribe would mean that there''s at least an Early-stage Paragon as its ruler, right?" Leon inserted with a curious look before adding, "Why don''t you want to marry into such a powerful ruling family?"

    "Are you kidding me? Do you think I am such a vain woman?" Lilith rolled her eyes angrily at Leon.

    Shortly after, she added, "I''ve only met the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s Second Prince once, yet was enamored and asked for my hand in marriage. Do you think I will be happy living with such a person?"

    "But for you to leave so irresponsibly on your own with such marriage contract with the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s royal family in ce¡­" Aria frowned before asking, "Wouldn''t it cause trouble for your family?"

    Lilith was stunned.

    "Seeing that look on your face, I guess you did not think about the consequences your actions could bring them." Aria shook her head with disappointment.

    "I¡­" Lilith''s body trembled, but she had no words to retort. It is exactly as Aria had said.

    Suddenly, Leon noticed the big hill up ahead, filled with mountains of corpses and ruined primitive structure, before he asked, "Is that the Skysilver Tribe up ahead?"

    "Yeah, that''s the Skysilver Tribe alright¡ªor at least what''s left of it anyway," Lilith confirmed after a take a quick nce at the view ahead.

    "I see¡­ Let us make a quick stop and see if we can find anything useful."

 Chapter 590 - Serpent-kin Beast

    <h4>Chapter 590 - Serpent-kin Beast</h4>

    Leon patted Soft Feather''s head lightly before making his request politely, "Please take us down to the Skysilver Tribe''s ruins, Miss Soft Feather."

    "Okay."

    Soft Feather shortly descended withoutint.

    Leon was slightly surprised before he smiled lightly, thinking that it was possible to get along with Soft Feather as long as he speaks nicely to her.

    ''Is this what is meant by the proverb; one should not punch a smiling face?'' Leon thought.

    After Soft Feathernded on a moderately t piece ofnd within the Skysilver Tribe, the three-tailed silver wolf was already waiting for them.

    Leon nced at Silver for a moment before asking, "Does this ce seem familiar to you, Silver?"

    "Awroof?" the three-tailed silver wolf tilted its head in response.

    "Never mind. I suppose not." Leon smiled slightly, thinking that it was too early for Silver to recall anything.

    But it could also be that the three-tailed silver wolf''s memory and intelligence were truly permanently impaired for good.

    "This is the Skysilver Tribe? I smell reeks terribly here." Aria furrowed her brows in disgust from the revolting smell that assailed her senses.

    The entire tribe was heavily concentrated with carcasses that formed multiple tall walls on the outer rings, while blood soaked the region, and not a single structure was left intact.

    The pungent stench of blood and rotting flesh was enough to make anyone nauseous¡ªand even spew for the weak stomachs.

    Ice-lightning power quickly surged out from Aria''s body before she chilled her surroundings and blew away the foul smell from the area.

    Swoosh~!

    "Be careful. There''s still something alive in this tribe," Leon warned at the faintest sense of sudden movements.

    He immediately swept out with his divine sense.

    Before Leon could locate the creature, a serpent beast with a human upper body exposed itself from a mountain of smelly corpses some distance away.

    Hiss!

    The serpent-kin beast hissed at Leon''s group, crimson-eyed, and a bloody bone spear in hand. It greatly resembled one of the top beast races within the Divine Realm.

    "Is that a Naga?" Aria muttered with surprise.

    "Nagas are naturally born half-serpent half-human creatures and not a product from interracial breeding¡­" Leon shook his head after a quick nce at the berserk serpent-kin beast before he said, "But this one should have been born from a human and serpent¡­"

    "Huh?" Aria was quickly startled before she muttered in shock, "How is it even possible for humans and serpents to mate?"

    "If the serpent''s ancestors were once Divine Beasts, then it should be very possible after their human transformation. But that doesn''t seem like the case here¡­" Leon spoke before muttering, "So it can only be the other possibility¡­"

    "What is the other possibility?" Lilith asked with curiosity.

    "Huh? Didn''t you grow up in the Wilnds?" Aria asked her before she continued, "How is it possible that you don''t know about the origins of these types of serpent-kin beasts?"

    "I wasn''t interested in learning how a snake and human mated, okay? How am I supposed to know if I never learned about it?" Lilith retorted.

    "Oh¡­" Aria nodded before she smiled slyly, "You weren''t interested then, so why are you interested now?"

    "I¡­ uh¡­" Lilith was struck speechless. How was she supposed to answer that?!

    "Did the cat caught your tongue?" Aria chuckled softly before pressing Leon to continue, "What is the other possibility?"

    As she was asking, the serpent-kin lunged at the group with its bloody bone spear.

    Leon casually stomped the ground,unching several rocks and pebbles into the air before he kicked at a fist-sized rock with Divine Will.

    Bang!

    The rock mmed into the berserk serpent-kin beast''s chest and catapulted it some distance away.

    After removing the distraction, Leon cleared his throat with a cough, "Ahem, the other possibility is¡­ Well, simply put; if there''s a hole, there''s a way."

    "That''s gross, Leon!" Aria and Lilith cried.

    They did not understand how the procreation process would work even if that was the case, but that no longer mattered. They did not want to know.

    At the same time, Soft Feather nced down at Leon with her big head before asking, "Are you speaking from experience?"

    "You disgust me, Leon. I am very disappointed in you." Duna''s voice also trickled into Leon''s ears from Soft Feather''s back.

    Leon stood frozen like a block of wood, stunned and speechless for a moment before he quickly cried, "Now hold on a minute! I haven''t done such a thing before! I just know about these things, alright?!"

    "Uh-huh¡­" Aria uttered with an unconvinced look while Lilith showed a simr expression.

    "Aria¡­ You don''t believe me?" Leon nced at Aria with wide eyes and said, "I thought you would always be on my side¡­"

    "I am on your side in many things." Aria shook her head before stating, "But not for something like this¡­"

    "You know his strike zone is very extensive when he is even sexually attracted to a vengeful spirit like me, who is not even a living being¡­" Duna fanned the mes while peeking over from the edge of Soft Feather''s back.

    "I didn''t know you were such a person, Leon. This is so shocking¡­" Lilithmented with a shaken look.

    While her mind was disturbed by the shocking revtions, Leon felt great dismay by the false usations.

    The serpent-kin beast had unknowingly crept back for revenge before it tragically became Leon''s target for relieving his frustration.

    "Piss off!"

    Leon kicked the serpent-kin beast so hard that it exploded on a sturdy wall and died without an intact body before he gazed back at thedies and said, "Y''all ganging on me."

    Duna and Aria nced at each other before they broke into smiles with giggles from Aria. Their expression quickly froze in the next moment before facing away from each other with a ''humph.''

    Lilith shifted her gaze between each party involved with a confused expression before she expressed her doubt, "Wait, are you all just messing around? Leon is actually not like ''that,'' right?"

    "Who knows?" Duna answered vaguely with a smile.

    "Haiz¡­" Leon issued a long sigh before he said, "Alright, that''s enough. Jokes aside, let us take a quick look and be on our way."

    That being said, Leon''s gaze was drawn to the blood pool that was revealed under the mountain of corpses the serpent-kin beast crawled out from earlier.

 Chapter 591 - Commencing Blood Refinement

    <h4>Chapter 591 - Commencing Blood Refinement</h4>

    At the edge of the blood pool, Leon quickly noticed arge patch of earth had been hollowed out by the concentration of beast blood, while other areas showed signs of the blood melting their way into the ground.

    "Did the vicious beast blood absorb Wrathful Demonic Energies in the surrounding, hence gaining a corrosive, high temperature that allows it to melt the earth?" Leon muttered to himself.

    Shortly after, his eyes flickered, "The blood should be around two days old at least, but it did not dry up. The blood essence and vital energy has been preserved¡­ is this due to the Wrathful Demonic Energy?"

    As Leon arrived at this conclusion, the firmer he felt it was likely the case.

    Aria arrived beside Leon and peeked into the blood pool below with curiosity before she asked, "Is there something interesting about this blood pool?"

    "I wouldn''t say interesting¡­ but it does make a good source of cultivation resource for Blood Cultivators," Leon replied with a thoughtful look.

    "Oh?" Lilith frowned at the term ''Blood Cultivator'' before she queried, "Isn''t this blood pool contaminated in foul energy, though? Even if a Blood Cultivator can make use of this blood pool for Blood Cultivation, the person will only go berserk during the process."

    "That''s true. A normal cultivator will indeed get stumped by such a problem." Leon nodded before saying with an expression that exuded confidence, "But am I a normal cultivator?"

    "Less boasting." Lilith rolled her eyes before she frowned, "You''ve be a Blood Cultivator? Even if you have, I won''t let you cultivator in this blood pool. It''s too dangerous for both you and the rest of us."

    "Not yet, but I will be. You need not worry about this. I know what I am doing," Leon said calmly before gazing over to Duna.

    Duna noticed his gaze and nced back in response, "What is it?"

    "All this blood doesn''t arouse your bloodthirst?" Leon asked with wonder, thinking it was strange that Duna appeared utterly unaffected.

    "I''ve already had my fill earlier." Duna licked her lips before she suddenly added with a solemn look, "Besides, I am not interested in some filthy mixture of various beast blood."

    "If you don''t drink beast blood, then are you nning to only drink my blood?" Leon furrowed his brows slightly.

    "That doesn''t sound like a bad idea. Your blood is of much higher quality than some beast blood and also cleaner as well." Duna nodded with approval of the idea before saying, "You can refine the beast blood while I suck from you after."

    "Oh, not a bad idea indeed. I wouldn''t mind letting you suck me," Leon smiled slyly with hidden connotations.

    However, he quickly received dirty looks from all thedies, Soft Feather included.

    Duna nced at the otherdies andzily said, "Don''t mind him. He is just a horny dog who can only think with his lower body."

    "Ahem." Leon coughed awkwardly, realizing they had all understood his meaning before changing the topic, "Please watch over me while I absorb the vital essence in this blood pool."

    "Mm." Aria noddedpliantly.

    Lilith knitted her brows and quickly sought Aria''s help in persuading Leon otherwise, "Aren''t you going to stop him, Miss Aria?"

    "Not at all. I haveplete faith in him," Aria calmly said.

    She nced at the Soft Feather and Duna, but neither of them seemed to show concern either, making her worries feel misced.

    "There''s something wrong with all of you¡­" Lilith muttered softly.

    Shortly after, Leon undressed his top and revealed his bare upper body, taut with well-defined muscles.

    Lilith gasped.

    She quickly covered her eyes with her hands in embarrassment, but she could not help but peek in between the gaps of her fingers.

    Suddenly, Aria''s face filled her vision before the person spoke, "Oh? What do we have here? A naughty little peeker, eh?"

    "If you are going to just look, just look. No need to hide your face, only to peek." Aria added with a sly smile.

    "Ahaha¡­" Lilith gave a forcedugh after being caught and called out, "Maybe I will do just that¡­"

    Soon, Aria turned to Leon and took the clothes from his hand, "Let me hold onto these for you, Leon."

    "Alright." Leon smiled warmly.

    After he closed his eyes and reviewed the details of the Evesting Blood Mantra in his mind, he reopened his eyes and hopped straight into the blood pool.

    Plop!

    The blood sshed upon his entry before Leon felt the scorching heat from the blood pool. The corrosiveness pricked his skin but failed to break his defense.

    Within moments, Leon entered a meditative state of focus and concentrated on refining the blood.

    "ording to the Evesting Blood Mantra, the word ''Evesting'' has two meanings. The first being that which is eternal; bing undying through blood."

    Leon began musing in his mind, "The second is to evesting in battle, not knowing tire and exhaustion through blood."

    At the highest level of the Evesting Blood Mantra, it is said that even if the body is destroyed, the person can still generate his entire body as long as a single drop of blood remained.

    "If I practice the divine skill of the Evesting Blood Mantra, I can absorb blood essence from my fallen enemies to replenish my stamina and strength, and continue fighting until I am thest one standing¡­"

    As Leon began his blood refinement, Aria folded Leon''s clothes before turning to Lilith, "You know, I am quite surprised by your patience. I thought you would be urging us to reach your n sooner rather thanter."

    "I''m not very patient. It''s just that I am not really in any position to rush you all when you are all nice enough to apany me already," Lilith smiled ruefully and added, "I''m not that selfish, and I don''t have the right to be when I was the one to leave home in the first ce."

    "I see." Aria uttered while studying Lilith''s expression before she stated, "Well, it seems that you have cheered up from the other matter at least."

    After Aria said this, Lilith subconsciously traced her ring and pendant with a smile, "Yeah¡­"

 Chapter 592 - Reaching Early-Success Stage

    <h4>Chapter 592 - Reaching Early-Sess Stage</h4>

    Inside the blood pool, the scorching hot blood began swirling around like a whirlpool with Leon at its center.

    ''ording to the Evesting Blood Mantra, each beast have their own unique source code hidden within their blood essence that makes their blood differ from other beast blood. Bloodline inheritance also stems from this so-called source code referred to as Origin Blood.''

    As Leon mused silently in the blood pool, the blood essence churned and gathered to the tips of his fingers in a spherical motion, forming a round drop of blood that gradually reduces in size over time.

    ''Luckily, I don''t need to understand nor learn how to read the source code of each beast blood essence I refine. By following the Evesting Blood Mantra''s unique blood refinement, the Origin Blood will reveal itself¡ªor so it says.''

    Leon nced at the drop of sparkling blood essence, exuding a heavily concentrated amount of lifeforce within.

    At the same time, the Wrathful Demonic Energies contaminating the umted blood essence were quickly filtered with Divine Will and converted by Nihility Law.

    ''By fusing each Origin Blood with my own blood, I can gain the unique qualities of the said beast blood and break away from human limitations. The more Origin Blood fused, the higher the quality of my blood bes¡­''

    Shortly after, Leon sliced his own wrist open before inserting the refined drop of Origin Blood belonging to the Wingrats into his bloodstream.

    Following the next step, True Grandmist Energy quickly rushed over to assist the fusion of the Wingrat''s Origin Blood with his blood source.

    Within moments, the spherical drop of Origin Blood quickly dissipated, bing one with his blood, under the guidance and transformation of True Grandmist Energy.

    Leon immediately noticed the changes to his blood, feeling the increasing density, lifespan, and slight power. Even his leaping strength seemed to have increased ever slightly.

    Overall, there were improvements but not a significant amount.

    "As I would expect, the Wingrat''s Origin Blood is too inferior, granting me little improvements. Nevertheless, I have achieved initial sess in the Evesting Blood Mantra," Leon muttered after inspecting his body.

    "Now that the Wingrat''s Origin Blood has been fused with me, any additional Origin Blood from the Wingrats will grant zero improvements¡­"

    That being said, additional Origin Blood will transform into raw energy that replenishes stamina.

    Shortly after, Leon''s eyes shifted back on the blood pool with almost no changes and eyed the other beast blood mixed within.

    "One type of Origin Blood fused is preliminary sess while ten types of Origin Blood fused will be achieving early sess stage in the technique¡­"

    Leon''s eyes flickered before muttering, "I should not waste this opportunity to absorb all the different types of existing beast blood in this blood pool."

    Getting started in the Evesting Blood Mantra was easy, but mastering it was another story entirely.

    If he wanted to master the Evesting Blood Mantra''s first stage, he would need the Origin Blood of 10 thousand different species!

    "Haiz, I don''t even want to think about the requirements for thetter stages of this technique¡­" Leon shook his head helplessly before focusing on refining the remaining Origin Blood.

    Time slowly flew by.

    Aria watched Leon diligently cultivate inside the blood pool as it quickly reduced in blood over time.

    Swoosh~!

    Soft Feather pped her wings in boredom, throwing a slight tantrum, "How long are we nning to wait here? I''m so bored~!"

    "It''s only been ten minutes. Can''t you have a little bit of patience? You don''t need to stay here and keep guard if you are that bored. I, alone, am enough here," Aria stated calmly.

    Shortly after, she suggested, "Why don''t you go and scavenge the Skysilver Tribe''s ruins for something useful or fun to y with?"

    "Hmm, not a bad idea. I will do just that. Thank you for the suggestion." Soft Feather quickly took off to take a look around without further notice.

    Duna was carried away on Soft Feather''s back, but she was

    Aria shifted her gaze on Lilith before she said, "You can go look around too if you want. This area should be rtively safe for now. I don''t think there will be any more beasts lurking around for now¡ªbut even if there are, I will be able to deal with it."

    "Hmm¡­" Lilith''s eyes lingered on Leon''s figure inside of the blood pool below for a long before she nodded, "Alright. I will go take a long around too."

    Shortly after Lilith left, Aria nced at Leon for a moment before she began to contemte the next course of her training.

    ''It''s a pity that there aren''t any ice-lightning regions that I am aware of that can assist me with my cultivation¡­'' Aria pondered with knitted brows.

    If she did not want to fall behind on cultivation, she would need to look for freezing and lightning regions to meditate on the Ice Law and Lightning Law separately.

    ''My Lightning Law recently made arge advancement¡­ if I don''t want my cultivation to be unstable, I will need to advance my Ice Law''s understanding next to bnce the Laws¡­'' Aria mused before wondering where she could find such a ce.

    Suddenly, Aria nce back in the direction that Soft Feather had left before she wore a thoughtful expression, ''The Blue Luan Tribe should be situated in a cold region¡­ but I can only inquire after Soft Feather returns¡­''

    Sometimeter, Leonpletely fusing his tenth Origin Blood before his eyes snapped open, feeling invigorated and refreshed.

    "Seems like reaching the Early-sess stage has increased my lifespan by a hundred years¡­" Leon muttered while clenching his fist and feeling the power coursing through his veins.

    Shortly after, he sliced his wrist again before his eyes narrowed on his wound, watching it regenerate itself without the aid of medicine or energy with curative properties.

    "Looks like my body can recover from fleshly wounds on its own now. That''s good." Leon beamed at his progress before hopping out of the half-depleted blood pool.

    "Ahh!" Aria eximed with a blush while covering her eyes with one hand and offering Leon''s upper clothes with the other, "Here! Quickly wear something!"

    "Hm?"

    Leon felt a little tingly in his lower region before realizing his pants had been lost to the corrosive blood pool.

    Nevertheless, a man should show confidence in this regard and not embarrassment.

    "What''s wrong, Aria? It''s not like it''s the first time you''ve seen it¡­" Leon grinned.

 Chapter 593 - Arias First Experience

    <h4>Chapter 593 - Aria''s First Experience</h4>

    "Hmph, I''m not being embarrassed for myself. I''m embarrassed that you might be seen by the others," Aria responded with a pout while her hand continued to cover her eyes.

    Leon''s grin grew wider.

    He suddenly tugged her hand away before wrapping his other hand around her waist and pulled her in to face him up close.

    "Why do you need to cover your eyes then?" Leon questioned her with a smile.

    "Stop it." Aria faced away from Leon''s gaze with a deep flush while feeling his warm breath on her neck before saying, "The others were to explore the tribe, but there''s no telling when they will be back."

    "Oh? Then we better move to somewhere more private, shouldn''t we?" Leon smiled before lifting Aria''s chin for a kiss.

    "Mmf¡ª"

    Aria was about to protest, but her lips were sealed.

    Shortly after, she felt something hard rubbed against herher region before her body trembled with extra sensitiveness, turning her knees soft, and thest trace of her little resistance quickly disappeared.

    She leaned against Leon''s chest after their lips parted before she asked quietly in a soft tone, "But where can we find a private ce here?"

    "You''ll see. There''s a ce I want to show you." Leon smiled with his arms wrapped around Aria before he took the both of them into the Worldspace with a single thought.

    The change in scenery quickly startled Aria.

    She nced around with wide eyes before they flickered with a sudden realization, "Is this the inner world that exists inside of the Divine Book of Life?"

    "Yeah¡­" Leon nodded before he said, "As I thought, you are also aware of the Divine Book of Life."

    Considering Aria inherited the memories and experiences of Aria White, it did note as a surprise to Leon that Aria would know about the divine treasure.

    After all, the whole world learned about it before the Divine Medicine King was schemed against by the other Divine Kings lusting for the treasure.

    "Mm, I learned about it, but I still didn''t expect for it to have crossed over into this world with you¡­" Aria responded before she pulled Leon''s hand while leaning, falling back onto the grassy ground with Leon on top.

    She gazed at Leon with affectionate eyes, feeling the warmth of Leon''s trust by revealing such a big secret to her.

    Knowing why the two of them entered the Worldspace, Aria took the initiative to wrap her arms around Leon''s neck and pull him close before she whispered with a beating heart, "I want you to spoil me."

    "Of course, my love," Leon lowered his head and kissed Aria''s supple lips while lowering his hands to undress her clothes before tossing them aside.

    "Ahh~!''

    Aria gasped tightly while hugging Leon''s neck as he made his way down her body with his slivery tongue, from her lips to her neck, from her neck to her twin rabbits.

    Very shortly, Leon reached her flowery garden, oozing with love nectar and ever ready to wee him in, but he refrained from jumping the gun immediately.

    Instead, he teased the honey pot and nippled on the cute twin peaks, causing Aria''s eyshes to flutter to heightened anticipation, not knowing when the main assault will begin.

    Her breathing became haggard from quickened heartbeat, and her face flushed with shyness despite her experience and familiarity with Leon.

    "Mmm~!" Aria gave an erotic cry from the sudden surge of pleasure assaulting her.

    She gripped her arms around Leon tightly and dug her nails into his back as he rammed his bulging rod into her cave of wonders, connecting their hearts and body as one.

    Waves of delight and bliss sent them to the highest clouds of heaven and to the lowest depths of carnal pleasure as Leon thrust his raging dragon with quickened tempo.

    "Ahhh~!"

    Throughout the Worldspace, nothing was heard except Aria''s tender moans of euphoria pain before her body trembled from the climax and slump with softness like jelly.

    Nevertheless, she would not be satisfied with round and immediately tug Leon''s neck and assertively demanded, "I want to try whatever it is that you''ve done with Duna."

    Leon nced into Aria''s eyes with surprise before her courage quickly deted with averted eyes and a whispered soft tone, "Is that a no?"

    "Of course not!" Leon chuckled before he spoke with a gentle gaze, "I will happily oblige if it is your wish, Aria. Close your eyes, and rx your body."

    Shortly after, Leon entered Aria''s spiritual world with Soul Dive before he quickly discovered Aria wandering around her spiritual world like a curious rabbit, having experienced it for the first time.

    After sneaking up close, he immediately pounced on her like a big bad wolf, frightening the little rabbit with rm.

    "Ahh!¡ªMmm~!" Aria''s startled cry quickly turned to blissful moans as Leon gave her a taste of heaven while mounting her from behind and fondling her supple twin mounds of goodness.

    He kissed her back and worked his way to her neck, then her ears as they quickly glowed with crimson redness from shyness.

    "Mm~! Wait! Why does this feel so much¡ªbetter~!" Aria failed to endure the waves of pleasure, giving a drawn-out moan of delight.

    With several rounds, Aria was quick to plead for Leon''s leniency.

    "This was what you wished for." Leon smiled before adding, "Isn''t it a shame if we don''t enjoy ourselves to the fullest, especially when it''s a rare chance for us to have some private time together?"

    "I know¡­ but this is too much. Give me a break for one¡ªmoment~!" Aria mumbled before getting taken by surprise by another one of Leon''s sudden thrust, causing her body to shiver with delight.

    The two battled for another couple of rounds before Aria copsed weakly on top of Leon''s chest, sweaty with a pinkish flush and a content smile.

    Nevertheless, she still found the extra strength to pound his chest with aint, "Did I ask to give me a break?"

    "But it was great, right?" Leon chuckled slightly, causing Aria to pout before he added, "Don''t worry. You''ll be lively again once we leave."

    "Mm, if you say so." Aria nestled on Leon''s chest before she suddenly shot up, "Oh, no! What if the others left elsewhere to look after failing to find us?"

    "Don''t worry, time in the spiritual world flows differently to the outside world. That''s being said, we should return before we worry the others," Leon stated calmly as he rustled Aria''s hair.

    "Mm¡­" Aria nodded.

 Chapter 594 - The Fissure

    <h4>Chapter 594 - The Fissure</h4>

    Shortly after returning to the Worldspace, Leon and Aria were quickly dressed before Leon took them back outside.

    Very quickly, Leon noticed Soft Feather was already waiting for them, and one her back, Duna eyed them with a mischievous smile, "I wonder where the two of you have been, hm hm?"

    "You know where." Leon scratched his cheeks wryly.

    Duna wore an expression that says she saw through everything, but at the same time, Leon vaguely sensed some jealousy in her gaze.

    "Where, where? I don''t know." Soft Feather asked curiously.

    Leon threw Soft Feather a nce and coolly said, "You don''t need to know that," causing the Blue Luan''s mood to quickly plummet with a sulking expression.

    "Hmph!" Soft Feather snorted and spat with puffed cheeks, "Wasn''t interested anyway."

    Shortly after, Leon nced around for a moment before he asked, "Where''s Lilith? Is she not back yet?"

    "I guess not? We weren''t together. Maybe she wille back soon enough if we just wait a bit longer." Duna responded nonchntly.

    "I see." Leon nodded before he inquired, "I heard you all weren''t to look around. Did you find anything interesting?"

    Duna did not answer.

    Instead, she shifted her gaze to Soft Feather before the Blue Luan spat with disdain, "A Low-rank tribe can''t possibly have anything interesting of value in this backward ce. If you want to find rare treasures, you have at least look in the maind''s region."

    "Oh?" Leon immediately turned to Soft Feather with interest before requesting, "Care to borate, Miss Soft Feather? What is different about the maind?"

    "The maind is on a far higher ground than you can possibly imagine." Soft Feather immediately strutted with a haughty look as she continued, "It''s not a ce that humans can survive. The strong suppressive force would crush you all to death¡ª"

    Suddenly, Soft Feather paused as she nced at Leon before she said, "Well, you might be an exception to that. But other humans will die without a doubt with those weak bodies of theirs."

    "However, the maind''s harsh environment¡ª"

    "¡ªThe harsh environment also gives birth to exotic nts and oddities that can only survive¡ªor is strong enough to survive in such a harsh environment, right?" Leon interrupted.

    Soft Feather stamped her feet in annoyance due to Leon stealing the words right out of her mouth.

    Even so, she still grudgingly nodded, "That''s right. It''s a ce for the strong, and that includes nts, among others things as well. Basically, the quality of things is much higher there than out here."

    "Makes sense." Leon nodded in agreement.

    Swoosh~!

    Suddenly, Lilith''s figure flew over with her single feathered ck wing before she hollered, "Leon, I found something strange! You shoulde and take a look."

    Leon raised an eyebrow, noticing a bit faint trace of redness in Lilith''s eyes before he urged her, "Come over here quickly for a second."

    "Hm? What is it?" Lilith asked as she made her over as Leon requested.

    Leon patted her head before he extracted a string of Wrath Demonic Energies from her body¡ªmuch to her rm.

    "Is that¡ª?"

    "Yeah, it''s Wrathful Demonic Energy that infiltrated your body. You need to be more careful next time. You wouldn''t be this lucky if I wasn''t around to notice it quickly," Leon warned her before saying, "Show me what you found."

    "R-Right¡­" Lilith nodded, thinking she owed Leon another for saving her once again. She shook her head shortly before saying, "Follow me."

    "Alright." Leon nodded before suggesting to the others, "Let us all head over together to see what Lilith discovered."

    "Mm."

    The group quickly reached a consensus.

    Sometimeter, the group left the vicinity of the Skysilver Tribe''s ruins under Lilith''s lead and headed deeper west before they stopped some distance away from arge crack in the ground.

    "This is what I wanted to show you." Lilith pointed at the long fissure with visible red mist oozing out of its opening.

    "Some much Wrathful Demonic Energy ising out from this opening¡­ There must be a power source located somewhere nearby." Leon frowned with narrowed eyes before warning the others, "All of you should back off a bit."

    Shortly after, Leon stepped forward reached out with his hands.

    Swoosh~!

    The billowing clouds of red mist were quickly sucked towards the tips of Leon''s hands like a cyclone before he clenched his fist and refined everything inside his ck Vortex Space.

    Remnant traces of unabsorbed Wrathful Demonic Energy were dispersed by the power of Nihility as they scattered from his clenched fist.

    "Aria." Leon suddenly called.

    Swoosh~!

    Not many words were needed to be spoken between him and Aria as she quickly understood his intention.

    She flew forward and sealed the fissure with her Ice Law, preventing further red mist before escaping beforending beside Leon.

    Leon smiled and gave her head a rub.

    Shortly after, he shifted his gaze onto the frozen fissure with a thoughtful look.

    "Since we discovered this thing here, I should go destroy the Energy Conversion Tower hidden below¡­" Leon muttered before turning to Lilith, "Will you mind if our trip to the Deste Crow n is dyed slightly further?"

    "I do want to return home sooner, but this doesn''t seem like a problem we should ignore¡­" Lilith shifted her gaze to blood-soaked fields littered with the rotting fleshes of corpses all around them.

    The beautiful lush green ins of the Wilnds had been transformed into a bloody wastnd.

    "Do what you need to do, Leon," stated Lilith.

    Leon nodded before Aria gazed into his eyes with a request, "Let mee with you."

    "I can agree if it was anything else, but not this. You don''t have an effective means of resisting the Wrathful Demonic Energy. Just leave this one to me, okay?" Leon dissuaded with a gentle tone.

    Aria immediately knitted her brows before she ultimately nodded, albeit unwillingly.

    "What about me?" Duna stood up with a nonchnt look, but she was readying to seek some thrills in the subterranean world and relieve her boredom.

    Nevertheless, Leon shook his head and denied her too, "This isn''t some school excursion. You will stay back too. I will be quick, then we will be on our way."

    Getting rejected, Duna red at him.

 Chapter 595 - Touch Of Death

    <h4>Chapter 595 - Touch Of Death</h4>

    "I''ll be quick."

    After smiling back at Duna''s re, Leon made an opening in the ice-sealed fissure and disappeared inside the veil of billowing red mist.

    All the Wrathful Demonic Energy were quickly swallowed into his ck Vortex Space and refined on his way down into the subterranean world.

    Aria quickly resealed the opening before remnant traces of Wrathful Demonic Energy escaped the fissure¡ªwhen she suddenly noticed something about herself.

    "Please watch over the seal for me. I need to cultivate urgently," Aria made her request to the others before entering a seated meditation on Soft Feather''s back.

    "Hmm¡­" Duna nced at Aria with a thoughtful look before shifting her gaze to Lilith, "All you, Lilith. I''m going to cultivate too."

    Shortly after, Duna entered her own seated meditation and closed her eyes, resuming True Grandmist Energy''s refinement in her body.

    "I¡­"

    Lilith shifted her nce to Soft Feather, but the Blue Luan pretended she was sleeping with her head rested on the blood-soaked ground that stained her beautiful whitish-blue feathers.

    "I guess I can watch over the seal¡­" Lilith muttered with a soft sigh.

    There was ack of Spirit Energy in her current environment to practice Divine Cultivation while her Body Cultivation has stagnated after a single breakthrough.

    ''There''s no cultivation pills or high-quality herbs for Body Cultivation in Human Domain¡­ Only my n has the right resources needed for my Body Cultivation, resulting in myck of progress over thest few months since I left the n¡­'' Lilith thought.

    She really did not want to go back to her n due to the arranged marriage, but at the same time, she was also very concerned about her parents.

    After Aria raised awareness about the implication that she might have caused her parents upon running away selfishly, she became even more worried.

    ''Between happiness and family, is it only possible to choose one? Mom, Dad, please be okay. Your unfilial daughter ising back now,'' Lilith sighed with despair.

    She walked over to the sealed fissure and sat on the cold ice silently, patiently waiting for Leon''s return.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to descend deeper into the subterranean world while clearing the heavy concentration of Wrathful Demonic Energy on his way.

    "It''s strange that arge subterranean space exists under every settlement I''ve been to¡ªwhether it''s the human cities, elven tribe, or even a beast tribe." Leon frowned with suspicion.

    He knew that the subterranean world was enormous. But for there to be so many pocket spaces so close to every settlement he visited, it no longer seemed like a mere coincidence.

    "Is this the demons doing?" Leon pondered.

    "Whether it''s the Human Domain or the Wilnds, there are traces of demons everywhere¡­ yet I have no encountered a single demon on this continent. Instead, I ran into ugly mutated humans¡­"

    Leon began to wonder if demons were actually their biggest enemy or this new force that has been recently revealed to him.

    "It''s puzzling that such a huge force has remained unknown until now despite being so widespread across the world¡­"

    This unknown force of mutated beings definitely seemed strong enough.

    If it was world domination they want, they could have done so instead of meddling in the dark all this while.

    "What are they waiting for?" Leon narrowed his eyes.

    Within moments, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he reached a vast open space in the subterranean world, revealing the Energy Conversion Tower.

    "The tower is much closer than I anticipated¡ªwhich is a good thing. But these guys¡­" Leon muttered as hended on the ground with a heavy thud.

    Thud!

    The noise immediately attracted the roughly three dozen mutated beings gathered around the Energy Conversion Tower in worship as they turned around with rm, "Squee?"

    "Good day to you all. Sorry to crash the party," Leon said nonchntly as the Tier 4 Bone Spear shed into his hand

    Boom!

    The ground cracked from his mighty leap as he shot straight for the Energy Conversion Tower and sliced through it in one swift motion.

    Shing¡ª!

    The Energy Conversion Tower cut in half, revealing the grotesque abomination hidden inside before Leon spread his divine sense and locked onto its core.

    Ka-cha!

    No time was waste as he tossed his bone spear straight for its core, shattering it in an instant, causing the abomination to cry and quickly deform like melted cheese while he flew through the air.

    Squee!

    The mutated beings were stunned for a moment before they erupted into anguish cries, pointing their bony limbs at Leon.

    His eyes narrowed at the sharp bones growing out from their pointed limbs before recalling the Tier 4 Bone Spear back into his hand with Divine Will and disappeared from the spot.

    His figure flickered and reappeared on the ground before piercing the hard skull of a Rank 1 Transcendent-level mutated being, incinerating its brain matter with scorching hot mes that burst out from his bone spear shortly after.

    Squeee!!

    The Rank 1 Transcendent-level mutated being cried painfully before its eventual death while Leon retracted his bone spear, dodged a few w attacks, and moved onto his next victim.

    At the same time, he frowned slightly, ''My fire ability has yet to reach the level of Transcendents¡­ It should be the same for my otherws¡­''

    Only his Nihility Law has yet reached transcendence.

    ''I didn''t experience any baptism during my transcendence in the Nihility Law as it is aw that exists yet does not exist at the same time. The world cannot sense it¡­'' Leon thought while finishing off his third victim.

    Suddenly, his eyes flickered with a question, ''What will happen when I raise my otherws to the Transcendence level?''

    Swoosh~!

    A bone spike shot towards him before grazing his flesh and redirected off into another direction like it had bounced off his body, failing to break his defense but made him feel a slight sting, nheless.

    "I worry about thatter and deal with these mutated beings first. But before that, let me test the effectiveness of my current Nihility Law as an attack." Leon muttered.

    Suddenly, he closed the distance on a mutated being with 6 arms and reached out with his fast w, immediately gripping the mutated being''s face before a surge of Nihility Power rushed into its head.

    The range of his Nihility Law was not great, but when he focused it to a single concentrated point¡ªit proved to be very effective.

    The mutated creature stopped resisting in a split second like it had lost its soul, bing motionless before its head slowly disintegrated into energy particles.

    Leon absorbed the True Grandmist Energy while muttering, "The disintegrating process is slower on living beings¡­ is it due to theplexity of life or the resistance of the will? Nevertheless, death seems to be instantaneous above all else."

    "The soul is not material, making it the quickest to disintegrate into nothingness, huh? This ability seems a little too frightening, no? Killing anything with a touch of my hand¡­ I shall call this skill Vanishing Touch, or perhaps Death''s Touch is better?"

    As Leon pondered, the mutated being had long stopped attacking Leon and retreated in trembling fear, point their fingers at him while screaming to each other.

    "Squee! Squee! Shiva!"

    "Squee! Shiva! Squee!"

    Shortly after, the surviving mutated beings all turned tail and flee from the area, causing Leon''s eyes to widen in surprise, "Hm? These creatures are actually running away from me?"

 Chapter 596 - Artificial Demon Core

    <h4>Chapter 596 - Artificial Demon Core</h4>

    Leon did not pursue the scattering group of mutated beings but cleansed the area of its remaining Wrathful Demonic Energy before returning to the surface with a puzzled look.

    "Strangely, these mutated beings still know what fear is and when to retreat in the face of a formidable foe, eh? But they only did so after I revealed the power of the Nihility Law¡­" Leon mumbled with doubt.

    The mutated beings did not seem to be affected by Wrathful Demonic Energy, or at least not affected to the point of losing their minds.

    "How odd¡­"

    In a short moment, Leon reached the surface and cleaved his way through the ice seal on his way out, causing the nearby Lilith to jolt with a start, sliding down the ice slope in an embarrassing manner.

    "Ah!"

    Lilith gave a soft cry,nding on her bottoms before ring over to Leon, whonded gracefully on his feet.

    "Why did youe out so suddenly?"

    "Didn''t I say I was going to be quick?" Leon retorted with a light smile before adding, "Aren''t we in a hurry to reach your n? If everyone''s ready, let us continue on our way."

    "¡­Fine."

    Lilith made a slight pout, unwilling to argue and dy the journey further as she hopped onto Soft Feather''s back right away.

    "Looks like everyone''s been waiting."

    After Leon nced at Aria and Duna cultivating silently on Soft Feather''s back, Leon tapped the Blue Luan lightly on the head, urging her to wake, "Miss Soft Feather, please take us on our way."

    "Ugh¡­"

    Soft Feather made a slight disgruntled groan, pretending to have woken up from her nap before taking to the skies with a strong p of her majestic feathery wings.

    Swoosh~!

    The group reached high altitude in a short instance before Leon leaned over the edge and made a loud whistle to Silver, alerting it not to fall behind.

    Within moments, Soft Feather reached a consistent flight speed in the skies without blowing everyone off her back, soaring overrge stretches of battle-torn and blood-soaked fields ofnds.

    Corpses and carcasses littered the surface, and little life remained behind on the vastnds of greens, painted in red and ck.

    The deeper they traveled into the Wilnds, the more they saw¡ªthe horrors and damages brought by the apocalyptic Cataclysm.

    It was like the ending of all life.

    On their trip, a few remnant berserk beasts feasted on the rotting flesh of inanimate carcasses and corpses, while berserk flying beasts were discovered in the sky asionally.

    Nevertheless, Leon flew off Soft Feather''s back and made quick work of the enemy beforending back on Soft Feather''s back without disturbing Aria and Duna''s cultivation.

    "How long do you think it''ll take us to reach the Deste Crow n at this pace, Lilith?"

    "Miss Soft Feather''s pace is rtively fast. I would say no longer than six hours." Lilith inspected the vaguely familiar environment, making a quick mental calction before she responded.

    After hearing her answer, Soft Feather quickly snorted, "I can go much faster, you know?"

    "Of course, we do not doubt that you can, Miss Soft Feather." Leon smiled lightly before throwing a nce back at Aria''s meditative pose, vaguely sensing spatial and temporal changes in her surroundings.

    ''Spatial and Temporal Laws¡­was this the benefit of their recent intimate session?'' Leon silently pondered.

    No, Aria shouldn''t haveprehended thesews on her own¡ªnot that he was discrediting herprehensive ability, but it seems to have been spurred from elsewhere.

    ''Aria¡­''

    Grief flickered in Leon''s eyes for a moment before pushing the thought to the back of his mind, taking out a portable teleportation array shortly after.

    "What are you nning to do with that?" Lilith cast a nce at the square array in Leon''s hand with a curious question.

    "We have a bit of time until we reach our destination, so I n to make a quick trip back to the Capital and check how things are going back there. Also, I left someone back there, so I need to pick her up."

    Recalling how he had left Darlene in the pce after bringing her over from the Dark Continent, Leon felt guilt in his heart.

    Nevertheless, he wasing back to fetch her now.

    Little did Leon know, Darlene was brought along to the Western Frontier for a brief period of time before leaving with his mother and others.

    They were just unlucky to have missed each other.

    "So this is supposed to be some sort of teleportation device? How does it work? It seems to be missing a power source." Lilith inspected the portable teleportation array curiously with her limited runic understandings.

    The portable teleportation array was like a mechanical contraption, except made with little use of strong alloys and mostly bones.

    With a slight shake of Leon''s hand, the square-shaped portable teleportation array expanded into arger square filled with runic lines. Four rotating pads were seen in each corner with empty sockets in their center.

    Leon ced the portable teleportation device down on a rtively t part of Soft Feather''s back before exining, "These empty sockets are where the power sources will be slotted while the rotating pads are used to change the spatial coordinates."

    "Basically, there are used to set the destination. Currently, there are only two spatial coordinates installed in the array. The other two spaces are still empty and serve to deactivate the array for now."

    "Hmm, how intricate. What are you nning to use to fuel the array?" Lilith inquired with bright eyes, keenly interested in the array and not at all inferior to her interest in the ancient relics.

    Seeing Lilith''s glowing eyes of interest, Leon smiled lightly.

    "Like this."

    With an outstretched hand, a surge of Demonic Energy from the depths of his ck Vortex Space soon gushed out, gathering in the tips of his hand in volume before they werepressed into a solid spherical crystal, purely made of Demonic Energy.

    Duna''s eyes suddenly snapped open, gazing at the fist-size red crystal ball before shifting her gaze to meet Leon''s eyes with surprise.

    "Did you just make an artificial demon core?"

 Chapter 597 - Big Bird

    <h4>Chapter 597 - Big Bird</h4>

    Leon threw a nce over at Duna, who showed a rare expression of surprise before his lips curved into a smile.

    "What do you think?"

    "Just answer the question, dammit. I don''t want to y these guessing games!" Duna snorted impatiently.

    Leon''s yful smile quickly turned into a wry one, thinking that it was rich of Duna to say such a thing.

    ''It''s usually the women that force the men into these guessing games¡­ Yet, when the tables are turned, they quickly be unhappy, huh? Haiz¡­ the double standards.'' Leon silentlymented.

    Duna narrowed her eyes before asking with a sharp glint, "You''re thinking about something rude, aren''t you?"

    "Ahem, not at all." Leon coughed before saying, "I was just thinking about how beautiful you are."

    "Huh?"

    Duna was stunned by the unexpected response before averting her eyes with a cold snort, "Was that supposed to make me happy? Idiot."

    "Take it however you see you it." Leon chuckled slightly before feeling someone''s gaze on him.

    Turning to the side, Leon quickly noticed that Aria had unwittingly ended her cultivation session to give him a hard look, "Hmmm¡­"

    "Hmm¡­?"

    "Hmmm¡­!" Aria hummed more forcefully with a pouting expression.

    "Oh!"

    A lightbulb lit up in Leon''s head before he spoke with a smile, "Of course, Aria is also very beautiful."

    After receiving her desiredpliment, Aria nodded with satisfaction before resuming her cultivation.

    Leon heaved a silent sigh of relief, thinking Aria was rtively docile and for not nitpicking at his sincerity.

    "What about me?" Lilith asked with expectations, causing Leon to not know whether tough or cry.

    ''Why do you want to hear my opinion too? Aren''t you just causing trouble for me?'' Leon thought.

    Shortly after, Leon put on an awkward expression while scratching his cheeks wryly, "Well¡­ I guess Lilith is also pretty."

    "Che! So insincere!" Lilith immediately snorted, obviously unsatisfied with his response.

    Suddenly, the flight''s stability was disturbed slightly before regaining its calm¡ªbut Leon quickly discovered that Soft Feather was also expectant for apliment.

    Sure enough, Soft Feather spoke in the next moment, "What about me?"

    "You''re a damn bird! Why do you also want to hear my opinion as well?!" Leon said with an exasperated expression.

    "Huh? You got a problem with birds?"

    "Huh? You got a problem with birds?"

    Soft Feather and Lilith spoke in unison, causing Leon to be mildly stunned before feeling a headache, recalling that Lilith also had bird lineage.

    "Ahem, not at all. I love birds. Why wouldn''t I? I also have a big bird down there myself." Leon chuckled wryly before he suddenly paused with a frown.

    That did not sound right. No, it sounded very wrong!

    A pink blush was quickly seen on everyone''s cheeks before they turned away to hide it. Why are they turning away? He should be the one embarrassed!

    "No, what I meant was¡­Haiz, forget it." Leon shook his head with a sigh. The more he tried to exin himself, the worse it will be.

    "Ahem! Didn''t you ask if I made an artificial demon core?" Leon coughed, turning to Duna with a change of topic.

    The disgusted look on Duna''s face immediately shot straight through his heart, causing Leon to suffer critical damage before his lips twitched.

    Nevertheless, he persevered and continued to speak, "You can say that it is an artificial demon core, or you can simply call it a demon stone. It''s just the crystallization of pure Demonic Energy."

    The Demonic Energy reserve inside Leon''s ck Vortex Space was quickly expended to produce another three demon stones, giving him a total of four before he slotted them into the empty sockets in each corner of the portable teleportation array.

    Once the rotating pads were aligned correctly, the portable teleportation array immediately activated, opening a spatial rift that connected to the teleportation array back in the Capital.

    "Well, I''ll be off for a short while," Leon stated with a light smile, feeling a bit embarrassed to stay and face thedies.

    However, Duna stood up and said, "I''ming too."

    "Oh, oh! Me too! I want to experience the spatial travel!"

    Lilith''s eyes lit up with interest before Leon shot her down with a clear statement, "Who''s going to direct Soft Feather where to go if you leave with me? Be good and will stay back."

    "Oh¡­"

    Lilith''s mood dampened with a downcast expression like a deted balloon.

    "Maybe next time."

    Leon patted her on the head with a light smile before hugging Duna and leaping into the spatial rift, disappearing together.

    ¡­

    Crawford Empire, Old Capital.

    On the outskirts of the city, a massive group of 600-thousands elves and humans trekked on foot, passing the old heart of the Crawford Empire.

    Initially, they numbered roughly 500-thousands elves and humans. But after passing through a few cities on the way, absorbing their poption into the group, their numbers soared to 600-thousands.

    "Let us pitch camp and take a break here. We will resume in half a day after restocking supplies for the journey to the Grasnd Region." Elizabeth ordered, intending to pay a visit to the Royal Pce and get an update on the Old Capital''s current situation.

    "Yes, Your Majesty." The surrounding elves and humans answered.

    Princess Thessalia, Faelyn, and the Elders spread their words amongst the elves and humans before they came to a stop, followed by expanding onto the spacious fields with their camping supplies.

    Elizabeth turned to Darlene, "Come with me, Darlene."

    "Y-Yes, Your Majesty."

    Darlene responded nervously before Elizabeth grabbed her hands with a warm smile, "You''re not like the other people around here. It''s fine to just call me mom or mother."

    "Yes, Mother."

    "Oh-ho, you learn quickly," Elizabethmented with a slight chuckle, causing Darlene to lower her head shyly.

    "Elders, you can arrange for small groups to apany you in touring the Capital while we are here. However, don''t take too long."

    "Thank you, Your Majesty."

    The Elders of the Elven Tribe saluted with a slight bow before casting their curious gazes onto the Capital in the distance.

 Chapter 598 - Demon Worshippers

    <h4>Chapter 598 - Demon Worshippers</h4>

    "Wee back, Your Majesty. Are you heading back to the Royal Pce now? Allow us to escort you there, Your Majesty." A group of city guards greeted upon arriving from the Capital.

    Elizabeth threw them a casual nce before speaking, "Well, if you can keep up."

    "Darlene,e closer." Elizabeth urged.

    "Yes, mother."

    At the same time, the city guard answered, "With honor, Your¡ª"

    Swoosh~!

    Elizabeth quickly took into the skies with Darlene in her arms before flying off in the direction of the Royal Pce, leaving the city guards behind in the dust.

    The city guards gawked with embarrassment before offering their help to the elves visiting the Capital.

    Meanwhile, Elizabeth continued to make a beeline for the Royal Pce when a suddenmotion broke out in Lost Isle Alley.

    "We wee your return, Your Highness!"

    "We wee your return, Your Highness!"

    The pce guards greeted as Leon stepped out of the teleportation array with Duna before giving them a nod, "Un."

    Swoosh~!

    Shortly after, Elizabeth and Darlene descended before ncing at Leon with surprises as he returned the same expression back at them.

    "How did you get back, son? Weren''t in the Western Frontier? How dide out from the teleportation array connecting to the Dark Continent?" Elizabeth asked with her face full of questions.

    "I can say the same for you, Mother. Weren''t you headed for the Grasnd Region?" Leon asked back.

    "We stopped by to stock up on some supplies and check on your father while we were here," Elizabeth exined to her son.

    "I see, what a coincidence." Leon nodded before exining, "I used a portable teleportation array to hopped over here for a quick visit and to pick up Darlene."

    As Leon said this, he turned to Darlene with an apologetic smile before the person shook her head, showing that she did not mind.

    "Oh? It''s good that we met here then. Mother was intending to bring Darlene to the World Tree to train."

    "True, the rich Spirit Energy there is very suitable for cultivation, but I found an even more suitable ce for Darlene to cultivate."

    "Fair enough." Elizabeth nodded before her curiosity was drawn back to Leon''s mode of travel, "How does this portable teleportation array work? Can Mother also use it to travel back to the Western Frontier?"

    "Anyone can use it to travel as long as it''s operating. However, I think it is best not to make this thing public. I n to install one Royal Pce, as the Lost Isle Alley''s teleportation array is too rigid for me to add spatial coordinates to it."

    "Actually, it could not be more perfect for us to meet, Mother. I will pass one of my spare portable teleportation arrays for you to install in the Grasnd Region. That way, we can freely travel between the Western Frontier, Capital, the World Tree''s region."

    Shortly after Leon mentioned this, Elizabeth''s eyes lit up brightly before she said, "If this portable teleportation array of yours truly works as you said, that would be very incredible!"

    Hours to days of travel could be cut down to an instance. It definitely sounded too good to be true.

    Leon smiled lightly before saying, "Let us go meet Father first, Mother. Then I will show you how the portable teleportation array works as I install one in the pce."

    "Alright." Elizabeth nodded before saying, "Mother was just nning to see your father as well. Let us go see how he had been doing."

    Shortly after, they headed to the pce together before Leon suddenly pulled Darlene into his embrace, whispering softly into her ears, "Do you not miss me? Where did the daring and passionate Darlene go?"

    "I''m trying to be a nice girl in front of your mother," Darlene immediatelyined with a slight blush as she hammered his chest with her fist, reacting shyly.

    Leon smiled lightly before lifting her chin for a kiss.

    "Mmf¡ª"

    Darlene made a muffled sound as she resisted before quickly turning soft in Leon''s arm.

    "Look, my mother does not mind these things. There''s no need to mind it so--"

    Smack!

    Suddenly, Elizabeth turned around and gave Leon a good wack on the head before snorting, "You stinky rascal! Don''t take my silence for eptance! I might be in a hurry to hold my grandson, but we are in public right now! Have some shame, will you?"

    "Ugh¡­ Yes, Mother." Leon lowered his head while scratching his cheeks with an embarrassed smile.

    "And you, Darlene. You can''t be too passive all the time. You need to be more proactive and decisive, bot giving in to Leon''s whims all the time."

    "Yes, Mother. I will try." Darlene answered with a determined look.

    "Actually, Darlene is the more proactive than¡­"

    Leon wanted to correct his mother''s words when Darlene suddenly stepped on his foot with a big smile, filled with hidden menacing vibes.

    "More proactive than¡­?"

    "Nah, don''t worry about it. It''s nothing¡­" Leon stated, his lips twitched slightly in response.

    ¡­

    Shortly after, the group arrived at Heinrich''s study in the Inner Pce.

    "Heinrich."

    "Father."

    Elizabeth and Leon called out to the king before Heinrich raised his head with a glimmer of surprise appearing on his tired face, "You''re both back."

    "Has something been troubling you, Heinrich? You look terrible," Elizabeth inquired with concern.

    At the same time, Leon made his way over and began giving Heinrich a rxing massage while channeling some energy to improve his mental state.

    "What''s the situation, Father?"

    "Haiz, it''s the people. There''s an unknown group stirring chaos in the Capital by spreading lies and weird religious faith about demons in recent days." Heinrich sighed.

    Leon knitted his brows before saying, "Considering how they are giving Father so much trouble, they shouldn''t be easy to catch, right? What religious faith are they spreading about demons exactly?"

    "Right. Their traces are easy to find because they reek with a terrible stench, but they are very swift and disappear like shadows. The shadow guards are helpless in keeping up."

    "As for the religious faith mentioned, the people brainwashed by their false belief were spouting how demons will bring them salvation in the Cataclysm."

    "In other words, these people are like demon worshippers or something?" Leon frowned.

 Chapter 599 - Cleansing The Capital

    <h4>Chapter 599 - Cleansing The Capital</h4>

    "That''s one way to put it." Heinrich nodded before adding, "Thanks, son. I''m feeling much better."

    Although dark bags remained under his eyes, he showed a livelier expression than just a moment ago.

    Shortly after, Heinrich continued, "It''s problematic enough with the new atmosphere brought by the Cataclysm. It''s difficult to fathom why these demon worshippers woulde out to sow chaos¡­"

    "Some people just want to watch the world burn by the looks of it. As if life is not hard enough." Elizabeth frowned.

    "They might not even be people." Leon pondered for a moment before asking, "Father, you mentioned that they reek with a terrible stench. Have you smelt it before, or did it came from the report?"

    "From the shadow guards report, of course. Haiz, I don''t even have time to go for a walk in the garden these days¡­" Heinrich sighed before asking, "Where would I find the time to around sniffing some stinking rats?"

    "It''s been hard on you, Father. How detailed were the reports, though? Did they mention how the terrible stench smelt exactly?"

    "Not really. Most reports only stated that the traces smelt terrible¡ª" Heinrich shook his head before suddenly recalling, "Oh, there was one that said it was like the smell of the current atmosphere but concentrated."

    "Like the current atmosphere? The sky?" Leon muttered before his eyes flickered with a guess, "The smell of Wrathful Demonic Energy, perhaps?"

    After a short moment of contemtion, Leon suddenly smiled and said, "Father, I think I can solve your problem quite quickly."

    "Oh? I knew I can rely on you, but how so? Let us hear it, son." Heinrich said with a pleasant surprise.

    "Un." Leon nodded before exining, "It''s quite simple, actually. I just need to purify the Capital by absorbing all the Wrathful Demonic Energy in the atmosphere."

    "Once that is done, all that would be left is the smell belonging to these demon worshippers, making it easier for us to track them down."

    "Oh? Not bad. That does sound easy, but I''m afraid that only you would be capable of such feat." Heinrich said before he asked with a frown, "Will it pose any risk to you, son?"

    "Not at all."

    Leon shook his head and said, "I have a special method to refine these Wrathful Demonic Energy and remove all the properties that make people go berserk. Hence, the reason I said purify."

    "That''s great to hear."

    Heinrich nodded with relief, feeling like a big burden had been lifted off his shoulders, causing him to slump back on his chair.

    "I''ll go and get it done right away. The supply of Refined Demonic Energy will help me produce more power sources for the teleportation array. Still, fewer people will also be at risk of going berserk in the city the sooner I get this done."

    "Hold on, son. Before you go, aren''t you forgetting something? Who''s this lovely youngdy?" Heinrich suddenly stopped Leon from leaving before shifting his attention to Duna.

    "I''m quite curious as well. I thought you would introduce her to us at some point, but it seems like the thought never crossed your mind," Elizabeth added, causing Leon to be slightly stunned.

    "Eh? I haven''t introduced Duna to Mother and Father yet?" Leon asked.

    After receiving their shaking heads, Leon cleared his throat and said, "This is Duna, the one who haunted Lost Isle Alley for 400 years."

    "What?" Heinrich and Elizabeth widened their eyes in shock.

    At the same time, Leon took the chance to leave from the balcony while they were in a state of surprise.

    However, Duna did not follow him. Everyone''s gazes fell back onto her shortly after Leon disappeared from sight.

    ''Young Lady Duna? No, no, no. She is over 400 years old. It is too disrespectful to address her as such. Old Lady Duna? That''s not right either.''

    Elizabeth and Heinrich wanted to speak with Duna but failed to find the right words to address her immediately.

    After a moment of pondering, Heinrich finally uttered while reaching for his teacup for a sip after, "Miss Duna, I wonder what is your rtionship with our son?"

    "Your son?" Duna paused for a moment before her lips curved into a mischievous smile and said, "We are f*ck buddies."

    "Pfft¡ª!"

    Heinrich immediately spat out his tea while Elizabeth''s expression darkened with her forehead filled with dark lines.

    "This outrageous. How can our son be like this? It seems that we need to have a real good talk with him after he gets back."

    "Agreed." Heinrich nodded solemnly.

    ¡­

    Unbeknownst to the unchecked disaster that Leon left behind, he continued on his forward flight and reached a certain altitude in the sky.

    "The density of Spirit Energy is higher now¡­ But it''s nothingpared to the Wrathful Demonic Energy¡­"

    He studied the energies in the atmosphere before he slightly sweated, "It''s good that Wrathful Demonic Energies are still mixed and hidden inside Sr Energy."

    If pure Spirit Energy and pure Demonic Energy had mixed together, he would be expecting numerous micro-explosions going off throughout the Crawford Empire.

    "If there''s an Energy Conversion Tower any close to the World Tree¡­" Leon stopped speaking.

    He did not dare to imagine what kind of violent reaction would ur in the Grasnd Region if there was one.

    "Haiz, life is full of problems. Never mind. Let me purify the Capital first, then worry about these other problemster."

    Shortly after shaking his head, Leon spread out his divine sense and summoned the power of Nihility Law, turning himself into a ck hole that drew the surrounding energies towards him and devoured them.

    "The range of Nihility is too short, limiting the cleansing speed. At this rate, It will take an entire day to cleanse the whole Capital¡ªbut I don''t have an entire day." Leon frowned.

    ''Should I borrow the absorption power of the Divine Book of Life and swallow everything into the Worldspace?''

    Leon only thought for a moment before quickly banishing the thought.

    ''No, it''s too risky. The world is filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers¡­ Drawing unwanted attention to myself is not wise if I cannot defend my treasure.''

 Chapter 600 - Leons Visit

    <h4>Chapter 600 - Leon''s Visit</h4>

    "I''ll cleanse the pce grounds first and make it safe for my parents before working on the areas of my women''s families¡­"

    "The rest of the Capital will be worked on eventually as I make regr trips in between regions¡­" Leon muttered in contemtion before he suddenly paused.

    "No, this is too inefficient. I am putting a load of work on my shoulders again. I will drop by the Lancaster Workshop and visit Rachel and future mother-inwter¡­"

    When Leon thought about his matters with Rachel, he was at a loss. Nevertheless, their marriage considered the interest of the two families.

    "I can only tackle the problem as theye¡­" Leon shook his head and continued to cleanse the pce grounds.

    His ck Vortex Space slowly filled up with refined Demonic Energy and more fragments of Wrath Law before.

    Suddenly, Leon felt like he was being watched before abruptly turning his gaze to the west before the traces disappeared in a sh.

    "Quite fast¡­"

    Leon wrinkled brows before bing more confident of his steady choice to not be hasty in cleansing the Capital.

    "Sure enough, there''s a hidden expert in Capital. But I wonder if this person is a friend or foe? Since the person''s trace disappeared, there''s no use searching blindly for this person¡­" Leon muttered with a frown.

    Still, he should inform his parents and keep an eye out.

    ¡­

    Crawford University, Dean''s Office.

    "I only took a look because I was curious what kind of Law this kidprehended, but I did not expect him to have grown such sharp senses¡­"Dean Wilfred rubbed his forehead wryly after retracting his gaze quickly before he could be spotted.

    Suddenly, the doors to the office were knocked before a person entered and gave a respectful bow to the Old Dean.

    "Dean Wilfred."

    "Un."

    Dean Wilfred acknowledged the person''s greeting calmly before asking, "Did you find out what I asked for?"

    "Yes, Dean Wilfred. The recent stir in the Capital is not caused by any powers from the Geyser Kingdom. In fact, the informant I contacted also said simr events have been happening in the east," the male subordinate informed.

    "These demon worshippers obviously do not belong to the West, but they do not belong to any powers from the East either, huh¡­? For them to appear during the start of the Cataclysm, this does not seem like a good sign¡­" Dean Wilfred muttered with a frown.

    "An unknown force that has not been ounted for by the High Council. They have hidden themselves very well from the High Council''s eyes."

    "That''s hard to digest, Dean Wilfred. I do not believe the High Council would have missed such arge force with their all-seeing eyes. What if these demon worshippers are a new emerging force instead?"

    "The High Council''s eyes are not omniscient as you think. They can only see the surface of things and not what lies underneath. It''s easy to miss a few things¡ªif not a lot of things," Dean Wilfred spoke calmly.

    "Still, whether they are or not, their presence only fuels the growing chaos in the Human Domain."

    "Right." The subordinate nodded before asking respectfully, "What else shall you have me do, Dean Wilfred?"

    "If you can, I want to catch one of those demon worshippers and bring them to me for an interrogation. Still, safety is of utmost importance. Do not take risks and do not expose yourselves to the locals either, understand?"

    "Understood"

    "Good."

    After the male subordinate bowed to leave, Dean Wilfred noticed the person suddenly hesitated before he casually asked, "What else?"

    "The informant passed on a message, asking when you will be returning to the High Council, Dean Wilfred?" The male subordinate ryed.

    Dean Wilfred paused for a moment before saying, "Everyone of them is so persistent. Can''t an old man retire in peace? How many times has it been now? I''m not interested in continuing to y gods with those other old codgers."

    "With all due respect, my Lord." The male subordinate said respectfully before adding his opinion, "Every Elder of the High Council has unfathomable strength. To the mortals, they can indeed be considered gods."

    "Oh, I know they are strong. But that is still far from being the strongest. They have be drunk on power and status ever since we discovered those major relics in the sky together. Now, they only know how to enjoy themselves and spy on others."

    "They have lost their edge and ambition. And for that reason, Lord Aldrich left without warning anyone. A few hundred yearster, and not a single of his traces have been found. God knows where he went or whether he is still alive or not."

    After listening to Dean Wilfred''s words, the male subordinate''s expression became doubtful as he asks, "Didn''t Lord Aldrich die in the underground exploration ording to the Crawford Empire''s recorded history, Dean Wilfred?"

    "You should go now." Dean Wilfred urged the subordinate to leave with a smile while leaving the person''s question unanswered.

    "Right¡­ My apologies, Dean Wilfred. I will leave now.

    After the subordinate left respectfully, Dean Wilfred gazed into empty space nkly before he muttered in reminiscence, "Lord Aldrich was the strongest of us and most talented of our generation. It''s impossible for him to lose to some insects in the subterranean world¡­"

    Shortly after, Dean Wilfred''s expression turned rueful before shaking his head.

    "Haiz, what does this old man know? The subterranean world, boundless ck sea, and Dark Continent are all ces even the High Council cannot pry into¡­"

    ¡­

    After Leon finished cleansing the pce area, he flew towards the direction of the Lancaster Workshop in the Upper North District while absorbing Wrathful Demonic Energies on the way.

    With surprises, the Lancaster Workshop was bustling with activities like Leon expected as the clings and ngs of metal rang in his ears.

    "Y-Your Highness! Wee back!"

    The cksmiths immediately paused their work to greet before Leon waved his hand at them and said, "Don''t mind my presence and just continue with your work. But I will have to trouble one person to answer my question. Is my mother-inw, Duchess Amelia, here?"

    "Her Grace is on the second floor. Shall I escort you there, Your Highness?"

    "No need. I can head there myself. Thanks¡­" Leon rejected the cksmith''s offer before heading to the lift promptly.

 Chapter 601 - Demon Gathering Array

    <h4>Chapter 601 - Demon Gathering Array</h4>

    On the workshop''s second floor, Amelia Lancaster was seated by her design desk, drawing up new airship blueprints with great focus that she did not notice Leon arriving beside her.

    Leon quietly observed the new blueprint before shifting his gaze to study the second floor, thinking it had been a while since hest came here.

    ''This floor used to filled study materials on the levitation device. But now, there is not a single trace of it. Instead, there were trains, airships, railways, and many other designs,'' Leon silently mused.

    "Oh? When did you get back, Leon?" Amelia Lancaster eximed with pleasant surprise after resting her eyes for a moment.

    She immediately stood up before speaking while inspecting Leon, "Come, let Mother-inw have a good look at you. You have not been around much¡ªWoah, you seem to have be much more burly."

    "I have made some minor breakthroughs in Body Cultivation," Leon smiled wryly before changing the topic, "The workshop does not seem all that busy as I would expect it to be."

    "With the discovery of Transcendent Crystals and your parents being more generous with their rewards, the number of Fire Awakeners has been growing along with a few selected Metal Awakeners around to help out¡­"

    "The additional hands have pushed productions to new heights, reducing the need for raw manpower from themoners. With the railway to the Grasnd Region nearingpletion, most of the workforce has been directed over for the New Capital''s construction."

    "Makes sense." Leon nodded after listening to Amelia Lancaster''s exnation before saying, "I''ve heard about the ns, but I have yet to see the progress over there for myself."

    "But that will have to wait for another time. I''m a bit tight on time and will not be staying in the Capital for long before I need to return to the Wilnds."

    "I see. Well, alright then. What did youe over to see me for this time?" Amelia Lancaster interrogated before adding, "You wouldn''t be visiting unless you have a reason to."

    "Why would say that, Mother-inw? You''re making me seem like such a bad person¡­" Leon scratched his cheeks wryly before speaking in his defense, "I did drop by to use the forge, but am I not seeing you first before that?"

    "¡­"

    Amelia Lancaster was a bit speechless before saying with a shake of her head, "If you were truly sincere in visiting this mother-inw of yours, you would have brought gifts."

    "You know what I mean, right?" Amelia Lancaster gave Leon a sidelong nce while trying to remain dignified and upright.

    Leon gawked for a moment.

    Shortly after, he smiled ruefully with a nod before taking out a few stalks of tier-3 herbal tea spirit herbs from his Worldspace and passed it over.

    "Please ept this small gift of mine, Mother-inw."

    "Hehe, thank you."

    Amelia Lancaster happily epted the few stalks of spirit herbs with a hum before storing them in her interspatial ring.

    "Right, how is Rachel?" Leon suddenly asked.

    "Rachel? She has been doing quite well in recent days, surprisingly. She is quite motivated to ovee her trauma. Still, you should pay her a visit sometime."

    "Although a date was never set, you two have been engaged the moment you two were born. You should spend more time together," Amelia Lancaster said with a slightly helpless expression.

    The amount of time her future son-inw spent with other women was much longer than the time spent with her daughter. She was quite concerned about their rtionship.

    "About that¡­" Leon''s expression turned awkward before he admitted, "To be honest, I am not sure how to advance our rtionship¡­ I feel that our feelings are mutual, but there are things holding us back¡­"

    "Un, Mother-inw is also aware of the problem." Amelia Lancaster nodded before saying, "If you need help, just tell me, and I will help you solve the problem."

    "How will you help me?" Leon could not help but ask with a weird look.

    However, his future mother-inw did not answer. Instead, she simply said, "Just answer my question. Do you want my help or not?"

    "Then¡­ can Mother-inw help me?" Leon requested politely.

    "Kukuku¡­" Amelia Lancaster chuckled wickedly before saying, "Of course! It''s settled then. You don''t have to worry about this matter and just leave it to me. Go do what you need to do for now. We will talk about this another time."

    "But¡­"

    "Shoo!"

    Amelia Lancaster waved Leon away without much exnation regarding the matter, causing him to be dumbfounded as he unwittingly left in apliant manner.

    "What was that about?" Leon rubbed the back of his head questioningly. He could not help but have a bad feeling about it, but there was no point mulling over it for now.

    Shortly after returning to the first workshop floor, he shook his head, "Never mind. I will just have to see what Mother-inw ns to do the next time I return to the Capital. For now, I should do what I came to do."

    After selecting an empty workbench and forge, Leon took out his ancient bones and pocketed a few spare alloys lying around beforemencing his work.

    Four strange-looking bone disks werepleted within a short while before Leon took out his Ravenous ck scribing pen and began engraving runes on them.

    "It''s done. Four Demon Gathering Arrays," Leon softly eximed shortly afterpleting thest engraving.

    "Although this is the first time I crafted Demon Gathering Arrays based on the basic concept of the Spirit Gathering Formations, I quite confident in my runic knowledge."

    "Now, all that is left to do is to deploy them and see whether they work ording to my expectations," Leon muttered while wearing a confident smile.

    He did not have time to cleanse the Wrathful Demonic Energy within a short time.

    But the Demon Gathering Arrays could continuously gather the surrounding Wrathful Demonic Energies, clearing the air in the area by concentrating and condensing them inside the Demon Gathering Arrays until return to refine them.

    It was a good alternative, considering the time constraints.

    "Are you leaving now, Your Highness?"

    "Yes, I have some things to do¡­ Continue with work had for the empire," Leon patted the sweaty cksmiths with an encouraging look before bidding his leave from the workshop.

 Chapter 602 - Arrangements Before Departure (1)

    <h4>Chapter 602 - Arrangements Before Departure (1)</h4>

    After leaving the workshop tower, Leon visited the city guard''s main garrison in Upper District.

    "The city guards at your service, Your Highness. How can we help you?" A city guard captain saluted with a fist rested on his chest.

    Behind him stood 40 other elite guards with Rank Awakener Realm cultivation that followed suit and saluted simultaneously with a stomp.

    Leon nced at the gathered group of elite city guards that disyed rigorous discipline and unity¡ªa stark contrast to the group of pot-bellied drunkards that he once months ago.

    After a moment, Leon calmly asked with a casual look, "Is there a map of the Capital I can see?"

    "Of course, Your Highness!" the city captain answered before barking to one of his men, "Bring the Capital''s map over here for me!"

    "Yes, Captain!" An elite guard immediately answered.

    Shortly after the elite guard headed inside the main garrison building, the captain used his Earth-ability to raise the ground and form an earthen table with smooth surfaces like a b rock that have been sculpted by master artisans.

    "The map, Captain!"

    "Un."

    The elite guard returned shortly with the map before the captainid it out on the earthen table for the prince.

    "The map of the Capital, Your Highness."

    "Un. Thank you." Leon nodded.

    He studied the map of the Capital before finding the most ideal locations to deploy the Demon Gathering Arrays in each Upper District.

    Shortly after, he divided the 40 elite guards into 4 groups of 10 and took them to each site one by one, deploying the Demon Gathering Array in the area before heading to the next one.

    "Your jobs are to protect these Demon Gathering Arrays with your lives. Do not let anyone approach them, and definitely do not let anyone destroy them until I get back, is that understood?" Leon instructed the elite guards.

    "Yes, Your Highness! We hear and obey!" The elite guardsplied without questioning before Leon nodded with approval.

    "Good!"

    After all Demon Gathering Arrays were deployed and all elite guards were stationed to guard their designated areas, Leon left with the captain.

    "Your Highness, may I be so impudent as to ask what those bone disks are used for?" the captain asked humbly with strong curiosity.

    Leon after the captain a casual nce before exining, "Those bone disks are runic devices that can gather the Demonic Energies in the air andpress them into a concentrated form. You should understand what this means, right?"

    "Yes, Your Highness!" The captain answered, immediately understanding the crux of the purpose for deploying the Demon Gathering Arrays.

    It was not hard to understand.

    Nevertheless, the captain could not help but mention, "I''m afraid that this task might be too much for the city guards to handle alone, Your Highness. We might require the pce guards'' assistance in guarding these runic devices."

    Although the captain was a 3-Star Ranked Awakener, it did not make him feel capable nor strong in the present era of quick changes¡ªwhere anything could happen anywhere and anytime.

    "This is what we are heading to the pce for. I will arrange it, and you will take the pce guards with you. I do not need to tell you how to handle them, right?" Leon casually asked.

    "No, Your Highness." The captain quickly shook his head and said with a cupped-fist salute, "Ipletely understand what needs to be done. You can leave it to me, Your Highness."

    "Good."

    Shortly after they arrived at the pce, Leon immediately made the arrangements before the captain left with 16 pce guards.

    Leon watched the group leave his sight before turning around and heading back to his father''s study room to discuss and make some arrangements with his parents.

    However, the study room was empty when he arrived.

    Seeing a pce maid passing by, Leon immediately pulled her over and inquired, "Where did my parents go?"

    "Y-Your Highness!" The pce maid, Ellie, cried softly with a hint of excitement after seeing the prince suddenlying out of King Heinrich''s study room.

    "His Majesty, King Heinrich, and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, are both in the back courtyard, Your Highness." She answered shortly after while carrying a tray with teacups and a teapot on them.

    "I see. Thank you," Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, his gaze shifted down onto the tray of teapot and teacups the pce maid was carrying before asking, "Are you bringing the tea to my parents?"

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    "I see. Then we can head over together."

    Leon spoke without much thought, but the pce maid immediately broke into a bright smile as she happily responds, "It will be my honor, Your Highness!"

    Shortly after, the two of them headed in the direction of the back courtyard, walking alongside each other.

    Ellie snuck nces at Leon''s side portfolio from time to time, but she was slightly disappointed that the prince did not seem to take notice and look her way.

    She could only silentlyment in her heart.

    Sometimeter, Leon and Ellie arrived in the back courtyard, where Heinrich, Elizabeth, Duna, and Darlene were all seen seated by the stone table and chatting cheerily.

    However, after they spotted Leon''s arrival, Heinrich and Elizabeth''s smile immediately disappeared without a trace before they nced at each other for a moment and nodded.

    Leon immediately noticed the strange atmosphere, but before he could open his mouth to speak, his mother stood up and pulled him away with a solemn look.

    "Come with me. We need to talk."

    "Uh¡­ Yes, Mother," Leon respondedpliantly while scratching his head cluelessly with an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

    He could not help but feel like he was in trouble for some reason.

    Nevertheless, he allowed himself to be dragged away by his mother. They did not stop until they arrived on the pce walls, where a good view of the Capital could be seen.

    "Is the current stir in the atmosphere the result of your doing, son?" Elizabeth inquired.

    She could sense movements in the air, but nothing was visible to her eyes

    "Yes, Mother. I just deployed the Demon Gathering Arrays into four corners around the Capital to draw in the Wrathful Demonic Energy in the atmosphere¡­ This will reduce the risk of our people going berserk."

 Chapter 603 - Arrangements Before Departure (2)

    <h4>Chapter 603 - Arrangements Before Departure (2)</h4>

    "I see¡­"

    Elizabeth nodded in understanding before she suddenly frowned, "But if all the foul energy after concentrated into these four points, wouldn''t these areas be dangerous?"

    "Not at all, Mother," Leon shook his head before exining, "The Demon Gathering Arrays are built to condense the gathered energy into solid forms."

    "Thus, there will be no risks involved so long as no one touches the crystallized energy. However, these objects do need to be guarded against robbery and falling into the wrong hands."

    "I see." Elizabeth nodded after understanding the whole picture before saying, "I will arrange for people to¡ª"

    "I have already arranged some city guards and pce guards for the task, Mother." Leon interrupted before adding, "I n to inform fatherter to pay attention to these four locations."

    "Since you have already settled everything, I have nothing to worry about. Let us talk about something else, instead." Elizabeth nodded before her expression suddenly turned stern.

    Suddenly, Leon''s heart became tensed for some reason, not understanding why his mother looks so serious.

    ''Am I in trouble?'' He thought for a moment before asking directly, "What do you want to talk about, Mother?"

    Elizabeth gave Leon a solemn look before saying, "I know you''ve had a rough childhood, but it seems that I have been too lenient on you."

    "What are you talking about, Mother?" Leon furrowed his brows in confusion.

    "Hmph, as long as your feelings are serious, Mother doesn''t mind how many women you bring home anymore¡­"

    Elizabeth snorted before firmly stating, "However, it is not okay to y around with any women! I do not want any of this scandal in the family, you hear me? When you enter a rtionship, you have to staymitted!"

    "Ugh¡­ I still don''t understand, Mother." Leon scratched his head before asking with doubt, "When did I ever y around with women?"

    "Hmph, still pretending?" Elizabeth snorted before saying, "Fine, let me tell you this; Duna has already told us about your casual rtionship and experiences."

    "You can''t hide it from me. How can you make such a nice girl your f*ck buddy after she helped you out so much? Do you have a conscience? Because she''s an evil spirit, she can''t be your official lover?"

    "Ugh¡­"

    After listening to his mother finish speaking, Leon''s expression clouded with a dark look.

    "Duna is very mischievous, Mother. You should not listen to everything she says! We are not like that at all! We are not f*ck buddies!"

    "Then let me ask you this simple question, what is your rtionship with Duna?"

    "We are¡­ lovers, I guess?" Leon answered unconfidently while scratching his cheeks.

    Elizabeth immediately narrowed her eyes dangerously before asking with a strict tone, "What the hell do you mean, you guess? So are you or are you not?"

    "Well, it has been made official, but I am working in that direction."

    After Leon said this, Elizabeth sighed before shaking her head, "Haiz, whatever. Just remember what I said."

    "Still, to think that you would alsoy your hands on non-living entities. I must say, son, isn''t your strike zone a little too wide? Are you going to bring home some random cats and dogs next time?" Elizabeth said with an exasperated expression.

    Shortly after, she added, "You need to exercise some self-control, son. Seriously, Mother no longer knows if you are purposely trying to build a big harem or a goddamn zoo!"

    Leon''s expression gawked with awkwardness after being admonished by his mother before he said, "You can''t me me for this, Mother¡­ some things can''t be controlled¡­"

    "Well, I suppose not. My son is simply too talented¡­" Elizabeth spoke with a bit of helplessness.

    Leon was about to heave a sigh of relief when her expression suddenly turned fierce again before adding, "Still, no cats and dogs. You hear me?"

    "Yes, Mother¡­" Leon''s lips twitched slightly.

    ¡­

    Shortly after, Leon managed to change the topic to a different matter. But at the same time, he made a mental note to punish Duna for her mischief.

    Leon spent some time deploying one of the portable teleportation arrays in a secured location within the pce before teaching his mother its usage with clear instructions on switching destinations.

    "Have you understood everything, Mother?" Leon asked shortly after.

    "Un." Elizabeth nodded.

    "The device might beplicated to make, but it looks pretty straightforward to use. It was not hard to understand, son."

    "Right, this is for you, Mother."

    Leon suddenly handed over another spare portable teleportation array along with its artificial Demon Cores before saying, "Once Mother set up this portable teleportation array in the Grasnd Region, it''ll be easy for us to travel back and forth between these locations."

    After Elizabeth epted the items from Leon and stored them in her interspatial ring, she nodded, "You can leave it to me, son. This will save us a lot of traveling time."

    Leon smiled lightly.

    Rather than saving traveling time, the teleportation array will practically erase any traveling time between these three locations; Western Frontier, the Capital, and Grasnd Region.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Heinrich smiled upon noticing Leon and Elizabeth''s return to the Inner Courtyard.

    "You''re both back."

    "This is for you, father."

    "Hm? What is this?"

    After Heinrich epted the few sheets of paper from Leon, he began reading through them with curiosity.

    At the same time, Leon gave Duna a short nce while the person pretended not to notice before exining to Heinrich, "These are Divine Cultivation Techniques."

    "Oh?" Heinrich eximed before uttering, "More techniques?"

    "These techniques aren''t the same as thest ones. These cultivation techniques are for Energy Condensation Realm, Revolving Core Realm, Heaven Ascension Realm, and Void Realm."

    "And what do you want to do with these, son?"

    "Well, I''ve noticed that our people are beginning to reach the peak of Body Tempering while some have even managed to pave their own way into Energy Condensation. I didn''t want our people''s cultivation to be shackled by theck of techniques, so I am handing these over to you, Father."

    "As for the specifics of what to do with them, I will leave that those decisions to father," Leon added shortly after.

    "Fair enough."

 Chapter 604 - Arrangements Before Departure (3)

    <h4>Chapter 604 - Arrangements Before Departure (3)</h4>

    Leon spent the remainder of his time in the Capital chatting with his parents regarding matters rted to the empire and its issues.

    "Duna, Darlene, it''s about time for us to leave now," Leon eventually notified the two before informing his parents, "Father, Mother, your son will be going now. I''lle back to visit you two after I resolve matters on the other side."

    "Un, just go do what you need to do, son. You have done enough here. These cultivation techniques will aid the empire''s growth greatly," Heinrich said.

    "I know you don''t need Mother to remind you, but be careful on your journey, son. The Wilnds is riddled with danger, especially in these tumultuous times."

    After Elizabeth spoke, Leon nodded with a warm smile, "I understand, Mother."

    Shortly after, Leon pulled Duna and Darlene to leave the Inner Courtyard¡ªbut after taking a few steps, he suddenly recalled a few unfinished matters.

    "Oh, right. About my adoptive father, Brian, and the other Illusory Butterfly Sect Disciples, have they been¡­" Leon began inquiring into the matter from when he left off to explore the Dark Continent for his adoptive mother, Mia, and the others.

    Thankfully, his mother and father had not mistreated Brian, Baron Grant, and the other ex-disciples¡ªat least, their lives were still kept and executed.

    Nevertheless, they had been under house arrest and had not been able to leave the guest courtyard. Still, it was better than dirty cells under the pce, or of course, death.

    Once Leon recounted his experience in the Dark Continent, filling in the nks that Darlene did not cover during the time she spent with his mother, he exined the circumstances and story regarding his adoptive father and the ex-disciples.

    "I see. I have nearly forgotten about this matter if you have not brought it up, son. Brian and Baron Grant have also told me as such, but I could not confirm the truth from their mouths and could only keep them under house arrest until now¡­"

    "Since it''s been cleared up now, I won''t pursue this matter further. Let bygones be bygones. I''ll send someone to inform them of their lifted house arrest," Elizabeth said with a soft sigh before asking Leon, "Do you want to see them before you go, son?"

    "Hmm¡­" Leon thought for a moment before shaking his head, "It''s fine, Mother. I will visit again within two days. At that time, I will meet them and also see if Father Brian and the others want to follow me to the Dark Continent."

    "Fair enough." Elizabeth nodded before she suddenly frowned.

    "Since the Cataclysm happened, the Dark Continent must have been affected in some way as well. When you are heading for that ce again, you must be extra prudent and careful, son."

    "I know, I know." Leon smiled.

    Shortly after, Elizabeth and Heinrich ended up deciding to follow Leon to the newly deployed teleportation array in the pce¡ªwanting to witness its operation.

    Nevertheless, Leon suddenly paused his steps once again. There was still onest matter for him to take care of in the Capital before returning to the other side.

    Since he had provided divine cultivation techniques up to the Void Realm, it is only right to provide apanying cultivation pills to aid cultivators in reaching such a level.

    However, he only had Tier 3 Spirit Herbs, allowing him to refine cultivation pills for Divine Practitioners of the Revolving Core Realm.

    Refining cultivation pills for Divine Practitioners of the Heaven Ascension Realm and Void Realm was out of the question.

    ''Even with the aid of cultivation pills, it will still take time for people to reach the peak of Revolving Core Realm. There''s no need to teach Reginald the pill form for the Heaven Ascending Pill and Shattering Void Pill for now¡­''

    Leon began thinking about his alchemy disciple¡ªwho was really just v¡ªahem, worker refining pills for him and the empire.

    ''I don''t have Tier 4 Spirit Herbs, but even if I do, Reginald will not be able to refine the Tier 4 Heaven Ascending Pill, let alone the Tier 5 Shattering Void Pill. He has only been practicing alchemy under for a few weeks¡­''

    It will take years of practice to reach Tier 4 in alchemy, even if someone is endowed in alchemy in knowledge.

    ''Right, Reginald still needs lots of spirit herbs to continue practicing alchemy. I am definitely not making him refine cultivation pills for free. This is all for the sake of advancing his alchemy skills,'' Leon thought.

    He had already imparted the knowledge of refining Spirit Enhancing Pills, Spirit Condensation Pills, and Core Strengthening Pills to Reginald.

    The person only needed to continue refining these pills for now.

    "Is there still something else, son?" Elizabeth inquired, seeing Leon had suddenly paused his steps.

    "Yes, Mother."

    Leon nodded to his mother before making some simple inquiries regarding Reginald.

    Shortly after, he soon learned that his alchemy disciple had been working day and night tirelessly in the pill refining room ever since he left the batch of herbs for Reginald to practice pill refinement on.

    "Quite the number of pills have been umted over the past few weeks or so. There aren''t many spirit herbs left, and they are mostly the most valuable ones," Heinrich stated.

    Leon did not expect Reginald to seed in refining Tier 3 Core Strengthening Pills and bing an Alchemy Grandmaster so soon.

    "Father, can I trouble you to get someone to deliver these spirit herbs to my alchemy disciple?"

    After saying this, Leon waved his hand and poured out several sets of spirit herbs ranging from Tier 1 to Tier 3 Spirit Herbs.

    "Of course." Heinrich nodded.

    After seeing Heinrich stored everything into his interspatial ring, Leon began rubbing his chin in musing, "Maybe it''s time to reopen that pill store of mine."

    "That would definitely bring in immense profit once the pills hit the market, but you won''t be around to manage it, would you? Do you need my help?"

    "Then, I will trouble father with the task of finding suitable people in managing the pill store," Leon epted his father''s offer.

    Shortly after, he added, "However, the cultivation pills shouldn''t be solely monopolized by the rich. We need to circting pills well to give themoners an equal chance of obtaining them. Perhaps a contribution system will do? Of course, I will leave it to you to sort out the finer details, Father."

    "You brat¡­ Giving me more work¡­ Haiz, alright. Just leave it to me," Heinrich sighed with a bit of helplessness.

    Leon smiled wryly.

    "Then¡­ I''ll be going now."

    "Un, save travels, my son."

    Eventually, they bid farewell to each other before Leon activated the teleportation array and stepped inside with Duna and Darlene.

 Chapter 605 - Flying Mutant Rats

    <h4>Chapter 605 - Flying Mutant Rats</h4>

    Shortly after Leon disappeared inside the spatial portal along with Darlene and Duna, the teleportation array did not deactivate on its own but remained operating¡ªeven after they left.

    "So this is how a portable teleportation array works, huh?" Elizabeth studied the runic device by turning a rotating pad.

    In a short instance, the new sets of runic lines disconnected, immediately short-circuiting the energy flow and deactivated the teleportation array.

    The spatial portal closed up and vanished without trace after losing its supply of energy.

    After another turn of the rotating pad, the runic lines realigned and activated the teleportation array as the spatial portal was opened.

    "How fascinating. Our son invented this?" Heinrich marveled at the teleportation array''s functions before curiously asking, "Where does this spatial portal lead us?"

    "This one should lead us to the Western Frontier," Elizabeth said before turning the rotating pad again back to the original spot, "And this one will lead us to where our son is."

    "Oh? Seems like this teleportation array has up to four different locations ording to these rotating pads. What about these other two points? Where do they lead?" Heinrich inquired with interest.

    However, Elizabeth shook her head.

    "This one will open the spatial portal connected to the portable teleportation array I was given by our son, while thisst one is a dummy without any spatial coordinates recorded. It''s used to deactivate the teleportation array," Elizabeth exined.

    "I see¡­ It seems like our son has introduced us to quite an amazing mode of travel. It''s even more effective than the high-speed airship travel I n to implement in the Grasnd Region after building our the New Capital¡­" Heinrich praised.

    "Un." Elizabeth nodded in agreement.

    "However, this method of travel has a fatal w. We cannot make it public and known by everyone. It must be well-guarded and can only be used by people we trust," Heinrich added with furrowed brows of concern.

    "Right." Elizabeth agreed before stating with a solemn look, "If any of these portable teleportation arrays are lost to our enemies, they would be able to use it against us and strike us while we least expect it."

    Elizabeth rotated the rotating pad once more to deactivate the teleportation array and save energy.

    Shortly after, Elizabeth continued, "Even if this teleportation array is deactivated, anyone can jump to this location if they have any teleportation array with this teleportation array''s spatial coordinates recorded."

    "True. Although I don''t think anyone can rival our son''s knowledge in runes, can''t we deactivate the teleportationpletely by removing the power stones embedded in the sockets?" Heinrich wondered.

    Elizabeth recalled her son''s previous instruction before she shook her head, "They teleportation arrays uses its own energy to create the portal for the spatial jump. As such, it does not need another teleportation array''s activation¡ªonly its spatial coordinates."

    Suddenly, a spatial portal reopened before Heinrich and Elizabeth were startled with rming expressions.

    "Someone ising!"

    Not long after, Duke Ignis''s figure could be seen walking out from the spatial portal before he looked around with a wondering expression.

    "Oh?"

    Heinrich eximed with pleasant surprise after recognizing the person before he approached Duke Ignis and patted his broad shoulders.

    "Well, if it isn''t Brother Ignis? What brings you back here? How''s the situation in the Western Frontier?" Heinrich inquired with a smile.

    "The Western Frontier''s situation is stable for now, but there''s no telling what will happen in the future. Leon dropped by in the Western Frontier and suggested that I should get familiar with using these teleportation arrays¡ªAnd so, here I am."

    After Duke Ignis answered casually, he continued to have a look around before speaking, "Judging by the surrounding, this ce should be the inner pce?"

    "Un." Heinrich nodded.

    "Since you are already here, we might as well take this chance to catch up, Brother Ignis, and you can also tell me about the Western Frontier''s situation in detail."

    "Alright." Duke Ignis agreed.

    "Then I leave you to men to have some time together. I need to get back and prepare for the trip to the Grasnd Region," Elizabeth spoke, seeing it was not appropriate to stick around while there were still matters to settle.

    "Alright, dear. I know you don''t need me to say this, but be careful on your journey. There''s a lot of unpredictable elements and danger during this Cataclysm," Heinrich said out of concern.

    "I know, Heinrich." Elizabeth smiled before smirking, "But you should concern yourself in dealing with those Demon Worshippers. Don''t worry about me. I wille back to visit after I set up the teleportation array in a secured location in the Grasnd Region."

    "Right, we still have those Demon Worshippers to worry about¡­" Heinrich immediately felt a headache regarding this matter.

    However, Heinrich recalled Leon''s act of cleansing the Capital''s foul atmosphere before his expression slightly eased up shortly after.

    Nevertheless, it was the first time Duke Ignis heard about this matter as a puzzled look shortly appeared on his face.

    "What are these Demon Worshippers you are talking about, Brother Heinrich?" Duke Ignis turned to Heinrich with knitted brows.

    "We can also talk about this over tea, Brother Ignis. Come," Heinrich urged Duke Ignis with one hand but failed to make the person budge, causing him to raise an eyebrow before looking back at Duke Ignis with surprise.

    "Is it just me, or have you be much stronger physically? Your muscles are hard as a rock, and your stance is stable and firm like a mountain. I cannot budge you at all!" Heinrich eximed after a few more attempts at moving Duke Ignis.

    Duke Ignis immediately cracked a smile before chuckling softly, "Ohoho, you just noticed? I made a small breakthrough in the Western Frontier."

    Swoosh~!

    At the same time, Duke Ignis flexed his strength in front of Heinrich and Elizabeth by making a punch at empty air, resulting in a strong gust of wind swirling into the distance.

    "Small breakthrough, my ass." Heinrich rolled his eyes in doubt before asking, "Quickly tell me what happened in the Western Frontier."

    "Hahaha, this is all thanks to Leon. I would not have been able to achieve this kind of breakthrough without his help. Also¡ª"

    Duke Ignis began exining with a smug look when he suddenly froze upon recalling a certain event, causing his expression to take a quick turn into gloominess.

    "Also what?"

    "Haiz, forget it."

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon had only returned to Soft Feather''s side in the Wilnds for a brief moment.

    After seeing they were still en route to the Deste Crow n, Leon decided to make a quick stop in the Western Frontier to check on the situation.

    "Are you leaving again, Your Highness?" General Marquis Hendrick inquired at Leon''s side near the Western Frontier''s teleportation array.

    "Yeah, since everything is still stable here, I will be returning to the other side." Leon nodded before saying, "I''m about to arrive in the Deste Crow n''s territory. I need to be present to tackle any danger that may arise upon arriving."

    "Then¡­ please be careful, Your Highness," General Marquis Hendrick said.

    After Leon nodded, he stepped into the spatial portal and returned to the other side, where he had left the others.

    However, he was immediately stunned upon his return.

    "Lilith, make sure you do not leave Soft Feather''s side! Soft Feather, please protect Lilith! I will handle the rear!" Aria shouted while fending off arge group of berserk flying beasts with 36 ice-lightning swords.

    "Begone!"

    Duna took on the vanguard position and waved her hand, sending out a wave of darkness that swept away the numerous mutated rats with grotesque-looking wings made of blood and bones ahead and blinded them.

    "Awrooo!"

    The Transcendent-level silver wolf''s howl was heard below while it was simrly getting swarmed by a sea of mutated rats in the berserk state.

    "What''s the situation?" I was only gone for a few minutes. How did we get ourselves surrounded by swarms of rats so suddenly?" Leon quickly inquired after deactivating the teleportation array on Soft Feather''s back and storing it inside his Worldspace.

    "Leon, you''re back!" Lilith eximed with joy even though her eyes were red and teary¡ªchoke-full of emotions and on the verge of crying.

    "I don''t know! When we arrived at my n''s territory, the ce was already overrun with rats! I don''t think anyone is still alive around here! My parents¡­ they might already¡ª"

    "It''s too soon to jump to conclusions. Let us deal with these rats first, then figure out what happened here," Leon interrupted with a frown before withdrawing his Tier 4 Bone Spear from the Worldspace.

    "Alright¡­"

    Lilith stood up on Soft Feather''s back, but she was shortly forced back down by Leon.

    "I wasn''t talking to you, Lilith. You still haven''t reached the Transcendent level yet. It''ll be too dangerous for you to participate in this level of battle. Just hug close to Soft Feather''s back with Darlene and sit this one out."

    "We will handle this."

    Shortly after Leon spoke, he immediately took a big leap off Soft Feather''s back before making a mighty sweep to the side.

    Swoosh~!

    Numerous mutant flying rats that managed totch onto Soft Feather''s wings as she was vehemently trying to shake them off were immediately blown away by the wind pressure!

    Shortly after, he made another powerful sweep of his spear, immediately blowing away the mutants ratstching onto Soft Feather''s other wings before he inquired, "How are you faring, Soft Feather? Are you alright?"

    "I''m alright for now, but you better do something quickly! I don''t think I can hold on for much longer if this keeps up!" Soft Feather cried while pping her blood-soaked wings with many bite marks and several feathers missing.

    "Sorry, Soft Feather¡­ You wouldn''t be in this state if you did not have to protect me." Lilith was filled with guilt.

    At the same time, Darlene also wore a guilty expression¡­ Perhaps, she should not havee¡ªfor she was holding everyone back.

 Chapter 606 - Extremely Big Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 606 - Extremely Big Mountain</h4>

    "Let''s just say that we are even now, okay? I apologize for the rude remarks I said previously. I did not mean it," Soft Feather spoke apologetically, feeling pained at the loss of a few feathers¡ªto say nothing in the least for an entire wing.

    Nevertheless, Lilith shook her head, having gotten over this matter after regaining her ability to fly¡ªand with greater freedom to boot.

    "It''s fine, it''s fine¡­"

    At the same time, Leon was slightly surprised, not expecting Lilith and Soft Feather, these two birds, to start getting along only during a moment of danger.

    ''Interesting. Betterte than never, I guess,'' Leon smiled slightly in thought, having thought Soft Feather was going to be stubborn until the end and never apologize.

    However, she had taken the initiative to apologize to Lilith, proving him wrong.

    ''She''s a good bird.''

    Awrooo!

    The Transcendent-level silver wolf''s might howl was heard, but nothing could be seen with their vision obstructed by dense clouds of ck rats in all directions.

    "How are you doing down there, Silver?!" Leon hollered while sweeping away mutant berserk rats that broke through Aria and Duna''s line of defense.

    After receiving another lively howl in response from the Transcendent-level silver wolf below, Leon was able to gauge Silver''s situation and understood that it was not in immediate danger.

    Boom! Boom!

    From time to time, shes of ck appeared in the front, while shes of white appeared in the back due to Duna and Aria''s elemental attacks.

    "I can keep this up all day, but the same cannot be said for Soft Feather¡ªnot as long as she is forced to cover for Darlene and Lilith. Soft Feather is too big for us to cover herpletely. I''m afraid she won''tst long enough for us to exterminate all these vermins."

    "Why don''t you send them back through the teleportation array and let us clean up the battlefield first before bringing them back after, Leon?" Duna suggested before adding, "Unless you have a better n?"

    "Hm? Are you showing concerns for the others?" Leon smiled in question.

    However, Duna snorted, "Hmph, no. They are deadweights and holding us back. I just want to get rid of them quickly to focus on killing these vermins."

    Darlene and Lilith''s eyes dulled in response to Duna''s harsh words while Leon smiled awkwardly at her dishonesty.

    "I see¡­" Leon shrugged before consoling the twodies, "Don''t listen to her. She never speaks what she truly feels."

    "Hmph, what do you know?" Duna quickly snorted again.

    Nevertheless, she did notment any further than that and simply obliterated the mutant rats in front of her in silence.

    "These rats are at least 3-Star to 5-Star Ranked Awakener equivalent in strength¡­" Leon briefly gauged the strength of the mutant ck rats in their surroundings.

    Shortly after, he wondered whether they were a stronger species of rats than the Wingrats or they have simply grown this strong within a short period of time due to the Cataclysm.

    Leon shortly shook his head of the idle thoughts and spoke, "There''s no need to send Darlene and Lilith away. I will lure all these rats away from Soft Feather."

    "Don''t take any unnecessary risk, Leon."

    "Right, how do you n on achieving that? Can your little bit of flesh or blood be more desirable than our big bird here?"

    Aria expressed her concern while Duna quickly doubted before Leon smiled slightly with an unconcerned attitude, "I have a bigger bird."

    "Get lost."

    Duna immediately rolled her eyes.

    "Hahaha¡­" Leon chuckled softly before his eyes flickered with a solemn and sharp glint, "You''ll see."

    Shortly after Leon said this, he immediately sliced his own arm and allowed himself to bleed before a rich yet surprisingly pleasant scent of blood pervaded from his body.

    Swoosh~!

    Leon quickly separated himself from the rest of the group while the noses of every flying mutant rat twitched before they squeaked and chased after him.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Shinggg!

    Leon made a sharp sweep with his Tier 4 Bone Spear, immediately bisecting several dozens of flying mutant rats in a single swing!

    The blood spilled from bodies did not plummet out of the sky with their bisected bodies but froze in midair for a brief moment before they were absorbed and refined by Leon with the Evesting Blood Mantra.

    Swoosh~!

    Numerous drops of Origin Blood were refined from the blood essence of the flying mutant rats before they were fused with Leon''s blood, increasing his Origin Blood collection to 11 types of Origin Blood.

    At the same time, the other duplicate Origin Bloods were transformed into vital energy that reinvigorated Leon, filling his body with a seemingly endless amount of vitality and stamina.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The flying mutant rats went crazy at once due to his rich and overpowering scent of blood as he failed to contain all the vital energy and allowed it to leak out of his body to capture their attention.

    "Come to me, vermins!" Leon weed the mutant rats without fear.

    "Leave these berserk mutant rats to be and find an opening to break out from their encirclement! I''m going to use their blood to practice my Evesting Blood Mantra!" Leon shouted to the others shortly after.

    "Be careful!" Aria warned.

    "I will!" Leon spouted before reassuring, "Don''t worry, these rats won''t be able to harm me!"

    The dense clouds of flying mutant rats surrounding Soft Feather and the others quickly thinned out as they soared in pursuit of Leon.

    Duna''s eyes immediately flickered.

    With a wave of her hand, a wave of destruction reduced hundreds of flying mutant rats ahead into scattering ashes, revealing a clear sky on the other side.

    "This way!" Duna hollered to the others.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in another region of airspace, Leon pulled the dense clouds of flying mutant rats away while swinging his bone spear left and right, cleaving away hundreds of rats at a time as he descended towards the surface and fight on the ground.

    He did not use any other power avable to him¡ªonly relying on the physical prowess granted by his powerful Body Cultivation to y the mutant rats with brute force while drawing their blood for practice.

    Awrooo!

    Silver''s howl was shortly heard as Leon sensed its presence, moving towards his location with excitement while mowing down the mutant rats obstructing its path.

    In a short moment, the Transcendent-level silver wolf''s figure was revealed, bursting out from a sea of mutant rats with its big furry body soaked in the blood of its prey.

    "You want to fight by the side, huh? Fine, let''s do it! Kill them all, Silver! No treat if you kill any less than me!"

    "Awrooo!"

    After giving a mighty howl, the Transcendent-level silver wolf dived straight back into the sea of berserk mutant rats, incited to hunt them all down in a frenzy.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Berserk mutant rats were pped left and right by Silver''s powerful tails, shattering bones and crushing organs that they were blown away by the force of the tail blows.

    At the same time, Leon never stopped swinging his bone spear, reaping dozens to hundreds of lives with each sweep and blowing their scattered parts away while their blood quickly soaked the earth.

    Nevertheless, the flying mutant rats'' form made Leon furrowed his brows in thought, especially their wings that looked like bat wings but made of bone and crystallized blood.

    ''These rodents can still be recognized for now, but if they continue to mutate, would they still be considered rodents or recognized as such?'' Leon mused while forming piles of carcasses under his bone spear before they were blown away by the wind pressure of his swings.

    Suddenly, Leon was reminded of the fleshly abomination.

    ''What did those things used to be, I wonder?''

    ¡­

    "Let us hold our ground here, where we can still see Leon in the distance," Aria suggested while ying a few lingering flying mutant rats in the sky after the group broke out of the rat tide''s encirclement.

    "Sounds good to me. I can finally catch a breather," Soft Feather spoke before descending to the ground where she could inspect the state of her wings.

    Thud!

    Soft Feathernded shortly on an enormous ck mountain with a heavy thud, causing the entire mountain to shake unstably and rumble before it started to deform.

    Countless ck bodies rolled down from the top of the ck mountain before everyone realized it was not an ordinary mountain but a massive ck mountain made with an unfathomable amount of rodent carcasses!

    Thedies all quickly furrowed their brows in disgust due to the pungent stench before they each used their own means to eliminate the horrible smell from the region.

    "The number of carcasses here is even greater than the Western Frontier¡­ Evidently, a great battle had been fought here¡­" Ariamented while inspecting the surroundings on one of her flying ice-lightning swords.

    Shortly after, she turned to Lilith and asked, "How much further until we reach your Deste Crow n?"

    "Not much further, I think?" Lilith answered with uncertainty.

    "This region of the Wilnds was changed so much I am unable to recognize where we are¡­ The amount of carcasses here is simply too horrifying¡­"

    "But reasonably speaking, we should have already arrived at my Deste Crow n by now¡­" Lilith added with a frown.

    Duna hummed with a low tune before nonchntly asking Lilith, "Any chance that so-called Deste Crow n of yours is buried under this endless heap of rodent carcasses?"

    "This¡­"

    Lilith''s expression froze before her heart was shaken by Duna''s question.

    "That might be possible¡­"

 Chapter 607 - Inexhaustible

    <h4>Chapter 607 - Inexhaustible</h4>

    Subconsciously, Lilith did not want to think about such a possibility.

    If the entire tribe was buried under the endless mass of rat carcasses, it would imply that the Deste Crow n was most likely¡­

    As Lilith arrived at this chain of thought, Aria''s sudden pat made her jump slightly in surprise.

    "There''s no conclusive evidence that Deste Crow n has been wiped, so let us not jump to conclusions," Aria said with a slight smile.

    "Yeah, even if the Deste Crow n was buried under here, it does not mean that everyone died here. They could have fled to seek refuge at a higher-ranking tribe," Soft Feather addedzily,ying down on ayer of ice covering over the ck carcasses.

    "Let us have a look, shall we?" Duna suggested.

    But before anyone could agree, she went ahead and cleaved the mountain of carcasses apart with a slight wave of destruction, causing her fingernails to crack at the same time.

    "Tch!"

    Without any surprises, Duna was unsatisfied with the result¡ªhaving only made a small fissure, which was no different from a slight crack on the big mountain.

    "It''s going to take more effort than that if you want to dig through this big mountain," Ariamented with amusement.

    Duna gave her a look before she snorted, "If you know, then hurry up ande help."

    "If that how you ask someone for help?" Aria responded uncooperatively, causing Duna to give her another nce as sparks seemed to sh between their gazes.

    Nevertheless, Aria relented with a shrug after looking at Lilith''s dejected look, "Well, alright. Not a big deal anyway."

    Shortly after, Aria raised her hand andmanded the ice-lightning swords to form a lotus sword formation and drill into the small fissure created by Duna.

    Rumble!

    The mountain of carcasses could be felt vibrating from the drilling, causing Soft Feather difort as she could not even rest on her sheet of ice in peace.

    She raised her raised with displeasure before spouting with a soft sigh, "Let me help."

    "And what can I do to help?" Darlene inquired, feeling the need to contribute to the team despite her unfamiliarity with everyone.

    As the weakest and most likely also the newest member in the group, it was something she needed to deal with if she wanted to build a harmonious rtionship with everyone.

    "You? It''s fine." Aria shook her head and said, "You don''t need to do anything. Just stick close to Soft Feather and watch yourself. The ground will be unstable and cause you to trip if you are not careful¡ª"

    Boom!

    A pile of carcasses was suddenly sted into the air some distance away from the group as several dozens¡ªNo, hundreds of shadows shot out from underneath.

    In the next moment, Soft Feather and the others were entirely surrounded by a group of beastkin warriors, weapons drawn and pointed at them with hostile gazes.

    ''Transcendents!''

    Aria and Duna immediately narrowed their eyes, feeling the strong aura emanated from the several dozen warriors.

    Nevertheless, they were only Rank 1 Transcendents while the rest were mainly at the 9-Star Ranked Awakener in strength and below.

    Shortly after, a beastkin warrior in ck feathery armor stepped forward before barking, "Why are you trying to enter our tribe?! State your intentions clearly or die!"

    "Are you threatening me?" Duna''s expression immediately zed with coldness.

    Several beastkin warriors were quickly intimidated by Duna''s powerful and menacing aura in that single instance. Still, they neither retreated nor cowered as they endured Duna''s pressure head-on.

    They have been tempered by blood and battle and would not sumb to fear so easily.

    "Seems you have chosen death!" the ck-feathered beastkin warrior stated with a grave look, having understood that the woman in front of him was powerful despite being unable to gauge her cultivation!

    As the ck-feathered beastkin warrior raised his hand and ready to give the kill order, Lilith quickly stepped out from behind Duna and shouted, "Wait! Uncle Jorn! It''s me, Lilith!"

    "Halt!"

    The ck feathery-armored beastkin warrior called Uncle Jorn immediately stopped his men from attacking with a hand gesture before ncing back at Lilith with surprise.

    "Little Princess? You''re back!" Jorn spoke before to his men, "Lower your weapons! Her Highness has returned!"

    "Wee back, Your Highness!" The beastkin warriors all greeted shortly after.

    Lilith gave her surrounding n members a sweeping nce with joy in her eyes, seeing there are survivors. She immediately became hopeful for the rest of the tribe.

    "What is the situation of the n, Uncle Jorn? How are my parents?" Lilith quickly inquired with an expectant gaze.

    "They¡­" Jorn suddenly paused with a frown as he observed the rat tide''s movements in the distance before continuing, "Let us talk inside the n, Little Princess. We need to hide and mask our scent before the berserk rats are attracted."

    "You don''t need to worry about that. The rat tide is currently preupied with something else. Why don''t you take a closer look and see what is actually happening?"

    Duna stated coolly before adding with a frosty expression, "You did not answer my question. Were you threatening me?"

    "I apologize for our disrespect, miss." Jorn quickly apologized before asking respectfully, "How should I address you, miss?"

    Although he could not tell Duna''s cultivation, he understood that she had to be very powerful to be able to make everyone feel apprehensive with just her aura alone.

    "Duna. You may call me Duna."

    As Duna introduced herself, Lilith quickly took the initiative to introduce the rest of the group to her Uncle Jorn, who was a close confidante of her father, the n leader of the Deste Crow n.

    Once the introduction was done, Jorn and the beastkin warriors'' gazes lingered on Soft Feather in awe as it was rare for them to see such a big and majestic beast in their region.

    "I didn''t expect to see a member of the Blue Luan race in these parts of the Wilnds. Deste Crow n is honored by your presence, Princess Soft Feather," Jorn said humbly.

    After Lilith''s introduction, the beastkin warriors were further made aware of Soft Feather''s identity as the daughter of a Paragon from the Blue Luan Tribe, a higher-ranking tribe than their Mid-rank tribe, due to Aria''s insertion.

    "Hmph, it is good that you know."

    Soft Feather strutted with her head proudly raised to the high heavens with smugness written all over her face as she enjoyed the reverence and respect of the beastkin warriors of the Deste Crow n.

    "Don''t feed her ego. These Blue Luans can be prouder than the heavens themselves if you showering them with a little bit of respect and admiration," Duna casually stated, causing Soft Feather''s mood to turn foul.

    "Hmph, you want to say that again?"

    In a short instance, Soft Feather began to bicker with Duna.

    Nevertheless, Jorn and the other beastkin warriors did not pay attention to this as their gazes shifted to the rumbling distance, where Leon and Silver fought with the swarming rat tide.

    "Such vigor and valiance! I wonder which expect is fighting over? We need to help them! Even Rank 2 Transcendents could be exhausted to death if they were to fight the rat tide!" Jorn spoke with a solemn look.

    Aria''s eyes immediately flickered.

    "Where are you going?" Duna casually asked Aria, seeing that she was about to head off on her ice-lightning sword.

    "Since Lilith and Darlene are safe over here, I am going back to help Leon fight off the berserk rats," Aria calmly answered.

    However, she was quickly stopped by Duna, "Leon doesn''t need your help. Can''t you see he is having so much fun over there? Are you sure you want to spoil it?"

    "This¡­" Aria frowned.

    At the same time, Jorn opened his mouth and spoke, "Miss Duna, I am afraid I cannot agree. No matter how much fun the person is having, it would notst forever¡ªthey would notst forever."

    "To throw away one''s life for fun is simply not worth it. Moreover, this person appears to be Rank 2 Transcendent. It will be regrettable if we lose such an expert in thesends that currently runs rampant with rat tides."

    "You''re really stupid, you know that?" Duna quickly insulted before saying, "Does it looked Leon is showing any signs of exhaustion? No, rather than that, he is bing more and more energetic over time."

    Being a ghoul-like being in her present state with regr bloodthirsts, Duna was naturally most sensitive to blood.

    Although Leon was not growing stronger in strength, she could definitely sense that his vigor was growing over time¡ªeven when she is over a dozen miles away from Leon''s location.

    "This¡­" Jorn expressed his doubt.

    Being unable to sense what Duna sensed, Jorn turned to the Little Princess, Lilith, for answers. However, Lilith was unable to ascertain Duna''s ims as well and turned to Aria.

    "She''s¡­ probably telling the truth," Aria shrugged nonchntly on the surface, but in truth, she was slightly unwilling to speak up for Duna in her heart.

    Nevertheless, she did not want to look petty.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to sweep away waves after waves of ck mutant rats without a hint of injury on his body nor a trace of fatigue on his face.

    He was inexhaustible.

    At the same time, his boiling and vigorous blood drove the squeaking rats crazy!

    On the other hand, the Transcendent-level silver wolf sustained numerous injuries as bite marks were seen all over its body.

    Upon seeing this, Leon hollered, "Eat this, Silver."

    Swoosh~!

    A Tier 3 healing pill was tossed over before Silver snatched it with his teeth within a blink of an eye and swallowed it down¡ªwhilst being under the barrage of the mutant rats at the same time.

    "Hoho, nice reaction."

 Chapter 608 - Silvers Mutation

    <h4>Chapter 608 - Silver''s Mutation</h4>

    Shortly after feeding the Silver the Tier-3 healing pill, Leon wrinkled his brows in thought while swinging his bone spear in a continuous and circr loop that forms a defensive circle the rats could not breach with their inferior strength.

    ''I have be quite proficient in the Evesting Blood Mantra. Refining Origin Blood only takes up one-third of the time when I first started practicing this technique. Practicing any further than this is will just be a waste of time¡­'' Leon mused.

    He has reached his current speed limit in refining Origin Blood from the mutant rats'' extracted blood essence.

    ''Despite refining so many Origin Blood from these mutant rats, they have not been able to provide me with any new type of Origin Blood. These rodents serve no other purpose than to replenish my stamina¡­''

    At this point, Leon had most likely ughtered at least several hundred thousands of flying mutant rats, but despite this, he only has 11 types of Origin Blood.

    ''If I want to master the Evesting Blood Mantra and advance Body Cultivation''s blood refining phase swiftly, I will need to find ces withrge and diverse gatherings of beasts¡­ like beast tribes, I suppose.''

    ''However, I cannot just ughter all the beasts in a beast tribe for no good reason if they are not my enemy, not to mention I do not necessarily have to kill them to obtain their Origin Blood. Just enough blood essence will do¡­'' Leon contemted.

    ''Time to wrap this up quickly, so I can regroup with the others and continue our journey.''

    Having settled his mind, Leon shifted his focus back on the mutant rats with a sharp glint and began ughtering the vermins with greater ferocity and power¡ª!

    Awrooo!

    The Transcendent-level silver wolf suddenly gave a mighty howl of pain, causing Leon to nce over immediately with a frown, "Hm?"

    "Silver, what''s wrong?!" Leon quickly hollered with a clear and resounding voice.

    However, the three-tailed silver wolf did not seem to have heard him.

    Instead, it continued howling while rolling around on the blood-soaked ground in anguish as if it was being tormented by a thousand ants gnawing its innards.

    Leon quickly shot over and cleared the mutant rats in the area with a mighty sweep of his bone spear set ame with scorching heat under his Fire Law.

    Tens of thousands of rodents were immediately swept away by a me wave before a ring of fire was formed, baring the mutant rats froming closer.

    ''This is¡­''

    Leon''s frown deepened after taking the chance to inspect the three-tailed silver wolf''s condition.

    He could see redness in the three-tailed silver wolf''s eyes, but it was not the result of the Wrathful Demonic Energy corrupting its mind and making it go berserk.

    "Awroooo!" Silver howled.

    Bones could be heard creaking and cracking while the surface of its flesh squirmed like worms as veins protruding on its body.

    Myriad changes could be seen under Leon''s divine sense before his eyes flickered with a conclusion, ''Silver is undergoing a mutation!''

    "But is this mutation a good thing or a bad thing? Come to think of it, how did beasts grow stronger before they gain intelligence and learn to cultivate?" Leon wondered.

    ''Descendents of divine beasts had their powerfultent bloodline to help them, but what about the beasts in the lower spectrum without any noble heritage from their ancestors?''

    Evidently, there were no divine beasts in the absolute beginning.

    "Only through evolution and cultivation were they able to be divine beasts. I have only taught Silver about Divine Beast Cultivation recently. It shouldn''t be undergoing cultivation breakthrough," Leon muttered.

    Not to mention, a cultivation breakthrough would not alter the beast''s body constitution like he was currently witnessing in front of him.

    "Which leaves us with evolution, huh?"

    Having reached this conclusion, Leon decided not to interfere with the three-tailed silver wolf''s evolution and chose to protect it from being interrupted by the mutant rats.

    "The wall of mes will keep the mutant rats froming close. It''s fine to leave Silver here and focus entirely on killing."

    Swoosh~!

    Leon flew outside the fire ring and dived straight into the sea of rats with his bone spear ignited in mes and began burning all the rodents in his range.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The flying mutant rats immediately cried in burning agony under the power of Leon''s scorching hot mes, causing the fast rodents to quickly retreat in rm and fear.

    As for the slow ones, there was no need to mention what happened to them. Naturally, the fast ones lived, and the slow ones died.

    Flickers of intelligence were reflected in the eyes of the surviving rodents, but it onlysted a brief moment before they were reced by the original berserk-red gazes.

    Leon narrowed his eyes before pondering, "There are some other things I have meant to try for some time now. I shall use this chance to practice it on these rats."

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the three-tailed silver wolf continued to howl and squirm on the ground¡ªwhen a new tail was eventually squeezed out, its ws became sharper, and its fur became harder!

    Boom!

    Sometimeter, the three-tailed¡ªNo, the four-tailed silver wolfpleted its evolution as its aura surged fiercely and proudly!

    Awrooo!

    A single mighty howl quickly shook the battlefield!

    The unprotected eardrums of several mutant rats were immediately ruptured before Silver leaped out of the fire ring and mmed its paw down on a group of mutant rats.

    Boom!

    A heap of the dirty rose into the sky as the earth shattered under the force of the four-tailed silver wolf''s powerful paw, crushing all numerous mutant rats before sweeping out with its four tails and sliced up hundreds of rats with its sharp wind pressure.

    In the distance, Jorn and the beastkin warriors observed the battle before they were shocked by the four-tailed silver wolf''s changes.

    "Oh my god, that silver wolf was only an Early-stage Rank 1 Transcendent just a moment ago, but now, its strength directly shot up to Early-stage Rank 2 Transcendent!"

    "We can only improve our strengths 1 stage at a time, but a single evolution allowed the silver wolf to jump an entire rank. This kind of increase in power is unreal!"

    The beastkin warriors spoke.

 Chapter 609 - Law Fusion

    <h4>Chapter 609 - Law Fusion</h4>

    "I didn''t expect that Silver''s evolution would help it improve its strength by so much. This was almost a tenfold improvement!"

    While killing rats in his surroundings, Leon directed some of his attention to watching the silver wolf fight with a curious gaze.

    "It also grew an extra tail after its evolution¡­ Does this mean it will continue to grow an extra tail with each tail?" Leon muttered with surprise.

    "It seems I would need to re-evaluate Silver''s bloodline¡­ It might have a noble lineage that I am not aware of¡ªNo, the Cataclysm must have yed a major part in its evolution."

    The mutations were changes brought by the Cataclysm and only made possible because of it.

    "Either way, it seems that Silver has a chance to be something much stronger than ordinary divine beasts¡ªand much quicker than I anticipated at that¡­"

    "Wolves are also proud beings. It would not be appropriate for me to continue calling Silver by such a lousy pet name¡­ I shoulde up with a better name for a future divine beast¡­" Leon contemted.

    But then again, he was never good with names.

    Eventually, Leon stopped paying attention to the silver wolf and resumed his experimentation with the mutant rats as his target practice.

    ''Let''s try it,'' Leon decided.

    The Tier 4 Bone Spear was shortly stored away before Leon reach out his hands as the power of Fire Laws quickly gather on one palm while the power of Ice Law gathered on the other hand.

    He had fusedws of perfect cycles to produce Grandmist Energy ording to the Hegemon of Primal Chaos.

    However, what he currently wanted to find out is what sort of power would be produced by fusing differentbinations ofws.

    ''Considering thew seeds are all merged with my soul core, even if I was to fail, I should at least have the ability to even make an attempt atw fusion.''

    "For my first experiment, Fire Law and Ice Law. What sort of power will be produced by fusing these twows, I wonder?" Leon muttered before pping his hands together.

    Naturally, he knew that fire and ice would mutually destroy and cancel each other out, but this only applies when a person tries to fuse the elements.

    What he was attempting to do was to fuse the twows themselves.

    In a short moment, the Fire Law and Ice Law in Leon''s hands made contact before feeling a repulsive force pushing the twows away from each other.

    When he tried to force the two together, a stronger repulsive force was produced, forcing Leon''s hands to bounce apart.

    At the same time, the power of Fire Law and Ice Law in his hands was reduced in size.

    "Simply jamming them together would not work, huh? Figures. If it was that easy, there would have been many experts in this field already," Leon said self-mockingly.

    At the same time, the mutant rats were constantly on his tails.

    With his hands preupied, he had been using his legs to sweep them away, clearing out space for himself to continue his experimentation.

    ''Since jamming together won''t work. Let''s try another approach¡­ for example, the concept of yin and yang, perhaps?'' Leon decided.

    There was yin and yang, and yang in yin. The two form a delicate yet intricate bnce with profound truths pertaining to the way of the universe.

    Many things could be derived from the concept of yin and yang. Even some martial arts were formed based on yin and yang.

    However, Leon took the most straightforward method and swirled the twows of ice and fire together like two strands intertwining, forming manyyers in between each other.

    As such, the strands of Ice Law would always be surrounded by Fire Laws, while in turns, the strands of Fire Laws would also be surrounded by Ice Laws.

    Leon watched the twowsing together and contacted like two different colors blending in a mixer, causing his eyes to flicker with excitement.

    ''It''s working!'' Leon eximed in his mind before an identalpse in concentration immediately made the two powers spiral out of control, causing his expression to change abruptly in that single instance.

    ''Oh sh*t!''

    Boom!

    A powerful explosion immediately blew Leon like a catapult as his body through the air and mming through numerous mutant rats, crushing them to death.

    At the same time, the explosion generated an enormous st wave of red and blue aura that immediately swept across the field of mutant rats.

    "Ugh, to make such a rookie mistake¡­" Leon shook his head wryly with a self-deprecating smile before feeling pain in his arms.

    After realizing one side was burnt while the other was frozen, Leon was astonished.

    However, whaty in the distance ahead of him was even more astonishing than the injuries he found on his own hands!

    One side of the field waspletely scorched ck by the mes, while the other side was frozen with numerous icy spikes pointed outward.

    The area coverage of the damage far exceeded Leon''s imagination.

    If he had not been the culprit that caused such destruction, he would have believed that it was the result of trying to fuse two little balls of primaryws together.

    "Isn''t this sort of multiplicative increase in power a little too frightening? The power must have increased by at least a fiftyfold¡­" Leon''s lips twitched at the result.

    If the iplete fusion power of twows at the 9-Star Rank Awakener level already produced destruction simr to a Mid-stage Rank 1 Transcendent, how strong would aplete fusion power of ice and fire be?

    All the mutant rats in the area of devastation were wiped out, but there are still many more vermin in the region.

    "I shall put a pause on thew fusion experiment for now¡­ It''s a little too dangerous to y with," Leon chuckled wryly before shaking off the ice and healing his hands.

    Shortly after his hands were healed with the triple aid of pills, wood energy, and his body''s current regenerative ability, Leon drew his spear and dived back into battle.

 Chapter 610 - Awe And Fear

    <h4>Chapter 610 - Awe And Fear</h4>

    A few moments into battle, Leon withdrew a silver needle, preparing to test his next experiment.

    After he instilled a very faint trace of Nihility Law into the silver needle, he spread out his divine sense and shot the silver needle at a mutant rat''s head.

    Swoosh~!

    The silver needle quickly shot through the air.

    But before it could reach the mutant rat, the power of Nihility Law corroded the silver needle until it was exhausted, causing only the butt of the silver needle to remain, which prated the mutant rat''s head slightly.

    "As expected, the power of Nihility Law is too overbearing, huh? It''ll be difficult to imbue Nihility Law into any of my attacks if it only ends up damaging my weapons," Leon muttered with a slight frown.

    He could see that the mutant rat had survived with the butt of the silver needle sticking out of its forehead.

    Nevertheless, the purpose of his experiment was not to kill the mutant rat but to cure it.

    "Nevermind. I shall try something else," Leon decided.

    Swoosh~!

    He immediately dived into the sea of mutant rats and singled out one from the group, clutching it firmly by the neck before separating himself from the rest with a single spear swing.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The captured mutant rat dangled powerlessly in Leon''s grasp with its futile resistance before Leon locked onto the Wrathful Demonic Energy in its body and extracted every ounce of it.

    Shortly after the energy was refined, Leon tossed the mutant rat back into the group.

    Most of the mutant rats ignored it and continued rushing towards Leon in their vain attempts to hunt him down.

    However, a few mutant rats paused and circled around the mutant rat that seemingly lost all traces of its berserk state, studying it curiously.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The mutant rat tried tomunicate.

    However, in the next moment, the surrounding mutant rats immediately pounced onto it and tore the thing apart with their sharp teeth.

    Within a few breathes, the mutant rat was mostly devoured by its berserk brethren, leaving nothing behind except a few bones and patches of blood.

    "It''s too troublesome to cure these guys. And even if I do, they just be food for their own kind, huh? This is not worth the effort," Leon understood.

    It was better to just kill them all.

    Once he arrived at this conclusion, he immediately exerted his Nihility Law to the limit, forming a short-range barrier around himself and simply allowed the mutant rats to charge to their own deaths like moths drawn to the me.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    The mutant rats immediately cried after charging into the Nihility Law Barrier as Leon watched their bodies disintegrated.

    However, there were too many rodents for the Nihility Law Barrier topletely stop the mutant rats from breaching his defense.

    "Myprehension of the Nihility Law is still a little low¡­" Leon muttered casually without a hint of urgency.

    With a wave of his hand, he summoned a wall of mes to incinerate his enemies, adding a me barrier after Nihility Law Barrier.

    Any chances of the mutant rats reaching Leon were reduced to zero.

    As the mutant rats continued to kill themselves without further actions required from Leon, he took the chance to review his previous experiment onw fusion.

    The power of fire and icew fusion far exceeded his imagination.

    "Although I expected the power ofw fusion to be great, it was far greater than I had hoped. Is it because I chose twows of extreme prity or something else?" Leon pondered.

    Most likely, if he was to attempt at fusion two otherws, it would not have been as difficult, nor would it have been as powerful as the fusion between ice and fire.

    "I don''t want to sound arrogant, but chances are, anyone else conducting aw fusion of fire and ice would most likely fail," Leon thought.

    He thought he finally understood what it means to be a Hegemon of Primal Chaos, but it seems that there was still much to learn.

    "Only people who practice the Hegemon of Primal Chaos would be able to bend the veryws of the universe, I''m guessing?"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the other beastkin warriors continued to observe the rat tide''s situation from a distance on the ck mountain before their eyes shrank.

    ''What kind of power is that?'' The beastkin warriors were shocked.

    Beastkin races with bird lineages like their Deste Crow n were all endowed with sharper visions than any other beast races in the Wilnds.

    They could see some sort of invisible power reducing the mutant rats into¡­

    ''Is that energy?! This person is some sort of bizarre power to convert living beings into pure energy?!''

    Although the beastkin warriors could not recognize what kind of energy was being produced, it did not make them any less shocked than they already are.

    In fact, they were even more shocked!

    ''Just who is this human? How could he wield such a bizarre yet incredible power?'' The beastkin warriors'' gazed burned with intense curiosity.

    At the same time, some apprehension and fear sprouted in their hearts.

    The human''s bizarre power appeared almost demonic due to theirck of understanding, and because they did not understand it, they feared it.

    If the mutant rats could be converted into pure energy, then they could also be as well¡ªIf the human decided to use that power on them, that is.

    ''This person must not be offended!'' The beastkin warriors thought.

    Although they could not observe the whole situation clearly due to the mutant rats'' swarming blotting out the area, only allowing them to peer through the gaps from time to time, they did not believe their eyes deceived them.

    The beastkin warriors nced over to the Little Princess with questions in their minds but seeing that the Little Princess was chatting with her Uncle Jorn, they could only keep silent until she was done.

    As for the Blue Luan and the otherdies in the group, the beastkin warriors were not familiar with them enough to strike up a conversation and ask.

    "Uncle Jorn, since we do not have to worry about the berserk mutant rats, you can tell me what has been happening in the n now, right?" Lilith asked.

    "Well¡­" Jorn nced into the distance for a moment before he nodded, "I suppose we can talk here."

 Chapter 611 - Fenrir

    <h4>Chapter 611 - Fenrir</h4>

    "As you can probably already see and tell, Little Princess, the n is currently buried under this mountain of carcasses." Jorn proceeded to exin the situation.

    "There were simply too many rats attacking the n that we had no choice but to use their carcasses as cover and hide from them after losing more than half our people in the battle."

    "We lost more than half our n to the rat tide?" Lilith repeated with a heavy heart before gazing at the ck cloud of mutant rats attacking Leon in the distance with a frown.

    At the same time, Aria and Duna also turned their heads to look while listening in on Lillith and Jorn''s conversation.

    Although the current rat tide''s numbers were great, it was still inferior to the rat tide they faced at the Western Frontier.

    "Losing half our n''s poption is not a small loss¡­ but with our n''s strength, I am sure that we can still finish off the rat tide if there was only this much left¡­" Lilith said.

    After Jorn heard this, he smiled bitterly before saying, "That would indeed be correct if our warriors were all in peak conditions at that time, Little Princess. However, we are not tireless machines."

    "After ying more than a billion rats, everyone was too exhausted to continue fighting for much longer. Also, the remaining rat tide back then was still much bigger than what you currently see now, Little Princess."

    "Mostly likely after we went into hiding, the majority of the mutant rats went looking for other prey after losing their targets," Jorn inserted after his exnation.

    "I see¡­" Lilith uttered with a hint of awkwardness.

    After witnessing Leon''s seemingly endless vigor, she seemed to have forgotten such a simple truth.

    Not everyone had a secret method of replenishing their stamina like he did.

    "Pardon my ignorance regarding the Wilnds, but I find this rather strange¡­" Aria suddenly inserted herself into their conversation with a wrinkled expression.

    Even so, Jorn was not displeased with Aria''s sudden interjection and asked her with respect, "What do you find strange, Miss Aria?"

    "The rat tide. I am aware that the Wilnds is vast, and rodents breed very fast, but there shouldn''t have been this many in one region, no?" Aria asked.

    Back in the Western Frontier, she had thought the rat tide was quiterge but still within a reasonable range.

    However, after seeing the carcasses in the Deste Crow n and thought about other ces in the Wilnds that were most likely also under attack by rodents, the added numbers far exceeded the scope of being normal.

    "Right, I also find it quite strange that these creatures just seemingly burst out of nowhere," Jorn nodded.

    "These species weren''t born to live deep beneath the earth, and neither would their natural predators have allowed them to breed to the point of being overpopted like this."

    "Not unless someone purposely protected and bred them," Aria guessed.

    "Rather than someone, it''s more like some force¡ªAnd a tremendous force at that. This isn''t something a single person can pull off," Duna joined with a calm and collected expression.

    Jorn frowned with concerns before asking, "But for what purpose would they be doing this?"

    "To take over the world? To destroy all life? Who knows? But one thing for sure is that the rat tide is only the beginning. Perhaps, they will reveal themselves after every tribe under attack is worn out," Duna casually spoke.

    Jorn furrowed his brows before asking, "How can you say that so calmly, Miss Duna?"

    "Am I not supposed to? What does the Wilnds have to do with me? Whatever happens to it is of little concern," Duna stated nonchntly.

    "You¡­"

    Jorn was struck speechless.

    Nevertheless, he recovered after a short moment before stating seriously, "If the unknown enemy truly wants world domination or to wipe out all life, this is a matter that concerns every living being!"

    "And what makes you think I am one such being?" Duna asked coolly.

    "You¡­"

    Jorn was stunned before his eyes widened in realization after failing to sense Duna''s heartbeat and warmth.

    "You¡­ what are you?¡ª"

    "Let us continue this topic after Leon finish dealing with the rat tide."

    Once Aria, who Jorn believed to be the strongest person in the group, said this, he had no choice but to give a silent nod before everyone else also expressed their agreement.

    Shortly after, Lilith changed the topic and asked, "Uncle Jorn, what about my parents? How have they been? Did the Deste Netherbird Tribe make things difficult for them during my absence?"

    "They were¡­" Jorn hesitated.

    Upon seeing Uncle Jorn''s hesitation, Lilith''s expression immediately turned solemn before she requested with a firm look, "Please tell me everything that has happened, Uncle Jorn."

    "This¡­ Well, alright."

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, thest mutant rat on the battlefield was in before Leon dispersed his barriers of fire and nihility.

    "A lot less messy than I anticipated," Leon casuallymented while giving his surroundings a quick inspection.

    Suddenly, he frowned before giving his hands a nce.

    Although the injuries fully healed, he could vaguely feel the heat and coldness in each hand¡ªalmost as if it was an illusion.

    "The coldness ising from my burnt hand while the heat ising from my frozen hand, huh? How peculiar¡­" Leon muttered with slightly creased brows.

    However, before he could continue his train of thought, he was interrupted by Silver''s feet entering his field of vision, causing him to look up at the four-tailed silver wolf''s prominent figure standing before him.

    Seeing that the four-tailed silver wolf had a solemn and dignified aura surrounding it as it gazed back at him with a sharp look, Leon raised an eyebrow.

    "What? Now that you have evolved and be a Rank 2 Transcendent, you don''t want to listen to me anymore?" Leon asked.

    The four-tailed silver wolf gazed back at Leon with an even deeper look.

    However, in the next moment, it rolled over with its limbs hanging before giving Leon a soft bark as if asking him to reward it with a belly rub for the excellent work it has done.

    "Awroof!"

    "¡­"

    Leon smiled wryly.

    Perhaps, he was just overthinking.

    "Alright, I have decided. From now on, you''ll be called Fenrir," Leon stated while giving the four-tailed silver wolf a belly rub.

    "This name hold significant meaning and expectations. I hope you will be able to live up to it."

    "Awrooo!"

 Chapter 612 - Desolate Crow Clans Problem

    <h4>Chapter 612 - Deste Crow n''s Problem</h4>

    Fenrir howled excitedly as it promised to live up to its new name.

    At the same time, it was evidently very satisfied with its new name as it could be observed from the way it waved its four tails wildly.

    "Alright, that''s enough belly rub for you." Leon patted the four-tailed silver wolf.

    Shortly after, he stated with a serious look, "Although you have be much stronger after your evolution, you must not forget what I taught you and continue to practice the cultivation technique I imparted."

    "Awrooo!" Fenrir snorted.

    "Don''t look down on it, Fenrir. It might not seem like much now since you have little sess in it, but at the higher level, it will increase your chance of bing a divine beast, understand? At the very least, it will increase your spirituality and intelligence."

    "Awroof!" Fenrir snorted again, thinking Leon was calling it stupid.

    At the same time, it was already drunk on power, having tasted the benefit of evolution. Why the need to cultivate progressively step by step when a single evolution could allow it to take a big leap in power?

    "Well, whatever. I am only saying this for your own good." Leon shrugged before urging Fenrir to follow him, "Come, let us return to the others."

    "It seems like we could also use a wash after," Leon added shortly after.

    "Awroof!"

    Fenrir responded.

    Swoosh~!

    Leon and Fenrir raced to the ck mountain together before they swiftly arrived before the others within a few short moments.

    "Seems like we have arrived at the Deste Crow n," Leonmented with a slight smile after noticing the presence of the beastkin warriors possessing ck crow features.

    But shortly after noticing the mood was not right, Leon furrowed his brows before asking, "What''s wrong?"

    "Lilith''s parents were taken away by the Deste Netherbird Tribe, and if she wanted them back, she must head there¡ªor so the messenger stated ording to this person."

    Aria informed him before he shifted his gaze to the person leading the group of beastkin warriors.

    "Greetings, Prince Leon," Jorn greeted before nodding, "It is as Miss Aria said. The n Leader and his wife were taken away by the Deste Netherbird Prince''s subordinates prior to the Cataclysm''s arrival."

    "If the n Leader and his wife were taken away, then who has been ruling the Deste Crow n until now?" Leon frowned.

    His objective question immediately received numerous nces from thedies as they all turned to Beastkin Warrior Jorn, awaiting his answer.

    "This¡­"

    Jorn gave Lilith a careful nce.

    He had yet to cover this topic in their previous talk. As such, Lilith and the others would also be hearing who is the current ruler of the Deste Crow n for the first time.

    After a short sigh, Jorn exined, "The current person in control of the Deste Crow n is Lord Bahlzacs, a Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent and a close subordinate of the Deste Netherbird Prince."

    "The Deste Crow n has not been the same ever since this person arrived and took control of the n in the Deste Netherbird Prince''s stead."

    "What did you just say, Uncle Jorn?"

    Lilith''s expression quickly turned gloomy before asking in a low tone mixed with hidden anger, "Our n is being ruled by an outsider? Can our Deste Crow n still be regarded as the Deste Crow n if it is ruled by a member of a different race?"

    The Deste Crow n belonged to her father!

    Although the Deste Crow n and three other ns lived under the sovereignty of the Deste Netherbird Tribe, they were still vassals that at least retained had their independence and self-governance.

    However, now that Deste Crow n was being ruled by a member of the Deste Netherbird Tribe, it was the same as the Deste Crow n bing a territorial extension of the Deste Netherbird Tribe!

    "Many of our members also expressed the same opposition to Lord Bahlzacs''s ruling. Any of the Elders would have been a better candidate to rule in the n Leader''s absence than some outsider."

    Beastkin Warrior Jorn nodded.

    He couldpletely understand the Little Princess''s frustration and anger.

    Shortly after, Jorn shook his head and said with a helpless sigh, "However, there is nothing we can do. Our people are too weak to oppose the Deste Netherbird Prince and his subordinates."

    "It seems like this Deste Netherbird Prince is not just a useless silkpants. I doubt he wanted your hand in marriage simply because he lusted for your beauty, Lilith," Aria stated with knitted brows.

    Lilith immediately frowned before asking with a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"

    "She means that the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s Second Prince is after the power that stands behind you and not you, yourself. It appears that the Deste Netherbird Royal Family''s situation is quite chaotic," Leon casually interjected.

    "That''s right." Jorn acknowledged with a nod.

    "If the Little Princess had not run away from home and forced the Second Prince to be more desperate, we would have never realized the Second Prince''s grand ambition. He wants to tie our Deste Crow n under his banner andpete with the First Prince for the throne!"

    "But while we understand what is going on, we are still helpless to change it. The marriage arrangement is something that has already been agreed upon by both parties," Jorn clenched his fist with gritted teeth.

    "But I never agreed to the marriage arrangement!" Lilith stated strongly.

    "Right, the Little Princess never agreed." Jorn nodded before stating, "However, your father, the n Leader, did."

    "And because the n Leader agreed, our n cannot be the one to break off this agreement. Otherwise, it will be viewed as disrespecting the Deste Netherbird Royal Family."

    "Is there nothing we can do about this?" Lilith asked helplessly, feeling despair seeping into her heart.

    "Just kill the Deste Netherbird Second Prince, and your problems will naturally be resolved," Duna stated nonchntly before adding, "Well, you can also swear fealty to the First Prince and have the First Prince deal with the Second Prince."

    "Oh my¡­"

    The surrounding beastkin warriors eximed before looking around cautiously for anyone that may have overheard Duna''s words.

    "That is easier said than done, Miss Duna," Jorn smiled bitterly after simrly sweeping his surroundings cautiously for eavesdroppers.

    Shortly after, he began exining his concerns, "Although the Second Prince isn''t strong, he always has at least one Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent at his side, protecting him."

    "On the other hand, there is no certainty that the First Prince will help us if we swear fealty. He might even force us to be the vanguard in the battle for the throne. Furthermore, we would havepletely offended the Second Prince in that case."

    "Either way, our n has beenpletely dragged into the two princes'' struggles for the throne," Jorn sighed emotionally before saying, "You should leave, Little Princess. It''s not safe for you here. If the Lord catches you, you will be taken to the Second Prince."

    "There''s not much time left. If I don''t return to the n with the other warriors soon, Lord Bahlzacs might start feeling suspicious," Jorn stated.

    "I see¡­"

    Lilith felt downcast.

    She finally decided to return to the n after much determination, but before she could even enter the n, she was being forced to leave again.

    Leon observed Lilith''s mood for a moment before turning to Beastkin Warrior Jorn with a casual inquiry, "Let me asked you something. Would you rather sumb to your fates or fight it?"

    "Given the chance, I would fight it, of course!" Jorn answered before asking with a self-deprecating smile, "But what good will fighting it do? The whole n would be wiped out in the process."

    "So, you and your men would rather live on your knees than die on your feet?" Leon asked.

    Jorn and the other beastkin warriors clenched their fists tightly before Jorn gritted his teeth and said, "For the prosperity and continuation of the n, we have no choice but to submit to fate."

    "What a good ''for the prosperity and continuation of the n,'' huh? That''s just an excuse for you to act like a coward," Duna mocked.

    The beastkin warrior was immediately angered before Jorn thundered, "What did you just say?! Are you mocking our resolve?!"

    "Of course! Not only am I mocking your resolve, but I am also mocking your intelligence!" Duna admitted with a disdainful gaze.

    "You¡­!"

    Jorn''s body trembled with anger before pointing his finger with shaking hands, "The Deste Crow n does not wee you! Please leave!"

    Duna''s gaze turned cold immediately.

    Before the situation took a drastic turn, Leon stepped in and interrupted with a raised hand before speaking softly to Duna, "Let me handle this."

    "It does not matter which side your n chooses; you would still be dragged to fight at the forefront! Even if you chose the winning side correctly, what do you think the result will be?" Leon turned to Jorn.

    "This¡­"

    Without waiting for Jorn''s answer, Leon continued, "All your n''s best warriors will die in battle, the survivors will continue to live with their heads down, and the n will decline until it fades into the obscurity of history!"

    "If that is what you mean by prosperity and continuation of the n, then, by all means, continue what you were nning to do," Leon shrugged before stating, "However, you are not the decision-maker of the Deste Crow n."

    "What do you think, Lilith? What do you want to do?" Leon turned to Lilith before stating with confidence, "If you want, we can help you save your n from inevitable destruction."

 Chapter 613 - Plague

    <h4>Chapter 613 - gue</h4>

    "I¡­ Is that really alright?"

    "Of course! Why don''t you try asking the others for the opinions?" Leon suggested casually.

    Lilith hesitated for a moment, but the answer was already clear in her heart.

    After making her resolve, she spoke to the group with a firm look, "This might be selfish of me to ask of you all, but please help me save my n, everyone."

    "I don''t mind. I have nothing to do anyway," Duna spoke before nonchntly stating, "However, this Deste Netherbird Prince better pose enough challenge to keep me entertained."

    "¡­"

    Beastkin warriors were immediately speechless.

    "Do you even understand what you are saying? The Deste Crow n''s problem isn''t something that can be solved with bravery alone! We are talking about facing multiple Mid-Rank 2 Transcendents here!"

    Jorn clenched his fist and continued, "And if we hurt the Second Prince, the Deste Netherbird King will not be pleased! The wrath of a Paragon is not something anyone can endure, let alone an Early-Rank 1 Transcendent like you!"

    Although he was unsure what kind of being Duna was, he could at least vaguely sensed her strength to be around the Early-Rank 1 Transcendent, ording to the aura she emitted.

    Nevertheless, Duna''s expression became cold once again after listening.

    "Although I don''t need to prove anything to you, your ignorance pisses me off. Perhaps, I should just erase your existence from the face of the earth?"

    A wisp of Destruction Law gathered on the tip of Duna''s fingers as she spoke, "Paragons are nothing to me!"

    Her Destruction Law could even destroy the fabled Celestials that exist beyond the Transcendent Realm!

    Of course, it is a different matter entirely whether they would just let Duna strike them with the power of destruction.

    Leon blew a wisp of Nihility Law over and snuffed out Duna''s Destruction Law before he chided, "Don''t use your Destruction Law so casually. It''s troublesome to heal."

    "Don''t I have you?" Duna grinned slyly with a hint of flirtatiousness.

    "¡­"

    Leon''s lips twitched.

    What he meant was that it was troublesome for him! Not her!

    ''Am I your emergency first-aid kit or something?'' Leon thought speechlessly.

    "What was that power just now? Did you just call it the Destruction Law?" Jorn inquired with shock. He felt all his hair rising the moment the power came into existence.

    Nevertheless, Duna was toozy to exin it to the beastkin warrior.

    At the same time, the rest of the beastkin warriors all looked the group in a new light.

    They realized that everyone in the group was extraordinary in their own way, whether it was status or power.

    Meanwhile, Aria turned to Lilith and spoke with a smile, "A friend of Leon is also a friend of mine. Of course, I will be willing to help a friend out."

    "Thank you, Aria¡­" Lilith expressed her gratitude for Aria''s willingness to lend a hand.

    However, shortly after, her brows slightly wrinkled with doubt, not sure whether it was just an illusion, but Aria seemed to have emphasized the word "friend."

    "Don''t worry about it, friend," Aria waved it off as a small matter.

    ''No, no, no, she is definitely emphasizing the word "friend" to me,'' Lilith thought speechlessly.

    Shortly after, Lilith turned her head to seek Soft Feather''s opinion.

    However, before she could say something, Soft Feather spoke first.

    "Don''t look at me. I am just a ride. I will follow wherever he goes," Soft Feather saidzily while throwing Leon a nce.

    "Thank you¡­"

    "I don''t know whether I can be of any help at all, but I will do my best," Darlene quickly spoke with a humble attitude as soon as Lilith''s gaze fell on her.

    Leon noticed Darlene''s hidden troubles and concerns before he made a mental note to help her increase her cultivation as soon as he can.

    "Well, there you have it."

    Leon eventually pped his hands after everyone voiced their opinions to Lilith before turning to Jorn.

    "Looks like we will be staying after all," Leon smiled slightly.

    "You have no idea what you are getting yourself into here," Jorn stated with a deep frown.

    "Oh, but I think I know very well what I am getting myself into. It''s precisely because I know that I cannot leave."

    Leon spoke coolly before urging, "Let us not waste any more time and enter the n. I''m sure there''s a lot of sick people in need of help."

    "How did you know that?" Jorn widened his eyes in astonishment, not understanding how Leon knew what was happening in the n.

    "Well, I am a doctor after all," Leon exined beforementing casually, "It would be weird if nothing is wrong when your entire n is living in an enclosed area under this heap of carcasses."

    At the same time, Lilith was startled before asking with a frown, "What exactly is going on in the n, Uncle Jorn? What are you hiding from me?"

    "Well¡­" Jorn smiled bitterly before saying, "It is as Prince Leon said. Everyone in the n is currently sick."

    "Only Transcendents haven''t been affected yet. However, the gue is getting worse. It''ll only be a matter of time before it affects everyone."

    "This¡­ you wanted me to leave because of this?" Lilith asked.

    "Partly the reason. I did not lie to you, Little Princess. The Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent will capture you if he finds out."

    Jorn shortly turned to Leon and inquired with a solemn look, "How do you nning on dealing with this?"

    "We will see how bad the gue is first before I decide on an efficient treatment method. If that Lord Ballsacks wants to interfere, then we will simply just kill him," Leon stated calmly.

    Jorn was immediately taken aback before correcting Leon, "It''s actually Lord Bahlzacs¡­"

    "Hm? What did you say?"

    "No, never mind¡­ It''s nothing."

    Jorn decided to keep silent and observed from the side for now.

    Although he did not believe this group of people could overturn the whole situation, there was some faint hope in his heart after witnessing their mysterious abilities.

    Perhaps he will be able to witness a miracle.

    Shortly after, everyone made their way over to the entrance into the Deste Crow n before thedies all furrowed their brows in disgust.

    Without needing to enter the Deste Crow n, they already understood that the ce reeked with a pungent stench¡ªand most likely very unsanitary.

    "This ce reeks¡­ No wonder there''s a gue¡­"

    "Rats are known for being carriers of diseases. If you don''t clean up after you are done with the battle, then you are asking to be stricken with the gue¡­"

    Thediesmented.

    The beastkin warriors all wore helpless looks before Jorn exined with a sigh, "Everyone was already worn out from the battle. Before we could recover some strength to clean up the mess, it was already toote."

    "I doubt the mutant rats would havee close if you had just set fire to the ce. That would have definitely given your people some room to breathe," Leon shrugged.

    Shortly after ncing at the size of the entrance, he nced over at Soft Feather''s huge body before saying, "I''m afraid you will have to stay outside, Soft Feather. Will you be fine waiting out here?"

    "Of course. Why would I want to squeeze myself down that filthy hole?" Soft Feather responded with disgust. "I wouldn''t go down there even if you kill me."

    "Haha, alright. Call me if something happens."

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon arrived inside the Deste Crow n with Duna, Lilith, Jorn, and the other beastkin warriors while Aria and Darlene thoughtfully stayed back to keep Soft Featherpany.

    "The situation is worse than I thought," Leon frowned deeply while looking at all the bodies littering the streets of the Deste Crow n.

    Among them, there were some that no longer had any breath left in them. In other words, people were already dying from the gue within a mere span of a few days.

    "As you can see, the situation is quite bad," Jorn introduced while leading the way.

    Duna expressed little emotion regarding the sorry sight within the Deste Crow n. On the other hand, Lilith waspletely shocked.

    "Quite bad? That''s an understatement! How did the situation degrade to such a state?! It''s only been a few days since the Cataclysm started!"

    "How indeed¡­" Leon muttered in deep contemtion before his eyes flickered in realization, "If the rats can mutate, then so can the diseases it carries¡­"

    The situation was much trickier than he had hoped for.

    Pre-existing diseases all had treatment solutions, but if they mutated into variant diseases, then he would have to conduct research to develop new treatment methods for them.

    Fortunately, he had the Divine Book of Life. Otherwise, he would not have any confidence in treating variant diseases brought by the Cataclysm.

    "Little Princess, please use a clean and wet cloth to cover your face while breathing. The gue is quite contagious and spreads really quickly. Although this doesn''t help much, it still lowers the risk of you contracting airborne diseases."

    Jorn warned while offering a few wet cloths for Lilith to choose from before she epted with a nod, "Alright¡­"

    Shortly after, a sickly boy made his way over and tugged on Leon''s clothes before pleading weakly, "Big brother, can you please help my mother? She is very sick and refuses to eat¡­"

    Leon was surprised for a moment before he realized why he was chosen from among their group. The child naturally feared the beastkin warriors while he was a new face.

    As expected, without any surprises, Jorn''s expression changed abruptly upon seeing an infected child touching the human prince.

    "Filthy child! Get your hands away from, Prince Leon!" Jorn barked, causing the little boy to tremble with fear.

    "Uncle Jorn! How could you raise your voice against a child?!" Lilith immediately chided.

 Chapter 614 - Holy Water

    <h4>Chapter 614 - Holy Water</h4>

    As Lilith reprimanded Uncle Jorn, she crouched down and cated the little boy, "Don''t cry, don''t cry. Where is your mother? This big brother here will definitely help."

    "Isn''t that right, Leon?"

    "Hm, yeah. It''s still too early to tell how tricky the variant disease is, but it shouldn''t be a problem for me," Leon nodded reassuringly.

    At the same time, Uncle Jorn''s expression turned ghastly upon seeing the Little Princess make contact with the little boy before he shouted with concern, "Little Princess, you mustn''t touch this boy! You''ll also contract his disease!"

    "Un. There''s a chance that I might." Lilith acknowledged with a nod.

    However, her expression did not reveal any concern for her own wellbeing before she continued, "But even if I do get infected, I believe Leon will be able to cure it."

    "Even if you say that, nothing has been proven yet. You don''t know that for sure¡ª"

    "If Leon cannot cure this gue, then it will be my fate to die with my people. It is simple as that. I cannot stand by while my people suffer. If we suffer, we suffer together. And if we die, we die together," Lilith stated.

    Uncle Jorn opened his mouth, but no words came out.

    He was both stunned and surprised to hear such words of resolution toe out from the Little Princess''s mouth.

    Was this still the Little Princess that ran away from home a few months ago?

    "You''ve grown up, Little Princess." Uncle Jorn sighed.

    Shortly after, he turned to Leon and sincerely requested with a steep bow, "I will leave the Little Princess in your care, Prince Leon. And also, I beg of you to save our people with whatever means possible."

    "Un, I will do my best." Leon nodded.

    "Thank you."

    After receiving Leon''s affirmation, Uncle Jorn turned around andmanded the beastkin warriors to leave with him.

    "You''re leaving, Uncle Jorn?" Lilith quickly asked.

    Uncle Jorn paused his steps for a moment before saying, "I need to report back to Lord Ballsacks and buy you all some time."

    "Didn''t you say his name was Lord Bahlzacs?" Leon smiled.

    "Ah?" Uncle Jorn shifted his gaze to Leon before he grinned, "Did I say otherwise? Must have been your imagination, Prince Leon."

    Shortly after, Uncle Jorn finally left with the Transcendent-level beastkin warriors, heading for the main pce located in the center of the n.

    Leon''s lips curved slightly before shaking his head.

    The person called Uncle Jorn by Lilith was more approachable and amiable than he initially gave the person credit for.

    "Brat, you''re quite brave. How will youpensate me for staining my clothes?" Leon spoke to the little boy with a grin.

    Rather than bravery, he knew the child sought help out of desperation. Still, it wasmendable for one as young as the child, who appeared to only be roughly 10 years old.

    Nevertheless, the little boy immediately shook with fear.

    Lilith frowned and prepared to reprimand him for scaring the little boy, but before she could do so, Leon reached out his hand and ruffled the little boy''s head.

    "Hehe, I''m just joking. Here, eat this. It will make you feel better."

    Leon immediately flicked a pill straight into the little boy''s mouth before the pill melted and quickly spread its medicinal efficacy throughout the little boy''s body.

    Within a short moment, the sickly boy felt invigorated and lively again due to the Tier-1 All-Purpose Healing Pill''s effects, albeit temporarily.

    Nevertheless, it was enough to make the little boy excited.

    "Wow, what did you just feed me, big brother? It tastes quite nice!" The little boy eximed while flexing his limbs energetically.

    "Just a type of candy," Leon smiled.

    "How can candies be this magical?" the little boy did not easily believe him.

    Momentster, the little boy recalled his purpose for seeking help before he pleaded once more with teary eyes, "Big brother, I beg of you to help my mother!"

    "Of course! Lead the way." Leon gestured to the boy to take them to his sick mother.

    However, their little scene did not go unnoticed by the numerous sickly people lying weakly on the streets.

    After taking a few steps, they were quickly surrounded by sickly people from the Deste Crow n.

    "A moment of your time, please! Please save my child as well, noble doctor! Her breathing so weakly, I''m afraid that she will stop breathing entirely in the next moment!" A desperate mother pushed through the crowd with her young daughter in her arms.

    "Please save me too, noble doctor! Esteemed doctor!"

    "Divine doctor! I beg of you to save me! I don''t want to die!"

    At the same time, numerous low-ranking Deste Crow nsmen spoke desperately while pushing and shoving each other to get in front of Leon, drawing extremely close and on the verge of knocking into the group.

    "Hmph!" Duna snorted.

    With a wave of her hand, the crowd was pushed back by ck clouds of darkness before it formed a slithering serpent under her control of the Darkness Law.

    "Ahh! Thedy in ck is killing people! Help!"

    The sickly crowd retreated in fear of the ck serpent made of darkness while crying loudly as several people stumbled and fell over, hurting not only themselves but also by others stepping on them.

    "Ahhh! Stop! Don''t step on me!"

    "Nooo! Don''t step on my child!"

    The cries were loud and raucous, causing Duna to frown in annoyance as she raised a hand, preparing to silence the crowd.

    "Stop it, Duna." Leon grabbed her hand and spoke, "They are just desperately seeking my help in order to survive. There''s no need to use excessive force on them."

    "Hmph! If we don''t show them our strength, they will just walk all over us!" Duna snorted before stating fiercely, "This disorderly mob needs to be whipped into order!"

    "What you said makes sense." Leon nodded before he added, "However, some of these people are already very weak due to the gue. I''m afraid your little disy of force will kill them."

    "Remember; we are here to save people, not kill them," Leon stated.

    "Hmph, suit yourself." Duna snorted.

    She took off from Leon''s side and headed off to explore the Deste Crow n on her own.

    At the same time, a veil of darkness protecting a mother-daughter duo from being stepped on disappeared along with her.

    Leon scratched his cheeks wryly.

    Duna was outwardly cold and inwardly warm. Even so, some things needed to be said to prevent idents from happening.

    "Divine doctor, please save us¡­"

    "I don''t want to die¡­ My family needs me¡­"

    The crowd of sickly nsmen continued to plead for Leon''s treatment, albeit from a distance. Evidently, they were afraid of annoying the only person who could potentially save them.

    "What should we do, Leon? There''s quite a lot of people gathered here. I don''t think we can treat them all at once, even if you are the one treating them," Lilith sought Leon''s opinion.

    "Right¡­ this is a bit troublesome¡­" Leon muttered before ruffling the little boy''s head, "Sorry, brat. Saving your mother will have to wait a bit."

    Shortly after, Leon strolled over to the mother-daughter duo and popped a Tier-1 All-Purpose Healing Pill into the 3-year old girl''s little mouth.

    "This medicine will not cure her, but it will help her recovering some fighting strength tost a bit longer," Leon exined to the mother.

    "Thank you, doctor! Thank you very much!" The mother bowed in gratitude.

    After witnessing the sick girl in the mother''s arm recovering a livelyplexion and stable breathing, the crowd became a bit restless.

    Nevertheless, no one dared to step forward.

    They waited for their turns to be treated impatiently with red eyes like a pack of hungry wolves that would devour whole¡ªif given a chance, causing Leon''s hair to rise with goosebumps and his lips to twitch slightly.

    After observing the sick crowd while contemting, Leon spotted a water fountain in the distance before his eyes lit up.

    "Follow me, everyone."

    Lilith quickly followed Leon closely while the crowd trailed some distance behind before they reached the water fountain momentster.

    Leon nced at the red water in the fountain that had been contaminated by rat blood before he quickly spread out his divine sense and began cleansing the water fountain.

    The blood was gathered with Divine Will before getting extinguished by the Nihility Law. After taking several measures, the water fountain became sparkling clean.

    The sick crowd observed silently with curiosity while a few marveled at his disy of miraculous abilities, sensing the air in the area had also be slightly purer and less stuffy.

    "What are you trying to do, Leon?" Lilith inquired.

    "Preparing a temporary solution to buy time for your sick nsmen," Leon stated before he resumed taking out Tier-1 to Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pills from the Worldspace and tossing them into the water fountain.

    The Tier-1 and Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pills dissolved quickly like salt.

    Shortly after, several spirit herbs were also refined on the spot with his 9-Star Fire Ability as he extracted their herbal essence and mixed it in the water fountain.

    Within a short moment, the water fountain glowed with a soft green light.

    "I guess this can be considered a type of Holy Water¡­" Leon muttered.

    Afterpleting his preparations, he could sense the restorative effects of the Holy Water just by looking at it.

    Shortly after, he turned to face the crowd.

    "The Holy Water has been prepared. All of you only need to take a sip to experience its effectiveness. Note that this is a temporary solution that will allow you to survive a bit longer."

    "It will notpletely cure you even if you were to drink everything¡­ So do not be greedy and share among yourselves ordingly," Leon stated calmly.

 Chapter 615 - Hope And Attraction

    <h4>Chapter 615 - Hope And Attraction</h4>

    "Thank you, Divine Doctor!"

    "Thank you for helping us!"

    The sick crowd quickly cheered before rushing to the water fountain after Leon moved away with Lilith and the little boy.

    However, due to the affection of their sickness, their movements were, in fact, rtively slow, like they were shuffling.

    "Easy! Don''t push, don''t push! Didn''t you hear what the doctor said? This is just a temporary solution! Don''t be greedy unless you don''t want to be treatedpletely!"

    "That''s right! The doctor may be human, but we have all seen how effective his medicine is! He''ll definitely be able to curepletely in the future!"

    "Oi, oi! Stop shoving! Do you want to offend the human doctor with your nonpliance?!"

    "I understand all that, but what does it matter if my child doesn''t make it?! Make way! Please let me through first! My child won''tst much longer!"

    "F*ck, do you think the rest of us and our families are in any better conditions than your child? Don''t be f*cking selfish!"

    Despite Leon''s warning, chaos still broke out within the sick crowd as they fought for the water fountain.

    "Order¡ª!!" Leon shouted.

    His mighty voice immediately shook the area and stunned the sick crowd into silence.

    Shortly after, Leon gestured to Lilith with a nce before she nodded in understanding.

    She stepped forward before she began speaking in a clear voice, "If your symptoms are only mild, please let the severe ones through to drink from the water fountain first!"

    "Don''t forget that you are all n members of my Deste Crow n! Even if you are not directly rted by blood, we are all one big family! Everyone should be good to each other so that we may ovee these difficult times together!"

    After Lilith finished speaking, several sick nsmen in the lead immediately felt ashamed for not letting their more severely ill nsmen through.

    "It''s the Deste Crow Princess¡­ The Deste Crow Princess is back!"

    "Wee back, Your Highness! Where have you been? Please lead us, Your Highness!"

    "Your Highness, you should quickly hide! If Lord Bahlzacs hears of your return, he will personally capture you, Your Highness!"

    The nearby nsmen immediately recognized their Deste Crow Princess''s return before offering their greetings and warnings.

    Within a few lines, it was clear where their loyalty lies.

    "All of you still see me as your princess even though I ran away and caused trouble for the n?" Lilith inquired the nearby nsmen, feeling guilty after witnessing their unswerving loyalty to her Deste Crow Royal Family.

    "Your Highness, there is no need to be so harsh on yourself. We would have never learned about the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s ambition nor the Deste Netherbird Royal Family''s inner conflicts if you had not done so."

    Lord Bahlzacs may be a powerful Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent, but he was still regarded as an outsider even if he took control of their n by force.

    This was especially so when Lord Bahlzacs''s leadership does not bring them any benefits and only death.

    "You only need to give us the word, and we will gather our forces to drive Lord Bahlzacs out of the Deste Crow n, even if it meansying down our lives to do so!" A bulky male nsman spoke with a clenched fist.

    "Right, Lord Bahlzacs had not cared for the wellbeing of the nsmen at all since he forcefully took control of the main pce! He has been nothing but a tyrant!"

    "When should we retaliate, Your Highness?" Another nsman inquired.

    Despite being weak and lethargic, the nsmen disyed determination in their gazes.

    Lilith looked at them before she shook her head, "Now is not the time to retaliate against Lord Bahlzacs. He is still a Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent, but more importantly, we must deal with this gue first."

    "Go drink from the fountain to recover some energy and fighting strength for now. I believe it won''t be long before the gue is resolved with this person around," Lilith spoke with a smile.

    The nsmen shifted their gazes to Leon for a moment before one of them inquired their princess, "Where did you find such a capable person, Your Highness? Why is he your lover?"

    "Friend¡­ He is my friend¡­" Lilith immediately corrected with a slight blush before sneaking a nce at Leon.

    However, he pretended not to have heard or noticed.

    Rather, he reached out his hand and rubbed the head of the little boy who had been at their side all this time.

    "Thanks for waiting patiently. What''s your name?"

    "My name is Abel, big brother." The boy answered.

    "I see. Abel, is it?" Leon nodded before urging the boy, "You can lead us to your mother now. Is she far?"

    Abel shook his head vehemently before pointing to a building some distance, "My mother inside our home over there!"

    "Alright, let us head over and check your mother''s condition."

    "What about the rest of these people, Leon?" Lilith quickly asked after shooing away the nsmen, who became annoying after giving her ambiguous nces.

    "The news about the Holy Water will spread quickly, and people will gather around the fountain for a scoop of Holy Water before long, crowding the area. We''ll have a look at Abel''s mother first and decide after."

    Leon contemted for a moment before adding, "It just so happens that their ce will be more convenient for me to focus on finding a treatment solution for the gue. It''s away from the crowd, and I won''t be easily interrupted."

    "I see. That makes sense." Lilith nodded in understanding.

    Without further dy, the two of them followed the little boy home and disappeared off the main street of the Deste Crow n.

    Not long after, news of the Holy Water exploded, spreading rapidly throughout the Deste Crow n, just like Leon predicted.

    The Holy Water he refined was not something that could be kept hidden, especially during a gue like the Deste Crow n was experiencing.

    ¡­

    Inside of an ordinary household within another part of the Deste Crow n, a little girlid in bed weakly with a deathly paleplexion while her sickly mother held her hands at the side of the bed.

    "Mum, I''m very sleepy¡­" The little girl spoke with droopy eyes.

    The mother''s hands immediately shook before she cried, "You mustn''t sleep, my baby! If you sleep, you will never wake up again like the other people sleeping on the streets!"

    "I don''t think I can hold much longer, mum. Sleeping forever doesn''t sound so bad¡­"

    "No! You mustn''t think like that, my darling! You must fight it! It until the end!" The mother cried as tears began to flow.

    Tears also welled up in the little girl''s eyes, but she was too weak to reach her hand out to wipe her mother''s tears.

    "Don''t cry, mum¡­ I won''t talk about sleeping anymore, okay?"

    "Mm-mm."

    The mother nodded, but her tears would not stop.

    Even the local doctors were helpless to stop the gue from killing everyone.

    Although they could prolong a person''s life inbating the disease with medicine, the problem was that there was not enough medicine for everyone.

    For an ordinary household like theirs, they would not have priority to the medicine.

    "Where is father¡­? Does he not want Alicia anymore¡­?"

    "That''s not true!" The mother shook her head vehemently and said, "Your father is searching for a miracle outside. That''s why you must keep fighting and not give in, okay?"

    "Yes, mum¡­ Alicia will do her best¡­!"

    Shortly after, the doors to their home were knocked open before a sickly middle-aged man rushed in, startling the mother.

    "Hubby, you''re back!"

    The husband coughed repeatedly before urging his wife, "Quickly pick up our baby girl. We heading out right away!"

    "Where are we going? What news do you have?" The mother asked with a hopeful gaze after picking up their 5-year old daughter.

    "Some miracle doctor just came to the n and made an entire water fountain of medicine that works even better than the local doctors! People who drank from the fountain were all able to regain their natural vigor!"

    "Is that true?! What kind of medicine did that miracle doctor refine for it to sound so miraculous? Is it the legendary Holy Water that can cure all diseases with a single sip?"

    "How can the person be called a miracle doctor if he doesn''t have miraculous medicine? I did hear the nsmen calling it Holy Water. However, it''s not as impressive as the legends."

    The husband shook his head before stating, "Even so, This Holy Water is what our daughter needs right now! It will give her a fighting chance until a real remedy is made avable!"

    "That''s great! Did you hear that, Alicia, my darling?" The mother was excited.

    However, the little girl was too quiet, immediately making the mother shake with fear before she cried, "Alicia, wake up! Don''t sleep! You can''t sleep, my precious!"

    "Uuu¡­ sorry, mum¡­ I dozed off a bit. Alicia won''t sleep anymore¡­ Please don''t be mad at Alicia¡­" the little girl responded.

    The husband continued to cough before urging his wife with a solemn look, "Let us head over quickly. Our daughter is running out of time."

    "Mm!"

    ¡­

    Simr situations yed out in other regr households as the ordinary families within the n faced their own share of difficulties.

    The news of Holy Water was like their only beacon of hope, illuminating the dark world that was initially headed for a grim future filled with despair and sorrow.

    "Have you heard about the Holy Water from the southside''s market square?"

    "Of course! Where do you think I am headed right now? I definitely can''t miss it!"

    Whether they were warriors, regr nsmen, or the noble aristocrats within the Deste Crow n, everyone was quickly attracted to the Holy Water Fountain after hearing the news.

 Chapter 616 - Commotion

    <h4>Chapter 616 - Commotion</h4>

    Within the royal family''s pce grounds of the Deste Crow n, The group of Rank 1 Transcendent Beastkin Warriors arrived in the courtyard before Jorn order, "Wait here while I go report to Lord Bahlzacs."

    "Will you be fine facing Lord Bahlzacs alone, Brother Jorn? Are you sure you don''t want us to apany you?" One of the Beastkin warriors asked.

    "No, only the strongest of us is needed to report to Lord Bahlzacs," Jorn shook his head and said, "If any you also follow me, Lord Bahlzacs might be suspicious."

    "This¡­ Then be careful, Brother Jorn."

    "Rx. Nothing will go wrong if I behave normally."

    After Jorn spoke, he left the group and entered the pce, heading straight for the n leader''s bedchamber¡ªwhich was now Lord Bahlzacs''s den of lust.

    At the same time, Jorn''s expression turned solemn instantly the moment he stepped inside the pce, which was filled with a depressive air.

    The servants quickly noticed Jorn''s entry with a nce, but none offered to greet him as they all wore dull looks.

    Some servants were seen moping the bloodstains on the ground while others carried out the bodies of female nsmen.

    It was not long before Jorn arrived in front of the bedchamber with a grim look.

    After inhaling a gasp of air, he issued a long sigh to rx his nerves and mentally prepare himself before knocking on the door.

    Knock, knock!

    "Come in."

    A casual yet raspy voice was heard on the other side of the door, permitting Jorn''s entry before he pushed open the bedchamber doors.

    An intense smell immediately assaulted his nostrils, causing his expression to wrinkle slightly in disgust before his gaze fell on Lord Bahlzacs''s figure lyingzily in bed with four other naked female nsmen with dull looks.

    His gaze lowered slightly onto the sight of several more naked nsmen lying on the floor without a single breath left in them while bruises and blood covered their bodies.

    Jorn clenched his fist tightly.

    "Report," Lord Bahlzacs uttered.

    A glint of interest flickered in the corner of his eyes as he silently observed the Mid-Rank 1 Transcendent in front of him, wondering how much longer the person could endure before snapping.

    "The disturbance outside of the n was caused by a group of strong beastmen that was passing by, Lord Bahlzacs."

    "And the rat tide?"

    "The rat tide is no more. They were drawn away by the group of beastmen that identally attracted them. The n is freed from the rat tide. But for how long, this subordinate cannot assume an answer."

    "I see¡­"

    Lord Bahlzac studied Jorn''s calm expression carefully for any hint of lies before rubbing his chin in deep thoughts.

    "Will you be heading outside the n for some fresh air, Lord Bahlzacs?" Jorn continued to inquire calmly, but he was not sure how long he will be able to keep up his false calmness.

    Nevertheless, Lord Bahlzacs did not notice anything.

    "No. Maybeter, but not now," Lord Bahlzacs wrapped his arms around two naked nsmen, pulling them closer to himself with a grin before he continued, "But you are right about fresh air."

    "The air in here has been rather stuffytely. Go, take the chance to arrange people to dump the dead bodies outside and clean up the filth in the n."

    "Yes, Lord Bahlzacs."

    "Wait."

    Lord Bahlzacs suddenly called out just as Jorn prepared to leave, causing him to turn around and ask, "Is there anything else, Lord Bahlzacs?"

    "Find another two beauties and deliver them to my bedchamber as well," Lord Bahlzacs stated with a sly grin.

    Jorn''s body immediately trembled with anger, but he held everything in with his clenched fists and nodded inpliance.

    "Understood."

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, news of the Holy Water continued to spread like wildfire throughout the Deste Crow n, drawing all the nsmen over to validate its authenticity.

    Of the three groups of nsmen heading towards the location of the water fountain, the n''s noble aristocrats were thest to arrive at the site.

    Nevertheless, once they arrived, trouble was sparked once more.

    "Make way! Get out of the way, you filthy peasants!"

    "The aristocrats areing through! Y''all better move it!"

    A group of strong servants barged into the gathered crowd of sick nsmen, clearing a path by force for the arriving nobles.

    No matter how aggrieved the regr nsmen felt, they had no choice but to step aside for the aristocrats in the n.

    They watched as the group of ck-winged aristocrats passed through the crowd and reached the water fountain.

    "Move it, peasant!"

    The leading ck-winged aristocrat, a middle-aged man with the strength of an Early-Rank 1 Transcendent, immediatelyshed out with a kick at a nsman scooping up Holy Water for a sip.

    "Ahhh!"

    The male nsmen flew before vomiting blood some distance away before the crowd immediately drew in sharp breaths.

    How vicious!

    As expected of the high-standing aristocrats!

    They do not give a sh*t about the regr nsmen that were born without the ck-feathered wings like them!

    "This is the so-called Holy Water?" The ck-winged aristocrat muttered while scooping a handful of Holy Water to drink.

    The ck-winged aristocrat''s eyes immediately lit up in the next moment, feeling invigorated and lively again due to the Holy Water working its magic.

    "Such potent medicine! It''s even better than the medicine refined by the best doctors in the n!" The ck-winged aristocrat eximed.

    After looking at the half-emptied water fountain, the ck-winged aristocrat immediately made a decision.

    "Hmph, such good medicine must be monopolized by the aristocrats. Go, shoo away these lowly peasants and contact the other aristocrat families."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    The servants quickly nodded inpliance after the ck-winged aristocrat issued his order as they turned to the regr nsmen with fierce looks and barked, "Hurry up and get lost!"

    "Lord Naargoc has issued his order! No peasants are allowed here! Hurry up and leave if you do not want to get hurt!" Another servant hollered.

    Unsurprisingly, the regr nsmen were immediately rioted.

    It was still bearable when the aristocrats wanted to jump the queue for drinking Holy Water, but now, the aristocrats also wanted to deprive their hopes?

    How can they continue to endure this?!

    "You can''t do this to us! The Holy Water is for everyone to share!"

    "How dare you monopolize the Holy Water for yourself! Do you have nopassion for your fellow nsmen?!"

    "These damn aristocrats want to drive us to our deaths! We must fight them! Stand up, my brothers and sisters! Stand up and fight!"

    The regr nsmen roared furiously despite their weakened states.

    However, they were not alone.

    Even the warriors and the other nsmen who have already drunk from the fountain joined them in protest, causing their united voice to shake the ground.

    The servants were immediately at a loss.

    They could bully the peasants all they want, but killing them was a different story entirely. If they do it, they will be outcasts hated by all.

    At the same time, a young ck-winged man stepped forward from the group of aristocrats and spoke, "Lord Father, if you mustn''t push the regr nsmen too far or they will rebel."

    "Also, the Holy Water was refined by the miracle doctor. You can''t simply monopolize the miracle doctor''s medicine without his approval. I think we should first ask¡ª"

    Smack!

    Lord Naargoc gave his son a tight p before looking at him indifferently, "When was it your turn to tell me what to do? One day, you will be the head of the family. But that day hasn''te yet."

    "Do not question my actions again." Lord Naargoc frowned before adding, "Doctors might be a respectable profession, but they are still weaklings who cannot fend for themselves."

    "I do not need their permissions when I do things," He stated arrogantly before waving his hand to a servant, "Go, take some servants with you to find the miracle doctor and capture him."

    "You want to capture the miracle doctor? How can you do that, Lord Father?!" The young ck-winged man eximed in shock despite the burning pain on his left cheek.

    Shortly after, he started criticizing his father, "The miracle doctor has helped the n greatly by refining this Holy Water! We mustn''t rece gratitude with malice!"

    "Hmph, what do you know? If we can offer both the Holy Water and the miracle doctor to Lord Bahlzacs, we will be able to improve our family''s position greatly!

    "But this not the way of the Deste Crow n! It is morally wrong! Who would still respect our family if you do this?"

    "Respect doesn''t mean sh*t! I am doing this for our family''s survival!" Lord Naargoc thundered before ordering a servant, "Take the young master away. The disease has gotten to his head, not making him think straight."

    "Yes, Lord Naargoc!"

    "You''re the one not thinking straight, Father! Stop this madness at once!" Lord Naargoc''s son protested, but he was helpless to resist the servant''s strength as he was taken away.

    ¡­

    At the same time, the loudmotion outside reached Leon and Lilith''s ears inside of the little boy''s home before they began to frown.

    "I''ll go see what is happening outside, so you can focus on treating this patient," Lilith stated before getting up promptly to head outside and check.

    Nevertheless, she did not forget to rub the little boy''s head and said, "Be good while I am gone and don''t interrupt your big brother''s treatment, alright?"

    "Yes, big sister! I won''t!" The little boy said.

    Shortly after Lilith reached the door, Leon spoke, "Just shout if you need help."

    "Mm¡­" Lilith nodded.

 Chapter 617 - Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 617 - Exposed</h4>

    "What''s going on here?!" Lilith''s thundered as soon as she arrived outside.

    Although she did not possess a mighty voice that could be easily heard by the rioting crowd, her voice was quickly recognized by those who were close enough to hear.

    "Your Highness, you''re back! Please administer justice for us! Lord Naargoc is too much!" A regr nsman spouted as several nsmen''s eyes lit up at the Deste Crow Princess''s arrival.

    Considering the Deste Crow Princess allowed everyone to drink from the fountain, she would definitely stand on their side.

    "Tell me what happened first," Lilith said with a frown before adding, "I will decide after I hear the details."

    "Yes, Your Highness. After Lord Naargoc and the aristocrats arrived, theyid ims to the Holy Water Fountain and wanted to make us leave, depriving us of our only hope for survival. You must do something about this, Your Highness!"

    "Yes, Your Highness! Please administer justice for us! No, even more than that, please punish Lord Naargoc! He wants to capture the miracle doctor and offer him up to Lord Bahlzacs!"

    "Right! Lord Naargoc is no longer worthy of being a member of the Deste Crow n! He is totally trying to suck up to Lord Bahlzacs and get on the good side of the Deste Netherbird Second Prince!"

    As the nsmen spoke, more and more nsmen overheard them, and before long, it quickly spread throughout the crowd until everyone realized that the Deste Crow Princess came back.

    "Please punish Lord Naargoc, Your Highness!"

    "Please punish Lord Naargoc, Your Highness!"

    The crowd eventually shouted in unison as they made a clear path between Lilith and Lord Naargoc at the water fountain.

    "Is it true what they say, Lord Naargoc? Please confirm," Lilith questioned with a firm stance that demandedplete honesty, although she knew that it was most likely true.

    After all, there was no smoke without fire.

    However, Lord Naargoc did not answer Lilith''s question but studied her appearance silently with a sharp gaze.

    Shortly after, he opened his mouth and spoke with doubt, "Are you really the same Deste Crow Princess that ran away from the n a few months ago?"

    "That''s right! Have you forgotten who I am already?! Or do you know want to recognize this princess now that you have decided to switch side?" Lilith narrowed her eyes with a frown.

    "If you are the Deste Crow Princess, then where are your wings?!"

    Once the question was raised, the crowd immediately broke into discussions as the nsmen whispered to each other with doubt.

    "I suspect you are an imposter!" Lord Naargoc used before barking, "Servants! Capture this fake princess for me! I want to see who this person truly is!"

    "Yes, Lord Naargoc!"

    The nearby servants of Lord Naargoc quickly made their way over Lilith''s side before she sprouted her single ck-feathered wing and thundered, "Who dares?!"

    The servants immediately froze.

    "I may have lost a wing, but the fact that I am the Deste Crow Princess will not change! Not now, not ever! The blood of Deste Crow flows in my veins, hmph!" Lilith snorted.

    But at the same time, she was frowning inside her heart with hidden concerns. Lord Naargoc was a Mid-Rank 1 Transcendent while she was still far from the Transcendent Realm.

    Even worse, she had no one strong to support her except Leon and Duna.

    However, Duna had headed to god knows where much earlier while Leon was busy studying the variant disease guing the Deste Crow n.

    "Bahaha! It''s fine if you were an imposter, but it''s even better if you are the real deal! Capture her! Lord Bahlzacs will be most pleased to know about the Deste Crow Princess''s return!" Lord Naargoc stated.

    "This¡­ Are we really going to betray the Deste Crow n?" One of the servants asked with hesitation.

    At the same time, the other servants of Lord Naargoc also showed simr signs of hesitation, causing Lord Naargoc to be very displeased.

    "What are you waiting for?! Capture her!" Lord Naargoc barked before adding, "If you are not going to do what I ask, then what do I still need you for?! I will kill you all and do it myself!"

    The servants trembled before their gazes flickered with decisiveness.

    "Sorry, Your Highness. Please don''t think badly of us," The servants apologized before they surrounded Lilith.

    Just as they were about to reach out their hands and capture Lilith, a beam of darkness suddenly shot down from above and forced all the servants to retreat in rm.

    The darkness quickly coiled around Lilith''s body like a giant serpent¡ªbut withouting into contact with her body as if protecting her.

    "Do you need help?" Duna casually asked as she descended.

    Her arrival was so silent and ghostly that she was unnoticed by everyone until her voice finally captured their attention.

    Nevertheless, Lilith was very excited to see Duna''s appearance.

    "You''re back, Duna! That''s great! Your timing could not have been more perfect!" Lilith sighed with relief and expressed her joy.

    Shortly after, she sincerely requested, "Please help me kill Lord Naargoc, the Mid-Rank 1 Transcendent. He has defected and be an enemy of the Deste Crow n."

    "Sure." Duna gave Lord Naargoc a casual nce before she nodded, "Just a small matter. I was getting bored anyway. Who knew that it would be so lively here after I left?"

    "Do you want to kill yourself, or shall I do it for you?" Duna asked the ck-winged aristocrat shortly after.

    ''A Transcendent?''

    At the same time, Lord Naargoc gazed back at Duna solemnly with a frown, sensing a dangerous vibe about her, but he could not pinpoint the cause.

    "Who are you? No, what are you?" Lord Naargoc inquired cautiously with a solemn look.

    The woman''s aura seemed to be around the Early-Rank 1 Transcendent level. However, he was getting a dreadful feeling that she was much stronger than that.

    Nevertheless, Duna nonchntly stated, "Dead men do not need to know."

    In the next moment, she waved her hand, sending out a wave of destruction that shot towards Lord Naargoc quickly.

    Lord Naargoc''s danger instincts spiked in that instance, causing his expression to turn aghast as he retreated in fear.

    "What kind of power is this?!"

    ¡­

    Back in the Deste Crow n''s main pce, Lord Bahlzacs continued to lie in bed with ackadaisical expression when he suddenly sensed a powerful aura surging in the n.

    His expression changed immediately as he shot to his feet in rm, "A Transcendent Awakener!?"

    "There shouldn''t be any Awakeners in the n! Looks like the warrior lied to me and secretly brought outsiders in the n, hmph!" Lord Bahlzacs snorted coldly.

    Boom!

    The bedchamber walls immediately shattered under Lord Bahlzacs''s might at the Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent Realm!

    Jorn did not exit the pce and reunite with the other beastkin warriors for long when he suddenly saw Lord Bahlzacs burst out of the pce.

    "I will deal with all of youter!" Lord Bahlzacs spouted coldly before shooting off into the direction of the source to investigate.

    At the same time, Jorn and the other beastkin warriors'' expression turned grave.

    "What happened? Why was Lord Bahlzacs so mad? I thought you handled everything well, Brother Jorn?" One of the beastkin warriors asked.

    Jorn frowned for a moment before he realized, "Lord Bahlzacs must have sensed something from that surge of aura in the distance just now!"

    "Dammit!"

    He cursed shortly after.

    He tried to buy time, but his effort was all in vain.

    He knew that a battle with Lord Bahlzacs was inevitable. However, he did not expect it to happen so soon!

    "Come, let us head over quickly as well! Something big must have happened over there!" Jorn immediately urged the Transcendent-level beastkin warriors.

    "Yes, Brother Jorn!"

    ¡­

    Back at the location of the water fountain, amotion broke out in the area¡ªbut under a different reason as the crowd gazed at Duna with wide eyes, shocked.

    "Oh, my lord! Who exactly is thisdy?! She''s so powerful!"

    "Lord Naargoc was a Mid-rank 1 Transcendent, but to think he would die so easily under thatdy''s attack!"

    As the crowdmented with shock, astonishment, and awe, Duna held up Lord Naargoc''s lifeless body with her hand stuck in his chest.

    Lord Naargoc was cornered in just three moves before she prated the person''s heart and destroyed his innards with the Destruction Law!

    Shortly after withdrawing her bloodstained hand from the person''s chest, Duna drank the dripping blood before her expression abruptly changed to disgust.

    "Ptui! Disgusting!"

    Duna immediately spat out the blood before tossing the body to the side.

    At the same time, the crowd was taken aback by the sight of Duna''s attempt at drinking blood. Was she a monster or a beast in human skin?

    "Thank you, Duna. I owe you one for this," Lilith approached while expressing her gratitude for Duna''s help.

    However, Duna suddenly barked at her, "Stay back! Something ising!"

    Boom!

    A blurred shadow shot down at Duna''s location with lightning-fast speed before the ground ruptured immediately!

    "Duna!" Lilith cried as Duna''s figure disappeared inside of an obscuring cloud of dust.

 Chapter 618 - Mutant Bacteria

    <h4>Chapter 618 - Mutant Bacteria</h4>

    Inside the little boy''s humble home, Abel watched Leon popped a single pill in his mother''s mouth before she quickly recovered a livelyplexion and steady breathing.

    It was a Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pill.

    Shortly after, Abel''s mother opened her eyes to see a rtively young yet unfamiliar human right beside her before she was surprised.

    However, she quickly felt much morefortable than she was in thest 24 hours before realizing it must have something to do with the young man.

    Shortly after, she noticed her son behind the young man before she asked, "Abel, who is this young man? Is he the one who treated me?"

    "Mom, you''re all better already!" Abel eximed happily before jumping onto herp and nodded furiously, "Mm, mm! Big brother gave you a pill to swallow, and boom, you were all better!"

    "Big brother''s medicine is so magical! It''s much better than those recovery pills from the local doctors and alchemists in the n!" Abel added.

    "Shhh!" Abel''s mother quickly hushed with a startled look.

    After checking her surroundings cautiously, she heaved a sigh before pinching her son''s cheek in admonishment, "You mustn''t speak carelessly even if that is the case, Abel."

    "Your words can offend some people, and if they are cruel, they will vent their anger out on us," Abel''s mother said before sighing again, "You can me Mother for being incapable and not being able to protect you."

    "Sorry, mom¡­ I didn''t know about that¡­" Abel said apologetically with his head lowered before looking at Leon with caution, "Big Brother, you¡­ you wouldn''t dob on me, would you?"

    "Me? Dob on you?" Leon smiled casually while giving Abel a head rub before saying, "Why would I dob on you? Do I look that bored to you, Abel?"

    "What would I even say to those other doctors and alchemists? That I am better than them? C''mon, I am not that vain."

    "So¡­ You wouldn''t?"

    "Of course not!"

    After Leon gave a firm answer, Abel was finally able to pat his chest with relief before expressing his gratitude, "Thank you, big brother!"

    "I must also thank you, young man. Such potent medicine must be very precious and valuable¡­ For you to use it on ordinary folks like us, I don''t know how we should repay you¡­"

    Abel''s mother began wondering what they could do to repay Leon for his grace when he raised his hand and shook his head, "There''s no need for that."

    "Also, my medicine has only suppressed the disease slightly. The both of you have not been curedpletely. In order to find a suitable cure, I will need your cooperation," Leon said.

    "How can we help?"

    Abel''s mother expressed her willingness to cooperate before Leon casually stated, "Nothing much. I just need to inspect your body and study the disease."

    "This¡­"

    Abel''s mother appeared to hesitate.

    After hearing Leon''s words, a small blush crept on her face before she nodded, "Alright. Abel, why don''t you go y in the next room for a bit? Mother needs to help this young doctor find a cure."

    "Alright, mom." Abelplied obediently.

    After recalling his promise to Lilith, Abel left the bedroom without much thought. At the same time, Leon was a bit puzzled why Abel''s mother needed to send her son away.

    However, he was immediately stunned when Abel''s mother began to speak, "Sorry, I am a bit ufortable undressing in my son''s presence. No one has seen my body since my husband passed away¡­"

    "But since the doctor requires a body inspection in the name of finding a cure, I am willing to cooperate. It''s the least I can do to repay you for the valuable medicine¡ª"

    "W-Wait! You have misunderstood me!" Leon immediately stopped Abel''s mother from undressing herself before stating, "I do not need you to undress!"

    Abel''s mother was stunned.

    Shortly after, her face was flushed with embarrassment before she awkwardly asked, "Is that so? It was just my misunderstanding?"

    "Very much so!" Leon said firmly.

    "I see¡­ I guess you wouldn''t be interested in an old marrieddy like me¡­" Abel''s mother muttered.

    After hearing her words, Leon gave Abel''s mother a studying nce.

    Although it was true that Abel''s mother was married and already has a son. However, she was still far from being considered old.

    She appeared to be around 28 years of age¡ªif not for the disease making her dehydrated and feeble, she should be quite the beauty after a slight touch of beautification.

    "You''re wrong. You are still in the prime of your life and also a rare beauty. I would definitely be interested in normal circumstances. However, I already have a few women," Leon stated calmly.

    Also, their current rtionship was that of a doctor and his patient. An upright doctor should not have nefarious intentions on his patients¡ªLeon suddenly recalled moments from his previous life.

    ¡­

    "Doctor, thank you for treating my illness. I am a little low on Spirit Stones. How about I repay you with my body instead?"

    "Doctor, my heart aches so much. I think it can only be cured with an injection from your little brother¡­"

    "Doctor, I''ve been injured while practicing an Extreme Yin Technique and have been feeling so cold ever since. Do you think I am suffering from a deficiency of Yang Essence? Can you inject me with some Primordial Yang Essence?"

    ¡­

    Some of the words from his past patients were recalled in his mind before Leon coughed awkwardly. Those days were behind him.

    He was not like that anymore¡­

    "I see¡­ I am still a rare beauty in your eyes¡­" Abel''s mother muttered with a smile.

    "Ahem, anyway. You can call Abel back in if you want." Leon cleared his throat before saying, "I only need you to remain still and silent while I carry out the inspect¡ª"

    Cough!

    Leon suddenly felt a tickling sensation in his throat and lungs before he started coughing heavily for a moment.

    "Are you alright, doctor?" Abel''s mother asked with surprise.

    "Ahem, I''m fine. Well, not really, but I am fine. It seems I won''t be needing you for an inspection anymore," Leon stated.

    He realized he had been infected by the same disease unwittingly and could just inspect himself to study the nature of the variant disease.

    Without dy, he closed his eyes andmenced self-introspection with divine sense.

    It did not take long before his eyes snapped open with results from his quick inspection before he muttered, "I see¡­ The variant disease is a type of bacteria that attacks the lungs before invading the rest of the body through the bloodstream¡­"

    "However, this bacteria has been mutated, which in turn, makes it more tenacious and invasive than ordinary bacterial infections¡­" Leon continued to analyze.

    "Fortunately, most bacterias are curable with antibiotic medicine¡­ I should be able to treat this disease with a slightly higher-quality antibiotic medi¡ª"

    "Duna!"

    Lilith''s cry was suddenly heard following a sudden shake in the ground outside before Leon immediately darted outside in a sh.

    Swoosh~!

    Within moments, Leon swiftly arrived by Lilith''s side before inquiring seriously, "What happened?"

    "Leon, you''re here!" Lilith eximed before quickly urging him, "Hurry up and save Duna! She was helping me dealing with a rebel when something suddenly shot over and struck her!"

    "I think themotion attracted the Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent over! You know, the one called Lord Bahlzacs, who should have been residing within the pce!"

    As Lilith spoke, the surrounding nsmen retreated in shock, rm, and fear, utterly iprehensive of what exactly just happened.

    "Ahh, what happened?! Why did the ground suddenly explode?!"

    "I think I saw blurred shadow shooting over quickly just now!"

    The nsmen spoke.

    Some saw, and some did not.

    The speed at which the blurred shadow arrived was too fast that the weaker nsmen failed to follow it with their eyes.

    Only the stronger nsmen were able to.

    At the same time, Leon promptly shifted his gaze onto the cloud of dust in front of them before he started frowning.

    In the next moment, he waved his hand.

    Swoosh~!

    The cloud of dust was immediately parted by a powerful gust of wind, clearing away the area before the situation hidden inside was revealed for everyone to see.

    Leon''s gaze immediately turned cold in that instance.

    Duna''s chest was prated by Lord Bahlzacs''s hand while hanging motionlessly in the air as Lord Bahlzacs raised her body up with his arm before giving her a sharp look.

    "You''re the one causing trouble in my n? If I knew you were this beautiful, I would have kept you alive as one of my mistresses¡­ You are much better than the inferior goods from this sh*tty Deste Crow n."

    Lord Bahlzacs spoke with disappointment before sighing, "Unfortunately, it''s toote to undo my action¡ª"

    Just as Leon was about to make his move, he suddenly paused.

    In that instance, Duna, who had remained hanging lifelessly, suddenly made her move by grabbing onto the arm that prated her chest.

    "What?! How can you still be alive after I prated your chest and crushed your heart?" Lord Bahlzacs eximed with an abrupt change in his expression.

    Duna gave Lord Bahlzacs a cold gaze before smirking wickedly, "I wouldn''t die from something like this. You, on the other hand, are about to die by my hand!"

    In the next moment, the power of the Destruction Law gathered towards Duna''s hands and started disintegrating Lord Bahlzacs''s arm, causing him immense pain.

    "Uwarghhh! What is this power?!"

    Lord Bahlzacs was shocked by the sight of his arm breaking down into dust-size particles before his gaze quickly shone with a decisive glint!

    Puchi!

    Lord Bahlzacs''s slighted off his arm with his sharp ws in the next moment before retreating quickly with a paled yet ugly expression.

 Chapter 619 - Clan Evacuation

    <h4>Chapter 619 - n Evacuation</h4>

    After drawing distance between them, Lord Bahlzacs cast his gaze at Duna with a grave look before forcefully stopping the bleeding with his contracting muscles.

    "You¡­what the hell are you? You''re not human!" Lord Bahlzacs questioned with gnashing teeth.

    At the same time, Duna also retreated before clicking her tongue in disappointment, "Tch! How decisive!"

    If Lord Bahlzacs had only hesitated for even a fraction of a moment longer, the Destruction Law would have reached his main body.

    If that had happened, he would have been as good as dead.

    Swoosh~!

    Leon appeared beside Duna in a sh.

    After giving her prated chest a quick inspection, he inquired her with concern, "Will you be alright with such a wound? It looks pretty serious."

    Not just serious, but anyone else would have already died in Duna''s case after having their hearts ruptured.

    Nevertheless, Duna casually answered his question, "Nothing to worry about. Don''t forget that this body is only a mere vessel for my spirit."

    "I know that. I''m asking if your spirit is okay?" Leon stated with a hint of speechlessness. Even in a state like this, she was still trying to act like nothing is wrong.

    "Don''t pretend like you are okay. I know that your spirit oveps with your physical body. Considering Lord Ballsacks''s attack puncture right through your chest, your spirit must have taken damage as well."

    "If you know, then why are you asking me?" Duna rolled her and said, "Should I also blow a hole in your chest then proceed to ask if you were okay or not?"

    "Anyway, you don''t need to worry about my injury." Duna added before licking her lips in a flirtatious manner, "I can hold on for now, but I am going to need your help after we are done with this person."

    Leon nked out under her seductive smile, immediately feeling a reactioning from his lower body before Duna snapped her fingers at him, "Focus! Did you seriously just get an erection while we are in the middle of a dangerous situation?"

    "You¡­ I don''t know what to say about you." Duna gave Leon a disdainful look, yet on her face also hung a teasing smile.

    Leon was speechless.

    "It''s hard to say which of us don''t know what to say about the other. Are you really going to me me? It''s your fault for getting me dickstracted." Leon smiled wryly with an awkward posture.

    "Hmph!" Duna snorted.

    But a smile hung on her face shortly after.

    Suddenly, Leon''s gaze flickered before he quickly warned, "Careful! He''sing!"

    Boom!

    The ground shortly cracked underneath the strength of Lord Bahlzacs''s stomp as he catapulted himself over with incredible speed!

    Leon and Duna immediately stomped the ground and leaped away in opposite directions, causing Lord Bahlzacs toe to a forceful stop before shooting straight after Leon with another strong stomp on the ground.

    Boom!

    Lord Bahlzacs closed the distance between them very quickly, gaining on Leon like he was hunting down his hated enemy with a frosty look on his face.

    Nevertheless, Leon was far from moving at his maximum speed and did not feel pressure from facing a Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent despite the person well above his own strength.

    More importantly, he was astonished that he was the person''s target.

    "Yoh~! Why are you going after me?! Did I tickle you in the wrong spot with my words?!" Leon hollered, immediately exerting his strength to increase his pace.

    Boom!

    The distance between them was increased several yards in a single instance.

    At the same time, Lord Bahzacs''s expression grew colder as he snorted and pressed on with his pursuit before suddenly shooting feathered projectiles!

    Swoosh¡ª!

    The ck feathers cut through the air with even more incredible speed than Lord Bahlzacs himself, quickly reaching Leon in the next moment!

    "Careful, Leon! He''s a Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent with roughly 3 million jins of physical strength!" Duna warned from a distance.

    "I know!"

    Leon responded while twisting his body to dodge the feathered projectiles.

    He pulled out a ck spear from his Worldspace while flying at low altitude before stabbing it into the ground and used it as a spring,unching himself in the air.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Leon evaded Lord Bahlzacs''s w after the person caught up due to his dyed maneuver in dodging the feathered projectiles!

    In the next moment, the ck spear shot out of the ground, flying straight into Leon''s grasp under Metal Maniption before his arm bulged with swelling muscles that increased to 30% of its original size!

    "You want to y with projectiles? Then eat this!" Leon immediately hurled the ck spear at Lord Bahlzacs in the distance.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    The ck spear shot over with great speed, but it was only met with disdain from Lord Bahlzacs as the person pped it away with his remaining arm.

    "Early-Rank 2 Transcendent? Not bad. Unfortunately, It''s not enough¡ª!"

    Lord Bahlzacs did not finish his words when he suddenly noticed his damaged ws; a result of contacting Leon''s ck spear.

    "This is no ordinary spear¡­!"

    Lord Bahlzacs immediately viewed Leon''s Tier-3 ck Spear as some treasured weapon, causing him to cast his greedy eyes on it.

    Seeing that the ck spear was being recalled back to Leon again with Metal Maniption, Lord Bahlzacs''s immediately shot over to snatch it!

    "How can you use such a good weapon like some disposable trash?! This ck spear will only exhibit its true worth in my hand!!" Lord Bahlzacs spouted.

    But just as his hand was about to reach the ck spear, he suddenly sensed iing danger from behind!

    "Hm¡ª?!"

    Duna''s shot an Arrow of Destruction Law over but ultimately missed due to Lord Bahlzacs''s quick reaction, albeit cutting it a bit close as the corners of his ck-feathered wing crumbled into ashes.

    "Hmph, I n to deal with youter, but since you are in a hurry, I will deal with you first!" Lord Bahlzacs''s gaze glinted with killing intent before he immediately shot towards Duna with his broken ws.

    s, his attack was interrupted by another strong hurl of Leon''s ck spear.

    Boom!

    The ck spear impaled itself into the hard ground, just half a step away from Lord Bahlzacs''s feet.

    It was immediately picked up before Lord Bahlzacsughed boisterously, "Hahaha! You never learn, do you? Now that your weapon is in it my hand, what can you¡ª"

    Lord Bahlzacs almost choked on his following words upon witnessing another three dozen bone spears suddenly floating around Leon¡ªall of which were not inferior to the ck spear.

    His smug look disappeared without a trace.

    "The strength of you two are beneath me, but your attack powers are a little too frightening¡­" Lord Bahlzacsmented with a frown.

    At the same time, Leon gazed at the Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent with pity as he muttered, "One man''s trash is another man''s treasure, huh?"

    "Never mind. Have anyone told you that you talk too much nonsense during a fight?" Leon shook his head before stating coolly, "Let us end this once and for all!"

    "Hmph, very well!" Lord Bahlzacs nodded.

    He tightened his grip on the ck spear. With the ck spear in hand, hisbat power definitely increased¡ªeven if he only had one arm left to wield it!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Deste Crow n was plunged into chaos due to the sheer strength of Leon and Lord Bahlzacs''s physical attacks.

    As Jorn and the other Transcendent-level Beastkin Warriors arrived at the periphery of the water fountain, they saw the nsmen fleeing for their lives from the area.

    "This¡­"

    Jorn''s expression was grave.

    The situation of the Deste Crow n was not particrly good enough to endure a battle on the level of Transcendents within its city.

    With each transcendental attack, the area shook, forming cracks in the dome-shaped frame holding up the countless rat carcasses above the Deste Crow n.

    "If this situation continues, I''m afraid the supporting dome frame will copse, and the Deste Crow n will be buried in the truest sense!" Jorn stated gravely.

    The Transcendent-level Beastkin Warriors were quick to agree with Jorn''s statement as one of them spoke, "Right. If that really happens, many of our nsmen will be crushed under the immense weight of the carcasses."

    "I fear only the Transcendent-level nsmen would be able to survive the copse¡­" Another spoke before asking, "Do you have a n, Brother Jorn? What can we do to remedy this situation?"

    "There''s not much we can do. Quickly order the n''s evacuation!" Jorn spoke with a frown after a moment of contemtion before adding, "A battle of this level cannot be stopped!"

    "Even if I can get Prince Leon and Miss Duna to stay their hands, Lord Bahlzacs would definitely not do the same, causing them to fall into a disadvantageous position."

    "Go, evacuate the nsmen with haste!" Jorn quickly urged before stating, "I will go look for the Little Princess."

    "Understood, Brother Jorn!"

    The Transcendent-level Beastkin Warriors nodded before barking out instructions to each other before they headed off into different directions.

 Chapter 620 - Destruction Thread

    <h4>Chapter 620 - Destruction Thread</h4>

    As Leon and Duna a face-off with Lord Bahlzacs, the tension was high, and the atmosphere was solemn while they gazed at each other, waiting for the other side to make the first move.

    At the same time, Lord Bahlzacs contemted whether he genuinely wanted to fight a death match with the two people surrounding him.

    The two people were simply too weird.

    He was not a defensive-type Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent. As such, his defensive strength fell far behind his physical might.

    Even an Early-Rank 1 Transcendent with a treasured weapon could kill if theynded a mortal blow on him, let alone an Early-Rank 2 Transcendent with three dozen treasured weapons.

    On the other hand, the woman was even weirder.

    She was simply not a normal person. No normal living being could survive a fatal blow to their heart. At the same time, the person wielded an overbearing power that he did not dare to touch a second time.

    He could still feel the sting of his arm loss.

    ''The situation is unfavorable, and I no longer have absolute confidence in myself. First and foremost, I need to carry out the Second Prince''s task. I should not take unnecessary risks here,'' Lord Bahlzacs narrowed his eyes in thought.

    Shortly after, he shed a brief nce at the Deste Crow Princess, Lilith, nearby.

    ¡­

    At the same time, Jorn quickly found Lilith in the square observing the Transcendents'' battle from a distance.

    "Little Princess, it''s not safe here. We should quickly leave before you get implicated in the battle!" Jorn urged.

    Lilith saw the long queue of nsmen leaving from the n''s main entrance before asking, "Did you order for the n''s evacuation, Uncle Jorn?"

    "Yes, Your Highness." Jorn nodded before exining his worries, "The structural integrity of the frame holding up the mountain of carcasses will notst."

    "Cracks forming, simply from the impacts of their blows to the ground. If such attacksnded on the frame itself, I fear its immediate copse, crushing everyone underneath."

    "Your worries are not misced. We shouldn''t leave anything to chance. You have made the right call, Uncle Jorn," Lilith stated before epting the advice to leave, "Let us leave quickly."

    "I will seek Aria''s help once we are outside. Aria is at the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm. Together, they should be able to deal with the Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent."

    "Yes, Little Princess." Jorn nodded.

    Meanwhile, Lord Bahlzacs continued to face Leon without movements before he suddenly snorted, "If you aren''t going to attack first, I will!"

    Boom¡­

    Lord Bahlzacs''s aura immediately surged with vigor and intense fighting spirit as if he was preparing for a big attack, causing Leon and Duna''s gazes to turn sharp in response.

    However, in the next moment, Lord Bahlzacs immediately fled in a sh.

    Swoosh~!

    Lord Bahlzacs shot towards Lilith''s location very quickly, causing Jorn''s expression to change abruptly as he shouted, "Be careful, Little Princess!"

    At the same time, Leon was taken aback before his eyes narrowed coldly. Lord Bahlzacs wanted to grab Lilith and flee!

    "Do you think I will let you?!" Leon''s arm bulged before he began hurling his Tier-3 Bone Spears in his hands with great force!

    Swish~! Swish~!

    The spears immediately closed the distance with great speed and headed straight for the gap between Lilith and Lord Bahlzacs!

    Lord Bahlzacs was forced to twist his body and change his direction slightly before drawing closer to Lilith.

    But before he could get close enough to grabbed Lilith, a few more bone spears shot over, forcing Lord Bahlzacs to avoid them hastily.

    Swoosh~!

    During the slight dy, Duna and Leon shot over to protect Lilith from being captured by Lord Bahlzacs.

    ''Sh*t! Guess I have no choice but to leave empty-handed!'' Lord Bahlzacs cursed with a frown, seeing his n had failed.

    Boom!

    The ground cracked underneath Lord Bahlzacs''s quick stomp as he shot himself flying in the direction of the main entrance leading outside!

    "Do you think I will let you run?" Leon twisted his body and changed his direction, shooting off in pursuit off immediately.

    At the same time, Lilith''s expression changed.

    "Oh, no! The nsmen are gathered over there! They are going to be in danger!" Lilith eximed in realization.

    With the evacuating nsmen blocking up the exit, if Lord Bahlzacs wanted to leave, he would naturally have to mow his way through the crowd!

    Since Lilith could see it, naturally, Leon could also see it.

    He immediately furrowed his brows and increased his speed with a kick at the empty air, causing an explosion that propelled him forward as if he just went supersonic.

    The 30-odd bone spears failed to keep up with Leon as he closed the distance on Lord Bahlzacs within a short instance.

    Nevertheless, he still carried a bone spear in each hand.

    Lord Bahlzacs felt Leon''s closing presence before he snorted, "Hmph! Your treasured weapons might be capable of harming me, but that doesn''t mean an Early-rank 2 Transcendent like you can contend with me head-on!"

    "Know your ce, human!"

    Lord Bahlzacs abruptly turned around to receive Leon''s attack with the ck spear in his grasp. He wanted to put Leon in his ce with his superior physical strength!

    However!

    Just they were about to sh with their spears, Leon''s body twisted with uncanny timing and angel, narrowly avoiding Lord Bahlzacs''s spear before maneuvering around the person to obstruct his escape path.

    "You want to protect the Deste Crow nsmen?" Lord Bahlzac immediately understood from a nce, seeing as Leon stood in front of them and guarded their evacuation.

    Shortly after, Lord Bahlzacs grinned wicked with a cold glint, "Well, good luck!"

    Lord Bahlzacs quickly made the nsmen his target before shooting after another batch of nsmen heading over to the main entrance, forcing Leon into a direct confrontation with him in order to protect the nsmen!

    At the same time, the group of nsmen under the lead of an Early-rank 1 Transcendent Beastkin Warrior quickly nced up at the iing danger and shivered.

    "Oh, c''mon! Are you fricking kidding me?!" One of the nsmen eximed with fear and frustration.

    They had just retreated from the location of the water fountain where the battle had been taking ce. But not long after the exit leading out of the n was in sight, they also found out the battle had been shifted over.

    They were trying to get away from the battle, but the battle followed them!

    They were just regr nsmen with meager strengths. Their lives were like grass in the face of such an overwhelmingly high-level battle.

    Are the heavens cursing them to die?!

    "Get back, all of you!" The Early-rank 1 Transcendent Beastkin Warrior warned, preparing to face Lord Bahlzacs''s iing attacking.

    s, the warrior knew that he would not put be able to put up a single shred of resistance. The difference between their strength was simply too significant.

    Even so, he could not show cowardice.

    Just as the beastkin warrior thought he was going to face certain doom, watching Lord Bahlzacse sweeping in with the ck spear, Duna, who caught up and hid in the crowd, suddenly fired out a Destruction Wave.

    Swish~!

    The Destruction Wave closed the distance on Lord Bahlzacs in an instance. It was almost as if the person flew straight into.

    "What?!"

    Lord Bahlzacs immediately cried with a horrified look before twisting his body and neck in his best effort to evade the attack.

    Boom!

    The ck spear blocked most of the Destruction Wave while the rest shot into the distance and struck the dome frame holding up the mountain of carcasses.

    "How sly of you! You almost had me! Unfortunately, it still wasn''t enough!" Lord Bahlzacs spouted withcency, but his heart shivered, and his back broke into cold sweats.

    He was too close to death just now.

    The woman wielded a power unlike anything he had ever seen before. Even Paragons might fall to such overbearing destructiveness if they were careless!

    His wounds could be healed when cut by treasured weapons, but if that woman''s destructive power struck him, he would be fucked.

    ''I need to kill this woman first!'' Lord Bahlzacs''s eyes glinted with killing intent.

    However, just as Lord Bahlzacs had that thought, Duna looked back at him calmly and casually said, "Oh really? Look again. You''re already a dead man."

    "What?"

    Lord Bahlzacs could notprehend her words.

    But as if Duna''s words were the mandate of heaven, Lord Bahlzacs suddenly felt pain on his neck before a red line was formed like a ring around it.

    Shortly after, blood sprayed from the ruptured veins in his neck like a sprinkler, causing Lord Bahlzacs to immediately drop the ck spear and grasp his neck to stop the bleeding.

    Not only that, he feared that his head would simply roll of his body if he did not hold it in ce. Even if he was defeated, he had to know how he was defeated before he goes.

    "How can this be? I was confident that I dodged that attack¡­" Lord Bahlzacs expressed his shock before suddenly frowning, "No, something is not right¡­ That attack was almost vertical, but this wound is¡­"

    "You deflected the first attack, but you never saw the second oneing, did you?" Duna grinned while ying with a nigh invisible threat of Destruction Law.

    "Of course, you wouldn''t have. The second attack had beenpressed so thinly it is hard to see, not to mention that it was hidden under the cover of the first attack." Duna continued without waiting for Lord Bahlzacs''s answer, just as her right hand crumbled into dust.

    "To think I would be defeated like this¡­ I am unconvinced," Lord Bahlzacs muttered before his eyes lost their colors.

    He died on the spot.

    "So what if you are unconvinced? Bite me¡­" Duna spouted at the corpse.

 Chapter 621 - Unexpected Rescue

    <h4>Chapter 621 - Unexpected Rescue</h4>

    Even after Lord Bahlzacs is dead, Duna did not spare his corpse. Just looking at the person''s motionless body causes her to frown as she recalls the person''s lustful gazes.

    With a flick of her other hand, she destroyed the person''s lower body with the power of Destruction Law.

    Upon seeing this sight as he quietly arrived beside Duna, Leon could not help but flinch slightly as if he was the one getting his balls destroyed by her.

    "There''s no need to keep attacking. He is already dead," Leon said with a forced smile before lifting her hand and admonishing her, "Look at yourself. You''re being overly reliant on the Destruction Law."

    "It doesn''t really matter. I know you''ll still be around to fix right up. Isn''t that right?" Duna gave Leon a suggestive look while licking her lips.

    Still, Leon smiled wryly in response.

    "Don''t think that your trick will always work on me. At least, not with your hands looking like this," he pointed at her missing hands.

    "What hands?" Duna waved her handless arms yfully in front of Leon.

    Leon could not help but shake his head and sighed while transferring some Grandmist Energy to Duna, "My power isn''t always readily avable. Please stop getting yourself hurt."

    "Hm, alright. I''ll keep that in mind." Duna stated after a slight paused.

    As time slowly passes, more and more carcasses began to drop inside the n, and the damage in the dome started to spread faster on its own, being unable to support the weight.

    "Come, we need to leave. The structural integrity of the dome has already beenpromised due to your previous attack."

    "Mm." Duna nodded.

    ¡­

    At the same time, the nsmen began to speed up their evacuation with fear and rm despite their feelings of weakness due to the widespread disease.

    "Hurry! This ce is about to be buried! Move faster! What are you waiting for?!"

    "Ahh! Faster, faster! The sky is falling! The rats are raining!"

    The nsmen, young and old, all urged the people in front of them to move quicker with impatience.

    Thud! Thud!

    The rat carcasses dropped like hammers, smashing on top of buildings and roads, even fellow nsmen.

    The weak and unfortunate were heavily injured after being struck while the strong sought to protect them.

    "Be quicker! This ce isn''t going tost much longer!" Jorn and Lilith arrived at the exit point and frowned at the long queue of nsmen waiting to get outside.

    "Uncle Jorn, the passage is too narrow. If it could be widened, more people would be able to evacuate at once."

    "I''ll quickly arrange people to the task at once." Jorn nodded.

    Shortly after, Jorn hollered for all the Transcendents to gather. Whether they were warriors or aristocrats, all of them had to contribute.

    The Transcendents were divided into two groups; one big and one small.

    The small group was responsible for increasing the size of the exit passage while the other group protected the nsmen from the falling carcasses and dome fragments, which were made from the bones of beasts.

    "Don''t think that I have forgotten the matter of the Holy Water Fountain. I will deal with all of you after," Lilith said with her narrowed eyes, gazing at the group of aristocrats who had been with Lord Naargoc.

    "Yes, Your Highness¡­" The aristocrats shivered slightly.

    Although the monopoly of Holy Water was Lord Naargoc''s idea, they were aplice for silently agreeing and not persuading Lord Naargoc otherwise.

    Shortly after, the group of low-level aristocrats followed the nsmen to evacuate.

    "Your Highness, what about Lord Naargoc''s son? Do you need me to¡­" Jorn made a slicing-neck gesture.

    However, Lilith furrowed her brows and said, "We''ll deal with this matter after getting nsmen to safety outside."

    "That being said, I distinguish between punishment and reward fairly. I heard Lord Naargoc''s son was the only one who tried to persuade Lord Naargoc?"

    "Yes, that seems to have been the case from what I have heard as well," Jorn nodded, recalling some nsmen mentioning about it back then.

    "However, we will still need to validate the truth of what happened back then before I pass judgment," Lilith said.

    After all, what they heard were only soft discussions in passing. Neither of them had been present to witness the entire event from the start.

    "Little Princess, there is no need for you to stay back here where it is dangerous. How about waiting outside where it is safe instead?" Jorn suggested.

    Lilith nced around the crowd for a moment before she replied, "Not yet. Let me wait a bit longer for my friends."

    "Fine. But if the situation deteriorates to a dangerous level before they arrive, I will take you outside," Jorn stated.

    "That''s fine with me." Lilith nodded.

    ¡­

    "This seems to be the opposite direction of the exit, no?" Duna casually stated while following Leon''s lead.

    The exit was still in sight at their previous location. But now? They were getting further and further away. Or rather, they were returning to their original location.

    "I need to check something. We can leave after I am done. Or else, you can so leave first, and we will meet upter."

    "Hm, Nah. I think I will stick with you." Duna suddenlytched onto Leon''s back for a free ride without further extraneous effort on her end.

    "The copse of the dome might be dangerous for those weak Deste Crow nsmen, but it poses no danger to us."

    "That''s true." Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, the two returned to the water fountain before Leon''s gaze flickered while Duna''s brows wrinkled.

    "As I thought, there are still people here¡­" Leon muttered while gazing at therge group of nsmen gathered around the water fountain.

    They were scooping out Holy Water into big jugs and emptying out the water fountain.

    "What a bunch of idiots. What the hell are they still doing here when the whole ce is copsing?"

    "They probably didn''t want the remaining Holy Water to go to waste. For them, each scoop of Holy Water is equivalent to a life in this pandemic," Leon casually said.

    "This is why they are idiots for risking their lives," Duna stated before saying, "You can simply refine more Holy Water for them, or can you not?"

    "I definitely can, but they do not know that. They believe the medicine is precious and thus, believe they are doing a heroic deed by saving the Holy Water," Leon casually stated.

    Of course, the sick nsmen could just be procuring the Holy Water for themselves. However, Leon did not think so.

    He could overhear them talking.

    "Hurry! We are running out of time! The whole ce is about to go down! We need to leave now!"

    "Just a bit longer! We almost have everything! Each extra drop is extremely precious! There are still many nsmen depending on this medicine to live!"

    The nsmen babbled with nervous sweats from pressure and looming threat above them.

    Thud! Thud!

    Rat carcasses dropped through the dome cracks like rain before they were pped and kicked away by nearby warriors as they protected the nsmen carrying out their mission.

    Suddenly, Leon''s ears twitched to a weak cry in the distance before his gaze shifted to an area of broken rumbles.

    The spot was unassuming at a nce and appeared as one of many other buildings that had copsed due to the previous battle.

    However, this particr location especially grabbed Leon''s attention.

    "These rubbles are¡­" Leon''s eyes suddenly flickered in realization before darting over to the rubbles in a quick sh.

    Swoosh~!

    Leonnded near the ruins of a familiar building before the weak cries became more distinct and clearer. They were the voices of the little boy, Abel, and his mother.

    With a wave of his hand, the heavy rubbles of broken stones and hardwood were lifted and removed from the area with Divine Will.

    "Are you two alright?" Leon inquired.

    "Big brother, you''re back! Please save my mother!" Abel strongly requested after his initial burst of excitement.

    However, Leon already knew their conditions with divine sense.

    Nevertheless, he did a double check on the leg wound of Abel''s mother before he shook his head, "It''s just a flesh wound. Nothing serious."

    "Eh? Is that really true? But there''s so much blood¡­!" Abel stated.

    "Truly. But if you are not assured, then you can rub this stuff on your mother''s wound. It will heal the wound quickly and stop the bleeding," Leon passed a bottle of Tier-1 Golden Ointment to Abel before saying, "The two of you were very lucky."

    "En. Thank you, doctor. You saved us again." Abel''s mother bowed her head slightly before urging her son, "Hurry up and thank the doctor."

    "Ah! Yes, mother!" Abel eximed before bobbing his head cutely, "Thank you, big brother!"

    "Call him doctor!" Abel''s mother tried to get her son to address their savior respectfully.

    "Thank you, big brother doctor!"

    "¡­"

    Abel''s mother did not know whether tough or cry before she ruffled his hair with a wry smile, "You little rascal¡­ What should I do with you?"

    "It''s fine. He can call me whatever he wants. More importantly, you two need to get out of here quickly. The dome is about to copse," Leon reminded.

    "Right¡­ We will leave as soon as possible." Abel''s mother nodded solemnly before adding, "Once again, thank you, doctor!"

    "Don''t worry about it. Your situation was partially mine to me."

    "I see¡­ Even so, thank you!"

    Shortly after Abel treated his mother with Leon''s Tier-1 Golden Ointment and witnessed its effectiveness, the two quickly left.

    At the water fountain''s location, the nsmen were still present when Leon returned to the area with Duna.

    "All of you should leave quickly as well if you don''t want to die!" Leon hollered with a frown.

 Chapter 622 - Raising Pillars

    <h4>Chapter 622 - Raising Pirs</h4>

    "Y-Yes, doctor!"

    after being urged by Leon, the group of nsmen finally gave up on extracting every ounce of Holy Water left in the fountain.

    "Quick, let us get out here! We''ve already stayed for too long!"

    "Doctor, please leave with us! It''s dangerous to stay here!"

    The nsmen barked at each other to wrap things up to depart before urging Leon to leave as well.

    "Oho, so you also know it''s dangerous, huh? Since you know then why haven''t you left yet?!" Leon snarled.

    "R-right! We''ll leave right this instance!"

    Leon watched the nsmen pick up their pots of Holy Water and leave under the protection of the n warriors.

    Shortly after, Leon spread out his divine sense to search the area survivors that may have been overlooked.

    "Seems like there isn''t anyone left. Let us go too, Duna."

    "Okay, but I''m going to borrow your back."

    Duna suddenly hopped onto Leon''s back weakly with her eyes closed before refining the True Grandmist Energy and beginning her self-repair process.

    "Finally feeling the toll, eh?" Leon muttered before stomping the ground and shooting off into the distance.

    Within moments, Leon returned to the exit point where many nsmen still queued up, waiting their turn to leave.

    "Leon, Duna, you''re both back!" Lilith approached with Jorn following behind from a distance before noticing Duna''s state. "Is Duna going to be alright?"

    "Un. Nothing can happen to her with me around," Leon stated confidently before asking, "You were waiting for us?"

    Lilith admitted with a silent nod before Jorn said, "Since the people arrived, it''s time for us to leave, Little Princess."

    "Alright." Lilith nodded before frowning shortly after, "However, there are still many nsmen here."

    "I''m afraid the dome would not hold until everyone gets out."

    "Come to think of it, the dome should have reached its breaking point and copsed already," Leon suddenly mentioned.

    He realized the frame holding the ce together was still breaking piece by piece.

    "For this to be happening¡­ The weight pressing down on this area must have been greatly reduced¡­!"

    "That''s right." Jorn nodded before adding, "We have another team working outside, removing the carcasses from this section to buy us more time."

    "Aria and Soft Feather must be lending their assistances on the surface as well." Leon understood.

    Boom!

    A massive section of the dome suddenly copsed on the other side of the n, causing its surrounding parts to copse with it.

    "Talking about timing," Leon muttered.

    He watched the section above them being mildly affected by the big copse in the other areas.

    Three-quarters of the n was buried in immediately, leaving them with one-quarter of the dome left standing, albeit not for much longer.

    "Ahh, the dome copsed! Move faster! Get me out of here!"

    "Hurry up! Why the people in front so slow?! Even turtles move faster than this!"

    Panic spread through the crowd as they began shoving people in front of them to increase the pace, causing disorder and chaos in the mix.

    With sicknessing into contact with everyone, it was not strange that the crowd''s pace was slow. The nsmen living closest to the exit were also the farthest from the fountain of Holy Water.

    Nevertheless, the pot-carrying group of nsmen managed to arrive safely before they began shouting, "Holy Water! We got the Holy Water here! Who is in most dire need of Holy Water?!"

    "Please pass these bowls of Holy Water to those in urgent need first! Please, everyone! Don''t fight, and don''t be greedy! In times like this, we must stand united more than ever!"

    The pot-carrying group of nsmen began swooping small bowls of Holy Water and distributed them to the crowd.

    "Thank you, young heroes! You''re all lifesavers! We will remember your heroic deeds!" The crowd cheered.

    It was the least they could do.

    Some of the pot-carrying nsmen nced back buried section of the n before their lips twitched. They had cut it a bit too close and nearly got themselves buried with the n.

    "Fortunately, we were urged by the doctor to leave. If we had stuck around for a bit longer, some of us¡ªif not all of us would have been buried," a pot-carrying nsman spoke with dread and cold sweats breaking out.

    "We''re out of time. Time to leave, Little Princess! Pardon the offense!" Jorn immediately picked up Lilith upon seeing the situation.

    "Wait, Uncle Jorn! What about the rest of the nsmen?" She asked urgently.

    However, Jorn shook his head and said with a sigh, "Sorry, not everyone can be saved. It''s regrettable, but there''s nothing else we can do."

    "Not necessarily. I will buy them more time," Leon casually stated before muttering, "I don''t really use this ability often¡­ it''s the most neglected of all my elemental abilities¡­"

    Shortly after, Leon stomped the ground, shattering it like a giant earthworm burrowing through the earth.

    Rumble!

    The ground shook before a colossal earth pir rose in the distance, supporting one corner of the remaining quarter-dome.

    "Earth Maniption?" Jorn muttered with surprise before wondering how many more abilities the human prince still has.

    At the same time, Leon furrowed his brows before stomping the ground again, shaking the ground and raising another colossal earth pir to support another corner of the quarter-dome.

    ''Strange¡­ When did my Earth Ability be so strong?'' Leon silently wondered.

    Although the power was not greater, the range and amount of earth he could control has far outstripped that of a Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent.

    ''Myprehensive understanding of the Earth Law definitely has yet to reach the Transcendent level. Only Earth Transcendents could borrow the limitless power of the earth¡­''

    ''Did bing Nihility Transcendent remove the limiter on my other elementalws?'' Leon made a wild guess before he quickly ruled out the possibility with a shake of his head.

    He had been using some of his other elemental abilities since he achieved Nihility Transcendence. They were not as powerful as his Earth Ability.

    Clearly, this was not the reason¡­ Or at the very least, not the sole reason.

 Chapter 623 - Epiphany & Phenomenon

    <h4>Chapter 623 - Epiphany & Phenomenon</h4>

    ''Perhaps, it has something to do with my connection to the earth.'' Leon silently determined.

    Of all the elements, oddly enough, he had the closest affinity to the earth. But it had not always been the case.

    It happened during the time he nearly lost himself whileprehending the Earth Law in the depths of the underground. That time, he had sunk his consciousness too deeply into the earth, two nearly integrated.

    "Mother Gaia is boundless. If one can connect to it, one can wield all the earth it has to offer¡­" Leon muttered while unwittingly closing his eyes to muse on the Great Way of Earth.

    Only by being close to the elements, can one''s affinity with them be raised.

    While Leon hadpsed into silent contemtion, Jorn nced at the temporarily stable quarter-dome before stating, "Although the copse has been temporarily stopped, we should still leave."

    "The n cannot continue staying cooped-up in this rathole. It is simply a breeding ground for diseases."

    "You''re right, Uncle Jorn. Once we are outside, I want these carcasses burned to ashes before we proceed with the cleanup procedures of the n." Lilith stated, no longer resisting Jorn''s attempt to take her outside.

    "Otherwise, even if the nsmen are treated, they will just get sick again."

    "Understood, Little Princess. Prince Leon, how about¡ª"

    Jorn was about to ask Leon when Duna''s eyes snapped open and interrupted while she was still clinging to Leon''s back.

    "Don''t interrupt him. This is a crucial moment for him." Duna gazed coldly before Jorn backed off awkwardly.

    "My apologies for not knowing better, Miss Duna. Well then, we will be leaving first."

    "Alright, go."

    ¡­

    Eventually, Jorn and Lilith reached the outside with the nsmen, leaving Leon and Duna inside the n alone.

    "Lilith, over here!" Aria called out to Lilith from a distance before asking shortly after, "Where''s Leon and Duna?"

    "They are still inside. Leon seems to be experiencing some sort of epiphany," Lilith exined after she approached Aria while Uncle Jorn left her side to make arrangements with the nsmen.

    "An epiphany?" Aria repeated.

    Suddenly, the skies began darkening with looming grey clouds being spawned and gathered above the n.

    "What''s happening? Why did the sky suddenly start darkening? Isn''t the weather changing too drastically?"

    "I feel like I''ve seen these kinds of weather changes somewhere before¡­ It seems oddly familiar, but I can''t seem to recall¡­"

    The nsmen quickly broke out into discussions with a mixture of fear and curiosity towards the sky.

    "A phenomenon?" Aria muttered with her head raised to look at the sky. She could not be more familiar with the cloud-gathering phenomenon.

    "This is a Transcendent Phenomenon. Someone is breaking through to the Transcendent Realm," Aria calmly stated.

    However, she quickly noticed something wrong with what she said and began to frown in thought.

    "Something is not right¡­"

    "A Transcendent Phenomenon, huh? I''ve heard about this and seen it a few times," Soft Feather stated nearby before adding, "You humans practice the way of nature, learning naturalws of the world to wield powerful elemental abilities."

    "That''s right. But the question is, whose Transcendent Phenomenon does this belong to? Who is breaking through to the Transcendent Realm?"

    "None of the humans in my Deste Crow n practices Awakening Cultivation, so it cannot be anyone among them," Lilith stated with a puzzled look.

    "Besides, if we did have someone close to bing a Transcendent Awakener, that person would have been known by now."

    "You''ve only just returned to the n after being away for a few months." Aria stated before she questioned her, "How can you be sure that there isn''t one among your nsmen now?"

    "That''s true¡­ I will have to confirm with my nsmen. You. Yes, you over there. Come over here." Lilith called a young ck-winged aristocrat male over before asking, "Does the n have any high-level Awakeners?"

    "None, Your Highness. You know what the mainstream cultivation practice of our n is. We all practice the way of enhancing our bodies," the young ck-winged aristocrat male began answering her question.

    "Apart from you, I don''t think there is anyone else among the nsmen that practice Awakening Cultivation, Your Highness."

    "I see. You may leave now."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    After Lilith permitted the young ck-winged aristocrat male to leave, Aria''s brows furrowed more deeply, "If not someone from your n, then it is someone from our group?"

    "But that doesn''t make sense. Duna doesn''t practice Awakening Cultivation, while Leon is already a Transcendent. Darlene is still far from reaching that step, and I am right here."

    Of course, Aria thought of another possibility; it was not a Transcendent Phenomenon for the Preliminary ession stage but The Seeking Insight stage.

    However, that possibility was even more impossible in Aria''s mind. Leon had once told her that his breakthrough to Nihility Transcendent did not have any phenomenon.

    ''Unless the phenomenon camete? A Transcendent Phenomenon,gging?'' Aria wondered ridiculously. She must be going crazy to think that.

    "Your Highness, do you have any idea what is going on here? Are we being attacked by some mystical being?" Jorn inquired after returning to Lilith''s side.

    "No, we are not." Lilith shook her head before she said, "However, we might as well be soon if we do not move from this location."

    "Uncle Jorn, please order the nsmen to retreat from this area immediately," Lilith requested shortly after.

    Jorn blinked for a moment before he patted his chest and nodded, "Understood, Little Princess. Leave it to me."

    Shortly after, Jorn left to bark out orders, and the nsmen began shuffling away from the copsed mountain of carcasses.

    "If I have to guess, I believe this should be Leon''s Transcendent Phenomenon," Darlene spoke quietly on top of Soft Feather after everyone had moved to a safe location.

    Nevertheless, Aria overheard her. She shifted her gaze to Darlene before asking, "Why do you think so?"

    The question seemed simple, but it was Aria''s test for Darlene. She wanted to understand this new sister''s character and how she viewed her man.

    "Leon is so mysterious and seemingly able to do and solve everything. If there''s something that cannot be exined, it should be one of Leon''s doing," Darlene voiced her honest opinion without realizing anything.

    After a moment, Aria nodded with a smile, "That''s right. The Transcendent Phenomenon is most likely Leon''s doing."

    "As for the specifics, we can only find out after Leonpletes his breakthrough."

 Chapter 624 - Mysterious Stone Golem

    <h4>Chapter 624 - Mysterious Stone Golem</h4>

    Back inside the unburied section of the Deste Crow n, Duna silently and subtly hopped off from Leon''s back before circling around to his front.

    Looking at Leon standing on the spot with his eyes closed, Duna could not help but give him a look of wonder and interest.

    "How strange¡­"

    Slowly, her eyes shifted to the nape of his neck with a hint of bloodthirst before she frowned and peeled her gaze away, no longer concerning herself with Leon''s matter.

    "He will be fine on his own since there isn''t anyone around to bother him. I, on the other hand, need to finish recovering," Duna muttered softly.

    Her hands have been restored, but the gaping hole in her chest was rather unsightly to look at. She did not want to continue looking like this.

    After finding herself a spot on the ground away from Leon, Duna entered seated meditation with her eyes closed and refined the remaining True Grandmist Energy in her body.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued musing on the Great Way of Earth, unaware of the Transcendent Phenomenon forming in the skies outside.

    His divine sense slowly spread out before sinking into the earth and subconsciously fusing with it.

    In that instance, Leon''s divine sense expanded infinitely, easily covering the entire Deste Crow n''s territory, allowing Leon to sense the countless lifeforms moving on the surface, as well as those living deeply underneath.

    However, the new experience gave Leon a different feeling to divine sense.

    While the range was great, it also came with many limitations.

    He could sense the movements of all beings in the depths of the earth, but only their forms. He could not make out their image clearly as he would with divine sense like he was looking at them with his own eyes.

    As for the beings on the surface, it was even more limited. He could not even tell their forms, only feel their movements.

    ''What kind of ability is this? It''s like my consciousness had entered a whole different world¡­'' Leon wondered.

    He was astounded by the discovery, even feeling a little overwhelmed. The numerous life he could sense within his range was like countless ants gnawing on his consciousness.

    ''Although this detection ability is not as detailed as divine sense, just its range alone has far exceeded the level granted to Divine Practitioners at the Divine Origin Realm¡­'' Leon ruminated.

    Even at his peak, it was impossible for his divine sense to stretch this far.

    ''The divine sense of Divine Practitioners at the Divine King Ream might not necessarily be better than this either¡­''

    Leon had a feeling that if he fused his divine sense with the earth and increased his connection further, the range of his detection could also increase even further.

    ''I can increase my detection further, but I fear the load will overburden my consciousness and copse my mind¡­'' Leon contemted the risks.

    ''This ability isn''t something a Transcendent should have¡­ Heck, Celestials shouldn''t be this impressive either.''

    As Leon pondered the reason behind the situation he was experiencing, his mind suddenly lit up like a light bulb.

    ''No. Ordinary Celestials might be incapable, but a Celestial Ruler is a different story entirely¡­''

    It was said that Celestials could fuse with Celestials Bodies to achieve absolute power within their domain and live as long as the sun and moon.

    ''I''m afraid this ability has already entered the territory of gods, even if it is only sensing the earth¡­''

    ''But for me to have this ability, does that mean I''ve be the Celestial Ruler of Gaia?'' Leon wondered.

    s, the thought onlysted a moment before Leon scratched the idea from his mind. It was ridiculous just thinking about it.

    The detection ability was considered an earthen ability.

    However, his Earth Law has yet to reach the level of Transcendents, let alone Celestials. It was impossible to suddenly be the Celestial Ruler of Gaia.

    ''Not unless the Celestial Realm was not the prerequisite for fusing with Celestial Bodies, but something else?'' Leon suddenly thought, bringing himself back to the topic.

    ''For example, one''s soul perhaps? If it''s my soul, which is that of a Divine Practitioner at the Divine Origin Realm, it might be possible?''

    Shortly after, Leon could not help but mentally shake his head and sigh, ''All this thinking is getting me nowhere.''

    ''If I want answers, I need topletely fuse with earth to find out. However, that might be a path of no return¡­" Leon mentally frowned.

    He could sense an inexplicable force pulling his consciousness towards the center of Gaia as if it wanted to devour him whole.

    When Leon focused his sense on the subterranean world below, he could not help but feel amazed and dreadful at the same time.

    ''I knew that the subterranean world exists and that it is extremely vast. Still, it is much more boundless than I had anticipated¡­'' Leon pondered.

    Using his new earth sense ability, he could feel theyout of each underground floor.

    He had only been to the third floor at most. But at this moment, he could sense far, far beyond that.

    After every nine floors, the gap to the next floor was almost equal to the previous nine floorsbined.

    In other words, every nine floors represented ayer, and the subterranean world had multipleyers, leading ever closer to the deepest depth of the world.

    ''To think that that the subterranean world expanded this deeply¡­ It might just reach all the way to Gaia''s core,'' Leon mentally frowned before adding, ''Unfortunately, I can only sense up to the thirdyer¡­''

    Even so, the number of lifeforms he detected in the first twoyers of the subterranean world left him breathless.

    ''How can there be so many lifeforms living underneath the earth? Thisyout almost makes it the same as the fabled 18yers of Hell¡­'' Leon thought.

    Suddenly, the inexplicable force Leon sensed in the depths of Gaia spiked dangerously, wrestling Leon''s consciousness away from his body and beyond his control!

    He could not resist!

    ''Sh*t!''

    His expression changed instantly.

    Leon was forced out of his earth sense state and into his astral body form as his consciousness got dragged straight towards the center of the world.

    The sight was akin to like traveling at lightspeed in the void.

    Everything was a blur of darkness with countless stretched lines of light, making Leon unable to gauge how many floors andyers he was passing.

    However, it onlysted a single instance before the brightness of light intensified to the point of turning his world into blinding whiteness.

    Shortly after the brightness dimmed, Leon was already in a strange new world with his consciousness before he knew it.

    "Where is this? The center of Gaia? This is not how I pictured it to be," Leonmented, full of doubts as his eyes wandered around.

    The world around him was filled with a plethora of nts and exotic herbs, which should have painted the ce in lush green colors.

    Unfortunately, most of them were dead.

    "This ce is like and of death¡­" Leon muttered with a frown while looking at the wilted nts and herbs that made thend look barren and deste.

    However, the ce was notpletely barren and dead, thanks to a single holy tree keeping it alive, albeit barely.

    "To think there was a World Tree here¡­ But then again, I''m not exactly sure where ''here'' is or why I was brought here. What is happening to this ce?"

    The sky was crimson, but there were no clouds. Instead, there was a dome-shaped barrier keeping out the molten-hot liquid, which was the source of the crimson light illuminating the foreignnd with a World Tree within the dome.

    Amidst the wilted nts and herbs across thend, Leon discovered the ck and brown ground was not made of regr soil nor sand, but iron dust.

    ring red veins spread across the foreignnd like roots, sucking out all life from the nts and herbs, even the ground itself.

    "Are these red veins the main cause of this dying world?"

    Leon''s eyes traced the red veins to its source, which lead him towards circling around the dying World Tree.

    On the other side, he found a beautifully carved female stone golem and the World Tree''s roots intertwining around a ring red crack in the dimension.

    "A spatial rift? No, a spatial rift shouldn''t be red like this¡ªor red at all, for that matter. What the heck is it?" Leon frowned with a grave look.

    He could note up with a guess for the grim-glowing red crack at a nce, but it gave him an ominous feeling.

    "Look at the positioning of the World Tree''s roots and this female stone golem; it looks like they were working together to seal this red crack¡­"

    Leon began analyzing.

    "An inestimable amount of time must have passed since the sealing of this red crack that it has begun weakening and break out from the seal¡ªHm?"

    Leon suddenly noticed the female stone golem opened her eyes before gazing back at him.

    "You''ve finallye¡­ Hm? No, you are not the one who I have been waiting for. You are simply too weak!"

    The female stone golem''s words rumbled in Leon''s ears as if they were thews of the world itself.

    "Wait, I have some quest¡ª"

    "Begone!"

    With a single word, Leon''s consciousness was banished from the unknownnd and sent straight back to his body in the next instance.

    His eyes immediately snapped open before patting himself, filled with goosebumps and cold sweats.

    "What the hell was that? I thought I was going to die just now¡­ How terrifying!" Leon shivered with lingering fear.

 Chapter 625 - Authority Of Earth

    <h4>Chapter 625 - Authority Of Earth</h4>

    Unexpectedly, that female stone golem was so powerful! Each of its words was like the mandate of heaven, brimming with the power of inviblews!

    Leon was like an insignificant existence in front of such an almighty being, helpless to put a shred of resistance.

    "Why was I brought to that ce? Was that really the center of the world, the inner core?" Leon muttered with a frown.

    If it was, then who or what was that female stone golem? Although Leon could faintly make a guess.

    In the diary of Arden Grdi, it was recorded that even during the peak of the Nova Empire, where their interster civilization span across the stars, the Celestials only looked for distant stars to refine.

    Leon refused to believe that not a single Celestial wanted to refine Gaia and be its Celestial Ruler.

    "Perhaps, the reason why Gaia had no ruler was not that no one wanted to, but because no one could¡­ There was already a ruler." Leon muttered.

    If the Celestial Ruler had always been slumbering in the depths of Gaia, it would not be strange for people to not know about it.

    "But what was that red crack?" Leon frowned.

    At the very least, it must be the leading cause for the dying.

    The was never revitalized despite its having a Celestial Ruler because all energy was focused on stopping the expansion on the red crack¡­

    "Hm?"

    Suddenly, Leon noticed something different about himself. There were some changes to his soul core.

    "My Earth Ability upgraded to the Transcendent level?" Leon uttered with surprise. "What a pleasant surprise!"

    He could feel his Earth Law had strengthened on its own, and there was even a subtle absolute authority over it.

    "This ability is rather bizarre¡­ it''s like I have been a certain level of control over all the Earth Element of Gaia¡­" Leon muttered while analyzing.

    The Earth Seed inside his soul core was seemingly brimming with an endless source of energy.

    "Is this a portion of the Celestial Ruler''s power? Did I gain a bit of her authority over the earth when the stone golem''s words sted my consciousness away?"

    Or perhaps it''s due to his powerful soul be on the level of the Divine, which was of a simr level to the Celestials, thereby allowing him to control a part of the Celestial Ruler''s authority over Gaia while it is preupied with sealing the red crack?

    "I put aside these thoughts for now¡­" Leon frowned.

    He had questions but no answers¡ªat least not for now, he did not. When there is another opportunity, he will revisit the stone golem to get his answers.

    "For now, I should check on the others. I wonder how much time has passed¡­" Leon muttered while ncing around at the deserted quarter of the Deste Crow n.

    Duna was spotted some distance away.

    As if sensing his approaching presence, Duna opened her eyes and gazed back at Leon. Her body was mostly recovered as Leon failed to notice any wound at a nce.

    Swoosh~!

    Duna suddenly shot herself at Leon''s chest, tackling him to the ground¡ªnot with her own strength, but because Leon did not resist, nor did he wanted to injure her by doing so.

    "What''s up?" Leon asked.

    Duna moved her lips close to Leon''s ears before she whispered seductively, "I want it."

    "What? Right here?" Leon was stunned for a moment before he suddenly started coughing in the next moment.

    He was still affected by the same variant disease guing the Deste Crow n.

    "I want it now!"

    "Let us head into my Worldspace first."

    Leon picked Duna up like a princess before the both of them disappeared on the spot. There was no way he was going to do it in such a dirty ce.

    He was already sick. He did not want his little brother to be ill as well. That would be quite a tragic sight.

    Half an hourter, Leon and Duna reappeared on the same spot in the Deste Crow n prior to their disappearance.

    s, Leon wore a disappointed look while Duna licked her lips with satisfaction. What she wanted was his blood, not what he was hoping for.

    That half an hour was spent curing himself before he allowed Duna to drink his blood. It was a necessary step he needed to take to prevent Duna from being a carrier of diseases.

    Although it would not affect Duna herself, the disease on her body could spread to other people around her, turning it into a troublesome mess he would need to clean up.

    "Let''s go meet up with the others."

    Leon spoke while shaking his head with a sigh when Duna suddenly grabbed his wrist, "I don''t mind If you really want to do it, you know?"

    "Maybe next time," Leon smiled wryly before saying, "There''s a lot of people that currently need saving. Let''s not dy any more time than we already have."

    "Are you really going to turn down my offer like that?" Duna uttered with surprise before teasing him, You know there might not be a next time, right~?"

    "As much as it pains me, I can only abstain for the greater good," Leon stated with a crumpled expression before pinching her soft cheeks, "So stop seducing me and making me aroused, you little temptress."

    Pah!

    Leon''s hands were shortly pped away before Duna snorted, "It''s not my problem if you can''t resist it, you horny animal."

    Leon secretly cussed at Duna for being unreasonable. It was like burning a house, then me it for burning.

    ¡­

    Outside, the remains of the Holy Water werepletely consumed before all the nsmen could receive their fair share of it.

    One water fountain of Holy Water was simply not enough for everyone in the Deste Crow n.

    "Your Highness! More than half of our nsmen have yet to receive their temporary treatment via the Holy Water," Jorn began recounting what he learned from his subordinates.

    "Although we have given priority to more severely ill nsmen, the ones left untreated have already started losing their mobility due to weakness."

    "Didn''t the aristocrat families hoarded all the healing medicine in the n, Uncle Jorn? Have them distribute it to the rest of the nsmen. It might not be as effective, but it will buy them some time." Lilith instructed.

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    Shortly after Jorn left to carry out his task, Lilith''s brows begun creasing deeply with concerns and uncertainties.

    As the sole member of the Deste Crow n''s royal family, she had to remain strong in order to lead her nsmen.

    She could not show weakness.

    However, she was not made for leadership roles. The situation forced it upon. If she did not have Leon''s support, she would not have known what to do.

    Suddenly, an intense itch in Lilith''s lungs and throat caused her to start coughing violently before herplexion paled slightly, and her body staggered with a hint of weakness.

    On the side, Aria extended a hand and supported Lilith from falling before she inquired out of concern, "Are you alright, Lilith?"

    "Mm, for now. It seems that I have also caught the disease," Lilith smiled wryly. She should have seen thising.

    "Don''t worry. Everything will be resolved once Leon is done with his breakthrough," Aria spoke while throwing a nce at the sky.

    The Transcendent Phenomenon had already dissipated, but Leon still needed time to consolidate his cultivation¡ªor at least that was what Aria thought.

    Little did she know, Leon was not required to do anything at all.

    He had directly stepped into the Earth Transcendent Realm like he was casually sipping water. It happened spontaneously, perhaps due to his body''s constitution or unique cultivation technique.

    "You''ve called?"

    Leon''s voice was suddenly heard, causing Aria and Lilith to turn around before their eyes brightened with pleasant surprises.

    "Leon! You''re here!"

    "You transcended again?"

    Lilith and Aria eximed before Leon nodded, "See for yourself. Though, this isn''t wholly my own strength but a part of Gaia''s strength."

    While the weakened nsmen were being tended and cared for on the outskirts, the abled warriors and Transcendent nsmen removed the countless rat carcasses from the mountain and burned them in a different pile.

    Leon sensed the earth with his divine sense before he raised one hand.

    Rumble!

    In the next moment, the whole mountain of carcasses shook with movements before the billions of carcasses were pushed out of the buried Deste Crow n.

    "This¡­! What is happening?! The mountain is moving!"

    "Holy Sh*t! The rats are being mowed by the earth!"

    The warriors eximed while many lost their bnce by the sudden movements.

    Sometimeter, the entire mountain of carcasses was moved away, revealing the hidden Deste Crow n buried underneath.

    What could have been many days of work was finished in several minutes.

    "Incredible¡­"

    "This must be the work of gods!"

    The nsmen were awe by the spectacle while Aria and Lilith looked at Leon with shock, awaiting his further exnations.

    "Is this still within the realms of Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent Awakeners?" Aria muttered.

    Leon smiled before shaking his head, "No matter how I wrap my head around it, I am also amazed myself. There''s no precise exnation for this inexplicable amplification in earthly power."

    "The Cataclysm has been nothing except full of danger and unexpected discoveries."

    "It''s like you have suddenly received Gaia''s favor and became the favored Son of Heaven," Lilithmented.

    "The favored Son of Heaven, huh?" Leon smiled self-deprecatingly, wondering just how many near-death experiences and hardships one had to ovee before they even reached this step.

    Shortly after, Leon shook his head and said, "Let us figure this outter. Everyone''s treatmentes first. If I''m not wrong, you should have been affected too, right?"

    "Mm¡­" Lilith nodded.

 Chapter 626 - Process Of Recovery

    <h4>Chapter 626 - Process Of Recovery</h4>

    "Take it. It''ll help you feel better for a while," Leon offered a Tier-1 All-Purpose Healing Pill.

    Lilith nced at the pill for a moment before she shook her head, "My symptoms are mild at present. I can wait. Please help my nsmen who are in direr need of your medicine and treatment."

    "Do you think I amcking in medicine to treat everyone or something? Take it. They will also get their share." Leon casually tossed the pill directly over.

    Lilith immediately panicked. She caught the pill with both hands before she heaved a sigh of relief.

    Shortly after, she gave Leon a disapproving nce for treating precious medicine carelessly. But perhaps it was as he said. He did notck medication.

    "Thank you¡­"

    Lilith plopped the pill in her mouth without further objections after expressing her gratitude.

    Leon waved his hand nonchntly, expressing it was not a big deal for him before he said, "Alright. Let us deal with this gue once and for all."

    "Un." Lilith nodded

    "Have the able warriors continue cleaning up the tribe. After all, we will still need a ce to stay after everyone is recovered."

    "I''ll arrange it."

    After receiving Lilith''s reply, Leon shot off into the distance and pushed the mountain of rat carcasses further away from the n before lighting it up on fire.

    Once that was settled, Leon flew over to the location of the Deste Crow nsmen.

    "Divine doctor, please bless us with more of your miraculous medicine!"

    "I don''t care about myself, but my family¡­ I beg of you to help my family at least, Divine Doctor!"

    "Divine Doctor¡­"

    The sick nsmen greeted before making their countless pleas and requests for Leon to save them.

    The situation was a little chaotic due to their desperation, but none of them were able to reach Leon while he floated in the sky.

    "Don''t worry. I will do my best to save everyone." Leon voiced his promise, which was like music to their ears, while he looked at their countless expressions calmly.

    When resources are limited, harmony will be broken, unity will shatter, and infighting bes the only way for survival.

    Leon did not doubt that the Deste Crow nsmen who fight among themselves for the limited medicine on their hands once they reach that breaking point.

    There was nothing good or evil about fighting for one''s survival. Being good was a luxury, but it was also a luxury that only Leon could afford.

    "Please make room."

    Once Leon made his request, the sick nsmen quickly mustered whatever strength they had to retreat some distance from the ground he was hovering above.

    Leon made the nsmen back off even further before utilizing his many elemental abilities of earth, fire, and nihility to form a clean pool of water, the size of ake, in the location after cleansing the filth and bacteria in the area.

    Shortly after, Tier-1 Spirit Herbs were taken out of the Worldspace, en masse, before Leon extracted all their herbal essence with fire and dumped them into the smallke one after the other.

    If it were Tier-3 Spirit Herbs, Leon might have hesitated to use them extravagantly for treating the Deste Crow nsmen.

    Tier-3 Spirit Herbs were the highest quality spirit herbs in his possession.

    Not only do they take a whole month to grow, but many of them were also on their way to bing Tier-4 Spirit Herbs.

    But if it was Tier-1 Spirit Herbs that he was using, Leon would not even need to think twice before using them all.

    They all came from easy-to-procure seeds in the Human Domain and only took a single day to grow into Tier-1 Spirit Herbs after germinating.

    It was not long before the clear water exuded a soft green hue and sparkled with holiness and pleasant scents, making the nsmen feel better just by sniffing it¡ªeven if it was only an illusion.

    "Wah¡­?"

    "What¡­?"

    "How the¡­"

    Man nsmen eximed.

    As the Deste Crow nsmen watched Leon prepare the medicine, their eyes widened in shock and awe at the number of quality spirit herbs popping out of seemingly nowhere.

    "Interspatial Artifacts!"

    Some of them had not noticed it before, but now that they get to observe Leon carefully, they realized that he was in possession of one.

    Many nsmen immediately expressed their interest in such a fascinating and inconvenient tool while several aristocrat members shone with greed in their eyes.

    However, it onlysted a moment before their greedy glints disappeared.

    They can be envious and jealous all they want, but if the treasure does not belong to them, they will never have it.

    "Haiz¡­ Wonder when I will have the fortune to possess an interspatial artifacts of my own¡­" Some aristocrat members shook their heads with a sigh.

    They have all witnessed Leon''s ability to move mountains with a wave of his hand, putting him on the level of gods in their eyes.

    Meanwhile, Leon did not pay attention to the thoughts of the nsmen, nor did he care.

    "Huh?"

    Lilith uttered with doubt.

    After the Holy Water was prepared, Leon suddenly took out his Tier-4 Bone Spear and sliced his own wrist.

    Swoosh~!

    Aria and Lilith quickly flew over to Leon''s side before attempting to stop him from mutting himself further.

    "What are you doing? Why are you cutting yourself, Leon?"

    "Even if you can''tpletely cure the disease, there''s no need to take it out on yourself like this, right? I won''t me you, so please, don''t do this."

    Aria and Lilith spoke with concerns, causing Leon to be stunned.

    After taking a moment to recover, he quickly shook his head, "You have both misunderstood me."

    "I am using my blood to create the cure for the variant disease," Leon exined.

    "Huh?"

    "What?"

    Aria and Lilith expressed their confusion.

    Seeing that neither of them understood, Leon softly sighed before he further exined, "You see, I was also infected with the disease. Except, I''ve already treated it."

    "Now, my blood contains the antibodies for the disease. I need to mix my blood with medicine to produce even more antibodies. Although I will lose some blood essence, it will save me inconvenience¡ªnot to mention my blood essence can be replenished."

    "I see¡­ So it was just a misunderstanding¡­" Lilith patted her chest before saying, "I thought you were bing emo after realizing you could not live up to your words¡­"

    "¡­"

    Leon was speechless.

    "Did I always seem so weak-minded to you?"

    "Well¡­no."

    Lilith smiled awkwardly.

    After Leon''s arm was released from Aria and Lilith''s grasp, he continued to let his wrist bleed before he gathered the blood and infused it with Wood Energy¡ªmaking use of the Wood Energy''s proliferating properties to multiply the antibodies contained in the blood.

    Once the infused blood dropped in theke of Holy Water, Leon formed a whirlpool at the center, mixing the two together until the color began to undergo a subtle change, bing a slightly darker shade of green.

    After the cure was produced en masse, Leon nodded with a satisfied look.

    "It''s done."

    "It''s done?"

    "Un." Leon nodded.

    After receiving Leon''s confirmation, Lilith quickly beamed with a bright smile,pletely putting her faith in Leon''s im without a shred of doubt or question.

    "That''s great! The n can be saved now!" Lilith eximed with joy.

    Leon smiled slightly and said, "I''ll leave it up to you on how you want to distribute the cure to your nsmen. Do take note that each person only needs a mouthful to be cured."

    "Understood, Leon. And, thanks a lot! I owe you big time!" Lilith gave Leon a sudden peck on the cheeks before rushing off to distribute the medicine.

    Aria furrowed her brows before floating closer to hug Leon''s arm and check on the wound¡ªonly to notice that the bleeding had already stopped,pletely healed.

    Shortly after, her nose twitched with a few sniffs.

    "The air around here is quite clean," Aria suddenly mentioned, noticing there was no unpleasant scent from the rats despite not be far off from the ground¡ªwhile enjoying Leon''s gentle caress at the same time.

    "Nothing to be surprised about. I was purifying the area while I was creating theke to contain the medicine," Leon exined casually.

    On the field, filled with scattered flesh and blood from the rat tide, the area around theke was considered an oasis thanks to Leon''s Nihility Law removing all the foulness from the region.

    Some True Grandmist Energy was gained as a result.

    No matter how useless the rat blood and chunks that filled the region with a pungent stench is, they can still be turned into something useful like True Grandmist Energy, albeit so infinitesimally small, it was not worth mentioning.

    A sudden sense of lethargy made Leon wavered slightly, but he was held closely by Aria before she asked with concern, "Is everything alright, Leon?"

    "Yeah, don''t worry about it. I just lost a bit more blood than I initially thought," Leon smiled wryly before adding, "I''ll be fine once I replenish some blood."

    It seems he will have to start taking note of how much blood he loses. Otherwise, one day, Duna will simply suck him dry.

    Sometimeter, the cure was evenly distributed to all the Deste Crow nsmen. Even Soft Feather and Darlene were given a portion.

    During that time, Leon flew around the vicinity of the Deste Crow n and purified the area with his Nihility Law.

    Whether it was remnant bacteria from the variant disease lingering air that could not be seen by the naked eye or the Wrathful Demonic Energy in the atmosphere¡ªeverything was removed without exception.

    Afterward, Jorn led all the warriors and regr nsmen back into the Deste Crow n to rebuild the n.

    All in all, the entire Deste Crow n was in the process of recovery.

 Chapter 627 - Expressing Gratitude

    <h4>Chapter 627 - Expressing Gratitude</h4>

    "I know you all have just recovered, but unless you all want to sleep on the streets, I suggest you all put your backs into it! C''mon, people!" Jorn barked while carrying a giant piece of broken stone.

    "We have a lot of work to do!"

    At the same time, many nsmen were also moving rubbles of various sizes based on their strength as they cleared out the ruins of the Deste Crow n.

    "Did ya hear that? Brother Jorn said to put your backs into it!"

    "I don''t need your reminder! I''ve heard it loud and clear!"

    "Haa! I ain''t nning to sleep on the cold floor tonight!"

    "Ouuu¡ª!"

    The warriors and nsmen talked and eximed in high spirits.

    After drinking the blood-mixed Holy Water, not only did the nsmen fully recovered, they even felt invigorated and energetic.

    It was like finally being lifted up after taking off all the weights dragging them down.

    Needless to say, they were highly motivated to put their bodies to good us.

    "Clear the sites quick! Once the first task is done, we need to gather the food and keep an inventory! What can be kept, must be kept! What can''t be kept, must be thrown away!" Jorn added after tossing the giant building piece to the side.

    "We need to understand how long our food canst us!" Jorn added.

    Undoubtedly, the rat carcasses have not only ruined their homes but also spoiled their food reserves!

    For arge n like the Deste Crow n, the importance of food reserves must be stressed. Without food, people will starve to death!

    Wars fought for wealth were matters of interest, but wars fought for food were matters of survival! No matter how united the n was, it will still break apart in the face of hunger!

    History has shown this!

    Meanwhile, Aria and Leon hovered in the sky while casually watching the busy Deste Crow nsmen at work.

    "With the mass appearance of frenzied rats sweeping the Wilnds, devastating the ins, and drastically reducing the poption, a famine is bound to happen," Leon stated.

    "Mm." Aria nodded with brows and continued, "Lilith''s Uncle Jorn is right to be concerned about food."

    "Many tribes in the Wilnds must be facing the same crisis. Although I do believe the elves'' Wood Ability and Crop Cultivation Techniques could resolve their problems."

    "If we consider the lifestyle of the beasts and beastmen in the Wilnds, I''m not sure if these meat-lovers will be happy to go vegetarian, though." Leon chuckled at the thought.

    Aria giggled in response before she scoffed softly, "They wouldn''t have the luxury to be picky."

    Sometimeter, the two of them descended towards the ground, where Lilith was seen dealing with the aristocrat families.

    Just as their feet touched the ground, amotion immediately broke out as the nearby children flocked over and quickly surrounded them on all sides.

    "Divine doctor is here!"

    "I found the divine doctor!"

    "I found the divine doctor first!"

    "No, you didn''t! I did!"

    "No, I did!"

    "Boohoo¡­"

    The children cheered and fought while jumping and skipping around Leon and Aria excitedly before some began crying after losing.

    "Where are your manners? Quickly say thank you to the divine doctor for his medicine and benevolence!"

    "Ahh¡­thank you, divine doctor brother!"

    "Thank you for saving us, big brother divine doctor!"

    The mothers of the children lectured shortly after their arrival before the children followed their instructions and expressed their gratitude obediently to Leon.

    "It''s fine, it''s fine. I was just doing what a doctor should do," Leon waived off his act of grace as a small matter as he smiled wryly.

    The children were giving him all sorts of weird names and titles.

    "Any doctor can show a small act of kindness to their patients," a normal mother carrying her child shook her head before saying, "However, a doctor who can show his kindness to everyone on the magnitude of an entire n? I''m afraid there are none besides you."

    "You are a noble doctor worthy of our respects. The Deste Crow n owes you a great debt of gratitude that we can never hope to repay. Come, Alicia. Say thank you to the divine doctor," the mother urged the daughter in her arms.

    The little girl was shy and hesitant at first before she obediently listened to her mother and said to Leon, "Thank you for saving Alicia, divine doctor!"

    "What a cute little girl!"

    Aria could not help but reach out her hand and rubbed the little girl''s head while Leon simply smiled lightly.

    If Aria did not give the little girl a head rub, he would have done so. But since she had done so, there was no need for him to give the cute little girl a head rub as well.

    Leon gave the little girl a nod and said warmly, "Alicia is such a good girl. Remember to continue listening to your mama in the future, okay?"

    "Okay!"

    Alicia answered.

    The little girl''s mother could not help but smile at this scene, feeling how fortunate it was that her daughter was still alive and healthy.

    It was only some time ago that she and her husband feared their daughter would not make it.

    Suddenly, amotion broke out behind her before noticing the other mothers were pulling the children away as a group made their way through the crowd.

    Upon identifying the approaching group with a nce, Alicia''s mother''s expression paled slightly with fear before excusing herself politely.

    "We will take our leave first, divine doctor. Once again, thank you for saving us."

    "Don''t worry about it," Leon responded casually.

    Shortly after, he gave a calm nce at the group of aristocrats approaching him before one of them took the initiative to greet, "Well met, divine doctor."

    "I am Reuben of the Darkwing family."

    "I am¡­"

    One after another, the head of each aristocrat family began introducing themselves to Leon while expressing their deepest gratitude for his benevolence, showering him with praises and tried to get on his good side.

    It was clear that they had ulterior motives and hidden intentions.

 Chapter 628 - Do You Understand?

    <h4>Chapter 628 - Do You Understand?</h4>

    Just as Leon wondered what they really wanted from him, Reuben Darkwing pulled a youngdy before him.

    "My daughter, Catalina, is of simr age to the divine doctor." Reuben Darkwing introduced before suggesting, "If the divine doctor does look down on my daughter, perhaps the two of you can be friends."

    After Leon nced at the other aristocrat heads who simrly brought their daughters and beautiful female servants with them, his eyes immediately flickered with understanding.

    These people were seeking to establish a connection with him by using the honey trap tactic!

    "Divine doctor, my daughter, Sha, is also of simr age to you and wants to be your friend!"

    "Pah! How shameless of you, Sir Riverick! Your daughter is only 13 years old! How is that simr age, hmm?!" Another aristocrat family head snorted before turning to Leon, "Greeting, great doctor. How about befriending my¡ª"

    "Daughter? Holy fuck, dude. Are you sure that she isn''t your secret mistress instead?" The other ck-winged aristocrat family head, Riverick ckfeather, immediately took the chance to jab back.

    Thedy brought forward by the other ck-winged aristocrat family head appeared to be at least in herte-30''s¡ªold enough to be the divine doctor''s young mother.

    "What nonsense! Did I say I was introducing my daughter?! This is my little sister!" The ck-winged aristocrat family head exploded.

    In a short moment, all the aristocrats finished their attempts at matchmaking their sisters, daughters, young cousins, and even servants to Leon.

    They knew that if they could bind the divine doctor to their families, their families would be able to enjoy prosperity for many generations toe.

    s¡­

    Leon took a nce at Aria beside him, who have gone silent with an expressionless look.

    Given the rtionship they shared, the aristocrat family heads were not giving her any respect by tantly trying to matchmake her man with their daughters and such.

    "Hmph!" Aria snorted.

    With a stomp of her feet, a wave of ice-lightning power surged out from the ground with a threatening presence.

    "Rank 2 Transcendent!"

    The aristocrats all hastily retreated with shock after Aria''s reveal of strength, not expecting to see another person with a high-level cultivation base after Lord Bahlzacs''s death.

    If such a strong person assisted in the previous battle, it would have ended even quicker!

    Lord Bahlzacs was simply destined to die!

    Just as the aristocrat family heads were about to make an apology, Lilith''s voice thundered over with a snarl, "What are you all doing over there! I''m not done with all of you yet!"

    Lilith stormed over angrily like a jealous, causing the aristocrat family heads to be stunned at the same time.

    nced back and further between Aria and Lilith before ultimately shaking their heads with disappointment and wry but bitter smiles.

    Thepetition was too strong!

    There was no hope of binding the divine doctor to their family!

    "Our apologies, Your Highness. We did not know that the divine doctor was already your lover. We mean no disrespect," Reuben Darkwing took the initiative to speak first, acting like he was the leader of all the aristocrat families.

    "W-What? Lover?"

    Lilith''s stern face immediately flushed with embarrassment, losing all the strong momentum she came forward with.

    Nevertheless, after a moment, she recovered slightly before correcting them, "You''re wrong! The one you are disrespecting is Aria. Apologize to her, then get back to work!"

    "Everyone must contribute to the n''s restoration. The aristocrat families are no exceptions, you hear me?!"

    "Y-Yes, Your Highness!"

    "Sorry for offending you, Miss Aria!"

    Shortly after the aristocrat familyplied and made their formal apology to Aria, they left hurried to join the other ns.

    Once they were gone from her sights, Lilith heaved a sigh of relief.

    Her body quickly felt like jelly as she wanted to melt into the ground and disappear. It was a taxing job tomands those much more powerful than herself.

    She was riding on the prestige of her royal family and those who support her for her to sessfully contain the aristocrats'' circle.

    "Seems like you are not having an easy time. Why not take a break?" Leon casually suggested.

    "I can''t!" Lilith quickly shook her head before saying, "There are too many problems that require my attention!"

    "There''s the issue of rebuilding the n, the food, my parents, and even the Deste Netherbird Tribe to worry about."

    Lilith felt a little frustrated just thinking about them all.

    "It doesn''t seem like your Deste Crow n have any n elders to help you either," Leonmented casually.

    However, Lilith was immediately stunned.

    "No, we do have n Elders! Six, in fact!" Lilith stated shortly before calling Uncle Jorn over and inquired, "Uncle Jorn, why haven''t I see any of the n Elders?"

    "The n Elders?" Jorn repeated.

    Shortly after, he quickly sighed with a depressive tone, "Two of the n Elders were killed as a warning while the other four were taken away with the n Leader and your mother, Little Princess."

    "I see¡­" Lilith muttered with a sad look.

    She did not dare to ask which two of the six n Elder was killed.

    Not only were the n Elders the strongest in the n, second only to the n Leader, but Lilith was also even close to some of them.

    "Pleasee with me, Little Princess. There are some things that require your attention," Jorn spoke before Lilith nodded.

    "Leon, Aria, I''ll head off with Uncle Jorn first. If you two and others need something. Juste find me immediately, okay?"

    "Sure." Leon nodded.

    Not long after Lilith left with Jorn, Leon stared into space for a moment and muttered, "I will need to make some more teleportation arrays soon and deploy one in Deste Crow n."

    "It''s almost time for me to check on the other side¡­"

    Meanwhile, shortly after the aristocrat group headed over, Duna had caught up and stopped them in their path.

    "Hm? Is there something we can do for you, Miss Duna?" Reuben Darkwing asked humbly, having seen Duna''s battle prowess in action.

    However, Duna did not reply.

    Instead, she silently pointed them, then she pointed at their sisters, cousins, and daughters, then pointed to Leon in the distance.

    Afterward, she pointed to a big block of broken stone nearby. Not long after, it quickly disappeared on the spot under the Destruction Law.

    "Do you understand?" Duna gestured calmly.

    The aristocrats immediately nodded their heads vehemently like obedient dogs while breaking out into cold sweats.

    It was a clear warning!

 Chapter 629 - Dejected Darlene

    <h4>Chapter 629 - Dejected Darlene</h4>

    Inside the Deste Crow n, Lilith and Uncle Jorn walked together down the streets filled with rubbles from the damaged buildings nearby.

    The nsmen did their best to clear out the rubbles and clean up the n before proceeding with repairs to make it habitable again.

    Despite Leon''s efforts to move out the rat carcasses with his earthen ability, quite a few were missed and remained inside the n.

    Uncle Jorn quietly observed the nsmen carry the bodies outside before he suddenly furrowed his brows.

    "Strange¡­"

    "What is, Uncle Jorn?"

    Lilith nced at her Uncle Jorn, who appeared to be puzzled by some sudden discovery, and waited patiently for him to start exining.

    After a slight dy, Uncle Jorn said, "The rat carcasses are still pungent as you would expect them to be, but their smell hasn''t pervaded the entire n. Air does not seem to be as stuffy as before¡­"

    "No, the air is getting¡­cleaner by the moment?" Uncle Jorn''s eyes flickered with surprise upon his discovery.

    However, Lilith did not share the same sentiments.

    After listening to her Uncle Jorn''s words, she pondered for a moment before she said, "This is probably Leon''s doing."

    "I see¡­" Uncle Jorn uttered.

    At this point, he should not be surprised by anything the human prince does¡ªfor everything the person does is either shocking or surprising.

    In other words, he should get used to it.

    "Right, Uncle Jorn." Lilith suddenly recalled the berserk humans before she inquired, "Has any of our nsmen experience frenzied behaviors and loss of mental faculty, bing extremely aggressive since the Cataclysm urred?"

    "Frenzied behaviors and loss of mental faculty? Bing extremely aggressive?" Uncle Jorn frowned in thought before replying with doubt, "Not that I am aware of¡­?"

    "Is this a big problem worthy of our concerns, Little Princess?" Uncle Jorn inquired.

    "There haven''t been any cases?" Lilith thought for a moment before she nodded, "That''s good then. Most likely, extended exposure to the sunlight will cause it."

    "However, the n has been hidden under the mountain of carcasses, thus, avoiding this problem unwittingly. Since there haven''t been any cases, then there''s a need for us to worry about," Lilith stated.

    Since Leon was helping her cleanse the Wrathful Demonic Energy within the Deste Crow n, the chances of someone going berserk will be negligible.

    "Alright then¡­"

    Without clear exnations from the Deste Crow Princess, Uncle Jorn was confused by the matter she brought up.

    "I will tell you more about this matterter," Lilith stated before asking, "What did you need to talk to me about?"

    As they two conversed, they continued to walk down the busy street filled with hard-working nsmen. Before Uncle Jorn could answer Lilith''s question, a Transcendent-level warrior suddenly arrived.

    "Report!" Uncle Jorn stated.

    "Yes, Brother Jorn! We have just recovered the first food bank. However, we have discovered rat blood seepage in the area, spoiling the food stored there. What should be done about it?"

    "So the thing I feared happened, huh?" Uncle Jorn rubbed his forehead with stress before stating, "Save what can be saved, and throw away everything that can''t. Burn all the spoiled food somewhere away from the n."

    "Understood."

    The Transcendent-level warrior nodded.

    Shortly after the warrior left, Uncle Jorn returned his attention to Lilith.

    "Where were we again?" Uncle Jorn asked before he quickly recalled and said, "Ah, yes. As you can see, the n is quite a bad state after the damages."

    "I''ve estimated that only roughly three-quarters of the n will be able to sleep in warm environments tonight. But this is not our biggest problem. Food is our biggest problem. Without sufficient food to sustain ourselves, the n will eventually starve to death."

    "I''ve already started looking into possible ways we can procure more food, but I will need Little Princess''s approval before I send the people out to search¡­"

    Uncle Jorn began listing problems after problems rted to the n before he finally moved onto two other important issues, worthy of concern.

    "We also need to think of a n to save the n Leader and the other n Elders from the clutches of the Deste Netherbird Second Prince. At the same time, we also need to prepare measures against the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s retaliation."

    "Now that Lord Bahlzacs is dead, it won''t be long before the Deste Netherbird Second Prince realizes what happens here," Uncle Jorn stated.

    "Does Lord Bahlzacs send regr updates to the Deste Netherbird Second Prince via a messenger? Can we fake it to buy more time?" Lilith wondered.

    "From what I know, Lord Bahlzacs writes to the Deste Netherbird Second Prince in a special-coded message. Unless we understand what that special-coded message is, it will not be possible to fake one."

    "I see¡­" Lilith frowned before asking, "How time do you think we have before the Deste Netherbird Second Prince notices something wrong and sends his people over, Uncle Jorn?"

    "I would say no longer than a week, Little Princess." Uncle Jorn stated with a solemn look.

    "A week, huh? I see." Lilith nodded.

    "How much we can prepare ourselves within this week could very well determine the fate of our n. At most, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince could only pressure us. But now that one of his subordinates is killed, he has a legitimate reason to annihte our n."

    "Little Princess is right. However, we mustn''t forget that the Deste Netherbird Second Prince needs our n''s power to contest with the Crown Prince for the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s throne."

    Uncle Jorn reminded before inputting his own opinion, "The Deste Netherbird Second Prince wouldn''t annihte us, but he can still make our lives more miserable than he previously intended."

    "Still, none of us have the means to defend against Rank 2 Transcendents. If there a remote chance of victory, it will depend on the group of friends you brought, Little Princess."

    "Will they be willing to help us all the way? If not, I can make some arrangements to guarantee that they will," Uncle Jorn stated.

    "What kind of arrangements?" Lilith nced at Uncle Jorn with suspicions.

    "Well, it''s like this¡­"

    Uncle Jorn began whispering in Lilith''s ears about the details of his idea. Lilith quickly blushed before it quickly turned into a frown shortly after.

    "You want to tie them to the n by sending pretty women and handsome men after them? Don''t even think about it. They are friends who have already helped us greatly. How we think about scheming against them?" Lilith rejected the idea.

    "You must put aside personal feelings, Little Princess. This matter involves the survival of the entire n." Uncle Jorn stated solemnly before asking, "Are you prepared to shoulder the consequences in order to uphold your values?"

    What he said made him appear as the bad guy, but some things must be mentioned. Furthermore, what he spoke was the truth.

    At the same time, he was trying to instill into Lilith the values of a leader¡ªto put the lives of her people above the lives of outsiders.

    "Enough. This matter rests here." Lilith ended the discussion with a frown.

    "Focus on the problem of food shortage problem first. Uncle Jorn wants to send people out to scavenge for food, right? I permit it." Lilith said shortly after.

    "I understand, Little Princess."

    Uncle Jorn shook his head with a helpless smile.

    She can avoid the matter for now, but not forever. There wille a time when she will be forced to make a choice.

    Shortly after, Uncle Jorn left to continue assisting the n''s restoration process.

    Lilith looked up at the clear stars in the skies and sighed as her Uncle Jorn''s words resounded in her head.

    Would she still be firm in her decision once she sees her nsmen dying? She did not know.

    The answer can only be left in the future.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon absorbed a substantial amount of Wrathful Demonic Energy in the sky above the Deste Crow n.

    After he refined all the energy, he descended onto a nearby hill situated outside the Deste Crow n.

    At the same time, Soft Feather quickly flew over with Darlene and Aria on her back before they curiously observed Leon''s action.

    "What are you doing?" Soft Feather failed to keep silent and finally popped the question to satisfied her curiosity.

    "I''m crafting a few Demon Gathering Arrays," Leon exined while fiddling with a few ancient bones and other materials he could find in his Worldspace.

    "Demon Gathering Arrays?" Aria muttered thoughtfully.

    She sensed the simrity with Spirit Gathering Arrays in name before she asked, "These Demon Gathering Arrays are used to gather Demonic Energy?"

    "That''s right." Leon nodded.

    Sometimeter, hepleted four Demon Gathering Arrays and condensed four Artificial Demon Cores with the Demonic Energy stored in his ck Vortex Space before socketing them into the arrays.

    "Can I trouble you to ce these around the n? You should know how to activate them, right?" Leon made the request to Aria, who was knowledgeable about Spirit Gathering Arrays.

    The Demon Gathering Array was not only simr in name but also in design¡ªat least to the mostmonly used and widespread type of Spirit Gathering Array in the Divine Realm.

    "Mmm." Aria nodded.

    She epted the four Demon Gathering Arrays and took off from the hill without questioning its purpose. She was happy to do things for Leon.

    Shortly after watching Aria leave, Leon shifted his attention to Darlene, whom he had neglected since returning to the Human Domain.

    The person could be seen seated in meditation on Soft Feather''s back with a frown on her face. After a moment, she opened her eyes with a sigh.

    The atmosphere was too densely packed with various other elements for Darlene to absorb spatial elements and cultivate effectively.

    She began to wonder why Leon brought her along when she could not do anything to contribute. She felt very useless. If she cannot keep up, she will be left behind and forgotten.

    The thought made Darlene feel dejected.

 Chapter 630 - Returning To The Neutral Zone

    <h4>Chapter 630 - Returning To The Neutral Zone</h4>

    While Darlene was feeling dejected over her concerns for a possible future where she was left behind and abandoned, a sudden hand gently rested on her head, snapping her out of her thoughts.

    "Is there something you need, Leon?" Darlene asked with a startled look before doing her best to fix her expression.

    Leon already had his hands full of problems to deal with. She could not bring herself to be selfish and ask Leon for his help in making her stronger.

    "You''ve been looking a bit downtely. Why don''t you tell me what''s the matter?" Leon said while giving Darlene''s head a gentle rub.

    "Have I?" Darlene hid her emotion with a bright smile before adding, "Hubby is just imagining things. You don''t need to mind and just do what you need to do."

    "My dear, it''s fine to be a bit more selfish, you know?" Leon responded, having seen through her fake smile.

    He pulled Darlene up with both hands before he said, "Come with me. I will take you to an interesting ce."

    "Miss Soft Feather, I will need to trouble you to inform the others not to worry about me if they ask where I went. Tell them to focus on cultivation or help out the Deste Crow n while I am absent," Leon spoke to Soft Feather shortly after.

    Soft Feather gazed at Leon hovering in front of her with Darlene in his arms before she curiously asked, "Where are you going?"

    In fact, Darlene wanted to ask the same thing, but she decided to keep quiet after Soft Feather was the first to raise the question.

    "To the skies, in a ce that will be perfect for Darlene to cultivate," Leon casually answered.

    Once Darlene heard this, she immediately looked at Leon with a dumb yet cute look of surprise.

    "What?" Leon smiled while pinching her small nose and asked, "You didn''t think I would know that you were stressing over your own low cultivation because you couldn''t do anything to help me?"

    As it turns out, Leon had been paying attention to her as well. She just did not realize it. Darlene quickly became emotional.

    The kinder Leon was to her, the guiltier she felt at the same time. She wanted to tell him about Chief Valencia''s secret task for her to monitor him.

    However, she was also afraid that Leon might not want her anymore after finding out about it and abandon her.

    "I¡­"

    Darlene found it difficult to speak as she felt choking on her own words.

    Little did she know that her thinking was a little naive and the fact that Leon already knew but chose not to say anything.

    "Alright, save your words forter. It won''t be toote to be surprised after I bring you to the ce beyond the normal skies."

    "Mmm." Darlene nodded.

    She lowered her head and rested on Leon''s chest quietly while she tightened her arms around him.

    "Well? Can you do this for me, Miss Soft Feather?"

    "Alright, alright. You can leave already."

    After Soft Feather shooed like Leon was bothering her, he soared into the sky with Darlene.

    Swoosh~!

    Leon rose quickly, and within moments, he was already thousands of feet in the sky. He continued ascending with increasing speed.

    Soon, they broke through the firstyer of the sky¡­

    Thenes the secondyer and thirdyer¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon reached the end of the third skyyer, the mesosphere.

    Darlene knew about the sky suppression force and found it weird that Leon could take her so high in the sky without sensing a shred of it.

    At the same time, the discovery shocked her, and the view made her breathless. When would she be able to fly to such a high point on her own?

    "We are reaching the end of the third skyyer. There''ll be an incredibly powerful barrier obstructing entry into the fourth skyyer, but you do not have to worry with me around."

    Shortly after Leon spoke confidently, he raised one hand and summoned the power of the Nihility Law to form a protective barrier around them.

    Plop!

    The two shortly squeezed into the fourth skyyer, the weightless, zero-gravity neutral zone.

    "Whaa¡ª!?"

    Darlene quickly eximed, feeling her body be light and floated away from Leon''s body as he released her.

    She reached her hand in a panic but failed to grab hold of Leon, causing her to cry, "Hubby, help me!"

    "Rx, this ce is a zero-gravity zone. You won''t fall here. Try and move around on your own," Leon exined with a smile.

    After the initial scare, Darlene quickly calmed down before she threw Leon a dirty look.

    "You''re too mean! You should have warned me!" Darlene pouted.

    "Hahaha, I''m sorry," Leon chuckled in apology before saying, "I wanted to give you a surprise."

    "You''re not sorry at all!" Darlene grumbled while looking at Leon''s grinning expression before she gasped at a sudden discovery.

    "Huh? I heard the outer heaven was a vacuum-like empty space with nothing, aplete void of space. How we still breathe and move like this?"

    As Darlene raised her questions with doubt, she waved her arms and legs furiously to paddle through the air like she was swimming in water.

    For someone with zero flying ability, her action appeared quiteical and cute in Leon''s eyes as his lips curved up into a smile.

    He could see that Darlene was fascinated by the experience as she seemed to have forgotten the previous thoughts that made her despondent and dejected.

    "Like I said, this is the fourth skyyer, a zero-gravity zone. There is still an atmosphere. It''s just that some repelling and counteracting force has negated all the gravity in this region of space," Leon exined patiently while watching Darlene y and explore the neutral zone.

    "This ce is fun! Is this what freedom feels like?" Darlene muttered before she doggy-paddled her way back to Leon''s side.

    Shortly after, she grabbed hold of the corners of Leon''s clothes before pulling herself into his embrace.

    "As I thought, this ce is still better," Darlene muttered in Leon''s arms, making Leon want to pull her cheeks for being too cute.

    Shortly after, he shook his head and asked with a slight chuckle, "Aren''t you forgetting something important?"

    "Something important? Oh¡­!"

    Darlene pondered for a short moment before she quickly felt the abundant spatial element in the region and eximed, "This ce is so rich in spatial elements!"

    "Of course, there is. This is the skyyer closest to outer space after the exosphereyer, silly." Leon smiled and said, "Make use of this chance to cultivate and refine as much Spatial Energy as you can."

    "Mm, mm! Thank you, hubby! You''re the best!" Darlene repeatedly nodded with excitement before positioning herself.

    Once she found the correct meditative position, she closed her eyes and began cultivating immediately.

    It did not take long before a stir appeared in the atmosphere, transforming into a powerful suction force that pulled in all the spatial elements in Darlene''s surroundings like she was a ravenous ck hole.

    The tyranny of Darlene''s Void Soul Constitution was put on disy, showcasing her superior absorption and refining ability that ordinary cultivators can only look at with envy.

    ''As I thought, Darlene''s cultivation speed will be frightening¡ªgiven the condition that there were enough spatial elements for her to absorb,'' Leon quietly observed Darlene.

    Shortly after, his brows furrowed slightly.

    ''It''ll be easier for her to cultivate without the hindrance of the Wrathful Demonic Energies in the surroundings,'' Leon thought.

    He raised one hand and began pulling in the surrounding Wrathful Demonic Energy hidden in the atmosphere before dumping everything into the ck Vortex for refinement.

    ''I can never have too much Demonic Energy if I want to keep producing Artificial Demon Cores for my rune-engraved creations¡ª''

    Leon suddenly felt a pair of eyes spying on him from behind before he quickly turned around swiftly to check.

    "Who?!" he shouted.

    His strong voice echoed into the distance, causing the skies to reverberate slightly, and even Darlene was roused awake from her concentrated cultivation state.

    Leon searched the distant skies with his sweeping gaze, but he failed to discover anything except the silent night.

    ''Was it my imagination?'' Leon frowned.

    "Is something wrong, hubby?" Darlene asked with a cautious look, afraid of annoying Leon. The sudden shout had startled her greatly.

    A moment passed before Leon shook his head and looked back at Darlene apologetically, "Sorry for disturbing your cultivation, my dear. I sensed someone spying on us just now, but I can''t find anyone."

    "Might have been my imagination," is what he said.

    However, Leon did not really believe it was. He trusted his instincts quite well. Unfortunately, he could not find anything, so he can only put it off as such for the time being.

    "If you think you felt someone spying on you, then I think someone really was spying on you," Darlene also chose to believe in Leon''s feelings before she asked, "Will it be a problem if we don''t find out who is spying on us?"

    "Whether it''s a problem or not, just let me worry about it." Leon poked Darlene''s nose with a smile before saying, "Go back to cultivating. You only need to focus on getting stronger for now."

    "Mm¡­ alright."

    Darlene nodded solemnly. Only when she is stronger can she share Leon''s burden.

    Shortly after Darlene resumed cultivation with her eyes closed, Leon took another nce in the direction of the spying gaze that he had sensed earlier and narrowed his eyes.

    ''Wonder who it could be?'' Leon pondered.

    He could only think of two possibilities why he could not locate the spy.

    One, the person had impressive stealth abilities beyond his means to detect, or two, the person was spying from an inexplicably long distance beyond his sight.

    Either way, it did not seem like Leon was their opponent.

 Chapter 631 - Celestial Mirror Of Omniscience

    <h4>Chapter 631 - Celestial Mirror Of Omniscience</h4>

    Somewhere several hundred miles east of the Human Domain, a beautiful floating ind hun in the high skies of the Neutral Zone.

    However, no one could marvel at its beauty as it was situated in a ce that cannot be seen by the rest of the world.

    At the same time, it was equipped with a near-invisible stealth ability epassing the entire floating ind like a protective barrier.

    On the beautiful floating ind, a tower-like golden temple stood out from the rest of the exquisitely designed infrastructure that surrounds it.

    Inside of the golden temple, an old man stroked his long dragon beard while in deep thoughts after using an ancient mirror-shaped artifact to peer into distant ces on the surface.

    "Interesting¡­ I didn''t expect this young man''s senses to be so sharp as to sense my gaze from so far away¡­" the dragon-beard old man muttered on the top floor of the golden temple.

    The so-called golden temple was an old observatory that was used in the past by the ancient civilization. But now, it was treated as a holy temple in which only the strongest of humans in the Human Domain can gather and stay.

    "Old Kaiser, it''s time to switch! It''s my turn to use the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience," another old man suddenly spouted upon arriving.

    Old Kaiser gave the old man nce for a moment before he nodded. Before he moved away from the big artifact, he swiped his hand and erased his search history.

    "Here you go," Old Kaiser casually responded before stepping away, making room for the other old man to use the ancient artifact.

    "Hoh? You removed the search history? Why did you do such a thing, hmm? What are you hiding, Old Kaiser?"

    "Nothing you to need to be concerned about," Old Kaiser spouted before adding, "On the other hand, it seems like your kingdom will be overrun soon if you don''t lend your help, Old Thunder."

    "Kek, are you trying to send me off? Nice try. Even without any of us intervening, the Geyser Kingdom will do just fine with the Sea Emperor around," Old Thunder stated calmly.

    "Those little fishes will never prevail with their meager strengths. The Geyser Kingdom''s might is simply that strong."

    "Comcency will be one''s undoing." Old Kaiser shook his head as he differed in opinion, "The Boundless Sea is vast and mostly unexplored territory. Who can say there isn''t any strong sea monster out there?"

    "With theing of the Cataclysm, it is hard to guess what changes it will bring to the creatures of the sea."

    "I suppose what you said makes some sense. But that is not enough to convince me to change my opinion."

    Old Thunder stated firmly before adding, "The sea monsters might be getting stronger, so is our human race."

    "Since you have said that much, I won''t try to persuade you to change your way of thinking further," Old Kaiser said with a shake of his head.

    With each passing day, more sections of the Boundless Sea are explored, and more treasures and ancient heritage of the past are uncovered one after the other.

    While this was a good thing, they were also encroaching on the territory of potentially frightening sea monsters that rule those waters.

    "Good." Old Thunder nodded.

    Shortly after, Old Thunder rubbed the ancient mirror and inserted his spiritual sense to use the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience and peer into location within the Human Domain.

    The Celestial Mirror of Omniscience was like a gateway to the mirror world. By projecting one''s spiritual sense into the other side of the mirror, one would feel like they have been teleported into the selected area, allowing them to see everything happening as if they were there in person.

    The destination choice of Old Thunder was a region that belonged to one of the lords in the Geyser Kingdom.

    "In my honest opinion, the emergence of the Demon Worshippers is a greater problem to be concerned about. This force had suddenly appeared throughout not only the Human Domain but even the Wilnds."

    "Oh?" Old Kaiser paused his steps as he was leaving before turning around to say, "Well, you''re not wrong there. I also agree."

    "We don''t have a single piece of useful information of these Demon Worshippers such as their strengths, their numbers, or even their purpose. Nothing. We don''t know anything."

    "That''s right. If they are truly minions of demons, we must destroy them at all costs and not give them a chance to grow," Old Thunder nodded.

    "Demons has always been the bane of all life¡ªor at least, that is how they are portrayed throughout history."

    "They sow chaos and kill everywhere they go. If one is discovered, we must eliminate them immediately," Old Thunder stated firmly."

    "Un." Old Kaiser nodded before he suggested, "Since you have said as such, why not leave the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience to me and just go down to the surface to hunt them all?"

    "F*ck off. The Geyser Kingdom already has able people carrying out the investigation," Old Thunder snorted with rolled eyes.

    Old Kaiser simply has no shame for consistently trying to make him give up his observation time.

    ¡­

    In the Geyser Kingdom''s eastern waterfront, battles with the sea monsters are consistently fought off the coast.

    Military camps and outposts were set up on offshore inds.

    The kingdom''s soldiers were permanently stationed to y the sea monsters in a joint-cooperative rtionship with the disciples of the Grand Ocean Pce.

    In many ways, the Geyser Kingdom shared a delicate rtionship with the sea monsters.

    The sea monsters were not only the primary source of sustenance for the people of the Geyser Kingdom, but they are also practice targets for people to temper themselves through battle.

    At that moment, a group of Grand Ocean Pce Disciples could be seen fighting the sea monsters on one of the thousand inds spanning across the eastern sea.

    Puchi!

    The Tier-3 Starfire Sword of a female disciple pierced straight through the vital organ of a 9-star level sea monster before it erupted into mes and died on the spot.

    With a strong flick of the female disciple''s wrist, the blood was removed from her red sword.

    Shortly after, the female disciple rejoined the other 4 fellow disciples to finish off the remaining 9-star level sea monsters that left the advantage of its waters to hunt humans.

    The 4 fellow disciples of Grand Ocean Pce all used water-elemental abilities in their attacks. It was only the female disciple who wielded a sword of fire to fight.

    "Once we finish off thesest four Sea Crawlers, we can bring their bodies back and finish off the mission!" The sword-wielding female disciple spoke.

    "Yes, senior disciple-sister Lina!"

    "Ahh, I can''t wait to take a bath in hot water after this!"

    The two junior disciple-sisters chimed while the other two junior disciple-brothers responded with their actions, killing the 9-star level Sea Crawlers faster.

    Swish~!

    Lina quickly hacked out with her Tier-3 Starfire Sword from behind a 9-star level Sea Crawler and directly sliced off its head.

    Shortly after, the other 3 9-star level Sea Crawlers were also cleaned up by Lina''s junior-disciple brothers and sisters.

    "Great! We''re finally done!"

    "Mm, mm! That went unexpectedly well!"

    The junior disciple-sisters eximed excitedly at thepletion of their 9-star mission to hunt 20 9-star level sea monsters.

    "Of course, it did! Who do you think we have in our team?!" One of the two junior disciple-brothers finally spoke.

    Lina waved her hand and collected the bodies of the 9-star level sea monsters into her interspatial ring while the other junior disciple-brother watched with envy.

    "Sigh! I wonder when I will be lucky enough to own an interspatial tool of my own? The convenience is unimaginable!" The junior disciple-brother sighed.

    "If you''re lucky enough to be the disciple of the Venerable Pill Master like senior disciple-sister Lina, you might also receive an interspatial ring as a gift!" A junior disciple-sister spoke optimistically.

    However, her words only served to make the junior disciple-brother even more depressed.

    "How is that even possible? Senior disciple-sister Lina was chosen because she has a rare wood-elemental ability¡­ But, me? I have a water-elemental ability!"

    The junior disciple-brotherined before continuing, "Ahh, it''s so frustrating! I was scolded simply for seeking apprenticeship from the Venerable Pill Master!"

    "Hahaha, I remember! At that time, the Venerable Pill Master barked, what do I need water-element aligned disciples for?! Do you want to drown my herbs or make herbal soup out of them?! Hahaha!"

    One of the junior disciple-sistersughed, causing the junior disciple-brother''s expression to wince painfully in recollection of the memory.

    "Ahh, don''t remind me of the Venerable Pill Master''s word for word! I could die from embarrassment!" The junior disciple-brotherined.

    "Hahaha!" The other junior disciple-brotherughed and patted him in the shoulder, "It''s your own fault for not checking the Venerable Pill Master''s requirement before seeking apprenticeship from him."

    "Alright, alright. Enough chit-chat. Let us wrap up and head back," Lina Greene stated before warning, "The Boundless Sea is much more dangerous at night."

    "Mm, mm!" One of the junior disciple-sister nodded in agreement and said, "I heard that the chances of encountering Early-rank 1 Transcendent level sea monsters in a 9-star level zone increase a lot at night!"

    None of them were Transcendents. If Early-rank 1 Transcendent Sea Monsters appeared, they would not be able to win. Not only that, they might even get wiped out!

    They were all 9-star Ranked Awakeners, but the difference to Transcendents was huge!

    "The winds are blowing stronger. Let us leave now."

    "Yes, senior disciple-sister Lina!"

 Chapter 632 - Starlight Archipelago And Moonlight Island

    <h4>Chapter 632 - Starlight Archipgo And Moonlight Ind</h4>

    The four junior disciples were very well-behaved and followed under Lina''s leadership obediently without a hint of arrogance orcency for their missionpletion.

    No matter how proud they were, it was not enough for them to believe that five 9-star Ranked Awakeners can take on an Early-rank 1 Transcendent.

    It was simply suicide.

    It was a team of 30 genius 9-star Ranked Awakeners, then perhaps, it might be doable. However, that was not the case.

    Thus, when their senior disciple-sister Lina suggested returning to the Grand Ocean Pce, they were more than happy to oblige.

    "I wonder how talented one would have to be to challenge Early-rank 1 Transcendent sea monsters at the 9-star Rank Awakener Realm¡­" A curious junior disciple-sister could not help but wonder.

    At the same time, the group was on their return journey from the 32nd ind, ckcoral Ind, within the 9-star level zone of the Starlight Archipgo that exists in the Boundless Sea, east of the Geyser Kingdom.

    The group rode on a steel shipparable to a Tier-2 defensive treasure and used water-elemental abilities to sail their ship through the waters quickly like a speedboat.

    "Challenge a great realm beyond one''s cultivation level, huh?"

    One of the two junior disciple-brothers overhead before mentioning, "I heard there are demon-level geniuses in our Grand Ocean Pce that can challenge three sub-realms above their cultivation level. But challenging a great realm beyond is simply unheard of."

    "I don''t think anyone can challenge a great realm beyond one''s cultivation level. The sheer difference in power is not something that can be easily ovee with high-level battle skills and high-quality weapons alone," the other junior disciple-brother added.

    "That''s exactly right. Even if it is possible, it wouldn''t be your turn to challenge one, so don''t have any funny thoughts in trying," Lina Greene lectured her junior disciple-brothers and sisters.

    "Sessfully challenging a great realm beyond would give you unprecedented fame and glory, but it''s not worth risking your life over it. After all, we only have one life, understand?"

    "Yes, senior disciple-sister Lina. We will listen to you," the junior disciple-brothers and sisters answered obediently.

    Although they all had the same cultivation level and 6-8 years younger than their senior disciple-sister Lina, they were not arrogant enough to believe that they were more talented than she was.

    After all, they had started cultivating from a young age, but their senior disciple-sister Lina only took a few weeks to catch up to their level.

    It was clear who was more talented between them.

    Of course, being the Venerable Pill Master''s third direct disciple yed a part in their senior disciple-sister Lina''s swift rise in cultivation.

    However, that was her fortune.

    Roughly three hourster, the Tier-2 Steel Ship passed through several inds of various sizes before the group reached the first ind, Moonlight Ind, the westernmost ind of the thousand inds existing within the Starlight Archipgo.

    The steel ship was docked at the Moonlight Ind''s port before the group hopped off, and the steel ship disappeared into Lina Greene''s interspatial ring shortly after.

    "Let us head to the Mission Hall and turn in the materials to collect our rewards," Lina Greene suggested.

    "Yes, senior disciple-sister Lina," the junior disciple-brothers and sisters agreed before following Lina''s lead.

    The group quickly passed the stone entrance with intricate runic engravings and entered the military outpost before making their way over to the Mission Hall.

    Inside of the Mission Hall, Lina Greene made her way to the counter and handed over a wooden gue with words and numbers engraved on it while the junior disciple-brothers and sisters waited outside.

    [9-star mission: Hunt 20 9-star level sea monsters]

    [Reward: 60 Redstones]

    Shortly after the mission clerk epted the wooden gue, Lina followed the clerk''s instruction and dump the 20 9-star level carcasses in the designated containment area for review.

    "Un. That is 20 9-star level sea monster carcasses," the mission clerk nodded before passing a bag of Redstones to Lina, "Here is the mission reward. Please count if it is the right amount."

    "60 Redstones exactly. It is the right amount," Lina spoke after counting the Redstones in the bag before she nodded with a smile, "Thank you."

    "No, thank you for the hard work, senior disciple-sister Lina," The mission clerk smiled back.

    Shortly after, soldiers arrive to deliver the 9-star sea monster carcasses to the processing nt, where they will debone and separate the bodies into useful materials, food, and even medicinal ingredients.

    Outside the Mission Hall, the eyes of the junior disciple-brothers and sisters immediately lit up and hurried over after seeing their senior disciple-sister Lina exited the building.

    "How''d it go, senior disciple-sister Lina? Did you receive the full payment for our mission? The Mission Hall didn''t try to cheat us, did they?"

    "The Mission Hall is stingy and sometimes shortchange the disciples when they do not carefully check the rewards. Even if theye backter, they have no proof to demandpensation from the Mission Hall."

    A junior disciple-sister and brother spoke anxiously before another junior disciple-sister inquired, "Did you check properly before leaving, senior disciple-sister Lina?"

    "Don''t worry. I was meticulous enough to check already," Lina Green smiled slightly and distributed the Redstones in the leather pouch she received, "There''s a total of 60 Redstones as per the mission reward stated, enough for everyone to receive 12 Redstones each."

    Redstone was the primary source of currency that circtes throughout the Geyser Kingdom.

    The mineral contains a particr source of energy with various usage, including but not limited to cultivation, growing herbs, and rune-crafting.

    "No one would dare to cheat the disciple of the Venerable Pill Master," a junior disciple-brother stated before saying, "If we had started earlier in the day, we could have done a few more missions."

    "Unfortunately, the rule of the outpost states that disciples and soldiers can only ept one mission at any given time. Otherwise, we could have easily done a few dozen missions a day."

    The main problem was the travel time between the first outpost and inds further inside the Starlight Archipgo, and the curfew before dangerous sea monsters reign the night sea.

    "Can we join your party next time you decide to go hunt too, senior disciple-sister Lina?" a junior disciple-sister inquired with a hopeful gaze.

    Lina smiled and nodded, "Of course¡ª"

    "Yo¡ª! If it isn''t the Venerable Pill Master''s new disciple?" An unpleasant voice suddenly interrupted Lina.

 Chapter 633 - Heavenly Flame

    <h4>Chapter 633 - Heavenly me</h4>

    Lina''s expression quickly turned into a frown after recognizing the voice before turning to see the familiar yet annoying person approach.

    If there was one person in the entire Grand Ocean Pce that pesters her, but at the same time, not afraid of her status, it can only be the disciple of the Venerable Forgemaster.

    Venerable Pill Master and Venerable Forgemaster were long-time rivals within the Grand Ocean Pce, and their statuses were not inferior to the Pce Master.

    "Senior disciple-brother Jukh," Lina greeted politely, not failing to show proper etiquette to a senior disciple in the Grand Ocean Pce.

    "Junior apprentice-sister Lina," Jukh acknowledged with a nod before he said, "I heard that you went out and only killed 20 9-star level sea monsters with your party. Well, guess what? My party killed 20 Early-rank 1 Transcendent Sea Monsters today."

    "Good for you, senior disciple-brother Jukh. Are you proud of beating a girl? Not to mention someone who is your junior and cultivated for a lot shorter time than you?" Lina casually asked with a calm expression.

    She was already used to the person''s constant pestering since she became the Venerable Pill Master''s direct disciple.

    At the same time, her words immediately made senior disciple-brother Jukh feel embarrassed. When she put it like that, it was not really something to be proud of.

    "Ahem, maybe not." Senior disciple-brother Jukh shook his head before saying, "What I really wanted to say is that my master has better foresight in picking disciples than your master."

    "Oh?"

    Lina''s expression immediately crumpled with a deeper frown. An insult to her was something she can ignore. However, an insult to her master was something she can keep quiet about.

    She owed all her present achievements to her master for nurturing her.

    "Whether the Venerable Forgemaster has better foresight than my master, the Venerable Pill Master, or not, it''s not your ce toment. Do you think you can escape punishment after saying the Venerable Pill Master''s foresight is bad?"

    "That¡­ that was not what I said," Senior disciple-brother Jukh was taken aback before he said with an abrupt change in expression, "You are twisting my words, junior apprentice-sister Lina!"

    "Am I?" Lina red at him.

    "Junior apprentice-sister Lina, you''re back!" another male voice was suddenly directed at Lina.

    However, the person''s voice was evidently warm, a clear contrast to Jukh''s tone when he called out to Lina.

    The person was Lina''s eldest senior disciple-brother Neron, the Venerable Pill Master''s first direct disciple.

    Neron was also someone in the Initial Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm, one of the top genius disciples of the Grand Ocean Pce.

    "Is something wrong, junior apprentice-sister Lina?" Neron quickly discovered Lina''s foul expression before noticing Jukh''s presence. "Is this person pestering you again?"

    "Apprentice-brother Neron speaks too seriously. I was just having a small chat with junior apprentice-sister Lina. Since you are here, I will take my leave first."

    Shortly after Jukh spoke, he quickly entered the Mission Hall building to turn in his mission objective and collect his reward before fleeing the area swiftly.

    Nevertheless, Lina''s expression did not ease.

    "Just now, senior disciple-brother Jukh was speaking badly about our master, the Venerable Pill Master, saying how our master''s foresight is not good," Lina exined.

    Neron''s expression darkened immediately.

    "You came back at the right time, junior apprentice-sister sister Lina. Master just returned from his trip and is now looking for you. You should go see Master first. I have something else to do."

    Swoosh~!

    After informing Lina, Neron quickly disappeared in the direction that Jukh previously left. If nothing unexpected happens, someone was going to get hurt really bad.

    Lina felt slightly better after knowing what fate was awaiting Jukh for annoying her and disrespecting her master.

    Shortly after, she bid farewell to her junior disciple-brothers and sisters before heading towards the center of Moonlight Ind and taking the long shaft down in the undergrounds.

    The Grand Ocean Pce was located underneath Moonlight Ind¡ªor more precisely, it was situated underwater on the seabed below the ind.

    It was not long before the narrow tunnel of the shaft leading downward expanded into a wide-open space, revealing the city-size Grand Ocean Pce at the bottom, protected by a clear dome that warded out the seawater.

    At the same time, the ce was illuminated by beautiful multicolored lighting from various glowing objects and runic tools that prevented the underwater space from bing a dark and gloomy ce.

    After some twists and turns, Lina arrived at the Medicine Hall and went around to her master''s private courtyard.

    "Wee back, Master," Lina greeted upon finding the Venerable Pill Master meditating in the open courtyard before inquiring, "I heard from senior apprentice-brother Neron that you were looking for me?"

    "Un. Come take a seat beside me, my disciple." The Venerable Pill Master patted the ground with his hand for Lina to take her seat there.

    Shortly after, the Venerable Pill Master began mentioning, "With your talents, you could have entered the Transcendent Realm already."

    "Do you know why I forbid you from breaking through to the Transcendent Realm on your own, forcing you to stay at the 9-star Ranked Awakener Realm for so long?" The Venerable Pill Master asked.

    "To stabilize my foundation and erase future problems that may arise as a result of my swift increase in cultivation to the 9-star Ranked Awakenerr Realm?"

    "Wrong."

    "To teach me humility and not becent?" Lina made another guess, uncertain of the answer that her master was looking for.

    "Also wrong again."

    Lina immediately expressed her confusion after guessing wrongly again.

    The Venerable Pill Master shook his head before revealing his burning white mes that danced on the palms of his hand. "You should know what this is, at least, right?"

    "Yes, Master. This white me is a type of Heavenly me that was tamed by Master," Lina answered before her brows wrinkled in confusion shortly after. "But what does this have to do with me, Master?"

    "To be a good alchemist, you cannot rely on your wood ability alone. You also need the apany of a good me¡ªand there are no better mes than the Heavenly mes that have their own sentience."

    "Master found a suitable Heavenly me for you. However, Master does not want you to simply refine and tame it."

    "Then what should I do with the Heavenly me, Master?" Lina asked with surprise.

 Chapter 634 - Wood Laws Limitation

    <h4>Chapter 634 - Wood Law''s Limitation</h4>

    "Master does not want you to follow in Master''s footstep and be another Wood Transcendent with a tamed Heavenly me." The Venerable Pill Master shook his head and stated, "I want you to surpass me and be someone even greater than that."

    "Master, you''re someone who has already taken half a step into the Paragon Realm. If nothing unexpected happens, you are bound to be a Paragon in the future!" Lina spoke with shock.

    Shortly after, she added, "How can I possibly surpass you? Would that mean I have to reach the legendary Celestial Realm? Is that even possible?"

    "You definitely can, my disciple. Master strongly believes you can reach the Celestial Realm and beyond. On the other hand, the Paragon Realm will be the limit of Master''s attainment."

    "How can Master be so sure?" Lina wrinkled her brows in doubt.

    "Once you reach Master''s level, some things just naturally be clear like a veil of fog that suddenly disperses, allowing you to realize many things that were previously hidden in in sight."

    The Venerable Pill sighed before he began exining, "The world is dying, and thews are unbnced. If nts cannot thrive, the Wood Law will be vague, and its mystery difficult toprehend, making further advancement increasingly difficult."

    "In this world, spirit herbs that can reach Tier-4 quality are pretty rare, let alone Tier-5 Spirit Herbs. Perhaps the number of Tier-5 Spirit Herbs in this world can even be counted with one''s hands. Master is already fortunate enough to be stepping into the Paragon Realm in the near future."

    As Lina listened, her eyes suddenly flickered with a sudden realization, "Could this be the reason why Wood Awakeners are rare?"

    "Yes, and no. Among humans, definitely. Humans, by nature, do not usually have a high affinity with wood elements," the Venerable Pill Master proceeded to exin patiently to his disciple.

    "In fact, humans are very destructive and destroys nature instead. Other races with high affinity with wood like the elves would have no trouble birthing many Wood Awakeners. It is just that the bar for humans, which was already high, became higher."

    "However, this isn''t a bad thing from another perspective," the Venerable Pill Master suddenly added before continuing, "It would mean that all the natural Wood Awakeners have high talents and affinity with the Wood Law."

    "Natural Wood Awakener¡­ like me right, Master?" Lina suddenly realized why her Master invests a lot of effort and resources into nurturing her.

    It was because she had very high talent as a natural Wood Awakener.

    Natural Wood Awakener, exactly as it sounds, were people who awaken to the wood element naturally without preparations.

    On the other hand, Unnatural Wood Awakeners requiresprehensive studies of wood and regr medicinal baths rich in wood elements to raise their affinity for a chance of awakening the element.

    "That''s right." The Venerable Pill Master nodded.

    "Master wants me to use the power of the Heavenly me to alter my Wood Cultivation to Fire Cultivation and embark on the path of Fire Transcendents?" Lina made an educated guess after everything was said.

    Unfortunately, she was still wrong.

    "No, not at all. That would waste away your talents for the wood element." The Venerable Pill Master shook his head and said, "However, you weren''t far off the mark. What I was is for you to fuse the Heavenly me with your Wood Seed and dual cultivate wood and fire, bing a Dual-element Transcendent."

    "I have already devised a method for you. Once you obtain your Heavenly me, you can begin practicing it immediately. Get plenty of rest tonight, my disciple. Tomorrow, Master will take you to the secret earth realm to obtain the Purplelotus Heavenly me. The trip is estimated to two weeks."

    Upon hearing how long the trip was going to take, Lina did not respond and fell into a daze, lost in thought.

    "Hm? Is there a problem, my dear disciple?"

    "Ah, I''m very sorry, Master. I will have to let you down," Lina quickly apologized after snapping out of her daze.

    The Venerable Pill Master furrowed his brows before he asked, "What''s the matter? How will you let Master down? You don''t want toe with Master to gain a Heavenly me?"

    "Of course, I want to¡­ It''s just that I''ve been waiting for Master to return so I can ask to leave for a while," Lina said before exining further, "It''s been some time since I left home. Since the Cataclysm erupted, I have been feeling uneasy."

    "If I don''t go back to check on my parents and make sure that they are doing fine, I don''t think I can continue to cultivate wholeheartedly with peace of mind."

    "So, it''s like this. Your parents were also natural Wood Awakeners, weren''t they?" The Venerable Pill Master stroked his beard for a moment before suggesting, "Why don''t you go bring them over here? You can take your senior brother along for protection."

    "Master won''t stop me from leaving?" Lina asked with surprise.

    "Why would Master stop you? There''s no rush at all. The matter of the Heavenly me can wait." The Venerable Pill Master chuckled slightly without a shred of disappointment before suddenly saying with a solemn look, "On another note, mental demons must be taken seriously."

    "If Master forbids you from leaving, and it bes a lifelong regret, not only would it sour our master-disciple rtionship, but chances of a mental demon forming and obstructing your cultivation progress is very likely."

    "With that in consideration, how can Master stop you from doing what you wish to do?" The Venerable Pill Master rubbed Lina''s head dotingly before saying, "Master will only remind you to take note of the time."

    "The world is ever-changing, and danger is constantly growing. It is not good to dy cultivation for too long. Remember, only strong people have the ability to control their own fates."

    "Thank you, Master. This disciple will remember your teachings," Lina bowed to the Venerable Pill Master gratefully.

    "Un." The Venerable Pill Master nodded before casually asking shortly after, "When do you n to leave?"

    "Tomorrow morning if possible."

    "That soon, huh?" The Venerable Pill Master softly muttered after hearing his dear disciple''s honest answer.

 Chapter 635 - Cortez Baronys Movements

    <h4>Chapter 635 - Cortez Barony''s Movements</h4>

    "Since my dear disciple is in such a hurry, Master will allow you to take Little Grey with you," the Venerable Pill Master stated before adding, "Little Grey will save you some travel time."

    "Really?! Thank you so much, Master!" Lina was clearly ecstatic upon hearing the words from her master.

    Little Grey was the Venerable Pill Master''s tamed beast, a giant hawk that was both intelligent and strong as it was obedient and fast.

    It has been very loyal to the Venerable Pill Master ever since it was saved from death after losing a battle to a group of giant falcons that ganged on it.

    "Alright, make sure to let your senior brother know about tomorrow in advance." The Venerable Pill Master smiled before saying, "I''m sure he will be interested."

    It was a rare chance for his first disciple to experience life in the other kingdoms beyond the borders of the Geyser Kingdom.

    "Yes, Master. I will go do it right now!" Lina quickly nodded with excitement before leaving promptly.

    Shortly after, the Venerable Pill Master took out an ink brush and paper from his interspatial ring and began writing a letter.

    One could not freely enter and leave the Geyser Kingdom''s borders, but with the Venerable Pill Master''s connection, it was possible to pull a few strings by granting favors.

    ¡­

    A few hundred miles west of the capital city of Geyser, in the region of the Cortez Barony, a middle-aged man with sharp brows like razors stood on the walls of his Goldstone City.

    The man stood tall like a mountain in his gold tiger-patterned ck attire while gazing into the western horizon with his hands linked behind his back.

    In the darkness of the night, a trailing of firelight could be seen inching closer and closer to his territory from a distance before it determined to be a person traveling quickly with a torch in hand.

    Swoosh~!

    Several minutester, the person reached the foot of Goldstone City''s walls before hopping over and stopped in front of the middle-aged man with sharp brows.

    "Lord Lucian!"

    After extinguishing his torch, the person greeted on one knee and said, "I''vee bearing news of the young master."

    "Speak! Where is my son? And what the hell is Servant Gustavo doing? The Cataclysm erupted, yet he is not back to report even after many days!" Baron Lucian Beau Cortez questioned the messenger with a strong tone.

    After being permitted to speak, the messenger nodded before reporting, "Servant Gustavo and Young Master Judas had indeed headed to the Crawford Kingdom, but they never made it to the Wilnds."

    "Their tracks stopped short before the Western Frontier of the Crawford Kingdom, my Lord!"

    "The two should have flown through the skies," Baron Lucian frowned before asking, "How could they have left behind any tracks?"

    "Unless¡­ something happened to them?" Baron Lucian''s gaze trembled abruptly with a fierce glint.

    If something happened to them, he would not remain still in the barony.

    "Yes, my Lord!" The messenger trembled slightly after sensing the lord''s turbulent emotions before he proceeded to report faithfully, "Scattered traces of ckwater was found at the site, showing that a battle had been fought there."

    "This servant was unable to locate any of their bodies in the area, nor was this servant able to find out who the young master and Servant Gustavo was fighting there."

    "However, the Western Frontier was battered greatly, seemingly having fought a great battle againstrge tides of frenzied rodents and more powerful beasts that devastated the region."

    "I see¡­" Lucian Beau Cortez nodded.

    His brows quickly knitted together with a pondering expression after listening to the messenger''s report.

    Noticing the messenger''s hesitant expression, Lucian Beau Cortez quickly barked, "What else do you have to say? Out with it!"

    "Yes, my Lord! This servant found out that prior to the end of their tracks before the Western Frontier, there was a conflict in the capital of the Crawford Kingdom that resulted in the king being injured."

    "This servant is unable to confirm whether this matter has any rtion to Young Master Judas and Servant Gustavo''s disappearance."

    "That is to say that my son''s disappearance might not be rted to beasts from the Wilnds, but the Crawford Royal Family?" Lucian Beau Cortez''s expression turned ugly.

    Even if Lucian Beau Cortez did not want to think about it, he had no choice but to assume his son was dead, ording to the information provided by the messenger.

    Recalling his son''s bad habits, he must have done something to offend the Crawford Royal Family.

    But even if his son was in the wrong, no one was allowed to kill him! Not even the Sea Emperor himself, let alone royalties from another kingdom!

    That was his own flesh and blood! His heir!

    Boom!

    Baron Lucian''s aura immediately exploded out from his body with surging momentum, causing his hair to dance wildly.

    "Go gather all the subordinates and troops in city for me right this instance!" Baron Lucian thundered at a nearby soldier keeping watch on the wall.

    "Yes, my Lord!" The soldier quickly saluted with a solemn and disciplined expression before heading off to carry out the Baron''s task, promptly.

    At the same time, the messenger was quickly startled as he utters, "My Lord wants to¡­?"

    "We''ll be visiting the Crawford Kingdom to conduct a deeper investigation. If my son''s disappearance is truly rted to the royal family, then I will¡­" Baron Lucian did not continue, but his eyes flickered with a cold and ruthless glint.

    The messenger quickly realized what his lord wanted to do, and the realization shocked him greatly.

    The Lord has gone mad!

    ¡­

    Back in the skies above the Deste Crow n in the Wilnds, Leon was not aware of the storm that was about to hit the Crawford Empire.

    He continued to refine the Wrathful Demonic Energy in the atmosphere, increasing Demonic Energy reserves and cumtion of Law of Wrath Fragment.

    At the same time, Darlene''s aura steadily rose with certain spikes from time to time as she devours the boundless Spatial Energy in the atmosphere greedily.

    ''With this frightening speed, it might not even take a few days for Darlene to reach Transcendence¡­ Given that Darlene''sprehension can continue to keep up with the rise in cultivation,''

    There was a hint of envy in Leon''s eyes when he recalls his own difficulty in order to achieve Transcendence.

 Chapter 636 - Strategic Resource

    <h4>Chapter 636 - Strategic Resource</h4>

    Ka-cha!

    It was almost as if Leon could hear the sound of the hard cocoon shell cracking each time Darlene achieves a breakthrough.

    However, it was only an illusory feeling brought by Darlene''s surging aura. There was no actual sound of her breakthrough except the sound caused by her body devouring the surrounding energy ravenously.

    Within a short time, Darlene was already a 2-star Ranked Awakener. It was only a matter of time before she overtakes Lilith and graduates from being the weakest in the group.

    "Without adequate fighting experience and battle skills to utilize the spatial ability effectively, even if Darlene reaches a high level of cultivation, she would still be weaker than opponents of the same level," Leon muttered softly with an observant gaze.

    He pondered Darlene''s shorings and began devising a n to help her raise herbat prowess quickly.

    "There''s quite a few primordial techniques saved in the Archive now, albeit many iplete legacies¡­" Leon began musing on a suitable technique for Darlene.

    "The Star God''s legacy seems to be rted to spatial cultivation¡­ There''s also the Star-Plucking Finger Art skill to match with it. However, the Void God''s legacy seems to be more suitable than the Star God''s legacy."

    "Unfortunately, I don''t have any recorded battle skills that would match the Void God''s cultivation technique perfectly like the Star God''s legacy¡­"

    As Leon pondered, he realized what needed to be done and began nning his next course of action.

    "Once the Deste Crow n is stabilized, I will return to the Darkmoon Tribe and attend the summit. If nothing unexpected happens, I will explore the ruins and uncover more legacies from the primordial era¡­"

    After the Dark Continent matters, Leon slowly shifted his attention to the World Tree''s matter.

    "With suchrge-scale movements of elves and humans traveling together by foot, it will take at least a week to reach Grasnd Region¡­" Leon muttered.

    It would be so much faster if he just flew over from the Capital himself. However, he was not in a hurry to visit the Grasnd Region, not to mention he had plenty of other things to settle beforehand.

    Nevertheless, he could not dy the trip to the Grasnd Region for too long.

    It was starting to miss Lynne, and he needed the abundant Spirit Energy produced by the World Tree to help him restore Maya''s spirit and repair the Divine Book of Life.

    With Maya''s help, he would be able to trante the runic texts of the primordial legacies in the Dark Continent quickly after obtaining them.

    In short, there were many things to do.

    "For now, I should just focus on cultivating until Darlene is done," Leon muttered before spreading out his divine sense to feel the surrounding atmosphere.

    "Seems like most of the Wrathful Demonic Energy in this region of space has been cleared out by me," Leon mused before checking his ck Vortex Space and nodded, "I have collected quite a fair bit of Demonic Energy."

    "It''s time to replenish my reserve of True Grandmist Energy. However, this spot is too close to Darlene''s location. It will affect her cultivation if I rob the Spatial Energy from here." Leon contemted for a moment.

    Shortly after, Leon moved much further away from Darlene by several miles until he deemed the location was far enough.

    "This should be far enough," Leon nodded.

    At this point, Darlene had already reached 4-star Ranked Awakener Realm without any sign of slowing down. She would not be finished anytime soon¡ªwas what Leon determined.

    Shortly after entering his meditative position in the zero-gravity zone, Leon closed his eyes.

    He spread out his divine sense and began gathering the surrounding energy of various types with Divine Will, followed by refining them with the Nihility Law, transforming them into True Grandmist Energy.

    However, it only took a moment before Leon ended the short cultivation with his eyes snapping open with a hint of weakness in them.

    "Seems like it wasn''t just the loss of blood that made me feel lethargic. More importantly, I have depleted much more mental strength than I expected." Leon frowned.

    The mental strength deficiency had hidden well under the lethargy ofcking blood. He had overlooked it and not noticed it at all.

    "I shouldn''t have expended this much mental strength already¡­ I haven''t really done anything to have used up this much mental¡ª"

    Leon suddenly paused as he recalled the Earth Ability he used on a grand scale to move therge mountain of rat carcasses from the Deste Crow n.

    "So there was a price to pay for using borrowed power after all, huh?" Leon mumbled before nodding in understanding. It made more sense that there would be some sort of limitation on his earth power.

    There was simply no free lunch in the world.

    "Since my mental strength is a bit low, or rather, it is almost rock bottom, I should not expend any more of my mental strength," Leon furrowed his brows before musing, "Without mental strength, I won''t be able to cultivate quickly."

    "On the other hand, using the normal method to cultivating is not very efficient. It is a waste of time. I guess I will put off cultivation for now."

    Leon took out a Tier-3 Spiritual Replenishment Pill and swallowed it before closing his eyes again to meditate.

    Since he could enter high-speed cultivation, he will do something elseprehend the Wrath Law from the cumtion of Law Fragments in his ck Vortex Space.

    With a single thought, the countless Law Fragments began bombarding his soul core, transforming into information that became one with his soul core, allowing him to review the information vividly.

    ''Let''s see how difficult it is toprehend the Destruction Law!'' Leon was determined toprehend thew.

    ¡­

    Back in the Deste Crow n, Ariapleted the task of deploying the Demon Gathering Array in four corners of the n before activating them.

    It did not take long before four whirlpools of red mist appeared in the skies of the Deste Crow n, filtering their way into each Demon Gathering Array like a funnel.

    Many nsmen were surprised by the sudden appearance of the red mist looming above their heads.

    At the same time, Lilith also raised her head and nced at it before she wrinkled her expression while she was with Uncle Jorn.

    "This is the Wrathful Demonic Energy that made the rats go crazy? To think there was this much Wrathful Demonic Energy hidden in the atmosphere¡­" Lilith muttered with a frown.

    Uncle Jorn was quickly surprised before taking another nce at the red sky.

    "All that red mist is what caused the rats to go berserk? How worrisome¡­" Uncle Jornmented before wondering how they were supposed to shield themselves against something like that. Stop breathing?

    Seeing Uncle Jorn''s concern written on his face, Lilith reassured him, "Don''t worry about the red mist. It seems like Leon has already made preparations to deal with it, Uncle Jorn."

    "Look, the red mists are gathering into four corners of the n. Although this makes the red mist concentrated in those areas, it is also getting cleared from the sky."

    "Oh, you''re right, Little Princess." Uncle Jorn nodded.

    Nevertheless, Lilith could not help but frown again while looking at all the Wrathful Demonic Energy in the sky, which was not seen until incited by a catalyst.

    It is easy to make preparations and avoid something that can be seen, but when it is unseen, how can anyone even be aware of it, let alone make preparations to avoid it?

    It was difficult.

    "If only there was some special eye technique that could see these hidden foul energy," Lilith muttered while recalling Leon''s special eye technique when they explored the undergrounds together.

    Suddenly, she recalled another matter that also happened during the trip before Lilith called out to Uncle Jorn, "I think we have a solution to the food crisis."

    "Oh? What solution have you found, Little Princess?" Uncle Jorn asked with surprise.

    "There''s something called a Fasting Pill, which provides some energy to satiate one''s hunger in recement of food. Leon can refine these Fasting Pills, but I am not sure if he has enough herbs to refine them¡ª"

    "¡­Actually, forget it." Lilith quickly dropped the idea as it was raised.

    "It will take too much effort for Leon to refine enough Fasting Pills to supply the entire n. He has already done much for our n. We cannot ask him to ve away in pill refinement for us as well," she exined from a moral standpoint.

    "Understood, Little Princess."

    Nevertheless, Uncle Jorn could not stop thinking about the Fasting Pills after learning about them.

    If it was as the Little Princess described, the Fasting Pills could be a type of strategic resource due to their size and convenience to carry.

    He began to silently ponder how to persuade the human prince to refine these Fasting Pills for the n en masse.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Aria quickly returned to Soft Feather''s side on the hill outside of the Deste Crow n before noticing Leon and Darlene''s absence.

    "Hm? Where did Leon and Darlene go, Soft Feather? Do you know?" Aria inquired nicely.

    Soft Feather turned her head to give Aria a nce before resting her head back on the hillzily.

    "Leon flew into the sky with Darlene. He said not to wait for him and just focus on cultivating until he returns," Soft Feather exined shortly after.

    "I see. Thank you for informing me, Soft Feather."

    "No problem." Soft Feather said casually.

    Shortly after, Aria took a seat in a lotus position on Soft Feather''s soft and fluffy back before closing her eyes in silent cultivation.

 Chapter 637 - Fasting Pills For Sale

    <h4>Chapter 637 - Fasting Pills For Sale</h4>

    Dark Continent

    In the Darkmoon Tribe, Chief Valencia stood on the teau''s edge while quietly overlooking the bustling activities within the tribe below before ncing up at the ominous crimson glow within the dark clouds above.

    "These peaceful times won''tst much longer," Chief Valencia softly muttered with a calm look while her hands were linked behind her back.

    Suddenly, a warrior quickly arrived and knelt on one knee with his hands sped before Chief Valencia and reported, "Chief, all the tribal chiefs that epted the summit summoning has already arrived in the tribe for some time."

    "They are wondering that since everyone is already present, they suggested that you should go ahead andmence the summit meeting early."

    "There''s no rush," Chief Valencia shook her head and said, "Let them wait. After all, the key person has not returned yet."

    "Do you really think Leonhardt will being back, Chief? What if he doesn''te back at all?" the warrior questioned with doubt before stating, "We''ve learned that the living conditions in the Human Domain are much better than the Infertile ins. Leonhardt might not want toe back."

    "If he doesn''t want toe back, then we can just go over to the other side and have a look. The Teleportation Array is in our hands, after all. Although its power sockets are missing, the tribe has plenty of Demon Cores to power it," Chief Valencia stated.

    "The only reason we have yet to send anyone to the other side to confirm the living environment of the Human Domain is to show our trust and respect for Leonhardt. Anyway, we still have a day before the seven-day deadline. I can wait."

    "Ahh, you''re right, Chief. I have forgotten about the Teleportation Array since it has been ced next to the prohibited area underground," the warrior said.

    "Also, you are wrong about one thing."

    "What thing, Chief?" the warrior asked with surprise.

    "The Human Domain might or might not have good living conditions, but since the Cataclysm has erupted, do you think it would still be the same?" Chief Valencia questioned the warrior calmly.

    The warrior froze.

    The tribal chief had a point.

    ording to the information they know, the Human Domain was a sunny ce with no looming clouds of darkness blotting out the sun like the Dark Continent.

    The mighty sun rays would have devastated thends and caused the earth to change along with its inhabitants, spawning chaos and death everywhere¡ªording to the ancient texts.

    Compared to that, the Infertile ins did not sound so bad after all.

    "I guess we can only wait until the remaining one-day period is up," the warrior nodded shortly before asking, "But what will we do if Leonhardt still doesn''t turn up? What if he needs help dealing with Cataclysm problems?"

    Chief Valencia paused in thought for a moment before she stated, "I trust his abilities as he helped our tribe ovee our difficult times."

    "But like you said, if Leonhardt doesn''t rock up after the remaining one-day period ends, we will gather the warriors and head over to the other side to check the situation before acting ordingly."

    "Understood, Chief."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Time quickly flew by, and before Leon knew it, Darlene had already reached 9-star Ranked Awakener.

    He had lost track of time while musing on the Destruction Law, or rather scenic memories and information that depicted the power of the Destruction Law at work.

    ''How much time has passed?'' Leon wondered.

    If Maya was still conscious, she would have been able to tell him. s, she needed Spirit Energy for recovery.

    Shortly after, Leon shook his head with a sigh. The Destruction Law will be more difficult toprehend than he thought, even with temporal eleration.

    The Supreme Laws were no joke. It was not wrong to im that it was not aw that mortals couldprehend.

    ''Let''s check on Darlene''s progress,'' Leon decided.

    Although he could not tell how much time had passed, if he could see Darlene''s progress, he would be able to gauge a rough estimate of the time¡ªthe minimum time passed, that is.

    Swoosh~!

    Leon flew over quickly, shortening his distance to Darlene in order to gauge her progress more urately.

    "Oh? Darlene has advanced to 9-star Ranked Awakener Realm?" Leon muttered with surprise before frowning, "At least an hour has passed by the looks of it."

    "However¡­"

    Leon''s frown deepened.

    Darlene was still absorbing Spatial Energy blindly without further improvement to her cultivation.

    At this point, she was increasing quantity rather than quality. Not many people increase the quantity of their energy after reaching the peak of 9-star Ranked Awakener.

    It was because Darlene had a unique space that could contain a lot more energy than a regr energy center, simr to his ck Vortex Space.

    "Darlene, stop!"

    "Huh?"

    Leon''s sudden call quickly snapped out of her focused cultivation before she threw a confused look at him.

    At the same time, the whirlpool of Spatial Energy absorption slowed down before dispersing back into the environment ultimately.

    "Is there a problem, Leon?" Darlene queried.

    "No so much of a problem, but I just want to say that even if you continue cultivating, you will not achieve Transcendence," Leon stated.

    "Eh? Howe?" Darlene quickly asked, not understanding where she went wrong with her cultivation.

    "Is there a problem with my body that prevents me from achieving Transcendence?" Darlene thought out loud.

    No, that is not it." Leon smiled and proceeded to exin, "The Transcendent Realm is not the same as any of the earlier realms. It ces greater emphasis onwprehension."

    "You have risen too quickly without fully understanding the extent of your abilities. If you want to reach the Transcendent Realm, you need to start gaining an in-depth understanding of the Spatial Law."

    "Is that so¡­ I thought I would be able to advance all the way to the Transcendent Realm in one ago, but it appears that it won''t be that easy," Darlene spoke with disappointment.

    Leon arrived beside Darlene and rubbed her head shortly before consoling her, "9-star Ranked Awakener is still good. You don''t know how many people would be envious of your heaven-defying cultivation speed."

    Frankly speaking, Darlene might not have even reached the 9-star Ranked Awakener with herck of understanding regarding Spatial Law.

    Darlene''s Void Soul Constitution carried her way through.

    Still, advancing from the 9th step Awakener to 9-star Ranked Awakener Realm within an hour was just a rough estimate.

    Leon did not know how long it actually took.

    "Let us end our cultivation here and return to the surface to check on the others. Quite some time must have passed by now."

    "Mm, alright. I will listen to hubby."

    Darlene nodded.

    Only when they are alone did Darlene had the courage to call Leon her hubby. She did not dare to say it in front of the others for fear of earning their ire and dislike.

    ¡­

    Shortly after, Leon held Darlene close before forming a barrier with Nihility Law and descended back to the surface with swiftness.

    Roughly ten minutester, Leon reached the Deste Crow n with Darlene in his arms.

    "Seems like quite some time has passed. The streets are already much cleaner than b¡ª"

    "Leon!"

    Leon''sment was interrupted by Lilith''s suddenly excited call before she flew over in a sh.

    "There''s another favor I want to¡ª" Lilith began speaking with excitement before she suddenly paused with a dampened mood and shook her head, "No, never mind. Forget I asked anything."

    "???"

    Leon was confused by Lilith''s behavior before he responded with a raised brow, "But you haven''t asked anything?"

    "Well¡­ there was, but you do not need to worry about it anymore," Lilith stated.

    Leon opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

    But before he could, Uncle Jorn, who followed shortly behind Lilith, suddenly stated, "It''s actually like this; the Little Princess wanted Prince Leon to refine Fasting Pills to support the Deste Crow n tide over the food crisis."

    "Uncle Jorn!" Lilith cried, not expecting her Uncle Jorn to disobey her and spill his mouth about the matter.

    Nevertheless, it did not bother Leon in the least.

    "Ahh¡­ so it''s this matter. Refining some Fasting Pills is not a problem. However, it won''t be for free," Leon stated before shortly adding, "By the way, how long have been gone for?"

    "About six hours, I would say." Uncle Jorn answered before saying, "Not being free is fine as long as we can feed the nsmen. Name your price, Prince Leon. As long as we can afford it, we will pay for it."

    "Six hours, huh? That''s much longer than I thought¡­" Leon muttered with surprise before shaking his head, "Don''t worry. I do not need you to pay for the Fasting Pills. I will be charging the nsmen at an affordable price."

    Having said that, Leon quickly left with Darlene to find a nice open spot in therge market square where many nsmen could be seen gathered, taking turns at breaks before returning to work.

    After whipping out his pill cauldron and began pill refinement, Leon''s showy disy of alchemy skills immediately attracted the nsmen over.

    "Everyone, take a look! The divine doctor is concocting pills!"

    "But what kind of pills is the divine doctor refining? I don''t think anyone is still sick¡­"

    The crowd quickly broke out into discussions.

    Ten minutester, the first batch of Tier-1 Fasting Pills waspleted before Leon stored them in a pill bottle and held it up to the crowd to see.

    "Tier-1 Fasting Pills are officially up for sale! Tier-1 Fasting Pills have the effect of satiating your hunger for a full day. Come and get some! Each person is limited to a single-pill purchase each at the price of three drops of blood only! Very cheap!"

 Chapter 638 - Beggars Cant Be Choosers

    <h4>Chapter 638 - Beggars Can''t Be Choosers</h4>

    Leon did not intend to keep it a secret that he was cultivating a blood refining technique. Even so, his words immediately stunned the crowd after they heard it.

    "Huh? Fasting Pills? Why did the divine doctor refine medicine to substitute food?"

    "I heard that a lot of the food reserves were spoiled by the rat blood, causing our n to experience a serious shortage of food."

    "What?! Isn''t that extremely serious? If there is no food to eat, wouldn''t we start starving to death soon¡­ not unless we find food alternatives!" a nsman''s eyes lit up in realization.

    At the same time, the crowd quickly broke into many smaller groups of discussions among themselves while Leon waited patiently for his first customer.

    It did not take long until a quiet nsman eventually stepped forward and asked, "Is there a reason you are gifting us Fasting Pills, divine doctor? Is it true that there is a food shortage?"

    "Oh? I''m surprised that this would be the first question you ask me," Leon stated before shaking his head, "I am not gifting you Fasting Pills for free. I am charging three drops of blood essence for one pill each."

    "Aren''t you curious why?"

    As he asked this question, Leon studied the quiet 16-year boy with partially feathered skin but without any ck-feathered wings¡ªor any wings at all for that matter.

    Evidently, the boy was a regr nsman like most of the gathered nsmen in the area.

    Nevertheless, Leon could still spot a few ck-winged aristocrats among the crowd.

    However, it had appeared that they had either learned their lessons and did not cause trouble or that they belonged to the milder group of aristocrats that did not mistreat the regr nsmen.

    "Divine doctor, there is no need to ask this. We all know that you are a benevolent and good person to whom we are all greatly indebted. The divine doctor just wanted to conduct a blood test to see if we are still ill, right?"

    "At the same time, the divine doctor asking for three drops of blood essence as payment is just an excuse to gift us Fasting Pills without making us feel even more indebted and bad about it, right? The divine doctor is too kind," The boy spoke with an understanding look.

    Leon could only smile wryly.

    Nevertheless, he did not bother to fix the misunderstanding. Since the boy and many other nsmen genuinely believe that was the case, there was no need to exin and just use it to his advantage.

    "Yeah, I suppose," Leon responded casually.

    At the same time, he was surprised that the nsmen have yet to learn about the food crisis.

    But upon further thought, he realized that Jorn and the upper-ss nsmen were purposely keeping the lower-ss nsmen in the dark to prevent a panic.

    "Back to your previous question, the answer is yes. Your n is now experiencing a food crisis. With the current state of the Wilnds, it''ll be difficult to procure food anywhere," Leon admitted.

    He did not have the slightest intention to hide it.

    That was because he was fully aware that there would be no panic with him around. The others were aware of this fact. That is why they did not stop to warn before letting him do what he is currently doing.

    "Oh no, it''s true! The food shortage is real and not just a rumor! What should we do?!"

    "Idiot, isn''t the solution right in front of you? The divine doctor is selling Fasting Pills that can satiate hunger!"

    "The divine doctor has already provided a food alternative to solve the food crisis for us!"

    "However, I''m not sure how many more of these Fasting Pills can be refined by the divine doctor¡­"

    Once the nsman mentioned this matter, the crowd immediately began fighting each other to reach the front of the queue in hopes of buying a Fasting Pill from Leon.

    "Divine doctor, please sell me a Fasting Pill!"

    "Please sell me one too! I can offer more drops of blood essence, divine doctor!"

    "No, sell it to me! I can offer ten drops of blood essence, divine doctor!"

    Thepetition quickly became intense as nsmen continuously raise the price in hopes of being able to buy a Fasting Pill from Leon.

    However, Leon shook his head wryly.

    "Three drops of blood essence, one Tier-1 Fasting Pill," Leon stated shortly after, sticking to his initial price and not being swayed by greed.

    The truth was that he did not need many drops of blood essence. What he wanted was many types of blood essence so that he can refine Origin Blood to increase his mastery of the Evesting Blood Mantra.

    "Losing too much blood essence will harm your vitality, and I do not need so many drops of blood essence from a single person," Leon added.

    The nsmen were quickly disappointed that they could not gain an advantage by offering more drops of blood essence.

    However, they were relieved at the same time.

    They had been too hot-headed and got carried by the flow, offering many drops of blood essence without thinking.

    If they followed through with such a transaction, they might just be sick and lethargic for many days toe.

    "This¡­ Will you have enough Fasting Pills to sell to all of us, divine doctor?" A nsman asked what everyone wanted to know.

    "I do!" Leon nodded.

    But before the nsmen could feel relieved, Leon quickly added, "However, I do not have time to refine Fasting Pills for everyone. I merely trading for some drops of blood essences."

    "But none of you need to worry. There is naturally an alternative solution tobat the food shortage in the n, and everyone will not need to worry about starving," Leon stated reassuringly.

    At the same time, Leon could not help but feel surprised in his heart. The feedback he got from the Fasting Pills was much greater than he had anticipated. He smelt an excellent business opportunity.

    He could visit every tribe gued by food crisis or diseases, requiring either of his medical or alchemy skills; he could easily barter for many types of blood essences to speed up the practice of his Evesting Blood Mantra.

    Nevertheless, the first batch of Tier-1 Fasting Pills was quickly sold out,ting Leon an ie of thirty drops of blood essence as they were stored in a clear ss bottle.

    The nsmen were giving free treatments after their blood essence was extracted.

    Shortly after, Leon began refining more Fasting Pills ranging from Tier-1 to Tier-3 while increasing the batches to produce more en masse.

    That being said, Leon only ended up spending an hour of pill refinement and sold 200 Fasting Pills varying between Tier-1 and Tier-3.

    "Alright, that is all for now, everyone. Those who missed out, do not fret, for there will be something even betterter," Leon reassured while stowing away the bottles containing 600 drops of various blood essences.

    "Dammit, I did get a chance to receive a Fasting Pill."

    "Haiz, the same could be said for the rest of us. Those 200-odd people were too lucky to receive a Fasting Pill, especially those that received Tier-3 Fasting Pills."

    "Right. The divine doctor exined that Tier-3 Fasting Pills could satiate hunger up to three days or longer."

    The crowd felt disappointed.

    However, that was it. Since the divine doctor said there would be something better, then chances are, there was going to be something better.

    The divine doctor has helped their n greatly. There was no need for the divine doctor to deceive them now.

    Leon eventually departed the market square with Darlene before he casually asked her, "Were you bored while waiting?"

    "Not bored." Darlene quickly shook her head.

    On the contrary, she enjoyed watching Leon work earnestly and seriously. There was a certain charm to it.

    Leon smiled and gave the obedient Darlene a peck on the cheek before continuing to fly back in the direction of Lilith''s location.

    "Leon, you''re back! Have you already handed out Fasting Pills to the nsmen?" Lilith asked with surprise at the central pce.

    "Un, only 200 Fasting Pills, though. And I don''t intend to refine anymore for the time being. There''s actually a better solution¡ªone that requires less effort on my part," Leon stated.

    The Fasting Pills were never the solution.

    He simply wanted to test how warmly received Fasting Pills would be if it were to enter the market.

    There was already another solution in his mind when the food shortage problem was first mentioned to him.

    "What better solution do you have?" Lilith asked with surprise.

    "Have already forgotten? There''s a lot of Three-Legged Golden Crows left back at the Western Frontier. With the Blue Luan''s frigid nature preserving their bodies, the meat willst a long time before spoiling. If I just bring a few bodies over, the food shortage will naturally be solved."

    After Leon told Lilith of his solution, she looked at him with a difficult expression before asking him slowly, "This¡­ is the better solution you mentioned?"

    Her eye could be seen twitching, evidently not fond of the solution Leon mentioned.

    "I know you have some misgivings about eaten the meat from Three-Legged Golden Crows, but there shouldn''t be any problems for the Deste Crow nsmen to consume them," Leon stated before adding, "Besides, are you really going to be picky in this situation?"

    "I suppose you''re right¡­" Lilith muttered helplessly for a moment before quietly sulking, "Beggars can''t be choosers, huh?"

    "Don''t worry, I believe a lucky chance is awaiting your nsmen after this¡­ But before that, I need your help finding a suitable location to deploy the Teleportation Array, Lilith."

 Chapter 639 - Study And Practice

    <h4>Chapter 639 - Study And Practice</h4>

    "A suitable ce for the Teleportation Array, huh?" Lilith muttered with a pondering look as she considers several things ording to Leon''s preference.

    "How about right here, inside the central pce? It''s private enough and not open to the public. I was just about to inspect the condition inside."

    Lilith suggested.

    "Alright."

    Leon nodded.

    He was quick to agree after giving the central pce a short nce at its exterior.

    The central pce was one of the few buildings that remained undamaged despite being crushed by the weight of the rat carcasses due to its sturdy building materials.

    After following Lilith inside the pce, the two of them were quick to frown at the pungent stench.

    "This smell is horrible! What the hell is this smell?! More importantly, what the hell happened in here?"

    Lilith quicklyined with a big frown while observing the maids sweeping the floor and cleaning the bloodstains in the hallway.

    "Those aren''t the blood of rats¡­"

    "Wee back, Your Highness."

    Hints of life and excitement flickered in the dull eyes of the maids as Lilith acknowledged their greetings with a nod.

    "I didn''t see any of you during the evacuation. Don''t tell me that none of you had left the pce when the ce was copsing?"

    Lilith suddenly noticed the detail while she was questioning the maids.

    The maids quickly gave each other a nce before they admitted, "We have never left the pce, Your Highness."

    "You are all very lucky."

    Lilith stated.

    Shortly after, Lilith led Leon and Darlene to the back courtyard at the end of the hallway before she was suddenly drawn to the source of the pungent stench.

    "The concentration of foul smell is originating from here¡­ Just what is this smell? It smells like¡­"

    Lilith and Leon arrived at the door to her parent''s bedchamber before shemented.

    Leon could not be more familiar with the smell and shook his head with a sigh, "You don''t want to know the smell is."

    "I don''t think you should see what is inside either," he added.

    With a sweep of Leon''s divine sense, the situation inside the bedchamber was clear to him.

    "Don''t treat me like some little girl. Right now, I am acting leader of my n. I will have to face everything eventually."

    Lilith pushed open the doors to the bedchamber decisively before she was assaulted by the pungent smell of body fluids and blood.

    In addition to the scene she saw inside the bedchamber, Lilith''s stoic face quickly paled with a tinge of green before she barfed.

    "Bleurgh!"

    "I warned you," Leon stated wryly while soothing Lilith with a back rub.

    At the same time, he channeled some Wood Energy, which significantly reduced Lilith''s unsettled feeling.

    Meanwhile, Darlene, who had been following behind Leon silently, only wrinkled her brow slightly.

    "Bastard!"

    Lilith spat angrily with a clenched fist after recovering some color to her face.

    "Lord Bahlzacs was aplete bastard! What does he treat women as?!"

    "A tool of pleasure, it seems. Sometimes, you can understand what kind of a person the master is just by how their subordinates behave. It seems this Deste Netherbird Second Prince is no good person."

    As Leonmented, he made his way over to the master bed and gave the naked women a quick diagnosis.

    "These pitifuldies can still be saved," Leon determined before quickly administering treatment.

    He fed them Tier-2 All-Purpose Healing Pills before fixing some dislocated bones and rubbing some Golden Ointment on their bruised flesh.

    Several coats were draped over their bodies after Leon was done before he returned to Lilith''s side with a frown.

    "How are they, Leon?" Lilith inquired.

    "The flesh can be healed, but their minds are broken. It''ll be hard for them to recover from this mental trauma."

    Lilith felt sad for the fate that befell her female nsmen after falling into the clutches of Lord Bahlzacs.

    "If I want to destroy the Deste Netherbird Tribe and save my parents, will you continue to help me?" Lilith asked.

    "We can discuss this after we are done here. Thesedies are pitiful, but so long as they are alive, there is still a chance for recovery."

    "Un." Lilith nodded and said, "You''re right, Leon."

    Shortly after, Lilith called in the maids and servants of the pce to take the female nsmen to the bathhouse for cleansing.

    "Right, the Teleportation Array needs to be settled as well."

    Lilith suddenly recalled the objective for Leon visiting the pce before she said, "Let me take you to the basement."

    "Alright."

    Leon nodded.

    He wanted to crack a joke about taking him to her r*pe dungeon, but he felt it was inappropriate considering what they had just discovered back in the bedchamber.

    A few minutester, they arrived in the underground cer where the wine was stored and kept for special asions in the pce.

    "What do you think of this spot?" Lilith asked before adding, "If I have people guard this ce, it''ll be quite secured."

    "It''s not bad. This ce will do. Thanks, Lilith," Leon nodded.

    He took a moment to deploy the Teleportation Array on the ground before condensing Artificial Demon Cores and socketed them.

    "About what I asked earlier¡­ Will you¡­"

    Lilith brought up the precious matter after seeing Leon finish deploying the Teleportation Array.

    "There''s not much to say on this matter. Of course I will help you." Leon smiled slightly.

    "Really? But why? Why are you going so far out of your way to help me?"

    Lilith should have been happy to hear Leon''s answer, but she could not help but feel puzzled instead.

    "You ask some pretty dumb questions, Lilith. Isn''t it because we are friends?" Leon responded before saying to Darlene, "Wait here with Lilith. I will be back soon."

    Shortly after, Leon disappeared inside the Teleportation Array after adjusting the spatial coordinates to the Western Frontier.

    Lilith was not given a chance to inquire further before Leon disappeared in front of her.

    ''Would you go so far for just any normal friend?'' Lilith mentally sighed, uncertain of what she was expecting from Leon.

    ¡­

    On the other side, Leon quickly checked up on the General Marquis and had a brief catch-up with Monarch Bluewinter of the Blue Luan Tribe before grabbing a few frozen Three-legged Golden Crows.

    Fifteen minutes quickly passed on Lilith and Darlene''s side before Leon reappeared from the Teleportation Array.

    "I''m back."

    "Wee back."

    Leon was quickly weed back by Lilith and Darlene before he nodded in return.

    "Let us head outside."

    "Alright."

    Shortly after receiving Lilith''s nod of agreement, they head outside together.

    Leon began inspecting the surroundings for an empty spot big and clean enough to ce therge frozen birds.

    Unfortunately, he could not find a spot in his immediate surroundings that meets the requirement.

    "Where is your Uncle Jorn?"

    "Uncle Jorn¡­ He should be dealing with matters over at the first food storage area."

    Shortly after receiving his answer from Lilith, Leon nodded and told her, "You can send someone to call him over. We will be on the hill outside the n, where Soft Feather and Aria are. I''ll let him manage the food I brought in my interspatial storage."

    "So it is in your interspatial ring. I was just wondering about that. Alright, I''ll let Uncle Jorn know," Lilith nodded in understanding.

    However, she was unaware that the storage space of Leon''s interspatial ring was too small to contain the frozen bodies of the Three-legged Golden Crows.

    Nevertheless, it was not something Leon needed to exin.

    When Leon arrived at the hill outside the Deste Crow n with Darlene, Aria seemed to have sensed his approaching presence as her eyes snapped open, ending her short cultivation session.

    "Sorry, Aria. I didn''t mean to interrupt your cultivation, but since you aren''t cultivating anymore, help me create argeyer of ice."

    "Mm, okay."

    Aria agreed without asking the reason why they needed it.

    Leon smiled gently before the two cooperated to form arge iceyer at the bottom of the hill opposite the n with their ice abilities.

    The enormous Three-legged Golden Crows from Leon''s Worldspace shortly after.

    Soft Feather''s eyes immediately lit up as she raised her head and queried with anticipation, "Are we having Three-legged Golden Crows for dinner?"

    "No, these are for the Deste Crow nsmen. What would they have left to eat if you take their food?"

    "Boo! I also want to eat too!

    Soft Feather jeered.

    "Holy smokes! Where did these giant birdse from?! Wait, are these¡­ Three-legged Golden Crows?!" Uncle Jorn eximed loudly in shock upon his arrival with Lilith.

    "This¡­ This¡­!?"

    Uncle Jorn was simply unable toprehend how five giant Three-legged Golden Crows from the Paragon-level Three-legged Golden Crow Tribe would suddenly appear outside his Deste Crow n.

    Did the heavens pity his n and sent them down to help the Deste Crow n ovee the food crisis?!

    Just as Uncle Jorn was about to drop to his knees and thank the heavens for its gracious gift, Leon gave the person a casual nce.

    "I shall leave the Three-legged Golden Crows to you. You should know what to do with them, right?" Leon asked.

    "You don''t have to worry about going crazy from eating their meat. The Wrathful Demonic Energy has already been removed. You just need to prepare and cook it properly."

    "This¡­ Did you bring this to our n, Prince Leon?" Uncle Jorn gazed at Leon with astonishment.

    "No need to sweat the details," Leon waved his hand nonchntly before saying, "Alright, don''t bother me. I have something to do."

    Leon took his seat on the ground and took out the bottle of blood essence he collected.

    "Hm? Are those the blood essence you collected from the nsmen? What do you need them for?" Uncle Jorn could not help but ask despite Leon''s prior warning.

    "Study and practice."

    Leon shrugged.

 Chapter 640 - Desolate Crows Origin

    <h4>Chapter 640 - Deste Crow''s Origin</h4>

    "Study and practice?"

    Uncle Jorn wanted to inquire further.

    But seeing that the person was no longer interested in continuing the topic, Uncle Jorn could only smile wryly and return his attention to the frozen bodies of the Three-legged Golden Crows.

    It was hard to imagine how many mouths could be fed with each body. Uncle Jorn''s eyes brightened at the thought.

    After calling over several high-level to Transcendent-level warriors from the n, they began working on the frozen bodies, dissecting them into small pieces of meat to be prepped and preserved elsewhere.

    The noise made it unsuitable for Leon to focus. Thus, he left the area to find a quieter spot to refine the 600-odd drops of blood essence.

    Soft Feather stayed behind to watch the Deste Crow nsmen at work with a drooling expression written all over the face.

    Aria, Darlene, Lilith followed behind Leon with their own reasons.

    Aria found the area noisy, Darlene simply followed the crowd, and Lilith was curious about Leon''s blood collection like her Uncle Jorn.

    A few minutester, they found a rtively clean patch of grass that had not been contaminated by rat blood before taking their seat.

    After seeing the bottle of 600-odd drops of blood essence in Leon''s hand, Lilith could hardly contain her curiosity, but she knew better than to interrupt him.

    She watched Leonmence his blood refinement as the bottle uncorked itself, and drops of blood essence flowed out in streams before revolving around his hand.

    Meanwhile, Leon had already shut his eyes in full concentration of refining the blood essences ording to the Evesting Blood Mantra.

    It was specified that only one type of Origin Blood can only be refined out of each race. However, this should only be applied to pure breeds.

    For a mixed-breed like the Deste Crow nsmen, Leon was curious how many types of Origin Blood he could gain after refining their blood essences, which contained variations of Deste Crow and human bloodlines.

    ''Whether there will be one type of Origin Blood, two types of Origin Blood, or more than that, I will soon find out,'' Leon thought.

    Very shortly, the first few dozen drops of blood essence were refined into a few Origin Bloods before Leon fused them into his bloodstream.

    The answer became crystal clear to him in the next moment.

    His mastery of the Evesting Blood Mantra only increased from 11 types of Origin Blood to 12 types of Origin Blood.

    ''Only one type of Origin Blood was able to improve my mastery of the Evesting Blood Mantra technique, huh? And it''s the Origin Blood of the Deste Crow¡­'' Leon silently contemted.

    In other words, the Origin Blood of humans waspletely ineffective in raising his mastery. It could only serve as stamina replenishment in battles of attritions.

    ''I cannot rule out the possibility that these Origin Blood of human is ineffective because they were ordinary¡­ Origin Blood of humans with special bloodlines might prove to be different¡­''

    Leon continued to ponder deeply in mediation before he resumed refinement of the following few dozen blood essences.

    Without any surprises, his mastery did not improve after absorbing the next few refined Origin Blood. His stamina level, on the other hand, was overflowing with energy

    ''Strange¡­''

    Leon noticed something unrted to the improvement of his mastery while refining the blood essences into Origin Blood.

    ''Although the code sequence recorded inside the Origin Blood of the Deste Crow is all the same time, the shape slightly varies¡­''

    After pondering the peculiarity for a moment, Leon wondered if it had something to do with the concentration of bloodline diluted throughout the generations.

    ''Wait a minute,'' Leon suddenly thought of another matter.

    ording to history, the beasts were just ordinary animals prior to thest Cataclysm. How could they have the bloodlines of Divine Beasts or perhaps, even God Beasts?

    ''If the beasts had taken half a millennium to be Divine Beasts before breeding, the bloodline concentration of their offsprings should be very high instead of being diluted like this¡­'' Leon pondered.

    Not to mention that the Divine Beasts should still be around.

    ''Since that is not the case, it means the beasts already contained the bloodlines of the Divine Beasts even back when they were regr animals¡­'' Leon concluded.

    Why was Gaia so abnormallyrgepared to other celestial bodies amongst the stars? Why does it have so many floors andyers beneath its surface?

    When Leon considered the destroyed civilizations, the ancient ruins, and the Cataclysms throughout history, his eyes suddenly snapped open with a startling conclusion.

    ''The world has undergone many cycles of destruction and recreation!''

    Seeing that Leon''s eyes suddenly snapped open, Lilith, who had been observing him, was startled.

    "Did you forget something?" Lilith inquired with a confused look. She was sure that she had not done anything to interrupt his practice.

    Leon''s gaze shortly fell on Lilith before he asked calmly, "How much do you know about your ancestors from the beast side, the Deste Crow?"

    "The Deste Crow Ancestor? Not much, actually. In fact, the entire n knows little about the Deste Crow Ancestor," Lilith replied honestly.

    At the same time, she was mildly taken aback, uncertain why Leon was asking her such a question.

    After listening to Lilith''s answer, Leon nodded without any surprise, finding itpletely normal to be ignorant.

    The beasts were unique in their ability to pass on their memories to their descendants through their bloodline.

    That is also how the bloodline of Divine Beasts resurfaced after the Cataclysm acted as a catalyst to awaken them, bringing the Divine Beast bloodline back to the beasts of the Wilnds.

    "At the beginning of time, in an era when life began to sprout throughout Primal Chaos, the ck crows were among the first species to make their appearance," Leon began to retell a story he knew from the Divine Realm.

    "The crows were confident in their ability to soar the skies, and their arrogance grew bigger the higher they flew¡ªuntil one day, they sought to challenge the sun."

    It was a story with many versions regarding the legend of the Deste Crow. Nevertheless, Leon recounted the version of the story that he knew.

    "Without surprise, the crows were singed ck by the sun while many were simply reduced to ck ashes. The Deste Crow was one of the few that survived the wrath of the sun and even gained some of its power."

    "How do you know about this story? And why did you bring it up, Leon?" Lilith asked with surprise, uncertain of Leon''s intention.

    "I have thought of a method that might possibly increase the concentration of your Deste Crow Bloodline. However, I am not sure if you are interested in testing it out, Lilith?"

    "What? Is it really possible to increase one''s bloodline concentration?" Lilith muttered in shock.

    The Deste Crow n was vassal to the Deste Netherbird Tribe because they were weak. Another reason was that their Deste Crow Bloodline was too diluted to be awakened, which is also why they were weak.

    If her n could awaken their bloodline, the n would not be inferior to the Deste Netherbird Tribe and perhaps even surpass them.

    Would her Deste Crow n still be afraid of the Deste Netherbird Tribe at that point?

    "Well, we don''t know yet. But ording to logic, it should be possible," Leon stated before asking again, "So are you interested or not?"

    "Of course I am! Even if it''s just a slim chance, I am willing to take it!" Lilith stated. If she can awaken her bloodline, her fate would bepletely changed.

    "What do I need to do?" she asked shortly after.

    "Nothing yet, and not much either. Give me a moment," Leon said before he refined the remaining drops of blood essences he had on hand into Origin Blood.

    Afterward, the handful of Origin Blood was separated based on their origins; human and crow.

    The human Origin Blood was stored away for future use before Leon merged all the Deste Crow Origin Blood together.

    "It''s done. It''s not much, but if you can absorb this into your bloodstream, there''s a chance it will improve your bloodline concentration," Leon said while offering the blob of Deste Crow Origin Blood to Lilith.

    After all, it was pure Deste Crow Blood, even if it was just a tiny portion.

    However, they had an entire n that carries the bloodline of the Deste Crow. If the method seeds, he could just collect more blood to refine to increase the concentration further.

    "I''ll give it a try!"

    Lilith epted the blob of Deste Crow Origin Blood from Leon with a solemn look.

    After feeling the subtle power coursing through the blob of Deste Crow Origin Blood, Lilith had an intuitive feeling that it will be effective.

    Without further adieu, she immediately absorbed the Origin Blood into her bloodstream.

    The blob of Deste Crow Origin Blood quickly mixed with Lilith''s bloodstream before reacting violently, causing her blood flow to increase and her body to heat up.

    Within a few minutes, Lilith was soaked in sweats.

    Lilith felt like a furnace as her body was being burned by the blood. Even so, she gritted her teeth and endured it¡ªbut for how long? She did not know.

    "Ahh, so painful! So hot! I don''t think I can endure it, Leon!"

    "Endure it! You must endure! Don''t you want to change your fate? Persevere, Lilith!"

    Leon encouraged.

    After receiving Leon''s encouragement, Lilith could only steel herself and continue to resist the burning sensation with all her might.

    "Uwahhh!"

    Boom!

    A fresh pair of ck-feathered wings suddenly sprouted from Lilith''s back! Her aura surged, and ck mes shrouded her body like a cloak of darkness!

    At the same time, Darlene immediately felt pressured by the sudden transcendental might!

 Chapter 641 - Desolate Crow Clans Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 641 - Deste Crow n''s Transformation</h4>

    "This¡­"

    Leon narrowed his eyes.

    He could sense Lilith''s aura skyrocketing to the Transcendent Realm¡ªNo, it was infinitely close, but not quite there yet.

    Still, it was a very impressive leap in power for Lilith, whose strength was no higher than 4-star Ranked Awakener in Body Cultivation, to be a step short from Rank 1 Transcendent.

    "A few drops of Origin Blood can produce such results?" Leon muttered with surprise.

    Awakening the bloodline of Divine Beasts had always granted big leaps in power, even if it was just a small awakening.

    "For the result to be this great shows how impressive the Deste Crow was¡­" Leonmented before he wore a thoughtful look.

    Also, the Deste Crow nsmen''s bloodline had been so diluted that any increase in bloodline concentration was equivalent to big changes.

    Perhaps, this was the true reason for violent bloodline awakening¡ªlike experiencing drought for many years before receiving a light shower from the clouds.

    "Hubby, how can a few drops of blood cause such huge changes?" Darlene asked Leon in soft whispers.

    "This must be your first time seeing a bloodline awakening," Leon said with a slight smile.

    "All bloodline awakenings are like this. Humans are also capable of their own bloodline awakening, but nothing as impressive as the beasts and beastmen," he stated before adding, "This is their inherent advantage and disadvantage."

    The Divine Beasts were one of the dominant races within the Divine Realm precisely due to such a clear advantage.

    As long as the bloodline concentration of the descendants was high, their strength would grow very quickly to reach their ancestor''s level, albeit slightly weaker.

    By the same logic, beast descendants with diluted bloodline were shackled by it, limiting their achievements.

    Only by changing their bloodline could they break free from the shackle of their powerful ancestors'' bloodline.

    If not, they can only find ways to increase their bloodline concentration like Leon had done for Lilith.

    Of course, the Deste Crow nsmen were in a better position than most beasts with dilute bloodlines because they were beastmen with mixed bloodlines.

    "I see¡­" Darlene muttered softly.

    She watched Lilith transformed with little envy.

    If she had not cultivated to the 9-star Ranked Awakener Realm in the Neutral Zone after Leon took her there, her envy would definitely not have been little.

    Meanwhile, Leon shifted his attention onto Lilith''s ck mes and new pair of ck-feathered wings before he noticed a slight detail regarding them.

    "This position¡­ is slightly lower than the supposed positioning of the wings¡­" Leon muttered softly before guessing, "¡­Another pair of wings?"

    Shortly after, he wrinkled his brows in confusion of his own knowledge. Did any of the Deste Crows in the Divine Realm ever have more than a single pair of wings?

    A four-winged Deste Crow? Definitely unheard of.

    However, from the looks of it, Lilith would have two pairs of wings if she did not lose one of them.

    ''Is this a mutation of the Deste Crow''s bloodline?'' Leon pondered quietly.

    Sometimeter, Lilith''s bloodline awakening ended.

    Her bloodline erupted violently at the start but slowed down quickly to a grinding stop, a bit shy of Rank 1 Transcendent.

    Nevertheless, with a bit of training and medicine, Lilith will officially be a Rank 1 Transcendent.

    "Leon! Words cannot express how joyful I am right now!" Lilith chirped excitedly in front of Leon before feeling a bit of weight on her back.

    After ncing over her shoulders, she became even more excited!

    Gasp!

    "Ooh~! I have a new pair of wings!" She eximed.

    At the same time, Lilith''s ck mes slowly dispersed, revealing her bare body with glistening skin akin to a newborn baby.

    "More importantly, you should find something to cover yourself," Leonmented while taking out a spare set of clothes for Lilith.

    Of course, he did not waste the opportunity and gazed at Lilith''s bare body intently, enjoying the full view presented to him.

    "Ahhh¡ª!" Lilith screamed.

    Her face was flushed as she immediately snatched the set of clothes from Leon''s extended hand before she quickly tried to cover herself.

    "D-don''t look!"

    "Not looking."

    Although Leon said he was not looking after covering his eyes with his hand, he was still tantly peeking through the gaps in his fingers.

    "Rogue!" Lilith cried.

    She could feel Leon''s hot stare viting her body, but she could do nothing but do her best to wear Leon''s spare set of clothes as quickly as she could.

    Suddenly, Leon felt a pinch in his waist before his gaze shifted to the side¡ªonly to see Aria looking back at him with a disapproving gaze.

    "Ahem, it''s not what it seems." Leon coughed.

    "It''s not what seems, hmm?" Aria asked with narrowed eyes while she was increasing the strength of her pinch.

    Despite the pinch inflicting zero pain on Leon, he pretended to be in pain before surrendering with his hands helplessly raised in the air, "Alright, alright. It''s my fault for looking, okay? But can you me?"

    "I''ll let you off the hook this time," Aria pouted slightly.

    Leon cracked a slight smile after being pardoned by her, knowing that Aria was not actually mad at him. He held her hand and rubbed with his thumb to show his affection.

    Sometimeter, Lilith calmed down in her new set of ck clothing that appeared slightly loose and baggy due to her build being smaller than Leon''s build.

    "Leon, can you refine more blood to help me increase my bloodline concentration further?" Lilith requested before saying, "If I can continue to trigger the bloodline awakening and increase my strength to the Paragon level, my n will no longer need to fear the Deste Netherbird Tribe."

    "Let us not get ahead of ourselves. A second bloodline awakening will not be that easy." Leon shook his head before saying, "It was only this effective because it was your first time increasing your bloodline concentration."

    "Furthermore, the dosage was small. If it had been a bigger dosage, your life would have been in danger¡ªshould you fail to endure it."

    "I see¡­"

    Lilith was slightly disappointed by Leon''s rejection.

    Nevertheless, she understood his reasoning and knew best about the risks¡ªas the one who had just experience the painful baptism of the bloodline awakening.

    As such, she did not dwell on it.

    "Then¡­ can it be done to strengthen my nsmen instead? Is there a limit to how many people you can help due to our diluted bloodline?" Lilith asked.

    "Hmm¡­" Leon pondered for a moment before he answered, "Logically, there shouldn''t be any limitation."

    After all, he was practically creating new blood of the Deste Crow Divine Beast by fusing the Origin Blood together rather than extracting the bit of Deste Crow Bloodline from one person to give to another.

    "I will help you enhance the strength of as many nsmen as I can before I leave for the Dark Continent. That way, your n will have a fighting chance against the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s retaliation while I am gone," Leon stated.

    Once Lilith heard Leon was nning to leave, she was immediately devastated, like she was about to lose her pir of support.

    "You''re nning to leave? Must you leave?" Lilith asked with reluctance.

    She did not want him to leave. But at the same time, she did not want to selfishly stop him from going after all that he had done for her and her n.

    She had no right to stop him.

    "I have to. My presence on the other side concerns the fate of many lives," Leon said firmly.

    Seeing that Lilith was reluctant to see him leave and also appeared a little lost, Leon patted her on the shoulders and said, "Don''t worry. I will only be one Teleportation Portal away. If something happens, you can always send someone over to notify me."

    "Mm." Lilith nodded.

    His wordsforted her and made her felt a bit better.

    ¡­

    The following few hours, Lilith went around collecting blood essence from her nsmen while Leon used it to refine Origin Blood using the Evesting Blood Mantra technique.

    Without surprises, the other nsmen were also able to enjoy a minor bloodline awakening upon absorbing the blobs of Origin Blood given to them.

    The first group to receive them was naturally Uncle Jorn and the other Transcendent-level warriors within the n.

    Uncle Jorn''s strength directly rose to the Mid-rank 2 Transcendent while the Transcendent-level warriors rose to Early-rank 2 Transcendents.

    By the time Leon decided that it was time to go, a few thousand nsmen were able to experience a minor bloodline awakening, allowing several hundred higher-level nsmen among the thousands to advance to Early-rank 1 Transcendent or higher.

    Without exception, every one of them sprouted a pair of ck wings and erupted with ck mes.

    A few hours ago, the Deste Crow n could only be considered an average mid-rank tribe. But a few hourster, there were utterly transformed into a high mid-rank tribe¡ªall of which was due to Leon''s efforts.

    His contribution to the n cemented his position as the eternal hero of the Deste Crow n, revered by all nsmen.

    His status became even greater than Lilith''s absent father, the n Leader of the Deste Crow n.

    Uncle Jorn and the other warriors had their reservations against outsiders, but Leon''s benevolent act of awakening their bloodlines hadpletely won them over.

    The Deste Crow n enjoyed an all-time high morale and liveliness as people celebrated and cheered on the streets.

    But at the heart of it all, Leon was nowhere to be seen.

    He had gone to the cer underneath the central pce to make his preparations for departure. At the same time, he waited for the others to gather so they could leave together.

    ¡­

 Chapter 642 - The Awaited Summit

    <h4>Chapter 642 - The Awaited Summit</h4>

    Drip, drip¡­

    The water drops quietly fell into the small undergroundke with soft sshes rhythmically like steady beats.

    Suddenly, a spatial rift opened in the Teleportation Array before people began stepping out into the underground space one after another.

    "Where are we?"

    Brian Bradford, Baron Grant, and the ex-disciples studied the unfamiliar surroundings with curious gazes before thest of Leon''s group arrived.

    "This is the water distition area in the underground mines directly beneath the Darkmoon Tribe, father," Leon exined.

    "I see¡­" Brian Bradford nodded.

    Rumble¡­

    Shortly after, a series of hasty footsteps were heard before arge group of Great Warriors led by Chief Valencia arrived.

    Their vigorous auras and sudden appearance immediately made Brian Bradford and others feel slightly apprehensive and intimidated.

    However, Leon simply nced back at the huge lineup and smiled, "Quite the warm weing you have there, Chief Valencia."

    "You''ve grown much stronger than thest time I saw you, Leonhardt."

    Chief Valencia''s eyes immediately flickered in realization.

    She could not tell how strong Leonhardt had be precisely, but she was confident that he had be much stronger due to her gut feeling and the vibe emanated off the person.

    "If you were to arrive anyter, we would have gone to fetch you," Chief Valencia chuckled slightly before nodding, "Wee back."

    "I can definitely see that¡­"

    Leon smiled wryly while ncing at the lineup of Great Warriors before said, "Nevertheless, I do believe that I am still early ording to the appointed time of the summit, no?"

    "That, you are," Chief Valencia chuckled slightly before saying with a shake of her head, "However, the other tribal chiefs aren''t exactly patient as we would hope them to be. You see, they been hounding this Chief tomence the summit since they arrived."

    "Not surprising, considering the bombshell of a news you dropped on them. I suppose the tribal chiefs of the alliance must be quite anxious to find out the details from you, Chief Valencia."

    Leon smiled with a calm and confident look.

    Seeing him like this, Chief Valencia began to feel doubtful in her heart.

    To make casual remarks at the tribal chiefs, who were all Battle Masters with 500-thousand jin and above, without feeling the slightest bit of concern¡­

    Has Leonhardt already reached their level?! Has he really reached such heights within such a short time?!

    Upon arriving at this thought, Chief Valencia was shaken.

    Nevertheless, she retained an outward calm look and said, "Since you''ve finallye. Let us begin the summit immediately."

    "Alright." Leon nodded.

    "As for these people¡­"

    Chief Valencia shifted her gaze to the people that arrived with Leonhardt before she cannot help take second nces at the vengeful spirit.

    ''Hm? Something is different about this spirit¡­'' Chief Valencia noticed.

    "They are ex-disciples of the Illusory Butterfly Sect. I will have to trouble Chief Valencia to find someone to send them to meet the others in the pce."

    "That can be done." Chief Valencia nodded before turning to Aria, who stood beside Leon with Duna and Darlene, and asked, and asked, "And her?"

    "My wife, Aria," Leon stated.

    Aria''s heart immediately fluttered.

    "Oh?"

    At the same time, Chief Valencia raised an eyebrow and studied Aria seriously.

    "To be the wife of Leonhardt, there must be something extraordinary about you. Well met, Miss Aria. I am the chief of this Darkmoon Tribe, Valencia."

    "Likewise, Chief Valencia."

    Aria nodded back with a bow of courtesy.

    Shortly after, Chief Valencia furrowed her brows with something to say but was unsure how to say it without offending Leonhardt.

    Nevertheless, Leon quickly understood and said, "Darlene, you can bring Aria back to the courtyard and settle down first, and also check on your sisters."

    "As you wish, my Lord."

    Darleneplied obediently.

    ''Sisters? I haven''t heard anything about this. Don''t tell me Leon still has other women on this side?'' Aria''s eyes flickered with such thoughts at the same time.

    Nevertheless, she kept her silence and agreed to follow Darlene back to the so-called courtyard¡ªof course, so she could investigate if Leon was keeping other women in his love nest.

    Shortly after, Leon added, "As for Duna, you can also follow¡ª"

    "I''ming with you," Duna stated firmly.

    Her determined tone left no room for negotiation, causing Leon to smile wryly and said, "Alright, Duna wille with me."

    "That won''t be a problem, right?" Leon asked.

    "No problem." Chief Valencia quickly said.

    If someone as powerful as Duna was not qualified to attend the meeting, then no one is qualified¡ªnot even the tribal chiefs of the alliance.

    She had not forgotten who brought them victory in thest battle against the Bone Cmity.

    "Alright. Sabertooth, you take these men to meet Helen. The rest of you can return¡ªoh, I will trouble some of you to inform the other chiefs to meet me in the Stonehenge within half an hour. We will hold the summit there."

    "Yes, chief!"

    Sabertooth and the rest of the Great Warriors answered after Chief Valencia issued her orders.

    "Father, you can go meet mother and Mia first. I have to attend an important meeting with Chief Valencia. We meet againter," Leon spoke to Brian Bradford.

    "Alright, son," Brian Bradford nodded and patted him on both shoulders, "Don''t worry about me and just do what you need to do."

    "Un!" Leon nodded.

    The crowd quickly left the water distition area and returned to the surface before going dispersing in separate directions with their own tasks.

    Fifteen minutester, Leon and Chief Valencia were seated at the round table of stone at the Stonehenge''s center, which was newly built by the edge of the teau, as they awaited the other tribal chiefs'' arrival.

    Fallen Star Tribe''s tribal chief, Chief Brightstar, was the first to arrive with two Extremity-rank Great Warriors apanying him.

    Shortly after, Cold Raven Tribe''s tribal chief, Chief Nightraven, arrived with one Extremity-rank Great Warrior and one Early-rank Battle Master.

    Last but not least, the newly instated tribal chief of the Crimsonfog Tribe, Chief cktooth, arrived with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    Chief cktooth immediately singled Leon out from the group due to his youthful appearance with a displeased expression.

    "This is the person we were waiting for?" Chief cktooth asked grudgingly.

 Chapter 643 - Shock And Disbelief

    <h4>Chapter 643 - Shock And Disbelief</h4>

    "I was expecting someone big, heroic, and experienced, but what we got is a tender young man who I can snap with one hand," Chief cktooth continued to throw condescending remarks.

    "Tender young man, huh?" Leon smiled with amusement before asking with a nonchnt attitude, "Who''s this joker?"

    "Believe it or not, he is Chief cktooth of the Crimsonfog Tribe," Chief Valencia answered, not believing it herself even after learning about it a few days prior.

    "The tribal chief of the Crimsonfog Tribe? I thought the tribal chief of the Crimsonfog Tribe was called Chief Baskara¡­? I didn''t know we were expecting to have a mascot at this meeting," Leon spoke with ridicule.

    With a sweep of his divine sense, he could immediately gauge the strength of Chief cktooth, who was not even a Battle Master.

    At the same time, his words infuriated Chief cktooth.

    "The mascot is you!" Chief cktooth roared.

    Without warning, Chief cktooth immediately lunged forward and performed a downward chop on Leon''s shoulder.

    His attack was clearly non-lethal as he had to show restraint in another''s territory.

    At the same time, his quick attack was slow in the eyes of all the Battle Masters presented at the round stone table.

    Even so, no one chose to stop Chief cktooth''s attack.

    Everyone was curious about the young man''s strength¡ªChief Valencia included. She believed Leonhardt was strong enough to counter the attack.

    However, what she did not expect was that Leonhardt did not react at all!

    Bam!

    The chopnded squarely on Leon''s shoulder, causing the ground to crack immediately after the force transfer!

    However, Leon''s body did not budge an inch. He nced back at Chief cktooth with a look of indifference.

    "Had enough?"

    "What!"

    Chief cktooth''s eyes widened in shock.

    At the same time, the various tribal chiefs and warriors of the alliance presented at the stone table all had looks of surprise.

    Even if it was not Chief cktooth''s full-powered blow, it was not something that even Battle Masters can endure¡ªat the very least, they could not be so indifferent to it as the young man.

    ''What monstrous body defense!''

    Such were the thoughts that entered the minds of the tribal chiefs and warriors.

    "Impossible. I refuse to believe that your body can be so tough! Nevertheless, I have sorely underestimated you! Allow me to use my full strength this¡ª"

    "Enough!" The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman barked.

    He had seen enough to verify his doubts regarding the young man''s strength. As such, he did not need Chief cktooth to continue making a fool of himself and embarrass their tribe.

    "Y-Yes, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman!"

    Chief cktooth was immediately startled into retreating from the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s shout.

    Shortly after, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman turned to Chief Valencia and said, "I apologize on behalf of the Crimsonfog Tribe. Chief cktooth is still new to the position and still inexperienced in matters."

    "It doesn''t bother me. I am not the one that requires the apology, nor does the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman needs to be the one apologizing," Chief Valencia spoke politely to the elder before turning to Chief cktooth, "You should apologize to Young Master Leonhardt."

    ''Young Master Leonhardt?''

    Hearing Chief Valencia address the young man so respectfully, the tribal chiefs of the Fallen Star Tribe and Cold Raven Tribe were even more intrigued.

    "Before we begin the meeting, why not Chief Valencia introduce this young man to us?" Chief Brightstar suggested.

    Chief Valencia turned to Leon and received his nod before said, "Well, if you insist. I will make it quick."

    "Young Master Leonhardt is the most esteemed member of my Darkmoon Tribe. Divine Doctor and Savior of Humanity; you may have heard of these two titles circling around in the tribe. That person is precisely before you."

    "This young man is the Divine Doctor?" Chief Brightstar''s eyes lit up.

    Everyone immediately cast their covetous gazes at Leon.

    If there was one thing that made their trip worthwhile, it was news of the Divine Doctor, the person who could treat Demonic Possession.

    At the same time, Leon felt spooked by the passionate gazes of so many macho men as his skin began crawling with goosebumps.

    However, he suddenly sensed Duna''s plummeting mood behind him before he made a gesture to her with his hand to calm her down.

    Nevertheless, Duna continued to give Chief cktooth a dark look. The person had not apologized for his transgression.

    "Why haven''t you apologized to the Divine Doctor yet?" The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly urged while giving Chief cktooth a stern look.

    The Divine Doctor was someone they had to rope in at all cost. It was rted to the prosperity of the tribe.

    Even if they fail, they must absolutely not be on the person''s bad side!

    Chief cktooth immediately understood the gravity of the issue from the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s solemn gaze before he stepped forward and bowed to Leon with cupped hands.

    "I was too hot-headed and have been foolish enough to have offended you, Divine Doctor. I hope you will not take what I said and did to heart," Chief cktooth apologized.

    "It doesn''t matter," Leon dropped the issue with a wave of his hand and reminded objectively, "Let us not forget why we have been gathered here today."

    "Right, Chief Valencia," Chief Brightstar turned to the Darkmoon Tribe''s chief and said, "I hope you won''t be keeping any more secrets and finally tell what this big issue that concerns the fate of all humans on the Infertile ins."

    "Very well." Chief Valencia nodded.

    "I''m sure everyone is aware of the piece of crucial news that arrived just the other day about the four strongest tribes in the central region waging war on each other andpeting for hegemony."

    Chief Valencia swept her gaze around the table.

    After seeing them give the nod, she continued to speak, "However, I am sure that no one here knows why they arepeting for hegemony, right?"

    "Haiz, stop keeping in suspense and tell us the reason why already, Chief Valencia," Chief Brightstar hushed with a sigh.

    Hearing this, Chief Valencia no longer dyed and immediately dropped the giant bomb of a news to the people present.

    "The Celestial Water Spark is drying up," she stated tly.

    "What!"

    "Impossible!"

    Everyone immediately shot to their feet in disbelief and rm.

 Chapter 644 - Berserk Dragon Tribes Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 644 - Berserk Dragon Tribe''s Arrival</h4>

    As expected, the tribal chiefs and warriors denied the possibility without any surprises. The sheer notion of what it foretells was something they did not even want to begin thinking about.

    Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was more level-headed and did not rush to deny Chief Valencia''s im.

    "I hope Chief Valencia has something to back up your im and did not simply call us here to y such a cruel prank on us," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke with a solemn look.

    The gravity of the Celestial Water Spark drying did not need to be exined. It was something that concerned the fate of all humans in the Infertile ins.

    "I knew people would doubt my im if I simply just said it," Chief Valencia smiled coolly before ordering her warriors with a snap of her fingers, "Bring over the spy."

    "Yes, chief!"

    The warriors standing guarding outside the Stonehenge immediately left before returning a short whileter with the unconscious spy.

    Thud.

    The unconscious spy was tossed onto the table for everyone to see.

    "And who might this person be¡­?" Chief Brightstar asked with slightly creased brows.

    "This person is a spy from the Great Ironhawk Tribe. He has¡ª"

    "Chief Valencia, the Berserk Dragon Tribe''s tribal chief, Chief ckdragon, has arrived with his people," a warrior suddenly reported before Chief Valencia could finish exining.

    "What?"

    "What?"

    Several people eximed in surprise.

    No one had expected the most recluse and powerful tribe in the alliance to actually make their appearance at the summit.

    "I did not expect this at all," Chief Valenciamented with surprise before ordering the warrior, "Quickly bring Chief ckdragon over."

    "Yes, chief!" the warriorplied and left.

    Sometimeter, Chief ckdragon of the Berserk Dragon Tribe arrived with two other Mid-rank Battle Masters.

    Chief ckdragon himself was a High-rank Battle Master.

    Chief Brightstar and Chief Nightraven immediately whistled softly in awe after vaguely gauging the strength of their lineup.

    As expected of the Berserk Dragon Tribe.

    They are strong.

    "Oh?"

    Chief ckdragon noticed most people were present, and a body wasid on the stone table in the center before he asked, "I suppose I waste to the summit?"

    "No, you were very punctual, Chief ckdragon," Chief Valencia stated before apologizing, "It was my fault for starting early. We were not expecting your tribe to make an appearance."

    After all, the Berserk Dragon Tribe did not give a definite answer. They only said that they would think about it.

    "No matter. Please continue, Chief Valencia," Chief ckdragon gestured calmly with an open mind after taking his seat without even asking what he had missed.

    "Alright," Chief Valencia nodded before saying, "As I mentioned, this person is a spy from the Great Ironhawk Tribe, a vassal of the ck Warbear Tribe."

    "One of the great tribespeting for the hegemony of the central region? But what does this have to do with Celestial Water Spark drying up?" Chief Brightstar questioned her.

    At the mention of the Celestion Water Spark drying up, Chief ckdragon and the two Mid-rank Battle Masters of the Berserk Dragon Tribe immediately had changes in expression.

    Nevertheless, they kept their calm and continued to listen in silence.

    "The spy has everything to do with it. They were tasked with the mission of destroying our water veins but failed, fortunately," Chief Valencia stated.

    Shortly after, she gestured to the tribal chief and said, "The Exploding Secret Rune has already been removed from the person''s soul, so feel free to interrogate the person and arrive at your own conclusions."

    "No need. I trust Chief Valencia''s own conclusion to be backed with logical reasoning. Please continue to exin what you uncovered from the spy," Chief Brightstar said straightforwardly.

    After receiving assent from the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the other tribal chiefs, Chief Valencia nodded, "Very well."

    "As you all know, the Water Veins are the very source that connects us to the Celestial Water Sparks and breathes life on this godforsakennd. The ck Warbear Tribe''s grand scheme is to cut off the Water Veins and force all tribes to migrate to the central region."

    "No wonder some suspicious warriors have been snooping around my tribe, though they were all captured in the end," Chief Brightstar mentioned before asking with surprise, "Just how on earth did you manage to safely remove the Exploding Secret Rune from the spies?"

    "Well, you see¡­" Chief Valencia grinned and said, "Young Master Leonhardt of my Darkmoon Tribe is a man with many talents."

    She did not forget to mention that Leon belonged to her Darkmoon Tribe.

    At the same time, Leon''s status was raised even higher in the hearts of the tribal chiefs after their initial assessment.

    "The Divine Doctor is¡­?" Chief Brightstar shifted his gaze to Leon before uttering softly with further surprise, "You don''t say¡­"

    "However, if the ck Warbear Tribe''s n is to gather all tribes in the outer region to central region¡­ then their n is to¡­" Chief Nightraven began to widen his eyes in realization.

    "That''s right," Chief Valencia nodded and said, "Everyone thought the top four tribes are onlypeting for the hegemony of the central region, but no, they are not."

    "They arepeting for the hegemony of the entire Infertile ins!"

    Once these words were uttered, everyone immediately felt their blood boiled almost as if it was a subconscious reaction.

    "Such a grand scheme! Such a grand ambition!" Chief Nightraven uttered before stating with a grave look, "It seems like the Celestial Water Spark really is drying up."

    Every tribal chief was used to ruling their own tribes and wanted it to be great. No one wanted to serve under another tribe.

    However, if they were caught in the maelstrom of the four great tribes'' battle, they will have no choice but to submit.

    "And so what does Chief Valencia suggests for us to do?" Chief ckdragon finally broke his silence and asked calmly, "Perhaps, Chief Valencia has alreadye up with a n¡ªor even better, a solution."

    Upon hearing his guess, Chief Valencia cracked a confident smile.

    "I suppose so."

 Chapter 645 - Berserk Dragon Methods Side Effects

    <h4>Chapter 645 - Berserk Dragon Method''s Side Effects</h4>

    While Chief Valencia revealed a confident smile, it was not confidence in herself but the person sitting beside her¡ªLeonhardt.

    This person was filled with miraculous abilities and means, bringing hope to not only the Darkmoon Tribe but the entire Infertile ins.

    "The solution rests with Young Master Leonhardt. As you all can probably already guess, Young Master Leonhardt isn''t from around here," Chief Valencia gestured to Leonhardt before she continued, "But as for the specifics, I''ll leave it to Leonhardt to do the exining."

    "Just a moment, please," Chief ckdragon suddenly requested before Leon could speak and asked, "Just who is Young Master Leonhardt?"

    Chief ckdragon was very curious.

    He had been studying everyone''s expression since he had arrived and noticed that they not only show great respect to the young master but there was also a feverish desire in their eyes.

    Chief ckdragon had to admit that the young man is impressive for removing Exploding Secret Runes, but that should not be the sole reason for the tribal chief''s gazes¡­ right?

    "Young Master Leonhardt is a Divine Doctor," Chief Brightstar stated.

    "Divine Doctor?" Chief ckdragon repeated with furrowed brows before he asked, "What kind of Divine Doctor?"

    "The kind that can treat Demonic Possession Diseases."

    "What!"

    Chief ckdragon''s calmposure was thrown in disarray as he shot up from his seat and gazed at Leon with shock.

    "Is it true?!" Chief ckdragon asked eagerly.

    "It is. Someone with Demonic Possession has already been treated in the Darkmoon Tribe. You may have heard of him, Hardrock. He is the son of one of the Darkmoon Tribe''s Venerable Shamans, Old Tailor," Another person answered in Leon''s stead.

    "Hardrock? I know of him," Chief ckdragon nodded before giving a casual remark, "It''s unfortunate that he contracted Demonic Possession early."

    "Yeah, well. He is alive and kicking now. You can see him at the Venerable Shaman''s tailor shop if you have any doubts," Chief Brightstar said.

    "No need," Chief ckdragon waved his hand and said, "I believe you, Chief Brightstar."

    Shortly after, Chief ckdragon cast his nce back onto Leon before he asked, "Young Master Leonhardt, would you like to join my Berserk Dragon Tribe?"

    Bam!

    Chief Valencia immediately mmed the table and roared, "Do you even know what you are asking, Chief ckdragon?! Young Master Leonhardt is a member of my Darkmoon Tribe!"

    To try and poach an important figure in her presence, Chief ckdragon has shown her great disrespect!

    Naturally, she would not remain silent on the matter!

    "Can your Darkmoon Tribepare to my Berserk Dragon Tribe?" Chief ckdragon snorted before he stated overbearingly, "A person like Young Master Leonhardt should be part of my Berserk Dragon Tribe!"

    "We are in the middle of discussing the future ns of the Seven Tribe Alliance here," Leon stated with a frown before reprimanding the Berserk Dragon Tribe''s tribal chief, "What you said was not appropriate, Chief ckdragon."

    "I have an agreement with Chief Valencia of the Darkmoon Tribe. Do you think my promises are cheap?" He added.

    "Should I shut him up for you?" Duna asked shortly after. She did not like Chief ckdragon''s overbearingness and arrogance.

    At the same time, Chief ckdragon''s eyes shed a cold glint at Duna before he suddenly shot over with a sneak attack.

    Bam!

    Chief ckdagon''s sudden fist was immediately caught by Leon before he was forced back by further exertion of Leon''s strength.

    "If you attack Duna again, I will not be polite," Leon said coldly.

    Chief ckdragon was immediately stunned by Leon''s disy of strength. Let alone him, everyone else was also greatly surprised.

    Chief Valencia experienced the greatest shock of them all as she knew exactly what Leonhardt''s strength was like a week ago.

    ''One week! In just one week, Leonhardt''s strength has soared all the way to the High-rank Battle Master level! The same level as Chief ckdragon!''

    Chief Valencia drew in a sharp breath.

    She immediately understood why Leonhardt no longer needed to be careful around her. It was because his strength had already surpassed hers!

    "Unbelievable¡­ Absolutely unbelievable! To think that Young Master Leonhardt would have such monstrous talent and reach the High-rank Battle Master Realm at such a young age. This chief is impressed," Chief Brightstar praised.

    At the same time, Chief cktooth shivered.

    To think that he had the audacity to strike a person at the High-rank Battle Master Realm when his own meager strength was at the Extremity-rank Great Warrior Realm.

    He must be tired of living.

    It was good that the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman reproved him. Otherwise, he would have truly embarked on the path of no return.

    "Talents alwayses from the younger generation," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman rubbed his beard thoughtfully with praise before shifting his gaze to the Berserk Dragon Tribe''s side with reproach, "Chief ckdragon, you are too brash."

    "And here I was just beginning to think that Chief ckdragon may have ovee of the Berserk Dragon Method, but enough, you Berserk Dragons are still as crazy and short-tempered as ever," Chief Brightstar snickered.

    "True," Chief Nightraven agreed before he casuallymented, "I believe that if Young Master Leonhardt had not stopped Chief ckdragon''s attack just not, Chief ckdragon would have died."

    Being one of the earlier groups to arrive in Darkmoon Tribe, Chief Nightraven had definitely heard the stories of the Darkmoon Tribe''s defense against the Bone Cmity in the past few days.

    "What are you trying to say? Do you think it is easy to kill me? A High-rank Battle Master?" Chief ckdragon stated arrogantly with a frown.

    "Kek, I''ve heard Miss Duna hasprehended an almighty power and destroyed the Behemoth-ss Bone Kings as if she was crushing ants with just a single wave of her hand. Tell me, do you think your body is tougher, or are the Behemoth-ss Bone King''s body?"

    "This¡­"

    It was then that Chief ckdragon noticed the gathering power of destruction in Duna''s palms that threatens to annihte his very existence before his heart chilled and his face broke into cold sweats.

    "You disrespected my tribe, disrespected me, and made a move against my tribe''s savior and noblest of guests. How do you think we should settle this ount, Chief ckdragon?"

    Chief Valencia stated coldly.

 Chapter 646 - Two Choices

    <h4>Chapter 646 - Two Choices</h4>

    "This¡­ We can talk about this¡­" Chief ckdragon cracked a wry expression before saying, "You should know how important the Divine Doctor is to me."

    "I do not have to fear the Demonic Possession, then I can push for Battle King Realm without worries," he said.

    However, Chief Valencia continued to re at him coldly and said, "And you think that the same doesn''t apply for the rest of us? Does the Berserk Dragon Tribe think it is so powerful that it can look down on its allies and disrespect them now?"

    "I apologize for this matter¡­ I was not thinking straight due to the side effects of my tribe''s Berserk Dragon Cultivation Method¡­"

    "Do you think that can excuse you for attacking my esteemed guests¡ªor anyone for that matter, Chief ckdragon?" Chief Valencia pressed firmly.

    "I¡­ This Chief was not¡ª"

    "That''s enough," the One-Eye Venerable Shaman interrupted with a wave of his hand and stated, "We are gathered to decide how to resolve the crisis before us. You can settle the problems between you two after."

    "Yes, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman," Chief ckdragonplied respectfully.

    No matter what, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was his senior and an Extremity-rank Battle Master.

    He was not so arrogant that he would slight someone two ranks above his level.

    "Young Master Leonhardt, you may proceed to speak¡ªif it is alright with you," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman gestured politely to Leon.

    "Alright."

    Leon nodded.

    Shortly after giving everyone a sweeping nce, he began to speak, "As you are all aware, I am not a local from around here, nor am from one of the neighboring regions¡ªNo, I am from much further away."

    "I am from the Humain Domain, a ce located on another continent and also a prince of an empire there, but enough of that for now. As it stands, two options are presented before you all."

    Leon paused to give the Venerable Shaman and the tribal chiefs a look.

    "The first choice is to surrender to the winning tribe at the central region and allows yourselves to live under the leadership of their hegemony," Leon stated.

    "Out of the question!"

    "Give us the second option."

    Without surprises, the tribal chiefs and the One-Eye Venerable Shaman voiced their objections to the idea.

    They did not even consider it.

    If they had been unaware of the ck Warbear Tribe''s grand scheme and had their water cut, causing them to be desperate, then perhaps, they may have considered.

    However, since they were aware, they wanted to keep their dignity.

    "Very well," Leon smiled lightly with a nod at their responses before he said, "The second choice is to work with me. I will provide you the water. I can even provide you better techniques to practice. In return, you must unite, rise, and be the hegemon of the Infertile ins."

    "If you go down this path, it will be a bloodied one. There will be resistance, and there will be death. Whether you rise or fall, it''ll be a path of no return. And of course, a leader must be a elected among the Seven Tribe Alliance to lead everyone in this endeavor."

    Leon stated afterward.

    ''Hegemon!''

    At his words, the tribal chiefs felt their blood boiling. Even the old me in the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s heart felt like it was ignited.

    Nevertheless, the elder scrutinized Leon''s face before asking, "And who does Young Master Leonhardt think will be the most suitable leader in the Seven Tribe Alliance?"

    Leon smiled.

    Naturally, he believed that he, himself, should assume the leadership role and eventually swallow all the tribes under his banner, making them his people.

    It would bolster the military might of the empire to a newfound peak.

    "Of course, that is something for everyone in the Seven Tribe Alliance to decide on," Leon ultimately said while retaining a calm smile.

    He did not nominate himself.

    Haste would only make waste.

    The tribes had their own egos and would not readily submit to his ruling, even if he managed to assume the leadership role.

    He may have won the hearts of the Darkmoon Tribe, but the same cannot be said for the other tribes.

    A hasty choice would only ruin the bigger picture.

    "Hoh?"

    The One-Eye Venerable Shaman stroked his beard with interest before nodding in approval.

    He was impressed by Leonhardt''s calmposure to make a clear and steady choice despite the obvious temptation and deep ambition hidden within the young man.

    "We can decide on the leader of the alliance through friendlypetition in the battle arena," Chief ckdragon suggested.

    "That seems like the best way to settle it," Chief Brightstar nodded before saying, "However, I''m more interested in what Young Master Leonhardt has to gain out of this by helping us?"

    "True," Chief Nightraven shifted his gaze to Leon and said, "By the sound of it, the Human Domain is notcking in resources and should have no trouble sustaining life. What is your intention, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "Young Master Leonhardt is a hero with a noble heart," Chief Valencia stated firmly before asking with a frown, "Are you two doubting his good intentions and benevolence?"

    "I do believe Young Master Leonhardt has some good intentions in helping us¡ªdon''t get me wrong," Chief Nightraven shook his head before he said, "However, men, as humans, as people, are creatures governed by self-interest."

    "I do not believe Young Master Leonhardt will be helping us out ofplete selflessness and goodwill to our tribes," he stated.

    "You¡ª!"

    Chief Valencia was angered.

    What was this person thinking? Is he trying to offend the only person who could solve their predicament and shoo him away?

    Nevertheless, Leon patted Chief Valencia''s shoulders and stopped her with a shake of his head before reassuring her that it was alright.

    "It''s fine," he said.

    Shortly after, he gazed back at the chiefs decisively without faltering and said, "While the Human Domain has good living conditions, it surrounding be threats all around, and with the arrival of the Cataclysmes the emergence of a new threat."

    "I do admit there is some selfishness for my intention to help, but I can assure you, it is out of my desire for the continuation and prosperity of our human race," he stated.

 Chapter 647 - Report And Speculations

    <h4>Chapter 647 - Report And Spections</h4>

    "Although we do want to believe you, Young Master Leonhardt, we cannot expect us to ce our trust in you¡ªjust based on your words alone, right?" Chief Nightraven stated before asking, "Let us talk about the water supply. How will you supply us water exactly?"

    "For starters, the Human Domain does notck in water. Not only do we have water, but we can also make water," Leon stated confidently with a smile.

    His words immediately stunned everyone present.

    "You can¡­ make water, Young Master Leonhardt?" Chief Brightstar asked with surprise and a hint of doubt.

    "Do you need a demonstration?" Leon smiled lightly before raising his hand, followed by ice condensing into shape before he tossed the block of ice to Chief Brightstar, "For you, take it."

    "My ability is an order higher than ordinary water-users, but no needs me to tell them what they will get when the ice melts, right?"

    Leon swept everyone a look.

    Shortly after receiving their nods, he continued to speak, "Back in the Human Domain, there are quite a few water-users that can be brought over to produce water for your tribes."

    "However, this is not a good solution. The water element in the Infertile ins is not high, to begin with. I''m afraid that the amount of water production will be limited, and eventually, it will run dry," Leon stated.

    "Since this method is not really viable, Young Master Leonhardt must have a better solution, no?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "That goes without saying," Leon smiled and said, "Since there are abundant amounts of fresh water in the Human Domain, we simply need to establish a steady supply chain to transport the water to each tribe."

    "Fortunately for everyone, I am pretty adept at runes and arrays. I can build a teleportation array in each tribe and connect it to the Human Domain, effectively solving the water problem. But even if can provide water for each of your tribe for years toe, it will not solve the bigger problem."

    "Isn''t water the biggest problem we are facing once the Celestial Water Spark runs out of power? What could be a bigger problem than that?" Chief Nightraven asked with a frown.

    "Well, yes and no," Leon answered vaguely before exining further, "I can provide water to the Seven Tribes Alliance, but not to the entire Infertile ins. So in the end, thepetition for hegemony will still continue, and all tribes will be forced to migrate eventually."

    "What I can only do is stop your tribes from moving to the central region to the chaos early and give you all a chance to grow andpete for hegemony when the chaos is brought to you."

    "Why would the chaos be brought to us if we cut our Water Veins and stop drawing water from the drying Celestial Water Spark?" Chief cktooth asked with a frown.

    Everyone immediately looked at him like he was an idiot, causing him to be taken aback.

    "What?"

    "The other tribes are not stupid. If they realized that your tribes can survive without the Celestial Water Spark''s supply of water, then they will obviously realize we have our own source of water supply ande for us," Leon exined.

    "Ahhh¡­"

    Chief cktooth finally understood.

    "No wonder this choice will be a bloodied one. If we do not want to submit to the hegemon tribe, we can only be forced to fight for hegemony. There are no other options like staying neutral in this matter," Chief Nightraven muttered.

    "Well, there is actually another option. You can still run away from the conflict of the Infertile ins and move to my empire and be my subjects," Leon smiled before chuckling wryly, "Of course, I don''t anyone here is in favor of this choice."

    "And that you are not wrong, Young Master Leonhardt. Please forgive my previous unruly behavior," Chief ckdragon pleaded before saying, "But now that we are pretty clear on our choices, I am more interested in how Young Master Leonhardt will make us stronger¡ª"

    "Chief Valencia! I bring urgent news from the scouts in the north!" A warrior suddenly rushed forward and interrupted Chief ckdragon.

    Chief Valencia immediately furrowed her brows before she barked, "Report!"

    "Yes, chief! The scouts have spotted a group of foreign warriors approaching our tribe''s borders in high profile!" The warrior reported.

    "Sounds like they havee to pick a fight, and they are not bothering to conceal their movements¡ªwhich means they are confident in their strength," Chief Valencia mused before she queried, "How many areing? What are their numbers? And their strengths?"

    "Due to the scouts suspecting the warriors to all be Battle Masters, they did not get too close. However, it is estimated to be around 50-100 of them," the warrior answered truthfully.

    Everyone present was dumbfounded.

    "50-100¡­Battle Masters? Only the four strongest tribes of the central region could possibly mobilize so many Battle Masters¡­ But why would they send so many over to the Darkmoon Tribe? Aren''t they busy fighting each other?"

    Chief Nightraven questioned with surprise.

    "Perhaps they came to a temporary truce to assimte as many tribes under their banner before they resuming their battle for hegemony?" Chief Brightstar guessed.

    "I don''t think it''s that simple," Chief Valencia shook her head and said solemnly, "If we exclude the Battle King factors, 50-100 Battle Masters is enough to wipe out a tribe. I don''t think they areing to coerce us into submission¡­"

    "It''s probably the ck Warbear Tribe," Leon inputted his own guess before adding further, "If information was leaked to them somehow, only the ck Warbear Tribe would send so many Battle Masters over with the intention to silence us."

    "But why would they do that?" Chief Brightstar frowned before asking, "What did the Darkmoon Tribe do to ck Warbear Tribe?"

    "It''s not what we did but what we found out," Chief Valencia realized Leonhardt''s thoughts before she exined, "Think about it. If they found out that we knew about their scheme to cut off various tribe''s Water Veins, they would be most afraid of us spreading the word."

    "So they send Battle Masters to silence the Darkmoon Tribe before that happens, huh? Hmph, they''re really looking down on us," Chief ckdragon smiled coldly.

    "The ck Warbear Tribe is even more arrogant than my Berserk Dragon Tribe. Do they really think it''s easy to take out any of our tribes without Battle Kings on their side?"

 Chapter 648 - Yeah, Lets Do It

    <h4>Chapter 648 - Yeah, Let''s Do It</h4>

    "Whether it is arrogant confidence or foolhardiness, we will know once we confront them. Come, let us see what these Battle Masters will do," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke.

    "Hah, even if it is the ck Warbear Tribe, I would not be afraid of them. Our Seven Tribes Alliance isn''t pushovers," Chief Brightstar chimed.

    "Damn straight," Chief ckdragon spat.

    The tribes in the alliance may have their differences, but when facing outside threats, they are very united.

    Nevertheless, Leon could not help but frown.

    "Something is not right. The ck Warbear Tribe is, after all, one of the four reigning tribes of the central region. They shouldn''t be stupid enough to challenge the Darkmoon Tribe without any Battle Kings," Leon said.

    "Young Master Leonhardt speaks reason," Chief Nightraven furrowed his brows and said solemnly, "That was careless of us. Based on an iplete report, we nearly underestimated the enemy. They are, after all, the ck Warbear Tribe."

    "Right, there''s a chance that they have Battle Kings hidden in their ranks," Chief Valencia nodded gravely and said, "It might be a rare asion for us to be gathered, but it shouldn''t be a reason for us to becent."

    "It''s good that we realized early. If we just meet the ck Warbear Tribe''s warriors without any preparation, we will be at a disadvantage.

    Several warriors smiled wryly.

    They truly felt like they were invincible when the Seven Tribes Alliance is gathered together. Thebined might of seven tribes was even superior to the reigning tribes.

    Meanwhile, Leon fell silent in quiet contemtion and did not make anyments, eventually drawing several gazes onto his inconspicuous self after Duna yawned beside him.

    The yip-yaps of the people gathered made her bored.

    Her disinterested expression caught several nces at first, but no one spoke up as no one dared to antagonize the wielder of Destruction Law.

    "Is there another problem, Young Master Leonhardt?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "No, it''s just that everything we say as we sit here is all mere spection. If only we can have more detailed information on the enemy''s intention," Leon shook his head before saying, "Battle Kings hiding among their ranks is one possibility. Another possibility is that they areing for me."

    The surrounding chiefs were stunned by his words.

    "Why would theye for¡­" Chief Valencia slowly paused in realization.

    "If the ck Warbear Tribe knows we are aware of their ns, then there''s a chance that they also know about me," Leon stated before adding, "And if that is the case, it means there was an information leak."

    "Are you implying someone from the tribe purposely leaked information to the enemy?" Chief Valencia frowned before stating, "That''s impossible. I have a tight grasp on the information that flows in and out of the tribe."

    "I don''t want to doubt you, but when was thest hunt?"

    "That would be five days ago."

    "And who was on the hunting team that time?"

    "That would be¡­"

    As Chief Valencia recalled the members on thest hunting team, she suddenly fell silent with a gloomy look as if arriving at some unpleasant conclusion that displeased her.

    "The troublesome group, huh?" Leon muttered softly.

    Nevertheless, it was overheard by the Venerable Shaman and chiefs before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired, "What troublesome group are you talking about, Young Master Leonhardt? Is there a traitor in the Darkmoon Tribe?"

    "What? A traitor?" Chief ckdragon stood and spoke firmly, "Anyone who betrays their tribe must die a cruel death!"

    "It''s just a rival factionpeting for Chief Valencia''s position. I had some conflicts with their leaders," Leon mentioned casually before stating, "But even if the information was leaked by them, they can only be dealt with after we are done with the current problem before us."

    "After all, what I said is just a guess in the end. We can only verify the truth from the enemy before we pass judgment. Otherwise, we would be killing off potentially innocent lives."

    Despite what Leon said, he inwardly thought it would be for the best of the Darkmoon Tribe if they just uproot the Beast Tamer Faction.

    Shortly after skimming over the matter, for the time being, the chiefs quickly reached an agreement to wait in the tribe for the ck Warbear Tribe''s arrival rather than heading out to confront them.

    At the same time, Chief Valencia sent out more scouts in hopes of gathering as much information they could on the enemy.

    "Chief Valencia, you best make the preparations to wake up your Battle King Ancestors. If the enemy brought Battle Kings along, only your ancestors would be able to contend them," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman suggested.

    "Yes, Venerable Shaman."

    Chief Valenciaplied willingly as she was already nning for it, knowing how much threat that Battle Kings pose.

    Meanwhile, Leon suddenly stood up and said, "I will return to my courtyard first to make my own preparations."

    "Alright," Chief Valencia nodded and said, "I will send someone to inform Young Master Leonhardt when the ck Warbear Tribe is about to arrive."

    "Got it."

    ¡­

    Shortly after Leon departed the Stonehenge with Duna, he took out a Tier-3 Spiritual Replenishment Pill and ingested it.

    ''Whatever happens, keeping my mental energy up will add ayer of protection,'' Leon thought.

    Mental energy was needed to use his trump cards.

    "We finally get to leave that ce. All that boring talk nearly drove me insane!" Dunained as she kicked a pebble on the ground.

    Leon smiled wryly and said, "You were the one who wanted to join the meeting, and yet you areining about it. The talk was a necessary step to understand that everyone in the Seven Tribe Alliance is on the same page¡ª"

    "Don''t be so boring, Leon. I don''t need your exnations. I am already done with all that talk," Duna hushed before she suddenly hugged his arm and spat, "I''m bored. Let''s fuck."

    Leon nearly staggered upon hearing her straightforward demand.

    "Ahem, now is not the right time for something like¡­" Leon coughed with a gentlemanly pose, but seeing Duna''s firm look, he suddenly changed his words, "Fuck it. You know what? Let''s do it."

    "We can finish quickly in the spiritual world."

    Time flowed differently in there.

 Chapter 649 - Lofty Aspiration And Ambition

    <h4>Chapter 649 - Lofty Aspiration And Ambition</h4>

    "Wee home, Young Master Leonhardt!"

    "Wee home, Young Master Leonhardt!"

    Returning to Barrenrock Courtyard, the six maids stood in two lines of three and greeted Leon with a respectful bow.

    At the same time, Darlene and Aria stood at the back and waited as if they had been expecting his arrival.

    Leon acknowledged the maids'' greeting with a nod before strolling past them and stopped in front of Aria and Darlene.

    "How did the summit go?" Aria asked.

    "I''d say it was going well, but a problem popped up midway," Leon shook his head and said, "A group of Battle Masters is heading to this tribe. Worst-case scenario, we will be fighting a big battle soon."

    "Who might we be fighting?" Aria asked with surprise.

    "It''s likely to be the ck Warbear Tribe, one of the four strongest tribes in the Infertile ins'' central region. I''ll fill you in on the detailter. Go pick a room and adjust your mental state, Aria. I will visit your room in a bit," Leon said and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

    Aria did not think much of his words and nodded, "Mm, alright. I''ll see you in a bit."

    Shortly after, Leon turned to Darlene and gave her a peck on the forehead after saying, "You too, Darlene. I''ll visit you in a bit too to talk about¡­some things."

    "I understand, hubby." Darlene''s eyes flickered before she smiled knowingly.

    Aria suddenly paused her steps as her expression wrinkled with doubt, wondering why Leon needed to visit them separately.

    However, after she nced back and saw Darlene''s expression, she quickly realized Leon''s intention for visiting.

    She immediately blushed and hastened her steps¡ªbefore pausing again to gaze at Duna suspiciously.

    Duna gave a provocative smile before Aria snorted.

    Before long, Aria and Darlene both disappeared into their selected rooms before Leon turned back to face the six maids.

    "It seems none of you have managed to awaken yet," Leon stated after studying them.

    Tia, Chana, Nora, Tess, Zoe, and Kiara all lowered their heads with shame for failing to live up to the young master''s expectations.

    "We apologize for our ipetence, Young Master Leonhardt!"

    "Don''t take it too harshly on yourselves," Leon immediately waved his hands for them to raise their heads before he casually said, "It''s just a small matter. We''ll talk more about thister. Just take it easy for now."

    "Yes, Young Master Leonhardt," the six maids slightly bowed.

    Shortly after, Leon grabbed Duna''s arm and pulled her into an unupied bedroom.

    Although he was a bit hopeful, he had expected none of the six maids to be able to awaken naturally within the week.

    To aplish awakening within the timeframe despite have zero knowledge of Awakening Cultivation prior, they would have needed to be cultivation geniuses.

    Inside the bedroom, Duna immediately pushed Leon down on the bed and hopped on top with a condescending look.

    "You want to eat three flowers consecutively? Do you think you will still have the strength after doing it with me?" Duna asked with narrowed eyes.

    "Won''t you know in a bit," Leon cracked a confident smile and said, "It won''t be the same the previous times."

    "Hmph, have you forgotten that your mental strength gets drained by doing it in my spiritual world? I really don''t know where you are getting your confidence from," Duna snorted.

    ¡­

    Fifteen minutester, Duna copsed on top of Leon''s bare chest weakly with disbelief and confusion written over her face inside the spiritual world while Leonid below with a refreshed look on his face.

    "This doesn''t make¡­ sense!" Duna uttered weakly before looking up at Leon''s confident smile with intense curiosity.

    "How did you do it? How did you reverse the role and sap my mental strength instead?" Duna asked.

    Leon responded with a silent smile.

    He had been studying soul-rted knowledge from [Archive] whenever he had a bit of time to spare for quite a while now.

    Having made love with Duna in the spiritual world a few times, he had gained an understanding of how his mental strength was drained and managed to devise a technique through reverse engineering.

    Not only does this technique preserve his mental strength, but it could also sap Duna''s mental strength to replenish his own.

    "I took your mental strength but also gave you True Grandmist Energy in return. I think this was a fair trade, don''t you think?" Leon asked with a smile.

    However, Duna was not satisfied with his response and pressed him for an answer while taking his little brother hostage with her firm grip.

    "Tell me how!" Duna demanded.

    Leon''s lips twitched.

    "Ipiled all my knowledge on understanding the soul and devised a soul technique that could improve one''s soul quality during spiritual intimacy. But as you can see, this technique is still iplete at best," Leon exined.

    Shortly after, he added further, "The main idea behind the technique was to wrestle our mental strength back and forth like a game of tug-of-war, which would, in turns, strengthen our mental strength."

    "If this happened while we are both in peak mental states, there''s a possibility that it could improve our soul. But as you know, I ended up robbing your mental strength instead," Leon said.

    After hearing from Leon, Duna mustered her strength to pull herself up and gaze back at his face with great shock.

    "You actually tried to create a true soul cultivation technique? Not only that, but it is also a dual cultivation technique?" Duna asked with disbelief.

    She failed to keep calm and indifferentposure.

    What she heard was simply too shocking and utterly ridiculous¡ªyet at the same time, she wanted to see ite to fruition.

    Since the birth of Primal Chaos, the world has seen the creation of many dual cultivation methods and soul cultivation methods.

    But none had ever seeded in creating a true soul cultivation method, let alone a true soul cultivation method through dual cultivation with one''s soul.

    Even if there are little hopes and chances of sess, Leon''s idea was fresh and had potential.

    For the first time, Duna saw Leon''s lofty aspiration and ambition.

 Chapter 650 - Arias Surprising Suggestion

    <h4>Chapter 650 - Aria''s Surprising Suggestion</h4>

    "Let''s go again. I can take a few more rounds. This technique is worth researching. If you can realize it, you would have aplished something even the gods and devils of old could not."

    As Duna spoke, she failed to muster the strength to get up from Leon''s bare chest and stubbornly continued to try.

    "No, your mental strength has already been depleted. Any more, and your soul will be harmed instead." Leon shook his head and rejected her.

    As much as he wanted to continue, the pleasure was simply not worth the suffering the consequences.

    "Tch!" Duna clicked her tongue and spat with narrowed eyes, "You drained my mental strength on purpose, so you can go y with your other two flowers, huh?"

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about," Leon responded with a smile before suddenly changing the topic with a solemn look, "How is Lumi? It''s been some time since shest came out. I am beginning to worry that something is wrong."

    Lumi used to be the more dominant persona between the two. It was not right for her to have disappeared for so long.

    Leon could not help but feel something was amiss.

    At the same time, Duna''s eyshes trembled with a slight change in expression before she spat with a frown, "Why? Sick of me already?"

    "C''mon. You know that''s not what I meant," Leon responded with a frown of his own before he asked with knitted brows, "Is there something you''re hiding from me?"

    "Nothing will happen to Lumi. After all, she is the host, and I am the freeloader. She is just sleeping to make up time for me, who did not have much chance toe out in the past 400 years," Duna said before stating coolly, "You worry too much."

    Leon frowned again.

    Nevertheless, he eventually sighed and nodded, "Perhaps, I am worrying too much."

    "If there''s a problem, you''ll tell me, right?" Leon gazed at Duna seriously before he said, "There''s nothing we can''t solve together."

    "Yeah, yeah." Duna uttered nonchntly and waved him off, "If you''re done here, then get lost to go y with your other two little flowers already. I''m tired and want to rest."

    "Fine, but remember my words," Leon reminded.

    His spiritual avatar eventually dispersed from the spiritual world and returned to his main body outside before he tucked Duna into bed and left.

    ¡­

    Inside Aria''s bedroom, she waited and waited, but Leon never came.

    She thought she was quite a patient person, but knowing who Leon went to visit first, she lost her patience quickly despite only waiting less than ten minutes.

    Just when she was about to stop thinking about it and just cultivate, the bedroom doors suddenly burst open before Leon barge into the room and locked the doors behind him shortly after.

    "Aria, I''vee for you. We finally have some time for ourselves. I hope you are prepared¡ª"

    Leon was full of smiles before he suddenly paused upon seeing her expression and eximed, "Oh, what do we have here? Could someone be jealous right now?"

    "Who are you trying to say is being jeal¡ª"

    Aria did not get to finish her words before her lips were sealed by Leon''s wolfish lips, causing only her muffled cry to be heard, following moans and a pinkish atmosphere painting the room shortly after.

    The battle in bed quickly ended within five minutes before the battle of will began shortly after Leon injected himself inside Aria''s spiritual world.

    Half an hour quickly passed before an exhausted Aria copsed on top of Leon''s chest, her forehead filled with sweats in a simr fashion to Duna after having her mental strength.

    "Was I always this tired?" Aria asked herself with puzzlement before apologizing with self-me, "Sorry, hubby. We finally have time together, but I did not notice my mental energy was this low¡­"

    "Don''t be." Leon shook his head and said wryly, "I am actually to me for your loss of mental strength. I am practicing a self-created dual cultivation soul technique that is still imperfect and requiring adjustment and improvement."

    "Your mental strength was drained as a result of me practicing it to replenish my own mental strength, though it is not the core intent behind the technique," Leon exined.

    "So, it was like that¡­" Aria was enlightened before she quickly knitted her brows and said, "But with my current state, I will not be able to assist in the battleter¡ªshould a fight break out."

    "You won''t need to, but thank you," Leon gave Aria a warm kiss on the forehead before he shook his head and said, "As long as I recover my mental strength, I have a certain level of confidence in resolving the threat even if an Early-rank Battle King were to intervene."

    "How strong is an Early-rank Battle King?" Aria frowned with worry before asking, "It isparable to Paragon?"

    "No, it''s not." Leon shook his head and said, "The Body Cultivation System here is a bit inferior and imperfect. An Early-rank Battle King''s strength is only estimated to be around 5-million jin, which is onlyparable to a Half-step Paragon at most."

    "A Half-step Paragon is not someone easy to deal with either¡­" Aria was full of worries before mentioning, "Remember how dangerous the situation was when we faced the bloodline-awakening Three-Legged Golden Crow?"

    "Rx, I have grown much stronger since that time. The situation will not be desperate like that time¡ªprovided that I recover enough mental strength to use my trump cards," Leon assured.

    Nevertheless, Aria was not at ease and asked, "How much mental strength have your recovered?"

    "After absorbing Darlene''s mental strength, I should be around three-quarters," Leon answered after a short pause before he added, "However, three-quarters of my mental strength should be more than enough to use my trump cards freely for a while."

    Aria frowned.

    "What if you also absorb the mental strength from those six maids as well?" she inquired.

    Leon was quickly stunned as his eyes slowly widened with surprise to hear such a suggestioning from her.

    "Have you forgotten that this is a dual cultivation technique? So even if it''s just done in the spiritual world¡ªNo, it should be said that precisely because it is done in the spiritual world that it is the highest level of intimate interaction."

    "Are you really letting your husbandmit spiritual intimacy with six other women?" Leon asked with doubt and slight amusement.

 Chapter 651 - Three Choices

    <h4>Chapter 651 - Three Choices</h4>

    It was incredulous to hear such wordse from Aria''s mouth.

    Nevertheless, she shook her head.

    "Although I don''t like the space I upy in your heart bing smaller with each new sister you pick up, it''s not as important as your life. I just want you to be safe," Aria stated emotionally.

    As she held onto his body, Leon could feel her tremble with deep affection and concern.

    "Aria¡­" Leon uttered gently.

    Suddenly, Aria''s eyes zed over with a steely look before she instructed, "Still, this does not mean I am giving you permission to pick up girls as you want!"

    "You have to make them aware that this is only a one-time thing and not an opportunity to start an intimate rtionship with you. But, of course, the prerequisite is that they have to be willing to do it with you despite that."

    "Ahem. Of course, of course¡­" Leon''s expression turned awkward as he said wryly, "Why would I need more women in my life? Don''t you think my te is already full enough?"

    "And yet you still stuff it with more fruits on top. You sure know how to enjoy yourself!" Aria spat with a grudging look before saying, "Even if you''re not looking, the vixens are always looking for a chance to worm their way in!"

    "Some things can''t be helped, Aria. It just happens beyond my control," Leon said ruefully while scratching his head awkwardly.

    "It''s because you''re soft-hearted that they believe they have a chance!" Aria stated before she eventually sighed helplessly, "But I can''t me you. Who can me my husband for being too outstanding?"

    "No matter how many there are, no one can shake your position in my heart, Aria."

    "Psh, sweet-mouth!" Aria spat.

    Nevertheless, it was evident that Aria was happy to hear such words from Leon as a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

    Eventually, the twoid together on the snowy field of the spiritual world and felt each other''s warmth as Leon began to fill Aria in on all he knew about the Dark Continent.

    From the Darkmoon Tribe to the Seven Tribes Alliance, from the Infertile ins to the ck Swamp, the Darkness Mountain, and Land of Darkness.

    And finally, the Celestial Water Spark andpetition for hegemony on the Infertile ins.

    Shortly after, Leon kissed Aria on the forehead and said right before exiting the spiritual world, "Just stay here obediently and rest. Leave everything to me."

    "Be careful," Aria said with concern.

    "Un."

    Leon nodded.

    Sometimeter, Leon left and departed the bedroom before Aria''s eyes slowly opened and suddenly felt traces of True Grandmist Energy in her body.

    "This energy¡­"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon shortly arrived at Darlene''s bedroom and entered before the erotic scene of Darlene lying naked on the bed in a seductive position with only a thin sheet covering her body made Leon have a nosebleed.

    "My hubby, Darlene has been waiting for you~"

    "Damn!"

    Leon eximed as his lively spirit was further invigorated, and the bulging dragon awakened like it was on steroids.

    Darlene was a real nympho.

    Without further adieu, Leon immediately pounced on Darlene and battled with her furiously. From the wooden bed to the ster stars of her spiritual world, Leon rocked her silly and begging for mercy.

    Amidst the heavy moans and dense pinkish atmosphere that could rival the eclipse of the crimson moon, Darlene eventually fell onto Leon''s chest, exhausted, depleted of her energy.

    Leon left the bedroom sometimeter, looking a little shriveled as if he had all his essence sapped out of him.

    However, his eyes were bright as his mental strength was further replenished, and close to making a full recovery.

    He expected to be three-quarters recovered after Darlene, but he ended up being four-fifths from full recovery.

    "Unexpectedly, Darlene had this much mental energy¡­" Leon muttered quietly as he closed the door on his way out.

    Although the difference was not significant, it was still enough to surprise him.

    "The Void Soul Constitution, huh? Seems like there is more to it than just simply granting extraordinary affinity to spatial elements," Leon mused thoughtfully.

    Suddenly, his expression crumpled as he felt a slight pain in his little brother, causing him to sweat a little.

    "A water tank can be reinforced to endure the des and fire, but that won''t increase its water reserve, huh? Hang in there, little one. My mental strength is nearly recovered."

    As if his words encouraged it, his little brother began to stand up again¡ªalmost like it was giving him the thumbs up and saying it was good to go.

    ¡­

    "Young Master Leonhardt."

    The six maids quickly greeted Leon as he approached them before he gave them a nod in return.

    "Are you going to provide us with further guidance on achieving our awakening now, Young Master Leonhardt?" Tia inquired.

    The other five maids quickly perked their eyes and awaited Leon''s answer eagerly.

    Leon swept his gaze through them before he said, "For your awakening, there are three options I can give you. The first choice is that you continue toprehend and awaken on your own. You can take as much time as you need to achieve it."

    "The second choice is that I give you a True Awakening Pill. This will allow you to awaken quickly. However, relying on medicine isn''t without its side effects. That being said, there are no severe side effects I am aware of¡ªapart from the shortening of your lifespan if you overdose, that is."

    "Lastly, the third choice is to sleep with me. With my body''s unique constitution, it will allow you to awaken immediately after the deed and also provide a quick boost to your cultivation due to my own higher cultivation base."

    "However, you need to understand that if you pick the third choice, it is only a mere transaction between us, nothing more and nothing less. I help you awaken and give you strength. In return, I will take your mental energy for myself."

    After Tia and the five other maids listened, they wore thoughtful looks before Tess inquired curiously, "What happens after Young Master Leonhardt drains our mental energy?"

    "Nothing much, really¡­ You will just be mentally exhausted for the following 24 hours," Leon stated before he calmly said, "Now make your decisions."

 Chapter 652 - Lord Warmog

    <h4>Chapter 652 - Lord Warmog</h4>

    The six maids were taken aback.

    Although their chastity was the only thing they had while they were still working in the ce, it was not something that the tribesmen cherished apart from them.

    Now, before them stands an opportunity for them to grow strong and stand tall among their fellow tribesmen without being looked down upon.

    Their chastity pales inparison to their lifelong wish.

    On another note, the young master does not seem to benefit much from this deal, considering mental strength can be recovered with adequate rest.

    Young Master Leonhardt was basically offering a free deal to help them grow.

    Chana furrowed her brows thoughtfully for a moment before she voiced her doubts, "What do you need mental energy for, Young Master Leonhardt? You don''t seem to gain much from this deal."

    "If it was our bodies that you wanted, we will naturally belong to you. But that doesn''t seem to be what you want. Thus, Chana is a little confused."

    "You don''t need to worry about that. You only need to know that I do have a use for it," Leon stated inly without exining further.

    He did not want to seem maniptive and influence them but allowed them to make their choices freely.

    After all, they were not his only options in the Darkmoon Tribe.

    His lovely wife, Aria, had granted him free reign to sleep with whoever he wants as long asmitment and strings were attached.

    In the blink of an eye, that little girl was already thinking and have the understanding of an empress.

    Meanwhile, after the six maids nced at each other for a moment, Zoe stepped forward and requested, "Please give us a moment to discuss among ourselves, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "Alright, but make it quick," Leon agreed.

    Shortly after, the six maids gathered in a circle to share their opinions and discuss their choices regarding awakening.

    A short few minutes, they quickly gathered back in front of Leon before he casually asked, "Have you all made your choices?"

    "Yes, Young Master Leonhardt! Please bestow your blessings onto us and turn us all into real women!" the six maids responded in unison.

    Leon was immediately taken aback, not expecting all of them to pick the same choice and the third choice, no less.

    Perhaps the oppression of beingbeled useless was too great, or thepetition and rivalry among them were too significant that no one wanted tog behind the other.

    "Alright," Leon nodded calmly after recovering hisposure before he said, "Since you all made your choices,e with me to my room."

    "Yes, Young Master Leonhardt!"

    As six maids followed Leon, he silently prayed for his little brother to remain strong enough to awaken them all.

    ''Seems like I will need to refine medicine to nourish my Yang Essence in the future,'' Leon silently thought as they arrived in front of the door to an empty bedroom.

    Leon turned his head around before he suddenly asked, "Who wants to start first? The rest will wait outside as I help each of you awaken."

    "Huh?" Chana eximed softly before she asked innocently, "Can''t you help us all at the same time, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "I''m not some omnipotent god with three heads and six golden rods. So how am I supposed to help you all simultaneously?" Leon''s lips twitched.

    "Oh, right¡­"

    Chana quickly realized the silliness of her question before she blushed with embarrassment.

    However, shortly after, Nora gazed into Leon''s eyes before she said with a smile, "Then, can we at least watch while you extend your help to each of us, Young Master Leonhardt? We are unfamiliar with the act and hoped to observe and study on the side."

    "Well¡­" Leon''s lips twitched again with hesitation before he ultimately shrugged his shoulders nonchntly in response, "If none of you have a problem with it, then be my guest."

    He was a man.

    If they were not ashamed of being watched, why should he be?

    "That''s great!"

    "Thank you for agreeing to our request, Young Master Leonhardt!"

    The six maids eventually followed Leon into the bedroom before Kiara, thest of six maids, closed the door on her way in.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    A few dozen miles north of Darkmoon Tribe, a group of warriors in high-quality leather armor trekked through the barrennds of the Infertile ins.

    "Lord Warmog, do we really need to bring so many Battle Masters for this trip?" a High-rank Battle Master asked.

    "I know a temporary truce has been enforced, but if any of those tribes decide to break the truce, our ck Warbear Tribe will be helpless to defend against their sudden attack."

    "And you only bring this up now, when we are just about to reach our destination?" the Extremity-rank Battle Master, Lord Warmog, responded casually.

    "Although the Darkmoon Tribe is not among the strongest, they are not to be underestimated. After all, there''s a reason why the Seven Tribes Alliance was able to defend the southernnds of the Infertile ins from the demons."

    "But remember, the goal of this trip is not to start a conflict with them. Our task is to invite that person back to our tribe, so reel in your arrogance and avoid antagonizing them. It won''t benefit anyone if we make them feel threatened enough to wake up their Battle Kings."

    Shortly after Lord Warmog spoke, the High-rank Battle Master slowly digested his words before he further mentioned, "But the Seven Tribes Alliance have just experienced the Bone Cmity. I''m afraid their losses are not small this time around."

    "Perhaps, we only need to apply a bit of pressure, and they will quickly submit to our ck Warbear Tribe. The chief will surely reward us handsomely if we can bring that person along with the entire Seven Tribes Alliance''s allegiance back with us!"

    The High-rank Battle Master''s eyes gradually lit up as he made his suggestion to the leader and strongest warrior of their expedition.

    At his words, Lord Warmog was slightly tempted.

    However, he quickly shook his head and firmly said, "Just stick to the mission and do nothing more nor nothing less¡­ Do you understand? We must not fail."

 Chapter 653 - Black Warbear Tribes Intention

    <h4>Chapter 653 - ck Warbear Tribe''s Intention</h4>

    "Alright, alright. Just stick to the mission, right? I understand," the High-rank Battle Master said.

    "Good that you understand. If the information is true, we must do everything we can to win this person over," Lord Warmog said before adding, "And coercing his tribe is hardly the way to do it."

    "But Wak''s words are worth considering. If the Seven Tribes Alliance is as strong as you im, it will be huge merit if we can bring them under our banner, Lord Warmog." A Low-rank Battle Master inserted his opinion with a flicker of eagerness.

    An Extremity-rank Battle Master like Lord Warmog might not get too excited with regards to rewards from the chief at level, but it was different for the rest of them who still had ways to go before reaching the apex of the Battle Master Realm.

    Lord Warmog swept the group a look before he questioned them casually, "You are all thinking about the merit of subjugating the Seven Tribes Alliance?"

    "Yes, Lord Warmog," another Low-rank Battle Master acknowledged with a nod before saying, "If we seed, not only that it will be a huge boost to our tribe''s strength, but the chief will most likely reward handsomely enough to promote our strength to a higher rank."

    After seeing the look on everyone''s faces, Lord Warmog shook his head and gave a soft sigh.

    "This is why I am in charge," Lord Warmog stated before exining, "You see, to receive the chief''s handsome reward, you must first seed."

    "If we fail, not only would we not get any reward, we will also suffer the chief''s wrath. And trust me, you don''t want that to happen."

    "How bad can it be?" the youngest Low-rank Battle Master in the group asked before saying, "No matter what, Battle Masters are the core strength of the ck Warbear Tribe."

    "Right. We are needed for the fiercepetition between tribes aiming for hegemony. The chief will not kill us for failing," another Battle Master added.

    "You think death is the worse form of punishment? Wrong. Death is a release. The worse form of punishment is to beg for death but not have it," Lord Warmog said before stating, "None of you know how deep Chief ckbear''s cruelty runs. Trust me, his torture methods are not things you want to experience¡ªNot now, not ever."

    His solemn words quickly shook the hearts of the Battle Masters as they begin to weigh their options.

    Was it worth the risk?

    With the existence of the Demonic Possession, stepping into Battle Master Realm was like a race to reach the Battle King Realm.

    If they ever want to reach the Battle King Realm in their lifetime and enjoy endless glory, they have to grab hold of every opportunity they can to promote their strength.

    Thus, if they cower because of some risk, they were as good as having already lost the race.

    As the Battle Masters thought, they agreed to strictly follow the mission on the surface while making their own ns in their hearts.

    ''Observe the situation first, then act ordingly.''

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, the ck Warbear Tribe''s group of Battle Masters arrived at the Darkmoon Tribe and stopped 100 yards from its wall.

    Chief Valencia, the other tribal chiefs, the Venerable Shamans, and all other abled Battle Masters in the tribe gathered on the wall as they anticipated the group''s arrival.

    "Who are you people, and why have youe to my Darkmoon Tribe? State your intentions!"

    Chief Valencia''s powerful and clear voice quickly rippled out, easily traversing the distance and into the ears of the ck Warbear Tribe.

    "Only a Mid-rank Battle Master, huh?" a High-rank Battle Master gauged Chief Valencia''s strength through her breath beforementing, "Our chief''s strength is far greater than this."

    "Right. It seems that the Darkmoon Tribe is not as strong as Lord Warmog imed if their chief is only at the level of a Mid-rank Battle Master¡­"

    "Enough chatter. Do not provoke the other side," Lord Warmog hushed before stepping forward from the group and answered clearly, "I am Lord Warmog, and we are warriors from the ck Warbear Tribe of Central Region!"

    ''Sure enough, it''s the ck Warbear Tribe!''

    Chief Valencia and the other tribal chiefs of the alliance narrowed their eyes dangerously in that instance.

    "We''ve received reliable news that a Divine Doctor, who can cure the Demonic Possession, is currently residing in your tribe. Therefore, we came to invite this person back to the ck Warbear Tribe," Lord Warmog stated.

    Chief Valencia and the other tribal chiefs'' eyes flickered.

    Once again, it was as they had suspected. There was an information leak and a traitor within the tribe¡ªor at least, it was almost certainly the case.

    "Such a powerful lineup of Battle Masters you have brought along to invite one person," Chief Valencia spoke with a sardonic tone before adding with ridicule, "Let''s say there is a Divine Doctor in this tribe. What will you do if we refuse? Use force? Threaten to annihte our tribe?"

    "I can understand your concerns, but the ck Warbear Tribe will not resort to violence. We wish to negotiate with the Darkmoon Tribe peacefully and amicably," Lord Warmog stated before adding, "The heavy lineup of Battle Masters is for protection."

    "The ck Warbear Tribe requires fifty Battle Masters for a sense of security whening to ask for a person from my Darkmoon Tribe?"

    "I did not know that the proud ck Warbear Tribe could be so insecure with their strength. Don''t tell me that the ck Warbear Tribe is afraid of our little Darkmoon Tribe?"

    The longer they spoke, the more certain Chief Valencia believed that the ck Warbear Tribe did note with good intentions.

    Nevertheless, her words angered the group as a hotheaded Low-rank Battle Master barked furiously, "Nonsense!"

    "How can my great ck Warbear Tribe be afraid of a mere Darkmoon Tribe? The protection Lord Warmog spoke of is not for us but for the Divine Doctor!"

    Being looked down on by the Darkmoon Tribe, none of the proud warriors from the ck Warbear Tribe was pleased.

    Even Lord Warmog''s expression was glum, but he remained cordial.

    "The ck Warbear Tribe recognizes the importance of the Divine Doctor. Thus, should anything befall him during our escort, it will be a great loss for the entire Infertile ins!"

 Chapter 654 - The Sole Candidate For Hegemon Position

    <h4>Chapter 654 - The Sole Candidate For Hegemon Position</h4>

    "The ck Warbear isn''t here to fight. But if you continue to insult us, we are not afraid of starting one!"

    The High-rank Battle Master, Wak, shouted shortly after Lord Warmog spoke, causing the person to cast a disapproving gaze over.

    However, Wak gazed back at Lord Warmog and firmly said, "We might have a mission toplete, but it does not mean that we have to lower our heads to other tribes and disgrace our own tribe to achieve it!"

    "That may be so, but I am in charge of negotiations here. It''s not your turn to speak when I am speaking! Only speak when I give permission. Are we clear?"

    Lord Warmog stated gravely while exerting the pressure of his Extremity-rank Battle Master Realm to oppress the group''s rampant behaviors.

    Perhaps, he had been too lenient with them that they had forgotten his authority and not take him seriously.

    ¡­

    On the Darkmoon Tribe''s wall, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman suggested, "Chief Valencia, you should stop antagonizing the ck Warbear Tribe and hear them out first. Their intention might be different from what we assumed."

    "There''s nothing to hear from these conniving bastards from Central Region. The Central Region had always been filled with selfish people who care for no one but themselves! Otherwise, our Seven Tribes Alliance would not be defending the south from the demons alone for so long!"

    Chief ckdragon interjected with a strong stance before Chief Valencia nodded in agreement.

    "That''s right. The ck Warbear Tribe attempted to destroy our Water Veins through covert means. It''s not easy to forgive for that, regardless of their reasons."

    "I didn''t see we should forgive. I''m only stating that we should hear what they have to say first," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    Not long after, Leon suddenly made his appearance on the wall before casually asking, "I''m notte, am I?"

    "Not at all," Chief Valencia stated calmly before her nose shortly twitched, causing her lips to curve into a teasing smile. "Young Master Leonhardt sure knows how to enjoy yourself."

    "Never mind that," Leon shook his head wryly before asking with a solemn look, "What''s the current situation?"

    Shortly after, Chief Valencia briefly filled Leon in on what he missed before he understood the gist of the situation.

    The two sides eventually resumed their confrontation after Lord Warmog stated, "Before we continue, I ask where the Divine Doctor is? It should be the Divine Doctor''s choice whether he wants to follow us back to the ck Warbear Tribe or not. Not yours, Chief Valencia."

    "And what will you do after bringing the Divine Doctor to the Central Region? Gauge his secrets for yourself?"

    Chief Valencia threw an usatory nce at Lord Warmog in the distance and held Leon back before he could speak.

    "If the ck Warbear Tribe wants treatment, they cane to our Darkmoon Tribe. There''s no need for the Divine Doctor to travel all the way to the ck Warbear Tribe," she stated.

    The tribal chiefs of the alliance nodded with approval before Chief ckdragon spoke, "That''s right. Does your ck Warbear Tribe think you can take a person from our Seven Tribes Alliance away as you please?"

    "Our Seven Tribes Alliance aren''t pushovers!" an Extremity-rank Great Warrior hollered from the wall, "Don''t think that we will forgive the ck Warbear Tribe from trying to cut our Water Veins!"

    "Is this the main reason for your dislike?" Lord Warmog''s eyes flickered for a moment before apologizing solemnly, "For that, we are sorry. But since you were able to find out about that, you should also understand our ck Warbear Tribe''s intention behind it."

    "There''s a big crisis that concerns the lives of all humans on the Infertile ins, and that crisis is the depletion of the Celestial Water Spark, whom the ck Warbear Tribe has always been faithfully guarding!"

    "You might not like the ck Warbear Tribe''s methods, but it''s our way of unifying the Infertiles ins quickly and n for our future! Nevertheless, the other three ruling tribes have caught on quickly and obstructed our ns of unification."

    "Originally, there was no more hope for the people in the Infertile ins. With the intensepetition for hegemony between the ruling tribes, the Infertile ins will not be unified before the Celestial Water Spark''s power runs dry."

    "However, the Divine Doctor''s appearance has brought us new hope!"

    As Lord Warmog admitted openly and spoke about the ck Warbear Tribe''s matters, his eyes lit up brightly before gazing back at Chief Valencia on the wall intensely.

    "You want to know why we must bring the Divine Doctor back to the ck Warbear Tribe? Well, I don''t mind telling you that Chief ckbear has the intention of crowning the Divine Doctor as the Hegemon of the Infertile ins and provide him our full backing!" Lord Warmog stated.

    Chief Valencia frowned, finding it hard to trust the words of someone from the Central Region before she turned to her fellow tribal chiefs and elders in the alliance and Leon for their opinions.

    "What do you all think of this person''s words?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "The goal of the ck Warbear Tribe sounds very noble and righteous as if they are thinking for the best of everyone. If their chief ns to follow through with what they said, then this Chief ckbear is someone with great foresight."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shamanmented.

    "With Young Master Leonhardt''s divine ability to treat the Demonic Possession, many Great Warriors and Battle Masters will want to join under his banner¡­" Chief Nightraven added.

    "However, we must not forget that their conniving hearts hold a deep and selfish desire. And the words of a person from the Central Region cannot be easily trusted," the One-Eye Venerable Shaman reminded.

    "Perhaps, the ck Warbear Tribe wants Young Master Leonhardt to represent them after ascending the Hegemon position so they can be the representative tribe after the unification?" Chief Brightstar guessed.

    "If that''s the case, why should it be them?" Chief Valencia questioned coolly before adding, "Why can''t it be us?"

    "We nned topete for the representative leadership position of our Seven Tribes Alliance anyways, so why don''t we just nominate Young Master Leonhardt and go one step further, pushing him to be the Hegemon of the Infertile ins?"

    Chief Valencia suggested.

 Chapter 655 - Not A Tool For Politics

    <h4>Chapter 655 - Not A Tool For Politics</h4>

    "That is a very good idea, Chief Valencia. First, however, we have to seek Young Master Leonhardt''s opinion on this matter," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    "The Venerable Shaman is right," Chief Brightstar nodded and said, "After all, this is the same as pushing Young Master Leonhardt into the fire pit."

    "Once we spread the news of his ability across the Infertile ins to rally warriors under our banner, we will also be putting Young Master into unprecedented danger," Chief Nightraven added.

    Without a doubt, there will also be people thate with ill intents, seeking to capture Young Master Leonhardt for themselves while disregarding the Seven Tribes Alliance.

    "What do you think, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    Chief Valencia turned to Leon for an answer before he nonchntly shrugged his shoulders in response.

    "It doesn''t matter to me. We can proceed with this n if you all decided so," Leon said.

    The n was dangerous but not life-threatening. However, the same cannot be said for the Seven Tribes Alliance.

    They will be pitting themselves against the ck Warbear Tribe and all tribes that wille for him.

    Leon smiled wryly as he thought of the original n to bide their time and grow after a representative leader among the Seven Tribes Alliance was selected.

    The chiefs all intended to battle for that position as they all wanted it. But when ites to bing a Hegemon, it can only be passed to him.

    He will not be the only candidatepeting for the Hegemon position, but he is the sole candidate who had a chance of unifying the Infertile ins.

    After Leon gave his answer, Chief Valencia nodded and turned her attention back to the ck Warbear Tribe''s group of Battle Masters.

    "Sorry to inform you, but the Divine Doctor will not be going anywhere. He already has the backing of our Seven Tribes Alliance, and we will help him be Hegemon," Chief Valencia stated coolly.

    "Hm?" Lord Warmog frowned before he said, "You are making a mistake. Are you sure you want to turn us down without letting us see the Divine Doctor?"

    "I am the Divine Doctor," Leon stepped forward and said impassively, "Since you have seen, you can leave now. Apologies for the wasted trip."

    "You''re the Divine Doctor?" Lord Warmog asked with astonishment.

    Not to mention him, but the entire group of Battle Masters was also surprised, not expecting the Divine Doctor to appear so young.

    Nevertheless, Lord Warmog did not believe it, thinking that a scapegoat had been used to fool them as the Darkmoon Tribe did not want them knowing who the Divine Doctor is.

    "The Seven Tribes Alliance is very ambitious! Do you think you can protect the Divine Doctor and unite the Infertile ins with your strength?" Lord Warmog questioned with his patience growing thin.

    "At the very least, we have more Battle Kings on our side," Chief Valencia stated coolly.

    Lord Warmog''s expression shortly turned gloomy before he said, "It''s true that with thebined forces of the Seven Tribes Alliance, you will have more Battle Kings than my ck Warbear Tribe. But only my ck Warbear Tribe."

    "We still have the strength of ten other tribes under our ruling!" Lord Warmog stated coldly before adding, "Not to mention, Battle Kings are the Infertile ins'' core strength in defending against the demons!"

    "I didn''t know that the Seven Tribes Alliance is so desperate for fame and glory that they are willing to sacrifice their ancestors'' time for it. The defenders of the south are only this much, huh?" Wakmented loudly for Chief Valencia and the others to hear.

    "Even the four ruling tribes of Central Region still show some restraint whenpeting for hegemony," Wak mentioned before criticizing the Seven Tribes Alliance, "You people are going to cause unnecessary bloodshed and lose for the Infertile ins!"

    "We have to unite quickly while preserving our strength, so we can ovee any resistance during our migration into a more prosperousnd! Unfortunately, however, it seems like the Seven Tribes Alliance doesn''t care about the bigger picture!"

    As Wak spoke, Lord Warmog frowned but chose to remain silent without interrupting him.

    They had to make the Seven Tribes Alliance understand that the utilization of Battle Kings does not benefit anyone and that they were not worthy enough to join thepetition with their pitiful amount of Battle Masters.

    Nevertheless, Leon continued to listen to the two sides exchanged a battle of words back and forth about which tribe was more worthy.

    From the start, the so-called Hegemon position was only being treated as a figurehead by the ck Warbear Tribe while the real power still rests with them¡ªthat is, if he was to follow them back to their tribe.

    Suddenly, Leon burst into a fit ofughter raucously and maniacally, quickly attracting everyone''s attention before Lord Warmog and the other ck Warbear Tribe''s Battle Master begin to frown with displeasure.

    "What''s so funny?"

    Lord Warmog asked in a deep and threatening tone with furrowed brows while exerting the pressure of his aura.

    Leon''sugh abruptly stopped after drawing their attention onto himself before his body rose into the air and floated forward.

    "If I was going to be crowned Hegemon, you all need to understand that you will be serving me and not whichever tribe that wants to represent me!" Leon stated clearly.

    "Go back and tell your chief that the Divine Doctor isn''t someone that can be used as a tool for politics but someone with real power and should not be trifled with. If the ck Warbear Tribe wish to serve me, then show some sincerity."

    Leon hovered in the air with a calm and collected countenance as he gazed down on Lord Warmog and the other Battle Masters indifferently.

    "Are you threatening us?!" Wak quickly barked in retaliation, "How the hell do you think you are to look down on us?!"

    "You still don''t know?" Leon shifted his gaze to Wak and said coolly, "I suppose you are just a muscle brain¡­ Even though your group was looking for me, you still fail to believe it."

 Chapter 656 - Shaman Kings Successor

    <h4>Chapter 656 - Shaman King''s Sessor</h4>

    "Perhaps, only strength will convince you," Leon stated indifferently before raising his hand above his head and waving it down shortly after.

    Rumble¡­!

    In that instance, a colossal pressure immediately weighed down on Lord Warmog and the Battle Masters, causing them to fail to stand upright as if gravity in the area had increased by many folds.

    No, gravity really did increase.

    The ck Warbear Tribe''s Battle Masters was immediately shocked with iprehensible looks as some of them were shortly nted into the ground like helplessmbs waiting to be ughtered.

    With their sheer physical strength, they could easily resist the pressure.

    But the same cannot be said for their organs as they felt great strains on them, causing them to feel weak and lose all their strengths.

    "What kind of power is this?" a Low-rank Battle Master muttered.

    At the same time, the pathetic appearances of the ck Warbear Tribe''s Battle Masters quickly rmed Chief Valencia and the others on the wall.

    "Is this Shamanic Powers?" Chief Valencia''s eyes widened with astonishment.

    She had seen that Young Master Leonhardt''s strength had grown by leaps and bounds, but she did not expect the same applied to his shamanic powers.

    His growth was simply too terrifying.

    As everyone assumed that Leon''s Shamanic Power came from having a colossal reserve of mental strength, they did not know that it was actually just borrowed strength from manipting gravity with the Authority of Earth.

    Still, the Authority of Earth was not an ability that Leon could clearly exin as he was still exploring its secrets and sources himself.

    "Have mercy, Divine Doctor! We apologize for failing to recognize your esteemed self!" Lord Warmog pleaded for his men before saying, "We will make sure to deliver your message back to our chief!"

    Swish¡ª!

    Leon retracted his hand before the pressure was lifted.

    After regaining their freedom, the Battle Masters were shaken by Leon''s means and did not dare to slight him.

    However, there is always that one person in the group that does things differently.

    "You bastard¡ª!" Wak roared furiously.

    But before Wak could make a move, he was pped back into the ground by Lord Warmog, causing the ground to crack upon impact and knocked the person out cold.

    Shortly after, Lord Warmog picked Wak and ced him over his shoulders before he nced back at Leon in the air.

    "The message, I will deliver back to our chief," Lord Warmog stated before adding, "However, there is one thing you should know, Divine Doctor."

    "Oh? And what is that?" Leon asked.

    "Even if you seed in unifying the Infertile ins, the other tribes will only follow the most worthy and strongest tribe. Because, if the Battle God wanted the Hegemon position, it would never be your turn to take it," Lord Warmog said.

    Shortly after, the ck Warbear Tribe''s group of Battle Masters were ordered to leave with Lord Warmog, leaving behind a Leon with furrowed brows.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly approached him before asking, "Are you thinking about what that person just said about the Battle God, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "Yes." Leon nodded.

    "You don''t need to worry about that too much. The Battle God has always been reclusive and never paid much attention to the affairs of the various tribes living on the ins. Only arge movement from the demons would stir the Battle God into action," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    "I see¡­" Leon muttered.

    "Still, Young Master Leonhardt has certainly surprised this old man. Who would have thought that Young Master Leonhardt''s Shamanic Power would be even more terrifying than your Body Cultivation?"

    "It''s just a small trick, not worth mentioning¡­" Leon casually replied.

    "Hahaha¡­" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled softly and said, "That small trick is enough to put all Shamans to shame, Young Master Leonhardt."

    After all, if such a powerful ability was considered small, then other Shamans'' abilities were just rubbish.

    Leon smiled lightly withoutmenting.

    Shortly after the two returned to the wall, Leon faced Chief Valencia and the others before he said, "The ck Warbear Tribe was surprisingly reasonable, but what that Warmog person said remains true."

    "The Seven Tribes Alliance is very weak in terms of Battle Masters. As such, I will be transcribing special cultivation methods for the Seven Tribes Alliance to practice. This includes the same cultivation techniques that I am practicing¡ªshould you all wish for it."

    "You can do that for us, Young Master Leonhardt?" Chief cktooth asked with shock, having experienced Leon''s body defense firsthand.

    Leon nodded calmly before he said, "After all, these techniques actually came from the Darkmoon Tribe''s collection of primordial heritages. You can ask Chief Valencia for further details about this."

    "Nevertheless, some of these cultivation methods are still iplete. If your tribes can also pool in your collection of primordial heritages, we might reach some level ofpletion after tranting them."

    As everyone shifted their attention to Chief Valencia, she looked shocked while gazing back at Leon.

    "Young Master Leonhardt managed to trante those ancient techniques from memory and practiced them to such heights within such a short time?"

    "Chief Valencia won''t me me for secretly practicing them, right?"

    Leon responded with a smile before Chief Valencia quickly shook her head and said, "Of course not. I was just astounded by your talents, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "Let us talk more about this back at the Stonehenge," Chief Valencia shortly said in response to the various chiefs'' inquisitive gazes.

    "Given that we have refused the ck Warbear Tribe''s demand, we do not have a lot of time until Young Master Leonhardt''s abilities are known through the Infertile ins since they most likely to spread the news for us."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the chiefs of the alliance quickly agreed with her suggestion before they departed from the wall.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, as the ck Warbear Tribe''s Battle Masters headed home, a Low-rank Battle Master asked grudgingly, "Are we just going leave like this? What an ufortable feeling this is¡­"

    "Endure it and suck it up. We have something more important to report back to the chief now," Lord Warmog''s eyes flickered before he said, "The Shaman King''s Sessor has appeared."

    "The Shaman King''s Sessor? Surely not, right¡­?"

    The group of Battle Masters was stunned.

 Chapter 657 - Chief Blackbear

    <h4>Chapter 657 - Chief ckbear</h4>

    "If that young man really was the Shaman King''s Sessor, then that means that time hase again for the¡­"

    "Alright, that''s enough. We shall only speak further in private. Let us quickly return and report back to the chief."

    Shortly after Lord Warmog interrupted the Mid-rank Battle Master, the group began making haste back home.

    ¡­

    It only took several hours to return to the Infertile ins Central Region with their fast pace before a towering rocky cliff with a massive dark crevice in its center could be seen.

    Numerous spots of red light within the darkness of the crevice revealed the inner space to be absolutely enormous.

    It was the entrance to the ck Warbear Tribe, the tribe of cave dwellers.

    Shortly after entering the big crack in the cliff, Lord Warmog headed to the tribal chief''s cave directly, passing numerous other smaller caves and huts on the side of the expansive cave illuminated by glowing red stones embedded in its walls.

    Only after Lord Warmog was granted entry was he allowed to enter the tribal chief''s cave and meet the person.

    "Chief ckbear, I have returned." Lord Warmog greeted.

    In front of him stood a topless man filled with body hair like a gori but his stature brimmed with power and authority as he held a goblet of red wine in hand.

    "Did you bring the Divine Doctor?" Chief ckbear narrowed his sharp eyes before cutting straight to the main topic.

    Lord Warmog quickly dropped on one knee as he replied, "I did not, Chief ckbear!"

    Crack!

    The y goblet immediately shattered under Chief ckbear''s grip before he shot a stern look at Chief Warmog and asked, "Then why have youe back?"

    "I brought back important news, Chief ckbear. News that is equally important as the Divine Doctor," Lord Warmog stated calmly without being intimidated.

    "Oh?" Chief ckbear studied Lord Warmog''s expression for a moment before he said indifferently, "Let''s hear it then."

    "However, if the news doesn''t satisfy me, then be prepared to be punished for failing the task. The Infertile ins does not have a lot of time left."

    "Trust me, Chief ckbear. The news is absolutely something you want to know," Lord Warmog assured before saying, "The so-called Divine Doctor turned out to be the Shaman King''s Sessor, Chief."

    Chief ckbear''s eyes immediately flickered.

    Nevertheless, Chief ckbear frowned shortly before asking gravely, "The Shaman King''s Sessor? How certain are you?"

    "Very certain," Lord Warmog answered solemnly.

    "With a wave of a hand, the Divine Doctor was able to suppress our entire group of Battle Masters with just his mental powers. In history, I''ve only heard of the Shaman King possessing such mental prowess and none other."

    After Lord Warmog exined, Chief ckbear contemted before gazing outside with a distant look.

    "So that time hase again, huh?" Chief ckbear muttered.

    "Throughout the history of the Dark Continent, the Shaman King had only made a single appearance 1000 years ago, but a single appearance was all the Shaman King needed to be recorded in history forever¡ªthe opening of the secret realm."

    "Right." Lord Warmog nodded.

    "The secret realm was said to be another world entirely, containing endless resources, treasures, and opportunities within. Even Celestial Sparks could be found if one was willing to look hard enough in its extreme environments. If we can find another Celestial Water Spark, the Infertile ins will prosper for another few hundred years."

    "However, every time the secret realm opens, it would spark great bloodshed and chaos between humans and demons as both sidespete for its riches. Perhaps this time, another Battle God will be born," Chief ckbear guessed.

    Shortly after, Chief ckbear shifted his gaze back to Lord Warmog before he queried seriously, "You didn''t do anything to offend the Shaman King''s Sessor, did you?"

    "Who would dare?" Lord Warmog shook his head.

    "The Shaman King''s mental prowess is believed to be hereditary, passing down to each sessor. With this kind of inherited power, one does not need to train to be strong and could easily suppress all Battle Kings."

    "Every 100 subsequent years, the Shaman King''s Sessor would appear to open the secret realm, and each sessor would also be different from thest. Many suspects that the previous hosts die after passing on the Shaman King''s mental power."

    "However, it does not matter even if that''s true. What''s important here is that the Shaman King''s Sessor is on the human side this time," Chief ckbear stated.

    Shortly after, Chief ckbear called in his trusted confidante before he ordered, "Go spread the news that Shaman King''s Sessor has appeared in the Darkmoon Tribe and cancel all our current ns. The secret realm takes precedence over everything else."

    "Yes, Chief ckbear!" the trusted confidanteplied.

    Shortly after Lord Warmog watched the trusted confidante disappeared, he shifted his attention back to Chief ckbear before asking, "Where do you think the secret realm will open this time, Chief?"

    "Since the Shaman King''s Sessor appeared in the Darkmoon Tribe, I can only assume that it will be somewhere around there," Chief ckbear said before frowning, "However, it is quite close to the demon''s territory."

    "Supposedly, thest two openings had both urred in the demon''s territory, and no one was aware of it until the secret realm closed. But, if it happens for a third time, it will be quite troublesome for us to enter," Lord Warmog mentioned with a frown.

    "Right, we will have to fight our way through the hordes of demons if we want to enter," Chief ckbear stated before wearing a pondering look.

    "It was not like this in the previous openings before it. Thus, one cannot help but wonder if the opening to the secret realm is an object or artifact that can be moved."

    "That is certainly a possibility¡­ and not just a low possibility but a high one¡­"

    "That''s why we must be prepared," Chief ckbear nodded and said, "We must cease all meaningless conflict and preserve our strength¡ªnot just our tribe''s strength but the entire Infertile ins."

 Chapter 658 - Eternal Night Secret Realm

    <h4>Chapter 658 - Eternal Night Secret Realm</h4>

    "We will need all hands on deck, huh?" Lord Warmog muttered before making a suggestion, "If that''s the case, we should also spread the news outside the Infertile ins¡ªto the neighboring regions."

    "I''m sure that they will also be interested even if they are living in more prosperousnds. After all, the demons reaping all the benefits from the secret realm does not spell good news for humanity."

    "You''ve made a valid point," Chief ckbear acknowledged before saying, "However, traveling to each region beyond the Infertile ins is not exactly a short trip."

    "And without enough weight behind our words, the people from those will not believe nor willing to join the secret realm. After all, humans are selfish and always like to leave problems to others to solve when it is too far out of their way."

    "What if it''s the Battle God Pavillion making the call to rally numbers for the secret realm?" Lord Warmog suggested.

    "Battle God Pavillion, huh?" Chief ckbear pondered thoughtfully before nodding, "That might be possible."

    "Since you suggested it, I''ll leave it to you to inform them."

    "Sure, I''ll make sure toplete the task this time, Chief."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Darkmoon Tribe

    In the past several hours, much had happened in the tribe.

    The summit concluded, and each attending tribe in the alliance returned to their respective tribes with the promises of bringing their primordial heritage collection over after Leon passed a few primordial techniques to them.

    Only the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chose to remain in the Darkmoon Tribe for a longer stay.

    The core focus of most Body Cultivation Methods practiced by the warriors on the ins was centralized around the Bone-Forging Phase.

    What Leon gave them were methods for Flesh-Tempering Phase and Blood-Refining Phase.

    Still, even if he gave them the methods, the height of their own achievement will be limited by their efforts and talents.

    Without ess to True Grandmist Energy, they will never measure up to him.

    When Chief Valencia received the practice methods for the first volume of the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard], she disappeared inside her pce tomence training by the Divine Demon Tree.

    Nevertheless, she did not neglect to spread the cultivation method among the tribesmen.

    At the same time, Leon took the chance to visit his adoptive parents and Mia briefly before heading back to Barrenrock Courtyard.

    However, he was interrupted midway.

    "A moment of your time, please, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman called out to him.

    "Greetings, senior." Leon made a fist-palm salute to the elder before calmly asking, "What do you need from me?"

    "You mentioned that you were not a local of the Infertile ins, but someone from the Human Domain," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke before asking, "However, I wonder if you have heard about the Shaman King and the Eternal Night Secret Realm?

    "Shaman King? Eternal Night Secret Realm?"

    Leon furrowed his brows together with a pondering look but had no recollection of such terms before shaking his head.

    "Seems like Young Master Leonhardt isn''t aware of these two matters then. Seems like I was just overthinking," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman seemed relieved before muttering, "It''s great that you''re not the¡­"

    "The Shaman King?" Leon guessed.

    Since the topic was brought up, Leon became quite interested.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head and said, "Not the Shaman King, but the Shaman King''s Sessor."

    "Oh? Can you tell me more about the Shaman King and Eternal Night Secret Realm, senior?"

    "Of course."

    After the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman agreed, the two moved to a more convenient ce to talk and ended up choosing Master Woodrow''s Fragrant Tea Abode.

    Leon expected to meet Master Woodrow, but evidently, the person had also entered secluded training to research whether warriors with shattered Demon Cores could still practice other Body Cultivation Methods.

    Shortly after their tea was served, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman began speaking from the first appearance of the Shaman King to the Eternal Night Secret Realm and its subsequent openings by the Shaman King''s Sessors.

    However, no one rarely brought up the matter anymore due to the past two consecutive losses to the demons.

    "I see. So, the Shaman King''s Sessor dies after opening the secret realm," Leon muttered before he abruptly paused with a sudden thought.

    "Where does the Shaman King''s Sessor''s inherited mental prowess go if they die before passing it onto the next sessor?" Leon asked curiously.

    "No one really knows, to be honest," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled wryly at being unable to answer the question before adding, "To begin with, the Shaman King''s mental prowess is a mystical power that no one understands."

    "Nevertheless, some people have theorized that the Shaman King''s mental prowess is an inferior version of Celestial Sparks. Once its powers are exhausted, it will return to heaven and earth to be recharged until it is ready to bind itself to the next sessor."

    "By some people, do you mean you, senior?" Leon asked with a smile.

    "Ahem!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''sposure broke with an awkward cough before he vaguely said, "I may have contributed a small part in the conjecture."

    Leon smiled slightly.

    Nevertheless, the topic made him more curious about the Dark Continent''s history.

    Unlike the Deste Continent¡ªor rather, the Deste Beast Continent, the Dark Continent had a longer recorded history.

    He had learned about the Nova Empire of ten thousand years ago and the previous Cataclysm over 500 years ago, but everything in between was a nk te as if it had been erased from the records of history.

    However, after hearing parts of the Dark Continent''s history, Leon could not help but feel that something momentous happened in between those two periods.

    ''Did someone purposely erased the records?'' Leon pondered with a frown.

    Eventually, Leon shook his head.

    There was no point trying to figure it out on his own. Instead, it was better to just ask a more informed expert about the subject.

    Leon''s gaze gradually shifted back to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman before he asked, "Senior, how much do you know about this world''s history? How far back does your knowledge extend?"

 Chapter 659 - Revisiting The Worlds Core

    <h4>Chapter 659 - Revisiting The World''s Core</h4>

    "How much do I know and how far back, you ask?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman paused for a moment before he shook his head.

    "This old man has read records of history dating back hundreds of thousand years ago, but the information is very iplete¡ªfull of missing timeline in between. Still, if you ask me how much I know about history, Young Master Leonhardt could say that I know a lot. Or, I know nothing at all."

    "Because the truth of the matter is unless we have lived through those times, no one truly knows what actually happened. Anything can be written about history. It can be altered to mislead, subvert ck and white, or changed entirely."

    "This old man can tell you what this old man knows, but this old man can only guarantee that the past couple hundred years of history that this old has lived is true. Anything beyond that is an uncertainty."

    Shortly after, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked, "So, what does Young Master Leonhardt to hear about first?"

    "Since senior has put it like that¡­" Leon smiled wryly and said, "I''d like to hear about the big events that happened in senior''s life¡ªif it''s fine with senior, of course."

    "Fair enough." The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded before muttering, "Now, where should I begin? Oh yes. We start with the Bone Cmity¡­"

    In the following half-hour, Leon listened attentively to the One-Eye Venerable Shaman recount about the past Bone Cmities that urred after rogue warriors took ancient bones from the burial ground in the ck Swamp.

    Evidently, the humans did add their bones to the piles found throughout the ck Swamp when they first migrated to the Infertile ins, but it only covered a tiny fraction of it.

    The rest came from an ancient battlefield that urred further down in history¡ªin which no one really knew was the cause to spark such bloodshed.

    Without the wisdom of the aged, the truth behind history will always remain vague and unknown.

    Eventually, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman briefly mentioned the Starfall event before sharing his thoughts regarding the matter, bringing them back on the Eternal Night Secret Realm topic.

    "The Starfall event? A fallen star that fell from the heavens and brought darkness to thend, huh?" Leon muttered thoughtfully with doubt.

    Was it really a fallen star or just arge piece of space debris from a bygone era?

    "In the past couple hundred years, this old man has observed and discovered that the darkness covering thisnd grows denser over time¡­" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman mentioned.

    "However, this old man does not believe the Starfall event was the cause for its existence. At most, it was only the catalyst that sparked it. The darkness might havee from the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

    "Is that how the secret realm got its name, senior?" Leon asked curiously.

    He was just wondering about this.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head and said, "The Eternal Night Secret Realm wasn''t called the Eternal Night Secret Realm due to the dark clouds that blot out the skies of this continent, but because there is no sun there. It''s a lightless ce."

    "I see¡­"

    After some small chat, Leon eventually left the Fragrant Tea Abode and returned to Barrenrock Courtyard with a thoughtful look.

    Upon his arrival, he swept the ce with his divine sense before seeing that the threedies and six maids were all deeply immersed in meditative cultivation.

    As such, he chose not to disturb them.

    ''Only someone who lived through those times can tell the truth of those events¡­'' Leon thought back on the One-Eye Venerable Shaman''s words while picking a rtively clean spot to be seated in the open courtyard.

    There was someone in mind that he could ask.

    But whether that person or being was willing tomunicate with him or not was a different matter entirely.

    Nevertheless, it was worth a shot.

    ''I didn''t expend much mental energy in the confrontation with the ck Warbear Tribe''s people¡­ I should use this chance to make another trip to that ce¡­''

    Shortly after, Leon closed his eyes and immersed his consciousness into the depths of the earth¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Under the Divine Demon Tree, Chief Valencia absorbed the Darkness Profound Energy from the tree and practiced the [ck Turtle Heavenly Guard]''s first volume.

    Feeling the beneficial effects of the technique as her fleshly defense improved along with its strength, Chief Valencia''s eyes flickered.

    ''It''s so effective!''

    Nevertheless, the so-called effectiveness was only a fraction of what Leon enjoyed when he cultivated with True Grandmist Energy.

    In other parts of the Darkmoon Tribe, Warriors, Great Warriors, Battle Masters, and even the Venerable Shamans also simrly experienced the beneficial effects of cultivating higher-grade techniques.

    But while it was a time of transformation for most people in the tribe, it was also a time of reckoning for others.

    Bang!

    The wooden gates of the Golden family''s courtyard were suddenly busted down with a strong kick!

    Shortly after, several retired seniors at the Low-rank Battle Master Realm apanied by a couple of dozen Great Warriors barged inside, rming the Golden family.

    "Whose ce do you think this is? How dare you damage our property and barge in here like this!" a servant immediately criticized the group furiously.

    Pak!

    Towards such words, one of the retired seniors responded with a tight p across the servant''s face, sending the person crashing into the wall.

    The servant remained motionless afterward.

    The rest of the servants and branch family members of the Golden family gathering in the courtyard were immediately shocked silly.

    "The home of traitors do not need any respect nor mercy from this old man!" Lord Darkrig stated coldly before sweeping the Golden family''s people a look.

    Lord Goldenfang and his two sons, Goldeneye and Goldenrod, shortly arrived before Lord Goldenfang asked, "Brother Darkrig, what''s the meaning of this? Is there some sort of misunderstanding?"

    "By orders of Chief Valencia, the Golden family will be executed on the spot, no questions asked, for the crime of selling Young Master Leonhardt''s information to the ck Warbear Tribe!" Lord Darkrig stated coldly.

    The Golden family was immediately shocked!

 Chapter 660 - Traitor And Execution

    <h4>Chapter 660 - Traitor And Execution</h4>

    "nder! This is pure hogsh*t! Since when did my Golden family sell Young Master Leonhardt''s information to the ck Warbear Tribe?!" Lord Goldenfang immediately rebuked furiously.

    "The Golden family may have some conflicts with Young Master Leonhardt in the past, but that does mean that would betray the enemy!"

    "Hmph, I am not here to argue with you, Goldenfang. You best know what your Golden family did or didn''t do!" Lord Darkrig snorted and said, "The chief has decreed all members of the Beast Tamer Faction be punished for the crimes of supporting traitors!"

    "However, the chief is lenient. If you wish to be pardoned, take up your arms, y a member of the Golden family, and prove your loyalty to the tribe!"

    "This is outrageous! How utterly ridiculous and tyrannical! Chief Valencia just wants to get rid of opposition to secure her position! Can you follow such an oppressive leader?!" Goldenfang barked.

    "I have always been loyal to the tribe and served it well, so why would Chief Valencia do this to us?" Goldeneye frowned and said, "Does Chief Valencia really want to wash the tribe in blood after all the losses we have incurred since the Bone Cmity?"

    "No matter what you say, the truth of the matter is that information had been leaked to the ck Warbear Tribe, and the Darkmoon Tribe does not need dissonant factors in its mix!" Lord Darkrig stated firmly.

    "In troubled times like this, the Darkmoon Tribe is required to be more united than ever. All who do not share our views are against us. Thus, even if you are innocent, you are still guilty!"

    Shortly after, Lord Darkrig immediatelyid down the order.

    "Kill them!"

    "Ahhh¡ª!"

    The weaker servants wailed in pain and despair as the Great Warriors immediately swooped in for the kill while the stronger ones resisted their onught.

    "Since the chief wants the death of my Golden family, she will not have it easy! Raise your weapons and fight back! You''re not allowed to fall until you take down at least one with you!" Lord Goldenfang rallied with his raised bone sword.

    However, some servants and subordinates of the Golden family turned on each other, stabbing the loyal Golden family''s people in the back for a chance at survival.

    The group of executioners brought to their doorstep was too strong to resist!

    "Bastards! How dare you betray my Golden family!" Goldenfang snarled furiously with a red face and protruding veins.

    At the same time, Goldeneye hacked one of the traitorous servants to death before whistling to the sky to call hispanion for help.

    "Kill!"

    Goldeneye roared.

    As the Dark Wyvern descended and the Golden family resisted strongly, Goldenrod stood rooted on the spot while gazing at the grim situation nkly.

    With each passing moment, a servant or member of the family died.

    Plop!

    Faced with a guilty conscience, his legs quickly gave way, causing him to drop on his knees before he said apologetically, "I''m sorry, Father, Brother¡­ I was the one who leaked the information to the ck Warbear Tribe¡­"

    "It was you?!" Lord Goldenfang red.

    Lord Goldenfang thought the chief just wanted an excuse to get rid of their family, but as it turns out, the initial fault lies with their family all along!

    The sheer look of surprise and betrayal on his face could be imagined.

    "Arghhh! Why you do such a stupid thing?!" Lord Goldenfang roared and said, "Did you know that your foolish action has cost your brother''s bright future and the lives of everyone in the family?!"

    "Young Master Leonhardt''s influence in the tribe was too strong despite his short stay. I¡­ I thought that if he could be removed from the Darkmoon Tribe, it would be a great blow to Chief Valencia¡­" Goldenrod said hesitantly.

    "But that doesn''t mean you turn to the enemies for help! Arghh¡ª!"

    Lord Goldenfang was so mad, his old heart could not take it and abruptly stopped, causing him to copse on the ground and eventually stopped breathing.

    He died of excessive anger.

    The head of the Golden family had grand ambition and ns for his family, but unfortunately, one of his sons was too ipetent to help him realize it.

    "Father!" Goldeneye cried with red eyes.

    His grief caused a slip in his concentration, causing him to immediately suffer a fatal blow from a High-rank Great Warrior and dropped on the ground.

    Even the Dark Wyvern fell in battle shortly after its master.

    The Golden family''s strong resistance quickly died down as all its remaining members were eventually killed¡ªwhether by the executioner group or their own.

    Goldenrod, who did not proactively resist, was thest to fall after he was beheaded.

    "Haiz, what a loss¡­"

    Lord Darkrig sighed at the Dark Wyvern''s bloodied body after the battle ended before shortly shaking his head.

    "Nevertheless, a single Dark Wyvern cannot bepared to the grace of Young Master Leonhardt."

    Between the potential of one Battle King and the potential of many Battle Kings, it was clear which of the two was better for the tribe.

    "Alright, quickly wrap up the ce and report to the chief."

    "Yes, Lord Darkrig!"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Barrenrock Courtyard

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to meditate and sink his divine sense deeper and deeper into the earth until he felt the attractive force pull him through 162 floors and 18yers of earth before bypassing the core''s protective barrier.

    Looking at the familiar scenery in the surrounding, Leon immediately knew that he had once again reached the mysterious core region¡ªor so he believed it was.

    The second World Tree, the slumbering stone golem and crack on the other side, the barrier, and brightva beyond it.

    He was certain it was the same ce.

    "Tch." Leon clicked his tongue and muttered, "I brought here so quickly, I failed to observe the deeper subterranean floors andyers again¡­ I guess I will have to try and look even more carefully next time I visit¡­"

    Shortly after, Leon fixed his sight on the direction of the female stone golem behind World Tree and began making his way over.

    However, after a few steps, Leon suddenly paused.

    "I really hope that before we can have a decent talk, I won''t get blown back to the surface¡ªor worse, get obliterated to death¡­"

 Chapter 661 - Ender Of Worlds

    <h4>Chapter 661 - Ender Of Worlds</h4>

    "If I had my main body, I could make some preparations to bring to the negotiation table. But, unfortunately, I am only in my soul form. There isn''t much I can do in this state," Leon mused.

    However, shortly after pondering for a moment, he used his will, and parts of the earth in the core area moved ordingly.

    "Seems like I can still manipte the earth. This should enough to guarantee¡ªor rather, it is the only guarantee I have to get the stone golem interested in me enough to talk," Leon muttered.

    He made his way around the World Tree shortly, passing through a few patches of barren ground among what thriving vegetation the ce had left.

    Leon wondered how the World Tree managed to survive without sunlight for so long before his gaze shifted to glowing magma beyond the barrier that kept the ce brightly illuminated.

    "Is the World Tree relying on the magma as a substitute for sunlight? This seems to be the only exnation¡­" Leon assumed.

    It was unfortunate that the ce was devoid of water. Otherwise, the World Tree could still be thriving¡ªeven if the ce seemed to be dying.

    Suddenly, Leon paused with a thought.

    "Maybe I canmunicate with the tree spirit first. Perhaps, it would be more reasonable than the stone golem¡­" Leon contemted.

    Having settled his decision, he changed direction to the World Tree but away from the stone golem''s location.

    Shortly after reaching the foot of the World Tree, he climbed on top of its tree roots and got closer to the trunk before contacting it with his hands.

    His consciousness seeped into the World Tree promptly before he searched for the source of the World Tree''s spirit.

    "Who dares to disturb this Saint?" the tree spirit of the World Tree woke up with amanding and matured telepathic voice as it felt the presence of an intruder.

    Evidently, it was an ancient tree spirit that had already reached adulthood and couldmunicate in the ancientnguage.

    At the same time, the tree spirit''s strong telepathic voice shook Leon''s soul directly, causing his expression to crumple slightly.

    Nevertheless, he endured the unsettling feeling before cupping his hands into a fist-palm salute and greeted respectfully within the World Tree''s spiritual space.

    "Greetings, Senior. This junior has been unknowingly summoned to this strange ce and would like to ask Senior a few questions. But, of course, this junior did not mean to offend Senior by disturbing your slumber," Leon said to the empty space.

    "You were summoned here?"

    The tree spirit shortly manifested in front of Leon before giving him a careful inspection with its scrutinized pair of eyes.

    It had the form of a male earth spirit like Elder Evergreen, except younger like a man in his middle ages.

    "Are you the ''One''?" the tree spirit asked.

    Leon was immediately puzzled by the question before he asked with doubt, "What do you mean by the ''One,'' Senior?"

    "The One is the person who will change the status quo in this sealed world and close the Dimension Crack," the tree spirit stated.

    Leon was immediately surprised.

    "Why do you call this ce a sealed world, Senior? Is this the core region of Gaia? And by Dimension Crack, did you mean that ominous red spatial rift outside? What is it exactly?" Leon quickly asked.

    "Seeing how clueless you are, it seems you are not the ''One'' we were waiting for," the tree spirit sighed before saying, "Nevertheless, fate seemed to have brought you here, and you came with many questions."

    "I just want to understand the situation, Senior." Leon scratched his cheeks wryly and said, "There''s just too many unknowns and dangers surrounding this world, and this junior feels that all lives are at risk."

    "And you are not wrong. If the Dimension Crack continues to expand, this core region will eventually be devoured, causing the entire sealed world to copse and annihte all life on it. That''s why we need the ''One'' to stop it before it happens," the tree spirit stated.

    "You wanted to know what the Dimension Crack is? It is called the Ender of Worlds¡ªnot just this world but all worlds in existence. Its appearance signifies the beginning of World''s End. On the other side is the Chaos Sea, the realm of nonexistence that lies outside of Primal Chaos."

    After listening to the tree spirit''s exnation, Leon was rmed in his heart. He did not expect the world was ending so soon.

    Nevertheless, it was only unexpected and not surprising, as if he knew such a day would eventuallye sooner orter.

    "From nothing, everything was born. And eventually, everything will return to nothingness, huh?" Leon muttered.

    "Oh?" the tree spirit eximed softly with surprise before itmented, "This Saint did not expect you to be so enlightened."

    "Perhaps there was a purpose for you being here," the tree spirit shortly said after a bit of contemtion before inquiring, "Why don''t you tell this Saint what you were doing exactly before you were summoned to this ce?"

    "This junior was deepening his affinity and understanding of the earth by merging junior''s consciousness with it when an unknown force pulled this junior''s consciousness here," Leon recounted.

    Shortly after, he added honestly, "Actually, this is the second time junior has been here. However, thest time junior arrived, junior was sent back to the surface by the stone golem before junior could exchange even a few words."

    "Ha, that woman is impatient and short-tempered as ever," the tree spirit chortled before creasing his bushy brows and said, "But for you to be fine ande back a second time, perhaps you are the one we have been waiting for."

    "However, you are much weaker than what this Saint imagined. We were expecting someone on the level of a Celestial Conqueror at the very least, but you are¡­" the tree spirit studied Leon for a moment and said, "Just a mere Celestial Warrior, huh?"

    "Celestial Warrior? This junior has only achieved the first stage of Transcendence recently, Senior." Leon corrected with surprise.

    How strong was a Celestial Warrior?

 Chapter 662 - Origin Of Divinity

    <h4>Chapter 662 - Origin Of Divinity</h4>

    "You''re only at the first stage of Transcendence, the Preliminary ession stage? Are you sure?" the tree spirit gave Leon a doubtful nce before it said, "But your soul quality has definitely reached the level of a Celestial Warrior."

    "What''s the difference between soul strength and soul quality, Senior?" Leon asked, feeling a little confused.

    He was definitely incapable of exerting strength at the Celestial Realm.

    "Soul strength naturally determines how much strength that can be exerted by the soul, while soul quality determines your ability tomute andprehend higherws," the tree spirit exined patiently.

    "Soul quality is the most important aspect for any Awakener. It determines the height of their achievements. Without high soul quality, no matter how long an Awakener cultivates, they will never be able to awaken their Divine Soul and achieve Divinity."

    "I see¡­ So, that is how it works¡­" Leon uttered with surprise before performing a fist-palm salute and expressed his gratitude, "Thank you for enlightening this junior, Senior."

    They have not talked for long, but Leon had already learned a lot. The knowledge he obtained from the tree spirit would not only save him a lot of time but also help him avoid roadblocks in his cultivation.

    "Un," the tree spirit acknowledged Leon''s salute before it calmly asked, "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

    "There''s actually quite a lot this junior would like to know, Senior." Leon scratched his head awkwardly before asking, "How strong is a Celestial Warrior? What''s the difference between a Celestial Ruler and a Celestial Conqueror?"

    "What''s a Divine Soul? Also, Senior did not answer junior''s previous question regarding the sealed world. Why did Senior call this ce a sealed world?"

    Leon fired his question one after another.

    "You really don''t know anything, do you?" the tree spirit''s eye twitched slightly.

    Shortly after, the tree spirit sighed and said, "Alright, let''s start with your question on the sealed world. When this Saint mentioned this sealed world, this Saint was not talking about this core region but the entire we are situated on."

    "Since you imed to have reached the first stage of Transcendence, you should have at least flown in the sky and felt its suppressive force, no? You will eventually hit a wall once you reach a certain altitude."

    "The entire force of suppression is a sealid down by a Celestial Conqueror, and it is only the firstyer of sealing. Should you manage to breach the firstyer, you will find yourself in airspace devoid of gravity and wonder why that is so."

    "That is because there is a secondyer of sealing even further up in altitude and also far more powerful than the firstyer of sealing. These twoyers of sealing are the reason for a zero-gravity zone to exist in between."

    "But why did a Celestial Conqueror seal this world?" Leon was confused.

    "The seal is naturally to contain everything from leaving the world but also to protected," the tree spirit was not bothered by Leon''s interruption and continued to exin patiently.

    "A fierce battle between Celestials and Demons once broke out a few thousand years ago, which nearly destroyed the world. The current world you see today was not this big in the past but have been inted by the shattering world¡ªonly to be forcibly contained by the Celestial Conqueror''s powerfulw of sealing, thereafter."

    "Celestial Rulers are Celestials who have fused with a single Celestial Body, sharing their life and fate together with it like the stone golem you''ve seen outside. That is Celestial Earthshaker, Gaialia. Over time, Gaialia haspletely abandoned her mortal body, bing something akin to an Earth Elemental."

    "And Celestial Conquerors?" Leon asked.

    "Celestial Conquerors are Awakeners who have reached the apex of the Celestial Realm, the Celestial Emperor Realm, before binding Celestial Bodies. However, Celestial Emperors can bind entire Star Realms and draw power from all Celestial Bodies within the said Star Realm, unlike Celestial Rulers who are only limited to one."

    After hearing this, Leon was astonished.

    "Truly worthy of a being called a conqueror. To think such a thing was possible¡­" Leon muttered incredulously before his eyes flickered with a thought.

    "Does that mean at higher realm, it is possible for Awakeners to bind Star Fields, Star Cluster, or the entire Primal Chaos?"

    "It might be," the tree spirit answered vaguely before shaking his head, "Unfortunate, this Saint is not privy to the realms of Divinity and beyond to give you a definite answer."

    "Senior does not need to be upset about this. Junior has learned a lot," Leon said politely before he continued to seek knowledge from the tree spirit, nevertheless.

    "What is the Divine Soul?" he asked.

    However, the tree spirit did not answer immediately.

    Instead, the tree spirit began recounting a story, "Supposedly in the distant past of Gods and Devils, a great war between the two, and the destruction war was so great it destroyed both races."

    "However, the fleshly bodies and shattered soul seas of both Gods and Devils gathered in one ce and formed what is known as the current starry field of today and gave birth to all life within."

    "Of the ten aspects that the soul isprised of, at least one of them is a Divine Soul, whether it belongs to a God or a Devil. And thus, the true path of Awakeners is the path of awakening the Divine Soul, returning to Divinity, and reigniting the brilliant era of primordial times. That is why an Awakener is called an Awakener," the tree spirit exined.

    Boom¡­

    It was as if an explosion had gone off in Leon''s head as he was mindblown by the tree spirit''s revtion.

    He never really thought about why Awakeners were called Awakeners. But now that he knows, the sheer astonishment and surprise written on his face could be imagined.

    Suddenly, he understood why all life was capable of gaining sentience, even if they were just nts.

    "Senior, does that mean that you have awakened your Divine Soul¡­? You¡­" Leon mentioned with a surprised look.

    The tree spirit''s expression quickly turned sorrowful.

    "Haiz¡­" The tree spirit sighed and said despondently, "I was a God-Emperor in the distant past, but now, I am a goddamn tree! What can be more frustrating than this?"

 Chapter 663 - Celestial Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 663 - Celestial Alliance</h4>

    Considering everything that was said, the tree spirit iming to be a God-Emperor back in the primordial era was incorrect.

    After all, awakening the God-Emperor''s Divine Soul fragment did not equate to bing the God-Emperor himself.

    God knows how many individuals also possess a Divine Soul fragment of the same God-Emperor.

    "Senior does not need to be dispirited about this. Even trees have their own path to greatness. Perhaps, Senior can use the God-Emperor''s knowledge to transcend beyond the World-level and be an Empyrean Tree," Leon consoled.

    Nevertheless, the tree spirit sighed, "Haiz, no need to say any further. Even if this Saint can be an Empyrean Tree, this Saint cannot leave this."

    "The world has been sealed by a Celestial Conqueror. Forget about Celestial Warriors. Even Celestial Lords and Celestial Kings may not be able to escape this sealed world, let alone an Empyrean Tree. This Saint''s fate is ultimately tied with Celestial Earthshaker in guarding the Dimension Crack."

    Celestial Warrior, Celestial Lord, Celestial King, Celestial Emperor, and Celestial Conqueror.

    Leon pieced together the names before a general outline of the Celestial Realm was formed in his mind.

    However, these names were most likely only titles.

    He had no idea what the actual cultivation path and terms for the stages within the Celestial Realm.

    Shortly after, Leon said, "But if the situation is eventually resolved, then Senior will no longer be tied down to this ce. So wouldn''t it be better to start nning the future?"

    "Haiz, you don''t know anything, do you?" the tree spirit gave Leon a side nce before it said, "Even if the Dimension Crack is resolved, this Saint will still be tied here. Why do you think this Saint guards the Dimension Crack, and why was the world sealed?"

    Leon furrowed his brows slightly.

    He thought the goal was to protect the world, but that does not seem to be the case when he considered how the tree spirit was speaking.

    Suddenly, Leon''s eyes flickered before he said, "Senior and the Celestials are preventing something from leaving this world? And the destruction of the world unleashes it?"

    "That''s right." The tree spirit nodded before praising Leon, "You''re quite bright to have figured that out so quickly from just a few words of this Saint."

    Shortly after, Leon thought back to the great battle the tree spirit mentioned that nearly destroyed the world and caused the Celestial Conqueror to seal the world.

    "ording to the history that this junior knows, a prosperous civilization called the Nova Empire existed 10-thousand years ago. However, they were short-lived due to the Cataclysm that erupted from the sun," Leon mentioned.

    "All events after that point in history have disappeared into obscurity like they have been erased. As a result, the current world''s recorded history only dates back no further than several hundred years to a thousand years at most."

    "Did the great battle urred after the Nova Empire''s end? Where did so many Celestiale from? And who were they fighting, Senior?" Leon asked shortly after.

    The tree spirit''s lips twitched slightly.

    It was quite amodating and answered all of Leon''s questions patiently. But no matter how many questions it answered, Leon always seems to have an endless number of questions to ask.

    Nevertheless, Leon had been very polite and respectful and coupled with the fact that the tree spirit rarely talked to anyone in the past several thousand years, it could only endure it silently.

    "Haiz¡­" the tree spirit sighed again before inquiring calmly, "You must be talking about the sun''s sr re when you mentioned the Cataclysm, right?"

    "Yes, Senior," Leon admitted.

    "That''s not an ordinary sr re but the breaking of a seal. The primordial war wiped out both Gods and Devils, but some Devils can never truly be dead¡ªthanks to their uniquew, they can eventually revive themselves."

    "As such, the demons and devils can never be truly wiped out. An ancestor of humans in the past sealed one of the Great Devils in the sun while the lesser ones were sealed on this in the past," as the tree spirit spoke to this point, its expression suddenly turned solemn.

    "However, the event you called Cataclysm broke one of the sealyers on the sun, but it also broke some of the seals on this, releasing the lesser devils and demons on it. The entire Vandelheim Star Realm we are situated in is a prison world for demons."

    "The Celestial Alliance had been keeping watch over our prison world. When the seal broke, they immediately sent their experts over to quell the demon''s uprising¡ªwell, that''s what this Saint heard from Celestial Earthshaker, anyway. What does this Saint actually know? This Saint is just a damn tree, trapped in the center of the world," the tree spirit said snappishly.

    Leon smiled wryly.

    It was evident that ever since the tree spirit awakened its Divine Soul, it had truly taken itself as the God-Emperor and despised what it was.

    Nevertheless, after hearing another unfamiliar term, Leon could not help but ask, "What is this Celestial Alliance, Senior?"

    "You¡­ Haiz, how many more questions do you still have?" the tree spirit asked, feeling a bit exasperated while gazing at the young man.

    Leon scratched his cheeks awkwardly at the stare before he said, "This is thest one¡­ probably."

    "The Celestial Alliance is a local power in the starry skies thatprises of 12 Star Realms, and the Celestial Conqueror is the leader of the Celestial Alliance," the tree spirit exined before asking, "Anything else?"

    "That''s all. Thank you, Senior," Leon said wryly.

    Shortly after, Leon''s expression became more serious before he requested, "Can I trouble Senior to put in a few words with the stone gol¡ªAhem, Senior Gaialia, so she doesn''t blow this junior away?"

    "Not a problem," the tree spirit agreed easily before asking with curiosity, "But what do you intend to do?"

    "Since this junior was broke here by chance or fate, this junior wants to take a look at the Dimension Crack and see how junior can help," Leon stated his intention.

    However, the tree spirit furrowed his brows slightly before warning, "Taking a look is fine, but don''t think about entering the Chaos Sea. Your very existence will be reduced into nothingness."

    "Of course, Senior," Leon replied obediently, but his eyes flickered.

 Chapter 664 - Chaotic Sea Of Nihility

    <h4>Chapter 664 - Chaotic Sea Of Nihility</h4>

    If the Chaos Sea was exactly as the tree spirit had described, then it was the perfect ce toprehend the Nihility Law.

    Even if nothing can be observed, just sensing the sheer power of nothingness from the Chaos Sea should allow him to deepen his understanding of the Nihility Law by a substantial amount within a short time.

    It was not farfetched to say that it would be his holynd forprehending nihility.

    Shortly after Leon retracted his consciousness from the World Tree and made his way around to the Dimension Crack and stone golem''s location, the tree spirit manifested itself, albeit a bit faint.

    "Oi¡ª! Stupid old woman, wake up¡ª!" the tree spirit shouted abruptly.

    The words from the tree spirit were so unexpected that Leon staggered and nearly tripped over by surprise.

    "Haaa¡ª?!"

    The stone golem''s eyes immediately snapped open in a fury before Celestial Earthshaker barked, "Who are you calling a stupid old woman?! Are you trying to start a fight, Saint Voidme?!"

    "Who else can it be if not you, stupid old woman?" the tree spirit retorted snappishly before he stated overbearingly, "Listen up! There''s a junior who hase to see if he can help! So you better leave him alone and let him do his things!"

    Rumble¡­!

    The entire core region shook as Celestial Earthshaker''s rocky shoulders trembled with anger before Celestial Earthshaker roared, "I''ve told you many times to not call me an old woman!"

    "Pah! If I don''t call you an old woman, then what do I call you? You are not a young woman, and you are certainly not a man!" the tree spirit snorted.

    "F*ck you!" Celestial Earthshaker cussed before she thundered, "I AM a man!"

    On the side, Leon was dumbfounded.

    He watched the tree spirit and stone golem exchange verbal abuses with each other.

    It was evident that the two had bad blood, but at the same time, Leon found it surprising. Given the time the two must have spent together in the core region, one would at least expect them to be harmonious.

    However, that was not what he was seeing.

    The two were like an angry pair of husband and wife that argues with each other on a regr basis despite living together.

    It was not long before Leon understood that Celestial Earthshaker was born a woman but awakened the Divine Soul of a male god before assuming the identity of the said male god.

    ''I wonder what is worse between a man being reborn as a tree or as a woman?'' Leon thought with amusement.

    Eventually, Celestial Earthshaker shot Leon a re and spat, "So it''s you again! Why have youe back here?! This isn''t the ce for you to be!"

    "Stupid old woman, why don''t you take a moment to think about how he got here in the first ce," the tree spirit ridiculed.

    Celestial Earthshaker immediately froze.

    Shortly after, her brows crackled under her frown before Celestial Earthshaker questioned him, "Speak! How did you get here?"

    "This junior was pulled here whileprehending the earth," Leon answered politely with a fist-palm salute.

    Afterward, the tree spirit called Saint Voidme recounted some details to Celestial Earthshaker before the Celestial Earthshaker finally relinquished her intent to drive Leon away.

    Nevertheless, Celestial Earthshaker spat with a deep frown, "You are very weak and do not even have your main body here. So what can you possibly do to stop the expansion of the Dimension Crack?"

    "That is something that junior can only figure out after having a closer look at the Dimension Crack, Senior Earthshaker," Leon continued to answer Celestial Earthshaker''s question politely.

    His respectful attitude eventually made it awkward for Celestial Earthshaker to continue being hard on him, a junior, before she softened up.

    "Ahem, well go on then," Celestial Earthshaker urged with a dry cough before she simrly warned Leon, "Do not get too close to the Dimension Crack. Even before you enter the Chaos Sea, the leaking aura of nothingness could still erase your existence."

    "Thank you for the warning, Senior."

    Shortly after, Leon approached Dimension Crack before the Nihility Aura was quickly felt due to his heightened affinity to the Nihility Law.

    But while he had an affinity to nihility, he was not immune to it.

    Creak¡­

    Leon quickly felt parts of his spiritual avatar''s body wanting to disintegrate under the power of nihility before his eyes brightened.

    He could feel the potent power of Nihility Lawing from the Chaos Sea.

    ''Truly a good ce to deepen my understanding of the Nihility Law! No, not just good. It might just be the best ce toprehend the Nihility Law at all,'' Leon silently thought with excitement.

    "Don''t go any closer. That distance is as far as you should go. Any further, and the power of nothingness will spike greatly and erase you from existence," Celestial Earthshaker issued another warning.

    Although she did not hope Leon could shrink or even close the Dimension Crack, she did not want anything to happen to him.

    Someone who can have the soul quality of a Celestial Warrior at the first stage of Transcendence was naturally a heavenly gifted genius.

    "Thanks for the warning, Senior." Leon acknowledged her good intentions, but he shook his head and said, "But I still want toe a little closer to the Dimension Crack."

    "Are you tired of living?!" Celestial Earthshaker was quickly shocked before she shouted, "Without any Celestial Power, do you think you can suppress the Dimension Crack? Not to mentioning even closer to¡ª!"

    Suddenly, Celestial Earthshaker froze upon sensing the abrupt surge of Nihiliy Aura that came from Leon himself, forming a protectiveyer that shielded him from the rest of the unrefined Nihility Aura leaking from the chaotic sea of nihility.

    Not to mention Celestial Earthshaker''s surprise, even Saint Voidme''s eyes widen in shock at the impossible situation in front of them as Leon stopped in front of the Dimension Crack.

    A mere Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent could resist the erosion of Nihility Aura? Were all geniuses so terrifying these days?

 Chapter 665 - Feeling Threatened

    <h4>Chapter 665 - Feeling Threatened</h4>

    Standing beside the Dimension Crack, Leon could feel the boundless power of nihility from the Chaos Sea.

    If such power had long existed, even before the beginning of time and the formation of Primal Chaos, it was a wonder how the world could havested so long.

    And if everything is bound to return to nothingness, everything was transient, nothing was eternal.

    Ultimately, evesting would be a vain dream.

    ''No, nothingness is eternal¡ªif nothing else. Perhaps, the secret to understanding the evesting lies in understanding nihility first,'' Leon thought.

    Eventually, he shut his mind from all distracting thoughts, focusing entirely onprehending the source of nothingness from the Chaos Sea.

    Slowly, a chant was instinctively formed in Leon''s mind.

    ''Everything was born from nothingness. From nothingness, infinite power is drawn. Nothingness is the beginning and the end, the source of all creation and destruction.''

    Nihility was not a Great Way. It was the Truth, the answer to all riddles.

    Existence and non-existence were just two sides of a coin, separated by a thin wall called belief.

    Because something is not seen, it does not mean it does not exist. And even if something is seen, it does not necessarily exist.

    As Leon silentlyprehended the Nihility Law and deepened his understanding of it, he was enlightened to some truths.

    Subtly, a faint connection was formed with the Chaos Sea, and his Nihility Law strengthened.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Saint Voidme and Celestial Earthshaker observed Leon with surprises.

    They gradually realized Leon was someone who hadprehended the Nihility Law before their expressions quickly turned solemn and grave.

    "This child hasprehended the absolute power of the Chaos Sea¡­! The power of nihility has been tamed by this child! He must be destroyed immediately¡ª!" Celestial Earthshaker eximed solemnly.

    "Stop!"

    As she prepared to strike Leon in the back with the full st of her celestial power, Saint Voidme''s spiritual form stood in her way, followed by his tree roots moving over to block the Celestial Ruler.

    "Don''t get in my way, Voidme. This child must die. His ability will be the death of all worlds if it is allowed to grow!" Celestial Earthshaker barked.

    "You are jumping to conclusions again, Earthshaker!" Saint Voidme growled before he began rebuking, "The appearance of the Dimension Crack already marks the beginning for the ending of Primal Chaos!"

    "The Chaos Sea is a problem that even the Gods and Devils of old did not experience! Do you think anyone can stop the power of nihility if even the Gods and Devils of old did not have a solution prepared for this situation?!"

    "Even we can only exhaust our powers to contain the Nihility Aura! We have no means of actually stopping the expansion of the Dimension Crack! It might be true that this child''s ability could hasten the end of the world, but if there''s even a slim possibility that he could save it instead, I will not let you kill him!"

    "Have you gone mad, Voidme?! That''s the power of nihility! How can nihility save anything when it is the very thing destroying everything?!" Celestial Earthshaker fired back.

    "Mad, you say?" Saint Voidme snickered before he said imposingly, "On the contrary, this Saint has never been more clear!"

    "I know you are making hasty decisions because you feel threatened! After all, you are bound to Gaia! Thus, if Gaia is swallowed by the Dimension Crack, you will also die! However, you mustn''t let fear cloud your judgment, Earthshaker!"

    "Don''t you think it''s enough proof there''s hope for this world when this child can control the Nihility Law to protect himself from nihility?! No one has everprehended the Nihility Law! Do you think we can find another person if this child dies?!" Saint Voidme shouted.

    Saint Voidme''s words finally reached straight into Celestial Earthshaker''s heart, startling her greatly like she had just been doused in cold water.

    Within a short moment, Celestial Earthshaker ultimately calmed down, no longer in a rush to kill.

    "Thank you, Voidme," Celestial Earthshaker expressed her gratitude before saying, "If not for your intervention, I could have made an irredeemable mistake and be the sinner of Primal Chaos."

    "This junior also thanks Senior Voidme for protecting this junior," Leon gave the tree spirit a respectfully fist-palm salute.

    Unknowingly, he had already ended his meditation.

    The verbal exchanges between Saint Voidme and Celestial Earthshaker did not precisely go unheard by Leon while he was deepening his understanding of the Nihility Law.

    "Oh? You must have heard everything," Saint Voidmemented with a nod before he waved his hand nonchntly, "Don''t mind it too much. This Saint just hates to see a young talent die so early."

    Although the tree spirit made it seem like a small matter, Leon understood that he was highly valued by the tree spirit.

    Shortly after, Leon turned to the stone golem calmly and also offered her a courteous fist-palm salute, "This junior also thanks Senior Earthshaker for staying your hand."

    "Hmph."

    Celestial Earthshaker snorted slightly before she furrowed her brows and gazed at Leon with her obsidian orb-like eyes.

    "I don''t understand how you can still remain so calm when this Celestial just tried to kill you. Do you not fear death, or did you foolishly believe this Celestial won''t actually kill you?"

    "Not at all," Leon shook his head and said, "On the contrary, this junior fears death a lot¡ªnot because this junior finds death scary, but because this junior still has many things to aplish and people to protect."

    "Then how can you still look so calm?" Celestial Earthshaker frowned.

    "This junior understands that if either Senior Earthshaker or Senior Voidme wants to destroy this consciousness of junior, this junior would not be able to resist at all. Since this junior cannot do anything about it, what use does worrying about it have?"

    "Enough, Earthshaker." Saint Voidme interjected before adding, "You are not asking the important questions. It is evident that this child is not an ordinary person."

    "What we should we asking is how this childprehended the Nihility Law and if there''s a way to stop the Dimension Crack''s expansion with it!" Saint Voidme firmly stated.

 Chapter 666 - Hegemon Primal Madness

    <h4>Chapter 666 - Hegemon Primal Madness</h4>

    "Un, you''re right," Celestial Earthshaker agreed with a nod and said, "This Celestial should not be wasting time on useless questions."

    "Although it would most likely take millions of years before the Dimension Crack swallows the entire starry sky, this Celestial only have another 10 thousand years tops before it swallows the core and destroys this world.

    Shortly after, Celestial Earthshaker gazed at Leon seriously and said, "How youprehended the Nihility Law is your own secret. This Celestial will not ask if you are not willing to share it."

    "This Celestial only asks if you have any idea on stopping the Dimension Crack''s expansion¡ªor even better, close it for good and effectively save Primal Chaos?"

    Saint Voidme''s gaze shortly focused on Leon and awaited his answer.

    After Leon pondered for a moment, he shortly mentioned, "The Dimension Crack''s expansion seems to be caused by the Aura of Nihility eroding the dimensional walls as it crosses over from the Chaos Sea."

    "This junior could ward off the Nihility Aura from contacting the dimension walls with junior''s Nihility Law and dy the Dimension Crack''s expansion. However, this junior has no effective method to close the Dimension Crack."

    "As long as you ward off the Nihility Aura from contacting the dimensional wall, you can effectively stop the Dimension Crack from expanding entirely," Celestial Earthshakermented.

    "At this seems like a usible solution, but in truth, it is only a temporary one," Saint Voidme inserted with a frown before saying, "It''s obvious that this child cannot remain here to dy the Dimension Crack''s expansion with just his consciousness."

    "Suppose that this child can stay to dy the Dimension Crack''s expansion, his limited lifespan will still not allow him to dy the Dimension Crack forever. How long can a mere Preliminary ession-level Transcendent live? A thousand years at most. Not even enough for a full star tour."

    Leon rubbed his head ruefully.

    He did not expect to be roasted for his low cultivation despite providing a solution and offering his help to protect the world.

    Nevertheless, after a moment, Leon said, "In this junior''s honest opinion, there is no way of effectively closing the Dimension Crack as it is evidently rted to the life cycle of Primal Chaos."

    "Everything was born from nothingness. Thus, everything will eventually return to nothingness, right?" Saint Voidme asked.

    "Exactly, Senior." Leon nodded.

    "Then what are you proposing? That we do nothing and wait for the death of all worlds and life contained within?" Celestial Earthshaker asked with a frown.

    "Not at all," Leon shook his head and said, "This junior likes to believe that this junior cultivates pretty quickly. As long as this junior cultivates to a high realm, this junior will have more time to dy the Dimension Crack''s expansion, providing the world more time before its inevitable end."

    "Still, no matter how this junior looks at it, there''s no way to save Senior Earthshaker. What will happen, will eventually happen. The Dimension Crack will expand to a size big enough to destroy Senior Earthshaker and Gaia."

    "Little Bastard!" Celestial Earthshaker immediately spat before she red at Leon with overbearing pressure, "Are you cursing me to die?"

    "Not at all, Senior Earthshaker." Leon shook his head and said, "This junior is merely stating a fact."

    "It seems like you have no respect for¡ª!"

    "Enough, Earthshaker. Control that short temper of yours!" Saint Voidme interrupted with a frown and said, "This child has shown you plenty of respect. Also, what this child said was not wrong."

    "Hmph! Even if it is true, this Celestial still does not like to hear it!" Celestial Earthshaker grumbled.

    She was unwilling to remain trapped on Gaia, silently die a dog''s death, and fade from history without the people knowing that a Celestial Earthshaker once existed.

    Nevertheless, the binding was an irreversible process.

    Once a Celestial Warrior binds a Celestial Body, they will live as long as the sun and moon along with it until death separates them.

    This was absolute¡ªor at least it should be.

    Leon''s knowledge of the Celestial Realm was toocking to make any conjectures or theorize possible solutions to undo this sort of binding.

    "Senior, you can have a look at this iplete cultivation technique. Many of this junior''s abilities were gained from practicing this cultivation technique. The Nihility Law was a rare blessing that also came from this cultivation technique."

    Leon decisively transmitted the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique to Celestial Earthshaker.

    He was a little hesitant to share this technique at first, but it did not seem to serve many purposes upon further thought.

    It was a widely circted technique throughout the entire Divine Realm.

    If Celestial Earthshaker canprehend the Nihility Law through it, she could effectively stop the Dimension Crack from expanding for a very long time.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not have much hope that Celestial Earthshaker will seed in cultivating the technique at her level.

    However, since he had given a reason forprehending the Nihility Law, the two seniors would not bring up this topic again.

    "The Hegemon of Primal Chaos, huh?" Celestial Earthshaker muttered thoughtfully after receiving the cultivation technique before shemented, "Ah, I remember. This is the bogus technique created by Hegemon Primal Madness."

    "No one believed his technique would work back then in that primordial time. But who would have thought that it would have such effects in this present era?"

    "I have received your sincerity, child," Celestial Earthshaker said in a warm tone before she suddenly shook her head, "However, this cultivation technique will not work on this Celestial."

    "Hegemon Primal Chaos was a Human God who heavily researched cultivating the human body to the utmost limit and beyond. This Celestial have lost the mortal body long ago and only exist as a hunk of moving earth."

    "Even Saint Voidme will not be able to practice this technique. After all, he is a goddamn tree that is mainlyprised of wood¡­ The Hegemon of Primal Chaos is a mixed energy and body cultivation method that requires a human body of the five elements to cultivation."

 Chapter 667 - Four Sub-realms Of Celestial Cultivation

    <h4>Chapter 667 - Four Sub-realms Of Celestial Cultivation</h4>

    "Hegemon Primal Madness, huh?" Leon softly muttered thoughtfully, finally learning the name of the creator who created the heaven-defying technique.

    Suddenly, Leon''s eyes flickered before he quickly asked, "Senior, since you know Hegemon Primal Madness. Do you happen to know the rest of this technique as well?"

    "There isn''t one," Celestial Earthshaker stated.

    "There isn''t?" Leon was stunned before he inquired, "You mean this is all there is to the [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique, Senior?"

    "Exactly," Celestial Earthshaker nodded.

    "Why else do you think he was called Hegemon Primal Madness? He was the lord ofing up with inventions that were either too weird or notpleted at all," Celestial Earthshaker said before adding, "As for why, this Celestial cannot remember the reason."

    Her Divine Soul''s awakened memories were too limited.

    "If this Saint recalls, Hegemon Primal Madness mentioned that thetter techniques he invented were not meant to be practiced by Gods and Devils of that era," Saint Voidme mentioned instead.

    His Divine Soul belonged to that of a fellow human god. As such, there was more detailed information rted to Hegemon Primal Madness in its awakened memories.

    "Now, this Saint understands that his techniques were meant to be practiced in this era," Saint Voidme shook his head wryly and continued, "The Gods all thought Hegemon Primal Madness was crazy. After all, what is a technique if it does not work?"

    "However, they were all wrong. We were all wrong about Hegemon Primal Madness. Hegemon Primal Madness must have realized that the present era of that time did not have the correct conditions for humans to practice his techniques."

    "As such, he prepared it for the future generations to test the effectiveness of his inventions. If we think about it, perhaps Hegemon Primal Madness foresaw the ending of the Primal Chaos and left a spark of hope for the future generations to prosper beyond the end of time."

    As Leon listened to Saint Voidme inputs and spections, he felt great respect and admiration for Hegemon Primal Madness, who was basically one of the ancestors of the human race.

    Suddenly, Leon was curious how exactly the primordial era ended before he raised the question, "Seniors, how did the era of Gods and Devils ended exactly? Was it truly a battle of unparalleled proportion between Gods and Devils that destroyed both sides?"

    "No, this Celestial does not possess the exact details of that event," Celestial Earthshaker shook her head before suddenly adding, "However, it was true that the Gods and Devils waged a colossal war against each other."

    "Don''t look at this Saint. This Saint is just as clueless as Celestial Earthshaker in this matter," Saint Voidme stated after Leon shifted his gaze over.

    "However, there are two things that remain true about this matter," Saint Voidme suddenly added before exining, "That is, the Gods and Devils were never able to get along with one another, always at each other''s necks. And two, the battle of Gods and Devils never ended."

    "Nevertheless, that isn''t important right now, is it?" Saint Voidme shortly mentioned before he said, "Only humans can practice Hegemon Primal Madness''s techniques."

    "Right," Celestial Earthshaker nodded and asked Leon, "How did you get this technique to work? Can you recount the precise events to us?"

    "Well¡­" Leon smiled wryly and said, "To be honest, this junior nearly died when this junior started practicing this technique. This junior simply followed the instructions and circted the five elements at extreme speed until they finally fuse¡­"

    Suddenly, Leon had a revtion while shing back to all their previous topics of discussion.

    "Miracles happen when pushed to the extreme¡­ There is an ending after the beginning, but can there be a beginning after the end¡­?" Leon contemted.

    At the same time, his profound words got the two seniors thinking as they fell into deep thoughts of their own.

    The beginning after the end.

    Once Primal Chaos returns to nothingness, will a new Primal Chaos be born anew like a phoenix rising from the ashes¡ªsignifying the start of the next cycle?

    The question got them thinking.

    However, it was a profound question that no one had the answer to, even if they ponder it for many lifetimes.

    Even Gods and Devils may not have the answer.

    Nevertheless, Leon was thinking of a different matter to Saint Voidme and Celestial Earthshaker. But at the same time, it was also rted.

    "Seniors, what do you think all think will happen if this juniorprehends the Nihility Law to the extreme limits? Will there be some sort of miracle?" Leon asked.

    The two seniors were immediately surprised.

    "Never had anyone in historyprehended the Nihility Law before you. This is a question that only you can find the answer to, child." Saint Voidme said.

    "An answer that this Celestial is looking forward to hearing," Celestial Earthshaker said before suggesting, "Why not meditate a bit longer? You can be assured that you won''t be disturbed this time."

    "Before that, there is something that this junior would like to ask," Leon stated.

    Saint Voidme''s lips twitched at the mention of more questioning, but thankfully, he was not the one that was going to be asked.

    "Sure," Celestial Earthshaker nodded and urged Leon with a wave of her hand, "Ask away. I will answer any doubts you have, child."

    "Thank you, Senior." Leon gave a fist-palm salute with respect before he said, "This junior was wondering if Senior can exin the realm of cultivation for Celestials, and what are the conditions to reach the Celestial Realm?"

    "You want to understand the Celestial Realm, huh? Personally, this Celestial thinks it is too soon for you to be learning about the Celestial Realm," Celestial Earthshaker stated before suddenly adding, "But considering your talents, you will reach it in no time."

    "Alright, this Celestial will exin it to you."

    "Thank you, Senior."

    Leon gave Celestial Earthshaker another fist-palm salute after receiving her agreement.

    "To reach the Celestial Realm, you must first reach the peak of Transcendent Realm andpletelyprehended the first level of your primaryw. Once you achieve this, the heavens will summon a Celestial Tribtion to test your worthiness."

    "Only after passing the Celestial Tribtion will you be released from the shackles of your homeworld and free to traverse the starry skies in the heavens, absorb its endless celestial power, and further enrich your cultivation."

    "The Celestial Realm is mainly divided into four sub-realms; the Initiation realm, Integration realm, Manifestation realm, and Realization realm. You might have already realized it, but Celestials are given titles based on their celestial cultivation realms. Namely, they are Celestial Warrior, Celestial Lord, Celestial King, and Celestial Emperor."

    "If achieving transcendence is only the first step in Awakening Cultivation, then achieving celestial endowment is the second step to understanding the heavenly ways of Primal Chaos. Unfortunately, thews on a single Celestial Body can be, more often than not, limiting."

    "This is why Celestials must traverse the starry skies in search of Celestial Bodies with higher concentration and order ofws toprehend the heavenly ways and advance their celestial cultivation."

    After Celestial Earthshaker exined, she gave a piece of advice, "A word of warning, though. Never seek shortcuts in understanding the heavenly ways nor rush to reach the Celestial Realm."

    "Although the refinement of a fallen Celestial''s Celestial Spark can help a Transcendent reach the Celestial Realm within a short period of time, their potential wille to a standstill, forever restricting the Transcendent from advancing beyond the realm of the Celestial Spark''s previous owner."

    "In other words, if you choose to refine the Celestial Spark of an Initiation Realm Celestial, the peak of the Initiation Realm will be as far as you go, understand?" Celestial Earthshaker advised.

    Leon was quickly startled.

    To think there was such a thing. If he had not been told about this and blindly refined a Celestial Spark he obtained by chance, he would be filled with regrets.

    "Thank you, Senior, for your warning," Leon saluted respectfully and said, "Senior has saved this junior from the possibility of wasting away this junior''s future potential."

    "This Celestial is only mentioning this because this Celestial admire you. You are indeed a talent, and it would be a great loss for a talent like you to waste away your potential due to ignorance," Celestial Earthshaker calmly stated.

    Shortly after, Leon thought of another problem.

    "Senior, there wouldn''t be simr problems with refining Transcendent Crystals, right?" Leon inquired with concern, thinking about the people close to him.

    "Transcendent Crystals, huh?" Celestial Earthshaker smiled with disdain before she exined, "Although there are some side effects in refining Transcendent Crystals, it is not as serious as refining Celestial Sparks."

    "Because a Transcendence''sprehension of thew has yet to reach the level of centralization and receive the baptism of Celestial Tribtion, it still mainly energy with some traces ofprehension."

    "On the other hand, a Celestial Spark is the crystallization of purew. As such, refining a Transcendent Crystal will only hinder your future slightly and not entirely limit it."

    After hearing this, Leon heaved a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 668 - The Six Maids Bafflement And Joy

    <h4>Chapter 668 - The Six Maids'' Bafflement And Joy</h4>

    Fortunately, the Transcendent Crystal''s side-effects only hinder one''sprehension slightly and notpletely unsalvageable.

    "Then, I will continue to meditate by the Dimension Crack now, Senior," Leon stated respectfully.

    "Un," Celestial Earthshaker nodded and gestured him to do precisely that, "Go. This Celestial''s fate will be depended on the height of your growth, child."

    "Oh, right," Saint Voidme suddenly interjected with an exmation before asking, "This Saint still has not quite caught your name, child."

    "My name is Leon, Senior. I am the crown prince of a human empire situated within the corner of a continent ruled by powerful beasts called the Human Domain. Unfortunately, the humans'' situation is not exactly bright there," Leon introduced.

    "Ahh, so Young Leon is from the Deste Beast Continent," Saint Voidme casuallymented before saying, "With your talents, it won''t be long before you free roam it, unhindered and unfettered before the local powers."

    "There are a few ancient heritage and unique bloodlines there that may prove to be useful for your Body Cultivation," Saint Voidme added.

    Leon was shortly stunned before he asked with surprise, "Senior can tell this junior practice Body Cultivation?"

    He was just a spiritual avatar.

    It was impossible to gauge his body cultivation. As such, Saint Voidme could only have assumed he was a Body Cultivator through other means, but that also speaks volumes of Saint Voidme''s impressive foresight and sharp perception.

    "You have shown this Saint proper courtesy and respect, yet you are neither arrogant nor servile. Such traits tend to appear on Body Cultivators as they understand the struggles of men through the pain they endure during body cultivation."

    "Alright, this Saint will not bother further. You may go and meditate by the Dimension Crack," Saint Voidme said shortly after before advising Leon, "You may haveprehended the Nihility Law, but the Chaos Sea is no joke."

    "Right. Always remember to be careful," Celestial Earthshaker added.

    Whenever Leon uses nihility to protect himself from nihility, it also saves the two seniors the trouble of containing the Nihility Aura from spreading out with their powers.

    In other words, they could finally take their much-needed rest in the past several thousand years as Leon meditate on the Nihility Law.

    "Thank you, Seniors, for your warnings and concerns."

    Shortly after Leon replied politely to the two seniors, he did not dy further time and immediately went to cultivate by the Dimension Crack.

    Slowly yet steadily, a few hours passed.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Barrenrock Courtyard

    Leon''s main body remained seated in silent meditation within the open courtyard, his breathing steady without a hint of other movements.

    His body slowly collected dust until Aria recovered enough energy to leave her room for a walk before she discovered her hubby in the courtyard and made her way over to shield his body from the specks of dust in the air.

    Duna and Darlene simrly recovered enough to move, but upon noticing someone already beside Leon, they chose to leave the two alone.

    The twodies remained in their room and cultivated.

    At the same time, the six maids gradually awakened from their dreamy slumber and felt as if everything they previously experienced was just an illusion.

    Their clothes remained untouched, and their bodies were pure. Not even the pungent smell of body fluid and love nectar was smelt in the room.

    The ce was still as clean as the moment they entered it.

    Shortly after the six maids regained rity and discussed with each other, they all realized they had experienced the same thing.

    "The young master fooled us into believing we were giving up our bodies," Chana smiled wryly.

    "We were prepared to lose our chastity, but it seems like we still have it. Does that mean that we are still pure?" Tia asked.

    "Our body might be, but our minds are already corrupted," Tess said before adding with a dumbfounded look, "This is so weird¡­ usually, it''s the other way around first¡­"

    The six maids were baffled by the thought.

    "Nevertheless, I had quite a pleasant experience with Young Master Leonhardt in that spiritual world. I won''t mind going again if the young master is willing to take me," Tess said.

    "Right? Me too," Nora nodded and said with a distant look, "It was such a miraculous feeling. I did not know such worlds and experiences existed."

    The six maids shared their positive opinions on the matter enthusiastically like they had all been on a nice road trip.

    Nevertheless, they did not go into details about what they exactly did with the young master in the spiritual world as they were embarrassed and reserveddies.

    Even so, it was an unforgettable experience.

    "Oh right!" Chana suddenly eximed before quickly asking, "How is it? Can anyone feel like they have awakened their spatial ability like Darlene?"

    "Ah!"

    The rest of the maids shortly eximed after the question was raised before Tia said, "Now that you mentioned it, I really do feel a connection."

    "Me too!"

    "Same here."

    The maids responded excitedly one after another before they began testing the spatial control within the bedroom, bending space with their wills and explore its usage.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Wilnds, Deste Crow n

    Ever since the Divine Doctor helped the nsmen achieve their first round of bloodline awakening, the Deste Crow n heralded into a new era of prosperity after theirst disaster like phoenixes rising from the ashes.

    They were reborn by their ancestral bloodline.

    Only several Transcendent-level warriors broke through to Rank 2 Transcendent, but numerous other nsmen directly broke through to the Transcendent Realm, granting the n an unprecedented number of Transcendents.

    A single round of bloodline awakening had utterly transformed the Deste Crow n into a force to be reckoned with.

    Even if they still could not stand head to head with the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s Paragon, at the very least, they were no longer helpless against the Deste Netherbird Second Prince and those under hismand.

    At that moment, the n was bustling with activities, thriving with energy and drive as they rebuilt their damaged homes.

    It was hard and honest work, nheless, but the moods of the tribesmen were in peak states.

    However, outside the chief pce where Lilith stood, a group of elites was gathering with a solemn atmosphere as they answered her summoning.

 Chapter 669 - Desolate Crow Clans Rescue Preparation

    <h4>Chapter 669 - Deste Crow n''s Rescue Preparation</h4>

    "Are you sure that you want to do this, Your Highness? Don''t you think we are a little too hasty? Uncle Jorn queried with doubts and concern, but from his voice to his aura, it was filled with power.

    Evidently, Uncle Jorn had also significantly benefited from the bloodline awakening.

    If Uncle Jorn had to face another Mid-rank 2 Transcendent like Lord Balzacs again, he would not be afraid even if he was alone.

    Nevertheless, this did not mean that they could underestimate the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s forces.

    "Now is the best time for the n to grow. If we wait until Prince Leon returns, we will stand a better chance, Your Highness," Uncle Jorn mentioned shortly after.

    Lilith gazed at the group of Transcendents gathering in front of her with a solemn look before she said with knitted brows, "We can''t keep relying on Prince Leon''s help. The debt of gratitude we owe him has already reached an insurmountable amount¡ªso great that we cannot possibly hope to repay."

    "If it has already reached such a point, what does it matter if we add a little more to our debt, Your Highness?" Uncle Jorn said.

    Lilith frowned.

    She gazed at Uncle Jorn gravely before saying, "Uncle Jorn, there''s a difference between needing someone''s help and using them. And right now, you sound no different to thetter. Do not take advantage of Leon''s extensive kindness, Uncle Jorn."

    "Between the importance of the n and Prince Leon, it seems Your Highness has chosentter," Uncle Jorn smiled wryly and said teasingly, "It seems like our Little Princess has finally found someone she likes."

    Whistle~!

    The gathered warriors at the Transcendent level all whistled at Lilith before one of them shouted heartily, "I definitely ship them!"

    "Me too! I ship!"

    "Prince Leon and the Little Princess is a perfect match!"

    The warriors cheered one after another in acknowledgment of the pairing, causing Lilith''s face to quickly flush with embarrassment.

    "Silence all of you! Don''t speak nonsense!" Lilith hollered angrily and reprimanded them, "Prince Leon already has several women by his side! What the hell are you all thinking?"

    "Since Prince Leon already has several women by his side, it shouldn''t be a problem to add one more, right?" A warriorughed cheerily with a grin.

    "If the Little Princess and Prince Leon gets together, we have no doubts that you will be able to lead the n to greatness and usher into the golden age of prosperity!" another warrior chimed.

    "All great men are destined to have multiple wives in their lifetime because all have great hearts to ept them all. Only small men will small hearts will stay loyal to one¡ªnot because they are faithful but because they are incapable of handling anymore."

    Shortly after the warrior spoke, he immediately received mixed responses from his fellowrades. Some agreed with him, while others outright cursed him.

    "Oi, oi! I only have one wife! What are you trying to say, huh? That I am a small man with a small heart? I have been through thick and thin with two other women who always had me back. Our bond is as strong are blood siblings. But, unfortunately, they developed feelings, and I resisted the temptation. If I wanted, I could easily have three wives by now, you know?!"

    "And that''s why you are a small man with a small heart, like a kept man, too afraid of your wife''s wrath to reciprocate the feelings of others who also share a destiny and possible future with you. I wouldn''t say much if these were peaceful times, but it''s not. You just cut them off like weeds. What a heartless man you are."

    "Hmph, what do you know? I rather wrong a thousand women than wrong my wife!" the warrior snapped.

    "Enough!" Lilith suddenly shouted.

    The discussion within the crowd quickly died down before the warriors shift their attentions back to their little princess.

    Lilith gazed at them solemnly and said, "We are not gathered here today to be talking about this. We are gathered here today to prepare tounch a counterattack on the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s city and free our people, the n Leader, my mother, and the elders!"

    "I am not avoiding Prince Leon''s help because I stubbornly want to avoid incurring more debts of gratitude to our savior! No, there is a more important reason for this hasty endeavor!"

    "While it is true that if we continue to bide our time to grow and wait for Prince Leon''s return, we will stand a better chance in this operation. But let me ask you all this, you too, Uncle Jorn! We can wait, but can they wait?!"

    Once Lilith raised the question with explosive volume and power granted by her cultivation, the warriors quickly received a great shock of surprise and rm.

    Some of the captured elders were their grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers, uncles, or even aunties. Either way, the elders were all rted to them in some way.

    They were all family.

    "The Little Princess is right! The Deste Netherbird Second Prince is unruly and depraved. God knows how he is treating the n Leaders and elders in captivity?"

    "Right! Now that we possess the strength, we should rescue them before it is toote! We don''t have time to consider the possibility of absolute sess! These are our elders'' lives on the line!"

    Lilith swept the spirited group a nce before she nodded, "Seems like this is everyone. Check your equipment and supplies. In half an hour, we will set out at once!"

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    Shortly after the warriors busied themselves with their preparations, Uncle Jorn smiled wryly and said, "It seems that I have not considered this problem. The days of oppression have made me more conservative."

    "It seems like the Little Princess is a natural-born leader. You are already fit to lead the n, Your Highness," Uncle Jorn added.

    However, such words did not make Lilith happy.

    She shook her head and said, "I am not as great as you think, Uncle Jorn. I did not want to save my father, mother, and the elders are being treated because I considered the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s nature, nor act in the capacity of a leader."

    "It''s nothing noble like that¡­ I am simply worried for my parents and wanted to save them because I am their daughter."

 Chapter 670 - Nethergrass City

    <h4>Chapter 670 - Nethergrass City</h4>

    After Lilith spoke her mind openly and truthfully, Uncle Jorn understood that he had been giving the Little Princess too much credit simply because she was the Little Princess.

    He had forgotten that it was not long ago that she was still the little girl who ran away from home to escape an arranged marriage.

    The amount of pressure and resolve needed for the little princess to assume leadership and lead the n was something no one can understand clearer than herself.

    "Your Highness, feel free to rely on others if the burden is too great," Uncle Jorn said before mentioning, "I understand that being a leader is not easy. There are a lot of things to consider, and each decision carries consequences and responsibilities that you would have to bear."

    "Even the n Leader, your father, had sleepless nights on separate asions due to n matters. But I will say to you the same thing I have said to the n Leader in the past; don''t overwork yourself."

    "Body Cultivators may have great endurance and tolerance to stress, but the body will still copse without adequate rest from time to time. Nothing is more important than your health, Your Highness," Uncle Jorn stated.

    "Un, I understand. Thank you, Uncle Jorn," Lilith nodded with appreciation and said, "I will keep your words in mind. But right now, we have people that need saving. So let us go over the n again."

    "Yes, Your Highness," Uncle Jorn nodded.

    In front of them, a map wasid out on the table with clear indications of the Deste Crow n''s location in the center and several neighboring tribes and ns beyond its borders, including the Deste Netherbird Tribe.

    "ording to what Uncle Jorn previously mentioned, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince is residing in Nethergrass City, located right here on the border."

    Lilith shortly pointed at a single point where the borders of the Deste Crow n and Deste Netherbird Tribe are connected.

    "That''s right," Uncle Jorn nodded and said, "Lord Balzacs would regrly send a messenger back to the Deste Netherbird Second Prince in Nethergrass City to keep him updated on the Deste Crow n''s matters. That time is not far from now."

    "So, our n would be to infiltrate the city as messengers apanied by our warriors openly under the disguise that we have submitted and was sent over to aid the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s cause," Lilith stated.

    "That''s right. You remembered it well, Your Highness. That is indeed the first step of the n," Uncle Jorn nodded before he said solemnly, "However, we need to remember that we are going to save the n Leader and elders, not to wage war."

    "After we cause chaos in the city as a distraction and get our people, we will escape immediately and not entangle ourselves with the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s forces."

    "I can understand that much, Uncle Jorn." Lilith nodded seriously.

    If the Deste Netherbird Second Prince was harmed by them, there was a possibility of the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s Paragon making a move against them.

    Sometimeter, a nsman arrived before them and reported, "Your Highness, the preparations areplete. Our warriors are ready to sortie."

    "Good!" Lilith nodded and ordered, "Inform the nsmen that we will set out immediately."

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    "Wait a minute, Your Highness," Uncle Jorn suddenly stopped Lilith before asking with surprise, "You''re not nning toe with us, right?"

    "Of course, I am. Why else am I here?" Lilith responded with knitted brows.

    "You mustn''t! It''s too dangerous for you, Your Highness!" Uncle Jorn strongly opposed Lilith''s decision to join the mission.

    "Although your bloodline awakening has allowed your strength to grow more quickly than anyone else due to your royal bloodline, yourbat experience is weak. But more importantly, the nsmen here still need you to lead them while we are gone, Your Highness."

    "I¡­" Lilith had no words to refute before she sighed, "Fine, I will listen to you this time, Uncle Jorn. I hope you can bring my parents and the elders back safely."

    "I swear I will do everything in my power to make it a sess, Your Highness," Uncle Jorn swore before turning to the gathered group of elite nsmen and barked, "Let''s move out!"

    "Yes, Lord Jorn!"

    "Then, we will be on our way, Your Highness!"

    The elite nsmen quicklyplied and followed Uncle Jorn''s lead, but before bidding farewell to their princess with respect.

    While the nsmen held some disgruntled feelings with their princess''s previous abandonment, they respected her return to assume the leadership role in the n even more.

    A leader who leads them in peaceful times can indeed earn their respect, but only a leader who does not abandon them in difficult times can earn their undying loyalty.

    As Lilith watched Uncle Jorn and the elite nsmen depart the n, she gave another sigh of despondence and disappointment for not being able to take part.

    Shortly after mulling for a moment, Lilith took some servants to apany her on a trip around the n and oversee the reconstruction.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Deste Netherbird Tribe''s border city, Nethergrass Pce

    A young man, adorned in a high-quality ck silk robe with gold linings, stood on the balcony of his study room and gazed at the direction of the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s capital home with narrowed eyes.

    Shortly after, a servant entered the room.

    But before the servant could even speak, the young man casually asked without looking back, "Has the Deste Crow n''s princess been found yet?"

    "Not yet, Your Highness." The servant shook his head and said, "The Deste Crow n''s leader and elders have been tortured for days, but their lips are sealed tightly. This servant is beginning to think that they, themselves, do not know where the little princess had run off to."

    Shortly after, the servant hesitated and said, "If we want the Deste Crow n to serve you in your fight for the throne, this is not the way to buy their loyalty, Your Highness."

    "Oh, we don''t need their loyalty. We''re way past that already," the Deste Netherbird Second Prince nonchntly said before adding, "I only need their power¡­ I don''t care about their loyalty."

 Chapter 671 - Tyrants Wont Live Long

    <h4>Chapter 671 - Tyrants Won''t Live Long</h4>

    "This¡­" The servant sweated before he said, "The Deste Crow n is one of the four ns under the Deste Netherbird Tribe with a deep ancestral history."

    "This servant is afraid that if Your Highness continues to push them, they will only grow disloyal to the tribe and rebel, Your Highness."

    "Once their mes of fury are ignited, there''s a chance they could awaken their ancestral bloodline and grow into a fearsome force¡ªeven the tribe will have to take seriously."

    "You don''t need to worry about that," the Deste Netherbird Second Prince said coolly before he exined, "I nned to use the Deste Crow n''s forces as the vanguard anyway. They are just cannon fodders that are destined to die in battle."

    "Yet, Your Highness is expending much efforts to acquire these cannon fodders¡­" the servant sighed with silentmentation.

    The Deste Netherbird Second Prince was evidently not fit to rule, but he was a person with grand ambitions that supersedes his capability.

    Coercing the Deste Crow n was a mistake, capturing their leader and elders was another mistake, and torturing them was a great mistake.

    It was just one mistake after another.

    The consequences of the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s actions will one day bear down on him and swallow him whole.

    "It''s fortunate that the Venerable Paragons are currently in secluded cultivation. Otherwise, this servant is afraid of what the Venerable Paragons will do once they hear of your deeds, Your Highness," the servant said.

    "As long as I beat my elder brother and prove that I am more worthy of leading the tribe as the next chief, neither my father nor the Venerable Paragons will care of my means."

    "By the time they exit seclusion, it would already be over. They will have no choice but to ept me!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince stated with sinister glint.

    Shortly after, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince frowned and said, "Since you have no news of the princess, then I suppose you bring me news of the Deste Crow n''s leader and elders'' submission?"

    "That¡­ is also not why this servant is here, Your Highness. Please forgive this servant for not meeting your expectation," the servant bowed and pleaded for forgiveness.

    The Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s frown deepened before he finally turned around and gazed at the servant with great scrutiny before asking with irritation, "Then what the hell are you here for?"

    "The Deste Crow n''s leader and elders have been tortured and starved for days. If we don''t feed them and let them replenish their energy, I''m afraid that they will all die, Your Highness."

    "Hmph! If they had just submitted to me, would we have to go through such troubles?" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince snorted with frustration before he barked, "Let them continue to starve! I don''t believe that these people will remain stubborn forever when they are on the brink of death!"

    "Your Highness, please rethink your decision!" the servant quickly pleaded before shouting, "The Deste Crow n''s leader and elders are already too weak to even move! They need some supplements or treatment now!"

    "You''ve been disagreeing with me since the start and have not done a single thing that is useful for me. I don''t need an advisor like you!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince stated coldly before he barked outside, "Men, drag this person out and behead him!"

    "Your Highness! Have mercy!" the advisor was shocked badly by the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s ruthlessness.

    Nothing was more frustrating than providing suggestions that the Deste Netherbird Second Prince never takes seriously nor follows, rendering his job worthless.

    Even so, the advisor never thought that a day woulde when he could possibly lose his life for simply doing his job!

    "This servant was never against you, Your Highness! All this servant has ever done was provide the best possible choices for you to make, Your Highness! Your Highness¡ª!"

    The advisor was eventually dragged out by two Early-rank 2 Transcendent Guards and beheaded in cold blood.

    Even the nearby servants felt a chill in their hearts.

    The only way to survive when following the Deste Netherbird Second Prince is to never argue with the Deste Netherbird Second Prince and only listen to his orders obediently like mindless puppets.

    The Deste Netherbird Second Prince never heeds the advice of his advisors.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    At that moment, a group of ck-winged people lied bundled together inside of the rotting cell of a prison located beside the training ground where warriors spar and conduct drills for discipline.

    Blood stained the cold, rocky floor amidst scattered ck feathers and moldy old-aged food that had been around for god knows how long.

    If not for the faint breathsing from the bundle of ck-winged people which proved that they were alive, one would have assumed they walked into an abandoned ughterhouse for pigs and chickens.

    "It seems like the Deste Netherbird Second Prince does not have any intention of letting us go until we submit to him," the Deste Crow n''s n Leader spoke weakly.

    "This might be where we meet our end. If anyone is getting cold feet and afraid of death, you may voice your submission now. It may save your life temporarily."

    "Hmph! The Deste Netherbird Second Prince is too tyrannical. He is just a brat drunk on power without the means to back his ambition. Such a person will definitely fail and fall early. If I was to die either way, I should die proudly."

    "That''s right! I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees¡ªonly to die a dog''s death in the end. If we are destined to die here, then so be it."

    The elders stated their stances firmly but also stubbornly.

    "Good! The Deste Crow n has no cowards. I am proud of you all," the Deste Crow n''s n Leader, Lidoran, said with gratification.

    "Even if fall here today. Even if the n falls tomorrow. Know that my daughter is still out there, carrying the bloodline of our n. As long as she lives, our n will never truly die out!"

    "And when she finds out the truth of today and bes powerful enough, she will surely avenge the disgrace we experience today tenfold, a hundredfold! Whatever it takes to make the Deste Netherbird Second Prince pay the price!"

    "Such a tyrant will never live long!"

 Chapter 672 - Entering Nethergrass

    <h4>Chapter 672 - Entering Nethergrass</h4>

    During the night duties of the sentries stationed on the eastern walls of Nethergrass city, spots of torchlight suddenly popped out in the distance.

    A group of travelers treaded the bloodstained road leading to the city as they passed through the scorched carcasses that piled like mountains on either side of the ck road.

    These mountains of carcasses were not inferior in size to the ones that buried the Deste Crow n.

    However, they were not scorched by ordinary mes.

    As the group made their way through the cleared path on the road, the slight tremors of their movements quickly caused several scorched carcasses to crumple into ck ashes.

    "Stop! Why have youe to Nethergrass City at this hour? State your business here, travelers!" a sentry demanded firmly.

    "We''vee as messengers of Lord Balzacs, here to deliver good news to His Highness, the Second Prince, from the Deste Crow n!" Lord Jorn hollered back clearly for the sentries to hear.

    "Messengers?" the sentry muttered with surprise.

    However, it did not take long before the sentry frowned with doubt and barked, "Why are there so many of you?! His Highness does not require the service of so many messengers!"

    "That is exactly the good news we bring! These are some of the fine warriors of the Deste Crow n, here to assist His Highness''s rights to the throne!" Lord Jorn shouted before adding, "Lord Balzacs had tasked me to deliver them to the Second Prince after their submission!"

    "Oh? Is that so?" the sentry eximed before nodded with pleasant surprise, "That is indeed good news. The Second Prince will definitely be delighted to hear it."

    "Alright, open the gates! Let them through!"

    The sentries were quickly convinced with a few words before the Deste Crow n''s group were permitted entry to the city.

    Shortly after, the sentry gradually made his way down the wall and patted Lord Jorn on the shoulders pleasantly.

    "It''s great that you have joined us. We will soon be fighting as brothers together for a just cause," the sentry spoke before he suddenly creased his brows and asked, "What happened to thest messenger? Why are you the messenger this time?"

    "Thest messenger is dead," Lord Jorn stated honestly and calmly as if he was just stating a matter of fact that had nothing to do with him.

    However, thest messenger was indeed killed by him when the person arrived shortly after the Deste Crow n began their rebuilding process.

    Nevertheless, the news of the dead messenger came as a shock to the sentry as he immediately retreated a step with surprise and rm.

    "What?" the sentry eximed before asking with an inquisitive gaze, "Why would thest messenger suddenly die? How did he die?"

    "Thest messenger died on a woman''s stomach. He was too indulgent in his carnal desires and became careless enough to have a woman slip his throat in his sleep," Lord Jorn bullsh*tted with a straight face.

    "This, in turns, led to Lord Balzacs bing enraged and ughtered thousands of lives before the Deste Crow n finally submitted due to fear."

    "Hahaha, is that right?" the sentryughed heartily before he said with disdain, "Since that is the case, that messenger deserved to die. But at least, there was meaning to his pathetic death."

    "Wait until the Deste Crow n''s n Leader and elders about their n''s submission. Oh, I am sure the look on their stubborn faces will be a lovely sight to see!"

    "This brother, may I ask where they are being held?" Lord Jorn asked politely.

    "Hm?" the sentry quickly became suspicious again as he frowned and questioned inquisitively, "And why do you need to know that?"

    "It''s like this; we were also given another task by Lord Balzacs to report the news of the Deste Crow n''s surrender to the n leader and elders. Lord Balzacs believed that this sort of news would be enough to shake their belief and lead to their following submission."

    "Oh? That does seem like a usible tactic. As expected of Lord Balzacs!" the sentry nodded with praise.

    His solemness was quickly dispelled once more as he put on a lighthearted smile and said, "the Deste Crow n''s leader and elders are being held in the underground prison beside the training ground."

    "However, you should report to His Highness and receive his approval first before carrying out your follow task. After all, if your actions somehow displease the Second Prince, you will lose your life just like that," the sentry warned.

    "I got it," Lord Jorn nodded and said, "Thanks, brother."

    "Don''t mention it. We will berades-in-arms in the future."

    Shortly after, Jorn led his elite nsmen away from the city gates and headed deep into the city.

    It was not long before they discovered the dispirited look of the Deste Netherbird tribesmen and other beastmen living in the city and sensed the oppressiveness of the ce.

    "It seems like the Second Prince is truly unfit to rule if the people of his city is in this state¡­" an elite nsman quietly whispered as he observed his surrounding.

    "That sentry before was quite gullible to have given vital information so easily. Nevertheless, he is serious and honest with his work. If possible, I want to avoid as many casualties as possible when we make our escape with the n leader and elders," Lord Jorn mentioned.

    "Lord Jorn is right," another elite nsman agreed with a nod and said, "The Second Prince is bad, but the people and soldiers are innocent."

    Nevertheless, when pushes to shove, they will still do what they need to do to guarantee the Deste Crow n''s best interest in mind.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Darkmoon Tribe, Barrenrock Courtyard

    Leon was gradually awakened from his deep meditation to a suddenmotion growing outside in the tribe before discovering Aria beside him.

    "How long have you been here?" Leon asked with a warm smile, having understood her silent gesture as not a speck of dust could be seen on his body.

    "Only a few hours," Aria smiled back.

    Of course, this was a few hours after she found him and not how long her husband had actually been meditating in the courtyard.

 Chapter 673 - Commotion Outside The Walls

    <h4>Chapter 673 - Commotion Outside The Walls</h4>

    "Only a few hours, huh?" Leon muttered.

    He felt like he had cultivated for half a day at least, and his gains in the Nihility Law were not small during that time either.

    The Dimension Crack and Chaos Sea was truly a holynd of cultivation for him.

    Nevertheless, Leon abruptly pulled Aria into his embrace, causing her to give a short startled cry before he gave her a quick pinch on the nose and asked, "Why are you being so considerate? I figured you would be acting like a vinegar jar instead."

    "Well, would you prefer it if I was?" Aria responded teasingly after she recovered from her surprise before saying, "If you had eaten all six maids, I definitely would be feeling sour."

    "But I did eat them all?" Leon responded.

    However, Aria shook her head and said, "You might have yed with them in the spiritual world, but you didn''t touch their actual bodies."

    "Wifey, you should understand that a spiritual connection is much stronger than a physical one. So perhaps, as a result of their first spiritual experience, they might be addicted to it and even develop feelings for me, you know?"

    "It''s not as simple as an illusion or even a dream but a bonding of souls. This is how I realized that I can awaken them through our spiritual intimacy alone without doing the deed physically," Leon stated.

    "Still, you didn''t touch their bodies. So, I am okay with that," Aria said defiantly.

    Her stubborn stance on the matter caused Leon to crack a smile and poke her little nose before he said, "My wifey, you can be so adorable sometimes, you know that?"

    Aria''s cheeks steadily flushed red from thepliment.

    Although Leon did not touch the six maids physically, the same could not be said with Darlene¡ªbut of course, he did not need to mention this and ruin the mood they were sharing.

    After the two enjoy a sweet little moment of peace together, Leon''s expression shortly became more solemn as he asked, "Has anything happened while I was meditating?"

    "Nothing much, really. Everyone seems to have been cultivating seriously after receiving blessings from your body," Aria mentioned with a meaningful look.

    "About this, it''s best if no one else knows about True Grandmist Energy. It poses too much risk if words of it reach the ears of a powerful expert with a greedy and selfish nature," Leon stated seriously.

    Shortly after, he gave her a side nce and asked, "Since everyone is cultivating, why isn''t my wifey here also doing the same? Have you hit a bottleneck?"

    "Not quite a bottleneck, but just a slight obstruction," Aria was slightly confused as she mentioned, "Until now, everything had progressed smoothly. But the higher I climb, the more easily distracted I seem to be. I''m not sure why though¡­"

    "This must be the side effects of relying on the Transcendent Crystals. In the future, don''t readily rely on them anymore unless you need to. It will only dy your progress inprehendingws further," Leon stated.

    Shortly after, he also mentioned to Aria about Celestial Sparks and their severe side effects before she nced back at him with surprise.

    "How did hubby find out about this?" Aria asked.

    "I was informed by two seniors. Actually, I wanted to share with you about this fruitful trip of mine while I was meditating¡­ However, it seems like it will have to wait."

    As Leon spoke, his gaze slowly shifted outside the courtyard.

    Themotion had grown to the point of disturbing the peace within Barrenrock Courtyard as the contents of the tribesmen''s chatters could be heard clearly.

    "Seems like the news of the Shaman King''s Sessor and Divine Doctor had spread quickly. A few tribes had already sent their people over to investigate the truth," Leon added.

    "Mm." Aria nodded for a moment before she knitted her brows and asked, "The Shaman King''s Sessor? Who is that?"

    "I''ll tell you about it on the way," Leon smiled slightly as he lifted the both of them off the ground and suggested, "Let us head out and check the situation."

    "Alright."

    Aria agreed.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    At that moment, five groups from different tribes from Central Region had already received approval and entered the city, while several more groups were kept outside.

    Themotion was caused by these groups.

    "Is this how the Darkmoon Tribe treat their guests? Guests from afar have arrived at your Darkmoon Tribe, but the Darkmoon Tribe will not even wee them? What kind of hospitality is this?" a Low-rank Battle Master spoke.

    On the Darkmoon Tribe''s walls, a retired senior at the Low-rank Battle Master realm gazed back at the crowd outside the walls coldly.

    "I have already told you! Those with courtesy and respect will naturally be treated like esteemed guests of the Darkmoon Tribe and be weed! However, troublemakers like you who disrespect my Darkmoon Tribe upon your arrival will never be weed within our walls!" the retired senior spoke firmly.

    "Just because the Shaman King''s Sessor and the Divine Doctor are both residing in your tribe, it doesn''t mean your Darkmoon Tribe''s status has been elevated! Are you sure you want to offend all our tribe by baring our entry? Can you bear the consequences?!" another Low-rank Battle Master shouted.

    The retired senior quickly narrowed his eyes.

    "It seems like the ck Warbear Tribe has spread false about us. These people don''t know that the Shaman King''s Sessor and Divine Doctor is one and the same person¡ªnot to mention the person is part of our tribe," the retired senior mentioned to the Venerable Shaman beside him.

    "That does seem to be the case. But it shows that these tribes don''t respect us unless they understand that Young Master Leonhardt is one of us," Old Tailormented before stating, "There''s no need to treat them with respect."

    "These people behave like kings upon their arrival, making various demands without a modicum of respect for us as if they rule this ce. We are not their servants. There is no need to listen to them, nor should we be afraid."

    "Right," the retired senior agreed with a nod and said, "The Darkmoon Tribe is not easy to bully¡­ Respect is not given but earned. If they don''t respect us, why should we respect them?"

 Chapter 674 - Chaotic Brawl

    <h4>Chapter 674 - Chaotic Brawl</h4>

    Inside the Chief Pce''s Great Hall, Chief Valencia sat on her throne to amodate the five tribal chiefs from Central Region after being forced to end her secluded training abruptly.

    "Wee to my Darkmoon Tribe, chiefs from Central Region. But what brings you all here today?" Chief Valencia greeted before asking, despite vaguely understanding the reason for their visit.

    "And we thank you for weing us inside your tribe, Chief Valencia," a female chief with braided hair said politely before stating, "Chief Valencia should know why we''vee."

    "Chief Silvermoon is too polite," Chief Valencia smiled and said coolly, "You have all shown the Darkmoon Tribe adequate respect. As such, it is only proper that we return the gesture in kindness¡ªunlike the riffraff outside."

    "Well, I suppose you have alle to see this so-called Shaman King''s Sessor and the Divine Doctor," Chief Valencia added shortly after.

    "That''s right!" Chief Silvermoon nodded before saying, "Nevertheless, we would still like to hear the truth from Chief Valencia."

    "We don''t trust the news spread by the ck Warbear Tribe, or rather, I don''t trust their chief, ckbear. That man is both cruel and insidious, whether it is to his own tribesmen or outsiders," a male chief in thick fur cloak added.

    "I see¡­" Chief Valencia uttered.

    "I don''t know whether Young Master Leonhardt is the Shaman King''s Sessor as people im him to be, but I can assure you that your trip is not wasted if you can earn his favor¡ªeven if he is not the Shaman King''s Sessor."

    After Chief Valencia said that, the five chiefs nced at her with suspicion before Chief Silvermoon uttered, "What Chief Valencia means to say is that this Young Master Leonhardt¡­"

    "That''s right," Chief Valencia nodded and openly admitted with a proud look, "The so-called Shaman King''s Sessor and Divine Doctor are one and the same person. And he is a member of my Darkmoon Tribe."

    There was no reason for her to keep the secret from the five chiefs. The truth would eventuallye to light.

    "I don''t know for what reason that the Chief ckbear separated the two when he spread the news, but this is nothing more than a petty tactic," Chief Valencia added with disdain and stated, "A bit childish if you ask me."

    "I see¡­" Chief Silvermoon uttered with surprise.

    It was a good thing that they paid the Darkmoon Tribe proper respect. Otherwise, they would have also been barred from entr¨¦e.

    "Still, the people outside are all strong warriors from various tribes in Central Region. If the crowd outside continues to grow, I''m afraid that even the Darkmoon Tribe will not be able to hold them back once a fight breaks out," Chief Silvermoon mentioned out of concern.

    However, Chief Valencia waved her hand nonchntly and said confidently, "Chief Silvermoon does not need to worry about this. Unless those disrespectful groups brought the entirety of their tribes to wage an all-out war, my Darkmoon Tribe would still have a way to deal with them."

    Chief Valencia''s confidence quickly caused Chief Silvermoon and the four other chiefs to knit their brows together with doubt.

    Where did this confidencee from?

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, themotion outside the walls continued.

    "Hmph, if the Darkmoon Tribe does not let us enter, we will just force our way through! We don''t need to fear them when we are this many!" an overbearing Mid-rank Battle Master shouted, "Break down their gate!"

    "Yeah! Let us force our way in! Who does the Darkmoon Tribe think they are?"

    "Just because they were lucky enough to have both the Shaman King''s Sessor and Divine Doctor temporarily reside in their tribe, they think they are great now?"

    "Fight! Let us show these southerners the strength of the central region!"

    The disgruntled crowd of Battle Masters rioted very quickly and bashed down the gate with a few blows.

    Boom!

    Before the crowd could charge into a city, the One-Eyed Venerable Shamannded heavily on the ground in front of them and blocked their path.

    "A bunch savages, the lot of you! Where do you think you are?! This is not your central region! This Venerable will not allow such wanton behaviors in my presence! Cross this line if you want to die!"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman drew a line on the ground with his feet as his mighty voice rippled out, loud and clear.

    Several weaker Battle Masters were immediately intimidated into halting their advance as they gazed back at the old man in shock.

    "An Extremity-rank Battle Master!" a Low-rank Battle Master eximed.

    "Move it!" the Low-rank Battle Master was shortly shoved aside before another Battle Master stepped in front and stated solemnly, "Let me deal him! The rest of you can continue onward!"

    Bam!

    The Battle Master stomped the ground and exuded his battle aura that did not pale inparison to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    "Oh?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman eximed softly before his eyes glinted with seriousness, "I didn''t expect to see a noble Extremity-rank Battle Master take the side of savages. You people from the central region are toowless!"

    "The world has always been ruled by the strong. As long as you have the bigger fist, you have a bigger say and make the rules!" the Extremity-rank Battle Master chuckled coldly and said, "Enough nonsense, let''s fight!"

    "Since they have attacked first, there''s no need to hold back! Show these people from the central region the might of the Darkmoon Tribe!" Old Tailor shouted on the wall.

    "Houu¡ª!"

    The Battle Masters and Great Warrior issued a warcry before leaping into battle immediately, quickly turning the ce into one big chaotic brawl with their fists!

    Even when the Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors were vastly outnumbered by dozens of times in terms of Battle Masters, they showed no fear and contested fiercely.

    The Battle Masters from Central Region still had a bottom line. As such, no one died in battle and only suffered bruises and broken bones.

    At that moment, Leon and Aria arrived at the scene of the chaotic brawl before they knitted their brows together.

    "What a mess this ce is."

 Chapter 675 - Redirecting Animosity Back To Its Source

    <h4>Chapter 675 - Redirecting Animosity Back To Its Source</h4>

    "We need to stop them," Aria stated.

    "Un." Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon observed the intense brawl and understood that a simple shout would not be enough to get both sides to stop fighting.

    Perhaps the Darkmoon Tribe''s side wouldply, but the foreign Battle Masters would not¡ªwhich would only need to the Darkmoon Tribe''s side sustaining unnecessary injuries.

    "Only absolute strength can stop this brawl, huh?" Leon muttered.

    Shortly after, his gaze turned sharp before Leon raised his hand and tapped into the boundless power of earth with his Divine Will.

    Rumble¡­!

    The ground began to shake fiercely, disrupting everyone''s bnce and interrupted their battle abruptly.

    But as if that was not enough, Leon clenched his fist and made a sudden uppercut at the empty air before countless earthen fists shot out from the ground and catapulted all the foreign Battle Masters outside the tribe like thend itself rejected their illegal entry.

    At that moment, the One-Eyed Venerable and the other Extremity-rank Battle Master were locked in an intense fistfight before they were interrupted by the shaking ground.

    "Resorting to your shaman powers because you can beat me in a fair fight, huh? No matter. Your shaman powers won''t be able to do anything to¡ª"

    The Extremity-rank Battle Master''s words ended abruptly as he, too, was ejected from the Darkmoon Tribe by a strong earthen fist strike to the chest.

    "Have a nice day, I suppose," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke.

    Shortly after all the foreign Battle Masters all drew big arcs in the air beforending on the hard ground outside the Darkmoon Tribe''s walls, Leon casually arrived beside the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    "Are you alright, senior?" Leon inquired.

    "I''m great, thanks to your timely assistance, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman replied before saying, "However, I can''t say for the same for the others."

    They slowly shifted their gazes to the Great Warriors of the Darkmoon Tribe with battered looks, full of bleeding noses, split lips, swollen ck eyes, and bruises in various areas of their bodies among several broken bones.

    "Just a few fleshly wounds, nothing to worry about," one of them said and patted their chest with a tough look.

    "Right¡­" Leon uttered speechlessly.

    Nevertheless, the foreign Battle Masters''wless behavior greatly displeased him, causing Leon to frown shortly.

    "Let us talkter, senior. I will deal with these Battle Masters first."

    "Sure, no worries. Make sure to teach those thugs a good lesson, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "I will." Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon left Aria at the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s side and flew on top of the wall before gazing down at the ragged group of Battle Masters getting back on their feet.

    "The Darkmoon Tribe is not a ce for you to behave atrociously! If you cannot behave yourself, I don''t mind sending you all down into the depths of the earth to fight without creatures you have never seen before!" Leon stated firmly.

    With a single thought, the ground beneath the Battle Masters sunk as their surroundings rose in the shape of a dome, wanting to swallow them all whole.

    The Battle Masters were quickly shocked by the sheer magnitude of Leon''s power before they could even think straight and recover from thest blow.

    "The earth is moving! What is this power?!" a Low-rank Battle Master eximed.

    "It must be the power of the Shaman King''s Sessor! But who knew that shaman powers were actually capable of such feats? This sort of power¡­ who can resist it?"

    "No wonder the Shaman King was even more respected than the Battle Kings! Perhaps, only the Battle God can resist this sort of power¡­"

    The Battle Masters chattered with shock and disbelief as another Extremity-rank Battle Master picked himself off the sinking ground and gazed at Leon directly.

    "You must be the Shaman King''s Sessor! Name your price! What does it take for you to join my tribe?" the Extremity-rank Battle Master inquired clearly.

    At the same time, the previous Extremity-rank Battle Master also shot to his feet and said, "No, don''t join his tribe! We heard you are still unaffiliated! My tribe is definitely better than his! So you should join mine instead!"

    "And what makes you think that the information you have on me is true? Who said I am still unaffiliated? Am I not a part of the Darkmoon Tribe right now?" Leon said with a stern tone.

    Once the question was raised, the Battle Masters were all stunned as if they had just gotten a kick in the head.

    "Not only have you offended the Darkmoon Tribe, but you have also offended me, the so-called Shaman King''s Sessor. Let''s not forget to mention that I am also the Divine Doctor in this tribe," Leon continued to speak.

    "If you have anyone to me, me the person who gave you false information. It is clear that they had insidious intentions and wanted to cause trouble for my Darkmoon Tribe by using your hands. In other words, you have all been used by them!"

    Once Leon finished speaking, the Battle Masters stood rooted on the spot with a dumb look as if their brains had short-circuited.

    It was too much to take in.

    They wanted to bolster their own tribe''s status in the eyes of the Shaman King''s Sessor and the Divine Doctor by belittling other tribes.

    In the end, the n backfired and caused them to offend the people they wanted to curry favor with¡ªall because the information they had was false?!

    "Dammit! Who said the Divine Doctor was unaffiliated?!"

    "If the chief hears of my blunder, he is going to murder me! F*ck! I''m going to dare murder that person who gave me false information!"

    "Who was it? Who spread this bullsh*t?! I''m going to kill him!" another Battle Master spat with gritted teeth.

    Having finished saying his piece, Leon waved his hand returned thend to its original shape as the group of Battle Masters spouted grudgingly among themselves.

    It did not take long after some backtracking before they figured out that all their information came from the ck Warbear Tribe, one of the ruler tribes!

    They were used like pawns!

    "Damn that insidious ck Warbear Tribe! I will never forgive them!"

    "Hmph! What a good ck Warbear Tribe! Don''t expect my tribe to ever follow them!"

    The Battle Masters all began cursing the ck Warbear Tribe as they redirected their anger at them for what had transpired.

 Chapter 676 - Arrival Of Two Ruling Tribes

    <h4>Chapter 676 - Arrival Of Two Ruling Tribes</h4>

    As the Battle Masters gradually calmed their anger down on the surface, rage still burned in their hearts.

    The ck Warbear Tribe''s deeds will not be forgotten.

    More importantly, they had to appease the Divine Doctor they offended as a result of their misguided information.

    "We were truly ignorant to have offended you, Divine Doctor. Please look past our mistakes and be magnanimous in giving us another chance to amend our errors," the Battle Masters apologized.

    If they annoy the Shaman King''s Sessor, they could lose the chance to enter the secret realm. On the other hand, they might not get treated once they contract Demonic Possession.

    Both were equally bad. And when the two are one and the same person, it was double the bad.

    Nevertheless, Leon nced back at them indifferently and said, "It is not I, who you should all be apologizing to but the Darkmoon Tribe you disrespected and the tribesmen you have hurt in the process."

    "Right, right. What the Divine Doctor said makes sense. We should apologize to them," the Battle Masters quickly agreed with Leon''s words.

    Leon did not doubt that whatever he said, they would still agree with it regardless, nheless, as if he only speaks the truth.

    "Once you do that, you may enter¡ªbut only if they will allow it."

    After leaving those words, Leon promptly returned to Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s side.

    "I was expecting Young Master Leonhardt to teach them an unforgettable mistake, but Young Master Leonhardt''s n is even more brilliant than a simple beating. It was a good idea to divert the me back to its source," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman praised.

    "Not only would the ck Warbear Tribe receive all of these Battle Masters'' hatred, but our side would bepletely freed from their pesterings and future troubles."

    "Although the nature of these people isn''t good, they weren''t the source of the problem and were only being used by the ck Warbear Tribe. Beating them up would only aggravate the problem between our sides, which is exactly what the ck Warbear Tribe wants," Leon stated.

    "But now, the ck Warbear Tribe will have a headache over this issue they caused themselves," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled softly.

    "Right," Leon nodded before he suddenly mentioned, "By the way, senior. I can''t help but noticed that only Battle Masters have arrived. There is not a Great Warrior among the group that visited the Darkmoon Tribe. Why is that?"

    "Because only Battle Masters are qualified to enter the secret realm, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman answered before exining further, "Great Warriors are too weak to participate."

    "While the secret realm is filled with endless riches and lucky chances, there are certain levels of dangers apanying them, not to mention that the fiercepetition with the demons. Young Master Leonhardt wasn''t thinking that the treasures would just be lying around unguarded, right?"

    "Of course not. That''s preposterous," Leon smiled wryly.

    "Nevertheless, we seem to have a problem," Leon shortly mentioned with a solemn look before he said, "If the real Shaman King''s Sessor doesn''t appear, these people would havee for nothing."

    "Let''s not even mention the location of the secret realm opening. We don''t even know if the time for its opening is evening up again. When was thest opening, senior?"

    "Thest secret realm opening was 98 years ago. Not precisely a hundred years, but the secret realm opening has always differed by a few years, whether it is earlier orter," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said.

    "One hundred years is just an approximate estimate. The key is the one who opens the secret realm, the Shaman King''s Sessor."

    "I see."

    Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully in silent contemtion for a moment before his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden outburst outside the tribe.

    "The Scarlet Smander Tribe hase to visit!"

    "The Silverfang Leopard Tribe hase to visit!"

    "The Holy Sunfire Tribe hase to visit!"

    "The Divine Tortoise Tribe hase to visit!"

    Suddenly, several more tribes made their announcements, loud and clear, upon their arrival, causing many tribesmen to be startled at once.

    "The Holy Sunfire Tribe and Divine Tortoise Tribe? Damn, two of Central Region''s four ruling tribes actually came at our Darkmoon Tribe!" a battered Great Warrior eximed.

    Leon, Aria, and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman gave each other a nce before they made their way onto the wall and gazed into the distance.

    At least several hundred Battle Masters have arrived and mixed in with the crowd outside the walls. Even so, the big crowd could be clearly divided by their tribe''s unique clothing styles.

    Leon and Aria quickly fixed their gazes on the two most prominent groups in the crowd, which amounted to nearly a hundred Battle Masters each.

    One group was mostly garbed in white outfits and armor, while the other carried a ck turtle shell on their backs.

    "These two must be Holy Sunfire Tribe and the Divine Tortoise," Aria assumed.

    Leon had the same thought, but he did not give a definite response. Instead, he turned to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman for an answer.

    "That''s right," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded before he exined, "White is the most defining trait of the Holy Sunfire Tribe as they believe the sun is the holiest and whitest celestial body in existence."

    "However, that is absurd as no one had ever seen the sun in this dark world, not to mention that historical records state that the sun is either yellow or red, not white. As for the Divine Tortoise Tribe, this Venerable probably doesn''t need to exin."

    "Seems like they worship turtles," Chief Valencia stated with amusement as she suddenly appears at their side on the wall, following another five tribal chiefs arriving shortly after.

    Evidently, it was also the first time for Chief Valencia to meet the ruling tribes of the Central Region.

    "Seems like the matters here have disturbed Chief Valencia''s cultivation session," Leon greeted with ament.

    "For some time now, actually," Chief Valencia gave the five chiefs a nce before she said, "I received news of a fight breaking out here while I was amodating the five chiefs, but it seems to have been resolved."

    "Un, it was all thanks to Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded.

 Chapter 677 - Even The Battle God Palace Has Come

    <h4>Chapter 677 - Even The Battle God Pce Has Come</h4>

    "Nevertheless, I must say that this is a powerful lineup. For each ruling tribe to deploy a hundred of their Battle Masters over here, it is clear that we have not seen the full strength of the ck Warbear Tribe," Leon mentioned.

    "That''s for sure," Chief Valencia nodded before she knitted brows and added, "They only brought fifty Battle Mastersst time¡ªbut that''s that. Enough with the chitchat for now."

    Shortly after Chief Valencia ended their small chat, Leon and the others returned their attention to the crowd of visitors.

    "Guests from afar, I wee you all to stay in the Darkmoon Tribe as long as you follow one simple rule, and that is you show everyone adequate respect," Chief Valencia began to speak to the Battle Masters.

    "Otherwise, I will have to ask you all to leave, whether it''s by word or by force. You all need to understand that while we would like to avoid trouble where possible, we are not afraid of it. Still, I hope we can all be amicable."

    After hearing this, many Battle Masters from other tribes immediately thought that the two ruling tribes would be displeased and sh with the Darkmoon Tribe.

    However, the leader of the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s group smiled amicably and said, "That goes without saying. People who behave unruly in the territory of another without consideration for the party''s face is no different to uncivilized savages."

    The faces of many Battle Masters quickly flushed with shame as if the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s group leader''s words were a personal attack on them.

    Nevertheless, they did not refute for it was the truth.

    "That''s right," the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s group leader agreed with a nod and said, "As noble Battle Masters, we must conduct ourselves in a proper and just manner when visiting the home of another."

    "Not to mention, we will all be fighting demons together once the secret realm opens. Therefore, conflict amongst ourselves will only harm our unity, affecting our ability to work together in defeating the demons."

    "Well said!" Chief Valencia eximed and said with a nod, "It''s good that we have some people who understand the bigger picture. Before we are divided by our affiliations to our tribes, we are all humans before the demons."

    "May I ask for the names of you, gentlemen?" Chief Valencia inquired shortly after.

    "I am called Whiteash, the right-hand man of Chief Whiteme," the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s group leader introduced.

    Shortly after, the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s group leader followed suit and introduced himself, "And I am ckshell. Unfortunately, I don''t have a noble status like our brother Whiteash here. I am just one of many subordinates under Chief Einar."

    It did not take long for the two group leaders to introduce themselves before everyone in the area learned of their names and identities.

    Without a doubt, both of them were Extremity-rank Battle Masters, but they were not the only Extremity-rank Battle Masters in their groups.

    One could immediately get a glimpse of how powerful the ruling tribes were.

    Nevertheless, ckshell and Whiteash did not enjoy the spotlight for long before it was stolen by another arriving group.

    "The Battle God Pce hase to visit!" one of the Battle God Pce''s disciples announced.

    It was a small group of twenty Battle Masters, iparable to the number of Battle Masters brought by the two ruling tribes.

    However, each and every one of them was at the Extremity-rank Battle Master Realm! In addition to that, four of them were also blessed with strong shamanic powers!

    Once the people from the Battle God Pce made their appearance, everyone was stunned with great surprise.

    "What? Even the Battle God Pce was attracted by the secret realm''s opening this time?"

    "Why is that a surprise? The Eternal Night Secret Realm has a chance of giving birth to a new Battle God. Why would the Battle God Pce be an exception if everyone else is interested?"

    "Still, the Battle God Pce rarely appears on the in, let alone interfering in any of its events. So why would they choose toe out this time around?"

    The Battle Masters quickly broke into a deep discussion, filled with questions regarding the Battle God Pce''s purpose before they suddenly noticed that the Extremity-rank Battle Masters was carrying a young boy in the center of their group.

    The young boy appeared to be in deep slumber with a paleplexion and dark veins protruding on the surface of his skin.

    Evidently, it was a person who contracted Demonic Possession early.

    Everyone immediately understood the purpose of the Battle God Pce''s visit after a quick observation and analysis.

    The Battle God Pce did note for the secret realm opening. No, they came to receive treatment from the rumored Divine Doctor.

    "I wonder what''s the status of that young boy, for him to receive the escort of twenty Extremity-rank Battle Masters¡­"

    "Whatever it is, it is definitely not low."

    The Battle Masters softly muttered with curiosity as they cleared a path for the Battle God Pce to pass through.

    "We have received news that the Darkmoon Tribe has a Divine Doctor, capable of treating the Demonic Possession. We would be eternally grateful if the Divine Doctor could lend a helping hand and treat our unfortunately young master who has received both of heaven''s blessings and envy," the leading Extremity-rank Battle Master spoke.

    Sure enough, the Battle God Pce came for the Divine Doctor.

    More importantly, their words quickly caused many Battle Masters in the crowd to exhibit startled looks as they focused their gazes on the unconscious young boy with greater scrutiny.

    "Young Master? The Young Master of the Battle God Pce?" a High-rank Battle Master muttered with surprise.

    At the same time, Chief Valencia quietly whispered to Leon, "If the countless tribe chiefs on the ins are akin to feudal lords, then the Battle God is the king who rules over everyone from above."

    "This young boy is most likely royalty, a descendant of the Battle God¡­ If Young Master Leonhardt can get the Battle God Pce to owe you this favor, it will benefit your future greatly."

 Chapter 678 - The Young Boys Condition

    <h4>Chapter 678 - The Young Boy''s Condition</h4>

    After listening to Chief Valencia''s suggestion, Leon agreed with a nod.

    Unless the Battle God Pce were the kinds of people who repay gratitude with malice, they would be sure to repay handsomely, given their status.

    "I will handle the people from the Battle God Pce. Chief Valencia can take care of the rest," Leon shortly stated before adding, "Feel free to call me if there are any more troublemakers."

    "Naturally, Young Master Leonhardt. We will be relying on you," Chief Valencia nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon lept off the wall andnded in front of the Battle God Pce''s group before he calmly said, "Come with me. I''ll take a look at your young master inside the tribe."

    "You are the Divine Doctor? You are much younger than I had imagined," the group leadermented with surprise.

    Nevertheless, the group leader raised his hand and gestured his people to follow him after the young man.

    "Abilities are not determined by one''s age," Leon simply stated before taking the lead to guide the group into the tribe.

    "That''s true." The group leader nodded.

    If their young master had not have been envied by the heavens, he would have been the most remarkable talent the Battle God Pce had seen within a hundred years¡ªif not greater.

    At the same time, Chief Valencia spoke to the rest of the crowd, "Everyone, follow me. My tribesmen will get you sorted into your amodations. But, of course, please be mindful of your behaviors."

    Chief Valencia had a hint of warning at the end.

    Nevertheless, while looking at the big crowd outside the walls, Chief Valencia could not help but think that the Darkmoon Tribe has be a transit point for the secret realm opening.

    If the Darkmoon Tribe had not suffered significant losses in the Bone Cmity previously, it would have been difficult to settle so many visitors at once, not to mention more were still on the way.

    "I wonder how many Battle Masters will be gathered for the Eternal Night Secret Realm this time around¡­" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman muttered thoughtfully while watching the steady flow of people pouring into the tribe.

    "How many Battle Masters participated in thest opening of the secret realm, Senior?" Aria asked.

    "Hm?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman suddenly paused his gaze on Aria before he responded with an apology, "I''m sorry, you are¡­?"

    "I am Aria Rivera, Senior," Aria introduced before saying, "But Senior can just call me Aria. I am Leon''s w-wife."

    "Young Master Leonhardt''s?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman muttered before he thoughtfullymented, "The wife of Young Master Leonhardt would surely not be ordinary either."

    "Senior has overpraised me," Aria replied humbly.

    The One-Eye Venerable Shaman simply smiled without any intention to pry further.

    "Thest two openings were missed due to its location being held in the heart of the demon''s territory," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman began to answer Aria''s previous question.

    "However, in thest opening before that, there were over 2000 Battle Masters that joined, and only 1300 of them made it back from the secret realm alive."

    "Given it had been nearly 300 years since then, the number of Battle Masters joining this time around will most likely be much greater," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    "I see¡­ Thank you for exining, Senior," Aria said before muttering softly, "Much greater than 2000 Battle Masters, huh?"

    ''ording to the power system of the Infertile ins, Early-rank Battle Masters possesses 500-thousand jin of strength while Extremity-rank Battle Masters has up to 1.5-million jin of strength¡­''

    In other words, that was equivalent to 2000 Transcendents between the Mid-rank 1 to Early-rank 2!

    ''This is quite the force to be reckoned with. If the Crawford Kingdom had this kind of military power back then, there would never have been any rebellion,'' Aria silently thought.

    Suddenly, she understood her husband''s purpose in the Infertile ins.

    ''If it is hubby''s wish to subjugate these people and bolster the strength of the empire back in the Human Domain, it''s my duty to help him realize of!''

    Shortly after, Aria began to silently ponder how she could buy their loyalty or win their hearts to improve their impression of the Crawford Empire.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon brought the Battle God Pce''s group back to Barrenrock Courtyard, where it was free from the crowd and their prying gazes.

    After pausing his steps in the center of the open courtyard, Leon turned back and calmly said, "I''ll take a look at your young master here."

    "Understood."

    The group leader made a gesture before the Extremity-rank Battle Masters of the Battle God Pce ced the royal pnquin down on the ground.

    Although it was called a pnquin, it was not much different from a stretcher with a hat for cover on top.

    Inside the pnquin, the roughly 13-year-old boyid in slumber peacefully, ignoring his paleplexion and ck veins.

    After a quick diagnosis with his divine sense, Leon turned back to the group leader and asked, "You said that your young master contracted Demonic Possession?"

    "That''s right!" The group leader nodded before asking expectantly, "You can treat it, right?"

    "Naturally, but what your young master has isn''t Demonic Possession," Leon casually stated with a shake of his head before hemented, "It seems like it''s not harmonious within the Battle God Pce."

    "What?"

    The group leader was immediately taken aback by surprise, along with the other Extremity-rank Battle Masters.

    "What does the Divine Doctor mean?" the group leader asked with a frown.

    "What I mean is that your young master has been harmed by someone with ill intentions," Leon stated calmly.

    Shortly after, he pointed to the unconscious boy and said, "This isn''t Demonic Possession. This is poison disguised to look like Demonic Possession."

    "And a pretty bad imitation at that. I might not have treated many Demonic Possessions, but I still have sufficient understanding to know that a person getting demonized will have their appearance altered."

    "However, your young master looks perfectly normal as any other pureblooded humans. There''s isn''t a single alteration on his body at all."

    "This is because our young master is still in the initial stages of Demonic Possession, thanks to our shamanic powers dying the demonizing process," the group leader stated with a frown.

    The Battle God Pce''s group was not pleased to hear Leon''s ims of treachery within their Battle God Pce, which would only prove to divide their unity.

    Nevertheless, the group leader did notsh out at Leon and remained cordial on the surface as he required the person''s medical expertise for their young master''s sake.

    However, it was clear from the group leader''s tone that he was evidently displeased.

    Leon shook his head and said, "That is only what you see on the surface. A true case of Demonic Possession will begin altering the body from within once the seed is germinated."

    "However, that is not what is happening inside of your young master. He has clearly been poisoned by a specifically concocted poison that made use of herbs with the darkness attribute."

    After saying that much, the group leader and the rest of the Battle God Pce group began to doubt themselves.

    "Is that truly the case? Our young master has really been poisoned?" the group leader asked with knitted brows.

    "How many times do I have to repeat myself before you can ept the truth before you?" Leon gazed at the group leader with a little bit of frustration.

    If it was just a matter of Demonic Possession, it would not have been a big deal.

    But now that he knows the young boy was poisoned, curing the person could get him involved in the Battle God Pce''s internal strife andnd him in deep waters instead.

    The loss seems to outweigh the gains.

    Nevertheless, the group leader continued to frown for a moment before he asked, "Can the poison be treated?"

    "Since I am hailed as the Divine Doctor, I naturally have a way," Leon stated calmly before saying, "But a better question is why should I help him?"

    "What is your young master''s status? Why did people want to poison him? How can the Battle God Pce promise I won''t get involved in your conflict by treating him?"

    "Unless you can also answer all these questions of mine, I see no reason why I should help this boy recover from his current state," Leon stated his ultimatum without leaving room for negotiation.

    Bam!

    His words were not easily digested by some Extremity-rank Battle Masters as they stomped the ground aggressively with intimidation.

    "What did you just say?" an Extremity-rank Battle Master snarled before barking, "It should be your honor to even receive the opportunity to treat our young master! Yet here you are trying to bargain with¡ª!?"

    The Extremity-rank Battle Master did not finish his words before Leon waved his hand and expelled the person with a mighty earthen fist, sending the person flying straight out of both the courtyard and tribe¡ªinto some unknown field outside.

    "Anyone else wants to follow in his footsteps?" Leon casually asked.

    The Extremity-rank Battle Masters immediately thought twice before they dropped the idea of throwing around the weight of the Battle God Pce.

    They could faintly feel that the strong aura from the Divine Doctor''s body ced him somewhere around the High-rank Battle Master Realm.

    However, the Divine Doctor wields a strange force that seemed unstoppable and invible¡ªat least to people at their level.

    "This is the shamanic power of the Shaman King''s Sessor?" the group leader muttered softly before furrowing his brows in thought, "It seems somewhat different from the records¡­"

 Chapter 679 - Leons Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 679 - Leon''s Discovery</h4>

    In the Battle God Pce''s historical records, the Shaman King''s power was said to be formless without attributes¡ªnot like the earthen maniption the group leader witnessed.

    Even so, it was not surprising if the Shaman King''s Sessor was this powerful. After all, not many can contest the Shaman King''s inherited power.

    However, if the Divine Doctor was not the Shaman King''s Sessor, that would make the Divine Doctor even more terrifying.

    After all, Shaman King''s Sessors were destined to die upon the Eternal Night Secret Realm opening, but the Divine Doctor would not if it was his own ability.

    In that case, the Divine Doctor would be someone they must never stray onto the bad side of.

    As the group leader thought to this point, he calmly raised his hand and prevented the rest of the Battle God Pce group from making any further move¡ªnot that they would.

    Leon''s intimidation was effective to some degree.

    "If we talk, will the Divine Doctor treat our young master?" the group leader asked.

    "Well, that would depend on what I learn about your young master''s situation in the Battle God Pce," Leon casually responded.

    The group leader frowned and said, "Divine Doctor is not being fair."

    "Being fair?" Leon repeated with a look of ridiculous before he said, "When you are asking for someone''s help, it''s basic courtesy to show some sincerity."

    The group leader fell silent for some time.

    After a while, the group leader sighed before he said, "There isn''t any internal conflict within the Battle God Pce¡ªat least to my knowledge. We were just as surprised to learn that the young master is poisoned."

    "Who is your young master? Start from there," Leon directed.

    "Fine," the group leader nodded and introduced, "Our young master is the youngest son of Third Lord Rholthos, a descendant of the Battle God, which also makes our young master a descendant of the Battle God."

    "However, our young master''s bloodline is the purest the Battle God Pce has seen in the past few hundred years, making him naturally gifted in cultivation with high hopes of bing the next Battle God."

    "Our young master has always been easy-going and very approachable, allowing him to get along with everyone in the Battle God Pce. As such, it does not make sense for anyone to want to hurt our young master."

    "A jealous heart, perhaps? Jealousy can make a person go to extreme lengths," Leon made an assumption before offering an alternative idea, "Or the work of a demon. But with the security of the Battle God Pce, I doubt any demon can infiltrate your territory unnoticed."

    Leon gave a nonchnt shrug at the end before he further added, "Or it could be the work of a jealous heart that sought the assistance of a demon."

    "However, the demon would not need to resort to poison. I''m sure the demons have multiple methods to make a person demonized¡ªbut of course, the person chose poison to his traces of ever seeking the demon''s help."

    "The Divine Doctor has a rich imagination, but disciples of the Battle God Pce will never betray the Battle God and turn to demons for help. It hasn''t been in the past, it hasn''t been now, and it certainly won''t be in the future," the group leader stated firmly.

    Shortly after, the group leader said, "Now that the Divine Doctor has learned of our young master''s identity, can you help him? Divine Doctor only stands to gain for helping our young master. After all, he is someone destined for greatness."

    "Destined for greatness, huh? That is only under the condition he doesn''t fall early," Leon stated before saying, "Nevertheless, I like such odds, so you can rest easy for I will treat your young master. I nned to save him anyway."

    "Huh?"

    The group leader and Extremity-rank Battle Master all furrowed their brows with a doubtful look before the group leader asked, "Then why go through all the trouble of talking? I don''t understand you, Divine Doctor."

    "If I didn''t say what I said, how else was I going to learn about the Battle God Pce''s situation, a force that is supposedly almighty and free from mundane matters?" Leon shrugged.

    He had discovered something on the young boy''s body that made him have some doubts. However, he can only confirm it after he clears the dark poison from the boy''s bloodstream.

    "I will begin now. Step back and don''t disturb me," Leon instructed as he stood at the side of the unconscious young boy and reached out his hand.

    "Understood, Divine Doctor." The group leader nodded and stepped back.

    However, he had a puzzled look and could not help but ask, "Are you performing an in-depth diagnosis now toe up with a treatment n for the poison?"

    "I''m already done with my diagnosis. I am going to carry out the treatment right now."

    "Huh?"

    The Extremity-rank Battle Masters was immediately stunned.

    The doubts in their hearts grew as they already found it strange that the Divine Doctor could learn about the poisoning without any contact.

    But now, he was going to perform the treatment right away?

    "Don''t you mean to make preparations for the treatment, Divine Doctor? You know, like prepare the medicine or something?" the group leader queried doubtfully, beginning to suspect that the whole Divine Doctor thing was just a hoax.

    "If it can be treated with my divine ability, why should I rely on medicine?" Leon questioned with a shake of his head before he calmly stated, "Medicine is limited, but my power is limitless."

    The group leader opened his mouth, but no words came out.

    Shortly after Leon was no longer bothered by the Extremity-rank Battle Masters of the Battle God Pce, he began to remove the dark poison from the young boy''s bloodstream directly with Nihility Law.

    Within minutes, the dark poison was quickly cleared, reduced to nothingness, before the young boy''s bloodline was free for Leon to observe.

    ''This¡­''

    Ignoring the fact that the Battle God''s bloodline carried traces of other beast bloodlines, there was a trace of familial intimacy in the young boy''s blood that resonates with his own.

    ''As I suspected, this person is rted to me in some way¡­'' Leon narrowed his eyes in silent contemtion, ''Who is he, really? A distant cousin?''

 Chapter 680 - Night Rescue Operation

    <h4>Chapter 680 - Night Rescue Operation</h4>

    ''What does this all mean?'' Leon shortly frowned in thought.

    Looking back on his family''s ancestry, he basically knew nothing about his ancestors after the time of Aldrich the Hero King and before his grandpa, the previous king that went missing.

    Considering the long-standing one heir tradition, it was impossible for each generation of the Crawford royal family''s firstborn to be male every time.

    Some princesses must have been born in those 512 years.

    ''Don''t tell me that one of my great grandmas teleported to the Dark Continent and started a family with the Battle God''s descendants, or maybe even the Battle God himself?''

    Leon was startled by the thought.

    It seemed like an insane and ridiculous idea, but not impossible. Otherwise, it could not exin how there was a familial connection between their blood.

    After pondering hard for a moment, Leon found no definite answer.

    It was an endless stream of discoveries with no seeming end; one mystery unraveled, and another unfolds.

    ''It seems like I can only inquire into this matter further from the party in question themselves. For now, I need to focus on treating this kid.''

    After Leon decided, he continued his treatment.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Wilnds, Deste Netherbird Tribe''s border

    Nethergrass city.

    At that moment, various fires burned with pirs of smoke rising like tendrils in the dark of the night city skies, causing chaos and rm among the local residents as they rushed to smother out the mes.

    "You!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince singled out a servant with hasty footsteps from within his pce before he queried with a strong tone, "What is going on outside?"

    "Someone or group started several fires in the city, Your Highness!" the male servant answered hurriedly to the best of his knowledge.

    Pah!

    The male servant was quickly mmed to the ground before the Deste Netherbird Second Prince stomped on the male servant irritatedly in anger, "Don''t you think I can''t see that? I''m asking who! Who is causing trouble in my city?!"

    "I don''t know, Your Highness! Please spare me¡ªAhhh! Have mercy, Your Highness!" the male servant cried as several of his bones were crushed.

    Bam!

    The male servant''s body slid along the ground after being kicked in the gut before the Deste Netherbird Second Prince shot his gaze at the other servants in the area.

    "Who can tell me who is causing trouble in my city?!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s frustrated voice resounded throughout the pce.

    However, the servants kept their heads lowered in silence, not daring to look the second prince in the eye directly, afraid that the second prince will vent his anger on them next, verbally and physically.

    s, their silence fueled the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s anger even more as he thundered, "Who?!"

    "We don''t know, Your Highness!" the servants answered simultaneously with a startled jump before their bodies continued to tremble with fear.

    The Deste Netherbird Second Prince red at them before he howled, "Then what are you all standing around for?! Go and find out who!"

    "Yes, Your Highness!"

    The servants immediately scurried with haste as if their lives depended on it.

    Although they were in the middle doing exactly just that until they were stopped by the Deste Netherbird Second Prince, not a single soul among them dared to refute him.

    Given the second prince''s nature, they might just forfeit their lives doing so.

    Suddenly, a bulky ck-winged male subordinate half a body taller than the second prince appeared beside him with heavy footsteps before kneeling on one knee.

    Thud.

    The ground shook ever slightly from his sheer weight before the bulky ck-winged subordinate suggested, "If you want, I can go find the troublemakers and bring their heads back for you, Your Highness."

    "No!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince rejected firmly before he stated, "You are the strongest subordinate under me! If those troublemakers outside are willing to cause trouble in my city, they are either utter fools or extremely confident in going against me!"

    "Perhaps, the fire is only a distraction for them to sneak into my pce and assassinate me after I send you out! As such, your duty is to stick close and protect my safety from these potential assassins!"

    "Understood, Your Highness!" the bulky ck-winged subordinatedplied, but he silently sighed in his heart at the second prince''s intense reaction.

    Evidently, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince was extremely scared of death, a trauma developed from past attempts.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Lord Jorn and his fellow elite warriors snuck into the prison and silently killed all the guards¡ªeven the warden was not spared.

    It did not take long for them to locate the right prison cell holding their n leader and elders hostage.

    They had spent half a day studying the city and only waited until they had the cover of the night before making their move.

    Given the severity of the mission, they had to be swift and silent.

    After seeing the terrible states of the n leader, the n leader''s wife, and the rest of the elders, Lord Jorn and the elite warriors'' expression turned grim.

    "The Little Princess had made the right call. If we had waited until we were confident in tackling the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s forces head-on, we would have picked up n leader and elders'' corpses instead," Lord Jorn stated with a heavy heart in low whispers.

    Shortly after the door to the prison cells was unlocked, Lord Jorn immediately ordered, "Take out the Fasting Pills we''ve brought and feed them to the elders. Give them something to replenish their energy, then dress their wounds."

    "Yes, Lord Jorn!"

    At the same time, Lord Jorn quickly took out his own Fasting Pills and carefully fed them to n Leader Lidoran and the n leader''s wife, Lilianna.

    Feeling the movements and touches, n Leader Lidoran and Lady Lilianna opened their eyes weakly before opening their mouths, but no words came out.

    "Don''t speak and conserve your energy, n Leader Lidoran, Lady Lilianna," Lord Jorn uttered softly before saying, "We will escort you both back to the n safely in a short moment, I promise. Sorry, we couldn''te sooner."

    "Unfortunately, I couldn''t allow the Little Princess to embark on such a dangerous mission. Otherwise, she would also be here with n Leader Lidoran and Lady Lilianna right now."

    Shortly after Lidoran and Lilianna heard his words, their eyes became swollen red.

    It seems their daughter has returned.

 Chapter 681 - An Incompetent Enemy Makes Ones Job Easier

    <h4>Chapter 681 - An Ipetent Enemy Makes One''s Job Easier</h4>

    Shortly after the n leader and elders were fed and had their wounds dressed, they were further given fresh ck cloaks to wear and blend in the night.

    Evidently, Lord Jorn and the elite warriors hade well prepared.

    "Alright, carry the elders and let us leave quickly," Lord Jorn urged while carefully cing n Leader Lidoran on his back while another warrior carried Lady Lilianna.

    "The mes started by the second group will notst long. Once they are snuffed out, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince or one of his people will soon realize something wrong and send people to check out this ce."

    "Yes, Lord Jorn! We are all set!" the elite warriorsplied.

    "Good!" Lord Jorn nodded and said, "Let us quickly this ce and rendezvous with the second group outside the city at the designated spot. The Deste Netherbird Second Prince still has a Mid-rank 2 Transcendent by his side¡ªor so I heard."

    "It''s true. I can confirm that." n Leader Lidoran nodded weakly on Lord Jorn''s back.

    Having recovered some energy, his paleplexion became less noticeable. Although he could not move, it was not a problem to talk

    "His name is Havoc, and his strength is infinitely close to the Late-stage," n Leader Lidoran exined and said, "My strength was only slightly inferior. Hence why I lost to him."

    "Save your energy, n Leader. We can talkter when we are out of the city," Lord Jorn spoke out of concern.

    Nevertheless, the n Leader''s information helped him understand how powerful the subordinate under the Deste Netherbird Second Prince was.

    The n Leader was also Mid-rank 2 Transcendent but stood no chance against that person.

    Someone like him who has only just entered the realm of Mid-rank 2 Transcendent after his bloodline awakening was likely to stand even less of a chance against the person.

    It was a good idea not to confront the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s forces directly.

    Sometimeter, the group shortly made their way out of the prison subtly, passing the corpses of the prison guards they took out earlier.

    However, once they reached the exit, they quickly heard a series of hurried footsteps before Lord Jorn paused his steps and hushed quietly, "Shh!"

    The rest of the group followed suit and stopped without making a sound.

    After a moment, the hurried footsteps became distant until it was ultimately no longer heard before Lord Jorn softly muttered, "Seems like we weren''t found out yet. Let us continue to leave."

    "Yes, Lord Jorn," the elite warriors answered softly.

    Surprisingly, the road ahead was met without obstacles. The group quickly reached the city gates without bumping into trouble.

    However, it was also at that point that the city finally rang with rm.

    "Lord Jorn, it seems the enemy finally caught wind of what happened at the prison ground. We better speed up our escape before we are surrounded!" an elite warrior suggested.

    "Then that''s exactly what we will do," Lord Jorn agreed with a nod before urging ahead, "Charge out with me. We will break past the city gate''s defense with brute force. Don''t waste time and entangle yourselves with the guards."

    "Evade them if they are strong, and just knock them out directly if they are weak," Lord Jorn instructed.

    "Understood!"

    The sentries quickly detected their quickened movements before the previous sentry shot his gaze over and locked on Lord Jorn''s figure.

    "It''s you guys again. What are you doing over here? Don''t you know the Deste Netherbird Second Prince has ordered a lockdown? Anyone approaching the city gates will be highly suspected of¡­"

    As the sentry spoke, he quickly realized something wrong.

    However, Lord Jorn did not give the sentry time to react before striking him in the back of the neck with a heavy blow.

    "Sorry, but don''t think bad of us," Lord Jorn left his words, moments before the sentry passed out from the attack.

    At the same time, the other elite warriors also rushed ahead with the elders on the back before knocking out the rest of the sentries blocking the exit.

    Unexpectedly, the city gate''s defense was very weak. Even so, they did not becent due to this victory.

    They immediately departed the vicinity of Nethergrass city without dy, treading far until the city could no longer be seen in the distance before they finally stopped for a break.

    "The operation progressed much smoother than I expected. I didn''t expect it to be this easy¡­ Have we grown that much stronger, or we simply gave the Deste Netherbird Second Prince too much credit?" an elite warrior muttered with surprise.

    "We have definitely grown stronger due to the bloodline awakening," Lord Jorn stated before shaking his head, "However, the operation didn''t go smoothly because they were weak."

    "The Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s people are strong. There''s no doubt about that. It was simply because the Deste Netherbird Second Prince himself is ipetent that we did not bump into any of his stronger subordinates."

    "Did you say you all experienced bloodline awakening, Jorn?" n Leader Lidoran asked with wide eyes.

    At the same time, Lady Lilianna and the elders were all shocked.

    "I didn''t think it was possible for our generation of nsmen to awaken the ancestral bloodline anymore," Lady Liliannamented before asking with intense curiosity, "How on earth did you guys manage to pull it off?"

    "This is all thanks to the helper, Prince Leon, whom the Little Princess brought back to our n," Lord Jorn stated.

    "Not only did Prince Leon cure the gue in our n, but he also freed us from Lord Balzacs''s tyranny, brought us food supplies, and performed the minor bloodline awakening on us," Lord Jorn stated with a look of respect and gratefulness.

    "Nevertheless, we can talk about the details back in the n," Lord Jorn shortly said before stating, "Although we left Nethergrass city, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s people can still pursue us and catch up."

    "Then what are we still waiting for?" n Leader Lidoran asked softly, feeling a bit short of breath despite being carried.

    However, his answer was shortly found as the second group arrived and rejoined Lord Jorn''s group at their rendezvous point.

    "We greet n Leader Lidoran, Lady Lilianna, and the elders!" the second group greeted.

    Their vigorous aura immediately stunned the elders before one of them muttered with shock, "Just how many nsmen experienced a bloodline awakening exactly?"

    "You''ll see once we get back to the n," Lord Jorn grinned.

 Chapter 682 - Rebellious Hearts

    <h4>Chapter 682 - Rebellious Hearts</h4>

    Nethergrass city

    Sometime after the Deste Crow n''s group left the city, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s bellows could be heard resounding outside the Nethergrass Pce.

    "What did you just say?! Say that again!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince thundered furiously at the group of servants.

    The servants trembled with trepidation as the leading servant repeated fearfully, "T-The troublemakers are nowhere to be seen, but the prison guards were all killed, and the sentries at the eastern gate were all knocked out, Y-Your Highness!"

    "What about the hostages?!"

    The Deste Netherbird Second Prince red at the leading servant intensely as if the servant would be immediately beheaded if he gave the wrong answer, causing the servant to tremble even more fearfully.

    "T-T-The hostages are all gone, Your Highness! The troublemakers have most likely already e-escaped¡­! And if this servant was to make a bold assumption, they were also most likely to be people from the Deste Crow n!" the servant answered truthfully.

    Bam!

    The Deste Netherbird Second Prince immediately stomped the ground furiously, causing it to shatter under his strength.

    "How dare that! What the hell is Balzacs doing over there?! And what the hell were the sentries doing over here?! How can they let some rats into my city without reporting the news to me?!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince barked.

    Just when the servant thought he was safe, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince snorted, "Hmph! Men, take him out and behead him!"

    "Y-Yes, Your Highness!"

    Transcendent-level guards on the side immediately came over and grabbed the servant before the servant pleaded with a startling cry, "Have mercy, Your Highness! What has this servant done wrong?!"

    "Hmph, I didn''t like what I hear," the Deste Netherbird Second Prince stated irresponsibly and overbearingly.

    "That''s outrageous, Your Highness! This servant was only reporting the truth of the report! Your Highness, mercy! Have mercy, Your Highness¡ª!"

    The servant was eventually dragged out until his cries were no longer heard.

    Every time the servants and subordinates of the second prince witnessed such scenes, their loyal hearts would receive a blow each time.

    Even if they wanted to stay devoted to the Deste Netherbird Second Prince, was such a person deserving of their loyalty?

    Definitely not.

    Sooner orter, they would also get beheaded for a ridiculous reason, simply because the Deste Netherbird Second Prince did not like what he heard.

    Havoc was silent for a moment before he said, "The Deste Crow n must not have gotten far if they are escorting the hostages. This subordinate should be able to catch up if this subordinate departs now, Your Highness."

    "Then go, bring back their heads to me! I want to see the faces of the courageous fools who dare to light my city on fire and take people from right under my nose!" the Deste Netherbird Second Princemanded.

    "Yes, Your Highness!" Lord Havocplied.

    Nevertheless, he silentlymented in his heart.

    The Deste Netherbird Second Prince was far from ready to rule. As he is now, he would only bring ruination to the tribe and suffering to the people.

    The Deste Crow n would not have seeded in their rescue so smoothly if the Deste Netherbird Second Prince did not keep all his experts close.

    Shortly after Lord Havoc departed the pce, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince ordered his Transcendent-level guards, "Go behead all those sentries in charge of today''s shift. I do not need such ipetent people."

    "A-All of them, Your Highness?" one of the guards uttered failed to contain his shock and questioned the second prince, "But those are all Transcendents! If you keep executing your men like this, how many would you have left to fight your brother, Your Highness?"

    The Deste Netherbird Second Prince stared at the guard in silence for a moment before turning to the second guard next to him, "You. Go and behead him. To question my orders is a sign of a rebellious heart."

    "Yes, Your Highness!" the second Transcendent-level guardplied with an ugly expression.

    At the same time, the first guard was stunned by the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s orders. Even a person of his level, a Low-rank 2 Transcendent, was so readily tossed aside.

    "Such a person¡­ is simply not worth serving! Die!"

    The Low-rank 2 Transcendent-level guard immediately made a sudden lunge for the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s throats, causing the person to retreat with rm.

    However, the other nearby Low-rank 2 Transcendent-level guards were not slow to react and immediately pressed the rebellious guard into the cracked ground, each person holding down one limb.

    "How dare you make an attempt on this prince!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince said with a nasty expression before he barked, "Kill him now!"

    "Let go of me! I must kill this profligate and ruthless prince!" the first guard roared furiously at the same time.

    Nevertheless, the other guards did not immediately execute him due to their close rtionship.

    "Impossible! The second prince carries the bloodline of a past Paragon! For the prosperity of the tribe, we cannot allow you to do that!"

    "Admit your wrongs and plead for forgiveness, brother. The second prince might show mercy if you do!"

    After the guards tried to persuade him, the first guard snorted coldly, "Do you really believe the second prince will show mercy?! Him? You all know full well that he won''t!"

    "So what if he carries the bloodline of a Paragon? Does he deserve it?! With his nature, he will only bring disaster and ruination to the tribe! Not the other way around! It''s better if we kill him and take his blood for ourselves!"

    "What are you all waiting for? Kill him already!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince thundered furiously at the guards for taking their time.

    However, the guards did not listen.

    Instead, their eyes flickered, seemingly interested in the first guard''s idea before the second guard asked, "And how do you expect to survive after killing the second prince?"

    "The Deste Crow n had shown their rebellious fangs when they broke into the city to rescue their n leader and elders. So we can just pin the death of the second prince on them instead!" the first guard suggested.

    Shortly after that was said, the four Low-rank 2 Transcendent-level guards contemted before they all short at a nce at the Deste Netherbird Second Prince.

    "What do you all want? I am your master, the second prince of the Deste Netherbird Tribe! Cease your traitorous thoughts at once! Imand you!" the Deste Netherbird Second Prince barked nervously as he retreated.

 Chapter 683 - The Young Boy Awakens

    <h4>Chapter 683 - The Young Boy Awakens</h4>

    Soon, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s scream could be heard echoing out of Nethergrass Pce before it quickly died down into silence.

    The end of his scream also marked the end of Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s life.

    Inside Nethergrass Pce, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s corpseid motionlessly on his throne, impaled by a spear with blood dripping.

    The blood flowed along a line that was carved out of the ground before pouring into a bowl-shaped hole.

    The servants all turned a blind eye to the guards'' rebellion as the group of rebels shortly scooped the blood with the hands and drank them.

    Even if the servants wanted to stop the guards, they did not have the strength to¡ªnot that they were willing to do so either way.

    They had lost their faith in the Deste Netherbird Second Prince.

    "We can pin the death of the second prince on the Deste Crow n if the chief asks, but how should we exin to Lord Havoc when he returns?" the second guard asked.

    "It''ll be too risky to let Lord Havoc learn of the truth," the fist guard stated before saying, "We will just continue with the lie and say that the Deste Crow n had assassins that waited after Lord Havoc before they made their move on the second prince."

    "Fair enough. I don''t have any better idea," the second guard agreed with a nod.

    At that moment, Lord Jorn''s group resumed their journey back to the n at a moderately quick pace.

    Given the distance between the border region and the n, it was only a matter of time before they reach home.

    Unfortunately, Lord Havoc still manage to catch before they could.

    As the sound of Lord Havoc pping his wings through the air at high speeds, Lord Jorn suddenly paused his steps and shouted sternly, "Take the n leader with you and leave first! Go back to the n without!"

    "The enemy has caught up! Go! I will hold them back!" Lord Jorn urged while his gaze was fixed on the direction of the sky behind them.

    Sensing the urgency in Lord Jorn''s tone, the Deste Crow n''s elite warriors did not argue with Lord Jorn and immediately left with haste.

    "Yes, Lord Jorn!"

    "Be careful, Jorn. If you can''t win, just flee after buying some time. Don''t entangle the enemy to the death," n Leader Lidoran instructed.

    "I was nning to do just that, n Leader," Lord Jorn said with a nod before he grinned, "I''m not ready to die yet¡ªnot before I see the n topple the sovereignty of the Deste Netherbird Tribe."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Dark continent, Darkmoon Tribe

    Back in Barrenrock Courtyard, the treatment process was shortlypleted before Leon retracted his hand from the Battle God Pce''s young master.

    The subtle green glow of wood energy on the young boy''s body briefly lingered before fading into the background.

    "It''s done," Leon calmly stated.

    After the dark poison waspletely removed with the Nihility Law, Leon helped the young boy recover his vitality with wood energy, returning a rosy color to the young boy''s pale cheeks.

    At the same time, the young boy''s steady breathing could be heard.

    The Battle God Pce''s group leader immediately cautioned the shamans in the group to give the young master a quick diagnosis.

    "It''s true, group leader. The young master has beenpletely cured. The young master has a healthyplexion with no signs of abnormalities nor difficulties," one of the shamans reported.

    "Understood," the group leader nodded before cupping his hands together in a fist-hand salute to Leon, "Thank you for treating our young master, Divine Doctor. This debt and favor will not be forgotten."

    The Divine Doctor said he did not require the use of medicine and did just that.

    Without any medicine, the young master was cured with the Divine Doctor''s miraculous abilities alone.

    "Your divine ability is incredible, Divine Doctor," the group leader shortly praised.

    Leon smiled lightly before he casually inquired, "Now that your young master has been cured, what are your ns? Will you take your young master back to the Battle God Pce? Or will you stay and partake in the Eternal Night Secret Realm''s opening?"

    "If someone is jealous of the young master''s talent or for whatever reason they poisoned him, the Battle God Pce will not be a safe ce for the young master to stay," the group leader said.

    "So you''re going to bring your young master into the Eternal Night Secret Realm?" Leon casually asked before saying, "I heard it is quite dangerous, not to mention the demons that will be there."

    "We intended to join the secret realm, regardless if there''s a hidden enemy who seeks to harm our young master back at the pce or not anyway," the group leader stated.

    "The secret realm opening is a once-in-a-century event that could give birth to a Battle God. If the young master misses it, it would be unknown when he could get another chance to raise his strength quickly to protect himself from theirs."

    "I see," Leon uttered.

    Suddenly, a cheerful uproar broke out among the Extremity-rank Battle Masters before Leon and the group leader shifted their gazes over.

    They noticed that the young boy had regained consciousness.

    "This subordinate greets you, Young Master!"

    "This subordinate greets you, Young Master!"

    The group leader and the rest of the Extremity-rank Battle Masters all quickly greeted the young boy subserviently on one knee.

    "Congrattions on your recovery!" they added shortly after.

    The young boy took some time to freshen up his mind before he muttered with questions. "Where are we? Why are we here? And why does it feel like I''ve slept for a long time?"

    "To be exact, Young Master has been asleep for the past 3 months, and we are currently inside the Darkmoon Tribe, preparing for the secret realm opening," the group leader answered before adding, "Your recovery was all thanks to the Divine Doctor, Young Master."

    The young boy was stunned with a dumb look.

    He did not hear everything and only paid attention to one single matter; he had been asleep for 3 months!

    "What! What about the annual juniorpetition?" the young boy quickly asked.

 Chapter 684 - Opening Phenomenon

    <h4>Chapter 684 - Opening Phenomenon</h4>

    "Unfortunately, the annual juniorpetition was forfeited due to your condition, Young Master," the group leader answered regrettably.

    The Battle God Pce''s annual juniorpetition was a big event for younger generations to assess their achievements whilepeting for honor and rewards.

    The young boy was immediately depressed after learning his participation in the annual juniorpetition was forfeited.

    "Damn, I had such a high chance of winning too," the young boy said despondently before he asked with a frown, "But what kind of condition did I have? Why don''t I remember anything?"

    "Initially, Young Master disyed symptoms simr to Demonic Possession. However, it was only after Young Master was diagnosed by the Divine Doctor that we realized you were poisoned instead," the group leader said.

    "But don''t be too sad, Young Master. Even if you missed out on winning the rewards from the annual juniorpetition, you still have the Eternal Night Secret Realm to explore for lucky chances. Such an opportunity is many times better than the rewards of the annual juniorpetition."

    After listening, the young boy shortly shifted his gaze to Leon''s figure curiously without the arrogant ir of a person with noble status in the Battle God Pce.

    "Thank you for saving Zion, big brother. Uncle Jizo calls you a Divine Doctor, but you are much younger than what Zino would expect of a person with such titles. You''re very talented, big brother!" the young boy, Zion, said curiously while expressing his gratitude.

    Leon gazed at the young boy with a slight smile before he said, "You are also a little monster yourself. You''re only, what? 13? But already a Low-rank Battle Master. The Battle God''s descendants are indeed monstrous talents."

    Now that Leon could adequately gauge the young boy''s strength after the impurities in the boy''s body were cleared out, he was secretly shocked by the boy''s strength.

    If every offspring were born with even half the young boy''s talent, the number of experts in the Battle God Pce must have reached a terrifying count¡ªnot just in terms of Battle Masters, but even Battle Kings.

    Nevertheless, the young boy gave an embarrassedugh after receiving Leon''s praise.

    Although Zion had received many of such praises since he was born, he felt inferior to his savior for some reason.

    "Can we talk in private?" Leon requested.

    "If it is what my savior wishes, Zion will dly agree," Young Zion nodded straightforwardly before saying, "There are some doubts that Zion also wants big brother to clear."

    However, Group Leader Jizo immediately frowned and said, "Young Master, I think it is best if you keep at least one of us by your side¡ªeven if it is just for precaution."

    "Precaution against what? My savior? Uncle Jizo, didn''t you tell me that this big brother treated my poisoning?" Young Zion questioned before stating, "If big brother wanted to harm me, then he would not have to go through the trouble of curing me."

    "No, that''s not exactly it¡­" Group Leader Jizo spoke weakly.

    It did not seem like trouble when the Divine Doctor was performing the treatment. In fact, it seemed effortless on the Divine Doctor''s part.

    Nevertheless, Group Leader Jizo ultimately did not mention it as he dropped the matter, "Ah, don''t worry about it."

    "¡­Sure."

    Crackle¡­!

    Suddenly, the dark clouds in the skies shed with streaks of red lightning before the crackles of thunders of thunder followed shortly after.

    Rumble¡­!!

    More streaks of lightning shed across the dark sky with increasing frequency along with its apanying rumbling thunders as the weather rapidly changes.

    The dark clouds quickly gathered towards the southern skies, leaving openings in the northern skies as intense sunlight pierced through tiny gaps and illuminated thends below, bringing with it; the

    "What''s going on? This weather change is unnatural," Leon asked with surprise.

    The phenomenon was so rming that even Duna and the six maids paused their cultivations to take a look outside their rooms.

    At the same time, Leon could hear hasty footsteps outside the courtyard as numerous people, whether they were local tribesmen or foreign visitors, every one of them exited the buildings to peer at the changing skies outside.

    Back in the Barrenrock Courtyard, Young Zion gazed at the sky''s transformation for a moment before he shifted his gaze to the Divine Doctor.

    "It seems that we will have to talkter, big brother. If Zion is not wrong, this is the phenomenon created when the Shaman King''s Sessor is attempting to open the secret realm," Young Zion stated.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Great Hall

    At that moment, Chief Valencia resumed her role as the host and amodated the several chiefs visiting the Darkmoon Tribe in person.

    Their discussion was quickly interrupted by the skies change before Chief Valencia knitted her brows before she said, "Let us head out for a look."

    "Of course."

    "Sure."

    "Alright."

    The chiefs answered.

    Shortly after they arrived outside, a warrior quickly appeared beside Chief Valencia and reported, "Chief Valencia! The secret realm is being opened by someone who is not the Shaman King''s Sessor!"

    "What are you smoking? The secret realm can only be opened by the Shaman King''s Sessor. Young Master Leonhardt''s shamanic powers are indeed very strong, but he is not the Shaman King''s Sessor if that is what you were thinking," Chief Valencia stated.

    "Uh¡­" the warrior was speechless.

    That was indeed what he was thinking, and it was most likely the same thought for everyone else as well.

    Chief Valencia shortly ignored the warrior and spoke to the chiefs, "We don''t have a lot of time to waste if we want to enter the Eternal Night Secret Realm. We need to quickly organize the Battle Masters and set out for the opening location immediately."

    "Right!" the tribal chiefs nodded solemnly.

    Meanwhile, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman observed the movements of the dark clouds before he softly said, "So it seems that the secret realm will truly be opened in the demon''s territory again."

    "Two times can still be considered a coincidence. But if it happens three times consecutively, it was no longer a coincidence. There''s no further doubt about it at this point. The demons have found a way to control the opening location of the secret realm," the One-Eyed Venerable Shamanmented with narrowed eyes.

    At the side, Aria eyed the shing lightning before she muttered, "So this is what the secret realm opening looks like¡­"

 Chapter 685 - Crop Cultivation Problem

    <h4>Chapter 685 - Crop Cultivation Problem</h4>

    Moments after the appearance of the opening phenomenon, the Battle Masters quickly gathered at the southern gate of Darkmoon Tribe.

    "Hurry up! We''re going to bete! There''s no way I''m going to allow myself to miss out on the secret realm opening!" a Battle Master urged his fellow tribesmen.

    "Ha, we are alreadyte. The opening is happening in the demon''s territory, which is quite some distance from here," another Battle Master spoke.

    "Right," a High-rank Battle Master nodded and said, "It will take us time to reach the demon''s territory, not to mention we are likely to be obstructed by countless demons before we can reach the opening''s location."

    "Dammit, the secret realm opening is a one-in-a-century opportunity. How on earth did the demons manage to take control of it?" a Mid-rank Battle Master questioned frustratingly.

    Nevertheless, the count of Battle Masters quickly surpassed 700 before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman informed, Seems like this is everyone here."

    "Yes, Venerable Shaman," Chief Valencia nodded with a serious expression before saying, "Although this is far less of a number than we were hoping, the rest will have to join uster."

    "I have already made the arrangements. My tribesmen will direct the other Battle Masters to the Crimsonfog Tribe once they arrive. We should set out immediately."

    Once the words were spoken, it quickly reached an agreement with Chief Silvermoon and the other chiefs that came to participate.

    "Un. Chief Valencia is right. Let us depart now. The longer we take, the slimmer the chance we have of entering the secret realm," a tribal chief of Central Region stated.

    Shortly after Chief Valencia left some words for the Darkmoon Tribe, she soon departed with therge crowd of Battle Masters.

    On the road, Chief Valencia shortly said to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, "We will make a quick stop at the Crimsonfog Tribe before we take the Death Passage through Darkness Mountain and enter the demon''s territory directly."

    "Are the other chiefs in the alliance aware of what''s happening on our end?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked.

    "They should have seen the opening phenomenon from their locations. Nevertheless, I have already informed their tribes about our situation via long-range voice transmission," Chief Valencia answered.

    Meanwhile, Leon left the six maids back in Barrenrock Courtyard and brought Aria, Duna, and Darlene with him.

    Although Darlene''s cultivation was a littlecking, the secret realm might be the opportunity she needed to breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm.

    "Are these all your women, big brother?" Young Zion asked curiously with a hint of envy before he said, "Big brother is so lucky. They are so beautiful, even among beautiful women."

    "The cream at the top, I would say. If they had not been taken by big brother, Zion might have been interested in taking them in as my partners."

    "If you have funny ideas on them, you might regret it," Leon stated coolly.

    The young boy immediately broke into wry smiles before he said, "I was just admiring their beauty, big brother. I wouldn''t dare touch your women."

    How could he do that to his benefactor?

    Ignoring whether he dared to do it or not, there was no benefit in offending the Divine Doctor over women.

    There was nock of beautiful women in the world.

    Even so, the young master of the Battle God Pce was not simply attracted to their fleshly beauty but their unique temperament.

    Eachdy was different from the other.

    The young master of the Battle God Pce could tell from their dispositions with a nce that they were also extraordinary.

    ''Extraordinary people will gather with other extraordinary people, right? Or does extraordinary make other people extraordinary like them?'' Young Zion mused while throwing a subtle nce at Leon.

    While Leon and his women traveled with the Battle God Pce''s group, no one dared to approach him for a topic of discussion and only threw subtle nces over from time to time.

    Even if Leon was no longer the Shaman King''s Sessor they thought he was, he was still the Divine Doctor.

    In fact, being the Divine Doctor made Leon more valuable and respected than simply being the Shaman King''s Sessor.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Grasnd Region, World Tree

    At that moment, a framework for the new capital was already taking form on therge open field as steel beams and wooden pirs marked the positioning and size of buildings under construction.

    The sheer number of workers at the site was staggering.

    And this number was only going to rise after Elizabeth arrived with the two elven princesses and therge poption of people that followed shortly behind them.

    "Your Majesty, we have been expecting your arrival!" a soldier quickly greeted.

    After Elizabeth acknowledged the soldier with a nod, she quickly passed the reins to the elven princesses and elders to settle the people into the camping location beside the new capital construction site.

    Only after that was done did Elizabeth return her attention to the soldier and calmly asked, "What''s the current situation?"

    "Everything is in order as per the arrangements, Your Majesty. Our workers are working diligently and tirelessly, day and night, to raise our new capital. As you can see, it has already begun to take shape despite the limited resources we have on hand. "

    "Nevertheless, the next shipment of resources are expected to arriveter this afternoon, coupled with the railway nearingpletion and new batches of workers, our construction speed will most likely rise by a few folds." The soldier reported faithfully.

    But as the soldier reached this point in his report, his expression took a solemn turn as he mentioned, "However, there are two problems that require your attention, Your Majesty."

    "Oh? What are the problems?" Elizabeth asked with a slight frown.

    Seeing the look on the soldier''s face, she immediately assumed the two problems mentioned were not minor issues that can be quickly resolved.

    "It''s better for Elder Evergreen to exin this matter, Your Majesty. Shall I bring you to him now?"

    "Naturally," Elizabeth nodded and said, "Take me to see Elder Evergreen immediately."

    "Understood, Your Majesty!"

    Shortly after, the soldier led Elizabeth to a location on the edge of the World Tree, where its shadow and the sunlight meets before Elder Evergreen was spotted.

    "Senior Evergreen," Elizabeth greeted with a casual fist-palm salute before she mentioned, "I was told there are two concerning issues here?"

    "You''re too polite, Your Majesty. This old man is now a subject under your ruling. So there''s no need to be formal with this old man," Elder Evergreen chuckled slightly before his expression took a solemn turn.

    "That''s right, Your Majesty. Take a look over here," Elder Evergreen shortly directed Elizabeth''s gaze to two plots ofnd, one exposed to the sunlight and the other protected by the World Tree''s shade.

    "As you can see, the vegetation we nted is growing nicely in the shade with the help of our wood energy. But the same vegetation nted in the sunlight dies instead¡ªeven with our supply of wood energy."

    "It is clear that the sunlight from the sun has something to do with harming the nts and preventing them from growing, but despite knowing this, this old man is a bit stumped for ideas on how to resolve this issue," Elder Evergreen stated puzzledly.

    The primary source of Elder Evergreen''s confusiones from the fact that fully grown nts and crops were surviving well under the sunlight.

    Only the new crops they try to cultivate quickly wither and die after germinating and sprouting out of the soil.

    "Although we can use all the shadynd under the World Tree to nt our crops, it will force all the people living in this region to be exposed to the sunlight for prolonged periods, which may cause various health issues to appear."

    "I see¡­" Elizabeth uttered without much thought.

    Unfortunately, she was no expert in this field rted to the wood element. As such, she could not offer any insight on this topic.

    Even so, while she was not an expert herself, she had brought many said experts in this field to the Grasnd Region.

    "Perhaps, the elves might be able to resolve your dilemma, senior. After all, the elves are known for their mastery of cultivating crops, and we just happened to have an entire elven tribe arriving. I will call a few others over to share their insights with you."

    "That would be of great help, Your Majesty," Elder Evergreen bowed slightly with pleasant surprise before he said, "If we cannot resolve this issue, it will be difficult to feed everyone in the future."

    "Right!" Elizabeth nodded solemnly.

    After a moment, she suddenly paused and brought up, "What about the second issue?"

    "The second issue is actually rted to Miss Lynne, Your Majesty. Have you noticed that it is much cooler around the World Tree than anywhere else in the Grasnd Region?"

    "I have," Elizabeth answered with knitted brows before she asked confusedly, "But isn''t it normal for this to be the case due to the shade?"

    "That would indeed be the case in normal circumstances. However, the air should still be warm to room temperature instead of being cold," Elder Evergreen stated before saying, "Let this old man show you the reason why this is the case."

    "Alright."

    Shortly after Elizabeth agreed, Elder Evergreen led her to the foot of the World Tree, where the icy staircase leading down into the subterranean space below could be seen.

    The coldness exuded from the entrance alone was already tenfolds greater than what Elizabeth had felt at the edge.

    When Elizabeth saw the entire space below the World Tree frozen in ice, she was taken aback before drawing in a sharp breath.

    "This was all caused by Lynne? Where is she now?" Elizabeth asked.

 Chapter 686 - Lynnes Trail Of Ice

    <h4>Chapter 686 - Lynne''s Trail Of Ice</h4>

    Once Elizabeth raised the question, Elder Evergreen immediately sighed.

    "That''s the problem, Your Majesty. Miss Lynne disappeared inside some time ago and never came back. I''ve sent some people to look for her, but she could not find her. However, we did find a long trail of ice leading towards the north."

    "In fact, this trail extends all the way to the Extreme Misty Forest. Therefore, I suspect that Miss Lynne has already entered the subterranean region of the Extreme Misty Forest," Elder Evergreen stated.

    "The Extreme Misty Forest?" Elizabeth repeated with a frown before shortly asking puzzledly, "What is she doing over there? There''s nothing good about that ce."

    The Extreme Misty Forest was a well-known Perilous Land for being dense in cold mist and yin energy, making it the perfect breeding ground for ghouls and evil spirits to reside.

    The level of danger in that ce was so high that even Transcendents do not dare to venture too deeply.

    Elizabeth could not understand what reasons Lynne had for going to that godforsaken ce.

    "That''s what I don''t understand either, Your Majesty. No one does," Elder Evergreen replied with a simr puzzled look as he knitted his brows together and said, "Miss Lynne did not even leave us a notice before she left."

    "There might have been something wrong with Miss Lynne. This old man is not sure if it has something to do with the red mist that appeared¡ªthe Wrathful Demonic Energy that His Highness calls it, I believe."

    "Something to do with Wrathful Demonic Energy, you say? Did a lot of it surge out from beneath the World Tree, senior?" Elizabeth immediately asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "It did. If you look properly, you can see the red hue of the Wrathful Demonic Energy trapped inside theseyers of ice that Miss Lynne conjured. We tried looking for the source of the red mist, but evidence points that ites from but deeper in the subterranean world," Elder Evergreen answered.

    Shortly after, he added, "To be honest, the scale of this frozen hell is much big for any normal 9-star Ranked Awakener to pull off. Heck, even Preliminary ession-level Transcendents might not be able to do it either. So I''m not sure where Miss Lynne draw her power from."

    "You''re right. Lynne was only a 9-star Ranked Awakener. For her to be traveling to the Extreme Misty Forest¡ªit''s subterranean alone, no less¡­ It is far too dangerous," Elizabeth stated with a frown before she said, "Nevertheless, senior can leave this matter to me. I will arrange for some teams to go and look for Lynne."

    "On the other hand, Senior Evergreen should focus on meeting the elves for advice. It''s imperative that we resolve the crop cultivation problem quickly. Otherwise, we will be facing a severe food crisis in the near future."

    "Alright, Your Majesty," Elder Evergreen nodded solemnly.

    They both understood the severity of the issue.

    More than half a million elves and humans have been brought to the Grasnd Region, and even more, will gather in the future.

    "If they cannot grow crops, then they will not have food. And if they do not have food, then people will naturally starve to death.

    "Well then, I will go ask the elders toe and discuss the issue with you before setting up the search party for Lynne, senior. Once I''m freed from the work here, I might head to the Extreme Misty Forest to look for her myself¡ªif she is not found by then," Elizabeth stated.

    Lynne was her daughter-inw, or at least she was going to be. Thus, nothing must happen to her.

    After all, she was still waiting for the opportunity to hold her own grandchildren.

    "Understood, Your Majesty."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon''s group and the other 700-odd Battle Masters gradually reached the vicinity of the Crimsonfog Tribe.

    Chief Valencia shortly turned to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman before she asked, "There won''t be any problem with this many Battle Masters collecting supplies from the Crimsonfog Tribe before we continue on our way, will there?"

    "I''m afraid the tribesmen might be unwilling to sell too many resources to outsiders¡ªespecially food, which will be absolutely necessary for the trip to the Eternal Night Secret Realm," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said with a frown.

    Food was precious.

    If so many foreigners suddenly buy out their food, it will naturally affect the Crimsonfog Tribe''s livelihood as they face a sudden food crisis.

    As such, it would not be strange for the tribesmen to sell all their food.

    "Although we did bring some food supplies along from the Darkmoon Tribe, it won''tst long and may lead to various unfavorable situations once we run out. It''s unknown how long this trip to the secret realm will take," Chief Valencia mentioned.

    "Exactly," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman agreed with a nod before he said, "I hate to say this, but this old man will have to discuss this matter with Chief cktooth and have him pass the order down. After all, he is the current chief of the tribe¡­"

    "I might have asked this before, but what happened to Chief Baskara? How bad is his injury?" Chief Valencia inquired before she suggested, "If it is not too great, perhaps Young Master Leonhardt will be able to treat him."

    "That''s right, we have Young Master Leonhardt with us now, don''t we?" the One-Eye Venerable Shaman''s eyes subtly flickered before he nodded reassuringly.

    "I have no doubt that with Young Master Leonhardt''s ability, Chief Baskara will recover swiftly from hisa."

    At the mention of Chief Baskara''s injury being brought up, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly mentioned the appearance of Liches and Battle King-level undead.

    "Liches and Battle King-level undead, huh? That''s rather concerning, considering we will soon enter the demon''s territory," Chief Valencia said with furrowed brows.

    With their amount of Battle Masters, it would not be a problem to deal with a few Battle Kings. After all, they had strength in numbers to make up for theck of strength in an individual.

    However, suppose the demon''s territory had many Battle King-level demons roaming about.

    In that case, their trip will be filled with unprecedented dangers¡ªeven before they get the chance to reach the opening of the secret realm.

 Chapter 687 - One-Eyed Venerable Shamans Request

    <h4>Chapter 687 - One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s Request</h4>

    Gradually, therge crowd eventually reached the northern gates of the Crimsonfog Tribe.

    "Wee back, Venerable Shaman!" the sentries greeted on the wall after spotting the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman among the leading figures in the crowd.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman raised his head to gaze at the sentries directly before he hollered clearly, "Where is Chief cktooth? Tell him toe out and see me!"

    "Chief cktooth?"

    The sentries repeated softly with an odd look withoutplying with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s demand immediately.

    Rather, they gazed back at the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman oddly and asked, "What does the Venerable Shaman want Chief cktooth for?"

    "To make a high-level announcement and pass down an order that may conflict with the tribe''s sole interest but of benefit to the rest of the humans living on the Infertile ins."

    Disgruntled as he may be, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman answered the sentries'' simply inquiry, nheless.

    However, after they received the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s answer, they slowly shook their heads.

    "I''m afraid that Chief cktooth does not have enough authority to make any tribe-rted decisions, Venerable Shaman," one of the sentry answered.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately frowned before he asked, "Why?"

    "Because¡­" the sentries nced at the crowd of Battle Masters carefully before he continued exining, "Chief cktooth is no longer the chief of our tribe."

    "He already lost his position shortly after returning the other day, Venerable Shaman. The number of Great Warriors and Battle Masters that were just waiting to challenge him was quite frightening."

    "I see¡­"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was taken aback but did not find it to be a surprising result, given the person''s underhanded trick in assuming the position.

    "Well, that''s to be expected. So cktooth must have been beaten up badly, right?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled slightly with amusement, unconcerned with the silent and judgemental gazes of the Battle Masters behind his back.

    However, the sentry shook his head again and said, "No, Venerable Shaman. cktooth forfeited the challenge before the battle could even be hosted in the battle arena. He did not try to defend his position at all."

    "I see¡­" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s lips twitched.

    cktooth could be considered wise and self-aware to know that he did not have any chance in keeping his chief position for long. Still, it was shameful to admit defeat before even fighting to defend it.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head ruefully before he shortly ordered with a soft sigh, "Haiz, never mind. Open the gates."

    "But these people¡­" the sentry hesitated as he nced at the 700-odd Battle Masters outside their tribe''s walls.

    "They''re all Battle Masters from the Central Region,ing to participate in the secret realm. So you do not need to worry about them. We will not be staying for long, an hour at most before we are on our way."

    "Understood, Venerable Shaman."

    The sentries eventuallyplied after receiving the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s assurance.

    Sometimeter, everyone entered the Crimsonfog Tribe and tended to their own businesses, browsing the marketce, haggling with the shop vendors, buying supplies, and making other preparations for the dangerous trip to the secret realm.

    ''I should concoct some Fasting Pills during this time¡­'' Leon mused.

    He did not know how long this trip to the secret realm will take, but if there is no way of procuring food inside the secret realm, his Fasting Pills will y a pivotal role in survival.

    However, before Leon could separate from the crowd and find a quiet courtyard with Duna, Aria, and Darlene, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman sought him out.

    "Please wait a moment, Young Master Leonhardt. If Young Master Leonhardt is not too busy, there is something this old man would like to request of you."

    "Sure. What do you need, senior?" Leon paused for a moment before he quickly agreed to help.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had provided him with substantial information about the Eternal Night Secret Realm, the Shaman King and its Sessor, the Starfall event, and even other rted histories of the Infertile ins.

    It would be ungrateful of him to refuse without hearing what the senior had to request of him at the very least.

    After a brief talk, Leon quickly learned that the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman wanted him to treat Chief Baskara, the previous and legitimate chief of the Crimsonfog Tribe.

    The mind was a delicate andplicated field that Leon was notpletely confident in. As such, he did not make any promises.

    "I don''t mind having a look first, senior."

    "Thank you, Young Master Leonhardt."

    Shortly after the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman brought Leon towards Venerable Shaman Daal''s abode, where Baskara was being cared for, the topic of Liches and Battle King-level undeads'' attack on the tribe was repeatedly brought up on the way.

    Duna, Aria, and Darlene all listened in on the story before Duna''s interest quickly turned into disdain.

    "What a useless ckwind Tribe. They couldn''t even defend against the Bone Cmity on their end and even left hidden disasters for other tribes. What''s the point of keeping their Battle Kings'' corpses? They should have just destroyed them all," Dunamented cynically.

    "These Battle Kings were considered the ancestors of the ckwind Tribe. Therefore, such an act of destroying their ancestors'' bodies is regarded sacrilegious to the ckwind Tribesmen¡ªeven if it is the most rational choice to make."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled wryly at Duna''s tant disregard for the ckwind Tribe''s moral values.

    "Humans have always been emotional creatures," Leon interjected before adding, "More often than not, we act, not on rational choices, but emotional ones even if we fully knew they aren''t the best choices to make."

    "And this is why humans always lose. They are impulsive, greedy, and selfish. It''s a wonder that the human race has not died out yet, given the brutal living conditions this world has to offer!" Duna said spitefully.

    "You can only speak for the majority. There is also a minority group that differs from these traits. How else do exceptional people stand out from the mass?" Leon scratched his cheek wryly before he added, "Not to mention we breed like rabbits¡­"

 Chapter 688 - Chaotic Spiritual World

    <h4>Chapter 688 - Chaotic Spiritual World</h4>

    After Leon spoke, thedies immediately shed him a nce before Duna sarcastically said, "Of course you would know that. You''re a living example yourself."

    "Ahem!" Leon nearly choked on his own saliva before he coughed awkwardly and asked with a helpless look, "You really going to do me like that in front of senior here?"

    "Am I wrong?" Duna gazed back at him defiantly.

    "Well, yes, but actually no."

    Leon stated.

    He might have spent intimate moments with his women on multiple asions, but he has not impregnated anyone with his seed yet.

    "Hohoho¡­" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled softly.

    Shortly after, they reached Venerable Shaman Daal''s abode of healing before an intense stench of medicine could be smelt¡ªeven before they stepped inside the building.

    Nevertheless, Leon was immune to such a smell and did not find any problem with it as not a single change could be seen on his face.

    On the other hand, Aria and Darlene''s expressions crumpled slightly into frowns before they covered their noses.

    "Ah, One Eye. You''re back," Venerable Shaman Daal quickly greeted as soon as the group stepped into the abode before his eyes shifted to the others, "And who might these people be?"

    "Allow me to introduce," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    Following his words, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly introduced both sides to each other before stating his purpose, "As I just mentioned, Young Master Leonhardt here is a Divine Doctor. I brought him over to have a look at Baskara."

    "Oh? That Divine Doctor?"

    Venerable Shaman Daal slightly gasped with surprise before he gave Leon a careful study from top to bottom.

    "I''ve heard much about you, Young Master Leonhardt. A young man of your caliber has already reached a realm in medicine that this old man can only look up to and admire. I look forward to learning much from you," Venerable Shaman Daal spoke humbly.

    "You''re too polite, senior. You are my senior, and thus, it is I who should be looking forward to learning from you," Leon replied back with courtesy.

    "Hahaha, nonsense. No need tofort this old man," Venerable Shaman Daal chuckled and said, "This old man knows what he is capable of, and it certainly doesn''t include the ability to treat Demonic Possessions. You''ve spoken top humbly, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "Alright, let us cut the small talk short," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly interjected and stated objectively, "We do not have a lot of time. Please let Young Master Leonhardt take a look at Baskara boya, Daal."

    "Fine, fine. There''ll be plenty of chances for us to talk in the future," Venerable Shaman promptly stepped aside, making way for Leon to pass through towards Baskara''s resting room.

    Inside the room, Leon quickly discovered that the original chief of the Crimsonfog Tribe was not alone as the person was seen lying on the bed, unconscious, with several women gathered around.

    ''These are mostly his women¡ªif not wives,'' Leon silently assumed.

    As soon as Leon stepped into the room, the women all shifted their gazes over and studied Leon curiously at the same time.

    However, not all of them were Baskara''s women.

    At the very least, Sonia was not one of them. She was simply one of Baskara''s confidantes and subordinates.

    As she studied Leon''s countenance with equal curiosity, her gaze suddenly paused on Darlene''s figure before envy blossomed in her heart.

    They appeared to be of simr age, but their statuses were vastly different, like the sun and moon or heaven and earth.

    Even if she was ignorant to cultivation, she could feel power dwelling in Darlene''s slim body.

    The discovery puzzled her.

    "This is Young Master Leonhardt, the Divine Doctor. Please vacate the room and give Young Master Leonhardt peace, free of distractions, to perform his diagnosis and treatment," Venerable Shaman Daal stated.

    The women in the room quickly gasped with pleasant surprise as their eyes flickered with reignited hope.

    Nevertheless, they did not forget toply and promptly left the room as requested.

    "We''re counting on you, Young Master Leonhardt," one of the women curtsied politely on her way out.

    While the women left, Venerable Shaman Daal remained in the room shamelessly to observe Leon''s methods¡ªnot that it bothered Leon anyway.

    Duna, Aria, and Darlene stood close to guard after Leon arrived beside Baskara''s bed and swept out his divine sense for a quick diagnosis.

    Very quickly, Leon began mentally ticking off points on his checklist.

    Apart from burns on the surface of Baskara''s back and head that turned into nasty-looking scars, there were no other injuries found apart from much older battle scars.

    The body was in good shape, and so were the internal organs¡ªmost important, the brain was undamaged.

    Baskara''s head rested on a specifically designed pillow to hold his head in ce without pressing on his burned areas, allowing it air to breathe and swifter healing process.

    "How is he, Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired.

    "To be honest, his conditions look quite positive. Therefore, there''s no reason for him to have fallen into a vegetative state with such physical injuries. I can only assume it was a soul attack that produced such results," Leon stated.

    "That shouldn''t be¡­" Venerable Shaman Daal denied before he exined, "Baskara Boya was struck by the explosive mes of our Demon-ying Arrows. Our Demon-ying Arrows relied on the power of runes. Its mes might be an elemental attack, but it shouldn''t affect the spiritual mind directly."

    "Well, we will after I take a look at his soul next," Leon said.

    However, there were was nothing wrong with Chief Baskara''s soul core either.

    The soul core was perfectly fine and normal¡ªat least it was until Leon discovered a hint of sudden fluctuations from it, which shows that Baskara''s mind was active.

    The person was conscious but not awake, trapped in his own mind.

    ''Seems like I will have to take a look inside his spiritual world,'' Leon decided.

    Shortly after, Leon condensed his divine sense and performed the Soul Dive technique, entering Baskara''s spiritual world promptly.

    The moment Leon''s spiritual avatar entered the spiritual world, a chaotic battle filled with wanton destruction and billowing mes immediately greeted him.

    It was the most chaotic spiritual world he had seen. In fact, it was the only chaotic spiritual world he had seen.

    All the other spiritual worlds he had ever visited were peaceful despite various differences in the environments¡ªas they should be.

    Each other''s spiritual world was different, but none should be chaotic unless a problem existed.

    "Die¡ª!"

    Baskara roared furiously with red eyes as he held his halberd and lunged at two shadowy evil spirits that seemed infallible.

    No matter how many times they were cut and diced up by Baskara''s halberd, the two shadowy evil spirits would reform themselves before resuming their attack.

    Witnessing this scene, Leon was slightly startled.

    "How long has this person been fighting these two shadowy evil spirits inside his spiritual world for? If it has been happening since the start, Chief Baskara''s willpower is seriously impressive," Leonmented with surprise.

    It was a wonder how the person had not yet copsed from all the umted fatigue.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not remain idle in thought.

    He dived straight into the battlefield and wave his hand, conjuring a streak of lightning that instantly vaporized one of the two shadowy evil spirits into nothingness.

    It did not reappear again.

    The lightning element was most effective in annihting evil spirits among his elementalws, followed by the fire element.

    Energy suppresses the soul, and the soul suppresses the body.

    It was not strange for the shadowy evil spirits to be undying if Baskara only knew how to use physical attacks.

    Shortly after Leon prepared to finish off the second one, he was suddenly and unexpectedly attacked from behind by Baskara!

    Swoosh~!

    The halberd swiped at the empty air as Leon evaded the attack with a quick leap forward, nheless.

    "I am not your enemy!" Leon shouted.

    However, Chief Baskara appeared as if he had not heard him and continued to press his attack in his frenzied state.

    "Die!!!"

    Baskara swung his halberd at Leon wildly like an animal without technique and skill, simply relying on one''s most straightforward and most primal form of basic attacks.

    "Not good. Baskara has already lost his mind," Leon frowned but did not find Baskara''s state surprising.

    There were all sorts of unpredictable side effects and damages if the mind could not get the rest it requires.

    "Even if it''s just a spiritual world, everything here feels more real than reality. I will also suffer if I''m careless¡­" Leon contemted while retreating from the Baskara''s attacks.

    At the same time, the remaining evil spirit nked him from the back as if the two were working together¡ªbut of course, he knew that was not the case.

    Bzzt!

    Traces of lightning immediately covered Leon''s body like donning armor before he twisted his body to face the evil spirit and rammed straight through it!

 Chapter 689 - Perusal Request

    <h4>Chapter 689 - Perusal Request</h4>

    Bzzt¡ª!

    Thest of the evil spirit was obliterated into nothingness by the lightning''s power of annihtion, the bane of all spirits and ghosts alike, beings of Yin and enemies of Yang.

    With thest hindrance out of his way, Leon focused his attention on facing Baskara, who had seemingly lost his mind.

    The person had entered a frenzied state of conscious-unconsciousness, awake yet not awake, an auto offensive-defensive state of mind that allows the body to attack everything it deems threatening without conscious thought.

    "Seems like I will have to knock him out," Leon decided.

    Even if it is just a spiritual world, conjured by the mind, his spiritual avatar''s illusory physical strength of 1-million jin was still present, a strength superior to Baskara, who was only at the Mid-rank Battle Master Realm.

    "This should be easy."

    Swish¡ª!

    With a strong stomp on the ground, Leon''s figure disappeared in a sh with extreme speed, reappearing behind Baskara before he swung his hand out with a horizontal chop.

    Peng!

    The blow was surprisingly blocked by Baskara''s halberd on reflex with the person''s back facing Leon, causing sparks to scatter from the sh between his hand and the halberd like the grind between two pieces of metal.

    "Oh?" Leon eximed softly with surprise beforementing, "Not bad. I doubt this person would have been able to block my blow under a normal state of mind. Although he is not consciously thinking, his reactions and reflex have been pushed to the zenith, huh?"

    Swish¡ª!

    With another stomp, Leon disappeared again, evading Baskara''s counterattack, before shing back in for another blow!

    Peng, peng, peng!

    Several blows were immediately exchanged as Baskara blocked them all with inhumane reflex!

    Nevertheless, as Leon began to increase his intensity and speed, it became more difficult for Baskara to keep up with his strength before Leon finallynded a blow!

    Boom!

    Baskara''s body flew and crashed into the ground in the distance, leaving behind a trail of ruined soil before his body came to aplete stop, knocked out.

    After Baskara''s unconscious mind was finally put to rest, Leon exited the spiritual world and returned to his body.

    "How is he, Young Master Leonhardt? Can he be treated?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired again upon seeing Leon''s eyes opening.

    After Leon reviewed his soul-rted knowledge, he nodded and said, "The problem has been resolved. I can give him a slight mental shake to wake him up immediately, but what he needs most right now is to allow his strained mind to get some adequate rest."

    "Oh?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman eximed with pleasant surprise before praising him, "As expected of Young Master Leonhardt. Your medical expertise is unparalleled."

    After a moment, Venerable Shaman Daal furrowed his brows with confusion before asking, "But what kind of problem did Chief Baskara have exactly? How did Young Master Leonhardt resolve it?"

    "Right, Baskara Boya has been lying in bed unconsciously for many days now. Thus, he should have already been rested. So howe he still needs to rest, Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman added with doubt.

    "While Chief Baskara appeared unconscious on the surface, his consciousness had been trapped inside his own mind, battling two evil spirits nonstop during this period of time. As a result, his mind has been strained greatly."

    "Although the issue preventing him from waking up has been resolved, his mind will take time to recover. In addition, there will also be lingering side effects due to the strain. Therefore, it''s best if he does not do anything strenuous that requires exerting his mental faculties," Leon advised.

    There was a chance that once Chief Baskara exerts himself again, he will exhibit bloodlust and enter a berserk state that cannot tell friends from foe, much like being influenced by Wrathful Demonic Energy.

    "I see¡­" Venerable Shaman Daal uttered before expressing his gratitude, "Thank you, Young Master Leonhardt. We will keep that in mind and let Chief Baskara rest for now. Our Crimsonfog Tribe owes you a big favor for this."

    "Don''t worry about it," Leon waved his hand nonchntly before saying, "But now that Chief cktooth lost his position, I wonder if the new chief of the Crimsonfog Tribe will allow me to peruse their collection of primordial heritage?"

    "He will. I will make sure of it. As such, you can rest assured, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable promised before asking, "When does Young Master Leonhardt want to take a look?"

    "Since we''re already here; the sooner, the better," Leon stated after some thought.

    Reviewing the Crimsonfog Tribe''s collection of primordial heritage took precedence.

    Refining Fasting Pills was something he could do anywhere, but once he leaves the Crimsonfog Tribe, there won''t be another opportunity to peruse them until he returns.

    "Understood. This old man will see who the current chief is and make the arrangement for it," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated before leaving promptly without dy.

    Shortly after, Venerable Shaman Daal allowed Baskara''s women back inside the room to watch over the person before pulling Leon outside to talk.

    "There''s something I don''t understand, Young Master Leonhardt," Venerable Shaman Daal mentioned before asking puzzledly, "How did Chief Baskara end up trapped with two evil spirits in his mind?"

    "Why are you asking me about something like that?" Leon responded while looking back at the Venerable Shaman weirdly.

    After a moment, he added with a nonchnt shrug, "I''m capable, but that doesn''t make me omniscient. I wasn''t present during the Crimsonfog Tribe''s battle with the Liches, so I wouldn''t know the details."

    "Maybe the evil spirits belonged to the Undead Battle Kings, or maybe it was a curse conjured by the Liches for ruining their Undead Battle Kings? Who knows? Your tribe should be clearer on the situation than me."

    "Ah¡­ You''re right, Young Master Leonhardt," Venerable Shaman Daal smiled wryly for asking a silly question.

    The two shortly engaged in idle chats before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman returned before long and said, "Pleasee with me, Young Master Leonhardt. The collection is ready for your perusal."

    "However, we''ll be setting out in half an hour. Thus, how much you can read during this time is up to you, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "Half an hour is more than enough," Leon nodded confidently.

 Chapter 690 - Final Preparations Before Departure

    <h4>Chapter 690 - Final Preparations Before Departure</h4>

    Shortly after Leon and thedies left Venerable Shaman Daal''s abode with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, one of Baskara''s women asked, "Venerable Shaman, how can you be so sure that Baskara has been treated when he still remains asleep?"

    "What if this Young Master Leonhardt is just a conman, tricking us into owing him a favor? Not just anyone can peruse our tribe''s collection of primordial heritage," another woman added with a frown.

    Sonia and the other three women also silently agreed with a frown.

    The Crimsonfog Tribe had sacrificed many good warriors and seniors to procure the amount of primordial heritage they have presently.

    It did not seem right for an outsider to peruse it freely.

    Nevertheless, Venerable Shaman Daal quickly reprimanded them, "Enough. Do not talk nonsense if you do not know anything. It''s impossible for a person to fool so many experts."

    "I have not met Young Master Leonhardt long enough, nor have I observe much of his ability. But since the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman respects him greatly, it must be true. Thus, if you say another word that discredits or disrespects the Divine Doctor, I will punish you."

    "We understand, Venerable Shaman," the two women quickly lowered their heads with startled looks after being reprimanded.

    "Just continue to tend to Baskara and inform me when he regains consciousness."

    "Yes, Venerable Shaman."

    Baskara''s womenplied after being instructed by Venerable Shaman Daal.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly led Leon and thedies to the Crimsonfog Tribe''s Chief Pce before entering the Great Hall.

    "You must be Young Master Leonhardt, the Divine Doctor I''ve heard much about recently. Wee, wee. Feel free to peruse the collection as you please," an Extremity-rank Great Warrior greeted inside.

    "And you are¡­?"

    "Ah, pardon my manners. I am Silverpalm, the new acting chief of Crimsonfog Tribe," Chief Silverpalm spoke before adding wryly, "Though, not for long. I n to abdicate once Chief Baskara awakens¡ªif I am not defeated by another warrior by then."

    "It''s the first time that I''ve heard a tribe undergo changes to their chiefs so frequently," Leonmented with amusement.

    Chief Silverpalm and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately smiled wryly.

    Sometimeter, Leon was guided to the treasury, where the collection was kept, before he turned back to thedies and said, "It seems like we are all permitted to peruse the collection together. Feel free to wait outside for me if you get bored, though."

    "I''m quite curious what these primordial techniques look like, so I''m going to take this take to look at them," Aria stated.

    She was going in with him.

    "There''s nothing else to do anyway, so I will also be joining."

    "Then¡­ I will also have a look too."

    Duna and Darlene inputted.

    "Very well," Leon nodded and said, "Let us enter together and see what the Crimsonfog Tribe has to offer then."

    After Leon entered the treasury with Aria, Duna, and Darlene, the guide prepared to close the door before informing, "Enjoy your perusal time, Young Master Leonhardt. I wille back and inform you when the Battle Masters are about to depart for the Death Passage."

    "Got it. Thanks," Leon nodded.

    The door shortly closed with a soft thud before Leon shifted his gaze onto the mountain of scrolls, books, and manuals containing the techniques of Gods and Devils from the primordial age.

    Without any surprises, Crimsonfog Tribe''s stash was much bigger than the Darkmoon Tribe''s collection.

    As Leon watched thedies pick up an item each and began flipping through its contents curiously, he silently mused, ''It won''t take me half an hour to copy everything into the Archive.''

    ''I only hope that the Crimsonfog Tribe''s collection will contain some of the missing volumes to the techniques I have chosen. Anyway, time to begin.''

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Fifteen minutes quickly passed within the blink of an eye.

    Inside the Crimsonfog Tribe''s marketce, the food supplies were quickly bought out by the Battle Masters before they began to leave and gather at the southern gate.

    Although the food vendors were unwilling to sell so much to outsiders, they have received orders to allow it.

    For a period of time, the tribesmen will be forced to live frugally until the next hunting expedition''s fruitful harvest.

    "Uncle Jizo, have you Big Brother Leonhardt? I don''t seem to see him anywhere since we entered the tribe," Young Zion inquired.

    The young master from the Battle God Pce had been ncing around, but the person he was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

    "There''s no need to look around, Young Master Zion," Jizo stated before saying, "Young Master Leonhardt is very sought after. So the Crimsonfog Tribe will not miss this opportunity to make some requests of Young Master Leonhardt."

    "As such, we are not likely to see Young Master Leonhardt again until we are leaving for the demon''s territory with the rest of the crowd."

    "I see," Young Zion uttered before inquiring casually, "Have we brought enough supplies, Uncle Jizo?"

    "Yes, Young Master Zion. This subordinate made sure of it before we departed from the Battle God Pce. Thus, there''s no need to expend our wealth on inferior goods around here," Jizo assured.

    At the same time, many warriors immediately cast their disgruntled looks over after hearing the Extremity-rank Battle Master''s disrespectful remark.

    However, they shortly recognized the person''s status before giving up all thoughts of turning it into a big issue, letting it die down silently.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Back at Venerable Shaman Daal''s abode, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly returned, causing Venerable Shaman Daal to be slightly surprised.

    "Why are you back again, One-Eye?"

    "The Battle Masters are gathering at the southern gate, readying to depart for the Death Passage shortly. I am taking Baskara Boya with me," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated his purpose.

    Baskara''s women were immediately startled before one of them quickly said, "Our husband has yet to recover, nor is he awakened. Isn''t it inappropriate to take him to such a dangerous ce under such circumstances, Venerable Shaman?"

    "Be that as it may, I know for a fact that Baskara Boya will not want to miss the opportunity to enter the secret realm, hence, why I am taking him with me," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said.

    "You also wouldn''t want him to miss this big opportunity to be stronger, right?"

 Chapter 691 - Death Passage

    <h4>Chapter 691 - Death Passage</h4>

    Inside the Chief Pce''s treasury, Leon fully utilized the Archive to generate copies of every primordial book and scroll he got his hands on.

    Due to time limitations, Leon did not even catch a glimpse of the names before quickly moving onto the next book or scroll.

    As the threedies saw Leon like this, they all raised their brows in wonder.

    Darlene flipped open a scroll, but she could not understand a single character. Everything was just gibberish to her.

    Perhaps, this was also why her hubby was just simply touching each book and scroll before moving on. Maybe he was hoping he could find one that could be understood.

    However, Darlene quickly recalled that this should not be the case.

    As such, she could only leave the matter as is and not think too much into it. Her hubby must have his own methods of reading that she does not know about.

    Just as Darlene gave up and ced the scroll down, she noticed that Duna and Aria were both perusing their books seriously.

    She was immediately surprised that Duna and Aria were also well-learned in the runguage.

    Not wanting to look bad in front of these two, Darlene quickly picked the scroll back up and pretended she was reading it seriously.

    Sometimeter, Leon finished copying everything into the Archive before he noticed the solemn mood surrounding the threedies, causing him to be taken aback immediately.

    Leon was slowly drawn to Aria''s side before he peeked at what she was reading.

    "Do you understand all this?" Leon asked with surprise.

    Aria did not answer.

    However, Leon quickly noticed her ears turning bright red as a result of being greatly embarrassed, allowing him to immediately understand that the answer was no.

    "Why are you pretending to read if you can''t understand?" Leon asked, taken aback.

    Aria''s face flushed even further before Duna snickered, "Dare topete with me? You''re not even on my level."

    "That means you can read, right?" Leon turned to Duna and asked.

    "Uh¡­" Duna was immediately tongue-tied before she responded untruthfully, "Of course, I can¡­ a little."

    Leon''s lips twitched.

    There was no need for him to ask Darlene.

    Being the least confident of the three, she was most likely swept into their little game of who can read better.

    "You are all¡­ so silly," Leon smiled wryly while look at the three.

    Aria and Darlene blushed awkwardly while Duna turned her head to hide her expression with a soft snort.

    Creak¡­

    The treasury door was shortly opened before the previous warrior returned and informed them politely, "Young Master Leonhardt, the Battle Masters are gathering at the southern gate and preparing to leave shortly."

    "Oh?" Leon raised an eyebrow in surprise before he said, "If I''m not wrong, it hasn''t been half an hour yet, right? So it should still be pretty early."

    "You''re not wrong, Young Master Leonhardt," the warrior nodded before saying, "However, the Battle Masters are rushing to reach the opening location ahead of time. It seems like the phenomenon in the southern skies are making them feel a hint of urgency."

    "I see. I will leave shortly," Leon nodded and turned to the threedies, "You heard the guy. It''s time to go."

    "Mm."

    The threedies nodded.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon and the threedies, Aria, Duna, and Darlene, reached the tribe''s southern gate.

    However, the group of Battle Masters had already departed for the Death Passage that lies inside the gorge of Darkness Mountain.

    Even so, Leon''s group only took a short time to catch up to the Battle Master''s group after hastening their pace.

    In the southern skies ahead of them, the gathering dark clouds swirled like a super tornado, descending from the heavens to connect with the earth.

    It was extremely massive of epic proportions.

    If a naturally-formed tornado had reached such enormous size, the wind pressure generated from it would have achieved a level capable of tearing apart everything in its path.

    Even Paragons could be ripped to shreds.

    s, the enormous swirling dark clouds were formed unnaturally through a mysterious power or activation of a grand formation, unknown to Leon

    As such, he was uncertain whether it would possess the same destructive might of a naturally formed super tornado of its size.

    If it did, how were they meant to get close, let alone enter the secret realm?

    "Do we have to be inside the swirl before the dark clouds touch the ground? Is that why the Battle Masters are in a rush to reach the opening location?" Leon narrowed his eyes in thought.

    As the group approached the gorge of Darkness Mountain, the surroundings darkened, and the view of the southern skies was obstructed.

    After entering the vicinity of the Darkness Mountain alone, the density in Darkness Profound Energy surged by twofold.

    Pi¡­pi¡­pi¡­

    Two rows ofmps suddenly burst with crimson mes, expelling the darkness in the immediate vicinity like the receding tides and illuminated a clear path to the Death Passage ahead.

    The shadows danced like living souls of demons and humans existed within them at the flickering of the mes.

    Numerous buildings were seen, followed by a tall ck wall that loomed over them all¡ªthe very wall that guards the Infertile ins against the demon''s invasion.

    "So, this is the Death Passage?" Leon softly muttered among the curious crowd of Battle Masters trekking towards the Death Passage.

    Suddenly, Leon was tapped on the shoulders before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled friendly, "d to see you made it, Young Master Leonhardt. I was beginning to think that you weren''ting."

    "There were some dys," Leon smiled wryly and said, "But what''s important is that I''m here, right?"

    "Right," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded before asking curiously, "But did Young Master Leonhardt find what you were looking for from among the stash of primordial books and scrolls in the treasury?"

    "I hope so," Leon answered vaguely.

    He had yet to look through the new stash in the Archive.

    Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was taken aback by his response before he said, "You hope so¡­? Did you not go for a look, Young Master Leonhardt?"

 Chapter 692 - Demon Village

    <h4>Chapter 692 - Demon Vige</h4>

    "I did," Leon nodded before he pondered for a moment and said, "Let''s just say that I memorized everything but did not get time to review them. Thus, I am not certain if what I need is among them."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman opened his mouth, but he did not know how to respond to that.

    How was it possible to memorize everything in such a short time? But say that it was the case, how can someone not know what they memorized if it was memorized?

    It did not make any sense!

    After waiting a moment without a response, Leon changed the topic, "Never mind. There''s something I would like to ask, senior."

    "Ask away, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said wryly, evidently not over thest topic.

    Nevertheless, Leon was unconcerned with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s doubts.

    "How do we enter the secret realm exactly? What does the secret realm''s opening look like? Is it a type of spatial portal?" Leon inquired.

    "To be honest, I have no idea myself as I have never participated in the secret realm before, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke.

    "But I have heard it was a type of spatial portal that opens in the ground like a bottomless abyss. But once entered, we would drop out of the sky."

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered with a frown as the information provided did not tell him much.

    "If Young Master Leonhardt wants to learn more about the specifics, you can try asking the B

    attle God Pce. They have ess to more reliable sources of history and special events," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman suggested.

    At that moment, the Battle God Pce group was at the hem of the Battle Masters.

    As such, Leon shook his head and said wryly, "It seems I will have to find another time to inquire about it."

    "I suppose so, Young Master Leonhardt."

    Sometimeter, the garrisons quickly opened the ck gates for the Battle Masters to enter the other half of the gorge leading to the demon''s territory.

    Leon studied the ck wall briefly, but he quickly discovered the ck color was not part of the material but dried bloodstains.

    Whether it was the ground or on the sidewalls of the gorge outside the ck wall, everything was also stained with dried ck blood.

    The amount adds up to a staggering volume.

    Only the Crimsonfog Tribe was most clear on how much they had to sacrifice to hold the Death Passage and keep the demons at bay in the demon''s territory.

    Silently, the Crimsonfog Tribe earned some of his respect.

    Sometimeter, therge group reached the end of the Death Passage before the other side of the Darkness Mountain was revealed.

    Without any surprises, it was primarily dark and lightless as one would expect of the ce with the highest concentration of Darkness Profound Energy.

    However, the warriors of the Infertile ins were trained to see in the dark. As such, they were able to see much of the vast barrennd ahead of them, devoid of life.

    The soil was hard and cracked like severe drought while most vegetation had long withered into dust, turning much of what could have been a lush green in into a barren wastnd with terrible dust storms.

    The environment destroyed all hopes for the growth of ordinary nts, but it was the perfect breeding ground for darkness-attribute nts.

    In the distance, a few patches of umbre flowers grew with a soft yet eerie purple glow, slightly illuminating a small area around them, revealing a few shadowy movements nearby.

    "Kree?" a horned demon quickly detected the group with a surprised look.

    Once the Battle Masters were discovered, Young Zion immediately cautioned, "Uncle Jizo!"

    "Yes, Young Master!" Jizo answered.

    Within a split second, the Extremity-rank Battle Master shed into the distance and killed the curious horned demon with a clean decapitating strike before it could put up a shred of resistance.

    Shortly after Jizo returned, a Battle Master questioned with a frown, "Why did you kill it? We could have interrogated it and extract some vital information."

    "You can speak the demonnguage?" Jizo responded coolly before stating, "We are inside demon territory now. Unless we want to be quickly swarmed by demons, it will be in our best interest to kill them on-sight."

    "The Battle God Pce is right," Chief Valencia agreed with a nod and said, "Letting the demons summon their fellow brethren is thest thing we want to happen."

    "Not only will it put us under unnecessary danger, but it will also dy us from reaching the location of the secret realm opening."

    Once these words were spoken, the voices of disagreements quickly died down before therge group continued to trek forward in the direction of the enormous swirling dark clouds.

    The deeper they ventured into the demon''s territory, demon stragglers appeared more frequently, but they were all killed quickly without exception.

    Leon took the chance to collect the rare and exotic ins that were able to grow in the demon''s territory forter study.

    At the same time, the wind grew stronger and stronger.

    With the billowing clouds of dust getting caught in people''s eyes, many Battle Masters found it difficult to keep their eyes open and were forced to cover them.

    Aria and Darlene were among the first to fall victim before utilizing their abilities to ward off the dust from themselves.

    Sometimeter, the group suddenly paused their advance and scrutinized the distance ahead with narrowed gazes.

    "Is that¡­?"

    "A demon vige, yes."

    After encountering the first demon vige, the group''s vignce immediately shot through the roof before a Battle Master suggested, "We should make a detour around it."

    "We don''t know how many demons are inside, nor their strengths. It''s best to avoid this sort of confrontation if possible."

    "Agreed."

    As many Battle Masters voiced their agreement, another raised his eyebrow and asked, "I thought we were meant to kill all demons on sight?"

    "This is an exception. We don''t have time to waste," Jizo stated.

    However, the Battle Master had another opinion and mentioned, "If we can''t even ovee a small hurdle like this demon vige here, what chances do we hope to have inside the secret realm?"

    Once the question was raised, the group immediately paused in thought.

 Chapter 693 - The Weak Do Not Have Rights

    <h4>Chapter 693 - The Weak Do Not Have Rights</h4>

    After a few moments of silence, the Battle Masters began to nod with voices of agreement as they gazed at the distant vige.

    With wooden fences made from ordinary ckwood, cut and chiseled down into shape with primitive techniques, there was nothing distinctly impressive or extraordinary about the demon vige at a nce.

    It was just ordinary and simple, like most regr human viges.

    Even so, it was not a reason for the Battle Masters to underestimate the demons while trespassing in their territory.

    "What this person said has a point. If we cannot ovee a single vige here, what chances do we have against the demons in the secret realm?" a High-rank Battle Master spoke.

    "Right," another High-rank Battle Master nodded and said, "We''ve only killed lone stragglers so far. This does not tell us much about the demons'' strength. Only by challenging a group of demons will we have a clear understanding."

    "Let''s make it quick then," an Extremity-rank Battle Master from the Battle God Pce nodded with a frown before turning Young Zion, "What do you think, Young Master?"

    "Since it''s decided, let''s do it. But like you said, we don''t have a lot of time. Once the secret realm fully opens, we will not be able to enter if we are not at the designated location," Young Zion stated.

    As the most influential power in the Infertile ins, the Battle God Pce had unwittingly assumed leadership of the entire group.

    "Kill them swift."

    "Don''t give them a chance to retaliate."

    Once the Battle Masters received permission, they immediately charged into the demon vige with lightning speed for speedy extermination.

    At that moment, there were not more than 500 hundred horned demons inside with distinct human features¡ªor rather, they looked no different from other humans if their horns were excluded from the assessment.

    They were just tending to their everyday lives, working menial jobs around the home like fetching water, fixing dusts, repairing broken roads, and bartering with each other for daily necessities and essentials.

    However, everything immediately changed when the Battle Masters swooped in for the kill, plunging the entire vige into chaos and despair as startled cries of fear and sorrow echoed outward.

    "Ahhh, please stop¡ª!"

    "Noo, don''t kill me¡ª!"

    As the rest of the Battle Masters overheard the screams of women and children from outside, they began to question their moral values.

    Evidently, the demons were evil, but why do they feel like they were the truly evil people in this case?

    As the demons'' voices died down into silence, the attack group rejoined the rest of the Battle Master and continued their journey to the secret realm''s opening location

    However, Leongged behind the group and paused in front of the ruined vige with mixed feelings while Aria, Duna, and Darlene stuck close to apany him.

    "Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman turned back with a questioning look.

    "Don''t mind me, senior," Leon shook his head and said, "I will catch up shortly, so there''s no need to wait for me."

    "Alright then," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded, not thinking too deeply into the matter, before following the crowd.

    Shortly after, Leon strolled through the vige, silently inspecting the corpses, the buildings, and the rest of the environment, thereby allowing him to understand their demons'' lifestyle.

    A few momentster, Leon spoke with knitted brows, "There wasn''t a single mature male among these demons, not to mention these horned demons lived not much differently from ordinary human folks¡­"

    "No matter how simr they are, the truth is that the demons are evil and should all be exterminated¡­" Darlenemented before she hesitated and added, "At least, that is what has always been epted by everyone."

    "Demons were supposedly savages, cruel with barbaric lifestyles, and merciless to humans, but these horned demons appeared quite civilized and cultured. As such, I am not sure anymore. I have mixed feelings while looking at this scene¡­"

    "The Infertile ins also and always regarded demons as an evil force to be exterminated on sight as well," Darlene inserted softly. "Despising and fearing demons has always seemed to be the natural order of things."

    "That isn''t limited to just humans. The same actually goes for the demons and even beasts. This is because people are ignorant and have a natural fear of the darkness, of which contains the unknown," Duna said casually with a nonchnt look.

    "And when people have these sorts of feelings, the first thing they usually do is resort to destroying it rather than understanding it¡ªbecause fighting is easy, butmunication is hard."

    "Just as there are good and evil humans, there are also good and evil demons. But because demons are all aligned with darkness, humans deem them all evil. Given the vtile nature of demonic energy, it doesn''t make it any easier for demons to respond kindly either."

    Having said that much, Leon nced shortly nced at her before he asked, "Does this scene make you angry?"

    "Why would it?" Duna responded nonchntly before adding, "What do they have to do with me? I distinguish myself as myself, not a race¡ªeven if I consider myself as a devil."

    "You see, this is the issue with humans. Demons have strong individual and independent traits, but humans are weak and like to band together and wine a lot. For example, if humans killed a demon, only the affected group of demons will retaliate. But if demons killed a human, the entirety of humanity will retaliate," Duna stated casually.

    After listening, Aria furrowed her brows and said, "You make it sound as if the world''s problems are caused by humans, but you seem to have forgotten that it is because of the demons and beasts that humanity is threatened with extinction."

    "I''m not trying to justify beasts and demons killing humans, but do you hear livestockining when humans ughter them for their meat? They can only be food because they weren''t strong enough."

    "If humans be extinct, it simply proves that they are not strong enough to co-exist alongside beasts and demons. The weak do not have rights." Duna shrugged.

 Chapter 694 - Enemy At The Gate

    <h4>Chapter 694 - Enemy At The Gate</h4>

    Duna''s words quickly made Aria tongue-tied without being able to refute.

    Nevertheless, Leon shortly pped his hands with a sigh and said, "Alright, we have seen enough here. Let us get going before we fall behind the group any further."

    "Fine by me."

    "Alright."

    "Understood."

    After receiving thedies'' responses, Leon nodded and took the lead towards the other end of the vige.

    However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly paused upon sensings a faint breath before his eyes eventually fell on a young demon boy, who was bleeding out from his pierced chest.

    Sensing Leon''s footsteps approaching, the young demon boy strained his eyes weakly to look over before asking unjustly, "Are we being punished for doing something wrong¡­?"

    As if the words had sapped all his life, the young demon boy eventually took hisst breath and died like the rest of his vigers.

    He was lucky to escape a quick death due to his heart being positioned differently, but he still could not escape his fate.

    Leon felt heavy-hearted after the young demon boy died.

    Perhaps he could have saved the demon boy, but there was also a chance that he would be leaving behind a seed of hatred that would one day bite back at humanity.

    He never thought he would sympathize with the demons, but he felt like it was a mistake for the Battle Masters to have ughtered the demon vige.

    Even so, it was already toote to reverse what had already happened.

    ''Let''s go," Leon said with a soft sigh.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Wilnds

    "Everyone, just a bit further, and we will be home!" Lord Jorn informed the group as they were fast approaching the tribe in the distance.

    "Yes, Lord Jorn!" the elite nsmen responded.

    The Deste Crow n was just within sight.

    n Leader Lidoran, Lady Lilliana, and the elders all had heartfelt relief upon seeing the familiar outward appearance of their n, although much of it had been changed.

    They did not think that they could see it again.

    Swish~!

    Suddenly, a sharp whistling in the wind immediately causes a quick change in Lord Jorn''s expression, forcing his fast footsteps toe to a grinding halt.

    "Lord Jorn¡­?"

    The elite nsmen all followed suit and came to a stop, casting questioning nces over to Jorn confusedly for a moment before they, too, picked up the sharp whistling sound of something fast approaching them at incredible speed.

    "The enemy has caught! All of you, quickly get the n leader and elders back to the n and prepare the defenses! I will stay back and stall the enemy here!" Jorn instructed solemnly.

    "Lord Jorn, let us assist you!" an elite nsman requested.

    "Go!" Jorn immediately bellowed, "None of you can offer me any form of support against this sort of opponent without getting yourselves killed!"

    "Yes, Lord Jorn¡­!"

    Hearing the urgency and anger in Jorn''s voice, the elite nsmen no longer hesitated and quickly took the n leader and elders back to the n to rally the nsmen for defensive measures.

    "Jorn! Be careful!" n Leader Lidoran warned as he was being carried away.

    "Yes, n Leader!"

    Within a few moments, Lord Havoc quickly arrived like a sonic boom before Jorn shot up to confront the opponent in the sky.

    "Oh?"

    Lord Havoc''s flight halted midair with a mighty p of his ck-feathered wings, causing two gusts of strong wind to billow against Jorn''s face intensely.

    Even so, Jorn remained unflinching with a grave look while his hair danced wildly in the wind

    "When did the Deste Crow n have another Mid-rank 2 Transcendent? No wonder you guys have the audacity to sneak into Nethergrass city and rescue the hostages from right under our noses."

    As Lord Havoc scrutinized Jorn with narrowed eyes and fully gauged his strength, he added, "Since you are this strong, then it is most likely that Bahlzacs is dead."

    "However, it is impossible for you to be stronger so suddenly. Speak! Who is your backer?" Lord Havoc interrogated with amanding tone, not in a hurry to attack after realizing his opponent''s strength.

    "Our backer, huh¡­?" Jorn muttered softly and slowly, taking his time to respond to buy time.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Inside the Deste Crow n, still unaware of the situation, Lilith arrived at an open field in the eastern corner of the n where the Blue Luan was currently resting before she called, ""Soft Feather, breakfast is ready!"

    "Great! I am starving!"

    Soft Feather''szed look was immediately energized as her head shot up instantly with eagerness and anticipation.

    "Come to the square," Lilith smiled slightly, but her mind was evidently elsewhere, thinking about her parents in Nethergrass city.

    If everything went ording to n, Jorn and the others should be returning soon with her parents and the elders.

    As Lilith brought Soft Feather to the big square where breakfast was being distributed throughout the n, the aromatic scent of braised meat infused with local spices whetted everyone''s appetite

    Plop!

    A slob of heavy drool quickly dropped on Lilith''s head, startling her with surprise before she subconsciously touched the slimy fluids and gazing back up at Soft Feather with a ming look.

    "Hehe, sorry. I couldn''t help myself. The smell is too appetizing!" Soft Feather apologized cutely.

    Suddenly, the rush of hasty footsteps drew Lilith''s attention away with a frown before she quickly pulled over passing nsmen and inquired, "What''s the rush for?"

    "Ah, Your Highness! The n Leader, Lady Liliana, and the elders have returned from Nethergrass city with Lord Jorn and the others! But, unfortunately, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince still found out and sent a powerhouse, pursuing them to our doorsteps!"

    "Right now, Lord Jorn is confronting the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s right-hand man, Lord Havoc, just outside our n to buy us time to prepare our defensive counterattack move!" the nsman reported urgently.

    Lilith was surprised for a moment, wondering why she was not informed immediately, but the situation had been anticipated and prepared for, nheless.

    Perhaps, that was the reason why the nsmen forgot to inform her.

    "Lilith!"

    "Lilith!"

    Two distinct yet very familiar voices suddenly called out to her before Lilith turned around with surprise and sheer joy.

 Chapter 695 - The Obelisk And Floating Landmasses

    <h4>Chapter 695 - The Obelisk And Floating Landmasses</h4>

    "Mom! Dad!" Lilith burst into joy before leaping into their embrace before she choked on her emotion, seeing the state of her parents.

    Lidoran and Liliana had yet the time to even wash up after returning to the n as they were immediately brought to the food distribution square, where the food was said to be very potent in replenishing their malnourished bodies.

    "Your daughter has been unfilial and let you both suffered!" Lilith cried guiltily.

    "Hahaha, all is good. What''s important is that we are all alive," Lidoran patted his daughter''s shoulders while Liliana soothed her back before he added, "And at least you still remember toe home."

    "Mm!" Lilith nodded before she suddenly shook her head and mentioned solemnly, "Right, I heard that enemy pursued us to our doorsteps."

    "Un. It is Lord Havoc, the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s right-hand man. Lord Jorn is confronting him as we speak," Lidoran informed seriously.

    "This person has been a Mid-rank 2 Transcendent for a long time. Although Lord Jorn has also ascended recently, he is still new to this realm of strength and won''t be Lord Havoc''s opponent."

    "We need to send back up quickly, but I''ve been told not to worry about it. How can I not worry about it? This is a Mid-rank 2 Transcendent who is infinitely close to the Late-stage, not far from the Paragon level."

    "Don''t worry, father. We had made countermeasures for this," Lilith reassured before she suddenly added, "But just to be sure, I will go see the situation with Miss Soft Feather."

    "Miss Soft Feather?" Lidoran muttered.

    Shortly after, Lidoran and Liliana shifted their gazes to the big blue bird before they were startled with shock and surprise.

    "This is¡­" Liliana uttered.

    "A proud member of the Blue Luan Tribe, but also the princess of the newly crowned monarch, Bluewinter, a Paragon," Lilith introduced.

    "What''s a Blue Luan doing out here? And a princess no less."

    "Ahem. I mean, it is nice to meet you, Princess Soft Feather."

    Lidoran and Lilian were even more surprised after hearing their daughter''s introduction, but they did not forget to greet Soft Feather shortly after.

    After a brief chat, Lilith said, "Then I will go with Soft Feather now, mom, dad."

    "Un."

    "Be careful."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Outside the Deste Crow n, Jorn continued to confront Lord Havoc and buy time as neither side appeared to be in a rush to battle.

    "With someone of your caliber and stature, why do you continue to serve such a person like the Deste Netherbird Second Prince? Does he deserve your loyally?" Jorn spoke.

    "It doesn''t matter how others view the Deste Netherbird Second Prince," Lord Havoc stated coolly before saying, "I owe a great debt of gratitude to his mother, and I will see it through to the end that this debt of gratitude is repaid."

    "Although I don''t know what you owe his mother, I do believe that it isn''t enough for you to serve her son for a lifetime," Jorn stated before adding, "All you get out of this is your own sense of repayment."

    "With the Deste Netherbird Second Prince''s character, he will not be grateful to you even if you save him many times. He will only take it for granted and demand more of you, working you like a dog until the day you die. Is that what you want?"

    "Enough! I did note here to be lectured on what and what not to do by you! I will only ask onest time; how did your Deste Crow n suddenly grow stronger so quickly?!" Lord Havoc questioned sternly.

    At that moment, a battle seemed imminent.

    However, just as Soft Feather''s huge figure appeared over the wall, Lord Havoc felt something shattered in his pockets, causing his expression to freeze.

    After fishing out the shattered remains of a grey crystal, his expression quickly went from bad to worse.

    "No! Something has happened to His Highness!" Lord Havoc bellowed.

    Bam¡ª!

    He immediately stomped the ground and took off into the skies before rushing back to Nethergrass city at maximum speed.

    With a short instance, his figure disappeared into the distance.

    Jorn''s tensed and solemn look shortly rxed dumbfoundedly just as Lilith and Soft Feather arrived with astonishment.

    "Was that the enemy? What did you do to get him to leave, Uncle Jorn?" Lilith asked with surprise.

    Jorn shortly turned to Lilith with knitted brows before he answered puzzledly, "I didn''t seem to have done anything¡­?"

    "It must be my majestic presence that scared him," Soft Feather stated pompously before Lilith and Jorn gave a silent look speechlessly.

    "What?" Soft Feather uttered.

    After a few moments of pondering, Jorn shook his head and said, "No matter what Lord Havoc''s reason for suddenly leaving, I doubt this issue ends here. The Deste Netherbird Second Prince is vindictive and narrow-minded."

    "Right. The Deste Netherbird Second Prince will not leave us alone. We should make use of this buffer time to quickly improve our strength and prepare for the next attack," Lilith suggested.

    "Un, that''s our only option," Jorn nodded before adding, "Although, if Prince Leon was here, he would be able to provide us with more options."

    "If¡­ but we don''t know when he will return," Lilith shook her head with a sigh, hoping Leon and the others woulde back soon.

    Although she has her parents and the nsmen, she still felt like shecked friends.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Dark continent

    As the Battle Masters rushed to the secret realm''s opening location, passing several more demon viges, towns, and cities on the way, they wiped out the smaller demon settlements and slipped past the bigger ones.

    In the heart of the demonnd, an enormous abyss existed, where space was distorted and gravity was inverted.

    Hundreds of earthen chunks ofndmasses floated above the abyss like space debris and rose slowly but surely higher towards the heavens.

    Thousands of demons gathered on these floatingndmasses as the opening of the secret realm neared itspletion.

    On the top of the highest floatingndmass, arge red-glowing obelisk stood tall, full of runic engravings.

    A single ck-winged demon stood at the foot of it, both hands on a b that stuck out like a sore thumb, continuously channeling mental power into it as the peak of the obelisk shot a solid and steady beam of ck and red light into the heavens.

    The dark clouds shifted, gathered, and revolved around the abyss''s perimeters, and the entire world seemed to pulsate, causing the floatingndmasses to rise and fall as new ones descended from the dark clouds above.

    Rumble¡­!

    Shortly after, therge chunks ofndmasses shed together with loud booms that roared like thunder, echoing far and wide as the initial shape of a colossal staircase to heaven was shortly formed.

    Boom, boom, boom¡­!

    Each piece ofndmass moved and connected loudly in order, causing few demons on the floatingndmasses to lose their bnce and plunge into the abyss, leaving their life and death''s situation unknown.

    On a piece of unconnected floatingndmass, a group of horned demons gathered among winged and multi-limbed demons with ugly expressions.

    "Soon, the secret realm will open, thereby lies the secret and opportunity to escape this prison world wille," a Four-armed Greater Demon spoke while gazing up at the distant obelisk in the high sky.

    "¡­"

    The horned demons were silent without ament, causing the Four-armed Greater Demon to pause with a frown.

    "Hm? What''s the matter, Yomu? Why the silence?" the Four-armed Greater Demon asked the Double-horned Greater Demon.

    "Something happened at home," the Double-horned Greater Demon spoke before adding after a brief dy, "My connection with my family is gone. They are most likely dead."

    "If I recall, your vige was the closest to the Death Passage," the Four-armed Greater Demon recalled before stating with narrowed eyes, "Seems like the humans areing for the secret realm this time."

    "Hmph! Those pesky humans are even more ruthless and evil than some demons! They didn''t even spare the woman and children!" a different horned Lesser Demon spoke.

    "Speak of the devils. They''re here!"

    Once a Triple-horned Lesser Demon shouted, the group of demons standing on the edge of the floatingndmass immediately shifted their gaze down to one corner of the abyss.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "This is where the secret realm will open?" Young Zion muttered while standing on the edge of the abyss with folded arms.

    As the Battle Masters gazed at the floatingndmasses above and the seemingly bottomless abyss below, Chief Valencia frowned.

    "Looks like we made it, but how do we get over there?" Chief Valencia asked.

    "There will surely be a way once the secret realm fully opens," Young Zion answered calmly without a hint of urgency, seemingly waiting for something to happened.

    "Seems we can only wait," Chief Valencia nodded.

    Shortly after feeling the murderous gazes of thousands of demons above, Chief Valenciamented, "Seems like there won''t be any other Battle Masters joining us."

    "So it seems," an Extremity-rank Battle Master uttered calmly without fear.

    Meanwhile, Leon studied the revolving dark clouds that shortly fell on top of them as they stood on the edge of the abyss.

    "Interesting," Leon rubbed his thoughtfully while muttering, "Such a colossal movement of dark clouds but not a hint of wind is produced. These dark clouds are not normal¡ªor rather, they''re not really dark clouds."

    "But it isn''t important whether they are dark clouds or densely bundles of Darkness Profound Energy, but the fact that they seem to have the power to seal off this space¡­"

 Chapter 696 - The Eternal Night Secret Realm Opens

    <h4>Chapter 696 - The Eternal Night Secret Realm Opens</h4>

    After studying the dark clouds for a moment, Leon slowly shifted his attention to the bottom of the abyss.

    He was not sure what it was, but his gut instincts were telling him that whatever was sealed down there was extremely dangerous.

    However, this danger was only concerning if he chose to foolishly venture down there without understanding what he is up against.

    More importantly, the thousands of demons gathered on the floatingndmasses poses a more significant threat presently.

    "Lord Yomu, shall we head down and ughter all these pesky humans to avenge our brethren?" a Single-horned Lesser Demon suggested on the unconnected floatingndmass.

    "As much as I would like to, no," the Double-horned Greater Demon, Lord Yomu, rejected the suggestion with a shake of his head.

    "The secret realm is about to be opened after the staircase to heaven is constructed. It won''t be toote to deal with the humans once we are inside."

    "Understood, Lord Yomu," the Single-horned Lesser Demon slightly bowed.

    "d that you understand the bigger picture, Yomu," the Four-armed Greater Demon shortly said to the Double-horned Greater Demon.

    "Alright, ourndmass is about to connect with the rest. Brace yourself for impact, and don''t foolishly fall off to feed the abyss."

    Rumble!

    The floatingndmass shortly connected with the colossal staircase-in-the-making, causing the entirendmass to shake terribly like an earthquake.

    "Ahhh¡ª!"

    Several Lesser Demons fell off, nheless, despite the prior warnings of the Greater Demons.

    However, a few winged Lesser Demons quickly broke their fall with a p of their wings while the rest continued to plunge their doom, disappearing into the abyss beyond redemption.

    "Hahaha, stupid demons. Look at them fall!" a Low-rank Battle Masters pointed with a heartyugh as if he was looking at a bunch of clowns making a fool of themselves.

    The other Battle Masters shortly joined in with short peals ofughter while making their own ridiculing remarks at the demons.

    Leon squeezed his way to the front and met up with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the others he was familiar with.

    "Ahh, Young Master Leonhardt. You''ve made it," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman greeted before he chuckled softly, "You had me worried that you weren''t going to make it. It would have been impossible for you to get in once the secret realm is fully opened."

    "You mean inside of this wall of dark clouds?" Leon nced back at the revolving dark clouds before he said, "I feel the power of space infused into these dark clouds of darkness. Is there any difference between being outside the dark clouds and being in the wall of dark clouds?"

    Leon understood that they were meant to be inside the space within the wall and not inside the wall of dark clouds itself.

    As such, he felt like there would be a problem.

    "Difference? Of course, there''s one!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated before exining further, "Being outside the dark clouds means not being able to enter the Eternal Night Secret Realm at all."

    "On the other hand, if we stay inside this wall of dark clouds, we will be transported into the Eternal Night Secret Realm, albeit randomly, meaning we will all be separated. Still, it''s a better situation than facing all those Lesser Demons and Greater Demons over there directly."

    "I see¡­" Leon knitted his brows together before he said, "That makes sense¡­ We are, after all, severely outnumbered. If we had the entire elites of the Infertile ins, then we might have been able to stand our ground."

    "However, with only 700-odd number of us, it is impossible to take on the elites of the demonnd. Otherwise, the demon''s territory would have been conquered long ago if that was possible, right? Senior?"

    "Precisely so," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded.

    "Still," Leon added with a deep frown before shifting his gaze to the side, "If we were going to be transported randomly and be separated, there''s also a chance that we willnd right in the middle of the demons or traps in the secret realm if we are unlucky."

    "Yes, Young Master Leonhardt. That possibility certainly exists," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman did not deny the chances before saying, "However, there is no such thing as an opportunity without danger when seeking fortune in the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

    "The Eternal Night Secret Realm is no ordinary ce. On the contrary, it is extraordinarily full of danger¡ªsome of which are even greater than what the demons pose. That is why I have suggested not to bring your lovers along, Young Master Leonhardt."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled wryly as he spoke.

    Despite his advice, the Divine Doctor still decided to bring his lovers, especially the native one. There was a high chance that she was going to die on this trip¡ªat least, that is what he believed.

    Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman did not rule out the possibility that Young Master Leonhardt had some unique life-saving means to keep them all alive.

    Leon frowned in deep ponder for a moment.

    After shing the unconscious Chief Baskara being held by a Crimsonfog Tribe''s Battle Master beside the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, Leon mentioned, "If I''m not wrong, there''s a less likely chance of being separated if we keep contact with one another."

    "You''re right, Young Master Leonhardt. That method certainly works," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman admitted before adding, "However, the power of transportation will be strong and unstable, potentially forcing us out of contact. As such, it is not exactly a fool-proof solution and still possesses a certain level of risks."

    Even so, if the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman did not even have some level of confidence, he would not be bringing the unconscious Chief Baskara either. Otherwise, he was practically sending the person to his doom.

    Nevertheless, it should not be long before Chief Baskara awakens from his slumber.

    Rumble¡­!

    The skies suddenly shook from a surge of energy bursting out of the obelisk and shooting straight into the spiraling dark clouds above, causing everyone to pause and nce over.

    "The staircase haspleted construction," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman narrowed his eyed before grabbing hold of Chief Baskara''s arm tightly and said, "Seems like the secret realm is about to be opened, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "It''s my first time experience it, but it does seem to be the case," Leon nodded before he quickly called, "Aria! Darlene! Duna! To me, now!"

    "We''re right here. No need to shout," Duna picked her ears nonchntly as if her hearing had been affected before she said, "Just focus on your two little birds. I''m the least of your worries."

    "Duna!"

    "Fine¡­!"

    After Leon shot her a stern look, Dunaplied, albeit unwillingly and reluctantly, as they joined hands after Leon grabbed hold of Aria and Darlene''s hands.

    "Everyone, if you don''t n on going solo in the Eternal Night Secret Realm, now is the time to grab onto your teammates!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman hollered.

    "Young Master, pardon our offense!" a Battle God Pce''s Battle Master said.

    After Young Zion gave the nod, the twenty Extremity-rank Battle Masters bundled together with him like one big sausage fest.

    At the same time, the other Battle Masters quickly formed small parties of their own, grabbing hold of their chosen teammates, who were mainly just members of the same tribe.

    "What are you doing?" a Low-rank Battle Master questioned with a slight frown after one of his teammate''s grubby wstched onto his sword.

    The teammate, who was also a Low-rank Battle Master, nced back calmly and said, "No homo, bro."

    "¡­"

    Shortly after all teams were settled down, Leon transfixed his gaze on the talent point of the colossal staircase, where the obelisk was located, standing tall and pointing into the heavenly spiral of dark clouds that continued to feed on its string of red and ck light.

    "The Shaman King''s Sessor must be up there¡­"

    "Right, but that demon shouldn''t be of any concern since it is fated to die after the opening, Young Master Leonhardt," Chief Valencia spoke after reaching Leon''s side, intent on joining his party.

    However, seeing that the young master''s party was already upied with just his lovers, she decided to drop the idea and go solo in the Eternal Night Secret Realm.

    "How do you know for sure that the Shaman King''s Sessor will die after the secret realm is fully opened?" Leon casually asked.

    "This is because the Shaman King''s Sessor will be fully drained of all their strength, body and mind, after opening the secret realm and be braindead with multiple organ failures, eventually leading to death. It has always been the case¡ªat least, ording to what had been recorded in history," Chief Valencia exined.

    "Oh?" Leon raised an eyebrow and before asking further, "And does this history includes the past two secret realm openings that the humans missed out on?"

    "Well¡­ no," Chief Valencia paused with a frown.

    Shortly after, Chief Valencia''s expression changed abruptly before she asked, "Young Master Leonhardt is suspecting that the Shaman King''s Sessor will survive the opening drainage?"

    "Well, I wouldn''t rule out the possibility. If the past Shaman King''s Sessors'' deaths were a result ofcking strength, wouldn''t the problem be solved if they were stronger?" Leon mentioned.

    Chief Valencia''s frown deepened.

    But before she could think further, another surge of energy shot into the spiral of dark clouds and finally opened up an enormous and gloomy-red portal.

    In that instance, space quickly destabilized, sucking Leon and everyone else standing inside the wall of dark clouds into the heavens like numerous red vein-like streaks of lightning shing through the cumulonimbus clouds of darkness, disappearing therein.

 Chapter 697 - Nethergrass Plain

    <h4>Chapter 697 - Nethergrass in</h4>

    "The secret realm has been opened! However, those pesky humans have taken the lead and disappeared inside the secret realm ahead of us!" a Four-winged Lesser Demon in the lead spoke.

    "No matter. We will catch those humans one by one inside. Their scattered mess won''t be able to put up much resistance against our forces," said another Great Demon with six wings.

    "Right!" a lizardman-looking Greater Demon licked his lips and said, "I''m going to enjoy hunting these humans down. They are all dead meat!"

    "Onward!"

    The booming volume of an Arch Demon''s voice rippled across the skies before the army of powerful demons began marching into the red portal in the spiral of dark clouds at the top of the colossal earthen staircase.

    The authority of an Arch Demon was something even Greater Demons could only hear and obey.

    As the demons marched into the red portal uniformly like an army of disciplined soldiers, the Arch Demon shortly arrived by the foot of obelisk.

    "Thank you for the hard, Sir Gusion. Fortunately, you have survived another round of secret realm opening this time," the Arch Demon stated.

    "That is to be expected. The inverted gravity in this space does lessen the burden and expenditure of opening the secret realm," said the Shaman King''s Sessor, Gusion, before he added, "However, the opening has left me drained, nheless."

    "I will leave the task of leading the demons to Sir Ss''s hands. But remember, we mustn''t fail again. We mustplete the mission this time and absolutely not let the power fall into the humans'' hands!" Gusion instructed gravely.

    "You don''t have to worry, Sir Gusion," Arch Demon Ss assured and said, "The humans won''t get any chance¡ªnot without any Battle Kings to shield them! We will proactively hunt them all down!"

    "They were simply too foolish to sneak into ournds. But since they''vee, they can forget about ever returning!" Arch Demon Ss grinned insidiously.

    "The humans will never have thought that there will be multiple Arch Demons participating in this time''s secret realm opening."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Eternal Night Secret Realm

    True to its name, it was a lightless ce, cold and dark like the night and without a shred of sunlight despite the starry skies shown above.

    The entire realm was brimming with Death Energy, Yin Energy, and Darkness Profound Energy.

    When Leon recovered from the discement of teleportation, he began perceiving his surroundings with divine sense.

    "Aria, Darlene! Good, you''re both here!"

    Leon sighed with relief, knowing that he did not get separated from them even though they have been separated from the rest of the humans.

    However, he suddenly froze when he did not detect Duna''s presence anywhere.

    "Aria, Darlene, what happened? Why isn''t Duna with us?" Leon inquired, knowing that they were the ones holding Duna''s hands.

    The two girls knitted their eyebrows together and tried to recall what happened when they got swept away like a powerful underwater current and transported inside the Eternal Night Secret Realm.

    "I¡­ I was sure that I was holding Duna''s hand very firmly¡­" Aria answered with a surprisingly meek voice, feeling guilty for Duna''s disappearance despite being innocent.

    "I know you were," Leon stated before shaking his head and said, "I am not ming you. I just want to know the details of what happened."

    "You two were holding her, so you two should have a better grasp of the situation during that moment."

    After saying that much, Aria and Darlene pondered harder as they tried to recall what happened during the teleportation.

    "I think Duna purposely let go of my hand, but I''m not too sure¡­ It all happened too fast, and the suction force was powerful as well¡­" Darlene answered unconfidently.

    However, her words shortly helped Aria recalled better as she added, "I seem to recall a simr situation¡­ I think Duna purposely wanted to separate from our group, although I am not sure why¡­"

    "Haiz¡­" Leon issued a long sigh before he waved his hand and said, "Let us just leave it at that then. It seems that Duna has her own ns for the Eternal Night Secret Realm. We can only hope that she will be fine on her own."

    And hopefully, they will bump into her again soon.

    Nevertheless, after scanning the surrounding with the maximum range of his divine sense, Leon could tell that the Eternal Night Secret Realm was extremely huge when he could find another human besides them.

    "Let us explore the area and see what good stuff we can find around here," Leon stated.

    "Mmm."

    "Alright!"

    Aria and Darlene quickly straightened up, ready to set out on an adventure with Leon while eyeing the surroundings for anything of interest to point out.

    "Hmm¡­" Darlene hummed a low contemting tune.

    "Is something the matter, Darlene?" Leon was quick to notice something was on her mind before Darlene responded with a nod.

    "Mm, it''s just that when I heard about this ce being full of treasures and opportunities for Battle Masters to be Battle Kings or even a Battle God, I just didn''t expect the ce to be gloomy like this," Darlene spoke her mind.

    "Understandable," Leon nodded and said, "I also thought the same, but at the same time, I am not surprised it turned out like this when it is called the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

    "Still, I wonder where this Eternal Night Secret Realm is located?" Aria questioned while gazing up at the starry skies.

    "That''s a good question," Leon stated before saying, "I suppose we can only slowly find out as we explore this ce."

    That being said, the trio began trekking through the grassy in in their region that seemingly stretches far and wide as they discussed the Eternal Night Secret Realm.

    The grasses were all surprisingly vibrant and full of vitality, but contrary to ordinary grass found anywhere else, these grasses were all ck with hints of other colors.

    Leon spots tints of red, purple, silver, and blue among the ck grasses, but no matter where he looked, not a single stalk of grass contained three or more colors.

    At the same time, Leon was not familiar with them.

 Chapter 698 - Tomb World

    <h4>Chapter 698 - Tomb World</h4>

    "Nethergrass?"

    Leon shortly found a name for the colored ck grasses on the in after a quick mental search in the Archive.

    ??

    ording to what he found out, Nethergrass only exists in environments with a heavy density of Darkness Profound Energy.

    Back in his past life, the only ce with such Darkness Profound Energy could only be found in the Divine Demon Region, the north region of the Divine Realm, a ce forbidden by most races beside demons.

    It was no surprise that all herbs local to such a ce were foreign to him.

    Leon shortly crouched down and harvested a few stalks of Nethergrass with tints of red glows on its tips, causing Aria and Darlene to pause beside him and nce over curiously.

    "Is there something special about these ck grasses, Leon?" Aria asked.

    "Un," Leon nodded before he said, "But rather than special, I''d say it is simply interesting. Have you heard about the Law of Devouring?"

    "The Law of Devouring?" Aria muttered, taken aback before she furrowed her brows and asked, "The Law of Devouring is a Higher-order Law of Darkness, right? But what does it have to do these ck grasses?"

    "These stalks of Nethergrass contain the power of devouring, allowing them to devour other elements and absorb them. Nevertheless, the power of devouring is so minuscule, these stalks of Nethergrass can only devour a single type of element each," Leon exined.

    "For example, this stalk of Nethergrass with red tips contains some fire attributes after devouring fire elements, while these blue tips contain water attributes after devouring water elements."

    That being said, Leon had yet to find a usage for the Nethergrass.

    Their ability to devour specific types of energy seemed helpful in cultivation somehow, but he had yet to figure out if they can be used for pill concoction in alchemy.

    "I see¡­" Aria uttered while gazing at the stalks of Nethergrass in Leon''s hands.

    After a moment, she furrowed her brows and said with a frown, "From what I can see so far, this Eternal Night Secret Realm seems to benefit demons more than it does humans."

    "Well, we''ve only seen one part of it so far. Perhaps there will be something useful to us in other areas," Leon said before adding, "Although I doubt it will be much different if it''s called the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

    "Still, the Battle Masters all utilize Darkness Profound Energy to cultivate their bodies, so this sort of environment is also perfect for their cultivation."

    That being said, none of the three practices the Dark Continent''s body forging methods, which is why Aria could not see the benefit in them.

    A few minutes, Aria knitted her brows and muttered, "I wonder how far this field of Nethergrass is going to extend."

    "We can only find out once we reach the end of it¡ªwhenever that is," Leon replied.

    "More importantly, looking at the alignment of stars in the skies, it doesn''t seem we are still on Gaia, but at the same time, I don''t think we left Gaia either¡­ How strange¡­"

    "There seems to be something up ahead!" Darlene suddenly tugged Leon''s sleeve and pointed into the distance ahead.

    "Hm? Let''s check it out."

    A few momentster, the trio arrived in front of arge b of stone embedded in the ground with intricated carvings on its surface, seemingly in anguage foreign to both Gaia and the Divine Realm.

    "What is this? A gravestone?" Aria wondered with surprise before asking, "Can you tell what is written on it, Leon?"

    Leon shook his head.

    "These aren''t runic symbols, and they don''t look like your average demon characters either¡­" Leon shortly stated with a hard gaze while studying the intricate engravings before saying, "They feel more ancient¡­ a more primalnguage of the demons, perhaps?"

    Shortly after, Leon noticed Darlene''s contemtive expression before asking, "Do you know something, Darlene?"

    "I don''t understand what is written, but if I am not wrong, this should be a tombstone," Darlene stated.

    "Yeah¡­ We kind of established that already," Leon smiled wryly before saying, "But you seem to know something else about it?"

    "Eh?" Darlene gazed back at Leon with surprise before she asked, "The chief and Venerable Shamans haven''t told hubby about what a tombstone in the Eternal Night Secret Realm signifies?"

    "No," Leon replied with a frown before saying, "I didn''t have time to ask them about everything rted to the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

    "Oh¡­" Darlene nodded with understanding.

    "Each tombstone in the Eternal Night Secret Realm signifies that there''s a hidden space with a trial in the area, containing rich rewards if we can clear them¡ª or at least, that is what I heard," Darlene added unconfidently.

    It was just bits and pieces of information that she had gathered from the rumors and records she had read when she was still working in the pce.

    "I see¡­" Leon''s eyes quickly flickered thoughtfully as he repeated softly, "Each tombstone signifies a trial with rewards in the area, huh?"

    "That is to say that the Eternal Night Secret Realm is full of these tombstones?" Leon seemingly questioned himself with a deep pondering look before muttering, "Tombstones would usually mean there''s a tomb¡­"

    "And if there''s a tomb, then there is bound to be someone buried inside along with their treasures¡­ So this means the so-called trial is just oveing the trapsid by the tomb owner to rob their treasures¡­?"

    In other words, the Eternal Night Secret Realm was one Tomb World.

    At the same time, Aria also seemed to have understood something from Leon''s words before she uttered, "Full of tombs¡­ This would make this ce seem like a¡­"

    "A Tomb World? Exactly that," Leon nodded.

    Being unfamiliar with the term, Darlene was quick to ask, "What''s a Tomb World?"

    "Exactly as it sounds, it''s a world full of tombs. However, these tombs are purposely constructed by their tomb owners when they know they are about to die or going to die for the purpose of entering eternal rest along with their treasures."

    "A Tomb World only exists when a mighty powerhouse with many loyal followers and subordinates pass away¡­ As such, all tombs in a Tomb World are usually affiliated to a single power or big faction," Leon exined.

    "Nevertheless, the real question is whose tombs are these?"

 Chapter 699 - Hidden Formation

    <h4>Chapter 699 - Hidden Formation</h4>

    "Looking at the dense presence of Darkness Profound Energy in this Eternal Night Secret Realm, I would say it belongs to a demon¡ªor at least, a cultivator of the darkness attribute. Furthermore, he would have to be at the Divine King Realm or higher," Aria spected.

    Divine Cultivators would have sessfully formed their inner world at the start of Divine Origin Realm, but only at the Divine King Realm would the inner world be stable enough to sustain life.

    ??

    "Divine King Realm, huh?" Leon muttered with narrowed eyes before he said, "If the Eternal Night Secret Realm is the inner world of a fallen divine powerhouse at the Divine King Realm or beyond it, then this world could be anywhere."

    Just like an interspatial ring that could contain varying sizes of storage space inside depending on its grade, the Eternal Night Secret Realm could appear as a regr pill to the outside yet contain the size of an entire world not inferior to Gaia or greater within.

    As such, Leon did not know how far they were transported to enter the Eternal Night Secret Realm and would not know where to begin searching for it directly the next time.

    However, he suddenly recalled that the two seniors in the center of the world mentioned that Gaia was a prison world sealed by a Celestial Conqueror.

    In that case, the location of the Eternal Night Secret Realm should exist somewhere within Gaia.

    Although it could be any random pebble on the side of the road, Leon suspected that the object containing the Eternal Night Secret Realm was most likely hidden in the dark clouds of the Dark Continent somewhere.

    Nevertheless, that was not important to think about all that.

    Leon shook his head and said, "Let''s look for the tomb entrance."

    "Mm!" Aria and Darlene nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon spread out his divine sense and attempted to sweep the area below the ground surface.

    However, his divine sense was obstructed before it could seep through the ground, causing his brows to knit together.

    "Is there a problem?" the attentive Aria quickly noticed.

    "Not really," Leon shook his head before casually replying, "I was just trying to scout the ground, but my divine sense got obstructed by the Nethergrass''s power of devouring."

    "It''s not very strong, but with so many Nethergrass in this area, they basically form a barrier that interferes with any form of spying that tries to get past it."

    "Should we uproot all these Nethergrass then?" Darlene suggested while ncing down at the field of ck grasses surrounding the tombstone.

    "Logically speaking, that method would indeed resolve the inference problem. However, this Eternal Night Secret Realm is supposedly very dangerous. We don''t know what trap could be triggered as a result of uprooting this field of Nethergrass," Leon stated.

    "Perhaps it will also trigger a mechanism to destroy the tomb itself. It won''t hurt to be prudent in our action and look for the tomb entrance with alternative methods. Perhaps, this is also part of the trial to see whether we are worthy of the treasures."

    "But¡­ hubby just plucked a few stalks of Nethergrass a moment ago, and nothing bad seemed to happen," Darlene mentioned with a puzzled look.

    "Un, I did," Leon nodded and said, "But that was quite careless of me. Luckily, I''ve only taken a few and not a lot. Otherwise, we would not have known what could hit us."

    "Treasures aren''t usually left unguarded."

    "Only you would see these grass as treasures," Aria giggled softly as she threw a jab at Leon for being too cautious.

    "Aren''t you being too cautious, Leon?"

    "I would rather be too cautious than lose either of you due to a stupid of mine that could have been avoided," Leon stated seriously.

    Aria and Darlene opened their mouths before closing them again shortly, unable to refute Leon''s words.

    Nevertheless, they smiled slightly, feeling warm inside.

    "I suppose making a mess around here would also leave traces behind that could be tracked by the demons and put us in an unfavorable situation," Aria mentioned.

    Recalling therge number of demons entering the Eternal Night Secret Realm, it was best to stay under their radar or only confront smallpanies.

    Being targeted by the entire group of demons would mean certain doom.

    Sometimeter, Leon and the girls studied the tombstone for a clue, but to no avail.

    "There seem to be four white gemstones embedded in the tombstone, but I''m not sure if we are meant to do anything with them or not." Darlene inserted her opinion.

    The four gemstones did seem suspicious.

    Leon and Aria shortly focused on the four gemstones, but they failed to produce a response from the four gemstones despite their efforts in touching them, attempting to remove them, and even instill energy into them.

    "Maybe we can find a clue among the Nethergrass," Leon stated.

    "The Nethergrass?" Aria muttered before asking, "What kind of clue can we even find from the Nethegrass?"

    Leon frowned.

    At a nce, there was nothing special about the unassuming Nethergrass and their absorbed elemental attribute.

    But upon careful observation, Leon could see them forming an intricate pattern and share a special rtionship with the tombstone when grouped into their matching elements.

    The Nethergrass with darkness, fire, water, and wind attributes each formed an iplete runic symbol around the four directions of the tombstone.

    The runic symbols were all iplete due to a few stalks of Nethergrass with mismatching elemental attributes in each of them.

    "This¡­ this a formation that makes use of heaven and earth''s natural resources," Leon muttered with narrowed eyes, drawing Aria and Darlene''s attention over.

    "Did you figure something out, Leon?" Aria asked with surprise, not expecting him to discover any clue from the Nethergrass.

    "Un," Leon nodded and said, "I understand the trick now. There''s actually a hidden formation that we have toplete. "This might be the reason why we can uproot some stalks of Nethergrass without any problem."

    As Leon exined, he removed the mismatched stalks of Nethergrass from the runic symbol and nted the correct Nethergrass with matching attributes.

    Rumble¡­!

    The four runic symbols quickly lit up the moment they werepleted, followed by the four gemstones lighting up with each color of the four elements before the ground rumbled.

    The big tombstone shortly sank into the ground before an entrance to the underground tomb was revealed.

    "Bingo!" Leon smiled.

 Chapter 700 - Eternal Night Demon Emperor

    <h4>Chapter 700 - Eternal Night Demon Emperor</h4>

    Aria and Darlene shortly appeared beside Leon before they nced inside the tomb entrance curiously.

    "To think that the tomb entrance was this close to us. With this much distance between us, we could have broken inside with force if we knew," Aria said with surprise.

    ??

    "Un, yeah," Leon nodded before he suddenly said, "Except, like I said earlier, there could be hidden mechanisms to destroy the tomb if we had forced our way in."

    "In the records of tomb raiding, the instances of hidden tombs copsing due to forceful entries that do not conform with the rules of the tomb are quitemon."

    "True¡­" Aria nodded.

    There does seem to be information such cases within Aria White''s memories as she silently perused them.

    "These fallen experts are already dead, yet they go through to such lengths just to keep others from getting their hands on their treasures. I must say that they must have all been greedy people when they were alive," Aria spat.

    Leon smiled wryly and said, "Perhaps."

    "However, some of these tombs are designed with challenging trials¡ªnot to keep others away from their treasures but to find sessors worthy of inheriting them."

    "Anyway, let us head inside and see what awaits us ahead," Leon shortly urged.

    "Mm."

    "Okay!"

    The party of three shortly took the flight of stairs leading down into the darkness of the tomb entrance.

    Swish, swish~!

    Two rows of green ghostfire suddenly burst into life, hovering on either side eerily and illuminated the passage while giving it an ominous and gloomy vibe the moment they step foot inside.

    Darlene subconsciously moved closer to Leon and held onto the right side of his clothes.

    When Aria noticed this small action of hers, even though she was not afraid, she also moved closer held the left side of Leon''s clothes.

    At the same time, Leon nced left and right at these two before he smiled wryly without speaking a word, thinking it was not a good situation to say anything.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In another part of the Eternal Night Secret Realm, the surroundings were simrly filled with Nethergrass across the field.

    However, the Battle God Pce group in the area headed north under the lead of their young master, passing several tombstones that did not seem of interest to them¡ªor at least, to their young master.

    "Young Master, these are all tombs with hidden treasures inside of them. Are we going to ignore them all?" an Extremity-rank Battle Master asked, seemingly reluctant to leave so many goods behind and unexcavated.

    "ording to the pce''s records, these tombs only belong to the lowest level of demon servants and subordinates that followed the Eternal Night Demon Emperor. Therefore, there''s no need to waste our time on their tombs," Zion stated calmly with hands linked behind his back.

    When the Extremity-rank Battle Master heard this, he smiled wryly.

    "Even the lowest level of demon servants and subordinates under the Eternal Night Demon Emperor were all Arch Demons, Young Master," the Extremity-rank Battle Master mentioned.

    However, the young master remained uninterested.

    "The inheritance of Arch Demons are only worth looking into if you only want to reach the Battle King Realm. However, my ambition is much greater than that. Only a Demon Lord-level tomb or higher will interest me."

    "Since there is someone back at the Battle God Pce who seeks to harm me, it is imperative that I grow much stronger¡ªas to not fall for their schemes again. These Arch Demon-level tombs are only a waste of my time and talents," Zion stated, narrowing his eyes with a cold glint.

    He had always been well-behaved and friendly to everyone in the Battle God Pce, yet he was still harmed by someone, whether it was due to jealousy of his talents or for something much bigger.

    Either way, the person was malicious and had to pay for their deeds.

    "Young Master is right," the Extremity-rank Battle Master was surprised before he nodded subserviently in agreement and said, "It was this subordinate who was being short-sighted."

    "Each time the Eternal Night Secret Realm is opened, the amount of time spent inside is all different. However, one thing we can be sure about is that our time here is limited. As such, we should be going after the best treasures and resources here."

    "Right," another Extremity-rank Battle Master agreed before mentioning, "We also have the demons to worry about. If they find the Demon King-level tombs or even the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s tomb first, we would not be able to get close."

    "But if the Demon King-level and Demon Emperor-level tombs are all surrounded by demons, we will not be able to escape. We might even be forced to leave empty-handed if they get there first," said an Extremity-rank Battle Master wearing a horned helmet.

    The Extremity-rank Battle Masters began debating between the pros and cons of going after the highest level tombs back and forth while their young master listened silently.

    "Enough."

    After some time, Zion demanded silence before the group of Extremity-rank Battle Masters quickly stopped speaking and shifted their attention to their young master.

    "It seems that promised treasures within this Eternal Night Secret Realm have blinded you all from the most important point here," Zion gazed at his subordinates solemnly with the ir of a natural leader.

    "It''s not up for debate whether we are going for the highest level tombs or not. We ARE going for them. Do not forget that we are from the Battle God Pce, the strongest power in the Infertile ins."

    "While it is not our duty to safeguard humanity, I do believe we all have a certain level of responsibility to carry it out. As such, we are not just going after the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance. We are also trying to stop the demons from iming it and be a huge threat to everyone! Understood?!"

    "Yes, Young Master!" the group of Extremity-rank Battle Masters answered in unison with respect and veneration after they were enlightened.

    Their young master understood the bigger picture.

 Chapter 701 - Recorded Projection

    <h4>Chapter 701 - Recorded Projection</h4>

    Leon, Aria, and Darlene continued to follow the trail of gloomy green ghostfire leading them deeper and deeper underground.

    Surprisingly, the location of the underground tomb was deeper than they anticipated, being at 500 feet below the surface.

    ??

    Shortly after they finally reached the bottom, a tall blue gate sealed the tomb''s entrance with two ck demon statues guarding it on either side.

    Thud¡­

    As if one of their steps activated a pressure te in the ground, the underground space was filled with the noise of turning gears.

    Swoosh!

    A sh of bright white light blinded them temporarily before a giant blue demon with four arms and three eyes suddenly appeared between the two demon guardian statutes.

    Its towering presence was even more significant than two ck statues.

    At the same time, its abrupt appearance immediately made Darlene retreat behind Leon, while Aria only took a step back with a guarded and rmed expression.

    "Rx, the demon isn''t real. This is just a light projection, which is quitemon back in the Divine Realm," Leon assured after seeing right through the trick immediately.

    "These light projections are usually used for leaving behind a recorded message, so it seems that this demon has something to say."

    Having said that, Aria quickly calmed down while Darlene still wore an apprehensive look, but it was much better than her initial fright.

    "This demon is the owner of this tomb?" Darlene inquired cautiously.

    "Most likely."

    Shortly after the towering blue demon gaze down on them for some time as if it was the real thing, the blue demon began to speak.

    "Thieving rats dare to intrude into the resting ce of I, Paragon ckfrost, and disturb my eternal slumber?! My treasures are not easy to take! If you want them, pass my trial and deem them worthy of thee! Should you fail, you can stay and keep this Saintpany!"

    "But don''t think it is so bad to stay and keep this Saintpany in eternal rest. It is your honor to keep this Saintpany! I, Paragon ckfrost, had the honor of apanying his imperial majesty, the Eternal Night Demon Emperor, on his conquest."

    "We may have failed to break out of this prison world, but our sessors will eventually seed. Why you may ask? Because this world is doomed, destined to be destroyed¡ªalong with the rest of Primal Chaos. It is the natural cycle of the world, the cycle of destruction and creation."

    "It matters not what race you are,ing in search of treasures, once you inherit my treasures, this Saint entrusts you to carry on the great mission of all demons; to destroy the world and continue the perpetuity of the great cycle¡­"

    The record projection of the blue-colored Arch Demon, Paragon ckfrost, continued to ther and preach demon values for some time as if it was a vain attempt at brainwashing to convert them to the demonic way.

    Leon, Aria, and Darlene listened patiently initially, but as the recorded projection of the blue-colored Arch Demon rambled on and on, their patience grew thin.

    Even so, they persevered.

    Eventually, the recorded projection of blue-colored Arch Demon''s long speech reached its end and faded into nothing, causing the brightness of the space to dull slightly.

    "What do you think there was any truth to that demon''s words, Leon?" Aria turned to Leon and asked.

    "Well, what can I say?" Leon shrugged with a smile and said, "The Arch Demon was very eloquent and spoke with great reasons. So, perhaps, there is some truth to its words."

    "Huh? Don''t tell me you actually believe it? I think it was just trying to brainwash us into following the demonic way," Aria said with a frown.

    "I think so too¡­ There is nothing good about demons¡­" Darlene said before she recalled the ughtered vige and softly added, "Probably¡­"

    "There''s a difference between believing it and agreeing with it, no?" Leon shrugged again with hands raised helplessly before he said, "If you think about it, the demon''s logic was too well-constructed to beplete nonsense."

    Havingprehended the Law of Nihility, Leon understood that Primal Chaos was born from nothing and will eventually return to nothing.

    It was the natural life and death cycle of Primal Chaos itself.

    But what he understood from Paragon ckfrost''s words is that the demons were supposedly born to purposely destroy Primal Chaos and push forward the formation of a new Primal Chaos, an attempt at starting the next life cycle of the universe like a phoenix rising from its ashes.

    "Anyone can speak with reason and logic, but if there''s no evidence to back them, their words are no different to the nonsense of a madman," Aria stated.

    "Evidence, huh?" Leon muttered before he chuckled shortly.

    "Although we say that a new Primal Chaos will be born after the current Primal Chaos ends with or without the demons'' intervention, there''s no evidence to prove that it will either. How can there be any evidence about something that hasn''t happen?"

    "This¡­" Aria had no words to refute.

    On a topic where opinions are divided without a definite answer, the truth could easily be either and usually bottoms down to a matter of belief.

    Leon smiled at Aria''s silence before he said, "As the universe infinitely expands, everything bes more distant from one another."

    "So, ording to the demon''s logic, we can understand it as poking a hole in a balloon and cause it to dete with hopes of allowing it to inte again rather than letting the ballon inte beyond the point of no return."

    "No one can be sure that a new balloon will magically appear after the current balloon pops. So in a sense, the demons have a pretty noble goal in continuing the perpetuity of Primal Chaos and have thought much harder into the purpose of their existencepared to us, humans."

    "Still, all life in Primal Chaos is likely to perish in both instances, and even if we understood all this, it doesn''t change anything. Our purpose remains the same, and that is to grow stronger and survive life''s obstacles together!"

    As Leon said this, he marched up to therge gate and pushed it open with both hands.

 Chapter 702 - Trial Of Freezing Mist

    <h4>Chapter 702 - Trial Of Freezing Mist</h4>

    Rumble¡­!

    The heavy gate grinding along the ground''s surface caused the area to tremble as it was slowly pushed open by Leon with brute strength.

    Aria smiled shortly before following after Darlene.

    Her husband was right.

    Regardless of the truth that lies at the end of Primal Chaos, it did not matter to them. What''s important is to grow strong and ovee the tribtions of life.

    As Darlene followed behind Leon closely, she was confused about the entire topic. The subject seemed too advanced for her to follow along.

    Even so, she understood one thing from Aria and Leon''s discussion¡ªthat the world was ending, supposedly.

    "Is the universe really ending? How do we even know that?" Darlene inquired doubtfully before saying, "I didn''t even know that was possible¡­"

    "You can say that we have overestimated the universe''s ability to live long years and have forgotten the fragility of life. We, as humans, should have known about that best, but I guess everyone didn''t expect the universe to be included. So yeah, Primal Chaos ising to an end," Leon replied.

    "I have seen the dimension crack that will eventually bring death to this world and the rest of Primal Chaos at the center. On the other side of it lies an endless sea of chaos that swallows all material existence, reducing them to nothingness."

    "When did you get the time to go there?" Darlene''s eyes widened with surprise at Leon''s im before quickly adding, "Is that even possible?"

    "Physically, hard to say. At least, at our current level, it is not possible to go there," Leon shook his head and said, "However, my soul has reached a certain level of quality toe in contact with the world''sw and was summoned during my meditation."

    "There, I also met two seniors, the Celestial Ruler of Gaia, Celestial Earthshaker, and a much older World Tree, Saint Voidme."

    Aria did not seem surprised hearing this as Leon has mentioned them to her before.

    However, Darlene was immediately taken aback before she looked at Leon doubtfully and asked, "Hubby, you¡­ didn''t fall asleep and dream all this up, right?"

    "¡­"

    Leon was speechless.

    Nevertheless, Darlene suddenly felt cold from the quick drop in temperature, causing her body to shiver before Leon pulled her closer and kept her warm.

    "Anyway, let''s focus on this trial," Leon stated before saying, "A slight distraction could cost us our lives here. After all, this trial is supposed to possess some level of danger¡ªbut what kind of danger exactly, we will find out soon enough."

    Bang!

    The entrance suddenly shut tight behind them, sealing them inside the tomb and cutting off the little bit of light there was, plunging the tomb into darkness.

    Snap!

    Leon shortly snapped his fingers before a wisp of intense mes lit up on his index finger and reilluminated the dark space.

    Despite his efforts to improve their visibility, their visions were shortly obscured by freezing cold mist flooding into their surroundings.

    Aria and Leon easily resisted the cold, but Darlene had zero immunity to the cold with her regr physique, resulting in her body shivering again despite the warmthing from Leon''s body.

    Leon frowned before erecting a mental barrier to ward off the freezing mist from contacting her body.

    A few momentster, Darlene recovered from the cold and expressed her gratitude with a sneaky peck on the cheek before she shortly asked, "Where did all this cold mist suddenlye from?"

    "We probably stepped on a formation te upon our entry and activated some formations in this space," Aria stated, stealing the words right out of Leon''s mouth just as he opened them.

    Leon shook his head with a wry smile.

    Nevertheless, the three of them continued to advance as the freezing mist became denser and denser, turning their field of vision into a nket of whiteness.

    At the same time, the temperature dropped to a terrifying degree which could instantly freeze a regr person.

    Without the mental barrier protecting Darlene, she would have been in serious trouble.

    As ayer of ice began to form over the surface of Aria and Leon''s body, clothes, flesh, and all, Leon shortly paused his steps.

    "This seemingly ordinary cold mist formation is turning into a bigger problem than I initially anticipated. I''m afraid that the power of this formation has already reach Tier-4 or possibly higher," Leon mentioned.

    "If we cannot break free from this formation, we are going to be in trouble."

    "Leon, I have a feeling there is more than just one formation running in this space. A cold mist formation to obscure our vision and possibly a confusion formation to mess with our sense of directions," Aria stated with a worried look.

    "Right," Leon nodded and said, "Thebination of these two types of formations that obscure our vision and mess with our directions seem to be a pretty standard form in most tombs."

    "Even the Divine Ice Phoenix Pce back in the Divine Realm have these two formations set up around their sect on arger scale to ward off most cultivators from trespassing in their territory."

    "I didn''t expect this demon to be quite adept in the art of formations, though. So I''m a bit surprised and unprepared for this," Aria knitted her brows and said, "It''s going to be difficult to break this formation."

    "Yeah¡­" Leon nodded and calmly said, "I do have some attainment in formations but unraveling a formation is much trickier than creating one. Still, it''s not like the situation has reached a desperate point. So there''s no need to fret¡ªyet."

    Given the number of trump cards in his arsenal, Leon was not worried about their safety. If they could not ovee the formations, he could just take everyone inside the Worldspace.

    Even so, if the first tomb they entered already has a difficulty of this level for their trial, how hard would the other tombs be?

    "If I''m not wrong, this is only an Arch Demon-level tomb. The Eternal Night Secret Realm supposedly has Demon Lord-level tombs and Demon King-level tombs as well," Darlene informed as her eyes flickered with enlightenment.

    It was most likely due to how difficult the tomb trials are that most tomb still has their functions and treasures intact despite the number of times the secret realm opened and people entering it.

 Chapter 703 - Law Breaker

    <h4>Chapter 703 - Law Breaker</h4>

    "And supposedly, the highest-level tomb, the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s tomb, is said to be the most difficult to ovee," Darlene added.

    "However, it is also rumored that the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s remnant power dwells inside. Whoever ovees the trial will obtain the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s unrivaled strength, bing the new Eternal Night Demon Emperor and rule over the demons."

    "Is that so?" Leon muttered before shaking his head with a helpless expression.

    "If Arch Demon-level Tombs are already this difficult, Demon Lord-level Tombs and Demon King-level Tombs are just suicide, let alone going after the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s Tomb."

    "Right."

    "Yeah."

    Just as Darlene and Aria agreed with Leon''s words, he abruptly paused with a sudden thought.

    ''Hold on. Does the Eternal Night Demon Emperor even have a tomb in this ce? It''s more usible to say that the entire Eternal Night Secret Realm could be considered the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s tomb,'' Leon thought.

    In that case, the greatest treasure was the Eternal Night Secret Realm itself.

    If it can be refined, they would have unlimited ess and time to attempt all the trials and collect their treasures without being threatened and ambushed by demons.

    "Refine the Eternal Night Secret Realm, huh?" Leon softly muttered thoughtfully.

    Aria overheard him before she was stunned for a moment¡ªonly for her eyes to beam brightly in the next.

    "If we can confirm that the Eternal Night Secret Realm is the inner world of the Eternal Night Demon Emperor, it is indeed possible to refine it," Aria stated before frowning shortly after.

    "However, the difficulty, not to mention the danger involved, will be exceedingly high."

    "Yeah¡­" Leon nodded before he calmly said, "However, such is the way of the world. There is no such thing as a free lunch. There are no risks without gains, and opportunities without their apanying dangers."

    "Nevertheless, we should worry about clearing this Arch Demon-level Tomb Trial before we can worry about other matters."

    As Leon spoke, he shortly spread out his divine sense to scout his surroundings.

    However, he was immediately met with bacsh from numerous points interfering with his divine sense, causing him to quickly retract his divine sense.

    "Even divine sense has been countered in this space. Seems like we can only rely on our wits and knowledge to ovee this trial," Leon frowned.

    "How do we do that?" Darlene asked.

    "If we want to break free of this freezing mist formation and its supplementary formations messing with our senses, we have to locate the eye of the formation and deactivate it," Leon stated.

    "Of course, if it cannot be deactivated through regr methods, we can still forcefully deactivate it by destroying the eye of the formation. However, I would rather not resort to this. There is value and merit in studying an advanced formation like this."

    If he could study these formations that he suspected to be at least Tier-4 or even Tier-5, it could raise his formation skills quickly and allow him to have an easier time dealing with simr situations in the future should they arise.

    "But the problem is locating the formation''s eye," Aria knitted her brows and stated, "We have been walking straight for some time now, but we might not actually be walking straight at all. In fact, I am sure that we have been walking in circles."

    "Unless there is a massive reserve of energy, it''s impossible to continue powering the formations of suchrge scale. As such, this trial space we are currently trapped in shouldn''t be as big as it seems."

    Leon nced at Aria silently with a nod.

    Back in the Divine Realm, Aria White used to carry out tasks for his father, the Divine Medicine King, and travel the world searching for rare herbs for alchemy refinement.

    As such, he was not surprised that Aria seemed experienced in tomb-raiding since she had ess to Aria White''s memories.

    "It''s a bit unfortunate that we are currently pressed for time due to the danger of this situation," Aria shortly sighed and said, "Otherwise, I could make use of this environment to improve my cultivation."

    "Once I be a Tier-5 Formation Master, I will help you set up a suitable ice-lightning environment to cultivate in," Leon promised.

    "Mm," Aria nodded with a smile.

    Shortly after, her gaze sharpened as she carefully observed her obscured surroundings for any point of interest.

    At the same time, Leon increased the size of his me with the intent to snuff out the freezing mist by using a conflicting element to sh with it while keeping all three of them warm.

    However, fighting a battle of attrition was unwise, considering he did not know how big the energy reserves for the formations are, not to mention it would exhaust him.

    Suddenly, Leon paused with a sudden realization.

    "I''m an idiot," he smiled self-mockingly and said, "We don''t need to find the formation''s eye. We can still deactivate the formation bypletely exhausting its energy reserves."

    There was no need for Leon to follow traditional methods of break formations when he had something as overbearing and unparalleled as the Nihility Law.

    "Aria, protect Darlene from the cold for me."

    "Alright."

    Aria agreed before Leon transferred Darlene over for her protection as she warded off the cold mist with her control over the Ice Law.

    Shortly after, Leon created some distance between him and the twodies before he sharpened his gaze at the surrounding mist.

    ''Energy or matter, all things in existence are sustenance that can empower me!''

    Swoosh¡ª!

    A strong field of nihility was shortly formed around Leon, transforming himself into a powerful ck hole that swallows any and everything around it him.

    Upon contact with nihility, the cold mist disintegrated into its most primal and truest form of energy, True Grandmist Energy, before they were absorbed and stored inside Leon''s ck Vortex Space.

    At the same time, the power of nihility even affected the formations'' ability to function properly. Any and allws were rendered useless in front of nihility.

    As such, Leon decided to call his most basic skill of nihility [Law Breaker].

    A few momentster, the cold mist in the area was noticeably reduced, increasing visibility to the point that one end of the open space could be seen.

    "Leon, I found the formation''s eye!" Aria quickly informed as soon as she spotted it after the veil was lifted.

    Even so, Leon did not stop absorbing the surrounding energy and continued to fatten himself up on energy reserves.

    "Don''t deactivate it yet. Let me absorb for a bit longer," Leon stated.

    There were not many chances to freely absorb quality energy like these. Thus, Leon intended to make the best out of it.

    Several momentster, the cold mist became so thin that even the entrance to the next floor was revealed.

    "Alright. Deactivate it, Aria."

    "Mm!"

    Aria immediatelyplied after receiving the cue from Leon and struck a slightly raised red te in the ground, causing it to click into ce and obstructed the energy circuit underneath, forcing the formation''s deactivation.

    A few moments after that, the cold mist fully dispersed by Leon raised his me and illuminated the entire cave that was no bigger than a few hundred feet in diameter.

    Aria studied the size of the cave and nodded, thinking that the cave was not big like she had anticipated.

    Shortly after, Leon returned to her side while observing the intricate markings around the cave before he said, "Seems like I can only study the formation at ater date."

    The circuit details have been purposely hidden below the surface.

    If Leon wanted to study the inner workings of the formation, he would have to overturn the ce and pry the ground open.

    "Come, let us head down to the next area," Leon urged before saying, "I don''t think this demon''s tomb will only have one obstacle for us."

    After receiving consent from Aria and Darlene, Leon took the lead and reached the entrance to the lower floor before heading down the dark staircase while the brightly lit me on his index finger.

    "I''m guessing there will be at least another two trials in between us and the demon''s guarded treasures," Ariamented along the way before she added, "And there''s a chance these trials will be even more dangerous.

    "Most likely," Leon nodded and said, "It''s pretty standard for tomb owners to set up at least three trials, and thest trial before the inheritance is usually always the most difficult."

    "I wonder how the others overcame these trials in the past openings of the secret realm. Do you have any idea, Darlene?"

    Darlene was slightly surprised before she shook her head, "It''s been 200 years since thest time anyone from the Darkmoon Tribe entered the secret realm, and most of them have died in and outside of it."

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered.

    For Battle Masters to enter formation-based trials without a hint of knowledge in formations, it was the same as walking into a death trap.

    As such, Leon did not seem too surprised by Darlene''s answer.

    Shortly after reaching the bottom of the staircase, Leon and the twodies quickly discovered anotherrge gate guarded by two tall statues¡ªmuch like the first time they entered.

    "This again," Aria raised an eyebrow and muttered, "I wonder if there''s going to be another recorded projection."

    Click!

    As if her words jinxed it, she unwittingly stepped on a pressure pad on the ground and activated the hidden mechanism set in ce before the same blue-colored Arch Demon appeared once more.

    "Speak of the devil."

 Chapter 704 - Reaching The Third Trial

    <h4>Chapter 704 - Reaching The Third Trial</h4>

    "If you''ve made it here, it means you have some capability. Nevertheless, my treasures are not that easy to take. Only the worthy can have it, and you have yet to prove that. Now is not toote to turn back."

    "Should you venture forward, only greater danger awaits¡ªbut only the fearless can inherit my treasures and carry out the great mission of demons. There is no ce for cowards among our ranks¡­"

    The recorded projection of the blue-color Arch Demon began speaking before it started to preach the noble goal of destroying the world once more.

    Noticing that the contents were, more or less, the same as the first time, Leon waved his hand and ended the recorded projection before it couldplete its run.

    "There''s no need to continue listening to it. Let us continue onward with the trial," Leon casually said to the twodies.

    "Mm."

    "Understood."

    The twodies nodded inpliance before Aria suddenly suggested, "We should advance with caution this time. No doubt, this trial will be like the blue demon said¡ªmore dangerous."

    "And we don''t know what kind of trial it will be either, so it won''t hurt for us to be more careful, lest something goes wrong."

    "Un, you''re right," Leon nodded calmly and said, "Let me head in and clear the trial first. You two stay here and wait for me."

    As soon as he finished speaking, Leon pushed open therge gates and barged inside before Aria could reply, causing her to be stunned with words stuck on the tips of her tongue.

    "I did not mean it like that¡­" Aria sighed.

    Nevertheless, the second trial was proven to be of no challenge for Leon as he waltzed inside with the power of nihility surrounding him, rendering all formations andws inactive and ineffective.

    At the same time, Leon quickly figured out the content of the second trial and realized it would have been a bit tricky to clear through standard methods¡ªmethods that did not make use of his overbearing Law of Nihility.

    It was a dream trial.

    If they had entered the second trial unprepared, the illusion and sound formations would have affected their minds and force them to fall into a dream that they may never wake up from.

    Seeing a few skeletal bones lying around, Leon could tell that someone people have entered and even reached the second trial¡ªbut no further than that.

    "The people who came here most likely starved to death after getting trapped in the endless dream created by the formations of this second trial¡­" Leon spected as he studied the human bones.

    "Also, if the first trial''s formations were only suspected to be Tier-5 formations, then the second trial''s formations are definitely at Tier-5."

    "That means there is a chance that thest trial will make use of Tier-6 formations¡­" Leon frowned in thought.

    Tier-6 formations could produce the power to threaten even Celestials and Divine Origin Realm Practitioners.

    "The Nihility Law should not have a problem negating the effects¡­ Though if it''s a Tier-7 formation, then I am not sure anymore if my Nihility Law will still be effective at my current level¡­" Leon contemted.

    Nevertheless, Leon located the eye of the formation and deactivated it indefinitely before it could work its magic.

    Shortly after, Leon headed back outside to fetch Aria and Darlene.

    Only a few minutes had passed since he entered at that point, but it did not make the twodies any less worried when they could not see him.

    "How did it go?" Aria quickly asked upon seeing Leoning out.

    "It''s cleared," Leon held Aria''s hands and gave them a rub with a reassuring smile before he suddenly said seriously, "You made the right call."

    "The second trial was harder to guard against and would have been a bit tricky if we had gone inside together. I would have been fine either way, but the two of you would have been put under a sleeping spell."

    "I see¡­" Aria uttered with surprise.

    Although she did not mean by her previous words for Leon to enter the second trial alone, it seemed to have worked in her favor.

    Nevertheless, she did not like Leon taking on risks alone.

    As such, she shook her head and said with a soft sigh, "I don''t want to burden you, but I don''t want to see you taking on risks alone either¡­ I think we should take on the third trial together."

    "The dangers of the third trial won''t be anything like the first and second trial. These Arch Demon-level Tombs are no joke. You can easily lose your life if you''re not careful."

    "I''m not afraid," Aria stared right into Leon''s eyes with a resolute look.

    "If we cannot even handle an Arch Demon-level Tomb together, then we won''t have any chance in clearing Demon Lord-level Tombs and Demon King-level Tombs."

    "I''m not afraid either," Darlene added despite being the weakest and least capable of them all. She gritted her teeth and said, "At least, I fear being alone even more."

    After looking at the determined looks on both of their faces, Leon knew that he would not be winning any arguments against them.

    As such, he quickly gave in with a sigh and said, "Fine. At least let me take the lead."

    "That''s fine with me."

    Aria and Darlene nced at each other with slight smiles.

    Sometimeter, the group of three passed through the second trial and entered the lower floor of the third trial.

    Without any surprises, the entrance was still guarded by two tall statues and had a recorded projection set in stone.

    Given the hidden dangers of the third trial, Aria made a suggestion to ease Leon''s worries of bringing them along, "Maybe we should listen to the blue demon''s speech this time. Maybe it will contain some useful information or clues regarding the third trial."

    "Alright," Leon nodded and allowed the recorded projection to continue running.

    "I see you have made it this far. It seems I, Paragon ckfrost, will have tomend you for reaching this point. However, this is as far as you go. If you foolishly continue to seek my treasures, the third trial will be your resting ce."

    Contrary to everyone''s expectations, the blue-colored Arch Demon did not try to preach demon values to them but tried to discourage them instead.

    "Seems like this Arch Demon really doesn''t want us to clear the final trial and take away its treasures," Darlene guessed amusedly.

    "So it seems."

    "Doesn''t seem like there was any information we could use to our advantage in the third trial," Aria stated before adding with a frown, "The demon was too stingy and didn''t give us any clue at all."

    "Well, to be honest, this is its tomb, and it doesn''t want anyone taking its treasures. So why would it give us a clue?" Leon shrugged nonchntly, unsurprised by the turn of events, before saying, "It would be weird if it didn''t try to mislead us instead."

    "That makes sense¡­"

    After a few moments, Leon eventually pushed the gates open.

    However, what everyone found on the other side of the gates was not another dark cave waiting to be illuminated but an already lit space that was muchrger than the previous two trial spacebined.

    Multiplempstands softly burned with flickering green mes, giving the space an ominous and gloomy atmosphere, while arge coffin can be seen at the center of the space.

    "I don''t see any path on the end of this big room. Did we reach the end of the tomb already?" Aria muttered with surprise.

    "Maybe the blue demon didn''t have enough resources to build a third trial and was just making ast-ditch effort scare challengers away?" Darlene guessed before suddenly adding, "I can see a coffin in the middle!"

    "It probably belongs to the Arch Demon, but don''t let your guard down," Leon frowned with doubt before he said, "The Arch Demon could have designed the third trial like this to make us careless."

    As they approached the stone coffin slowly with caution, no traps or formations were activated, even after reaching therge coffin.

    Surprised as they were, they took the chance to study therge coffin made entirely of ice, which possessed a frightening coldness that seems to freeze even the surrounding air themselves, spreading cold mist outward ceaselessly.

    Darlene slightly shivered from the coldness in the area before Leon kept her warm to avoid her catching a cold.

    "Leon, take a look over there!" Aria suddenly pointed to the outer edge where the cold mist seemed to gather before she said, "There seem to be quite a few bones piled along the walls!"

    The bones all seemed to vary from hundreds of years to thousands of years, but more importantly, they belonged to both humans and demons!

    "Some of these bones are not that old, and they also belong to humans," Leon furrowed his brows after moving away from the coffin to study them.

    "If I have to guess, some Battle Masters must have reached this ce in the past. However, I cannot tell how exactly did they die¡­"

    There were no damages on the bones, and without any flesh at all, it was impossible to study any wounds that might have been found on the bodies of the fallen humans and demons.

    "Still, we can be certain that danger exists here. Perhaps the third trial requires a certain condition to be met before it can begin," Leon shortly stated solemnly while fixing his gaze on the coffin.

    It was the most suspicious point of interest.

 Chapter 705 - Test Of Courage

    <h4>Chapter 705 - Test Of Courage</h4>

    "An ice coffin, bones, and no further passages¡­" Leon narrowed his eyes and knitted his brows into a frown before he muttered, "Seems like this final trial will be quite dangerous."

    He had an ominous feeling about the ice coffin.

    "Why do I get the feeling that we will have to face the Arch Demon himself if we were to lift his ice coffin?" Darlene questioned with doubt while feeling apprehensive and some dread towards the ice coffin.

    "I am also getting that feeling," Aria added and mentioning a possibility, "What if the Arch Demon is not dead but build this tomb to lure people inside?"

    "What purpose would the Arch Demon achieve by luring people inside his tomb?" Darlene asked with surprise.

    "I don''t know," Aria shook her head before she nced at the bones and said with a frown, "Maybe to eat them or something?"

    "Oh, that seems probable¡­" Darlene thought before Darlene and Aria turned to Leon for his opinion, "What do you think, Leon?"

    "I think you two may be right," Leon agreed with them.

    "Think about it. People have made it to the second trial and this supposed third trial before, yet the entrance to the tomb still required us to solve a riddle to enter. This means that someone has to be responsible for resetting the riddle for the next tomb raider to solve and enter."

    "Now that you mentioned it, I didn''t notice this detail," Aria said with surprise before she quickly frowned, "But if the Arch Demon was responsible for resetting the riddle, he must have another way of getting in and out of this tomb."

    "Or¡­ someone else is responsible for resetting the riddle and that we are just overthinking this entire matter¡­" Leon said with a shake of his head before saying, "All these what-ifs are getting us nowhere."

    "Time is of the essence. We don''t know how close our location is to the secret realm''s official entering location. Thus, we shouldn''t be wasting too much time here, lest we suddenly get surrounded by demons."

    "Then what is our n? Just lift the ice coffin lid? Or should we leave?" Aria asked.

    Leon was silent for a moment as he weighed his choices.

    He had to be careful in consideration of Aria and Darlene''s safety, but at the same time, they did not have the luxury of time to linger in one ce for so long.

    Leon shortly pondered with knitted brows and began thinking back on their previous two trials for some time when he suddenly thought of something and smiled.

    "Yeah, we already came this far to be turning back now."

    As Leon said that, he strolled right up to the ice coffin and began pushing the lid open bravely, causing Aria and Darlene to be startled.

    "Wait, shouldn''t we prepare in the likelihood of facing a Paragon and¡ª"

    Before Aria could finish speaking, the ice coffin lid was fully opened before the eyes of Arch Demon resting inside suddenly snapped open, locking gaze with Leon before the Arch Demon shot a dagger at Leon''s throat.

    However, Leon did not bother dodging, nor did Aria and Darlene even have the time to warn him before the dagger stopped at the tips of his throat.

    A few momentster, the Arch Demon''s eyes snapped shut andid back down inside the ice coffin, returning to its eternal rest.

    The Arch Demon''s body was filled with runic engravings, and not a trace of life could be sensed.

    Aria and Darlene quickly rushed over to Leon''s side before Aria asked with surprise, "Is the Arch Demon dead? How did you know that the Arch Demon wasn''t going to stab your throat with the dagger?"

    "If I had moved the slightest inch, the poison-tipped danger would have definitely gone for my throat without stopping," Leon smiled wryly with a trace of sweat on his forehead.

    The runic arrays within the eyes of the Arch Demon were used to monitor his movements.

    "The Arch Demon has been dead many years. It is only relying on the ice coffin to preserve its body while the power of runes is used to automate it upon certain conditions."

    "But how did you know that the Arch Demon wasn''t going to pierce your throat with its dagger?" Aria asked again.

    "I didn''t," Leon answered honestly before saying, "However, I''ve noticed that through the past two trials and the words spoken by the Arch Demon in the recorded projections, this entire tomb had been a test of courage."

    "So I decided to take a gamble. And as it turned out, I won."

    Smack!

    Aria immediately pped Leon on the chest angrily before she cried, "Are you crazy?! How can you gamble your life like that! You could have died, you know?!"

    She continued to smack Leon''s chest a few more times as sheined before her wrist was grabbed by Leon while he looked back at her warmly with a wry smile.

    "Our lives were already at stake when we decided to challenge this Arch Demon-level Tomb. And if I am not wrong, we couldn''t have left this room without triggering a death trap. So if we wanted to leave, we should have done so before entering the coffin room."

    "The third trial had alreadymenced the moment we decided to step inside. The owners of those bones must have triggered a different death trap after being drawn over by the older bones."

    "I wish you could have at least informed me before you decided to take on such a gamble," Aria said with a soft sigh before pouting, "You nearly had me worried to death."

    "Me too," Darlene added softly.

    Leon smiled lightly and casually asked, "If I had told the two of you, would either of you had let me do what I just did?"

    Aria and Darlene fell silent.

    Evidently, they would have tried to persuade him against such a rash and risky choice instead.

    "Never mind," Leon shook his head and said while gazing at the number of treasures found within the ice coffin, "Let us take a look at our rewards."

    Leon''s eyes quickly sparkled in the next moment.

    The poison-tipped dagger held in the slumbering Arch Demon''s hand, alone, was already a Tier-6 treasure.

 Chapter 706 - Ransacking

    <h4>Chapter 706 - Ransacking</h4>

    "A Tier-6 dagger with a poison-attribute enchantment! This is some good stuff," Leon praised after removing the weapon from the dead Arch Demon''s grasp.

    "However, I am ustomed to using the spear. This weapon is suitable for me," Leon shook his head before turning to Aria and Darlene and asked, "Which one of you want to use this?"

    "A Tier-6 weapon is unlike anything you would have ever used before. The difference between a Tier-6 and Tier-5 far outstrips the difference between Tier-5 and Tier-4 weapons," Leon exined.

    If a Tier-5 weapon was considered a Paragon''s weapon, then Tier-6 weapons belong to Celestials.

    Nevertheless, Aria quickly shook her head and said, "I only use the sword. The dagger is not suitable for me either. But, powerful as this Tier-6 dagger may be, I think Sister Darlene should use it."

    "I think so too," Leon nodded before passing the Tier-6 dagger to Darlene, "Take it, Darlene. It seems this Tier-6 dagger is fated to be used by you."

    "You''re really giving such a precious and powerful to me?" Darlene was stunned before mentioning with concern, "Is that really okay? What happens if I lose it?"

    "No matter how powerful a weapon is, it is useless if we don''t use it," Leon calmly stated before saying, "If you lose it, then forget it. We are bound to find more weapons of such quality if each Arch Demon-level Tombs are like this."

    "Besides, I believe a dagger is the most suitable choice of weapon for it. It''s light and quick to use. Once your Spatial Laws reach a high enough level for you to rip open the fabrics of space and teleport, the two will make a lethalbination."

    "That being said, what''s the current limit of your spatial distortion? Can you rip apart space for great spatial travels yet?" Leon inquired.

    Darlene furrowed her brows before she shook her head and said, "It seems like I can distort space by a great degree within 30 feet range of myself, but I still cannot rip apart space yet."

    "That''s fine. I wasn''t expecting it anyway," Leon said with a smile.

    After all, Spatial Law was also at the 9-star Ranked Awakener Realm. And if he could not rip apart space, then he did not expect Darlene to be able to do it either.

    "The spatial stability in this world is surprisingly sturdy¡ªmost likely due to the seal on the world. As such, ripping apart the fabrics of space will be exceeding difficult within this world. However, you do not need to rip apart space if it''s just short instantaneous travels."

    "Instantaneous travels¡­?" Darlene uttered with surprise before asking, "Is that possible with just bending and distortion space?"

    "Of course!" Leon ascertained confidently.

    "I''ve noticed that you have been using the Spatial Law to bend a singr point, but you know you can bend as many spatial points your mind can handle, right? Only the simplest two-point spatial bending is needed for instantaneous travel."

    "By bending two spatial points together, you can create a pinching effect, following with a single step over and releasing the pinch will slingshot you to the new location instantaneously. It would just feel like a casual step forward for you, but it would appear like a blink to others."

    "This is how instantaneous travel works. Or you can simply call it blinking," Leon exined to Darlene before she was startled.

    She had never thought about such a method before.

    But after Darlene was educated on the use of multi-point spatial bending, she immediately thought of many ways she could use her spatial ability rather than simply curving projectiles.

    "Well, that''s that," Leon ended the topic there before searching inside the ice coffin for the next piece of treasure to take out.

    Practically all of the equipment on the Arch Demon''s corpse was a treasure, even though they cannot bepared to the Tier-6 dagger.

    "These gauntlets, armor, leggings, and boots are all Tier-5. These are some quality defensive equipment. However, this shouldn''t be all there is. At the very least, I expected more treasures than this," Leonmented with a frown.

    "Maybe the rest of the treasures are hidden underneath the Arch Demon''s body," Aria guessed before suggesting, "Maybe we should remove the Arch Demon''s body first before we take a look?"

    "No, wait. Don''t do it," Leon immediately stopped Aria before she could reach her hand into the ice coffin to move the corpse.

    "The entire body is engraved with runes. We don''t know if the Arch Demon set up any other hidden traps. Thus, we need to treat the Arch Demon''s body with respect, lest we trigger a different death trap."

    "Ahh¡­ You''re right, Leon!" Aria agreed with a startled look before she said, "I nearly forgot that we have yet to clear this final trial¡ªor at the very least, there hasn''t been any indication that this trial ended yet."

    "Well, you can also argue that there wasn''t any indication of trial starting either," Leon with a smile while carefully removing the equipment from the Arch Demon''s body.

    "Even the Arch Demon''s body can be considered a treasure. There''s value in studying it, but I''m not sure if there''s any risk in doing so," Leon pondered for a moment before he activated his divine sense.

    However, he sensed nothing, nor did he discover anything under the Arch Demon''s body before he came to a conclusion; the Arch Demon was broke.

    It was the only exnation Leon could think of for the fact that the final trial was in the same room as the tomb owner''s resting ce.

    "You two, step back a bit," Leon shortly instructed before he said, "I''m going to pocket this entire ice coffin and everything in it. We can worry about the spoils after we leave."

    "Alright."

    "Understood."

    Aria and Darlene quicklyplied.

    After Leon stored the entire ice coffin into his Worldspace without triggering a single death trap, he sighed with relief before his eyes fell on the runic tiles on the ground.

    "These runic tiles also have study values¡­ So I should also take them as well," Leon thought before he quickly acted on his decision and started scraping the runic tiles off the ground.

    Half an hourter, they left the tomb after Leon thoroughly ransacked the ce.

 Chapter 707 - Demon Scouts

    <h4>Chapter 707 - Demon Scouts</h4>

    "I can''t believe you didn''t even spare the tiles, Leon! The tomb was basically dismantled by you!" Aria said with an unbelievable look as they exited the tomb.

    Even if it was a demon''s resting ce, Leon had desecrated the Arch Demon''s tomb to the point that even heavens might frown upon him.

    Leon smiled wryly and said, "Since we came for treasure, we should take everything of value, no? It would be a waste to leave them behind, considering we might not get another chance toe here."

    "But still¡­" Aria was concerned if his actions would umte bad karmic when she suddenly cried, "Demons!"

    "Hm?" Leon immediately shot his gaze in the distance.

    At the same time, a small team of five Lesser Demons with horns noticed them while snooping around on the Nethergrass field ahead of them as if they were scouting.

    "Kree!" one of the horned Lesser Demons quickly howled with rm before they charged altogether¡­

    "They''reing!" Leon''s eyes flickered before he said, "We can''t let any of them get away!"

    "Mm!" Aria nodded.

    "Darlene, take care of yourself!" Leon instructed before taking out his bone spear and dashed forward to receive the demons'' attacks with Aria.

    Nevertheless, the Lesser Demons were no match for Leon and Aria.

    Within ten exchanges, the entire demon party was decimated with their limbs and body parts scattered across the ground and their blood soaking the Nethergrass.

    "These Lesser Demons were probably just scouts," Leon stated as he gave his bloodied spear a strong swipe at the empty air, causing all the blood to fling off it.

    "Or the demon army could have divided themselves into parties to search for their own lucky chances," Aria added her opinion before saying, "Either way, it means our location is not far from the official entrance to the secret realm."

    "Yeah," Leon nodded and said, "It''s a good thing we did not take too long in the Arch Demon-level Tomb. Otherwise, we might not have known this until more demons show up and have us surrounded."

    "In other words, we can''t stay here," Aria stated before asking for Leon''s opinion, "Which direction should we take?"

    "Since the demons came from the southern direction, that is most likely the direction of the secret realm''s main entrance, I think," Darlene spoke just as Leon was scavenging materials from the demon''s corpses.

    Leon paused for a moment before he nodded in agreement, "Darlene is right. The other three directions would be safer than going south."

    "North would be the safest bet, but there are some merits to going west or east."

    "Wouldn''t we run into more demons eventually if we head east or west?" Aria asked before adding, "Since the entrance is in the south, going north would lead us towards the inner region."

    "No, we can''t be sure of that," Leon refuted Aria''s assumption with a shake of his head and said, "There''s no telling which part of the secret realm the entrance is opened. As such, heading north could take us further away from the inner region instead."

    "But it''s still better than getting swarmed by the demons, right? We are greatly outnumbered," Aria raised her concern.

    "That''s all the more reason why we should either head east or west. That way, we have a chance of reaching other fellow humans first and regroup with them."

    "At the same time, we could warn them about the demons and whittle down the demon''s numbers if we encounter more scout-sized parties like this."

    "What if we run into a strong party we cannot handle?" Aria inquired.

    "We won''t. I will make sure that we won''t evene close to us," Leon stated with certainty before adding, "I will be scouting with my ocr technique. Thus, if they''re strong, we leave. If they''re weak, we fight."

    Having said that, Leon pocketed the demons'' Tier-4 equipment and weapons before he sat down in a meditative position.

    "Give me a moment to refine their blood essence. It shouldn''t take long," Leon said before adding, "Take this time to decide whether we want to head east or west. I''ll leave the choice up to you."

    "It seems Leon has thoroughly thought it through. In that case, I don''t have much else to say," Aria said with a smile before turning to Darlene, "What do you think, Sister Darlene?"

    Darlene nced up at the sky before furrowing her brows in thought, trying to recall any useful information she had about the secret realm.

    Nevertheless, she found nothing that could determine their location.

    "I don''t know," Darlene eventually shook her head and said, "Sister Aria can decide."

    A few momentster, Leonpleted his blood refinement before he surprisingly gained 12 different types of Origin Blood, which directly doubled his cumtive Origin Blood to 24.

    Within the demon''s blood was impure and mixed with multiple types of blood from other races.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not waste time thinking about this and rose to his feet.

    "I''m done," Leon stated before calmly asking, "Have we decided on a direction?"

    "Mm, we decided on the west," Darlene answered.

    "I see. West, it is," Leon nodded before urging, "Let us get going then."

    "Huh? Are we not going to clean up our tracks here first?" Aria asked with surprise.

    Leon nced at the mess before shaking his head, "No, there''s no point. The demons will figure out sooner orter once they enter the tomb."

    "But even if they found out we were here, they won''t know which direction we headed off to."

    "That makes sense," Aria nodded before her gaze froze in the southern direction

    Another small group of demons has rocked up in the region, but none were Greater Demons or stronger, making them easy prey for Leon and Aria.

    "Leon!"

    "I know."

    Aria and Leon quickly drew their weapons and rushed into the group of five Lesser Demons to ughter them.

    "Kree¡ªKuh¡­"

    The Lesser Demons were briefly surprised before they failed to put up much resistance against Leon''s overwhelming brute strength and got hacked to death.

    After making short work of the demons, Leon cleaned his weapon and said, "The appearance of demons are bing more frequent. We need to leave now."

 Chapter 708 - Ashenwood Forest

    <h4>Chapter 708 - Ashenwood Forest</h4>

    Eternal Night Secret Realm

    In a dense forest full of ashen-gray trees with ck leaves, the One-Eyed Vulnerable Shaman hid in the high branches with the other Crimsonfog Tribesmen as several dozens of demons patrolled the ground.

    "Ugh¡­" a soft groan came from Chief Baskara''s mouth as he awakened from his consciousness¡ªonly to have a Battle Master quickly cover his mouth.

    "Shh," the One-Eye Venerable Shaman gestured for quietness before Chief Baskara slowly regained rity.

    His gaze quickly turned solemn at the unfamiliar environment and strange trees that seemed to be soaked in Darkness Profound Energy.

    Sometimeter, the sounds of footsteps below grew distant until they could no longer be heard.

    "They''ve finally left," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman softly sighed as the other Crimsonfog Tribesmen wore relieved expressions¡­

    Chief Baskara took the opportunity to inquire, "Where are we, Venerable Shaman? How long have I been out for¡ªNo, how did I get out? I remember battling some strange specters that could not be killed."

    "You were helped by Young Master Leonhardt, the Divine Doctor from the Darkmoon Tribe," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman answered before he began exining further.

    "Supposedly, when you were by the Demon-ying Arrows'' st, your mind was invaded by the corrupted souls the Liches used to control the Undead Battle Kings. Only elemental attacks would have worked on them."

    "That being said, it is no longer important. What''s important is that you are finally awake. You''ve been asleep for a whole week, Baskara Boya. Right now, we are inside the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

    "I took the liberty to bring you inside with me while you were still unconscious. You won''t me me for this, would you?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked.

    "The Eternal Night Secret Realm?" Chief Baskara muttered with great surprise before shaking his head, "Of course not! This is a rare opportunity that cannot be missed. On the contrary, I am grateful that you took me in, Venerable Shaman."

    "Nevertheless, a lot seemed to have happened during this short period, huh? Where did the secret realm open this time? How many people did we bring in?"

    Chief Baskara was filled with questions after waking up, but then, he quickly noticed the atmosphere be heavy after he finished asking.

    "What''s wrong?" Chief Baskara asked with surprise.

    "The opening of the secret realm urred in the same spot as the previous two openings, the heart of the demon''s territory," the One-Eyed Venerable said before sighing, "Although a lot of tribes came, we only numbered 700-odd Battle Masters."

    "This number is far smaller than thest time our kind stepped foot inside the Eternal Night Secret Realm. On the other hand, the demon''s forces are much greater than it has ever been, making this trip in the secret realm the most dangerous in history."

    "What''s the demons'' strengths? Since we made it inside the secret realm, it means we made it to the heart of the demon''s territory, right? Are they really that dangerous?" Chief Baskara asked.

    "We only managed to make it so far into the demon''s territory because the elite demons were all gathered at the center for the opening of the secret realm. Had they been guarding the borders, we would not have made it so far," a Battle Master stated.

    "I see¡­" Chief Baskara shortly furrowed his brows in deep thought before he said, "It seems like the only way to guarantee our safety is to greatly increase our strength. Have we found any tombs?"

    "Not yet, but there should be at least one inside this big forest," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman narrowed his eyes and said, "Considering the number of demons in this area, it might not be a low-level tomb."

    "That''s even better," Chief Baskara grinned and said, "Even demons will not have an easy time clearing the higher-level tombs. If we can let them do all the hard work, then swoop in to reap all the benefits when they least expect it."

    "That was the n," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Some distance outside of the Ashenwood Forest, Leon''s party eventually discovered the towering trees while heading west for two hours straight.

    "Leon, there''s a forest up ahead!" Darlene pointed before saying, "We''re finally leaving this Nethergrass region after walking for so long!"

    "There''s some blood on the ground over here!" Aria suddenly noticed after stepping on the patch of blood.

    "This is human blood, and it is still fresh¡ªat least fifteen minutes have passed since it was spilled," Leon studied the red patch of blood before saying, "Safe to assume that demons have been in this area, and the human is dead."

    "There''s only blood and not a corpse here. Isn''t there a possibility that the person is still alive somewhere?" Darlene asked.

    Leon stood up and observed his surroundings for a moment before he shook his head, "With this much blood loss, it''s enough to kill a person. That being said, Body Cultivator has stronger vitality is than ordinary people."

    "There is a chance that the person is still alive, captured as a hostage to lure out other humans. However, I am more inclined to believe that the human was eaten by the demons."

    "Either way, the person is as good as dead. Without receiving immediate treatment, the person would not have lived long with this much blood loss."

    Of course, if the person had refined their marrows and blood, they had a much higher chance of surviving.

    But to Leon''s knowledge, there was not anyone or any tribe that practices Body Cultivation outside of flesh tempering and bone forging.

    "Let''s go," Leon urged while facing the forest ahead, "If there are still demons in the area, entering the forest will allow us to hide our presence better than staying in the open field without any cover like this."

    "Mm," Aria nodded before adding, "If there anyone else has passed this ce, they would have also entered the forest to hide their trail from the demons'' tracking."

    A few momentster, Leon''s party made haste as they headed into therge forest of towering trees to look for fellow humans.

 Chapter 709 - Joining Forces

    <h4>Chapter 709 - Joining Forces</h4>

    After entering the Ashenwood Forest, Leon quickly noticed that the trees were quite openly spaced apart on the ground level while the branches above intertwined closely.

    "Let''s move up to the branches," Leon suggested.

    Aria and Darlene quickly agreed before they flew up to the branches and continued heading deeper into the Ashenwood Forest.

    "It''s not easy to see what''s in the branches from below, but quite easy to see what''s below from up here," Aria mentioned before she guessed, "If humans have entered this forest, they would be traveling from the branches as well."

    "Most likely," Leon nodded in agreement before noticing slight traces of human tracks left on the branches.

    "There are some dirty footprints here. These belong to humans," Leon stated while rubbing the tracks with his fingers.

    "I wonder if it belongs to anyone we know," Darlene said curiously.

    .

    "I''m curious too," Leon followed the trail and nced in a certain direction before he stated, "I guess we will find out if we keep following their tracks."

    "Alright."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In the central region of the Ashenwood Forest, several demons gathered around the stump of a noticeablyrger tree while more demons arrived over time.

    In the high branches, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, Chief Baskara, and the other tribesmen silently observed the demons'' activities from a distance.

    "Seems like there is something special about this tree," Chief Baskara stated with furrowed brows before adding, "However, I don''t see any tombstones."

    "The tombstone could be hidden within the tree," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spected as he watched the demons surrounded the tree in search of something.

    Chief Baskara also observed their actions before he nodded, "That seems to be the case. Let''s stay here and continue to observe¡ª"

    Shish¡ª!

    As Chief Baskara spoke, he suddenly heard a subtle yet distinct sound of rustling leaves before he shot a sharp look towards its direction.

    "Who?!"

    Chief Baskara spat with a deep but quiet voice as he forcefully restrained himself from rming the demons below.

    "Oh? A familiar face," Leon casuallymented as he stepped out from behind a cluster of leaves and small branches along with Aria and Darlene.

    "Who are you? And why were you trying to sneak up on us?"

    Chief Baskara quickly interrogated before he started to frown as he finds Leon''s face familiar, yet he could not remember where.

    "Ahem!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman coughed before stepping forward to exin, "This is Young Master Leonhardt, the one who treated you and allowed you to wake up, Baskara Boya,"

    Chief Baskara was surprised before he recalled a vague memory of a person with the same matching face when he was unconsciously fighting the evil spirits in his spiritual world.

    "So it is the Divine Doctor, whom I am indebted to," Chief Baskaramented with none of his previous aggression and caution before offering a handshake, "Please excuse my rudeness, for I did not know better."

    Leon epted with a firm grip as he looked into Chief Baskara''s eyes directly and studied his mental state briefly.

    "It seems Chief Baskara has recovered better than expected," Leon nodded calmly after his quick diagnosis before saying, "Still, Chief Baskara needs to be mindful of your mental state."

    "Is there a problem with it?" Chief Baskara asked with surprise.

    "The Venerable Shaman didn''t mention it to you?" Leon gave the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman a brief nce before he continued to speak, "There are some lingering problems that could not be resolved easily."

    "If you strain your mind, it is easy for you to lose control of your rationality and be berserk. In other words, you are susceptible to violence and anger."

    "I see¡­" Chief Baskara uttered with surprise when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his mind, causing him to hug his forehead with a crumpled look.

    "Ugh¡­" Chief Baskara groaned.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly supported Chief Baskara''s body as he staggered before he calmly stated, "You''re overthinking, Baskara Boya. Get some rest for now."

    "Alright," Chief Baskara nodded.

    Shortly after picking a spot to lean against a wall of branches and leaves, Chief Baskara closed his eyes and meditated, no longer paying attention to the others.

    "It''s fortunate that Young Master Leonhardt is here. At least, if we will not have to worry about our wounds if we were to get hurt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman joked lightly with a smile.

    Leon returned a slight smile in kind before his gaze shifted downward on the demon activity in the area.

    "What are they doing?" Leon asked.

    "They are looking for the tomb entrance," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman answered before adding, "From the numbers, we believe the tomb to be at the Demon Lord-level or higher."

    "As such, we nned to wait a while for them to clear the trials first before making our move when their forces be weaker. Our chance of sess will be even higher if Young Master Leonhardt''s group joins us."

    "The fisherman, huh?" Leon muttered for a moment before he smirked and nodded, "Sure. I was nning to gather everyone and whittle away the demon''s forces anyway, so this works out well for us."

    "d to hear it," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled.

    While Darlene and Aria had overheard everything on the side, Leon filled them in on the situation anyway before he shortly said, "Since we have time, we can look at the spoils now."

    "Spoils?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman raised an eyebrow and turned to look before he asked, "What spoils are you talking about?"

    "These spoils," Leon waved his hand before the Arch Demon''s corpse and various runic tiles were taken out of the Worldspace.

    "This¡­"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the other Crimsonfog Tribesmen were immediately stunned at the sight of the demon corpse.

    "Is this a¡­?

    "An Arch Demon''s corpse? Yes, it is," Leon admitted honestly before squatting down to study the runes engraved on the Arch Demon''s body.

    "How did Young Master Leonhardt get your hands on an Arch Demon''s corpse, if you don''t mind me asking?" a Battle Master asked with surprise.

    "Huh?" Leon raised his head and gave the Battle Master a weird look before he said, "That''s a strange question to ask. I got the corpse from an Arch Demon-level Tomb, how else?"

 Chapter 710 - Dangerous Trap

    <h4>Chapter 710 - Dangerous Trap</h4>

    "Huh?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the other Crimsonfog Tribesmen were immediately stunned by Leon''s im.

    Even though Arch Demon-level Tombs had the lowest difficulty of trials in the secret realm, it was, after all, still Arch Demon-level Tombs.

    The difficulty in clearing such trials found within was not something that could be done within a short time.

    After a moment of recovery, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked with surprise, "Young Master Leonhardt means to say that Young Master Leonhardt has already cleared an Arch Demon-level Tomb?"

    "Precisely," Leon nodded.

    The Crimsonfog Tribesmen all widened their eyes with disbelief at once after hearing his straightforward acknowledgment.

    "You''ve never ceased to surprise me, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled wryly.

    Shortly after, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shifted his gaze to the blue Arch Demon''s corpse before he inquired curiously, "I wonder what Young Master Leonhardt intends to do with this demon''s body?"

    .

    "This entire body is engraved with high-level runes of the fifth to the sixth tier. So you can even say that this Arch Demon''s corpse is a treasure trove of runic knowledge," Leon mentioned before stating, "I am going to study them to enhance my runic knowledge."

    After hearing that, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was slightly surprised before he asked for confirmation, "Young Master Leonhardt only intends to study the runes on the demon''s body?"

    "Yes, exactly," Leon nodded before he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What else do you expect me to do with it?"

    "An Arch Demon''s corpse is no different to the body of a Paragon-level Demonic Beast. Like Young Master Leonhardt said, its body is basically a treasure trove. All of it can be used for equipment and weapon forging or medicine."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated before shifting his gaze back to Leon and said, "If it''s not too much to ask, I hope Young Master Leonhardt can gift it to us after you are done with it."

    "I see¡­" Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he nodded, "I don''t really have any other use for it once I learn all the runic knowledge contained within. Thus, it''s not impossible for me to gift you the Arch Demon''s body afterward."

    "That''s great!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was overjoyed before he assured, "Don''t worry, Young Master Leonhardt. We won''t let you suffer a loss. Once we process the Arch Demon''s body, we will give you a portion of the finished products."

    "There''s no need to go that far," Leon waved his hand and said, "After all, it is only an Arch Demon. There are still the bodies of Demon Lords and Demon Kings for us to collect if we are fortunate enough."

    "True, but being able to procure the corpse of an Arch Demon already makes this trip inside the secret realm worthwhile. With a single Arch Demon''s corpse, we will be able to raise some Battle Kings and improve our equipment," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    "Oh?" Leon was intrigued.

    "I didn''t expect the Crimsonfog Tribe has the means to refine medicine require to aid a Battle Master''s breakthrough to Battle King."

    "Although the chances are not high, we do have the method," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman before he shook his head and said, "However, it''s not easy to procure bodies of Arch Demons and Paragon-level Demonic Beasts."

    "No doubt. Otherwise, there would be no shortage of Battle Kings in the Crimsonfog Tribe or the entire Infertile ins for that matter," Leon said with a smile.

    Sometimeter, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman ended his chat with Leon and did not disturb him further.

    As Leon began studying the runes, the others quietly observed the demons below.

    Over time, the number of Lesser Demons and Greater Demons gathering in the area quickly grew to 100-strong without signs of stopping, making the situation exceedingly dangerous if their location was exposed.

    Aria knitted her brows before quietly making her way over to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s side.

    "Is there something you need, Miss Aria?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked before Aria could speak first.

    Nevertheless, she nodded and said, "On our way, we found traces of human blood and battle outside the forest. I wonder if the person was one of your people or not, senior?"

    "Oh?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman raised an eyebrow before he said, "We have yet to engage in a confrontation with the demons. Therefore, the person should be from another group."

    "Which direction did your group enter the forest from?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired shortly after.

    Aria paused for a moment before saying, "We headed west, so we should have entered from the east side of the forest. What about senior''s group¡ªsomething''s happening below!"

    Aria interrupted her question midway after noticing a change in the situation below as the demons suddenly hastened their footsteps.

    "Kree!"

    Not long after, a Lesser Demon''s calling could be heard before the surrounding dozens of demons quickly gathered to the Lesser Demon''s location.

    "The tomb entrance must have been found," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quietly assumed with slightly narrowed eyes as he scrutinized a specific spot on the tree by the Lesser Demon.

    Some engraved runes could be found after the moss was scraped off.

    A few momentster, Scaly-tailed Greater Demon made its way through the crowd of gathered demons to study the runes.

    "Seems like it''s not the entrance, but a clue to opening the tomb''s entrance," Aria assumed before shifting her gaze to inspect the environment and the positioning of the surrounding trees.

    "Perhaps, a riddle must be solved before the tomb entrance reveals itself."

    "Miss Aria seems to have some experience in this field?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said with uncertainty.

    However, Aria shook her head and said, "It''s Leon, who has experience in this field. I''ve only made an assumption we managed to clear an Arch Demon-level Tomb together."

    "I see¡­"

    Just as the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was about to speak, the situation by the central tree took a drastic turn after a Greater Demon incorrectly ced a broken branch in one of the numerous holes found on the stump of the surrounding trees.

    Rumble!

    Large movements were detected from the surrounding trees before several dozen Lesser Demons were quickly impaled to death by roots and hardened vines that drilled out from the ground.

    "This¡­"

    Several Crimsonfog Tribesmen immediately gasped with wide eyes at the scene that wiped out half the demons.

    "How dangerous!"

 Chapter 711 - Abyssal Wood Demon Kings Tomb

    <h4>Chapter 711 - Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Tomb</h4>

    A single mistake resulted in half the demon''s forces getting wiped out.

    Everyone understood that the traps rted to Demon Lord-level Tombs and higher were dangerous. However, the power and lethality disyed were beyond everyone''s expectations.

    "What kind of tree roots and vines are these? How can they be so powerful?" a Crimsonfog Tribe''s Battle Master eximed with disbelief.

    Everyone quickly re-evaluated the trees that surrounded them with abject horror as anothermented, "It''s the first time I''ve seen such arge number of Lesser Demons getting killed so easily."

    "Their defenses were like paper, and their lives were like chopping grass. They could not resist at all! These trees are not simple."

    As the Battle Masters discussed in low whispers, Aria noticed the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s expression before she asked, "What do you think, senior?"

    "The power didn''te from the trees themselves but the runes that empowered them," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated seriously before adding, "Judging by their level of lethality, this runic array must be at least Tier-7!"

    "Tier-7 Array?! I was expecting Tier-6, but a Tier-7 changes everything," a Battle Mastermented with a grave look¡­

    The other Battle Masters gasped as they drew in a breath of cold air to relieve their tensed nerves.

    "Tier-7¡­"

    Darlene uttered softly with a shaky voice beside Aria.

    At the same time, Aria noticed the heavy change in the atmosphere before turning to Darlene with a slightly puzzled look.

    "Why does everyone looks so serious now?" Aria asked.

    "For a tomb to have any Tier-7 formations and arrays guarding it, it implies the tomb itself has already exceeded the Demon Lord-level," Darlene exined.

    "In other words, the tomb hidden here is at the Demon King-level?" Aria asked for confirmation.

    Darlene nodded.

    "Demon King-level Tomb, huh?" Leon softly muttered as he withdrew from studying the runes on the Arch Demon''s body and stowed it away in his Worldspace.

    "A Demon King¡­ this level of existence should be equivalent to an Awakener at the Celestial Lord Realm¡­ But this doesn''t make sense¡­"

    Leon furrowed his brows in thought.

    Tier-6 contained power at the level of a Celestial Warrior for Awakeners, while it was at the Demon Lord for demons, which also means Demon Lords were equivalent Celestial Warriors.

    In that case, Demon Emperors were only equivalent to Celestial Kings in power?

    Nevertheless, everyone was puzzled by Albion''s words before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired, "What''s a Celestial Lord, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "Ah, a Celestial Lord is¡­" Leon proceeded to exin the four realms of Celestial Cultivation after Awakeners ascend beyond the three stages of Transcendence.

    "Four realms of Celestial Cultivation¡­ We are just specks of dust in this infinitelyrge world¡­"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head as hemented at his small and insignificant existence in the vast cosmos.

    Shortly after, he shifted his gaze back to Leon and curiously asked, "But how does Young Master Leonhardt know about¡ª"

    "Shh."

    Before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman could finish, Leon suddenly hushed everyone for silence and gestured for everyone to observe the situation below.

    "Themotion caused by the trap activation has attracted more demons to this location. However, since we don''t know how many strong demons areing, so we better lower our voices for now," Leon whispered.

    The group quickly agreed with a solemn nod.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Swish, Swish~!

    The leaves of trees and bushes rustled as demons darted over to the central tree''s location in groups at a time.

    In a short moment, the number of demons in the area quickly soared back to their original count, albeit with many more Greater Demons in their ranks.

    "What happened here?" a red-horned Greater Demon interrogated as he gazed at the several dozens of impaled Lesser Demons.

    "Seems like the Red-Horned Rathadas has alsoe to challenge the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb," the scaly-tailed Greater Demon casually nced at the red-horned Greater Demon and nonchntly said, "Nothing much. Just a small mistake in solving the Demon King''s entrance riddle."

    Red-Horned Rathadas immediately cracked a disdainful smile before he ridiculed the scale-tailed Greater Demon, "Someone like you want to solve the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s entrance riddle? You''re wasting your time."

    "I suggest you leave and find another tomb to challenge. Perhaps, a Demon Lord-level Tomb or Arch Demon-level Tomb would be more suitable for you."

    "Less nonsense, Red-Horned Rathadas. Don''t think that you can send me off with just a few words! If you''re good then, why don''t you try solving the riddle yourself? Hmph, I can assure you that you will fail all the same!" the scaly-tailed Greater Demon snorted.

    The red-horned Greater Demon wanted to monopolize the Demon King''s inheritance for himself, but was it so easy to enter the Demon King''s tomb?!

    Nevertheless, Red-Horned Rathadas snickered, "Then just sit there and watch with your dog eyes how I will solve this riddle!"

    s, the red-horned Greater Demon also failed a few minutester after cing another broken branch in the incorrect tree hole, causing the mighty Tier-7 trap array to be activated again.

    "Ahhh¡ª!"

    "No, save me!"

    The tree roots and vines quickly caught a few dozen Lesser Demons and even some weaker Greater Demons as they were intertwined and impaled.

    Momentster, their bodies shriveled like empty husks after their blood, energy, and life essence gotpletely drained from their bodies.

    "Keke, I knew it."

    The scaly-tailed Greater Demon snickered from a safe distance away from the central tree before he said, "All talk, but no actual capability. If the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb was so easy to enter, it would have been done during the previous two openings already."

    "Hmph, it was just a little mistake. I will get it right next time," Red-Horned Rathadas snorted, unwilling to concede defeat.

    But before the red-horned Greater Demon could continue, a three-eyed Greater Demon stepped forward to stop him.

    "That''s enough, Rathadas, Lemopith. If we want to have any sess in solving the entrance riddle, we have to pool in everything we know about it and work together!" the three-eyed Greater Demon said with an imposing tone.

 Chapter 712 - Demons Cruelty

    <h4>Chapter 712 - Demon''s Cruelty</h4>

    After the Three-Eyed Greater Demon spoke, Rathadas and Limopith immediately paused their heated argument and turned to the Three-Eyed Greater Demon.

    "Work together, you say?"

    Red-Horned Rathadas quickly cracked a half-disdainful, half-sly smile and said, "I didn''t expect such words toe from a member of the proud and arrogant Evil Eye Demon n such as yourself, Balthagan."

    "Don''t tell me that you are really willing to share all of the knowledge on the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb that your ancestors poured their blood and sweat into gathering over the past several hundred years?"

    "Why not?" Three-Eyed Balthagan shrugged nonchntly before saying calmly, "As it stands, we won''t be able to enter the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb, let alone clear it."

    "As such, it is better for us to work together. Pooling the clues that our three ns have gathered over the past few openings will definitely give us a higher chance of cracking the riddle. We can either divide Abyssal Wood Demon King''s inheritance or get nothing from Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb at all."

    "Heh, and how do you propose we divide the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core?" Scaly-Tailed Limopith sniggered before suggesting sarcastically, "Should we cut it up into three equal pieces?"

    "Hmph! That''s not even funny!" Three-Eyed Balthagan snorted coldly and said, "The Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core contains the umted power of the Abyssal Wood Demon King."

    .

    "Cutting up such a precious object will disperse and scatter all of the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s concentrated power into the atmosphere, turning the divided Demon Core into useless pieces of rocks."

    "Hmph, you think I don''t already know that?" Scaly Tailed Limopith snorted back and coldly said, "That is why I asked how you would propose to divide it!"

    "I am also interested in hearing about this," Red-Horned Rathadas added with a cold glint.

    Evidently, the three strongest Greater Demons in the area were primarily interested in the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core.

    All other inheritance that could be found inside the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb was of lesser importance.

    "Hmph, the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core obviously cannot be divided," Three-Eyed Balthagan snorted and said, "So we will divide what can be divided. As for what can''t be divided, we canpete for them after dividing the rest."

    "That''s fine with me."

    "And me too."

    Red-Horned Rathadas and Scaly-Tailed Limopith agreed to Three-Eyed Balthagan''s suggestion with a nod.

    However, shortly after, another Greater Demon approach hesitantly and asked, "Excuse me, Sir Balthagan. What part of the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s inheritance would the rest of us get?"

    Puchi!

    The Three-Eyed Greater Demon suddenly drove his sharp hand into the Four-Armed Greater Demon''s chest before ripping out his heart and dropped it on the ground with a disdainful look.

    "My heart¡­ Sir Balthagan, why¡­?"

    Plop!

    The Four-Armed Greater Demon died shortly after Three-Eyed Balthagan stepped on the heart and crushed it into a bloody paste.

    "A demon of some small n dares to have eyes on the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s inheritance like us of the Nine Great ns? Know your ce, insect!"

    "Heh, serves him right," Red-Horned Rathadas sniggered with cold indifference andmented, "It should be his honor to even participate in opening the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb."

    "Even so, you shouldn''t have killed him, Balthagan," Scaly-Tailed Limopith admonished with a frown and said, "He is, after all, a Greater Demon, albeit a low-rank one. Still, that is one less cannon fodder to aid us in opening the tomb."

    "Leave him be, Limopith. The fool did not know his ce. Now, let us discuss what we know on the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s entrance riddle."

    As the three strongest Greater Demons discussed the clues, the other Greater Demons and newly arrived Lesser Demons were greatly started by the casual death of a Greater Demon.

    They began having second thoughts about participating in the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb.

    Some of them did not even know it was the location of the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb until they arrived.

    Not all demons had ess to information like members of the Nine Great ns did.

    As some demons decided to leave and try their luck elsewhere, Three-Eyed Balthagan cast his gaze over and barked, "Stop! Where are you going?"

    "Sir Balthagan, we don''t want to participate in the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb anymore. Can we leave?" a ck-Furred Lesser Demon inquired nervously.

    "Oh, that''s too bad," Three-Eyed Balthagan uttered with an unreadable expression before he calmly nodded, "Sure, you can leave."

    "Thank you, Sir Balthagan!" the ck-Furred Lesser Demon expressed his gratitude before turning around to leave excitedly, ahead of the other Lesser Demons beside it.

    Swish~!

    However, a ck light shed past with a gust of wind before the ck-Furred Lesser Demon noticed its horizontal angle of vision lowered and rolled a few times until it ultimately stopped, aligned with the ground before the Lesser Demon felt pain in its neck.

    Pish¡ª!

    Blood sprayed from the ck-Furred Lesser Demon''s headless body before it plopped on the ground beside its head. Only then did the Lesser Demon understood it got decapitated by something.

    A few momentster, the Lesser Demon''s consciousness faded into the oblivion of death.

    "Anyone else wants to leave?"

    Three-Eyed Balthagan casually asked while sweeping his gaze through the crowd of demons before pausing on the other two Lesser Demons that were about to leave.

    The two Lesser Demons shook their heads vehemently.

    It only took one death¡ªNo, one death was more than enough for everyone to understand that while they were allowed to leave, it did not mean they could leave alive.

    In the end, they only had one choice; to stay and be cannon fodder for the three Greater Demons of the Nine Great ns.

    At the same time, everything was witnessed by the humans hiding up in the tree branches.

    "How cruel¡­ This is the sort of brutality and cruelty one would expect from demons¡­" Leon muttered softly with narrowed eyes.

    The demons are so cruel to their kind. It is not hard to imagine what it would be like if humans fell into their hands.

 Chapter 713 - Demonic Spiders

    <h4>Chapter 713 - Demonic Spiders</h4>

    Nevertheless, Leon did not dwell on the demon''s behaviors.

    Back in the Divine Realm, even humans can turn into vicious demons and backstab their friends and allies over their scrambles for treasures, let alone treasures thate from a secret realm filled with inheritances.

    ''Demons aren''t the thing to be wary of in a secret realm,'' Leon silently mused.

    Even so, the odds are against human''s favor. If there is any chance of betrayal and backstabbing, it would only happen after the demons are eliminated from the equations.

    Over the next half an hour, the demons triggered the trap formations and arrays a few more times, killing more Lesser Demons and Greater Demons.

    Despite that, themotion continued to draw in more demons to be cannon fodders for the three Greater Demons of the Nine Great ns.

    Dead bodies continued toy askew on the ground, dried like empty husks, as everyone silently observed the demons attempting to solve the tomb''s entrance puzzle.

    Rumble¡­!

    The ground suddenly shook as their central tree began to twist and grew¡ªNo, it was raised from the ground before the tomb entrance was revealed.

    "Sess!"

    Scaly-Tailed Limopith''s eyes sparkled as the other demons stared at the entrance with excitement.

    "Good work, everyone," Three-Eyed Balthagan praised their efforts before stating, "We may have unraveled the entrance, but more trial awaits us ahead."

    "Kekeke, the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s trials will surely not be ordinary. I hope you are all prepared," Red-Horned Rathadas sniggered coldly.

    The demons'' excitement quickly died down as if their heads were doused in a bucket of cold water.

    "Let''s go!"

    After Three-Eyed Balthagan urged the demons to trailze the path ahead, the three Greater Demons of the Nine Great ns entered the tomb promptly.

    Within a few moments, the demons were all gone from sight, leaving only the pile of empty corpses behind outside.

    "The demons have entered the tomb! Let''s follow them in!" a Battle Master said eagerly.

    However, he was quickly stopped by the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, "Wait. It''s too early. Entering now will expose our presences to the demons and put our lives at risk."

    "The Venerable Shaman is right. If more demons enter after us, we will be pincered by the demons and have nowhere to run," Chief Baskara suddenly added, causing the others to turn to him with surprised looks.

    "Baskara Boya, have you rested enough?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked.

    "Yes, Venerable Shaman," Chief Baskara nodded and said, "I feel better now. No more headaches. More importantly, things are about to get interesting by the looks of it."

    As Chief Baskara said that, he shifted his gaze to the tomb''s entrance underneath the central tree.

    "That''s right," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded before saying, "The problem is picking the right timing to enter when the demons are all weakened by the trials."

    "However, we have no means of finding out when the right time will be. After all, we would have to send someone inside to observe the situation without being discovered by the demons if we want to figure that out."

    "True¡­"

    A few momentster, the group fell silent in thought as they stared at the tomb''s entrance below while Leon''s gaze lingered on the unsapped demon corpse and its puddle of demon blood.

    ''I wonder how many Origin Blood I can refine from its demon¡­'' Leon mused thoughtfully.

    If he gets multiple Origin Blood from a single demon again, he would be able to draw some conclusions regarding demon blood¡ªor rather, their cultivation.

    "I''ll be back in a bit."

    "What are you nning to¡­"

    After scanning the vicinity with his divine sense, Leon quickly descended to collect some Lesser Demon Blood before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman could finish asking him.

    A few momentster, Leon returned stealthily and undetected as several demons arrived at the central tree''s location.

    "What did you collect the demon blood for, Young Master Leonhardt?" Chief Baskara asked curiously while staring at the vial of demon blood in Leon''s hand.

    "It is required as part of my cultivation," Leon casually answered.

    Shortly after, Leon uncorked the vial of demon blood before refining the demon blood essence into Origin Blood.

    Within moments, Leon produced three types of Origin Blood.

    Although they were all variants of the Furry Demon Bloodline, they were all different types of Origin Blood, nheless.

    Leon absorbed them all and reached an umtion of 27 Origin Bloods before feeling a subtle improvement in his strength and regenerative capability as his eyes brightened.

    ''Seems like I will be able to reach the next level of mastery soon if I continue to refine every demon blood I get my hands on,'' Leon mused.

    ''Still, for a Lesser Demon to possess multiple bloodlines, albeit fewer than the Arch Demon, it cannot be a coincidence. This might be a unique trait of their inter-race breeding or a result of their unrefined cultivation.''

    A Lesser Demon gave him 3 Origin Bloods, while an Arch Demon gave him 12 Origin Bloods.

    Although Leon had yet to confirm whether these are fixed numbers, it was clear that demons possess multiple bloodlines¡ªwhich was good news for him.

    Seeing that Leon was in deep thoughts, no one disturbed him and focused on observing the tomb''s entrance instead.

    Suddenly, demon screams echoed out from the tomb''s entrance.

    "The tomb''s first trial has begun," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman calmly stated with a smile. The demon screams were like music to his ears.

    "So it seems," Chief Baskara also smiled before saying, "I wonder what kind of trial they are facing. It''ll be great if it kills them all."

    "If they all die in the first trial? Who will clear the rest of the trials for us? It won''t be easy to reap the tomb''s inheritance without the demons clearing the¡ª"

    As the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke, a ck demonic spider with three red stripes on its back suddenly dangled in front of his field of vision before he killed it on reflex with a swift chop.

    At the same time, more demonic spiders began appearing in front of everyone before a Battle Master eximed in rm, "Woah!"

    "Where did these things suddenlye from?!"

    When Leon and the others shifted their gazes upward, their expression immediately changed as thousands of demonic spiders descended with their webs.

 Chapter 714 - Hellbiters Bite

    <h4>Chapter 714 - Hellbiter''s Bite</h4>

    "Hellbiters!" Leon''s pupils shrank at the conspicuous red stripes on the spiders'' backs before he warned, "Be careful not to get bitten. These little critters will give you a taste of hell if you are bitten!"

    "Dammit, we''ve been up here for a while now. So why do these spiders only appear now of all times?" a Battle Master wondered as he retreated a step before slicing the red-stripe spider in front of him in half.

    At the same time, simr questions were on everyone''s minds as they sent flurries of sharp attacks at the red-stripe spiders and diced them into countless pieces.

    "These demonic spiders are quite weak¡­ So there''s no need to be so agitated over them. More importantly, we may have exposed ourselves to the demons below," Chief Baskara mentioned with a frown.

    Hearing that much, Leon knew that the Crimsonfog Tribesmen were unfamiliar with the Hellbiters.

    "Don''t underestimate them!" Aria warned.

    "Hellbiters are not strong, but their venoms are very vicious and excruciatingly painful to endure that you would wish you are dead! Leon wasn''t kidding when he said they would give you a taste of hell if you get bitten."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the other Battle Masters'' expressions quickly turned solemn after hearing Aria''s exnation.

    As if they had yet to understand the severity of a Hellbiter''s bite, Leon further exined, "Hellbiters'' venoms attack the nerves and have you begging for death seven days straight if left untreated."

    "At the end of the seventh day, even if you survive the torturous experience of the Hellbiter''s bite, you will be disabled and braindead, incapable of movements and thoughts. It truly is a fate worse than death!"

    "For real?!"

    The Crimsonfog Tribesmen were greatly shocked before they increased their efforts to y the Hellbiters, keeping them from evening close.

    Leon''s words have given them a great scare.

    Spirit Eyes!

    Leon activated his ocr technique and expanded his divine sense simultaneously before searching the treetops and discovering several openings near the top, where the Hellbiters were pouring out.

    "These Hellbiters areing out the trees," Leon informed the group.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly narrowed his eyes before specting, "The tomb''s entrance might have spurred them into being."

    "If we weren''t here, these Hellbiters might have gone to block the tomb entrance and stop the tomb challengers from escaping."

    Shortly after, the group heard demons shouting below.

    "There are lots of noisesing from the branches! Go check it out!"

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Several Lesser Demons answered after a Greater Demon gave the order before Leon and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s group were alerted.

    "We''ve been discovered," Chief Baskara frowned before barking, "It''s going to be troublesome facing both the demons and the Hellbiters, but we have no choice. Prepare for battle!"

    "No, cut the spider webs! We can drop the Hellbiters on the demons and force their attention on the Hellbiters," Leon quickly suggested.

    Not even demons are immune to a Hellbiter''s bite.

    "But would the demons and demonic spiders fight each other?" a Battle Master questioned with doubt, but he did exactly as Leon suggested and cut several strings of webs in a short breath.

    Dozens of Hellbiters dropped out trees, and from dozens, it quickly increased to hundreds in a matter of few short breaths as the rest of Crimsonfog Tribesmen followed up.

    At the same time, the Lesser Demons quickly noticed something falling out of the trees as they were leaping up, causing them to grab the ck objects subconsciously and check what they were.

    "What is this? So it was just spiders¡ª"

    Without understanding the danger of Hellbiters, one of the Lesser Demons was careless and got itself bitten before it was assaulted viciously by the Hellbiter''s venom.

    AHHH¡ª!

    The Lesser Demon quickly fell from the lower branches as it screamed with excruciating pain, spurring the other Lesser Demons to toss the Hellbiters in their hands away and retreating to the ground with rm.

    "Oi, stop messing around and get up!" the Greater Demon urged the Lesser Demon with a kick, but the Lesser Demon could not stop rolling on the ground in pain.

    As Chief Baskara and the others witnessed the Lesser Demon''s agony, they drew in a sharp breath to relieve their tensed nerves while a few trembled like Darlene.

    "The Hellbiter''s bite is no joke!" Chief Baskara said gravely.

    While Leon had expected such results, he still frowned at the Lesser Demon groveling on the ground in pain.

    The effect of the Hellbiter''s venom reacted too quickly!

    In that instance, Leon quickly understood that the Hellbiters'' venom must have undergone some mutation or transformation to be even more potent.

    "A Demon King-level Tomb sure is dangerous¡­"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    After entering the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb, the advance party of demons quickly found themselves separated and lost in a maze full of vines, bristles, and thorns.

    "Lord Limopith, we arepletely lost. We can''t find the path ahead, and we can''t find our way back either!" a Lesser Demon informed.

    Scaly-Tailed Limopith frowned.

    Whether it was intentional or not, the three Greater Demons of the Nine Great ns were all separated with their own group of cannon fodders.

    "Hmph, if there''s no path ahead, then make one!"

    "We''ve already tried! But these walls are too tough! Our attacks arepletely ineffective against them!" the Lesser Demon replied helplessly.

    Scaly-Tailed Limopith was displeased by the Lesser Demon''s answer before he snorted, "Hmph, useless thing! Step aside! I will do it!"

    After shoving the Lesser Demons out of the way, Scaly-Tailed Limopith swung his scaly tail at the wall of vines ahead!

    Ping!

    The wall of vines shook from the impact of the blow and rippled like waves before a rebounding force sent Scaly-Tailed Limopith flying back into a wall of bristles.

    "Lord Limopith!"

    "Get lost! I don''t need your help getting up!"

    The Lesser Demons'' help was quickly rejected as Scaly-Tailed Limopith swatted their hands away before standing up with a dark frown.

    Ahhh¡­!

    Suddenly, a Lesser Demon''s agonizing yet distant scream was heard, seeminglying from outside the tomb.

    "What was that?"

    "Don''t know. Not like we can find out."

    No one could leave the maze.

 Chapter 715 - Darlenes Move

    <h4>Chapter 715 - Darlene''s Move</h4>

    Not long after, the maze began to rustle with numerous soft noises¡ªnoises not caused by the rustling of leaves but the movements of tiny footsteps, too small to guess, and too many to count.

    "Silence!"

    Scaly-Tailed Limopith quickly demanded silence from his group of cannon fodders with a frown before listening to the sound with rapt attention.

    s, the Greater Demon could not guess the cause of the noises.

    However, it did not take long before a Lesser Demon suddenly eximed, "Woah! Be careful, everyone! We''ve been surrounded!"

    "Red-striped spiders?"

    The rest of the group quickly noticed the countless insects of varying sizes crawling out of the small gaps and crevices in the walls of vines, bristles, and thorns.

    "This is¡­"

    Scaly-Tailed Limopith noticed the three red stripes on the spiders'' back before his pupils shrank into slits.

    "Hellbiters! And so many of them! Sure enough, the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s trials will not be easy to pass!"

    "Ahhh¡ª! It hurts so much!"

    An unsuspecting Lesser Demon was suddenly bitten by a Hellbiter, causing him to wail in pain immediately.

    "Careful! They''reing from above!" A Greater Demon warned.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In another part of the underground maze, the painful screams were heard by Red-Horned Rathadas''s group.

    "Seems like another group has met with trouble in this ursed maze," Red-Horned Rathadas rubbed his chin and thought aloud, "Was it Balthagan''s group or Limopith''s group?"

    "Well, either way is perfectly fine with me. I will be the one to inherit the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s legacy!"

    "Lord Rathadas, we arepletely lost in this dark maze. Should we try to break down these walls and force our way through?" A regr Greater Demon asked.

    Red-Horned Rathadas immediately gave the demon a disdainful nce.

    "Where do you think we are? Do you think the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s trials will be so simple that you can clear it with brute strength? Only an idiot like that Limopith would attempt something like¡­"

    As Red-Horned Rathadas spoke, he suddenly came to a realization.

    "Oh, perhaps the screams earlier were from that idiot''s group. Balthagan is not level-headed, not to mention he has the Evil Eye to assist him¡­ I mustn''t fall behind!"

    The Red-Horned Greater Demon shortly pressed the palm of his hand on the wall of vines and slightly exerted a bit of strength to study its defensive strength before noticing a certain level of sticity to it.

    "Sure enough, these walls are not simple. Striking any spot on these walls will cause its entirety to ripple with vibrations. This is no definitely from rming the ho''s nest!" Red-Horned Rathadasmented.

    In a dark maze like the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s first trial ground where they did not understand what they were facing, such actions were akin to courting death.

    "Brute strength won''t work, but what if I burn it?" Red-Horned Rathadas thought dangerously as his red horns began to glow with crimson light.

    Demonic energy gathered to his red horns before transforming into two scorching zes of fiery energy!

    Shish¡ª!

    Red-Horned Rathadas did not fire the two fiery zes directly but pushed them against the walls, causing a sizzling sound as the vines burned.

    Sometimeter, the wall of vines was scorched ck before it crumbled into ck ashes and opened a new path ahead.

    "Let''s go."

    "Yes, Lord Rathadas!"

    As Red-Horned Rathadas''s group was only taking the first step forward, Balthagan of the Evil Eye n had already reached the end of the maze.

    However, standing before the gates to the second trial, Balthagan did not feel any joy at his aplishment. Instead, only a deeper sense of solemnity filled his heart.

    "Surprisingly, the first trial was not much of a challenge, thanks to my Evil Eye showing the way. However, I may not be so lucky in the following trials¡­" Balthagan muttered.

    The Abyssal Wood Demon King''s trials could not be so simple.

    "Nevertheless, I''ve already made it this far to be getting cold feet now. There''s no choice but to continue pushing onward!"

    After taking a deep breath, Evil-Eye Balthagan pushed open the stone gates of the second trial and entered with his group.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    As the demons continued to challenge the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb, Leon''s group shortly entered a three-way battle with another demon group and the army of Hellbiters outside the tomb''s entrance.

    "The distraction was no use. We were still discovered in the end. There''s no choice but to fight!"

    "Un, let us quickly finish off this group of demons before more arrives!"

    As the Crimsonfog Tribesmen lunged at the demons while staying wary of the Hellbiters, a Greater Demon pointed its sword at them and barked, "Kill the humans!"

    Roar!

    The shes of battle soon echoed throughout the area.

    With the great disparity in strength, Lesser Demons, with their strengths ranging between 100-thousand to 500-thousand jin, were simply no match for the Battle Masters.

    At the same time, Low-rank Battle Masters and Mid-rank Battle Masters were no match for the Greater Demons, whose base strength starts at 1-million jin.

    "Leave the Greater Demons to me. You brats can focus on warding off the Hellbiters," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said to the Crimsonfog Tribesmen.

    "But¡­"

    "Just do as the Venerable Shaman says. With the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s strength at the Extremity-rank Battle Master level, do you think ordinary Greater Demons can give the Venerable Shaman any trouble?" Chief Baskara calmly said.

    Extremity-rank Battle Masters possess the physical strength of 1.5-million jin. Therefore, low-level Greater Demons were not the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s opponent.

    However, if it were Mid-level Greater Demons and High-level Greater Demons, the situation would be entirely different.

    "Darlene, stay close to me!"

    "Mm!"

    Leon waved his hand, summoning a wall of fire to keep the Hellbiters away before the numerous red-striped spiders retreated while making screeching noises.

    Evidently, the Hellbiters were fearful of mes.

    Unwilling to be passive and protected all the time, Darlene fixed her gaze on a Hellbiter behind the wall of mes before she narrowed her eyes.

    Poof!

    Space quickly distorted before the Hellbiter''s abdomen got twisted off.

    "Oh?"

    Leon eximed with a bit of surprise as he quickly noticed her subtle action.

    Although the Spatial Law''s offensive capability was almost nonexistent at the lower levels, it was not exactly zero.

    Still, he had to apud Darlene for figuring out its offensive use.

 Chapter 716 - Gravitational Force, Parallel Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 716 - Gravitational Force, Parallel Thoughts</h4>

    Despite being one step short of the Transcendent Realm, Darlene''s Spatial Law could only be used to kill creatures below the Ranked Awakener Realm, showcasing the Spatial Law''s severeck of offensive power.

    However, if one thought this was all there was to the Spatial Law, they would be wrong.

    ''While the Spatial Law severelycks offensive power at the lower levels, the Spatial Law''s offensive power at higher levels are to be absolutely feared,'' Leon silently mused.

    He looks forward to the day when Darlene can wield her Spatial Law at the higher levels. It would be a sight to behold.

    A few momentster, the surrounding temperature began to drop as frigid mist and snowkes permeated the area, causing the surface of the ground to freeze upon contact.

    Swish~!

    Leon''s wall of mes was quickly extinguished as ice pirs rose from the frozen ground, forming a wall of ice that sealed everyone inside with the demons while blocking out the Hellbiters froming close to the tomb entrance.

    No doubt, it was Aria''s ice-lightning ability as traces of white lightning flowed within the ice walls like running circuits.

    "I''ve removed Hellbiter''s threat. With my ice wall in ce, it should allow us to focus on the demons without worries," Aria stated.

    Leon was quickly amused before he asked with a teasing smile, "Wasn''t my wall of fire doing just that until you snuffed it out?"

    "Fire burns out quickly, but ice will stay for a longer period, enough for us to wipe out these demons and explore the tomb if we intend to enter after," Aria exined.

    "True¡­"

    Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully while briefly ncing at the Hellbiter''s trying to climb the ice-lightning walls¡ªonly to be paralyzed with electrifying coldness before falling and crumbling into pieces.

    With the number of Hellbiter''s outside, the ice-lightning walls would not be able to hold them back forever, but it would definitelyst much longer than his wall of fire that burns quickly.

    "We should help senior finish off the Greater Demons quickly before more demons arrive," Aria suggested objectively.

    Not far away, rumbles of the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s fight with the Greater Demons could be felt with each sh and exchange of blows inside the sealed area around the central tree.

    Seeing the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s excited look, Leon shook his head and said, "It seems like it has been a long time since senior has fought like this. As such, we shouldn''t get in his way."

    "But¡­"

    "But it''s also true that we shouldn''t waste too much time here. Their battle will draw too much attention," Leon added before muttering thoughtfully, "I suppose it''s time I try that¡­"

    "That¡­?"

    Aria expressed her confusion, uncertain of what Leon was referring to.

    However, it did not take long before Aria felt the ground rumbling softly as an invisible bore down on her and everyone else in the vicinity like they had just gained extra weight.

    Everyone was caught by surprise.

    The pressure did not press down on them. Instead, it was their bodies that have be heavy, making their movements slightly sluggish.

    Nevertheless, such restriction was negligible with their powerful physiques.

    Only Darlene and Aria felt slightly more difficult to stand with their untrained bodies as they stared at Leon with difficult expressions.

    "What kind of ability is this? It seems like gravity has been increased by a few folds," Aria uttered with a stupefied look as the pressure was lifted.

    At the same time, the remaining Greater Demons experienced an even greater pressure, causing a momentarypse in their reaction and movement that resulted in being dealt a fatal blow by the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    "It''s because gravity did increase," Leon stated before exining further, "I found out that if the Earth Law and Metal Law is fused, it can produce gravity. However, I have yet to test the limits of gravitational force."

    "We have been together these past few days, and it could be said to have been quite busy. When did you have the time to figure out something like this?" Aria asked with amazement.

    "I''ll exinter," Leon smiled before apologizing to the approaching One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, "Sorry for cutting your fight short while you were enjoying yourself, senior."

    "Nevermind it," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman waved his hand with a shake of his head helplessly before saying, "We don''t have the luxury to enjoy ourselves here."

    "Un. I suppose it''s time to enter the tomb. Those earlier demons seemed quite knowledgeable about this tomb. So there''s a chance that they will be able to clear the trials," Leon mentioned.

    "Yeah, let us enter now," Chief Baskara quickly agreed before adding, "If we wait too long, it might be toote to regret when the demons get their hands on the inheritance and be too strong for us to handle."

    A few momentster, the group decides to wrap things up outside and enter the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb promptly without hesitation.

    Of course, Leon did not spare any of the demon corpses as they were all pocketed into his Worldspace.

    ''Now is not a good time. I will find a chance to refine their Origin Bloodter,'' Leon silently decided before being thest to step inside.

    Swish~!

    Aria shortly added anotheryer of ice to seal the tomb entrancepletely before saying to the group, "It would be troublesome if the Hellbiters flood the tomb while we are inside. This should buy us more time."

    "Miss Aria is quite meticulous," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman praised with a smile while wiping traces of demon blood off his bone sword.

    As the group descended the flight of stairs, the original traces of dim light within the forest sank intoplete darkness along with a drop in temperature.

    Such darkness did not hinder Leon''s vision, but he still snapped his fingers and summoned a flicker of fire to illuminate the dark space for the others.

    ''Do you have time to exin now?'' Aria suddenly transmitted her voice into Leon''s mind directly as they continued on their way down.

    After a brief pause, Leon smiled before replying via voice transmission back to Aria, ''You''re very curious about this, aren''t you? In fact, it''s not that big of a deal. I am capable of parallel thoughts.''

    ''Parallel thoughts?''

 Chapter 717 - Mother Hellbiter

    <h4>Chapter 717 - Mother Hellbiter</h4>

    ''Think of it as multitasking, but of the mind. By dividing the consciousness, it bes possible to think about two different things simultaneously,'' Leon mentally exined.

    ''Eh? That sounds quite impressive. Wouldn''t that mean you can cultivate while carrying out daily tasks simultaneously? Is it possible for me to learn parallel thoughts as well?'' Aria inquired with interest.

    ''Of course, you can. It''s nothing special, but it is quite handy. Nevertheless, it is not something that can be easily mastered. Even so, it is something that can be mastered with enough time and practice. There are no special requirements to learning the trick.''

    Despite saying that, Leon did not master parallel thoughts through practice. It was something he had secretly obtained since the harmonization of his two souls.

    ''However, this skill is not without its disadvantages. Even if you master the practice of thinking two different things simultaneously, your efficiency will only drop without adequate mental strength,'' Leon added.

    In other words, Aria would need a strong soul like him to use parallel thoughts effectively.

    Otherwise, she would only be splitting a single conscious thought with 100% efficiency into two conscious thoughts with 50% efficiency each, which defeats the purpose of parallel thoughts.

    After all, there was no point in having a second consciousness if it lowers the efficiency of the first consciousness.

    One would need their first consciousness to retain 100% efficiency while having a second consciousness at any level of efficiency for parallel thoughts to qualify as a useful skill.

    For Leon, he was able to have both consciousnesses at 100% efficiency.

    ''I see¡­''

    After Leon finished exining, Aria fell silent with a thoughtful look.

    Gradually, the group reached the end of the descending pathway and entered the tomb''s first trial ground.

    "Everyone, keep your wits about you. It''s uncertain what dangers we will be facing from this point onwards," Chief Baskara warned the group.

    Darlene paused for a moment before asking with surprise, "If the demons already cleared the first trial, shouldn''t it be safe?"

    "Little girl, don''t underestimate a Demon King-level Tomb. Even if it is safe, you still need to stay vignt. Otherwise, you wouldn''t know how you would die," A Low-rank Battle Master teased.

    Darlene was slightly embarrassed and no longermented.

    "Nevertheless, it seems like we have stumbled into a maze. Even if the demons cleared the trial, it wouldn''t make it any less troublesome forters. I wonder if the Demon King built the first trial like this with that in mind," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spected while observing the maze walls.

    The Crimsonfog Tribe''s Battle Masters all wore solemn expressions as they also studied the maze walls seriously, each with their own opinions.

    Nevertheless, they did not voice them.

    At the same time, Leon used Spirit Eyes and Divine Sense to scout the dark area before a map of the maze appeared in his mind, revealing all the blindspots and deadends as the clear route unveiled itself.

    Even after finding the pathway through the maze, Leon did not forget about the ceiling and decided to nce up¡ªwhen he quickly noticed a massive body with eight furry legs and crimsons eyes staring back at him in its nest of webs.

    It was a gigantic Hellbiter, and not a weak one either.

    ording to Leon''s silent spection, its strength did not seem to pale inparison to a peak-level Greater Demon or even a low-level Arch Demon.

    Gulp!

    Leon swallowed his saliva to ease his nervousness before he quickly noticed that Mother Hellbiter was inactive, giving him a bit of relief.

    The Mother Hellbiter was not looking back at him. It was simply resting with its eyes open because spiders do not have eyes lids.

    "Well, that''s one thing we don''t want to piss off," Leon muttered softly before stating to the group, "Follow me. I''ve already figured out the way through this maze."

    "As expected of Young Master Leonhardt. We can always count on you."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman praised with a smile before Chief Baskara asked with furrowed brows, "But what does Young Master Leonhardt mean by something we don''t want to piss off?"

    "You might not see it in the darkness, but there''s a giant as mother f*cking spider above us, the Mother Hellbiter, and its strength is suspected to be at peak-level Greater Demon or higher," Leon exined.

    His words nearly caused several knees to buckle.

    "A Hellbiter at peak-level Greater Demon or higher? Even the small Hellbiters can kill humans and demons alike with a single bite. Wouldn''t the Mother Hellbiter''s bite be instant death?"

    A Low-rank Battle Master mentioned before receiving dumb looks from his fellow tribesmen as if he said something stupid.

    "Are you joking? If the small Hellbiter bites you, you can worry about dying from its venom. But if the Mother Hellbiter bites, you won''t have to worry about the venom killing you at all because there probably won''t be anything of you left behind."

    "Oh, that makes sense¡­"

    The Low-rank Battle Master scratched his head awkwardly before his expression turned solemn again as he observed the surroundings with his limited vision, afraid of touching anything that may alert the Mother Hellbiter.

    "Don''t touch anything, lest we unwittingly disturb the Mother Hellbiter''s rest."

    Although Leon knew the group understood the gravity of Mother Hellbiter''s threat, he felt it was still necessary to remind them.

    "Naturally," Chief Baskara nodded.

    A short momentter, Leon suddenly halted his footsteps, causing the group to stop along with him as they be alerted.

    "What''s the matter, Young Master Leonhardt? Why did you stop?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired.

    "Ahh, sorry about that. There''s a pile of demon corpses nearby. It seems like they fell victim to the Hellbiters'' vicious bites. If you guys don''t mind, I would like to make a short detour to collect their bodies."

    Leon apologized for the slight dy before making his request.

    From the number of bites on the demons'' bodies, Leon could tell that the Hellbiters were not small in number. Despite that, it was surprising that the demons were not devoured clean.

    "Since it''s a small request from Young Master Leonhardt, how can we reject?"

    "Thanks, everyone."

 Chapter 718 - The Second Trial

    <h4>Chapter 718 - The Second Trial</h4>

    With Leon''s divine sense, it did not take long to reach the pile of demon corpses. To be exact, there were 32 corpses.

    Even though the Hellbiters'' venom continued to contaminate the demon blood within the demon corpses, Leon only needed a few drops of uncorrupted blood from each of their bodies.

    As such, he cannot help but feel excited the moment heid his eyes on the pile of corpses despite being aware of the number.

    ''With this many demon corpses, even if they were all Lesser Demons, I''ll be guaranteed to advance the Evesting Blood Mantra to the next level!'' Leon thought.

    However, a split secondter, he realized there was something wrong with his judgment.

    ''No! There''s no guarantee that all their Origin Blood will be unique from one another!'' Leon frowned in thought.

    There was a chance that demons belonging to the same n and sub-race possessed the same set of Origin Blood in their bodies.

    ''Better not get my hopes up. I can only find out once I begin refinement. For now, I shouldn''t dy our main objective.''

    Shortly after, Leon waved his hand and pocketed all 32 demon corpses into an interspatial storage ring rather than his Worldspace.

    The Worldspace was an actual world, unlike interspatial storage artifacts. Although its size was great, it could not preserve the state of the demon corpses from the venom''s corruption.

    "Let us head to the next trial ground right away. Considering this group of demons were wiped out, it is safe to assume that it is dangerous to linger around here," Leon stated.

    He had long killed the lights, plunging the surrounding into their original darkness and forcing everyone to rely on other senses besides their sense of sight.

    Everyone understood that any spark of illumination in the darkness was a beacon of attraction, something they solemnly did not want in a den of Hellbiters.

    "Stick close and follow Young Master Leonhardt''s lead. I doubt any of you want to be left behind in this maze," Chief Baskara directed his tribesmen.

    "Yes, Chief!"

    "Quiet!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately barked at the Crimsonfog Tribesmen before questioning them in a low tone, "Do you want to wake up the Mother Hellbiter or something?"

    "Err¡­ Your voice was even louder than ours, Venerable Shaman¡­"

    "What did you say?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman narrowed his eyes before the Battle Masters were intimidated into keeping their silence on the matter.

    "N-Nothing¡­"

    "Hmph, I thought as much."

    As Leon led the way, Chief Baskara caught up to him before he asked in a low volume, "Do you have a use for all those Demon Cores, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "There are some uses, but my primary objective was their demon blood. The Demon Cores are of lesser importance to me," Leon nced at Chief Baskara and asked, "Why? Do you want them?"

    Despite what Leon said, the Demon Cores were the most valuable part of a demon. As such, Chief Baskara found it difficult to ask for them.

    "Ahem," Chief Baskara cleared his throat and requested politely, "If it''s not too much to ask, I hope Young Master Leonhardt can gift the Demon Cores to us."

    "No need to be so reserved, Chief Baskara. Seeing as we are a group, it is only fair to share the spoils. Besides, I truly only seek the demon blood and nothing else. Chief Baskara can have the entire demon corpses after I am done with them if you want," Leon casually stated.

    Chief Baskara and the other Battle Masters were quickly surprised by his words. Nevertheless, Chief Baskara quickly recovered before cupping his hands to Leon.

    "Young Master Leonhardt is truly generous. Since Young Master Leonhardt has said so, this Chief will graciously ept them after Young Master Leonhardt is done with them. These Demon Cores have far too many uses to our tribes," Chief Baskara stated.

    Leon smiled lightly without ament.

    Not long after, they arrived in front of the stone gate that leads to the tomb''s second trial ground before Leon halted his steps.

    The group subsequently stopped after him.

    "The first trial ground went rather smooth, but this could have been part of the Demon King''s design to get us to drop our guards on the subsequent trials," Chief Baskara mentioned before warning the group, "So stay cautious, everyone."

    "Exactly," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded and said, "Even if we have a group of demons trailzing the trials ahead for us, it won''t make the trials any less dangerous."

    Considering that the first trial has an Arch Demon-level guardian, the chances of the second trial having an Arch Demon-level guardian or higher was quite high.

    "Well, we''re already here. I don''t think anyone among us intends to leave before snatching the Demon King''s inheritance from the demons. As such, the only choice is forward."

    With that said, Leon pushed open therge stone gate with brute strength before taking a peek inside with Divine Sense and Spirit Eyes.

    "A word of warning would have been nice before you open the stone gate and surprise us like that, Young Master Leonhardt."

    Chief Baskara smiled wryly.

    No one was prepared to face the second trial immediately. As such, the group was startled by Leon''s proactiveness.

    "I thought people like surprises?" Leon replied with a smile while observing the environment of the second trial ground beyond the stone gates.

    "Depends on the subject of the surprise, Young Master Leonhardt." Chief Baskara smiled wryly and said, "There''s a difference between pleasant surprises and terrible surprises."

    "Well, never mind." Leon shrugged before saying, "Everyone should be prepared for quite a workout in the second trial."

    "What do you mean by those words, Young Master Leonhardt¡­?"

    "The literal meaning, of course." Leon continued to observe the second trial ground ahead as he said, "We won''t be able to avoidbat like the first trial, and the leading demon group didn''t make it easier for us either. Or rather, they cannot."

    "From what I am seeing, the second trial appears to be a test of endurance¡ªor so it seems," Leon added.

    Beyond the stone gates, he could see the demons scattered while fighting hordes of strange nt-type creatures in arge open space

    After clearing a wave, a new wave of these strange nt-type creatures would spawn with twice the previous number.

    There did not seem to be an end to the waves of nts attacking the demons.

    ''A test of endurance, huh? Probably not that simple¡­''

 Chapter 719 - Cultivating By The Gate

    <h4>Chapter 719 - Cultivating By The Gate</h4>

    Inside the vast space of the second trial, the two remaining demon groups led by Balthagan and Rathadas of the Nine Great Demon ns continued to fend off the endless onught of wood-like creatures.

    Their sizes were small like human infants, and their appearances varied from humanoid trees to tree-like beasts and demons.

    Nevertheless, most of them took on the form of spiders as if mimicking the Hellbiter''s appearance, albeit not precisely due to their distinctive wooden trait.

    "Argh! These ursed creatures are endless! Kill a hundred, and a thousand shall take their ce. Kill a thousand, and tens of thousands more will spawn! There''s no end to them!"

    "If you have the extra energy toin, then put it into killing instead! Otherwise, we will be overwhelmed!"

    The minor Greater Demonsined as the two demon groups worked together to survive, forming a circle that allowed them to cover each other''s blind spots while fending off the endless waves of tree spiders and the like.

    "If you have any solution, now would be the time to mention it, Balthagan. At this rate, we will be exhausted to death before we can clear the second trial."

    Red-horned Rathadas diverted some of his attention and sought Evil-Eyed Balthagan''s wisdom while defending his side of the demon circle.

    Nevertheless, Balthagan could only give a disappointing response with a frown.

    "We knew the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s trial would be difficult, but the first trial clearance still made uscent. We should have done some preparation before entering the second trial."

    "I don''t want to hear what we could or could not have done differently! It''s already toote for that!" Red-horned Rathadas stated before demanding a solution from the Evil Eye Greater Demon, "Do you have a solution or not?!"

    "Unfortunately, I do not." Balthagan shook his head disappointingly and said, "A power source should be hidden somewhere, fueling the production of these creatures. However, my evil eye cannot locate it."

    "Goddammit! I am unwilling to die here! I still have many things to aplish! My ambition can''t possibly end here¡ª!"

    At that moment, the tightly-sealed gates leading back to the first trial ground in the distance suddenly reopened.

    The Red-Horned Greater Demon and Evil Eye Greater Demon''s eyes brightened instantly.

    "The first trial ground! Great, someone else ising! Whether they are a friend or foe, we must quickly retreat back to the first trial ground before the gate shuts tight again!" Balthagan quickly barked.

    The demons saw hope on the other end of the gate.

    However, an entire army of hostile creatures that continued to grow in numbers with every passing moment stood between them and the gate to the first trial ground.

    No matter how hard the demons tried to push through the army''s lines, the overwhelming numbers kept them in ce.

    "Lord Balthagan, it''s no good! There are too many of them!"

    "We''ve beenpletely pinned on the spot! Neither advancing nor retreating is possible, Lord Balthagan!"

    Several Lesser Demons cried as the task at hand was exceedingly challenging to aplish.

    On the other end of the gate, Leon and the others quickly noticed the demons'' precarious situation deep inside the second trial ground before they backed away from the entrance.

    At the same time, Leon noticed another detail.

    "Seems like these creatures won''t attack us so long as we do not enter the second trial," Leon narrowed his eyes and mentioned, "They arepletely focused on the demons."

    It was apparent to everyone, even without Leon mentioning it to the group.

    "It also seems like these creatures will be spawning endlessly until all the trial undertakers inside are killed," Chief Baskara mentioned with a surprised look, "However, it''s the first time I''ve seen something like this."

    "Same here. I didn''t think something like this was possible¡­" a Battle Master of the Crimsonfog Tribe added.

    Naturally, they were referring to the tree-like creatures'' rapid production that could be observed along the walls inside the second trial ground, where numerous transparent glowing sacs continuously spat out seeds like pea shooters.

    These seeds, in turn, quickly germinate and grow into tree-like spiders.

    However, over time, the group noticed the green-glowing transparent sacs spawning fewer tree-like spiders as the newborn creatures took on demon forms instead.

    Not only were they bigger in size, but they were also stronger in power.

    Chief Baskara and the others could not fathom norprehend how the second trial could generate such strange lifeforms at incredible rates.

    Not only was it unfathomable, but it was also rming.

    "This¡­ We better refrain from entering the second trial ground and observe the situation for now¡­ Those demons are done for," Chief Baskara stated.

    "Agreed."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the rest of the Crimsonfog Tribe''s Battle Masters quickly reached a consensus.

    They will not enter the second trial ground unless they understand the nature of the second trial and figure out the way to clear it.

    Otherwise, it would just be suicide.

    While everyone was preupied with observing the changes inside the second trial ground, Leon took out the demon corpses he collected earlier.

    "I''m going to refine the demon blood and cultivate for a bit. If I can advance to the next stage in the Evesting Blood Mantra, our chances of survival, in general, will rise."

    With that said, Leon did not hesitate tomence the demon blood extraction immediately.

    It wasn''t difficult to understand that the stronger a person was, the higher their survivability was. As such, no one hadints about Leon''s choice to cultivate at that moment.

    Furthermore, they would be receiving the demon corpses and their Demon Cores after Leonpleted his blood refinement.

    Knowing what the Crimsonfog Tribe''s Battle Masters wanted, Leon extracted all the untainted demon blood essence from the 30-odd demon corpses in one go.

    Shortly after, a red sphere of demon blood hung above Leon''s head as hemenced with the next step and refined the demon blood essence into origin blood, paying no heed to anything else around him.

    Most of the Crimsonfog Tribe''s Battle Masters took that chance to alsomence their own cultivation session after receiving their share of the Demon Cores from the demon corpses.

    Only Darlene, Aria, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, Chief Baskara, and a few others chose to remain by the gate to continue their observation of the second trial''s situation.

 Chapter 720 - Speculations

    <h4>Chapter 720 - Spections</h4>

    "There should be some limit to how many creatures those glowing sacs can produce, right? Whatever is fueling it, it shouldn''t be limitless. But, strangely, the sacs show no sign of slowing down its production despite the demons'' efforts."

    While observing the intense battle between demons and tree-like creatures inside the second trial, Darlene brought the matter to Aria''s attention after noticing the detail.

    However, she was not the only one to have noticed the problem. Aria and the others also found it strange at a nce.

    "Mm, it is strange." Aria nodded before saying, "However, a Demon King''s means is not something people at our level can understand."

    "Though, if I had to make a wild guess, I would say that there''s a chance that the power source fueling the sacs is capable of replenishing energy at the same rate as its expenditure. In that case, it might as well be limitless."

    After Aria spoke, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Chief Baskara quickly frowned in thought.

    If the second trial could spawn such strange creatures en masse ceaselessly, there would be no point in killing them, no matter how many of them there are.

    In other words, killing the tree-like creatures served no purpose other than surviving a little longer.

    "If these weird creatures spawn ceaselessly, killing them won''t help us clear the second trial. So how are we supposed to pass this trial?"

    Chief Baskara pondered deeply before feeling a sharp pain in his mind.

    "Ugh¡­"

    "Take it easy, Baskara boya." The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stroked his beard while saying, "Leave the thinking to others. You are still in a period of recovery."

    "I supposed I will do just that."

    Chief Baskara did not argue and took a seat on the ground with his eyes closed, paying no further thoughts to the second trial.

    Meanwhile, Darlene''s brows furrowed deeply over time before her eyes flickered.

    "What if¡­"

    "Hm?"

    Aria shifted her gaze to Darlene, seeing she seemed to have something else to say.

    "Ah, sorry." Darlene briefly arranged her thoughts before she continued to speak, "What if we just heard strange for the gate on the other end of the second trial ground? Won''t that clear the second trial?"

    "Huh?"

    Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman were taken aback by Darlene''s words.

    "What are you saying¡­ There''s no way clearing the second trial could be so sim¡ª" Aria prepared to dismiss Darlene''s guess when she suddenly fell into deeper thoughts. "Actually, you may be right, Sister Darlene."

    "You think so?" Darlene felt slightly happy to be acknowledged by Aria.

    "Mm." Aria nodded and said, "Unlike the first trial, the second trial is an open space, allowing us to see the other end. If we can force our way through the enemy lines, we can enter the next trial ground."

    "We not even need to enter the next trial right away. If we look at our current location, it would seem that the area near the trial gates is a sort of safe zone. However, we shouldn''t bet on it. More importantly, the problem is¡­"

    "Getting through the enemy lines¡­" Darlene muttered softly.

    If they cannot get through the enemy lines, any thoughts of entering the next trial are just wishful thinking.

    And by looking at the demons'' situation, such a thing as plowing through the army of tree-like creatures was clearly no simple task.

    In fact, it was exceedingly difficult to aplish.

    Otherwise, the demons wouldn''t be trapped in the center of the second trail ground, surrounded on all fronts, and unable to advance or retreat.

    The tree-like creatures spawned at a ridiculous rate, forming thick walls off hardened wood that blocks off any and all room for movement if allowed to grow unchecked.

    "Say¡­ if I can use my spatial ability to blink to the other end of the trial ground and open the next trial gate, the second trial mighte to an end. If that happens, there will be no need to fight our way through all those creatures¡­" Darlene mentioned unconfidently.

    "Absolutely not! It is too dangerous!" Aria immediately rejected Darlene''s idea, "I won''t agree to it, and neither would Leon. In our group, your strength is the lowest. We can''t have you acting on a what-if when we don''t even know what will actually happen."

    There was no certainty the area around the third trial gate was a safe zone, and it makes even less sense for the spawned creatures to stop attacking simply because the second trial got cleared.

    At most, it would just stop spawning more creatures.

    "More importantly, there is no guarantee that opening the third trial gate would be the condition for clearing the second trial. Everything is just mere spection," Aria added sternly and said, "If we are wrong, you can easily lose your life."

    "Also, what do you even know about the spatial ability - blink? You might be able to get from one spot to another instantly with a single step, but the prerequisite in achieving that is the path have to be clear, do you understand?"

    Despite getting an earful from Aria, Darlene could sense the concern in Aria''s words, which made her feel warm in her heart.

    Besides that, she was also surprised that Aria seemed quite knowledgeable about Spatial Law.

    ''If I remember correctly, Big Sister Aria should be an ice-lightning user. Why does she seem to know so much about spatial abilities?''

    While Darlene silently pondered about this point, Aria did not seem to have realized it herself either.

    Nor did Aria notice the spatial seed and temporal seed within her sea of consciousness had finished forming and began drawing in power subtly at some point, especially the temporal seed.

    An hour quickly passed during Aria and Darlene''s discussion, but the battle inside the second trial ground continued to rage on, albeit with declining intensity.

    At this point, the demons were on the brink of exhaustion, about to be overwhelmed and wiped out at any moment.

    "Seems like the demons won''t be able to hold out for much longer¡­"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman softly stated before shifting his gaze back onto the group of Battle Masters in seated meditation and sensing their growing auras.

    "And by the looks of it, a few of us are about to breakthrough in their cultivation."

 Chapter 721 - Stage Of Rejuvenation

    <h4>Chapter 721 - Stage Of Rejuvenation</h4>

    Pip-pip-pip!

    Like a series of exploding popcorns, multiple Battle Masters achieved a breakthrough in their cultivation consecutively.

    Three Battle Masters advanced to Mid-rank Battle Master while two reached the High-rank Battle Master Realm.

    ''So this is how the warriors cultivate on this side,'' Aria thought as she silently observed the Crimsonfog Tribe''s Battle Masters making big progress in their cultivation.

    She quickly understood why the secret realm was such a big allure for the various tribes living in the Infertile ins.

    ''With just a few Greater Demon-level Demon Cores, warriors at the Battle Master level could already advance a small stage in their cultivation¡­ If they had better Demon Cores than that¡­'' Aria thought.

    It was hard to imagine how powerful and how far the warriors could grow within a short time with their body cultivation.

    ''But¡­'' Aria suddenly frowned and pondered an issue, ''There has to be a limit to how quickly a body could grow.''

    There was a certain risk factor warriors had to take into ount when ites to Body Cultivation.

    If they transformed their bodies beyond the rate of change their bodies could handle, their bodies would not improve but break down instead.

    ''Like a small bucket cannot contain the entire ocean''s water, if these low-level divine cultivators try to ingest cultivation pills meant for the high-level divine cultivators, their bodies willbust from the excessive energy.''

    Although Aria was curious about the Crimsonfog Tribe''s Body Cultivation, she did not dwell on the matter.

    She quickly shifted her attention to Leon.

    At that moment, the blob of blood essence hovering above Leon''s head hadpletely disappeared after being refined and absorbed all at once.

    His skin glowed red, and white steam with a hint of redness escaped from his pores.

    Even without touch Leon''s body, Aria could understand that at that moment, Leon''s body temperature was high to an rming degree.

    It was as if his body embodied the sun, burning with scorching mes that evaporated his blood as they failed to retain their fluid form.

    Without surprise, Aria was concerned.

    Despite that, she did not act on her own ord but waited for Leon''s signal, ready to assist him at a moment''s notice should he call for it.

    Rumble¡­!

    A few momentster, reddish-white steam dissipated before everyone felt a lofty pressure exuding from Leon''s body.

    "Such powerful vitality!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman eximed with surprise.

    Including the unsessful Battle Masters who have yet to achieve their breakthrough, everyone paused their cultivation and focused their sole attention on Leon''s body with a slightly wary look.

    It was as if they were not looking at a person but a powerful beast that just awakened.

    "Such a peculiar cultivation method. How can a person''s impression change so much within a short time?" A Mid-rank Battle Master wondered.

    At the same time, Leon''s steadily opened before Aria immediately appeared at his side with a quick inspection.

    "Are you alright, Leon? So much steam wasing out of your body¡­ It¡­ It wasn''t your blood evaporating, was it?" Aria asked with concern.

    "It was," Leon admitted truthfully before adding, "But you don''t have to worry, Aria. It was only the bad blood leaving the body. Think of it like shedding one''s impurities."

    After he absorbed over 120 drops of blood essence from the 30-odd demon corpses, he barely gained 75 unique drops of Origin Blood as some of them ovepped with one another.

    Nevertheless, it was barely enough for him to reach the second stage of mastery in the Evesting Blood Mantra, the Stage of Rejuvenation, at 102 types of Origin Blood.

    Leon clenched his fist and felt his body overflowing with power.

    It wasn''t just an illusion brought by a major breakthrough in his blood-refining technique but true might.

    His physical strength has risen far above the 1-mil jin mark¡ªbut by how much, he had yet to find out.

    Furthermore, his speed also seemed to have improved.

    If he considered the minor and major changes in his body, it was an overall improvement to all his physical abilities.

    ''Interesting¡­'' Leon thought.

    The blood-refining phase was said to focus on improving one''s body''s regenerative abilities, immunity to poison, and lifespan.

    However, he gained much more than that of reaching the Evesting Blood Mantra''s second stage. He did not expect it.

    And because he did not expect it, it came as a pleasant surprise.

    ''Was it the difference in quality?'' Leon thought.

    It was true that any beast blood could have been used to progress his blood-refining technique. But he used demon blood, which contained the refined and transformed blood of other beasts and demons.

    The quality was on a different level to ordinary beast blood.

    "I wasn''t aware that there was a process of shedding impurity in one''s blood as well," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman mentioned before inquiring curiously, "Just exactly what kind of technique are you cultivating, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "A technique from the primordial age of gods and devils," Leon stated without any intention of hiding the fact before smiling, "Why, are you interested?"

    The Crimsonfog Tribesmen were all surprised.

    They heard that Young Master Leonhardt could decipher the ancient techniques from the primordial age of gods and devils, but they did not know the person had already begun practicing one such technique to a great extent.

    "It would be a lie say this old man isn''t," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head helplessly and said, "However, it''s ignoble to lust after another person''s techniques."

    "If Young Master Leonhardt is willing to teach, then we are naturally eager to learn. However, we will not take the initiative to ask you to teach us such a valuable technique."

    Once these words were spoken, everyone who harbored desires for the technique quickly had their heads cooled.

    "Forget it. Young Master Leonhardt had already promised to help us decipher our tribe''s collection of ancient techniques. Perhaps, there will be a more suitable technique for us."

    A High-rank Battle Master mentioned the matter before reaching a tacit understanding with the other tribesmen.

    At the same time, they were once reminded how fortunate it was to have such an incredibly talented person like the Young Master Leonhardt on their side.

    Their anticipation for the future grew immensely.

    "Anyway, I believe we have wasted enough time in this tomb. Let us quickly clear it and regroup with the others scattered across the secret realm, shall we?" Leon suggested before further adding, "I may have been cultivating earlier, but I''ve also overheard everything you''ve all discussed."

    "And personally, I think Darlene''s guess of reaching the other side has a good chance of being the correct solution to clearing the second trial," Leon stated after.

    He was also itching to put his body to work and test out the limits of his newfound strength.

    While Darlene was delighted to hear Leon''s words, she quickly became concerned with Leon''s condition¡ªmuch like Aria.

    "Won''t you need to rest and replenish your blood? It seemed like you lost a lot of blood during your cultivation," Darlene mentioned with creased brows.

    However, the twodies'' worries were for naught.

    The bad blood was removed to make room for his improved blood and not contaminate them at the same time.

    The slight blood loss did not make him anemic but overflowing with energy instead.

    Suddenly, Leon realized why his physical may have improved and gained strong regenerative properties after reaching the Second Stage of Rejuvenation.

    ''A powerful engine cannot exhibit its full potential without good fuel.''

 Chapter 722 - The Leap Through Space

    <h4>Chapter 722 - The Leap Through Space</h4>

    After reaching the Stage of Rejuvenation, Leon''s strength and regenerative abilities improved considerably.

    Apart from that, he also gained much insight into demons and the nature of their cultivation. There was hidden knowledge that could only be obtained from their blood.

    When humans hear about demons, they think of them as an evil and bloodthirsty race with powerful bodies and strong regenerative abilities, making them difficult to kill as they spread malice and destruction to all who cross their path.

    However, was such a powerful race always born that powerful?

    The answer was no¡ªor at least, that was the answer Leon arrived at after refining and absorbing the blood essence of 30-odd demon corpses.

    Demons were not born powerful, but they had an inherent ability to grow powerful quickly. It was the ability to assimte the bloodline of other races and make it their own.

    From Leon''s point of view, it was a type of blood cultivation.

    Even so, it was a type of blood cultivation that is deeply ingrained in demons upon birth, which made it understandable why demons were vile and bloodthirsty by nature.

    But even if Leon understood that much, it did not mean it was eptable by human standards.

    ''Given the demon''s nature, it is extremely difficult for demons to coexist with any other race, let alone humans.''

    Leon''s eyes flickered as he stood up and shelved everything to the back of his mind. He could continue contemting the matter another time.

    Right now, there was a more pressing matter at hand.

    Meanwhile, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman watched Leon stand up before he nodded, seeing that he was ready to join their conversation.

    "Since Young Master Leonhardt agrees with Miss Darlene''s idea, is it also safe for this old man to assume that Young Master Leonhardt has a n that would allow us to reach the other side of the trial ground?" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked.

    "I do have a n," Leon nodded and said firmly, "However if you all trust me, I would like to take on the second trial alone."

    "Alone, you say¡­?"

    One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, Aria, Darlene, and the other Battle Masters were immediately taken aback by Leon''s decision.

    "No way!"

    "It''s too dangerous!"

    Without surprise, Aria and Darlene were the first to reject Leon''s decision immediately. Aria gripped Leon''s arm firmly with bottled-up feelings.

    She was sick of him throwing himself head-first into danger all the time while she could only helplessly worry for his safety.

    "I hope you have a good reason for suggesting something so ridiculous, Young Master Leonhardt¡­" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled wryly and said, "Even a group of Greater Demons could not get past those things. What makes you think you can do it alone?"

    Leon rested a hand on top of Aria''s hand and gave her a reassuring smile before facing One-Eyed Venerable Shaman seriously.

    "The group of Greater Demons was strong, yes, but what theycked wasn''t strength. It was versatility. They had brute strength but a limited range of different abilities to use. However, I am different," he stated confidently.

    "My strength might not be greater than the demons''bined strength, but with my abilities, I will not be pinned and overwhelmed by those creatures."

    "And what happens if you do end up pinned and overwhelmed by said creatures? How can you be so certain, Young Master Leonhardt?" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman furrowed his brows with doubt.

    "I believe a demonstration is more convincing than any words spoken," Leon smiled before saying, "But even if I do get pinned down by those creatures'' overwhelming numbers, they won''t be able to exhaust me to death like the demons."

    Although the strange creatures in the second trial have wood-like skin, they still bleed with red blood like normal humans.

    "Battlefield of blood is my domain." Leon stared inside the second trial ground filled with tree-like creatures that had yet to disappear and said, "So long as they bleed red, I will be inexhaustible."

    "I see¡­" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s eyes flickered before he said, "Since Young Master Leonhardt''s mind is set, I will no longer try to persuade you otherwise."

    After convincing the Crimsonfog Tribe''s side, Leon took some time to reassure Aria and Darlene of his absolute confidence.

    Sometimeter, he stood before the fine line that divided the first and second trial ground before he nced back at Aria and Darlene.

    "Keep your eyes open and observe what I''ll do. It''ll be a good experience for the both of you," Leon stated before adding, "Darlene might have already noticed it, but space inside the secret realm is not as solid as the outside. As such, I will be using my spatial ability."

    After Leon finished speaking, Aria and Darlene''s gaze quickly turned solemn as they stood back and watched Leon without daring to blink.

    Since he said it would be a good experience for them, it must be so.

    When space is less solid, it is easier to manipte. And when space is easier to manipte, less energy is expended in doing so.

    If Darlene hadn''t used her spatial ability inside the secret realm, Leon would''ve missed such a subtle detail.

    After all, the solidity of space isn''t visible to the naked eye.

    Because of the spatial seal on Gaia, the solidity of space on Gaia was much higher than it should be. This restrains the spatial abilities of Spatial Awakeners and makes it difficult for them to exercise their full potential.

    ''It''s been some time since I used this ability. There''s a chance I might make a mistake since the Divine Realm and this realm is different. But since my spatial ability is at 9-stars and the solidity of space in this secret realm is different from outside, I should be fine¡­ probably,'' Leon mused.

    Shortly after, Leon reminded, "Alright, I''m going now. Watch carefully. This is what you can do with Spatial Law."

    In that instance, Leon dashed forward.

    Simultaneous, two points in space in front of him quickly converged as if they were being pinched together, causing the other end of the second trial ground to appear much closer.

    It onlysted an instant before returning to the way it was, making everything seemed like an illusion.

    However, the Crimsonfog Tribe''s people knew it was no illusion as they vaguely saw Leon on the other side of the second trial ground.

    "This¡­"

    Everyone''s eyes quickly widened in that instance.

 Chapter 723 - Sudden Frenzy

    <h4>Chapter 723 - Sudden Frenzy</h4>

    Those with weak senses only saw Leon''s position changed, but those with sharper senses saw an instance where Leon''s body suddenly moved at such high speed that they only saw his blurred silhouette.

    If they had to describe Leon''s movement, it was like a slingshot effect.

    But to Leon, it was just a regr dash as he was the one moving through the distorted space. People on the outside and inside of the distorted space saw things differently.

    Afternding on the other side, Leon was relieved to see that his body was still in one piece.

    The spatial movement was not something an amateur without any experience should pull off as it was perilous.

    If his body had only entered the distorted space after its contraction and not left before its expansion, his body would have been ripped apart.

    This is why he had to do it first.

    It was so Darlene could gain a better understanding and experience of the spatial movement and run a lower risk when performing it herself.

    "Seems like we were right." Leon nced at the unmoving creatures and said, "The area at the end of a trial is a safe zone. In that case, I won''t have to worry about them for now and focus on¡­"

    Leon shifted his gaze to the stone gate before him.

    Although therge army of wood-like creatures filling the second trial ground concerned him, he can only worry about it after collecting the Demon King''s inheritance.

    "Strangely, there is no holographic projection of the Demon King''s Will like the Arch Demon''s tomb¡­" Leon furrowed his brows with doubts.

    Nevertheless, he ced both hands on the stone gates and exerted his strength.

    "Whether it''ll be the third trial or the Demon King''s resting ground, all will be answered once I open these gates," Leon muttered.

    As the stone gates opened, the gloomy-green ghostfire candles revealed a dimly lit chamber with a single ice coffin at its center.

    "It''s the Demon King''s resting ground, huh? That saves me the extra trouble¡­" Leon thought out loud. It was another two-trial tomb.

    Perhaps there weren''t any third trials in any of these demon tombs.

    After cautiously approaching the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb without activating any potential traps that may have been installed, Leon nced inside the transparent ice coffin.

    Contrary to Leon''s expectation, the Abyssal Wood Demon King inside the ice coffin greatly resembled a human.

    The only difference was Abyssal Wood Demon King''s skin color being green.

    Apart from that, the Abyssal Wood Demon King looked no different to a man in his 40''s with long ck hair and a rough warrior-like face and body, garbed in golden armor while holding a white sword over his chest.

    The full set of golden armor especially caught Leon''s attention.

    "These fine runic lines and divine glow that gives me a greater sense of awepared to the Tier-6 dagger¡­ These golden pieces of armor must be at least Tier-7 artifacts!" Leon determined.

    Tier-6 artifacts were already something, but Tier-7 artifacts were even more incredible.

    Leon did not doubt for a second that if he pitted his bone spear against the Tier-7 white sword, his bone spear would be cut in two without much effort.

    It didn''t take long before Leon noticed the ck ring on the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s index finger.

    "An Interspatial Artifact! There must be a lot of goodies stored inside it!" His eyes sparkled immediately.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Aria, Darlene, and the rest of the group continued to observe the changes in the second trial ground after Leon disappeared beyond it.

    Although One-Eyed Venerable Shaman trusted Leon''s character, the same could not be said for the rest of the Crimsonfog Tribesmen.

    "I don''t get it. I don''t get it all. If Young Master Leonhardt had such an ability, he could have taken us all to the other side with him. There was no need to brave the danger alone," a High-rank Battle Master quietly expressed his doubts to his tribesmen.

    Several Battle Masters immediately gave the person nces.

    "What are you trying to say? Are you suspecting that Young Master Leonhardt volunteered to go alone because he wants to¡­" a Mid-rank Battle Master spoke but did not finish his words before falling silent.

    Even if he didn''t, it was enough to convey his message.

    He suspected that Young Master Leonhardt wanted to monopolize the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s inheritance.

    If Young Master Leonhardt stored all of the Demon King''s inheritance into his interspatial storage, they would never know how much of the inheritance was gained before they decided to divide it.

    The only way to know would be to ask Young Master Leonhardt to open up his interspatial storage for them to check.

    However, such a thing was incredibly rude and disrespectful.

    Several Battle Masters could not help but also start suspecting Young Master Leonhardt''s intention to hide a portion of the inheritance for greater gain after the topic was brought up.

    After all, it was the Demon King''s inheritance they were talking about.

    It would be strange if it did not ignite people''s greed when they imagine the potential to be a Battle God or something beyond it.

    Nevertheless, their small talk did not escape One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s ears.

    "Haiz¡­"

    One-Eyed Venerable Shaman sighed with disappointment.

    With his authority and power, he could control his tribesmen''s actions but not their thoughts. Even so, it was disappointing to see them disy the ugliness of the human heart when power and glory are involved.

    Young Master Leonhardt''s decision to venture alone was out of his goodwill, yet that goodwill is viewed as an ulterior motive.

    They did not think about the hidden danger thatpelled Young Master Leonhardt to go alone.

    Rumble¡­!

    Suddenly, the underground shook violently beforerge movements were detected inside the second trial ground.

    "Something''s happening!" Chief Baskara frowned.

    The army of wood-like creatures, which had been inactive, suddenly became active again. They all rushed towards Leon''s direction, pouring into the Demon King''s resting chamber with great frenzy.

    It was also the exact moment Leon touched the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s golden armor.

 Chapter 724 - The Demon Kings Intention

    <h4>Chapter 724 - The Demon King''s Intention</h4>

    Although Leon made sure the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s ice coffin had no traps before he touched the treasures inside, it did not stop the hidden mechanisms from activating.

    ''Were the hidden traps set up by the Abyssal Wood Demon King too advanced for me to detect?'' Leon frowned in thought.

    However, the urgent situation did not allow him to dwell on it.

    With the loss of the safe zone and the army of wood-like creatures charging towards him, Leon could only ponder the issueter.

    He quickly stored the entire ice coffin into his Worldspace before drawing his Tier-4 Bone Spear.

    "Come!"

    Leon pointed his Tier-4 Bone Spear at the army, preparing to face them head-on. It was a good chance to test the effectiveness of the Evesting Blood Mantra''s Second Stage, the Stage of Rejuvenation.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    In a short instance, the two sides collided¡ªor rather, the army collided with Leon''s Tier-4 Bone Spear as it turned into a fierce whirlwind in his hands.

    Hundreds of creatures were ughtered every passing moment.

    It was as if an absolute barrier had been formed within a 10-feet radius of Leon, turning everything into minced meat as the creatures entered his range.

    Hundreds¡­ Thousands¡­ Tens of thousands¡­

    The wood-like creatures were diced up into numerous pieces by the absolute sharpness and speed of Leon''s speed, scattering red blood all over the resting ground like a shower of rain.

    Without a doubt, his attack speed had significantly improved.

    "So, my physical traits have been optimized to such a state after reaching the second stage, huh? It seems like I can go a little bit faster, but any faster than this is an unnecessary expenditure of stamina," Leon mused as he swung his Tier-4 Bone Spear.

    The killing speed was great, but the stamina expenditure was equally so.

    Leon could quickly feel the fatigue building up in his arms, but he continued to consume his stamina without concern.

    ''Time to see if the Evesting Blood Mantra works as it ims!'' Leon''s eyes flickered with a red hue.

    In that instance, the surrounding blood rose like numerous floating raindrops frozen in time before they swirled towards Leon''s body like a whirlpool and entered his pores.

    Shortly after, his skin turned red, and his body temperature rose sharply, creating a sizzling sound as steam exited his body.

    The blood essence of the fallen enemies became nutrients that fueled his stamina, washing away all his fatigue instantly.

    His aura surged explosively.

    "Hahaha, amazing!" Leonughed with heartfelt appreciation for the blood technique, "Truly a divine and evesting technique!"

    On a battlefield of blood, so long as he was killed instantly, he would be infallible and inexhaustible, allowing him to fight until thest enemy is cut down.

    ¡­

    As Leon revered in the advantages of the Evesting Blood Mantra, Aria and the rest of the group frowned with worries.

    Even when they could not see past the second trial ground due to the swarms of enemies blocking the entire entrance to the resting ground as they rushed inside, they could tell that Leon was fighting on the other side.

    "Why is Young Master Leonhardt wasting time in there?! Why isn''t he using that spatial movement he used earlier toe back to us?" a Mid-rank Battle Master questioned.

    "It''s not that he wouldn''t, but he can''t," Aria solemnly stated as she stared into the distance with concern.

    One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Chief Baskara both shifted their gaze to Aria and Darlene for further exnations.

    "In order to use the spatial movement, a clear and unobstructed pathway is needed. However, those creatures havepletely blocked the entrance and cut off his escape!" Darlene exined as she clenched her small fists.

    "So if Young Master Leonhardt wants to leave, he would have to clear the entrance first?" Chief Baskara frowned and said, "Even that group of demons couldn''t get past those walls of woody flesh. I doubt Young Master Leonhardt could do it alone."

    "Right, we have to help him!" Darlene stated urgently.

    However, right at that moment, everyone heard Leon''s urgent voice from the other side of the blocked entrance.

    "No! Don''t worry about me and leave the tomb immediately! I will be fine, but you will all be in danger if you don''t leave right now!" Leon shouted.

    As he ughtered his way towards the blocked entrance leading to the second trial ground, the gears in his mind churned with great rity in the midst of battle.

    He finally understood the reason behind why something felt off before he entered the resting ground.

    Although brief, he did not sense the Demon Core inside the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s corpse when he retrieved the ice coffin.

    The Demon King''s Demon Core was hidden elsewhere.

    The maze¡­ the Hellbiters¡­ the absence of the Demon King''s Will for the trial takers¡­ the endless power to produce limitless numbers of enemies¡­ and the sudden situation¡­

    Everything clicked in Leon''s mind.

    The Abyssal Wood Demon King never intended to hand over his inheritance to the sessful trial takers. That being wanted to bury all trespassers that came to disturb his resting ce and aim for his treasures!

    Rumble¡­!

    The entire space began to shake as the tomb''s structural integrity destabilized, threatening to copse and bury everyone inside.

    At that moment, Aria and One-Eyed Venerable Shaman both felt chills in their hearts as they quickly understood the reason for Leon''s words.

    "We need to leave right now!" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman barked.

    Chief Baskara and all the Battle Masters immediately agreed, but Darlene was also quick to oppose such a decision. She could not ept it.

    "No! We need to save to Leon! I won''t leave without him!" Darlene stated resolutely.

    However, just as she was about to recklessly charge into the second trial ground and draw the enemies'' attention, she was quickly knocked out by Aria and carried on her shoulders.

    "Let''s go," Aria stated solemnly.

    Even she wanted to charge into the second trial ground to help Leon recklessly, but she knew she had to be level-headed and follow Leon''s wish.

    ''If you die, I won''t forgive you!'' Aria bit her lips.

    With a little bit of self-awareness, everyone knew that getting crushed by a copsing tomb was never the issue.

    The bigger problem was the Mother Hellbiter.

 Chapter 725 - A Divine Weapons Might

    <h4>Chapter 725 - A Divine Weapon''s Might</h4>

    Screech!

    As Aria and the rest of the group darted through the maze, following the same route back to the tomb''s entrance, the Mother Hellbiter''s high-pitched cry rang throughout the Demon King-level Tomb.

    The worse of their fears hade true!

    With the enormous Mother Hellbiter waking up, it immediately scanned its surroundings before locking onto the group.

    In that instance, Aria and the others immediately felt a suffocating pressure weighing down on them, making their steps feel heavier.

    Its glistening killing intent and bloodthirst were dense enough to shatter a person''s spirit and make them break down in fear.

    Fortunately, everyone was battle-hardened with tempered wills, and the only person without it had been knocked out by Aria.

    "Dammit! All of you keep going! I will draw its attention and buy you all time to escape!" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman barked at the group.

    "How can we just leave you, Venerable¡ª"

    "Just do as I say!" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman roared.

    An Arch Demon-level monster wasn''t something that any of them could face. Even the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman wasn''t the Mother Hellbiter''s opponent.

    But if his sacrifice could give everyone else a chance at survival, he would dly do it. He had lived long enough.

    Let it be his final glory.

    One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s decision was firm, and his conviction was set. He was ready to die for his conviction.

    Boom!

    Suddenly, before the Mother Hellbiter could drop down from the ceiling and engage One-Eyed Venerable shaman, a crimson-ck zing bone spear shot over like a missile and struck the Arch Demon-level spider.

    Screech!

    The Mother Hellbiter immediately screeched in pain after Leon''s Tier-4 Bone Spear infused in Fire Law and Nihility Law blinded one of its eyes.

    It searched for the culprit with its remaining eyes for a while before finally locking onto Leon''s location in the resting ground¡ªnot with its eyes but with its sharp senses to vibration.

    Leon''s spear toss had been like an airne taking off from a runway after he maximized his divine sense and divine will, ripping a hole straight through dense masses of woody flesh that blocked his exit.

    Nevertheless, the Mother Hellbiter''s killing intent and bloodthirst immediately surged to new heights.

    "Go!" Leon''s urgent voice trickled over.

    While One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was surprised, he quickly recovered and nodded in Leon''s direction with appreciation before he continued to lead everyone else out of the tomb.

    "Let''s go! Don''t waste the chance Young Master Leonhardt has given us!" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman hollered.

    At the same time, Aria''s heart and belief were shaken.

    If Leon had to face both the Mother Hellbiter and the army of the second trial, his slim chance of survival would be even slimmer. There was no way he could survive that.

    Her eyes swelled with tears as she hesitated to leave.

    As if knowing what Aria felt at that moment despite being separated by two caves and endless spawns of monsters, Leon made a promise to reassure her.

    "Believe in me and go, Aria! I swear I will make it through this and get back to you! Our journey won''t end here!"

    Following Leon''s words, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the others felt a powerful stir in the atmosphere, prompting them to look back with Aria.

    A brilliant light shined through the temporary gap Leon previously made before its divine glow quickly turned jet-ck and demonic.

    After throwing away his Tier-4 Bone Spear to draw the Mother Hellbiter''s attention over, Leon had immediately drawn out the Tier-7 Sword from the Worldspace.

    The divine weapon automatically absorbed the power of his variousws and transformed it, boosting his attack power greatly.

    With a single swing of the Tier-7 Sword, dozens of monsters were directly cleaved in two while thousands more were killed by the rippling effect of the sword aura.

    None of the elementalws'' distinctive traits could be found in the attack.

    It was as if Leon''s power was simply fuel for the weapon to bring out its unique effect, which seemed closely simr to Sword Intent.

    A Swordsman could train for a lifetime and not use Sword Intent, but a single Tier-7 divine weapon could immediately replicate its effect.

    It was indeed a phenomenal weapon.

    "So strong¡­" Leon muttered with surprise.

    Even without learning and Sword Arts, he felt like he could ughter everything obstructing his path with raw power.

    Nevertheless, he did not forget to continue swinging his divine weapon and ughter the endless spawns of enemies around him.

    ¡­

    "The Demon King''s inheritance! If Young Master Leonhardt uses the Demon King''s inheritance, then there''s no way he won''t be able to survive!" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was assured that Leon had the means of survival.

    At the same time, Aria was also relieved to hear that.

    Although she wasn''t sure what Leon obtained in the resting ground, it should include the Demon King''s Demon Core at the very least.

    If Leon used something like that, dealing with Arch Demon-level monsters shouldn''t be an issue.

    A huge burden was lifted off Aria''s heart, allowing her to leave the tomb without worries along with One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the others.

    However, perhaps due to her tight nerves rxing, she had forgotten a simple truth about cultivation.

    The Demon King''s Demon Core may contain the lifetime cultivation of the Demon King, but if the new vessel isn''t strong enough, they would only destroy themselves while trying to absorb its powers.

    Only someone at the level of Demon Lords, Celestials, and Divine Origin Realm practitioners or higher could absorb the Demon King''s powers without risk of implosion.

    But ignoring all the facts above, the most crucial point was Leon did not even have the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core.

    However, Aria and the others did not know this.

    ¡­

    Boom!

    After the group left, the enormous Mother Hellbiter shattered the crumbling walls obstructing it from entering the second trial ground on a forward path towards Leon.

    "I was worried that my strength might be inadequate to break through the defense of an Arch Demon-level monster like the Mother Hellbiter, but¡­"

    As Leon muttered, he swung the Tier-7 divine weapon and ughtered several thousands more wood-like creatures.

    "But with a divine weapon like this in my hand, I now know that I was worried over nothing," Leon''s eyes flickered with fighting spirit.

 Chapter 726 - Revered Wind Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 726 - Revered Wind Tribe</h4>

    Aria and the rest of the group quickly escaped towards the exit of the Demon King-level Tomb before they were startled by what they saw ahead.

    Dim rays of light shined inside the tomb, and the entrance was within sight, but the ahead was obstructed by countless Hellbiters pouring in.

    "Why are there so many Hellbiters inside the tomb? Miss Aria''s ice wall should have blocked them off when we entered!" a Mid-rank Battle Master eximed with shock before muttering, "The ice shouldn''t have melted this quickly¡­"

    "The copsing tomb might have affected the ice and created a gap for the Hellbiters to enter," One-Eyed Venerable Shaman frowned and added, "Or these Hellbiter may have chewed their way through."

    Considering how deadly the Hellbiter''s venom is on the nerves, they might have overlooked its corrosive properties on other objects.

    "Either way, it''s good that we found out early. We just need to break past this hurdle before we make it outside. It would have been troublesome if they surrounded us inside the maze," Chief Baskara stated.

    Not only was the maze hidden inplete darkness, but the limited space also made it difficult for them to defend, whereas it gave the Hellbiters an advantage.

    Screech¡­ Screech¡­

    Suddenly, the group picked up noise from behind before they realized an army of Hellbiters crawled out of the maze and headed their way.

    It was a pincer attack, and their numbers were even greater than the group blocking the exit.

    "What! The maze had this many Hellbiters in hiding this whole?" a High-rank Battle Master eximed.

    Only then did they realize how lucky they were to make it as far as they did inside the tomb. There must have been an enormous nest hidden somewhere in the tomb.

    "The big disturbance in the tomb must have stirred them into action. We cannot stay here for long. We need to break out immediately!" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    The Crimsonfog Tribesmen quickly drew their weapons under Chief Baskara''s lead before dashing ahead of Aria, Darlene, and One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    "Charge with me!" Chief Baskara roared in the lead with his hands firmly gripped onto his Tier-5 bone sword.

    His eyes glinted with a crimson hue.

    In the next instance, Chief Baskara''s body disappeared in a red sh, zipping through the hundreds of Hellbiters in an instance.

    Dozens of Hellbiters were bisected with a single sh, and the path ahead was opened.

    "Remember to be careful! It''s over with a single bite!"

    "Yes, Chief Baskara!"

    The Crimsonfog Tribesmen heeded the chief''s reminder as they cleaned up after Chief Baskara, cutting down the stragglers the chief missed in his attack.

    "I''ll take care of our rear!" Aria stated.

    Even if it wasn''t much help, she wanted to cut down as many Hellbiters as she could and leave a path of retreat for Leon.

    With that thought in mind, she waved her hand covered in frosty lightning.

    A blue-white light immediately shed through a row of Hellbiters, prating through their bodies before ice crystals proliferated from within their wounds like the blossoming of flowers and froze their entire beings.

    After the first ray of ice-lightning came the second, the third, the fourth¡­ In mere moments, Aria fired more than three dozens of ice-lightning rays and ughtered several thousand Hellbiters.

    However, it was only a small fraction of their numbers.

    "Miss Aria, it''s time to leave. There''s still more Hellbiters pouring in from outside," One-Eyed Venerable Shaman urged.

    Aria nodded and bit her lips while looking back at the army of Hellbiters. She wished she could have done more, but she still needed to look out for Darlene''s safety.

    After sticking close to Darlene and exiting the tomb with the group, they were surrounded on all fronts by several hundred thousand Hellbiters.

    Aria immediately conjured a ring of ice pirs and cut off their path of advancement while locking in several hundred Hellbiters with the rest of the group.

    "Nicely done, Miss Aria." One-Eyed Venerable Shaman praised Aria''s quick wits.

    Although it was easier to fight in the open space of the surface, therge number of Hellbiters put great pressure on the group with their lethality.

    However, Aria''s move quickly eased the pressure weighing down on them.

    "Be careful of ambush. Hellbiters might not be our only concern," Chief Baskara warned as he cut down the Hellbiters inside the ice ring with the other Battle Masters.

    They had entered the tomb after the demons, but nothing stopped another group from arriving afterward.

    If there was a demon group waiting for them, then there was more trouble to deal with. They couldn''t be careless if there were humans either.

    ¡­

    Chief Baskara''s caution was right on the mark.

    At that moment, another human group had been watching the tomb entrance from the treetop after clearing out the area.

    "Chief, there are movements below. They must have seeded in clearing the tomb''s trials, and they appear to be humans," a Revered Wind Tribe''s Battle Master reported before inquiring, "Should we help them?"

    "Let''s just observe them for the time being," Chief Darkwind stated unhurriedly.

    The Revered Wind Tribe was one among many tribes within the Infertile ins'' Central Region. The situation had always been chaotic, and their enemies were plenty.

    "See if we can find out their affiliation. If they hail from one of our rival tribes, helping them might not be beneficial even if we are all humans."

    "Yes, Chief!" the Battle Masterplied.

    Their groupprised of twenty people, all hailing from the Revered Wind Tribe of the Central Region.

    The weakest among them were Extremity-rank Great Warriors, and the strongest was a Venerable Shaman from their tribe, an Extremity-rank Battle Master.

    Chief Darkwind, himself, was only a High-rank Battle Master.

    While he was not the strongest in the group, the Revered Wind Tribesmen listened to his orders without exception.

    ¡­

    As Aria and the Crimsonfog Tribesmen ughtered the Hellbiters in the area, they divided a portion of their focus to survey the area.

    "There are slight changes to the area from where we left off," Aria frowned.

    "As I suspected, people were lying in wait for us, huh?" Chief Baskara muttered before ring into the trees, "Whoever is hiding, show yourself! If you don''t reveal yourself, the Crimsonfog Tribe will assume you all have ulterior motives and treat you as our enemies!"

    "The Crimsonfog Tribe?" Chief Darkwind muttered in the treetop.

 Chapter 727 - The Cost Of Divided Attention

    <h4>Chapter 727 - The Cost Of Divided Attention</h4>

    "Let us head down and help them clear out the pesty spiders."

    "Yes, Chief!"

    Shortly after learning the group''s identity, Chief Darkwind made his decision to assist Chief Baskara''s group.

    "Chief Darkwind from the Revered Wind Tribe is here to assist the Crimsonfog Tribe!" Chief Darkwind announced as he descended into the sea of spiders.

    With his Tier-5 bone whip in hand, Chief Darkwind immediatelycerated the surrounding Hellbiters were into pieces.

    Eachsh of the bone whip generated a small gust of sharp wind that created ssh damage to the surrounding Hellbiters.

    Although the attack power wasn''t great, they were more than enough to y the Hellbiters.

    In mere moments, Chief Darkwind cleared the area for his tribesmen.

    Shortly after, the Revered Wind Tribesmen descended one by one before joining the fray as they diverted some of the Hellbiters'' attention and ughtered the spiders.

    "The Revered Wind Tribe¡­ from the Central Region?" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman narrowed his eye.

    A tribe hailing from the chaotds of the Central Region was not easy to trust.

    "Precisely," Chief Darkwind admitted openly.

    Given the distrust between tribes of different regions, the two groups worked separately to y the Hellbiters in their own designated zones.

    Half a day quickly passed before mountains of spider carcasses filled the central forest area. The army of Hellbiters was eventually exterminated, but not without a price.

    The Crimsonfog Tribe lost three people, and the Revered Wind Tribe lost two people, totaling a loss of five Battle Masters.

    Both groups could do nothing but watch their fellow tribesmen wail in agony before getting overwhelmed and killed by the Hellbiters.

    Normally, such a situation should not have happened.

    If anything, the Extremity-rank Great Warriors were expected to die first. However, it was not one of those situations where the odds were against them.

    With perfect coordination and focus, either group could have ughtered the Hellbiters without casualties.

    Unfortunately, neither of the two groups couldpletely trust the other and remained wary with divided attention, resulting in carelessness and idents.

    "To think we would lose a High-rank Battle Master like this," Chief Baskara solemnly stated as he stared at the five corpses lined up on the ground in front of him.

    Although they managed to retrieve the five corpses after the battle, none were intact. Some were missing limbs, while one even had an entire head missing.

    "Make the preparation to send them off," Chief Baskara ordered before muttering, "I shouldn''t let them have their eternal rest in this ursed ce."

    "Understood, Chief Baskara!"

    Instead of burying the bodies, both the Crimsonfog Tribe and Revered Wind Tribe decided to cremate the fallen warriors and scatter their ashes to the wind in hopes of releasing their spirits to find their way back home.

    Afterpleting the ceremony in two hours, the mourning period ended right there and then.

    No matter what, they still had to continue to explore the secret realm and stop the demons from bing strong.

    "I, One-Eyed Venerable Shaman Galdro, thank Chief Darkwind and Revered Wind Tribesmen for your assistance," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman sought Chief Darkwind and expressed his gratitude.

    "Senior Galdro is too polite. It is natural for all humans to work together in this ursed ce full of demons," Chief Darkwind shook the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s hand before his expression suddenly stiffened.

    "One-Eyed Venerable Shaman¡­ One-Eyed Venerable Shaman¡­ You mean ''the'' One-Eyed Venerable Shaman?"

    "You''ve heard of me?" One-Eyed Venerable Shaman Galdro nced at Chief Darkwind.

    "Of course! You''re an old legend! Who hasn''t heard the name of the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman when Senior Galdro was still running wild in the Central Region?" Chief Darkwind replied enthusiastically.

    His expression became more respectful.

    All Battle Kings had their name etched into the history of the Infertiles ins. Extremity-rank Battle Masters were one step short, but their names weren''t easily forgotten either.

    "Hahaha, I was just a hot-headed youth back in those days. I''m just a decrepit old man now," One-Eyed Venerable Shaman Galdro chuckled softly.

    Aria and Darlene stayed near the tomb entrance and watched over it as the rest of the group grew familiar with each other and engaged in idle talks.

    Through the Revered Wind Tribesmen, Chief Baskara''s group learned that the demon''s forces had been gathering towards a particr direction in the east.

    Because the demon''s forces in that area were too great, the scattered human forces were forced to look for opportunities elsewhere, which led the Revered Wind Tribesmen to the forest of the Abyssal Wood Demon King.

    "Thousands of Greater Demons and potential Arch Demons are gathering in the east? There must be something special over there," One-Eyed Venerable Shaman Galdro frowned thoughtfully.

    A Demon King-level Tomb only managed to attract a hundred or so demons.

    For another ce to attract a few dozen times over that amount, it would imply that the tomb of inheritance in that location was at an even higher level than the Demon King.

    ''A Demon Emperor-level Tomb? Or something beyond that?'' Chief Baskara pondered quietly as he listened in on the conversation.

    As the Revered Wind Tribe interacted with the group, they gradually realized Chief Baskara''s group had no intention of leaving the forest.

    In addition to the two beautiful girls waiting by the tomb entrance, their interest grew over time.

    "If I may be so bold to ask, who are you all waiting for? Judging by the danger level of this ce, this shouldn''t be a low-level tomb, right?" the Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman inquired.

    One-Eyed Venerable Shaman Galdro and the group immediately fell silent as they carefully pondered their choice of words.

    Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman decided it was fine to inform the Revered Wind Tribe after considering Leon''s prestige.

    "We are waiting for Young Master Leonhardt to return safely. This Demon King-level Tomb was a trap. The Abyssal Wood Demon King had no intention of passing on his inheritance to the future generations¡­"

    A sh of greed immediately flicked in the eyes of the Revered Wind Tribesmen at the mention of Demon King-level Tomb.

    However, their greed quickly disappeared as they waited for Leon''s return. Even after a full day had passed, the tomb entrance did not show any signs of the person exiting.

    Chief Darkwind and the rest of his tribesmen quickly lost their patience as they concluded that the person had died inside the tomb.

 Chapter 728 - Return With Evil Intentions

    <h4>Chapter 728 - Return With Evil Intentions</h4>

    "It''s unfortunate, but we have waited a day, and the person has note out. Chances are, the person is dead. The Revered Wind Tribe cannot afford to waste any more time. Thus, we will be leaving. What about the Crimsonfog Tribe?"

    Chief Darkwind sought Chief Baskara''s opinion after giving his statement to leave.

    The secret realm was a rare opportunity to ascend to the top of the world and rule over the various tribes on the Infertile ins.

    If the Crimsonfog Tribe is wise, they will also leave to look for opportunities elsewhere instead of wasting time on a dead person.

    Although Chief Darkwind''s message was clear, Chief Baskara did not answer immediately.

    Instead, he nced over to Aria and Darlene''s side. Evidently, they did not seem to have any intention of leaving without Young Master Leonhardt.

    "What do you think, Venerable Shaman?" Chief Baskara turned to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    After contemting for a moment, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said, "Although I trust Young Master Leonhardt, it is also true that our time in the secret realm is limited."

    "With that said, I have decided to stay behind and wait for Young Master Leonhardt with Miss Aria and Darlene. You, however, should leave and look for other opportunities to improve the tribe''s strength with the rest of the tribesmen."

    "I see. It seems this is the best choice, given this situation." Chief Baskara nodded with approval of the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s arrangement. "I will lead the tribesmen to look for other opportunities."

    "Be careful of the demons," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman reminded after they decided on a meeting point to regroup within two days'' time.

    Shortly after, the Revered Wind Tribe bid farewell and departed the forest with Chief Baskara''s group.

    "Without any Battle Kings, our strengths are likely insufficient topete with the demon gathering in the east. Thus, we will head north to look for opportunities and join with others along the way. What will Chief Baskara do?"

    Chief Darkwind shortly inquired after the two groups exited the forest together.

    "To avoid conflict of interests in the divide of the spoils and inheritances, I will lead my tribe further northeast to look for lucky chances," Chief Baskara stated.

    Although this choice would bring them closer to the demon''s gathering location, it would also allow them to scout the demon''s activities.

    After all, it was better to trust their own pair of eyes than trust the words of another tribe, who could turn on them at any point.

    "Very well. I suppose that is for the best," Chief Darkwind nodded before cupping his fist. "I bid you good luck on your journey. May we meet again."

    "May we meet again," Chief Baskara returned the gesture.

    Not long after Chief Baskara''s group left ahead, a Revered Wind Tribesman muttered grudgingly, "After lending them a hand and even losing a couple of good warriors, they still don''t trust us."

    "Right? How ungrateful of them. This is why we don''t get along with those southerners," another tribesman added before turning to their chief. "Are we really going to leave like this, Chief?"

    "It''s a pity if we just leave like this without even trying¡­" Chief Darkwind muttered with a contemtive look.

    "It was said that the Battle God rose to power after gaining the inheritance from a Demon Lord-level Tomb. If we can acquire the inheritance of the Demon King-level Tomb, wouldn''t we be the new overlord of the ins?"

    It was worth the risk, everyone thought.

    "Even if we are not sessful, we can grab those girls tofort us. Hehehe, I don''t know why they were brought here, but they''ll need a new man to protect them," a Revered Wind Tribesman spoke lewdly with lustful intentions.

    Several tribe members began to share the same thought.

    Whether it was the woman with tanned skin or the one with umon fair skin, they were both considered top-quality beauties.

    However, not everyone was depraved like them.

    "They might not be warriors, but they wield strange powers like shamans. Especially that woman with fair skin. Even I feel threatened by her strange power," the strongest person in the group stated.

    "Even someone like you, Venerable Shaman?"

    Chief Darkwind and the other tribesmen were shocked to hear such words from an Extremity-rank Battle Master.

    However, a Mid-rank Battle Master''s eyes quickly brightened at a sudden thought, "No matter what, she is still a heartbroken girl. If one of us can win her heart, it''ll be equivalent to gaining a beauty and an expert."

    "¡­"

    The Venerable Shaman was speechless.

    No matter how aplished this group of tribesmen were back in the tribe, they were still men who could not ovee their primal instincts.

    "Let us head back and check on the situation first," the Venerable Shaman sighed.

    "You all better hide your nefarious thoughts when we get there," Chief Darkwind gave everyone a warning look and reminded them, "Thosedies still had an Extremity-rank Battle Master with them."

    "Yes, Chief!"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Back in the forest, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman noticed Aria''s frown before he inquired, "Is there something troubling you, Miss Aria?"

    "I cannot help but feel like the Revered Wind Tribe wille back with ill intentions. It shouldn''t have been this easy to send them away when there was a Demon King-level Tomb in front of them," Aria exined.

    Furthermore, women were quite sensitive to people''s gazes.

    Whether it was her or Darlene, if they weren''t too fixated on Leon''s return from the tomb, they would have sensed the lustful gazes directed at them.

    Except, those gazes didn''t juste from the Revered Wind Tribe alone.

    "Now that Miss Aria mentioned it, this old man believes that the Revered Wind Tribe did not wait a whole day with us out of goodwill. No, they must have been waiting for Young Master Leonhardt to return with the Demon King''s inheritance so they can snatch it for themselves."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s expression turned solemn when he arrived at this conclusion.

    "We better be prepared in case theye back," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman seriously stated.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman found it strange that Miss Aria did not mention her doubts sooner¡­ But when he gave it more thought, he realized Miss Aria intended to die if Young Master Leonhardt died in the tomb.

 Chapter 729 - Three-Way Battle

    <h4>Chapter 729 - Three-Way Battle</h4>

    Inside the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb, Leon, the Arch Demon-level Mother Hellbiter, and the endless army of wood creatures entered a three-way battle.

    Boom!

    The Arch Demon-level Mother Hellbiter mmed into a sea of wood creatures with tremendous force, causing the entire tomb to shake as the ceiling began to crumble with falling debris.

    The Mother Hellbiter crushed hundreds of wood creatures with its immense body as it went for Leon, who evaded quickly with spatial discement.

    He continued to bear the brunt of the Mother Hellbiter''s killing intent while making his escape with a solemn look.

    It was not an opponent he could take lightly.

    ''I have to go all out!'' Leon determined.

    Shinggg¡ª!

    Leon swung the tier-7 sword and sent out a sharp wave of sword intent, cleaving apart a long row of wood creatures and clearing a path for him to move.

    The divine weapon was his life-saving grace.

    Each swing bought him two seconds'' worth of movement in the space-limited and copsing tomb, brimming with wood creatures.

    Blood sttered, and Leon quickly absorbed the blood essence, restoring his stamina.

    Screee!

    Seeing Leon getting further away, the Mother Hellbiter cried with fury before chasing after him.

    However, the wood creatures didn''t just target Leon but also the Mother Hellbiter, who they viewed as an enemy.

    The Mother Hellbiter''srge frame was quickly drowned in the sea of wood creatures as they tried to overwhelm it with numbers.

    However, the Mother Hellbiter''s natural defense was far too high for their attacks to deal any damage, even if they had numbers.

    The fruitless hindrance only fueled the Mother Hellbiter''s fury.

    Screee!

    With another screeching cry, the Mother Hellbiter flung half the wood creatures off its body with sheer strength before ramming the other half into the wall.

    Boom!

    The wood creatures died instantly under the Mother Hellbiter''s immense force and weight, and the entire tomb shook wildly.

    Larger debris dropped from the ceiling and crushed several to dozens of wood creatures at a time and sent the wood creature army in disarray.

    Leon saw the wood creatures attack the fallen debris and discovered the wood creatures'' defect, their low intelligence.

    Nevertheless, it was the least of his concern.

    For every two sword swings he used to clear the path, Leon swung one wave of sword intent at the Mother Hellbiter to whittle it down.

    Cling¡ª!

    The sword intent shed against the Mother Hellbiter''s hard shell, and the entire space reverberated with a metallic ring.

    Hundreds of wood creatures were caught in the sword intent''s path, but at the end of it, only a white mark was made on the Mother Hellbiter.

    The divine weapon was, by no means, weak. In fact, it is very strong. But, unfortunately, the user is too weak to exhibit its full potential.

    ''It seems like the sword intent''s strength was diminished by the wood creatures caught in between,'' Leon furrowed his brows in thought.

    If he wanted to deal more significant damage to the Mother Hellbiter, he would either have to clear out the wood creatures first or cut the Arch Demon-level spider directly with the divine weapon.

    ''It''s not possible to clear the wood creatures when the second trial ground continues to produce them. However, I can''t cut the Mother Hellbiter directly either.''

    Leon frowned.

    He was stuck with an impasse.

    If he was even slightly careless, a single hit from the Mother Hellbiter was all it was going to take to shatter all his bones and organs and paralyze him¡ªif it doesn''t kill him outright.

    ''The Mother Hellbiter is too fast. It''s too difficult to evade its blows up close. But it''s also true that the only way to hurt it is to cut with the divine sword directly.''

    Leon''s brain churned for a solution as he continued his hit-and-run tactic.

    In a short instance, he came up with two solutions.

    The first choice was to wait for the tomb to copse before locating the power source that supplies the wood creature''s production and cutting it off.

    However, doing so was also the same as cutting off his infinite supply of stamina.

    There was no telling how long it would take to kill Mother Hellbiter purely with sword intent alone, not to mention it was inefficient.

    It was like having an ultimate weapon but only using its sheath to attack.

    The tier-7 divine sword''s greatest attack power can only be demonstrated when he attacks with both the de and sword intent simultaneously.

    In the end, the first solution was no good.

    ''I guess I can only go with the second solution. Since the Mother Hellbiter is fast for me to enter closebat, I just have to slow it down!''

    Leon''s eyes flickered with a determined glint.

    "Fusionw; gravity!"

    The power of gravity was exerted on the Mother Hellbiter, increasing its weight by twofold¡­ threefold¡­ fivefold!

    The Mother Hellbiter''srge body immediately slumped down, and the ground beneath cracked underneath the immense pressure.

    All the wood creatures caught in the gravity field were also pinned into the ground.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Leon shed to the side of the Mother Hellbiter before he made a clean cut at one of its huge legs with the divine sword coated in sword intent.

    Shinggg!

    The tier-7 divine sword directly sliced through Mother Hellbiter''s leg without resistance. It was truly a divine weapon for a reason.

    The sharpness of its de was extraordinary.

    Boom!

    The chopped leg dropped to the ground with a loud thud, akin to arge bouldernding after being hurled by a giant.

    The Mother Hellbiter screeched in pain and retaliated with its other legs immediately, wanting to stomp him to death, but unfortunately, it was too slow to catch Leon.

    With a quick step, he dashed out of its way.

    Gravity field affected everything inside its range, himself included, but it was also easily nullified by wrapping himself in a protectiveyer of Nihility.

    BOOM!

    An unbelievable amount of force struck the ground where Leon was, and the entire floor underneath shattered from its destructiveness.

    Leon''s eyes almost popped out of their sockets due to his shock.

    The gravity field may have reduced the Mother Hellbiter''s speed, but it also amplified its attack power!

    A single hit, and he''ll be on his way to heaven.

 Chapter 730 - Danger At The End

    <h4>Chapter 730 - Danger At The End</h4>

    The battered tomb could no longer support itself after the ground shattered under Mother Hellbiter''s immense weight and strength.

    But rather than getting buried by the copsing tomb, Leon and the Mother Hellbiter fell into an evenrger open space hidden beneath the tomb.

    The entire space was filled with a murky green light, and countless cords of runic linings ran across the ground, walls, and ceiling.

    As Leon twisted his body, controlling his center of gravity to regain his bnce, his eyes immediately locked onto the brightest concentration of light at the center of the open space, where a glowing ck-green pearl could be seen.

    ''The Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core!'' Leon determined.

    It only took a single nce.

    The unfathomable concentration of demonic and wood energy and natural gathering ofw centered around the ck-green pearl.

    He could not be wrong.

    Leon''s expression abruptly changed before he kicked off from arge piece of falling debris and evaded the Mother Hellbiter''s attack as it came crashing down on his original position.

    Boom!

    The Mother Hellbiter crashed into the ground before debris from copsed tomb fell on top, burying the Mother Hellbiter and the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core under it.

    However, light did not shine inside from the surface.

    Evidently, the surface did not copse along with the tomb¡ªmost likely due to the strong roots of the trees in the forest holding what''s left of the surface ground together.

    Leon frowned at the big mountain of debris.

    But after a short moment, his brows rxed after quickly discovering the wood creatures'' production did not stop.

    The Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core continued to fuel the life creation process, and countless wood creatures began pouring down from the second trial ground above.

    Screech!

    A few momentster, the mountain of debris exploded as the Mother Hellbiter suddenly burst out of the earth with a furious high-pitch shriek.

    Hundreds of wood creatures were punctured and crushed by the flying debris that flew like rock bullets before the rest of the army locked onto the Mother Hellbiter.

    Leon silently observed them fight from a distance, but it wasn''t long before he gripped the divine sword tightly and joined the fray.

    The wood creatures were simply too weak.

    Shinggg!

    Leon sliced off another piece of the Mother Hellbiter''s leg with a brilliant silver sh of his divine sword, causing the Mother Hellbiter to cry with pain and anguish before it immediately retaliated.

    5x Gravity Field!

    The Mother Hellbiter''s attack was quickly slowly before Leon leaped back with spatial discement, increasing the gap between them by 50 yards in the blink of an eye.

    His battle tactic had not changed much. It was still a hit-and-run tactic.

    The only difference was his switch from range attack to direct attack to deal greater damage.

    ''Although it was only slightly, the Mother Hellbiter''s attack was definitely slower than thest one,'' Leon narrowed his eyes.

    Losing its legs affected its speed and movement.

    ''I can win this!'' Leon''s eyes glinted.

    With the wood creature''s blood essence as Leon''s unlimited supply of stamina, he continued to fight in peak physical shape while the Mother Hellbiter''s speed dwindled every leg it lost in their exchanges.

    It was long before the Mother Hellbiter''s strength was also affected.

    After cutting all the legs, the Mother Hellbiter''s movement was limited to the extreme but not exactly non-existent.

    Nevertheless, it was more than enough for Leon to start going after the Mother Hellbiter''s main body, raining countless dozens of shes on it, even sweeping away the wood creatures that got in his way.

    However, the Mother Hellbiter''s life was tenacious.

    Even after suffering multiple dozen life-threatening wounds and having many parts of its body missing, it was unwilling to go down.

    Leon began to notice a strange change in the Mother Hellbiter''s behavior.

    Although it had be defensive after losing its ability to attack aggressively, it wasn''t defending itself but rather something else.

    ''It''s protecting the Demon Core!'' Leon furrowed his brows with doubt.

    If the Mother Hellbiter swallowed the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core and absorbed its power, it would be terrifyingly powerful.

    However, it did not do that.

    ''How strange.''

    Although Leon had his doubts, he did dy the important matters and finally slew the Mother Hellbiter after six hours of intense battle.

    Shortly after Leon removed the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core from the eye of the formation, he spent a few more hours cleaning up the remnant wood creatures.

    "Haiz, it''s finally over." Leon sighed and muttered, "It took me much longer than expected to kill the Mother Hellbiter and much quicker to clean up wood creatures¡­"

    "Never mind. What''s important is that it''s over. Time to check on the spoils," Leon''s eyes flickered.

    He took out the demon core and thoroughly inspected it without the slightest interest in absorbing its power.

    Drawing out some of its power was fine, but refining the whole thing was suicide, not to mention it was giving him an ominous feeling.

    "I don''t get it," Leon furrowed his brows deeply in thought, "Why did the Mother Hellbiter try so hard to defend this demon core with its life. What possible reasons could havepelled it to¡ª"

    Suddenly, the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s Demon Core lit up and glued to his hands, sapping out all his strength and energy.

    "What!"

    Leon was shocked.

    He immediately tried to get rid of the demon core, but it wouldn''t budge from his hand even with his best effort.

    "It''s trying to swallow me¡­!"

    Leon strongly resisted the demon core''s powerful suction as it tried to wrench his soul out of his body.

    No, more precisely, the demon core was trying to rob his consciousness!

    "A puny human like you dares to intrude upon this King''s sanctuary and disturb his slumber? Give up your soul and offer your body to me, vermin! It''s futile to resist me!"

    The voice was transmitted into Leon''s mind directly.

    "Goddammit!" Leon gritted his teeth.

    He finally knew what that ominous feeling was!

    All this time, the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s soul was still alive, hidden inside its demon core.

    It had been looking for a way to revive itself!

 Chapter 731 - Mother Hellbiters Origin Blood

    <h4>Chapter 731 - Mother Hellbiter''s Origin Blood</h4>

    Leon thought he was careful, but even greed had eluded his eyes.

    Celestials, Divine experts, and Demon Lords were all existences that have taken the first big step closer to the evesting.

    Even if their bodies died of natural age, their souls would still be alive, nigh imperishable under the right conditions.

    And a Demon King was even stronger than a Demon Lord!

    He should have known.

    Realization quickly dawned on Leon at the precipice of life and death.

    The secret realm had been around for a long time, yet there were no rumors of any kind about Demon Lord-level existences or above in the demon''s territory.

    There was only a Battle God, whose power was unclear, in the Infertile ins.

    ''If I''m not wrong, all the tomb owners of the Demon Lord-level Tombs and above are still alive! Only Arch Demons and below are all dead,'' Leon''s pupil shrank.

    If he had to guess, the Arch Demons all lost their qualification to ascend as Demon Lords. Thus, their inheritance was left behind for more capable sessors.

    "Foolish human, there''s no point in struggling! Hand over your body obediently spare us both the needless effort! It''s impossible for you to ovee my will!"

    The Abyssal Wood Demon Kingughed maniacally as he continued to exert his will on Leon''s consciousness and wrestle it away from his body.

    "You, whose cultivation is so low that this King would deign to even nce twice, actually have a rather special physique! I have waited far too long enough for a suitable vessel like yours! Hahaha, the heavens must be helping me by sending you to me!"

    "Hah, more like the heavens is trying to destroy you! Do you think I would be afraid of you?!" Leon suddenlyughed after recovering from his initial fright.

    The Demon King was someone to be feared, not so much for a wandering soul.

    "This isn''t right!" The Abyssal Wood Demon King started to frown as he sensed something amiss about the situation. "With your cultivation level, you shouldn''t be able to hold out this long!"

    "I really can''t hold on much longer. Thus, I will be ending this," Leon stated cooly before adding, "If it were anyone else, you would have most likely seeded in snatching their body. But, unfortunately, you met me!"

    "Begone, demon!"

    Leon exerted the power of Nihility to the extreme as it exploded outward, forcing the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s soul out of his mind and retreat into its demon core like a frightened rabbit.

    It was as if the Abyssal Wood Demon King had seen something terrifying.

    "T-t-this is¡­ impossible! How could you have that power! No one should be able toprehend that power! Are you the seconding of Shiva?!"

    The Abyssal Wood Demon King''s soul appeared to have lost his mind, but he did not daree out from the demon core again.

    Even the powerful suction force abruptly ended.

    "Shiva¡­"

    Leon frowned.

    He seemed to have heard that word somewhere before, but he thought it was just some gibberish uttered by the underground mutants.

    Now that he heard it again, and from a Demon King no less, he didn''t doubt that it had a significant meaning behind it.

    "Who is Shiva?" Leon interrogated.

    "Shiva is¡­"

    The Demon King''s words slowly grew weak.

    And before long, the demon core fell silent. After a few more moments, not even the Demon King''s soul could be felt.

    Leon clicked his tongue.

    After being hit by the strongest power of Nihility he could muster, the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s soul broke and departed the world, leaving his question unanswered.

    He could only figure it out another time when he found more clues.

    "Haiz, it would have been nice if the Abyssal Wood Demon King survived a little longer to answer my questions," Leon sighed.

    Nevertheless, he would have killed the Demon King either way.

    The Abyssal Wood Demon King was too dangerous to be left alive. He was safe thanks to the Nihility Law, but not so much for the others around him.

    "There shouldn''t be any more danger with this demon core," Leon nced at the demon core and concluded before stowing away in the Worldspace.

    Shortly after, Leon nced at the Mother Hellbiter''s carcass.

    "I''ve already wasted so much time dealing with the remnants of the wood creatures and wasted even further time dealing with the Abyssal Wood Demon King. I better make use of its blood before it goes to waste too."

    Leon decided.

    It shouldn''t take him too long.

    Since he already absorbed an Arch Demon''s blood essence before, it shouldn''t take him too long to absorb the Mother Hellbiter''s blood, given the experience.

    However, that was his mistake.

    An Arch Demon-level monster''s blood essence was nothing like an Arch Demon''s blood essence.

    It was much more potent, unrefined, uncontaminated¡ªnothing like the Arch Demon''s impure blood essence, which contained a mixture of multiple different types of blood essences.

    The moment Leon finished refining the first drop of origin blood and absorbed it into his bloodstream, his body was immediately assaulted by excruciating pain.

    "Arghhh!" Leon howled uncontrobly.

    He tried to steel himself and grit his teeth through the painful process, but it only made him howl even more painfully.

    "Ahhhhhh!!!"

    It was like trying to ovee the Divine Damnation all over again, except its annihtion lightning was much more powerful and inflicted pain to every fiber of his being.

    His nerves were assaulted directly.

    There was nothing he could use to defend himself against it. He could rely on his force of will and hope not to lose his consciousness.

    Passing out during a dangerous cultivation process was the first step to everything else going wrong.

    It could even lead to death.

    The nerve-wracking pain tortured Leon''s mind and body for an unknown period, and his painful cries were the only thing heard inside the tomb.

    Leon had lost track of time.

    By the time he regained his rity of the situation, blood, sweat, and impurity soaked his clothes, and ayer of skin had been shed.

    Leon clenched his fist and felt something different about his body.

    He felt healthier and livelier.

    It was strange for an already healthy person to have this kind of thing, but he felt like he could consume poison and still be okay.

    ''I should test it.''

 Chapter 732 - Encounter In The Tomb

    <h4>Chapter 732 - Encounter In The Tomb</h4>

    Inside the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s forest, Chief Darkwind and his Revered Wind Tribesmen returned to the central tree.

    "Chief, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and those two pretty women are not here," a Revered Wind Tribesmen informed after searching the area.

    Chief Darkwind frowned before saying, "Seems like they weren''t stupid¡­ That''s fine. It''s better this way; we can avoid bing the Crimsonfog Tribe''s enemy."

    "Should we look for them, Chief? They could be hiding in the area," another Revered Wind Tribesmen asked.

    "No need."

    Chief Darkwind shook his head and said, "What''s important is the Demon King''s inheritance. Since they moved away from the tomb entrance, there''s no need to pursue them."

    The two women might be beautiful, but they are only a bonus to entertain the men if they got in their way of getting the Demon King''s inheritance.

    "No need to make unnecessary enemies where it''s not needed. They still have an Extremity-rank Battle Master with them," Chief Darkwind added.

    Several Revered Wind Tribesmen grumbled, but they had no choice but to follow the tribal chief''s words.

    Ultimately, the Demon King''s inheritance was more important.

    "Alright, start digging."

    Shortly after Chief Darkwind gave the order, the Revered Wind Tribe''s Battle Masters entered the tomb entrance and began clearing out the earth blocking the path ahead with their soul weapons.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Aria and Darlene hid in the treetop with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman under a thinyer of ice that camouged their location.

    Although they appear invisible from the outside, they could see from the inside.

    "As we suspected, the Revered Wind Tribe really dide back for the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s inheritance."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman narrowed his eye with scrutiny before snorting, "Hmph! In the end, they cannot control their greed. They can''t me us for walking into their deaths."

    However, he quickly noticed Aria''s saddened gaze before adding, "Of course, we don''t know that for sure."

    "If they run into the Mother Hellbiter, they are most likely to perish, and that will also confirm Young Master Leonhardt''s situation. However, if they don''t run into the Mother Hellbiter, then that also means Young Master Leonhardt made it."

    "Either way, we will eventually find out the truth of the matter by using the Revered Wind Tribe to explore the tomb''s situation for us," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said.

    That was the price they had to pay for their greed.

    "Mm." Aria nodded.

    Shortly after, she resumed her silent observation while Darlene was seated in meditation, seeming unconcerned with the situation, but in truth, she was trying to improve her strength quickly.

    That way, she could at least avenge Leon if he died in the tomb.

    The tier-6 bone dagger rested on herp while her eyes closed, and her senses fully expanded to perceive the boundless and profound Law of Space.

    Her mind was like a boat drifting aimlessly in the vast sea of the void, looking for something that may not be anything or anywhere.

    She was looking for a chance to ascend to the Transcendent Realm, but she did not know what she wascking or what she needed in order to seed.

    Even so, she was silently trying her best to find that glimmer of opportunity in the vastness of her soul to break through the bottleneck.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The Revered Wind Tribe continued to dig under the central tree, clearing out the obstructed passageway and dumping mounds of dirt and rocks on the surface.

    With their unorthodox method of digging with powerful soul weapons, in addition to their warriors'' great strength, the Revered Wind Tribe''s Battle Masters made substantial progress in a short time.

    Within half an hour of digging, they reached the first trial ground.

    However, the path ahead was also blocked.

    The entire first trial ground had been submerged under countless tons of earth and ttened the maze that was once there, along with all the Hellbiters hidden within.

    As the Revered Wind Tribe worked their way through the buried trial ground, the noxious smell of Hellbiter blood and guts grew more pungent, making the warriors feel sick.

    "Dammit, this stench is terrible!"

    "Tell me about it! It''s making my guts churn!"

    The Revered Wind Tribesmenined before they did not stop digging as they continued to persevere through the unpleasant environment.

    "Endure it, everyone! It''ll all be worth it in the end when we get our hands on the Demon King''s inheritance! Riches and glory awaits us!"

    Chief Darkwind attempted to raise the morale of the tribesmen with his speech.

    Roughly six hourster, the Revered Wind Tribe made it through to the second trial ground before they found the huge hole up ahead.

    "This must be it! The Demon King''s inheritance must be here!" Chief Darkwind''s eyes lit up.

    However, he did not wholly lose his reason due to greed as he quickly warned the tribesmen, "On your guards, everyone! Supposedly a strong monster is guarding this ce."

    ''As long as we beat it, the Demon King''s inheritance is ours for the taking, huh?'' the Venerable Shaman quietly thought.

    His eyes glimmered with a greedy light.

    Treasured artifacts can be shared, but only one person can have the Demon King''s demon core.

    ''There''s no need to hand over something so precious to the chief. If I can possess the Demon King''s power for myself, I will have unparalleled strength and longsting life. Even if there were dissonance in the tribe, who can stop me when I unite the Infertile ins?''

    While the Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman had his dark thoughts, the tribesmen also had their own thoughts on the matter of inheritance.

    But when they descended the giant hole, only the shredded remains of the enormous Mother Hellbiter were seen.

    "This monster was the tomb''s guardian¡­? But if it''s dead, then that means¡­" Chief Darkwind uttered with surprise.

    The Revered Wind Tribesmen quickly shot their looks around before Leon drew their gazes over to a dark corner with his voice.

    "Who are you people, and what happened to the other group waiting outside?"

    Leon stared at them with a dangerous gaze while casually twirling a cup of Hellbiter venom, some of which still dripped from his lips.

 Chapter 733 - Unstoppable Sharpness

    <h4>Chapter 733 - Unstoppable Sharpness</h4>

    "Young Master Leonhardt¡­ so you were still alive, huh? Did you do this?" Chief Darkwind pointed at the remains of the Mother Hellbiter.

    However, Leon did not answer and gulped the cup of Hellbiter Venom in one go.

    It had an acidic taste, quite simr to a mixed lemon drink with a bit of sourness and sweetness; overall, it did not taste bad.

    Of course, only Leon could enjoy something like this.

    "Although I don''t know you, you know me, huh? I suppose this is the difference between celebrities and nobodies," Leon casually tossed aside the empty cup before he saidmandingly, "I won''t ask again. What happened to the Crimsonfog Tribe''s group?"

    "Watch your tone, young man." Chief Darkwind''s expression darkened before he spoke in a low tone, "I''ll be the one asking the questions here. Did you kill this big thing or not?"

    "It seems like talking won''t get us anywhere," Leon calmly said before standing up, followed by the tier-7 divine sword appearing in his hands.

    He already understood their intent and greed for the Demon King''s inheritance.

    At the same time, the Revered Wind Tribe''s Battle Masters stared at the tier-7 divine sword in Leon''s hand before their eyes lit up.

    They could tell it was extraordinary at a nce.

    "There''s no need to try reasoning with him, Chief. We should just suppress him with force and ask the questionster," a Mid-rank Battle Master suggested as he took a single step forward.

    Creak¡­

    The unstable groundpelled the Battle Master to look down along with other tribesmen.

    In that instance, they realized that in addition to the scattered remains of the Mother Hellbiter, they were standing on the countless corpses of wood creatures that piled like mountains.

    Shortly after, they all formed their own picture of the situation in their mind.

    "I think I understand the situation now¡­" a High-rank Battle Master stated before continuing to speak, "Chief, we don''t need to worry about this person."

    "The person must have waited for the big monster to be worn out by these wood-looking creatures before he killed it. He doesn''t actually possess the strength to kill it directly otherwise."

    "Yeah, that must be the case."

    The Battle Masters had simr viewpoints, and all agreed with the person''s guess.

    At the very least, they agreed that Leon did not use a normal method to kill the giant spider, which may have been a very powerful Arch Demon-level monster.

    "That sword in his hand must be very good. I''ve never seen a weapon possess such a divine glow before¡­"

    The Venerable Shaman and Battle Masters all cast their covetous gazes on the tier-7 divine sword without trying to hide their greed.

    "We can worry about splitting the inheritanceter. But first¡­" Chief Darkwind pointed his weapon at Leon before questioning him, "The Demon King''s inheritance must be with you, right?"

    "Less nonsense. Just make your move," Leon coldly urged.

    Killing intent flickered in Leon''s eyes as the desire to ughter the Revered Wind Tribe''s people manifested in his heart.

    Regardless of whether the Revered Wind Tribe had done anything to Aria and the others, he had given them the death sentence for lusting after other people''s treasures.

    "Ha, we have more people. To avoid bullying you too much, we''ll generously let you have the first move," Chief Darkwind spoke generously, but his heart hid a hint of weariness.

    It never hurts to be too careful.

    "A bunch of pretentious people," Leon snickered with disdain and said, "Don''t try to be upright when you are robbing fellow humans. Either way, it doesn''t matter who makes the first move. People like you are all going to die anyway."

    Shortly after, Leon tightened his grip on the tier-7 divine sword.

    The divine glow on the sword immediately intensified with a sharp ring before Leon suddenly shed out with a horizontal sword wave with sword intent.

    Swoosh!

    The sword wave crossed the distance very quickly, causing the Venerable Shaman and the others to be rmed.

    "Block it!" Chief Darkwind cried.

    The Revered Wind Tribesmen quickly raised their weapons to block the sword wave, but few seeded in blocking the attack without being pushed back by a few steps.

    Several Low-rank Battle Master lost their bnce and tumbled down the mountain of wood-creature corpses.

    "Is that all you got¡ª"

    Chief Darkwind prepared to ridicule Leon''s sneak attack when he suddenly saw the big chip on his tier-5 soul weapon.

    "What!"

    His eyes widened with shock instantly.

    At the same time, the tribesmen also noticed the bigger chips on their tier-4 soul weapons, one of which nearly broke in half.

    "What is this terrifying sharpness?! And that only came from a f*cking sword wave?!" a High-rank Battle Master eximed with shock, shaken beyond belief.

    "He''sing!" Chief Darkwind roared.

    Leon closed the distance with a quick dash, giving his enemies no time to recover from their shock, forcing them to receive his attack with their damaged soul weapons.

    Puchi!

    The tier-7 divine sword directly sliced through a High-rank Battle Master''s damaged soul weapon before proceeding to slice off the person''s head and send it flying in an arc.

    However, Leon did not stop there.

    He immediately shot after the next target in his line of sight without suffering any consequences from shing blows with a person of higher physical strength than him.

    The tyrannical sharpness of the tier-7 divine sword had directly sliced apart any force barring its path before they could reach him.

    Unless they had the same level of defense as the Mother Hellbiter or higher, Leon would not suffer from any shock from shing blows with them.

    The tier-7 divine sword will cut through everything!

    Puchi! Puchi!

    In a short instance, Leon beheaded another two Mid-rank Battle Masters and directly cleaved a Low-rank Battle Master in half, soul weapon and all in a domineering manner.

    He was simply unstoppable.

    They couldn''t make use of their superior strength, and speed has always been Leon''s strong point, rendering their numbers useless.

    "F*ck, f*ck, f*ck!"

    Chief Darkwind continuously retreated with a nasty expression while using his fellow tribesmen as shields¡ªonly for them to be cut down with little resistance.

    "Venerable Shaman, help me!" Chief Darkwind requested.

    However, the strongest person in their group had long turned tail and fled the moment he realized defeat was inevitable.

    "F*ck!!!!!" Chief Darkwind cursed after finding out.

 Chapter 734 - Secret Realms True Purpose?

    <h4>Chapter 734 - Secret Realm''s True Purpose?</h4>

    allnovelfull

    Outside the tomb, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Aria relocated and hid near the tomb''s entrance for a closer watch while Darlene remained in the treetop.

    When the Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman shot out from the tomb alone with a flustered look, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman instinctively jumped out to intercept the person''s escape.

    "Where are you heading in such a hurry, hm? Where are the rest of your tribesmen?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman questioned.

    However, the Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman did not answer.

    His eyes coldly glinted before heshed out at the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman with his bone sword in a sudden attack.

    Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman anticipated such a situation.

    ng!

    The two Extremity-rank Battle Masters exchanged blows, causing the force of their collision to ripple out through the air like a ring-shaped gust of wind.

    The leaves rustled, and the two Venerable Shamans retreated several steps from the rebounding force.

    "Get out of my way!"

    The Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman immediately shot forward with a follow-up attack in a desperate attempt to quickly flee the area.

    However, their evenly matched strength made it impossible to determine a winner swiftly.

    "Hoho," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled before specting, "Judging by your desperate look, things didn''t go so well in the tomb."

    "But I wonder if the rest of your tribesmen have been done in by the Mother Hellbiter or by Young Master Leonhardt?"

    As the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke, Aria secured the perimeters by enclosing the area in an ice wall, cutting off all possible escape.

    The Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman''s eyes immediately flickered with madness like a cornered animal.

    "Why ask questions when you already know?! Your group must have nned this from the start! Intentionally leaving the Demon King-level Tomb open to arouse our greed so we coulde back and dig out the tomb for your Young Master Leonhardt!"

    The Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman used.

    Although his words surprised the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Aria, their eyes quickly shone from the information they derived.

    Knowing that Leon was alive, Aria was thrilled with joy and relief.

    "What a funny thing to say," Aria snickered and said, "We didn''t plot anything. Your tribe''s undoing was a result of your own greed and selfishness."

    "How ridiculous it is for a thief to push the me onto others," Aria coldly added.

    It was like a prostitute pointing her finger at a virgin and calling the person a slut; truly an unsightly behavior.

    "You should ept the consequence of your own choice," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    "Hmph, don''t you dare lecture me!" the Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman snorted and said, "I came to this secret realm with the intent to advance to Battle King, so I don''t intend to die h¡ª"

    The Revered Wind Tribe''s Venerable Shaman''s expression abruptly changed before he twisted his body to dodge Leon''s sudden attack from the tomb entrance.

    Puchi!

    s, the Venerable Shaman failed topletely evade the sneak attack as Leon''s sword wave sliced off his left arm!

    "Argh¡ª!"

    The person grunted in pain.

    However, not even a split second after, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman lodged his soul weapon straight into the back of the person''s head and ended the person''s life.

    There was no hesitation when Leon presented the opening to him.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was aware they held the overwhelming advantage with Leon''s appearance.

    Even so, he didn''t want to take any chances with an Extremity-rank Battle Master.

    Shortly after, Aria dived straight into Leon''s arms and sunk her face into his chest, undisturbed by the uncleanliness of his body.

    "You must have been worried sick about me," Leon ced a hand on Aria''s head with a warm look before he apologized, "I''m sorry."

    "It''s fine as long as you''re alive," Aria shook her head and said.

    "It''s great that you''re alive, Young Master Leonhardt, but what about the rest of the Revered Wind Tribesmen that entered the tomb¡­?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked shortly after.

    "All dead. I killed them," Leon calmly answered.

    Of course, he didn''t leave without looting his spoils on their bodies.

    After noticing it was only One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Aria, Leon inquired, "What happened during my absence? Where are the others?"

    "You don''t have to worry about that, Young Master Leonhardt. They are all fine. Miss Darlene is cultivating in the trees while my tribesmen have left to seek lucky chances elsewhere."

    After exining the situation to Leon, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s gaze could not help much fall on the divine sword in Leon''s hand.

    "That is¡­"

    "A tier-7 divine weapon," Leon openly admitted before saying with a solemn look, "You won''t mind if I gift this sword to Aria, will you, senior?"

    "Of course not!"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately waved his hand, expressing a clear disinterest in the inheritance lest Leon develops the wrong idea about him.

    "Since Young Master Leonhardt worked hard for the inheritance, this old man has no right to interfere with Young Master Leonhardt''s decision to gift it to whoever Young Master Leonhardt wishes," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman added.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman wasn''t sure how powerful a tier-7 divine sword was, but he determined it wasn''t worth falling out with Leon, someone who could trante the ancient heritage for them.

    "Senior is too serious," Leon smiled with a wry look.

    He had no intention of monopolizing the inheritance, not to mention there was plenty of good stuff in the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s storage ring.

    "Actually, there is something important I need to discuss with senior," Leon stated seriously, causing the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman to show an equally serious expression.

    "Let''s talk in the treetop."

    "Un."

    The three quickly returned to Darlene''s location in the treetop after reaching an agreement.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman gave Leon some time to catch up with Aria and Darlene before he finally broke his silence.

    "What important matter does Young Master Leonhardt wish to speak with this old man about?"

    "About that¡­" Leon quickly assumed a solemn look before he said, "I believe everyone has a grave misconception on the purpose of the secret realm."

    "The true purpose of the secret realm is not to leave behind an inheritance for the future generations but possibly something much darker."

 Chapter 735 - Leons Decision

    <h4>Chapter 735 - Leon''s Decision</h4>

    "The purpose is not to leave behind an inheritance for future generations? What do you mean, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was baffled by Leon''s im, and even Aria perked her ears to listen attentively while sticking herself to Leon like a cat.

    After Leon recounted his experience with the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s demon core, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman wore a heavy expression, and Aria tightened her grasp on Leon''s arm.

    "To think such a being like the Abyssal Wood Demon King survived to this age and had been hiding inside the demon core for a chance to revive all this time¡­" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman muttered.

    "It was anyone else, I''m sure the Abyssal Wood Demon King was have seeded in their hostile possession."

    "I also think so," Leon casually nodded.

    Without his Nihility Law, there really isn''t much fighting chance for mortals to go against Celestial-level beings, even if it was just their souls.

    "Come to think of it; there haven''t been any records of humans seeding in conquering Demon Lord-level Tombs, let alone refine Demon Lord-level demon cores," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman recalled.

    Leon raised an eyebrow before he asked, "The events behind the Battle God''s ascension wasn''t recorded?"

    "It wasn''t," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head and said, "Thus, no one knows if the Battle God attained his strength through a Demon Lord-level demon core or some other means."

    Leon''s doubts strengthened after hearing the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s words.

    Nevertheless, if the Battle God had turned out to have conquered a Demon Lord-level Tomb and got possessed by the Demon Lord, it would be extremely terrible news for the Infertile ins'' people.

    "I still don''t understand what makes Young Master Leonhardt think there may be some conspiracy to the secret realm. The secret realm has opened multiple times, and people have indeed received multiple inheritances from it."

    "Though they were all only Arch Demon-level inheritances and below, they are still inheritances nheless," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman added.

    Having listened for a while, Aria suddenly interjects, "Actually, it''s not difficult to guess the reason for this; it just means that the Arch Demons were only cannon fodders."

    "Cannon fodders?"

    "Yes, think about it. If Arch Demons don''t have the potentials to be Demon Lords, then they will leave their inheritances behind for those who can. Though the demons probably never expected that their inheritances would also fall into human hands."

    "That''s true¡­"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded thoughtfully before he suddenly frowned.

    "If the Arch Demons were only cannon fodders and all the Demon Lord-level beings and above are all waiting for a chance to revive, then¡­"

    "What could this mean?"

    "Something on the catastrophic scale."

    Aria suddenly frowned before saying, "I''ve heard that the secret realm has opened multiple times. Therefore, if these Demon Lords and higher beings wanted to revive, they would have done so."

    "But the fact that they haven''t could also imply that they either couldn''t or¡­"

    "It''s not the right time."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s gaze became solemn.

    Although hecked critical information to infer the true purpose of the secret realm, he could at least understand the severity of the issue.

    For Leon, who was aware that they resided within a sealed world, this was especially true.

    "Although I don''t know how exactly strong the Battle God is, I can say for certain that humansck the strength to go against these high-level demons¡ªshould they revive. A single Demon Lord is all it takes to dominate the world."

    "But what could they be waiting for? When is the right time?"

    When the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman raised the important questions, Leon fell silent for a moment before he said, "They are most likely waiting for the day the seal breaks."

    "Seal? What seal are you talking about, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "The world we''ve known as Gaia is a demon graveyard that has been sealed a Celestial Conqueror''s Spatial Law; it stops us from leaving this world but also stops others froming in."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was astonished to hear some terms he had never heard before.

    Leon was not surprised to see the baffled look on the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s face.

    "To be honest, even I don''t fully grasp how powerful the Celestial Conqueror is, but supposedly this being is the closest to achieving True Divinity, or Godhood if you prefer to call it," Leon added.

    He shortly noticed Aria''s pondering look before asking, "What''s on your mind?"

    "I just think that if the entire is a demon graveyard, then it''s strange how the higher-level demons are all gathered in this secret realm," Aria voiced her doubts.

    However, Leon didn''t find it strange at all.

    "I don''t think the higher-level demons gathered in this secret realm are all of them," Leon shook his head and asserted his own opinion, "They are probably only a fraction of the demons sealed on Gaia."

    The world was so big, yet they''ve explored so little; it would be too arrogant to assume they''ve seen and know it all.

    "Nevertheless, for these demons to be gathered in one secret realm, they are most likely part of the same faction," Leon added.

    Although the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was curious how Leon knew so much, he didn''t think the person was making things up.

    "What do you think we should do from now on, Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked.

    The original purpose was to conquer tombs and collect the inheritances.

    But now that the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman realized more important things were at stake, he was aware that they couldn''t continue to fulfill their original purpose.

    "The demons must be stopped. It''s all over if they seed in reviving a Demon Lord or even a Demon King," Leon firmly stated.

    At the same time, Leon made a resolute decision in his heart.

    He had been hesitant about choosing a new energy cultivation method all this time.

    However, the world''s overflowing Demonic Energy and Darkness Profound Energy had been pointing him towards one answer; cultivating demonic cultivation will be faster than divine cultivation.

    And if he was to embark on demonic cultivation, one particr energy cultivation method stood out from the rest in the [Archive].

    The Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness.

 Chapter 736 - Arrangements Before Cultivating

    <h4>Chapter 736 - Arrangements Before Cultivating</h4>

    "We don''t have the strength to stop the demons, so how will we do it? I suppose Young Master Leonhardt has a brilliant n in mind?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman guessed.

    However, Leon shook his head with a wry smile.

    "Nothing of that sort. We simply need to get stronger, and right now, we have the means to make that possible in a short time," Leon stated.

    He took out the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s demon core and said, "Senior should be able to grow quickly with this, right?"

    "No, I''ve already shattered my core and lost the ability to temper my body," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head.

    "Unless I create a new core or refine another one to take its ce, I won''t be able to put this demon core to good use even if you gift it to me. And if you expect me to refine this demon core as my new core, then I must say that it won''t work."

    "The power in this demon core is too much for anyone''s body to handle. Drawing power from it like a Celestial Spark is fine, but trying to refine the entire object will result in self-destruction," Leon stated.

    He naturally understood the risks.

    "So Young Master Leonhardt is also aware of the danger," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded with approval before saying, "We can''t eat more than we can chew. With my current physique, an Arch Demon-level demon core is my limit."

    "An Arch Demon-level demon core, huh?" Leon muttered thoughtfully.

    After a moment, he took out Paragon ckfrost''s ice coffin before removing the demon core from the Arch Demon''s body.

    "It just so happens that I also have an Arch Demon-level demon core."

    "So much has happened in this Ashenwood Forest that I''ve forgotten Young Master Leonhardt had already cleared an Arch Demon-level Tomb."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled wryly before ncing at the Arch Demon-level demon core for a moment.

    "Does Young Master Leonhardt really intend to gift this demon core to this old man? Young Master Leonhardt must know that there''s a high chance that this demon core could go to waste."

    "What do you mean, senior?"

    "There''s no doubt that refining this demon core will allow me to embark on the path of body forging again, but only if I can refine the demon core sessfully. The shattered remains of my old core will most likely cause problems unless I can remove them all out of my system."

    "I can help with that," Leon smiled confidently before saying, "However, I will require Senior''s full cooperation. Are you up for the task?"

    "If Young Master Leonhardt is this confident, then I see why not. What does this old man have except for his life?"

    After getting the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s confirmation, Leon asked for the senior''splete stillness beforemencing with the operation.

    With divine sense as his eyes, Leon locked onto the scattered shards within the senior''s head before proceeding to crush them with divine will and filter them all out of the senior''s body, draining much of his mental energy at the same time.

    Although Leon could have invested less effort by utilizing the Nihility Law to erase the shards, it was too risky for him to carry out with it.

    The slightest mistake on his part, and he could easily snuff out the elder''s life.

    "It''s done. Senior can move now," Leon informed as Aria wiped the sweat on his forehead with a clean cloth from her storage ring.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly performed introspection before his eyes snapped open with surprise.

    "Young Master Leonhardt''s skills are too impressive. Every piece of the old core''s shards has been thoroughly removed. To think that this old man still has a chance to be a Battle King in this lifetime¡­"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman felt emotionally moved.

    "Senior is too humble. With the new Arch Demon-level demon core as your foundation, you can definitely be a Battle King. But why stop there? Since we are here in the secret realm, perhaps they will even be chances for Senior to be a Battle God."

    "And all this will be thanks to you, Alliance Leader. Just give the word, and this old man will carry out your will."

    Alliance Leader¡­

    It was just two words, but it showed the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''splete support in Leon leading the tribes.

    "Haha, I''m not the Alliance Leader yet, but I will ept the goodwill."

    Shortly after Leon handed both cores to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, he shifted his focus onto Aria and Darlene.

    At that moment, Darlene was still diligently trying to achieve Transcendence.

    Leon wasn''t sure how long it would take him to cultivate the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness, but he couldn''t neglect Darlene and Aria''s progress.

    After a moment, his eyes flickered with an idea.

    "This tier-7 divine sword is capable of generating sword intent. So if you study it well, you might be able toprehend your own sword intent quickly."

    "Mm."

    "Don''t start right studying it yet, though. I have something else to give you, but give me a moment to refine it.

    Shortly after saying that, Leon took out his spirit herbs and pill cauldron to refine the Soul Enhancement Pills.

    A few minutester, Leon sessfully refined a batch of Tier-3 Soul Enhancement Pills with High-rank quality.

    "Hm? Leon!"

    Darlene quickly cried out his name with joy and jumped into his arms after Leon disrupted her deep meditation.

    "Alright, alright¡­ Hold on for a minute."

    After Leon peeled Darlene from his body, he kept five of the Tier-3 Soul Enhancement Pills and divided the remaining for in two for both of them.

    "These Soul Enhancement Pills will improve your souls and help youprehend things easier. However, you should only take one once in a long while to avoid causing irreversible damages to your souls," Leon exined.

    To be honest, he should have given one around him sooner, but itpletely slipped his mind with everything that''s been going on.

    Nevertheless, Aria and Darlene epted the pills with pleasant surprises before giving him a smooch on each cheek.

    Leon enjoyed their affection, but he forced himself to end their moments to focus on more important matters.

 Chapter 737 - Seeking Insight-level Transcendent

    <h4>Chapter 737 - Seeking Insight-level Transcendent</h4>

    Given Darlene''s profound Void Soul Constitution, Leon figured that she might be able toprehend something from it once her improved soul increases her perception.

    Thus, Darlene had her Void Soul Constitution, and Aria had the Sword Intent in the tier-7 divine sword.

    The two girls were settled on their cultivation focus.

    It didn''t take long before the group of four found their own space on the treetop andmenced their silent cultivation.

    Leon watched the three people for a moment before taking his leave from the veiled location and finding a more secluded spot for his cultivation.

    Consider the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness cultivation art has ''Devil Emperor'' in its name; it shouldn''t be too shabby.

    There was bound to be a disturbance once he trains.

    After finding a nice spot some distance away from the others, Leon entered a seated meditation with his eyes closed and sent his mind into the [Archive] to peruse the first volume of the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness.

    ''Before the beginning of time, before the birth of light, and the swing of the world pendulum that marks the start of everything, there was only darkness; perpetual and eternal darkness.''

    ''Then, the world was divided into ck and white, darkness and light, forming an inflexible bnce and rtionship.''

    ''However, there can be darkness without light, but no light without darkness.''

    ''Eternal darkness will always reign supreme.''

    ''Therefore, thy who controls the Law of Eternal Darkness, shall lord over the world of darkness and all its creations.''

    The recorded texts of the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness''s first volume spoke to Leon like the gospels of universal truth, almost brainwashing him into such belief.

    However, Leonprehended the Nihility Law and knew only it deserved to be called supreme.

    Even so, the greater devils and gods were all supreme existences during the primordial era; thus, there should be some truth to the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness''s opening verses.

    Or, at the very least, there should be some secret behind it that made the Devil Emperor a supreme existence during that era.

    Leon furrowed his brows and ced the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness study on pause before picking out the first volume of another cultivation art.

    After reading through its opening verses, Leon''s frown deepened as he picked several more cultivation arts of peerless gods and devils and read their opening verses.

    He immediately noticed the consistency.

    Every cultivation art didn''t delve straight into the training instruction; it started with opening verses emphasizing a single idea or belief.

    Furthermore, none of their ideas and beliefs oveps.

    Each great god and devil took the element of their cultivation art to be the supreme element in the firmament.

    ''Even a primary elementalw like Fire Law is proimed to be the strongest power in the Brahma Fire God''s Eternal me Scripture¡­''

    Leon pondered.

    Of course, Fire Law is still Fire Law. But to the Brahma Fire God, it became the Eternal me Law.

    Suddenly, Leon felt a sh of insight.

    Although it was impossible for him to learn every primordial technique recorded in the [Archive], there was much to learn from simply reading over them.

    The primordial era of gods and devils'' history, he could not learn.

    However, their cultivation arts contained the cumtion of their experience and insights. Even if they might not be mentioned directly in the texts, Leon could vaguely pick them up.

    ''I see¡­ It doesn''t matter whether the gospel written in the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness is true or not. What''s important is the belief behind it,'' Leon understood.

    Just like the difference between a man simply wielding a sword and an actual swordsman with Sword Intent, it was all about the will.

    They might be two people with swords, but their strengths arepletely different based on their belief in the sword.

    ''The Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness'' first volume''s opening verse is used to form the belief that eternal darkness is supreme and build on it.''

    By ardently believing in an idea and pursuing it all the way, that is how experts reach the top.

    However, Leon didn''t feel like he could replicate such feats.

    He has too many powers to abandon them all in the pursuit of reaching the apex in one. But even if he didn''t, he understood that strong will gives birth to strong power.

    Even if his otherws can''t reach the same height as Nihility Law, they will still be stronger due to his profound understanding of the truth.

    Suddenly, Leon had another thought.

    ''I have been practicing the Hegemon of Primal Chaos for so long. What if I was brainwashed into believing that Nihility is the ultimatew in primal chaos? Why can''t anyw be supreme?''

    Questions were formed in Leon''s mind.

    Even if he has the Nihility Law, which he believes to be the supremew, Leon still can''t beat Celestials and Demon Lords with his current cultivation level.

    Thus, he understood another truth.

    There was no supremew, only supreme beings; whatever the supreme beings use will be the supremew.

    ''Only my will is eternal.''

    Leon suddenly put aside learning the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness and exited the [Archive] to meditate on the Nihility Law.

    He formed the belief that Nihility Law was the strongest power due to the Hegemon of Primal Chaos but never actively and firmly believed that it was while trying toprehend it.

    But once he did¡­

    Rumble¡­!

    Leon vaguely felt the formation of a phenomenon, but nothing was actually forming in the sky above him.

    There is no gathering of clouds, no colorful beams from the stars, nor aurora forming; just nothing at all.

    It was the same when he became a Nihility Transcendent.

    But when Leon opened his eyes and gathered the power of Nihility to see how much stronger it became, he immediately knew he was already a Seeking Insight-level Transcendent.

    "Is this the power of beliefs? No, this is the strength of my will."

    By using his will to exert a firm belief in the Nihility Law, he gained a stronger connection to it, reaching the Seeking Insight stage without needing the necessaryprehension level.

    Nevertheless, his will isn''t infinite.

    Unless he could continue improving his soul, he will have to keepprehending thews normally to attain higher levels.

 Chapter 738 - Truth Manifestation Realm

    <h4>Chapter 738 - Truth Manifestation Realm</h4>

    After reaching Seeking Insight-level Transcendent, Leon spent some time familiarizing himself with his Nihility power.

    He slightly exerted Nihility on a tree branch before it disinterested into a speck of True Grandmist Energy.

    With a stronger exertion of Nihility, another tree branch disappearedpletely without a speck of salvageable energy.

    ''If I exert any more power than this, I will tear a rift to the chaotic sea of nothingness and speed up the process of world destruction,'' Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, he feels like his Nihility Law was finally powerful enough to y Paragons with ease.

    ''I should refrain from using something like this unless it''s ast resort,'' Leon silently decided.

    He did not forget his seniors'' warning.

    If powerhouses in the Celestial Realm noticed his ability to open rifts to the chaotic sea of nothingness, they would hunt him down.

    ''Since I''ve reached the Seeking Insight-level Transcendent, I should upgrade my other abilities to the Primary ession-level at least,'' Leon thought.

    However, shortly after closing his eyes to push his Metal Law to the Transcendent level, he felt a wave of dizziness strike him.

    ''Haiz, never mind. Unfortunately, it seems that using this method to achieve higher levels doesn''te without prices to pay.''

    Leon shook his head with a sigh.

    It was like breaking down an iron gate with brute force instead of using a key to open it with minimum effort.

    Of course, there would be a price to pay.

    ''And even after I forcefully raise my level to the Seeking Insight-level Transcendent, I doubt I will be able to progress further until my Nihilityprehension level catches up¡­''

    Leon suddenly frowned.

    The gods and devils most likely didn''t have such a problem, or their wills weren''t strictly used the same way he did.

    He might have missed something.

    What happens when the gods and devils fullyprehend the heavenlyws?

    For example, how could a god who mastered thew of firepete with a god who mastered thew of space?

    Their strong beliefs in the path take the heavenlyws to a level beyond their limits, or in other words, their beliefs evolve the heavenlyws.

    Leon suddenly thought back on the cultivations art he perused.

    The Darkness Law wasn''t just called the Darkness Law, and the Fire Law wasn''t just called the Fire Law.

    Whether it was the Eternal Darkness Law or the Eternal me Law, the elements of the cultivation arts all had the word ''eternal'' in their name.

    ''Aw that exceeds that limit of primal chaos bes eternal?'' Leon pondered.

    After a short moment, he shook his head in resignation.

    There was no point in pondering these things that are clearly far beyond his level of understanding and cultivation.

    He shouldn''t bite more than he can chew.

    With such thought in mind, Leon no longer concerned himself with the heavenlyw and resumed focus on the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness.

    After learning the energy cultivation instruction, Leon proceeded with his practice.

    The early level of energy cultivation was primarily simr to the standard energy cultivation practice of the Divine Realm.

    Whether it was Energy Condensation, Revolving Core, or Heaven Ascension, the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness followed the practice of gathering energy, building the foundation, and forming the core.

    However, thetter stages differ entirely with the purpose ofprehending the Darkness Profound Law, and ultimately, the Eternal Darkness Law.

    It didn''t shatter the energy core to enter the Void Realm.

    Instead, the instructions told Leon that once he reached the peak of Heaven Ascension Realm, the next step forward was to sprout the energy core.

    Upon sess, it would grow a vitality tree, greatly enhancing his lifespan and marking his step in the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    When the vitality tree is fully grown, he would have reached the peak of the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    Truth Manifestation Realm is also the turning point toprehending the heavenlyws.

    The more heavenlyws heprehends, the more fruits, which contains the cumtion of hiswprehension, the vitality tree will bear.

    When Leon understood up to this step, he began to wonder if the standard practice of the Divine Realm was wrong from the start.

    Not only was the path of Truth Manifestation Realm much safer with a lower death rate for failure, but it also allowed cultivators toprehend thews early.

    After stepping into the peak of the Truth Manifestation Realm, the vitality tree would have fully grown at that point.

    Leon''s goal was to reach the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    With the abundant Darkness Energy in the Eternal Night Secret Realm and the cumtion of Demonic Energy in his ck Vortex, there shouldn''t be a problem reaching that realm¡ªgiven enough time.

    The path of demonic cultivation never cared for the purity of its energy.

    He could use all types of energy to cultivate.

    That being said, mixing too many types of energy wasn''t good.

    Demonic Energy and Darkness Energy will always be ideal for practicing the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness.

    Leon began absorbing the Darkness Energy from his surroundings and refining them at an incredible speed before filling his long-deserted energy center.

    Within a short instance, the energy center was already brimming with Darkness Energy and started condensing.

    ¡­

    Half an hourter, Leon stepped into Energy Condensation Realm.

    ¡­

    Three hourster, he reached the Revolving Core Realm.

    ¡­

    Nine hourster, he refined all the Demonic Energy in his ck Vortex and reached the Heaven Ascension Realm.

    ¡­

    Ignoring Leon''s various factors to allow such an unbelievable cultivation speed, he would have set unprecedented records back in the Divine Realm with such an achievement.

    Nevertheless, his cultivation speed drastically slowed down after reaching Early-stage Heaven Ascension Realm.

    The Darkness Energy was almost non-existent within a 100-yard radius of him.

    ''The Darkness Energy in the surrounding has grown extremely thin. I will need to change location if I want to keep up my high-speed cultivation,'' Leon mused after putting a pause to his cultivation.

    Swish!

    Suddenly, Leon''s gaze turned sharp after picking up the rustling of leaves in the distance.

    ''Seems like my cultivation speed attracted people; no surprises there. I can''t let them disturb the others from cultivating, though.''

    ''I shall see who they are.''

 Chapter 739 - Dark Fae Clan

    <h4>Chapter 739 - Dark Fae n</h4>

    After making his decision, Leon began hopping through the tree branches as he made his way west of the central tree in the Ashenwood Forest.

    The rustling movements of leaves came from the western direction.

    It didn''t take long before Leon paused his steps and entered stealth mode in the treetop, having detected the iing group not far away on the ground.

    It was a group of mixed demon races.

    There were seven horned demons, five feathered-wing demons, and four scaly-tailed demons for a total of sixteen demons in the group.

    ''Seems like there are no Greater Demons among them,'' Leon silent determined the demon group''s strength.

    Shortly after, he spread out his divine sense to scan the area.

    ''No other demon group detected within a 100-yard radius of this area. Therefore, I shall deal a swift blow to this group of Lesser Demons.''

    Leon''s eyes flickered with a cold glint.

    Swish~!

    "Who¡ª!"

    Before a Three-Horned Lesser Demon could finish barking in rm, Leon swooped down like a ck sh and mmed the Three-Horned Lesser Demon''s thick head into the ground with his bare hand.

    Crack!

    Leon crushed the Three-Horned Lesser Demon''s head with brute strength, killing the Three-Horned Lesser Demon on the spot.

    "E-enemy attack!"

    "Kill him!"

    The rmed group of Lesser Demons quickly shouted and surrounded Leon.

    However, Leon quickly transformed his hands into ck saber-like aura des of darkness before hacking out at the Lesser Demons in quick session, briefly forming dozens of ck lines around him.

    Puchi!

    The Lesser Demons spurted blood out from various parts of their bodies before fourteen of them dropped to the ground, diced into many pieces, all killed in a short instance.

    "W-what!"

    Thest feathered-wing Lesser Demon froze in shock at the instant death of all herrades before realizing she was no match for Leon.

    Leon briefly spared thest Lesser Demon to secure and preserve the quality of demon blood from his kills, storing them in empty pill bottles with tightly sealed caps before pocketing their weapons.

    The feathered-wing Lesser Demon saw that as her chance to leave.

    However, the feathered-wing Lesser Demon did not even take five steps before a heavy pressure suddenly locked her down, making it difficult to move.

    Gravity!

    Leon had used his earth-metal fusion ability.

    Leon grabbed the feathered-wing Lesser Demon by the neck a few momentster and dragged it into the treetop for interrogation.

    Click!

    With a snap of his fingers, Leon erected an extremely weak Nihility Barrier around them.

    Although the barrier was too weak to destroy anything, it was still enough to rob the world''s colors and block all sound from getting out.

    "W-what kind of power is this?"

    The female feathered-wing Lesser Demon nced around at the monochrome area with a look of shock before she quickly shook her head.

    That wasn''t important.

    "P-please spare me!"

    The feathered-wing Lesser Demon quickly pleaded for her life.

    Leon slightly knitted his brows while staring at the feathered-wing Lesser Demon, who had lost all her thoughts of aggression and retaliation against him and desperately clung to her life.

    "If you answer my questions honestly, it might not be impossible for me to spare you."

    "P-please ask away, Your Excellency! I will tell you everything I know!"

    The feathered-wing demon sat in a kneeling position withplete attention andpliance and without any intention to escape.

    It was impossible even if she wanted to.

    Leon nced at the feathered-wing demon''s attitude before he nodded with approval.

    The feathered-wing demon''s willingness toply will allow his interrogation to proceed smoothly¡ªbut only if she spills the truth.

    "Do you have a name?"

    "Yes, my name is Saresha, Your Excellency, Sir!"

    "What n do you belong to?"

    "I belong to the Low-rank n of Dark Fae, Your Excellency, Sir!"

    "You can drop the honorifics when you answer¡­"

    "Yes, Your Excellency¡ª"

    Leon shoots the dark fae a nce before she corrects herself.

    "I-I mean, yessir!"

    "Good enough."

    Leon shrugged.

    The dark fae was confused by Leon''s simple questions, but little did she know that he was simply testing her honestly.

    Shortly after, Leon began to ask more serious questions.

    "It''s been quite some time since demons came to this forest. So why did your group choose now of all time toe?"

    "T-that is because Lord Suron noticed a change in the sky above the forest, so Lord Suron tasked our group to investigate it, sir."

    Saresha answered honestly without daring to look up.

    "Who is Lord Suron?" Leon questioned before further adding, "He doesn''t sound like anyone important if he only sends Lesser Demons for the investigation."

    "Lord Suron is just a Lesser Demon like us, sir. However, he is a member of the Evil Eye n, one of the Nine Great ns in the darknd, while we are only from Low-rank ns. The disparity in status allows Lord Suron to order us as he pleases."

    "I see¡­"

    As Leon continues his round of questioning, he gradually learns of the strict hierarchy within the demon race ruled by nine great demon ns.

    The Dark Fae n, one of the weakest demon ns in the darknd, has no choice but to ept the demands of higher-ranking ns, let alone the Evil Eye n, one of the nine great demon ns.

    Because Dark Fae n was so weak that it could be bullied left and right by other demon ns, Leon no longer finds it surprising that the Dark Fae Saresha was so submissive and cooperative.

    After learning of the Evil Eye n''s ocr specialty, Leon understood how the Lesser Demon Suron noticed the Darkness Energy movement in the Ashenwood Forest.

    Nevertheless, Leon furrowed his brows with some doubts.

    He spread out his divine sense for another scan of the area but detected no other demon within his range.

    "If your Lord Suron noticed the change in the forest, then other members of the same n would have also noticed the change in the forest. So why is it just your group that came?"

    "T-that is because¡­"

    The Dark Fae Saresha began panicking under Leon''s doubtful and inquisitive gaze, feeling nervous even though she had been honest and cooperative with his questions.

 Chapter 740 - The Perilous Bone Sea

    <h4>Chapter 740 - The Perilous Bone Sea</h4>

    Leon''s sharp ced the timid dark fae under heavy pressure, making it difficult for her to answer his question without stuttering with nervousness.

    Nevertheless, the longer Leon interacted with the dark fae, the stronger he felt that Dark Fae Saresha was not so much different from humans¡ªwhether it was her intelligence or emotions.

    He didn''t sense any of the bloodthirst and malice that all demons were described to have.

    Of course, he couldn''t speak for all of the Dark Fae n, and Dark Fae Saresha could even be feigning weakness to let his guard down and backstab himter.

    All in all, it was too early toe to a conclusion with regards to demons and required longer observation to sate his curiosity.

    "Not all demons are evil, nor are they impure existences, so never regard them as such and discriminate them simply based on their origins."

    "Don''t just listen with your ears, see with your eyes, and don''t just see with your eyes, but listen with your ears. Don''t be misled by others to see what they want you to see, hear what they want you to hear, and believe what they want you to believe."

    "You must remember to use all of your being to understand another being for what they truly are and determine for yourself whether they deserve salvation or eternal damnation."

    Leon vaguely recalled the words of his father, the Divine Medicine King, from a distant memory of his childhood in his previous life.

    "Y-your Excellency?"

    Saresha''s questioning tone snapped Leon out of his reverie as she continued to remain seated in a kneeling position obediently without the inclination to escape.

    Leon recollected his thoughts before speaking calmly, "Sorry, my mind had wandered elsewhere. So, what was your answer to my previous question?"

    "O-our group was the closest to the Abyssal Wood Forest, but also the furthest from the Bone Sea of Eternal Night, where the majority of demons have gathered. Lesser Demons like us have no hopes ofpeting with the stronger demons for lucky chances."

    "Lord Suron, himself was unwilling to leave the Bone Sea. That is why he sent us to investigate the situation in the Abyssal Wood Forest. If we don''t report back within the hour, death would have eventually awaited us either way, sir."

    If a Lesser Demon like Lord Suron was unwilling to leave the Bone Sea, then it was more likely for the stronger members of the Evil Eye n to leave the Bone Sea to investigate the Ashenwood Forest.

    Nevertheless, Leon learned that the demons called it the Abyssal Wood Forest instead.

    "Lesser Demons of Low-ranking ns have it pretty rough, huh?" Leon casually uttered.

    The trip from the Bone Sea to and from the Abyssal Wood Forest would have taken up most of the hour, leaving little investigation time to find anything.

    If the Lesser Demons report backte, they will die. And if they report nothing meaningful, they will most likely also die.

    "Still, it''s surprising yet strange to see the Dark Fae n in such terrible position when they are one of the ruling demon ns in Northern Devil Region of the Divine Realm¡­" Leon muttered to himself.

    Saresha overheard his words, and her soft eyshes fluttered with surprise and confusion.

    Nevertheless, she didn''t have time to think further as Leon asked her another question, "Why are the demons gathered at the Bone Sea? What exactly is it, and what is over there?"

    "The Bone Sea is thergest and most perilous region out of all the regions in the Eternal Night Secret Realm. It is said that most of the higher-level inheritances are left there, but the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance is also hidden in there."

    "The Bone Sea wasn''t always called the Bone Sea, but it eventually got its name after countless beings challenged it and failed, leaving their remains behind to float on the sea surface instead of sinking to the seafloor as one normally expects to happen."

    "If I have to guess, the Nine Great ns are challenging the Bone Sea to locate the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s tomb of inheritance while the other ns vie for the tomb of inheritances found in the Bone Sea."

    Saresha answered.

    Of course, bottom feeders like her Dark Fae n are either treated as cannon fodders for others or scrambling for leftover benefits in the outer rim.

    "I see¡­ How interesting¡­"

    Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment.

    "What will you do? It must have been over an hour since you left. Even if I let you go back now, you will most likely die to that Lord Suron of yours."

    "That is¡­"

    The Dark Fae Saresha hesitated to answer with an unresigned look, finding that oue to be uneptable.

    "If I am willing to be your servant, will you allow me to follow you, Your Excellency?" Saresha carefully inquired.

    "You?" Leon nced at her with an intrigued look and asked, "You''re willing to be the servant of a human?"

    "Eh?"

    Leon''s question seemed to havee as a great shock to the Dark Fae Saresha as her expression suddenly froze.

    "You''re a human, Your Excellency?" Saresha carefully inquired for confirmation.

    "Now that''s an interesting thing to ask," Leon smiled intriguingly and said, "Where on earth did you get the impression that I am not human with this kind of appearance?"

    "A human doesn''t necessarily mean one can''t be a demon, Your Excellency. For example, in the deeper southern region, there''s a group of humans that are natural-born demons. I thought that Your Excellency was one such being, given Your Excellency''s fine control of darkness."

    Saresha carefully spoke.

    If her ck feathered wings were ripped off, she would also appear no different from humans, and a beautiful one at that.

    Leon immediately understood why the Dark Fae Saresha mistook him for a demon, but the fact that humans could also be born as demons was an astonishing discovery.

    "In your general understanding, what is a demon?"

    "Any being born from darkness is a demon¡ªor at the very least, that is how the world sees it, Your Excellency."

    "Hm, I see¡­"

    Saresha''s words left Leon pondering in deep thoughts.

    In other words, anyone born with a darkness-attribute body that doesn''t get harmed by Darkness Energy is regarded as a demon.

    "Well, this is unexpected¡­"

 Chapter 741 - Oath Of Allegiance

    <h4>Chapter 741 - Oath Of Allegiance</h4>

    Given the abilities of the True Grandmist Body and Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness, it wasn''t strange for Leon to gain great control over Darkness Energy and not be corroded by it.

    However, he wasn''t born with this ability.

    As such, he couldn''t be called a demon in the truest sense, but others could still mistake him for one without prior knowledge of his circumstances.

    Nevertheless, there was a proper term for cultivators who willingly embrace the power of the darkness; they are called demonic cultivators.

    In the Divine Realm, demonic cultivators were hunted down like any other demons.

    It just shows how the deep-rooted fear, hatred, and discrimination the denizens of the Divine Realm have against the creatures of darkness.

    ''The mastermind who drove my father and me to our deaths are all Peak-stage Divine Kings that stand at the top of the Divine Realm and rule over it.''

    Leon recalled.

    Since they were all his enemies, it didn''t matter if he embraced the power of darkness.

    Even so, two great obstacles remained in the way of his revenge; the strength to y Peak-stage Divine Kings and to get back to the Divine Realm.

    His eyes unknowingly flickered with traces of fury and malice when he recalled his father''s shattering soul.

    The Dark Fae Saresha could not help but tremble with her head lowered, uncertain if she had misspoken about something and offended the one person currently holding her life in the palm of his hands.

    Nevertheless, she didn''t dare utter a single sound and disturb Leon''s thoughts.

    Sometimeter, Leon shook his head with resignation.

    His strength increased at an unprecedented rate, but it was still far too weak to contend with the Peak-stage Divine Kings.

    Perhaps he was too impatient.

    The practice of cultivation had always emphasized the virtue of patience has always been, and that haste makes waste.

    Dwelling on the matter would only sour his mood.

    A few momentster, Leon shot the dark fae a nce before asking, "How can I guarantee that you will stay loyal and won''t betray me?"

    "This¡­"

    Saresha was at a loss for words.

    She had beenpliant withplete obedience, but when asked to prove her loyalty, she did not know what to do.

    What else could she do?

    "I killed some of your nsmen. Don''t you hate me?" Leon asked with a sharp look.

    When he brought up this matter, the Dark Fae Saresha did not disy a shred of hatred, only a sad look.

    Does the Dark Faes even have the right to hate?

    "It''s unfortunate, but there''s nothing I can do to change the fact that they are dead; death ismon in my n," Saresha replied.

    The weak can only be abused and exploited by the strong.

    Leon knitted his brows before demanding, "Tell me more about your Dark Fae n. Why is it so weak inparison to other demon ns?"

    "We don''t have any strong nsmen in our ranks, nor does our Dark Fae n have the resource to nurture one, Your Excellency. Furthermore, our n leader, the strongest fae in our n, is a Peak-rank 1 Transcendent," Saresha answered truthfully.

    In other words, the Dark Fae n did not have a single Greater Demon.

    "What about the nine great demon ns? What makes them the nine great demon ns?"

    "The Nine Great ns have many Arch Demons in their ranks. Although the high-ranking demon ns also have Arch Demons, the Nine Great ns have Quasi-Demon Lord ancestors."

    After interrogating the Dark Fae Saresha for some time, Leon better understood the demon ns'' strengths.

    Like the various human tribes living on the Infertile ins, the demons weren''t unified; they were divided in a power struggle between demon ns.

    Each of the nine great demon ns is vying for supremacy.

    ''How can I take advantage of this?'' Leon pondered.

    ording to what he learned, it would be difficult for humans to enter the Bone Sea without getting overwhelmed and ughtered by the demons.

    It only took a split second for Leon''s mind to brighten with an idea.

    ''I just need to gather the surrounding Darkness Energy while cultivating to cause a disturbance and attract more groups of demons over. That''s like killing two birds with one stone,'' Leon mused.

    ''However, this isn''t a long-term solution. Even if I can smoothly whittle away the demon''s forces, they will only be weak demons. I won''t be able to lure out the stronger demons who are only interested in the Bone Sea.''

    Leon pondered for a moment before his gaze fell on the Dark Fae Saresha, who was still kneeling to the point that her legs had be numb.

    At the same time, Saresha sensed his gaze and immediately straightened her back.

    "If I want the allegiance of our entire Dark Fae n, do you think your nsmen can swear their loyalty to me and follow my leadership?" Leon asked.

    Saresha''s long eyshes fluttered with surprise.

    Shortly after, she took in a deep breath before replying with a serious look, "Your Excellency already has the strength to rule over our n, whether we wish for it or not."

    "If Your Excellency wants their loyalty as well, it''s actually not thatplicated to aplish; Your Excellency just has to treat them well."

    "What about you? What do I need to earn your loyalty?" Leon asked with a meaningful look.

    "I¡­ I don''t expect much from my lord¡­" Saresha stated before adding, "As long as my lord leaves Saresha a way of living, it doesn''t matter who Saresha''s lord is."

    "Then I shall give you a chance to follow me. Swear your allegiance to me, and I will not mistreat you; there may even be a bright future ahead of you," Leon cooly stated before warning the dark fae, "But remember, you only get one chance. I don''t show mercy to traitors."

    "Y-yes, Your Excellency! I, Saresha, offer my loyalty and service to you, my Lord. Should I go back on my word, may the Demon God condemn Saresha''s soul to eternal damnation."

    The Dark Fae Saresha swore her oath with her head lowered.

    "Good."

    Leon nodded.

    Although it was just mere words without any binding power from the heavenlyws, it was good enough.

 Chapter 742 - Absolute Suppression

    <h4>Chapter 742 - Absolute Suppression</h4>

    Nevertheless, Leon grew curious about the Demon God that the Dark Fae Saresha mentioned, but he could only leave it for another time.

    "You may rise."

    "Thank you, my Lord."

    After Leon permitted Saresha to stand with a hand gesture, she staggered as she struggled to get up due to the numbness in her legs.

    However, Leon didn''t help her, nor did he intend to.

    It wasn''t something he needed to lend a hand for, not to mention their rtionship was that of a lord and his servant.

    After Saresha regained control of her legs, she stood up straight before turning to Leon with a question.

    "My lord, may Saresha be so impertinent as to ask what you intend to do with the Dark Fae n after gaining control of it?"

    "I intend to raise the Dark Fae n to a level that can stand toe-to-toe with the other nine great demon ns and have it destroy the demon ns that get in my way. But, of course, the reason for doing that is because I stand on the side of humans."

    Shortly after saying that, Leon gave Saresha a careful look and asked, "Why? Do you regret your choice of following me now?"

    "Not at all, my Lord!"

    Saresha quickly shook her head with astonishment before voicing her opinion, "I couldn''t care less whether the other demon ns live or die. Our rtionship wasn''t exactly harmonious."

    Of course, Saresha''s choice to follow Leon was a choice between life and death.

    Even so, she genuinely didn''t care about the other demon ns.

    "The various ns have always been waging small skirmishes against one another overnd and resources, causing ns to rise and fall every day. Our Dark Fae n declined until we have nothing left due to the repeated robberies."

    "I see."

    "If my lord can raise our Dark Fae n to the same position as one of the Nine Great ns, the Dark Fae n will be eternally loyal to you, my Lord. Saresha only hopes that you won''t throw us away after your goals are achieved."

    "I don''t count my chickens before they hatch, so it''s too early to be worrying about that when the Dark Fae n have yet to submit to me," Leon calmly stated.

    "Furthermore, I doubt everyone in Dark Fae n will just submit to a human without resistance, especially the n leader of yours. A person in a position of authority wouldn''t readily hand it over to someone else."

    "My lord, Saresha doesn''t know for what reason you are posing as a human and siding with them, but I said it before, and I will say it again; I can guarantee that no one in the Dark Fae n will oppose your authority if you just reveal your power to them."

    "Hm?" Leon furrowed his brows and said, "borate."

    "Yes, my lord." Saresha nodded inpliance and said, "Then, please pardon Saresha for speaking freely. My lord doesn''t seem to understand much about my lord''s own power."

    "Although it was only for a brief moment, Saresha could tell that my lord''s power of darkness was very special as if my lord was born to rule over the demon. In front of my lord''s power of darkness, Saresha felt suppressed."

    "You''re talking about this power?"

    Leon casually summoned an orb of darkness and showed it to Saresha before she quickly nodded with a difficult expression.

    "Y-yes, my lord¡ª! Please show mercy, m-my lord! Saresha''s power of darkness is about to run out of control¡ª!"

    Saresha pleaded.

    Leon casually retracted the orb of darkness back into the ck energy core he formed during the Revolving Core Realm.

    After reaching Early-stage Heaven Ascension Realm, it had grown much denser and bigger.

    Nevertheless, he did not expect that his power of darkness would have such a great effect on other creatures of darkness before even catching a glimpse of the Eternal Darkness Law in the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    ''Is this might of the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness?'' Leon mused.

    Given Saresha''s strong reaction, his power of darkness could suppress every demon below the level of Greater Demon.

    ''Thy who controls the Law of Eternal Darkness shall lord over the world of darkness and all its creations, huh? So, this was what it meant¡­''

    Leon recalled one of the opening verses in the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness beforeing to an understanding.

    Although he had yet toprehend the Law of Eternal Darkness, his power of darkness was still on a higher level than normal darkness due to the belief imprinted in the opening verses.

    ''Does this mean that so long as I gainplete mastery of the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness, I can be the absolute ruler of demons? Not exactly what I signed up for, but this is even better.''

    The Peak-stage Divine Kings were rulers of their kingdoms and divine regions with many cultivators under theirmand.

    Having an army of demons might prove to be useful in the future.

    Sometimeter, Leon instructed Saresha to be on standby as he resumed cultivation and drew in the surrounding Darkness Energy in his new location.

    Divine Will!

    The gathering of Darkness Energy immediately sped up several times under the power of Leon''s divine will.

    ''What a monstrous absorption ability!''

    Saresha quickly showed her shock before she understood that her new lord was the source of the change that Lord Suron sent her group to investigate.

    With such an incredible ability, her new lord was bound to be a mighty existence, with or without the support of cultivation resources.

    Two hours quickly passed, but Leon did not show the slightest sign of advancing to Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm.

    The Heaven Ascension Realm requires enormous energy, and the requirement will only continue increasing exponentially with each stage until the ck energy core reaches saturation for the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    Even the Void Realm did not require so much energy.

    A short momentter, Leon''s eyes snapped open and swept out with his divine sense upon sensing the presence of others in the area.

    "A group of 24 Lesser Demons, and there are five dark faes among them, huh?"

    "My lord, are you going to¡­"

    Saresha showed a slightly concerned look before Leon waved his hand nonchntly and said with assurance, "Rx, your nsmen will all be given a chance to submit to me."

    "Thank you, my lord."

 Chapter 743 - Dark Fae God Canon

    <h4>Chapter 743 - Dark Fae God Canon</h4>

    In the two hours Leon spent cultivating, he did notpletely shut off his perception.

    In fact, he was fully aware of everything around him due to his heightened perception of gathering the Darkness Energy.

    Nevertheless, Saresha did not make a single move nor reveal hostile intention against him during his ''defenseless'' state.

    Saresha simply stood on the side to guard and look out for dangers.

    Thus, even if Leon had yet to trust the dark fae fully, he silently gave her some recognition.

    "Follow me."

    "Yes, my lord."

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Saresha leaped down from the treetop, following after Leon as they went to confront the demon group at the forest edge.

    "It''s a human! Kill him!"

    "No, wait¡ª!"

    The majority of the rmed Lesser Demons immediately jumped into action while the five dark faes noticed Saresha following behind Leon and sensed something off.

    However, their words failed to reach the other Lesser Demons.

    Puchi!

    Leon casually shot out a thread of concentrated darkness like a whip and decapitated all 19 hostile Lesser Demons in a single instance.

    The five remaining dark faes froze on the spot.

    When Leon manifested his power of darkness, they immediately felt suppressed, especially for the 19 fallen Lesser Demons who were closer.

    ''A noble demon!''

    The dark faes thought.

    Shortly after, the five dark faes dropped to the knees and prostrated themselves to Leon in fear.

    "Your Excellency, please spare us! We did not know you were a noble demon!" they pleaded.

    The dark faes were unaware that a noble demon of human origins was among the demon forces that entered the secret realm.

    In fact, none of the demons knew because Leon wasn''t one of them.

    "I give you two choices; submit or die."

    Leon stated.

    The five dark faes trembled before they quickly made their choices and simultaneously nted their foreheads on the ground in submission.

    "We submit to you, Your Excellency."

    "Good. Swear on it."

    After Leon made the demand, the dark faespliantly swore their allegiance to him and joined the ranks with Saresha.

    ¡­

    Saresha already knew that her nsman would choose to submit in the face of death, but she still felt relieved to witness their submission.

    Shortly after, Leon collected the fallen demons'' blood, weapons, and armor before allowing the dark faes to salvage the rest.

    "You may make use of their body to improve your cultivations; this includes their demon cores," Leon permitted.

    He was not interested in the demon cores of Lesser Demons.

    "Thank you, my Lord!"

    Saresha and the five other female dark faes expressed their gratitude before making quick work on the demon corpses.

    Once it was done, Leon led the six dark faes to another location with denser Darkness Energy before resuming his cultivation.

    Not long after, his monstrous absorption left the dark faes in shock.

    "You''re called Saresha in the n, right?" one of the dark faes whispered to Saresha before inquiring, "What''s going on here? Who is our lord?"

    "You ask me, but I don''t really know either¡­ But this might be our lucky chance to change our n''s fate," Saresha could only say.

    Leon''s origin was an enigma to her as much as it was to them.

    "T-this¡­ you might be right¡­"

    ¡­

    Over half a day, Leon continued to cultivate in dense-energy spots and slew over four hundred demons that got attracted over.

    At the same time, the number of dark faes under his rule increased to 50.

    However, Leon eventually furrowed his brows with dissatisfaction and muttered, "I can''t go on like this. I need to cause bigger waves."

    Over four hundred demons have been in, but the number of Greater Demons he attracted from the Bone Sea did not even exceed the number of his fingers.

    He needed a better luring method.

    At the same time, the luring method couldn''t be too good that it attracts far more demons than he could handle.

    ''The Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness can suppress Lesser Demons, but it doesn''t have much effect on Greater Demons. If I want to suppress Greater Demons with the power of darkness, then I need a higher cultivation base¡­''

    Leon mused.

    However, he estimated that he wouldn''t be able to reach the Truth Manifestation Realm within a short time.

    ''I''m getting close to Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm, but it''ll take even longer in the following stages.''

    After a moment, Leon turned his attention to Saresha.

    "Is there something you need, my lord?" Saresha carefully queried after stepping forward in response to Leon''s summoning nce.

    "How many members does your Dark Fae n have?"

    "Our Dark Fae n has 20-thousand members, but only 300 reached the satisfactory level of strength to participate in the secret realm. And given the secret realm''s dangers, the number should be less than now."

    Saresha reported.

    Of course, she did not directly mention the dark faes killed during her first encounter with her lord, lest she put him in an awkward position, not to mention it was an ufortable topic to bring up.

    "I see¡­ The Dark Fae n only had 300 Lesser Demons, huh?" Leon muttered before rubbing his chin with a thoughtful look.

    The Dark Fae n was one of the weakest demon ns, but it still had 300 Transcendent-level demons.

    That force could easily steamroll the Crawford Empire if it didn''t have Elder Evergreen and the Blue Luan Tribe safeguarding it.

    The Crawford Empire was truly weak without them.

    ''I wonder how my parents and the others are doing back in the Human Domain¡­ They should have reached the Grasnd Region and started building the new capital¡­''

    Leon wondered.

    He silently decided to return and check on his home after making it out of the Eternal Night Secret Realm with the others.

    Nevertheless, he still needed to find Duna, stop the demons, and resolve the issues of the Infertile ins.

    The conflict between the Deste Netherbird Tribe and the Deste Crow n was also a concern, but Leon wasn''t too bothered by it for the time being.

    He enabled the Deste Crow n''s ability to prosper before he left.

    ''I can only deal with one problem at a time, and right now, the demons in this secret realm pose the greatest threat to humanity. But what can I do to hinder them?''

    After pondering for a short moment, Leon facepalmed himself at a sudden realization.

    ''It seems I am still thinking like a human.''

    Leon shook his head wryly.

    Since it was easy to mistake him for a noble demon due to the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness''s power, he shouldn''t have a problem entering the Bone Sea without getting hunted down by all demons.

    Nevertheless, he won''t be able to bring Aria, Darlene, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman with him.

    It was too dangerous for them.

    "Given the pile of Lesser Demon-level demon cores we''ve umted, how long will it take you and the others to reach the Greater Demon level?"

    Leon questioned Saresha.

    However, Saresha revealed an ashamed look and lowered her head.

    "Saresha is unable to provide an urate estimation, my lord. It could take days or even weeks to assimte the demon cores."

    "That long?" Leon frowned.

    "Yes, my Lord. And even then, Saresha cannot guarantee she will be sessful in bing a Greater Demon with the other nsmen."

    "Why? What seems to be the problem when you have the resources?"

    Leon questioned Saresha and the other dark faes before he learned that one reason for the Dark Fae n''s decline had much to do with their inferior cultivation method.

    Theycked a suitable cultivation method to improve themselves.

    "Even during our n''s golden days when we still had the resources to support our talented nsmen, the number of Greater Demons our n produced was far inferior to the other Mid-rank ns."

    "Your Dark Fae n was only a Mid-rank n in the past, and you call it the golden days? That''s rather underwhelming to hear."

    Saresha and the other dark faes felt ashamed by Leon''s remark.

    Their Dark Fae n has nothing great about themselves to boast.

    "Never mind." Leon shook his head before ordering with a frown, "Tell me more about your Dark Fae n''s cultivation methods. Perhaps, I have some means to improve it. If not, I will give you a better one."

    "Y-Yes, my lord!" Sareshaplied with a hint of excitement.

    If Leon wanted to raise the Dark Fae n into a reckoning force to do his bidding, he had to fix their problem at its root.

    "The Dark Fae God Canon is¡­"

    Leon listened to Saresha exin her Dark Fae n''s cultivation method, the Dark Fae God Canon, before he understood it was a primordial technique.

    It would be too arrogant of him to try improving something like that.

    "Do you have a copy of this Dark Fae God Canon?"

    "Yes, of course, my lord!"

    Saresha pulled a sheepskin from under her ck robe before passing it to Leon for his perusal and advice.

    After Leon gave the recorded texts on the sheepskin a quick look, he furrowed his brows immediately before asking, "Is this the original text?"

    "No, my lord. The original Dark Fae God Canon is written in anguage that no one in the n can understand. However, in the past, our ancestors managed to derive the original text and produce what we have now."

    "I see¡­"

    Leon uttered without much change in his expression, but hebeled the Dark Fae n''s ancestors as ipetent in his heart.

    All techniques originating from the primordial era are far from ordinary.

    ''Those crooks¡­''

 Chapter 744 - A Small Step Forward

    <h4>Chapter 744 - A Small Step Forward</h4>

    Leon did not doubt the power of cultivation arts from the primordial era.

    However, Dark Fae n was practicing such an inferior mistranted version of the Dark Fae God Canon that it was an insult to the name.

    "Is there anyone in the Dark Fae n that came with the Dark Fae God Canon''s original text, or a copy of it?" Leon calmly inquired.

    "Yes, my lord." Saresha nodded before answering his question, "Our n leader usually carries an original copy with her."

    "And where is she now?"

    "Apologies, my lord. Saresha cannot provide an urate answer. However, our n leader should be in the Bone Sea."

    "I see."

    Leon uttered.

    Shortly after, he fell into silent contemtion regarding the Bone Sea, which was said to be as big as numerous regions like the Abyssal Wood Forestbined.

    It wouldn''t be easy to find a single demon in it.

    "Never mind then," Leon shook his head before casually saying, "I can see that your lousy version of the Dark Fae God Canon is an energy cultivation method."

    "That is already a disadvantage when all other demons seem to be cultivating body cultivation methods. And the fact that your energy cultivation method is wed only makes it a bigger disadvantage."

    After Leon said that, Saresha and the other dark faes lowed their heads in shame.

    They couldn''tpare to their predecessors.

    "Since we don''t have the original version of the Dark Fae God Canon, I will teach you a body cultivation method to make up for your disadvantages. And because it''s a body cultivation method, you won''t have to worry about it conflicting with your energy cultivation method."

    Leon stated.

    Saresha and the other dark faes immediately revealed their surprises and eagerness after hearing Leon''s statement.

    "Thank you for your benevolence, my lord!" the dark faes bowed with gratitude and respect.

    They didn''t expect their lord to be rewarding them before they could make any significant contribution in serving him.

    Nevertheless, Leon casually waved his hand and said, "Don''t thank me yet. You''ll be in for a world of suffering."

    There was no such thing as a body forging method without pain.

    Sometimeter, Leon retracted his mind from the [Archive] after failing to find a suitable body forging method for the Dark Fae n.

    The [Archive] did not have any primordial techniques tailored to the Dark Fae Race.

    "I will impart you knowledge of the Godfiend Body Forging Method," Leon decided.

    Although a tailored technique would provide the best effect, the Godfiend Body Forging Method was all-epassing and suitable for practice.

    Bzzt!

    Leon transmitted the first volume to Saresha using Spirit Energy from his ck Vortex Space before he proceeded to transmit the knowledge to the other dark faes.

    Shortly after, all fifty dark faes immersed themselves in their newfound knowledge with a look of wonder and awe.

    The dark faes raised Leon''s position in their hearts.

    The means Leon used to transmit knowledge to them with a single tap on the forehead was profound and divine-like.

    They begin to suspect that he was not just of noble birth but also had a noble background.

    ''A prince from the southern region?'' the dark faes wondered.

    Nevertheless, Saresha continued to study the Godfiend Body Forging Method in earnest before she started frowning.

    "If you have any doubts regarding the technique, now will be the time to raise your questions."

    Saresha suddenly heard the lord speak before she quickly raised her doubt, "My lord, this technique seems to require a specific type of energy called Grandmist to practice. How can we practice without something like that?"

    "You will use the enemy from the demon cores as a substitute for True Grandmist Energy," Leon calmly answered.

    However, Saresha was immediately shocked by his answer.

    "But if Saresha was to follow the instruction in the Godfiend Body Forging Method, wouldn''t it lead to self-muttion?" Saresha questioned with a startled look.

    "That''s right," Leon admitted with a nod before adding, "That''s why I will prepare a medicinal bath to counter the destruction and allow your body to experience the tempering effect of destruction and recreation."

    It was indeed possible to find substitutes for theck of True Grandmist Energy.

    Nevertheless, the substitutes will undoubtedly cut down the effectiveness of practicing the Godfiend Body Forging Method to a small fraction.

    "Any other questions?"

    "T-that''s all, my lord¡­"

    Although Saresha felt dubious about the substitute method, it was not like she had any other choice but to follow through with it.

    After all, her lord can decide her life and death with a snap of his fingers.

    "Good."

    Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, he raised the earth and hardened it with his earth ability, creating the shape of arge pool that could fit 50 dark faes.

    Following that step, he filled the empty pool in ice before melting it with fire, heating the water to afortable, warm temperature like the hot springs.

    The final step involved mixing recovery medicine with the pool water.

    For that, Leon used Tier-3 Golden Ointment and All-Purpose Healing Pills, and before long, the pool water became greenish-golden with a strong scent of medicine.

    "Get in and cultivate at your own pace. I won''t be supervising your cultivation," Leon stated indifferently with a ir of authority.

    The dark faesplied without question and hopped into the warm medicinal bath one by one with their Lesser Demon-level demon cores in hand.

    At first, the temperature startled them, but not long after, they quickly foundfort and immersed their whole body into the pool.

    Leon observed the Saresha and the rest of the dark faes practice the Godfiend Body Forging Method with painful expressions before he nodded with approval.

    The dark faes were very obedient and easy to control.

    "How much they achieve will be entirely up to their own efforts and talents, but that''s that. Time for my own training," Leon muttered.

    Shortly after finding a spot on the destend west of the Abyssal Wood Forest, Leon seated himself on the ground in a meditative posture.

    Then, several dozen vials containing the demon blood he collected were quicklyid out before him.

    "The blood of several hundred Lesser Demons, I should make some progress in the Evesting Blood Mantra''s second stage."

    With a single thought, the few dozen vials uncorked themselves before the demon blood flew out and gathered into a big blob of dark red blood.

    Leon''s eyes flickered as his divine sense swept through the blob of blood.

    There were 1262 types within the big blob of blood, 1098 of which ovepped with one another, leaving him with 164 different types of blood.

    Leon understood the precise number with a nce.

    To reach the third stage of the Evesting Blood Mantra, he needed to refine 1000 unique origin blood.

    He still has a long way to go, but every step counts.

    ''Let''s begin.''

    ¡­

    Droplets of blood began separating from the big blob before undergoing blood refinement, transforming into origin blood and entering Leon''s bloodstream.

    Half an hourter, Leonpletely refined the entire blob of blood and absorbed the origin blood.

    Leon exuded a strong, vigorous aura from excess blood energy seeping out of his body and his blood carried a hint of gold, but no satisfaction could be seen on his face.

    "Of the 164 different origin blood, only 83 is unique, huh?" Leon muttered with a frown.

    In other words, he had already absorbed the other 81 types of origin blood before.

    "Although I wasn''t expecting a higher number of unique origin blood, it was still much lower than anticipated¡­"

    The further he progresses in the Evesting Blood Mantra, the more difficult it will be.

    "Seems like the blood of Lesser Demons won''t bring me much improvement soon¡­ I can tell that these Lesser Demons have chosen very specific types of beast blood to refine for their physique improvement¡­"

    Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, he cannot ignore any demon blood he can get his hands on, lest he overlooks some unique origin blood to absorb.

    The Greater Demons and Arch Demons will also give him better luck with unique origin blood as their bodies carry more blood types.

    "Given the high requirement of 1000 unique blood to reach the Evesting Blood Mantra''s third stage, I might just have to collect the blood of every race on this," Leon thought.

    And to master the Evesting Blood Mantra, he might have to absorb the origin blood of every existing race in Primal Chaos.

    "Mastering the Evesting Blood Mantra will be a lifelong journey and too far of a goal for me to be concerned with for now. However, the third stage is quite important. I have to push for it, even if it is difficult to achieve."

    The third stage of the Evesting Blood Mantra was called the Reparation Stage.

    At this stage, he could forcefully reconnect severed limbs and reconstruct partially missing organs with his blood.

    "If I can reach the fourth stage of Evesting Blood Mantra, the Regrowth Stage, I can even regrow missing limbs and organs, making me practically half immortal, but I won''t doubt that I can achieve that level of this alone."

    Leon shook his head with a sigh.

    Shortly after, he suddenly shot a hard look at the dark faes, who had been watching him with fascinated looks.

    "Get back to your training!"

    "Y-yes, my lord!"

    Saresha and other dark faes quickly resumed practicing the Godfiend Body Forging Method under Leon''s stern order.

    Nevertheless, there was no doubt in Saresha''s mind that Leon was a demon through and through, even if he says otherwise.

 Chapter 745 - News From The East

    <h4>Chapter 745 - News From The East</h4>

    Human Domain

    At the heart of the Crawford Empire, the World Tree stood tall and majestic as ever¡ªno, even more so than ever, having grown a few inches taller in the past few days.

    Its vibrant spirit energy blessed thend and its million elves and humans, who have erected countless tents and crops across the Grasnd Region and settled down in it.

    Even though Wrathful Demonic Energy has spread throughout the world, it could not enter the World Tree''s domain.

    The abundant Spirit Energy in the area formed a natural barrier that wards out the harmful energy, protecting all that lived within the World Tree''s domain.

    The new capital in the making was not very noticeable from the ground level due to the erected tents in the region.

    However, the framework of the new capital was clearly seen from a bird''s eye view up in the World Tree''s crown.

    Elizabeth and Heinrich watched the new capital development from the World Tree''s crown with pride.

    Some distance away from them, Princess Thessalia and Princess Faelyn also observed the development below.

    "To think that we could get a month''s worth of construction work done in a few days. This is all thanks to the elves directed by you, Faelyn," Elizabeth said to Princess Faelyn.

    "Without the elves'' wood maniption to grow trees for wood and crops for food, we would have to rely on a consistent supply from the other regions in the empire."

    "You can''t put it like that, Your Majesty¡ª"

    "Hm?"

    "M-mother¡­"

    After Elizabeth gave Faelyn a look, she quickly changed her form of address.

    "It wouldn''t have been possible for the elves to keep up the production without the World Tree''s blessings. Furthermore, the human Awakeners did most of thebor work. The elves only provided support, M-mother¡­"

    Whether it was actual construction or production of bricks and metal frames, screws, and rted materials to construction, it was all done by Earth, Fire, and Metal Awakeners.

    "True," Elizabeth nodded for a moment before she continued to argue, "Nevertheless, thanks to the elves'' collective support, everyone can keep working without worry. Food has always been a big issue of anyrge city."

    "Food will never be a problem again, mother."

    Faelyn promised.

    Food will never be an issue unless someone purposely burns all their crops; famine never existed for the elves.

    "That''s good to hear," Elizabeth smiled.

    Over the past few days, she had grown fond of Faelyn, who was diligent, hardworking, and obedient, but more importantly, Faelyn was one of her son''s lovers.

    Elizabeth didn''t have any other daughter-inw to talk to besides Faelyn.

    Lynne disappeared into the Extreme Misty Forest territory through the underground passages, while Rachel departed for the Ishaan Kingdom with her father, Duke Ignis, to further their training.

    "It''s been some time since we''ve seen our son, haven''t we?" Heinrich suddenly spoke.

    "Oh please, it''s only been a few days since west saw him. The Teleportation Array has already been deployed in a secured location, so our son will visit us when he is ready," Elizabeth stated.

    "That''s true," Heinrich nodded before arguing, "But after all, it''s the Wilnds that we are talking about. So one cannot help but be worried."

    "Of course, I also know that. But we have no other choice but to believe in him, so why did you need to bring it up? Did you think I wouldn''t be worried? I''m his mother!"

    "And I am also his father¡­"

    "What did you say?"

    "N-nothing¡­"

    Princess Thessalia listened to the king and queen bicker over the same topic with mild amusement for the past few days.

    She could tell that Prince Leon''s parents loved him dearly.

    Even so, a trace of sadness in her heart as she recalls the death of her parents and siblings, leaving just her and her younger sister.

    Faelyn was also affected by Thessalia''s slight change in mood and felt down.

    However, Elizabeth noticed their sorrow before she suddenly pulled both of them into her bosom and gave them a warm hug.

    "I understand that the dead cannote back to life, and we cannot rece what you''ve both lost, but you can also think of us as your family from now on."

    "Mm."

    The two elf princesses quietly nodded in the queen''s bosom, feeling strange senses of security and warmth like their mother was embracing them.

    Nevertheless, they didn''t get to enjoy the moment for long before a shadow guard suddenly appeared before them with an urgent report.

    "Your Majesty, I bring news from the east; please review it!" the shadow guard offered an information scroll to the king.

    Shortly after Heinrich epted the information scroll and perused its content, his curious expression quickly changed into a frown.

    "Is there a problem in the east?" Elizabeth queried after noticing her husband''s expression.

    Heinrich nodded.

    "ording to the scout''s intel, roughly 100 people entered the Durham Region shortly after a fight broke out on the Geyser Kingdom''s Border Wall. Their strength is estimated to be at least 9th step Ranked Awakener."

    "100 people with at least 9th step Ranked Awakener Realm cultivation entered our borders from the Geyser Kingdom''s side?" Elizabeth frowned and said, "There must be quite a few Transcendents among them¡­"

    "If they came with a specific destination in mind, they shouldn''tg far behind the messenger. But for so many people toe from the Geyser Kingdom, it doesn''t seem like they have good intentions¡­"

    After a short moment, Elizabeth''s eyes strongly flickered with realization, "Don''t tell me that they are¡­"

    "They are most likely people from the Cortez family,ing to avenge the foreign Transcendents from a week ago."

    Heinrich also came to the same conclusion as his wife.

    With a stern look, Heinrich immediately suggests, "We need to gather the elven elders and Elder Evergreen for a meeting and make our preparations."

    "Un," Elizabeth nodded and said seriously, "If they are our enemies, which they most likely are, there will be a big battle ahead of us."

    "Mother, we would also like to join the meeting," Faelyn expressed her intention to join the battle meeting and participate in the battle with them.

    However, Elizabeth shook her head.

 Chapter 746 - The Situation At Border Wall

    <h4>Chapter 746 - The Situation At Border Wall</h4>

    "You and Thessalia just stepped into the Transcendent Realm yesterday. You cane to the meeting, but it''ll be too dangerous for you two to join the battle."

    "But¡­"

    "No, buts."

    Elizabeth refused Faelyn''s request with a firm stance, leaving no room for negotiation.

    Faelyn could only concede to Leon''s mother.

    "Yes, mother¡­"

    "Good girl," Elizabeth nodded with a satisfied smile before saying, "Let us head to the great hall first. Dear, you''ll call all the elders, right?"

    "Who exactly is the king here¡­" Heinrich uttered with a wry smile.

    "You are, of course!" Elizabeth answered before she knitted her brows and asked, "What are you trying to say, dear?"

    "Ah, no¡­ It''s nothing important¡­" Heinrich replied meekly.

    He was afraid of his wife.

    Shortly after sighing, Heinrich left to summon all the Transcendent-level characters in the Grasnd Region to the meeting.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Geyser Kingdom

    A few dozen miles from the high-rise border wall of earth, a mini airship zipped through the sky at great speed, leaving a trail of mes as it headed towards the west.

    Although it was called an airship, it was only the size of a small boat for two people and relied on the power of Fire Transcendents to fly it.

    "It''s been quite a while since I''ve returned to the maind; about five years to be exact. Nevertheless, I must say that the scenery is quite nostalgic, don''t you think, junior sister?"

    Neron made small talks with Lina as he steered the mini airship with his mes.

    "I suppose so, senior brother. It has only been a few months since I left, but it feels like forever," Lina politely replied while enjoying the brushing wind and the surface view.

    But as the tall earthen wall that signified the Geyser Kingdom''s borders came into view, Lina quickly knitted her brows.

    "Senior brother, take a look ahead! There''s smokeing from the Border Wall!" Lina alerted Neron while pointing ahead.

    Neron immediately frowned at the discovery.

    "There shouldn''t be any fire festival going on around this time. So why would there be ck smoke rising from the Border Wall? Unless¡­"

    Their noses suddenly pick up the faint scent of blood before Lina quickly concludes, "It was an enemy attack!"

    "Senior brother, let us quickly descend and investigate. If we find any survivors in need of saving, we can also learn what happened from them."

    "Un." Neron nodded solemnly before saying, "An attack on the Border Wall is a grave matter. It could be a war between kingdoms."

    Shortly after, he lowered the power output of mes, causing the airship to lose speed and descend towards the Border Wall not far away.

    When Lina and Neron reached close enough to the Border Wall, they hopped off the airship andnded on the wall.

    The airship was stored in Neron''s interspatial ring shortly after.

    "This is terrible."

    Lina frowned while staring at the dozens of sentries lying motionless along the wall with blood and traces of ckwater scattered everywhere.

    The smell was even more pungent on the scene.

    Nevertheless, Lina checked for pulses in hopes of finding a lucky survivor, but unfortunately, she was left disappointed.

    "There''s no survivor in this area. But these wounds¡­ the assants were from the Geyser Kingdom. Could the Demon Worshippers have done this?" Lina spected.

    "Perhaps."

    Neron vaguely replied without jumping to conclusions while ncing left and right at the sentries'' corpses.

    "Seems like we won''t be having anyone to check and record our passage to the Crawford Kingdom," Neron stated before adding, "But I wonder where the gatekeeper is."

    "I heard the gatekeeper was a pretty strong Earth Transcendent who had been guarding the Border Wall for many years."

    "Someone like that shouldn''t have been killed like the rest of the sentries, right? Senior brother?" Lina presumed.

    Unfortunately, they eventually found the gatekeeper''s body among the sentry corpses after a few minutes of searching.

    The valiant Earth Transcendent died with his eyes open and all his limbs severed.

    Neron swiped the gatekeeper''s eyes shut to give him peace in the afterlife before studying the traces of battle in detail.

    "The battle was very recent, so the killers shouldn''t have gone far. And seeing how they killed the gatekeeper and sentries, their destination seems to be one of the four kingdoms outside the Geyser Kingdom."

    Neron determined.

    "What? We have to stop them, senior brother!" Lina stated with a look of urgency.

    Having lived in the Crawford Kingdom for most of her life, she was very familiar with its strength; there shouldn''t be anyone capable enough to stop the group who killed the gatekeeper and the border sentries.

    "We don''t know the group''s purpose for leaving the Geyser Kingdom without permission, nor their strengths, but they are renegades now. The kingdom will hunt them down, no matter who they are. We just need to report this incident to the capital, junior sister."

    "No, senior brother. There''s a border town nearby. The civilians living there should have noticed what happened on the Border Wall and reported the incident to authorities, senior brother. If we return to the capital, we will lose the killers'' trails," Lina stressed.

    Considering how brutally the gatekeeper and sentries were killed, there was no telling what the group of killers would do if she let them roam the four kingdoms unchecked.

    She could not return to the capital worry-free, knowing that her parents were endangered.

    Neron stared at Lina''s stubborn look before conceding with a helpless shrug, "Fine. You win, junior sister. We follow the killers'' trail and track them down."

    If he cannot satisfy her wishes, he will never win her heart.

    "Thank you, senior brother, for agreeing with my selfish wish."

    Lina gave Neron a sincere bow of gratitude, unaware of his thoughts and feelings, simply treating him ordingly to their statuses as martial siblings under the same master.

    Nevertheless, Neron waved his hand and said, "However, I have a condition; we will drop the border town for a quick inquiry. Perhaps we can learn the identity of the renegade group."

    "That makes sense¡­ Perhaps, we can also learn the renegade group''s strength too," Lina paused briefly before agreeing with a nod.

 Chapter 747 - Priest Jarumath

    <h4>Chapter 747 - Priest Jarumath</h4>

    After descending the wall, Neron and Lina arrive at Border Town a short momentter.

    Despite being a small town with no more than 2000 inhabitants, Border Town had developed well with brickden roads and neatly arranged wooden-frame homes with brick exteriors of varying yet simple designs.

    It gave the town an overall fresh look.

    However, the moderately-invested town appears rather deserted at first nce when Neron and Lina enter and fail to spot a single person out on the streets.

    "I don''t see anyone, but there''s also no sign of battles in this town either."

    "That means the people are currently hiding in their homes, or they had simply fled the town."

    Lina and Neron investigated the Border Town before stopping in front of a randomly-selected brick home.

    "Is anyone home? We have some questions to ask," Lina knocked on the door but received no response from within the brick home.

    "Pardon for the intrusion," Neron calmly said while preparing to bust down the door with a kick.

    However, at that moment, the door slowly creaks open before a woman carefully sticks her head out to greet them with a wary look.

    "How can I help you, sir?"

    "Seeing how wary you are, you must be aware of the Border Wall''s situation. However, you don''t need to worry about us. We are just here to inquire what happened."

    Neron stated his intention with a reassuring smile.

    The woman studies Neron and Lina''s facial expressions before understanding they mean her no harm.

    She fully opens the door and invites them into her home with a look of relief.

    "Pleasee in and take a seat. It''s dangerous outside these days."

    "Thank you."

    Although Neron and Lina didn''t understand the specification of danger the woman implied, they epted the offer to talk inside.

    ¡­

    Ten minutester, they understood the general situation.

    "I see¡­ Baron Cortez led all his retainers to the Border Wall and ughtered the gatekeeper and sentries to leave the kingdom without a pass forcefully," Neron repeated what he learned.

    However, Neron and Lina frowned at the situation.

    Even if they understood the purpose, they couldn''tprehend the reason.

    "This doesn''t make any sense. No matter how big of a reason Baron Cortez had for leaving the kingdom, it still wouldn''t be big enough for Baron Cortez to be an ouw, right, senior brother?"

    "That''s what people would normally assume, but the fact that it happened implies otherwise. I''m not acquainted with Baron Cortez, but no noble would foolishly choose to be the kingdom''s enemy unless their life is threatened."

    "How puzzling¡­"

    While Neron and Lina expressed their doubts, the woman seemingly had something to say but hesitated.

    Lina notices the woman''s hesitation and asks, "If there''s anything else you know, please don''t hesitate to tell us."

    "Well¡­ This is just my opinion, but Baron Cortez didn''t seem to be in his right mind when he was passing through the town. Lord Fo-Dhar must have noticed the same thing and went to confront the person, but he never came back," the woman mentioned.

    Lord Fo-Dhar was the lord of Border Town.

    "And before Lord Fo-Dhar left to confront Baron Cortez, I assume he ordered everyone to hide in their homes?" Neron spected.

    The woman nodded but then shook her head.

    "Lord Fo-Dhar did give such an order, but even before Baron Cortez passed by, everyone in town has been limiting their spending time outside since the start of the Cataclysm. Prolonged exposure to the sun seems to make people go crazy."

    "That makes sense," Neron nodded before saying, "A foul energy epassed the world since the start of the Cataclysm, but given Baron Cortez''s cultivation base, he shouldn''t be affected by it."

    Compared to ordinary people, Transcendents had higher resistance against the Wrathful Demonic Energy''s negative influence.

    ¡­

    After learning what they came for, Lina cut the discussion short, "Senior brother, isn''t it time we take our leave? If we take any longer, we will lose Baron Cortez''s trail."

    "Alright, fine. We will leave," Neron agreed with a nod before reminding Lina, "But remember to follow my instructions, junior sister. I might be stronger than Baron Cortez, but he is not alone. We have to tread carefully."

    "I understand, senior brother."

    Lina nodded.

    "Thank you for answering our questions, Lady Artemise. We apologize for taking your time," Neron politely said to the homeowner after standing up from his seat.

    They had learned of each other''s names during their exchange.

    "You''re too polite, Sir Neron. It was my honor to answer your inquiries," Artemise responded with equal courtesy.

    Shortly after sending Neron and Lina off at the door, Artemise watched them leave on a mini airship without looking back at Border Town.

    A few momentster, Artemise continued to stare into the distant sky from the door in silence, even after Lina and Neron disappeared from her sight.

    "Have they left?" a man''s voice suddenly asked.

    Artemise was not surprised to hear the person''s voiceing from her home.

    "Un, they''re gone now," Artemise replied with a nod before shutting the door and heading back to the living room, where she had received her guests.

    However, a ck-robed man with a conspicuous symbol of a red sun eyeball on his back now sits in Neron''s original spot while casually sipping on cold tea.

    "Was it alright to let them go, Priest Jarumath?" Artemise asked.

    "I thought it was thew-punishing force, but it was just a pair of curious brats who happened to be passing by and saw the situation on the wall. There''s no need to pay them any attention."

    "But the n¡­"

    "The n remains unchanged," Priest Jarumath coolly stated.

    "Baron Cortez''s bedevilment was unexpected, but he did make it easier for us to execute our n. Killing those two brats will only draw unwanted attention to this town. The bishop will not be pleased if it affects the n."

    After his reminder, Priest Jarumath ordered, "The first group had met unexpected difficulties, so continue with the preparations. You''ll be part of the second group to spread our faith to the four kingdoms."

    "Yes, Priest Jarumath!" Artemiseplied with a respectful bow.

 Chapter 748 - The Law-Punishing Force

    <h4>Chapter 748 - The Law-Punishing Force</h4>

    Three hours in their travel since leaving Border Town, Lina and Neron passed several towns and small cities before they slowed down to investigate the increasing deaths in each human settlement.

    There weren''t any deaths in the first few towns they passed, but the number of deaths found increased at an rming rate as they continued their journey.

    They eventually stopped at a small vige where the scent of blood was exceptionally thick and pungent.

    "This is horrible. They ughtered the entire vige, senior brother!" Lina clenched her fist with anger.

    All 400 hundred vigers died with despaired looks; their limbs dismembered and their bodies scattered within and outside the vige.

    It was a vige of ordinary people, yet the scene showed clear signs of their struggle before death.

    "Baron Cortez and his retainers didn''t just ughter the entire vige; they made a sport out of it," Neron stated with a big frown.

    "Take a look at these trails of blood."

    Neron pointed at one of the corpses with a blood trail before saying, "These vigers were clearly ordinary folks, yet they survived long enough to drag their dismembered bodies out of the vige before ultimately dying of blood loss."

    "This is outrageous, senior brother! Humanity faces the threat of beasts in the west and sea monsters in the east, yet these people are enjoying reaping the lives of others! This is no longer the work of humans; they are demons!"

    Lina was no longer just worried for her parents; she grew to hate Baron Cortez and his people for their vile and inhuman deeds.

    "Right," Neron nodded in agreement with a grave look before saying, "I didn''t believe it at first, but the evidence leaves me no choice but to believe it; the foul energy has bedeviled Baron Cortez."

    "But that shouldn''t have been possible," Lina frowned before saying, "To earn the baron rank, one had to be at the Early-stage of Seeking Insight Transcendent in addition to their meritorious deeds."

    "Master said that under normal conditions, the foul energy cannot bedevil Seeking Insight Transcendents no matter how long they are exposed to it," Lina mentioned shortly after.

    "Exactly," Neron nodded before saying, "However, that is under normal conditions. If Baron Cortez suffered significant emotional impacts like grief or extreme anger, the foul energy could negatively influence his mind."

    "It''s just that we don''t know what caused Baron Cortez''s emotional impact. What we do know for certain, though, is that Baron Cortez has be especially dangerous. I can stop him, but I can''t protect you from all the other Transcendents with him, junior sister."

    "That''s why we tread carefully. Once we catch up to them, we can only observe them from a safe distance until reinforcements arrive before making our move."

    Considering the matter had already been reported to the kingdom, it was only a matter of time before thew-punishing force, which is sent to exterminate the ouws, caught up with them.

    "You mean we can only watch as they continue to ughter innocents?" Lina clenched her fist, feeling angry at her own powerlessness.

    She thought she had grown a lot, but she was still far too weak to make a change. There was always someone stronger.

    "It can''t be helped. Although I don''t want to be harsh, I need you to be aware that we will fail if we try to stop Baron Cortez without sufficient strength. Not only will you die, but Baron Cortez and his people will continue to ughter innocent lives after your death."

    "I understand, senior brother," Lina replied with her head lowered.

    Shortly after, Lina hopped on the mini airship with her senior brother Neron and continued chasing after Baron Cortez without speaking another word.

    The journey continued through half the Durham Kingdom before the silent Lina frowned upon noticing another pattern in Baron Cortez''s trail.

    Baron Cortez''s trail had been very linear as if the person had been traveling on a straightforward path with a very specific destination in mind.

    There would be a ughter if towns and cities were in the way. And if not, it would straight trip until the next trace of Baron Cortez''s trail is found.

    Zoom, zoom, zoom¡­

    Suddenly, Lina and Neron heard the humming vibrations of rustling wind before turning around to see a giant airship drawing closer to them at a noticeable rate.

    It was much faster than Neron''s mini airship.

    "That must be the kingdom''sw-punishing airship, but I wonder who is leading thew-punishing force this time?" Neron wondered.

    The kingdom''sw-punishing airships were said to be equipped with state-of-the-art technology that grants them speed unmatched by any other airships in the kingdom.

    Neron could see that the rumors were true.

    When the giant airship grew closer, Neron suddenly shot a wave of fire into the sky to g the airship over.

    But even if he didn''t do such a thing, the giant airship slowed down after noticing them anyway.

    Shortly after Neron and Lina boarded the giant airship, a group of Peak-stage Preliminary ession Transcendents quickly surrounded them with weapons drawn and pointed.

    They treated Neron and Lina like suspected criminals.

    A short momentter, the Peak-stage Preliminary ession Transcendents made way for a middle-aged-looking man with the aura of a Mid-stage Seeking Insight Transcendent.

    "Under the kingdom''s regtion, the people of the Geyser Kingdom cannot travel outside of the kingdom''s borders without a pass," the middle-aged-looking man stated.

    Seeing Neron and Lina''s clothes, the middle-aged-looking man didn''t doubt they were from the Geyser Kingdom.

    "Please show me your passes. Otherwise, we will have to apprehend you. And if you resist upon failing toply, you will be put to death on the spot," The middle-aged-looking man spoke authoritatively.

    Neron smiled without feeling the slightest intimidation or pressure.

    "So it was Lord Quinten Saville in charge of thew-punishing force this time¡­ That makes sense¡­ The Saville County is next to the Cortez Barony, after all."

    Neron made a casualment before taking out a medallion with a pill symbol.

    "Will this suffice?" Neron asks.

    "This is¡­"

    Lord Quinten''s stern gaze became respectful upon recognizing the pill symbol on the medallion.

 Chapter 749 - Making A Mountain Out Of A Molehill

    <h4>Chapter 749 - Making A Mountain Out Of A Molehill</h4>

    Unless one had lived under a rock their whole life, there was not a single person in the Geyser Kingdom who did not recognize the pill symbol of the Venerable Pill Master.

    Whether through word of mouth or printed on newspaper, the people of Geyser Kingdom would have heard or seen the Venerable Pill Master at least once in their life.

    As a Half-step Paragon, the Venerable Pill Master may not be the strongest in the kingdom, but his status was not inferior to the Sea Emperor and High Priest, who were genuine Paragons, and may even surpass them.

    That is how important the Venerable Pill Master is.

    "So it was Young Master Neron. Apologies for the offense, the Venerable Pill Master''s medallion with suffice."

    Lord Quinten Saville began receiving Neron with a warm and aodating attitude before shifting his gaze to Lina.

    "Ah, and I assume you are Young Master Neron''s lifepanion?"

    Lord Quinten Saville attempted to earn Neron''s good impression with his bold assumption.

    Without surprise, Neron beamed with a wide smile.

    However, his expression quickly froze upon noticing Lina''s displeasing frown.

    "Ahem, you are mistaken, Lord Quinten." Neron coughed awkwardly before correcting the person''s misunderstanding, "She''s my junior sister."

    "Junior sister¡­?"

    Lord Quinten Saville muttered with a pondering look before he was given a sudden fright in realization.

    "My apologies, Miss Lina. It was very rude of me to have made such a bold assumption," Lord Quinten Saville quickly apologized.

    Between the only two disciples under the Venerable Pill Master, many people knew who the Venerable Pill Master Favored more.

    Nevertheless, Lina did not care about Lord Quinten Saville''s apology.

    "Never mind that. We don''t have time for idle chats. We still need to stop Baron Cortez''s rampage!" Lina objectively stated with a frown.

    "Right, junior sister is right. Lord Quinten won''t mind us tagging along to assist you, right?"

    Neron interjected with a smile while trying to dispel the awkward mood between them.

    "Naturally, I have no reason to refuse the help of an Early-stage Seeking Insight Transcendent," Lord Quinten Saville nodded with a smile.

    "Full speed ahead!"

    "Yes, Lord Quinten!"

    The airship crew quickly powered the airship after Lord Quinten Saville ordered.

    Rumble¡­!

    Swoosh!

    Before long, thew-punishing airship sted into the distance with a sudden burst of a speed that continued to increase without losing momentum.

    Everyone stood firmly on the deck as if wind resistance was non-existent.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Grasnd Region, World Tree''s crown

    In the pce hall, Elizabeth sat in one of the two main seats while Faelyn and Thessalia sat in the side seats on her side.

    Sometimeter, Heinrich entered the hall with Elder Evergreen, Supreme Elder Haldir, and half of the Elf Tribe''s 12 Elders.

    "Since everyone here, we will address the imminent crisis we face," Heinrich spoke after taking his seat beside his wife.

    "You''ve gathered us all on such short notice; this crisis must be very difficult to resolve. What is it exactly, Your Majesty?" Supreme Elder Haldir inquired.

    Elder Evergreen and the others waited patiently for Heinrich to continue filling them in on the details.

    "Yes, I was just about to talk about it, even if you didn''t ask, Senior Eldergreen," Heinrich addressed Elder Evergreen politely before he continued to speak.

    "Everyone should have heard how I was attacked by two foreign Transcendents some time ago in the old capital. They were only Preliminary ession Transcendents, but theirbat power was far higher than other Transcendents of the same level."

    "Although my son hunted them down, arge group of experts has suddenly crossed our borders. We believe they are affiliated with the previous two foreign Transcendents and havee for revenge."

    "Do we have intel on their strength and numbers?" One of the Elf Tribe''s Elders asked.

    Heinrich shifts his gaze to the elder before replying with a severe look, "There''s around a hundred of them with half of them in the Transcendent Realm."

    "Their exact strength is undetermined, but given the strength and age of the previous foreign Transcendents and the number of Transcendents they''re bringing this time, we can expect them to have at least one Seeking Insight Transcendent or more."

    "Not only that, it should be a Seeking Insight Transcendent with above-levelbat power," Elizabeth inserted with a deep frown before studying the elders'' expressions subtly.

    "So not only does the enemy have more Transcendents than our side, but their strongest Transcendent is also likely to be stronger than the Supreme Elder and Elder Evergreen."

    After an elf elder made the statement, everyone was hit with a heavy feeling.

    "This does seem like it will be a difficult battle," Supreme Elder Haldir uttered before adding, "But not impossible to win. We have to make prep¡ª"

    Supreme Elder Haldir did not finish speaking when a shadow guard suddenly appeared next to Heinrich and whispered into his ears.

    "I see¡­" Heinrich nodded after hearing the shadow guard''s report. "You can leave."

    "Yes, Your Majesty."

    The shadow guard disappeared shortly after Heinrich signaled him to leave with a wave of his hand.

    All eyes were shortly directed at Heinrich as they awaited his news.

    "Haiz¡­" Heinrich sighed before saying, "It would seem that we have no time to prepare. The enemy is already at the door."

    Heinrich knew they were short on time, but the enemy still reached them much faster than he anticipated.

    Nevertheless, his words quickly took everyone by surprise.

    "What?"

    Boom!

    The World Tree was suddenly attacked, causing the pce hall to shake.

    "We''re under attack! Follow me!"

    Elizabeth shot to her feet and swiftly summoned the swords hanging on the wall before leading the charge outside to confront the enemy.

    Everyone immediately stood up and followed, including Faelyn and Thessalia¡ªonly to be shortly stopped by Elizabeth.

    "You two will stay back!"

    "But¡­"

    "No buts! That is final," Elizabeth stated with an unquestionable tone, leaving no room for negotiation.

    Faelyn and Thessalia immediately felt dispirited.

    As Heinrich walked past them, he patted them on the shoulders in constion.

    "Don''t worry. It''s the thoughts that count. Leave this matter to the adults," Heinrich said.

    However, Elizabeth suddenly shot him down, "You''re staying back too, dear. You''re not even a Transcendent yet. So what are you trying to achieve by joining the battle? To get yourself killed?"

    Heinrich was frozen still with a stunned looked, feeling betrayed as Elizabeth left the pce hall with the other elders.

    His wife did not leave him any face after what he just said.

    Nevertheless, she made a point.

    Faelyn and Thessalia pretended not to have noticed anything to avoid putting Heinrich in an awkward spot, but it only made him more embarrassed.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    After Baron Cortez and his people arrived at the Grasnd Region, they didn''t just attack the World Tree.

    In fact, the attack that Elizabeth and the others felt was just one among many of Baron Cortez''s wild attacks upon reaching the vast camp.

    Seeing so many humans and elves in the new capital construction area, Baron Cortez and his people began attacking indiscriminately with vicious and ruthless means.

    Screams and terror rang throughout the region as humans and elves fled for their lives while the brave ones died while confronting the wicked fiends.

    ¡­

    "We''ve finally caught up to Baron Cortez and his people, but they''ve already begun attacking such arge camp!" Lord Quinten Saville stated.

    Law-punishing airship arrived on time and floated in the sky as everyone onboard oversaw the situation below.

    At the same time, the towering World Tree surprised everyone from the Geyser Kingdom, but it was not the right moment for anyone to admire it.

    "So much has changed since I''ve left¡­" Lina muttered before quickly shaking her head.

    Now was not the time for that.

    Baron Cortez and his people were ughtering innocent lives as she spoke.

    Her parents could even be among the masses below.

    "Senior brother!" Lina urged.

    Neron nodded before turning to urge Lord Quinten Saville in turn.

    "Shall we, Lord Quinten?"

    "Un. Law-punishing troops, stop¡ª!"

    ROAR!

    The World Tree exploded with great fury after receiving repeated harassment from the intruders causing chaos in itsnd.

    Its whip-like tree roots moved in a blur and urately swatted all the troublemakers out of its domain.

    Puchi! Puchi!

    Jets of blood were sprayed from Baron Cortez and his retainers'' mouths, and they flew like broken kites with their strings cut.

    Thud, thud, thud¡­

    Their bodiesnded a few miles away, creating small pits in the ground, and remained motionless.

    Whether it was Elizabeth''s or Lord Quinten Saville''s sides, both sides were stunned, and brief silence swept across the entire Grasnd Region.

    Shortly after, Lord Quinten Saville recovered from his shock before leading his people to check on Baron Cortez''s condition.

    At the same time, Elizabeth also issued simrmands before leading the elders to check.

    When they all arrived at the sight, they discovered that all of Baron Cortez''s bones were shattered, and his organs were crushed.

    The other retainers were in simr conditions.

    After being swatted to death by the World Tree, they have all be lifeless ragdolls.

    s, it was the price for angering the World Tree.

 Chapter 750 - Zions Suspicion

    <h4>Chapter 750 - Zion''s Suspicion</h4>

    Eternal Night Secret Realm

    A few miles outside the Bone Sea''s north outer rim, the Battle God Pce''s people gathered on a rocky mountain.

    Young Master Zion stood near the mountain cliff''s edge and stared at the Bone Sea in the distance, observing its situation.

    However, 12 out of the 20 Extremity-rank Battle Masters that apanied Young Master Zion were present.

    Swoosh~!

    Another Extremity-rank Battle Master suddenly flew up andnded on the mountain cliff, bringing an updraft of wind with him before he knelt in front of Young Master Zion.

    "As per your instructions, I have conquered an Arch Demon-level Tomb before returning, Young Master Zion. Please use these items to aid your cultivation, Young Master."

    The Extremity-rank Battle Master presented the Arch Demon-level inheritance, containing one Arch Demon-level demon core and multiple Tier-6 pieces of equipment.

    However, Young Master Zion didn''t even nce at the offering.

    "Uncle Jizo, I sent you and the others out to look for opportunities, not so you can gift them back to me, but to let you improve yourself," Zion spoke.

    "I won''t take what my servants earned for themselves."

    "I understand that, but I am willingly offering the Arch Demon-level inheritance to you, Young Master. I want to be of help to you," Jizo stated.

    Nevertheless, Zion shook his head and argued, "You''ll be of more help to me when you be a Battle King, Uncle Jizo. So please don''t force me to take your hard-earned rewards."

    After Zion said that, Jizo had no choice but to agree to his young master''s wish.

    "I understand, Young Master. I won''t speak any further on this matter," Jizo conceded.

    Although Jizo was disappointed that Young Master Zion didn''t ept his gift, it won the other Extremity-rank Battle Masters'' hearts.

    As a result, it strengthened their loyalty to Young Master Zion.

    However, the young boy didn''t n, nor was he aware of his servants'' thoughts. He simply spoke and acted ording to his own principles.

    "Take this chance to absorb the Arch Demon-level demon core now, Uncle Jizo. We won''t be going anywhere for the time being, and the others will guard for you."

    "Thank you, Young Master."

    Shortly after Jizo began absorbing the Arch Demon-level demon core''s energy to temper his body, another Extremity-rank Battle Master from the Battle God Pce returned.

    A few moments after that, a few more servants returned.

    "We have returned with news, Young Master."

    "Let''s hear it then."

    "As we suspected, most of the demons have entered the Bone Sea. Only small groups of Lesser Demons were spotted in the outer rim. Therefore, it''s safe to assume that the secret realm''s best inheritances are all found in the Bone Sea."

    "I see¡­ Then if we want to get our hands on the best inheritances, we have no choice but to enter the Bone Sea andpete with the demons¡­" Zion muttered with a frown.

    After a moment, Zion sought his servants'' opinions, "What does everyone think about our chances in the Bone Sea?"

    "Even for us, it will be difficult to fight against so many demons at once, especially the Greater Demons; There are too many of them. So our chances aren''t high on our own, but if we work with the other tribes¡­"

    "Our chances will definitely be higher if we work with other tribes. But unfortunately, there aren''t many tribes interested in challenging the Bone Sea."

    "I agree with Bonz," another servant agreed before adding, "When scouting the area, I noticed many tribes were avoiding the Bone Sea and searching for tombs in the outer edges of the secret realm."

    "We seemed so united when we entered the secret realm together, but the truth is very far from that. We cannot be any more divided. In the face of self-interest, it''s every tribe for themselves¡ªif not every man for themselves."

    The Extremity-rank Battle Master by the name Bonz sighed at thementable situation of humans.

    "The tribes are divided because they don''t have anyone qualified to unite and lead them. However, we have Young Master Zion, the son of the Third Lord Rolthos, here with us. The blood of the Battle God runs in his veins."

    "Right, if it''s Young Master Zion, he can definitely rally the tribes and unite them," another Extremity-rank Battle Master expressed his opinion.

    However, Zion thought otherwise.

    "You''re wrong, Uncle Puxi," Zion shook his head and said, "I might have a noble status as a royal member of the Battle God Pce, but I am still a 13-year-old kid. My noble status alone isn''t enough to convince the proud warriors of the Infertile ins to follow me."

    "This¡­"

    Their young master''s words nearly swayed Puxi and the other servants, causing them to hesitate for a moment.

    However, Puxi shortly argues, "But Young Master isn''t just any normal 13-year-old kid. You are a 13-year-old Battle Master! Even other Battle Masters to give recognition to your peerless talent and endless potential."

    "No matter how great my talents are, my strength is only at the Early-stage of Battle Master Realm. So long as I am weaker than the tribal chiefs, it will be difficult to rally them under my leadership."

    Despite being a 13-year-old boy, Zion wasn''t ignorant of the pride ingrained in every warrior.

    "Nevertheless, it''s not like I was the best candidate anyway. There is someone even more qualified than me in rallying and leading everyone to challenge the Bone Sea," Zion added.

    Bonz, Puxi, and the other servants were stunned before one of them asked, "You mean Young Master Leonhardt, Young Master?"

    "Precisely. Out of everyone who participated in this secret realm, I don''t think anyone is more qualified than Big Brother Leonhardt," Zion answered truthfully.

    When Young Master Leonhardt''s name was brought, several servants seemed convinced by their young master''s view.

    However, there was something they didn''t understand.

    "I understand that Young Master Leonhardt is a great person and that he had even saved Young Master''s life. So it wouldn''t be strange for Young Master to respect Young Master Leonhardt¡­"

    "¡­But don''t you think you are being a bit too respectful when you address Young Master Leonhardt, Young Master? After all, Young Master is still someone with noble status."

    "Well, I''m not so sure; I have this feeling that Big Brother Leon could be rted to me," Zion replied, stunning the servants.

    "What?"

 Chapter 751 - Spatial Phenomenon

    <h4>Chapter 751 - Spatial Phenomenon</h4>

    While the Battle God Pce''s Extremity-rank Battle Masters were still stunned by their young master''s guess, they did not notice the decreasing number of Lesser Demons in the Bone Sea.

    Leon continued to alternate between cultivation and hunting demons while the dark faes practiced the Godfiend Body Forging Method in the medicinal bath.

    By the time Leon hunted another 200 Lesser Demons, Saresha and the rest of the dark faes had depleted the effect of the medicinal bath.

    During that time, Saresha and the other dark faes made a fair bit of progress.

    Despite that, they weren''t exactly sure how much stronger they had grown physically without testing their strength.

    "Ah, the medicinal bath''s effectiveness has been depleted! We can finally stop!" one of the dark faes rejoiced after making the discovery.

    Saresha and the other dark faes also stopped absorbing the Lesser Demon-level demon core''s energy after sensing the loss of recovery.

    "I wonder how powerful we''ve be after practicing this Godfiend Body Forging Method¡­" Saresha muttered while clenching and rxing her hands to feel the strength coursing through them."

    "How about a light spar to find out?" another dark fae suggested.

    "That sounds like a good idea since we can''t continue to practice after the medicinal bath depleted its effectiveness."

    "Yeah! I''m kind of d it did! I never thought that I would say that but, this sort of cultivation is just torturous and unbearable!"

    The dark faes chimed.

    "Why have you all stopped cultivating?"

    Suddenly, Leon''s voice startled them; they quickly turned towards the source before they saw Leon returning from the Bone Sea''s direction with a leather bag in hand.

    "M-my lord!" they greeted.

    While covered in demon blood, Leon hurled the leather bag to the side of the medicinal bath before numerous Lesser Demon-level demon cores, and some Greater Demon-level demon cores spilled out.

    The dark faes were even more startled by the sight before Saresha quickly answered Leon''s question, "The medicinal bath''s effectiveness has been depleted, my lord!"

    "I see," Leon calmly nodded before saying, "Let''s review your progress then. We''ll start with you, Saresha. Throw your best punch without the power of your energy cultivation."

    "Y-you want Saresha to throw a punch at you, my lord?" Saresha asked for confirmation with a startled look.

    "Don''t make me repeat myself," Leon calmly stated.

    "Y-yes, my lord!" Saresha replied before giving out a warning as she threw her punch, "Please pardon my offense!"

    Bam!

    Her small white fistnded squarely in the palm of Leon''s hand without him budging the slightest inch; he stood his ground firmly like a mountain.

    "About 38-thousand jin, huh? Not far from Rank 4 Body Tempering ording to the primordial body cultivation standard," Leon analyzed with a casual expression.

    Shortly after, Leon nodded before saying, "Now throw me another punch, powered by your energy cultivation."

    "Y-yes, my lord!"

    Saresha took a deep breath before she gathered power into her fist and exploded forth with a quick punch covered in darkness.

    Bam!

    The fistnded squarely into Leon''s palm once again, and the dark aura dispersed like the ripples created from a rock dropped into still water.

    Leon''s hair fluttered from the rush of air, but he remained unbudged from the attack.

    "About 500-thousand jin when the strength of body and energy arebined, huh?" Leon calmly analyzed Saresha''s punch strength.

    It was still far from the level of strength needed to move him.

    "Alright, you can step back," Leon said to Saresha before calling for the next dark fae, "Who wants to test their strength next? Decide quickly."

    "I will, my lord!" said a dark fae with short ck hair.

    Sometimeter, Leon finished measuring the strength of every dark fae under him; all were roughly between Rank 3 to Rank 4 Body Tempering.

    As for their energy cultivation, it ranged from Low to Mid-rank Lesser Demon level.

    Although Saresha was the first to submit to Leon, her strength wasn''t the strongest among the 50 dark faes.

    Nevertheless, her strength still ced her in the group''s upper circle.

    "You didn''t run into any of our nsmen during your hunt, my lord?" Saresha inquired after ncing down at the Lesser Demon-level demon cores Leon brought.

    Leon shook his head.

    "Did you think I killed them or something? No, it seems like the rest of your nsmen can only be found in the other sides of the Bone Sea''s outer rim."

    "Alright, that''s that. We will meet them when we meet them," Leon stated before urging the dark faes, "Get back in the pool and continue to cultivate. I will restore its effectiveness."

    Leon took out more Golden Ointment and All-purpose Healing Pills and mixed them with the bathwater, and before long, the medicinal bath exuded a strong medicinal scent once more.

    The dark faes hopped back into the medicinal bath; some did it eagerly, while others did it reluctantly.

    Nevertheless, the dark faes settled inside the medicinal bath and resumed their body cultivation while Leon estimated it was time to head back into the Abyssal Wood Forest.

    ''I''ve been gone nearly a day. I should head back and check on the others. Aria and Darlene might start to worry if I''m away for any longer,'' Leon mused.

    After making sure that the dark faes would be fine on their own for a short while, Leon departed the area with a burst of speed.

    However, as Leon rushed back to Aria''s location, he suddenly sensed a change in the sky.

    ck clouds gathered around the Abyssal Wood Forest, forming an enormous ck storm before deforming as if space was distorting.

    Unlike any other phenomenon that forms a spiral tempest of clouds, the deforming ck clouds above the Abyssal Wood Forest transformed into an enormous sphere of ck clouds.

    ''A spatial storm? No, a spatial phenomenon! This must be Darlene''s Transcendent Phenomenon!''

    Leon''s eyes lit up.

    In the next instance, Leon kicked the ground and burst forward with greater speed as he rushed back at his quickest speed.

    Without a doubt, the spatial phenomenon would attract a lot of attention to the Abyssal Wood Forest.

    He had to be there to prevent others from interfering with Darlene''s Transcendence.

 Chapter 752 - Leons Cussing

    <h4>Chapter 752 - Leon''s Cussing</h4>

    Abyssal Wood Forest

    The chaotic winds blew, the forest leaves rustled, the tree branches shed, and the billowing dark clouds in the sky above collided.

    Rumble¡­!

    The spatial phenomenon stirred the heavenly weather chaotically with its unpredictable and uncontroble wind currents, yet oddly enough, retained the spherical body of dark clouds.

    "This is¡­ What is this?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stared at the spatial storm''s slow descent from the first heaven with an abject look of rm and horror after his cultivation was interrupted.

    For a person who had never seen a spatial phenomenon, the formation of chaotic space in the sky was no different from theing of doomsday.

    "It''s Darlene''s Transcendent Phenomenon. She''s about to be a Spatial Transcendent," Aria exined, for her cultivation, too, was interrupted.

    Nevertheless, she had never seen such a phenomenon either.

    ''Are all spatial phenomenons like this? Or is this the difference between primaryws and grandws?'' Aria wondered.

    Swoosh!

    A sudden pir of chaotic space shot down from the spherical body of spatial storm as if forming a link with Darlene, lifting her body off the big tree branch and leaving her suspended in midair.

    At the same time, Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable were pushed away onto a different tree branch by the powerful current of chaotic space.

    The brief contact made them think the chaotic space nearly ripped them to shreds; that made the One-Eyed Venerable assume Darlene was in danger.

    "Watch out, youngdy!"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman prepared to pull Darlene out of the chaotic space forcefully, but Aria immediately stopped him.

    "Don''t! This is Darlene''s baptism, something she needs to experience before sessfully transcending! So don''t interrupt her!" Aria shouted.

    "Eh?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s extended hand froze before the One-Eyed Venerable wryly smiled while awkwardly retracting his hand.

    "I see. I almost made an irredeemable mistake and ruined Miss Darlene''s good fortune. Thank you for stopping this old man."

    "Don''t mention it, senior." Aria sighed with relief before saying, "We better retreat to a safer distance."

    "Agreed," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded.

    The pir of chaotic space was so powerful that it reduced the entire ashen tree into sharp splinters before further reducing them into fine sawdust.

    The sight shocked the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    "Are all transcendent phenomena always powerful like this?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired.

    "Hard to say, senior." Aria shook her head and replied, "Even for me, it''s my first time seeing such a powerful phenomenon."

    When she transcended, her phenomenon stretched for hundreds of miles, but even then, it did not feel as powerful as what she was witnessing.

    "By the way, I can''t seem to find Young Master Leonhardt anywhere. Have you seen or know where he went, Miss Aria?"

    Aria was about to look around, but Leon suddenly appeared right beside them in a ghostly manner and patted the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman on the shoulder.

    "I heard someone was looking for me?"

    Leon smiled, and his devilish and sudden whisper made the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman slightly jump with a startled look.

    "Haiz, speak of the devil."

    "Haha, how''s the situation?"

    "It''s as you can see, she is undergoing the baptism¡ªor so Miss Aria calls it, but I don''t really know much about these phenomena stuff. Why did you go, Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "Oh, you know; just some stuff like cultivation, demon hunting, and demon raising," Leon casually replied.

    But the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Aria blinked twice, thinking they may have misheard his words.

    "Did you say demon raising? Did I hear¡ª"

    Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s question was cut short by the interruption of a sudden change.

    At that moment, Darlene''s suspended body suddenly began ascending and shot into the eye of the chaotic space storm, disappearing from everyone''s vision.

    "Is she going to be okay?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman frowned in wonder.

    However, Leon didn''t have a definite answer.

    "Let''s all believe in her. Although the Spatial Phenomenon seems quite dangerous, I haven''te across a phenomenon that harms the transcender. More importantly, it seems we havepany."

    Leon''s gaze suddenly flickered with a sharp look as he alerted the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and Aria.

    A short distance away, several shadowy figures hopped from treetop to treetop and made their way over.

    However, Leon''s ghostly figure suddenly appeared in front of them and blocked their path, forcing them toe to an abrupt stop on the ashen trees.

    It was a group of humans from a tribe Leon wasn''t acquainted with.

    Furthermore, their strength wasn''t half-bad.

    The group had clearly experienced a few lucky chances in the secret realm and raised a few Extremity-rank Battle Masters.

    "Friends, please do note any closer. My woman is undergoing Transcendence, and I would appreciate it if you would stay back and not disturb the process."

    "Transcendence? What kind of sh*t is that? I think you are just spouting nonsense to keep us away from the emerging tomb of inheritance! Something this must be a Demon King-level Tomb at least!"

    "Right, Young Master Leonhardt. As a Divine Doctor, you will naturally have our respect. However, everything in the secret realm is fair y. You can''t monopolize the inheritance for yourself."

    "Please don''t be selfish and move aside, Young Master Leonhardt¡ªwhile we are still giving you face, that is."

    The impatient Extremity-rank Battle Masters in the group fired their usations at Leon, bolstered by inted confidence that their acquired strengths brought them.

    Leon''s expression darkened before dropping his polite attitude at once.

    "What the actual f*ck? How dare you clowns use me like a bandit when I spoke the truth nicely? F*ck you and your pretentious respect! Do you think you''re strong after a bit of improvement? Do you think you can step all over me just because you''re ''strong?'' F*ck all of you!"

    Leon cussed and pointed his middle finger at them.

    They seemed to have forgotten the insurmountable difference between them when he demonstrated his Authority of Earth in front of the various tribes.

    Of course, there was a chance that they were part of the tribes that arrivedter, but either way; Ignorant fools ought to be taught their ces!

 Chapter 753 - Rain Of Sword Intent

    <h4>Chapter 753 - Rain Of Sword Intent</h4>

    Leon could sense that Darlene''s Spatial Phenomenon had drawn the attention of more than one group and that Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had gone to confront.

    Given the uncertainty of the other parties'' strengths, Leon couldn''t be bothered wasting further time on the people in front of him.

    At the same time, they didn''t take kindly to his curses either.

    "F*cking hell! When have I, the Redstone Tribe''s chief, ever had someone talk to me with just disrespect? Don''t you dare say that we didn''t give you a chance! I want this bastard crippled¡ª!"

    Boom!

    Just as the Redstone Tribe''s chief finished giving his order, Leon immediately pressured them with the power of gravity and caught them off-guard.

    Even if they had powerful physical strengths that could withstand fivefold gravity, the sudden change in gravity made them miscalcte their step and tripped.

    Several Redstone Tribe''s Extremity-rank Battle Masters fell.

    However, they quickly adjusted to the change in gravity and twisted their bodies,tching onto nearby tree branches before climbing back onto the treetops.

    "What kind of power is this? Shamanic powers over gravity? There was such a thing?" the Redstone Tribe''s chief frowned without budging an inch.

    He didn''t trip like the others because he didn''t make the slightest movement after giving his order, and the increased gravity didn''t give him much trouble either.

    "No matter. Such an insignificant power doesn''t have much effect on a Half-step Battle King like¡ª"

    "Down!"

    Leon was not interested in listening and simply increased the pressure of gravity.

    Tenfold¡­ Fifteenfold¡­ Twentyfold!

    Leon could keep increasing the gravity pressure indefinitely with the Authority of Earth so long as his mental strength could keep up with the expenditure.

    However, twentyfold gravity was enough to cause a change.

    Although the Redstone Tribe''s warriors endured twentyfold well with their powerful strengths, their vulnerable organs couldn''t handle the pressure.

    Puchi!

    Several Peak-rank Battle Masters sprayed blood due to their ruptured organs, causing weakness and loss of strength as they plummeted from the trees with paled expression.

    The sight agitated the enduring Extremity-rank Battle Masters, causing their organs to rupture before they also plummeted with the rest.

    Thud, thud, thud!

    The Redstone Tribe''s Battle Mastersnded heavily on the ground before spraying a few more mouthfuls of blood, severely injured and unable to get up.

    At the same time, a few Peak-rank Battle Mastersnded on bad angles, breaking their neck and killing them on the spot.

    A gloomy aura hung over the Redstone Tribe''s chief as he saw what happened.

    "How dare you!" the Redstone Tribe''s chief exploded.

    "y stupid games, win stupid prizes; their deaths are on you for not heeding my words," Leon stated indifferently.

    Although he only intended to incapacitate the Redstone Tribe''s warriors, it can''t be helped when idents happen.

    "Die!"

    The Redstone Tribe''s chief kicked forward with explosive speed, causing the ashen treetop to crack and bend behind him.

    ¡­

    Several hundred yards away from Leon''s location, Aria also failed to convince a group of warriors from the Dragon-Elephant Tribe in the Central Region before engaging in battle.

    However, the Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s people attacked Aria for a different reason; they lusted for her sword after noticing its divine aura.

    "Hand over your sword,ss! You''re not worthy of wielding such a divine weapon!" the Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s chief shot after Aria with a crazed look in his eyes.

    Even among Tier-6 weapons, the Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s chief had never seen an enchanted weapon with such aura in the Infertile ins.

    It could only belong to a higher tier!

    How is it eptable that a thin girl wields such a divine weapon? It should belong to him! Only he was worthy of it!

    As the Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s chief chased, Aria retreated gracefully on her ice-lightning sword with a cold expression.

    ''Leon wants to save humans in the Infertile ins and unify them under the Crawford Empire, but is someone like this worth saving?''

    Aria''s eyes flickered with a cold light.

    She detests selfish people who betray and backstab their own kind without hesitation to pursue their self-interest.

    ''Someone like this doesn''t deserve to live!''

    Shing!

    In a single decisive move, Aria sliced off Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s chief''s head with her tier-7 divine sword''s sword intent.

    The Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s chief, who didn''t expect Aria to attack with such sharpness and speed, died without knowing the reason.

    But before the abyss engulfed his consciousness, the Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s chief wondered why his body stopped reacting to his thoughts.

    The Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s Battle Masters standing on the sideline froze when they saw their tribal chief''s head draw an arc in the air.

    "Chief! F*ck, she killed the chief!"

    "We must avenge our chief, brothers!"

    The Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s Battle Masters quickly jumped into action as they charged at Aria with burning fury in their eyes.

    It hadn''t crossed their minds that their chief could get himself killed so carelessly.

    "Be careful! Her divine weapon is very sharp and produces Sword Intent! There''s no way someone young like her canprehend Sword Intent already!" a Peak-rank Battle Master warned.

    "Oh? How impressive of you to have noticed that. If only you used half that brain of yours to make wiser decisions for your tribal chief!" Aria snickered coldly.

    As a Seeking Insight-level Ice-Lightning Transcendent, Aria was only close to High-rank Battle Masters in strength.

    But when she is equipped with the tier-7 divine weapon, even Early-rank Battle Kings have to be careful with her attacks, let alone Peak-rank Battle Masters.

    "Cheeky b*tch!" the Peak-rank Battle Master spat before shouting, "Surround her! There''s no way she can defend our attacks from every direction!"

    "Hmph!"

    Aria snorted with a cold look before swinging her tier-7 divine sword indiscriminately in all directions, sending out waves after waves of Ice-Lightning Sword Intent.

    "Watch out!" the Peak-rank Battle Master cried with rm.

    Unfortunately, his warning came toote; and even though the Dragon-Elephant Tribe''s Battle Masters also saw the rain of flying sword auras, they couldn''t evade all of it.

    Puchi! Puchi!

    "Arghhhh!"

    The High-rank and Peak-rank Battle Masters cried after getting their limbs and body parts sliced off the flying sword auras before plunging out of the trees.

    The more unfortunate Battle Master were directly killed by the sword auras, which also felled many trees and cleared out a section of the forest simultaneously.

 Chapter 754 - Half-Step Battle King

    <h4>Chapter 754 - Half-Step Battle King</h4>

    "Such a sharp sword!" another tribe''s warrior eximed.

    The deforestation caused by Aria quickly drew the attention of the other tribes in the vicinity¡ªor rather, the tier-7 divine sword drew their attention.

    Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly stood in their way.

    "We are all humans; we should be working together! What''s the point of fighting each other when we should be fighting the demons? Do you want the demons to destroy us all?"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman interrogates the Sky Sword Tribe, another tribe from Central Region, while facing them within attacking distance.

    However, neither side chose to attack.

    The Sky Sword Tribe''s chief stood on the tip of an ashen tree as if he was light as a feather and gazed at the deforested areaposedly without answering the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s questions immediately.

    A short momentter, the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief finally shifts his attention to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    "Senior One-Eye said that we should be working together to stop the demons? I also think so," the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief chuckled before stating, "However, the side that doesn''t want to cooperate is not ours, but yours."

    "What do you mean by that?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman frowned.

    "You see, I don''t believe there is any merit in working together unless our strengths are optimized. Otherwise, it will just be a band of bandits, disorderly and weak."

    "So what you are trying to say is that the weak should offer their treasures to bolster the strength of the strong? What a ridiculous excuse to justify robbing others of their treasures. Only bandits would be shameless enough to say something like that."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman ridiculed the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief with a contemptuous look, but the person was unaffected by the provocative words.

    "You see, this is why we can''t reach an agreement. Even though we share the same goal, we have different approaches," the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief replies with a smile before suddenly adding, "Nevertheless, I have yet to attack because I recognize your strength, Senior One-Eye."

    "Thus, I am willing to make a concession; if Senior doesn''t want us to have the divine sword, then Senior should use it yourself. After all, you are still an Extremity-rank Battle Master, even if your core has been shattered. You have the qualifications to stand with us when we confront the demons."

    "You want me to betray Miss Aria and Young Master Leonhardt? Hmph, dream on! Even a wolf knows how to repay kindness and favors, let alone this old man," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman snorted.

    "And you must be blind or pretending to be blind if you''re going to ignore the fact that Miss Aria just wiped out that foolish tribe that tried to snatch her divine sword. She is much stronger than she appears."

    "So that woman''s name is Aria. I admit, she is quite a fine woman," the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief nodded approvingly.

    However, the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief shortly adds, "But that aside, the Dragon-Elephant Tribe was foolish and underestimated her. She might have been able to kill them all, but that wasn''t due to her own strength."

    "Furthermore, the Dragon-Elephant Tribe didn''t have a single Extremity-rank Battle Master. They deserved to die. If someone else like you or me wields that divine sword, we would have disyed the divine sword''s full potential."

    After talking for a while, the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief realized he couldn''t persuade the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and shook his head in resignation.

    "It seems we have no choice but to fight."

    "Yes, it would seem that way since you aren''t willing to back down."

    "It''s a shame that an Extremity-rank Battle Master will have to fall here. I pray Senior One-Eye makes wiser choices in the next life," the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief said regretfully.

    Shortly after, the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief directed his tribesmen to kill the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, "Don''t hold back and attack together! We will let Senior One-Eye die valiantly, letting him know that it took ten Extremity-rank Battle Masters to kill him!"

    "Yes, chief!"

    Swoosh!

    The leaves rustle as the Sky Sword Tribe''s ten Extremity-rank Battle Masters quickly surround the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and attack him from all directions.

    "F*ck off!"

    A Tier-5 Buster Sword suddenly appears from the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s interspatial storage pouch and into his firm grip before he swings it with full strength.

    In that instance, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s hidden aura fully exploded.

    Peng!

    The Sky Sword Tribe''s ten Extremity-rank Battle Master received the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s spiral swing with their Soul Weapons before they were all struck by an enormous force.

    Puchi!

    Unable to withstand the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s brute strength, the ten Extremity-rank Battle Masters'' bones shattered, organs shaken, and blood sprayed from their mouths as they were sent flying like meteors.

    Stray drops of bloodnded on the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief''s face when an Extremity-rank Battle Master flew past him, causing his calm expression to freeze with shock immediately.

    The Sky Sword Tribe''s chief failed toprehend what just happened.

    The upper strength limit of Extremity-rank Battle Masters caps at 1.5-million jins, but the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s strength went beyond that.

    It didn''t just go beyond 1.5-million jins; it was at least 3-million jins! Not enough to reach the level of Battle Kings, but it was a full twofold above the level of Extremity-rank Battle Masters!

    A Half-step Battle King!

    "Impossible! This can''t be real! It shouldn''t be possible for you to be a Half-step Battle King! Your core should have been shattered for many years now!"

    The Sky Sword Tribe''s chief hysterically denied the possibility.

    However, the truth was before his eyes.

    "Yes, generally, it''s impossible to resume body cultivation after shattering the core due to the core fragments obstructing the formation of a new core. However, you have forgotten that this old man has the Divine Doctor on his side!"

    "The Divine Doctor can even remove the core fragments inside a warrior''s head?!"

    "Precisely! So allow this old man to correct what you said¡­ The one who should''ve made wiser choices was not this old man; it was you!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

 Chapter 755 - Big Attraction

    <h4>Chapter 755 - Big Attraction</h4>

    After hearing what the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said, the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief suddenly erupts with crazyughter as if he had lost his mind.

    However, the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief did not lose his mind; he simply finds the situation ironic and shakes his head helplessly.

    "I lived my whole life making wise choices! That is how I, Skyhawk, went from being a nameless person in the Sky Sword Tribe to bing its chief! So where did it go wrong?" Chief Skyhawk muttered.

    "You failed to see through one person; Young Master Leonhardt. Even this old man fails to see through him. Young Master Leonhardt is simply unfathomable."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had a look of awe and respect when he mentioned Leon''s name.

    "To think Senior One-Eye woulde to respect a young man to such a degree¡­" Chief Skyhawk remarked without any intention to continue the battle.

    Chief Skyhawk had lost his will to fight after finding out the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was a Half-step Battle King.

    The chance of winning was zero.

    At the same time, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled at the Sky Sword Tribe''s chief''sment without pursuing the person''s transgression.

    Every Extremity-rank Battle Master killed is a considerable loss for the human side.

    "You should know that a great storm will be sweeping across the Infertile ins after news of the Celestial Water Spark drying spreads," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman mentions.

    "However, this old man believes there will be a greater storm sweeping the entire Dark Abyss Continent, and the center of that storm will be Young Master Leonhart."

    "Senior One-Eye believes in the Divine Doctor that much, huh? If I remember correctly, Senior One-Eye is from the Crimsonfog Tribe while the Divine Doctor is from the Darkmoon Tribe¡­"

    "Why does that matter? Only this old man gets to decide who this old man wants to follow; no one else gets to decide for this old man. And no one can say anything when Young Master Leonhardt unites the tribes. I believe he has what it takes to make it possible."

    "I see. Senior One-Eye believes the Divine Doctor is destined for greatness¡­ I wonder if I still have a chance to ask for forgiveness and follow such a person¡­" Chief Skyhawk muttered.

    "That isn''t for me to decide. But you should know that I have no intention of taking your life since you''ve lost your will to fight," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman magnanimously said before adding, "You should go check on your tribesmen''s conditions."

    "Thank you for being lenient and forgiving, Senior One-Eye."

    Chief Skyhawk expressed his gratitude and respect with a fist-palm salute before shooting off to pick up his scattered tribesmen.

    The attitude Chief Skyhawk gave to an Extremity-rank Battle Master, and a Half-step Battle King was like the difference between heaven and earth.

    The Extremity-rank Battle Master Realm was a bottleneck that stopped most warriors from progressing further.

    But if warriors seed in taking that half step beyond the Extremity-rank Battle Master Realm, they are guaranteed to be Battle Kings in the future.

    However, that wasn''t the sole reason for Chief Skyhawk''s change in attitude.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman is a Half-step Battle King with a brand new core and has the potential to reach the extremity of the Battle King Realm or even be a Battle God.

    Furthermore, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman would not need to enter deep slumber like the other existing Battle Kings who are at risk of Demonic Possession.

    ''I find it hard to believe that a young man who looks less than 20 years of age can unify the Infertile ins. Even if he is a genius with endless talents and abilities, he stillcks experience,'' Chief Skyhawk thought.

    It wasn''t umon for geniuses with great talents to die before realizing their full potential.

    ''Senior One-Eye, on the other hand, has the experience. So if I can''t follow the young divine doctor, I can still try to follow Senior One-Eye.''

    Chief Skyhawk began calcting his next steps after his mistake.

    ¡­

    Puchi!

    The Redstone Tribe''s chief never stood a chance against Leon, but the Redstone Tribe''s chief didn''t know that until it was toote.

    With a single thrust of Leon''s sharp hand coated in the power of darkness, he drilled right into the Redstone Tribe''s chief''s chest and destroyed his heart.

    The Redstone Tribe''s chief nced down at the hand in his chest before coughing up a mouthful of blood and feeling weakness take over his body.

    "This power¡­ are you a demon?" the Redstone Tribe''s chief weakly uttered with his remaining few breaths of life.

    However, Leon didn''t satisfy the Redstone Tribe''s chief''s curiosity.

    After the Redstone Tribe''s chief took hisst breath, and his eyes dulled lifelessly, Leon retracted his hand and tossed the body aside.

    The blood on his hand was casually erased shortly after.

    "Just a little disy of darkness power from the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness, and the person immediately assumes I am a demon," Leon muttered with a pondering look.

    Leon finds it ironic that the many warriors in the Infertile ins rely on Darkness Energy to cultivate their bodies, yet they didn''t consider themselves demons.

    "Back in the Divine Realm, anyone found cultivating Darkness Energy would have probably fallen under the demonbel. Yet, over here, people cultivating with Darkness Energy are pointing fingers at others who also cultivate with Darkness Energy? How amusing."

    Leon noticed that after he started cultivating the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness, he had less aversion to the topics of demons¡ªor perhaps he was more sympathetic towards them?

    "I wonder how the others are doing¡­"

    Leon shook his head before spreading out his divine sense and shifting his attention to Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman; both appeared to be doing fine.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not expect the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman to have not only finished refining his new core but also be a Half-step Battle King.

    ''Hm¡­ Senior''s talent shouldn''t have been bad if he could reach the Extremity-rank Battle Master Realm before shattering his core¡­''

    Leon no longer finds it surprising after giving it some thought.

    A short momentter, Leon surveyed the region before he frowned at the number of people drawn towards Darlene''s Spatial Phenomenon.

    Some were cautiously hiding in the distance after witnessing the fate of the Redstone tribe and Dragon-Elephant Tribe, while others were still on their way.

    ''Isn''t this number a bit too high? Where were they before for them toe now? Don''t tell me that they think the Demon Emperor-level Tomb appears here?''

    Leon wondered.

    ¡­

 Chapter 756 - The Greater Demons Alert

    <h4>Chapter 756 - The Greater Demons'' Alert</h4>

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In the east outer rim of the Bone Sea, several Greater Demons rose to the surface level amidst the floating bones after noticing the reduction of Lesser Demons in the sea region.

    It wasn''t just a small reduction either.

    Although Lesser Demons were just expendable pawns to the Greater Demons, even the Greater Demons would be rmed when they noticed hundreds of Lesser Demons missing from the sea region.

    "You! In a few words, exin what has happened in this sea region! Where are the rest of the Lesser Demons stationed in this area?"

    After sweeping a nce at the few Lesser Demons on the Bone Sea''s surface level, one of the Mid-rank Greater Demons immediately grabbed a Lesser Demon-level Imp by its neck and interrogated it.

    Without surprises, the Mid-rank Greater Demon''s overbearing action terrified the Imp.

    The Mid-rank Greater Demon was not only significantlyrger than the Imp Lesser Demon, but it was also a member of the Two-headed Cyclop n, one of the Nine Great ns renowned for their enormous bodies.

    "L-Lord Greater Demon, i-it would be better to let Lord Suron, w-who is in charge of this sea region, answer your queries!" the Imp replied with difficulty.

    Ka-cha!

    The Mid-rank Greater Demon ruthlessly snapped the Imp''s neck before tossing its lifeless body into the Bone Sea to feed the sea monsters.

    "I said to answer my question in a few words, not pass the job to someone else!"

    The Mid-rank Greater Demon snorted before grabbing another different Lesser Demon from the group and questioning it.

    This time, the Lesser Demon was a female Harpy Demon with ck talons, red-feathered wings, and three pointy golden feathers on its head, the distinctive trait of the Gold-feathered Harpy n.

    "What about you? Are you going to answer my question or waste my time?"

    The Harpy Lesser Demon struggled to even gulp under the Mid-rank Greater Demon''s grip and intimidation.

    The Harpy Lesser Demon chose to carefully contemte its words before opening its mouth to speak, lest it also ends up losing its life.

    Ka-cha!

    Unfortunately, the Mid-rank Greater Demon also snapped the Harpy Lesser Demon''s neck after it took too long to answer.

    After picking its third target, the Mid-rank Greater Demon finally receives an immediate answer.

    "Lord Suron has been sending groups of Lesser Demons to investigate the disturbance in the east, Lord Greater Demon!" the Bull-Horned Lesser Demon stated.

    "A disturbance in the east? What kind of disturbance?"

    "Darkness Energy in the secret realm''s atmosphere has been gathering towards the Abyssal Wood Forest''s direction from time to time, Lord Greater Demon!"

    The Bull-Horned Lesser Demon answered honestly yet nervously as it sweated profusely, uncertain when the Mid-rank Greater Demon would snap its neck on a whim.

    However, the Mid-rank Greater Demon simply tossed it aside, sparing its insignificant life after receiving a satisfying answer.

    The other Greater Demons watched in silence as the Mid-rank Greater Demon swept the Lesser Demons another nce.

    "Who is Lord Suron?"

    "I am."

    A calm voice came from the Mid-rank Greater Demon''s left side before it locked its gaze on a Lesser Demon from the Evil Eye n.

    "You''re Lord Suron?"

    "I am, Lord¡ª"

    Puchi!

    The Mid-rank Greater Demon made a sudden move and sliced off Lord Suron''s left arm with a water de before he could react.

    Lord Suron could only grit his teeth and swallow his grievance and humiliation.

    "A Lesser Demon dares to call itself a lord in my presence? You must be tired of living. I will spare your dog-life this one time on the ount that you are part of the Nine Great n."

    "You have a problem with dogs, Lord Celimurt?" another Mid-rank Greater Demon suddenly broke its silence after feeling offended by thement.

    The second Mid-rank Greater Demon had a dark humanoid body, but its ck dog head clearly shows its ancestral rtionship to a breed of dogs.

    It was a member of the ck Jackal n, a demon n that was considered noble even among the Nine Great ns.

    "I do have a problem with some lowly dogs, but the ck Jackal n is different from them¡ªor do you think the ck Jackal n is the same as them, Lord Setma?"

    "Hmph!"

    Lord Setma could only snort without answering after facing Lord Celimurt''s insidious question.

    "Alright, don''t bother me while I am investigating the situation," Lord Celimurt stated.

    A few minutes after Lord Celimurt resumed interrogating Lord Suron, he understood the whole situation.

    Lord Suron had been sending groups of Lesser Demons to investigate the western disturbance repeatedly without a single demon returning, and like that; several hundred Lesser Demons disappeared.

    It was clear that the Lesser Demons were all killed by humans.

    When the Greater Demons understood that Lord Suron wasted so many demon lives to investigate something that was clearly the work of the humans, a Greater Demon from Evil Eye n killed Lord Suron in a fit of anger.

    Lord Suron was decapitated and killed without an intact corpse.

    His scattered body parts sunk into the Bone Sea, and the seawater bubbled before only the bones floated back up to the surface level a short whileter.

    "What an embarrassment to my Evil Eye n," the Evil-Eyed Greater Demon spat.

    Even after sporting around with Lord Suron''s head, it couldn''t appease the anger in his heart.

    The Lesser Demons of lower-ranking demon ns are pawns, yes, but when hundreds of them are sent to their deaths without any gain, it would only lower the Evil Eye n''s influence among the Nine Great ns.

    "We will have to rethink whether we should continue leaving the Lesser Demons of your Evil Eye n in charge of supervising the Bone Sea''s outer rim regions, Lord Lebrantz."

    The Mid-rank Greater Demon from the Evil Eye n was called Lebrantz.

    "Hmph! Even if you want to change them, you will have to see if the elders in the Nine Great n agree with¡ªHm?"

    Lord Lebrantz suddenly paused when his evil eye noticed an even more significant change than previously described in the Abyssal Wood Forest''s direction.

    "What kind of phenomenon is this? ¡­Don''t tell me we''ve been wrong about the Demon Emperor-level Tomb''s location this entire time? I need to report this to the elders quickly!"

    "What''s going on? What did you see, Lord Lebrantz?"

 Chapter 757 - Battle God Palaces Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 757 - Battle God Pce''s Opportunity</h4>

    "Something big!"

    Lord Lebrantz left two vague words before plunging into the depth of the Bone Sea that even his evil eye could not see the end of its seemingly bottomless abyss.

    In this lightless world, sea monsters with varying degrees of strength thrived.

    Some were only the size of a palm with ordinary, but with their sharp teeth andrge numbers, they could devour Lesser Demons down to their bones within seconds.

    Such sea monsters were called Corpse Eaters or Corpse-Eating Fishes.

    Although the Corpse Eaters are only timid creatures that eat unmoving objects usually, they can be a terrifying force that devours anything and everything in sight with a voracious appetite when starved for weeks.

    Nevertheless, such sea monsters only exist on the upper sea levels, while at the lower sea levels, much stronger andrger sea monsters exist.

    When Lord Lebrantz swam past a school of Corpse Eaters, they quickly scattered in all directions before regrouping a short whileter after Lord Lebrants was gone.

    ¡­

    Back on the surface level, the other Mid-rank Greater Demons nced at each other with confusion due to Lord Lebrantz''s hasty departure.

    "What the hell was that about? Lord Celimurt frowned with displeasure.

    "Beats me," Lord Setma shrugged before adding, "But how could Lord Lebrantz leave like that? The Evil Eye n sure doesn''t give any face to the other nine great demon ns."

    "Since Lord Lebrantz was in a rush, it might have been really urgent that he didn''t give us any face. After all, he did mention something about the Demon Emperor-level Tomb being elsewhere," another Mid-rank Greater Demon with three heads stated.

    It was also a member of the Nine Great ns, the Three-Headed Serpent n, and stood on equal footing with the other Mid-rank Greater Demons.

    But when the Three-Headed Serpent Greater Demon repeated Lord Lebrantz''s words, the other Mid-rank Greater Demons dismissed them.

    "The Demon Emperor-level Tomb could be elsewhere? How is that even possible? The Nine Great ns have scoured the secret realm in the past few openings and learned most of itsyout; the Bone Sea is the only ce our Nine Great ns couldn''t fully explore."

    Lord Celimurt stated.

    "Lord Celimurt is right," Lord Setma agreed before adding, "The depth of the Bone Sea is guarded enormous and mighty sea monsters that could even kill Arch Demons."

    "Although our Nine Great ns never seeded in locating the Demon Emperor-level Tomb in its deepest depths due to the obstruction, there are indeed other Demon King-level Tombs in the Bone Sea."

    "As such, the Nine Great ns have concluded that the Bone Sea is the only region in the entire Eternal Night Secret Realm where the Demon Emperor-level Tomb could be."

    "Right. Exactly," the Greater Demons nodded in agreement.

    "The predecessors have established this after many years of exploring the secret realm. So how could the Demon Emperor-level Tomb suddenly be in the east? That''s the Abyssal Wood Forest''s direction¡­"

    Suddenly, the Greater Demons felt the wind currents in the Bone Sea bing stronger as it blew towards the eastern directions.

    At the same time, they felt faint spatial tremors and changes in the atmosphere''s energy.

    "¡­"

    "Did everyone feel that?"

    "Yeah¡­ Such a strong spatial storm¡­ It seems like it wants to pull everything towards it. Something like this wasn''t recorded in my n''s secret realm findings."

    "It was recorded my n either."

    The Mid-rank Greater Demons voiced their doubts one by one as the silent Three-Headed Serpent Greater Demon watched them.

    "Why don''t we think about it this way; there were no records of such a strong spatial storm because it never happened, and the Demon Emperor-level Tomb could have been hidden in a separate space until now."

    The Three-Headed Serpent Greater Demon gave the other Mid-rank Greater Demons food for thought, letting them see the situation from a different perspective.

    The Mid-rank Greater Demons fell silent and seriously considered the possibility.

    "If the Demon Emperor-level Tomb was truly hidden in a separate space and finally made its appearance in the east, then we cannot ignore it. We can''t let the humans have the most important inheritance in the secret realm," Lord Celimurt solemnly stated.

    "I''m leaving," Lord Setma immediately stated before turning to an Early-rank Greater Demon from the same ck Jackal n and ordered, "Go in inform the n leader."

    "Understood, Lord Setma."

    Shortly after, both ck Jackal Greater Demons departed separate ways; one headed towards the source of the spatial storm, and the other dived into the depths of the Bone Sea.

    The other Mid-rank Greater Demons made simr arrangements with their n members and went their own way.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, the Battle God Pce camping in the high mountains north of the Bone Sea''s outer rim noticed changes to the Bone Sea.

    "There seems to be something different in the Bone Sea. Please give this servant the permission to go and investigate it, Young Master Zion," Bonz knelt on one knee before Zion and volunteered with a resolute look.

    Young Master Zion nced at his servant''s decisive look before he uttered, "The majority of the demons have already entered the Bone Sea. So it''ll be extremely dangerous to even go near it, you know?"

    "This servant is aware of the risk. However, if there''s even the slightest possibility that the demons have left the area, we mustn''t miss the opportunity, Young Master. Please let this servant investigate and pave the way for you."

    "Seems you''ve made up your mind, Uncle Bonz."

    "Yes, Young Master."

    "Then be careful, Uncle Bonz."

    "Thank you, Young Master! This servant will keep that in mind," Bonz promised.

    Shortly after Zion watched Bonz take his leave, he uttered, "Uncle Puxi."

    "Yes, Young Master!" Uncle Puxi stepped forward and answered.

    "Please follow Uncle Bonz. Uncle Bonz is gifted with good eyes, but you are more cautious by nature. I trust you make safer decisions and return with Uncle Bonz in one piece after the investigation."

    "Understood, Young Master. I hear and obey."

    Puxi left shortly after.

    Zion watched his two servants leave hastily before disappearing into the Bone Sea in the distance.

    Half an hourter, the two servants returned in one piece.

    "As this servant suspected, the demons have truly left the Bone Sea, Young Master. Although this servant doesn''t know why they left, now is the best chance to enter the Bone Sea."

    Bonz reported.

 Chapter 758 - Bone Seas Central Region

    <h4>Chapter 758 - Bone Sea''s Central Region</h4>

    After Bonz finished his report, Young Master Zion furrowed his brows in contemtion and wonder, finding the demons'' sudden departure strange.

    "Don''t you find it strange that the demons suddenly left this sea region when they stationed Evil Eye Demons to monitor the outer rim for human movements, Uncle Bonz? What if it''s a trap to lure us in?"

    Young Master Zion voiced his doubts and concern.

    "Yes, this servant also had such doubts when this servant went to investigate, so this servant followed the demons'' faint trails and noticed they were drawn by something in the western regions," Bonz exined.

    "Pardon my interjection, Young Master," Puxi suddenly interjected before adding, "This might be my guess, but this servant thinks the other human tribes might be responsible for drawing the demons'' attention."

    "If the humans were responsible for drawing the demons away from this sea region, then they must be gathering for a big battle with the demons¡­" Zion muttered before saying, "We should also head over and join the effort."

    However, the Extremity-rank Battle Masters immediately advises him otherwise.

    "That would not be a good idea, Young Master. The demons have an overwhelming advantage over us in terms of numbers and strength."

    "That''s right, Young Master. Even if we join the battle, we will only suffer a tragic loss with the rest of the tribes."

    "Then what do you all suggest? That we should just ignore them and let them die all?" Zion frowned.

    "Not at all, Young Master," Bonz shook his head and said, "However, the situation truly looks bad for humans."

    "This servant doesn''t know what the tribes are nning, but if we want to turn the situation around, our best bet will be the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance."

    "That''s right, Young Master. We can''t go against the demons'' army head-on until we acquire the adequate strength needed to defeat them," another servant added.

    After the servants persuaded Zion, they sessfully convinced him into believing that the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance was their only hope.

    "It seems we have no choice but to enter the Bone Sea and look for the inheritance¡­" Zion muttered.

    "However, we don''t know the difficulty of the Demon Emperor-level Tomb nor the dangers of the Bone Sea. Thus, we will give up on the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance and head west if I deem it is impossible to obtain. Is that understood?"

    "Yes, Young Master!" the servants answered.

    "Good. Half of you will stay and watch over Uncle Jizo; the rest of you, with me."

    ¡­

    At the shore of the Bone Sea lies a field of strange bubble nts.

    Although these bubble nts look like big bamboo shoots, they have air bubbles attached to their tips.

    And when these air bubbles are detached, new air bubbles would form in their ce.

    "Although I don''t doubt that everyone can hold their breath for at least half a short incense''s worth of time, we will most likely spend much longer underwater, so we better use these air bubbles."

    "Yes, Young Master!"

    Shortly after Zion and his ten Extremity-rank Battle Master servants equipped the air bubbles like helmets, they dove into the Bone Sea.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Bone Sea, Central Region.

    At roughly 4000ft below sea level, the seawater greatly stirred with movements in the deepwater world devoid of light, and powerful water currents moved like swift serpents.

    The battle between demons and sea monsters took ce in this sea region, but it wasn''t the type of battle that just any demon and sea monster could join.

    The powerful water currents generated from the fists of Arch Demons and the body sweeps of Arch Demon-level sea monsters could easily smash Lesser Demon-level beings to death.

    "Dammit! Get lost!" an Evil Eye Arch Demon roared.

    The Evil Eye Arch Demon threw a fist at the Arch Demon-level Sea Serpent in his way.

    However, the Arch Demon-level Sea Serpentshed out with an equally powerful tail sweep and countered the Evil Eye Arch Demon''s water fist cannon.

    Two powerful water currents shed, and the entire sea region shook from the outburst of vibration.

    Some distance away from the explosion''s epicenter, several other Arch Demons from the Nine Great ns battled with giant Arch Demon-level sea monsters of their own.

    With surging water currents frequently shing chaotically, the whole sea region was a death zone for those even a littlecking in strength.

    Greater Demons could not evene close, let alone Lesser Demons.

    "These sea monsters are too tenacious and slippery, making them hard to kill! Our predecessors also reached this point before failing to advance deeper!"

    A ck Jackal Arch Demon gritted its teeth with frustration.

    The ck Jackal Arch Demon could sense the presence of a Demon King-level Tomb rted to his ancestry nearby as it resonated with his blood.

    But no matter how hard the ck Jackal Arch Demon pushed forward, the Arch Demon-level sea monsters repelled it more fiercely as if they were guarding the Demon King-level Tomb.

    "Lord Yakshan! Are you sure there''s a Demon King-level Tomb in this area?!" an Arch Demon-level Red-Horn Orc barked with doubts.

    Its powerful voice rippled with energy and quickly reached the Evil Eye Arch Demon''s ears.

    "Are you doubting my evil eye?!" Lord Yakshan snorted.

    Even in a lightless world like the depth of the Bone Sea, Lord Yakshan''s third eye could pierce through theyers of darkness and see everything as clear as day.

    The seabed could not be seen, but the mid-level sea region was not aplete body of water.

    Lord Yakshan''s third eye could see enormous earthen pirs a little deeper below at a depth of around 5000-6000fts.

    And on one of those enormous earthen pirs was arge temple enclosed in a protective barrier that wards off the seawater from flooding into it.

    ¡­

    While the Arch Demons in the area were preupied with the Arch Demon-level sea monsters, a ghostly figure descended the depths of the Bone Sea a few miles from their location, reaching an even greater depth than the Arch Demons.

    When enormous sea monsters tried to attack or evene close, the ghostly figure''s eyes would shine with a deathly violet glow and force them to swim away due to unbearable headaches.

 Chapter 759 - World Of Behemoths

    <h4>Chapter 759 - World Of Behemoths</h4>

    Although the vast number of sea monsters dwelling in the depths of the Bone Sea had powerful strength and physiques, they were weak against attacks on their soul.

    Under Duna''s soul suppression, the sea monsters couldn''t bear it and fled.

    Duna continued her descent without difficulty, shooing away any and every sea monster that dared to cross her path.

    Nevertheless, the deeper she went, the stronger the sea monsters appeared.

    At 10,000fts sea depth, Duna could only see Mid Arch Demon-level sea monsters as big as the human kingdom''s pces.

    At 20,000fts sea depth, she finds Late Arch Demon-level sea monsters as big as the street blocks in human cities.

    At 40,000fts sea depth, although few in numbers, only Peak Arch Demon-level sea monsters of various sizes thrived.

    Furthermore, it was no longer a lightless world.

    Glowing moss and other vegetation growing on the earthen spikes illuminated the sea region at this level of depth.

    This continues all the way down to the bottom seabed at roughly 50,000fts, where even more exotic types of glowing vegetation and nts thrived.

    The biggest Peak Arch Demon-level sea monster Duna encountered almost tripled the size of Late Arch Demon-level sea monsters.

    They were simply behemoths.

    Without special means, it was almost impossible for any demon below the level of a Demon Lord to make it to the bottom of the Bone Sea.

    ''People assumed demons are the most frightening in this world, but little did they know that the most frightening creatures actually live in the depth of the sea.''

    Duna marveled at the enormity of a Peak Arch Demon-level blue octopus.

    The Peak Arch Demon-level sea monsters like the blue octopus in front of Duna were so enormous that they didn''t care for puny existences like her.

    Nevertheless, the most frightening aspect of Peak Arch Demon-level sea monsters wasn''t their enormous size nor their unfathomable strength.

    These enormous entities have low intelligence despite their mighty strength; they didn''t cultivate to be Peak Arch Demon-level existences.

    They simply lived and became Peak Arch Demon-level existences.

    ''This octopus must have lived for at least 100-thousand years¡­but this wouldn''t make any sense ording to the current world''s knowledge¡­'' Duna spected.

    ''Without the aid of life-extending pills and treasures, the average lifespan of an unbound Celestial is only 10-thousand years, yet a creature below the Celestial Realm has lived for at least 100-thousands years?''

    Duna was puzzled by her own spection.

    Perhaps the Peak Arch Demon-level didn''t live for 100-thousands years; it just gave off the impression that it did.

    While searching for the Demon Emperor-level Tomb, Duna''s gaze fell on the moss and green vegetation growing on the earthen pirs and seabed.

    ''The energy of life and wood is especially prevalent in this region¡­ How they are thriving in this devoid of sunlight; I do not know. These earth pirs are also not natural,'' Duna thought with a frown.

    The bottom of the Bone Sea has many strange points of interest.

    The overabundant life and wood energy allowing the moss and vegetation to thrive without sunlight, the unnaturally formed earth pirs over 40-thousand feet tall, and the sea monsters'' seemingly old age.

    They were all strange points.

    ''Never mind. Leon might be interested in understanding these things, but not me. The Demon Emperor-level Tomb is more important.''

    Duna focused on her objective.

    Among the green vegetation growing on the seabed, Duna also found the temples, pces, and mausoleums containing the resting ce of Demon King-level beings.

    They weren''t big enough to hold any trials, but they were all protected by strange barriers.

    Nevertheless, Duna shows no interest in any of them; she only seeks the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance.

    ''Eternal Night Demon Emperor¡­or rather, the Eternal Night Demon Empress should be a descendent of the Eternal Night Devil Empress. If her body is well preserved, I should be able to use her blood and flesh to reachpletion in my Devil Spirit Physique.''

    Half an hourter, Duna scoured the seafloor but still failed to locate the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s tomb.

    Each tomb on the seafloor had a distinctive aura that allowed Duna to determine the level of inheritance contained within.

    But no matter which tomb Duna came across, their distinctive aura did not exceed the level of Demon King.

    Nevertheless, Duna did not give up on her search.

    ''Seems like the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inheritance is not the location in the central sea region, so I will have to search the other sea regions as well.''

    ''How bothersome.'' Duna frowned.

    Locating the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s tomb in the central region had been a fruitless endeavor; the demons'' assumption on the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s tomb location had been wrong from the start.

    Shortly after taking onest look at her surrounding, Duna left the central sea region to search in the other sea regions.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In the west outer perimeters of the Abyssal Wood Forest, the Saresha and her nsmen continued to cultivate the Godfiend Body Forging Method in the medicinal bath as per their lord''s instruction.

    Even so, they could not retain their focus for long before getting distracted by the spatial phenomenon in the forest.

    "Such a big spatial storm like this has never happened in the secret realm before and will surely attract everyone''s attention. Will we be alright if we stay here?" a dark fae voiced her concern.

    Saresha knitted her brows and surveyed their surroundings.

    Although the medicinal bath was not out in the open, it was not exactly hidden either; passing humans or demons will notice them.

    Saresha''s frown deepened.

    The Dark Fae n was caught in an awkward predicament where they could be attacked by humans or used by the other demons.

    "Although our lord said he is siding with the humans, the humans might not know that we are with our lord. Thus, we will need to hide until our Lord returns. This is not a good ce to stay."

    Saresha made the call.

    The rest of the dark faes were hesitant initially, but they eventually followed Saresha''s lead and covered up the medicinal bath with leaves.

    Then, they headed into the Abyssal Wood Forest to hide with their cultivation resources.

    Not long after, Greater Demons appeared in the vicinity.

 Chapter 760 - Arriving Demons

    <h4>Chapter 760 - Arriving Demons</h4>

    "What a spectacle. The spatial storm is even more fascinating up close," a female Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon remarked while peering into the distant sky.

    "I believe the best view would be right under it, Lord Ishtalir," another Greater Demon from the same n spoke with an ingratiating look.

    However, the Greater Demon was one rank lower than Lord Istalir, who was a High-rank Greater Demon.

    "Enough, Lord Geramut. We did note for sightseeing," Lord Celimurt gave the bootlicker a side nce before stating, "We''vee to investigate the spatial storm."

    "That''s right. And just sensing its sheer power, I am more convinced that the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s tomb will emerge from it," a Scaly-tailed Lizard Greater Demon

    At the bank of the Bone Sea''s east outer rim, two dozen Greater Demons and two hundred Lesser Demons showed up while more demons were still on their way.

    Among the leading group, three Greater Demons were at the High-rank, nine at the Mid-rank, and twelve at the Low-rank.

    "There are no humans around here," The ck Jackal Greater Demon Setma confirmed with his sharp sense of smell.

    "Nevertheless, don''t let your guards down. Humans must have flocked to the spatial storm before us in even greater numbers. As for their strength, they shouldn''t be too weak either."

    One of the other three High-rank Greater Demon warned.

    Shortly after, the demon group advanced towards the Abyssal Wood Forest when the ck Jackal Greater Demon suddenly stopped.

    "Hold up."

    "What is it, Setma? Did you pick up the humans'' scent?" Lord Ishtalir questioned.

    However, the ck Jackal Greater Demon shook his head.

    "No, it''s not the humans'' scent, Lord Ishtalir; it''s our people''s scent¡ªor rather, the scent of their blood, and a very pungent one at that!" Setma replied with a deep frown.

    A short whileter, the demon group found the several hundred missing Lesser Demons on a patch of barrennd, where their corpses were left to rot.

    Dark crows swooped down, and earthworms crawled out of the earth; both came to feast on Lesser Demons'' corpses.

    "Hmph, I heard a low-ranking member of the Evil Eye n sent these Lesser Demons to investigate the disturbance, and as I can see, that demon truly has the brain of a rock."

    "But rocks don''t have brains¡­"

    "Exactly."

    "Oh."

    Although the pile of corpses unsettled some of the demons, the demon group eventually moved on under the three High-rank Greater Demons'' lead.

    "There''s a strong scent of medicine here. It seems like someone tried to hide. This level of recovery is slightly better than a Greater Demon''s regenerative ability. Too bad it''s been contaminated by some lowly dark faes¡­"

    The ck Jackal Greater Demon uncovered the leaves and studied the medicinal bath left behind by Saresha''s group.

    Although the medicinal bath still carries a strong medicinal scent, the dark faes'' impurity and bad blood had mixed with the bathwater after repeated breakthroughs, turning it into a murky color.

    "No matter how desperate I am, there''s no way I would ever drink the dark faes'' bathwater. What a waste of the secret realm''s natural resources," Lord Ishtalir frowned.

    Drinking such filthy water would bring shame on any demon''s honor and damage their n''s prestige.

    "Hmph! If I see anyone from the Dark Fae n, I will kill them. Wasting natural resources like this, it''s no wonder they are at the bottom of the demon n rankings; they don''t know to use natural resources!"

    Lord Celimurt snorted.

    ¡­

    A few hundred yards away, a small group of humans prepared to leave the Abyssal Wood Forest when they suddenly froze in their tracks.

    "There are demons here!"

    A High-rank Battle Master eximed in a low yet hushed tone, alerting his fellow tribesmen before quickly hiding behind the ashen trees.

    "How many demons do you see, chief? What about their strengths?" a Low-rank Battle Master whispered.

    However, the High-rank Battle Master shook his head.

    "It''s impossible to gauge their strength from this distance. However, the demons are definitely not few in numbers. It''s not safe here; we better head back and warn the other tribes."

    "Why should we warn them? It might be better to let the two sides kill each other off, so we can swoop inter and reap the rewards, Chief Gunther," another High-rank Battle Master suggested.

    Chief Gunther immediately furrowed his brows.

    "Although our Valiant Greyhawk Tribe is from the western region and rarely interacts with tribes from the central and southern regions, we are all humans. So it won''t do us any good if the other tribes suffer too much loss."

    ¡­

    While the Valiant Greyhawk Tribe discussed their choices, they did not know that the ck Jackal Greater Demon had already discovered them.

    "What is it this time?" Lord Ishtalir noticed the ck Jackal Greater Demon''s gaze and asked.

    "I''ve found some rats hiding in the forest, and they might even be responsible for the several hundred Lesser Demons'' deaths."

    "How are their numbers, Lord Setma? If they don''t have many people and there aren''t any other human groups in hiding, we have to kill them and avenge our people!"

    A Dark Monkey Lesser Demon clenched its fist while its eyes burned with vengeance.

    Among the several hundred Lesser Demons killed, there were at least thirty members from its Dark Monkey n.

    "There''s only twenty people and no other human groups in hiding. So if you are so eager to take revenge, you can lead the charge," the ck Jackal Greater Demon coolly replied.

    Shortly after the High-rank Greater Demons acknowledge, two hundred Lesser Demons in the group rushes toward the Abyssal Wood Forest while the Greater Demons casually follow behind.

    At the same time, the Valiant Greyhawk Tribe quickly notices the demons''rge movements before their expression changes with great rm.

    "We''ve been discovered! Quickly run!" Chief Gunther quickly warns.

    However, the Valiant Greyhawk Tribesmen did not even wait for him to finish speaking before fleeing ahead.

    As the demons quickly rush into the Abyssal Wood Forest and chase after the fleeing Valiant Greyhawk Tribesmen, the ck Jackal Greater Demon casually nces in a specific direction before continuing with the group.

    Saresha and her nsmen hiding in the trees trembled with rm in that brief moment.

    They got discovered!

    ¡­

 Chapter 761 - Dark Fae Clans Warning

    <h4>Chapter 761 - Dark Fae n''s Warning</h4>

    "What should we do, Saresha? I think we got discovered by that ck Jackal Demon," one of the dark faes sought Saresha''s opinion.

    Although Saresha wasn''t the strongest or the one with the quickest improvement, she was the first follower and unknowingly became the group leader.

    "ck Jackal Demons have a very keen sense of smell; we were definitely discovered since we forgot to hide our smell," Saresha stated.

    "But the Greater Demons ignored us¡­ Maybe there''s a chance¡ª"

    "It''s better not to leave things to chance. It''s better to think that we are too insignificant that the ck Jackal Demons don''t care about us; they rather deal with the humans first. That being said, they might return to interrogate uster."

    "When that happens, we will likely die. There''s no way to exin how we obtained so many demon cores, and even if we try to lie about it, the Greater Demons will see through it. It''s impossible to act calmly under the Greater Demons'' intimidating pressure."

    "Then what should we do? We can''t stay here," another dark fae stated.

    Saresha knitted her brows and pondered hard on a solution that could allow all of them to survive before she came up with one possible yet reckless idea.

    "We fly."

    "Fly?"

    The entire dark fae group tilted their heads in confusion after Saresha said the two words; some werepletely lost while others started to frown with concerns.

    "I don''t think this is a good idea. We were relying on the forest for cover."

    "If we try to flee through the sky, not only will we lose our cover, everyone will clearly see us," another dark fae spoke with a big frown.

    "That''s right, Saresha. I know that we are gifted with the ability to fly from birth, but we aren''t the only race capable of flight. Therefore, we will only be seen and hunted down."

    "Yeah¡­ Flying is not a good idea."

    The dark faes chimed.

    However, they hadpletely misunderstood Saresha''s intention as she shook her head.

    "You have all missed the main point. We aren''t just flying into the sky to escape. After all, we have already pledged our allegiance to our Lord. We are flying into the sky so that our Lord can see us¡ªand when he does, he will know that something is wrong."

    "I understand now. This was clearly a great move; given our Lord''s strength, he will reach us in no time, and we will be able to inform our Lord then without getting attacked by other humans," a dark fae spoke.

    "Yes, even if our Lord doesn''te, our presence in the sky will be enough to alert our Lord of a possible problem. Then, we can either follow our Lord or hide in the clouds afterward," Saresha added.

    Once Saresha convinced everyone of the n, she said, "Let''s not waste any more time and take flight. The sooner our Lord sees us, the sooner our Lord will be aware of the demons."

    "Alright," the dark faes nodded.

    Not long after, they followed Saresha''s lead and flew into the sky.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Back in the center of the Abyssal Wood Forest, shortly after dealing with the hostile tribes, Leon regrouped with Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    Then, they shifted their attention to the tribes gathering in the area that had yet to make their move.

    The various tribes seemed to havee to an agreement on their end and banded together before they prepared to negotiate with Leon.

    But before they could even speak, Leon''s clear voice reached them first.

    "Everyone who hase, whatever you think the spatial storm above us is, it''s not what you think! That''s my woman''s Spatial Phenomenon, a woman''s Spatial Phenomenon; a special type of natural phenomena formed when an Awakener achieves Transcendence in awakening cultivation!"

    Leon rified loud and clear for the various human tribes to understand and extinguish any doubt that it was something other than stated.

    However, his words alone were not enough to convince the various tribes.

    After the tribal leaders and chiefs paused and whispered among themselves, one of them shouted, "And why should we believe what you say?!"

    "Because it is the truth! And if you force your way in and put my woman''s breakthrough at risk of failing, whether you are humans or demons, I will cut you all down like the previous tribe that foolishly attempted to do so!"

    Leon''s words contained his warning and killing intent, but his threat only made the various tribe leaders and chiefs frown with dark looks.

    "How arrogant! Do you really think you can stand a chance against all of us?!"

    "Whether I can or can''t doesn''t matter; once you cross the line and put my woman''s breakthrough at risk, I will use every fiber of my being to destroy you!" Leon shouted.

    When the various tribe leaders and chiefs saw his fierce gaze, they hesitated, fearing that he would stay true to his words.

    Even if they won, it might not be worth the potential losses incurred in their conflict.

    "What do you guys think? Does anyone believe Young Master Leonhardt is telling the truth about the spatial storm?"

    The chief of the Moonglow Falcon Tribe turned towards the other tribe leaders and chiefs and sought their opinions.

    A tribe leader nced at Leon''s fierce gaze in the distance before he said, "Well, it doesn''t seem like he is lying; it may very well be the truth."

    "But I''ve never heard or even seen these so-called natural phenomena before. What kind of cultivation is this?"

    Although shamans are respected in the Infertile ins, there were rarely any cases of one reaching Transcendence.

    Thus, many tribes were clueless about it.

    Nevertheless, while the various tribe leaders and chiefs talked among themselves, Chief Skyhawk sat on the sideline and tended to his injured tribesmen, unwilling to be a part of their coalition.

    He was already spared once by the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman; he will not make the same mistake again.

    "Hm?"

    While Leon waited on the various tribe leaders and chiefs'' responses, he suddenly noticed the dark faes in the eastern sky of the forest.

    ''Why are the dark faes flying in the sky¡­? Don''t tell me they''ve met with trouble and are trying to warn me of it? Is it the demons? So they were also attracted after all.''

    Leon only frowned for a short moment before his eyes flickered with understanding.

    The dark faes had sessfully conveyed their warning.

 Chapter 762 - The Dark Faes Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 762 - The Dark Faes'' Discovery</h4>

    Nevertheless, Leon was not the only person who noticed the dark faes in the distant sky; his line of sight drew other gazes in the same direction.

    However, their reactions werepletely different from his.

    "Demons! The spatial storm also attracted the demons!" Chief Skyhawk eximed before warning the others, "Keep your eyes open, everyone! The demons are scouting us!"

    "What? Demons?"

    "Where are the demons?"

    The mention of demons immediately alerted the gathered tribes; many pairs of eyes darted around, studying the vicinity before locking onto the dark faes in the eastern sky.

    They narrowed their eyes in scrutiny shortly after.

    "This number¡­ There are around fifty demons, and if these demons are only scouts, there must be much more of them on the way."

    "We need to gather our forces and organize our troops; we can expect a big battle ahead of us."

    "Agreed."

    The tribe leaders and chiefs quickly reached a tacit understanding before facing Leon.

    "Young Master Leonhardt, we will put our matters aside for now. Let us work together to fight off the demons first."

    "Sure."

    Although the gathered tribes and Leon had problems with each other, they were easily united once outside forces threatened them.

    When Aria intended to take out the ''scouts'' with her conjured ice-lightning swords, Leon immediately stopped her.

    "Don''t attack them. Those dark faes are my people," Leon stated.

    "Them?" Aria was surprised before seeking further confirmation, "The demon raising you mentioned are them?"

    "Yep, they are the ones," Leon admitted with a nod.

    "Uhuh¡­ So how did you subdue dark faes? And why the sudden interest? You''re not doing this because they are pretty, right? Are you nning to introduce even demons into the harem?"

    "Yes¡ªI mean, no!" Leon quickly shooks his head and denied the usation, "It''s not like that! I''m raising them to blend in with the demons and explore the Bone Seater."

    "Is that so?" Aria looked half-convinced, but she quietly whispered with a small blush, "If you feel like it''s building up too much down ''there,'' you can always look for me to help you relieve it¡­"

    "I said it''s not like that, Aria¡­" Leon smiles wryly, not knowing whether tough or cry, but he epts her considerate offer, "But remember, that is what you said. So don''t back out on me when the timees."

    "Hmph, why would I? I''m not afraid." Aria responded defiantly, unwilling to look weak in front of Leon.

    "Alright, alright. We''ll continue this talk another time," Leon appeases her with a wry smile before bing serious in the next moment. "The demons areing. I need to let the dark faes know I have received their message."

    Shortly after Leon said that, he shoots arge fire arrow into the sky.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Saresha and the dark faes held their high altitude in the sky for some time before they began to doubt if their presence was enough to alert their lord.

    "Is our Lord ising? Did he get our message? Or does he not see us? Our Lord should be able to see us from there, right?" a dark fae raised her concerns.

    At their altitude, they could see the situation in the center of the Abyssal Wood Forest; there shouldn''t be any reason why their lord couldn''t see them.

    But without any response from their lord, it wasn''t strange for their doubts to fester.

    Nevertheless, it didn''t take too long before Saresha and the other dark faes saw Leon''s fire arrow shooting up into the sky.

    "Our Lord has received and understood our warning; that fire arrow must be our Lord''s signal, telling us to hide in the clouds," Saresha stated.

    "I see¡­ But does our Lord wish for us to join the impending battle with the demons?"

    "With our current strength, we have no right to participate in the battle. Our Lord understands that and doesn''t want us to throw away our lives¡ªWell, this is what I think anyway."

    When Saresha said that, all the good feelings the dark fae had from their body cultivation progress disappeared without a trace.

    "We are still too weak and will only get in our Lord''s way; let us go hide in the clouds," Saresha said.

    Shortly after, the dark faes followed Saresha''s lead and disappeared into the dark clouds above the Abyssal Wood Forest.

    However, they didn''t ascend for smashing their heads into something solid and suffering concussions from the impact, nearly falling out of the sky.

    "Aiyoo, my head¡­!"

    Saresha and other dark faes all eximed while holding their foreheads with painful expressions, followed by their confusion.

    W-what''s going on? There''s something hidden in the clouds!"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Valiant Greyhawk Tribe failed to escape the demons'' pursuit in the eastern side of the Abyssal Wood Forest and got ughtered down to thest man.

    "Fortunately, these humans didn''t make it far. It would have been troublesome if they alerted their other humans of our presence," Lord Celimurt casually remarked before adding, "Perhaps we should have kept a few alive to interrogate them."

    "True. We don''t know how humans have been gathered in this forest," Lord Geramut added.

    "Dark faes were hiding near the forest outskirts. We can back head and question them; they might know how many humans there are," Lord Setma stated.

    However, the ck Jackal Greater Demon''s statement immediately puts a frown on Lord Ishtalir''s face.

    "There dark faes in hiding? Why didn''t you mention it earlier?" Lord Ishtalir questioned.

    "I didn''t see the need to at the time since we were catching the escaping humans, Lord Ishtalir," Lord Setma replies before adding, "It''s not like those lowly dark faes will do or can do anything to us."

    "Didn''t see the need to? Can''t do anything to us? Have you forgotten how several hundreds of Lesser Demons have died? Given the conflict between humans and demons, how can these dark faes stay alive? It didn''t ur to you that them being alive is very strange?"

    "This¡­ Now that Lord Ishtalir mentions it, I also find it rather strange¡­ But no matter how strange it is, the dark faes wouldn''t side with humans¡­"

    "Hmph, we don''t know that for sure! Perhaps they have alreadypromised our position and fled! Where were they?" Lord Ishtalir questioned with a stern look.

 Chapter 764 - Three Arch Demons

    <h4>Chapter 764 - Three Arch Demons</h4>

    Of course, Final Spear is only meant to be used as ast resort with the intent of killing opponents in a single move.

    After all, it was sphemy to spear-users to throw away their weapons.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s reveal also surprised Aria.

    "Where did you find the time to learn a spear technique like this?" Aria inquired with a curious look.

    Although Aria had not always been around Leon, she followed him for some time. And during that time, she had never seen Leon demonstrate such a move until now.

    "I''m always training via virtual simtions in my mind while I do other things with my body. Even now, I am training in my mind," Leon casually answered with a smile.

    He had too many abilities; he wouldn''t be able to train them all using normal methods.

    Nevertheless, his dual consciousness only allowed him to perform up to two tasks at maximum efficiency simultaneously.

    Although it was possible to divide his consciousness to perform even more tasks, doing so would only drastically reduce his training efficiency to the point where it would even be slower than performing two tasks normally.

    Even so, Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman were stunned when Leon told them about his virtual simtion training.

    "Huh? Is something like that even possible?" Aria muttered with surprise.

    "It is definitely not something most people can do unless they have a powerful soul, but it''s you; I believe you can increase your training efficiency via this method with some practice¡ªthough, not on the same level as me, Aria."

    "Hmph! I don''t believe it; I will definitely prove you wrong!" Aria pouted at once, irked by his words.

    Leon smiled and shook his head helplessly before saying, "You can try, but I don''t have any tips to give you, Aria. You can only practice the habit on your own, and it won''t be easy either. It''s more demanding than simple multitasking."

    "Young Master Leonhardt, if this old man may ask; if you had such a strong spear technique, why hadn''t you used it in the Demon King-level Tomb?"

    "I couldn''t," Leon simply answered.

    "Young Master Leonhardt couldn''t use it before, but Young Master Leonhardt could use it now?" the One-Eyed Venerable muttered with confusion.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman recalled Leon''s dark power before asking, "Does it have something to do with the power of darkness earlier?"

    "Precisely," Leon nodded.

    He reveals his dark power, allowing it to wrap around his hand and dance like a small serpent of darkness.

    "This is divine cultivation, and many battle skills require it to be executed," Leon exined.

    Unlike his ck Vortex Space, which acts as both an energy bank and energy refiner, the core formed during the breakthrough to Revolve Core Realm was a little different.

    Although it also stores energy, it mainly serves as an engine to execute and bring out the full potential of spirit arts and battle skills.

    "But enough of that, it seems like we don''t have many people gathered on our side," Leon changed the topic.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded before saying, "So it seems."

    After gathering all the tribes that came to the Abyssal Wood Forest, their numbers did not even exceed 300 people.

    "With this many people, it will be difficult to fight the demons," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman adds.

    "Well, the difficulty will depend on how strong the demons are. If their strength is not high, it wouldn''t matter how many of theme¡ªeven if I have to fight alone," Leon calmly stated while facing the east.

    It was unexpected that Leon did not find any other familiar people among the 300 humans gathered in the Abyssal Wood Forest.

    Even Chief Baskara and his tribesmen did not return.

    ''It''s a pity that Baskara Boya and the rest of my tribesmen did not return. Otherwise, we would have a bit more people to join the battle," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said, also thinking what Leon was thinking.

    However, Leon shook his head after hearing the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s words.

    "To begin with, the demons attracted to this forest because of Darlene''s Transcendence. Therefore, I have no choice but to stay, protect, and ensure her safety and sessful breakthrough."

    As Leon said that, he turned to face the other tribe leaders and chiefs eavesdropping nearby before he continued to speak, "However, it is different for everyone else here. You don''t have an obligation to defend this ce. If you all want to leave, you all may."

    "Young Master Leonhardt is thinking too little of this old man. How can this old man leave Young Master Leonhardt behind to brave the dangers alone after receiving so many benefits? This old man isn''t such an ungrateful person."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was the first to speak.

    "We''ve already made a mistake earlier and offended Senior One-Eye and Young Master Leonhardt, so we still stay and fight to atone for that mistake," Chief Skyhawk spoke shortly after.

    However, Chief Skyhawk soon nces are his injured tribesmen briefly before adding, "But my tribesmen are all injured. I''m afraid our assistance will be limited."

    "Since you decided to stay and fight, I will naturally not leave them in such states. Otherwise, how can I live up to my title as a Divine Doctor?" Leon replies.

    He takes out two bottles of Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pills and tosses them over to Chief Skyhawk.

    "Have them each take two pills, and they will recover greatly," Leon said.

    It was unfortunate that [Sacred Garden] wasn''t keeping up with his need for quality spirit herbs.

    Otherwise, a single Tier-4 All-Purpose Healing Pill would have been enough to heal them.

    Nevertheless, Chief Skyhawk was overjoyed to receive anything from Leon after getting on his bad side.

    "Thank you, Young Master Leonhardt," Chief Skyhawk expresses his gratitude with a slight bow.

    Shortly after the tribe leaders and chiefs discussed with their people, they also made their decisions.

    "Apologies, Young Master Leonhardt. The Great Mountain Tribe will not partake in this battle with the demons. Pardon us for taking our leaves."

    "My Deste Tiger Tribe will also not participate in this uing battle with the demons. So please excuse us for also taking our leaves."

    ¡­

    The tribe leaders and chiefs of the tribes that wanted to leave all spoke first and left without looking back.

    Since they aren''tpelled to fight like they initially thought, there was no need to stay and suffer losses.

    Just like that, 220 warriors left the forest center, leaving only the Sky Sword Sect and three other tribes.

    "Why didn''t you guys leave like the others?" Leon nced at the remaining tribe leaders with a curious gaze.

    Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman also expressed their interest in hearing the tribe leaders'' answers.

    "The Western ckriver Tribe came to this forest because we thought a great opportunity was waiting for us here. However, we are staying because we see great potential in you and don''t want you to fall here."

    The leading warrior of the Western ckriver Tribe spoke.

    "The Ember Lion Tribe also stays for the same reason. It''s rare to see such a young Half-step Battle King. If we make it through this ordeal, remember that the Ember Lion Tribe wishes to befriend you, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "And so does the Cold Gale Tribe," thest representative added.

    None of them were chiefs of their respective tribe, but they all admired Leon''s feat at such young age.

    "You''ll risk your lives just to befriend?" Leon smiled with doubt and slightly shook his head before saying, "Regardless of your reasons, we''ll be brothers on the battlefield."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "My lords, you''ve arrived!"

    Lord Ishtalir and the rest of the demons knelt and greeted the main force upon their arrival at the eastern outskirts of the Abyssal Wood Forest.

    Three Arch Demons led the 2000-strong demon army at the hem of the main force, and among them were at least 700 Greater Demons.

    Although it wasn''t the entirety of the demon race inside the secret realm, it wasn''t a force that the humans could hope to defeat¡ªif their strength was still the same as the start of the secret realm opening, that is.

    "Why are there so many demon corpses here? What the hell is that about? Quickly exin the situation!" the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon demanded while exuding a powerful aura.

    Lord Ishtalir immediately felt the Arch Demon''s immense pressure before she became even more respectful.

    Nevertheless, Lord Ishtalir entrusted the task of exining to Lord Celimurt before the three Arch Demons were quickly informed of the situation.

    "I see¡­ This was the work of the humans," the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon nodded after understanding the situation. "We will make them pay for this. But before that, we need to address an immediate problem among us."

    Shortly after saying that, the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon suddenly turned to one of the other two Arch Demons.

    "Lord Kaligan, your nsman was so ipetent that I can''t trust you, a member of the same Evil Eye n, to make wise decisions. You better step down and let a more capable demon lead your army."

    "Bastard, you think I didn''t lose enough face to hear one of my nsmen was responsible for the death of several hundred Lesser Demons? And yet you still dare rub salt into my wounds? If you want to fight, just say so. Don''t think that I am afraid of you, Lord Teshafir!"

    The Evil Eye Arch Demon spoke with a dark and threatening look.

    While the high tension made it seem like the Arch Demons would battle among themselves before battling the humans, Lord Geramut appears beside Lord Ishtalir.

    "None of these three Lord Arch Demons appears to be the leaders¡­ I don''t recognize any of them. Do you, Lord Ishtalir?"

 Chapter 765 - Holy Demon Land

    <h4>Chapter 765 - Holy Demon Land</h4>

    "They''re probably newly ascended Arch Demons," Lord Ishtalir stated after she thought for a bit.

    "Newly ascended Arch Demons¡­ Given the time since the secret realm opened, many demons have ascended to the Greater Demon level¡­ So it does make sense if some Peak-rank Greater Demons also ascended to Arch Demon level."

    Lord Geramut muttered to himself.

    "Nevertheless, since the n leaders and elders didn''te, it shows that the spatial storm wasn''t enough to catch their attention; they still think the Demon Emperor-level Tomb is still in the Bone Sea," Lord Ishtalir stated.

    The demons watch the two Arch Demons bicker when the third Arch Demon, a two-headed cyclops, suddenly snaps at them.

    "Enough! We don''t have the time for this! Resolve your differences another time! We have something more important to do here!"

    "Hmph!"

    Lord Kaligan and Lord Teshafir snorted at each other before fixing their gazes on the spatial storm above the central forest.

    "This spatial storm is extraordinary. Even if it isn''t hiding the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s tomb behind it, there must be a peerless treasure hiding within!" Lord Teshafir blindly guesses.

    "Well, we can only hope so," the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon, Lord Grunganir, spoke.

    "The demon leaders and the rest of the elites didn''t show the slightest interest in the news. Only we were stupid enough to be attracted to some unfounded rumor. Thus, there has to be something; I don''t intend to go back empty-handed."

    "Nevertheless, there are humans in our way. If we want to investigate the spatial storm without interference and obstruction, we must remove the humans first," Lord Kaligan said while spying with his third eye.

    "Then what are we still waiting for? Let us go and remove the flies!" Lord Grunganir said impatiently.

    Not long after the demon army advanced into the Abyssal Wood Forest, Lord Kaligan casually notices one of his nsmen.

    "How did you sustain such an injury?" the Evil Eye Arch Demon casually inquired.

    "It was done by one of the humans while I was scouting. The human revealed very powerful strength and eyesight when the human sniped me from a distance; you should be careful, Lord Arch Demon."

    Lebrantz replied while gritting his teeth with a venomous look.

    "Is that so?" Lord Kaligan did not take Lebrantz''s warning to heart and smiled with interest instead before saying, "Since this human is pretty strong, he should be a good opponent for me. I have yet to test my strength after bing an Arch Demon!"

    As the three Arch Demons casually led the demon army towards the forest center like they were going for a regr stroll, they eventually reached the humans'' location.

    Whether it was demons or humans, they all had inted confidence andcency after reaching a higher level of strength.

    ¡­

    "They''re here!"

    A High-rank Battle Master from the Sky Sword Sect immediately eximed at the first notice of the approaching demon army.

    Many warriors among the four tribes immediately showed tensed and nervous expressions as they stood in a defensive line that they arranged beforehand.

    Leon stood forefront, ahead of everyone else, as he intended to take on the brunt of the demon armys'' attacks while the others guard against sneaky demons that might try to get past him.

    Nevertheless, as the humans faced the demons, the demons also stopped and studied the humans.

    "There''s only this many humans protecting this ce? How disappointing. How can I have any fun when they are so few in numbers? Well, whatever. Let''s just get this over and done with."

    Lord Grunganirmented before raising his hand, preparing to issue the attack order.

    "Kill them all¡ª!"

    "GET LOST OR DIE!"

    Just as the Arch Demon''s order was given, Leon''s amplified voice swept across the demon army and eclipsed the Arch Demon''s own voice.

    Leon''s mighty [Lion''s Roar] rang loud and clear, shaking both heaven and earth, even paralyzing many Lesser Demons in the demon army''s ranks as they stood frozen in their tracks from the intimidation.

    The power of darkness in [Lion''s Roar] rippled across the forest and shook even their souls, suppressing their body and mind and crippling their morale.

    Even some Low-rank Greater Demon was shaken by the powerful voice that overshadowed their Lord Arch Demon''s order.

    Lord Grunganir nced back at the demons'' expressions before his eyes burned with fighting spirit.

    "Interesting¡­ This human is worthy of being my opponent! Don''t interfere; he''s mine¡ª!"

    "Hold it!"

    Lord Kaligan suddenly stopped the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon with a raised hand while facing Leon with a solemn yet respectful gaze as if he was seeing someone important.

    That sliver of dark power just now stirred his power of darkness and slightly suppressed his bloodline! That was something only demons of noble birth could have achieved!

    This person before them was no human; he was a demon!

    A noble demon!

    "Lord Kaligan, I said this human is my opponent! You dare to stop me?" Lord Grunganir grumbled, shing the Evil Eye Arch Demon a displeased look.

    However, Lord Kaligan quickly retorts, "You idiot! Look at the state of our demon army! And did you not sense anything from his power?! Although it was very weak against us, this person''s power can indeed suppress other demons'' powers and bloodlines! He''s a noble demon!"

    "Impossible. Why would there be a noble demon all the out here? Those noble demons, who inherited the bloodline of the Great Devils, never step foot outside of the Holy Demon Land!"

    Lord Grunganir denied the possibility.

    "You can deny it all you want, but his ability to suppress demons with his power of darkness is undeniable proof that he is a descendent of the Great Devils!"

    ¡­

    ''Holy Demon Land? Where is this ce? Is it further south of the demon territory?'' Leon mused after learning some critical information from the Arch Demons'' argument.

    ''I didn''t think that the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness would make other demons mistake me for these so-called noble demons¡­ But seeing their reactions, it seems this Holy Demon Land is very powerful¡­''

    ''And for Arch Demons to be wary of such a ce¡ªor rather, the noble demons that inhabit such a ce, I wonder how strong they actually are¡­ Higher-rank Arch Demons? Or possibly higher? Don''t tell there are actually living Demon Lords in this world?''

    Leon could not help but feel concerned at the thought.

    ''Well, whether it is true or not, there''s no doubt that there are living descendants of the Great Devils¡ªat least ording to what these Arch Demons are saying, but it''s still unconfirmed whether they are true descendants or inherited descendants.''

    ''If it was thetter, then that means the Great Devils had also left their inheritances in this world¡­''

    ¡­

    "Your excellency, if you want to monopolize the secret behind the spatial storm, we won''t fight with you over it. However, why are you siding with the humans?"

    Lord Kaligan suddenly asked Leon as he was deep in thought.

    However, before Leon could answer, the Lord Teshafirughed wickedly, "Kekeke, why does the reason as to why he is siding with the humans even matter? Since he sided with the humans, he is a traitor to the demon race!"

    "The Holy Demon Land wouldn''t me us for killing a traitor! And if we can extract his devil blood for ourselves, then, perhaps, we will even earn the qualification to enter the Holy Demon Land!"

    The Three-Headed Serpent stared at Leon''s body without hiding the greed in its eyes.

    At the same time, Lord Kaligan and Lord Grunganir were startled for a moment before they simrly looked at Leon greedily.

    The spatial storm became the least of their concerns.

    For a short moment, Leon had the sudden thought that he could reason with the demons, but, unfortunately¡­

    "It seems a battle is inevitable."

    Leon took out his Tier-5 Bone Spear and solemnly faced the three Arch Demons with his concentration raised to the max.

    The strength of Arch Demons was not much different from Paragons; the weakest would possess at least 10-million jin strength!

    This level of strength was far greater than what Leon could muster with everything he had, but the big difference did not deter him.

    "Come! Let''s fight!" Leon raised his spear at the Arch Demons and fearlessly provoked them into initiating their attacks.

    "Kek, I don''t know where you get your confidence, but just because I want you as my opponent, it doesn''t actually mean you''re my opponent. You''re too weak! You wouldn''t even be able to hurt my Arch Demon Body unless you use your Tier-5 weapon!"

    Lord Grunganir snickered.

    "Oh?"

    Leon suddenly paused before looking at the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon with interest.

    "Since you are so proud and confident in your Arch Demon Body, why don''t we put it to the test? How about it? Or are you too scared to because you were speaking empty words?"

    Leon attempted to entrap the Arch Demon with his words by putting his spear away and epting the challenge.

    Without surprises, the Two-Headed Cyclops immediately took the bait as it snorted, "Hmph! Cheeky traitor. I know you are trying to goad me, but I have no reason to refuse because your tricks mean nothing in the face of absolute strength!"

    Once the traitor dares toe close to him without a weapon in hand, he will easily catch the traitor and swiftly end the challenge.

    "Don''t interfere!" Lord Grunanir warned the other two Arch Demons.

    "Sure, but his devil blood must be equally divided after you kill him," the two Arch Demons replied with a shrug.

    They don''t care who kills the ''noble demon'' as long as they get the devil blood.

 Chapter 766 - Death Touch

    <h4>Chapter 766 - Death Touch</h4>

    In the back, Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stood in front of the four human tribes, ready to lend their assistance at a moment''s notice.

    Although they wanted to join the battle immediately, they had to respect Leon''s arrangement.

    Arch Demons are on a whole different levelpared to Battle Kings, who only had 5-mil jin strength at the Early rank.

    It would take High-rank Battle Kings to match Early-rank Arch Demons in strength, and against Mid-rank Arch Demons, even Extremity-rank Battle Kings would becking.

    Only Paragons could stand toe-to-toe with Arch Demons.

    ¡­

    As Leon faces the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon, he takes a battle stance and signals the Two-Head Cyclops Arch Demon to initiate his move with a provocative hand gesture.

    His expression was solemn, and his gaze was stern without a single blink,pletely focused on capturing the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon''s movements.

    Arch Demons might be kible, but the slightest mistake would still cost him his life if he isn''t careful.

    He was still far from the level of enduring the full-powered blow of Arch Demons.

    "Cheeky traitor, dare to make this lorde to you? Even if you are a noble demon, you won''t be for long!" Lord Grunganir snarled.

    In the next instance, the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon stomped the ground and shot forward with incredible speed, breaking away from the other two Arch Demons, which was what Leon wanted.

    Even if it was a challenge with the Arch Demon''s pride on the line, there was no telling that the other demons wouldn''t interfere in his one-on-one battle with the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon.

    ''This speed¡­'' Leon narrowed his eyes.

    Although the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon was fast, its speed still fell short of his expectations on Arch Demons.

    ''If he''s only this fast, then he must be strength-based; I am still faster!''

    Leon thought to himself as he evaded the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon''s grasp, dodging the side beforeunching a full-powered fist at the Arch Demon''s ribs.

    Bam!

    The blownded, but Leon felt like he was punching an indestructible metal te.

    "Bahahaha! It''s no use! I''ve already told you that you are too weak to hurt me! Now, do you believe me?! Just give up; it''s futile, bahaha!"

    Lord Grunganirughed as he swiped at Leon again¡ªonly for Leon to dodge again to the other side and strike the other side of his ribcage twice with his fists again.

    Shortly after, Leon quickly retreats to a safe distance before he replies, "What''s the hurry? I''m just getting warmed up."

    "You''re pretty slippery; I''ll give you that," Lord Grunganir admitted that he was not Leon''s match in terms of speed. "But how long can you keep this up?"

    "We''ll see."

    "Hmph."

    The Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon kicks off the ground with a snort, shooting towards Leon again with a burst of speed.

    However, Leon quickly sidesteps behind an ashen tree, disappearing from the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon''s field of vision and forcing the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon to change its flight route midway by springing off another ashen tree nearby.

    Boom!

    Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon uprooted the ashen tree and knocked it flying with its tremendous strength as it shot towards Leon''s hidden location, smashing right through the second ashen tree.

    Leon was nowhere to be seen in the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon''s immediate vision.

    However, it was only for a brief moment before Leon uppercuts the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon from below and kicks off the Arch Demon''s chest.

    It would have been a perfect opportunity for the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon to grab Leon during his uppercut as it left him open.

    Unfortunately, the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon froze with a frown hung on its face due to the pain it felt in thatst blow.

    It differed slightly from the traitorous demon''s previous blows, which did not exceed 3-million jin strength.

    Even thest blow was no stronger than the previous blows, but there was some strange force at work that was able to harm it.

    "What sorcery is this?" Lord Grunganir questioned.

    "Why?" Leon smiled slightly before asking casually, "Did it hurt?"

    "Hmph! Far from it," Lord Grunganir snorted.

    It was too proud to admit it.

    Nevertheless, Lord Teshafir and Kaligan grew impatient from watching the fight, not expecting it to take so long.

    "Stop ying around, Lord Grunganir! You''re wasting our precious time! Do you think the secret realm stays open forever?!"

    "Don''t tell me that you are actually ipetent and can''t even kill this traitorous demon, who is not even at the Arch Demon level like you?!"

    After hearing the two Arch Demons speak, Lord Grunganir''s expression darkened.

    ''Hmph! Ignorant mongrels!''

    The Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon snorted in its heart before facing Leon with a gloomy gaze, filled with annoyance.

    "Face me properly, or do you only know how to run? Since you can''t hurt me, I have already proven my words are true. Therefore, there''s no longer a need to continue this charade."

    The Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon intended to draw its weapon, but Leon immediately rushes towards it.

    "You want to end this duel; I''ll satisfy your wish!" Leon stated.

    He had more or less grown ustomed to the Arch Demon''s strength and defense; dragging out the fight was pointless.

    "Kek."

    The Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon smirked as its word sessfully goaded Leon into taking the initiative to attack.

    Nevertheless, its hand never left its sword handle, and when Leon drew close enough, it immediately its sword in a quick sh, intent on hacking Leon in half in a single instance.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    The vertical upward sh swiped at the empty air as Leon twisted and evaded to the side yet continued to move forward with his body.

    The Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon immediately released its sword after missing, intent on catching Leon''s body with both arms and crushing him to death.

    However, Leon pped the top of the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon''s heads with both hands coated in strong Nihility power.

    Bam!

    After being struck, the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon froze; its soul vanished like candlelight getting snuffed out.

    Plop!

    The Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon''s body dropped to the ground with a heavy thud and remained motionless, causing drastic changes in the other two Arch Demons'' expressions.

    "What!"

 Chapter 768 - Forcing The Arch Demons To Attack

    <h4>Chapter 768 - Forcing The Arch Demons To Attack</h4>

    Meanwhile, as Aria, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, and the rest of the humans in the back witnesses the battle, doubt begins to sprout in some of their hearts.

    "I''ve been hearing the demons calling Young Master Leonhardt a traitorous demon, and I thought there''s no way that''s possible; he looks nothing like any of the demons. However, I''m not so sure anymore after what I am seeing."

    "Right? I also have the same doubts. That blood refining ability and degree of darkness energy control only demons possess¡­ It does make Young Master Leonhardt seem like a demon¡­"

    "But I''ve never heard of any human that can be a demon; I''ve only heard of demonized humans and demonic cultivators¡ªnot to mention, they are usually at the bottom of the hierarchy in demon society unless favored by a high-ranking demon."

    "Maybe Young Master Leonhardt only looks like a human on the surface? Perhaps his demon traits are hidden under his ck leather armor and cloak¡­

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman overheard everything as the tribe warriors quietly discussed the topic, and his heart wavered.

    "Miss Aria, Young Master Leonhardt¡­ He is¡­"

    "He is undoubtedly human, senior."

    Before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman could finish asking, Aria had already answered his query without a shred of doubt in her tone.

    "But the demons are calling Young Master Leonhardt a noble demon," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated before asking with knitted brows, "What is that about?"

    "I''m not so sure either, senior. But from what I''ve observed, Leon''s ability to suppress the weaker demons seems to be a distinctive trait of these so-call noble demons; that might be why the demons have mistaken him for one," Aria answered.

    "I see¡­" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman uttered with a thoughtful look.

    Looking back on the matter, perhaps the young master could use his mistaken identity to infiltrate the demon''s territory in the future and allow them to learn more about the southernnds.

    Nevertheless, it was still extremely risky and dangerous.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had no intention of suggesting such a dangerous task to the young master.

    No matter what, the young master is still the hope of the Seven Tribes Alliance; they couldn''t afford to lose such a person.

    ''Once the secret realm ends, the battle for hegemony in the Infertile ins will enter its peak¡­ How strong do we have to be to stand a chance?''

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman silently mused to himself before shaking his head and focusing on the battle.

    Although Aria was seemingly calm in her speech, she was on edge, ready to jump into the fray at a moment''s notice.

    "Young Master Leonhardt never cease to amaze this old man. Since the young master can easily kill Arch Demons, there''s no need to worry about the young master, Miss Aria. Young Master Leonhardt hasplete control of this battle."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman attempted to reassure Aria.

    However, Aria shook her head and said, "That''s what it seems on the surface, but this control is very delicate like paper-thin ice; the slightest slip up will reverse the entire situation."

    While it was true that Leon could kill Arch Demons, but it was even truer vice versa.

    ¡­

    "Lord Arch Demons, please lend us your strength! We are not this person''s opponent at all!"

    A Mid-rank Greater Demon pleaded to the two Arch Demons while Leon mercilessly cut down their numbers.

    Nevertheless, Teshafir and Kaligan remained unmoved.

    They stood on the spot with folded arms, turning a blind eye to the Greater Demons'' pleas as they coldly observed Leon''s abilities.

    "This is too bizarre¡­ I cannot figure out just how Lord Grunganir died," Teshafir uttered with a frown while wondering, "What exactly did this person use to kill him?"

    "That''s what we are trying to find out, but it seems Greater Demons, alone, are not enough to force out this person''s full strength; he is definitely hiding his real abilities!" Kaligan stated with a solemn look.

    "There''s no other way then; we have to fight!" Teshafir stated before reminding Kaligan, "The Greater Demons areprised of members from the Nine Great ns. We will be held ountable if we let too many of them die."

    "Kekeke, I didn''t expect Lord Teshafir to be afraid of punishments even after bing an Arch Demon. Did your n leader and elders give you a traumatic ass-whooping experience in the past or something?"

    Kaligan ridiculed Teshafir with gratingughter.

    "Hmph!" Teshafir snorted with a dark look and replied in a low tone, "Don''t be ridiculous. Even the n leader will have to think twice about my face before spanking my ass again!"

    "Even if I don''t care about personal punishments, I still have to care about my n''s influence! Do you still think we are the same primitive and barbaric race of the past?!" Teshafir added angrily.

    The world of demons is no lessplicated than the societies of humans.

    They had to take into ount the thoughts and schemes of other demon ns as the skirmishes andpetitions that existed between the Nine Great n predated back to their founding days.

    If a single great demon n draws too much animosity onto itself, it is not difficult for the other eight great demon ns to join forces and remove them from being one of the nine great demon ns.

    And if they were even more ruthless, they could drive the demon n into extinction.

    "Lord Arch Demons, please help us! What are my lords still waiting for?!" another Mid-rank Greater Demon roared with hints of anger in its tone.

    Leon had already ughtered 100 of their kind at that moment, yet the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon and Evil Eye Arch Demon had not made a single move.

    How can the Greater Demons not be furious?

    "Will you only wait for the traitorous demon to wipe us all out before you make your moves, my lords?!" another Greater Demon cried.

    "Watch your tone, demon!" Kaligan snarled before speaking to Teshafir, "You take the left side, and I''ll take his right side¡­ Also, be careful."

 Chapter 770 - Tier-7 Divine Swords Attraction

    <h4>Chapter 770 - Tier-7 Divine Sword''s Attraction</h4>

    Puchi!

    The Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon attempted to p away the Tier-3 Bone Spear with its tail, the toughest part of its body but injured by it instead.

    "Arghh, what the hell!" Teshafir cried.

    He quickly nced at his tail and noticed that the Tier-3 Bone Spear, although not deep, had prated his tail''s defense.

    "How did he break your defense with a Tier-3 weapon? It shouldn''t be possible with a Tier-4 weapon!" Lord Kaligan eximed with wide eyes.

    "How the f*ck would I know?" Teshafir red at the Evil Eye Arch Demon and replied, "Don''t you think I also want to know that, Lord Kaligan?!"

    "Well, at the very least, you got hurt by the person''s weapon, so you should be able to understand something about the person''s attack, no?" Kaligan retorted.

    "This¡­" Teshafir frowned before saying, "This person''s power is clearlycking, but he has an ability that can breach our defenses."

    "Nevertheless, his attacks also expend a lot of energy! He won''t be able to keep this up for¡ª"

    Suddenly, Teshafir froze as he watched Leon draw in the surrounding dark energy in the sky like a ck hole with a bottomless appetite, swallowing anything and everything.

    "Dammit! He''s refueling himself! How can he have such a powerful energy-gathering ability?! Did noble demons have such monstrous talents?!"

    Teshafir was in disbelief.

    To the Arch Demons, Leon''s existence was a never-before-seen anomaly without any apparent weakness other than his low cultivation.

    His recovery speed was simply beyond theirmon sense.

    "Dammit, he''s going after the Greater Demons again! He''spletely treating the Greater Demons like renewable energy sources! We have to stop him!" Kaligan shouted.

    If they let Leon continue to recover his stamina to fight them in peak conditions, they will be exhausted in a battle of attrition.

    "We need to send the Greater Demons away. Not only are they not helpful, but they are also getting in our way!" Teshafir stated before barking at the Greater Demons, "All of you, go kill the humans!"

    "Yes, Lord Arch Demon!"

    The Greater Demons immediatelyplied with Teshafir''s order, some with relieved expressions while others directly rejoiced.

    In their minds, the humans were definitely easier targets than the noble demon, who has be their worse nightmare.

    The humans wouldn''t be staying in the back otherwise.

    "Go! Kill the humans!" Ishtalir bellowed.

    "Kill!!!"

    ¡­

    "Here theye!" Aria quickly alerted.

    As the Greater Demons charged at the human side''s defensive line, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stood at the forefront.

    "Allow this old man to take them on! Miss Aria, please assist this old man from the back, and the rest of you, don''t let the stragglers slip past you!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman directed.

    "Understood, Senior One-Eye!" Chief Skyhawk and the other tribe leaders responded.

    Not long after, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman dived into the roughly 550-strong army of Greater Demons with his Tier-5 Buster Sword firmly gripped.

    "Arrogant human dares to challenge us alone? Let me send you one your way!"

    A High-rank Greater Demon shouted as it rushed ahead of the group to fight the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman headed on with its Tier-6 Greatsword.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s Half-step Battle King aura exploded as he swung his Tier-5 Buster Sword at High-rank Greater Demon with all his might.

    "Begone, demon!!!"

    Peng!

    The two giant swords shed before the tremendous force mmed the Tier-6 Greatsword back into the High-rank Greater Demon''s body, crushing its chest bones and sting into the army of Greater Demons behind it.

    Pufft!

    The High-rank Greater Demon spurted blood as it mmed into several Greater Demons, breaking more bones and knocking them all down.

    "Careful! This human''s strength is even greater than Peak-rank Greater Demons!" Ishtalir warned.

    The 550-odd Greater Demons quickly paused in their tracks with wary looks, not expecting for there to also be someone strong among the humans.

    Nevertheless, it was only a brief moment of hesitation before a Peak-rank Scaly-Tailed Monkey Greater Demon stepped forward.

    "All Peak-rank Greater Demons and High-rank Greater Demons, gather to my side! We will take on this human together! As for the rest of you, take care of the other humans!"

    The Peak-rank Scaly-Tailed Monkey Greater Demonmanded.

    Nevertheless, the Peak-rank scaly Tailed Monkey Greater Demoncked the charisma tomand all the Greater Demons as they hesitated.

    After acknowledging other Peak-rank Greater Demons from their respective demon ns, the Greater Demons finallyplies and organize their ranks ordingly.

    "Hmph!"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman snorted before lunging towards the dividing groups of Greater Demons heading for the four tribes.

    "Where do you think you are all going?! Your opponent is me!"

    "No, we are your opponents!"

    The Peak-rank Greater Demons and High-rank Greater Demons quickly surrounded the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and cut off his path.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s momentum did not so slow down.

    "Out of my way! Horaaa!!"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman bellowed while making a horizontal sweep with his Tier-5 Buster Sword at the Peak-rank Greater Demons, smashing them all out of his way with brute force.

    Bones broke, armor shattered, and weapons chipped.

    However, such weapons also included the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s Tier-5 Buster Sword, which couldn''tpare to the Greater Demons'' Tier-6 weapons obtained from the secret realm''s tombs.

    At the same time, High-rank Greater Demons quickly refilled the opening and cut off the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s path once more.

    "Pesky demons, you dare you to damage my lifelong partner to this state," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman frowned at the big chip in his Tier-5 Buster Sword that threatens to snap in half.

    "I''ll leave the rest to you and the others, Miss Aria."

    Shortly after saying that, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman threw himself into the crowd of Peak-rank Greater Demons and High-rank Greater Demon, cing his entire focus on them as he searched for a new weapon.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    A wave of cold energy immediately halted the Mid-rank Greater Demons'' advance as Aria warded them off with ice-lightning swords.

    At the same time, she raised her Tier-7 Divine Sword and captured everyone''s attention with a single divine swing.

    Shinggg!

 Chapter 771 - Blooming Of The Fiery Ice Lotus

    <h4>Chapter 771 - Blooming Of The Fiery Ice Lotus</h4>

    The wave of Sword Intent immediately cleaved apart the 300-odd Greater Demons of the Mid-rank and below, separating them into two parts while killing a dozen Low-rank to Mid-rank Greater Demons in the process.

    "A Tier-7 Divine Weapon!"

    The Mid-rank Greater Demons eximed loudly with startling surprises and realization the moment Aria revealed the Tier-7 Divine Sword''s natural divine aura.

    "What? A Tier-7 Divine Sword?" a Peak-rank Greater Demon uttered, distracted by the distant exmations as it turned its heard to look.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman took that opportunity to cut down the Peak-rank Greater Demon and takes its Tier-6 ck Rod for himself.

    Although unfortunate, the Peak-rank Greater Demon was not the only one distracted by the outcry; everyone was distracted as they revealed greedy glints in their eyes.

    Even the Arch Demons further away was distracted by themotion.

    ''A Tier-7 Divine Sword!'' Teshafir and Kaligan''s eyes glowed with greed.

    In the Eternal Night Secret Realm, Tier-5 Artifacts were the mostmon among the inheritance, followed by Tier-6 Artifacts, which weren''t exactlymon but not rare either.

    However, Tier-7 Divine Artifacts were so rare that practically not a single demon owned them.

    Leon frowned at the Arch Demons'' reaction to the Tier-7 Divine Sword before he took the initiative to attack them.

    Final Spear - Spear Piercing the Heavens!

    Another one of Leon''s Tier-3 Bone Spears was hurled at Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon, whom he deemed to be the easier target of the two Arch Demons as it was unarmed.

    However, the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon quickly evaded the Tier-3 Bone Spear, no longer daring enough to face Leon''s attack head-on again.

    "Hmph! We''ll deal with youter!" Teshafir snorted.

    Shortly after, Teshafir and Kaligan shot in Aria''s direction, intent to wrestle the Tier-7 Divine Sword from her for their own use.

    "Come back here! I am your opponent!" Leon bellowed.

    He already suspected the Arch Demons'' intention on Aria''s Tier-7 Divine Sword and immediately gave chase, quickly catching up to the Arch Demons and attacking them from behind.

    However, the Arch Demons were also prepared for his attacks and suddenly turned around to receive them.

    Ding!

    Leon''s Tier-6 Halberd made slight contact with the Evil Eye Arch Demon''s Tier-6 Rapier before getting flung back by a strong force, almost making Leon lose grip of his weapon.

    "Kekeke, it seems like you care a lot about thatss," the Evil Eye Arch Demon chuckled coldly.

    Shortly after, it said to the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon, "Why don''t you keep this traitorous noble demon busy while I go and take the Tier-7 Divine Weapon, Lord Teshafir? It''s not like you have any arms to use it anyway."

    "Hmph! Even I can''t use it as well as others, can''t I add it to my collection? In any case, I''m not letting you have it, Lord Kaligan!" Teshafir replied spitefully.

    The Tier-7 Divine Weapon was too valuable for the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon to let it fall in the Evil Eye n''s possession; it would give them too much power on top of what they already have.

    Nevertheless, Kaligan was incensed by the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon''s response.

    "Now is not the time to bicker over ownership! We need the Tier-7 Divine Weapon to y this traitorous noble demon!" Kaligan bellowed angrily before growling at Leon''s iing spear, "Grrr, piss off!"

    Final Spear - Spear Piercing the Heavens!

    Kaligan deflected the jet-ck Tier-3 Bone Spear with his Tier-6 Rapier, causing another chip to appear in it.

    "Is this the only move you know or something, you bastard¡ª?!" Kaligan roared furiously at his weapon''s damage.

    Blooming of the Fiery Ice Lotus!

    The Evil Eye Arch Demon''s words were cut short as Leon followed up with another attack, tossing an illusory-looking blue lotus, a product of fusing the Ice Law and Fire Law, at the Arch Demon.

    Gravity!

    Leon further pressured both Arch Demons with increased gravity to receive the illusory-looking blue lotus.

    "Insignificant tricks!" Kaligan roared as he hacked at the illusory-looking blue lotus with his damaged Tier-6 Rapier.

    However, the moment the seemingly gentle and harmless blue lotus split in half, it erupted with terrifying cold and fiery energy, engulfing both Arch Demons in an instance!

    "Arghhh!" they cried in pain.

    Their shadows quickly shot out of the burning cold region before patting and rolling to smother the blue mes on their bodies.

    "What kind of ursed ability is this?! Is this fire or ice?! Which is it?" Teshafir bellowed painfully but failed to snuff out the blue mes immediately.

    "Use your dark power to put it out!"

    Teshafir listened to Kaligan''s quick instruction before overwhelming the blue me with raw power and snuffing it out.

    At the same time, the affected region continued to burn and freeze intermittently without any signs of ending any time soon.

    "What a fearsome ability!" Kaligan stated.

    Although no burns or wounds were left on their bodies, the pain they experienced was akin to burning in purgatory.

    While they were preupied with the burning cold patch ofnd and trees, the Evil Eye Arch Demon suddenly received a cold yet burning pain on his back.

    A stray wave of Sword Intent had struck it, leaving a long but shallow wound.

    "Arghhh!" Kaligan growled in pain, nheless.

    Shortly after, he turned his venomous gaze on Aria in the distance before roaring, "Damn you, human! I''ll kill you first!"

    Boom!

    The Evil Eye Arch Demon shot towards Aria with explosive speed, still intent on snatching the Tier-7 Divine Weapon from her, and Leon immediately shot after.

    "Where are you going now?!"

    The Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon obstructed Leon''s path, causing his eyes to cloud with gloominess and solemnity.

    Aria had yet to train in body cultivation; she would not be able to endure the slightest attack from the Evil Eye Arch Demon.

    "Repeatedly going after my woman, you''re asking to die¡­!" Leon spat.

    Rumble!

    Powerful waves of Nihility gushed out of Leon''s body, causing his immediate surrounding to shake and distort as tears formed in space.

    World stability was important, but the safety of his loved ones was even more important!

 Chapter 772 - The Awakened Realm Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 772 - The Awakened Realm Spirit</h4>

    "T-this is¡­!"

    The Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon stared in shock at the distorted space surrounding Leon as it uttered words that implied as if it knew what it was seeing.

    However, it shortly utters, "W-what is this power?!"

    The threatening aura emanating from Leon''s body filled the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon with dread, causing it to retreat several paces and distance itself from him with narrowed eyes.

    The invisible power tore down the space like tearing down a sheet of wallpaper as it disintegrated into particles of True Grandmist Energy and was quickly absorbed by Leon before it could be erased into nothingness.

    But as the secret realm''s spatial dimension was getting torn down, what was revealed on the other side of the torn space was not the chaotic sea of nothingness but another space that could lead everyone out of the secret realm.

    However, Leon did not find this surprising as they were inside a secret realm, an independent subspace from Gaia.

    ''It seems like I can use the Nihility Law to create an exit and leave the secret realm forcefully,'' Leon briefly thought.

    Seeing that the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon wavered, Leon immediately prepared to chase after the Evil Eye Arch Demon when he was suddenly locked onto by a powerful spirit with divine sense.

    "Hm?"

    Leon quickly frowned.

    In the next instance, the omnipresent spirit tried to suppress Leon with its mighty Divine Will, but it immediately retracted its Divine Will upon contact with Leon''s Nihility Barrier.

    "Ahhh!" the spirit squealed in pain.

    Evidently, its spirit has taken substantial damage aftering into contact with Nihility, something that can break down the very building blocks of the world and disperse souls with a single touch.

    Nihility was the bane of all existence, let alone souls, which are not evenposed of material substances.

    "S-stop! I''ll do anything you want! I beg you, please don''t use that power anymore! It''s killing me¡ªAhhh!"

    The spirit''s mature and feminine voice entered Leon''s mind where only he could hear, pleading for him to stop using his Nihility Law after it failed to suppress him with force.

    "Then stop that Arch Demon, and do it quickly!" Leon conveyed his message with a demanding tone while suppressing his goosebumps and hair from rising.

    Although the spirit''s spiritual voice was feminine, it was also undoubtedly the voice of a male spirit.

    "Y-yes, sir!" the male spiritplied.

    ¡­

    "Miss Aria, be careful!"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly warned as the Evil Eye Arch Demon shot past him in a sh, aiming for Aria some distance away.

    "Hm?"

    Aria reacted to the warning, sweeping away the dozens of Mid-rank and Low-rank Greater Demons in the area with waves of Sword Intent before quickly turning to face the iing threat.

    However, by that time, the Evil Eye Arch Demon had already entered within attacking distance to thrust its damaged Tier-5 Rapier at Aria, forcing her to block it directly.

    But just as their weapons were about to make contact, a powerful Divine Will suddenly bore down on the Evil Eye Arch Demon and suppressed it, drastically reducing its movements to a snail''s pace.

    That window of opportunity allowed Aria to dodge the Tier-5 Rapier and make a clean swipe at the Evil Eye Arch Demon''s neck, decapitating it with her Tier-7 Divine Sword.

    The surrounding demons immediately froze as the Evil Eye Arch Demon''s head was lopped off with its eyes opened wide in horror and disbelief.

    "L-lord Arch Demon has been in! We don''t stand a chance against the humans! Everyone, run!" a Low-rank Greater Demon cried.

    The Greater Demons plunged into chaos shortly after, breaking formations and scattering about to flee the battle.

    At the same time, Aria and the rest of the humans were also stunned.

    She did expect to kill the Arch Demon as easily as she did, nor did the rest of the humans believe she was capable of such feats either.

    "What happened just now?"

    Aria muttered with creased brows as she recalled the short instance in which the Arch Demon suddenly slowed down its movements as if it was trying to throw away its life.

    However, looking at the disbelieving and horrified look on the Arch Demon''s face, it didn''t seem like it was trying to suicide.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon immediately decided to flee as soon as it saw the Evil Eye Arch Demon''s head fly.

    "Ah! Lord Arch Demon is fleeing! Wait for us, Lord Arch Demon!"

    Chaos also broke out in the army of Lesser Demons before they began chasing after the Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon and fled in the direction of the Bone Sea.

    "The demons are disorderly and panicking. This is the perfect opportunity to finish them all off. Please give us the order to pursue them, chief!" an Extremity-rank Battle Master from the Sky Sword Tribe requested.

    However, Chief Skyhawk shook his head.

    "It''s too dangerous to give chase to a fleeing enemy; forcing them into a corner will only lead to unexpected variables. You haven''t fully recovered yet. No need to take on unnecessary risks."

    "But¡­"

    "No buts."

    The Extremity-rank Battle Master wanted to argue, but Chief Skyhawk left no room for negotiation.

    As such, the Sky Sword Tribesmen forcefully endured the looks of contempt thrown at them as the other three tribes chased after the fleeing demons.

    Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman also gave chase, cutting down as many fleeing demons as they could without getting too far away from the central forest region.

    The opportunity to reduce the demon''s numbers wasn''t easy toe by.

    While that was happening, Leon remained standing in the same spot with a frown on his face due to the unknown male spirit''s presence, which seemed omnipresent in the secret realm.

    "Sir, I did as you asked¡­" the male spirit reports respectfully.

    "That''s good¡­" Leon acknowledged with a nod before interrogating it, "But, what are you?"

    "I am the Realm Spirit of this Eternal Night Secret Realm, sir¡­"

    The male spirit truthfully answered with a slightly pitiful tone, causing Leon to raise his brows in surprise.

    "A Realm Spirit? But that would mean¡­"

 Chapter 773 - Realm-Grade Divine Artifact

    <h4>Chapter 773 - Realm-Grade Divine Artifact</h4>

    There was only one exnation for the existence of a Realm Spirit within a secret realm; it was actually an Artifact Spirit for a Realm-grade Divine Artifact, something that is usually enormous in size.

    In other words, the secret realm itself was one humongous artifact.

    "How unexpected¡­" Leon uttered with mild astonishment.

    "I suspected that the Eternal Night Secret Realm itself was the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inner world, but I didn''t expect for it to be a Realm-grade Divine Artifact. However, cultivators usually only use suchrge divine artifacts as transportation tools¡­"

    ''You''re not wrong, sir. I, the Radiant Heaven Realmship, was once used to transport countless handsomeds and beautiful fairies across the vast stars in the distant past. And this is also the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world.''

    The Realm Spirit informed Leon in its effeminate male voice, making the corners of Leon''s lips twitch a few times in response.

    "Can you not speak like that?"

    "Like what, sir?"

    The Realm Spirit expressed its confusion in its effeminate voice again.

    "Never mind¡­" Leon''s lips twitched again before voicing his doubt, "The Eternal Night Demon Emperor was a woman? Also, what do you mean by this ce is the Radiant Heaven Realmship and the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world?"

    ''Yes, sir, the Eternal Night Demon Empress was indeed a woman. And I, the Radiant Heaven Realmship, used to have lush green grass and beautiful cities until the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s core cracked and spilled her inner world into my sub-realm.''

    After the Realm Spirit exined effeminately, Leon rose into the sky and studied the secret realm around him before rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

    "I see¡­ No wonder the realmship looks like this; the cities in the inner region were all buried, the grass in the outer regions ckened into Nethergrass, the majority of the dark energy liquified into the Bone Sea, and the rest spilled outside, right?"

    As Leon analyzed the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s cause of change, the Realm Spirit could not help but agree with astonishment.

    ''Yes, sir, you are exactly right. How did you know, sir? Are you a survivor from that chaotic time?'' the Realm Spirit asked.

    However, Leon shook his head with a soft chuckle.

    "Impossible. How old do you think I am? It''s not that hard to guess if youpare the concentration of dark energy in each region. Nevertheless, I can understand why you have this weird and twisted personality."

    ''What do you mean, sir?'' the Realm Spirit questioned Leon in its effeminate male voice.

    "Ah, it''s nothing, nothing at all. Don''t worry about it¡­" Leon said as he waved his hand and changed the topic, "Since you are a Realm-grade Divine Artifact, I suppose you don''t have a master at the moment, right?"

    ''That¡­ is correct, sir. But if you are thinking of refining me, I suggest you give up, sir. My core has already been damaged in the war and further damaged by you just now. Unless it''s repaired, no one can bind me.''

    "Aren''t you supposed to be a Realm-grade Divine Artifact? Can''t you repair yourself?" Leon queried with a weird look.

    ''That might have been possible in the past, but the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s dark power has corroded and changed me on a fundamental level. As a result, I can no longer use simple spirit energy to repair myself, not to mention this worldcks spirit energy.''

    The Realm Spirit exined.

    After Leon contemted for a short moment, he asks, "What if you had True Grandmist Energy?"

    ''¡­''

    The Realm Spirit fell silent for a moment.

    ''True Grandmist Energy? Sir, are you talking about the True Grandmist Energy, the energy of the gods?''

    The Realm Spirit suddenly erupted with excitement before quickly deting with disappointment in the next instance.

    ''Ah, but how can there still be any True Grandmist Energy in this world? Ah, there might still be some in the depths of super ck holes! Oh, but that''s not a ce anyone can reach either¡­ Sigh!''

    The Realm Spirit''s fluctuating emotions between excitement and disappointment amused Leon before he decided to summon a wisp of True Grandmist Energy on his fingertip.

    "What do you think this is?" he quizzed it.

    ''T-this¡­ this is¡­! True Grandmist Energy! Oh, my heavenly lord, to think that I would get to see True Grandmist again in this era¡­''

    The Realm Spirit eximed with sheer excitement and pleasant surprise before it suddenly paused with doubt.

    ''Hm? This era? What era is this anyway? How long had I been slumbering for? One million years? No, I stopped counting when it hit one million years long ago¡­ Ah, who cares!''

    ''Sir, there''s no doubt that this godly energy you have can repair my core region!'' the Realm Spirit stated before giggling creepily and abashedly.

    ''Hehe, but do you have enough of True Grandmist Energy to repair my core, sir?''

    "As much as you need," Leon coolly replied before curling his lips into a sly smile and saying, "But why should I give any of this energy to you?"

    The Realm Spirit immediately froze.

    ''But, sir, don''t you wish to bind me? My core needs to be repaired before that can¡ª"

    "Hm, do I? You have such a questionable character. Maybe I will find a better realmship elsewhere," Leon said with amusement.

    After hearing that, the Realm Spirit did not know whether tough or cry.

    ''My lord, my great ancestor, I beg you; please don''t tease me like that, okay? If you don''t like how I talk, I can change it to amodate your taste¡­''

    After being shown the candy, the Realm Spirit had no choice but to make a concession.

    However, Leon shook his head and said, "Not going to lie, the way to talk is weird as f*ck, but that''s not what I mean by questionable character."

    ''Then, what do you mean?''

    "Do you think I''m stupid? It''s true that without your core working properly, you''ll lose many of your artifact functions like star-traveling, for example, but that''s that. Your spirit itself seems pretty fine to me, so what does it have to do with whether I can bind you or not?"

    ''T-this¡­ Ugh¡­ Hehe, I''m sorry for trying to trick you, sir. Can you please help me repair my core?''

    "Call me Master and show me your spirit heart''s location, then I''ll think about it," Leon stated.

    ''Yes, Master¡­''

 Chapter 774 - Black Turtle God Beast

    <h4>Chapter 774 - ck Turtle God Beast</h4>

    ''My spirit heart is hidden within the damaged core, but to get there, you will have to find a way to reach the main city that has been buried deep underground, Master.''

    "I see," Leon uttered.

    ording to what he knew, everyone in the Divine Realm regarded the artifact''s heart and core as one and the same thing.

    This is due to the fact that the coreprises the main runic circuits, while the heart is just oneponent of the core.

    Nevertheless, the heart isn''t always formed within the core.

    The heart of artifact spirits is the essence of their existence, usually formed through the crystallization of energy near the power source, which can be within or outside of the core.

    And to make an artifact spirit reveal its heart''s location is akin to asking it to offer up its life.

    "So? Where is this main city located?" Leon asked anyway.

    If the crystal heart shatters, the Realm Spirit will die, but since it was ownerless, he needed to drip his blood essence on it to bind it to him.

    ''The main city is buried in the western side, but to reach it quicker, Master will have to enter the Bone Sea and start digging through the earth from around a depth of 20,000fts.''

    The Realm Spirit answered truthfully, nheless, as it kept its divine sense locked on Leon''s wisp of True Grandmist Energy.

    "On the western side of the Bone Sea, huh? Guess I''ll worry about itter," Leon muttered.

    It was quite some distance away; he would need to resolve other things before he was free to make his way over there.

    ''Then¡­ Hehe, Master¡­ Can I?''

    The omnipresent Realm Spirit began to gather its divine sense before forming its spirit form in front of Leon and sping its hands together with a servile attitude.

    Surprisingly, Leon could not determine the Realm Spirit''s gender at a nce, even though he had already assumed it was a male spirit.

    However, Realm Spirit had the appearance of a beautiful young woman with blondish-ck hair and no evident male features other than its voice, at least from a first impression.

    It was probably what people usually regard as a trap.

    Nevertheless, Leon could not help but ask, "You¡­ are you a male or female spirit?"

    ''Huh?''

    The Realm Spirit appeared taken aback by the question.

    ''Master asks such a weird question when you seem so knowledgeable. Don''t you know that artifact spirits don''t have genders? We only take on a form that naturally makes us feel close to our creators and owners.''

    It replied shortly after.

    "Are you saying that your creator or your previous owner had such weird kinks? Actually, no, never mind. I don''t want to know."

    Shortly after saying that, Leon flicked the wisp of True Grandmist Energy away before the Realm Spirit flew after it with bright eyes like an excited dog fetching its bone.

    Not long after it swallowed the wisp of True Grandmist Energy, the Realm Spirit immediately went to patch up the spatial tears created by Leon.

    s, the wisp of the True Grandmist Energy was not enough to patch up all the spatial tears.

    Even so, the Realm Spirit was satisfied with the little bit of repair before it eagerly returned to Leon''s side to amodate his demands in hopes of earning more wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    "Anyway, you mentioned that this Radiant Heaven Realmship was once used as a transportation tool, implying that it''s no longer is," Leon mentioned before asking, "What''s that about? Recount the events that took ce in this secret realm to me."

    ''Understood, Master.''

    The Realm Spirit nodded inpliance.

    ''You may or may not know this, but my creator, the Radiant Heaven God-Emperor, was an extremist of the Light Faction who cannot tolerate the creatures of the Darkness Faction, just like how fire and water always shes, but more extreme.''

    "The Radiant Heaven God-Emperor was still alive during the battle that urred in this secret realm?" Leon raised an eyebrow in doubt.

    However, the Realm Spirit quickly replies to correct his misunderstanding.

    ''Not at all, Master. My creator fell during the great primordial war between the gods and devils. However, myst owner adopted the Radiant Heaven God-Emperor''s values and tried to eradicate the demons by any means necessary, including despicable ones.''

    ''The great war from that primordial age destroyed both the gods and devils, but it never ended and continued onto the future generations; denizens of the Light and Darkness Factions are always at war.''

    ''In thest battle between Light and Darkness Faction, both sides suffered disastrous losses before my previous owner, the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor, offered to negotiate a truce with the Eternal Night Demon Empress, but¡­''

    "But the truce was a scheme, and the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor trapped the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s faction in this Radiant Heaven Realmship and borrowed your powers to eliminate them, right?"

    Leon spected.

    Considering the Realm Spirit mentioned that the Radiant Heaven God-Emperor was an extremist of the Light Faction, he found it hard to believe the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor would take the initiative in suggesting the truce without any ulterior motives.

    ''Well, yes, but not exactly, Master. Things didn''t go ording to the Radiant Heaven God-Emperor''s scheme,'' the Realm Spirit stated.

    ''The Eternal Night Demon Empress was stronger than what the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor expected, and many among the Light Faction, who genuinely sought the truce, was disappointed in the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor''s despicable act, including a ck Turtle Divine Beast and¡ª''

    "Hold it right there for a moment," Leon suddenly interrupted the Realm Spirit before asking with sheer interest, "Did you just say a ck Turtle God Beast?"

    ''Yes, Master, but the ck Turtle wasn''t really a God Beast. At most, the ck Turtle was an Emperor-level Divine Beast with some inherited blood essence of its ancestor, making it as tough as Half-step True Divinities.''

    "Half-step True Divinity¡­ Something like that couldn''t have been easy to kill. Is it still around?" Leon asked expectantly.

    ''Actually, the ck Turtle God Beast is still alive, Master.''

 Chapter 775 - Great Void Celestial Conqueror

    <h4>Chapter 775 - Great Void Celestial Conqueror</h4>

    "Alive?" Leon''s eyes lit up immediately.

    "Where is it now? Is it lying somewhere in this secret realm?¡ªNo, if it''s a Half-step True Divinity, then it probably survived the war and left long ago¡­"

    Leon made his own assumption before the Realm Spirit could answer.

    However, once again, his spection was only half correct as the Realm Spirit spoke, ''Master is correct about the ck True God Beast being alive. However, it hasn''t left the Radiant Heaven Realmship.''

    "It hasn''t? That''s great!" Leon eximed, almost failing to control his excitement before he said, "Quickly tell me where it is, and I''ll reward you with some more True Grandmist Energy."

    ''The Great Void Celestial Conqueror impaled the Turtle God Beast with Godly Divine Needles and sealed it at the bottom of the Bone Sea after it tried to seek justice for the Eternal Night Demon Empress and has been trapped down there ever since.''

    The Realm Spirit exined.

    "At the bottom of the Bone Sea, huh? I see."

    Leon acknowledged with an understanding nod, but learning of the ck Turtle God Beast''s whereabouts didn''t help in rxing his frown.

    At the same time, he memorized the name of the Celestial Conqueror, the person responsible for the spatial lock.

    ''Master, if you try to venture to the bottom of the Bone Sea as you are now, the powerful sea monsters down there will kill you. You''ll need the strength of a Celestial, at the very least, to freely explore that ce.''

    The Realm Spirit kindly reminded Leon in fear of losing its only supplier of True Grandmist Energy.

    At the same time, Leon''s frown deepened in thought.

    Forget about the sea monsters; he would have to get past the demons before he could worry about the sea monsters.

    Nevertheless, for the Realm Spirit to suggest that he needed to be at the Celestial level to explore the seafloor, the sea monsters at that depth must be at least Peak-Paragon level existences.

    "How can there be such strong sea monsters down there?" Leon uttered with curiosity.

    ''As a Half-step True Divinity with God Beast Blood, the ck Turtle God Beast has a near-limitless lifespan. Therefore, every drop of its blood is a treasure to mortals like Master, let alone the sea monsters down there.''

    "So the sea monsters down there get to enjoy all the benefits from the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood, huh? How envious," Leonmented while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

    If he wanted to reach the bottom of the Bone Sea without Celestial-level strength, he could just rely on the Realm Spirit''s spiritual strength.

    However, relying on the Realm Spirit to explore the seafloor was risky; he needed to bind the Radiant Heaven Realmship first and guarantee the Realm Spirit''s loyalty.

    Seeing Aria and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman return from their hunting trip, Leon decided to end his conversation with the Realm Spirit there.

    "We''ll talk moreter. I have something to do now," he stated.

    ''Understood, Master.''

    The Realm Spirit behaved very obediently.

    Nevertheless, Leon had no reason to let his guard down; he needed to maintain his favorable position as a mysterious person with unknown amounts of True Grandmist Energy.

    ¡­

    "Who were you talking to?" Aria asked with curiosity after she returned to Leon''s side with her blueish-white dress still stained in fresh demon blood.

    Upon noticing those stains, Leon doesn''t answer immediately but helps her clean her dress by extracting all the demon blood with his will.

    "How did you get yourself so dirty?" he asks with a slight smile.

    "I know you need demon blood for your cultivation, so I got too caught up in collecting their bodies for you and failed to notice the stains," Aria replies.

    Leon couldn''t resist her thoughtfulness and gave her a smooch on the forehead, making her heart feel fluttery.

    "I was talking to the Realm Spirit," he answers her previous question shortly after.

    "The Realm Spirit?" Aria tilted her head with a confused yet slightly abashed look before she suddenly paused at a realization. "Wait a minute, a Realm Spirit? But that would mean that this secret realm is¡­"

    "Yes, it''s exactly what you are thinking, Aria."

    Leon did not find it surprising for Aria to understand the truth behind the secret realm quickly after he mentioned ''Realm Spirit.''

    After all, she possesses Aria White''s memories.

    "So, it''s true¡­" Aria utters with surprise.

    "Yep."

    Leon confirms her doubts again.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, who was not far away from either of them, was confused beyond belief as he failed to follow their conversation.

    "What are two talking about? Howe this old man can''t seem to follow at all?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman expressed his confusion.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s dumb look amuses Leon before he exins, "Basically, what we were saying is that this secret realm is one enormous treasure."

    "Everyone knows that¡­"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman replies while knitting his brows as if implying to Leon, ''Isn''t that obvious at a nce?''

    "They do?" Leon was surprised for a moment before he shook his head and said, "No, I''m not talking about the secret realm containing treasure. I mean what I said literally; the secret realm is one enormous movable treasure."

    "Secret realm can be moved? Surely, you jest, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman cracks a wry smile at such an unbelievable revtion.

    It was too unfathomable for him to believe despite knowing that Leon wouldn''t lie to him. Even if he saw it with his own eyes, he would still find it hard to ept.

    It shatters hismon sense.

    When the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman tries to picture it in his mind, he can only see a giantndmass with moving legs, which is too ridiculous for him to continue the imagination.

    Nevertheless, Leon had expected such a reaction from the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman as any unknowledgeable person would have reacted the same way after learning the truth.

    "You don''t need to believe it now; I am confident that even if I don''t exinter, you will have no choice but to believe it with your own eyes, Senior," Leon stated with a smile.

    Shortly after, he shifts his attention to the spatial storm.

    "Anyway, it seems like the battle here is over, but none of us can ascertain when Darlene''s Transcendence will finish."

    "So it seems," the One-Eyed Venerable Shamanmented.

 Chapter 776 - Floating Landmasses

    <h4>Chapter 776 - Floating Landmasses</h4>

    Shortly after, Leon notices several returning warriors with severe injuries before taking out several pill bottles and passing them to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    "Also, can I trouble Senior to hand these recovery pills out to the brave warriors who assisted us in this battle? It seems they have suffered a bit while they were chasing the fleeing demons."

    "Well, I don''t mind, but are you going somewhere, Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asks as he epts the pill bottles from Leon.

    "I am, but it''s pretty close, actually," Leon admits with a nod before saying, "Weren''t you curious about the demons I subjugated? I n to call them over now."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman opens his mouth to speak, but no wordes out.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman felt like he needed to warn Young Master Leonhardt about the demons, but at the same time, he knew that Young Master Leonhardt had some sort of n for them.

    Even so, he couldn''t bring himself to trust them.

    Seeing that the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman didn''t say anything, Leon spoke, "Although demons cannot be easily trusted, we should learn to see them for who they truly are and not through a collective biased opinion."

    "There''s no doubt that there are evil demons, but we can''t say for certain that there aren''t any good demons either. And although I can''t guarantee that the dark faes are good demons, I do hope you can judge them without any prejudice, Senior."

    "Since Young Master Leonhardt had spoken, this old man will try to do as you say. However, if this old man finds them trying to harm other humans, this old man can''t promise that this old man won''t y them on the spot."

    "Well, that''s good enough," Leon said.

    Shortly after, Leon turned to Aria and said, "Keep an eye on the humans and Darlene''s situation for me. I''ll be back shortly."

    "Mm." Ariaplies with a nod.

    Not long after Leon gave her a short kiss, he flew off into the dark clouds that Saresha and the other dark faes disappeared.

    At the same time, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman went to meet the three tribes with injured tribe members to carry out Leon''s request.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman knew that it wouldn''t have taken long for Young Master Leonhardt to hand out the recovery medicine to three tribes, but he was aware that Young Master Leonhardt was handing him the opportunity to have them owe him favors.

    As such, he kept Young Master Leonhardt''s good intention in mind¡ªeven though it wasn''t really necessary.

    Since he was already a Half-step Battle King that would soon be a true Battle King, the warriors from the three tribes will respect regardless.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had forgotten that they were in a secret realm where fortuitous opportunities to be strong are aplenty.

    ¡­

    ''Watch your head, Master.''

    As Leon flew through the dark clouds where Saresha and the other dark faes had disappeared, the Realm Spirit suddenly warned him.

    "What do you¡ª"

    Bam!

    Leon smashed his head into the floatingndmass hidden in the dark clouds, causing cracks to form on its rocky lower surface.

    Nevertheless, Leon was not hurt due to his high defense.

    ''I tried to warn you, Master.''

    "So you did. But it was too vague and abrupt."

    ''Sorry, Master.''

    "No, don''t worry about it. It doesn''t matter."

    Leon was not looking to me the Realm Spirit and quickly moved on to explore the floatingndmass as he navigated around its rocky edges to locate the upper surface, absorbing the dense amounts of dark energy while he was at it.

    The floatingndmass had humongous ck chains attached to each of its four corners and stretched for unknown lengths due to the obscurity of the dark clouds, and a temple-like structure lies at its center.

    After finding his way to the top, Leon quickly located the dark faes resting not far from the temple-like structure.

    Nevertheless, his gaze didn''t dwell on them for long before shifting back to the temple-like structure and the floatingndmass itself.

    He could feel the circuitry power of runes running throughout the entirendmass and the four enormous ck chains attached to it.

    Leon quickly guessed what it was.

    Although it wasn''t the core of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, he did not doubt that it was one of its cornerstones.

    "There should be another four floatingndmasses like this one, right?" Leon casually inquired.

    However, the Realm Spirit reveals a surprise in its reply, ''There are indeed other floatingndmasses like this one, but there''s only three other floatingndmasses instead of four, Master.''

    "Really? I don''t believe it. If you keep lying to me, I will not expend my precious True Grandmist Energy to repair you," Leon stated coolly.

    ''I am being honest with you, Master¡­''

    The Realm Spirit did not know whether tough or cry, seeing how distrustful Leon was.

    However, it suddenly thought of something before it said, ''The four rune-connecting chains indeed lead to something, but only three of them lead to three other floatingndmasses, Master.''

    ''Thest rune-connecting chain is attached to one cornerstone of the secret realm, allowing the supporting circuits to connect with the rest of the Radiant Heaven Realmship.''

    "As you said, these floatingndmasses contain supporting circuits for the Radiant Heaven Realmship. But do you think I don''t know that there needs to be a main circuit as well? In other words, the core?" Leon replied calmly.

    His Teleportation Arrays were also designed with four points to store spatial coordinates; the Teleportation Arrays wouldn''t function without the core circuit in the center.

    "Your core and heart is obviously located on the center floatingndmass, yet you''re telling me it''s underground on the western side of the Bone Sea? What are you ying at? Are you going to be fully honest with me, or are you going to keep testing my patience?"

    After saying that, the Realm Spirit became awkward.

    ''Uh¡­ I can exin, Master.''

 Chapter 777 - Realmships Location

    <h4>Chapter 777 - Realmship''s Location</h4>

    "Then exin," Leon stated impatiently.

    ''There is indeed a center floatingndmass, but it was destroyed in the war; only some parts of the central floatingndmass remain while the rest sunk, including the core,'' the Realm Spirit exins.

    "I see¡­ Sorry I doubted you."

    ''It''s fine, Master¡­ It''s fine¡­''

    The Realm Spirit didn''t dare to ept Leon''s apology, even if he wasn''t serious about it; it just wanted to end the matter there.

    However, Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he said with a sly smile, "Well, although the core isn''t at the central floatingndmass, there shouldn''t be a problem with me exploring it anyway, right?"

    ''T-this¡­'' the Realm Spirit immediately hesitated.

    That brief moment of hesitation was all Leon needed to confirm his suspicion; the Realm Spirit was hiding something about the central floatingndmass and didn''t want him to go there.

    But the more that was the case, the more he wanted to find out.

    "What exactly are you hiding there, hm?"

    ''Um¡­''

    The Realm Spirit was conflicted as if it was battling internally between whether to spill the secrets to Leon or not.

    "Well, it doesn''t matter if you tell me or not. I will still find out when I head over there," Leon shrugged nonchntly.

    The battle between the Celestials and demons ravaged the Radiant Heaven Realmship and left it deste and barren in various parts of its subspace.

    It would be strange if only demon inheritances existed in the secret realm and not a single Celestial inheritance.

    At the very least, he expects to find some Celestial Sparks¡ªor so he hopes.

    However, the secret realm has already opened several times. As such, it wouldn''t be strange even if the Celestial Sparks were already pocketed by those who came before him.

    Perhaps, the Celestial Water Spark that supplied the Infertile ins for hundreds of years also came from the secret realm.

    Nevertheless, Leon suddenly thought of something that didn''t make sense to him.

    ''Right, since this Radiant Heaven Realmship lost its core functions, it''s most likely not in the skies of the dark continent¡­''

    ''However, the demons had to scale a flight of heavenly stairs to enter the secret realm, while those who didn''t were all dragged inside by the spatial storm¡­ That was definitely the work of a Teleportation Array, one set up by someone¡­''

    Leon pondered.

    It wasn''t just any Teleportation Array, but a highlyplex andrge one as well; soplex that he cannot guess its quality.

    But given his attainment in runes, he assumes it was at least a Tier-7 Teleportation Array.

    ''If the Teleportation Array is really Tier-7 quality, it should be powerful enough to teleport people across locals in the star realm¡­''

    Leon spected.

    "Oi, where is this Radiant Heaven Realmship located?" Leon suddenly questioned the Realm Spirit.

    However, the Realm Spirit was confused by his abrupt question.

    ''What do you mean where is the Radiant Heaven Realmship is located, Master? You''re inside of it¡ªor should I say that you''re inside of me?'' the Realm Spirit replies abashedly.

    Leon immediately felt his skin crawling with goosebumps from the way the Realm Spirit spoke in its effeminate male voice.

    "¡­Stop talking like that," Leon demanded with a frown.

    "And I was asking about the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s location in the world. Is it still within Gaia or on another in the Vandelheim Star Realm?"

    ''Master even knows the name of this star realm? No one knows that name anymore. Are you sure you''re from this world, Master?'' the Realm Spirit queried with surprise.

    "Nonsense. Just answer the question," Leon rolled his eyes.

    He had an entire star map etched into his soul.

    ''¡­Yes, Master. I, the Radiant Heaven Realmship, am currently in the middle of a sea, a fair distance off the west coast of the Dark Abyss Continent.''

    "So, we''re still on Gaia and in the Boundless Sea too, huh? That exins the sea monsters in the Bone Sea¡­ Well, that''s good to know," Leon casually nodded.

    However, shortly after, he suddenly adds, "But then again, maybe not so good."

    ''Why is it not good?''

    "If we were at least outside of Gaia, I would be able to confirm that it''s possible to use Tier-7 Teleportation Arrays to escape this world which has been sealed the Great Void Celestial Conqueror''s spatial lock."

    ''Indeed, it''s not possible to escape the Great Void Celestial Conqueror''s spatial lock with a Tier-7 Teleportation Array. But if Master can fully restore my functions, I can easily bring Master out of the whole Vandelheim Star Realm.''

    The Realm Spirit spoke confidently.

    However, Leon could only scoff at it with a helplessugh and say, "Easier said than done."

    Although he does not know how much repair is needed for the Radiant Heaven Realmship, he was certain that it required arge amount of True Grandmist Energy.

    If he had to tear the world down to collect enough True Grandmist Energy for the Radiant Heaven Realmship, the world would eventually copse and undo the spatial lock anyway.

    ''If I had that much True Grandmist Energy for body cultivation, it wouldn''t be difficult for me to reach the peak of Body Transformation Realm and open my first gate,'' Leon thought.

    s, dreams were nice, but reality struck differently.

    He wouldn''t reduce an entire into True Grandmist Energy, at least not with Gaia, which has countless lives living on it.

    Leon didn''t dare to think about the umtion of karmic sin he would get for causing the death of an entire thriving with life.

    After shaking his head, Leon eventually descended andnded in front of the dark faes.

    "Why are you all idling here instead of cultivating?" Leon casually asked.

    "M-my lord!"

    Saresha and the other dark faes eximed as they shot up to their feet before pointing at the temple-like structure.

    "Look at what we found here! I think this might be a Demon King-level Tomb!" Saresha reported the dark faes'' collective assumption.

    "This?"

    Leon nces at the support-rune circuit building before he shakes his head with a chuckle.

    "It''s not a Demon King-level Tomb, but we can head in and check it out; perhaps, we will find something useful."

 Chapter 778 - Water-Type Celestial Power

    <h4>Chapter 778 - Water-Type Celestial Power</h4>

    Leon gave the dark faes a sweeping nce before adding, "It seems none of you have yet to check it out; why haven''t you?"

    "Since we suspected the building to be a Demon King-level Tomb, we weren''t confident in challenging it due to the hidden dangers, my lord. As you know, we aren''t qualified to clear Demon Lord-level Tombs at our level, let alone a Demon King-level Tomb."

    Saresha answers.

    "It''s good to be prudent."

    Leon nods with acknowledgment as he inspects the temple building of ssical architecture riddled with runic engravings and glows with an ethereal blue hue simr to some starlight in the night sky beyond the debris rings of Gaia.

    Without a doubt, the support-circuit building looks extraordinary at a nce, which is no surprise why the dark faes have mistaken it for a high-level tomb.

    "Although this isn''t a Demon King-level Tomb, it still has its own hidden dangers installed," Leon exins after inspecting the entrance.

    A transparent barrier of soft blue light had sealed the entrance, blocking anyone and everyone from entering it and even warding off the dark energy in the surrounding.

    "Can you already tell what kind of hidden dangers are installed in this building, my lord?" Saresha asks with surprise.

    However, Leon gave her a brief nce before shaking his head.

    "I can''t tell all of its hidden dangers, but I can tell that this light barrier is definitely dangerous¡ªat least to demons," he said.

    "As I thought, my lord is truly a demon; even my lord can the threatening vibe emanating from this blue light barrier," Sareshaments before nodding, "That''s right, my lord. My nsmen and I both feel like the light barrier will kill us if we touch it."

    "Is that so? Well, I don''t get that feeling," Leon stated.

    In that instance, he casually ces his hand on the blue light barrier, touching it directly and stunning Saresha and everyone else.

    Apart from the blue light barrier''s energy suppressing and reducing his dark power, Leon felt no other changes.

    "T-this¡­ is this threatening feeling just an illusion the blue light barrier conjures?"

    The dark faes widen their eyes with surprise and wonder as they approach the blue light barrier to touch it and confirm their doubts.

    However, Leon obstructed it before they could touch it.

    "You better not touch this blue light barrier if you don''t want to lower your cultivation levels," Leon advises them. "As I said, this is not a Demon King-level Tomb. In fact, there''s nothing demonic about this building."

    Considering the blue light barrier can ward off dark energy and even suppress and destroy the dark energy inside him, it was safe to say that its energy was the opposite of dark energy in nature.

    "This starry-like energy that this blue light barrier emanates must be the celestial energy that celestials cultivate, but I wonder who set this up here. Was it the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor?"

    Leon curiously studies the blue light barrier in wonder.

    ''This Celestial Barrier isprised of water-type celestial power while the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor uses sword-type celestial power, Master.''

    The Realm Spirit thoughtfully informs him.

    ''Sword-type celestial power?'' Leon furrowed his brows with doubt.

    ''I can feel strong Water Law in this water-type celestial power; even if the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor cultivates the sword, he must have ascended the Celestial Realm with a different element, no?''

    ''No, Master, the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor truly did ascend the Celestial Realm with the sword; the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor is a sword cultivator who pursues the apex of Sword Law.''

    The Realm Spirit informs.

    ''I see¡­ so the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor was a fanatic of the sword, huh? I presume his position wasn''t far from the Great Void Celestial Conqueror,'' Leon spectes.

    Weaponw exists, but unlike other existingws, weaponws are self-createdws born through cultivators'' strong wills and devoted beliefs.

    They were difficult to cultivate, but their power was equally great.

    ''The Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor was the leader of the Celestial Alliance, who led the Celestials'' attack on the demons and started the war.''

    After the Realm Spirit, Leon could not help but agree.

    ''That makes sense. The Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor''s position had to be that high if he could possess a treasure like the Radiant Heaven Realmship. But then, what was the Great Void Celestial Conqueror''s position? Was he not associated with the Celestial Alliance?''

    ''The Great Void Celestial Conqueror is indeed associated with the Celestial Alliance, but the Great Void Celestial Conqueror never took up an official position in the Celestial Alliance. Even so, no Celestial would question his authority in the alliance.''

    ''I see¡­''

    Leon nodded with understanding, having gained some insight into the Celestial Alliance, but he shortly put the matter aside.

    ''Well, that''s that,'' Leon ended the topic there.

    Shortly after, he ces his hand on the Celestial Barrier again.

    But unlike before, his fingers slowly slip through the sturdy barrier with the help of Nihility before he clenches his hand, shattering the barrier into countless sparkling starlights.

    However, Leon felt like the water-type celestial energy was beneficial to him; thus, he absorbed it all into his ck Vortex Space.

    ''I''ll study thister,'' he decided.

    "Let us head in."

    "Y-yes, my lord!"

    After Leon casually removed the barrier, Saresha and the rest of the dark faes revealed their surprises before quickly following behind him with questions on their mind.

    "M-my lord, was the barrier really dangerous for us demons? Why did you make it seem so easy in tearing it down?" Saresha asks.

    "Celestial power is a type of light energy, theplete opposite of dark energy, so naturally, the two opposing energies will conflict and destroy each other," Leon exins. "As for why it was easy, it is because I have a special power. No need to ask further."

    "Y-yes, sorry for prying, my lord. Saresha was too curious¡­" Saresha lowers her head in apology.

    Not long after they entered the building, Leon''s gaze fell on therge blue crystal in the center.

 Chapter 779 - Supreme-Grade Divine Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 779 - Supreme-Grade Divine Crystal</h4>

    As Leon expected of the support-circuit building, runic circuits filled the interior¡ªso much that the energy flow within the countless snake-like circuits illuminated the entire enclosed space.

    But apart from these circuits, which runs along the floor, walls, and ceiling, countless corpses and bonesid askew on top of each other.

    However, the first thing noticed and had his eyes fixed on was therge blue crystal situated on a goblet-like socket in the center.

    Therge blue crystal radiated with overflowing divine energy.

    "A Supreme-grade Divine Crystal? No, I''ve never seen nor heard of a Supreme-grade Divine Crystal this big before¡­" Leon mutters with astonishment.

    Just like how the crystalized form of spirit energy is called spirit stone or spirit crystal, the crystallized form of divine energy is called divine crystal or divine stone, depending on their purity.

    The Divine Realm possessed divine stone and crystal mines on its blessednds, but they rarely find natural-formed divine crystals bigger than the size of two fists.

    And yet, the one in front of Leon was about the size of four watermelons.

    "And it''s likely that there are at least another three divine crystals of this size? Who on earth was bored enough to condense suchrge divine crystals?'' Leon adds.

    However, he shortly pauses with a sudden thought.

    "No, if the Radiant Heaven Realmship was made in the primordial age of gods and devils, then perhaps, suchrge divine crystals might have been prettymon¡­"

    ''No, it''s as you doubted, Master. This Supreme-grade Divine Crystal wasn''t formed naturally; it was only the size of two fists when the Radiant Heaven God-Emperor made me and grew as I evolved.''

    The Realm Spirit informs him.

    ''I see. That makes sense, thanks,'' Leon replied to the Realm Spirit before rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

    Supreme-grade Divine Crystals can absorb nearby divine energy to replenish themselves and was considered one of the most precious currencies in the Divine Realm due to it.

    ''Still, with divine crystals of this magnitude, I''m afraid it has enough power to blow up a small¡­ Perhaps I shouldn''t have removed the barrier.''

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    ''You don''t need to worry about this, Master. This building has its own protective measures, and by that, I mean a gate. I can close the door after Master leaves with everyone in here,'' the Realm Spirit assured.

    ''If you still had a door, then why was this building sealed with a Celestial Barrier instead?'' Leon raised his doubt.

    ''That is because the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor''s son, Impervious Sea Celestial King, wanted to protect his family in this building, which was far away from the battle on the surface at the time, but the gate could only block demons on par with Celestial Warriors from entering.''

    The Realm Spirit exins with a bit of mncholy and helplessness in its tone as it recalls the past events.

    ''At that time, the Impervious Sea Celestial King conjured a Celestial Barrier strong enough to block several full-powered hits from a Demon King before he joined the battle. It''s just that¡­''

    ''The Impervious Sea Celestial King didn''t expect to fall in battle like many others and end up leaving his family trapped in this building until the end of their lives, right?''

    ''Yes, Master¡­''

    ''I see.''

    Leon did not continue the topic after that.

    Although he couldn''t tell how powerful a Celestial King''s barrier is supposed to be, the barrier he took down was definitely not at that level, most likely worn down over the years.

    Furthermore, the Impervious Sea Celestial King''s trapped family wouldn''t have sat around and waited for their deaths either.

    They would have exhausted all their strengths and wits to break the barrier after the war ended.

    And if the Realm Spirit says that they didn''t think of borrowing the Supreme-grade Divine Crystal''s abundant energy to break the barrier, then he wouldn''t believe it.

    There was a high chance they thought of it but ended up paying the price for attempting it.

    After all, the Realm Spirit would have been freed from its binding after the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor fell in battle and no longer had an obligation to protect nor help the Impervious Sea Celestial King''s family.

    Thus, it would have certainly killed them if they tried to harm it by trying to use the Supreme-grade Divine Crystal.

    ''There''s no need to touch on this sensitive topic,'' Leon thought to himself.

    It wouldn''t be toote to understand everything after he reaches the realm spirit''s heart and binds it with his blood.

    ¡­

    As Saresha and the other dark faes explored the support-circuit building with curiosity, they eventually made some discoveries.

    "My lord, there''s treasure hidden in these piles of corpses and bones. Do you want us to collect them all for you?" Saresha inquired.

    Leon furrowed his brows for a moment before saying, "Do you even need to ask? You want to descrate these bodies and disturb their rest? Do you think they will be happy?"

    "I-I''m sorry, my lord. I have spoken thou¡ª"

    "Of course, f*ck them and round up every valuable thing you can find," Leon suddenly said, stunning all the dark faes before he continued to speak, "These people have been dead for a long time, yet their valuables remain behind."

    "Obviously, they couldn''t take the valuables with them when they died, so there''s no need to leave these valuables behind for the dead. If we don''t take them, then someone else will."

    "Go on, gather everything you find precious," Leon urges.

    "Y-yes, my lord!"

    Saresha and the dark faes were slow to respond.

    During the first half of their lord''s speech, they all thought their lord sympathized with the dead, but they thought wrong, very wrong.

    Their lord didn''t give a single sh*t about the dead.

    "Oh, yes," Leon suddenly utters.

    "Remember to bring all the corpses and bones outside and bury them to appease the dead," Leon instructs them with a nonchnt attitude before adding, "We can''t just take their stuff and leave their remains like this. Otherwise, they curse us with bad luck."

    "Y-yes, my lord."

    In the end, Saresha and the dark faes were baffled, unable to read their lord''s thoughts and see through him.

 Chapter 780 - White Luminosity Eternal Flame

    <h4>Chapter 780 - White Luminosity Eternal me</h4>

    Sometimeter, Saresha and the dark faes cleaned out the support-circuit building''s interior, moving everything they could move outside.

    ''Thank you, Master. It''s nice to see this ce spotless again,'' the Realm Spirit gratefully said.

    However, Leon shirked it off with a nonchnt shrug and replied, ''I didn''t get the dark faes to do it for you, so don''t overthink it.''

    ''Nevertheless, I still want to thank you,'' the Realm Spirit affirmed.

    ''Well, suit yourself.''

    Shortly after giving the interior onest look, Leon headed outside and waited for the dark faes to finish sorting out the piles of corpses, bones, and treasures.

    "My lord, everything has been sorted," Saresha reported before inquiring, "Should we proceed with the burial for the corpses and bones?"

    "You can start digging the grave but leave the corpses for now."

    "Understood, my lord."

    Shortly after Saresha went to prepare the grave, Leon went up to study the corpses.

    Among the corpses, bones, and even ashes, it was clear that the Impervious Sea Celestial King''s family members varied in their cultivation attainments.

    The weakest dposed throughout the long period of time, but the strongest had their bodies preserved well.

    In fact, some of their bodies were preserved so well and without any paleness, making it seems like they were still alive and simply just sleeping.

    "These two must have been Celestial Warriors or fairly high-level Body Cultivators when they were alive¡­ It''s a pity that they died like this," Leon muttered while looking at peerless beauty and handsome man.

    If he had to spend his entire life in confinement, he would have gone crazy.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not dwell on the topic and decided to sweep the two celestial bodies with his divine sense, searching for their Celestial Sparks.

    However, the Celestial Sparks were nowhere to be found in their bodies¡ªnot even in the perfectly preserved subspace of their dead mind.

    "Not here?" Leon frowns.

    ''How could the Celestial Sparks in their bodies be missing? Were they not Celestials, or someone else had already taken them? No, it shouldn''t be thetter since the barrier was still up¡­''

    However, Leon suddenly paused.

    The Celestial Barrier was so weak that it was iparable to the Impervious Sea Celestial King''s power.

    ''Did another Water Celestial take the Celestial Sparks in the past few hundred years and resealed the entrance with a weaker barrier?''

    Leon could not help but think that.

    The war between the Celestial Alliance and the demons had ended more than several thousands of years ago; anything could have happened in that time.

    "Haiz, never mind," Leon sighed before muttering, "It''s disappointing that there are no Celestial Sparks, but it can''t be helped; I''ll just take a look at the treasures¡­"

    Nevertheless, Leon still thought about the other corpses.

    Among the twenty-seven corpses, two were perfectly preserved, nine were in mummified states, and the rest were just skeletal bones.

    "I should check these nine corpses just in case," Leon thought to himself.

    It didn''t want to overlook anything valuable.

    Much to his pleasant surprise, Leon finds the two missing Celestial Sparks within two of the nine mummified corpses.

    One was a Water Celestial Spark, and the other was an Earth Celestial Spark.

    Leon''s eyes flickered intensely at his findings, especially the Water Celestial Spark, which can resolve the water shortage in the Infertile ins.

    ''With this Water Celestial Spark, the Infertile ins shouldn''t have another water shortage crisis for the next few hundred years¡­ However, the gears of battle for hegemony already turned and cannot be stopped, even if I offer up this Water Celestial Spark.''

    Leon thought.

    After pocketing the two Celestial Sparks into his Worldspace, he moved on to check out the pile of treasures.

    Whether they were interspatial essories, weapons, equipment, or random tools of unknown usage, Leon did not find a single item below Tier-4, and Tier-7 being the highest quality.

    Nevertheless, only a few treasures were at Tier-7; the majority were Tier-6, but even then, he could see that the quality of Tier-6 treasures varied when ced together.

    The Tier-6 treasures varied between low, mid, high, and peak Tier-6 quality, but that was not all; two Tier-6 treasures possessed weak but clear divine auras on them.

    "This greatsword and oilmp should be quasi Tier-7 artifacts¡­ but what does this oilmp do?" Leon wondered for a moment.

    He didn''t believe the creator would be bored enough to expend precious materials and runic knowledge in producing a quasi Tier-7 artifact¡ªonly to use it as a source of lighting.

    ''Do you know what this oilmp is used for, Radiant Heaven Realmship?'' he turned to the Realm Spirit for answers.

    ''This is a Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp, Master. It can contain any fire and keep it burning, never extinguishing; it''s a fire weapon and an inexhaustible light source,'' the Realm Spirit exins.

    ''Oh? That sounds quite impressive," Leon stared at the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp in his hand with interest. ''I wonder if there''s any me stored inside this Quasi Tier-7¡­''

    Leon gave the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp a rub before it summoned a white me, so powerful it sharply raised the surrounding temperature.

    Even with his True Grandmist Body with high resistance to the elements, he still felt like the white me could burn him into ashes.

    ''Be careful, Master. That''s the Eternal me of White Luminosity! A wisp of it can burn even Celestial Warriors to death!'' the Realm Spirit warned.

    Leon could sense the Realm Spirit''s nervousness as it locked its divine sense on the white me emitting from the tip of the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp.

    At the same time, he could feel a searing pain in his hand while his body heated up and sweated.

    Nevertheless, he did not dare to drop the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp for fear that it would light the Radiant Heaven Realmship on fire for days on end.

    He quickly rubbed the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp the opposite way before the White Luminosity Eternal me retracted into the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp.

    Even so, his body did not stop sweating, and the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp appeared in slightly worse shape.

 Chapter 781 - Naming The Realm Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 781 - Naming The Realm Spirit</h4>

    "M-my lord! Are you alright?"

    Saresha and several other dark faes rushed over with concerned looks, but they stopped a safe distance away before looking at the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp in Leon''s hand with dread.

    "I''m fine," Leon calmly said.

    Despite his calm countenance, his hands had been seared by the heat, even though it didn''t make direct contact with the White Luminosity Eternal me.

    Leon was forced to ce the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp down and apply Tier-3 Golden Ointment to his seared flesh.

    "What kind of me was that? How could it be so terrifying?" Saresha asked with a horrified look as she recalled the sight.

    For a moment, she thought the whole world was going to burn up in its white mes and erase her existence in a sh, leaving nothing behind.

    Several dark faes could not stop trembling as if they just had experienced death.

    In front of that white me, their existences felt so insignificant, like dying candlelights that any wind could snuff out at any time.

    The White Luminosity Eternal me wasn''t a pure firew; it also contained the essence of the Profound Light Law, making it terrifying power for creatures of darkness.

    "The White Luminosity Eternal me¡­" Leon uttered.

    He was only expecting a Heavenly me, but who would have thought that an Eternal me would pop out of the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp instead?

    Neither did he expect toe into contact with another Eternal Law so soon.

    "The White Luminosity Eternal me was so powerful it lowered the durability of the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp. Is this still considered a Quasi Tier-7 Artifact? It ought to be as powerful as any other Tier-7 Divine Artifacts¡­"

    Leon uttered.

    ''There''s no doubt that the White Luminosity Eternal me is a mismatch for the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp, Master. Its destructive power isn''t something any ordinary Quasi Tier-7 Divine Artifacts can contain,'' the Realm Spirit spoke.

    Leon could not help but nod in agreement.

    The White Luminosity Eternal me¡ªor rather, the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp that contains it isn''t something he should use lightly.

    It should only be used as another one of his trump cards against impossibly strong opponents.

    "Alright, the situation calmed down. There''s no need to stick around here; go back and continue digging the graves," Leon shooed the dark faes away with a casual wave of his hand.

    Shortly after storing the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp and the Quasi Tier-7 Greatsword into his Worldspace, Leon sorts out the Tier-7 Divine Artifacts.

    There were three Tier-7 Divine Artifacts.

    "There''s not much to be said about this Tier-7 Divine Spear; it shall be my main weapon. The Tier-6 Halberd was useful, but it''s not a spear at the end of the day. It won''t help me master the Overlord Spear Arts."

    After pocketing the Tier-7 Divine Spear, Leon moved on to the next item, a Tier-7 Interspatial Ring.

    The subspace with the Tier-7 Interspatial Ring was sorge that Leon couldpare it to the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s sub-realm.

    In other words, it wasrge enough to be a sub-realm.

    However, the Tier-7 Interspatial Ring''s subspace was just a static void of space thatcked all the necessary elements to sustain life in it.

    Like any other interspatial artifact, the Tier-7 Interspatial Ring will quickly kill any life ced within it.

    "Although I don''t know why someone would need suchrge storage space, I don''t have a use for this. Perhaps I can gift it to someone who does¡­"

    Leon mused while wondering who would have the best need for the Tier-7 Interspatial Ring.

    Even Divine Kings don''t necessarily need suchrge storage spaces unless they are trying to rob all the riches across the stars.

    Once Leon settled the Tier-7 Interspatial Ring, he shifted his eyes to the final Tier-7 Divine Artifact in the treasure pile, a golden grail.

    "Another item with an unclear usage," Leon muttered.

    He picked up the Tier-7 Golden Grail radiating with a strong divine aura before inspecting it thoroughly.

    Both the interior and exterior were riddles with runes, but there was nothing seemingly extraordinary about the Tier-7 Golden Grail apart from its toughness and divine aura.

    Other than that, the bottom of the grail''s interior gave off a warm feeling.

    As Leon made this discovery, he could not help but think that the creator was a prodigal artificer who just wanted to make the Tier-7 Golden Grail for the sake of warming his drinks.

    "If the creator heard my thoughts, he''ll probably curse nine generations of my family, right?" Leon smiled wryly.

    He knew that the Tier-7 Golden Grail couldn''t possibly be as simple as what it seems on the surface.

    "s, these runes are tooplex as I expected. I can''t figure out its usage," Leon quickly gave up and sought the Realm Spirit''s knowledge.

    ''Do you know what this golden grail is used for, Radiant Heaven Realmship?'' he inquired.

    However, he was shortly disappointed as the Realm Spirit failed to live up to his expectation this time around.

    ''No, Master, I''m afraid I''m just as clueless as you are. Grails are quite umon for an artifact design. Also, it would be great if you call me something other than Radiant Heaven Realmship.''

    ''In other words, you want a name? What do you want me to call you?'' Leon asked.

    ''Since you''ll be my official master when you bind me, how about you give me a new name, Master?'' the Realm Spirit suggested.

    ''You want me to name you? Are you sure?'' Leon asked for confirmation before adding, ''I''m pretty bad with names, you know?''

    ''It''s fine. I believe Master will give me a good name.''

    ''I''m ttered,'' Leon pondered for a short moment before he suggested a name, ''How about I call you Tak-si from now on?''

    ''Tak-si? Not bad. Does it have any special meaning behind it, Master?'' the Realm Spirit asked curiously.

    ''Hm¡­" Leon smiled wryly and said, ''You can say that means an expensive mode of transport.''

    ''Expensive as in luxurious, right? Great! I like the name. Thank you, Master.''

    ''Sure, sure¡­ Whatever floats your boat, Tak-si.''

    Leon smiled with amusement.

 Chapter 782 - Starcore Iron

    <h4>Chapter 782 - Starcore Iron</h4>

    After settling the Realm Spirit''s name, Leon shifted his attention to the Tier-7 Golden Grail again.

    Given his present runic attainment and divine artifact knowledge from the Divine Realm, there was no way to understand the Tier-7 Golden Grail''s function from a nce.

    However, there were other ways to find out.

    "ording to some folklores and stories in Gaia, the grail is often depicted as a holy object with the miraculous powers to heal all wounds, grant eternal life, and realize one''s wishes¡­" Leon recalled.

    Tier-7 Divine Artifacts don''t have the capacity to grant eternal life or realize any wish; if they had such powers, they wouldn''t be limited to Tier-7 Divine Artifacts but something higher.

    "Power to heal all wounds?"

    Leon paid particr focus to the most realistic power the holy grail was said to have in the folklores and legends.

    After staring at the empty Tier-7 Golden Grail for a moment, he summoned a block of ice into it and watched the ice slowly melt in the grail.

    Shortly after, the water brightened as if the Tier-7 Golden Grail infused it with holy powers.

    Nevertheless, it onlysted a moment before the holy light died down, ultimately disappearing; the water returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

    However, Leon knew that something about the water was different.

    In that brief instant, he seemed to have vaguely sensed the power of the Profound Light Law at work.

    He scooped a bit of water from the grail and studied it closely, sweeping his divine sense over it before ultimately tasting it personally.

    A warm yet soothing energy flow quickly travels throughout his body, making him feelfortable and rxing.

    ''Such a strong recovery ability!'' Leon eximed in his heart.

    Although he had no injury to recover, his years of alchemy allowed him to understand the effectiveness of the healing water.

    ''This healing water isparable to Tier-4 recovery pills!'' Leon concluded.

    He had only ced the block of ice in the Tier-7 Golden Grail for a short while, yet it could quickly produce Tier-4 healing medicine.

    ''This Tier-7 Golden Grail is extremely valuable and useful to me. However, I wonder if the quality improves with time¡­''

    Leon had that thought before his eyes flickered.

    ''I should test it!''

    After filling up the Tier-7 Golden Grail to the brim, Leon ced it in a secured spot inside his Worldspace.

    ''I''ll check on itter,'' Leon decided.

    No matter whether the Tier-7 Golden Grail could produce healing water of higher quality with time or not, he did not have to worry about refining more healing medicine for the time being.

    "Let''s see if there are any pleasant surprises among the Tier-6 treasures," Leon moved on to the rest of the treasures.

    He found more weapons, plenty of armor, and misceneous tools used for cooking, forging, pill refining, and several other storage rings in the treasure pile.

    The weapons did not interest Leon much after he found the Tier-7 White Spear; thus, he threw all the weapons into the Worldspace and moved on.

    The Tier-6 pieces of armor, clothing, and misceneous tools, were also thrown into the Worldspace one by one shortly after.

    "A Tier-6 Pill Cauldron?" Leon suddenly paused on the item.

    "This should let me refine pill more smoothly and quickly, but other than that, there isn''t much use for a Tier-6 Pill Cauldron until I have better spirit herbs to refine higher-tier pills."

    That being said, Leon ced the Tier-6 Pill Cauldron in an easy-to-locate spot in the Worldspace like the Tier-7 Golden Grail, Tier-7 White Spear, and Tier-7 Interspatial Ring.

    A short whileter, Leon almost finished sorting through the treasure pile, leaving 8 Tier-6 Interspatial Rings and 5 Tier-5 Interspatial Ringsst on the list.

    "There should be a fair bit of goodies in these storage rings, right?" Leon presumed.

    He quickly picked up a tier-6 Interspatial Ring and swept its subspace with his divine sense before revealing his astonishment, albeit for a different reason.

    Several more treasures were found in the storage ring, ranging between Tier-4 to Tier-6 in quality, but more importantly, ck metal ingots filled half the storage space, which was akin to a city.

    Leon took out a ck metal ingot before giving it a more in-depth inspection as he studied the engravings on the ck metal ingot.

    "These engravings don''t seem to have any special runic meaning behind it, nor is it empowered by the runenguage; it''s just a simple engraving¡­ On the other hand, this sturdiness is something else."

    The ck metal ingot''s toughness quickly drew his attention.

    "This ck metal ingot looks like meteorite iron, but its weight and toughness far exceeds that of regr meteorite iron¡­" Leon analyzed the rectangr object.

    A regr meteorite iron ingot would only weigh around 20 jins, but the ck metal ingot in his hand weighs around 2000 jins, a hundredfold increase from the standard meteorite iron ingots!

    "This ck metal ingot is incredibly dense!" Leon''s eyes flickered.

    The ck metal ingot wasparable to Tier-5 or Tier-6 mineral used for artifact forging, and yet there''s even a city''s worth of it inside the storage ring!

    ''In case you are wondering, Master, this ck ingot is pure starcore iron, mined from the core region of dying stars. It''s a Tier-6 material used for forging Tier-6 and Tier-7 Divine Artifacts, but alsomonly used as currency in the Celestial Alliance.''

    Tak-si informed him.

    ''I see. So this thing is ck iron from a star''s core¡­ In that case, a city''s worth of starcore iron isn''t much, considering the sheer size of the stars,'' Leon thought.

    Nevertheless, it''s not like the Celestial Alliance could go around destroying stars and mining starcore iron as they please.

    ''Is a city''s worth of starcore iron considered a lot in the Celestial Alliance, Tak-si?''

    ''Definitely, Master! Even Celestial Kings would not have this much wealth unless they had an extraordinary background!''

    ''I see. So it''s considered a lot,'' Leon casually replied, but his eyes glowed.

    Considering there are another 7 Tier-6 and 5 Tier-5 Interspatial Rings for him to look through, he might have just obtained unimaginable wealth.

 Chapter 783 - Gifting Treasures

    <h4>Chapter 783 - Gifting Treasures</h4>

    As Leon suspected, there were more starcore iron ingots in each storage ring, albeit the quantity varies from storage ring to storage iron.

    Nevertheless, the starcore iron ingots still add up to several cities'' worth.

    "Goddammit, I am f*cking rich, son!" Leon eximed with joy before his mood suddenly deted like a balloon. "But s, there''s nowhere to spend it for the time being¡­"

    It didn''te as a surprise to him that the Impervious Sea Celestial King''s family would possess so much wealth.

    After all, they were rted to the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor, the Celestial Alliance leader.

    Shortly after Leon pocketed all the storage rings into the Worldspace, Saresha approached him and gave him a respectful salute.

    "My Lord, the graves have been dug," she reported.

    Leon nced at the big empty pit beside the dark faes in the distance before he nodded and made his way over.

    Using his elemental abilities, he made ice coffins for the two Celestial bodies, simple earth coffins for the other corpses and bones, and an earth jar for the ashes.

    Then, he ced them all in the empty pit before filling it up with the nearby dirt pile and putting a gravestone on top that says, "Impervious Sea Celestial King''s family lies here."

    "Alright, everything has been settled; there''s nothing else for us to do here. Let us leave," Leon said to the dark faes.

    "Yes, my Lord."

    Rumble¡­!

    The support-circuit building''s door sealed off the entrance after Leon left the floatingndmass with the dark faes, making their way back to the Abyssal Wood Forest.

    "Are you taking us to the other humans, my Lord?" Saresha quickly asked after noticing their direction.

    The dark faes immediately showed concerns and uneasiness in their expressions.

    However, Leon assured them, "There''s nothing to be worried about. No harm wille to any of you while I am around. Also, humans will not attack you if you do not give them a reason to attack."

    "If you say so, my Lord. But what should we do if they try to provoke us?" Saresha inquired carefully.

    The dark faes all had simr thoughts.

    Are they supposed to endure if the humans provoke and humiliate them? Of course, they had no problem with that since they are used to it.

    However, what difference will there be in being on the human''s side?

    Leon paused for a moment before he said, "You will not take the initiative to provoke others, but if they provoke you first, then feel free to attack them¡ªif you can beat them, that is. Otherwise, report it to me."

    "After all, you are my people now and thereby represent me. Therefore, anyone who humiliates you is the same as humiliating me. Keep that in mind."

    "Understood, my Lord!"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "You''re back, Leon," Aria greeted.

    "Un," Leon nodded before ncing at the spatial storm for a brief moment. "How''s the situation? Any changes during my absence?"

    "No, Darlene''s Transcendent Phenomenon hasn''t changed in the least, and the others are still recuperating from their injuries."

    "Did they not receive recovery pills I handed over to Senior One-Eye?" Leon furrowed his brows and turned to face the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    However, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman wasn''t sure what kind of answer Leon was seeking, so he replied honestly.

    "This old man had indeed given the recovery pills to the injured warriors, but it wasn''t enough for the Peak-rank and Extremity-rank Battle Masters to have a full recovery."

    "Peak-rank and Extremity-rank Battle Masters, huh?" Leon muttered with an understanding look.

    A single Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pill is indeed not enough for Peak-rank and Extremity-rank Battle Masters to make a full recovery.

    However, he had handed out enough for them to take multiple recovery pills.

    Since that didn''t happen, it was obvious that the Peak-rank and Extremity-rank Battle Masters only ingested one pill and saved the rest.

    "Well, since they want to be stingy with the recovery pills I handed out, forget about them and just let them recuperate at their own pace," Leon shirked off the matter with a nonchnt wave.

    "More importantly, I have a gift for you, Senior," he said shortly after.

    "Oh? A gift from Young Master Leonhardt? Haha, this old man will never refuse a gift from Young Master Leonhardt."

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman expressed his keen interest.

    At the same time, he did not pay any attention to the dark faes,pletely ignoring them and treating them like air.

    "Senior likes using big swords, right? I have a weapon here that just suits you," Leon stated while taking out the Quasi Tier-7 Greatsword.

    When the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman epted the Quasi Tier-7 Greatsword with pleasant surprise, its weight made his arms drop slightly.

    "Oh? It''s heavier than I thought, just how I like it!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman grinned.

    He raised the Quasi Tier-7 Greatsword in the air and gave it a few practice swings, causing sharp bursts of wind that threatened tocerate everything in its path.

    A short whileter, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman revealed a satisfied look.

    "This weapon is amazing! Thank you for the gift, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman expressed his sincere gratitude.

    In his mind, the Quasi Tier-7 Greatsword was not inferior to the Tier-7 Divine Sword.

    "d you like it, Senior," Leon nodded.

    Aria didn''t express any disappointment or opinion when Leon gifted a precious weapon to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    But when Leon turned to her with a smile, her heart suddenly skipped a beat with rising anticipation.

    "I have some goodies for you too," he said.

    Then, he took out the Tier-7 Interspatial Ring and several white and blue Tier-6 armor such as pauldrons, gauntlets, chest armor, and leg armor.

    For Aria, who had yet to begin Body Cultivation, such items will protect her well.

    "You don''t need to¡­ You''ve already given me a precious weapon like the Tier-7 Divine Sword¡­ I don''t need anything else," Aria replied shyly with an abashed look, feeling embarrassed by the special attention.

    She saw the members of the Dark Fae n stare at her with envious looks, wondering if they would ever get such treatment.

 Chapter 784 - Secret Behind Demon Cultivation

    <h4>Chapter 784 - Secret Behind Demon Cultivation</h4>

    "I see¡­ You don''t want it. I guess I''ll find another lovelydy to give these to," Leon teased while withdrawing the items.

    However, Aria quickly hoarded them back while pouting, "You''re bullying me! Hmph, I dare you to find anotherdy!"

    "That''s what you said; don''t you forget it," Leon grinned without backing down.

    "You¡­! Hmph!" Aria snorted.

    Seeing how Leon acted, she no longer felt bad about taking all the Tier-6 and Tier-7 artifacts he offered.

    Meanwhile, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nced at the Tier-6 artifacts in Aria''s arms before he softly muttered with envy, "If this old man can receive this many precious artifacts, this old man wouldn''t mind being bullied like this¡­"

    s, everyone overheard him before they started giving him weird looks.

    Sensing the odd stares, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nces up at them before he suddenly realizes what he just said.

    His words were very ambiguous and easy to give people the wrong idea.

    "W-wait, this old man didn''t mean it that way¡­" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman tried to exin, but he struggled to convince everyone.

    s, he dug this grave himself and jumped into it.

    "Ahem, anyway," Leon cleared his throat with a cough before changing the topic.

    "Senior One-Eye is a Half-step Battle King now, but you shouldn''t stop here. Since there''s nothing urgent, Senior One-Eye should take this chance to push all the way to the Battle King Realm."

    "Since Young Master Leonhardt said so, this old man will follow your wish," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon went to inform the Sky Sword Tribe, Western ckriver Tribe, Ember Lion Tribe, and Cold Gale Tribe of the Dark Fae n andid down some ground rules to avoid internal conflict.

    Then, he had Saresha and the rest of her nsmen stand guard on the central forest''s perimeters before he headed over to the mountain of demon corpses.

    "Is this all of them?" Leon asks.

    "Mm," Aria responded with a nod before adding, "I''m not sure if I missed any, but this was all I can find in the area."

    There were at least 300 Greater Demons in the corpse mountain; considering each Greater Demon possesses roughly six different origin blood, that adds up to 1800 origin blood.

    There are bound to be quite a few unique types of origin blood Leon had yet to absorb among them.

    Furthermore, two Arch Demons are included on top of that, namely, the Two-Headed Cyclops Arch Demon and the Evil Eye Arch Demon.

    "This is good; I should be able to advance the Evesting Blood Mantra a fair bit with this many demon corpses. Thank you, Aria."

    Leon held Aria''s soft hands and gazed at her before asking, "How''s your cultivation going? Any bottlenecks?"

    "Not for the time being. This secret realm''s environment isn''t suitable forprehending the Ice and Lightning Law, but there''s much for me to learn from the Tier-7 Divine Sword''s sword aura. I feel that I am close to forming my own Sword Intent."

    Aria replied without looking at Leon, still feeling grumpy about the previous matter, but at the same time, she enjoyed the intimate attention she was receiving.

    "Oh?" Leon softly eximed with astonishment while not minding her little tantrum.

    "That''s great. Once your Sword Intent is formed, you''ll be able to exert even more power with the Tier-7 Divine Sword."

    "Mm, I also think so," Aria nodded in agreement.

    "Aria, you should also focus on your cultivation while the situation isn''t urgent," Leon stated before mentioning, "We might have repelled the demons, but there''s no telling when more powerful demonse."

    "Mm, I''ll listen to you." Ariaplied obediently.

    Everyone is improving by leaps and bounds, but the demons are improving just as much¡ªif not even greater than humans.

    No, thetter was more likely to be true.

    Unlike any other ce on the Dark Abyss Continent, the secret realm provided the best environment for the demons to grow with its overflowing dark energy.

    After Aria found a spot in the ashen trees to cultivate, Leon collected all the demon blood from the mountain of demon corpses before shifting his focus on studying the two Arch Demons'' bodies.

    "These two Arch Demons had powerful physiques¡ªno, all the Greater Demons also had strong physiques, a clear result of Body Cultivation; yet they also have energy cores like Energy Cultivators¡­"

    Leon furrowed his brows in thought while wondering whether the Arch Demons also had Arch Demon-level demon cores in their bodies.

    As he suspected, after opening up the Arch Demons'' bodies, he found the Arch Demon-level demon cores.

    "The demon''s cultivation method, this is something I don''t quite understand. How can demons have energy cores when they have strong physiques? They have to be dual cultivating energy and body to have both¡ªNo, wait."

    While pondering on the matter as he extracts demon cores from the demon corpses, he suddenly discovered the location of the demon cores varied from demon to demon.

    "What is this? Most demon cores are located in the demons'' bes, but there are some located in their stomachs, chests, and hearts?" he muttered with doubt.

    After musing for a short while, his eyes suddenly flickers.

    ''I understand now; these demon core locations are the locations of the Eight Hidden Gates! The demons open their Eight Hidden Gates prematurely, giving them early boosts in physical strength at the cost of theirtent potential!''

    In the Godfiend Body Forging Method, the Body Tempering and Body Transformation Realm must beplete before opening the Eight Hidden Gates, but the demons did not seem to abide by this rule.

    "Humans don''t have the same regenerative abilities and study bodies like demons; they need to build up their foundation before they attempt the opening of the Eight Hidden Gates¡­ If they try to adopt the demons'' method¡­"

    Death was likely their oue.

    The opening of the Eight Hidden Gates was a dangerous task that humans could not achieve with their fragile bodies.

    Their eight hidden gate locations would simply rupture from the tremendous stress of energy flow ced on them.

 Chapter 785 - The Gate Of Wisdom

    <h4>Chapter 785 - The Gate Of Wisdom</h4>

    ''Opening the eight hidden gates is like creating eight new energy cores¡­ the demand on the sticity and sturdiness of the energy channels and inner organs is very high¡­'' Leon mused.

    Only demons and beast could open their hidden gates earlier with their innate gifts, and typically, the Gate of Opening located in their be would be their first choice.

    There is no actual order to the opening of the Eight Hidden Gates, but the Gate of Opening is also known as the Gate of Wisdom, which grants spiritual intelligence to thecking demons and beasts.

    A true First-Gate Body Cultivator is said to beparable to Celestial Warriors, but Leon knew that is not the case for the demons who open their hidden gates prematurely.

    Weak foundations limit their strength, which also applies to Energy Cultivation.

    Energy Condensation Realm Divine Cultivators could indeed enter the Revolving Core Realm early, but their limited energy would only form smaller cores.

    ''Although the thought of opening my first hidden gate early never crossed my mind, it''s still good that I figure its consequences,'' Leon thought.

    His future opponents are the Peak Divine Kings in Divine Realm.

    Limiting histent potential in Body Cultivation for the sake of short-term benefits is not the mindset of an avenger pursuing the absolute limits of cultivation.

    Shortly after Leon finished extracting all the demon cores from the demons, Chief Skyhawk and the other tribe leaders approached him.

    "Young Master Leonhardt, do you have any other ns for these demon corpses?" asked Riverstar, the leading warrior of the Western ckriver Tribe.

    Although Leon and Aria killed the Arch Demons and many Greater Demons, the four tribes also made great contributions by killing many Greater Demons and Lesser Demons afterward.

    Despite that, they did not say anything when Leon took all the demon cores and a sample of all the demons'' blood.

    Leon thought for a moment before shaking his head.

    "I don''t have any other use for these demon bodies," he replied.

    "Then, do you mind if we take their bodies while they''re still fresh, Young Master Leon? Their flesh and blood can be refined into strong recovery medicine," said a different tribe leader from the Ember Lion Tribe, Dustdawn.

    "Please, by all means, take them," Leon gestured to the mountain of demon corpses with his hand.

    He was already feeling slightly embarrassed for monopolizing the demon cores, but he needed a longer period of observation before he could deem them trustworthy enough to have a share of the demon cores.

    He did not want to carelessly grant people opportunities to grow¡ªonly for them to backstab himter.

    "Thank you, Young Master Leonhardt."

    Unaware of his thoughts, Chief Skyhawk and the other tribe leaders expressed their gratitude before dividing the spoils and taking them back to their tribesmen.

    Leon was curious about their medicine refinement method, but not enough to dy his cultivation.

    After they were gone, he took out the bottles of demon blood essence he collected earlier andmenced his blood refinement.

    While he was at it, he kept a portion of his attention on the spatial storm with his second consciousness.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Inside the spatial storm, Darlene was in a deep trance with her consciousness trapped inside the void that exists in her mind.

    She was utterly oblivious to the world-changingmotion she created in the outside world.

    The Void Space, something unique to people with the Void Soul Constitution, was a profound subspace of unknown depths and deep secrets.

    As Darlene''s body underwent the baptism of spatial energy, her consciousness was inadvertently drawn into this subspace with extremely powerful Spatial Law.

    Leon had once taken a glimpse of it with his divine sense but proceeded no further than the outer rim, fearing it would pull his consciousness deep within and trap it forever.

    Nevertheless, as Darlene''s consciousness drifted deeper into the void, she drew closer to her soul core that lies hidden deep within the subspace''s center.

    It was never found; hence, it was called the Void Soul Constitution.

    At the same time, the Spatial Law bes increasingly rich and overflowing in presence, allowing Darlene to sense andprehend it easily.

    She waspletely immersed in the feeling as if in a drunken stupor, floating in a boundless sea and drifting wherever the waves took her.

    The things she did not understand about the Spatial Law suddenly became crystal clear to her, almost to the point that she felt a certain intimacy and connection to it.

    ''Something is calling out to me from the very depths of my own soul¡­'' Darlene thought.

    Suddenly, the feeling of anxiety and fear sprouted within her.

    She was supposed to feel a deeper connection with herself on a spiritual level as she drew closer to her soul, but instead, she felt something else calling out to her.

    Subconsciously, she wanted to reject the calling as if she would lose her sense of self if she did not do it.

    "No, I can''t run away! I want to change! I want to be reliable! I don''t want to be forever protected! I want to be one protecting!" Darlene cried in her mind.

    She quickly steeled her resolve and pressed onwards.

    ''The secret of my soul, I have to understand it! And as long as my will is firm, I will not lose myself!'' she convinced herself.

    Simply by drifting closer to the source of her own soul, her Spatial Lawprehension improves at a remarkable rate.

    By the time she reached her soul core, she felt like herprehension was already beyond the level of a normal Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent.

    However, the joy of aplishment did not overwhelm her.

    The appearance of the murky semi-transparent soul core hadpletely captured her attention¡ªor more specifically, the single spot of brilliant light on her soul core did.

    That spot of brilliant light illuminated the dark void of subspace like the sparkling stars in the night sky.

    ''Why does this spot on my soul core seems so specialpared to the rest of it? Is this starlight?'' Darlene wondered.

    "You''ve finallye¡­"

    "W-who?!"

    The foreign voice startled her.

 Chapter 786 - Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment

    <h4>Chapter 786 - Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment</h4>

    Inside the dark void of space that is Darlene''s sea of consciousness, there was nothing around her other than her soul core.

    Darlene searched around for the source of the voice before eventually fixing her attention on the bright spot of her soul core.

    "Was it you? Who are you?" she asked.

    However, the bright spot did not respond, only flickering ever brightly and illuminating the dark space with its luminescent starlight.

    "Was it just my imagination?" Darlene frowned.

    Theck of response made her doubt herself, but at the same time, she was also certain that it shouldn''t be possible for her to hear anything unless it was through telepathy.

    "It shouldn''t be¡­" she muttered before saying, "If you don''t n on responding, then don''t bother me again; I need to cultivate."

    Shortly after saying that, Darlene paid no further attention to the unknown voice.

    She didn''t understand much about the soul; thus, there was no point wasting precious time to figure out something she knew little to nothing.

    Since she was in the middle of cultivation, she should focus on that.

    She allowed herself to drift around her soul core freely as she raised her perception to the zenith and sensed the strongws of space in her sea of consciousness.

    In the past,prehending the Spatial Law was like sailing through the vast stormy sea without any heading.

    But now that she was next to her soul core, brimming with spatial elements, the Spatial Law couldn''t be clearer as if it wasid out with step-by-step instructions on how to understand it.

    ''Was it supposed to be this easy?'' Darlene doubted.

    Nevertheless, her doubts didn''t stop her from studying Spatial Law and trying toprehend it.

    Spatial Law was generally divided into five main levels ofprehension; Distortion, Void Fracture, Teleportation, Gravity Control, and finally, Infinity.

    With each higher level ofprehension, one bes closer to grasping the quintessence of the Spatial Law.

    "Distortion¡­ What I have been using was only the surface of it, and yet I am already starting to understand Void Fracture¡­" Darlene mused.

    But even if she understood the next level ofwprehension, it wouldn''t immediately raise her cultivation to the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent, not unless shepletelyprehended the first level.

    "Once I understand 100%prehend Distortion, I will immediately step into Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent¡­"

    Nevertheless, the subsequent steps after that would only be more difficult and longer toprehend.

    The third level of Teleportation was the realm of Paragons, and the fourth level of Gravity Control was the realm of Celestials.

    By knowing this, Darlene could grasp how difficult the fourth level of Gravity Control truly was.

    After all, the Paragon Realm was just a single stage within the Transcendent Realm, yet it is enough to master the third level.

    On the other hand, it requires the entire Celestial Realm to master the fourth level of Gravity Control.

    And the final level, Infinity, Darlene did not know how long it would take a person to grasp¡ªif it could ever be grasped in the person''s lifetime.

    "Infinity¡­ Only True Divinities can achieve this level¡­ Mortals can''t reach it¡­" Darlene muttered to herself before doubt filled her heart. "But how do I know all this?"

    The knowledge seemed to just appear in her mind when she thought of it.

    The discovery baffled her.

    ''Where is all this knowledgeing from?'' she wondered.

    She felt uneasiness sprouting in her heart due to something she did not understand.

    Nevertheless, Darlene''s Spatial Lawprehension grew at a remarkable rate, passing the level of a Mid Preliminary ession-level Transcendent.

    However, her Spatial Lawprehension wasn''t the only thing that improved within the dark void of space.

    "Huh?"

    The increasing luminosity of her soul core''s bright spot interrupted her cultivation and drew her attention before she noticed the bright spot had grown bigger on her soul core.

    "What is this thing, really? Why is it getting bigger? Is this change a good thing or a bad thing?" Darlene could not help but worry.

    Even so, she did not feel any malice or danger from the bright spot¡ªrather, she felt a bit of intimacy to it.

    "Hello again," the foreign voice suddenly transmitted its message.

    "I-it really was you?!" Darlene stared at the bright spot with rm. "Why didn''t you respond before?"

    This time, she was confident that the unknown voice transmitting its thoughts to her wasing from the bright spot on her soul core.

    "My apologies, I was exhausted and forced to enter hibernationst time. But now that we have grown a fair bit stronger, we can finally hold a proper conversation," the bright spot exined.

    "We? You speak as if our growth and fates are intertwined," Darlene frowned before asking, "Just who are you? No, what are you?"

    "I am a fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void, the one who touched upon the Infinity and be evesting since the primordial age of beginning. But you can also say that I am you, yet at the same time, you are not me¡ªat least not yet."

    "Empyrean Infinite Void? An Empyrean God? Why does my soul core have a fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void, someone who existed in the so-called primordial age of beginning? And what do you mean not yet? What will happen to me?"

    Darlene''s heart was shaken by the bright spot iming to be a fragment of an Empyrean God.

    Even if it was just a fragment, does she even stand a chance at resisting its will?

    "The great war between gods and devils during the primordial age of beginning was one of unparalleled destruction; all life was nearly destroyed as a result of it," the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment spoke.

    "However, True Divinities are beings who have achieved the evesting. Even if the great war destroyed their bodies, their imperishable soul will never truly die."

    "But you''re just a fragment?" Darlene frowned with doubt.

    "Yes, that is true," the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment admitted before saying, "Imperishable souls can be shattered again and again, but they will never truly disappear from existence¡ªso long as Primal Chao persists."

    "Thus, you don''t need to be surprised about everyone possessing a dormant fragment of gods or devils in them. Also, god souls have shattered into far too many fragments that the gods cannot revive unless someone purposely gathers all their soul fragments."

    "Thus, you do not need to worry about epting my power. In fact, possessing a powerful fragment like me is a good opportunity for you. Do you not desire power?" the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment asked.

    "I do, but at what cost does your powere with? And what kind of power can you give?" Darlene questioned the fragment with a strong sense of distrust.

    "Since I am a fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void, I possess some of Empyrean Infinite Void''s memories andwprehension. Therefore, if you ept me and allow us to be one entity formally, you will have ess to Empyrean Infinite Void''sprehension and memories."

    "This will grant you the ability to demonstrate spatial power well beyond your level of cultivation¡ªbut of course, there are consequences for this, so you should not attempt it often," the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment exined.

    However, it seemed to have left out the most crucial information that Darlene was concerned about, causing her to frown.

    "What is the price for this power? What will it cost me?" she asked again.

    "There is no price. Since we share the same soul source to exist at the moment of your birth, I, the Empyrean Infinite Void''s soul fragment, can be considered a type oftent potential that you have yet to awaken," the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment stated.

    "You should understand that not everyone gets the chance to awaken their god fragment this early. It is only possible because I am the fragment of an Empyrean Goddess, a being who stands even above the likes of True Gods and Heavenly Gods."

    "But, well, if I really need to mention a price¡ªit will be your personality. By epting me, there''s a chance that you will sumb to the Empyrean Infinite Void''s vast memories, twisting your personality to be like Empyrean Infinite Void herself."

    "However, if you have a strong will, then Empyrean Infinite Void''s memories will have little-to-no effect on you," the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment stated.

    After listening to the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment''s exnation, Darlene noticed its voice had grown increasingly weak and tired over time as if talking took a toll on it.

    Nevertheless, she did not immediately ept the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment but fell into silent contemtion.

    It was true that she felt no malice nor danger from the fragment, but there was no telling what it was actually thinking.

    How much of its words were true, she wouldn''t know.

    "How do I ept your power anyway?" Darlene asked out of curiosity.

    "Since I have already awakened thanks to your growth, half the step has already beenpleted. The only thing stopping the Empyrean Infinite Void''swprehension and memories that I contain from flowing into you¡ªis the feeling of rejection you have within your heart."

    "So long as you have this feeling of rejection towards me, I cannot freely share the Empyrean Infinite Void''swprehension and memories with you," the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment patiently stated.

    After speaking so much, Darlene began to have a clearer picture of the situation.

    In other words, whether she epts the Empyrean Infinite Void''swprehension and memories or not was ultimately her choice to make.

    The Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment cannot force her; she was in control.

 Chapter 787 - Intermediate Second Stage

    <h4>Chapter 787 - Intermediate Second Stage</h4>

    While the spatial storm continued to hover above the Abyssal Wood Forest, the surface below entered a period of silence.

    Half of the four tribes'' warriors busied themselves with dismantling demon corpses, refining recovery medicines, or either recuperating while others cultivated.

    Nevertheless, some of them could not help but nce over to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s direction.

    "This is¡­" an Extremity-rank Battle Master uttered.

    The overflowing dark energy rippled into the surroundings as the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman drew it out of the Demon King-level demon core for his cultivation.

    The four tribes could not guess its grade, but they could tell it was of higher quality than Arch Demon-level demon cores.

    "That core in Senior One-Eye''s hand is so rich in dark energy. Don''t tell me it''s the demon core of a Demon Lord?"

    "Surely not, right? Was there a Demon Lord-level Tomb around here?"

    "There isn''t, but there are also rumors that a Demon King-level Tomb lies within this forest¡ªIn fact, isn''t that the entrance over there?"

    The Battle Masters all threw their gazes at the entrance by the central tree before they realized astonished faces.

    "Doesn''t that mean Senior One-Eye is actually holding the Demon King-level demon core from the tomb? Did he really conquer the Demon King-level Tomb?" a High-rank Battle Master uttered with surprise.

    "Fuuu¡­" another High-rank Battle Master sucked in a deep breath and exhaled before saying, "Whether it''s true or not isn''t important. That¡ª"

    The High-rank Battle Master wanted to say the demon core doesn''t belong to any of them, so they can only admire and envy it.

    However, he was quickly interrupted before he could finish speaking.

    "That''s right; it''s not important. Whether it''s a Demon Lord-level or Demon King-level demon core, they are both priceless treasures that even the Battle God cannot ignore. If the Battle God hears of it, he will definitely try to snatch it."

    The Extremity-rank Battle Master from the Cold Gale Tribe spoke.

    "If we let the Battle God learn of this demon core, wouldn''t we be able to build a rtionship with the Battle God Pce?"

    A High-rank Battle Master from the Cold Gale Tribe mentioned before getting smacked by an Extremity-rank Battle Master from the Sky Sword Tribe.

    "How dare you hit me!" the High-rank Battle Master exploded.

    However, the Extremity-rank Battle Master exploded even more furiously, not backing down in the slightest, causing tension between the tribes.

    "Are my tribesmen people you can casually hit?" a Cold Gale Tribe''s Extremity-rank Battle Master questioned with a threatening tone.

    "You better warn your tribesman to watch their tongues!" the Sky Sword Tribe''s Battle Master barked. "Do you think Senior One-Eye could have obtained the suspected Demon King-level demon core on his own?"

    "Definitely not. Young Master Leonhardt would have yed an important role in conquering the Demon King-level Tomb to obtain it, and yet the demon core is in Senior One-Eye''s hand. So what does that tell you? Young Master Leonhardt doesn''t care about it!"

    The Sky Sword Tribe''s Battle Master strongly believed the conquered Demon King-level Tomb was all due to Young Master Leonhardt.

    He wouldn''t have thought so before, but after seeing the person battle two Arch Demons, it was hard not to believe in the person''s extreme capabilities.

    "The Cold Gale Tribe was in the wrong and should apologize," a Western ckriver Tribe''s Battle Master interjected and said,

    "What your tribesman said is uneptable. Do you want others to think you are nning to backstab Senior One-Eye and Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "Of course not," the Cold Gale Tribe''s Extremity-rank Battle Master frowned.

    "Then apologize¡ªnot only to us but also to Senior One-Eye and Young Master Leonhardt," the Western ckriver Tribe''s Battle Master strongly asserted.

    The Cold Gale Tribe''s Extremity-rank Battle Master was displeased by the person''s tone.

    "Don''t go too far."

    "This isn''t about going too far; this is about whether your tribe wants forgiveness or not. Do you believe Senior One-Eye will stop at the Battle King Realm? No, he won''t. He will definitely be a Battle God in the future," the Western ckriver Tribe''s Battle Master stated.

    "Not just any Battle God either," the Sky Sword Tribe''s Battle Master adds, "A Demon King-level demon core is something the world has never seen before. If Senior One-Eye has something like that, he has a chance to be something beyond a Battle God."

    "And what makes you think Senior One-Eye can achieve that?" the Cold Gale Tribe''s Battle Master retorted.

    However, his foolish question made others snicker in response.

    "Heh. Do you even need to ask something so obvious? If a warrior with a shattered core can cultivate the body again, then anything is possible," the Sky Sword Tribe''s Battle Master ridiculed.

    "Rather than trying to curry favor with a Battle God you may or may not meet in your entire lifetime, it''s better to improve your rtionship with a future Battle God that you are already acquainted with."

    While the four tribes bickered without their leaders around, neither the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, Aria, nor Leon was aware of it, simply immersed in their cultivation.

    Leon emptied bottles after bottles of demon blood to refine the blood essences and absorbed the origin blood.

    Gradually, there was nothing left to absorb.

    A few momentster, his eyes snapped open with a sh of crimson light while his body exuded overflowing vigor.

    He has umted 599 types of origin blood!

    "I''ve made it past the halfway mark in one session, not bad," Leon casually remarked to himself as he reflected on his progress.

    He was neither impressed nor disappointed by it.

    Of the roughly 1800 origin blood he absorbed, only 414 origin blood were unique in addition to the 185 unique origin blood he umted.

    Although the amount was higher than his expectation, it was also less than he had hoped.

    Nevertheless, it was clear that Greater Demons provided more diversity of origin blood for him to improve and further his blood-refining phase inparison to Lesser Demons.

    ''Should I let the demons grow a bit before I hunt?'' Leon thought to himself before shaking his head in the next moment.

    Whatever unique origin blood the creatures inside the Radiant Heaven Realmship had to offer, he could collect them himself once he binds the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

 Chapter 788 - Leons Brilliant Idea

    <h4>Chapter 788 - Leon''s Brilliant Idea</h4>

    There was no need to give demons opportunities to grow and make things difficult for other humans.

    Only those who follow him can have such opportunities.

    ''Although I''ve absorbed a lot of unique origin blood from the Greater Demons, I doubt I will gain as many new types of origin blood the next time around¡­'' Leon mused.

    He would be dreaming if he expects every Greater Demon to have refined beast blood different from others.

    That was clearly not the case.

    Having refined thousands of demon blood essences, he already noticed a specific pattern in the types of origin blood they contained.

    The demons were selective with the blood essence they absorbed from other beasts and creatures.

    For instance, the most repeated origin blood he found within the demon blood essences belonged to lizard-type beasts.

    ''Is it because Lizard-type beasts have higher innate regenerative abilitypared to all other types of beasts?'' Leon silently pondered.

    It would exin why he felt his regenerative ability was higher than his actual mastery in the Evesting Blood Mantra.

    It was almostparable to Tier-3 recovery medicine, something he was only meant to possess after mastering the Second Stage of Rejuvenation.

    And although it was called the Rejuvenation Stage, it doesn''t mean that his regenerative abilities will cap at Tier-3.

    No, it was far beyond that.

    His regenerative abilities will continue to grow alongside his advancement in the Evesting Blood Mantra.

    Reaching high stages simply unlocks new blood abilities; it does stop the improvement of old ones.

    After dispelling excess blood energy to stabilize his cultivation, Leon begins to ponder his next target.

    ''Since hunting any more of the Greater Demons might not be rewarding while Arch Demons are too few and troublesome to defeat¡­ Should I set my eyes on the sea monsters?'' Leon mused.

    ''Yo, Tak-si. Since you are the realm spirit of this entire space, you should have a clear overview of all the creatures and their strengths in this subspace, right?''

    ''That is correct, Master.'' Tak-si admitted.

    ''How many demons are still alive since entering the secret realm? How many are Arch Demons among them?'' Leon inquired.

    ''I''m sorry, Master. I wasn''t awake at that time; thus, I do not know how many demons entered this realm,'' Tak-si said apologetically.

    ''However, there are currently 7244 demons in the realm, and 71 Arch Demons among them-oh, it''s 72 Arch Demons now.''

    ''Another one just broke through, huh?'' Leon knitted brows.

    The number of Arch Demons was much higher than he anticipated; it was the equivalent of 72 Paragons.

    If the collective human forces face the demons in a head-on battle, without a doubt, the demons will decimate them.

    After inquiring about the human side, Leon found out that not a single person had broken through to the Battle King Realm.

    However, 27 other warriors have be Half-step Battle Kings.

    ''Only 27 Half-step Battle Kings, huh? Humans truly can''tpare to the demons when ites to improvement in this realm¡­''

    Leon smiled wryly at the thought before his eyes flickered with a sudden idea.

    There was no need for a confrontation with the demons.

    ''Do you have the power to eject all the demons out of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, Tak-si?''

    ''If I was in my prime state, it can be easily done with a single thought. However, I lost most of my abilities due to the damage my core has sustained, and the demons have used a Teleportation Artifact that''s not a part of me; thus, I cannot eject them.''

    ''I see¡­'' Leon uttered.

    ''However, my core doesn''t require full repair for me to recover some of my spatial abilities. I''d say only about 20% repairment is needed to regain the function for some short-distance jumps and to remove the demons from the realm at a whim.''

    Shortly after the realm spirit said that, Leon expressed his interest.

    ''Interesting¡­ And how much True Grandmist Energy would you need for a 20% repair?'' Leon queried.

    ''About two-hundredfold the previous amount you''ve given me will be enough to repair 20% of my core, Master.''

    "Two-hundredfold? That''s quite a lot of True Grandmist Energy; I don''t have that much." Leon uttered while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But while I don''t have that much, I can make more."

    His words immediately gave the realm spirit a terrible feeling.

    ''Err¡­ Master? Please don''t tear down any more of my subspace''s dimension. The spatial tear from thest instance had yet to be fully patched up, and seawater is even pouring inside. If Master tears any more spatial rift in the dimension, this entire realm will be flooded sooner orter.''

    Tak-si expressed a bit of anxiousness as it informed him.

    "Seawater is pouring into the realm?" Leon furrowed his brows.

    After sweeping his divine sense over to the spatial tear he had created previously, he could indeed see the seawater pouring into the realm.

    "I had some other use for this True Grandmist Energy, but never mind. You''ve been very obedient and answered all my inquiries; here, take it. You deserve it."

    Leon summoned the orb of True Grandmist Energy he collected and flicked it into the sky with a straight face despite seeming like an overbearing tyrant.

    He created the problem, yet he is rewarding the realm spirit to fix the problem.

    It was not much different from punching a man in the gut and snatching his wallet, only to return itter after forcing the man to serve him.

    s, that was not important.

    Tak-si happily caught the orb of True Grandmist Energy with its divine spirit before patching up the spatial tear without thinking deeply into the matter.

    Once Tak-sipleted its task, its divine spirit disappeared back into the background.

    "Anyway, you don''t need to worry about the realm''s dimension getting torn down again. I won''t use my power on the dimension, but I''ll definitely use it on something else."

    ''What will you use your power on, Master?'' Tak-si asked warily.

    "Don''t you have an excess amount ofnd, trees, grass¡ªwell, basically an excess of everything due to the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world? I''ll help you remove them," Leon grinned.

    Doing so should fetch him quite arge amount of True Grandmist Energy.

 Chapter 789 - Battle King One-Eye

    <h4>Chapter 789 - Battle King One-Eye</h4>

    After the realm spirit heard Leon''s words, it felt rather relieved.

    Although the Radiant Heaven Realmship has been immersed in the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s dark power for so long that it had adapted to it, the realm spirit still leaned towards the light.

    After all, it was made by an extremist of the Light Faction.

    ''If Master can do that, I will be grateful,'' Tak-si replied.

    ''You''ll be grateful, huh? Good to know we''re on the same page,'' Leon nodded, seeing that realm spirit wasn''t against the idea.

    Nevertheless, some questions remain regarding the events of the war that urred within the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    There was no doubt that the aftermath of the war should have left behind many corpses, yet there were little to no discoveries of them.

    ''Were they taken away in the previous openings, or are they still buried under manyyers of the earth? Also, who built the Teleportation Array?''

    These were all questions on Leon''s mind.

    Rumble¡­!

    Suddenly, he felt an explosive surge of vigoring from the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s direction before he heard the old man''s joyousughter in the next moment.

    "Buhahaha! Battle King atst! To think I will finally have a day like this!" the One-Eye Venerable Shaman celebrated jubntly.

    He already knew that his ascension to the Battle King Realm was just a matter of time when he sessfully refined the Arch Demon-level demon core.

    However, knowing it was one thing and actually bing one is another.

    The feeling was not the same.

    "So this is what it feels like to be a Battle King¡­ My strength has directly increased twofold from the Half-step Battle King Realm¡­"

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman clenched his fists and studied his strength as he adjusted to his newfound power.

    The new core supplied energy throughout his body, reinforcing his bones and muscles, allowing him to exert the physical might of 5-mil jins.

    "I believe some congrattions are required," Leon flew over before cupping his hands with a smile and saying, "Congrattions on bing a Battle King, Senior."

    "It''s all thanks to you, Young Master Leonhardt. This wouldn''t have been possible without your help," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman replied humbly.

    He did not forget to whom he owed his achievement.

    "Given the secret realm has opportunities hidden everywhere, I''m sure Senior One-Eye would have found a way to be a Battle King sooner orter; I only helped you reach it sooner, nothing worth mentioning."

    "You''re too humble, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shook his head wryly.

    If it were so easy for shattered-core warriors to resume their body cultivation, Battle Kings would have filled the Infertile ins already.

    "I''m a bit curious about the Battle King Realm," Leon shortly stated before asking, "Would Senior mind if I inspect your body for a moment?"

    "Of course. Please, by all means, Young Master Leonhardt. Why would this old man mind?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman permitted before adding with a chuckle, "Perhaps, Young Master Leonhardt can find some hidden ailments guing this old man in the process."

    There was no reason for the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman to doubt that Leon might harm him; he had no reason to.

    On the other hand, Leon''s request was no different from a free medical diagnosis.

    Nevertheless, after receiving the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s permission, Leon swept the person with his divine sense.

    He immediately understood everything happening within the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s body a short momentter.

    The Arch Demon-level demon core acts as a furnace, constantly supplying dark energy to the rest of the body.

    Because most human bodies do not have an affinity to dark energy, the consistent supply of dark energy harms the body and empowers it at the same time.

    Warriors rely on recovery medicine refined from the blood and flesh of demons and beasts to counteract the harmful effects of the dark energy and thereby turn it into a tempering process to enhance their bodies.

    ''Is this why Body Cultivators in the Infertile ins enjoy great strength at the cost of shorter lifespans?'' Leon mused.

    In theory, one can also attain evesting life purely through Body Cultivation, just like any other cultivation path.

    However, from what he had seen, the Body Cultivators in the Infertile ins only enjoy a short few hundred years of life while Transcendents could potentially live up to thousands of years.

    ''This is¡­''

    After studying the Arch Demon-level demon core inside the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s be more carefully, he noticed it was less like an energy core and more like a¡­

    ''I see how it is¡­'' Leon''s eyes flickered with understanding.

    Because the Arch Demon-level demon core was formed from opening the Gate of Wisdom, it was also used as a gate when the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman refined it in his Gate of Wisdom location.

    This allowed the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman to enjoy the benefits of having an opened hidden gate without needing to run the same risk as others when they open their hidden gates.

    But as a result, the power he could derive from this recement hidden gate is even less than the demons who prematurely open their hidden gates.

    ''This exins why there''s a severe mismatch of strength between Battle Kings and other Arch Demons¡­'' Leon thought to himself.

    ''However, it''s impossible for all Battle Kings to have acquired a recement hidden gate the same way, yet their strength is roughly the same-enough for there to be a standard measure of strength for Battle Kings¡­''

    After pondering the reason why that is the case, he only came up with one answer; the warriors do not consolidate their viscera.

    As such, they cannot exert the full potential of their hidden gates.

    "You¡­ What are you two doing?"

    Aria''s sudden voice entered Leon''s ears and disrupted his train of thought before he turned to look.

    "I was just inspecting Senior One-Eye''s condition," Leon smiled before asking, "Why have you stopped cultivating your Sword Intent?"

    "I also came to congratte Senior One-Eye''s breakthrough," Aria replied.

    But in truth, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s boisterousughter had interrupted her cultivation, which is why she decided to stop.

    After Aria came, warriors from the other four tribes also came forward to congratte the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

 Chapter 790 - Darlenes Cultivation Level

    <h4>Chapter 790 - Darlene''s Cultivation Level</h4>

    "Ah, but you don''t have to worry about me, Leon. I feel that I am very close to forming my Sword Intent; it''s just that I amcking an impetus for the final push," Aria exined after Leon inquired further into her progress.

    "I see. If you say so, Aria." Leon eventually nodded and did not pry further.

    Thecking impetus she mentioned most likely referred to a life and death battle; more often than not, some insights can only be obtained by battling one''s life on the line.

    "How long did it take you toplete your Transcendence when you were breaking through to the Preliminary ession stage, Aria?" Leon suddenly asked while ncing at the spatial storm.

    "I''m not sure exactly; my perception of time flowed differently during my Transcendence," Aria furrowed her brows to recall the event before saying, "But I think it took at least a whole day."

    "A whole day, huh?" Leon muttered.

    ''It had been quite some time since Darlene disappeared into the spatial storm¡­ So if I take Aria''s case as precedent, Darlene should be finishing, right?''

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "So you have made your choice¡­" the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment uttered with a bit of disappointment in its tone.

    "Yes," Darlene calmly replied.

    She could not easily believe the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragments and chose to continue rejecting it in her heart.

    She was not ready to ept something she knew so little.

    "I understand your worries, but, well, no matter. When the timees when you are ready to ept me, I will always be right here, waiting," the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment stated.

    "This space¡­ can Ie here again?" Darlene asked.

    Even if she refused the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment''swprehension and memories, the rich spatial element in the special space surrounding her soul core was a great ce to cultivate at her own pace.

    "Since you already came once, any subsequent visit will only be easier for you. After all, this is your sea of consciousness; there is no reason why you cannot reach this ce," the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment patiently answered.

    "I see. That''s good to know," Darlene nodded.

    Shortly after, her spiritual consciousness left the sea of consciousness, returning her perception to the outside world as her eyes slowly opened.

    The dark void filled her immediate surroundings, causing a frown to appear on her face.

    In the next instant, her eyes flickered like glimmers of starlight escaping from two ck holes in the boundless void.

    Then, the rich and chaotic spatial storm around her quickly deformed as her eyes pulled and swallowed everything into her Void Soul Space, bolstering her cultivation.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    After Darlene had utterly cleared the spatial storm in the sky above the Abyssal Wood Forest, Leon and Aria flew over with looks of surprise and astonishment.

    "How are you feeling, Darlene?" Leon inspected her to see if her Transcendence proceeded as smoothly as it seemed.

    However, instead of replying, Darlene smiled and dived into Leon''s chest to celebrate her sess.

    "I think I''m pretty strong now; at the very least, I should be capable of using the Tier-6 Dagger properly now," Darlene said.

    At the same time, Aria nced at Darlene with a bit of doubt in her eyes, seemingly sensed Darlene''s movements to have stirred the spatial elements in the air ordingly.

    Furthermore, the vibe Darlene emanated did not seem to belong to that of a newly transcended Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent.

    "Sister Darlene, you¡­ you''re not in the Early-stage of Preliminary ession, are you?" Aria voiced her doubt.

    As a Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent, she could roughly gauge those below her cultivation level, and Darlene, who just transcended, was definitely not at the Early-stage.

    Once Leon heard Aria''s words, he also paid attention to Darlene''s aura before his eyes slowly widened with a startling surprise.

    "You''re at the Late-stage of Preliminary ession already?" he uttered.

    "Hehe, surprise?" Darlene grinned cheekily with a smug look before saying, "I almost caught up to Sister Aria in one go."

    If she had stayed inside the Void Soul Space and continued cultivating in there, reaching the Early-stage of Seeking Insight was definitely possible¡ªthough she cannot estimate the exact time it would take.

    "It''s the first time I''ve heard of someone advancing all the way to the Late-stage of Preliminary ession during their Transcendence¡­" Leonmented before suddenly wryly adding, "But then again, I haven''t seen many Transcendents."

    "Even if it is possible, it still shows that Sister Darlene''s cultivation talent is extremely high," Aria praised without a shred of envy.

    Nevertheless, she suddenly thought of something before asking, "Right, did you experience any out of the ordinary during your Transcendence, Sister Darlene?"

    "Something out of the ordinary, you say?" Darlene slowly repeated.

    She understood what Aria was trying to ask, but she wondered whether she should mention it to Aria and Leon or not.

    It had been quite an incredulous experience for her; she wasn''t sure if they would believe her words or not.

    ''Hey, yeah, there''s a fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void inside of me¡­ Yeah, no, that sounds too nonsensical for anyone to believe¡­'' Darlene thought to herself.

    Leon was about to say something when he suddenly heard the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s voice not far away while the old man was making his way over.

    The old man also overheard everything they talked about.

    "What''s this about Late-stage of Preliminary ession? Is it really amazing?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked with eyes brimming curiosity.

    Topics rted to Awakening Cultivation intrigued him.

    "While the Late-stage of Preliminary ession isn''t all that amazing in and of itself, but if someone shoots to that level during their Transcendence, then yes, it is a very amazing feat," Leon thought for a moment before saying.

    "Think about it this way; Senior One-Eye spent a day to be an Early-rank Battle King. If another Extremity-rank Battle Master ascended to Extremity-rank Battle King Realm within the same timeframe, do you think it''s amazing?"

    "That¡­ that is indeed amazing," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman replied with mild astonishment before casting a nce at Darlene.

    He didn''t expect thisss to be someone amazing suddenly.

    It seems that all the talented people will gather to Young Master Leonhardt''s side¡­

    Or is it that people who gathered to Young Master Leonhardt''s side be amazingly talented?

 Chapter 791 - Caution Is The Parent Of Safety

    <h4>Chapter 791 - Caution Is The Parent Of Safety</h4>

    After satisfying the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s curiosity, Leon shifted his attention back to Darlene.

    He could see that she was struggling with a decision.

    That in and of itself was enough evidence that she had indeed experienced something strange during her Transcendence.

    "Did you awaken a god and devil soul fragment, Darlene?" he asked.

    He felt it was the only usible exnation for her cultivation reaching the Late-stage of Preliminary ession during her Transcendence.

    When Darlene heard his question, her eyes widened with surprise.

    "How did you know about that?" she asked, silently admitting that was indeed the case.

    Leon rubbed her head with a smile before saying, "You''re underestimating me too much, Darlene. I can''t say I know everything, but I definitely know a lot of things."

    Given he could visit the two seniors in Gaia''s Core, it wasn''t strange at all for him to have already learned about the god and devil soul fragments.

    And he could also seek other information from the two seniors, given Saint Voidme and Celestial Earthshaker had lived a long life.

    They definitely knew many other things he had yet to learn.

    Nevertheless, Darlene immediately felt relief that Leon knew about the god and devil soul fragments.

    As such, she no longer had any misgivings about recounting her experience.

    "It''s as Sister Aria suspected; I had a strange experience during my Transcendence," Darlene began to speak.

    "While I was cultivating in my sea of consciousness, I encountered a bright spot on my soul core. It called itself a fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void, an Empyrean God, and said I could possess the Empyrean Infinite Void''swprehension and memories if I ept it."

    "Empyrean Infinite Void?" Leon repeated with a thoughtful look.

    ''An Empyrean God, huh? Empyrean¡­ the highest of heaven, the heaven among heavens¡­ Does that mean an Empyrean God is even higher than Senior Voidme''s soul fragment, who belonged to a God-Emperor?'' he wondered.

    Unfortunately, the two seniors from Gaia''s Core only exined the realms of Celestial to him and nothing about the realms of True Divinity.

    However, he also found that strange.

    If the seniors, who awakened the soul fragments of gods and possessed some of their memories, how was it possible for them to not know the realms of True Divinity?

    Leon was inclined to believe that the Senior Voidme and Celestial Earthshaker simply didn''t want to tell him.

    ''I''ll need to return and ask the seniors about this¡­'' he decided.

    Suddenly, he recalled something before ncing at Darlene.

    "Did you just say that the soul fragment called itself the fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void? So you didn''t learn of Empyrean Infinite Void''s name through the Empyrean God''s memories?" he asked.

    "Yes, that''s right," Darlene nodded with a confused look.

    "It said that it was awakened but couldn''t transfer the Empyrean Infinite Void''swprehension and memories because of the rejection in my heart; I couldn''t bring myself to trust its words at face value."

    "¡­Was it not meant to tell me anything?" she asked shortly after.

    "I have yet to experience the soul fragment awakening myself, but ording to what I know, thewprehension and memory should be absorbed spontaneously upon awakening," Leon mentioned with a big frown.

    "The soul fragment shouldn''t be capable of conversing with you," he stated shortly after before adding, "You made the right choice not to ept it immediately; for things we don''t understand, he shouldn''t proceed with it carelessly."

    "Mm," Darlene nodded.

    After receiving Leon''s acknowledgment and approval for the choice she made, she felt happy inside her heart.

    Anyone would be apprehensive if they found another intelligent being inside their own sea of consciousness, let alone an intelligent fragment of a god who caused the end of the primordial era alongside other gods and devils.

    Leon was d that Darlene followed her natural instincts and not be swept by the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment''s words.

    "For now, don''t ept the fragment; wait for me to learn more about it, Darlene. We don''t know what hidden dangers we could be facing here," Leon continued before saying, "Nevertheless, I''m happy you possess the soul fragment of such a strong god."

    "Mm."

    Leon ruffled Darlene''s head intimately while she enjoyed the attention and care.

    Nevertheless, Leon could not help but think back on what the two seniors from Gaia''s Core had told him.

    They said that the higher one''s soul quality, the easier it was to awaken their god or devil soul fragment.

    However, it was apparent that it was equally true if one possesses the soul fragment of a stronger god or devil¡ªsuch that it could even be considered an innate talent.

    "Since Sister Darlene has finished her Transcendence, we ought to keep moving, right?" Aria mentioned.

    "Un," Leon nodded and said, "That was the n, originally."

    "Was? Originally?" Aria tilted her head to the side with a questioning look.

    "Since Darlene brought up the matters of the intelligent Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment, I need to look into it right away; I won''t feel assured until I find out if there''s an issue with it," Leon said.

    "As such, we will have to stay in the forest for a bit look longer. I''ll need to rely on all of you to guard my body while I send my consciousness off to converse with the seniors in Gaia''s Core."

    "Send your consciousness off to converse with seniors in Gaia''s Core, you say?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was taken aback by Leon''s words. "Is that even possible?"

    "It is exactly as I said," Leon confirmed with a nod before saying, "I''m not sure about the others, but it''s possible for me¡ªthough, I didn''t think it was possible back then either."

    Shortly after, the group descended to the surface before Leon took out several Tier-6 defensive artifacts and gifted them to Darlene.

    "I believe your sessful Transcendence is worth congratting. You won''t refuse my gifts like Aria, will you?" he asked. "These defensive artifacts should be able to protect you well."

    However, Darlene immediately jumped at Leon and gave him affectionate pecks on the cheeks.

    "Of course, I won''t refuse anything you give me! Muah! I love you to death!" she said before feeling embarrassed afterward.

 Chapter 792 - Beyond True Divinity

    <h4>Chapter 792 - Beyond True Divinity</h4>

    The Tier-6 defensive artifacts given to Darlene were not much different from what Aria received; they were also blue and white.

    In fact, most of the defensive artifacts obtained from the floatingndmass were either blue, white, or gold.

    Darlene equipped the defensive artifacts while humming a joyful tune.

    Although they didn''t fit perfectly at first, some strange mechanism activated and startled her before the defensive artifacts fitted nicely onto her body, surprising her shortly after.

    "Wow!" she eximed.

    While Darlene was preupied with adapting to her new defensive artifacts, Leon found a spot to meditate with Aria guarding nearby before calling for the realm spirit.

    ''Do you know anything about god or devil fragments that can talk back to the host, Tak-si?'' Leon asked.

    However, he couldn''t get the response he had hoped from the realm spirit.

    ''No, Master. It''s quitemon for Celestials to awaken their god soul fragments and demons to awaken their devil soul fragments, but even for me, it''s the first time hearing about a soul fragment that can talk,'' Tak-si answered.

    ''I see¡­'' Leon rubbed his chin before continuing to ask, ''What about Empyrean Infinite Void? How much do you know about her and the Empyrean Gods?''

    After those words left his mouth, Leon suddenly paused.

    Right, why did he need to ask the seniors about the True Divinity Realm? Even if they truly don''t know about it, wouldn''t the realm spirit know about it at least?

    ''Do you know how the cultivation level for True Divinity is divided, Tak-si?'' Leon added.

    ''Empyrean Infinite Void¡­ Unfortunately, I don''t know much about Empyrean Infinite Void except that Empyrean Infinite Void is one of the seven only Empyrean Godsmonly referred to as the Seven Great Gods alongside the Seven Great Devils,'' Tak-si answered.

    ''Even among the Empyrean Gods, Empyrean Infinite Void was the most reclusive and least active, always hidden in her own world and away from worldly affairs; no one ever knew what Empyrean Infinite Void was always up to.''

    ''Seven Great Gods¡­ Doesn''t that mean Empyrean Infinite Void alsoprehended the Creation Law in addition to the Spatial Law?'' Leon asked.

    ''Yes, Master. And because of that, none of the gods had ever seen the world created by Empyrean Infinite Void as it was always hidden within a vortex of spatial storms and rifts that no god could enter without getting lost in its infinite void.''

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    ''From what you are saying, this Empyrean Infinite Void was very secretive as if she was hiding something and didn''t want the other gods to see. I wonder what it could have been¡­'' Leon wondered.

    ''I''m not very sure, Master. As I said, no one knew, including the Empyrean Gods themselves.''

    ''I see¡­ Let''s just leave it at that,'' Leon ended the topic there.

    If even the other Empyrean Gods couldn''t figure it out, it was less likely that he would be able to, given his limited information.

    ''Anyway, continue with the True Divinity Realm''s division of cultivation levels; surely, you know about it, right?'' Leon asked with a confident tone.

    ''Yes, Master, but what good would it do you even if you know? Master has yet to reach the Celestial Realm. The True Divinity Realm is too far of a goal for Master to worry about it,'' Tak-si said.

    ''Too far of a goal to worry about it, huh? The seniors were probably didn''t mention it because they were worried it would make me hasty and distracted,'' Leon replied with narrowed eyes.

    ''I''ve heard these seniors-giving-to-their-junior excuses before, and I think it''s all bullsh*t,'' he asserted his opinion before saying, ''You don''t need to worry about that, and just tell me.''

    ''I understand, Master.'' Tak-siplied.

    ''True Divinity is divided into three main realms; the realm of True God, Heavenly God, and Empyrean God. These main realms are then further divided into ten stages each.''

    ''True God, Heavenly God, and Empyrean God¡­ I see,'' Leon uttered before he furrowed his brows and asked, ''What about a God-Emperor? Why wasn''t it mentioned?''

    ''Only Heavenly Gods who have reached the tenth stage are crowned God-Emperors, Master. Tenth-stage True Gods are also crowned God-Kings in their respective worlds,'' Tak-si answered.

    ''Interesting, and tenth-stage Empyrean Gods are called Great Gods?'' Leon wondered before quickly adding with a frown, ''Hm¡­ Their titles seemckluster inparison to God-Emperors and God-Kings¡­''

    ''¡­'' Tak-si fell silent for a moment.

    ''The Empyreans are not called Great Gods because they are tenth-stage Empyrean Gods, Master; they are called Great Gods simply because they are Empyrean Gods.''

    Tak-si corrected Leon''s misunderstanding.

    ''During the primordial era of gods and devils, the Empyreans were the pioneers of the True Divinity Realm; they were not its zenith. Perhaps if the primordial era of gods and devils flourished instead of ending back then, the Empyreans could be exploring the realm beyond it by now.''

    ''A realm beyond True Divinity? Does it even exist?'' Leon wondered.

    Reasons told him that it was a possibility.

    Still, it was far beyond his imagination, considering Empyreans already wielded the power of creation to give birth to new worlds and stars.

    ''I am unable to confirm nor deny, Master. However, the Empyreans believed that it exists, and when they strongly believe in it, it is possible to turn it into a reality. Nevertheless, it doesn''t change the fact that it was an unexplored realm; thus, they simply called it Beyond True Divinity.''

    "Beyond True Divinity, huh?'' Leon uttered.

    Shortly after, he summoned a wisp of True Grandmist Energy and flicked it up for the realm spirit to catch it.

    ''Master?'' Tak-si questioned with surprise.

    ''Your reward for answering my questions,'' Leon casually said before adding, ''Although I sated my curiosity, I still need to visit the seniors. As such, I won''t be replying anymore for a while.''

    ''I understand, Master,'' Tak-si replied.

    Although it wasn''t sure what Leon intended to do, it felt a bit dispirited that Leon did not have any more questions for it.

    If it could get True Grandmist Energy by answering a few simple questions every time, it would dly do so without fail.

    Leon paid no further attention to the realm spirit and drifted into deep meditation before reaching his consciousness out to the earth below him.

    ''I might be inside of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, but I should still be able to reach Gaia''s Core, right?'' Leon thought to himself.

 Chapter 793 - The Tip Of The Iceberg

    <h4>Chapter 793 - The Tip Of The Iceberg</h4>

    The Radiant Heaven Realmship has its own independent world, but it is not cut off from the outside world¡ªjust like any other ship in the sea with its interior walled off by the hull and bulkheads, albeit iparable in size.

    Just because Leon couldn''t see the boundless sea and vast skies of Gaia, it didn''t mean he isn''t on Gaia¡ªthat is if the realm spirit didn''t lie to him about its location.

    That being said, Leon was notpletely sure that he could reach Gaia''s Core like the past two instances.

    He might be sitting on earthen soil, but it wasn''t the earthen soil of Gaia; it was the earthen soil of the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s subspace and the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world.

    ''Well, there''s only one way to find out,'' Leon thought to himself.

    Shortly after closing his eyes, Leon spread out his divine sense and sunk his consciousness into the earth.

    The moment his consciousness contacted the earth, his consciousness was quickly swept in the powerful currents of the earth as if he received a power boost as his senses greatly expanded.

    His earth sense formed an entire image of the underground cavity known as the Abyssal Wood Demon King Tomb before it continued to spread and reveal the rest of the earth alongside his expanding senses.

    Soon, his senses covered the entire Abyssal Wood Forest before it spread further to other regions and deeper into the earth.

    And not long after, he discovered the buried remains and ruins of the war between Celestials and Demons, cut off from the surface, but brimming with priceless objects¡ªthe likes in which ordinary demon tomb inheritances couldn''t evenpare.

    More Tier-7 Divine Artifact, Celestial bodies, Celestial Sparks, Demon corpses, and their Demon Lord-level and above demon coresy scattered under deepyers of earth.

    The ruins of old cities and mountains of bones were also found.

    Whatever treasures people have found on the surface were only the tip of the iceberg; the more valuable treasures were all buried in the ancient battlefield below.

    ''With this many priceless and divine objectsying around, the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s subspace truly deserves to be called a secret realm,'' Leon thought to himself with a hint of anticipation.

    Opportunities were hidden throughout the ce.

    Once he binds the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s heart, they will belong to him; he will be the sole owner of everything the secret realm had to offer.

    Unless he permits it, no one else could take any more treasures.

    ''Well, I''ll put that aside for the time being. I still need to visit the seniors in Gaia''s Core,'' Leon thought as he suppressed his excitement.

    Shortly after, he sunk his consciousness deeper into the earth.

    He believed that even if the two seniors knew nothing about Empyrean Infinite Void, he would gain something from the trip.

    After all, Senior Voidme had the word ''void'' in his name; hiswprehension is most likely rted to space or fire.

    Unfortunately, when his consciousness reached the hull of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, he was bounced back and unable to proceed further.

    There was no earth between the Radiant Heaven Realmship and Gaia to connect his consciousness, just a thickyer of the metallic hull and arge body of water beyond it.

    ''No good, huh? I should have expected this, but s, I was too hopeful¡­ Even so, my attempt waspletely fruitless,'' Leon smiled wryly after his eyes snapped open.

    His Authority of Earth is applicable on the earthen soils of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, allowing him to scan all the hidden treasures buried underneath.

    ''The core is said to be in the western parts of the secret realm; I could use my earth sense to confirm it, but I shouldn''t wilfully expend my mental energy without a care either¡­''

    Leon pondered for a moment before making his decision.

    He will make his way over to the western region first before using his earth sense to confirm theyout of the underground world below; that way, he will conserve some mental energy.

    That being said, he took out a Tier-3 Spiritual Replenishment Pill and ingested it.

    Mental strength was the basis of many of his abilities.

    Until he had absolute control of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, he had to keep himself in peak condition to face any arising problems.

    ¡­

    "Haiz¡­ Let''s go and explore other parts of the secret realm," Leon said to Aria with a sigh.

    "Eh?" Aria uttered with surprise before asking, "Did you visit the seniors already, Leon? Hm, but you just sighed¡­ Was there a problem?"

    "Yeah, I couldn''t reach them. The earth is not connected," Leon exined.

    It was unfortunate, but his concerns about Darlene''s god fragment can only be resolved after he leaves the secret realm.

    Sometimeter, Leon gathered the dark faes. Then, he went to regroup with Darlene and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman with Aria.

    At the same time, Chief Skyhawk and the other three tribe leaders also gathered for a discussion.

    "What do you guys n to do from here onwards?" Leon sought their opinions.

    Chief Skyhawk and the other three tribe leaders, Dustdawn, Riverstar, and Moonshine, nced at each other for a moment.

    "We would like to follow you, Young Master Leonhardt; I believe uniting the human forces will y a pivotal role in resisting the demons, but it seems you have other ns?" Chief Skyhawk spoke.

    "That''s right," Leon nodded and said, "I n to explore the sky before making my way to the western region; unless you can fly, you won''t be able to keep up with me."

    At those words, Dustdawn, Riverstar, and Moonshine expressed disappointment in their eyes while Chief Skyhawk furrowed his brows.

    "Young Master Leonhardt doesn''t intend to challenge the Bone Sea?" he asked.

    "No, at least not for the time being," Leon shook his head and said, "I have something to do in the west. I won''t challenge the Bone Sea until I finish with my business there."

    "I see¡­ That''s unfortunate. We will probably stay in this forest for some time before looking for other tribes to challenge the Bone Sea with us," Chief Skyhawk said.

    Dustdawn, Riverstar, and Moonshine expressed simr ideas.

    Since they couldn''t follow the Divine Doctor, they didn''t want to cling to the person and hold the person back.

    "I hope we will meet again, Young Master Leonhardt," Dustdawn stated.

 Chapter 794 - Second-Level Void Fracture

    <h4>Chapter 794 - Second-Level Void Fracture</h4>

    "Since that is the case, I will leave these items with the four of you; I hope it will be of some assistance."

    Leon decided to leave a portion of the demon cores for the four tribes before departing the forest with his group.

    However, not long after they left the four tribes behind, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman also expressed his intention to leave the group.

    "It''s regretful and may even sound selfish to leave after this old man received so much benefit from Young Master Leonhardt, but this old man wishes to find my tribesmen and check up on how they are," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman suddenly mentioned.

    "Oh? Is that so?" Leon uttered with surprise.

    "Yes, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded with a guilt-ridden face before saying, "However, once this old man finds his tribesmen, this old man will immediately head over to the western region to meet up with Young Master Leonhardt."

    "I see..." Leon thought for a moment before he nodded and said, "Fair enough, let us meetter in the western region, Senior One-Eye."

    "Yes, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman replied with his head lowered subserviently before adding, "Thank you for your understanding, Young Master."

    "You speak too seriously, Senior One-Eyed. It''s not a big deal," Leon waved his hand at the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman with a nomittal attitude. "Please go on and do what you need to do with peace of mind."

    Although he likes to keep the extra protection that a Battle King can provide from Darlene and Aria, it doesn''t bother him too much whether the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman keeps following him or leave.

    "Thank you, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman bowed again.

    After Leon sessfully sent the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman off to the north, he continued to ascend the sky with Darlene, Aria, and the dark faes.

    Despite reaching the Late-stage Preliminary ession Transcendent, Darlene had yet to gain the flight ability¡ªthough she can mimick something close enough to flying with her spatial abilities.

    Nevertheless, she preferred the spoil treatment of getting carried on Leon''s back.

    Sometimeter, theynded on the previous floatingndmass they discovered in the dark clouds before Aria and Darlene nced around in wonder and astonishment.

    "There was such a big floating ind in the sky?" Darlene eximed with surprise.

    At the same time, Aria suddenly thought of something before turning to ask Leon, "All the Tier-6 defensive artifacts you''ve given me were found here, wasn''t it?"

    "Yes, that''s right," Leon openly admitted before adding, "Though, there''s nothing left now. I already pocketed everything valuable here."

    "Hm? Then why did wee here?" Darlene tuned in on their conversation.

    "If you see the giant power chains are the corners, you should be able to guess that there are at least another three floatingndmasses," Leon exins.

    "We don''t know how far those otherndmasses are, so we are using this floatingndmass as a checkpoint to navigate to those other ces."

    "Ooh, I see," Darlene nodded with understanding before she suddenly chuckled, "Hehe, I guess it''s time for me to show my worth."

    Although she enjoyed riding on Leon''s back, she shouldn''t act spoiled all the time; she should at least contribute, especially when she could save them time.

    Nevertheless, Leon and Aria immediately expressed their interest in her im.

    "Oh? What do you n to do, Sister Darlene?" Aria asked.

    "I will help us reach the next floating ind quickly with a single jump through space," Darlene patted her chest with a confident look before suddenly humbly herself in front of Aria. "Though... we can just fly there normally if it is what Sister Aria wants."

    "No, I''m more interested in how you will bring all of us to the next floating ind in a single jump through space," Aria asserted with a smile before asking curiously, "However, isn''t this kind of spatial ability considered Teleportation? Are you already at that level, Sister Darlene?"

    "N-not at all, Sister Aria."

    Darlene waved her hands while shaking her head frantically to deny the im before saying, "Only Paragons can use Third-level Spatial Law, Teleportation; I''m still far from that level."

    "Furthermore, the Third-level Spatial Law, Teleportation, allows people to leap through the space of different worlds, and even stars. However, what we''ll be doing will is only moving through the space of this secret realm."

    That being said, Darlene used her spatial sense to feel the end of the giant power chain before locking onto a location.

    Then, she waved her hand and sliced open the space in front of her, opening up a rift to a dark void.

    Void Fracture!

    She waved her hand again, slicing at the dark void inside of the spatial rift before another tear opened up on the other end.

    Through that second spatial tear, some faint light revealed a simr-looking floatingndmass like the one everyone was standing on.

    "I-it''s done! Let''s go; I can''t keep this space open for long," Darlene urged everyone while they were still amazed.

    She had to use her spatial ability to stabilize the spatial passageway from closing; if both ends close while they are inside, they could end up lost in an unknown space.

    "Let us enter quickly," Leon also urged, seeing how the ability was quickly draining her.

    Such was the price for using an ability above her cultivation level.

    Nevertheless, once Leon gave the order, Saresha and the rest of the dark faes had no choice but to follow him through the dark passageway.

    Contrary to their misgivings and fear, everyone made it through to the other side without an issue.

    "How was it? I''d say we crossed about 200 miles in only a few breaths; it''s quite the convenient ability for traveling. I call this skill Dark Passage."

    Darlene introduced her new ability with a hint of fatigue before Leon furrowed his brows in response.

    "You only just reach the Late-stage of Preliminary ession, Darlene. How did you learn this ability only Seeking Insight Transcendents could perform?" Leon asked. "Did you..."

    He suspected Darlene may have absorbed some of the Empyrean Infinite Void''swprehension and memories.

    However, Darlene froze in response.

    She might have gained some insights into Void Fracture, but she hadn''t learned any skill yet; why did she already know one?

    The discovery puzzled her.

 Chapter 795 - Next Destination: Central Island

    <h4>Chapter 795 - Next Destination: Central Ind</h4>

    "How strange¡­" Darlene uttered.

    Thinking back on her skillful execution of Dark Passage, it was as if she had practiced it for years, despite it being a higher-level ability than her current cultivation base could handle.

    Evidently, the one who came up with Dark Passage, which mimics Teleportation while using the Second-level Spatial Law, Void Fracture, was someone else.

    However, the technique and experience were engraved in her memory, such that she knew she could use it, yet at the same time, not realize why she knew it.

    ''Was this Empyrean Infinite Void''s technique?'' she thought to herself.

    At the same time, Leon also suspected that the spatial technique Darlene demonstrated came from Empyrean Infinite Void.

    "Did you ept the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment, Darlene?" Leon asked with concern.

    "Um, definitely not, Leon," Darlene denied while shaking her head.

    "You have to believe to me; I''m very certain that I rejected the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment, but I don''t know why I know this technique like the back of my hand either."

    "Calm down, Darlene; of course, I believe you," Leon held the frantic Darlene firmly while she was trying to exin.

    Then, he gave her a calm and reassuring look and said, "I know you rejected the fragment; if you had epted it, you would have memories of Empyrean Infinite Void. However, that isn''t the case, is it?"

    Darlene shook her head.

    "It shouldn''t be an issue then, though it seems startling at first. But, even so, if we can figure out the reason why you know the technique, it could be a good opportunity to learn more techniques."

    "Why don''t you recount your transcendence experience in detail to us? Maybe we can learn something from it."

    "Mm, alright. I''ll listen to you, Leon."

    After Leon made the suggestion, Darlene noddedpliantly; having calmed down after Leon''s presence gave her a strong sense of security.

    Even so, she did have a slight panic when she thought that the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment had found a way of fusing with her entirely without her knowledge.

    After Leon and Aria listened to Darlene''s experience inside her sea of consciousness, they gained a better understanding of Darlene''s situation.

    "So the Void Soul Constitution is a result of possessing Empyrean Infinite Void''s soul fragment. No wonder there''s a frightening level of spatial element and attraction force inside¡­" Leon muttered.

    "Hmm¡­" Aria hummed while gazing deeply in thought.

    "This might just be my guess without any basis to back it up, but what if the spatialw shrouding Sister Darlene''s sea of consciousness contains Empyrean Infinite Void''swprehension?"

    "I''m not trying to discredit Sister Darlene''s talents, but it could exin how Sister Darlene reached the Late-stage of Preliminary ession so quickly," she added shortly after.

    Leon and Darlene both gave Aria''s spection some thought; it did seem like a usible exnation.

    In fact, it might just be the only possible exnation.

    "If there''s a problem with the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment that caused thewprehension it contained to leak into the surrounding space of Darlene''s Void Soul Space, then that might truly be the case," Leon said with a thoughtful look.

    "It seems like I can go visit the Void Soul Space to cultivate whenever I feel like it, but should I not do it anymore?" Darlene asked for their opinions.

    However, Leon immediately shook his head.

    "No, there''s no reason for us to stop you from bing strong. Increasing yourwprehension is good; learning new techniques is also good, but remember to proceed with caution."

    "We might be overly suspicious of the soul fragment, but it doesn''t hurt to suspect hidden dangers and tread carefully," he added.

    "Mm," Darlene agreed with Leon''s words.

    There was a bit of relief when Leon said she could keep cultivating in her Void Soul Space; the feeling of bing stronger was hard to describe.

    It was like increasing the qualification of her freedom.

    ''I don''t need to listen to Chief Valencia anymore with my present level of cultivation, right? No, perhaps, I''m already free. It''s been some time; Chief Valencia hasn''t contacted me anymore¡­''

    Darlene silently thought to herself.

    After Darlene''s matter was temporarily resolved, for the time being, everyone focused their attention on the building in the center of the floatingndmass.

    "This support-circuit building doesn''t have a barrier set up?" Leon immediately noticed the detail at the entrance.

    That being said, a sturdy door sealed off the building entrance, nheless.

    ''Open up the entrance, Tak-si.''

    "Understood, Master."

    The realm spirit quicklyplied after Leon transmitted his will to it.

    After only waiting for half a breath, the building entrance rumbled with slight vibrations as rock-grinding noises before the stone door rose, opening up the path.

    However, Leon failed to find anything inside the support-circuit building after entering with everyone.

    "There''s nothing inside here, my Lord," Saresha reported.

    Leon had long swept the entire interior and noticed such detail before she made her report, but even so, he calmly nodded and said, "I got it. Good job."

    "Haiz, it looks like this ce is a bust," he said with a sigh shortly after.

    Of course, he wasn''t expecting every supply-circuit building to have Celestial remains and treasures, but it disappointed him, nheless.

    "Maybe we''ll have better luck with the next one?" Aria spoke optimistically.

    "Un, we can only hope," Leon nodded.

    "Right now, we are at the north support-circuit building; should we head to the west support-circuit building or the central support-circuit building next? What do you two think?"

    There was a hint of teasing in his tone, but it wasn''t meant for Aria or Darlene''s ears.

    ''Master, I strongly advise you from visiting the central ind,'' Tak-si asserted.

    However, the realm spirit''s strong resistance against such courses of action only made Leon more curious.

    ''What are you hiding on the central ind, I wonder? Hm?'' Leon asked.

    ''T-this¡­'' Tak-si hesitated.

    At the same time, Aria and Darlene thought about Leon''s question before Aria spoke first.

    "If we intend to visit all the floating inds before heading to the western region without wasting time on extra trips, the best course of action is to head to the central floating ind, then the south floating ind, before heading to the west floating indst."

    "I agree with Sister Aria," Darlene added.

    ''Well, you heard them; looks like we''ll be going to the central ind,'' Leon transmitted his thoughts to the realm spirit with a smile.

 Chapter 796 - Realm Spiritâ€™s Twisted Change

    <h4>Chapter 796 - Realm Spirit''s Twisted Change</h4>

    ''Master, I beg you; please don''t go to the central ind! You can''t go there!'' Tak-si cried.

    ''Why can''t I go? What are you hiding there? Unless you exin it to me without any falsehood, I will go to the central ind regardless. How do you expect me to trust you if you hide things from me?'' Leon questioned it.

    ''I cannot say, Master. Please understand that I have my own difficulties...!'' Tak-si replied with difficulty as if it was at its wit''s end while enduring something.

    ''Grrr! I can''t take it anymore! Human or demon, I don''t care what the f*ck you are; you listen here! If you dare to step a single foot on the central ind, I will f*ck you up in the ass, you hear me?! Piss off!''

    The realm spirit suddenly snapped.

    However, its manner of speechpletely changed, as if it underwent a personality switch¡ªalmost to the point that even its effeminate male voice sounded more womanly.

    Regardless of the reason, Leon could not help but feel his hair rising with goosebumps while getting caught off-guard at the same time.

    ''The f*ck did you say to me? I dare you to say it again!'' Leon responded.

    ''Piss the f*ck off!'' the realm spirit cursed.

    Leon was surprised by the abrupt change, but he could not but feel even more curious; evidently, the central ind hides a great secret pertaining to the realm spirit''s change.

    "Interesting..." he uttered.

    "Darlene, how are you feeling?" he turned to Darlene before asking, "Are you good to use your spatial abilities and open up another spatial passage to the central floating ind?"

    "It''s a bit draining, but I should be able to use it one more time before I need to rest," Darlene answered.

    However, if it didn''t take so much time to move so many people through the Dark Passage at the same time, she didn''t doubt that she could use Dark Passage several more times.

    Dark Passage was meant to be an instantaneous movement, but the dyed time resulted in high energy consumption.

    After the group moved to the location of the power chain leading to the central floating ind, Darlene sliced open the spatial rift before proceeding to slice through it again.

    Void Fracture!

    However, the second spatial rift at the end of the dark passageway only opened briefly before closing again.

    "Hm?"

    Darlene knitted her brows at the discovery before deciding to open up the second spatial rift with Void Fracture again.

    But like the first time, the second spatial rift quickly closed up.

    At the same time, Leon and Aria quickly noticed a problem obstructing Darlene from proceeding further despite therge energy consumption draining colors from her face.

    "That''s enough, Darlene," Leon stopped her attempting to use Dark Passage any further before asking, "What''s the problem?"

    "There seems to be some strong interference on the central floating ind; it won''t let me keep the spatial opening for long," Darlene answered with a frown.

    "Oh? It seems there really is something special about the central ind," Ariamented.

    "Of the two floatingndmasses we visited, it is clear that the dark energy is much denserpared to other ces; if not for the runes on the building warding off the dark energy, this ce would be engulfed in the dark clouds."

    "Perhaps, the concentration of dark energy has reached an exceedingly high level that surpassed the central floating ind''s ability to ward off and immersed it, forming a natural barrier of strong interference?" she spected.

    Although Aria wasn''t exactly right, her words allowed Leon to draw his own conclusions.

    "You''re not far from the truth, Aria; the central ind has already lost its core, so it shouldn''t have any ability to ward off the dark energy. And if there is such arge quantity of dark energy concentrated on the central floating ind, there must be something attracting all of it."

    Leon mentioned.

    However, he also had another thought.

    ''If nothing attracted all the dark energy to the central ind, then it must... be the epicenter of the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world''s copse!''

    Once he thought of that possibility, he couldn''t get rid of the idea.

    ''Stay away if you don''t want to die!'' the realm spirit suddenly roared with a threatening tone.

    An enormous spiritual pressure gathered in the sky before bearing down on Leon¡ªonly toe in contact with his Nihility Barrier before the realm spirit shrieked.

    The spiritual pressure vanished without a trace in the next instance as if it had retreated.

    "Let us go and find out what secrets are hidden on the central floating ind," Leon urged the group.

    After Aria and Darlene voiced their acknowledgment, Leon carried Darlene on his back and took the lead, flying ahead of the others.

    Sometimeter, they gradually reached the boundary of the central floating ind with the power chain as their guide.

    Otherwise, they would have been lost in the endless clouds of dark energy.

    "T-the dark energy is so much richer here than we thought!" Saresha and the other dark fae eximed with pleasant expressions.

    They could feel their pores naturally opening and greedily devouring the dark energy in the atmosphere, making them feel invigorated with power.

    Some even felt like they had a chance of bing Greater Demons despite possessing a wed energy cultivation method.

    "This ce is practically a holy cultivation spot for demons, yet it''s only the outer boundary; I wonder what it''s like at the center..." Saresha uttered with anticipation.

    "We''ll find out soon enough," Leon casually said.

    The dark energy ahead of them was so thick that it practically formed a physical barrier, repelling them like stic rubbers when they tried to force their way through.

    However, Leon used the Nihility Law to clear them a path.

    Not long after, they finally themselves on the central floating ind, but with zero visibility due to the dense clouds of dark energy in the ce.

    Even so, Leon mapped out the entirety of the central floating ind with his divine sense.

    The central floating ind was only half the size of other floating inds¡ªnot in terms of its surface coverage, but its overall mass.

 Chapter 797 Fused Spirits

    Chapter 797 Fused Spirits

    The lower half of the central floating ind was missing, the central building was in ruins, the coreponent was gone, and the only thing keeping the ind afloat were the power chains attached to its four corners.

    Thus, in a sense, the central ind was no longer floating; it was simply hanging.

    Nevertheless, most of Leon''s attention was drawn to the ck coffin in the middle of the ruined building.

    Dense dark energy continued to pour out of it, obscuring the vision of the naked eye, while ck-purplish flowers of the unknown breed grew around it.

    An eerie and gloomy vibe filled the ck coffin''s surroundings, but there was also a sort of holiness to it as if it was sacred.

    ''Stay away¡­'' The realm spirit warned him again, but it had already lost its fierceness and even appeared fearful of him. Leon did not heed its words and continued to lead the group closer to the ck coffin.

    "The dark energy is too thick here; I can''t see anything¡­" "Was that you, Sister Aria? Where are you? I can''t see anyone." After hopping off Leon''s back, Darlene quickly lost track of him and the others, lost in the ck clouds of dark energy like the dark faes. "I''m over here; what about you, Sister Darlene?" Aria asked. She waved her hand and even used her ice-lightning powers to disperse the ck clouds obstructing her vision, but her efforts were futile as other ck clouds quickly filled the empty space she created.

    Suddenly,rge amounts of dark energy rushed towards Leon''s body as he absorbed them inrge quantities to clear up the space. However, the quality of the dark energy was much better than he expected; it was not at all inferior to absorbing the power of a Demon King-level demon core.

    ''Is this the power of a Demon Emperor?'' he silently thought. "My Lord! Permission to cultivate here?" Saresha requested with a raised voice in hopes of being heard as she couldn''t see.

    "Granted." "Thank you, my Lord!"

    Once Leon gave his permission, Saresha and the rest of the dark faes were immediately ecstatic; they meditated on the spot, greedily swallowing in all the dark energy in their surroundings. Even so, the gathering speed of fifty members from the Dark Fae n could not even clear up the dense clouds of dark energy on the central floating ind, not even a slight bit of it.

    However, the dark faes did not care about that. As far as they were concerned, the more dark energy there is, the better it is for them; even Leon could not deny the benefits.

    He did not doubt that cultivating the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness on the central ind would advance his cultivation by leaps and bounds. Within moments, he was already impacting the walls of the Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm. ''There''s so much energy here¡ªso much that it might be possible for me to cultivate to the Truth Manifestation Realm within the week of staying in this ce,'' Leon thought to himself. Cultivation Pill is the quickest way to increase one''s cultivation; that was his belief in the past. However, such belief was shattered right at this moment. Waves after waves of dark energy entered his body and flooded his be before getting caught in the current of his revolving dark core. In the next moment, Leon''s eyes flickered brightly. Breakthrough!

    Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm!

    After quickly stabilizing his cultivation at the Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm, he had thoughts of continuing his cultivation. Cultivation is a long, grueling, and tedious process, but when it is fast and easy, it is more addictive than addictive drugs themselves.

    "Leon, where are you?"

    "I''m over here."

    After hearing Aria''s voice, Leon forcefully suppressed his urge before using his Divine Will to pull Aria and Darlene towards him. Although it was ufortable, he had no choice but to put cultivation aside for the time being. "How did you find us so easily?" Darlene asked with surprise. "I have my ways," Leon casually answered before saying, "Anyways, there''s a ck coffin ahead; let us check it out together."

    "Mm." the twodies agreed. A few momentster, they entered the ck-purplish flower garden within the ruined building, which no longer had any intact walls or ceiling.

    At the same time, the eerie glowing flowers provided some visibility in the dark space, allowing the group of three to see the ck coffin lying in its center.

    "Is that the ck coffin you mentioned, Leon?" Darlene pointed at the ck coffin ahead of them before muttering curiously, "I wonder who''s in it¡­"

    "The Eternal Night Demon Empress, probably," Leon answered.

    Just as they took a step forward, the realm spirit suddenly materialized in front of them with its hands stretched out, barring them from advancing any further.

    "Stop! Don''te any closer! Stay away from my mother!" the realm spirit shouted with trembling arms and a cute voice that arouses one''s desires to protect.

    "Wow! Such a cute little girl!" Aria immediately gasped at the realm spirit''s adorable little form with sparkling eyes.

    Contrary to Leon''s expectation, the handsome male form of the realm spirit he had seen previously was nowhere to be seen, only a cute little girl that would undoubtedly grow into a peerless beauty one day.

    "You¡­ Are you Tak-si? What happened to your voice and appearance?" he asked. "I am not Tak-si!" the little girl asserted with pouty lips and hands on her hips.

    However, half the little girl''s face suddenly transformed into Tak-si''s handsome male face before it replied, "I am here, Master."

    "What is going on here?" Leon was taken aback by the situation. It was the first time he came across a case where two separate spirits had seemingly fused together.

    Tak-si and the little girl''s face continued to change back and forth as if they werepeting for dominance over their spiritual form before the little girl became angry. "Grandpa Spirit, are you betraying me?!" the little girl cried. "I am not! But with our strengths, we have no way of stopping them! Since your mother''s coffin has been discovered, Let Grandpa Spirit try to talk and reason with them," Tak-si said to its other half.

    Despite what it said, the little girl stubbornly fought back.

 Chapter 798 - The Demon Empresss Daughter

    <h4>Chapter 798 - The Demon Empress''s Daughter</h4>

    However, in the end, Tak-si was still the more dominant half between the two realm spirits, so the little girl had no way of winning against it.

    "Hmph! I won''t talk to you anymore!"

    The little girl eventually gave up and disappeared, allowing Tak-si to assume his full spiritual form¡ªthe form of a handsome male.

    "Haiz¡­" Tak-si sighed.

    "Are you willing to exin what''s going on now, Tak-si? Who was that little girl? And why is the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s body here?" Leon questioned the realm spirit.

    He could see the Eternal Night Demon Empress lying inside the ck coffin without approaching it by using his divine sense.

    Much of her body was seemingly scorched and corrupted by dark energy, making most of her body look ck like charcoal.

    Despite that, it couldn''t hide that she was also a peerless beauty and powerhouse of her time.

    More importantly, he noticed that she was also a dark fae.

    Leon furrowed his brows thoughtfully.

    When Tak-si saw Leon start frowning, it immediately panicked, thinking that Leon was growing impatient for not answering his question right away.

    "Y-yes, Master! The little girl you saw was indeed the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter," Tak-si answered.

    "So it''s true," Leon raised an eyebrow before asking further, "But how did the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter be a realm spirit like you?"

    "It''s even more surprising that the Eternal Night Demon Empress had a daughter, let alone survive to this age instead of being the first to die to the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor''s scheme."

    "You''ve hidden a lot of information from me, Tak-si. I''m disappointed in you," he added.

    "I deeply apologize, Master," Tak-si apologized.

    "But it as you have seen, the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter and I share one body of existence; I cannotpletely disregard her wishes, and I also owe a debt of gratitude to the Eternal Night Demon Empress."

    "Oh?" Leon uttered with an intrigued look.

    "You, the Radiant Heaven Realmship, owe a debt of gratitude to the Eternal Night Demon Empress? Interest. Why don''t you tell me more about it."

    "Yes, Master," Tak-siplied.

    "I mentioned before that the Eternal Night Demon Empress was trapped in the Radian Heaven Realmship under the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor''s scheme. But what you didn''t know is that the Eternal Night Demon Empress was extremely strong, much more powerful than the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor himself."

    "As a true descendent of a Devil from the primordial era, her strength was not inferior to a Half-step True Divinity¡ªif it wasn''t for the fact that she was pregnant, she could have broken free from the confinement of this world."

    "And what does that have to do with your debt of gratitude?" Aria joined the conversation.

    "I never mentioned where the Eternal Night Demon Empress was confined specifically, did I, Master? It was here, in the main-circuit building."

    "¡­What?" Leon was dumbfounded.

    However, the realm spirit expected such a reaction as anyone would have the same thought¡ªthat being: did Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor get kicked in the head?

    "The main-circuit building might contain the more importantponents of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, but because of that, the building''s defense is also extremely sturdy¡ªeven sturdier than my outer shell."

    "And yet such a building is in ruins?" Aria questioned with doubt.

    "Ah, yes, that''s exactly right. Of course, it would take the Eternal Night Demon Empress time to break out under normal circumstances. But if she self-detonated her inner world, it would generate enough power to y even a True Divinity," Tak-si answered her doubts.

    "But how did the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor trick the Eternal Night Demon Empress into the main-circuit building?" Aria asked further.

    "As the most vulnerable location of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, it was the best ce to set their meeting and gain the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s trust in the truce talk, and because of that, the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor was also the first to die."

    "Such is the end for a fool who overestimated his own abilities; even I don''t know where the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor''s remains after the detonation of the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world¡ªif there''s still anything left, that is."

    "For someone who was your previous owner, you sure have a way to talk about him," Leon smiled amusedly.

    "The moment he tried to sacrifice me in his attempt to take out the demons in one fell swoop, he was no longer my owner."

    "I figured."

    The realm spirit''s reply came as no surprise to Leon.

    Even if it was a spirit born from the umtion of power and faith on a Divine Artifact, it was still an intelligent being capable of thoughts and emotions.

    "I suppose your debt of gratitude is rted to the Eternal Night Demon Empress sparing your life?" Leon guessed.

    "Yes, Master. In order to protect her daughter, who was just a fetus in her womb, and guarantee her survival, the Eternal Night Demon Empress transported her daughter from her womb into my heart."

    "I was wondering how the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter survived this whole time, but to think Eternal Night Demon Empress was capable of performing such a feat¡­" Leon muttered to himself.

    "Given such means, she could havepletely reced you as the realm spirit of the Radiant Heaven Realmship¡­"

    "And I am grateful that she chose not to, Master. Instead, she chose to merge our spirits and allow the both of us to co-exist," Tak-si stated with a sincere look of gratitude as it recalled the event.

    "No wonder you seem to treat the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter as a little ancestor," Leon said jokingly.

    At the same time, Tak-si''s appearance quickly deformed as if the little girl wanted to break out and retort him.

    Although the little girl had long disappeared, she was still aware of everything since they shared the same source of existence¡ªthat being the realm spirit of the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    "Looks like the little ancestor is throwing a tantrum," Leon chuckled.

    After hearing Leon continue to tease her, the little girl became even angrier. Even so, she couldn''te out due to Tak-si''s interference.

    "Please don''t make it any more difficult for me, Master," Tak-si said ruefully.

    "Hold on¡­ Something doesn''t add up in the story," Aria suddenly interjected after noticing something.

 Chapter 799 - Leons Choice

    <h4>Chapter 799 - Leon''s Choice</h4>

    "Why does the Eternal Night Demon Empress still need to detonate her inner world after killing the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor?"

    Shortly after Aria raised that question, Leon realized he had nearly missed such a critical detail in the story.

    "Right¡­" he uttered.

    "If the Eternal Night Demon Empress killed the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor and even dropped the core away from the central ind after fusing her daughter in the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s heart, why did she still need to detonate her inner world?"

    As Leon pondered this point, he remembered that there were other opponents who could rival the Eternal Night Demon Empress¡ªif not surpass her in strength.

    "Was it the ck Turtle God Beast?" he wondered.

    However, he quickly shook his head in the next moment.

    "No, the ck Turtle God Beast was neutral and outraged by the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor''s scheme¡ªso much so that it forced the Great Void Celestial Conqueror to seal it under the Bone Sea¡­" Leon muttered.

    Hearing that, Aria asked, "Then the one who forced the Eternal Night Demon Empress to detonate her inner world was the Great Void Celestial Conqueror?"

    "But that almost doesn''t make much sense¡­" Aria quickly furrowed her brows before adding further, "How sturdy is this floating ind to be able to withstand the st?"

    "You can''t really say the central ind withstood the detonation when half its bottom is missing, and even the entire main-circuit building isid to ruins," Leon said wryly.

    In fact, there wasn''t really a main-circuit building left.

    The only thing proving it once existed was the bottommost frame of the building; the walls and ceilings were all gone.

    Supposedly, there is even a big gaping hole right down the center where the ck coffin is, but it is clear that someone patched up the hole.

    "Master and this youngdy are on the right track; it was indeed the Great Void Celestial Conqueror who forced the Eternal Night Demon Empress into a dead end," Tak-si nodded.

    "However, the Eternal Night Demon Empress didn''t purposely detonate her inner world; it cracked under the Great Void Celestial Conqueror''s powerful attack, leading to a mini detonation. A full-powered detonation would have reduced the central ind into nothing."

    Sometimeter, Leon, Aria, and the silent Darlene gradually learned everything about the past event as the realm spirit exined everything truthfully.

    In the final battle, the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s damaged inner world injured the Great Void Celestial Conqueror, forcing the person to flee with the rest of the Celestials without retrieving the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    They didn''t want to be contaminated and corrupted by the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s dark power.

    And to further guarantee that it would never spread to other worlds, the Great Void Celestial Conqueror sealed the world with a powerful spatial lock.

    "So this is the truth of the world¡­" Leon muttered with his surprised eyes fixed on the ck coffin ahead. "To think that the Eternal Night Demon Empress is still alive after all that¡­"

    "Yes, Master," Tak-si nodded and said, "No matter what, a descendant of a True Divinity is still a descendant of a True Divinity; even if they are not evesting, their lifeforce is especially tenacious."

    "But right now, the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s life is so feeble that anyone can snuff out her life candle," Leon said before adding, "This is why you want to keep me away, huh? You were afraid I''ll kill the Eternal Night Demon Empress."

    "Y-yes, Master."

    Tak-si''s voice trembled with mixed tones as if the little girl had answered at the same time it did.

    Leon kept a calm and collected expression without revealing his intention while making his way through the glowing flowers before standing right in front of the ck coffin.

    Tak-si and the little girl were rmed, but they didn''t stop him.

    "Noo, don''t hurt my mother!" the little girl cried.

    ¡­Or rather, the little girl wanted to stop Leon, but Tak-si did all he could to keep her in ce while cing his hopes on the fact that Leon could sympathize with demons.

    He had seen it.

    However, seeing Leon approach the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s ck coffin without a word made Tak-si feel restless.

    Even Darlene and Aria revealed slight creases in their brows.

    If Leon wanted to kill the Eternal Night Demon Empress, they would ept it¡ªeven if it made them feel ufortable after hearing the person''s pitiful story.

    "M-Master?" Tak-si uttered with concern.

    "Logically speaking, the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s existence poses too much of a threat, and I should eliminate her for the prosperity of humans¡ª" Leon spoke while ncing inside the ck coffin.

    "No!"

    With strong resistance, the little girl quickly shouted through Tak-si''s mouth, but Leon wasn''t finished speaking.

    "However,pared to demons, humans are too treacherous," Leon said with a smile, "So I don''t know whether this is the right decision to make, but I will not do anything to the Eternal Night Demon Empress; you have my word."

    He had already given it some thought.

    The Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter has be one with the realm spirit.

    Since he will eventually bind the Radiant Heaven Realmship, he will be forming an undeniable rtionship with the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter.

    Thus, there was a chance he could have the backing of Eternal Night Demon Empress¡ªif she ever recovers.

    Nevertheless, everyone was relieved to hear Leon''s choice.

    "Thank you, Master," the realm spirit said sincerely.

    It was unknown whether Tak-si or the little girl spoke, or perhaps they both did; Leon couldn''t tell, but the realm spirit''s following words became clear to him.

    "On behalf of my mother, we will forever remember your grace, Master," the little girl expressed her gratitude in her adorable small form.

    Aria could not help but approach her with a smile and pinch the adorable little girl''s cute cheeks before turning to Leon.

    "Sometimes, I start to wonder if humans are any better than demons, or maybe treacherous humans are the real demons¡­ Is there something wrong with me for thinking like this?" she asked.

 Chapter 800 - The Ideal World

    <h4>Chapter 800 - The Ideal World</h4>

    Looking back on the history of demons, they had always been the same; fighting, killing, ruling, it was the way of life for most of them.

    Despite that, they can be obedient and subservient through fear and oppression¡ªunlike treacherous humans who served others with a smile while plotting their downfalls in the dark.

    In times of war, humans seek peace, and in times of peace, they seek war¡ªeverything is about their self-interest.

    Human greed has no boundary and can never be satisfied.

    "There''s nothing wrong with what you think, Aria, or rather, there''s nothing wrong with you or me; we were simply born into the wrong world," Leon said.

    He nced into the sky with a distant look as he said that.

    Being a human was exhausting.

    There were morals to uphold, rules to follow, and images to keep, all while trying to live among other humans, guessing their hearts'' intentions, whether they are a friend or foe, to trust or to doubt.

    Inparison, demons seem to live more freely without theplicated rules and morals created by humans.

    They have no concept of good or evil; they simply live the way they want.

    "We were simply born into the wrong world, huh?" Darlene softly muttered with a distant look, seemingly affected by Leon''s sentiments.

    People weren''t born fairly into the world.

    She was already deprived of her rights from a young age, which all other warriors in her tribe receive, and forced to serve in the chief pce under the pretense of protection.

    But in truth, it was just the chief''s disguise to train spies and sell people like her off to other outstanding warriors when the time calls for it.

    If she had not met Leon, she would not have known her value and realized her potential.

    It was definitely a case of being born into the wrong ce.

    If she had been born into a ce knowledgeable about Awakening Cultivation, she would have been treated well instead of being forced to suffer.

    Suddenly, Darlene was curious about the kind of world Leon envisioned. What sort of world does he wish to live in?

    "What is your ideal world, Leon?" she asked abruptly.

    Her questioned briefly surprised Aria and the realm spirits before they, too, became curious about Leon''s ideal world.

    "My ideal world, huh?" Leon muttered thoughtfully and pondered on the question before giving his answer, "I want to live in a world where being kind isn''t a weakness."

    He wanted to be kind like his father, the Divine Medicine King. However, the world forces him otherwise.

    The day he returns to the Divine Realm, there won''t be any kindness; there will only be carnage.

    "A world where being kind isn''t a weakness¡­ I would like to see a world like that one day, but is it possible to realize such a world?" Aria asked herself.

    "So long as selfishness exists, that world will only remain a dream of mine," Leon casually stated.

    Selfishness was a fundamental aspect of human beings.

    Unless a power that fundamentally changes them exists, getting rid of selfishness can only be done by eliminating all humans.

    However, humans aren''t the only selfish race.

    So does that require removing all life to achieve the envisioned world? The answer is no; there is no meaning if all life is lost in the process.

    As such, he could only dream of such a world.

    After shaking his head, Leon said, "Anyway, let not talk about this topic anymore. At our level of strength, we can''t realize such a dream even if it''s possible."

    "Is it possible for the Eternal Night Demon Empress to recover on her own?" he asked the realm spirit shortly after.

    "It is possible, Master," Tak-si answered before adding, "However, it will take a long time before the Eternal Night Demon Empress can awaken from her slumber, let alone make a full recovery."

    "The Eternal Night Demon Empress already harmed her soul to transfer her daughter into my heart. The crack on her inner world only made it worse."

    When Tak-si said that, Leon could feel the little girl''s guilty and dispirited emotion through him.

    "I see," Leon uttered.

    "I have some methods to restore injured souls, but with the quality of spirit herbs I have, I doubt it''ll have any effect on the Eternal Night Demon Empress. So we''ll have to put the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s matters aside for now."

    "Does her daughter have a name?" he asked.

    He couldn''t keep calling the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter as such if he wanted to build a closer rtionship and bring the Eternal Night Demon Empress to his side.

    Tak-si did not answer Leon''s question but directly switched out for the little girl to take over.

    "I don''t!" the little girl answered before saying with a haughty attitude, "You may have the privilege of granting me a name."

    She seemed to have regained confidence after Leon expressed his clear intentions to do her mother no harm.

    "You want me to name you? Are you sure?" Leon asked with amusement.

    "Of course!" the little girl asserted with an as-a-matter attitude before adding, "Why? Is that a problem? Since Grandpa Spirit was given a name, why can''t I have one?"

    "Since you said so, I''ll give you one," Leon said with a sly smile before adding, "But don''t you think for a second that I''ve forgotten the curses you''ve thrown at me; I''m going to give you a bad name."

    Leon grinned with a wolfish look, teasing the little girl.

    "T-that¡­ that wasn''t me! That was Grandpa Spirit!" the little girl stuttered with a guilty conscience.

    "Little girl, it''s not good to lie. Didn''t your mother tea¡ªAhem, never mind," Leon coughed and shook his head before saying, "Anyway, since you share the same source as Tak-si, how about I call you Si-kat?"

    "Sick cat? What?"

    The little girl was dumbfounded for a moment before the person''s pettiness made her explode angrily in the next moment.

    "You''re a sick cat! Your whole family are sick cats!"

 Chapter 801 - Dark Secret

    After seeing the little girl''s angry response, Leon was taken aback by surprise for a moment before he corrected her, "I didn''t say sick cat¡­ What I said was Si-kat."

    "What''s the difference?!"

    The little girl red at him like a cat that just got her tail stepped on.

    Nevertheless, Aria couldn''t stand to watch the situation further and quickly stepped in to intervene as she threw a ming look at Leon.

    "How can you this adorable little girl such a poor name, Leon?" she said.

    "I¡­ It was actually better than the other names I thought of; I couldn''t have called her Dark Princess or Little ck, can I? I''m not good names¡­"

    Leons scratched his head with a wry and awkward smile before suggesting, "Why don''t you give her a name instead?"

    "Hmph, I will!" Aria snorted before turning to the little girl with a warm smile. "How about it; would you like a big sister to give you a name instead? It''ll definitely be better than the names given by that viin."

    "Mm!" the little girl quickly agreed.

    ''Big sister¡­''

    At the same time, Leon silently thought with a smile wryly.

    The Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter might have the appearance of a little 8-year-old girl, but she was a few thousand years old at the very least.

    ''Is this the result fusing a living being with a Divine Artifact''s heart? It seems that doing this will allow the living being to age at a much slower rate than other living beings¡­'' he mused.

    It was an interesting discovery, but at the same time, it posed a serious question that is worth looking into.

    Since living beings could be artifact spirits, does that mean there were artificers out there who also sacrificed living beings to create artifact spirits for their artifacts?

    The thought of it made Leon frown.

    ''If a grown person were forcefully sacrificed to the artifact heart to be a spirit, it would undoubtedly be a spirit full of hatred to its creator¡­''

    However, if an infant is used instead, it will develop intimacy with its creator or owner once it bes capable of its own thoughts¡­

    ''Back in the Divine Realm, countless infants go missing after their birth every year; it can''t possibly be due to this, right?''

    Leon felt unsettled at the thought, causing his expression to turn ugly.

    ¡­

    "What do you think of the name Luna? Do you like it?" Aria asked while carrying the little girl in her arms.

    "Luna¡­" the little girl didn''t immediately agree but sought its meaning first, "Does it have any special meaning?"

    "Luna means the white moon," Aria said.

    "Since your mother sacrificed a lot to give you a chance at life, it shows how much your mother loves you¡ªjust like how these flowers thrive and glow in this dark ce, which is also like the white moon shining in the night, Luna."

    "So, do you like it?" she asked again.

    "Luna, Luna, Luna¡­" the little girl uttered the name repeatedly, growing increasingly fonder of it before she nodded excitedly, "Mm, I like it!"

    "Great! Then I''ll call you Luna from now on!" Aria said with a fond smile as she pinched the little girl''s nose before shifting her gaze to Leon. "We''ve decided on¡ªwhat''s wrong, Leon?"

    "Hm?" Leon nced up and before saying, "Seeing how the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter¡ª"

    "Don''t just keep calling me; I know I am! But I have a name now! Call me Luna, Luna, Luna!" the little girl interrupted.

    "Alright, Lunalunaluna," Leon raised his hands in resignation. "Though, you''ve ended up with a strange name anyway¡­"

    "¡­" Luna pouted, feeling upset before asking, "You''re doing this on purpose, aren''t you?"

    "Hahaha, I jest. Don''t take it seriously."

    Leon ruffled Luna''s head roughly, making her spiritual form shaky and out of shape before replying to Aria''s question, "Luna''s unique situation makes me think about the missing infants in the Divine Realm."

    "The missing infants¡­?"

    Aria took a moment to search through Aria White''s memories before widening her eyes with a startled look.

    "Are you suspecting the infants are used to create artifact spirits?!" she eximed with a near-shrieking voice.

    The artifact creators were vile and evil beyond belief if it was true!

    Leon nodded heavily.

    "If we think about it, an artifact takes a long time to give birth to an artifact spirit¡ªsuch time could take hundreds to thousands of years. However, there are forces like the Divine Treasure Pavillion that churn out Spirit Artifacts, which only take five to ten years to give birth to artifact spirits."

    "This is outrageous! They must be using newborn infants in their artifact production!" Aria used the Divine Treasure Pavillion with outrage. "Such vileness is uneptable! They should pay for their crimes!"

    "It''s ironic how the Divine Treasure Pavillion is also one of the forces that support the prosperity of mortals the most," Leon said contemptuously before shaking his head in resignation.

    "Nevertheless, this is just our spection. And unless we can travel to the Divine Realm, we won''t be able to investigate the truth behind the Divine Treasure Pavillion and other rted forces'' artifacts'' quick spirit births."

    "Even if it''s just a spection, we can''t deny its possibility either," Aria continued to argue.

    In her heart, she had already epted the possibility as the truth.

    Even a prosperous kingdom like the Crawford Kingdom declined due to corruption; it was impossible for the Divine Realm not to have corruption of their own.

    Given the nature of humans, she believed it definitely exists.

    "For now, we should just focus on increasing our cultivation. We still have a long way from being able to travel to the Divine Realm," Leon stated.

    "Mm." Aria nodded.

    Meanwhile, Darlene and Luna were utterly lost; they failed to follow Leon and Aria''s conversation.

    "What is the Divine Realm?" Luna asked.

    "It''s a whole new world that exists far beyond this world," Aria patiently but briefly exined the Divine Realm to the little girl.

    Shortly after, she nced around before she said, "It seems like the central floating ind is also a bust; we made an amazing discovery here, but there''s nothing we can use."

    "Not exactly.. There is something useful here, but Luna will not agree with me taking them," Leon said while ncing down at the ck-purplish glowing flowers.

 Chapter 802 - Blacksand Desert

    After Leon mentioned the ck-purplish glowing flowers, Aria and Darlene nced down at them.

    "What kind of flowers are they?" Aria asked.

    "These flowers are called Violet Soul Flowers, and they''re all at Tier-5 quality to boot; they have the effect of nurturing damaged souls and can be refined into pills for a stronger effect."

    Leon exined the Violet Soul Flower''s properties ording to what he found recorded in the [Archive].

    "Oh? Does that mean Big Brother knows how to refine the pills and help my mother recover?" Luna ran in front of Leon and looked at him with her big puppy eyes.

    "I''m afraid I will have to disappoint you, Luna." Leon shook his head helplessly and said, "Tier-5 Violet Soul Flowers are good spirit herbs for soul recovery."

    "However, your mother''s realm is too high. Tier-5 Violet Soul Flowers will have little-to-no effect on her even if they are refined into pills. We are most like going to need Tier-8 Violet Soul Flowers at the very least to cure your mother."

    "Oh¡­" Luna uttered as her bright eyes dulled with disappointment.

    Nevertheless, he had expected such a reaction; telling her the hard truth was better than giving false hope¡ªonly to crush it more mercilessly.

    "We should leave and not disturb the Demon Empress''s resting spot," Leon said with a soft sigh before adding, "We''ll head to the south floating ind next."

    "Mm," Aria and Darlene agreed.

    Shortly after, Leon gathered the dark faes before leaving the vicinity of the central ind despite the dark faes'' strong reluctance.

    "Don''t worry. There will be more opportunities for all of you to cultivate on the central ind," Leon promised before giving Darlene a nce.

    She immediately understood and used Dark Passage to quickly move everyone to the south floating ind.

    Upon their arrival, Leon quickly inspected the support-circuit building.

    "There''s no Celestial Power sealing the entrance; it looks like this might be another bust," Leonmented.

    That being said, he intended to thoroughly search the floating ind before moving on to their next target.

    ''Master, you can always ask me anything about the entire Radiant Heaven Realmship; my consciousness covers this entire space and understands everything going on," Tak-si materialized before informing Leon of its assistance.

    Leon threw it a casual nce before saying, "And you expect me to trust you after you hid things from me until it was toote?"

    "I''m sorry, Master." Tak-si lowered his head guiltily.

    However, Luna quickly took over before she spat, "Don''t bully Grandpa Spirit! Grandpa Spirit was only following my wishes! If you want to me someone, me me!"

    "You''re speaking too seriously," Leon gave Luna a casual flick on the forehead, which inflicted no damage whatsoever to her spiritual form. "Is there anything on south and east ind, Tak-si?"

    "None, Master."

    Tak-si restored his appearance before obediently answering Leon''s question, "Only the north and central inds had something. The south and east inds were practically untouched during the war."

    "I see," Leon rubbed his chin in thought.

    After ncing at the dark faes for a moment, he asked, "How many members of the Dark Fae n are in this southern region?"

    "There are currently 76 members of the Dark Fae n in this region, Master. Of the 76 members, 62 members are in Bone Sea''s outer region, while the remaining 14 members are currently trapped within a Demon Lord-level Tomb."

    "A Demon Lord-level Tomb, huh?" Leon muttered thoughtfully before asking, "Where is it?"

    "In the cksand Desert, roughly 20 miles further southwest on the surface from here, Master. They were swallowed by quicksand and stumbled on the Demon Lord-level Tomb by chance. But with no strength to challenge nor leave, they couldn''t go anywhere," Tak-si informed.

    "I got it," Leon nodded and waved at the realm spirit, "You can leave for now."

    "Understood, Master." Tak-siplied.

    Shortly after the realm spirit''s spiritual form dispersed back into the background, Saresha quickly made her way over with some dark faes.

    "My Lord, there''s nothing of value on this floating ind," she reported.

    "I already know, but good job," Leon praised them nheless.

    "Shall we proceed to the next floating ind?" Saresha asked.

    However, Leon shook his head, "No, we will be descending to speedrun a Demon Lord-level Tomb and save some members of your n in the process."

    ''People can speedrun Demon Lord-level Tombs? Perhaps, only the noble lord can say something like that,'' Saresha silently thought.

    At the same time, she was also surprised by Leon''s words alongside her n members.

    "Are my n members in danger, my Lord?" she quickly asked.

    "Not for the time being, but there''s no telling if they start acting rashly after being trapped in the Demon Lord-level Tomb for so long," Leon stated before giving her an order, "Gather everyone. We will shortly."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon brought Aria, Darlene, and the dark faes to the deste region filled with ck sand.

    The ground was soft andcked stability, making it difficult for everyone to trek without losing bnce.

    And with each step they took, mounds of ck sand shifted, causing a great disturbance in the area.

    "It''ll be hard not to notice other people around if the ck sand moves like this with every step we take," Leonmented while ncing down at the rolling ck sand.

    Suddenly, arge pile of ck sand erupted a few dozen yards away, sting in the sky before everyone spotted the giant figure of a ck worm¡ªno, a dark wyrm.

    "And it appears that humans and demons are not the only beings in this desert," Leon added with a calm look.

    However, the dark faes grew nervous and uneasy.

    The dark wyrm''srge frame made the dark faes feel minuscule inparison, and it had the strength of a Peak-stage Greater Demon.

    "My Lord, the dark wyrm looks hungry, and it''s staring at us¡­!" a dark fae spoke.

    Shortly after the dark wyrm locked onto Leon''s group, it immediately lunged at them with its gaping jaws wide open, ready to feast on them.

    ''Master, the dark wyrms are actually quite timid creatures; if you summon your higher-quality dark power, it''ll quickly be obedient in front of you!''

    Just as Leon was about to retaliate, Tak-si quickly informed him.

 Chapter 803 - The Humbled Dark Wyrms

    "Oh?" Leon uttered with surprise.

    Nevertheless, after hearing Tak-si''s information, shrouds of darkness quickly surged out of Leon''s body and rose to towering heights, causing the dark wyrm to pause in its tracks with a change of expression abruptly.

    If the information were false, he would have attacked immediately.

    However, it appears that the Tak-si had indeed spoken truthfully regarding the dark wyrm''s timid nature.

    "Interesting¡­" Leon muttered with a thoughtful look.

    Seeing how the dark wyrm abruptly stopped its attack, Aria and the others were also surprised by the situation.

    "Why did it suddenly stop attacking?" Darlene uttered with doubt.

    "ording to Tak-si, dark wyrms are ''timid'' creatures; but more urately speaking, it is only timid in front of stronger opponents," Leon exined.

    From what he could see, the dark wyrm is not afraid of beings smaller than itself unless they were higher lifeforms¡ªit was a typical case of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

    Given how other demons view him as a noble existence, the dark wyrm indeed regarded him as a higher lifeform.

    As a creature of darkness, the dark wyrm was sensitive to the power of darkness like other demons, and Leon''s quality of dark power was no different from making him look like a behemoth in its eyes.

    "Stay back for a moment; I want to check something out."

    Leon instructed everyone before approaching the dark wyrm with his body suffused in towering dark power.

    A colossal pressure weighed down on the dark wyrm, causing it to be stricken with fear and froze on the spot, unable to flee.

    "Can you understand my words?" Leon asked.

    The dark wyrm responded by nodding a few times before lowering its head on the ground in front of him, expressing its submission.

    "So you can. Hahaha, good boy," Leon chuckled while rubbing the dark wyrm''s head like an owner that just got a new pet.

    However, from the dark wyrm''s perspective, it was prey that had been caught by its predator and entirely at its predator''s mercy¡ªlike a lion resting its paws on an antelope''s neck, not in a hurry to kill it.

    After Leon retracted his dark power, the dark wyrm remained subservient without the slightest retaliation; it had already registered him as someone above it.

    He studied the dark wyrm''s ability to listen to orders before he patted its head with satisfaction.

    "Aiyo, we just ourselves a ride," he called the others over.

    Aria, Darlene, and the dark faes all expressed their surprises before making their way over nheless.

    Then, not long after, they all saddled on the dark wyrm''s back before Leon called the realm spirit for a quick inquiry.

    ''How far are we from the Demon Lord-level Tomb, Tak-si?'' Leon asked.

    ''You should be able to see it from here, Master. Roughly 800 yards to the west from here, there''s a giant whirlpool of quicksand; that''s where the dark faes fell.''

    ''I see.'' Leon acknowledged.

    Shortly after, he ordered the dark wyrm to move in the direction pointed out by the realm spirit while everyone else enjoyed the short ride.

    Although they could simply fly over the ck sand region, riding the dark wyrm gave them a refreshing feeling.

    They could rx and enjoy the cool desert breeze.

    As the dark wyrm brought the group 600 yards closer to the quicksand whirlpool, two mountains of ck sand erupted near it, revealing another two equally giant dark wyrms.

    Evidently, the dark wyrms guarded the Demon Lord-level Tomb''s entrance.

    However, Leon found it surprising that the stranded dark faes made it through the dark wyrms without getting eaten, but then, he quickly found his answers by studying the vicinity of the quicksand whirlpool.

    Blood and broken pieces of equipmenty scattered across the area.

    ''Seems like a big battle urred in this area¡­ Considering the dark faes are one of the bottom feeders in the demon hierarchy, the stronger demons most likely used them as trailzers¡­'' Leon mused.

    In a sense, the dark faes are quite lucky to have fallen into quicksand while the rest of the demons got caught up in battle.

    Roar!

    (How dare you let puny creatures ride on your back, and there''s even humans among them! Have you lost all your pride?!)

    (Pah! You''re aplete disgrace to our kind and the dragon blood running in your veins!)

    (Hmph! You two know nothing! It''s my honor to serve a higher being! You can stay proud for now, but you''ll be humbled in a moment if you keep up your hostilities!)

    The dark wyrms growled at each other.

    Roar!

    (What higher being? I think you''ve lost your mind!)

    (Yeah, yeah, whatever you say)

    Roar!

    Shortly after, the two hostile dark wyrms rushed at Leon''s group.

    "Although I don''t understand what they were saying, negotiations failed, I presumed," Leonmented before stirring the dark power within him.

    "Down, boy!"

    (A higher being!)

    Dark power quickly surged out of Leon''s body, causing the two dark wyrms'' expression to change drastically.

    They abruptly halted their charge but ended up tumbling and kicking up a storm of ck sand that flew towards Leon''s group.

    However, Leon casually waved at it and cleared the flying ck sand from the area before seeing the two dark wyrms groveling on the ground.

    Even their own dark wyrm had its head lowered while trembling in fear, causing a few dark faes to almost fall off its back.

    "Why are you also down? I was talking to the other two dark wyrms!" Leon said as he patted the dark wyrm''s head.

    Shortly after, the dark wyrm raised its head back up before giving the other two dark wyrms a smug grunt.

    (I told you so! Kek, where''s your pride now, hm?)

    (S-shut up! Quickly plead for us!)

    The dark wyrms growled back.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not care too much about the dark wyrms for the time being and brought everyone to fly over to the quicksand whirlpool that leads to the Demon Lord-level Tomb.

    "Is the Demon Lord-level Tomb down here?" Aria nced down at the quicksand whirlpool with a bit of reluctance. "Do we have to go through here?"

    "Yep," Leon simply answered.

 Chapter 804 - Shadow Tempest Demon Lord

    While looking at the center of the quicksand whirlpool, it was easy to discover that the entrance leading to the Demon Lord-level Tomb itself was not that big.

    If he tried to st the entrance open, the ck sand in the desert would quickly fill up the Demon Lord-level Tomb below and bury itpletely.

    "Just endure it for a short while; it''ll save us inconveniencester," Leon added.

    Although Aria felt a little ufortable about the suffocating feeling thates from getting buried in quicksand, she obediently nodded after Leon spoke.

    The diforting feeling did not stem from her memories but Aria White''s memories¡ªmemories of when she fell for another divine cultivator''s trap and ended up buried under quicksand for many weeks during one of her younger days of adventuring.

    Meanwhile, Saresha and n members had no issue with sinking into quicksand to enter the Demon Lord-level Tomb if it meant they could save their other n members.

    "Let''s go," Leon urged.

    He took the initiative to plunge into the quicksand whirlpool before everyone else followed one by one, disappearing into the sinking ck sand¡ªincluding Aria.

    ¡­

    Not long after everyone was gone, the dark wyrm expressed their relief.

    (Phew! They''re finally gone¡­)

    (I didn''t expect to encounter another noble existence since the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s downfall¡­)

    (Hush, don''t talk about the Eternal Night Demon Empress. It brings back bad memories!)

    (On a more serious note, I think the purity of that noble being''s dark power is on an even higher level than the Eternal Night Demon Empress¡­)

    (How can that be? The Eternal Night Demon Empress was an existence on par with Half-step True Divinities¡­)

    (I''m not talking about their strength; I''m talking about the concept behind their dark powers¡­ But, well, I don''t really understand this concept stuff either)

    (Aren''t we forgetting something even more important? Are we just going to let them raid our ancestor''s resting ce?)

    (Otherwise? What can we do about it? Can you resist the noble being''s pressure?)

    (I guess not¡­)

    Shortly after, the dark wyrms resigned themselves to the situation of letting their ancestor''s tomb get raided.

    There was nothing they could do about it.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, shortly after Leon first dropped into therge open space underneath the cksand Desert, his sudden presence immediately rmed the stranded members of the Dark Fae n.

    "A human!" a dark fae cried.

    The 14 members of the Dark Fae n immediately shot to their feet and directed their weapons at Leon with apprehensive looks.

    However, not long after Saresha dropped down and saw the situation, she immediately barked, "Stop!"

    "Another member of our n?" a dark fae uttered with pleasant surprise before she quickly frowned with doubt. "Speak! What is your rtionship with this human?!"

    However, Aria and Darlene also dropped down after a few short moments before the 14 dark faes became even more apprehensive and cautious.

    "Why did you tell us to stop? Did you turn your backs on your kind and start working for the humans?!" a dark fae shrieked while feeling betrayed.

    But as more dark faes showed up from the surface, the 14 dark faes in the underground space wavered and became confused.

    "Don''t tell me you are all working with the humans? What the hell is going on here¡­"

    "We have all submitted to our new lord, and I suggest that you all do too. Only by following our new lord will the Dark Fae n have a bright future," Saresha persuaded.

    However, a few words were not enough to convince the 14 dark faes.

    "Nonsense! You expect me to believe that a single human can change n''s situation?" one of the 14 dark faes questioned her.

    Despite that, the dark fae''s tone was not as strong and confident as the other dark faes.

    Obviously, the human must have something special about him in order to convince fifty of their n members to follow him.

    "Hmph! You don''t understand anything until you experience it yourself! Our lord is a noble demon!" Saresha stated.

    "A noble demon? Impossible¡­" the 14 dark faes wavered before one of them stuttered, "P-prove it!"

    Saresha snorted before turning to Leon.

    "I apologize for ipetence, my Lord. I failed to convince them with a few words; please show them your might," she said with her head lowered.

    "I understand your desire to serve me, but you should just let me handle these matters; it will save us time," Leon calmly said before taking a step forward and facing the wary dark faes.

    "Although I don''t need to prove anything to anyone, I still wish to avoid unnecessary losses where possible. Therefore, I will only say this once; submit to me or die!"

    As he said that, dark power surged out of his body, causing tremendous pressure to quickly bear down on the 14 dark faes and suppress them in both body and mind.

    ''N-noble demon!''

    The dark faes all had the same thought as they clutched their throats with a suffocating feeling while groveling on the ground.

    "I-it was true¡­! H-he really is a noble demon¡­!"

    In that instance, the dark faes immediately understood why fifty of their n members would submit to the person¡ªno, noble demon!

    The difference between a human and a noble demon was like day and night.

    Even if the noble demon were not capable, just by their backing, even high-rank demon ns would have to respect their Dark Fae n.

    "W-we submit, my Lord! We apologize for being ignorant of your status!" the dark faes cried.

    Only after hearing their submission did Leon retract the pressure from them before saying, "Now that wasn''t so hard to do, wasn''t it?"

    "Saresha, I''ll leave it to you to fill them in on the ongoing events and organize them into your ranks."

    "Yes, my Lord!" Sareshaplied.

    Although Leon felt like he had been a bit overbearing, it had to be done.

    ''Tak-si, tell me about this Demon Lord-level Tomb,'' Leon called for the realm spirit while shifting his attention to the giant stone gates behind the dark faes.

    ''Yes, Master!'' Tak-si answered.

    ''This tomb belongs to the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord, a Demon Lord-level dark wyrm who possesses a small amount of a True Dragon''s blood.''

    After hearing that, Leon''s eyes immediately flickered with strong interest.

    ''A True Dragon''s blood, you say? How sure are you?''

    ''Very sure, Master!'' Tak-si asserted.

 Chapter 805 - Entering The Dark Wyrmsâ€™ Den Alone

    ''True Dragon''s blood¡­''

    Leon rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look.

    No matter how thin the dark wyrm''s True Dragon Bloodline is, True Dragon''s blood is still True Dragon''s blood.

    If he can obtain it and use it alongside True Grandmist Energy, he could advance his Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method by leaps and bounds.

    ''No matter how little it is, I have to obtain this True Dragon''s blood!'' Leon''s eyes flickered with a determined look.

    ''How is theyout of the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s tomb? How many trials and traps did ity out?'' he asked.

    However, contrary to his expectation, Tak-si gives a surprising answer.

    ''The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s tomb doesn''t have multiple trials, Master; there''s only one trial ground and no traps installed. So if you pass it, you''ll reach the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s resting ground," Tak-si answered.

    ''There''s only one trial ground and no traps behind this stone gate?'' Leon repeated for confirmation.

    He was taken aback by the revtion.

    ''Yes, Master.'' Tak-si affirmed.

    ''Although the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord unlocked its spiritual wisdom, it still likes to keep things simple and didn''t tamper withplicated things like arrays and formations.''

    Hearing that, Leon furrowed his brows with doubt.

    Even if there aren''t any high-tier arrays and formations installed to increase the difficulty, a Demon Lord-level Tomb shouldn''t be easy to conquer nheless¡ªat least from others'' perspectives.

    ''So what''s behind this stone gate? Surely, it shouldn''t be simple enough that anyone can ovee it.''

    ''Master is right,'' Tak-si agreed.

    ''Fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms are guarding the trial ground. Others might find this difficult, but it''s a different story for Master, who possesses a higher-concept dark power.''

    ''Fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms?'' Leon paused before nodding with understanding.

    Fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms would be impossible for any average human or demon to ovee.

    Nevertheless, defeating the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms isn''t the only way to reach the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s resting ground.

    They can also try sneaking past all the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.

    As for him, he wouldn''t be surprised if the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms just let him stroll past them and reach the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s resting ground.

    ''Right, I should also warn Master that these Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms also possess thin traces of their True Dragon ancestors'' bloodline, so Master''s dark power suppression may not be as effective on them,'' Tak-si added.

    Contrary to how he should react to the increased difficulty, Leon''s eyes lit up after hearing the information.

    To him, an Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm that is alive is much more valuable than a Demon Lord-level Dark Wyrm that is dead.

    Nevertheless, it won''t change the fact that he will still harvest the Demon Lord-level Dark Wyrm''s True Dragon Blood.

    "Well then, let''s go greet these Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms, shall we?" Leon uttered.

    He ced both hands on the giant stone gate and pushed it open with brute strength, causing the ground to vibrate from the rock-grinding noises.

    Just as Aria, Darlene, and the dark faes prepared to follow them, Leon shook his head and stopped them.

    "All of you will stay back. I will challenge the Demon Lord-level Tomb alone," he stated.

    "Alone? This might not be like the Demon King-level Tomb, but it''s still a Demon Lord-level Tomb! It''s dangerous to challenge it alone," Aria voiced her concern.

    However, Leon smiled back at her in response.

    "You don''t have to worry, Aria. There are only dark wyrms in the trial ground; Tak-si told me about it. Furthermore, you''ve seen how dark wyrms behave in front of my dark power; I''ll be fine," he assured her.

    Hearing that, Aria didn''t argue further and nodded obediently.

    "I''ll wait for you."

    "Be careful," Darlene added.

    "I will."

    At the same time, the newer dark fae members were startled by their lord''s im to challenge the Demon Lord-level Tomb alone.

    However, they were even more astonished after hearing his following words.

    If his dark power could even suppress Arch Demon-level creatures of darkness, then there was no doubt that following him was the right choice.

    If their wishes for it, the Dark Fae n''s rise to prominence will be unstoppable.

    Just the thought of it filled them with excitement.

    "We wish you the best of luck, my Lord!" the dark faes prayed for his sess.

    Shortly after hearing the dark faes'' prays, Leon took his first step into the enormous trial ground with nothing else holding back.

    The ce was full of ck sand on the bottom and obsidian-like crystallized ck sand for walls and ceilings.

    After his third step sent ripples of sand movements throughout the trial ground, columns of ck sand erupted from the ground as multiple Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms revealed themselves.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not falter.

    He continued to stroll straight down the middle of the trial ground as more giant dark wyrms revealed themselves one after another; each of their strength varied from Early to Mid Arch Demon level.

    When they saw the puny human''s calmposure, their first thought was not to attack him but to study him with intense curiosity.

    "Sup, fes. How''s it going?" Leon casually greeted.

    The Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms all nced at each other with the same confused look in their eyes.

    (Where does this puny human get his confidence?)

    (Is he a fool?)

    They silently wondered among themselves.

    "Do you know where you are, puny human? This is not a ce where you cane!" a Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm suddenly spoke in the human tongue with its booming voice.

    "You unlocked your spiritual wisdom? Great! That simplifies things," Leon pped his hands together with a pleasant smile.

    Communication makes things easier.

    "I''vee to negotiate a deal with your Dark Wyrm n¡ªa great deal that your Dark Wyrm n won''t be able to refuse," he said.

    "You? Interesting."

    The Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm nced down on him with a condescending gaze.

    "However, even if you want to negotiate with us, you must first have qualifications to negotiate with us! And a weak human like you does not have those qualifications!" it roared with a deafening voice.

    The entire space shook as a result.

 Chapter 806 - Leonâ€™s Offer & Condition

    Leon bore the brunt of the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm''s deafening voice.

    The sound wave sted at his face and blew his hair back while the ck sand on the ground rippled with waves and the stctite dangling from the cave ceiling trembled.

    However, he stood his ground firmly with a calm look.

    Swoosh!

    Gaseous clouds of dark energy slowly oozed out of his pores before swirling around his body like a small tornado.

    In that instance, his insignificant presencepletely changed from the perspective of the dark wyrms.

    ''A noble demon!'' they thought.

    "Do I have the qualifications to negotiate now?" Leon casually asked.

    The Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm stared at Leon with a deep and solemn look in silence.

    "You''re very confident, but you have the right to be confident. We''ll at least listen to what you have to say," it said after a moment.

    At the same time, the other forty-nine Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms retracted their hostilities and intimidating gazes, releasing a load of pressure off Leon''s shoulders.

    He had made the right call not to force his way through.

    His proficiency in the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness was not high enough to suppress Arch Demons, contrary to the realm spirit''s expectation.

    However, he already knew that.

    If his dark power didn''t work on three Arch Demons he previously fought, there was little chance that it would work on other Arch Demon-level beasts.

    "Say it, what kind of deal do you have that makes you think we won''t refuse?" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm pressed with a glint of curiosity.

    "Aren''t you tired of being confined in this enclosed space? I will break your shackles and grant you freedom," Leon stated.

    "¡­"

    After a brief moment of silence, the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm burst into anguishughter before ring at Leon.

    "How ridiculous!" the dark wyrm spat.

    "Do you think an enclosed space like this can contain us if we genuinely wish to leave?! We didn''t leave for the past few thousand years because we couldn''t! We didn''t leave because we are bound by our duty to guard our ancestor''s tomb!"

    "And that is exactly what I meant by your shackles!" Leon argued.

    "Do not treat me like you would treat a being of lesser intelligence; I am above you! Who wouldn''t know what Arch Demon-level beings like you are capable of?" he added with a condescending tone.

    "It appears I have jumped to conclusions, but that makes your im even more ridiculous!" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm said with a gloomy gaze.

    "To proim you will break our shackles that is our duty to guard our ancestor''s tomb, you are justifying your reason to raid our ancestor''s tomb. Such audacity!"

    "I won''t deny that I have my eyes on the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s inheritance, but what about you? And the rest of you?"

    Leon stared back at the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm before sweeping his gaze across the rest of the dark wyrms.

    "Don''t tell me you all n to guard your ancestor''s tomb until the end of time and die in a lightless ce like this? Have you no ambitions?! Do you not wish to reach the same heights as your ancestor and beyond?! The vast world outside should be your stages!" Leon incited.

    The Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms felt a stir in their emotions like a lit me before it quickly died as soon as it appeared.

    "I understand where you are getting at, but it''s no use," the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm said with a calm yet dispiriting tone.

    At the same time, the other forty-nine dark wyrms lowered themselves in resting positions like deted balloons with their guards down, seemingly dispirited as they recalled their shattered dreams.

    "There was a time when we all thought we achieve our ancestor''s heights, but it is simply impossible."

    "And why is it impossible?" Leon argued.

    "Because we are not talented like our ancestor; Our strength had long stagnated and failed to progress further," the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm exined.

    However, Leon could only snicker with ridicule in the face of such ame excuse while earning the dark wyrms'' ire in response.

    "Do you find this funny, human?" the dark wyrms asked in a deep tone.

    "Very," Leon admitted.

    "The outside world is filled with endless possibilities; if you don''t go out and search for them, how can you prove that you will never reach your ancestor''s heights? It''s not impossible because you don''t have the talent; it''s impossible because you have given up!"

    After hearing that, the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm had no words to refute him; he was right.

    They chose to continue guarding their ancestor''s tomb to the end of their lifespans because they were discouraged by their inability to advance into Divine Beasts.

    However, some of the prideful dark wyrms could not stomach Leon''s criticism.

    "If you only came here to ridicule us, then even if you are a noble demon, we still dare to kill you!" one of the dark wyrms snarled.

    However, in response to such a threat, Leon shrugged nonchntly before saying, "As I have said, I have a deal that you guys cannot refuse. Did you think I was speaking empty words?"

    "The same True Dragon''s blood in your ancestor''s body also flows in all your veins! So if I strengthen your True Dragon''s blood, do you all think your strengths will remain as they are?!" he questioned them.

    Many dark wyrms'' eyes immediately flickered with intense light as if Leon had lighted a fire in their hearts with his words and reignited their ambitions.

    "Even if you have such an ability to strengthen our True Dragon Blood and awaken our bloodline, what''s in it for you?" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm asked.

    "A small portion of True Dragon Blood for each strengthening I perform," Leon stated his intention.

    He might not be lucky enough to find a True Dragon from the primordial age, but if he can cultivate his own dragons, he will have ess to unlimited dragon blood.

    The fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms'' eyes all flickered with thoughtful looks after hearing Leon''s condition.

 Chapter 807 - The Eager Dark Wyrms

    Although True Dragon Blood is precious to the dark wyrms, offering a small portion in return for gaining an even more significant portion of it makes the price insignificant inparison.

    "You''re right; this is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we simply cannot refuse," the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm admitted.

    "But how do you n on strengthening our thin True Dragon Blood?" it asked shortly after.

    Suddenly, all fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms focused their sole attention on Leon, awaiting his answer with intense curiosity.

    "I have a special blood-refining method that can bring out the special traits hidden in one''s blood; once it''s awakened, replication of the True Dragon Blood will naturally be simple," Leon exined.

    All beasts with thin ancestral bloodlines face the same inability to locate their ancestral blood and stimte its awakening.

    However, once they are sessful, their ancestral blood will reproduce itself.

    This is why the Divine Beasts'' direct descendants will always be stronger at birth inparison to itster generations.

    Nevertheless, Leon wasn''t dealing with the distant descendants of a Divine Beast, but a God Beast; thus, its blood''s effect will be even more potent.

    "I will need some of your blood essences to begin," Leon stated.

    Although multiple dark wyrms immediately frowned after hearing his requirement, the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm agreed.

    "Fine."

    Not long after, it decisively bit its tongue and spat out a glob of blood essence before the other dark wyrms could persuade it otherwise.

    The glob of blood essence quickly froze in mid-air before Leon dragged it over with his Divine Will andmenced the Evesting Blood Mantra''s blood refining process.

    The Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms watched the glob of dark-red blood essence revolve at high speed.

    Numerous tiny blood arrows separated from the blood glob before sshing back into it like a sea of snakes trying to devour each other.

    As that happened, the blood glob''s core began to glow in a bright crimson color.

    ''A sun?'' the dark wyrms thought.

    The glowing blood glob gave the dark wyrms such an impression.

    Seeing how the glowing blood glob shrunk over time, the dark wyrms almost thought Leon was secretly filtering the blood essence out for himself with an unknown method.

    However, the increasing vitality they sensed in the reduced glob of glowing blood essence told them otherwise.

    A short whileter, Leon finished refining several True Dragon Origin Blood out of the blood essence given to him.

    The blood quantity had significantly reduced, but the quality was vastly different.

    "It''s done; these are the True Dragon Origin Blood I refined," Leon stated.

    The fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms had their eyes fixed on the several True Dragon Origin Blood floating above Leon''s hand with an intense look like they were gazing at some peerless treasures.

    "Lord Shadowtail, I am among the weakest of our kind. The effects of these True Dragon Origin Blood are unclear. How about I test whether they are harmful or not?" A Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm shamelessly suggested.

    However, the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm, Shadowtail, was not going to buy into its bullsh*t.

    "F*ck off!" Shadowtail roared.

    "These True Dragon Origin Blood were refined from my blood essences! If you want some True Dragon Origin Blood, then offer up your own blood essences for the noble demon to refine!"

    That being said, many dark wyrms couldn''t take their eyes off the True Dragon Origin Blood; some of their heads even inched closer to it.

    "Back off, all of you! Are you trying to rebel?!" Shadowtail said snappishly.

    The Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was afraid that if it took its eyes off the other dark wyrms for a single moment, they would immediately gobble up its True Dragon Origin Blood.

    Leon smiled while pushing the seven drops of True Dragon Origin Blood towards the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm before Shadowtail nced back at him with a confused look.

    "You''re going to give them all to me? Are you not going to take a portion for yourself?" Shadowtail asked.

    "Considering it a gift to celebrate our friendship and future cooperation," Leon said generously.

    It was not toote to take his share after the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm awakens its bloodline and produces even more True Dragon Blood.

    "Thank you, sir. I am more than happy to be friends with an honorable person such as yourself," Shadowtail stated.

    Evidently, Leon had earned the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm''s genuine respect.

    Shortly after that, the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm gobbled up the seven drops of True Dragon Origin Blood and absorbed them into its bloodstream.

    Once the seven drops of True Dragon Origin Blood flowed into Shadowtail''s bloodstream, they immediately affected the other blood essences around them, altering their properties to be closer to the True Dragon Origin Blood.

    Shadowtail''s eyes beamed in the next moment.

    Although it didn''t awaken its bloodline, it felt the True Dragon Bloodline in itsrge body be stronger and richer, which also raised its stagnant strength by a small margin.

    (It''s effective! Too effective!)

    After the other dark wyrms sensed the changes, their eyes also beamed with excitement.

    "Pah! You''re too strict, Lord Shadowtail!" a Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm spat before directly its beaming eyes at Leon.

    "Sir Noble Demon, are you looking for servants or pets? I wish to follow you and experience the vast outside world you spoke of!"

    Once the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm expressed its strong interest to follow Leon with an ingratiating attitude, several other Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms'' minds also lit up with simr ideas.

    "Sir Noble Demon, please ept us! We also wish to follow you and see the vast outside world!"

    "How ridiculous!" a different Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm roared angrily.

    "What the hell are you all doing! Where is your shame? Have you no pride as descendants of True Dragons left?!" it rebuked the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.

    However, its words didn''t sway the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms; their minds were set.

    "Pah! You can ridicule us now, but when we be Divine Beasts, we''ll be the one looking down on you, Lord Nightingale!"

 Chapter 808 - Dark Wyrm Clan Recruited

    "Insolence!"

    Another Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm quickly snapped at the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm''s rude remark, disregarding the hierarchy.

    "How dare you talk like that! Apologize to Lord Nightingale Immediately¡ª!" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm thundered.

    However, Nightingale stopped the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm with a shake of her head.

    "No, no, he has a point," she said.

    "But¡­"

    "A cooperative rtionship is good, but if we want more gain, we have to give up something else," Nightingale said.

    "That''s right," Shadowtail nodded before adding, "Sometimes, we have to put aside our pride to see the bigger picture."

    "Even you agree, Lord Shadowtail?" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm gazed at Shadowtail with surprise.

    "There''s nothing to be ashamed of," Shadowtail stated.

    "We might be descendants of a God Beast, but without Sir Noble Demon''s help, we would never dream of bing Divine Beasts, let alone God Beasts like our primal ancestor."

    "Furthermore, Sir Noble Demon''s heritage is not the least bit inferior to ours, so there''s nothing humiliating about serving him as our lord; it''ll just be like the Eternal Night Demon Empress leading the various ns in the past."

    Once that was said, the dark wyrm reminisced on the good ol'' days, when the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s Faction was at its peak glory.

    Not long after, the voices of disagreement among the upper ranks of the Dark Wyrm n died down before they all entertained the thought of serving Leon as their new lord.

    Leon did not even need to utter a single word before they all made their own choices.

    "Sir Noble Demon, the Dark Wyrm n wishes to serve you as our lord," Shadowtail stated.

    "If that is all your wishes, then I will naturally ept," Leon told them before asking, "But I doubt this is all of you. Are you sure you can speak for the others?"

    Even if they couldn''t, he could still suppress the other dark wyrms below the Arch Demon-level with his dark power and gain their submission through force.

    Nevertheless, he shortly found out it was not necessary.

    "Of course, Sir Noble Demon," Shadowtail affirmed.

    "While this is not our whole n, given our strength, we all have a great say in the n; the younger ones wandering the desert outside will have no choice but to listen to our words."

    "Great! That''s just what I wanted to hear," Leon pped his hands together with approval.

    Life is easier when everything progresses smoothly.

    "Then¡­ Hehehe, do we also get a free bloodline-strengthening session from you, Sir Noble Demon?" a Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm asked humbly with signs of eagerness and impatience.

    "Of course," Leon nodded before dering generously, "Everyone''s first session is free."

    "Hurray! Long live Sir Noble Demon!" the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms all cheered.

    "Nonsense!"

    A Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm suddenly barked, causing the rest of the dark wyrms to pause and nce over with confusion.

    "How can we still address our new lord as Sir Noble Demon? Are we worthy of being our lord''s servants if we don''t even know the name of the lord in which we serve?" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm chided.

    However, the dark wyrms all showed relief after hearing it.

    "And here I thought that you have some other problem, Lord Nightshade," Shadowtail said wryly before adding with a nod, "But Lord Nightshade has a point."

    "May I ask how we should address our lord?" Shadowtail turned to Leon for his opinion.

    "The name is Leon, but feel free to address me in whatever way you wish."

    "So it is Lord Leon..."

    After Leon answered, Shadowtail and the other dark wyrms all engraved his name in their hearts.

    "Well, that''s that," Leon ended the formalities there before asking, "So, who''s next?"

    His question immediately ignited the dark wyrms'' emotion, making them all excited.

    "Me, me, me! I want to be next!"

    A Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm quickly jumped the queue and pranced in front of Leon excitedly before it earned looks of displeasure from the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.

    "Nonsense! Get back in line! We should get our turns before any of you!" one of them barked.

    The group of Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms quickly entered a scruffle, debating over who should get the next turn.

    "How unsightly¡­" Shadowtail frowned while witnessing the scene.

    "All of you, stop!" he barked before requesting his lord to intervene, "My Lord, it''s a rather embarrassing manner, but please help my kin organize themselves; they are a little too excited over the prospect of improvement."

    "So it seems¡­" Leon uttered wryly.

    Weren''t the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms supposed to have lived thousands of years? Even if it was understandable, did they need to behave like dogs after a bone was tossed?

    "Everyone, line up!" Leon ordered.

    "I will refine your blood essence one by one! Everyone will get a turn, so there''s no need to fight over who gets to go first! I will do the picking!"

    Once that was said, the dark wyrms finally calmed down and behaved themselves.

    Not long after, Leon selected his next victim¡ªahem, target, a Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm, to refine their blood essence into True Dragon Origin Blood.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Aria and Darlene watched Leon interact with the dark wyrms from the safety of the cave before the trial ground with the other dark faes.

    Seeing how the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms behaved like dogs wagging their tails, they had nothing to worry about.

    Nevertheless, Saresha and her n members could not help but feel astonished.

    "They''re supposed to be Arch Demon-level demonic beasts, right? What did the lord do to make them behave like this?"

    "I don''t know, but it seems like the lord sessfully tamed them all¡­"

    Despite their doubts, their hands could not help but tremble while their eyes glowed brightly, unable to contain their excitement.

    "Our Lord is so capable! I can''t help but look forward to the future he brings us!" one of the newer dark fae members uttered.

 Chapter 809 - Grand Desolation Black Dragon

    While Leon was refining the dark wyrms'' blood essences, some of the sneakier dark wyrms began slicing bigger wounds on their bodies and giving him galloons of their blood essence to refine.

    His lips could not help but twitch.

    Despite the increased workload, Leon did not utter a word ofint and simply refined all the blood essence given to him; he had already given them his word.

    As he worked through the dark wyrms one by one, they noticed the dark wyrms with more drops of True Dragon Origin Blood to absorb experienced more significant improvements.

    A Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm advanced to the Mid Arch Demon level while another Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm reached the High Arch Demon level, bing the current strongest in the n.

    Seeing that, Leon''s seventh target, another Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm, opened a gaping wound on its body and attempted to offer Leon all its blood essence despite feeling lethargic in the process.

    However, Leon quickly stopped it before it went too far; it would die of blood loss if the situation persisted.

    "Are you trying to bleed yourself to death?" Leon rebuked it.

    One less Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm would have meant one less blood bank of True Dragon Origin Blood for him; it was a loss for the both of them.

    "You''re too greedy, Shadowfang. What''s the use of maximizing your gain in the first session if you''re not alive to enjoy it? Are you trying to awaken your True Dragon Bloodline in one go and not have to pay the lord for his additional services?"

    Nightingale admonished the foolish dark wyrm.

    Shadowfang scratched his head with the end of his tail while chuckling with a bitter yet embarrassed smile.

    "My apologies, Lord Nightingale," Shadowfang apologized before admitting, "I was indeed hoping to awaken my True Dragon Bloodline in one go."

    "However, I wasn''t trying to cheat the lord; you''re wrongly using me, Lord Nightingale. I would have plenty more True Dragon Blood to offer the lord if I had seeded. You have to believe me, my Lord."

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered.

    "Even so, you are too na?ve; it''s not that easy to awaken your True Dragon Blood. Even if you have more True Dragon Origin Blood, how would they replenish themselves without other blood essences around?"

    "You need to understand that haste makes waste," he lectured.

    At the same time, he smiled wryly in his heart; he didn''t think he would need to educate thousand-year-old beings on such basic principles.

    Nevertheless, Shadowfang took all his words to heart.

    "I understand, my Lord. I was too impatient."

    "Since you understand, then take your True Dragon Origin Blood and go recuperate yourself."

    Leon finished refining the 300-odd drops of True Dragon Origin Blood before returning it to the Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm.

    After that event, the dark wyrm toned down on their greed and only offered a moderate amount of blood essence for Leon to refine.

    Nevertheless, it took him a whole hour to finish a round of blood-refinement for all the dark wyrms.

    "It''s finally done," Leon uttered with a sigh of relief after finishing the job.

    It was more tedious than he presumed. But then again, he should have expected it, given the dark wyrm''s enormous builds.

    The dark wyrms began to feel guilty for receiving all the benefits despite swearing their loyalty to their new lord.

    Creak¡­!

    Suddenly, everyone heard the sound of heavy stone grinding before they turned their gazes towards the direction of the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s resting ground.

    A Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was voluntarily opening the huge stone gate.

    "Lord Shadowtail, you¡­ Have you gone mad?"

    Nightingale uttered with a look of shock and bewilderment¡ªmuch like the rest of the dark wyrms were showing.

    The stone gate should never be open was pushed open by one of their own.

    "The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord will understand what I am doing," Shadowtail stated.

    "If our lord wishes to extract the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s True Dragon Blood and obtain the inheritances, we will allow it, my Lord. However, all that we ask of you is to treat the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s body with respect, my Lord."

    "I will," Leon solemnly asserted.

    Shortly after, he entered the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord without any dark wyrm barring his entry.

    Although Shadowtail was no longer the strongest, he was still the Dark Wyrm n''s current leader; the other dark wyrms still respected his decision.

    Even so, after Leon left the training ground, they immediately rained questions on him.

    "What do you mean the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord would understand, Lord Shadowtail? Exin clearly!"

    "How can the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord be happy with someone disturbing his resting ground?"

    Nightingale and Nightshade spoke.

    Despite being surrounded by his kin with looks of criticism, Shadowtail faced them calmly before saying, "Remember what the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s ultimate goal was."

    "The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s ultimate goal?"

    The dark wyrms furrowed their brows in thought, but Shadowtail did not intend to wait for their answers.

    "The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord led the Dark Wyrm n and joined under the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s banner because he believed she, as a true descendant of a True Divinity, could restore the glorious age of gods and devils."

    "The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s ultimate goal was for the Dark Wyrm n to be God Beasts like our Primal Ancestor, the Grand Destion ck Dragon. Although he failed, we are still alive¡ªwe still have a chance to fulfill the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s dream."

    "If the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s True Dragon Blood can assist us in reaching that goal, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord would have dly given it up if he was still alive," Shadowtail stated.

    Although it was the first time they heard of it, Nightingale and the other dark wyrm didn''t feel like Lord Shadowtail was lying to them.

    "Haiz¡­ If that is the case, I have nothing else to say," Nightingale decided to leave it at that and dropped the matter.

    Even if the information ended up being false, the Dark Wyrm n was still bound to rise under their new lord''s leadership.

    They should amodate their new lord where possible.

 Chapter 810 - Shadow Tempestâ€™s Secret Bloodline

    Inside the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s resting ground, Leon noticed the space was not as massive as the training ground, but it was spacious nheless.

    At the center of the ck cave, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s enormous body, which made Leon feel minuscule, rested in the open space as if it was simply taking a nap and would wake up at any time.

    Nevertheless, itsck of body heat and breath told him that the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord had passed away long ago.

    However, it wasn''t a natural death at the end of one''s lifespan but because of a severe injury sustained in the battle between the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s Faction and Celestial Alliance.

    Therge and radiant glowing-white spear impaled in the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s back withrge cracks spread along its body was clear evidence of its mortal wound.

    Even so, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s appearance was different from his imagination.

    "Surprisingly, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord wasn''t a wyrm-type dragon like the other Dark Wyrms¡ªNo, it still has some wyrm features¡­"

    Apart from the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s jet-ck body mainly being a dark wyrm, it had an additional pair of legs and wings, making it more like a wyvern.

    Yet, at the same time, it looked neither like a wyrm nor a wyvern but a crossbreed of the two.

    ''Is one of the Dark Wyrm n''s God Beast Ancestors a wyvern-type dragon, Tak-si? Do you know?'' Leon inquired.

    ''I''m not too sure, Master," Tak-si responded.

    ''However, I overheard the dark wyrms mentioning the Grand Destion ck Dragon as their Primal Ancestor, and the Grand Destion ck Dragon was a True Dragon on par with Heavenly Gods in the primordial age, Master.''

    ''A Heavenly God-level True Dragon, huh?'' Leon thought.

    The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord showed little resemnce to a True Dragon¡ªthis shows how diluted the Grand Destion ck Dragon''s Bloodline has spread after so many years.

    It wasn''t rare for the dragons to crossbreed either.

    ''But for the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord to show closer resemnce to a wyvern than a True Dragon¡­''

    Leon casually strolled around the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s enormous body and studied it while paying no attention to glittering and shiny treasures thaty scattered around the ce.

    ''Did it stumble upon the inheritance of a powerful wyvern-type Divine Beast or God Beast and change its bloodline to be a Divine Beast?'' Leon spected with a thoughtful look.

    Nevertheless, he will know once he extracts its blood essence and refines it.

    ''As expected of a Demon Lord-level¡ªor rather, a Divine Beast''s body; it''s well preserved and didn''t decay with time. The blood in its body has lost its warmth, but it didn''t dry and is still brimming with vitality.''

    Leon swiped a trace of blood from inside the dragon''s open wound and studied it.

    Despite the vital energy contained with the dragon blood, it was strange for a dark dragon to not have any built-up deathly energy in its body to corrupt the dragon blood after it had died for so long.

    "Is this due to the radiant spear impaled deeply into its back?" Leon muttered.

    He shifted his attention back on the radiant spear and inspected it.

    The spearhead had pierced all the way to the dragon''s heart, but only the very tip of it had prated the heart''s outer wall.

    The radiant spear had mostly like cleansed all the deathly energy in the dragon''s body.

    At the same time, Leon quickly understood why the radiant spear wasn''t removed from the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s body.

    "The radiant spear had already pierced the heart¡­ Even if it is just the tip, the radiant power in the spear had been injected in the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s body, destroying its power of darkness¡­"

    "Leaving the radiant spear would give the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord a slow death while removing the radiant spear would speed up its death¡­" Leon concluded.

    Nevertheless, he did not expect to find another Tier-7 Divine Spear in the Demon Lord-level Tomb, but it doesn''t have more powerful spears in his arsenal.

    "This radiant spear is rather big, though¡­ I doubt the Celestials were such giants to require a weapon of this size¡­ Does it have an adjustable size function to it?"? he spected.

    His eyes flickered in the next moment.

    A Tier-7 Divine Spear that can shrink and ergen itself was priceless; such artifact function was notmon, even in the Divine Realm, where Divine Artifacts were plenty.

    "I''ll study itter. But, for now, I''ll extract some dragon blood to refine first," he decided.

    There''s no point extracting all of the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s dragon blood if he cannot use all of them right away, not to mention he had to create countless barrels to contain them.

    It was too troublesome.

    ''If I bind the Radiant Heaven Realmship, I can always visit the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s tomb whenever I need some of its blood,'' was what he thought.

    After extracting several dozen drops of dragon blood essence, Leon sat a short distance away from the dragon''s body andmenced his blood refinement.

    A few tens of breathster, he produced twelve drops of origin blood.

    Three types of origin blood existed among the twelve drops of origin blood: four drops of Dark Wyrm Origin Blood, two drops of True Dragon Origin Blood, and seven drops of Abyssal Wyvern Origin Blood.

    "As expected, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord changed its bloodline in order to be a Divine Beast," he uttered.

    The dominant amount of Abyssal Wyvern Origin Blood found was conclusive evidence of it.

    Nevertheless, Leon absorbed a single drop of origin blood of each type, increasing his cumtion of unique origin blood to 602 types.

    Then, he stored the remaining three drops of Dark Wyvern Origin Blood and six drops of Abyssal Wyvern Origin Blood into two separate bottles and ced them in his Worldspace.

    As for the remaining drop of True Dragon Origin Blood, he held onto it and used the Nihility Law to reduce some of the stctites hanging from the cave ceiling into True Grandmist Energy.

    Shortly after, he practiced the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method and refined his viscera with the drop of True Dragon Origin Blood and True Grandmist Energy.

 Chapter 811 - Leaving The Buried Tomb

    The result led to an immediate increase of 50-thousand jin in his physical strength, among multiple other benefits provided by the strengthened viscera.

    Leon''s eyes beamed with an intense light of excitement and pleasant surprise.

    ''Fifty-thousand jin increase!'' he eximed in his mind.

    ''Strength is not the core of consolidating viscera, yet my strength increased so much as a result of a single drop of True Dragon Origin Blood!''

    The surprising result made Leon greedy for more True Dragon Origin Blood.

    While physical improvement was surprising, the improvement of his five viscera was even more significant and surprising.

    The powerful thumping of his heartbeat and the vigorous blood coursing through his body was like a sonar scan, allowing him to sense the condition of his five viscera perfectly.

    His body was already beyond the epitome of what a healthy human body was supposed to be.

    His powerful blood-pumping heart quickly supplies energy to his four limbs, allowing him to break his previous speed limit and achieve a new height.

    His strengthened liver processes his blood, breaking down, bncing, and creating nutrients and usable forms of energy for the rest of the body.

    His strengthened spleen stores his blood, destroys all germs, and produces antibodies, allowing him to be even more resistant to diseases and poison.

    His strengthened kidney filters waste materials from food, medication, and toxic substances, boosts blood production and promotes bone health.

    His strengthened lungs allowed greater energy intake, storage capacity, and faster exchange of energy between his bloodstream and body, enhancing his cultivation speed in general¡ªwhich could also be seen as improving his cultivation talent.

    Overall, his improvement was primarily due to True Grandmist Energy; the single drop of True Dragon Origin Blood was used on his heart.

    Nevertheless, it would be strange if such a healthy body didn''t extend his lifespan.

    "True Dragon Origin Blood sure makes a world of difference¡­" Leon uttered emotionally.

    Unfortunately, the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord had changed its bloodline to that of an abyssal wyvern.

    That made the quantity of True Dragon Origin Blood in its deceased body even less desirable than the still-living-and-breathing Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.

    "If the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms knew that their venerated ancestor''s ancestral bloodline was no better than theirs and was changed to make the evolution to Divine Beast Realm possible,? I wonder how they would feel?" Leon mused.

    They would probably have less respect for the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord, who had abandoned his roots for an inferior bloodline¡ªand inferior bloodline that was still superior to the Dark Wyrm Bloodline, nheless.

    "The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s body in and of itself is a treasure, but I doubt the dark wyrms will be happy with me dismantling it for forging materials, not to mention I have already given my word to respect it¡­"

    "Well, it doesn''t really matter¡­ The artifacts I can forge with my present skill level would still be inferior to the treasures lying around and collecting dust in thisrge cave anyway..."

    Leon shifted his attention to the numerous Tier-5 and Tier-6 Artifacts scattered across the ground.

    "The Tier-7 Radiant Spear impaled in the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s back is still the most valuable out of all these treasures¡­" he shortly concluded after a quick inspection.

    Of course, he pocketed everything into his Worldspace, nheless.

    ''I''ll search from the interspatial artifactster; it''s time to leave,'' he decided.

    Leon did not touch the Tier-7 Radiant Spear and let it remain impaled in the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s back to continue cleansing its body of deathly energy.

    ¡­

    Shortly after leaving the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s resting ground, Leon quickly caught all of the dark wyrms'' attention.

    "Have you finished your business in there, my Lord?" Shadowtail asked.

    "For now, yeah." Leon nodded before stretching his limbs and saying, "Since I am feeling refreshed, I perform a second round of bloodline strengthening."

    "Who wants to be first?" he asked.

    The eyes of all the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms immediately lit up after hearing his question.

    Nevertheless, they quickly suppressed their excitement and lined themselves up obediently instead of fighting over it.

    After Leon spent another two hours refining their blood essence and strengthing their True Dragon Bloodline, Shadowtail and Nightingale also joined the ranks of High Arch Demon-level beings.

    "Welp, it''s time for me to leave," Leon stated while stretching his tired limbs.

    "Are you going to continue to hole up in this confined space or leave with me to explore the world outside and beyond?"

    "We''ll follow you, my Lord," Shadowtail said decisively.

    After breaking his bottleneck and joining the ranks of High Arch Demon-level beings, he was filled with hopes and ambition.

    The Divine Beast Realm was not far away.

    "We have been holed up in this confined space for too long; it''s time for us to leave and unite our scattered kin across the cksand Desert," Nightingale spoke.

    "We also want to see how the world outside has changed after all these years," Nightshade added.

    "Very well," Leon nodded with acknowledgment before saying, "Let me notify the others, and we can leave together."

    "Understood, my Lord," the dark wyrms obeyed.

    ¡­

    "Is it done?" Aria greeted Leon with a question after he returned from the trial ground.

    "Un, it''s done," Leon calmly nodded before saying, "Thank you for waiting; our business is done here. It''s time to leave¡ªbut with a few morepanions, of course."

    "You mean those giant dark wyrms, my Lord?" Saresha nced at the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms in the distance before her lips twitched.

    They were definitely a ''few,'' but they were all so big that they wereparable to an entire army of dark faes in terms of the space they cover.

    "Naturally," Leon affirmed.

    After getting the two groups to meet up, the dark faes nced up at the dark wyrms'' behemoth-like bodies with trepidation and fear, feeling intimated by their enormous presence.

    "After we leave, there will be no one to guard our ancestor''s tomb; allow me to open the way out and bury this ce while I am at it, my Lord," Shadowtail requested.

    However, Leon shook his head.

    "No need. I will do it."

    Shortly after, he raised his hand and demolished the crystallized ceiling with the power of Nihility, reducing everything into True Grandmist Energy before absorbing them into his ck Vortex Space.

    Then, they sted their way out as ck sand quickly poured inside, filling up all the empty space.

 Chapter 812 - Summoning The Scattered Clansmen

    ''Tak-si,pletely seal thisnd so that no one will stumble upon the tomb by chance after we are gone.''

    ''Understood, Master.''

    Shortly after the tomb was buried entirely in ck sand, the quicksand whirlpool disappeared and left behind a cone-shapedndscape.

    Such conspicuous spots in the cksand Desert are easily assumed to be tomb locations.

    As such, after Leon gave the order, the realm spirit smoothed out thend and removed its conspicuousness.

    "Where to now, my Lord?" Shadowtail asked with the intention.

    "We''ll head north to the Bone Sea and gather the other members of the Dark Fae n before making our way to the western region," Leon stated.

    Shortly after, he paused and threw a casual nce back at the High Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm.

    "Aren''t you going to unite the scattered members of your Dark Wyrm n?" he asked.

    "Oh, you don''t have to worry about that, my Lord," Shadowtail stated before turning to Nightingale, "You call them, Nightingale."

    "Alright."

    Shortly after Nightingale agreed, she immediately issued a mighty dragon roar towards the cksand Desert''s inner regions.

    The powerful sound wave kicked up a sandstorm in its wake while vibrations rippled across the surface of thend.

    At the same time, the abrupt dragon roar caught many dark faes off guard; they fell onto their butts with stunned expressions, unable to move.

    Although Nightingale didn''t direct her dragon roar at them, they were still caught under its innate ability to shake the soul and inflict fear.

    Even Aria and Darlene felt affected by it.

    However, their symptoms were only mildpared to the dark faes, who were creatures of darkness like the dark wyrms, but much weaker.

    Nevertheless, they quickly recovered after a few breaths.

    At the same time, the sound wave of Nightingale''s dragon roar gradually disappeared into the distance, returning silence to thend.

    Only the rustling of the wind and the movements of the ck sand could be heard from time to time.

    "¡­"

    Just as some dark faes were about to say something, the cksand Desert became disturbed once more.

    However, it wasn''t just one but dozens of distant dragon roars.

    As if the dark wyrms were rying messages, they issued their dragon roars after hearing others of their kind issued theirs, setting a chain reaction throughout the cksand Desert.

    Not long after, the desert rumbled with vibrations of movements.

    Countless trails of sandstorms across the vast ins of the desert rushed towards them from every direction; the were tens¡ªno, hundreds of such trails.

    "With this, all members of our Dark Wyrm n will eventually receive my message and make their way towards us. Thus, we don''t need to wait for them; they will eventuallye to us, my Lord," Nightingale informed.

    "I see¡­" Leon rubbed his chin with an intrigued look.

    "How convenient; the desert sand carries your message and easily coversrge stretches ofnd to reach all your nsmen¡­"

    As Leon praised Nightingale''s means, he suddenly paused; an idea had lit up in his mind.

    "Shall we get going?" Aria suggested.

    However, Leon shook his head and said, "Not yet; hold on for a minute. I got something to talk to the Tak-si about."

    Since the realm spirit paid particr attention to Leon''s businesses, it immediately heard Leon mentioning its name, prompting it to appear right away.

    ''You need something from me, Master?'' Tak-si asked.

    ''I do,'' Leon admitted before saying, ''I have an errand for you; are you interested? You can earn some True Grandmist Energy from me if youplete it.''

    ''What do you want me to, Master? Just say it,'' Tak-si dered its willingness for the job.

    An opportunity to obtain more True Grandmist Energy was not something it could refuse.

    ''Good!'' Leon nodded with approval.

    ''Seeing how eager you are, I''ll tell you what you need to do; it''s definitely something you can do, so don''t worry about it. You just need to convince all the scattered members of the Dark Fae n in the Bone Sea''s southern region to head to shore.''

    ''Of course, you have to guarantee their safety from the threat of other demons for abandoning their posts,'' he added.

    ''Then, you have to convince the dark faes from the other Bone Sea Regions as well; have them all head to the western shores to meet up with us there.''

    ''T-this¡­ this sounds like a lot of work¡­'' Tak-si hesitated.

    ''A lot of work, but definitely doable for a realm spirit like you who is basically omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent in this space, no?'' Leon persuaded.

    The realm spirit could suppress any living being with just its mental pressure alone¡ªbut of course, such methods don''t work on him when he has his Nihility Barrier protecting him.

    ''Master is not wrong about my omnipresence and omniscience, but I am definitely not omnipotent; using my spiritual strength too much will exhaust me and force me to hibernate,'' Tak-si said wryly.

    ''Of course, I am prepared to reward you fairly for your service. I will give you a wisp of True Grandmist Energy for every dark fae sessfully grouped,'' Leon promised generously.

    He will gain the True Grandmist Energy from tearing down the excessnd in the secret realm, and the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s core needs the True Grandmist Energy for repair.

    Everything aligned with his goal, so there was no problem with his generosity; it was a win-win situation for him.

    Nevertheless, Tak-si couldn''t believe what he heard.

    ''Can you say that again, Master?''

    ''You heard me; I will give you a wisp of True Grandmist Energy for every dark fae sessfully added into the group,'' Leon repeated.

    ''Great! I will get the job done perfectly, Master! I assure you!'' Tak-si promised excitedly.

    Not long after, it immediately disappeared to reach out to every dark fae in the secret realm with its spirit.

    "Alright, everything''s sorted. Let us wait here for Dark Wyrm n; the Dark Fae n''s members will alsoe to us," Leon said leisurely with a confident smile

    While Aria and Darlene were taken aback by his words, he constructed a few seats of ice for them before taking his own seat.

 Chapter 813 - Dark Fae Clanâ€™s Leader

    Somewhere in the south outer rim of the Bone Sea, members of the Dark Fae n and Lesser Demons from other low-ranking demon ns rummaged through the sea of bones for treasures.

    While most of the sea surface is littered with bones, some parts are dense in bones, and other parts are not.

    The demons mostly gathered around the denser bone areas, but some also tried their luck in the less dense areas.

    Even so, the most attractive locations in the Bone Sea were undoubtedly the cluster of densely packed bones that be small bone inds.

    They have the highest chance of containing treasures due to the number of bones in the area.

    "I haven''t heard much about the past secret realm openings, but all these remains couldn''t possibly be from the demons that came before us, right?" a Lesser Demon-level Dark Fae uttered with a gulp.

    She paused her work to nce at the countless floating bones in the Bone Sea.

    "How is that possible?" another dark fae responded.

    "Just look at the sheer number of bones in this region; there''s got to be at least several tens of millions of bones floating around."

    "Exactly," the dark fae n leader joined their conversation.

    "Although the Starfall Dominion has monopolized the Eternal Night Secret Realm during each of its openings, ournd isn''t as popted as the other dominions; losing a few tens of millions will reduce the Starfall Dominion''s poption into nothing."

    "Just looking at the shape of these bones, you can tell that some of them also belong to humans, beasts, and sea monsters," the dark fae n leader added.

    "Still, isn''t this number of bones too rming?"

    "Not really. The ck Swamp Region also had just as many bones here, if not more. The location of an ancient battlefield is bound to be a lot of bones lying around, but enough of that; get back to work before we get in¡ª"

    "What are you insects chit-chatting about here?! Hurry up and get back to work!" a Peak Lesser Demon barked as he whipped a few dark faes'' backs from a distance.

    Just as the dark fae n leader feared, they were caught by the supervising demon.

    "We apologize, Lord Rar. We''ll get back to work right away!"

    "Hmph! If I see you all cking again, I will give you all a harsher punishment!" the Peak Lesser Demon snorted before finally leaving, but not without throwing out a condescending remark.

    "This is why the Dark Fae n has fallen to rock bottom and unable to rise again; you all don''t work hard enough!" said the supervising demon, a member of the Evil Eye n.

    When the dark fae n leader heard that, she clenched her fists with anger and helplessness; she was an ipetent n leader.

    Even if it wasn''t true, she had no way to refute it; strength speaks the loudest.

    "We''re sorry, Lord Nyfare," the dark fae apologized to their n leader with their heads lowered, "If we didn''t decide to talk, we wouldn''t have gotten you into trouble with us..."

    "That''s enough; I joined the conversation of my own volition. Just get back to work," Nyfare sighed.

    ''I thought that if I lead my n into the secret realm, I could find an opportunity for our n to rise again. But, s, reality hits differently; here we are, forced to scavenge for treasures for other demon ns¡­''

    The dark fae n leader sighed again at the Dark Fae n''smentable fate.

    ''Do you want to change your n''s fate? If you head south to shore, a great opportunity awaits you,'' a voice suddenly spoke in her head.

    "Who?!"

    Numerous dark faes suddenly uttered the same word simultaneously before ncing at each other with surprised and startled looks.

    Evidently, they had all heard the same message in their heads.

    "You also heard the strange voice in our heads?" a dark fae asked another dark fae to confirm her doubts, nheless.

    The dark fae nodded.

    ''Who are you? What do you mean by opportunity, and why should we trust you?''

    Fearing her vocal words would attract the supervising demon over again, Nyfare tried tomute with the unknown voice using her thoughts.

    ''I am the realm spirit of this entire space you demons and humans call the Eternal Night Secret Realm. Nevertheless, that''s not important; what''s important is that your desired opportunity lies to the south,'' Tak-si stated.

    However, Nyfare and the other dark faes were not easily convinced by the realm spirit; they were full of doubts instead.

    ''Why are you trying to help us? What''s in it for you?'' Nyfare questioned the realm spirit.

    ''I am following the wish of a noble being, who has already gathered much of your Dark Fae n''s members. There''s naturally a reward waiting for me uponpleting the noble being''s task.''

    ''You want me to submit to another person? Who is this noble being?''

    ''The noble being is a human, but the other dark faes following him have referred to him as a Noble Demon. If you don''t wish to live another person''s rule, then I have no way to convince you,'' Tak-si stated.

    ''However, the other dark faes following the noble being has already grown much stronger than you, the supposed n leader of the Dark Fae n. Within three days, several of them even be Greater Demons.''

    Hearing that, Nyfare was startled.

    It''s been a long time since the Dark Fae n had any Greater Demons in their ranks, yet several of her n members were about to be Greater Demons?

    It was hard to believe!

    ''I still don''t understand why I should believe anything you say.''

    ''Look here; if I want to want to harm you, do you think I need to use such a roundabout method to do so when I can just snuff out your insignificant existence right here and now?'' Tak-si stated impatiently.

    At the same time, a powerful spiritual pressure weighed down on Nyfare, making her feel like the realm spirit could crush her soul by simply exerting a bit more power.

    Tak-si might be servile in front of Leon, but it was still the great realm spirit of the Radiant Heaven Realmship!

    ''I-I''m sorry for my doubts, Lord Realm Spirit! Please have mercy!'' Nyfare pleaded.

 Chapter 814 - The Dark Faesâ€™ Escape

    ''Please, Lord Realm Spirit! You have to understand that as the leader of a declined demon n, each and every one of my choices will decide whether my n continues to exist or fade from history, Lord Realm Spirit!''

    ''Because of my heavy responsibilities, I have to be prudent in order to make the right choices for my n''s survival!'' Nyfare exined.

    ''But even if I want to lead my n members to the south shore, we can''t leave without the Nine Great n''s permission; the supervising demon will definitely stop us and heavily punish us for trying to leave, Lord Realm Spirit.''

    She implored for the realm spirit''s understanding.

    Nevertheless, Tak-si was only trying to pressure the Dark Fae n''s leader into heading south and had no intentions of iming her life.

    One less dark fae means one less wisp of True Grandmist Energy.

    ''You don''t need to worry about this. So long as you gather your n members to leave, I will open the way for you; no demon will be able to stop you from leaving,'' Tak-si assured after retracting his spiritual pressure.

    ''Also, you don''t need to exin anything to them; I already have the same conversation with each and every one of them. They are more or less convinced with a few words while you were thest to be.''

    ''I understand, Lord Realm Spirit. I will gather them now,'' Nyfare said while hiding the shock and surprise in her heart.

    She didn''t expect the realm spirit to be capable of conversing many dark faes simultaneously; it truly seemed omniscient and omnipresent.

    The realization gave her the confidence needed to put some trust in its words.

    "Did Lord Realm Spirit everything about our opportunity in the south?" Nyfare questioned the closest n member.

    "Yes, Lord Nyfare," the dark fae affirmed before asking, "What are your orders, n Leader?"

    After getting thest bit of confirmation she needed, Nyfare took in a deep breath before her eyes glinted with determination.

    "All members of my Dark Fae n, gather to me! We are leaving this sh*thole and heading south!" she roared at the top of her lungs.

    "Yes, Lord Nyfare!" the dark faes answered excitedly.

    They were just waiting for those exact words!

    As the sixty-one dark faes quickly gathered towards Nyfare, the supervising evil eye demon, Lord Rar, was attracted by themotion.

    "Chief Nyfare! What are you nning to do?! Have your members return to their posts to work! Have I been too lenient, so you think you can defy my will now?!" Rar thundered.

    However, his intimidating words have little effect on Nyfare.

    "F*ck your will! My Dark Fae n will no longer listen to your orders, you sh*tty three-eye freak! You can take your will and shove it up your ass for all I care!"

    Nyfare gave him the middle finger while releasing all her pent-up grievance and frustration in an emotional outburst.

    "Dark Fae n, follow me!"

    "Yes, my Lord Nyfare!"

    After the dark faes answered, Nyfare quickly led them away towards the south shore, under the supervising demons'' dumbfounded and stiffened expression.

    The Dark Fae n had already reached the point of no return.

    Whether they make or break, live or die, they don''t need to keep cowering in front of the supervising demon.

    After being stunned by Nyfare''s defiant and disrespectful attitude for a moment, Lord Rar exploded furiously.

    "All demons, listen up! I want the Dark Fae n captured, dead or alive!" Lord Rar roared.

    He did not care if they had to wipe out the entire Dark Fae n; there was use keeping the dark faes alive if they could not follow orders obediently.

    They would be more useful as cultivation resources after their deaths!

    "To think that such a low-ranking n would show such defiance in my jurisdiction! How can I tolerate such humiliation and embarrassment?! I have to skin them and torture their souls!"

    Hundreds of demons immediately chased after Nyfare and her n members after hearing the supervisor''s furious order, loudly and clearly.

    The Dark Fae n''s position was far from the outer perimeters and was quickly encircled by hundreds of demons from various low-ranking demon ns.

    "We''ve been surrounded, Lord Nyfare!" a dark fae shouted while flying beside her n leader.

    "No, we''re not! Most demons can''t fly like we do! Increase your altitude; we''ll fly higher!" Nyfare orders her n members.

    "But¡­!" the dark faes hesitated, but they still followed their n leader.

    "I understand your concerns! I am well aware that flying high will make us open targets for the demons'' projectiles! However, Lord Realm Spirit promised to cover us!"

    As Nyfare spoke, the demons in the Bone Sea were already taking aims with spears,nces, and arrows.

    The dark faes could all feel the threat from below.

    Despite having the advantage of high altitude, they were still among the weakest of all the demon ns; it would be difficult for them to evade the demons'' heavy fire.

    Just as the dark faes'' danger senses hit their peaks, making them think they were goners, a wave of spiritual pressure descended on the numerous Lesser Demons below and froze all their movements.

    The Lesser Demons had no defense or resistance against such umon and abrupt spiritual attacks.

    They could only helplessly watch the dark faes fly away.

    "What the hell are you all doing, you useless insects?! Hurry up and shoot them down! Kill those defiant rebels!" Lord Rar thundered.

    However, the demons could not respond.

    The realm spirit''s spiritual pressure had paralyzed even their thoughts, putting their entire being into stasis.

    In fact, they do not even know they were attacked by the spiritual pressure; it was as if time had stopped for them.

    However, the realm spirit couldn''t keep such arge scale for long before it was forced to withdraw its spiritual pressure.

    Even so, it bought just enough time for the dark faes to escape the Lesser Demons'' firing range.

    "T-the demons didn''t fire at us, Lord Nyfare!" a dark fae eximed with joy and pleasant surprise, having escaped the jaws of death.

    "Mm, it must be Lord Realm Spirit''s doing," Nyfare replied with bright eyes.

 Chapter 815 - Predetermined Meeting

    "Lord Nyfare, I see the shoreline! We''re almost reachednd, but I don''t see where our supposed opportunity is!" a dark fae alerted the n leader and raised her doubt.

    Looking at the empty shore in the distance, Nyfare furrowed her brows.

    "Perhaps, we have to head deeper ind and enter the cksand Desert Region," she spected.

    Meanwhile, Lord Rar smacked a frozen double-horn demon on the back of the head and roared, "Are you deaf?! Have you all decided to rebel together?!"

    Seeing the unresponsive demons not obeying hismands, the Peak Evil Eye Lesser Demon was furious beyond belief.

    Nevertheless, the various demons in the Bone Sea started to regain their senses.

    "L-lord Rar?? Did I do something wrong? Why are you hitting?"

    The double-horn demon wondered while feeling deeply confused and afraid of the Evil Eye Lesser Demon''s wrath.

    "Did you do something wrong? Are you seriously f*cking asking that after ignoring my orders?! Why aren''t you chasing after the dark faes?!" Lord Rar roared.

    He felt even more furious at the double-horn demon''s dumb look.

    "Are you mistak¡ªWhen did the dark faes get so far away?!" The double-horn demon did not dare to finish its question before suddenly changing the topic with a shocked look.

    "I''ll chase after them now, Lord Rar!" the double-horn demon quickly left.

    "We''ll also leave now, Lord Rar!"

    At the same time, the demons from the other low-ranking ns also quickly left the sea region in a hurry to pursue the dark faes while getting away from the supervisor.

    They did not want to be the object of Lord Rar''s anger release.

    "Then, hurry the f*ck up and catch them!" Rar urged with a frown.

    He felt something was wrong with the Lesser Demons'' behaviors, but he couldn''t tell what the problem was; he just wanted to rip the dark faes to shreds.

    As he mobilized the entire demon force on the surface of the sea region to hunt down the fleeing dark faes, he also left his post and followed behind the army of Lesser Demons.

    ¡­

    Nyfare led her n members to shore and rushed into the cksand Desert without dy.

    They didn''t dare to, not with the other demons hot on their tails.

    "Lord Nyfare! Our pursuers are catching up! Where is our opportunity? Where do we go from here?!" a dark fae asked with desperation while they were on the run.

    However, it didn''t take long before they noticed a mountain in the distance.

    "There''s a mountain range up ahead! Perhaps, that''s where we have to go, Lord Nyfare!"

    "Hold on. Since when did such arge mountain range exist in the cksand Desert Region?"

    The other dark faes wondered.

    Nyfare did not have time to think before another dark fae alerted, "The pursuers are gain speed on us after reachingnd, my Lord!"

    "No other choice; let''s head straight for that mountain range!" Nyfare stated.

    "Yes, Lord Nyfare!"

    As the dark faes drew closer to the mountain range, they noticed the ''mountain range'' was not quite a ''mountain range'' as they initially thought and assumed.

    "A-are those mountains all dark wyrms?!" a dark fae shrieked at the discovery before another dark fae noticed Saresha''s group among them.

    "I see members of Dark Fae n among those dark wyrms!" the dark fae eximed before quickly adding, "This must be it! We''re saved!"

    While some dark faes celebrated, others also frowned with concerns and misgivings in regards to the dark wyrms.

    Nevertheless, Nyfare bit her lips before spitting, "Don''t slow down; our pursuers are not far behind us! We''ll meet up with the dark wyrms!"

    ¡­

    "My Lord, the dark faes have arrived," Shadowtai kindly informed while Leon was sitting in his ice chair refining some origin blood for the newer members of the Dark Wyrm n.

    "Un," Leon acknowledged that he had heard, but he did not pause his blood refinement.

    At that moment, the Dark Wyrm n''s numbers had already exceeded 500, and more were still on the way.

    "Lord Nyfare! You''re here!"

    Saresha eximed with a pleasant surprise upon discovering her n leader among the group of arriving dark faes.

    The two groups of dark faes quickly grouped up with joyous expressions as they discovered familiar faces within each others'' groups.

    "You''re Saresha, right? I heard you all submitted to a human. Is that true¡ª?" Nyfare inquired before suddenly shaking her head.

    "No, wait! That''s not important! Hundreds of Lesser Demons areing for our lives! We need to quickly¡ª!"

    "We need to quickly what, run? Is that what you want to suggest, Lord Nyfare?" Saresha questioned her n leader with an unhurried look.

    If it were before meeting the Dark Wyrm n, she would have readily agreed after seeing hundreds of demonsing for their lives.

    However, the present situation is that the fifty Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms and hundreds more of Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms behind her had all joined under Lord Leon''s banner.

    There was no greater security than this.

    "Only hundreds of Lesser Demons? Such an insignificant force; it won''t even be able enough to stretch my muscles," Nightingalezily said.

    It was then that Nyfare paid specific attention to the dark wyrms and realized their terrifying strengths.

    "H-high Arch Demon-level being!" she eximed with shock.

    On top of being an Arch Demon-level existence, there were even many more of them as well!

    Just who is so capable ofmanding so many Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms at once?! Even the heads of the Nine Great ns aren''t this capable!

    "Oh? At least you are not blind," Nightingale gave Nyfare some credit for gauging her strength urately before saying, "However if you want our protection, you have to swear your allegiance to our lord."

    "I''ll do it! Where is your noble lord?" Nyfare agreed without hesitation.

    Under Lord Realm Spirit''s guidance, they hade all this way for exactly that; to join their fellow n members and serve the supposed Noble Demon.

    Before the dark wyrms could move aside and reveal Leon''s location, Lord Rar and the other demons finally caught up to the dark faes.

    "Prepare to die with all your n members, Nyfare¡ª!"

    "¡­"

    Lord Rar quickly roared with a vicious glint before his expression suddenly stiffened under the dark wyrms'' intimidating gazes.

    This situation¡­ doesn''t look good.

 Chapter 816 - Nyfarellaâ€™s Choice

    "Are you lost, little pup?" Nightingale grinned with amusement and ridicule.

    "A-arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms from the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s tomb?! W-what are you all doing out here?!" Rar shrieked.

    His facial expression quickly from surprise to sheer horror.

    "Oh? You know where we came from, little guy?" Nightshade asked with his interest piqued.

    However, Rar didn''t answer immediately but quickly thought of escaping instead.

    How can he not know where they came from?

    In the entire cksand Desert, Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms could only be found in one location¡ªthe location of the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s tomb.

    The Nine Great ns had discovered the location in the past few openings, but they had long deemed it impossible to conquer and given up on it.

    Only ignorant fools and hopeful idiots from the lower-ranking demon ns would still try their luck in that den of Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms.

    Without another second of hesitation, Lord Rar immediately turned his backs on the other demons and fled alone, stunning them all.

    "L-lord Rar?" a Lesser Demon cried with confusion.

    Why did the Evil Eye Demon run? What were they supposed to do against the enormous dark wyrms in front of them by themselves?

    "Sh*t, what are we supposed to do?"

    "What else? Lord Rar already fled. Do you want to stay?"

    "Run!"

    Not long after, the army of Lesser Demons that came with high momentum and morale quickly fled after Lord Rar.

    "My Lord, the demons that pursued the dark faes are fleeing. What should we do about them? Do we just let them go?" Shadowtail inquired.

    At that moment, Leon had finished his blood refinement for a Mid Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrm.

    Shortly after casting a nce at the fleeing demons in the distance and pondering for a bit, he dered, "The demons can leave, but that evil eye demon should stay."

    "Understood, my Lord," Shadowtail voluntarily took charge of the matter and chased after the Evil Eye Lesser Demon.

    With a High Arch Demon Lord-level Dark Wyrm on Lord Rar''s tail, any chance he had at sessfully escaping had effectively be zero.

    "Why are you sparing the other demons and only singling out the leader, Leon?" Aria asked.

    His decision piqued her curiosity.

    "If I n to reshuffle the powers of the demon territory, I should start by removing the nine great demon ns from power and recing them with new demon ns," Leon exined.

    "Hmm¡­ I see," Aria hummed with a thoughtful look while gazing at the dark faes. "I suppose you are nning for the Dark Fae n to upy one of the nine positions?"

    "For the time being, yes," Leon nodded.

    Nevertheless, his mind can change if he discovers other demon ns more suitable than the Dark Fae n after they swear allegiance to him.

    As he moved to see the neers who had yet to swear their loyalty to him, the dark wyrms made way for him.

    Therge movements of sand caused Nyfare of the Dark Fae n to notice quickly, turning her head to look.

    Although she understood the male human had a different presencepared to the others, she wasn''t too sure and shortly turned back to Saresha for help.

    Nevertheless, Saresha also took the initiative to introduce her.

    "Lord Nyfare, allow me to introduce you to my lord to whom I and the others have sworn our allegiance, Lord Leon," Saresha said.

    Once Nyfare received thest bit of confirmation she needed, she immediately dropped to one knee in front of Leon resolutely.

    At the same time, the dark faes that arrived with her also dropped to one knee alongside her with solemn expressions.

    "Under the guidance and promise of a better future from Lord Realm Spirit, I, Nyfare, leader of Dark Fae n, along with my n members, have arrived to swear our allegiance to you, my Lord," Nyfare spoke solemnly with conviction.

    "Whether you use us as your swords and shields against your enemies or as women to warm your bed, we will serve you to the best of our abilities. All that I ask is you will lead our n to greatness."

    When Leon heard the second part of the Nyfare''s determined words, he quickly felt a pair of sharp eyes piercing into his back like daggers.

    His lips immediately twitched in response.

    "I ept your allegiance," Leon acknowledged their oath.

    Shortly after sensing the re behind his back intensified, he quickly added, "However, there is no need for bed-warming. So long as the Dark Fae n remains faithful and loyal, you will see the day it rises above the nine great demon ns."

    Afterward, the sharp gaze finally vanished before Leon felt a bit of relief in his heart.

    "Looks like the formalities are out of the way. What shall we do with this Lesser Demon, my Lord?" Shadowtail''s voice suddenly drifted over from a short distance away.

    The battered-looking Evil Eye Lesser Demon was hurled onto the ground of sand after.

    "Since you were the one pursued by this demon, I''ll let you decide his fate," Leon said to Nyfare, who has now be one of his people.

    "Thank you, my Lord!" Nyfare expressed her gratitude before turning to Rar with a fierce look. "I will give you a chance. Fight me! If you win, you can leave!"

    "Lord Nyfare, you mustn''t! It''s too dangerous!"

    "Even if Lord Rar is seriously injured, he is still a High-rank Lesser Demon!"

    The dark faes immediately voiced their objections, but Nyfare was firm in her decision.

    She wanted to end things with her own hands, but she also knew that a simple, quick, and easy execution would not be able to satisfy her.

    "Since she had made her choice, clear the area and give them space," Leon dered.

    "Yes, my Lord!" the dark wyrmsplied.

    Shortly after, the dark wyrms and dark faes retreated, leaving a spacious circle ofnd for Nyfare''s duel.

    Rar nced around with bloodshot eyes and knew it was impossible for him to live even if he won the duel.

    But at the very least, he could take down his hated foe with him.

    "Hmph! You''re too foolish if you think you can beat me because of my current state," Lord Rar snorted.

 Chapter 817 - Never Take Back What Has Been Given

    "We''ll see," Nyfare replied coolly.

    In her mind, she was already simting how their fight would y out and what she would need to do to kill the Evil Eye Lesser Demon with the highest level of satisfaction for the days of oppression suffered under the demon''s supervision.

    Nevertheless, before neither side could initiate the fight, Leon''s voice trickled into her ears.

    "Nyfare, was it? What kind of weapon do you use?" he asked.

    "Um?" Nyfare was taken aback by the abrupt question, but she quickly recovered and answered, "I use a sword, my Lord."

    "A sword, huh? Fortunately, it''s quite themon weapon," Leon nodded with acknowledgment before pulling out a Tier-6 Blue Sword and tossing it over. "Take it; it''s yours."

    Nyfare caught the Tier-6 Blue Sword clumsily in a panic before her expression turned into a pleasant surprise.

    Only Greater Demons had the chance to wield Tier-6 artifacts; she didn''t think she would receive one without some contributions.

    "Thank you, my Lord!" Nyfare said excitedly.

    She took a few practice swings before growing more fond and attached to the Tier-6 Blue Sword by the moment.

    "Where''s my weapon?" Rar asked with a frown.

    However, Leon casually nced with indifference at the Evil Eye Lesser Demon, who had the nerve to ask such a question.

    "What makes you think you deserve to receive one from me?" he replied coolly.

    "This isn''t fair!" Lord Rar immediately barked furiously at the unfair treatment, "This is not a fair duel!"

    "Once again, why do you think this is supposed to be a fair duel? It''s not; it''s a slow execution," Leon stated coolly.

    The Evil Eye Lesser Demon''s eyes immediately glinted with madness and desperation.

    It thought it hade to terms with its own death, but it refused to go down like this; it was uneptable.

    The fight wasn''t honorable; it was humiliating.

    "I will kill you!" Rar roared at Nyfare.

    At the same time, Nyfare saw Rar''s mental state before she snickered with ridicule.

    "I suppose members of the Nine Great ns have no problem abusing their privileges and depriving others of their rights, but when you are finally on the receiving end of it, you suddenly find it uneptable? How ludicrous," she said.

    "Die!"

    Rar immediately charged at Nyfare unarmed with sparks of madness in his eyes, officially starting the battle to the death between them.

    Meanwhile, Leon silently observed how Nyfare would fare in the battle against the injured Lesser Demon, whose strength was above her.

    However, he suddenly felt a pinch in the ribs before Aria''s jealous voice trickled into his ears.

    "You''re paying an awful lot of attention to your new follower, huh? Even casually gifting her a Tier-6 weapon. Don''t tell you''re attracted to her charms? Though, I must admit she''s the prettiest dark fae of the bunch I''ve seen so far."

    Leon nced at Aria''s pout before he pinched her soft cheeks with a wry smile and said, "Aren''t you overthinking things? I just don''t want to lose a potential general."

    "I can have the entire Dark Fae n''s allegiance, but it''s too troublesome to manage them all without a capable leader taking charge of things," he exined.

    Shortly after, he said with a cheeky smile while continuing to pinch her cheeks, "But isn''t someone getting more jealous these days? Assuming your role as the head of the harem already? Should I show you more affection?"

    "N-nonsense!" Aria softly pped Leon''s hand away with embarrassment before saying, "M-mother-inw instructed me to stop you from bringing more daughters-inw home¡­"

    "Aiya, how can my mother instruct you on something like this? Am I that out-of-control?" Leon replied with an exaggerated expression of being wronged. "Where is the trust between us?"

    "Seems like someone needs to be punished, if you know what I mean," he winked suggestively.

    "I-I¡­ Y-you¡­ I can''t be bothered talking to you," Aria fled with a flushed face.

    She couldn''t put up with hisck of modesty and fragrant behavior in front of so many watchful eyes.

    She likes his yful side, but she couldn''t y along with so many people around; it was too embarrassing and shameful.

    Leon simply smiled at her fleeing back before pulling Darlene into his arms and showering her with a bit of his affection, showing her that he had not forgotten her.

    Although Leon didn''t say a word, Darlene could not help but feel happy and blessed by his consideration.

    Love didn''t have to be fair, but it should be harmonious¡ªat least, that was how she felt about sharing her man with others.

    While Leon''s little antics were going on, Nyfare ended her fight with a slice of her sword, hacking off Rar''s head.

    The Evil Eye Lesser Demon''s enraged state of mind made his movements predictable and easy to counter.

    Only after the fight ended did Nyfare notice it was the Lord''s purpose to provoke the Evil Eye Lesser Demon before the fight started.

    A lord who can look after his people like this was worth serving.

    "Thank you for granting me the opportunity to vent my grievance, my Lord!" Nyfare expressed her gratitude with genuine respect for Leon.

    It was not like she had never considered the prospect of serving under someone before. In fact, she had considered it multiple times in the past.

    After all, the Dark Fae n had higher chances of survival by seeking refuge under a stronger n.

    Unfortunately, the higher-ranking demon ns looked down on her Dark Fae n too much, only seeing them as deadweights and extra mouths to feed.

    Thus, she was always rejected.

    "Here is your sword, my Lord," Nyfare offered the Tier-6 Blue Sword back to her lord with both hands despite feeling a bit of reluctance to part with it.

    However, Leon shook his head.

    "Keep it; I already said that it is yours," he stated before adding further, "I don''t have the tendency of taking back things after giving them away."

    After hearing that, Nyfare''s emotion was indescribable. She didn''t expect to serve such a generous lord.

    Little did she know, this was only possible because Leon was filthy rich; his Worldspace was stocked, full of artifacts.

    He could be equally stingy and miserly when he is poor.

 Chapter 818 - Sareshaâ€™s Suggestion

    "Thank you, my Lord. I''ll forever engrave this favor in my heart," Nyfare solemnly dered.

    However, Leon waved his hand with a nomittal attitude and said, "No need, it''s just a Tier-6 weapon; I have plenty of these to give away."

    "Saresha, this is for you," he then said to his first dark fae follower while pulling out another Tier-6 weapon and tossing it over casually.

    Saresha caught the Tier-6 White Sword with surprise before sweating at the next moment, thinking she could have lost her fingers to the sharp de if she was careless.

    "T-thank you, my Lord! I''ll treasure this gift with my life," she stated.

    "Suit yourself," Leon nodded.

    After handing out his carrots, he turned to the rest of the dark faes and said, "The rest of you also have your chances of receiving a high-tier artifact from me, so continue to work hard for me."

    "Yes, my Lord!" the dark faes answered with determined looks.

    "My Lord, what about us?" A Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm suddenly asked after seeing the Lord casually hand out treasures to the dark faes.

    "You?" Leon nced at the dark wyrm and asked, "Can you use a sword?"

    "No, my Lord."

    "Can you use a spear?"

    "No, my Lord."

    "Then what weapon can you use among all weapons made to be wielded by hands?"

    "This¡­ I''m not sure¡­" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm used its tail to scratch its head with an embarrassed smile.

    "Then what do you need a weapon for me?" Leon furrowed his brows and asked, "Bloodline-strengthening isn''t enough for you?"

    "This¡­ It is enough, my Lord¡­ I just thought I should try asking, haha¡­" the Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm said, feeling ashamed while being subjected to the dark wyrms'' res and scrutiny.

    Leon shook his head amusedly before turning to Shadowtail.

    "How many more members of your n are we still waiting on?" he asked.

    "Our n numbered in the 2000s back in the days, but now, I am not exactly sure, my Lord; it could have risen or dropped over the years," Shadowtail answered truthfully.

    ''Tak-si," Leon immediately called.

    The realm spirit knew what he wanted to ask and quickly answered, ''Another 1728 dark wyrms are still on their way, Master.''

    ''Got it, thanks.''

    Shortly after, Leon said to Shadowtail, "Seems like your numbers have slightly grown; there''s still another 1728 dark wyrms on their way. So stay, and gather them; I''ll be leaving first. We''ll meet in the western region when you''ve gathered your n."

    "But¡­" Shadowtail hesitated before ultimately agreeing with a nod, "As you wish, my Lord. Please be careful on your way."

    "Naturally."

    ¡­

    Leon left with Aria, Darlene, and the 126 dark faes shortly after.

    They returned to the south floatingndmass in the sky before jumping to thest floatingndmass in the west.

    Like the north and south floating inds, the west floating ind was also treasureless after a thorough search.

    As such, the group did not linger for long before descending to the shores of the western region to gather the other dark fae groups.

    However, no dark fae was spotted.

    "Seems like the dark faes from the west and north region have yet to arrive¡­ Are you taking care of them, Tak-si?" Leon inquired.

    ''Yes, Master," Tak-si answered.

    ''But as you know, the Bone Sea is not exactly small; the dark faes cannot traverse such get distances within a short time like Master. As such, it will take more time for them to arrive.''

    ''They''re not getting chased by other demons for abandoning their posts and duties, are they?'' Leon inquired further.

    ''I managed to convince the dark fae group from the north to slip away during the chaos of battle between the demons and humans over here, so no one is pursuing them. But the west group is, however,'' Tak-si informed him.

    ''Nevertheless, Master does not need to worry about the demons'' strengths; the strongest pursuer among them is only at the Mid Lesser Demon level.''

    ''I see,'' Leon acknowledged.

    After thest two groups of dark faes arrive and assimte into the group, he will have roughly 250 members of the Dark Fae n, which was fifty less than their initial number.

    Evidently, quite a few dark faes had died since they entered the secret realm, and he even yed a small part in it.

    ''How far am I away from the core?'' he asked shortly after.

    ''Currently, Master is eight miles from the perimeters of the underground ruins in the west while the core is located six miles further than that. Of course, Master still has to dig through 20-thousand feet ofnd,'' Tak-si answered.

    ''I see.'' Leon acknowledged.

    "We will camp here for the time being; more dark faes will be arriving soon," Leon dered to the group.

    Then, he intended to leave and use his Nihility Law on the excessnd and stock up on True Grandmist Energy for his cultivation and the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s repair.

    But before he could, Saresha approached him.

    "My Lord," she called.

    "Hm?" Leon casually nced at her and asked, "What is it? Speak freely."

    "Yes, my Lord," Sareshaplied before mentioning, "Back in the cksand Desert, Saresha witnessed my Lord performing blood refinement to improve the Dark Wyrm n''s True Dragon Bloodline."

    "What about it?" Leon asked with a raised brow.

    "Saresha wonders if my Lord can also try performing the blood refinement on our Dark Fae n''s bloodline," she suggested.

    "Oh? Interested," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    Although the Dark Fae n''s ancient bloodline might not be of any use for his Body Cultivation, it piqued his interest, nheless.

    If the Dark Fae n also had a deep heritage, they could also be powerful after awakening their bloodline¡ªjust like how he helped the Deste Crow n.

    ''I wonder how they are going¡­'' Leon recalled the people he left behind in the Deste Crow n.

    ''Well, no use thinking about it now. I can only return after finishing my business here in this secret realm.''

    "Let''s give it a go then," Leon agreed with Saresha''s request.

 Chapter 819 - Farming Grandmist

    After getting Leon''s agreement, Saresha''s eyes lit up with excitement.

    "Yes, my Lord!" she answered.

    Shortly after, she offered one of her arms out before Leon sliced open a wound on her wrist and extracted several dozen drops of her blood essence.

    "Considering how weak the Dark Fae n is, it''s likely that whatever ancestral bloodline flowing in your veins have been thinned to the point of near-nonexistence. As such, I need to extract more blood from you to increase our chances of finding anything special in your bloodline."

    "You don''t have a problem with right?" Leon asked shortly after his exnation.

    "No problem, my Lord! You can take as much as you need to!" Saresha dered resolutely.

    "That''s the spirit!" Leon nodded before saying, "Well then, I''ll be taking more of your blood essence."

    After extracting nearly a thousand drops of Saresha''s blood, she began to feel a hint of weakness, but still far from anything life-threatening.

    She would have to lose 20% of her blood, which was roughly 24-thousand drops of blood, to even go into shock.

    "We''ll start with a thousand drops," Leon calmly stated before passing a bottle of Tier-3 Golden Ointment to Saresha. "Rub this over your wound to stop the bleeding and heal."

    "Thank you, my Lord," Saresha epted gratefully.

    Shortly after, Leonmenced his blood refinement of the thousand drops of dark fae blood essences.

    Even if they find nothing special in the blood, the Saresha would still benefit from absorbing her refined Dark Fae Origin Blood.

    The dark faes must have some special heritage, even if they don''t belong to the same family tree as the Eternal Night Demon Empress, a true descendant of some True Divinity.

    After all, the Demon Empress from the Divine Realm was also a dark fae, and the Dark Fae n even practiced an inferior version of a cultivation technique called the Dark Fae God Canon.

    Leon was hopeful that Saresha might have something like the Dark Fae God Bloodline.

    As time went on, a thousand drops of dark fae blood essences gradually reduced to a mere hundred drops of Dark Fae Origin Blood.

    While the Dark Fae Origin Blood seemed potent, neither Leon nor Saresha could sense anything divine about it.

    There was no bloodline of any primordial god or devil contained within it.

    "I was hopeful, but I guess I should have also expected this," Leon muttered with a hint of disappointment.

    The greater the expectations, the bigger the disappointments.

    The Dark Fae n was not like the Deste Crow n, a mixed-race between human and beast, nor were they like the Dark Wyrm n, an actual beast race.

    There was little chance of awakening the ancestral bloodline if one is not a beast; bloodline awakening was the beasts'' distinctive trait and advantage.

    Otherwise, he could have also refined his blood and hoped for a bloodline awakening.

    "Well, you don''t have to be too disappointed; absorbing this Dark Fae Origin Blood should boost your vitality back up and improve your regenerative abilities," Leon consoled.

    "Beasts have their unique way of improvement, and so do humans and other races. They awaken their blood while we awaken our souls."

    After handing the Dark Fae Origin Blood over, Leon left Saresha on her own ord and constructed another medicine bath for the dark faes to cultivate their bodies.

    "I don''t want to see any idlers while I am gone; teach your new n members how to cultivate the body forging method and go take a dip in the medicinal bath and train," Leon stated to the dark faes.

    Hundreds of demon cores were then emptied out of his Worldspace for the dark faes to use for their body cultivation.

    "Can you look after them while I''m gone, Darlene?" Leon entrusted the task to her, surprising both Aria and her.

    However, he shortly said to Aria, "Darlene already had a significant breakthrough recently, but you have yet to improve; take this chance toprehend your Sword Intent."

    "Mm, alright."

    Aria prepared to argue, but she ultimately agreed with Leon''s arrangement.

    Thinking about the Dark Wyrm n made her restless.

    If Leon had not won the hearts and loyalty of the Dark Wyrm n, just a single Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was enough to wipe them all out.

    The difference between a Low Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm and a Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm was not something that could be easilypensated with divine treasures and powerful battle skills.

    The gap was simply too huge.

    The weakest Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm easily possessed tenfold Leon''s current physical strength, while the strongest Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm possessed twentyfold his strength.

    Paragon-level existences are not to be underestimated.

    Sometimeter, Leon moved to a hidden location in a small forest roughly 600-yards away from the group before summoning the power of Nihility.

    Everything around him began to break down and transform into wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    The realm spirit quickly manifested and revealed a strong interest in the wisps of True Grandmist Energy as its eyes glowed brightly.

    However, Leon absorbed all the wisps of True Grandmist Energy for himself and stored them in the ck Vortex Space.

    Tens became hundreds, and hundreds became thousands; the amount of True Grandmist Energy produced as the terrain deformed was staggering.

    "This is a lot more wisps of True Grandmist Energy than what I expect from the ck soil¡­ Is it because it came from the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world and doused in energy all year round?" Leon spected.

    Nevertheless, he did not slow down his bottomless appetite for True Grandmist Energy while disintegrating the surroundingnd.

    Even if he wasn''t currently digging towards the core hidden deep underground, he needed to start stocking up on his reserve of True Grandmist Energy.

    Just as the realm spirit was starting to feel disappointed, Leon flicked over sixty-two wisp of True Grandmist Energy.

    "Did you think I forgot to reward your efforts? Sixty-two wisps of True Grandmist Energy for sixty-two dark fae arrivals, as promised."

    "Thank you, Master!" Tak-si was exhrated.

    Sixty-two wisps of True Grandmist Energy were far more than Leon had previously given.

 Chapter 820 - Neutral Faction

    cksand Desert

    Some time ago, when Leon''s group just left, leaving Shadowtail and the other dark wyrms behind to gather their entire Dark Wyrm n, a young girl''s spiritual form materialized in front of them shortly after.

    "Greetings, Your Imperial Highness!"

    Shadowtail and the other Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms lowered their heads to the ground in front of the young girl''s spiritual form, disying their subservience.

    The Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms and below knew nothing, but seeing all the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms lowered their heads, they also followed suit and lowered their heads in submission.

    "At ease," the young girl spoke.

    She was none other than the other half of the realm spirit, the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter, now called Luna.

    As such, it came as no surprise to Shadowtail and the other Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms when Leon mentioned the exact number of their n.

    They were well aware of the realm spirits'' capability.

    "Yes, Your Imperial Highness!" Shadowtail and the other dark wyrms raised their heads obediently after Luna permitted them.

    "What do you think of that person?" Luna asked while gazing in the direction Leon''s group left. "Do you still have any doubts?"

    "Just as you mentioned, Your Imperial Highness, Lord Leon may be our Eternal Night Demon Empress Faction''s chance to break away from this barren," Shadowtail replied.

    "The lord was more exemry than we could have hoped for," he added a glint of awe and reverence.

    "I agree," Luna nodded, still feeling incredulous from her discovery.

    "Who would have known that the only person with the hope of repairing the Radiant Realm Ship in a thousand years also knew some incredulous blood-refining technique for improving bloodlines¡­"

    "Although I don''t know much about the current world''s situation outside, I doubt there is another capable of creating such a profound technique in this age. It''s most likely a primordial technique, Your Imperial Highness," Nightingale inserted her opinion.

    "Not most likely; it definitely is a primordial technique," Luna confidently asserted.

    "However, toprehend the primordial technique to such a degree, the person has to either have a deep background, a master from the primordial times, be a God Incarnate, or be a never-before-seen unrivaled genius."

    "Given this world''s state, it''s unlikely for any power with deep heritage to exist," Shadowtail assumed.

    "And the primordial age of gods and devils had long ended, so it is also unlikely for anyone from that age to have survived to the present age; thus, we can rule out the first two possibilities," Luna stated.

    "Nevertheless, thest possibility is just as unlikely; it''s no different from wishing for a miracle. But regardless of the possibilities, we can be assured that Leon is on our side."

    "Continue to serve him with all your beings," Luna instructed.

    "Yes, Your Imperial Highness!" Shadowtail and the other dark wyrmsplied with a hint of relief in their eyes.

    They wouldn''t want to be enemies with the only person who could realize their dreams.

    Nevertheless, a few dark wyrms had some doubts.

    "If I may be impudent as to ask, how can you be so sure that Lord Leon is on our side? Shouldn''t it be said that we are on his side, Your Imperial Highness?" A Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm asked.

    "Grandpa ck Turtle said that any person who can sympathize with demons and not blindly separate ck from white can be seen as a friend and not an enemy," Luna replied.

    "An extremist of the Light Faction would not spare any demons, but this person is raising demons of his own and doesn''t hesitate to kill his own kind and other demons as long as they are hostile to him; this is the kind of people we need on our side."

    "You need to understand that we are no longer a pure Dark Faction; we can be considered grey, or a neutral faction, in other words," she said.

    "Does that mean we cannot take revenge for what the Celestial Alliance did to us, Your Imperial Highness?"

    When another Mid Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm raised this question, Luna''s eyes flickered with intense killing intent.

    "I never said that," she said in a low tone.

    "To be neutral is to reject the views of the Light and Dark Faction and the eternal war between gods and devils that will not stop until one side is eliminated; it doesn''t mean we cannot exact our vengeance on our enemies."

    "A blood debt must be repaid in blood, whether they are humans or demons," she stated.

    "But what if Lord Leon disagrees with our goal to wipe out the Celestial Alliance for what they had done to us?" Nightshade asked.

    "This¡­" Luna paused with a frown.

    Just as she prepared to say something, she suddenly sensed Grandpa Spirit getting called from the other side.

    "Sigh, we''ll continue this talk another time. The other side is calling for Grandpa Spirit."

    Shortly after saying that, Luna''s spiritual form dematerialized and faded into the background, and left the dark wyrms alone in the desert.

    "What shall we do now, Lord Shadowtail?" asked Nightingale after turning to him.

    "What else? We will wait here and gather our entire Dark Wyrm n before heading west and rejoin with our lord," Shadowtail dered.

    "Although we have a separate goal that our lord may or may not agree with, it doesn''t change the fact that we have sworn allegiance to our new lord and benefactor."

    After Shadowtail said that, Nightingale nodded without further questions.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Time passed as the waves of the Bone Sea bashed against the dark shores of the western region.

    Half an incense''s worth of time had gone by since Aria and the dark faes resumed their cultivation while Darlene watched over them.

    Suddenly, Darlene narrowed her eyes after spotting the group of dark faes in the distance.

    "Tak-si." she tried calling the realm spirit.

    ''You''ve called for me, youngdy?''

    Darlene attempted to call the realm spirit before Tak-si responded to her calling, just as she had hoped.

    "What''s the strength of the demons pursuing the dark faes?" she asked.

    ''546 demons, all below the High-rank Lesser Demon level.''

    "Then there''s no need to let Leon know about this. I will take care of them myself," Darlene dered while gripping her Tier-6 Poison Dagger with a determined look.

    It was time to test her strength.

 Chapter 821 - Darleneâ€™s Battle

    Since Darlene reached the Late-stage Preliminary ession Transcendent, she had yet to test her strength in battle properly.

    The army of Lesser Demons will do just fine as her practice targets.

    ''Very well. As you wish, youngdy,'' Tak-si agreed to her request.

    Shortly after, Darlene dashed forward toward the Bone Sea and raised her feet slightly higher just as it was about to step into the Bone Sea without losing momentum.

    In that instance, the space suddenly warped underneath her feet, forming a solid ball ofpressed air before she stomped on it.

    Boom¡­

    The sphere ofpressed air exploded with a rebound force against the weight of Darlene''s step, immediately propelling her higher into the sky like a spring.

    Spatial Step!

    Boom¡­ Boom¡­ Boom¡­

    With each Spatial Step sessfully performed, she sprung forward with increasing momentum and rmed the dark faes fleeing in her direction.

    "Someone is rushing towards us!" a dark fae cried.

    However, the dark faes'' alerted states abruptly ended when Darlene simply shot past them from below, gliding over the sea surface.

    Puchi!

    Darlene stabbed her Tier-6 Poison Dagger into a Low-rank Lesser Demon''s forehead before the Low-rank Lesser Demon could react.

    She came flying in like a meteor, causing a big ssh in the water as she leaped off the Low-rank Lesser Demon''s head before performing another two Spatial Steps in the air.

    Boom¡­ Boom¡­

    The balls of air exploded, shooting her over to her next target as her previous target resurfaced from the sea with its red-skinned body turning green from the spread of poison.

    Puchi! Puchi!

    Darlene ended the life of each demon with a single stab while darting around nimbly over the water surface.

    "Kill her!" a Mid-rank Lesser Demon roared.

    The demon army quickly abandoned their pursuit of the dark faes and focused their sole attention on Darlene.

    However, Darlene''s slippery maneuver made it difficult for the demons to catch her.

    They tried to surround her and overwhelm her with numbers, but she simply spatial stepped away and attacked their weak spots in their army.

    Just like that, she easily took down two dozen Lesser Demons in a short time.

    But while it seemed like she was dominating the battlefield with her skillful use of Spatial Step, Darlene''s frown deepened as the battle dragged on.

    ''My body can''t keep up with my rapid movements! It''s putting too much strain on my legs!'' she concluded.

    She quickly chose to retreat to shore.

    Since she couldn''t keep up with the strain of using Spatial Step, she had to change her battle tactics to ease the burden on her legs.

    However, it wasn''t just her legs; even her arms were feeling the strain of each stab.

    If not for her Tier-6 Poison Dagger, her physical strength alone would not be enough to prate the demons'' tough bodily defense.

    ''There''s nothing wrong with my battle tactics; it''s my body that failed to keep up with it,'' she took note of her deficiency.

    Since her body wascking, she just had to train it.

    After awakening her spatial ability, she could control her energy flow and stop her Void Soul from absorbing everything.

    Body Cultivation, which had been impossible, is now possible for her.

    "After her!"

    The demons chased after Darlene as she fled back to shore with Spatial Steps, getting further and further away.

    The demons'' swimming speed could notpare to her air-leaping maneuvers.

    Even so, breaking away from the demons'' ranks made her an open target for the demons'' projectile weapons.

    "Shoot her down!" roared the Evil Eye Lesser Demon leading the army.

    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

    Dozens of demons immediately hurled their spears while several other demons fired arrows from their bows.

    Darlene''s expression changed due to the iing danger before she quickly twisted her body around and made a downward sh with her dagger hand, followed by an upward sh.

    Second-level Spatial Fracture, Dark Passage!

    Shing!

    Two wide spatial tears in the dimension opened before dozens of spears and arrows flew through one of them and exited out the other.

    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

    The second spatial tear had opened in the demons'' nks, allowing Darlene to return the demons'' projectile attacks back at them!

    "Our rear is under attack!" cried a Low-rank Lesser Demon in the rear.

    "What!" the Evil Eye Lesser Demon quickly shot his gaze to their nks before barking, "How can we be attacked from behind?!"

    However, it only took a moment before the Evil Eye Lesser Demon fixed his gaze on the spatial tear in the sky.

    "What kind of ability is this?!" it eximed with shock.

    Nevertheless, Darlene didn''t keep the Dark Passage open for long as her body moved too far from the initial spatial tear and broke her connection to it.

    However, her attack didn''t stop there.

    She halted her retreat with another Spatial Step andunched herself higher into the air before letting herself free-fall back to the sea surface.

    Second-level Spatial Fracture!

    After dropping more than halfway, she sliced open a long vertical spatial tear that extended all the way into the water.

    Ssh!

    Darlene''s body sshed into the water, soaking her entire body, but not for long before she shot back out of the water with another Spatial Step in the water.

    Thepression and rapid release of water generated a simr propelling explosion.

    At the same time, the big spatial tear she created immediately swallowedrge volumes of seawater into its endless and unknown space, creating a vacuum that pulled the Lesser Demons in the water towards it.

    "Noooo!"

    The Lesser Demons at the front all cried in fear as they twisted their bodies around and fought the water current dragging them towards the big spatial tear

    The dark space within the spatial tear filled them with dread; they had the feeling that entering the spatial tear was a one-way trip.

    And they were absolutely right on that feeling!

    After the spatial tear swallowed several dozen Lesser Demons and countless gallons of ck seawater, it closed and sealed them inside forever.

    The rest of the lucky demons witnessed such a scene and froze with horrified looks, too terrified to continue their pursuit.

 Chapter 822 - Injury, Understanding, And Supply

    Ironically, even the demons, creatures of darkness, also fear the darkness¡ªor rather, they fear the unknown that lurks within the darkness.

    Nevertheless, the demons'' hesitation allowed Darlene to retreat to shore without a problem¡ªor so it should have been.

    However, her expression revealed pain, and one of her feet dangled like jelly, which was a clear sign of being broken.

    The recoil of performing Spatial Step was so much greater in water than it was in the air due to their density difference.

    At the same time, the dark faes'' arrival alerted Aria and the rest of the Dark Fae n in the medicine bath, disturbing all their cultivation.

    Even though Aria had her cultivation interrupted before she couldprehend her Sword Intent again, it did not concern her as much as Darlene''s injury.

    "You''re hurt," Aria stated with knitted brows.

    Before Darlene could reply, Aria quickly took out a in white cloth from her interspatial ring and broke two straight twigs from a nearby shrub.

    Then, she used the items to apply first-aid on Darlene''s ankle, wrapping them up with the two twigs as support.

    Once that was done, she took out a Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pill and gave it to Darlene.

    "It''s not much, but this will have to do until Leon checks on you and see if there are further issues," Aria stated before asking with a frown, "Why didn''t you call us? Why did you try to fight alone?"

    "I wanted to gain battle experience and adapt to my new strength quickly. At the same time, I thought I could handle them, which I kind of did¡ªSee? The demons are frozen in fear."

    After Darlene epted the pill and ingested it, she pointed into the distance with a wry yet grateful smile.

    "Thank you, Sister Aria¡­ This injury was a result of my miscalction in performing my spatial abilities¡­ Though I did gain some valuable information out of it," she added.

    "Still, it''s no reason to get yourself like this. If something serious happens to you, we''ll be sad," Aria stated.

    Darlene was surprised by her words.

    It was one thing if her injury saddened Leon, but she didn''t think that Aria would feel the same as well.

    As if Aria understood what she was thinking by reading her expression, she said, "We''re a family, so we naturally have to care and look after each other."

    "And although I hate to admit it, I, alone, am not enough to support Leon. The future he holds is filled with trials and tribtions. Thus, I hope you will also be one of his strengths when the timees."

    Having Aria White''s memories, she understood that Leon''s revenge could not be stopped and only dyed.

    The inevitable will not change; a bloodsoaked Divine Realm.

    Nevertheless, Darlene was surprised by Aria''s deep feelings for Leon and could not help but feel curious about their history together.

    What did it take to develop such feelings?

    "I can tell Sister Aria has deep feelings for Leon, but how did ite to be. What did he do to earn such love from you, Sister Aria?" she asked.

    "These days, I wonder myself. But if I have to say something, then I guess I am just a simple woman. Sometimes, it just takes a single act of kindness to earn a lifetime of devotion," Aria replied with a distant look.

    She could no longer differentiate her feelings from Aria White; their memories mingled, and so did their lives.

    It was as if Aria White was still alive within her, silently watching over them.

    Sometimes, it baffles her that two pairs of identical people from different worlds and different lives woulde together.

    Was it the strings of fate? Or was it the machination of destiny?

    s, she tries not to think too deeply into it; she wants to believe that the feelings she holds are of her own choice and not due to something vague like fate and destiny.

    Meanwhile, Darlene refrained from prying further even though she wasn''t satisfied with Aria''s answer.

    Even so, she could tell that her feelings were not on Aria''s level, which made her feel a hint of envy.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Leon rushed over after receiving words of Darlene''s injury from the realm spirit.

    His powerful divine sense quickly swept over her limp feet wrapped in cloth before noticing it was already healed.

    However, the twigs and cloth told him all he needed to know about her once-broken ankle.

    "Thank goodness; you''re alright," Leon said to Darlene afterpleting his check-up before kindly reminding her, "Remember to be more careful next time."

    "You''re not going to reprimand me for getting myself hurt?" Darlene asked with surprise.

    "Injuries are bound to happen when you fight. As long as it''s not too serious, why would I reprimand you? Should I let my overprotective side get the better of me and hold you back from your improvements? The same goes for you too, Aria."

    Leon replied with a wry smile.

    He threw himself into danger head-first and nearly died a few times.

    Furthermore, each time he nearly died, he also experienced a significant breakthrough or improvement out of it.

    What right did he have to lecture his women on safety and stop them from improving themselves?

    That was too selfish of him.

    Nevertheless, Aria and Darlene were touched after listening to his words; he was very understanding.

    After being embraced by the twodies for a short while, Leon pulled himself away from them before taking out the Tier-7 Golden Grail and began filling bottles up with tier-3 healing water.

    "Take these bottles of healing water," said Leon while handing the bottles of tier-3 healing water over to Aria and Darlene.

    Three bottles were given to eachdy, to be exact.

    "Although getting injured isn''t good, I hope these bottles of tier-3 healing water will prove to be of use when I am not around," he said to them.

    It was unfortunate that he had to reset the timer on the Tier-7 Golden Grail''s healing water when he was trying to see if the quality of healing water could improve over time.

    However, it was important to supply his people with all the healing medicine they may need in the case of emergencies.

 Chapter 823 - Youâ€™ll Use Something Better

    After handing out the bottles of healing water to Aria and Darlene, Leon continued to refill the Tier-7 Golden Grail with water.

    Then, when they transformed into tier-3 healing water, he emptied it into more empty pill bottles to stock up to hand them out to the dark faester.

    He repeated the process until he felt like he stocked up on enough tier-3 healing water before filling the Tier-7 Golden Grail and cing it back in his Worldspace.

    "How should we deal with the dem¡ªOh, they''re gone," Aria was about to ask when she suddenly noticed the demon army in the Bone Sea had long fled.

    "Seems like Darlene terrorized them a fair deal," Leonmented with a smile before asking with growing curiosity, "What did you do to them?"

    "I opened a spatial tear in the Bone Sea and sealed several dozens of them in the dark dimension¡­ They seemed to have stopped pursuing me after that," Darlene recounted.

    Leon was intrigued to hear more about the dark dimension she opened with Spatial Fractures.

    However, Tak-si suddenly materialized his spiritual form in front of him before rubbing his hands together with an expectant look while chuckling foolishly.

    "Hehe, Master¡­ You see, another batch of dark faes has already arrived for some time now, and they are all ready to swear their allegiance to you¡­ So¡­"

    The realm spirit mentioned the matter with anticipation for whates after it.

    Leon nced over to the dark faes'' side and quickly confirmed that the Dark Fae n''s numbers had indeed increased¡ªincreased to a total of 196 members, to be exact.

    He summoned 70 wisps of True Grandmist Energy to reward the realm spirit before flicking them over with a helpless and wry smile.

    "Take it."

    "Thank you, Master!"

    Tak-si excitedly gobbled up the wisps of True Grandmist Energy before disappearing with his spiritual form to transfer the energy to his core.

    Shortly after, Leon approached the dark faes.

    At the same time, they immediately took notice of his approach before the new group of dark faes immediately dropped to their knees and swore their allegiance to him.

    "For the prosperity of our n, and for the grand aspirations that you may have, we wish to serve you wholeheartedly, my Lord! Please ept us!" they said.

    Their level of preparedness almost made it seem as if they had practiced beforehand after reuniting with their n leader and other n members.

    "I ept," Leon acknowledged them pledges before permitting them to stand back up, "You may rise."

    "Thank you, my Lord!" the dark faes answered in unison.

    Shortly after, Leon turned to Nyfare and said, "Teach them the Godfiend Body Forging Method like how the others taught you and continue to cultivate medicine¡ª"

    He abruptly paused after realizing the medicine bath would be too small to fit all 196 members of the Dark Fae n.

    Furthermore, the medicinal properties would not properly spread throughout such a big pool, which may result in some dark faes not receiving enough healing when they cultivate.

    As such, he had the dark faes all exit the medicine bath.

    "Everyone, get out," he ordered.

    Shortly after the dark faes exited the medicinal bath, he expanded the overall size of the big pool before dividing them into four smaller medicine baths and refueling their concentration of healing properties.

    Once that was done, he returned to Nyfare and handed her twenty bottles of tier-3 healing water.

    "When the healing properties of the medicine baths reduce, pour a bottle of these tier-3 healing water into the medicine bath and refuel its effectiveness yourself," he instructed.

    "Understood, my Lord!" Nyfare epted.

    "Alright, carry on with your task."

    "Yes!"

    After settling the dark faes, Leon returned to Aria''s side and held her hands with a bit of guilt written on his face.

    At the same time, he briefly noticed Darlene stealing a few nces at the dark faes getting into the medicine bath.

    "Although I told you to cultivate andprehend the Sword Intent, I couldn''t provide you with a suitable environment and allowed others to interrupt your cultivation again," he said apologetically to Aria.

    However, Aria shook her head and replied reasonably, "This isn''t your fault. We can''t expect to find a peaceful spot while trying to aplish many other things at once."

    "Nevertheless, allow me to make amends," Leon dered.

    Shortly after, he controlled the earth and made a bunker that would be soundproof after she entered it.

    "It''s done; hopefully, with this, you won''t be disturbed again after I inste the sound."

    "But¡­" Aria furrowed her brows.

    By the looks of it, it seemed like Leon was going to put aside his own matters to watch over her and everyone else.

    "Just go," Leon smiled gently, but his decision was firm.

    Seeing that she wouldn''t be able to change his mind, Aria nodded and epted his good intentions as she entered the earthen bunker with resolution.

    Shortly after, Leon sealed the entrance.

    ¡­

    After seeing Aria settled inside the bunker, Darlene made a request, "Leon, I have something to ask of you."

    "You want to practice Body Cultivation like the Dark Fae n, right?" Leon casually presumed, surprising her.

    She stared at him with wide eyes, and the following words she prepared to utter stuck in her throat.

    "How did you know?" she asked.

    "Did you think I didn''t notice you catching nces at the dark faes training?" Leon replied with a smile before adding, "Considering your leg injury, it makes sense if you want to strengthen your physique."

    "Oh¡­ Is that a no?" Darlene asked with uncertainty.

    Seeing how she behaved like a child seeking permission from her parents, Leon was amused by it.

    Nevertheless, he chose not to tease her and said, "I have no reason to stop you. However, you can''t train exactly the same way they do; the dark energy is notpatible with most humans."

    "If I can''t use dark energy, then what would I use to train?" Darlene asked with doubts.

    She was not privy to the details of the Godfiend Body Forging Method and didn''t know the dark energy used by the dark faes was just an inferior substitute for something else.

    "Of course, you''ll use something much, much better," Leon stated firmly.

 Chapter 824 - Guiding Darlene

    Since he could produce as much True Grandmist Energy as he wanted, the best energy should naturally be given to his women for their body cultivation.

    At that moment, he still has over 500 wisps of True Grandmist Energy after deducting the rewards given to the realm spirit.

    "I nned to wait until I find suitable body forging methods for you and the others, but I guess it shouldn''t be a problem to practice Godfiend Body Forging Method first and switch it outter," Leon assumed.

    Darlene could not help but feel touched by his consideration.

    She thought Leon never introduced her body cultivation was because he didn''t want her to practice it and turn out like the other female warriors in the Infertile ins.

    However, it turns out that he had been looking for better body cultivation methods for her to practice.

    "Hm? What''s the matter?" Leon asked with a warm smile after Darlene suddenly decided to burrow her head in his chest and embrace him tightly.

    "You take care of me so well," she softly spoke.

    "Of course I do," Leon stated before adding with a gentle expression, "If I can''t even take care of my women, wouldn''t that make me ipetent?"

    Nevertheless, Darlene''s impression of Leon was not entirely wrong; he truly doesn''t want his women to be bulky machos.

    Not only does he find such massive builds with excessive masses unsightly andcking in grace and beauty, but he would also feel conflicted if his women looked more masculine than he did.

    After embracing each other for some time, Leon uttered, "Alright, I''ll instruct on the steps of practicing the Godfiend Body Forging Method first."

    "I want to stay like this for a bit longer," Darlene requested before adding, "Can I?"

    Leon found it hard to refuse her when she was like that; she was too cute.

    s, the longer they held each other and sensed each other''s warmth and scent, he felt his libido rising alongside their quickening heartbeats.

    Nevertheless, he was well aware that the present situation was not appropriate for any deeper acts of intimacy.

    ''They say beautys'' temptations are the fall of heroes,'' Leon wryly thought.

    He cannot let his carnal desires blind him from doing what needs to be done in order to reach his goals.

    After the moment for a bit longer, Leon resisted his primal urges and separated himself from Darlene.

    "Alright, that should be enough. Right now, we have more urgent tasks that require attention."

    "Mm," Darlene nodded.

    Although she wasn''t quite satisfied, she could only be content with what she got for the time being.

    "Where should we start?" she asked shortly after.

    "It''ll be easier if I transmit the technique to you directly; you''llprehend it quicker this way," he said.

    Shortly after, Leon transmitted the Godfiend Body Forging Method with a soft poke on her forehead before he gave her time to digest the information injected into her mind.

    A few dozen breathester, Darlene''s eyes snapped open with a bright glow.

    The profoundness and depth of the technique left her in awe.

    If she hadn''t learned the Godfiend Body Forging Method, she would have never known that humans could train the body to such godly heights.

    Leon didn''t transfer the first part of the Godfiend Body Forging Method to Darlene, but the entirety of what he had on it.

    It was the standard body forging method from primordial times and recorded the Eight Hidden Gates and Nine Star Pces after Body Transformation.

    He figured it was for the best if Darlene became aware of these realms and mentally prepared herself for the torturous practice she would have to endure on this path.

    "True Grandmist Energy¡­" Darlene softly muttered.

    The more she learned about it, the more startled she became.

    Considering the Seven Tribes Alliance hoarded numerous heritages from the primordial age, she has learned a bit about the primordial energy that existed at the beginning of time.

    It was said that such godly energy was mostly gone from the world, and any trace of it could only be found in the center of supermassive ck holes in the vast depth of space.

    Recalling the grey energy that Leon used to reward the realm spirit, she became even more startled.

    True Grandmist Energy was said to share such an appearance.

    Darlene stared at Leon with wide eyes, her mind filled with questions and doubts regarding True Grandmist Energy in his possession.

    However, Leon ced a finger on his lips and said in a hushed voice, "Shh, it''s a secret."

    "Mm!" Darlene repeatedly nodded like a pecking bird.

    She didn''t expect Leon to be so daring and courageous to show such priceless energy around in the open.

    Countless powerhouses would kill to obtain it.

    But then again, even she, who had some knowledge about True Grandmist Energy, failed to recognize it until she learned the Godfiend Body Forging Method in detail.

    While giving Darlene more time to familiarize herself with the Godfiend Body Forging Method, Leon constructed a private cultivation chamber out of the earth for her.

    "Have you understood how to temper your body with the Godfiend Body Forging Method?" he checked on her.

    "Mm," Darlene nodded.

    However, shortly after, she said with a hesitant look, "But this is the first time I''ll be manipting another form of energy; I''m not sure if I can control it well."

    "The breathing technique included the Godfiend Body Forging Method can be regarded top-grade, even among other breathing techniques for energy cultivation," Leon mentioned.

    "But if you are unconfident, you can use your spatial ability to guide other forms of energies in your body; this method should reinforce your control. Try simting it first. There''s no need to rush; haste only makes waste."

    Leon patiently guided Darlene with a calm and soothing voice that washed away her concerns and put her heart at ease.

    "We can start official practice after you gain your confidence," he stated while summoning a wisp of True Grandmist Energy for her practice.

    "Mm, I''ll give it a go," Darleneplied.

    Shortly after, she swallowed the wisp of True Grandmist Energy into her body without absorbing it and focused solely on controlling its flow and movements through her body.

 Chapter 825 - Tenacious Spirits

    At first, Darlene relied solely on her spatial energy to drive the flow of the True Grandmist Energy wisp through her energy channels.

    Afterpleting tenplete cycles, she built up her confidence and used the breathing technique to continue her practice.

    She immediately noticed the difference; her control had noticeably weakened without the support of her spatial ability.

    Nevertheless, afterpleting another fifty cycles, she adapted to the breathing technique.

    "I think I''m ready now," Darlene said.

    The highest degree of control she can achieve is when she can use the breathing technique and spatial ability in unison.

    After Leon acknowledged with a nod, he summoned a dozen wisp of True Grandmist Energy for her to cultivate the first step.

    "Don''t think about anything beyond the second level of the Body Tempering Realm; right now, you are not even at the first level of the Body Tempering Realm," Leon instructed.

    "We''ll take things one step at a time, so free your mind of any distracting thoughts, alright?"

    "Mm, I''ll listen to you," Darlene earnestly listened to Leon''s instruction.

    After epting the dozen wisps of True Grandmist Energy from Leon, she began running the Godfiend Body Forging Method to temper her flesh with the thirteen wisps of True Grandmist Energy in her possession.

    "Ughk¡ª!"

    A sharp pain quickly drilled into her skin and rushed straight to her head, causing Darlene to grunt in pain before the needle-like wisps of True Grandmist Energy quickly repaired her damaged cells and strengthened them.

    She was expecting the process to be painful, but it still caught her off guard; it was more painful than what she prepared for.

    ''Nothing greates easy!'' Darlene gritted her teeth and endured the painful process.

    For years, she had suffered thebel of no-talent and was treated like she was less than human by the other warriors in the tribes¡­

    Their gazes of cold indifference and disdain repeatedly crushed her innocent hopes and dreams while she had no other choice than to endure it all, helplessly and powerlessly, in silence¡­

    Now that power to change all of that was in hand, how can she not grasp it tightly?!

    ''Compared to those days, this little bit of physical pain is nothing to me!'' Darlene roared firmly in her heart.

    While watching over Darlene, Leon quickly noticed the speed of the needle-like wisps of True Grandmist Energy stabbing into Darlene''s flesh increased without signs of slowing down from the infliction of pain.

    Her fleshly strength improved at an rming as the wisps of True Grandmist Energy became one with her flesh.

    Before long, Darlene had alreadypleted the first shedding and achieved the fleshly strength of Rank 1 Body Tempering.

    As he witnessed that, Leon was astonished by Darlene''s willpower.

    He told her to take things one step at a time because he thought the pain would be too great for her to bear if she attempted to go all out in tempering her flesh without mental preparation.

    However, now, he knows that he had indeed underestimated her.

    ''Does everyone who suffers thebel of trash and no-talent have this kind of willpower? It seems protagonists usually have such settings in stories¡­'' Leon silently mused.

    Nevertheless, seeing Darlene working so hard on cultivation, it would not do if he let her True Grandmist Energy run out and forcefully end her cultivation.

    She is doing so well.

    How can he let that happen?

    "What a tenacious girl¡­ Her willpower might even be greater than mine¡­" Leon thought wryly, but he was happy to see her rate of improvement without a hint of envy.

    The only real criteria for body cultivation talent are willpower and diligence. And from what he could see, Darlene was notcking in either of them.

    Nevertheless, there was no reason for him to be envious; a man who is envious of his own woman''s capability is no man.

    He summoned several more dozen wisps of True Grandmist Energy and slowly fed it to her, allowing Darlene to continue tempering her fleshly body without worry.

    A short whileter, Darlene advanced again and achieved Rank 2 Body Tempering.

    Even so, she showed no sign of stopping despite the beads of sweat formed on her skin and soaking her clothes in it.

    At the same time, ck blood and impurities were also expelled from her skin.

    ''I should also cultivate,'' Leon decided.

    He was strangely motivated after watching Darlene cultivate.

    Shortly after feeding Darlene another hundred wisps of True Grandmist Energy, he used the remaining 300 wisps of True Grandmist Energy to cultivate his ck Turtle Heavenly Guard and spare none for the Radiant Heaven Realmship repair.

    He could always transform morend into True Grandmist Energy when more is needed.

    ''I didn''t have this many wisps of True Grandmist Energy when I tempered my flesh the previous times; I wonder much improvement it''ll be this time around,'' he mused.

    Not long after, he joined Darlene in tempering their fleshly body.

    Wisps after wisps of True Grandmist Energy twisted and spun, turning into needle-shaped drills before digging into his skin and tempering his flesh.

    The waves of pain immediately assaulted him, but it was not something he hadn''t experienced before.

    As such, he endured it with a tenacious spirit like Darlene.

    At the same time, he used his divided consciousness to spread out his divine sense and keep watch over the situation in the area.

    Pip! Pip! Pip!

    As time quickly passed, Darlene broke through the ranks of Body Tempering consecutively reached Rank 6 Body Tempering in no time, easily surpassing the dark faes'' rate of progress without surprise

    Even as a substitute energy, dark energy could barely replicate a fraction of True Grandmist Energy''s effect.

    Pip! Pip!

    Time further passed, and Darlene advanced Rank 8 Body Tempering Realm.

    It is just a matter of time before she reaches Rank 10 Body Tempering.

    Nevertheless, she was not the only one with big improvements; Leon''s improvement was even greater than hers.

    His talent was nevercking; time was his greatest limitation.

    After his bodypletely absorbed the 300 wisps of True Grandmist Energy through tempering his flesh, his flesh defense improved by 3-mil jin, reaching a staggering total of 4-mil jin strength.

    He had entered the Mid-stage of Rank 1 Body Transformation.

 Chapter 826 - Learning Dunaâ€™s Whereabouts

    ''All 300 wisps of True Grandmist Energy for only 3-mil jin fleshly improvement, huh?'' Leon thought wryly.

    The increase was quick and effective, but the consumption of True Grandmist Energy was equally demanding.

    ''Given the Body Transformation Realm already requires this much True Grandmist Energy to train without special bloodlines, I will have to copse a few celestial bodies and stars when I need to open my eight hidden gates,'' he mused.

    As for the Nine Star Pces, he didn''t dare to think that far.

    Pip!

    Darlene advanced again, reaching Rank 10 Body Tempering and attained 100-thousand jin of fleshly strength, the entry-level strength of Transcendents.

    At the same time, she still had over a hundred wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    Such staggering aplishment within a short time was naturally worthy of celebration, but Leon could not help but frown instead.

    ''Such a terrible conversion rate,'' he thought.

    In total, he had fed her roughly 200 wisps of True Grandmist Energy, yet a whole whopping 100 wisps of True Grandmist was required to reach Rank 10 Body Tempering Realm.

    That was roughly the same amount he had taken to reach Rank 1 Body Transformation.

    ''There at least a tenfold difference in the improvement we could gain per wisp of True Grandmist Energy expended for our Body Cultivation¡­''

    Leon was puzzled over this discovery.

    ''Why is there such a huge difference between us?'' he wondered.

    If all his women required the same amount of True Grandmist Energy to train, a few star realms might not even be enough for them to train to the peak of Eight Hidden Gates.

    While Darlene continued to temper her fleshly body, Leon pondered over the issue in silence.

    ''The greatest difference between us lies in our physiques¡­!'' his eyes flickered in conclusion.

    The [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique remolded his physique into the Five Element Body and then further evolved it into the True Grandmist Body or True Grandmist Physique.

    ''My physique was attuned to True Grandmist Energy, so its improvements far outstrips any other physiques when tempered by True Grandmist Energy¡­ This is most likely the case.''

    Leon was convinced of his spection, and he could not help but smile helplessly at it.

    The consumption of True Grandmist Energy is too great.

    ''If I don''t find a suitable body forging method with an avable bloodline, everyone''s going to suffer from bottlenecks when they train these primordial techniques,'' he noted.

    After stretching his limbs and cleansing himself, Leon left Darlene to train on her own and walked towards the seashore before scooping a handful of the ck seawater.

    "As expected, the Bone Sea''s water has a rich concentration of dark energy," he mused after inspecting the ck seawater.

    Arge portion of the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s dark energy from her inner world had been condensed into a liquid state.

    ''s, the liquified dark energy has also been diluted in a volume of seawater from the Boundless Sea¡­ The Boundless Sea that covers most of Gaia''s surface¡­ No one will notice if a portion of that water reduces, right?'' he mused.

    In the next moment, the handful of ck seawater dispersed into wisps of Dark Energy and True Grandmist Energy.

    Leon absorbed all of it into his body.

    Shortly after, he crouched over by the seashore and ced his hand in the seawater before exerting more power of Nihility.

    Shhh¡­!

    The ck seawater dispersed like steam from boiling water, yet ghostly and subtle without bubbling noises.

    At the same time, tendrils of True Grandmist Energy and Dark Energy flowed through his palm and into his body before separating into two different pathways; one flowed into his ck Vortex Space while the other assimted with his dark energy core.

    Like that, Leon increased his empty reserve of True Grandmist Energy while improving his divine¡ªor rather, his demon cultivation.

    Nevertheless, he had only just reached the Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm not long ago and required an evenrger quantity of dark energy to saturate his dark energy core to the next level.

    The Radiant Heaven Realmship provided all the energy he needed in the years toe, but time was never his friend.

    ''Tak-si,'' Leon suddenly called.

    ''Yes, Master?'' the male realm spirit answered, ''How may I help you?''

    ''The Radiant Heaven Realmship opens its subspace periodically every hundred to a couple of hundreds of years, but what happens when it closes? How long do why have until it happens?'' he inquired.

    ''This¡­ The time isn''t fixed, Master,'' Tak-si replied.

    ''It depends on whoever operates the Teleportation Array; it could be a few days, weeks, or even years¡ªuntil someone decides to operate the Teleportation Array, logically speaking, the secret realm could remain open indefinitely.''

    ''I suppose the one currently managing the Teleportation Array would be the so-called Shaman King''s Sessor then,'' Leon guessed.

    In order words, the Teleportation Array will remain open until the demons are done with their business.

    ''Hm?'' Leon suddenly recalled something.

    ''Hm¡­ From what I''ve been told, the Shaman King''s Sessor usually dies from the mental depletion of opening the secret realm¡­ so the Shaman King''s Sessor might already be dead at this point¡­''

    ''That means the one who closes the secret realm can be anyone else¡­''

    Leon rubbed his chin in thought before asking, ''Where is the mainponent of the Teleportation Array located?''

    ''It is in the center of the Bone Sea, Master,'' Tak-si answered truthfully.

    ''The center of the Bone Sea? That makes a lot of sense¡­ Humans were standing on the outermost part of the spatial transference, so they were all taken to the outer regions¡­'' Leon realized.

    Nevertheless, he should quickly bind the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s heart and secure his control over the Radiant Heaven Realmship before someone decides to tamper with the Teleportation Array.

    Leon''s eyes flickered.

    ''By the way, I''m looking for Duna; she''s an evolved spirit with a corporal body. Do you know where she is, Tak-si?'' Leon inquired about Duna.

    Tak-si took a few moments to locate the being fitting Leon''s description before he answered with surprise, ''The being you are looking for seems to be at the bottom of the Bone Sea, Master.''

    ''At the bottom of the Bone Sea, you say?'' Leon also replied with surprise.

 Chapter 827 - Purple Coatl Dragon Clan

    At first, Leon was startled by Duna''s whereabouts.

    But when he gave it some thought, it somehow made sense to him that she could reach the bottom of the Bone Sea.

    An ordinary human body would be crushed by the water pressure down there.

    However, Duna''s body wasn''t like any ordinary human body.

    It might share the appearance, but it is a Devil Spirit Body that she constructed with the help of his True Grandmist energy.

    Coupled with Duna''s soul attacks, it wasn''t a problem for her to ward away other creatures and demons.

    ''How is she doing?'' Leon asked.

    ''She¡­. She seems to be doing well at the bottom of the Bone Sea. However, she does look a bit frustrated at being unable to find whatever it is that she is looking for down there.''

    Tak-si conveyed what it saw to him before asking, ''Should I ask her directly, Master?''

    ''No, it''s fine,'' Leon shook his head and said, ''As long as she''s doing fine. I''m just checking on her. There''s no need to bother her.''

    They''ll meet soon enough; it wouldn''t be toote to ask her then.

    ''Understood, Master¡ªAh, thest group of dark faes will be arriving soon, Master. They''ve just attracted the attention of the previous group of Lesser Demons,'' Tak-si suddenly informed him.

    Leon''s lips couldn''t help but twitch.

    He just started collecting more wisps of True Grandmist Energy and barely umted seventy wisps of it, yet he''s about to give it all away again.

    ''Understood,'' he nodded with a sigh.

    He has be filthy rich, but no matter how rich he bes, he will always becking something even if he can create more of it; True Grandmist Energy.

    "I guess I should stretch my muscles on these demons and adapt to my new strength," Leon said to himself while cracking his stiff neck.

    Shortly after, he took a light step forward beforeunching into the sky.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the northern dark fae group tried to avoid the west region''s demon patrols in the Bone Sea while making their way westward, but they were still spotted in the end.

    "Run, everyone! We''ve been discovered!" a dark fae alerted the group.

    "Dammit!" another dark fae cussed before shouting with frustration, "This is why we should have flown higher!"

    "Any higher, and we would get lost in the dark clouds!" the dark fae stated.

    Nevertheless, they had the great realm spirit to guide them; it would never allow them to get lost before iming its reward from Leon.

    "Lessining and flee faster instead!" another dark fae shouted objectively.

    At the same time, a Low-rank Lesser Demon quickly alerted the demon supervisor, "Lord Helshan, it''s another group of dark faes! Should we pursue them?"

    The Evil Eye Lesser Demon nced in the direction pointed by the Low-rank Lesser Demon before it furrowed its brows.

    "They''re heading west as well? The Dark Fae n dare to refuse orders from higher-rank ns¡­ Just what the hell are they plotting?" the Evil Eye Lesser Demon wondered.

    Nevertheless, he did not forget to issue orders.

    "Quickly capture them and bring them back to me for interrogation! We must get to the bottom of this and figure out what gave them the courage to rebel!" the Evil Eye Lesser Demon barked.

    "Don''t let them get away! We''ve already suffered disastrously at the west shores; we mustn''t fail again! Is that understood?!"

    "Yes, Lord Helshan!" the Lesser Demons obeyed.

    In the next instance, the entire army of Lesser Demons on the sea surface mobilized in pursuit of the fleeing dark faes.

    Those who could fly, flew quickly, and those who could not, swam even harder.

    Suddenly, the sea surface in the area bubbled before numerous demons popped their heads out of the water and gasped for air.

    They were all Greater Demons.

    "M-my Lords, you''re all back!" Lord Helshan eximed¡ªnot with joy but panic instead.

    "Of course, we''re back!" A Mid-rank Greater Demon strongly responded with displeasure.

    "Hmph! We''ve been underwater for hours!" another Mid-rank Greater Demon snorted before asking with narrowed eyes, "Did you think we can stay underwater forever? Or did you want us to stay underwater forever?"

    Lord Helshan''s heart immediately shook from the Greater Demon''s pressure and intimidation.

    To admit that he hoped all of them stayed underwater forever was no different from cursing all the Greater Demons to die!

    Unless he was tired of living, there was no way he could admit to that!

    "I¡­ I don''t, my Lord!" Lord Helshan denied.

    "Hm? Where''s all the other Lesser Demons?" another Greater Demon noticed their absence before shortly spotting them some distance away. "Oh? What''s going on over there?"

    "T-that is¡­" Lord Helshan stuttered.

    When it came to this point, he had no other choice than to exin the whole situation truthfully; it was better than being found out after lying.

    "The situation is like¡­"

    The Evil Eye Lesser Demon quickly recounted the events that transpired in the western region during the Greater Demons'' absence.

    After the Greater Demons heard everything, a Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon snapped at the Evil Eye Lesser Demon.

    "How ipetent! You have one job, and you can''t even do it right!" the Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon scolded. "How hard can it be to make the Dark Fae n listen to you?"

    "Nevertheless, it doesn''t change the fact that the Dark Fae n''s behavior is strange. They''re foolish, but they shouldn''t be this foolish¡­ It seems like someone may have incited them," a Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon stated with a frown.

    Shortly after, the Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon turned to a Purple Coatl Dragon and said, "Lord Nidra, we''ll have to trouble your n to catch the dark faes and bring them back for questioning."

    "Hmph! Fine!" High Great Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon reluctantly agreed with a snort.

    "All members of my Purple Coatl Dragon n, follow me!"

    Shortly after, all the Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons pped their powerful feathered wings, sshing the waters off their wings as they took off into the skies.

    "Oh, no! The Lord Greater Demons have returned!" a dark fae despaired at the discovery.

    "Forget about that!" another dark fae quickly shouted in panic, alerting them of something else up ahead, "Someone ising at us, and fast!"

 Chapter 828 - Powerful Defense

    Before the dark fae group could decide what to do next, Leon swiftly flew past them with incredible speed and came to an abrupt stop between them and the Purple Coatl Dragons pursuing them.

    Swoosh!

    "He''s not after us?" a dark fae uttered while ncing back in surprise.

    "Why would a human be chasing after us?" another dark fae asked with a confused look.

    "Did you just ask something obvious?" the dark faes nced at the confused dark fae speechlessly before one of them said, "We are demons¡­"

    "Oh¡­ That somehow makes a lot of sense," the confused dark fae scratched her head awkwardly.

    Just because other demons were hunting them, it doesn''t automatically make humans their allies.

    s, if they end up getting hunted by both demons and humans, it would be quite the sad fate for their Dark Fae n.

    "Hurry up and get out of here!"

    "Y-yes! Thank you!"

    After Leon urged the dark faes to leave with a frown, they quicklyplied without further hesitation and fled from the area.

    The person''s sudden presence may have stopped the Purple Coatl Dragons from pursuing them temporarily, but there was no telling what may happen next.

    ''Thank you for buying us time, good human. We will remember your sacrifice,'' the dark faes silently etched in their hearts,pletely ignorant of the person''s capabilities.

    After letting the dark faes leave, Leon nced back at the Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons before him with interest and surprise.

    "Why did you stop chasing them?" he asked.

    "I know a strong opponent when I see one, and you, Sir, are a strong opponent," said a Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon.

    Although Leon had yet to reveal his aura, his seemingly ordinary flesh gave the Purple Coatl Dragons a sense of inferiority.

    Dragons were known for their superior defense and strength, yet a human made them feel inferior.

    Evidently, this human was not as simple as he seemed, or his cultivation level was simply far above them.

    "Interesting," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    Although he has the Dark Wyrm n''s allegiance, the appearance of another sub-dragon race made him greedy for more dragon blood supply, no matter whether they were of inferior or superior quality.

    "If you and the rest of your n submit to me, I will spare you," he stated.

    Naturally, such a statement made the Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons'' expression turn gloomy at once.

    "You want us to serve you? What a joke! You might be strong, but that doesn''t mean you can insult us as you please!" Lord Nidra roared furiously.

    The Purple Coatl Dragon n is one of the Nine Great ns in the Starfall Dominion!

    "So you have chosen death," Leon calmly stated, then casually shook his head and added, "No matter. I''ll just extract the dragon blood from your dead bodies and experiment with them for myself."

    Lord Nidra''s gaze turned cold and piercing.

    "Kill him!" the High Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon barked, "Don''t leave him an intact body! I want him reduced to ashes!"

    Swoosh¡ª!

    In a short instance, a group of two dozen Purple Coatl Dragons surrounded Leon from all directions before the tip of their throats inted like frogs.

    Dragon Breath!

    Two dozen breaths of dark-purple mes sted at Leon.

    However, he neither dodged nor guarded himself; instead, he chose to take the brunt of their dragon mes head-on!

    Boom!

    The two dozen dragon breaths impacted their target and exploded in a great zing inferno of dark-attribute mes,pletely swallowing the person within.

    Even Peak-rank Greater Demons specialized in defense could not have survived such a powerful and united attack!

    However, Leon was neither burned nor eroded by the dark-attributes mes of the dragon breaths.

    His True Grandmist Body negated the effect with its high resistance against the elements.

    At the same time, his powerful flesh resisted the force of the st, and his inner organs absorbed the shock with their strengthened inner defense.

    His inner defense had already reached 1.5-mil jin strength after he previously consolidated his viscera with a drop of True Dragon Origin Blood.

    But what exactly is inner defense?

    Body Cultivators'' viscera can never be rock-hard like their tempered flesh and bones, but they can be equally powerful in enduring attacks.

    The primary difference between outer and inner body defense is their ability to resist and absorb the impacting force.

    Just like hitting a balloon, as long as the force isn''t too great that it would directly pop, the balloon will stretch and evenly distribute the force, reducing it into nothing.

    That is inner defense.

    "Impossible¡­"

    Lord Nidra''s eyes narrowed upon discovering Leon''s intact figure within their scorching-hot dragon breaths.

    It did not disintegrate, not in the slightest bit.

    Leon did not reveal the slightest sign of difort as he emerged from the raging dragon mes like he had just taken a casual bath in the hot springs or finished a sauna session.

    However, it didn''t end there.

    In the next moment, Leon devoured the dragon mes and absorbed everyst bit of them into his body like an afternoon treat.

    "Thanks for the meal," Leon smacked his lips together and said, "Now, it''s my turn."

    Billowing clouds of darkness surged out of his body, causing the Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons to feel a suffocating and suppressive pressure.

    ''A noble Demon!'' Lord Nidra eximed.

    "Wait!"

    "No waiting."

    Puchi!

    Leon punctured the heart of a Low Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon with a sharp thrust before ripping it out of the dragon''s body.

    However, the Purple Coatl Dragon didn''t die immediately.

    As such, Leon followed up with another attack and directly destroyed its brain with a dark energy de, snuffing out thest trace of its life and will.

    Then, he grabbed itsrge body and tossed it into his Worldspace.

    "How dare you!"

    Seeing a member of his noble and great dragon n getting killed and looted right in front of his eyes, Lord Nidra exploded furiously.

    Then, heunched himself at Leon with a full-powered attack, throwing all caution to the wind, blinded by rage.

 Chapter 829 - Blind Speculation

    Without a surprise, the Purple Coatl Dragon n lived up to its name as a sub-race of dragons that possesses powerful strength and physiques.

    Each Purple Coatl Dragon n member was fully capable of fighting other beings above their level.

    The High-rank Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon had no problempeting with Peak-rank Greater Demon-level beings.

    s, it met Leon.

    He was someone who could put up a fight with Low-rank Arch Demons.

    Leon hunted down the Purple Coatl Dragons one by one while preserving their bodies as best he could before tossing them in his Worldspace and infuriating Lord Nidra even further in the process.

    Peng! Peng!

    Their bodies shed like the ngs of metals as Lord Nidra exchanged blows with Leon while pursuing him like a mad dog.

    Before Lord Nidra realized it, he was already thest surviving dragon in his group.

    "Remember, you asked for this," Leon calmly stated.

    "We are the proud Purple Coatl Dragon n, one of the Nine Great ns! We can be killed but not humiliated!" Lord Nidra roared madly.

    "You''re just a feather-winged serpent, much inferior to the Dark Wyrm n in terms of True Dragon ancestry. What the hell do you have to be proud of when even the Dark Wyrm n is willing to pledge their allegiance to me?"

    Leon looked back at the High Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon with ridicule.

    "I don''t even realize the insurmountable gap between us. Did you think you are still alive because I can''t kill you? I was merely testing the strength of my fleshly body. And now that I have tested it, I have no further use for you, alive, that is."

    "Nonsense! Even if you are a Noble Demon, it''s impossible for the powerful Dark Wyrm n to lower themselves to someone weak like you!"

    Lord Nidra refused to the proud dragon race could do such a thing.

    ¡­

    A short whileter, the High-rank Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon died at the hands of Leon, stubborn and unconvinced of the truth until the end.

    "I don''t know whether all dragon races are prideful like this one, but these nine great demon ns sure have overinted egos and pride," Leon muttered to himself.

    He swept a nce over the demons in the Bone Sea but didn''t see them nning any form of retaliation against him for wiping out the Purple Coatl Dragon n group.

    He ignored them and headed back to the western region without further dy.

    The Purple Coatl Dragon Blood is best absorbed when it is fresh.

    ¡­

    After Leon disappeared from the Bone Sea region, the Lesser and Greater Demons all wiped their sweat, feeling like they could breathe again.

    "What a scary person; the Purple Coatl Dragon n couldn''t even put up a decent fight against that person," Lord Helshan softly muttered with lingering trepidation.

    But after the trepidation faded, an important question popped up for every demon in the Bone Sea region.

    "Why is there a Noble Demon here?" a Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon frowned.

    "I want to ask the same question," a Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon also voiced his doubts, "If we had a Noble Demon among us, we would have known about it beforehand."

    "This Noble Demon popped out of nowhere, and he had to have a human appearance no less! There''s something strange about this!" another Greater Demon added.

    Demon-born humans exist, but not in their Starfall Dominion.

    And the reason they don''t keep the Eternal Night Secret Realm open indefinitely is to protect their monopoly of it.

    They did not want it to attract the other more powerful dominions to it.

    "This Noble Demon couldn''t havee from the other dominion; we would have known. In that case, that only means one thing¡­"

    The Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon spoke gravely, attracting the other Greater Demons'' undivided attention.

    "Which is?" a Greater Demon asked with a frown, displeased by the suspense.

    "Don''t tell me you are thinking that a human obtained a powerful inheritance and became a Noble Demon, are you?"

    "No, that''s exactly what I''m thinking," the Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon firmly replied.

    "But that''s impossible," a Mid-rank ck Jackal Greater Demon rejected the possibility.

    "What kind of inheritance could turn a normal human of the Infertile ins into a Noble Demon?"

    "He would have to be a demon-born human at the very least! But even then, it would still mean that the human obtained an extraordinary inheritance!"

    "There is one such inheritance, one that all the leaders and elders of the Nine Great ns are trying to get their hands on¡­" the Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon mentioned.

    After a brief moment of silence, the Greater Demons all had a change in their expression.

    "Don''t tell me¡­ that Noble Demon obtained the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance?!" the Red-Horn Orc Greater Demon shrieked.

    "How is that possible?! No, it''s not just impossible; it is uneptable!"

    The Greater Demons erupted with outrage.

    How could they let an outsider take the Eternal Night Secret Realm''s most desired and prized inheritance?

    "This won''t do! We have to alert the leader and elders of our discovery!"

    "That''s right! Even if we are mistaken, the possibility of the secret realm being infiltrated by a Noble Demon from another dominion isn''t something we can ignore!"

    "Dammit, I just resurfaced to take a breather, but I''m already forced to dive again," a Three-Headed Serpent Greater Demonined.

    Nevertheless, it sshed back into the Bone Sea without hesitation.

    At the same time, the rest of the Greater Demons affiliated to the Nine Great ns also followed suit and dived into the deep sea, rushing to inform their leaders and elders.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon returned to the western shores, satisfied with his gain, while unaware of the iing storm due to another one of the demons'' blind spections on the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance.

    "My Lord, you''re back!" Saresha and Nyfare quickly weed Leon''s return.

    As more dark faes rushed over to wee him, the new dark fae group craned their necks to look with curiosity before all their expressions froze with shock.

    "H-he is the new lord that you all s-serve?!" one of the new dark faes eximed.

 Chapter 830 - Ariaâ€™s Sword Intent & Concept

    Inside the earthen bunker, Aria meditated with Tier-7 Divine Sword rested on herp and bathed in its divine aura, the only source of light within the dark space of the enclosed bunker.

    In Aria White''s life, she quickly ascended the ranks of Divine King and was also a sword user, but even she barely touched upon the realm of Sword Intent.

    Even so, there was no doubt that Aria White was infinitely close to attaining the realm of Sword Intent.

    Given Aria White''s memories and the Tier-7 Divine Sword in her possession, If Aria wanted, she could haveprehended her Sword Intent much sooner.

    However, the exceedingly sharp Sword Intent possessed by the Tier-7 Divine Sword made her ponder a question.

    What is Sword Intent, exactly?

    Was it just a special force that augments the sharpness of a sword and improves its cutting power? Or a manifestation of one''s will to cut?

    Swords are weapons; they are made to cut and to kill.

    If swordsmen have good swords for cutting, why would they still need to rely on Sword Intent to augment their swords?

    This goes against the belief of the first realm of swordsmanship, Sword Spirit, which is to be one with the sword and treat it like they do with their limbs.

    If they cannot trust their limbs to do what they can and are supposed to do, then those limbs aren''t really their limbs.

    A sword that cannot cut is not a sword.

    If others say it is, it is just a defective sword, a useless sword, or a broken sword, nothing more, nothing less.

    Such a sword cannot be used.

    So how can a swordsman who breaks their fundamental belief in the sword advance in the path of the sword?

    There are two possible reasons for this.

    Either the Sword Intent is not as simple as it was recorded for others to believe, or the fundamental understanding of Sword Spirit was wed to begin with.

    After pondering hard over this matter, Aria arrived at a conclusion; it is true for both reasons.

    The realm of Sword Spirit is not to be one with the sword but to form the sword in one''s mind.

    Hence, it is called the Sword Spirit, the mind''s sword.

    And Sword Intent is the partial manifestation of that Sword Spirit; the stronger the Sword Spirit, the more powerful the Sword Intent.

    ''When a personprehends Sword Intent, they can use any medium as their sword to exert the power of their Sword Spirit¡­'' Aria mused.

    ''If I can manifest the Sword Intent without the assistance of any medium, that would also be the day that I step into the realm of Sword Force.''

    The realm of Sword Force¡­

    At this stage, one can borrow the power of heaven and earth, transforming them into sword force to manifest any number of their Sword Spirits.

    ''s, I am still far from that realm. I shouldprehend my Sword Intent first,'' Aria decided.

    From what she hadprehended, Sword Intent is nothing more than the ''intent'' of the Sword Spirit, the will of her mind''s sword.

    It was just a concept.

    ''A Sword Intent does not need to be sharp; the characteristic of my Sword Intent should depend on my will.''

    ''What I want it to be is what it will be.''

    ''If I want my Sword Intent to be sharp, it will be sharp. If I want it to be heavy, it will be heavy. If I want it to be fast, it will be fast.''

    ''My will dictates my Sword Intent''s Concept.''

    ''The Tier-7 Divine Sword''s Sword Intent already possesses the Concept of Sharpness, so I do not need toprehend the Concept of Sharpness.''

    ''If I want to maximize the power of my sword, I need toprehend a concept that aligns with my elemental affinity.''

    ''Only when I have more Sword Intent Concepts to fuse will I be able to exert the greatest degree of strength.''

    Thanks to the quietness of the soundproof space, Aria could meditate with great rity and zero distraction.

    Not even the subtle sound of her breathing could disturb her; she had entered a state of emptiness and focused solely onprehending her Sword Intent.

    ''My Sword Intent must be able to exert the full power of my ice-lightning abilities¡­ Therefore, I need a Concept that highlights the properties of ice-lightning¡­''

    Aria''s brows knitted in deeper thoughts.

    ''A Concept that could highlight the properties of ice and lightning¡­ Ice and lightning have multiple properties, but which ones should I focus on? Which pair of concepts will allow me to maximize mybat prowess?''

    She pondered.

    ''Lightning is fast and contains the power of annihtion, while ice is cold and freezing¡­''

    While brainstorming the properties of ice and lightning, she focused on two particr aspects: the swiftness of lightning and the slowness of frigid ice.

    ''Swiftness and slowness¡­''

    Although Aria felt unconfident about fusing two concepts to be one, she recalled that she did manage to fuse ice and lightning.

    Thus, there was hope for fusing the concept of these two elements.

    ''The Concept of Swiftness and Slowness¡­ That shall be my Sword Intent''s Concept,'' Aria''s eyes brightened.

    After settling on her Sword Intent''s Concept, she pieced together everything to form her Sword Intent.

    Ice and lightning energy mixed with her Sword Spirit, which in essence, is a type of Sword Seed for her Sword Law.

    ''My Sword Intent has to be swift like lightning and slow like ice!'' Aria''s eyes suddenly flickered with a trace of frigid lightning.

    In the next moment, Aria grabbed the hilt of her Tier-7 Divine Sword and sted her way out of the earthen bunker, shooting into the sky and stunning the others in the process.

    Nevertheless, Aria focused solely on her sword and didn''t pay attention to anyone else.

    Shing! Shing!

    She infused her intent into the Tier-7 Divine Sword before throwing around a few practice swings at the empty air!

    Bzzt!

    Her sword hand blurred in a flurry of shadows, moving at lightning-quick speed while cold air pervaded the space, chilling everything!

    The Concept of Swiftness and Slowness!

    Each of her sword strikes is fast and chilling, striking at others with incredible swiftness while slowing them in the process!

    That is her Sword Intent''s Concept.

 Chapter 831 - Mass Dragon Blood Refinement

    After infusing her Sword Intent into the Tier-7 Divine Sword, each of her sword swings left afterimages of blueish-white sword rays and cascading particles like snowfall.

    Despite the rapid movements brought by the Concept of her Sword Intent, Aria''s sword strikes appeared graceful and elegant and attracted the dark faes'' attention.

    They watched her sword dance with awe and revered the beautiful scene.

    "How beautiful¡­" a dark fae admired.

    While other dark faes watched in awe, Nyfare observed Aria''s sword with a solemn and sharp look.

    Others only saw its beauty but not its sheer power.

    The number of concepts behind the Sword Intent within Aria''s sword filled her with a deep feeling of trepidation and uneasiness.

    She wasn''t sure if anyone could withstand such an incredibly sharp and powerful sword with their bare body.

    That sword would just cut down any Arch Demon-level beings like grass.

    While the dark faes enjoyed the graceful movements and light show, all good things will eventually have to end.

    Aria descended and lightly stepped on the ground.

    "Congrattions. I don''t know much about Sword Intent, but it seems you have sessfullyprehended an especially powerful one," Leon congratted her with a smile.

    "Mm!" Aria nodded.

    Shortly after storing the Tier-7 Divine Sword in her interspatial ring, she linked hands behind her back and hopped over to Leon''s side with a joyful look.

    "Do I deserve a reward?" she asked yfully.

    "Oh?" Leon was amused by her yful behavior and returned her question with a sly smile, "What kind of reward do you want?"

    "Hmm!" Aria pretended to think hard with a finger on her chin before replying, "I''ll let you know when I think of a good one."

    "But I haven''t promised you anything yet. What if I don''t agree to it?" Leon grinned sneakily.

    "You¡ª!"

    Aria''s expression froze at his words before she hammered his chest repeatedly with her soft hands while pouting, "Are you going to agree or not?"

    "So forceful. How can I disagree, Your Majesty?" Leon replied with a soft chuckle.

    "I thought so!" Aria nodded with a cute look as if she had known of his answer and pretended to be magnanimous while posing as an indifferent queen, "I''ll spare you this time, but there will be no next time."

    Nevertheless, she failed to keep in character and blushed with embarrassment the next instant before burrowing her face in his chest to hide her embarrassment.

    A short whileter, she calmed down and removed her face from his chest before she quickly noticed that the Dark Fae n''s numbers changed again.

    "The dark faes seemed to have grown in numbers again?" she voiced her doubt.

    "Un," Leon admitted with a nod and exined, "Thest group of dark faes arrived while you wereprehending your Sword Intent."

    At that moment, all 250 members of the Dark Fae n had sword allegiance to him, and he had already rewarded the realm spirit 54 wisps of True Grandmist energy for thest group of dark faes.

    "What about Sister Darlene?" Aria also noticed Darlene was missing.

    But before Leon could answer, Darlene emerged from an earthen chamber and asked, "You called for me, Sister Aria? Ah, I ought to congratte you on your breakthrough."

    "It''s just a small breakthrough, nothing worth congratting about," Aria replied humbly with a smile.

    Leon wanted to add something at that moment, but he refrained from saying it lest he gets hit for it.

    Nevertheless, Aria was taken aback by Darlene''s roughness and felt her physical strength and body had grown by leaps and bounds.

    "I think I ought to congratte you as well, no?" Aria said to her with a thoughtful look.

    At that moment, Darlene had already achieved Rank 10 Body Tempering, but her actual fleshly defense sat at 200-thousand jin, a fifth of the way to Rank 1 Body Transformation.

    Apart from the improvement in her fleshly body, her weight has also increased to 200 jin after absorbing so many wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    It wasn''t a weight that anyone could tell simply by looking at her thin build.

    In fact, Leon''s weight was even more significant than Darlene''s, for he was nearing 500 jin; it was the effect of tempering their bodies with True Grandmist Energy.

    Leon feared that he would identally trip and fall on a person one day, crushing the said person to death with his sheer weight.

    ''Perhaps, this is why gods don''t interact with mortals?'' he thought to himself.

    "Ah!" Darlene suddenly cried.

    Leon''s eyes immediately shot towards her with concern and asked, "What''s wrong? Was there a problem with your training?"

    "N-no, not that! I feel so gross right now!" Darlene eximed at the sweat, blood, and ck impurities that covered her body.

    Even in the Darkmoon Tribe, she had never been dirtied to such a degree.

    Nevertheless, Leon immediately felt relief after realizing it wasn''t something serious and shook his head wryly.

    Shortly after, he used his various elemental abilities to make a warm bath inside the earth chamber for her to clean herself in private.

    Darlene immediately darted inside without hesitation.

    ''You were so focused on the Godfiend Body Forging Method that you didn''t realize the filth on your body until thiste, huh?'' Leon thought with amusement.

    He could not help but smile at her reaction to cleanliness.

    "I''m going to cultivate for a bit. Watch over them for me," Leon decisively said to Aria shortly after.

    "Mm," Aria nodded and saidpliantly, "Go and cultivate with peace of mind. It''s my turn to watch over everyone."

    With Aria''s reassurance, Leon found a suitable spot and immediately took out his first Purple Coatl Dragon body and began refining their blood essences.

    ''Let''s see if there will be any unexpected surprise and reward from these Purple Coatl Dragons,'' he silently thought while extracting the dragon blood.

    In a short moment, hepletely drained the Purple Coatl Dragon body of its blood and formed an enormous blood pool above his head before he began the true blood refinement process, en masse.

 Chapter 832 - Heading Westward

    Waves after waves of dragon blood ovepped, revolved, and shrunk in volume like they were eating themselves.

    As Leon refined the Purple Coatl Dragon blood, the drops of Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood quickly increased with time.

    Tens be hundreds, hundreds be thousands, and thousands be tens of thousands.

    The sheer volume of dragon blood in a Purple Coatl Dragon body was iparable to human bodies, which should''ve been obvious by their enormous sizes.

    A single Greater Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon was already equivalent to roughly 300-500 humans.

    After Leon refined the dark crimson dragon blood essences into origin blood, the drops of Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood took on a blood-violet color.

    ''I''ve underestimated how much origin blood I could obtain from a single Purple Coatl Dragon¡­ With this many drops of origin blood, even I cannot tell how much I will advance my viscera-consolidation phase¡­'' Leon mused.

    ''If my viscera-consolidation phase doesn''t advance by leaps and bounds after this, I don''t know else will.''

    Leon took a few moments to prepare himself mentally before channeling the blood-violet pool of Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood into his body.

    Shhh¡­!

    The warm Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood quickly entered his body.

    It spread throughout his viscera before a burning sensation filled his entire body, making him feel like his internal organs had been lit on fire.

    However, it wasn''t the actual burn of scorching fire but the pain from consolidating his inner organs.

    On the other outside, Leon''s skin glowed with redness as if his body temperature experienced a sharp rise, which is correct.

    Pain wracked his entire body, making Leon wonder if the hellfire of purgatory was any worse than this.

    He gritted his teeth and endured the torturous viscera-consolidating process.

    Drops after drops of Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood blended with every inch of his viscera, consolidating it with dragon properties.

    However, some parts of his veins and meridians couldn''t take the drastic changes and nearly burst apart.

    But before they could, Leon immediately channeled wisps of True Grandmist Energy over to assist the consolidation of his failing viscera.

    With the help of True Grandmist Energy, the veins and meridians that nearly burst apart were reinforced, bing more durable and sturdier than ever.

    ''The greater the pain, the greater the gain!''

    Leon''s eyes beamed at the significant changes taking ce in his body despite the pain nearly knocking him out of his conscious state.

    While his viscera were doused in Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood, his inner defense soared.

    From 1.5-million jin, his inner defense soared to 3-million jin, 4-million jin, 5-million jin¡­

    The momentum of his viscera''s improvement showed no sign of slowing down as the viscera-consolidation process went on.

    At that moment, he still had more than four-fifths of the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood he refined.

    If the process went on, there was no doubt he would achieve Rank 2 Body Transformation in the consolidating-viscera phase.

    However, his reserve of True Grandmist Energy quickly depleted, forcing him to end his viscera-consolidation right there and then.

    ''Haiz, I''m forced to stop due to theck of True Grandmist Energy again,'' Leon sighed mentally.

    ''Still, I''m making good progress. The middle-stage of Rank 1 Body Transformation in the consolidating-viscera phase is not bad.''

    ''I better stock up on my reserve of True Grandmist Energy before I continue,'' he mused.

    He will need a much, much bigger reserve of True Grandmist Energy if he wants to absorb the origin blood from all two dozen Purple Coatl Dragon bodies.

    After Leon built an ice cage to preserve the Purple Coatl Dragon bodies in his Worldspace, he constructed arge ice pool to contain the leftover origin blood he couldn''t absorb all at once.

    Then, he started nning their next course of action.

    They had already stayed near the west shores for quite a while, and everyone had, more or less, made some good progress in their cultivation.

    It was time to move on.

    Leon''s consciousness exited the Worldspace before he noticed Aria standing a short distance away with a clean wet cloth prepared for him to clean himself.

    "Finished?" she asked.

    "For now," Leon nodded with a smile and epted her kind gesture, taking the wet cloth to clean himself.

    At the same time, he nced back at the blood-soaked ground from the waste residues of the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood that his viscera could not absorb.

    Shortly after, he shifted his gaze over to the dark faes and inspected their progress.

    "Quite a few among the first group has reached Rank 5 Body Tempering while Saresha has even reached Rank 7 Body Tempering, huh?" he uttered.

    Although their improvements could notpare to Darlene''s, they were still much quicker than the average Body Cultivator in the Divine Realm.

    Seeing that the medicine bath''s effect was nearing depletion, Leon returned to the shoreline.

    He used his power of Nihility to generate more wisps of True Grandmist Energy and dark energy from the seawater in the meantime.

    Sometimeter, the medicine bath''s recovery effect was finally depleted, and the bottles of healing water had also been used up.

    The newest group of dark faes only managed to reach Rank 2 Body Tempering before that happened and expressed their regret.

    "There will be more chances to cultivate in the future," Leon stated before instructing the dark faes, "Pack your stuff. We''re moving on from this area."

    "Yes, my Lord!" the Dark Fae nplied.

    Once everyone was ready, Leon led the group westward for a few miles before Aria suddenly furrowed her brows beside him after noticing something was off.

    "This is strange¡­" she uttered.

    "You also noticed too?"

    "Mm."

    Aria nodded after Leon asked her.

    It wouldn''t have been strange if they didn''t find any humans near the Bone Sea.

    But now that they were moving further away from it, logically, they should have encountered some humans already.

    However, not a single human had been sighted thus far.

    ''What''s going on, Tak-si? Is there not a single human in the western region?'' Leon immediately turned to the realm spirit for answers.

 Chapter 833 - Teleportation Arrayâ€™s Shocking Secret

    "There are 420 humans in the western region, Master. It''s just that the westernmost part of this region had attracted all of them over," Tak-si informed after materializing his spiritual form.

    "Attracted to the westernmost part of this region?" Leon furrowed his brows and asked, "What''s going on over there? Some peerless inheritance?"

    "Nothing like that, Master," Tak-si shook his head.

    "As Master can see, the western region is the most flourishing among the four regions in this secret realm. Not only is there lush green grass on the ins and trees in the forests, but there are also rivers running through thisnd."

    "Wait, rivers? That means¡­" Leon immediately realized.

    "That''s right, Master," Tak-si nodded.

    "The seawater in the Bone Seaes from these rivers, which lead outside the Radiant Heaven Realmship. The sea monsters in the Bone Sea all entered the Radiant Heaven Realmship through these river channels."

    "But even if there''s an opening at the edge of the western region, why would it attract all the humans in the region towards it?" Aria frowned with doubts.

    "They are fighting the sea monsters that are trying toe in from the Boundless Sea," Tak-si answered.

    "Although I don''t know much about a sea monster''s taste, the humans seem to find their flesh to be a rare delicacy. Also, the sea monsters possess red monster cores, which contain a special type of energy that could be used for cultivation."

    "Oh?" Leon was intrigued by the information.

    Being cut off by the Extreme Misty Forest, the Crawford Empire had no ess to the Boundless that exists beyond it.

    As such, they always had little to no information on the sea monsters.

    "Ah, right! I''ve almost forgotten, Master!" Tak-si suddenly eximed before mentioning, "Speaking of sea monsters, there''s another factor that affects the demons'' decision to close the secret realm."

    "The sea monsters?" Leon guessed, thinking it was pretty apparent from the realm spirit, but the specifics remain unclear.

    "Yes, Master," Tak-si admitted before saying, "Every year, arge sea monster tide would ur; countless sea monsters would enter Bone Sea."

    "And this forces the demons to close the secret realm?" Darlene raised an eyebrow at that point.

    "Yes, that''s right," Tak-si affirmed.

    "You don''t understand how fearsome a sea monster tide can be, Miss. Even Arch Demons would have to flee in the face over such overwhelming numbers. Demons are nothingpared to the sea monsters of the Boundless Sea."

    "But the danger of a sea monster tide is only rted to any body of water, no? Can''t the demons just get out of the Bone Sea? So why do they need to close the secret realm?"

    Darlene furrowed her brows with confusion at these doubts she had.

    "The best inheritances lie in the Bone Sea; the demons would not leave unless they are forced to at thest moment, and such moment is usually when the sea monsters reach the Bone Sea," Tak-si exined.

    "But wouldn''t it be toote for the demons to flee by then?" Aria wondered.

    "Not at all," Tak-si shook his head.

    "The high-tier Teleportation Array is capable of imprinting everyone''s locations when they use it to enter the secret realm. Once it is activated again, everyone will be teleported out of the secret realm, no matter their locations."

    When the dark faes heard such a thing from the great realm spirit, they immediately began searching their own bodies for whatever might appear to be the so-called imprint.

    "Don''t bother. You won''t find such a thing on your physical bodies," Leon calmly stated before specting, "It''s more likely to be imprinted on your souls."

    Nyfare and the other dark faes gasped with surprise after hearing that.

    "Do you understand how the Teleportation Array work, my Lord?" Saresha asked curiously.

    "How can I understand the intricacy of a possible Tier-7 or above Teleportation Array? Not to mention it''s one that I have yet to see," Leon replied while shaking his head.

    While his runic understanding is gradually improving by the day, and without a doubt, improve even quicker with so many source materials to study from, he was still very far from understanding Tier-7 runes.

    "But then¡­ How can you be so sure that the imprint isn''t on our physical bodies?" Nyfare was taken aback by surprise.

    "Through my inference, but of course, I can also be wrong," Leon replied.

    "However, think about it; there are so many bones floating in the Bone Sea. There''s no need to doubt that a portion of these bones came from demons and humans who have entered the previously secret realm openings."

    "If the imprints were on their bodies, why weren''t their remains teleported out of the secret realm during its closing? Well, you can argue that the imprint was on their flesh, but they were eaten by the sea monsters in the Bone Sea."

    "If that was the case, why hasn''t there been any records of raining sea monsters after the secret realm''s closing? Furthermore, people could remove the imprints and stay in the secret realm indefinitely if it was so easy to locate and destroy."

    "However, it''s apletely different story if the imprint was on their soul. Once a person dies, their soul will naturally no longer remain in their corpse and leave, and so too will the imprint¡ª"

    As Leon exined his thought process, he suddenly paused and baffled everyone.

    "Why did you stop, Leon?" Aria asked.

    However, Leon didn''t hear her, or he chose not to hear her; his mind was preupied with a sudden thought.

    ''If a person soul-imprinted by the Teleportation Array dies after entering the secret realm, the imprint wouldn''t just disappear from the soul either¡­'' Leon silently mused.

    ''Their bodies will be left behind, but their souls will still be anchored by the imprint and kicked out of the secret realm¡­ Wouldn''t that stop the soul from entering the cycle of reincarnation?''

    ''Even worse, the souls will be bound by the Teleportation Array¡­ Is this how the Teleportation Array produces a Shaman King''s Sessor?! By infusing the countless souls of the deceased into a new person?!''

    Leon was appalled by his spection.

    It would be strange if the Shaman King''s Sessors could live for long after such a forceful method of improving their soul!

 Chapter 834 - Reaching The Underground Ruins

    ''If my guess is right, this kind of diabolical Teleportation Array should be destroyed!'' Leon silently determined in his heart.

    He had all the more reason not to let anyone close to him die in the secret realm.

    "Sorry, I was thinking about something concerning rted to the Teleportation Array. I''ll exin on the way," Leon replied.

    However, after they resumed moving for a short distance, Leon suddenly stopped again, baffling everyone.

    "Why did you stop again?" Aria asked.

    "We aren''t heading for the western edge; we have a more important destination to reach," Leon answered her before asking the realm spirit for confirmation, "Is this the location, Tak-si?"

    "Yes, Master. The underground ruins and core is located right under thisnd," the realm spirit replied.

    "Understood," Leon acknowledged with a nod.

    Not long after, he observed his surroundings and noticed it was quite an open space.

    Everyone would see what was happening from a distance unless the area was walled off to obstruct their view, which was what he intended to do.

    The surrounding ground began to shake alongside Leon''s spread of earthen ability; he willed the earth and raised a rocky wall as high as 40 feet, not too tall nor too short, andpletely sealed their surrounding.

    "My Lord?" the dark faes were startled.

    "I don''t want prying eyes on what I''m about to do," Leon stated.

    After hearing that, the dark faes immediately thought that even if he didn''t want prying eyes, the rock wall''s presence would eventually attract people over.

    More importantly, what was the lord going to do? He''s not going to kill them, is he?

    Leon thought about the attraction the rocky wall would bring, but he didn''t find it to be a problem.

    Whether they are humans or demons, death would be their only oue if theye looking for trouble in a ce they are not weed.

    Nevertheless, there was bound to be some noise.

    "Guard the area, and immediately alert me if anyonees."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Shortly after instructing the dark faes, Leon shared his thoughts on the Teleportation Array with Aria and Darlene while he dug into the earth with the power of Nihility.

    While Aria listened, she watched him slowly sinking into the ground at a snail pace.

    However, once Leon increased the range of his Nihility Law, he began sinking into the ground faster like quicksand.

    The soil, the rocks, all pieces of thend underneath Leon''s feet disintegrated into wisps of True Grandmist Energy like mist aftering into contact with Nihility.

    Tak-si stared at the wisps of True Grandmist Energy with craving, but Leon didn''t let a single wisp of True Grandmist Energy escape his grasp.

    He devoured every wisp of it into his ck Vortex Space, and his low reserve of True Grandmist Energy increased noticeably.

    From a few dozen wisps of True Grandmist Energy, it surged to several dozen wisps of True Grandmist Energy within a few short breaths.

    Half an hourter, it increased to the hundreds.

    At the same time, Leon descended more than 200 feet below ground, disappearing from Aria and Darlene''s view.

    All they could see was a 5-yard diameterrge hole that stretched deeper and deeper into the earth until light could not reach its ever-growing depth.

    "The Radiant Heaven Realmship''s core is down there, huh?" Aria muttered with a thoughtful look.

    She understood what Leon wanted to achieve by heading down there and could not help but feel rising anticipation for what''s to be of the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    Once Leon binds the Radiant Heaven Realmship and repairs its spatial functions, they would have no need for the sinister Teleportation Array that collects and refines the souls of the deceased for the next Shaman King''s Sessor.

    But while Aria understood Leon''s intention, Darlene waspletely clueless.

    "What is Leon trying to achieve by digging down there, Sister Aria? Do you know?" she asked.

    "I do. He is¡­" Aria suddenly smiled mysteriously before replying vaguely with a tease, "Well, you''ll find outter."

    Darlene pouted, but she chose not to press the topic.

    "What should we do when humans or demons arrive? Leon didn''t specify, but I doubt he would want to keep outsiders around to watch what we are doing here," she mentioned.

    The primordial energy from the beginning of time was not something any major forces would ignore if news of it reached their ears.

    However, she was even more curious about the power Leon used to produce the said energy.

    "Of course, we''ll shoo them all away, whether we do with words or with force," Aria firmly stated.

    "You should know that what Leon has can easily incite the ugly greed of others who knows its value; even worse, they might even kill him if they understand the power heprehended."

    "Why would they try to kill him?" Darlene was puzzled by Aria''s words.

    She didn''t understand why anyone would want to kill the goose if it couldy golden eggs, especially if they were powerful enough to do it.

    "Because of the power he wields," Aria stated.

    As if knowing what Darlene would ask next, she added, "But if you want to know the specifics of his power, you''ll have to ask him yourself."

    After hearing that, Darlene was even more curious.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to descend deeper and deeper into the earth, dropping more than five thousand feet and umting more than 3000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy in the past half hour.

    If he wanted, he could descend even quicker¡ªbut it woulde at the cost of True Grandmist Energy.

    After all, increasing the intensity of the Nihility Law will destroy whatever True Grandmist Energy he could gain out of the earth.

    Without trying to rush to the core, Leon kept the intensity of his Nihility Power at a consistent level.

    Roughly more than two hourster, he descended past the 20,000 ft mark and broke into a vast underground space with more than 10,000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    Shortly after, he summoned a ball of fire to illuminate the dark space and reveal the underground ruins'' appearance.

 Chapter 835 - Lunaâ€™s True Body

    The vastness of the underground ruins could not be seen but only explored to find out.

    Ruins of a once majestic city lie in rubbles and debris before him while the giant frames and pirs of their damaged buildings still stood, rusted, deformed, but very much strong as it held up the ceiling.

    Even so, these building frames and pirs appeared unnaturally welded together, forming a dome that protected what''s left of the ruined city from the masses ofnd above it.

    Leon discovered the scars of battle everywhere he looked.

    From the top of the buildings to the ground below, remains of demons and humansy scattered across the ce, whether they were preserved or decayed.

    "So this is the underground ruins¡­ It''s no doubt, a buriednd of treasures," Leon muttered while studying the ce.

    However, the unnatural form of the building frames and pirs welded together concerned him.

    ''Were there survivors in this city, Tak-si?'' he inquired.

    ''During the eruption of the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world, yes, of course, Master. Thanks to the Celestials'' protection, there were still many survivors during that time,'' the realm spirit replied.

    ''Then where are they now?'' Leon inquired further.

    ''Well, that¡­ they''re all dead now,'' the realm spirit said.

    ''Even though the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inner world eruption brought the battle between the Celestial Alliance and her faction to an end, it wasn''t a conclusive one.''

    ''The Celestials all fled in fear of the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s dark power''s corruption while those who got trapped and left behind all died to the dark energy eventually.''

    ''Only the creatures of darkness have no problem living in such an enclosed world overflowing with dark energy, Master,'' the realm spirit exined.

    ''You should have just said that first instead of saying there were still survivors,'' Leon replied with a shrug beforending on the solid ground.

    Shortly after looking around for a bit, he asked, ''Where''s the core?''

    ''The core is just a straight road to your left side, Master. It''s not hidden, so you will know when you see it," Tak-si answered.

    ''Straightforward enough,'' Leon nodded.

    In the next moment, he immediately took in the left direction with a burst of speed, moving swiftly to reach the core in the quickest time possible.

    Myriads of treasuresy scattered on the ground, but he ignored everything and headed straight for the realmship''s core.

    It wasn''t toote to pick the treasures up on his way back or another time; binding the realmship''s corees first and foremost.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Leon''s figure shot past piles of ruins quickly, making them look like blurred afterimages while kicking up a trail of wind behind him.

    Grrrr!

    However, the sudden growl of a ghoul immediately made hime to an abrupt stop to look before he discovered most of the decayed corpses on the ground began to move.

    The least decayed corpses were ghouls in the truest sense, while the most decayed corpses were simply undead skeletons.

    Nevertheless, they were all awakened by Leon''s presence and vibrant vitality.

    ''I thought you said there were no survivors?''

    Leon frowned while watching the number of ghouls and undead gathered inrge numbers, almost nearing the thousands and still growing.

    Given the size of the ruined city, there were bound to be at least millions of corpses.

    ''Can these ghouls and undead skeletons be considered survivors, Master?'' Tak-si replied wryly before adding, ''Given Master''s strength, these ghouls and undead skeletons pose no threat to you.''

    Leon''s lips twitched.

    While most of the ghouls and undead skeletons were weak, some among them were also close to the Arch Demon level.

    Their strength might not be at that level, but their bodily defense was at least at that level.

    ''These weak mobs don''t bother; what does, though, is that there are plenty of Celestial corpses in this underground ruin! Are you trying to screw me over?!'' Leon used the realm spirit.

    He should have known that given such overflowing dark energy in the secret realm, it would have given birth to ghouls and other forms of undead beings.

    ''Definitely not, Master!'' Tak-si denied.

    The realm spirit had no reason to kill the only person who could repair it. On the contrary, it ought to protect Leon at all costs instead.

    ''You don''t need to worry about the Celestial-level ghouls and undead beings, Master. Celestials can''t be influenced by the dark and deathly energy in this space and be undead beings.''

    ''Oh? Why not?'' Leon furrowed his brows.

    After hearing the realm spirit''s exnation, he had quickly formted his guesses. Still, he wanted to confirm it from the realm spirit''s words.

    ''Celestial bodies are reforged to cultivate celestial energy thates from the stars, making them extremely yang in nature, which is very conflicting with Eternal Night Demon Empress''s dark energy.''

    ''As such, evil spirits cannot possess such the Celestial bodies; they will only sh and die inside the Celestial bodies if they attempt to,'' The realm spirit exined.

    ''The reason turns out to be like this after all, huh?'' Leon mused before his flickered sharply in the next moment.

    Smoosh¡ª!

    The Tier-7 White Spear quickly appeared in his grip before he cleaved his way through the army of ghouls and skeletons obstructing his way.

    Overlord Spear Art''s Second Spear ¨C Spear Vanquishing the Demons!

    Hundreds of ghouls and skeletons were immediately cleaved away by his Tier-7 White Spear infused in his dark energy.

    Then, he continued to rush forward, whether he had to cut down the undead beings or leap right over them.

    ''I don''t have time to waste on these ghouls and skeletons; I''ll just head straight for the core,'' he silently decided.

    Sometimeter, the spherical-shaped core, which was nearly the same size as the support-circuit buildings, came into sight.

    Leon immediately darted towards it while being chased by an angry undead mob numbering in the several tens of thousands behind him.

    After entering the core, his eyes quickly fell on the realm spirit''s heart, an enormous divine crystal many times bigger than the divine crystals found in the other support-circuit buildings.

    Nevertheless, put aside its size, his eyes focused on the beautiful girl sleeping inside of it.

    She shared a resemnce to the Eternal Night Demon Empress, but it was no doubt her daughter''s true body.

 Chapter 836 - Creation Law

    ''Have you seen enough, pervert?'' Luna''s voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

    ''Uhh¡­ To be honest, no,'' Leon replied shamelessly.

    ''You¡­ You really are a pervert¡­!''

    ''I didn''t deny it,'' he admitted.

    Faced with Leon''s blunt honesty, Luna found herself at a loss for words, not knowing what to say next.

    ''But I must say, you have developed nicely, despite your true body being ced in stasis since birth. You have your mother''s look, but I wonder who your father is?'' Leon wondered.

    Even as a pervert, there was no trace of lust in his eyes, just pure appreciation for beautiful things.

    He stared at the beauty inside the divine crystal with appreciation as if he was looking at a piece of art behind a ss frame.

    Luna did not know how to feel about this, but she didn''t answer him.

    Even she did not know who her father was.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t spend too much time staring before he bit his finger and dripped a drop of his blood essence onto the divine crystal heart.

    There was still an army of undead beings waiting for him outside, but luckily, even though the core was badly damaged, it could still seal off the entrance.

    In a short moment, Leon''s crimson blood with hints of gold and violet mixed with the divine crystal heart like ck ink sinking into deep water, spreading out like dispersing mist until its color fully blended with the divine crystal heart.

    Afterward, the divine crystal heart resumed its original appearance and color as if no change had urred.

    However, Leon could feel a subtle connection to it.

    ''This connection is a lot weaker than it should be¡­'' Leon mused with furrowed brows.

    It was no different from a temporary connection, a contrast to the permanent connection he wanted to establish.

    ''Master, because Luna and I are basically two minds operating a single body, you''ll need to drip more blood essence to bind us to you; the more blood essence you feed, the stronger connection,''

    Tak-si informed him.

    ''I see¡­ So that''s why,'' Leon understood.

    Shortly after, he slit a bigger wound on his wrist and dripped even more of his blood essence onto the divine crystal heart, strengthening the connection between them in the process.

    Even though his blood contained hundreds of origin blood from other beasts and demons mixed within it, they had already be a part of his body.

    As such, his blood is still his blood, even if it is different from birth.

    What is important is that his blood contained his spirit, his will, the main determining factor for forging a connection between man and artifact in the blood binding.

    Drops after drops of blood essence mixed with the divine crystal heart before its bluish appearance started to turn into a more violet shade.

    Due to his strong regeneration ability, Leon had to reopen his wound a few more times during the blood binding process.

    The connection reached its peak after he fed the divine crystal heart a hundred drops of his blood.

    In that instance, he could sense a certain degree of control over the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    His consciousness perfectly transmitted through the realm spirit and borrowed some of its omniscience to oversee the entire Radiant Heaven Realmship, both inside and outside of it.

    ''The state of the realmship''s damage is even worse than I thought,'' Leon furrowed his brows.

    The Radiant Heaven Realmship''s damage wasn''t limited to its interior but also its exterior; deep sword scars and w marks ran along with its outer shell, affecting some rune circuits running underneath it.

    Given such a terrible state, he cannot even shrink the Radiant Heaven Realmship and carry it around with him, let alone travel anywhere in it.

    ''You took quite the beating, huh?'' Leon uttered.

    ''Yes, Master,'' Tak-si replied respectfully.

    After Leon official became the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s new owner, the realm spirit showed even more respect as if it was apulsory obligation.

    If the realm spirit didn''t want Leon as its master, his blood binding would not have proceeded as smoothly as it did.

    Divine Artifacts could resist blood-binding by destroying the will in the blood, and the ultimate victor would be determined by whose spirit is more powerful.

    After inspecting the core''s damage for a few more breaths, Leon summoned a thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy for its repair.

    ''Take it.''

    ''Thank you, Master!''

    Although a thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy was not enough for the core''splete repair, Tak-si happily epted whatever Leon had to offer it.

    Leon found himself a spot to sit down and silently watched the realm spirit repair the damaged core with the thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy it had.

    In that instance, he realized the realm spirit''s skillful use of the True Grandmist Energy was far above his level.

    At the very least, he could not use True Grandmist Energy to create and replicate the core''s missingponents, materials, and rune circuits.

    "Is this Creation Law?" he uttered with surprise.

    ''Well, yes, but also no, Master,'' Tak-si replied.

    ''I can only use True Grandmist Energy to replicate my body''s missing parts based on my memory imprint. Therefore, I cannot actually wield the Creation Law to create wonders like the stars ands found throughout Primal Chaos.''

    ''Only True Divinities with even the slightestprehension of the Creation Law can perform such feats with True Grandmist Energy,'' it said.

    After hearing that, Leon''s eyes flickered with great interest.

    "In other words, you can''t control the Creation Law, but your ability to repair contains traces of the Creation Law¡­" he uttered.

    If he kept observing the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s process of repairing, there was a slim chance ofprehending the Creation Law!

    After he understood that much, his gaze sharpened as he watched the core''s repair process withplete focus.

    ''There''s a slim chance that I couldprehend the Creation Law with my present cultivation, but this is only looking at things from a normal perspective,'' he mused,

    If he could evenprehend the Nihility Law, then any otherw shouldn''t be an impossibility.

 Chapter 837 - A Glimpse Of Creation

    Before Leon realized it, Tak-sipletely used up a thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy, yet he was not even remotely close to understanding anything about the Creation Law.

    ''Well, I expected it to be difficult, but difficult might be an understatement,'' he mused.

    Shortly after, he summoned another thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy and offered it up for the core''s repair.

    ''Take it, and continue.''

    ''Thank you, Master!''

    Tak-si was even more jubnt and epted everything with gratification.

    Another half quarter of a burning incense''s worth of time passed in the blink of the eye, but Leon still failed to learn anything about the Creation Law.

    The progress of the core''s repair was evident, and he won''t be able to continue observing once the core is fully repaired.

    ''How many more wisps of True Grandmist Energy do you estimate it will take for your core''s full repair, Tak-si?''

    ''About another 18,000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy would be needed for a full repair of the core, Master. As for restoring my spatial functions, another 8,000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy would suffice.''

    ''Another 8,000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy, huh?'' Leon mused.

    That was all he had left in his reserve.

    ''If I invest my remaining 8,000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy into core repair, I''ll have nothing left for viscera consolidation. However, I can always refine more from the excessnd¡­''

    More importantly, once the realmship''s spatial functions are restored, he could kick anyone out of the secret realm.

    At the same time, he can also re-enter the secret realm if someone uses the Teleportation Array to kick everyone out before he can destroy it.

    ''Guess I''ll just invest my remaining wisps of True Grandmist Energy into core repair,'' he decided.

    However, he couldn''t do it right away¡ªnot when he could not gain anything from studying the repairing process of transforming True Grandmist Energy into objects.

    ''There must be some ways to improve myprehension and perceive the Creation Law within the energy transformation process,'' he pondered.

    After he told the realm spirit not to disturb him, he entered deep meditation to contemte.

    What was the biggest difference between True Divinities and mortals? Their powerful strength? Their wealth of knowledge? Their limitless lifespan?

    Whether it was their strength, knowledge, or lifespan, the gap was insurmountable; it was trying topare heaven and the earth.

    What he really wanted to know was the determining factor forprehending the Creation Law.

    True Divinities practically lived in a different dimension from humans; what they see, hear, smell, taste, and feel may very well be different from human perception.

    Thus, how can a human perceive what True Divinities can perceive?

    ''If I want to see the entire iceberg, I can''t just look at its tip; I have to see what''s hidden under the sea surface as well¡­ But even then, that''s not the whole iceberg¡­ Or at the very least, it is only one side of it.''

    In other words, if he wanted to see something in its entirety, he had to look at all its sides, and not just one side.

    But even then, that was just scratching the surface.

    ''This might be a crude way of looking at things, but I shall try it,'' he settled on a method for his experimentation.

    Shortly after giving the realm spirit another thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy, he spread out his divine sense.

    Then, he condensed it into a spiritual body of himself and had it sit on the opposite side of him to watch the energy transformation process from the other end.

    What couldn''t be seen from the front, could be seen from the back, giving Leon a fresh outlook on the transformation of True Grandmist Energy.

    ''There''s some effect,'' Leon narrowed his eyes with great focus.

    He could divide his consciousness to create more spiritual clones of himself, but his thought process wouldn''t be able to operate at peak capacity.

    A short moment passed before Leon watched another thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy disappear without gain.

    ''If I can simply ovep the entire thing with my divine sense, I would be able to sense all the changes without needing to go through some roundabout and tedious method like this.''

    Leon sighed.

    Unfortunately, the realm spirit''s consciousness had to cover the core repairing spot; if he inserted his divine sense inside, it would affect the realm spirit''s ability to repair.

    Suddenly, he paused.

    ''Hold on a minute¡­ There''s no need to use my divine sense¡­'' his eyes flickered brightly with sudden enlightenment.

    He offered up another thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy to the realm spirit again.

    However, this time, he did not rely on his own pair of eyes nor his divine sense, deciding to shut them both off decisively.

    He strengthened his connection to the realm spirit with his divine will and borrowed its omniscience to perceive the changes in the True Grandmist Energy.

    A whole new world of perspective opened up to him.

    As the wisps of True Grandmist Energy restored the core''s missing parts, Leon perceived all of its myriad of changes¡ªexactly the same way the realm spirit was perceiving it.

    Finally, he managed to catch a glimpse of the Creation Law.

    "So the Creation Law can transform True Grandmist Energy like this¡­" Leon muttered thoughtfully before offering up his remaining 6000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy to the realm spirit.

    Through the omniscience of the realm spirit, he could perceive everything, even if he couldn''t understand what was happening specifically.

    Nevertheless, given time, he wille to understand them eventually.

    More importantly, he had discovered new ways to continue perceiving the Creation Law even after the core is fully repaired.

    ''Like there is yin in yang, and yang in yin, good in evil, and evil in good, there is also creation in destruction, and destruction in creation¡­''

    By understanding the reverse process of a Law, he can understand its opposing Law.

    That was one way, the moreplicated and uncertain way.

    As for the simpler and more defined way¡­

 Chapter 838 - Contact With Black Turtle

    The way of fusingws.

    Just like his ability to fuse elements and produce a more powerful one, it was possible toprehend a higher-orderw by fusing its correspondingws of a lower order.

    This didn''t necessarily mean that fusingws would guarantee the production of the desired higher-orderw, but the chances are there.

    In normal circumstances, there was no way for Leon to understand the specificws he needed toprehend and fuse to replicate the power of creation.

    However, he was lucky to catch a glimpse of creation through the help of the realm spirit''s omniscience.

    ''Fire, life, wood, light, and even time¡­ These were the main elements I managed to perceive from the transformation of True Grandmist Energy¡­'' Leon mused.

    ''The fires of creation¡­ the power of fusion¡­ by heating minerals of separate elements to extreme temperatures, it was possible to weld them together and create something new¡­''

    ''The miracle of life¡­ a single spark of existence, and the factor of growth and reproduction¡­''

    ''The profundity of wood¡­ while it is simple, its abilities to join, intertwine, and assimte, generates endless possibilities and variable changes in grafting.''

    ''The all-epassing light that covers everything within its domain¡­ each element can mingle,bine, merge, or fuse, one way or another¡­ except time¡­''

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    He didn''t understand where time ys its part in creation, but he understood it wasn''t the only element he didn''t understand.

    There were probably more elements that he didn''t pick up in the creation process of the core''s missing parts.

    ''It''s easier to destroy than to create something¡­ is because creation requires time?'' Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, he didn''t dwell on the topic.

    ''Master, my spatial functions have been restored! Wherever Master wants to go, I can immediately send you there, Master!''

    Tak-si excitedly informed him after using up all the wisps of True Grandmist Energy in his reserve to repair its core.

    ''That''s great,'' Leon replied with a wry smile.

    It was good that the spatial function was restored, but now he needed to umte more wisps of True Grandmist Energy to consolidate his viscera before all the Purple Coatl Dragon Blood goes to waste.

    "There were plenty of excessnds to remove, but I don''t want other humans and demons learning of this ce¡­ So instead, I should aim for the boundless seawater¡­" he mused.

    At the same time, he wondered whether he should pay the ck Turtle God Beast a visit while he was at it.

    Shortly after, he closed his eyes and used the realm spirit''s omniscience to spy on the ck Turtle God Beast at the bottom of the Bone Sea.

    The moment Leon sensed the ck Turtle God Beast''s existence, he was astonished by its size.

    ''I was expecting the ck Turtle God Beast to be big, but who would have thought that it would be big to this degree¡­ It''s basically a moving ind¡­ except, it is not moving right now¡ªor rather, it can''t¡­''

    Someone at the bottom of Bone Sea will not notice the ck Turtle God Beast unless they had prior knowledge of its existence.

    Its entire body was buried under manyyers of dark sand while nine enormous needles were drilled into its back, pinning it to the bottommostyer of the secret realm.

    ''These must be the Godly Divine Needles used by the Great Void Celestial Conqueror¡­'' Leon shifted his attention to the giant pirs that impaled the ck Turtle God Beast.

    ''Who?''

    Suddenly, the ck Turtle God Beast''s red eyes snapped open shortly after sensing someone spying on it.

    ''Is it you, little brat?'' it immediately thought of the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter.

    However, Luna quickly denied, ''No, it wasn''t me! It was my master, the new owner of the Radiant Heaven Realmship, Grandpa Turtle!''

    ''Oh? A new owner? After all these years?'' the ck Turtle God Beast frowned.

    Unsurprisingly, Luna ratted him out of spite for staring at her naked true body in the divine crystal heart.

    At the same time, she wanted these two to meet.

    ''This little snitch¡­'' Leon''s lips twitched.

    Shortly after, he quickly fixed his expression before transmitting his greetings over, ''Hello, Senior. I am the Radiant Heaven Realmship''s new owner, Leon.''

    ''Are you a demon or a human?'' ck Turtle God Beast interrogated.

    Despite the great distance between their true bodies, Leon could immediately feel the pressure of the ck Turtle God Beast''s mighty aura.

    As he expected, the might of a Half-step True Divinity was no joke.

    ''I am a human, Senior¡­''

    Leon chose to answer with honesty despite sensing the ck Turtle God Beast''s intense hostility against humans.

    The ck Turtle God Beast hated humans, but he didn''t doubt that it hated a human''s lies and deceit even more.

    ''A human, huh? Good¡­ good¡­ good¡­!'' ck Turtle God Beast repeatedly uttered with increasing hostility, like a volcano that''s about to erupt. "How dare a mere human appear before me!"

    Leon immediately knew shits were serious when something had to be uttered thrice.

    However, he stood his ground and confronted the angry ck Turtle God Beast, ''I know you hate humans after what happened to you, Senior, but I am not like those humans.''

    ''Hah, how ridiculous! Since you know what happened, what makes you think this emperor will believe your words?!''

    ''Because I cultivate dark energy,'' Leon replied.

    The ck Turtle God Beast''s rampant aura suddenly stagnated after the ck Turtle God Beast heard his words.

    ''Is it true, little brat?''

    ''Yes, Grandpa Turtle.''

    After the ck Turtle God Beast sought Luna''s confirmation, she quickly replied honestly despite wanting to see more of Leon''s troubled face.

    Nevertheless, the ck Turtle God Beast fell silent, and the riled depths of the Bone Sea calmed down for the time being.

    ''Cultivating dark energy proves you are not an extremist, but that doesn''t tell this emperor anything about your nature. Unless you can also prove that, this emperor won''t acknowledge you as the new owner.''

    ''And why do I need your acknowledge when I''ve already be the new owner, you old fart? Who do you think you are? Do you want to get ejected?''

    Leon retorted in his mind, but he did not actually transmit the message to the ck Turtle God Beast.

 Chapter 839 - Black Turtleâ€™s Mental Illness

    Leon had to stay on the ck Turtle God Beast''s good side if he wanted to ask for some of its blood essences.

    However, he noticed the sea monsters at the bottom of the Bone Sea could feed on the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood essence and enjoy long lifespans.

    He might not necessarily need to ask the ck Turtle God Beast for its permission, lest he deems it a proper courtesy to do so.

    Nevertheless, before he could reply, Luna interjected, ''Grandpa Turtle, stop making things difficult! Either way, Leon is already the new owner, and it was you who said people who don''t discriminate against demons can be friends!''

    ''I did say that, yes, but you need to understand that ''can be'' doesn''t imply ''must be.'' If this human is untrustworthy, he is better off dead than alive,'' the ck Turtle God Beast replied.

    Leon could not help but frown.

    Just because he wanted to be on the ck Turtle God Beast''s good side, it doesn''t mean he had to lower himself to its whims.

    ''I don''t know what is going on, but I don''t need to prove anything to you. I thought we could be on good terms, but I''m losing interest in a rude old turtle like you, who only knows how to throw your weight around despite your current situation.''

    ''Hmph!'' the ck Turtle God Beast snorted.

    ''Showing your true self already, huh? How quick you are to change your attitude! Even if this emperor is trapped here, this emperor can still crush your spirit!''

    ''Don''t bother; you''ll only hurt yourself. And respect is earned, not given. Since you won''t reciprocate, I don''t see why I should continue showing you respect,'' Leon replied coolly.

    With the realm spirit''s omniscience, he could see that the ck Turtle God Beast was firmly nailed to the bottom of the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    It has no way of escaping unless someone capable removes the nine Godly Divine Needles from its body.

    ''Hmph! This human has too much pride! We cannot trust him!'' the ck Turtle God Beast''s eyes glinted with killing intent.

    But before it could send out a spiritual attack, Luna quickly interfered again, ''Grandpa Turtle, you need to calm down! You''re being too way agitated again! You need to cool yourself!''

    ''Perhaps, I am¡­'' the ck Turtle God Beast frowned, sensing its present behavior was unbing of its usual self.

    At the same time, Tak-si quickly spoke to Leon, ''Master, please go easy on Lord ck Turtle, and be a little more understanding. It is true that Lord ck Turtle has a grudge against humans, but he isn''t usually like this.''

    ''The Eternal Night Demon Empress''s dark energy has been influencing Lord ck Turtle for so long and made him more irritable and violent. Think of it like a mental illness, Master.''

    Neither Tak-si nor Luna wants the two sides to be hostile to each other; it doesn''t benefit anyone.

    ''I see¡­ so that was the case,'' Leon nodded with understanding before taking a step back and said, ''We''ll talk another time when Senior has calmed down.''

    The realm spirits felt relieved after both sides took a step back instead of escting their aggression.

    Although Leon didn''t fear the ck Turtle god Beast''s spiritual attacks, it was better for him if he wasn''t forced to reveal his Nihility Law.

    Shortly after, Leon withdrew his consciousness from the realm spirit''s omniscience and opened his eyes.

    ''Take me back to the surface, Tak-si,'' he ordered.

    ''Yes, Master.''

    Within moments,yers of spatial energy wrapped around Leon''s body before suddenly contracting, as if in an attempt to crush his body into nothing.

    In that instance, his body disappeared in the blink of an eye.

    ¡­

    On the surface, Darlene immediately sensed a spatial disturbance in her proximity, causing her expression to change to rm abruptly.

    ''Sister Aria, be careful! Something ising!'' Darlene quickly warned.

    The two immediately drew their weapons with vignt stances, alerting the rest of the dark faes in the process.

    Some distance away, manyyers of space unfolded like a blooming lotus before Leon''s figure appeared from it.

    Leon was immediately taken aback upon seeing all the weapons drawn against him.

    "Well, this is quite the warm wee," he uttered jokingly.

    "M-my Lord?" Nyfare and Saresha eximed with shock before urging their n members, "Quickly put away your weapons! How dare you point your weapons at the lord!"

    The dark faes immediatelyplied, but they wore unhappy expressions while they were at it.

    "But you also did it too¡­ Why are we taking all the me?" they mumbled sulkily.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon nced at Aria and Darlene''s surprised looks and said with a smile, "You two aren''t going to poke me with that sword and dagger of yours, are you?"

    After listening to his teasing tone, the twodies quickly snap out of their dazes and put away their weapons.

    "Did you finish your business down there already?" Aria asked with amazement.

    "Yeah, for the time being," Leon admitted with a nod before adding, "But there''s still much that I need to do."

    "Everything all good while I was gone?" he asked shortly after.

    "You were only gone for a few hours," Aria mentioned before saying, "What could have happened due to this short while? Though, I do find it to be a pity that I have no opponent to test my Sword Intent on."

    When Aria said that, she revealed a strong desire to fight.

    She wanted to know how strong she had be afterprehending her Sword Intent and Concept of Swiftness and Slowness.

    "There are plenty of opponents in the Bone Sea; you''ll definitely find a chance there even if the chance doesn''t find its way here to us," Leon replied with a smile.

    However, he suddenly frowned in the next moment.

    "But the water pressure in the depths of the Bone Sea would be too much for your present body to handle. Do you want to train it like Darlene?" he inquired.

    "Can I?" Aria reveals interest in the matter.

    However, shortly after, she knits her brows and asks, "Will it affect your cultivation?"

    "How can it?" Leon replied.

    Even if it were true, he wouldn''t admit it.

 Chapter 840 - Visiting The Seafloor

    "This method is the Godfiend Body Forging Method; it is supposedly the most widespread and standard method for body cultivation."

    Leon began to exin after transmitting the knowledge into her mind.

    "Although the Dark Fae n and Darlene all practice this standard method, this only continues until I find a more suitable method for everyone to switch over."

    "Body Cultivation is a path only for the diligent. Even if you have a good physique for Body Cultivation, it doesn''t mean anything if you cannot endure the pain. Thus, diligence is the only real talent needed in Body Cultivation."

    Of course, this is only true when cultivation resource for Body Cultivation is not a problem.

    After Leon finished running Aria through the general overview on Body Cultivation, he shifted his attention to the Dark Fae n.

    "You did well to guard this ce. We will set up a camp and cultivate here. You may rx until I set up another medicine bath for all of you," he stated to them.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfare and her n members answered.

    Fortunately, there was plenty of ce behind the rock walls.

    After Leon set up the medicine bath, he restocked on their reserves of Tier-3 Healing Water with the Tier-7 Golden Grail.

    s, he had to reset the timer on the Golden Grail again.

    In order not to rely on the Tier-7 Golden Grail again until he finishes reviewing all its functions, he used the nearby river water and filled the medicine bath entirely in Tier-3 Healing Water.

    "Do you still have enough demon core for your cultivation?" he asked Nyfare shortly after.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfare quickly answered with a nod before adding further, "The remaining demon cores willst us for a while, but it is also true that it''s less than half of what we had at the start."

    "Less than half?" Leon muttered with a frown.

    To think that more than half of the hundreds of Lesser and Great Demon-level demon cores he obtained was only enough to get the Dark Fae n halfway through the Primordial Body Tempering Realm.

    The Dark Fae n''s conversion of dark energy into fleshly strength was also terrible.

    But then again, dark energy wasn''t supposed to be used for tempering the fleshly body; there were other elements more suited for tempering the fleshly body.

    Of course, True Grandmist Energy tops the list, butpared to dark energy, there were better alternatives like fire and lightning.

    "I''m sorry we failed to live up to your expectation, my Lord."

    Nyfare lowered her head in apology, thinking Leon was disappointed with the Dark Fae n''sck of progress despite their high consumption of demon core energy.

    "No need to apologize. It was my mistake to give you the wrong approach. I will revise the Dark Fae n''s cultivationter. But for now, start forging your bones with the demon cores'' energy instead," Leon stated.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfareplied.

    The Dark Fae n had an affinity with darkness, so how could dark energy produce good results in their fleshly tempering when it does little harm to their body?

    The Dark Fae n''s progress was astonishing if Leon thought about it.

    ''If they can reach the minimum of Rank 5 Body Tempering, how far can they go if they were to temper their bodies in fire or lightning instead?'' he wondered.

    Perhaps the Dark Fae n actually has great talents for Body Cultivation.

    After settling the dark faes'' matter, Leon returned to inform Aria and Darlene of his intention to leave again.

    "I''m going to head over to the Bone Sea alone for a short while. Help me take care of things here for me. If anything big happens, alert the realm spirit, and I wille back immediately."

    "Mmm, I will."

    Aria nodded obediently, knowing she wouldn''t be able to follow him into the depths of the Bone Sea with her fragile body.

    Leon smiled at her understanding before ncing at Darlene.

    "I will stay and cultivate," Darlene replied before he could say anything.

    She knew he wasn''t nning to take anyone along on his trip, but it was also fine with her; she wanted to further her Spatial Law''sprehension.

    "Alright," Leon nodded with a smile before saying, "Then, I''ll be off."

    "Mm, be careful."

    "I will."

    Shortly after promising them, Leon instructed the realm spirit to teleport him to the bottom of the Bone Sea.

    Swoosh!

    Layers of spatial energy wrapped around his body once more, and before long, his figure disappeared from Aria and Darlene''s sight in the blink of an eye.

    ¡­

    In the next moment, his body quickly plunged into the bottommost depths of the Bone Sea, and an enormous pressure quickly bore down on his body and organs.

    However, his outer and inner defenses could withstand the water pressure without a problem.

    More importantly, he discovered the enormity of the Peak Arch Demon-level sea monsters at the bottom of Bone Sea.

    The glowing vegetation in the region revealed all of their enormous figures as clearly as daytime.

    ''Hm? It seems like these Peak Arch Demon-level sea monsters are not interested in me,'' Leon quickly noticed.

    He felt a bit of relief at the discovery.

    Given his present strength, he was far from being a match for these behemoths, which may very well be wielding strengths nearing the 100-million jin mark.

    However, he was not without his trump cards if he had to deal with them.

    ''How particr¡­ Why aren''t they interested in me? Am I too small to fill their stomach? Given their strength and age, they should have developed their spiritual intelligence¡­ but that doesn''t seem to be the case¡­''

    While studying the Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monster, he held his breath underwater.

    Although he was also curious about their bloodline and how his cultivation could benefit from them, he had no intention of attacking the behemoths.

    ''It''s better not to rile the ho''s nest for now¡­'' he decided.

    Just the Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters aren''t hostile; it didn''t mean that they''ll stay docile if he attacked them.

    Shortly after, Leon shifted his attention to the spirit herbs growing on the seafloor.

    The abundant lifeforce in the region also caught his attention.

 Chapter 841 - Tier-6 Divine Herb

    The moment Leon locked onto the glowing spirit herbs growing on the seafloor, his eyes beamed with wonder

    ''This quality¡­ they''re Tier-5 Spirit Herbs¡­!'' he mentally eximed.

    He brought himself closer and inspected each stalk of spirit herb before a blueish-green flower that glowed brighter than the others caught his attention.

    ''This is¡­ a Tier-6 Divine Herb¡­!''

    Leon wanted to suck in a deep breath after discovering a Tier-6 Divine Herb, but he couldn''t breathe underwater, nor could he hold his breath for too long.

    ''I need some air,'' his eyes flickered.

    He summoned a Nihility Barrier around himself in the next moment and dispersed all the seawater into countless strands of energy for him to absorb, including air.

    Swish!

    However, Leon underestimated just how terrifying the water pressure could be.

    With such a mass body of seawater pressing down on his Nihility Barrier, the quantity of seawater getting reduced into energy reached an unprecedented level!

    Strands of True Grandmist Energy, among multiple other types of energy like dark, life, wood, water, earth, and spirit, flooded into his body.

    Any average person would have immediately exploded from absorbing excessive amounts of energy, but his ck Vortex Space devoured everything with a bottomless appetite.

    Within several moments, he had already umted hundreds of wisps of True Grandmist Energy!

    His present speed of umting True Grandmist Energy was easily tens of times faster than when he was digging through thend in the western region!

    "What a pleasant discovery. I didn''t expect this at all," Leon eximed.

    With this kind of umtion speed, he had sharply cut down the required time for gathering the True Grandmist Energy he needed!

    Nevertheless, Leon did not lose himself in the moment.

    He connected himself to the realm spirit''s omniscience and surveyed the sea level of the Bone Sea on the surface.

    Even though the Bone Sea was losingrge quantities of seawater to him right at that moment, there were hardly any changes in the sea level.

    The Boundless Sea from outside quickly filled up missing bodies of water in the Bone Sea via the river channels!

    After several dozens of breaths, Leon''s umtion of True Grandmist Energy had reached the thousands of wisps!

    If he could, he wanted to keep going until his ck Vortex Space fattened up to the brim!

    s, it didn''t take long before the Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters in the bottom region of the Bone Sea finally paid attention to his presence¡ªor rather, it was the presence of True Grandmist Energy that caught their attention.

    They didn''t understand what it was, but they were subconsciously drawn to it¡ªas if their instincts were telling them that the True Grandmist Energy could help them evolve into higher-level beings.

    Nevertheless, Leon decisively dispersed his Nihility Barrier and absorbed everyst wisp of True Grandmist Energy into his body.

    When the only source of Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters'' attraction disappeared, they halted their advance and resumed their idle life in the depth of the Bone Sea.

    ''It looks like these sea monsters aren''t very intelligent,'' Leon assumed while studying a Peak Arch Demon-level octopus.

    ''Beasts and demons at this level would have already awakened their spiritual intelligence, but these sea monsters are different. Despite living for so long, it seemed their intelligence had degraded instead.''

    At least, that was what he felt, but he couldn''t be too sure.

    It was as if the Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters were no longer capable of thought and moved solely on its most basic instincts to live.

    Another way of looking at it is that the Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters were operating in power-saving modes to expend the least about of their energy.

    ''Are they nearing the ends of their lifespans?'' Leon wondered.

    If it was true, there might be chances for him to obtain their blood essences without fighting them for it.

    However, he couldn''t be so sure if the blood essences of a sea monster that died of natural causes would still be useful or not.

    After all, there shouldn''t be any lifeforce left if the sea monster''s lifespan expires.

    ''What if these Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters'' lifespan has already expired, but the ck Turtle God Beast''s vibrant lifeforce is keeping them alive, hence their zombie-like state?'' Leon spected.

    He could see that traces of the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood flowed out from the nine giant pirs impaled in the seafloor.

    Thanks to the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood, all the vegetation he sees on the seafloor flourished.

    He swam over to the foot of a pir and collected some samples of the bloodsoaked sand before extracting a few drops of the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood from it and storing most of them in a ss bottle.

    Given the Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters'' attraction to the True Grandmist Energy, he couldn''t use the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood to temper his flesh with it.

    He would most likely end up in one of the Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monster''s bellies if he attempted to do so.

    ''I''ll just refine this drop of ck Turtle God Beast blood for my Evesting Blood Mantra,'' he decided on thest drop of blood he didn''t store away.

    A few momentster, he finished infusing the refined product, the ck Turtle Origin Blood, into his bloodstream.

    Leon''s eyes flickered after sensing his body''s changes.

    It was just a single drop of ck Turtle Origin Blood, but he felt like his lifespan extended by a few hundred years.

    At the same time, his regeneration ability improved further.

    ''How potent¡­'' he was astonished by the result.

    ''However, I shouldn''t just focus on the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood; this entire ce is a holynd of healing medicine.''

    Leon shifted his attention back to the plethora of spirit herbs on the seafloor.

    ''Although these Tier-5 Spirit Herbs are mainly all spirit herbs with healing properties, if I can refine them into Tier-5 recovery pills, I will no longer have to worry about anyone losing their limbs,'' he mused.

    If he uses the Tier-6 Divine Herb, he could even help Mia regrow her missing organ.

 Chapter 842 - Ancient Crocodileâ€™s Mighty Roar

    Leon thought about the list of recovery medicine he could refine with Tier-5 Spirit Herbs and above before moving into action, harvesting all the spirit herbs and renting them in his Worldspace.

    More than one Tier-6 Divine Herb was found on the seafloor, but he left them forst.

    ''Tier-6 Divine Herbs are much more potent than Tier-5 Spirit Herbs, but they are also more delicate,'' Leon mused.

    He had no choice but to admit that the seafloor was a blessednd iparable to the Sacred Garden in his Worldspace.

    The abundant life energy nurtured many high-quality spirit herbs and even divine herbs, which, in turn, would produce plenty of spirit energy and further bless the seafloor in the region.

    Just a moment ago, he had quickly collected a few thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy, but the same applied to life energy and spirit energy.

    Given the vibrant lifeforce and vitality provided by his ever-improving blood and viscera, Leon had no use for the few thousand wisps of life energy he acquired.

    Thus, Leon unloaded his life energy reserve into the Sacred Garden to improve its soil''s ability to nurture the spirit herbs.

    As for the spirit energy, he fed it all to the Divine Book of Life itself, hoping it would help Maya, the artifact spirit, to recover her consciousness.

    s, he received no response from Maya even after waiting for a while.

    ''Seems like this much spirit energy isn''t enough, huh? Well, there''s no rush¡­ There''s still plenty of life energy and spirit energy in this sea region¡­'' Leon mused.

    The Divine Book of Life was not only his father''s memento but also a divine artifact among divine artifacts; he''d definitely prioritize its restoration over the realmship.

    ''If I can awaken Maya, she should be able to use True Grandmist Energy to repair the Divine Book of Life¡­''

    ''I wouldn''t becking high-quality spirit herbs and divine herbs if I can restore the Divine Book of Life''s full potential¡ªor so I believe... Father didn''t exactly hand me an instruction manual when he transferred the Divine Book of Life to me¡­''

    Leon recalled his father with a self-deprecating and sad smile.

    Nevertheless, he didn''t dwell on his memories and continued to harvest the herbs on the seafloor, renting them all in the Sacred Garden.

    With the Tier-5 Spirit Herbs disappearing one by one, the seafloor started to lose its green brilliance and slowly darkened.

    Even so, he had only collected a tiny fraction of the thousands of herbs found along the seafloor; one ce darkened, but the other areas remain illuminated.

    However, as he worked his way to the other areas, they also darkened.

    Swish!

    Leon immediately felt arge movement in the water before detecting the Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters'' agitated states.

    It would be strange if the decrease in life and spirit energy didn''t affect them.

    Roar!

    The mighty roar of a Peak Arch Demon-level Ancient Crocodile sent reverberating sound waves throughout the sea region like ripples.

    Although the Ancient Crocodile didn''t directly roar at Leon, he felt like he was struck by mountains over and over again, shaking up his internal organs.

    Pfft!

    Leon coughed up a mouthful of blood after being injured by the powerful sounds waves that shook his body and soul.

    He bled from his nose, ears, and eyes.

    His face paled with weakness, but it didn''t take long before his blood quickly worked itself, allowing him to recover from his internal injuries.

    Within moments, hisplexion returned to normal.

    However, his head continued to ring, and he couldn''t hear anything else around him; the sound waves had deafened him.

    Fortunately, it was a temporary effect.

    After several minutes quickly passed, Leon regained his senses and health.

    ''As expected of a Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monster¡­ Even it was an indirect attack, it can still injure me to such a state¡­''

    Leon wiped his lips with a thumb while gazing at the Peak Arch Demon-level Ancient Crocodile in the distance with lingering fear.

    ''Fortunately, I consolidated my viscera earlier. Otherwise, Ancient Crocodile''s sound waves alone would have been enough to kill me¡­''

    Paragon-level existences were not to be underestimated.

    Shortly after, Leon furrowed his brows.

    ''If I want to continue harvesting the herbs, I have to deal with these powerful sea monsters. However, I am too weak to deal with them personally¡­ and if I use the realmship''s spatial power to remove them from the realmship, I won''t be able to obtain their blood¡­'' he mused.

    Nevertheless, it''s not like the herbs will run away if he leaves them for the time being; the Sacred Garden couldn''t nurture the Tier-6 Divine Herbs with its present level either way.

    ''I''ve already collected a few hundred stalks of Tier-5 Spirit Herbs¡­ I can collect the restter when I am more capable¡­ For now, I should focus on umting True Grandmist Energy and refine the rest of the Purple Coatl Dragon Blood¡­'' Leon decided.

    However, he can''t do that with so many Peak Arch Demon-level Sea Monsters around, but he can still move to a different sea region to do so.

    ''Duna shouldn''t be too far from here. I reckon that Ancient Crocodile''s roar would have alerted her,'' Leon thought.

    After he used the realm spirit''s omniscience to check on her location, he found it was indeed the case; themotion had attracted Duna.

    She was roughly a dozen miles away.

    Nevertheless, his air supply was running out again, so he summoned the Nihility Barrier for a short instance to catch his breath and simultaneously collected hundreds of new energy wisps.

    Shortly after, he kicked against the water and headed towards Duna''s location.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at roughly 5000ft depth, Arch Demons from the Starfall Dominion''s Nine Great ns were alerted by the sound wave that reached them from the depths of the Bone Sea.

    "What did you guys think that sound was?" a female ck Jackal Arch Demon sought the other Arch Demons'' opinion.

    "The roar of an existence none of us can hope to defeat even if webine our strengths," answered the one with the best underwater, a Three-Headed Serpent Arch Demon.

    "It''s that powerful, Lord Serpas? Can you guess how strong it is, exactly?"

 Chapter 843 - The Arch Demonsâ€™ Greed

    "How is it possible for me to know how powerful the thing down there is?" the Three-headed Serpent Arch Demon, Lord Serpas, responded.

    "We are nowhere close to the bottom of the Bone Sea, but these Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters already have us pinned here. Can you imagine much stronger the sea monsters down there are?"

    "Probably around the Peak-rank Arch Demon-level; it wouldn''t surprise me," a ck Jackal Arch Demon replied.

    "However, the Bone Sea''s depths had always been rtively unknown. Why would there be a suddenmotion now?"

    "Clearly, something happened down there; but what happened down there is the real question," said Yakshan, the Evil Eye Arch Demon.

    "Could the humans have reached the seafloor before us?" a Red-Horned Orc Arch Demon made a wild assumption, but the other Arch Demons didn''t take it kindly.

    "Your jokes aren''t even funny, Lord Rakhama," Serpas snorted and said, "How is it possible for humans to reach the seafloor when we can''t even surpass the 10-thousand feet depth?"

    "Does that even make sense?"

    "No, but not everything needs to," said Rakhama, the Red-Horned Orc Arch Demon, "Sense is only rtive to what we understand and not what we don''t know."

    "What doesn''t make sense to use could make sense to others because they know what we don''t know, or we don''t know what they know."

    "Speak properly; I don''t speak riddles," Serpas said displeasedly.

    Nevertheless, the Arch Demons of the Nine Great ns remained divided in their opinions.

    Without hard proof regarding the truth of the seafloor, none of their assumptions held any weight over the others.

    "Enough! This is getting us nowhere!" Yakshan said snappishly.

    "We don''t have time to be deliberating over something we know little to nothing, especially when the sea monster tide could erupt at any time. We came here to strengthen ourselves, not to argue among ourselves!"

    "Lord Yakshan is right," the ck Jackal Arch Demon agreed.

    "ck Jackal Elders, heed my orders! Grab a sea monster corpse and let''s go; we are heading back to the surface to replenish our air supply!"

    "Yes, n Leader!" the other ck Jackal Arch Demonsplied.

    Shortly after, the ck Jackal Arch Demons collected all the corpses of the Arch Demon-level sea monsters they killed and made their way back to the surface.

    Even if they couldn''t reach the Demon King-level Tombs, the sea monsters'' flesh and red cores provided them with sufficient resources for improvement.

    "Evil Eye Elders, we''re heading back too! Grab our spoils and follow me!" Yakshan ordered before leaving after the ck Jackal n.

    One by one, the Arch Demons of the Nine Great n left with their spoils while the living Arch Demon-level sea monsters tailed after them.

    Nevertheless, it was easier to resurface than to submerge in the depths of the Bone Sea.

    It didn''t take long before the Arch Demons left the sea region of Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters and entered the sea region of Greater Demon-level sea monsters.

    The other Greater Demons of the Nine Great ns quickly spotted their n leaders and elders returning.

    "My Lords, you''ve returned!" they greeted their respective n elders and leaders.

    "If you have something to say, say itter; we''re heading back to the surface first," Yakshan said to the Greater Demons of his Evil Eye n.

    "Yes, n Leader."

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, the Nine Great ns resurfaced from the depths of the Bone Sea.

    However, the Arch Demon n Leaders and Elders quickly noticed something off after returning to the sea surface.

    The number of demons had considerably declined, whether it was the Lesser Demons or the Greater Demons in their ranks.

    Even some of the newly ascended Arch Demons were missing.

    "Where is that brat, Teshafir?" Serpas interrogated his Three-Headed Serpent n.

    "Lord Teshafir led an army of demons to the east region with Lord Grunganir and Lord Kaligan to investigate a strange phenomenon and didn''t return ever since, n Leader."

    Three-Headed Serpent Greater Demon informed him before mentioning, "More importantly, we''ve received news of a Noble Demon from the west side."

    "What?! A Noble Demon? Are you sure?" Serpas questioned with a deep tone.

    At the same time, multiple pairs of Arch Demon eyes turned sharp and solemn at once after overhearing the Three-Headed Serpent Greater Demon''s report.

    "That is what I have been told, my Lord," the Greater Demon confirmed.

    "What kind of Noble Demon was it? Is it a Noble Demon from the Holy Demon Land?"

    "ording to my source, Lesser Demon Helshan, it was a human¡ªa human that became a Noble Demon, no less. He also spected that the human may have gotten his hand on the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance."

    The atmosphere suddenly became heavy after the report ended.

    "A non-demonborn human that became a Noble Demon¡­ If it''s the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance, it might be possible¡­" Serpas muttered a deep frown.

    In truth, no one even knew what the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance contained; the demons only believed it would give them unparalleled power and authority over other demons.

    "Everyone should have heard it; what do you all think about this news?" Serpas sought the other Arch Demons'' opinion.

    "Even if the Noble Demon didn''t obtain the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s inheritance, a Noble Demon isn''t someone we can ignore."

    "Therefore, I propose we organize a team to lead the investigation¡ªand not just any team, but the strongest team possible. We can''t underestimate a Noble Demon''s strength," said an Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon.

    "I concur," Yakshan voiced his stance before adding with an evil grin, "A Noble Demon that isn''t from the Holy Demon Land isn''t to be feared and may even benefit us¡ªif you catch my meaning."

    Multiple pairs of eyes sparkled with interest and greed at once.

    "Kekeke, I am the n leader of the ck Jackal n. You won''t find a stronger ck Jackal than me to join the investigation team," the ck Jackal n Leader said, volunteering himself for the job.

    A Noble Demon''s bloodline¡­ there''s no way he will miss out on something like that!

 Chapter 844 - Dunaâ€™s Knowledge

    While the Nine Great ns were nning Leon''s capture, he reunited with Duna on the seafloor.

    The moment Duna''s eyes fell onto Leon''s figure, she immediately halted her movement with surprise, not expecting to find him in such a ce.

    "What are you doing here? No, how are you here, Leon?" Duna asked with wide eyes.

    "I can ask you the same thing," Leon replied with a smile.

    Nevertheless, he knew that she knew he knew it wasn''t a problem for her to reach the seafloor with her abilities.

    As such, he shortly changed the topic, "Girl, you look rather frustrated. Just what are you trying to aplish down here? Don''t tell me you were trying to find the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s tomb?"

    "Eternal Night Demon¡­ Empress? So you also know about her," Duna uttered after the quick realization.

    "That''s right," she admitted with a nod, "I was looking for the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s tomb, not for some noble goal like stopping the demons from getting it first, of course."

    "Given your character, I''m pretty sure that isn''t the case," Leon nodded before asking her, "But why did you disappear on your own? I had no idea what could have happened to you until now."

    "And yet it doesn''t seem to surprise you to run into me here," Duna casually replied, noticing the subtle detail. "Well, since you sound like you know my character so well, you should also know that I''m not interested in babysitting your chicks."

    "This is a secret realm, and opportunities wait for no one. I am better off searching for opportunities on my own; anything I find will be imed as my own. I wouldn''t need to deal with any conflict of interest in the division of spoils."

    After listening to Duna''s reason, Leon smiled wryly yet also helplessly.

    She is a headstrong woman¡ªand perhaps also the most headstrong woman out of everyone he knew.

    She wasn''t interested in being a flower vase.

    She had all the knowledge she needed to cultivate into a strong being and did not need to follow him around.

    As he ran out of air, he summoned the Nihility Barrier and replenished himself, surprising Duna in the process.

    She watched Leon devour numerous wisps of True Grandmist Energy, among other types of energy with astonishment.

    "You¡­ You never cease to surprise me, Leon," Dunaplimented.

    Leon smiled slightly in response.

    "Considering you are looking for the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s tomb, you must have something you need from it," Leon mentioned before asking, "What is it that you need from there?"

    "How much do you know about the Eternal Night Demon Empress?" Duna replied with a question of her own.

    "The Eternal Night Demon Empress is a True Divinity''s descendent, and she was also a powerful Demon Emperor, who could stand her ground against Half-step True Divinities," Leon stated some simple truths.

    Nevertheless, it was enough to surprise Duna.

    "Oh?" Duna softly eximed before saying, "You''ve done a bit of research since we''ve entered this secret realm."

    "That''s right; the Eternal Night Demon Empress is a descendant of a True Divinity, whom I suspect is the Eternal Night Devil Empress. But have you ever wondered how that is possible when there are no more True Divinities in this present era?"

    "There aren''t any living True Divinities in this present era? Are you sure?" Leon repeated with astonishment.

    Given the sheer amount of primordial heritage he could find on a single, he had been under the impression that he was in the legendary God Realm, or at the very least, the graveyard of god and devils.

    "Of course, I am sure. Who do you think you''re asking?" Duna nonchntly replied.

    "Nevertheless, it seems like you know nothing, so I will just go ahead and show you just how little you know about the world."

    "Even though the Great War destroyed both the gods and devils, whether it was their body or soul, they are still evesting beings. Their wills are eternal, so they cannot experience true death and part from existence forever."

    "Whether it is you or me, all living beings are essentially pieces of gods or devils. Even everything you see about the current world was all formed by the gods and devils'' shattered bodies and spiritual seas."

    "Think of it as the Second Big Bang. Since gods and devils were essentially made of True Grandmist Energy, it isn''t strange for their remains to form new celestial bodies like at the beginning of time when True Grandmist Energy exploded into being and swept throughout Primal Chaos."

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered with a thoughtful look.

    He understood why Awakeners couldprehend thews easier than the denizens of the Divine Realm, but he never understood why the world itself seemed sentient.

    However, he finally understood after hearing the missing piece of information from Duna.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s eyes suddenly flickered.

    "Didn''t you awaken more memories from your devil soul fragment? Also, it''s been days since west met, but you show no signs of craving blood¡­" Leon mentioned.

    "This means you must have grown quite a bit, but how much blood did you drink? Did you kill a lot of humans?"

    "This¡­ Well, I did kill a fair bit of humans and demons... But they all deserved it," Duna replied before asking him, "You''re not going to me, are you?"

    "How can I? I have also killed some humans on this trip," Leon scratched his head wryly in response.

    However, he was afraid that the number of humans he killed couldn''t bepared to Duna at all.

    Nevertheless, he did not dwell on it; there were other things on his mind.

    "When all is said and done, I still don''t understand what you need from the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s tomb and how she can be a True Divinity''s descendent when there are no more living True Divinities in this world¡­"

    "Oh, right¡­ I haven''t answered this, have I? It is all your fault that I got sidetracked," Duna med him for it.

    Leon was stunned before he replied, "This is my fault? How is this my fault?"

    "Because you''re too ignorant and don''t know anything, so I had to exin it to you!" Duna stated unreasonably.

    After hearing that, Leon''s lips twitched.

 Chapter 845 - The Demon Empressâ€™s Origins

    If Duna didn''t further awaken her devil soul fragment''s memories, she wouldn''t have known these things either.

    Nevertheless, there was no ''what if,'' and the truth is that she knew and he didn''t; simple as that.

    Even so, it was not a big deal, so he simply epted the fault without excuses.

    However, Duna suddenly closed the gap between them and took him by surprise with a peck on his left cheek.

    Although the underwater feeling diminished the sensation somewhat, he could still Duna''s soft lips.

    "What was this for?" Leon asked.

    "Well, it''s true that I didn''t get to see you for a few days¡­ so¡ªAh, why do I need to exin this? Idiot," Duna suddenly spat without finishing what she nned to say. "Don''t get dickstracted now."

    "Anyway, the only way True Divinities can still have descendants in this age is if some of their blood essence or flesh survived the destruction of the Great War. I''m not sure if you know, but some True Divinities can regenerate their entire bodies from a single drop of blood."

    "However, it''s useless to regenerate if their soul fragmented into countless pieces and scattered across the starry skies; they wouldn''t be conscious enough to control their regenerated bodies."

    "Thus, their regenerated bodies basically be soulless clones that anyone can use as they please once they get their hands on them."

    "In other words, the Eternal Night Demon Empress is an offspring of the Eternal Night Devil Empress''s clone?" Leon presumed after listening up to that point.

    "Essentially, yes," Duna nodded before saying, "But don''t forget that the True Divinities'' clones can all be considered the True Divinities'' true bodies. So, offspring born from them will¡ª"

    "¡ªWill carry the True Divinities'' bloodlines," Leonpleted her sentence before his eyes flickered with realization.

    "Since you''re at a stage that requires blood to evolve, you want to use the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s blood to improve your Devil Spirit Physique?"

    "That''s right," Duna nodded.

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered with understanding before suddenly shaking his head. "Unfortunately, I can''t let you do that."

    "Hm? Why not?" Duna narrowed her eyes with a frown.

    "Because one of the realm spirits is the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter, and the Eternal Night Demon Empress is still alive," Leon exined.

    Although a few drops of blood won''t affect the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s current condition, Luna will never let anyone harm her mother in any way.

    At that moment, Luna was already alerted and wary of Duna.

    "The Eternal Night Demon Empress is alive?" Duna was astonished by the news before her eyes widened further.

    "Hold on. Did you just mention a realm spirit? There''s a realm spirit in this secret realm? And it''s even the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter?"

    Even if her wealth of knowledge, Duna was baffled by the revtion.

    "Yeah, this isn''t just any normal secret realm; we are inside of a realmship called the Radiant Heaven Realmship," Leon informed her.

    However, the piece of information only made Duna even more confused.

    "The Radiant Heaven Realmship¡­? The tool made by the Radiant Heaven God-Emperor? That extremist? How can its realm spirit be the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter? It doesn''t make any sense¡­" Duna muttered.

    She shed Leon a suspicious look, thinking he was messing with her, only to receive his wry smile and affirmation.

    "It''s true. There''s a reason for this."

    Shortly after, Leon exined how Luna became one with the realm spirit through the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s miraculous means, which he has yet to understand.

    "So the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s blood is off-limits¡­ fine, I promise I won''t touch her," Duna noddedpliantly with understanding.

    However, she suddenly adds, "But the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter''s blood should be okay, right?"

    "You really want to obtain that Devil Empress''s bloodline, huh? Is my True Grandmist Energy not enough for you?" Leon asked wryly.

    He isn''t sure if it is even possible to extract blood from Luna''s true body when it is trapped inside the divine crystal heart.

    Damaging the divine crystal heart was thest thing he wanted to happen.

    Nevertheless, Duna suddenly paused in silent contemtion for a moment before answering, "It''s enough, but are you sure you have enough True Grandmist Energy to cover my Devil Spirit Physique''s improvement?"

    "You have seen for yourself, so what do you think? I''ll give you as many wisps of True Grandmist Energy as you require," Leon replied with a confident smile.

    Recalling what happened earlier, Duna had to admit that Leon did have the means to supply her with as many wisps of True Grandmist Energy as required.

    "However, I draw too much attention when I''m producing True Grandmist Energy. If you can keep the sea monsters away, I can keep producing True Grandmist Energy without an issue," Leon added.

    "My spiritual attacks don''t have much effect on Peak Arch Demon-level sea monsters with my present soul strength, but if I make a breakthrough to the next level, I should have no problem keeping them away," Duna stated.

    "What do you need for that to happen? What level is your current strength?" Leon asked curiously.

    He couldn''t see through her strength; it was as if Duna was purposely hiding her cultivation from him.

    Nevertheless, Duna casually answered, "My cultivation¡­ I''m not really sure what it is myself, but my soul strength should be equivalent to a Low-rank Arch Demon in physical strength or so¡­ I just need more souls to consume."

    When Leon heard that, his lips twitched a few times.

    It became apparent to him that all the humans and demons who crossed her path didn''t just get their blood sucked, but even their souls weren''t spared.

    More importantly, her speed of improvement was startling.

    ''Is this the difference between a person who has awakened a True Divinity''s soul fragment and another person who hasn''t?'' Leon mused.

    Recalling Darlene''s cultivation leap after her Transcendence, he could help but wonder if it was also possible for him to awaken his soul fragment.

    ''The stronger a soul fragment is, the earlier and easier it is to awaken¡­ Does this mean I have a weak soul fragment?''

    Leon wondered.

 Chapter 846 - A Possible Soul Realm

    "Will the souls of sea monsters suffice?" Leon inquired.

    "All types of souls will help me improve, but it also depends on their quality. It will take a lot of sea monster souls to achieve any significant improvement, especially if it''s only the souls of Lesser Demon-level sea monsters," Duna answered.

    "How many souls are we looking at, though? Do you have an estimate for Lesser Demon-level sea monster souls?"

    "We''re probably looking around 10-million souls if they''re only Lesser Demon-level sea monsters," Duna casually replied after a brief moment of contemtion.

    However, Leon''s lips twitched upon hearing such a high number.

    "That''s quite a high number of souls¡­" Leon rubbed his forehead with a wry smile.

    "Fortunately, the Bone Sea has quite a lot of sea monsters¡­ So we can aim for some Greater Demon-level sea monsters and maybe even some weak Arch Demon-level sea monsters¡­" he added.

    Nevertheless, Leon could not help but feel conflicted.

    Even if the lives of sea monsters didn''t concern him, the method of sacrificing the souls of others to improve one''s soul seemed rather evil.

    "Unfortunately, there aren''t many ways to cultivate the soul efficiency, and even then, they aren''t considered true soul cultivation methods; it''s not possible to keep a pure soul when cultivating it."

    Duna spoke after reading his thoughts.

    "A true soul cultivation method doesn''t exist¡ªor at the very least, the gods and devils in the primordial era never figured one out," Leon added with a wry smile.

    He remembered conversing on the topic with Maya.

    "That''s right," Duna nodded and said, "True soul cultivations methods don''t exist, or rather, they can''t exist. After all, no one can change the very source of existence they are born without dying."

    "Unless you can die and revive yourself as you please, it''s not possible to cultivate a pure soul," she stated.

    After hearing that, Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    "Is it truly impossible, though? I thought the True Divinities are evesting? They can die and revive themselves, no?" he wondered.

    However, Duna shook her head.

    "It''s not the same; I''m talking about a true death of the soul, and that doesn''t apply to True Divinities. As you said, True Divinities are evesting, existing eternally; when their souls shatter, they remain in the world, never disappearing."

    Leon felt pained when he had to recall his father''s true death.

    Duna noticed his mood and decided to quickly wrap up the topic, "Anyways, a soul can''t experience a true death ande back. Once it''s gone, it''s gone for good."

    "I don''t think so," Leon suddenly said with a hint of confidence as his eyes brightened.

    However, Duna furrowed her brows with confusion, not knowing where he suddenly gained his source of confidence.

    "This might sound harsh, but I wasn''t stating an opinion; I was stating the truth," she reiterated.

    "And who determined the truths? You? The True Divinities?" Leon questioned her before adding, "They may have been the forerunners, the supremes, and the wisest in the pursuit of knowledge and cultivation, but that is it."

    "Did the True Divinities believe reversing matter in True Grandmist Energy was possible? They didn''t; only Hegemon Primal Madness believed it was possible," he stated.

    At the very least, that is what he believed.

    Otherwise, what other reasons could Hegemon Primal Madness have for creating the Hegemon of Primal Chaos technique?

    Duna nced at Leon''s firm look before she conceded helplessly and asked, "Do you have some basis for your belief at least, Leon?"

    "Of course," Leon nodded as if it was natural for him to do so.

    "I don''t know whether I am the first, the second, or whatnot, but since Iprehended Nihility, my understanding of nothingness is above everyone else."

    "I see¡­ Go on," Duna urged, sensing he was onto something.

    "Only Nihility can reduce anything into nothingness. All other powers can only transform them into imperceptible forms. Just because we can no longer see or sense them, it doesn''t mean they no longer exist."

    "Thus, I believe after experiencing true death, a person''s soul travels to a different realm¡ªa soul realm that not even True Divinities can perceive or reach."

    "How is that any different from being impossible?" Duna said with knitted brows.

    "It''s different, of course. The difference between zero possibility and a slight possibilitypletely changes everything," Leon replied.

    "True Divinities couldn''t touch upon the realm, but what about Beyond True Divinity? And if Beyond True Divinity isn''t enough, then perhaps the realm even beyond that; there''s bound to be a level of existence that can touch upon the realm of those lost souls."

    Even if everything he said seemed nonsensical and out of reach, he will not, shall not, and cannot stop believing that it''s possible.

    So long as the possibility is there, he will always have hope of bringing his father back from the realm of true death.

    Duna''s eyes flickered as she looked at Leon.

    No matter how crazy he sounded, she should never stop nor discourage him from pursuing his dream and ambition.

    "As much as I want to believe such realms and possibilities exist, we are still far from reaching that level. Forget about the True Divinity Realm; we are not even Celestials," Duna reminded.

    Dreams are nice, but they shouldn''t lose sight of reality.

    "This is why we have to work hard to cultivate and prove that such realms exist," Leon said with a determined look.

    Revenge was his driving force to live, but what happens after revenge?

    He would feel empty and bitter.

    However, it''s different if he still had hope of bringing his father back; it''ll keep him going after his revenge.

    "Come, I''ll take you to hunt sea monsters right now!"

    Leon suddenly grabbed Duna''s wrist while swimming towards the surface, causing her to sh him a puzzled look.

    "But we are already moving at our quickest pace," she stated.

    "I''ll show you an even faster way of traveling," Leon replied with a smile before calling for the realm spirit''s service, "Tak-si, take us to the Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monster region."

    "Yes, Master," Tak-si answered.

    In a short instance, Leon and Duna''s figures disappeared from the deep depths of the Bone Sea and reappeared roughly 8000 feet below sea level.

    Duna was greatly astonished after the discovery.

 Chapter 847 - Sea Monster Coreâ€™s Energy

    "This is¡­ teleportation? When did you master Spatial Law? No, this wasn''t your doing," Duna muttered with surprise and wonder.

    "It''s the realm spirit''s ability. Though, I did feed it 10-thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy to restore this ability," Leon exined before his gaze sharpened in the next instant.

    "More importantly, we havepany."

    Their sudden appearance in the new sea region quickly attracted the nearby Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Leon and Duna could sense therge movements of water in the dark depths of the Bone Sea, which provided zero visibility to the eye.

    However, neither of them had any trouble seeing the Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters in their surroundings.

    Duna could see the shape of their souls ovepping with their enormous bodies.

    On the other hand, Leon sensed them with his all-epassing divine sense, and if that isn''t enough, he still had the realm spirit''s omniscience to rely on.

    The Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters weren''t as massive as the Peak-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters at the bottom of Bone Sea.

    Even so, their bodies were still massive, nheless, easily a hundredfold over humans.

    However, with a single Banshee Scream, the Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters squirmed and shook their heads with pain before swimming away.

    "We came to kill them, not shoo them away," Leon reminded with a wry smile.

    "Hmph, we can do the killingter. I wasn''t done talking to you yet," Duna replied with a snort.

    "How did you know the realm spirit is the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s daughter? Why does she listen to you? Did you hook up with her?" she interrogated before adding with a grumpy tone, "I guess you do have a fetish for spirits."

    Leon gaped, feeling at a loss for words.

    Duna suddenly pulled him close and looked him directly in the eye before spouting domineeringly, "I may not be the only p*ssy you have, but I''ll definitely be the only spirit you can have."

    After hearing that, Leon gaped even more widely before Duna suddenly took the chance to press her lips against his.

    s, he was forced to separate himself from her shortly while coughing after some seawater entered his system.

    He summoned another Nihility Barrier and took the chance to recover.

    "What an overbearing ghost you are," Leon spouted wryly while coughing up the seawater and gasping for air. "Are you trying to kill me?"

    "Heh, not a bad idea. We can both be ghosts together," Duna snickered.

    Leon could not help but shake his head helplessly before exining with a sigh, "There are two realm spirits; the original and the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s daughter."

    "The original realm spirit takes on a male form, and it was the one who reached out to me after I tore a hole in it¡ª"

    "You even swing that way?"

    Duna gasped with an exaggerated look of disbelief, causing Leon''s expression to stiffen with a dark look of distress.

    "Hahaha, I''m joking. Loosen up, man," Duna patted him on the back from within his Nihility Barrier,pletely amused with his distressed look.

    Leon could only smile ruefully in response.

    "Absorb the True Grandmist Energy while you still can," he said with a sigh.

    He absorbed all the other types of energy in the refined seawater, leaving only the True Grandmist Energy for her to absorb.

    At the same time, the Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters returned in groups, attracted by the True Grandmist Energy''s existence.

    "From what I''ve discovered earlier, True Grandmist Energy attracts the sea monsters," he informed her.

    "Of course," Duna affirmed with a look of certainty.

    "Even if they are beings with low intelligence, they can still understand the extraordinariness of True Grandmist Energy with their basic instincts."

    "Hmph, I''ve scared them off, yet they still have the gall toe for something that belongs to me!" she snorted.

    Shortly after, Duna shot towards the Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters after Leon created an opening in his Nihility Barrier to leave.

    Just as she was about to get swallowed whole by a Red-horned Whale, her Banshee Cry made the Low-rank Arch Demon-level Red-horned Whale turn its head away.

    Then, Duna took the opportunity totch onto its giant head, bite at its flesh, and slowly devour its huge soul.

    The Red-horned Whale squirmed in resistance, but it could not shake Duna off its head with its great strength¡ªor rather, it couldn''t make use of its great strength to shake her off.

    It was considerably weakened after having its soul caught by Duna.

    A short whileter, the Red-horned Whale''s soul was utterly devoured, stripped away from its body, which was left to float soullessly in the depth of the Bone Sea.

    Duna quickly parted from it and shot to her next target.

    At the same time, a group of Arch Demon-level sea monsters rushed over to devour the soulless Red-horn Whale''s flesh while others targeted Duna and Leon''s True Grandmist Energy.

    However, Leon simply let Duna use her Banshee Scream to deal with them while he continued producing True Grandmist Energy and watching her fight.

    Her soul-devouring art seemed powerful, overbearing, and somewhat evil, making him wonder where she learned it.

    But considering her devil soul fragment was further awakened, it wouldn''t be strange if it came from there.

    As Duna devoured more souls, the Arch Demon-level sea monsters'' corpses attracted more Arch Demon-level sea monsters to them.

    "Hm?"

    Leon narrowed his eyes on a sea monster''s half-eaten corpse, which revealed its bones and inner organs, but more importantly, its red sea monster core.

    "Artificial spirit energy?" Leon immediately determined the source of energy within the sea monster core.

    Suddenly, many things about sea monsters became apparent to him.

    For instance, their mutated appearance, level of intelligence, monstrous size, and powerful strength were all caused by artificial spirit energy.

    "Does every sea monster in the Bone Sea have artificial spirit energy cores like this?" Leon furrowed his brows in wonder.

    "I haven''t discovered artificial spirit energy towers or power sources in the secret realm¡­ so the sea monsters could only have formed these artificial spirit energy cores in the Boundless Sea¡­"

 Chapter 848 - Dark Wyrm Clan And The Demons

    Leon could not help but deepen his frown after the discovery.

    "Just how many relics of the Nova civilization were buried in the Boundless Sea?" Leon muttered to himself while feeling a headache.

    "It''s not a problem if all the fish turned into sea monsters¡­ the real problem is humans have begun to rely on these sea monsters for cultivation¡­"

    Looking at the situation at the edge of the western region through the realm spirit''s omniscience, Leon could see humans eating sea monster meat and absorbing artificial spirit energy from the red sea monster cores.

    The side-effects of sea monster meat were unknown to him, but he was pretty clear on the detriments of artificial spirit energy.

    "The warriors of the Infertile ins have already shortened their lifespans with improper tempering of their bodies with dark energy¡­ If they absorb artificial spirit energy, their lifespans will shorten even further¡­" Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, a shortened lifespan was probably the least harmful effect artificial spirit energy could have on living beings.

    A single sr wave from the sun would turn all creatures under its influence into grotesque mutants with degraded intelligence.

    "This isn''t a problem I can solve¡­" Leon frowned.

    Even if he told the humans to stop relying on the artificial spirit energy, they have little chance ofplying.

    "All tribes are trying to strengthen themselves for the Battle of Hegemony on the Infertile ins¡­ Only the Seven Tribes Alliance have hopes of heeding my warnings¡­"

    Nevertheless, the Dark Abyss Continent was covered by a veil of dark clouds, protecting all its inhabitants from the harmful rays of the cataclysmic sun¡ªbut for how long is the real question.

    Leon didn''t doubt that once he takes away the realmship, the dark clouds looming over the Dark Abyss Continent will gradually disperse.

    "Well¡­ That''s a problem to worry aboutter," Leon shrugged and pushed aside the thoughts, refocusing his attention on Duna and the Arch Demon-level sea monsters.

    At the same time, he continued to maintain his Nihility Barrier and umted energy from the dispersed seawater.

    The current speed couldn''t bepared to when he was on the seafloor, but it was still faster than when he dug through thend to reach the core.

    He would have never thought he would gather so much True Grandmist Energy in the past.

    ''If I invest all this True Grandmist Energy into body cultivation, I could reach Rank 2 Body Transformation in multiple areas¡­ or even Rank 4 Body Transformation in a single area¡­'' Leon mused.

    s, the realm spirit and his women were also dependent on this energy.

    He might end up using all his True Grandmist Energy, but he would never be trulycking in True Grandmist Energy as long as he has his ability to create more of it.

    ''The only thing Ick is patience; I''m too impatient. I can achieve what takes others years in a single day, yet that still isn''t enough for me¡­''

    ''The desire for revenge is ever driving me forward. However, revenge cannot be rushed; if it must be enacted, it must seed.''

    As Duna devoured more and more souls, Leon noticed she was bing increasingly proficient in her soul-devouring art.

    She was bing more powerful but still far from a breakthrough.

    "How many more Arch Demon-level souls do you need for a breakthrough, Duna?" Leon inquired while she was busy preying on the Arch Demon-level sea monsters.

    "About another 980 souls of this level, probably," Duna replied whiletching onto her next target like a parasite before suddenly adding with a frown, "However, don''t you think it''s strange?"

    Leon''s lips twitched after hearing Duna''s answer.

    In other words, she needed 1000 Arch Demon-level souls to make a breakthrough, a huge contrast to 10-million Lesser Demon-level souls.

    Even so, the number was still staggering.

    Leon wondered if the Bone Sea even had 1000 Arch Demon-level souls to feed her breakthrough, let alone in their present sea region.

    "What is strange?" Leon asked after failing to see anything strange about their present situation.

    "There are no demons around here," Duna stated.

    "Oh, so it was about this matter¡­" Leon casually uttered without surprise.

    "There''s nothing strange about this. The demons have returned to the surface to get some air¡ªOh, they''re gathering their forces and plotting something now."

    "Hm? They''re moving westward, huh? It seems like my previous visit alerted them¡­"

    The demons'' every move could not be hidden from Leon as he spied on them through the realm spirit''s omniscience.

    However, Duna wasn''t aware of his omniscience as the realmship''s owner and understood even less why he could be so calm in the face of the situation.

    "How¡ª"

    Duna wanted to ask, but she was interrupted by another Arch Demon-level sea monster, a giant ck squid with dozens of tentacles.

    "Courting death!" Duna spat at it with cold eyes.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Dark Wyrm n finally finished gathering their members from across the cksand Desert and started traveling to the western region.

    As the entire Dark Wyrm n, which numbered more than 2300 members, left the soft sands of the cksand Desert and entered the solid yet grassy ins of the western region, thend rumbled from their heavy movements.

    Smaller creatures fled out of their way while some humans from the cksand Desert watched on with stunned expressions.

    "The secret realm had such a monstrous group of demonic beasts? Who can even stop such a force?" a human warrior wondered.

    The Dark Wyrm n was no different from a moving mountain range.

    Nevertheless, Dark Wyrm n showed no interest in the other lifeforms that crossed their paths.

    They simply ignored everyone and continued on their journey, moving along the shores facing the Bone Sea.

    Eventually, Shadowtail led his n members to the shores of the western region.

    "Lord Leon isn''t here, Lord Shadowtail," Nightingale mentioned after the Dark Wyrm n settled down in the area.

    "I can see that," Lord Shadowtail nodded after inspecting the empty western shore before he said, "Lord Leon may have headed further west."

    "Lord Shadowtail, and Lord Nightingale, take a look; it''s an army of demons!" Shadowfang suddenly alerted them.

    "Oh?"

    At the same time, Yakshan and the rest of the demons were also alerted of the scene ahead of them.

    "Since when was there suchrge ck mountains at the western shores?"

    "Those ain''t no mountains; those are f*cking dark wyrms!"

 Chapter 849 - Itâ€™s Our Business Now

    "What!?"

    The revtion on the ''ck mountains'' immediately shocked the entire upper echelon of the demon army.

    "Oh, sh*t! Those mother f*cking ck mountains are all dark wyrms?!"

    "My god, that''s got to be at least hundreds of them there!"

    The ck Jackal and Red-horn Orc Arch Demons eximed.

    "Heh, hundreds?" Yakshan snickered with slight ridicule before correcting the Red-horn Orc Arch Demon''s blind guess, "More like that thousands!"

    Gasp!

    Numerous Arch Demons and Greater Demons immediately sucked in a deep breath after hearing the number of dark wyrms on the western shore was more significant than they imagined.

    "But what are the dark wyrms doing here on the western side? Shouldn''t they be in the cksand Desert in the south? They''ve never left that region before¡­"

    "More importantly, do we proceed forward or go around them?" Yakshan sought the other n leaders'' opinions before adding, "Also, it seems that they have discovered our presence."

    "They''ve discovered us, but they aren''t attacking; perhaps they''re not hostile towards us?" said Rakhama, the Red-horn Orc Arch Demon.

    "The Dark Wyrm n has always been powerful among the dragon ns. If we can establishmunication with them, it might be possible to have the Dark Wyrm n join our Starfall Dominion."

    "That doesn''t sound bad, but I''m afraid some dragons among us will be upset to see that happen," said Serpas, the Three-headed Serpent Arch Demon. "After all, it''ll threaten their positions as the strongest dragon n in the Starfall Dominion."

    "Kekeke¡­ Being the only dragon n in the Starfall Dominion automatically makes them the strongest dragon n. However, they can also simrly be the weakest strongest dragon n," the ck Jackal n Leader chuckled derisively.

    After the Purple Coatl Dragon n learned that the Noble Demon killed a small group of their n members, they were already in a bad mood.

    Now that the demons were viewing them as weaklings, their mood became even worse; anger boiled inside them.

    "Shut up! The Purple Coatl Dragon n is not weak, nor are we afraid of the Dark Wyrm n! Hmph! My n members were simply mismatched!" Durago, the Purple Coatl Dragon n Leader, snorted coldly.

    "The Noble Demon only knew how to pick on my weaker ns member! If the Noble Demon had faced me, I would have sent him running with his tail between his legs!"

    "Hah, whatever you say," the Arch Demons did not believe Durago''s boisterous im.

    "In any case, your Purple Coatl Dragon n is still a n of dragons. Perhaps you canmunicate with the dark wyrms and see if we can reach an agreement," the ck Jackal n Leader suggested.

    "That''s a great idea," Yakshan supported the idea.

    "If the Noble Demon truly did inherit the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s bloodline, we will need all the extra help we can get¡ªespecially if it''s help from a powerful dragon n."

    "You bastards¡­ You''re trying to send my dragon n to our deaths!" Durago gritted his sharp fangs.

    "I thought you said you weren''t afraid of the Dark Wyrm n? It''s apparent to me that you are cowering right now," the ck Jackal n Leader said with amusement, clearing fanning the mes.

    However, Evil Eye Yakshan interjected with a strong tone, "Enough, Lord Basimir! We will follow right behind the Purple Coatl Dragon n and assist them if the unexpected happens."

    "Is that agreeable with you, Lord Durago?" Evil Eye Yakshan asked.

    "Hmph!" Durago replied with a snort.

    Shortly after, the Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon took the lead with his n members.

    ¡­

    "They''reing towards us, Lord Shadowtail," Nightingale informed while gazing into the distance with sharp eyes.

    "So it seems."

    Shadowtail also nced at the demon army at sea, but his gaze was more casual and calm; he did not view the demon army as a serious threat.

    "We''ll wait and see what they want," Shadowtail stated.

    "Understood," the dark wyrms acknowledged the order.

    A short whileter, the Purple Coat Dragon n reached the shoreline and appeared in front of the Dark Wyrm n while the rest of the Nine Great ns and the demon army followed not far behind.

    "Hm?"

    Yakshan deeply furrowed his brows upon noticing the shoreline seemed to have receded quite a far bit as if the Bone Sea lost an inexplicable amount of seawater.

    "What is it, Lord Yakshan?" Serpas asked.

    However, Evil Eye Yakshan shook his head, disinterested in continuing the topic while a more important matter was before them.

    "It''s nothing. Don''t worry about it," Evil Eye Yakshan said.

    ¡­

    "You''ve got a lot of courage to approach my great Dark Wyrm n, demons. I''llmend you for that. Speak! What do you want?" Shadowtail spoke with a deep and intimidating voice.

    In that instance, several Arch Demons and Greater Demons'' hearts shook with shock.

    High-rank Arch Demon!

    "In the past, the Dark Wyrm n was a devoted follower of the Eternal Night Demon Emperor¡­" Durago started to speak, "Your n worked with other demons in the faction for the Eternal Night Demon Emperor''s great cause¡­"

    "Although our ancestors failed, I wonder if the Dark Wyrm n is interested enough to revive the old bonds our ancestors shared and walk alongside the demons once more¡ªjust like us of the Purple Coatl Dragon n?"

    Durago inquired shortly after.

    "How audacious!" Shadowtail thundered with a mighty voice, "Do you think the demons behind you canpare to the Eternal Night Demon Empress?!"

    "You know nothing of the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s origins, yet you dare utter her name so carelessly! The Dark Wyrm n is not interested in the business of ignorant buffoons! Get lost!"

    "Y-yes! Right away, Lord Dark Wyrm!" Durago and the othersplied with a paled face.

    Since negotiations failed at the get-go, not a single Arch Demon dared to test the High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm''s patience.

    "Halt!" Shadowtail suddenly said.

    The demons immediately halted as ordered before Durago carefully asked, "Do you need something, my Lord?"

    "Why are you all heading to the west?" Shadowtail interrogated with sharp eyes that seem capable of piercing through all their lies.

    "This¡­ We are pursuing a human who has be a Noble Demon, my Lord. As the sacred ground of the Eternal Night Demon Emper¡ªEr¡­ Empress, how can we let her inheritance fall into the hands of a mere human?"

    "Oh? A human Noble Demon, you say?" Shadowtail''s eyes glinted before he uttered, "How dare he, huh?"

    "Right?" Durago''s eyes brightened before he excitedly said, "How can a mere human be worthy of the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s inheritance? We should kill this bastard together!"

    "Dark Wyrm n, listen up! Kill all these damn demons; spare none alive for me!" Shadowtail erupted furiously.

    "Yes, Lord Shadowtail!" the dark wyrmsplied, shaking the entire area with their united and mighty voice.

    All the demons were immediately stunned on the spot before they quickly became horrified by the sudden turn of the situation.

    "Y-Your Excellency?! Why do you want to kill all of us?! I thought you said you weren''t interested in our business?!"

    "I couldn''t give a rat ass what businesses you have in this sub-realm! But since you all want to kill the Lord and benefactor of my Dark Wyrm n, you just made it our business!"

    "Kill them all!" Shadowtail roared.

 Chapter 850 - The One Sided Slaughter

    When the demons heard the High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm''s cold and merciless order, they all felt a chill in their hearts and immediately knew that they had all f*cked up.

    The High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm waspletely serious.

    "F*ck!"

    Boom!

    Durago, the Low-rank Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon, made the slightest movement to escape before his entire body was swat flying into the sky in the next moment!

    None of the Low-rank Arch Demons could even see the High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm''s movement.

    There was an explosion of wind and sound in one moment, and Lord Durago disappeared from their sight in the next moment!

    The sheer wind pressure even pushed all of them back, sweeping them far away with the seawater like one big tidal wave!

    Swoosh¡­!

    "Is... Is this the strength of a High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm?! It''s so terrifying¡­!"

    Yakshan strained his eyes open as he was carried away by the st of wind along with everyone who came with him.

    The disy of 70-million jin strength was horrendous to behold!

    As the powerful wave swept the demons further away, Yakshan and the other Arch Demons gradually saw Durago''s huge dragon body rising high in the sky and piercing the veil of dark clouds that loomed over them!

    Ding!

    Sometimeter, they heard a distant yet resounding bang as if Durago''s body struck the absolute ceiling of the secret realm before falling back down.

    Ssh!

    The Low-rank Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon eventually sshed heavily in the Bone Sea, sending an enormous column of seawater rising into the sky!

    Yakshan and the other demons were swept far away from the region at that point.

    But if they were still present, they would have found all of the bones and organs in Durago''s body shattered beyond belief.

    A Low-rank Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon was killed just like that!

    At the same time, the entire Dark Wyrm n was hot on the demons'' pursuit, having dived into the Bone Sea and riding the huge waves with them!

    They were far from being safe!

    "Nooo¡ª!"

    A group of Greater Demons cried before they were devoured whole into the belly of a Mid-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm.

    After being swept several miles off the west coast, huge explosions of water erupted chaotically throughout the area in the Bone Sea.

    The hungry dark wyrms chewed their way through the demons'' army as the Greater Demons and Arch Demons fought back desperately.

    "I don''t believe it! I refuse to believe the Dark Wyrm n alone can wipe us all out! We have more than 90 Low-rank Arch Demons and 320 Half-step Arch Demons!" another Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragon roared furiously.

    "All members of the Purple Coatl Dragon n, listen up! Avenge our n Leader! Even if we have to die here, we''ll take these mother f*cking dark wyrms down with us! Show them the pride of the Purple Coatl Dragons!"

    ROAR!

    All the present members of the Purple Coatl Dragon n gave a unified and deafening roar that shook the sea and skies, stunning even the souls of Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms!

    "We will join the Purple Coatl Dragon n!"

    "All members of my Three-headed Serpent n, listen up! Follow the Purple Coatl Dragon n''s lead and y these mother f*cking dark wyrms who have thrown away their dragon pride to serve a mere human¡ª!"

    Boom¡­!

    Shortly after the Three-headed Serpent n''s leader, Serpas spoke, Nightingale swam swiftly in the Bone Sea, sending shock waves underwater as she elerated and headbutted right into his main body with a force that wasn''t inferior to Shadowtail!"

    Without a doubt, Serpas''s fate was sealed after being struck by the force of 70-million¡ªno, 75-million jin!

    The seawater parted as the Three-headed Serpent Arch Demon''s mashed body flew out of the water.

    Boom, boom, boom¡­!

    Its mashed body generated rings of explosions as it broke the sound barrier in its ascend, eventually disappearing through the veil of dark clouds in the sky and nevering back down¡ªor at the very least, not any time soon.

    Serpas''s mashed body had sttered on the secret realm''s ceiling with a big bang!

    "Another High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm!" the surviving Arch Demons'' expression turned even more horrid at the revtion.

    There were only roughly 50 Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms among the 2300 other Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms, but they were all at the Mid-rank to High-rank!

    "S-such a power¡­! You''re all from the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s tomb! Why are you all doing this?! Why do you serve a mere human with such power?!"

    Lord Rakhama, the Red-horn Orc Arch Demon, roared with desperation.

    The discovery of the Dark Wyrm n''s true strength drove even the bravest of the demons into despair and broke their fighting spirits.

    "We can''t win this battle; it''s impossible! Quickly flee! Get the news back to the Teleportation Array! Get the person in charge to send us all back to the Starfall Dominion!" Rakhama roared.

    However, the dark wyrms drastically reduced the demon army''s numbers and gave them little-to-no chance of escaping!

    They were just sitting ducks in the water, waiting to be killed!

    At the same time, the colossalmotion drew the attention of other demons and humans from all directions.

    ¡­

    In the western region, Darlene and Aria flew straight on top of the rock walls and gazed into the eastern direction the very moment they felt the firstmotion.

    "Tak-si, are you there? You''re there, right? What''s going on over there?" Aria sought the realm spirit for answers.

    She could see the enormous ck mountain-like figures of the dark wyrms in the distance, but she wasn''t sure who they were fighting.

    In fact, it wasn''t hard for her to guess it was the demons; she just wasn''t exactly sure of their exact numbers and strength.

    "Dark Wyrm n is ughtering the main demon forces, Master''s wife," Tak-si replied.

    "Eh? Master''s wife?" Aria blushed sweetly.

    The realm spirit sure knows how to make her happy.

    Nevertheless, she quickly shook her head and said, "Why did they fight? Send me over there to see. You can do that much for me, right?"

    "Send me too," Darlene quickly added.

 Chapter 851 - Extremely Sturdy Teleportation Array

    Swish!

    In the blink of an eye, Aria and Darlene both disappeared before reappearing next to Shadowtail on the west shore.

    "What the f¡ª"

    Without a surprise, Shadowtail was startled by their sudden presence

    "Ah, it''s you two," Shadowtail quickly recognized them and sweated, having nearly swatted the both of them to death with its tail out of reflex.

    "Where is Lord Leon, if I may ask, mdies?" Shadowtail inquired.

    "I don''t know; he had something to do," Aria shook her head before saying, "However, if you really need to reach him, Senior, you can seek the realm spirit''s assistance to connect you to him."

    "More importantly, what''s going on here?" Aria asked shortly after.

    Aria and Darlene both tried to narrow their eyes to observe the situation in the Bone Sea, but the distance made it difficult for them to see clearly.

    "Ah, nothing to worry about, mdies. Just some imbeciles who had ill-intentions against Lord Leon, so I sent my nsmen to punish them all with death," Shadowtail answered.

    "You don''t hesitate to ughter demons, huh?" Darlene casuallymented.

    Shortly after, her gaze fell on a Purple Coatl Dragon''s corpse floating on the water surface amidst hundreds of other dead sea monsters who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the attack.

    "And other dragon species too," she added.

    "Lord Leon is our Dark Wyrm n''s hope and future. Anyone who wishes to harm our Lord will have to pay the ultimate price for it," Shadowtail casually said with a firm look, "And we don''t have any care for dragon ns that are not our own."

    "Hoh? But you seem quite eager to serve; perhaps, a little too eager," Aria mentioned while looking at Shadowtail with a thoughtful look.

    Under her knowing look, Shadowtail failed to keep a solemn expression and smiled awkwardly.

    "Please stop looking at me like that, mdy," Shadowtail requested wryly.

    It wasn''t strange for the entire Dark Wyrm n to eagerly serve Leon after what he had shown them¡ªthe great potential that dwells in their dragon blood.

    "Everyone is trying to contribute in hopes that Lord Leon would reward us with more blood-refinement sessions," Shadowtail exined.

    "I see," Aria smiled.

    She wasn''t surprised to hear that.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the battle of unprecedented chaos andmotion in the Bone Sea spread like wildfire in every direction.

    Whether the other humans and demons were busy fighting each other or challenging uncleared tombs, everyone felt the disturbance in the Bone Sea and had their curiosity drawn to it.

    ¡­

    While many things were going on in the secret realm for everyone, Leon continued to umte energy in the depths of the Bone Sea while being fully aware of the situation on the surface.

    ''I didn''t expect the Dark Wyrm n to try and exterminate the demons so thoroughly¡­ I underestimate their desire to awaken their bloodline¡­" Leon mused with a wry smile.

    He silently observed everything with the realm spirit''s omniscience like a god before he noticed the remnant forces of the main demon army sessfully fled from the Dark Wyrm n''s encirclement.

    Even though the demons in the upper echelons of the Nine Great ns were all ughtered, theirst orders sessfully transferred to the Greater Demons rushing towards the Bone Sea''s central region.

    "I''ll be back in a bit," Leon suddenly said to the busy Duna in the distance.

    "Where are you¡ª"

    Swish!

    Before Duna could finish asking where he was going, he had already instructed Tak-si to teleport him and disappeared.

    "Hmph! How dare you leave before I finish talking to you, Leon!" Duna shouted grudgingly with a grumpy mood.

    She vented her frustration by hissing at a Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monster, and surprisingly, it flinched before swimming away.

    "Heh," Duna snickered with a victorious look.

    "So after devouring more than 300 souls from these Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters, they finally know what fear is, huh? That''s right! Flee, flee as far as you can! Big fish, small fish; you should all be afraid of me!"

    Duna threw a little tantrum as she chased away the Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters with just her underwater voice.

    However, after cooling her head, she frowned at her own stupidity.

    "Why did I chase them all away? Now I have no one to y with until Leon gets back¡­ I guess it''s true that stupidity is contagious; you hang with stupid people too much, you be stupid like them," Duna med Leon for her thoughtless actions.

    Shortly after, she nced down at the deeper depths of the Bone Sea and decided to challenge the Mid-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters down below.

    Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters were no longer a challenge for her.

    At the same time, Leon saw and heard everything Duna said through the realm spirit''s omniscience, even after he arrived in the Bone Sea''s central region.

    "Damn, why did you have to me me when you''ve been killing beings of lesser intelligence than me?" Leon''s lips twitched.

    F*ck, why was he evenparing himself to Low-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters in terms of intelligence, anyway?

    Goddammit.

    "W-Who are you?! When did you get there?!" a sudden stern shout resounded in the area.

    He shifted his gaze to the source and found a Peak-rank Greater Demon ring at him while he was standing on top of theirrge Teleportation Array, which took on the appearance of arge circr stone gate.

    After ncing around, he also noticed hundreds of other Greater Demons gathered in the area, all ring at him warily.

    Leon had appeared out of thin air like a ghost.

    "Sup, mother f*ckers. It''s ya boi, Leon, here to crash the party," Leon greeted the angry Greater Demons.

    In the next moment, he raised his feet and stomped down hard on the circr-gate Teleportation Array in an attempt to shatter it in one go.

    Boom!

    A resounding bang shook the entire Teleportation Array, even causing some Greater Demons standing on its tform to lose their bnce and fall into the water.

    However, Teleportation Array remained perfectly fine while his feet, on the other hand, suffered numbness from his own attack.

    "Ahem, this is much sturdier than it looks," Leon coughed.

    "Kill this f*cking joker!"

 Chapter 852 - Kicking Nearly Everyone Out

    The demons didn''t know where Leon came from, but they no longer cared¡ªnot when they realized what he was trying to do; destroy the Teleportation Array!

    "Kill him! Stop him! Whatever you do, don''t let him destroy the gate!" a Mid-rank Evil Eye Greater Demon barked.

    Even without the Evil Eye Greater Demon''s instruction, the other Greater Demons and Lesser Demons already rushed into action, charging at Leon from all directions.

    They didn''t know his capabilities, but they weren''t going to risk the destruction of the gate!

    "Die!"

    A winged demon from one of the lower-ranking demon ns was the first to reach Leon as it attacked with its silver trident.

    However, Leon immediately mobilized the dark energy of his Mid-stage Heaven Ascension Realm cultivation, suppressing all the demons at the Mid-rank Greater Demon level and below.

    The winged demon''s attack drastically slowed in that instance before Leon sidestepped the trident and gave a lethal kick to the winged demon''s head!

    Puchi!

    The winged demon didn''t have time to react before Leon''s kick shattered its skull and crushed its brains, killing it one shot.

    "N-noble Demon! He''s the Noble Demon!" a High-rank Greater Demons shouted with rm.

    "What! How did the Noble Demon get here?!"

    "Shouldn''t the Noble Demon be in the western region?! Did he snuck past the Nine Great n''s demon army?!"

    The revtion immediately shocked the other High-rank and Peak-rank Greater Demons.

    The Noble Demon''s strength was suspected to be at least at the Arch Demon-level!

    None of them was the Noble Demon''s opponent!

    s, Leon did not wait for the demons to recover from their shock; he immediately started ughtering through their ranks and clearing the site!

    All the suppressed Mid-rank Greater Demons and under died like chickens on the chopping board, defenseless and unable to resist!

    Nevertheless, Leon focused his attention elsewhere while he ughtered the demons with his Tier-7 White Spear.

    His divine sense covered the entire area, but he could sense how the Teleportation Array collected the souls of the demons he killed.

    This made him almost doubt his own suspicions on the Teleportation Array!

    However, although he failed to sense how the Teleportation Array collected the souls, he could feel the Teleportation Array''s changes with every kill.

    It was growing¡ªor rather, the grey crystal orb on it was growing; its aura became denser by the moment.

    ''This crystal orb must be the containment for the souls,'' Leon quickly determined.

    "Quick, activate the gate! The Dark Wyrm n is ughtering us all¡ª!" a distant cry was heard from the western direction.

    "Activate the gate! Hurry! Everyone is dying!"

    The demons in the central sea region heard the distant cry again before those on the outer edge of the crowd turned to see a group of disheveled demons swimming their way like they were fleeing for their lives.

    "Hurry¡ª!"

    The fleeing group of Greater Demons urged desperately, but the demons in charge of the gate didn''t heed their instruction immediately.

    Unless they had confirmed the beginning of the sea monster tide or received orders from one of the Nine Great ns'' leaders, they wouldn''t operate the gate.

    And even if they wanted to, they couldn''t¡ªat least, not with the Noble Demon guarding it.

    "Where are the elders and n leaders?" a Two-headed Cyclops Lesser Demon inquired.

    "Are you all deaf?! Activate the gate at once!" the desperate demons barked furiously, "The Nine Great ns'' leaders and elders are all dead, killed by the Dark Wyrm n! And if we don''t leave, we''ll all die shortly as well!"

    Even with spit and phlegm flying in their faces, the demons in the central sea region didn''t feel the same urgency.

    However, that onlysted until they saw the giant dark wyrms ughtering their way over in the distance.

    "The dark wyrms are here!" the fleeing demons nced at their rear with horrid looks of despair.

    Very shortly, all the demons in the western part of the central region began swimming madly to the inner sea region.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon reattempted to destroy the Teleportation Array, but his Tier-7 White Spear only managed to chip away Teleportation Array''s earthenyer.

    Underneath it was an incredibly sturdy metalyer that even his Tier-7 White Spear could barely put a scratch on.

    "Heck, how hard is this thing?" Leon uttered with shock.

    No doubt, the Teleportation Array''s secondyer was made of Tier-8 materials or even higher!

    "Is this starcore iron?! Starcore iron, a grade-6 material, can be this tough after being enchanted with runic powers?!" Leon wondered.

    However, he quickly abandoned that idea.

    The hints of brown and red on the ck metalyer revealed that it wasn''t made of pure starcore iron but aposition of multiple alloys.

    While pondering on a solution for the Teleportation Array''s destruction, Leon ughtered every demon that came close to the Teleportation Array.

    Eventually, the demons stoppeding at him,pletely afraid and intimidated after understanding it wasn''t possible to defeat him.

    ''These demons are slowly being driven into a corner with the dark wyrms closing in on their rear¡­ but there''s no need to kill all these demons here¡­ They might have other uses¡­ I''ll just pretend to send everyone back with the Teleportation Array before I destroy it,'' Leon mused.

    Shortly after, he put on a y in front of them before mentally instructing the realm spirit.

    ''Except for the Dark Fae n, Aria, Darlene, Duna, send back all the other demons and humans who have entered the secret realm together, Tak-si.''

    ''Yes, Master!'' Tak-si quicklyplied.

    Swish!

    All the demons around Leon disappeared from his sight in the next moment.

    The realm spirit mass-teleported them back to the Starfall Dominion along with the other humans and demons scattered across the secret realm.

    "I nned to let the humans explore the secret realm a bit longer, but they''re just going to end up fighting each other when they return to the Infertile ins and join the battle for hegemony¡­" Leon muttered to himself.

    It was the perfect opportunity to boot everyone out with minimal suspicion.

 Chapter 853 - The Terrifying Eternal Flame

    The Teleportation Array was extremely sturdy, but Leon was not without any means.

    After sending out the humans and demons, he immediately took out the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp and rubbed it, summoning the powerful White Luminosity Eternal me contained within.

    Swish!

    A small orb of brilliant white mes dripped from the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp before Leon quickly resealed the rest of the eternal me back inside themp and lept away from the Teleportation array.

    In that instance, the single small orb of White Luminosity Eternal mended on the Teleportation Array''s tform.

    Then, it erupted with brilliance, quickly melting away the sturdy alloyyer like it was nothing when Leon could hardly damage it.

    The White Luminosity Eternal me reduced the remnant earthenyer into ashes and melted the sturdy alloy into liquid, ruining the runic circuits inscribed on it.

    It ate away at the Teleportation Array like a corrosive acid.

    Gulp!

    Leon watched everything unfold attentively without minding his burnt palm from holding the hotmp.

    He knew the White Luminosity Eternal me was terrifying, but seeing it in action was even more terrifying!

    "So powerful!" he eximed.

    Within several breaths, the Teleportation Array was no more.

    The ashes scattered into the Bone Sea, and the melted alloy rapidly cooled in the seawater, bing solid again, while the orb of souls slowly sunk.

    Leon''s eyes flickered before he dived into the Bone Sea to retrieve it.

    At the same time, the White Luminosity Eternal me continued to burn on top of the sea surface, boiling the Bone Sea with scorching temperatures as countless ck steam rose into the skies.

    ''Truly worthy of being called an eternal me,'' Leon thought.

    After retrieving the orb of souls, which felt surprisingly heavy in his hand, Leon returned to the surface and watched the White Luminosity Eternal me burn.

    It did not show any sign of diminishing in its strength.

    The White Luminosity Eternal me did not grow in size, but the radius of the boiling water slowly spread without stopping.

    Soon, even the weakest kinds of sea monsters, the corpse-eating fish, began to float to the sea surface, dead and cooked while its flesh exuded a pleasant aroma.

    Leon decided to pick up one of the Corpse-eating fish and examined it.

    The corpse-eating fish''s flesh was super tender and sulent, oozing with juicy goodness with just a slight squeeze, while its pleasant aroma made it extremely appetizing.

    Leon didn''t find harmful properties in its flesh despite its mutation, but the small monster core inside practically made its organs inedible.

    "These organs will have side effects due to the artificial spirit energy, but the flesh is free of it, making itpletely safe for consumption," Leon determined.

    Afterward, he tore off a piece of flesh and ate it before his eyes immediately sparkled with delight.

    "This taste is¡­ heavenly!" Leon eximed.

    It did not cross his mind that fish could taste great without spirit cooking with special herbs and seasoning.

    The corpse-eating fish would definitely be a heavenly delicacy that sells like hotcakes once he introduces it in the Crawford Empire.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not focus too much on the corpse-eating fish.

    The entire Bone Sea would probably reach a boiling point if he just left the White Luminosity Eternal me burning in it.

    Leon eventually retrieved the orb of White Luminosity Eternal me with the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp while suffering burns again in the process.

    The Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp was simply too hot with every use.

    However, Leon did not even bother to treat his burns as his body''s natural regeneration restored his hands to perfect states.

    Not long after, Leon teleported back to Duna''s side.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the heart of the Starfall Dominion,monly referred to as the demon territory, humans and demons returned after getting booted by Leon.

    Demons fell onto their heavenly stairway that floated above the abyss while the humansnded on the edges of it

    None of them returned to their exact spot prior to the secret realm''s opening, but they weren''t far from it either.

    "Good job, whoever closed the secret realm. You certainly saved my hide," a Mid-rank Greater Demon sighed with relief.

    Just moments ago, he was literally half a breath away from being eaten by a dark wyrm.

    "Thank god we finally made it out of that hell. What a terrible experience that was."

    "Tell me about it¡­ Our Nine Great ns'' leaders and elders all died to the dark wyrms¡­"

    Most of the demons did not suspect anything despite their evident disappointment in the secret realm''s closing.

    However, the humans werepletely upset by it.

    "Ahh, goddammit! Why are we out here?! Did the secret realm close already ?!"

    "F*ck! I was so close to bing a Battle King! Why did it close so soon?!"

    "Bloody hell! I was just in the middle of conquering an Arch Demon-level Tomb!"

    Angry curses andments spread throughout the crowd of humans, but it didn''t take long before the demons'' situation caught their attention.

    Rumble¡­!

    Cracks quickly spread across the heavenly stairway before ultimately crumbling altogether, causing the demons to lose their footing and plunge into the abyss with the broken heavenly stairway.

    "Ahhh! Nooo!"

    Numerous demons cried out of fear as they took their fall while the more quick-witted ones immediately grabbed onto the winged demons.

    But s, too many demons thought the same thing and dragged the winged demons into the abyss with them.

    "Y-you f*cking idiots¡­! Let go of me¡ªAhhh!" the winged demons cried.

    Boom¡­!

    A series of heavy impacts sounded like thunderps after everything dropped to the bottom of the abyss.

    Some demons died, but many did not.

    "It''s a bummer that the secret realm closed so soon, but there''s an opportunity to wipe out the demons before uspletely," a tribal chief uttered.

    "Are you insane?" an Extremity-rank Battle Master retorted.

    "This is the center of the demon''s territory! We should quickly get out of here before they overwhelm us with their numbers and strength!"

    "Hah, didn''t you hear them talk earlier? I don''t know what happened, but all their n leaders and elders died! They should be extremely weak right now!" the tribal chief argued.

 Chapter 854 - Danger In The Abyss

    "This¡­ is it true? What if it''s the demon''s ploy to lure us in?" another tribal chief doubted, but it was clear that he was having second thoughts after listening.

    "Can anyone sense the demons'' strength?" a Peak-rank Battle Master sought the others for answers, "What''s the strongest demon among them? If they don''t have any Arch Demons, we might stand a chance."

    "Idiot. It''spletely dark down there. What makes you think we can gauge the demons'' strength if we can''t even see them?" a Half-step Battle King ridiculed the Peak-rank Battle Master.

    However, it was true that the main force of the demon''s territory, the Nine Great ns, had been severely weakened on their trip to the secret realm.

    At that moment, they did not have a single Arch Demon or Half-step Arch Demon among them; only a few Peak-rank Greater Demons survived the Dark Wyrm n''s onught.

    ¡­

    "Young Master, what should we do?" a Half-step Battle King from the Battle God Pce awaited his young lord''s decision.

    Zion furrowed his brows and pondered.

    "The demon''s territory is a ce we know little to nothing about; the same goes for its inhabitants'' strengths," Zion slowly mentioned.

    "If we want to conquer the demon''s territory, it won''t be easy as others assume."

    "Even if it is true that the demons suffered disastrous losses in the secret realm, Young Master?" an Extremity-rank Battle Master servant asked.

    However, Zion replied to his servant with another question, "If we got wiped out in the secret realm, do you think it would affect the Battle God Pce''s strength much?"

    "Erm¡­ No, Young Master," the servant answered.

    The Battle God Pce has many active Battle Kings within their ranks.

    Whether they lose a small group of Battle Masters or not would not even diminish their overall power.

    "Nevertheless, our human side has also suffered significant losses in the secret realm," Zion mentioned while ncing at the remaining warriors on their side.

    They entered the secret realm with roughly 2000 warriors, yet barely two-thirds of them have returned.

    When Zion failed to locate some people among the various tribes, he knitted brows but did not dwell on it for the time being.

    "We''ll see what the other tribes say and make our decision ordingly," Zion stated.

    "Yes, Young Master!" the Battle God Pce servants answered.

    ¡­

    "Has anyone seen Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired through the crowd with Chief Baskara and the Crimsonfog Tribesmen.

    However, they receive negative responses.

    While searching through the crowd, they eventually bumped into the Darkmoon Tribe''s people.

    "Ah, Chief Valencia! I haven''t seen you and your tribe members throughout the trip in the secret realm. d to see you are doing," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman greeted before asking, "Have you seen Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "I haven''t; neither inside the secret realm nor outside it seems," Chief Valencia shook her before she had a sudden thought, "Perhaps, Young Master Leonhardt has¡­"

    "That''s not possible!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was quick to reject the idea that Young Master Leonhardt died in the secret realm.

    "There''s no way someone like Young Master Leonhardt could have fallen inside the secret realm. This Old Man had been with him and seen what he could do; trust me when I say that it did not seem like there was nothing he could not aplish."

    "But it remains true that Young Master Leonhardt is absent¡­" Chief Valencia mentioned with a worried frown.

    Young Master Leonhardt''s very existence carried too much importance for the Seven Tribes Alliance''s future.

    She couldn''t imagine how they couldpete with the other tribes without Young Master Leonhardt''s means, especially since her Darkmoon Tribe barely made any fruitful gains in the secret realm.

    "We''ll have to start making ns without Young Master Leonhardt," Chief Valencia stated while rubbing her forehead with distress. "I believe we should head back to our tribes right away."

    "Although I believe Young Master Leonhardt is alive, I''ll have to agree with you, Chief Valencia," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded in agreement.

    Given Young Master Leonhardt''s capability, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman trusted Young Master Leonhardt would have no problem leaving the demon''s territory on his ownter.

    Young Master Leonhardt must have found a secret method to prolong his stay inside the secret realm¡ªthat was what the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman believed.

    "We''ve been away from our tribes for many days," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly said.

    "There''s no telling how far the four King-rank tribes have escted the situation during our absence. Perhaps, they have already started the battle for hegemony."

    "We''ll gather our people and leave right away, Senior One-Eye," Chief Valencia stated.

    There is no point joining the other tribes in conquering the demon''s territory when there''s a chance that their tribes are getting caught in the Infertile ins'' battle for hegemony.

    As several tribes decided to leave the demon''s territory, those who wanted to conquer thend clicked their tongues with disappointment.

    "Tch, what a waste of an opportunity," a tribal chief from the western region uttered.

    "Looks like we''ll be leaving as well," Zion said to his servants.

    "So it seems, Young Master," Uncle Jizo replied to his young lord before adding, "Not a bad choice in this humble servant''s opinion."

    "The demon''s territory extends far beyond our reach. It''s best not to stir the ho''s nest when the Infertile ins still has its problems to sort out."

    "Right," Zion nodded.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    After the humans departed from the edge of the abyss, demon cries rang from within the depths of the abyss.

    "O-oh, no! W-we''ve fallen into the abyss¡­!" the demons eximed with horrified expressions.

    "W-we''ve trespassed on sacred grounds¡­! Please spare us, my Lord! This was an ident! We did not bring any offerings this time!"

    "You know my rule¡­! Since you didn''t bring any offerings on your visit, you shall be the offerings instead¡­!"

    A deep and powerful voice resounded from underneath thend.

    Shortly after, numerous fleshly tentacles quickly shot out from the rubbles and grabbed hold of the demons before dragging them into the depth of the abyss.

    "Nooo¡ª! I don''t want to die!"

 Chapter 855 - Crystallized Soul Core

    "You can''t do this, my Lord! W-we are your followers¡ª!"

    The demons tried to reason with the hidden being in the fallen outer space debris beneath the rubbles of earth, but the hidden being did not listen to any of them.

    As more fleshly tentacles shot out from the ground and captured the demons one by one, they knew that the being they worshipped and entrusted to safeguard the Starfall Dominion from other territories was determined to eat them all.

    "Run if you don''t want to die! The Lord has gone mad!" a Mid-rank Greater Demon shouted.

    The demons in the abyss didn''t hesitate to flee; they scrambled and climbed their way out desperately as their life depended on it, literally.

    However, the being''s fleshly tentacles were fast and versatile like whips; once caught by them, their lives would be forfeited.

    Only Arch Demons would have a chance of escaping from the being''s terrifying tentacles.

    Nevertheless, there were thousands of demons and only so many fleshly tentacles the being could produce at once; a portion of the demons will definitely escape sessfully.

    However, who lives and who dies all depends on luck.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon returned to Duna''s location, unaware of the changes in the outside world after he kicked the humans and demons out.

    At that moment, Duna was busy challenging the Mid-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters without any disadvantage or advantages.

    It was a stalemate.

    The difference between Low-rank Arch Demon-level beings and Mid-rank Arch Demon-level beings was not small.

    Nevertheless, she quickly noticed Leon''s return after sensing the spatial fluctuations.

    "Where did you go?" Duna questioned him with a grumpy tone.

    Evidently, Duna was still unhappy about the previous matter of him leaving abruptly without waiting for her to finish speaking.

    However, Leon did not answer her question in words.

    Instead, he waited for good timing to toss the crystal orb in her direction, which she quickly noticed.

    "Hm?"

    Duna distanced herself from the Mid-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters and shooed them away with Banshee Scream before catching the grey crystal orb.

    "What is¡­" Duna was about to ask when her eyes widened with astonishment, "Where did you get something like this?"

    "From the other half of the Teleportation Array that brought us to this secret realm," Leon casually said before adding, "I''m quite certain it contains a lot of souls, but do you know what it is?"

    Judging by her reaction, he could tell she understood more about the crystal orb than he did.

    "You grabbed this thing and simply gave it to me without knowing what it is?" Duna nced at Leon speechlessly.

    At the same time, Leon immediately guessed the crystal orb was much more valuable than he gave it credit for.

    However, he showed no concern even after understanding that much.

    "Well, you needed souls, so I went and fetched you some souls," Leon shrugged nonchntly before asking, "Is that a problem?"

    "No problem," Duna smiled before saying, "But I wonder if you can remain nonchnt after I say this is the crystallized form of a soul core?"

    "A crystallized soul core? No wonder it can contain souls¡­" Leon muttered with surprise.

    It wasn''t difficult to understand that a soul core contains soul energy.

    "However, I''ve never heard or even seen a crystallized soul core like this before¡­" Leon mentioned his doubt.

    Everyone can inspect their soul core with a bit of practice.

    However, the soul core that exists inside everyone''s sea of consciousness was incorporeal; it did not have any physical properties at all.

    "Of course, you wouldn''t," Duna stated as a matter of fact before adding, "Did you think this crystallized soul core is somethingmon?"

    "Judging by its sturdiness, it has to be the crystallized soul core of a Demon King-level being at the very least, and not just any Demon King-level being either," she added.

    "A Demon King-level soul cultivator, I assume?" Leon guessed.

    "Right," Duna nodded.

    "Because the world doesn''t have any true soul cultivation methods, any soul cultivation will build impurity over time until it crystalizes like this solid soul core."

    "Soul cultivation is all about quantity since we can''t increase quality without a pure soul cultivation method. So once a soul cultivator achieves crystallization, their path on soul cultivation is as good asing to an end."

    "Because the size of the soul core bes fixed after crystallization, huh?" Leonprehended.

    "Exactly," Duna nodded before she stared at him like she was staring at a fool and asked with an impish smile, "So? Feeling regretful yet?"

    "Why should I?" Leon responded nonchntly.

    Duna was immediately stunned by hisck of emotion; it was not the kind of reaction she was hoping to see from him.

    "Don''t you know what this means? This crystallized soul core is a priceless resource for soul cultivation! If you digest all the soul energy inside, your soul could reach the same heights as a Demon King!"

    "Isn''t that even better for you?" Leon replied.

    "You¡­ I don''t know what to say¡­ Are you even aware of what you are saying? You''re willing to hand over such an opportunity to me?"

    Duna looked at Leon speechlessly, failing to understand Leon could remain calm in front of such evident temptation.

    "You know, if I presented this opportunity in front of other people, they would even kill their own families for the chance to obtain it. You know that, right?"

    "I do, but you underestimate me too much," Leon shook his head and nonchntly said, "It''s just the Demon King Realm, nothing worth mentioning."

    The Demon King Realm was only around the Divine Transformation Realm in divine cultivation, a realm below Divine King.

    "It''ll need to be True Divinity level at the very least to tempt me," Leon added slyly.

    "Heh, you think it''s easy to find cultivation resources that can take you to the True Divinity Realm in this age? You''ll have a higher chance looking for phoenix feathers," Duna snickered.

    Nevertheless, she engraved Leon''s kindness in her memory.

 Chapter 856 - Shocking The Dark Faes

    "Anyway, are you sure this crystallized soul core still has plenty of soul energy?" Leon suddenly asked.

    "Why do you ask?" Duna furrowed brows in response.

    She did not understand why he needed to ask such a question.

    "Because this crystallized soul core was imbedded in the Teleportation Array and acted as the catalyst for the collection of souls to fuel the secret realm''s opening," Leon mentioned.

    "So I''m guessing it doesn''t have much soul energy anymore."

    "And here I thought you were being generous, but it turns out you thought the soul energy had been exhausted," Duna smiled mockingly.

    "If the soul energy in this crystallized soul core were exhausted, it would lose its ability to attract other soul energy and recharge itself; a certain level of soul energy is needed to maintain its ability."

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered with understanding.

    Given the sturdiness of the crystallized soul core''s outer shell, he could not sense the tremendous amount of soul energy contained within, only some of it.

    However, it was different for Duna, who was sensitive to souls as a spirit herself.

    "I''m not giving this back to you even if you are having second thoughts now," Duna stated while holding the crystallized soul core close to her chest as if it was a precious thing, which it was.

    Nevertheless, Leon smiled wryly.

    "As I said before, this level of treasure doesn''t interest me. Whether its soul energy is exhausted or not, I would still give it to you. Stop looking down on me."

    "Hmph, I''ll still look down on you whether you like it or not," Duna snorted and said, "What kind of fool gives away a Demon King-level cultivation resource to others?"

    "The kind of fool you see in front of you," Leon replied wryly, making Duna smile.

    Shortly after, he said, "Well, it seems the shortage of souls has been resolved, so you have no more reason to grind these Arch Demon-level seas monsters."

    "Mm," Duna nodded.

    "However, it won''t be easy for me to absorb all the soul energy in this crystallized soul core. Once I start, I cannot stop until I absorb all its soul energy. Otherwise, I will waste the soul energy flowing out of it."

    "I see. Let us relocate to a suitable ce for you to absorb it then," Leon suggested before adding, "I have more or less umted quite a sum of True Grandmist Energy."

    "Alright," Duna agreed.

    Shortly after, Leon held Duna close to himself and instructed the realm spirit to send them back to the Dark Fae n''s location.

    "Wee back, my Lord!" Nyfare and the other dark faes quickly greeted Leon, astonishing Duna in the process.

    "Lord? Duna raised an eyebrow at Leon and asked him, "Since when did you be a lord for this group of demons?"

    "Since I decided to cultivate dark energy and grow my own demon forces."

    Leon casually answered without thinking much about it, but Duna was even more astonished after hearing it.

    Doubts filled her mind.

    However, the moment Leon revealed his dark energy, Duna''s doubts were quickly dispelled like dissipating mists.

    The higher grades of the Darkness Law garner more respect and fear from the creatures of darkness.

    "Still, you consider this a suitable ce for me to cultivate? We are in the open¡­" Duna mentioned after a quick nce around.

    However, Leon assured her, "You don''t have to worry. Even if we are in the open, no one will disturb you here without my permission."

    "Is that something you can control?" Duna asked with ridicule.

    "Of course," Leon answered confidently before exining, "I might have forgotten to mention this, but I am the realmship''s new owner. Right now, there are only a select few that remain within this sub-realm."

    "I have already booted everyone else out," he added.

    After Duna heard that, surprise painted her face; it was just one surprise after another. She had no choice but to admit defeat.

    Leon''s gains in the secret realm were much more significant than hers.

    "It seems that while everyone was scramblings for gold coins, you secretly went ahead and snatched the entire treasure chest," Duna said with a self-deprecating smile before asking, "Are you sure you should be telling me this?"

    "Indeed, others would hunt me due to greed if words get out," Leon admitted with a nod before quickly adding, "However, you''re not just anyone; I trust you with my life."

    "Tch, sweet talker," Duna snorted coldly, but she was secretly happy to hear his words.

    Shortly after, she requested 5000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy from him before creating a cultivation chamber for herself to absorb the crystallized soul core in peace.

    "Don''t disturb me unless it''s something urgent," Duna left those words before sealing herself inside the cultivation chamber.

    Nevertheless, such did not need to be said to him; he was well aware of the potential detriments when one''s cultivation is interrupted.

    After ncing at Duna''s cultivation chamber for a few moments, he finally shifted his attention to Nyfare.

    "You can continue to work on your body cultivation," Leon instructed.

    "Yes, my Lord," Nyfareplied.

    However, just as she was about to turn around and return to the medicine bath, Leon suddenly added, "Oh, right. Take these with you."

    "Take¡­?" Nyfare was confused by what Leon wanted her to take.

    But shortly after Leon transmitted the message to the realm spirit and waved his hand, all the Greater Demons and Arch Demons'' corpses suddenly disappeared from the Bone Sea and reappeared in front of her, piling up like a mountain.

    Nyfare and the other dark faes'' jaws immediately dropped with astonishment.

    "T-this¡­ this is¡­ so many Half-step Arch Demons and Arch Demons¡­! This is¡­ the elders and n leaders of the Nine Great ns!"

    Nyfare and the others all widened their eyes before looking back at Leon with shock.

    "My Lord¡­ this is¡­"

    "The Dark Wyrm n''s doing," Leon casually exined before urging them, "Now take what you need from it and go cultivate."

    "Thank you, my Lord!"

    Nyfare and the other dark faes felt exhrated by Leon''s generosity; following him was the best choice they ever made.

 Chapter 857 - Rewarding The Dark Wyrms

    Shortly after, Nyfare quickly led her n members to work through the mountain of demon corpses, collecting demon cores and salvaging whatever useful resources they could obtain.

    While Leon briefly watched them busy themselves, he had to admit the dark faes were quite the natural beauties.

    Although they only wore coarse and cheap ck robes with tears and stains due to their poverty, it could not hide their perfect figures and smooth skin underneath.

    After soaking themselves in medicine baths and tempering their bodies, whatever scars they once had, it all disappeared under the effects of the healing water.

    Leon was curious why there were no men in the Dark Fae n, but it was just a passing thought, not enough interest for him to inquire about it.

    ''Aria and Darlene should be returning soon now,'' Leon mused while shifting his gaze to the east.

    ¡­

    After Leon kicked out all the humans and demons, the Dark Wyrm n gradually returned to Shadowtail''s side to report the surviving demons'' disappearance.

    Shadowtail and the dark wyrms were baffled by the situation, but their doubts were answered by the realm spirit shortly after.

    ¡­

    Leon only waited a few short minutes before Aria and Darlene returned to the rock wall with the Dark Wyrm n.

    "We''re back," Aria stated before adding, "You were¡­ waiting for us?"

    "Un, wee back," Leon nodded.

    "You should have already understood the current situation after talking to Tak-si, but I''ll inform you again. Right now, there are no longer any other humans and demons in the secret realm beside us."

    "In other words, we have this entire sub-realm to ourselves?" Aria asked with surprise.

    "That''s right," Leon admitted with a nod.

    "However, since I''ve sent back the humans, the battle for hegemony in the Infertile ins will soon enter its full swing. Given my present strength, I won''t be able to stir significant waves unless I rely on the Dark Wyrm n¡ªwhich isn''t my style."

    "Thus, I intend to enter a period of secluded cultivation to raise my strength as much as possible quickly until we leave," Leon stated before seeking Aria and Darlene''s choices, "What do you two want to do during this time?"

    "I will enter deep meditation and continue toprehend the Spatial Law. I want to achieve the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent at the very least before we leave," Darlene decided.

    "Ah, but you don''t have to worry about me," she suddenly added before reassuring everyone, "I have no intention of epting the fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void."

    "I see..." Leon uttered with understanding beforementing, "Given the speed you''ve shown, you''ll definitely achieve it."

    "But¡­ do you not wish to further your progress in body cultivation?" Leon asked shortly after.

    "No," Darlene shook her head.

    "I''m not that invested in body cultivation; I just needed a body strong enough to withstand the recoil of my spatial ability, and I''ve already achieved that for now. If I want to be stronger, it''s best not to divert my focus too much."

    "That makes sense," Leon nodded before saying with a smile, "It seems you are very clear on the direction you want to take. That''s great."

    Shortly after, he turned to Aria for her answer.

    ''If I want to keep up with Leon in the future, I can''t just stick to him all the time. I need to experience self-tempering and cultivate my independence,'' Aria pondered.

    "I will explore the secret realm and look for opponents to perfect my Sword Intent while I''m at it," Aria shortly answered before adding, "I''ll also practice the Godfiend Body Forging Method when I can."

    "I see¡­ If that is your choice, I won''t stop you," Leon replied solemnly.

    It might be dangerous for Aria to explore the secret realm on her own, but he couldn''t shelter her from danger every time.

    She also needed to experience the danger to grow.

    Furthermore, he had control of the Radiant Heaven Realmship and could have Tak-si keep an eye on her and intervene when necessary.

    If Leon didn''t have these reassurances, he would not have agreed with Aria''s choice so readily.

    After pondering for a moment, Leon lifted Aria''s hand and deposited 5000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy into her Interspatial Ring.

    "I''ve stored the energy you need for body cultivation into your storage ring; remember to use it when you practice the Godfiend Body Forging Method," Leon reminded.

    "You can also find a lot of opponents in the underground space at the bottom of that hole I dug over there. There are also plenty of treasures lying around down there for you to find too."

    "Oh? I got it," Aria nodded with a smile and said, "I will check it out first."

    "The undead beings down there can be pretty powerful, though, so be careful," Leon warned her.

    "I will," Aria promised with a sweet smile.

    After giving him a peck on the cheek, she jumped into the deep hole and descended into darkness without hesitation.

    ''Keep an eye on her, Tak-si. Only intervene if her life''s in danger,'' Leon instructed.

    ''Yes, Master,'' the realm spiritplied.

    After settling Aria and Darlene''s matters, Leon finally gave his attention to the Dark Wyrm n; they had been waiting patiently for him all this while.

    "Your n made quite the mess out of the demons, huh? Perhaps, a little too eager even," Leonmented.

    Shadowtail nced at the mountain of demon corpses on the side before he smiled wryly, knowing that the Lord had seen through his n''s intention.

    "The demons all deserve death for targeting my Lord," Shadowtail said.

    "I know what you all want, but I don''t have time to refine everyone''s blood for the time being," Leon calmly stated.

    "Furthermore, you just had your blood refined not long ago. You need to give your blood essence time to adapt to the True Dragon Origin Blood and reproduce it."

    "I understand, my Lord," Shadowtail replied with his head slightly lowered in disappointment.

    "Don''t be disappointed too soon, though. I have another reward in mind that you''ll like just as much as the blood refinement," Leon reassured it.

    In the next moment, Leon transmitted the Dragon God Bone Forging Method into Shadowtail''s mind before it could even guess what the reward was.

 Chapter 858 - Start Of Secluded Cultivation

    "D-dragon God Bone Forging Method?!" Shadowtail eximed with shock.

    At the same time, Nightingale and the other dark wyrms overheard Shadowtail''s outburst and nced at him with startled looks.

    Awakening the True Dragon Bloodline would only guarantee the dark wyrm''s ascension to Divine Beasts.

    If they want to advance further, they will need to rely on more than just their bloodline.

    "Is this really the Dragon God Bone Forging Method, my Lord?" Shadowtail asked with disbelief written all over his face.

    Even with the knowledge imprinted into his memory, Shadowtail found it hard to believe.

    The Lord didn''t just have a method to awaken his Dark Wyrm n''s True Dragon Bloodline but also possessed one of the five sacred methods of the Dragon God.

    Even if the Lord doesn''t im to be the Dragon God''s incarnate, Shadowtail cannot help but revere him as one!

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t bother to answer Shadowtail''s question.

    "Teach it to your n members and practice on your own," Leon casually replied with a smile before adding, "I''m going to enter secluded cultivation for a period of time."

    "Y-yes, my Lord!" Shadowtailplied with sparkling eyes.

    Whether the Dragon God Bone Forging Method is authentic or not, he will know once he practices it with his n members.

    Shortly after, Leon left to construct a cultivation chamber beside Duna''s cultivation chamber.

    At the same time, Nightingale and the other dark wyrms immediately clustered around Shadowtail outside the rock wall with strong curiosity.

    "Did I hear right, Lord Shadowtail? Did Lord Leon really teach you the legendary Dragon God Bone Forging Method?" Nightingale inquired excitedly.

    "Lord Leon has no reason to trick us," Shadowtail stated.

    "It has to be real¡ªno, it must be real. Either way, we find out once we start practicing this Dragon God Bone Forging Method. Come, gather around. Lord Leon has already permitted me to teach you all."

    "Yes, Shadowtail!" the dark wyrms eagerly obliged.

    After Shadowtail saw that he had his n members'' full attention, he began to orally teach them the Dragon God Bone Forging Method.

    He was not adept in spirit arts like Lord Leon, but his voice was loud and clear, allowing more dark wyrms to learn about the Dragon God Bone Forging Method at once.

    How much they learn from Shadowtail''s sermon was up to their ownprehensive ability.

    Half an hourter, Shadowtail finished repeating the first volume of the Dragon God Bone Forging Method a dozen times and answered all their inquiries until they memorized the technique off by heart.

    "Is there any more question? No? Good! Find your own space and begin," Shadowtail instructed his n members with a hint of impatience.

    Shadowtail could not wait to practice the Dragon God Bone Forging Method and validate its effectiveness, but neither could the rest of the dark wyrms wait either.

    "Yes, Lord Shadowtail!" the dark wyrms answered in unison.

    "Shh! Pipe down, will you?" Shadowtail suddenly scolded them for being too loud and said, "Don''t disturb Lord Leon''s cultivation."

    "Yes, Lord Shadowtail¡­" the dark wyrms replied awkwardly.

    Sometimeter, silence filled the region.

    Without True Grandmist Energy, the creatures of darkness utilized the next best option avable to them, dark energy, to reinforce their dragon bones.

    As they drew in dark energy from the atmosphere, the density of dark energy in the area increased.

    Within half an hour of practicing the Dragon God Bone Forging Method, the dark wyrms'' dragon bones ckened under the effects of dark energy, but they noticed a slight increase in their physical might.

    Although the improvement was minuscule, the Arch Demon-level dark wyrms'' eyes brightened with joy.

    Any improvement at their level proved the effectiveness of the Dragon God Bone Forging Method.

    "It''s real!" a dark wyrm eximed excitedly.

    After validating the effect of the Dragon God Bone Forging Method, the Dark Wyrm n became devoted and diligent in their practice.

    Little did Dark Wyrm n know, the Dragon God Bone Forging Method was not the only dragon technique in Leon''s possession.

    Whether it was tempering flesh, consolidating viscera, marrow cleansing, or blood refining, Leon had them all.

    The dragon techniques he obtained from the piles of primordial scriptures and scrolls he recorded were especially prominent among all other techniques.

    Among the Dragon God''s five sacred methods, the Dragon God Blood Refining Method could help dragons awaken their ancestral dragon bloodline.

    However, Leon knew better than to put all his eggs into one basket.

    It was too early for him to reward the Dark Wyrm n with the Dragon God Blood Refining Method, even if it could increase their True Dragon Origin Blood more quickly.

    ¡­

    Inside Leon''s cultivation chamber, Leonpletely shut off his perception of the outside world and focused solely on his task at hand, blood extraction of the Purple Coatl Dragons, which was not part of the mountain of corpses outside.

    He had collected them all into his Worldspace.

    One by one, Leon drained the blood essence from each Purple Coatl Dragon inside his Worldspace and poured them all into a huge empty crater he created, which he further coated with ayer of ice.

    By the time he was done with the Purple Coatl Dragons, the empty crater transformed into a bloodke.

    Whether it was the blood essences of Greater Demon-level or Arch Demon-level Purple Coatl Dragons, they were mixed in the bloodke.

    ''Preparations are all done. Now, I can finally start the blood refinement,'' Leon''s eyes flickered with anticipation.

    Given the vast amount of resources he procured, it will be strange if he doesn''tplete his Body Transformation''s viscera consolidation phase.

    ''If I canplete the Body Transformation''s viscera consolidation phase with just the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood, I can save the Dark Wyrm n''s True Dragon Origin Blood for the opening of the Eight Hidden Gates.''

    Without further ado, Leon exited the Worldspace andmenced his extended cultivation session.

    He spent the next several hours refining the blood essenceke into an origin bloodke before proceeding with the consolidation of his viscera using the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method.

    Shhh¡­!

    The moment Leon directly transferred the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood from the Worldspace in his body, his inner organs sizzled from the contact.

 Chapter 859 - Emptying The Blood Lake

    Despite achieving 5-million jin inner defense in his previous viscera consolidation, the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood burned his inner organs during the infusion, nheless.

    Even so, the pain was certainly a few notches lower than the initial point, which was akin to suffering in the fires of purgatory.

    Anything less than that was like a form of pleasure for Leon.

    And because of that, he wondered if he was bing a masochist.

    Nevertheless, the pain gradually increased beyond hisfort zone as his inner organs sustained damage from the dragon origin blood infusion.

    Reaching that point, Leon finally channeled strands of True Grandmist Energy in to repair and remold his viscera, slowly changing them to that of dragon viscera.

    Although the viscera of a Purple Coatl Dragon was not what Leon desired, it was still one step closer to achieving the viscera of the Dragon God.

    Any step that brings him closer to that goal is necessary.

    Furthermore, the viscera of Purple Coatl Dragon might be inferior among all the dragon races, but it was still far better than the viscera of a human.

    That being said, his inner organs weren''t taking the true form of the Purple Coatl Dragons'' viscera, only their properties.

    Time ticked slowly during the grueling process of consolidating the viscera, but Leon''s gains were equally rewarding as much as he suffered from it.

    Five hundred wisps of True Grandmist Energy were expended, absorbed by his viscera alongside the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood infusion before his inner defense rose to a staggering 10-million jin in strength.

    Leon reached the peak of Rank 1 Body Transformation in the viscera consolidation phase, but he did not stop there.

    No, he was just getting started.

    The origin bloodke was barely touched, and the hundred thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy he umted in Leon''s ck Vortex Space was far from depletion.

    He had a long way to go.

    As Leon became engrossed in his viscera consolidation, he lost track of time; the blood level in the origin bloodke lowered, and his True Grandmist energy reserve also decreased.

    Pain became insignificant, and time moved faster¡ªor rather, his perception of it did.

    All that mattered was his ever-growing strength.

    Prior to his secluded cultivation, Leon only used 1000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy to reach 10-million jin inner defense in his viscera.

    However, 1200 wisps of True Grandmist Energy was expended to reach 20-million jin, 1500 wisps of True Grandmist Energy for 30-million jin, 2000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy for 40-million jin, and so on.

    The demand for Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood and True Grandmist Energy increased exponentially as he progressed further and further in his viscera consolidation.

    By the time Leon reached the peak of Rank 9 Body Transformation in the viscera consolidation phase, the demand for True Grandmist Energy per 10-million jin progress had increased by a dozen fold.

    In total, he expended 40,500 wisps of True Grandmist Energy and all his Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood to reach Peak Rank 9 Body Transformation in the viscera consolidation phase.

    The expenditure was way beyond his expectation.

    He figured he had enough True Grandmist Energy to practice all five phases of Body Transformation, but he nearly expended half of his reserve to reach Peak Rank 9 Body Transformation.

    ''And here I thought the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood was enough for me to reach the very peak of Rank 10 Body Transformation in one go¡­ A lot of time must have passed, which lead to a decrease in the Purple Coatl Dragon Origin Blood''s quality along with its efficiency.''

    Leon silently thought with a sigh as he was forced to end his viscera consolidation.

    ''Seems like I will need to rely on the Dark Wyrm n''s True Dragon Origin Blood toplete the viscera consolidation phase after all¡­''

    ''But before that, I''ll refine the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood essence and flesh my flesh,'' Leon decided.

    Fortunately, the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood essence was brimming with vitality and did not degrade in quality despite the flow of time.

    Even so, it still took Leon several hours topletely refine the sample into origin blood and use it to temper his flesh in the ck Turtle Heavenly Guard.

    Another 1000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy was depleted, but Leon sessfully raised his fleshly defense to 10-million jin, the peak of Rank 1 Body Transformation in the flesh tempering phase.

    "I guess you really can''t fight quality with quantity, huh?" Leon muttered.

    "A few drops of origin blood from a Half-step God Beast is all it takes to advance in the same breath as a few ten thousand drops of origin blood from Purple Coatl Dragon below the level of Divine Beast. I can''t imagine what the effects would be like with the blood of a genuine God Beast¡­"

    Nevertheless, Leon did not doubt that the effect would be incredible.

    "My viscera has reached 90-million jin, and my flesh has reached 10-million jin. Safe to say, my body''s defense has advanced by leaps and bound and entered the realms of Paragons, except for my physical strength¡­"

    "In other words, my body cultivation has be extremely unbnced¡­ My inner defense is extreme, but my strength is severelycking inparison¡­ I need to find resources to help with my bone forging phase next."

    Leon analyzed the pros and cons of his present state before deciding what he needed to focus on for his body cultivation.

    Suddenly, his nose twitched a few times due to the foul smell within the darkness of the cultivation chamber.

    Evidently, the impurities he shed and bad body odor were the cause of it.

    "It seems I need a good bath," Leon muttered wryly.

    He had been in secluded cultivation long enough.

    It was time to go out.

    After leaving his earthen mound for a cultivation chamber, Leon noticed there weren''t many dark faes and dark wyrms present.

    But the ones are were immediately excited to see him.

    "My Lord! You have finally exited your retreat!"

    Saresha''s joyous cry almost moved the dark faes and dark wyrms to tears as they quickly lined up to greet him with heartfelt emotions.

    "We wee you back, my Lord!"

    "How long did I spend in secluded cultivation?"

    Leon asked with a frown of uneasiness as their reactions gave him a bad feeling.

 Chapter 860 - Impending Sea Monster Tide

    "Three weeks, my Lord! You''ve been in seclusion for three weeks!" Saresha stated.

    The moment Leon heard her answer, his eyes widened with shock.

    "Three weeks?!"

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Leon knew he lost track of time while he was engrossed in his cultivation, but he thought it would only be several days to a week at most.

    However, the truth was beyond his imagination.

    "Ugh¡­ Three weeks, huh? What a shock¡­" Leon muttered to himself while rubbing his forehead with distress.

    "Even if I rush back to the Infertile ins now, I''m afraid I''ll still be toote. If there weren''t any surprising miracles during my three weeks of absence, the Seven Tribes Alliance is mostly like conquered by now¡­" he pondered.

    However, he suddenly recalled the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman.

    "¡­Or perhaps not," Leon changed his assumption.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had be a Battle King, and the old man even has a Quasi Tier-7 Greatsword, which boosts hisbat power by a fair deal.

    Even if the One-Eyed Venerable Shamand hadn''t grown stronger during the three weeks, he could stillpete with Mid-rank Battle Kings at the very least.

    "Senior One-Eye should be able to buy a lot of time for the Seven Tribes Alliance¡­ As an active Battle King, Senior One-Eye''s presence will exert a lot of pressure on the battlefield¡­" Leon thought.

    After all, active Battle Kings are not the same as the slumbering Battle Kings; they don''t have a limited lifespan, nor are they at risk of getting bedeviled¡ªor Demonic Possession, as the locals like to call it.

    "The Seven Tribes Alliance should be able to hold on unless the other tribes send Battle Kings to subjugate the Seven Tribes Alliance¡­ However, the slumbering Battle Kings are a tribe''s trump card¡­" Leon thought.

    No tribe would readily awaken their slumbering Battle Kings unless they have to as ast resort; something like this only happens if the tribe is threatened with annihtion.

    After dwelling over the matter for a while, Leon concluded that the Seven Tribes Alliance was still in the game.

    They haven''t been subjugated yet¡ªbut he did not know for how much longer that would remain the case.

    Nevertheless, he put the Seven Tribes Alliance''s matter aside for the time being.

    After rubbing his forehead for a brief moment, Leon shifted his attention back to Saresha and ordered, "Update me on everything that has happened during these three weeks. Where are the others?"

    "After exhausting our cultivation resources, the other n members went to train elsewhere, my Lord. Nothing big has happened during these three weeks¡ªAh, but if I have to mention something, the number of sea monsters in the Bone Sea seemed to have increased," Saresha mentioned.

    "An increase in the number of sea monsters? Is it the sea monster tide?" Leon asked.

    "Sea monster tide, my Lord?" Saresha repeated with doubt before saying, "I''m not sure if it''s a sea monster tide or not, but most of the Dark Wyrm n went hunting along with Miss Aria and Darlene."

    After hearing that, Leon connected his consciousness with the realm spirit''s omniscience and spied on the situation in the Bone Sea.

    He immediately confirmed that the number of sea monsters in the Bone Sea increased, but no one was there¡ªat least, they were nowhere near the central sea region.

    They were spread along the coastal regions and western region''s rivers, hunting the sea monsters inrge numbers before cooking them up and eating them with great relish.

    However, the dark wyrms weren''t simply eating the sea monsters'' tender flesh for the sake of the taste.

    No, the sea monsters'' flesh was rich in nutrients and very good from nourishing their blood.

    Leon could tell that the dark wyrms had grown stronger.

    Their True Dragon Origin Blood had be richer, and the number of Arch Demon-level members within their n had also doubled in thesest three weeks.

    "ording to Tak-si, the sea monster tide has overwhelming numbers¡­ The sea monsters had certainly increased, but this isn''t it. Nevertheless, it might be a sign that a sea monster tide ising soon¡­" Leon muttered.

    ''Isn''t that right, Tak-si?''

    ''Yes, Master,'' the realm spirit affirmed.

    ''ording to the patterns from the past instances, the number of sea monsters always steadily increases before the big sea monster tide arrives. However, other people wouldn''t notice this unless they pay particr attention to the western rivers.''

    ''I see¡­'' Leon nodded before asking, ''Will the sea monster tide pose a problem?''

    ''The present Dark Wyrm n has no problem dealing with them. And generally, the sea monsters rarelye to shore, so the sea monster tide only poses a problem for those trapped at sea during the tide.''

    ''Then, there''s no problem,'' Leon replied.

    Shortly after, he shifted his attention to thedies and the dark faes by the rivers.

    By the looks of it, Darlene had broken through to Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent and even reached the peak of it, just a step short from the Paragon stage.

    Her rate of improvement was truly impressive¡ªor as he should have expected it from the possessor of an Empyrean God-level soul fragment.

    Meanwhile, all the dark faes had at least achieved the early stage of Rank 1 Body Transformation in body cultivation and possess the physical strength of Greater Demons.

    On the other hand, Aria didn''t show any clear sign of advancement in her awakening cultivation, but her Sword Intent seemed very firm, powerful, and intimidating.

    Very few among the Early-rank Arch Demons would be her opponent.

    When Leon checked the underground space, he noticed all the undead beings down there had been utterly decimated.

    ''Did Aria do all this on her own?'' he wondered.

    ''While I was making great progress, thedies weren''tgging too far behind either, huh? I''m afraid that if I don''t keep working hard, I''ll be the one to fall behind instead.''

    Leon silently thought with a wry smile.

    At that moment, Aria, Darlene, and dark faes were catching sea monsters by the rivers.

    Then, they gutted the sea monsters they caught, collected their monster cores, kept their flesh for cooking, but threw away their waste organs.

    ''Doesn''t seem like they are collecting the monster cores for cultivation¡­ It looks like they are aware that artificial spirit energy is harmful. That''s a relief¡­ Did you teach them about it, Tak-si?''

    ''Yes, Master.''

 Chapter 861 - The Realms Above Arch Demon

    After hearing the realm spirit''s confirmation, Leon continued to watch Aria and Darlene through the realm spirit''s omniscience.

    A few momentster, he furrowed his brows and wondered, ''Why are they still collecting the monster cores despite having no use for it?''

    ''There''s actually a use for the monster cores, Master,'' Tak-si stated.

    ''Despite the artificial spirit energy possessing extreme side effects after prolonged exposure to it, all the demons that ever came to this sub-realm had always collected the monster cores for cultivation without exception.''

    ''However, it''s not just demons; many people are willing to ignore the defects for the power they can obtain from the monster cores. Thus, the monster cores can be used as a form of currency, Master,'' Tak-si exined.

    ''I see¡­'' Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    Although he became rich after obtaining a lot of starcore iron, he could only use this form of currency in the Celestial Alliance, where capable artificers could refine the starcore iron.

    He couldn''t use starcore iron as currency on Gaia.

    The monster cores might juste in handy when he explores the demon''s territory, and of course, the Geyser Kingdom.

    As the only kingdom in the Human Domain with ess to the Boundless Sea, he did not doubt that the Geyser Kingdom was possibly using the monster cores as a form of currency as well.

    ''Hm?'' Leon suddenly thought of something serious.

    If the Geyser Kingdom relied on the monster cores procured from the sea monsters in the Boundless Sea for cultivation, they would have amassed quite a considerable number of Transcendents¡ªTranscendents that only enjoy half the lifespans.

    However, that wasn''t the critical point.

    The Cataclysm''s sr wave had swept the world and brought Wrathful Demonic Energy to every corner of it.

    If the Geyser Kingdom did not set up any means of shielding itself from Wrathful Demon Energy like the billowing dark clouds that covered the Dark Abyss Continent, their Awakeners would have rapidly mutated and caused chaos.

    ''Considering there wasn''t any big news from the Geyser Kingdom''s borders after the Cataclysm arrived, I''ll just assume the Geyser Kingdom had some countermeasures in ce¡­'' Leon mused.

    It was one big headache he didn''t want to think too much about.

    It was very likely that the Geyser Kingdom had deeper knowledge and heritage on the Nova civilization, so they should have known what they were getting themselves into.

    As long as their problem doesn''t spread to the Crawford Empire, he wouldn''t care too much about them for the time being.

    ''Hm? I thought I was thest one to finish my secluded cultivation, but it seems like Duna hasn''t exited her retreat yet¡­''

    Leon thought after he shifted his attention to Duna''s cultivation chamber.

    He recalled Duna mentioning that she wouldn''t stop until shepletely absorbed the soul energy in the crystallized soul core once she started, but he didn''t expect she would take this long.

    ''¡­She wouldn''t be a Demon King-level existence after absorbing all the soul energy in the crystallized soul core, would she?''

    Leon wondered with a startled look.

    If Duna could reach the level of Demon King with just the Demon King-level crystallized soul core, it made perfect sense why she treated him like a fool for gifting such a priceless treasure to her.

    But given the same choices again, he still wouldn''t change his mind.

    Nevertheless, was it really possible for Duna to raise her Transcendent-level soul to the Demon King level like that, even if it''s a Demon King-level crystallized soul core?

    ''Come to think of it; I don''t really know much about the ssification of strength for demons beyond Arch Demon¡­''

    ''Tak-si, what is the demon''s cultivation ranks after Arch Demon?'' Leon inquired shortly after.

    ''Above Arch Demon is the Celestial Realm for demons, Master. From the lowest to the highest rank, it is Demon Lord, Great Demon Lord, Demon King, Demon Emperor, and finally Demon Overlord.''

    Tak-si informed him.

    ''Great Demon Lord? There was such a level exists between Demon Lord and Demon King? Why haven''t I heard about any Great Demon Lord-level tomb in this sub-realm?''

    Leon furrowed his brows with doubt.

    ''That is because the demons regard Demon Lord and Great Demon Lord as onerge realm since they don''t have any bottlenecks in between. However, the Celestials divided it into two realms to match the Celestial Realm''s cultivation ranks,'' Tak-si exined.

    ''I see¡­ That means some of the Demon Lord-level tombs in this sub-realm are actually Great Demon Lord-level tombs¡­''

    Leon thought before he suddenly paused.

    The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord had 50 Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms guarding its tomb.

    Leon felt that the trial difficulty posed by Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s tomb was even higher than the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s tomb¡ªat least, he felt that was the case for other people that try to challenge them.

    ''What level was the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord?'' Leon asked curiously.

    ''The Shadow Tempest Demon Lord was a Peak-rank Great Demon Lord, just a step short from being a Demon King, Master,'' Tak-si answered.

    ''I see¡­'' Leon nodded.

    It was just as he suspected; the Shadow Tempest Demon Lord''s tomb seemed too difficultpared to other Demon Lord-level tombs.

    It was actually the tomb of a Peak-rank Great Demon Lord.

    ''Well, enough of that. What is a Demon Overlord? How is thatpared to a Celestial Conqueror? I thought Demon Emperor was the highest realm before True Divinity for the demons?''

    Leon raised further doubts.

    ''Demon Emperor is indeed the highest realm before True Divinity for demons, but the same can be said about Celestial Emperor for Celestials.''

    ''Hm? What about Celestial Conqueror?'' Leon raised an eyebrow.

    ''Celestial Conqueror is not a realm, but more of a title, given to Celestial Emperors after they sessfully bind with the quintessence of star realms or star clusters. They possess the strongest power avable to Celestial Emperors, Master.''

    ''We can also say that they are the Celestial Emperor among Celestial Emperors,'' Tak-si exined.

    ''I see¡­'' Leon rubbed his chin with understanding before saying, ''Then Demon Overlord is just a title given to the strongest Demon Emperor, right?''

    ''That''s correct, Master,'' Tak-si affirmed.

 Chapter 862 - Healing Waterâ€™s Quality

    ''However, I must remind Master that a Demon Overlord is not the same as a Celestial Conqueror; there can be as many Celestial Conquerors as the Starfields in existence, but only one can be the Demon Overlord.''

    ''Doesn''t that mean demons are at a severe disadvantage?''

    ''Not at all, Master. After all, one demon bing the Demon Overlord doesn''t mean other demons can''te close to it in strength or have no chance of surpassing it. We call those demons Demon Overlord Candidates.''

    ''And those demons along with the Celestial Conquerors are all considered Half-step True Divinities, existences that have surpassed the Celestial level but not quite at the True Divinity level.''

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered while staring at Duna''s cultivation chamber.

    "Well, that''s that," he said after a brief moment before turning to Saresha, "You can call your n members back. I''ll set up a new medicine bath for the Dark Fae n."

    "Yes, my Lord!" Saresha''s eyes lit up with anticipation.

    After reaching Rank 1 Body Transformation and gaining 1-million jin physical strength that only Greater Demons possess, Saresha knew just how impressive the Godfiend Body Forging Method was.

    She would have made greater progress if the medicine bath''s healing effect weren''t depleted in the first two days of the Lord''s three-week secluded cultivation.

    Leon watched Saresha disappear over the rock wall before he took out the Tier-7 Golden Grail with great anticipation.

    ''Since three weeks have passed, the quality of the healing water shouldn''t be too bad, right?'' he mused with a hopeful look.

    After he checked the water quality inside the Tier-7 Golden Grail, his eyes immediately sparkled.

    "Tier-5 healing water!" Leon eximed pleasantly.

    Although he expected it, seeing the actual result hit differently.

    "As I expected, the Tier-7 Golden Grail does improve the healing water''s quality with time. This isn''t just tier-5 healing water; it''s almost tier-6!" Leon concluded after inspecting the healing water.

    The gap between tier-5 and tier-6 was not small; it was the difference between the spiritual and the divine.

    As such, tier-6 healing water should be called tier-6 divine healing water instead.

    ''Given another week or so, I dare say this Tier-7 Golden Grail could have produced tier-6 divine healing water. However, I wonder if tier-6 divine healing water is its limit?'' Leon wondered.

    Nevertheless, he decided not to use the tier-5 healing water inside the Tier-7 Golden Grail for the dark faes'' medicine bath.

    Once the tier-5 healing water bes tier-6 divine healing water, it wouldn''t just be capable of recovering wounds; it can also cure all sorts ofmon diseases.

    That''s what makes it divine.

    Mortals in the lower kingdoms would often regard tier-6 divine healing water as the miracle elixir back in the Divine Realm.

    "Hmm¡­ what to do¡­" Leon pondered.

    He didn''t intend to use the tier-5 spirit herbs he obtained from the bottom of the Bone Sea; it would be too extravagant of a waste to use them on the dark faes'' body cultivation.

    However, it would be even more of a waste to use something that is about to be tier-6 divine healing water.

    ''Guess I''ll use the tier-3 spirit herbs growing in the Sacred Garden¡­'' Leon decided.

    However, after he checked on the spirit herbs inside the Worldspace, he quickly realized most of the tier-3 spirit herbs had also upgraded to tier-4 spirit herbs.

    "Well, I guess this works out," Leon thought.

    Tier-3 healing medicine would not be as effective on the dark faes as before now that they have reached the level of Greater Demons.

    While Leon was setting up the medicine bath, news of him finishing his secluded cultivation spread among the Dark Fae n and Dark Wyrm n.

    It didn''t take long before the news also reached Aria and Darlene''s ears, and several minutester, they came rushing back with excitement to see him.

    Swish!

    The twodies dived straight into his arms.

    They had returned even before Saresha could bring the news to them. Evidently, they must have instructed the realm spirit to inform them beforehand.

    Nevertheless, after enjoying each others'' warmth in silence for a moment, they finally parted.

    "You''ve finally out," Aria uttered in a soft tone, filled with relief andint.

    "I guess I did spend a lot more time in my secluded cultivation than I initially intended," Leon smiled wryly before saying, "But I''m back now."

    Even so, he felt a bit of guilt when he looked at Aria.

    There wasn''t any suitable environment in the Radiant Heaven Realmship for Aria to cultivate her Ice-Lightningw.

    As such, her awakening cultivation stagnated for three weeks.

    Nevertheless, Aria sensed his thoughts before she said with a smile, "You don''t need to feel guilty about anything."

    "It is true that my awakening cultivation hasn''t improved much in these past three weeks, but my sword cultivation made up for it. Also, I used up all the True Grandmist Energy you provided."

    "Can you guess how much progress I made?" Aria quizzed him shortly after.

    However, Leon quickly furrowed his brows when he tried to gauge Aria''s aplishment in body cultivation.

    Even if Aria''s energy to strength conversion rate was simr to Darlene''s, she should have reached Mid Rank 1 Body Transformation at the very least with the 5000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy given to her.

    However, it didn''t seem like she could exert more than 1.5-million jin worth of strength.

    "You¡­ reached the Early Rank 1 Body Transformation in the flesh refining and bone forging phase? No, the blood refining phase as well? No, that''s not right either¡­ You also consolidated your viscera¡­"

    Leon muttered with doubt while studying the state of her body.

    "To be precise, I achieved Rank 1 Body Transformation in all five phases," Aria replied with a smile before inserting her opinion, "I figured a bnced physique would do me better than an unbnced one."

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered.

    He immediately felt relieved after finding out where Aria distributed all the True Grandmist Energy in her body.

    Her body''s energy-to-strength conversation rate was, more or less, the same as Darlene''s.

    It wasn''t as bad as he thought.

 Chapter 863 - Dragon Aura

    "You''ve worked hard," Leon praised her.

    "Mm," Aria nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon turned his head to Darlene on his left side and also praised her, "You worked hard as well, and it also seems like you''ll be the first among us to reach the Acknowledged Paragon stage."

    "Jealous?" Darlene grinned.

    "Oh?" Leon uttered with amusement before asking her, "When did you learn to be cheeky, hm?"

    He gave Darlene''s round bottom a sneaky squeeze, causing her to cry with a startled look before her face flushed with embarrassment.

    Shortly after looking around to see no one watching, she pouted at him.

    Leon spent some time catching up with Aria and Darlene before Saresha returned with Nyfare and the rest of the dark faes.

    "Congrattions on your sessful retreat, my Lord!" Nyfare and the dark faes quickly dropped down on their knees and greeted.

    Just by sensing their Lord''s natural aura, which has be more intimidating and grand, they did not doubt that their Lord had be very powerful.

    However, they are only half right.

    Leon''s inner defense had be extremely high, but hisbat prowess itself had not risen by much.

    "Un," Leon calmly acknowledged their greetings before saying, "The medicine bath is ready; you may resume your body cultivation whenever."

    "Thank you, my Lord!" Nyfare replied.

    At the same time, the dark faes'' eyes all lit up. They couldn''t wait to hop in the medicine bath and resume their body cultivation immediately.

    Atst, they could forge their bones again.

    Although the pain of bone forging was no joke, the explosive strength gained from it filled them with excitement and anticipation.

    Every bit of improvement elevated their confidence.

    Shortly after the dark faes rushed to the medicine bath to cultivate their body, Aria suddenly pinched Leon in the waist.

    "Hm? What''s the matter?" Leon asked with a baffled look.

    "It suddenly came to my attention that you like watching the dark fae soak their bodies in the medicine bath, isn''t that right?" Aria used him.

    "Tell me, which one has caught your eye? Is it that girl, Saresha? Or the leader, Nyfare?" she spected before asking with wide eyes, "Don''t tell me you''ve set your eyes on all of them?!"

    Although Leon did think the sight was quite a feast for the eyes, there''s no way he could admit that he made the dark faes cultivate in the medicine bath for such a reason.

    "That''s a false usation, Aria," Leon smiled wryly before saying, "Why would you think that? Do you think everyone can enjoy the benefits of True Grandmist Energy?"

    "Hm? Am I wrong? I guess it was just my imagination then¡­" Aria quickly dropped the matter without bothering to answer his question.

    Leon was a bit speechless.

    He began to wonder if this was her way of warning him not toy his hands on any more women when he already had them.

    Sometimeter, Shadowtail and a small group of dark wyrms returned from the Bone Sea.

    "It''s good to see you again, my Lord! Congrattions on your sessful retreat!"

    Shadowtail and the dark wyrms greeted with greater respect and reverence, feeling even closer to their Lord than ever before.

    Although Leon''s aura was not quite the same as the dark wyrms, he had indeed acquired a dragon aura.

    It was the result of reaching thetter stages of the Body Transformation realm after using the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method and the Purple Coatly Dragon Origin Blood.

    At that moment, even Leon did not know what abilities he might have gained from acquiring the dragon viscera.

    Even so, it was a somewhat weak dragon viscera, so his hidden dragon abilities might not be all that strong yet.

    "You''re not doing too bad yourself. It seems like the Dragon God Bone Forging Method had increased your strength tremendously, but of course, this wouldn''t have been possible if you didn''t put in the hard work," Leon casually replied to Shadowtail.

    Just by sensing its overwhelmingly powerful vitality, he could tell Shadowtail had grown even more powerful in the past three weeks.

    Shadowtail was no longer just a High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm; he had actually be a Peak-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm!

    "It''s all thanks to you, my Lord. It wouldn''t have been possible without your grace," Shadowtail lowered his head humbly to Leon.

    "Nevertheless, you have now reached a level that most beasts can only reach in their entire lifetimes," Leon stated.

    "Even if your strength continues to grow from this point onwards, you still won''t be able to reach the next level with just that. Fortunately, your True Dragon Bloodline has been strengthened quite a bit, most likely due to the sea monsters you consumed in the past three weeks."

    "I estimate that it will only take a few blood refinement sessions and some blood nourishing supplements before you awaken your True Dragon Bloodline and be a Divine Beast."

    That being said, Leon wasn''tpletely confident; he was not an expert in the field.

    "Does that mean¡­" Shadowtail''s eyes lit up before he uttered carefully with doubt, "My Lord intends to¡­"

    "That''s right. I''ll perform a few blood refinements on the High-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms," Leon confirmed with a nod before suddenly adding, "But before that, I''m taking a quick bath in the Bone Sea."

    "I understand, my Lord. I will gather my n members in the meantime," Shadowtail stated.

    "Alright," Leon acknowledged before informing Aria and Darlene of his short departure, "I''ll be back in a bit."

    "Mm," Aria and Darlene nodded.

    However, they didn''t intend on staying within the rock walls and doing nothing, so Aria shortly informed him, "You can find us by the west river; I''ll be going back to hunting sea monsters with Sister Darlene."

    "Oh? Alright," Leon nodded.

    Just as Aria and Darlene turned to leave with their backs facing Leon, an impulsepelled him to smack Darlene''s round bottom.

    However, Darlene quickly intercepted his hand before it couldnd as if she possessed ultra instincts or eyes at the back of her head.

    Then, Darlene gave Leon a dirty look and asked, "Do you like touching my butt that much or something?"

    "Ahem, it was just a joke," Leon coughed beforeughing dryly and fleeing from the scene, "Haha¡­ Well, then. I''ll be off now."

    He disappeared in the next instance and returned to the bottom of the Bone Sea.

 Chapter 864 - The Black Turtleâ€™s Aura

    After returning to the bottom of the Bone Sea, Leon harvested more tier-5 spirit herbs from the region before renting them in the Sacred Garden.

    Then, he took out some water-attribute spirit herbs ranging between tier-1 to tier-4 quality from the Sacred Garden and rented them on the seafloor.

    ''The environment around here is unique. If I keep taking without giving back, it''ll destroy the environment formed around this ce,'' Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, after harvesting and renting a few hundred stalks of spirit herbs, Leon shifted his attention to the tier-6 divine herbs on the seafloor.

    He found that out of the several tens of thousand spirits herbs growing on the seafloor, there were no more than two dozen tier-6 divine herbs.

    ''Tier-6 divine herbs with recovery properties are capable of regrowing limbs and organs if used right, but some types are evidently stronger in the field than others. I should find the most suitable herb for refining the Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill¡­'' Leon thought.

    Since he was going to return to the Infertile ins afterward, it would not do if he did not help his adopted little sister regain her missing kidney.

    Leon surfed through the two dozen tier-6 divine herbs on his list before finally settling on the Tier-6 Divine Winterdew Grass.

    ''If I recall, the Tier-6 Divine Winterdrew Grass was around here¡­ There it is!''

    Leon navigated his way along the field of spirit herbs on the seafloor before finding the Tier-6 Winterdew Grass recorded in his memory.

    After he carefully harvested the Tier-6 Winterdew Grass, he ced it in an icebox he created to seal it.

    Then, he dropped by the nine towering Godly Divine Needles to collect more samples of the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood essence for his flesh tempering phase.

    ''Last time, a few drops was all it took for me to advance in the ck Turtle Heavenly Guard and reach Rank 1 Body Transformation in the flesh tempering phase¡­ I should take enough blood essence to Rank 4 Body Transformation at the very least this time¡­'' Leon mused.

    Considering the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood essence was of the divine quality and wouldn''t degrade with time, the unique environment on the seafloor would be affected if he took too much at once.

    Once Leon collected the estimated amount of the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood essence to reach Rank 4 Body Transformation, he prepared to leave after thoroughly cleansing himself of any residual filth on his body.

    "Are you just going to take my blood and leave like that without saying anything to this Old Turtle? What a rude and inconsiderate junior you are."

    The ck Turtle God Beast''s voice suddenly resounded in Leon''s mind just as he was about to leave.

    ''Why didn''t Senior ask the Peak-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters whenever they take your blood essence as well? Why single me out?'' Leon retorted.

    ''You¡­'' the ck Turtle God Beast became noticeably irked by Leon''sck of respect.

    However, the ck Turtle God Beast recalled that it had already lost all of Leon''s respect for it after showing unreasonable hostility.

    Even so, it was still a Half-step God Beast.

    Why does a Half-step God Beast need to show some respect to a mortal just to earn some respect back?

    The ck Turtle God Beast''s pride wouldn''t allow it.

    If anything, it was the mortal''s stubbornness that made them at odds with each other.

    Any other mortal wouldn''t have the chance to act so impudently in front of it if the nine Godly Divine Needles didn''t seal its movements.

    However, the ck Turtle God Beast was aware that if it mentioned this, Leon would reply something like, "For the sake of your dignity, you can vite other people''s dignity?"

    As such, the ck Turtle God Beast did not steer the conversation in that direction.

    ''Haiz, I''m not here to fight with you this time, so can we put aside our difference and have a normal conversation?'' the ck Turtle God Beast sighed before saying, ''There''s something I want to ask you.''

    ''Oh?'' Leon uttered with surprise.

    It came to his attention that the ck Turtle God Beast had calmed down and could control its emotions.

    At the very least, the ck Turtle God Beast didn''t fly into a rage at the slightest irritation.

    ''What does Senior want to ask?'' Leon inquired with a more respectful tone.

    ''Hah¡­ Look at you; so you can be pretty respectful¡ªAhem, never mind,'' the ck Turtle God Beast suddenly cleared its throat before saying, ''What are you doing with my blood? I can feel my aura on you.''

    The ck Turtle God Beast was puzzled by it.

    At the same time, Leon immediately realized why the ck Turtle God Beast seemed a bit more amodating than before.

    The ck Turtle God Beast''s aura on his body made the ck Turtle God Beast view him like its kin instead of a human.

    Unexpectedly, Leon had established somemon grounds for them tomunicate.

    ''I used Senior''s blood to temper my flesh with the ck Turtle Heavenly Guard method,'' Leon answered honestly.

    ''Oh? The ck Turtle Heaven Guard, huh?'' the ck Turtle God Beast uttered with surprise before saying, ''How unexpected¡­ This Old Turtle didn''t expect you would have such a method.''

    ''Senior is not angry?'' Leon wondered.

    ''Haha, why would this Old Turtle be? Since you absorbed this Old Turtle''s blood into your body, you''ve practically be my descendants,'' the ck Turtle God Beast said joyously.

    However, Leon furrowed his brows with confusion.

    ''I don''t think that''s how it works, Senior¡­'' Leon mentioned with a wry look.

    ''Haiz, don''t sweat the details,'' he ck Turtle God Beast brushed it off.

    ''My ck Turtle n is very few in numbers. Thus, we are happy to wee any new addition to our ranks, even if you are a human.''

    That being said, Leon still noticed the spite in the ck Turtle God Beast''s tone when it mentioned the human part.

    ''This Old Turtle ought to praise you, boy,'' the ck Turtle God Beast shortly added.

    ''Not just anyone can perfectly fuse with this Old Turtle''s blood like you did.. It must be due to the True Grandmist Energy you used with it.''

 Chapter 865 - Second Coming Of Shiva

    ''You know about that, Senior?'' Leon uttered with surprise.

    ''Are you looking down on this turtle?'' the ck Turtle God Beast questioned him with a grumpy tone.

    ''This Old Turtle might be immobilized down here, but this Old Turtle''s senses are still very clear. Did you think this Old Turtle wouldn''t notice when you great such a stir in the Bone Sea?''

    ''I suppose not,'' Leon smiled wryly.

    But then again, it was because he knew that ck Turtle God Beast couldn''t do anything that he didn''t care if the ck Turtle God Beast found out about his abilities in the first ce.

    ''I apologize if I offended you, Senior.''

    ''What is there to apologize? We''ve offended each other enough already. Just drop the matter already,'' the ck Turtle God Beast said.

    ''Nevertheless, you shouldn''t reveal this kind of power carelessly. If you ever n to leave Gaia, this Old Turtle advises that you do not use it at all,'' the ck Turtle God Beast warned him with a firm tone.

    ''It''s fine if the devil-awakened Celestials found out about your Nihility Law since they will either worship you or try to make you a tool for their enriching their cultivation. But if the god-awakened Celestials found out, most of them will hunt you to the end of the world.''

    ''Un, I am aware of this matter, Senior,'' Leon nodded.

    He already had first-hand experience in the Gaia''s Core when he revealed his Nihility Law to the Celestial Ruler of Gaia, Celestial Earthshaker.

    ''Still, my power doesn''t surprise you, Senior?'' Leon asked curiously.

    Considering the ck Turtle God Beast showed no sign of hostility after finding out about his Nihility Law, it appeared that the ck Turtle God Beast favored him like the World Tree, Saint Voidme.

    ''Surprised? Of course, this Old Turtle was surprised!'' The ck Turtle God Beast stated.

    ''However, it''s been three weeks now. Why would this Old Turtle still be surprised about it? Nevertheless, it sure has been a while since another Inheritor of Nihility appeared.''

    ''Another Inheritor of Nihility? There were others before me?'' Leon inquired with a startled look.

    ''Kek,'' the ck Turtle God Beast snickered at his question and said, ''Of course, there are. Did you think you were someone special? That you were the first ever toprehend the Nihility Law?

    ''Ah, but there''s only been one instance of the Inheritor of Nihility appearing before you, so that does make you kind of special¡­''

    Just as the ck Turtle God Beast''s words brought Leon''s ego down, it shortly raised it back up again.

    Nevertheless, Leon was speechless by what the ck Turtle God Beast said.

    Although it turned out that he wasn''t the first in history, he was still the second. Yet, that was only enough to be ''kind of special'' in the ck Turtle God Beast''s eyes.

    ''Where is that Inheritor of Nihility now?'' Leon asked.

    ''Dead,'' the ck Turtle God Beast stated without hesitation before adding further, ''Hunted by everyone in the God Realm.''

    ''Oh?'' Leon uttered with surprise before asking, ''Even the demons? Just what did this person do that everyone would even join forces with demons to get rid of that person?''

    ''That person was regarded as the God of Destruction, Shiva. He didn''t care for anyone nor ept any followers; he killed everyone and everything as if he had a strong hatred for the world,'' the ck Turtle God Beast stated.

    ''That was the only reason the entire God Realm could work together to destroy Shiva. Thus, it is important that you hide your power well. Because depending on what you do, you could also be regarded as the seconding of Shiva and get hunted by all of the God Realm.''

    ''I understand, Senior,'' Leon nodded with a firm.

    Although he was already that the Nihility Law wasn''t something that could be shown in public, he didn''t understand its significance to the God Realm until he heard the story of Shiva from the ck Turtle God Beast.

    At the same time, he thought Shiva was quite the appropriate name as its literal meaning is ''that which is not.''

    In other words, Shiva means nothing; it is the nothingness from which everything came.

    After summoning the Nihility Barrier to catch his air in the bottom of the Bone Sea, Leon wondered, ''How strong was Shiva when he fell?''

    ''Half-step True Divinity,'' the ck Turtle God Beast answered.

    ''Only a Half-step True Divinity?''

    ''What do you mean only?'' the ck Turtle God Beast snickered and said, ''Half-step True Divinity is already the strongest power anyone can possess in the current era.''

    ''Huh? Has no one achieved True Divinity since the end of the primordial era, Senior?'' Leon asked with surprise.

    ''None,'' the ck Turtle God Beast stated with hesitation before adding, ''It''s extremely difficult to be True Divinity in this era¡ªor rather, it might just be impossible.''

    ''The damage sustained in the Great War practically ruined Primal Chaos and shut off the path of the evesting. Shiva''s incident only served to strengthen that idea further after he rampaged across the God Realm.''

    Leon frowned after he heard that.

    Although he was disappointed to hear that the world no longer had any True Divinities despite the rich primordial heritage scattered across the world, Half-step True Divinity was still more than enough strength to seed in his revenge.

    Nevertheless, there was one thing that baffled him.

    ''There''s something I don''t understand, Senior," Leon mentioned.

    ''Being the second Inheritor of Nihility, I am bound to bebeled the Second Coming of Shiva, a disaster that will bring an end to the world with this power. So howe you don''t have any intention to kill me at all?''

    He highly doubted that it was because the ck Turtle God Beast regarded him as its kin.

    ''You don''t know much, do you, boy?'' the ck Turtle God Beast said.

    ''Did you thinkprehending the Nihility Law alone is enough to make you a disaster for the world? The answer is no.. You can be the world''s ender, but you can equally be its savior.''

 Chapter 866 - Nihilityâ€™s Opposing Law

    ''The world''s savior, huh?''

    Leon smiled slightly with self-deprecation while reminiscing the past again for a brief moment before shaking his head.

    ''Senior can''t be serious. The end of everything we know is inevitable. Are you aware of the Chaos Sea outside of Primal Chaos, Senior?''

    ''Naturally,'' the ck Turtle God Beast affirmed.

    ''Then are you aware that there''s a Dimension Crack in Gaia''s Core that connects to that very Chaos Sea, which is brimming with nothingness, Senior?'' Leon further asked.

    ''Of course,'' the ck Turtle God Beast affirmed again before saying, ''The Vandelheim Star Realm has been a battleground for the Celestial and Demons. It would be strange if the worldyer didn''t weaken from the devastation.''

    ''The battle between the Celestial Alliance and the Eternal Night Demon Empress''s faction had been especially fierce,sting several ten thousand years before the Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor proposed a truce on this.''

    ''s, the damn truce was a sham! The Radiant Sword Celestial Emperor is a big hypocrite, and the Great Void Celestial Conqueror isn''t any better for supporting such a big hypocrite!''

    The ck Turtle God Beast''s blood boiled at the sudden recollection of the two most detested beings in its life.

    ''Why did Senior side with the Celestial Alliance in the war against the demons in the first ce? Was Senior part of the Celestial Alliance? Or did Senior have the same prejudice against demons as them?'' Leon inquired.

    ''Part of the Celestial Alliance? What a joke!'' the ck Turtle God Beast snorted at Leon''s words as if it was the most absurd thing it ever heard.

    ''This Old Turtle is a Half-step God Beast, hailing from the Myriad Beast Star Realm and unaffiliated to any power! Besides, the Celestial Alliance is only for humans. This Old Turtle joined the war because the demons were too invasive and violent.''

    ''They weren''t content with their territory and encroached on another''s domain; that is why this Old Turtle joined the war to put the demons in their ce. However, this Old Turtle has learned from his mistake.''

    ''The humans are just big babies; they cry the loudest for help, yet when they receive help, they don''t hesitate to stab their helpers in the back if their interests and opinions don''t align! They are just too despicable!''

    The ck Turtle God Beast vented its frustration for some time before recalling the one listening to it was also a human.

    ''Ahem, enough of that. We''ve strayed off-topic,'' the ck Turtle God Beast said before going back to their previous topic, ''Anyway, this Old Turtle has been aware of the Dimension Crack for a long time.''

    ''Since Senior is aware, how can Senior say that this Junior can be the world''s savior when my power only speeds up the world''s destruction?'' Leon asked with doubt.

    The best he could do was slow down the Dimension Crack''s expansion by absorbing the power of Nihility leaking out from the Dimension Crack.

    Nevertheless, his question left the ck Turtle God Beast wanting to shake its head.

    ''It seems that you haven''t realized it, boy. The first Shiva became a God of Destruction, but that was his choice. You don''t have to follow down the same path; whether you destroy the world or save it, the choice is yours, and only yours,'' the ck Turtle God Beast said.

    ''Nevertheless, this Old Turtle must say that the path of bing the world''s savior is much more difficult than bing the world''s ender, just as it is easier to destroy things than it is to rebuild them.''

    ''There are two sides to every coin; everythinges in pairs, even Nihility, boy.''

    Although the ck Turtle God Beast didn''t mention it directly, Leon immediately understood what it was trying to say.

    ''Nihility''s opposingw was the solution to saving the world''s eventual end, huh?'' Leon smiled wryly before helplessly saying, ''Is it even possible toprehend?''

    ''Not even the gods and devils from the primordial era couldprehend the Nihility Law, yet someone seeded in this era¡ªtwo people seeded, actually. So what does that tell you, boy?'' the ck Turtle God Beast asked.

    ''Just because it''s possible doesn''t make it any easier, Senior,'' Leon smiled helplessly before adding, ''I can''t even begin to imagine just how difficult it''ll be.''

    ''This Old Turtle didn''t say it would be easy, but only you have the destiny to make it possible; others cannot even get the opportunity even if they want to because¡ª''

    ''Because they don''t even have a starting point,'' Leon finished the ck Turtle God Beast''s sentence.

    The Law of Actuality, Existence, Reality, or whatever people wanted to call it is an impossibly difficultw toprehend without a doubt, but still possible, nheless.

    However, if people do not even know where to start, then it will truly be impossible.

    Only he knew where to start because only he was qualified.

    Nevertheless, Leon could not help but feel burdened by the immense weight on his shoulders.

    The n toprehend Creation Law through the reverse understanding of the Destruction Law is already difficult.

    Yet, now he must go one step further andprehend existence through the reverse understanding of nothingness.

    ''So you know¡­ That''s good.''

    The ck Turtle God Beast uttered with surprise after Leon urately guessed what it was going to say.

    ''Nevertheless, this Old Turtle can see that you are overwhelmed by the destiny ced on you, so let us put an end to this topic. Don''t let it weigh down on your mind. There is only one thing you need to do; be stronger. Everything elsees after.''

    ''You''re right, Senior,'' Leon agreed with a nod before saying, ''I still have a long way to go before worrying about such matters like saving the world. At the very least, I should reach the Celestial Emperor Realm first.''

    ''That''s the spirit,'' the ck Turtle God Beast said encouragingly before offering, ''Why don''t you take some more blood before you go?''

    ''I also want to, but if I take anymore, the divine herb''s environment will be affected,'' Leon replied with a wry smile.

 Chapter 867 - Futile Solutions

    However, the problem Leon mentioned was not a problem for the ck Turtle God Beast at all.

    ''You don''t have to worry about that. Give this Old Turtle a moment.''

    ''What are you nning to do, Senior?''

    The ck Turtle God Beast did not answer Leon''s question, but he shortly felt the seafloor begin to shake like an earthquake before more blood essence oozed out from the gaps in the nine Godly Divine Needles.

    ''Senior, you¡­ If you do this, you will suffer,'' Leon said with surprise.

    He did not expect the ck Turtle God Beast to move forcefully to bleed a bit more just to aid him in his cultivation.

    ''This Old Turtle has been sealed down here with these nine Godly Divine Needles impaled in my body so many years; this little bit of pain is nothing,'' the ck Turtle God Beast said.

    Meanwhile, Luna had been secretly spying on their interaction through her share of the omniscient ability as the other half of the realm spirit.

    Three weeks ago, Leon and Grandpa Turtle were like fire and water, and yet now, they were all buddy-buddy.

    Grandpa Turtle was even willing to sacrifice some blood for Leon.

    She knew just how much the ck Turtle God Beast had grown to detest humans, which made it all the more surprising for what it was doing.

    At the same time, Leon didn''t expect the ck Turtle God Beast to be so selfless just because they could properlymunicate.

    He had underestimated how much the ck Turtle God Beast viewed him as an addition to its ck Turtle n.

    While watching more blood essence ooze out of the gaps in the nine towering pirs before Leon noticed the ck Turtle God Beast''s movements had loosened the nine Godly Divine Needles.

    ''Senior, have you ever thought about removing these Godly Divine Needles?'' Leon inquired.

    ''You ask such a strange question, boy. Who in their right mind would want to stay under the suppression of these nine Godly Divine Needles if they were given a choice?'' the ck Turtle God Beast responded.

    It made a clear point.

    Saying that his question was strange was just putting it nicely; it was actually a stupid question.

    Nevertheless, Leon just wanted to confirm the ck Turtle God Beast''s desire to be freed from the nine Godly Divine Needles'' suppression.

    ''Senior''s movements have loosened the nine Godly Divine Needles over the years, so it might be possible to remove it and free Senior from them,'' Leon stated.

    However, he failed to produce any positive response from the ck Turtle God Beast.

    ''Haiz, you are clearly underestimating these nine Godly Divine Needles, boy,'' the ck Turtle God Beast sighed and said, ''It doesn''t matter if this Old Turtle''s movements had loosened them; no one below Celestial Emperor will be able to lift them.''

    ''That might not be true, Senior,'' Leon argued.

    ''The water in the Bone Sea has a higher density than ordinary water, which also means a higher buoyancy force to reduce the weight of these nine Godly Divine Needles.''

    ''Therefore, if we remove all thendmass weighing down on Senior''s body, it might be possible to lift these Godly Divine Needles with the help of the Dark Wyrm n.''

    ''Even if that is the case, you forgot to ount for the needles'' tips that prated the hull of the realmship. You''ll still need at least 100-billion jin of raw physical strength to lift these needles,'' the ck Turtle God Beast stated.

    After hearing that, Leon furrowed his brows in thought.

    It was apparent that he had been too hopeful. The requiredbor was indeed much higher than he anticipated.

    If he wanted to lift 100-billion jin, he would need at least 10-thousand Early-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms, which he didn''t have.

    He had no choice but to abandon that n.

    ''Senior is right. This Junior was too hopeful,'' Leon admitted.

    ''However, we have options to explore. I heard that these Godly Divine Needles'' weight and size are adjustable. Once I bind these Godly Divine Needles, Senior can be free after I shrink them.''

    ''You''re very optimistic, but it''s no use,'' the ck Turtle God Beastmented wryly.

    ''These Godly Divine Needles are bound by the Great Void Celestial Conqueror. Therefore, no one else can bind these Godly Divine Needles unless the Great Void Celestial Conqueror dies.''

    ''I believe we still have another option, Senior,'' Leon said with a confident look.

    Although his Nihility Law might not be strong enough to erase something on the level of the Godly Divine Needles, it should be more than capable of erasing the Great Void Celestial Conqueror''s binding.

    The ck Turtle God Beast could quickly guess Leon''s intention, but it immediately opposed his idea with a firm tone.

    ''Absolutely not! You must not use Nihility to erase the Great Void Celestial Conqueror''s trace of will on the Godly Divine Needles! Once you do, the Great Void Celestial Conqueror will immediately know about you and your ability.''

    After Leon heard that, he was immediately startled by it.

    If the Great Void Celestial Conqueror could truly sense him across such great distance, removing the Great Void Celestial Conqueror''s trace of will with Nihility was the same as courting death!

    Leon expended his ideas one by one before he felt less optimistic about the ck Turtle God Beast''s situation.

    ''Is there no other way to free Senior?'' Leon asked helplessly.

    ''Unless you can head to the Myriad Beast Star Realm and ask the Blue Dragon Emperors for help, there is no other way except raising your strength until you can free Old Turtle yourself,'' the ck Turtle God Beast stated.

    ''Nevertheless, heading to the Myriad Beast Star Realm and asking the Blue Dragon Emperors for help also possess a certain level of risk.''

    ''Right,'' Leon agreed.

    He understood what the risk was exactly.

    The Radiant Heaven Realmship might not be among the top-tier divine artifacts from the primordial age, but it was still a great divine artifact to have for traveling great distances.

    Many would kill for it, and Leon knew this well.

    ''This Old Turtle appreciates your goodwill, but you do not need to worry about this. Just focus on your cultivation, boy.''

    ''Yes, Senior.''

 Chapter 868 - Bloodline Awakening

    Leon silently engraved the ck Turtle God Beast''s favor in his heart before he went ahead and collected the blood essence oozing out of the gap in the ground.

    Not long after, he teleported back to the western region.

    "Wee back, my Lord," Shadowtail greeted.

    Behind the Peak-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm, a whole row of other Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms lined up orderly with glints of excitement and anticipation.

    "Wee back, my Lord!" the rest of the dark wyrms greeted with a resounding volume.

    "Un," Leon acknowledged their greetings with a nod before saying, "Give me a moment. I have something to do first."

    Shortly after saying that, Leon immediately pulled out the icebox containing the Tier-6 Divine Winterdew Grass and several other tier-4 to tier-5 spirits herbs as supplements for the Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill.

    With a flick of Leon''s wrist, a tier-6 pill cauldron appeared; with another flick, Leon fired up the tier-6 pill cauldron for preheating.

    As he waited for the pill cauldron to reach the adequate temperature, Leon mediated to stabilize his mind to peak conditions.

    ''In my past life, I''ve refined no more seven tier-6 divine pills after bing a Tier-6 Divine Alchemist. Therefore, refining the Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill will be a true test of my skills,'' Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, his alchemy foundation cannot bepared to the past, at least not when he has a wealth of alchemy knowledge from the Divine Book of Life to strengthen his foundation.

    He was very confident in his pill refinement.

    For the first step of his pill refinement, Leon dropped a block of ice in the cauldron and let it melt to boiling temperatures.

    Shortly afterpleting that step, he extracted the essence of the supplementary herbs and introduced them into the boiling water, leaving the Tier-6 Divine Winterdew Grass forst.

    ''The main herb is of the water attribute, so I had to set the right condition before I can add the Tier-6 Divine Winterdew Grass''s extract into the mix. Doing otherwise will lose a substantial portion of the extract''s efficacy.''

    Leon silently methodically followed the steps to the teeth.

    Although he was confident, that was only the case if he followed the steps ordingly; he didn''t dare y around with such a rare herb.

    Half an hourter, Leonpleted the pill refinement smoothly.

    He lifted the pill cauldron lid before a wave of medicinal fragrance and hot air assaulted his senses; the medicinal fragrance, in particr, was quite intense.

    This indicated that he had lost arge portion of the pills'' efficacy.

    "Six Mid-rank and three Low-rank Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill, huh?" Leon muttered while staring at the nine blue pills inside the pill cauldron with a calm look.

    He expected the oue to be low due to his inexperience and low proficiency in refining tier-6 divine pills.

    Nevertheless, the result still turned out better than his expectation, albeit slightly.

    ''The pills'' efficacy might be on the lower end, but none of the medicinal extracts turned into dredges,'' Leon mused.

    After letting the nine divine pills cool down, he prepared a special pill bottle of ice to store them before putting everything away in his Worldspace.

    "Alright, I''m done here," Leon uttered before he turned his head to the dark wyrms and asked, "So, who wants their blood refinement first?"

    Shortly after Leon raised the question, the dark wyrms immediately retreated several paces, leaving Shadowtail in front as the sole candidate for the first blood refinement.

    The dark wyrms had no intention ofpeting with their current n leader for the first time.

    "I guess you''re first, Shadowtail," Leon nced at the giant Peak-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm and nodded. "You remember what you need to do, right?"

    "Yes, my Lord!" Shadowtail responded with excitement.

    The Peak-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm bit its tongue and unloaded gallons of blood essences before Leon caught it all with his divine will and held it in midair, not letting a single drop touch reach the ground.

    Shortly after, Leon revolved vigorous crimson blood pool in the air, indicating the official start of his blood refinement with the Evesting Blood Mantra technique.

    As Leon refined the blood pool, he could sense the content in the blood pool was richer with True Dragon Blood Essences thanst time.

    Without a doubt, it was thanks to the increase in True Dragon Origin Blood.

    Even so, Dark Wyrm Blood Essenceprised most of the blood pool.

    ''Shadowtail is still far from transforming all the Dark Wyrm Blood Essence in his body into True Dragon Blood Essence with the True Dragon Origin Blood, huh?''

    ''However, given his present strength, I doubt aplete transformation is needed for Shadowtail''s bloodline awakening¡­''

    The True Dragon Blood Essence was barely a tenth of the blood pool, which indicates the ratio of True Dragon Blood Essence in Shadowtail''s body was, more or less, the same.

    ''Perhaps, two-tenth is enough for the first bloodline awakening?'' Leon spected.

    Fifteen minutester, hepletely refined the blood pool into origin blood.

    Most of the Dark Wyrm Blood Essence naturally turned into Dark Wyrm Origin Blood, with only a tiny portion bing True Dragon Origin Blood.

    On the other hand, nearly all True Dragon Blood Essence turned into True Dragon Origin Blood.

    ''It seems that each additional blood refinement will have an exponential effect,'' Leon mused.

    He infused all the True Dragon Origin Blood back into Shadowtail''s bloodstream before keeping all the Dark Wyrm Origin Blood for himself.

    "Thank you, my Lord!" Shadowtail said sincerely.

    "Alright, off you go," Leon shooed away the Peak-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm before turning to look at the other dark wyrms. "Who''s next?"

    "I''m next, my Lord," Nightingale immediately shuffled forward from the crowd.

    Her strength might be slightly lower than Shadowtail, but she was also a Peak-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm.

    Leon acknowledged with a nod.

    ¡­

    As Leon spent the next twelve hours refining origin blood for the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms and a select few Peak-rank Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms, Shadowtail''s aura surged with towering ferocity.

    In that instance, Leon''s eyes flickered with expectations.

    ''Shadowtail must be undergoing his bloodline awakening!'' Leon quickly determined after shifting his gaze to Shadowtail''s location.

 Chapter 869 - Earth Dragon

    Roar!

    Shadowtail raised his head to the sky and gave a mighty roar filled with anguish and pain as he felt his entire body burning.

    The moment the True Dragon Blood Essence in his body reached two-tenths of its total blood capacity, they resonated with rising temperatures.

    Like a crying newborn baby, the True Dragon Blood Essence came alive in Shadowtail''s body and ran amok and rampaging excitedly.

    However, such excitement brought nerve-wracking pains through Shadowtail''s body.

    Roar!

    Shadowtail gave another thunderous roar before sumbing to the pain and squirming on the ground uncontrobly, causing quakes and tremors in the region.

    Leon immediately furrowed his brows.

    After he quickly gave a specificmand to the realm spirit, the squirming Shadowtail disappeared from the spot and reappeared in another region, far from the rock wall area in the western region.

    Leon did not want Shadowtail''s bloodline awakening to disturb Duna''s cultivation.

    "W-where did Shadowtail go?" Nightingale and the other dark wyrms wondered with a bit of confusion and disappointment.

    They wanted to bear witness to the event.

    "Tak-si," Leonmanded.

    Swish!

    In the next instance, Leon and the dark wyrms also disappeared, teleporting to the cksand Desert in the south region, where Leon decided to drop Shadowtail.

    Roar!

    It didn''t take long before the dark wyrms heard Shadowtail''s roar in the distance and turned to look in that direction.

    They immediately saw Shadowtail wailing in the desert, tossing billows of sand around and kicking up a sandstorm around it.

    At the same time, Shadowtail''s heart-wrenching cry made their dark wyrms'' scalp tingle with a chill as the desert wind blew past them.

    "The bloodline awakening process is far from what I imagined¡­ For someone of Lord Shadowtail''s caliber to be reacting like this, he must be experiencing excruciating pain beyond our imagination¡­!"

    An unsettled expression hung on Nightingale''s face as she watched Shadowtail squirm and squeal like he was at his wit''s end.

    As beings who have reached the Peak-rank Arch Demon-level, they should have developed a certain degree of tolerance to pain.

    Yet, Shadowtail showed little resistance to it.

    "Lord Shadowtail is undergoing the legendary bloodline awakening, right¡­?" a dark wyrm asked for confirmation.

    The sorry state of their n leader made it apprehensive about bloodline awakening.

    In fact, all the dark wyrms present felt the same.

    Excruciating and unbearable as it was to watch, Leon and the dark wyrms noticed evident changes on Shadowtail''s body.

    Two ck horns protruded from Shadowtail''s head while his body deformed with fourrge lumps that soon transformed into two pairs of limbs, muscr and packed with power.

    The bloodline awakening had brought forward a very forceful evolution.

    By the time the bloodline awakening process ended, Shadowtail no longer had any resemnce to the dark wyrms.

    Instead, Shadowtail looked more like a ck drake.

    But while Shadowtail''s appearance was the most noticeable change, it wasn''t the most important one.

    At that very moment, Shadowtail stood at a precipice of strength that had not appeared in the Dark Wyrm n for a very long time.

    Shadowtail wielded the strength of a Demon Lord!

    "Earth dragon¡­ Lord Shadowtail has evolved into an earth dragon after undergoing his bloodline awakening!" a dark wyrm eximed.

    "Hooh¡­!"

    The dark wyrms cheered for Shadowtail''s sessful ascension with overwhelming tion and pride; they were one step closer to reliving the glory of their ancestors, the True Dragons.

    ''It seems like the Dark Wyrm n doesn''t care much about their wyrm bloodline,'' Leon mused while silently observing the dark wyrms'' expressions and behaviors.

    They only care about their true dragon bloodline, the noblest and most powerful bloodline among dragons.

    As the dark wyrms admired Shadowtail from a distance, Shadowtail adapted to his newly grown limbs and tested his strength.

    ''Bloodline awakening process isn''t something just anyone can endure¡­ If my will and endurance had beencking, I could have lost my life¡­'' Shadowtail reflected on his experience with a serious look.

    At the same time, he flexed his limbs and felt the strength of 200-million jin course through his muscles.

    ''My strength increased by twofold after my true dragon bloodline awakening¡­ Is this the strength of a Demon Lord?'' Shadowtail wondered.

    At that moment, Shadowtail felt invincible.

    After Shadowtail fully adjusted to his new body, he locked onto Leon''s location before he made his way over withrge and intimidating steps filled with power and majesty.

    Leon and the dark wyrms both felt tremendous pressure from Shadowtail''s approach; each and every one of Shadowtail''s steps made their heart beat loudly like the banging drums.

    Shortly after Shadowtail''s towering figure appeared in front of Leon, Shadowtail immediately lowered himself to him with a subservient attitude.

    "Thank you, my Lord. It was all due to your grace that I was able to awaken my true dragon bloodline," Shadowtail stated.

    "I might have yed a part in your bloodline awakening, but your sess was ultimately due to your own efforts," Leon casually replied before he asked, "How are you feeling?"

    "Never better, my Lord!" Shadowtail grinned proudly.

    Although the bloodline awakening had actually made Shadowtail''s overall size much smaller, he was still a behemoth to humans like Leon.

    Even the smallest of Shadowtail''s actions would generate some form of a stir in his surroundings.

    "That''s good to hear," Leon smiled wryly at the natural pressure ced on him.

    ''To think that I would feel this much natural pressure from Shadowtail just by being near him. Is this the difference between mortals and the divine?'' Leon silently mused.

    If Shadowtail wanted to suppress him with his dragon aura purposely, Leon reckoned it would be pretty difficult for him to resist.

    Fortunately, there doesn''t seem to be any changes to Shadowtail''s loyalty even after Shadowtail became a Demon Lord-level Earth Dragon.

    No intelligent being wouldn''t be so short-sighted enough to burn the bridge so soon when he still had plenty of opportunities to offer.

    Dark wyrms that follow him wouldn''t just end at the Divine Beast Realm; no, that was only the beginning.

    "Congrattions on your sessful bloodline awakening, Lord Shadowtail," Nightingale and the other dark wyrms approached Shadowtail to congratte.

    "Thanks," Shadowtail smiled before saying, "And you shouldn''t be far from a bloodline awakening as well. Isn''t that right, Nightingale?"

    "Prob¡ª"

    Nightingale was about to answer when her entire body burned up from the True Dragon Blood Essence in her body bing excited.

 Chapter 870 - One Day Cultivation

    "I¡­ I got to go¡­!"

    Nightingale left those words before breaking away from the crowd to endure the scorching heat of her boiling blood.

    Roar!

    It did not take long before Nightingale issued a mighty dragon roar to the heavens as a way of resisting the pain coursing through her dragon body.

    "Her bloodline awakening started," Leon''s eyes flickered.

    Nevertheless, he had already seen it once and did not need to see it again; instead, he shifted his gaze to the other dark wyrms.

    "Who hasn''t gotten their blood refinement yet?" Leon asked.

    "U-us, my Lord!"

    A few Mid-rank Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms shuffled forward hesitantly as they weren''t included in the group for blood refinement.

    They were only part of the crowd attracted to Lord Shadowtail''s bloodline awakening.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not mind the details, thinking the sooner he raised more Divine Beast-level Earth Dragons, the better it''ll be for his cultivation.

    In the next six hours, he began performing a few hundred blood refinements for the Greater Demon-level Dark Wyrms.

    At the same time, Nightingale seeded in her bloodline awakening and joined the ranks of Demon Lord-level Earth Dragons.

    She was the second, but definitely not thest.

    Two more Peak-rank Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms had also sessfully awakened their true dragon bloodline and evolved into earth dragons during that time.

    Nevertheless, after Leon finished performing his blood refinement for the Dark Wyrm n, he left them to their own devices and returned to the western region with the Dark Wyrm Origin Blood he collected.

    While Nyfare and the other dark faes cultivated inside the medicine bath with their eyes closed, they sensed Leon''s presence drawing closer.

    "My Lord¡­? Do you need something?" Nyfare asked.

    "Gather everyone over. We''ll be switching up the training method today," Leon stated before pulling out ice barrels filled with dark wyrm origin blood. "You''ll be cultivating with these instead."

    "This is¡­?" Nyfare and the dark faes nced at the blood barrels with startled looks.

    "Dark wyrm origin blood. Even if you cultivate with dark energy, the effect is minimal, but it''s a different story if you use dragon blood," Leon casually stated.

    Body cultivation requires a tremendous amount of medicine, and depending on how dragon blood is used, it can be poison or medicine.

    "I understand, my Lord," Nyfare uttered.

    Shortly after she left to round up the dark faes in the other medicine baths, Leon turned to Saresha and transmitted the Dragon God Bone Forging Method to her with a tap on the forehead.

    "Once you digested the knowledge, teach it to the others," Leon instructed.

    "Y-yes, my Lord!" Saresha stuttered with surprise.

    She found the newfound knowledge imprinted in her memory to be overwhelming yet astonishing at the same time.

    A body cultivation method with Dragon God in its name shouldn''t be simple.

    Sometimeter, Nyfare gathered all 250 dark faes to Leon''s location before he also transmitted the Dragon God Bone Forging Method to her and a few select individuals among them.

    "My Lord, may I ask why we are cultivating with this method?" a dark fae raised her hand to ask before expressing her doubt, "Isn''t this method meant for dragons, my Lord?"

    "That''s right," Leon admitted with a nod.

    "However, just because a method was made for dragons, it doesn''t necessarily mean only dragons can practice it. In fact, I am also cultivating a dragon method myself. Adopting superior traits from other races to strengthen what weck is one way to be stronger."

    "I have seen how diligent the Dark Fae n had been cultivating, so I wanted to bestow this opportunity onto your n. However, the choice is up to you, whether you wish to ept it or not."

    "We will happily ept it, my Lord!" Nyfare spoke on behalf of her entire n.

    "Good!" Leon nodded with approval before saying, "Alright, you may teach the Dragon God Bone Forging Method to your n members and cultivate on your own."

    "Do not disturb unless it''s urgent or if the medicine bath''s effect depleted," Leon added.

    "Understood, my Lord," Nyfare and the rest of the dark faesplied.

    Shortly after, Leon swept his divine sense over Duna''s cultivation chamber before entering his own and sealed himself inside.

    Duna appeared to be fine inside her cultivation chamber, but it was clear that she hadn''t finished absorbing all the soul energy within the Demon King-level crystalized soul core.

    ''I''ll give her another three days; if she doesn''t finish by then, I''ll have to return to the Infertile ins without her,'' Leon decided.

    With his adoptive parents and little sister still in the Darkmoon Tribe, he couldn''t afford to dy his return any further than that three-day period he set for himself.

    Leon took a few moments to adjust his mental state before taking out the ck Turtle Blood Essence to refine ck Turtle Origin Blood for his flesh tempering.

    One whole day passed within the blink of an eye before a nudge on Leon''s cultivation chamber disturbed his cultivation.

    Leon slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of foul air.

    At that moment, his fleshly body was practically glistening, looking every smooth and tender, but in actuality, hid a terrifying amount of defensive strength.

    ''About one day and 3000 wisps of True Grandmist Energy to reach peak Rank 4 Body Transformation in the flesh-tempering phase with ck Turtle Origin Blood from a Half-step God Beast, huh?''

    Leon smiled wryly at the jarring difference in the quality used for body cultivation.

    ''I didn''t immerse myself in cultivation for the sake of keeping track of the time, but this gap is really something else¡­ Although I already know this, you really can''tpare quantity and quality, huh?''

    Leon shook his head helplessly.

    After he gradually got up and exited his cultivation chamber, his eyes directly fell on the n leader of the Dark Fae n, Nyfare, who had her head lowered apologetically.

    "I''m sorry for disturbing your cultivation session, my Lord."

    "The medicine bath''s effect depleted?" Leon calmly asked.

    "Well, there''s that," Nyfare admitted with a nod before adding, "But we also have a situation on our hand."

    "Oh?"

 Chapter 871 - Sea Monster Tide

    "What''s the situation?" Leon asked.

    "It''s the sea monster tide, my Lord. The sea monster tide has arrived. You can directly see the situation at the river from atop the rock walls," Nyfare reported while pointing over the wall to the closest river.

    However, Leon did not need to scale the rock wall to see the situation; he directly used the realm spirit''s omniscience to observe the overall situation in the realmship.

    He immediately saw several ten thousand sea monsters, big and small, pouring into the Bone Sea through the river channels like a tightly packed group, leaving little-to-no gaps in between them.

    At the same time, their rapid movements rocked the usually calm river surface in waves.

    God knew how many more sea monsters were still fighting to enter the realmship from beyond the western edge.

    Leon paid particr attention to the sea monsters'' strength which varied from Low-rank Lesser Demons to Mid-rank Arch Demons.

    After the sea monsters entered the Bone Sea, they immediately attacked the pre-existing sea monsters upying the sea region as if they were waging war on each other.

    Within moments, blood bloomed from the depths of the Bone Sea as the sea monsters ughtered each other.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s focus didn''t stay on the primary battle for long before shifting elsewhere.

    The sea monsters from the sea monster tide clearly came to the Bone Sea with a purpose, and that was what he wanted to find out.

    While the weaker sea monsters fought closer to the sea surface, the stronger Arch Demon-level sea monster dived into the depths of the Bone Sea.

    They didn''t stop plunging deeper in the depths of the Bone Sea until the other pre-existing Arch Demon-level sea monsters in the Bone Sea attacked them first.

    Leon''s eyes quickly flickered at the situation.

    ''The sea monsters from this sea monster tide seem to want something from the depth of the Bone Sea¡­ But I wonder what it is?'' Leon mused.

    It didn''t take long before he suddenly raised an eyebrow at another discovery.

    "Oh?" Leon uttered.

    The High-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters began moving away from their sea region in deeper waters to join the battle in the upper levels.

    However, it wasn''t just the High-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters that moved.

    Even the Peak-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters left the seafloor region after receiving sonar signals from the High-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters.

    Leon wouldn''t have imagined that the Peak-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters would move away from the seafloor region.

    ''The sea monsters in the Bone Sea are actuallymunicating and making coordinated movements to resist the foreign sea monsters'' invasion¡­ is this territorial battle?''

    Leon wondered with a surprised look.

    Now that he thought about it, the seafloor was overflowing lifeforce, which allowed the sea monsters to live very long lives as well as grow insanely strong.

    It was a type of holynd.

    The situation in the Bone Sea was slowly shifting in the sea monster tide''s favor as their numbers quickly soared into the millions without any sign of stopping.

    ''So that''s why it became the Bone Sea¡­'' Leon suddenly realized.

    It wasn''t just the humans and demons that made up the Bone Sea; most of the bones in the Bone Sea belonged to the sea monsters.

    If Leon didn''t see the sea monsters devouring each other whole without spitting up the bones, he wouldn''t have made sense of how human and demon bones even made up a tenth of the total bones in the Bone Sea.

    Nevertheless, the sea monster tide didn''t hold the advantage for long.

    Once the High-rank Arch Demon and Peak-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters entered the fray, the battle tipped back in their favor.

    It was the most spectacr sea battle Leon had ever witnessed, and he had front row seats to watch it from any perspective he liked.

    While such a battle of enormous proportions was taking ce in the Bone Sea, the dark wyrms were having the time of their lives fishing for food by the western rivers with Aria and Darlene.

    It didn''t take long for the dark faes to join them as well.

    The sea monster tide posed a certain level of danger with its numbers and strength, but the situation waspletely under control¡ªthanks to the four Demon Lord-level dark wyrms overseeing it.

    Leon secretly watched the group hoard fresh bodies of the sea monsters they caught and killed while a smaller group prepped them for dinner.

    He only needed a single nce to understand that everyone was looking forward to dining in on the sea monsters'' fleshter.

    "There doesn''t seem to be any serious issue with the sea monster tide, no?" Leon said to Nyfare.

    "Er¡­" Nyfare scratched her head awkwardly.

    "My Lord asked about the sea monster tidest time, so Nyfare thought my Lord would be interested to know when the sea monster tide arrives¡­" she exined with an embarrassed look.

    "Well, you''re not wrong," Leon admitted before saying, "Watching the others catching sea monsters also makes me want to join in on the fun."

    He had advanced his cultivation by leaps and bounds, but he had yet to adapt to it; the sea monsters will do well as his practice targets.

    "I''ll be heading over after I refill the medicine baths," Leon stated before giving a passing nce at Nyfare''s progress.

    She was still Rank 1 Body Transformation, but her strength has reached the Mid-rank Greater Demon level.

    Nevertheless, Leon quickly refilled the medicine baths'' effects before he went on his way to join Aria and Darlene by the river.

    "Leon, you''re here," Aria quickly noticed Leon''s arrival before saying to him, "I thought you''de to find us sooner."

    "My bad. I decided to cultivate a bit more," Leon replied wryly.

    At that moment, he still had 30 drops of the ck Turtle Origin Blood, half of what he refined from the ck Turtle Blood Essences he collected.

    Although it was only a few dozen drops, they contained tremendous energy within them.

    If he hadn''t been interrupted, he might have just gone ahead and spent another day tempering his flesh to reach Rank 7 Body Transformation in the flesh-tempering phase.

    It was definitely possible with the origin blood of a Half-step God Beast.

 Chapter 872 - Duna Exits Her Retreat

    "When are we returning to the Darkmoon Tribe, Leon?" Darlene asked.

    Leon slowly turned his head to face Darlene before he said, "We''ll return without Duna within two days if she doesn''t finish her cultivation by then."

    "Why do you ask, Darlene? Do you miss home?" Leon asked shortly after.

    However, Darlene shook her head at his question.

    "Wherever you are, that is where my home is now," Darlene softly said.

    "I don''t miss the Darkmoon Tribe; I''m just wondering what the situation in the Infertile ins is like now that everyone else had gone back."

    "True," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    "Definitely not a peaceful one considering he Infertile in''s only supply, the Divine Water Spark, is running out of juice. In fact, things should be getting pretty heated up in the Infertile ins."

    "Shouldn''t we return sooner to help then? It''s been more than three weeks. The situation might be pretty bad for the Darkmoon Tribe," Aria mentioned with knitted brows.

    "Not necessarily. We have Senior One-Eye holding the fort for us," Leon replied.

    After a short pause, he added, "Also, the Battle God Pce owes me a favor for saving their third young master. Given my affiliation to the Darkmoon Tribe and the Battle God Pce''s influence in the Infertile ins, the Darkmoon Tribe might even be trouble-free."

    "Eh, I guess when you put it like that, there''s nothing to worry about," Aria said without adding further to the topic.

    However, whether it was Leon or her, they both knew that things don''t always go ording to one''s expectations.

    "That being said, it is true that we''ve been away for too long and should head back soon. It''ll be interesting to see how much the empire''s new capital has developed during this period," Leon said.

    "Mm," Aria nodded.

    "Anyway, that aside, it seems like you two enjoying hunting sea monsters very much, or should I say eating them?"

    Leon changed the topic with a knowing look as he pointed to the corners of his mouth as if something was supposed to be stuck there.

    The twodies immediately scratched the corners of the mouth before shortly realizing they had fallen for Leon''s trick.

    However, they blushed with embarrassment instead of getting angry.

    "The sea monsters'' flesh is so tender and tasty; it''s something I''ve never tried before, so I can''t help myself," Aria said wryly.

    "Mm, mm! Same here!" Darlene added with a nod.

    "I''ve seen," Leon smiled before saying, "But do you know there''s a special way of eating fresh sea monsters without cooking them?"

    "Eating sea monsters without cooking them? Won''t you get sick or food poisoning?" Darlene asked with doubt.

    She also doubted the taste with be good.

    "Of course, such risk exists, especially if the sea monster itself is sick or belongs to a poisonous kind," Leon did not deny the possibility.

    "That''s why a special way of preparing the sea monsters'' flesh is needed, and to enrich the taste and experience, I''d need to prepare a special sauce for it as well. Anyway, you''ll understand once you try it."

    After Leon spoke about it, Darlene remained hesitant about the whole idea of eating raw sea monster flesh, while Aria expressed her willingness to try.

    The memories of Aria White revealed that such a special way of eating raw fish exists in the Divine Realm, but she had yet to try it for herself, making her all the more eager to try it.

    "I''ll try it," Aria stated firmly.

    "Good, I knew you''ll agree," Leonmented before saying, "However, let''s leave it forter. I''ll go y with these sea monsters for a bit."

    Shortly after saying that, Leon went ahead and joined the dark wyrms in hunting the sea monsters rushing through the river.

    Thanks to the dark wyrms'' collective efforts, none of the sea monsters made it onnd up to this point.

    "Are you sure about this, Sister Aria? It''s¡­ raw sea monster flesh, you know?" Darlene whispered into Aria''s ears with concern a few momentster.

    However, Aria smiled back at her.

    "Since Leon spoke positively about it, it should be bad. We should at least give it a try to find out, no?"

    "But¡­ what if he''s tricking us again?" Darlene mentioned.

    "Ah¡­" Aria uttered.

    She quickly understood the source of Darlene''s hesitation.

    After a short moment of silent contemtion, she suggested, "How about I try it first and tell you if it''s actually delicious or not, Sister Darlene?"

    "Really? Are you sure, Sister Aria?"

    "Yeah," Aria calmly affirmed.

    "It''s settled then!"

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon ughtered enough sea monsters to build a mountain out of them and finished adapting to his strength.

    Even when he dived in the river and allowed the sea monsters to attack him freely, not a single sea monster was able to harm him, not even the Mid-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters.

    Nevertheless, that only applied to the weakest of Mid-rank Arch Demon-level sea monsters.

    Any sea monster slightly stronger than that could break his fleshly body''s defense but still wouldn''t be able to hurt his inner organs.

    "I''m back," Leon uttered before suggesting, "Shall I prepare fresh sea monster flesh for¡ª"

    Leon did not finish speaking when he suddenly felt a massive spike in soul energying from within the rock walls.

    His eyes quickly flickered.

    ''Duna''s cultivation must have ended,'' he determined.

    Nevertheless, he was not the only one to have felt the enormous surge in soul energy; everyone within the vicinity of the source also felt it.

    Some were even rmed by it.

    Shadowtail and the other Demon Lord-level Earth Dragons all shot their gazes to the rock wall''s direction with solemn expressions.

    "Was that from¡­ Duna?" Aria turned to Leon with surprise.

    "Un," Leon affirmed with a nod after observing the situation through the realm spirit''s omniscience before saying, "Let us go over and see her."

    At that moment, Duna had officially exited her retreat.

    When Leon, Aria, and Darlene returned to the rock wall, they quickly spotted Duna standing outside her cultivation chamber.

    She appeared aloof and unapproachable while gazing into the distant sky.

 Chapter 873 - Great Demon Lord Duna

    There was something sacred about Duna''s aura that made everyone stay silent and only watch her from a distance.

    Some dark faes even had the urge to prostrate in worship.

    Duna was an evil spirit, but her current presence radiated with invible holiness thatmanded authority and reverence.

    Aria was surprised when she felt that from Duna.

    ''Just what level has Duna reached for her such sacred aura to suffuse her entire being?'' Aria silently wondered.

    It was as if Duna had be a higher-level being¡ªNo, she did be a higher-level being.

    Leon felt like that was the case.

    Otherwise, Duna wouldn''t have reacted so strongly to him gifting her the Demon King-level crystalized soul core.

    While everyone was awed by Duna''s celestial-like presence, Leon hopped down from the rock wall and strolled over to her side.

    "It seems like your secluded cultivation went well," Leonmented with a smile as he approached her in a familiar manner.

    Duna slowly shifted her gaze to him before she calmly nodded without a word.

    "Did you¡­ reach the Demon King level?"

    "Great Demon Lord," Duna corrected.

    After hearing her answer, Leon''s eyes widened with surprise.

    She didn''t be a Demon King, but bing a Great Demon Lord within three weeks didn''t make it any less shocking.

    He should have expected it, but he still found it hard to ept.

    ''No wonder she looked down on me for gifting her the crystalized soul core¡­'' Leon thought wryly.

    Duna had skipped multiplerge realms and achieved a level in her soul cultivation that left him far behind.

    Nevertheless, her cold and distant responses made Leon furrow his brows with a puzzled look.

    It wasn''t just her strength that changed, but also her usual behavior; she had be more indifferent.

    The usual Duna would have mocked him but still spare the effort to educate his ignorance.

    After pondering for a short moment, Leon raised the white g in surrender; he did not know what to do to close the widened gap in their rtionship.

    He could only hope to melt the ice with their usual interaction.

    "We''ve both been in secluded cultivation for three weeks. A lot of changes must have taken ce outside the realmship," Leon mentioned before seeking her opinion, "Shall we return to the Infertile ins to take a look?"

    After a short moment, Duna nodded in agreement.

    "Great. I''ll settle some matters first; then we can leave together," Leon said.

    After Duna nodded again, Leon had Nyfare round up her Dark Fae n before he headed over to Shadowtail''s side.

    "I''ll be leaving the realmship shortly. Will your n follow me to explore the outside world or stay in this sub-realm?" Leon asked.

    Shadowtail only nced at the pile of sea monsters for a short moment before giving his firm answer, "The Dark Wyrm n will follow you, my Lord!"

    "The Dark Wyrm n, huh? Can you still be called when the other n members all evolve into earth dragons like you?" Leon smiled with amusement.

    It was a simple question, but Shadowtail immediately froze before he seriously contemted the matter.

    "My Lord is right," Shadowtail agreed with Leon''s point.

    "A n of earth dragons shouldn''t be called the Dark Wyrm n anymore. The Dark Wyrm n represents our past, but I believe we need a name befitting our future."

    "How about ck Dragon n?" Leon casually suggested.

    He was terrible with names and randomly came up with a casual one. Still, Shadowtail, once again, contemted his suggestion seriously.

    "ck Dragon n¡­ ck because of our alignment, and the word ''dragon'' covers all subspecies of dragons¡­" Shadowtail muttered before saying, "It''s a simple name, but it''s a good name, my Lord; it can be used immediately."

    "I concur," Nightingale interjected.

    The Dark Wyrm n¡ªNo, the ck Dragon n quickly became fond of the new name and didn''t hesitate to abandon their one.

    "Seems like you don''t have much attachment to your old n name," Leonmented.

    "There''s no use staying attached to something that won''t have anything to do with our future, my Lord," Shadowtail replied.

    "Well, they''re just names in the end, but it''s good if you think like that," Leon nodded with approval.

    "A real man won''t boast about his past achievements, so a real dragon shouldn''t ce importance on the past; your ce is in the future."

    "Yes, my Lord," Shadowtail nodded.

    "Alright, round up everyone that wishes to follow me outside and gather outside the rock walls. We''ll depart together in half an hour."

    "Yes, my Lord."

    Shadowtail answered¡ªonly to be hesitant in the next moment as he nced at the piles of sea monsters they had umted and prepped.

    "It''s a pity that we can''t bring all these sea monster flesh with us," Shadowtail mentioned.

    However, Leon casually waved his hand and sucked everything into his Worldspace before saying, "Now we can."

    "Is that a spatial artifact, my Lord?" Shadowtail asked with surprise.

    "Yeah," Leon nodded.

    Shadowtail and the other dark wyrms felt envious that they could not use spatial artifacts like their Lord.

    It wasn''t just spatial artifacts but all other types of artifacts as well; there weren''t any artifacts that they could use or wear due to their immense sizes.

    At the same time, the amount of materials required to create custom-made artifacts for them would be many folds greater to match their size.

    "If you''re interested, I can create some for your n to use, though I can''t guarantee the quality will be high," Leon offered.

    He had multiple tier-5 and tier-6 interspatial rings, but none of them could be worn by Shadowtail and his n members.

    "It''ll be great if you can, my Lord," Shadowtail expressed his interest before wondering with curiosity, "But you also know about runes and forging, my Lord?"

    "Yeah," Leon uttered.

    Shortly after returning to the rock wall, Leon gifted a few tier-5 and tier-6 interspatial rings to Nyfare and her n members.

    Then, he instructed the dark faes to head over to the river and join the ck Dragon n to collect as many sea monster bodies before their departure time.

    Afterward, Leon shifted his attention to Aria.

 Chapter 874 - The Desolate Demon Territory

    The moment Leon shifted his attention to Aria, she also nced back at him with wonder.

    "Did you find anything you like when you cleared out the undead beings in the underground space?" Leon asked her.

    There were a lot of rare treasures down there; he didn''t mind if Aria took a liking to everything she saw and pocketed them all.

    He wouldn''t have mentioned the undead beings to her if he had been concerned over such a trivial matter.

    If she wanted the world, then he would give her the world.

    Nevertheless, Aria''s eyes brightened once Leon brought up the topic.

    "Ah, I was just about to mention this matter to you before we leave. There''s a lot of good stuff down there, but I''m sure you already know this," Aria mentioned.

    Shortly after, she took her tier-7 interspatial ring and hand over to him.

    "I collected everything I found valuable and sorted them out in this interspatial ring; some of these items are really high-tier. I''m not sure if we should take all of these items outside. It''ll cause chaos if anyone finds out about these items."

    Aria mentioned her concern.

    "True, but if anything happens, we can always hide in the realmship," Leon stated.

    Given the state of the realmship, it couldn''t be moved from its present location, but the range of its spatial function was quite extensive.

    It covered the demon''s territory, Infertile ins, and everything west of those regions, all the way to the realmship.

    The same coverage applies to other directions around the realmship.

    Since Leon was connected to the realmship, he could order the realm spirit to bring him and everyone around him back as long as he was within its range.

    After Leon inspected the contents of the tier-7 interspatial ring for a moment, he handed it back to Aria without taking anything.

    "Keep it," Leon said with a smile.

    "You don''t want anything from it?" Aria asked with surprise before adding, "There are quite a few Celestial-level items in here; the Celestial Sparks, for example. You don''t want any of it?"

    Leon shook his head.

    "I have a few Celestial Sparks on me myself. But apart from the Celestial Water Spark, which can resolve the Infertile ins'' water shortage, I don''t have any use for these other Celestial Sparks," Leon stated.

    Shortly after, he reminded her, "Refining these Celestial Sparks can quickly bring us up to the Celestial Realm, but the price is not worth it in the long term. Our goals should be higher."

    "Mm," Aria nodded.

    "In that case, I will just put these items back in a secure location. I don''t feel at ease carrying such priceless treasures on me."

    Leon nodded.

    ¡­

    Half an hourter, everyone was ready to leave the realmship. They gathered around Leon with everything they needed.

    "Seems like we are ready to go," Leonmented with a nod after sweeping everyone a nce.

    ''Sent us out, Tak-si.''

    ''Yes, Master.''

    Tak-si locked onto the destination in Leon''s mind before activating the realmship''s spatial function and sending everyone out.

    Swish!

    The scenery quickly changed as Leon returned to the edge of the abyss in the demon''s territory¡ªor rather, the Starfall Dominion as the demons called it.

    "This is¡­ the Starfall Dominion! We''re finally back," Nyfare and the rest of the dark faes quickly recognized the region and celebrated.

    They felt they had been gone for a long time.

    At that moment, Saresha and the others were filled with eagerness to return to the Dark Fae n and check on their homes.

    "So this is what the outside looks like¡­"

    Shadowtail and the rest of the ck Dragon n also observed their surroundings with wonder and curiosity.

    "Why did you send us here, Leon? Wouldn''t it have been better if you sent us back to the Darkmoon Tribe directly?" Darlene turned to Leon with a puzzled look.

    "Can you imagine how the warriors in the Infertile ins will react with so many dark faes and dark wyrms suddenly appearing within human settlements? We''ll be targeted from all sides," Leon answered with a wry smile.

    "I don''t think that will be a problem for us, though. We have Duna and the Demon Lord-level earth dragons on our side," Aria interjected.

    She had never seen a more powerful lineup than this; in fact, this might be the most powerful force in the world.

    No one would be their opponent.

    "That''s true," Leon nodded.

    "However, that''s not what I''m concerned about. If I want to unite all the human tribes under me, I must let them know I am on their side. It won''t do if the warriors view us as traitors of humanity. Well, this problem can be fixed with some exnation. Still, it''s a hassle, and I want to avoid inconvenience where possible."

    "Furthermore, I wanted to check out the Starfall Dominion on our way back. After all, there are a lot of ruins and primordial heritage hidden in thisnd. We might just find some suitable cultivation methods for you and Darlene while we are at it."

    After listening to Leon say that much, Aria had nothing else to say and nodded.

    "Good idea. I didn''t think that far," Aria said.

    Nevertheless, Leon observed his surroundings before locking his eye son the abyss in the center, which was rather deep.

    The object that fell from outer space must have been incredibly huge to create such and.

    "Hm?" Leon suddenly noticed the dark fae leader''s frown before he asked, "What''s the matter, Nyfare?"

    "My Lord, don''t you think this ce is rather deserted? There isn''t a single demon within sight of this ce," Nyfare mentioned her discovery. "Demons never leave this ce empty, so Nyfare finds this most strange."

    "Now that you mentioned it, there are no human corpses around here either¡­ It seems like the demons and humans didn''t battle after I sent them back first¡­" Leon muttered.

    He could understand if the humans returned to the Infertile ins, but what the demons?

    Where did all the demons go?

    After a few moments of wondering, Leon recalled that he destroyed the Teleportation Array shortly after he booted everyone out.

    The heavenly staircase wouldn''t have maintained its formation in the sky.

    "Did the demons fall in the abyss but never came back out?" Leon wondered out loud.

 Chapter 875 - The Being Hidden In The Abyss

    "Tell me more about this ce, Nyfare. You mentioned this ce is never empty; why? What is special about this area?"

    Leon turned to Dark Fae n''s leader for answers.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfare nodded.

    "While the Nine Great ns govern the Starfall Dominion, they are not the absolute ruler of thisnd. The Lord of the Starfall Dominion stands above them all and resides at the bottom of this abyss."

    "The demons regrly pay a visit to the abyss to worship the Lord and offer sacrifice in return for the Lord''s protection against the other dominions."

    "This Lord must be quite powerful then¡­" Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully while staring at the abyss.

    "I wonder if this Lord has anything to do with that apparition that appeared during the Bone Cmity¡­"

    Swoosh!

    Shortly after Leon mentioned that matter, Duna took off on her own as she jumped into the abyss.

    "Duna, wait!" Leon called out to her.

    As Duna descended into the dark depths of the abyss, Leon followed her, which was followed by Aria, Darlene, and ck Dragon n following him.

    "M-my Lord, be careful! The abyss is the Lord''s sacred ground! Anyone who steps foot in there bes offering for the Lord!" Nyfare cried.

    However, everyone had left, leaving only the dark faes behind by the edge of the abyss. They hesitated and struggled to make a decision in their hearts.

    The horrors of the Lord were deeply ingrained in their memories.

    No one had ever seen the Lord''s true body¡ªor rather, no one had seen all of it and live to tell the tale.

    Even so, the few parts it revealed were grotesque¡ªthe likes of which they had never seen before among demons.

    Nevertheless, the Lord wasn''t a being that anyone could go up against. Still, the dark faes couldn''t leave Lord Leon after swearing allegiance to him either.

    "Why should we do, n leader?" Saresha asked.

    "There''s no other choice," Nyfare bit her lips and said with determination, "Everyone already left. We can''t fall too far behind; we are going down."

    Shortly after, the dark faes also flew down into the abyss, albeit nervously.

    ¡­

    Afternding on soft ck soil at the bottom of the abyss, Leon''s glowing eyes immediatelynded on the giant ck pyramid-like object sitting in the center.

    Nevertheless, the pyramid only revealed a fraction of its entire size on the surface.

    "My Lord, please back. I sense a Demon Lord-level existenceing from this ruin," Shadowtail quickly warned Leon to distance himself from the ck pyramid.

    "Aren''t the four of you also Demon Lord-level beings? Are you saying you''re not confident in protecting me from whatever is hidden in there?"

    Leon cast a nce at Shadowtail, Nightingale, and the other two earth dragons beside them.

    "If it''s just any Low-rank Demon Lord, we will have no problem protecting you, my Lord. However, the presence lurking within this ruin is giving me an eerie and uneasy feeling," Shadowtail replied while gazing at the ck pyramid with a solemn look.

    "I am also getting such a feeling from the presence lurking within the ruin, my Lord. I don''t think the being lurking inside is simple. We should be careful," Nightingale added.

    After listening to them, Leon raised an eyebrow.

    Nevertheless, Duna treaded along the soft ck soil with her bare feet and calmly approached the ck pyramid without fear.

    It didn''t take before a ghastly voice echoed from the ck pyramid.

    "Since you''vee, don''t think about leaving! You shall all be my nourishments!" the being hidden in the ck pyramid spoke.

    In the next instance, countless fleshly tentacles shot out of the ground to take everyone.

    "Oh no! We shouldn''t havee here! It was a mistake!" a dark fae cried with a horrified look.

    The fleshly tentacles immediately struck fear into the dark faes the moment they appeared. They didn''t stop trembling on the spot.

    "Be careful, my Lord!" Shadowtail warned.

    The earth dragon immediately rushed to intercept a few tentacles aimed at Leon as it swiped at them with its dragon ws.

    At the same time, the other three earth dragons covered the others.

    Puchi!

    The earth dragons ripped apart numerous fleshly tentacles within mere moments.

    However, before anyone could rx, the severed tentacles wiggled their way to their other ends and re-attached themselves.

    At the same time, multiple tentacles didn''t require reattachment; they regrew their severed parts within a few breaths with their powerful regeneration instead.

    Upon witnessing that, Leon''s eyes immediately flickered.

    "This thing reminds me of those fleshly abominations found within the energy conversion towers I destroyed¡­" Leon muttered with a frown.

    "Does that mean there''s an energy conversion tower here?"

    "But that doesn''t seem to be the case¡­ There isn''t a hint of artificial spirit energy in this region, and this fleshly abomination also seems much stronger than the ones I''ve killed¡­"

    While Leon pondered the fleshly abomination''s origins, Duna approached the ck pyramid without being hindered by the fleshly tentacles.

    The Destruction Law surrounding Duna''s body reduced all the fleshly tentacles to ashes, and soon, the fleshly abomination yelped in pain.

    Its disintegrated fleshly tentacles failed to regenerate themselves as if a great power was hindering its regenerative ability.

    "Arghh! This power¡­ the Destruction Law¡­! It''s you! W-why are you here?!" the fleshly abomination cried.

    It didn''t take long to recognize Duna as the one who ughtered its minions and destroyed its apparition during the Bone Cmity.

    "You said toe and find your true body in the Land of Darkness, so here I am, standing before you. Now how do you want to die?" Duna said coolly.

    "Kek, do you think I''m really afraid of you? If you dare, enter the ruin and fight me!" the fleshly abomination goaded.

    The corners of Duna''s lips rose disdainfully.

    She thought the ck skull apparition was a real Demon Lord-level evil spirit. But as it turned out, it was only a trapped Half-step Demon Lord, and it wasn''t even an evil spirit.

    It was a mutated human with some partial devil soul awakening.

 Chapter 876 - Red Ghoul Clan

    The fleshly abomination tried to lure Duna into the ck pyramid, but she wasn''t one to fall for such an obvious trap.

    However, it didn''t matter even if she did.

    "Hmph, a trifling Half-step Demon Lord thinks it can stand a chance against me? You don''t know who you''re dealing with!" Duna snorted coldly.

    She immediately raised her hand and sted the ck pyramid with the full force of her Destruction Law.

    In that instance, the sturdy ck pyramid, which even the Half-step Demon Lord couldn''t free itself from with its oversized body, was easily torn asunder.

    The ck pyramid didn''t stand a single chance against Duna''s Destruction Law.

    Nevertheless, it was sturdy enough to shatter intorge pieces, albeit only briefly before they further disintegrated into tiny pieces of ashes.

    The destruction of the ck pyramid freed the fleshly abomination from its captivity. But before it could rejoice, it was shortly struck by Duna''s Destruction Law.

    "Arghhh!"

    The fleshly abomination screeching and grating cries resounded from the depths of the ck pyramid as it felt its existence fading away.

    In the face of absolute power, the fleshly abomination was horrified at its inability to resist.

    "This power¡­ This pressure¡­ You''re a Great Demon Lord!" the fleshly abomination gaze finally fell on Duna''s figure with abject terror.

    "It''s toote to beg for mercy even if you know," Duna said coolly.

    With a snap of her finger, the wave of destruction swept past the fleshly abomination''s grotesque body like a gust of wind and scattered its ashes.

    "N¡­"

    The wave of destruction destroyed the fleshly abomination''s existence disappeared, both in body and soul.

    Whatever ashes remained of its existence was blended into the ck soil.

    Nyfare and the other dark faes widened their eyes in shock before they nced at Duna in the distance with a renewed impression of fear.

    They didn''t expect an existence like the Lord, who terrorized and ruled the entire Starfall Dominion from the abyss, could be destroyed so easily.

    Duna was far, far more powerful than they could imagine.

    While Shadowtail and the rest of the ck Dragon n were awed by Duna''s disy of dominance, Leon smiled wryly at the destruction of the ck pyramid.

    That was a historical ruin with a lot of research value!

    ''s, what has been done cannot be undone. I will have to take a look at the other ruins in the Starfall Dominion,'' Leon thought.

    There weren''t many regions with ruins lying in the open like the Starfall Dominion, which the Starfall event had unearthed.

    Nevertheless, Leon quickly pushed aside the matter and approached Duna.

    Others would think twice about getting anywhere near Duna after the terrifying destructivity she had shown, but not him.

    He was not afraid.

    "Are you alright after drawing so much power from the Destruction Law?" Leon asked while studying her body''s condition out of concern.

    However, it didn''t seem like she suffered any bacsh from the Destruction Law.

    "I''m fine," Duna replied coolly.

    "I see¡­" Leon didn''t mind the indifferent response and nodded with relief, "That''s good to hear. If you''re hurt, don''t hesitate to ask me for help."

    It appeared that Duna had ovee the Destruction Law''s bacsh after she raised her soul cultivation to the Great Demon Lord level.

    He had not quite adapted to that reality.

    Nevertheless, Duna nced at Leon briefly before she eventually nodded, keeping note of his offer should the time evere.

    Shortly after, Leon shifted his gaze to the remains of the ck pyramid, which wasn''t worth mentioning. There was hardly anything left of it.

    "Seems like there''s nothing left of value here. Shall we move on with our journey?" Leon suggested.

    Duna nodded again.

    Shortly after, she silently followed several steps behind Leon as they made their way back to the rest of the group.

    "We are done here. Let us move on from this area," Leon informed the group.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Shadowtail and the others answered, loud and clear.

    Shortly after getting the group''s affirmation, Leon turned his head to face the Dark Fae n''s leader.

    "Nyfare, your n is most familiar with the Starfall Dominion out of everyone here. Where is your n located? Also, where is the nearest ruin?" Leon inquired.

    "The nearest ruin¡­" Nyfare gathered her thoughts before replying, "The nearest ruin lies on the other side of a rocky teau roughly twenty-five miles south from here."

    "My Lord should be able to see the rocky teau from here¡­." Nyfare pointed, but then she realized it was not that visible without good vision due to theck of light in the darknd.

    "Well, sort of," she added with a wry smile.

    Leon nced towards the south with Spirit Eyes. When he spotted the looming shadows of the rocky teau mentioned, he nodded with acknowledgment.

    However, he had no interest in venturing deeper into the demon''s territory for the time being.

    He still needed to get back to the Infertile ins and check on the situation of the Seven Tribes Alliance.

    "What about the Dark Fae n?" Leon asked.

    "Our n is located roughly sixty-five miles northwest, my Lord," Nyfare replied.

    However, she shortly hesitated before adding, "Five miles further west from our n is a rocky region, where another ruin is located. The Red Ghoul n sends the men in our n there to excavate it all year round¡ªWe basically never see them."

    "So the Red Ghoul n has been suppressing your n by making the men work around the clock, huh? Is this the reason for the Dark Fae n''s consistent decline, both in poption and strength?" Leon wondered.

    "Yes, my Lord," Nyfare admitted with a nod.

    "Nyfare used to have a lover, but we''ve grown distant due to the long years of separation... He might not even be alive anymore¡­" Nyfare recalled with a distant look.

    However, she quickly added, "Ah, but my Lord does not have to worry. Our rtionship did not progress beyond holding hands, and I don''t hold any more feelings for that person."

    Nyfare snuck a few meaningful nces at Leon.

    Thud.

    Aria suddenly kicked Leon''s shin.

    Although it didn''t hurt, Leon still turned to face her with a confused look and asked, "What was that for?"

    "Hmph!" Aria turned away with a pout.

    Leon''s lips twitched.

    He could not help but feel wronged.

 Chapter 877 - Subjugation Order

    "I didn''t even say anything about that," Leon said to Aria with a wry smile.

    However, Aria gave him the cold shoulder as she threw her cute tantrum. She probably knew that even if he rejected Nyfare''s advances, he still gave it some thought.

    "Ahem, anyway," Leon coughed before changing the topic, "We''ll head to the Dark Fae n first and then visit the ruin after."

    If he wanted to subjugate the Dark Fae n, he would naturally not settle for only 250 of their strongest members; it had to be the entire n.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfare answered with excitement.

    At the same time, the eyes of Saresha and the other dark faes all lit up after learning about their destination.

    They could finally see the day of the Dark Fae n''s liberation.

    Given the strength of all the present dark faes, a mid-rank demon n like the Red Ghoul n was no longer their opponents.

    If the Lord permits it, they would even want to destroy the Red Ghoul n and end the days of oppression with their own hands.

    After leaving the abyss, the group quickly made their way to the Dark Fae n under Nyfare''s guide.

    "Hey, don''t you think Duna has been a bit too indifferent after exiting her seclusion? She''s almost like apletely different person to the past," Aria mentioned the matter to Leon in a whispering voice.

    It had been bothering her for some time.

    Nevertheless, it was also something that Leon had been well aware of, considering he shared a much deeper rtionship with Duna than Aria did.

    After all, those two were ice and fire.

    "I am aware of her indifference. It should have something to do with her significant leap in soul cultivation. Maybe her devil soul awakened substantially," Leon replied quietly back to Aria.

    "That being said, I''m not quite sure of her exact situation until she opens up about it. Still, I pray that she''ll gradually revert back to the way she was prior to entering her secluded cultivation¡­ Let us give her time."

    "Mm," Aria nodded.

    Strangely, she was not used to indifferent Duna; she preferred the version of Duna that picks fights and bickers with her.

    Although Leon and Aria were very quietly with their voices, Duna overheard everything. She was only several paces behind them.

    She remained indifferent to everything on the surface, but their words had her thinking about her changes.

    Nevertheless, it didn''t take long before she stopped thinking about it.

    Sometimeter, the group crossed sixty-five miles of barrennd filled with cracked and dry soils before they entered the even more rough and rocky mountain region.

    At the top of one particr steep rocky mountain was where the Dark Fae n was situated.

    "Our Dark Fae n is just at the top of this rocky mountain, my Lord," Nyfare informed Leon as they arrived at the foot of the steep rocky mountain.

    Even without Nyfare''s introduction, everyone could see something was different about the steep rocky mountain before thempared to the other rocky mountains in the region.

    The rocky wall was filled with the scars of battle and extremely harsh weather.

    Still, they did not hide all the traces of chiseling on the rocky wall, which made the entire steep rocky mountain look like one enormous sculpture.

    More importantly, everyone could see the spiral staircase leading all the way up to the top of it with a single nce.

    Anyone with half a brain would at least know that there was something on the top of the rocky mountain.

    No one would be bored enough to sculpt an entire staircase on a rocky mountain for nothing; it was definitely done with a clear purpose¡ªto grant easy ess to the top.

    "The dark faes are all born with a pair of beautiful ck feathered wings to fly, so this staircase shouldn''t have been made for the dark faes to use, right?" Leon inquired.

    "Yes, my Lord," Nyfare nodded.

    "The Red Ghoul n, Blue Ogre n, and Green Goblin n demanded all the males in the n to sculpt this staircase for them. Reluctant as we were, we had no choice but toply at the time because they threatened to destroy us otherwise."

    "So it wasn''t just one but three mid-rank demon ns that oppressed the Dark Fae n, huh?" Leon muttered.

    Shortly after ncing at the foot of the staircase, Leon turned to face Shadowtail.

    "It seems like your ck Dragon n won''t be able to follow us up the mountain, given your big sizes. Nevertheless, I didn''t bring all of you out of the secret realm just to leave you idling down here either."

    "No, I have a task for all of you," Leon stated.

    "Understood," Shadowtail nodded before expressing his willingness to ept any task given, "Please give us your order, my Lord."

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t give his order immediately.

    "I''m sure you are all excited to explore the world, so let''s start with the Starfall Dominion. Given the current strength of the ck Dragon n, you shouldn''t have any opponent in this region," Leon mentioned.

    "As such, for your first task, I want you to grab a handful of dark faes to take with you as your guides and go subjugate all the demon ns in this rocky mountain region."

    After Leon issued his order, Shadowtail''s eyes flickered.

    "Understood, my Lord! I hear and obey!" Shadowtail epted the task with honor.

    Shortly after, the Shadowtail shifted its gaze to the dark faes.

    "You should have all overheard the Lord''s words, so I will only ask of you once. Who is willing to follow our ck Dragon n to subjugate the other demon ns in this region?" Shadowtail asked.

    After Nyfare heard that, she immediately bit her lips.

    Every dark fae present was eager to join the ck Dragon n in their subjugation quest. But, unfortunately, she could not join them.

    She had to escort the Lord up the mountain and introduce him to their n.

    "I''ll leave this matter in your hands. Take everyone with you and destroy the other demon ns in my stead," Nyfare said to Saresha.

    "Understood, n Leader," Sareshaplied solemnly.

 Chapter 878 - Reaching The Ruins Entrance

    Shortly after receiving Nyfare''s entrustment, Saresha turned to face her fellow n members.

    "If anyone doesn''t want to partake in this subjugation quest, now is the time to speak up. Although I believe everyone is interested, I don''t want to force anyone by mistake," Saresha stated.

    However, not a single dark fae spoke up even after waiting for some time. On the contrary, everyone was eager to participate in the subjugation.

    "Very well, I take it that you are all willing," Saresha nodded.

    "Lord Shadowtail, excluding our n leader, the rest of us are willing to follow your ck Dragon n''s lead to subjugate the demon ns in the Great ckrock Mountains."

    "Good! Then, let us set out immediately," Shadowtail nodded.

    However, just as Shadowtail was about to lead the ck Dragon n and the dark faes away, he suddenly turned back to Leon.

    "Oh right, my Lord. What should be done if the demon ns stubbornly resist submission?" Shadowtail asked.

    "Deal with them as you see fit," Leon calmly stated.

    "Understood," Shadowtail grinned after he was given free rein over the matter.

    The ck Dragon n and the dark faes all departed not long after, leaving only Leon, Darlene, Aria, Duna, and Nyfare left in the area.

    "Let us head up," Leon stated.

    Shortly after, the small group began taking their time to make their way up the staircase rather than flying up the mountain directly.

    Along the way, Leon had Nyfare inform him about the Dark Fae n''s way of life and regional points of interest.

    Nevertheless, everyone gradually reached the top before their eyes slightly widened with surprise when their gazes fell on the Dark Fae n before them.

    "So this is what the Dark Fae n looks like up here¡­ The entire region appears so deste and bleak that it makes one wonder how anyone could live in this barrennd without ess to food and water¡­ But the situation up here ispletely different from what I imagined," Leonmented.

    The scene before him certainly colored him with surprise.

    He spotted stone huts and buildings of various sizes throughout the mountain top and on different levels.

    However, none of these buildings were built on the mountain top but rather chiseled out of the mountain top itself.

    As such, it isn''t farfetched to say that the Dark Fae n wasn''t built on the mountain top, but the mountain top itself is the Dark Fae n.

    The building designs were all simple, but there was a rare beauty when they were put together as a whole.

    "I didn''t expect to find such a beautiful city up here when I saw the various mountain peaks in this region," Ariamented with amazement.

    She nced at the scene before her with awe while Duna, on the other hand, remained nonchnt.

    The rough rocky ground in the Dark Fae n was covered up by ayer of soft soil and lush purple grass that was evidently imported from elsewhere.

    However, what caught Leon''s attention were the water channels supplying water throughout the n.

    "It''s like a stone forest up here, but where are you getting all this water?" Leon inquired curiously with suspicion in his heart.

    "We draw it from the underground water vein, my Lord," Nyfare answered.

    "I see," Leon uttered with a nod.

    As he suspected, it was an underground water vein.

    However, whether it was connected to the Infertile ins'' Celestial Water Spark or another Celestial Water Spark in the Starfall Dominion has yet to be determined.

    "C-n Leader, you''re back!" a dark fae carrying a basket of herbs suddenly cried in joy upon spotting them.

    Her voice quickly echoed through the n and created a big stir before long.

    "Did you say the n Leader was back?! Are the others finally back from the secret realm?!" a group of female dark faes came rushing over with excitement.

    None of them were at the Lesser Demon level or above; they were no different from human mortals without any cultivation.

    "Wee back, n Leader!" the dark faes wee back their n leader.

    However, it wasn''t long before they paid attention to Leon, Aria, and Duna and didn''t notice any other dark faes with Nyfare.

    "C-n Leader? Who are these people? Where are the others?" a dark fae quickly asked hesitantly, her heart gripped by concern.

    Given the strength of the dark faes at the time of the secret realm''s opening, it wouldn''t be surprising if all of them died on the expedition.

    The dark faes immediately paled.

    They were hopeful, but seeing the n leader returning alone, they immediately assumed the worse.

    Nevertheless, it wasn''t long before Nyfare cleared their doubts and concerns.

    "You don''t have to worry about the others. Although we lost roughly fifty sisters in the secret realm, the rest of us survived," Nyfare assured them.

    "Not only did we survive, but we have also be far stronger than ever¡ªstrong enough to free ourselves from the other demon ns'' oppression! And this is all thanks to our Great Lord, Leon."

    Nyfare introduced him shortly after.

    Many gazes immediately fell on Leon, some with curiosity, some with doubts, and some with concerns.

    Nevertheless, Nyfare wasn''t finished speaking.

    She recounted the events in the secret realm, highlighting Leon''s capabilities and generosity while withholding some more confidential information about him from the dark faes.

    Even so, it was enough for the dark faes to look at Leon in a different light.

    They began to revere him for raising 250 Mid-rank Greater Demons-level dark faes for the Dark Fae n.

    "It''s unfortunate that I, myself, don''t get to participate, but you don''t have to worry about the others. They have left with the ck Dragon n to subjugate the other ns in the Great ckrock Mountains," Nyfare stated.

    "If you''re quick, you can still catch up and join them after settling matters here," Leon said to her.

    Nyfare''s eyes lit up after hearing that.

    "Thank you, my Lord!"

    She quickly had the dark faes present swear their allegiance to Leon before instructing them to spread the words to the others in the n.

    Two hourster, the entire n fell under Leon''s control without any opposition.

    In fact, the dark faes happily submit to Leon after hearing his tales in the secret realm; they finally have a powerful lord to serve.

    Bing a servant was much better than being a ve that anyone could order.

    "Shall I give you a tour through the n, my Lord?" Nyfare suggested.

    Leon nced at her before he casually asked, "Didn''t you want to join the ck Dragon n in subjugating the other demon ns in the Great ckrock Mountains?"

    "Nyfare did, but the Red Ghoul n, Blue Orge n, and Green Goblin n are all roughly two-hour trips from here. So even if Nyfare leaves now, the battle will be over by the time Nyfare arrives," Nyfare stated.

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered.

    "Well, I don''t intend to tour the n. Instead, we''ll be heading over to the ruin," Leon shortly said before adding, "The ruin is supervised by the Red Ghoul n, no? You might have missed the big battle, but you can get some action there."

    Nyfare quickly recalled a Red Ghoul n outpost was situated near the ruin.

    "All of you, go back to what you were doing and make way. I''ll be leaving with the Lord and heading to the ruin," Nyfare said to the dark faes gathered around them.

    She quickly dispersed the crowd before turning back to face Leon.

    "Let''s not waste time, my Lord. Shall we head over to the ruin right now?" Nyfare expressed her eagerness to visit the ruin.

    "Lead the way," Leon directly said with a gesture.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfare answered.

    Shortly after, they immediately took off and flew over to the neighboring mountain peak five miles away from the Dark Fae n''s mountain peak.

    The dark faes in the n quickly wished them safe travels on their trip to the ruin as they left.

    "The ruin is located just at the foot of this mountain peak, my Lord. You should be able to see the ruin entrance down over there."

    Nyfare directed Leon''s line of size to arge crack in the side of the mountain peak before they began making their descent into the area.

    "About two yards south of there is the Red Ghoul n''s outpost," Nyfare shortly pointed to the next point of interest.

    "There shouldn''t be many red ghouls in the outpost, usually no more than fifty. But they are all Lesser Demons, while five are even Low-rank Greater Demons."

    "Only five Low-rank Greater Demons, huh?" Leon muttered.

    "Their strength is not high, butpared to the Dark Fae n''s strength in the past, we were indeed no match for them," Nyfare spoke wryly.

    "But you, alone, should be able to deal with them now, no?"

    "Yes, my Lord," Nyfare nodded solemnly.

    She was now a Mid-rank Greater Demon with a tier-6 artifact as her weapon; it wouldn''t take much effort on her end to wipe out the Red Ghoul n''s outpost.

    "Then get right to it," Leon urged, not paying any interest to the outpost.

    His attention was entirely on the ruin''s entrance.

    He could see why the women in the Dark Fae n never see the men despite the ruin being situated so close to their n.

    The ruin was not actually in the open; it was hidden in the subterranean space below the mountain peak.

    Although none of the male dark faes could be seen at the entrance, the crates of ck ores revealed what they were exactly excavating inside.

    "A dark crystal mine, huh?" Leon muttered.

 Chapter 879 - Attacking Green Goblin Peak

    <h4>Chapter 879 - Attacking Green Goblin Peak</h4>

    "The ruin under this mountain contains a dark crystal deposit?" Aria asked while ncing at the crack in the mountain wall up ahead.

    "Looking at those crates of dark crystals and minecarts lying around outside the entrance, it does point towards that. Nevertheless, I guess we''ll only know for sure once we head inside," Leon replied.

    "Mm," Aria nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon, Darlene, Aria, and Duna openly approached the ruin entrance in the mountain and entered it.

    Theck of security spoke volumes of the Red Ghoul n''s list of priorities. Rather, they had no sense of alertness whatsoever.

    They''ve growncent during the reign in the region and never expected trouble toe knocking one day, which is today.

    ¡­

    Shortly after Leon, Darlene, Aria, and Duna disappeared in the mountain crack, Nyfare shifted her attention to the Red Ghoul n''s outpost.

    "The ruin should have more guards supervising the dark faes''bor. I should quickly finish my job here and rejoin the Lord," Nyfare muttered.

    She gripped her tier-6 sword and strolled right into the outpost.

    With no sentries keeping watch on the wall, the red ghouls in the outpost failed to notice Nyfare until she passed the open gate and stepped into the outer courtyard.

    "Hm? What''s a dark fae doing here?" a red ghoul wondered.

    More red ghouls began to take notice of Nyfare''s presence, but even then, they did not sense the slightest hint of danger or rm.

    What could one dark fae do?

    Puchi!

    Without warning, Nyfare closed the gap on the nearest red ghoul and beheaded with a clean sh of her tier-6 sword.

    Blood sprayed from the red ghoul''s neck before its body dropped to the ground with a thud.

    In that instance, the red ghouls within the outpost froze and failed to process what exactly had just happened right in front of them.

    One of their n members died to a dark fae?

    How is that possible?

    Puchi!

    Nyfare followed up on her attack and beheaded another red ghoul that stood not far from the first one, sending its head flying.

    The red ghouls were finally enraged after witnessing the death of their second n member.

    "Kill her!" a Greater Demon-level Red Ghoul roared.

    Themotion quickly attracted all forty-eight remaining red ghouls in the outpost before they all rushed at Nyfare like an angry mob.

    But without adequate defense, they were all cut down like weeds.

    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

    Nyfare swung her tier-6 sword and overpowered the red ghouls with brute strength, cutting them, weapon and body, in half and reaping their lives.

    She swung and swung until she noticed the red ghouls were no more.

    Only their dismembered bodies and blood were left, scattered around her in the outpost''s outer courtyard.

    She nced around with an empty feeling.

    "Red ghouls have fast growth but little potential and intelligence. As such, their n could never rise to high rank and always stayed as a mid-rank demon n¡­ To think that such a n would give my Dark Fae n so much trouble in the past¡­" Nyfare muttered.

    Despite decimating fifty red ghouls, she did not feel the satisfaction of defeating her n''s oppressor.

    No, it was far from enough.

    She needed to kill more.

    Nevertheless, Nyfare did not depart from the outpost immediately; she entered the inner courtyard and searched the area.

    It didn''t take long before she discovered many crates of dark crystals stored in the storage room before she collected them all into her interspatial ring.

    Only after she made sure there was nothing left of value in the outpost did she finally leave to catch up with her Lord.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Roughly fifty-five miles west of the Dark Fae n, a group of dark wyrms and dark faes arrived at the foot of a mountain peak.

    "Lord Nightingale, this Green Goblin Peak, the home of the Green Goblin n," a dark fae informed.

    Green Goblin Peak had many cave openings, both big and small ones, running along its foot, and many more caves existed deeper under the mountain.

    At the same time, numerous passageways connected the caves interchangeably, forming aplexwork and maze under the mountain peak.

    "Although I have never been inside the Green Goblin n, I heard it is easy to get lost if one is not familiar with the terrain within," the dark fae added.

    "That is under the premise that we can even enter it," Nightingale nonchntly said.

    The cave openings were too small.

    "Nevertheless, since we''ve arrived at the Green Goblin n, let us not waste any time. We have the entire Great ckrock Mountains to conquer," Nightingale mentioned.

    "Surely, no one here wants tog behind the other groups that headed for the other demon ns, but let me tell you what; I will not settle for subpar performance. No, we will outdo the other groups and be the one to conquer the most ns in the Great ckrock Mountains!"

    "Begin the attack!" Nightingale ordered shortly after.

    Nightingale''s words had the dark wyrms and the dark faes'' blood pumping, but her order was unclear; they did not know what they were supposed to attack.

    "What are we attacking, Lord Nightingale?" an Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrm asked.

    "The mountain peak, of course! Since we can''t enter, we just have to shake their nest and lure them!" Nightingale stated.

    The dark wyrms quickly understood.

    Within a few short breaths, they quickly began their attack on the Green Gobling Peak, causing it to shake with tremors and tears to form on its surface.

    Some caves within the mountain peak even copsed from the dark wyrms'' onught.

    Before long, an army of angry green goblins poured out from the cave openings en masse and rushed into action to defend their home from copsing.

    However, the power difference became apparent in the first sh!

    Several dark wyrms directly ttened hundreds of green goblins with their enormous bodies while others swallowed dozens with their gaping jaws.

    Fear quickly reced the green goblins'' rage like a ssh of cold water, causing tens of thousands to cower several steps back towards their caves.

    "Stop!" the goblin chief shouted.

 Chapter 880 - Sweeping Great Blackrock Mountains

    <h4>Chapter 880 - Sweeping Great ckrock Mountains</h4>

    After the green goblins halted their retaliation and made way for their goblin chief, the dark wyrms also pulled back their attacks and created distance.

    "My Lords, why have youe to attack our n? What grievance have we incurred?" the goblin chief sought for an answer from the crowd of dark wyrms ahead of it.

    However, the goblin chief quickly spotted the dark faes on top of the dark wyrms before its eyes widened with shock.

    ''The dark faes?! What dealings have the dark faes made with dark wyrms for the dark wyrms to allow them to sit on their heads?!''

    It wasn''t just the goblin chief who had that thought; the entire green goblin army did, and it shocked them to the core.

    "My Lords, what did the Dark Fae n promise you? They are the weakest n in the Great ckrock Mountains! Whatever they promised you, my Green Goblin n can definitely offer more!" the goblin chief shouted desperately.

    There was no way the Green Goblin n could win against such an overwhelming force.

    Even the Nine Great ns would find themselves hard-pressed to face such a terrifying group of dark wyrms.

    The only way for the Green Goblin n to survive is to win the dark wyrms over to their side.

    s, the dark wyrms scoffed at the goblin chief''s ignorant offer.

    Nightingale made her way forward before she gazed down on the goblin chief with her towering figure.

    The goblin chief immediately felt tremendous pressure from Nightingale''s gaze and aura.

    ''A Half-step Demon Lord-level Earth Dragon! No, a true Demon Lord-level Earth Dragon!'' the goblin chief''s mind immediately screamed with shock.

    "My Lord has decreed the subjugation of the Great ckrock Mountains. As such, I will only give the Green Goblin n two choices; submit or die!" Nightingale stated.

    "Lord Nightingale¡­" the dark fae on Nightingale softly uttered.

    "I know," Nightingale nodded before telling the goblin chief, "Your n can choose to submit, but it won''te that easy."

    "You will have your strongest warriors fight to the death with the weakest members in our group before you are allowed to submit. Now, make your choice!"

    After hearing that, the goblin chief''s eyes flickered.

    In other words, all of the Green Goblin n''s leaders have to die before the Demon Lord-level Earth Dragon epts the Green Goblin n''s submission.

    No matter what choice the goblin chief makes, it will still die. But if it chooses to submit, Green Goblin n will continue to exist at the very least.

    "Are the dark faes included in your list of weakest members, my Lord?" the goblin chief asked carefully.

    "That was what implied," Nightingale coolly stated before she asked with narrowed eyes, "Or do you believe the members of my ck Dragon n can be weak?"

    "N-not at all! My n will choose to submit to you, my Lord!" the goblin chief said.

    "Not to me, to my Lord, Lord Leon, the one who rules over my ck Dragon n and the Dark Fae n!" Nightingale corrected the goblin chief''s mistaken assumption.

    "Thank you for giving us this opportunity, Lord Nightingale," the dark fae on her head said.

    Nevertheless, Nightingale did not intend to stay and watch the Dark Fae n''s battle.

    After leaving a few Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms behind to supervise the area, Nightingale grabbed another dark fae and headed to the next demon n to subjugate.

    "If they go back on their words, feel free to wipe them all out," Nightingale had left those words for the Arch Demon-level Dark Wyrms just before she departed.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    While Nightingale''s group rushed to subjugate the next demon n, the other three groups led by earth dragons also headed to their next demon n.

    They had the same thoughts about subjugating the most ns in the Great ckrock Mountains.

    After Shadowtail''s group decimated two-tenths of the Blue Ogre n and received their submission, they moved to their next target, the Undead Lich n.

    Thest two groups also decimated roughly two-tenths of their targets before moving on to the next target.

    One by one, the demons ns in Great ckrock Mountains submitted to the ck Dragon n and the Lord, who they had not seen yet.

    The ck Dragon n quickly established its dominance in the Great ckrock Mountains with its overwhelming strength.

    None of the demon ns in the Great ckrock Mountains were prepared for ck Dragon n''s arrival, but news of their submissions traveled fast after their overwhelming defeats.

    It created a huge stir throughout the Great ckrock Mountains like ripples.

    The news eventually reached one of the Nine Great ns, the Purple Coatl Dragon n, in the far west of the Great ckrock Mountains and rmed them.

    ¡­

    The Purple Coatl Dragon n was the ruler of the Great ckrock Mountains.

    Unlike other demon ns who only upy one mountain in the Great ckrock Mountains, the Purple Coatl Dragon n''s home spanned across a dozen mountain peaks.

    On the Purple Sunset Peak, the Purple Coatl Dragon n''s main peak, the upper echelons of the n gathered.

    There were only four Purple Coatl Dragons, but they were all at the High-rank Great Demon-level, the few remaining elders that stayed behind to manage the n.

    "Has no one heard anything from the n leader and elders?" a Purple Coatl Dragon Elder inquired.

    "I''ve already sent a n member to scout the abyss for news. However, it''ll take some time before we hear anything about the secret realm," another Purple Coatl Dragon Elder replied.

    "How long, exactly?"

    "Excluding the possibilities of dys and breaks, the scout will take at least half a day for a round trip back to us."

    "¡­"

    The Purple Coatl Dragon Elders quickly fell silent.

    "The Mid-rank and High-rank demon ns in the Great ckrock Mountains are falling by the hour. We don''t have half a day to wait," a Purple Coatl Dragon Elder stated with a worried look.

    "This doesn''t make any sense¡­ Where did these dark wyrms suddenly pop out from? The Starfall Dominion certainly doesn''t have any dark wyrms¡­"

 Chapter 881 - Pleasant Surprise

    <h4>Chapter 881 - Pleasant Surprise</h4>

    "I''ve only heard about them from the secret realm and the other dominions¡­"

    "But if the other dominions are invading us, why haven''t we received any news from the southern regions? They would have been struck first!"

    "Considering the speed of this ck Dragon n''s subjugation, perhaps the southern regions fell too quickly before they could send the news out¡­"

    "Nevertheless, that is not our concern right now. We should be figuring out how to deal with this so-called ck Dragon n!"

    While the Purple Coatl Dragon Elders debated over the solution, Shadowtail and the others continued to lead their group and sweep the demon ns across the Great ckrock Mountains.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    After entering the mountain ruin, Leon, Darlene, Aria, and Duna ventured deeper down the wide, sloped passageway.

    Relics of the past scattered along the side of the walls, some even partially unearthed.

    Wherever they looked, runes filled the relics, some still functioning while others were damaged and broken.

    Even so, these relics were all left on the side like discarded trash.

    "We''ve only just stepped into the ruin, but we''ve already found so many relics of the distant past lying around like garbage¡­" Leonmented with a wry smile.

    He stopped by one side of the passageway and picked up a dirty box-shaped relic before he patted the dirt off to inspect the item.

    It was just a small chest, nothing worth mentioning.

    However, shortly after Leon opened the small chest, he found well-preserved primordial scriptures inside.

    He couldn''t understand the specifics of the primordial scriptures at a nce.

    Despite that, he was well aware that all techniques from the primordial era were far from ordinary in the present era.

    "I guess dark crystals are more important to the demons," Aria added to Leon''sment amusedly.

    "Most warriors in the Darkmoon Tribe would also choose the dark crystals over these old relics and scriptures. Only a select few would collect relics from the ruins for study," Darlene stated.

    Something that could be used was better off than something they could not.

    "I suppose this is a perfect example of; one man''s garbage is another man''s treasure. Too bad for them, but lucky for us," Leon stated.

    Once Aria and Darlene saw Leon pocketing every relic they saw, they also began to help him collect the relics.

    On the other hand, Duna rubbed some dirt off the wall to gaze at the runguage engraved on it.

    Nevertheless, she didn''t fall too far off from the others.

    When Leon and the others quickly cleared out the relics and made their way deeper into the ruins, Duna would move onto another mural closer to them.

    It didn''t take long before Nyfare caught up and rejoined their group.

    "I''ve finished my business at the outpost, my Lord," Nyfare reported before taking out crates of dark crystals, "These items were all collected from there."

    Leon swept a nce at the dark crystal crates but didn''t show any particr interest in them.

    "Since you found them, it''s yours; keep it," Leon casually said.

    "Thank you, my Lord!" Nyfare answered excitedly.

    There were at least a few hundred thousand dark crystals, yet the Lord was willing to give it all to her without much concern.

    She was both impressed and astounded by his indifference to such wealth.

    The group eventually reached a split in the passageway; one path revealed more relics while the distant clings and ngs of mining came from the other.

    It was clear where each path would lead them.

    "There are two paths to take here. I''ll be taking the left path and heading deeper into the ruins, but you want to free your n members, don''t you?" Leon turned to Nyfare.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfare nodded firmly.

    "Nyfare won''t intrude on your free time, my Lord. With my present strength, I should be capable of taking care of the red ghouls in the dark crystal mine by myself."

    "Go on then."

    "Yes!"

    Shortly after Nyfare took the right path and ventured into the dark crystal mine on her own, Leon and the others headed deeper into the ruins on the left path.

    They eventually arrived in arge cave filled with partially unearthed relics and half-buried broken buildings.

    An unfathomable aura of ancientness exuded from them.

    It was clear these objects weren''t just old; they were very old¡ªold as the gods and devils from the primordial era.

    Leon nced around and admired the mural on the broken buildings and relics full of runic engravings.

    There is a lot of research value in these ruins.

    "The Great War supposedly destroyed the gods and devils'' physical forms, but it seems some structures and relics of the past manage to survive the destruction and made it to this age¡­"

    "You should use Nihility on them," Duna suddenly spoke.

    Leon and the other twodies immediately nced back at Duna with astonishment, not expecting her to speak suddenly.

    "Why?" Leon asked, nheless.

    "These ancient buildings are all made from the purest form of True Grandmist Energy that appeared at the beginning of time. The amount of True Grandmist Energy that you can extract from them cannotpare with what you had until now," Duna calmly exined.

    Leon''s eyes flickered.

    After listening to Duna''s exnation, he became curious at once.

    He nced at a broken wall and wondered just how many wisps of True Grandmist Energy he could extract from it.

    ''Are you seriously nning on destroying a historical object with this much runic knowledge on it?''

    Maya''s criticizing voice suddenly resounded in Leon''s mind, causing his eyes to slowly widen with a pleasant surprise.

    ''Maya? You''ve awakened? When? How?'' Leon asked with astonishment.

    ''Are you seriously asking me when you should know better than me? Who else can it be beside you to supply spirit energy for my recovery? Didn''t you gather these few thousand stalks of tier-5 spirit herb for that purpose?''

    Maya replied confusedly.

    Nevertheless, once Maya mentioned the tier-5 spirit herbs, Leon immediately realized how the artifact spirit recovered.

 Chapter 882 - Mayas Heart

    <h4>Chapter 882 - Maya''s Heart</h4>

    All wood-attribute nts and other forms of vegetation are capable of producing spirit energy in varying amounts depending on their quality.

    Because the worldcked high-quality nts, spirit energy had always been scarce.

    But of course, there were exceptions like the bottom of the Bone Sea.

    The rich lifeforce in the ck Turtle God Beast''s blood essence enabled spirit herbs to prosper and create a spirit energy-rich environment down there.

    ''There were a lot of things going on; I must have overlooked the slight detail. That being said, it''s great to have you back, Maya. It''s been rough without you," Leon said with heartfelt relief.

    Given the sheer number of untranted scriptures lying around, the timing of her awakening couldn''t be more perfect.

    ''Hmph, ungrateful bastard. I''ve just recovered my consciousness, but you already want to give me trantion work,'' Maya snorted.

    ''Hahaha, don''t say that. It''s true that I missed you,'' Leon chuckled dryly.

    "This ruin contains a lot of research value; any destruction to it will be put on hold for the time being. So let us take everything of interest and value first," Leon said to the others.

    "Alright," Aria and Darlene nodded.

    Shortly after, they wandered off into different parts of the ruin to collect relics and scriptures.

    "There''s nothing good about the primordial era; the gods and devils were destroyed for a reason. So it''s better to destroy everything and extract the True Grandmist Energy out of them instead of following in their footsteps," Duna spoke.

    "That''s not true," Leon smiled slightly and argued.

    "The Great War indeed destroyed the gods and devils, but there''s much to learn from the primordial era. You might say that I am following in their footsteps, but I say I am learning about them to avoid the same mistake."

    "Whatever," Duna uttered nonchntly.

    She couldn''t be bothered to enter a debate with Leon and ended their discussion right there and then and became silent once more.

    Leon shook his head helplessly.

    Shortly after, he pushed aside Duna''s matter and focused on collecting the scriptures, scrolls, and manual lying around in the ruin.

    ''Maya, can you scan all the runes engraved on these walls and start tranting the primordial heritage in the Archive,'' Leon requested.

    However, Maya rolled her eyes in the Worldspace.

    ''Do you even have any consideration for me? I''ve only recovered my consciousness; it''s not like I have a lot of spiritual strength to do these menial tasks yet. So at least let me recover a bit more first,'' Maya stated.

    Leon paused for a moment before he sincerely acknowledged his mistake, ''You''re right; that was inconsiderate of me. I''m sorry.''

    ''Apology epted,'' Maya replied.

    After a brief moment of consideration and contemtion, Leon made a suggestion, ''If you''recking spiritual strength, then¡­ shall we try dual cultivation for faster recovery?''

    ''Hm? Have you finally lost your mind?'' Maya couldn''t believe what she had just heard.

    ''I don''t know what possessed you to make such an outrageous suggestion, but let us not forget that I am a spiritual lifeform without a physical body. And not just any spiritual lifeform either, but an artifact spirit; I don''t have the same receptors as you humans.''

    In other words, she was built differently; dual cultivation would not have the same intended effect on her.

    ''Furthermore, dual cultivation does not replenish spiritual strength. If anything, it''ll expend it instead. For you to make such a suggestion¡­ you''ve finally fallen under the charms of my beauty, huh?''

    The more Maya thought about it, the more she felt that was the case.

    ''Ahem, that''s not it,'' Leon replied awkwardly.

    ''You might have forgotten, but I''ve developed a spiritual dual cultivation technique. It was a bit rough at first, but I''ve made improvements to it. W can transfer spiritual strength to each other by copting in the spiritual world with our spiritual forms.''

    ''Furthermore, the amount of spiritual strength transferred can be controlled. The ultimate goal of spiritual dual cultivation is to benefit both parties. However, since you require spiritual strength, I will transfer all of mine to you through spiritual dual cultivation.''

    ''How about it? Would you like to give it a go?'' Leon inquired.

    Maya was skeptical of the whole notion of dual cultivating with an artifact spirit like her. However, Leon''s exnation of spiritual dual cultivation quickly attracted her interest.

    An artifact spirit''s recovery of spiritual strength cannotpare to other beings with physical bodies; it was much slower.

    At the same time, artifact spirits require spirit energy to replenish their spiritual strength.

    On the other hand, other beings with physical forms like humans can simply recover spiritual strength with time like they have an infinite power source.

    ''You have my attention. How do we begin?'' Maya replied.

    ''One of us need to enter the other''s spiritual world, but you shouldn''t have the ability to do this, so it is up to me to enter your spiritual world,'' Leon said.

    ''Heh, well, isn''t that a problem,'' Maya snickered at once.

    ''Artifact spirits don''t have dreams, so it''s questionable whether a spiritual world even exists for artifact spirits. Not to mention, we don''t have the soul cores as you humans do.''

    ''You don''t, but you all have a heart, which is the essence of your being. It might be different from a human''s soul core in appearance, but I think it can be considered as your soul core,'' Leon stated.

    ''You think, huh?'' Maya uttered.

    ''So basically, there''s no guarantee that you can enter my spiritual world, let alone perform this so-called spiritual dual cultivation with me¡­''

    ''Nothing ventured, nothing gained; we''ll know once we try,'' Leon replied with a smile.

    ''Go on then.''

    ''Alright.''

    Shortly after Leon informed the others of his short meditation, he found a spot to sit before diving into the Worldspace with his condensed spiritual avatar.

    ''My heart is hidden below ground, but it shouldn''t be a problem for you to reach it in your spiritual form,'' Maya informed him.

    Leon nodded.

    It didn''t take long for him to locate Maya''s heart in the Worldspace''s subterranean space with her guidance.

    However, the crystalized divine energy was rather dimpared to the realm spirit''s divine crystal heart.

 Chapter 883 - First Time With Maya (1)

    <h4>Chapter 883 - First Time With Maya (1)</h4>

    Although Maya''s divine crystal heart was dim, Leon did not find it too surprising.

    He was well aware that the Divine Book of Life he inherited was far from its peak state. Heck, it was most likely already damaged when histe father obtained it.

    Not many relics from the primordial era survive to the present age in perfect conditions; they are usually damaged and iplete one way or another.

    ''Here goes nothing,'' Leon thought.

    Soul Dive!

    Leon quickly dived straight into Maya''s divine crystal heart with his spiritual avatar.

    However, the experience felt nothing like phasing through transparent sses, as anyone would have assumed based on appearances.

    Instead, Maya''s divine crystal heart was like a portal.

    The moment his spiritual came in contact with Maya''s divine crystal heart, it quickly pulled his consciousness into another world, Maya''s spiritual world.

    However, Maya''s spiritual world was unlike any he had seen before.

    There were no grassy ins, fresh running rivers, lush green forests, or snowy mountains. Nor were there any white clouds and a bright sun hanging in the sky¡ªor rather, there was simply nond nor sky.

    It was just an endless stretch of the void filled with darkness, loneliness, and emptiness.

    Maya''s spiritual avatar appeared in her supposed spiritual world and gazed at the dark void beside Leon a few momentster.

    "So this is how my spiritual world looks? This is rather surprising¡­ But then again, not so much if I give it more thought¡­" Maya casuallymented.

    Nevertheless, the scene made Leon frown.

    "A person''s spiritual world is supposed to be a manifestation of their dreams, ambitions, memories, and even emotions," Leon mentioned with furrowed brows.

    "You can even say that everything that makes a person who they are can be found inside of their spiritual world¡­ Well, at the very least, that is what the Archive recorded on the spiritual world¡­ Maya, you¡­"

    Leon nced at Maya with surprise.

    To have an empty spiritual world was no different from having no aspirations and emotions; only a person without a reason to live might have an empty spiritual world like this.

    "Don''t be so surprised," Maya casually said.

    "When you live as long as I have, you''ll start to realize the things you hold dear will not be as important as you think. Life will hold no meaning, and the things that can interest you are very few and far between."

    "Eternal life isn''t a blessing, but a curse. Even mortals live their lives more brilliantly than the True Divinities."

    "And yet, they still strive for evesting life," Leon argued with a smile.

    "I may not have lived your lifetime, and I may even sound arrogant to say this, but it''s not that life has no meaning; it is us who gives it meaning. So if you find yourself without any meaning in life, it just implies you haven''t found it yet. That, or you have lost your purpose in life."

    "In that case, you just have to find a new one to keep you going. Everyone needs a purpose to keep moving forward because idleness is terrifying; it gives birth to regret. Everyone wants to live, and no one wants to die."

    "However, the reality is cruel. Not everyone gets that chance to live forever. But at the very least, when they depart the world, they would leave with peace of mind, knowing that they have done their best to live a fulfilling life."

    "I can see where you areing from, but I''m not interested in debating on this topic with you. Somethings can''t beprehended unless you experience the vicissitude of time," Maya stated.

    "We didn''te here to debate either, did we?" Maya mentioned coolly before urging him, "So let us begin; this spiritual dual cultivation you mentioned."

    "Alright," Leon nodded before suddenly adding, "But before that, I strongly request that you change into your adult form."

    "Why? Is there a problem with my present form?" Maya asked in her child form.

    "Various problems, actually, but primarily due to moralplications that I insist you change out of this form," Leon replied with a forced smile.

    "I don''t want to develop a guilty conscience because of this."

    "Seriously, you are oveplicating things," Maya furrowed her brows before asking, "Do you realize how old I am? What moralplications can there be?"

    "That''s not really the point here¡­"

    "Fine, fine. I''ll do as you wish."

    Maya agreed without much fight, and before long, her spiritual avatar changed into an adult beauty.

    Nevertheless, she was very nonchnt.

    It was as if the act of performing dual cultivation with Leon was a trivial thing, and it wouldn''t affect nor concern her in the slightest.

    However, the moment Leon grabbed her wrist and pulled her body closer to himself, her long eyshes fluttered.

    She immediately nced down at her grabbed wrist with a strange feeling.

    The sensation of their contact was foreign and new to her.

    "Is something wrong?" Leon asked.

    "No, it''s nothing," Maya shook her head and said indifferently, "Continue."

    "Alright," Leon acknowledged.

    He proceeded to undress Maya''s white robe and trace his fingers along her fair skin.

    While he was at it, he pressed a few acupoints'' locations as if they existed,pletely treating Maya''s body like he would do with another human''s body.

    "Ahh¡­" a soft moan involuntarily escaped Maya''s mouth.

    The waves after waves of foreign sensations assaulted her, making her body quiver with weakness and delight.

    It was conflicting, but she didn''t hate it.

    ''This is so strange¡­ What is this feeling? I''m experiencing it for the first time, but this shouldn''t be possible. I''m an artifact spirit. My spiritual avatar shouldn''t possess any receptors to experience these feelings...''

    Maya was confused and lost, even nervous, strangely, but she didn''t want Leon to stop.

    Leon eventually took the next step and loosened his clothes, which dissipated like mist after separating from his spiritual avatar.

    At the same time, some distance away from Leon and Maya, a blue slowly manifested and grew with time in the dark void as they became more intimate in the act.

 Chapter 884 - First Time With Maya (2)

    <h4>Chapter 884 - First Time With Maya (2)</h4>

    Nevertheless, neither Leon nor Maya paid attention to the changes in the depths of the dark void.

    Shortly after Leon undressed, he saddled Maya on top of hisp and yed with her supple white peaks with his tongue.

    His hands snaked their way down her belly, feeling the smoothness of her skin before reaching her honey pot, which was already overflowing with love nectar.

    Her body squirmed with delight at his touches, and the pleasure overwhelmed her beyond her wildest imagination.

    Maya was almost drunk on the feeling.

    She was in a state that anyone or anything that touched her body would bring her joy and pleasure. Leon did not require much effort to please her at all.

    But because Leon was rather adept in the field, Maya experienced euphoria continuously even before he served the main course.

    Nevertheless, she was ready for it.

    In that instant, Leon lifted Maya slightly before driving his little brother right into her wonder hole, filling uppletely.

    "Ahhh~! What is this feeling? How can such a wonderful sensation exist?" Maya cried with delight, her gaze blurred, immersed in sheer bliss.

    It was as if the gates of heaven opened before her.

    "Oh my goodness~! This is incredible, Leon! Please don''t stop this feeling~! Keep it going~!" Maya continued to cry with delight.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t intend to give Maya a break in the first ce. He began pumping her flowery garden with increasing tempo.

    Although Leon didn''t feel the same level of pleasure, he also didn''t enjoy the dual cultivation any less than Maya did.

    However, all good things won''tst forever; he still had to transfer his spiritual strength to her.

    Despite the purpose of their dual cultivation in the first ce, Leon didn''t want Maya''s first experience in spiritual dual cultivation to end unsatisfyingly and short.

    As such, after going at it for six hours straight, Leon finally broke the delicate bnce he maintained in their dual cultivation.

    When that happened, Maya siphoned the spiritual strength from him naturally.

    After another half hour of intimate exercise in the spiritual world, Maya finally siphoned most¡ªif not all the spiritual strength from Leon.

    He became too weak to continue, but neither was Maya dissatisfied with the end of their dual cultivation.

    No, she was rather satisfied with it.

    Unknowingly, the dark void was filled with stars ands during their intimate session.

    They, themselves,id on the grassy ins of one such right at that moment. With Leon on the ground and Maya on top of his chest, they felt each others'' warmth and beating hearts.

    "I understand now," Maya suddenly eximed with bright eyes.

    After cooling herself down and finally having the chance to ponder about things, she finally figured out the source of her confusion.

    "What do you understand?" Leon asked with a feeble voice.

    "I figured why I can experience such sensational feelings of pleasure, which is usually not possible for any artifact spirit like me to experience. It''s because I am bound to your soul," Maya concluded.

    "My spiritual world was affected by you through the soul-binding connection we share. It is because of this connection that I can experience the emotions and feelings of a normal human woman."

    "I see¡­ And what do you think of it? Do you hate it?" Leon asked weakly.

    Maya shook her and replied, "Not at all. On the contrary, I think it''s very lovely. I can get addicted to this feeling¡ªNo, I am already addicted."

    She could never understand why men lust over beautiful women and women lust over handsome men in the past.

    Or rather, she could understand the reason with her wealth of knowledge. But she could never truly understand it from the bottom of her heart.

    But at this moment, she was finally enlightened after the unforgettable experience.

    "Then we should do it some more after I recover my spiritual strength," Leon suggested with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

    "You dare make such a suggestion despite being in such a state? Control your lust, Leon," Maya coolly stated as she separated herself from Leon''s chest.

    Seeing how Maya recovered his usual self, Leon almost felt like someone that just got abandoned after a one-night stand.

    Nevertheless, Maya cleansed the sweat from her body with a single thought. And with another thought, she was dressed in a fresh white robe.

    "Interesting¡­" Maya uttered intriguingly.

    "So you can do this in the spiritual world¡­ Being able to create anything I can think of, I am basically a God of Creation in this spiritual world of mine¡­"

    "A spiritual world is not much different from a dreamscape, so you''re not wrong in saying that you are one in your spiritual world," Leonmented while lying on the grass.

    She raised mountains, erected cities, and even created people before she became more confident of her omnipotence.

    However, there was a slight issue with the people she created.

    They were autonomous and capable of independent movements without her control, but theycked emotion and purpose.

    In essence, these humans she created were more like dolls.

    "I suppose there are some limits that we can''t ovee in this spiritual world," Maya said with a thoughtful look.

    Shortly after, she yed around further with her absolute power.

    "How interesting¡­" Maya uttered.

    "You don''t need to understand anything about what you create. As long as you have the image and will, the spiritual world will generate the creation for you¡­ but I wonder if studying the process will have any value inprehending the Creation Law¡­"

    Although Maya onlymented casually, Leon''s eyes flickered with interest.

    It is worth testing.

    But s, he won''t be able to test anything for the time being; he will be mentally exhausted for a quite while.

    "Although time flows differently in the spiritual world, I still ought to get back to the real world," Leon said to Maya.

    "Alright, you can leave first, Leon," Maya nodded without any intention to follow him.

    She still wanted to y around for a bit longer in her spiritual world.

 Chapter 885 - Perusing The Primordial Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 885 - Perusing The Primordial Techniques</h4>

    After returning to the real world, Leon took out a Spiritual Replenishment Pill and ingested it. Then, he recovered his meditative position and thoroughly absorbed the pill''s efficacy.

    A few minutester, Leon felt a bit better but still exhausted, nheless.

    ''I haven''t seen Maya show such expressions before¡­ It''s almost as if the expressions I''ve seen from our past interactions were all fake¡­'' Leon silently mused.

    Rather than fake, it''s just that Maya''s expressions in the spiritual world seemed more genuine.

    Leon rested for a bit longer before he nced around at the ruin, which had be much tidier.

    It appeared that while he was busy with Maya in the spiritual world, Aria and Darlene had nearly collected all the relics in the ruin by themselves.

    A full incense worth of time must have passed in the real world.

    Although Leon felt bad leaving all the work to Aria and Darlene, he also felt relief, knowing he could rely on them at times.

    After a few moments, Leon closed his eyes and focused on recovering his spiritual strength in peace.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Nyfare barged into the dark crystal mine without a n and freed her male n members.

    Nevertheless, the dark male faes didn''t have chains binding them or anything, making it easier for Nyfare to pull them away from their workstations.

    "Go, leave the mountain. More will follow you," Nyfare ordered in a firm tone.

    The male dark faes didn''t know what possessed Nyfare to utter such words, but they were very apprehensive and hesitant inplying.

    They were afraid of the consequences of defying the Red Ghoul n.

    "But the Red Ghoul n¡­"

    "You don''t have to worry about the Red Ghoul n, for there won''t be any more red ghouls in this dark crystal mine after I am done with them."

    "But¡­"

    "Just go!"

    The moment Nyfare raised her voice at her male n members, they immediately dropped their mining tools and fled the mine like frightened rabbits.

    Nyfare nced at their backs and sighed.

    The Red Ghoul n''s years of oppression have made her n members weak and timid¡ªto the point that anyone could boss them around.

    They didn''t even recognize her as the Dark Fae n''s current n leader.

    "The men''s condition in the mine is worse than I imagined. The Red Ghoul n''s rule ends today!" Nyfare clenched her fist with determination.

    The male dark faes only wore thin, ragged clothes, and many scars could be found on their bodies.

    However, this was only the surface problem.

    Looking at her n member''s sickly appearances, Nyfare didn''t doubt that her n members also suffered from multiple illnesses.

    "Oi, you there! What are you doing here? Where did the dark faes¡ª" the shortmotion attracted a red ghoul over to check.

    But before it could finish interrogating Nyfare, she beheaded it with a clean swing of her tier-6 sword.

    Shortly after, Nyfare ventured deeper into the mine, freeing every dark fae she came across.

    It didn''t take long before the patrolling red ghouls discovered dark faes missing from their designated areas.

    They even found decapitated bodies of their n members.

    "Sound the rm! The dark faes are rebelling¡ª" a red ghoul cried.

    Swish!

    Nyfare shot out from a corner of the mine and decapitated the red ghoul before it could take further action.

    "Kill¡ª!" the other red ghouls were alerted.

    But Nyfare made quick work of them and allowed their headless bodies to join the others scattered on the ground.

    "Weak, too weak! These red ghouls can''t resist a single blow! I won''t be satisfied no matter how many I cut down in the same manner!" Nyfare frowned.

    "The red ghouls aren''t weak, n leader. Rather, it''s you who have be too strong instead," a male dark fae corrected.

    However, Nyfare immediately scoffed at hisment.

    She can''t be considered truly strong until she reaches the same level of strength as Lord Shadowtail and Lord Nightingale from the ck Dragon n.

    "Go, leave the mine, and join the others outside the mountain."

    "Yes, n leader!"

    The male dark faes quicklyplied and left¡ªnot out of respect, but out of fear.

    Now that many dark faes were missing from the mine and several red ghouls were killed, they would only be risking their lives by staying.

    Nevertheless, the dark crystal mine was much more extensive than Nyfare anticipated.

    "Seems like it will take me a while to get everyone out of here¡­" Nyfare uttered with a frown while gazing at the multiple tunnels, each leading to a different section in the mine.

    It was easy to get lost in such a maze-like mine.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    After Leon recuperated for some time, he suddenly heard from Maya.

    ''I''ve finished tranting the primordial heritage recorded in the Archive, so feel free to take a look at them whenever,'' Maya casually said.

    "Oh?" Leon eximed with a pleasant surprise.

    ''All of them?''

    ''All of them.''

    After Leon received Maya''s confirmation, he immediately sent his consciousness into the Archive to peruse the tranted versions.

    ''Tch, not even a thank you,'' Maya snorted.

    Arge bookshelf containing hundreds of newly tranted techniques quickly appeared after Leon used a single thought to search for them.

    However, Leon found the techniques on the bookshelf to be unorganized.

    He immediately willed the Archive with another thought before the bookshelf divided into multiple bookshelves, each containing a specific category of primordial techniques.

    Whether they were cultivation arts, battle skills, or misceneous techniques, they were all separated neatly into their respective bookshelf.

    Leon ignored the battle skills and misceneous techniques and headed straight for the bookshelf with cultivation arts.

    ''Soul, body, and energy cultivation¡­ I need to find a suitable body forging method for Aria and Darlene, but what kind of body forging methods would be considered suitable for them?''

    Leon silently pondered.

    ''Aria specializes in the Ice and Lightning Law¡­ so a body forging method that can strengthen her ice and lightning abilities will be ideal¡­'' Leon mused.

 Chapter 886 - Infinite Incarnations

    <h4>Chapter 886 - Infinite Incarnations</h4>

    ''A body forging method thatplements elemental abilities¡­ something like special physiques and divine bodies would be even better¡­'' Leon thought.

    Having remolded his own body into the True Grandmist Physique, he was aware that gaining special physiques was possible besides one''s birth.

    ¡­

    <Nirvana me Body Forging Method, Vol.1>

    <Hundred Physique Transformation Art, Vol.3>

    <Tyrant Emperor Forging Bone Method, Vol.1>

    <Empyrean Void Body Law, Vol.1>

    ¡­

    While skimming through the list of body forging methods, Leon suddenly paused on the Empyrean Void Body Law.

    ''Empyrean Void Body Law?'' Leon''s eyes flickered with a thoughtful look.

    ''Only the Empyrean Gods are worthy of using the term ''Empyrean'' in the primordial era¡­ So then, this Empyrean Void Body Law must be from Empyrean Infinite Void¡­'' Leon spected.

    However, he quickly furrowed his brows with confusion shortly after.

    ''Wasn''t Empyrean Infinite Void the most elusive Empyrean God during the primordial era? No one could enter Empyrean Infinite Void''s self-created realm, let alone even gaze upon it. So how did one of her techniques end up here?''

    Leon wondered with a baffled look.

    Nevertheless, he realized that he didn''t know much about the Great War or how it ended the primordial era of gods and devils.

    ''Do you know much about Empyrean Infinite Void, Maya?'' Leon sought his artifact spirit''s knowledge on the matter.

    Although the Divine Book of Life''s damage impaired Maya''s memories and abilities, she was still an artifact on a higher level than the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    She might know something.

    ''Hm? Why are you suddenly interested in Empyrean Infinite Void?'' Maya replied to Leon''s question with a question of her own, intrigued by the sudden topic.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t mind.

    ''Because one of my women possesses a soul fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void, and there''s a technique called Empyrean Void Body Art in the Archive,'' Leon replied.

    ''Considering Empyrean Infinite Void was very elusive, don''t you also find it strange for one of her techniques to be mixed with the other primordial heritage?''

    Leon asked shortly after.

    ''Did you just say one of your women possess a soul fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void?'' Maya answered his question with another question again.

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    ''That''s right. Is that a problem?'' Leon asked with growing concern.

    ''Problem? Well, that depends on the situation. How important is this woman to you? Has she integrated with her soul fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void?'' Maya casually questioned him.

    ''Do you even need to ask about how her importance? If my women aren''t important to me, who is?''

    ''I don''t know, your parents, perhaps?'' Maya replied nonchntly.

    ''Ahem, well, the point is my family and loved ones are all important to me,'' Leon replied with an awkward cough.

    ''ording to Darlene, she hasn''t integrated with her soul fragment yet. She has misgivings about it, and I also agree with her. An Empyrean God''s soul fragment isn''t something we can treat carelessly.''

    ''Are there other risks associated with integrating an Empyrean God''s soul fragment, aside from personality disorder?'' Leon asked shortly after.

    Despite his repeated questioning, Maya seems to have a habit of not answering any of them directly.

    ''You''re both right to have misgivings about integrating an Empyrean God''s soul fragment,'' Maya stated.

    ''As you know, True Divinities are eternal and imperishable existences. You can destroy their bodies and shatter their souls, but their deified souls will never disappear from the world. Not only that, but their soul fragments will also cling to new lives.''

    ''It''s like True Divinities'' instincts and attempts at reviving themselves. Of course, you can''t consider this as being ''alive,'' but at least they still exist.''

    ''However, if you ask me who among the True Divinities are the closest to being alive, it is, without a doubt, the Empyrean Gods. And among the Empyrean Gods, Empyrean Infinite Void is the closest to being alive¡ªor rather, Empyrean Infinite Void is alive.''

    ''What do you mean by that, Maya?'' Leon asked with a startled look.

    ''What I''m trying to say is that the soul fragments of Empyrean Infinite Void aren''t just egos that contain a sliver of Empyrean Infinite Void''s will,'' Maya stated.

    ''No, you can see each sentient soul fragment of Empyrean Infinite Void as another incarnation of Empyrean Infinite Void herself. As a being whoprehended Infinity, Empyrean Infinite Void lives an infinite number of lifetimes through her various incarnations.''

    ''This might be one of the reasons for the reclusiveness of her true body,'' Maya added shortly after.

    ''How is that even possible?'' Leon was shocked by the revtion.

    He couldn''tprehend how strong Empyrean Infinite Void''s soul has to be in order to control so many incarnations at once.

    Given his present soul strength, his limit would be one if he could create incarnations of himself.

    Nevertheless, Leon quickly understood the real danger of integrating Empyrean Infinite Void''s soul fragment.

    It won''t be as simple as Darlene inheriting Empyrean Infinite Void''s memories and confusing her identity with Empyrean Infinite Void''s.

    ''If Darlene epts Empyrean Infinite Void''s soul fragment, Empyrean Infinite Void will swallow her andplete her incarnation¡­'' Leon uttered.

    ''That''s right. So you understand that much,'' Maya nodded before adding, ''However, that should be the least of your concern.''

    ''Don''t tell me there''s an even bigger problem than that?'' Leon asked.

    ''Of course, there is!'' Maya stressed.

    ''As long as your woman doesn''t stupidly integrate herself with Empyrean Infinite Void''s soul fragment, Empyrean Infinite Void can''t take over her body and soul. But since Empyrean Infinite Void''s soul fragment had awakened in her, her existence has be known to Empyrean Infinite Void.''

    ''Suppose Empyrean Infinite Void wants to send her other incarnations over to retrieve her soul fragment. In that case, I doubt there will be anything we can do to stop it from happening,'' Maya stated.

    After all, they would be challenging an Empyrean God. Who knows how powerful her other incarnations would be?

    Leon understood Maya''s implication and could not help but feel tremendous pressure on his shoulders.

    ''An Empyrean God, huh?'' Leon smiled bitterly.

    No matter how much he raised his strength, reality would always show him how small and insignificant his existence was in the whole of Primal Chaos.

 Chapter 887 - Hyperion Galaxy

    <h4>Chapter 887 - Hyperion Gxy</h4>

    ''Hold on. The situation might not be as hopeless as it seems,'' Leon suddenly thought.

    Although he felt tremendous pressure, it also let him think with greater rity.

    ording to what he knew¡ªor rather what he had been told, there hasn''t been a single True Divinity since the primordial era.

    Despite all the primordial heritage in the world, Half-step True Divinity appears to be the limit for everyone.

    ''What''s stopping beings like the Eternal Night Demon Empress from taking thest half-step to be a True Divinity? Or is it simply too big of a dream that mortals could be gods themselves?''

    Leon pondered.

    ''Just as the True Divinities could not transcend beyond godhood and be something greater, mortals also cannot transcend beyond mortality? Is this the natural order of things? That we cannot ascend beyond the bracket of existence we are born into?''

    Leon found it strange.

    Despite the high-levelws that awakeners can obtain from awakening their True Divinity''s soul fragment, not a single person had yet actually achieved True Divinity.

    Evidently, the issue of achieving True Divinity didn''t lie in thews but something else¡ªsomething the True Divinities have from the primordial era that the current world doesn''t have.

    ''True Grandmist Energy?'' Leon guessed.

    It seemed like True Grandmist Energy was the only usible exnation. But how does True Grandmist Energy determine one''s ascension to True Divinity?

    Even if Leon wanted to know, it wasn''t something he could find an answer to at his level.

    ''True Grandmist Energy might be rted, but I don''t think it''s the exact answer either,'' Leon thought with furrowed brows.

    If True Grandmist Energy truly is the answer to True Divinity, the first wielder of the Nihility Law shouldn''t have been stuck at the Half-step True Divinity level like the others.

    Nevertheless, that was just his assumption.

    No one knows if the first wield of Nihility Law could have achieved True Divinity or not if he was given time.

    It could just be one big disappointment in the end.

    But that was just a hypothetical situation; it doesn''t change the reality that the person is already dead.

    ''You don''t need to feel too pressured by the Empyrean Infinite Void''s existence,'' Maya suddenly assured him.

    ''If we think about it, there weren''t any powerful cultivators back in the Divine Realm that specialized in the Spatial Law. Thus, we can assume that Empyrean Infinite Void doesn''t have any incarnation in the Hyperion Gxy.''

    ''The Hyperion Gxy?'' Leon asked.

    ''Oh?'' Maya uttered surprise and asked, ''You didn''t know?''

    ''Basically, the Four Divine Regions of the Divine Realm and the collection of Deste Regions outside of it are part of the Hyperion Gxy. Every star that hasn''t been separated by the boundless void beyond is all included.''

    ''I see¡­'' Leon uttered.

    Having lived a short 30 years in the Divine Realm and spending most of his time learning alchemy and medicine at that, it was clear that he didn''t know much about anything else.

    ''So no incarnations in the Hyperion Gxy, huh? We don''t know that for sure,'' Leon suddenly shook his head.

    ''The Deste Regions are muchrger than the Divine Realm; it would be exceedingly difficult to cultivate if any of Empyrean Infinite Void''s incarnationsnded in those regions. Her incarnations can''t be powerful even if she wants them to in that ce.''

    The Deste Regions weren''t so harsh that they were uninhabitable. In fact, mortals are more than capable of living fulfilling lives there¡ªbut only for mortals.

    For cultivators, the Deste Regions were a nightmare. The absence of spirit energy, let alone divine energy makes it impossible to cultivate.

    ''I don''t know if you are aware, but the Deste Regions are called the Deste Regions for a reason; they''re nothing like anywhere else in the Divine Realm. You can find nts growing in that ce, but they won''t produce a speck of spirit energy,'' Leon stated.

    It was an enigma that baffled everyone.

    Not even the greatest minds in the Divine Realm could figure out why the nts cannot produce spirit energy in the Deste Regions.

    ''Nevertheless,st I checked, we aren''t in the Divine Realm anymore¡­ I mean, we are kind of, but not really. This field of stars ispletely cut off from the rest of the Divine Realm,'' Leon continued.

    ''Here, everyone seems to have a dormant soul fragment of True Divinity sleeping inside them. Andst I checked again; we don''t know all the experts in this starfield. So we can''t say for certain that Empyrean Infinite Void doesn''t have any other incarnations here.''

    Leon recalled the six other maids with Void Soul Constitutions in the Darkmoon Tribe. He suspected that they also had soul fragments of Empyrean Infinite Void sleeping inside them.

    ''I was just trying to cheer up, not start a debate with you,'' Maya nonchntly said.

    ''But since we are on this topic, I will just go ahead and say this; even if you are aware of the possibility, there''s nothing you can do. You can only cultivate hard and hope that Empyrean Infinite Void has no ill intentions towards your woman.''

    ''Right,'' Leon nodded.

    He was aware of that.

    After Leon ended his discussion with Maya, he immediately perused the Empyrean Void Body Law to understand its nature.

    Even if it was Empyrean Infinite Void''s technique, it might not be the most suitable body forging method for Darlene.

    s, after Leon read through content recorded in the Empyrean Void Body Law, he immediately changed his mind.

    It was indeed the most suitable method for Darlene.

    Even if he had yet to search through all of the body forging methods on the bookshelf, he didn''t have the slightest doubt that the Empyrean Void Body Law was the best choice.

    "If Darlene trains in this technique, she will acquire the Empyrean Void Physique¡­ But, honestly, I''m still in disbelief that such a technique exists," Leon muttered with lingering shock after reading through the Empyrean Void Body Law.

    Practicing the Empyrean Void Body Law and acquiring the Empyrean Void Physique allows the person to manipte space with just their body movements.

    Nevertheless, that was just one of the several advantages listed, but it was also the most shocking.

 Chapter 888 - Empyrean Thunder Body Law

    <h4>Chapter 888 - Empyrean Thunder Body Law</h4>

    "Looks like I''ve settled Darlene''s body forging method, but I still need to find one for Aria¡­" Leon mused.

    And while he was at it, he also wanted to find suitable techniques for everyone else dear to him as well.

    After Leon absorbed the Empyrean Void Body Law''s knowledge into his memory, he resumed browsing through the list of body forging methods.

    ¡­

    <Indestructible Vajra Body Law, Vol.2>

    ¡­

    Leon suddenly paused.

    ''Indestructible Vajra Body Law? Whoever practiced this Indestructible Vajra Body Law probably wasn''t as indestructible as they thought they were¡­'' Leon smiled amusedly.

    After shaking his head, he went back to browsing the list of body forging methods again.

    ¡­

    <Nine Suns Heavenly Body Law, Vol.1>

    <True Blizzard King Tempering Flesh Method, Vol.3>

    <White Tiger Monarch Forging Bone Method, Vol.7>

    <Devil Emperor''s Undying Body Law, Vol.5>

    <Empyrean Thunder Body Law, Vol.2>

    ¡­

    ''Empyrean Thunder Body Law? This technique belongs to another Empyrean God?!'' Leon''s eyes slowly widened with surprise.

    No doubt, any methods from the Empyrean Gods are bound to be extraordinary, more so than any other True Divinities from the primordial era.

    ''But this is the second volume¡­ If I don''t read the introduction in the first volume, I won''t be able to find out what this Empyrean Thunder Body Law can do¡­''

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    After transmitting a thought to the Archive, his search for the first volume of the Empyrean Thunder Body Law failed.

    However, the third and fourth volumes appeared.

    ''Hm, it seems like I can only put this technique on hold for the time being. Hopefully, Darlene or Aria managed to pick up the first volume in the ruin,'' Leon thought.

    He could only pin his hopes on the following batch of primordial heritage his women were collecting in the ruin.

    ''Hey, Maya,'' Leon suddenly reached out to his artifact spirit before he asked, ''Do you know any Empyrean God that specialized in the thunder or lightningws?''

    ''An Empyrean God specializing in thunder or lightningws, huh? You must be talking about¡­huh?'' Maya was about to give Leon an answer when she abruptly stopped.

    ''About¡­?'' Leon pressed.

    ''That''s strange,'' Maya frowned and said, ''I''m pretty certain that I know all the Empyrean Gods¡­ Yet I can''t seem to recall the Empyrean God that specializes in the thunder and lightningws¡­''

    ''The knowledge is probably locked behind the other memory regions I''ve lost ess to,'' Maya assumed shortly after.

    ''I see¡­'' Leon uttered disappointedly before he asked, ''How can I help you recover your impaired memories?''

    ''You should have seen how dim my heart was. A tremendous amount of divine energy is required to restore its former brilliance. Think of it as a dried river; theck of water doesn''t let it flow,'' Maya replied.

    ''I see¡­'' Leon''s eyes flickered with understanding.

    ''It seems like this isn''t a problem we can solve in one day. Unfortunately, this world doesn''t have the amount of divine energy required for your recovery¡ªunless we dismantle the hearts of other primordial artifacts,'' Leon stated.

    The Radiant Heaven Realmship had quite a lot of divine energy due to its sheer size.

    However, the Radiant Heaven Realmship was crucial to interster traveling and leaving Gaia. Thus, he had no intention of destroying it.

    ''Yeah, don''t worry about it. It''s not toote to restore my divine crystal heart''s energy once you return to the Divine Realm,'' Maya stated.

    ''Right,'' Leon nodded.

    Suddenly, Leon sensed a disturbance from the real world before he withdrew his consciousness from the Archive to check.

    There, he found Aria and Darlene waiting for him.

    "You collected everything?" Leon inquired.

    "Mm," Aria nodded.

    She quickly handed over two interspatial rings to Leon and said, "This is everything we could find in this ruin."

    Shortly after Leon checked the inventory and scanned a copy of them for his Archive, he softly eximed, "Oh, this is quite a lot. Hopefully, we can find a few useful techniques among them."

    "Mm, but it''ll take time to trante all of these scriptures," Aria said dejectedly for not being able to help Leon with this matter.

    "You don''t have to worry about this matter," Leon stretched out his hand and rubbed Aria''s head before saying, "It''s not a big issue."

    After all, he leaves all the trantion work to Maya.

    Shortly after returning their interspatial rings, Leon called to Darlene, "Come over here for a sec, Darlene."

    After Darlene was called, she walked a few steps closer to Leon with a puzzled look, unsure of what he wanted.

    But when Leon transmitted the Empyrean Void Body Law to her with a poke on the forehead, she was quickly rooted on the spot, stunned by the knowledge she received.

    "This¡­ This is Empyrean Infinite Void''s Empyrean Void Body Law, right? When did you find this technique?" Darlene asked with a pleasant surprise.

    "Just a short while ago," Leon answered with a smile.

    Darlene blinked a few times as if she had just understood something.

    "Is that why you look so tired? Did you exhaust all your mental strength to trante this technique for me?" Darlene asked with a slightly trembling voice, overwhelmed by her emotions.

    "Ah¡­"

    Leon was about to deny it, but then he quickly changed his mind.

    He couldn''t exactly tell them that his spiritual strength exhaustion was due to his dual cultivation with Maya.

    "Yes¡­ Yes, I did," Leon nodded.

    The less he spoke about the matter; the happier everyone will be, probably. At the very least, he avoided opening the gates of hell.

    While Darlene was embracing Leon, Maya transmitted her grumpy thoughts to him, ''You know I was the one that tranted it, right?''

    ''Consider all the spiritual strength I''ve given you as payment for taking your credit, okay?'' Leon replied wryly while trying to appease his artifact spirit.

    After expending some efforts by making a few promises, he seeded in appeasing her.

    ''Hmph,'' Maya snorted, nheless.

    She didn''t care about the credit at all.

    Her true goal was Leon''s promises¡ªnot that he fulfilled hisst one, which was to find her new stories to read.

    ''So when are you going to find me more novels to read?''

    ''Uh.. When I get back to the Human Domain¡­''

    Leon replied awkwardly.

 Chapter 889 - You Are Not Alone

    <h4>Chapter 889 - You Are Not Alone</h4>

    After settling aside Maya''s matters, Leon focused his attention on Darlene, who was embracing him tightly.

    He paused for a few breaths before finally peeling Darlene off him to face her.

    "I have something very important to tell you," Leon said seriously.

    Although Darlene was confused at first, her expression quickly turned solemn after hearing his words.

    She nodded and gave him her full attention.

    At the same time, Aria and Duna became interested; they perked their ears to listen in after witnessing the sudden mood change.

    "We were right to be wary of the Empyrean Infinite Void Fragment in you; Empyrean Infinite Void is still alive," Leon stated.

    It was just a short statement, but it quickly shocked everyone as much as it confused them.

    "Empyrean Infinite Void is alive? What do you mean by that, Leon?" Darlene asked with a startled look.

    "Exactly as it sounds, the literal meaning; Empyrean Infinite Void is still alive. The soul fragment that spoke to you isn''t an ego born from Empyrean Infinite Void''s will. No, the one talking was Empyrean Infinite Void herself," Leon exined.

    His words shocked both Darlene and Aria even further.

    "How is that even possible? I thought the end of the primordial era also ended the gods and devils¡­" Aria mentioned.

    "Heh," Duna suddenly snickered.

    Aria and Leon immediately nced at Duna with surprise, thinking it was rare nowadays for her to take the initiative to say something.

    Nevertheless, Duna didn''t care about what they thought about her.

    "The reign of True Divinities ended, but their existences cannot, shall not, and will not end, not now, not ever," Duna coolly stated.

    "A True Divinity''s soul is like your consciousness; if you keep dividing it, it''ll cripple your ability to think or function at all. However, if you put them together again, you''ll revive a True Divinity. You don''t even need to gather them all, just the bare minimum."

    "Does that mean someone has gathered enough soul fragments for Empyrean Infinite Void to regain her ability to think? But how can we even find out about this?" Darlene asked with surprise.

    She, herself, was one possessor of Empyrean Infinite Void''s many soul fragments. Still, she cannot determine it from her soul fragment''s words alone.

    After all, she cannot trust it.

    "Well, as it stands, Leon has another basis for iming Empyrean Infinite Void is alive. And by alive, I mean capable of conscious thought because True Divinities can''t die," Duna stated coolly.

    "Perhaps, Empyrean Infinite Void has means of retaining consciousness despite the shattering of her soul into countless pieces. No, that should be the only possibility. There''s no other way to know Empyrean Infinite Void is conscious unless she has been conscious from the start."

    "After all, Primal Chaos is infinitely vast. And we have yet to even explore beyond this gxy, which is already home to more than 100 billion star realms, not to mention the trillions of gxies out there."

    As if Duna had spoken enough, she suddenly ended her words there and became silent again. She was disinterested in speaking further.

    Nevertheless, thanks to her informative knowledge, Darlene and Aria gained a greater understanding of True Divinities.

    Shortly after, Darlene returned her attention to Leon.

    "If Empyrean Infinite Void is alive, then what will happen to me?" Darlene asked with uncertainty.

    "That''s the problem. Even if you don''t integrate with Empyrean Infinite Void''s soul fragment, she is aware of your existence and whereabouts. But if you do integrate with her soul fragment, she can swallow your soul and use your body as her incarnation," Leon replied.

    Darlene felt lost after hearing that.

    What was she supposed to do? Was she fated to be Empyrean Infinite Void''s puppet and fade from existence?

    The thought of disappearing alone terrified her.

    Aria suddenly patted Darlene on the shoulder, snapping her out of her negative thoughts before turning to Leon.

    "But it''s just a possibility that Empyrean Infinite Void will send her incarnations after Darlene or swallow her if she integrates with the soul fragment, right?" Aria asked.

    "Right," Leon nodded.

    "It''s impossible to guess what someone at an Empyrean God level of existence is thinking, but we can assume that there''s a high possibility of it happening. After all, who wouldn''t want to live again if given a chance?"

    "But isn''t Empyrean Infinite Void living many lifetimes through her incarnations?" Aria argued before adding, "Whatever the case may be, there is nothing we can do. We can only cultivate and hope for the best."

    "Right," Leon nodded.

    Aria said the same thing Maya said to him, but her words weren''t for him to hear but for Darlene, who was at the heart of the problem.

    She was undoubtedly feeling the most pressure from Empyrean Infinite Void''s existence.

    "Don''t feel like you are alone, Darlene. Whatever happens, we are in this together. I won''t abandon you," Leon assured her.

    "Mm," Darlene bit her lips and nodded with her head lowered.

    "Then shall we head back now that we are done here?" Aria suggested.

    "Ah, not quite yet. Let me take a quick look around the ruin onest time before we go," Leon stated before getting up and leaving his spot.

    However, Aria and Darlene didn''t let him wander off alone.

    Instead, they both took a side and supported Leon while he was still mildly affected by spiritual exhaustion.

    Leon wanted to scan a copy of all the runes engraved on the murals and broken walls in the ruin, and it did not take him too long to do so.

    He was done within the hour.

    "Alright, I''m done with this ce. Let us head back to the Dark Fae n," Leon stated after recording a copy of thest runic engraving into the Archive.

    "Mm," Aria and Darlene nodded.

    They continued to support him out of the mountain while Duna casually followed several paces behind them.

    ¡­

    "Woah, there''s quite a crowd out here," Aria eximed.

    Upon exiting the crack in the mountain, Aria did not expect to see such arge group of dark faes waiting outside.

    But no one else expected them either.

    "These dark faes must be the ones sent to ve away in the dark crystal mines," Leon concluded.

    "Mm," Aria nodded.

    She could guess that much.

    "But why are they just waiting around here?" Aria wondered.

 Chapter 890 - Mad Dwarf Clan

    <h4>Chapter 890 - Mad Dwarf n</h4>

    While Aria and the others were wondering about the male dark faes'' purpose for waiting outside the mountain instead of returning to their n, the male dark faes also spotted them.

    Some of them even trembled with fear and retreated a few steps, pushing the rest of the crowd into backing away as well.

    Leon''s group''s presence rmed them.

    Even so, none of them left dared to leave¡ªor rather, none of them dared to leave beyond the vicinity of the Red Ghoul n''s outpost nor get close to it.

    "Seems like the male dark faes'' mental states are worse than I could imagine; it isn''t farfetched to say that the Red Ghoul n broke their spirits," Leonmented with a frown.

    This wasn''t a group he could use.

    Given the weak and broken wills they have now, even if he tried to train them, they will not have high aplishments in their cultivation.

    "What should we do with them?" Aria asked curiously.

    She was simply wondering how the male dark faes should be handled.

    But when the male dark faes heard her question, they shivered with fear, thinking she wanted to dispose of them.

    "We''ll let Nyfare deal with them," Leon said.

    But after ncing around, he failed to spot Nyfare anywhere in the vicinity.

    "By the looks of it, Nyfare hasn''t finished her business in the dark crystal mine yet," Leon added.

    Nevertheless, he spoke too soon.

    Nyfare exited the mountain crack within three breaths of hisst word with thest group of male dark faes in the mines.

    "I''ve settled my business in the dark crystal mine, my Lord," Nyfare reported, albeit with a bit of surprise.

    She did not expect the Lord to be waiting outside the mountain for her. s, that was just her misunderstanding¡ªbut not one that Leon needed to correct nor be aware of.

    "You mean this is all the men left in your n?" Leon inquired before sweeping another nce at the male dark faes.

    There were no more than five thousand men, a small fraction of their former number before working in the dark crystal mine.

    "There were a lot of bones in the mine. Nyfare believes most of my n members died or the red ghouls ate them," Nyfare reported her findings with a sigh.

    "That''s unfortunate. At the very least, five thousand men survived; given time, your n''s male poption will increase again," Leon spoke.

    "Yes, my Lord."

    Whether the female dark faes were willing to copte with such weak and broken-willed male dark faes was another story.

    Nevertheless, many of them should have families waiting for them.

    "Let us head back to the n. These men have experienced much hardship and require medical care. I will resolve their health issues, but their spiritual recovery will be up to your n."

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfare answered gratefully.

    The male dark faes'' conditions were truly terrible to look at.

    Some had grey, ck, and purple patches of skin, a clear sign of necrosis, infection, or rotting; others had missing pieces of flesh.

    There was no need to guess what happened there; the red ghouls had taken bites out of them.

    ''So this is what the demon''s territory is like, huh?'' Aria silently studied some of the male dark faes'' condition and felt nauseous.

    Darlene didn''t fare much better, but Duna was simply indifferent to them all.

    "Why didn''t you return to the n on your own? Why did you all wait out here?" Nyfare questioned the crowd after making her way through to lead.

    "W-we were afraid of the garrisons in the outpost¡­ If they see us escaping, they will kill us¡­" a male dark fae replied timidly.

    After hearing that, Nyfare sighed helplessly and said, "There''s no one left in the outpost. I already killed them all."

    "Eh?" the male dark faes were surprised.

    "Never mind. Let us head back."

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Nyfare led her n members back to the n.

    At the same time, the female dark faes in the n quickly rushed over to wee them with joy and excitement after hearing the news.

    However, it didn''t take long before the mood became mixed.

    While some rejoiced at the return of their beloved, others mourned for the ones that didn''t make it back.

    "Give them time to settle their grief and reunion," Leon stated.

    "Yes, my Lord," Nyfare nodded. Shortly after, she inquired, "Shall I arrange your amodations in the pce, my Lord?"

    "No," Leo shook his head and said, "Where is the original version of the Dark Fae God Canon? Take me there."

    Nyfare''s eyes lit up after understanding his intention.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfareplied with excitement.

    She quickly led Leon up the mountain, away from the heavy atmosphere at the entrance. They passed numerous stone hunts, buildings, and towers.

    Before long, they reached the highest peak of the mountain, the stone pce.

    Without highly advanced nning and architectural skills, carving an entire city out of the mountain peak wouldn''t have been possible.

    The Dark Fae n''s strength was not worth mentioning, but their craftsmanship was on a whole different level¡ªor so Leon and Aria thought.

    "How did the dark faes build this entire city? It must have taken an incredible amount of nning to know which part of the mountain to carve out precisely," Aria wondered with awe.

    She was already impressed after looking at the city from a distance, but it was even more impressive up close.

    This is how the peak of primitive craftsmanship would look.

    There was a certain beauty in the simple things.

    Nevertheless, Nyfare''s following reply to herment was not quite what Leon and Aria were expecting.

    "Eh? The entire n indeed participated in the Darkstone Peak''s construction, but this feat does not belong to us alone. Rather, most of the work was done by the Mad Dwarf n," Nyfare exined.

    "In fact, most Mid-rank ns in the Great ckrock Mountains entrust the task of building their homes on the mountain peaks to the Mad Dwarf n."

    "The Mad Dwarf n?" Leon raised an eyebrow.

 Chapter 891 - Dark Fae God Canons Origin

    <h4>Chapter 891 - Dark Fae God Canon''s Origin</h4>

    Leon did not expect to hear about the dwarf race from the demon territory, nor did he expect them to be so sought after their craftsmanship.

    "I don''t remember seeing any dwarf in the secret realm," Leon mentioned.

    "That is because the Mad Dwarf n didn''t participate, my Lord. While every n in the Starfall Dominion has the right to participate, not every n chooses to," Nyfare exined.

    "The Mad Dwarf n, in particr, is only interested in construction and forging¡ªmadly interested enough to ept anymission at base cost. That is why they are quite sought after by the various ns."

    "That makes sense," Leon nodded with understanding.

    He had seen the Mad Dwarf n''s level of craftsmanship in construction, but he was even more curious about their forging skills.

    Dwarves had been fanatics in forging, and their expertise in the field was also high, always.

    Nevertheless, even if the Mad Dwarf n''s forging skills end up falling short of Leon''s expectations, his desire to acquire their service doesn''t diminish.

    Their skills are extremely useful to the empire''s development ns.

    "The Mad Dwarf n is willing to eptmissions at base cost¡­ That is to say that the ns only need to cover the cost of construction materials, and nobor cost is needed..." Leon muttered.

    Shortly after, Leon asked with curiosity, "But has any nmissioned them at base cost?"

    "Of course! Almost all the demon ns aimed for the base-costmission," Nyfare answered without hesitation.

    "Why would anyone pay more when they can pay less?"

    "Seriously?"

    Leon furrowed his brows with doubt.

    Considering how sought the Mad Dwarf n was for construction-rted business, they must have a special status in the demon territory.

    "Are the dwarves pushovers or something? Why else are the demon ns able tomission their work at base cost?" Leon asked with a frown.

    "Not at all, my Lord," Nyfare waved her hands and denied the wild guess.

    "On the contrary, the Mad Dwarf n is terrifying in their own way. The mad dwarves don''t have powerfulbat strengths, but no demon n dares to slight them either."

    "One time, one of the Mid-rank demon ns, the Gold Goblin n, tried to subjugate the Mad Dwarf n. They wanted to manipte the price of their construction business to fill their own pockets."

    "Unfortunately for Gold Goblin n, the Mad Dwarf n retaliated by blowing up the Gold Goblin n''s mountain peak and burying the entire n living in the caves under it. Since then, not a single n dared to set their eyes on the Mad Dwarf n again."

    "But this doesn''t exin why the Mad Dwarf n set such a low price for their service. They are practically working for free," Leon mentioned with a confused look.

    They were certainly mad, alright.

    No one is willing to work for free in such a dog-eat-dog world unless they have a few loose screws in their head.

    "Actually, I am also unsure why the Mad Dwarf n set the price so low. But over the years, everyone collectively agreed that the Mad Dwarf n set the base cost price to receive moremissioned work from other ns," Nyfare stated.

    After Leon heard that, he immediately understood the truth of the matter.

    "I see," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    "The Mad Dwarf n is passionate about perfecting their craft and do not care about profit. Although rare, dwarves like them do exist."

    Nevertheless, it was just a minority of the dwarven race; most dwarves are just as greedy for wealth as they are skilled in their craft.

    "When there''s a chance, I will definitely pay the Mad Dwarf n a visit," Leon expressed his interest.

    Although Nyfare did not mention it specifically, he could roughly guess the Mad Dwarf n''s capability.

    They weren''t powerfulbatants but could still blow up an entire mountain peak; they must be relying on the power of runes.

    In other words, they are proficient in the runguage.

    Shortly after Nyfare guided Leon into the stone pce, Darlene, Aria, and Duna separated from the group.

    The pce servants took them away and led them to their arranged amodations under Nyfare''s instruction.

    Leon continued to follow Nyfare down the pce corridor of stone with a grassy floor and rune-powered sconces illuminating the way.

    They eventually entered a restricted area, a small hall only essible for the n leader, Nyfare, and others if permitted by her.

    There, Leon found the original text of the Dark Fae God Canon recorded on several beast skins attached to the only stone stele in the hall.

    The original Dark Fae God Canon was, without a doubt, an extraordinary technique. However, the colorful beast skins themselves were also extraordinary.

    They radiated with a colorful aura like the aurora; it was like looking at a rainbow, except neon green, blue, and purple were more dominant among the other colors present.

    Leon suspected the beast skins belonged to a God Beast from the primordial era. But as to which specific God Beast the beast skins belonged to, he did not know.

    "The original text of the Dark Fae God Canon is all here, my Lord," Nyfare informed.

    Leon nodded.

    He could guess as much from his observation.

    Shortly after scanning a copy of all the runic texts on the beast skins into the Archive, Leon requested Maya prioritize the Dark Fae God Canon''s trantion above everything else.

    Within a few breaths, thepletely tranted version appeared in the Archive.

    ''It''s done,'' Maya informed him.

    Needless to say, Leon can never match Maya''s impressive trantion speed. At the very least, he doesn''t see himself catching up to her level any time soon.

    Leon closed his and sent his consciousness into the Archive to peruse and memorize the Dark Fae God Canon.

    Although he didn''t say anything, Nyfare patiently waited on the side with an expectant look.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon reopened his eyes and nced at Nyfare with a peculiar expression.

    Contrary to his expectation, the Dark Fae God Canon wasn''t a heritage of the dark fae race; it was a dragon heritage.

 Chapter 892 - Fae Dragon God Heritage

    <h4>Chapter 892 - Fae Dragon God Heritage</h4>

    The Dark Fae God Canon was the cultivation method of the Dark Fae Dragon God, a fae dragon, one of the smallest breeds of dragons.

    In truth, it was never clear whether fae dragons were of dragon descent, fae descent, or a mix of both.

    "Was it a coincidence or the Dark Fae n''s fate to learn the Dragon God Bone Forging Method from me?" Leon muttered to himself.

    It was too coincidental that Leon found the situation rather disturbing.

    The Dark Fae n failed to learn a fae dragon cultivation method due to their ipatibility but learned a dragon cultivation method from him.

    Having refined Nyfare''s blood essence, he knew Nyfare was a dark fae through and through; she did not have an ounce of fae dragon lineage in her blood.

    However, by meeting him, the Dark Fae n had absolved their ipatibility issue to practice the true Dark Fae God Canon.

    "What do you mean, my Lord?" Nyfare tilted her head in confusion.

    Although she and the rest of her n were grateful and greatly indebted to Leon, she didn''t understand why he suddenly brought up the topic.

    "Did you know the Dark Fae God Canon is a cultivation method for fae dragons?" Leon casually asked.

    Seeing Nyfare''s immediate shock after hearing his question, Leon smiled with amusement.

    "T-that''s impossible, my Lord!" Nyfare quickly denied the possibility after recovering from her shock.

    "It''s true that the Dark Fae God Canon didn''t originally belong to our Dark Fae n, but it is called the Dark Fae God Canon, after all. So how can the Dark Fae God Canon have anything to do with the fae dragon race and not our dark fae race?"

    "I understand your confusion. I, myself, was surprised when I read through the Dark Fae God Canon. However, it is undeniable that this Dark Fae God Canon is of fae dragon origins. You''ll understand once you learn it," Leon stated.

    He quickly poked Nyfare on the forehead and transmitted the Dark Fae God Canon to her.

    Although Nyfare experienced the instant transmission once, she still froze in shock at the influx of information.

    When she ingested the knowledge, her shock became even more apparent.

    "T-this is¡­ the true Dark Fae God Canon?! I-it really is a fae dragon cultivation method¡­! Oh, my god¡­ What have we been doing¡­?"

    Nyfare muttered with disbelief.

    Although the truth was before her, she found it hard to ept.

    After all, the Dark Fae n worshipped the creator of the Dark Fae God Canon as the primal ancestor of their dark fae race for many years.

    And yet, the creator of the Dark Fae God Canon turned out to be of fae dragon origins!

    How can she ept that so easily?!

    Worshipping another race''s ancestor as their own for so many years¡­ Nyfare was so embarrassed for the entire n that she wanted to dig a hole and hide inside!

    "I can understand if you feel embarrassed for the mistake made by your ancestors. However, it doesn''t change the fact that the Dark Fae God Canon is still your Dark Fae n''s opportunity," Leon casually stated.

    After hearing that, Nyfare wiped off the shock on her face and looked at Leon with surprise.

    "We can still practice the true Dark Fae God Canon despite it being a cultivation method designed for fae dragons, my Lord?" Nyfare inquired with a mixture of hope and doubt.

    Leon nodded.

    However, he quickly shook his head shortly after.

    "Don''t be mistaken. As you are now, the Dark Fae God Canon is indeed ipatible for you to practice. However, you have already learned the Dragon God Bone Forging Method¡ª"

    "The Dragon God Bone Forging Method can resolve the racial ipatibility in practicing the Dark Fae God Canon, my Lord?!" Nyfare eximed, her beamed with excitement.

    "No, the Dragon God Bone Forging Method won''t resolve the issue. However, it''ll be a different story if you also practice the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method," Leon stated.

    If he wanted, he could also practice the Dark Fae God Canon; he already met the requirement after acquiring his dragon viscera.

    "You also have the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method, my Lord?" Nyfare asked with shock.

    "What do you think?" Leon replied nonchntly.

    His eyes flickered for a moment before his dragon heart thumped audibly, causing a powerful dragon aura to surge from his body.

    Nyfare was stunned.

    She thought the faint dragon aura she felt on her Lord''s body was just an illusion. But at that moment, she felt her Lord''s dragon aura very clearly.

    Just how many godly heritage does her Lord possess?!

    Nyfare gulped.

    Leon briefly observed Nyfare''s expression; her answer was easy to guess.

    "Don''t you think it''ll be interesting to see what the future has in store for you and your n down this path? Although you turn into a fae dragon, you''ll all be dark faes with the might of the dragons."

    Nyfare''s eyes flickered.

    Shortly after, Nyfare dropped to one knee and disyed her subservience to Leon with her head lowered.

    "My Lord, please pardon my impudence, but I don''t think I can settle for a leading position in the Starfall Dominion. I, Nyfare, wish to follow you wherever you go. Whether it is to the ends of this world or the stars beyond, Nyfare wishes to be there and share in your glory!"

    She didn''t want to be left behind.

    As long as she sticks close to her Lord, he will take her to the vast outer world beyond the sky and broaden her horizons.

    Although her Lord might not be capable now, she believed it was possible for him one day¡ªNo, she was sure of it.

    She could see the vestige of the gods in her Lord.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s silence made Nyfare''s heart pound nervously with negative thoughts.

    She had nothing to offer her Lord besides her absolute allegiance. Everything she has now was given to her by the Lord.

    Meanwhile, Leon was contemting carefully about his future ns.

    The object of his revenge, the Divine Kings, were peak existences in the Divine Realm, and they weren''t alone either.

    He''ll need generals and soldiers to pave the way.

 Chapter 893 - Arias Visit

    <h4>Chapter 893 - Aria''s Visit</h4>

    While Leon took his time to respond, various thoughts ran through Nyfare''s head.

    ''I guess I was asking for too much, huh? My Lord is someone destined for greatness, to be an overlord reigning over all creations. On the other hand, I am just the leader of a weak n before meeting the Lord,'' Nyfare bitterly thought.

    The Lord took in the Dark Fae n and made them stronger.

    They had been on the receiving end of the Lord''s benevolence all this time while they had little to offer back beside our loyalty.

    If she wanted to ask for more, she had to offer something back. But what else could she offer besides the loyalty she already pledged to the Lord?

    While thinking about the beautiful women surrounding the Lord, Nyfare''s eyes suddenly flickered with an answer.

    In the next moment, Nyfare stood back up on her feet and undid the knot on her waist, loosening her ck robe.

    Eventually, the ck robe dropped, stripping her naked in front of Leon.

    "My Lord, I don''t know if my race appeals to you, but I am pretty confident in being the most beautiful in my n. If you wish for it, you can use my body to make yourself feel good, my Lord."

    Nyfare offered herself.

    Despite mustering the courage to sell herself, Nyfare still covered her supple twin peaks and averted her eyes with embarrassment.

    It was the first time she revealed her bare body before a person of the opposite sex.

    Nevertheless, Nyfare did not lie about her beauty.

    Except for the ck-feathered wings that define her Dark Fae n, Nyfare appeared no different from humans.

    Her skin was fair and smooth without any blemish, contrary to the dark and rough environment she lived in; her body was simply in pristine shape.

    Whatever scars and ws that once threatened to diminish her beauty had long disappeared due to the repeated medicine baths she took during her body cultivation.

    Although Leon was surprised by Nyfare''s sudden action, he did not avert his gaze. Instead, he studied her body boldly and had to admit that she was indeed beautiful.

    However, he did not fall for temptation and lust.

    After letting out a sigh, Leon picked up the ck robe on the floor and draped it over Nyfare''s body, covering her body.

    Nyfare was stunned, but her eyes soon revealed her disappointment.

    "Am I unappealing to you, my Lord?" Nyfare asked despondently, feeling less confident in her beauty.

    However, Leon shook his head and said, "Not at all. You are very beautiful."

    "Then, why, my Lord¡­?" Nyfare asked confusedly.

    "I know what you want, but this isn''t the way to achieve it. An exchange of interest weakens our rtionship, which should be built on trust," Leon calmly said, albeit with a bit of regret in his heart.

    No matter how Nyfare''s beauty arouses his lust, he had to remain steadfast in the matter.

    Leon did not want to give in to his desire and let a moment of folly diminish the importance of those he already had in his heart.

    "Don''t look down on me. I can admire beauties, but I don''t just do with anyone. At the very least, I don''t see you as a romantic interest," Leon stated.

    "If you want to follow me to the stars and beyond, you''ll get your chance. When I tear the fabrics of space and leave this world cage, I will bring everyone with me. However, if you do this again, I will question your qualifications."

    "I beg for your forgiveness, my Lord! It was not my intention to provoke your ire!" Nyfare dropped to one knee and apologized solemnly.

    "Get up," Leon pulled her up with a frown and said, "Just don''t let it happen again."

    "Yes, my Lord!" Nyfare answered.

    She felt quick relief after receiving the Lord''s pardon.

    Although Leon wanted to live an unfettered life, it doesn''t mean he should do whatever he wanted without care or concern for other peoples'' opinions.

    Self-indulgence will make his mind weak; a strong mind requires self-discipline and staying true to his principles.

    After letting Nyfare redress her ck robe and calm down, Leon transmitted the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method into her head.

    "Now that you have learned both the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method and the Dark Fae God Canon, go and digest the knowledge properly. Once you''re done with that, teach the Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method to the other n members."

    "As for the Dark Fae God Canon, you should only teach it to a select few talented and trusted individuals. Letting everyone learn too many cultivation methods at once will obstruct their progress."

    "Understood, my Lord!" Nyfareplied.

    After giving her Lord a grateful bow, she retreated from the hall and instructed a few servants to tend to Leon.

    "I will have some servants show you the way to your room, my Lord," Nyfare said before she left.

    Leon nodded.

    Sometimeter, the servants arrived and brought Leon to his amodation room in the stone pce.

    The room was neither big nor small, clean nor dirty, just simple and oddly close to nature. There were was no extravagant furniture nor decorations, just a simple grass bed.

    Given his status to the Dark Fae n, even if they don''t give him the best room, they wouldn''t dare give him a bad one.

    From that, Leon spected the other rooms were, more or less, the same.

    After sweeping the area with his divine sense, he found his spection to be true. Furthermore, Aria, Darlene, and Duna''s rooms were all adjacent to his room.

    A few breaths after retracting his divine sense, Leon suddenly saw Aria slip into the room and close the stone door behind her.

    Her sneaky action made him raise an eyebrow with doubt.

    "What are you doing?" Leon smiled amusedly.

    "You were mentally exhausted since we left the ruin. S-so I figured you wouldn''t be cultivating right now and could use some rxation," Aria stated her intention while fidgeting shyly.

    Having seen Nyfare''s bare body, Leon found it hard to reject Aria''s advances. The pent-up energy eventually needs to be released.

    "Don''t just stand over there then," Leon smiled and gestured to Aria, "Come over here."

    "Mm!" Aria nodded.

 Chapter 894 - Pleasant Dream

    <h4>Chapter 894 - Pleasant Dream</h4>

    After Aria walked over to the bedside, Leon suddenly wrapped his hand around her waist and yanked her straight in his chest.

    Aria immediately gave a startled cry, and her heart started beating wildly with nervousness and anticipation; she leaned against Leon''s broad chest like a timid rabbit.

    Nevertheless, once Aria started feeling pleasure from Leon''s hot, passionate kisses and touches, she recalled the familiarity from their past experiences and matched his tempo.

    Soon, their hearts began beating as one, and their bodies united; they painted the room with their steamy love.

    "Ahhn~!"

    Aria''s cry resounded in the room.

    However, thanks to dwarven craftsmanship, the stone room was perfectly soundproof. As a result, Aria''s erotic moans did not escape the room.

    Sometimeter, Leon and Aria finished their fifth round before taking a break.

    Aria rested her head on Leon''s chest and felt his powerful beating heart and warmth with a blissful expression.

    Away from all the life-threatening battles and mundane training, it was moments like these that she felt the most happiness; she was at peace and free of worries.

    However, their tranquil moment didn''tst long.

    The stone was suddenly pushed open from the outside before Darlene snuck inside, seemingly with the same intention as Aria when she arrived earlier.

    "Uh¡­"

    After Darlene spotted Aria in bed with Leon, she immediately froze on the spot, not expecting to be one step slower than Aria.

    "Ahahaha, it seems like Sister Aria to be one step ahead of me¡­" Darlene awkwardlyughed before she said, "I won''t interrupt you too."

    Although Darlene was disappointed, she didn''t want to get in between their quality time.

    However, Leon and Aria nced at each other and saw the amusement in each others'' eyes before they burst intoughter.

    Leon casually waved his hand and sealed the stone door before Darlene could leave.

    "Since you delivered yourself to me, don''t think about leaving," Leon chuckled.

    After getting off the bed and allowing Aria to rest on the grass bed by herself, Leon made his way over and picked Darlene up in a princess hold.

    "Ah?" Darlene eximed in Leon''s arms, not fully understanding the situation.

    "Sister Darlene, you better start praying. We took a break because my stamina couldn''t keep up with Leon. Thankfully, you are also here," Aria giggled and said, "Help me contain this beast; he has too much energy."

    "Ah? Sister Aria doesn''t mind if I have Leon to myself?" Darlene asked with surprise.

    "If you think you can handle him all by yourself, go ahead, Sister Darlene. He is too much for me to handle by myself," Aria casually expressed her approval with a hand gesture from the bed.

    Darlene can have Leon all to herself for all she cares. Leon was a real monster; it was as if he had limitless stamina in bed.

    "Sister Aria better not hate me then."

    Darlene smiled after receiving Aria''s expressed approval. Then, she gazed at Leon intimately, waiting on him to love her.

    Leon quickly stripped away Darlene''s clothes and jumped straight into action.

    He ced her hands on the wall and leaned her body against it before he started pounding her from behind.

    Darlene had always been a nympho; it only took a few touches to get her dripping wet.

    "Ahh, yes~! This is it! I miss this feeling~!" Darlene cried ecstatically.

    Leon''s thrusts made her whole body quiver with joy.

    Nevertheless, she quickly tightened up as if she was attempting to squeeze Leon''s little brother with her cave.

    However, that tightness brought their experience up to a whole new level.

    "Ahh~! So good~!"

    Darlene''s cries continuously echoed throughout the small room as she battled multiple rounds with Leon.

    Aria was exhausted from her prior sessions with Leon. But after hearing Darlene''s erotic moans and watching her blissful expressions, her body burned with desire once more.

    Nevertheless, Darlene and Leon continued to battle for a few dozen rounds before Darlene''s momentum died down.

    The repeated climaxes finally took a toll on Darlene and made her lose strength in her legs.

    After changing multiple positions and climaxing several more times, Darlene couldn''t continue the intense battle with Leon.

    "Ah, no more¡­ I can''t, hubby. I need a break¡­" Darlene pleaded with puppy eyes.

    However, Darlene''s defenseless look only made Leon more excited.

    At the same time, Darlene felt like the bulging rod in her dripping honey pot suddenly grew in size, causing her to give a startled cry.

    "Ah?! Why is it getting even bigger?!" Darlene''s gaze became horrid.

    After enduring another three rounds with Leon, she finally tasted defeat,pletely and utterly; all the energy left her body with thest climax.

    Leon ced Darlene next to Aria on the grass bed before Aria turned her body to face Darlene and poked fun at her cheeks.

    "Hehehe, what happened, Sister Darlene? I thought you could handle Leon by yourself? Are you going to keep going on the bed?" Aria teased her with a soft giggle.

    "I can''t¡­ no more¡­ I''m too tired. Please spare me¡­" Darlene weakly pleaded in a half-conscious state before ultimately falling asleep.

    However, she didn''t fall asleep due to exhaustion.

    Rather, it was like a food-induceda from being too full; her body received too much energy from Leon and needed time to digest it.

    "Looks like Darlene is out," Leon stated. Afterward, he shifted his gaze to Aria and added, "But it also looks like you are ready for more."

    "Ehehe¡­"

    Aria gave a forcedugh before she nced down at Leon''s raging dragon and gulped, feeling a bit fearful and intimidated by his seemingly limitless stamina.

    Nevertheless, she smiledzily yet seductively and nodded, arousing Leon''s desire.

    He quickly pounced on top of Aria and rolled in bed with her several rounds. Eventually, Aria also fell asleep for her body to digest the energy she received from Leon.

    At the same time, Leon''s raging lust finally calmed down like the beach-crashing ocean waves transforming into ake of still water.

    He took his ce on the bed and held Aria and Darlene in each of his arms.

    Leon''s mind was still recovering from exhaustion, but his tireless body felt incredibly rxed.

    When he closed his eyes, he quickly dozed off into sleep with a pleasant dream, one that he had not had in a long while.

 Chapter 895 - Monochrome World

    <h4>Chapter 895 - Monochrome World</h4>

    What does it mean to have a pleasant dream?

    For others, it would mean an experience in the dreand that satisfies their hidden desires and brings them joy and happiness.

    But for Leon, it was different.

    There was a time when he used to dream, but he dreams no more. Now, only nightmares haunt him in his sleep when he shuts his mind from any notion of reality.

    As such, any deep sleep that doesn''t give him a nightmare can be considered a pleasant dream for him.

    s, others would just see it as good sleep.

    Nevertheless, he felt all his burdens disappeared, like he was a ve that just got released from his shackles.

    The feeling of freedom and release brought his body unprecedentedfort, which in turn elevated his exhausted mind, making it feel weightless and unbound by the world.

    Leon felt like his mind could drift off into the sea of stars and explore the vastness of Primal Chaos.

    But the moment Leon gained consciousness in his deep sleep, he realized he was back in the stone room with Aria and Darlene.

    However, he wasn''t lying on the grass bed with Aria and Darlene. Instead, he was standing at the bedside, staring at another body of himself in bed with Aria and Darlene.

    The bizarre experience immediately baffled him.

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    He didn''t doubt that he was supposed to be the one lying in bed with Aria and Darlene. Just by looking at his body sleeping in bed, he recalled every detail before he fell asleep.

    However, if his body was sleeping in bed, then who was the current him standing by the bedside?

    ''Hm? This isn''t a dream¡­ And I seem to have no voice,'' Leon nced around the stone room and observed every detail.

    He realized he couldn''t speak, but he could hear his thoughts clearly.

    At the same time, the detail of the room was too vivid to be a dream; dreams would have some slight discrepancies from reality.

    ''Am I in my spiritual avatar?'' Leon wondered.

    However, he couldn''t make sense of that thought. There was no reason for him to be in his spiritual avatar when he had no recollection of performing the skill.

    The lights were out, and the room was dark.

    Leon didn''t notice the slight detail due to the room''s darkness at first, but the entire world around him had seemingly lost its colors; everything was in monochrome.

    Upon further observation, he didn''t sense any life from his body nor Aria and Darlene''s body either. All three of their bodies showed no sign of breathing.

    Rather, everything was in stasis as if time itself was frozen.

    ''I''m the only one who can move in this frozen world¡­ But what exactly is happening right now? Why is the world like this? I need more information,'' Leon frowned.

    Shortly after, he decided to leave the stone room.

    However, when he tried pushing the stone door open, Leon realized it wasn''t as easy as he would expect it to be.

    It took all his strength to push open the stone door¡­

    It was as if he had lost all his strength and be a regr mortal without any cultivation again; he felt incredibly weak and vulnerable.

    Nevertheless, that didn''t stop him from exploring the frozen world.

    After Leon struggled to get out of the stone room, he left the stone pce and nced outside at the rest of the Dark Fae n and beyond.

    As expected, everything else was also in monochrome.

    The dark faes, the stone buildings, the ground, the sky, and even the stars beyond; everything was in various shades of ck and white.

    Leon knew he wasn''t in a dream, but it didn''t feel like reality either.

    It was simply impossible for the current him to remember the positions of all the dark faes on the mountain peak. Furthermore, he saw unfamiliar faces of dark faes he had yet to meet in the n.

    ''What is this world? Is this another dimension that runs parallel to the real world? But what brought me here? How did Ie here?'' Leon wondered.

    He strolled through the Dark Fae n, casually ncing around.

    However, he suddenly recalled something and raised his head to look at the sky again. After realizing the sky had no clouds covering it, his eyes widened in surprise.

    He could see the floating ring of debris and stars beyond. Even the cataclysmic sun could be seen clearly.

    It was bright like a white dot in the sky, but it wasn''t the biggest star to be seen. No, it was something much, much bigger than the Vandelheim Star.

    It looked like a star due to its bright and circr form, but it was far, far too big to be one.

    Just byparing it to the Vandelheim Star, which is the closest star to Gaia, it was at least tenfold bigger.

    ''What is that?'' Leon wondered.

    After he recalled the star map, his eyes flickered with an answer.

    ''That grey spot is the core region lying at the center of this world''s starfield? I didn''t expect it to be observable in this frozen world¡­''

    Leon was surprised to see it.

    Even on a night with a clear sky in the Human Domain, he wouldn''t be able to see the enormous grey region depicted on the center of the star map.

    However, in this frozen world, it was clear as day.

    ''Hm?'' Leon narrowed his eyes.

    He thought he was the only person or thing that could move in the frozen world, but he spotted tiny grey orbs of light flying toward the giant grey spot among the stars.

    Upon further scrutiny, he realized the grey orbs of light numbered in the thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands¡­

    There were too many grey orbs of light.

    Suddenly, a single grey orb of light diverted its interster path and descended upon Gaia,nding in the Dark Fae n some distance away from Leon.

    The grey orb of light took the form of a man, but Leon could not see the person''s face with the person''s back facing him.

    However, the familiar back immediately shook his heart with turbulent emotions like a rock thrown in calm water.

 Chapter 896 - Out-of-Body Experience

    <h4>Chapter 896 - Out-of-Body Experience</h4>

    The dashing ck hair with strips of grey, the back punctured by a sword, and the divine robe dyed in blood; the familiar back was etched in the deepest parts of his memories.

    Leon would never forget it.

    ''Father¡­''

    Suddenly, the person turned around and revealed his face to Leon.

    Although it wasn''t a particrly handsome face¡ªactually, it was quite an ugly face without the beautification of high cultivation.

    However, this face embodied the Divine Realm''s kindness.

    As Leon suspected, the face belonged to none other than histe divine father from the Divine Realm, the Divine Medicine King, the only true saint in a world of hypocrites.

    Heinrich Esdus silently stood some distance away. His entire body was suffused in a grey light, making him look ethereal and ghostly like an intangible spirit.

    Leon didn''t know if the person was truly his father or just an illusion conjured by the strange world, but he had so much he wanted to say to his father.

    But the moment he opened his mouth to speak, he immediately recalled the cruel reality of the situation that he had no voice.

    Even so, he thought he could still convey his thoughts through his gaze.

    However, the moment his gaze fell on Heinrich Esdus''s pitch-ck eye sockets, his entire being froze, suppressed by an absolute force.

    He lost all control of his movements.

    His father¡ªno, it was not his father; the thing''s empty gaze contained a terrifying power of suppression.

    Leon even felt deep-rooted fear from the gaze.

    ''Is this my inner demon?'' Leon assumed with wide eyes.

    Suddenly, a force of attraction pulled Leon''s immobilized body towards the suspected inner demon and fell into its grip.

    When Leon gazed in the inner demon''s abyss-like ck eyes sockets, his emotions of fear were immediately amplified.

    ''Dammit, this thing is trying to devour me! Piss off!'' Leon roared in his mind.

    Sensing his existence being eaten away by the inner demon, he resisted with all his might, but to no avail; he was powerless and helpless.

    Without control of his body, there was nothing he could do.

    ''Is there nothing I can do?! Am I bound to die an unknown death?!'' Leon desperately wracked his brain for a solution, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed.

    Even so, the inner demon felt way too formidable.

    Inner demons were supposed to be difficult obstacles in one''s cultivation path. Still, the situation shouldn''t be as hopeless as he was experiencing.

    The inner demon seemed like an absolute existence that he could not defy.

    ''Dammit! Don''t think that I will go down without a fight!'' Leon roared madly in his mind. He tried to fight back the absolute suppression with his sheer will.

    However, that proved fruitless.

    The inner demon continued to devour his existence, making him despair. He became desperate for a solution and went with his only option.

    ''Dammit! If I have no cultivation, then I''ll cultivate right now!'' Leon roared.

    He optimized his divine sense, which seemed to be the only thing he still had and absorbed whatever energy he could muster from the surroundings.

    Grey energy particles appeared in the surroundings and flowed toward Leon, albeit slowly. Even with his best effort, he could not increase his gathering speed.

    ''So I didn''t just lose my cultivation, but also my umted talents?! This monochrome world is really pushing for my demise! However, I cannot, shall not, and will not give up! For now, not ever!''

    Leon will never allow himself to fall beforepleting his life''s mission!

    The moment the first grey energy particle contacted Leon''s body, he regained some control of his body.

    It was just a slight budge, but it was better than nothing!

    ''It''s effective!'' Leon''s eyes flickered.

    Although the inner demon continued to devour his existence, the grey energy particles replenished it¡ªeven granted him power and authority in the monochrome world.

    It strengthened his will.

    Leon eventually regained control of his movements, but he still failed to break free from the inner demon''s grip.

    Even worse, his resistance triggered the inner demon''s fury! The entire mountain peak reverberated in response to it!

    Suddenly, the inner demon''s mouth ripped open into a giant gaping maw that could swallow three adult bodies whole at once.

    Its appearance became grotesque like a monster, and hardly resembled his father at this point.

    ''F*ck,'' Leon thought.

    Snap!

    The inner demon devoured Leon in the next instance, swallowing his body whole into the infinite dark abyss inside it.

    Darkness epassed his vision and senses.

    ''So this is how it ends? I don''t even know what killed me or brought me to that world¡­ So many unanswered questions¡­ I''m unwilling to leave like this¡­'' Leon thought bitterly with unwillingness.

    He did everything he could but still ended up getting devoured.

    ¡­

    "Leon!" Aria''s distant yet sorrowful cry entered Leon''s ears.

    "Leon, what happened to you?! Pleasee back to us! Please don''t leave us alone! We need you¡ªI need you!"

    Leon heard Aria''s heart-wrenching cries again. Even Darlene''s distinct weeping could be heard and felt beside him.

    When Leon''s eyes snapped open, he realized he was back in the stone room with Aria and Darlene weeping on his chest.

    Everything he had just experienced seemed like a nightmare.

    ''An outer body experience?'' Leon quickly understood what had happened, yet his understanding only baffled him further.

    Outer body experience was something only mortals experience; cultivators don''t get them¡ªor at the very least, they shouldn''t.

    Nevertheless, his mind was quickly upied by Aria and Darlene''s sorrowful weeping. It pained him to see them like that.

    He reached out and patted them both on the head with each hand to soothe them.

    Aria and Darlene immediately froze before they looked up and saw Leon staring back at them with a tender look.

    "What''s wrong? Why are you both crying?" Leon asked while drying their tears.

    "Leon¡­? You''re alive! That''s great¡­ really great¡­ I really thought that you disappeared from this world¡­"

    Aria held Leon''s hand on her cheek and felt his warmth, overjoyed by his awakening.

    "I don''t know what happened, but we suddenly felt your existence disappear¡­ We couldn''t feel your soul''s presence at all¡­ And no matter what we tried, you wouldn''t wake up¡­"

 Chapter 897 - Astral Soul Realm

    <h4>Chapter 897 - Astral Soul Realm</h4>

    "My soul disappeared? From my body?" Leon''s eyes widened with a startled look.

    "Mm!" Aria confirmed with a nod.

    Shortly after, she wrapped her arms around Leon''s body and hugged him tightly. Darlene followed suit and embraced him as well.

    Leon could feel their bodies trembling from the lingering fear of losing him.

    While giving Aria and Darlene back rubs to calm them down, Leon recalled the entire experience with a frown.

    ''His soul left his body? So it wasn''t a simple out-of-body experience, huh?'' Leon mused.

    It made sense not to be; the out-of-body experience felt way too real to be a dream, not to mention the things he discovered inside.

    The inner demon, the grey region, and¡­

    ''My spiritual strength has fully recovered¡­'' Leon''s eyes slowly widened with surprise at the discovery.

    Shortly after, he closed his eyes and introspected.

    It wasn''t just his spiritual strength that was fully recovered. His Spatial, Ice, and Lightning Law have all advanced to the Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent Realm, especially his Spatial Law.

    It advanced to the Late Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent Realm.

    However, thesew advancements were most likely the benefits of dual cultivation with Aria and Darlene.

    But besides his advancement in the Spatial, Ice, and Lightning Law, his Fire Law had also advanced to the Transcendent Realm.

    ''Aria and Darlene have notprehended the Fire Law, let alone to a high level, so this advancement must be due to another reason,'' Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, Leon found his spiritual strength recovery andw advancement to be of lesser importance.

    His most crucial discovery was his state of mind.

    Not only did it feel exceedingly clear, but his thought process has also be slightly faster. Even some primaryws seemed easier toprehend.

    ''It seems like I can advance my Wood Law to the Transcendent Realm if I just meditate for a bit beside the Tier-5 Spirit Herbs in the Worldspace for a bit¡­'' Leon noticed.

    His transformation was too startling.

    It seemed like he experienced a major breakthrough¡ªNo, he did experience a major breakthrough. However, it was nothing like what he expected.

    ''The quality of my soul has improved,'' Leon''s eyes flickered.

    If operating dual thoughts at 100% efficiency was his limit in the past, then the current him could now operate the third consciousness at 50% efficiency on top of the two.

    Leon did not expect such a bizarre yet frightening experience in the monochrome world could improve his soul''s quality.

    ''Did it have something to do with the grey energy particles? No, it did have something to do with them,'' Leon quickly corrected his thought.

    What he absorbed was most like soul energy. And not just any soul energy, but the purest form of soul energy.

    Leon recalled the grey region and the countless grey orbs flying towards it. If they were all pure soul energy, then¡­

    He faintly guessed the monochrome world''s origin, and it shocked him.

    ''The legendary Astral Soul Realm, originnd of the souls¡­ I suspected that such a realm existed, but I never thought I would actually find it soon, let alone enter it. But how did I enter? What are the conditions for entry?''

    Leon wondered.

    Nevertheless, he was greatly astonished that the Astral Soul Realm was so close as if it is within reach, yet at the same time, impossibly far from it.

    So close, yet so far¡­

    Having experienced the great benefits of the Astral Soul Realm, Leon was determined to learn more about it.

    Hecks information, but fortunately, he knows where to start looking.

    There were plenty of medical records on out-of-experience in the Archive; that''s where he''ll start looking.

    ¡­

    "What happened to you, Leon? Why couldn''t we feel your soul''s presence in your body earlier?" Aria suddenly asked after calming down.

    She was well aware that Leon possessed the Divine Book of Life.

    However, she had never experienced his soul disappearing whenever he entered the Divine Book of Life with his consciousness as it did earlier.

    "What happened to me earlier, huh? It''s actually quite interesting now that I look back on it. You''ll be surprised to hear about it," Leon smiled amusedly.

    He had no intention of keeping the information from his women. On the contrary, the more they know about it, the better prepared they''ll be if they ever get the same opportunity.

    "I experienced my first out-of-body experience," Leon stated.

    "Out-of-body experience?" Aria''s eyes flickered with surprise.

    "I thought out-of-body experience is something that only mortals get to experience and a very rare experience to boot. But, more importantly, I never heard of the soul actually leaving the body when they experience it."

    "I also thought so too until I experienced it myself," Leon nodded.

    "And since I''ve experienced it, I have a different outlook. If we think about it, the mortal doctors only describe out-of-body experiences as a result of sleeping paralysis and fear of the unknown, which gives birth to the demon in their dream."

    "However, mortal doctors are, after all, mortals; they are not cultivators. They wouldn''t know when someone''s soul left their bodies. More importantly, they''ve only heard about it from their patients. They weren''t there to witness it for themselves."

    "I see¡­ That makes sense," Aria nodded.

    Then, she furrowed her brows and mentioned her doubts, "But this is the first time I''ve ever heard¡ªno, witnessed a cultivator experiencing the out-of-body experience."

    "There must be some condition that makes the already rare out-of-body experience even rarer for cultivators," Leon spected.

    "Mm, most likely," Aria agreed before asking, "But this wasn''t supposed to be the surprise you mentioned, right?"

    "Nope," Leon shook his head and said, "Since you felt my soul disappeared from my body. Can you guess where I went?"

    Aria furrowed her brows in thought before she shook her head.

    "Where?" Aria asked shortly after.

    "The origin realm of souls," Leon stated.

    "Oh¡­ Huh?" Aria suddenly picked herself up from Leon''s chest and stared at him in shock. "T-the origin realm of souls?!"

    "That''s right," Leon nodded with a smile.

    Meanwhile, Darlene silently rested her head on the other half of Leon''s chest with a dumbfounded look.

    She couldn''t follow their conversation.

 Chapter 898 - The Guardian

    <h4>Chapter 898 - The Guardian</h4>

    Darlene couldn''t understand what Aria and Leon were talking about. Still, given Aria''s shocked look, she could guess that the origin realm of souls was an amazing ce.

    No, it was just an amazing ce; it was a mythical ce.

    After Aria and Darlene listened to Leon''s recount of his experience in the Astral Soul Realm and the benefits he reaped from that ce, Aria and Darlene were shocked beyond belief.

    Even so, they were happy for Leon.

    Although the dangers of the Astral Soul Realm were unclear, the fact that Leon made it back with a fruitful harvest from that ce was a blessing.

    "I''m in shock¡­ to think such a ce exists," Darlene uttered with lingering shock from the list of benefits Leon mentioned to them.

    Suppose someone could stay in the Astral Soul Realm and absorb all the purest soul energy in that ce. Wouldn''t it be easy for them to reach the same realm as the gods and devils from the primordial era?

    Heck, it might even be possible to surpass them.

    "However, this Astral Soul Realm exists in a different ne that runs parallel to the real world. Even if we seek it, it won''t be easy to enter. Leon''s case is very special," Aria stated.

    If it was so easy to enter the Astral Soul Realm, there should have been some records or even mentions of it.

    However, information on the Astral Soul Realm was so scarce that people didn''t know it existed. And those who did know about it, regarded it as a myth.

    "For now, we should keep an eye out for any records pertaining to out-of-body experiences that we may stumble across. Don''t attempt to enter the Astral Soul Realm on your own. We don''t know what other underlying dangers are in that ce," Leon reminded them.

    "Mm," Aria and Darlene nodded.

    They have too little information on the Astral Soul Realm. Even if they wanted to enter that ce, they didn''t know how to do it.

    "I''m more curious about your father''s doppelganger. Do you really think it was your inner demon, Leon?" Aria asked.

    After she raised the question, Leon fell silent and contemted the matter.

    "At first, I really did think it was my inner demon. But now that I look back on it, it doesn''t make sense for an inner demon to be in that ce. Instead, it might be a guardian tasked to remove intruders from that ce," Leon spected.

    "A guardian that looks like yourte father from the Divine Realm?" Darlene raised her doubt, having learned about Leon''s past life.

    "It''s probably a mimic ability to affect my state of mind," Leon replied after some thought.

    "Anyway, let us put aside the Astral Soul Realm''s matter for the time being and focus on you two," Leon suddenly said.

    He cast meaningful nces at Aria and Darlene before he added, "It seems like I wasn''t the only one with gains. The two of you have grown a fair bit stronger."

    Although he seemed calm, he was actually surprised.

    Aria and Darlene didn''t make any advancement in theirws. Instead, it was their body cultivation that improved.

    "Hehe, so you noticed," Aria giggled before she said with a bit of embarrassment, "Actually, my improvement was all due to your¡­ your essence."

    "My essence?" Leon was taken aback.

    Aria nodded.

    After pondering for a few moments, Leon quickly understood what was going on.

    "I see," Leon uttered.

    He injected his sterilized essence into Aria and Darlene every round during their dual cultivation to prevent impregnating them.

    Nevertheless, his sterilized essence was no different from pure energy.

    Furthermore, he has the True Grandmist Body and Rank 9 Body Transformation in the consolidating viscera phase.

    Thus, it wasn''t strange if his sterilized yang essence contained the essence of True Grandmist Energy.

    "Still, for your body to improve this much with just my yang essence¡­ it appears that my yang essence is even more effective than True Grandmist Energy, huh?" Leon uttered thoughtfully.

    Aria had only achieved the bare minimum of Early Rank 1 Body Transformation in all five phases.

    But after she absorbed his sterilized yang essence, her five phases all reached Mid Rank 1 Body Transformation.

    On the other hand, Darlene reached Rank 2 Body Transformation in the flesh-tempering and bone-forging phase.

    If he was topare himself with the current Darlene based on raw physical strength alone, she was, without a doubt, the winner.

    "It seems we have a female gori in the family now," Leon teased her with a smile.

    "Who are you calling a female gori?!" Darlene said snappishly, feeling both angry and embarrassed.

    She quickly pounded Leon''s chest with her fist in response.

    However, she identally used too much strength, causing the grass bed under them to copse to the ground.

    Nevertheless, no one was hurt due to their high defense.

    "A-are you alright, Leon?!" Darlene panicked.

    She didn''t expect her casual pounding to contain so much strength. At the same time, she had forgotten the grass bed wasn''t that sturdy, to begin with.

    "Hahaha," Leonughed it off.

    Shortly after, he wrapped his arms around Aria and Darlene''s waist and pulled them closer to himself.

    "Shall we roll in bed a bit more before we head back to the Infertile ins?" Leon asked with a meaningful look.

    Aria and Darlene immediately became shy; their heads lowered without replying. However, Leon knew that was their silent approval.

    They wouldn''t go against his wishes.

    Furthermore, the soul-disappearing incident had truly scared them. Thus, making love to them would effectively eliminate any residue fear of that incident.

    "Who wants to go first?" Leon smiled at them.

    "Hehe," Aria chuckled softly. Then, she nced at Darlene next to her and said, "Sister Darlene, he''s all yours."

    "Ah?" Darlene uttered with surprise.

    "I guess it''s decided then," Leon chuckled before he quickly released Aria from his embrace and flipped Darlene under him.

    "Ah, wait a minute¡­ I''m not ready~!" Darlene''s body trembled with delight under Leon''s tender touches.

    Shortly after, Darlene''s erotic cries resounded throughout the small stone room.

 Chapter 899 - Zhang Tianlong

    <h4>Chapter 899 - Zhang Tianlong</h4>

    A few hourster, Aria and Darleney on top of the broken grass bed with satisfied looks. Shortly, they took a nap to absorb his essence.

    The grass bed had all four legs broken, but Leon couldn''t care less unless it was his third leg that broke.

    Leon removed himself from the grass bed to let Aria and Darlene sleepfortably and found a spot on the ground to sit.

    After taking his seat, he closed his eyes and absorbed the essence he received from Aria and Darlene.

    He hadn''t noticed it in the past, but he could now perceive the invisiblewprehension he collected from Aria and Darlene after his soul quality improved.

    They appeared like intangible strands of information, gathering around his soul core like multiple orbiting rings.

    Over time, bits and pieces of the information ring branch off and integrate with thew seeds in his soul core.

    Even if he did nothing, his elemental abilities would improve after assimting the strands ofwprehension on their own.

    Of course, Leon could manually speed up the assimting process if he wanted.

    However, Leon withdrew his consciousness from the soul core region and entered the Archive. Then, he summoned the towering bookshelves with records pertaining to out-of-body experiences.

    Leon didn''t expect much, but the result quickly surprised him.

    The Archive recorded 548 books with cases on the out-of-body experience. Furthermore, there were another 3285 books with indirect mentions of it.

    ''I could work with this¡­'' Leon mused thoughtfully.

    He had underestimated the vast knowledge recorded in the Archive. It was, after all, a divine artifact that predated back to the primordial era.

    However, after flipping through several books with out-of-body experiences, Leon realized they were more recent cases that took ce in the Divine Realm.

    ''Hm? These dates¡­ These cases were recorded during my lifetime in the Divine Realm¡­'' Leon was taken aback for a moment.

    Half a breathter, his eyes flickered with realization.

    ''These cases were recorded by¡­''

    "It is as you suspect; some of these cases were recorded by yourte father," Maya suddenly interjected.

    "To be exact, he recorded a total of fifty cases. Although they are only limited to one case per book, he recorded each case in great detail. I never understood his purpose for studying mortals'' out-of-body experiences, though."

    "Why the sudden interest in out-of-body experiences?" Maya asked shortly after.

    Leon shifted his gaze to the side and nced at Maya''s spiritual form oddly before he asked her, "You don''t know what happened to me earlier?"

    "I was busy tranting the primordial techniques for you. Why?" Maya asked with furrowed brows before she added, "They''re all tranted, by the way."

    "I see, thanks," Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, he recounted his entire experience in the suspected Astral Soul Realm to Maya without leaving out any detail.

    Given her knowledge, she could give him some insights into the matter.

    "The Astral Soul Realm, huh? I find it hard to believe. But seeing how your spiritual strength has recovered, I have no choice but to believe it," Maya replied with surprise.

    "Now, I understand why the Divine Medicine King researched out-of-body experiences among the mortals. He must have drawn some conclusions regarded the Astral Soul Realm or entered it once himself."

    Leon nodded.

    Seeing how his father researched the out-of-body experience so extensively, he suspected the same thing as Maya.

    Nevertheless, histe father''s efforts made things easier for him.

    ''Father¡­ even in death, you are still looking out for this useless son of yours¡­'' Leon mentally sighed while thinking about histe father.

    Why is it that people don''t start living in earnest and cherish the important things they have until they lose them?

    ''Just you wait, Father. I will make them pay; everyst one of them,'' Leon steeled his resolve, and his eyes glinted with a red hue.

    Maya didn''t dare to speak when she saw the hidden malice in Leon''s eyes.

    She found the darkness buried deep in his heart to be startling and worried for the future of the world.

    To be the world''s destroyer or its savior, the choice was in his hands.

    ¡­

    Nevertheless, Leon wasn''t aware of Maya''s thoughts.

    He reorganized the bookshelf to show only his father''s research results on the out-of-body experience.

    Then, he picked out several books and absorbed their information at once.

    ¡­

    <Age: 27>

    <upation: Alchemist Servant, Herbalist>

    <Location: Southern Divine Region, Ancestral Yuan Star Realm, Tianyu, Great Yuan Kingdom, Red Willow City>

    <Special Note: the patient is an ordinary mortal with no talent for alchemy and cultivation. The patient has crippled meridians and cannot cultivate in this lifetime. However, the patient has some talent for identifying and cultivating spirit herbs>

    <Day 1: the patient came into the clinic for a check-up. He describedst night''s experience as terrifying. An evil spirit visited him in his dream and wanted to snatch his body>

    <Notable symptoms: sleeping paralysis, hallucination>

    <Conclusion: Patient experienced out-of-body experience>

    <Special Note: the patient studied the Ten-Thousand Herbs of Yuan and drank Tranquil Blossom Tea the previous night>

    ¡­

    Reading up to that point, Leon didn''t think there was much more to learn about the out-of-body experience from patient Zhang Tianlong.

    However, the book continued with his father''s long observation of the patient''s life.

    ¡­

    <Day 4: the patient returned the Ten-Thousand Herbs of Yuan to his alchemy master and requested more herbal books to study>

    <Day 67: the patient returned the Hundred-Thousand Herbs of Tianyu and Myriad Herbs of Ancestral Yuan. The alchemy master decided to teach the patient alchemy techniques>

    <Day 69: the patient disyed an incredible capacity for learning. The alchemist master promoted the patient to Alchemist Apprentice>

    <Day 93: the patient mastered the basics of alchemy and took the Alchemist Association''s alchemy exam, bing a Rank 1 Alchemist>

    <Day 181: the patient sessfully refined his first Tier-3 Spirit Pill and advanced to Rank 3 Alchemist>

    <Day 994: the patient refined the Tier-5 Inner Rebirth Pill and resolved his crippled meridians, and embarked on the path of cultivation>

    ¡­

    ''Am I reading the medical documentation of a patient or the story of a rising protagonist?'' Leon wondered with surprise.

 Chapter 900 - Mayas Reward

    <h4>Chapter 900 - Maya''s Reward</h4>

    Leon didn''t expect his father to have the patience to observe a patient for more than three years. However, he quickly retracted the idea after seeing a few cases eclipsing the same period.

    ''Father probably didn''t observe these people in person,'' Leon concluded.

    Being the Divine King of the Divine Pill Kingdom, his father didn''t have the free time to observe a single individual for so long.

    ''Father must have assigned subordinates to observe these individuals.''

    Nevertheless, patient Zhang Tianlong''s case didn''t end after three years but continued to the day he was killed along with his father.

    ¡­

    <Day 4369: the patient achieved the Divine state in cultivation>

    ¡­

    ''About thirteen years to reach the Divine Origin Realm, huh?'' Leon mused.

    ''Compared to Aria''s talent to be Divine King by 30 years of age, this person''s cultivation speed is not worth mentioning. However, this isn''t the important point here.''

    Patient Zhang Tianlong was originally someone deemed unable to cultivate for a lifetime and could only live an ordinary life as an Alchemist Servant.

    However, without relying on any outside help, he fixed his cultivation talent problem and reached the Divine Origin Realm in a dozen years.

    Such a feat was praiseworthy.

    ''Unfortunately, the report ends here¡­'' Leon sighed.

    However, the book on patient Zhang Tianlong didn''t end there.

    There were many nk pages afterward, but Leon eventually found his father''s notes at the back of the book, listing his father''s thoughts and doubts on the patient.

    ¡­

    <Day 994: Patient Zhang Tianlong did not live the mundane life of a mortal as everyone presumed. On the contrary, hisprehensive talents even outstrip some young talents in cultivation>

    <How did an ordinary person suddenly demonstrate such talent sote in his life?>

    <My investigation led me to believe that it has something to do with Patient Zhang Tianlong''s out-of-body experience>

    <Day 1004: I have little doubt that Patient Zhang Tianlong''s out-of-body experience was his turning point in life>

    <Day 1257: There is little information on out-of-body experience changing the lives of talentless mortals. More research is needed>

    ¡­

    Leon read through all of his father''s recorded cases on patients with out-of-body experiences.

    By the fifth case, his father had already concluded that there was something special about the out-of-body experiences that allowed mortals to break away from the mundane life.

    ¡­

    <How many years has it been since I started researching out-of-body experiences? I have encountered few cases in mortals but none in divine practitioners. Why?>

    <I have tried to induce sleeping paralysis on numerous asions to enter the mystery realm described by the patients. Though I seeded in sleeping paralysis, I did not experience the so-called out-of-body experience>

    <Some special conditions must be met, but what am I missing? More research is needed>

    ¡­

    While reading through his father''s notes, his fathermented that he never found the solution to induce out-of-body experience intentionally.

    Nevertheless, his father''s records were so detailed he made a discovery.

    "Hm¡­ although some of these cases were iplete, there''s one thing they all have inmon with thepleted cases. The patients only experience the out-of-body experience once," Leon mused thoughtfully.

    All of the patients didn''t manage to be cultivators after experiencing their out-of-body experiences. Some of them became great rulers, governors, schrs, and artists of their time.

    When Leon perused over their information, he realized they died the quickest to the guardian in the Astral Soul Realm.

    The longer theysted, the better their talents.

    "Hm?" Leon suddenly made another discovery.

    Whileparing the cases, he realized none of the patients wereborers. Their professions only required great mental faculty and imagination.

    If there were one exception, patient Zhang Tianlong, the Alchemist Servant who gathers and cultivates herbs, would be it.

    However, the person seemed to have exhausted his mental faculties while memorizing the Ten-Thousand Herbs of Yuan the night prior to his out-of-body experience.

    "Sleeping after one''s spiritual strength is depleted will induce an out-of-body experience? No, it shouldn''t be that simple," Leon quickly shook his head.

    If that was the only condition, there should have been many cases of cultivators experiencing the out-of-body phenomena already.

    "Hm¡­ But cultivators don''t need to sleep. If their spiritual strength is exhausted, they can just meditate to recover it," Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, he was certain the condition for entry into the Astral Soul Realm wasn''t as simple as spiritual strength exhaustion.

    ''Reading mortals'' out-of-body experiences alone won''t give me insights into my own out-of-body experience. I need to recall the details of my own experience,'' Leon figured.

    Shortly after, he frowned in thought.

    Before he fell asleep, his spiritual strength wasn''t fully exhausted; it had recovered a fair bit by that time.

    However, he did remember feeling incrediblefort and rxation.

    ''The other condition is a rxed body?'' Leon''s eyes flickered.

    Suddenly, he drew some conclusions and came up with a wild assumption that didn''t have any precedents or evidence to back it up.

    ''What causes a soul to leave the body? Would a body in its rxed state loosen its binding on the soul? Would that allow the soul to drift out of the body? A soul doesn''t have any weight, but if spiritual strength is also exhausted, it won''t be able to hold onto the body?''

    ''In other words, spiritual strength exhaustion and body rxation are both needed to induce an out-of-body experience? I don''t know if it''ll work, but it''s worth a shot if I perfectly replicate the condition¡­''

    After Leon settled on the idea, his frown rxed, and his eyes brightened.

    At the same time, Maya had been carefully observing Leon''s expression to avoid interrupting his deep thoughts.

    But after she spotted her cue to speak, she immediately acted upon it.

    "Hey, do I get a reward for tranting all the primordial techniques?" Maya asked.

    "Oh?" Leon nced at Maya carefully with growing curiosity before he asked, "What kind of reward do you want?"

    "Since your spiritual strength recovered, we can do it again, right? You know, spiritual dual cultivation. Who knows, maybe you''ll get to enter the Astral Soul Realm again, so it''s a win-win situation for the both of us," Maya mentioned.

    After Maya seemed nonchnt, Leon suspected she was actually looking forward to their dual cultivation again.

    "Sure, why don''t we start right away?" Leon beamed.

 Chapter 901 - The More You Look, The Less You See

    <h4>Chapter 901 - The More You Look, The Less You See</h4>

    After spending several hours dual cultivating with Maya in her spiritual world, Leon returned his consciousness to the real world, albeit mentally exhausted.

    He had transferred most of his spiritual strength to Maya once more.

    Even so, it was a necessary step to take in order to test his theory on entering the Astral Soul Realm.

    He quickly ingested a Spiritual Replenishment Pill and found himself afortable spot toy down and fall into slumber.

    However, half an hour passed without sess.

    Nevertheless, Leon adjusted his sleeping posture on the ground and tried again. s, he ended up sleeping for several hours.

    When he woke up, Aria and Darlene had already finished absorbing his essence.

    At that moment, they were sitting in meditative positions with their eyes closed and cultivating. But when they sensed his gaze on them, they quickly opened their eyes.

    "You''re awake," Aria softly uttered with a pleasant smile.

    Leon nodded.

    He seemed fine, but Aria noticed the slight crease on his forehead with her sharp gaze, causing her forehead to form creases as well.

    She was baffled.

    "You didn''t sleep well?" Aria inquired with a wondering look.

    "I wasn''t trying to sleep," Leon shook his head and replied with a wry smile, "I was trying to enter the Astral Soul Realm again. However, I ended up sleeping normally instead."

    Although he had finally caught sight of the Astral Soul Realm, he should have known that reentry wasn''t going to be easy.

    Out of all the recorded cases in the Archive, not a single person experienced the out-of-body experience for a second time.

    It was as if they had lost their qualification to enter the Astral Soul Realm after the guardian devoured them.

    ''The guardian also devoured me¡­ If my defeat in the Astral Soul Realm has anything to do with entry qualifications, my reentry''s difficulty will be much higher¡­''

    Leon furrowed his brows in thought.

    Nevertheless, he quickly shook his head and refocused his attention on Aria and Darlene.

    "It seems like the both of you didn''t benefit as much from our second dual cultivation session," Leon mentioned while he observed them.

    Aria barely improved from the Mid Rank 1 Body Transformation Realm. Even so, she was still a step closer to reaching Late Rank 1 Body Transformation in the five phases.

    As for Darlene, her flesh-tempering and bone-forging phases did not progress from Early Rank 2 Body Transformation.

    Instead, her consolidating-viscera phase progressed the most, reaching Late Rank 1 Body Transformation.

    Leon silently gave her his approval.

    It was evident that Darlene had some self-awareness. She didn''t blindly focus on the improvement of her physical strength and neglect defense.

    "Well, even if we want to keep makingrge improvements through dual cultivation, what can we do if we milked you dry?" Darlene smiled impishly.

    "Hm? But can you? If I recall correctly, you were the one begging me to stop the most," Leon grinned back at Darlene confidently without backing down.

    Darlene was immediately at a loss for words. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment before she pouted.

    Nevertheless, Leon understood her original meaning.

    Given his Rank 9 Body Transformation in the consolidating viscera phase, his little brother wasn''t just durable, but his yang essence was also limitless.

    However, it was a different story for his essence of True Grandmist Energy.

    Even if he could keep producing yang essence to unload every round, the quality of his essence of True Grandmist Energy couldn''t keep up.

    He needed time to recharge.

    When Leon arrived at that thought, the word ''recharge'' suddenly made him realize that he had been too hasty to reenter the Astral Soul Realm.

    Although his mind was spiritually exhausted, his body already had too much rest. It wouldn''t reach the same level of rxation even if he slept any further.

    It needed time to cool down.

    ''I was too confident after the Astral Soul Realm experience improved my soul''s quality. But, now that I have more time to think about it, I realize my theory was wed, to begin with¡­'' Leon mused.

    ''The level of body rxation wasn''t just the problem. Even if my mind was spiritually exhausted, it wasn''t empty of thoughts. My mind was filled with thoughts of entering the Astral Soul Realm that it held me back¡­''

    In other words, if he wanted to have a real chance at entering the Astral Soul Realm again, he didn''t just need the right level of body rxation. His mind also needs to be in a state of emptiness, free of thoughts and distractions.

    ''I have to consider the environment as well,'' Leon mused.

    It''ll be easy for various noises to distract him from entering the state of emptiness if he doesn''t have a sound-insted stone room like this one.

    Leon realized what he was doing wrong.

    Entering the Astral Soul Realm was not the same asprehendingws. Rather, it was theplete opposite.

    ''The more I try to look for it, the less likely I''ll find it. I can find the Astral Soul Realm, the Astral Soul Realm finds me¡­''

    Once Leon understood that logic, his fixation on the Astral Soul Realm stopped, and his mind became clear.

    "Shall we take a bath together before we leave?" Leon suggested to thedies.

    Aria and Darlene nced at their sweat-stained bodies and messy clothes scattered across the room before they nodded.

    A bath was just what they needed.

    Shortly after, Leon summoned a bathtub from the Worldspace. Aria filled it with ice before he melted it fire, heating the water to a perfect temperature.

    Once he added some fragrant herbs, the bath exuded a pleasant scent.

    Then, Leon carried Aria and Darlene into the bath one by one before they enjoyed soaking themselves in the warm bath water together.

    "Moments like this are nice," Darlenemented while washing herself with the herb-infused bathwater.

    "Then we better enjoy it while we can. Once we return to the Infertile ins, we might not get many chances like this," Leon stated.

    "Mm," Aria and Darlene nodded.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon left the stone room in a fresh set of clothes with Aria and Darlene. They picked up Duna from her room before meeting Nyfare in the great hall.

    "My Lord, what do you need from me?" Nyfare asked.

    "It''s time for us to leave."

 Chapter 902 - Returning To The Infertile Plains

    <h4>Chapter 902 - Returning To The Infertile ins</h4>

    "Leaving? Right now, my Lord? But my elite n members have yet to return¡ª" Nyfare mentioned with surprise.

    She had more to say, but Leon raised a hand gesture to stop her from speaking further.

    "Your n won''t be apanying me. I don''t intend to take anyone else back to the Infertile ins with me besides my women," Leon stated.

    Nyfare felt disappointed after hearing that, especially since the Lord rejected her despite seeing her bare body.

    Nevertheless, she had no intention of holding the Lord responsible. The Lord wasn''t to me for something she had acted upon herself.

    "I understand, my Lord," Nyfare replied despondently.

    Aria watched the exchange between the two before she narrowed her sharp eyes, sensing something amiss with the mood.

    She became suspicious and stared at Leon.

    At the same time, Leon felt Aria''s stare and felt awkward inwardly. Even so, he did not need to feel guilty since he resisted his lust.

    As such, his expression remained calm, as if he didn''t sense her stare.

    "You don''t need to feel disappointed," Leon said to Nyfare.

    "Even if you want to follow me, you still have your responsibilities to your n members. Right now, your n members need you to settle them down."

    "I understand, my Lord," Nyfare nodded.

    Just as her Lord had said, her n members needed her more than ever. Now that the men had returned to the n, she needed to n their post-trauma treatment.

    At the same time, she had to implement new regtions and teach the entire n about the body forging methods.

    "But what about the ck Dragon n, my Lord? What should I tell them when they return from their mission with my n members?" Nyfare mentioned.

    Leon paused for a moment before he replied, "After they subjugate the Great ckrock Mountains, tell them to conquer the rest of the Starfall Dominion."

    "Shadowtail, alone, cane and find me in the Infertile in''s Darkmoon Tribe to collect the subjugation reward," Leon added.

    "Understood, my Lord," Nyfare nodded. Then, she quickly cupped her hands and prayed, "May have a safe journey and be victorious in all your battles, my Lord!"

    Leon nodded.

    After infusing recovery herbs into the Dark Fae n''s water channels and transforming their freshwater into quality healing water, Leon departed with Aria, Darlene, and Duna.

    Nevertheless, Leon had no intention of returning the Infertile ins by foot.

    He sent a mental message to Tak-si via their spiritual connection. Then, he had the realm spirit transfer them to the Infertile ins directly.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Infertile ins, Darkmoon Tribe

    Inside the Chief Pce''s Great Hall, Chief Valencia held a meeting with the Venerable Shamans, Half-step Battle Kings, and the chiefs of two other tribes.

    However, only one of the chiefs was from the Seven Tribes Alliance, which was Chief Baskara of the Crimsonfog Tribe.

    The other chief was Chief Skyhawk of the Sky Sword Tribe.

    Together with the Crimsonfog Tribe, they merged with the Darkmoon Tribe and became a more powerful tribe.

    Just by looking outside the Chief Pce, everyone can see that Darkmoon City had tripled in size.

    They built new districts outside of the pre-existing city wall and formed the city''s new outer and inner ring.

    Nevertheless, only tents and huts were erected in the new districts outside the city wall.

    Even with three weeks, only so much construction can be done with the ongoing threats from Central Region''s warring tribes.

    "Have the messengers returned with news from the other tribes in the alliance?" Chief Valencia solemnly inquired while she sat on her throne.

    "They have," Chief Baskara nodded.

    "The Fallen Star Tribe, Cold Raven Tribe, and Clearwater Tribe were adamant on keeping their independence. The Seven Tribes Alliance was formed due to that reason in the first ce. However, they ended up merging with the Berserk Dragon Tribe to fend off the Central Region''s threats."

    "It''s good that they didn''t stubbornly persist in their independence. It would be foolish of them, considering they are cut off from us," Chief Valencia stated.

    After all, the Fallen Star Tribe, Cold Raven Tribe, Clearwater Tribe, and the Berserk Dragon Tribe were located on the eastern side of the Weeping Forest.

    "How are our water supplies and food? How much longer can west?" Chief Valencia inquired after.

    "We are still good on our water supply," Chief Skyhawk answered.

    "Although less, the Celestial Water Spark''s power hasn''t been depleted yet. Food, on the other hand, is a big problem. We are running out of rations. It won''tst another week. By then, we''ll have to starve unless we find a new food source."

    After Chief Shyhawk said that, the mood in the Great Hall became heavy.

    He had led his Sky Sword Tribe to the southern region to escape the chaos of the central region. But, s, the situation in the southern region wasn''t much better.

    It was hard to say what was better: a quick death through murder or a slow death through starvation.

    "There''s no other way around it," chief Valencia sighed.

    "We have always hunted for our meat from the central region. But right now, the conflict between the four King Tribes in the central region is at its peak. The Battle God Pce''s third young master has brought us momentary peace during this period. But the moment we step foot in the central region, we''ll be swept up in the storm."

    "Then what do you suggest we do, Chief Valencia?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked thoughtfully.

    "Even if we don''t starve to death, we''ll be too weak to resist once the victor of the central region marches on our doorsteps. I, alone, will not be able to fend off all their attacks. Our warriors need meat to stay strong."

    Chief Valencia frowned for a moment before she said, "It seems our only solution to the food shortage lies in the demon''s territory."

    "Although the demon''s territory has plenty of demon beasts to hunt, that ce is too heavy in miasma. We''ll get sick eating meat from there," Chief Baskara argued.

    The atmosphere became heavy once more. But in that exact moment, Leon also stepped inside the great hall with Aria, Darlene, and Duna.

    "It''s a bit heavy in here, huh?" Leon casually nced around andmented.

    When several people''s gazes fell on Leon''s figure standing by the entrance, they immediately shot up from their seats in shock.

    "Y-young Master Leonhardt!"

 Chapter 903 - Temporary Relief

    <h4>Chapter 903 - Temporary Relief</h4>

    Amidst hall members'' shock, there were also joy and disbelief, but mostly joy. The young master''s presence immediately dispelled the heavy atmosphere.

    "Bahahaha! I knew Young Master Leonhardt wouldn''t fall in a ce like the Eternal Night Secret Realm!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shamanughed heartily.

    Although the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman strongly believed Leon was alive, nothing was more reassuring than seeing the person in the flesh.

    "It''s great that you made it back alive, Young Master Leonhardt. How did you manage to stay back in the Eternal Night Secret Realm?" asked a Half-step Battle King from the Crimsonfog Tribe.

    "I don''t think that''s important right now, is it?" Leon nced at the Half-step Battle King calmly.

    At the same time, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and several other members in the hall directed their gazes at the Half-step Battle King disapprovingly.

    Daring to question the young master about something that could be regarded as a tight secret right from the start¡­ This person has no tact.

    "Young Master Leonhardt is right," Chief Valencia voiced her agreement.

    "Since Young Master Leonhardt is here, I hope you can provide some insight into our dilemma. Right now, we are facing a food shortage. The Central Region''s conflict is too much for us. Thus, we are thinking of hunting for food sources in the demon''s territory."

    "What do you think, Young Master Leonhardt?" Chief Valencia asked shortly after.

    Although Chief Valencia appeared calm on the surface, she was actually nervous and feeling a bit of relief.

    She was part of the majority that didn''t believe Young Master Leonhardt was alive. Fortunately, she didn''t do anything to the person''s maids and adoptive family.

    Nevertheless, after Leon heard Chief Valencia''s question, he stared at her silently for a moment before asking, "The Teleportation Array¡­ You didn''t think about getting food supplies from the Human Domain?"

    Chief Valencia opened her mouth before closing them again without speaking. She was at a loss for words, unsure of how to reply.

    Naturally, the thought of getting help from the Human Domain crossed her mind on multiple asions.

    However, she always had her misgivings regarding the strength of the Human Domain, considering it could produce someone like the Young Master Leonhardt.

    Thus, she feared the Crawford Empire would me her tribe for the young master''s ''death'' and be hostile instead.

    "Well, I guess you''ll need me to mediate between the two sides anyway," Leon added shortly after, not intending to put Chief Valencia on the spot.

    "Since there isn''t any immediate threat on this side, I''ll return to the Human Domain and organize the food supply chain. I don''t know how long I''ll be gone, but this should relieve your food burden temporarily."

    Shortly after Leon spoke, he waved his hand and unloaded a giant sea monster body into the empty center of the hall.

    The sea monster''s body was quiterge but not enough to feed all three tribes for even a single day.

    "Of course, this is just a sample," Leon stated. He had enough modesty not to fill the entire hall in the fishy scent of sea monster bodies.

    "Take me somewhere I can unload more of these sea monster bodies."

    "I''ll do it! Follow me, Young Master Leonhardt."

    Once Leon made the request, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately volunteered before anyone else could voice their eagerness.

    Shortly after Leon nodded, he followed the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman outside the hall. Aria, Darlene, and Duna didn''t stay; they followed the two out as well.

    ¡­

    Silence returned to the hall. However, the heavy atmosphere was long dispelled, thanks to Leon''s return.

    Many members in the hall slumped back in their seats with a long sigh of relief.

    "Our problems were so easily resolved with Young Master Leonhardt''s return. No, our problems aren''t even real problems with Young Master Leonhardt around," Old Tailor sighed.

    "Young Master Leonhardt is more than qualified to lead us all," Chief Skyhawkmented.

    Several Venerable Shamans and Half-step Battle Kings nodded in agreement, albeit for different reasons.

    While some believed in his charisma, some believed in his raw strength, especially thetter.

    Although it was just a brief interaction, the Half-step Battle Kings felt intimidated and overshadowed by the young master''s presence.

    There was something about his aura that made them cower in submission; it felt grand, majestic, and authoritative¡ªexactly what a mighty warrior should have.

    After Chief Valencia summoned some servants to take the giant sea monster body away for processing, she resumed the meeting.

    "Since Young Master Leonhardt has resolved our food problem, we''ll continue with the regr report," Chief Valencia stated.

    All members in the hall nodded.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman led Leon outside the pce before ncing around at the empty plot ofnd.

    "I think this ce will do just fine. What do you think, Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked.

    Leon reviewed the area and nodded. It was certainly spacious enough.

    He turned his gaze to Aria and Darlene before they immediately understood his silent intention.

    Then, they took out numerous sea monster bodies from their interspatial rings, enough to form mountains outside the pce.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was mentally prepared, but the sight of so many sea monster bodies pouring out of thedies'' interspatial rings still shocked him.

    "With this much sea monster meat, we''ll be able tost two months at the very least," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said with surprise.

    Little did the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman know that it was only a fraction of what Aria and Darlene had in their interspatial rings.

    Furthermore, Leon could always summon fresh sea monsters directly from the Radiant Heaven Realmship if he wanted.

    However, Leon had no intention of exposing his secret.

    "Senior One-Eye, what has happened in thest three weeks? Would you mind filling me in on the details while we are here?" Leon requested.

    "Your words are wasted on this Old Man, Young Master Leonhardt¡ªNo, Lord Leonhardt. You can just call me, One-Eye, my Lord," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said.

    "Very well, One-Eye," Leon agreed.

 Chapter 904 - Golden Suanni Clan

    <h4>Chapter 904 - Golden Suanni n</h4>

    Thanks to the Abyssal Wood Demon King''s demon core graciously given by Lord Leonhardt, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman had swift ascended to High-rank Battle King.

    But even after stepping into the realm of Paragons, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman could not even begin to imagine the depths of Lord Leonhardt''s strength.

    Just by sensing Lord Leonhardt''s authoritative aura, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman could tell Lord Leonhardt had grown extremely powerful since theyst met.

    "During the first week of our return, our tribes were constantly harassed by High-rank tribes from the Central Region," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman recounted.

    "Some came on behalf of one of the four King-rank tribes while others came seeking to assimte our tribe topete with the King-rank tribes. At that time, the third young master of the Battle God Pce was still with us."

    "Thanks to Young Master Zion''s words, the Central Region''s tribes stoppeding to bother us. However, that also made the variouspeting High-rank tribes more desperate. As a result, they became more aggressive and cruel in their approach with tribes from the three regions."

    "Many lives were lost in battle. Around that time, Chief Skyhawk led his tribe away from the western region and merged with the Darkmoon Tribe and the Crimsonfog Tribe. Afterward, the High-rank tribe, Golden Suanni Tribe, united the Western Region''s tribes and rose to prominence."

    "They resisted the King-rank Tribe, Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s invasion, on multiple asions and firmly stood their ground against the Central Region. Until now, no one knew the Golden Suanni Tribe could be so powerful."

    "There are quite a few among us that thinks the Golden Suanni Tribe can stand toe-to-toe with any one of the King-rank tribes without borrowing their vassal tribes'' strength. They have quite a high chance of winning the battle for hegemony if you don''t include us in the equation."

    "The Golden Suanni Tribe is more than qualified to be the fifth King-rank tribe in the Infertile ins, huh?" Leon assumed, his eyes glinted with strong interest.

    "Yes, my Lord," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman confirmed.

    There are four King-rank tribes in the Central Region, but only one Golden Suanni Tribe in the Western Region.

    The Golden Suanni Tribe has nopetition after it swiftly united the Western Region. But, on the other hand, the four King-rank tribes in the Central Region are stillpeting with each other.

    By the time any one of the four King-rank tribe be victorious in uniting the Central Region, they''ll be too weak topete with the Golden Suanni Tribe.

    However, it wasn''t just the Golden Suanni Tribe in the Western Region.

    There are simr situations in the Infertile in''s Northern and Eastern regions. Unfortunately, those two regions were too distant for the Seven Tribes Alliance to collect much intel.

    Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully before asking, "How much do you know about the Golden Suanni Tribe? Do you know why they are so strong?"

    "I heard from Chief Skyhawk that the Golden Suanni Tribe is located in the westernmost part of the Infertile in''s Western Region. Further west of the Infertile ins is a jungle. Supposedly, the Golden Suanni Tribe made a pact with a n of Golden Suannis that lives in there."

    "I believe the Golden Suanni Tribe''s strength is mainly attributed to the Golden Suannis that assist them in battle," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman assumed.

    "Oh?" Leon uttered, raising an eyebrow.

    He was even more interested after hearing about the Golden Suannis.

    Suppose the Golden Suanni n in the western jungle has any rtion to the Golden Suanni God Beast. In that case, their blood essence could be just what he needed to advance his bone-forging phase.

    However, Leon suddenly frowned at the end of the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s report.

    "The situation in the Central Region is so fierce and chaotic. We are talking about warriors getting killed left and right here. Even if the Infertile ins has a hegemon, it wouldn''t have the strength to seize fertilend outside the Infertile ins for long."

    "The Battle God Pce has been watching this situation the entire time and not doing anything about it?" Leon questioned the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman with doubt.

    "That''s right, my Lord," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded.

    "I also find this strange. The Battle God Pce is being too indifferent in this matter. There''s no doubt that the Battle God Pce is the unofficial ruling power in the Infertile ins. The Battle God just has to give his words, and many tribes would rally under the Battle God''s banner."

    "However, there hasn''t been a single word from the Battle God," Leon stated with a contemting look.

    "That''s right, my Lord. We haven''t heard a single piece of news from the Battle God in the past dozen years," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

    Suddenly, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s eyes flickered with rm before he asked, "Do you think something happened to the Battle God, my Lord?"

    "Well, I wouldn''t exclude it from the list of possibilities," Leon casually replied.

    "Even if something happened to Battle God, the Battle God Pce still exists. Do the King-rank tribes think they can lord over all the tribes in the Battle God Pce''s presence?" Aria raised a crucial point.

    "As Senior One-Eye mentioned, the Battle God Pce is the unofficial ruling power in the Infertile ins. So if the King-rank tribes are trying to be the new hegemon despite knowing that, isn''t this still considered treason?"

    "Treason or not is not little importance in the Infertile ins," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman replied.

    "Although we try to be strict with our principles, only strength truly matters here. Thus, it shouldn''t be a surprise that even the High-rank tribes are testing their luck. Their courage can be exined if they are aware that something truly happened to the Battle God."

    While they were discussing, Leon suddenly shifted his gaze to the north.

    "What''s the matter, my Lord? Is there something in the north?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman asked with surprise.

    He nced towards the north curiously, but they weren''t by the teau''s northern edge. Thus, he couldn''t tell what was in the north of the Darkmoon Tribe.

    "We have visitors," Leon stated.

    A short whileter, they immediately spotted a messenger rushing up the teau to report to Chief Valencia in the pce.

 Chapter 905 - Lord Rholthos

    <h4>Chapter 905 - Lord Rholthos</h4>

    Just by looking at the messenger''s urgent expression, it was clear that he bears important news to report.

    But before the messenger could enter the pce, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly stopped him at the entrance.

    "Stop! Why are you in a hurry?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman questioned.

    "Greetings, Battle King One-Eye," the messenger respectfully saluted before he answered, "The Battle God Pce''s third lord has arrived outside our tribe, my Lord."

    "The third lord?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman raised an eyebrow and asked, "The third young master, you mean?"

    "No, my Lord. It is not the third young master. It''s the third lord himself, Lord Rholthos, third son of the Battle God, and father of the third young master Zion," the messenger corrected after he shook his head.

    "Lord Rholthos? I understand. You may continue to report to Chief Valencia," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s eyes flickered seriously.

    Nevertheless, he allowed the messenger to resume his task.

    "Thank you, Battle One-Eye."

    After the messenger disappeared into the pce, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s expression turned solemn.

    "It seems a big shot hase to the Darkmoon Tribe. However, I''m afraid that the matter isn''t simple this time around," the One-Eyed Venerable Shamanmented with a deep frown.

    After contemting for a moment, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nced at Leon.

    "My Lord, please don''t leave us just yet. Although I don''t know why Lord Rholthos decided to leave the Battle God Pce and visit us, I smell trouble¡ªtrouble that would require your intervention, my Lord."

    "Very well," Leon agreed with a nod.

    The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman expressed his gratitude for Leon''s understanding.

    Afterward, he quickly summoned warriors from the tribe to take the mountain of sea monster bodies away for processing.

    Once that was settled, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman made his way back into the great hall with Leon, Aria, Darlene, and Duna.

    Around that time, Chief Valencia had finished listening to the messenger''s report and sent people to escort the guests into the tribe.

    "I don''t have a good feeling about Lord Rholthos''s visit. No, Lord Rholthos definitely has a purpose foring," Chief Skyhawk raised his concern.

    Nevertheless, the other members in the hall were, more or less, suspecting the same thing.

    They have neither any special rtionship nor connection to Lord Rholthos of the Battle God Pce. If anything, they shared some connection to Lord Rholthos''s third son instead.

    "We''ll understand Lord Rholthos''s intention once we meet," Chief Valencia coolly stated.

    However, the creases on her forehead revealed the same concerns she shared with the other members in the hall.

    "We shouldn''t be too concerned. Lord Rholthos did not bring too many people, only fifty warriors or so. Two-fifths of them even belong to his third son. Thus, we can assume they didn''te for trouble," a Half-step Battle King spoke.

    However, the other members in the hall immediately scoff at the Half-step Battle King.

    "Don''t be ridiculous. Fifty warriors would not be a problem if it were any other tribe. However, this is the Battle God Pce we are talking about. Who knows how many among their fifty warriors are Half-step or even full-fledged Battle Kings."

    "But even, they pale inparison to Lord Rholthos. His presence itself is the real problem here," Chief Baskara added.

    The three lords of the Battle God Pce were said to be Extremity-rank Battle Kings.

    Even the Battle King One-Eye would not be Lord Rholthos''s opponent, let alone the slumbering ancestors of their three tribes.

    After all, their slumbering ancestors were mostly Early to Mid-rank Battle Kings.

    In other words, Lord Rholthos can bring the entire coalition down on its knees if he has any intention of subjugating their tribes.

    Nevertheless, the murmurs died down after Leon entered the hall with the others and took their seats.

    His presence brought the hall members back some confidence.

    Even so, it was only some confidence. Most people on the Darkmoon Tribe''s side didn''t believe anyone could deal with Lord Rholthos¡ªshould there be conflict.

    Several breathster, the Darkmoon Tribe''s warriors led Lord Rholthos''s group into the great hall, where seats were prepared for them.

    The moment everyone''s gazes fell on Lord Rholthos, they understood that the impressions in the rumors were not exaggerated in the least.

    Lord Rholthos had long ck hair, sharp brows, and eyes. His body was tanned, huge, ripped, and exuded a domineering aura. He was a full head taller than Chief Valencia, who was considered huge herself.

    Several hall members felt like the war god''s incarnation had just arrived.

    "The wind must be blowing in the southern region''s favor. May I ask Lord Rholthos''s purpose for gracing our humble tribe with your presence?" Chief Valencia spoke modestly.

    "Chief Valencia speaks too humbly. There''s no need to be so formal," Lord Rholthos coolly replied, but his voice was deep and powerful; it resounded throughout the hall, loud and clear.

    "So Lord Rholthos knows my name. I am honored," Chief Valencia said, feigning calmness.

    Nevertheless, Lord Rholthos is not a person who engages in idle pleasantries. As such, he jumped straight to business.

    "For two weeks, your tribes have been living under my third son''s protection. However, you must understand that my third son is still young, and his wings have not grown. Given the chaotic situation in the Infertile ins, few would give him face," Lord Rholthos spoke.

    "Lord Rholthos meaning is¡­?" Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes with suspicion.

    "The tribes were giving face to me. In other words, you have all been living free of conflict under my protection. However, that protection ends now; it''s time to make a choice. I am giving your tribes the opportunity to join me. It''s in your best interest to agree," Lord Rolthos stated.

    A heavy atmosphere immediately descended on the hall members.

    It was clear that Lord Rolthos was someone used to giving orders. He was not asking them to join his faction; he was telling them to join him.

    He did not take no for an answer.

    Nevertheless, Chief Valencia couldn''t make the decision for everyone; she turned her head to Leon for help.

 Chapter 906: Darlenes Fury

    <h4>Chapter 906: Darlene''s Fury</h4>

    Leon casually met Chief Valencia''s gaze. However, it wasn''t just Chief Valencia who directed her gaze at him.

    The One-Eyed Venerable shaman, the other two chiefs, the other Venerable Shamans, and the Half-step Battle Kings all directed their gaze towards Leon.

    Evidently, they all made him the ultimate decision-maker and the alliance leader, which was bound to happen sooner orter.

    Nevertheless, Lord Rholthos was surprised by the situation. He raised an eyebrow at Leon with growing interest and curiosity, wondering who the young man might be.

    "That is the Big Brother Leonhardt I mentioned to you about, Father," Young Master Zion whispered to Lord Rholthos.

    "So you''re the one who saved my son. You have my gratitude," Lord Rholthos nodded at Leon approvingly.

    "To be a leader at such a young age, you''re definitely overflowing with talent. However, you must know where your limits are. The Infertile ins issue is much bigger than you can handle. Therefore, you should convince your people to join under my banner. That is the only way you can keep everyone safe and well-fed."

    Lord Rholthos chose such a time to visit because he knew they were running low on food.

    At the same time, everyone understood that while Lord Rholthos''s words sounded like he was looking after them, his tone was full of oppression and coercion, which was deeply ingrained in his nature.

    A person like this was clearly not as benevolent as he made himself to be.

    "Lord Rholthos spoke too seriously. The Seven Tribes Alliance does not need anyone''s help. We''re grateful for your protection over the past three weeks, but now that I am here, all problems are as good as gone," Leon calmly stated.

    With a wave of his hand, he casually blew away Lord Rholthos''s oppressive aura with his dragon aura, allowing everyone on his side to rx.

    "Oh?" Lord Rholthos''s eyes narrowed with a solemn look and reassessed Leon.

    For a moment, Lord Rholthos thought Leon''s strength eclipsed his own. After all, not just anyone could dispel his oppressive aura so casually.

    However, Lord Rholthos found it impossible for a human to possess such a powerful dragon aura.

    Thus, he concluded it to be the result of a unique technique to make the person more powerful than he actually seemed.

    In other words, the person was bluffing.

    "Are you saying you''re going to reject my offer?" Lord Rholthos questioned in a low and gloomy tone.

    "Wrong, I already rejected your offer," Leon stated coolly.

    "No need to keep up the pretense, Lord Rholthos. If you were truly looking after us, you wouldn''t need to recruit us. Furthermore, the fact that you even tried to recruit us shows your intention topete in the battle for hegemony."

    "Thus, don''t treat us like we are all idiots. We have no intention of bing cannon fodders in your war," Leon stated coolly.

    At the same time, he shed the young Zion a look, causing the person to feel guilty at once.

    Zion wanted to look after the Darkmoon Tribe to repay his benefactor.

    But after hearing his benefactor''s answer and knowing his father''s nature, he immediately knew there would be a conflict.

    In other words, he brought disaster on his benefactor.

    Without surprise, Lord Rholthos''s aura became even more oppressive after he heard Leon''s reply.

    "Since you understand the situation so well, you should understand you only have one choice. Unless you all want to die together, you''ll submit to me! Or do you think you can beat me, an Extremity-rank Battle King?"

    Lord Rholthos swept his sharp gaze across the hall members, causing many to avert their gaze with fear and intimidation.

    Nevertheless, there were also a few determined individuals who faced Lord Rholthos''s gaze head-on without cowering.

    "Extremity-rank Battle King? Is it strong?" Leon snickered dismissively. Then, he turned to Darlene and sought her opinion with an amused smile, "What do you think, Darlene?"

    An Early-rank Battle King possesses the strength of 5-million jin while subsequent breakthroughs increase their strength by 2.5-million jin.

    In other words, an Extremity-rank Battle King only has the strength of 15-million jin.

    "Only so-so," Darlene nonchntly replied.

    Given her strength at the Early Rank 2 Body Transformation in the bone-forging and flesh-tempering phase, her physical strength was indeed a bit short from the 15-million jin mark, about 3-million jin to be exact.

    However, she can easily close that gap and even surpass it with her near-Paragon level spatial ability.

    Thus, she found Lord Rholthos''s confidence in his strength to be quiteical. After all, he was still far from the peak of Paragons. What''s there to be proud of?

    Nevertheless, her reply shocked everyone in the great hall.

    The strength of an Extremity-rank Battle King is only so-so? The people in the hall didn''t know whether she was ignorant or overconfident.

    However, her words enraged Lord Rholthos and his loyal subordinates.

    "How audacious! Youngdy, you are too arrogant! You have greatly disrespected my Lord! Allow me to teach you how to be humble in your parent''s stead!" shouted a Mid-rank Battle King beside Lord Rholthos.

    The Mid-rank Battle King dashed towards Darlene with his hand raised, intent on pping her into the ground in the next instance.

    However¡­

    Peng!

    Darlene nted her feet on the Mid-rank Battle King''s chest and sent him flying out the great hall with a kick.

    "You''ll teach me a lesson in my parent''s stead? They''re not worthy, let alone you!" Darlene thundered furiously.

    Swish!

    Darlene dashed out of the great hall, chasing after the Mid-rank Battle King, intent on beating the sh*t out of the person and perhaps even killing him.

    She flew past Lord Rholthos and the people of the Battle God Pce, but no one stopped her. Instead, they stood rooted on the spot with looks of sheer shock.

    No one would have thought that such a slim woman would possess such tyrannical strength for someone of her size.

    Evidently, she had the strength to back her words.

    "But how? How can thatdy have such brute strength with a figure like that?" another Mid-rank Battle King raised his doubt in shock.

    Fortunately, he wasn''t the one to infuriate the person.

 Chapter 907: Piss Off

    <h4>Chapter 907: Piss Off</h4>

    After Darlene revealed her strength, Lord Rholthos was forced to reassess Leon''s strength. Not just him, but the other two slim women besides him as well.

    If someone as slim as the tanned woman could be a Battle King, then these three other people with fair skin might not be much weaker¡ªNo, they could even be stronger!

    Lord Rholthos''s expression turned grim.

    At the same time, the Battle God Pce''s warriors craned their necks to look at their third pce lord with astonishment.

    It was the first time seeing their pce lord show such a careful expression in any matter besides the other two pce lords.

    "On ount that the Seven Tribes Alliance has been rtively peaceful thanks to your protection, I''ll allow you to leave. And I won''t pursue this matter further," Leon coolly stated. "So, leave now and don''te back."

    Nevertheless, Lord Rholthos was unwilling to leave just like that.

    Although Lord Rholthos miscalcted the Seven Tribes Alliance''s strength, his desire to bring them under his wing intensified.

    "Even if I leave today, my first and second pce lords, my elder brothers, will still pay you a visit. However, at that time, their means to subjugate your band of tribes will be even more forceful than mine," Lord Rholthos spoke in a low tone.

    "You need to understand that your tribes have no choice but to pick a side, or do you intend to reject all three pce lords and make the entire Battle God Pce your enemy? Even if you''re strong, it''s not enough to go against the entire¡ª"

    "Enough!" Duna thundered.

    In that instance, an overwhelming pressure descended on Lord Rholthos and his men. The pressure was so powerful that it suppressed them into the ground and suffocated them.

    Not a single person in the Battle God Pce could utter a word under Duna''s soul suppression.

    "I am tired of listening to your drivels and watching you prance around with your overinted ego! You might think you are strong, but in reality, you are not! Know your ce and piss off, vermin! You''re an eyesore!"

    Lord Rholthos and the rest of the Battle God Pce took on the brunt of Duna''s Great Demon Lord-level soul suppression.

    Not only did it shock them, everyone else in the hall besides Leon and Aria was also shocked!

    The color was drained from Lord Rholthos''s face, making him look pale like the rest of his people.

    Duna''s overwhelming power shattered whatever confidence they had left and instilled fear into all of them.

    "Still not leaving?" Duna uttered with annoyance.

    s, the Battle God Pce''s people felt wronged. Everyone wanted to flee, but they couldn''t move¡ªnot unless Duna relieved her soul suppression.

    "Scram!" Duna yelled.

    Her voice carried a powerful wave of invisible mental strength that blew Lord Rholthos and his men out of the hall.

    Only the young Zion remained behind. Everyone else was expelled.

    After recovering from his initial shock and fear, Zion nced at Leon with guilt and uttered, "Big Brother Leonhardt¡­ I¡­"

    "Just leave," Leon waved his hand dismissively.

    Zion opened his mouth, but no words came out. Shortly after, he nodded with a sigh and turned around to leave the hall.

    Although Leon could guess the boy had kind intentions, he was too na?ve.

    The Infertile ins was and filled with proud warriors. The various tribes all formed their collective powers, and it wasn''t easy to subjugate them.

    It wasn''t easy to get a tribe to submit unless they had overwhelming power or charisma.

    He, himself, wouldn''t be viewed favorably in the tribe if he hadn''t already established his prestige based on his cumtive feats.

    The current state of affairs in the Infertile ins is the way that they are because everyone wants to be the hegemon. But, s, not everyone can.

    Thus, those aware of theircking qualifications willingly submit to other tribes.

    On the other hand, the powerful tribes with qualifications will butt heads. Furthermore, they will do so fiercely until a winner is determined.

    Chief Valencia and the other hall members weren''t so sure that they could stand toe-to-toe with the Battle God Pce and the other King-rank tribes based on the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman''s strength alone.

    But after they witnessed Darlene and Duna''s strength, they becamepletely confident in their qualification to participate.

    "Now, we''vepletely fallen out with the Battle God Pce. But, s, this was bound to happen if we wanted to fight for the hegemon position," Leon casually stated.

    Several hall members nodded.

    They were aware of what they were getting themselves involved in. If they weren''t prepared for this, they would have already submitted to a stronger power.

    "However, what concerns me is the Battle God," a Crimsonfog Tribe''s Venerable Shaman said.

    However, Chief Valencia and several other hall members shook their heads with a wry smile at the person''s remark.

    Given the overpowering strength that Miss Duna revealed, the Battle God wouldn''t be a problem at all.

    "The Battle God shouldn''t be a problem. After all, we can assume that something happened to the Battle God if the Battle God Pce''s pce lords arepeting with each other," Leon stated.

    "True," the One-Eyed Venerable nodded and added, "The pce lords are the Battle God''s children. I doubt he would like to see them going after each other''s necks if he was perfectly in good health."

    "In other words, something happened to the Battle God, and the pce lords are fighting for the throne?" Chief Skyhawk rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    "Now it makes sense that the Central Region''s King-rank tribes dare topete for the hegemon position. The Battle God Pce is busy with their internal conflict," Chief Baskara understood.

    While the discussion was ongoing, the hall members would sneak some nces at Duna with silent spections from time to time.

    The strength she revealed was simply too shocking and beyond their worldly knowledge.

    Nevertheless, the hall quickly quietened after Darlene returned with bloodstains on her face a short whileter.

    "Did you kill him?" Leon softly asked while wiping the Mid-rank Battle King''s blood off her face.

    "No," Darlene shook her head before saying, "But I did beat the living crap out of him."

 Chapter 908: Dunas Notice

    <h4>Chapter 908: Duna''s Notice</h4>

    After hearing Darlene''s reply,ced with lingering resentment, Leon slightly smiled and gave her head a rub.

    He could understand her feelings.

    After all, her parents disowned her for being unable to cultivate.

    Nevertheless, her parents wouldn''t have thought that there woulde a day when their daughter could send a Mid-rank Battle King flying with a single kick.

    Sometimeter, the hall meeting moved onto managerial topics and development ns for the three tribes.

    It wasn''t something that required Leon''s presence. As such, Leon chose to leave the hall with his women.

    However, after stepping outside the hall, Chief Valencia caught up to them and stopped him.

    "Hold on just a moment, Young Master Leonhardt¡ªNo, Alliance Leader," Chief Valencia spoke.

    Shortly after, Chief Valencia had a servant bring forward several rolled-up parchments. Then, she gestured the servant to hand it over to Leon.

    After Leon epted the rolled-up parchments, he raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Then, he nced back at Chief Valencia with a questioning look.

    "What is this?" Leon asked.

    "You were interested in our runic mining tech, right? Although it took some time, this is the blueprint for the upgraded version of the mining automatons," Chief Valencia exined.

    "Oh?" Leon eximed with a pleasant surprise.

    If he brought this blueprint back for the Lancaster family to study, he was certain they would ept it with delight.

    And once they incorporate the runic technology in the blueprint, it will push forward the empire''s development ns.

    "Please give me regards to the other side when you return, Alliance Leader."

    "I will," Leon nodded.

    After Chief Valencia watched Leon store the rolled-up parchments in his interspatial storage, she felt relieved, like she had just put down a burden.

    Shortly after Chief Valencia returned inside the great hall, Leon turned to Darlene.

    "Why don''t you head on over to Barrenrock Courtyard first and check on your sisters first, and warn them about Empyrean Infinite Void''s matter while you''re at it?" Leon suggested.

    Darlene contemted for a moment before she nodded, "Mm. Then, I will see youter."

    "Yeah, I''ll pick you up when we are returning to the Human Domain," Leon promised.

    Shortly after, Darlene took off from the teau and plunged to the lower ground with a single jump. Such height was no longer a problem for someone with her level of body cultivation.

    "I''ll be leaving too," Duna uttered indifferently after contemting for a moment.

    Aria and Leon immediately turned to face her with surprised looks on their faces. Then, Leon quickly asked, "Leaving? Where are you going?"

    "To look for opportunities elsewhere. Given my current cultivation level, it will continue to stagnate if I only follow you. Don''t try to persuade me otherwise. This is something I need to do," Duna stated calmly.

    "I see¡­"

    Leon uttered, feeling at a loss. Since she already said as much, there wasn''t much he could say to make her stay.

    "Don''t be too disappointed. I won''t be leaving right away. Come and find me in my room at Barrenrock Courtyard alone after you''ve settled your matters in the pce. I won''t leave before then," Duna stated.

    Leon let out a sigh before he nodded, "Alright."

    Shortly after, Duna also left the area. Then, Leon turned towards the pce''s inner courtyard''s direction.

    "Let us visit my adoptive parents and little sister."

    "Mm," Ariaplied.

    Thinking Leon might be feeling dispirited by Duna''s notice to leave, Aria hugged Leon''s arm tofort him on the way to the inner courtyard.

    ¡­

    Shortly after Aria and Leon stepped into his adoptive parent''s courtyard, he spotted Mia ying by herself.

    However, she instinctive felt someone''s gaze and turned her head to the courtyard entrance. When she discovered Leon there, her big eyes quickly lit up like the stars.

    "Big brother!" Mia eximed.

    In the next instance, she rushed over with excitement. However, she suddenly lost strength and tripped over nothing, falling forward.

    Luckily, Leon caught her before she could graze herself on the rough ground.

    "It seems like you still remember this big brother of yours," Leon chuckled softly before saying, "But be careful next time."

    "I didn''t forget Big Brother; it was Big Brother who forgot about Mia¡ª!" Mia pouted in response when she suddenly started having a coughing fit.

    "Hm?" Leon''s eyes flickered seriously.

    "Your little sister appears to be unwell," Aria mentioned with concern.

    At first nce, Mia appeared perfectly healthy. However, the phlegm from her cough carried a foul scent. Furthermore, Mia appeared much weaker after her coughing fit.

    Her face paled, and her lips turned slightly purplish.

    Leon nodded.

    Being a skilled doctor, he immediately knew what was wrong with his little sister. The dark energy in the environment had whittled away her health.

    Such a problem wouldn''t happen in other children, but Mia only had one kidney.

    At that moment, Helen and Brian also stepped out of their room after hearing the earliermotion outside.

    They were overjoyed to see Leon. But before they could celebrate his return, they noticed Mia''s sickly look in Leon''s arms and rushed over with shock.

    "What''s happening to Mia?" Helen inquired with concern.

    After hearing his adoptive mother''s question, Leon nced at his adoptive parents'' confused and concerned expressions with doubt.

    "You didn''t know about Mia''s condition even though it deteriorated this much, Mom?" Leon asked with knitted brows.

    It shouldn''t have been difficult to notice Mia was sick at least, right?

    "Mia started having a few light coughs in the past two weeks, but we thought it was due to the growing cold weather. Mia, herself, said she was feeling cold. We thought it was just a simple cold and kept her inside to recuperate."

    "We only just let her out to y again yesterday when she said she felt better. It''s the first time we''ve seen her condition deteriorate this seriously," Helen exined with a look of self-me.

    She wondered if she had been taking care of Mia poorly and missed the signs of her deteriorating health.

    "Big Brother, don''t me Mom and Dad. Mia didn''t want to inconvenience anyone," Mia said weakly.

    Everyone immediately understood Mia had been hiding her sickness.

    "Haiz, you silly goose. You mustn''t hide the truth from Mom and Dad when you are sick," Leon sighed.

    Shortly after, he took out the highest quality Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill he refined and fed it to Mia.

 Chapter 909: Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts

    <h4>Chapter 909: Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts</h4>

    The moment the Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill entered Mia''s body, it disyed a reaction unlike any other recovery pills below tier-6.

    It was like a fuse being lit, causing Mia''s body to shine with brilliance like a star. Her pale skin regained her healthy glow, and the purplish tint on her lips receded in an instant.

    Within a few breaths, the umted toxins in her body vaporized from her body like a powerful ray of light shining through the darkness.

    Helen and Brian were immediately shocked by the startling phenomenon.

    "What kind of pill is this?" Brian uttered with wide eyes.

    "A tier-6 divine pill," Leon casually replied.

    Nevertheless, he continued to observe Mia''s bodily changes under the effect of the Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill.

    After the divine pill expelled all toxins and restored Mia''s health to its peak, the medicine started to gather under her left rib cage region.

    Mia felt an inexplicable sense offort. Then, however, a sudden wave of drowsiness overwhelmed her, causing her to fall into a deep slumber.

    By the time she reawakens, the Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill would have restored her missing kidney.

    Shortly after, Leon handed Mia over to Helen to carry.

    "Why did Mia''s health suddenly deteriorate so much? Do you know what caused her to be sick, Leon?" Helen inquired seriously.

    She didn''t remember feeding Mia anything strange. But then again, the typical food in the Darkmoon Tribe was mainlyprised of beast meat.

    "It''s the environment, Mom," Leon sighed.

    "The environment in the Infertile ins is too heavy in dark energy, which isn''t suitable for Mia. In addition, Mia is weaker than most children because she lost a kidney at such a young age. After all, her body only has half the strength to fight off the harmful effects of dark energy."

    It might not be so bad if Mia stayed anywhere else in the Darkmoon Tribe. However, it just had to be in the pce, which had the densest dark energy due to the Divine Demon Tree.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t mention this to avoid making his adoptive parents feel worse.

    Even so, Helen and Brian still med themselves.

    "So it was my fault¡­ If I didn''t insist on staying here, Mia wouldn''t have to endure this suffering¡­" Helen nced at Mia''s face with guilt and said, "This child¡­ She''s very bright. She kept silent about her sickness because she didn''t want it to affect my business here."

    "For Mia''s sake, we should move back to the Human Domain," Brian stated.

    However, Leon shook his head and said, "That won''t be necessary, Dad. I already fed her the Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill and restored her missing kidney."

    Furthermore, the Tier-6 Divine Returning Spring Pill is more capable than just that. The tier-6 divine pill restored her health and also strengthened her foundations. It won''t be easy for any sickness to infect her again."

    The effects of a tier-6 divine pill are already considered a miracle in the mortal realm. However, the miraculous effect is even more so when fed to someone without cultivation.

    "But is the Weeping Forest really that important, Mom? What are you trying to find there?" Leon inquired with knitted brows shortly after.

    "To be honest, I don''t know myself. However, there must be something special about the Weeping Forest for the environment in that ce to be the way it is. Nevertheless, we haven''t gotten many opportunities to explore it due to the ongoing conflict between tribes," Helen replied.

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    The Weeping Forest was full of yin energy, which reminded him of the Extreme Misty Forest, a Perilous Land. It was unknown what sorts of dangersy deep within it.

    For his adoptive parents'' safety, he should explore the Weeping Forest and assess its dangers first.

    "Mom, Dad, thisnd is full of dangers. So it''s better if you both start body cultivation. I''ll feel more at ease if you both be stronger. You don''t have to worry about the cultivation method, though. I have one that you can both practice," Leon said.

    Although Helen and Brian were slightly surprised by the topic, they expressed their agreement with a nod.

    "Alright, son."

    Helen and Brian didn''t want to be Leon''s burden. Thus, they would dly start if practicing body cultivation could relieve his worries.

    Shortly after, Leon transmitted the Godfiend Body Forging Method to them. Furthermore, he also added another cultivation method, the Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts.

    Since his adoptive parents cultivated yin and dark energy before, he found the Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts most suitable for them.

    "These cultivation methods¡­"

    Helen and Brian lingered in the aftershock of learning the two cultivation methods, one for energy and the other for the body.

    "They''re primordial methods, Mom, Dad. They''re superior methods that cannot bepared to what you''ve practiced until now. You''ll understand once you start cultivating with them," Leon exined.

    Shortly after, he took out some cultivation resources. Then, he put them in a spare Tier-6 Interspatial Ring before passing it to his adoptive mother.

    "Please take this, Mom. The items in this interspatial ring should aid with your practice. I''ll drop by another time to revisit you all," Leon said.

    "You don''t want to wait until Mia wakes up and spend some time with her, son? You know she misses you the most," Helen mentioned.

    After all, Mia''s life only changed for the better after Leon picked her up in the lower district.

    Leon nced down at Mia''s sleeping face and tousled her hair. Shortly after, he shook his head with a smile.

    "It''s fine. I won''t take too long to visit again like I did this time," Leon stated.

    "Alright," Helen and Brian nodded.

    Since Leon had made up his mind, they didn''t try to keep him. Nevertheless, they felt a bit sad that they didn''t get much to spend much time together like they did in the past.

    "Stay safe, and make sure to visit us again."

    "I will," Leon promised.

    Shortly after, Helen nced at Aria guiltily. They didn''t get a chance to speak even though Aria visited them with their son.

    However, Aria shook her head with a smile, expressing that it was fine.

    They will get another chance to speak.

 Chapter 910: Dunas Parting Gift

    <h4>Chapter 910: Duna''s Parting Gift</h4>

    Sometimeter, Leon and Aria left the pce and made their way back to Barrenrock Courtyard, which Leon owned.

    On the way, Aria turned to Leon and asked curiously, "What cultivation methods did you teach your parents?"

    "I taught them the Godfiend Body Forging Method and the Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts," Leon replied.

    "The Godfiend Body Forging Method? Isn''t that what you teach everyone else? Is that alright with you? There should have better methods, right?" Aria asked.

    "There are," Leon affirmed with a nod before he continued, "However, the better methods are more specialized. It might conflict with the Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts."

    After hearing Leon''s exnation, Aria quickly understood.

    The Godfiend Body Forging Method was only supplementary cultivation to strengthen his adoptive parents'' foundation.

    Their main focus was the Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts.

    "The Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts¡­ This cultivation technique sounds like a demon cultivation technique. Is it fine to teach them something like this? If we bring them back to the Divine Realm¡­" Aria mentioned her concern.

    However, Leon shook his head.

    "They already started cultivating dark energy by the Divine Demon Tree. Not to mention them, any warrior in the Infertile ins would be regarded as a heretic for cultivating dark energy," Leon stated.

    "However, the day we return to the Divine Realm, I will destroy this discrimination against dark energy and create a haven for everyone to live, regardless of what they cultivate. Of course, there''s another reason why I chose the Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts for my parents."

    Helen and Brian were once disciples of the Illusory Butterfly Sect.

    Even if they abolished their cultivation, the remnant yin poison hidden in their body could pose a potential danger to their life.

    After they started cultivating dark energy, a different energy source, there was no telling what hidden risks and problems his adoptive parents'' bodies may have.

    Thus, the Heavenly Yin Revolving Dark Arts were the best solution. It was a cultivation technique that harmonized dark and yin energy to produce a stronger power.

    The technique was created by the Dark Yin Heavenly Devil, a being that stood on even grounds with the Heavenly Gods.

    After Leon exined that to Aria, she felt like Leon made the best choice for his adoptive parents.

    Rather than simply removing the hidden danger from Helen and Brian''s bodies, Leon gave them a cultivation technique that could make use of it instead.

    It was like transforming a disaster into a blessing.

    ¡­

    After returning to Barrenrock Courtyard, Leon and Aria spotted Darlene sitting by the stone table, catching up with the six maids.

    Darlene sensed their gazes before turning her head and acknowledging their presence with a nod. Then, she prepared to head over personally and greet them.

    However, Leon shook his head and gestured for her to stay where she was and continue catching up with her sisters.

    He did not want to interrupt them.

    "I''ll be in my room if you need me," Aria took her cue to leave after Leon fixed his gaze on Duna''s room. He smiled warmly after her understanding and nodded.

    Shortly after, he adjusted his mental state and strolled into Duna''s room.

    Duna sat on the bed with her eyes closed while waiting for Leon inside the room. The moment Leon entered the room, her eyes snapped open. Her eyes flickered, and the doors shut tight behind Leon in the next instant.

    "What do you want to say to me before leaving?"

    "Let''s talk in my spiritual world."

    Leon''s eyes flickered after hearing Duna''s statement, vaguely understanding her intention. Yet, at the same time, he did not understand due to her indifferent expression.

    Nevertheless, he nodded in agreement.

    He took a spot on the bed andy down with Duna. Then, he performed Soul Dive and sent his spiritual avatar into Duna''s spiritual world.

    ¡­

    Inside Duna''s spiritual world, Leon immediately noticed the world had undergone a startling transformationpared to thest time he visited.

    Thend was no longer flourishing with greenery and fertilend. Instead, it didn''t look much different to the demon''s territory.

    Thend was barren with ruined cities while dark clouds loomed over the crimson sky. Purplish-red lightning streaked across the heavens as the crackling thunder resounded furiously throughout the spiritual world.

    The ce seemed time eroded and full of destruction, death, and darkness wherever Leon looked.

    ''Is this the result of Duna''sws reaching a high level? Or¡­'' Leon studied the spiritual world with a pondering look.

    However, Duna suddenly pounced him and brought him down to the ground. The disappearance of their clothes and a steamy dual cultivation session followed afterward.

    Half a dayter, Leon and Dunay on the barrennd with their bodies intertwined in the spiritual world.

    Although Leon knew Duna enjoyed the experience, he felt strange that her expression remained indifferent throughout the dual cultivation.

    It was as if she had lost the ability to express her emotions.

    "Is this all you wanted to do before leaving?" Leon softly asked.

    "Yeah," Duna calmly nodded and said, "As you are now, there shouldn''t be anything in the Infertile ins that can pose a threat to you. However, I want to leave behind some assurance."

    As Leon suspected, Duna wanted to dual cultivate in the spiritual world to gift him the fruits of herwprehension.

    However, he wondered if she would gain anything from him as well.

    "Must you leave?" Leon softly asked.

    "Don''t persuade me to stay. You are tied down by responsibilities; there are things you must do. But, there are things I must do too. Thus, we must part ways," Duna stated indifferently.

    Although Duna didn''t express herself well, Leon vaguely felt like she was trying to say that she would explore the world in his stead while he settled his matters.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t want to hold Duna back either selfishly. Thus, he had no choice but to let her go.

    "I understand," Leon uttered.

    Duna was a strong and independent woman. She was more than capable of protecting herself while out looking for opportunities.

    ¡­

    When Leon returned to the real world, Duna had already disappeared without a word.

    Although he felt disappointed, he understood that he couldn''t be with everyone all the time. They all had things to do too.

    ''Let''s see what I improved¡­'' Leon focused on himself.

 Chapter 911: The Two Palace Lords

    <h4>Chapter 911: The Two Pce Lords</h4>

    After deciding to check on his abilities, Leon closed his eyes and delved into his sea of consciousness for introspection.

    Contrary to his expectations, his previous dual cultivation session with Darlene and Aria merit little gains.

    His Lightning, Ice, and Spatial Law improvement from the second dual cultivation session was minusculepared to his first time with them.

    ''It seems like the benefits of dual cultivation cannot be abused¡­'' Leon mused.

    When he thought about the limitation, it made perfect sense.

    No matter how heaven-defying his True Grandmist Body is, it''s impossible to let him catch up to his women''swprehension. At the very least, it cannot be done purely through dual cultivation alone.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not fixate his attention on the Lightning, Ice, and Spatial Law.

    After looking at his other abilities, he was startled by the improvement of fourws¡ªor rather, threews and an addition.

    He had acquired Duna''s Destruction.

    Not only that, it was even at the Early Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent. Besides the Destruction Law, the Temporal and Darkness Law reached the Late Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent.

    However, his Death Law experienced the most significant improvement, having reached the Early Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent!

    Furthermore, his soul core was still in the process of absorbing the essence of Duna''swprehension in his sea of consciousness! It did not finish digesting everything, far from it!

    His Destruction, Temporal, Darkness, and Death Laws have yet to reach the end of their improvement!

    There is a chance that his Destruction, Temporal, Darkness Laws will reach the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent. As for his Death Law, it might even reach the Acknowledged Paragon-stage Transcendent!

    Just by looking at his potential improvement, Leon could guess that Duna''swprehension in the Destruction, Temporal, and Darkness Laws have already reached the Paragon level.

    As for her Death Law, it was likely at the Demon Lord level¡ª!

    ''No, her Death Law might be at an even higher level,'' Leon spected.

    Considering Duna was already a Great Demon Lord, it was more usible to think that one of herws has also reached the same level.

    Furthermore, his Death Law had the most significant improvement. Thus, it was most likely to be Duna''s most proficientw.

    Leon didn''t expect Duna could raise herwprehension by so much within the three weeks of secluded training.

    But of course, everything was just blind spection at this point.

    Even so, he thought she was only raising her soul cultivation. But considering the height of herws, she must have paid some price to raise them alongside her advancement in soul cultivation.

    ''Did she integrate her devil soul fragment?'' Leon wondered with furrowed brows.

    Shortly after, Leon sighed.

    Even if he wanted to ask, the person had already left. Perhaps Duna left quickly to avoid his questions.

    After sighing again, Leon shelved his thoughts aside. He can''t dwell on it forever. As Duna mentioned in the spiritual world, they both have things to do.

    Leon adjusted his state of mind. Then, he entered meditation to digest the rest of Duna''swprehension essence in his sea of consciousness.

    ¡­

    Six hourster, Leon left the room. The sky was darker, but his eyes were like a pair of stars that flickers in the night. His body emanated a deathly aura, but it was powerful and authoritative.

    He had reached the Paragon level in the Death Law.

    Leon nced around, but he found no one in the courtyard. Evidently, Darlene and the six maids had already retired to their rooms for the night.

    Nevertheless, he didn''t bother looking for them. Instead, he took a seat by the stone table. Then, he enjoyed the tranquil environment with a steady expression, feeling neither rushed nor too rxed.

    Having reached a level of strength that could dictate the Infertile ins, Leon didn''t feel a sense of urgency.

    s, the tranquility in the courtyard didn''tst forever.

    After a short incense worth of time passed, a powerful voice resounded throughout Darkmoon city, alerting everyone in the city.

    Even the ground slightly shook with tremors.

    "Lord Razarkan, the Battle God Pce''s second pce lord, hase to visit! Come out and see me, leaders of the Darkmoon Tribe!" said the powerful voice.

    Aria, Darlene, and the six maids exited their rooms shortly after. The voice surprised them, but Leon''s lonely figure in the courtyard surprised Aria and Darlene more.

    They didn''t know how long he had been sitting there by himself.

    "Did you settle your business with Duna? Why are you sitting here by yourself?" Aria asked.

    "Un," Leon nodded before he calmly said, "I just wanted to enjoy the tranquil environment for a moment. But, s, it was interrupted by the voice just now."

    "Lord Razarkan, the second pce lord of the Battle God Pce¡­ is another Extremity-rank Battle King on par with Lord Rholthos¡ªNo, he should be stronger than Lord Rholthos," Darlene mentioned.

    Lord Razarkan had been an Extremity-rank Battle King longer than Lord Rholthos. Thus, even if they were at the same level of strength, their experience differed.

    "Nevertheless, this Lord Razarkan sure arrive fast. Lord Rholthos didn''t leave that long ago," Aria stated amusedly.

    The internal conflict within the Battle God Pce was most likely more fierce than everyone anticipated.

    "The voice came from the north side. Let us head over and observe the situation," Leon calmly suggested.

    If he hadn''t dyed his departure, the Darkmoon Tribe could have been in some serious trouble without him.

    After Aria and Darlene agreed, they all made their way over to the northern outskirts of Darkmoon city.

    However, it wasn''t just Leon''s group. Lord Razarkan''s powerful voice attracted all three Tribal Chiefs, Half-step Battle Kings, and the Venerable Shamans.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Lord Razarkan waited patiently with sharp eyes and arms crossed on the northern outskirts of Darkmoon city.

    "Bahahaha! So you''ve arrived ahead of me, Second Brother! I see you also have eyes of the southern region after you caught news of Third Brother''s failure!" another powerful voice resounded from behind Lord Razarkan.

    After several Battle Kings among Lord Razarkan''s people heard that, they quickly turned around with rm.

    "The first pce lord is also here¡­!"

 Chapter 912: Lord Rholthoss Ambitious Plan

    <h4>Chapter 912: Lord Rholthos''s Ambitious n</h4>

    After the Battle Kings under the second pce lord eximed, Lord Razarkan finally turned around. His gaze quicklynded on the first pce lord in the distance before his expression turned grim.

    "Did you follow me here, First Brother?" Lord Razarkan questioned the first pce lord in a low tone.

    "Followed you? Don''t kid yourself, Second Brother. You are of no interest to me. However, I can''t say the same for the Darkmoon Tribe right behind you, though," the first pce lord, Lord Reingard, grinned.

    Lord Razarkan immediately red at Lord Reingard before he spat, "Piss off! I arrived first!"

    "Arrived first? You still cry like a child, Second Brother. Better yet, you still reek of your vixen mother''s milk," Lord Reingard ridiculed with amusement.

    "Nevertheless, I will acknowledge that you arrived before me. Thus, I will allow you the first attempt to subjugate the southern region''s tribes. However, if I see you using force to subjugate them, don''t say that I didn''t warn you."

    Although the three pce lords shared the same father, they had different mothers. Furthermore, Lord Reingard was thirty years older than Lord Razarkan.

    "Don''t try to sound so magnanimous, First Brother. Don''t think that I don''t know what you are thinking with that sly mind of yours!" Lord Razarkan snorted coldly.

    Nevertheless, Lord Razarkan still flicked his wrist and returned his attention to the Darkmoon Tribe, awaiting its leaders.

    Even if Lord Razarkan knew what Lord Reingard was thinking, he was unwilling to yield his chance to his first brother.

    At the same time, Lord Reingard shrugged his shoulders.

    Lord Reingard found himself a spot away from Lord Razarkan''s group shortly after. Then, he sat down and watched Lord Razarkan closely with a leisure attitude.

    Uniting the Infertile ins was every ambitious warrior''s dream.

    The southern region may have fewer tribes, but it wasn''t any less desirable than the other regions in his conquest.

    However, there must be a reason why his third brother, Lord Rholthos, failed to bring the southern tribes under his banner and left in defeat.

    As such, Lord Reingard intended to watch Lord Razarkan confront the Darkmoon Tribe''s leaders first and learn their strengths and attitudes. That way, he would have better cards to y during his turn.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Lord Rholthos and his people made their way back to the Battle God Pce. Eventually, they arrived at the border that divided the Infertile in''s southern and central regions.

    Suddenly, a scout returned to them.

    "My Lord, it is as you suspected; the first and second pce lord had secretly followed us to the southern region. They should have arrived at the southern region''s tribes by now," the scout reported.

    "Is it fine to not do anything about the first and second pce lords, my Lord? What if they seed in getting the Demon King''s demon core in Battle King One-Eye''s possession?" a High-rank Battle King inquired shortly after.

    Lord Rholthos paused his stepped abruptly. Then, he turned his head to look at the High-rank Battle King with a condescending look.

    "Do you honestly believe my two elder brothers have better chances than me when the southern region has that ''thing'' protecting them?" Lord Rholthos solemnly questioned.

    Although Lord Rholthos looked seriously, his hands couldn''t stop trembling with lingering fear. The ''thing'' left a longsting impression on him. Or rather, it was fear

    It''s been a long time since Lord Rholthos felt genuine fear towards anything besides his father, the Battle God.

    Nevertheless, the High-rank Battle King quickly apologized, "Please forgive me, my Lord. I spoke without thinking."

    Naturally, the ''thing'' they confronted in the Darkmoon Tribe had strength beyond their imagination. Even the Battle God wasn''t so terrifying during his prime.

    "What should we do now, Father?" Zion asked.

    "Given first and second uncles'' temperaments, they are most likely to suffer. The southern tribes won''t let them get away like we did if they try to subjugate the southern tribes with force and rob the Demon King-level demon core from Battle King One-Eye."

    "It''ll be even better if both sides can kill each other off," Lord Rholthos said with narrowed eyes.

    "However, I know that won''t happen with that ''thing'' around. As such, I will just settle for the first and second pce lords'' deaths."

    "Your illness wasn''t due to Demon Possession, right?" Lord Rholthos inquired his third son shortly after.

    "That''s right, father," Zion nodded.

    "ording to Big¡ªer, the Divine Doctor, my sickness was the result of a dark-attribute poison, masked to look like symptoms of Demon Possession."

    "If that''s the case, it was most likely one of my brothers'' schemes to ruin your talents and remove a future threat to their throne," Lord Rholthos guessed.

    Shortly after, Lord Rholthos''s eyes flickered with a fierce glint.

    "Since one of the two pce lords dare toy their hands on my third son, we will make them pay! While the first and second pce lords are out, we will return to the Battle God Pce and take full control of it with force!" Lord Rholthos dered.

    "Yes, my Lord!" the third pce lord''s followers answered excitedly.

    Without the first and second pce lords to hold the fort, it shouldn''t be too difficult to sweep the first and second pce lords'' people from the Battle God Pce.

    "However, the elders won''t just stand still and watch us spill blood in the Battle God Pce. How do we intend to deal with them, my Lord?" a Mid-rank Battle King raised his concern.

    "The elders of the Elder Council are all Peak-rank Battle Kings. Furthermore, the Supreme Elder is an Extremity-rank Battle King, who rivals even you in strength, my Lord."

    "You don''t have to worry about that," Lord Rholthos stated coolly.

    "The Supreme Elder and one-third of the Elder Council supports me. Why else do you think my older brothers would be so desperate as to use underhanded schemes like poisoning their own nephew?"

    "As long as I coordinate well with the Supreme Elder, the entire Elder Council and Battle God Pce will fall into my grasp. By then, even if the first and second pce lords want to return, they won''t have a ce," Lord Rholthos stated.

    His eyes brighten with confidence if he can foresee the future.

 Chapter 913: Leons Declaration

    <h4>Chapter 913: Leon''s Deration</h4>

    Back at the northern outskirts of the Darkmoon Tribe, Chief Valencia, the other two chiefs, the Half-step Battle Kings, and the Venerable Shamans arrived one by one.

    Not far from them, Leon, Aria, Darlene, and the six maids also arrived.

    Chief Valencia and the others nodded at Leon before they faced the front and focused on the huge warrior, who shared a simr war god-like appearance to Lord Rholthos, Lord Razarkan.

    Nevertheless, Chief Valencia and the other willingly took a step back and allowed Leon to stand in front. They acknowledged his leadership and gave him the reins over the matter.

    Nevertheless, it was because they were aware that they werecking. A single Extremity-rank Battle King was too much for them, let alone two.

    "You waited out here for us instead of meeting us inside the tribe directly? My, how considerate of you, Lord Razarkan, I take it? I suppose you also came for the same reason as Lord Rholthos," Leon spoke.

    "This Lord takes it that you are the de facto leader of the southern tribes, not that it matters to me," Lord Razarkan nced at Leon but paid him little interest.

    Leon''s aura was so withdrawn into his body that Lord Razarkan wasn''t aware a Paragon stood before him. In Lord Razarkan''s eyes, Leon was just a scapegoat the southern tribe leaders sent out to test the waters.

    The real leaders of the southern tribes should be the ones standing behind the skinny young man.

    "Naturally, it is proper etiquette that you send people to escort this Lord into the tribe when this Lord is visiting," Lord Razarkan stated with a strong and confident tone.

    Since the Darkmoon Tribe sent a young man to speak to him, it shows that they were wary and afraid of him. That makes it easier for him. The Darkmoon Tribe will quickly surrender to him with a bit of push.

    Lord Razarkan did not understand how his third brother, Lord Rholthos, could fail when the Darkmoon Tribe was this timid.

    His third brother was still simply not vicious and cruel enough.

    "That''s right! This Lord hase to bring the southern tribes under this Lord''s wing. If you know what''s best for you, you will all submit to this Lord! You must understand that this Lord is nothing like that ipetent third brother of this Lord!" Lord Razarkan dered shortly after.

    Lord Razarkan''s voice was loud, clear, and authoritative. Although he didn''t use any threats, coercion was ingrained in his bones.

    "Since you came to subjugate the southern tribes like Lord Rholthos, then there is no need to invite you into the tribe. You can stay out here. Better yet, you can get lost. The southern tribes will submit to no one," Leon stated coolly.

    Swish!

    Lord Razarkan''s oppressive aura immediately exploded after being told to get lost. Lord Razarkan''s expression turned fierce, and his eyes flickered with cold killing intent.

    "How dare you speak to this Lord like that! Whether the southern tribes submit to this Lord or not, it isn''t for a frail-looking young man like you to decide! This Lord is speaking to your leaders! Out of the way, boy!" Lord Razarkan thundered.

    In the next instance, Lord Razarkan raised his to swap Leon away. However, it wasn''t just a simple swap. No, Lord Razarkan intended to smack Leon to death!

    Boom!

    Before Lord Razarkan could follow through with his smack, a giant battle-ax flew over swiftly and embedded itself in the ground between him and Leon with a loud bang!

    "Have you forgotten my warning, Second Brother? I definitely said that I will intervene if you try to use force to subjugate the southern tribes, or did my words mean nothing to you?" Lord Reingard strolled over with a solemn look and retrieved his giant battle-ax.

    After resting the giant battle-ax on his shoulder, Lord Reinhard red at Lord Razarkan.

    "So, which is it?" Lord Reinhard questioned.

    "Stay out of this, First Brother! This young man disrespected this Lord! He deserves death!" Lord Razarkan barked.

    At the same time, Lord Razarkan immediately summoned his giant battle mace from his storage pouch with a wary expression.

    Lord Razarkan did not want to fight Lord Reingard¡ªnot because he was afraid, but because there was nothing to gain from it.

    It would be a stalemate that would look pathetic in front of the people they are both trying to subjugate.

    "True, what you said makes sense. Disrespecting a pce lord is truly deserving of death," Lord Reingard stated. But then, he suddenly added with a grin, "But what if I insist on protecting him? What are you going to do about it?"

    Not only did Lord Reingard intervene, but he also provoked Lord Razarkan to lose his temper. That way, he could improve his image in the eyes of the southern tribes.

    Lord Razarkan''s expression turned dark. He understood what his first brother was trying to aplish. However, his gaze suddenly shifted back to Leon with surprise.

    Lord Reingard also noticed his gaze and nced behind him with surprise. The young man did not budge an inch from his spot. The poor guy must have been frozen stiff in fear.

    "Hm? Young man, it''s alright. No need to be scared. He won''t be able to touch you while you have my protection," Lord Reingard assured. Then, he added, "Nevertheless, the least you can do is say thank you and step back."

    "Didn''t need it," Leon calmly said.

    "Hm?" Lord Reingard frowned.

    This was not the response he expected to receive. There was something wrong with this person''s head. No, that''s not right! This person was too calm!

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t care about Lord Reingard''s doubts.

    "You lot from the Battle God Pce sure like to boss people around and scheme. I''ve said it before, and I will say it again; the southern tribes are not interested in being subjugated by any force," Leon dered.

    "So, stop wasting my time and get lost. Otherwise, there will be a price to pay."

    "¡­"

    Lord Reingard fell silent with a gloomy expression after Leon spoke.

 Chapter 914 - A Cowardly Sneak Attack

    <h4>Chapter 914 - A Cowardly Sneak Attack</h4>

    "Do you still want to protect him now, First Brother? This fool didn''t just disrespect me, but he also disrespected you!" Lord Razarkan said.

    Naturally, Lord Reingard was aware of that.

    However, this young man dared to disrespect both the pce lords of the Battle God Pce repeatedly. He was either aplete ignorant fool, or he had immeasurable confidence.

    Considering his third brother, Lord Rholthos, left the southern region in failure, there had to be a reason. At the very least, there had to be someone powerful enough to make him leave in such a hurry.

    Lord Reingard swept his gaze across Chief Valencia, Battle King One-Eye, and the others, but none of them seemed to be that person.

    He knew their strengths.

    They weren''t half bad but still far from being a match for an Extremity-rank Battle King, let alone surpass one. Only Battle King One-Eye was rtively close to their level. Nevertheless. The person''s strength still falls short.

    As such, none of them could have been responsible for his third brother''s failure. Only the strength of the young man and the two women behind him was unclear.

    Although it defied hismon sense, Lord Reingard suspected that one of these three people possessed Battle God-level strength. And if he had to guess, the young man was the most likely suspect.

    Everything would make sense if the young man had the strength to back his tant behavior.

    In a short instance, Lord Reingard arrived at the conclusion that the young man was truly the leader of the southern tribes with unmatched strength.

    It was the only exnation he could think of.

    After all, the person with Battle God-level strength had to be present amongst the southern tribes'' leaders.

    Otherwise, even if the southern tribe had a hidden leader with Battle God-level strength, they could not stop him from ughtering everyone if the person wasn''t present.

    Nevertheless, so what if the young man was a Battle God? Even a Battle God cannot possibly survive the sudden blow of a Tier-6 Battle-Ax to the neck.

    Once the leader is taken down, the rest of the southern tribes shouldn''t be a problem. He only needed to deal with his Second Brother then.

    Lord Reingard gathered his thoughts and settled on his n.

    Lord Reingard suddenly swung his giant Tier-6 Battle-Ax at Leon''s neck without warning in the next instance. It was a swift yet cowardly sneak attack. However, Leon was still faster!

    Peng!

    Leon blocked the attack with his Tier-7 White Spear. The force of the two weapons shing immediately generated a shockwave, sting out from the epicenter.

    Everyone was quickly pushed back by the force of the wind. However, Leon and Lord Reingard stood their ground as it cracked beneath their feet.

    "It was a good n," Leon calmly stated. Shortly after, he added, "Unfortunately, you f*cked up."

    "F*ck!" Lord Reingard cussed with a rapid change in expression.

    He quickly retreated and created distance from Leon with a leap. He had one chance, but he blew it. No, the young man must have seen through his intention from the start!

    At the same time, Lord Razarkan stood nkly in astonishment.

    What did he just see? That skinny young man had traded blows with his first brother without being overwhelmed by his first brother''s brute strength.

    The young man was so strong!

    Lord Razarkan immediately tightened his grip on the Tier-6 Battle Mace in his hand with a guarded look, readying to defend against any iing attacks.

    "Since you tried to kill me, you can forget about leaving this ce now. I haven''t met a good opponent to test my present strength. I think the two of you will do just fine," Leon pointed his Tier-7 White Spear at them coolly.

    He had made his decision to kill both pce lords. It would save the Darkmoon Tribe the trouble when he returns to the Human Domain.

    In the next instance, the withdrawn dragon aura in Leon''s body surged outward explosively, filling the area with a grand yet oppressive feeling.

    The two pce lords'' expressions changed for the worse immediately.

    Not only did the young man possess such powerful strength and aura, but he even had a powerful weapon to bolster his strength even further!

    "This person is very dangerous!" Lord Razarkan warned his people with a solemn expression.

    "Second Brother, I never thought I would say this, but if we want to survive, we have to work together to defeat this man!" Lord Reingard said gravely.

    After all, since Leon said he would kill them, naturally, he wouldn''t let them leave.

    "You don''t say!" Lord Razarkan scowled with a grim look. His first brother stated the most obvious thing to do.

    Shortly after, he barked at his men, "Everyone, attack together! There''s no way a human could possess such an aura! He must be a demon! A demon in human skin! We must defeat him here and now!"

    "Kill!"

    Lord Reingard didn''t waste his breath; he directly gave the kill order to his men.

    In the next instance, the group of loyal Battle Kings immediately charged ahead of their pce lords with disregard for their own safety. They will use their lives to create an opening for their pce lords!

    At the same time, the two pce lords intended to use them as cannon fodders.

    Shing!

    Boom!

    Two streaks of lights, a sword wave with ice-lightning power, and a spatial cutter that tore through the dimension shed at the empty ground and created two long scars before the Battle Kings'' feet.

    The Battle Kings were forced to halt their charge and shift their attention to the two women behind the young man.

    "None of you shall interfere with our man''s fights, or you will bear our wrath," Aria and Darlene stated coolly.

    At the same time, their unique auras surged from their bodies.

    The Battle Kings'' momentum was cut short, and their morale dropped. They stared at Aria and Darlene with serious expressions.

    Not only was the young man powerful, but even his women were powerful!

 Chapter 915 - Monstrous Defense

    <h4>Chapter 915 - Monstrous Defense</h4>

    After Aria and Darlene revealed their strength, Lord Razarkan and Lord Reingard immediately knew they were in deep sh*t.

    While the Battle Kings were intimidated by Aria and Darlene, Leon flew over their heads with a leap andnded in front of Lord Razarkan and Lord Reingard.

    In response, Lord Razarkan and Lord Reingard retreated a few dozen yards and distanced themselves from Leon further. Their expressions were heavy and grave.

    "Young man, can we about this?" Lord Reingard suggested.

    Lord Reingard tried to re-establishmunication and avoid the imminent conflict. However, Leon scoffed at Lord Reingard''s question.

    "I believe we are way past the point of negotiating. If you''re not making your move first, then I will do it!" Leon stated.

    In the next instance, Leon immediately took a decisive step forward and lunged at Lord Reingard with his Tier-7 White Spear. The tip of his Tier-7 White Spear glowed with an ominous light akin to death.

    "Dammit!" Lord Reingard immediately cursed his bad luck. Between the two people, he had to be the person''s target.

    Nevertheless, Lord Reingard recalled that the person''s strength was roughly the same as his in theirst exchange. As such, Lord Reingard chose to receive Leon''s spear strike head-on.

    "Second Brother, take this chance to strike his opening!" Lord Reingard roared madly.

    "You don''t need to say the obvious, stupid! Are you trying to warn our opponent?!" Lord Razarkan snarled.

    Nevertheless, Lord Razarkan gripped his Tier-6 Battle Mace with his eyes peeled, ready to jump in at a moment''s notice.

    Lord Reingard swung his Tier-6 Battle-Ax at Leon''s Tier-7 White Spear with all his might, intending to parry it away.

    Boom!

    The two weapons shed, and the ground beneath the two people''s feet couldn''t withstand the force of their collision, causing web-like cracks to spread across the ground surface.

    It was just a single exchange, but the ground sufferedyered impacts. After the ground cracked, it sunk. Then, it sunk again, creating a crater-like pit with cracks. It was like a barrennd that suffered severe drought.

    Lord Reingard''s eyes narrowed in an instant. He felt the ominous light draining his strength. No, more precisely, it was draining his life the longer he remained in contact with it.

    ''What deathly power is this?!'' Lord Reingard inwardly cried with rm.

    Nevertheless, Lord Razarkan took that chance to nk, swinging hisrge Tier-6 Battle Mace right at Leon''s back.

    Lord Reingard saw his second brother''s iing attack. Thus, he forced himself to endure the weakening effects of Leon''s Paragon-level Death Law.

    However, Leon wasn''t blind. He anticipated Lord Razarkan''s attack. But rather than evading the blunt attack, he chose to withstand it with his bare body!

    Leon parried Lord Reingard''s weapon with his Military Arts, causing the Battle-Ax to follow his spear like it was glued to it.

    Then, he stabbed the spear into the ground, putting himself in a position where he wrestled with Lord Reingard in strength at the front and endured Lord Razarkan''s iing attack at the back.

    The moment he chose to do that, both pce lords'' eyes widened, dumbfounded by Leon''s stupidity for putting himself in such a disadvantageous position.

    However, they weren''t going to let go of such an opportunity. Their eyes gleamed with ruthlessness. Then, they exerted even more strength into their weapons.

    Bam!

    Lord Razarkan''s Tier-6 Battle Macended squarely on Leon''s back, and the sound of the impact resounded throughout the area.

    Due to the forces sandwiching Leon from the front and back, his body didn''t budge from the spot.

    Lord Reingard smiled victoriously. Even if the young man had Battle God-level strength, his back would still break from a direct hit like that.

    However, Lord Razarkan''s expression was theplete opposite. The feeling of the impact that transmitted into his hand didn''t feel right. It was like he had just struck an indestructible iron wall.

    When Leon raised his leg and gave Lord Razarkan a back kick to the stomach, sending Lord Razarkan flying away with blood spurting out of his mouth, Lord Reingard''s victorious smile finally froze.

    "Impossible¡­!" Lord Reingard uttered with shock.

    What kind of monstrous body does this person have?! This isn''t the body of a human, but that of a beast!

    Leon raised his leg from another kick, but Lord Reingard immediately retreated some distance right away.

    "You''re still alive over there, Second Brother?!" Lord Reingard hollered, but his gaze remained fixed on Leon warily, observing him for any sudden movements.

    Lord Razarkan spurted another mouthful of blood, suffering multiple broken bones and internal organ damage.

    "Why don''t you try taking a kick to the gut and tell me if you''re still alive afterward?!" Lord Razarkan replied sarcastically. That single kick robbed half his life!

    Nevertheless, Lord Razarkan quickly took out some blood-red recovery pills and swallowed them.

    "Second Brother, your weapon is too useless! This person''s fleshly defense is too high! We need a sharp weapon like my battle-ax to break his defense! I need you to pin him down for me!" Lord Reingard stated.

    However, even if the young man''s fleshly defense was strong, he should have suffered internal damage from the shockwave. But since that also seemed unlikely, it shows that the young man''s inner defense was also monstrous.

    Nevertheless, Lord Razarkan didn''t rebuke Lord Reingard''s words.

    Any Tier-6 ded weapons could break the defense of Paragon-level beasts. Thus, his first brother''s Tier-6 Battle-Ax could indeed break the person''s fleshly defense.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the Battle Kings were caught in a dilemma. Although they were aware their lords behind them needed help, they could not give their backs to the twodies in front of them.

    "Dammit, our lords need us!" a Mid-rank Battle King stated.

    "Don''t even think about averting your eyes from the front! The moment you turn around, you can expect a sword waveing your way!" a High-rank Battle King warned with a grave look.

    Even if the twodies weren''t strong themselves, the Tier-7 Divine Sword in Aria''s hand filled them with dread.

    Who knows how many more sharp sword waves thedy can fire?

 Chapter 916 - Cowardly Escape

    <h4>Chapter 916 - Cowardly Escape</h4>

    "What are you all waiting for?! Fight!" Lord Reingard barked at the idle Battle Kings.

    The Battle God Pce''s Battle Kings had been indecisive. But once they got thest push from Lord Reingard, they immediately charged at Darlene and Aria.

    "Take down these two women quickly so we can join forces with our lords!" a High-rank Battle King shouted.

    The Battle Kings roared to bolster their morale.

    "You could have lived if you just stayed put. s, you chose to walk the road of death," Aria shook her head.

    Shortly after, Aria''s eyes flickered with decisiveness, and her Tier-7 Divine Sword emitted sparks of white lightning and blue ice kes.

    Shinggg!

    Aria shed a dozen times in a few short breaths and shot out waves of sharp chilling Sword Intents swiftly.

    The Battle Kings anticipated her attacks, but they were still shocked by the numerous sword waves flying at them. They quickly used their tier-5 weapons to block in a hurry.

    Although they seeded in blocking Aria''s flurry of sword waves, her sharp Sword Intents chipped away at their tier-5 weapons. At the same time, a chilling breeze left patches of frost on their weapons and parts of their bodies, slowing them down.

    s, it wasn''t just Aria who attacked.

    Darlene carried out her attacks at the same time. Bypressive her spatial power, she could send what looked like sharp wind attacks. However, they had the ability to tear apart space at the moment of impact.

    She called her spatial attack Dimensional sh.

    However, in essence, they only share the appearance of wind attacks while their actual function was more like that of timed bombs, exploding and rapidly splitting space and everything between it at the moment of impact.

    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

    The Battle God Pce''s Battle Kings found Darlene''s Dimensional shes more difficult to defend against. The first row of Battle Kings quickly fell victim to her attacks.

    Over a dozen Battle Kings had their limbs and bodies split into numerous pieces, spilling their blood everywhere in a gruesome manner.

    It was a near-instant kill.

    The remaining seven dozen Battle Kings immediately froze in their tracks with horrid looks on their faces. They knew the two women were powerful, but they didn''t expect the gap to be this huge.

    Before reaching the two women, they had already lost over a dozen of their people. Resistance was futile, and stubbornness equals death.

    There was nothing they could do about these twodies'' strange shamanic powers.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to confront the two pce lords. After being struck in the back, he felt like an itch had been scratched.

    "Who knew getting beaten could feel thisfortable?" Leon rolled his left shoulder with a pleasant surprise.

    "You¡­ you monster! You really are a demon!" Lord Reingard used him. The more nonchnt Leon reacted to Lord Razarkan''s direct attack, the more he felt threatened.

    "Monster? Demon? Which is it? Make up your mind," Leon casually uttered.

    Nevertheless, after Lord Razarkan recovered a great deal, he followed through with the n, switching roles with Lord Reingard.

    The moment Lord Razarkan engaged Leon with his Tier-6 Battle Mace, he immediately hollered, "Do it now, First Brother!"

    However, two short breaths quickly passed before theck of response from Lord Reingard immediately gripped Lord Razarkan''s heart with a bad feeling.

    When he turned his head to look, Lord Razarkan realized his first brother, the eldest pce lord, had actually chosen to abandon everyone and flee on his own!

    "Reingard, you bastard!" Lord Razarkan howled madly, so loud that it even alerted the followers from both their pces.

    "No way¡­. Did Lord Reingard really abandon us and flee on his own?" a Low-rank Battle King uttered with disbelief, feeling betrayed.

    "Even if we don''t believe it, the truth is before our eyes," another Low-rank Battle King gazed at Lord Reingard''s fleeing figure in the distance with disappointment.

    Although the first pce lord''s followers wanted to be loyal to their lord, it was hard to do so when their lord betrayed their trust.

    Several Battle Kings from the Battle God Pce''s First Pce dropped their weapons and surrendered quickly after realizing their lord abandoned them and fled like a coward.

    At the same time, Leon broke away from Lord Razarkan with an amused look after seeing the madness in the person''s eyes. He was intrigued to see how the person would react to the betrayal.

    Naturally, Lord Razarkan did not disappoint Leon''s expectations. After Lord Razarkan broke free from Leon, he immediately chased Lord Reingard like a mad dog.

    "Reingard, you bastard!!! How dare you sacrifice me for your escape! Don''t you even think about getting away! Before I die, I will kill you first!!!" Lord Razarkan roared furiously during his chase.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not intend to let the two run off on their own.

    What if it was just one big ploy to escape together?

    Furthermore, the two pce lord''s strengths were equally matched, so it wasn''t easy for Lord Razarkan to catch up.

    "Kukuku, let me help you," Leon said with a wicked chuckle. He flew into the skies and quickly overtook Lord Razarkan with his incredible speed.

    Then, he pulled out an expendable Tier-3 Bone Spear from his Worldspace.

    Weaves of lightning, fire, earth, death, spatial, temporal energies wrapped around the Tier-3 Bone Spear and empowered it. However, six energies were fused half-heartedly, making them unstable, just as Leon wanted.

    In the next moment, he locked onto Lord Reingard''s figure and hurled the empowered Tier-3 Bone Spear.

    Boom¡­!

    The empowered Tier-3 Bone Spear whisked through the air with a sonic boom. The unstable energies exploded under the extreme speed, creating another boom before the Tier-3 Bone Spear flew even faster!

    Lord Reingard quickly sensed the iing threat.

    But just as he even entertained the thought of evading, the sonic Tier-3 Bone spear impaled his right leg and exploded, tearing off half of it. The st hurled Lord Reingard into the air before his body rolled in the rigid ground.

    "Arghhhh¡ª!" Lord Reingard howled painfully, despite his fair share of it.

    The lingering power of the six energies ate away at his right leg''s remaining half like a contagious disease, turning the skin ck.

 Chapter 917 - Warm Welcome

    <h4>Chapter 917 - Warm Wee</h4>

    Lord Reingard squirmed painfully on the ground.

    It wasn''t just his half-leg that was affected by the six energies; bone shards from Tier-3 Bone Spear had also pierced a few other parts of his body during its explosion.

    Nevertheless, the corroding half leg posed the greatest threat to his life, primarily due to the Death Law''s power.

    In a short instance, Lord Reingard decisively chopped off his decaying half leg to preserve the rest of his body.

    Even so, he could not stop the Death Law on the other bone shards from corroding the other parts of his body, one of which was his other leg.

    The ckening of his skin horrified him.

    "What kind of sinister power is this?!" Lord Reingard bellowed. This trip to the southern region had been disastrous!

    s, while Lord Reingard was preupied with preserving his body from the decaying effects of the Death Law, Lord Razarkan''s shadow appeared within his field of vision on the ground.

    Lord Reingard immediately nced up and saw Lord Razarkan''s mad look, and the Tier-6 Battle Mace held high above his head.

    "Second Brother¡­ Wait, let''s talk about this. I didn''t mean to¡ª"

    "There''s nothing to talk about!" Lord Razarkan howled.

    In the next instance, Lord Razarkan dropped his Tier-6 Battle Mace on Lord Reingard and bashed his head in, sttering his blood and brain matter.

    After Lord Reingard''s headless bodyy motionless on the ground, Lord Razarkan dropped his Tier-6 Battle Mace to the ground with a dull look like someone waiting to die.

    "Finish it," Lord Razarkan said after feeling Leon''s presence nearby. Lord Razarkan understood there was no chance of escaping after witnessing Leon''s spear-tossing power.

    Leon nodded.

    Then, Leon pointed his finger at Lord Razarkan''s head, and eerie ck specks of light gathered to the tip of his pointed finger. A ck beam shot through Lord Razarkan''s head and killed him in the next instance.

    Shortly after, Leon returned to the Darkmoon Tribe and tossed both the pce lords'' bodies in front of Chief Valencia and the others.

    "You can hang these bodies in front of the tribe to ward off the other tribes during my absence. Anyoneing to cause trouble will have to think twice before offending a tribe that killed two of the Battle God Pce''s pce lords," Leon stated.

    "Will do, Alliance Leader," Chief Valencia and the others nodded.

    ¡­

    Shortly after, Leon left behind a bunch of primordial cultivation techniques for the alliance, allowing them to choose which ones they wanted to practice.

    At the same time, the surrendered Battle Kings were quickly absorbed into their ranks, vastly boosting the alliance''s strength to a new height.

    Lord Reingard''s followers submitted willingly, while Lord Razarkan''s followers had mixed feelings. Even so, they had no intention of betraying the alliance.

    They came to subjugate but got subjugated instead. They were defeated, and the alliance was the victors; they had to follow their alliance since they chose to surrender.

    ¡­

    When everything was settled in the Darkmoon Tribe, Leon finally took the Teleportation Array in the Barrenrock Courtyard. He returned to Deste Crow n in the Wilnds with Darlene and Aria while the six maids were left behind to guard Barrenrock Courtyard once more.

    "It''s been a while since we were here. I wonder how Lilith and Softfeather are doing," Aria mentioned after ncing at the familiar cer under the pce.

    "We''ll know once we head out," Leon stated before urging them, "Come, let us head up and see how the Deste Crow n has been doing."

    "Mm," Aria and Darlene nodded.

    Shortly after, the three left the cer and headed upstairs. The floor was neat without a speck of blood nor a hint of foul smell.

    The mess within the pce had long been cleaned up after the n leader and elders returned to the Deste Crow n.

    Nevertheless, the pce servants were immediately rmed by the wingless intruders. However, it wasn''t before that they recognized the benefactors of their n.

    "We wee you back, Prince Leon!" the pce servants greeted with joy. Shortly after, one of them urged the others, "Quick, inform the n leader and her highness of the Savior''s return."

    The pce became busy at once while Leon, Aria, Darlene was left on the spot. However, it didn''t take long before an excited Lilith came rushing over.

    "Leon!"

    Lilith jumped straight into Leon and hugged him like a ko sticking to its tree. She rubbed her cheeks against Leon''s with joy, switching on Aria''s alert mode.

    Aria quickly peeled Lilith away from Leon''s body in the next moment.

    "What do you think you''re doing to another person''s man?!" Aria snarled while ring at Lilith like a cat that just got its tail stepped on.

    "Hehe, sorry. I was too excited to see everyone again," Lilith made a silly excuse with her tongue poked out.

    However, Aria wasn''t buying it. If Lilith truly felt that way about everyone, then was she giving special treatments to only Leon?

    "Hmph! Whatever," Aria uttered. She couldn''t be bothered making a great deal out of it.

    Lilith smiled with an understanding look before shetched onto Aria. Then, she started rubbing her cheeks against Aria''s intimately as she did with Leon.

    "I see, I see. You also wanted some of this."

    "Hey, hey! Stop it!"

    Aria resisted with a hand nted on Lilith''s left cheek. She tried to shove Lilith''s head away with an embarrassed look.

    Shortly after Aria sessfully repelled Lilith, Lilith shifted her gaze to Darlene. However, Darlene quickly backed a few steps with her hands raised and stuttered, "I-I don''t want any."

    "Lilith sure is in high spirits. It seems everything has been working out for you here. No trouble from Deste Netherbird Tribe, I presume?" Leon mentioned with a wry smile.

    "Mm!" Lilith nodded.

    "There was some trouble at first. In fact, we were even on the verge of a great war with the Deste Netherbird Tribe. However, they quickly called off their attacks after they found out a member of the Blue Luan Tribe was our friend."

    "Oh?" Leon raised his eyebrow with interest.

 Chapter 918 - Poke Me Too

    <h4>Chapter 918 - Poke Me Too</h4>

    "The Deste Netherbird Tribe is that afraid of the Blue Luan Tribe? Did Softfeather reveal her identity as the daughter of the current Blue Luan Tribe''s leader, Bluewinter?" Leon wondered.

    "Not at all. Softfeather didn''t have to do anything. The Deste Netherbird Tribe''s army retreated the moment they saw her," Lilith said after shaking her head.

    "The Blue Luan Tribe is powerful but also quite reclusive. Thus, Deste Netherbird Tribe was probably cautious after seeing a Blue Luan in our n. They didn''t know what sort of rtionship we shared with the Blue Luan Tribe."

    "Nevertheless, that happened two weeks ago. We haven''t heard much from the Deste Netherbird Tribe since then. Even Nethergrass City, which is closest to us, has been quiet¡ªtoo quiet, in fact. It''s rather strange."

    Lilith mentioned her doubt after the matter was brought up. However, she quickly shook her head after and said, "Come, let me introduce you to my parents."

    "No need, Lilith," a middle-aged man''s voice trickled over.

    Shortly after, everyone saw the n leader and his wife approaching them from the other end of the hallway.

    "How can I make our Deste Crow n''s great benefactor and saviore and meet me? It is only appropriate that I woulde and meet the savior instead," the Deste Crow n''s leader, Lidoran, stated.

    A few momentster, Lidoran and his wife, Lilianna, stopped beside Lilith and checked Leon out from top to bottom. Their gazes quickly flickered with approval and respect.

    "Well met, Prince Leon. You are extraordinary, as I heard. No, perhaps you are even more extraordinary than that! We honored that you would grace our n with your presence once more," Lidoran greeted humbly with praises.

    Although the Deste Crow n''s leader couldn''t tell the depths of Leon''s strength, the n leader had met the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s leader before.

    But even the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s leader could notpare to Prince Leon in aura alone.

    Words could not describe how Lidoran felt about Leon''s aura. It was like the king of all beasts was dwelling inside of him.

    Nevertheless, Lilith and her mother, Lady Lilianna, were surprised by Lidoran''s humble words. He did not speak like an elder to a junior but a subordinate to his lord.

    "Likewise, n leader. It''s good to see that you are doing fine," Leon replied. He did not know much about Lilith''s father. Thus, he could only reply as such.

    Even so, it was enough to put a smile on Lidoran''s face.

    "Hahaha, this is all thanks to Prince Leon''s blessings. If you did not help my n awaken their bloodline and improve their strength, it wouldn''t have been possible for them to rescue the elders, my wife, and I," Lidoran stated.

    "Please stay with us for today, Prince Leon. Allow us to act as proper hosts and treat you to a sumptuous feast and thank you for everything you have done for our Deste Crow n," Lidoran offered shortly after.

    However, Leon smiled apologetically and said, "I''m sorry, but I will have to turn down your offer, n leader."

    "Since I''ve been away for quite some time, there are also other ces that I wish to check up on right away. As an apology, allow me to offer some primordial cultivation techniques that prove useful for your n."

    "Primordial cultivation techniques?" Lidoran uttered with surprise.

    Leon nodded.

    However, he found it inappropriate to poke the Deste Crow n''s n leader on the forehead. Thus, he called Lilith over and poked her instead.

    "Hm¡­ Lilith,e over here."

    "What is it?"

    Streams of information shortly flowed into Lilith''s confused head after being poked on the forehead. It didn''t take long before her eyes widened with shock.

    "The Grand Destion Technique? Storm Roc Revolving True Wind Art? The Godfiend Body Forging Method?" Lilith uttered with surprise.

    Lilith became even more shocked by their potential as more information flowed into her mind.

    "These are all True Divinity methods!"

    "What!"

    Lidoran was shocked after hearing his daughter''s cry of surprise. In the next instance, Lidoran nced at Leon with reverence.

    "Weren''t you going to teach me the methods, Prince Leon? Why did you give them to my daughter instead?" Lidoran voiced his doubt.

    "This is only our first meeting," Leon mentioned before adding, "As such, I found it inappropriate to poke the forehead of the Deste Crow n''s n leader."

    "Hahaha, what is inappropriate about receiving more blessings from our Savior? I don''t mind at all. Please poke me a few times too, Prince Leon," Lidoran gleamed with anticipation.

    "Ahem," Leon coughed and said, "n Leader, please speak more concisely. Your words can be rather misleading when taken out of context."

    "What?" Lidoran quickly revealed a baffled look before turning to his wife and asked, "What is Prince Leon talking about?"

    However, Lilianna stared at her husband weirdly.

    Then, she chuckled and said teasingly, "I was wondering why you don''t touch me at night anymore since we returned from the prison cell in Nethergrass City¡­ It turns out it was because you are g¡ª!"

    "Stop! Don''t say anymore!" Lidoran pleaded before saying with a bitter smile, "You know that''s not the reason. How can I be¡­ No, never mind that."

    Lidoran finally understood what was going on. Even so, he was caught off guard. He didn''t expect Prince Leon to make a joke.

    "Prince Leon sure knows how to joke," Lidoran said wryly.

    Leon smiled.

    He didn''t expect Lilith''s mother to y along with it either. Nevertheless, he nced at Lilith and said, "It looks like you got your yful side from your mother."

    Lilith replied to him by poking her tongue out.

    Shortly after, Lilianna turned to her husband and said sensibly, "Dear, since Prince Leon is busy, we should not insist on keeping him. It will only make things difficult for Prince Leon instead. Also, we don''t need to trouble Prince Leon further when our daughter can teach the techniques to us."

    "Right¡­ I was too excited and didn''t think of that," Lidoran nodded after some self-reflection.

    After sparing a few words, Leon, Aria, and Darlene bid farewell to the Deste Crow n.

    They returned to the cer and adjusted the Teleportation Array''s coordinates before stepping into the spatial rift and disappearing to the other side of it.

 Chapter 919 - Western Frontiers Situation

    <h4>Chapter 919 - Western Frontier''s Situation</h4>

    After leaving the Deste Crow n, Leon''s next destination was the Western Frontier of the Crawford Empire¡ªNo, of the entire Human Domain.

    After all, It was the linchpin safeguarding the Human Domain from the beasts.

    He had to visit the Great Wall and check on the situation before making his way to other destinations in the Human Domain.

    Before Leon left, the battle between the Blue Luan Monarch and Three-Legged Golden Crow Monarch had devastated thend.

    But after Leon returned with Aria and Darlene, he noticed thend had been restored.

    Even so, the Great Wall remained slightly crooked at the center point despite the enormous crater being filled with earth again.

    The central part of the Great Wall was no longer as tall as it used to be, but it was still standing tall. Leon could tell that the Western Frontier worked hard to restore the ce.

    However, it wasn''t long before he realized that it wasn''t just a simplendfill. The Western Frontier had installed numerous traps underneath.

    Thus, even if the central part of the Great Wall weren''t as high as it used to be, it still wouldn''t be easy for the beasts to breach its defense.

    At that moment, there was no one around to wee Leon, Aria, and Darlene at the Elder Tree.

    When they flew over to the Great Wall, they saw an ongoing battle between General Marquis Hendrick''s soldiers and the mutant rats.

    "Didn''t we already exterminate the mutant rats? So howe there are still so many?" Aria uttered with surprise.

    Despite what she said, there were only around a million mutant rats, only a tiny fraction of the former mutant rat tide.

    "It''s impossible to exterminate all of the mutant rats when their nest is hidden deep in the subterranean region. As long as we don''t destroy their nest, they will keep breeding like a gue." Leon stated.

    However, Leon quickly corrected himself, "No, even if we destroy their nest, they will still reproduce as long as the mutant rats live."

    "Then, should we start looking for their nest?" Darlene suggested.

    "Hm, this isn''t exactly a bad situation," Leon said with a contemting look and added, "This gives the soldiers on the Western Frontier battle experience. We can look at this as a form of training for them."

    "However, rats are known to be carriers of diseases because they eat anything. Wouldn''t it be a problem if there''s a gue? A gue caused by rats could be extremely deadly if left uncontrolled," Darlene mentioned.

    She recalled the incident in the Deste Crow n.

    If Leon hadn''t been there to promptly treat the Deste Crow n, perhaps the gue would have wiped out the entire Deste Crow n.

    "I understand your concern, but it''s not something we need to worry about," Leon replied with a smile.

    "The Western Frontier is not like the Deste Crow n. An unclean environment has higher chances of giving birth to deadly diseases. However, that won''t happen here."

    "Why not?" Darlene raised an eyebrow in doubt.

    At first, Aria was also puzzled over the same matter. But when she sniffed in the fresh air, a light bulb lit up in her head.

    "It''s the quality of air. The rich spirit energy from the Elder Tree and World Tree is very preventing this ce from being corrupted by foul energy," Aria stated.

    After listening to Aria, Darlene quickly discovered Wrathful Demonic Energy was absent in the region.

    "That''s right," Leon nodded.

    "The World Tree has produced abundant spirit energy during the time we were gone. The spirit energy density is already at this level in the Western Frontier. Thus, it''s safe to assume that spirit energy from the World Tree has already covered the entire Crawford Empire."

    "This spirit energy doesn''t just form a protective barrier against the current sun''s harmful rays of light and Wrathful Demonic Energy. All the people living within it will also be healthier and enjoy longer lifespans."

    Given such a blessed environment, normal diseases would be nonexistent. Furthermore, the risks posed by mutant rats would also be reduced to a minimal.

    Nevertheless, the rich spirit energy in the area was the least of his surprise. Knowing the World Tree''s capability, the density of spirit energy was well within his expectation.

    While Leon, Aria, and Darlene observed the Great Wall''s situation from the sky, their presence didn''t remain unknown.

    A figure quickly flew over from the wall to greet them.

    "The General Marquis wees your return, Your Highness!" General Marquis Hendrick stated with a fist-palm salute and head lowered respectfully.

    "At ease, General Marquis," Leon stated coolly.

    At the same time, Leon quickly gave the General Marquis a quick inspection with his divine sense before he nodded with approval.

    General Marquis Hendrick reached Mid-rank Preliminary ession-level Transcendent in his Wind Law and Rank 1 Body Transformation in body cultivation, albeit barely.

    Nevertheless, an Early Rank 1 Body Transformation expert in the bone-forging phase possesses the same strength as an Early Rank 2 Transcendent beast.

    The General Marquis''s improvement was not small, but it wasn''t great either, just within the eptable range.

    "I can see that the Blue Luan Tribe have left," Leon mentioned.

    There was no further reason for the Blue Luan Tribe to guard the Western Frontier since the Great Wall was restored.

    Shortly after, Leon casually added, "I can also see that you have made some improvements in your cultivation. But what about your men? What has happened in the past four weeks?"

    "Thanks to the supply of Transcendent Crystals from the Capital, we currently have over 200 Transcendents within our ranks, 100 of which are Earth Transcendents, Your Highness. Thanks to them, we were able to restore the Western Frontier quickly."

    "Apart from these 200 Transcendents, we also have over 14,000 soldiers that reached the Transcendent-level in body cultivation. However, only 100 other men sessfully reached Rank 1 Body Transformation like me, Your Highness," General Hendrick Marquis reported.

    "Oh? So few?" Leon uttered.

    Given the benefits derived from the Three-Legged Golden Crows, he didn''t expect so few to have reached the bare minimum of Rank 1 Body Transformation.

 Chapter 920 - The Tyrants Physique

    <h4>Chapter 920 - The Tyrant''s Physique</h4>

    It wasn''t supposed to be difficult to reach Rank 1 Body Transformation, which only acquired 1-million jin strength.

    The true challenge is progressing further from Early Rank 1 Body Transformation.

    After all, the peak of Rank 1 Body Transformation is tenfold the strength of Early Rank 1 Body Transformation.

    "I''m afraid so, Your Highness," General Marquis Hendrick affirmed.

    "While the benefits from eating Three-Legged Golden Crow are excellent, there is only so much meat to be shared with everyone. Furthermore, it wasn''t easy to feed the Blue Luan Tribe. Everything disappeared in a matter of ten days."

    After Leon heard that, he nodded with understanding.

    The Blue Luan Tribe was full ofrge birds. The food could easily feed the Western Frontier for years, but it wouldn''t evenst two weeks for the entire Blue Luan Tribe.

    Even if Western Frontier wanted the Blue Luan Tribe to stay, they couldn''t afford the expenditure.

    Nevertheless, since the Blue Luan Tribe left, Leon wondered if they had anything to do with the Deste Netherbird Tribe''s inactivity despite their feud with the Deste Crow n.

    In truth, Leon didn''t know much about what was happening between the Deste Crow n and the Deste Netherbird Tribe.

    However, that was something for him to worry about another time.

    "I''m a bit embarrassed to say this. But although we only have 100 men reaching the Rank 1 Body Transformation realm, we also have one genius who surpassed that level," General Marquis Hendrick mentioned.

    "Oh? Wouldn''t that make that person even stronger than you? Who is this person?" Leon casually asked with interest.

    "Yes, Your Highness," General Marquis Hendrick affirmed with a wry look.

    "I think you should know this person, Your Highness. He was one of your ssmates back in school, Benjamin Farley. Currently, his overall strength should be at Mid Rank 1 Body Transformation in the five phases."

    "Mid Rank 1 Body Transformation, huh?" Leon muttered.

    A person at Mid Rank 1 Body Transformation in just the bone-forging phase would have the physical strength of 5-million jin, making the person a Half-step Paragon.

    Considering Benjamin Farley was Mid Rank 1 Body Transformation in all five body phases, his actual strength shouldn''t be too far from the Paragon level.

    Boom!

    A sudden loud tremor distracted Leon''s thoughts. Everyone''s attention immediately focused on the battlefield outside of the Great Wall.

    When Leon and the others looked a bit further past the main battlefield, they saw a small crater within the sea of mutant rats, where an obese young man stood alone.

    "It seems like Benjamin Farley just entered the fray," General Marquis Hendrick mentioned.

    "Fatty Ben, huh? I figured all that improvement in body cultivation would have fixed his body shape, but why does he look even fatter instead?" Leon uttered with surprise.

    Shortly after hearing that, General Marquis Hendrick smiled wryly. The crown prince was in for a big surprise.

    In the next instance, the round meatball of a person suddenly transformed into a war god after his excess flesh contracted into pure muscle.

    Benjamin Farley''s final transformation appeared even more impressive than the Battle God Pce''s three pce lords.

    Aria and Darlene both widened their eyes in shock.

    They didn''t expect the person they immediatelybeled ''fat'' at a nce to be the biggest brawn they had seen.

    However, what was more startling was the person''s strength!

    After Benjamin Farley''s excess flesh contracted into raw muscle, his physical strength skyrocketed to the peak of Rank 2 Body Transformation.

    Boom!

    Benjamin Farley swept the sea of mutant rats with his ive and dominated the battlefield. Heid waste to tens of thousand mutant rats with a single swing.

    The mutant rats posed no real threat to the Western Frontier with such a person around.

    Nevertheless, Leon was pleased to know that geniuses were appearing in the flourishing Crawford Empire.

    "W-what kind of physique does this person have? How can his body change so drastically like that? And that boost in strength is unreal¡­" Darlene uttered with disbelief.

    She explored an entire secret realm and worked hard with Leon''s help to reach her present level. But even then, her strength paled inparison to Benjamin Farley''s heaven-defying physique.

    General Marquis Hendrick smiled. He was pleased to know that he wasn''t the only one who felt how the heavens were unfair.

    "It''s the Astral Tyrant Physique. It''s simr to the Empyrean Void Body you''ll acquire if you practice the Empyrean Void Body Law. But, you can also say that it''s not simr at all, " Leon mentioned to Darlene.

    The Astral Tyrant Physique and Empyrean Void Body were both special physiques.

    However, one is innate, and the other is forged through practice. Furthermore, the abilities of the two special physiques were alsopletely different. One augmented physical capabilities while the other increased control over space.

    The only trait the two physiques shared was their ability to have pocket dimensions in the pores to store power, whether it is the power of the stars or the power of space.

    Although Darlene was eventually made aware of the difference, she was strangely motivated to practice the Empyrean Void Body Law and acquire her Empyrean Void Body.

    Leon smiled at her awakenedpetitive spirit.

    Sometimeter, Leon had General Marquis Hendrick fill him in on all the events that happened in the Crawford Empire during his absence.

    After he learned there had been contacts between the Crawford Empire and the Geyser Kingdom, Leon transmitted several primordial techniques to General Marquis Hendrick before he went on his way with Aria and Darlene.

    They returned to the Teleportation Array installed at the Elder Tree.

    Then, Leon set their destination to the new capital in the Grasnd Region, or wherever his mother, Queen Elizabeth, installed one of his other Teleportation Arrays.

    Nevertheless, General Marquis Hendrick also followed them to the Teleportation Array before bidding them farewell.

    "Please send my regards to the king and queen, Your Highness," General Marquis Hendrick said politely.

    "I will," Leon acknowledged.

    While activating the Teleportation Array, Leon''s eyes flickered with anticipation.. He looked forward to seeing the new capital''s development.

 Chapter 921 - Trouble On The Road

    <h4>Chapter 921 - Trouble On The Road</h4>

    In the Grasnd Region, the steam-powered train hooted as it carried tons of raw minerals on the railway tracks from the Old Capital to the New Capital.

    The New Capital underwent explosive development in the past four weeks due to the increased number of Transcendent Awakeners.

    Even so, only one-third of the inner district''s buildings had beenpleted. Much of the humans and elves still lived in tents and on-site at the construction of their designated homes.

    Nevertheless, thepleted infrastructures in the inner district were unlike anything built by human hands in the past.

    Thatrge deposit of metal imported from the Old Capital has given rise to a number of metallic buildings. Furthermore, they had incorporated elven aesthetics. As a result, the inner district had the final appearance of a metal city covered in vegetation.

    It was like a city that had been abandoned for hundreds of years, allowing weeds and nts everywhere; a forest city, in other words. Yet, there was beauty in such a sight.

    Nevertheless, unlike useless weed, the growing vegetation on the inner district''s infrastructures were all crops. Fruits hung on the vines at every corner.

    It was a city that didn''tck food.

    ¡­

    Inside the New Pce, Heinrich sat in front of his desk in the study room, perusing a pile of reports. However, it wasn''t long before the pce maid, Lily, knocked on the door and brought in more reports for Heinrich to read.

    "More reports?" Heinrich uttered after a short nce.

    Although he was helpless against the workload, there was newfound vigor in his eyes that wasn''t apparent a few weeks back. He had be a Metal Transcendent.

    "Yes, Your Majesty," Lily confirmed.

    Shortly after Lily ced the reports on the desk, Heinrich picked up the first report and perused it. His brows furrowed in the next moment.

    "Our reserves of Transcendent Crystals are running out so quickly?" Heinrich uttered with surprise.

    "Yes, Your Majesty," Lily nodded.

    "Duke Ignis mentioned there hadn''t been any Transcendent Crystals found in the underground mines in the past week."

    "I guess Transcendent Crystals aren''t limitless. Given the among of Transcendent Crystals we handed out to bolster our forces, we were bound to run out of Transcendent Crystals eventually," Heinrich uttered with a frown.

    "s, this is necessary to strengthen our national security. There''s been some friction with the Geyser Kingdomtely, and honestly, our country''s strength cannotpare to the Geyser Kingdom¡­"

    After contemting for a short moment, Heinrich inquired, "Presently, do we have any more visiting envoys from the Geyser Kingdom touring the city?"

    "Not for the time being, no, Your Majesty," Lily shook her head.

    "However, we are expecting to receive them tomorrow, Your Majesty. I noticed that the envoys from the Geyser Kingdom have been visiting more frequently in the past two weeks. Furthermore, they have been behaving more tant with each group, showingplete disregard for etiquette and harassing our people."

    "I cannot help but feel like the Geyser Kingdom''s envoys are purposely causing trouble to start something with us," Lily voiced her doubts.

    "I also have the same doubts," Heinrich nodded.

    "They seem to be looking for an excuse to start bigger trouble. But considering the Geyser Kingdom had been elusive to us, it doesn''t make sense for them to show attention now. So there must be something they want from us, or there''s something going on that we don''t know about."

    The obvious conclusion would be the World Tree and its endless supply of spirit energy.

    However, spirit energy is ever-increasing. If the Geyser Kingdom is patient enough, spirit energy will eventually find its way to their borders.

    "We''ll continue to endure for now and see what they want. But, we can''t risk an all-out war with the Geyser Kingdom," Heinrich stated.

    But after a short moment, he suddenly asked, "What is the Greene family''s daughter doing now?"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Near the foot of the World Tree, Neron tailed Lina wherever she went, even when she was visiting her parents in the past three weeks. Although she felt ufortable, she couldn''t scold her senior disciple-brother.

    "Junior Sister, how much longer do you intend to stay in the Crawford Empire? We''ve already stayed in this ce for over three weeks. You can''t keep dying your transcendence like this. Master is still waiting for us," Neron persuaded.

    However, Lina was unwilling to leave without her parents.

    s, her parents were also unwilling to leave with her. They had responsibilities tying them down in Crawford Empire. But at the same time, it was also their home.

    Nevertheless, Lina understood that she could not dy her transcendence forever. As her senior brother said, their master was waiting for her to return.

    Furthermore, it was difficult to suppress her cultivation around the World Tree, which was brimming with wood energy.

    "Let me try convincing my parents one more time," Lina sighed.

    However, half an hourter, she left her parent''s house in disappointment. Her parents were firm in their decision, especially her father, Robert Greene; he was the current minister of agriculture.

    "Failed?" Neron uttered.

    Lina nodded.

    Shortly after, Neron said, "It''s actually not a bad idea to leave your parents here. The air is very pure, and the spirit energy is abundant here. With the proper cultivation technique, the opportunities to grow here wouldn''t be inferior to the Starlight Archipgo."

    "Heck, it might even be better than the Starlight Archipgo," Neron added.

    After listening to her senior disciple-brother, Lina found out he spoke a lot of sense. She wouldn''t be able to find a better ce to live than the current World Tree.

    Taking her parents away from the World Tree wouldn''t do her parents any good.

    "Senior Brother is right. I was thinking too selfishly. Let us head back to the Starlight Archipgo and look for Master, Senior Brother. I''ve made up my mind," Lina stated.

    Neron finally sighed with relief after receiving Lina''s answer.

    "When we return, we''ll probably get a scolding from Master," Neron smiled wryly. It shouldn''t have taken them so long to visit and check up on his junior sister''s parents.

    Nevertheless, it was surprising that their Master had enough patience not toe and look for them himself.

    Sometimeter, Lina bid farewell to her parents before making her way back to the Geyser Kingdom with her senior brother on his mini airship.

    However, halfway through the old Vran Kingdom and leaving the region covered by spirit energy, Lina frowned at the unpleasant air.

    Having stayed by the World Tree for the past three weeks, she had grown ustomed to the pure air in the Crawford Empire''s Grasnd Region.

    At the same time, the foul air of the Cataclysm made her body feel ufortable.

    Suddenly, Lina felt the airship shake with instability before she immediately nced towards her senior brother with surprise.

    If there''s anything wrong with the airship''s flight path, there must be a problem with her senior brother, the one controlling the airship.

    Lina was immediately startled when she noticed Neron''s face, which was pale and full of perspiration. However, the weather wasn''t exactly hot.

    "What''s wrong, Senior Brother?" Lina asked with concern.

    "There''s something wrong with my Fire Transcendent Crystal. The foul energy in the atmosphere is resonating with it. I feel like the energy in my Fire Transcendent Crystal is about to go berserk¡­!" Neron replied with difficulty.

    It was too difficult to power the airship while suppressing his Fire Transcendent Crystal from going out of control.

    Nevertheless, Lina was even more startled after hearing her senior brother''s words.

    "The foul energy in the atmosphere is resonating with your Fire Transcendent Crystal?" Lina repeated her senior brother''s words with shock.

    She quickly realized why she was feeling a sense of difort ever since they left the domain of spirit energy. The foul energy in the atmosphere was also impacting her wood seed.

    However, it was evident that difort was all she felt. Her problem wasn''t as severe as her senior brother''s.

    Why does the foul energy affect them differently? What was the difference between them? Their element? Their cultivation level?

    "Shall we descent and take shelter from the sun for the time being?" Lina quickly suggested.

    Neron nodded.

    Shortly after, the airship descended to the ground level in an empty field not far from a small forest. Then, they made their way over the forest and took shelter in its shade.

    Only then did Neron''s condition improve, albeit not much. His face remained pale, but his perspiration had stopped.

    "How are you feeling better, Senior Brother?" Lina inquired while handing over a bottle of freshwater for her senior brother to drink.

    "Better, but not exactly in peak shape," Neron smiled to lighten the mood.

    "Nevertheless, the shade is helping a fair bit despite the foul energy in the air. It seems like the sun is the main problem. What about you, Junior Sister? Are you feeling alright?"

    "Better than you at least, Senior Brother; just a bit of difort," Lina replied with knitted brows.. She couldn''t understand why this was happening now.

 Chapter 922 - Forest Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 922 - Forest Discovery</h4>

    "Only a bit of difort, huh?" Neron muttered bitterly, feeling a bit conflicted.

    He felt it was unfair that he was the only one to suffer such a torturous feeling. But on the other hand, he was also d that his junior sister didn''t have to go through the same experience.

    Suddenly, Neron''s eyes flickered with a sudden thought.

    "Junior Sister, don''t you find this strange? The Cataclysm erupted for quite some time now, but we were perfectly fine when we left the Geyser Kingdom. However, now that we are returning from the Crawford Kingdom, we immediately experience problems," Neron mentioned.

    Lina''s eyes flickered upon hearing her senior brother''s words.

    She immediately noticed his subtle use of ''kingdom'' instead of ''empire'' when addressing the Crawford Empire. Even so, she didn''t n to enter a debate with her senior brother over it.

    "We''ve stayed in the Crawford Empire¡ªor rather, we stayed by the World Tree for some time. The air in that ce is very pure. Thus, I can think of two possibilities for our current condition, Senior Brother," Lina stated.

    "Oh? Let''s hear it then," Neron said with interest.

    He also has some spections, but he is curious to find out whether their thoughts match or differ from one another.

    Nevertheless, Lina nodded.

    "The first possibility I thought of was that our bodies have grown ustomed to the pure and thrivingnd around the World Tree. Thus, our bodies had grown weaker to the sunlight and foul energy," Lina started speaking.

    "But upon further thought, this possibility is the least likely. The atmosphere outside the World Tree''s domain seems to stir our awakening cultivation''s energy and has nothing to do with our bodies."

    Neron nodded in agreement upon hearing up to that point. He had also thought of such a possibility before ruling it out.

    "And the second possibility?" Neron pressed.

    "The second possibility is that the foul energy density and sunlight intensity has reached a higher thresholdpared to a few weeks ago. Furthermore, it''s a threshold that affects our cultivation," Lina stated.

    Neron nodded with a smile.

    "I thought the exact thing, Junior Sister. d to know we are on the same wavelength," Neron inserted.

    Lina replied with a forced smile.

    Nevertheless, Neron quickly shifted Lina''s attention elsewhere as he pointed to the grass outside the forest.

    "Take a look at the tips of the grass in the field. Under the World Tree, the grass is as green as it can be. But here, the tips have all turned purplish red. Furthermore, their shapes are deforming; this is a sign of mutation," Neron mentioned.

    Lina took a more careful look up close before she returned and nodded.

    "It is as you said, Senior Brother; the grass is mutating under the sunlight," Lina confirmed.

    "However, this happened under prolonged exposure to the sunlight. On the other hand, our conditions are triggered almost immediately once we expose ourselves to the current sunlight. The problem lies in our energy."

    "Seems like there''s a serious problem with the energy we extract from Redstones to cultivate. However, everyone in the Geyser Kingdom cultivates with Redstone. If my condition is already this bad, what''s happening to the experts back in the kingdom?" Neron wondered with a serious look.

    "When the Cataclysm erupted, numerous giant ckwater domes were erected over every major city along the coast to negate the harmful sunlight," Lina mentioned.

    "The issue might not be that serious back in the kingdom. But, we know for sure until we head back and check the situation with our own eyes."

    "Let''s hasten our journey back, Senior Brother," Lina urged shortly after.

    "Alright," Neron nodded.

    However, he shortly suggested with a wry look, "But let us head back through this shady forest first, Junior Sister. The feeling of my Fire Transcendent Crystal wanting to go berserk is very unpleasant to bear."

    "Alright, Senior Brother," Lina agreed.

    The forest wasn''t big; it only stretched for several hundred yards at most. It was nothingpared to Extreme Misty Forest, which upied the north of the Human Domain.

    Even so, Neron suddenly paused his steps halfway through the forest. After walking a few steps ahead, Lina nced back with a puzzled look.

    "What''s the matter, Senior Brother? Are you feeling unwell?" Lina noticed the frown on her senior brother''s face.

    "No," Neron shook his head and said, "It''s just that I suddenly picked up the scent of blood in this forest."

    "The scent of blood?" Lina uttered with surprise. She quickly inspected the surroundings but didn''t notice anything out of the ordinary.

    "Give me a moment, Senior Brother."

    Shortly after, Lina ced her palm on a nearby tree and connected her senses, feeling every part of it, including the underground roots.

    When she didn''t pick up anything from one tree, she extended her shared senses to the other trees and increased the range of her search.

    It didn''t take long before she made a discovery.

    Lina''s eyes immediately flickered before she alerted Neron, "There are several bodies buried just five yards from your left, Senior Brother."

    "Oh?" Neron uttered with narrowed eyes.

    Nevertheless, he quickly moved to the designated location and dug out the earth.

    The tracks had been well hidden, which showed that the buried bodies were purposely hidden to prevent others from finding out.

    "This is¡­" Neron''s pupils shrank when he uncovered the four bodies from the buried pit. After seeing their faces, he quickly concluded, "These people are from the first group of envoys sent by the kingdom two weeks back."

    "What? Shouldn''t they have long returned to the kingdom? How could they be buried here?" Lina uttered with shock.

    "Evidently, someone killed them all and prevented them from returning to the kingdom," Neron''s gaze sharpened before he quickly urged, "Junior Sister, check if you can find any more buried bodies in this forest."

    Lina followed Neron''s instruction without hesitation, sensing the severity of the matter. Before long, she made a few more discoveries.

    The bodies of the second, third, and fourth groups of envoys were all buried in the forest.

    None of the envoys had made it back to the kingdom!

 Chapter 923 - King Lutheran Geyser

    <h4>Chapter 923 - King Lutheran Geyser</h4>

    After Lina and Neron realized all the envoys had been killed before they could return to the Geyser Kingdom, their first wasn''t to investigate the culprit.

    "Whoever killed the envoys has a clear motive. They want the rtionship between the Crawford Kingdom and the Geyser Kingdom to deteriorate. We are in danger by staying here, Junior Sister. Let us make haste back to the kingdom!" Neron stressed.

    "Yes, Senior Brother!" Lina nodded solemnly.

    Nevertheless, they did not ignore the corpses of the envoys. They quickly collected all of the corpses into their interspatial storage before they went on their way.

    The envoys were all Preliminary ession-stage Transcendents at the very least, while the strongest envoy among the bodies was even at the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent.

    They weren''t just nobodies in the Geyser Kingdom.

    While Neron and Lina felt apelling reason to return the bodies to their families, their wounds could also serve as some form of clues in their investigation.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Geyser Kingdom

    In the Capital of Geyser, a giant ckwater dome hung over therge city. Within its bubble, countless buildings thoroughly upied the coastal line that divides thend and sea.

    Nevertheless, the city onnd wasn''t the only home to the people of Geyser. There was also the sea. In fact, the heart of the Geyser Kingdom lies beyond the eastern coast.

    Thousands of floating homes and unique infrastructures stretched across the water surface, all interconnected like one enormous.

    At the same time, they form the bridge that links the easternnd of the Human Domain to the Starlight Archipgo.

    If the water city region and the Starlight Archipgo were all included in the Geyser Kingdom''s territory, its size would not be inferior to the current Crawford Empire. No, if the Geyser Kingdom sessfully reimed all thousand inds of the Starlight Archipgo, their territory size would even surpass the Crawford Empire!

    Nevertheless, from the water city off the coast of the Geyser Capital to the first forty inds of the Starlight Archipgo, day-to-day life was never peaceful.

    Sea monster attacks frequently ur.

    Even so, the dailybat experience, resources, and food gained from the sea monsters are what made the Geyser Kingdom the strong country it is today.

    The entire poption of 50-thousand people living in Water City was all Awakeners, thanks to the widespread Redstones gained from sea monsters. Everyone had the chance to be Awakeners.

    Nevertheless, the situation inside the Geyser Kingdom was rather special.

    It didn''t have one central pir of power that governed the entirety of the Geyser Kingdom''s territories.

    Instead, it was divided into three central powers led by three people: King Lutheran, who governs thend, the Sea Emperor, who reims the Starlight Archipgo, and the High Priest, who spreads the faith of Sea God.

    Although the Geyser Kingdom wasn''t united, these three figures do not usually interfere with each others'' businesses.

    ¡­

    At that moment, King Lutheran was holding a meeting with the nobles in the Geyser Pce''s great hall, found within the Capital of Geyser''s central district.

    "Who else is willing to make a trip to the Crawford Kingdom?" King Lutheran Geyser swept the gathered nobles in the great hall with his powerful gaze.

    There were Barons, Counts, Earls, and even Marquises in attendance.

    The weakest of the gathered nobles, the Barons, was no weaker than Early Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent. On the other hand, the Marquises, the strongest among the group, were all Peak Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents.

    Nevertheless, their powers were all overshadowed by King Lutheran Geyser, a true Paragon, and one of the very few Acknowledged Paragon-stage Transcendents in the entire Geyser Kingdom.

    After King Lutheran raised his questions, the Barons quickly averted their eyes to avoid meeting his gaze.

    Thest envoy sent to the Crawford Kingdom was also a Baron at the Early Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent.

    However, the person never returned despite the estimated three-day return trip.

    "Your Majesty, we can''t keep sending envoys to re-establishmunications with the Crawford Kingdom like this. We''ve already sent out four groups in the past few weeks, but none of them had returned so far," said a Count at the Mid Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm.

    "Right, Your Majesty," another Count at the Mid Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm agreed.

    "It''s true that the fault lies with us for allowing Baron Cortez to run amok in the Crawford Kingdom and massacre so many innocent lives. However, we shouldn''t keep sending people to apologize if they don''t have the will to listen."

    "After all, we are a powerful kingdom. We don''t have to lower our heads to the Crawford Kingdom," the Count stated.

    Many of the Barons and Counts were uneasy and afraid of being chosen as the next envoy.

    Considering none of the previous envoys returned from the Crawford Kingdom, being chosen as the next envoy was no different from a death sentence.

    Nevertheless, King Lutheran wasn''t in a hurry to respond to the Counts'' opinions. Instead, he calmly studied the nobles'' various expressions before pausing on Marquis Wauter''s slight snickering expression.

    "Marquis Wauter, you seem to have something to say?" King Lutheran directed the attention to the Peak Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent.

    "Yes, Your Majesty," Marquis Wauter answered.

    "ording to the report from Lord Quinten Saville, who was in charge of the Law-Punishing Force tasked to capture Baron Cortez, King Heinrich and Queen Elizabeth were rather understanding regarding Baron Cortez''s incident. Thus, it wouldn''t make sense for them to kill our envoys."

    "No matter how big the grievance is, it''s an unwritten rule that countries do not kill the envoys sent by other countries. So unless the envoys actively courted death, they wouldn''t be killed without reason."

    "Although I am not close to Baron Saerus, but I know he was a reasonable man. Thus, he shouldn''t have done anything during his visit that would offend the Crawford Kingdom," Marquis Wauter stated.

    "In other words?" King Lutheran pressed with an intrigued look.

    "In other words, I am more inclined to believe the envoys'' disappearances had something to do with the Demon Worshippers.. For example, they could be trying to instigate a war between the two countries," Marquis Wauter assumed.

 Chapter 924 - Supremacist Faction

    <h4>Chapter 924 - Supremacist Faction</h4>

    After Marquis Wauter pinned the me on the Demon Worshippers, King Lutheran Geyser could not help but inwardly.

    Yes, the Demon Worshippers were the most likely suspects, but they aren''t the only possible suspects.

    For instance, King Lutheran Geyser was aware that a supremacist faction existed within the kingdom. Members of this faction are all unhappy with the situation on the western side of the Human Domain.

    They believe that the Geyser Kingdom should rule over the entire Human Domain instead of being isted to the eastern side.

    Nevertheless, even if this supremacist faction had nothing to do with the envoys'' deaths, they would still support the Demon Worshipper''s war instigation between the two countries.

    Thus, as Marquis Wauter mentioned, it was most likely the Demon Worshipper''s work.

    Despite being aware of this, King Lutheran Geyser remained silent on the matter without mentioning any of it. Otherwise, the nobles would be suspicious.

    Even so, there were already a few nobles that had already grown suspicious of his decision. After all, King Lutheran Geyser''s intention wasn''t well hidden.

    A basket of eggs would always have a few rotten ones.

    King Lutheran Geyser wanted to use the Demon Worshipper''s hands to get rid of the corrupted nobles in his kingdom. That is why he kept sending envoys despite the first group never making it back.

    Furthermore, King Lutheran Geyser could gauge the strength of the Demon Worshippers by slowly feeding them stronger envoys.

    It was killing two birds with one stone; why wouldn''t King Lutheran Geyser do it?

    ...

    "The Demon Worshippers, huh? Yes, the Demon Worshippers seem to be the most likely suspect behind the envoys'' disappearance. Nevertheless, do you understand what this implies?" King Lutheran Geyser finally spoke.

    "The Demon Worshippers that hunted the envoys outside the Geyser Kingdom has strength at the Early Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm at the very least," Marquis Wauter answered without hesitation.

    "That''s right," King Lutheran Geyser nodded.

    However, shortly after, King Lutheran Geyser swept the other nobles a nce and asked, "Anyone else have a different answer for me?"

    The follow-up question immediately stunned Marquis Wauter. He gave the most answer, but it didn''t seem to be the answer the king was looking for.

    The nobles contemted in silence.

    After a few moments, Marquis Raygor inserted, "If the Demon Worshippers came from our kingdom, then that means there are nobles in this cult."

    "Exactly!" King Lutheran said with a fierce glint.

    At the same time, King Lutheran''s Paragon-level aura suddenly surged out of his body and suppressed the entire hall. The nobles quickly felt intimidated.

    "For nobles to join the ranks of the Demon Worshippers is no different from a p to my face as the one who conferred nobility unto them! Since no one is interested in taking a trip to the Crawford Empire, I want you all to find out every noble missing within the kingdom! Go!"

    "Yes, Your Majesty!" the several dozen nobles answered and left.

    Nevertheless, a few Marquises and Earls remained behind.

    "Your Majesty, I feel this matter isn''t that simple. Counting all the nobles at the Baron rank and above, including those without fiefs, we are looking at hundreds of nobles here. Furthermore, not all Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents are conferred nobility by you, Your Majesty," Marquis Raygor mentioned.

    "Exactly, Your Majesty," Marquis Wauter agreed.

    "Especially among the upper noble houses like our Marquis Households and the two Duke Households. We have a few subordinates at the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm."

    "Furthermore, we are only talking about Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents in the kingdom here. We haven''t ounted for the core disciples and elders of the Grand Ocean Pce situated in Water City and Starlight Archipgo."

    "If we include them, we are looking at a few more hundred Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents. What I''m trying to say is that the Demon Worshippers could be anyone, Your Majesty," Marquis Wauter stated.

    "That is correct," King Lutheran acknowledged Marquis Wauter''s concern with a calm look.

    "There is indeed arge number of Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents if we talk about the entire Geyser Kingdom. However, at the very least, if we find any missing noble in the kingdom, they would all be suspects."

    "As long as we can catch one rat out of this list of suspects, it will give us a trail. And if we have this trail, it will lead us to the rest of the Demon Worshippers. I don''t believe we can''t torture the answers we seek out of these rats," King Lutheran coldly stated.

    The Demon Worshippers had been a pain King Lutheran''s ass. He detested those who threatened the stability of his country.

    Nevertheless, the remaining nobles in the hall nced at each other with surprise. It appeared that their king had thought a great deal ahead of them.

    "I understand, Your Majesty. We will head back and tally the names of everyone we find missing from the kingdom," Marquis Wauter stated. He had nothing left to say.

    Shortly after, the meeting in the great hall officially concluded.

    The nobles left one by one and went their separate ways. However, not everyone did. Marquis Raygor and a few Earls gathered at a high-ss restaurant and booked a private room to dine.

    Before long, the group of four nobles took their seats at a round dining table.

    "Demon Worshipper this, and Demon Worshipper that. There have been too many concerns over Demon Worshippers that we are not addressing more important issues," Earl Almeric beganining.

    "Exactly," Earl vier, another Late Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents, chimed.

    "I don''t know whether His Majesty is glossing over the matter or His Majesty simply doesn''t care. However, no matter what Baron Cortez did in the Crawford Kingdom, he was still a noble of our kingdom."

    "Right? What the Crawford Kingdom needs is ountability, not an apology. I don''t understand why we need to bow our heads to such a weak country like the Crawford Kingdom," the third Earl added.

    "Heh, it was the World Tree that killed Baron Cortez and his people," Marquis Raygor snickered.

    "No need to talk in a roundabout way, so let us be honest with what we really want here. The ckwater dome isn''t cutting it anymore. The air is foul, and the weather is ufortable. But the World Tree''s domain isn''t like that."

    "Everyone''s wondering why only the declined kingdom gets to enjoy such a good thing like the World Tree when our mighty Geyser Kingdom is suffering under the Cataclysm, right?" Marquis Raygor mentioned.

    The three Earls nodded.

 Chapter 925 - Seeking Connections

    <h4>Chapter 925 - Seeking Connections</h4>

    Marqui Raygor has spoken exactly how everyone felt about the Crawford Kingdom and the World Tree.

    The World Tree should be shared and not monopolized by the Crawford Kingdom. It would be even better if the Geyser Kingdom could monopolize the World Tree instead.

    "You spoke our minds, Lord Raygor," Earl vier said.

    "Every day, the air gets worse, and the sunlight bes more unbearable. I am tired of living under this water dome like some caged animal. I also want to head out, explore the rest of the continent, and ughter some beasts while I''m at it."

    "Hahaha, Lord vier sure has a way with words. Ipletely understand what you mean. I also feel like a caged animal, living under this bubble," Earl Almeric stated.

    "I don''t want to spend half my lifetime staying cooped up in the Geyser Kingdom. The Geyser Kingdom is great; don''t be mistaken. However, what''s the point of growing our wings if we don''t get to spread them?"

    The food was shortly served, and the nobles dined in. None of the waiters were allowed in the private room. They could only enter when the nobles called them.

    Nevertheless, the nobles continued the topic over food and drinks.

    "The problem is how do we bring these matters to His Majesty''s attention without upsetting or offending him? His Majesty is a great king, but sometimes, I feel like His Majesty iscking ambition and not thinking about what''s best for the kingdom," Marquis Raygor sighed.

    "That''s true," Earl Almeric agreed.

    "The Geyser Kingdom made great progress in the remation of the Starlight Archipgo''s thousand inds over the years. On the other hand, the Crawford Kingdom made no progress in reiming the Wilnds back from the beasts."

    "Since the Crawford Kingdom is so ipetent and incapable of expanding the western parts of the Human Domain, His Majesty should just lead the kingdom to rule over them," Earl Almeric stated.

    "Right," Marquis Raygor nodded.

    "Only when His Majesty has the resource of the entire Human Domain will His Majesty be able to lead humans back to its heyday."

    "I believe if we can convince one of the two Dukes to speak on our behalf, His Majesty might give it some serious considerations. Furthermore, I am rted to Duke Flugerd. Thus, there''s a high chance that he will share our ideals," the third Earl mentioned.

    Marquis Raygor and the other two Earls were immediately surprised. They quickly shot a look at the third Earl and reevaluated him.

    "My, you''ve hidden your background deeply, Lord Bendro. Who would have known that you are blood-rted to Duke Flugerd? Doesn''t that you share the same royal blood with His Majesty?" Earl viermented with surprise.

    However, Earl Bendro''s expression immediately turned awkward.

    "You think too highly of me, Earl vier. I am not blood-rted to Duke Flugerd. My sister''s husband''s second brother''s wife''s mother-inw''s second daughter is Duke Flugerd''s wife. We''ve interacted over multiple functions," Earl Bendro exined.

    "¡­"

    Marquis Raygor and the two Earls opened their mouth and closed them repeatedly without a word. Earl Bendro''s words had made them speechless.

    "You have quite aplex family, Lord Bendro," Marquis Raygor remarked wryly. He was already lost after the second brother''s wife''s part.

    "Nevertheless, what I can understand from your words is that you can organize a meeting for us with Duke Flugerd. And there is even a high chance that Duke Flugerd will join us."

    "Yes, I believe so," Earl Bendro nodded. But, s, he did not give a definite answer.

    "So Lord Bendro isn''tpletely certain," Marquis Raygor uttered with a contemting look. Then, he shook his head and said, "Nevertheless, even a slight chance is better than nothing."

    "The world continues to change under the effects of the Cataclysm. At this point, it is pretty much impossible for High Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents to wander outside of the water dome''s protection without risking cultivation copse and mutation."

    "Please organize the meeting with Duke Flugerd for us, Lord Bendro. We need to gather like-minded people for the interest of the Geyser Kingdom," Marquis Raygor requested.

    If they can have a Half-step Paragon like Duke Flugerd, who is also the king''s blood brother, on their side, their chance of convincing the king would be much higher.

    iming the World Tree wasn''t just about the interests of the Geyser Kingdom, but for their survival.

    "Understood, Lord Raygor," Earl Bendro nodded.

    "Since Lord Raygor mentioned gathering like-minded people, I will also reach out for people with my connections," Earl Almeric said shortly after.

    "Oh? Does Lord Almeric have any powerful connections to bring to the table?" Marquis Raygor turned to Earl Almeric with interest and asked.

    "I am acquainted with Venerable Pill Master''s second disciple, Sir Weine. No, you can even say that we are good friends. It was I who introduced him to Venerable Pill Master when he still had nothing to his name," Earl Almeric stated proudly.

    Once Earl Almeric revealed this piece of information, Marquis Raygor and the two other Earls widened their eyes with pleasant surprises.

    "In order words, Sir Weine is indebted to Lord Almeric. This is great!" Earl vier eximed. But excited as he was, he refrained from speaking everything on his mind.

    Earl vier didn''t want to offend Earl Bendro in his excitement.

    Duke Flugerd has a lot of prestige, but he still pales inparison to the Venerable Pill Master, who was also a Half-step Paragon.

    The Venerable Pill Master was a master of alchemy. His prestige was built on the high-quality pills he refined and supplied to all the experts in the entire Geyser Kingdom.

    Even King Lutheran, Sea Emperor Kaiser, and the High Priest all owe their Paragon-level achievement to the pills refined by the Venerable Pill Master.

    Furthermore, the Venerable Pill Master''s Heavenly me could purify the impurities in Redstones and the foul energy in the atmosphere.

    As such, their sess in persuading the king would be guaranteed if they could bring such a person to their side.

 Chapter 926 - High Spirit Energy Density

    <h4>Chapter 926 - High Spirit Energy Density</h4>

    Crawford Empire, Grasnd Region

    Leon, Aria, and Darlene stepped out from the Teleportation Array''s spatial rift before they found themselves within an enclosed room of a building located on World Tree''s crown.

    Swish~!

    A sudden breeze made its way inside the room and softly brushed against Leon. It was the World Tree''s spirit sending him a greeting.

    ''Have you been well?'' Leonmunicated with his divine will.

    World Tree''s spirit responded to Leon''s question by making the wind dance around his body with joy.

    ''I see. That''s good,'' Leon smiled.

    After a short chat with the World Tree''s spirit, Leon left the building with Aria and Darlene. The moment they made it outside, they immediately felt the abundance of spirit energy.

    "Wow!" Darlene and Aria gasped with surprise and amazement.

    "I''ve never smelled such a refreshing and invigorating air before!" Darlene breathed in the fresh air and eximed, "This ce is practically Heaven!"

    "Leon, this is incredible! I expected the spirit energy density to be high, but this density level haspletely exceeded my expectation!" Aria mentioned shortly after.

    "You''re right, Aria," Leon nodded with mild astonishment.

    "The spirit energy density around the World Tree isparable to some of the lesser spirit-rich areas in the Divine Realm. Even spirit stones have started forming around the World Tree''s crown."

    Aria and Darlene nced around before spotting multiple grain-size green pebbles lying around. Then, Aria quickly went over to pick one up and study its quality.

    "Amazing, this purity is on par with supreme-grade spirit stones. However, it''s too small. At most, this spirit stone will be treated as a mid-grade spirit stone in the Divine Realm," Aria remarked

    Shortly after, Aria furrowed her brows with confusion.

    "It''s a bit strange, though. Of course, world Trees are miraculous existences. But this spirit energy output is a bit too impressive, don''t you think so, Leon? I expected it would take a full year for spirit stones to form. However, it only took a month or two," Aria mentioned.

    After all, it was still a newborn World Tree. Yet, its spirit energy output isparable to million-year-old World Trees.

    "This is a bit strange," Leon wore a contemting look before adding, "But if we think about it a bit more, it shouldn''t be too surprising."

    "How so?" Aria wondered curiously.

    "World Trees don''t just produce spirit energy from nothing; it feeds on sunlight to grow," Leon began to exin.

    "However, nts require a specific range of sunlight intensity to grow on any, to begin with. Usually, it''s also the same range for ordinary human habitat as well. But the World Tree has transcended from being an ordinary nt."

    "Thus, most nts have to undergo mutation to adapt to the current cataclysmic sunlight intensity. On the other hand, the World Tree absorbs it all to produce more spirit energy without an issue." Leon stated.

    "In other words, the present situation of the sun allows the World Tree to function at its full potential while most World Trees don''t get this opportunity," Aria summarized her understanding.

    "Exactly," Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, he shot a nce towards a certain direction. Then, a few guards finally approached them before they saluted, "We wee you back, Your Highness!"

    "At ease," Leon calmly gestured.

    "Thank you, Your Highness!" the guards replied.

    Nevertheless, Leon could not help but evaluate the guards'' strengths. The three guards standing before him were all Metal Transcendents.

    The New Capital didn''t just undergo rapid developments. Even the strength of the people improved by leaps and bounds.

    It was to be expected, given the spirit energy density of the region.

    Even so, Leon was surprised that the number of Transcendent Awakeners in the empire had risen by a lot. His parents didn''t sparingly save the Transcendent Crystals the empire obtained from the underground mines.

    Leon quickly felt something amiss.

    Given normal circumstances, everyone should have improved their body and energy cultivation. After all, Leon did hand over several cultivation methods to his father before he left the Human Domain.

    However, the people improved their awakening cultivation instead.

    "Had there been any significant events in the past four weeks?" Leon inquired.

    "Yes, Your Highness!" one of the Transcendent-level guards nodded and said, "A few weeks ago, the empire was attacked by a berserk group of Transcendents from the Geyser Kingdom."

    "They ughter innocent lives from the empire''s borders all the way to the World Tree. It could have turned ugly, but fortunately, they angered the World Tree and killed themselves. Even so, we realize just howcking we were inparison to the Geyser Kingdom after that incident."

    "Thus, since then, His Majesty had been handing out Transcendent Crystals to everyone regardless of our contributions to increase our strength," the Transcendent-level guard exined.

    Afterward, the guard slowly recounted the subsequent events that followed after the incident, including the Geyser Kingdom''s Law-Punishing Force, the envoys, and as well as their strengths.

    The guard mentioned everything without leaving out the details. After Leon heard everything, he clenched his fist tightly.

    He couldn''t imagine how devastated he would feel if Baron Cortez and his men had killed his family and loved ones during his absence.

    Furthermore, he learned that this Baron Cortez was rted to thest two Transcendents from the Geyser Kingdom that he killed.

    The guilt might have crushed his heart if his actions had caused everyone''s death.

    Now that Leon had returned to the Crawford Empire, he did not intend to leave until he strengthened the empire to a level that would ease his worries.

    "Where are my father and mother now?" Leon inquired.

    "His Majesty has settled in his new pce in New Capital. It shouldn''t be difficult for you to find out where that is, Your Highness. The New Pce stands out quite a bit from the other buildings in New Capital," another guard answered.

    "I see," Leon calmly nodded before inquiring further, "And my mother?"

    "Her Majesty left to look for Lady Lynne in Extreme Misty Forest two weeks ago and hasn''t returned since, Your Highness," the guard informed.

    "What?" Leon''s brows knitted into a frown.

 Chapter 927 - Divine Ice Phoenix Empress

    <h4>Chapter 927 - Divine Ice Phoenix Empress</h4>

    The news of Leon''s mother not returning after entering Extreme Misty Forest to look for Lynne, who disappeared since the start of the Cataclysm, immediately filled him with worry.

    It seems that even after returning to the Crawford Empire, he would not get a moment of rest.

    "Leon!" Faelyn''s sudden cry sounded.

    Shortly after, the elven princess rushed over before leaping into Leon''s arms. Faelyn came as soon as she caught the news of Leon''s return.

    Leon caressed her head wordlessly.

    Nevertheless, Faelyn felt something amiss in their reunion. It didn''t feel as emotional and touching as she expected.

    It didn''t take long before she realized she may have interrupted an important talk between Leon and the guards.

    Thus, she pulled herself away from Leon and stood to the side sensibly while suppressing her emotions.

    Leon appreciated her understanding. Then, he turned to the guards with a solemn look and ordered, "Tell me everything you know."

    "Yes, Your Highness!" the guard answered.

    "Everything started with the first outbreak of artificial spirit energy that seeped out from under the World Tree shortly after the Cataclysm erupted. That was when Lady Lynne''s character seemingly changed."

    "I don''t exactly understand the details, but something about the artificial spirit energy triggered Lady Lynne''s change. She became colder and more vengeful, but more importantly, much more powerful."

    "Even now, the artificial spirit energy below the World Tree remains in a permafrost state, and its tracks split into numerous pathways. Most lead to dead ends, where we found frozen towers, but one path leads all the way to Extreme Misty Forest."

    As the guard recounted the details, Leon listened carefully.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, deep within the inner region of Extreme Misty Forest, a giant ice spike emerged from the ground, splitting the earth apart. Then, the giant ice spike retracted back into the ground, leaving behind a tunnel entrance to the underground space.

    Shortly after, a youngdy in blue dress stepped out from the darkness of the tunnel entrance with her bare feet along with a few escaping wisps of artificial spirit energy.

    However, the wisps of artificial spirit energy didn''t escape very far before a chilling breeze blew past and froze them, increased their weight, and dropped them to the ground.

    The frozen wisps of artificial spirit energy shattered into countless shards afterward.

    "That was thest of it, wasn''t it, Master?" Lynne asked coolly, seemingly talking to herself. There was no else in the vicinity besides her.

    However, Lynne shortly received a reply in her head.

    ''Including the 108 artificial spirit energy conversion towers we destroyed over the past several weeks, that should have been thest trace of it in this region,'' said a mature and womanly voice.

    "Shall we head back then, Master?" Lynne suggested, her blue eyes flickered with a hint of anticipation.

    ''No, our work is not done. We might have destroyed every trace of artificial spirit energy in the vicinity of the Crawford Empire, but there are bound to be more artificial spirit energy outside of it,'' Lynne''s Master replied.

    "Oh¡­" Lynne uttered with disappointment.

    The so-called Master she was conversing with was none other than the True Divinity Soul Fragment she awakened. The soul fragment belonged to the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, a True God of her time.

    Nevertheless, Lynne learned from the Ice Empress that not all True Divinity Soul Fragments could converse to their host like it did¡ªespecially among the True Gods.

    But unlike other True Divinities, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s soul fragment was much fewer. Thus, Lynne had inherited a moreplete portion of the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s soul.

    ''Don''t feel disappointed. I know you miss home, but you don''t have the luxury to waste your time on anything besides cultivation. Remember, you only have roughly five years left, Lynne,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress kindly reminded.

    Nevertheless, it was partly the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s fault that Lynne had fewer years to live.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s soul ced too much burden on Lynne''s soul after the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress awakened. This further shortened Lynne''s lifespan despite Lynne receiving a lifespan extension after reaching the Transcendent Realm.

    "I understand what I have to do, Master," Lynne replied. But then, she asked, "However, wouldn''t it work out better for you if I died, Master? You''ll be able to take over my body. Why did you take me in as your disciple instead?"

    When the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s soul awakened, Lynne had lostplete control of her body for a period of time. At that time, her body was forcefully seized by the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress.

    However, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress eventually returned control of her body to her.

    ''Foolish child, I am also doing this for my own benefit. Besides, since we can co-exist, why must I insist on taking your life away from you? Only devils will take without giving,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    As the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress mentioned the devils, she also revealed her deep grudge for them.

    ''Furthermore, each time I take over control of your body, it shortens your lifespan further. I have already taken much of your life away from you by simply existing with you,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress sighed.

    The age of gods and devils had ended long ago.

    There was no point in trying to revive herself. As long Divine Ice Phoenix Empress can raise multiple sessors to continue her life''s mission, that was enough for her.

    After all, she was eternal either way.

    "Then what should we do now, Master? It seems like we are in Extreme Misty Forest right now. This is a dangerousnd full of vengeful spirits. I don''t think we will find anything good here," Lynne mentioned.

    However, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress argued otherwise.

    ''On the contrary, I sense something very beneficial for you further deeper.. If you can obtain and refine that item, it will improve your cultivation greatly,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

 Chapter 928 - True Permafrost Divine Art

    <h4>Chapter 928 - True Permafrost Divine Art</h4>

    "What kind of item is it, Master?" Lynne grew curious after the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress mentioned it.

    However, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress didn''t divulge everything to her disciple. Or rather, she didn''t understand what it was either.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress only knew there was a great power slumbering deep within the Extreme Misty Forest. Furthermore, it was a power that matched their elements.

    But apart from that, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress had no other information.

    ''You''ll understand once you find it. All I can say is that this item will greatly increase your cultivation and lifespan,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    "Oh¡­ I understand, Master," Lynne replied.

    Since her master had already said as such, it means that her master wouldn''t divulge further information to her.

    Her Master seemingly knows everything but, at the same time, never exins everything to her. It might be her Master''s way of training her critical thinking. Nevertheless, she had grown ustomed to it.

    "Even Transcendents have been wary of Extreme Misty Forest in the past several hundred years. How should I deal with the vengeful spirits if I run into a powerful one, Master?" Lynne inquired.

    ''You should understand the nature of the True Permafrost Divine Art by now. This skill doesn''t just have absolute defense; its offensive is equally fearsome¡ªespecially against spiritual beings," the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress mentioned.

    ''Furthermore, you''re already at the peak of Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent Realm. It wouldn''t be a problem for you to defeat Early Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits with the True Permafrost Divine Art.''

    ''And even if you can''t defeat Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits, you can still seal their movements with it,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress added.

    ''What if we run into something even stronger than that, Master?'' Lynne inquired further. She did not feel reassured at all.

    She was rather weak-minded against things like ghosts. The distant howls of Extreme Misty Forest were already giving her goosebumps.

    ''If we run into a situation that you cannot ovee on your own, I will take over and deal with it. However, thises at the cost of reducing your lifespan even further. Thus, unless the situation requires it, we will only use this as ast resort," said the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress.

    ''Don''t depend on your master, child. Instead, pretend I don''t exist and learn to resolve everyone on your own. That is the only way you can grow strong in both mind and body. I have seen geniuses rise and fall. They all had high cultivation, but their hearts were weak.''

    ''Don''t be like them,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress lectured seriously.

    Lynne was not her first disciple, and she wouldn''t be herst either. But regardless of how many disciples she had, she had continuously poured all her effects into nurturing them.

    Unfortunately, they could never ovee their short lifespans.

    ''I understand, Master,'' Lynne engraved the divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s word in her heart. She could feel her Master''s sincerity in teaching her.

    After stabilizing her mental state, Lynne decisively ventured deeper into the misty forest. She followed the direction pointed out by her master.

    Yiiii¡ª!

    Shortly after Lynne only advanced a few dozen yards, shrill cries echoed, and dead leaves rustled throughout the forest as if they wereing to life.

    Lynne immediately knew the vengeful spirits had already discovered her presence.

    However, she could not tell how close or far away they were. She couldn''t even tell how many she had attracted nor their strengths.

    The extreme mist in the forest gave her poor visibility.

    Nevertheless, Lynne quickly recalled her Master''s teachings and released her ice power, scattering countless chilling ice particles into the area and forming an ice domain.

    This allowed her to sense the number of her enemies that enter her domain and slow them down at the same time.

    The True Permafrost Divine Art was a versatile skill that could not only attack and defend, but also sense enemies and mask her presence. There was also a movement skill included as well.

    Although Lynne was a bit slow on the idea, she eventually covered herself in ice power and masked her presence.

    Yiii¡ª!

    The vengeful spirits immediately made piercing screams, sounding much closer than before. They were furious when Lynne''s signs of life disappeared from their senses.

    Nevertheless, they had already discovered her general location earlier.

    Eventually, several Transcendent-level vengeful spirits entered Lynne''s domain. The moment she sensed their numbers were also the moment her domain attacked them.

    The numerous ice particles contacted the vengeful spirits'' seemingly intangible bodies before they erupted with terrifying coldness.

    Yiiiiiiii¡ª!

    The vengeful spirits howled painfully. The level of pain inflicted on them didn''t just startle them; it caused them fear.

    They retreated, but unfortunately, the vengeful spirits had advanced too quickly. Thus, they were already deep within Lynne''s domain, which was no different from a field of floatingndmines that covered both ground and air.

    The ice power of the True Permafrost Divine Art didn''t just freeze the surface of their spiritual bodies; it transformed their spiritual bodies into ice!

    As such, the vengeful spirits didn''t just feel ordinary pain. No, they felt pain that reached the very core of their beings!

    Afterward, the vengeful spirits'' weightless bodies gained mass due to the ice and dropped to the ground. Those that tried to resist their own increased weight had their frozen parts broken away from their bodies.

    Yiii¡ª! Yiii¡ª!

    The vengeful spirits issued multiple shorter piercing howls. Even though Lynne didn''t know what they were saying, she understood that they felt fear and desperation.

    Lynne continued her advancement and spotted the frozen vengeful spirits by her feet.

    "Only Early Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits, huh? They are so much weaker than I anticipated, Master," Lynnemented.

    Her blue pupils flickered, and the frozen vengeful spirits fragmented into countless smaller ice shards in the next moment.

    They were died without being able to resist.

    ''I already mentioned that you can battle vengeful spirits above your level.. Did you think vengeful spirits below your level will stand a single chance?'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress remarked.

 Chapter 929 - A Twig Building In The Forest

    <h4>Chapter 929 - A Twig Building In The Forest</h4>

    Of course, Lynne knew she would overpower Early Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits. However, she didn''t know it would be such an insurmountable difference.

    She didn''t even need to do anything at all.

    Just by summoning her ice domain and making her presence known, the vengeful spirits would be lured into an inescapable death trap.

    After ying her first batch of vengeful spirits, the misgiving and fear she once had towards vengeful spirits disappeared without a trace.

    Why should she fear something weaker than herself?

    ''Don''t just leave the shattered ice souls. Instead, collect them all into your interspatial ring. Then, you can use the ice power of the True Permafrost Divine Art to refine their soul energyter,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress instructed.

    "Yes, Master!" Lynneplied.

    Shortly after, she collected all the shattered ice souls. Then, she continued to venture deeper into the misty forest. At the same time, she attracted more Early Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits.

    Nevertheless, they all fell victim to her ice domain.

    Even so, Lynne didn''t expect there would be so many Transcendent-level vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest. But then again, it was her first time venturing into the inner region.

    However, Extreme Misty Forest was enormous; it was equivalent to the size of two kingdoms. Even if she was in its inner region, she was still far from the heart of the forest.

    Who knows many more Transcendent-level vengeful spirits there are.

    "Master, after collecting these shattered ice souls and refining them, you want me to cultivate ording to the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art with them, right?" Lynne inquired.

    ''That''s right, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress replied.

    ''The Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art will strengthen your soul and increase your lifespan. Nevertheless, we can''t make up quality with quantity. This is only a temporary fix on your soul. You''ll still need to increase your cultivation.''

    ''Even so, the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art should help you improve your awakening cultivation at a quicker rate. It''s unfortunate that there isn''t any ice phoenix blood toplete the other half of the Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art.''

    ''You would have been able to cultivate a Divine Ice Phoenix Soul. This will grant you the ability to undergo rebirth once in your lifetime when you die. But, s, I don''t have much hope for you to reach True Divinity. Otherwise, you can increase this rebirth limit.''

    ''Furthermore, each time you achieve nirvana, you''ll be stronger than your former self,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress exined with a sigh.

    A True Phoenix''s nirvana was the closest thing to a true soul cultivation method. But, unfortunately, a True Phoenix''s rebirth wasn''t limitless.

    Lynne was intrigued by the topic as she traveled. She continued to y vengeful spirits and collected their shattered ice souls as she encountered them.

    After covering twenty miles in her journey, Lynne umted two hundred vengeful spirits'' worth of shattered ice souls. Furthermore, half of it belonged to Mid Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits.

    In fact, she had encountered much more than two hundred vengeful spirits. However, she already hit the limit of her Tier-3 Interspatial Ring''s storage space.

    ''It''s a waste to continue like this. Don''t let these shattered ice souls go to waste, child. Find a safe spot to stop and refine the shatter ice soul,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress instructed.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress couldn''t keep watching Lynne leave so many shattered ice souls in silence.

    Although this level of cultivation resource is nothingpared to what the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress had in her heyday, she no longer has those high-level cultivation resources to offer Lynne.

    ''It''s not good to waste cultivation resources, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress added.

    "I understand, Master."

    Shortly after Lynne started looking for a ce to construct an ice chamber to take shelter in, she suddenly stumbled upon arge hut in the forest.

    Or rather, it looked like a miniature pce¡ªignoring the fact that it was made entirely out of twigs and dead branches. The design and construction were amateurish, but it was still impressive in its own way.

    "There''s a building here, Master. Someone lives here," Lynne uttered with surprise.

    ''I can see, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress replied. She shared Lynne''s senses¡ªor rather, Lynne shares them with her.

    Lynne didn''t believe the vengeful spirits could build such a ce, given the low intelligence of vengeful spirits in the Extreme Misty Forest. Even if there were a vengeful spirit with high intelligence, it still wouldn''t do such a thing.

    The building owner had to be someone or something other than a vengeful spirit.

    After Lynne circled the twig building several times, she deemed no one home. When she inspected the interior, it also looked abandoned.

    At the very least, it didn''t seem like a ce for a normal living person to live. Itcked the daily necessities inside.

    "It''s so strange. Why would there be such a grand twig building this deep in Extreme Misty Forest? Who would build such a thing in this ce?" Lynne wondered.

    ''Regardless of its origins, it doesn''t look like anyone lives here anymore. You can use this ce, child. If you noticed, there are low-level runes installed to ward off vengeful spirits. You won''t be interrupted in this ce,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress said.

    Nevertheless, Lynne was a bit skeptical about the twig building.

    "Would it be fine? This twig building doesn''t look all that sturdy," Lynne lightly patted the twig building to test its durability.

    However, the light pat was all it took for the whole ce toe crumbling down.

    Very shortly, Lynne heard a second series of twigs dropping to the ground not far from the twig building ruins.

    She immediately turned her gaze to the source before discovering a beautiful yet homeless-looking woman with ck and red hair. The woman stared at the twig building ruins with a stunned and devastated look.

    "W-was this your home? Sorry¡­ I didn''t mean to¡­" Lynne quickly apologized to the person. She felt guilty after seeing the person''s expression.

    It was as if the twig building''s copse had crushed the person''s heart.

    "It''s fine¡­ I''m used to it," Arana said.

 Chapter 930 - Compensation

    <h4>Chapter 930 - Compensation</h4>

    "It''s fine¡­ I''m used to it," Arana said.

    When Lynne heard that line, she felt even greater guilt for identally destroying the person''s home

    Just by looking at the person''s expression, it was clear that the beautiful woman was NOT fine. Or rather, she was used to being devastated by the destruction of her home.

    But just how many times had her home been destroyed for her to utter such words?

    Before Lynne could speak a few words offort, she suddenly made a startling discovery upon a closer look at the beautiful woman. The person had ck eyes and red pupils, something a normal human should not have.

    But to begin with, there shouldn''t be any normal human living this deep within Extreme Misty Forest.

    ''Be careful, child! This person is dangerous. She''s a Paragon!'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress warned.

    Initially, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress intended to let Lynne deal with everything on her own and only intervene when necessary. However, the person before them was far too dangerous.

    She might not even get the chance to intervene if Lynne was careless.

    Nevertheless, after Lynne heard her master''s warning, her eyes widened with shock, and her guilt was quickly reced with nervous tension.

    She just destroyed the home of a Paragon. So the person should be angry, right?

    "No need to be afraid. I won''t kill you. It''s been a while since I came across another person I can talk to in this forest," Arana coolly said.

    Shortly after, Arana crouched by the twig building ruins and started collecting the twigs for reconstruction.

    At the same time, Lynne watched the person silently.

    Although the person said she wouldn''t kill her, the person didn''t say she could leave either. Even so, the person didn''t seem unreasonable.

    Nevertheless, Lynne''s guilt resurfaced after watching the person for a while.

    "If you don''t mind the cold, I can construct a new building of ice aspensation for destroying your home," Lynne offered.

    Arana immediately paused her work and nced at Lynne with scrutiny. She understood that Lynne was genuinely apologetic and wanted topensate her.

    "It''s even better if it is cold," Arana said after a brief silence.

    "Great!" Lynne''s eyes lit up. The sooner shepensated the person, the sooner she could get rid of her guilt and move on. "Do you have any preference in the design? I will do my best to construct the new building ordingly."

    ''Don''t get too close to that Paragon. She might have awakened a Devil Soul,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress warned.

    ''I understand, Master,'' Lynne nodded.

    Nevertheless, Arana didn''t haveplex instructions for the building design after Lynne raised the question.

    Arana simply said, "A big pce, grand and pretty."

    "A big pce, grand and pretty, huh?" Lynne muttered. She didn''t know any pces beside the one she had seen in the capital.

    However, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress shortly shared her memories with Lynne, allowing her to see several grand pces.

    Shortly after Lynne picked the prettiest pce, she essed the surroundings.

    "I have a design in mind, but the pce will be quite big and requires space. However, there are some trees in the way. So I will need to¡ª"

    Before Lynne could finish speaking, Arana waved her hand. In that instance, sharp thread-like webs shot out of her hand andcerated the surrounding trees into pieces.

    The area was cleared of all obstacles shortly after.

    "Is this enough space?" Arana coolly asked.

    Lynne nodded with a gulp.

    As expected of a Paragon, her strength was unfathomable.

    Nevertheless, Lynne proceeded with her promised and constructed a grand and pretty pce using the ice power of her True Permafrost Divine Art.

    Thanks to the rich water vapor in the forest, Lynne received a constant supply of energy and did not exhaust herself.

    Even so, it still took three days to construct the ice pce.

    "It''s done. With my ice ability, this ice pce will not melt under normal circumstances. I hope you like it," Lynne informed. Then, she sought the person''s opinion, "What do you think?"

    Arana nced at the magnificent ice pce. Not much emotion could be seen from her expression, but she was clearly impressed.

    Although she had seen the progress over the past three days, the feeling was different when she finally looked at the final product.

    "Your name," Arana uttered.

    "Hm?" Lynne tilted her head with confusion.

    "What is your name?" Arana questioned.

    "Ah, Lynne. My name is Lynne," she answered.

    "Lynne, is it? I will remember you. And you can call me Arana," Arana said coolly. Shortly after, Arana entered the ice pce to explore it.

    It wasn''t just the outside that had details. Even the interior had its details. For example, the rooms all had functioning ice doors.

    Arana felt like she was walking through a work of art.

    Although the ice pce was sturdy to the point that it could resist her level of strength, the ice pce was certainly sturdier than all the buildings she hade across.

    Arana exited the pce several minutester and nced at Lynne with approval.

    "I am pleased with this ice pce. Take this as a sign of my appreciation for what you have done," Arana tossed a white dress over. Lynne quickly epted it.

    Even so, Lynne could help but nce at the white dress in her hand and ask curiously, "What is this?"

    "A dress, made from my spider silk. It won''t protect you from shock damage, but it is at least resistant to tier-4 sharp weapons. May it be of some use to you if you intend to venture deeper into the forest,'' Arana coolly stated.

    Lynne gasped with surprise.

    She quickly understood from Arana''s words that Arana was not human. Instead, Arana was of arachnid origins.

    "Thank you¡­" Lynne said shortly after. However, she quickly furrowed her brows and added, "But you didn''t have to do this¡­ I waspensating you. If you give this to me, it won''t make us even."

    Arana stared at Lynne silently for some time. Then, she broke the silence by saying, "You can visit my ice pce any time. You will be weed."

    "Ah? Oh, thank you¡­"

    Lynne couldn''t guess Arana''s train of thought, but she felt like they had be friends or something.

 Chapter 931 - The Vengeful Spirits Origins

    <h4>Chapter 931 - The Vengeful Spirits'' Origins</h4>

    After Arana permitted Lynne''s stay at the ice pce, Lynne borrowed a room to refine the shattered ice souls she collected.

    During that time, Arana did not disturb her¡ªor rather, Arana never took the initiative to approach her for anything. And before long, Arana entered her secluded cultivation in the inner chambers.

    Inside one of the many guest rooms, Lynne refined with shatters ice souls with her ice power.

    At the same time, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress watched over Lynne''s refinement with her powerful divine consciousness.

    Nevertheless, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s mind dwelled on Arana''s matter.

    She didn''t expect a humanoid arachnid could get along with humans so well. Not only did Arana not attack Lynne for destroying her twig home, she even gifted Lynne a spider silk dress.

    Arana was an irregr being for not being hostile, but the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress didn''t believe Arana was good.

    "Master, don''t you think Sister Arana is rather nice?" Lynne suddenly mentioned.

    She was already wearing the white spider silk dress. Not only did it feelfortable, but it also had good defense.

    Nevertheless, Divine Ice Phoenix Empress turned serious after hearing Lynne''s question.

    ''You''re already referring to that Paragon as Sister Arana? Didn''t I warn you not to be close to that person? She is dangerous. No matter how nice she is, she belongs to the monster race. They are even more dangerous than the beast race.''

    ''At the very least, members of the beast race still have sentiments and emotions. As long as you can ovee the obstacle of differences, you can get along with the beast race very well. But, on the other hand, the monster race only follows their instincts.''

    ''Thus, they are generally aggressive to all races most of the time. In a sense, they can be even more terrifying than demons. Just because they haven''t killed you; doesn''t mean that they wouldn''t kill you.''

    ''Demons would toy with their prey before killing them, but at the very least, their prey would already know the demons would eventually kill them. However, monster races are different. You can get along well with them, and they would still suddenly decide to kill you one day on a whim.''

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress never thought she would talk good about the detested demons topare them to the monster race.

    However, she had to let her disciple understand the dangers of getting close to a member of the monster race.

    "But Sister Arana wasn''t aggressive at all despite my mistake? She even gifted me a tier-4 spider silk dress for protection. How do you exin this?" Lynne argued.

    ''That is something Master is still trying to figure out. However, Master just wants you to be aware that just because one monster is different from the rest of the monster race, it doesn''t mean that you should ignore the dangers, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    ''My best guess is that the Paragon is using the Yin energy to suppress the instinct of her monster race,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress added shortly after. ''But never mind that; focus on your cultivation, child.''

    "I understand, Master¡­" Lynneplied.

    Half a dayter, Lynnepletely refined all the shattered ice souls. Then, she spent another day cultivating Ice Phoenix Divine Soul Art with her.

    ''Good. Your soul cultivation has swiftly risen to Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Realm in this past day. You are ready to advance your awakening cultivation to Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm without hurting your foundations,''

    ''It''s time to continue your journey. You can advance on the way,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    "Yes, Master," Lynne nodded.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In another part of vast Extremely Misty Forest''s inner region, Leon traveled through the thick mists with Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn.

    Initially, Leon didn''t bring anyone with him.

    However, the threedies all insisted on following him¡ªespecially, Faelyn, who had not seen him for over three weeks.

    Furthermore, Faelyn''s reasoning was very convincing that Leon had no choice but to bring her along.

    As a Wood Transcendent, she could connect to the trees in Extreme Misty Forest and expand her senses. This ability would allow her to understand the forest''s topography and have a great search range.

    In other words, Faelyn''s wood ability was useful in navigating through the misty forest.

    Before leaving for Extreme Misty Forest, Leon had paid his father a short visit. However, they did not have any time to catch up.

    When Leon transmitted several dozen primordial cultivation techniques and battle skills to his father and stated his intention to look for his mother, Heinrich had locked himself in his study room to create hard copies.

    ¡­

    Scree¡ª!

    A Mid Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirit screamed before it was exterminated by Aria''s lightning power.

    Lightning was the bane of all spirits.

    Thus, the group had a rtively easy time traveling through the inner regions. After spending five days in this region, they had in over 400 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits.

    At the same time, they had all collected the purified soul cores the vengeful spirits left behind.

    "Are these things really Transcendent-level vengeful spirits? They are nothing like Duna at all. They don''t have a shred of intelligence, and they only react to their instincts," Darlene mentioned with a frown.

    "If Duna knew youpared her in the same breath as these mindless vengeful spirits, I don''t think she would be happy," Leon smiled with amusement.

    Darlene''s expression immediately turned awkward.

    "Ugh¡­ Please don''t tell her," Darlene pleaded wryly.

    "Hahaha," Leonughed.

    "These vengeful spirits are most likely remnants of the Nova civilization that ended ten thousand years ago during the Cataclysm. They all relied on artificial spirit energy for cultivation and paid the ultimate price for it during the Cataclysm''s eruption."

    "Thus, they had most likely already lost their minds when they died. And that is why we have such arge number of mindless vengeful spirits at the Transcendent level, probably," Leon assumed.

    "That''s probably it," Aria agreed.

    "Dealing with these vengeful spirits isn''t a problem, but how do we expect to find Sister Lynne and Mother-inw in such a huge forest?" she mentioned shortly after.

 Chapter 932 - Emptiness Sutra

    <h4>Chapter 932 - Emptiness Sutra</h4>

    "That''s a good question," Leon replied after the Aria''s raised the question.

    "Even though we have arge search radius, it''s nowhere near enough to scour the Extreme Misty Forest. That''s why we have to understand Lynne''s purpose foring to this ce."

    Since his mother went to look for Lynne, there''s a high chance Leon would find her if he focused on looking for Lynne.

    "And what purpose would Lynne have foring to this ce?" Faelyn asked.

    "That''s the question. Nevertheless, I have a hunch that it has something to do with the special environment within Extreme Misty Forest. Perhaps, Lynne is looking for the source of the cold yin energy in this forest," Leon spected.

    Shortly after that was said, Aria''s eyes flickered before she asked, "Is that why we''ve been heading straight throughout the trip without taking detours?"

    "Yeah," Leon replied calmly.

    He had always been curious about exploring the depths of the four Perilous Lands and studying the origins of their special environments. Even so, he didn''t expect that he would be exploring one under such circumstances.

    "Nevertheless, we''ve been traveling nonstop these past several days. I think it''s about time to stop for a break and adjust ourselves to peak conditions before we continue any further," Leon suggested.

    "Mm," Aria was quick to agree.

    "The deeper we venture, the more frequent we encounter stronger vengeful spirits. Therefore, staying in our peak shape is the best way to prepare ourselves in cases of unexpected situations and dangers."

    Leon nodded. Aria understood him well.

    Nevertheless, after Darlene and Faelyn agreed, they created a camp to rest. Faelyn manipted the trees to build the wooden shelter, and Aria masked their camp''s presence in ice.

    Even beds and nkets were taken out to enhancefort during their rest.

    "What should we do with these soul cores?" Aria asked after reviewing their spoils during the journey.

    Leon nced at the soul cores in Aria''s hands before he paused in contemtion.

    The soul cores of vengeful spirits most likely contained impure and corrupted energy. Although much of the impure soul energy had been purified by lightning, it still wouldn''t be safe for cultivation.

    After all, besides the impure soul energy, the soul cores were also contaminated by artificial spirit energy and wrathful demonic energy. Thus, they had to undergo a second round of purification before being used for cultivation.

    ''Do you have any good refining techniques for these soul cores, Maya?'' Leon sought out his artifact spirit''s opinion, disturbing her leisure reading time.

    He had finally made good on his promise and collected a bunch of random novels from the bookstore in New Capital for her to read.

    ''Why are you asking me? Can''t you just look it up yourself in the Archive? I''m busy here,'' Maya replied grumpily whilezing on a small pile of books in the Worldspace.

    Although she seemed livelier, she had also bezy like a person with a fooda after enjoying a great feast.

    This was the result of consuming too much spirit energy at once.

    The World Tree was full of spirit energy. Naturally, Leon didn''t forget to collect a substantial amount of it to aid Maya''s recovery before he left.

    ''Can''t I talk to you? Besides, if you read everything at once, you won''t have anything to readter,'' Leon replied wryly.

    Maya couldn''t be too unreasonable with Leon after receiving the stories and spirit energy. Thus, she rolled her eyes and said grudgingly, ''I rmend you use Primal Soul Refining Art to refine soul energy. It has the highest purity.''

    ''If you want to start soul cultivation with these soul cores, the Mahayana Divine Soul Art would be the most suitable for humans. However, I don''t rmend you start soul cultivation just yet.''

    ''After all, no matter how high the purity of soul energy you refine from these soul cores, there will still be a bit of impurity. Since you found a clue to the Astral Soul Realm, you wouldn''t want to risk ruining whatever qualifications you have to re-enter that ce, right?''

    ''Yeah, it wouldn''t be worth it,'' Leon admitted before saying, ''But if we don''t use these soul cores for cultivation, they don''t have much use, do they?''

    ''There are plenty of uses for everything. Why don''t you figure that out on your own? You''ll surely find another use for them,'' Maya stated.

    ''Nevertheless, on the topic of Astral Soul Realm, I rmend you check out the Emptiness Sutra in the Archive. Perhaps, you''ll find it helpful,'' Maya added shortly after.

    ''The Emptiness Sutra? What kind of cultivation technique is this?'' Leon wondered.

    ''It''s not a cultivation technique. It won''t improve your cultivation or anything. It''s just a mental technique for meditating. You''ll have to read it to understand the details,'' Maya exined.

    ''I see. I''ll check it out,'' Leon replied.

    Shortly after, Leon said to Aria, "We''ll put aside the soul cores for now. Although we don''t have a good use for them, it doesn''t hurt to continue collecting them."

    "Alright," Aria nodded.

    Shortly after, Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn found their spots in the wooden shelter to meditate and adjust their mental states.

    Leon took that chance to send his consciousness into the Archive and check out the Emptiness Sutra. Before long, Leon memorized all its information.

    As Maya mentioned, the Emptiness Sutra was not a cultivation technique. No, it couldn''t even be considered a mental technique either. More urately, it was a mental exercise.

    However, that is where Leon''s interest in the Emptiness Sutra grew.

    The Emptiness Sutra was created by Buddhist Monks from an ordinary mortal realm. It didn''t have a grand origin. But despite being ordinary, it was found among the primordial heritages.

    It was an ordinary mental exercise for meditation with extraordinary effects.

    ording to the Emptiness Sutra, once he mastered the mental exercise, he could freely adjust his state of mind and enter the state of emptiness. It was a state of having no thoughts and desires, just emptiness.

    ''Maya wasn''t wrong.. This could be extremely useful to me,'' Leon thought.

 Chapter 933 - State Of Emptiness

    <h4>Chapter 933 - State Of Emptiness</h4>

    After reviewing the information in the Emptiness Sutra, Leon seated himself in the standard position for meditation and started reciting the sutra''s words in his mind.

    ''Emptiness is tranquility, and tranquility is peace; outer peace is freedom, but inner peace is enlightenment. Let go of all desires, let go of all worries, think nothing, be free, be empty, and be nothing.''

    ''Everything is not nothing, but nothing is everything¡­ Life is meaningless, and possessions are worthless¡­ Attention is fixation, thoughts are burdens, and reasons are chains¡­ Be free, be nothing¡­''

    Leon recited the sutra, but the deeper he went, the more creases formed on his forehead.

    At first, the sutra seemed normal, showing the way to achieve the state of emptiness. However, thetter parts turned rather depressive and suicidal. It was like the sutra was saying he had nothing worth living for and should just die.

    Nevertheless, Leon tried not to think too deeply into the sutra''s words and just recite them without thinking.

    However, reasonspelled him to think.

    The Emptiness Sutra''s words were simply too confusing to understand that it gave him a headache as he dwelled on it.

    ''Ugh, how are these the words of a wise monk imparting the ways of achieving the state of emptiness? These are more like the words of a drunken monk!'' Leon thought with a big frown.

    But as the Emptiness Sutra said, think nothing, and be nothing. Recite the sutra without thinking, and he will achieve emptiness.

    However, the more Leon recited, the more his head hurt, and even his blood started to boil with anger.

    Buddhist sutras were supposed to calm the mind, but this one only agitated him and filled him with frustration.

    ''This doesn''t make any sense¡­ How am I supposed to recite such confusing words without thinking?'' Leon furrowed his brows, and his veins protruded.

    Reciting the Emptiness Sutra was like a form of self-torture.

    The second verse was like a big puzzle, triggering his OCD. He can''t help but think about it; he had to understand it. It was challenging him to think when he shouldn''t.

    ''Is this Emptiness Sutra the bane of my existence or something?'' Leon wondered with frustration.

    He knew that the harder he thought about the sutra''s verses, the more agitated he''d be. Perhaps, he would even spit blood in frustration.

    ''The first verse is about thinking nothing¡­ Maybe the second verse is about seeing nothing?'' Leon wondered. ''Argh, this is hurting my brain.''

    In the end, Leonprehended the way to switch his brain off when he recited the sutra.

    However, it was also that moment that he realized switching off his brain was the answer to entering the state of emptiness.

    Leon''s lips twitched.

    ''What a nightmare. If I didn''t realize this, I would have been stuck in an endless loop of "what the f*ck does this sutra even mean?" and suffer deviation in my cultivation or something.''

    Eventually, Leon managed to recite the sutra without thinking anything.

    And some time afterward, he didn''t need to recite anything to think absolutely nothing. In that instance, he entered the state of emptiness.

    A few momentster, his eyes flickered before he exited the state of emptiness.

    Entering the state of emptiness was just the start of the Emptiness Sutra; it was the initial sess. To master the Emptiness Sutra is to enter and leave the state of emptiness freely.

    After exiting the state of emptiness, Leon exercised to enter the state of emptiness again.

    After entering and leaving the state of emptiness for the third time, Leon realized the state of emptiness wasn''t as simple as just having no thoughts.

    In the state of emptiness, his body''s energy consumption would be reduced to the bare minimum, and he wouldn''t feel hunger or anything. It was a state of dormancy that could even slow down his aging, thereby allowing him to live longer.

    But as incredible as its sounds, Leon didn''t find it appealing.

    What''s the point of living longer if you can''t do anything? He wasn''t interested in living a long life as a block of wood.

    After entering and leaving the state of emptiness for the fifth time, Leon made an even more incredible discovery.

    ''Incredible. I didn''t realize sooner because I don''t stay in the state of emptiness for long. However, my mental strength recovers at a much quicker rate when I am in the state of emptiness,'' Leon''s eyes flickered with surprise.

    Nevertheless, after listing all the benefits, Leon realized why Buddhist monks in the mortal realms meditate; they all strived to achieve the state of emptiness.

    However, Leon only spent half an hour to achieve the state of emptiness, something that would take mortal monks years to an entire lifetime to achieve.

    Leon also realized why the Emptiness Sutra survived to the present era.

    It wasn''t a cultivation technique, but it wasn''t any less incredible than those primordial cultivation methods.

    ''Maya rmended such a great sutra to me. I should do something for her to express my gratitude,'' Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, another half-hour passed before Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn finished resting. Finally, they were back to their peak states and ready to continue the journey.

    "Everyone good to go?" Leon asked them.

    At the same time, Aria and Darlene were astonished by Leon''s lively look. They all had the same amount of rest, but it seemed like Leon''s rest was much more effective than theirs.

    "Yeah," Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn replied, nheless.

    After packing up the camp, the group continued to venture deeper into the depths of Extreme Misty Forest.

    Several dozen miles deep into the forest, nothing about the scenery changed. It was the same ck trees and thick white mist all around.

    The only difference was the level of the vengeful spirits they encountered. They were all High Rank 1 Transcendents to Peak Rank 1 Transcendents.

    At a certain point, they started to encounter Early Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits. Nevertheless, the group had no trouble dealing with them.

    "We''ve started encountering Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits more frequently in this ce," Aria mentioned. "Would Mother-inw be alright if she ventured this deep?"

    "That''s what I''m worried about," Leon replied with a big frown.

 Chapter 934 - Faelyns Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 934 - Faelyn''s Discovery</h4>

    "Mo¡ªer¡­ Her Majesty is a Peak Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent. Furthermore, Her Majesty didn''t leave to look for Lynne until sheprehended Sword Intent. So, given Her Majesty''s ample preparation, I don''t think Early Rank 1 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits would be a problem for Her Majesty," Faelyn assured.

    However, Leon shook his head with a sigh.

    "A Metal Transcendent with Sword Intent indeed has greatbat prowess, but that it only against physical beings. My mother''s attacks won''t be effective against spiritual beings," Leon stated.

    Then, he added with a slight smile, "You can just call her mother in the future."

    "Mm," Faelyn nodded.

    In truth, she had been calling Queen Elizabeth mother for quite a while now.

    However, she thought it would displease Leon if she said it. After all, they only had a few intimate contacts. They had yet to take the final step.

    She didn''t want Leon to think she was getting ahead of herself.

    Nevertheless, Leon knew his mother also had the fire element. However, the fire element was something that his mother didn''t focus on cultivating¡ªor rather, shepletely neglected it.

    Furthermore, Faelyn didn''t mention anything about it. Thus, he assumed that remained the case up until his mother went to look for Lynne.

    "Sorry¡­ If only my cultivation base were higher, I could have been able to expand my search range further," Faelyn apologized with a discouraged look shortly after.

    She thought she could have been useful with her ability. However, five days of searching without results had made her lose her confidence.

    Nevertheless, Leon wouldn''t me Faelyn for something like that.

    "You have nothing to apologize for, Faelyn. This isn''t your fault. Even if your cultivation were higher, it would still be far from enough to cover the entire misty forest," Leon said with a sigh.

    They had followed the frozen trail underground. However, the singr pathway branched off into multiple more paths after entering Extreme Misty Forest''s territory.

    Even if they backtracked and picked a different route, they might not necessarily find his mother either.

    If they ended up backtracking to explore all the possible routes, it was very likely that they would have wasted time searching in circles instead.

    That''s why it was essential to understand Lynne''s purpose in Extreme Misty Forest. By following her objective, it would lead them to her.

    In this case, Lynne''s objective was the source of Extreme Misty Forest''s cold mist.

    Of course, Lynne''s purpose could have been to destroy the underground energy conversion towers in Extreme Misty Forest like the ones he had seen along the way.

    However, he had already borrowed the Authority of Earth to scour the entire Extreme Misty Forest''s underground region. He didn''t find any underground cavities or energy conversion towers beyond Extreme Misty Forest''s inner region.

    If Lynne proceeded without that knowledge, one of two things would happen; she would explore the central region for the power source or return to New Capital.

    If it was the first possibility, then they were heading in the right direction. But if it was the second possibility, nothing changes; Leon would continue to explore the central region.

    After all, if his mother didn''t run into Lynne, she would still be looking for her in Extreme Misty Forest.

    ¡­

    Yiii¡ª!

    Another Early Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirit made a piercing scream before Aria''s lightning killed it.

    Aria collected the vengeful spirit''s soul core shortly after.

    "Does this misty forest only have vengeful spirits? There were at least some ghouls in the outer regions. However, there''s only been vengeful spirits ever since we stepped foot into the inner regions," Aria mentioned.

    "There might have been other creatures in Extreme Misty Forest in the past, but the vengeful spirits most likely wiped them all out," Leon spected.

    "Still, it''s a bit nerve-wracking that there were so many Transcendent-level vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest. If these vengeful spirits were ever let loose on the Human Domain, it would be a disaster," Darlene thought.

    "These vengeful spirits are so aggressive to all living things. Forget about a disaster; it would have been the end of humanity if there was an outbreak during the previous Cataclysm," Aria said wryly.

    During that time, the number of Transcendents among humans could have been counted with one''s hands.

    And while the Human Domain prospered after the construction of the Great Wall, humans didn''t even know their lives were still hanging by a fine thread.

    "Nevertheless, these vengeful spirits wouldn''t leave Extreme Misty Forest. They are relying on the heavy yin energy to continue their meaningless existence. Otherwise, I doubt Transcendent-level vengeful spirits could have existed for over ten thousand years," Leon stated.

    "But what would happen if the heavy yin energy in Extreme Misty Forest suddenly disappeared one day. Would the vengeful spirits disappear too?" Faelyn asked.

    "¡­"

    Suddenly, Leon and Aria paused their steps with solemn looks, causing Darlene and Faelyn to follow suit and stop as well.

    "The heavy yin energy is the only thing keeping the vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest. So if the yin energy disappears, the vengeful spirits would indeed die off. However, it wouldn''t happen right away," Leon stated.

    "The vengeful spirits would go crazy and scatter to look for new sources of yin outside of Extreme Misty Forest. Thus, the outbreak would endanger everyone in the Crawford Empire," Aria added.

    "We got to hurry," Leon urged.

    The threedies quickly agreed before they picked up the pace. After advancing a few dozen miles deeper into the inner region, they encountered Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits.

    "At this rate, we might even encounter Paragon-level vengeful spirits by the time we enter the central region," Ariamented with a frown.

    Her Ice-Lightning Law had yet to reach the Paragon level. Thus, its effectiveness against Paragon-level vengeful spirits would diminish due to the power difference.

    "Leon!" Faelyn suddenly eximed with surprise?"

    "Hm?" Leon turned to Faelyn.

    "I''m picking another battle taking ce four hundred yards northwest from here! I think it''s Her¡ªM-mother!" Faelyn eximed.

    Four hundred yards wasn''t exactly very far. Even if they couldn''t see due to the poor visibility, they should hear the sound of battle.

    Furthermore, they were used to the ongoing howls of the vengeful spirits. Thus, they didn''t notice anything usual¡ªthat is, until Leon noticed the sharp whistle of winds.

    Leon''s eyes flickered immediately.

    "Let''s go and check it out!"

 Chapter 935 - Aim For Something Bigger

    <h4>Chapter 935 - Aim For Something Bigger</h4>

    After Leon urged the group, the threedies quickly followed Leon''s lead and arrived at the source of the battle.

    Upon their arrival, they immediately felt several sharp, fiery sword waves cut through the air, one of which headed in their direction.

    However, Leon quickly swatted the sharp, fiery sword waves away with his bare hand. At the same time, the sheer force of his wave briefly dispelled the heavy mist in the area, allowing everyone to see the battle ahead of them.

    "Mother!" Leon called out to Queen Elizabeth with joy and relief upon seeing his mother fighting the Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirit.

    His voice distracted Elizabeth from her fight, but Aria quickly moved in to intercept the vengeful spirit''s attack.

    Yiiii¡ª!

    The Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirit screamed after the ray of lightning Sword Intent struck its disintegrating spiritual body. A few momentster, only the soul core remained behind.

    "My son! What are you doing here?" Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised before approaching Leon with great joy.

    "I¡ª"

    Before Leon could answer, Elizabeth showered him in her motherly love as she embraced him,pletely treating him like a child.

    Leon could only helplessly surrender himself to his mother''s whims while the threedies watched them with soft giggles and smiles.

    "My, look at you. Finally decided toe home, eh? You must have grown a lot in these past few weeks," Elizabeth held Leon''s broad shoulders before studying his changes.

    "Well, we''re not exactly home, are we?" Leon replied with a wry smile before adding, "I came to fetch you and Lynne, Mother."

    "I didn''t expect you to venture so deep on your own. How did you deal with Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits at your level, Mother?" Leon asked curiously shortly after.

    "Hm? Are you looking down on me now that you have grown so much stronger than your mother?" Elizabeth put on a fierce look when she questioned him.

    "Of course not," Leon replied wryly.

    "I''m just curious since your levels are mismatched, Mother. I sensed the fire element earlier. Did you finally decide to raise your fire ability to the Transcendent level?" Leon asked shortly after.

    Elizabeth nodded at first but then shook her head after.

    "Yes, and no. I had no choice but to raise my fire ability with a Fire Transcendent Crystal to deal with these annoying things. However, my fire ability is only at the 9-stars Ranked Awakener Realm," Elizabeth said.

    "But you''re probably wondering how I can deal with Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits with only 9-star fire ability, right? Well, there''s nothing much to it. You should already know that Sword Masters have extreme attack power due to their Sword Intents."

    "My Peak Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent-level metal ability further enhances this attack power. Although it doesn''t work on vengeful spirits¡­ However, after merging my fire ability with my Sword Intent and metal ability, they turn into an elemental attack that can finally hurt the vengeful spirits."

    "That makes sense," Leon nodded with understanding after listening to Elizabeth''s exnation.

    "However, Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits seem to be the limit of my ability. If I can''t find Lynne in this region, I will have to turn back eventually¡ªhad I not met all of you here," Elizabeth said.

    "Nevertheless, I see that you had also brought my daughters-inw along on this trip. Have you all been well?" Elizabeth shifted her attention to the threedies shortly after.

    "Yes, M-mother."

    "Yes, Mother."

    Aria and Darlene stuttered nervously, while Faelyn addressed Elizabeth morefortably than the two.

    "That''s good," Elizabeth nodded approvingly. Then, she studied Aria and Darlene before saying, "The two of you must have grown a lot while following Leon. That''s great. You can help me take out these vengeful spirits in this area."

    However, Aria and Darlene opened their mouths without uttering a word, unsure how to respond to Elizabeth.

    They turned to Leon for help shortly after.

    "Do you n to hunt vengeful spirits and stop looking for Lynne, Mother?" Leon asked with furrowed brows.

    "It can''t be helped," Elizabeth replied helplessly.

    "Even if we want to look for Lynne, it''s too dangerous to proceed any deeper in this forest. There are most likely to be even stronger vengeful spirits in the depths of this misty forest. Thus, the best we can do is kill more vengeful spirits. They''re not only a threat to Lynne but also to the entire empire."

    "I didn''t realize how much threat the vengeful spirits posed until I ventured this deep. Now that we have integrated the Durham Kingdom, Vran Kingdom, and the Elven Tribe, our poption has grown fourfold. But that also means fourfold the concern."

    "Since Extreme Misty Forest upies the entire north of our empire''s northern borders, it would be disastrous if a vengeful spirit outbreak ever urs. That''s why we need to kill these vengeful spirits here, for everyone''s sake."

    After hearing that, Leon understood his mother''s intention and concern.

    While his mother guessed that they had grown a lot in the past few weeks, his mother didn''t understand precisely how much they had grown.

    "There''s no need to worry, Mother. We''re very strong now. Early Paragons are no problem for us," Leon assured with a smile. "We n to look for Lynne in the central region. So we won''t be stopping here, Mother."

    Nevertheless, Elizabeth and Faelyn were shocked after hearing Leon''s im.

    They knew Leon had grown strong. However, they didn''t know he had grown THAT strong¡ªstrong enough to treat Early Paragons like nothing.

    Furthermore, by Leon''s words, it wasn''t just him who attained this level of strength but also Aria and Darlene.

    Elizabeth was so shocked she couldn''t find words to reply.

    "There''s no need to be so surprised, Mother. I explored an entire secret realm during my travels in the Dark Abyss Continent with Aria and Darlene. I''ve also brought back a lot of primordial techniques and resources for everyone," Leon stated.

    "Nevertheless, Mother made a valid point. The vengeful spirits of Extreme Misty Forest are a significant threat to the empire. However, we shouldn''t just look at exterminating vengeful spirits, Mother. We should aim for something bigger."

    "What do you mean, Son?" Elizabeth asked with doubt.

 Chapter 936 - Frozen Land

    <h4>Chapter 936 - Frozen Land</h4>

    "What I mean is that if we are going to remove the threat in Extreme Misty Forest, we might as well reim the entire northernnd and gain ess to the Boundless Sea," Leon stated.

    "Given the rapid developments in New Capital, I believe we could use the timber while cutting a path to the Boundless Sea at the same time. So it''s practically killing two birds with one stone," Leon added shortly after.

    Elizabeth was astonished at first, but her eyes beamed brilliantly upon further thought into the matter.

    "If we can reim Extreme Misty Forest, it would be equivalent to gaining two kingdom-size territories and its rich timber resource. Furthermore, the quality of timber from Extreme Misty Forest is far better than ironwood," Elizabeth muttered thoughtfully.

    Due to the extreme environment of Extreme Misty Forest, the forest''s trees had practically all died, bing deadwood. However, they had been repeatedly tempered by cold yin all year round, making them exceptionally sturdy.

    Furthermore, they inherit the cold characteristics of cold yin, making them good for creating cold storage for food and cooling systems for hot weather.

    While Elizabeth mulled over the many benefits that could be gained from reiming Extreme Misty Forest, Aria and Darlene were excited over the Boundless Sea.

    Although the twodies still had loads of sea monster meat in their storage space, it was limited until their next trip back to the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    However, if the Crawford Empire gained ess to the north sea, they wouldn''t need to return to the Radiant Heaven Realmship. They could enjoy sea monster meat in the Human Domain as well.

    Nevertheless, Elizabeth suddenly frowned.

    "While the idea sounds great, the risk is equally great. We don''t know what lies in the core region. It could be more than just Early Paragon-level vengeful spirits. It''s enough to sweep the inner region," Elizabeth shook her head and said.

    However, Leon argued with a wry smile, "You don''t have to worry about anything, Mother. I ampletely confident even if we have to face a Peak Paragon-level vengeful spirit."

    When he mentioned dealing with Early Paragon-level vengeful spirits, he considered Aria and Darlene''s abilities.

    If he was only considering his abilities, then he was on a different level.

    Of course, Leon wouldn''t stand a chance against them with his present strength if they were any other Peak Paragon-level beings. But against spiritual beings, he was the absolute dominator.

    A touch of Nihility would obliterate their existences.

    Nevertheless, Elizabeth was not easily convinced with mere words. After all, she considered Peak Paragon-level existences to be the rulers of the world.

    "You''re taking this matter too lightly, Son," Elizabeth argued back with a sigh, thinking her son''s exponential growth may have made himcent.

    However, Leon shook his head. It wasn''t him who wascent; his mother doesn''t understand the depths of strength.

    "Perhaps, you''ll understand a bit after learning these techniques, Mother," Leon said.

    Shortly after, Leon transmitted several primordial techniques into Elizabeth''s head with the spirit transmission technique, including several divine sword arts and battle skills.

    Elizabeth was stunned by the knowledge.

    ording to the cultivation techniques, there was still the Celestial and True Divinity Realm beyond the Transcendent Realm.

    Nevertheless, knowing these primordial techniques only gives one the potential to reach those realms one day. It doesn''t mean they are already at that level of power.

    Elizabeth furrowed her brows and said, "I''ming with you, my son. I won''t be relieved until I see your abilities with my own eyes. So show me you have what it takes to deal with Paragon-level vengeful spirits."

    "As you wish, Mother," Leon nodded with a slight smile.

    He never intended to send his mother home on her own while they were this deep inside Extreme Misty Forest. It would be better if they find Lynne before returning home together.

    "I''ll be going on ahead. Look after Faelyn and my mother," Leon said to Aria and Darlene.

    Shortly after, he went ahead of the group and issued a mighty lion roar to attract the vengeful spirits in the misty forest.

    "HAAA¡ª!" Leon''s roar resounded throughout the forest.

    Within moments, the forest was stirred with sharp howling winds; the dead leaves rustled, and the vengeful spirits screamed, incited by the disturbance.

    The heavy mist was dispersed from the area with a wave of Leon''s hand, allowing his mother to see several dozen Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits flocking towards him.

    However, Elizabeth''s heart was shaken with shock when she saw Leon standing silently in the center of the vengeful spirits'' swarm, doing nothing.

    "What are you doing, my son!? Watch¡ª!" Elizabeth wanted to warn Leon. But before she could finish her words, her eyes widened with astonishment.

    The Rank 2 Transcendent-level vengeful spirits vanished into thin air, soul core and all as if they had never existed before they could touch Leon.

    "What in the¡­ world¡­" Elizabeth uttered with wide eyes.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, somewhere in the core region of Extreme Misty Foresty, Lynne nced back in the southern direction after sensing a subtle yet distant stir in the forest.

    Several Paragon-level vengeful spirits aimlessly wandered about in the area, but none seemed to have noticed her presence.

    "Something''s happening back there," Lynne softly uttered.

    However, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress quickly reprimanded her, ''Focus, child. Now is not the time to be distracted.''

    ''With your present cultivation level, you are no match for these Paragon-level vengeful spirits. If you lose your cover, these Paragon-level vengeful spirits will tear you apart,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress warned.

    "Sorry, Master. I won''t be distracted again," Lynne apologized.

    A few momentster, Lynne continued to explore the depths of the core region. But unlike the inner regions, the core region''s temperatures had drastically dropped frighteningly low.

    As a result, everything was frozen; the ground, trees, and air were frozen, forming a dome over the forest with icicles hanging down from them.

    It was a frozennd with terrifying coldness. However, such coldness was like the purest of air for Lynne.

    It was the best ce to cultivate her Ice Law.

 Chapter 937 - Ice Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 937 - Ice Mountain</h4>

    Although the frozennd was suitable for cultivation, it was even better if she could find the source of the cold yin in the region. Thus, Lynne ventured deeper into the frozennd.

    Along the way, ice became more prominent in the area while the heavy mist became less and less. Before long, Lynne''s visibility improved, and she could see at least thirty yards ahead.

    Nevertheless, she did not stop advancing.

    After trekking for more than twenty miles, Lynne realized the frozennd extended further than she thought. At the same time, the absence of trees also made her wonder if she exited the other end of the forest.

    However, Lynne noticed the slope of the icy ground was slowly ascending with numerous stumps stuck out from it. They were the stumps of broken trees.

    The upper parts of the frozen trees could not be found anywhere. Or rather, the upper parts had all been shattered into numerous pieces and became unrecognizable.

    "These cold yin trees are supposed to be extremely sturdy due to the cold yin tempering all year round. And yet, the cold yin trees around here are all broken? What could have shattered them like this?" Lynne wondered with surprise.

    While studying the tiny frozen tree shards and icy splinters on the ground, she became even more astonished.

    ''The cold yin energy in this region isparable to your current mastery of the True Permafrost Divine Art. At this level of cold power, you can turn any matter into ice at the structural level,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress mentioned.

    ''As such, once you apply this ice power to objects like these broken trees, they be extremely hard, but at the same time, very brittle. As such, they will shatter like fine ss after you strike them with a concussive blow beyond a certain threshold.''

    ''This is why you didn''t need to shatter the energy conversion towers personally. They were already destroyed when you froze them into icy substances with the True Permafrost Divine Art,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress exined.

    After all, there''s no such thing as breaking off theyer of ice on a perma-frozen energy conversion tower. The entire perma-frozen energy conversation tower IS the ice.

    Therefore, breaking the ice is equivalent to breaking the energy conversion tower.

    "Still, a strong force is needed to shatter these cold yin trees like this, no? That''s what I''m more curious about, Master," Lynne stated.

    ''Un, these broken trees are rather suspicious points of interest. So you should proceed with caution, my child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress advised.

    "Yes, Master," Lynneplied.

    As she advanced, the mist gradually cleared, revealing an enormous crescent moon-shaped ice mountain ahead.

    Lynne''s eyes gradually widened with astonishment.

    "There was such a huge ice mountain hidden in the depths of Extreme Misty Forest! Is this Extreme Misty Forest''s main source of coldness?" Lynne eximed in wonder.

    Furthermore, no Paragon-level vengeful spirits were found beyond the point where the mist ended. The vengeful spirits only stayed within the cold yin mist and never out of it.

    Swoosh~!

    A powerful yet sudden surge of wind carried the cold yin mist up the ice mountain, pushing Lynne forward along with it¡ªor rather, it straight up sted her forward.

    Unfortunately, she waspletely unprepared for it.

    ''Careful, child!'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empressed warned, albeit a little toote. Even she did not foresee such a powerful wind currenting.

    After the surge of wind sent Lynne flying two miles up the ice mountain beyond her control, she eventually regained her bearing in midair.

    Then, she conjured an ice spear and stabbed it into the ice mountain, breaking herself away from the powerful gust of wind. But, s, it took her multiple attempts before she finally came to aplete stop, free from the powerful wind current.

    On the other hand, the powerful win current continued to carry the cold yin mist as they rushed up the crescent moon-shaped ice mountain together.

    Then, after reaching the top, they came pouring back down into Extreme Misty Forest like a rain of clouds with cold air due to the ice mountain''s curved shape.

    "That scared me," Lynnemented with lingering fear.

    She did not have a powerful body. If she didn''t break free from the wind current, she could have died upon smashing into the ice mountain.

    ''You need to get out of this area before another powerful wind currentes rushing up the ice mountain,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress advised.

    "Yes, Master," Lynne nodded. Even so, she couldn''t help but quickly wonder, "But where did this powerful wind currente from?"

    Nevertheless, she quickly found her answer on the other side of the crescent moon-shaped ice mountain. At the same time, she realized the crescent moon-shaped ice mountain was not so shaped like a crescent moon.

    It indeed has the curve of a crescent moon. However, the other side of the ice mountain was a vast descending ice slope.

    It was kind of like one enormous water slide of epic proportions.

    However, what startled Lynne was the clear view ahead of her. The other half of Extreme Misty Forest was nowhere in sight. By that, she meant the vastnd of heavy mists and trees.

    What she saw was an endless stretch of icend that extended for hundreds of miles, leading all the way to the Boundless Sea in the far north of the Human Domain.

    More astonishingly, portions of the Boundless Sea connected to thend were also frozen. Lynne understood the ice formation of the mountain came from sea waves.

    It was a breathtaking sight.

    However, it was a breathtaking sight that couldn''t be enjoyed unless one reached the top of the ice mountain.

    The people in the Human Domain would have never known whaty on the other side of the forest due to the thick obscuring everything.

    Lynne gulped.

    ''Child, I believe you can guess what the source of this icend is without locating it, right?'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress assumed.

    "It''s a Celestial Ice Spark, isn''t it, Master?" Lynne replied.

 Chapter 938 - Heavenly Ice Law

    <h4>Chapter 938 - Heavenly Ice Law</h4>

    Lynne has heard stories and received portions of the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s memories. Only a Celestial Spark or object of a higher level could create such special domains in the world.

    Besides a Celestial Ice Spark, Lynne could not guess what else could have created such a peculiar ice mountain and vast frozenndscape.

    ''That''s right, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress confirmed Lynne''s guess.

    ''It is indeed a Celestial Ice Spark that caused the transformation of thisnd as you see it. Furthermore, it''s not a particrly low-quality Celestial Ice Spark either. If you can refine it, you will step into the Celestial Realm directly and gain at least ten thousand years of lifespan, child.''

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress wasn''t sure what the strong ice power was in the depths of Extreme Misty Forest. But now that they were on top of the ice mountain, she waspletely certain of it.

    "I will ascend to the Celestial Realm directly, Master? Refining the Celestial Ice Spark will let me skip the entire Paragon stage?" Lynne uttered with surprise.

    ''Of course,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress affirmed.

    ''Celestial Sparks are the cultivation of Celestials'' cultivations. Thus, refining one of their Celestial Sparks is the same as refining their cultivation to reach the same level.''

    Lynne became even more astonished after hearing the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress exin the details.

    Celestials were beings that could refine the endless celestial energy of the universe; it was the first true shedding of mortality.

    As such, she would no longer be tied down by the world. She would be free to travel among the stars in the void, which is inhospitable to ordinary life once she ascends the Celestial Realm.

    "To think that such an opportunity had been resting under this ice mountain all this time¡­" Lynne uttered incredulously.

    Despite how close the Celestial Ice Spark was to the Crawford Empire, it wasn''t a ce anyone coulde.

    Nevertheless, Lynne could not help but frown.

    While the prospect of bing a Celestial is very tempting, she didn''t believe reaching the Celestial Realm so easily woulde without an appropriate price to be paid.

    "Wouldn''t there be any adverse side effects or consequences to refining the Celestial Ice Spark, Master?" Lynne inquired carefully.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress felt joy after hearing Lynne''s question.

    It shows that her disciple was prudent and not blinded by greed that she would ignore any hidden dangers in the Celestial Ice Spark.

    ''You''re right, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress admitted.

    ''The Celestial Ice Spark is the cumtion of an Ice Celestial''s cultivation. However, everyone has different ideas andprehensions towards thew. Thus, when you refine the Celestial Ice Spark, you are also gain this Ice Celestial''s uniqueprehension of the Ice Law.''

    ''Generally, when this happens, it would cripple your future potential. This means preventing you from ever surpassing the cultivation level of the Ice Celestial attained in that person''s lifetime.''

    "Why is that the case, Master?" Lynne asked with a startled look.

    ''Because your mind would be attuned to the Ice Celestial''s unique insight on the Ice Law when youpletely refined the Celestial Ice Spark,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress exined.

    However, Lynne didn''t see a problem with that.

    "What''s wrong with that?" Lynne asked curiously.

    ''You don''t understand, child?'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress asked before patiently exining shortly after.

    ''Even if yourprehension of the Ice Law is attuned to the Ice Celestial''s unique insight on it, you are not the Ice Celestial. You may understand how the Ice Celestial think on the Ice Law up until his level. However, anything beyond that bes unknown to you.''

    ''And because you don''t understand how the Ice Celestial willprehend the Ice Law beyond that, you cannot deepen yourprehension and advance your cultivation beyond the Ice Celestial''s level,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    After listening up until that point, Lynne finally gained aplete understanding of the side effects involved with Celestial Sparks.

    However, despite learning the side effects, she didn''t show any particr concern. Naturally, this aroused the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s curiosity.

    ''Are you not concerned in the least about your limited future once you refine the Celestial Ice Spark, child?''

    "Of course not. I believe Master has a solution around this problem," Lynne replied confidently with a cheeky smile.

    ''You rascal¡­''

    "Hehe!"

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress felt ttered by her disciple''s trust. But, at the same time, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress also became more fond of her new disciple.

    ''You''re right, child. Other people''s future potential would be crippled once they refine the Celestial Ice Spark. However, you have Master, a True Divinity in the Ice Law.''

    ''When you refine the Celestial Ice Spark, Master will help you absorb its icy power. We will keep all of the Ice Celestial''sprehension conforming with the Heavenly Ice Law. But any insight that has Ice Celestial''s unique interpretation on the Heavenly Ice Law, I will throw away.''

    ''Although this also means that you won''t reach the same height as the Ice Celestial after refining his Celestial Ice Spark. But at the very least, you will keep your potential of reaching and even surpassing it in the future,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix stated.

    "I see. However, isn''t this Heavenly Ice Law just your own interpretation andprehension on the Ice Law, Master?" Lynne asked shortly after. Then, she added, "And by following that thought, my potential will still be limited. Except the bar has been changed to the True Divinity Realm instead."

    ''That''s right, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress acknowledged.

    ''I''m d you understand clearly. However, even if your potential for the Heavenly Ice Law is at the True Divinity level, it''s unlikely that you will ever reach the True Divinity Realm.''

    "You don''t believe in me, Master?" Lynne furrowed her brows.

    ''It''s not about whether I believe in you or not, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress denied her doubt.

    ''If it was possible, Master naturally wishes you to be a True Divinity like Master. However, present Primal Chaos is too devastated by the primordial era''s Great War.. As a result, the Heavenly Laws are weakened, and no one can advance to True Divinity anymore.''

 Chapter 939 - Gods Graveyard

    <h4>Chapter 939 - God''s Graveyard</h4>

    "No one can reach the True Divinity Realm anymore?" Lynne repeated with a frown.

    ''Yes, child. In the billions of years since the end of the primordial era, I''ve seen countless talented children reach the peak of the Celestial Realm. Some had even taken half a step further, but never the full step into True Divinity.''

    ''In the end, their limited lifespans expired like the final embers of dying stars. They all left the world with regret,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress said with a sigh.

    Lynne was reminded of her master''s incredible age after listening to her master''s words. Peak Celestial Emperors and Half-step True Divinities were all children in her master''s eyes.

    She wryly smiled as she took in that information.

    Suddenly, Lynne thought of something.

    Her master has seen many the rise and fall of many geniuses after the primordial era. That means that her master has awakened consciousness in her other few soul fragments for a long time.

    "Master, you said that you are not interested in taking over my body," Lynne mentioned.

    "However, that can''t be the case for every True Divinity that awakened their divine consciousness, right? Wouldn''t several True Divinities have gathered their scattered soul fragments and revived themselves by now? And if they did, wouldn''t their strength be back in the True Divinity Realm?"

    ''It''s not that simple, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress replied.

    ''You should already know that True Divinities'' divine soul shattered into countless parts in the Great War. Furthermore, these scattered soul fragments have be a part of other souls in this present era.''

    ''Unless the mortal souls could tap into thews and stir the soul fragments of True Divinities awake, the True Divinities would not be aware of their soul fragments'' locations. Furthermore, this is under the assumption that these True Divinities'' souls weren''t split into so many soul fragments that they lost their ability to think.''

    ''But let''s say there was a lucky True Divinity with only three soul fragments. And all three soul fragments had been awakened by their hosts before the True Divinity seized their bodies. Even in that case, it''s very unlikely for all three soul fragments to be found in the same gxy.''

    "But since the True Divinity is aware of its soul fragments'' locations. Can''t the True Divinity send its incarnations out to other gxies to unite with its other soul fragments?" Lynne wondered.

    However, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress chuckled at Lynne''s na?ve question.

    ''Child, the biggest hurdle for mortals in the present era is traveling between gxies. An unbound Celestial Emperor only has a lifespan of 100-thousand years, and a Half-step True Divinity''s lifespan can be anywhere between 500-thousand to 10-million years.''

    ''Let''s look at the current Hyperion Gxy we are situated. Even if we manage to leave God''s Graveyard and enter the Divine Realm, the Divine Regions outside are already so vast. Without taking the ancient spatial arrays, it would take ten-thousand light years to travel between the Divine Regions. And that is only between the Divine Regions.''

    ''If we want to travel to the closest host gxy neighboring our Hyperion Gxy, it is expected to take around 3-million light-years. That''s not a voyage any mortal can take on, let alone willing to undertake. Just the solitude of the journey alone would drive them crazy.''

    ''However, that''s not the most critical point. Absolute voids exist in the gaps between gxies. Even if you are a Half-step True Divinity who can travel at tenfold the speed of light, you will run out of celestial energy. You won''t get far from the Hyperion Gxy before starving to death,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    "You can still starve to death at the Celestial Emperor Realm, Master? No, more importantly, you''ve been outside of this ''God''s Graveyard'' before, Master?" Lynne asked with surprise.

    ''More than once,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress answered.

    ''Master has even tried to leave the Hyperion Gxy with Master''s previous hosts before. However, it''s no use. A mortal is still a mortal in the end. Your source of sustenance simply changes from food to celestial energy after reaching the Celestial Realm.''

    ''Once you leave a certain distance from the Hyperion Gxy, there will be no celestial energy to refine in the void. Thus, it is still a death zone for anyone below True Divinity. And once the host body of an awakened soul fragment dies, the True Divinity''s soul fragment returns to dormancy in its next host back in its home gxy.''

    ''This is like Primal Chaos''s self-defense mechanism preventing True Divinities from ever trying to revive themselves and bring further devastation upon Primal Chaos. The primordial era of gods and devils is long over, child. You can be assured of that,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    It was also because of the impossibility of reaching the next gxy that the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress decisively gave up hopes of ever reviving.

    Astonishment was written all over Lynne''s face. However, there was one thing she didn''t understand.

    "How did True Divinities travel between gxies in the primordial era, Master? Wouldn''t the absolute void in-between gxies be a problem for True Divinities as well?" Lynne asked with doubt.

    ''Hahaha¡­'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress softly chuckled.

    ''Child, there was no such thing as absolute voids back in the primordial era. There was only Primal Chaos. These absolute voids were only formed after the Great War shattered everything apart, ending the primordial era along with it.''

    ''Even now, the aftermath of the Great War can be vaguely felt as the gxies continue to shift ever further apart from each other,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress added.

    Throughout Lynne''s conversation with her master, she didn''t idle on the ice mountain.

    Instead, she had been burrowing her way through the thick ice to reach the heart of the ice mountain, where the Celestial Ice Spark.

    Even without the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s guidance, Lynne understood where the Celestial Ice Spark was located.

    It would be strange if she, someone with the ice ability, not to sense the overwhelming icy power flowing from the depths of the ice mountain.

    Nevertheless, the interior of the ice mountain was not solid.

    Instead, it was primarily hollow.. Many open spaces and passageways inside the ice mountain were massive enough for behemoth-size beasts to move through them.

 Chapter 940 - Half-Step Divine Beast

    <h4>Chapter 940 - Half-Step Divine Beast</h4>

    Although Lynne found suspicious points in the geographicyout of the ice mountain''s interior, she continued to venture deeper. She followed the direction of the icy power she sensed.

    However, a sudden thought made her pause her steps.

    "Master, wouldn''t the cold yin mist disappear after I refine the Celestial Ice Spark? Wouldn''t the sea of vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest rampage outside and cause a disaster for the people?" Lynne wondered.

    ''Of course,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empressed confirmed.

    ''The Celestial Ice Spark is the source of all the cold yin energy in Extreme Misty Forest and this d region. Once you take it away, the cold environment will gradually disappear.''

    "In that case, I don''t want to refine the Celestial Ice Spark, Master. I don''t want to cause trouble for the Crawford Empire. Numerous people will die if all the vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest rush outside," Lynne stated.

    ''You are being foolish, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress sighed.

    ''It''s good to think about the wellbeing of others; that''s what makes you kind. However, you don''t understand the power of a Celestial. Once you refine the Celestial Ice Spark and ascend the Celestial Realm, it would be difficult for you to deal with the vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest.''

    ''With a wave of your hand, you could perma-freeze the entire Extreme Misty Forest and seal all the vengeful spirits inside. Even Peak Paragon-level vengeful spirits wouldn''t be able to do anything about it,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    "You''re right, Master. I wasn''t thinking things through," Lynne reflected.

    She barely stepped into the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm.

    Forget the Celestial Realm; she didn''t even understand much about the Acknowledge Paragon-stage Transcendent Realm.

    After re-confirming her resolve, Lynne continued to venture into the depths of the cave within the ice mountain.

    Before long, she stepped into a muchrger cave.

    "I can feel it, Master. I am getting very close to the Celestial Ice Spark," Lynne informed.

    The icy cave was terrifyingly cold and dark. Anyone besides Lynne would have already suffered severe frostbites and died before they could even step foot on the ice mountain.

    Nevertheless, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress did not need Lynne to inform her. She shared Lynne''s senses and could understand the situation outside.

    ''Mm, you should have reached the heart of this ice mountain now. You should be able to find the Celestial Ice Spark very shortly¡ªBe careful, child! You''re not alone in this cave,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress suddenly warned.

    Lynne immediately paused her steps in shock.

    Nevertheless, it was toote to hide her presence. She had already alerted the creature dwelling in the heart of the ice mountain.

    Rumble¡­!

    The ground shook, and various surfaces of the ice cracked. Some ice shards fell from the ceiling, but more rmingly was the split in the icy ground.

    It didn''t take long before Lynne saw a giant creature raise its head from the enormous crack in the icy ground and stare at her with its frosty blue eyes.

    "An ice phoenix!" Lynne eximed with wide eyes.

    She immediately understood why there weren''t any vengeful spirits in the vicinity of the ice mountain.

    It wasn''t because the vengeful spirits couldn''t exist outside the heavy mist.

    That was a misconception.

    The mist in Extreme Misty Forest contained cold yin energy, but so did the ice mountain! In fact, the ice mountain contained even more cold yin energy!

    The only difference was their form; one was gaseous, and the other was solid.

    "The Paragon-level vengeful spirits didn''t enter the ice mountain because it was the territory of this ice phoenix, Master!" Lynne eximed.

    ''Be careful, child! This ice phoenix is a Half-step Divine Beast. Furthermore, it''s not happy with you trespassing on its territory and disturbing its slumber!'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress warned.

    "What should I do, Master?" Lynne sought the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s help.

    There was no way she could get away from a Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix with her current ability.

    Nevertheless, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress could not help think this was a blessing on top of another blessing. She didn''t think it was a disaster.

    After all, she was the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, the most ancient ice phoenix and ancestor of all ice phoenixes!

    Even so, she was pleasantly surprised to discover an ice phoenix in such a ce.

    ''Master can tame this ice phoenix for you, child. However, your lifespan will have to suffer a bit. Are you willing?'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress asked.

    However, the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix started to cry with impatience before Lynne could answer.

    Kree!

    The Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix pped its wings, and a blizzard of terrifying coldness rampaged through the cave.

    Even Lynne, who had high resistance to the cold, felt chills in her body and found it difficult to breathe under the blizzard storm.

    "Please help me, Master!" Lynne requested.

    Even if she didn''t want to tame the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix, she had no choice but to borrow the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s power either way.

    There was no other way to escape the disaster.

    In the next instance, Lynne''s eyes glowed with sharp blue light, and the aura surrounding her body changed, bing more ancient and authoritative.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress had taken over control of Lynne''s body.

    "Quiet down!" the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress uttered two words in the native tongue of the ice phoenix race.

    The Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix immediately felt a terrible suppression on its soul as if the primordial ancestor of its kind was scolding it.

    It showed its astonishment and surprise. But, more importantly, it lowered its head in submission in front of the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress after recognizing her supremacy.

    "It''s good that you understand me," the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress nodded with approval.

    "It wasn''t easy for you to cultivate to such a level on your own. However, it''ll be difficult for you to progress any further on your own. Follow me, and I will resolve all your bottlenecks."

    "Kree!" the ice phoenix gave a soft cry in response.

    Shortly after, it lowered its head into the big crack before picking out the Celestial Ice Spark with its beak and offering it to the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress as a token of its submission.

 Chapter 941 - Reaching The Ice Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 941 - Reaching The Ice Mountain</h4>

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress epted the Celestial Ice Spark from the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix''s beak and nodded.

    The Celestial Ice Spark''s quality was as she expected it to be, a Celestial Lord-level Celestial Ice Spark.

    "I won''t take your source of cultivation without giving anything in return. I will teach you a few techniques that will be useful before and after the Divine Beast Realm," the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated coolly.

    Shortly after, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress used the spirit transmission technique to impart a few primordial techniques to the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix.

    Some primordial techniques were about ice power control, some were about spiritual cultivation, and some were about physical transformation.

    Nevertheless, they were all primordial techniques unique to the ice phoenix race.

    The knowledge was very easy for the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix to understand. Thus, it lowered its head to the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress again to express its gratitude.

    "I don''t have a lot of time, so take care of my disciple. I want you to guard her when she refines this Celestial Ice Spark. Furthermore, in the future, you will treat her exactly how you would treat me," the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress instructed.

    After the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix expressed that it understood the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s instructions, the divine aura around Lynne''s body slowly vanished.

    Lynne''s face paled with a sense of weakness after regaining control of her body. Even though it was only for a short moment, what little lifespan she had left was further shortened.

    ''You don''t have much time left, child. Start refining the Celestial Ice Spark immediately. The ice phoenix will guard you,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress urged.

    "Yes, Master," Lynne nodded.

    The notion of her lifespan nearing depletion terrified her. As such, she didn''t hesitate to follow her master''s instructions.

    Kree!

    The ice phoenix suddenly gave a soft cry, catching Lynne''s attention before she nced at the spot pointed by the ice phoenix''s beak.

    "You want me to refine the Celestial Ice Spark there?" Lynne asked for confirmation.

    The ice phoenix nodded.

    "Alright," Lynne agreed.

    Shortly after, she moved to the location by the ice phoenix''s giant body. Then, the ice phoenix wrapped its wings around her and created a quiet and enclosed space for her to refine the Celestial Ice Spark without disturbance.

    "Thank you," Lynne smiled.

    Before long, Lynne closed her eyes and shut off her perception of the outside world before focusing her attention on the Celestial Ice Spark''s power.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    A few miles away from the frozennd region, Leon continued his search with Aria, Darlene, Faelyn, and his mother, Elizabeth.

    Yiii¡ª!

    Another Peak Paragon-level vengeful spirit felled after colliding with Leon''s Nihility Barrier, leaving nothing behind.

    It was unfortunate that they had to y the vengeful spirits without gaining their soul cores. However, it can''t be helped. Looking for Lynne was more important.

    Nevertheless, they weren''t going out of their way to attract all the Paragon-level vengeful spirits in the area.

    Thedies were moving together with Leon''s mother under stealth mode while he, himself, was the bait. He took the lead to clear the obstacles in their path.

    Suddenly, Leon paused his steps after sensing the change in the environment ahead. Elizabeth and the threedies eventually caught up before a few of them expressed confusion.

    "Why did we suddenly stop, son?" Elizabeth asked.

    "There''s a vast frozennd up ahead. The heavy mist starts thinning there, but so do the vengeful spirits," Leon mentioned with knitted brows.

    "Isn''t that a good thing? It means that it''ll be safer to search for Lynne. We wouldn''t have to worry about attracting these vengeful spirits," Elizabeth thought.

    However, Leon shook his head.

    "On the contrary, it''s even more dangerous, Mother," Leon corrected.

    "The frozennd ahead is strong in cold yin energy. This makes it a more appealing location than these parts of Extreme Misty Forest for the vengeful spirits to settle. However, there are even less vengeful spirits in that frozennd region for some reason."

    Nevertheless, they didn''t stop moving. After entering the frozennd region and reaching the end of the mist, they discovered the crescent mood-shaped ice mountain up ahead.

    "Paragon-level vengeful spirits are avoiding this ice mountain even though it contains the highest concentration of cold yin energy!" Aria''s eyes flickered with discovery.

    "I''ve also noticed that," Leon agreed with a nod before furrowing his brows in the next moment.

    "We should be around the halfway point in Extreme Misty Forest. Yet, the core region of the Extreme Misty Forest is a frozennd without trees. This is rather strange."

    "No, the core region of Extreme Misty Forest being a frozennd makes sense. It exins the heavy cold yin mist throughout Extreme Misty Forest. However, it''s strange that the environment is like this, to begin with. It''s unnatural."

    "Wouldn''t it be easily exined if a Celestial Ice Spark is hidden in this frozennd?" Aria wondered.

    "That''s the only exnation," Leon nodded.

    "But it''s clear that the vengeful spirits are avoiding the ice mountain in spite of the ice mountain containing a possible Celestial Ice Spark with abundant cold yin energy. That means there''s a high chance something even Peak Paragon-level vengeful spirits fear is guarding the Celestial Ice Spark!"

    "And Lynne is heading straight for it! We better hurry!" Leon urged with a grave look.

    Everyone quickly sensed that urgency and nodded.

    If she was currently heading towards the Celestial Ice Spark''s location ahead of them, then she was in grave danger.

    "We don''t know what we might be facing, so everyone should be on their toes," Leon solemnly advised.

    Despite suspecting something more powerful than Peak Paragon-level vengeful spirits ahead, Leon had no choice but to proceed with everyone.

    Nevertheless, the cold yin energy was frighteningly cold towards the ice mountain. Besides Leon, the others couldn''t advance without Aria''s help.

    "This is as far as we can go, son. Go on without us. We''ll wait around here," Elizabeth suggested after she was holding the group back.

    Whether it was her, Darlene, or Faelyn, none of them could endure the cold on their own. Thus, Aria volunteered to stay back and look after them.

    "Go; find Lynne.. Mother and Sister Faelyn will be fine here with me and Sister Darlene," Aria assured.

 Chapter 942 - Leons Decision

    <h4>Chapter 942 - Leon''s Decision</h4>

    Before Leon could leave, he suddenly sensed an enormous force descending from the sky. He immediately summoned a Nihility Barrierrge enough to cover the entire group in that split second.

    Swoosh~!

    A vast amount of cold air smashed into the ground, causing the cold yin mist outside the crescent moon-shaped ice mountain to billow chaotically in all directions.

    Then, as if they found a vacuum, the cold yin mist and the sudden rush of air was drawn towards the crescent moon-shaped ice mountain.

    The pulling force was weak at first, but it grew fast exponentially. The cold yin energy and air rushed up the crescent moon-shaped ice mountain before the curve sent the force back into the sky.

    Time passed, and the force seemingly disappeared in the sky suppression zone. But after a while, the torrential amount of air and mist descended from the sky once more.

    Without surprises, the cold air and mist rushed up the ice mountain again, repeating the overall process at a fixed interval.

    Nevertheless, the Nihility Barrier protected everyone inside it. Thus, no one got swept away by the powerful wind pressure.

    "Is everyone alright?" Leon asked.

    "Y-yeah. That caught me by surprise. What kind of phenomenon is this?" Faelyn replied with astonishment.

    Before long, everyone fixed their gaze on the crescent moon-shaped ice mountain ahead with silent spections and wonder.

    It was a rather spectacr phenomenon even though it seemed natural and unnatural at the same time.

    The region''s geography was unnatural due to the existence of the Celestial Ice Spark. But thanks to its uniqueness, it created an interesting phenomenon.

    "This cirction of wind force is probably responsible for all the cold yin mist in Extreme Misty Forest. However, I doubt this cirction of wind force can be repeated perpetually on its own. So there must be something powering its motion," Leon uttered.

    The sky suppression''s gravity brought the wind and mist down. However, the amount of wind that came down was much more than what went up.

    After pondering briefly, Leon''s eyes narrowed.

    Although it was faint due to the great distance, Leon vaguely sensed a lot of breezeing from the other side of the crescent moon-shaped ice mountain.

    "Breeze from the distant north sea? Is it possible for the north sea''s breeze to reach this far ind?" Leon wondered.

    His doubts would be answered if he scaled the ice mountain for a look. However, he had a more important matter at hand that required his attention.

    "Go. This much force isn''t a problem for me. I will protect everyone while you look for Lynne," Aria reassured Leon after he nced at her.

    "I''ll be quick," Leon promised.

    He quickly retracted the Nihility Barrier and generated a smaller Nihility Barrier for himself. Then, he immediately shot towards the ice mountain and scanned its surface for an opening to enter.

    After Leon left, Aria created a diamond-shaped ice pyramid with her ability to protect everyone from the sudden winds in the area.

    Thanks to its unique shape, the diamond-shaped ice pyramid split the wind with its pointed edges instead of enduring the brunt of the wind pressure head-on. The ice pyramid stood firmly whether the wind came from the sky or the forest.

    Aria used minimum power with maximum efficiency to deal with the strong winds in the area.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to search the ice mountain. Finally, after finding arge cave entrance on the ice mountain, he entered without hesitation.

    The cold temperature immediately dropped to a frighteningly new low within the ice mountain. However, the Nihility Barrier protected Leon''s body from the cold.

    As he shot through the ice mountain cave at high speed, his Nihility Barrier transformed everything it contacted into True Grandmist Energy.

    Leon absorbed every wisp of True Grandmist Energy on the way, leaving nothing behind.

    Sometimeter, Leon reached the heart of the ice mountain, and his gaze locked onto the giant ice phoenix in the center of the cave.

    His eyes narrowed instantly.

    ''Was I toote?'' Leon wondered with an ugly expression. He sensed Lynne''s faint life within the ice phoenix.

    However, after he swept the ice phoenix with his divine sense, he realized it didn''t eat Lynne. Rather, it was guarding her with its massive body while she was refining the Celestial Ice Spark.

    At the same time, the ice phoenix raised its head and stared back at Leon with its cold blue eyes. Then, it narrowed its eyes but took no further action than that.

    Even so, Leon understood that it was warning him not to get close. He was astonished by both the ice phoenix''s existence and the situation itself.

    ''The Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix is guarding Lynne?'' Leon wondered with doubt.

    He recalled teaching Lynne the Ice Phoenix Canon, a cultivation method from the Divine Ice Phoenix Pce. Still, he didn''t understand how that could exin the present situation.

    It might be a cultivation method rted to the Ice Phoenix, but it wouldn''tpel the ice phoenix to protect Lynne.

    Furthermore, the ice mountain cave was the ice phoenix''s nest, and the Celestial Ice Spark should have been the source of its cultivation. Would it be willing to part with it?

    Something had happened before that¡ªsomething that he did not understand.

    Nevertheless, Leon was caught in a pickle. He wanted to stop Lynne from refining the Celestial Ice Spark, but there was no way he could beat a Half-step Divine Beast with his present strength.

    Even so, something else quickly caught his attention¡ªLynne''s faint breath of life.

    It was much weaker than when she forcefully raised her cultivation by overdosing on True Awakening Pills. It was almost as if her lifespan was about to run out.

    ''How is that possible?'' Leon frowned.

    Lynne''s shortened lifespan should have been resolved when she advanced to higher realms in her cultivation.

    And yet, the truth is that her lifespan was about to run out. Something else was eating away at her lifespan!

    Once Leon realized that fact, he abandoned all intentions of stopping Lynne''s refinement.

    The Celestial Ice Spark had be an absolute crucial item for her survival.

 Chapter 943 - Celestial Ascension

    <h4>Chapter 943 - Celestial Ascension</h4>

    Leon found himself a spot in the cave and observed the slight changes in Lynne''s condition with concern written over his face.

    Although the Celestial Ice Spark is needed to replenish her exhausted lifespan, Leon could not help but worry for her future.

    An Early-stage Celestial Warrior only had a lifespan of ten thousand years.

    Assuming the limit of Lynne''s cultivation was the Celestial Warrior Realm, she won''t be able to live a long life unless she refines an unbound celestial body.

    However, that requires bing one with the celestial body and abandoning her fleshly body, bing an elemental golem like Celestial Earthshaker.

    ''How can I resolve the side effects of a Celestial Spark?'' Leon pondered deeply with a frown.

    Ten thousand years was a lot of time to find a solution. But if he doesn''t actively look for one, ten thousand years could pass without him finding a solution.

    Little did Leon know, Lynne was refining a Celestial Lord-level Celestial Ice Spark.

    Furthermore, Lynne''s potential would not be limited to the Celestial Lord Realm, thanks to the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress.

    Nevertheless, Leon was not aware of that. Thus, he continued to ponder on a solution.

    ''My knowledge of the Celestial Realm is limited. But suppose Celestial Sparks limit people''s potential ording to their potential. In that case, it must have something to do withprehension of thew,'' Leon mused.

    If it was a problem withwprehension, then it was a matter rted to the soul.

    ''If I can perfect the pure soul cultivation method and teach it to Lynne, it should resolve this issue,'' Leon thought.

    After all, pure soul cultivation could improve one''s perception of thew, among several other benefits. He had experienced it firsthand.

    Thus, if Lynne''s potential is limited, he just had to increase that potential.

    While Leon was pondering over Lynne''s issue, the ice phoenix did not avert its cold blue eyes from Leon. On the contrary, it had been watching him and even studied his expressions carefully.

    It realized Leon showed great concern for its ice phoenix ancestor''s disciple and had no intention to harm her.

    Even so, the ice phoenix did not let down its guard.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress had instructed it to protect her disciple and even treat her disciple like the ice phoenix would treat the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress.

    Thus, the ice phoenix would do just that.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Lynne refined the Celestial Ice Spark wholeheartedly without any knowledge of what was happening outside.

    Typically, the process would take at least a week to refine the Celestial Lord-level Celestial Ice Sparkpletely.

    However, Lynne had the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress to help her refine the Celestial Ice Spark. As such, a lot of time was saved in the process.

    In half an hour, Lynne advanced to the Acknowledge Paragon-stage Transcendent Realm. Two hours after that, she reached the peak of the Transcendent Realm.

    After seven hours had passed since the start of Lynne''s refinement, the Celestial Ice Spark cracked. Her Transcendent Ice Crystal absorbed thest of its cold energy andprehension of the Ice Law.

    In that instance, icy power burst out from Lynne''s Transcendent Ice Crystal. Then, like a dam that cannot contain any more water, it shattered.

    The icy power rushed out of the shattered Transcendent Ice Crystal.

    But instead of rampaging in Lynne''s sea of consciousness and threatening her life, the icy power wrapped around itself with numerous oveppingyers like a ball of rubber bands.

    Within moments, the sphere of icy power started glowing with a bright blue light and emanated a terrifying coldness.

    After its blue brilliance subsided, a Celestial Ice Spark was revealed.

    In that instance, celestial power rushed out from the Celestial Ice Spark, filling every part of Lynne''s body with glowing vein-like patterns.

    However, these vein-like patterns weren''t the same as her actual veins and meridians.

    Instead, the vein-like patterns were her second set of veins, celestial veins, that epted the flow of celestial energy.

    It was also the mark of her celestial body.

    With the celestial veins running through her body, she could substitute food with celestial energy that could be refined from the vast cosmos.

    At the same time, Lynne''s white hair regained its former ck color. Even so, a few strips of bluish-white hair remained.

    It was a sign of her extended lifespan.

    There weren''t any spectacr worldly phenomenons in the sky. However, Lynne''s ascension to the Celestial Realm will be forever remembered.

    After many years, a new Celestial has ascended.

    The ice phoenix sensed the changes in Lynne and understood that she had finished refining the Celestial Ice Spark.

    The moment it decided to fold its wings, Lynne also opened her eyes at the same time.

    "I did it, Master. I''m a Celestial now," Lynne rejoiced. She no longer had to stress over her limited lifespan.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress would have congratted Lynne''s ascension at this point. However, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress was strangely silent.

    "Master?" Lynne called again.

    However, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress did not respond. Although Lynne was puzzled by her master''s silence, her attention did not remain on her master for long.

    Lynne was pleasantly surprised after spotting Leon in the distance. Her eyes brightened with joy before she rushed over.

    It was at that moment that the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress finally spoke.

    ''Stop, child! Don''t go near that person. He is extremely dangerous!'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress warned with a trembling voice.

    However, this warning wasn''t out of fear for her disciple''s safety but herself.

    Lynne quickly paused her step obediently. Even so, she was stunned after sensing the fear in her master''s tone.

    Her master, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, was afraid of Leon? How can that be?

    While Lynne was confused and Leon was puzzled by her sudden pause, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress focused her attention on Leon with a grave look.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress had wholeheartedly helped her disciple with her refinement. Thus, she didn''t notice Leon''s presence until after Lynnepleted her celestial ascension.

    But the moment she did, she immediately felt the threatening power of nihility from him.

    It was a power that could even destroy those that are eternal.

 Chapter 944: The Phoenix Empresss Concession

    <h4>Chapter 944: The Phoenix Empress''s Concession</h4>

    Lynne never expected to see her master, the dignified Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, fear anything in the world, let alone fear Leon.

    Although she didn''t understand why her master seemed fearful towards Leon, Lynne had to show her master that there was nothing to fear.

    In a few moments, Lynne resumed rushing towards Leon. In that instant, Leon also dispersed his Nihility Barrier before catching Lynne in his arms.

    The ice mountain lost the former intensity of its coldness after Lynnepletely refined the Celestial Ice Spark.

    "I missed you so much~!" Lynne expressed her joy in Leon''s arms. But then, she quickly added, "But what are you doing here?"

    "I went to look for you. What else?" Leon replied with a slight smile.

    As Leon and Lynne enjoyed their reunion after a period of separation, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress observed everything without a sound.

    If she were in control of Lynne''s, she wouldn''t even dare to breathe, let alone utter a single squeak.

    At the very least, she would be on her best behavior. Or rather, she would pretend she didn''t even exist while she was in such proximity to someone who has control over nihility.

    Nevertheless, she shared Lynne''s senses, so she felt rather strange while they interacted.

    Meanwhile, Lynne gradually noticed the dark creases on Leon''s forehead. He didn''t seem to be all that excited to see her again¡ªor rather, something was troubling his mind.

    "What''s the matter? Is something bothering you? Are you not happy to see me again?" Lynne asked.

    "Happy? Of course, I am happy. We haven''t seen each other for more than a month," Leon replied with a slight smile.

    s, if such lines were heard in the Divine Realm, many would scoff at him for being a softie.

    It wasmon for couples to separate for years or even hundreds of years before meeting again while pursuing the evesting.

    Nevertheless, Leon shortly sighed and said, "Do you understand what it means to refine the Celestial Ice Spark? It will limit your future, Lynne."

    "Ah, so you were worried about this," Lynne smiled brightly after realizing Leon wasn''t excited because he was worried for her.

    "You don''t have to worry about this. My master made sure such a thing wouldn''t be an issue during my refinement," Lynne assured him shortly after.

    However, Leon was immediately surprised by the revtion.

    "Your¡­ master? When did you have a master?" Leon wondered with astonishment.

    Furthermore, a master who can resolve the Celestial Sparks'' side effects had to be an extraordinary person. However, Leon had his doubts.

    The events that led Lynne to the heart of the ice mountain; Leon didn''t doubt he had something to do with this ''master'' she mentioned.

    He did not believe this ''master'' was a living person. In fact, he suspected Lynne awakened the soul fragment of a True Divinity.

    Nevertheless, Lynne did not intend to keep any secrets from Leon. He was her confidant, lover, and family.

    Who else besides him could she entrust with her secrets?

    "Mm!" Lynne nodded.

    "My master is the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, the ruler of the ice phoenix race from the primordial era. My master awakened when artificial spirit energy emerged from beneath the World Tree."

    "So it was the soul fragment of a True Divinity after all," Leon uttered before frowning in the next moment. "However, at that time, you shouldn''t have been achieved Transcendence yet."

    Seeing the puzzled look on Leon''s face, Lynne understood what he was pondering.

    "I know what you are thinking, Leon. I''ve also heard about it from my master," Lynne stated.

    "Awakeners only have a chance of awakening their True Divinity''s soul fragment during the Transcendent Realm, the realm when Awakeners be closer in touch with theirws. This also resonates with the soul fragment of True Divinity slumbering inside them."

    "The stronger the True Divinity, the earlier Transcendents will awaken their soul fragment. However, my master also said it is equally true when the True Divinity has a less fragmented soul. Fewer soul fragments mean less division in the True Divinity''s thought process."

    "My master couldn''tpletely avoid the fragmentation of her soul during the Great War, even with her divine ability of rebirth. However, she is one of the few True Divinities in Primal Chaos to exist with less than ten soul fragments," Lynne exined.

    "Even if that is the case, the soul fragment awakening still urred before you achieved Transcendence, did it not? How do you exin that?" Leon inquired with doubt.

    "I believe that has something to do with my master''s deep grudge for the devil race. The artificial spirit energy contains traces of a devil''s energy andw. Thus, it must have triggered her awakening when it appeared," Lynne spected.

    "Ah?" Lynne eximed after her master quietly whispered a few words to her. Then, she nodded, "I understand, Master."

    "My master just said that she was already half-awakened from the awakening pills I ingested. She said I exchanged my lifespan to force her awakening earlier," Lynne conveyed the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress''s message to Leon.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress didn''t intend to say anything that would reveal her existence to Leon. However, her disciple exposed her. Thus, she had no choice but to add a few words, albeit through her disciple.

    She didn''t want to be Leon''s enemy.

    After all, she understood that her disciple was in a romantic rtionship with this person. As such, her disciple would strongly resist her will if she wanted to kill the person.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress had no choice but to concede and choose peace even though she felt like the wielder of the Nihility Law had to be eliminated.

    It wasn''t toote to decide after observing the person''s nature.

    Nevertheless, after Leon listened to Lynne''s words, he furrowed his brows with a pondering look.

    "The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress bears a deep grudge against the devil race? I know that the Great War involved every party during the primordial era. However, I thought the beast race was more neutral before that," Leon mentioned.

    Lynne received words from her master again before she nodded.

    "My master said the keyword is ''was..'' The devil race became her mortal enemies during the Great War," Lynne stated.

 Chapter 945: Compromise Between Both Parties

    <h4>Chapter 945: Compromise Between Both Parties</h4>

    "I would like to hear the details, but unfortunately, now is not a good time for it," Leon shook his head with a sigh and said.

    At the same time, Leon thought it was better not to reveal his demon cultivation to Lynne, lest the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress misunderstood something.

    "The others are still waiting for us outside," Leon continued, "And more importantly, we need to deal with the immediate issue now that the Celestial Ice Spark is gone. If we don''t deal with the vengeful spirits quickly, it''ll be a disaster for the people of the empire."

    "Mm, you can leave this issue to me, Leon," Lynne nodded and said.

    "I was also concerned about this matter before I chose to refine the Celestial Ice Spark. However, my master reassured me that it''s not a problem that an Ice Celestial can''t deal with."

    Since she caused the problem, it was also natural for her to deal with it. Furthermore, she had the power to resolve the problem.

    "I see, that''s good," Leon nodded after getting Lynne''s reassurance.

    Even now, he was not exactly sure about the extent of a Celestial Warrior''s power. But even if Lynne weren''t aware of the vengeful spirit''s problem when she took away the source of the cold yin mist, he wouldn''t have med her.

    Instead, he would me everything on the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress.

    Nevertheless, Leon shifted his attention to the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix shortly after. It was still watching him intently.

    "This ice phoenix will let us leave, right?" Leon asked.

    "Of course. It''ll evene with us," Lynne stated before adding, "My master tamed it for me. I can''t leave it here after taking its treasure."

    Furthermore, keeping it around was like having a Half-step Celestial-level bodyguard.

    However, Leon suddenly paused. Then, he said, "Your master is awfully nice to you. But how will I know if she won''t try to rob your body one day?"

    "My master isn''t interested in something like that, Leon," Lynne shook her head.

    "I don''t want to hear what you think," Leon shook his head and firmly said, "I want to hear what SHE thinks. If she has the slightest ill intention to you, I swear I will destroy her."

    "Leon, my master has been very good to me. I''ll get angry if you keep talking like that about my master," Lynne stated with an unhappy look.

    Nevertheless, she felt conflicted.

    Her master had been good to her, while Leon was worried for her. She didn''t want them to be on bad terms, or worse, fight.

    "Good to you? Perhaps. But who knows what she''s actually thinking," Leon stated with a frown.

    How can mortals guess the minds of gods?

    For all he knew, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress could be grooming Lynne like cultivating a seed, only to pluck the fruits of herbor once it''s ripe.

    Lynne wanted to argue further, but the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stopped her.

    ''Enough, Lynne. Master doesn''t want you to argue with your man over this. Your man is right to be concerned about this. Anyone will be if their lover is subjected to such a risk,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    She knew it wouldn''t be smooth for the wielder of nihility to ept a conscious soul fragment of True Divinity in his lover.

    Nevertheless, she was surprisingly calm despite Leon''s threat to destroy her. He truly had the means to do it, but he would only do it out of concern for her disciple.

    In that case, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress just had to promise him that the scenario he was worried about would never happen.

    "My master said she swears on her ice phoenix race that she will never harm me in any way. She will also do her best to find a way for me to reach the True Divinity Realm. However, she also said that there might be times when she is forced to assume temporary control of my body to protect my life. She pleads for your understanding at that time."

    "Are you happy with that?" Lynne asked shortly after.

    "It''ll have to do for now. As long as she stays to those words, she''ll be my friend and not my enemy," Leon conceded with a nod after seeing the grumpy look on Lynne''s face.

    Although a verbal promise wasn''t a good guarantee, Leon didn''t want to push the matter too hard. If a conflict broke out between him and the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, Lynne would be the one to suffer.

    He can only quietly watch over.

    Nevertheless, Leon and Divine Ice Phoenix Empress had bothpromised, whether it was in their best interests or not. But most importantly, the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress didn''t want to be Leon''s enemy.

    "Let us head out now," Leon stated.

    "Mm," Lynne agreed.

    It was a short trip outside the ice mountain.

    Before long, Leon and Lynne met up with Elizabeth and the others. However, Elizabeth and Faelyn were quickly terrified by the huge ice phoenix that followed behind them.

    That was a Half-step Divine Beast!

    "Don''t worry. It won''t hurt anyone without my permission," Lynne reassured them. Then, she turned to the ice phoenix and asked, "Is that right?"

    The ice phoenix nodded obediently.

    Shortly after, Lynne approached Elizabeth and held her hands apologetically, "I''m sorry for making youe out all this way to look for me, Mother-inw. I''ve made you worried and even put your life in danger. I should have left a notice before I left."

    "It''s fine. As long as you''re okay," Elizabeth shook her head with a smile.

    Nevertheless, after the group stayed in the vicinity of the ice mountain to catch up for a bit, Lynne suggested, "Everyone should head back first. I''ll meet up with everyone after I deal with the vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest."

    "How is that eptable? The vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest are far too many and far too powerful. How long would it take for you to deal with all of them on your own? Just what are you¡ª"

    Elizabeth spoke out against Lynne''s idea. But before she could finish speaking, Leon stopped her with a hand gesture.

    "Just leave it to Lynne, Mother. She''s a Celestial now. Peak Paragon-level vengeful spirits won''t be a match for her," Leon stated. Then, he turned to Lynne and added, "On another note, I don''t intend to return to the empire just yet."

    "What do you intend to do then?" Lynne raised an eyebrow.

    Leon didn''t answer immediately.. Instead, he shifted his attention to the north.

 Chapter 946: Celestial Energy

    <h4>Chapter 946: Celestial Energy</h4>

    "Once the vengeful spirits are dealt with, Extreme Misty Forest will be free of threats and open for people to explore. However, I want to check out the terrain in the north and assess the Boundless Sea before that," Leon stated.

    Given the powerful sea monsters in the Radiant Heaven Realmship, it was clear that the threat posed by sea monsters wasn''t inferior to vengeful spirits.

    "The sea monsters aren''t weak, and their numbers are numerous. So if we want to reim Extreme Misty Forest to open up the north and gain ess to the sea, we will eventually need to secure the beach anyway."

    "Furthermore, it''ll be a risk if we don''t understand any other underlying dangers in the forest before sending our people to work," Leon added.

    "You made a good point," Elizabeth nodded in agreement. Then, she smiled and said, "Now that you mentioned the north, Mother is also interested in tagging along to take a look. Mother is very curious how the sea looks."

    "Me too! I''m also curious about the sea!" Faelyn chimed in.

    However, Leon nced at her oddly and asked, "You''ve never seen the sea despite the Great Forest neighboring it?"

    "No," Faelyn shook her head and said, "North of the Great Forest is a very steep cliff. Even if the sea neighbors the forest, the view isn''t all that amazing due to the highnd¡ªor so I''ve heard. However, I''ve never actually seen it myself."

    "I didn''t get many chances to y outside the tribe, let alone go so far as the forest outskirts. So I have always been curious about the sea," Faelyn stated.

    "I see," Leon uttered with understanding.

    "Since Mother and Sister Faelyn wants to go, we don''t want to miss out on this trip either," Aria stated with a smile after catching Leon''s nce.

    "Right," Darlene nodded before inserting her opinion, "There was no point in us returning alone. Instead, it would be more enjoyable if we all went to take a look at the beach together."

    Leon smiled wryly after hearing that.

    The original purpose of their journey had been closer to a rescue mission. But now, it was being treated like some holiday sightseeing tour.

    Lynne felt slightly jealous that she couldn''t follow them right away. Even so, she understood that they weren''t exactly heading to the north to y.

    Furthermore, her responsibility was more important.

    "Then¡­ I''ll head off first to deal with the vengeful spirits," Lynne informed the group.

    However, Elizabeth and the threedies didn''t let Lynne leave right away¡ªnot after they expended the effort to find her.

    After they grabbed her and pulled her away from Leon, they had adies-only talk.

    Only after they finished confirming Lynne''s cultivation and congratting her with surprises did they finally let her go.

    Although it wasn''t obvious, it was also their way of cheering up Lynne, and it worked surprisingly well. At the very least, Lynne didn''t feel so bad anymore.

    "I don''t think it''s necessary to say this now that you have be a Celestial, but be careful," Leon said to Lynne shortly after.

    "Mm!" Lynne nodded with a brighter smile.

    Shortly after, the group separated. Leon led the others and headed past the ice mountain to see the north.

    Lynne watched them disappear into the distance before she finally shifted her attention to the southern half of Extreme Misty Forest.

    It was also at that moment that the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress felt like she could breathe again¡ªnot that she had a physical body of her own.

    ''You''re heading the wrong way, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress suddenly informed her disciple, causing Lynne to pause her steps with confusion.

    "What do you mean, Master? The vengeful spirits are this way," Lynne said with doubt.

    ''Of course, they are,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress didn''t deny it. ''But are you nning to eliminate the vengeful spirits one at a time, or do you want to y them all at once?''

    "If I can y them all at once, that would be great. But is that possible?" Lynne asked.

    ''It seems that even though you have reached the Celestial Warrior Realm, you still don''t understand the extent of your power. No matter. Master will teach you what a Celestial Warrior can do,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    ''Right now, your Celestial Ice Spark holds a lot of icy energy from the Celestial Lord-level Celestial Ice Spark you refined. However, this icy energy also contains yourprehension of the Ice Law. So if you use it, it won''t reduce your cultivation. However, it will slow down your advancement.''

    ''Furthermore, your power won''t be much stronger than a Half-step Celestial if you use the icy energy stored inside your Celestial Ice Spark as is.

    "Then what should I do, Master?" Lynne asked with surprise.

    ''Have you already forgotten the new energy coursing through your newly-reformed celestial body? Yourprehension of the Ice Law is your weapon. But without celestial energy to fuel it, you won''t be able to demonstrate the true power of a Celestial Warrior.''

    After listening to the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, Lynne came to a realization. But at the same time, she was puzzled by another matter.

    "That''s rather strange, Master. I realized the celestial energy in my body is different from the icy energy stored in the Celestial Ice Spark. But shouldn''t the Celestial Ice Spark be full of celestial energy?" Lynne wondered.

    ''Celestial energy is rather special. It''s a type of sr energy thates from the stars. But only Celestials can refine it into celestial energy. But even if Celestials can refine celestial energy, not all Celestials can store it. At least, it''s not possible for the lower-level Celestials,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress patiently exined.

    ''The icy energy in your Celestial Ice Spark is called celestial ice energy. It''s the transformed state of celestial energy. However, what we need is the original state of celestial energy. That''s why you need to refine more celestial energy, child.''

    ''The current celestial energy being generated by your celestial body isn''t enough for what we are about to do,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

 Chapter 947: Empyrean Allheaven Wrath

    <h4>Chapter 947: Empyrean Allheaven Wrath</h4>

    "I understand, Master," Lynnepliantly nodded after learning what she had to do. But then, she suddenly paused after thinking of something. "Isn''t this sun''s sr energy problematic, Master?"

    ''It is,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress admitted.

    ''This world''s sun has an especially powerful devil sealed inside it, one of the seven Empyrean Devils, Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil, the ruler of the Wrath Law. As such, the world is full of demonic energy with traces of the Wrath Law after the Cataclysm erupted.''

    ''However, you don''t have to worry about wrath and demon energy. Master will help you purify them,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress assured.

    Nevertheless, Lynne was astonished after listening to her master.

    "Didn''t you mention that the Great War destroyed everything in the primordial era? This includes all of the devil race, right? How can there still be an Empyrean Devil in this age?" Lynne expressed her doubts.

    ''Of course, the Great War destroyed everything in the primordial era. Naturally, that goes for the seven Empyrean Devils and seven Empyrean Gods. What I meant is one of Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil''s soul fragment is sealed in the sun, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress stated.

    ''If it was Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil''splete being, there''s no way a single low-level star can seal him. Furthermore, Gaia wouldn''t be the only world affected by Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil''s Wrath Law. His Wrath Law would passively affect at least half of God''s Graveyard.''

    ''That being said, the Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil''s soul fragment isn''t exactly sealed in the sun. It would be more urate to say that Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil''s soul fragment is bound to it,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress added.

    "Allheaven Wrath Empyrean Devil chose to bind one of his soul fragments to the sun, Master?" Lynne asked with surprise.

    ''Master doesn''t know the truth,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress replied.

    ''However, for any True Divinity that seeks to gather their scattered soul fragments, binding themselves to a celestial body is thest thing they would do. Master suspects that it wasn''t Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s wish to be bound, but the host of his soul fragment.''

    After hearing so much from the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress, Lynne finally grasped the situation. Even so, she was astonished by the extent of an Empyrean Devil''s power.

    Just the height of Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''sprehension into the Wrath Law could passively affect such a vast territory if Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s soul were whole.

    The True Divinity Realm was so unfathomable. Lynne wondered if she could genuinely reach such a realm one day.

    After all, despite her master''s promise to help her reach True Divinity, her master had also said that no one had been able to reach True Divinity anymore in the present era.

    "There''s something I still don''t understand, Master. I thought the seven Empyrean Devils allprehended the Destruction Law. What is this Wrath Law you mentioned?" Lynne suddenly asked.

    ''It''s true that the Empyrean Devilsprehended Destruction Law. However, that doesn''t imply that they haven''t or couldn''tprehend otherws, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress corrected Lynne''s misunderstanding.

    ''In fact, they canprehend manyws¡ªif they so wish. However, the vast amount of time invested in mastering all of thews would make them fall behind in power to the other True Divinities.''

    ''Nevertheless, that''s probably not what you are wondering. You want to understand what the Wrath Law is, correct? Well, you can say that the Wrath Law is a particr type of Destruction Law,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress exined.

    However, Lynne couldn''t quite grasp how wrath is rted to destruction. Thus, she asked, "What does wrath have to do with destruction?"

    ''There are many things in Primal Chaos that are still waiting to be explored. The primordial era might be the earlier period of Primal Chaos. However, not even the True Divinities of that era would dare im to have understood everything there is to know about Primal Chaos.''

    ''To answer your question simply, physical destruction isn''t the only type of destruction there is. The seven Empyrean Devilsprehended seven unique insights on the Destruction Law.''

    ''However, seven is definitely not the limit; it depends on the personprehending the Destruction Law, or anyw for that matter. Your unique interpretation and understanding ofws are what breaths life and power into them. In essence, your will shapes the heavenlyws.''

    ''This is what we call Concepts. They are the manifestation of your understanding of thew, given form. And when your will is powerful enough for your Concepts to affect the world, they be the Truths.''

    ''In Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s instance, his Wrath Law is the destructive power generated by extreme anger¡ªextreme anger that destroys reason and warps reality to feed on even more of its destructive power.''

    After the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress exined up to that point, Lynne finally grasped the nature of the Wrath Law.

    She understood why those infected by Wrathful Demonic Energy lose their sanity, be extremely aggressive, and even mutate.

    Nevertheless, she had wasted enough time to satisfy her curiosity.

    "Master, please teach me how to increase my celestial energy refinement," Lynne requested.

    Although her celestial body automatically refines celestial energy, trying to increase its refining speed is like learning how to use a new limb she never had.

    Without a special method to assist her, she wouldn''t be able to figure it out in the short term.

    ''Mm. Master will impart the Celestial Refining Sun Art and the Celestial Frost Arts to you, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix stated.

    Shortly after, a string of information flowed into Lynne''s mind.

    The Celestial Refining Sun Art taught her to increase her celestial energy refinement. On the other hand, the Celestial Frost Arts taught her how to use that celestial energy.

    After Lynne ingested the knowledge, she understood what it means to be a Celestial without any Celestial Arts.

    It was like a bird without its wings.

    The true might of a Celestial Warrior¡­ Lynne was looking forward to seeing what she was capable of.

 Chapter 948: Birth Of A Star

    <h4>Chapter 948: Birth Of A Star</h4>

    After familiarizing herself with the Celestial Refining Sun Art, Lynne immediately put it into practice, causing her celestial body to pull in the surrounding sunlight like a ck hole.

    Lynne was covered in a powerful white brilliance in that instance, drastically increasing the temperature and melting everything around her.

    However, this white brilliance only appears so to the human eye. In truth, the white brillianceprised of all colors of the rainbow.

    Nevertheless, as her celestial body devoured vast amounts of sunlight, they entered her skin and flowed into her celestial veins.

    Then, the sunlight traversed through her celestial veins like they were caught in a powerful river current and circted throughout her celestial body with increasing speed.

    When the cirction speed reached a certain threshold, Lynne''s celestial veins glowed with the brilliance of the rainbow¡ªcontrary to the pure white brilliance outside her celestial body.

    The rainbow-colored energy formed within her celestial veins was precisely newly-refined celestial energy.

    However, Lynne suddenly stopped her celestial energy refinement. The pure white brilliance disappeared, and the rainbow-colored celestial energy also slowly dispersed into the surrounding.

    ''Although this region has lost its power source, it is still vibrant with cold yin energy and mist all around. You won''t get much sunlight if you stay here, child,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress mentioned.

    "Yes, Master. I was just testing the Celestial Refining Sun Art. Now that I have grasped the feel of it, I''m ready to refine celestial energy in a better location," Lynne replied.

    Shortly after, frosty air circted towards the soles of Lynne''s feet before lifting her into the air.

    Swish~!

    Lynne quickly ascended into the high sky, bypassing the sky suppression with the sheer force of her cultivation without being affected by its strong gravity.

    It was as if the icy energy, which formed a barrier around her, could freeze gravity itself,pletely negating the effect of the sky suppression zone.

    Nevertheless, Lynne continued to ascend higher and higher until she was high above the clouds in the open sky while leaving a trail of coldness in her wake.

    The atmosphere above the clouds was warmer, and the gravity was much stronger. However, there were no more obstacles to obstruct the sunlight¡ªbesides the floating debris in outer space.

    If Lynne wished for it, she could even fly into outer space and reach the floating ring of debris around Gaia.

    However, that would be as far as she goes.

    Beyond the floating ring of debris was the second and finalyer of the spatial sealid down by the Great Void Celestial Conqueror.

    Even Celestial Kings would be helpless against it.

    Nevertheless, Lynne deemed her present location was good enough. There was no need for her to go into outer space.

    Swish~!

    Lynne resumed her celestial energy refinement once more, bing a spot of pure white brilliance in the sky.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In the Neutral Zone high above the Geyser Kingdom''s territory, the dragon-beard old man, Old Kaiser, peered through the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience on the floating ind temple.

    However, the sudden sh of pure white brilliance forced Old Kaiser to avert his gaze from the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience and groan.

    At the same time, Old Kaiser''s action alerted the other old men in the temple, who had been eagerly waiting their turn to use the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience.

    "What happened, Old Kaiser?" Old Thunder asked curiously. But then, he suddenly smirked and said, "Have your eyes grown tired? You still have some time left on the Celestial Mirror, but I am more than happy to take over early."

    "Fat chance, Old Thunder. Even if my eyes are tired, I give up my time to you!" Old Kaiser rolled his eyes at the shameless old man.

    Nevertheless, such action made his eyes sting. Thus, he groaned again and rubbed them to ease the difort.

    Upon seeing that, Old Thunder frowned and stopped joking. He put on a solemn look and asked, "So what happened?"

    "A new star was born," Old Kaiser stated.

    "A new star was born, huh?" Old Thunder uttered with furrowed brows. But after a moment, he immediately widened his eyes in shock. "What! A new star was born? Are you certain, Old Kaiser?!"

    "Of course," Old Kaiser confidently responded.

    "Even if I haven''t personally seen a Celestial in my life, I''m not so senile in my old age that I wouldn''t recognize a Celestial when I see one."

    "Where did you see the Celestial? Quick! Move aside and let me take a look too!" Old Thunder said excitedly.

    Strangely, Old Kaiser did not deny his request. He ''kindly'' stepped away from the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience and said, "Above the clouds of Extreme Misty Forest''s core region."

    Old Thunder quickly tracked down the location with the Celestial Mirror of Omniscience. The moment heid eyes on the pure white brilliance hanging above the clouds, he immediately averted his eyes.

    "Ah, my eyes! It burns!" Old Thunder squealed.

    Having expected such a scenario to y out, Old Kaiser softly chuckled, feeling delighted by Old Thunder''s misfortune.

    "Be careful what you wish for," Old Kaisermented.

    "Ugh¡­" Old Thunder groaned while rubbing his eyes. After he recovered, he solemnly confirmed, "This pure white brilliance of the stars¡­ There''s no doubt about it. That''s a Celestial, alright."

    "After all these years, the world finally has a new Celestial," Old Thunder continued with an emotional sigh before he suddenly frowned. "However, this location¡­ That ce is riddled with Paragon-level vengeful spirits."

    "Not to mention the Half-step Divine Beast guarding the ice mountain," Old Kaiser added. Then, he asked, "Makes you wonder how the Celestial managed to venture into that ce, doesn''t it?"

    "Well, if it''s a Celestial, then it''s possible," Old Thunder stated.

    However, Old Kaiser shook his head.

    "The youngdy wasn''t a Celestial when she entered the ice mountain. But when she exited the ice mountain hourster, she was a Celestial. Furthermore, she also tamed the Half-step Divine Beast."

    "So it''s a youngdy, huh? The world sure is full of surprises and geniuses¡­" Old Thunder uttered with more amazement.

    But then, he suddenly paused.

    "Hold on. Did you just say the youngdy tamed the Half-step Divine Beast?"

 Chapter 949: Ice Phoenix Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 949: Ice Phoenix Tribe</h4>

    Meanwhile, Leon headed north of the ice mountain with Elizabeth, Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn.

    However, after Leon sensed something, he paused his steps and nced back in the direction of Extreme Misty Forest. Nevertheless, only the ice mountain peak could be seen behind him.

    Even so, Leon''s gaze didn''t linger on the ice mountain peak for long before shifting his attention upwards.

    At the same time, Elizabeth and the others caught his action and followed his gaze.

    However, they could only see the sun and billowing white clouds in the high sky. Besides those two, there was nothing out of the ordinary or anything of interest to look at.

    Just as Elizabeth and the others wondered what caught Leon''s interest, the slow-moving white clouds created a gap in itself, revealing a spot of pure white brilliance in the sky.

    The white brilliance was so blinding that it was hard not to notice it despite the great distance.

    "Is that Lynne''s doing?" Elizabeth sought the others'' opinion with an astonished look.

    Beside Lynne, who became a Celestial, Elizabeth couldn''t think of any other reason for the appearance of the bright spot in the sky.

    "I think so¡­ She looks like a star," Faelynmented with amazement.

    "Right? I was thinking the same thing," Aria added before wondering, "Do all Celestials glow like this?"

    "Well, that is rather interesting," Leon uttered thoughtfully after listening to thedies'' thoughts.

    "Is it?"

    Aria turned her head to Leon with curiosity.

    At the same time, Elizabeth and the twodies also shifted their attention back to Leon and awaited his response.

    "Of course, it is. When you look at the night sky, how many stars do you usually see?" Leon quizzed them.

    Aria knitted her brows and recalled from her memory. Then, she shook her head and said, "I don''t know exact numbers, but there''s got to be at least tens of thousands of stars."

    "What''s interesting about that?" Aria asked shortly after.

    "You see, I''ve inherited a star map during one of the underground explorations," Leon stated.

    "However, this star map of the God Realm only has 100 Star Realms recorded on it. If this star map is theplete star map of the world, don''t you find it strange for there to be tens of thousands of stars in the night sky?"

    "At first, I thought these tens of thousands of stars were merely illusory duplications caused by the spatial seal ced on this world. However, this might not be the case," Leon said.

    "The world only has 100 Star Realms?" Elizabeth uttered with surprise.

    "How can that be? There are thousands of stars in the night sky. Even if each Star Realm contains multiple stars, it still won''te close to ten thousand stars, let alone several ten thousand stars."

    "That''s why it''s interesting, Mother," Leon stated.

    "If we assume most of these stars in the night sky are Celestials, wouldn''t we be able to count how many Celestials there are out there?"

    The number of truly bright stars was few, while the dim stars were plenty. Furthermore, these dim stars'' positions weren''t fixed.

    Nevertheless, someone who frequently studied the stars would notice the changes in the dim stars. If they didn''t pay enough attention, they wouldn''t remember all the star positions in the sky.

    "Oh? Now that is interesting," Elizabeth admitted.

    She cannot help but feel amazed, but at the same time, overwhelmed if the dim stars in the night sky truly represent the Celestials out there.

    "Several ten thousand Celestials, huh? That''s quite a number."

    Swish¡ª!

    A strong breeze suddenly rushed up the vast slope of the ice mountain, blowing everyone''s hair wildly in the air.

    Darlene and Faelyn shivered from the coldness of the breeze. Even so, it only happened briefly before they recovered.

    "We''re wasting time here. Let us increase our pace to reach the north sooner," Leon suggested.

    Elizabeth and thedies quickly agree.

    But Leon and Aria could grab Elizabeth and Faelyn to carry them along, Darlene opened a Dark Passage for everyone.

    "This should take us to the north quickly," Darlene informed.

    "What is this dark passage?" Elizabeth uttered with surprise after seeing Darlene''s Dark Passage for the first time.

    "It''s a spatial ability, Mother. You can think of it as a type of teleportation. You''ll understand once you use it," Leon exined. Then, he quickly urged the group, "We should enter immediately, lest we exhaust Darlene''s power."

    A few breathester, everyone disappeared inside the Dark Passage and stepped outside the other end of it.

    The saltiness of the Boundless Sea quickly assaulted their sense of smell in that instance.

    Nevertheless, everyone did not mind the salty sea; it was what they came for. More importantly, everyone was stunned by the breathtaking view.

    The Great Mountain Ranges that formed the borders of the Human Domain didn''t end onnd. It also spread on the Boundless Sea until it formed aplete ring.

    Nevertheless, the mountain range in the sea was not as tall as those onnd. That much should have been expected.

    "So this is the sea¡­ It''s more beautiful than I anticipated," Faelynmented with surprise.

    However, it didn''t take long before Faelyn noticed something moving in the distant sea mountains and alerted the group about her discovery.

    "There''s something flying in the sky above those sea mountains over there," Faelyn pointed.

    Leon quickly activated his Spirit Eyes, which upgraded to Earth Spirit Eyes, to take a look at the sea mountains more clearly.

    "It''s a group of ice phoenixes," Leon dered after making his discovery. Then, he added, "The ice phoenix tribe might be situated on one of those mountains."

    "A group of Ice phoenixes? I wonder if they are rted to the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix or not," Aria wondered.

    "I think the better question is if the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix is their monarch or not. If it is, we have hopes of assimting the Ice Phoenix Tribe," Leon stated thoughtfully.

    The Ice Phoenix Tribe would be quite a powerful addition to the Crawford Empire.

 Chapter 950: Ice Phoenixs Frozen Calamity

    <h4>Chapter 950: Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity</h4>

    "The monarch of the Ice Phoenix Tribe? It might as well be," Aria thought.

    "The Ice Phoenix Tribe is unlike the Blue Luan Tribe. Although they are quite simr, their strengths differ greatly. At the very least, it seems like the Ice Phoenix Tribe has many Paragons."

    Although the mountain range sticking out of the sea was quite far away, several ice phoenixes flew closer at a closer distance, and the aura emanating from them wasn''t weak.

    There was definitely a Paragon among them.

    "But even if the Ice Phoenix Tribe has many Paragon-level Ice Phoenixes in their tribe, it wouldn''t be easy to find another Half-step Divine Beast among them," Aria continued.

    "Yeah. It is already a rare sight to even spot a Half-step Divine Beast," is what Leon said.

    However, the ck Dragon n he left behind in the Starfall Dominion had four Divine Beast-level Earth Dragons.

    Nevertheless, their attainments were all thanks to Leon''s assistance.

    Furthermore, the situation in the Deste Beast Continent was different from the Dark Abyss Continent.

    The Deste Beast Continent didn''t have a powerful ce of inheritance like the Radiant Heaven Realmship where the Eternal Night Demon Empress slumbers.

    Or at the very least, Leon hadn''t heard or discovered, which isn''t very surprising. He had barely explored a fraction of the continent.

    "Nevertheless, it was a good thing that we came to check this ce out. Otherwise, we wouldn''t have known about this Ice Phoenix Tribe nesting in the north," Elizabeth said seriously.

    "The Ice Phoenix Tribe isn''t close, but it isn''t exactly that far either. Paragon-level Ice Phoenixes can cross this distance in no time. If we had set up a port city without knowledge of the Ice Phoenix Tribe, people would have suffered raids from the ice phoenixes."

    "In this regard, we have to thank Darlene for taking this far offshore. Otherwise, we wouldn''t havee close enough to notice the Ice Phoenix Tribe," Elizabeth added.

    Darlene immediately felt embarrassed.

    Just as Elizabeth had said, they weren''t exactly at the sand beach. No, they were at least four dozen miles away from it.

    However, they had still had solid ground to stand on despite being sent to the sea. That is because the entire northern beach and fifty miles of seawater surface further north of it had all been frozen solid.

    At that moment, they were standing at the very edge where the frozen sea surface meets with the non-frozen seawater.

    Even so, the seawater was still frighteningly cold, nheless.

    When Leon swept beneath the ice surface with his divine sense, he discovered it wasn''t just the surface that was frozen.

    The frozen seawater extended as deep as his divine sense could reach. As such, it was likely that the ice extended to the seafloor.

    "I didn''t expect the north to be such a vastnd of ice," Leon mentioned.

    "If we can get the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix''s cooperation, the Ice Phoenix Tribe won''t be a threat to the empire. Instead, they''ll be a valuable asset. However, they might not be the only beast tribe in the north."

    "We should head back and check the rest of this northern icend," Leon suggested.

    After getting everyone''s agreement, the group left the frozen sea. They made their way back tond while searching for points of interest along the way.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ''You''ve gathered enough celestial energy, child. Use your Celestial Frost Arts now,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress said to Lynne.

    "Yes, Master," Lynneplied.

    The pure white brilliance gradually faded, revealing Lynne''s body with rainbow-glowing celestial veins on the surface of her skin.

    However, shortly after, the rainbow-colored energy gathered towards a single point on Lynne''s palm, forming a concentrated orb of celestial energy.

    "Celestial Frost Arts ¨C Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity!" Lynne shot the celestial energy orb out of her hand.

    The moment it left her palm, the rainbow-colored celestial energy orb rapidly transformed into a blue phoenix that snowballed in size.

    Within moments, the blue phoenix reached the same size as the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix. Then, it pped its wings and disappeared into the white clouds right below.

    In that instance, the billowing white clouds above Extreme Misty Forest darkened. Then, it churned like a cyclone, pulling in the nearby clouds and increasing its size in the process.

    The weather drastically changed as the air cooled and the temperature dropped terrifyingly low¡ªeven lower than the heart of the ice mountain cave.

    Before long, countless white snowkes fell from the sky and rained over the southern half of Extreme Misty Forest.

    Although the white snowkes seemed ordinary at a nce, they contained terrifying icy powers within them.

    The moment the white snowkesnded on the ck trees of the forest, numerous ice crystal pirs grew out from them.

    However, it wasn''t just the trees affected by the white snowkes. Even the cold yin mist itself caused the icy powers within the snowkes to erupt chaotically upon contact.

    As thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions of white snowkes descended, crystal ice pirs erupted throughout Extreme Misty Forest. Theynded on the ground, trees, mists, and even the growing crystal ice pirs themselves.

    New crystal ice pirs grew out from older ones, creating a chain reaction throughout the misty forest.

    Within moments, crystal ice pirs filled Extreme Misty Forest.

    However, the onught of ice didn''t end there. As the whirlpool of dark clouds continued raining snowkes on the forest, numerous ice pirs shed against each other and shattered.

    Yiii¡ª!

    The cries of countless vengeful spirits echoed throughout Extremely Misty Forest¡ªonly to be drowned by the noise of shing crystal ice pirs.

    Everywhere was a battlefield.

    The vengeful spirits had no safe to hide nor anywhere to run.

    Wherever they fled, rapidly expanding crystal ice pirs would obstruct their passage. Eventually, they have nowhere to run.

    Eventually, the crystal ice pirs impaled vengeful spirits and transformed their spiritual bodies into ice, effectively ying them.

    Lynne didn''t expect the Celestial Arts to cause such devastation on a regional scale.

    Nevertheless, she quickly used her Celestial Frost Arts again to protect a single spot in Extreme Misty Forest from the ongoing disaster befalling it.

 Chapter 951: Winter Cat

    <h4>Chapter 951: Winter Cat</h4>

    It was the location of Arana''s ice pce.

    After Lynne used her Celestial Frost Arts, a sturdy ice dome covered a three-mile radius around the ice pce. All the growing crystal ice pirs failed to breach the ice dome.

    Some crystal ice pirs shattered under pressure, while others grew around the ice dome.

    However, despite the sturdy ice dome''s ability to block all crystal ice pirs from breaching its defense, it didn''t block the chaotic noise in the region.

    Arana was attracted by the disturbance and left her ice pce to look.

    Upon seeing what was happening outside the ice dome, Arana furrowed her brows, wondering why there was such a situation.

    "I''ve spent two months in this region, but this is the first time I''ve seen something like this¡­ What the hell is going on?" Arana muttered.

    Her peace was disturbed, and themotion irritated her.

    However, Arana did not intend to do anything about the situation. Sensing the threatening power of ice in the crystal ice pirs outside, she understood there was nothing to do.

    Her life would be forfeited if she lost the protection of the ice dome.

    Arana suddenly recalled the icy ability used to create the ice pce. She immediately wondered if the present situation had anything to do with Lynne.

    "That''s strange¡­ That girl was only Early Seeking Insight-level Transcendent at most when I met her. How did she do to be so strong in such a short time?" Arana wondered.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the onught of snowkes on Extreme Misty Forest continued, transforming it into an unrecognizable state.

    After several minutes had passed, Extremely Misty Forest was no more. At the very least, the western part of it was no more.

    The Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity turned the misty forest into a vastnd of ice. The vengeful spirits, trees, mist¡ªeverything was frozen.

    At the same time, numerous ice mountains made of crystal ice pirs towered over the vastnd.

    ''Not bad, child. You managed to freeze over such a vastnd in such a short time,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress praised.

    ''However, you still have much of the misty forest left to freeze with the Celestial Frost Arts. If you let the Frozen Cmity rampage like this, those snowkes will continue stacking crystal ice pirs on top of each other until they reach the clouds.''

    ''You need to shift the focus of the Frozen Cmity to the east and freeze the rest of the misty forest,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress instructed.

    "I understand, Master," Lynneplied.

    But then, she suddenly paused in the next moment, unsure how to manipte the Frozen Cmity''s blizzard clouds.

    Given her cultivation in the Ice Law, she could use the sheer force of her ice ability to move all the ice elements.

    However, the Frozen Cmity was as simple as being pure in ice element. If she only moved the ice elements, it might break up the blizzard clouds and end the Frozen Cmity.

    "Err, how do I do that, Master?" Lynne asked with slight embarrassment.

    ''You just used the first form of the Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity, Calling Winter. Naturally, the next thing to do is use the second form of the Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity, Guiding Season,'' the Divine Ice Phoenix Empress patiently exined.

    The Divine Ice Phoenix Empress was not surprised by Lynne''s question.

    Although it seemed obvious that the second form, Guiding Season, should be used after the first form, the skill itself could be used separately from the first form.

    Considering she had just taught her disciple about this set of celestial frost arts, it wasn''t strange that she wasn''t familiar with the Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity.

    As such, her disciple wouldn''t know the four forms of the Ice Phoenix''s Frozen Cmity can be connected.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, as Leon''s group headed back to the shore region in the north, the startling changes in Extreme Misty Forest did not go unnoticed.

    It was difficult not to notice even if they didn''t want to.

    After all, the weather in the southern direction changed. And after several minutes, numerous ice pirs and structures, evenrger than the ice mountain, suddenly appeared.

    "This is the extent of a Celestial''s power? It''s on a whole different dimensionpared to Transcendents!" Elizabeth uttered with disbelief.

    Elizabeth couldn''t believe there was a vast gap between Transcendents and Celestials. It was no wonder that Celestials were virtually viewed as gods to the mortals.

    With such shocking power, Lynne could topple any kingdom in the Human Domain in an instant.

    And Lynne wanted to start a religion; Elizabeth didn''t doubt that many followers would flock towards her.

    "I don''t know whether this is the full extent of a Celestial''s power¡­ But I think it''s safe to assume that Lynne turned the western parts of Extreme Misty Forest into a frozennd like the north," Leon said wryly.

    Given such arge-scale transformation of thend, It wouldn''t take Lynne very long to deal with all the vengeful spirits in the entirety of Extreme Misty Forest.

    At the very least, what he expected to take at least two weeks had been greatly shortened to under three hours.

    No, if Lynne was eager to finish the task quickly, it could be even faster!

    "Furthermore, we won''t have to worry about the frozennd in the north ever melting as long as we have Lynne around," Leon added.

    "That''s for sure," Aria agreed with Leon''sment.

    However, her eyes remain fixed on the towering crystal ice pirs and structures in the south. She wondered if she could pull off the same feat once she reached the Celestial Realm.

    Nevertheless, the group didn''t dwell on Lynne''s world-changing ice power.

    As they drew closer to the frozen shore, a pure white blur suddenly dashed out from a nearby frozen wave and shed its silver ws at Leon.

    In that instance, Leon prepared to swat it away. However, he quickly changed his mind at thest moment and pinched the creature by the back of the neck.

    "Reow!" the little white beast growl.

    It iled its four limbs in an empty to break free from Leon''s hold and attack but to no avail. It was helplessly and powerlessly caught by him.

    "Ah, a Winter Cat! It''s so cute!" Faelyn eximed.

 Chapter 952: Three Beast Taming Methods

    <h4>Chapter 952: Three Beast Taming Methods</h4>

    Shortly after Faelyn eximed, Aria''s eyes brightened at once. She was also fascinated by the adorable creature being held by Leon.

    The Winter Cat was small, and its strength wasn''t high, but it was very ferocious and stubborn.

    "Reow!" the Winter Cat continued to growl.

    The Winter Cat furiously resisted as it dangled in Leon''s hand. However, it couldn''t achieve its intended purpose no matter what it did.

    "Ah, how can it be so adorable even when it''s angry? I want to pet it," Aria said.

    However, the Winter Cat immediately snapped and hissed in retaliation when Aria''s hand drew near it.

    "Be careful. It''s not strong, but it''s still a feral beast. You can get yourself hurt if you are careless," Leon warned her.

    However, Aria knitted her brows and said, "My fleshly strength has already exceeded 5-million jin. How can this Winter Cat hurt me when it''s not even a Transcendent-level beast?"

    "Maybe not, if it was just any ordinary Winter Cat. However, I don''t think this Winter Cat is normal. We can see that the Winter Cat''s strength and speed were not high; its ws and fangs are exceedingly sharp," Leon said.

    "They could probably even cut through the defense of Paragon-level beasts," Leon continued. "I''m not sure if their survival tools were evolved out of necessity to live in this cold region, but there is one thing I know for sure."

    "And that thing is?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

    She was no expert, but she could also see that the Winter Cat''s fangs and ws were mismatched with its present level of strength.

    "This Winter Cat''s fangs and ws are excellent materials for making weapons," Leon stated.

    "What!" Aria and Faelyn eximed with outrage.

    They immediately wanted to snatch the Winter Cat out of Leon''s hand and bring it under their protection. They feared he would kill for said materials.

    "Reow!" the Winter Cat growled.

    The Winter Cat quickly retaliated upon seeing two female humans'' abrupt hands closing in on it. Unfortunately, its ws did not reach them as the male human pulled it away in the nick of time.

    "Didn''t I say to be careful?" Leon''s lips twitched.

    Aria and Faelyn were losing their minds over a creature. Nevertheless, he had to admit that the Winter Cat was a little cute.

    Even so, it was too ferocious!

    "Ah, you did say that, but¡­ How could you think of killing this adorable kitten for its ws and fangs?! Isn''t that too cruel?" Aria berated Leon for his cruelty.

    Leon immediately felt wronged.

    "What''s wrong with that?" Darlene casually asked.

    She had the most indifferent expression to Leon''s statement among all the people present. Leon quickly looked at her as if she was his savior, someone who shared his views.

    "What do you mean what''s wrong with that, Sister Darlene? Do you think it''s okay to kill such a cute creature for its ws and fangs? Where''s the justice in that?" Aria preached before pointing at the Winter Cat. "Just look at it. Do you really have the heart to kill it?"

    After looking into the Winter Cat''s big round eyes, Darlene''s heart wavered. It was certainly cute. Even so, what''s the use of being cute?

    "It is cute," Darlene nodded. But then, she added, "But the warriors of the ins hunt all sorts of beasts all the time. If it can''t be tamed, isn''t it normal to hunt it for its materials and meat? After all, it''ll be a threat to everyone if we can''t get rid of its feral nature."

    "Then all we have to do is tame it, no?" Faelyn thought.

    That being said, Faelyn wasn''t confident that they could tame the Winter Cat.

    The elven tribe had some proficiency inmunicating beasts and domesticating them. However, the number was minimal. Furthermore, she knew little about the Winter Cats.

    "Can we try? Pretty please?" Aria gave Leon the puppy eyes.

    "Sure," Leon shrugged ruefully.

    There was no justice when it involved survival. Aria never showed any mercy when their survival was at stake.

    But now that survival wasn''t a concern, and it involved a cute little beast, Aria, and even Faelyn were overflowing with affection towards it.

    ''Cuteness is justice, huh?'' Leon thought wryly.

    "If we want to tame a beast, there are usually three ways to go about it. Domination, gratitude, or temptation are the options," Leon mentioned after he did a quick search in the Archive for rted materials.

    "Considering how ferocious this little bugger is, it is definitely a tenacious fighter. I don''t think domination will work on it. As for gratitude, it won''t be easy. After all, we haven''t fully grasped the situation in the north. Thus, we don''t know if the Winter Cat has any predators in this region."

    "Furthermore, we can''t exactly break its legs and treat it. Such a forced method is more likely to break its spirit instead of earning its gratitude¡ªif done repeatedly," Leon added.

    "In other words, the temptation method is the best method to tame the Winter Cat, right?" Faelyn asked for confirmation.

    "Not exactly," Leon shook his head and said, "The gratitude method has the highest sess chance, but the conditions to earn gratitude is stringent. On the other hand, domination has the lowest sess chance, but it does guarantee quick results."

    "As for temptation, it requires patience, diligence, and in-depth knowledge of the Winter Cat. After all, we can''t tempt it if we don''t know what it likes and dislikes. Fortunately for us, I do happen to know what the Winter Cat likes," Leon stated.

    "You do, son?" Elizabeth asked.

    "Yeah, the Winter Cats loves to eat fish. Fish is like a very addictive treat for them. The fresher the fish is, the crazier the Winter Cats'' craving for them," Leon said.

    s, Elizabeth, Aria, and Faelyn all looked stunned. They expected an amazing answer, but what they got was very simple.

    "Fish¡­ Doesn''t that apply to all cats? Furthermore, the Winter Cats live in this cold north region. Surely, they have grown used to eating sea monster meat," Aria mentioned. "Are you sure fish will work? We don''t have to use something else?"

    "If you loved eating rice all your life, would you suddenly get sick of it just because you tried something new?" Leon asked her.

    "Well¡­ no," Aria answered before she added wryly, "But did you have to use rice as an example, Leon?"

 Chapter 953: Powerful Attraction

    <h4>Chapter 953: Powerful Attraction</h4>

    Nevertheless, Ariapletely understood Leon''s meaning.

    Rice itself isn''t all that great. In fact, it could be considered in. However, it could be eaten with anything, which makes it great.

    There were undoubtedly better examples, but they are all subjected to personal opinions. Only rice is universally epted by everyone in the empire.

    "If it''s fish, then¡­ don''t we have a lot of it? In high quality as well," Aria said.

    She quickly took out arge piece of sea monster meat from her interspatial ring before cutting it up into bite-size pieces for the Winter Cat.

    Nevertheless, the moment she took out the sea monster meat, the Winter Cat stopped struggling and iling about in Leon''s hands, its eyes glued on her sea monster meat.

    "Looks like I caught its interest," Aria giggled.

    Shortly after, she picked up a bite-size piece of sea monster meat and waved it in front of the Winter Cat, causing its eyes to follow the seafood ordingly.

    However, the Winter Cat didn''t have a lot of patience. Thus, it was quickly upset when it couldn''t reach the food in front of its eyes.

    "Reow!" the Winter Cat growled.

    "Hehe! Ah, it''s so cute even when it''s mad!" Aria grew increasingly fond of the Winter Cat, which might still be a kitten.

    She didn''t tease the Winter Cat for too long before she fed it.

    "Be careful."

    "Mm."

    Aria took note of Leon''s warning.

    The Winter Cat had immediately snatched the piece of sea monster meat out of Aria''s hand the moment it entered the Winter Cat''s range.

    Even so, Aria was careful enough not to be scratched by it.

    The Winter Cat devoured the piece of sea monster meat in an instance. Then, it shifted its gaze on the rest of the pile of sea monster meat that Aria prepared.

    "Looks like it wants more," Aria chuckled before picking up another piece to feed the Winter Cat. "Do you think I''m doing it right, Leon?"

    "Maybe if you stop teasing it. I doubt it''ll feel gracious for the food when you are antagonizing it," Leon inserted his opinion with a wry smile.

    Nevertheless, Aria sure knows how to spoil the Winter Cat, taking out a Paragon-level sea monster meat straight from the start.

    Even so, they probably needed this level of temptation to tame the Winter Cat.

    "Ah, that''s true¡­" Aria nodded in agreement. But then, she added, "But I can''t help myself. It''s too adorable."

    "Can I try feeding it too?"

    Faelyn requested with a hopeful look while restraining her excitement. She didn''t have any sea monster meat of her own. Thus, she could only ask.

    "Of course! Do you even have to ask, Sister Faelyn?" Aria responded.

    "It doesn''t feel right unless I ask. After all, it''s not appropriate to take something that doesn''t belong to me, Sister Aria," Faelyn replied wryly.

    Nevertheless, Aria and Faelyn took turns feeding the Winter Cat. The more they fed it, the more docile it became.

    The Winter Cat stopped trying to snatch the food out of Aria and Faelyn''s hands and simply devoured with its mouth as the seafood was fed to it

    Even so, it was still far from being tamed. At the very least, Leon deemed it wasn''t ready to be released from his hold.

    Darlene watched Aria and Faelyn having fun feeding the Winter Cat and could help but want to join them. She felt like she was missing out.

    After she joined them, Leon turned to his mother.

    "Don''t you want to try feeding the Winter Cat as well, mother?" Leon asked.

    However, Elizabeth shook her head with a calm smile and said, "No, I''m fine with just watching. But do you think this method will work? Even if it does, it''s just one Winter Cat and not a very strong one at that."

    "It doesn''t matter. It''s fine as long as Aria and Faelyn are happy with it," Leon replied with a casual smile. "But whether it works or not, only time will tell."

    Perhaps because they were using Paragon-level sea monster meat, they started seeing noticeable changes in the Winter Cat''s attitude.

    Aria noticed the Winter Cat lost its ferocity¡ªor at the very least, it didn''t view her with hostility. Its eyes showed great anticipation towards its next bite.

    Despite its small body, the Winter Cat had already eaten over twice its size in sea monster, which contained abundant amounts of energy.

    It was unknown where it found the stomach to eat so much, but it showed no sign of getting full. It was like it had never been full in its life.

    Nevertheless, the Winter Cat''s aura started to grow.

    Suddenly, Aria decided to take a risk and recklessly fed the sea monster meat to the Winter Cat, which startled everyone.

    Luckily, Aria seeded in her gamble.

    After the Winter Cat gobbled up the sea monster meat in Aria''s hand, it didn''t try to eat her hand too. Instead, it licked her fingers and even rubbed its head against it.

    Faelyn''s eyes brightened at once. She also wanted to try the same thing.

    However, when she went to fetch the next piece of sea monster meat to feed the Winter Cat, she suddenly froze.

    Faelyn also noticed Leon, Elizabeth, and Darlene had grown silent in that instance.

    "Um, Sister Aria?" Faelyn uttered.

    "Hm? What is it, Sister Faelyn?" Aria responded while fixing her gaze on the Winter Cat. She giggled at the ticklish feeling of getting her fingers licked.

    "You don''t happen to have enough sea monster meat to feed an entire tribe of Winter Cats, do you?" Faelyn asked.

    Shortly after that question was raised, Aria immediately paused.

    When she peeled her eyes off the Winter Cat, she immediately noticed many other Winter Cats had surrounded the group.

    Just by looking at them, Aria estimated there were at least ten thousand Winter Cats, both big and small ones.

    The smallest was the same size as the one in Leon''s hand, but the biggest was tenfold.

    "It seems like the smell of the Paragon-level sea monster meat may have attracted the entire Winter Cat Tribe," Leon finallymented with a wry smile.

 Chapter 954 Blizzardpaw & Snowhisker

    <h4>Chapter 954 Blizzardpaw & Snowhisker</h4>

    "Huh?" Aria gasped before asking with surprise, "How did we get surrounded so suddenly? Where did they all pop out from?"

    "Under the ice," Leon stated.

    After Aria heard his answer, she nced down with surprise. However, she couldn''t tell anything simply by looking at the ice surface.

    It was semi-transparent, but it didn''t reach very far before turningpletely white. As such, Aria couldn''t confirm whether hollow spaces existed under the thick ice.

    Nevertheless, since Leon already said the Winter Cats came from under the ice, arge hollow space must exist.

    Even so, she did not see any entrances on the way back to shore.

    "I don''t remember seeing any holes along the way. So it''s rather strange that we would be surrounded by Winter Cats so quickly and so subtly," Faelyn mentioned her doubt.

    Leon smiled and said, "That is because youpletely missed all of them along the way. There''s actually quite a lot of them. You can even say they are like rabbit holes."

    Aria suddenly thought of something.

    Since they had arrived straight at the edge of the frozen sea, they had been making their way their south back to the shore.

    She had seen numerous frozen waves, big and small ones, along the way. However, she had only seen them from the backside and never the front side.

    After Aria nced back towards the north, she immediately spotted the holes hidden right under the cover of the frozen waves.

    "No wonder we didn''t see them on our way back to shore," Aria uttered, prompting Darlene and Faelyn to nce at the northern sea direction as well.

    After seeing the openings under the frozen waves, they understood the situation.

    "Well, it doesn''t look like the rest of the Winter Cats are looking for a fight¡ªat least, not yet," Leon uttered before he unpinched the Winter Cat''s neck and returned its freedom.

    In that instance, the Winter Cat ignored the remaining pile of sea monster meat. It circled around Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn''s feet before hopping off to join the other Winter Cats in the distance.

    The group noticed the small Winter Cat stopped in front of an adult-size Winter Cat and meowed.

    "I wonder what the Winter Cats are saying to each other¡­ What do you think, son?" Elizabeth sought Leon''s opinion.

    However, Leon didn''t understand any catnguage. Thus, he couldn''t give a precise answer.

    "The little one is probably informing its parent about how much good food we have, probably¡­" Leon replied before adding, "Now is probably a good time to bring out more of the goods. They all look hungry."

    "We have to feed them all!" Aria said with strong conviction as if she had just found her life''s purpose.

    Seeing so many hungry Winter Cats, Aria feltpelled to feed them all.

    She immediately unloadedrge amounts of sea monster meat into the empty ice surface in front of her, forming a giant mountain of sea monster meat.

    Shortly after, Aria drew her Tier-7 Divine Sword and sliced up the mountain of sea monster meat into numerous smaller pieces.

    The seafood was quickly prepared, more than enough for each Winter Cat to grab a few pieces of themselves.

    However, none of the Winter Cats approached the sea monster meat even if they were starving.

    "Aren''t they hungry?" Faelyn wondered.

    "Looking at how skinny the adult Winter Cats are, there''s no doubt that they are starving. However, they are waiting for their leader''smand," Leon stated while scanning the tribe of Winter Cats.

    Before long, his gaze locked on a Winter Cat, whose body was riddled with scars and missing patches of fur, and assumed it to be the leader of the tribe.

    It might look weakened, but its aura was certainly a cut above the rest. Furthermore, the nearby Winter Cats were all giving it undivided attention.

    Even so, its strength was surprisingly around Early Paragon.

    Leon wasn''t sure if the tribe leader of the Winter Cats had unlocked its spiritual wisdom. However, he still uttered, "Please ept our gift and feed yourselves. The sea monster meat is safe to consume."

    Shortly after, the leader of the Winter Cats approached the sea monster meat and took a bite before the rest of its tribe members.

    Only after deeming the sea monster meat safe for consumption did it signal the rest of the Winter Cats to eat.

    "Meow!" the leader of Winter Cats cried.

    In the next instance, the Winter Cats in the area all rushed towards the sea monster meat in a frenzy,peting among themselves for more sea monster meat.

    It quickly became a chaotic mess.

    However, after the leader of the Winter Cats growled, the frenzy died down, and the Winter Cats became more organized.

    They grabbed as much sea monster meat their mouth could hold before moving on for the next group of Winter Cats to take their share.

    As that happened, the leader of the Winter Cats approached Leon''s group.

    "I know not why you came to our tribe nor why you are willing to part with such arge amount of precious food. However, I, Monarch Blizzardpaw, thank you for the generous gift," said the leader of Winter Cat Tribe.

    Monarch Blizzardpaw''s voice was surprisingly aged like an elder in his first thousand years. Evidently, it had lived for quite some time before even thest Cataclysm erupted.

    Nevertheless, before anyone from Leon''s side could respond to the intelligent Paragon-level Winter Cat, the little Winter Cat from earlier returned to their side.

    The little one circled Aria''s feet and rubbed its cheeks against it, causing Aria''s heart to melt.

    "Ah, you are so precious!" Aria eximed after picking the little Winter Cat and rubbing her cheeks against its soft white fur.

    "It seems Snowhisker is quite fond of you," Monarch Blizzardpaw calmly said to Aria, but he was inwardly surprised.

    Monarch Blizzardpaw didn''t expect uncontroble Snowhisker to be so well-behaved and attached to the humans in such a short time.

    "So your name is Snowhisker," Aria beamed while looking at the little Winter Cat.

    "Meow!" Snowhisker responded.

 Chapter 955 Frost God & Sun God

    <h4>Chapter 955 Frost God & Sun God</h4>

    Shortly after Aria yed with Snowhisker, she handed Snowhisker over to Faelyn, who was dying to get a turn at rubbing her cheeks against Snowhisker''s fluffy softness.

    Nevertheless, Snowhisker did not dislike the attention. Rather, Snowhisker enjoyed the attention and love very much.

    Leon was surprised that something so ferocious could quickly be docile simply by feeding it high-quality sea monster meat.

    Perhaps, it had something to do with Snowhisker being young, cats always being easy to get along with humans throughout history, or the Winter Cat Tribe being intelligent and could read human emotions well.

    It could even be abination of all these factors.

    Whatever the case may be, there was clear hope of integrating the entire Winter Cat Tribe under the empire, let alone tame a few Winter Cats.

    Just as Leon thought of asking Aria to take out more sea monster meat for Monarch Blizzardpaw, Aria acted one step ahead of him.

    "Please help yourself too, Monarch Blizzardpaw. There''s plenty for everyone," Aria offered sea monster meat to the Paragon-level Winter Cat.

    Leon saw the look in Aria''s eyes and could not help but smile wryly. He could see that Aria did not discriminate between the Winter Cats.

    Even if Blizzardpaw''s body was riddled with battle scars and may not be as cute as the other Winter Cats, it was still a cute cat in her eyes.

    "Thank you," Monarch Blizzardpaw didn''t decline Aria''s kind offer.

    After Monarch Blizzardpaw devoured therge piece of sea monster meat in a few breaths, and with great relish at that, Monarch Blizzardpaw nced at Leon''s group with a contemting look.

    "A Winter Cat doesn''t forget its favors. Regardless of your purpose in thesends, you have helped my tribe in a time of difficulty. As such, you are our benefactors. However, I, Monarch Blizzardpaw, have to be shameless and request that you continue to help us out during our food crisis."

    The Paragon-level Winter Cat willingly lowered its head for its tribe''s wellbeing.

    "We are happy to help if we can build a friendship with the Winter Cat Tribe," Elizabeth stated. "However, there are a few things that I am curious about, if you don''t mind me asking."

    "I have eaten your food. Naturally, I am obliged to answer your questions. Please ask away," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

    "For starters, you don''t seem too surprised about us. Are there other humans living in this cold region?" Elizabeth asked.

    "Not at all," Monarch Blizzardpaw shook its head before saying, "We have always known that humans lived on the other side of the forbidden forest. Unfortunately, the vengeful spirits have always prevented us from leaving this cold region."

    "If your tribe was bent on leaving this cold region, couldn''t you have taken the sea path to lead your tribe out?" Faelyn raised with doubt.

    "Considering the Winter Cat Tribe has been living in this region, I assume all the Winter Cats know how to swim to hunt for food sources in the sea, no?"

    "That''s true. After we exhausted the food source in the frozen sea, our Winter Cat Tribe learned to hunt in the sea for food. However, knowing how to swim and getting out of this region is not the same," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.

    "As long as the Ice Phoenix Tribe upies the northern sea mountains and the vengeful spirits upy the forbidden forest, our Winter Cat Tribe can only stay in this region. Furthermore, we have grown ustomed to this region after so many years."

    "As such, we no longer have any intentions of leaving. The food crisis we face is only temporary. We view it as a trial given by the Frost God for allowing the Winter Cats to live under his protection," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

    "The Frost God, you say?" Leon uttered with interest. Then, he asked, "Does the Winter Cat Tribe have a religion that worships this Frost God, or does such a being actually exists?"

    "I suppose you can say it is closer to a religion, considering we have never seen the Frost God. Even so, we do believe such a being exists and slumbers in the Sacred Ice Mountain. However, a powerful ice phoenix guards the entrance," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

    After everyone heard that, they nced at each other with doubt.

    At the same time, Leon''s eyes flickered with understanding. But to confirm his doubt, he further asked, "What kind of protection does the Frost God offer exactly?"

    "Protection against the wrath of the Sun God. Thanks to Frost God''s protection, none of my kind has to suffer the wrath of the Sun God in this cold region," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

    After hearing that, Leon nced back at Aria. She gave him a silent nod, confirming that they were thinking the same thing.

    In fact, Elizabeth, Darlene, and Faelyn also arrived at the same thought.

    "I see," Leon smiled wryly and said, "I''m afraid your tribe will have to call your Frost God the Frost Goddess in the future."

    Everyone understood that the so-called Frost God mentioned was, in fact, the Celestial Ice Spark. Furthermore, the wrath of the Sun God was the harmful sunlight brought by the Cataclysm''s eruption.

    Nevertheless, Monarch Blizzardpaw was dumbfounded after hearing Leon im the Frost God was a woman.

    "Is it possible that you know personally know the Frost God?" Monarch Blizzardpaw asked with doubt.

    "That''s right. Not only do I know the Frost Goddess, but you can also say that we are close. She is busy right now, but I believe you will be able to meet the Frost Goddess soon," Leon softly chuckled.

    Considering Lynne refined the Celestial Ice Spark and ascended the Celestial Realm, it wasn''t wrong for the Winter Cat Tribe to regard her as the Frost Goddess.

    After all, the entire cold region in the north depends on her ice ability to maintain now that the original Celestial Ice Spark is gone.

    "Is that so¡­" Monarch Blizzardpaw uttered, half believing and half in doubt. Only time will tell the truth of the human''s words.

    "That aside, why is your Winter Cat Tribe experiencing a food crisis? Shouldn''t there be plenty of sea monsters in the sea?" Leon raised an important question.

 Chapter 956 Monarch Blizzardpawâ€™s Surprising Answer

    <h4>Chapter 956 Monarch Blizzardpaw''s Surprising Answer</h4>

    After Leon raised the question, everyone became interested in the topic. Furthermore, Aria and Darlene''s curiosity was more evident than the other two.

    They wondered if the sea monster tide in the Radiant Heaven Realmship had anything to do with the Winter Cat Tribe''s food crisis. However, they thought it was unlikely.

    After all, the Radiant Heaven Realmship was somewhere west of the Dark Abyss Continent while they were in the northern right corner of the Deste Beast Continent.

    Even if they didn''t know how big the Dark Abyss Continent was, they shouldn''t be anywhere close to the source of the sea monster tide.

    "Plenty of sea monsters in the sea, huh?" Monarch Blizzardpaw uttered before nodding, "There are indeed many sea monsters in the sea, too many to count even. However, there is a recurring period when the sea monsters all disappear from the sea."

    "The sea monsters all disappear from the sea?" Leon uttered with furrowed brows in doubts.

    "Yes," Monarch Blizzardpaw reconfirmed.

    "How is that even possible?" Aria also found it strange.

    "We''ve been to the edge of the frozen sea. The mountain range in the sea is like a or cage. Unless there''s a big hole in the mountain below sea level, there''s no way for the sea monsters to leave this sea region," Aria mentioned.

    For a small tribe like Winter Cat Tribe, the sea monsters within the enclosed sea region should be more than enough tost them many lifetimes.

    After all, sea monsters weren''t just numerous; they also had superior reproduction to allnd creatures.

    Thus, the Winter Cat Tribe would never be able to eat out all the sea monsters in that sea region on their own.

    Even if the entire empire''s poption suddenly switched to seafood, they still wouldn''t be able to eat out all the sea monsters in that sea region in a short time.

    Thus, the sea monsters running out of sea monsters due to excessive fishing was not the problem.

    There was another reason for the sea monsters'' disappearance from the sea region.

    "Other than an underwater hole in the sea mountains that sea monsters would take to leave the region periodically, I can''t think of any other reasons for the sea monsters'' disappearance," Aria added.

    "That seems to be the only reason for the sea monsters'' disappearance. However, Monarch Blizzardpaw''s tribe most likely hasn''t found this underwater gap that the sea monsters take to leave," Leon said.

    After all, the Winter Cats didn''t want to go anywhere near the Ice Phoenix Tribe to be their prey.

    "Furthermore, how the sea monsters leave isn''t important. What''s important is why they leave periodically," Leon stated shortly after.

    "Do you think it has anything to do with the sea monster tide, Leon?" Aria mentioned.

    Leon contemted for a moment.

    "Logically speaking, it would be abnormal for the sea monster tide in that ce to reach all the way here. However, on the topic of sea monster tides, there might be another ce attracting all the sea monsters from this region periodically," Leon spected.

    If there were another amazing ce of inheritance like the Radiant Heaven Realmship, he would definitely like to pay it a visit.

    "I suppose Monarch Blizzardpaw wouldn''t know anything about something like that, right?" Elizabeth shifted the attention back to the Paragon-level Winter Cat.

    "I''m afraid not, unfortunately," Monarch Blizzardpaw shook his scar-ridden head and said, "Anything beyond the forbidden forest and phoenix mountains had always been unknown to us."

    "I thought as much," Elizabeth nodded.

    "Nevertheless, even if there is a ce attracting all the sea monsters, it won''t solve the Winter Cat Tribe''s food shortage now that the sea monsters are all gone. How long do the sea monsters usually disappear each time?"

    "Two weeks on good days and up to a month of bad days," Monarch Blizzardpaw answered with a sigh.

    Most Winter Cats would be too weak to hunt on those bad days, while many young ones would die even if they all sleep to preserve their strength and energy.

    "That bad, huh?" Elizabeth uttered.

    "Nevertheless, fret not, Monarch Blizzardpaw. Your tribe doesn''t have to suffer through these bad times again. We can supply food to your tribe during these difficult times from now on. However, there are a few conditions I would like to put down for this service."

    "You see, I am the queen of arge country in the south of Extreme Misty Forest, which you call the forbidden forest. Thus, I also have to think about the wellbeing of my people as well. We can''t keep offering without expecting returns," Elizabeth stated.

    "The Winter Cats never expect to receive anything for free, but this is certainly a surprise. Pardon me for being inhospitable," Monarch Blizzardpaw expressed mild surprise before shing Leon a nce.

    Afterward, Monarch Blizzardpaw returned his attention to Elizabeth.

    "Since we are going to negotiate for the interests of our people, allow me to show you around our tribe. We don''t have much to offer, but I do hope you''ll find a few items of interest so we can trade for your food," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

    However, Leon interjected, "You don''t have to worry about that, Monarch Blizzardpaw. We''ll still take you up on your offer to show us around the tribe. However, we already know what we are interested in; thend and ess to the sea."

    "Furthermore, we are also interested in your tribe. However, I suppose it would be too much to ask your tribe to fall under our rule¡ª"

    "It''s not too much," Monarch Blizzardpaw quickly said, catching everyone off guard immediately.

    "Uh¡­ Pardon?" Leon thought he might have misheard.

    "It''s not too much for humans to rule over our tribe andnds as long as you treat us well. Even as pets or tamed beasts, it''s fine," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.

    Even though the Winter Cat Tribe had grown ustomed to living in the cold north, it didn''t mean they didn''t desire a better life.

    "I just want the children to be well-fed, you know?" Monarch Blizzard said.

    "I''m not sure if you understand my situation. However, this Monarch is tired of being powerless in the face of food shortage and watching children starve to death each year."

 Chapter 957 Frostjade Whetstones

    <h4>Chapter 957 Frostjade Whetstones</h4>

    Although Monarch Blizzardpaw had high strength as a Paragon-level Winter Cat, there were many things he couldn''t resolve with strength alone.

    Or rather, even with Paragon-level strength, it wasn''t enough to solve his tribe''s problems.

    Leon realized that the toll on Monarch Blizzardpaw''s mind had been much greater than he thought.

    Monarch Blizzardpaw had to watch the young Winter Cats starved to death helplessly.

    Furthermore, he still had to procure food after the sea monsters returned to the sea region when other adult Winter Cats were too weakened to hunt.

    Monarch Blizzardpaw may have very well been the only Winter Cat capable of hunting during those trying times.

    The amount of work that Monarch Blizzardpaw had to put in for the continuation of the Winter Cat Tribe during each of these food crises was unimaginable.

    As such, it wouldn''t be strange for Monarch Blizzardpaw to wish he could put everything down after meeting someone who could provide better care for his tribes.

    The Winter Cats had better reproduction than humans. Yet, their poption does not even exceed the tens of thousands due to the difficulty of living in the cold north.

    Leon couldn''t understand how much perseverance was needed to continue this grueling lifestyle for hundreds of years.

    "It must have been very difficult managing the tribe on your own," Leonmented.

    "It was," Monarch Blizzardpaw nodded. But then, he shortly added, "But don''t be mistaken. If it''s for the tribe, this Monarch can continue to endure these hardships until this Monarch''s life expires."

    "The reason this Monarch readily agreed isn''t just because you have the capacity to supply suchrge amounts of food at a moment''s notice. More importantly, you have the power to protect the Winter Cat Tribe."

    "Toiling in the cold north, not knowing when the next meal may be¡­ You know, it''s not bad to a big tree¡ªand a fairly big one at that, to take shelter under," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.

    Leon immediately understood that Monarch Blizzardpaw had mistaken him for someone extremely powerful due to his dragon aura.

    Monarch Blizzardpaw wasn''t wrong, but not exactly right either. He was indeed powerful, but his strength was unbnced.

    Nevertheless, after exchanging words for some time, Leon''s group built a closer rtionship with Monarch Blizzardpaw and the Winter Cat Tribe.

    Following the conclusion of their talk, Monarch Blizzardpaw guided them to a rtively big entrance that led to the Winter Cat Tribe hidden beneath the thick icy surface of the frozen sea.

    However, the so-called big entrance was only inparison to the other smaller entrances. It wasn''t made ording to human standards.

    It was wide enough, but it wasn''t high enough.

    "It looks like we will have to crawl inside," Leonmented wryly.

    "Ahem¡­" Monarch Blizzardpaw coughed and awkwardly said, "We don''t usually receive human guests around here¡­"

    Monarch Blizzardpaw wanted to show his hospitality to Leon''s group. As such, he was ashamed that he had to make his honored guests crawl to the tribe.

    "Meow, meow, meow, meow!"

    "Meow, meow, meow!"

    The nearby Winter Cats suddenly meowed at Leon''s group just as they prepared to crouch down and crawl into the opening.

    It was clear that the Winter Cats were saying something to them. But unfortunately, Leon and the others could not understand the Winter Cats''nguage.

    "What are they saying, Monarch Blizzardpaw?" Leon inquired.

    "They are requesting you all to wait. They wish to repay you for the food by making it more convenient for your group to enter the tribe," Monarch Blizzardpaw tranted.

    "It''s fine. Don''t worry about it," Leon said.

    "Meow, meow!"

    The Winter Cats meowed at Leon again when he attempted to crawl into the opening, causing Leon to pause and nce back at the Paragon-level Winter Cat for further trantion.

    "They insist," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.

    Leon shrugged his shoulders and conceded, allowing the Winter Cats to work on making the passageway bigger.

    Nevertheless, Leon and the others got to see the sharpness of the Winter Cats'' fangs and ws in effect.

    Thanks to the celestial ice power of the Celestial Ice Spark, the frozen sea was incredibly firmer than ordinary ice.

    Its hardness could evenpare to the defense of Rank 1 Transcendents.

    Even so, the Winter Cats tore through the ice easily with their sharp fangs and ws.

    Elizabeth and the otherdies could all see that no matter the strength and age of the Winter Cat, their fangs and ws all possessed a sharpness that could tear through a Paragon''s defense.

    At that moment, Aria was still holding Snowhisker in her arms.

    "You have such sharp ws too, don''t you? What will happen if you identally scratch me with them?" Aria uttered while ying with Snowhiskers''s paws.

    "Meow!" Snowhisker replied and retracted its ws as if it had understood Aria''s words.

    "Oh?" Aria noticed its subtle action and beamed, "Are you trying to be considerate of me? You are so precious."

    She fed Snowhisker another piece of sea monster meat from her interspatial ring.

    Nevertheless, the Winter Cats were very quick with their work. They only took a short incense worth of time to ergen the passageway for Leon''s group to enterpletely.

    After thanking the Winter Cats for their work, Leon followed Monarch Blizzardpaw in the ice passageway and quickly reached the Winter Cat Tribe.

    Everyone was astonished by the time they arrived.

    The Winter Cat Tribe''s location was much deeper than everyone had anticipated.

    It wasn''t just hidden under the thick ice; the Winter Cat Tribe was located at the bottom of the frozen seafloor.

    The homes weren''t just made of ice. There were also stone and dirt houses, which looked closer to primitive shelters.

    Even so, the tribe was surprisingly not as cold as the surface.

    However, among the other things found in the Winter Cat Tribe, the blue-colored stones the Winter Cats used to sharpen their ws and fangs caught Leon''s interest,

    "Are you interested in the Frostjades, Lord Leon?" Monarch Blizzardpaw inquired after sensing Leon''s gaze. "You certainly have a keen eye for treasures, Lord Leon."

 Chapter 958 Blizzardpaw Dukedom

    <h4>Chapter 958 Blizzardpaw Dukedom</h4>

    "If you are interested in these Frostjades, feel free to ask, Lord Leon," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.

    "If these Frostjades can give Paragon-level sharpness to Winter Cats'' fangs and ws, they must be precious, no? Are you really willing to offer some of them to us?" Leon inquired.

    "Frostjades are indeed important whetstones for sharpening our hunting tools. However, we have plenty to share. Although they are a little troublesome to gather, we have an entire deposit of Frostjades right under our tribe," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

    Leon and the others were immediately astonished.

    If they could gain such arge amount of Frostjades, they could upgrade the empire''s strength by several notches.

    Even if their soldiers fall short of Paragons, their weapons will have the potential to harm or even kill Paragons.

    While Monarch Blizzardpaw guided Leon''s group around the tribe, they saw a few interesting and unique building designs.

    The Winter Cat Tribe might be primitively built, but even the Winter Cats have their had own creativity on construction.

    Apart from the shelter-like cat houses, there wererge spiral ice pirs and staircases.

    Leon''s group had taken one of theserge spiral ice staircases down to enter the Winter Cat Tribe. However, there were more shelter-like cat houses on the otherrge spiral ice pirs.

    Even so, not all of these ice pirs connected the frozen seafloor and the cave ceiling. Some only reached halfway, appearing like towers, but in truth, there were broken ice pirs.

    As Leon observed those broken pirs, he assumed that the Winter Cats might have identally destroyed them due to the sharpness of their own ws.

    After all, cats love to climb, and they use their ws to do so. The fact that the tribe isn''t t is proof of that.

    Furthermore, there were numerous scratch marks on the edges of the ice pirs. Even the roofs of the cat houses there were stacked like mountains in some areas had quite a few scratches.

    Simply put, there were cat scratches everywhere.

    The ten thousand Winter Cats they saw on the surface were most likely all the Winter Cats that still had the energy to fight.

    The rest of the Winter Cats in the tribe only did one of two things. They were either hibernating or sharpening their fangs and ws. Only the adults sharpened their ws and fangs upon a more detailed look.

    Most of the younger Winter Cats were asleep.

    "Most of the young ones are sleeping to conserve their energy. Why were you the only up and about, hm? Did you sneak out to try looking for food on your own?" Aria poked the Snowhisker''s nose.

    "Meow!" Snowhisker soft replied, feeling a bit disgruntled by the poke.

    Nevertheless, Snowhisker wasfortable in Aria''s warm arms. Thus, it let her get away with her teasing.

    Although Winter Cats live in cold environments, the north was actually a bit too much for the younger Winter Cats to handle. As such, they built their home on the frozen seafloor, which was rtively less freezing due to its distance from the sacred ice mountain.

    Shortly after saying a few words, Leon left with Aria and Darlene to distribute sea monster meat to the rest of Winter Cats in the tribe.

    Although some adult Winter Cats had brought down some sea monster meat for their young, it was clearly not enough for everyone. Even if it was, they also had to feed themselves.

    They piled arge mountain of sea monster meat in the center, and its pungent sea smell attracted all the Winter Cats in the tribe, both the conscious adults and the slumbering young ones.

    "Meow, meow, meow~!"

    "Meow, meow¡­ meow!"

    It was a stampede of Winter Cats as the young ones all rushed towards the sea monster meat mountain with an insatiable appetite.

    Some even thought of Leon, Aria, and Darlene as food as well.

    However, they were quickly scolded by the older Winter Cats that had received orders from Monarch Blizzardpaws to treat the humans with great respect.

    While that was happening, Elizabeth was left alone with Monarch Blizzard.

    "I''d like to check out the Frostjade deposit, but I supposed we should settle the arrangements for the Winter Cat Tribe first," Elizabeth said.

    "Alright, Queen Elizabeth," Monarch Blizzardpaw nodded.

    "You might know this yet, but soon, there won''t be any more vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest. Lynne¡ªer, the Frost Goddess, is dealing with them. Once they are gone, it''ll be easier to open a path through the forest and connect the south and north," Elizabeth mentioned.

    "Is that true?" Monarch Blizzardpaw uttered with surprise.

    "Definitely," Elizabeth confirmed with a nod.

    "Once the south and north connect, we can expect a lot of interactions between humans, elves, and the Winter Cats. Of course, I don''t expect this to be smooth sailing. However, I hope the conflicts won''t affect our rtionship."

    "Of course, it won''t. The Winter Cat Tribe will be in your care, Your Majesty," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

    Two continued to discuss for half an hour before they finalized the arrangements as such;

    1. All of the cold north would be considered part of the Winter Cat Tribe''s territory, and Monarch Blizzardpaw would be the lord that governed this cold northernnd.

    2. Monarch Blizzardpaw would also be given the nobility rank of Duke in the empire. As such, the cold north would be called the Blizzardpaw Dukedom.

    The peerage was given out of respect for Monarch Blizzardpaw''s strength.

    However, it also serves as a form of protection for the Winter Cats. This indirectly prevents the Winter Cats from being exploited and abused by wicked people with power in the empire without the royal family''s knowledge.

    3. Travels between the Blizzardpaw Dukedom and the rest of the empire are permitted to all.

    4. Humans and elves may choose to adopt Winter Cats from the Blizzardpaw Dukedom, whether as their pet, tamed beast, or simply a new addition to the family.

    However, they must have the other party''s approval and the adopting Winter Cat''s willingness.

    In other words, the Winter Cats also have rights.

    Outside of these uses, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom will trade Frostjades and other local specialties in exchange for food with the empire.

 Chapter 959 Needless Concern

    <h4>Chapter 959 Needless Concern</h4>

    In the unlikely situation where the Blizzardpaw Dukedom cannot enough procure items of trade in exchange for food, the empire will still provide the food, as much as the Blizzardpaw Dukedom requires to guarantee the welfare of the people in the Blizzardpaw Dukedom.

    However, the value of food provided will be recorded as debt that must be repaid within ten years.

    Outside of items of trade,nds, military service, and contributions to the empire can be used to reduce the debt.

    Anything that hasn''t been included in the aforementioned can be negotiated with the royal family to settle the debt.

    Outside of these terms, the empire willpletely cover the costs of developing roads, ports, and other settlements in the Blizzardpaw Dukedom.

    The empire might seem like they are losing out on this deal.

    However, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom has officially and legally be a part of the empire. The rights of governance are simply given to Monarch Blizzardpaw.

    Thus, the empire had to bear the cost of its development ns.

    Nevertheless, these costs won''te out of the royal family''s pockets. The reinstatement of tax allowed the royal family to have extra funds for the development and management of the empire.

    Furthermore, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom was not excluded from paying taxes. They will simply pay tax in the form of Frostjades, which is extremely valuable in the empire.

    More importantly, the development of the Blizzardpaw Dukedom was crucial to the Crawford Empire, whether it was for sea ess, sea monster meat, or the Frostjades.

    Those were the known benefits that would affect the empire.

    Besides those benefits, the cold north was still a vast unexplored region. It was unknown what other precious resources and valuable treasures were hidden in thisnd.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon and the others returned to Elizabeth''s side, but it was clear that the talk was already over.

    "Did you finish talking about the arrangements with Monarch Blizzardpaw already, Mother?" Leon asked, feeling taken aback.

    "Yeah, we''ve settled everything while you were feeding the Winter Cats, son," Elizabeth confirmed before adding, "And it''s Duke Blizzardpaw now. The entire north, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom is his to manage."

    Afterward, Elizabeth recounted the details to Leon and the others, stunning them. Leon and Aria did not expect Elizabeth to give Monarch Blizzardpaw the rank of Duke.

    They have yet to explore all of the north.

    Leon wondered if his mother was nning on assigning the Duke rank to every additional High-rank tribe they encounter in the north. If there were any more tribes beside the Winter Cat Tribe, that is.

    Nevertheless, Leon could also understand why it had to be the Duke rank.

    If Monarch Blizzardpaw were allowed to reign over such arge territory without the rank of Duke, there would be voices of dissents among the empire''s nobles.

    After all, most of them didn''t have any territories to govern.

    Of course, there must have been other reasons that his mother considered before granting Monarch Blizzardpaw peerage.

    Nevertheless, Aria had concerns for a different reason.

    "Is it alright to grant Monarch Blizzardpaw the Duke rank? Beasts and humans had been at war since thest Cataclysm. Many people will have concerns regarding the Winter Cats," Aria mentioned.

    "That shouldn''t be a big problem," Leon stated.

    "The wrath of the Cataclysm made the beasts out of control. However, the Winter Cat Tribe had been living in andpletely protected from the Wrathful Demonic Energy. It''s also why we can get along with Duke Blizzardpaw and the Winter Cat Tribe this smoothly."

    Of course, he wouldn''t deny the allure of the sea monster meat they provided also yed a big part in their amicable rtionship.

    "Whatever concerns the people have, they wille to understand the Winter Cats when they interact with them. People have always been afraid of the unknown, but they don''t fear what they can understand."

    "That aside, business on this side is settled. Mother needs to return to New Capital and settle the matters on that side. The sooner we send people to work on the forest, the sooner we can establish a more stable food supply to the north," Elizabeth stated.

    "Right," Leon nodded in agreement before saying, "Let Darlene send you back, Mother."

    "That will save some time," Elizabeth agreed.

    Since they were no longer searching for Lynne, there was no need to travel back on foot. Darlene could take them back to New Capital with her spatial ability.

    That being said, Leon figured he would need to forge more Teleportation Arrays for the convenience of traveling.

    Furthermore, he still needed to improve his runic knowledge, among other things that require his attention.

    Meanwhile, Monarch Blizzardpaw had noints with everyone leaving so soon despite wanting to keep entertained in the tribe longer.

    The welfare of the Winter Catses first.

    It wouldn''t be toote for Monarch Blizzardpaw to provide a better reception once the situation in the Winter Cat Tribe improved and stabilized.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not intend to follow Elizabeth and Darlene back to the New Capital.

    "I won''t be going back with you, Mother. I n to continue exploring the north," Leon stated.

    "Alright, Son. If that''s what you want to do," Elizabeth nodded. Given her son''s present ability, she was convinced that he would be fine. Shortly after, she turned to Faelyn and Aria. "What about you two?"

    Aria nced between Leon and Faelyn before she smiled.

    "I left on such short notice that I didn''t get to visit my family. I will follow Mother back to New Capital to spend time with them," Aria replied. But then, she added, "Can I bring Snowhisker with me?"

    "You''ll have to ask Snowhisker''s parents," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

    Aria nodded.

    "I want to follow Leon and explore the north with him¡­" Faelyn gave her answer before adding in a softer tone, "If it''s not too much to ask."

    "Not at all," Leon shook his head with a smile.

    Sometimeter, Elizabeth, Aria, and Darlene left through Darlene''s Dark Passage and returned to the New Capital.

    Leon and Faelyn didn''t stay for long either. They left the Winter Cat Tribe and headed east. However, they weren''t alone.

    Monarch Blizzardpaw volunteered to tag along with them after settling some arrangements in the Winter Cat Tribe.

 Chapter 960 Blizzard Storm Region

    <h4>Chapter 960 Blizzard Storm Region</h4>

    "Besides the Ice Phoenix Tribe, have you been in contact with any other tribes? Or are you aware of any other tribes existing in the north, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Leon asked as they were traveling.

    "It''s hard to say. I heard a few beast tribes beside the Winter Cat Tribe several thousand years back before my time. However, I have never met any besides the Ice Phoenix Tribe. They may have all died off or migrated elsewhere," Duke Blizzardpaw replied.

    "Over several thousand years ago, huh?" Leon uttered thoughtfully. Then, after contemting for a bit, he asked, "Wouldn''t it be easy for you to confirm whether other tribes still exist if you explored the north?"

    "Perhaps," Duke Blizzardpaw vaguely.

    "However, I didn''t have time for such luxuries and idleness in the past. Even though our main diet¡ªor rather, our only diet consisted of sea monster meat, they are not easy to hunt. At the very least, the Winter Cats cannot hunt sea monsters safely on their own."

    "Unless I lead the hunt, the Winter Cats will undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties or be wiped out. After all, the sea monsters are numerous and never alone, not to mention their strength is not weak. At least these parts of the sea they are not."

    "You have seen our situation, Lord Leon. So you should understand that I cannot bear to let my tribe starve for even a day, let alone every day I am away from the tribe. They already have to starve during the food crisis every year; I don''t want them to starve on top of those periods."

    "If you couldn''t explore on your own due to such burdens, you could have at least sent other Winter Cats out to scout for you, no?" Faelyn joined their conversation with doubt.

    "Ah, yes. I have thought of such an option long ago," Duke Blizzardpaw said with a sigh.

    "During the first year of my reign as the new monarch of the tribe, I sent out a number of Winter Cats to scout. However, they never returned. When I sent out more scout to look for them, they didn''t return either."

    "After three scouting expedition attempts and sixty Winter Cats missing, I finally chose to leave the tribe and look for them myself. Can you guess what I found after a half-day trip east?" Duke Blizzardpaw asked.

    However, Faelyn shook her head.

    "A blizzard storm more freezing than the sacred ice mountain itself," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.

    "There, I found the frozen remains of my kind. Even to this day, I believe they are still there, frozen eternally in ice. I got this frostbite scar when I tried to retrieve them. However, the freezing blizzard storm is too much, even for me."

    "Did you tag along to warn us about this blizzard storm, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Leon asked with a thoughtful look.

    It didn''t make sense for anywhere else in the north to be even colder than the ice mountain, where the Celestial Ice Spark was located. That is unless there was another, higher quality Celestial Ice Spark in the north.

    "Yes, and no," Duke Blizzardpaw replied.

    "It was one of the reasons. However, I believe Lord Leon wouldn''t be troubled by the blizzard storm. I figured if it''s Lord Leon, you''ll be able to traverse through the blizzard storm and find its source."

    "I just wanted to take this chance to retrieve my frozen kin," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.

    It was the only time he was free to leave the tribe.

    The Winter Cats were all well fed, and he didn''t have to worry about conserving his energy to hunt after the sea monsters returned to the sea.

    "I see¡­" Leon uttered after hearing Duke Blizzardpaw''s reasons.

    "If thest monarch had warned me about the dangers of the blizzard storm, I might not have sent sixty Winter Cats to their death. Unfortunately, thest monarch passed away too abruptly before he could raise a proper sessor. Thus, I learned the hard way," Duke Blizzardpaw added with a sigh.

    "Things wouldn''t be so difficult on you if the Winter Cat Tribe had another Paragon-level Winter Cat to share the burdens, huh?" Leon thought.

    "Yes, I thought so too," Duke Blizzardpaw agreed.

    "However, it is too difficult to raise another Paragon-level Winter Cat. Given the harsh environment we live in, all our energy and resources could only be spent on surviving. We never had the extra energy and resources needed to grow.

    "How did you reach the Paragon level, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Faelyn asked curiously.

    However, Duke Blizzardpaw didn''t answer immediately. The Paragon-level Winter Cat was silent for some time, contemting whether he should speak about it.

    In the end, he chose to do so, albeit quietly.

    "I secretly drank the blood of thest monarch and fed on his flesh. Due to that, I also endure great criticism from the rest of the tribe. It was taboo in the tribe. Even when the Winter Cats are starving, we do not eat from the corpses of the fallen," Duke Blizzardpaw said.

    "Taboo or not, it was your choice that allowed the Winter Cat Tribe to survive for another thousand years, Duke Blizzardpaw," Leon stated.

    "I doubt any Winter Cats will still criticize you for what you did back then."

    Leon realized Duke Blizzardpaw didn''t toil for so many years out of sheer responsibility as the monarch alone. It was also due to guilt.

    "Not just surviving for a thousand years. The Winter Cat Tribe will only have goods days from this day forth," Faelyn chimed.

    "I hope so," Duke Blizzardpaw said.

    Sometimeter, the group of three picked up the pace and eventually stopped on the outskirts of the blizzard storm region.

    However, even the outskirts of the blizzard storm region were terrifying cold. Faelyn couldn''t endure such coldness on her own.

    Nevertheless, Leon created an ice-fire domain that controlled the temperature within and protected Faelyn and Duke Blizzardpaw from the cold outside.

    "This is as far as we can go. Unless we have any special means to protect ourselves against the frigidity of the blizzard storms in the region ahead, we will freeze very quickly," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.

 Chapter 961 The Frozen Winter Cats

    <h4>Chapter 961 The Frozen Winter Cats</h4>

    After Duke Blizzardpaw briefly exined everything he knew about the blizzard storm region, Leon scrutinized thend in the distance with narrowed eyes.

    It was and of heavy wind and snow, a clear contrast to the other parts of the cold north, which was just a vastnd of ice.

    However, the heavy wind and snow of the blizzard storm region contained a terrifying coldness within them, much more so than thetter.

    It was clear which of the two cold regions was more dangerous at a nce.

    "Do you think another Celestial Ice Spark is hidden in thisnd, Leon?" Faelyn sought Leon''s opinion with a curious look.

    However, Leon shook his head.

    "The environment of this blizzard storm region is not the same as the frozen region. We can assume that there is another Celestial Spark hidden in the heart of thisnd. However, the Celestial Spark most likely contains the power of a different water-typew," Leon spected.

    "It''ll be difficult for us to venture far into thisnd, so we will only explore the outer region and retrieve the frozen Winter Cats for Duke Blizzardpaw," Leon stated shortly after.

    Even for him, it would be a bit difficult and dangerous to explore the depths of the blizzard storm region with Faelyn and Duke Blizzardpaw.

    It would have been fine if he were on his own. But since he was with Faelyn and Duke Blizzardpaw, it would like trying to move with his feet tied.

    "You have my gratitude, Lord Leon," Duke Blizzardpaw said gratefully with his head lowered.

    Shortly after, the group advanced and stepped straight into the heavy snow of the blizzard storm region.

    Leon''s ice-fire domain operated to its full potential. His ice ability warded the coldness outside the domain while his fire ability heated the inside.

    At the same time, it also weakened the cold energy that bypassed his ice ability, whether purposely or unintentionally.

    As such, the weather within Leon''s domain was very controlled and cool, like spring, neither hot nor cold.

    "Right there, Lord Leon! My frozen tribe members are right over there!" Duke Blizzardpaw directed Leon shortly after they entered the blizzard storm region.

    As expected, the scouts from the Winter Cat Tribe did not make it far into the blizzard storm region before they froze.

    Furthermore, the Winter Cats were all frozen positions that faced the western direction¡ªthe direction leading out of the blizzard storm region.

    It was clear that Winter Cats realized the blizzard storm region was too cold for them when they entered and tried to flee quickly. However, they all became frozen statues before they could seed.

    "Hm?" Leon suddenly noticed something.

    The frozen Winter Cats were preserved very well¡ªor rather, too well.

    They didn''tck anything from the time they were alive except for their body heat and the color of blood flowing through their bodies.

    "Is there something wrong, Lord Leon?" Duke Blizzardpaw asked.

    Leon nced at Duke Blizzardpaw''s frostbite scar, a patch of ckened skin, andpared it to the frozen Winter Cats.

    However, frozen Winter Cats were still white as they could be. They were frozen without suffering any frostbites.

    Leon was led to believe that the frozen Winter Cats and Duke Blizzardpaw didn''t experience the same cold in the blizzard storm region.

    "Do you recall your experience from the time you entered the blizzard storm region, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Leon inquired.

    "Of course, Lord Leon. As clear as it was yesterday, in fact," Duke Blizzardpaw answered.

    "How can I forget? The terrifying cold sent chills down my spine. But more importantly, I felt like the blizzard was alive¡­ or at least, that was what I felt at the time. Why do you ask, Lord Leon?"

    "It just seems like there a big difference between the frost power that hurt you and the frost power that froze these Winter Cats," Leon stated.

    That being said, it was amazing that Duke Blizzardpaw was even still alive with such a wound for so long. This was the difference between a Paragon-level being and a normal human.

    If it were a normal human with frostbite, it would have killed them.

    "Hm?" Duke Blizzardpaw stroked his whisker with a frown before asking, "Are you doubting my words, Lord Leon?"

    "Not at all," Leon shook his head.

    "I''m simply saying there are two different frost power at work here. What gave you this frostbite scar is destructive. It kills the cells in your body. However, the frost power that froze these other Winter Cats doesn''t destroy. Instead, it preserves."

    "What does that mean?" Duke Blizzardpaw wondered.

    "I''m not too sure. It''s the first time I''ve personally seen living beings preserved so well with the power of ice. I''m not just talking about their outer appearance but also their life statuses," Leon stated.

    When Duke Blizzardpaw and Faelyn heard that, they were both stunned.

    "You mean¡­"

    "It''s very faint, almost undetectable. However, these frozen Winter Cats all have a breath of life. Their body temperatures are low, and their vitals are extremely weak, but at least they haven''t stopped. There''s a chance of reviving them," Leon stated.

    In the Divine Realm, there were all sorts of theories and approaches toward achieving the evesting.

    Cryosleep was one of them.

    Although it couldn''t be considered evesting, it does preserve people''s bodies and life status for an indefinitely long period as long as they remain in the state.

    Duke Blizzardpaw''s eyes brightened after listening to Leon''s exnation. However, he was confused in the next moment when Leon suddenly handed him a white pill.

    "What is this?" Duke Blizzardpaw wondered.

    "A Tier-5 Healing Pill. It will help you recover from your frostbites and any other lingering wounds your body has sustained," Leon casually exined.

    Duke Blizzardpaw was unfamiliar with alchemy, and he wasn''t sure of the pill''s effects. But since Leon gifted it to him, he decided to ept it graciously.

    The moment Duke Blizzardpaw, the Tier-5 Healing Pill''s efficacy spread through his body and restored it to its peak.

    Duke Blizzardpaw felt an unprecedentedfort he hadn''t felt in a long time after the pill removed all his ailments.

    "I won''t be overzealous with my gratitude. Just know that you have my ws, Lord Leon," Duke Blizzardpaw stated with conviction.

 Chapter 962 Danger in the Blizzard

    <h4>Chapter 962 Danger in the Blizzard</h4>

    ''You have my ws?'' Leon mused with a smile, finding it amusing.

    He heard of swords and shields being used to swear one''s loyalty, but it was the first time he heard of ws being used, which also makes sense.

    After all, Duke Blizzardpaw was a cat, and he had been talking to this cat.

    If it were another ordinary person in his shoes, they would have thought that they were high. After all, an ordinary person wouldn''t ever have a chance to meet a talking cat personally.

    Beasts adept in the human tongue would have to be part of a race gifted with high intelligence or have opened their Wisdom Gate.

    "Isn''t it too easy to buy your loyalty, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Leon casually asked with a light smile.

    "I might not know alchemy, but I don''tck awareness, Lord Leon. A Tier-5 Healing Pill shouldn''t be something easy toe by. It should be extremely valuable," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.

    Furthermore, Duke Blizzardpaw was already indebted to Leon and his associates for helping out the Winter Cat Tribe in a time of need.

    "It''s bad to follow such a powerful lord to whom I alsoe to respect," Duke Blizzardpaw said.

    "Is that something the Lord of Blizzardpaw Dukedom should be saying? Don''t tell me you''ve already grown tired of being a lord and want to be ackey?" Leon softly chuckled with amusement.

    However, Duke Blizzardpaw seriously considered it and said, "That doesn''t sound like a bad idea."

    "Let''s put that aside," Leon shook his head before seriously saying, "We should take the frozen Winter Cats back first. I''m getting a bad feeling about this blizzard storm region."

    "Mm, me too. I feel like something is secretly watching from within the depths of the blizzard," Faelyn mentioned with an unsettling look.

    After hearing that, Leon peered into the distance with Spirit Eyes.

    However, the heavy blizzard obscured his vision. But despite seeing nothing, he could also sense an overwhelming presence lurking in the depths of the heavy blizzard.

    "The Celestial Ice Spark had the Half-step Divine Beast-level Ice Phoenix guarding it. There''s a high chance that the blizzard storm region''s Celestial Spark also has a guardian, and not a weak one either," Leon spected with a grave look.

    "It wouldn''t be another Half-step Divine Beast, right?" Faelyn asked.

    "I don''t know. Weck information. But we might as well assume that it is one and retreat for the sake of caution. We''ll gather the frozen Winter Cats first and then move them out together," Leon instructed.

    "Wouldn''t it be more convenient to put them in our interspatial rings?" Faelyn wondered.

    "It would be, but the storage space isn''t a ce for living beings. The frozen Winter Cats aren''t dead yet. But they will be for real if we store them in our interspatial storage rings," Leon stated.

    "Please don''t do that," Duke Blizzardpaw said wryly.

    The frozen Winter Cats were all Winter Cats from Duke Blizzardpaw''s generation. Some of them were even his friends.

    "Don''t worry about it, Duke Blizzardpaw. It won''t happen," Leon assured.

    Nevertheless, they quickly located all sixty frozen Winter Cats before gathering them in one location, where Leon made an ice sleigh to contain them all.

    However, the moment the sixty frozen Winter Cats were gathered, the overwhelming presence lurking deep in the blizzard also became stronger.

    "I feel like something''s about to emerge from the blizzard. We better leave now," Leon urged.

    After getting Faelyn and Duke Blizzardpaw''s response, Leon controlled the ice sleigh to them all out of the blizzard storm region.

    In that instance, the aura of the being lurking in the blizzard intensified, causing everyone to feel a strong sense of threat.

    "I remember now, Lord Leon! It was this feeling! I sensed this exact feeling when I tried to pull one of my frozen kin out of the blizzard storm region!" Duke Blizzardpaw quickly informed him.

    Swish!

    A powerful breeze carrying the frosty power of the blizzard rushed their way. It swirled chaotically yet controlled and directed at the same time.

    It was an attack aimed at them from the depths of the blizzard!

    "A frost breath!" Leon nced back at their rear with narrowed eyes.

    Without further thought, Leon immediately summoned all the power of nihility he could muster in an instant, forming a cone-shape nihility barrier directed at the iing frost breath.

    Vroosh!

    The frost breath collided with the cone-shaped nihility barrier in the next instance. The cone-shaped nihility barrier quickly worked its magic and scattered the frost breath like a drill.

    But at the same time, the frost breath quickly diminished the power in the cone-shaped nihility barrier. Even so, Leon''s cone-shaped nihility barrier contained just enough power to negate the frost breathpletely.

    True Grandmist Energy scattered in all directions, but Leon didn''t have the luxury to absorb them all. He could only focus on escaping.

    His ice sleigh brought everyone out of the blizzard storm region in the next breath.

    However, the overwhelming presence lurking in the blizzard was infuriated by its failed attack. It partially emerged from the blizzard to give chase.

    But at that point, Leon''s group was already out of the blizzard storm region.

    Roar!

    The blizzard lurker gave an earth-shaking roar that stunned everyone and shook their souls.

    Without a doubt, everyone confirmed the unknown creature''s strength to be at the Half-step Divine Beast level.

    The Half-step Divine Beast could have easily caught during everyone''s momentarily stunned state.

    However, the Half-step Divine Beast did not seem keen on leaving the territory of the blizzard storm region. Or rather, it wasn''t keen on leaving the blizzard itself.

    Even so, Leon managed to catch a glimpse of Half-step Divine Beast''s shadow in the blizzard.

    "What was that thing?! It was so powerful and scary!" Faelyn eximed with dread sometime after the Half-step Divine Beast''s presence disappeared back in the depths of the blizzard.

    "Judging by its dragon-like roar and the form of its enormous shadow, I will guess it was a Flood Dragon!"

    Leon''s eyes flickered sharply.

 Chapter 963 Special Flood Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 963 Special Flood Dragon</h4>

    A Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon!

    Moreover, it was a Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon that could fly!

    "This Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon most likely possessed a superior bloodline than ordinary flood dragons. We lucked out this time," Leon stated seriously.

    "A flying Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon¡­ This was not something I would expect to find in a heavy blizzard¡­" Duke Blizzardpaw said wryly.

    Flood Dragons were water-attribute creatures of the sea.

    However, the Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon they had a close encounter with didn''t just fly; it also used frost breath.

    This Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon was particrly special. It had a superior bloodline on top of having the superior frost ability.

    "Right¡­ A flying Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon with a frost ability is quite umon. It might be a variant specie of the Flood Dragon Race or a product of mutation created by the Cataclysm," Leon spected.

    "Nevertheless, it seems this Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon only swims in the blizzard sea," Leon continued before saying, "So we should be safe outside of the blizzard storm region."

    "That''s quite the relief to hear, Lord Leon. That situation just now was too close forfort," Duke Blizzardpaw cracked a wry smile.

    Suddenly, Duke Blizzardpaw thought of something.

    "I wonder if Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon was also responsible for my frostbite," Duke Blizzardpaw thought.

    "I can''t say for sure, but the chances are high. The Half-step Divine Beast-level Flood Dragon''s frost breath did seem like something that will give you frostbite," Leon inserted his opinion.

    "In that case, I was quite fortunate to get away with such a small frostbite," Duke Blizzardpaw said with a self-deprecating smile.

    Duke Blizzardpaw knew he had a close shave with death back then. But looking back on it again now, he realized it was much closer than he thought.

    "How do you know about Flood Dragons, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Faelyn curiously asked before she mentioned, "I thought your tribe had no contact with other creatures in the north besides sea monsters and the Ice Phoenix Tribe."

    "That is correct," Duke Blizzardpaw admitted with a nod.

    Shortly after, Duke Blizzardpaw added with a smile, "However, you''re more curious about how I know about Flood Dragons than how I learned to speak the human tongue, Miss Faelyn?"

    "Uh¡­" Faelyn was struck speechless.

    It suddenly dawned on her that she had been hanging around a talking cat, and she didn''t realize that particr detail until now.

    "This¡­ How did you learn how to speak the human tongue, if you don''t mind me asking, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Faelyn inquired wryly.

    "You might not believe me, but the knowledge came to me when my strength ascended to the Paragon level and opened the Gate of Wisdom. You could even say that I inherited the knowledge from my ancestral bloodline," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.

    "Inherited knowledge from one''s ancestral bloodline? Is that even possible?" Faelyn wondered with amazement.

    "Definitely," Leon inserted while driving the ice sleigh.

    Faelyn immediately turned to Leon after seeing he was also knowledgeable on the topic. At the same time, Leon also noticed Faelyn wanted to learn more about it.

    "It is said that there are ten parts to a soul, nine parts mortal and one part immortal. The body makes up one part of it. As such, there are knowledge and memories contained within one''s bloodline, passed on from their ancestors. However, only beasts can innately tap into it upon reaching a certain level."

    Leon shared what he knew.

    Of course, what he said was just a theory from one of the soul records in the Archive. It was more widely epted that there were only nine mortal parts.

    That is because the immortal soul part, the origin soul, could not be proven to exist.

    Nevertheless, Faelyn and Duke Blizzardpaw quickly showed interest in the soul topic. But before either of them could say something, they arrived at the widened entrance to the Winter Cat Tribe.

    "We''re back," Leon informed them.

    "Let''s move the frozen Winter Cats to the tribe first. I will set up a defrost chamber and work on reviving them afterward."

    "Understood, Lord Leon," Duke Blizzard replied gratefully.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Grasnd Region, New Capital

    Shortly after Elizabeth returned to the heart of the Crawford Empire with Darlene and Aria, three separated.

    Or rather, it was just Aria leaving.

    "Mother, I won''t be following you back to the pce. I am going to visit my birth parents," Aria said.

    "Mm, alright. Go and see them," Elizabeth nodded with consent before adding, "You''ve been away for quite a while. I''m sure they''ll be overjoyed to see their precious daughter again."

    "Yes."

    Right after Aria left, Elizabeth turned to ask Darlene, "Do you have somewhere you want to go too, Darlene?"

    "No," Darlene shook her head and said, "I will apany you to the pce, Your Majesty."

    "Hm?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

    "M-mother," Darlene corrected.

    "Alright," Elizabeth smiled.

    Elizabeth arrived at the new pce a few minutester with Darlene.

    Then, she headed straight for Heinrich''s study room and barged inside, where the person could be seen going through some documents.

    "Dear, I got some good news to share," Elizabeth informed.

    "Oh?"

    Heinrich eximed pleasantly as Elizabeth''s return temporarily lifted his stress and eased some of his worries.

    "It''s great that you are back and well. Where are the others?" Heinrich noticed that Leon and the otherdies didn''t return with his wife.

    "Aria went to check on her parents in the city. Leon and Faelyn are still in the far north with the Winter Cat Tribe, which I was going to tell you about. Nevertheless, you won''t me for arbitrarily conferring the Duke rank to a Paragon-level Winter Cat, right?" Elizabeth asked.

    Heinrich immediately paused to process her words.

    "Hold on. Did you just mention a cat, dear? Did you talk to it?" Heinrich inquired with doubt.

    "Obviously. Why? Is it hard to believe there''s a talking cat when there''s been a talking wolf?" Elizabeth asked rhetorically.

    However, Heinrich wryly responded, "Well, that talking wolf doesn''t talk anymore, dear."

    "Whatever. I''m not here to bicker on that. Anyway, is there a problem, Hein? You don''t look well," Elizabeth noticed Heinrich''s stress.

    "Haiz¡­" Heinrich gave a long sigh after hearing Elizabeth mention the matter before saying, "It''s the Geyser Kingdom''s envoys."

 Chapter 964 Absurd Demands

    <h4>Chapter 964 Absurd Demands</h4>

    "The Geyser Kingdom''s envoys?"

    Elizabeth raised an eyebrow before frowning in the next moment.

    "I did recall that the Geyser Kingdom would send envoys to re-establishmunications between our countries and rebuild old ties before I left to look for Lynne. Have these envoys been causing troubles during their visits?"

    "The envoys did cause some trouble, but none of them had any need for concerns. These envoys were just nobles with terrible characters. They like to throw their weight around and boast the glory of their Geyser Kingdom," Heinrich replied with a sigh.

    Elizabeth''s frown deepened after hearing that.

    "For a country that wants to stay on amicable terms with us, they sure aren''t putting in the effort to maintain it. They should have chosen better envoys¡­ or perhaps, this was intentional."

    Elizabeth narrowed her eyes with a pondering look, yet her eyes also contained a fierce glint.

    "If I don''t know better, I would think that the Geyser Kingdom''s ruler is looking down on us by sending these bad envoys. We could interpret his message like this: The Geyser Kingdom is stronger; it is your Crawford Empire that needs to put in the effort to maintain the amicable rtionship."

    "Anyway, that is just my thought. Since you said that the envoys'' atrocious behaviors aren''t the problems, what is the problem?" Elizabeth asked shortly after.

    "The problemes after the envoys left. None of them returned to the Geyser Kingdom after their visits. And now the Geyser Kingdom is using us of murdering their envoys," Heinrich said a heavy sigh.

    "What?" Elizabeth uttered with a deep frown.

    "See for yourself, dear," Heinrich passed the letter to Elizabeth and said, "It''s all in this letter. The Geyser Kingdom isn''t happy with the deaths of their envoys. Or rather, they are quite furious about it."

    After Elizabeth received the letter, her eyes immediately narrowed on the royal seal in the corner.

    Nevertheless, she proceeded to read the letter to understand the contents. However, her blood started boiling with fury after reading every line in the second half of the letter.

    They were demands made by the Geyser Kingdom after they used the Crawford Empire of murdering nobles of the Geyser Kingdom.

    "The Geyser Kingdom is going too far!" Elizabeth exploded with rage as she scrunched up the letter with one hand. "A load of horse sh*t! They have the audacity to make such outrageous demands!"

    "This is no longer about the death of the envoys! I would understand if they demand high marypensation or precious resources. However, they didn''t make a demand for either of them. Instead, they wanted ournd! Moreover, they were very specific with whatnd they wanted!"

    "Thends they want us to hand over aspensation aren''t even regions connected to the Geyser Kingdom''s borders! They are regions neighboring the heart of our empire! It is clear what the Geyser Kingdom wants!" Elizabeth thundered furiously.

    "Right," Heinrich nodded with a sigh and said, "The Geyser Kingdom is setting their eyes on our World Tree and its boundless supply of spirit energy."

    "However, something doesn''t quite make sense," Elizabeth stated with a frown before asking, "Do you think this letter from the Geyser Kingdom''s ruler is authentic, dear?"

    "Given the royal sea stamped on the letter, it would seem that way. However, the sheer absurdity of these demands do make me doubt its legitimacy," Heinrich inserted his opinion.

    "I heard King Lutheran Geyser was a wise ruler. Considering the prosperous state of the Geyser Kingdom boasted by the envoys, there must be some truth to it. However, this letter contradicts that impression."

    "Assuming the letter was forged by someone else, it would mean that this person is close to King Lutheran. Close enough that this person could steal the royal seal for his personal use. It must be quite the bigshot in the Geyser Kingdom," Elizabeth said thoughtfully.

    She was able to think clearly after calming down.

    "Right," Heinrich nodded and said, "If we follow that train of thought, we can assume there''s a hostile faction from the Geyser Kingdom that wants the kingdom to go to war with our empire."

    "And why is that causing you headaches? Just send the letter back to King Lutheran. If it was indeed forged, I reckon the situation will be pretty interesting on their end afterward, dear."

    Elizabeth cracked a cold smile, thinking it would be great if King Lutheran started a purge after learning the contents of the forged letter.

    However, Heinrich could only smile wryly in response to her words.

    "Hm? Is there something wrong with my solution?" Elizabeth asked with a frown after reading Heinrich''s expression.

    "I did think about sending the letter back to King Lutheran. However, some other variables concern me. For example, the perpetrators responsible for the envoys'' deaths are unknown. We don''t know if they belong to the Geyser Kingdom or another force. The letter might not make it to King Lutheran," Heinrich mentioned.

    "That''s true¡­ It slipped my mind when I read the letter," Elizabeth said before asking, "Have we found out where the envoys'' bodies are?"

    "I''ve given the task to the shadow guards. I believe there''ll be a lead soon enough¡ªif everything goes ording to n. However, I fear the interference of this unknown force, making things more difficult on my end," Heinrich stated.

    "It seems we will be relying on the Winter Cats'' help sooner than expected," Elizabeth thought.

    "Although Winter Cats can''tpare to dogs, they still have an excellent sense of smell. They should be able to help us track down any rat hiding in our empire as long as we have a lead on them."

    "Oh?" Heinrich showed greater interest in the Winter Cat Tribe.

    "Now that you mentioned that, dear, I feel like the Winter Cats will be a great addition to improving our national security," Heinrich expressed his thought.

    "Anyway, what exactly happened in the north? How did you end up granting peerage to a Paragon-level Winter Cat? And more importantly, how did you get it to agree?"

    "Easy on the questions, dear. I''ll tell you all about it," Elizabeth smiled.

 Chapter 965 Expansion Plan

    <h4>Chapter 965 Expansion n</h4>

    As Elizabeth recounted her experiences in Extreme Misty Forest and Blizzardpaw Dukedom to her husband, she noticed some differences about Heinrich.

    His body had undergone some slight changes during the time she was away from New Capital.

    She hadn''t noticed these changes at first. But now that Heinrich''s stress and concerns slowly eased after having someone to confide in them, his body''s aura became more prominent.

    "Hm? You made some major breakthroughs in your cultivation while I was gone, dear?" Elizabeth asked with surprise.

    "Ah, you just noticed it?" Heinrich smiled with a bit of gloat. "I just tried practicing one of the many primordial techniques our son taught for a few days, but the effects are astonishing."

    Heinrich didn''t just make great strides in body cultivation; he also attempted energy cultivation.

    Using the abundant spirit energy in the region, Heinrich swiftly advanced to the Revolving Core Realm in three days.

    Given the rate of improvement, it would only take him one to two weeks to reach the Heaven Ascension Realm.

    In other words, it would only take him one to two weeks for his energy cultivation to beparable to Rank 2 Transcendents.

    On the other hand, his body cultivation was a bit slower.

    Although spirit energy seemed to have impressive effects on the body, it couldn''t bepared with the Grandmist Energy mentioned in the Godfiend Body Forging Method.

    There was a limit to how long Heinrich could practice body cultivation before he was forced to take a break and let his body heal.

    It wasn''t something Heinrich could cultivate nonstop without the assistance of high-quality recovery medicine.

    If Heinrich had the True Grandmist Energy mentioned in the Godfiend Body Forging Method, he wouldn''t need high-quality recovery medicine to cultivate nonstop.

    After Heinrich recounted his past few days'' worths of cultivation experience to Elizabeth, she expressed her astonishment.

    "Do you think it''s good to divide your cultivation focus like that, dear? Won''t it hold you back?"

    "The thought did cross my mind," Heinrich nodded.

    "However, you''ll understand that these worries are unfound once you start cultivating with these primordial methods too. After all, the rate of improvement is very quick. Furthermore, ites with multiple benefits."

    "The strength we can derive from thebination of our awakening, energy, and body cultivation would be much stronger than awakening cultivation by itself," Heinrich said.

    "In the past, awakening cultivation was our only focus because the cultivation methods for other cultivation paths couldn''tpare to awakening cultivation. However, now that we have primordial techniques that could take us to True Divinity, don''t you think they''ll be worth practicing, dear?"

    "Listening to you speak like that, I am more or less convinced. Our son also taught me quite a few primordial techniques. I suppose I should give THAT primordial technique a try," Elizabeth thought.

    However, Heinrich didn''t understand which primordial technique she was referring to.

    There were quite a few primordial techniques taught by their son. Furthermore, their son might not have taught them the same sets of primordial techniques either.

    "What primordial technique is that?" Heinrich curiously.

    "The Heavenly Molten Fusion Art, an energy cultivation technique that focuses on the fusion power of metal and fire," Elizabeth exined.

    "Our son must have given me this technique out of consideration for my metal and fire abilities. However, this Heavenly Molten Fusion Art will require me to work on my fire ability, which I have neglected until now."

    Elizabeth sighed upon saying this.

    "I have always assumed metal to be the most powerful element one could cultivate. However, I have learned that this sort of thinking is too narrow-minded and na?ve. There is no strongest power, only strongest cultivator."

    "Any element can be the strongest in the hand of the strongest person," Elizabeth stated.

    "There were many things we didn''t know and many things we chose not to know because we never traveled beyond our domain," Heinrich said before ncing outside at the clear sky.

    "There''s a whole world to explore, but we never left our sphere offort, choosing to remain ignorant to the rest of the world. It was our son who went out and brought back these changes in the empire."

    "And now, the empire is developing nicely¡ªfar beyond the wildest dreams of our past selves. The wall that once protected us now confines us," Heinrich shifted his gaze to the west and said.

    Elizabeth''s eyes flickered with a thought before asking, "Are you thinking of reiming the vastnds of the Wilnds and expanding the empire''s territory westward, dear?"

    "Time has changed," Heinrich said with his hands linked behind his back.

    "I was still contemting whether this was a necessary step to take. After all, conquering the west will trigger another bloody feud with the beasts. However, hearing about the Winter Cat Tribe from you, dear, I''ve finally decided."

    "We can integrate beast tribes that share our values and be a powerful multi-race nation," Heinrich stated with a distant look. It was as if he was peering into the future.

    "It''s not a bad idea. I think we should push forward with it," Elizabeth voiced her agreement with Heinrich''s expansion n.

    "However, I doubt all beast tribes will be as understanding and amicable as the Winter Cat Tribe. There''s a lot of madness and chaos outside our territory right now. It''s only thanks to the World Tree''s blessings that things are rtively peaceful here," Elizabeth reminded shortly after.

    "The importance of the World Tree goes without saying, whether it''s for our empire''s development or the people''s welfare. We have to guard it well from those bearing ill intents toward it," Heinrich said.

    The World Tree was a blessing to all life. It''s hard to understand why anyone would want to harm it. Nevertheless, there were all sorts of evils in the world.

    "Expansion ns aside, I will leave Extreme Misty Forest and Blizzardpaw Dukedom''s workforce arrangement to you, dear. I will head back to the Winter Cat Tribe with Darlene to request some scouts," Elizabeth stated.

    "Alright, do what you need to do, dear. I''ll handle things on my end," Heinrich assured.

    "We still have arge portion of idle people in New Capital. I''m sure many will happily sign up for the job once the words are out."

 Chapter 966 Contribution Hall

    <h4>Chapter 966 Contribution Hall</h4>

    Once Heinrich sent thebor recruitment news out to the city after Elizabeth and Darlene left, the already bustling city became even more bustling.

    Tens of thousands of people quickly flocked to the recruitment board to sign up, and not a single one was below Rank 7 Body Tempering in strength.

    The condition in New Capital was excellent.

    With the abundance of food and crop cultivated throughout New Capital, hunger was non-existent despite the megacity being home to one million humans and elves.

    No one had to worry about surviving, even if they were jobless.

    Since hunger was eliminated from people''s worries, and people didn''t need to work for food, they started looking for other goals to seed in life.

    And when asked what the mostmon goal for everyone in New Capital was, cultivation was undoubtedly the answer.

    However, not everyone was born with the same opportunity to rise above others in cultivation. Many did not have the financial resource of a wealthy family to aid their cultivation.

    This is what made the royal family''sbor recruitment so lucrative for people frommon backgrounds.

    It was a rare chance to earn contribution points¡ªcontribution points that can and will be traded at the Contribution Hall in the royal pce''s outer courtyard.

    Whether it is medicine, cultivation resource, techniques, battle skills, or even official and military positions in the empire, they can all be exchanged at the Contribution Hall.

    That being said, it wasn''t easy to acquire the better quality items on the exchange list. The sheer number of contribution points required was enough to dishearten anyone that looks at them.

    Even so, they were more desirable than the official and military positions that could be exchanged with contribution points.

    "Easy to get, hard to keep" was the best way to describe official and military positions avable in the Contribution Hall''s exchange list.

    If one were deemed ipetent for the job, they would be fired without further notice.

    Furthermore, the contribution points exchanged for the official or military position would not be refunded.

    As if to add further salt to the wound, they would also be punished for their ipetence.

    Many people thought the king was crazy for introducing official and military positions to the Contribution Hall and even set them at low contribution point requirements.

    However, the heavy penalty that came with acquiring the jobs through the Contribution Hall was like a ssh of cold water for all the opportunists who saw it as an easy way to ascend the empire''s hierarchy.

    Apetent person would not fear being ipetent ¨C Heinrich Crawford.

    It was Heinrich''s idea that the talents he needed to fill the empty positions in the empire would be sought out by the people of the empire themselves.

    This saved him the trouble of finding talents while ensuring that he gets the best man or woman for each job.

    Nevertheless, the contribution system had one fatal weakness ¨C the distribution of contribution points.

    It required far too much work andbor to record and update the information of every person that earned contribution points in the empire.

    As such, contribution points are recorded on intricately-designed metal tokens with a specific runic-engraved number and are handed out like a form of currency.

    This implies that as long as one had the proficient knowledge and skills to engrave runes and was capable enough to replicate the intricately-designed metal tokens, they could cheat the system by forging contribution points.

    That being said, it was not so easy to forge contribution points either.

    While the metal tokens are all created by the Lancaster Family''s people, the rune engravements are done by the Duke and Duchess themselves.

    Furthermore, they were all tier-3 rune engravements with actual effects.

    Thus, unless the forgers were also tier-3 runemasters, it wouldn''t be possible to forge contribution points and cheat the system.

    But at the same time, there was no need for tier-3 runemasters to resort to forging contribution points.

    Tier-3 runemasters can easily acquire status and wealth with their ability. This also means that there will be people assigned to monitor them for fraudulent acts secretly.

    However, tier-3 runemasters aren''t the only concern with contribution points.

    Since it was a form of currency, contribution points could be freely exchanged between people, which isn''t a problem in and of itself.

    It only bes a problem when the contribution points are acquired through coercion or robbery.

    In order to prevent the strong from preying on the weak and guarantee the fairness of the system, Heinrich imposed the death penalty for people caught acquiring contribution points through improper means.

    Nevertheless, not everyone would be deterred by the death penalty. The stakes were simply raised. As long as they don''t get caught, some selfish and evil people are willing to take the risk.

    You only break thew when you are caught breaking thew ¨C nameless criminals throughout the ages.

    ¡­

    "Hey, have you heard? His Majesty has issued abor recruitment notice for reiming Extreme Misty Forest. This is a rare chance to earn some contribution points!" a young man excitedly shared the news.

    "Huh? Reiming that spooky ce? Is that even possible? I heard that ce is full of ghouls in the outer regions and vengeful spirits in the inner regions," a female elf uttered.

    "That''s why there''s a minimum strength requirement of Rank 5 Body Tempering for the job! Even so, we just need to chop trees, and we can earn some contribution points!" the young man informed. "I''m definitely signing up!"

    "Just chop trees? It can''t be that simple. His Majesty could have just sent in several Transcendents to sweep the ce, no? Something about thisbor recruitment notice feels shady¡­" a 42-year old woman doubted.

    "What do you know, old hag?" the young man looked at the woman with disgust for doubting the king and said, "This is what you call the benevolence of the king! His Majesty is giving this opportunity to usmon folks to improve the empire''s economy and strength!"

    "O-old hag?! How dare you call me that!" the 42-year woman shrieked, feeling offended by the young man''s crude words.

    The young man was ready to engage in a word battle with the woman when he was suddenly tapped on the shoulders by another person.

    "Hm? What do you want?" the young man looked at the hooded person and frowned.

    "Ignore the hag. I like to hear more about thebor recruitment notice."

 Chapter 967 Hooded Refugees

    <h4>Chapter 967 Hooded Refugees</h4>

    "How dare you call me a hag too! I''ll have you know I am still in my early¡ª!" the 42-year-old woman was enraged by the hooded person.

    However, before the 42-year-old woman could finish venting her anger, she suddenly stopped shouting after catching a glimpse of the hooded person''s cold eyes.

    The 42-year-old woman felt a chill run down her spine when their eyes made contact.

    In that instant, she instinctively knew the person was dangerous, and it was better not to get involved with the person.

    This instinctual feeling was not determined by the hooded person''s strength. In fact, the woman did not know how strong the hooded person was.

    However, the hooded person''s cold eyes contained extreme yet controlled rage.

    "Actually, it''s fine. I guess I am an old hag now. Sorry for the trouble," the 42-year-old woman said before scooting off to mind her own business.

    Even if she could beat a crazy person, it was too troublesome for what it''s worth.

    After the woman left, the hooded person shifted his attention back to the young man.

    "The details," the hooded person uttered.

    "Ah? Right¡­ Thebor recruitment location is outside the royal pce''s main gates. You have to be at least Rank 5 Body Tempering to apply. You can find all the information you need there," the young man said.

    "However, why are you hooded? You look very suspicious like this, and they might not ept you," the young man added shortly after.

    "Why am I hooded? I have a rather grotesque face, so I rather not show it to others lest it makes everyone ufortable. Anyway, thanks for the information," the hooded person said.

    The young man realized it was a woman behind the hood and no longer pried into her secrets. After all, a beautiful woman with a scar would definitely be conscious of her face.

    Nevertheless, since the young man hadn''t seen the hooded woman''s face, he could only make a blind guess at how bad her face scars were.

    Even so, the young man knew better than to pry.

    "Ah right, there was a quota on thebor hire for the job! I better hurry!" the young man recalled before scooting over to sign up.

    In any case, he had already passed the word out to the outer district.

    Whether his neighbors and acquaintances are willing to grab hold of this opportunity is up to their own choices.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Outside the royal pce''s main gates, a massive crowd of humans and elves lined up in front of thebor recruitment board as they waited their turn.

    It was already packed within the first few minutes of the recruitment notice, which spread like wildfire.

    Half an hour since then, the crowd had inted tenfold.

    The main square could not contain everyone queueing up for thebor recruitment; it spanned across multiple streets and blocks.

    City guards were deployed to keep the order in the open while the shadow guards secretly observed the situation from the dark.

    Their task was more than just simply controlling the crowd.

    The hooded woman frowned when she saw how extensive the registration line was. Despite that, she still joined the queue obediently without causing any problems for others.

    There were several hundreds of hooded people just like her in the queue.

    Nevertheless, the queue moved forward fairly quickly.

    The officials at thebor recruitment board only asked a few simple questions before handing thebor hires their identity tokens.

    "Take it and don''t lose it. Otherwise, you will not be paid for the work you put in," one of the recruitment officials informed the hiredborer, a male elf at the Rank 8 Body Tempering Realm.

    Nevertheless, the male elf was filled with questions.

    "What do I do with this exactly, sir?" the male elf politely asked while ncing down at the metal token with his name engraved on it.

    The metal token shared simrities with the contribution tokens, but they were not the same.

    "The token records your contribution on Extreme Misty Forest. Each time you turn in the logs at the worksite, an inscriptionist will update the contribution count on your token for you," the official patiently exined.

    "I see. Thank you, sir," male elf nodded with understanding.

    "You may enter the outer courtyard," the official directed.

    "Once the numbers are filled, a Transcendent will transport you to the worksite in the north. Of course, if you believe you can get there on your own, then forget what I just said."

    "I''ll wait for the transport, sir," the male elf smiled wryly.

    There''s no way a Rank 8 Body Tempering body cultivator could get to Extreme Misty Forest from New Capital quicker than a Transcendent can.

    Nevertheless, not all Transcendents were in charge of transporting the hiredborers to the outskirts of Extreme Misty Forest directly.

    While Metal Transcendents transportedrge groups onrge metal frames to the worksite, the other Transcendents escorted the hiredborers to the docking bay to take the airships there.

    After the male elf entered the royal pce''s outer courtyard, the official weed the next person in the queue.

    However, the official immediately frowned at the hooded person.

    "Take off your hood. Why are you hiding your appearance? Your action is very suspicious. Pleaseply, or you will be detained for further questioning," the official demanded.

    At the same time, the nearby city guards were ready to swoop in and apprehend the suspect.

    Nevertheless, the official''s firm tone and the city guards'' intimidating auras quickly scared the hooded person.

    "W-what! I''m not someone suspicious! I just look hideous under the hood!" the hooded person quickly exined.

    "How hideous can a person¡ªholy sh*t!" the official identally cussed at how hideous the hooded person''s face was after seeing it.

    It was like the person''s whole face had been burned and melted into an unrecognizable state. It was terrible beyond belief, even worse than someone who had undergone facial torture.

    "I told you so¡­" the man hid his face under the hood again in shame.

    "Excuse my sudden outburst. Your condition¡­ was much worse than I imagined. You must be a refugee from Durham or Vran, right? I apologize for putting you through this," the official said.

    "However, I still have to check all your identities regardless. So please lift your hoods during your turns."

 Chapter 968 North Reclamation Camp

    <h4>Chapter 968 North Remation Camp</h4>

    The hooded refugee mixed in the crowd all expressed mild discontent. However, they all had no choice but to nod withpliance.

    Even if they don''t want other people to see their hideous faces, they still want the job.

    If they could earn some contribution points and exchange them for quality medicine, they might have a chance at fixing their sun-scorched faces.

    Nevertheless, as the crowd quickly received their record token, more and more hooded people''s faces were revealed for everyone to see.

    The deformity of their faces varied from mild cases to severe ones; some even had pus growing their faces like spores.

    "How horrible¡­ I can''t believe these refugees'' faces have all be like that¡ªNo, I doubt it''s limited to their faces. Other parts of their bodies must have suffered such changes as well¡­" an elfmented.

    "Yeah¡­ I wonder if the other people living outside the World Tree''s domain are also like that¡­ The situation must have taken a turn for the worse if His Majesty had to ept refugees¡­" another elf mentioned.

    "I mean, if the refugees are alling to New Capital with faces like that, you know the situation outside is bad," added a youngdy.

    "True¡­ We are so fortunate to be part of the empire from the beginning."

    ¡­

    As thebor recruitment went on, more and more batches of hiredborers were transported to the outskirts of Extreme Misty Forest.

    The officials, troops, and earlier batches of hiredborers had already set up arge camp there. Even the contribution hall was active.

    As new groups of hiredborers arrived on their modes of transport, an official quickly gave them a run-through on the rules and details of their work.

    "Listen up, runts. I don''t know you lived your life elsewhere. However, now that you''re in my north remation camp, I expect you all to be on your best behavior. Call me Supervisor Owen if you need me. But remember, be nice and work together."

    Supervisor Owen started.

    "Fighting and stealing will not be tolerated. If you are caught doing either, your qualification to work here will be forfeited. Of course, that naturally applies to killing as well. However, it won''t just be your work qualification to be concerned about at that point. You can even face execution. So keep that in mind."

    "Moving on, His Majesty has decreed that a path to far north be opened by the felling the trees of Extreme Misty Forest. That means most of your work will be about chopping trees."

    "However!" Supervisor Owen suddenly changed his tone; it was brisque and harsh.

    "Just because you''ll be chopping trees to open a path to the far north, it doesn''t mean that the quality of your logs doesn''t matter! The valuable coldwood are all precious resources that can be used for the development of the empire!"

    "As such, I expect all the cold logs you turn in to be in good quality. Otherwise, you can forget about earning contribution points from them!" Supervisor Owen firmly stated.

    "The Lancaster Family has been generous enough to provide all the tools for your work. Damaged or broken, you can turn the tools in for repair at the smithy, free of charge. But on the off chance that you lose thempletely, you will be charged for their recement."

    "Lines have been marked, and a map has been made. Refer to them to understand where you can and cannot cut trees in the forest. You do not need to worry about ghouls and vengeful spirits. Transcendents had already cleared any remnants of them before you came."

    "As such, you only need to focus on chopping trees and turning in good logs. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask," Supervisor Owen said at the end of his speech.

    Several hands were quickly raised.

    "Yes, you, the man with small eyes and blue shirt. What do you want to ask?" Supervisor Owen randomly selected one of the raised hands.

    The man with the blue shirt felt awkward being called out as such. Nevertheless, it quickly set aside the thought to ask his question.

    "Extreme Misty Forest is quite different from how I remembered and heard. It seems to be apletend of ice further inside the forest. What do we do with all that ice?"

    "That''s a good question. I''m d you ask," Supervisor Owen said.

    "The coldwood tree is the primary target of this job. You need to mine the coldwood trees out of the ice before you can chop them down. That is why the quality of the logs you turn in is important. You can''t do a sloppy job at it."

    "Nevertheless, we are also epting ice blocks of specific sizes and shapes. You can turn them at the contribution hall for contribution points. However, their value is iparable to coldwood, so don''t expect much from them."

    Shortly after Supervisor Owen finished speaking, many previously raised hands dropped. The hiredborers, more or less, had the same question. As such, they no longer needed to ask.

    Sometimeter, Supervisor Owen led the several hundred hiredborers into the north remation camp to collect their work tools.

    Once they familiarized themselves with the camp, rules, work, and objectives, they went to look for a free target in the misty forest to work.

    Nevertheless, the hiredborers quickly realized it was impossible to work alone. Thus, they formed groups of four to six to improve their work efficiency.

    ¡­

    "Hey, do you want to join our group?" the hooded woman was invited by another group of four hooded people.

    "Sure," the hooded woman answered after a brief sweep of the surroundings.

    The rest of the hooded people in the area were also forming groups among themselves, mostly due to the fact that they felt morefortable working with people who had gone through the same sufferings as them.

    "Great! I hope we get along well," the leader of the hooded group offered a handshake before asking, "How should we address you?"

    "You can just call me Artemise," the hooded woman said.

 Chapter 969 Godâ€™s Trial

    <h4>Chapter 969 God''s Trial</h4>

    After Artemise and the hooded group formally introduced each other, they collected their work tools from the camp and headed into the misty forest.

    "We came prettyte, huh? All the coldwood trees on the outskirts are taken. It looks like we will have to venture deeper," said the hooded group leader by the name of Ricardo.

    "Fortunately, the air here is quite good. Although we originally moved to New Capital for the fresher air, the air here is still better than back in Durham."

    "Right."

    The nearby coldwood trees had all been imed by other groups, even if there were many coldwood trees with no one working on them.

    Hiredborers were permitted to set up work zones covering the same number of coldwood trees as the maximum number of members in their groups.

    As Ricardo''s hooded group ventured deeper into the forest, they spotted a fewrge groups with more than thirty members.

    "Such arge group¡­ Can they even manage it? Aren''t they afraid of a dispute over the division of contribution points?" another woman in the hooded group mentioned.

    "I doubt there will be a problem like that if the group leader treats everyone fairly. They should be more afraid of losing their work qualification than to let a dispute happen," Ricardo thought.

    "Nevertheless, it''s good that we grabbed a few pickaxes from the camp. It seems like we will have to work in the ice region. That being said, these work tools have quite interesting designs."

    "I wonder if they are really pickaxes and hatchets," Ricardo mentioned.

    After the hooded group found their spot, they studied the work tools.

    The pickaxes and hatchets they collected from the camp were unlike any pickaxes and hatchets they had ever seen.

    These work tools were made of strong metal, and they had runic engravings all over them.

    However, the unknowledgeable group, who were justmoners, only saw the runic engravings as random scribbles.

    "Does it matter? As long as they have the general shape and form, they are pickaxes and hatchets for all I care. Nevertheless, time is money. Can we start working on the ice now? I want to restore my beauty quickly," the woman said.

    "Yeah, yeah¡­" Ricardo uttered before picking up a ck pickaxe.

    "You mentioned you were quite beautiful before your face and skin suffered changes under the foul air and sunlight. And your fianc¨¦ left you because of that, right? Don''t worry. You are better off without a person like that anyway."

    ng!

    Shock ran through Ricardo''s hands, numbing them after he had a swing at the ice wall in front of them.

    "W-what?" Ricardo uttered with shock.

    "I''m at Rank 6 Body Tempering, but I only left a white mark on this ice? How are we supposed to break through the ice, let alone chop coldwood trees?"

    The other members in the hooded group were also startled by the sturdiness of the ice wall. Only Artemise had a calm look.

    "Have you forgotten the instructions on how to use the work tools? These pickaxes and hatchets are tier-2 spirit artifacts. You need to turn the rotary knob to activate the rune power hidden inside the pickaxe," Artemise reminded.

    After Ricardo followed Artemise''s instruction, the pick glowed with a blueish aura.

    Ricardo swung the blue-glowing pickaxe at the ice wall a second time in the next moment. But unlike the first time, he easily shattered a chunk of ice off the wall.

    "Wow!" multiple members of the group eximed.

    Shortly after, two other members grabbed the other two pickaxes they brought and activated their rune power to mine the ice.

    "Haha, these work tools¡ªno, artifacts are amazing!" one of the men eximed.

    "Amazing as they are, they don''t have unlimited power. Once the power is exhausted, you will have to deactivate them so they can draw spirit energy from the atmosphere to recharge themselves," Artemise stated.

    The work tools all had small spirit gathering runes engraved on them.

    "I don''t remember Supervisor Owen mentioning any of this. How do you know about this rune stuff, Artemise? You must have been a noble or something, right?" Ricardo made a blind guess.

    Out of everyone in the hooded group, Artemise was the only one openly showing her disfigured face.

    However, her face was also the least disfigured out of all of them. Furthermore, it still retained some of her former beauty.

    "Something like that," Artemise vaguely answered.

    "Nevertheless, it doesn''t matter what we were before; we are all part of a group and need to work together now. Once we earn enough contribution points for healing medicine, we can finally get rid of these ursed faces," Ricardo stated.

    However, Artemise suddenly said something that no one from the group would expect her to say.

    "You shouldn''t think of your current appearance as a curse that you must remove at all cost," Artemise said.

    "Huh? What do you mean by that, Artemise?" Ricardo and the others furrowed brows at Artemise with confusion.

    "You were most likely the prettiest woman in this group. I thought you would be the most desperate to restore your beauty," one of the men said.

    "Not at all," Artemise calmly shook her head.

    "You only feel like you are suffering because you find your situation unfortunate. However, what if I tell you that your current appearance isn''t a product of the sun''s wrath but its blessing instead? You have been marked by the Sun God."

    "As such, you should feel honored instead of miserable. What you have experienced until now is all part of God''s trial. You will feel at peace once you understand all that," Artemise preached.

    "Have you lost your mind, Artemise? The Sun God''s blessing? God''s trial? Feel honored? Don''t be ridiculous. How can you spout all that bullsh*t?" Ricardo retorted.

    His suffering was a blessing from the sun, and he should feel honored?

    To hell with that!

    Ricardo was not easily convinced, and neither were the rest of the group members in hoods.

    However, Artemise had foreseen this.

    Artemise knew it wasn''t easy for people to believe in her words unless she showed them some proof that what she said was true.

 Chapter 970 The Power of Anger

    <h4>Chapter 970 The Power of Anger</h4>

    Although Ricardo strongly disagreed with Artemise''s words at first, he still decided to give her some benefit of the doubt. He had to give her some chance to exin.

    Whether she could convince him afterward was another matter.

    "Let''s say that everything you said was true. Why do we have to undergo this so-called God''s trial? What is your God trialing us for? And how can you prove any of this?" Ricardo asked.

    After hearing these questions, Artemise smiled.

    "I''m d you asked. This proves that there is still some hope in you¡ªhope for salvation and to be saved by God," Artemise started.

    "Your facial disfiguration is but a temporary mark to let you know the Sun God has started trialing you to prove whether you deserve to be one of his people or abandoned by him."

    "You want proof? I am your best proof," Artemise stated.

    Shortly after, everyone witnessed Artemise''s disfigured face recovering on its own. It was as if every cell on her face came to life.

    Before long, Artemise''s face was fully recovered, and her beauty was there for everyone to see.

    Ricardo and the other group members were all tongue-tied, shocked by what they saw.

    "I am someone who has seeded in God''s trial and be one of God''s people," Artemise said.

    "As proof of that, this body of mine no longer suffers under the scorching sunlight. Instead, I am empowered by the sunlight, and my body is mine to alter freely. Although I can''t change my facepletely, I can remove all blemishes and enhance my beauty."

    "How did you¡­ do that?" one of the women eagerly asked.

    The woman didn''t care whether the Sun God and his trial truly existed. She only cared about Artemise''s ability to beautify herself.

    "As I have said, your facial disfiguration is part of the Sun God''s blessing. Your face remained like that because you haven''t learned how to use the Sun God''s blessing," Artemise stated.

    "The Sun God is all-epassing and shares his blessings to all living under his light. However, only the qualified followers of the Sun God like me can utilize this power. That is why it is called a trial. The Sun God shares his power to all, but not all can use his power."

    "Unfortunately, many people don''t understand the Sun God''s fiery love and reject his existence because they failed his trial. And for people like me, theybel us as Demon Worshippers or heretics."

    "However, those people are true heretics for denying the Sun God!" Artemise firmly stated with conviction.

    After a moment, Artemise calmed down and continued to preach about the Sun God.

    "Because the Sun God''s fiery love is all-epassing, he does not discriminate between mortals. Therefore, he does not interfere in mortal affairs. It is up to us followers to spread his faith and share his fiery love to the world."

    "If you are all willing to be a follower of the Sun God and join hands with me, I will teach you how to control the Sun God''s blessings and formally be one of the Sun God''s people," Artemise stated.

    It was normal for people to fear what they didn''t understand.

    For many who did not know the truth behind the sun''s cataclysmic sunrays, Artemise''s words were like a beacon of light piercing through the veils of the dark unknown.

    Ricardo and the rest of the hooded group members were drawn in by Artemise''s words.

    Everything seemed to make sense.

    "Please teach us how to be followers of the Sun God, Artemise," Ricardo formally requested after confirming with all the group members that they were on the same page.

    Artemise''s smile.

    She had sessfully convinced her first group of targets. They will be the first batch of people to be converted into followers of the Sun God by her.

    "Before that, let me say a few things," Artemise suddenly said to the group.

    What do you think life was like before the Cataclysm? Was it harsh? Or was it better than now? If you think about it, your situation hasn''t changed much. Only the world has changed. Life is still unfair."

    "While we struggle to survive, the nobles with wealth and power live freely. As if that isn''t unfair enough, they exploit and abuse powerlessmoners like us, making our hard lives even harder. No matter how angry we are about it, nothing ever changes."

    "However, it is different now. The Sun God has finally answered my prayers and given my anger power," Artemise said.

    "Does that mean¡­" Ricardo uttered as doubt was formed in his heart.

    "That''s right!" Artemise confirmed before Ricardo could finish his question.

    "Anger is the secret to the Sun God''s blessings. The angrier you are, the more power you can draw from the Sun God''s blessings. The fact that your faces have all suffered disfigurement, mutation, and burns are proofs that you have been angry."

    "You drew power from the Sun God''s blessings with your anger, but you didn''t use that power after you gathered it! That is why your faces remained like that! With the Sun God''s blessing on your side, anger is power, but control of it is your will!"

    Artemise strongly stated.

    Ricardo and the rest of the hooded group members were dumbfounded by the revtion. The Sun God wasn''t at fault for their current predicaments.

    It was their own ipetence!

    Plop!

    Ricardo suddenly dropped to his knees.

    "O, benevolent Sun God above, you gave me a chance to change my life. However, my ipetent self failed to use your blessing and wronged you for my predicament. I beg for forgiveness! Please give me another chance to redeem myself so that I can embrace your light now and forever!"

    "Do not plead to the Sun God. The Sun God is fair to all. As long as you have the Sun God in your heart and your will is firm, the Sun God''s blessings will answer to you," Artemise coolly stated.

    It was a holy war between the Sun God''s followers and the true heretics that defied and denied the Sun God.

    They did not need weak-minded followers.

 Chapter 971 Strange Atmosphere

    <h4>Chapter 971 Strange Atmosphere</h4>

    Three days quickly passed, but the hiredborers had cleared many coldwood trees from Extreme Misty Forest, enough to change the scenery on a regional scale.

    A tear into Extreme Misty Forest could be seen from the sky.

    By the time the hiredborers are finished with their job, Extreme Misty Forest will be divided into two as if someone cleaved it apart.

    Leon toured the worksite with Faelyn and two other Winter Cats apanying them; both were at the Paragon level.

    In the past three days, Leon has resurrected the sixty frozen Winter Cats from their cryosleep, and most of them were Rank 2 Transcendents.

    At the same time, Leon also performed blood refinement on a number of them, allowing Winter Cats to undergo partial bloodline awakening. Thanks to that, multiple Winter Cats ascended to Rank 3 Transcendents, joining the ranks of Paragons like Duke Blizzardpaw.

    However, they were even more impressive than Duke Blizzardpaw.

    After being frozen in ice for a thousand years, the Paragon-level Winter Cats had also awakened their unique ice abilities.

    Furthermore, they had very high affinities to ice, which made them very resistant to the coldness of the blizzard storm region.

    They could have enjoyed great statuses or evenpeted with Duke Blizzard for monarchy in the Winter Cat Tribe.

    However, several of them pledged their allegiance to Leon for giving them new life.

    At that moment, one of them was rested on Leon''s shoulders like a furry cor while the other was held in Faelyn''s arms. No one realized they were both Paragons due to their small sizes, which could bepared to kittens.

    After learning the Hundred Transformation Art from Leon, they had chosen to adopt such small forms. Furthermore, they were also a pair of brothers and sisters.

    The sister resting Leon''s shoulders was Rainshine, and the brother in Faelyn''s arms was Snowscar.

    "Not bad. To think this much progress has been made in three days. At this rate, it will take another three weeks to clear the obstacles to the north," Leon casuallymented while ncing around.

    Of course, this was only three weeks to clear the obstacles.

    Topletely open up the path to the north, they still needed to tten the icend in the northern parts and build the main road.

    All that put together would take roughly one and a half to two months.

    "I heard they already started working on the forest a few hours after Mother, Aria, and Darlene returned to New Capital. The efficiency ofmand to management is astonishing," Faelyn added.

    "Father must have been preparing to reim the north from a much earlier time. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have been possible to procure so many working tools at once," Leon assumed.

    "If we had mobilized Transcendents for the job, we could open up the north even quicker," Faelyn said.

    "Yes, but the Transcendents don''t have anything to gain from this. At the same time, we would be taking away the ordinary folks'' livelihood. Take a look at them."

    Leon pointed at a group of hiredborers, who appeared to be working earnestly on the ice and coldwood trees in the area.

    They genuinely enjoyed the job.

    "Before the job started, many people were only around Rank 5 to Rank 6 Body Tempering. But after three days on the job, their strength has risen to Rank 9 Body Tempering. And this is mostly due to the nature of their work," Leon mentioned.

    At least, that was what he got from the report. Most people were still saving up their contribution points for better rewards

    "The north is important, but it''s nothing something we need immediately. If we can work towards it while improving the empire collectively as a whole at the same time, don''t you think it''ll be better?"

    "I guess it is better that way," Faelyn replied.

    Nevertheless, as Leon and Faelyn toured the area, the supervising official approached them.

    "Greetings, Your Highness! We are honored by your presence, Your Highness!" Supervisor Owen excitedly said as if he had just met his idol.

    In fact, Leon wasn''t any different from an idol.

    His collective feats made him nothing short of a legend in the eyes of the people like Supervisor Owen, who had seen each and every change he had brought to the empire.

    "Has there been any problems at the worksite in these past three days?" Leon casually inquired.

    "Yes, Your Highness," Supervisor Owen nodded.

    "However, they were only minor problems and disputes over contribution points. Still, if you are looking for actual numbers, then we have disqualified 342 people from the job over the past three days. Of course, we only disqualified the troublemakers and didn''t include the victims."

    "That many, huh? That''s quite a big problem in and of itself," Leon said with a frown.

    Despite all the strict regtions set in ce to promote a fair working environment, there were still so many greedy and selfish people who tried to earn more contribution points at the expense of others.

    "I personally don''t see it as a problem despite the numbers, Your Highness. Most of these cases are mainly disputes over equal distribution versus actual work contribution," Supervisor Owen mentioned.

    "Most groups agree to equal distribution. However, not everyone put in the same amount of work. These group leaders felt it was unfair for everyone else who worked hard and wanted to change the agreed distribution."

    "Thus, it shouldn''t be out of greed, but fairness, Your Highness." Supervisor Owen stated.

    "You don''t see the problem in that? If the group leaders have already agreed to equal distribution, then they should honor it. Not arbitrarily change the distribution after receiving the contribution points," Leon stated.

    "If they felt their group members'' work efficiencies are inadequate, they can just drop the members from the group after, not right before the distribution of the contribution points. Do you still think that they weren''t greedy?"

    "No, Your Highness," Supervisor Owen replied.

    "Besides the dispute problems, have you noticed anything else usual on the worksite? The atmosphere feels rather off," Leon mentioned when he nced at some hiredborer groups.

    "I''ve also noticed the air had be strangetely," Supervisor Owen nodded.

    "I think it''s mostly due to the refugees, Your Highness. I can''t help but feel like they are up to something."

 Chapter 972 Secret Visit

    <h4>Chapter 972 Secret Visit</h4>

    Leon heard that the refugees used to hide their faces under a hood when they first arrived in New Capital.

    Even those who decided to take the north remation job still hid under their hoods when they first arrived at the camp and during work.

    "Nearly every refugee was quite conscious of their appearance when they first arrived. Over thest three days, more and more of them are beginning to show their faces openly," Supervisor Owen reported.

    "It''s as if they built up their confidence from working here."

    "I don''t think that''s it," Leon furrowed his brows.

    It was strange for people to build confidence in showing their appearance so quickly simply by doingbor work.

    Moreover, Leon could sense a strange vibe surrounding the refugees who showed their faces. They had a fanatic or feverish look in their eyes.

    He had seen those kinds of eyes before¡­

    ''The eyes of a religious believer!''

    Leon became startled after recalling where he had seen those eyes. His expression turned serious in the next instance, which subsequently startled Faelyn and Supervisor Owen.

    "What''s the matter, Your Highness? Did you realize something?" Supervisor Owen asked shortly after.

    "The empire has been infiltrated by religion," Leon solemnly uttered.

    "By religion? Is that bad?" Faelyn was baffled by Leon''s serious mood, which seems to imply that religion is bad.

    However, Faelyn didn''t see anything wrong with people having a religion.

    After all, the elves worshipped the Elder Tree as their deity and guardian for as long as she could remember.

    "Religion in and of itself isn''t necessarily bad. After all, everyone needs something to believe in, especially in difficult times. Religions that promote good health and behavior are especially good," Leon admitted.

    "Then¡­"

    "However, to any monarchy, an uncontrolled religion is a tumor. It wrestles the people''s faith from the royal family and empowers those in charge of the religion. Furthermore, a bad religion could even promote violence," Leon stated.

    "And right now, we don''t know what kind of religion these refugees have been led to believe in. But seeing how they have this fanatic look in their eyes, I doubt it is the kind of religion the empire wants."

    "Isn''t that really bad then?" Supervisor Owen uttered with shock.

    "The empire is developing so well thanks to the people''s unity. If there are conflicting views in people''s beliefs now, the empire could be divided by disputes and even violence. No, we have to stop them from spreading their unknown religion!"

    "Hold it right there," Leon quickly stopped Supervisor Owen from leaving.

    "Nothing good wille out of you capturing the refugees blindly. Others might even think you purposely target the refugees because they were originally from kingdoms that wage war on the Crawford Kingdom."

    "After all, not all refugees have been converted into this unknown religion. You need to increase patrols and watch them. Find the ones who are secretly preaching to the refugees. They are the ones we want."

    "Understood, Your Highness. I was too hasty just now," Supervisor Owen replied before noticing that Leon did not n on staying. "Are you leaving, Your Highness?"

    "Yeah," Leon confirmed with a nod.

    "Since someone is spreading this unknown religion in the empire, I need to alert my father about this matter. After all, the people from this unknown religion must be preaching in other parts of the empire."

    The condition of New Capital was very good.

    Thus, Leon did not have to worry about the preachers converting the empire''s original citizens and the elves. It wouldn''t be easy since the people''s faith in the royal family was very high.

    Leon was even an idol of worship to the people.

    However, it was a different story for everyone else that had been living beyond the old Crawford Kingdom''s borders.

    They didn''t have the World Tree''s protection against the Cataclysm.

    "Let us head back to New Capital, Faelyn," Leon uttered after opening up the Dark Passage with his spatial ability.

    "Mm!" Faelyn nodded.

    Shortly after, the two stepped inside the Dark Passage and disappeared off to the other side of it, returning to New Capital in a matter of a few breaths.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the far east of the Human Domain, the King Lutheran Geyser received a sudden secret visit from Elizabeth and Darlene. Apanying them were four Paragon-level Winter Cats, who also owe their new life to Leon.

    "Who?!"

    King Lutheran Geyser shot up from his seat with rm after witnessing a spatial portal suddenly opening in his study room.

    In that instance, his Paragon-level aura immediately surged out from his body to suppress and control the intruders.

    However, the four Paragon-level Winter Cats exuded their own Paragon-level auras to negate it, albeit barely.

    King Lutheran Geyser wasn''t just an ordinary Paragon; he was at the Peak of Early-rank Paragon. On the other hand, the four Paragon-level Winter Cats were newly ascended Paragons.

    Even so, their collectivebat prowess was still enough to make King Lutheran Geyser wary.

    However, the one King Lutheran Geyser was most wary of wasn''t any of the four Paragon-level Winter Cats; it was Darlene.

    In the past three days, Darlene managed to step into the Acknowledged Paragon-stage Transcendent Realm.

    "Good day to you, King Lutheran. I believe this is our first time meeting. I am Queen Elizabeth from the Crawford Empire, and this is my daughter-inw," Elizabeth introduced herself and Darlene.

    After Elizabeth stated her identity, King Lutheran slightly calmed down. Even so, he remained vignt.

    King Lutheran couldn''t guess their purpose, but the strength they brought with them on the trip was enough to shock the life out of him!

    That was five Paragons!

    Furthermore, King Lutheran highly doubted that was all the Paragons the Crawford Empire had.

    Nevertheless, after King Lutheran recovered from his initial shock, he sat back down in his seat.

    "What business do you have with me ining here like this?" King Lutheran calmly asked.

    "Before that, I should return this letter to you. Why don''t you give it a read first and tell us what you think after, King Lutheran," Elizabeth coolly suggested while handing out the letter.

    King Lutheran furrowed his brows as he epted the letter.

 Chapter 973 Temporary Solution

    <h4>Chapter 973 Temporary Solution</h4>

    A few breaths into reading the letter, King Lutheran''s expression turned gloomy with silent rage.

    It was a letter addressed to the Crawford Empire, listed outrageous usations and demands for the deaths of the Geyser Kingdom''s envoys.

    It had been stamped with the Geyser Kingdom''s royal seal, but King Lutheran had no recollection of writing such a letter.

    In fact, King Lutheran would never write such an absurd letter that could potentially spark a war between the two major countries.

    The letter was clearly forged.

    However, what upset King Lutheran the most wasn''t the contents of the letter but the person who used his royal seal to forge the royal letter.

    This was treason on the highest level of the kingdom''s government!

    "I apologize if this letter has caused you any distress or offended you, Queen Elizabeth. This letter was not written by me, nor are the contents of this letter my intentions," King Lutheran said with a sigh.

    If King Lutheran had seen the letter without knowing the empire''s strength, he would have unwillingly gone along with it to hide the internal problems in the kingdom.

    After all, it was true that the Geyser Kingdom was barely holding on against the harmful sunlight, and the World Tree''s protection could be their only solution.

    However, since King Lutheran had seen the empire''s strength, war was thest thing he wanted, more so than ever!

    "I have no intention of making an enemy out of the empire, and I do not me the empire for the ones truly responsible for the deaths of our kingdom''s envoys."

    "Oh?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow with interest after noticing King Lutheran''s particr choice of words.

    "That is to say that you are aware of the people responsible for killing your envoys, King Lutheran?" Elizabeth asked shortly after.

    "I do," King Lutheran nodded before adding, "But it''s not confirmed."

    "There''s a group of fanatics that has been causing problems in the kingdom. We call them Demon Worshippers. They worship the demon star as their god and draw power from it, which I still find hard to believe."

    "Nevertheless, they''ve been a real headache. Even if we catch all of them, more will appear. They most likely have a hidden spawn somewhere, but we haven''t been able to track it down."

    "More importantly, these Demon Worshippers have been converting our people to their religion and may have spread to the empire," King Lutheran mentioned.

    "Demon Worshippers, huh?" Elizabeth muttered.

    However, she shook her head in the next moment. She did note to talk about that.

    "That matter aside, we haven''t finished addressing the problem in this letter. It might not have been your intention, but it is clear that there are high-ranking people in your kingdom wanting to pick a fight with my empire," Elizabeth said with a sharp look.

    "Yes, and it saddens me that they would resort to this method behind me," King Lutheran replied with a sigh.

    King Lutheran already had a suspect in mind when he saw the forged letter stamped with his royal seal.

    His blood brother, Duke Flugerd, had sided with the extremist faction during the high-level meeting a few days ago.

    "I understand their discontent, but I am helpless to resolve it. The Cataclysm has made everyone hide under the water dome like a turtle tucked in its shell, making it no different from a cage," King Lutheran mentioned.

    "Although the water domes protect most people from the cataclysmic sunrays, the Transcendents, who are closer in touch with thews, are still mildly affected by the unknownw empowering the sunrays."

    "Furthermore, it''s getting worse by the day. If there''s another powerful wave from the Cataclysm, it''s hard to fathom what it will do to everyone. If you have any solution to remedy this situation, I am all ears, Queen Elizabeth."

    "Heck, I am even willing to pay a high price if there is a solution to my kingdom''s problem," King Lutheran added.

    "A permanent solution, I do not have. The World Tree will eventually bless the whole world. But until there, everyone can only endure," Elizabeth stated.

    King Lutheran felt disappointed after hearing that.

    However, Elizabeth wasn''t finished speaking. She suddenly added, "Although It won''t resolve the immediate problem, I did bring something that could ease it."

    Shortly after, Elizabeth took out a ck te with runic engravings and a crystal orb embedded in its center before handing it over for King Lutheran to check it out.

    "This is¡­?" King Lutheran furrowed his brows.

    He didn''t understand what the enchanted ck te was used for, but he could sense the foul energy stored inside the crystal orb.

    It was the same foul energy guing the world, Wrathful Demon Energy.

    "It''s a called a Demon Gathering Array," Elizabeth stated.

    "Of course, it''s only a miniature version of what we have back in the empire. I trust the Geyser Kingdom will have its own capable runemasters who can replicate the Demon Gather Array after studying it."

    "As the name implies, the Demon Gathering Array will collect the demonic energy in its surrounding atmosphere andpress it inside. We use this back in the empire to collect the Wrathful Demon Energy areas unprotected by the World Tree," Elizabeth exined.

    "What?"

    King Lutheran''s hands trembled as he held onto the ck te and stared at it seriously like he was looking at a priceless treasure.

    However, King Lutheran suddenly furrowed his brows in the next moment.

    "Are you saying that even if we remove all the Wrathful Demon Energy in the atmosphere with something like this, we still can''t eliminate the problem?" King Lutheran understood from Elizabeth''s words.

    "Isn''t that obvious?" Elizabeth casually replied.

    "Even if you remove water from a flooded region, the ground would still be wet. In other words, even if we remove the Wrathful Demon Energy from a region, the region will still be affected by the Wrath Law."

    "Wherever the sunlight touch is the domain of the Wrath Law. Unless we remove the source of the Wrath Law, the world will continue to be influenced by the Wrath Law," Elizabeth stated.

 Chapter 974 Leonâ€™s Plan

    <h4>Chapter 974 Leon''s n</h4>

    "The Wrath Law, huh?" King Lutheran uttered with interest.

    King Lutheran had learned many things about the world, but it was his first time hearing such aw. He wondered where Queen Elizabeth learned about it.

    Nevertheless, that wasn''t the most pressing issue.

    After King Lutheran tested the Demon Gathering Array and confirmed its ability to gather Wrathful Demon Energy in the surroundings, he fixed his attention on Queen Elizabeth.

    "Name your price, Queen Elizabeth. Whether it''s Transcendent Crystals, Redstones, pills, spirit herbs, or minerals, everything is on the table. How much do you want for this Demon Gathering Array?"

    Although King Lutheran understood that the Demon Gathering Array couldn''tpletely resolve the Transcendents'' problem, a temporary remedy was better than none.

    "My, King Lutheran is quite generous," Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised to hear King Lutheran offer Transcendent Crystals.

    "I nned to gift the Demon Gathering Array as a form of goodwill from a fellow ruler in the Human Domain. After all, we humans have to stay united in times of difficulty¡­ But if King Lutheran insists, I suppose we can talk about this deal in more detail¡­"

    Suddenly, King Lutheran had a bad feeling.

    Queen Elizabeth seemed quite generous when she said she would gift the Demon Gathering Array. However, her gaze looked like she wanted to rob him clean.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Crawford Empire, New Capital

    "¡­And that''s the gist of the situation, Father," Leon reported the religion problem to Heinrich in the study room after he returned with Faelyn.

    Heinrich shortly dropped the documents onto the desk before pinching between his eyebrows as if to ease his newfound stress.

    "I don''t understand. Is the condition in the empire not very good right now? How can these people believe in a religion rather than the royal family?" Heinrich wondered with a frown.

    "The condition in the empire is indeed very good right now. As proof of that, the people are working earnestly to develop thend once you passed down the order," Leon admitted.

    "However, most people¡ªor should I say all the people being converted into this unknown religion are refugees from Durham and Vran. Although we regard them as people of our empire, they probably still regard themselves as people of the Durham Kingdom and the Vran Kingdom."

    "This is the problem with integrating the people of the defeated kingdoms. They don''t feel like they are a part of our empire. The proud ones might even feel humiliated by it. In essence, it isn''t easy to win over the hearts of these people."

    "Un, I understand that much," Heinrich nodded.

    "Furthermore, we were too focused on the development and stability of New Capital that we have neglected the people of Durham or Vran living outside of the World Tree''s protection. Thus¡ª"

    "We never neglected them," Heinrich interrupted with a sigh before Leon could finish.

    "Oh? What do you mean, Father?" Leon uttered with surprise.

    "While you were gone, I had Amelia and Ignis study the Demon Gathering Arrays you deployed in Old Capital. Thanks to their growing proficiency in runes, they perfectly replicated your Demon Gathering Arrays in a short time," Heinrich exined.

    "After they reproduced more Demon Gathering Arrays, I sent people to deploy a few in every major city of Durham and Vran. Furthermore, we''ve been sending food supplies to both regions every week to feed the people in need of it."

    "Thus, it''s baffling as much as it saddens me that people are putting their faith into this unknown religion when I''ve done so much for them," Heinrich stated.

    After hearing that, Leon understood why his father had this look of betrayal on his face after learning about the unknown religion.

    "Sometimes, doing so much for the people still isn''t enough. And sometimes, doing so much for the people is too much," Leon said.

    "At first, the people might feel grateful for the food supplies. But after a while, they be numb to it. And if the food supplies suddenly stoppeding, they may even me you for it instead, father."

    "Rather than sending food every week, it might have been better to send elves over to help them cultivate their crops. This will allow Durham and Vran to be self-sustaining without us and save us the trouble."

    "Nevertheless, I don''t think this is the problem. The unknown religion must have something very convincing for people to put their faith in them. That, or the preachers are targeting the people''s weakness to convert them."

    "We don''t know anything about this unknown religion yet, but I believe it won''t be long before we learn something about them," Leon said.

    "Even if we do, it will still be difficult to stop these preachers from spreading their religion in our empire. After all, we are in the open while they are in the dark," Heinrich thought.

    However, Leon shook his head.

    "I don''t think it will be difficult at all, Father," Leon refuted before saying, "As you said, Father, we are in the open while they are in the dark. We can use our overwhelming influence to our advantage."

    "How so?" Heinrich was intrigued to hear further from his son.

    "We just have to put out an enticing bounty for these preachers and spread the news to every corner of the empire. It will be difficult for these preachers to move then," Leon casually stated.

    "Furthermore, these preachers may be in the dark, but their newly-converted believers aren''t. If we catch one of them to interrogate, we can learn more about their religion ande up with countermeasures against it."

    "An educated mass will not believe in the facy of a crook. So long as our people understand where the truth differs from the lies, these religious preachers won''t be able to gain anything," Leon stated.

    After listening, Heinrich''s eyes brightened at once.

    "That''s a brilliant idea, Son. It seems like I had nothing to worry about. You''ve already thought of the solutions for me," Heinrich said with a gratified smile, feeling relieved.

    Leon smiled slightly.

    "These methods can only be used when the religion''s influence is still small and weak. If we let them grow huge in power, these methods might not work and may even backfire on us."

 Chapter 975 Special Survey

    <h4>Chapter 975 Special Survey</h4>

    "That''s why we have to nip the religion in its bud before it has a chance to grow," Leon stated.

    "Right!" Heinrich nodded seriously and said, "I will send some people to grab a few of these new believers to interrogate them immediately!"

    "No, leave this matter to me, Father," Leon said with a shake of his head.

    "Since this is a serious matter, I cannot ignore it. I am just letting you know beforehand, Father. With my ability, I can travel to the north and back quickly. Thus, I can also get us the information we need quickly."

    "Alright, I will leave the interrogation to you, Son," Heinrich consented with a nod. Since his son had already said that much, there was no need to fight over this matter.

    "Nevertheless, you truly surprised me, Father. I didn''t think you would get father-inw and mother-inw to replicate the Demon Gathering Array and deploy them in Durham and Vran. This was an oversight on my part," Leon admitted his thoughtlessness.

    "I should have considered the people''s situation in Durham and Vran when I made the Demon Gathering Arrays."

    "Don''t worry about it, Son. These kinds of worries should be left for your father to manage. You''ve been traveling between ces, even continents, and bringing back great benefits for the empire. So it''spletely fine if you don''t want to get involved in managing the empire," Heinrich stated.

    Heinrich knew that this son was not interested in the throne. Thus, it was appreciative that his son was still helping out with empire affairs.

    "Oh right, son. I have a piece of good news to share," Heinrich suddenly said just as Leon was about to leave with Faelyn and the two Paragon-level Winter Cats, Rainshine and Snowscar.

    "Yes?" Leon looked back.

    "Actually, no, never mind. You''ll find outter, eventually. I won''t spoil the fun," Heinrich changed his mind as he smiled mysteriously.

    Leon was baffled, but he quickly put the thought aside.

    "Then, I''ll be off first, Father."

    "Alright. Take care, Son."

    Shortly after, Leon summoned the Dark Passage before stepping inside with Rainshine resting on his shoulders.

    After Faelyn gave Heinrich a quick bow, she followed right after Leon, disappearing to the other side of Dark Passage.

    Right after the ck spatial portalpletely disappeared, a sudden knock from the study room''s balcony.

    "Report," Heinrich stated.

    "Your Imperial Majesty, we''ve found the bodies of the missing envoys. Additionally, arge group of envoys will be arriving after half a day''s journey from now," a Transcendent-level shadow guard reported after receiving the order.

    Shortly after hearing that, Heinrich took a moment to nce down on the side of his desk to stroke a sleeping Paragon-level Winter Cat named Aspenwind.

    It was also another one of the frozen Winter Cats resuscitated and awakened by Leon. It has chosen to take up the duty of guarding Heinrich after swearing its allegiance to him.

    "Let''s hear the details then," Heinrich said shortly after easing his stress with some fluffiness.

    "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!" the shadow guardplied.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    North Remation Camp

    After the past three days since the start of the north remation project, the hiredborers had cleared several dozen miles of trees from the misty forest.

    However, the camp''s location remained unchanged. It was still on the outskirts of Extreme Misty Forest.

    This made it inconvenient for the hiredborers.

    They had to manually move the extremely heavy coldwood treespared to the blocks of ice across long distances out of the misty forest to turn them in at the camp.

    Fortunately, a log transportation system was soon set up for their convenience, which also sped up the process of their work on the misty forest.

    At that moment, huge mountains of coldwood logs are piled up outside of the North Remation Camp, still waiting for thepletion of the new railway before they are transferred to New Capital.

    Shortly after a group of old refugees turned in their coldwood logs as usual at the checkpoint, they prepared to drop by the bar for a break before resuming their work in the misty forest.

    "Just one moment, please."

    "Is there a problem, sir?"

    The hiredborers turned back curiously after being called out by the officials stationed at the log collection point.

    "No, there is no problem," the official worker shook his head.

    "His Imperial Highness has ordered the camp to conduct a survey to gather information on how to improve the wellbeing of all hiredborers working on the misty forest. If you are eager to partake in the survey, we will transfer you to the appropriate department to answer some questions."

    "Of course, we have also prepared a small reward of five contribution points for each person participating in the survey aspensation for your time," the official worker added.

    After hearing that, the hiredborers were astonished by the generosity of thepensation reward.

    An entire coldwood tree was only worth five contribution points. And yet, here, they can earn that exact amount simply by answering a few questions.

    It sounded too good to be true.

    "Isn''t that too generous of a reward for a simple survey?" a femaleborer expressed her skepticism.

    "This is the will of His Imperial Highness, the one who has been hailed as the Divine Doctor and performed many feats to let the empire be what it is today. You do not need to doubt His Imperial Highness''s boundless generosity," the official worker confidently assured.

    Leon wasn''t just the imperial prince or a divine doctor; he was also a great hero.

    "When can I take the survey, sir?"

    "How long will the survey take, sir?"

    "Are there a lot of questions to answer, sir?"

    Several members in the hiredborer group immediately took the bait, expressing great interest in taking the survey after being persuaded by the official worker.

    "Unfortunately, I don''t have all the answers on me. Whatever questions you have will be answered by the officials in charge of the surveys at the site," the official worker replied.

    "Of course, I can call the people to escort you to the survey location right now if that is what you all want."

    "Please do."

 Chapter 976 Crosscheck Interrogation Method

    <h4>Chapter 976 Crosscheck Interrogation Method</h4>

    A short whileter, several soldiers arrived to escort the hiredborer group to the back of the camp where newly-erected tents were located.

    Each tent was a separate survey booth.

    As such, the hiredborer group''s members were all split into each unupied tent, which they thought was strange.

    It became even strange when they noticed soldiers guarding the entrance, preventing them from leaving.

    The solemn air immediately made it feel like an interrogation room rather than a survey.

    ¡­

    "Sit," Faelyn instructed the femaleborer from across the table.

    Then, she took her seat without waiting for the femaleborer and flipped open the document on the table containing a list of questions.

    The femaleborer was filled with suspicions.

    But even if the femaleborer was suspicious of the survey, there was nothing she could do butply.

    "What''s your name?" Faelyn started with a casual tone.

    "I¡­ I am called Sore," the femaleborer nervously stuttered, despite Faelyn not putting any pressure on her.

    It was as if Sore could instinctively feel she was in trouble.

    "What do you think of your present life in the North Remation Camp?" Faelyn asked with a warm smile to make Sore feel morefortable.

    "My present life?" Sore paused in thought.

    "There''s a bit of dispute here and there. However, the work is easy, and food ispletely provided. We don''t have to worry about our next meal. And if we wanted to, a luxurious meal only cost a few contribution points."

    "The price is very generous. Even the past sects might not have better conditions than the current North Remation Camp. Overall, my current lifestyle is much better than before," Sore stated.

    "I see. That''s great to hear," Faelyn nodded before jotting down everything on paper.

    "Do you feel any difort about anything rted to your work? Is there anything you dislike in the North Remation Camp? What do you think the North Remation Camp is missing that could make your experience here better?"

    Faelyn continued to ask Sore normal survey questions.

    The other group members in the other tents were also being asked the exact same question. However, the situation waspletely different from Faelyn''s tent.

    "Y-your Imperial Highness!" the maleborer uttered with shock.

    "Yes, I''ve heard you for the sixth time now. Can you just answer the survey questions normally, please?" Leon requested with a helpless look.

    "Y-yes, Y-your Imperial Highness!" the maleborer answered.

    "Enough. Take it that I''m begging you, alright? You don''t need to keep addressing me so formally. Just answer the damn question," Leon was quickly losing his patience.

    He wondered whether he should just skip the survey and move directly onto the main questions about the refugee''s religion.

    If he did not want to see whether the refugees could still be redeemed from the religion, he would not have made the extra effort to survey them.

    Nevertheless, the situation was even worse for the other two tents, which were actually being managed by the two Paragon-level Winter Cats, Rainshine and Snowscar.

    Bang, bang!

    Snowscar mmed his paw on the metal table in frustration after failing to get the maleborer to cooperate with the survey.

    "Oi, So-leh! I''m asking you a damn question, So-leh! For the love of God and nine generations of your ancestors, what is your name?!" Snowscar spoke in a deep and manly voice, unbefitting his adorable furry appearance.

    They were still stuck on the very first survey question. The maleborer sitting across the table from Snowscar was simply too shocked.

    Meanwhile, the official assigned to record the hiredborer''s answers on paper for Snowscar could not help but smile wryly.

    Anyone else would also be shocked if they were put in the same position as the maleborer.

    Facing a Paragon-level Winter Cat was already quite the shock, let alone one that can talk in the human tongue so well.

    However, the most shocking of all was its deep and manly voice, which wasparable to the most alpha male they could think of.

    "Y-you can talk!" the maleborer finally uttered some form of response.

    "Of course, I can talk! Why state the obvious? You got a problem with that, So-leh?! So what if I can talk? This isn''t a survey about me! It''s a survey about you! What is your name, So-leh?!" Snowscar thundered.

    ¡­

    Besides Faelyn, who was leading the survey, perhaps, Rainshine was the next to make the most progress in her survey.

    "Can I pet you?" the femaleborer assigned to Rainshine asked after recovering from her shock.

    "Will you answer all my questions if I let you?" Rainshine replied in a soft, soothing, and cute voice that invokes fondness from those that hear it.

    Even the official assigned to Rainshine wanted to pet her.

    "Yes!" the femaleborer nodded repeatedly.

    "Great! This noble one will allow you to pet this noble one for each question you answer, human. Now, let us start over. What is your name?" Rainshine calmly inquired with a posh look.

    ¡­

    Nevertheless, as time went on, everyone managed to pass the survey phase and proceed with the interrogation phase.

    "Great. You have a positive opinion about the empire and the imperial family. So why did your faith into something else? Don''t you think this is considered betrayal against the empire?" Faelyn asked Sore with a stern look, catching her off guard.

    "W-what do you mean by that?" Sore asked with a trembling voice, intimidated by Faelyn''s sharp gaze and suffocating aura.

    The good impression Sore developed disappeared in an instant.

    "You don''t understand? We know you have joined a religion of unknown and dubious background. If this is not an act of betrayal against the imperial family, then I don''t know what is."

    ¡­

    "Y-your wrong, Your Highness! It''s not like that! This is different, Your Highness!" the maleborer defended himself after hearing Leon''s usation in his tent.

    "How different? Now is your chance to exin to me about this religion," Leon pressed with a firm tone.

    "Who knows, perhaps you can even convince me, the first prince of the empire, to be a believer of this religion. However, I must remind you that the others are also undergoing the same interrogation."

    "If we see any discrepancy when we crosscheck your answers, we''ll know if anyone is lying. And there will be serious consequences for that."

 Chapter 977 Big Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 977 Big Trouble</h4>

    "Of course, you can choose not to answer," Leon continued.

    "We can just get the answer from the other members of yourbor group. However, if everyone stubbornly refuses to talk, I suppose we would be forced to use torture methods. And trust me when I say my torture methods will make you wish you were dead. None of us want that, do we?"

    "So, will you talk? Or will you not?" Leon calmly asked.

    The maleborer named Mervin didn''t intend to talk at first, but he was conflicted at the same time.

    After all, Deacon Artemise did mention not that they should not mention anything about the Church of the Sun God to the non-believers. They would most likely fail to convert the non-believers to the religion and evennd themselves in trouble.

    However, Mervin hadn''t spoken a single word about the Sun God Church, but he was already in trouble!

    Furthermore, there''s even the risk of being tortured!

    Three days of preaching by Deacon Artemise was far from enough for Mervin to develop a strong sense of loyalty to the Sun God Church.

    Thus, after hearing Leon''s torture threat, Mervin quickly spilled everything he knew.

    Sometimeter, Leon wore a grave expression after he finished listening to Mervin''s talk on the Sun God Church.

    It was a much more serious problem than he thought.

    This wasn''t just a normal religion that was recently born from the despair brought by the Cataclysm. No, Leon suspected it was an evil religion that had existed much longer.

    Furthermore, this evil religion is being masked as something good!

    "Fortunately, you chose to cooperate," Leon said to Mervin with a bit of relief.

    It showed that the newly-converted people could still be saved from Deacon Artemise''s brainwashing.

    "Am I still getting tortured, Your Imperial Highness?" Mervin asked nervously.

    "Of course not. Since you chose to cooperate, there is no need for torture. Once I confirm your information with the others, you may even escape any form of punishment and be rewarded instead," Leon replied.

    "Nevertheless, I must say that you are quite lucky. This Deacon Artemise was brainwashing you all into bing demon worshippers¡ªNo, it should be called devil worshippers. The so-called Sun God is no god but a devil and especially powerful one with authority over the Wrath Law."

    "This is something you will hear more aboutter," Leon stated.

    Since he learned the details of Deacon Artemise''s preaching methods, he understood which course of action he should take to stop her from spreading the religion.

    Nevertheless, Mervin was stunned after hearing from the imperial prince.

    "Does that mean I cannot use the Sun G¡ªer, the devil sun''s power anymore, Your Imperial Highness?" Mervin wondered.

    Regardless of the truth, this was what Mervin really wanted to know.

    Mervin was just learning how to use this power to fix his appearance. He didn''t know what to feel if the imperial prince was to deny him and many others of this ability.

    After all, their present appearances were truly hideous to look at.

    "Of course not. I don''t discriminate when ites to cultivation methods," Leon said with a shake of his head.

    "However, you need to understand that the Wrath Law is a dangerous power. It''s what causes people and beasts alike to lose their minds. If you lose your mind due to this power and be a threat to everyone around you, we will have to execute you."

    "I understand."

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon met up with Faelyn, Rainshine, Snowscar, and their apanying assistants beforeparing the answers they recorded from the hiredborers.

    "The answers are all the same. It seems like no one lied," Leon confirmed after perusing the papers.

    It was impossible for the hiredborers toe up with a coordinated lie when they were interrogated separately.

    As such, the zero discrepancies in their answers could only prove that they all spoke the truth.

    Shortly after, Leon nced up and asked, "Was there any problems on your ends?"

    "No, it went smooth for me," Faelyn answered.

    "Same for me, my Lord. Everything proceeded without a problem," Snowscar replied shortly after in its deep and manly voice while standing on two feet like a human and proudly patting its chest with its paw.

    "Somehow, I seriously doubt that," Leon smiled wryly before casting a nce at Rainshine. "You two are brothers and sisters, yet why do you have such a shocking difference when ites to your voices?"

    "Even if you ask that, my Lord, I don''t know how to answer ¡­" Rainshine scratched her head with bafflement.

    "What should we do with the hiredborers we interrogated, Your Highness?" an official asked shortly after.

    "Since they cooperated, give them the surveypensation reward and release them. Then, bring in the next group of confirmed believers to survey and interrogate. Of course, you''ll be doing this on your own. I''ll be returning to New Capital to report to my father," Leon stated.

    "Understood, Your Highness," the officialsplied.

    After Leon finished issuing his instructions to the rest of the officials in the North Remation, he swiftly returned to New Capital with Faelyn and the two Winter Cats.

    ¡­

    Inside Heinrich''s study room, he immediately noticed Leon and the others stepping outside the Dark Passage the moment it appeared.

    "Back so soon? Have you already learned about the religion, Son?" Heinrich asked with surprise.

    "Yes, Father," Leon nodded solemnly before adding, "And it''s a much more serious problem than we anticipated.

    "The religion is called the Sun God Church. Furthermore, the people spreading the religion aren''t normal priests but most likely devil worshippers. However, that isn''t the most pressing issue we should be concerned about right now."

    "It isn''t?" Heinrich raised an eyebrow.

    "It''s not. These devil worshippers have learned how to use the power of wrath. Do you understand what that implies, Father?" Leon asked.

    However, Leon didn''t wait for an answer.

    "If they devised a cultivation method based on the Wrath Law. Then, the abundant Wrathful Demon Energy in the world will be their most desired energy source for cultivation," Leon continued.

    "Wrathful Demon Energy¡­? But then that would mean¡­ Oh, no!" Heinrich immediately realized where the problem was.

 Chapter 978 Faelynâ€™s Concern

    <h4>Chapter 978 Faelyn''s Concern</h4>

    "Father, you should know how dangerous the Demon Gathering Arrays can be if they fall into the wrong hands, right? Have you assigned any experts to protect the Demon Gathering Arrays from getting misused or stolen?" Leon inquired.

    "Of course, I have, Son," Heinrich confirmed with a solemn nod. He was not that thoughtless.

    "However, I''ve only assigned two Transcendents to protect each Demon Gathering Array. If there''s any problem with the Demon Gather Array, at least one of them will report the issue back to me."

    "But you haven''t checked on them ever since their deployment, have you? Father?" Leon asked.

    "Yeah, and that bothers me," Heinrich nodded concernedly.

    "I''ve been too busy managing various affairs in the empire that I didn''t spare the extra thought to check on the management of these Demon Gathering Arrays. If there''s a situation in which the Transcendents cannot report back to me, I will remain unaware of the situation."

    "The Transcendents are only at the Preliminary ession stage. Thus, if the devil worshippers have anyone stronger than¡­ No, they definitely have experts stronger than Preliminary ession-stage Transcendents."

    Heinrich recalled the unknown murder of the Geyser Kingdom''s envoys.

    "In that case, we can assume that some of the Demon Gathering Arrays deployed to Durham and Vran had already beenpromised along with the Transcendents assigned to protect them," Leon stated seriously.

    "Do you remember the precise number of Demon Gathering Arrays and which cities they were deployed to, Father? I will go ahead and check them out first while you organize the Transcendents to strengthen their protection, Father."

    "Of course, I remember. I had it recorded down on a map," Heinrich sighed.

    Heinrich pulled open a drawer before taking out the map marked with ck dots and extending it out to his son with his hand.

    However, Leon did not ept the map in case his father needed itter. He simply scanned it and imprinted a copy in his memory and Archive.

    "Keep for putting you through this trouble, Son. We wouldn''t be having this problem if I didn''t ask Amelia and Ignis to replicate the Demon Gathering Array and distribute them to Durham and Vran."

    "Perhaps, you overlooked it for this reason," Heinrich added.

    However, Leon denied such credit.

    "Don''t worry about it, Father. You had good intentions. If anyone''s at fault, it''s the ones taking advantage of your kindness and having ill intentions on the Demon Gathering Arrays," Leon replied.

    "Besides, I believe it''s more productive to deal with the problems at hand rather than worrying about who''s at fault. On that note, you have a big job to do, Father," Leon stated shortly after.

    Heinrich was immediately taken aback.

    "What big job do I have apart from gathering Transcendents to reinforce Durham and Vran?" Heinrich wondered.

    "Have you already forgotten, Father?" Leon asked.

    "Since we know the devil worshippers use lies to preach about their Sun God Church, you need to educate the people with facts instead. As long as our people know the truth or are even aware of it at the very least, they will doubt what the devil worshippers preach."

    "Furthermore, we already found the identity of the devil worshipper preaching in the North Remation Camp, Deacon Artemise. She doesn''t seem to be local nor a person from Durham or Vran."

    "ording to the people''s description, she doesn''t seem to be someone from the Ishaan Kingdom either. She is most like from the Geyser Kingdom. You need to assign high-level Transcendents to observe her, Father."

    "It would be best if they are at leastparable to Rank 2 Transcendents for insurance," Leon added.

    "Observe the devil worshipper?" Heinrich furrowed his brows.

    "You mean we should continue to watch her preach her religion to our people, son? Wouldn''t it be better if we just capture her for interrogation to find out the rest of the devil worshippers in our empire?"

    "No, if she''s a devil worshipper with great control over the power of wrath, normal interrogation and torture methods might not work. Observing her might actually be better," Heinrich suddenly thought.

    "Yeah, it''s difficult for us to gauge what kind of mentality the true devil worshippers must have to control the power of wrath with their anger," Leon mentioned.

    "At the very least, we can conclude that they aren''t people with a normal state of mind. Although I am confident in my torture methods, I don''t possess absolute certainty. Thus, it''s not worth risking the loss of our only lead."

    Against something Leon had yet to grasp fully, there would naturally be unknown variables. As such, he couldn''t guarantee that he could torture answers out of the devil worshipper.

    "So observing this devil worshipper is our best oue, huh?" Heinrich uttered.

    "Yes, Father. At least, I think so," Leon nodded before proceeding to exin, "There are two pros to this option."

    "One, we find out when the devil worshipperes in contact with the other devil worshippers hidden in the empire. Of course, the prerequisite for this is that our experts don''t get caught monitoring her."

    "Second, we can check whether our anti-spread method is effective or not once we educate the mass. I''m sure even you don''t know all the details about the sun and Cataclysm, so I will transmit the knowledge to you now, Father," Leon stated.

    Shortly after, Leon used the Spirit Transmission Art on his father.

    Heinrich quickly learned about Empyrean Allheaven Wrath, True Divinity Soul Fragment Awakening, the Celestial Realms, the Wrath Law, and the truth behind the Cataclysm.

    However, Heinrich was afraid that he would forget.

    "Go, go. I need to write this all down," Heinrich quickly said as he pulled out a spare paper from the drawer to jog everything down.

    Leon nodded with a slight smile.

    Shortly after, Leon picked his first destination in mind and opened the Dark Passage. Faelyn silently bowed to Heinrich before stepping into the ck portal with Leon.

    Nevertheless, Faelyn had this helpless and concerned look on her face. She couldn''t contribute to the conversation at all.

    At the same time, Faelyn seriously contemted what she could do to be useful to Leon.

    Faelyn didn''t want to be left behind by Leon and the others.

 Chapter 979 Chosen Path

    <h4>Chapter 979 Chosen Path</h4>

    "What''s wrong, Faelyn?" Leon asked after they stepped out from the other side of the Dark Passage, arriving in the first city of Durham.

    At the same time, Rainshine and Snowscar also turned their heads to look at Faelyn from their respective positions on Leon''s shoulders and in Faelyn''s arms.

    "I wanted to shoulder some of your burdens, but I feel like I am only adding to your burdens by following you," Faelyn said dispiritedly.

    "Why would you feel like that? You did a good job with the interrogation earlier, no?" Leon replied with a smile.

    "That''s something anyone else could have done with or without me," Faelyn sighed before adding, "I''m not knowledgeable like Aria or powerful like Darlene and Lynne¡­ So I can''t contribute where it truly matters¡­"

    After hearing that, Leon faced Faelyn seriously and held her hands to catch her full attention, which caused Snowscar to fall out of her arms.

    Nevertheless, Snowscar found a spot some distance away to sit and watch the two. At the same time, Rainshine also hopped off Leon''s shoulder to join Snowscar on the side.

    "I''ll be honest with you, Fae. You''re not a fighter. Thus, you don''t need to be powerful like Darlene and Lynne," Leon stated.

    Faelyn''s eye dulled with an even more dispirited look after hearing that.

    "Furthermore, Aria''s situation is special," Leon added.

    "So you can''t replicate her knowledge either¡ªnot unless you awaken the True Divinity Soul Fragment dwelling inside you and integrate with its vast knowledge. However, I hope that something like that doesn''t happen."

    "There''s no telling what the True Divinity''s soul fragment would do to you or if you would still be you after integrating with it," Leon sincerely stated with concern.

    "Then what should I do? I feel so useless¡­" Faelyn stated with despair as tears quickly dripped from her cheeks. "Even when we have problems in Durham and Vran right now, I am wasting your time with my insecurities."

    Leon gave a soft sigh, not expecting Faelyn''s self-esteem to be so low.

    Being one of Leon''s lovers, Faelyn must have felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

    However, at the same time, Faelyn also became self-conscious and felt pressured by everyone''s transformation and impressive capabilities.

    Leon quickly pulled Faelyn into his embrace and gave her back rubs to soothe her.

    "Everyone has their own specialty; you just haven''t found yours yet," Leon started to utter his honest opinion, "I don''t know if you will enjoy it, but there is a specialty I believe you are most suitable in pursuing out of everyone."

    "It is also something that the empire is in dire need of and will always be in demand throughout the ages toe."

    "And what would that be?" Faelyn asked in a choking tone due to her crying.

    "Alchemy," Leon firmly stated.

    "Alchemists and cultivation pills produced through alchemy are things that will always be in eternal demand for any cultivation kingdom or empire, especially one that is rapidly growing like our current empire."

    "And I believe you have the absolute talent to strive for the best in this field. The question is whether you, yourself, are willing to pursue this path. I have the skills but not the time to be refining pills for everyone in the empire. My disciple is shouldering this burden, but he, alone, is not enough."

    "Thus, if you choose to embark on the path of alchemy, you will forever be an invaluable asset to me and the empire. But even if you don''t want to pursue alchemy, you will still be important to me," Leon reassured.

    "No, I want to do it!" Faelyn suddenly wiped her tears and said with determination.

    However, her firm expression quickly deted like a balloon in the next moment as she revealed herck of confidence.

    "But¡­ I don''t know much about alchemy¡­ Is it really possible for me to be highly skilled in alchemy?" Faelyn asked without any confidence in herself.

    "Everyone has the potential to be highly skilled in alchemy as long as they have the will to work hard and the opportunity to learn," Leon stated.

    "However, only those with talent can improve their alchemy skills quickly. You don''t have to worry about not having the talent with your wood ability. As for the opportunity to learn, that is something I can give you. Thus, the only thing you really need is the will to work hard."

    "If you have that, you will be a great alchemist without a doubt. So, do you have that will?" Leon softly asked.

    "Mm, definitely!" Faelyn answered with certainty, and her eyes brightened after she found her path.

    Seeing that Faelyn''s emotion improved, Leon cracked a smile and asked, "Not feeling sad and lost anymore?"

    "No!" Faelyn responded with a charming smile.

    She wrapped her arms around Leon''s neck and drew her head closer. Within moments, her soft lips pressed against Leon''s, and their tongue intertwined in a hot and passionate kiss.

    "Ahem!" Snowscar coughed and turned his head away as he thought it was the appropriate thing to do.

    However, Snowscar quickly noticed his sister, Rainshine, beside him, attentively watching the scene with her eyes wide open and without blinking, not wanting to miss a single detail.

    Thud!

    Snowscar gave Rainshine a quick whack on the head, causing Rainshine to grimace before she turned her head and gave him a grudging look.

    "It''s not appropriate to watch," Snowscar lectured.

    "Hmph!" Rainshine pouted, shrugging her head away in a sassy and posh manner.

    If their Lord didn''t want them to look, he would have told them or at least given them a signal. However, their Lord didn''t do any of that.

    Furthermore, their Lord was kissing in a public ce.

    So what was wrong with her watching her Lord kiss? Only kids would react the way her brother did ¨C Rainshine thought.

    Nevertheless, Leon and Faelyn''s hot and passionate kiss eventually ended as their lips separated.

    Although Faelyn wanted to continue, she knew that they shouldn''t waste any more time.

    "We¡­ we should get going," Faelyn said with a slightly red face.

    "Un," Leon nodded and said, "But before that¡­"

    Leon quickly transmitted a few alchemy techniques and knowledge to Faelyn in the next moment.

 Chapter 980 Elizabethâ€™s Burp

    <h4>Chapter 980 Elizabeth''s Burp</h4>

    Faelyn was immediately engrossed in the wealth of knowledge pertaining to alchemy. Even so, it was only but a fraction of Leon''s alchemy knowledge.

    Being the only son of the Divine Medicine King, someone who has mastered alchemy and medicine up to the ninth tier, there was nothing that Leon didn''t learn from his father in his past life.

    Despite his impressive background, he could only reach the sixth tier in alchemy and medicine.

    After all, knowledge did not equal mastery.

    "This is just some introductory knowledge to alchemy. You can start familiarizing yourself with it, for the time being, Fae," Leon stated.

    After all, they were still in the middle of a mission. Faelyn wouldn''t be able to put her newfound alchemy knowledge to practice while they are moving around a lot.

    "Mm," Faelyn quietly nodded.

    Shortly after, they shifted their attention to the city ahead of them. It was one of Durham''s border cities.

    However, it was old and in poor condition, aplete contrast to the new and growing city back in the heart of the empire.

    People wandered the streets and browsed the wares of the stores, busying themselves with their daily lives like any other day.

    The heat from the sun and the stuffy smell in the air suppressed the city''s liveliness. Still, Leon didn''t see anything unusual from a nce.

    "It''s a different air out here," Faelyn softlymented.

    "Yeah, the heat always has that stuffiness to it, and the spirit energy is still faint in this region," Leon replied.

    "Nevertheless, given time, the spirit energy density will gradually increase and improve the air quality in this region. Even so, we can imagine the air quality to be even worse in regions the World Tree''s spirit energy has yet to reach."

    "Fortunately, my father has deployed the Demon Gathering Arrays. Thus, the worse has been avoided," Leon added.

    Although people could still be harmed by prolonged exposure to the sunlight, at least they all kept their sanity.

    Heinrich''s map marked the cities, but it didn''t show the exact locations of the Demon Gathering Arrays.

    Nevertheless, it wasn''t difficult for Leon to find.

    By spreading out his divine sense and following the direction of the faint Wrathful Demon Energy in the atmosphere that was being pulled, Leon soon arrived at the Demon Gathering Array with Faelyn and the two Winter Cats.

    "Greetings, Your Highness," two Earth Transcendentsnded on the roof of the tallest building in the city to greet Leon.

    Leon acknowledged their greeting with a nod.

    "It seems like the Demon Gathering Array in this city hasn''t been targeted by the devil worshippers. That''s good," Leon uttered.

    Leon approached the Demon Gathering Array shortly after and extracted everyst ounce of thepressed Wrathful Demon Energy stored inside the crystal orb.

    The Wrathful Demon Energy was all dumped inside Leon''s ck Vortex for refinement.

    Thanks to that, Leon received a sizable amount of demon energy andprehension fragments of the Wrath Law, which he quickly absorbed.

    The minuscule amounts ofprehension fragments strengthened his understanding of the Wrath Law.

    On the other hand, the Tome of Eternal Darkness further refined the demon energy and improved his demon cultivation.

    "Your Highness¡­?" the Earth Transcendents gazed at Leon with suspicion and doubts in regards to his action.

    "The Demon Gathering Arrays will continue to gather andpress Wrathful Demon Energy so long as there are any to collect. There''s a risk of it exploding if we don''t empty it periodically," Leon stated.

    "On another note, you two need to be more careful when guarding the Demon Gathering Array."

    Leon proceeded to warn the Earth Transcendents about the devil worshippers. Then, he instructed them to hide and determine the enemy''s strength first before deciding whether to confront them if they encountered them.

    After all, it was better to abandon the Demon Gathering Array and report the information back instead of dying to the enemy.

    To deal with the devil worshippers, intelligence on their activities was crucial.

    "Understood, Your Highness. We''ve engraved your words in our hearts," the Earth Transcendent solemnly assured.

    "Good," Leon nodded with acknowledgment before informing them of his departure, "Then, I''ll be leaving for the next city."

    Leon opened the Dark Passage and left with Faelyn and the Winter Cats shortly after.

    In the following few hours, Leon made rounds through the cities of Durham and Vran to extract the umted Wrathful Demon Energy from each Demon Gathering Arrays as he checked on the situation.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Inside King Lutheran''s study room, the negotiation between King Lutheran and Elizabeth gradually finished.

    Elizabeth did not need to wait for King Lutheran to summon people to gather the items for the exchange.

    King Lutheran directly transferred the items to Elizabeth''s interspatial ring from his own interspatial ring.

    "Great. It looks like it''s finally been settled," Elizabeth stated after confirming the inventory. "I trust you will be able to put the Demon Gathering Array to good use, King Lutheran."

    "Naturally," King Lutheran nodded.

    Once his runemasters finished studying and replicating the Demon Gathering Array, King Lutheran could ease the problem in the kingdom.

    Furthermore, King Lutheran could also use the Demon Gathering Arrays to bait the devil worshippers out of their hidings.

    "The Demon Gathering Array was just what our kingdom needed. Once again, I must thank you, Queen Elizabeth. You have my sincerest gratitude¡ªor should I address you as Empress Elizabeth?"

    "No need for thanks. We had a deal, King Lutheran. You may address however you see fit," Elizabeth calmly stated when she suddenly felt bloated. "Burp* Excuse me, this doesn''t happen often."

    King Lutheran''s eyes narrowed before they flickered with an understanding look in the next moment as a smile hung on his face.

    "Oh? Congrattions in advance, Your Imperial Majesty. I look forward to the next time we meet," King Lutheran said with a knowing look.

    "As do I, King Lutheran," Elizabeth nodded after her initial surprise.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, after Elizabeth, Darlene, and the Paragon-level Winter Cats all left, the smile was immediately wiped off King Lutheran''s face, reced by a cold expression.

    "Send this to the Venerable Runemaster to study immediately. And get someone to summon my brother, Duke Flugerd, to the Great Hall right this instance!"

    King Lutheran bellowed coldly.

 Chapter 981 Venerable Runemaster

    <h4>Chapter 981 Venerable Runemaster</h4>

    "Yes, Your Majesty!" the pce servants awaiting outside the study room answered very quickly after sensing the king''s terrible mood.

    "No, wait. I will send this item to Venerable Runemaster myself! Just summon Duke Flugerd to wait for me in the Great Hall!" King Lutheran suddenly dered upon second thoughts.

    The Demon Gathering Array was far too important to the current kingdom.

    King Lutheran wouldn''t feel assured unless he handed the Demon Gathering Array to Venerable Runemaster with his own hands.

    "Understood, Your Majesty!" the pce servantsplied.

    King Lutheran quickly stored the Demon Gathering Array in his interspatial ring, where it was safe, and headed outside.

    Among the Geyser Kingdom''s leading figures, Venerable Forgemaster and Venerable Runemaster were both Half-step Paragons and experts in the runguage.

    However, their expertise was not the same. As such, their level of proficiency in the runguage was also not the same.

    Venerable Forgemaster focused more on the art of forging while studying runes on the side only served to augment his forging profession.

    On the other hand, Venerable Runemaster mainly focused on the study of runes while his side profession lies in arrays.

    As such, Venerable Runemaster was the best candidate for King Lutheran to seek in regards to the replication of the Demon Gathering Array.

    Furthermore, Venerable Runemaster was not situated far from the pce.

    Outside the Geyser Kingdom''s royal pce, which was grand and majestic, there were four enormous towers in the capital city that didn''t pale inparison.

    One of these enormous towers precisely belonged to Venerable Runemaster.

    It was called the Grand Rune Tower, containing the Geyser Kingdom''s vast runic knowledge that had umted over the past several hundred years.

    Many people wanted to be a disciple of the Grand Rune Tower, but not everyone could. They didn''t possess the qualifications or the talent.

    Even so, the first floor was open to everyone.

    However, King Lutheran didn''t take the main entrance. He water-strode across one of the many water channels and fountains in the city. Then, he directly flew inside one of the open windows on the tower''s top floor.

    Crack!

    Shattered ss, dropped books, and papers, among other things, quickly sounded on the top floor.

    King Lutheran''s dynamic and sudden appearance had startled Venerable Runemaster into dropping his research materials.

    "Lutheran! Haiz, dammit! What did I sayst time about entering through the windows without knocking?" Venerable Runemaster chided in his grumpy old voice while pointing an unsheathed sword at King Lutheran.

    The unsheathed sword was very slim, unlike other normal swords, and the handle was a curled shape, which was also umon on a sword.

    It was a special hidden sword masked as a cane.

    "There isn''t anything to knock on the window. And you can put that flimsy sword away now, Venerable Runemaster," King Lutheran casually said.

    Venerable Runemaster sheathed his cane sword and softly sighed, "Haiz, I thought you were an assant,ing to steal my research, Your Majesty."

    "Surely you jest, Venerable Runemaster. Who would dare steal the research of a Half-step Paragon? They must be tired of living," King Lutheranmented amusedly before quickly shaking his head in the next moment.

    "But never mind that or your research. I have something better for you to study, Venerable Runemaster. Furthermore, it''s crucial to the kingdom, so I hope you can start replicating it as soon as possible."

    "Oh? And what could that be? Let''s have a look then," Venerable Runemaster said with interest.

    It was rare to see King Lutheran putting such heavy emphasis on a mere object.

    However, shortly after Venerable Runemaster started studying the ck te handed over by King Lutheran, his expression quickly turned serious.

    "Interesting¡­ How very interesting¡­!" Venerable Runemaster eximed after a few moments of studying.

    "You already figured it out, Venerable Runemaster?" King Lutheran asked with surprise.

    However, Venerable Runemaster furrowed his brows, feeling mildly offended by such a question when he was a Tier-6 Runemaster.

    "Who do you think you''re talking to, Your Majesty? Did you think it would take me very long to figure out the functions of a mere Tier-3 Array?" Venerable Runemaster responded before asking, "Where did you get such a thing? Do you know who made it?"

    "Only a Tier-3 Array? Did I get cheated?" King Lutheran furrowed his brows before saying, "Queen Elizabeth paid me a visit and sold it to me."

    Of course, it must be reminded that Queen Elizabeth''s initial intention was to gift the Demon Gathering Array.

    It was King Lutheran''s fault for turning it into a valuable exchange.

    "Queen Elizabeth sold it to you?" Venerable Runemaster expressed his surprise.

    However, Venerable Runemaster wasn''t interested in learning how that happened. He was more interested in the inventor behind the Demon Gathering Array.

    "Never mind the queen. Since she only sold it to you, I guess you don''t know who made this Tier-3 Array," Venerable Runemaster said with a sigh.

    "I don''t know how much you exchanged for this, but whoever made this Tier-3 Array is truly impressive. Even I wouldn''t have thought of such a runicbination. Haiz, it would be great if I could talk to this person and see how his mind works."

    "Didn''t you just say it''s only a Tier-3 Array, Venerable Runemaster?" King Lutheran furrowed his brows with confusion and asked, "Why does it sound like you are praising the inventor to the high heavens?"

    "Because I am!" Venerable Runemaster confirmed with a firm tone.

    "This might only be a Tier-3 Array, but the way this person created such aplicated function in such a simple way is nothing short of a stroke of divine genius. Even a Runemaster with a solid foundation might not have thought up thisbination of runic interaction."

    "You must understand that anyone can be a runemaster given knowledge and time to practice. However, not every runemaster is equal, even if they are at the same level of proficiency. The most important aspect of a runemaster is their creativity."

    "Only with a creative mind can a runemastere up with innovative arrays like the one who made this Tier-3 Array," Venerable Runemaster said with heartfelt appreciation.

    "No wonder you made the entrance exam for the Grand Rune Tower so strict, Venerable Runemaster. You were looking for people with creativity¡­"

    King Lutheran finally understood why the Grand Rune Tower didn''t just ept everyone that wished to learn.

 Chapter 982 Duke Flugerdâ€™s Movements

    <h4>Chapter 982 Duke Flugerd''s Movements</h4>

    "Naturally. Runemaster is a noble profession. If everyone can be a runemaster, it will diminish the prestige of runemasters," Venerable Runemaster responded to King Lutheran''s statement.

    "Furthermore, resources are limited. If we distribute too many resources into teaching the untalented, how are we supposed to nurture those with talent and creative minds? That''s why the entrance requirement is strict."

    "Listening to you put such heavy emphasis on creativity, you''ve also made me curious about the inventor behind this Demon Gathering Array," King Lutheran mentioned.

    "Not only does the empire have many powerful experts, but they are also notcking in talents. The inventor shouldn''t be someone unknown¡­ I wonder if we can poach him."

    "Someone like that would be treasured by the empire, without a doubt. You can try, but I doubt you will seed, Your Majesty. It''s great enough if I could meet this person and exchange ideas," Venerable Runemaster stated.

    "Nevertheless, you do not worry about this Demon Gathering Array. I have already figured it out. You can sit back and wait for the good news, Your Majesty."

    "Since I''ve understood the logic behind the Tier-3 Demon Gathering Array, I won''t just replicate it. No, I will improve it and produce a Tier-4, Tier-5, or even a Tier-6 Demon Gathering Array depending on our needs," Venerable Runemaster imed.

    "Oh? That''s perfect," King Lutheran uttered with a smile.

    "Then, I will leave the Tier-3 Demon Gathering Array in your capable hands and take my leave for now. There is still some unfinished business I need to take care of."

    As King Lutheran said that, his eyes shed with coldness.

    Venerable Runemaster noticed King Lutheran''s terrible mood, but he refrained frommenting on it.

    Venerable Runemaster wouldn''t interfere with the kingdom''s affairs unless it affected the Grand Rune Tower''s interests.

    ¡­

    King Lutheran left the same way he came in, out the window, and through the sky by striding on water that can be found throughout the big city.

    Having spent roughly an hour at the Grand Rune Tower, it was more than enough time for Duke Flugerd to arrive at the Great Hall.

    However, King Lutheran immediately frowned at the empty hall upon his arrival.

    "There you are, Your Majesty!" a pce servant quickly rushed over hastily with a piece of urgent news to report.

    "As per your orders, I went to the Duke''s manor to pass your words to Duke Flugerd. However, Duke Flugerd was absent from his manor, Your Majesty."

    "What?" King Lutheran''s frown deepened before asking, "Where did Duke Flugerd go?"

    "Upon investigating, this servant found out that Duke Flugerd had already left the city the other day," the servant reported.

    "Furthermore, this servant found several other nobles have also been reported missing from the capital city, Your Majesty. Marquis Raygor, Earl vier, Earl Almeric, and Earl Bendro were some of the names on the list."

    "What!" King Lutheran''s eyes widened with outrage.

    The names listed were all members of the supremacist faction.

    Their collective disappearance wouldn''t be as simple of a matter as taking a tour outside the capital city.

    "Where are they now?!" King Lutheran bellowed with fury.

    The pce servant fearfully trembled under the king''s extreme anger.

    At the same time, the king''s oppressive aura suppressed the pce servant to the point that he did not dare look at the king directly.

    "T-this servant doesn''t know, Y-your Majesty!" the pce servant replied fearfully.

    "H-however, there was an unconfirmed rumor that Duke Flugerd decided to visit the west as an envoy. There was another unconfirmed rumor that he brought many nobles and several hundreds of Transcendent-level troops along for protection, Your Majesty!"

    After hearing that, King Lutheran''s already terrible mood took a turn for the worse.

    "A load of horse sh*t!" King Lutheran thundered at the nonsensical rumor.

    No such envoy needed an entourage of several hundreds of Transcendent-level troops for protection.

    That was no longer an entourage; it was an army!

    If King Lutheran couldn''t figure out what was going on after learning about that much, he would be unfit to rule the kingdom.

    "Notify all the Law-punishing forces near the borders immediately! They must stop Duke Flugerd from leaving the kingdom with his people at all cost! There mustn''t be a war between the two countries!"

    King Lutheran bellowed his orders.

    As much as King Lutheran hated it, the kingdom couldn''t afford to lose so many experts in a hopeless war¡ªeven if the ones leading all those experts could be considered traitors.

    "Y-your Majesty, it has been a day since the rumors appeared! Duke Flugerd and his people must have left the kingdom by now! I fear it''s toote to stop them from leaving!" the servant alerted.

    "Then instruct the Law-punishing forces to head out and bring them all back by force! If they can''t do it, stall Duke Flugerd and his men until I arrive with reinforcements!"

    "You''re heading out yourself, Your Majesty?" the servant asked with shock.

    "Obviously!"

    Duke Flugerd was a Half-step Paragon.

    How could King Lutheran expect anyone else besides the Venerables, Sea Emperor, or High Priest to stop the person?

    However, an unexpected guest obstructed King Lutheran at the Great Hall''s entrance.

    "Old Thunder," King Lutheran greeted with surprise, taken aback by Old Thunder''s appearance.

    Why was Old Thunder in the capital city when he should be on the floating temple high above the Geyser Kingdom in the Neutral Zone?

    "The High Council of Elders is aware of Duke Flugerd''s action and those in support of the supremacist faction. You are not to interfere in this matter at this point in time and just let nature run its course, Your Majesty," Old Thunder directed.

    "Are you telling me to just let my blood brother, who came from the same womb as me, get caught up in the supremacist faction''s scheme and die a meaningless death?" King Lutheran said in a low tone.

    "If that is what it takes for the rest of the people in the kingdom to wake up from their overdue arrogance and realize the empire''s strength. The Crawford Empire''s rise is unstoppable."

    Old Thunder calmly stated.

 Chapter 983 Late-stage Heaven Ascension

    <h4>Chapter 983 Late-stage Heaven Ascension</h4>

    "Do you understand the severity of what you are saying, Old Thunder? If we let conflict break out, not only would my blood brother die, but the rest of the kingdom will be dragged into a war that we don''t want!"

    King Lutheran stated gravely.

    Even if he was the king, he still had to answer the people''s outrage if the empire killed several hundreds of Transcendent-level experts from their kingdom.

    Otherwise, King Lutheran would lose the heart of the people!

    However, the empire had five Paragons! And that was only a glimpse of the empire''s strength! Who knew how many more Paragons the empire had!

    Thus, ultimately, King Lutheran would still decide to go against the people''s wishes and deny the war to the best of his power and authority.

    Even if it means going down in history as a coward!

    "Of course, I understand what I''m saying," Old Thunder calmly said. Hepletely understood the weight of his words.

    "The High Council of Elders had deemed the current Crawford Empire''s rapid growth beneficial for everyone. And by everyone, I''m talking about both humans and beasts alike, whether they are inside the Human Domain or outside of it."

    "The stupidity and blind greed of the supremacist faction is an excellent excuse to bring the Geyser Kingdom under the empire''s rule and unite the entire Human Domain. We need this kind of preparation and unity if we are to stand strong on the day the demons above descend upon us."

    Hearing about the demons above, King Lutheran quickly calmed down before seriously asking, "Is the day drawing closer, Old Thunder?"

    "Indeed it is," Old Thunder nodded and said, "The subsequent Cataclysms have weakened the spatialyers. The world doesn''t have much time left before those vile creatures descend upon us."

    The Cataclysms were only the appetizers; there was still a Doomsday.

    "Nevertheless, I have already delivered the temple''s opinion. So I am returning to the temple. No one from the temple will interfere if you still want to save your brother despite everything I said, Your Majesty."

    Just as Old Thunder prepared to leave after saying that, he abruptly recalled something and paused his steps.

    "Oh, right," Old Thunder turned around and said, "You said your brother got caught up in the supremacist faction''s scheme. However, that is incorrect."

    "Duke Flugerd is your blood brother; he is not stupid. Furthermore, he is a Half-step Paragon. It would be wrong of you to think that Duke Flugerd had absolutely nothing to do with the supremacist faction until a few days ago."

    "In fact, Duke Flugerd has been secretly involved with the supremacist faction right from the start. Haha, you can even say Duke Flugerd was the very reason the supremacist faction was formed, Your Majesty."

    "Haiz, everyone has their own ambitions," Old Thunder sighed and said, "Alright, I believe I''ve said enough. I''m truly leaving now."

    Shortly after, Old Thunder took off and shot into the sky, quickly disappearing beyond the clouds like a sh of lightning.

    King Lutheran remained frozen on the spot, stunned by Old Thunder''s parting words.

    Many issues he had subconsciously pushed aside resurfaced in King Lutheran''s mind before he raised his head to the sky and let out a long sigh.

    "So you always wanted the throne, huh? If you had just asked me, I would abdicate the throne to you¡­ Is the throne more important than blood?"

    King Lutheran shook his head with disappointment.

    "I''ve been considered a wise king all my life, but unfortunately, I will have to make an unwise choice this time. No matter what, he is still my brother," King Lutheran softly muttered.

    s, such is what it means to be the older brother.

    Even if what King Lutheran''s little brother does makes him furious and want to choke the living sh*t out of his little brother, he would still find it in his heart to forgive him.

    After equipping his armor, King Lutheran took off from the royal pce.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Durham Territory

    After visiting over twenty cities and towns in Durham alone, Leon didn''t encounter a single problem with the Demon Gathering Arrays.

    There were only a few cities left to visit before Leon was done with the Durham Territory.

    However, Leon could conclude early that the devil worshippers hadn''t targeted the Demon Gathering Arrays in Durham.

    On the other hand, Leon had umted so much demon energy from the Demon Gathering Arrays that he had reached a critical point.

    As such, Leon was forced to temporarily stop his travel to sit down in meditation and make the breakthrough in his demon cultivation.

    Faelyn and the two Winter Cats, Rainshine and Snowscar, guarded Leon as he absorbed thest bit of demon energy for his breakthrough.

    Swoosh!

    The moment Leon condensed thest bit of demon energy into the ck revolving core, his aura slightly surged, marking his sessful advancement to the Late-stage Heaven Ascension Realm.

    He was not far from the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    Nevertheless, the energy requirement for the next breakthrough had drastically increased once again.

    It was new territory from the Peak-stage Heaven Ascension Realm onwards.

    How much energy was needed to make the core germinate?

    Leon did not know.

    But he was sure of one thing; he won''t be shattering his core to enter the Void Realm like in his previous life.

    "Congrattions on your breakthrough, my Lord," Rainshine and Snowscar congratted with their heads lowered subserviently.

    "Un," Leon acknowledged them with a nod.

    The breakthrough was unexpected and had dyed our trip again. Nevertheless, we''ve almost finished visiting all the major settlements in Durham. Let''s quickly wrap things up here and check on Vran after," Leon stated.

    "Yes!" Faelyn and the two Winter Cats answered.

    Shortly after, Leon opened the Dark Passage before everyone stepped inside and moved to the next city.

    Fortunately, Leon''s group swept the remaining settlements with Demon Gathering Arrays in Durham without a problem.

    As Leon suspected, the devil worshippers did not touch a single Demon Gathering Array in Durham.

    However, that could also mean that the devil worshippers concentrated on the Demon Gathering Arrays in the Vran Territory.

    "Let''s hope the situation isn''t too bad in Vran¡­"

 Chapter 984 Ruthless Intrusion

    <h4>Chapter 984 Ruthless Intrusion</h4>

    Somewhere in the Vran Territory, not far from the Geyser Kingdom''s border wall, arge group of Transcendents traveled together after crossing the border.

    The group belonged to none other than Duke Flugerd and his people from the supremacist faction.

    Their original goal was to head straight for one of the designated cities near the heart of the empire, which they had marked as strategic cities.

    However, Duke Flugerd came to a sudden stop as they were passing through the first city of the Vran Territory.

    "Why did we stop, Lord Flugerd?" Marquis Raygor inquired.

    "You don''t sense it, Lord Raygor?" Duke Flugerd replied while casting a short and casual nce at Marquis Raygor.

    "Spirit energy from the World Tree hasn''t covered this region, but the air quality around this city is much better than any parts we can find back in the kingdom. Don''t you think there''s something special about this city?"

    "Something special about this city¡­?" Marquis Raygor muttered with furrowed brows.

    Marquis Raygor and the other nobles and Transcendents quickly focused on the city ahead of them after hearing from Duke Flugerd.

    However, they didn''t notice anything special about the city in and of itself.

    The city was not very popted.

    Furthermore, the buildingscked just about everything, whether it was art, design, maintenance, or even quality materials used in their construction.

    Marquis Raygor and the three other earls could see that it was a poor city and frowned when they failed to see what made it special.

    After studying the poor city in-depth, looking past just its appearance, they started to see the peculiarities.

    Just as Duke Flugerd mentioned, the air quality was much better despite the absence of spirit energy.

    "The foul energy in this city is very faint. But this could also be due to the World Tree''s spirit energy pushing all the foul energy away from the region," Earl vier spected.

    "Oh?" Earl Bendro narrowed his eyes with a sharp look and thought, "If that''s the case, wouldn''t that mean the World Tree is at fault for the high concentration of foul energy in our kingdom?"

    "Isn''t that another reason for us to demand sky-highpensation from the Crawford Kingdom?"

    Earl Almeric rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "I reckon they will quickly give in to our additional demands if we pressure them with a show of force."

    "Perhaps. However, I think you all missed the main reason for this city''s air quality," Marquis Raygor informed.

    "If you look observed more carefully, you''ll notice that the foul energy isn''t being pushed away. In fact, it can''t be pushed away by spirit energy if there''s no spirit energy to push it away in this area."

    "Oh? Lord Raygor is right. The foul energy is actually¡­ gathering towards the city?" Earl vier was surprised upon realization.

    "Let us enter the city and figure out the source of this phenomenon," Duke Flugerd calmly stated before adding, "If the underlying cause is due to an artifact or treasure, it will benefit the kingdom greatly once we bring it back."

    Although Duke Flugerd seemed calm on the surface, his heart was set aze by greed.

    If Duke Flugerd could really bring back an artifact or treasure that resolves the problem back in the kingdom, his public image would improve in the eyes of all Transcendents in the kingdom.

    "Halt! This area is off-limits!"

    A Preliminary ession-stage Earth Transcendent quickly stepped out and obstructed Duke Flugerd''srge group from approaching the Demon Gathering Array as they arrived.

    "Step aside, insect. Who are you to block this Duke''s path?" Duke Flugerd nonchntly replied.

    In the next instance, Duke Flugerd casually waved his hand, but the Earth Transcendent felt like his inner organs were mmed by a sledgehammer.

    All the fluids in the Earth Transcendent''s body flowed in reverse, causing his face to pale as his body flew out of Duke Flugerd''s path.

    The Earth Transcendent coughed up blood andid weakly on the ground, having suffered multiple tears in his organs and ruptured meridians.

    In a single instance, the Earth Transcendent had suffered severe injuries, and death loomed over him.

    Under normal circumstances, it wouldn''t have been easy for Transcendents to control the elements in another person''s body due to the sh of their wills.

    Unfortunately, the power difference between the Earth Transcendent and Duke Flugerd was too significant.

    "Oh? This is perfect. It''s an array. The kingdom will be able to mass-produce this array once we hand it over to the runemasters to study." Duke Flugerd''s eyes quickly brightened after a close look at the Demon Gathering Array.

    "However, seeing as this array is guarded by a Transcendent, the array clearly has some importance to the Crawford Kingdom. I''m afraid they will take kindly to our actions once they learn what happened here," Marquis Raygor mentioned.

    "It doesn''t matter. We are just grabbing interests ahead of time," Duke Flugerd calmly stated.

    "So what if the Crawford Kingdom doesn''t take kindly to our actions? What can they do about it? It seems like they have grown a fair bit to designate a Transcendent all the way out here. However, they are still iparable to our Geyser Kingdom."

    "They have no choice but to give in to our demands. This is what it means to be strong," Duke Flugerd said overbearingly.

    "Nevertheless, it will diminish what we can extort from the Crawford Kingdom if they were to learn what happened here. Thus, the best course of action is not to let them know what happened here."

    Shortly after saying that, Duke Flugerd shot a cold look at the Earth Transcendent on the ground.

    Duke Flugerd clenched his fist mercilessly, causing the severely-injured Earth Transcendent to erupt with countless blood and other fluids shooting out of his body.

    The Earth Transcendent did not live past that.

    Swoosh!

    The other Earth Transcendent, who had been hiding nearby, failed to contain his shock due to his partner''s gruesome death and identally exposed his location.

    As such, the Earth Transcendent immediately chose to flee.

    "Kill him," Duke Flugerd issued the coldmand.

    The Earth Transcendent did not make it far before Marquis Raygor, who acted the quickest, mercilessly hunted the person down.

 Chapter 985 Priest Merkkon

    <h4>Chapter 985 Priest Merkkon</h4>

    "Are we still following our original n, Lord Flugerd?" Marquis Raygor inquired after cleaning up the corpses.

    "Considering the value of this array, we can, more or less,plete our goals by just bringing this back to the kingdom."

    "On the other hand, if we continue to follow the original n, we might be able to gain more. But the consequences might not be worth the extra bit of gain. We could be sanctioned or, even worse, charged with treason and executed."

    "Sanctioned? Maybe. Treason? We are not rebelling against the kingdom. We are bringing glory to the kingdom!" Duke Flugerd said firmly.

    "When the people cry out names with adoration, when the children sing praises of our feats, and when all experts in the kingdom look at us with acknowledgment, we will be revered as heroes."

    "No one would dare to charge us with treason. Not the Sea Emperor, nor the High Priest, and certainly not my brother, the king. Otherwise, they will have to answer to the people''s outrage for viinizing their heroes."

    ¡­

    In the corner of an alleyway in the city, roughly nine hundred yards away, several pairs of eyes secretly watched Duke Flugerd''s group surrounding the location of the Demon Gathering Array.

    "Kekeke, to think Duke Flugerd would bring so many Transcendents with him on this trip. Not bad, not bad. The more casualties there are, the bigger the chaos. Once the two super countries are at war, it will be our Sun God Church''s chance to thrive," said one of the hooded people in the alleyway.

    "Although Duke Flugerd made his move earlier than anticipated, everything is still proceeding ording to n. Duke Flugerd might have regarded himself as someone with both wisdom and power, but his grand ambition and greed blinded him from making proper choices."

    "No matter how great a person is, they cannot make good choices if theyck crucial information. Duke Flugerd is just an overly-ambitious fool. To think he would take the bait so easily."

    "Right," another hooded person agreed.

    "It was the right choice not to touch the Demon Gathering Arrays in the border cities, Priest Merkkon. Once we secretly spread the news and let it reach King Heinrich''s ears, things will quickly y out the way we want."

    As the hooded person mentioned Priest Merkkon''s name, the other two devil worshippers in the alleyway also focused their gaze on Priest Merkkon and awaited the person''s following instructions.

    However, just as Priest Merkkon was about to speak, his pupils quickly shrank into slits at the sight of iing water projectiles.

    "Evade!" Priest Merkkon bellowed.

    Swoosh!

    The devil worshippers scattered from the alleyway without further thought.

    They didn''t even understand why they needed to evade. Their bodies simply reacted ording to Priest Merkkon''s movements.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    In that instance, the alleyway quickly fell under the heavy barrage of ck waternces. The nearby buildings copsed, and several unprepared residents died under the weight of the rubbles.

    At the same time, one of the devil worshippers didn''t make it and was sted full of holes, killing the person on the spot.

    Before the Priest Merkkon and the remaining two devil worshippers could rx, more ck waternces were shot their way.

    However, they were already forced into the open.

    The iing ck waternces were clearly seen and evaded sessfully, but only due to the distance that existed between them and Duke Flugerd''s group.

    "Unexpectedly, your senses are very sharp, Duke Flugerd. I''ve underestimated you," Priest Merkkon stated.

    "This Duke knew a sewage rat when this Duke smelled one. Did you think you could hide from this Duke, devil worshippers?" Duke Flugerd coolly said with an unhurried look, unconcerned with Priest Merkkon''s group possibly fleeing.

    "Let this Duke guess; you were all thinking that this Duke was dancing right in the palm of your hands since you knew about this Duke''s secret ambition. Unfortunately, you are sorely mistaken if you all thought you had seen through this Duke."

    "This Duke did not move ording to your Sun God Church''s calctions; your schemes simply pushed forward this Duke''s n," Duke Flugerd stated with an aloof and proud look.

    "Oh, how leisure of you to be wasting so much breath on meaningless drivels. That arrogance will be your undoing one day, Duke of Leviador," Priest Merkkon stated.

    "Perhaps. However, that day won''t be this day, and it certainly won''t be done by your hands. After all, you will all be dying here," Duke Flugerd sentenced the devil worshippers to death with a single order, "Kill them!"

    Swoosh!

    The several hundred Transcendents behind Duke Flugerd and the other nobles immediately rushed forward.

    However, Priest Merkkon waved his hand, sending out a blood-crimson ray of light that whipped through the ranks of the Transcendents, directly bisecting three dozens of them in two.

    The rest of the Transcendents quickly halted their advancement with shocked looks.

    "By throwing fodders at us, Duke Flugerd is looking down on us. Why don''t you both show them what the Sun God''s worshippers can do?" Priest Merkkon calmly suggested to the two hooded people behind him.

    The two hooded people nced at each other and understood what the Priest Merkkon wanted from them.

    They immediately tore away their hooded cloaks and revealed their hideous appearances with ck and greenish skin.

    Their bodies started squirming with protruding veins when the sun quickly shone on them, and their eyes revealed their extreme and uncontainable rage.

    Roar!

    The two devil worshippers growled with inhumane and raspy voices as their bodies grew, doubling¡­ tripling¡­ quadrupling their former sizes!

    Their muscle mass grew exponentially, and so did their strengths!

    Before long, the two devil worshippers had transformed themselves into giants. Their greenish-ck skin glowed with a crimson hue, and steam emitted from their pores.

    "W-what the hell is those things?!"

    The Transcendents at the forefront cried with rm, intimidated by the devil worshippers'' drastic transformations.

    "Ahhh¡ª!"

    The two gigantified devil worshippers charged into the ranks of frightened Transcendents.

    They tore Transcendents'' bodies apart and mawed them like savage beasts, instilling greater terror in the rest of the Transcendents.

    Duke Flugerd witnessed the disorderly mess in the ranks of the Transcendents and frowned.

 Chapter 986 Black Flood Dragon Attack

    <h4>Chapter 986 ck Flood Dragon Attack</h4>

    The two devil worshippers'' initial strengths were only around the Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent Realm.

    However, after undergoing gigantification, the two devil worshippers'' brute strengths surged to the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm!

    The ordinary Transcendent-level troops were not their match!

    Duke Flugerd flew into the sky and prepared to y the two gigantified monsters before sustaining any further loss of Transcendent-level troops.

    However, several blood-crimson rays whipped toward Duke Flugerd, interrupting him from saving his troops.

    Duke Flugerd was forced to ck water from his interspatial water storage to conjure a shield to defend himself.

    He might be a Half-step Paragon, but his body was still weak, even against ordinary knives and swords.

    "Since you decided to throw fodders my way, why bother saving them?" Priest Merkkon casually said.

    The blood-crimson rays quickly retracted into Priest Merkkon''s hands, but their forms were clearly seen for a moment.

    They were actually Priest Merkkon''s blood, veins, and muscles, yet they moved like snakes,pletely under Priest Merkkon''s control.

    "What kind of abomination are you?" Duke Flugerd focused on Priest Merkkon with his gloomy eyes, no longer paying attention to the Transcendent-level troops.

    Marquis Raygor and the other three earls had jumped into action to save the troops from the two gigantified monsters.

    With their collective strengths of one Peak Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent and three Late Seeking Insight-stage Transcendents, they should make quick work of the two Rank 2 Transcendent-level gigantified monsters.

    More importantly, Priest Merkkon was the biggest threat out of the three devil worshippers.

    "What abomination am I?" Priest Merkkon chuckled and said, "The words of an ignorant person. The bodies of Sun God''s worshippers can be freely controlled and transformed ording to our whims. Of course, a non-believer like you wouldn''t¡ª!"

    Swoosh!

    Before Priest Merkkon could finish speaking, Duke Flugerd abruptly lunged forward and fired several ck waternces at him, all aiming at his vital areas.

    However, Priest Merkkon reacted quickly, parrying away a few ck waternces and evading the rest.

    Even so, a Half-step Paragon''s attack wasn''t something Priest Merkkon could parrypletely.

    The tremendous force broke his hands and blew Priest Merkkon some distance away, knocking his hood back and revealing his appearance.

    "How rude. Don''t you know it''s bad manners to interrupt when someone is talking?" Priest Merkkon casually said as his broken hands fixed themselves back into shape in an instance.

    At the same time, Duke Flugerd narrowed his eyes.

    "This Duke knows the face of every Peak Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent in the kingdom, and you are not one of them. Who the hell are you? Are you from the outside the kingdom?" Duke Flugerd interrogated.

    "Who I am or where Ie from isn''t important. Besides, you didn''t bother answering any questions of mine, yet expect me to answer yours? You should apologize first if you want any answers," Priest Merkkon said dismissively.

    Of course, Priest Merkkon wouldn''t answer even if Duke Flugerd apologized.

    Duke Flugerd knew that, and his gaze became colder.

    "You''re right. It''s a waste of time to try and pry any information out of you. All devil worshippers should be put to death on the spot for the crime of destabilizing the kingdom!" Duke Flugerd said firmly.

    The weather rapidly changed as grey clouds gathered in the skies above the city, and water drops formed from the very air en masse.

    At the same time, all the ck water in Duke Flugerd''s interspatial water storage flowed out and mixed with the surrounding newly-formed water drops.

    All the water in the surrounding space quickly gathered, forming an enormous body of water that soon took the form of a ck flood dragon.

    "Rejoice, knowing this Duke will kill you at full power!" Duke Flugerd dered before suddenly attacking without warning.

    Duke Flugerd will not give Priest Merkkon the chance to gigantify and drastically increase his strength like the other two devil worshippers.

    "Yoohoho~! Isn''t this overkill, Duke Flugerd? Don''t you care for the people living in this city?"

    Priest Merkkon replied slightly nervously while creating distance from the descending ck flood dragon.

    However, the enormous ck flood dragon drew closer rather than further from Priest Merkkon.

    Priest Merkkon could not outrun the ck flood dragon!

    Boom!

    The enormous ck flood dragon mmed into the surface of thend, destroying all buildings and other obstacles without resistance.

    "Nooo¡ª!"

    Many people had long evacuated from the battlefield, but they couldn''t escape the ck flood dragon attack range.

    It was like an ind tsunami that threatened to swallow and drown the entire region!

    However, it was more destructive than a natural disaster and even louder than the wrath of the heavens.

    The ck flood dragon attack wiped out one-third of the city and everyone and everything beyond it, including all trees and forms of vegetation.

    Thend was drowned in a ck sea.

    However, the ck flood dragon attack didn''t end there.

    The powerful momentum of the attack continued to carry the enormous body of ck water to devastate several dozen miles ofnd further to the north.

    Duke Flugerd watched the oue of his own making with cold eyes, not caring about the hundreds or thousands of lives he may have snuffed out.

    "This Duke does not care for the lives of those that do not belong to the kingdom!" Duke Flugerd coldly stated.

    Furthermore, they had to be at the Transcendent level, at the very least, for him to care.

    "We might have gotten away with just the array and the death of the two Transcendents. However, there''s no way this level of destruction will go unnoticed, Lord Flugerd," Marquis Raygor mentioned his concern.

    The previous two gigantified monsters had been swiftly dealt with, and most of the Transcendent-level troops had been saved.

    However, now they have a bigger problem on their hand.

    Even if they made excessive demands of the Crawford Kingdom, there''s no more they would give in so easily now that so many people died.

    Marquis Raygor feared the Crawford Kingdom might take this matter very hard and wage an all-out war on the kingdom, disregarding whether they could actually win against the kingdom or not.

    Boom!

    A towering water column suddenly erupted from the flood region in the distant north, causing Duke Flugerd''s gaze to turn serious.

 Chapter 987 Ninefold Gigantification

    <h4>Chapter 987 Ninefold Gigantification</h4>

    "Too bad, Duke Flugerd. You almost seeded, but s, even your strongest attack failed to kill me," Priest Merkkon''s voice echoed in the distance.

    After the column of water dropped, Priest Merkkon''s broken body was revealed floating in the air.

    All his bones shattered, his organs mushed, his skincerated with countless cuts and holes, and even his neck was bent at a weird angle.

    Any normal person would have died from such serious wounds. Even most cultivators would have died.

    Yet despite the odds, Priest Merkkon survived with his powerful vitality, which could beparable to a Paragon-level body cultivator.

    At that moment, Duke Flugerd and the others watched with solemn expressions as Priest Merkkon''s broken body reconstructed itself.

    "I offer my body to the Sun God. Fill this servant''s body with thy divine strength; transform, grow, and reforge this mortal body so that the Sun God may use it to unleash thy wrath upon the heretics," Priest Merkkon prayed.

    Not long after, veins protruded across Priest Merkkon''s body before it simrly grew in size to the previous two gigantified devil worshippers.

    "Lord Raygor, take this and lead everyone back to the kingdom," Duke Flugerd solemnly handed the Demon Gathering Array over to Marquis Raygor.

    "You''re going to stay back and fight that thing, my Lord? That''s not possible. That thing survived your most powerful attack! Now that it''s transforming, it''ll be even more powerful! You have to flee too, my Lord!"

    Marquis Raygor epted the Demon Gathering Array, but he didn''t rmend Duke Flugerd should stay behind.

    "Someone has to stay back and buy time, and it can only be me! None of you will be able to do anything, so leave now! This Duke will not repeat a third time!" Duke Flugerd bellowed.

    "Let''s go!" Marquis Raygor barked at the Transcendent-level troops without further dy.

    However, a sudden voice grabbed everyone''s attention.

    "Who the hell can tell me what is going on here?" Leon''s voice shortly echoed across the region after he arrived with Faelyn and the two Winter Cats.

    One-third of the city was gone, two-thirds of the people were grieving,rge portions of the northern part of the region were devastated by floodwater, and many foreign Transcendents were present.

    Leon''s voice wasn''t loud, but it was clear and authoritative; there was hidden power behind it that made sure it reached everyone''s ears.

    ''A Paragon!'' many Transcendents thought.

    "Your Excellency, you''ve arrived just in time. We need your help! This devil worshipper is transforming and is about to rampage!" Duke Flugerd informed.

    Vaguely sensing Leon''s Paragon-level strength, Duke Flugerd did not see Leon as a young man.

    Instead, Duke Flugerd immediately assumed Leon was an old powerhouse who had rejuvenated his youthful appearance.

    However, Leon ignored Duke Flugerd and shifted his gaze to the Demon Gathering Array in Marquis Raygor''s hands.

    At the same time, Leon''s divine sense spread out, covering a wide area of the city and overhearing the people''s cries.

    After piecing the clues together, Leon understood the gist of the situation.

    His gaze quickly glistened with coldness.

    Swoosh!

    Leon''s figure disappeared from his location on the t roof of a three-floor building and appeared next to Marquis Raygor in an instance.

    Everyone''s expression immediately changed.

    Marquis Raygor sensed the danger and quickly retreated while storing the Demon Gathering Array in his interspatial ring.

    However¡­

    Puchi!

    Leon sliced off Marquis Raygor''s arm with a chop infused with dark energy before retrieving the Demon Gathering Array from the interspatial ring on the detached arm.

    "Arghhh!" Marquis Raygor cried.

    At the same time, everyone distanced themselves from Leon''s new location, which was in the midst of their ranks.

    Duke Flugerd''s expression darkened with gloominess.

    "Your Excellency must be someone from the empire. In that case, This Dukepletely understands your anger. We were in the wrong for stealing an array from your empire," Duke Flugerd quickly apologized.

    "However, this is not the time for that! Us humans must unite our strength to defeat that devil worshipper! His transformation will turn him into a powerful gigantified monster on par with Paragons!"

    After so much dy, Priest Merkkon had already finished his gigantification.

    However, Priest Merkkon''s size was even more impressive than thest two devil worshippers. He had increased his overall size and mass by ninefold!

    At the same time, Priest Merkkon''s strength rose exponentially. Even Early Paragons might not be his match!

    "Dammit, we wasted too much time! The devil worshipper already finished his transformation!" Duke Flugerd frowned when he was suddenly rmed by the dangering from his side, "Hm¡ª!?"

    Duke Flugerd quickly conjured a water shield, but it still broke under Leon''s casual smack.

    Bam!

    The excessive force sent Duke Flugerd crashing into the ground.

    "Lord Flugerd!" Earl Almeric shouted before shooting a re at Leon in the distance. "What the hell are you doing?! Can''t you see the bigger threat before you?! That is our enemy!"

    "Our enemy, you say? The audacity that you people have," Leon sneered.

    "You dared to intrude on my empire, steal my empire''s Demon Gathering Arrays, devastate thend, destroy people''s homes, and kill my people. And you think we are on the same side just because we have amon enemy?!"

    "To me, you are all my enemies and equally deserve death!" Leon barked as his eyes exuded strong killing intent.

    Earl Almeric''s expressions and the others all changed.

    "This is bad. The Crawford Kingdom''s Paragon wants to kill us all!" Earl Bendro cried with fear.

    "But this doesn''t make sense! How can the Crawford Kingdom have a Paragon?! Just a few months ago, they barely had any Transcendents!"

    "Is this really the time to be worrying about that right now?" Marquis Raygor bellowed while clutching his shoulder to stop his bleeding.

    Roar!

    Priest Merkkon gave a shocking and mighty raspy-pitch roar in the distance before focusing his hostile gaze, full of madness, in their direction.

    It was clear that Priest Merkkon had already lost his sanity to the power of wrath he absorbed from the sun.

 Chapter 988 Successive Rounds of Shock

    <h4>Chapter 988 Sessive Rounds of Shock</h4>

    Swoosh!

    Being the closest person within the crazed Priest Merkkon''s sight, Leon became the target of the over fifty-foot tall giant''s charge.

    Boom¡­! Boom¡­!

    Priest Merkkon shook the ground with every step he took, which was big, heavy, and very quick. Several buildings copsed before he closed the distance on Leon in a heartbeat.

    "Piss off!"

    Leon quickly drew his Tier-7 White Spear from the Worldspace and infused it with his dark energy.

    Then, he immediately cleaved the Paragon-level gigantified person in half with a clean swing right as the Paragon-level gigantified person reached him.

    The might and sharpness of the Tier-7 White Spear were undeniable.

    No matter powerful Priest Merkkon''s body had be, it was still within the Paragon level. It cannot withstand the de of a tier-6 weapon, let alone a tier-7 one!

    After all, whether it was a tier-6 or tier-7 weapon, they were already divine-tier weapons. Only Celestial-level beings would have the power to resist their sharpness.

    Duke Flugerd vomited some blood while being supported by a few Transcendents when he witnessed the scene.

    The shock written across his face was evident.

    Nevertheless, it wasn''t just Duke Flugerd. Marquis Raygor, the three earls, all the remaining Transcendent-level troops were also shocked by the scene.

    "When did the Human Domain have such a powerful Paragon with such a young appearance? Wait, no. It''s not his strength alone; it''s that spear!"

    "What kind of divine spear can cleave another Paragon with powerful vitality and defense in two? It must be at least tier-6 or even tier-7!"

    "Just where did he find such a divine weapon?!"

    The Transcendents eximed with shock.

    Even if Venerable Forge Master and Venerable Runemaster joined hands, it would take them months or even years to sessfully create a tier-6 divine weapon.

    Of course, that is also under the assumption that they had tier-6 materials to work with and Venerable Pill Master''s heavenly me to refine the material.

    They were all regarded as tier-6 of their respective professions, but theycked the cultivation base and ability to create any tier-6 products on their own.

    Nevertheless, the Priest Merkkon didn''t die from just a single attack.

    It might have been a mortal wound to others, but it was only a superficial wound at best to Priest Merkkon.

    Leon frowned when he saw how Priest Merkkon''s bisected body pieced themselves together.

    It reminded him of the fleshly abominations and mutant humans he once encountered in the subterranean regions.

    In fact, the current gigantified monster was not much different from the fleshly abominations if Leon was to ignore its humanoid form.

    Priest Merkkon had achieved his transformation through the rapid proliferation of his bodily parts on a cellr level.

    Puchi! Puchi!

    Leon hacked the giant body into multiple more pieces before watching their reconstruction in awe.

    Priest Merkkon''s powerful regeneration and lifeforce were truly impressive.

    s, it was only borrowed power, and the price was too great.

    Furthermore, it was questionable whether such a forceful method of gaining power would allow future breakthroughs in cultivation.

    It was no different from overdrawing one''s potential for an immediate power boost.

    Nevertheless, Leon continued to dice up Priest Merkkon''s body.

    Then, Leon quickly discovered that Priest Merkkon''s body was reconstructed at a much slower rate when it had more parts to reconnect.

    "Hm?" Leon noticed the Geyser Kingdom''s people trying to slip away during the chaos.

    However, Leon immediately shot them a re and dered, "Don''t think about leaving this ce alive."

    "Dammit, we are going to die!" Earl vier cried hopelessly with despair, sumbing to his inevitable fate.

    If a Paragon wanted him dead by sunset, he would not live to see the sunrise.

    Many felt the same way.

    However, Duke Flugerd and several others were unwilling to give up hope.

    Suddenly, Duke Flugerd''s eyes lit up with an idea.

    "Quick, capture the elf! The Paragon came with an elvish beauty. She must be someone important! If we can use her as a hostage, we can get away from this ce!" Duke Flugerd quickly directed.

    All eyes were immediately fixed on Faelyn like numerous pairs of eyes from hungry wolves, causing Faelyn to feel unsettled and intimidated.

    She was just a single Transcendent, while Duke Flugerd''s Transcendent-level troops numbered in the hundreds. They were still one marquis and three earls at the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm.

    However, the moment the Transcendents rushed at Faelyn, Snowscar suddenly woke up in her arms and red at the iers.

    "Reow!" Snowscar roared like a mighty lion.

    Boom!

    It was like an explosion had gone off in everyone''s head, catching them off guard and shocking them silly.

    No one expected the cute little and adorable thing to have such a ferocious and powerful voice.

    However, the most shocking realization was that the was a Paragon-level beast! A Paragon-level Winter Cat being treated like a household pet!

    The Transcendents immediately halt their charge, frozen in terror.

    The first to reach the elvish beauty will die without a doubt.

    In fact, it doesn''t matter how many of them there are. If the Transcendents rushed at the elvish beauty together, they would die all the same!

    "Another Paragon¡­" a Transcendent fell back on his rear after feeling weak in the knees with a pale face filled with despair. "Is this the end for us?"

    "Two Paragons wants us dead¡­ how do we survive? No, wait a minute¡­" the Transcendents suddenly nced back at the other Winter Cat on Leon''s shoulder.

    "Reow!" Rainshine hissed at them, appearing fierce yet cute.

    However, no one had the heart to adore Rainshine when they sensed her Paragon-level aura.

    Boom¡­

    Duke Flugerd and his people suffered another subsequent round of shock.

    "Three Paragons¡­ How can this be?" Duke Flugerd uttered with an iprehensible look.

    Duke Flugerd did not understand how the struggling kingdom, which didn''t even have a single Transcendent a few months back, suddenly grew to the point that they could even tame Paragon-level beasts.

    s, Duke Flugerd had a bigger problem on his hand. Leon abhorred cowardly acts like using his loved ones as hostages against him.

    "Go, die!" Leon spat, raising his spear and gathering dark energy to the tip for a single attack at Duke Flugerd''s heart.

    "Wait! Spare his life!" King Lutheran''s desperate plea came in the nick of time.

 Chapter 989 The Price to Spare

    <h4>Chapter 989 The Price to Spare</h4>

    King Lutheran had rushed over from the capital of the Geyser Kingdom without a break, even overtaking thew-punishing forces sent out to bring Duke Flugerd''s people back.

    At that moment, there was nothing majestic about the Geyser Kingdom''s king, just an exhausted older brother with messy hair who was concerned for his younger brother.

    Nevertheless, the first group ofw-punishing forces arrived several breathster.

    The group had four dozen people, but they were all Transcendents. Even five of them were at the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm.

    However, the additional numbers didn''t concern Leon one bit, nor did he give King Lutheran any face.

    Leon quickly shot the dark energy arrow out of his Tier-7 White Spear, aiming straight for Duke Flugerd''s heart.

    "STOP!!!" King Lutheran barked furiously.

    King Lutheran did not stop rushing to Duke Flugerd''s side for a single moment. Thus, his initial pleas bought him enough time to reach Duke Flugerd''s side and block Leon''s attack.

    Nevertheless, King Lutheran was incensed that Leon did not listen to his plea.

    Deng!

    The dark energy arrow shed with King Lutheran''s water barrier before it dispersed into the surroundings.

    ''A Paragon¡­''

    Leon''s eyes narrowed before silently reassessing King Lutheran and guessing his identity in the Geyser Kingdom.

    At the same time, King Lutheran studied Leon with shock and rm, suspecting Leon was a demon in human skin, a demonic cultivator, or one of the devil worshippers.

    However, King Lutheran immediately refrained from jumping to conclusions after spotting the Winter Cat on his shoulders.

    At the same time, King Lutheran witnessed Leon hacking up Priest Merkkon''s body into pieces again, immobilizing him for another period of time.

    "Who are you? Why did you listen to my plea?" King Lutheran frowned.

    "When asking for someone else''s name, it is proper etiquette to introduce yourself. Furthermore, I have no obligation to heed the words of an outsider when executing the criminals of my empire," Leon replied coolly.

    At the same time, Leon dropped straight on Priest Merkkon''s head with his foot infused with Nihility Power, effectively silencing the gigantified monster once and for all.

    Shortly after, Leon returned to Faelyn''s side.

    Then, Leon instructed Rainshine to help with the resident''s evacuation from the city before returning his attention to King Lutheran and his people.

    Meanwhile, King Lutheran watched each and every action Leon took carefully. Still, he couldn''t figure out how the gigantified monster died from a single stomp.

    The Paragon-level gigantified monster''s body still had overflowing vitality. Yet, its hostile eyes have lost their madness and became dull after the stomp.

    The body was alive, but the soul was dead ¨C was what King Lutheran felt from studying the devil worshipper''s gigantified body.

    "My apologies, sir. I am Lutheran Geyser, the current ruler of the Geyser Kingdom. I am also the older brother of the one you tried to kill, Flugerd Geyser, the Duke of Leviador. Please give me face and spare my foolish younger brother."

    "Give you face?" Leon nced at King Lutheran calmly and asked, "Did your brother give my empire face when he led his men to invade my empire, kill my people, and steal our arrays?"

    "As for damage to thend, I don''t think I need to exin; you can see for yourself. How do you n to ount for all this? We can only see this as an act of aggression."

    "If it''s a war you want, it''s a war you will get," Leon stated coolly.

    "Not at all, sir! As the ruler of the Geyser Kingdom, I can most definitely assure you that war is not what we want!" King Lutheran quickly denied the im.

    "However, please understand that Duke Flugerd is my only brother, someone who had struggled through the difficult times of thest Cataclysm with me and founded the current Human Domain."

    "If you spare my brother, the Geyser Kingdom is willing to surrender and be a vassal power of the Crawford Empire," King Lutheran dered, shocking everyone from the Geyser Kingdom.

    King Lutheran was still a bit hesitant with such a decision beforeing. After all, it was humiliating for the Geyser Kingdom to fall under the Crawford Empire''s rule.

    However, King Lutheran found out the Crawford Empire had another three Paragons in addition to thest five he met.

    King Lutheran had met a total of eight Paragons during his brief encounter with the Crawford Empire!

    God knows how many more there were?

    Meanwhile, Leon was more surprised by the fact that King Lutheran and Duke Flugerd were both over five hundred years old.

    That would mean that they were founding members who assisted the Hero King, Aldrich Crawford, in ascending the throne and establishing the Crawford Kingdom.

    "Your Majesty!" Marquis Raygor and the Geyser Kingdom''s nobles cried with outrage.

    "How can we surrender to the Crawford Empire? A winner hasn''t been determined yet! We still have you, the Sea Emperor, and the High Priest!"

    "This is the will of the High Council of Elders," King Lutheran stated.

    Everyone from the Geyser Kingdom''s side was immediately silenced after hearing that. Even so, their expressions revealed their shock, doubts, and confusion.

    "Nevertheless, the Geyser Kingdom is not very unified. At most, I can only bring one-third of the kingdom under the Crawford Empire''s rule," King Lutheran said to Leon.

    "However, I wonder if you have the authority to represent the Crawford Empire and ept on its behalf?"

    "As the one and only crown prince of this empire, I believe I certainly possess such authority to a certain extent," Leon casually imed.

    However, King Lutheran and everyone were shocked by the revtion.

    They all thought Leon was an old expert with a youthful appearance. But as it turns out, he was truly as young as he appeared¡­

    "Such overwhelming talent¡­" King Lutheran uttered with disbelief.

    "Nevertheless, it''ll be easier if you just discuss it with my father directly. But of course, us epting your surrender is only the price for sparing your little brother''s life. Thepensation for the damage caused here is an entirely separate matter we need to discuss."

    Leon added with a sharp look.

    Although Leon wanted to kill them all simply, he shouldn''t create problems for his poor father, who was already swamped with work.

 Chapter 990 Leonâ€™s Decision

    <h4>Chapter 990 Leon''s Decision</h4>

    Leon''s words made many nobles and even the Transcendent-level troops from the Geyser Kingdom frown.

    In other words, the Crawford Kingdom would only ept the Geyser Kingdom''s surrender as the price for sparing Duke Flugerd''s life.

    The damages and crimesmitted by the rest of them still had to be ounted for, even if most of them were only following Duke Flugerd and hadn''tmitted any crimes on the Crawford Empire''s soil personally.

    In this case, it might have just been better to abandon Duke Flugerd ¨C some of the nobles thought.

    "Brother¡­" Duke Flugerd uttered to King Lutheran, not expecting the person to sacrifice the entire kingdom for him.

    Nevertheless, King Lutheran shot Duke Flugerd a stern re and said, "You be quiet. We will talk about thister when we return to the kingdom."

    Duke Flugerd nodded obediently.

    The slight movements aggravated Duke Flugerd''s injuries and caused him to cough out more blood.

    King Lutheran quickly popped by Duke Flugerd''s side and popped a pill into his mouth. Duke Flugerd quickly felt better a few breathster.

    "I understand, Your Highness," King Lutheran continued his talk with Leon.

    "The damages inflicted and the crimesmitted by the others will be ounted for separately. However, what did you mean when you said my brother and them tried to steal your empire''s arrays?"

    "Of course, I was talking about this," Leon showed the Demon Gathering Array.

    "This Demon Gathering Array is distributed to every city in Durham and Vran to protect people against the Wrathful Demon Energy. Two Transcendents should have been guarding it. But since they are gone, I can only assume your people are responsible for it."

    "Do you n to remedy this?" Leon asked.

    King Lutheran immediately went silent after recognizing the familiar ck te.

    "Your Majesty, this array can gather the foul energy in the surroundings andpress it. It''s no different from purifying the air quality. If we brought this back and mass-produced it, the entire kingdom would have benefited," Marquis Raygor tried to justify their actions.

    King Lutheran''s gaze turned cold and gloomy.

    Pah!

    Marquis Raygor was pped across the cheeks, knocking out one of his teeth. He nced back at King Lutheran with disbelief for raising a hand against him.

    However, that''s when Marquis Raygor also knew King Lutheran was greatly infuriated.

    King Lutheran swept his cold gaze across Duke Flugerd and everyone involved before spitting, "You fools!"

    "Just because the Demon Gathering Array benefits the kingdom, what gives you all the rights to attack another country and forcefully seize it?! Are you all bandits?! Couldn''t you have negotiated for it instead?!"

    "Not to mention, the empire has already sold a Demon Gathering Array to the kingdom! Venerable Runemaster and the Grand Rune Tower are reproducing and improving the Demon Gathering Array as we speak!"

    King Lutheran thundered furiously.

    King Lutheran couldn''t believe the ridiculousness of the situation. It was something that could have beenpletely avoided before it got to escte to the present situation.

    Nevertheless, Marquis Raygor and the other nobles were stunned by the revtion.

    After realizing the empire''s great strength, they already felt so much regret foring to the empire.

    If they knew the empire wasn''t the same declining country they thought it was like a few months ago, no one in their right mind would havee to cause trouble.

    "How do you want to deal with these people, Your Highness?" King Lutheran inquired. He gave Leon the power to decide their lives to pay for their crimes.

    "Although Duke Flugerd was the ringleader of this mess, they are the reason for emboldening his movements. And since Duke Flugerd''s life will be spared, these people shall shoulder his crimes," Leon mentioned.

    "However, killing them all will be too easy on them. It will not bring back the dead,pensate the damages, or appease my people. As such, I have decided what to do with them."

    "They shall be reduced to ves and work like dogs for the empire for fifty years," Leon dered with a sharp look.

    This ought to teach them how to behave.

    "Alright, I''m fine with that, Your Highness," King Lutheran readily agreed with a nod.

    It would have been a waste to kill so many Transcendents.

    Furthermore, they can return to the kingdom after serving their sentence as ves to the empire, which isn''t much different from the kingdom providing military service to the empire.

    Shortly after, King Lutheran dered, "From henceforth, all their noble status will be stripped, and they shall work as ves for the empire for fifty years. If they resist, feel free to execute them on the spot, Your Highness."

    Boom¡­

    It was like an explosion went off in everyone''s head.

    There was no way that Marquis Raygor and the others would agree to such humiliation.

    However, King Lutheran''s agreement and deration were like sshes of cold water on their heads.

    King Lutheran had abandoned them.

    Marquis Raygor and the others felt aggrieved by the decision, but there was nothing they could do to change it.

    They eitherply, or they die.

    Nevertheless, King Lutheran also knew that what he did was wrong. But it was what he had to do to protect his one and only brother.

    Even so, King Lutheran had been a just king for most of his life. Thus, King Lutheran''s choice today had put a crack in his character.

    ¡­

    "Since it''s decided, let us all head to New Capital. You can meet with my father to finalize the deal between our two countries, King Lutheran, while I settle these people into their new life as ves of the empire."

    As Leon spoke, he opened up the Dark Passage to New Capital.

    At the same time, he quickly pocketed the Priest Merkkon''s corpse into the Worldspace for research purposes.

    Marquis Raygor, the three earls, and the Transcendent-level troops were first to step into the Dark Passage. Or rather, they were forced to.

    King Lutheran and Duke Flugerd followed after, but Leon stopped them.

    "You can continue, King Lutheran. However, Duke Flugerd cannot," Leon stated.

    "I want this person out of my face and off the empire''s soil. It would be best if you had people send him back to your kingdom."

    King Lutheran nodded and directed his nce at thew-punishing forces that came after him and signaled them to take Duke Flugerd away with his gaze.

 Chapter 991 Visiting the Old Capital

    <h4>Chapter 991 Visiting the Old Capital</h4>

    Duke Flugerd felt humiliated, but he was at fault. And losers have no rights.

    "Your Majesty, please allow a few of us to apany you for security," the leader of thew-punishing force requested.

    However, King Lutheran casually nced back and said, "For security? Can any of you guard me better than myself? Leave. I will deal with this matter by myself."

    The leader of thew-punishing force retreated awkwardly with his head lowered.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, everyone besides Duke Flugerd and thew-punishing force arrived in New Capital.

    King Lutheran and the others from the Geyser Kingdom were immediately awed by the grandness and majesty of the iplete city.

    Even the World Tree was more impressive up close.

    Nevertheless, Leon went ahead and arranged the meeting between his father, Heinrich, and King Lutheran.

    Then, he organized troops and disaster relief supplies to be sent back to the border city in Vran to help the people in need.

    Afterward, Leon returned and focused his attention on Marquis Raygor, the earls, and the few hundred Transcendent-level troops.

    In his mind, Leon already had a n on how to utilize the ves.

    But before that, there were still a few things he needed to do.

    "Guard them. Don''t let them leave this area," Leon instructed Rainshine and the Transcendent-level city guards to keep watch over the ves before heading off again.

    Shortly after, Leon got help from the officials to recruit 500 elves and set up a food supply chain for the Darkmoon Tribe.

    The food supply chain would take time to prepare, but the 500 elves were quickly gathered.

    Where there were contribution points to be earned, humans and elves alike would immediately flock at the opportunity.

    Many elves regretted not being quick enough for the signup, but even more humans regretted not getting such a chance.

    "These are the elves that applied for the job, Your Highness," an official reported after bringing the 500 elves to Leon.

    Leon swept the elves a nce and nodded.

    Most of them were around Rank 5 to Rank 8 Body Tempering, but that wasn''t important. What he needed was their wood ability.

    On that note, all of them were at least 3-Star Ranked Awakeners and above.

    "I guess this will be the first time you''ll be following me to the other continent," Leon mentioned to Faelyn, who stood beside him with her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

    However, she quickly shook her head.

    "I shouldn''t. I better stay back and work on improving my alchemy," Faelyn thought.

    She waste to the profession. Thus, she wanted to catch up to her peers quickly.

    Leon smiled.

    "It''s great that you think that way, but how will you practice without spirit herbs?" Leon mentioned.

    "Although the current spirit energy level in the atmosphere is enough to cultivate spirit herbs, they are still around tier-1 to tier-2. Given what I taught you, you will reach tier-3 proficiency in no time."

    "It''s better if you follow me. I''ll provide all the spirit herbs you need to practice along the way," Leon stated.

    "Mm, then I will listen to you," Faelyn lowered her head obediently.

    Before long, Leon opened another Dark Passage to the Old Capital and transferred all the elves and ves over.

    Rainshine hopped back on Leon''s shoulders as if it was her rightful ce and followed him to the other side.

    At first, Marquis Raygor and the other ves thought it might not be so bad working as ves in such a good environment like New Capital.

    However, they were sorely mistaken.

    Little did they know, they would be sent to another continent to toil hard for the prosperity of the Infertile ins.

    ¡­

    Old Capital, Old Royal Pce

    Ever since Heinrich and Elizabeth moved to New Capital and built the new royal pce there, the old pce had been the new home of the Lancaster family.

    At the same time, it was the most important mining city in the empire. Thus, a few Paragon-level Winter Cats were also designated to protect it.

    After leaving the Winter Cats in charge of watching the ves, Leon decided to drop by the old pce for a visit.

    All the guards at the gates recognized the empire''s crown prince. Thus, no one barred Leon''s entry.

    ¡­

    "My, what brings you here, Leon," Amelia Lancaster weed Leon, pleasantly surprised by Leon''s sudden visit.

    "I thought I should pay you a visit before going to the other continent, Mother-inw. I also wanted to gift you a few things," Leon said with a smile.

    However, Amelia could only respond with a forced smile after being called mother-inw.

    After all, her daughter and Leon hadn''t been married yet. Furthermore, their rtionship was estranged and seen no progress.

    Even if Amelia and Ignis wanted to bring the two together, there was no opportunity.

    One was always traveling, and the other was no longer home.

    Nevertheless, Leon noticed Amelia''s expression and also saw a few strands of grey hair on her head, which could have been due to stress.

    "How are Father-inw and Rachel? Are they not home?" Leon inquired.

    "They''ve been quite fine, but none of them are home. Rachel entered secluded cultivation outside the Human Domain, and Ignis went to deliver some supplies and check up on her at the same time," Amelia replied.

    "Outside the Human Domain¡­?" Leon uttered with surprise.

    "Yes, but not in the west, though. Beyond the southern gate, there is and of active volcanoes in the Wilnds that we found to be very good for cultivation. That''s where they went to train," Amelia stated.

    "Now that I think about it, it should roughly be quite close to the Grand Surya Desert. Heck, it might be on the other side of the mountain range that marks the Human Domain''s borders."

    "But speaking of the Grand Surya Desert, I heard Grandmaster Don wasst seen entering that ce with a child he epted as his disciple. That was more than a month ago," Amelia suddenly recalled.

    "I wonder if they are okay¡­"

 Chapter 992 Returning to the Darkmoon Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 992 Returning to the Darkmoon Tribe</h4>

    "The southern gate, huh?" Leon muttered.

    It was so rare to hear any news from the southern gate; Leon almost forgot such a ce existed.

    Nevertheless, Leon was astonished to hear that there was and of active volcanoes in the south. Considering Rachel and Ignis could train there, it must be safe to a certain degree.

    Thus, Leon didn''t have to worry about them.

    More importantly, Grandmaster Don''s disappearance after entering the Grand Surya Desert was worrisome.

    "Have we sent anyone to look for Grandmaster Don and his disciple since we learned of their disappearance?" Leon inquired into the matter.

    "Naturally, we have," Amelia nodded.

    "However, the scorching sands and weather in the Grand Surya Desert are far too hot for just anyone to enter. As such, we haven''t gained any progress in finding Grandmaster Don and his disciple."

    "Makes sense. The Grand Surya Desert is one of the four Perilous Lands in the Human Domain. If anyone could freely travel through it, thend would have been conquered already," Leon inserted his opinion.

    Nevertheless, that was all in the past; times have changed.

    They had already conquered Extreme Misty Forest, one of the other four Perilous Lands, and even started reiming the northernnds.

    It won''t be long before they conquer the rest of the Perilous Lands.

    "Anyhow, you don''t need to worry about this matter," Amelia stated, causing Leon to raise an eyebrow in doubt.

    "Howe?" Leon asked.

    "I n to visit the Grand Surya Desert with Ignis after he returns from the south this time around," Amelia mentioned.

    "As you know, the Grand Surya Desert is a scorching ce. In fact, it''s hotter than thend of active volcanoes in the south. Thus, it''s an even better ce for Fire Awakeners to train. This might have been the reason Grandmaster Don went there."

    "However, since he has been gone for so long, everyone is now worried. So Ignis and I will look for Grandmaster Don and his disciple on this trip," Amelia stated.

    "If you both disappear, what will happen to Old Capital''s mining and forging business?" Leon asked with surprise.

    "There are many more Fire and Metal Awakeners now and even more capable cksmiths or forge masters in the empire. New Capital will still get their materials and products, with or without us," Amelia said.

    "Besides, we''ve been toiling hard for the empire''s development in the past few months. Don''t you think we deserve a bit of a break?"

    "I suppose you both do," Leon replied with a wry smile.

    "Well, that''s that," Amelia concluded the topic with a smile before asking slyly, "More importantly, you mentioned gifts? Are you nning to gift more herbal tea leaves?"

    "Of course not. How can the herbal tea I gift in the pastpare to the current elvish tea you have now, Mother-inw? I got something else for you," Leon stated.

    Shortly after, Leon took out the mining automaton blueprint and ced it on the table in front of Amelia.

    "This is¡­?" Amelia studied the blueprint with a casual look.

    However, her expression quickly turned serious as she immersed herself in reading the blueprint several breathster.

    "This¡­ is incredible!" Amelia eximed.

    "If we can produce the mining automatons ording to this blueprint, we can increase the mining production and focus our manpower elsewhere¡­!"

    "Don''t be so surprised yet, Mother-inw. I still have things to give you," Leon stated.

    Shortly after, Leon took out a few tier-4 to tier-6 artifacts with varying uses and offered them all to Amelia.

    Even if Amelia doesn''t use the artifacts, she could still study their runic engravings to advance her runic knowledge.

    "This¡­ This is¡­!" Amelia failed to form a clear sentence in her shock. "Where did you get all of this?"

    "From a secret realm in the other continent. Nevertheless, I''ll be returning after this. Thus, you can expect a bigger haul from your son-inw next time," Leon stated.

    "Oh, yeah," Leon suddenly recalled something.

    Leon quickly transmitted several primordial techniques and battle skills to Amelia with the Spirit Transmission Art.

    Although the Lancaster family already has a few primordial cultivation techniques, the additional ones they don''t cultivate could be used to reward their subordinates.

    Afterward, Leon took out a few hundred pounds of sea monster meat and also offered them to his future mother-inw.

    "This type of seafood is to die. You can try cooking it any way you like; I promise you will fall in love with the taste within the first bite, Mother-inw," Leon assured.

    "Oh?" Amelia Lancaster uttered with interest. She was about to ask, but Leon had already exined the sea monster meat to her. "I''ll definitely have to try it then. Why don''t you stay for dinner?"

    "I''m afraid I will have to decline this time around, Mother-inw. I still need to settle the elves and ves waiting outside," Leon refused the offer. "Next time, I promise."

    "I suppose it can''t be helped. You''re a busy young man," Amelia nodded with understanding and did not try to keep him.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon left the Old Pce and met up with Faelyn and the others. Then, he led them to Lost Isle Alley to take the Teleportation Array back to Darkmoon Tribe.

    Without any surprise, the Darkmoon Tribe was alerted by therge group of people appearing from the Teleportation Array on their side.

    News quickly reached the leaders of the Darkmoon Tribe. Before long, the area around the Teleportation Array was surrounded by warriors.

    "Well, is quite the warm wee," Leonmented after being thest to step out of the Teleportation Array with Faelyn.

    "Young Master Leonhardt¡ªNo, Alliance Leader? You''re back!"

    The faces of Chief Valencia and the others immediately turned into pleasant surprises after they recognized Leon within the group.

    "Have you settled the food supply on your side, Alliance Leader?" Chief Valencia inquired shortly after.

    "It has been arranged," Leon nodded before saying, "However, it will take some more time before the first batch of food supplies are ready for shipment."

    "As such, I''ve brought these people first," Leon added.

 Chapter 993 Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 993 Meeting</h4>

    "And what are these people for exactly, Alliance Leader?" Chief Valencia inquired with a wondering look.

    The other leaders, Venerable Shamans, and Half-step Battle Kings also wondered the same thing.

    "The pointy-eared elves are citizens of my empire, who have all signed up to cultivate crops in the Darkmoon Tribe," Leon stated.

    "Although you won''t get the same energy as you normally would from beast meat and sea monster meat. The vegetables and fruits cultivated by the elves are very tasty and promote health. At the very least, you won''t have to starve if other food sources run out, ever."

    "On the other hand, these people are all ves, war criminals of our empire. I am putting you in charge of them, Chief Valencia. Theye with various abilities. You may use them to cultivate thend, develop the tribe, or even create drinking water."

    "What? They can create water?!" many warriors quickly eximed with shock, surprise, and doubts.

    "Water Transcendents, step forward and show them your ability," Leon ordered.

    However, the Water Transcendents, which was a majority of the ves, grumbled and didn''tply immediately.

    Or rather, they disdained to demonstrate their abilities to the barbaric-looking people.

    "It seems like these vesck disciplined and don''t treat the warriors of the Darkmoon Tribe. Why don''t you all put on a show of strength and let them know who they are looking down on exactly?" Leon suggested.

    HUU!

    The Half-step Battle Kings stomped the ground with a grunt-like warcry and exerted pressure on the ves with their vigorous auras.

    Their united effort shook the ground greatly.

    At the same time, ex-marquis Raygor and the other ves'' expressions abruptly changed after they felt the Half-step Battle Kings'' strength.

    Most Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent-level ves could onlypare to High-rank Great Warriors in strength.

    However, the present Darkmoon Tribe had many Great Warriors, not to mention Battle Masters and the Half-step Battle Kings that are above Great Warriors.

    Ex-marquis Raygor was a Peak Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent.

    The force Ex-marquis Raygor could exert with his water ability was around 3-million jin, which was the same force the Half-step Battle Kings could exert with their physical abilities.

    However, there was only one Raygor, but at least a dozen Half-step Battle Kings.

    Furthermore, it didn''t seem like the Darkmoon Tribe had someone else even stronger than the Half-step Battle Kings.

    Gulp!

    Many ves quickly swallowed their saliva.

    The barbarian-looking tribe was full of powerful warriors! What right did they have to look down on such strong warriors?!

    Several Water Transcendents quickly demonstrated their water ability after giving in to the pressure.

    Drops of water quickly formed in midair for everyone to see.

    Chief Valencia and the others witnessed it with their own eyes and became astonished. Hearing it was one thing, but seeing it was another.

    The feeling was not the same!

    "Incredible¡­ To think it was possible to create drinkable water¡­" a Half-step Battle King uttered with amazement after scooping a sip.

    However, the Half-step Battle King immediately received judging looks from other Half-step Battle Kings, Venerable Shamans, and even the Battle Masters that came to check out the situation.

    "What? Did I say something wrong?" the Half-step Battle King asked, baffled by their judgemental gazes.

    "Obviously. For hundreds of years, the Celestial Water Spark has created drinkable water and supplied it to everyone in the Infertile ins. No sh*t that water can be created," another Half-step Battle King stated.

    "Ah, you are right. It was a poor choice of words. What I mean is that I didn''t think people could wield this sort of ability," the Half-step Battle King corrected.

    After the Water Transcendents finished their demonstration, Chief Valencia confirmed the abilities of the Fire Transcendents and Earth Transcendents.

    "Interesting¡­" Chief Valencia uttered.

    "Their abilities are quite simr to shamans. However, their abilities are more concentrated around a particr element¡­"

    "You''ve brought us a great gift, Alliance Leader. I will make sure that their abilities are put to full use," Chief Valencia assured.

    "I don''t care how you treat the ves. Unless they do something that warrants death, it is best to keep them alive and in good condition to make the most out of their abilities," Leon stated.

    "However, the elves are people of my empire who have volunteered for this job. Please take good care of them. For starters, they need amodations and a plot ofnd for their crop cultivation."

    "Please arrange that, then meet me in the hall, Chief Valencia," Leon instructed.

    "Understood, Alliance Leader."

    ¡­

    After handing the elves and ves over for Chief Valencia to manage, Leon drops Faelyn off at Barrenrock Courtyard with everything she needs to formally practice her alchemy.

    "If you need anything, you can ask the maids to help you. I won''t be gone for long, but I will also leave Rainshine with you. After I settle some matters, I''ll take you to another ce to practice alchemy," Leon said.

    "Alright," Faelyn nodded obediently.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t leave immediately. He spent some time forging a Fire Induction Array for Faelyn to use.

    Only after finishing the Fire Induction Array did Leon leave Barrenrock Courtyard.

    Faelyn watched Leon leave until she could no longer see him. Afterward, she shifted her attention to the Fire Induction Array, pill cauldron, and spirit herbs she was provided.

    "I guess I''ll start practicing on the Tier-1 Energy Gathering Pill," Faelyn decided after taking a deep breath.

    Although Faelyn learned that wood users could increase the sess rate of pill refinement and even enhance the pill quality, she had no confidence in refining pills for the first time.

    Confidence was something Faelyn had to build up with experience and sess.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon took a short tour around the Darkmoon Tribe and observed its development.

    Afterward, Leon headed up the teau and waited with the other tribe leaders for Chief Valencia to arrive in the great hall.

    Leon did not need to wait long.

    Within several minutes, Chief Valencia arrived, and the meeting officially began.

    "What is the current situation in the Infertile ins? What happened in the past few days that I was away?" Leon inquired.

    "It''s¡­ getting ugly."

 Chapter 994 Upheaval in the Battle God Palace

    <h4>Chapter 994 Upheaval in the Battle God Pce</h4>

    Infertile ins, Central Region

    In a mountainous region with towering peaks and steep, rocky cliffs was the location of the Battle God Pce, Steelpeak Mountains.

    Once upon a time, it used to be the nest of the Steelfeather Hawks, a species of powerful birds endowed with the metal element.

    The Steelfeather Hawks were blessed with natural high defense and attack power, allowing them to dominate all other beasts in the region.

    They were the monarchs of the central region.

    But ever since the Battle God defeated the Steelfeather Hawks and conquered Steelpeak Mountains, it had be the home of the Battle God Pce.

    Thanks to the natural rich deposit of metal found in the Steelpeak Mountains, it was transformed into a mountain city with steel fortress-like pces on a number of its peak.

    However, at that moment, three steel fortress-like pces among Steelpeak Mountains'' tallest peaks carried a heavy stench of blood with bodies littered across the ce.

    Evidently, a great battle within Battle God Pce had ended.

    Lord Rholthos stood beside an elderly man in ck armor with an aura that did not pale to his own.

    They watched their subordinates clean up the mess within the three pces with indifferent and cold gazes from the highest point on the First Peak.

    "We managed to sweep all the elders and subordinates that support the first and second pce lords thanks to you, Supreme Elder Ragnir. It wouldn''t have been possible without your support."

    Lord Rholthos gave all the credit to the elderly man.

    "Your mother and I have a history that goes way back. If I don''t support you, who is her son, who else would I support?" Supreme Elder Ragnir casually replied.

    Lord Rholthos nodded.

    Supreme Elder Ragnir and his mother were childhood friends who were born in the same year. They were very close.

    If the Battle God didn''t enter the picture, perhaps Supreme Elder Ragnir and Lord Rholthos''s mother would have be a couple.

    Nevertheless, their choices in their partners never affected their close friendship and had remained strong throughout the years.

    At the same time, Supreme Elder Ragnir had treated Lord Rholthos very well, as if Supreme Elder Ragnir was Lord Rholthos''s actual father.

    "Now that all oppositions have been removed, there is no one left to oppose me from ruling the Battle God Pce," Lord Rholthos stated.

    However, Supreme Elder Ragnir shook his head and said, "No, there is one person left in the Battle God Pce who can oppose you from ruling it."

    "Who? My father, the Battle God, who has been in secluded cultivation for many years now? Or my first and second brothers, who are probably dead?" Lord Rholthos furrowed his brows.

    If the Battle God found out what Lord Rholthos did, he would definitely be furious.

    Even Lord Rholthos would not dare to face his old man, even if the person were ill.

    After all, the person was still a Battle God.

    Nevertheless, Supreme Elder Ragnir gave Lord Rholthos an answer he did not expect.

    "No, me," Supreme Elder Ragnir said indifferently.

    In the next instance, Supreme Elder Ragnir drilled his dagger right through Lord Rholthos''s heart from behind before the person could react.

    Puchi!

    The mortal wound weakened Lord Rholthos significantly. As such, he immediately knew he was done for.

    Lord Rholthos could only look at Supreme Elder Ragnir with shock and confusion. He couldn''t understand why Supreme Elder Ragnir would do such a thing.

    "Why¡­?" Lord Rholthos uttered.

    "Even if my father is furious with me, he won''t kill me since I am the only heir left. However, you are different. You do not have the blood of the Battle God. Do you think you can get away with this, Supreme Elder?"

    "You don''t have to worry about that, Rholthos. The Battle God is too busy trying to expel his poison and save his own life to be worried about other things," Supreme Elder Ragnir calmly said.

    "Nevertheless, it''s not some ordinary poison that can be removed that easily without an antidote. As such, the poison will eventually im the Battle God''s life. Once the Battle God is dead, who else can oppose me from ruling the Battle God Pce?"

    "My father was poisoned¡­? You¡­ Did you do this¡­?!"

    "Of course. Now, be good and die for me."

    Shortly after, Supreme Elder Ragnir withdrew the dagger, causing blood to gush out from Lord Rholthos''s chest.

    Supreme Elder Ragnir didn''t want to take any chances.

    Thus, Supreme Elder Ragnir further slit Lord Rholthos''s throat before kicking him off the edge of the pce''s rooftop.

    Lord Rholthos''s body plunged over three hundred feet.

    Lord Rholthosnded in the courtyard with a heavy thud that echoed through the pce, attracting everyone''s attention to his location.

    "Pce Lord Rholthos!"

    The third pce lord''s subordinates rushed over to assist Lord Rholthos, but the person drew hisst breath at that moment.

    "What happened! How could Pce Lord Rholthos die?! Didn''t we already win?!" the third pce lord''s subordinates felt anguish as much as they were confused.

    Shortly after, the third pce lord''s subordinates raised their heads to see where Lord Rholthos fell from.

    "The Battle God''s three heirs have all died. As such, I, as the next highest authority, shall assume the temporary position of Pce Master of the Battle God Pce in the Battle God''s stead! Kill everyone from the third pce if they oppose me!"

    "Third Pce! If you all surrender and want to support me, bring me the heads of Pce Lord Rholthos''s wives and children to prove your loyalty!"

    Supreme Elder Ragnir''s voice resounded throughout the First Pce.

    In that instance, chaos quickly spread across the First Pce once more as the scattered subordinates of the third pce were divided in their choices.

    Some chose to resist and died under the onught of the Supreme Elder''s subordinates. Others dropped their weapons and surrendered on the spot.

    ¡­

    Third Pce

    A short whileter, an Extremity-rank Battle Master rushed into the inner courtyard while being covered in severe wounds and blood.

    "Young Master Zion, you must escape at once!" the Battle Master cried.

 Chapter 995 Target & Plan

    <h4>Chapter 995 Target & n</h4>

    "What''s going on?" Young Master Zion asked with astonishment after seeing the bloodied subordinate.

    The Third Pce was the least affected by Lord Rholthos'' coup out of the three pces. The other two pces had no time to react when Lord Rholthos suddenly led all his subordinates to attack

    As such, the First Pce and Second Pce could only defend and not retaliate.

    "Is the Third Pce under attack? How did you suffer such serious injuries?" Young Master Zion inquired.

    However, the Extremity-rank Battle Master shook his head urgently.

    "There''s no time to exin, Young Master! Lord Rholthos has fallen, and Supreme Elder Ragnir wants all of Lord Rholthos''s family dead! You need to get away from this ce quickly! The others won''t stall the Supreme Elder''s people for long!"

    Young Master Zion wanted to ask further, but his mother quickly dragged him into the back of the room and opened a secret underground passage.

    "Leave, Zion. This secret passage will take you to the bottom of the mountain. You must survive to take revenge for us one day, Zion!" Zion''s mother said decisively.

    However, everything was happening too quickly. Zion couldn''t ept what his mother was trying to do.

    "What do you mean, mother? Are you noting with me?" Zion asked with a trembling voice.

    "No, I cannot. I am the third wife of Pce Lord Rholthos. I am easily recognized wherever I go," Zion''s mother said.

    "However, you are different. You are my son, the youngest child of Pce Lord Rholthos; not many people recognize you. There''s a chance you can slip away once you reach the bottom of the mountain."

    "Now, go! Don''t make me repeat myself! I will buy as much time for your escape!" Zion''s mother stated firmly.

    "Young Master Zion!" a small group of Battle Masters quickly rushed into the inner courtyard with urgent news.

    They were Young Master Zion''s loyal subordinates.

    "The situation outside is very terrible! Supreme Elder Ragnir has betrayed Pce Lord Rholthos and forcefully assumed the Pce Master position! You need to get away from here quickly!"

    "You all came just in time. Take my son away and make sure he makes it out of the mountains alive!" Zion''s mother instructed the neers.

    "Understood, my Lady. Even if we have to sacrifice our lives, we will make sure Young Master Zion gets out of the Battle God Pce alive!" the subordinates assured.

    Shortly after, they grabbed Zion and forcefully dragged him into the secret underground passage.

    "No¡ª! Mother, don''t leave me! I don''t want to leave you behind! Stop, Uncle Bonz! I don''t want to leave without my mother!" Zion cried.

    No matter how talented or how strong Zion was, he was still a 13-year-old boy. He was not ready to part with his mother.

    "I understand your pain, but now is not the time to throw a tantrum! Lady Gwena has already made her choice!" Bonz stated seriously.

    As time passed, the sounds of battle outside drew closer. Everyone knew they were running out of time.

    "There''s no more time. The enemy is already at the door. You all need to leave!" Zion''s mother urged.

    After the subordinates took Zion through the secret underground passage, Zion''s mother sealed the entrance and covered up all traces of its existence.

    Afterward, she awaited her fate alongside the bloodied subordinate.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Battle God Pce, First Pce

    Supreme Elder Ragnir listened to the distant screams of battle with an indifferent look while gazing in the western direction.

    Although the Battle God Pce lost precious strength due to their internal conflict, it was necessary to clean the house in order to stabilize his rule.

    "Supreme Elder¡ªNo, Pce Master, about four-fifths of Pce Lord Rholthos''s forces have surrendered and expressed their support in you bing the Pce Master," a subordinate reported.

    "Four-fifths of Pce Lord Rholthos''s forces surrendered, huh?" Supreme Elder Ragnir muttered.

    "This is higher than I anticipated. I suppose that just means Pce Lord Rholthos''s forces had many smart people within their ranks. At least they won''t have to die needlessly."

    "Or it could just mean that Pce Lord Rholthos didn''t have that many loyal subordinates, Pce Master," the subordinate added. "What are your next orders, my Lord?"

    "The Battle God Pce has been too reclused from the affairs in the Infertile ins. Many tribes have risen with the hopes of recing us," Supreme Elder Ragnir mentioned.

    "After Pce Lord Rholthos''s family members are dealt with, reorganize the Pce Lord Rholthos''s forces into our ranks and have them prepare for war. The Battle God Pce needs to show its strength to the world and let these ambitious tribes know who the hegemon of the Infertile ins is."

    "We''ll start with the eastern tribes," Supreme Elder Ragnir stated.

    "Understood, Pce Master."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Darkmoon Tribe, Great Hall

    "And that''s what happened in the past few days, Alliance Leader," an informant finished his report on Central Region''s situation¡ªor more precisely, the Battle God Pce''s situation.

    "I see. So a coup happened in the Battle God Pce, yet none of the pce lords became the victor, huh?" Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    "Perhaps, it could have been more interesting if I had left the other two pce lords to return alive. However, now is not the time to dwell on past choices."

    "Since the Battle God Pce has started making its move on the eastern tribes, it''s time that we also started making our moves," Leon dered.

    "Are we going to join the fray in the Central Region? Our strength has certainly grown, but we are stillcking in terms of Battle Kings," Chief Valencia mentioned with a frown.

    However, Leon shook his head.

    "No, the Central Region is the heart of the storm. If the Southern tribes attack the central tribes, it will only fuel the chaos and increase the death toll drastically."

    "We will target the western tribes," Leon stated.

    "Furthermore, we will avoid violence if necessary. Our main objective is to promote the peaceful assimtion of other tribes through our words alone."

    Chief Valencia and the other leaders in the hall immediately frowned.

    "This¡­ Are you sure this option is even possible, Alliance Leader?" Battle King One-Eye asked.

 Chapter 996 Faelynâ€™s Talent

    <h4>Chapter 996 Faelyn''s Talent</h4>

    Once Battle King One-Eye raised the question, all eyes were focused on Leon as they awaited his answer.

    Leon slightly smiled.

    It was clear to Leon that the Darkmoon Tribe still hadn''t realized their advantage over the other tribes.

    Either that or they have forgotten about it.

    "It might be impossible for other tribes. But for us, it is definitely possible," Leon assured.

    "Have you all forgotten why the battle for hegemony started in the first ce? It was because of the water crisis. However, the current situation has evolved beyond that. Everyone is too busy thinking about conquering all the other tribes that they have forgotten their original purpose."

    "If the tribes continue to kill each other off like this, the collective strength of the Infertile ins will be reduced significantly," Leon stated.

    "Right¡­" Battle King One-Eye nodded in agreement. "Even if the hegemon is decided, the Infertile ins will be too weak to invade the other regions and upy a new water source."

    "Rather than a battle to decide on the hegemon that will lead everyone out of the Infertile ins, the current situation is more like a battle to reduce the number of mouths to feed in the Infertile ins¡­" Chief Valencia added.

    "Exactly," Leon stated.

    "This battle for hegemony has been blown out of proportions. Even if this is another solution to the water crisis, it is a cruel solution. Furthermore, it is only temporary. The Celestial Water Spark will eventually be exhausted, and the water will run out either way."

    "However, our situation is different from that," Leon firmly stated.

    Many eyes immediately brightened upon hearing that statement.

    "As long as we have the Teleportation Array to Human Domain, I can provide the Darkmoon Tribe with infinite water and food. However, the Crawford Empire won''t hand out freebies forever. Even so, that isn''t something the Darkmoon Tribe should be concerned about."

    "There are plenty of things the Darkmoon Tribe can use to trade for food and water. At least, that could have been the case until now," Leon suddenly added, causing mild confusion in the leaders.

    "Are you saying that isn''t possible anymore, Alliance Leader?" Chief Baskara asked with surprise.

    "No, I''m not saying it''s not possible anymore; I''m saying it''s unnecessary," Leon corrected.

    "I''ve brought 500 elves to help the Darkmoon Tribe cultivate crops. This will provide the Darkmoon Tribe with a sustainable amount of food. Furthermore, over a hundred of the ves I''ve brought are Water Transcendents."

    "Nevertheless, what I''m really trying to say is the Darkmoon Tribe won''tck water or food. With such an advantage, do you all think it''s impossible to convince tribes to join us peacefully?"

    "We can be the peacemaker that unites the tribes without violence," Leon calmly stated.

    Several leaders nodded their heads, seemingly convinced by what Leon said.

    However, there were also some that thought otherwise.

    "Given what Alliance Leader said, it is indeed possible to convince tribes to join under our banner without the use of violence. However, there is one fundamental requirement for that, strength," Chief Valencia stated with a wry smile.

    "If we don''t have absolute strength, the tribes will try to rob us instead. In fact, the Darkmoon Tribe could be the eye of the storm if news of our water sources spread throughout the Infertile ins."

    "There is no doubt that we will be the target of every major tribe in the Infertile ins once that happens," Chief Valencia seriously stated.

    "Ah, yes. You have a point," Leon acknowledged before adding, "However, people are greedy. Even if the tribes learn our wealth of food and water, they will not spread the news to other tribes."

    "If they knew there was a tribe with unlimited ess to food and water, why would they want to spread the news to other tribes? They would obviously keep the news to themselves and try to deal with us secretly, whether through violence or peaceful negotiations."

    "Of course, I have the strength to defer them. But it does not change the fact that the rest of you are still weak. As such, I will be the only one going to the western tribes to negotiate."

    "The rest of you will stay back and continue to cultivate in the tribe," Leon dered.

    "What? How can that be? You should at least bring a few people with you, Alliance Leader," Chief Baskara suggested.

    "My decision is firm," Leon said with a shake of his head before adding, "Bringing people with me will only slow me down, not to mention the burden of having to protect them."

    Chief Baskara smiled awkwardly after hearing that.

    The Alliance Leader had made a clear point.

    "Nevertheless, the western tribes have the backing of the Golden Suanni n. It might not be that easy to convince the western tribes," Battle King One-Eye thought.

    "Considering the Golden Suanni Tribe is close to the western jungle outside of the Infertile ins, there''s a chance that the Golden Suanni n provides water supplies to the Golden Suanni Tribe and the rest of the western tribes."

    "If that is the case, our advantage would mean nothing to the western tribes. How do you n to deal with that if that was the case, Alliance Leader?" Old Tinker wondered.

    Leon''s lips rose into a smile.

    "In that case, I will just have to deal with the Golden Suanni n directly," Leon dered.

    If the Golden Suanni Tribe and other western tribes'' only backers be Leon''s subordinates, it''ll be possible for the entire Western Region to fall under his control quickly.

    Nevertheless, after discussing a few more matters in the Great Hall, Leon ended the meeting and returned to Barrenrock Courtyard.

    The herbal fragrance of spirit pills quickly assaulted Leon''s senses.

    However, a strong herbal fragrance implies that the pills had lost a lot of their herbal essence during the refinement.

    As such, the pills would not be of high quality.

    Even so, not failing during her first time shows that Faelyn indeed had some talent in alchemy.

    "Not bad. You didn''t create any medicinal dredge during your pill refinement despite refining pills for the first time. This shows that you indeed have talent in alchemy."

    Leon praised Faelyn after inspecting her refined pills.

 Chapter 997 Heavenly Fairy God Scripture

    <h4>Chapter 997 Heavenly Fairy God Scripture</h4>

    When Leon first embarked on the path of alchemy, he didn''t have such talent and luck.

    It took him five attempts before he seeded in refining pills without producing a single medicinal dredge.

    The wood ability can increase the chances, but sess or failure still depends on the person.

    As such, Faelyn wasn''t just talented due to her ability; she also had personal talent.

    Faelyn smiled after receiving praise from Leon.

    However, Faelyn''s expression quickly turned serious in the next moment.

    "Although I seeded in forming the pills, the quality is too low. I can''t be content with this. No, I won''t be satisfied until I can refine high-rank pills at the very least," Faelyn dered determinedly.

    Leon nodded with approval.

    "It''s good to have this kind of mindset. As long as you keep a firm determination like this and do not growcent due to small sesses and praises, you will eventually reach your goal, without a doubt," Leon stated.

    "Mm," Faelyn nodded.

    "Alright, put everything away. We''ll leave for another ce now," Leon informed.

    Shortly after Faelyn stored everything in her interspatial ring, Leon transmitted his thoughts to Tak-si.

    In the next moment, a spatial rift swallowed them and took them and the two Winter Cats away from Barrenrock Courtyard.

    It happened too abruptly that the sudden darkness caught Faelyn off guard, causing her to be alerted and apprehensive.

    But before Faelyn could cry with rm, she realized she was in a new ce with Leon.

    "Wah¡­" Faelyn uttered.

    It was the same dark sky with endless ck clouds looming over them.

    However, Faelyn could feel that something about the world was different from before. It didn''t feel like the same world.

    "What is this ce?" Faelyn asked after calming down slightly.

    "The Radiant Heaven Realmship, a realm-tier divine artifact used to traverse the vast void and reach distant stars. Unfortunately, it has been damaged and needs repair," Leon exined.

    "Why did wee here?" Faelyn became more curious about the realmship.

    "I guess that is something you will find out soon enough," Leon replied vaguely with a smile.

    However, at that moment, the realm spirit manifested itself in front of them and greeted, "Wee back, Master."

    "What is the current situation? Had there been any changes in the realmship during my absence?" Leon inquired.

    "None, Master. Everything else has remained unchanged besides the ongoing sea monster tide. Nevertheless, it seems like there will be a change in the ruling power soon," Tak-si reported.

    "Oh?" Leon uttered with interest before asking, "Do you understand the different factions within the sea monsters'' ranks, Tak-si?"

    "I apologize, Master. I wasn''t built to understand nor speak the fishnguages. It just seems like the original inhabitants in the Bone Sea are being overwhelmed by the neers," Tak-si stated.

    "I see. Well, never mind that," Leon uttered.

    He didn''t have any interest in the sea monsters besides their meat being an excellent food source.

    "Take us to the underground space near the core, Tak-si."

    "Understood, Master."

    Shortly after, another spatial rift swallowed everyone and transferred them to the underground space below the realmship''s western region.

    All the treasures had been cleaned out and organized by Aria before being ced back in a secured location.

    Nevertheless, that location was elsewhere. Leon, Faelyn, and the two Winter Cats could only see corpses in the area.

    Leon quickly used the realm spirit''s omniscience to locate the location of the treasures before bringing Faelyn over.

    Everything was stored inside an ice warehouse.

    "Take your pick. If there''s anything you like, feel free to take it," Leon told Faelyn after opening the ice warehouse.

    Faelyn was immediately stunned by the countless glittering treasures that shined with a divine glow.

    It was very clear to her that they were all priceless artifacts that could not be found anywhere else in the empire.

    Faelyn casually picked up a piece of green hard leather armor and realized it was at least tier-6 equipment due to its holy glow.

    "Are you sure I can take anything I want? Are these items way too precious?" Faelyn asked with concern. Everything felt too precious for her to take.

    "Of course, you can take any treasure you want. What''s the point of possessing treasures if we don''t put them to use?" Leon assured her.

    "Aria and Darlene already possessed aplete set of tier-6 equipment. You should at least get something simr for protection. Afterward, I will take you back to the World Tree to cultivate."

    "To cultivate? Do I need to cultivate?" Faelyn asked with surprise.

    "Of course, you do," Leon asserted with a serious look.

    "It''s true that you are not made forbat like Darlene and Aria. However, that doesn''t mean you should neglect your cultivation just because you chose a different path. In fact, your cultivation will be important when you reach the higher tiers of alchemy.

    "Some divine pills cannot be refined without a strong cultivation base. But it is also equally true that a strong cultivation base will also enhance your pill refinement."

    "I''ve already found a suitable energy cultivation method for you to practice. It should help you cultivate quickly under the World Tree," Leon stated.

    "I understand. I will listen to you," Faelyn nodded obediently.

    Shortly after, Faelyn started rummaging through the piles of treasures, looking for equipment that suited her taste.

    In the end, Faelyn chose a mix of tier-5 and tier-6 pieces of cloth, silk, and leathery armor, which were all green in color.

    Some pieces were light green, and some were in darker shades.

    Leon didn''t seem surprised that Faelyn would choose green. It was her favorite color, like most elves.

    After Faelyn finished equipping the new pieces of equipment, it didn''t seem like she put on any armor.

    Rather, Faelyn had simply changed into a beautiful silky green dress.

    "How do I look?" Faelyn asked after doing a spin for Leon to see.

    "Beautiful," Leon answered.

    "Me or the dress?"

    "You¡­ I mean the dress."

    "Pft, both are correct answers," Faelyn giggled with a brilliant smile before giving Leon a soft peck on the cheek.

    Seeing his woman happy also brought a smile only Leon''s face.

    Nevertheless, Leon shortly poked Faelyn''s forehead and transmitted a primordial energy cultivation technique into her mind.

    It was called the Heavenly Fairy God Scripture.

 Chapter 998 Wood Spirit Race

    <h4>Chapter 998 Wood Spirit Race</h4>

    Heavenly Fairy God Scripture, the primordial energy cultivation technique of the Heavenly Fairy God, was tailored for members of the Wood Spirit Race like the Heavenly Fairy God himself.

    For Faelyn, who is part of the nature-blessed elf tribe, she could be considered a descendent of the Wood Spirit Race.

    The Wood Spirit Race was one of the superior races in the primordial era. And their kin varied from humans, sub-humans, beasts, and even monsters.

    Any living being could be a part of the Wood Spirit Race. The only prerequisite was to be supremely blessed by the wood element at birth.

    Although the elven race was blessed by the wood element, they still couldn''t bepared to the true Wood Spirit Race from the primordial era.

    As such, they can only be considered descendants or a branch of the Wood Spirit Race at best.

    Even so, that doesn''t affect Faelyn from cultivating the Heavenly Fairy God Scripture, which was tailored for all creatures and beings blessed by the wood element.

    "Heavenly Fairy God Scripture¡­ This cultivation method is so profound¡­" Faelyn''s eyes widened with astonishment as the information flowed into her mind.

    The Heavenly Fairy God Scripture was divided into three main stages: Mortal, Divine, and Heavenly. These stages were further divided into substages that matched the energy cultivation realms.

    Faelyn felt like a whole new world opened up to her, which also made her aware of how insignificant her present self was in the vast universe.

    If she could reach the peak of the Divine stage and be a Divine Fairy King, she would be like the World Tree, capable of producing an endless amount of spirit energy from refining the sun''s energy.

    Although the spirit energy had limited use for beings in the Divine Realm, it was a blessing for those below the Divine Realm.

    And if Faelyn could one day be the Heavenly Fairy God, she could even bless those in the Divine Realm.

    "Even if you don''t seed in alchemy, which I believe you will, you can still be an existence of importance to everyone once you reach theter stages in this Heavenly Fairy God Scripture," Leon stated.

    However, Faelyn didn''t feel happy after hearing that.

    "I don''t want to be important to everyone. I just want to be important to you," Faelyn said with a shake of her head before directly looking into Leon''s eyes with her long fluttering eyshes.

    "You already are," Leon replied with a smile.

    "It''s not the same," Faelyn shook her head again and said, "Maybe I am being greedy, but it''s not good enough just to have a ce in your heart. I want to be able to do things for you too."

    "You don''t need to burden yourself with such thoughts. Just being by my side is enough," Leon stated.

    "It''s not!" Faelyn firmly shook her head.

    "Although I don''t know what it is you are trying to achieve in the future, I know it''s something impossibly difficult to achieve without great power. The others can sense it; there''s no way I can''t sense it either."

    "I don''t want to put myself in a situation where I can only watch you and the others struggle while I do nothing because I am powerless. No, I don''t want that. I don''t want to experience something like that again."

    Faelyn stated emotionally.

    Leon softly sighed before he pulled Faelyn into his embrace and stroked her back gently.

    Then, Leon softly said, "Alright, I understand your determination. But it won''t be easy to keep up if you focus on both cultivation and alchemy at the same time."

    "Everyone has it hard; why should I have it easy?" Faelyn retorted defiantly while Looking Leon directly in the eye.

    "I guess I''ve been going too easy on you by trying to put you on the safe side," Leon smiled wryly and said, "Don''t regret your choiceter. The path I walk is a bloody and dangerous one."

    "I''m not afraid," Faelyn smiled back defiantly before wrapping her arms around Leon''s neck and coyly saying, "The others took the next step already. When are you going to take the next step with me?"

    "Do you know what you are asking, Faelyn?" Leon smiled ambiguously.

    "Of course, I do. It''s that¡­ matter between men and women. The stuff that¡­ they do when they are together," Faelyn tried to act bravely as she exined as if she was knowledgeable in the matter.

    "Oh?" Leon smiled mischievously before deciding to tease her. "What kind of stuff do men and women do when they are together exactly? Can you exin for me, Fae?"

    "O-of course it''s t-that matter than only men and women can only do when they''re alone¡­!" Faelyn exined while tapping her two index fingers together repeatedly.

    However, Faelyn''s bright red face clearly showed that she was shy and embarrassed.

    In the end, Faelyn couldn''t endure it and threw a tantrum.

    "Argh, why do I need to exin?! You know what I am talking about!"

    "Hahaha¡­" Leon simplyughed it off.

    In the next moment, Leon swept Faelyn off her feet and carried her like a princess. He moved to an empty space within the ice warehouse and withdrew a soft bed from the Worldspace.

    Despite her shyness, Faelyn was immediately surprised after Leon ced her on the soft white bed.

    "Huh? Why do you need to carry a bed around with you?" Faelyn asked with wide eyes.

    "I figured I might need it for times like this," Leon casually replied before asking her, "It was a good call, right?"

    Faelyn''s face flushed with a brighter shade of red before she covered her face in embarrassment. But even if she hid her face, she couldn''t hide her loud beating heart.

    Even so, Faelyn''s heart was filled with anticipation for what was toe as she felt Leon climb on top of her on the bed.

    However, the bed couldn''t withstand Leon''s immense weight.

    Its trembling legs fought for its life, but it onlysted half a breath before all four wooden legs snapped, and the bed dropped with a heavy thud.

    "Ugh, you should stay on top and take the lead, Fae. I fear I might break you if I do it," Leon smiled awkwardly.

 Chapter 999 The Wild Ride

    <h4>Chapter 999 The Wild Ride</h4>

    Leon switched positions with Faelyn, cing her on top of him as hey on the broken white bed.

    "Y-you want me to lead? I don''t know how¡­" Faelyn stuttered with a bright red face, and her heart thumped wildly, beating drums.

    "Don''t worry. I will guide you. But before, we should set the mood."

    "Set¡­ the mood¡­? Ah¡ª!"

    Faelyn suddenly had her arm softly yanked by Leon as he drew her closer and sealed her soft lips with his own.

    "Mm¡ª!"

    The sudden movements made Faelyn struggle at first. But after half a breath, her resistance weakened as she matched Leon''s rhythm, allowing their tongues to intertwine yfully.

    At the same time, Leon''s hands moved to undo Faelyn''s green dress and remove her equipment, piece by piece.

    Soon, Leon''s hands started to roam her wondrous, smooth, and fair maiden body, causing Faelyn to quiver with growing goosebumps. Her heart pounded nervously, yet she also anticipated his following touches.

    As if a switch had been turned on, Faelyn''s entire body became highly sensitive. A wave of euphoria channeled through her body with every touch and every breath.

    Faelyn melted into Leon''s chest, but she felt like she was floating on cloud nine. Her breathing was haggard, and her clothes werepletely removed.

    She dared not look Leon in the eyes due to her shyness.

    At that moment, she was like a timid rabbit, very fragile, weak, and vulnerable, as shey on top of Leon''s chest.

    Leon yfully traced his fingers down her back, past her plump rear, and made it to her forbidden forest cave, oozing with love nectar.

    "Mm¡ª!"

    A startled moan escaped Faelyn''s lips as her body subconsciously tightened like a m at the touch of Leon''s fingers in her most private part.

    However, Leon''s fingers were like slippery eels, easily snaking their way into Faelyn''s already moist region.

    "Ahn~!" an erotic and stimting cute sound escaped from Faelyn''s mouth, causing Faelyn to feel embarrassed as she covered her mouth with her hands.

    The sensation that struck her was new, but it was also irresistibly delightful and addicting.

    "Mmf¡ª! Mm~! Ahn~!"

    Muffled sounds of pleasure escaped Faelyn''s mouth as she enjoyed Leon''s fingerwork. Only a fool would mistake it for the chimes of a musical, but it might as well be a work of art.

    Leon knew where to strike to make Faelyn feel sensational and exhrated.

    Shortly after Faelyn''s toes and fingers curled along with her quivering body and forbidden forest cave contractions, Leon understood she had climaxed from his fingers.

    However, Leon did not give Faelyn the chance to rx as he moved her hand to hisher region to feel his bulging little brother.

    At the moment of contact with the enormous lump in Leon''s groin, Faelyn immediately jumped like a frightened rabbit.

    ''What the heck was that? Was it meant to be so big?!'' Faelyn cried inwardly.

    Nevertheless, Leon continued to guide Faelyn''s hand to undress his equipment and clothes before the raging dragon below was revealed.

    Faelyn''s eyes widened in horror.

    Even if she was inexperienced and unknowledgeable in this field, she knew that Leon''s tool was abnormal at a nce.

    Being too small was not good, but being too big was equally so.

    Leon''s tool definitely belonged to thetter.

    Gulp!

    "Can such a big thing fit inside me?" Faelyn swallowed her saliva and asked nervously.

    "Of course," Leon assured with a nod before smiling mischievously. "But if you''re afraid, we can call it quits and end it here."

    For some reason, Faelyn found Leon''s smug look very annoying, which quickly reced her fearful look with a grumpy one.

    "I''m not afraid. Come, I can take it!" ¨C were Faelyn''s famousst words.

    The moment Faelyn inserted Leon''s enormous rod into her forbidden forest cave, her mind nked, banished to an otherworldly dimension of pleasure.

    There was no pain from the tearing of her hymen; she could only recall the ecstasy and joy.

    Faelyn blindly indulged in the pleasure as she shook her hips without Leon''s guidance. It was clumsy at first.

    But as Faelyn rode on Leon''s tool over time, her body quickly adapted, learned, and even improved¡ªto the point that she nearly made Leon climax first.

    Faelyn''s sexual endowments were astonishing as much as it was fearsome.

    Leon found it hard to hold himself back; her erotic voice was like music to his ears, fueling his carnal desire.

    Then came the first shot as Leon ejacted inside Faelyn.

    "Mm~!" Faelyn moaned from the fullness of Leon''s yang essence.

    However, that, in turn, fueled Faelyn''s sexual drive as she increased her hip movements and rode Leon like he had never been ridden before.

    Three days flew by in the blink of an eye before Faelyn exhausted herself from saddling on top of Leon nonstop.

    She copsed on Leon''s chest before her mind finally returned to her body.

    But even though Faelyn''s body couldn''t muster an ounce of strength, she felt unprecedentedfort. Leon''s chest was better than any bed she had slept on; it was warm, cozy, and secured.

    Faelyn''s consciousness quickly drifted off into thend of dreams.

    However, Faelyn wasn''t the only one exhausted.

    Even Leon felt some level of mental exhaustion and body rxation despite onlyying in the same position throughout the three-day period of fornication.

    He had lost count of the times he had climaxed.

    Nevertheless, neither the broken white bed nor the ice warehouse reeked of foul smell; Faelyn''s body had seemingly absorbed all his yang essence to fuel itself.

    Who knew wood-users could have such incredible stamina in bed.

    ''The prettier they are, the crazier they are in bed, huh?'' Leon mused wryly before he, too,psed into sleep.

    However, Leon''s mind unconsciously entered the State of Emptiness. He vaguely felt his mind drifting off into space.

    When Leon recalled regained conscious thought, he had already found himself standing in a monochrome ice warehouse with his real body sleeping on the broken bed with Faelyn.

    The first time was too vague, but the second time was more clear.

    Leon recalled his mind ascending before it seemingly slipped into another dimension¡ªthe dimension of the Astral Soul Realm.

    ''It''s great to be back in this ce again,'' Leon''s eyes brightened.

 Chapter 1000 The Second Experience

    <h4>Chapter 1000 The Second Experience</h4>

    Shortly after realizing he had entered the Astral Soul Realm, Leon understood what he had to do right away.

    "ording to thest experience, there''s a fixed time before the realm guardian appears and banishes me from the Astral Soul Realm. Thus, before that happens, I only have a limited time to absorb the pure soul energy of this ce."

    Leon recalled.

    Nevertheless, he didn''t feel much pure soul energy in his present location. He had to reach the surface quickly and absorb the pure soul energy in a richer area.

    Once Leon understood that, he immediately left the ice warehouse.

    However, the entrance to the underground space was already sealed thest time they left the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    Furthermore, Leon couldn''t contact the realmship to teleport him to the surface in his astral form. They weren''t in the same dimension.

    Even though they were spiritually connected, Leon couldn''t feel Tak-si''s existence at all while he was in the Astral Soul Realm.

    Even worse, Leon couldn''t use any of his previous abilities.

    Leon knitted his brows as he sought a solution in the underground space.

    "This is the world of souls. Thus, everything is operated by the power of the soul¡­" Leon mused before his eyes suddenly brightened with a sharp light.

    In that instance, Leon''s astral body started to float in the air.

    "As expected, the power of the soul is the power of one''s will. My will dictates my movements in the Astral Soul Realm," Leon muttered.

    The Astral Soul Realm was a spiritual realm. As such, it wasn''t bound by physicalws.

    After Leon''s started floating, he flew straight at the underground ceiling with narrowed eyes and phased through the earth as he had hoped.

    Within moments after reaching the surface, Leon narrowed his eyes again as he made another discovery about the Astral Soul Realm.

    The sky within the Astral Soul Realm was not filled with dark clouds like he would have expected the sky within the realmship to be.

    Instead, the monochrome world of the Astral Soul Realm had a clear sky of the vast void, filled with countless souls traversing towards the same destination, the grey core region.

    "I see¡­ ording to my point of entry, the surrounding changes. However, the overall Astral Soul Realm will always be the same," Leon understood.

    In other words, the surrounding region of realmship was formed based on the memory of hisst location.

    "Did I unconsciously replicate the realmship''s western region with my soul power in this realm?" Leon wondered.

    Nevertheless, Leon quickly shook his head and pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

    "I''m wasting precious time. It''s not toote to think about it after the guardian kicks me out of this ce," Leon said to himself.

    Shortly after, Leon quickly found himself a spot on top of a hill, allowing him to see more of the western region in the west and the Bone Sea in the east.

    However, Leon didn''t see all of them. Thend only extended to a certain point before it was cut off by the boundless void.

    In other words, the currentnd Leon was situated on was like a giant cut-offndmass floating in the vast void of the Astral Soul Realm.

    If he didn''t enter the Astral Soul Realm, the entirend would not have existed. But because he did enter the Astral Soul Realm, thend suddenly existed.

    Thus, even if Leon hid in the underground space, the realm guardian would still be attracted to investigate thend.

    Leon quickly extended his senses and pulled in all the pure soul energy he could muster with his power of will.

    He absorbed hundreds of pure soul energy wisps and immediately felt the benefit; his power of will became more potent, and his mind gained greater rity.

    Leon couldn''t quite exin the feeling, but if he had to put it into words, it felt like a dull star lighting up and illuminating the dark void around it.

    His soul was growing without a doubt. However, it was more than just the growth of his soul.

    It was like¡­

    "My existence is being recognized¡­ But by what? By the universe itself?" Leon mused, but he didn''t stop absorbing the pure soul energy from the surroundings for even a moment.

    s, all good times will eventually have toe to an end.

    A grey shooting star flew over and crasnded on the ground at the bottom of the hill.

    Shortly after, the grey orb of pure soul energy transformed into Leon''ste father, the Divine Medicine King, Heinrich Esdus.

    "Using myte father''s appearance again¡­ You are truly asking for a beating¡­!" Leon spat with a gloomy look.

    It wasn''t so bad if the realm guardian mimicked his father''s normal appearance.

    However, what the realm guardian mimicked was his father''s bloodied and fragmented appearance moments before his death.

    This invoked the most painful memory in Leon''s life and also infuriated him.

    The realm guardian was practically making fun of histe father!

    "Dammit, if you weren''t so powerful, I''d definitely sock the sh*t out of you!" ¨C is what Leon said, but he would also feel conflicted hitting his father''s face.

    Nevertheless, the realm guardian gave Leon no further time to absorb the boundless pure soul energy of the Astral Soul Realm.

    It raised its hand and made a grasping gesture at Leon before he helplessly flew over into its grasp like a powerless doll.

    Leon stared at the realm guardian dead-set in the eyes with defiance and spat, "Don''t think that I will go down as easily asst¡ª"

    Before he could finish speaking, the realm guardian''s mouth expanded and devoured Leon''s astral body whole in an instance.

    Darkness blotted out his consciousness.

    By the time Leon regained his senses, he had already returned to reality, lying in the broken white bed with Faelyn sleeping in his arms.

    ''F*ck!'' Leon inwardly cussed.

    He didn''t think he would be killed by the realm guardian so quickly.

    ''It seems like as I grow stronger, the realm guardian will also grow stronger alongside me¡­ Is the realm guardian supposed to be an impossible obstacle to ovee?''

    Leon frowned in wonder.

 Chapter 1001 Soul Improvement

    <h4>Chapter 1001 Soul Improvement</h4>

    Seeing Faelyn was still soundly asleep in Leon''s arms, he had more time to ponder about the Astral Soul Realm.

    Leon didn''t doubt that he had a much more fruitful gain on the second trip to the Astral Soul Realm. But no matter how much his soul had improved, he still couldn''t resist the realm guardian''s powerful will.

    ''The realm guardian was incredibly stronger in the first experience. However, I was certain that I had grown much stronger during the second experience. Even so, I was still powerless against the realm guardian¡­''

    Leon mused with a frown.

    Despite his improvement, Leon didn''t get a chance to resist the realm guardian at all.

    ''The realm guardian''s soul powerpletely suppressed me like it was¡­ a higher level of existence,'' Leon thought.

    It was like a mortal trying to resist the power of a cultivator in the Divine Realm; it was utterly hopeless and futile.

    While thinking back on his second experience in the Astral Soul Realm, Leon recalled the feeling of lighting up a star when he was absorbing the pure soul energy.

    ''Although it was just a vague feeling, I wonder what would have happened if I had lit up that starpletely... Would it be a sign of my soul advancing to a higher realm? Or my existence upgrading to a higher level?''

    Leon mused.

    Regardless of the truth, the second experience in the Astral Soul Realm had been a fruitful harvest. He maderge improvements in his soul and even learned more about the Astral Soul Realm.

    Even so, Leon wasn''t satisfied; he wanted to learn more.

    ''I look forward to my next trip,'' Leon thought.

    Shortly after, Leon shifted his focus to his soul improvement. He was pleasantly surprised by his gain immediately.

    Although Leoncked information to ssify his soul level, he could tell how much his soul had grown from the second experience in the Astral Soul Realm.

    ''As expected, my harvest this time around is far greater than the first time,'' Leon thought.

    His soul power had grown almost twofold. He could now divide his consciousness to operate up to four parallel thoughts at 100% efficiency.

    If Leon wanted, he couldprehend a singlew with 400% efficiency by concentrating hisplete consciousness on it.

    Alternatively, he could alsoprehend four differentws at 100% efficiency.

    Furthermore, it wasn''t limited tows; it could be anything.

    Leon designated his three divine consciousnesses intoprehending alchemy, runes, and the Destruction Law and used hisst divine consciousness to check the rest of his improvement.

    The Wood Law had risen to the Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent Realm without surprise, thanks to his three-day dual cultivation with Faelyn.

    On the other hand, Faelyn''s awakening cultivation didn''t receive any benefit from their three-day dual cultivation.

    However, her untrained body had undergone a minor transformation due to the cirction of yang essence and wood energy during the three-day dual cultivation.

    At that moment, her elvish body had a stronger wood affinity than it did three days ago.

    It was one step closer to resembling the Wood Spirit Body that the Wood Spirit Race was said to possess in the primordial era.

    Leon could understand how, but he couldn''t understand why it happened.

    However, it was a good change, nheless. It would allow Faelyn to reap greater benefits from cultivating the Heavenly Fairy God Scripture.

    Although Faelyn''s body was still weak without a body forging method, she didn''t need any other cultivation method besides the Heavenly Fairy God Scripture.

    It was an overall bnced cultivation technique that would also enhance Faelyn''s physique as she advanced through the stages of the technique.

    Wood Spirit Body was just the start.

    Even though the natural energy defenses of a Fairy King Body and Fairy God Physique couldn''tpare to body cultivators of the same realm, they didn''t fall too far off.

    "Uwh¡­" Faelyn softly groaned.

    She adjusted her sleeping position and rubbed her cheeks against Leon''s chestfortably without opening her eyes.

    However, Leon knew that Faelyn had already woken up.

    "How are you feeling?"

    Leon softly asked with a warm smile, but he didn''t receive a response even after waiting for a few breaths. His lips quickly curled with amusement.

    "Pretending to be asleep, huh? Are you feeling the shame and embarrassment from what you did in the past three days now?"

    Shortly after Leon asked, he felt Faelyn''s cheeks growing hot on his chest.

    "Who knew that you could be so wild?" Leon teased.

    Faelyn''s face flushed with a deeper shade of red before she couldn''t endure the embarrassment any further. She ended her pretend-sleep and softly hammered Leon''s chest with annoyance.

    "So hateful!" Faelyn pouted grudgingly with a red face.

    "Hahaha, what''s there to be shy about? In any case, we have already spent three days going at it together. What haven''t we seen of each other during this period?"

    Leon softly chuckled with ackadaisical attitude.

    Shortly after, Leon suddenly pulled Faelyn closer and stole her lips with a forceful kiss.

    "Mm¡­"

    Faelyn slightly struggled before the familiar feeling came rushing back into her body and washing away her shyness.

    Soon, her resistance against Leon''s kiss dropped before she started fighting back with her tongue, turning the forceful kiss into a passionate one.

    After some time, their lips finally separated.

    However, Faelyn was no longer nervous and shy as she was before. She rested her head on Leon''s chest and tightened her arms around his body with a content smile, feeling blessed and rxed.

    If she could, she didn''t mind staying like that forever.

    "Feeling calm now?" Leon asked with a smile. "It''s time to get up."

    "No, I want to stay like this for a bit longer," Faelyn shook her head and whined.

    Despite Faelyn''s wish, Leon raised his upper body and picked her up with both hands under the armpits like a baby.

    Then, he got up and ced her on her feet, causing her to grumble slightly.

    However, she couldn''t put any strength into her legs after Leon released her. As such, she quickly fell back onto the broken white bed.

    "Ah!" Faelyn gave a startled cry due to the fall.

    Shortly after, Leon felt a warm breath on his little brother before it grew and poked Faelyn in the cheeks strong enough to turn her head.

    Faelyn''s eyes widened at once, feeling appalled.

    "Haven''t we done it enough? Why is it s-so big again?!" Faelyn cried.

    "This¡­ it''s a natural reaction¡­"

    Leon scratched his head wryly with distress.

 Chapter 1002 The Ninjas in Water

    <h4>Chapter 1002 The Ninjas in Water</h4>

    "A natural reaction¡­?" Faelyn muttered while gazing at Leon''s erected tool with wide eyes.

    She recalled her vague memories and wondered if she really had such a massive thing inside her for three days straight.

    Meanwhile, Leon nced at Faelyn''s odd position before he removed his tool away from her face awkwardly.

    However, Faelyn was relying on Leon''s thighs for support.

    Thus, when Leon turned away, Faelyn quickly lost her support and panicked. She grabbed his thighs in a hurry, causing Leon to turn back.

    But, his little brother swung back with him and softly pped Faelyn in the face.

    Pish¡­

    Faelyn''s expression nked with pin-drop silence for a few breaths before she shifted her gaze to meet Leon''s eyes.

    "Did you just¡­"

    "It was an ident, Fae¡­!"

    Reow!

    Faelyn surged with strength before she angrily pounced on Leon. They fell back on the broken white bed and yfully fought.

    However, they were quickly aroused by each other''s touches before their battle turned into a steamy dual cultivation session.

    They rolled in bed for several rounds before Leon''s little brother calmed down.

    Unfortunately for the poor bed, not only did it have all four of its legs broken, even thest bit of its white cushy mattress was ttened like a pancake.

    Leon and Faelyn fought each other furiously and even passionately, but the bed was the only casualty in the battle.

    A short whileter, Leon prepared a hot bath and added spirit herbs with cleansing properties. After the bath was ready, Leon carried Faelyn inside and washed their bodies.

    After they were done, Leon helped Faelyn dry her body and wrapped a soft nket around her. Then, he took out a new white bed and ced Faelyn on the new bed gently.

    "Stay in bed and rest," Leon instructed before adding, "You can''t move well in your state. If you need something, just shout out to Tak-si, and he will contact me immediately."

    "Mm," Faelyn quietly nodded.

    Although Faelyn had great regenerative properties due to her body''s high wood affinity and cultivation, she performed dual cultivation with Leon nonstop for three days.

    As a result of that, her hymen had no chance to regenerate and remained permanently torn like regr women when they lost their innocence.

    Shortly after Leon dressed and took away the broken bed, he left the ice warehouse.

    As Leon spotted the two Winter Cats waiting outside, Snowscar and Rainshine nced up to look at Leon at the same time.

    However, Leon''s expression became peculiar as he focused on Snowscar''s battered look and swollen ck eye

    Snowscar looked like he had been through hell.

    "What happened to you?" Leon inquired with a baffled look.

    "I tried to stop Rainshine from peeking on Master''s private affairs, and she beat me for it, Master," Snowscar replied with one eye open as he couldn''t properly open his other swollen eye.

    Leon slowly shifted his questioning gaze to Rainshine, who stood beside Snowscar with a calm and elegant look.

    "Do you have anything to add, Rainshine?" Leon asked.

    "Master, Snowscar is clearly twisting ck and white. I indeed beat up Snowscar, but that''s because he tried to peek into Master''s private affairs, not me," Rainshine calmly answered.

    "Why would Snowscar get beaten up if he didn''t do anything wrong, don''t you think so, Master?" Rainshine added.

    After Snowscar heard that, he felt wronged.

    Leon shook his head with a wry smile. It was difficult for him to see through Rainshine''s lie when she wasn''t trying hard to hide it either.

    Nevertheless, it wasn''t a big deal if they peeked.

    After all, there were two other peeping Toms on the realmship, namely, the two realm spirits, Tak-si and Luna, themselves.

    Leon waved his hand at Snowscar before he was bathed in a blob of warm green auras, allowing Snowscar''s battered face to recover at a visible rate.

    Within several breaths, Snowscar''s fluffy face returned to normal.

    "Thank you, Master," Snowscar lowered his head gratefully.

    He knew his master was an impressive alchemist and doctor. However, the person seemed to have be even more impressive overnight.

    A casual wave of his master''s hand was enough to recover his injuries, even if they were only light surface injuries.

    "It was nothing. Don''t worry about it," Leon casually said before mentioning, "I am heading to the Bone Sea to fish. Do you two want toe along?"

    Rainshine and Snowscar nced at each other before looking back at Leon and nodding eagerly.

    Leon nodded before squatting down and tying an interspatial ring around their necks. Then, he transmitted to them the technique to use the interspatial rings.

    "You''ll need these interspatial rings to collect the sea monsters you hunt," Leon casually said.

    However, Rainshine and Snowscar''s eyes beamed in wonder and excitement. If they had such convenient storage tools back in the day, it would have made hunting so much easier.

    At the very least, they wouldn''t need to make multiple trips back and forth from their hunts.

    "Alright, take us to the Bone Sea''s central region, Tak-si."

    "Yes, Master."

    The male realm spirit quickly teleported Leon and two Winter Cats to the Bone Sea''s central region.

    After plunging into the chaotic sea filled with sea monsters at war, Rainshine and Snowscar were rmed.

    However, they quickly regained familiarity with their water movements before swimming off to hunt sea monsters with incredible swiftness.

    They weren''t just nimble onnd but also in the sea!

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t concern himself with the two Paragon-level Winter Cats and focused on his own matters.

    Swoosh¡­!

    The Nihility Barrier expanded and devoured the vast amounts of seawater at once, transforming them into countless wisps of True Grandmist Energy for Leon to absorb.

    However, this drew the attention of the sea monsters and put a halt to their war as they fixed their countless gazes on the True Grandmist Energy with greed.

    The sea monster tide immediately swarmed Leon.

    But at the same time, Rainshine and Snowscar noticed the situation. They rushed back to intercept the sea monsters from interrupting their master with lightning-swift speed.

    Each of their kicks granted them momentary bursts of speed that didn''t affect their maneuverability.

    They were like ninjas in water, nimble and versatile.

 Chapter 1003 The Western Jungle

    <h4>Chapter 1003 The Western Jungle</h4>

    Against the low-level sea monsters in the region, Rainshine and Snowscar were like unstoppable water missiles. They had both speed and lethality.

    Their rapid movements leave trails of chaotic water currents that look like flood dragons.

    And they pierce through the bodies of the sea monsters with uncanny precision and ease, robbing the sea monsters'' lives and monster cores.

    Leon could see how Duke Blizzardpaw toiled for the Winter Cat Tribe when it was the only Paragon capable of such feats in the past.

    However, Leon found it strange.

    Even if the weaker Winter Cats weren''t on the same level as Duke Blizzardpaw, they all had Paragon-level lethality.

    Hunting in the Boundless Sea shouldn''t be difficult for them unless the sea monsters they hunted were powerful.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t dwell on the matter.

    During the time Leon was away from the Radiant Heaven Realmship, the Bone Sea had recovered its normal sea level.

    But now that Leon was refining the Bone Sea again, the sea level decreased once more, albeit at a slow rate.

    Leon collected all the wisps of True Grandmist Energy, but he only stored half of them in his ck Vortex Space.

    The other half was given to Tak-si to repair the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    "Take it, Tak-si."

    "Thank you, Master!"

    The male realm spirit was overjoyed by his master''s generosity and enthusiastically epted the bountiful True Grandmist Energy with his spiritual body.

    "Start working on recovering the realmship''s maneuverability, but leave the damaged hull on the western edge for the time being. I need that opening to remain for the sea monsters to enter," Leon instructed.

    "Understood, Master."

    ¡­

    Several hours flew by in the ice warehouse before Faelyn sat up from the bed.

    "I can''t be wasting too much time on resting," Faelyn said to herself.

    Shortly after, she crossed her legs, albeit with a bit of struggle and pain in her private area.

    Nevertheless, she entered the meditative position and started channeling wood energy through her body to speed up her recovery.

    Before long, Faelyn recovered enough to walk without an issue and equipped her green dress equipment.

    Afterward, she hesitated for a moment before calling out to the empty space.

    "Are you there, Tak-si¡­?"

    "You called, Mistress?"

    Tak-si manifested his spiritual body in front of Faelyn with a humble bow, readily at her service, giving Faelyn a slight surprise in the process.

    "You respond so quickly¡­ Do you know right away whenever someone calls you, Tak-si?" Faelyn asked curiously.

    "The entire realmship is my body. As such, I am aware of everything that happens inside, Mistress," Tak-si replied politely.

    "Everything¡­?" Faelyn''s expression turned awkward before she uttered with some embarrassment, "Does that mean that you have seen¡­ No, actually. Never mind. It''s better if I don''t know."

    Shortly after, Faelyn found out what Leon was doing in the Bone Sea.

    However, she chose not to bother him.

    "I can need a suitable ce to practice my alchemy. Can you take me to such a ce, Tak-si?" Faelyn inquired.

    "Of course, Mistress," Tak-si affirmed.

    The realm spirit had just the ce in mind.

    The realm spirit teleported Faelyn to the western region''s surface shortly after. Faelyn quickly found herself in a walled-off area.

    It was a nice ce for her to practice alchemy in peace.

    Even better, there was a cultivation chamber for her to use.

    "Great, this ce will do just fine. Thank you, Tak-si."

    "It''s my honor to serve you, Mistress."

    Shortly after Tak-si left, Faelyn took out the pill cauldron, Fire Induction Array, and a list of spirit herbs for refining the Tier-1 Energy Gathering Pills.

    Having seeded in refining Tier-1 Energy Gathering Pills before, Faelyn was ready to advance to the next level and attempt the refinement of Tier-2 Spirit Foundation Pills.

    However, Faelyn was not satisfied with her mediocre sess.

    Unless she mastered the tier-1 spirit pills by consistently producing batches of pills at the High-rank and Supreme-rank quality, Faelyn wouldn''t attempt to refine higher-level pills.

    A firm foundation is the key to life-long sess on her path of alchemy.

    Just like that, Faelyn immersed herself in refining Tier-1 Energy Gathering Pills, which were helpful for energy cultivators at the Body Tempering Realm.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Three dayster, Leon stepped out of a spatial rift in the Infertile ins'' westernmost region with Rainshine after dropping Faelyn and Snowscar off at the World Tree.

    Nevertheless, Leon and Faelyn enjoyed onest steamy session together at the World Tree before they parted.

    "So this is the western jungle¡­" Leon muttered while ncing at the vast jungle ahead.

    He could see that the destend of the Infertile ins and the lush vegetation of the western jungle were divided at a nce.

    The difference between the two domains was like that of two pr opposites. One was thriving with overwhelming lifeforce while the other was lifeless and barren.

    "The vegetation in the western jungle is thriving a little too well despite neighboring the Infertile ins¡­ It''s as if the western jungle had sucked all the life out of the Infertile ins¡­"

    Leon thought.

    The western jungle wasn''t just vast; it was also towering, making Leon feel small. It gave him the impression that it was grander than Extreme Misty Forest.

    "Let us check it, Rainshine. Perhaps, we will find some interesting and unexpected surprises in the western jungle," Leon uttered.

    "Meow," Rainshine responded while resting on Leon''s shoulders.

    Leon stepped into the thick bushes and disappeared inside the vast western jungle shortly after.

    ¡­

    Western Region, Golden Suanni Tribe

    Several dozen miles away from the western jungle, a Mid-rank Great Warrior on sentry duty rubbed his eyes on the edge of a high-rise teau.

    "Strange, I thought I just saw someone appearing out of thin air at the outskirts of the western jungle¡­" the Mid-rank Great Warrior uttered.

    "Appearing out of thin air? How is that even possible?" another Mid-rank Great Warrior from the Golden Suanni Tribe refuted his sentry buddy''s im.

    "Are you sure you weren''t seeing things because your eyes have gone tired from the watch?"

    "Maybe," the Mid-rank Great Warrior replied.

    The Mid-rank Great Warrior also thought it was impossible for a person to appear out of thin air.

    Considering he couldn''t see clearly at such a great distance, he must have been hallucinating due to fatigue.

 Chapter 1004 The Western Tribesâ€™ Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 1004 The Western Tribes'' Meeting</h4>

    "You should have already finished your hours for the night shift. Go find the next person for sentry duty and get some sleep, brother," the other Mid-rank Great Warrior suggested.

    "Alright. I think I will do just that," the Mid-rank Great Warrior nodded.

    ¡­

    The entire Golden Suanni Tribe was founded on top of the high-rise teau. Its particr terrain made it a natural fortress with great defense and a good view of its surroundings.

    Even so, it wasn''t a reason for the Golden Suanni Tribe to becent.

    As such, they had sentries on duty at every time of the day, especially during such turbulent times when another tribe could attack them at any time.

    Nevertheless, the Golden Suanni Tribe never paid much thought to the aesthetics of their buildings, which were all tents made of beast bones, hide, and leather.

    At that moment, a high-level meeting was held inside a bone tent that was fourfold the size of the average tent in the Golden Suanni Tribe.

    The chief of the Golden Suanni Tribe and various western tribe leaders were all present.

    They gathered around a stone table with a big leather map of the Infertile insid out on it, recording multiple strategic points of interest.

    All the tribes of the other regions were all marked on the map, as well as their threat level.

    "News of the Battle God Pceunching major campaigns on the eastern tribes arrived earlier in the day. The Battle God Pce has finally started assuming an active role in its conquest. We need to start preparing as well," a western tribe leader mentioned objectively.

    "Considering the distance between the westernmost region and the eastern region, this piece of news should be over several days old already," Chief Sur-Kahn of the Golden Suanni Tribe frowned.

    "How did the King-rank tribes in the central region respond to the Battle God Pce''s movements?"

    "ording to our intelligence, none of the four King-rank tribes made any move on the Battle God Pce. Even the Holy Sunfire Tribe, which lies to the east of Steelpeak Mountains, only scouted from a distance as the Battle God Pce''s troops were passing their territory."

    Another western tribe leader by the name of Siwu-Tahk reported.

    "Besides the ck Warbear Tribe and Divine Tortoise Tribe solidifying the powers in their territories, only the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe made a move on the northern tribes," Siwu-Tahk added.

    "This is such a good chance to understand the situation within Battle God Pce. Unfortunately, none of these King-rank tribes dare to investigate," Sur-Kahn said with a frown.

    "No surprise there, Alliance Leader. The prestige of Battle God is undeniable. Everyone wants to rule, but no one wants to take the risk," another western tribe leader by the name of Sar-Rakshi inserted.

    They were all Battle Kings, but only the Alliance Leader Sur-Kahn was a Peak-rank Battle King.

    Everyone else was at the Low-rank Battle King level.

    "Make sense. A single mistake could spell the downfall of the entire tribe when it involves the Battle God Pce," Siwu-Tahk nodded and said.

    "However, the First Pce Lord was secretly manipting the situation in the eastern tribes. For the Battle God Pce to attack the eastern tribes now¡­"

    "Does that mean something happened to the First Pce Lord?" Siwu-Tahk wondered.

    The meeting went silent for a few moments before Sul-Dahki, another western tribe leader, decided to contribute a piece of information to the table.

    "It''s unconfirmed, but I received news from my spies in the ck Warbear Tribe that all three of the Battle God Pce''s Pce Lords went to the southern tribes. However, only the Third Pce Lord returned from there."

    "What?"

    The various leaders quickly expressed their astonishment.

    "Does that mean the southern tribes had someone capable of killing the first and second pce lords? Is that possible? The first and second pce lords were both Extremity-rank Battle Kings!"

    Sar-Rakshi stated with astonishment written all over his rough face.

    Sur-Kahn frowned deeply in thought.

    "The southern tribes were under the Third Pce Lord''s protection. I''m more inclined to believe the Third Pce Lordid a trap for the First and Second Pce Lords to jump in," Siwu-Tahk stated.

    "However, it doesn''t make sense that the Third Pce Lord could mobilize the Battle God Pce''s troops tounch campaigns on the eastern tribe right after. It should have taken him time to unite the scattered powers in the Battle God Pce."

    "Even more baffling is the fact that there''s still no news from the Battle God himself after all that had happened," Siwu-Tahk mentioned.

    "We''ve long suspected that something had happened to the Battle God," Chief Sul-Dahki stated.

    "That''s why everyone dares to challenge the Battle God Pce for hegemony over the ins. The Battle God''s inactivity after all this has pretty much confirmed our suspicions."

    "But the Battle God Pce isn''t what we should be worrying about right now, is it?" Chief Sul-Dahki said objectively.

    "That''s right," Chief Siwu-Tahk agreed with a nod.

    "We''ve gathered today to discuss the future direction of the western tribe alliance. Although our western region is united, we are still far from the hegemon position."

    "We will need to absorb the northern tribes or southern tribes, or even both, to have the other King-rank tribes and the Battle God Pce acknowledge our hegemony," Chief Siwu-Tahk stated.

    "The southern tribes are off-limits while the situation with the first and second pce lords remain unknown to us," Alliance Leader Sur-Kahn stated solemnly.

    "The southern tribes are too close to the demon''s territory. We don''t know if the southern tribe has a Battle God or any dealings with the demons that resulted in the two pce lords'' disappearance."

    "Either way, both are bad news for us," Alliance Leader Sur-Kahn stated in a firm tone.

    "Then are you suggesting we direct our swords at the northern tribes, Alliance Leader?" Chief Sul-Dahki asked for confirmation.

    "Targeting the northern tribes is our best option." Alliance Leader Sur-Khan nodded and said, "But we will onlyunch minor skirmishes to test the strength of the northern tribes."

    "After all, we still have to watch the Divine Tortoise Tribe neighboring us."

    The western tribe leaders nodded in agreement.

    They couldn''t be too careless with the Divine Tortoise Tribe. The Divine Tortoise Tribe could be waiting for a chance to strike at them for all they know.

 Chapter 1005 Abnormal Plant Growth

    <h4>Chapter 1005 Abnormal nt Growth</h4>

    Western Jungle was a ce thriving in vegetation.

    It was unknown where the jungle drew its abundant lifeforce from, allowing its nts to grow prosperously and generously, but one thing was certain; it was abnormal.

    The grass was as high as Leon''s knees, and the bushes and shrubs were even higher, not to mention the trees.

    Although the trees weren''t at the same level as an Elder Tree, their towering presence cannot be denied.

    And when there was an entire jungle of tall trees, it was pretty imposing and intimidating to the adventurers and explorers who dared to venture within its territory.

    If Leon did not have divine sense, a high level of defense, and Paragon-level poison immunity, even he would have to tread carefully for the sake of safety.

    Given the environment, they could be attacked from any and all directions.

    It was the perfect hunting ground for stealthy creatures.

    But unfortunately for them, none of their stealth would work on Leon; his divine sense detects everything within its range.

    As Leon walked through tall grass and thick bushes, a venomous snake suddenly thrust itself at Leon''s neck from one of the dangling vines.

    However, Leon had already foreseen its presence and anticipated its attack.

    But before Leon could even make a move, Rainshine''s eyes flickered with sharpness before she swiped at the venomous snake with her ws in a silvery-white sh.

    Puchi!

    The venomous snake was sliced into more than a dozen pieces before it dropped into the veil of grass and gushed with blood.

    No further movement was felt from the snake; it was deader than dead.

    Leon didn''t bother with the snake carcass and left it as is, continuing their journey into the depths of the western jungle.

    Nevertheless, Leon only traveled a few dozen yards before encountering another attack.

    However, the attack came from a different creature; it was a green frog the size of a full-grown watermelon.

    It was hungry and definitely not friendly.

    But like the first time, Rainshine quickly intercepted and sliced the green frog into numerous pieces with her sharp ws before returning to her spot on Leon''s shoulders.

    "Master, since your objective was to subjugate the western tribes, where are we heading this way? I believe there was a human settlement not far from the jungle outskirts," Rainshine mentioned.

    "Even if there was one, acquiring their allegiance peacefully with just words alone wouldn''t work," Leon casually replied.

    "Look at how thriving this ce is. They wouldn''tck any water and food in this ce. Thus, the southern tribe''s advantage in these aspects wouldn''t appeal to the western tribes. Alternatively, I could reveal my strength to make them submit. But if they are stubborn, they will definitely fight back."

    "As such, looking for the Golden Suanni n will be a more fruitful endeavor. The western tribes'' resistance won''t be as strong once they lose their backer. Nevertheless, that isn''t the most important point."

    "The most important point is I am much more interested in the Golden Suanni n than the western tribes," Leon stated.

    "I see¡­" Rainshine uttered.

    As they traveled deeper into the jungle, Leon started to think that he should have brought Faelyn along.

    The western jungle was a suitable ce for deepening one''sprehension of the Wood Law.

    There was definitely something special about the western jungle.

    Leon wouldn''t have been surprised if he had found a ce like the western jungle in the Wilnds back on the Deste Beast Continent.

    However, the western jungle was situated on the Dark Abyss Continent, a dark ce devoid of direct sunlight. As such, the nts relied on a different energy source to thrive.

    Furthermore, the western junglecked spirit energy despite its plethora of overgrown nts.

    "There''s definitely something special in the heart of this jungle¡­" Leon uttered along the way. He had a guess on what the nt''s special energy source could be.

    Suddenly, Leon spotted a rare spirit herb with his divine sense before making a beeline toward it.

    As Leon approached the location, the trees became increasingly sparse in the area. The thick bushes also cleared, and the sound of water became evident.

    It was a river.

    The rare spirit herb was none other than the few stalks of grasses growing along the riversides. But unlike other green grasses, they had tints of blue and silver.

    Bluesilver Grass was their name, and they were actually quitemon in the Divine Realm.

    However, Leon had never seen such tall stalks of Bluesilver Grass. As such, they were mutated variants of the normal Bluesilver Grass.

    When ites to variant spirit herbs, they usually have much stronger properties, or they may even have entirely new properties.

    Whatever the case may be, it doesn''t hurt to collect them.

    Bluesilver Grass was a supplementary ingredient in many pill recipes. Thus, Leon didn''t have to worry about not finding a use for the Bluesilver grass.

    However, the true value of variant spirit herbs lies in exploring and innovating new pills in the art of alchemy.

    After harvesting all the stalks of Bluesilver Grass in the area, Leon nted them all in the Worldspace.

    With the blessing of the Sacred Garden, the potency of the Bluesilver Grass would definitely increase.

    Leon continued to follow the river and pocket every mutated variant of the Bluesilver Grass he could find along the way.

    Collecting spirit herbs became a side objective as he searched for the Golden Suanni n.

    Puchi!

    Another creature was felled by Rainshine''s ws as she cleared the hostile beasts from the area. This time, it was a hyena.

    However, the hyena was not alone, and their strength varied from Low Rank 1 Transcendent to High Rank 1 Transcendent.

    "Master, there''s a lot more beasts in this area, and their numbers are growing. I think we are attracting them here," Rainshine mentioned.

    "With all that blood, it''s only natural that they are attracted," Leon casually said while plucking another stalk of Bluesilver Grass. "If they attack, continue to kill them all."

    "Yes, Master," Rainshineplied.

    Searching blindly for the Golden Suanni n was a waste of time. Leon thought it was better if they attracted the kings of the jungle to them instead.

 Chapter 1006 Food Attraction

    <h4>Chapter 1006 Food Attraction</h4>

    As the smell of blood became more pungent, the number of beasts attracted to the area also increased.

    Besides snakes and hyenas, goris, crocodiles, leopards, jaguars, and even an elephant came to the river.

    Nevertheless, not all of them were attracted by the blood and hostile to Leon and Rainshine; some came to drink water from the river.

    However, they quickly fled after catching the sights of their natural predators.

    Of course, those that didn''t flee were quickly attacked. s, the hostile beasts were outmatched when they saw Leon as prey and targeted him.

    Leon caught the neck of a jaguar with his vice-like grip when it pounced at him. He easily snapped the Rank 1 Transcendent-level jaguar''s neck with a bit of force and killed it.

    The jaguar''s body was casually tossed aside shortly after.

    Afterward, Leon nced back at the trail of carcasses along the riverside left by Rainshine before he paused in thought.

    "Interesting¡­" Leon muttered.

    Leon discovered that hostile beasts would rather hunt fresh living beings than eat from the already-dead carcasses of other beasts along the riverside.

    If the beasts were simply hungry, they would ignore the amount of food lying on the ground.

    It became clear to Leon that the hostile beasts had a clear target in mind when they came to the river.

    This could be clearly seen from the fact that the hyenas, jaguars, and leopards ignored each other. Rather, they were working together.

    Perhaps they were under orders from a higher-ranking beast that ruled the territory.

    "Rank 2 Transcendent-level beasts have started appearing¡­ Are they trying to gauge our strength?" Leon casually shook his head.

    It was a meaningless endeavor.

    Leon suddenly raised his hand and drew blood essences from all the beast carcasses along the riverside towards him. Then, he refined them and absorbed their origin blood into his bloodstream, increasing his umted origin blood types to 615.

    Shortly after, Leon grabbed a hyena''s leg and dragged its somewhat-intact carcass over to the river for a quick wash. The blood was quickly drained, and the fur was removed with fire.

    Afterward, Leon removed the organs and stuffed some spirit herbs inside.

    Then, Leon took some powdered dry herbs mixed with freshly squeezed herbal essence from the Worldspace before marinating the hyena''s carcass in the caramel-like mixed herbal juice.

    Rainshine was curious about Leon''s actions before she gradually realized her master was cooking the hyena.

    However, Leon wasn''t just cooking; he was experimenting and baiting.

    The marinated hyena carcass didn''t look all that appealing, nor did it smell great.

    But once Leon ced it over a spitfire that he made on the spot and started roasting the marinated hyena carcass, an incredibly appetizing and pleasant aroma surged out from it explosively.

    Rainshine took one whiff of it before she subconsciously started drooling and gazed at her master''s food with desire.

    At the same time, the explosive aroma spread far and wide, attracting all the beasts within several tens of miles.

    Rainshine had never had cooked food before.

    As such, the hyena carcass''s transformation was like magic to her, which further heightened her anticipation and expectation regarding its taste.

    However, the growing number of beasts in the area quickly snapped Rainshine out of her reverie as her eyes shed with coldness.

    "There''s no need to kill arbitrarily if they don''t attack us first, Rainshine," Leon casually said while squatting over by the spitfire, slowly rotating the marinated hyena carcass over the fire.

    After hearing that, Rainshine immediately noticed the beasts were gathering, but they weren''t attacking.

    They only kept a safe distance and watched from afar.

    Rainshine confirmed that the beasts weren''t attacking despite the growing desire in their eyes.

    Thus, Rainshine shifted her attention back to the marinated hyena carcass that started to shine with caramelized color.

    It was starting to look very soft and tender.

    As Rainshine watched marinated hyena carcass rotate intently and up close, a piece of firewood suddenly cracked apart, and embers flew about, startling her.

    Rainshine quickly retreated with a short hop and raised her paw at the flying embers as if wanting to smack them and fight back.

    Leon slightly smiled at Rainshine''s antics in amusement.

    "Are you curious about its taste?" Leon casually asked.

    Rainshine shifted her gaze to Leon and nodded repeated eagerly.

    Leon was also curious about the taste.

    As such, he decided to peel off a piece of meat and let Rainshine taste-test for him. The meat broke off from the carcass with little-to-no resistance.

    It was incredibly tender.

    Although Rainshine was eager to try, she carefully epted the piece of juicy meat from Leon''s hand in fear of identally cutting his fingers with her exceedingly-sharp fangs.

    The moment Rainshine swallowed the food, she immediately gave a shrill cry of joy and rolled on the ground as she relished in the aftertaste.

    At the same time, she felt a warm power flowing through her body, mildly improving her physique.

    After Leon watched Rainshine''s reaction, he also peeled a piece for himself and tasted it.

    ''The taste is excellent but not as exaggerated as Rainshine makes it. It still falls short of eating fresh sea monster meat dipped in special sauce,'' Leon evaluated.

    Nevertheless, Rainshine probably enjoyed it much more as it was something different from what she usually eats, which also makes it more exciting.

    ''Overall, this food isparable to tier-2 cultivation pills," Leon continued assessing his first attempt at spirit cooking.

    ''But considering I used some tier-3 spirit herbs to produce this, some energy was definitely lost in the cooking process¡­''

    ''This attempt was a failure, huh?'' Leon thought.

    A true master of spirit cooking wouldn''t allow any energy loss in the cooking process. Leon still had a way to go before reaching such a level.

    That being said, it was not bad for his first attempt.

    Roar!

    The mighty roar of Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level beast suddenly echoed throughout the area, causing Leon''s eyes to flicker thoughtfully.

    It was undoubtedly the roar of a lion.

    "Looks like we''ve sessfully attracted a king of the jungle with the scent of food," Leonmented with a slight smile.

    However, Rainshine immediately revealed a look that implies she wouldn''t share the food with anyone besides her master.

 Chapter 1007 Exerting Dominance

    <h4>Chapter 1007 Exerting Dominance</h4>

    "What''s this? You don''t want to share the food?" Leon softly chuckled at Rainshine''s behavior and said, "But if the golden suanni is cooperative, we might have to share the food."

    "Meow!" Rainshine voiced her unwillingness.

    "I can always cook more."

    After Leon said that, Rainshine paused with a contemting look for a moment before her eyes started beaming at Leon.

    ''Cooking more was good; please cook more'' ¨C Rainshine''s eyes conveyed.

    Before long, the gathered beasts in the distance split up and lowered their heads as they made way for the ruler of the jungle, a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni.

    It was only half the size of an average elephant, far from beingparable to other Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level beasts found throughout the Wilnds on the Deste Beast Continent.

    However, being smaller didn''t make the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni weaker.

    In fact, its strength and defense were both high and sturdy due to itspacted body size.

    Even so, Peak Rank 2 Transcendent is far below the adequate level to rule the entire western jungle. Most likely, the golden suanni was only the ruler of a small territory in the whole jungle.

    Roar! Roar!

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni growled at Leon, but its eyes were fixed on the hyena carcass being roasted over the spitfire.

    Leon could tell it was trying to say something. But unfortunately, Leon did not understand what it was trying to say exactly.

    He turned to Rainshine and said, "You''re both from the cat family. Do you understand what it''s trying to say?"

    "The golden suanni is demanding you hand over the food to it, Master," Rainshine answered with a gloomy look.

    "It''s also saying that if it finds the food ptable, it will spare us from the death penalty for arbitrarily killings beasts under its rule. Furthermore, it said it will also permit you to serve it as its new head chef, Master."

    "In my opinion, this golden suanni is too pompous and needs a reality check. Can you let me handle this matter, Master?" Rainshine requested.

    "Hm?" Leon studied Rainshine''s dark expression for a moment before he casually said, "As long as you can learn the Golden Suanni n''s location without killing it, I don''t mind."

    Nevertheless, Leon was amused that the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''s desire was to try the food he made rather than avenging the beasts under its rule.

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni viewed all the beasts in its territory as cannon fodders and food.

    It was just a matter of when it wanted to eat and from which beast.

    Despite that, the other beasts still chose to live fearfully under the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''s rule.

    Leon could clearly see how much power and influence the Golden Suanni n held over the jungle from this.

    "Thank you, Master," Rainshine nodded. After a momentary pause, she confirmed again, "As long as I don''t kill it, right, Master?"

    "Yeah," Leon affirmed.

    Shortly after, Rainshine approached the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni and stopped a few yards in front of it.

    The other beasts retreated further to give them space.

    At the same time, the difference in build between the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni and the Early Paragon-level Winter Cat became evident.

    As such, the golden suanni didn''t view Rainshine as a threat.

    Roar!

    (Step aside, pipsqueak.)

    (I have no interest in you, or do you think you can challenge me, the king of this jungle region, with your tiny body?)

    (I have heard and seen your strength. It''s only enough to bully the Rank 1 Transcendents in my animal kingdom, still far from challenging me, who stands at the peak of Rank 2 Transcendents.)

    The golden suanni grantly boasted in front of Rainshine, but she showed a disinterested and bored look while grooming the fur on the back of her paw.

    Meow!

    (You talk too much.)

    Rainshine replied.

    Shortly after, Rainshine''s hind legs erupted with strength as she dashed forward and headbutted the golden suanni in the chin, knocking it up into the sky.

    The tremendous force of the impact immediately caused the golden suanni to view Rainshine in a different light.

    But even though it had realized Rainshine''s strength was much greater than what it gave her credit for, it reacted toote.

    The golden suanni was stunned by the concussive blow.

    And as its bodynded back on the ground with a heavy thud and found the world spinning, Rainshine''s tiny paw stepped on its neck and pressed its head back into the ground.

    Roar!

    The golden suanni roared angrily at its carelessness, whichnded it in a humiliating position in front of its countless subjects.

    (You might have surprised me with your strength, but this much is still nothing to me¡ª!)

    The golden suanni tried to overpower Rainshine with its strength and regain control of the situation, but it failed to break from Rainshine''s paw.

    Her paw was like an enormous mountain weighing on its neck, impossible to ovee.

    Furthermore, Rainshine''s ws grew out and slowly sunk into the golden suanni''s neck with ease, causing its resistance to weaken and fear to sprout in its heart.

    Roar¡­

    (How can your puny body hold so much strength¡­?!)

    (You¡­ You''re strength is at the level of the Monarchs¡­!)

    The revtion horrified the golden suanni as it could only look at Rainshine from the corner of its left eye with fear and a hint of pleading.

    Meow!

    Rainshine slightly exerted a bit more strength, pressing the golden suanni into the ground before making it look her in the eye directly.

    (You, look at me; I am the boss now. Do you understand?)

    (Y-yes, ma''am! No, Boss! You are my boss!)

    The golden suanni quickly tried to express its understanding and submission after Rainshine exerted her dominance.

    (Good! Then, you will do as I say and tell me what I want to know, won''t you?)

    (Of course, Boss!)

    The golden suanni tried to nod its head submissively.

    (Do you still want to eat my master''s food?)

    (Y-yes¡­? No! I mean no, Boss!)

    The golden suanni quickly corrected itself after being frightened by Rainshine''s darkened expression and gloomy aura.

 Chapter 1008 Easy Submission

    <h4>Chapter 1008 Easy Submission</h4>

    Meow!

    Rainshine released her paw from the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''s neck, allowing it to breathe with ease again before strutting off back to Leon''s side.

    Although the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni regained its freedom, the thought of rebelling and striking at Rainshine''s back did not cross its mind.

    It was questionable whether it would seed, not to mention whether its attack would deal any damage to Rainshine.

    An Early Paragon-level beast had at least 10-million jin physical strength at the bare minimum.

    On the other hand, a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni like itself only had 3-million jin strength.

    Although the golden suanni didn''t experience Rainshine''s full strength, it could tell that Rainshine''s strength was higher than the bare minimum for an Early Paragon-level Winter Cat.

    As such, even if the golden suanni was one rank lower than Rainshine, her actual strength exceeded it by at least four to five folds.

    Roar!

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni growled at the gathered beasts in the area, shooing them away.

    It did not want them to see it continuing to make a fool of itself in front of the powerful intruders.

    Nevertheless, the gathered beasts vaguely understood the golden suanni''smand and quickly fled from the area.

    ¡­

    "Master, I made the golden suanni submit to me," Rainshine reported.

    "So it seems that way," Leon casually nced at the terrified golden suanni standing nervously in the distance and said, "It must have received a big blow to its ego after being overpowered by you."

    "Yes, Master," Rainshine raised her head with a proud look.

    How dare a mere Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level beast behave so arrogantly in front of her master when she, an Early Paragon-level Winter Cat, doesn''t dare to do so?

    "Did you find out from the golden suanni where its main Golden Suanni n is located yet?"

    "Not yet, Master," Rainshine her head before shooting the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni a stern look, gesturing it toe over with a flick of her head.

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni carefully approached Leon and Rainshine before ncing at Leon with apprehension.

    If the small cat was already a powerful Early Paragon-level beast, then how powerful would her master be? ¨C the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni thought.

    None of its prior arrogance could no longer be seen.

    Rainshine had certainly put it in its ce.

    For some reason, Leon found the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni to be pitiful. Or, at the very least, its current appearance seemed quite pitiful.

    Seeing that its neck was slightly bleeding from Rainshine''s sharp ws, Leon waved his hand at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni and helped it recover from its light wound.

    The golden suanni was astonished by Leon''s casual means and became more mindful of its actions in his presence.

    It wouldn''t dare to make the same mistake it did with the winter cat.

    After Leon healed the golden suanni''s wound, he peeled an entire hind leg off the roasted hyena and offered it.

    The golden suanni''s eyes immediately sparkled like it was looking at a saint. But before it could ept the roasted hind leg, it saw Rainshine''s stern expression from the corner of its eyes.

    Its body immediately trembled.

    Afterward, the golden suanni quickly shook its head, expressing its intention to decline the roasted hind leg even though it really wanted it.

    (I-I don''t want it. Please take it, Boss.)

    (Very good. I''m starting to like your attitude very much.)

    Rainshine nodded with approval before strutting over to ept the roasted hind leg from Leon in the golden suanni''s stead.

    However, Leon''s other hand formed a fist before he gave Rainshine a light bump on the head.

    "Stop bullying it so much. How am I supposed to earn the entire Golden Suanni n''s loyalty and allegiance if you keep terrorizing its members?" Leon casually said.

    "Furthermore, the Golden Suanni n definitely has stronger members if it can rule the entire western jungle. Are you sure it''s a good idea to be bullying the Golden Suanni n''s weaker members?"

    "I''m not going to back you up if the Paragon-level Golden Suannis starting after you due to your bullying, you know?" Leon stated.

    Although the bump on Rainshine''s head didn''t hurt, she still held the spot with her paws, feeling wronged.

    "This isn''t about bullying, Master. This is about seniority. How can you give it an entire leg before I get one? Isn''t this tant favoritism, Master?" Rainshineined.

    However, Leon nced at Rainshine with amusement.

    "I was going to give you the rest of the roasted hyena. Are you really going to fight the golden suanni for one leg? Should I give the rest of the roast hyena to the golden suanni and give this hind leg to you instead?" Leon asked with a smile.

    "Eh?" Rainshine was immediately stunned by her master''s words.

    At the same time, the golden suanni wasn''t sure what was going on, but it was feeling surprisingly excited as if something good was about to happen to it.

    Rainshine frowned and gave golden suanni a smack on the head with her paw.

    (Hmph! What are you getting excited for? You can have the hind leg. Don''t even think about eating the rest of the hyena. It''s mine, you hear me?)

    (Y-yes, Boss.)

    After receiving the golden suanni''s answer, Rainshine turned back to Leon and replied coyly, "On second thoughts, it can have the hind leg, Master."

    "That''s what I thought," Leon rolled his eyes with mild amusement at Rainshine''s antics before tossing the hind leg to the golden suanni.

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni immediately leaped up and gobbled the whole roasted hind leg without hesitation.

    In that instance, its eyes dted before it rolled on the ground with shrill joy as it tasted the best thing ever, much better than what the other humans ever offered.

    As expected, the taste is absolutely delicious ¨C the golden suanni thought.

    Shortly after, Leon noticed the golden suanni looking at him with reverence and worship. It seems that he could tame just about any beast with delicious food, he thought.

    "Ask it where the Golden Suanni n is, Rainshine. I think it will cooperate without a problem. You can eat the roasted hyena after."

    "Yes, Master," Rainshineplied eagerly.

 Chapter 1009 The Golden Suanniâ€™s Lair

    <h4>Chapter 1009 The Golden Suanni''s Lair</h4>

    After Rainshine started her interrogation, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni didn''t just answer her questions withplete honesty; it even expressed its willingness to guide them to the Golden Suanni n.

    "Master, it''s saying it is willing to lead us to the Golden Suanni n''s main territory," Rainshine reported.

    "Is it now? I suppose that works in our favor. At the very least, we won''t have to worry about getting lost," Leon thought.

    As he nced at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni, Leon could see its eyes fixed on the remaining roasted hyena with desire.

    For a big boy like the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni, it was clear that a single roast hind leg was far from enough.

    Nevertheless, it would be quite interesting if Leon could gain the Golden Suanni n''s allegiance and loyalty with delicious food.

    ''I should run some tests with this Peak Rank 2 transcendent-level Golden Suanni first,'' Leon thought.

    Shortly after Rainshine went to devour the remaining roasted hyena for herself, Leon gathered all the scattered beast carcasses in preparation for another cooking session.

    However, Leon only performed the first step of cooking preparation by removing the fur and organs, draining the blood, and cleaning the meat.

    Afterward, Leon stored everything in his Worldspace forter.

    By that point, Rainshine had also finished her sumptuous feast under the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''s envious gaze.

    It even whined a little.

    However, Rainshine didn''t share a single bite. She ate everything, bone and all, and even licked her paws after finishing.

    Despite finishing the entire roasted hyena, which was a few dozen times her size, Rainshine''s stomach showed no sign of intion.

    It was a wonder where all the food actually went or how her stomach was built.

    "Tell it to lead us back to itsir, Rainshine," Leon instructed.

    "Understood¡ª" Rainshine suddenly paused before asking with doubt, "The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''sir, Master? Not the Golden Suanni n?"

    "Yeah, we won''t be heading to the Golden Suanni n''s main territory just yet," Leon stated.

    "Understood, Master." Rainshine didn''t question her master''s decision.

    Meow!

    Roar!

    (Lead us to yourir!)

    (Y-yes¡ªmyir, Boss?)

    (Yes, is that a problem?)

    (N-no, Boss!)

    (Then lead the way!)

    (Y-yes!)

    After a short exchange of meows and growls between Rainshine and the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni, they finally went on their way.

    Nevertheless, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''sir was not that far away from the jungle.

    About thirty miles down the river, Leon and Rainshine left the vicinity of the thick jungle trees and bushes and entered a vast open grasnd with a stone mountain at its center.

    The stone mountain was Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''sir.

    Leon quickly spotted the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''s other family members within the mountain cave upon their arrival.

    There were five lionesses at the Mid Rank 2 Transcendent level and thirteen cubs with Early Rank 1 Transcendent-level strength.

    ''A cub already has the strength of a Transcendent? Exins why the Golden Suanni n can rule the entire jungle,'' Leon thought.

    The five lionesses nced at Leon warily before shifting their gaze to the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni with questioning looks.

    However, the cubs didn''t have the same awareness.

    Some of them ran up to Leon''s feet and started biting him, thinking he was food. s, their biting strength was too weak to break through Leon''s defense.

    In the end, it looked like they were just ying with him.

    Leon casually picked up a cub with a pinch and watched it struggle to break free by iling its four limbs about.

    Rao!

    The cub growled after failing to escape from Leon''s hand.

    At the same time, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni growled at its cubs, telling them to all backoff.

    Afterward, it shifted its gaze to Leon pleadingly, hoping he would spare its young.

    However, Leon didn''t have such intentions.

    He casually took out a piece of sea monster meat and fed it to the cub in front of him.

    The cub quickly devoured the sea monster meat with a voracious appetite before looking back at Leon with its big round eyes. It hung in the air obediently without trying to escape.

    Rao!

    The cub softly growled, hoping Leon would feed it another piece of delicious sea monster meat.

    "You''ve be so obedient after only being fed once, huh?" Leonmented with interest. The cub was like a ve to food.

    Whoever fed it good food would be its master.

    Nevertheless, Leon ced the cub back down before taking out a much bigger chunk of sea monster meat for all the cubs to share.

    Afterward, Leon went outside the mountain cave to prepare his new spitfire to roast the beast meat he previously collected.

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni was relieved after understanding Leon meant no harm to its family.

    It started to watch Leon cook with anticipation.

    However, it was forced to keep some distance as Rainshine also watched Leon roast the marinated beast meat over the spitfire.

    Before long, a tenderizing and mouth-watering scent exuded from the roasted beast meat, attracting even the five lionesses and thirteen cubs'' attention over.

    "Tell the golden suanni that if it wants to eat, it''ll have to exchange some of its blood essences for it, Rainshine," Leon instructed.

    Nevertheless, Rainshine appeared reluctant before Leon added, "You''ll get some too. Don''t worry."

    "Master is the best!" Rainshine immediately beamed with excitement.

    Shortly after, she conveyed the message to the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni before it nodded at Leon.

    Afterward, it offered one of its paws to Leon before turning its head away, not daring to look as if it was about to lose the entire limb.

    However, its worries were unfounded.

    Leon simply made a small cut that didn''t even hurt the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni before he started extracting its blood essence.

    "Alright, you can all dig in," Leon offered the roasted beast meat after he finished collecting a sizable amount of blood essence.

    He proceeded to refine Golden Suanni Origin Blood shortly after without paying any more attention to the others.

 Chapter 1010 Paragon-Level Golden Suanni

    <h4>Chapter 1010 Paragon-Level Golden Suanni</h4>

    Two days quickly flew by within the blink of an eye.

    During this time, several changes had taken ce at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''sir¡ªor rather, the golden suanni was no longer at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level of strength.

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni was promoted to the Paragon level after having its blood refinement by Leon.

    And after it received a partial bloodline awakening to reach the Paragon level, it opened its Wisdom Gate and unlocked memories from its past ancestors.

    As a result, the Paragon-level Golden Suanni gained many skills and techniques rted to the Golden Suanni Race and learned how to understand and speak the human tongue.

    Despite its rapid growth, which could put its present strength on par with Rainshine, the Paragon-level Golden Suanni didn''t have a single rebellious thought¡ªat least not towards Leon.

    The Paragon-level Golden Suanni and the rest of its family werepletely loyal to him.

    Even if they were reduced tockeys, their present lives would still be better than their past life.

    By following Leon, they get to enjoy good food and have opportunities to awaken their ancestral bloodline.

    What more could they ask for?

    Even the five lionesses were all promoted to High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis. Only the cubs'' strengths remain unchanged as Leon deemed them too young to experience blood refinements.

    Besides the big cats'' improvements, Leon had also used some of the Golden Suanni Origin Blood he gained from the Paragon-level Golden Suanni to raise his bone forging phase up to Peak Rank 1 Body Transformation.

    Furthermore, Leon became a Tier-3 Spirit Chef from the repeated practice in spirit cooking. He could make tier-3 spirit food without losing any precious energy in the cooking process.

    Apart from that, one of his divine consciousness, the one working runes, hadpletely absorbed all the knowledge on tier-4 runes and startedprehending tier-5 runes.

    He could be considered a supreme Tier-4 Runemaster, but not for long.

    Once his divine consciousnessprehends his first tier-5 rune, Leon would advance to be an Early Tier-5 Runemaster.

    ¡­

    At that moment, Leon roasted a few freshly-killed hyenas that the Paragon-level Golden Suanni had brought back from its hunt.

    "After this meal, you will lead us to the Golden Suanni n''s main territory, Cindertail," Leon suddenly said as he was brushing mixed herbal juice onto the slow-roasting hyena meat.

    Cindertail was precisely the name of the Paragon-level Golden Suanni, which Leon had learned shortly after it learned to speak in the human tongue.

    "What about my family, Master?" Cindertail inquired before raising his concern, "The Golden Suanni n''s main territory is quite far away from here. I''m afraid something will happen to my family if I leave them for too long."

    "You can bring them along. We can travel together," Leon said as he threw a casual nce at Cindertail''s big body.

    After Cindertail experienced his partial bloodline awakening and was promoted to the Paragon level, his body to the size of an average full-grown elephant.

    "Thank you, Master!" Cindertail said gratefully.

    "It''s not a big deal. Don''t worry about that," Leon casually shook his before mentioning, "You said that all the golden suannis''irs are all like yours throughout the jungle?"

    "Yes, Master," Cindertail confirmed.

    "How strange."

    As Leon rotated the marinated hyena meat over the spitfire, he nced at the towering jungle trees at the far edges of the grasnd in the distance.

    "This vast grasnd doesn''t seem like something that was artificially made ording to your n''s preference. Why would the western jungle have so many empty grasnd regions like this within it?" Leon wondered.

    "To be honest, I''m not quite sure, Master," Cindertail scratched his head with a baffled look and said, "I only know that the jungle has always been like this."

    "Always been like this, huh?" Leon softly muttered.

    Given the abnormal growth of the jungle nts, there shouldn''t be any reason for the vast vegetation to avoid growing across the grasnd¡ªnot unless there was something special hidden in the grasnd that prevented the nts'' growth from encroaching its territory.

    ''Perhaps there''s something special under this stone mountain?'' Leon thought.

    But before Leon divided a portion of his divine consciousness to investigate the earth below, he cast a nce at Cindertail.

    "You''re not going to challenge Rainshine today?" Leon casually asked.

    However, the moment Cindertail heard the question, he immediately shot up on all four limbs from his resting position by the spitfire.

    "Thank you for the reminder, Master. I just remembered now," Cindertail stated before shooting his gaze at Rainshine, who waszily resting on Leon''s shoulders.

    "Rainshine, I challenge you again! You have to acknowledge me as the new boss if I win!" Cindertail dered.

    Rainshine slowly cast herzy eyes at Cindertail.

    "This again? Just because you reached the Paragon level, it doesn''t mean you are my opponent. You''ve already lost all seven times out of the seven times you challenged me," Rainshine saidzily.

    "If you win, you get to be the new boss. But if I win, I only get to retain my position. I''m toozy to ept your challenge. There''s nothing for me to gain out of it."

    "This¡­ why don''t you state your condition for winning then? I''m feeling good today. I will definitely beat you this time," Cindertail stated confidently.

    "Yeah, yeah, sure," Rainshine slowly stood up on Leon''s shoulders before saying, "If I win, you have to offer up all your share of the roasted meat to me."

    "This¡­" Cindertail immediately hesitated.

    "What''s wrong? Weren''t you confident?" Rainshine goaded.

    "Hmph, of course!" Cindertail snorted and said, "F*ck it, let''s do it!"

    Shortly after, Rainshine and Cindertail left the stone mountain to duel each other on the grasnd a few miles away.

    The cubs quickly upied their spots and eyed the slow-roasting hyena meat on the spitfire.

    Leon broke off some pieces of roasted meat and fed them each a piece.

    Rao!

    The cubs growled with joy, causing a smile to appear on Leon''s face.

    Nevertheless, Leon shortly shifted his focus elsewhere as he sent his divine sense into the ground to investigate the earth beneath the stone mountain.

 Chapter 1011 Golden Suanni Tribeâ€™s Backer

    <h4>Chapter 1011 Golden Suanni Tribe''s Backer</h4>

    Leon thought he would discover something after searching under the stone mountain with his divine sense but found nothing special besides a rich metal deposit.

    "How strange¡­" Leon furrowed his brows.

    Leon couldn''t understand why the jungle nts'' growth didn''t reach the grasnd and only grew around it instead.

    It was clear that something prevented the jungle nts from entering the grasnd.

    However, he couldn''t find the source.

    ''Thend formation of the western jungle is unnatural. But since I can''t find the source out here, I shan''t worry about it for now. Perhaps, I will learn something once I reach the deeper parts of the jungle,'' Leon thought.

    Sometimeter, Cindertail and Rainshine returned from their duel.

    Rainshine was perfectly fine as she strutted in front.

    On the other hand, Cindertailgged behind her with his head hung down, feeling dispirited; light scratches and cuts filled his body.

    Leon didn''t need to ask to know who won.

    After seeing everyone was back, Leon hurled all the roasted beast meat in the air and sliced them into numerous smaller pieces with a fine thread of condensed fire energy.

    The roasted beast meat pieces shortlynded on severalrge banana leaves.

    "Food is ready," Leon stated.

    The lionesses and cubs quickly went to their designated banana leaf as they were taught and dug straight into the food.

    Rainshine and Cindertail each had their own banana leaf worth of food.

    Unfortunately for Cindertail, his portion was forfeited to Rainshine as a result of losing his bet with Rainshine.

    Cindertail could only watch enviously as Rainshine devoured his food portion with sheer bliss.

    Leon shook his head wryly and took some sea monster meat for Cindertail to eat before patting him on the head.

    "Master¡­" Cindertail looked at Leon like he was looking at a saint.

    "Maybe this will teach you not to gamble with your food recklessly," Leon softly chuckled before suddenly saying, "Alright, finish eating quickly. We have a long journey ahead of us."

    Shortly after Rainshine and the Golden Suannis finished their meals, they packed their homes and prepared to depart for the Golden Suanni n''s main territory.

    Nevertheless, Cindertail''s family did not have anything to bring with them besides themselves. As such, they finished packing quickly and went on their way.

    The five lionesses carried between one or two cubs on each of their backs, while Cindertail carried the remaining five cubs.

    "I''m going to miss this ce," Cindertailmented with a sentimental gaze while looking back at the stone mountain.

    "It''s not like you won''t evere back," Rainshinezily said.

    However, Cindertail shook his head.

    "No, I don''t think I will be returning."

    "Why not?" Rainshine asked.

    "How can I follow Master if I return to my home? Would I still get to enjoy Master''s cooking? Following Master is the dream life. Why would I still want to go back to that mountain cave?" Cindertail replied.

    Cindertail was definitely hugging Leon''s thighs until the end.

    "Idle chat aside, there''s something I want to ask you, Cindertail," Leon suddenly spoke as they re-entered the thick jungle and continued westward.

    "What do you want to know, Master? Please ask away. I will answer to the best of my knowledge," Cindertail stated.

    "You had contact with other humans outside the western jungle, right? What is the Golden Suanni n''s rtionship with them exactly?" Leon inquired.

    "The Golden Suanni n''s rtionship with other humans? Ah, those people." Cindertail recalled the Golden Suanni Tribe and said, "I don''t have any special rtionship with them, Master."

    "And they are still far from being qualified to have any rtionship with the Golden Suanni n''s main branch. They just seemed like nice people since they kept delivering good food to myir. Thanks to their persistence in doing so, they won the hearts of my eldest sons."

    "So that is why you are the only male in your pride, huh?" Leon muttered.

    "Yes, Master," Cindertail nodded.

    "My eldest sons are all grown up. It was time for them to leave and start their own families elsewhere anyway, so I didn''t stop them from following the humans."

    "But why did you mention those humans, Master? Do you have a problem with them?" Cindertail curiously inquired before assuring Leon, "If they are your enemies, I will definitely not side with them, Master."

    "Furthermore, I will recall my eldest sons immediately. Even if they are all grown up, they still have to listen to me, their father," Cindertail stated confidently.

    "There is a bit of problem with the Golden Suanni Tribe and the rest of the western tribes," Leon nodded.

    "You see, I don''te from the same tribe, and the major powers in the Infertile ins are currently at war for supremacy. However, something doesn''t make sense to me."

    "Even if your eldest sons were as strong as the past you, the Golden Suanni Tribe shouldn''t have the strength to quickly dominate and unite the entire western region''s tribes," Leon mentioned.

    A Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level beast was only equivalent to a Half-step Battle King in strength.

    Even if the Golden Suanni Tribe had many Half-step Battle Kings, it wouldn''t make much difference. They needed Paragon-level Golden Suannis at the very least to deter and control the western tribes.

    "Ah, I understand why you are baffled, Master. I forgot to mention it, but those humans also paid food tributes to the other territories close to the jungle outskirts," Cindertail stated.

    "They might have seeded in gaining the cooperation of a more powerful pride than mine, Master. That being said, most of the lords from the other pride situated close to the jungle outskirts are only around Peak Rank 2 Transcendent level like me in the past, Master."

    "The only pride I can think of that had a Paragon-level Golden Suanni would be Lord Firemane. His territory is situated further in the north," Cintertail mentioned shortly after.

    "I see¡­" Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    He was pleasantly surprised that the Golden Suanni Tribe could only gain the cooperation of a single Paragon-level pride.

    ''I wonder what the western tribes would feel once I acquire the entire Golden Suanni n''s allegiance?'' Leon mused.

    Although he shouldn''t count his chickens before the eggs hatched, Leon was fairly confident in achieving his objective.

 Chapter 1012 Aura Suppression

    <h4>Chapter 1012 Aura Suppression</h4>

    As Leon ventured deeper into the jungle with Rainshine and the Golden Suanni, they encountered many jungle beasts along the way.

    However, unlike the time when it was just Leon and Rainshine, the beasts did not attack them.

    They were all deterred by Cindertail and his family''s presence.

    "Are we still inside your territory, Cindertail?" Leon casually asked as he watched the pack of goris fleeing the area.

    "Definitely not, Master. We should have left my territory some time ago," Cindertail answered.

    "Hoh? I see," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    "Your kind are truly all kings of the jungle. Even when we are outside of your territory, your presence can still deter the beasts of other ruling golden suanni''s beast kingdom. I''m impressed."

    "Your kind words are wasted on me, Master," Cindertail said humbly before adding, "The beasts just can''t differentiate their rulers apart. It''smon for the beasts to mistake other visiting adult golden suannis as their lords."

    As they ventured deeper into the jungle, Leon watched the beasts either flee or lower their heads submissively as Cindertail passed them.

    After traveling another few miles, Leon suddenly noticed changes in the beasts'' movements. They were gathering and appeared coordinated.

    Before long, Leon''s part found their path obstructed by another group of golden suannis being led by a Paragon-level Golden Suanni.

    "Cindertail! Just where do you think you''re heading? Do you think this Lord''s territory is a ce you can just pass through without dropping by this Lord''sir to pay your respects to this Lord?" the Paragon-level Golden Suanni spoke oppressively.

    "If it weren''t for this Lord''s subjects informing this Lord of the disturbance in this Lord''s territory, this Lord wouldn''t have known you were passing through this Lord''s territory. Do you still have this Lord in your eyes?!"

    As the Paragon-level Golden Suanni spoke, it exerted its dominance by releasing its powerful aura that contained both a lion and a dragon''s aura.

    The Golden Suanni Race was a mighty hybrid race with lion and dragon ancestry.

    Nevertheless, their forms were closer to that of lions.

    Rao!

    The cubs on Cindertail and the lionesses'' backs cried in pain as they suffered under the Paragon-level Golden Suanni''s oppressive aura.

    Cindertail quickly frowned.

    In the next instance, Cindertail released his own mighty Paragon-level aura to counteract the Paragon-level Golden Suanni''s aura and ease his children''s suffering.

    However, Cindertail''s aura didn''t just counteract the Paragon-level Golden Suanni''s aura; it overwhelmed it.

    "I might have been impolite for not visiting you while passing through your territory, but if you continue to use your aura on my young, I will not be polite, Goldmane!" Cindertail said grimly.

    The Paragon-level Golden Suanni named Goldmane was quickly astonished by Cindertail''s Paragon-level aura.

    At the same time, the other golden suannis behind Goldmane wore difficult expressions.

    Cindertail''s Paragon-level aura had a certain depth that made it even superior to Goldmane''s Paragon-level aura, even though they roughly had the same strength.

    That made Goldman even more astonished.

    "You''ve ascended¡­ But what is this aura¡­? How can your aura be superior to this Lord''s when you''ve only just ascended? Just what sort of fortuitous encounter did you experience? How can you improve so quickly?!"

    Goldmane''s astonishment quickly turned into shock.

    "I have no interest in satisfying your curiosity, nor am I obligated to pay you any respect now that we are at the same level. Now, if you excuse me, I am still in the middle of escorting my master to the main territory," Cindertail said coldly.

    "Your master¡­?!"

    Goldmane quickly shifted his gaze to Leon before ring back at Cindertail.

    "Are you out of your mind, Cindertail?! How dare you, a Paragon of our noble n, take a mere human as your master! You''re an embarrassment to every Paragon in the n! Someone like you shouldn''t step foot in our n''s main territory!"

    "Hmph, words of the ignorant," Cindertail snorted disdainfully before turning to Leon.

    "Master, Goldmane is looking down on you too much. Someone like him doesn''t deserve to serve you, nor should he enjoy any of your cooking and blood refinement sessions."

    "Furthermore, he is just an Early Paragon like me. The true leaders of our n are all Peak Paragons, at the very least. Don''t waste your time on him, Master. If you can gain the allegiance of the Peak Paragons in our main territory, you will automatically gain control of the entire Golden Suanni n."

    "We should just continue on our way there, Master," Cindertail suggested.

    Leon agreed with a nod.

    What Cindertail made a lot of sense.

    Nevertheless, Leon was surprised to hear that a n with so many Paragons would not even have a single Half-step Divine Beast.

    As Leon''s group made a detour around Goldmane, Rainshine swept her cold gaze past Goldmane without a word.

    This golden suanni does not know what it was missing out on.

    At the same time, Goldmane caught Rainshine''s gaze as they were passing. He immediately frowned at their departure when he didn''t permit them to leave.

    Goldmane quickly moved to obstruct their path again.

    "Didn''t you hear what I said, Cindertail? An embarrassment like you doesn''t have the qualification to set foot in our n''s main territory. Take your human master and get lost from thesends! You''re not wee here!" Goldmane barked.

    Cindertail''s gaze immediately shed with gloominess.

    "Master, let me teach this bastard a lesson for obstructing our path and wasting your time," Cindertail requested.

    However, Leon shook his head and said, "Even if you experienced a partial bloodline awakening, your strength is still roughly the same. It''ll take too long for you to beat him. Stand down. I will handle this."

    "You will handle this? Did this Lord hear that correctly? What can a mere human do to this¡ª"

    Before Goldmane could finish speaking, he immediately felt the almighty dragon aura gushing out of Leon''s body.

    The dragon aura generated by Leon''s Peak Rank 9 Body Transformation-level dragon viscera was so powerful that it overwhelmed Goldmane and made his entire body freeze in fear.

    Goldmane had the illusion that he was facing one of the top leaders of his n.

    "Move aside," Leon calmly said.

    Goldmane subconsciously obeyed as if Leon''s words were the mandates of heaven. Goldmane retreated with his head lowered, not daring to look at Leon directly.

    Goldmane felt unworthy and insignificant to be in the presence of such majesty and grand aura.

 Chapter 1013 Leonâ€™s Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 1013 Leon''s Discovery</h4>

    After Leon revealed his aura, Cindertail''s eyes sparkled with awe and reverence.

    Cindertail knew his master was powerful, but he didn''t know his master was powerful to this extent. As expected, his master was not an ordinary human.

    No ordinary human should have a dragon aura, let alone a dragon aura that was powerful to this extent.

    Goldmane was so intimidated by Leon''s aura that he did not dare to utter a single sound, not even offer an apology. He just wanted to pretend he was dust so that Leon would not spare him a second look.

    Little did the golden suannis know that Leon''s actual strength was not as powerful as his dragon aura made him out to be.

    Nevertheless, it was extremely useful in scaring off his opponents.

    After Leon''s group left the territory, a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni growled at Goldmane.

    (Are we just going to let them leave like that, father?)

    (Otherwise, what do you suggest your father should do? Do you want your father to continue offending a Peak Paragon and get himself killed?)

    Goldmane growled back at his son.

    Shortly after, Goldmane nced back in the direction Leon and Cindertail''s group left with a thoughtful look.

    ''Cindertail was only a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent a few days ago. Yet he became a Paragon and solidified his aura in such a short time. And he calls that Peak Paragon, his master. Cindertail''s transformation must be rted to that Peak Paragon!''

    Goldmane silently concluded.

    (Go back to their and call everyone over. Tell your mothers to bring all your younger brothers and sisters. Our entire pride is moving.)

    (Where are we moving, father?)

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni was surprised by Goldmane''s instruction.

    (We''re moving to the n''s main territory. Something tells your father that something big is about to happen in the main n. We wouldn''t want to miss it.)

    Goldmane said.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to venture westward, passing through several more territories in the vast jungle with his group within a day.

    They encountered more golden suannis during that period.

    But unlike their encounter with Goldmane, they were less oppressive and more curious about Cindertail''s reason for passing through their territories with his entire family.

    Of course, the main reason why the golden suanni lords weren''t oppressive like Goldmane was that they weren''t Paragons.

    Naturally, they didn''t have the inted ego and pride of one.

    (Where are you heading that requires you to bring your family with you, Lord Cindertail? Why have the other lords also joined you with their families? What''s going on here, Milords?)

    A High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni inquired politely when it spoke to Cindertail while casting its curious gaze at Leon''s group, which had inted by fivefold during the span of their journey.

    Nevertheless, Cindertail didn''t answer the High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''s questions.

    Instead, Cindertail turned his head to Leon and said, "This one''s attitude is pretty good. I think we should take him in, Master."

    "Alright," Leon casually approved with a nod.

    After receiving his master''s permission, Cindertail immediately shifted his attention back to the High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni.

    (You''re in luck, Firepaw. Your humble attitude hasnded you a spot within our ranks. We are guiding our master to the main n. Pick up your family and follow us. If you are lucky, my master might grant you an opportunity to be someone like me.)

    As Cindertail spoke to the High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni, he slightly revealed his Paragon-level aura.

    Firepaw was immediately astonished by Cindertail''s reveal of strength.

    At the same time, Firepaw cast a short nce at Leon with silent doubt, neither questioning nor criticizing Cindertail''s choice in taking a human as his master.

    Firepaw wasn''t in a position to criticize a Paragon''s decisions.

    (Alright. I will do as you say, Lord Cindertail.)

    (Hold on.)

    (Is there something else you need, Lord Cindertail?)

    Firepaw politely inquired after Cindertail suddenly stopped him.

    "Master, we''ve been traveling for a full day. Should we take a small break at Firepaw''sir before continuing our journey?" Cindertail suggested.

    Leon contemted for a moment before he nodded, "Alright."

    Cindertail and Rainshine immediately felt excited.

    There was only one meaning behind a break; they get to enjoy their master''s cooking.

    When Cindertail informed the rest of the golden suannis in the group, they also started looking forward to it.

    Cindertail had raised their anticipation.

    (We will take a break at yourir. You won''t mind amodating us, will you? Firepaw?)

    (Of course not, Lord Cindertail. It''s Firepaw''s honor to be your host.)

    Sometimeter, Firepaw led Leon''srge group out of the thick jungle and arrived at hisir in the center of simr grasnd with a stone mountain.

    Apart from the stone mountain''s formation being different from the one at Cindertail''sir, everything else was almost the same.

    Nevertheless, after they arrived at the stone mountain, Cindertail and Rainshine quickly volunteered to hunt for beast meat while Leon set up several dozen spitfires to amodate all the beast meat they would bring back.

    Only the cubs were left behind with Firepaw at their as Cindertail and Rainshine grabbed all the adults with them when they left.

    Shortly after Leon finished setting up his spitfires, he shifted his alchemy-focused divine consciousness toprehending the Wood Law.

    The richness of wood energy in the region had grown to the point that Leon could no longer wait till he reached the densest part of the western jungle to startprehending the Wood Law.

    He had decided to get a head start on the Wood Law.

    While the other two divine consciousnesses were focused onprehending runes and the Destruction Law from the Wrath Lawprehension fragments, Leon used his main consciousness to recall his journey through the jungle.

    The numerous sceneries of the thick jungle, grasnd, and stone mountains shed across his mind one by one.

    And when Leon pieced all thends together to form a bird''s eye view of the overall jungle that he had explored thus far, doubt immediately festered in his heart.

    ''This¡­ unnatural yet seemingly natural western jungle almost seems like one iparably enormous formation¡­!''

    Leon''s gradually widened with shock.

 Chapter 1014 Gran Crevasse

    <h4>Chapter 1014 Gran Crevasse</h4>

    ''I can''t believe it. No matter how I look at this, it definitely looks like one enormous formation. But what kind of being can create a natural formation of this scale?'' Leon wondered.

    ''Even Celestial Lords and Celestial Kings might not be capable of such feats¡­ This seems like something only the Celestial Ruler of the world can create¡­ Did Celestial Earthshaker create this formation?''

    Although Leon is curious, he can only pay Celestial Earthshaker and Saint Voidme a visit when he is free.

    As Leon waited for Cindertail and the others to return from their hunt, the Cindertail''s cubs started crowding around Leon.

    Rao! Rao!

    The cubs whined.

    A few of them ced their small paws on Leon and shook his body with begging looks as they felt hungry and couldn''t wait for the adults toe back and then further wait for Leon to finish cooking.

    "You little ones can''t wait, huh?" Leon casuallymented. He gave the cubs some gentle scratches and belly rubs as they rolled over.

    Nevertheless, they couldn''t enjoy it as much due to their anger.

    Leon didn''t make them wait long. After ying with them for a short while, he took out an elephant-sized sea monster meat and chopped it up into small pieces.

    Then, he prepared the special sauce using the spirit herbs in his Worldspace before lightly drizzling it over the sea monster meat.

    Cindertail''s cubs immediately dug into the food with joy.

    At the same time, the cubs from the other golden suanni lords watched them eat enviously without daring to join them.

    Due to Cindertail''s status as the only Paragon-level Golden Suanni within their group, Cindertail''s cubs were like young princes and princesses.

    The other cubs whose fathers were only at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendents or weaker had to treat Cindertail''s cubs respectfully.

    Nevertheless, Leon had prepared enough food for all the cubs.

    "Dig in, all of you," Leon signaled for them to eat.

    Once the cubs received permission from the big boss, their eyes sparkled with excitement immediately. They growled to express their joy before joining Cindertail''s cubs.

    Rao!

    The cubs expressed greater joy after tasting the sea monster meat as they had never tasted something so delicious before.

    Meanwhile, Firepaw watched Leon curiously, wondering what was so special about him, a human, for Lord Cindertail to call him master.

    Suddenly, Firepaw felt his cubs tugging his body with pleading looks as they wanted to join the other cubs and dine in on the sea monster meat.

    However, Firepaw wasn''t sure how he should approach Leon about it.

    But then, Firepaw didn''t notice Leon had already grabbed a portion of the sea monster meat and brought it over to them on a big banana leaf.

    Firepaw looked up with surprise.

    "For your cubs to try," Leon casually said.

    Even though Firepaw couldn''t understand what Leon said, it vaguely understood his intention and nodded his head gratefully.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Cindertail and the others returned from their hunt, each carrying a hyena, jaguar, or deer in their mouths.

    "We have returned, Master," Rainshine reported.

    Leon nodded.

    Before long, Leon prepped the beast meat and ced them all on the spitfires for roasting. The incredible scent had Rainshine and all the golden suanni drooling with anticipation.

    After they had a hearty meal, Leon performed another blood refinement session on Cindertail, allowing the other golden suannis to watch and understand the benefits.

    At the same time, they realized the secret to Cindertail''s growth.

    Once Cindertail''s blood refinement session ended, the golden suanni lords all lined up eagerly, hoping to get a turn as well, which, in turn, was what Leon wanted.

    As such, Leon didn''t reject any of them and performed blood refinement on each of them.

    "It looks like there will be more Paragons in our ranks after this," Cindertailmented.

    Cindertail watched two Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis wear difficult expressions after receiving their blood refinement sessions and absorbing the drops of Golden Suanni Origin Blood from them.

    Roar!

    Before long, the two Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis couldn''t take the increasing temperatures in the bodies anymore and roared.

    Their auras quickly surged in that instance.

    Firepaw and the other adult golden suannis all watched in awe as they personally got to witness the birth of two new Paragons.

    However, Leon didn''t share the same interest as he had already witnessed a golden suanni''s partial bloodline awakening and ascension to the Paragon level before.

    Leon used the drops of Golden Suanni Origin Blood he collected from Cindertail to cultivate his Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    About three days'' journey westward from Firepaw''sir was the heart of the Western Jungle, also called the Central Western Jungle.

    It was the ce where the Golden Suanni n''s main territory was said to be situated.

    However, contrary to expectations, the centermostnd of the Central Wester Jungle was neither a thick jungle nor a vast grasnd with a stone mountain.

    It was an enormous crevasse, one that was circr like an amphitheater with numerousyers of different depths. Eachyer ofnd was deeper than thest as they got closer to the center.

    There were divided opinions within the Golden Suanni n that the concavednd looked closer to an inverted stone mountain that was formed naturally.

    Others imed that concavednd was formed after a colossal object was uprooted from the ce.

    Even though the Golden Suanni n had made the ce their mainir, they did not know the truth in regards to its history.

    Thend had always been the way that it was long before Golden Suanni n moved into it.

    But even though the Golden Suanni n was divided in their opinions on the origins of the concaved rockynd, they had a collective name for it that they could all agree on.

    It was called Gran Crevasse.

    At that moment, a huge Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni was standing on a sturdy thick tree branch on the edge of Gran Crevasse while overlooking it with a frown when another Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni passed by on the ground level and noticed it.

    "Lord Goldenstride, why do you look so troubled?" the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni inquired.

 Chapter 1015 Forbidden Territory

    <h4>Chapter 1015 Forbidden Territory</h4>

    After hearing his name being called out, Goldenstride shifted his gaze down to the other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni that spoke.

    "Lord Wildfire, huh? It''s nothing much. I''m just pondering the future prospects of the n, nothing more. Don''t worry about it," Goldenstride said.

    However, Wildfire was rather interested in the topic.

    "Oh? But I am rather curious. Why don''t you talk about it? Maybe I can offer some of my opinions on the matter, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire said.

    "Well, if you insist, Lord Wildfire," Goldenstride replied with a nod before suggesting, "Why don''t youe up here and join me in my view of Gran Crevasse first?"

    "Sure," Wildfire agreed.

    Shortly after, Wildfire nimbly scaled the thick jungle tree andnded on the same tree branch as Goldenstride.

    Surprisingly, the tree branch only budged slightly before regaining its sturdiness and supporting the weight of both Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    Perhaps due to the overwhelming wood energy within the tree, it was far more tenacious and firm than ordinary trees of its kind.

    In fact, all the nts in the Central Western Jungle were more or less around this level of tenacity and firmness.

    The concentration of wood energy found within the nts of the Central Western Jungle was on a whole different level.

    "Well, I''m here now. What do you want me to see, Lord Goldenstride?" Wildfire inquired.

    "Our n members in Gran Crevasse. What do you think when you look at them, Lord Wildfire?" Goldenstride casually asked.

    On the vast concavednd of Gran Crevasse, the mainir of the Golden Suanni n, Wildfire could see more than twenty thousand golden suannis widely spread out into smaller groups andzing about.

    On top of that, one-tenth of them were at least Paragons.

    "I see a prosperous n, strong and mighty rulers of the jungles, both current and future ones," Wildfire stated before suddenly adding, "Well, at least that is what it looks like on the surface. However, weck something very critical, purpose."

    "Exactly," Goldenstride nodded.

    "Although the number of Paragons in the n grows over time, our overall poption remains the same. Even though we are the kings of the jungle, we can''t hunt as we please, eat as we please, or breed as we please."

    "We have to strictly control both our poption and the poption of other beasts within our animal kingdom. Otherwise, we will eventually destroy the ecosystem and run out of food. The way we are now cannot be considered living; we are simply surviving."

    "I don''t want to stay in this cage for the rest of my life; I want to break free from this cycle," Goldenstride stated.

    After listening to Goldenstride, Wildfire smiled wryly.

    Even though the Golden Suanni n was prosperous and other beast races would die to be in their shoes, Goldenstride saw their life as being pathetic.

    However, Wildfire couldn''t refute it.

    It was true that their current way of life wasn''t one by choice but one forced by circumstances. The idea of freedom was an illusion.

    Even when their Paragons were many, not a single golden suanni could reach the Half-step Divine Beast, let alone evolve into a Divine Beast.

    It came as no surprise to Wildfire that Goldenstride felt trapped.

    "But even if you say that, there isn''t much we can do to change our fate, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire stated.

    "To the west, we have the Boundless Sea. Although it contains an equally boundless food source, our kind wasn''t born for the sea. We are like stones in water, sinking to the bottom. As such, we are restricted from venturing west."

    "On the other hand, the Infertile ins is a vast opennd to the east. Our kin could freely traverse thisnd if we wanted to. However, it''s too barren and deste. The food source there won''t be able to support our n unless we make all the humans our enemies."

    "Although they aren''t as strong, they are many in numbers. This might have been a good thing for us if not for the fact that they pollute their bodies with dark energies and don''t have much meat anyway. A single wild boar is much more satisfying to eat than twenty polluted humans."

    "Let''s not even mention the cold north. That ce is just an icend full of snow and blizzards. All the creatures that could live in thatnd are the pr opposite of our Golden Suanni n, creatures of the sun. Our people will only suffer in that ce."

    "And finally, we have the demon territories in the south. Although the south has the vastestnds, there are too many powerful demons there, not to mention the overwhelming density of dark energy in that ce. If we lead our n down south, there will be nothing but war and death."

    "If we look at the circumstances, our Golden Suanni n has it easypared to other races. We should be satisfied with our situation, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire stated.

    "I know all that. But even so, I am not content. I cannot be content," Goldenstride said defiantly.

    "You mentioned the four directions, Lord Wildfire. However, you forgot to mention thest two; the sky above and the earth below. There must be much better worlds out there among the stars that we cannot see in thisnd."

    "Of course, there are," Wildfire asserted.

    Having opened their Gate of Wisdom and inherited portions of their ancestral memories, all Paragon-level Golden Suannis knew that countless other worlds exist among the stars.

    "However, ignoring the fact that we can even leave this world, only a Divine Beast can survive in outer space," Wildfire stated.

    "That''s right," Goldenstride didn''t deny it.

    "In order to go up, we must first go down. There must be countless secrets buried under Gran Crevasse. If we can just unearth them, we might just learn the secret to break free from our shackles and ascend to the Divine Beast Realm."

    Swoosh~!

    Shortly after Goldenstride finished speaking, a dozen other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis suddenly appeared, led by another Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni that seemed to be the leader.

    "I cannot ignore what you just said, Lord Goldenstride. You know the abyss is forbidden territory," the leading golden suanni said sternly.

 Chapter 1016 Vanishing Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 1016 Vanishing Spirit</h4>

    The abyss was the name given to the subterranean space that exists underneath Gran Crevasse, and its entrance could be found at the very center.

    However, the hole that leads to the seemingly bottomless abyss was sealed with vines¡ªsturdy, long vines that could be found throughout Central Western Jungle to Gran Crevasse.

    "Have you forgotten the teachings of our ancestors, Lord Goldenstride? The abyss must never be opened, nor should it ever be explored. That was the one and onlyw that everyone must absolutely follow," the leading golden suanni stated sternly.

    "We''ve guarded the abyss entrance together for so many years, Lord Dawnchaser. Aren''t you the least bit curious about what is down there and why our ancestors forbid everyone from exploring it?"

    Goldenstride did not back down on his opinion despite being surrounded by many other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    "There isn''t a single soul in the n that isn''t curious about what''s down there. But despite that, we all chose to abide by our ancestors'' teachings. The ancestors did this for our own safety. God knows what dangers are hidden down there for them to set up such aw," Dawnchaser stated.

    "Are you content with living like caged animals forever, Lord Dawnchaser?" Goldenstride asked with a contemptuous look.

    "There is no reward without risk. We live on an entire mountain of unknown treasures, yet we can do nothing except guard them. Does that even make sense? We should have long opened up the abyss entrance and seized those hidden opportunities!"

    "The secret of ascension definitely lies down there in the abyss! If even just one of us could unlock the secret and ascend to the Divine Beast Realm, we could break free from this cage that the ancestors had built around us!"

    Goldenstride attempted to convince the other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis with his words and invite them to share his vision.

    However, Dawnchaser remained unmoved in his stance.

    "It seems like you are unwilling to abandon your intention on the abyss. In that case, you leave me no choice, Lord Goldenstride."

    Dawnchaser''s eyes shed with decisiveness.

    "Escort Lord Goldenstride back to his cave and have four Peak Paragons watch him! Lord Goldenstride is not allowed to leave his cave unless he decides to abandon his idea on the abyss!" Dawnchaser ordered the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    "This way, please, Lord Goldenstride," the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis surrounded Goldenstride before seeking his cooperation in following them back to his cave.

    "Hmph, it''s just a house arrest. Do you think you can keep me home forever?" Goldenstride snorted.

    Nevertheless, Goldenstride did not resist and obediently followed the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni''s lead in returning to his cave.

    All Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis were leaders of the n, wielding great authority and power. Nothing good woulde out of a direct conflict between them.

    After Goldenstride was escorted away, Dawnchaser noticed Wildfire''s contemtive look and frowned.

    "Lord Wildfire, you''re not considering Goldenstride''s words, are you?" Dawnchaser inquired with a sharp look.

    "You should know that even though we were brought to thisnd by our ancestors, they didn''t build this cage to trap us here and force us to guard the abyss entrance to the end times. Our present life might not be ideal, but we have a good life."

    "Everything our ancestors did was to protect us, Lord Wildfire. You should understand that, right?" Dawnchaser added.

    "I know. You don''t need to worry about me, Lord Dawnchaser," Wildfire nced at Dawnchaser before replying coolly, "Even though I don''t approve of what Lord Goldenstride said, you have to admit that Lord Goldenstride had a point."

    "It doesn''t matter if Lord Goldenstride has a point or not. We mustn''t be tempted by his words. The abyss was sealed for a reason, and it''s best that we keep it that way," Dawnchaser firmly said.

    Nevertheless, Wildfire noticed that Dawnchaser seemed to know something about the abyss for him to strongly opposed the unsealing of the abyss entrance.

    "Do you know something about the abyss that I don''t, Lord Dawnchaser?" Wildfire inquired suspiciously.

    "It''s a taboo topic. Just know that our ancestors once explored the abyss once and suffered disastrously. Unsealing the abyss entrance won''t do the n any good. It might even summon a cmity upon the n," Dawnchaser stated.

    "I see¡­" Wildfire uttered with a frown.

    Dawnchaser was a descendent of one of the few surviving leaders who made it back from the very first abyss exploration.

    Wildfire became more certain that Dawnchaser knew something.

    However, Wildfire found it strange that the truth behind the first abyss exploration had always been a tight secret from everyone else in the n.

    ''Just what exactly did the n''s ancestors find down there?'' Wildfire wondered.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "Master, we have just entered the Central Western Jungle. The n''s main territory, Gran Crevasse, isn''t much further from here," Cindertail informed.

    At that moment, Cindertail''s strength had already reached Late Paragon from the repeated blood refinement sessions we received from Leon.

    But unlike other Late Paragons at his level, Cindertail could use his bloodline ability, allowing golden mes to erupt from his body and enhance hisbat prowess to Peak Paragon.

    On the other hand, only a few other golden suannis had reached Mid Paragon. The rest was still Early Paragons.

    Even so, the number of Paragons in the group had exceeded twenty as they picked up more golden suanni groups along the way.

    Leon''s bone-forging phase has also reached Peak Rank 3 Body Transformation Realm.

    As such, his bones alone gave him 30-million jin of raw physical strength. And coupled with his other body forging attainments, hisbat prowess had already reached the same level as a Mid Paragon.

    Furthermore, this was just the strength of his body alone.

    It was hard to say what was his truebat prowess if he was to factor in all his other abilities from awakening, demon, and soul cultivation.

    Leon would need a worthy opponent to test his limits.

    "We''re almost there, huh? I can''t be the wood energy concentration is much higher here," Leon softly muttered.

    He could also vaguely sense spirit energy in the region¡ªbut it was only for an instant before the spirit energy disappeared off his radar like it just vanished into thin air.

 Chapter 1017 Dawnchaserâ€™s Premonition

    <h4>Chapter 1017 Dawnchaser''s Premonition</h4>

    ''No wonder I couldn''t sense any spirit energy in this jungle despite its overgrown vegetation. The spirit energy has been transferred elsewhere due to the formation. It seems like I will only learn what they are used for once I reach the centermost region,'' Leon thought.

    As the group continued their travel, Rainshine rested on Leon''s shoulders with a dispirited look. In fact, she had been like that ever since Cindertail surpassed her in strength.

    Unlike the Golden Suanni n, the Winter Cat Tribe did not have a God Beast ancestry; it only had a Divine Beast ancestry.

    As such, Rainshine''s blood refinement sessions only gave her limited results inparison to Cindertail.

    Even so, Rainshine still managed to rise to Mid Paragon.

    However, she did not awaken any bloodline ability yet.

    "Why are you still sulking? At least Cindertail doesn''t fight you for the boss position anymore," Leonmented while poking Rainshine''s cheeks.

    Rainshine''s cheeks immediately puffed up into a pout.

    She didn''t want to be the boss of Cindertail out of pity. She wanted to be the boss because of her strength.

    Unfortunately, the reality is that their innate talents were on different levels.

    "Is it possible for me to be stronger than Cindertail, Master?" Rainshine softly asked.

    "It will be difficult but not impossible," Leon casually said.

    "If you can ascend to the Divine Beast Realm before Cindertail, you''ll naturally be stronger than Cindertail. However, Cindertail will eventually catch up and surpass you again. This is what it means to possess a superior bloodline."

    "If you want to stand your ground against Cindertail and the other golden suannis, bloodline purification and effort alone won''t be enough. You''ll need heavenly herbs and medicine to upgrade your bloodline," Leon said.

    Unfortunately, Leon was not familiar with medicine that could help beasts evolve.

    "Don''t dwell on it. You''ll only be depressed if you continue topare yourself to the golden suannis. You should just set them as your goal. If you can surpass them despite your starting point disadvantage, won''t it be something to be proud of?" Leon mentioned.

    "But I don''t even know what I should do to improve my strength, Master," Rainshine said despondently.

    Other than receiving blood refinement sessions from her master and enjoying his spirit cooking, she didn''t know any effective means of increasing her strength.

    "If you don''t know, then you just have to look. Opportunities only appear for those who seek them; it doesn''t wait for anyone," Leon stated.

    That being said, it''s hard to say whether there would be many opportunities for beasts to grow on Gaia.

    Leon figured that they would have to travel to the Myriad Beast Star Realm if they wanted to find plenty of opportunities for Rainshine and the other beasts to grow.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Central Western Jungle, Gran Crevasse

    A full day since Goldenstride was ced under house arrest, tranquility returned to the Golden Suanni n.

    However, Dawnchaser could not help but frown as he silently observed Gran Crevasse from the thick branch of a tall tree located on the outskirts of the concavednd.

    Goldenstride''s words nted a seed of doubt that slowly germinated and gnawed at Dawnchaser''s heart, filling it with a foreboding feeling that something terrible would happen, one that is rted to the abyss.

    "Lord Dawchaser, you don''t look too great. What seems to be troubling your mind?" a Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni asked, joining Dawnchaser on the tree branch.

    "You''re here, Lord Goldzer," Dawnchaser acknowledged the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni''s presence before asking, "Did youe to see after leaving the others to watch over Lord Goldenstride''s cave?"

    "That''s right, Lord Dawnchaser," Goldzer nodded before wondering, "But why do you ask, Lord Dawnchaser? Is Lord Goldenstride''s matter still bothering you?"

    Dawnchaser silently nodded.

    "I see," Goldzer uttered with a look of understanding before reassuring him, "However, you don''t need to worry about Lord Goldenstride, Lord Dawnchaser."

    "Although Lord Goldenstride hasn''t changed his mind regarding the abyss exploration, he has not made a single attempt to leave his cave. But even if he did make an attempt, he won''t be able to make it past the other six Peak Paragons guarding his cave."

    Dawnchaser nodded with acknowledgment.

    As Goldzer said, Goldenstride would not be able to defeat six other Peak Paragons like himself.

    Goldenstride was most aware of that. As such, Goldenstride could not be bothered tomit such a futile attempt.

    "If Lord Goldenstride really wanted to enter the abyss, he would have lied to us about abandoning his intention on the abyss to secretly enter when we are no longer watching him," Goldzer stated

    However, Dawnchaser frowned at his words.

    "You have spoken inappropriately, Lord Goldzer. We might disapprove of Goldenstride''s intention, but he is still a respectable and proud leader of the n. He wouldn''t throw away his integrity and stoop so low," Dawnchaser stated.

    "You''re absolutely right, Lord Dawnchaser. I shouldn''t have thought ill of his character," Goldzer admitted his mistake.

    "Let''s put that aside. Please apany me to the abyss entrance, Lord Goldzer. I wish to look at the state of the abyss entrance to ease my worries."

    "I think you are a bit paranoid, Lord Dawnchaser, but sure, I will apany you."

    Shortly after, Goldzer followed Dawnchaser and arrived at the abyss entrance found in the center of Gran Crevasse.

    The abyss entrance waspletely sealed by both thick and thin vines and looked no different from a floor made of vines¡ªor at the very least, that was what it should have looked like.

    "The abyss entrance is as it always has been. You worry too much, Lord¡ª" Goldzer suddenly froze when his gaze fell on a small hole in the floor of vines. "Why is there a hole in the seal?!"

    Goldzer''s shocked voice immediately startled everyone around him.

    The hole was so small that not even a cub could fit in it. Even so, it didn''t make it any less shocking to discover.

    There wasn''t meant to be any gap in the seal.

    At the same time, none of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis guarding the seal even realized there was a hole until Goldzer eximed.

    "What is going on here?" Dawnchaser immediately interrogated the guards as his premonition intensified.

 Chapter 1018 The Uncanny Bone Spike

    <h4>Chapter 1018 The Uncanny Bone Spike</h4>

    Dawnchaser''s voice was raised, and his eyes expressed his solemn gloominess.

    There was a hole in the vine seal. And yet, it wasn''t reported, nor was anything done about it. The Paragons guarding the seal have been way toox in their duties.

    But even though Dawnchaser questioned the guards, they couldn''t provide a satisfying answer.

    They were just as surprised and shocked by the discovery.

    "My apologies, Lord Dawnchaser. We have been too careless. I don''t think any of us knew when the hole appeared in the seal or why it did, not even who could have done," one of the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis said guiltily.

    The sealed abyss entrance had been sealed for thousands of years without an issue. And yet, an issue finally appeared on their shift.

    The guards felt both ashamed and embarrassed. It was a stain on their honorable names as leaders of the n.

    "Does no one know why this hole appeared or who could have done it?" Dawnchaser frowned.

    The Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis looked at each other and saw the evident confusion in each others'' eyes.

    No one truly knew what had happened.

    "First, the incident with Lord Goldenstride. And now, this," Dawnchaser''s frown deepened.

    "Someone check on Lord Goldenstride and see if he is still in his cave. If he is, bring him over here. He might be under house arrest, but this is a serious matter, and we need answers."

    "Understood, Lord Dawnchaser."

    Shortly after, a few Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis quickly left to summon Goldenstride to their location.

    At the same time, the unusual mood around the sealed abyss entrance drew the attention of the other leaders in the n.

    They all started to congregate at the sealed abyss entrance location, whether they were Peak Paragons, Late Paragons, or even Mid Paragons.

    News quickly spread around Gran Crevasse within a few dozen breaths, and hundreds of Paragon-level Golden Suannis were gathered.

    Nevertheless, more Paragons continued to make their way over once they caught the news.

    "What''s going on here? Why is everyone gathered around the sealed abyss entrance?" a Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni inquired while blindly following the crowd.

    "You don''t know?" a Late Paragon-level Golden Suanni paused to look at the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni.

    "I heard Lord Dawnchaser and Lord Goldzer found a hole in the seal when they inspected the site. Everyone is losing theirposures because no one knows how long that hole had been there or who made it."

    "Oh? Sounds exciting," the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni uttered with interest.

    However, the Late Paragon-level Golden Suanni frowned at its attitude and said, "Such a serious matter, and you find it exciting¡­ you say?"

    "Ahem, sorry, Milord. It was a slip of the tongue," the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni fixed his attitude.

    Nevertheless, the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni wasn''t the only one like that.

    The long years of idleness had left many Paragons bored. Thus, while some Paragons viewed the incident seriously, some also took it lightly.

    Before long, Goldenstride was escorted to Dawnchaser while the gathered Paragons made way for him to pass through.

    "Did you do this, Lord Goldenstride?" Dawnchaser cut straight to the chase.

    Goldenstride nced at the hole in the seal and slightly frowned before calmly looking back up at Dawnchaser.

    "I was inside my cave the whole time. How could I have done this?" Goldenstride replied.

    "No one knows when the hole was made, so it could have been made before you were ced under house arrest, Lord Goldenstride. In any case, you are still the most suspicious suspect."

    "How interesting," Goldenstride smiled amusingly.

    "Don''t you think you said something pretty funny, Lord Dawnchaser? The seal has always been guarded, and yet, not a single guard knew when the hole appeared? Aren''t our guards way toox in their duties?"

    "Nevertheless, trying to figure out the cause behind the hole isn''t the most pressing issue right now, is it? Why is no one resealing the hole?" Goldenstride asked with a firm tone.

    Even though Goldenstride was suspected of creating the hole in the seal, he did not feel any pressure or concern from the usive gazes thrown at him.

    An innocent golden suanni has no need to fear being guilty

    Of course, it was a different story if someone was purposely trying to pin the me on Goldenstride and screw him over.

    Fortunately, Dawnchaser concluded that Goldenstride had nothing to do with the hole.

    "Go fetch the strongest vines in the jungle. We will patch up the hole and further reinforce the seal," Dawnchaser instructed.

    As that happened, a few high-ranking Peak Paragon dropped by the hole for a closer inspection to see if they could learn something from it.

    "Hm? Lord Dawnchaser, you shoulde over here and take a look at this hole," a Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni quickly discovered a problem.

    "What is¡ª" Dawnchaser''s pupils shrank immediately.

    The hole in the seal wasn''t created due to someone sabotaging it¡ªat least, not by anyone from the surface.

    None of the vines were damaged.

    "The hole was created due to the vines being pulled into the abyss¡­? That means¡­ the culprit came from the abyss!" Dawnchaser and the other quickly realized.

    The hearts of Dawnchaser and the nearby Peak Paragons tightened without a chance to rx as they felt a threatening sense of danger from the hole in that instance.

    Danger!

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Dawnchaser and the other Peak Paragons immediately retreated as a single bone spike suddenly shot out from the hole.

    It was unlike any bone spike the entire Golden Suanni n had ever seen.

    The tip of the bone spike suddenly split into four parts and curled with uncanny flexibility, transforming into a grappling hook-like shape.

    "What the hell is this thing?" Goldzer eximed with wide eyes.

    However, no one had the chance to wonder.

    The moment Dawnchaser and the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis saw the bone grappling hook attempt to split the vines and expand the hole, their expressions drastically changed.

    "Stop it! It''s trying to widen the hole!" Dawnchaser barked while jumping straight into the action.

 Chapter 1019 Creatures from the Abyss

    <h4>Chapter 1019 Creatures from the Abyss</h4>

    Roar!

    Multiple Peak Paragons immediately leap at the bone grappling hook along with Dawnchaser, intending to destroy with mighty swipes of their ws.

    However, the bone grappling hook was like a sentient being. It immediately detected the imminent threat and transformed itself into a near-liquid-like state to escape back into the hole.

    Dawnchaser and the other Peak Paragons immediately halted their attacks after losing their targets.

    Frowns hung on their faces as they were unable to determine what they had just encountered. They had never seen anything like it.

    "Just what the heck was that thing? It looked like a big piece of bone, but I''ve never seen a bone that could freely move and change its state like that¡­" Goldzer uttered with lingering shock.

    Even after the bone escaped, a putrid stench remained in the air for a few breaths.

    A disgusted look hung on every Paragon''s face as they took a whiff of it.

    "Don''t let your guard down. Unless we seal the hole, that thing coulde back any time," Dawnchaser warned everyone.

    However, Dawnchaser had miscalcted. The eerie bone object did not need toe out of the hole.

    The entire vine floor suddenly started shaking as if it wasing to life before the intertwined vines thatprised the seal unwinded themselves.

    Dawnchaser and the Paragons in the area were quickly attacked by the vines, forcing them to retreat abruptly. They did not want to destroy the vines, which were all part of the seal.

    But given the circumstance, the Paragons didn''t have much choice. If they didn''t fight back, they would get entangled by the vines.

    "What the hell is this? Even the vines havee to life? This is so bizarre!" a Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni frowned before swiping at a few vines going after it.

    The vines were easily torn under the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni''s sharp ws, but what followed after was a bizarre discovery.

    "Are these really vines from the jungle? Why are they bleeding blue blood?!" Wildfire eximed with wide eyes.

    The Paragons watched the blue blood ooze from the shredded vines before the blue blood came to life and escaped back into the hole like the previous bone object.

    At the same time, several other Paragons were struck by the vines.

    However, the vines were too weak to inflict any damage to the Paragon-level Golden Suannis'' powerful bodies.

    "Stop breaking the vines! You''re destroying the seal!" a Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni shouted.

    "Even if we don''t destroy the seal, the seal will still undo itself! How are we supposed to stop that from happening?!" another Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni asked.

    Suddenly, they witnessed a Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni get coiled in too many vines that it couldn''t free itself.

    It was quickly dragged towards the small hole like a helplessmb about to be butchered.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragons tried to save it, but the hole suddenly expanded and swallowed the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni whole.

    "Be careful! Don''t get caught like him!"

    "We need to save him!"

    The Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis were immediately divided in their priorities, causing chaos and disorder to spread through the crowd.

    They didn''t have a supreme leader that they could all listen to; everyone was entitled to their own opinions and thoughts on how to handle the situation.

    Unfortunately, the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni that was dragged into the abyss couldn''t afford such luxury as waiting until they sort their stuff out.

    Before long, the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni''s terrified cries echoed from the abyss until it turned ghastly and died down into silence.

    A cold chill immediately numerous Paragons'' hearts.

    No one knew what was in the abyss or the fate that awaited the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni. However, they all presumed it was dead, killed by whatever was lurking in the abyss.

    A Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni died just like that, and no one saw how it happened.

    Goldenstride''s gaze turned serious along with many others at once.

    The abyss beneath Gran Crevasse was far more dangerous than they had anticipated. It was no wonder that the surviving ancestors sealed it after a single failed exploration.

    "Back, everyone! Get away from the abyss entrance! It''s dangerous!" Dawnchaser roared as he created some distance from the hole.

    Dawnchaser had given up on resealing the hole. They had long lost control of the vine seal to whatever was controlling it from the abyss.

    As the Paragon-level Golden Suannis retreated, the vine seal waspletely unraveled, creating a massive opening to the abyss as countless untangled vines plunged inside.

    The Golden Suanni n''s leaders did not get a chance to rest.

    Within moments after the abyss entrance waspletely opened, ghastly voices came from the abyss. Soon, countless humanoid creatures used the vines to climb out of the abyss.

    "What the hell are they? Those aren''t humans, are they¡­? No, humans definitely don''t look like that!"

    The humanoid creatures share strong resemnces to humans, but at the same time, they are anything but humans.

    They might have the shape, but their appearances were jarringly different that anyone could tell them apart.

    The humanoid creatures did not have any flesh. Rather, their flesh waspletely reced by hard white bone-like substances that protected their softer inner organs like ants'' exoskeletons.

    The only thing that did seem soft on their bodies'' surface was their red eyes, which all radiated with extreme bloodlust when they looked at the Golden Suanni n.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragons were all spooked by their weirdness. They were definitely not the friendly type.

    Skreeee!

    The white humanoid creatures screamed with ghastly excitement.

    In the next moment, the white humanoid creatures that climbed out of the abyss all charged at the nearest targets within their sights.

    They did not consider the power difference that may exist between them and the Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    The white humanoid creatures just wanted to kill everything that moved to consume their flesh or die trying.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragons were all put off by the white humanoid creatures'' extremely putrid smell.

    However, they could only endure it as they stood their ground to face the growing army of white humanoid creatures.

    "Enemy attack! Do not let them pass! We must by time for our young to evacuate from Gran Crevasse!" Dawnchaser barked.

 Chapter 1020 Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 1020 Arrival</h4>

    Even without Dawnchaser''s instruction, the Paragon-level Golden Suannis in the area quickly formed defensive lines to keep the white humanoid creatures at bay.

    Within a short instance, the two sides immediately shed.

    The white humanoid creatures'' numbers grew in the thousands as they continued to climb out of the abyss and charged at the Paragon-level Golden Suannis thoughtlessly without strategies.

    Dawnchaser and multiple Paragon-level Golden Suanni frowned at their aggressive and bloodthirsty nature.

    They did not seem to possess a shred of reason or intelligence.

    Pak! Pak! Pak!

    The Paragon-level Golden Suannis swatted at their white humanoid creatures with their ws, easily crushing them with their mighty strength.

    The white humanoid creatures could not even put up a decent fight against the Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    "These creatures are very weak," Dawnchaser frowned.

    "Did a Mid Paragon really die to these things? Even if there''s a whole army of these things, it shouldn''t be enough to instill fear in a Mid Paragon, let alone take it down."

    "They just keep climbing out of the abyss. There''s no telling how many there are in the abyss. However, there must be much more dangerous monsters lurking in the abyss," Goldenstride fought beside Dawnchaser.

    "You''re not running away, Lord Goldenstride?" Dawnchaser cast a nce at Goldenstride.

    "You jest, Lord Dawnchaser. The abyss is right in front of me. Why would I leave?" Goldenstride replied.

    "Furthermore, our n is now under attack from these things. Do you think I would turn a blind to what is happening here, especially when it is such an exciting event? Perhaps I can finally test my full strength without needing to hold back."

    "Milords, take a look at the white creatures in the back!" a Late Paragon-level Golden Suanni suddenly alerted the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    Dawnchaser and the others quickly cast their gaze into the back of the white humanoid creatures'' ranks before their pupils shrank into slits.

    While the Paragon-level Golden Suannis easily decimated the white humanoid creatures, the white humanoid creatures were assimting their fallen brethren to grow stronger.

    Everything was assimted, whether it was their bone-like flesh, blue blood, or even their organs.

    However, strangely, the white humanoid creatures did not increase in size; only their overall mass and strength did.

    "This won''t do. Physical attacks aren''t working on them. We need to obliterate their bodies. Otherwise, they will continue to assimte and evolve into stronger beings!" Goldzer alerted.

    At that moment, the stronger white humanoid creatures were already reaching Rank 2 Transcendents.

    It was only a matter of time before they reached the level of Paragons if nothing was done to stop their continuous assimtion.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon''s group arrived within a few miles of Gran Crevasse''s outskirts half a dayter. They quickly noticed the unusuallyrge number of cubs and their mothers in the area.

    "Have we arrived at the Golden Suanni n''s main territory?" Leon casually asked while looking around at the golden suannis.

    At the same time, the cubs and their mothers looked back at Leon''s group as they were passing through the area.

    "No, Master," Cindertail shook his head and said, "There is still some distance until we reach Gran Crevasse. It''s a vast concavednd, so Master should know once we reach that ce."

    "However, it''s unusual for the cubs and their mothers to be gathered out here. It almost seems like they were evacuated from Gran Crevasse. But why would something like that happen?"

    "I find it hard to believe that something bad could happen to Gran Crevasse when it has so many Paragons living there," Cindertail stated.

    "Well, I guess we will find out soon enough, won''t we?" Leon casually said.

    "Yes, Master!"

    As Leon''s group drew closer to the outskirts of Gran Crevasse, several Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni obstructed them.

    Roar!

    (Where do you think you are bringing your cubs? If you have any consideration for their safety, you will take them back right this instance! Gran Crevasse has be a battlefield.)

    (What exactly happened in Gran Crevasse? How did it be a battlefield?)

    Cindertail and the others frowned in wonder.

    At the same time, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis guarding near the outskirts of Gran Crevasse stared at the neers with doubt.

    (Have you not heard the news, or are you all feigning ignorance? The seal was broken, and creatures from the abyss started invading the n.)

    (Hold on a sec, I know you. Aren''t you Cindertail? The one that lives near the eastern outskirts of the jungle? What are you doing so far from yourir?)

    One of the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni in the back suddenly stepped forward as it recognized Cindertail.

    Shortly after, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni swept its gaze across the other Paragons in Leon''s group before recognizing them too.

    (I know all of you¡­ You all live in the eastern parts of the jungle¡­ Why have you alle at this time? It''s impossible for the news to have reached that far, and even more impossible for you all to arrive so quickly after hearing them.)

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''s words surprised all the golden suannis from the main n in the area. They quickly looked at Leon''s group with suspicion.

    Nevertheless, Cindertail and the others showed no concern.

    After learning about the situation in Gran Crevasse, Cindertail informed Leon about it. Then, Leon decided to leave the cubs in their mothers'' care before proceeding to see the situation for themselves.

    (Stop, Cindertail! Didn''t you hear what I said? It''s dangerous in Gran Crevasse right now! You will only get in the Paragons'' way if you go there!)

    (It''s Lord Cindertail to you now.)

    Despite the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni''s repeated warning, Cindertail coolly gazed back and revealed his Paragon-level aura.

    The other Paragon-level Golden Suannis in Leon''s group also chose to exert their auras.

    (P-paragon¡­? All Paragons! But how¡­?)

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis and everyone else who knew Cindertail''s group''s original strengths were shocked and dumbfounded by the discovery.

 Chapter 1021 Heroâ€™s Role

    <h4>Chapter 1021 Hero''s Role</h4>

    "Let us go, Master," Cindertail spoke after clearing the path for Leon.

    Although the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis were stunned by Cindertail and the others'' reveal of strength, they still possessed a shred of reason as they stepped aside.

    No one dared to obstruct the path of a Paragon, let alone multiple of them.

    Leon calmly nodded before striding forward and taking the lead.

    As he passed the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis, Leon turned his head back at the other Paragons under hismand.

    "At least one or two of you should also stay back and look after the cubs," Leon stated.

    "After all, none of you and your families are part of the main n. Who knows if the other golden suannis will bully or not while we are away."

    Two Paragon-level Golden Suannis immediately volunteered to stay back.

    Shortly after, Leon left with the rest and arrived at the very outskirts of Grand Crevasse, where a clear view of the concavednd was revealed before them.

    In that instance, Leon, Rainshine, Cindertails, and the several dozen other Paragon-level Golden Suannis all narrowed their eyes.

    The situation in Gran Crevasse could be observed from their location.

    Even so, Leon still hopped onto the higher tree branches that stuck out over the concavednd for an even better view.

    At the same time, Leonpletely ignored the incredible wood energy levels he sensed inside the tree branch. It was not the time to be curious about that.

    "Impossible¡­ The countless Paragons from the main n are struggling against those things? What are those things even?"

    Cindertail''s eyes widened in shock along with the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    They had always thought the Golden Suanni n was invincible with their plethora of Paragons; there was no threat they couldn''t eliminate if they all worked together.

    However, the reality is that even the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis in the main n could not defeat the white giantsing out of the abyss.

    ¡­

    Having fought for over half a day, Dawnchaser and the others were feeling the built-up fatigue in their bodies.

    No matter how many times the enemies were defeated, they just kepting back stronger.

    It was like their numbers were endless.

    The strongest Whitebone Fiend, the name given to the white humanoid creatures, had already caught up to the Paragon level.

    At the same time, the Golden Suanni n was pushed back five miles from the abyss entrance as the Whitebone Fiend increased in both strength and numbers.

    ¡­

    Leon furrowed his brows.

    The Whitebone Fiends reminded him of the mutated humans he encountered underneath Elvengarde in the Great Forest.

    However, the Whitebone Fiends seemed even more troublesome to deal with than the mutated humans from back then.

    As Leon watched the battle between the Golden Suanni n and the Whitebone Fiends, he noticed that the Whitebone Fiends could skillfully control the Wrath Law to assimte other creatures and increase their own strength, even if it wasn''t done consciously.

    The Whitebone Fiends had lost all sense of reason and intelligence, or perhaps they didn''t have any, to begin with.

    Nevertheless, Leon started to ponder the rtionship between devil worshippers, the mutated humans, and the white humanoid creatures before him.

    "Master, how are we supposed to defeat those things? The more they die, the stronger the surviving ones be," Cindertail mentioned with a frown.

    "That''s right," Leon acknowledged Cindertail''s statement with a nod.

    "Unless those white humanoid creatures are utter destroyed, they will just be nutrients for the other white humanoid creatures. The Golden Suanni n is terribly mismatched in this battle against those things.

    "It''s a battle of attrition between the Golden Suanni n''s stamina and those creatures'' numbers. If the Golden Suanni n cannot wipe out all those creatures before their stamina is exhausted or those creatures grow too strong, the Golden Suanni n will lose."

    "And looking at those Paragon-level Golden Suannis'' present states, they must have been fighting those fiends for quite a while now. However, the fiends'' numbers are still growing."

    "It seems that those Paragons'' stamina will be exhausted first if nothing is done," Leon concluded.

    In other words, the Golden Suanni n are winning their battles, but they will eventually lose the war¡ªif they don''t receive help.

    "Master must have a solution have a solution, right?" Cindertail asked with a hopeful expression.

    "There is no solution in a battle of attrition. Whoeversts longer is the obvious winner. Those fiends won''t stop fighting until they are all killed," Leon stated.

    Cindertail immediately lost hope after hearing that.

    However, Leon wasn''t finished.

    "Nevertheless, you can resolve their immediate problem, Cindertail. If you y all those Paragon-level fiends, the Golden Suanni n''s Paragons will have an easier time fighting off the weaker fiends," Leon added.

    "Even if I can kill them, new Paragon-level fiends will just rise after assimting the bodies of the ones I kill, Master," Cindertail stated.

    It was the biggest problem that the Golden Suanni n was facing.

    Nevertheless, after Rainshine heard Cindertail''s words, she raised her head and shot him a disdainful look.

    "You''re really stupid, you know? Why does a slow-witted beast like you have to be born with better innate talent than me?" Rainshine spat enviously.

    "You have awakened your ancestors'' divine golden mes. If you incinerate those fiends with your divine golden mes, do you think those fiends can still raise another Paragon in a short time?"

    "Of course, Master can also destroy these fiends. However, he is telling you to do it; Master is telling you to go and be a hero to your n, understand? If you understand, then go and do it already!" Rainshine snapped.

    "R-really?! As expected of Boss, you are really smart! This is why you are my Boss!" Cindertail bootlicked before saying, "Then, I''ll head off first!"

    Shortly after, golden mes surged out from Cindertail''s body as if all the fur in his body had transformed into golden mes themselves.

    Swoosh~!

    Cindertail took off like a zing golden star in the next instance.

    As soon as Cindertail was gone, Rainshine turned to Leon and asked, "Was it really alright Cindertail to take on the role of the hero instead of you, Master?"

 Chapter 1022 True Samadhi Golden Flames

    <h4>Chapter 1022 True Samadhi Golden mes</h4>

    "If you want the Golden Suanni n''s allegiance, shouldn''t you do things that would make them feel grateful and indebted to you, Master? This seems like the perfect opportunity for that," Rainshine added.

    "That''s where you are wrong, Rainshine. If I save the Golden Suanni n, I can indeed gain their gratitude," Leon calmly replied with his gaze fixed on the battle.

    "However, gratitude isn''t enough to acquire their allegiance. No, they would have to be saved on multiple asions for that gratitude to develop into worship and dependence before I have a higher chance of gaining their allegiance."

    "Something like that takes time¡ªtime that I don''t have, nor the patience. I believe allegiance can be gained in the shortest time when they have sufficient gratitude, reverence, and benefits," Leon stated.

    "I see," Rainshine quickly understood.

    The present battle was an excellent opportunity to show off Cindertail''s superior bloodline and ability and let the Golden Suanni n understand the benefits of following Leon.

    But even if the Golden Suanni n didn''t be aware of the benefits of following Leon, there was a high chance that Cindertail could be the Golden Suanni n''s official supreme leader.

    After all, it was the only Paragon-level Golden Suanni in the whole Golden Suanni n to have awakened the divine bloodline ability of their primal ancestor, the Suanni Lion God Beast.

    If that happens, it wouldn''t be difficult to gain the entire Golden Suanni n''s allegiance either.

    "Nevertheless, I don''t think the battle will end by defeating those white fiends. There may be other threats that have yet to emerge from that hole," Leon added.

    Shortly after Leon said that, Rainshine and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis also focused their gazes on the hole at the center of Gran Crevasse.

    The Whitebone Fiends continued to climb out of the abyss.

    However, they weren''t just using the vines to climb out. Many other Whitebone Fiends used multiple pairs of limbs to crawl along the ceiling to reach the opening like they were spiders.

    Upon careful observation, it also seemed like the Whitebond Fiends had acquired the traits of several other insects.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Cindertail was like a golden meteor streaking over the sky before making a sharp descent on a giant Paragon-level Whitebone Fiend.

    Boom!

    Cindertail''s golden figure blew a hole straight through the giant Paragon-level Whitebone Fiend''s upper body before crasnding into the ground, crushing several other Whitebone Fiends of different strengths.

    Skreee!

    The Whitebone Fiends howled painfully as their bodies lit on fire aftering into contact with Cindertail''s golden mes.

    Very shortly, chaos quickly grew within the Whitebone Fiends'' ranks as the gold-ming Whitebone Fiends collided with each other as they tried to put out the fire.

    However, their contacts with other Whitebone Fiends only served to fuel the golden mes, spreading it to other Whitebone Fiends.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Skree!

    The Paragon-level Whitebone Fiend shook the ground with its anguish stomps, crushing its own allies as it suffered the burning agony of the golden mes in its chest that soon covered its entire body!

    "W-what the hell is going on back?!" Goldzer eximed with shock as he watched the ming Paragon-level Whitebone Fiend killing its own allies.

    "I just saw a golden suanni with golden mes shot through that Paragon-level Whitebone Fiend!" another Paragon-level Golden Suanni shouted.

    The Paragon-level Whitebone Fiend was an enormous giant, but a Paragon-level Golden Suanni wasn''t small either.

    It was impossible for the Paragon-level Golden Suannis on the battlefield to have missed it.

    "A golden suanni covered in golden mes?! But that''s¡­! Isn''t that the divine golden mes of our primal ancestor, the True Samadhi Golden mes?! Since when did we have such an individual in our n?!"

    Many Paragon-level Golden Suannis were startled after hearing about the divine golden mes, but their eyes glimmered with hope and excitement shortly after.

    It''s been so long since the Golden Suanni n had a golden suanni that awakened the divine golden mes!

    "Did you hear that, Dawnchaser?! The divine golden mes as reappeared in our n!" Goldenstrideughed joyously.

    It was the best thing he had heard in several hundred years.

    "I didn''t just hear it; I also saw it!" Dawnchaser stated as his eyes glimmered with excitement. He was no exception to the news.

    The news brought hope to the n.

    As the divine golden mes spread across the eastern side of Gran Crevasse, the pressure on Paragon-level Golden Suannis on the eastern side also dropped.

    The divine golden mes incinerated the Whitebone Fiends and halted their advances.

    And without fresh troops to supply those on the front lines, the Paragon-level Golden Suannis quickly killed off all remaining Whitebone Fiends.

    The Whitebone Fiend''s blue blood spilled all over the ground at the front lines before they flowed down the slope and reached the divine golden mes.

    At the instance of their contact, the divine golden mes suddenly surged in power like oil was added to the fire, causing the divine golden mes to spread outward.

    It was rushed along the trail of blood and reached the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis in a short instance.

    "Careful!" Dawnchaser cried at the sight of the fearsome golden mes rushing at them.

    The Paragon-level Golden Suannis quickly retreated, but some didn''t react quickly enough.

    Just when they thought the divine golden mes would burn them into crisps, the expected pain did not follow.

    The divine golden mes swept past them before vanishing. It only burned the Whitebone Fiends and nothing else.

    Dawnchaser and the others only felt a warm breeze sweeping past them.

    "We didn''t get burned?" Goldzer uttered with surprise.

    "As expected of the True Samadhi Golden mes of the Suanni Lion God Beast¡­" Dawnchaser''s gaze shimmered with reverence.

    The Suanni Lion wasn''t just a God Beast; it was also a symbol of power and imperial justice.

    The True Samadhi Golden mes that it wields would only burn those that it deems worthy of being burned.

    It was unlike any other mes that burn everything indiscriminately; it was a derivative of the True Samadhi Fire, the inextinguishable fire of deep concentration.

    Even if Cindertail doesn''t have full control, the True Samadhi Golden mes would only burn what he intended to burn.

 Chapter 1023 Whitebone Fiendsâ€™ Fear

    <h4>Chapter 1023 Whitebone Fiends'' Fear</h4>

    Nevertheless, the True Samadhi Golden mes wasn''t something Cindertail could use tirelessly; it burns a lot of energy.

    After Cindertail made one loop and created a golden ring of burning mes topletely seal off the Whitebone Fiends'' advances, he was already feeling the exhaustion of True Samadhi Golden mes.

    The True Samadhi Golden mes wasn''t just taxing on Cindertail''s body but also his mind.

    It was very demanding to use the True Samadhi Golden mes, and even then, Cindertail was not yet capable of drawing out all of its power.

    Cindertail''s body was still not strong enough, and his mental strength wasn''t firm enough.

    After Cindertail stopped using the True Samadhi Golden mes, all the True Samadhi Golden mes burning in the region suddenly vanished like a dissipating illusion.

    They didn''t appear for long and left even quicker.

    Even so, Cindertail''s True Samadhi Golden mes had seeded in wiping out half of the existing Whitebone Fiends that had crawled out of the abyss.

    "The True Samadhi Golden meses and goes like an illusion¡­ It really is like the mind''s mes recorded in the legends¡­ To think that a member of our n managed to awaken the bloodline ability of our primal ancestors in this generation¡­ This must be a sign¡­!"

    Goldenstridemented as his eyes glowed with anticipation.

    "How should I address you, Milord? When did the Golden Suanni n have someone like you among us?" Dawnchaser approached Cindertail with a humble attitude.

    Dawnchaser had ced Cindertail on a higher level of importance despite being a Peak Paragon, whereas Cindertail was still a Late Paragon.

    Might is right, but bloodline purity is royalty.

    "I am called Cindertail, and I am not someone from the main n. I live near the eastern outskirts," Cindertail replied without looking back as he focused on the remnant Whitebone Fiends in the distance ahead.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis nearby were immediately astonished by Cindertail''s answer.

    Only average members usually live outside the main n. And yet, there was one average member with a purer bloodline than them? It was hard to believe.

    Even so, it was also true that none of the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis recognize Cindertail.

    "Are you really not from the main n? A bastard child that was banished to live on the outskirts, perhaps?" a Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni doubted.

    Cindertail immediately frowned at the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni''s rude spection.

    Nevertheless, it wasn''t the time for Cindertail to argue with the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni over it.

    "Who I am isn''t important right now. What''s important is dealing with the enemies before us," Cindertail said sternly.

    "Lord Cindertail is correct," Dawnchaser agreed with a nod before focusing on the Whitebone Fiends ahead of them with a solemn look.

    The Whitebone Fiends'' inactive behavior ever since Cindertail''s True Samadhi Golden mes wiped out half of them had started to bother him.

    "It''s strange that these Whitebone Fiends aren''t attacking anymore when they showed such aggressive and bloodthirsty nature until now," Dawnchaser mentioned.

    "Perhaps they fear Lord Cindertail''s True Samadhi Golden mes?" Goldenstride guessed.

    "Does that even make sense?" Goldzer frowned with doubt.

    "They''ve been throwing their lives at us without a shred of fear for over half a day. Why would they fear the True Samadhi Golden mes when we have been killing them all the same either way?"

    "Maybe it''s not fear then?" another Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni assumed.

    "Then are you suggesting something ordered them to stop attacking?" Goldzer nced at the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni before shaking his head. "That makes even less sense. These Whitebone Fiends don''t seem to possess any intelligence to followmands."

    "We don''t know that for sure," Dawnchaser said with an ill-foreboding feeling.

    Even after half the Whitebone Fiends on the surface were wiped out, the sense of threat that he felt did not lessen; it intensified instead.

    Rumble¡­!

    The ground suddenly shook, and the Whitebone Fiends became restless.

    Shortly after, Whitebone Fiends started pouring out of the abyss opening in a frenzied state as if they were running away from something, causing the other Whitebone Fiends on the surface to also flee from the abyss opening.

    "The Whitebone Fiends areing again!" Dawnchaser alerted everyone with his mighty voice.

    However, the Whitebone Fiends didn''t pay the Golden Suanni n''s Paragons any attention. They just wanted to flee far from the abyss opening.

    None of their previously aggressive and bloodthirsty nature could be observed; they were genuinely afraid.

    This made Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suanni feel uneasy.

    Just what kind of being could instill such fear into the Whitebone Fiends?

    Nevertheless, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suanni had no intention of letting the Whitebone Fiends pass them.

    The female golden Suannis and their cubs hiding in the jungle behind them would be in danger.

    "Don''t let them pass!" Dawnchaser roared.

    Rumble¡­!

    The ground suddenly shook again but stronger and clearer. Whatever wasing out of the abyss was drawing closer, and it was certainly not small and weak.

    The Whitebone Fiends became even more fearful. They did not even try to fight back anymore.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suanni easily decimated the Whitebone Fiends with their ws and fangs alongside Cindertail.

    "How can you have such a pure bloodline? Did you really awaken your bloodline ability at the Late Paragon level?" Goldenstride wondered curiously.

    "Is this really the appropriate time to be asking me that¡ª"

    Rumble¡­!

    Before Cindertail could finish speaking, the ground suddenly shook a third time.

    However, this time, it was so powerful that it caused numerous Whitebone Fiends near the abyss opening to lose their bnce.

    At the same time, portions of the ground near the abyss opening broke off and fell into the abyss with several hundreds of other Whitebone Fiends.

    Boing! Boing! Boing!

    They seemed to havended something soft and bouncy very shortly before beingunched back out of the abyss.

    However, they weren''t airborne for long before countless fleshly tentacles shot out from the abyss and caught them all, dragging them back into the abyss.

    Shortly after, an iparably enormous heap of flesh started squeezing its way out of the abyss opening.

    Leon''s eyes quickly shrank into slits upon spotting it.

 Chapter 1024 Prelude to Greater Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 1024 Prelude to Greater Disaster</h4>

    Without a doubt, the thing that was trying t squeeze its way out of the abyss opening was a fleshly abomination.

    However, the fleshly abomination was bigger than any fleshly abomination Leon had evere across.

    It was still severely underestimating its size to say that the fleshly abomination was a hundredfold bigger than the previous fleshly abominations; it was at least a thousandfold bigger.

    "What is that thing? How can it be so big?" a Paragon-level Golden Suanni near Leon eximed with disbelief. "Can something like that be beaten?"

    "Bigger doesn''t necessarily mean stronger," Leon casually said before adding, "Nevertheless, that thing is most likely powerful for those white fiends to fear it like that."

    That being said, Leon wasn''t in a hurry to join the battle. He stayed on the tree branch and observed the gigantic fleshly abomination from afar.

    At the same time, the gigantic fleshly abomination finished squeezing its way out of the abyss. When that happened, the Whitebone Fiends became even more frantic.

    Skree!

    The Whitebone Fiends screamed desperately as if they had truly lost whatever reason they had to fear. They fled from the gigantic fleshly abomination with all their might.

    However, the gigantic fleshly abomination had no intention of letting any of them escape.

    Numerous fleshly tentacles were shot out from the gigantic fleshly abomination''s slime-like main body to catch the fleeing Whitebone Fiends.

    Surprisingly, the fleshly tentacles did not wrap around their prey. Instead, they directly prated straight through the Whitebone Fiends'' bony bodies.

    The fleshly tentacles were more like muscles, while their tips had a silvery-metal shine.

    Then, they continued to catch hundreds of Whitebone Fiends in the same manner before pulling them all back into the gigantic fleshly abomination''s main body.

    "Everyone, back!" Dawnchaser shouted.

    The Paragon-level Golden Suannis immediately retreated and created some safe distance from the gigantic fleshly abomination''s tentacles while fending off the frenzied Whitebone Fiends.

    "What the hell is that thing?! Are they not on the same side?!" Goldzer wondered with great shock.

    The Golden Suanni n''s Paragons watched as the gigantic fleshly abomination devoured hundreds of Whitebone Fiends at a time with each of its tentacles.

    And each time it did so, the gigantic fleshly abomination''s size would increase.

    Dawnchaser and the others did not know how to defeat such a monstrosity as they felt its monstrous lifeforce; it didn''t seem like something that could be killed with ordinary physical attacks.

    "This monstrosity¡­ I don''t know how strong it is, but that overwhelming lifeforce isn''t something a Transcendent would have. This thing''s regenerative abilities must be on the same level as the Divine Beasts¡­!" Goldenstride analyzed with a solemn look.

    "Lord Cindertail, do you have any good ideas on how to defeat this monster?" Dawnchaser turned to Cindertail for answers while smacking away dozens of Whitebone Fiends in front of them.

    "I don''t!" Cindertail replied honestly before adding, "However, I don''t think we should approach it carelessly without understanding the full extent of its abilities."

    "But if we don''t, that monster will continue to feed on the Whitebone Fiends and grow stronger," said Dawnchaser with a deep frown, full of worries.

    "Hah, but if we try to stop it, we will be its food instead," Goldenstride added.

    "Furthermore, if we break formation, the Whitebone Fiends will breach our defensive line and flee into the jungle. We can''t let that happen."

    Once that was said, Dawnchaser and the others could not help but agree.

    They could only watch the gigantic fleshly abomination grow.

    At the same time, the gigantic fleshly abomination inted upwards like a balloon that was about to pop.

    Poof!

    The gigantic fleshly abomination burst, shooting out countless objects into the sky like a powerful rapid cannon.

    The objects that sprung out of the gigantic fleshly abominations were¡­ Whitebone Fiends!

    However, the Whitebone Fiends had all undergone a change in their appearances after being devoured by the gigantic fleshly abomination.

    They all had ayer of flesh!

    Shree!

    The Whitebone Fiends screeched with fear.

    As it turns out, they didn''t really fear the gigantic fleshly abomination. What they actually feared was heights, which was quite strange.

    "The Whitebone Fiends fear heights? This doesn''t make sense," Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis were immediately puzzled by the discovery.

    At the same time, they were also confused by the gigantic fleshly abomination''s objective inunching the Whitebone Fiends into the sky.

    Leon and the Golden Suanni n''s Paragon observed the Whitebone Fiends ascending into the sky with great momentum.

    The Whitebone Fiends disappeared into the ck clouds shortly after.

    "Lord Dawnchaser, take a look! That giant monster looks like it is dying!" Goldzer''s words brought Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis'' gazes back to the ground level.

    At that moment, the gigantic fleshly abomination was like a man''s dying mushroom that shriveled after unloading all its energy; it shrank to a certain point before decaying like crumbling old rubbles and turning into dust.

    The biggest threat had unknowingly killed itself¡ªor so Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis thought.

    However, the worse had yet toe.

    As Leon witnessed everything unfold from the tree branch, his brows knitted into a big frown. The scene had been too bizarre.

    "It looks like we won''t have to intervene, Master," Rainshine stated.

    "No, I don''t think it will end with just that," Leon furrowed his brows and said, "That giant monster exhausted all its lifeforce and energy to send those white fiends into the sky. I doubt those white fiends will die even if they fall back to the ground from such heights."

    "But those white fiends were obviously afraid of heights. Why would that giant monster do such a thing, even at the cost of its own life? What is it trying to aplish?" Rainshine wondered with a puzzled look.

    "It was trying to¡­." Leon slowly uttered before his eyes suddenly widened in realization with great rm. "Oh, no. It looks like a greater disaster is about to befall the Golden Suanni n."

    Nevertheless, the situation was even worse than Leon imagined.

    Shortly after the Whitebone Fiends disappeared into the sky, gaps started to appear in the ck clouds, allowing sunlight to pass through and shine down on the abyss.

 Chapter 1025 Powerful Sunlight

    <h4>Chapter 1025 Powerful Sunlight</h4>

    "Sunlight? Is this what sunlight looks like?"

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis were astonished as they noticed the rays of sunlight piercing through the gaps in the ck clouds.

    As time passed by the moments, more and more gaps in the ck clouds were created for more rays of sunlight to descend upon the darknd and illuminate it.

    At the same time, most of the sunlight concentrated on the abyss.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis¡ªNo, all of the Golden Suanni n was awed by the sunlight, something the Dark Abyss Continent had not had in thousands of years.

    For many witnesses present, it was their first time seeing the sunlight.

    As creatures of the sun, the Golden Suanni n had a natural appreciation for it, just like their primal ancestor.

    The Suanni Lion God Beast admired the sun so much that it wanted to be like the sun. That was the origin of how the came the True Samadhi Golden mes came into being.

    They weren''t true fires of the sun but one born by the Suanni Lion God Beast''s strong will.

    "It''s beautiful," Dawnchaser admired the sunlight before shortly frowning.

    "However, the sunlight seems to be corrupted by foul energy. There''s a tint of dark energy and something else inside it¡ªsomething insidious¡­"

    "But how can this be? How can something of pure yang have such impure energy mixed in it?" Dawnchaser wondered.

    "I don''t believe we should be worrying about that," Cindertail stated solemnly before saying, "For there to be sunlight, it must mean that those fiends had reached the very top of the ck clouds."

    Reaching the bottom of the ck clouds and reaching the top of the ck clouds were twopletely different concepts.

    The suppression force up there was much stronger, and a greater deal of force would also have been required to send the Whitebone Fiends up there against such force.

    Given the strength of the Whitebone Fiends, they would have been crushed by such forces.

    However, not only did the Whitebone Fiends survive, but they even created gaps in the ck clouds to let the sunlight outside descend upon the darknd!

    "Just what did that giant monstrosity try to aplish by sending the Whitebone Fiends up there?" Goldzer wondered.

    "It must have transferred all its lifeforce into the Whitebone Fiends so they could survive the crushing force of the suppression in the sky."

    "I don''t like how this is going, but I will have our answer soon," Dawnchaser said with a frown.

    Nevertheless, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis waited for some time, but they didn''t see the Whitebone Fiends falling back out of the ck clouds.

    "Strange¡­ The Whitebone Fiends should have descended from the sky by now, and with increasing momentum at that," Goldenstride mentioned with a frown.

    "Did the Whitebone Fiends find something totch onto in the clouds, or did they suddenly learn how to fly? Even if they were crushed by the sky suppression force, their remains should at leaste back down, no?"

    Dawnchaser and the other nearby Paragon-level Golden Suannis pondered, but they didn''t have any idea what was going on.

    No one could see past the ck clouds.

    Nevertheless, as time quickly passed, the gaps in the ck cloud continued to widen. After the sunlightpletely illuminated the abyss opening, it continued to expand and illuminate the rest of Gran Crevasse.

    Pish!

    Several Paragon-level Golden Suannis came in contact with the sunlight before their tough skin and golden fur were scorched. They immediately retreated from the sunlight at once.

    "Be careful! The sunlight is very powerful and hot!" one of the scorched Paragon-level Golden Suanni warned.

    At the same time, Leon narrowed his eyes.

    Given the powerful physiques of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis, the present sun rays shouldn''t have harmed them.

    However, that was only speaking for the present sun rays on the Deste Beast Continent.

    The sun rays descending from the gaps in the ck clouds were so concentrated and intense that they were even more potent than the first wave of the Cataclysm that struck the world.

    The concentration of Wrathful Demon Energy was especially dense. It must have been umting above the ck clouds since the start of the Cataclysm.

    As the sunlight slowly spread across Gran Crevasse, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis saw the vines in Gran Crevasse get read reduced into ashes under the scorching sunlight bit by bit.

    "What should we do? If the ck clouds don''t stop splitting apart, the sunlight will shine over the western jungle and kill everything!" a Paragon-level Golden Suanni said urgently while backing away from the sunlight''s expanding domain.

    "There''s no reason for the clouds to be splitting apart like that. Given the power of the sunlight, the Whitebone Fiends should have been reduced to ashes," Dawnchaser frowned.

    "But the fact that the clouds are still splitting apart means that the Whitebone Fiends are still up there," Goldzer stated before he wondered, "Just how are they doing this?!"

    "Lord Cindertail, you might be from outside the main n, and this might not be the right to say this, but please be the supreme leader of the n," Dawnchaser suddenly said.

    The other Paragon-level Golden Suannis was immediately astonished by Dawnchaser''s words, but their eyes soon flickered with understanding.

    "Please be our supreme leader, Lord Cindertail!" the Paragon-level Golden Suannis voiced.

    They were trying to tie Cindertail to the main n.

    If they couldn''t stop the clouds from splitting, Cindertail could just move back to his home. But the rest of them could not.

    Gran Crevasse and the Central Western Jungle were their home; they couldn''t watch them get destroyed by the powerful sun rays.

    "I''m not sure what you want, but sure, I''ll be your supreme leader," Cindertail casually said, thinking it would benefit his master if he became the supreme leader.

    "Great!" Dawnchaser eximed before asking, "Do you have any solution, Supreme Leader?"

    "I don''t, but my master might."

    "Your master¡­?"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon had already made his move.

    He took flight from the tree branch and flew into the domain of the sunlight to absorb all the dense amounts of Wrathful Demon Energy.

    It might have been dangerous for others. But for Leon, it was a rich source of energy for cultivation.

 Chapter 1026 The Cruel Angelsâ€™ Descent

    <h4>Chapter 1026 The Cruel Angels'' Descent</h4>

    "Hm? Why is there a human this deep in the jungle?" Goldenstride noticed Leon in the sky after Leon flew into the sunlight domain.

    "M-more importantly, the human isn''t affected by the sunlight? No, he''s even absorbing it!"

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis gradually widened their eyes in surprise at the discovery.

    "That is my master," Cindertail calmly stated.

    "Your master is a human?!" Dawnchaser and the others shrieked with outrage.

    "T-t-this¡­ how can this be allowed¡­?! You are a royal Paragon with the purest bloodline we have seen in thousands of years, not to mention you have awakened the bloodline ability! How can you take a human as your master?! You are royalty, Supreme Leader!"

    "Why can I take a human as my master? I''ll have you all know I was only a Peak rank 2 Transcendent before I met my master. I was only able to reach my present level of strength and awaken my bloodline ability thanks to my master''s grace," Cindertail replied coolly.

    "What!" the Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis couldn''t believe what they had just heard.

    It was too unbelievable.

    And yet, at the same time, it also seemed very reasonable. Otherwise, it couldn''t exin how a member outside the main n had such a pure bloodline and awakened their ancestral bloodline ability.

    "This is crazy¡­" Dawnchaser softly uttered.

    While Dawnchaser was still in a state of disbelief, he shifted his gaze to the lone figure in the sky.

    As the sunlight domain expanded, Leon also increased his absorption rate. He devoured all the Wrathful Demon Energy into his ck Vortex Space for refinement.

    The sheer amount of dark energy he obtained from ck Vortex Space after the Wrathful Demon Energy was refined was staggering.

    Even so, the amount of dark energy Leon needed to advance to the next stage of his demon cultivation was even more staggering.

    Leon expanded his divine sense to the limit and drew in all the Wrathful Demon Energy with his Divine Will.

    As that happened, the sunlight domain continued to expand, clearing out the darkness and shadows from Gran Crevasse.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis backed away from the border that divides dark and light on the ground that continuously inched towards them.

    However, at a certain point, Cindertail stopped retreating altogether and decisively allowed himself to be bathed in the sunlight.

    "Supreme Leader, what are you doing?!" Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis were immediately startled by Cindertail''s choice. "Be careful of the¡­!"

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis wanted to warn Cindertail. But before they could finish speaking, they realized Cindertail was perfectly fine in the sunlight.

    The intensity of the sunlight had been brought down to a level that everyone could tolerate after Leon devoured all the Wrathful Demon Energy from it.

    "The sunlight doesn''t burn?" the Paragon-level Golden Suannis uttered in their astonishment before turning to Cindertail. "Is this your master''s doing, Supreme Leader?"

    "Most likely," Cindertail replied.

    Nevertheless, Dawnchaser and the rest of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis in the area weren''tcking in awareness. They could sense all the impure energy in the atmosphere being drawn to Cindertail''s master at an incredible rate.

    The human was like an insatiable ck hole that devoured everything.

    However, that everything was only the impure energy that only demons would be fond of. That made Dawnchaser and the rest of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis doubt whether Cindertail''s master was actually human or a demon.

    Even so, they chose not to say anything.

    Ka-cha!

    Leon silently advanced to the Peak-stage of Heaven Ascension Realm, just a step short of the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    However, even Leon did not know how much dark energy he would require to take that single step. What he did know, though, was that he required a tremendous amount of dark energy.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t stop absorbing all the thick umtion of Wrathful Demon Energy that rushed down from the sky as the clouds further split apart.

    Eventually, the sunlight domain covered all of Gran Crevasse and started to expand towards the jungle.

    Even with Leon''s great absorption speed, he could absorb all the Wrathful Demon Energy that was so far away from his location¡ªnot unless he relied on the Divine Book of Life''s gathering ability.

    However, that would expose his secret treasure, not to mention the Wrathful Demon Energy would either kill or contaminate the spirit herbs in his Worldspace.

    The jungle trees and nts on the outskirts of Gran Crevasse all started to sizzle and burn under the scorching sunlight.

    Fortunately, the splitting clouds stopped there, ending the expansion of the sunlight domain.

    When Dawnchaser and the rest of Paragon-level Golden Suannis saw that, they heaved a sigh of relief before focusing their gaze on the enormous hole in the center of the sky.

    It was the Golden Suanni n''s first time seeing the beautiful sky that existed beyond the ck clouds that covered all of the Dark Abyss Continent.

    However, no one had the mood to enjoy it.

    Right at that instance, everyone''s attention was focused on the ten gigantic Whitebone Fiends that slowly descended from the center of the hole in the sky.

    Supposedly all of the Whitebone Fiends that were shot into the sky had merged into these final ten gigantic Whitebone Fiends.

    They were unlike any Whitebone Fiends the Golden Suanni n''s Paragons had fought against, whether it was appearance or size.

    They were all tenfold bigger than the normal Paragon-level Whitebone Fiends.

    Furthermore, they had several pairs of extra limbs; one pair of arms were fused over their heads like a ring or hood, three pairs of arms were elongated on their backs, and six pairs of legs hung over their lower bodies.

    At the same time, all their flesh was melted like white cheese, causing their three pairs of elongated parks to look like wings and their six pairs of legs to look like the lower parts of a dress.

    Coupled with their big red eyes that screamed with heavy bloodthirst, the ten gigantic Whitebone Fiends look like white angels descending from the heavens.

    s, they weren''t holy angels but ones filled with evil and malice. They only bring death and destion instead of blessings.

    Cruel Angels ¨C Leon thought of a name that would describe them well.

 Chapter 1027 Deadly Sunbeams

    <h4>Chapter 1027 Deadly Sunbeams</h4>

    "Can we beat those things? They are tenfold bigger than the Paragon-level Whitebone Fiends we fought earlier. God knows how strong they are now," Goldzer said with concern.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis also felt concerned by the ten Cruel Angels. Even Cindertail was not an exception.

    "Surely, they are still within the realms of Transcendents, right?" another Paragon-level Golden Suanni hoped.

    Even if the Cruel Angels were still within the realms of Paragons, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis were confident in defeating the Cruel Angels.

    However, if the Cruel Angels had already reached the level of Celestials, they could only flee for their lives.

    Although Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis wanted to believe that they still had a chance at defeating the Cruel Angels, the reality is that the Cruel Angels'' aura had already exceeded Peak Paragons.

    The Cruel Angels were at least Half-step Celestials, if not full-fledged Celestials!

    "Everyone, prepare for battle! Those white monsters are about to attack!" Cindertail alerted everyone after witnessing one of the Cruel Angels raising one of their hands and pointing down at the Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    Leon quickly frowned when none of the Cruel Angels'' attention was on him.

    It was clear that his bottomless appetite for Wrathful Demon Energy had caused the Cruel Angels to descend and check out what was going on with all the Wrathful Demon Energy.

    However, their attention was quickly fixed on the Golden Suanni n instead of him after they descended.

    "What''s it trying to do?" Cindertail narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Cruel Angel''s finger that was pointed directly at them.

    Nothing seemed to be happening.

    However, that was because the Cruel Angel''s attack took time to arrive. As Cindertail and the rest of the Paragon-level Golden Suanni waited warily, they suddenly picked up a threatening sense of danger.

    Boom!

    A concentrated beam of sunlight descended from the heavens, striking the ground roughly a mile away from Cindertail''s position.

    The raw power and heat of the sunbeam melted right through the ground and continued into the abyss below.

    However, the sunbeam attack didn''t end there.

    "Dodge, everyone!" Cindertail shouted with rm the moment he noticed the sunbeam moved towards them.

    Zing¡ª!

    Cindertails and all the Paragon-level Golden Suannis in the area immediately evaded as the sunbeam cleaved its way up the eastern slope, splitting everything in half.

    As the sunbeam moved upwards, it gradually dispersed into the sky.

    "S-such power¡­!" Goldzer nced at the long scar left by the sunbeam. Everything was cleanly sliced apart by the powerful sunbeam.

    "Fortunately, everyone managed to evade the attack¡ªNo! The sunbeam passed through the jungle as well! Are our lionesses and cubs alright?!"

    Dawnchaser''s short relief was quickly reced by concern for his family hiding away in the nearby jungle.

    "Everyone, watch out! More attacks areing!" Cindertail shouted.

    At that instance, it wasn''t just a single Cruel Angel attacking; all ten Cruel Angels raised their arms and directed their fingers at Cindertail and the others.

    Everyone immediately expected another ten such sunbeams to being their way.

    At the same time, Leon scrutinized the Cruel Angels'' pointed fingers with a frown.

    It didn''t look like the Cruel Angels weren''t targeting anyone in specific at first nce. But upon more careful observation, the Cruel Angels indeed had a specific target in mind.

    They were all targeting Cindertail.

    Cindertail also realized he was the target before he decided to break away from the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    "Where are you going, Supreme Leader?" Dawnchaser quickly voiced his surprise.

    "Away from all of you! I am their target, so I have to move a ce away from everyone else!" Cindertail shouted on the move.

    Nevertheless, there was nowhere to go except towards the center of Gran Crevasse as the members of the Golden Suanni n could be found all around the outskirts and within the jungle further out.

    "We need to do something! We can''t let the Supreme Leader fend for himself!" Goldenstride firmly said.

    He had no intention of letting a member with such pure bloodline, the likes of which hadn''t been seen in thousands of years, die here in their generation.

    For the prosperity of the Golden Suanni n, Goldenstride would do everything he could to ensure Cindertail''s safety.

    Shortly after Goldenstride spoke, he nced around before spotting a broken branch on the ground.

    He immediately grabbed it with his fangs and hurled it up at the Cruel Angels in the sky to catch their attention in the next instance.

    Zing¡ª!

    Ten sunbeams eventually descended on thend before one of the Cruel Angels was struck in the head by the Goldenstride''s tree branch.

    Skreee!

    The Cruel Angel made a screeching howl before directing its sunbeam towards Goldenstride.

    Swoosh~!

    "I will be going ahead!" Goldenstride quickly broke away from the group as he was chased by one of the ten deadly sunbeams.

    Even so, Goldenstride wasn''t satisfied with only one Cruel Angel.

    He grabbed several tree branches of various sizes and hurled them up at the other Cruel Angels before he seeded in reducing the burden on Cindertail by half.

    Nevertheless, the ten sunbeams devastated Gran Crevasse with numerous scars as they chased Goldenstride and Cindertail.

    Before long,rge pieces ofnd were cut off from Gran Crevasse and dropped into the abyss, significantly increasing the abyss opening.

    But even with the sunlight illuminating the ergened abyss opening, the bottom of the abyss could not be seen.

    Goldenstride and Cindertail nearly fell into the abyss as the ground copsed, but they managed to escape by leaping through falling debris to falling debris with their nimble bodies.

    "We should help them too!" Goldzer stated.

    "No! It''ll be too chaotic if any more of us join them! Two of them are enough to keep those monsters busy for a while!" Dawnchaser rejected before saying, "We need to evacuate the n members further away from this region. They are not safe here!"

    "L-lord Dawnchaser! Take a look at the scorched nts near the scars made by the sunbeam!"

    A Paragon-level Golden Suanni suddenly directed everyone''s gaze towards the jungle nts on the eastern side of Gran Crevasse''s outskirts.

 Chapter 1028 Empyrean Allheaven Wrathâ€™s Will

    <h4>Chapter 1028 Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s Will</h4>

    "Hm?"

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis in the area quickly nced at the partially-scorched nts along the scar line before their eyes widened with astonishment.

    "W-what is happening to these nts?" one of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis uttered with shock.

    At that moment, the partially-scorched nts were proliferating rapidly in bizarre ways that shouldn''t have been possible or normal for the nts of their kind.

    The green vines grew thorns. And from those thorns, more thorns grew. They coiled up into thorn bushes.

    On the other hand, the transformation of the jungle trees was even more exaggerated.

    The tips of the branches rapidly grew in spherical shapes while the leaves wrapped around them like ayer of skin.

    The final results were numerous heads with sharp thorny teeth. The branch tips of the jungle trees had all turned into man-eating nts.

    The power of Wrath contained within Cruel Angels'' sunbeams had made the nts lively and aggressive.

    Coupled with the toughness and tenacity that the jungle nts already possessed, the man-eating nts'' threat level wasparable to Rank 2 Transcendent-level beasts.

    Some even had the toughness of Rank 3 Transcendent-level beasts!

    Snap!

    The man-eating nts snapped at the nearby Paragon-level Golden Suannis with their thorny teeth forcefully and frantically but failed to reach them.

    Even so, it caused Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis frown deeply.

    "The Central Western Jungle has be too dangerous of a battlefield with those monsters around. We need to evacuate our n members further away from here while Lord Goldenstride and Supreme Leader Cindertail are keeping those monsters busy," Dawnchaser stated firmly.

    "Goldzer, Nickelback, and Firestar, each of you should lead a group to the south, west, and north and guide the scattered n members to the east. Let us all meet further in the east."

    "Understood," Goldzer and the other two Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis nodded.

    Shortly after, they grabbed several dozen Paragon-level Golden Suannis and headed off to bring the scattered n members away from the outskirts of Gran Crevasse.

    ¡­

    At the same time, Leon also returned to his group''s side and ordered, "Go back and bring your family far away from here. Follow the rest of the Golden Suanni n. None of you will be able to contribute in this level of battle."

    "Master, I want to stay," Rainshine stated determinedly.

    Leon nced at the Mid Paragon-level Winter Cat and said, "I''m telling you all to leave for your own safety. If you insist on staying, I won''t stop you. However, you only have yourself to me if you get caught in the Cruel Angels'' attacks."

    "Un, I am aware of that. Thank you for your concern, Master," Rainshine stated.

    At the same time, Firepaw and another Mid Paragon-level Golden Suanni from the group also decided to stay back while the rest led their families to safety.

    Leon gradually focused on the ten Cruel Angels, which posed great threats to everyone.

    The Whitebone Fiends didn''t just amalgamate into existencesparable to Half-step Celestials; they were also Half-step Celestial existences that could control the Wrath and Sr Laws to some degree.

    That made their threat level even higher than normal Half-step Celestials.

    ''The Cruel Angels are targeting Cindertail because of his divine golden mes. That means the Cruel Angels fear it. They aren''t invincible,'' Leon mused.

    Although the Whitebone Fiends had be very strong by amalgamating to be the final ten Cruel Angels, it wasn''t done without a price.

    As Leon observed the Cruel Angels, he noticed that they were very slow.

    Even though the Cruel Angels were stronger than the Paragon-level Golden Suannis, their sunbeam attacks couldn''t keep up with their movements.

    Furthermore, the Cruel Angels were keeping their distance and only attacked from the sky.

    Leon found that strange.

    Nevertheless, Gran Crevasse was losing most of its ground. Leon couldn''t keep analyzing the Cruel Angels.

    Once Gran Crevasse loses all of its open ground for Cindertail to run on, it will be more difficult for Cindertail to dodge the Cruel Angels'' deadly sunbeam attacks.

    "Master, please do something!" Cindertail''s plea was heard as he continued to evade the Cruel Angels'' dyed sunbeam attacks on the ground level.

    Leon furrowed his brows as he was bothered by the light shining on the abyss from which the monsters came.

    "Just hold on for a bit longer, Cindertail," Leon hollered back.

    Shortly after, Leon rose into the sky and flew past the Cruel Angels. And despite that happening, the Cruel Angelspletely ignored him and focused on Cindertail and Goldenstride.

    Nevertheless, Leon ascended into the clouds and used his Divine Will to pull the clouds together again in an attempt to close the big hole in the ck clouds.

    At the same time, an even more tremendous amount of Wrathful Demon Energy poured down on him.

    Wrathful Demon Energy never stopped gushing down from outside the ck clouds.

    All the Wrathful Demon Energy in the Dark Abyss Continent was trying to enter the Dark Abyss Continent through this single opening in the ck clouds as if they were being pulled like a vacuum.

    As Leon closed the hole in the sky, he also absorbed all the Wrathful Demon Energy into his ck Vortex Space for refinement without reservation.

    However, that action of his finally drew the Cruel Angels'' attention.

    Skreee!

    The Cruel Angels howled with a piercing yet ringing frequency as they directed their fingers at Leon. They were enraged by Leon stealing the source of their power.

    Nevertheless, Leon felt like another existence locked onto his presence.

    No, it was more precise to say that the ten Cruel Angels were controlled by a single will. And it was that will that locked onto him.

    Strangely, Leon almost instinctively knew who that will belonged to.

    ''This is¡­ Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s will¡­?'' Leon thought with surprise.

    ''To think the Cruel Angels had absorbed Wrathful Demon Energy to the point that the umted slivers of will contained within the Wrathful Demon Energy took control of the Cruel Angels¡­''

    It was quite close to Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s incarnation manifesting in the Cruel Angels.

 Chapter 1029 Pros & Cons

    <h4>Chapter 1029 Pros & Cons</h4>

    Nevertheless, it was far from a genuine incarnation.

    If Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s incarnation had truly manifested, everyone in the world could only give up and ept their death.

    No one would be able to stop Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s incarnation.

    What was controlling the Cruel Angels were the concentrated slivers of will that came from one of Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s soul fragments.

    It was a tiny piece within a tiny piece of Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''splete consciousness. As such, the Cruel Angels were only acting on instincts.

    It wasn''t Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s conscious thought controlling the Cruel Angels.

    Leon was very confident of that fact.

    If the slivers of Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s will were actually conscious within the Cruel Angels, they would have hunted Leon to the ends of the earth.

    After all, Leon had been refining Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s slivers of will he obtained from the Wrathful Demon Energy toprehend the Wrath Law.

    From another perspective, Leon could be viewed as a thief stealing the Wrath Law away from Empyrean Allheaven Wrath.

    He would have died without an intact corpse if Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s soul fragment wasn''t bound to the sun with his host.

    The sunbeams descended towards Leon within several breaths of the Cruel Angels directing their fingers at him.

    However, Leon had long anticipated the attack; he easily evaded the sunbeams without a problem.

    Unfortunately, the Cruel Angels only acted on instinct under Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s will. It did not consider where the sunbeam would strike if it missed Leon.

    Zinggg¡ª!

    The ten sunbeams missed Leon and descended straight on the Cruel Angels.

    Even though they were Half-step Celestials, the Cruel Angels still failed to withstand their own attack. The sunbeam struck them like a powerfulser of high temperature, melting right through the flesh and bones.

    Three of the ten Cruel Angels had their elongated arm-wings destroyed, while the other Cruel Angels had other parts of their bodies destroyed.

    Skreee!

    The three Cruel Angels dropped from the sky after having their elongated arm-wings broken and plunged into the abyss below.

    Leon was pleasantly surprised by the damage dealt to the Cruel Angels despite it not being his intention in using their attacks against them.

    He just happened to be flying directly above them when they chose to attack.

    Leon didn''t get to rejoice for very long as he shortly witnessed the Cruel Angels rapidly recovering from their injuries with ultra-highspeed regeneration.

    During their recovery, the Cruel Angels'' damaged bodies turned into a liquid-like state. All their missing bones and flesh came like water rushing to fill up the gap between them.

    "Truly damned existences. It''s not easy for them to die," Leon muttered before narrowing his sharp eyes.

    It was just a slight change, but he noticed the Cruel Angels'' overall size had shrunk.

    "Interesting¡­ These Cruel Angels became Half-step Celestial existences, but they didn''t reach this level through standard methods¡­ Their strength isn''t stable," Leon''s eyes brightened.

    As long as Cruel Angels continue to receive substantial damage, their strength will decrease.

    Skree!

    The other three Cruel Angels made piercing howls as they flew back out of the abyss after regrowing their broken elongated arm-wings.

    At that point, Leon thought the ten Cruel Angels would chase him.

    However, the three Cruel Angels rejoined the group before pointing their fingers at Leon to strike him with their sunbeam attacks again.

    "Strange¡­ Can they only act as a group and only know one move?" Leon contemted thoughtfully.

    Given a single will was controlling all ten Cruel Angels, it was most likely the case. The ten Cruel Angels could be regarded as a single entity in that case.

    Swish¡ª!

    A short whileter, Leon evaded the descending sunbeams¡ªonly for Cruel Angels to strike themselves with their own attacks again.

    Skree!

    Half of the ten Cruel Angels howled in pain as they were the only ones struck by sunbeams. The sunbeams had narrowly missed the other half of the Cruel Angels.

    "Was it a coincidence?" Leon narrowed his eyes.

    Nevertheless, Leon decided he was not in a hurry to close the hole in the sky and continued to y with the Cruel Angels.

    The Cruel Angels drew power for their sunbeam attacks from beyond the ck clouds; it was the reason for the dy in their attacks.

    If the hole in the sky was closed, they wouldn''t be able to use their charged sunbeam attack.

    As Leon anticipated, the Cruel Angels started charging their sunbeam attacks once again after recovering from their injuries.

    At the same time, the five Cruel Angels had shrunk again. The difference could be clearly seen as they flew side by side with the other five Cruel Angels.

    Zingggg¡ª!

    The sunbeam descended a third time. And like the previous instances, Leon evaded the attacks before watching them head straight for the ten Cruel Angels below him.

    However, only one Cruel Angel was caught in the sunbeam attack.

    "It wasn''t a coincidence!" Leon''s gaze flickered with a serious light.

    As the Cruel Angels sustain damage and shrink in size and strength, their response time and intelligence seemingly improve simultaneously.

    Each time they lost a chunk of flesh and bones, restrictions were also seemingly removed from their bodies.

    "Why is this happening?" Leon furrowed his brows in thought as he evaded the Cruel Angels'' following sunbeam attacks.

    Leon was slightly baffled by the situation.

    As he watched the Cruel Angel fully evade their own sunbeam attacks in the fourth instance while pondering the issue, his eyes flickered with insight.

    "I think I get what''s going on here," Leon softly muttered with narrowed eyes.

    The Cruel Angels were an amalgamation of tens of thousands of Whitebone Fiends¡ªtens of thousands of Whitebone Fiends that weren''t simply killed and assimted.

    If the Cruel Angels didn''t have Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s will to control their bodies on instinct, they would have beenpletely immobilized by the tens of thousands of conflicting thoughts wrestling for control within their bodies.

    Each time the Cruel Angels are struck by their own sunbeams, hundreds of the Whitebone Fiends are killed, reducing the Cruel Angels'' burden in controlling their enormous fused bodies.

    Leon could hardly tell if this was a good or bad thing; there were pros and cons to the situation.

 Chapter 1030 The Cruel Angelsâ€™ Cruelty

    <h4>Chapter 1030 The Cruel Angels'' Cruelty</h4>

    Skreee!

    The Cruel Angels gave a screeching howl.

    Shortly after, the Cruel Angels resumed their monotonous sunbeam attacks, which were evaded by Leon without surprise.

    However, the Cruel Angels also evaded their own sunbeam attacks as they came down onto them right after.

    Leon and the Cruel Angels entered a sort of stalemate where the Cruel Angels continued to attack him with sunbeams, but neither side was struck by the sunbeams.

    Even so, the Cruel Angels stubbornly continued to drop sunbeam attacks on Leon.

    "This is bing a waste of time. Since you won''te at me with any other move, I will resume what I was doing," Leon coolly stated.

    Shortly after, Leon used his Divine Will and control over dark energy to pull the ck clouds together again.

    The hole in the sky slowly closed, causing the amount of sunlight and Wrathful Demon Energy entering the dark continent to reduce over time.

    As that happened, the Cruel Angels became even more enraged with Leon.

    Skreeeee!!

    The Cruel Angels pped their wings and shot toward Leon with bloodthirsty gazes. They wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.

    However, their flight abilities were rather clumsy.

    The ten Cruel Angels bumped and crashed into each other as they soared higher and higher into the sky. Their limbs iled over each other as if they werepeting in a race to reach Leon first.

    Despite the ten Half-step Celestial-level Cruel Angels rushing toward him, Leon did not feel any pressure, strangely.

    Leon would have been very concerned if it was any other Half-step Celestial opponents.

    However, his present opponents were mentally-ill monsters that just happen to be at the Half-step Celestial level.

    As long as he kept his calm, he was in control of the battle.

    Swoosh!

    Leon kicked at the empty air and retreated with a burst of speed, creating distance from the Cruel Angels.

    However, it was only temporary before their gap started closing again. The Cruel Angels may be clumsy, but they were still Half-step Celestials. They couldn''t be underestimated.

    Leon repeatedly kicked at the empty air for bursts of speed as he continued to keep his distance from the ten Cruel Angels.

    At the same time, he withdrew his dispensable Tier-3 Bone Spears, infused elemental powers into them, then fired them at the Cruel Angels'' eyes with incredible precision and speed.

    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

    The infused Tier-3 Bone Spears directly prated every single pair of eyes without fail, sinking deeply into the Cruel Angels'' giant eyeballs.

    However, due to the sheer size of the Cruel Angels, the Tier-3 Bone Spears simply felt like pricks in the Cruel Angels'' eyes, causing them difort but not enough to inflict pain or substantial damage.

    "Explode!" Leon clenched his hand into a fist.

    In the next moment, the Tier-3 Bone Spears embedded in each other Cruel Angels'' eyes exploded one by one.

    Fire, dark, lightning, death, and destruction¡­

    Five different types of power shed against each other and raged within the Cruel Angels'' eyes, destroying everything in their wake.

    Skreee!

    The Cruel Angels'' pursuit was forcefully halted by the tremendous pain transmitted to their minds, causing them to shake their heads furiously as if doing so would end their misery quicker.

    Even though Leon couldn''t see any visible changes on the surface of the Cruel Angels'' eyes, he didn''t doubt that the insides of their eyeballs had been hollowed out by the destructiveness of his attack.

    As the Cruel Angels were preupied with the pain, Leon wielded the Tier-7 White Spear and shot forward, taking the initiative to close the distance between them.

    Due to the sheer difference in size, Leon was no different from how humans viewed mosquitoes.

    Leonnded on the back of one Cruel Angel and unleashed a flurry of attacks on their elongated arm-wings to cut them off and disable the Cruel Angel''s ability to fly.

    Although Leon''s Tier-7 White Spear passed through everything without resistance, his attacks were no different from small attacks.

    At the same time, he quickly noticed the Cruel Angel rapidly recovering from its wounds.

    "This level of attacks won''t work, huh? Then how about this!" Leon decisively took out one of his trump cards, the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp, and lit the Cruel Angel''s back on fire with the White Luminosity Eternal me!

    Then, Leon quickly ignored the searing pain of holding the hot Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp as he deactivated it and threw it back into the Worldspace.

    He kicked off the back of the Cruel Angel''s back and flew away shortly after, creating distance between him and the Cruel Angels again.

    Skreee!

    The Cruel Angel screamed piercingly in pain as it wailed about, trying to put out the White Luminosity Eternal me on its back.

    However, no matter what the Cruel Angel did, it could not put out the extinguishable white fire. It only spread the white fire to its additional two hands instead.

    Right at that moment, the other nine Cruel Angels recovered the sense of sight in their eyes before they gazed at the white-ming Cruel Angel.

    "As expected, the Half-step Celestial-level Cruel Angels can even regenerate organs like their eyes, huh?" Leon muttered with a frown after making the discovery.

    Nevertheless, he was quickly startled by the following scene.

    The nine Cruel Angels decisively tore at the white-ming Cruel Angel''s body, salvaging everything they could for themselves.

    Skreee!

    The white-ming Cruel Angel cried as legs, lower body, upper body, shoulders, neck, and finally, its head were all dismantled apart by the other nine Cruel Angel.

    They were truly cruel, alright.

    The Cruel Angels did not hesitate to kill one of their own after determining that they could not save the white-ming Cruel Angel.

    The salvaged parts were quickly assimted into their bodies, while the burning remains were left to drop out of the sky.

    Cindertail and Goldenstride watched on the ground level as the white-burning chunk of flesh plunged from great heights before disappearing into the abyss.

    They were greatly astonished by the White Luminosity Eternal me.

    "W-what kind of fire was that? It didn''t seem inferior to our bloodline ability, the True Samadhi Golden mes!" Goldenstride uttered with shock.

 Chapter 1031 Celestial-Level Cruel Angel

    <h4>Chapter 1031 Celestial-Level Cruel Angel</h4>

    "Just what kind of master do you have, Supreme Leader Cindertail? Could he be a true dragon in human skin?" Goldenstride wondered with shock.

    Leon''s Paragon-level dragon aura was not hidden during his battle.

    Even though he was quite far in the sky, the Goldenstride and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis could all perceive it with their Paragon-level senses.

    "I don''t really know myself. I''ve only known Master for less than a week. However, I do suspect that Master is a dragon. At the very least, he is a dragon among men," Cindertail replied.

    His words left Goldenstride even more shocked after he heard it.

    Computing all the information together¡­

    It would mean that Cindertail''s master helped Cindertail rise from Peak Rank 2 Transcendent to Late Paragon and awakened his bloodline ability in less than a week!

    Just what kind of crazy method did Cindertail''s master use to produce such ridiculous results?

    "Your master is¡­ incredible!" Goldenstride uttered in awe.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon faced the remaining nine Cruel Angels in the sky.

    After the nine Cruel Angels ''ate'' one of their own, they increased their size and strength. But at the same time, they also increased their burden, lowering their response and coordination again.

    The Cruel Angels pursued Leon in an event more clumsy manner.

    As Leon evaded their encirclement, Leon frowned.

    While it wasn''t difficult to survive the nine Cruel Angels'' relentless attacks, it wasn''t easy to defeat them without his trump cards either.

    At that moment, his seared hands had already recovered from holding the overheating Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp.

    However, he couldn''t keep relying on the White Luminosity Eternal me. Each time it was used, the durability of the Quasi Tier-7 Fire Lamp would decrease.

    "I suppose I should use this chance to test the full extent of my Paragon-level Death Law," Leon mused.

    Seeing how the nine Cruel Angels continued to pursue him recklessly, Leon reached out his hand and gave the Cruel Angels an appetizer of the Death Law by sting them directly with the power of death.

    He used the simplest application of the Death Law.

    The-like ck energy was like a visible gue of death and destion; it swept over the nine Cruel Angels in an instance.

    At the same time, the nine Cruel Angels didn''t put up a single form of defense at the death power. They took the brunt of the death power andpletely relied on their powerful regeneration to ovee it.

    However, the power of death was too overbearing.

    Damaged cells can still be regenerated, but dead cells don''te back to life¡ªnot unless the Life Law was involved.

    The power of death continuously eroded the Cruel Angels'' flesh, killing all their cells. Although the Cruel Angel''s powerful regeneration quickly reced the dead cells with new ones, the dead cells were lost forever.

    Leon watched as the Cruel Angels regenerated while ck rotting flesh spread and broke off from their bodies.

    Over time, the death power eating away at the Cruel Angels'' bodies lost their strength and eventually disappeared¡ªbut not before the Cruel Angels lost much of their masses, causing their overall sizes to shrink noticeably.

    "It seems the Death Law is the bane of all creatures with regenerative specialties," Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, Cruel Angels'' rage rose to unprecedented heights after suffering miserably under Leon''s attack. They red at Leon venomously.

    However, they didn''t attack him.

    Instead, they turned on each other and devoured one another; all nine Cruel Angels went at each other''s necks like they were their worse enemies. They didn''t stop until they had one sole survivor.

    Leon watched the scene unfold with a frown.

    If it was any other creatures killing each other, he would have thought that they had a deep grudge against one another.

    However, it was a different story for the Cruel Angels, which were under the heavy influence of the Wrath Law.

    They killed each other to be stronger.

    The final victor absorbed the other eight Cruel Angels'' bodies and morphed into a more powerful and bigger entity.

    It was at least fivefold bigger than the normal Half-step Celestial-level Cruel Angel.

    At that point in time, Leon suspected the Cruel Angel had even obtained the strength of a Celestial after its final amalgamation.

    However, the Celestial-level Cruel Angel was so big and heavy that its small wings couldn''t support its immense weight.

    It quickly plunged towards the abyss below.

    Roar!

    The Celestial-level Cruel Angel let out an earth-shattering roar of fury, shaking the very sky and nearly bursting Leon''s eardrums as the distance between them increased further and further.

    Nevertheless, Leon managed to endure through the earth-shattering roar.

    Boom!

    A very distant yet heavy crash was heard sometime after the Celestial-level Cruel Angel disappeared into the abyss, followed by an updraft of wind rushing out of the abyss shortly after.

    Calcting the drop speed and time interval of the crash, Leon estimated the abyss was around 15-thousand feet deep.

    It was the deepest subterranean region Leon hade across on the dark continent; it must have passed through many subterraneanyers.

    Nevertheless, Leon took advantage of the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s absence topletely seal the hole in the sky and stop the downpour of Wrathful Demon Energy from entering the dark continent.

    Leon made a mental note that he would reopen the hole to continue his cultivation after everything was settled. It was a very excellent source of dark energy.

    Roar!

    During that time, the Celestial-level Cruel Angel rampaged at the bottom of the abyss, causing the surface ground to tremble from time to time.

    It was unknown what else lies within the depths of the abyss, but the chatters of numerous bird-like creatures were heard.

    "Master, are you going to enter the abyss?" Cindertail quickly asked as Leon descended to the ground level and stared down at the abyss.

    "Of course," Leon stated as a matter of fact.

    "A scourge like this Celestial-level Cruel Angel has to be killed as soon as possible. Who knows how strong it would continue to grow if we leave it be?"

 Chapter 1032 Fetching Reinforcement

    <h4>Chapter 1032 Fetching Reinforcement</h4>

    Regardless of the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s threat level, Leon would still use everything in his arsenal to remove it.

    He wanted to explore the abyss, and the Celestial-level Cruel Angel was an obstacle in his way.

    The abyss appeared to be the heart of the jungle formation.

    The source of the jungle nts'' growth, the secret behind theck of spirit energy, and other secrets that may be hidden within the abyss¡­

    Leon was naturally interested in them.

    "Be careful, Master. That Cruel Angel must have grown even stronger after assimting the other eight Cruel Angels. I don''t think it will be easy to defeat," Cindertail warned.

    "Perhaps. But regardless of its strength, it still needs to be dealt with," Leon calmly stated before suddenly adding, "That being said, I''ll be disappearing a bit. Take care of the situation until I get back."

    "W-wait, what? Where do you need to go, Master?"

    "To get reinforcement."

    Shortly after, Leon transmitted hismand to Tak-si through their spiritual connection. A spatial rift appeared and swallowed him in the next moment.

    ¡­

    Starfall Dominion, Dark Fae n.

    A few breaths after Leon disappeared from Gran Crevasse, he reappeared in the middle of the Dark Fae n''s mountain peak. His sudden appearance immediately startled and rmed all the nearby dark faes.

    However, a few dark faes among the crowd shortly recognized Leon before their eyes brightened with joy and excitement.

    "Wee back, my Lord!" the female dark faes greeted loudly and clearly as they dropped onto one of their knees and lowered their heads submissively.

    After the other dark faes in the n overheard that, they also followed suit.

    "Wee back, my Lord!"

    "At ease."

    Leon calmly gestured for them to stand up and rx with his hand. The dark faes immediatelyplied, but they couldn''t contain their excitement.

    "Quick, inform the n leader that the Lord is back!" a dark fae urged.

    "No need to bother the n leader. I am only dropping by for a short while," Leon replied with a shake of his head.

    "Who can tell me the current situation in the Starfall Dominion? How''s the mission''s progress given to the ck Dragon n, and who can tell me their present location?"

    "I can, my Lord!" a nearby female dark fae voiced among several other volunteers.

    Leon gave her a nce before nodding with acknowledgment. Then, he signaled for her to continue speaking.

    "After my Lord left, the ck Dragon n and Dark Fae n swept through Great ckrock Mountains and united all the demon ns in under three days. Afterward, Lord Shadowtail led the ck Dragon n to subjugate the rest of the demon ns in Starfall Dominion in the following four days."

    "It took three days to subjugate the Great ckrock Mountains, but only four days to do the same with the whole Starfall Dominion?" Leon raised an eyebrow.

    "Yes, my Lord," the dark fae confirmed with a nod before adding, "Because news of what happened in the Great ckrock Mountains spread quickly to the rest of the dominion, the other demon ns easily surrendered without a fight."

    "As such, Lord Shadowtail and his n members had an easy time subjugating the rest of Starfall Dominion within a short time. After unifying Starfall Dominion, Lord Shadowtail and the rest of the ck Dragon n had been stationed near the southern border ever since."

    "Only Lord Nightingale and a few other dark wyrms remained nearby in Great ckrock Mountains in case you returned, my Lord," the female dark fae reported.

    It was the Dark Fae n that contributed to the quick spread of the news.

    "I see," Leon nodded thoughtfully.

    Although he was in a hurry to fetch a Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon from the ck Dragon n to help him deal with the Celestial-level Cruel Angel, he was slightly bothered by a part of the report.

    "Why is the ck Dragon n stationed near the southern border?" Leon inquired with knitted brows.

    "Ah, that was because of the threating from the other dominions, my Lord," the female dark fae replied.

    "Ever since the other neighboring dominions found out the Nine Great n lost all their powerhouses on the trip inside the secret realm, they wanted to conquer ournd and plunder our resources."

    "Fortunately, we had Lord Shadowtail and the ck Dragon n to repel them."

    After listening to the female fark fae''s report, Leon continued to inquire about the situation in detail until he grasped the whole picture.

    He was surprised to learn that the other demon dominions also had Demon Lord-level figures, albeit very few. Even so, they had many Half-step Demon Lords.

    Supposedly, there was even a Demon King in the Holy Demon Land, located in the heart of the Dark Abyss Continent.

    Nevertheless, the Starfall Dominion''s present situation was not urgent.

    ording to the female dark fae''s words, the other neighboring dominions quickly retreated when they discovered the four Divine Beast-level Earth Dragons guarding the Starfall Dominion.

    Leon wasn''t surprised when he heard of that. After all, four Divine Beast-level Earth Dragons were the equivalent of four Demon Lords.

    The other neighboring dominions had no choice but to tuck tails and run even if they had more Half-step Demon Lords.

    "Alright, I''ve heard enough. Bring me over to Nightingale; I''ll be requiring her service."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Shortly after, the female dark fae led Leon away from the Dark Fae n and headed to Nightingale''s location, which was only a few mountains away. A few minutester, Nyfare arrived at their previous location.

    "Greetings, n Leader!" the surrounding dark faes paid their respects.

    However, Nyfare didn''t acknowledge their greetings immediately. Instead, she nced around urgently before asking, "Where is the Lord?"

    "The Lord has already left, n Leader."

    Sigh!

    Nyfare felt regretful that she had missed the Lord. After a bit, she directed her displeasure at her n members.

    "Why didn''t anyone report the Lord''s arrival to me?"

    "Lord instructed us not to, n Leader."

    Sigh!

    Nyfare sighed dispiritedly after receiving her answer. She wondered if the Lord was avoiding her due to the thing she pulledst time.

    If she knew things would turn out like this, she wouldn''t have done it.

 Chapter 1033 Infant Abominations

    <h4>Chapter 1033 Infant Abominations</h4>

    Central Western Jungle, Gran Crevasse.

    Shortly after the spatial rift swallowed Leon and disappeared, Goldenstride nced at Cindertail with panic.

    "What was that just now? How did your master disappear?"

    "I would also like to know¡­ It happened too fast, but it did seem like some sort of spatial ability."

    "Amazing. Your master can fly, use powerful mes, and teleport, on top of being a mighty dragon in human form. Just how did you find such a person, Supreme Leader Cindertail?"

    "I didn''t find Master; Master found me. As for the specifics, I''d rather not say," Cindertail replied dismissively. He didn''t want to share his embarrassing story.

    At that moment, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis returned after they finished evacuating the n members to safety.

    "You two seem quite free to be chatting, Supreme Leader Cindertail, Lord Goldenstride. Where did the monsters go?" Dawnchaser arrived at the edge of the abyss and looked around.

    "The Cruel Angels merged into a single entity and fell into the abyss."

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis nced down at the abyss after hearing from Goldenstride.

    The rumbles and howls from the abyss told them all they needed to know about the Cruel Angel''s whereabouts, but at the same time, it also startled them.

    "Those giant monsters merged into a single entity? Wouldn''t its strength be even stronger than it was before? Is your master fighting it right now, Supreme Leader Cindertail?" Dawnchaser asked with a startled look.

    He had even greater respect for Cindertail''s master. Even if the person wasn''t a Celestial, his courage was admirable for facing the monster alone.

    "No, Master left to fetch reinforcement," Cindertail said after shaking his head.

    "Your master isn''t fighting down there? Then, who is the monster fighting?" Dawnchaser frowned as he tried to peer into the abyss as best he could.

    The destructive sound of battle in the abyss definitely came from more than just the Celestial-level Cruel Angel.

    As Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis curiously peered into the abyss, the abyss seemingly stared back. They immediately felt chills crawl up his spines.

    It was as numerous pairs of eyes were watching from the depth of the darkness as they were peeking their heads over the abyss.

    Just how many other entities were still lurking in the abyss?

    As if Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis peeking had caught the attention of the creatures hidden in the abyss, their bird-like chirping became louder and closer.

    "Something ising!" Dawnchaser alerted.

    Shortly after, numerous creatures flew out of the abyss, revealing their appearances to all the members of the Golden Suanni n present by the edges.

    However, the creatures'' appearances were nothing like the birds they assumed them to be ording to their bird-like chirping.

    The creatures that appeared looked like fat white worms with human baby heads and multiple pairs of bone wings. Their appearances were definitely horrid and terrifyingly repulsive. Even their smell was putrid.

    "Oh, hell naw! What kind of disgusting abominations are these things?!" Goldzer and the other instinctively felt repulsed by the flying worms with human baby heads.

    "They seemed to have human origins. Well, at least part of them," Cindertail frowned before suddenly saying, "On your guard! They''reing!"

    Thousands of baby-head white worms flew at the Paragon-level Golden Suannis the moment they were spotted.

    However, right at that instance, an iparablyrger spatial rift than thest one Cindertail and Goldenstride saw suddenly appeared in the space between them.

    After the huge spatial rift disappeared, Leon and a huge Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon were revealed, floating in the air.

    In that instance, Leon was immediately startled by the disturbing and putrid-smelling baby-head white worms flying directly at him, their mouths wide open, revealing multiple sets of sharp fangs like sharps.

    Pow! Pow! Pow!

    Leon immediately swatted the baby-head white worms away on reflex without holding back, reducing the baby-head white worms into blood stters and blowing the rest away with the wind pressure.

    He felt nauseous due to the putrid smell.

    At the same time, Nightingale frowned before reducing all the remaining baby-head white worms within her sight into cinders with a single dark fire breath.

    "Goddammit, what the hell are these things?" Leon frowned with a sickened look. He was evidently disturbed and disgusted by the baby-head white worms'' appearances.

    Ignoring their human baby heads, which was the most disturbing, the rest of their worm-like body looked like giant sperms, doubling the disturbingness of their appearances.

    After realizing the baby-head white worms came from the abyss below, Leon''s expression turned weird as he drew some conclusions.

    "F*cking hell. Which mother f*cker dumped his load in the abyss?" Leon spat.

    One can fap, but they mustn''t fap and dump their baby batter irresponsibly. Otherwise, they get messed-up infant abominations like the baby-head white worms in front of them.

    Leon wasn''t entirely certain, but the infant abominations seemed to have been mutants that evolved from human sperms. As for where all the sperms came from, he wasn''t too keen on finding out.

    With a billowing wave of red mes, Leon burned the next batch of infant abominations flying out of the abyss like he was exterminating a heavy pest infestation.

    The infant abominations weren''t strong, but they were more numerous than the Whitebone Fiends.

    "You brought me here to face these foul creatures, my Lord?" Nightingale inquired with a troubled look.

    With the Lord''s strength, ughtering all the infant abominations was not difficult, no matter how many of them there were.

    "No, your opponent is down there," Leon directed to the abyss.

    Listening to the powerful rumbles and roars from the abyss, Nightingale confirmed that a powerful Demon Lord-level entity exists down there.

    "I haven''t encountered any worth opponents to test the full extent of my strength ever since I ascended. I think the creature down there will do just fine."

    "Then, go fight it."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Swoosh!

    After Leon urged, Nightingale decisively descended into the dark depths of the abyss without fear. Few beings in the world could be her match, and even fewer had the means to instill fear in her.

 Chapter 1034 Nightingaleâ€™s Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1034 Nightingale''s Battle</h4>

    Although Leon had brought Nightingale to the abyss to assist him in defeating a powerful foe, Nightingale was honored and grateful for the opportunity.

    Roar!

    Nightingale fired a massive ball of dark mes down the abyss, wiping out the thousands among thousands of infant abominations within its path.

    Boom!

    Nightingale heavilynded on the bottom of the abyss with her huge earth dragon body, shaking the ground and attracting the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s attention.

    But despite her immense weight and momentum, the ground between her only sank slightly from being dented. No cracks or substantial damage was inflicted to the ground.

    The ground was unexpectedly firm and durable; it seemed to be made of some special alloy.

    Apart from the special metallic ground, there were mountains of infant abomination corpses around her that may have numbered in the millions. Furthermore, the putrid smell was ten times more intense.

    A person with a weak stomach would have vomited at once.

    Nevertheless, Nightingale quickly locked onto her target, the Celestial-level Cruel Angel, with only a slight frown. Theplete darkness did not affect a creature of the dark attribute like her.

    "You must be my opponent," Nightingale uttered coolly while puffing up her upper body to seem a bit bigger.

    However, she was still small inparison to the Celestial-level Cruel Angel.

    Skreee!

    The Celestial-level Cruel Angel made a piercing scream and unted its own upper body as if it understood Nightingale''s deration of challenge.

    In the next moment, the Celestial-level Cruel Angel made a sudden swipe at Nightingale without warning, sending her body crashing into the rocky walls a few miles away.

    Cracks spread along the rocky wall in an instant before huge chunks of earth broke off from the cracked wall and dropped to the ground.

    Evidently, the walls in the bottom of the abyss were not as tough as the metallic ground.

    "How impatient," Nightingale casually spat, but her gaze full of battle spirit intensified.

    Although Nightingale received the full brunt of the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s sneak attack, she was perfectly fine. The defensive strength of a Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon was no joke.

    "Let''s y!"

    Boom!

    Nightingale catapulted back towards the Celestial-level Cruel Angel with an incredible burst of speed, closing the gap in no time.

    Dark Fire Breath!

    The ball of dark mes was fired, obstructing the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s vision as Nightingale shed around to the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s side despite her huge body.

    As the Celestial-level Cruel Angel swiped at the ball of dark mes and saw nothing behind it, Nightingale the Celestial-level Cruel Angel with a powerful headbutt.

    Bang!

    The Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s massive body was also sent crashing into the rocky walls a few miles away.

    Even if it was much bigger than Nightingale, the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s strength wasn''t necessarily higher. In fact, it was Nightingale''s strength that was higher.

    ¡­

    As Nightingale and Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s battlemenced, shaking the deeper parts of the abyss, Leon slowly descended from the surface level like a sun, shining very brightly and illuminating the surrounding space.

    Tens of thousands of infant abominations rushed into Leon''s fire barrier like moths drawn to the me and burned themselves into crisps and ck ashes.

    Nevertheless, the infant abominations didn''t stop pouring out of the caves in the walls and targeting him endlessly.

    Although the infant abomination''s origin was a mystery, Leon didn''t intend to dig up the truth at that moment.

    He continued his descent and made his way to Nightingale. He had to deal with the Celestial-level Cruel Angel first.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the surface level, Cindertail and the others felt the shakes from the battle in the depths of the abyss. It was far more intense after Nightingale arrived.

    Although none of them could personally see the battle, they did not doubt that it was an earth-shaking battle of unprecedented magnitude.

    It was a level of battle beyond Paragons.

    "It''s like a battle of gods down there¡­ I wonder when we could also reach such a level¡­" Goldzer uttered with a distant look.

    They had always been stuck at Peak Paragon, never advancing further. Not even half a step.

    They could only dream of such a level.

    "If you all swear your allegiance to my master and receive his blessings, such a level would be within reach quicker than you know it," Cindertail calmly said.

    It took him under a week to reach Late Paragon. If he continued to receive blood refinements from his master, he didn''t feel like the Divine Beast Realm was that far away.

    Nevertheless, after Cindertail spoke, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis looked at him thoughtfully.

    ¡­

    As Leon reached the bottom of the abyss, he witnessed the wanton destruction caused by Nightingale and the Celestial-level Cruel Angel. Each attack would hurl the other into the opposite ends of the walls.

    Chunks of the earth would break off from the rocky walls and reveals tree roots hidden within, surprising Leon.

    He did not expect the roots of the jungle trees to reach so far down.

    Nevertheless, his thoughts didn''t linger on the tree roots as he focused on the battle between Nightingale and the Celestial-level Cruel Angels.

    The difference between them was clear at a nce.

    Nightingale had higher strength and defense, while the Celestial-level Cruel Angel only had high-speed regeneration as its advantage.

    While the bruises and injuries slowly umted on Nightingale''s body, the Celestial-level Cruel Angel recovered from all its wounds by re-assimting the massive chunks of flesh it lost or devouring the nearby infant abomination corpses in the area.

    If the Celestial-level Cruel Angel could replenish itself indefinitely, Nightingale would actually lose in their battle of attrition.

    "Do you need me to join, Nightingale?"

    "No, my Lord! Please leave this monstrosity to me! I can defeat it without a problem!"

    "Even if you say that, you''re not going to win at this rate unless you cripple its regenerative ability."

    "I am aware, my Lord. I was just testing my physical strength on it. If you are in hurry, I will fight seriously now and swiftly end the battle!"

    Nightingale gazed at the Celestial-level Cruel Angel seriously and gathered dark mes in her mouth, seemingly readying to let out another dark fire breath.

    However, Nightingale suddenly swallowed the dark fire breath in the next moment, and her body inted like an explosion had urred in her body.

    Despite that, Nightingale didn''t show any signs of difort. Instead, her eyes burned with battle spirit.

    At the same time, dark mes started to seep out from under her dragon scales, transforming Nightingale''s aura in that instance.

 Chapter 1035 Dark Flame Armament

    <h4>Chapter 1035 Dark me Armament</h4>

    The dark mes oozed out from under Nightingale''s dragon scales and shrouded her entire body in ayer of smoky dark mes.

    It seemed simr to Cindertail''s bloodline ability to shroud himself in golden mes.

    However, Nightingale''s dark mes were slightly different; they came from within herself, whereas Cindertail''s golden mes were ignited from his fur.

    Nevertheless, after Nightingale cloaked herself in dark mes, all her physical attributes were raised like she had just undergone doping.

    Dark me Armament!

    It was the bloodline ability Nightingale awakened upon ascending to the Divine Beast Realm. However, the bloodline ability didn''t belong to the True Dragon Race but to the Dark Wyrm Race.

    Perhaps because her True Dragon Origin Blood wasn''t pure enough, Nightingale had yet to awaken the True Dragon''s bloodline ability.

    Shadowtail and the other two Divine Beast-level Earth Dragons in the ck Dragon n also shared the same situation.

    Roar!

    Nightingale issued a mighty dragon roar. The sheer might of the dragon roar caused the surrounding space to tremble.

    Even the Celestial-level Cruel Angel felt intimidated and suppressed by the aura that billowed forth from Nightingale''s body.

    Nightingale''s body curled like a spring before lunging forward with an incredible burst of speed, closing the distance on the Celestial-level Cruel Angel in no time.

    However, she did not lose momentum and directly rammed into the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s body. With her strength, speed, weight, and the destructiveness of her dark mes, Nightingale tore a huge hole right through the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s body.

    Skreee!

    The Celestial-level Cruel Angel made a piercing scream of pain and anger, but fear was also mixed within. It didn''t counterattack but retreated instead as it tried to shake off the dark mes on its body.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The space continuously shook under the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s rampage. It rolled on the ground and mmed itself into the rocky walls but failed to extinguish the dark mes to no avail.

    Fear became even more evident in the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s following screams as its body burned and eroded away under the influence of the dark mes.

    Nevertheless, Nightingale didn''t give the Celestial-level Cruel Angel a moment of rxation.

    She continued to ram into various parts of the Celestial-level Cruel Angel''s huge body, intent on thoroughly spreading her burning dark mes across its entire body.

    Although the Celestial-level Cruel Angel increased intelligence and better control of its bodily movements as the conflicting wills in its body were shaved away, it couldn''t regain the upper hand in the battle.

    It was thoroughly suppressed by Nightingale and her special dark mes.

    Nightingale and the Cruel Angel wereparable to Celestials, but theirbat prowess was not on the same level. This difference was further widened after Nightingale activated her bloodline ability.

    She was just at the early stage of Rank 1 Divine Beast Realm. But after activating the Dark Wyrm Race''s bloodline ability, herbat prowess rose to the middle stages of Rank 1 Divine Beast Realm.

    Leon carefully observed the fight, wondering if the Celestial-level Cruel Angel had anything else up its sleeve as its eyes glimmered with intelligence.

    However, its intelligence could not reverse its disadvantage in directbat, where the absolute difference in strength was apparent.

    After losing so much of its flesh to the dark mes, the Cruel Angel''s overall strength plummeted back to the Half-step Celestial level.

    And from the Half-step Celestial level, the Cruel Angel''s strength continued to drop until it was thoroughly reduced to cinders.

    "Master, the monster has been dealt with," Nightingale reported as the dark mes on her body dispersed.

    Leon nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon descended to the ground. Hended beside the Cruel Angel''s remains and used his Tier-7 White Spear to clear out the pile of cinders before finding a ck-red stone.

    It was the umtion of Wrathful Demon Energy the ten Cruel Angels had collectively absorbed when they were in the sky.

    However, the amount of Wrathful Demon Energy contained within the ck-red stone surprised Leon, given the short time the Cruel Angels had stayed in the sky.

    He didn''t think his absorption ability was inferior to theirs.

    Nevertheless, Leon recalled the billowing amounts of Wrathful Demon Energy that poured into the continent after the hole in the ck clouds were created.

    ''It must be a sea of Wrathful Demon Energy up there,'' Leon mused. He was even more eager to cultivate above the ck clouds when he thought about it.

    After studying the ck-red stone for some time, Leon directly tossed it into his ck Vortex Space for refinement before absorbing all the dark energy from it.

    His dark core was visibly strengthened after absorbing the dark energy. Even so, the dark core still seemed far from germinating.

    The amount of energy required to advance to the Truth Manifestation Realm was tremendous alright.

    Afterward, Leon shifted his attention to theprehension fragments in his ck Vortex Space.

    ''This manyprehension fragments should increase my understanding of the Wrath Law by quite a bit,'' Leon mused.

    Nevertheless, he was not in a hurry toprehend the Wrath Law, given what he had seen so far.

    "You did well, Nightingale. How would you like to be rewarded?" Leon allowed her to choose her own reward.

    Nightingale''s eyes quickly lit with excitement.

    "Master, I would like to receive more blood refinement from you. And if you allow it, I would also like to ask for a body tempering method that enhances defense," Nightingale listed her wishes.

    Through her battle with the Celestial-level Cruel Angel, she had be aware that her bodily defense was slightlycking.

    Dragons were supposed to have superior strength and defense. It would not do if her defense wascking.

    That being said, Nightingale wasn''t too sure if her master had a suitable method for dragons.

    "Quite greedy, huh? Fair enough, I will allow it. However, the blood refinement will have to wait forter. I''ll teach you the Dragon God Body Tempering Method first."

    "Thank you, Master!"

    Nightingale was ecstatic after getting her wish granted.

    After Leon transmitted the technique into Nightingale''s mind, he started to explore and study the abyss.

 Chapter 1036 Studying the Abyss

    <h4>Chapter 1036 Studying the Abyss</h4>

    The first point of interest that came to mind in the abyss was the ground. Its metallic surface was so durable that it could withstand the battle between Nightingale and the Celestial-level Cruel Angel with only dents.

    Furthermore, it was clear that it wasn''t something that was naturally formed from heaven and earth; it was artificial, whether it was made by human beings or some other races.

    The alloybination made it very sturdy, but it was also very thick.

    As such, it was able to withstand the impacts of the battle. That being said, it would have turned out differently if Nightingale and the Celestial-level Cruel Angel had purposely targeted the metallic ground.

    After all, they were still Celestial-level beings. Only upper tier-6 and higher materials could withstand their full power.

    Leon seeped his divine sense into the ground before figuring out the exact thickness and dimensions of the metal object.

    The metal surface was thirty feet thick, and the interior was hollow. It appeared to be a broken piece of some megastructure.

    And when Leon considered the topography of Gran Crevasse, which was like one enormous crater, he guessed the huge metal object had fallen from the sky.

    No, it could only have fallen from the sky or even beyond the sky, which was outer space.

    "Interesting¡­" Leon uttered thoughtfully.

    Given the enormity of the metal object, Leon concluded that the crater size should have covered the entire western jungle region¡ªhad it fallen from the sky.

    And if it had fallen from outer space, the sheer momentum and friction to create such a crater size would have generated enough power to set off a chain reaction capable of wiping out all life on the.

    It should have been on the same level as the impact that formed the shape of the Human Domain.

    However, the reality is that the impact only created the current Gran Crevasse and didn''t cover the entire western jungle.

    When Leon swept his divine sense further past the huge metal object, he understood why that was the case.

    "I see¡­ Thanks to the subterranean space underneath Gran Crevasse, a portion of the impact was minimized. However, most of the impact was abated by the sea of vines and tree roots underneath¡­" Leon softly uttered with a thoughtful look.

    The number of tree roots and vines beneath the huge metallic object acted as a super cushion, saving the from staggering amounts of devastation.

    "The odds of this metallic object dropping here of all ces is very low¡­ If it wasn''t specifically dropped here, then it can almost be considered a miracle¡­" Leon quietlymented as he continued to inspect with his divine sense.

    "Looking at its shape, it can''t be part of a floating city. It''s part of something far bigger. And these exterior patterns¡­ it''s simr to the pyramid object in the Starfall Dominion¡­"

    As Leon continued his analysis, he eventually concluded with certainty that the metallic object came from outer space.

    Space debris was what it was.

    Furthermore, it was a rather big piece of space debris, even among all the space debris orbiting the. That being said, it was still not the biggest piece.

    "This space debris fell from outer space¡­ But without the tree roots and vines to cushion it, the world would have ended again¡­ That being said, these tree roots and vines had already existed before the space debris descended¡­"

    "On top of that, the abyss actually extended much further¡­ So, even without the tree roots and vines in ce, the space debris wouldn''t have actually destroyed all life on the surface. The space debris would have continued to drop to the bottom of this abyss¡­"

    "It might have even entered the mantleyer depending on how deep this abyss extends¡­" Leon thought.

    As for why such a deep abyss exists, that was still something Leon had to figure outter.

    However, he learned that the space debris had nothing to do with the nts'' growth in the western jungle. The source of the western jungle''s growth came from something else.

    "It seems like the source of the western jungle''s growth lies deeper below this space debris¡­" Leon presumed, but he wasn''t in a hurry to explore deeper just yet.

    There were still other points of interest to study in the present region before exploring further down. For example, the nasty infant abominations and the Whitebone Fiends.

    He had yet to figure out whether they hade with the space debris or they had existed in the abyss since the beginning.

    Nevertheless, ording to the mutant human corpses found within the space debris with tree roots impaled in them, Leon felt that the former was more likely to be the case.

    At the very least, the initial fiends did seem to havee along with the space debris.

    "The infant abominations must have been produced after the space debris fell into this ce¡­ They were stilling at me some time ago. But I must have burned them all since there doesn''t seem to be any left."

    "However, it''s strange that the infant abominations didn''te out of the abyss along with those Whitebone Fiends at the start," Leon suddenly thought.

    The infant abominations only appeared muchter after the Whitebone Fiends left the abyss and even opened a hole in the sky.

    "Did the abyss produce the infant abominations after it received sunlight?" Leon spected before deciding, "I should test thister. But for now, I will pause the investigation here."

    Cindertail and the other members of the Golden Suanni n were still waiting for news on the surface.

    Meanwhile, Nightingale had not paid attention to Leon''s mumbles and actions. She was too engrossed in familiarizing herself with the Dragon God Body Tempering Method.

    It was a method that could increase the defensive strength of her flesh and scales.

    If Nightingale could use True Grandmist Energy from the primordial era to train in the technique, her defense would rise by leaps and bounds.

    "We''re returning to the surface, Nightingale."

    "Eh? Ah, yes, my Lord!"

 Chapter 1037 Divine Beast Arts

    <h4>Chapter 1037 Divine Beast Arts</h4>

    Shortly after, Leon and Nightingale started to ascend their way back to the surface. As that happened, Leon casually nced at Nightingale, who flew without a problem on her own.

    "Despite bing an earth dragon, you''ve already fully grasped the ability to fly, huh?"

    "Yes, my Lord. It felt strangely natural to me," Nightingale replied.

    Just like Awakeners could use celestial energy upon reaching the Celestial Realm and gaining celestial veins, Divine Beasts also have something simr.

    Upon reaching the Divine Beast Realm, Divine Beasts could also refine the energy of heaven and earth.

    Leon recalled that Divine Beasts also relied on the superior divine energy like all divine practitioners back in the Divine Realm.

    However, in acking environment like Gaia, the spirit energy level was far from adequate to refine divine energy.

    Despite that, Nightingale could still fly just fine. Evidently, her dragon body was relying on another energy to fly, celestial energy perhaps.

    Furthermore, she learned how to use it without any divine beast arts.

    "You don''t know any divine beast arts, do you? Nightingale?" Leon casually inquired.

    "Divine beast arts¡­?" Nightingale shook her head and asked, "What are those, my Lord?"

    "You don''t even know what divine beast arts are?" Leon nced at Nightingale with doubt.

    "I''m afraid not, my Lord. Forgive me for being ignorant," Nightingale shook her head and said.

    "How unexpected¡­" Leon rubbed his forehead with surprise.

    "If you don''t know any divine beast arts despite opening your Wisdom Gate, it must mean your past several generations of ancestors hadn''t learned any divine beast arts either."

    Unfortunately, Leon did not know many divine beast arts. And the few he did know were not suitable for earth dragons. They were only suitable for Snow Tigers.

    Thinking about Snow Tigers, Leon could not help but wonder how the four Snow Tigers that he raised were doing in the Divine Realm now that they were on their own.

    They must be lonely and mourning his death. But then again, they might be rejoicing instead. In truth, Leon did not know what the four Snow Tigers were feeling.

    He might have been the one who raised them, but he was also the one who killed their mother.

    "Would you like me to learn some suitable divine beast arts to teach that earth dragon?" Maya suddenly contacted Leon through their spiritual connection.

    ''You know some divine beast arts for earth dragons, Maya? Did you recover more of your memories?'' Leon asked with surprise.

    "Yeah, just some of them, thanks to therge amount of spirit energy you fed mest time," Maya replied.

    After recovering from his surprise, Leon learned a few divine beast arts from Maya, all of which were very useful for Nightingale and the rest of the ck Dragon n.

    The first divine beast art he learned from Maya was the Divine Beast Transformation Art.

    Through this divine beast art, a divine beast could transform their body into a humanoid form, which was also the optimum form forbat.

    It was also the superior version of the Hundred Beast Transformation Art.

    It wasn''t just a special skill but also a cultivation method. Bypressing the massive body of a divine beast into a small human form, their mass bes so dense that their strength and defense improve by arge margin without losing their flexibility.

    Such a method could be considered magic to mortals, albeit only if mastered. The transformation process is slow and gradual otherwise.

    The second divine beast art Leon learned was Divine Dragon Force Art.

    Divine Dragon Force Art allows dragons to fuse the energy of heaven and earth with their unique dragon aura to create dragon force, which can then be used in various ways such as body enhancement, executing battle skills, and more.

    Dragon force was essential for Divine Beast-level dragons to fight toe-to-toe with other divine beasts and celestials or even overpower them.

    It was a dragon''s weapon, an essential tool to exert the true might of dragons.

    ''Thanks, Maya.''

    "Don''t mention it."

    After Leon learned the two divine beast arts from Maya, he contemted carefully before transmitting both of them to Nightingale.

    "My Lord, these two divine beast arts¡­. I don''t deserve them. I haven''t done anything worthy of receiving these two incredible divine beast arts," Nightingale said as she paused mid-flight and looked at Leon with astonishment and shock.

    She had no prior knowledge of divine beast arts. Thus, after learning of their potential, she was shocked beyond belief.

    After mastering these two divine beast arts, just how powerful would she be?

    Nightingale''s eyes brightened with anticipation.

    "Consider it as receiving your rewards in advance. I''ll be taking some of your True Dragon Origin Bloodter, and you will continue to follow me from here onwards. You won''t refuse, right?"

    "Of course not, my Lord!"

    There was no way Nightingale would refuse the chance to follow her lord around.

    Rather than being rewarded for protection service, just being allowed to follow her lord around was a reward in and of itself for her.

    Only by following her lord around would she have opportunities to earn even more rewards from her lord.

    On the other hand, it was convenient for Leon to have a Divine Beast-level bodyguard and mount around. He wouldn''t have to make detours when encountering opponents far above his level.

    "Alright, quickly familiarize yourself with the two divine beast arts. It would be great if you could master the Divine Beast Transformation Art."

    "Understood, my Lord!"

    Shortly after Nightingale noted Leon''s instruction, they resumed soaring out of the abyss and reaching the surface.

    "How''s the situation, Master?" Cindertail quickly asked.

    "The threat from the abyss has been dealt with. You can thank Nightingale for that," Leon said coolly without any intention of iming her credits as his own.

    "Though, it is hard to say whether any new threat would emerge from the abyss in the future."

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis were pleasantly surprised as they nced at Nightingale. Then, they shifted their gazes back to Leon with amazement and awe.

    Supreme Leader Cindertail''s master was truly unfathomable for being able to summon a true Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon.

 Chapter 1038 Golden Suanni Clanâ€™s Allegiance

    <h4>Chapter 1038 Golden Suanni n''s Allegiance</h4>

    "Thank you for saving our n, Your Excellency. And you too, Lord Nightingale. Thanks to you, our n managed to ovee this disaster."

    "Thank you for saving our n."

    After Dawnchaser took the lead to express his gratitude on behalf of the Golden Suanni n, the rest of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis also followed suit.

    "Don''t mention it," Leon calmly replied.

    "However, you shouldn''t be in a hurry to express your gratitude. I came to the Golden Suanni n with an ulterior motive. Saving your n just happens to suit my agendas."

    After Leon stated that forthrightly, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis became startled. They cast nces at each other, then Cindertail, and finally redirected their attention back to him.

    "If I may be so impudent as to ask, what is your purpose here exactly, Your Excellency?" Dawnchaser carefully asked.

    "To gain the Golden Suanni n''s allegiance," Leon stated.

    Originally, Leon would not have been so blunt with his intention. But considering what he had done for the Golden Suanni n, what he had shown them, and the reverence they revealed towards him, the chances of their eptance were rtively high.

    However, what really sealed his decision was that they had already made Cindertail their Supreme Leader despite the fact that Cindertail was from outside of the main n.

    This showed that the leaders of the Golden Suanni n ced great importance on the purity of their bloodline but still had flexible minds.

    "We are willing to¡ª"

    Several Paragon-level Golden Suannis immediately took the initiative to express their willingness to serve. But before they could finish speaking, Dawnchaser swept a stern nce across all of them.

    Silence abruptly filled the crowd as Goldenstride and several other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis exerted their auras to suppress the rest of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis from speaking hastily.

    Dawnchaser and the other Peak Paragon-level leaders weren''t against the idea of serving the same master as Supreme Leader Cindertail. In fact, they were very willing.

    However, they didn''t want to hastily agree without knowing what Supreme Leader Cindertail''s master wanted from them or what they could get out of serving such a master.

    They had to consider the interests of the Golden Suanni n before their own.

    That being said, they had already seen the potential benefits. Supreme Leader Cindertail''s pure bloodline and awakened bloodline ability were the best examples. Even so, they wanted to hear from the person''s own mouth.

    "What can our n gain by serving you, Your Excellency?" Dawnchaser carefully asked while maintaining his humbleness.

    "There are many things the Golden Suanni n can gain from bing my devoted followers. But if I was to list one, it would be the sky," Leon calmly stated while pointing a single finger upward.

    "My devoted followers won''t be bound by the earth. They will have the whole sky to roam."

    "I can vouch for my lord. I was only an Arch¡ªI mean, I was only a Paragon before I met my lord," Nightingale added.

    When Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis heard that, their eyes shimmered with hope and excitement. Cindertail was not an exception.

    They all understood exactly what Leon implied by having the sky.

    The Golden Suanni n would have a brighter future if even one of their n members reached the Divine Beast Realm. As for multiple to possibly everyone reaching the Divine Beast Realm, their future would be even more prosperous and splendid.

    Among the various Paragon-level Golden Suannis present, Goldenstride was the most eager to reach the Divine Beast Realm. He didn''t want to be bound by the earth any longer.

    "Your Excellency, I, Goldenstride, wish to swear my allegiance to you! Please ept my bow of respect and submission," Goldenstride took the lead to step forward and lowered his head to Leon.

    And after the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis witnessed it, the Paragon-level Golden Suannis, who had been holding back all along, eagerly rushed forward to do the same.

    They feared that if they didn''t do it quick enough, they might not get the chanceter.

    "Please ept us as well, Your Excellency¡ªMy Lord! We swear our allegiance to you, my Lord!"

    "You guys¡­"

    Dawnchaser helplessly watched his n members throw away their pride as jungle kings to submit to Supreme Leader Cindertail''s master. Even if they were to swear their allegiance to their new lord, they didn''t have to behave like domesticated dogs.

    Dawnchaser wanted to reprimand them.

    But then he thought that if he did so, it would be harder for him to swear his allegiance to his new lord in front of all of themter.

    "Ahem, Your Excellency, please ept my bow of respect and submission. I also wish to swear my allegiance to you," Dawnchaser lowered his head, albeit with a bit of hidden embarassment.

    Fortunately, no one paid enough attention to know what he was thinking.

    Sometimeter, all of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis within the Golden Suanni n''s main territory finished submitting to Leon.

    "Isn''t this great, Master?" Cindertail congratted.

    "You seeded in acquiring the allegiance of the Golden Suanni n''s leaders in less than a day. This is as good as acquiring the allegiance of the entire Golden Suanni n. It''s only a matter of time before the rest of the n members submit to you."

    Leon acknowledged Cindertail''s words with a nod before ncing at the gathered Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

    "I am not one who is stingy when ites to rewarding my most devoted followers. Rewards can be expected when you serve me and contribute to my cause," Leon calmly said.

    "Nevertheless, I believe acquiring the Golden Suanni n''s allegiance is something worth celebrating. Let me offer you all a small gift for choosing to follow me."

    Shortly after Leon said that, he transmitted the early parts of the Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method to all the Paragon-level Golden Suannis present.

    At their level, the early stages of the Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method would have little-to-no benefits for them.

    However, it was apletely different story for their cubs, who were still young, growing, and far from the Paragon level.

    Dawnchaser and the others all understood that. As such, they weren''t any less grateful for the gift.

    "Thank you, my Lord!"

 Chapter 1039 Locating a Spawn Point

    <h4>Chapter 1039 Locating a Spawn Point</h4>

    Although Leon acquired the allegiance of the Golden Suanni n''s Paragons, he still felt it was necessary to give them a small taste of the benefits¡ªeven if the benefits weren''t for themselves to enjoy.

    Nevertheless, after gifting the early parts of the Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method to the Golden Suanni n''s Paragons, he cemented his position in their hearts.

    A short whileter, Rainshine hopped down from the branches on the outskirts and climbed onto Leon''s shoulders.

    "Will we be heading over to the western tribes for negotiations now, Master?" Rainshine asked.

    "No, not yet," Leon said with a shake of his head.

    "The secrets of the abyss need to be explored, and the Golden Suanni n''s home needs to be restored. We won''t leave until weplete these two objectives."

    "Can we explore the abyss with you, my Lord?" Goldenstride requested with an eager look.

    Goldenstride had always been curious about the abyss. Now that there was an opportunity to explore it, he didn''t want to miss out.

    "You can''t fly, Lord Goldenstride. You will only inconvenience the lord if you join him," Dawnchaser stated.

    "It matters not," Leon casually said. "You can all join me, but not now. I need to test something first. Once it''s done, we can all explore the abyss together. Guard the perimeters of the abyss while I am gone."

    "Yes, my Lord!" the Paragon-level Golden Suannis obeyed.

    Shortly after, Leon took off into the sky, shooting straight into the ck clouds before parting them with his Divine Will.

    The first ray of sunlight immediately shone straight down into the abyss, followed by a rushing tide of Wrathful Demon Energy squeezing its way through the small gap in the ck clouds.

    As the gap expanded, the ray of sunlight grew into a thicker pir of light.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t make the gap too big. Just enough for the pir of sunlight to shine down the center of the abyss as the Whitebone Fiends had previously done.

    Afterward, Leon flew parallel to the pir of sunlight, heading straight down to investigate the changes created by the Wrathful Demon Energy in the abyss.

    At the same time, Rainshine held onto Leon''s shoulders tightly as her fur stood on end. Supposedly she was afraid of heights, but she still kept silent.

    "W-what are you testing, Master?" Rainshine asked in a slightly trembling voice.

    "I''m not quite sure myself. I guess we''ll find out soon enough," Leon casually replied.

    A few momentster, Leon reached the bottom of the abyss, where the pir of sunlight directly shone on the piece of space debris.

    At that moment, Leon and Rainshine could see the runic patterns on the space debris shining, which wasn''t present previously without the pir of sunlight.

    That being said, Leon didn''t seem surprised by the discovery.

    "As expected of a relic from the Nova Civilization. Even if it''s just a small piece of a whole, it still has the function of absorbing and refining the limitless sr energy of the sun, which allowed The Nova Civilization to prosper during their era¡­" Leon muttered.

    "But given its iplete structure, it might not have all its intended function in this single piece of debris, and its functions definitely wasn''t intended for Wrathful Demon Energy."

    "Nevertheless, let''s see where the energy leads¡­" Leon muttered.

    He spread out his divine sense and traced the flow of Wrathful Demon Energy and sr energy running through the runic patterns. The energy went through myriads ofplex pathways in the thick hull and reached the interior space before splitting off into different directions.

    Most of the pathways led to dead ends before the energy was leaked into the surrounding areas due to the iplete structure.

    However, Leon found out that some of the energy led to a room, which seemed to have been a sort of sleeping quarters. It was filled with two dozens of hibernation chambers.

    If the room wasn''t half destroyed, there were most likely to have been more hibernation chambers.

    Some of the hibernation chambers were upied by mutated humans who had been dead for over ten thousand years.

    Despite that, they weren''t reduced to bones and ashes. Their corpses were rtively well-preserved¡ªat least ording to mortal standards.

    The energy was delivered into their hibernation chambers.

    However, the energy was further extracted by the tree roots and vines, which had made their way into the interior of the iplete megastructure and prated the corpses.

    "This is a bit more difficult to trace," Leonmented while rubbing his forehead.

    There were hundreds of thousands of tree roots and vines underneath the metal space debris.

    Wrathful Demon Energy and sr energy only flowed through a few tree roots and vines connected to the corpses in the hibernation chambers. But as it flowed out, it connected to those hundreds of thousands of other tree roots and vines, each leading to various ces.

    Some went deeper into the abyss beneath, while others went into the surrounding rocky walls, where numerous cave entrances and earthen passageways could be found.

    If Leon wanted to explore all those entrances, it would take quite some time.

    "I don''t need to explore every single one of these cave entrances. Just one will do," Leon thought. That being said, he wasn''t going to pick just any entrances.

    Leon waited for a short while before he started hearing the bird-like cries of infant abominations being spawned.

    He quickly followed the source of one of their cries and entered an earthen passageway in the wall, burning all the infant abominations that tried flying out of it. Many also came from the rear as they were all attracted by Leon and Rainshine''s presence.

    However, Leon also burned them all without exception.

    A short whileter, Leon reached the end of the passageway and entered a huge open space. There, he found one of the infant abominations'' many spawn points.

    It was a cave full of strange mutated nts, the likes of which Leon had never seen before. A few Whitebone Fiends were found within the sea of mutated nts.

    Leon couldn''t confirm whether they were still alive or dead.

    However, they were all assimted and became one with the mutated nts.

 Chapter 1040 Restoring Gran Crevasse

    <h4>Chapter 1040 Restoring Gran Crevasse</h4>

    "Is this the source of the infant abominations? What kind of scourge gave birth to this ce of evil? The smell is so putrid here. We should reduce everything to ashes, Master," Rainshine suggested.

    She was strongly repulsed by what she saw and smelled.

    Even if she was starving and on the verge of death, she couldn''t imagine herself willing to eat anything from such a corrupt and evil ce. She would rather starve to death.

    Even Leon felt like the ce had to be removed from existence at once.

    Such an ursed ce was the manifestation of cancer on arge scale and the very definition of that which is unholy. It was a tumor to all life.

    God knows what other variations of abominations could be produced if any other races fell into the mutate nt hive and got assimted by them?

    Leon waved his hand and swept the entire ce with a tempest of raging mes, burning everything within his sight.

    A short whileter, only a ckened cave full of ashes remained behind¡ªbut not for long before a wave of nihility swept past and reduced everything into nothingness.

    The ashes disappeared, and even the ckened parts of the cave were gone.

    Despite wiping out everything in the cave, Leon still wasn''t finished. He summoned a wave of death and killed all the tree roots and vines sticking out of the holes in the ground, wall, and ceiling.

    Leon was only satisfied after he thoroughly cleansed mutated nts from the cave.

    Nevertheless, it was just one of many spawn points. Given the number of infant abominations flying out of the cave entrances, Leon was confident there were many over mutant nt hives like the one he had just erased.

    "Let''s head back first."

    "Yes, Master."

    Shortly after, Leon left the cave and returned to the central abyss region, which was already overflowing with tens of thousands of infant abominations.

    The mutant nt hives produced infant abominations at a ridiculous rate.

    Before Leon could continue to erase all the mutant nt hives in the abyss, he had to cut off the energy source fueling their infant abomination production, the Wrathful Demon Energy and sr energy from the sky.

    If everyone in the Golden Suanni n could use the divine golden mes like Cindertail, Leon reckoned he could quickly clear out all the mutant nt hives from the abyss.

    After burning all the infant abominations in the abyss, Leon flew out of the abyss with Rainshine.

    At that moment, Cindertail and the other Paragon-level Golden Suanni were fighting off the remaining infant abominations that escaped from the abyss.

    Leon casually sent out of a wave of fire and cleaned up thest of the infant abominations in an instance. The infant abominations were many, but they were weak.

    Even so, the abyss continued to pump out more.

    Leon quickly soared into the sky and patched up the hole in the ck clouds, shutting off the sunlight. The world quickly turned dark once more.

    After cleaning up thest batch of infant abominations that escaped from the abyss, Leonnded on the ground near Cindertail and Dawnchaser.

    "Are there still many of those wicked creatures in the abyss, Master?" Cindertail inquired.

    "No, that should have been thest of them," Leon stated before shortly adding, "However, if the sunlight shines down on the abyss, the abyss will continue to spawn those monsters endlessly."

    "I n to destroy all the mutant nt hives capable of spawning those things. However, it requires too much time and effort to take care of it myself. Thus, I will need helpers."

    "I am willing to help you, my Lord!" Goldenstride volunteered immediately.

    Not even half a breath after Goldenstride spoke, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suanni volunteered with keen interest.

    It was a chance to serve the lord and perhaps receive rewards for it.

    Furthermore, it was in the n''s interest to remove the hidden threat in the abyss and make Gran Crevasse safe.

    "Everyone can join, but only if you awaken the golden mes like Cindertail. I will perform a blood refinement session for everyer. It will be up to luck whether you awaken it in one go or not," Leon stated.

    "For now, you should recall your n members and appease them. The threat from the abyss is, more or less, resolved for now."

    "Understood, my Lord."

    Shortly after several Paragon-level Golden Suannis left to recall the n members, Leon ced his hand on the ground and felt the earth with his eyes closed.

    Then, his consciousness seeped into the earth and covered the entirety of Gran Crevasse.

    Authority of Earth!

    While Cindertails and the rest of the Paragon-level Golden Suannis became curious about Leon''s actions, they suddenly few the entire region start to rumble.

    Before long, they witnessrge pieces of earth rising from the earth and firmly attaching themselves to the edge of the abyss.

    The sight of Gran Crevasse being restored before their very eyes shocked them to the core.

    It was as if there was nothing that the lord could not do.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t restore Gran Crevasse precisely to the way it was. He left quite arge space in the center where the abyss opening was.

    After restoring the ground within Gran Crevasse, Leon manipted the nearby vines and jungle tree roots with his wood ability, weaving them through the earth like he was knitting wool.

    As a result of his efforts, the ground was reinforced.

    Once that was done, Leon finally worked on creating an enormous spiral staircase that allowed even multiple Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis to freely enter and leave the abyss even if they were to walk side by side.

    The enormous spiral staircase was made of vines, tree roots, and earth.

    By the time Leon finishedpleting the new outlook of Gran Crevasse and the entrance to the abyss, he felt quite a bit of mental fatigue.

    Leon took some time to meditate and recover from his mental fatigue.

    Meanwhile, Dawnchaser and the rest of the Paragon-level Golden Suanni stared at their lord''s figure inplete shock and awe.

    They didn''t expect Gran Crevasse could be restored just like that.

    The depth of their lord''s power was unfathomable.

 Chapter 1041 Rank 10 Body Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 1041 Rank 10 Body Transformation</h4>

    The more unfathomable Leon appeared, the more strongly the Paragon-level Golden Suannis believed in him realizing his promise of giving them the sky.

    And as they strongly believed in their new lord, their anticipation for the future soared. They couldn''t wait for the day their n members ascended to the Divine Beast Realm.

    The feeling of anticipation was so strong that they couldn''t keep still. It was like an itch that had to be scratched but couldn''t be reached. They could wait, but they couldn''t wait faster. Time wouldn''t flow faster just because they wanted it to be.

    They needed something to preupy their mind.

    "Gran Crevasse has been restored by the Lord. There''s no need to keep our n members hiding anxiously in the jungle, as our Lord had said. We can bring them back now."

    "Several Paragons had already gone to fetch them, Lord Goldenstride."

    "Oh, did they? Ahaha¡­ Excuse my poor memory."

    Dawnchaser and a few dozen Paragon-level Golden Suannis were immediately speechless. The Paragons had just left a few moments ago. How poor does his memory have to be to forget that already?

    Nevertheless, Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis didn''t stay idle. After the n members returned, they went to appease their families and check on their wellbeings.

    Some wanted to strike up a conversation with Nightingale.

    However, due to their difference in realms, the Paragon-level Golden Suannis felt too nervous to disturb Nightingale''s rest.

    Nightingaley on the ground beside Leon and waited for him to finish his meditation.

    Sometimeter, Leon''s mental fatigue was abated.

    Leon was surprised by the little time taken to recover some of his mental strength. Evidently, his soul growth had also increased the natural recovery rate of his mental strength.

    "Nightingale, I''ll do your blood refinement now. You know what to do, right?"

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Nightingale responded quickly to Leon''s words as her eyes brightened. She quickly bit her tongue and allowed gallons of dragon blood essence to bleed from it.

    However, the dragon blood essence froze in midair before they could ssh onto the ground as Leon manipted them to gather in front of him.

    "Watch carefully, everyone. If you are lucky enough to get a blood refinement from my master, this is what it will look like. Master has an extraordinary method that allows him to draw out the ancestral potential hidden in our blood."

    As Dawnchaser and the few other Paragon-level Golden Suannis remaining in the area observed with full concentration, Cindertail exined what was happening to them.

    Leon finished refining all the dragon blood essence into True Dragon Origin Blood a short whileter.

    Everyone witnessed how the volume of dragon blood essence was reduced, but the saturation and power increased over time.

    The dragon blood essence didn''t seem all that special besides the fact that it was the blood essence of a Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon.

    However, the moment the first drop of True Dragon Origin Blood was refined, it turned into treasure. Power sprouted from within like the blood was being awakened.

    True Dragon Origin Blood drops were added to the floating glob of True Dragon Blood Essence, which was the only portion of Nightingale''s dragon blood essence that Leon didn''t refine.

    He didn''t need to.

    It was already in its best state, which was born from True Dragon Origin Blood. After Leon took a small portion of the True Dragon Origin Blood and returned the rest to Nightingale.

    "Thank you, my Lord!" Nightingale epted her reward graciously and absorbed everything back into her body.

    Shortly after, Nightingale curled up and entered a hibernation period as her body assimted True Dragon Origin Blood and increased her true dragon bloodline purity.

    Leon calmly nodded with acknowledgment before entering a short period of cultivation to advance his viscera consolidation phase.

    A few hourster, Leon thoroughly used up the True Dragon Origin Blood and a few hundred wisps of True Grandmist Energy from his ck Vortex Space to advance his viscera consolidation phase from Peak Rank 9 Body Transformation to Early Rank 10 Body Transformation.

    He was not far from reaching the limits of his viscera consolidation phase in the Body Transformation Realm.

    "Cindertail, you and the others are up next."

    "Yes, Master!"

    Cindertail, Firepaw, and the few other Paragon-level Golden Suannis became excited after being called by Leon.

    They were his earliest followers from the Golden Suanni n.

    As such, Leon decided to perform another round of blood refinement for each of them first.

    After the golden Suannis received their drops of Suanni Lion Origin Blood, a few Mid Paragon-level Golden Suannis advance to Late Paragons like Cindertail.

    However, Cindertail remained at the Late Paragon level. Even so, his aura was fortified slightly. It was only a matter of time before Cindertail advanced to Peak Paragon.

    Nevertheless, the Mid Paragon-level Golden Suannis advancements to Late Paragons were witnessed by the Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis from the main n.

    "Incredible¡­ To think our n members could advance so quickly after getting their bloodlines purified," Dawnchaser quietly muttered with amazement.

    Even though Firepaw and the others were from the branch ns, Dawnchaser still regarded them as one of his people.

    Main n or branch n, it doesn''t matter; they were all part of the Golden Suanni n.

    Nevertheless, Goldenstride and numerous Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis from the main n all had their eyes sparkling with anticipation and hope.

    Wouldn''t they immediately advance to the Divine Beast Realm if they receive a blood refinement for the first time?

    "Anyone wanting a blood refinement from me, start lining up. I will perform a one-time blood refinement for everyone interested and take a portion of origin blood as my service free," Leon dered in a clear voice as he shifted his attention to the main n.

    Goldenstride and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis immediately lined up in front of Leon.

    Perhaps because they feared Leon changing his mind, they didn''t dare to cause trouble by fighting to be ahead of others in the queue.

    Leon nced at them and nodded.

    "I will reiterate, this is only a one-time opportunity. Afterward, you can only rely on contributions to receive subsequent blood refinements from me."

    "Understood, my Lord!"

 Chapter 1042 Fourth Stage of Regrowth

    <h4>Chapter 1042 Fourth Stage of Regrowth</h4>

    Over the next few days, Leon did not re-enter the abyss to destroy the mutant nt hives. Instead, he focused on blood refinement for the Golden Suanni n and building up his rtionship with them.

    They were easily smitten with Leon''s tier-3 spirit cooking.

    Nevertheless, the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis all had their dreams shattered. After receiving their one-time blood refinement, they did not ascend to the Divine Beast Realm.

    Leon had, more or less, anticipated such a result.

    The Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis were the strongest and eldest within the Golden Suanni n. But that did not mean they also had the purest bloodline.

    A certain level of bloodline purity was required before Dawnchaser and the other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis could awaken their bloodline and ascend to the Divine Beast Realm.

    After Leon performed the blood refinement for every adult in the Golden Suanni n above Rank 2 Transcendent, he cultivated with the Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method.

    However, Leon found the Suanni Lion Origin Blood of Golden Suannis below the Divine Beast Realm to be rathercking.

    Even so, Leon still managed to advance to Peak Rank 5 Body Transformation in his bone forging phase.

    At the same time, his Wood Law also advanced all the way to Late Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm.

    Central Western Jungle was, without a doubt, a great ce toprehend the Wood Law.

    Furthermore, Leon also made some progress as Tier-5 Runemaster.

    That being said, Leon''s most remarkable progress in the past few days was neither his bone forging phase, Wood Law, nor hisprehension of runes. It was his Evesting Blood Mantra.

    In order to give Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis more blood refinements as rewards and make them advance to Divine Beasts for his own benefit, Leon instructed them to bring him one of every type of beast in the jungle.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis were more than happy to carry out that task.

    As a result, Leon collected the origin blood of every type of beast in the western jungle and umted over 1000 unique types of origin blood, mastering the Evesting Blood Mantra''s Third Stage of Reparation and stepping into the Fourth Stage of Regrowth.

    To be exact, Leon umted 1836 unique types of origin blood. It was his great haul ever since he started cultivating the Evesting Blood Mantra.

    At the Fourth Stage of Regrowth, Leon''s blood has already exceeded the limits of mortal blood. He could regrow missing limbs with just the power of his blood.

    In other words, Leon''s blood was alreadyparable to the lowest grade of tier-6 divine pills for recovery.

    Despite advancing his Evesting Blood Mantra by leaps and bounds, Leon was still a little dissatisfied. An entire western jungle only gave him so much origin blood.

    He could already see the difficulty in cultivating thetter stages of the Evesting Blood Mantra.

    ''Seems like I will need to scour the whole Deste Beast Continent if I want to have any luck mastering the Evesting Blood Mantra''s Fourth Stage of Regrowth,'' Leon sighed.

    Shortly after opening his eyes, Leon nced at Dawnchaser and the other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis waiting for him to finish cultivating. They were very patient and obedient.

    It could be said that in these past few days, Leon had sessfully rooted himself in their hearts. He wasn''t just their lord; he was their god.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis had nothing but awe for Leon after personally witnessing the changes he brought to their Golden Suanni n.

    "You''ve all done well meeting my needs in these past few days. Such services naturally will not go unrewarded. So tell me, what kind of reward do you all want?" Leon calmly asked despite already knowing their answers.

    "We would like to receive another blood refinement from you, my Lord," Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis voiced their desire with their heads lowered.

    "So be it," Leon acknowledged their wishes with a nod.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis had all tasted his tier-3 spirit cooking in the past few days.

    Tier-3 spirit food wasn''t just good food; it was also good for body cultivation and nurturing the body.

    The Paragon-level Golden Suannis'' bodies should have been saturated from the first blood refinement. As such, their next blood refinement was likely to produce better results.

    "You know the drill; line up and wait for your turn," Leon stated.

    Dawnchaser and the other Paragon-level Golden Suannis immediately lined up in an orderly manner behind Cindertail.

    Once Leon started his blood refinement session, a string of breakthroughs followed after.

    Cindertail advanced to Peak Paragon while Dawnchaser, Goldenstride, and Goldzer all ascended and became Divine Beasts. And upon reaching the Divine Beast Realm, they also awakened their bloodline ability, the True Samadhi Golden mes.

    Aside from them, everyone else at the Late Paragon level and below all advanced by a stage.

    Some were even lucky enough to awaken their bloodline ability, even though they didn''t reach the same bloodline purity as Cindertail did when he awakened his.

    Draped in golden mes, Dawnchaser, Goldenstride, and Goldzer levitated in the sky as they learned to fly for the first time right after their ascension.

    The joy written on their faces could not be described in words. And the feeling of freedom was euphoric.

    Sometimeter, the three newly ascended Golden Suanni Divine Beastsnded back on the ground before every n member in the Golden Suanni n gathered around them.

    "Congrattions on your ascensions, Milords!" everyone paid their respects by lowering their heads. It was a historic moment worthy of celebration.

    Their Golden Suanni n finally had Divine Beasts. And it wasn''t just one but three Divine Beast!

    In the future, they would have even more Divine Beasts!

    Nevertheless, Dawnchaser, Goldenstride, and Goldzer turned their heads to Leon and expressed their heartfelt gratitude with a bow of respect.

    True to his word, the Lord had granted them the sky as he had promised.

    Even so, they hadn''t expected the day would arrive so soon.

 Chapter 1043 Discovery in the Depths of the Abyss

    <h4>Chapter 1043 Discovery in the Depths of the Abyss</h4>

    Although Dawnchaser, Goldenstride, and Goldzer hadn''t expected it, they didn''t find it surprising either. They had been Peak Paragons for so long.

    With only one step away from the Divine Beast Realm, it was only a matter of time.

    "Thank you, my Lord. If not for you, we may have never been able to reach the Divine Beast Realm in our lifetime," Dawnchaser said sincerely.

    Even after bing Divine Beasts and surpassing Leon''s present strength, Dawnchaser, Goldenstride, and Goldzer remained subservient to him.

    They weren''t ungrateful, nor were they stupid.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t quite agree with Dawnchaser''s words as he said, "Perhaps, but that is only if you stay within the western jungle your whole life."

    "You were all Peak Paragons with just a single step away from reaching the Divine Beast Realm. Even if you hadn''t met me, some of you might have ascended eventually¡ªif any of you had gone out to look for opportunities."

    "You could wait a whole lifetime withouting across a single opportunity. If you want to advance very far in life or seek changes in your life, you must actively search for opportunities and not just wait for them."

    "After all, opportunities won''t wait for anyone," Leon stated.

    "I understand your point, my Lord. I really do," Dawnchaser agreed with a nod before adding, "However, you should also understand our situation, my Lord."

    "We have the sea to our east, the cold mountains to our north, the destend to our west, and the demonnd to our south. There isn''t anywhere for us to go."

    "That is only an excuse you tell yourself," Leon said coolly.

    "Naturally, the path ahead is not always smooth-sailing and may even be filled with hardship. But if you want changes, whether it is for yourself or your whole n, you have to press forward regardless to find that chance."

    "You have to actively search for opportunities if you want changes. If you don''t even try, nothing will happen." Leon stated.

    He regretted many things in his past life because he was too passive. Only after he was given a second chance at life did he try to change that.

    Nevertheless, Leon expected he would need to lecture beings several thousand years older than him on such a topic. Even so, age doesn''t really matter when ites to such matters.

    More often than not, people don''t realize what''s important to them until they are lost.

    "It was your fortune that you met me. However, I can''t always be the source of your changes. Do you understand what I am saying? You can''t obtain the best things in life if you always rely on others. You have to rely on yourself as well," Leon added.

    He could give them opportunities. But sometimes, the opportunities he gives may not be enough.

    If there was one thing Leon learned after spending his time with the Golden Suanni n in the past few days, it was that they were veryzy andfortable with their present situation.

    If he doesn''t incite them, most of them may never leave the confines of the western jungle.

    That might be fine for the ordinary n members with ordinary potential.

    However, Leon wants to bring the strongest of the n with him when he leaves for the stars and wages war on the viinous Divine Kings of the Divine Realm.

    After Leon spoke, Dawnchaser and the other Golden Suannis fell silent as they took in his words.

    "Anyway, that''s for all of you to ponder in your own time. Now that we have quite a few members who have awakened their bloodline abilities, it is time to clean up the abyss," Leon dered.

    It was also time for him to uncover the remaining secrets within the abyss.

    "Understood, my Lord," Dawnchaserplied with a nod and said, "I will gather everyone at the entrance and wait for you, my Lord."

    "No need to wait for me. As soon as you reach the entrance, you can start sweeping the mutant nt hives in the abyss right away," Leon stated.

    In the past few days, only Cindertail and Nightingale were doing all the work.

    But now that there were more Golden Suannis with the ability to summon the True Samadhi Golden mes, the clean-up process should be sped forward by quite a bit.

    Sometimeter, Leon entered the abyss with Rainshine on his shoulder and descended to the bottom, where the space debris was located.

    However, he didn''t stop there.

    He found a gap in the tree roots and vines beneath it and made his way further down into the abyss.

    Most of the tree roots and vines were corrupted by Wrathful Demon Energy, but Leon ignored them all. They would be left for the others to clean up.

    As Leon continued venturing deeper down the abyss, he found out the sea of tree roots and vines below the space debris was thicker and more extensive than he anticipated.

    It went below the range that was initially covered by his divine sense.

    The cluster of tree roots and vines continued for several thousand feet. And as Leon descended deeper and deeper, he left the region of corrupted tree roots and vines and entered a region where the wood energy was dense beyond belief.

    If his guesses weren''t wrong, there was most likely a Celestial Wood Spark hidden in the core region of these tree roots and vines.

    "Strange¡­ how did these space debris make it all the way down here?" Leon wondered.

    Along the way, Leon found smaller pieces of space debris, which in itself was rather strange considering they shouldn''t have been able to make it past such a thick wall of tree roots and vines.

    It was as if the smaller pieces of space debris had been purposely moved to the deeper parts of the abyss.

    Although Leon found it strange, he only briefly studied them with his divine sense before moving on¡ªuntil he found another space debris that caught his attention.

    He immediately made his way through the tree roots and vines to reach it.

    Thanks to his Wood Law, Leon didn''t need to force his way through. He simply moved the tree roots and vines with his wood ability.

    "This is¡­ a Tier-6 Teleportation Array?" Leon was astonished by the discovery.

 Chapter 1044 Heart of the Jungle

    <h4>Chapter 1044 Heart of the Jungle</h4>

    Leon didn''t expect to find a Tier-6 Teleportation Array deep in the abyss. But then again, he did know what to expect from the abyss besides a Celestial Wood Spark, which he had yet to confirm.

    Nevertheless, the Tier-6 Teleportation Array was damaged.

    Parts of it were missing. Even so, it was mostly whole enough for Leon to recognize it as a Tier-6 Teleportation Array.

    If he could advance his runic knowledge to tier 6, he reckoned he could patch up the missing pieces like putting in thest pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

    "But why is this Tier-6 Teleportation Array here? And where does it lead?" Leon mumbled to himself.

    Although Rainshine overheard his questions, she knew that the questions weren''t meant for her.

    Even if they were, she wasn''t knowledgeable enough in runes to answer. As such, she kept silent and did not distract her master''s thoughts.

    Leon carefully studied the damaged Tier-6 Teleportation Array on the space debris and scanned its interior with his divine sense.

    Most of the runic circles and lines engraved in the Tier-6 Teleportation Array were still tooplex for him to understand.

    However, he still had sufficient knowledge as a Tier-5 Runemaster to understand some parts of the Tier-6 Teleportation Array. Even so, it still took him five dozen breaths to pinpoint the spatial coordinates and figure out where the array set its destination.

    "These spatial coordinates¡­ lead straight to where the debris ring is," Leon furrowed his brows for a moment before muttering with understanding, "Makes sense¡­"

    Although Leon wasn''t exactly sure what it was used for, he knew that the debris ring orbiting Gaia was a megastructure built by the Nova Civilization. It was an orbital ring of sorts.

    Many people might have lived on that massive orbital ring.

    And given such an enormous megastructurepletely looped around a giant like Gaia, the distance it covered was enormous.

    It made sense for the Nova Civilization to build numerous Teleportation Arrays to enable their people to quickly travel to different sections of the orbital ring megastructure.

    ''Transfer points!'' Leon''s eyes brightened suddenly.

    If the orbital ring had Tier-6 Teleportation Arrays for intercontinental travel, there was a chance that there may be other teleportation arrays for inteary and interster travel as well.

    ''If I can find one of those inteary transfer points, it might be possible to leave Gaia¡ªNo! It won''t work. Even if there''s an inteary transfer point, it won''t be able to get past the spatial lock,'' Leon suddenly thought.

    Great Void Celestial Conqueror had sealed the entire in a powerful spatial lock.

    Trying to get past such a powerful spatial lock by relying on teleportation arrays that make use of spatial power is the same as asking for death.

    ''Even if the inteary and interster transfer points are still working, using any of them might just send me into the strongest part of the spatial seal. My body would be torn to shreds when that happens,'' Leon mused with a serious look.

    Nevertheless, Leon was no expert in Spatial Law. Darlene would know more about it than him. He should seek her advice when he could.

    Perhaps Darlene might be able toe up with a method to bypass Great Void Celestial Conqueror''s spatial seal.

    s, Leon did not bring Darlene with him. As such, he could only ask herter when he returns to the Human Domain.

    After recording a copy of the damaged Tier-6 Teleportation Array in the Archive, Leon left the damaged Tier-6 Teleportation Array where he found it and continued to venture deeper into the abyss.

    With his wood ability, the tree roots and vines slowly parted as he willed them so.

    As he drew closer to the densest region of wood energy, Leon''s divine sense picked up a green orb that was oozing with seemingly limitless wood energy.

    Nevertheless, he continued to approach the green orb''s location until he personally saw it with his own eyes.

    "As I suspected, there really was a Celestial Wood Spark here," Leon''s eyes brightened as he nced at the Celestial Wood Spark with countless thin roots attached to it.

    It was undoubtedly the heart of the jungle.

    "You were searching for this thing, Master?" Rainshine asked as she nced at the Celestial Wood Spark curiously.

    However, Leon surprisingly shook his head.

    He had no intention of taking the Celestial Wood Spark. If the western jungle loses the Celestial Wood Spark, it will cease to exist. And the consequences that follow after that would generate bad karma.

    "No, I only came to confirm the Celestial Wood Spark''s existence in this ce. I am looking for something else; two other things, in fact."

    "What things exactly, Master?"

    "The first matter is to find out where all the spirit energy of the nts went, and the second matter is to learn the history behind this abyss."

    Given that the nts could grow and thrive without sunlight purely due to the Celestial Wood Spark, Leon wouldn''t be surprised if the nts don''t produce any spirit energy.

    However, the fact the nts did produce some spirit energy¡ªonly for them to be stripped away made the abyss all the more mysterious and interesting to explore.

    "Is that something possible to find out simply by exploring the abyss?" Rainshine asked.

    "I don''t know," Leon casually shook his head before saying, "But if we don''t even look, we can''t expect to find answers, now can we?"

    "That¡­ makes a lot of sense, Master," Rainshine replied thoughtfully.

    Such a deep hole like the abyss couldn''t have existed without reason; there must be some history to it.

    As Leon continued to descend down the abyss with Rainshine, they eventually made it through the sea of tree roots and vines. They were finally free of obstacles.

    It was just a straight plunge of empty space from there onwards.

    "Just how far does this abyss extend? It wouldn''t extend all the way to the core, would it?" Leon wondered.

    As Leon had that thought, he decided to fly over to the rocky walls and connect his consciousness to the earth to save time in his investigation.

    A short whileter, a peculiar expression appeared on his face.

 Chapter 1045 Lower Abyss Domain

    <h4>Chapter 1045 Lower Abyss Domain</h4>

    "Interesting¡­ How very interesting¡­ To think there are many tribes thriving down here¡­ So this is where the spirit energy goes," Leon uttered thoughtfully.

    If the region of tree roots and vines around the Celestial Wood Spark was considered the middle abyss domain, then they were currently in the lower abyss domain.

    The situation in the lower abyss domain was quite different from the upper abyss domain.

    There were bountiful amounts of nts, water, and life in the lower abyss domain.

    Ignoring the western jungle, the lower abyss domain could be said to be more flourishing than the rest of the Dark Abyss Continent.

    "What did you find out, Master?" Rainshine asked curiously.

    "There are several races that live down here. It''s not just a world of insects. Furthermore, these races are quite specialized in their crafts," Leon stated.

    After connecting his consciousness to the earth, Leon also found out that although the abyss didn''t reach the core, it extended down to the mantleyer.

    Furthermore, the subterranean world was home to some powerful insect races at this depth in the abyss.

    Besides ants, Leon also found centipedes, worms, beetles, and spiders among the other myriads of insect races in the subterranean world.

    However, these insects listed left the most impression on him due to their sheer size. They were enormous. And with such sizes usuallyes with matching strength.

    And among the listed insects, the ants appeared to be the most prominent. Perhaps, the whole abyss was just one big ant hole.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t doubt that these incredibly giant insects that reach the size of six-story buildings and possibly bigger were all Paragons.

    Despite that, the dark elves and dwarven races still managed to thrive down here.

    "Is it really possible for people to live down here, Master?" Rainshine frowned with doubt.

    Forget whether it was possible to live in the abyss. Who would want to live in such a dark and gloomy ce anyway?

    "Of course, it is possible," Leon asserted.

    "Have you forgotten all about the nts we passed? The Celestial Wood Spark allows nts to thrive, even in a lightless world like this, and provides air for everyone to breathe. There is also plenty of food and water down here."

    Nevertheless, the overabundance of air, food, and water only allowed the dark elves and dwarves to live in the abyss.

    What allowed them to survive against the hordes of powerful insects was their mastery of runes and formations, which relied on the spirit energy they extracted from all the nts.

    "Let''s go and meet the dark elves first. Hopefully, they are friendly and capable ofmunication," Leon added.

    In the present abyss region, there were numerous cave entrances much bigger than the ones found near the surface. In fact, they were multiple times bigger¡ªbig enough for the Paragon-level ants to pass through.

    Roughly six thousand feet deeper from their present location was one of many such cave entrances. However, this one was sealed off by a smooth metal gate filled with runic engravings.

    Despite theplete darkness in the abyss, the metal gate had a soft silver shine and slightly illuminated the area.

    One of the dark elves'' settlements lies on the other side of the silver gate.

    Just as Leon descended on the tform ground before the silver gate and stepped into the light, a rumbling sound was suddenly heard from another cave entrance seven hundred feet away.

    It was the rapid movements of a giant ant.

    "It seems like our presence has already attracted some attention," Leon casuallymented as a Paragon-level ck Ant rushed out of the cave entrance¡ªor rather, it was an ant tunnel.

    After the first Paragon-level ck Ant came out, a second one appeared, then a third, a fourth, and a fifth.

    The Paragon-level ck Ant didn''te alone. It came in a squad of five.

    However, the other four ck ants were noticeably smaller and weaker. Evidently, the Paragon-level ck Ant was the squad leader.

    Momentster, the ck ants locked onto Leon and Rainshine as if they were looking at food. At the same time, Leon stared back at them as if he was looking at quality materials.

    Their carapaces would make great armor and weapons.

    Shortly after the Paragon-level ck Ant made crackling sounds to signal its squad members to attack, the whole squad charged right after.

    "Hmph!" Rainshine snorted.

    "Leave them to me, Master. There''s no need for Master to personally make a move against these insects. I alone am enough!"

    After throwing out those words, Rainshine hopped off Leon''s shoulder and dashed towards the ck ant squad crawling along the rocky wall towards them.

    "Be careful not to lose your footing," Leon warned.

    The ground tform was not small, but the space was still limited. If Rainshine loses her footing or is even flung off by the ck ants, it would be a straight plunge down the deep abyss for her.

    Within moments, Rainshine shed with the squad of ck ants.

    Screech!

    A high-pitch screech sounded as Rainshine swiped at the Paragon-level ck Ant in front with her sharp ws.

    However, contrary to Rainshine''s expectation, she failed to tear the Paragon-level ck Ant''s hard head apart and only left a long white scratch on it.

    The sight immediately startled her.

    At the same time, the Paragon-level ck Ant counterattacked, snapping back at Rainshine with its giant mandibles.

    Snap!

    The Paragon-level ck Ant snapped at the empty air as Rainshine evaded its attack.

    Although she was caught off guard by the Paragon-level ck Ant''s defense, her nimbleness allowed her to easily escape the clutches of the Paragon-level ck Ant''s giant mandibles.

    Nevertheless, the other four Rank 2 Transcendent-level ck Ants quickly followed up, forcing Rainshine to retreat back to the ground tform.

    At the same time, Leon''s eyes beamed.

    He was well aware of the Winter Cat''s sharp fangs and ws. And yet, the Paragon-level ck Ant''s carapace was strong enough to withstand it.

    Its defense was certainly impressive and all the more desirable.

 Chapter 1046 Meeting the Dark Elves

    <h4>Chapter 1046 Meeting the Dark Elves</h4>

    "Do you need help?" Leon casually asked.

    "No, Master! I can take care of them!" Rainshine shook her head and firmly said, "I was careless because I underestimated their defense. However, there won''t be a second time!"

    Having received multiple bloodline enrichment, Rainshine was still a Late Paragon-level Winter Cat. The sharpness of her fangs and ws may not have been effective against the Early Paragon-level ck Ant, but her brute strength was more than enough!

    Rainshine briefly red at the iing ck ants before her figure disappeared in a white sh.

    Swoosh!

    She left behind a gust of wind as she closed the distance on the ck ants, circling around to their rear and targeting the weaker Rank 2 Transcendent-level ck Ants first.

    Rainshine raised her paw high above a Rank 2 Transcendent-level ck Ant''s head before pping down on it furiously.

    Reow!

    Bam!

    The Rank 2 Transcendent-level ck Ant''s hard-shelled head shattered inward under the heavy impact. At the same time, its brain was crushed, killing it on the spot.

    Swish!

    Rainshine dashed over to her next target and bashed its head in with another powerful strike of her paw packed with brute strength.

    Smack! Smack! Smack!

    In a short instance, Rainshine busted the heads of all four Rank 2 Transcendent-level ck Ants, leaving just the Early Paragon-level ck Ant left.

    Crackled!

    The Early Paragon-level ck Ant was evidently enraged by its loss as its mandibles nked together furiously, creating waves of echoing vibrations.

    In the next moment, it threw itself at Rainshine andnded on the ground tform with a heavy thud.

    The ground shook considerably but otherwise remained intact; it was surprisingly sturdy.

    A quick sweep with Leon''s divine sense allowed him to understand that the ground tform''s interior had been reinforced with tree roots, vines, and even special alloys.

    It was most likely the work of the dark elves.

    Nevertheless, Rainshine and the Early Paragon-level ck Ant duked it out on the ground tform that Leon stood on.

    The Early Paragon-level ck Ant wasn''t just big and sturdy; it was also fast. Even so, its speed was still inferior to the nimble Rainshine.

    Rainshine evaded all of the Early Paragon-level ck Ant''s snapping mandibles and razor-sharp legs as she threw concussive blows back at it with increasing frequency and momentum.

    She suppressed the Early Paragon-level ck Ant with her barrage of heavy attacks, pushing it back to the edge of the ground tform.

    Then, she finished it off with a powerful body m, knocking the Early Paragon-level ck Ant over the edge as she bounced back onto the solid ground.

    On the other hand, the Early Paragon-level ck Ant took the plunge down the abyss.

    Its distinct crackling cry grew distant over time.

    If nothing unexpected happened, the Early Paragon-level ck Ant would plunge all the down into the scorching-hot magma of the mantleyer.

    However, the trouble didn''t end there.

    Rumble¡­!

    Multiple ant tunnels along the surrounding walls shook under the rapid movements of many legs. Based on the noise, the number of ck antsing was estimated to be in the several hundreds.

    Evidently, the previous Early Paragon-level ck Ant had called them all over with its nging mandible.

    "Looks like a bigger battle ising," Leon casually said.

    "Try not to push them into the abyss this time, Rainshine. Their bodies are practically made of excellent materials and should be collected."

    "Understood, Master," Rainshine answered.

    Leon did not feel any pressure from the attraction they created. In fact, he weed it. The more ck ants that came, the more materials he could collect.

    s, not everyone shared his thoughts. The dark elves did not wee the trouble at the door.

    nk¡­!

    The sounds of metal gears turning and hitting each other were heard before the big, heavy silver gate slowly crept open.

    "Quickly,e in!" A male dark elf urgently signaled them over.

    "Let''s go, Rainshine. The dark elves are inviting us into their settlement," Leon casually recalled Rainshine from the edge of the ground tform.

    Although Leon wasn''t afraid of the iing ck ants, he didn''t n on turning down the dark elves'' invitation, regardless of their intention.

    It was a chance to enter their settlement and interact with them.

    Shortly after Leon and Rainshine dashed through the gate, the dark elves behind the silver gate quickly worked together to close it.

    Bang!

    The silver gate shut tight with a heavy thud.

    Afterward, Leon and Rainshine were quickly greeted with a ''warm'' wee from the dark elves. Rows of dark elven soldiers decked in tier-5 sets of armor surrounded them, spears pointed, and bows drawn.

    "Well, this is quite the weing," Leon casuallymented as he swept his calm gaze across the dark elves'' nervous faces. Although they permitted his entry, they didn''t trust him.

    Rainshine red at the dark elves defensively, but Leon wasn''t concerned.

    Although the dark elves were equipped with high-quality equipment and weapons, their personal strength wasn''t as high.

    The strongest dark elf present was only a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent, while the rest were primarily Mid Rank 1 Transcendents.

    "Who are you? And why have youe to our n?" the Peak Rank Transcendent-level Dark Elf interrogated while paying attention to the white winter cat beside Leon with apprehension.

    After all, Rainshine was able to solo a Paragon-level ck Ant.

    Nevertheless, Leon could see that the dark elves did not let them in blindly. The second wall in the back was equipped with eight tier-6 siege weapons. And these eight tier-6 siege weapons were precisely aimed at them.

    However, the dark elves had sorely miscalcted if they thought tier-6 siege weapons were enough to deter him.

    Leon smiled with an open mind.

    The dark elves were just taking precautions to determine whether he could be a friend or foe. There was no need to feel offended and sour the rtionship during their first meeting.

    "As you can see, I am a human. And Rainshine here is one of my subordinates. We both came from the surface and explored the abyss out of curiosity when we came across your n," Leon calmly stated.

    After all, the silver gate stood out like a sore thumb in the dark abyss.

 Chapter 1047 Fairy Messenger

    <h4>Chapter 1047 Fairy Messenger</h4>

    ''The surface!''

    When the dark elves heard Leon''s im, they immediately revealed surprise and astonishment on their faces.

    However, it onlysted a moment before they were filled with doubts and suspicions.

    "Impossible. How can there still be living people on the surface?" the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf denied Leon''s im.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t find it surprising.

    The dark elves'' doubts were exactly the same as Elder Evergreen and his people when Leon first met them and told them about the surface.

    However, the dark elves were even more reclused than Elder Evergreen''s vige.

    The dark elves practically lived in a different world; any mentions of the surface in their n were pretty much non-existent.

    None of them had seen the surface, and very few had even heard of it.

    Although the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent and the other dark elves doubted Leon''s im, they didn''t feel like he was lying, nor did they sense any falsehood in his words.

    The person seemed to be telling the truth, but how does that even make sense?

    "You''re really from the surface? How can you prove it?" the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf asked.

    "How to prove it, huh?" Leon smiled amusedly before saying, "Well then, let me ask you this; when was thest time you''ve seen a human and a winter cat?"

    "Our n hasn''t seen or heard of any human in several thousand years. As for the¡­ adorable winter cat called Rainshine beside you, we have no records of such a creature," the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf replied before suddenly adding, "However, that doesn''t prove anything."

    "It doesn''t?" Leon raised an eyebrow with growing interest.

    "Of course not!" the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf firmly said.

    "The abyss domain is a boundless world. We, who live in the abyss, have yet to explore all of it due to the dangers. Even so, we are at least aware that other many other races live in the abyss domain, even if we have no contact with them."

    "As such, just because humans and winter cats are unfamiliar around here, it doesn''t prove that you two are from the surface; you two could havee from another sector," the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf stated.

    In another word, the dark elf admitted that they were ignorant. However, the dark elf wouldn''t blindly believe in Leon''s words because of it.

    "I see. You made a reasonable point," Leon nodded with acknowledgment before saying, "Let''s just say that where I came from isn''t important. What''s important is why I am here."

    "That''s right. Why did youe to our n?" the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf asked after nodding.

    The dark elves were all curious whether Leon truly came from the surface or not. However, since it couldn''t be proven, they didn''t want to waste time dwelling on it.

    At the same time, even though Leon could prove it, he also didn''t want to waste time doing so.

    It was as he said; it was not important¡ªat least, not at this point in time.

    "I came for two reasons. First, I wish to establish a friendly rtionship and trade with your n. It would be beneficial to both of us. And second, I wish to learn about your n''s history in the abyss domain," Leon stated.

    "You want to learn about our history living in the abyss¡­?" the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf slightly smiled and said, "You do sound more and more like someone from the surface."

    "That is because I am," Leon calmly asserted with confidence.

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf quietly smiled withoutmenting on Leon''s im before asking, "Since you want to trade with us, what do you wish to trade?"

    "Before that, I want to ask if you have enough authority to make such important decisions on behalf of your n?" Leon calmly asked.

    "I don''t!" the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf furrowed his brows and said, "Only our n leader or his representative can make decisions on behalf of the n."

    "If you want to meet our n leader, I can take you to see him. But considering we can''t trust you yet, you must agree to wear these tier-5 shackles before I can take you to meet the n leader."

    "Since you wish to build a friendly rtionship with our n, you will agree to this, won''t you?" the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf asked.

    Leon frowned while looking at the tier-5 silver shackles in the dark elf''s hand. Even Paragons would have trouble breaking free from it.

    "You want to shackle someone who came to build a friendly rtionship with your n? Isn''t that the same as spitting on my good intention?" Leon asked coolly.

    "Please don''t be offended. We are just taking precautions to guarantee our people''s safety," the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf stated before adding, "And to build a friendly rtionship, we have to build trust first, no?"

    "That is true," Leon calmly nodded before adding, "However, I believe a healthy rtionship requires mutual trust. Besides that, do you dare to put those shackles on me?"

    As Leon asked that question, he revealed a portion of his Peak Paragon-level aura.

    In that instant, the expressions of every dark elf in the area changed immediately upon sensing Leon''s mighty aura.

    None of them expected Leon to be so powerful.

    The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf quickly felt sweaty from nervousness and did not know what to do.

    While the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf was caught in a dilemma, a tiny fairy with glittering green light arrived.

    "Captain Dhithres, I''vee to deliver the n leader''s instructions. The human and winter cat are to be escorted to him. Furthermore, they must be treated with utmost respect along the way," the green fairy stated.

    "I hear and obey, FairySorrell," Captain Dhithres answered respectfully while feeling relieved in his heart. Fairy Sorrell''s arrival was timely.

    Meanwhile, Leon silently studied the tiny fairy with interest.

 Chapter 1048 Lord Rhuvek

    <h4>Chapter 1048 Lord Rhuvek</h4>

    Past the silver gates wasn''t a world ofplete darkness like the deep abyss. The entire space was fully illuminated by soft green spots floating around.

    Leon wasn''t surprised when the tiny fairy called Fairy Sorrell appeared.

    However, he was surprised to see that the dark elves shared a close rtionship with the fairy race in the abyss. After all, the fairy race was usually intimate with the wood elves, not the dark elves.

    But then again, the dark elves weren''t like the dark elves he knew.

    The dark elves certainly look like dark elves, and they also live underground. However, the underground they lived in was not one that was full of dirt and rocks. Instead, it was full of nts and refined metal.

    The city just beyond the wall was quite simr to how New Capital was shaping out to be.

    There was plenty of air, food, and water for the dark elves to livefortably. In fact, the current dark elf n''s city wasparable to a giant oasis in an unforgiving desert.

    Nevertheless, it would have been a bleak and gloomy ce without the fairies, fireflies, and glowing moss lighting up the subterranean world.

    Shortly after Fairy Sorrell delivered the n leader''s message, she frowned at the dark elves'' slow responses.

    "What are you all doing? Did you not hear what I just said? The n leader instructed everyone to treat our two guests with the utmost respect!" Fairy Sorrell scowled.

    The little fairy looked quite cute when she threw a tantrum, but none of the dark elves dared to dismiss her words.

    She was the n leader''s favorite, not to mention the two guests were revered Paragons.

    "Y-yes, Fairy Sorrell!" the dark elven soldiers responded.

    Shortly after, the dark elven soldiers quickly retracted the spears and arrows directed at Leon and Rainshine. Even the tier-6 siege weapons on the wall at the back were reset to their original target, the silver gate.

    Fairy Sorrell pped her tiny wings and approached Leon a few momentster.

    "Please excuse our Captain Dhithres and his soldiers'' insolence, Your Excellencies. They are just following standard protocol. If you would, please follow me; I will guide you to our n leader''s location," Fairy Sorrell spoke.

    "Alright," Leon calmly nodded.

    Shortly after, Leon followed Fairy Sorrell''s lead and made their way past the silver wall before the dark elven city behind it was revealed to him.

    Leon had already seen everything with his divine sense, but Rainshine, on the other hand, was amazed by the beautiful city, which was born from a fusion of technology and nature.

    It was a city of metal covered in nts.

    And the flickering and glittering lights of red, yellow, and greening from the fairies, glowing moss, and fireflies gave it a surreal yet otherworldly feeling.

    It was truly an impressive sight.

    "This is such a beautiful city, Master," Rainshinemented with awe before wondering, "Would New Capital be like this one day?"

    "Maybe," Leon casually answered.

    Rainshine could see the simrities between New Capital and the dark elf n''s city. New Capital was onlycking the night lights.

    Meanwhile, Fairy Sorrell overheard Rainshine''sment and felt proud.

    Fifteen minutester, Leon and Rainshine arrived in the heart of the city, where a thirty-floor pyramid-shaped pce stood tall and connected to the giant tree roots that came spiraling down from the cave ceiling.

    Leon narrowed his eyes with scrutiny when he vaguely felt the working of arge formation hidden within the sea of tree roots thatpletely covered the surface of the ceiling.

    Particles of bluish-green light dripped down from the end tips of the tree roots like water drops, but they were lighter than feathers. In fact, they were weightless.

    Those particles were wisps of spirit energy.

    At the entrance of the elven pce, two rows of dark elven guards lined up on either side of the path respectfully as they weed Fairy Sorrell''s return with the two honored guests.

    Leon didn''t think much of them and entered the pce under Fairy Sorrell''s lead.

    After passing through a few corridors and taking a few flights of stairs, Leon entered a grand hall filled withvish decorations of exotic spirit nts, crystal sculptures, and armored statues.

    At the end of the grand hall, the dark elven n leader sat on his throne like a king, emanating the aura of a Mid Paragon.

    "n Leader, I have brought the guests."

    "Un. Thank you, Sorrell."

    Shortly after Fairy Sorrell informed, the dark elf n leader acknowledged with a nod before standing up from his throne to personally greet the guests with proper respects.

    "Wee to my city, friends from the surface. I am the n leader of the Dark Elf n''s seventh branch, as well as this city''s lord, Rhuvek," the dark elf n leader introduced himself before saying, "I heard you have business with my city?"

    "I do," Leon calmly asserted.

    Along the way, he hade across many dark elves.

    However, most of them weren''t even Transcendents. As such, a Mid Paragon among the dark elves was quite impressive.

    Even so, Rhuvek''s strength still paled to Rainshine.

    Nevertheless, he didn''t find it surprising that Rhuvek had already learned every detail of his conversation at the silver gate, given the number of fairies flying around the city.

    It was easy for them to pass information to Rhuvek.

    "Since Lord Rhuvek already knows what happened at the gate, I will skip the introductions. Lord Rhuvek should have already learned the purpose of my visit as well," Leon said.

    "Un, the fairies informed me," Lord Rhuvek calmly admitted.

    "I still find it incredibly hard to believe, but there''s no reason for a Peak Paragon to lie. Given your great strength, Lord Leon could easily demolish this city if you wanted to."

    "Please take a seat, Lord Leon. I believe we have much to learn from each other," Lord Rhuvek politely gestured to the seats on the side.

    Then, Lord Rhuvek waited for Leon to choose his seat before sitting back down on his throne. He didn''t dare to sit before a Peak Paragon did.

 Chapter 1049 Hidden Guardian

    <h4>Chapter 1049 Hidden Guardian</h4>

    Shortly after Lord Rhuvek sat down, he pped his hands together and summoned a servant to bring forward some drinks to serve their honored guests.

    Nevertheless, it only took a few breaths before Leon found two cups of green-colored wine ced beside him as the wine was prepared beforehand.

    "Elvish fruit wine, one of our city''s finest; please have a taste, Lord Leon. You too, Lord Rainshine," Lord Rhuvek kindly gestured with his cup of wine.

    Leon took a quick whiff of the pleasant scent and discerned all the ingredients mixed within the elvish fruit wine before he took a sip and savored the taste.

    It had the sweetness of honey, the sourness of apples, and the bitterness of alcohol. However, the conflicting vors were well bnced, creating harmony and a unique savoriness.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s attentiony in the potent energy contained within the elvish fruit wine, which flowed into his system and invigorated his body.

    The elvish fruit wine wasparable to tier-3 spirit food.

    After Rainshine understood her master had determined the elvish fruit wine was safe to drink, she hopped onto the adjacent empty seat and sipped hers.

    Her eyes brightened before she downed the whole cup in the next moment. Then, she licked her lips and nced at Leon''s cup.

    At the same time, Leon noticed her gaze from the corners of his eyes before he shrugged nonchntly and offered his drink to her.

    "The elvish fruit wine of your city is quite good, Lord Rhuvek. You sure know how to enjoy yourself. I should return the gesture in kind," Leon casually said.

    Shortly after, Leon took out a piece of sea monster meat and chopped it into diced pieces that shortly fell on a te of ice he prepared. Then, he took out several spirit herbs to create the special dipping sauce and ced them in a bowl beside the ice te.

    "The meat of a Transcendent-level sea monster found in the Boundless Sea apanied with my special dipping sauce; it''s my unique recipe. Please have a try, Lord Rhuvek," Leon offered.

    With a casual wave of his hand, the ice te of chopped sea monster meat and bowl of special dipping sauce flew over to Lord Rhuvek. Itnded on his table without causing any spige.

    "Lord Rhuvek, please let me test for poison for you," a nearby servant quickly offered.

    However, Lord Rhuvek immediately frowned at the servant and rebuked him, "How dare you doubt Lord Leon''s good gesture. A person of Lord Leon''s caliber doesn''t need to scheme against me to gain an advantage."

    "You''re right, Lord Rhuvek. I have misspoken without thinking. Please punish me."

    "Leave. Your service is not required here."

    "Yes, my Lord."

    Shortly after dismissing the servant from the grand hall, Lord Rhuvek picked up a piece of sea monster meat with his bare hand. He dipped it in the special sauce prepared before swallowing it whole.

    His eyes brightened in the same manner as Rainshine did with her wine.

    "The freshness and texture of this sea monster meat are exquisitepared to the fishes we have around here; coupled with the dipping sauce, the taste is elevated to a whole different level."

    Lord Rhuvek savored the taste with a dreamy look before adding, "Lord Leon has truly opened my eyes. Besides being a powerful expert, you are also a skilled spirit chef."

    Leon smiled slightly.

    With the spirit herbs that he used to create the special dipping sauce and the Transcendent-quality sea monster meat, thebination of the two wasparable to other tier-3 spirit food.

    After Leon and Lord Rhuvek exchanged some casual pleasantries and their interests in fine food and drinks, they moved on to more serious topics.

    "If you don''t mind me asking, how did youe down to Lower Abyss Domain, Lord Leon?" Lord Rhuvek inquired.

    "How did Ie down, you ask?" Leon rubbed his chin before replying, "Is there not a big hole right beyond your gates? How else could I havee down, Lord Rhuvek?"

    "There is indeed a big hole," Lord Rhuvek nodded.

    "However, the entrance to the Lower Abyss Domain should have been sealed by a very thick wall of tree roots and vines. Even if Paragons try to cut their way through that region, the tree roots and vines will continuously regenerate. Ultimately, Paragons will have no choice but to give up."

    "How did you manage to get past all that?" Lord Rhuvek repeated his question before adding, "More importantly, the guardian didn''t attack you? You didn''t run into it?"

    "How did I manage to get past all that, huh? Well, it''s quite simple if you use the wood ability. More importantly, there was a guardian? I did not run into one," Leon replied.

    Based on Lord Rhuvek''s words, it didn''t seem like there was anyone with the wood ability.

    However, that was definitely not true. Leon had seen several dark elves tending to the spirit herbs while he was on his way.

    In that case, the so-called guardian mentioned was the biggest problem in crossing the region?

    "I don''t know what to say," Lord Rhuvek smiled wryly before saying, "Your luck is very great, Lord Leon. Had you run into the guardian, the situation would have been very dangerous¡ªeven for you. After all, that guardian is a Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent."

    "It is very tricky to fight and defend against it in that region," Lord Rhuvek added.

    Sure enough, the guardian was the problem ¨C Leon thought after hearing Lord Rhuvek speak.

    Nevertheless, he did not expect to pass through the whole region without picking up the presence of such a powerful beast.

    Either the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent''s stealth ability managed to escape his detection or it simply wasn''t within his divine sense range.

    Leon furrowed his brows in thought.

    If the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent had been outside his divine sense range then he was quite lucky indeed.

    However, if there''s any chance that the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent''s stealth ability exceeded his detection level, then he found it quite strange why it didn''t attack him.

 Chapter 1050 Ancient Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 1050 Ancient Battlefield</h4>

    Perhaps, Leon avoided detection because he didn''t pass through the region forcefully. Or maybe the Half-step Divine Beast let him off because he didn''t target the Celestial Wood Spark.

    Whether the case was, what''s important was that he made it through the region without getting attacked.

    Nevertheless, Lord Rhuvek wasn''t too interested in how Leon made it through the region guarded by the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent.

    He was more curious to learn about something else.

    "What''s the situation like on the surface, Lord Leon? Are there still many surviving races left?" Lord Rhuvek inquired.

    Leon nced at Lord Rhuvek thoughtfully without answering immediately.

    "What kind of situation do you expect on the surface? Does it have something to do with your Dark Elf n living in the Lower Abyss Domain, Lord Rhuvek?" Leon replied with a question of his own.

    Lord Rhuvek didn''t mind that his question wasn''t answered. He had to be aodating since the city''s wellbeing was on the line.

    "It seems Lord Leon doesn''t know much about history. Very well, I shall tell you about it, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek said willingly before asking, "But before I begin, how much do you know about the world''s history?"

    "I know that the Nova Empire dominated the world over ten thousand years ago and prospered due to their technological advancements. However, it was also their technology that brought about their own downfall when the Cataclysm arrived," Leon stated.

    "From then, the world was reset due to the great destruction created by the Nova Empire''s great megastructures falling from the sky. Supposedly a great battle between Celestial-level beings took ce several hundred to thousands of yearster."

    "I don''t know much about what happened since then until the Cataclysm arrived a second time over five hundred years ago, which caused the beasts to rampage and forced humanity to retreat into a corner of the continent, where they took refuge for the following years."

    "Then, over a month ago, the Cataclysm came a third time, causing the beasts to rampage once more. That being said, the situation has been brought under control¡ªat least in thends controlled by humans."

    Leon recounted what he knew about history while skipping a few details.

    "I see¡­ There have been three more Cataclysms in thest ten thousand years, huh?" Lord Rhuvek uttered with a contemting look before softly muttering, "It seems like the world is running out of time."

    "The world is running out of time? What do you mean, exactly?" Leon raised an eyebrow.

    "ording to the ancient texts left behind by our ancestors, the world we live in is one of several other ancient battlefields in the cosmos," Lord Rhuvek mentioned.

    "And each time a battle between the Celestials and Demon Lords and above level beings takes ce, the wanton destruction would wipe out nearly all life off the face of the and reset the world to a backward era."

    "This sort of reset has happened many times in the past several tens of thousands to several hundreds of thousands of years. Even our ancestors didn''t know how many times the world had been reset before their time."

    "The only ones who could survive such destructive battles were those purposely protected by the Celestials and Demon Lords, or those who fled to the deeper parts of the subterranean world like our ancestors did."

    "However, there is only so much damage the world can take. Our ancestors prophecized that a time woulde when the world would eventually copse. Hearing Lord Leon mentions the frequency of these so-called Cataclysms, I can''t help but think it has something to do with the world''s end."

    "That being said, if Lord Leon wants to read the ancient texts recorded by our ancestors, you will have to travel to our main n and seek permission from the n leader. Only the main n''s leader is allowed to keep and protect the ancient texts," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    As Leon listened to Lord Rhuvek speak, his eyes flickered with deep thoughts.

    He wondered if the war between Celestials and Demon Lords that urred numerous times throughout history had anything to do with the appearance of the dimension crack to the chaotic sea of nothingness in Gaia''s Core.

    If that was the case, it would mean that Primal Chaos had grown weak to the point that even those not at the True Divinity Realm could cause irreversible damage to Primal Chaos and speed up its eventual destruction.

    Nevertheless, Leon pushed aside the thoughts for the time being and said with a nod of understanding, "I see¡­ Now I understand why your n lives down here. However, don''t you ever dream of returning to the surface?"

    "Even if another war between the Celestials and Demon Lords breaks out again, such events don''t frequently happen, no?" Leon asked shortly after.

    Lord Rhuvek smiled slightly before he replied, "Our people are determined to live in the Lower Domain Abyss until the end of time."

    "Why?"

    "The surface is, of course, very great¡ª at least, ording to what we were told about it. None of my people had personally seen the surface. However, no matter how great the surface is, it won''t matter if our n is wiped out in a single stray attack," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    "It''s not worth living on the surface if we have to live in constant fear that another world-resetting great war could break out again. Compared to that, the Lower Abyss Domain is much better. You have seen for yourself, Lord Leon."

    "Besides the insect races being a little troublesome to deal with, we are notcking in resources down here," Leon Rhuvek mentioned.

    "That''s true," Leon admitted with a nod.

    The Dark Elf n was especially rich in minerals.

    "That being said, I have some doubts regarding the situation on the surface. Lord Leon said a battle between the Celestials and Demon Lords urred several thousand years ago," Lord Rhuvek mentioned.

    "However, several thousand years doesn''t seem to be enough time for the world to recover from the destruction¡­"

    "Ahh¡­" Leon uttered with a look of understanding.

    Thest battle between Celestials and Demon Lords had urred inside the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

 Chapter 1051 Magma Domain

    <h4>Chapter 1051 Magma Domain</h4>

    "I understand why you find it strange, Lord Rhuvek. However, that is because you have the wrong assumption regarding the situation," Leon stated before exining, "A battle between the Celestials and Demon Lords had indeed urred several thousand years ago."

    "However, that battle did not bring much destruction to thends on the surface. The battle was fought in a contained space, a secret realm that the humans and demons discovered."

    "It was there that I found clues of such a battle urring in the past," Leon stated.

    Lord Rhuvek''s eyes brightened at the mention of secret mention before the light in his eyes dulled after a few moments.

    Even if there was a secret realm with plenty of opportunities on the surface, it would have nothing to do with him.

    He didn''t intend to visit the surface just because he met someone from there.

    More important, his body was adapted to the dark environment of the Lower Abyss Domain. The sunlight would be very painful for him¡ªin fact, it might even be deadly.

    "I see. That makes sense," Lord Rhuvek uttered with understanding before adding, "For this secret realm to withstand the battle between the Celestial and Demon Lords, it must be very sturdy."

    "That aside, Lord Leon should have understood the whole picture about our world''s history, and I have also learned a bit about the situation on the surface from Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek said shortly after.

    Leon calmly nodded.

    After learning history from Lord Rhuvek, Leon gained a clearer understanding of the world.

    At the very least, he understood why the world had so many huge pocket spaces and buried ruins with treasures deep under the earth.

    Suddenly, Leon thought of something and said, "The Dark Elf n had lived in the Lower Abyss Domain, far away from the world-resetting battles between Celestials and Demon Lords on the surface, for tens of thousands of years."

    "Furthermore, resources in the Lower Abyss Domain and abundant. Given these conditions, your Dark Elf n must have quite a few powerful experts, no? Perhaps, even some Celestials?" Leon probed.

    However, contrary to Leon''s expectation, Lord Rhuvek smiled bitterly before shaking his head.

    "If our n had given birth to a single Celestial in the past tens of thousands of years that we existed, we would have dominated the Lower Abyss Domain already. We wouldn''t be pestered by the insect races like we are now."

    "Forget about reaching the Celestial Realm; it is simply impossible to obtain that realm in the Lower Abyss Domain. Just reaching Peak Paragon alone is already hard enough."

    "Aside from our current n leader in the main n, only two other members of our n had ever reached Peak Paragon in their lifetimes," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    Leon revealed his astonishment before asking, "The Celestial Realm is impossible to obtain in the Lower Abyss Domain? How did youe to such a conclusion, Lord Rhuvek?"

    "This wasn''t my conclusion, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek shook his head and said, "This conclusion was made by our main n leader after he studied the notes left by the past Peak Paragons in our n."

    "The Lower Abyss Domain has almost everything, but itcks the most crucial element to advance to higher realms in awakening cultivation, astral energy. Astral energy can be found everywhere in the outer world, but not here in the Lower Abyss Domain."

    "I see. That makes a lot of sense," Leon agreed with a look of insight before muttering thoughtfully, "You cannot understand the stars if you have never seen them."

    "That''s right. Lord Leon can put it that way," Lord Rhuvek nodded before saying, "Our n leader only managed to advance to Peak Paragon after cultivating in the Magma Domain."

    "The magma energy in the Magma Domain is the closest thing to the sun''s sr energy, which gives life and strength to all beings in Primal Chaos. s, without the baptism of cold space, it will never be astral energy, let alone be transformed into celestial energy."

    "As such, the Celestial Realm is simply out of our reach," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    "I see," Leon rubbed his chin before wondering, "How long has your n leader reached Peak Paragon? If he figured out magma energy from the Magma Domain could help Paragons breakthrough the bottleneck, shouldn''t there be more Peak Paragons now?"

    "On the contrary, no," Lord Rhuvek shook his head and said, "It was by luck that our n leader managed to advance to Peak Paragon by cultivating in the Magma Domain. Others don''t have the same luck."

    "You see, the Magma Domain itself is a very perilous ce. Trying to withstand the high temperature in that ce is one thing, but there are also terrifying fire-attribute creatures, fire spirits, and even fiery oddities that thrive in that domain."

    "Not everyone is a fire-user like our main n leader, let alone a Late Paragon before he made the breakthrough to Peak Paragon in that perilous ce."

    Lord Rhuvek suddenly pped his hands together before saying, "Anyhow, let''s not talk anymore about this topic."

    "If Lord Leon wishes to learn more about the Magma Domain, you will have to find our n leader in the main n. You will have to forgive me for my limited knowledge."

    "You''re too polite, Lord Rhuvek. I have learned much from you," Leon said earnestly.

    "As have I, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek smiled amicably before his eyes suddenly flickered with interest. "About the trade you mentioned, what do you wish to trade with our city, Lord Leon?"

    Even though Lord Rhuvek wasn''t interested in visiting the surface, he was excited to obtain some local specialties from the surface.

    Sea monster meat he tried earlier, for example, was not only delicious but beneficial for his body cultivation.

    And that was only the meat of a Transcendent-level sea monster.

    If he could gain a steady supply of Paragon-quality sea monster meat prepared by a Tier-5 Spirit Chef, he had hopes of bing a Paragon in body cultivation as an alternate path from awakening cultivation.

    "I can see that the sea monster meat has left quite an impression on you, Lord Rhuvek," Leon smiled.

 Chapter 1052 Interrupted Negotiation

    <h4>Chapter 1052 Interrupted Negotiation</h4>

    "It has," Lord Rhuvek nodded before saying, "However, Lord Leon isn''t just nning to trade sea monster meat with our city, right? How about we both be upfront andy down everything we want and have to offer."

    "Sure. That sounds good. I like a straightforward deal," Leon nodded before saying, "Then, I start first. I am interested in high-quality insect materials and your city''s runic knowledge."

    "That''s it?" Lord Rhuvek uttered with surprise.

    "For the time being, these two are at the top of my list. I''m sure your city has other things that would catch my interest. However, I have yet to learn everything your city has to offer," Leon stated.

    "Fair enough," Lord Rhuvek calmly nodded and said, "I can arrange a guide to tour Lord Leon through the cityter."

    "However, high-quality insect materials and runic knowledge are the foundations of our city. The only reason our city can stand tall against the throngs of Paragon-level insects in the Lower Abyss Domain is thanks to our equipment and weapons."

    "Given Lord Leon''s strength, it shouldn''t be difficult for you to obtain high-quality insect materials if you wanted to. That being said, I am still willing to trade our city''s high-quality insect materials and runic knowledge."

    "Of course, that is under the assumption that Lord Leon is willing to offer something of equivalent value in exchange for them. Although the value of this sea monster meat is quite good, it''s still not quite enough," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    "Transcendent-level sea monster meat won''t be enough, then how about Paragon-level sea monster meat?" Leon uttered.

    "Paragon-level sea monster meat would indeed be precious," Lord Rhuvek nodded before adding with clear interest, "In fact, I am willing to pay a high price for Paragon-level sea monster meat."

    "However, the real question is how much Paragon-level sea monster meat does Lord Leon have to offer? And are you only trading with Paragon-level sea monster meat?" Lord Rhuvek asked shortly after.

    "Of course not," Leon shook his head with a smile and said, "That is just one of the options, Lord Rhuvek. I have plenty of other items to offer. For example, cultivation pills and primordial body cultivation methods."

    As Leon and Lord Rhuvek negotiated their demands and offers, Rainshine yawned with boredom while listening to them.

    She didn''t understand much about what was going on, nor did she have any ce in the conversation.

    It was a talk between leaders.

    Nevertheless, Rainshine didn''t have to listen to her master''s talk with Lord Rhuvek for too long before it was rudely interrupted by another fairy barging into the grand hall with urgent news.

    "My Lord, those mutants are back again," the fairy messenger informed.

    Lord Rhuvek''s pleasant expression immediately turned serious before he stood up and turned to apologize to Leon.

    "I deeply apologize, Lord Leon. However, it seems that we will have to postpone our negotiations. A matter that requires my immediate attention has appeared."

    "What''s going on?" Leon raised an eyebrow with interest.

    "There isn''t time to exin, Lord Leon. If you like, you can follow me. I will exin on the way," Lord Rhuvek suggested before adding, "Perhaps, you can even lend us some of your great strength. Our city will be grateful if you do."

    "Alright. Lead the way, Lord Rhuvek," Leon said with a nod.

    Seeing the urgency in Lord Rhuvek''s eyes, Leon did not waste too much time and readily agreed to follow Lord Rhuvek to check out the situation.

    "Let''s go, Rainshine."

    "Yes, Master!"

    Rainshine shot up onto Leon''s shoulder with excitement after sensing some action.

    Nevertheless, Leon quickly followed Lord Rhuvek and the fairies out of the pce, where a toon of Transcendent-level dark elven soldiers quickly gathered and waited on them.

    "We greet the City Lord!" the toon shouted in unison.

    Lord Rhuvek swept his gaze across the toon before he nodded with acknowledgment after confirming everyone was present. The city''s troops were punctual in their response to the threat to the city.

    "Where are the mutants?"

    "At Howling Wind Gate, my Lord."

    "Then to Howling Wind Gate, we go."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Shortly after, the toon was dispatched to Howling Wind Gate under Lord Rhuvek''s lead.

    As Leon followed the group, he found out the city did not upy all of the space within the big cave. There was still plenty of room for expansion¡ªor rather, the dark elves make room for expansion when necessary.

    Nevertheless, Howling Wind Gate was just one of many gates. Every tunnel leading out of the cave was a gate.

    "What''s the deal with these so-called mutants, Lord Rhuvek? What is the whole city on edge at the mention of them? Are they powerful?" Leon inquired along the way.

    "They aren''t powerful," Lord Rhuvek his head before adding, "However, they can be if we don''t deal with them swiftly. They are very troublesome existences that we cannot ignore once they appear."

    "When these mutants first appeared around ten thousand years ago, we didn''t think much about them. Because they are very vile and disgusting existences, our ancestors didn''t want anything to do with them."

    "s, few of our n''s cities were lost because of that choice. We did not see the potential danger these mutants posed back then," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    "But your n learned your lesson since then and decided to exterminate every mutant on sight now, huh?" Leon uttered thoughtfully before asking, "What are they exactly?"

    "I''m afraid I don''t really have an answer to that, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek said apologetically.

    "No one really knows what these mutants are. They are unlike any race we have evere across. They are very parasitic and aggressive. They attack and assimte anything that moves."

    "Is that so?" Leon furrowed his brows in deep thoughts.

    The mutants described by Lord Rhuvek sounded exactly like a certain group of vile creatures that had been influenced by the Wrath Law.

    Although Leon suspected it, he could only be sure once he saw the mutants with his own eyes.

 Chapter 1053 D Sector

    Outside of the dark elven city, a field of crops stretched for roughly five miles before the other end of the cave was reached. And along the cave walls were multiple huge tunnel entrances, eachpletely blocked off by sturdy metal gates.

    Leon followed the group and headed straight for the gate in the middle tunnel.

    ''That must be Howling Wind Gate,'' Leon silently thought.

    After sweeping the area with his divine sense andparing the other two gates in the adjacent tunnels, Leon found out Howling Wind Gate was noticeably bigger than the other two gates.

    In fact, it was the dark elven city''s biggest gate.

    However, Howling Wind Gate wasn''t just threefold bigger than every other gate; it was also heavily fortified. It had a backup gate in case the first gate was ever breached.

    In addition to the doubleyered gates, there were several buildings near it, such as a barrack, an armory, and an intelligence building.

    Nothing urgent seemed to be happening at Howling Wind Gate, but Leon could sense the heavy mood of the guards as he arrived with the group.

    "We greet the City Lord!" the guards quickly lined up and saluted as Lord Rhuvek arrived.

    After Lord Rhuvek nodded, he quickly asked with a stern and solemn look, "What''s the situation? Where are the mutants?"

    "ording to the readings from our detectors, the mutants were first spotted in C Sector," one of the dark elven guards reported.

    "However, the readings also showed the mutants heading towards D Sector. The detectors lost track of the mutants after that. Given this information, I believe it is safe to assume the mutants have already entered D Sector, my Lord."

    "D Sector¡­" Lord Rhuvek frowned for a moment before asking, "Did we receive any news from the neighboring cities?"

    "None, my Lord," the dark elven guards shook their heads.

    Lord Rhuvek''s frowned deepened.

    After a short moment, Lord Rhuvek instructed, "Ry information of the mutants to our neighboring cities. The rest of you, go and gear up; grab whatever you need from the armory. This trip will be a dangerous one."

    "Yes, my Lord!" the toon of Transcendent-level dark elves answered with heavy and solemn expressions.

    Shortly after the toon headed for the armory, Lord Rhuvek said to Sorrell, "Take care of the city while I am gone."

    "Please be careful, my Lord," Fairy Sorrell said with strong concerns.

    "What''s special about D Sector? Why does it seem like everyone is preparing to die?" Rainshine asked curiously while studying everyone''s expressions.

    Lord Rhuvek shifted his gaze to Rainshine before exining, "Because of the threat posed by mutants, every city has set up a special detection system that picks up the unique frequencies of mutants. That way, we can swiftly dispatch troops to eliminate them."

    "However, due to the cost and precious materials required to make the detection equipment, our city only had enough resources to cover the first three sectors. D Sector is the only region our detection system doesn''t cover."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "How are these sectorsbeled? Is it based on regions or distance?" Leon asked curiously.

    Lord Rhuvek paused for a moment before ordering one of the fairies to bring him a map from the intelligence building.

    Shortly after the fairy came back with the rolled-up map, which was clearly too big for her size, and handed over, Lord Rhuvek unrolled it for Leon to see.

    However, Leon was surprised to see that the made wasn''t two-dimensional.

    The moment Lord Rhuvek unrolled the leather map, a three-dimensional hologram of the map was shown. The orange light marked all the explored and known regions around the city while the dark regions were unmapped.

    D Sector was located within one of such dark regions.

    "The Sectors are divided by their distance and depth from the city; A Sector is the closest to the city, while D Sector is the furthest sector we havebeled. Everything in these dark areas is uncharted territories," Lord Rhuvek exined.

    Although D Sector was marked inside of the dark areas, it was partially mapped at the edges next to C Sector.

    As Leon focused on the partially mapped region of D Sector, Lord Rhuvek continued, "Although we''ve made some progress in mapping D Sector over the years, it isn''t much. D Sector is a den of Paragons. The dangers of D Sector far exceed the first three sectors."

    "A den of Paragons, huh? Despite knowing this, you still n to head there, Lord Rhuvek? You might survive, but it is very unlikely for the rest of your men," Leon stated.

    "Be that as it may, we have no choice but to follow through and hope the other cities also send some Paragons to assist in exterminating the mutants," Lord Rhuvek said.

    "This is the ironw of our n; once a mutant is spotted, it must be swiftly killed. Failing toply with thew is punishable by death."

    "That''s rather strict," Rainshinemented with surprise.

    "That''s just how it is," Lord Rhuvek said with a sigh before adding, "If we let the mutants grow, another city may fall one of these days."

    "That being said, these mutants have been appearing more frequently in these past few months. This is already the third time this week. They used to be sighted only once every few years¡­"

    "Now that I think about it, thest time mutant activity increased like this was over five hundred years ago. This seems to coincide with the Cataclysm you mentioned, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek suddenly thought with some suspicion.

    Leon nced at Lord Rhuvek and nodded, "It''s probably what you are thinking; it shouldn''t be a coincidence."

    He had, more or less, confirmed that the mutants were creatures influenced by the Wrath Law. And they are most likely of human origins.

    After noticing the toon of Transcendent-level dark elves returning from the armory, Leon urged, "Since your men are back, let us head over to D Sector together, Lord Rhuvek."

    "You''re willing to partake in our mission, Lord Leon?" Lord Rhuvek''s eyes brightened as he looked pleasantly surprised.

    "Of course," Leon nonchntly replied before asking, "If you die on this trip, who will negotiate with me?"

 Chapter 1054 Thriving Abyss

    Lord Rhuvek smiled wryly after hearing Leon''s response.

    Even if he died during his mission in D Sector, someone else would rise to take his ce as the new lord of the city. Lord Leon would just need to negotiate with the new lord and did not have to worry about being chased out of the city.

    In fact, Lord Leon could even take advantage of the new city lord being new and weaker to gain more benefits out of the negotiation. After all, no one would dare to antagonize a Peak Paragon.

    Nevertheless, Lord Rhuvek was grateful that Lord Leon chose to assist their n''s mission.

    "Thank you, Lord Leon. Thanks to your willingness to assist us, many lives will be saved on this trip. You have our eternal gratitude," Lord Rhuvek said sincerely.

    However, Leon waved his hand at him dismissively and said, "Save your words for when we actually make it back from D Sector."

    Lord Rhuvek wanted to say a few more words, but he kept his mouth shut and nodded seriously. Then, he turned to see the toon of Transcendent-level dark elves apanying him on the mission.

    "Everyone is ready, my Lord," a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf informed.

    "Good." Lord Rhuvek nodded before signaling the gate operators, "Open the gates!"

    "Open the gates!" the dark elves passed on the order to each other.

    The dark elves stationed around the huge silver gate started pulling levers cranking the gears shortly after.

    Rumble¡­!

    The huge silver gates slowly opened with a creaking sound, causing slight vibrations in the ground.

    Before long, the tunnel on the other side of Howling Wind Gate was fully revealed. A surge of sharp wind quickly whistled past the group from the end of the tunnel.

    The path ahead was lightly illuminated by the glowing moss on the ground, walls, and ceilings, filled with other flora.

    Contrary to Leon''s expectations, the vegetation in the Lower Abyss Domain wasn''t limited to just the vast caves with dark elven settlements like the city under Lord Rhuvek''s rule.

    As the group traveled through A Sector, Leon found lush vegetation everywhere. Supposedly, it wasn''t just A Sector, but many parts of Lower Abyss Domain were also like this.

    It was deste and gloomy but thriving with life.

    "On your guard. Now that we are outside the safety of the city, expect to be attacked by insects at any moment," Lord Rhuvek reminded his men.

    "Yes, my Lord!" the toon of Transcendent-level dark elves answered.

    Nevertheless, the journey through the A Sector was rtively smooth. Although they encounter ck ants and giant centipedes along the way, none were above Rank 1 Transcendent.

    Furthermore, their numbers were few. They were just scouts.

    After ying the insects, the group quickly moved on and reached the descending slopes leading to B Sector.

    Along the way, Leon swept the subterranean region with his divine sense and located all the runic devices hidden within the rock walls, pirs, and ceilings.

    From what he understood, they were most like the detectors previously mentioned by Lord Rhuvek.

    Although Leon wanted to grab one for research purposes, he refrained from doing so. Even the enchanted leather map was quite interesting to him.

    Nevertheless, it wouldn''t be toote to add them to the list of demands during his following trade negotiations with Lord Rhuvek.

    Within B Sector, the group started encountering Rank 2 Transcendent-level insects. However, the trip remained smooth with Lord Rhuvek around.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Meanwhile, Leon discovered, much to his amazement, that the wood energy level in the Lower Abyss Domain was getting denser the deeper he ventured.

    It wasn''t limited to regions close to the Celestial Wood Spark. Even the spirit energy density in the region was increasing.

    He wondered if it had anything to do with the Saint Voidme, the World Tree in the Gaia''s Core.

    Perhaps Lower Abyss Domain was thriving because it was getting closer to Gaia''s Core. Even so, there was still the mantleyer called Magma Domain that separated the two.

    Furthermore, the distance wasn''t small.

    ''There''s quite a few tier-3 and tier-4 spirit herbs around here in B Sector. I wonder what C Sector will have,'' Leon mused while studying the vegetation in B Sector.

    "I might have already said this before, but once again, thank you for joining us on our mission, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek suddenly said before adding, "It''s very reassuring to have a Peak Paragon with us."

    Even as they were about to reach C Sector, a ce that could have some Paragon-level insects roaming about, the mood within the toon of Transcendent-level dark elves was rtively light.

    It wasn''t heavy like the time when they just learned they were heading to D Sector.

    The presence of three Paragons gave them peace of mind.

    "You''re being too polite, Lord Rhuvek," Leon smiled slightly.

    Sometimeter, the group reached C Sector before the dark elves started experiencing difficulties. Even when they purposely took detours to avoid the giant insect hives within C Sector, they still attracted a few stronger insects scouting the area.

    Although Lord Rhuvek joined the battle to quickly finish off the Rank 2 Transcendent-level ck Ants they attracted, they still caught the attention of a Paragon-level ck Ant.

    "Dammit, it''s a Paragon-level ck Ant. This is going to be tricky. If we don''t finish it quickly, it might summon a whole army from its ant nest," Lord Rhuvek frowned deeply.

    He knew just how tough the defense of a Paragon-level ck Ant was.

    "Rainshine."

    Swish!

    Rainshine immediately dashed into battle the moment Leon uttered her name. She closed the distance between her and the Paragon-level ck Ant in an instance.

    At the same time, the Paragon-level ck Ant saw hering and snapped at her with its mandibles.

    However, Rainshine cleverly evaded the powerful bite as she soared into the air before plunging straight down on the Paragon-level ck Ant''s head.

    Smack! Smack! Smack!

    Following hernding, Rainshine pounded the Paragon-level ck Ant''s head into the ground with repeated smacks until¡­

    Ka-cha!

    The Paragon-level ck Ant''s head cracked open. Its fate was sealed as Rainshine wed its brains out in the next moment.

    "¡­"

    Lord Rhuvek''s lips twitched.

 Chapter 1055: Casual Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 1055: Casual Discovery</h4>

    Although Lord Rhuvek knew Rainshine was a Paragon, he thought she specialized in speed and lethality.

    However, contrary to his expectations, the adorable little thing fought in a very savage and brutal manner that was unlikely of her small appearance.

    Lord Rhuvek waspletely bbergasted.

    Even the toon of Transcendent-level dark elves was astounded by Rainshine''s way of battle.

    However, the dark elves didn''t have the luxury of being distracted as they fended off the other Rank 2 Transcendent-level ck Ants. They only sensed what happened.

    Nevertheless, Rainshine did not pay attention to the dark elves'' reactions. After finishing off the Paragon-level ck Ant, she dashed over to help the dark elves clean up the rest of the ck ants.

    Upon seeing that, Lord Rhuvek quickly recovered from his shock and also assisted.

    A few breathster, all the ck ants were killed.

    Afterward, the dark elves started collecting the spoils of their battle, storing the ck ants'' carapaces in their interspatial storage rings.

    However, they did not touch any of the ck ants finished off by Rainshine.

    "Since the Paragon-level ck Ant and the other few Rank 2 Transcendent-level ck Ants were killed by Rainshine, we won''t take any of them. All their carapaces belong to you, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek said.

    Leon nodded and pocketed all the remaining carapaces into his Worldspace.

    "Let us continue before more insects are attracted over by themotion."

    "Alright. Sounds good."

    Shortly after reaching an agreement, Leon and the group swiftly left the area and headed toward D Sector. Along the way, Leon found many more tier-4 spirit herbs than he did in B Sector.

    However, he had yet toe across a tier-5 spirit herb.

    "There are so many spirit herbs in this ce. Does the Dark Elf n not gather them?" Leon casually inquired.

    "We do actually, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek answered.

    "However, we only take what we need and only when we need them. After all, it''s not easy for spirit herbs to grow. Each time a spirit herb is harvested, the spirit energy level in the region decreases, and the time it takes to recover also increases."

    Leon quietly acknowledged Lord Rhuvek''s point.

    Considering the Dark Elf n heavily relied on runecrafting, whether it was for everyday life necessity or survival, a decrease in spirit energy was a significant loss for them.

    However, spirit herbs were essential ingredients for refining cultivation pills¡ªcultivation pills that make breakthroughs to higher cultivation levels possible.

    Nevertheless, both choices had pros and cons, and it was clear to Leon that the Dark Elf n took the conservative choice.

    Although their conservative choice didn''t allow them to produce powerhouses to dominate the Lower Abyss Domain, it was enough to preserve their way of life for the past tens of thousands of years.

    As the group approached the entrance to D Sector, they spotted traces of insect blood on the group with several other traces of battle in the area.

    However, the insects themselves were nowhere to be seen.

    "Looks like the mutants fought some insects in this location," a Late Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elfmented as he swiped the insect blood on the ground with two fingers and rubbed them together with his thumb to study.

    "Seeing as there are no remains of the mutants and insects, there are two possibilities. Either the mutants were eaten by the insects, or the mutants assimted the insects and moved on. ording to the readings from our detectors, thetter is more likely to be the case."

    "Which means the mutants are still alive and have entered D Sector. This also means that our mission has not changed; we will enter D Sector, find the mutants, and exterminate them all before they get any more chances to grow further," Lord Rhuvek stated solemnly.

    Fortunately, they have Lord Leon and Rainshine with them. A Peak Paragon and Late Paragon were reassuring to have on the team.

    Even as they were about to enter D Sector, Lord Rhuvek didn''t feel as pressured as he would without them.

    "Prepare the tools. Since we are entering D Sector, we will also map the unmapped areas for future references."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    After Lord Rhuvek instructed, several dark elves immediately took out scribing pens, white crystals, and leather maps.

    Evidently, these Rank 2 Transcendent-level dark elves weren''t just the city''s elites in terms of strength but also proficient runemasters.

    Leon was immediately curious how they would update the map using the white crystals, which were semi-transparent and conductive with spirit energy.

    However, as they were leaving C Sector, Leon could not help but say, "Although your mission is to exterminate the mutants, are you not interested in finding out where they came from, Lord Rhuvek? If you eliminate them at the source, you won''t be bothered by them in the future."

    "That sounds great, Lord Leon. I believe the whole Dark Elf n and even the dwarven ns would love to do that," Lord Rhuvek said.

    "However, no one knows where these mutants came from, nor why they keeping. ording to our detectors, they seem to just appear out of thin air. Furthermore, we''ve noticed a certain behavior from the mutants'' movements in thest few instances they appeared."

    "They seem to be trying to enter the Magma Domain, though I have no idea why. Even so, we don''t intend to let them do as they please," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    "The Magma Domain, huh?" Leon uttered thoughtfully.

    Reasons told Leon that it wasn''t simple as that. He felt the mutants'' destination might be further than the Magma Domain. Gaia''s Core seemed like the more likely target.

    However, targeting Gaia''s Core would require the mutants to have a clear purpose and hierarchy ofmand within their ranks.

    In other words, the higher-ups in the mutants were intelligent, and they knew something about Gaia''s Core.

    ''What do they want from there?'' Leon mused. In any case, there was something he needed to do first before figuring that out.

    Leon suddenly summoned a fireball and fired it into a specific spot in the high cave ceiling, burning away the nts and uncovering a hidden hole.

    "Are you sure you don''t know where the mutantse from, Lord Rhuvek? They seem to havee from one of these hidden holes, no?"

    "T-this is¡­!"

 Chapter 1056: Understanding Map Drawing Process

    <h4>Chapter 1056: Understanding Map Drawing Process</h4>

    Lord Rhuvek and the rest of the dark elf toon raised their heads to gaze at the hole in the cave ceiling with shock and surprise.

    After a few moments, Lord Rhuvek returned his attention to Leon and asked with amazement, "Lord Leon, how did you know a hole was hidden there?"

    "I have my means," Leon replied dismissively before saying, "More importantly, no one found out the mutants wereing from the holes in the ceiling? I find that hard to believe."

    "You are truly our lucky star, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek said wryly before scratching his head with embarrassment.

    "As embarrassing as it sounds, it is true that we never figured out where the mutants came from. Our detectors have always picked up the mutants'' first appearance in C Sector, and we had long suspected they had an entrance somewhere in C Sector."

    "However, we never found it. C Sector may have been mapped, but it isn''t easy for us to explore freely due to the dangers posed by the insects'' nests and Paragon-level threats. As such, we always had to be careful when we try to investigate C Sector."

    "Even so, Lord Rhuvek should have suspected the cave ceiling, no? Given how many nts are growing on the ceiling, it wouldn''t be easy for you to rule it off the list unless you scoured every part of it," Leon stated with furrowed brows.

    "You are absolutely right, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek agreed with his point while embracing his n''s mistake.

    "The cave ceiling waspletely ruled off the list of suspected areas in our records. I suspect that one of my predecessors, the previous city lords, must have made a bold assumption regarding the ceiling and crossed it off in the records."

    "The mutants are not intelligent, so it wouldn''t be strange to think they wouldn''t hide their tracks when they enter C Sector," Lord Rhuvek mentioned.

    "The mutants aren''t intelligent?" Leon repeated with a slight smile before saying, "This in and of itself is a bold assumption, Lord Rhuvek. In fact, it''s a grave mistake to think so."

    "I haven''t seen these so-called mutants that threaten your n, but ording to what I''ve learned so far, these mutants clearly have a purpose for heading to D Sector. Even if all the mutants you encountered were never intelligent, they must be capable of followingmands from ones that are."

    "Nevertheless, I find it quite strange that regarding such a big threat as the mutants, one of your predecessors would be sox as to boldly cross off a suspected area without thoroughly investigating it," Leon mentioned.

    As Lord Rhuvek heard that, he deeply frowned before seeking Leon''s opinion, "Are you suspecting that one of my predecessors was a traitor, Lord Leon?"

    "I don''t want to interfere with your n''s matters nor start any unnecessary trouble for your n, but that does seem to be the case to me. In fact, there might even be more than one traitor," Leon stated.

    Lord Rhuvek''s frown deepened even further after hearing Leon''s answer. He found it inconceivable and hard to believe.

    "But how can there be traitors in our n? What could they possibly gain from sabotaging the investigation? Do they want to destroy the n?" Lord Rhuvek wondered with a deep frown.

    It did not cross his mind that there could be dark elves working with or for the mutants. He didn''t think it was possible.

    "My Lord¡­ I don''t want to interrupt, but don''t we have more important matters to deal with right now?" a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf reminded.

    Lord Rhuvek was startled for a moment before his mind cleared up.

    "You''re right. I was too distracted by the notion of traitors in our n," Lord Rhuvek acknowledged his mistake with a nod.

    "Mark that hole on the map, and have someone seal it immediately! Once we deal with the mutants in D Sector, we will return to investigate it and review all the investigation records we have on the cave ceilings!"

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    The dark elves immediatelyplied after Lord Rhuvek ordered.

    At the same time, Leon secretly observed the dark elves updating the map. They drew runes on the white crystal with their scribing pens.

    Afterward, they extracted the runic images from the white crystal and pasted them into the holographic map.

    Leon was quickly intrigued by their methods; it had truly opened his eyes.

    While 3D map drawing was a delicate process that wouldn''t be a problem for him, he never thought about drawing runes that simply serve no purpose other than for its imagery.

    In other words, the runes being drawn had no special effects whatsoever.

    They had the cohesiveness of connecting spirit energy. But other than that, they serve no purpose besides possessing certain appearances.

    Strictly speaking, they weren''t runes but just lumps of spirit energy bound together like one.

    In fact, the dark elves were simply weaving spirit energy and using the white crystals to retain their weaved forms.

    Leon had given them too much credit when he thought they were also proficient runemasters.

    After understanding the secret behind the Dark Elf n''s 3D map drawing process, Leon found a number of ways to recreate 3D maps without undergoing the same tedious and delicate process.

    However, his revised method could only be used by him; the dark elves wouldn''t be able to copy his method without possessing Divine Will.

    Nevertheless, the Dark Elf n''s 3D map drawing process could be said be straightforward and simple.

    After pondering on it for some time, Leon found ways to improve 3D maps and make them interactive instead of just being 3D images.

    A few minutester, the dark elves finished updating their maps and sealing the hole in the ceiling before it was time to move on.

    "Gather up. It''s time to head down to D Sector. Every moment that pass is an another opportunity for the mutants to grow. We must eliminate them as soon as possible!"

    "Yes, my Lord!"

 Chapter 1057: Different People, Different Concerns

    <h4>Chapter 1057: Different People, Different Concerns</h4>

    Sometimeter, Leon arrived in the unmapped D Sector with the group before immediately sweeping the surrounding areas with his divine sense.

    The environment in D Sector was not that different from C Sector. It was just slightly richer in spirit energy due to the plethora of tier-4 spirit herbs growing in the region.

    Unfortunately, he failed to discover any tier-5 spirit herb and above.

    Even so, he was only at the beginning of the D Sector. There was still the whole D Sector to explore, not to mention the ubeled regions beyond it.

    "Since the other cities'' elites haven''t arrived to exterminate the mutants, we are most likely on our own. As such, be extra careful. We are in uncharted territory now. Remember to map everything you see and remain vignt. D Sector is notorious for its high activity levels of Paragon-level insects," Lord Rhuvek reminded.

    "Yes, my Lord!" the Transcendent-level dark elvesplied.

    As the group advanced several hundred feet, it didn''t take them long before they quickly came across traces of battle.

    "Milord, there are traces of¡ª" a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf did not finish making the report before the sounds of battle ahead were heard.

    "The battle ahead is most likely where the mutants are. Follow my lead, remain prudent, and don''t draw unnecessary attention. Even if we have Lord Leon and Rainshine with us, it will be hard for all of you to keep your lives if too many Paragon-level insects attack us," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    "Yes, my Lord," the toon of dark elves responded quietly.

    The group advanced another two miles before the sounds of battle drew closer. At the same time, more traces of battle were left behind in the area.

    Green and blue blood sttered across the ground with multiple severed centipede legs lying around. Some spirit nts were also stained by the blood, causing them to wither and die.

    Rumble¡­!

    The ground shook at irregr intervals. The group could clearly¡ªno, they felt trembles strongly. They weren''t far from the battle location.

    As the group continued to advance another mile in light steps, the ground trembled at the movements of multiple giant centipedes and ck ants rushing toward the same destination they were headed to.

    However, the moment they caught sight of each other, the giant centipedes and ck ants changed directions and fought each other.

    New battlefields were created in their locations as a result.

    "We have most likely stepped into one big battlefield. No, it might even be more urate to say that D Sector is a battlefield. Luckily, none of them has spotted us. Let us keep it that way," Lord Rhuvek quietly spoke after the group hid in the gap between two giant boulders.

    "Y-yes, my Lord," the toon of dark elves responded in trembling voices. They could no longer keep their calm.

    It was their first time venturing so deep inside D Sector, and they were already trapped in the middle of one big battlefield with no way out.

    "Judging by their sizes, t-they are all Paragons¡­" a Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf determined after peeking at the giant insects.

    If they attract the Paragon-level insects, it will be all over for them; their grave would be right where they were.

    Multiple dark elves sweated nervously as they had that thought.

    "This is troublesome¡­" Lord Rhuvek frowned for another matter.

    "If the ck ants and giant centipedes are warring each other all over D Sector, there''s no telling with battlefield belongs to the mutants. Furthermore, even if we locate the mutants, we risk attracting all the surrounding Paragons as we try to eliminate them. It seems like this mission won''t be easy."

    "Given these circumstances, we will need to wait for the Paragon-level insects to kill each other before we continue our search," Lord Rhuvek stated.

    However, Leon was not interested in waiting.

    "I don''t have time for that," Leon calmly uttered as he stepped out into the open, under everyone''s drastic change in expression. "We just need to kill everything in sight to locate the mutants."

    He still had things to do on the surface. He wasn''t going to sit around and waste time.

    The Tier-7 White Spear quickly appeared in Leon''s hand before he threw himself into the battle between the ck ants and giant centipedes with a stomp.

    Swish!

    A Paragon-level ck Ant was quickly beheaded with a swing of Leon''s Tier-7 White Spear.

    Not much strength was required as the Paragon-level ck Ant''s defense was no match for the Tier-7 White Spear''s sharpness.

    Nevertheless, Leon was quickly bombarded with attacks from the nearby Paragon-level ck Ants as they retaliated for their fallen brethren.

    However, Leon quickly evaded all their attacks with his superior movement speed.

    At the same time, he stepped into favorable positions beforeshing out with his Tier-7 White Spear and beheading all his assants.

    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

    The Paragon-level ck Ants dropped dead one after the other as they got their heads lopped off. None of them could stand a chance against the might of Leon''s Tier-7 White Spear.

    If he had used the Overlord Spear Art, he could have finished them all in an instant.

    However, doing so would have also destroyed the Paragon-level ck Ants'' carapaces. Leon wanted to preserve the Paragon-level carapaces in their best possible conditions.

    After all, they were all high-quality equipment.

    Nevertheless, Leon got no chance to rx as the Paragon-level Giant Centipedes also made him their target.

    However, they were suddenly attacked by Rainshine as she hopped off his shoulder earlier andmenced her own attacks on the insects in the area.

    "Just go for the heads, Rainshine!" Leon hollered before adding, "These insects are all good materials! Try not to damage them!"

    "Yes, Master!" Rainshineplied.

    Leon wasn''t worried for Rainshine in the least.

    After all, she was a Late Paragon; she was much stronger than the giant centipedes and ck ants, which were only Early Paragons to Mid Paragons.

    Nevertheless, Lord Rhuvek and the other dark elves could not help but twitch the corners of their eyes.

    While they would have been fearing for their lives, Lord Leon was worried about the materials being damaged.

    "We don''t live in the same world¡­" Lord Rhuvek sighed ruefully.

 Chapter 1058: Dragon-Sweeping Spear

    <h4>Chapter 1058: Dragon-Sweeping Spear</h4>

    "This is unbelievable¡­ I knew Lord Leon was strong, but not to this extent. Lord Leon doesn''t require much effort to y those Paragons at all. I don''t think we will get to witness Lord Leon''s full strength."

    "Lord Leon is certainly strong; I admit that much. However, that weapon is also something else. I don''t think I''ve seen such a powerful weapon before."

    The toon of dark elves peeked at the battlefield. And as they watched Leon dominate the Paragon-level insects with ease, they were awed by the scene.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s Tier-7 White Spear quickly drew all their attention. Even Lord Rhuvek could not help but specte its quality.

    "I don''t think that''s a tier-6 weapon. Although our Dark Elf n can barely produce low-quality tier-6 weapons, I doubt a peak-quality tier-6 weapon would be as powerful as that spear. It is most likely above tier-6."

    "Above tier-6¡­ Wouldn''t that mean Lord Leon''s spear is at least a tier-7 weapon?" The dark elves were greatly astonished after hearing Lord Rhuvek''s spection.

    Their Dark Elf n was full of Runemasters but producing a tier-7 artifact was beyond their abilities. They could only dream about it.

    And yet here they are, witnessing the might of a tier-7 weapon in action.

    "So this is a tier-7 weapon¡­ It''s powerful beyond belief¡­" a Mid Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf quietly muttered without taking his eyes off Leon''s Tier-7 White Spear.

    Even so, the dark elves found it hard for their eyes to keep up with Leon''s rapid movements as he darted through the groups of giant insects, ying one after the other.

    "I wonder if Lord Leon would be willing to¡ª"

    "Hmph, don''t even think about it," another Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf interrupted with a snort before the other dark elf could finish. "Lord Leon is doing our n a great favor right now, and yet you dare to eye his treasure?"

    "I don''t want Lord Leon''s divine weapon," the dark elf quickly shook his head and exined, "I just want to study the runes on the divine weapon."

    "Forget whether you can even take the divine weapon apart to look; what will you do if you identally ruin the runes inside? You''ll be destroying a divine weapon! Can you handle Lord Leon''s wrath if that happens? Don''t drag the whole n down with you!" the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf chided.

    "I know all that¡­" the dark elf stubbornly clung to his idea as he said, "But if we learn the runes within that tier-7 divine weapon, we can produce more tier-7 divine weapons in the future."

    "Not even the dwarven ns have seeded in producing a perfect tier-6 artifact, and you think it is¡ª"

    "Enough!" Lord Rhuvek frowned before strictly saying, "No one is to speak another word regarding Lord Leon''s divine weapon. Do not bring this matter up again."

    "Yes, my Lord!" everyone answered.

    Since the city lord has spoken, the dark elves have no choice but to stop.

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to sweep the battlefield, ying every insect within his sight and pocketing their bodies into his Worldspace.

    Before long, the area around the two giant boulders was cleared of insects. Leon didn''t wait for Lord Rhuvek and the dark elves before moving to the next battlefield to hunt insects.

    Rainshine followed shortly after him.

    Roughly three miles away from the two giant boulders, a bigger battle urred between the ck ants, giant centipedes, and another group that didn''t look like any known race.

    Without a doubt, they were the mutants mentioned by Lord Rhuvek.

    That being said, the mutants looked closer to a condensed form of the fat fleshly abominations, but not really. They hardly look like anything as they had additional centipede legs and ant mandibles sticking out of their bodies.

    Nevertheless, Leon confirmed that the mutants were creatures influenced by the Wrath Law as he witnessed them assimting more severed parts from the ck ants and giant centipedes.

    "There are about a few hundred ck ants and giant centipedes, but only a few dozen mutants. However, these mutants have grown quite a bit. They are at least Mid Paragons¡ªno, they are on the verge of bing Late Paragons," Leon quickly analyzed the situation.

    It was clear that the mutants held the advantage despite being fewer in numbers. It was only a matter of time before the mutants came out on top.

    Leon couldn''t imagine how powerful the mutants would be at that point.

    However, he didn''t intend to wait for that to happen.

    Swoosh!

    Leon took a strong step forward and disappeared in a sh before he reappeared next to a Mid Paragon-level Mutant in the next instance.

    Although Leon appeared in its rear, the Mid Paragon-level Mutant had numerous pairs of eyes on its body and had no blind spot.

    The moment he appeared behind it, the Mid Paragon-level Mutant immediately reacted as numerous razor-like spikes shot out of its body.

    Overlord Spear Art''s First Spear ¨C Dragon-Sweeping Spear!

    Dark energy covered the Tier-7 White Spear before Leon stabbed it into the ground and made a vertical upward swing.

    The ground was immediately split apart by a thick, heavy, and ck spear force that rushed along the ground like a speedy wyrm moving through the earth, leaving trails of its movement behind.

    Nevertheless, the ck spear force only traveled a short distance before thick pirs of ck light shot out of the ground like a volcanic eruption; each eruption of ck light was bigger and taller than thest.

    All of the razor-like spikes were destroyed in the first pir eruption, and the second pir eruption punctured a hole straight through the Mid Paragon-level Mutant''s stomach.

    But as the pir rose taller and taller with its ever-increasing thickness at the bottom, it rapidly expanded the hole until the Mid Paragon-level Mutant directly separated into two parts in that short instance.

    The subsequent third, fourth,¡­ seventh pir eruption followed, catching another two Mid Paragon-level Mutants in his move.

    The two Mid Paragon-level Mutants simrly split into two parts after the ck pirs punctured them.

 Chapter 1059: Dominating the Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 1059: Dominating the Battlefield</h4>

    Despite being called the Dragon-Sweeping Spear, the attack was more piercing than sweeping. However, this is because the targets weren''t dragons.

    The Dragon-Sweeping Spear was a move designed to sweep dragons off their feet by targeting their underbellies, which were the weak part of the bodies inparison to their tough dragon scales.

    Nevertheless, even after the three Mid Paragon-level Mutants were split into two parts, they were still far from dying.

    Leon had anticipated the mutants to be tenacious. As such, he quickly followed up with a second attack as he pped them on the heads and extinguished their souls with nihility power.

    Afterward, he corroded their bodies with death power to prevent the other Paragon-level Mutants from assimting them and bing stronger.

    He showed no restraint and hesitation and used his various abilities and skills to destroy the mutants swiftly. It was a significant difference in treatmentpared to the Paragon-level insects.

    Nevertheless, all of them had to die either way.

    Boom! Boom!

    The region shook from the impacts of the battle at irregr intervals as Leon fought in a four-way battle with the mutants, ck ants, and giant centipedes.

    In that situation, Leon couldn''t afford to be picky in how he fought the ck ants and giant centipedes that targeted him.

    Overlord Spear Art''s Second Spear ¨C Annihting Demon Spear!

    Dozens of Paragons, whether they were mutants, ck ants, or giant centipedes, they were all swept away by the power of Leon''s dark energy-infused spear as he broke out of their encirclement.

    At the same time, the mutants, ck ants, and giant centipedes'' bodies all split into numerous pieces in midair as they were blown away.

    Although Leon''s energy cultivation was only at the Peak of Heaven Ascension Realm, which wasparable to Peak Rank 2 Transcendent Realm, the Tier-7 White Spearpletely made up for his dark energy''scking power.

    Not a single Paragon remained intact aftering across his Tier-7 White Spear.

    Leon''s Peak Paragon-level aura surged and dominated the battlefield. But instead of deterring his enemies, his aura attracted all the mutants, ck ants, and giant centipedes in D Sector towards him as if he was a target that they had to eliminate at all costs.

    They had deemed him as the biggest threat.

    Although it was outside of his expectation, Leon weed the challenged and continued to use Annihting Demon Spear to sweep away his foes.

    He only felt a bit of a loss for destroying precious high-quality materials.

    Meanwhile, Lord Rhuvek and his men slowly arrived on the edge of the battlefield and found a safe spot to observe the situation.

    They were immediately awed by Leon''s means as bodies continued to pile up in his area. He wasn''t just powerful in their eyes, but he also wielded many abilities.

    Not a single person among them had seen anyone like Leon before. They wondered if other people on the surface were also this capable.

    Little did they know, Leon was an abnormal existence even on the surface.

    "All of you stay here and avoid drawing attention to yourself," Lord Rhuvek instructed with a serious look before saying, "I, alone, will be joining the battle. It''s embarrassing that an outsider is doing all the work for our n."

    "My Lord, but that is too¡ª"

    "No, buts!"

    "W-we understand, my Lord. Please be careful."

    The dark elves wanted to persuade Lord Rhuvek, but he was very firm in his decision. As such, they had no choice but to ept.

    A few momentster, Lord Rhuvek entered the battlefield to assist Leon.

    However, he could only take on a few Paragons at a time and couldn''te anywhere close to Leon''s location.

    His weapon was a Tier-6 ck Sword, which should have been more than enough to break the defense of Paragon-level beings.

    Unfortunately, Lord Rhuvek''s Tier-6 ck Sword was poor and barely enough to be considered a tier-6 weapon. Additionally, the ck ants and giant centipedes'' defenses were very strong, even among Paragon-level beings.

    As such, Lord Rhuvek didn''t have an easy time cutting down his foes. He could only fight on the periphery. If he pushed himself, he would be surrounded and overwhelmed.

    "Keep your eyes wide open, boys. You don''t get many opportunities to witness battles of this magnitude," a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf said to the rest of the toon.

    At the same, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elf clenched his fist without averting his eyes from the battle. Whether it was due to nervousness or excitement, he did not want to miss any part of the battle.

    "It''s the first time I''ve seen so many Paragon-level existences in one ce. There have to be at least a thousand of them in this location alone," a Late Rank 2 Transcendent-level Dark Elfmented with wide eyes.

    "Yeah. Normally, this would have been a death sentence for us¡­" another dark elf slowly said with his eyes on the battle before adding, "But right now, these Paragons are all being ughtered by Lord Leon."

    "It''s hard to imagine this person came from the surface. I''ve be strangely curious about the surface. I wonder if Lord Leon would allow me to follow him back to the surface for a look."

    "Are you seriously considering that?"

    The dark elves immediately turned their heads with astonishment when one of them had thoughts of visiting the surface.

    Nevertheless, several dark elves started entertaining the same idea when they gave it some thought. It was an opportunity to leave the confinement of the Lower Abyss Domain and broaden their horizon.

    If they could follow someone as powerful as Lord Leon, they wouldn''t suffer losses on the surface.

    That being said, their loyalty still lies with the Dark Elf n.

    "It would be great if we could act as envoys to increase the interaction and rtionship between our n and the surface. I think we have a lot to learn from the surface," a dark elf thought.

    Meanwhile, the battle quietly ended before the toon of dark elves realized it due to their distraction.

    Leon had wiped out most of the mutants, ck ants, and giant centipedes without breaking a sweat.

 Chapter 1060: Seventh Branch Clans Gratitude

    <h4>Chapter 1060: Seventh Branch n''s Gratitude</h4>

    Over a thousand bodiesy scattered across the central region of D Sector, some of which piled like mountains.

    Leon stood at the center of it all and scanned the surroundings for any more foes. After confirming all his foes were dead, he started salvaging materials from the dead insects.

    The insect materials slowly disappeared into his Worldspace one after the other.

    Eventually, only the mutants'' ckened corpses were left behind, along with some unsalvageable parts from the ck ants and giant centipedes.

    The ckened corpses were nothing more than sources of gue, carrying death and diseases after being corrupted by his Paragon-level Death Law.

    Just as Leon prepared to reduce the ckened corpses to nothingness, Lord Rhuvek dragged his body over with a limping foot; his ck armor was filled with scratches, but he seemed okay¡ªfor the most part, anyway.

    Lord Rhuvek gazed at the ckened remains with surprise before asking, "These things are what''s left of the mutants, Lord Leon? Isn''t this¡­ death power?"

    "It is," Leon casually nodded before turning to look at Lord Rhuvek. "Do you have something against people that wield the Death Law, Lord Rhuvek?"

    "Well¡­ no, not at all, Lord Leon. I wouldn''t want to be on the bad side of one, is all," Lord Rhuvek answered wryly before adding, "Besides that, this death power is very damaging to D Sector''s environment¡­"

    "Yeah, I was just about to remove them," Leon casually stated before waving his hand over the ckened corpses.

    A wave of destruction swept past them and reduced everything into ashes, which was further reduced into fine atoms that could not be perceived with mortal eyes a few momentster.

    It almost appeared as if the ckened corpses disappeared into nothingness.

    All the death power disappeared along with them.

    "This power¡­ this is the Destruction Law?" Lord Rhuvek''s eyes widened.

    He was given a greater shock by the discovery. Shortly after, the gaze he used to look at Leon became even more respectful and fearful.

    "This is unbelievable. Lord Leon looks no older than twenty, but you''ve aplished so much at a young age. Your talents are simply overflowing, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek smiled wryly.

    Thinking about the sheer quantity of materials possibly gained in this battle, Lord Rhuvek wasn''t so sure whether Lord Leon would still be interested in trading with his city.

    "About the trade¡­"

    "You don''t have to worry about that, Lord Rhuvek," Leon smiled and said, "I am still interested in trading with your city, and preferably a long-term one. This much material won''t be enough to sate my appetite.

    "That''s great to hear," Lord Rhuvek heaved a sigh of relief before saying, "Please excuse me first, Lord Leon. I need to clean up the battlefield and make arrangements for my people. Once I am done, I will thank you properly."

    "You''re too polite, Lord Rhuvek. Please go ahead and do what you need to do," Leon calmly said.

    Lord Rhuvek nodded.

    Shortly after, Lord Rhuvek left to instruct the toon of dark elves to work on the cleanup process and map as much of D Sector as it was safe for them to do so.

    Although Leon had taken away most of the Paragon-level insects for their materials, much of their acidic blood had been sttered over arge area of D Sector.

    Lord Rhuvek and the dark elves cared much for the spirit nts and wanted to preserve much of the environment in D Sector as much as possible.

    Given the dangers of the D Sector, Lord Rhuvek would have prioritized the safety of his people over the environment.

    However, the dark elves all felt at ease with Leon around.

    Nevertheless, as the dark elves were busy saving the environment, Rainshine returned to Leon''s side in a dirty state as her white furs were stained by insect blood.

    Leon summoned a tub of water and gave her a quick rinse with some cleansing spirit herbs before she was sparkling clean again.

    Although they shared a master-subordinate rtionship, Leon thoroughly treated Rainshine like one of his pets.

    Once that was done, Leon toured around D Sector and looked at the various spirit herbs it had to offer. They were mostly tier-4 spirit herbs that were on the verge of bing tier-5 spirit herbs.

    However, Leon suspected that there might actually be some tier-5 spirit herbs in D Sector.

    After all, D Sector''s conditions were much better than the first three sectors. It must have been why there were so many Paragon-level insects gathered on D Sectorpared to the other three sectors.

    That being said, Leon did not harvest any of the spirit herbs. He simply took some seeds from the spirit herbs he didn''t have and nted them in the Worldspace.

    Three hourster, Lord Rhuvek and the dark elves finished their business in D Sector. The post-battle cleanup was done, and roughly two-fifths of D Sector had been mapped. Even a few ant nests and centipede tunnels were located.

    However, the dark elves did not dare to approach within six hundred yards of them.

    A few momentster, Lord Rhuvek and the dark elf toon gathered in front of Leon orderly and expressed their gratitude with a bow of respect.

    "Thank you, Lord Leon. Thanks to you, we''vepleted what would have been an impossible mission. Furthermore, we did not suffer a single casualty on this trip," Lord Rhuvek said with sincerity.

    "As the Dark Elf n''s seventh branch n''s leader, I cannot thank you enough. The seventh branch n is indebted to you. So long as I am the city lord of Seventh Shelter, you will always be wee within our walls as our friend and great benefactor."

    "You are being too polite, Lord Rhuvek. Please raise your head," Leon gestured with his hand before saying, "I have my own agendas for helping your n out."

    "Even so, I still wish to show you how grateful we are," Lord Rhuvek argued stubbornly as he remained in a bowing position with a fist-palm salute.

    "You didn''t just help us eliminate the mutants; you also helped us open up half of D Sector, something we''ve been unable to do for thousands of years."

 Chapter 1061: Traces of Devil Worshippers

    <h4>Chapter 1061: Traces of Devil Worshippers</h4>

    "Furthermore, you located the mutant''s entrance location and pointed out a huge problem within our n. And this was all done on your first day of visiting our n. The amount of help we received from you cannot be quantified, Lord Leon. Please ept our bow of gratitude."

    Shortly after Lord Rhuvek finished speaking, all the dark elves lowered their heads even further with their fist-palm gestures.

    Leon had no choice but to ept their bows. It was clear that he wouldn''t be able to persuade them otherwise unless he became more forceful with his words.

    Nevertheless, Lord Rhuvek had reminded him of a very serious problem.

    The Dark Elf n had traitors.

    Whether their motives were rted to a grudge against the n or for some other reason for helping the mutants, Leon felt like they had something to do with the devil worshippers.

    If so, that would mean that the devil worshippers had infiltrated the Dark Elf n for many years already.

    Leon couldn''t begin how many dark elves had be members of the devil-worshipping group over those years.

    ''I will have to be prudent when I visit other dark elf cities in the future. No, it''s probably not just limited to the Dark Elf n. The devil worshippers must have infiltrated the dwarven ns as well,'' Leon mused with furrowed brows.

    He thought the devil worshippers were scheming something on the surface, but it seems that they have also been nning something in the Lower Abyss Domain.

    However, hecked information in regards to their motive.

    "Is there a problem, Lord Leon? If it''s bothering you that much, I suppose we should stop here," Lord Rhuvek scratched his ruefully.

    "My apologies, Lord Rhuvek. I was thinking about another matter," Leon smiled wryly before suggesting, "We should head back to the city. There''s something I would like to discuss with you."

    "Right. Of course, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek agreed with a nod and said, "We haven''t finished negotiating about our trade."

    "Well, there''s that too. But this is something more important; it''s in regards to the potential traitors in your n, Lord Rhuvek," Leon stated.

    After Lord Rhuvek heard that, his expression turned solemn before nodding seriously.

    "Alright. Let us head back to the city and talk. Everyone, prepare to return!"

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Within a few short breaths, the dark elf toon quickly packed all their tools and equipment into their interspatial rings.

    "Everything is in order, my Lord. We are ready to move."

    "Then, let us head back. We still report thepletion of our mutant extermination mission, lest they send more people on a wasted trip."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, the group left D Sector and returned to C Sector, where the secret entrance was. However, they didn''t stay in C Sector for long before heading up to B Sector and passing A sector to return to the city.

    Although Lord Rhuvek wanted to personally investigate the hole from where the mutants came from, he knew it was dangerous to embark on the unknown while being ill-prepared.

    Such an important discovery concerned the entire n. The main n would send more experts to participate in the investigation.

    "Open the gates!" Lord Rhuvek hollered outside of Howling Wind Gate.

    The garrisons behind the twoyered gates quickly heard Lord Rhuvek''s voice before their eyes widened with pleasant surprises. After they checked the time, they became even more surprised.

    "Open the gates!" the garrisons passed the message before everyone at Howling Wind Gate worked together.

    The enormous heavy gates slowly opened, and Leon passed through alongside Lord Rhuvek and the dark elf toon walking several paces behind them.

    At the same time, the fairies in the area quickly passed words of the city lord''s return to the rest of the city. Everyone that caught the news was overjoyed and left their work to wee back the city lord and city elites.

    "We wee back the city lord and city elites!" a warm wee quickly greeted Lord Rhuvek''s group as they entered the city and trekked down the main road.

    The city lord''s return could only signify thepletion of their mutant-extermination mission. They wouldn''t be returning otherwise.

    Even though it was the third time within the week, the warm wee did not diminish much. Returning alive from the mutant-extermination mission was something to be celebrated.

    Nevertheless, the gathered crowd started to have some doubts when they saw Lord Rhuvek and the dark elf toon return in good conditions.

    ording to their sources, the mutants were said to have headed for D Sector.

    Given the danger of C Sector was already quite high, it was quite strange for the Lord Rhuvek and city elites to return without a single casualty¡ªnot that it was a bad thing.

    "Did Lord Rhuvek abandon the mission?" a normal male dark elf doubted in a low voice.

    "Idiot, don''t say that! Do you want to lose your head? Do you think Lord Rhuvek is a coward? How could Lord Rhuvek abandon the mission?" another male dark elf immediately chided in a hushed tone.

    As the crowd whispered amongst themselves, Lord Rhuvek noticed the situation as he was passing through the main street.

    "Go and send the report to the main n and neighboring cities. Also, someone else, go and recount the details of the trip to the people; let them know about Lord Leon''s glorious feat. His tales should be shared."

    After tossing out those words, Lord Rhuvek increased his pace and distance from the group before adding, "I will be returning to the pce to talk with Lord Leon. After carrying out my tasks, you can tend to your own matters."

    "Understood, my Lord," the dark elf toonplied.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon and Lord Rhuvek said in their respective seats within the grand hall. Elvish fruit wine was served once more, but Leon''s share was quickly finished by Rainshine after it was offered.

    "About the traitors in our n, what did you want to say, Lord Leon?" Lord Rhuvek politely inquired with a serious look.

 Chapter 1062: Runemaster Tower

    <h4>Chapter 1062: Runemaster Tower</h4>

    "Since the mutant''s entrance was found in a ce crossed off the search list, many people find it strange," Leon started speaking.

    "If they ponder deeper, they would also realize that someone tried to sabotage the search and hide the mutants'' tracks. Eventually, they will also arrive at the same conclusion that there was a traitor in the n."

    "Considering Lord Rhuvek already had people sent the report to the main n, I believe it will only be a matter of time before there''s a major upheaval in the Dark Elf n. People will definitely look into the truth behind the sabotaged investigation."

    "When that happens, you will most likely be in danger, Lord Rhuvek," Leon stated.

    "Do you think there will be other traitors aiming for life because I¡ªno, because you found the mutants'' entrance, Lord Leon? But in that case, the traitors should be aiming for you," Lord Rhuvek thought with furrowed brows.

    "Perhaps, they would," Leon didn''t deny the possibility before adding, "However, I won''t be staying in your city for long. Afterpleting our first trade, I n to return to the surface to finish some businesses of my own."

    "And while I am gone, the traitors will naturally think of you, the one who allowed the report and findings to go through and reach the main n and the n leader himself," Leon stated.

    After Lord Rhuvek heard that, he frowned deeply.

    Lord Leon had a point.

    However, there was one that Lord Leon missed ¨C or at least, Lord Rhuvek believed Lord Leon missed.

    "It might be as bad as you think, Lord Leon. If the hidden traitors truly aim for my life, it would prove that there are more traitors within the n. I doubt that is what the traitors would want," Lord Rhuvek said before adding, "Besides, I am a Mid Paragon. Few dark elves are my opponents."

    "Although Lord Rhuvek is a Paragon, we don''t know the number of traitors nor their strength," Leon argued.

    "I don''t want to sound pessimistic or rmist, but the traitors could be anyone. It could be another city lord or even multiple city lords. Thus, there is still a certain level of danger posed to your life. It would be in your best interest to be careful."

    "Furthermore, your thinking is too simple, Lord Rhuvek. Do you really believe that a single person could have blindsided the whole Dark Elf n regarding the mutants'' tracks for so many years? There must be more than one aplice."

    "The traitors will still target you regardless of whether the n knows about them or not," Leon stated.

    However, Lord Rhuvek was confused.

    "But what can the traitors achieve with my death?" Lord Rhuvek furrowed his brows and said, "I doubt the traitors would simply target my life out of pettiness for making the report to the main n."

    "If the traitors are trying to destroy the n or achieve something by working with the mutants, they should be aiming for something bigger. They won''t achieve anything with my death and would also risk exposing themselves in the process."

    "You are underestimating your self-worth, and you are also underestimating my worth, Lord Rhuvek," Leon calmly stated.

    "What do you mean, Lord Leon?"

    "You sent your men to report the details of your findings and thepletion of the mission, Lord Rhuvek. The whole Dark Elf n will know that I helped you eliminate the mutants and ughtered over a thousand Paragon-level insects."

    "Do you think the traitors would want to keep someone connected to such a powerful person who interferes with their ns alive?"

    "Probably not," Lord Rhuvek frowned. He understood Lord Leon''s reasoning, but he still found it a bit farfetched.

    "Nevertheless, I am just stating a possibility. There''s no telling what the traitors would do when we know so little about them. But just because it''s a possibility, it doesn''t mean you should ignore it, Lord Rhuvek."

    "Right¡­" Lord Rhuvek nodded.

    Sometimeter, Leon and Lord Rhuvek moved on to discuss their trade. Leon was prepared to make a generous offer for the Dark Elf n''s runic knowledge.

    However, Lord Rhuvek was too embarrassed to take anything from Leon after all the help they received from him.

    Thus, Leon was permitted to freely peruse the runic knowledge from their Runemaster Tower''s library without a price. But if he wanted to take any tome out of the library, he would have to pay an adequate price.

    Nevertheless, did not need to take anything out of the library; he simply needed to record a copy in the Archive.

    Thinking how he was about to obtain the seventh branch n''s entire runic knowledge for free, Leon insisted on giving Lord Rhuvek a sizeable amount of sea monster meat.

    Whether it was out of guilt or not, it wasn''t a bad idea to build more goodwill with Lord Rhuvek and the Dark Elf n''s seventh branch.

    "Since Lord Leon insists, I have no choice but to ept," Lord Rhuvek politely received the huge lump of sea monster meat. After he stored it inside his interspatial storage, he asked, "Would you like to visit our Runemaster Tower''s library now, Lord Leon?"

    "If you have no other matters to discuss with me, Lord Rhuvek," Leon calmly nodded.

    Although Lord Rhuvek still had many things he wanted to learn from Leon, he chose not to dy Leon''s business.

    "No, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek shook his head before suddenly recalling, "Oh right, please keep this on you and disy it when you wish to visit our city or use any of our public facilities. The people will not inconvenience you."

    A white crystal was handed to Leon. It contained some runic information stored inside and appeared to be a type of status te for identification.

    "When the dark elves of the seventh branch n see the disyed information in the white crystal, they will give you the same respect as they give me," Lord Rhuvek added.

    "I see. Thank you, Lord Rhuvek. This will be helpful."

    "Haha, it''s nothingpared to the help we received from you. Now, let me guide you to our Runemaster Tower."

    "Alright."

    Leon calmly agreed with a nod.

 Chapter 1063: Keepers of Knowledge

    <h4>Chapter 1063: Keepers of Knowledge</h4>

    Leon arrived in front of the seventh branch n''s Runemaster Tower several minutester under Lord Rhuvek''s personal lead. The Runemaster Tower was just adjacent to the pce.

    However, the Runemaster Tower was not how Leon imagined it to be.

    The Runemaster Tower in front of him only had three floors. It was not very tall, nor was it very big. It didn''t seem like a ce that would contain a lot of runic knowledge.

    Nevertheless, that was just a misconception based on the Runemaster Tower''s outward appearance.

    After entering the Runemaster Tower''s main entrance, Leon understood the Runemaster Tower was an inverted tower.

    It didn''t have many floors above ground but many floors below ground.

    In fact, that was not a single tome or book of knowledge on the top three floors, the ground floor included. All the runic tomes and books were stored on the massive cylindrical bookshelf running through the floors below ground level.

    Just by looking at the sheer number of tomes and books on the floors below, Leon found it hard to believe that they were all rted to runes.

    Even if the Dark Elf n collected every single copy of books and tomes written about runic knowledge from tier 1 to tier 6, he doubted it would still be enough to fill the massive bookshelf below.

    As if Lord Rhuvek could guess what Leon was thinking about, he started to exin, "Although this is called the Runemaster Tower, not every piece of knowledge stored here is rted to runes."

    "We''ve stored every piece of knowledge we''ve ever collected in the Lower Abyss Domain and knowledge from the surface when our Dark Elf n still lived on the surface. Lord Leon will find knowledge from every category of interest in this ce."

    "Are all Runemaster Towers in your Dark Elf n like this?" Leon asked with surprise.

    "That''s right, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek nodded and said, "The Runemaster Towers in the other branch cities have libraries like this one. However, the library at the main n is even bigger than the one you see here."

    "Even bigger, huh?" Leon smiled wryly andmented, "The Dark Elf n has collected quite the wealth of knowledge over the years, huh?"

    "We are quite proud of our collection¡ªif nothing else. After all, while other races rise and fall every several hundred to thousands of years, our Dark Elf n have persisted for tens of thousands of years. We should have something to show for it," Lord Rhuvek said proudly.

    "Your Dark Elf n could even be called the Keepers of Knowledge with this kind of collection," Leonmented with a wry smile.

    Just as Lord Rhuvek had said, the Dark Elf n had persisted for tens of thousands of years.

    Even if their situation couldn''t be said to be prosperous, they had existed long enough to fill their massive libraries with such cumtion of knowledge.

    "That is quite a good title, Lord Leon. If we don''t have the dwarven ns to rival us, I would very much like to im such a title for our Dark Elf n," Lord Rhuvek expressed his approval and fondness for the title.

    "s, although I have never visited any of the dwarven ns, they had persisted through the ages like our Dark Elf n. I''m sure their libraries wouldn''t be inferior to ours. If there is anything we can im superior to them in terms of our libraries, it would be aesthetics and maintenance."

    As Leon stood at the edge of the ground floor with his arms rested on the handrail, he observed the cleanliness of the library below.

    Dozens of glowing fairies flew about with dusters in hand as they made sure every part of the massive cylindrical bookshelf was spotless.

    The ce was practically sparkling clean.

    "Your people do seem meticulous enough in keeping the ce clean," Leonmented with a nod.

    Lord Rhuvek slightly smiled.

    "Well then, I better get going and not take up any more of your precious time, Lord Leon. Please enjoy your time in the library. I will make sure no one disturbs you during your stay here."

    Shortly after, Lord Rhuvek made a signal to the library guardian with his hand. After the library guardian, who was a male fairy, received the signal, he understood Lord Rhuvek''s intention and informed all the fairies and guests in the library to be mindful of Leon''s presence.

    Lord Rhuvek left the Runemaster Tower a few momentster.

    With all the arrangements in ce, Leon quickly headed down and started scanning all the books and tomes ced on the massive bookshelf, one floor at a time.

    Constant new knowledge, as well as old ones, poured into the Archive and updated it. All of the knowledge was rted to runes.

    However, as Leon steadily moved down to the lower floors, he came across books and scriptures on primordial cultivation methods, battle skills, and martial arts.

    There was also history and knowledge pertaining to the other professions, such as alchemy and formations.

    Surprisingly, there were also storybooks.

    Although they didn''t contain a shred of useful knowledge, they contained hidden values the authors wanted to impart through their stories.

    Leon wasn''t interested in reading them, but it was a different story for Maya. That bookworm would definitely love to have more stories to read.

    ''Looks like I won''t be pestered by Maya for some time after I collect a copy of all these stories,'' Leon thought with mild amusement.

    Meanwhile, the library guardian and other fairy cleaners nced at Leon from time to time. At first, it was simple curiosity. But then, it changed to surprise, confusion, and finally, doubts.

    ''Did this persone to read books or just stare at them?'' the library guardian and fairy cleaners wondered.

    Nevertheless, they had already received Lord Rhuvek''s instruction not to disturb Leon. Thus, no one could approach the person in question to ask¡ªnot even check if the person needed any help.

    From their perspective, it seemed like Leon was lost and wasn''t sure what he was looking for.

 Chapter 1064 Nightingales Transformation

    Chapter 1064 Nightingale''s Transformation

    Leon spent a few hours walking around the library without personally touching a single book on the shelves. He used his divine sense and Divine Book of Life to scan everything covertly.

    Even after Leon finished recording everything in the library and leaving the Runemaster Tower, the library guardian and other fairies in the library had no idea what Leon was doing.

    "What the heck was that about?" the library guardian uttered.

    The fairies also nced at each other with evident confusion. The person strolled through the library without touching a single book before leaving.

    What did the person evene to the library for?

    ¡­

    After leaving the Runemaster Tower, Leon and Rainshine quietly left the city without informing Lord Rhuvek of his departure.

    With the white crystal status te given to him, Captain Dhithres and dark elven soldiers made way for him and opened the silver gate without a word.

    On the top balcony of the pce, Lord Rhuvek quickly received word of Leon''s departure from the fairy messengers before he softly sighed.

    ''Since Lord Leon is leaving to take care of his matters on the surface, I better start watching out for myself¡­'' Lord Rhuvek mused before his eyes shimmered with cold gloominess.

    The Dark Elf n was no longer safe, and the people he had to watch out for were his own n members. It was ridiculous that there were even people helping or working with the mutants.

    Nevertheless, given how long the traitors had been around, they would have already tried to destroy the Dark Elf n if they wanted to.

    Since nothing significant had happened besides the mutants'' tracks being hidden, Lord Rhuvek could only guess that the traitorscked the strength or the timing was not right.

    ''This situation makes me uneasy,'' Lord Rhuvek frowned. He couldn''t understand what could have driven dark elves to help or work with the mutants.

    ''I should start looking into the history of every n member that may have suffered injustice in the city. They are most likely to hold a grudge against the n,'' Lord Rhuvek thought.

    Before dealing with the rest of the traitors in the Dark Elf n, he had to root out the ones that may be hidden in his city.

    However, just as Lord Rhuvek had that thought, a fairy messenger flew over to deliver a message from Howling Wind Gate.

    "My Lord, the n leader summons you to the main n to give your testimony regarding the report of your expedition," the fairy messenger reported.

    "The n leader¡­ wants my presence in the main n? Using the long-rangemunicator isn''t enough?" Lord Rhuvek was startled before he thought, "I suppose it is that serious of a matter."

    "Arrange for my departure."

    "Yes, my Lord."

    The fairy messenger quicklyplied after receiving the order.

    After the fairy messenger left, Lord Rhuvek overlooked the city from his balcony with a distant look before he furrowed his brows with concern.

    He couldn''t help but feel like his trip to the main n will be a perilous one.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    After Leon left Seventh Shelter with Rainshine and returned to the seemingly bottomless abyss, he began making his ascent to the surface.

    He reached the thick tree root and vine region in no time and slowly made his way through with wood maniption.

    "Are we going to be alright, Master? There''s a Half-step Divine Beast in this region, wasn''t there?" Rainshine suddenly asked.

    "If it didn''t attack us the first time, I don''t think it will attack us the second time either. We should be fine," Leon replied.

    That being said, he was not one to rely on luck solely. That would be dangerous. He was prepared to use the White Luminosity Eternal me at a moment''s notice.

    Leon spread out his divine sense to the limit and held the pseudo-Tier-7 Fire Lamp in hand.

    However, Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent was nowhere to be seen. Leon and Rainshine traveled through the woody region without an issue.

    Although the trip was smooth as the first time passing through the region, Leon felt like something was off.

    He wondered if the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent actually existed.

    Nevertheless, after passing through the region, Leon quickly pushed aside the thought and reached the abyss entrance.

    "Wee back, my Lord. We were beginning to worry about your absence," an unfamiliar beautiful woman greeted subserviently with her head lowered.

    She had pale skin, long ck hair, a pair of eyes as ck as the abyss, two dragon horns protruding back from the side of her temples, and partial ck dragon scales all over her naked body.

    Whether it was a coincidence or not, the beautiful woman was the same height as Leon.

    Although she seemed frail, her body exuded a terrifyingly powerful dragon aura. It gave others the illusion that her body was indestructible.

    Nevertheless, Leon couldn''t help but nce up and down at her bare body with a gaping mouth before he quickly took out a spare cloak and draped it over her body.

    "Quickly put this on," Leon quickly passed her some spare clothes to wear before asking for confirmation, "You are Nightingale, right?"

    "Yes, my Lord," Nightingale nodded.

    She epted Leon''s clothes and wore them clumsily in front of him, causing the cloak to drop to the ground and reveal her body again.

    Nevertheless, her body was eventually covered by her new clothes, albeit with some tears, as she failed to control her immense strength. The clothes were like tissues to her, very soft and tearable.

    Meanwhile, Rainshine stared at Nightingale with wide eyes as she uttered with sheer disbelief, "You''re the ck earth dragon from before?!"

    "That is correct, little one," Nightingale calmly nodded.

    Leon didn''t expect Nightingale to master the Divine Beast Transformation Art so quickly. It went beyond his imagination that Nightingale could achieve human form so quickly.

    It was almost magical.

    The Divine Beast Transformation Art that he passed to Nightingale from Maya must have been superior to the Divine Beast Arts used by those in the Divine Realm.

    Otherwise, Nightingale''sprehension talent was simply overwhelming.

 Chapter 1065 Expanding Core

    Chapter 1065 Expanding Core

    Of course, Nightingale''s speedy transformation could have been due to another factor ¨C celestial energy.

    It was the only thing Leon wasn''t familiar with, having yet to reach the Celestial Realm for himself.

    Nevertheless, after Rainshine saw Nightingale''s transformation, her eyes started to beam with excitement and anticipation.

    "Master, can I also transform like Nightingale?" Rainshine inquired.

    "If you be a Divine Beast and practice the Divine Beast Transformation Art like Nightingale, probably," Leon casually replied before casting a curious nce at her. "Why are you so excited?"

    "Eh? Uh¡­ It looks like a lot of fun," Rainshine said evasively.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s return quickly drew the attention of Cindertail and the other Golden Suannis in the area.

    "Wee back, my Lord," Dawnchaser greeted before reporting with an expectant gaze, "We''ve finished destroying all the mutant nt hives in the abyss while you were gone."

    "All of them, huh?" Leon muttered thoughtfully. He could understand what Dawnchaser desired from his gaze.

    "Yes, my Lord. All 829 caves containing the mutant nt hives have been cleared," Dawnchaser eagerly answered.

    "That many?" Leon uttered with a bit of surprise before he quickly recovered. "Alright, how do you want to be rewarded for your service?"

    Dawnchaser had been waiting for that question.

    Divine Beasts in the Golden Suanni n.

    "I hope you can perform more blood refinements for the other Peak However, contrary to Leon''s expectation, Dawnchaser did not seek a reward for himself. Instead, he hoped Leon could raise more Divine Beasts in the Golden Suanni n.

    "I hope you can perform more blood refinements for the other Peak Paragons in our n and give them a chance to ascend to the Divine Beast Realm, my Lord," Dawnchaser earnestly hoped.

    "Oh? Not for yourself?" Leon shifted his gaze to Goldenstride and the other Divine Beast-level Golden Suannis and asked, "Do you all have the same wish too?"

    "Yes, my Lord," Goldenstride and the other Divine Beast-level Golden Suannis answered.

    "Very well, I will perform blood refinement for everyone at the Paragon level," Leon agreed. But then, he shortly added, "However, it will have to wait. It wasn''t long since thest time everyone received blood refinement. The following blood refinement will not be as effective."

    It hasn''t been a whole day since he left and returned. The Golden Suanni n needed a bigger buffer time for the Suanni Lion Origin Blood from theirst blood refinement to permeate their body and grow.

    "I understand, my Lord. When would be a good time," Dawnchaser asked.

    Leon pondered for a moment before saying, "I n to cultivate in the sky for some time. When I return, we can start the blood refinement then."

    "Understood, my Lord."

    Shortly after, Leon dismissed everyone before returning his attention to Nightingale.

    "Since you''ve mastered the Divine Beast Transformation Art and achieved human form, you''ll need to adapt some human etiquette. It''s inappropriate to be walking around naked all the time," Leon stated.

    He took out a spare Tier-5 Interspatial Ring with some spare sets of clothes before handing them over to Nightingale.

    "Use this for the time being. Once I finish my cultivation session, you will follow me to learn the ways of humans and, of course, get some new clothes."

    "Understood, my Lord. Then, I shall wait for you to finish your cultivation."

    Nightingale epted the Tier-5 Interspatial Ring and wore it on her index finger.

    After dropping Rainshine off his shoulder, Leon flew out of the abyss and soared into the sky. Within moments, he disappeared into the thick ck clouds.

    The suppressive force from the sky quickly increased by the moment. But after he summoned the Nihility Barrier, the suppressive force vanished.

    Leon continued his ascent, and before long, he reached the top of the ck clouds and exposed himself to the intense sunlight.

    However, the Nihility Barrier protected his body from all harming from the intense sunlight, which could even melt through steel.

    The concentration of Wrathful Demon Energy in the atmosphere was staggering. It was practically a sea¡ªno, it was an ocean of Wrathful Demon Energy.

    ''With this much Wrath Demon Energy, it might be possible to collect enough dark energy to breakthrough to Truth Manifestation Realm,'' Leon mused.

    He couldn''t guess how much dark energy he needed for the breakthrough, but he felt like he could gather an endless source of dark energy from the Wrathful Demon Energy in his present location.

    Generally, the energy from the stars should have been full of pure yang; there shouldn''t have been a single ounce of dark energy like the current sun at all.

    This was only possible because the sun had been refined by a demonic cultivator with one of Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s awakened soul fragments.

    After Leon made a hole in the ck clouds, all the Wrathful Demon Energy in the area rushed towards the hole like a sink full of water that had just been unplugged.

    Leon partially released his Nihility Barrier, only protecting his head from the downpour of energy as he devoured the Wrathful Demon Energy from all other directions.

    Everything was swallowed inside his ck Vortex Space and broken down into their separateponents of sr energy, dark energy, andprehension fragments of the Wrath Law.

    As they filled Leon''s ck Vortex Space, he only collected the dark energy and practiced the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness.

    The refined dark energy was quickly added to his dark energy core.

    But as the dark energy core receivedrge volumes of dark energy, it steadily grew in size, causing Leon to frown.

    He had reached the peak stage of Heaven Ascension Realm, and yet his dark energy core was still growing. The dark energy core should have reached its size limit already.

    However, no matter how much Leon tried topress the dark energy inside his dark energy core, it wouldn''t stop the core''s growth.

    If he wanted to advance to the Truth Manifestation Realm, his dark energy core had to bepressed until it sprouts like a nt seed.

    But looking at his current situation, it might not be possible if his dark energy core doesn''t stop expanding. He didn''t understand why it was still expanding at the Peak-stage of Heaven Ascension Realm.

    ''Could it be that my dark energy core hasn''t reached its growth limit yet?'' Leon pondered.

 Chapter 1066 Immeasurable Potential

    Chapter 1066 Immeasurable Potential

    After Leon had that thought, he started to frown.

    Even if it was confirmed that his dark energy core had yet to hit its growth limit, there wasn''t much room left for its expansion.

    His energy center, or elixir field, which was located behind his be, only had so much space to contain the dark energy core.

    Once the space ispletely used up, the dark energy core would start pushing against the walls of his energy center.

    Assuming that the dark energy core doesn''t stop expanding, it would damage his energy center or even cripple it.

    Although he could do without an energy center, he wasn''tpletely sure if it would affect his mental abilities.

    After all, the energy center wasn''t far from the entry point to his sea of consciousness. In fact, they could even be considered neighbors.

    If his ability to use Divine Will is affected by a crippled energy center, it will be a serious issue in regard to his future cultivation.

    More importantly, Leon realized another problem.

    Even if his dark energy core stopped expanding without affecting the walls of his energy center, his dark energy core still needed more room to sprout. And it would only continue to grow from that point onward.

    The amount of space he needed didn''t seem to be possible with his energy center.

    If his energy center had transformed into an inner world through the Divine Realm''s energy path of divine cultivation, he would have all the space he wanted.

    However, an inner world cannot be created without first copsing the energy core and reaching the Void Realm, which in and of itself was a huge risk that caused many divine practitioners to lose their life.

    But if he copsed his dark energy core, he wouldn''t be able to sprout. More importantly, he would definitely die from the eruption of dark energy.

    After all, his energy core wasprised of dark energy and not spirit energy. He wouldn''t be able to form an inner world with dark energy.

    ''Looking at all the notes on the Truth Manifestation Realm¡ªno, even the Heaven Ascension Realm, my dark energy core is already considered abnormally big. Although a bigger energy core is rtive to one''s potential, my dark energy core has already surpassed the supposed abnormal range¡­''

    As Leon browsed through the vast collection of history in the Archive with his secondary divine consciousness, he became more aware of his difference from others.

    His situation was unprecedented.

    ''There doesn''t seem to be anyone in history who had an energy core as big as mine. Furthermore, my dark energy core is still expanding¡­!'' Leon frowned.

    If he thought about it, he was probably also the first in history to cultivate so many primordial cultivation methods at once.

    Hegemon of Primal Chaos, Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness, Evesting Blood Mantra, ck Turtle Heavenly Guard, Dragon God Consolidating Viscera Method, and Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method¡­

    Not to mention hisws, just practicing any one of these primordial cultivation methods could be considered as possessing a godly talent in and of itself.

    In other words, his body wielded six types of godly talent. His body''s potential was simply immeasurable.

    Nevertheless, knowing his immeasurable potential only allowed Leon to understand why his dark energy core was still expanding. It doesn''t help him resolve the problem.

    ''Possessing many godly talents might not necessarily be a good thing. If one cannot harmonize them, one could be ruined by them on the treacherous path of cultivation,'' Leon thought.

    ''The energy center has always been used to store energy for energy cultivation because it is connected to many channels and easy to control the flow of energy... However, martial artists in the lower realms use other ces as energy centers¡­''

    ''There are three known energy centers called the upper, middle, and lower energy centers¡­ The upper energy center is in the be, the middle energy center is in the heart, and the lower energy center is in the stomach¡­''

    ''However, in body cultivation, these three energy centers are also the locations for opening three of the eight hidden gates¡­'' Leon frowned.

    His cultivation was problematic, to begin with. By cultivating multiple paths, they were bound to intersect and conflict.

    ''The upper energy center is actually the location of the first gate, the Wisdom Gate. Even if I push through with my energy cultivation, I might not be able to open my Wisdom Gate in the future¡­''

    Nevertheless, that problem only exists if his dark energy core stays continues to upy his upper energy center.

    ''An energy center is just a ce to store energy. As long as I can draw and store energy from my dark energy core without an issue, it doesn''t actually matter where I ce it,'' Leon mused.

    After pondering for some time, Leon had already found a solution to his problem.

    There was no better ce to put his dark energy core and make it his new energy center than the ck Vortex Space.

    The ck Vortex Space was spacious as an inner world and ever-expanding. It was, without a doubt, the best ce to nurture his dark energy core.

    ''The problem is moving the core. This might have been difficult¡­ but fortunately, my Spatial Law is at least at the Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent Realm.''

    After focusing his mind, Leon wielded the Spatial Law to transfer his dark energy core to the ck Vortex Space and ce it in a spot far from the ''energy grinder'' and his soul core so they wouldn''t affect or interfere with each other.

    Once the dark energy core settled in its new energy center, Leon resumed absorption and refinement of dark energy without reservation.

    At that moment, the dark energy core was already 50% bigger than the average divine cultivators at the Peak-stage Heaven Ascension Realm.

    But as Leon steadily devoured Wrathful Demon Energy from the atmosphere and poured the dark energy into his dark energy core, it increased to twofold the average core size.

    However, even then, it did not stop there. The dark energy core continued to expand along with his future potential.

    Leon started to feel afraid of his own terrifying talents.

    His potential was simply limitless.

 Chapter 1067 Truth Manifestation Tree

    Chapter 1067 Truth Manifestation Tree

    Wrathful Demon Energy continued to rush towards Leon like water from the opening of the floodgates. The sheer amount wasn''t something a normal person could digest at once.

    However, Leon swallowed as much as the Wrathful Demon Energy threw themselves at him.

    Just like Leon himself, his ck Vortex Space was an abnormal existence. It devoured everything with a bottomless appetite and continuously churned out dark energy for him to refine.

    Nevertheless, Leon had sorely underestimated his dark energy core''s growth potential limit. Twofold was just the beginning.

    As time flowed, the dark energy core increased threefold, then fourfold.

    At that point, the dark energy core''s size increased at a noticeably slower rate as the dark energy within became denser andpacted instead.

    Ultimately, the dark energy core stopped growing in size after reaching fivefold.

    ''I am definitely at the Peak stage of Heaven Ascension Realm now¡­'' Leon silently determined as he continued to gather dark energy for his breakthrough.

    After increasing to fivefold, the dark energy core became fragile like ss. As such, Leon slightly lowered his absorption speed and proceeded with care.

    But as his fivefold dark energy core regained its density, it became hard as a rock. It became increasingly difficult topress dark energy into his dark energy core from that point onward.

    No, it was more urate to say that the difficulty skyrocketed.

    ''It seems like I am finally reaching the absolute limit of energypression now¡­ But would my dark energy core sprout like a seed once I surpass the limit? I feel like it will just crack and explode¡­'' Leon furrowed his brows.

    Fortunately, he had ced his dark energy core in a spot that wasn''t directly in line with his soul core.

    Thus, even if he failed and caused his dark energy core to explode, the ck Vortex Space would swallow the eruption of energy.

    Due to hisck of knowledge, there were potential risks. Still, his safety was ensured. He could proceed fearlessly.

    ''I have already reviewed the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness many times. It''s time to take the final step,'' Leon decided with resolution.

    He followed the next step in the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness and activated the dark power with his dark energy core.

    Due to its high density, it was incredibly difficult to manipte the dark power in the very center of his dark energy core.

    Nevertheless, with the sheer might of his Divine Will, Leon overcame the challenge.

    The dark power in the heart of his dark energy core twisted and turned, revolving in a very specific yet omnidirectional pattern.

    As a result, a sphere of revolving dark power was formed within the core of the dark energy core.

    He was trying to create the embryo that would give his life to his dark energy core and allow it to sprout like a newborn nt, ording to the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness.

    Nevertheless, Leon was missing one crucialponent to finalizing his goal. Fortunately for him, he had just what the embryo needed.

    All primordial cultivation methods required True Grandmist Energy to achieve the maximum benefits of the primordial cultivation methods. The Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness was no exception to that.

    Leon started channeling dozens of True Grandmist Energy threads into the dark energy core and forced them to worm their way to the embryo.

    The True Grandmist Energy threads were quickly caught in the rapidly revolving embryo before being pulled straight into its center like a vacuum.

    When that happened, it was like a miracle drop of water on a dry nt during a drought, causing a miraculous change to take ce as the embryo came to life.

    That being said, Leon could not help but think the process was simr to how humans create life¡ªif he was to ignore the fact that the embryo didn''t actuallye to life.

    It was just a metaphorical term for the change taking ce within the embryo.

    As Leon continued to feed threads of True Grandmist Energy to the embryo, it transformed into a swirling tempest.

    In that instant, it started pulling in the surrounding dark energy within the dark energy core, like bits of dirt and debris being ripped off the rock walls.

    Afterward, the swirling tempest of energy quickly grew and drilled its way out of the dark energy core like a hatching egg.

    Ka-cha!

    The top of the dark energy core cracked open as the swirling tempest rushed out like a powerful eruption.

    But as it did, it lost its form and scattered like countless ck lightning strikes branching out from the dark energy core''s opening while solidifying rapidly at the same time.

    Gradually, the momentum died down until itpletely stopped, and what became of Leon''s dark energy core was a 1500-feet ck tree of darkness.

    It didn''t have any leaves and didn''t look alive, but it could definitely be felt. The tree of darkness overflowed with power as clouds of dark energy poured out from its branches.

    However, the dark energy was not the same as moments ago.

    It was thick like lead yet formless like the clouds and contained a certain depth and richness of power thatpletely eclipsed its former self.

    The dark energy had undergone a huge qualitative transformation.

    ''Is this what it feels like to step into the Truth Manifestation Realm with a fivefold dark energy core?'' Leon felt an endless source of powering from his tree of darkness.

    ''The average cultivator was said to possess a 300-feet tree of energy called the Truth Manifestation Tree upon reaching the Truth Manifestation Realm, but mine grew to 1500-feet¡­''

    It was definitely not something that would have fitted inside the confinement of his upper energy center ¨C or so Leon thought.

    However, the space around his 1500-feet Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness was warped like a special barrier.

    Within the spatial barrier was an expansive space for the 1500-feet Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness to grow endlessly and only upied very little space outside of the special barrier in the ck Vortex Space.

    ''Seems like my worries were for nothing,'' Leon smiled wryly.

    Nevertheless, moving the dark energy core to his ck Vortex Space was something he had to do regardless of whether the tree could fit in his upper energy center or not.

 Chapter 1068 Unforeseen Crisis

    Chapter 1068 Unforeseen Crisis

    After reaching the next Truth Manifestation Realm, the next step in the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness was to nurture and bear the first fruit ofw, the fruit of the Darkness Law, on the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    However, Leon wasn''t in a hurry toplete the next step.

    Instead, Leon focused on studying his 1500-feet Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness to gauge his present strength and potential.

    ''Although a Truth Manifestation Tree can grow much bigger than its initial starting point, its initial starting point also determines how big it can grow,'' Leon mused.

    And ording to the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness, a 300-feet Truth Manifestation Tree is the bare requirement to reach the True Divinity Realm.

    Any less than 300 feet was considered wed.

    To reach Beyond True Divinity Realm, a 600-feet Truth Manifestation Tree was required upon stepping into the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    Following that trend, Leon assumed a 900-feet Truth Manifestation Tree would give one the potential to surpass Beyond True Divinity.

    Nevertheless, that was just blind spection on Leon''s end. He wouldn''t know what is required unless he personally reached that realm one day.

    Even so, it still showed that his 1500-feet tall Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness had the endless potential to reach that peak and beyond.

    ''ording to the Devil Emperor''s Tome of Eternal Darkness, every fold increase of the initial tree size is a breakthrough to the next stage¡­'' Leon recalled.

    That would mean 600 feet is the standard for Mid-stage Truth Manifestation Realm, 900 feet for Late-stage Truth Manifestation Realm, and 1200 feet for Peak-stage Truth Manifestation Realm.

    However, Leon''s Truth Manifestation Tree was beyond that.

    ''The moment I stepped into Truth Manifestation Realm, I already have the energy capacity of someone half a step into the Divine Origin Realm, huh? Not bad.''

    Leon understood that possessing the energy capacity of someone half a step into the Divine Origin Realm was not the equivalent of possessing the strength of one at the Half-step Divine Origin.

    It just means that he had a much bigger energy reserve than the average cultivators at the early stage of the Truth Manifestation Realm.

    ''Without bearing my first fruit ofw, I won''t be able to wield the true strength of someone in the Truth Manifestation Realm. It''s time to take the next step,'' Leon decided.

    As its name suggests, the Truth Manifestation Tree was a tree that manifested the truth. Feeding energy to the tree would slowly manifest thew of that respective energy on its empty branches.

    As such, even if one doesn''t understand thew itself, one can still utilize the power ofws through the Truth Manifestation Tree.

    Considering Leon''s Truth Manifestation Tree was born from his dark energy, feeding dark energy to the tree doesn''t just nurture his fruit of the Darkness Law; it also grows the tree itself.

    However, simply feeding dark energy to the Truth Manifestation Tree was the slowest way to manifest thew. Only those whockprehension ofws would rely on feeding energy to the tree to acquire the power ofws.

    ''Since I''ve already reached the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm in the Darkness Law, I can use myprehension of the Darkness Law to quickly nurture my first fruit of the Darkness Law.''

    After Leon had that thought, he immediately followed through with it.

    There was not much difference between aw fruit and aw seed; the only difference was the way they were formed.

    However, something unexpected happened when Leon channeled dark power from his Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent-level Darkness Law towards the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    The dark power was swallowed by the ck Vortex Space''s ''grinder,'' the ck Vortex situated between them.

    ''This¡­'' Leon was immediately at a loss for what to do.

    He watched the dark power disappear into the ck Vortex for refinement like all the other Wrathful Demon Energy that entered the ck Vortex Space.

    Nevertheless, Leon was shortly relieved after seeing the ck Vortex spit the dark power back out without any apparent changes to it.

    Afterward, the dark power proceeded to reach the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness as intended before it was quickly devoured from the roots where his dark energy core used to be.

    From there, the dark power slowly flowed through the roots, up the trunk, and along the branches in a vein-like pattern before it gathered on the tip of a single branch, where it quickly formed the fruit of the Darkness Law at a noticeable rate.

    But as the fruit of the Darkness Law was steadily forming, Leon frowned at the profound connection being established between the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, the ck Vortex Space, and the soul core containing all hisws.

    And as the profound connection strengthened, a tugging force pulled the three entities together.

    Leon was immediately rmed by the change.

    However, no matter how he tried to stop the connection, it was already well beyond his abilities to control the situation.

    Even without doing anything, dark power was channeled out of his soul core, into the ck Vortex, and proceeded to be devoured by the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    No, it wasn''t quite channeling.

    It was more urate to say the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness drew the dark power out of his soul core.

    The three entities each had a protective barrier to repel and prevent interference with each other. But after the profound connection was formed, they were attracted to each other instead!

    ''This is bad!'' Leon mentally cried with rm.

    He didn''t dare imagine what would happen once the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness and his soul core were dragged into the ck Vortex.

    They would most likely be shredded into pieces.

    He wasn''t concerned if his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness was destroyed. After all, he can just start over.

    However, if his soul core was shredded, he would most likely die. It was the essence of his soul, his being, his existence!

    "Dammit! Why is this happening?!'' Leon urgently pondered for a solution.

 Chapter 1069 Tripartite Fusion

    1069 Tripartite Fusion

    Time ticked as the three entities inched closer and closer to each other as if they were being pulled towards the ck Vortex.

    However, that was not quite the case.

    Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness was trying to wrestle the Darkness Transcendent Crystal from the soul core¡ªonly for the soul core''s position to be unshakeable.

    As a result, the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness was pulled towards the soul core along with the ck Vortex, which acted as the bridge between them instead.

    But even though the soul core was firm in its ce, Leon could still feel the straining from his Darkness Transcendental Crystal wanting to be ripped out of his soul core.

    The harder he tried to fight the attraction of the three entities, the bigger the strain and the greater the pain inflicted on his soul.

    And if he fought too hard to prevent the attraction, his soul core might just copse from the Darkness Transcendental Crystal getting ripped out along with the dark power being drawn from it.

    ''I can''t stop this change from happening!'' Leon inwardly roared with desperation.

    His special soul core, ck Vortex Space, and the 1500-feet tall Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness were all unique existences that had rarely or never appeared in history before.

    As such, no amount of knowledge would have prepared him to anticipate such a situation would happen.

    There was no guide for trailzers; they were the guides for others.

    The path he walked had not been tread before.

    ''Since I can''t fight it, I will embrace it!'' Leon''s eyes suddenly shed with ruthlessness.

    In that instance, he stopped resisting the attraction between the soul core, Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, and the ck Vortex.

    Whether he resisted or not didn''t change the rate of attraction; it only inflicted pain on his soul instead.

    The Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness inched closer to the soul core at an ever-increasing rate, but the distance between the two and the ck Vortex also shortened rtively.

    Ultimately, it was the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness and Leon''s soul core being drawn together, except his soul core does not and cannot move. The soul core had always been situated in the center of his sea of consciousness, and that fact would never change.

    It was the ck Vortex he needed to worry about; it was the bridge that was bringing the two together and was also the source of the danger.

    Leon halted his side tasks and used all 400% of his divine consciousness to grasp the chance at life.

    The sh between his soul core, Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, and ck Vortex was inevitable. His only choice was to harmonize the three so they don''t conflict and destroy each other.

    Otherwise, the only oue was the death of his soul.

    As the soul core, Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, and ck Vortex inched ever closer, Leon''s mind raced for a solution¡ªand there, he found it, a solution.

    ''If I can pull this off, I can''t imagine how much stronger I will be,'' Leon''s eyes brightened at once after grasping the chance at life.

    Nevertheless, that chance at life was just an idea.

    After quickly nning the steps to pull it off and carefully reviewing the overall process to make sure the theory was usible, Leon didn''t hesitate tomence the n.

    After all, time was ticking.

    The powerful ck Vortex was capable of breaking many things down into their most basic and purest forms.

    However, that is only the case when they contacted the ck Vortex and were devoured by it. There was a small space within the eye of the ck Vortex that waspletely safe from the ck Vortex.

    The 1500-feet tall Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness would have been too big to fit in the eye of the ck Vortex. But luckily, it was contained within its own private space, which was enough to fit in the eye of the ck Vortex.

    The problem was moving both the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness and the soul core into the eye of the ck Vortex.

    Considering the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness couldn''t be moved after it sprouted from the dark energy core, and the soul core couldn''t be moved, to begin with, this would have indeed posed a major problem¡ªif he didn''t have a solution around it, that is.

    Two entities continued drawing closer to each other as if they were being roped in¡ªand if left be, their trajectories were headed straight for the walls of the ck Vortex on either side.

    However, Leon utilized his Peak Preliminary ession-stage Transcendent-level Spatial Law and twisted space to alter the trajectory path of the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness and ck Vortex headed for the soul core.

    The ck Vortex was the first to reach Leon''s soul core.

    But thanks to the warped path he created, the ck Vortex arrived from the bottom of the soul core and rose toward it. The soul core slipped straight through the opening eye of the ck Vortex without movement.

    Afterward, the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness followed its own warped path and descended down the eye of the ck Vortex from above and mounted right on top of Leon''s soul core.

    As if he had calcted it, his soul core, without moving, entered the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness''s private space and upied the position of the absent dark energy core.

    In that instance, the roots of the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness wrapped around the soul core.

    However, Leon''s soul core wasn''t harmed by the contact. Instead, the connection empowered him like a power cell that had just been ced into its power slot.

    It felt like the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness had be a part of his body; he gained ess to all of its powers without needing to rely on his Divine Will.

    At the same time, it provided ayer of protection for his soul.

    All three entities of soul core, Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, and ck Vortex had been aligned in the center of his sea of consciousness without an issue.

    It was nothing short of a miracle.

 Chapter 1070 Fourteen Law Fruits

    1070 Fourteen Law Fruits

    After the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness and Leon''s soul core were connected via the dark energy tree''s roots, the tugging force on his Darkness Law disappeared.

    Dark power freely flowed between the soul core and the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, and the fruit of the Darkness Law was quickly born.

    However, the fruit of the Darkness Law hanging on the branch of the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness did not feel like something new.

    Rather, the fruit of the Darkness Law and the Darkness Transcendent Crystal within Leon''s soul core felt like one and the same thing.

    It was like one entity in two ces, connected by an invisible cable.

    Nevertheless, the fruit of the Darkness Law was just the beginning. Shortly after it was born, the rest of Leon''sws followed.

    However, hiswws didn''t channel their powers to the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness one at a time; it happened simultaneously.

    Eleven different colored lights flowed through the roots, up the trunk, and to different branches like a rainbow magic circuit being activated.

    It was quite a spectacr sight to behold.

    From there, eleven neww fruits appeared on the tree''s branches.

    There was the Destruction Fruit, Temporal Fruit, Spatial Fruit, Death Fruit, Life Fruit, Earth Fruit, Fire Fruit, Ice Fruit, Wood Fruit, Metal Fruit, and Lightning Fruit.

    Including the first fruit, the Darkness Fruit, there were twelvew fruits on the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    If not for the non-existent Nihility Law, there would have been thirteenw fruits.

    Nevertheless, once the twelvew fruits were born, the grey energy ring orbiting Leon''s soul core was channeled into the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    The grey energy ring disappeared, and its various energy flowed into their respectivew fruits.

    The fruits hanging on the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness weren''t just the manifestations of thews but also containers of their powers.

    ''This is¡­''

    Leon was stunned by an unexpected sight while observing the changes to the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    Because he thought the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness was great storage for his energy, he decided to feed it with a thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    However, it went beyond his expectations that the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness would also start to form aw fruit from the wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    ''There was actually aw behind the True Grandmist Energy¡­ No, it should have been obvious from the start. All forms of energy have a correspondingw. And yet, I overlooked this simple fact¡­''

    Leon couldn''t contain his astonishment.

    Nevertheless, a thousand wisps of True Grandmist Energy was hardly enough to fully manifest the fruit of the True Grandmist Law.

    As such, Leon made the decision to feed all his remaining wisps of True Grandmist Energy to the Truth Manifestation Tree to nurture the fruit of the True Grandmist Law in the making.

    Thousands of wisps of True Grandmist Law poured into the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    Although the size was a bit disappointing, Leon seeded in producing a small grey fruit that contained a glimpse of the True Grandmist Law''s power and all the True Grandmist Energy he fed to the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    ''What exactly is the True Grandmist Law? Is it existence?'' Leon thought.

    However, he quickly scrapped the idea.

    ''No, it shouldn''t be existence. True Grandmist Energy is most desired and impressive indeed, but it is nothing against the power of nothingness. Nihility''s opposingw should be able to cancel out nihility instead of being destroyed by it.''

    ''That means True Grandmist Law shouldn''t be on the same level as Nihility Law. It should be weaker¡­ On the level of Destruction Law and Creation Law, perhaps? Or maybe it is Creation Law¡­'' Leon pondered with a frown.

    However, no amount of pondering would give him an answer.

    He could only wait to use the power of the True Grandmist Law. But even if he used its power, he might still not understand it.

    After all, he did notprehend it through awakening cultivation ¨C or so he thought.

    Perhaps because of the connection being shared between the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness and Leon''s soul core, he could vaguely feel a seed of the True Grandmist Law forming in his soul core, albeit at a very slow rate.

    Even so, it was better than nothing.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t fixate on the True Grandmist Law, nor was he done with his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness just yet.

    After feeding all his True Grandmist Energy to the tree, Leon still had a huge reserve of sr energy andw fragments of the Wrath Law to go through.

    He quickly started with thew fragments of the Wrath Law.

    However, contrary to his prior experience with True Grandmist Energy, the ckish-red fruit of the Wrath Law was formed very quickly.

    Only a tiny portion of thew fragments was needed to form the Wrath Fruitpletely.

    After the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness finished digesting all thew fragments of the Wrath Law, the Wrath Fruit had grown to a size that wasn''t inferior to the ck fruit of the Death Law.

    Considering Leon had achieved the Acknowledge Paragon-stage Transcendent Realm in the Death Law, it implied that the Wrath Fruit was at a simr level.

    Once theprehension is transferred to his soul core to form the seed of the Wrath Law, he will eventually grasp the Wrath Law with minimum effort.

    The notion of reaching the Acknowledge Paragon-stage Transcendent Realm in the Wrath Law simply by doing nothing except waiting was unreal.

    ''This Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness is truly heaven-defying¡­ As expected of a tree that can manifest anyw by eating its respective energy. It might as well be called the tree of enlightenment¡­'' Leon mused.

    He was amused by the thought of having a personal Bodhi tree.

    Nevertheless, with the addition of the True Grandmist Fruit and the Wrath Fruit, Leon''s Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness had birthed fourteenw fruits.

    ''Now there''s only the sr energy left,'' Leon shifted his attention to the cluster of bright energy in the corner of the ck Vortex Space.

 Chapter 1071 Raging Sun

    1071 Raging Sun

    After Leon fed sr energy to the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, the Sr Fruit was born without surprise. And with the birth of the Sr Fruit, he umted fifteen fruitws.

    Although many fruitws had been nurtured, Leon''s strength as a cultivator in the Early-stage Truth Manifestation Realm didn''t necessarily increase.

    However, depending on how manyw fruits he used, it might just be possible for him to produce attack power well above his level.

    Nevertheless, it didn''t change that Leon couldn''t grasp how powerful he had be exactly after reaching the early stage of the Truth Manifestation Realm and manifesting fifteenw fruits.

    ''If I use the all-epassing properties of darkness to fuse multiplew powers, the force I can produce will be unfathomably powerful. I should test my ability when I get the chance,'' Leon mused.

    Suddenly, Leon was disturbed by the outside world, forcing him to leave the ck Vortex Space and check what was happening.

    At that moment, the intense sunlight from the sun became even more intense as a thicker sea of Wrathful Demon Energy descended from the sky.

    Leon''s figure was immediately bathed in the sea of Wrathful Demon Energy.

    However, he didn''t show the slightest concern regarding its potential harm. In fact, he weed the influx of Wrathful Demon Energy, albeit with surprise and questions regarding the cause.

    The wave of Wrathful Demon Energy rushed into his ck Vortex Space and headed straight for the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    But before it could reach the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, the wave of Wrathful Demon Energy was first refined by the ck Vortex protecting it.

    The ck Vortex acted like a filteryer, purifying everything before they were allowed passage to the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    Leon had noticed that after aligning the ck Vortex, Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, and his soul core together, his speed of absorption had increased by a notch.

    As soon as the Wrathful Demon Energy was refined by the ck Vortex, it was devoured by the roots of the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    Just like that, Leon received a continuous stream of dark energy, sr energy, andprehension fragments of the Wrath Law to grow his Darkness Fruit, Sr Fruit, and Wrath Fruit.

    Even his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness gradually grew to 1600 feet.

    He didn''t need to do anything like move the refined energy to its designated targets. He just needed to draw the Wrathful Demon Energy into his ck Vortex Space, and the rest of the work would be done for him.

    No extra effort was required on his end.

    His ck Vortex, Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness, and soul had been arranged in an alignment that maximized his efficiency.

    Nevertheless, after the first influx of Wrathful Demon Energy, a second and third influx came. Then a fourth and a fifth.

    The influx of Wrathful Demon Energy arrived in set intervals.

    The sun pulsated with waves after waves of Wrathful Demon Energy like it was raging, and Leon vaguely felt like he understood the why.

    Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s soul fragment was most likely furious.

    After all, the Wrathful Demon Energy contained slivers of his will. Technically, Leon was devouring a tiny part of Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s consciousness each time he refined and absorbed the Wrath Law''sprehension fragments.

    Perhaps he could steal away Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s eternal state if he continued his effort.

    ''Although the ck clouds protect everyone on the Dark Abyss Continent from the harmful sunlight, everyone else living under the sun will continue to suffer¡­'' Leon frowned.

    ''I can''t continue antagonizing the sun,'' Leon decided to stop devouring the Wrathful Demon Energy.

    Although he could achieve swift improvement, it was not his style to cultivate at the expense of everyone else.

    Shortly after Leon stopped cultivating, he patched up the ck clouds and returned to the surface,nding near the central part of Gran Crevasse.

    "Congrattions on your sessful breakthrough in cultivation, my Lord!" Nightingale, Rainshine, Cindertails, and the others in the Golden Suanni n all weed Leon''s return.

    Although they didn''t understand what kind of breakthrough Leon had achieved, they could sense some changes in his aura. It was filled with authority and pressure.

    Even Divine Beast-level Golden Suannis like Dawnchaser felt some pressure from his aura.

    Nevertheless, after Leon acknowledged their greetings, he said, "Since I finished my cultivation, I will perform blood refinement for everyone as promised."

    "Yes, my Lord!" everyone''s eyes immediately lit up. The Lord''s blood refinement was always something to look forward to.

    ¡­

    After a whole day of blood refinement quickly flew by, the number of Divine Beasts in the Golden Suanni n increased to ten.

    Furthermore, several more dozens of Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis also awakened their bloodline ability.

    Besides the Golden Suanni n, Leon also performed blood refinement on Nightingale and Rainshine.

    However, neither of them experience any significant breakthroughs.

    After Leon finished his blood refinement, he collected some Divine Beast-level True Dragon Origin Blood from Nightingale and Divine Beast-level Suanni Lion Origin Blood from the Dawnchaser and the other Divine Beast-level Golden Suannis to cultivate.

    This allowed Leon to advance to the Early Rank 6 Body Transformation Realm in the bone-forging phase and Mid Rank 10 Body Transformation Realm in the viscera-consolidating phase.

    Furthermore, Leon extracted some blood essence from the ck ants and giant centipedes in his Worldspace to improve his Evesting Blood Mantra''s Fourth Stage of Regrowth by another two types of unique origin blood.

    At that point, he had umted a total of 1838 types of origin blood, barely one-fifth of the way to mastering the Fourth Stage of Regrowth.

    Nevertheless, after finishing thest bit of cultivation and stabilizing his foundation, it was time for Leon to visit the western tribes.

    He had been in the western jungle for long enough¡ªor perhaps, even too long.

    "Rainshine, Nightingale, it''s time for us to leave."

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    "Yes, Master!"

    After Leon summoned them, Nightingale and Rainshine quickly answered.

    "My Lord, can we follow you too?" Cindertail and Goldenstride requested while the rest of the Golden Suanni n looked reluctant for Leon to leave.

    "Un, you both may," Leon nodded.

 Chapter 1072 Howling Falcon Tribes Secret

    ?

    Infertile ins, Western Region.

    Over the past week, the Golden Suanni Tribe and the rest of the western tribes in the alliance had beenunching small skirmishes on the northern tribes to gauge their strength.

    However, the situation was surprisingly not in their favor.

    The Howling Falcon Tribe, in particr, was a formidable opponent that didn''t give the western tribe alliance any advantages, even when a member of the Golden Suanni Tribe joined the skirmish.

    Furthermore, the Howling Falcon Tribe was one of the few tribes situated close to the Western Region and Northern Region border.

    Without defeating the Howling Falcon Tribe, the western tribe alliance cannot proceed to conquer the rest of the northern tribes.

    Inside the main tent of the Golden Suanni Tribe, the tribal leaders of the alliance gathered for their regr meeting.

    "Chief Siwu-Tahk, you have been in charge of the skirmishes with the northern tribes. Have you learned anything new about the Howling Falcon Tribe and why they are so resilient to our attacks?" Alliance Leader Sur-Khan inquired.

    After the question was raised, the other leaders turned their heads and gave Chief Siwu-Tahk their attention.

    No one could understand why a mid-rank tribe could withstand the attacks from high-rank tribes like theirs for so long.

    The warriors from the Howling Falcon Tribe were stronger and more numerous than what a mid-rank tribe would have.

    "As you know, because we have been skirmishing with the Howling Falcon Tribe for some time now, they have bepletely wary of us and set up a heavy defense line against us. It isn''t easy to get past their defensive line to uncover the secrets in their rear," Chief Siwu-Tahk calmly mentioned.

    "So you are saying that you haven''t learned anything about the Howling Falcon Tribe despite being in charge of the skirmishing campaigns on the northern tribes? If you are that incapable, I believe someone else should take over," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan said with a frown.

    "Alliance Leader Sur-Khan is in such a hurry to dismiss me?" Chief Siwu-Tahk slightly smiled before saying, "I never said I haven''t learned anything from the Howling Falcon Tribe. I only said it wasn''t easy."

    Chief Siwu-Tahk was amused by everyone''s furrowed brows as he kept them in suspense.

    "Get to the point," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan ordered with a frown.

    "Alright, alright," Chief Siwu-Tahk casually shrugged before saying, "ording to the intelligence I received from the scouts, they discovered several pale-skinned people in the Howling Falcon Tribe''s defensive camp when they were changing."

    "Pale-skinned people?" Chief Sar-Rakshi quickly uttered with a frown.

    "Although there are some pale-skinned people in the Infertile ins, I don''t think these pale-skinned people are natives of the Infertile ins. If I recall correctly, the reports did mention a group of heavily dressed warriors on the Howling Falcon Tribe''s side."

    "Do you think these pale-skinned people came from the snowy mountains further north, Chief Sar-Rakshi?" Chief Sul-Dahki asked with surprise.

    "Just based on the two points mentioned, it certainly seems that way," Chief Sar-Rakshi did not deny the possibility.

    Nevertheless, Chief Siwu-Tahk shook his head with a smile and said, "It doesn''t seem that way; it is that way. Those paled-skinned people are definitely from the far north."

    "The pale-skinned people weren''t the only thing my scouts discovered. They also found out thatrge supplies of food and ice were transported to the defensive camp. Given only the far north could have suchrge chunks of ice, there shouldn''t be any doubts regarding those pale-skinned people''s origins."

    "In other words, the powers in the far north aren''t only interested in the Infertile ins'' matters, but they are also personally intervening by backing up the Howling Falcon Tribe, huh?"

    Alliance Leader Sur-Khan furrowed his brows before uttering, "That certainly made thingsplicated. If the powers in the Northern Snonds are backing up the Howling Falcon Tribe, they will be very hard to defeat."

    "It might not just be the Howling Falcon Tribe, but the other northern tribes included as well," Sul-Dahki added.

    Certainly, if all the tribes in the Infertile ins were trying to determine a hegemon to lead their migration, the powers outside the Infertile ins would not just sit around and do nothing.

    "It seems we will have to give up on the northern tribes. Dealing with the Northern Snonds would be far more troublesome than trying to take on one of the king-rank tribes in the Central Region," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan figured.

    Considering the Howling Falcon Tribe had ess to food and water due to the supplies from the Northern Snonds, they weren''t pressed for time.

    They could hold their ground for as long as it takes for the Celestial Water Spark''s power to run dry before they are targeted by many tribes out of desperation.

    "Speaking of the Central Region, does everyone remember that massive tremor that shook the entire earth the other day?" Sar-Rakshi suddenly mentioned.

    "How can we not?" Sul-Dahki responded. "I don''t know what happened in the Central Region, but it was truly an earth-shaking moment. I thought the world was going to end when it happened."

    "Whatever shook the earth, it certainly wasn''t the work of humans," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan stated.

    "There isn''t anyone strong enough to generate such an overwhelmingly powerful force. Not even the Battle God could do something like that. It seemed more like something big had fallen from the heavens."

    "In any case, we will know the situation in the Central Region once our scouts return from their investigation. What we need now is a new objective, considering we cannot touch the northern tribes," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan stated.

    After the western tribe leaders heard that, they all nodded before Chief Sul-Dahki suggested, "Why don''t focus on the Divine Tortoise Tribe?"

    "I''ve received news from my men that the Divine Tortoise Tribe finally made a move after being holed up in their shells for so long. Arge number of their forces were mobilized to the east. This is the perfect chance for us to attack."

    "The Divine Tortoise Tribe mobilized their army to the east when they have us at their backs?" Alliance Leader Sur-Khan frowned without readily agreeing to the suggestion.

    "They shouldn''t be stupid enough to do that without probable cause. It seems something truly big is happening at the source of the earth shake in the Central Region."

 Chapter 1073 Being Upfront

    ?

    "We''ll gain a better picture of the situation in the Central Region once we establish our foothold in the Divine Tortoise Tribe," Chief Sul-Dahki stated.

    Shortly after, Chief Sul-Dahki''s statement received multiple nods of agreement from the other leaders.

    "Although the Divine Tortoise Tribe deployed arge force to the east, we still can''t underestimate the Divine Tortoise Tribe. It is much easier to defend against the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s attacks than attack them," Chief Siwu-Tahk stated.

    "That''s right," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan nodded and said, "The Divine Tortoise Tribe is known for their strong defense. We need to consider our n carefully before we¡ª"

    Alliance Leader Sur-Khan was suddenly interrupted by a warrior barging into the tent.

    "What are you doing? Can''t you see we are in the middle of a meeting? If you don''t have anything important to say, be prepared to be punished," Chief Sar-Rakshi scolded.

    "Please forgive me for being abrupt, Chief Sar-Rakshi," the warrior quickly apologized before saying, "However, there''s something Alliance Leader and everyone should see outside immediately."

    After Alliance Leader Sur-Khan and the other tribe leaders listened to the warrior, they furrowed their brows.

    Considering what the warrior had said, the warrior was clearly not the messenger that they were waiting to receive news on the Central Region''s situation.

    In that case, what could have happened in the Golden Suanni Tribe that it was important enough for the warrior to interrupt their high-level meeting?

    "Let us head out and see the situation," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan calmly stated before turning to the warrior. "Han-Guhri was your name, wasn''t it? I remember you. You were more sensible than this. Why don''t you tell me what is going on along the way?"

    "Please forgive me, Alliance Leader," Warrior Han-Guhri apologized again before saying, "Lord Tailchaser instructed me to call Alliance Leader and the other chiefs over quickly."

    "Lord Tailchaser did?" Alliance Leader Sur-Khan uttered with surprise.

    At the same time, Chief Siwu-Tahk and the other chiefs in the alliance also expressed their surprise upon hearing it was under Lord Tailchaser''s instruction.

    Lord Tailchaser was the only Paragon-level Golden Suanni in the Golden Suanni Tribe, but he was also the strongest being in the entire western alliance.

    Lord Tailchaser was not far from bing a Mid Paragon, and his strength was alreadyparable to a Low-rank Battle God.

    After Alliance Leader Sur-Khan and the other chiefs left the tent and followed Warrior Han-Guhri, they gradually picked up themotion ahead in the direction of the western jungle.

    Before long, they spotted Lord Tailchaser''s huge figure towering over the crowd of warriors and tribesmen gathered near the western edge of the tribe.

    "Lord Tailchaser, you called for us? What is the matter?" Alliance Leader Sur-Khan politely inquired, appearing subservient to the Early Paragon-level Golden Suanni.

    Without Lord Tailchaser''s backing, the Golden Suanni Tribe wouldn''t have been able to stand tall and unite the western tribes.

    "See for yourself, and tell me what we should do about them."

    Lord Tailchaser casually directed Alliance Leader Sur-Khan and the others'' attention ahead to the barren in between the Golden Suanni Tribe and the outskirts of the western jungle.

    "This¡­"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon patiently stood on the barren in before the Golden Suanni Tribe with Rainshine, Nightingale, Cindertail, and Goldenstride.

    "Why do we need to wait here for them, my Lord? If you give the word, I will subjugate the entire tribe immediately!" Goldenstride dered.

    "No need," Leon waved his hand dismissively.

    "It''s only proper etiquette to wait for the owners to wee us in when we visit their homes. Besides, we are not here to promote violence. If everything proceeds peacefully and ording to n, they will be on our side."

    "What if it doesn''t, and they choose to be hostile against us, my Lord?" Goldenstride inquired.

    Leon paused for a moment before he nonchntly replied, "Then you can proceed to subjugate with force."

    "Until then, rein in your aura. We don''t want to intimidate them. We still need to see whether the western tribes have reasonable leaders."

    "Understood, my Lord," Goldenstrideplied.

    A short whileter, Leon noticed the Paragon-level Golden Suanni in the Golden Suanni Tribe started to approach his group with several Battle Kings. Of course, they were also armed and wary.

    "Good day, men," Leon casually greeted before asking, "I wonder to whom I am speaking? Which one of you is the Golden Suanni Tribe''s chief?"

    "It is I, Sur-Khan," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan stepped forward before adding, "I am also the leader of the western alliance. Now, may I ask who you are and why have youe to our tribe, sir?"

    Towards the end of Alliance Leader Sur-Khan''s question, he showed clear humbleness in learning Leon''s identity. He didn''t dare jump to conclusions.

    After all, Leon had two Golden Suannis on his side that was of simr size to Lord Tailchaser.

    Alliance Leader Sur-Khan and the others weren''t sure if Leon was rted to the Golden Suanni n. Even Lord Tailshaser stayed silent and allowed Alliance Leader Sur-Khan to do all the talking.

    "I am the alliance leader of the southern tribes, Leonhardt. And I havee seeking to unite the western tribes under my banner, peacefully, of course," Leon stated straightforwardly with a friendly smile.

    "What?" Alliance Leader Sur-Khan was immediately taken aback. Astonishment was written all over his face.

    The other chiefs were also surprised by Leon''s im. But after they recovered, they quickly spread out and surrounded Leon''s group with their weapons pointed.

    Shortly after, the chiefs signaled the warriors in the Golden Suanni Tribe over for reinforcements and strengthened their security.

    Leon''spanions all snorted at the unweing attitudes they received.

    "Can we use force now, my Lord?" Goldenstride asked.

    "Not yet," Leon calmly raised a hand to halt his own people from making a move. Each of them could easilyy waste to the Golden Suanni Tribe if they wanted to.

    Nevertheless, Alliance Leader Sur-Khan also raised his hand to stop everyone on his side from arbitrarily making decisions on their own.

    "You are the alliance leader of the southern tribes?" Alliance Leader Sur-Khan sought Leon''s confirmation with a solemn look.

 Chapter 1074 Please Do Not Resist

    ?

    "The one and only," Leon casually admitted.

    "Alliance Leader, just give us the order! I don''t know what possessed him toe to the Western Region with so fewpanions, but this is our chance! If he is truly who he ims to be, we can quickly unite the southern tribes by defeating him!" Chief Sar-Rakshi said excitedly.

    However, the opinions within the western alliance were divided. Besides excitement, there were also doubts and concerns.

    "Why would the alliance leader of the southern tribese to the Western Region without an army? Does he think he can make us all submit to him with his strength alone?"

    "There were rumors that Leonhardt was a Battle God and that he was responsible for the disappearance of the two pce lords from the Battle God Pce."

    "So what if it''s true? Don''t we have Lord Tailchaser with us? Lord Tailchaser''s strength is equivalent to a Battle God!"

    "Yes, that is also true. However, Leonhardt has two Golden Suannis by his side! And they don''t look any weaker than Lord Tailchaser!"

    "I think we are missing a critical point here. How didn''t Leonhardt''s group get past our defense? Why is he here? And why does he have two possible Paragon-level Golden Suannis with him? He clearly came from the western jungle!"

    "But to enter the western jungle, his group would have to get past our tribe first."

    "How did he slip past the guards'' watches? What the hell had they been doing? People had slipped through our territory without our knowledge until now!"

    As the chiefs of the western alliance bickered among themselves, Alliance Leader Sur-Khan carefully observed Leon''s calm expression with a deep frown.

    Because of Leon''s strange group ofpanions, Alliance Leader Sur-Khan did not dare to make a rash decision.

    Only a fool would challenge the western alliance without possessing adequate strength.

    ''If Alliance Leader Leonhardt isn''t a fool, then he must bepletely confident of his group''s strength. I need to test him,'' Alliance Leader Sur-Khan thought.

    "You said you came to unite us under your banner peacefully, Alliance Leader Leonhardt? Do you believe you have what it takes to convince all of us to submit to you without the use of force?"

    Alliance Leader Sur-Khan narrowed his eyes and continued to ask, "Even if you do, why do you bother to go through the trouble? It is much more simple and efficient to settle with your fists, no?"

    "There has been too much bloodshed in the Infertile ins. This situation has to end before further lives are lost, and I am the only one who can end this," Leon calmly said.

    "Don''t be ridiculous. Do you think you are the messiah or something? The battle for hegemony in the Infertile ins isn''t something a single person can stop," Chief Sar-Rakshi refuted Leon''s im with a nasty look.

    Chief Sar-Rakshi did not like hearing Leon''s arrogant im.

    However, after Alliance Leader Sur-Khan directed a re at Chief Sar-Rakshi, the person immediately stopped talking.

    At the same time, Leon gave the rude person a nonchnt nce before returning his attention to Alliance Leader Sur-Khan.

    "Do you also think so?" Leon asked.

    "I haven''t heard what you can do nor learn the source of your confidence. Thus, I am not in a hurry to refute or believe anything," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan stated.

    "It seems the western alliance has a wise leader," Leon nodded with approval.

    But although Leon praised Alliance Leader Sur-Khan, his words were also an indirect jab at Chief Sar-Rakshi.

    "You¡­"

    "Quit it, Chief Sar-Rakshi."

    Alliance Leader Sur-Khan silenced Chief Sar-Rakshi before the person could continue to interrupt their talk.

    Shortly after, Alliance Leader Sur-Khan nced at Lord Tailchaser to guess his thoughts. s, he couldn''t tell what Lord Tailchaser was thinking.

    He could only see that Lord Tailchaser was staring closely at one of the two Golden Suannis on Alliance Leader Leonhardt''s side.

    A few momentster, Alliance Leader Sur-Khan returned his attention to Leon.

    "So why do you think you are the only one who can end the bloodshed, Alliance Leader Leonhardt? What is the source of your confidence? And what makes you worthy of our allegiance?"

    "You want to know about my confidence and qualification? Well, I was going to tell you anyway. I have what it means to resolve the Infertile ins'' water crisis and even make it a fertilend. Furthermore, I have the whole Golden Suanni n''s allegiance."

    "So tell me, Alliance Leader Sur-Khan. Do you think my qualifications are good enough?"

    "Even if you say that, Alliance Leader Leonhardt¡­ Your words mean nothing unless you can also prove what you imed¡ª"

    "¡ªAh, I remember who you are now! You''ve changed a lot in the time I haven''t seen you, Cindertail. Why haven''t you paid your respects to this Lord?" Lord Tailchaser suddenly eximed after he finally recognized Cindertail.

    At the same time, Lord Tailchaser expressed his displeasure while exerting pressure with his Paragon-level aura on Cindertail, whom he still believed to be Peak Rank 2 Transcendent.

    s, such a measly pressure was nothing to the current Cindertail.

    Cindertail: "¡­"

    Goldenstride: "¡­"

    Rainshine: "¡­"

    Nightingale: "¡­"

    "Hm?"

    Lord Tailchaser frowned at Cindertail''s nonchnce before he tried exerting more pressure with his Paragon-level aura.

    Even so, Cindertail remained indifferent to it before turning his head to Leon for instruction.

    At the same time, Alliance Leader Sur-Khan and the other chiefs were surprised by Lord Tailchaser''s outburst as they turned to him with shock.

    "L-Lord Tailchaser? W-what is going on? Why did you suddenly start exerting your pressure on them?" Alliance Leader Sur-Khan politely inquired with confusion.

    "In the Golden Suanni n, it is proper etiquette for a male Golden Suanni to pay his respect to a stronger male Golden Suanni when they meet. Although I don''t recognize the other one, Cindertail over there is only a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent."

    "Furthermore, the main n is full of Peak Paragons. I doubt this man has the whole n''s allegiance when he only has someone at this level apanying him."

    "What?"

    Alliance Leader Sur-Khan and the others nced at Cindertail before they started to question Leon''s credibility. Their gazes were quickly filled with distrust and unfriendliness.

    "Did he try to fool us?" Chief Sul-Dahki wondered gloomily with his sword ready to attack.

    "My Lord, shall I?" Goldenstride asked.

    Leon softly sighed and nodded.

    Swish!

    Goldenstride''s Divine Beast-level aura immediately erupted from his body and overwhelmed everyone in an instant.

    "I''vee to grant you all salvation. Please do not resist," Leon stated indifferently.

    "..."

 Chapter 1075 Submit Before Absolute Strength

    ?

    Out of everyone that reacted to Goldenstride''s Divine Beast-level aura, Lord Tailchaser had the strongest reaction.

    The moment Lord Tailchaser sensed Goldenstride''s aura had exceeded the Paragon level, he prostrated with his head on the ground.

    "Forgive me for not recognizing your strength, Your Excellency! I did not know the n had a Divine Beast-level existence like you!" Lord Tailchaser sought forgiveness for his disrespect and ignorance.

    At the same time, Alliance Leader Sur-Khan, the other chiefs, and the surrounding warriors of the western alliance overheard Lord Tailchaser''s words and trembled.

    ''Divine Beast!'' they mentally cried with rm.

    Within the next three breaths, every one of them also prostrated on the ground without daring to look up.

    A Divine Beast was an existence they could not fathom. It was a level of existence that surpassed the realm of Paragons and made Battle Gods seem like a joke.

    "Do you submit?"

    "We submit!"

    Once Leon raised the question, the whole western alliance answered with hesitation. There was no reason to think.

    A Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni was on a whole different level of existence.

    If it was against other Battle God-level existences, they might still stand a chance in the battle for hegemony.

    However, against a Divine Beast, they didn''t stand a chance. All forms of resistance were futile in the face of absolute strength.

    They never imagined they would see a Divine Beast one day. Such an existence was mythical.

    Nevertheless, after Leon received the western alliance''s submission, he gestured for Goldenstride to rein in his aura. And only after Goldenstride''s aura was reined in did Alliance Leader Sur-Khan and the others dare to raise their heads.

    "If you had such a powerful follower, why didn''t you hide it? If Lord Divine Beast had revealed his strength from the start, we wouldn''t even dare think aboutpeting with you for hegemony," Alliance Leader Sur-Khan spoke.

    "For multiple reasons, actually. But you are right. It was a waste of time," Leon openly admitted after a brief moment of reflection.

    Although there could beplications in ruling over the various tribes with force, it was the most efficient method of conquering.

    Problems like internal conflicts could be resolvedter. After all, he didn''t need to integrate the western alliance into the Darkmoon Tribe right away. It could be der.

    The main point was to quickly stop everyone in the Infertile ins from ughtering each other.

    "You may rise."

    "Thank you, Alliance Leader."

    After Leon permitted everyone to stop prostrating, Sur-Khan and the others stood up on their feet without further actions.

    However, concerns and fear were written over some of their faces, especially Chief Sar-Rakshi, who appeared to be the most concerned and afraid.

    After all, Chief Sar-Rakshi was the one who opposed Leon the most in the group. He thought the western alliance could defeat Leon and take over the southern tribes.

    s, that beautiful dream was shattered in an instant when Goldenstride revealed his divine might.

    Nevertheless, Leon could understand the western alliance''s other concerns. A Divine Beast''s strength was overwhelming.

    If Leon wanted someone to die, that person would definitely die. No one could and would resist once Goldenstride acted on his behalf.

    That was the issue with conquering with force; it spreads fear and uncertainty. And as humans, people tend to overthink.

    When humans feel threatened, they destroy the threat. And if they couldn''t, they would still keep their guards up with distrust.

    Leon didn''t give them time to build up their trust and respect for him, which was also fine.

    "I have been away from the Infertile ins for a while. Who can fill me in on the situation?"

    "Alliance Leader, we were having rted discussions in the main tent before you came. Would you like to head there first?"

    After Sur-Khan made the suggestion, Leon nced around at everyone''s nervous expressions before agreeing with a nod.

    "Alright, take me there now."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader!"

    Shortly after, Leon left with Sur-Khan and the other chiefs. However, he did not bring any of his followers with him. They were left behind with Lord Tailchaser and the other warriors in the western alliance.

    ¡­

    A few moments after Leon and the western alliance''s leaders were gone, Tailchaser approached Goldenstride apprehensively.

    "Your Excellency, are you the great ancestor of our Golden Suanni n? Why do you follow that human?" Lord Tailchaser inquired carefully.

    Goldenstride nced at Tailchaser before rolling his eyes at him.

    "How old do you think I am? And you better start treating the Lord with proper respect! No one is allowed to disrespect the Lord of the Golden Suanni n."

    "T-then, it was true that the Golden Suanni n swore allegiance to that hu¡ªthe Lord? How is that even possible?" Tailchaser was shocked.

    Tailchaser couldn''t imagine all those Peak Paragons submitting to a mere human.

    Could that human be even more powerful than a Divine Beast?

    "The Lord helped the n ovee a disaster and allowed many Peak Paragons like I, Goldenstride, to step into the Divine Beast Realm. Why wouldn''t our n swear our allegiance to such a person?" Goldenstride nonchntly replied as if it was how things should be.

    "There are other Divine Beasts beside you, Your Excellency?!" Tailchaser eximed with greater before his gaze shifted to Cindertail.

    And as he recalled his previous pompous attitude, his body immediately shivered.

    "Don''t look at me like that. I am not that impressive," Cindertailzily exined. But before Tailchaser could feel some relief, Cindertail added, "Just a Peak Paragon that is still one step away."

    "¡­" Tailchaser was dumbfounded.

    A Peak Paragon that is only one step away from bing a Divine Beast is not impressive? It was still much more impressive than him!

    "That¡­ about before¡­ I didn''t know you had be so powerful¡­"

    "So why haven''t you paid your respects to me, Tailchaser?"

    "Lord Cindertail¡­"

    "That''s better."

    Cindertail became smug at once.

    Another Paragon-level Golden Suanni, whom he used to pay respect to, was now paying respect to him. It felt good.

    Nevertheless, Tailchaser gradually shifted his focus on Rainshine, then ultimately Nightingale, who also had everyone else''s attention.

    No one could guess her race.

    Though, they did suspect Nightingale might be a demon.

 Chapter 1076 News From The Scout

    ?

    Inside the Golden Suanni Tribe''s main tent, the main seat, which originally belonged to Sur-Khan, was offered to Leon.

    After Leon took his seat, everyone else took their seat around the low-standing table without the exception of one person standing, Sur-Khan.

    A detailed three-dimensional map of the Infertile ins and parts of the western jungle and northern d could be found on top of the table.

    Leon studied the map, but he couldn''t grasp any useful information from it besides the western alliance''s strategic ns for the Northern Region.

    "What''s the current situation in the Infertile ins?" Leon inquired.

    "ording to what we know, the Howling Falcon Tribe has received the backing of some foreign forces from the far north. We''ve been having a lot of difficulties conquering the northern tribes due to them. Furthermore, we don''t know whether these foreign forces have also backed the other northern tribes," Sur-Khan reported.

    "That being said, if the Howling Falcon Tribe and other northern tribes learned of the Divine Beast on our side, I am certain that they would quickly submit without a fight. Of course, this is under the assumption that they are smart enough."

    "Everyone participated in the battle for hegemony because they believed they still had a chance. But once they learn that chance didn''t exist, to begin with, they will quickly give up and submit," Sur-Khan added.

    "Right," Chief Siwu-Tahk agreed with Sur-Khan''s statement.

    "The situation in the Central Region is especially fierce because the major tribes'' strengths are all roughly the same. Once they learn of the Divine Beast''s existence, they will all submit to you, Alliance Leader."

    "Enough about that. What''s the situation in the other regions?" Leon calmly inquired.

    He didn''t care if Sur-Khan and the rest of the chiefs believed he relied on Goldenstride to exert his dominance over everyone.

    They wille to learn that his own strength was to be feared as well.

    Nevertheless, Leon eventually learned everything that happened in the past few weeks from Sur-Khan.

    The southern tribes were the least active but also the most peaceful.

    No one thought of attacking the Darkmoon Tribe after the two pce lords from the Battle God Pce mysteriously disappeared on their trip there.

    Furthermore, they didn''t know if they had to inherit the southern tribes'' burden and responsibility of defending against the demons.

    On the other hand, the Central Region had been the most active. It was anything but peaceful, with the exception of the Divine Tortoise Tribe.

    "Mighty Whitewolf Tribe had also started their conquest on the northern tribes. However, they haven''t been sessful. I assume it is also due to the foreign powers from the far north interfering," Sur-Khan mentioned.

    "Besides that, we''ve learned from our scouts that the Battle God Pce led a campaign on the eastern tribe. However, that ce is a bit too far for us. The news is always several days behind."

    "Speaking of which, I''m not sure if Alliance Leader was aware, but something shook the entire Infertile ins just the other day. Seemingly something big fell from the heavens. However, we won''t know the details until our scouts return," Chief Sul-Dahki mentioned.

    "Something big fell from the heavens the other day?" Leon frowned. He wondered if it had anything to do with the raging sun.

    While Leon was in thought, the scouts that Sur-Khan and the other chiefs expected to return from the Central Region finally arrived.

    "Dan-Subi of the scout team is here with important news from Central Region, Milords!" the scout reported his arrival outside the main tent''s entrance.

    "You maye in," Sur-Khan permitted. After the scout entered, he instructed, "You may begin the report."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader!" Dan-Subi answered.

    Sur-Khan''s expression turned awkward, and the other chiefs wore a strange look on their faces. However, Dan-Subi did not notice it, though he did find it strange that someone else was sitting in Sur-Khan''s seat.

    "After our team was dispatched to investigate the source of the earthquake one day ago, we''ve located a hole, which we believed to be the epicenter of the earthquake. Unfortunately, we could not get close for a deeper investigation," Dan-Subi reported.

    Warriors from other tribes had surrounded the location.

    If the scout team was exposed, they ran the risk of being captured and interrogated by other tribes for intelligence.

    Nevertheless, after Sur-Khan and the other chiefs listened to the report, they calmly nodded. Just as they expected, something had indeed fallen from the heavens.

    "How big was the hole? The surrounding area wasn''t affected by the impact? For something that shook the Infertile ins fiercely, the impact should have devastated vast amounts ofnd," Chief Siwu-Tahk asked with a frown.

    "Actually, it didn''t, Milord," Dan-Subi replied, surprising Chief Siwu-Tahk.

    "Although we couldn''t get close to investigate the depth of the hole, we were at least able to confirm its width. The hole size is equivalent to three King-rank tribesbined, and it''s located where the Mid-rank Tribe, Valiant Steelhorn Tribe, used to be."

    "Where the Valiant Steelhorn Tribe used to be, you say?" Chief Sar-Rakshi raised an eyebrow.

    "Yes, Milord," Dan-Subi confirmed.

    "The Valiant Steelhorn Tribe has been wiped off the face of the earth. Fortunately, the ground in that region was vastly hollow to absorb the impact. Otherwise, I cannot imagine the level of destruction that would have followed."

    "Right now, the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe, Holy Sunfire Tribe, and the Battle God Pce have all dispatched warriors to investigate the abyss-like hole, Milords," Dan-Subi added.

    "The Divine Tortoise Tribe has also deployed many warriors to the east. They must have gone to secure the hole. For whatever reason it might have been, this could be our chance."

    Sur-Khan turned to Leon and asked, "What do you think about heading to the Divine Tortoise Tribe next, Alliance Leader?"

    "Alliance Leader?" Dan-Subi nced at Leon with shock. Since when was the alliance leader switched out for another?

    "That''s right," Chief Sur-Khan nodded and introduced Leon, "This is Lord Leonhardt, the alliance leader of the southern tribes as well as the new alliance leader of our western tribes."

    Dan-Subi stared at Leon with shock.

    Nevertheless, Leon ignored the person and calmly instructed, "Prepare to set out. A few of you will apany me to the Divine Tortoise Tribe."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader!" Sur-Khan and the others answered.

 Chapter 1077 Divine Tortoise Tribe

    ?

    After leaving the main tent, Leon regrouped with the others before preparing to leave for the Divine Tortoise Tribe that lies beyond the border separating the Western and Central regions.

    Leon also dragged Chief Sar-Rakshi along for the trip, much to the person''s reluctance. Besides them, Tailchaser and Chief Sul-Dahki volunteered to apany him.

    During the time Leon was inside the main tent with the other chiefs, Tailchaser had heard of Leon''s miraculous ability to awaken the Golden Suanni n''s bloodline from Goldenstride.

    As such, Tailchaser wanted to get close to Leon and suck up to him for benefits.

    However, without Tailchaser to hold the fort, the western alliance''s strength would drastically reduce to a level that cannot stand toe-to-toe with other King-rank tribes or their equivalent.

    Furthermore, the strength of foreign forces from the far north was unknown.

    They never know if the Howling Falcon Tribe would take the chance to attack while their main camp''s defenses are weakened.

    "I can stay behind and look after the Western Region, my Lord," Cindertail volunteered.

    "Oh, you will?" Leon casually replied without finding it surprising.

    "Yes, my Lord. I believe my sons are part of this Golden Suanni Tribe. I will take this chance to catch up to them."

    Leon had guessed as much.

    "As you wish. Then, you will guard the Western Region until Tailchaser returns to assume his responsibility."

    "Understood, my Lord."

    Nevertheless, Leon had also already understood that Tailchaser was the real leader of the western alliance, while Sur-Khan was only the acting leader.

    The western alliance was one ruled by the strongest. It was due to that reason that the western alliance readily submitted after learning Leon had a Divine Beast-level follower.

    "Thank you, Lord Cindertail," Tailchaser expressed his gratitude to Cindertail for giving him the opportunity to follow Leon.

    "No need to thank me," Cindertail coolly said before adding, "As you have heard, I''m staying to catch up with my sons, whom I haven''t met for some time. I didn''t do it for you."

    "Even so, I would like to thank you," Tailchaser stated stubbornly.

    Nevertheless, after the preparations for departure were done, Leon''s group left without further dy.

    Two hourster, Leon''s group crossed the border. Their pace was neither too fast nor too slow. It was just enough for everyone to move without exhausting themselves.

    Even so, it was clear that Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki were dragging the group down. They, themselves, also realized it.

    And because of that, they were amazed by Leon, even if it was just a tiny glimpse of his ability.

    ''He wasn''t suspected of being a Battle God for nothing,'' Chief Sul-Dahki silently thought.

    Meanwhile, Leon was thinking about the hole created in the Central Region.

    If it was the result of something dropping down from outer space after the sun rampaged, the world was simply too lucky that the space debrisnded in an area with weak ground and hollow space underneath.

    That being said, Leon wasn''t so sure how many times the world could be lucky like that.

    If an especiallyrge piece of space debris fell on hard ground or the Boundless Sea, the force it generates would wipe out life on the surface.

    As such, Leon had to refrain from angering the sun.

    Nevertheless, Leon was also curious about how deep the hole was created. He wondered if it had entered the abyss.

    "Hm? We''ve already crossed the border, but there isn''t any defensive line? The Divine Tortoise Tribe doesn''t set any?" Leon noticed.

    "They don''t need to, Alliance Leader. Their tribe itself is an impregnable fortress. They don''t need any other defenses," Chief Sul-Dahki exined.

    "Oh?" Leon raised an eyebrow before saying, "Now I am curious."

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon''s group arrived on the outskirts of the Divine Tortoise Tribe. And just as Chief Sul-Dahki had mentioned, it was an impregnable fortress¡ªor rather, it looked like one.

    Nevertheless, Leon, Rainshine, and Nightingale, who had neverid eyes on the Divine Tortoise Tribe, were astonished by what they saw before them.

    "That''s the Divine Tortoise Tribe?" Rainshine uttered with shock.

    When Chief Sul-Dahki mentioned an impregnable fortress, everyone pictured an actual fortress. Not the giant dome before them.

    Furthermore, it wasn''t just any giant dome made by men, but a giant turtle shell!

    "Is that thing real? Is it even possible for any being to grow that big?"

    "That''s the mystery behind it. No one knows. I doubt even the Divine Tortoise Tribe knows the origin of that giant turtle shell," Chief Sul-Dahki stated.

    "However, there is one thing that everyone does know, though: the turtle shell is extremely sturdy. Not even Extremity-rank Battle Kings with Tier-5 Soul Weapons can put any scratches on it."

    "I doubt Battle Gods and Tier-6 Soul Weapons could make much difference either. Given those circumstances, perhaps such an almighty turtle did exist in the past," Chief Sul-Dahki assumed.

    "That''s actually incredible¡­" Rainshine stared giant turtle shell with amazement.

    It was the first time seeing such an enormous turtle shell, even for Leon. The Divine Realm had giant turtles, but none of them had exceeded a thousand feet in length.

    On the other hand, the turtle shell Leon saw in front of him was at least a few dozen miles long.

    The biggest turtles living in the Divine Realm could not evene close inparison.

    That being said, even though Leon had never seen divine turtles that could grow to such extreme sizes, he had heard of them before.

    In fact, even one of the history books he picked up in the Dark Elf n''s seventh branch''s library recorded the existence of such a creature.

    "Realm Turtle¡­" Leon uttered.

    Everyone immediately shifted their gaze to him after hearing the unfamiliar terming from his mouth.

    "You know what kind of turtle the shell belonged to, my Lord?" Chief Sul-Dahki asked with surprise.

    "I''ve only read a bit about them, but yes, you can say that I do," Leon calmly admitted with a nod and said, "I believe the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s shell belonged to a Realm Turtle."

    "What''s a Realm Turtle?"

 Chapter 1078 You Wanted To Talk?

    ?

    "A Realm Turtle is a divine turtle that can grow to the size of a realm. Nevertheless, Realm Turtles weren''tmon, even during the primordial era of the gods and devils. The turtles are required to have a special type of physique to ignore the limitations of their body growth."

    "Supposedly, the biggest Realm Turtle to ever exist grew to the size of a star realm during the primordial era of gods and devils."

    "A star realm?!" Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dakhi eximed with shock. Even Rainshine and Nightingale were startled as they stared at the giant turtle shell with disbelief.

    They all found it inconceivable that a Realm Turtle could grow big. A turtle as big as a star realm¡­ Such an existence is heaven-defying.

    Nevertheless, Leon continued to impart what he knew, "However, that Realm Turtle was an exception. It was probably one of the most ancient beings during the primordial era. Its seeding descendants didn''t reach its level of growth."

    "Even so, it doesn''t change the fact that all the Realm Turtles that ever appeared during the primordial era had grown ridiculously huge. This turtle shell is puny inparison."

    "It must have been quite young when it died, unlike its predecessors," Leon assumed before shaking his head. "Anyhow, that''s that. Let us enter the Divine Tortoise Tribe."

    Having stood outside the Divine Tortoise Tribe for some time, it was clear that no one from the Divine Tortoise Tribe woulde out and wee them in.

    "No one is going toe out, my Lord. They wouldn''t open their gate for anyone, and it won''t be easy to break in either," Chief Sul-Dahki mentioned.

    "The Divine Tortoise Tribe has been shutting themselves inside their shell since the start of the battle for hegemony. It was only the other day that they chose to send some people out."

    "They don''t need toe out for food?"

    "That''s what we also wondered, my Lord. However, we never caught the Divine Tortoise Tribe sending warriors out to hunt. We could only assume they stockpile arge food reserve in advance, or they are simply fasting."

    "I see. Well, let''s try greeting them first. It''s quite rude to break into someone''s home without giving them a chance to open up first," Leon casually stated.

    Shortly after, he approached the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s front entrance, which was one of the few weak points in the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s defense.

    After all, the entrance wasn''t part of the giant turtle shell that protected the tribe. It was made from other strong materials to block off the openings.

    Leon didn''t doubt that it was heavily fortified.

    Nevertheless, it was still questionable whether the entrance''s heavy fortification was tough enough to withstand the attack of someone like Nightingale or Goldenstride.

    "The alliance leader of the southern tribes and western tribes, Leonhardt, hade to visit the Divine Tortoise Tribe!" Leon announced his presence in a clear and resounding voice.

    No matter how heavy the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s fortification was, they still had to leave gaps for sound and visual awareness outside of their tribe.

    Leon picked up the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s people''s surprises and mumblings behind the thick fortified wall with his sharp hearing.

    They were trying to determine whether it was true that he, the alliance leader of the southern tribes, also subjugated the western tribes.

    "The Divine Tortoise Tribe does not wee you! Please go back!" a deep manly voice sounded from within the walls.

    s, the response from the Divine Tortoise Tribe was as to be expected. They weren''t stupid enough to open their gate for the enemy.

    "I told you, my Lord. They wouldn''t open their gate for anyone. Your words are wasted on them," Chief Sul-Dahki said.

    Leon shook his head with a slight smile and said, "This isn''t about whether they will open or not. I am simply announcing my visit out of courtesy. As the alliance leader, I have to be a role model and set an example for everyone to follow."

    "Considering the Divine Tortoise Tribe has purposely avoided participation in the battle for hegemony and hasn''t shed any blood from other tribes, we should give them some respect in that regard."

    "As such, I will use the peaceful approach and try to convince them with reason first."

    "And if that doesn''t work, my Lord?"

    "Then, I will reason with my fist."

    "¡­"

    Chief Sul-Dahki and Chief Sar-Rakshi''s lips twitched with speechlessness. Their new alliance leader was rather a particr and odd one.

    ¡­

    "Whether the Divine Tortoise Tribe wees me or not, it''s not something for you to arbitrarily decide. Let me see your chief," Leon demanded.

    "Piss off! The chief will not be seeing anyone, let alone a big bad man like you! So go away, stinky man! Smelly people from outside are all bad people!"

    Multiple different voices sounded. Moreover, they sounded very young; they were the voices of children.

    As for the deep voice from earlier, it was no longer heard.

    With a sweep of his divine sense, he learned that the owner of the deep manly voice had left the gate, leaving only a few gate watchers and a group of children in the area.

    Knowing he was dealing with children, Leon was very patient and amodating; he didn''t feel offended by the words of children.

    s, his followers didn''t share the same patience.

    "Insolence! How dare you disrespect the Lord with your crude words! I should have all your tongues cut and fed to the hyenas!"

    "My Lord, allow me to bust down this gate and teach these insolent people a lesson!"

    Goldenstride and Nightingale spoke simultaneously, albeit towards different targets. At the same time, their Divine Beast-level aura raged indiscriminately.

    "Ahh! Smelly people from outside are so scary!" the children behind the thick gate were immediately frightened away.

    Fortunately, there was a thick gate between them and multiple gate watchers with rtively high strength to block off some of the auras.

    Otherwise, the children would have been harmed by the Goldenstride and Nightingale''s auras.

    "There''s no need, Nightingale. And you too, Goldenstride. Rein in your auras. They''re just children. No need to be harsh.

    "Yes¡­ my Lord.

    Shortly after Nightingale and Goldenstrideplied, Leon sensed a new person arrived at the thick gate.

    "You wanted to talk to me?" the person asked.

 Chapter 1079 Entering The Tribe

    ?

    The person''s voice was quite aged, but it was also filled with the power and authority of an Extremity-rank Battle King.

    Judging by the person''s words, Leon did not doubt the person was the chief of the Divine Tortoise Tribe, Chief Ironshield.

    Leon had learned of the name while he was still on his way to the Divine Tortoise Tribe.

    "Yes, that is correct," Leon nodded before saying, "As I have introduced myself as the alliance leader of the southern and western tribes, you should be able to guess my intention foring here."

    "I am aware of that. However, you should also be aware that my Divine Tortoise Tribe has no interest in the battle of hegemony. We don''t want to be involved in such conflicts. Thus, you are wasting your time here, Alliance Leader Leonhardt," Chief Ironshield stated.

    "Do you think you can keep sitting on the sidelines forever?" Leon replied.

    "I''ve heard your tribe hasn''t sent out any warriors to hunt beasts for food. Do you have enough food to support everyone? Are you going to let your people starve if you don''t, Chief Ironshield?"

    Chief Ironshield fell silent for a period of time.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t keep waiting for Chief Ironshield to reply before he continued, "Do you think other tribes alone just because you don''t want to be involved? No, you''ll be forced to get involved."

    "You sent out arge number of warriors, did you not? If you truly didn''t want the Divine Tortoise Tribe to be involved in the battle of hegemony, why did you send your warriors out? Do you think they can return to the tribe if other tribes camp outside?"

    "There isn''t any other way," Chief Ironshield sighed.

    "It''s just as you suspected. The Divine Tortoise Tribe is currently experiencing a food shortage, and people are starving. As such, it was our n''s only chance to hunt when everyone''s attention is still on thend of the Valiant Steelhorn Tribe."

    "Swear your tribe''s allegiance to me, Chief Ironshielf, and I will guarantee the safety and livelihood of your people," Leon stated.

    Chief Ironshield fell silent again. After a few moments, he asked, "How can I just take your word for it? How can you guarantee that my people won''t get involved in the bloody battle for hegemony?"

    "Have you not sensed the auras of the two Divine Beasts behind me, Chief Ironshield? Or are you just feigning ignorance? Do you think I actually need to rely on the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s manpower to end this battle for hegemony?"

    "Divine Beasts, you say¡­? I had my doubts, but to think that they have truly surpassed the strength of Battle Gods. Divine Beasts¡­ Divine Beasts¡­ That''s the same strength as Demon Lords¡­" Chief Ironshield muttered with a contemting look.

    At the same time, the gate watchers were also shocked by the revtion.

    They thought the two auras belonged to Battle God-level existences, but in fact, the two existences were beyond the Battle God Realm!

    "Before I give you an answer, I want to ask you a question. What do you think of the current situation in the Infertile ins, Alliance Leader Leonhardt?"

    "Pointless and unnecessary," Leon stated without hesitation.

    "Pointless and unnecessary, huh? I see I see. So you also thought this battle of hegemony is absurd," Chief Ironshield shared the same thought andughed. He was satisfied with Leon''s answer.

    Shortly after, Chief Ironshield''s expression turned solemn before he barked, "Open the gates!"

    "O-open the gates, Chief?" the gate watchers were immediately startled.

    "That''s right! Open the gates."

    "U-understood, Chief."

    The gate watchers did not need to be asked a third time beforeplying with Chief Ironshield''s order.

    Although they had their misgivings, they also trusted Chief Ironshield''s judgment.

    Before long, the thick and heavily-fortified gate opened, revealing the path into the Divine Tortoise Tribe.

    However, Leon made a gesture for everyone on his side to stop following him, including Rainshine, who always rested on his shoulders.

    "All of you will wait outside for me. Only I will enter the Divine Tortoise Tribe," Leon calmly stated.

    Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki were immediately startled.

    "But Alliance Leader, it is not safe for you to enter alone. You should at least bring Lord Goldenstride or Lord Nightingale with you," Chief Sul-Dahki suggested.

    "No need," Leon waved his hand dismissively before stepping into the Divine Tortoise Tribe alone.

    Chief Sul-Dahki looked desperate and turned to Goldenstride and Nightingale and said, "Please convince the Alliance Leader to bring one of you two lords along."

    He was afraid that if something happened to Leon, the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni, Cindertail back in the Western Region would destroy the western tribes in his fury.

    An Early Paragon was already strong enough to rule the western alliance, let alone a Peak Paragon.

    However, Nightingale casually nced at the two chiefs before shaking her head.

    "You don''t understand anything."

    "What do you mean?"

    Chief Sul-Dahki frowned at Nightingale''s word.

    "I might have ascended to the Divine Beast Realm, but even I am not confident in beating the Lord in a fight."

    "What?"

    Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki were stunned.

    They couldn''t tell if Lord Nightingale was being humble or if she was serious.

    Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki had been under the impression that the Alliance Leader''s strength was only around the beginning of the Battle God Realm.

    But hearing Lord Nightingale''s words, they find it hard to believe that the Alliance Leader''s strength had even surpassed the Battle God Realm.

    And yet, at the same time, they also felt like it made a lot of sense.

    After all, the Alliance Leader had to be very powerful to get the two Divine Beast-level existences to follow him ¨C or so they believed.

    Nevertheless, Nightingale''s uncertainty lies in the Lord''s various abilities and hidden trump cards.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, after Leon entered the Divine Tortoise Tribe alone, Chief Ironshield looked at him with surprise.

    "You''re not bringing the others in? Are you sure you want to enter alone, Alliance Leader Leonhardt?" Chief Ironshield asked.

    "If you are concerned for my safety, then you can be reassured. I ampletely confident in my strength," Leon calmly said before adding with a smile, "More importantly, the Divine Beasts on my side will only scare the children."

    Chief Ironshield could not help but smile with amusement.

 Chapter 1080 Hegemon Leonhardt

    ?

    Nevertheless, Chief Ironshield didn''t retain his smile for long before his brows knitted together. After seeing Leon with his own eyes, doubts clouded his mind.

    There was something about Leon''s aura thatmanded his worship.

    However, it wasn''t just Chief Ironshield who felt that way. All of the gate watchers in the area also felt the same. Leon''s very presence suppressed them and made them want to prostrate and worship him.

    That being said, it was just a faint feeling, easily ovee with their will.

    Even so, they could not help but wonder why such a feeling exists when they are meeting Leon, the alliance leader of the western and southern tribes, for the first time.

    "How strange¡­ How very strange¡­" Chief Ironshield uttered. He rested his chin on his hand with a thoughtful look and studied Leon.

    "What is strange, Chief Ironshield?" Leon casually asked while noticing the strange behavior.

    As more members from the Divine Tortoise Tribe arrived to investigate why the gate was opened, they also cast their strange gazes at Leon.

    "You are, Alliance Leader Leonhardt," Chief Ironshield answered bluntly.

    "There is something strange about your aura. Itpels the feeling of worship out of me, making me want to bow to you."

    "We are also getting that same feeling, Chief," the gate watchers interjected.

    "Oh, I see," Leon casually uttered before adding after some thought, "You must be talking about my ck Turtle Aura."

    "Why would have such an aura?" Chief Ironshield asked with clear astonishment.

    At the same time, all the members of the Divine Tortoise Tribe gathered in the area also revealed startling looks. They quickly paid Leon greater attention and awaited his answer.

    Nevertheless, Leon recalled how he was treated by the Half-step God Beast-level ck Turtle before saying, "Oh, that''s because I am a descendent of the ck Turtle God Beast."

    Boom!

    Leon dropped a bombshell on the Divine Tortoise Tribe. It was as if an explosion went off in all of their heads after hearing his answer.

    Their eyes widened with incredulity.

    Although Leon''s ck Turtle Aura was also mixed with the True Dragon Aura and a few weaker auras, it was very clear that he possessed the ck Turtle Aura.

    Every member in the Divine Tortoise Tribe present could feel it. Thus, they did not doubt it.

    The surrounding atmosphere changed at once, and Leon was at the center of it. Riding the momentum, Leon didn''t hold back and exerted his ck Turtle Aura, making it noticeable to those further away.

    Nevertheless, the moment Chief Ironshield decided to open the gate for Leon, Chief Ironshield had already made a decision in his heart.

    However, after Chief Ironshield learned Leon was a descendant of the ck Turtle God Beast, his resolve was further strengthened.

    Thus, even if Chief Ironshield voiced his answer at this moment, not a single tribesman would object to his decision.

    Bam!

    Chief Ironshield dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. Shortly after he did, the gate watchers and other warriors in the Divine Tortoise Tribe present also followed suit.

    "The Divine Tortoise Tribe swears its allegiance to you, Alliance Leader Leonhardt¡ªNo, Hegemon Leonhardt! The Divine Tortoise Tribe will be yours tomand!" Chief Ironshield solemnly swore.

    "Hegemon Leonhardt! Hegemon Leonhardt!" the surrounding warriors chanted with their blood boiling with excitement.

    A descendent of the ck Turtle God Beast was more than qualified to lead their Divine Tortoise Tribe.

    The person may lie, but his bloodline certainly won''t. Regardless of how he obtained the ck Turtle Bloodline, it doesn''t change the fact that he possessed the ck Turtle Bloodline.

    "Hegemon Leonhardt, huh? It''s a bit early to be calling me that," Leon slightly smiled with amusement.

    "No, I believe you are fully qualified to be called Hegemon Leonhardt, my Lord!" Chief Ironshield argued.

    "You already have the southern and western tribes under you. With the inclusion of the Divine Tortoise Tribe, you control roughly one-third of the Infertile ins. I believe this is more than enough to qualify for hegemony."

    "It''s only a matter of time before the other tribes submit to you, my Lord," Chief Ironshield believed.

    "I see. You have a point," Leon calmly nodded before saying, "That aside, I can see that your tribe is rather enthusiastic. What is the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s rtionship to the ck Turtle God Beast?"

    "About that¡­"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    As Leon chatted with Chief Ironshield, Rainshine and the others waited outside of the Divine Tortoise Tribe.

    Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki were still in disbelief after hearing Nightingale''s evaluation of Alliance Leader''sbat prowess.

    They find it unimaginable that someone who wasn''t at the level of the Divine Beast Realm would possess thebat prowess of one, even if it was just based on Nightingale''s impression and without any proof.

    After all, there had to be some truth in her words. For example, even if the Alliance Leader''sbat prowess didn''t reach the same heights as Divine Beasts, it would still be close.

    In other words, Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki could be certain that the Alliance Leader''sbat prowess was at least at Extremity-rank Battle God or even Half-step Demon Lord.

    "I can''t believe such a strong person exists¡­ Doesn''t this mean the Alliance Leader''s strength has already surpassed the Battle God from the Battle God Pce?" Chief Sar-Rahki wondered.

    "Possibly," Chief Sul-Dahki replied.

    "However, the Battle God didn''t just be the Battle God because his strength reached that level. The Battle God wielded almighty shamanic power over metal before that. Thus, it''s hard to say who is stronger."

    "Hm?"

    Chief Sul-Dahki suddenly noticed the pebbles and small rocks on the ground reverberating slightly before ncing up in the same direction as Rainshine, Nightingale, and Goldenstride.

    At that moment, arge group of injured warriors in the distance was rushing towards their location¡ªor rather, they were rushing towards the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s entrance.

    Without needing to guess, Chief Sul-Dahki and the others concluded who they were.

    "They must be the warriors sent out by the Divine Tortoise Tribe. However, they seem to be chased by something," Chief Sul-Dahki narrowed his eyes to try and see further.

 Chapter 1081 Returning Warriors

    ?

    As the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s injured warriors fled from their pursuers, they became increasingly desperate. The distance between them wasn''t increasing; it was decreasing instead.

    "Hurry! The Divine Tortoise Tribe is just within our sights! We''ll be safe as long we can make it inside the tribe!" an injured Mid-rank Battle King shouted.

    "Dammit! Just what the hell are those things?! Why don''t they just die?!" a Low-rank Battle King cussed.

    "They do die! However, every time they die, the others feed on their corpses and be stronger!"

    "Dammit! I can''t believe the other tribes couldn''t take care of them! Physical attacks are basically useless against them!"

    "If you have the spare energy toin, then use it to reach the tribe first and have them open the gates ahead of time to receive us!"

    "F*ck you! If you have the spare energy to lecture me, you can also use it to run ahead and reach the tribe first! I am already running at my quickest speed!"

    "So am I!"

    ¡­

    Rainshine and the others watched the group of injured warriors flee for their lives without moving from their location. They weren''t inclined to help strangers.

    Nevertheless, as injured warriors drew closer, their pursuers entered everyone''s field of vision.

    Rainshine and Goldenstride narrowed their eyes immediately.

    "Those are¡­ Whitebone Fiends!" Goldenstride quickly recognized the familiar creatures that crawled out of the abyss and attacked the Golden Suanni n.

    The Whitebone Fiends had given the Golden Suanni n great trouble.

    If not for the Golden Suanni n''srge number of Paragons holding the fort, it was hard to imagine how many members of the Golden Suanni n would have lost their lives to the Whitebone Fiends.

    Furthermore, they would have died without an intact corpse.

    Nevertheless, the Golden Suanni n''s Paragons still weren''t enough to defeat the Whitebone Fiends.

    If they weren''t fortunate enough to have Cindertail and the Lord stepping in to save them, the Golden Suanni n would have most likely been destroyed by the Whitebone Fiends.

    Goldenstride''s gaze frosted with killing intent.

    With a decisive step, Goldenstride''srge body disappeared as he dashed forward, crossing a significant distance in a sh.

    Swoosh!

    Strong winds fluttered chaotically in his original location. Only Goldenstride''s giant paw print was left behind on the ground.

    "Something''sing! Be careful!" a Mid-rank Battle King shouted with rm.

    The Divine Tortoise Tribe''s warriors immediately felt greater despair as the huge Golden Suanni rushed toward them with incredible momentum.

    Given its giant mass, it was definitely an apex predator that stood at the top of the world. Even Battle Gods can only be at its mercy.

    However, before the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s warrior''s despair could fall to rock bottom, Goldenstride''s giant body soared over their heads. They weren''t Goldenstride''s targets.

    Swoosh!

    A powerful gust of wind followed.

    Goldenstride reached the group of injured warriors'' rear in no time and confronted the pursuing group of Whitebone Fiends with a mighty lion roar.

    Roar!

    The ground shook, and the sky threatened to tear asunder under Goldenstride''s mighty lion roar. Even the Whitebone Fiends were stunned by it.

    The Whitebone Fiends'' numbers weren''t many, only a fraction of what the Golden Suanni n faced.

    Even so, it still had an Early Paragon among them, and that was more than enough for the injured warriors to regard the Whitebone Fiends as unstoppable due to their assimting ability and tenacious lifeforce.

    s, the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s warriors didn''t retain that impression for long.

    The moment they saw Goldenstride''s golden fur lit up with intense golden mes as Goldenstride plunged into the group of Whitebone Fiends, several of them paused their escape to look on with astonishment.

    White giants that they previously thought to be unkible were burnt to cinders in an instance, and their ashes soon scattered to the winds.

    After Goldenstride took down the biggest target, he went for the smaller prey. Without any hesitation or reservation, Goldenstride burned them all to fine crisps and ashes with his True Samadhi Golden mes.

    All Whitebone Fiends had to be utterly destroyed and erased from existence. They cannot be given chances to grow.

    Absolutely not!

    "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and leave while that Golden Suanni is preupied with those fiendish creatures!" a High-rank Battle Master urged the distracted warriors before barking, "Do you want to be its foodter?!"

    The warriors were immediately shocked after hearing that.

    That''s right! Just because the Golden Suanni was taking care of their enemies, it didn''t mean the Golden Suanni was automatically on their side!

    Run!

    The injured warriors resumed running towards the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s entrance without further dy.

    However, it didn''t take long before they were forced to stop in their tracks once again. The main gate was opened, and unfamiliar people were standing outside of it.

    "W-who are you people?" the leading Mid-rank Battle King asked with rm. Seeing the horns on Nightingale''s head, everyone immediately assumed she was a demon and became shocked.

    What was a demon doing in the Central Region?!

    Nevertheless, Leon, Chief Ironshield, and the other tribesmen inside the Divine Tortoise Tribe had already heard themotion outside and made their way out to check.

    "What''s going on here?" Chief Ironshield questioned the Mid-rank Battle King after spotting him.

    The Mid-rank Battle King''s eyes lit up with hope and excitement. After seeing Chief Ironshield, it was like all his problems and worries would be resolved right away.

    "Chief! We''ve run into trouble! No, the entire Central Region has run into trouble!"

    "I can see that," Chief Ironshield frowned at the warriors'' injuries before noticing they were light-weighted. "Where are the spoils of your hunt? Did you fail? What kind of problem did you run into?"

    As Chief Ironshield fired his questions, he also signaled the other warriors in the tribe toe forward and tend to the injured warriors'' wounds.

    "My deepest apologies, Chief! We were forced to leave the spoils of our hunts behind to flee from the fiendish creatures chasing us," the Mid-rank Battle King exined.

    However, shortly after, he added, "We have to head inside right away, Chief! There''s a powerful Golden Suanni right outside our tribe! We''ll be in deep trouble once it turns its fangs and ws onto us!"

    "No need. It is on our side," Leon calmly stated while staring into the distance with a slight frown.

 Chapter 1082 Divine Tortoise Tribes Problem

    ?

    "It is on our side?" the Mid-rank Battle King nced at Leon before his brows knitted together with confusion. "Who are you?"

    "Don''t be rude. This is our new lord, a descendent of the ck Turtle God Beast and the alliance leader of the southern and western tribes, Hegemon Leonhardt," Chief Ironshield introduced.

    "Hegemon Leonhardt? Descendent of the ck Turtle God Beast?"

    !!!

    The Mid-rank Battle King and the other injured warriors froze with shock immediately when they looked at Leon. Doubts and confusion shortly surfaced in their eyes.

    How is it possible for descendent of the ck Turtle God Beast to still exist?

    "You do not need to doubt; it has been confirmed. Hegemon Leonhardt possessed the bloodline of the ck Turtle God Beast. It might not be from the same ck Turtle God Beast that we worship, but it is indeed the bloodline of a ck Turtle God Beast," Chief Ironshield vouched.

    The Mid-rank Battle King and other injured warriors greeted Leon with solemn and respectful fist-palm salutes shortly after.

    "We pay our respects to you, Hegemon Leonhardt!"

    "There''s no need for that. You are all injured. Head inside and rest," Leon waved his hand dismissively and said, "The issue here will be resolved shortly."

    At the same time, Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pills flew out of Leon''s hand and into the injured warriors'' hands, much to their surprise.

    "The Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pills will help your recovery," Leon calmly added.

    During Leon''s discussion with Chief Ironshield earlier, he had learned more about the Divine Tortoise Tribe.

    Much to Leon''s surprise, the Divine Tortoise Tribe worshipped the ck Turtle God Beast. And the giant turtle shell protecting the Divine Tortoise Tribe had belonged to one such ck Turtle God Beast.

    At first, Leon failed to recognize it due to the dense bloodstains and dirt umted on the giant turtle shell, which hid its original color.

    However, a single sweep of Leon''s divine sense allowed him to see through its true color.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t believe it was a true ck Turtle God Beast. It was most likely a powerful Divine Beast-level ck Turtle like the one sealed at the bottom of the Bone Sea.

    But due to its immense size as a result of being a very rare Realm Turtle, the Divine Tortoise Tribe believed it was a God Beast from primordial times.

    That being said, there was no real need for Leon to shatter their belief.

    "Thank you, Hegemon!"

    Shortly after the Mid-rank Battle King and injured warriors graciously epted their pills and headed inside, Chief Ironshield followed Leon''s gaze and nced at the Whitebone Fiends being reduced to cinders in the distance.

    "Do you know that they are, my Lord?" Chief Ironshield inquired after he noticed Leon seemed familiar with the strange creatures in the distance.

    Furthermore, the white cat and the hornydy also seemed somewhat familiar with the creatures.

    "Yeah, I ran into them before when I visited the Golden Suanni n in the heart of the western jungle. They can quite troublesome to deal with once many of them are exposed to the sunlight," Leon casually replied.

    "This¡­"

    Chief Ironshield didn''t focus on the Whitebone Fiends being bathed in golden mes for long before shifting his gaze to giant Golden Suanni exterminating them.

    Nevertheless, Goldenstride''s Divine Beast-level aura amazed him, even though he had already learned there were two Divine Beasts beside Leon.

    "Is that the leader of the Golden Suanni n, my Lord?" Chief Ironshield inquired with awe.

    "Him? Goldenstride? No, he was just one of the many of the Peak Paragon leaders there before I came and helped them ascend to the Divine Beast Realm," Leon casually said before adding, "I am the leader of the Golden Suanni n."

    "This¡­" Chief Ironshield was dumbfounded before his disbelief quickly turned into excitement. "This is incredible¡­!"

    Chief Ironshield didn''t doubt Leon''s words; the lord had no reason to lie to him.

    Nevertheless, if Chief Ironshield also knew that thend known as Demon''s Territory and Starfall Dominion was also under Leon''s rule, Chief Ironshield would have beenpletely bbergasted.

    "Should we help Lord Goldenstride out?" Chief Ironshield wondered before he shortly realized the sheer foolishness of his own question.

    A single Divine Beast was enough to dominate the entire Infertile ins, let alone a small group of unknown creatures¡ªno matter how peculiar their abilities may be.

    "I''ve asked a foolish question, my Lord," Chief Ironshield said wryly.

    Sometimeter, Goldenstride finished exterminating all the Whitebone Fiends before rummaging through their mountain of scattering ashes.

    After Goldenstride was utterly sure that there were no more Whitebone Fiends, he finally returned to Leon''s side.

    "The Whitebone Fiends have beenpletely annihted, my Lord," Goldenstride reported.

    "Un," Leon acknowledged Goldenstride''s efforts with a nod before saying, "Though this was probably only a small detached group. Thus, we can''t really say they arepletely annihted."

    "There must be many more crawling out of the hole created from the earth-shaking crash," Chief Sul-Dahki added with a disgusted look.

    It was only for a brief moment, but he had seen how the Whitebone Fiends tried to assimte each other. He had never seen such weird creatures before.

    "Right. We have no time to waste. The longer we leave those Whitebone Fiends be, the bigger the problem they will be. We will head to the hole''s location right away," Leon stated.

    "My Lord, I wish to follow you with some warriors, but I can''t leave without solving the tribe''s most pressing issue right now," Chief Ironshield said apologetically.

    "Since the hunting team failed in procuring food for the tribe, I am not sure how much longer my tribesmen will continue tost before they start starving to death. I need to organize a new hunting team to secure the food the tribe needed to survive."

    "How many people are there in the Divine Tortoise Tribe?" Leon asked after a short pause.

    "I don''t know the specific number, but over fifty thousand tribesmen in the Divine Tortoise Tribe, my Lord," Chief Ironshield answered.

    "Fifty thousand tribesmen, huh?" Leon muttered with a weird look before saying, "Such a big tribe, and you only sent out roughly three hundred warriors to hunt?"

 Chapter 1083 Food Shortage Easily Resolved

    ?

    "That¡­ a single Deste Ox from ckrock Region can feed many mouths, my Lord," Chief Ironshield exined.

    "On average, a normal Lesser Demon-level Deste Ox from the ckrock Region can feed around five thousand mouths for three days. A Greater Demon-level Deste Ox feed around seven thousand and five hundred mouths for the same period."

    "As such, we only need to hunt ten Lesser Demon-level Deste Oxen from the ckrock Region to feed the whole tribe for three days. If we were to stretch out those three meals, we could evenst a whole month."

    "However, our warriors would suffer muscle loss and weakened if we do that," Chief Ironshield stated.

    "I see," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully before wondering, "What about an Arch Demon-level Deste Ox? How many mouths can that feed?"

    Chief Ironshield immediately smiled wryly after hearing Leon''s question before he said, "My Lord, we haven''t encountered any Arch Demon-level Deste Oxen in the ckrock Region."

    "If the Deste Oxen were powerful enough to reach the Arch Demon level, they wouldn''t be treated like livestock in the ckrock Region, my Lord. But assuming there was, I would assume they would berge enough to feed ten thousand mouths for five days."

    "Look at it from another perspective; that would mean a single Arch Demon-level Deste Ox could feed the whole Divine Tortoise Tribe for a day," Chief Ironshield thought.

    "I see," Leon uttered.

    A regr cow from before the Cataclysms would have only fed around a thousand to two thousand mouths on average.

    Now, all the beasts had mutated to sizes that would have been unimaginable in the past.

    Leon really wondered what the beasts in the Infertile ins ate to live in such a deste ce. After all, there were no nts for herbivores to eat; they could only eat other beasts and humans.

    But considering humans also hunt them for food, it was strange that beasts hadn''t died out yet.

    Nevertheless, none of that was Leon''s concern for the time being.

    "In any case, the Divine Tortoise Tribe only needs ten Lesser Demon-level Deste Oxen''s worth of meat to livefortably for the next three days, right?"

    "Yes, my Lord."

    After getting Chief Ironshield''s confirmation, Leon waved his hand and sprinkled some nt seeds into an empty plot ofnd outside of the Divine Tortoise Tribe.

    Within several dozen breathes, seeds grew into hung towering banana trees under the support of Leon''s Wood Law and the Worldspace''s Life Energy.

    Just like that, several thousands of bananas were riped for consumption within moments.

    However, that wasn''t what Leon was simply aiming for. He detached the giant banana leaves from the banana trees andid them out neatly on another empty patch ofnd with his wood maniption.

    Once the clean banana leaf nket was created on the ground, Leon unloadedrge amounts of sea monster meat from his Worldspace on it.

    Although it significantly depleted his sea monster meat reserve, he could always restock in the Radiant Heaven Realmship.

    "Would this be enough food?" Leon casually asked, but in fact, it was more than enough food to support the Divine Tortoise Tribe for a month.

    Gulp!

    Chief Ironshield and several warriors swallowed hard on their saliva before rubbing their astounding eyes with great disbelief.

    However, no matter how hard they rubbed their eyes, the small forest of banana trees and the big mountain of sea monster meat before them didn''t disappear.

    It was certainly not an illusion, nor were they dreaming; it was very real.

    "This is more than enough, my Lord!" Chief Ironshield answered with his gaze fixed on the sight before him. He found it hard to pull his gaze away.

    It was unbelievable that the Divine Tortoise Tribe''s food problem was resolved so quickly and effortlessly.

    Chief Ironshield began to wonder whether Leon was a human or a god.

    Either way, Chief Ironshield''s respect for Leon was raised to a higher level¡ªalmost to the point of being Leon''s devoted believer.

    ''This person was destined to lead the Infertile ins!'' many warriors thought.

    "This¡­ These are all sea monster meat, my Lord?" Chief Ironshield asked with astonishment, "Don''t tell me¡­ this was all gained from the secret realm? How did you manage to procure so much food, my Lord?"

    Chief Ironshield could feel the vibrant energy contained within the sea monster meat. The quality was not low; it was definitely at least Lesser Demon-grade or above.

    Furthermore, the freshness was still there.

    ording to ckshell, the leader of Divine Tortoise Tribe''s group that was sent to participate in the secret realm, everyone was kicked out early.

    No one managed to reap many benefits from the secret realm ¨C at least, that was believed to be the case.

    Chief Ironshield stared at Leon with wide eyes, full of questions and doubts.

    However, Leon casually smiled and replied, "Is that important, right now? Don''t you have people starving inside the tribe? Those banana trees won''tst either."

    "Right! I waspletely distracted, my Lord!" Chief Ironshield remembered what he had to do.

    Shortly after, Chief Ironshield summoned warriors from the tribe to help with food transportation. The mountain of sea monster meat was slowly taken away by one grow while another group collected the bananas.

    Only a few minutes had passed since then, but Leon had already noticed the roots of the banana tree were starting to die.

    Infertile ins'' soil didn''t just stop any nts from growing; it also killed them.

    ''If it''s like this, the elves will be having a hard time cultivating anything in the Darkmoon Tribe,'' Leon thought about the elves and ves he brought over to the Dark Continent.

    Without eliminating the root of the problem in the soil, it would be difficult for anything to grow on the Infertile ins'' soil.

    Nevertheless, that was an issue for Leon to solve another time.

    After Chief Ironshield finished making his arrangements in the Divine Tortoise Tribe, he returned to Leon''s side with twenty other Battle Kings.

    "I have brought some of our tribe''s finest warriors. Please use them however you wish, my Lord. We are all at yourmand," Chief Ironshield stated.

    "Understood," Leon acknowledged with a nod before saying, "Well then, let''s not dy our trip any further. We head out now."

    "Yes!"

 Chapter 1084 Attracting Attention

    ?

    Central Region.

    In thend that used to belong to the Mid-rank Tribe, Valiant Steelhorn Tribe, not a trace of it remained on the surface. Only a giant hole¡ªNo, an enormous crater with a seemingly bottomless and giant hole at its center had reced it.

    However, the high hills that rose on the enormous crater''s perimeters during the formation of the impact had also hidden the giant hole from being seen on tnd.

    The entrance to the dark abyss was only visible from high grounds in the region.

    At that moment, the entire region was crawling with Whitebone Fiends, bothrge and small ones. The sounds of ongoing battle continued on the north, east, and south sides of the crater.

    Rows of Battle Masters and Battle Kings fought hard to hold their defensive line and stand their ground, but they were pushed back further and further as the Whitebone Fiends grew in strength and numbers.

    Only the western side''s defensive line hadpletely copsed¡ªor rather, there wasn''t really one, to begin with.

    Each battlefront was led by one of the King-rank tribes; the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe led the north, the ck Warbear Tribe led the south, while the Battle God Pce and Holy Sunfire Tribe jointly led the east.

    Only the Divine Tortoise Tribe was not present to guard the west side. As such, the weaker tribes guarding the west side easily copsed under the Whitebone Fiends'' relentless onught.

    Nevertheless, at that moment, Chief Ironshield arrived at the top of a steep hill on the western side with Leon and the rest of the group. They immediately had a clear view of the situation ahead.

    "No wonder the hunting team''s leader advised me to bring the tribe''s full army with me¡­ A few hundred elites wouldn''t be enough to hold back these monsters, let alone a few monsters¡­" Chief Ironshieldmented with surprise.

    The Whitebone Fiends'' numbers were startling, and their strength was worrying.

    However¡­

    Chief Ironshield slowly shifted his gaze to Goldenstride before he added, "But it doesn''t matter how many men I bring. Lord Goldenstride is enough to deal with this situation."

    A Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni with its awakened bloodline was no different from a god to mortals ¨C at least, that was what Chief Ironshield believed.

    After all, the immense strength that Divine Beasts wielded was far beyond his understanding.

    "Goldenstride, Nightingale, the both of you go and help out with the north and south sides. Their defensive lines are about to copse under the Whitebone Fiends'' relentless assault,"

    "Yes, my Lord!"

    Goldenstride and Nightingale quicklyplied after receiving Leon''s order. With a single nce, Leon had seen through the battle situation.

    Out of the four battlefronts, the west had long copsed, which applied extra pressure on the north and south sides, which were already struggling to fend off the Whitebone Fiends.

    Only the eastern side was doing very well as they had thebined strength of the Battle God Pce and the Holy Sunfire Tribe.

    However, the force contributing the most in the battle clearly belonged to the Holy Sunfire Tribe.

    With the unique fire abilities of the Holy Sunfire Tribe, their warriors didn''t just sessfully defend the eastern side; they dominated it andid waste to the Whitebone Fiends before they could grow strong enough to pose a problem.

    "Fire! We need to fire to destroy these monsters! Physical damage is far from enough! Why haven''t we received support from the rear team yet?! Why need firewood and oil to start a big fire!" a High-rank Battle King from the ck Warbear Tribe barked.

    "The other tribes aren''t that close from here, my Lord! It would take time to gather the resources from the tribes and transport them here!" an Extremity-rank Battle Master of the same tribe replied.

    "Time! We don''t have time! Our defensive line is about to copse!" the High-rank Battle King''s pupils shrank with a grim look at the situation.

    "My Lord, something ising from the western sky!" another warrior alerted.

    "Hm?"

    At that moment, Nightingale had already taken flight into the sky and soared over to the southern side as Goldenstride had chosen the northern side.

    Many people were quickly surprised to see someone¡ªor rather, something was flying over their sky.

    However, their surprises quickly turned into horror.

    They witnessed Nightingale''s body rapidly expand during her transformation back into her Earth Dragon form. Her huge body cast a massive shadow over the darknd, darkening it further.

    "Oh my god, what is that thing?! T-that¡­ is that a dragon?!" a warrior eximed with shock and horror.

    They already had enough trouble dealing with the Whitebone Fiends. If they were also attacked by the dragon, their defensive line would immediately copse, and sooner orter, they would be wiped out!

    Before long, Nightingale spewed dark mes from her mouth and rained ck hellfire on the Whitebone Fiends below.

    Lesser Demons, Greater Demons, Arch Demons ¨C It didn''t matter how strong the Whitebone Fiends were; they all fell under Nightingale''s powerful dark mes.

    "T-t-t-this¡­! Lord Nightingale was a dragon?! No, more importantly, she an earth dragon that could fly?!"

    Chief Ironshield and the two chiefs from the western tribe stared at Nightingale''s shadow in the distance with sheer disbelief.

    Even after they witnessed Nightingale''s transformation with their own eyes, they still couldn''t believe what they saw.

    They found it somewhat strange that someone human-like was also considered a Divine Beast, but they never imagined Nightingale to actually be one!

    "What kind of power is this? How can Lord Nightingale levitate in the sky with her immense body? No, where did all that mass evene from? Is it even possible for living beings to undergo such drastic physical transformations?" Chief Sul-Dahki uttered with wide eyes.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Goldenstride decimated the sea of Whitebone Fiends on the northern side with True Samadhi Golden mes.

    However, his efforts were only noticed and admired by the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe and its subordinate tribes on the northern side.

    Everyone else''s attention was on Nightingale on the southern side.

    Even though they were both Divine Beasts capable of flight, Nightingale garnered more attention and respect from the warriors on the battlefield.

    Goldenstride was the king of the jungle, but the Nightingale was the true ruler of the sky!

 Chapter 1085 Mighty Whitewolf Tribes Shock

    "My Lord, it''s a Golden Suanni from the far western jungle, and it''s an especially powerful one at that! I¡­ I think it might be even more powerful than Arch Demons¡ªA Demon Lord! It must be a Demon Lord-level Golden Suanni!" a warrior from the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe alerted.

    "I can see that," Chief Silvertooth of the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe calmly replied, but he was just as shocked as anyone else deep inside his heart. Even so, he had to maintain theposure of a leader on the surface.

    "A Golden Suanni with the strength of a Demon Lord is called a Divine Beast. I''ve only heard the stories, but to think a Divine Beast actually existed all this time. Furthermore, it came all this way to the Central Region¡­ It must have something to do with the Golden Suanni Tribe."

    "They''ve hidden their cards too deeply; to think they actually managed to move a Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni¡­"

    Chief Silvertooth shook his head with a sigh and said, "This battle for hegemony was meaningless. There was only one sole candidate for hegemony from the start."

    "Does that mean we have no choice but to listen to the Golden Suanni Tribe in the future?" the warriors felt some unwillingness in their hearts.

    They found it hard to serve another tribe that hadn''t been well-known previously.

    Furthermore, the Golden Suanni Tribe was borrowing the strength of others. It wasn''t like they, themselves, were strong.

    If not for the Golden Suanni n behind them, the Golden Suanni Tribe would hardly qualify as their Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s opponent.

    "Otherwise, what? Do you think our Mighty Whitewolf Tribe or any tribe stand the slightest chance against a Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni?" Chief Silvertooth nced at the unwilling warriors.

    "I''ve never heard or even seen a Golden Suanni with golden mes like this one. It must be a unique ability that only purer bloodlines could awaken. That means this Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni is noble even among the Golden Suannis in the n."

    "There isn''t a single person in the Infertile ins that can stand up against such a powerful beast. Not even the Battle God from the Battle God Pce was this powerful during his prime, not to mention don''t hear from the Battle God anymore."

    "Given these circumstances, who else can contest the Golden Suanni Tribe for hegemony?" Chief Silvertooth asked.

    However, even then, Chief Silvertooth was not finished.

    "Furthermore, if the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni had note to our aid, this ce would have most likely been our grave. As such, we, the people of the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe, owe our lives to the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni."

    "You speak too seriously, Chief. If we couldn''t defeat these creatures, we could always¡ª"

    "Always, what? Retreat and flee from the battlefield like cowards? The Mighty Whitewolf Tribe only has warriors, not cowards."

    "You''re right, Chief. I have misspoken," the warrior reflected on his words before focusing on the battlefield ahead, which had beenpletely transformed into a sea of golden mes.

    The army of Whitebone Fiends on the northern side had beenpletely decimated by the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni.

    If that had not been the case, they wouldn''t even have the luxury to chat so idly.

    "The strength of the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni is truly unfathomable," Chief Silvertooth sighed with envy and reverence before saying, "It might not be a bad idea following the Golden Suanni Tribe''s lead."

    "With the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni around, forget about the Infertile ins; we have a chance at dominating the entire continent and ridding the demons for good!"

    After Chief Silvertooth said that, the other warriors could not help but feel their blood boil with excitement and anticipation.

    Nevertheless, that vision was soon shattered by dark mes entering the picture.

    "What''s wrong, Goldenstride? You''re a bit slow over here. I''ve already cleaned up my side of the battle and came to help," Nightingale chortled as she flew in andid waste to thend with her ck hellfire.

    The new batch of Whitebone Fiends climbing over the top of the crater were quickly turned into ck charcoal. A few momentster, the charcoal crumbled into ashes and scattered in the wind.

    "Since when was this apetition, Lord Nightingale?" Goldenstride replied wryly, but still, he increased his rate of extermination.

    Although Nightingale made a jab at Goldenstride, Goldenstride showed Nightingale great respect even when they were both Divine Beasts.

    After all, Nightingale had saved the Golden Suanni n, even if it was under the Lord''s order.

    "Apetition makes things more interesting, no?" Nightingale coolly replied with a slight smile.

    Nightingale casually chatted like she was taking a stroll in the park despite annihting hundreds of Whitebone Fiends in the same moment.

    "I suppose," Goldenstride replied after some thought before asking, "But if you came over, I presume you also cleaned up the western side, Lord Nightingale?"

    "Err¡­" Nightingale was stunned by the question.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Chief Silvertooth and the other warriors on the northern side of the crater were all shocked by the appearance of the huge flying earth dragon.

    "W-what kind of situation is this? There wasn''t just a Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni but also a Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon?" a Mid-rank Battle King eximed with shock.

    "Furthermore, they appear to be quite familiar with each other! There''s no way the Golden Suanni Tribe could have gained the cooperation of both the Golden Suanni and the Earth Dragon. They''ve not that capable; I''m sure of it!"

    It was already hard to ept that the Golden Suanni Tribe could mobilize a Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni from the Golden Suanni n.

    As such, many warriors agreed with the Mid-rank Battle King''s statement.

    "That Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon came from the other side of the crater¡­ But ording to their words, it seems like the Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon original came from the same western direction as the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni¡­" Chief Silvertooth analyzed.

    After pondering for a bit, Chief Silvertooth said, "Let''s head to the western side of the crater. There''s nothing left for us to do here."

    "Perhaps, over there, we can even find the answer as to why there are two Divine Beasts here."

    "Yes, Chief!"

 Chapter 1086 Power Testing

    ?

    Meanwhile, on the southern side of the crater, the ck Warbear Tribe and its subordinate tribes remained stunned after the flying ck Earth Dragon decimated the Whitebone Fiends in the area with its dark mes before taking off to another location.

    "Chief, Chief! What are your orders, Chief?" a Low-rank Battle King from the ck Warbear Tribe repeatedly called out to Chief ckbear.

    Nevertheless, it still took some time before Chief ckbear and the other warriors in the area recovered from their shock.

    "What?" Chief ckbear nced at the Low-rank Battle King.

    "Your orders, Chief. What are your orders? What should we do now? The Earth Dragon dealt with these devil spawns, but we don''t know whether the Earth Dragon is a friend or foe. It could direct its dark mes at uster," the Low-rank Battle King voiced his concern.

    Although the Low-rank Battle King didn''t mention it directly, everyone understood that he implied whether they should stay or leave.

    "If the Earth Dragon was a foe, where can we even go?" Chief ckbear replied while gazing at the uphill in the distance.

    "A flying Earth Dragon is unheard of. This Earth Dragon must have tapped into the power of the Divine. There must be some reason why this Earth Dragon suddenly appeared here in the Central Region."

    "I think it came from the western direction. Maybe we will find our answer there¡ª"

    Boom!

    Just as Chief ckbear nced towards the west, he suddenly saw the western sky brightened with myriads of colored lights before the ground shook from a powerful impact.

    Fuuu¡­

    Chief ckbear and several warriors deeply inhaled to relieve their shock and tension. Something was definitely happening on the western side of the crater.

    "Let''s go. We''ll head over to the western side and check on the situation."

    "Yes, Chief!"

    ¡­

    A few moments earlier¡­

    After Leon sent Goldenstride and Nightingale out to take care of the southern and northern sides, Leon gazed at the Whitebone Fiends roaming the western side from atop the hill with Rainshine and the others.

    "My Lord, if you sent Lord Goldenstride and Lord Nightingale to deal with the northern and southern sides, who would deal with the creatures here?" Chief Ironshield asked.

    "I will deal with them," Leon replied coolly.

    "You will, my Lord?"

    "That''s right."

    Chief Ironshield, Chief Sar-Rakshi, Chief Sul-Dahki, and all the elite warriors were all stunned by Leon''s decision. But in the next moment, their eyes brightened with anticipation.

    There was not a single person among them that wasn''t curious about Leon''s strength.

    Nevertheless, after Leon gave his confirmation, he soared into the sky and nced down on the Whitebone Fiends in the area.

    A portion of the Whitebone Fiends was attracted to the southern and northern sides, but a majority of the Whitebone Fiends roamed the center of the western side aimlessly.

    ''I can finally test the power of an Early-stage Truth Manifestation Realm cultivator with fifteen Law Fruits,'' Leon mused. The Whitebone Fiends will do just fine for target practice.

    Dark power surged out of Leon''s Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness a few momentster and spread outside his body before condensing into a ck spear of pure dark energy.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Leon hurled the dark-powered spear without hesitation. It cut through the air with great momentum, causing the air to weigh down on Whitebone Fiends as if gravity had increased.

    However, it onlysted a split second before the dark-powered spear struck the ground in the next instance.

    Boom!

    The dark-powered spear erupted on impact. The rapidly expanding ck sphere of dark energy instantly swallowed hundreds of Whitebone Fiends.

    Nevertheless, the ck sphere deted shortly after, leaving behind a huge crater with hundreds of withered corpses as if every form of energy and fluid had been wrung out of their bodies.

    Although it was just a casual attack, it wasparable to the attack of an Early Paragon.

    If he had used a spirit art, it would have been even more powerful.

    However, Leon wasn''t concerned about that. He was still in the midst of testing his power. After testing his dark power, Leon tested the power of two Law Fruits next.

    Fire and darkness merged before forming dark mes in Leon''s hand. After it condensed into a dark me spear, he fired it like thest one.

    Boom!

    Hundreds of Whitebone Fiends were immediately engulfed in the eruption of dark mes. Their bodies quickly crumbled like broken charcoal, and not long after, they disintegrated into ashes.

    The attack was stronger than thest attack, but it was still far from beingparable to the attack of a Mid Paragon; it was about the middle stage of Early Paragon at best.

    "These dark mes were quite simr to Nightingale''s dark mes. However, Nightingale''s dark mes were far more powerful than this¡­" Leon mused.

    Shortly after, he tested the power of three Law Fruits by adding the power of the Sr Fruit. The addition of sr power immediately raised the power of the dark mes to the Mid Paragon level.

    Nevertheless, it was hard to still call it dark mes at that point. After fusing the three powers, the orb of dark mes transformed into a ball of ck light.

    It looked like a ck hole with an event horizon marking the borders of light entering it.

    However, the ball of ck light didn''t have any of the ck hole''s gravitational power. Instead, it had a scorching-high temperature full of destructiveness.

    When Leon fired the ball of ck light, a pir of ck light descended towards a group of Whitebone Fiends on the ground like aser beam.

    Zinggg¡ª!

    The ck beam sted a deep hole straight through the ground, unlike the previous two attacks. Only a few Whitebone Fiends were caught in it.

    However, little remained of their visible existence; they were vaporized into atoms.

    It was clear that the triplew-powered attack had far great prative power in exchange for therge destruction range it had lost.

    "The power rose exponentially with additionalw power added, huh?" Leon mused.

    He still couldn''t guess how powerful his attack would be if he fused the power of all fifteenw fruits on his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    That being said, it might not be that easy to fuse them.

 Chapter 1087 Power Testing (2)

    ?

    With the power of darkness enveloping the otherw powers, it was easy to bind the different powers together.

    However, that was just putting the powers together. Topletely fuse them was much harder and increasingly challenging with each additionalw power added to the mix.

    Furthermore, some powers mixed well while others conflicted and made fusion far more difficult.

    Nevertheless, Leon continued to test the limits of his abilities and power output. He proceeded to add the lightning power to the mix.

    Lightning and fire had always produced great destructiveness. Even so, the result still exceeded his expectation.

    After fusing lightning power with fire, sr, and dark powers, Leon was able to produce an attack on the same level as the very peak of Mid Paragon, just a bit short of reaching the power of Late Paragons.

    Leon fired the quadruplew-powered attack at the Whitebone Fiends below before he witnessed a new result that differed from the previous three instances of his attacks.

    This time, the ck lightning lost both its destructive range and prative power. But in return, it gained pure destructiveness.

    Multiple Whitebone Fiends were obliterated¡ªalmost the same way the Destruction Law would affect them.

    Afterward, Leon fused the wood power with lightning, fire, sr, and darkness and produced a power that rivaled the Peak Paragons.

    Furthermore, the quintuplew-powered attack gained a chain reaction effect that allowed it to bounce from target to target indiscriminately, obliterating everything organic within a fixed distance.

    It wasn''t just strong; it was extremely deadly.

    "I should be careful when using this kind of attack in the future," Leon frowned in thought.

    He could easily wipe out his own people if they were ever caught in the attack, whether it was an ident or not.

    "On the other hand, I have only fused one-third of my Law Fruits, and I even picked the rtively easier ones to fuse together," Leon muttered to himself.

    Of course, there were also otherbinations ofw power he could try, like the primary five elemental powers.

    However, he already understood what kind of power he could produce from that; it wouldn''t increase his attack power like he had sought.

    "I am already nearing my limit. Whatever I try to fuse with the previous fivew powers at this point will have conflicting properties. An imperfect fusion will cause a loss of power¡­"

    Nevertheless, this was what he was testing for ¨C to experiment and explore what he could and couldn''t do, so he wouldn''t make critical mistakes during important moments.

    Even if he deemed a sextuplew fusion to be extremely difficult, he still had to try it.

    "I have the highest aplishment in the Death Law right now¡­ But the Death Law won''t increase the destructiveness of my currentbination ofw powers¡­" Leon mused.

    The power of death was Yin in nature, while lightning, fire, and sr power were all Yang.

    Adding death power into thebination would only generate a loss of power from the conflicting powers canceling each other out.

    "As I thought, if I want to continue increasing the destructiveness of my attack beyond quintuplew fusion, there''s only one thing suitable power to use," Leon thought after some contemtion.

    Shortly after, Leon started to fuse the power of his Destruction Fruit into the quintuplew-powered attack to create a sextuplew-powered attack.

    However, the proceeded more smoothly than he anticipated.

    At that point, the quintuplew fusionbination was already simr to the power of destruction. After adding destruction power into the mix, they merged like two mas attracted to each other.

    More importantly, the power generated from his sessfully sextuplew fusion soared like adding oil to fire.

    Leon couldn''t contain the power for long before he was forced to fire it at the Whitebone Fiends. The result was a destructive st that wiped out thousands of Whitebone Fiends in an instance.

    Even Chief Ironshield and the others standing on the hill quite some distance away from the area felt the aftermath of the powerful st.

    Several elite warriors from the Divine Tortoise Tribe were forced to look away due to the strong winds hurting their eyes.

    When the force died down and they could observe the situation ahead once more, they were quickly stunned by what they saw.

    A huge crater was created as a result of Leon''s sextuplew-powered attack.

    Fuuu!

    "T-this¡­ this is the Lord''s power? H-how powerful!" Chief Sar-Rakshi eximed after sucking in a deep breath of cool air.

    "I didn''t know shamanic powers could reach such an extent¡­ Even the Battle God''s shamanic power wasn''t this stronger¡­" an elite warrior from the Divine Tortoise Tribemented.

    Due to the elite warrior''sck of knowledge, every power that wasn''t generated from physical might was automaticallybeled as shamanic power.

    "As expected of the Lord. Someone who could obtain the Golden Suanni n''s allegiance would definitely be extraordinary," another elite warrior from the Divine Tortoise Tribemented excitedly.

    The elite warriors were all d that such a powerful person was their Lord.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Leon continued to hover in the sky while looking down on the result of his attack.

    "About the same level as a Half-step Divine Origin, huh?" Leon quietly muttered with a calm look, feeling neither surprised nor disappointed by the result.

    It was as if he had expected¡ªor rather, calcted as much.

    "An Early-stage Truth Manifestation Realm cultivator that can use energy-based attacks on the same level as Half-step Divine Origin Realm practitioners¡­ Something like this would definitely be unheard of," Leon thought with amusement.

    Nevertheless, this sort ofw fusion was only possible because of his True Grandmist Body''s high affinity with the elements.

    The power of darkness from his Truth Manifestation Tree was only meant to let me use multiplew powers simultaneously and not as a single fused entity.

    That being said, Leon wondered how powerful the attack would be if he used the power from all of his fifteen Law Fruits simultaneously.

    "I don''t think it would be more powerful than a sextuplew fusion attack, but it shouldn''t be weak either. I will find out shortly¡­" Leon mused while preparing for his next test.

    If the destructive power isn''t too bad, he wouldn''t mind using it more often.

    After all, a sextuplew fusion attack was simply too demanding in terms of energy consumption.

    An ordinary Early-stage Truth Manifestation Realm cultivator wouldn''t have the energy reserve for that level of attack.

 Chapter 1088 Unprecedented Force Of Destruction

    ?

    A few momentster, Leon started channeling the power from all his Law Fruits out of his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    The multi-colored energy flowed out from the Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness like colorful vein-like threads. They then weaved around each other like coils before being ovepped by dark energy, concealing their colorful light from being seen from the outside.

    Only a thicker ck thread of darkness could be seen; the colorful lights of the other fourteenw powers were hidden.

    Nevertheless, as the dark energy thread tightened, the other fourteenw powers were forced to draw closer to each other.

    However, the force of mutual repulsion and attraction began to act on each thread ofw power as they pushed and pulled.

    Ultimately, the force of repulsion was much stronger.

    But with nowhere to go due to the tightening dark energy thread and the coiling of the fourteen other energy threads, the fourteen energy threads eventually shattered into countless multi-colored particles.

    For a period of time, the countless multi-colored energy particles were like the colorful clusters of stars in outer space. s, they were eventually spread out as the ck thread of dark energy continued to shrink and bind them.

    At a certain point, the clusters of multiple-colored energy particles rearranged themselves under the force of attraction and repulsion and hit a state of equilibrium.

    As such, a harmonious rtionship was created, where they are allpletely locked into ce by the mutual force of attraction and repulsion acting on each energy particle within the dark energy thread.

    "This is¡­"

    Leon studied the thread of multiple-colored lights after the energy particles were all bounded and locked together by the force of attraction and repulsion within the dark energy thread.

    At a single nce, it looked like an extremely sturdy energy thread, even though the various energy particles were only connected tightly and not fused as one.

    However, Leon was aware of just how dangerous the multi-colored energy thread truly was. He couldn''t imagine what kind of force would be generated if the multi-colored energy thread''s harmony was disrupted.

    Besides that, Leon had some doubts regarding the harmonious multi-colored energy thread created.

    "This colorful energy thread looks almost like celestial energy¡­" Leon thought.

    Although Leon thought that way, there were still some clear differences between the multi-colored energy thread and celestial energy.

    For instance, celestial energy contained every color, just like the sun. Except ordinary human eyes could only perceive it as white due to its intense brightness.

    Furthermore, celestial energy was still multi-colored, whether it was a single celestial energy particle or a celestial energy thread. In contrast, the multi-colored energy thread Leon created could only retain its colorfulness as a thread.

    Nevertheless, the multi-colored energy thread hidden within the dark energy thread resembled celestial energy and gave Leon some ideas.

    ''If I can create celestial energy at the Truth Manifestation Realm, I would have a powerful trump card to use during crucial moments¡­ But celestial energy without celestial arts is nothing¡­'' Leon mused.

    ''Well, for now, I better get rid of this thing,'' Leon nced at the dark energy thread in his hand.

    The multi-colored energy thread inside was too rigid and inflexible; it couldn''t be bent or twisted to form any magic seals for any celestial arts¡ªor perhaps, even divine arts.

    It was apparent that even if he wanted to create or imitate celestial energy, he was still far from his goal.

    Nevertheless, Leon increased his power output, and the dark energy thread ergened into a dark spear. The multi-colored energy inside had also increased in volume.

    Shortly after, Leon fired it at the devastated ground below, where a group of Whitebone Fiends was just starting to regroup again after they climbed out of the crater.

    The moment the tip of the dark spear deformed under the impact of the collision with the ground, countless energy particles within the multi-colored energy thread shed chaotically.

    Theplete copse of the harmonious rtionship within the multi-colored energy thread resulted in a deadly force that made even Leon, who was high in the sky, feel danger.

    Leon immediately fled at the first sign of danger.

    Boom!

    The explosive power contained within the dark energy spear immediately ripped apart the earth as it rapidly expanded.

    Thousands of Whitebone Fiends and countless tons of earth were swallowed in the fiery ck spherical cloud of chaotic energy that revolved with tremendous force, pulling everything towards it like a powerful vacuum.

    As the ck spherical cloud of chaotic energy rapidly expanded, the vacuum force also increased tremendously.

    Large pieces ofnd were torn from the ground and sucked into the violent revolving ck spherical cloud of chaotic energy along with countless Whitebone Fiends and unfathomable amounts of air and energy.

    The ck spherical cloud of chaotic energy inted violently, and various spots of multi-colored light started to escape from it.

    In that instance, a greater sense of danger was felt by Leon and also everyone else back on the distant hill.

    Even as Chief Silvertooth''s group arrived at the edges from the northern side and Chief ckbear''s group arrived at the edges from the southern side, their faces paled with horror.

    The suction force was simply too terrifying!

    "Be careful!"

    "Retreat!"

    Both sides quickly cried in horror as they pulled their troops away from the area.

    Just when everyone thought a greater explosion would ur from the copse of the enormous spherical ck cloud of chaotic energy, it started to shrink with decreasing momentum.

    Eventually, the spherical ck cloud of chaotic energy became so small and weak that it vanished like a wisp of smoke dispersing into the air at the epicenter.

    However, the devastation it left behind would be forever etched into the memories of everyone that witnessed it.

    About nine-tenths of the western side had been swallowed in the energy eruption, leaving an enormous crater that was one-fifth of its neighboring crater.

    The horrendous eruption of energy had far exceeded the scope of Half-step Celestials and entered the realms of the Celestials.

    Even Early Rank 1 Celestial Warriors would be hard-pressed to recreate such a powerful attack.

    Leon''s lips twitched at the extent of the devastation.

 Chapter 1089 Palace Master Ragnir

    ?

    Who would have known that the fifteenw powers could create such an unprecedented level of destruction once their harmony was disturbed?

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t find it surprising to ept after giving it some thought.

    After all, the fourteenw powers within the dark energy thread were already bound to their limits. Once the harmony in their binding force was disrupted, it was like trying to fuse all fourteenw powers while containing them forcefully.

    The failed fusion of so manyw powers would naturally have dire consequences. That being said, it was still something that could be weaponized.

    Nevertheless, Leon couldn''t imagine how much greater the level of destruction would have been if he had pumped any more power into the attack.

    Gulp!

    Chief Ironshield, Chief Sar-Rakshi, Chief Sul-Dahki, and the elite warriors of the Divine Tortoise Tribe all swallowed hard on their saliva.

    The suction force almost lifted some of them off their feet and pulled them into the spherical ck cloud of chaotic energy.

    If that happened, they would have died without a doubt.

    "T-this is the strength of the Lord? T-that was so horrifying¡­!" Chief Sar-Rakshimented with shock, awe, and fear before he added nervously, "But I suppose a Hegemon has to possess this much power¡­"

    Whoever had rebellious thoughts against Hegemon Leonhardt could have their entire tribe erased with the snap of a finger.

    Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki were utterly convinced that Leon was stronger than Nightingale. They didn''t believe anyone could survive being hit by such destructive power.

    It was fortunate that they had such a powerful person as their Lord and not their enemy.

    After all, Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki wouldn''t be able to sleep in peace knowing their enemy could hurl one of those dark energy spears and end everything in an instance.

    "Your might is unparalleled, my Lord!"

    Chief Ironshield and everyone else dropped to their knees and lowered their heads out of respect and fear after Leon returned to the hill. Even Rainshine simrly lowered her head in worship.

    Leon smiled ruefully at everyone''s reaction.

    If his position hadn''t been cemented in their hearts before, it was definitely cemented after what they had just witnessed.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the eastern side of the crater, the warriors on the battlefront jointly led by the Battle God Pce and Holy Sunfire Tribe all felt the sudden earthquake.

    "C-chief! Did you feel that powerful tremor just now?" a warrior of the Holy Sunfire Tribe asked.

    "I would be a fool if I didn''t feel such a powerful shaking," Chief Whiteme solemnly replied while gazing into the distant western direction with narrowed eyes.

    "The source of the earthquake most likely came from the crater¡ªNo, the other side of the crater!"

    After Chief Whiteme quickly determined the source of the earthquake, he quickly urged his people, "Hurry up and finish off these creatures! We will head over to the western side to check on the situation once we are done here!"

    "Yes, Chief!"

    The warriors of the Holy Sunfire Tribe quickly charged at the Whitebone Fiends with their fiery Soul Weapons and attacked with greater ferocity.

    The Holy Sunfire Tribe was well-known for making fire-attribute Soul Weapons capable of igniting with strong mes.

    Although the additional fire attribute doesn''t necessarily increase the quality of the Soul Weapon itself, the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s fire-attribute Soul Weapons had certainly shown their strength in the battle against the Whitebone Fiends.

    ¡­

    "Pce Master, it seems like Chief Whiteme is preparing to lead his people away after finishing off the creatures in this area. Should we follow them?" A Low-rank Battle King from the Battle God Pce asked.

    However, Supreme Elder Ragnir¡ªor rather, it was Pce Master Ragnir now, shook his head.

    "No, we will not follow them. If it weren''t because these creatures posed a great threat to our borders, we wouldn''t even be here," Pce Master Ragnir stated.

    There was only a short distance between the enormous crater and Steelpeak Mountains, where the Battle God Pce was situated.

    "Once we are done here, we will immediately return to Steelpeak Mountains and fortify our defenses. There are too many forces here. If they all decide to join forces andunch a surprise attack on our Battle God Pce, we will not be able to resist them."

    "Understood, Pce Master," the Battle God Pce''s warriors replied obediently.

    All the warriors present were Pce Master Ragnir''s most loyal subordinates even before he ascended the throne and became the Pce Master of the Battle God Pce.

    Nevertheless, they could not help but cast their gaze to the west. They did not like the fact that they would remain oblivious to whatever was happening on the western side of the crater.

    "Of course, we won''t be investigating with our main force, but that doesn''t mean we can ignore whatever is happening in the west. We will send scouts to investigate," Pce Master Ragnir stated.

    "Our options are limited until our other forces return from their campaign in the Eastern Region. It would be best if they could finish conquering the eastern tribes in the next three days."

    "Given the elites of our Battle God Pce had been sent out toplete the task, I believe it is only a matter of time, Pce Master," a Mid-rank Battle King reassured.

    "Hmm¡­"

    Pce Master Ragnir silently acknowledged the Mid-rank Battle King''s statement even though there weren''t any sources to back it up.

    Nevertheless, after a few moments, Pce Master Ragnir frowned and asked, "Has the little runt been caught yet?"

    "My deepest apologies, Pce Master," the warrior in charge of capturing Young Master Zion lowered his head fearfully.

    "We''ve scoured the entire Steelpeak Mountains, but we still haven''t found the Third Pce Lord''s youngest son. However, our leads did suggest that Young Master Zion had already fled from Steelpeak Mountains."

    "Furthermore, there''s a high chance that the Holy Sunfire Tribe had captured him," the warrior added.

    "Captured by the Holy Sunfire Tribe, huh?" Pce Master Ragnir frowned deeply before saying, "It will be troublesome if the Holy Sunfire Tribe learns what happened within the Battle God Pce."

    "After we return to the pce, have some scouts sent out to investigate the Holy Sunfire Tribe. Report back once any new leads on the little brat are found."

    "Yes, Pce Master!"

 Chapter 1090 Lingering Danger

    ?

    Shortly after Pce Master Ragnir finished talking to the warrior in charge of tracking down Young Master Zion, a High-rank Battle King turned to him.

    "Pce Master, if Third Pce Lord''s youngest son was caught by the Holy Sunfire Tribe, wouldn''t it be toote to stop them from learning what happened inside the Battle God Pce?" a High-rank Battle King asked.

    "Not necessarily," Pce Master Ragnir replied with narrowed eyes.

    "The entire Battle God Pce was locked down during our house-cleaning operation to seal all news from escaping Steelpeak Mountains. Furthermore, Steelpeak Mountains is isted from the rest of the Central Region."

    "As such, no one outside of the Battle God Pce would know what''s going on inside. If the Holy Sunfire Tribe captured someone important like that little brat, their first thought wouldn''t be to interrogate him but to use him as a hostage and gain an advantage over the Third Pce Lord."

    "But the Third Pce Lord is dead, along with the rest of his family and everyone else from the First Pce Lord and Second Pce Lord," the High-rank Battle King mentioned.

    "Exactly," Pce Master Ragnir affirmed with a nod.

    "However, the Holy Sunfire Tribe doesn''t know that. I don''t know why they are waiting, but they will realize the little brat has no value as a hostage once they try to ckmail our Battle God Pce."

    "Until then, the little brat wouldn''t spill anything on his own if he is smart enough," Pce Master Ragnir said.

    "But what if the Holy Sunfire Tribe didn''t actually follow what Pce Master said and interrogated the Third Pce Lord''s youngest son first to gain intel on our Battle God Pce?"

    "Then forget I said anything," Pce Master Ragnir casually said.

    "Nevertheless, if there''s a chance that the Holy Sunfire Tribe hasn''t learned anything, it''s best that we kill the little brat before they learn something. At the very least, it would save us some trouble. If not, it doesn''t matter too much anyway."

    "I see¡­"

    ¡­

    "Chief, the Battle God Pce''s forces are pulling away early," a warrior of the Holy Sunfire Tribe notified after discovering the movements of the Battle God Pce.

    Chief Whiteme nced at the retreating forces of the Battle God Pce before he casually said, "Ignore them. The Battle God Pce was useless against these creatures anyway. It was our Holy Sunfire Tribe doing all the work anyway."

    "But what if the Battle God Pce takes this chance to attack our tribe while we are busy here?" the warrior mentioned.

    After hearing that, Chief Whiteme''s expression changed immediately.

    "Whiteash, I''ll leave you in charge of matters here with half the warriors. The rest will follow me back to the tribe in case the Battle God Pce targets our tribe."

    "Understood, Chief. You can leave it to me."

    Shortly after the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s forces finished dealing with some of the Whitebone Fiends on the eastern side of the crater, Chief Whiteme immediately left the region with half his forces.

    "Since Chief Whiteme left, we will also start moving," Whiteash informed the remaining warriors left under hismand.

    "Yes, Lord Whiteash!"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, some distance away from the southern edges of the newly-formed western crater that neighbored therger one, Chief ckbear and his people gradually approached the edge of the crater after recovering from their shock.

    The violent spherical storm of chaotic energy was gone, but the devastation it left behind forever scarred thend.

    Within the newly-formed crater, the ckened ground still sizzled with intense heat.

    Chief ckbear and his people stared hard at the hot ck soil before a warrior decided to approach a little closer to investigate.

    "Don''t touch it!" Chief ckbear barked, causing the warrior to retract his hand immediately.

    "We don''t know what kind of power caused such destruction here. It would be unwise of you to touch anything here without proper knowledge of what it could do to you. Of course, if you think you have too many lives to spare, you can try again."

    The warrior smiled awkwardly without attempting to touch the ckened soil again. He had lost his courage¡ªor rather, he hadn''t thought about the potential danger when he made the first attempt.

    Nevertheless, the warrior paused in thought before tearing a piece of his cloth and tossing it onto the ckened soil.

    Poof!

    The piece of cloth immediately vaporized into the air.

    Upon seeing that, the warrior''s body trembled with shock and fear. Fortunately, the chief had warned him.

    At the same time, Chief ckbear and the other warriors turned solemn after witnessing what happened.

    "Such destructive power¡­!" a High-rank Battle Master eximed after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. Then, he added, "This can''t be the work of mortals."

    Although the chaotic energy storm had disappeared, the lingering danger had not.

    Nevertheless, while Chief ckbear and his people were trying to make sense of what happened on the western side, several warriors spotted the huge figures of the Golden Suanni and Earth Dragon returning.

    "Chief, look! It''s the Divine Beast-level Earth Dragon! And there''s also a¡­ flying Golden Suanni?! Don''t tell me it''s also a Divine Beast?!"

    After the warrior from the ck Warbear Tribe alerted, Chief ckbear and everyone else were also startled as they cast their gazes in the pointed direction.

    "It really is a Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni¡­" Chief ckbear uttered with astonishment before wondering, "Since when did Divine Beasts be somon?"

    "They''re flying towards that hill over there, Chief!" a warrior alerted before mentioning, "I think I see some people over there. Could they have something to do with the destruction in this ce?"

    "We''ll know once we head over there," Chief ckbear firmly decided.

    "We''re going to where the Divine Beasts are headed¡­? Is that a good idea?" a warrior had misgivings regarding Chief ckbear''s decision.

    "If someone had this much power, don''t you think it is wise to quickly submit to such a person or being? Or would you rather be the enemy of such a powerful being?" Chief ckbear casually said.

    He made it pretty clear what the obvious choice was if they wanted to live.

 Chapter 1091 Voluntary Submission

    ?

    "Furthermore, two Divine Beasts-level beings appeared out of nowhere. At first, I assumed they were attracted by what fell on thisnd. However, those two Divine Beasts are flying close to each other as if they are on the same side."

    "Given that they are flying towards the same destination, they must be rted to the person or being that created this crater. Besides this person, who else is more qualified to be the Infertile ins'' Hegemon?" Chief ckbear uttered with a sigh.

    Even if Chief ckbear wanted to be a hegemon, hecked the capability to actually be one. He was made painfully aware of that fact.

    ¡­

    On the far northern edge of the new crater where Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s forces and the forces of their subordinate tribes arrived, Chief Silvertooth was having simr thoughts as Chief ckbear.

    Even though they were separated by tens of miles, they were painfully aware of the situation when the two Divine Beasts appeared.

    "Whoever controls the two Divine Beasts also controls the fate of the Infertile ins," Chief Silvertooth spoke while gazing at the ckened soil within the crater.

    "We have no choice but to submit to such great power, don''t we?" the leader of a subordinate tribe asked.

    "If the difference in strength wasn''t great, we could still try," Chief Silvertooth said before adding, "In fact, it''s why thepetition within the Central Region is so intense; our strength was more or less around the same level."

    "However, the difference in our strength here is so vast that thepetition wouldn''t even exist. It will just be a pointless massacre if we try to resist and oppose this kind of power."

    "Let us go and meet the powerful being. With this much power, it''s time to end the battle for hegemony once and for all. We''ve spilled enough blood in this war," Chief Silvertooth stated.

    "Understood, Chief Silvertooth!" the warriorsplied.

    Even Chief Silvertooth was aware that the battle for hegemony had gone out of hand.

    But even though he was aware of that, he still continued to spill more blood to ensure his own Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s interest. He had no choice but to keep making mistakes for that purpose.

    Chief Silvertooth was unwilling to let his Mighty Whitewolf Tribe live under any of the other three King-rank tribes, which weren''t superior to them.

    However, now a newly emerging power thatpletely eclipsed the whole Infertile ins. Chief Silvertooth naturally has no choice but to bow to such great power.

    "Let us move!" Chief Silvetooth barked.

    Before long, the forces under Chief Silvertooth began making their way around the western crater with the distant hill as their destination.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Goldenstride and Nightingale returned to the hill afterpleting their task.

    Goldenstride was forced tond further away, but Nightingale directly shrank back into human form after circting her celestial energy ording to the Divine Beast Transformation Art.

    "Ahem!" Leon coughed.

    Nightingale immediately realized the reason for Leon''s cough before she quickly put on a new set of clothes.

    Nevertheless, Chief Sar-Rakshi, Chief Sul-Dahki, and a few elite warriors from the Divine Tortoise Tribe all had a good look. They were spellbound by her beauty, but s, they quickly snapped out of it.

    They did not dare to direct any impure gazes and thoughts are someone who was a Divine Beast.

    "My Lord, the destruction in thisnd¡­ did you do this?" Nightingale inquired with some lingering astonishment.

    Goldenstride immediately perked his ears to listen.

    Whether it was Goldenstride or Nightingale, they had both sensed the tremendous surge of energy and destruction from a distance, and both felt shocked by it.

    Even after flying over the vast crater, they couldn''t hide their astonishment and fear.

    Besides the Lord, they couldn''t think of anyone else who could have possibly had the power to create such a huge crater.

    Although they didn''t experience it firsthand, they could tell that there was enough power behind the destruction to destroy them if they had been hit by it head-on.

    "Yeah, I was testing some things, and I guess you can say that it got a little out of hand," Leon replied wryly while shifting his gaze to the crate ahead.

    It wasn''t as big as the one created by whatever fell from outer space, but it was still big enough to open a new entrance to the abyss.

    A seemingly bottomless hole was seen at the center of the crater¡ªmuch like the one found in its far bigger neighboring crater next door.

    "Your power is unparalleled, my Lord!" Nightingale bowed with worship and awe after receiving Leon''''s confirmation.

    "Unparalleled, huh?" Leon muttered with a slight smile before shaking his head. He was still far from it.

    How could he be considered unparalleled when there were far stronger existences out there? He was still an ant in the vast universe.

    "Hm?" Goldenstride''s ears twitched before turning his head in one direction and saying, "We have unweed visitors, my Lord. Should I deal with them?"

    When Chief ckbear''s group heard the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni utter those words, their entire bodies froze in shock and fear.

    On the one hand, they werepletely intimidated by the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni. And on the other hand, they were shocked to confirm that the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni had a lord.

    At the same time, Chief ckbear also recognized Chief Ironshield in the distance, along with Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki standing not too far away from Chief Ironshield.

    Those two warriors appeared to be tribal chiefs from the Western Region, if he remembered correctly.

    "No need. We''ll see what they want first," Leon waved his hand dismissively at Goldenstride before making his way through the crowd.

    Before long, Leon stopped in front of Chief ckbear and his people without only a few yards between them.

    "Who are you, and what do you want?" Leon casually asked.

    However, to Chief ckbear and his people, Leon''s words were like the mandates of heaven; they demandedplete obedience and honesty.

    Without a doubt, Chief ckbear immediately understood that the person before him was the leader of the group.

    Furthermore, this person was also strong beyond belief and possessed a power unlike any other.

    "I am Chief ckbear of the ck Warbear Tribe, and I havee to express our voluntary submission."

    "Please ept our allegiance!"

    Chief ckbear and his people all knelt simultaneously as if they had rehearsed it.

 Chapter 1092 The Bicker Between Chiefs

    ?

    Before Leon could open his mouth to ept Chief ckbeard and his people''s allegiance, Chief Silvertooth and his people came rushing over after discovering another group of warriors was one step ahead of them.

    "Your Excellency, I, Chief Silvertooth of the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe, and my people would also like to submit to you! Please ept our allegiance too!"

    "Chief Silvertooth, huh? I see you also had the same thoughts as I. Unfortunately, you camete. Hmph, you better wait in line for your turn. We were first!" Chief ckbear snorted after Chief Silvertooth interrupted at the crucial moment when the supreme being was about to ept them.

    "Mim-mim-mim-mim-mim-meh. What are you, a child? Who cares if you came first or not. It''s not up to you to decide the order. The supreme being will decide whether to ept us or not," Chief Silvertooth responded cynically yet immaturely.

    "You¡­!" Chief ckbear felt his blood boil after listening to Chief Silvertooth''s mockery.

    Nevertheless, Chief ckbear forcefully calmed himself with a deep breath before asking Chief Silvertooth in a low tone, "Do you dare challenge to a life-or-death battle right now?"

    "O-ho, such bloodlust. I''m scared~!" Chief Silvertooth reacted exaggeratedly before shaking his head.

    "Why would I want to fight you? If the supreme being epts all of us, we''ll be on the same side. You are directing your killing intent at a potential fellow subordinate under the supreme being. I question your usefulness because it seems like you''ll be a problem instead."

    "I''m not sure if the supreme being would want to ept a problematic person like you into the ranks. Who knows if you would start killing everyone you bear a grudge against in their sleep or not?" Chief Silvertooth added.

    "How dare you question my integrity as a warrior, Chief Silvertooth! You''ve gone too far with your words!" Chief ckbear barked furiously.

    "Chief ckbear, please calm down! Chief Silvertooth is intentionally trying to provoke you!" a High-rank Battle King from the ck Warbear Tribe quickly tried to appease his chief.

    "You think I don''t see that?!" Chief ckbear snapped before saying, "But how can I endure these insults? Chief Silvertooth is purposely trying to alienate us from the supreme being!"

    If they weren''t on the same side as the supreme being, they wouldn''t be able to sleep in peace at night!

    Meanwhile, Chief Ironshield nced at the two King-rank tribal chiefs bicker with amusement.

    Chief Ironshield never thought there would be a day when he would see two great people fight over their submission to the Lord.

    Nevertheless, Chief Ironshield didn''t find it too surprising. The Lord''s power could bring the world to its knees, let alone two King-rank tribal chiefs.

    "That''s enough, both of you. I will ept everyone," Leon coolly said, having seen enough.

    "However, I do not condone any more killing. Enough human blood has been spilled on thesends. I don''t care if you verbally abuse each other or beat the sh*t out of each other. But once you are done, I expect you all to hold hands and work together."

    "Since you have pledged your allegiance to me, your lives are all mine. Without my permission, you are not allowed to kill each other. Is that clear?"

    "Yes, my Lord!" Chief Silvertooth and Chief ckbear answered along with their people.

    "Good! Then you may all rise."

    "Thank you, my Lord!"

    Eventually, everyone from the ck Warbear Tribe''s faction and the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s faction stood up again.

    Afterward, Chief Ironshield stepped forward and said, "With the addition of the ck Warbear Tribe and Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s forces, you now have control over half of the Infertile ins, my Lord."

    "All that is left is the Battle God Pce, Holy Sunfire Tribe, the Northern Region''s tribes, and the Eastern Region''s tribes. Once you bring these remaining powers under your rule, the Infertile ins will be unified again."

    "Hold on a minute," Chief Silvertooth interrupted before saying, "I can understand the Divine Tortoise Tribe and Western Region''s tribes being included, but what about the Southern Region''s tribes?"

    Chief Ironshield, Chief Sar-Rakshi, and Chief Sul-Dahki nced at Chief Silvertooth weirdly, causing the person to be taken aback.

    "What?" Chief Silvertooth uttered with surprise.

    "You pledged your allegiance to the Lord without knowing who he was, didn''t you? Chief Silvertooth?" Chief Ironshield inquired with a particr look.

    "Yeah, how did you know?"

    "Because if you knew who the Lord is, you wouldn''t mention the Southern Region''s tribes, Chief Silvertooth," Chief Ironshield stated before introducing Leon, "Our Lord is the alliance leader of the southern tribes, Young Master Leonhardt."

    "But given the Lord''s power and the forces under hismand, we''ve already started referring to the Lord as Hegemon Leonhardt," Chief Ironshield added.

    "Y-young Master Leonhardt? The Divine Doctor who can cure Demonic Possession?" Chief Silvertooth was startled to learn Leon''s identity.

    Although the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe was situated in the northern parts of the Infertile ins'' Central Region, Chief Silvertooth had still heard the rumors from the Southern Region.

    Chief Silvertooth didn''t expect Leon to be as young as he seemed.

    "Such power and capabilities at such a young age¡­ Such envious and heaven-defying talents¡­ This is totally inconceivable¡­" Chief Silvertooth muttered in his shock.

    Suddenly, Chief Silvertooth dropped to one of his knees in front of Leon again and said, "Allow me to pay my respects to you again, my Lord. I do not doubt that you were destined to lead us all."

    "That''s fine. You may rise."

    "Understood, my Lord."

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Chief ckbear was frozen in shock after learning about Leon''s identity as the Divine Doctor from the Darkmoon Tribe.

    There had been some friction between the ck Warbear Tribe and the southern tribes. After all, Chief ckbear had sent warriors to secretly cut off the southern tribes'' water supply.

    Furthermore, Chief ckbear had even sent people to bring the Divine Doctor back to the tribe.

    Although nothing happened in the end, it wasn''t wrong to say that Chief ckbear had offended the Lord on multiple asions.

    Chief ckbear wasn''t sure if the Lord would punish him for those offenses.

 Chapter 1093 Whiteashs Shock

    ?

    Nevertheless, Chief ckbear''s concerns were unfounded. Leon did not care about the ck Warbear Tribe''s past.

    "What is our next course of action, my Lord?" Chief Ironshield inquired.

    Leon nced at the two craters in the distance and discovered more Whitebone Fiends were still climbing out of the further crater.

    "There are still remnant forces of the Whitebone Fiends in the area. Once we secure the perimeters and eliminate all of them, we will investigate what fell into the abyss. We have to make sure the Whitebone Fiends arepletely eradicated before they pose further problems."

    "Understood, my Lord," Chief ckbear responded as he wanted to quickly leave before the Lord remembered his past offenses.

    "I will lead my forces back to secure the southern perimeters and check on the east while I am at it. I believe the Battle God Pce and the Holy Sunfire Tribe is still holding off the eastern side."

    "Not necessarily," Leon casually uttered after spotting arge group of warriors approaching from the southern side of the western crater. "It seems like they were also attracted over by the destruction I caused here."

    "Who can tell me which power they are affiliated with?" Leon asked shortly after.

    Chief Ironshield and the other chiefs immediately peered into the distance with squinted eyes as they tried to make out the details of the small figures.

    They strained their eyes for several breaths as the group drew closer before they eventually recognized the people approaching from afar.

    "I believe they are part of the Holy Sunfire Tribe, my Lord," Chief ckbear answered.

    "There are also some subordinate tribes'' forces with them. However, I don''t seem to see Chief Whiteme among them. Furthermore, they only seem to have half their forces."

    "That is only half their forces? There are at least five thousand warriors in that group¡ªabout the same as each of your forces."

    Leon turned to Chief ckbear and asked, "Are you saying the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s forces are as strong as your ck Warbear Tribe and Mighty Whitewolf Tribebined?"

    "Not at all, my Lord," Chief Silvertooth shook his head and said, "We''ve only dared to bring half our forces to investigate the impacted location."

    "I don''t know about the ck Warbear Tribe, but I left half my forces behind in the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe to guard against potential surprise attacks from the northern tribes."

    "It''s the same for us, my Lord. We also left behind half our forces to guard against¡­ the southern tribes," Chief ckbear added awkwardly towards the end of his sentence.

    "The Holy Sunfire Tribe is quite reckless or fearless, huh?" Leon muttered.

    "On the contrary, they are quite careful, my Lord," Chief Silvertooth corrected before exining, "The Holy Sunfire Tribe needed to bring their whole force with them to deter the Battle God Pce from attacking them during their investigation."

    "As for the eastern tribes, they are too busy defending against the Battle God Pce''s other forces tounch an attack on the Holy Sunfire Tribe."

    "I see," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    "But if the Battle God Pce recalled their troops from the Eastern Region to attack the Holy Sunfire Tribe, they would be caught in a pincer attack if the Battle God Pce decided to attack the Holy Sunfire Tribe instead, no?"

    "Not necessarily, my Lord," Chief Silvertooth shook his head again and said, "Every King-rank tribe in the Central Region is very well fortified."

    "Although the Battle God Pce possesses the strongest military power, it could take them days to breach the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s defenses. It won''t be easy for the Battle God Pce to conquer the Holy Sunfire Tribe."

    "Furthermore, with the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s main force right behind them, they''ll be drawn into an all-out war and suffer heavy casualties on both sides ¨C something both sides don''t want."

    "After all, once the Battle God Pce and Holy Sunfire Tribe are severely weakened from duking it out with each other, it would be easy for either my Mighty Whitewolf Tribe or the ck Warbear Tribe to swoop in and reap the benefits of theirbor.

    "I see," Leon understood the situation before saying, "Well, I suppose we should go and meet them for now."

    ¡­

    At that moment, Whiteash had just arrived at the edge of the western crater with his army of five thousand warriors.

    They had beenpletely shocked by the appearance of the second crater that came into view as they were drawing closer to the western side of the big crater.

    "What on Gaia happened here? The western side was supposed to be infested with the most monsters, but they have beenpletely eradicated," Whiteash gazed at the ckened soil within the crater with great astonishment.

    "Do you think another object had fallen from the heavens, Lord Whiteash?" a warrior from the Holy Sunfire Tribe wondered.

    "No, that shouldn''t have been the case," Whiteash shook his head and said, "We would have seen its descent clearly if that was the case. Furthermore, the crater''s formation here is different from the other one."

    "This ckened soil¡­ still has some sort of lingering power within them¡­ How strange¡­ What''s stranger is why didn''t find anyone from the ck Warbear Tribe''s faction while we passed through the southern side¡­" Whiteash said as he studied the ck soil along with the other warriors.

    Just as some of the warriors had thoughts of touching the ckened soil within the western crater, a sudden voice that appeared quite close warned them, "I wouldn''t touch that ckened soil if I were any of you."

    "Who?!"

    Whiteash and the rest of his men were immediately alerted as they raised their heads and followed the direction of the voice to locate the source.

    The voice hade from Chief Silvertooth, who was riding on the back of Goldenstride along with the other chiefs in the sky.

    When Whiteash saw Goldenstride''s huge figure in the sky, his expression drastically changed along with the rest of his men.

    They had been so preupied with the crater that they did not notice such a big Golden Suanni approaching them!

    Nevertheless, Whiteash forcefully calmed himself before he was quickly surprised again by his new discovery.

    "Chief Silvertooth, huh? Chief ckbear and Chief Ironshield too¡­ What are you all doing together? And what exactly happened here?"

 Chapter 1094 Stubborn Loyalty

    ?

    "What are we doing together, huh? You mean why we are together, right? Well, that''s because we all follow Lord Leonhardt¡ªNo, Hegemon Leonhardt," Chief Silvertooth replied with an intriguing smile. He was curious how the person would respond to it.

    And as expected, Whiteash did not disappoint him as he did not take it well.

    "Hegemon Leonhardt? How arrogant. The battle for hegemony isn''t over yet, Chief Silvertooth. Aren''t you getting way too ahead of yourself?" Whiteash frowned at Chief Silvertooth''s statement.

    "Furthermore, I''ve met Young Master Leonhardt before at the Darkmoon Tribe. He is indeed very impressive and capable for his age. There aren''t any Battle Masters strong enough to be his opponent."

    "However, he is still too young, and his strength is still inadequate. And yet, you made that person your Lord? No, wait a minute¡­" Whiteash was suddenly rmed as he recalled an important detail. "Your Mighty Whitewolf Tribe and the ck Warbear Tribe weren''t together before this¡­"

    Whiteash quickly realized that the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe, the ck Warbear Tribe, and their subordinate tribes must have joined forces with the Divine Tortoise Tribe during the battle against the creatures from the crater.

    "The two chiefs from the western tribes are also here¡­ Along with you all iming Young Master Leonhardt as your Lord, that means the southern tribes are also part of your alliance¡­"

    "T-this¡­ so many powers had actually joined forces¡­!" Whiteash was shocked.

    But even then, Whiteash had yet to realize the most important point. Or rather, Chief Silvertooth had already pointed it out. However, Whiteash refused to believe and ept it due to his ownck of knowledge and worldly view.

    "Hahaha¡­" Chief Ironshield chuckled while stroking his grey beard before saying, "Arrogant? Perhaps, we are arrogant; however, we have the right to be arrogant!"

    "Well said!" Chief Sul-Dahki eximed.

    "More than half the Infertile ins has been united under Hegemon Leonhardt''s banner. Even if you think this much force isn''t enough for our Lord to assume hegemony, do you think there is anyone to contest our Lord in power?"

    "Whose power did you think created this crater, Whiteash?" Chief Sul-Dahki asked shortly after, causing Whiteash to be stunned.

    "You mean¡­ Young Master Leonhardt caused this?" Whiteash briefly nced at the crater before returning his disbelieving gaze to Chief Sul-Dahki for confirmation or anyone who could confirm for him.

    "Kekeke, look at that dumb face of yours. It must be hard to believe, right?" Chief ckbear chuckled before saying, "If we did not witness it for ourselves, we wouldn''t have believed someone could wield so much power."

    "But even without the Lord''s power, we still have Lord Goldenstride and Lord Nightingale."

    "Who are Lord Goldenstride and Lord Nightingale?" Whiteash asked.

    "I am Lord Goldenstride," Goldenstride replied.

    Meanwhile, Nightingale sat on Goldenstride''s back with the others in silence. She was toozy to respond.

    Nevertheless, Whiteash and his men were given another round of shock after witnessing the Golden Suanni speak.

    Furthermore, it was also a Golden Suanni that could fly!

    "Arch Demon level¡ªNo, Demon Lord-level Golden Suanni¡­?! But a Demon Lord-level beast would be called a¡­ Divine Beast!" Whiteash eximed in horror.

    When Whiteash only saw one Golden Suanni and a few chiefs on its back, he thought he had the advantage before their forces arrived on foot.

    However, the reality was that there wasn''t any advantage, to begin with. More urately speaking, the Holy Sunfire Tribe didn''t stand a chance from the start.

    "Well, it seems you are aware of the power difference now," Chief Silvertooth stated.

    "Hegemon Leonhardt, Lord Goldenstride, and Lord Nightingale are all existences that stand above the Battle God Realm. Your Holy Sunfire Tribe and even the Battle God Pce will not be able to stop our Lord from unifying the Infertile ins."

    "If you''re wise, you know what to do right now, don''t you?" Chief Silvertooth asked shortly after.

    Whiteash narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you telling me to submit to Young Master Leonhardt?"

    "Isn''t that obvious?" Chief Silvertooth raised an eyebrow.

    "After hearing everything you all said, I must admit that Young Master Leonhardt has every right and capability to assume hegemony," Whiteash acknowledged.

    "However, my loyalty lies with my chief. I live for my chief, and I will dly die for my chief. Unless my chief submits to Young Master Leonhardt, you won''t get a submission out of me. You either let us go, or we will die fighting our way out."

    "You''d rather sacrifice all your men than submit to our Lord?" Chief Silvertooth and the other chiefs frowned at Whiteash''s stubborn and foolish decision.

    "I do not fear death, nor does any of my men!" Whiteash firmly said.

    However, Chief Ironshield and the others noticed many among the subordinate tribes wished to voice their fear. s, they ultimately kept their silence.

    Chief Silvertooth and the others gave Whiteash a hard stare before they retracted their gazes with a sigh.

    "My apologies, my Lord. I was ipetent and unable to talk Whiteash and his people into submitting," Chief Silvertooth said to Leon with regret.

    After Chief Silvertooth wasted so much breath on Whiteash, he still couldn''t aplish anything for the Lord.

    If the Lord had taken charge of the matter from the start, perhaps the result would have been different ¨C or so Chief Silvertooth thought.

    However, stubborn people are not easy to convince when they don''t even fear death.

    "It''s fine."

    Leon casually shook his head before standing up and staring down at Whiteash and his warriors from the Holy Sunfire Tribe and their subordinate tribes'' warriors.

    "Your loyalty is worthy of respect. However, you are also very foolish. Now, leave! I will not repeat myself," Leonmanded with a firm tone, full of authority and pressure.

    Whiteash and his men were shaken and intimidated. But at the same time, they were able to confirm that Leon had be an unbeatable existence.

    Nevertheless, they quickly lowered their heads gratefully before Whiteash pulled his forces away and left the area.

    "Are we really letting them go like this?" Chief Silvertooth asked while looking at the Holy Sunfire Tribe''s forces retreating in the distance.

    "Yeah," Leon casually replied.

    "Surely their chief will make the wiser choice when we meet. However, that is for another time. The Holy Sunfire Tribe isn''t important right now. We still need to deal with the Whitebone Fiends and the crater."

    "Right."

 Chapter 1095 Grave News

    ?

    Sometimeter, the Chief Silvertooth and Chief ckbear''s forces circled around the vast crater to catch any stragglers and secure the perimeters.

    At the same time, Goldenstride and Nightingale flew around to finish them with their special mes.

    As the number of Whitebone Fiends reduced, the encirclement created by Chief Silvertooth and Chief ckbear''sbined forces tightened until they reached the top of the crater.

    The seemingly bottomless abyss in the center was revealed. Whitebone Fiends continued to crawl out from the edges in numbers, albeit fewer than before.

    Nevertheless, the Whitebone Fiends were reduced to ashes and cinders all the same, no matter how many of them were left.

    "Please be careful, my Lord," Chief Ironshield cautioned as Leon descended into the abyss alone. However, he awkwardly smiled a few momentster as he recalled his words.

    Chief Ironshield doubted anything could endanger the Lord, given the Lord''s almighty power.

    "Does our Lord even need to be careful?" Chief Sul-Dahki cast a nce at Chief Ironshield before he paused in thought. Then, he added, "Well, I suppose a bit of prudence wouldn''t hurt. We don''t even know what fell from the heavens."

    "Yeah," Chief Ironshield fixed his expression and solemnly said, "For all we know, there could be far more dangerous and ominous creatures down there. Objects from the outer worlds had always been a mystery."

    "That aside, I doubt something so big could cause so little destruction after crasnding from the heavens. It seems like the subterranean region has always been mostly hollow¡­"

    Chief Ironshield stared at the darkness of the abyss before he added with a frown, "A Mid-rank Tribe used to be here¡­ And yet, it''s be this vast and bottomless pit¡­ I fear this will cause some problems¡ª"

    "Chief ckbear, I''vee bearing grave news!" a distant shout interrupted Chief Ironshield before everyone in the area turned around and nced in the southern direction of the crater.

    They quickly spotted a warrior riding on the back of a Lesser Demon-level ck Bear.

    Although the ck Warbear Tribe did not have many tamed beasts, Chief Ironshield and the others didn''t doubt it was a warrior from the ck Warbear Tribe heading their way.

    "Chief ckbear, I''vee bearing grave news!" the warrior shouted while riding the ck bear and ncing left and right, not knowing where Chief ckbear and his people were.

    The bottom ins outside of the vast crater were devoid of people, and only the scars and burn marks on the ground spoke of a great battle that previously happened there.

    "Looks like the warrior is looking for you, Chief ckbear. You better see him quickly before he wanders off looking for you elsewhere," Chief Ironshield suggested.

    "It seems to be something very important."

    "I can see that, Chief Ironshield," Chief ckbear replied with a frown before informing, "I''ll leave first and see what''s up."

    Shortly after, Chief ckbear immediately left the top of the crater and headed down to meet his tribe''s messenger with a few apanying warriors.

    At the same time, Chief Ironshield and Chief Sul-Dahki observed them.

    "I wonder what could be so urgent for the ck Warbear Tribe''s messenger toe running so desperately¡­" Chief Ironshield stroked his bead curiously.

    "The ck Warbear Tribe didn''t get attacked by the southern tribes, did they?" Chief Sul-Dahki guessed.

    "Now that I think about it, I don''t think the southern tribes know about the Lord''s aplishment in the Central Region yet."

    "Are you saying the southern tribes did attack the ck Warbear Tribe, Chief Sul-Dahki?"

    "I''m only guessing, Chief Ironshield," Chief Sul-Dahki shook his head.

    "However, I can''t think of any other reason to make the messenger sound so desperate¡ªActually, there is another reason¡­ A very bad one¡­" Chief Sul-Dahki became very startled when he thought of another possibility, and his expression quickly turned grim.

    "What reason?" Chief Ironshield nced at Chief Sul-Dahki with curiosity.

    "That is¡­"

    ¡­

    "Chief ckbear, I''vee bearing grave news!" the messenger loudly informed as he met up with Chief ckbear, who came down the slope from the top of the crater.

    "I know; I''ve already heard you several times from a distance," Chief ckbear said with a solemn look before barking, "Speak! What happened? Is the tribe under attack? Is it the southern tribes?"

    "No, Chief ckbear! The tribe is not under attack!" the messenger quickly shook his head and said, "It''s far worse than that! The Celestial Water Spark''s power in the underground caverns has been depleted!"

    "What!" Chief ckbear and his apanying warriors were immediately shocked by the terrible news.

    "How can that be! I checked the Celestial Water Spark myself just three days ago! The Celestial Water Spark should have at leaststed a few more weeks! How could it be depleted now?! Speak! How did this happen? Are you lying to me?!"

    "I wouldn''t dare, Chief ckbear!" the messenger quickly groveled on the ground with his trembling body and fearfully said, "I was only ordered to deliver the news to you, my Lord!"

    Chief ckbear''s face became very grim.

    The ck Warbear Tribe was the guardian in charge of guarding and monitoring the status of the Celestial Water Spark.

    Thus, if the messenger was ordered to deliver the news to Chief ckbear, then it was most likely true.

    Nevertheless, the news was too sudden. They weren''t prepared for it.

    "You''vee bearing grave news indeed. The situation couldn''t have gotten any worse than this¡­" Chief ckbear said with a heavy mood.

    "What should we do, Chief? Please give me your orders," the messenger said with his head lowered.

    "I need to inform the Lord of this terrible news and await the Lord''s decision¡­" Chief ckbear said with a frown, but his eyes suddenly brightened as if he just caught onto a glimmer of hope. "Right, the Lord must have a solution for this!"

    "The Lord? Who is the Lord? No, we had a Lord?" the messenger appeared bbergasted.

    "In the past, we didn''t! But now we do! I have already submitted to Lord¡ªNo, Hegemon Leonhardt. With his vast power and knowledge, we will surely have a way to save us all from this water crisis!" Chief ckbear hoped.

 Chapter 1096 Cause Of Water Depletion

    ?

    "Chief ckbear, you''re back," Chief Ironshield weed him before seeing the grim look on his face. "Looks like you have some terrible news to share."

    "The Celestial Water Spark''s power depleted, didn''t it?" Chief Sul-Dahki asked right after, prompting Chief ckbear to look at him with surprise.

    "How did you know, Chief Sul-Dahki?"

    "So it''s true then¡­" Chief Dahki sighed after receiving Chief ckbear''s indirect confirmation of the news. "I was hoping you would say otherwise."

    "This is just in terrible. The Infertile ins haven''t been unified, and it would take a great deal of time and preparation to gather all our people for the great migration. Furthermore, we haven''t decided on a destination," Chief Ironshield frowned with worries.

    "The object from outer space must have destroyed numerous water veins beneath the surface when it crasnded into the ground. The water reserved would have been drained from the water veins like open floodgates," Chief Sul-Dahki spected.

    "Even then, we were supposed to have enough water tost a few more weeks! This was too fast¡ªway too fast!" Chief ckbear said with a heavy look.

    "I agree that the Celestial Water Spark''s power depleted too quickly," Chief Sul-Dahki agreed with a nod before saying, "However, it is possible if one of the major water veins running underneath thesends was broken by the impact."

    "Major water veins!" Chief ckbear frowned.

    The major water veins were like the main bodies of the natural underground water veinwork.

    It held vast amounts of water reserve and was responsible for supplying water to countless other smaller water veins connected to them.

    "If the major water vein was damaged, then it is indeed possible," Chief ckbear nodded before saying, "The most pressing issue now is to inform the Lord and hope the Lord has a solution. Otherwise, people will start to die within the next week or two."

    "You don''t need to worry too much, Chief ckbear," Chief Sul-Dahki assured him.

    "ording to what I know, the Southern Region seemed to have procured a stable source of food and water outside of the Infertile ins. Though I do not know whether it is enough to support the entire Infertile ins, it should buy us some time."

    "Right." Chief Ironshield recalled what happened back at the Divine Tortoise Tribe and mentioned, "I don''t know about water sources, but food won''t be a problem with the Lord around."

    "Still, we need to inform the Lord right away. This isn''t a problem that should be taken lightly," Chief ckbear argued before stating, "The longer we dy it, the bigger the issue will be."

    "I understand what you are saying, but the Lord already went down into the abyss. Lord Goldenstride and Lord Nightingale also followed some time ago. How are you nning to reach the Lord?" Chief Ironshield calmly asked.

    "This¡­" Chief ckbear froze.

    Only those who could fly would be able to reach the Lord easily. Otherwise, they would be risking their life by trying to climb down into the abyss.

    A single mistake could cause them to plunge to their death.

    "What should we do? We can''t just wait for the Lord toe back, right? We don''t know how long the Lord will be down there," Chief ckbear frowned before wondering, "Should we start moving our people to the south to seek refuge?"

    "You want to bring over fifty thousand of your tribesmen to the Southern Region to leech their food and water without the Lord? Do you think the southern tribes will agree to that?"

    Chief Ironshield nced at Chief ckbear weirdly and said, "It would be strange if the southern tribes don''t attack your people on the spot."

    "That''s right," Chief Silvertooth''s sudden voice came from a distance as he joined their conversation.

    "We''ve only recently joined the Lord, so I doubt the southern tribes will know we are on the same side." Thus, without the Lord to vouch for your ck Warbear Tribe, do you think they will care about your tribe''s needs?"

    "What are you doing over here, Chief Silvertooth? Shouldn''t you be guarding the northern side of the abyss opening with your warriors?" Chief ckbear raised an eyebrow at him.

    "My people will do just fine without me," Chief Silvertooth casually said before his expression suddenly turned solemn. "More importantly, I''ve heard the news. The Celestial Water Spark''s power depleted ¨C or so I''ve heard."

    "How could you have heard the news when you were all the way on the northern side of the abyss opening?" Chief ckbear frowned before he suddenly thought of something.

    After ncing around at his warriors guarding the southern side of the abyss opening, he returned his gaze to Chief Silvertooth.

    "You nted spies within my tribe?" Chief ckbear asked gloomily.

    "Oh,e on. It''s not like you don''t have spies nted in my Mighty Whitewolf Tribe as well," Chief Silvertooth casually said with a shrug, indifferent to Chief ckbear''s hostile re.

    "Hmph!"

    Chief ckbear flicked his wrist and turned around as he prepared to leave the crater region.

    "Where are you going, Chief ckbear? Don''t tell me you are still nning to migrate your people to the Southern Region before the Lord returns?" Chief Ironshield asked with startled surprise.

    "Hmph, I am not that stupid!" Chief ckbear snorted before saying, "Since the Celestial Water Spark''s power depleted, I need to make a personal trip back to my tribe and make arrangements to conserve whatever water reserve we have left."

    "I will leave my men here," Chief ckbear threw out those words before leaving without further notice.

    "Chief ckbear made a good point," Chief Silvertooth acknowledged after Chief ckbear was gone and said, "We need also need to make arrangements back in our tribes to conserve our remaining water."

    "Don''t tell you are also leaving, Chief Silvertooth?" Chief Ironshield nced at him.

    However, Chief Silvertooth shook his head, "No, I do not need to leave. It''s enough for my right-hand man to bring the news back to the tribe and make the arrangements in my stead."

    "I will be staying here until our Lord returns," Chief Silvertooth firmly said.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    While Goldenstride and Nightingale exterminated hundreds of Whitebone Fiends climbing up the rocky walls, Leon descended several tens of thousands of feet down into the abyss.

    Although Leon knew a deep hole would have been created from the space debris entering Gaia, the depth still exceeded his expectation.

    It was even deeper than the space debris in the Gran Crevasse''s abyss.

    Despite his long way down, the number of Whitebone Fiends tirelessly climbing up the rocky walls did not end.

    "There are far too many Whitebone Fiends¡­ If these creatures all came from the space debris that fell¡­ It must be a very long piece¡­" Leon mused.

    By looking at the clues during his descent, he concluded that the space debris had a long pir-like form¡ªthough he had yet to learn what it could have been part of exactly.

    Nevertheless, as Leon gradually approached the same depth as the vine and tree root region in the other abyss entrance, he started to pick up the sound of water.

    The deeper he descended, the more evident the sound of water became. Before long, Leon was forced to halt his descent.

    Roughly four hundred feet below him was a sea.

    "How can there be so much water down here¡­? Did the space debris fall into a groundwater reservoir that the people of the ins didn''t know about?" Leon wondered.

    "No, that''s not right¡­" Leon frowned in the next moment.

    He recalled that the Celestial Water Spark had stretched itself throughout the underground like a massive nervework of water called the water veins.

    "Given how big the space debris was, and the Mid-rank tribe it smashed on top of¡­ Then, all this water came from the water veins?!" Leon''s gaze turned serious in an instant.

    He did not see any water flow or dripping water from the cave entrance above. Thus, he quickly concluded that the water reserve had been drained in its entirety.

    "If the water veins had been drained of all their water, then various tribes would soon believe the Celestial Water Spark''s power had depleted early. I can''t spend too much time here. There will be chaos if I don''t return to control the situation," Leon determined.

    Nevertheless, Leon did not n on returning to the surface immediately. He still had some time to explore and investigate the space debris that fell into the abyss.

    "All this water, though¡­" Leon frowned at the vast amounts of water below.

    "The space debris must have struck something hard or got jammed in a narrow part of the abyss, causing all this water to be trapped here¡­"

    Momentster, Leon narrowed his eyes at the reddish-brown color of the water.

    "I could have collected all this water and brought it back to the surface, but it looks like the water has been contaminated."

    Leon didn''t need to guess what contaminated the water.

    He could already smell the pungent scent exuding from the water. He also sensed the vast amount of wrath energy mixed within the massive body of water.

    Anyone that drinks such water would definitely fall ill¡ªeven if they purified it with standard means.

    "Given this much contamination, it shouldn''t have been caused by the Whitebone Fiends alone¡­ Their numbers are many, but not nearly enough to contaminate all the water to this degree¡­ As I thought, the space debris itself is the problem."

    "I should check it out before I return to the surface to deal with the other matters," Leon decided.

 Chapter 1097 Living Metal

    ?

    Ssh!

    A Whitebone Fiend lost its grip on the rocky walls and fell into the massive body of contaminated water with a huge ssh.

    Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!

    Several more Whitebone Fiend fell into the contaminated with heavy sshes.

    However, they did not fall after losing their grip on the rocky walls. Instead, the Whitebone Fiends were throwing themselves off the rocky walls in an attempt to reach Leon''s position in the center and catch him.

    Unfortunately, the Whitebone Fiends fell short by arge margin. They did note close to reaching him.

    Even so, it did not stop the Whitebone Fiends on higher rocky walls from making the same attempt.

    Their intelligence was abysmal, but their efforts were praiseworthy.

    Nevertheless, the Whitebone Fiends'' existence could not be epted; they had to be exterminated for the betterment of all other races.

    Leon suddenly flew towards one side of the rocky walls and mmed into it with great momentum.

    At the moment of impact, a wave of Rank 1 Transcendent-level mes surged out of Leon''s body, sweeping away all the Whitebone Fiends in the area as the rocky walls greatly shook at the same time.

    In the next moment, Leon nted his palm on the cracked rocky wall and connected to the earth to borrow its boundless power as if it was Celestial Earthshaker lending her power to him.

    Authority of Earth!

    Rumble¡­!

    The entirety of the rocky walls in the region greatly reverberated and shook off all the Whitebone Fiends clinging onto them.

    Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!

    Thousands of Whitebone Fiends quickly sshed into the contaminated water like countless raindrops.

    Once all the Whitebone Fiends fell into the contaminated water, they quickly swam towards the rocky walls and attempted to climb up again.

    However, Leon didn''t give them such an opportunity.

    Leon fused dark power with ice and lightning powers. Once a dark-blue energy spear was formed from the triplew fusion, he hurled it into the body of contaminated water.

    Ssh!

    A huge ssh was created upon impact. But within the next half breath, the sshed water solidified and retained its sshed form, frozen by the icy properties within the dark-blue energy spear.

    However, the freezing effect wasn''t just limited to the ssh area.

    The frozen contaminated water quickly spread across the surface of the contaminated water with a visible borderline that did not seem to stop until the entire water surface was frozen.

    It was a result of the all-epassing property of darkness and the conductive property of lightning.

    Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

    All the Whitebone Fiends caught in the frozen region were immobilized and zapped to death as the dark-blue energy spear scattered into countless snakes that jumped from one target to another.

    Several breathster, all life within the frozen sea of contaminated water was snuffed out by the chain-lightning attack.

    Leon''s feet slowlynded on the frozen surface as he descended.

    Afterward, a wave of nihility swept out. It reduced everything in Leon''s immediate surroundings into countless wisps of True Grandmist Energy that he soon devoured and fed his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    Leon drained the contaminated water as he descended toward the space debris situated at the bottom of the sea of contaminated water.

    As the space debris came within the range of his divine sense, Leon narrowed his eyes.

    ''What the hell¡­ is this?''

    Leon''s astonished eyes soonnded on the dark-red exterior of the space debris¡ªno, the tip of the colossal pir from space.

    The exterior was fully painted in a dark-red color, while the interior was partially silver or ck.

    Nevertheless, it didn''t change the fact that the colossal pir was dominated by the dark-red color of blood.

    However, what was important wasn''t the color itself.

    ''The blood hadpletely fused with the metal to create some sort of blood-metal material¡­ But more importantly, it contains such a dense amount of wrath energy within the bloodmetal and almost feels¡­ alive?''

    Leon became suspicious of the bloodmetal.

    It didn''t take long before the colossal blood-metal pir confirmed his suspicion by moving parts of its structure as if it was trying to wriggle its way down into the deeper parts of the abyss.

    ''It is alive¡­!'' Leon was shocked by the discovery.

    He had seen the wrath-infested creatures assimte other organic substances. But it was the first time he had seen them assimte non-organic substances.

    Although it did cross his mind for a moment that the blood-metal structure could have been a type of living metal that gained sentience and hosted a metal spirit, it was quickly crossed off the list of possibilities.

    Just like how heavenly mes and fire spirits exist, heavenly metal and metal spirits also exist. The same also applied to other types of elements.

    However, they were extremely rare and only born under very specific conditions and a long passage of time.

    But the deciding factor was that heavenly metals were formless and definitely did not take on the forms of structures that were obviously manmade.

    ''This¡­ can be considered a type of artificially-made heavenly metal by fusing the blood of wrath-infected creatures with the metal¡­'' Leon thought.

    Nevertheless, the living bloodmetal might not be as strong as genuine heavenly metals.

    Heavenly metals aside, Leon understood why the water had been contaminated to such a high degree. It was indeed caused by the space debris, which was the colossal living blood-metal pir.

    Parts of its blood-metal substances had fallen off from its main body like rusty powder, and the dense amount of wrath energy within them was released into the water.

    Suddenly, Leon started feeling his skin crawling with goosebumps when he discovered the rusty powder was alive like tiny dust mites.

    It was unknown what sorts of dangers and health problems would arise if anyone were to consume the contaminated water containing these bloodmetal mites.

    Leon immediatelybeled the bloodmetal mites as extremely dangerous existences. It wouldn''t be easy to cure people that are infected by them.

    Sometimes, the tiniest of creatures could be even scarier than the biggest of creatures.

    ''I have to exterminate them!'' Leon decided.

 Chapter 1098 Swarm of Bloodmetal Mites

    <h4>Chapter 1098 Swarm of Bloodmetal Mites</h4>

    After setting his mind on exterminating the bloodmetal mites within the contaminated water, Leon immediately acted upon it by increasing the range of his nihility.

    Millions of bloodmetal mites were quickly reduced into wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    Although the bloodmetal mites were many, possibly in the billions, they hardly produced many wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    In fact, it took millions of bloodmetal mites to produce a few wisps of True Grandmist Energy.

    The mass of objects used did not equal the mass of True Grandmist Energy produced. This was even more true for the puny bloodmetal mites that could be barely seen by ordinary human eyes.

    Evidently, a majority of the matter was lost in the conversion process. They were gone from the world forever, reduced to nothingness.

    Leon had been aware of that.

    Even if he had the power to reduce the entire universe into True Grandmist Energy and recreate the universe again, it would never be as vast as it once was.

    Everything was born from nothingness, and everything will return to nothingness ¨C there was truth in these words.

    The only solution to a true evesting world was to create new True Grandmist Energy from nothingness or perpetually freeze the irreversible process of returning everything to nothingness.

    However, these solutions were the same as not having any.

    Leon couldn''t even begin to fathom what kind of power was needed to pull something like that off. Even the Empyrean Gods and Devils didn''t have that kind of power.

    If they did, the primordial era wouldn''t have ended, and Primal Chaos wouldn''t be in such a broken and damaged state that required repair.

    Nevertheless, as Leon reduced hundreds of millions of bloodmetal mites into True Grandmist Energy, he had seemingly provoked the colossal bloodmetal pir.

    Rumble¡­!

    The entire abyss region shook as the colossal bloodmetal pir stopped wriggling its way down into the deeper parts of the abyss.

    Instead, the colossal bloodmetal pir tried to climb up from the abyss again to reach Leon. s, its body was too heavy for its own good.

    As the entire region shook withrge tremors, chunks of earth broke off from the rocky walls and fell on top of the colossal bloodmetal pir, causing it to sink further deeper into the abyss.

    Nevertheless, Leon felt himself being locked onto by a powerful consciousness¡ªwhich also felt all too familiar to him.

    It was definitely a branch will of Empyrean Allheaven Wrath''s soul fragment, and it was preciselying from the colossal bloodmetal pir.

    ''The prolonged years of exposure to the Wrathful Demon Energy in space must have transformed the space debris and allowed the slivers of will to congregate,'' Leon thought.

    Although the colossal bloodmetal pir seemed extremely formidable even with its limited movement, it was nothing to be feared if it couldn''t reach him ¨C was what Leon initially assumed.

    However, the dark-red surface of the colossal bloodmetal pir started to move like a living painting on a wall as it concentrated on the top of the pir.

    It almost seemed like the dark-red patch of concentrated bloodmetal was about to break free from the rest of the colossal pir structure from space.

    In the next moment, it did precisely so¡ªjust as Leon suspected and started to fear.

    Billions¡ªno, trillions of bloodmetal mites pped their wings and flew likedybugs. Leon couldn''t exactly tell how many there were, but their numbers were overwhelmingly high.

    After they departed from the colossal pir and left it behind them, the colossal pir structure looked like it had suffered from countless long years of metal corrosion.

    Nevertheless, Leon couldn''t care any less about that.

    The trillions of bloodmetal mites moved like a single entity and swarmed at him like a massive dust storm.

    Although Leon''s outer and inner body had been strengthened, he wasn''t sure what the bloodmetal mites could do to his body if so many of them flooded into his body and ran amok.

    Either way, he was interested in finding out.

    His instincts were screaming danger proved that the storm of bloodmetal mites posed a certain level of threat to him.

    Leon quickly retreated before giving the countless bloodmetal mites a taste of destruction and death with a wave of his hand.

    The swarm of bloodmetal mites quickly decayed and crumbled down to infinitesimally tiny ashes and atoms. Their formation easily broke under a casual attack.

    Evidently, their numbers were great, but their defenses weren''t very strong. In fact, they were very weak.

    Even so, tiny creatures like them didn''t necessarily need to be strong to kill a person.

    Nevertheless, after breaking the bloodmetal mite swarm''s formation, Leon''s eyes shortly narrowed as they locked onto the persistent bloodmetal mites that flew out from the pile of their fallen brethren.

    Soon, the bloodmetal mites quickly regathered their numbers and restored their group formation.

    Buzz¡ª!

    The bloodmetal mites pped their wings at high frequencies, creating a droning noise. It was as if they were trying to express their fury at Leon.

    However, they did not swarm at Leon again.

    Instead, they flew away and smashed into the rocky walls, stunning Leon for a moment before his eyes gradually widened in rm the next moment.

    Because the bloodmetal mites were creatures thatprised a mix of organic and non-organic substances, they could assimte both organic and non-organic materials.

    At that moment, the countless bloodmetal mites were assimting parts of the hard rocky walls and increasing their sizes at an rming rate.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t intend to watch them finish their assimtion process.

    He quickly struck the swarm with a powerful st of nihility that easily ripped a hole right through their group formation.

    However, the devastation of nihility went beyond mere physical damage; it destroyed the conscious will controlling the bloodmetal mites.

    As a result, the entire swarm was disabled like a nervous system that just lost its electrical signal.

    The bloodmetal mites'' assimtion process halted, and their bodies fell into deeper depths of the abyss, where the remains of the colossal pir structure had already plunged and disappeared after bing nothing more than a hollow shell from the bloodmetal mites detaching from it.

 Chapter 1099 Insect War

    ?

    Nevertheless, Leon quickly pursued the free-falling lifeless bloodmetal mites. After catching up, he didn''t stop sting them with nihility power until they were removed entirely from existence.

    Leon made sure not to miss a single one of them with his divine sense.

    He couldn''t leave behind a potential threat when there were other races living in the Lower Abyss Domain.

    A problem left unsolved was an invitation to introduce a greater problem.

    After all, even if the bloodmetal mites were dead, their bodies were still carriers of huge amounts of wrath energy.

    Considering the chances of them falling into the wrong hands, he had no choice but to destroy or use them for himself.

    Nevertheless, wrath energy was notparable to True Grandmist Energy. As such, Leon chose to convert them with nihility.

    After exterminating the bloodmetal mites in their entirety, Leon didn''t stop his descent. Instead, he increased his speed and shot down the abyss even quicker.

    A few momentster, Leon caught sight of the falling remains of the colossal pir structure.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The remains of the colossal pir structure collided with the rocky walls chaotically on their way down into the deeper parts of the abyss, shattering rocks and tearing off huge masses of the earth with each collision.

    After separating with the bloodmetal mites, the colossal pir structure became hollow and fragile. The repeated heavy collisions with the earth deformed and even fragmented it into pieces.

    Boom!

    Leon kicked against the empty air and shot forward with a burst of speed, closing in on the falling structure fragments before sweeping them with his divine sense.

    Leon was just about to leave after recording the runic remains on the structure fragments to his Archive when he suddenly spotted a Tier-6 Teleportation Array within the chaos.

    Although presently unusable, the Tier-6 Teleportation Array was mostly intact. Thus, Leon decided to pocket it into his Worldspace for future uses and research purposes.

    After confirming there was no longer any other point of interest within the falling structure fragments, Leon returned to the surface.

    However, his return trip was not smooth.

    The previousmotions had countless lifeforms that dwelled within the subterranean world, none of which seemed intelligent. Not even Paragon-level insects.

    It was clear that the Paragon-level insectscked the bare minimum level of intelligence to open their Wisdom Gate early.

    Nevertheless, Leon was surprised by the insects that emerged from countless tunnels, cave holes, and passageways found on the way down the abyss.

    There were ants.

    However, there were not the same giant ck ants he had encounteredst time. Instead, they were giant red bull ants with long mandibles and venom.

    A single bite from these nasty pests would leave a person in a world of pain¡ªgiven that the person survives the bite in the first ce.

    Of course, with Leon''s Arch Demon-level poison immunity and Peak Rank 4 Body Transformation in the flesh-tempering phase, an Early Paragon-level Bull Ant''s bite would do nothing to him.

    As for giant red bull ants above Early Paragon, he wouldn''t be so confident in letting himself get bitten.

    Besides the giant red bull ants that appeared in the abyss tunnel, giant mosquitoes and bees were also present. The giant mosquitoes, in particr, were especially numerous.

    After the three insect races encountered each other in the abyss tunnel, they immediately entered an all-out battle with each other.

    Leon noticed the giant golden bees to be the least hostile among them. They only started their retaliation after their kin were attacked first.

    At the same time, the giant golden bees were also the weakest among the three insect races.

    The giant golden bees didn''t have the high defenses of the bull ants, and they didn''t have the overwhelming numbers of the mosquitoes.

    As such, they were quickly suppressed by the swarms of mosquitoes.

    Leon saw the giant golden bees turn into shriveled carcasses. Their golden appearances dimmed, and a murky dark color quickly spread across the surface of their bodies, causing them to decay at a slow but sure rate.

    Mosquitoes have always been known to be one of the deadliest insects in the mortal world. They were the bringer of death and disease.

    Although such problems were easily and long conquered by the advancement of medicine and cultivation in the Divine Realm, it was a different story on Gaia.

    Medicine wasn''t plenty, alchemy wasn''t widespread, and most importantly, the mosquitoes were countless times bigger.

    People would get their blood sucked dry before they could live long enough to be killed by the diseases the mosquitoes carry with them.

    And even if a person did survive a mosquito bite, the person still wouldn''t live long either. The sheer number of parasites and viruses they could inject would easily kill anyone quickly.

    ''I can''t let these mosquitoes reach the surface,'' Leon thought.

    Nevertheless, as soon as Leon entered the vicinity of the battle, he became the giant mosquitoes'' most desired target as they swarmed at him en masse.

    ''They''re interested in my blood, huh?'' Leon determined as his eyes flickered.

    Leon casually waved his hand at the iing swarm of giant mosquitoes before a wave of Paragon-level death power swept past them.

    In the next moment, all of the giant mosquitoes quickly stopped pping their wings and dropped down the abyss with their withered bodies.

    However, it was only a tiny fraction of their numbers.

    Leon gathered his death power again and protected himself with arge barrier made of death power. Afterward, he flew directly through the swarms of giant mosquitoes and brought death unto them.

    Given Leon''s strength, he could have easily drilled his way through the swarms of giant mosquitoes regardless of what methods he used.

    Nevertheless, the giant mosquitoes still swarmed at Leon blindly like moths drawn to the bright me.

    Leon easily attracted all the giant mosquitoes while passing through the region while inadvertently freeing the giant golden bees from their onught.

    Sometimeter, Leon shot through therge smarm of mosquitoes and reached the other end of the battle region, but not without attracting the whole swarm of giant mosquitoes.

    In that instance, Leon quickly chose to summon an impassable wall of death to obstruct their advancement.

 Chapter 1100 Farming Death Energy

    ?

    Countless giant mosquitoes shortly flew into the wall of death and killed themselves, regardless of their size and strength.

    Whether they were Mortal-level Giant Mosquitoes or Paragon-level Mosquitoes, they died all the same under the power of the Paragon-level Death Law.

    Hundreds became thousands, and thousands became tens of thousands; the swarm of giant mosquitoes continued to fly towards their death blindly.

    The wall of Paragon-level death power was like an impregnable fortress whose defense could not be breached¡ªNo, it was more urate to call the death gate.

    No living giant mosquitoes could pass through it alive.

    Nevertheless, the giant mosquitoes'' efforts did bore some fruits in their stubborn attempt to reach Leon.

    After all, the giant mosquitoes'' dead bodies drew closer to Leon as their dead bodies increased, pushed through the wall of death by the swarms of living giant mosquitoes behind them.

    As the lives of countless giant mosquitoes were snuffed out, death energy was generated from their bodies.

    Without exception, Leon absorbed all the death energy and fed it to his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness and nurtured the Death Fruit.

    Eventually, the weight of the dead mosquitoes became too great for the living giant mosquitoes to carry and push up.

    However, the number of giant mosquitoes swarming toward Leon continued to increase.

    Poof!

    The living mosquitoes at the forefront were quickly crushed under the immense weight of the two opposing forces.

    At the same time, the giant mosquitoes were jammed pack together without room to p their wings, causing the entire swarm of giant mosquitoes to sink and smash into the other giant mosquitoes on their way down.

    Nevertheless, Leon felt like it was a loss not to continue farming death energy from the giant mosquitoes when they actually give quite a decent amount of it.

    Swoosh!

    Leon waved his hand and sent out arge wave of destruction to erase all the mosquito carcasses devoid of death energy.

    Almost immediately, a significant burden was lifted off the swarm of giant mosquitoes, allowing them to push their way up with the fewer dead mosquitoes on top of them again.

    After Leon sessfully re-established the previous situation, he continued to kill the giant mosquitoes with the death wall, drain their death energy, and finally erase their worthless carcasses.

    Just like that, Leon received a steady flow of death energy while the giant mosquitoes'' numbers continued to dwindle with each passing moment.

    Gradually, the giant mosquito swarm was reduced to no more than a thousand giant mosquitoes.

    Although Leon farmed quite a fair amount of death energy from the giant mosquitoes, it was hardly enough to improve the Death Fruit hanging on his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    ''Seems like it will take a lot more death energy than this to nurture the Paragon-level Death Fruit to surpass my presentprehension in the Death Law," Leon mused.

    Bizz! Bizz!

    After Leon heard the buzzing mosquitoes seemingly cry, he focused his attention on their rear and noticed the remaining giant mosquitoes were being attacked by the angry golden bees.

    It was pretty clear that the giant golden bees did not forget a grudge when they had one.

    Many of their kin were killed under the giant mosquito swarm''s onught and now was their chance to retaliate when the giant mosquitoes had been severely weakened.

    Nevertheless, the giant mosquitoes did not go down without a fight. As their rear was being attacked, the giant mosquitoes turned around to resist the giant golden bees'' counteroffensive maneuver.

    ''They''re stupid enough to charge into the death wall and throw away relentlessly, but they''re not stupid enough to ignore the golden bees'' attacks on their rear, huh?'' Leon mused thoughtfully.

    ''It seems that just shows how attractive my blood is to these giant mosquitoes.''

    Leon watched the giant golden bees overpower the giant mosquitoes with their superior numbers until the giant mosquitoes were backed against the death wall.

    Seeing how close the golden bees were to the death wall, Leon thought of something and decided to release the death wall.

    He retracted all the death power back into his Truth Manifestation Tree of Darkness.

    ''Considering these golden bees'' defensive and vengeful traits, I don''t want to identally kill one of them,'' Leon thought.

    The golden bees were too weak to pose a threat to Leon. He could easily wipe them all out¡ªif he chose to do so.

    However, Leon believed that golden bees would be much more useful if they could be tamed¡ªor at the very least, ced in a controlled environment.

    ''Because of the absence of honey bees, honey production is almost non-existent in this world,'' Leon thought.

    Honey was not only an excellent ingredient for enhancing a variety of food recipes, but it is also a key ingredient in many medicinal recipes focused on healing injuries, curing diseases, and removing poisons.

    ''If I could provide these golden bees with a suitable environment to produce honey, I could obtainrge amounts of honey. Furthermore, they will also be of high quality as well,'' Leon mused.

    He didn''t need to worry about not having a suitable environment back in the empire.

    Even if there wasn''t one, he had all the elves and resources needed in order to build an artificial biome for the golden bees to reside and produce the honey within.

    Nevertheless, after the death wall was released, several giant mosquitoes resumed their attack on Leon with their needle-like mouths.

    It was clear that they were all female mosquitoes. Only female mosquitoes suck blood to survive and procreate.

    s, Leon wasn''t fond of mosquitoes, nor was he keen on getting poked by them¡ªeven if they won''t be able to pierce his skin.

    Pah!

    Leon immediately swatted one of the giant mosquitoes to death with a palm strike. The sheer force behind his palm easily sttered them upon impact.

    "Mozzies sucks," Leon uttered.

    Pah! Pah! Pah!

    Leon quickly swatted several more giant mosquitoes as he retreated.

    At the same time, the giant golden bees continued their relentless attacks on the giant mosquitoes'' rear with their stingers.

    Before long, the giant mosquitoes in the region werepletely eradicated.

 Chapter 1101 Tempting the Golden Bees

    <h4>Chapter 1101 Tempting the Golden Bees</h4>

    However, after the giant golden bees finished off the giant mosquitoes, they ignored Leon and turned their attention to the giant red bull ants crawling along the rocky walls.

    In the earlier conflict, the giant golden bees were also attacked by giant red bull ants. As such, they directed their hostility at their next enemy, readying for a fight.

    The giant red bull ants had enough intellect not to blindly leap off the rocky walls to catch Leon and the giant golden bees.

    They could only camp on the rocky walls and wait for them to close within their attack range. Otherwise, nothing would happen.

    However, the giant golden bees weren''t so bright.

    Even when they had no chance against the giant red bull ants due to their natural high defenses, the giant golden bees still flew at them with their stingers.

    As a result, the giant golden bees had their stingers broken upon striking the giant red bull ants'' hard shells.

    At the same time, the giant red bull ants retaliated, catching them with their long mandibles. What awaited the golden bees were gruesome deaths.

    The giant red bull ants absolutely crushed and tore the golden bees apart.

    Nevertheless, the other giant golden bees didn''t cower. They pressed on with their attacks, no matter futile their attempts were.

    They weren''t gifted forbat, but they were fearless.

    ''Looking back on the tunnels these insects came from, it is clear that they originated from different subterranean floors. The conflicts between them shouldn''t be frequent, but at the same time, it doesn''t seem umon either,'' Leon thought.

    Nevertheless, Leon wasn''t interested in watching the giant golden bees throw away all their lives when there''s a chance he could use them.

    Furthermore, the giant red bull ants possessed excellent armor and weapon crafting materials, just like the ck ants. He wasn''t going to let them leave just like that.

    Within a few passing breaths, Leon quickly joined the battle and assisted the giant golden bees in vanquishing the giant red bull ants.

    Each giant red bull ant quickly died under a single clean and sharp shot of destruction bullet through their eyes, destroying their brains.

    Shortly after, their bodies fell from the rocky walls¡ªonly for Leon to swoop in and collect them into his Worldspace.

    As time went on, Goldenstride and Nightingale arrived from above.

    When Leon saw them, he immediately knew that they hadpleted their task of cleaning up all the remaining Whitebone Fiends.

    "My Lord, what''s the situation?" Nightingale quickly inquired.

    Goldenstride and Nightingale saw their Lord ughtering the giant red bull ants while the giant red bull ants were ughtering the giant golden bees.

    "The golden bees are non-hostile unless attacked. They can be valuable assets once tamed. Thus, I am saving from the giant red bull ants."

    "I see. Allow us to assist you, my Lord."

    "No, the giant red bull ants are also valuable assets."

    "They are¡­?"

    Nightingale and Goldenstride were immediately stunned by their Lord''s reason for refusing their help. They couldn''t understand why their Lord was killing the giant red bull ants.

    "The red bull ants are valuable assets when they are dead. Their carapaces are precious materials from manufacturing quality equipment, tools, and weapons," Leon casually exined without affecting his clean killing and quick looting.

    "The both of you wield too much strength and can easily damage the carapaces beyond a usable state. Nevertheless, there are too many red bull ants for me to loot their materials while saving the golden bees at the same time."

    "Thus, you have to prove you can secure their carapaces in good conditions if you both want to assist me. Otherwise, just try not to let too many golden bees die," Leon stated.

    "Yes, my Lord!" Goldenstride and Nightingale answered.

    Insects like ants and bees both had high reproduction rates. Thus, it didn''t bother Leon too much if many golden bees died as long as some survived.

    More importantly, there were only workers among the golden bees.

    If Leon wanted to obtain a thriving colony of golden bees to produce high-quality spirit honey, he would have to secure their queen¡ªor at the very least, a queen.

    Nevertheless, Goldenstride and Nightingale proved their usefulness through their precise strength control.

    Although iplete and unperfected, Goldenstride was able to transform his golden mes into small fire arrows that were norge than normal threading needles to pierce the giant red bull ants'' heads.

    On the other hand, Nightingale shrunk into her human form and dominated the giant red bull ants with her brute strength, exploding their brains with punches through their huge eyes.

    After taking down their prey, they collected the mostly-intact carapaces into their personal interspatial artifacts, which they learned to use with celestial energy in ce of spirit energy.

    Sometimeter, the red bull ants were eliminated, and the golden bees survived, albeit with only a small fraction of their original numbers.

    Buzz¡­

    The giant golden bees buzzed around Leon, Goldenstride, and Nightingale with a strangely pleasant tune as if they were expressing their gratitude to them.

    Afterward, Leon noticed they were preparing to leave and report back to the colony of their scouting mission.

    However, Leon didn''t n on letting them leave just yet. That being said, he wasn''t going to make them stay with force either.

    Leon took out a sunflower seed and nurtured wood energy, elerating its growth.

    With the additional touch of life energy from the Divine Book of Life, the sunflower seed in Leon''s hand bloomed wonderfully¡ªor rather, it too bloomed too wonderfully.

    The roots of the extended vines but thick like ginseng, the stem grew long and tall, and the main body became huge, bright, and beautiful like the sun.

    To the golden bees that had never seen the sun or such a huge sunflower, it was their sun¡ªtheir holy sunflower.

    The huge sunflower attracted all the golden bees in the vicinity without surprise. They buzzed around it, worshipped it, and instinctively wanted to drink its nectar-rich contents.

 Chapter 1102 Colossal Hive

    ?

    Bzzt!

    The golden bees buzzed around the giant sunflower for some time before seemingly deciding on an order.

    Shortly after, they started taking turns filling up their honey sac and pollen baskets with nectars and pollens from the giant sunflower before flying off into one of the caves leading back to their colony.

    Each time a new golden bee approached the giant sunflower to collect nectar and pollen, they produced reactions simr to a person''s pupils dting from sniffing some white powdery goods ¨C or so Leon felt.

    Leon didn''t understand the golden bee''snguage, but he vaguely sensed their ecstatic moods after they filled up their honey sacs and pollen baskets.

    Considering the golden bees were a mutant branch of honey bees, whose diet primarily consists of honey produced from nectar and pollen, Leon didn''t doubt that they''ve collected nectar and pollen from other nts in the subterranean world before.

    ''For these golden bees to produce such joyous reactions¡­ I see¡­ The nectar and pollen from the sunflower I grew is the good sh*tpared to what they usually have,'' Leon mused.

    The higher quality nectar and pollen from his sunflower were like an addictive drug for the golden bees.

    ''But for them to be so happy over something I made casually¡­ I can''t imagine how the golden bees would react to higher-tier spirit nts with nectar and pollen. Either way, bringing the golden bees back to the empire for honey production might proceed more smoothly than I initially anticipated,'' Leon thought.

    Nevertheless, the nectar and pollen in the sunflower quickly ran dry before the golden bees suddenly felt at a loss.

    Afterward, they buzzed around the huge sunflower at a lower frequency for some time, seemingly feeling down due to no more nectar.

    Eventually, the golden bees shifted their attention to Leon.

    Although Leon could pump more wood and life energy into the sunflower, allowing it to produce more nectar and pollen, he refrained from doing so. He wanted to see what the golden bees would do.

    Sure enough, without any more nectar and pollen from the sunflower, the golden bees wanted to bring it back to their hive and him along with it.

    Leon willingly followed the golden bees under their lead.

    However, the huge sunflower had grown too big to fit through the cave tunnel leading to their colony.

    Upon realizing this, the golden bees seemingly understood the situation and fell into another dilemma, baffled by what to do regarding the situation.

    At the same time, Leon didn''t want to keep holding the giant sunflower by the roots. Thus, he nted it into the rocky wall and left it behind.

    Without sunlight, water, or even fertile soil, the sunflower would eventually die, and the golden bees would be sad.

    Nevertheless, they wouldn''t be sad if Leon could get the golden bees to follow him back to the fertilend near the World Tree in the empire, where they could grow as various types of nectar-producing nts, let alone sunflowers.

    However, the problem was getting all of them to follow him back willingly. To do that, he must first meet with their queen and gain her cooperation.

    Of course, if Leon couldn''t tempt the golden queen bee to follow him back, he intended to just kidnap her and run. The entire hive would chase after him if he had their queen.

    "Nightingale, Goldenstride. The both of you return to the surface and watch over the humans. I will be back after visiting the golden bee''s hive first," Leon instructed the two Divine Beasts.

    "Yes, my Lord," Nightingale and Goldenstride reluctantlyplied as it was their lord''s order.

    Shortly after Nightingale and Goldenstride left, Leon followed the golden bee, albeit fewer in numbers. A good portion of the golden bees had gathered around the sunflower he had left behind.

    However, Leon picked out a new sunflower seed and started nurturing it in his hand again.

    Before long, the sunflower seed sprouted into a new fully-grown sunflower, albeit smaller in size, not too big, but big enough to attract the golden bees.

    Sometimeter, Leon followed the golden bees to the end of the long cave tunnel and entered arge open space filled with the freshness of air and spirit nts.

    The ground was filled with fertile soil, grass, and spirit nts, while the walls were filled with overgrown vines and trees, among other exotic nts and flowers tended by golden bees.

    There was even argeke with fresh water in the center.

    Nevertheless, Leon''s attention was quickly drawn to the colossal hive hanging from the ceiling in the vast open space with countless golden bees flying in and out.

    Its sheer size surprised him.

    More surprisingly, the vast space was strangely illuminated before Leon''s eyes.

    Just as he was curious where the light source came from or how the nts prospered without sunlight, Leon''s gaze fell on an artificial spirit energy conversion tower by theke¡ªone that hasn''t seemed to be infested by a fleshly abomination leeching off of it.

    Upon further observation, Leon realized the artificial spirit energy conversion tower wasn''t working as it should. It didn''t produce any artificial spirit energy despite its working function to collect sr energy from the surface through its cable.

    ''It seems like a specific part of the conversion tower was damaged, causing it to stop producing artificial spirit energy. As a result, the conversion tower only continues to gather sr energy and act like an artificial sun in this ce, huh?'' Leon studied.

    ''However¡­ I can only sense sr energy from this conversion tower. There doesn''t seem to be any Wrathful Demon Energy gathered along with it¡­''

    Leon rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look upon noticing this particr point¡ªall while the golden bees buzzed around him, urging him to go elsewhere.

    Nevertheless, Leon temporarily ignored them to continue thinking.

    ''Given how deep this ce is, I doubt the conversion tower''s cables are long enough to reach the surface¡­ If it can collect sr energy without Wrathful Demon Energy¡­ Then, it must have been filtered out somehow along the way,'' Leon spected.

    He was intrigued enough to investigate, but it seemed like the golden bees were bing impatient.

 Chapter 1103 Key Ingredient

    <h4>Chapter 1103 Key Ingredient</h4>

    Not only had the golden bees be impatient, but Leon could also sense uneasiness from the other golden bees in the hive.

    Considering a human was trespassing on the golden bees'' sacrednd, it wouldn''t be strange if the golden bees were alerted by his presence and felt apprehensive towards him.

    They didn''t know whether he was a friend or foe.

    However, he already saw the effects of his casually cultivated sunflower. Thus, he didn''t doubt that the rest of the golden bees in the colossal hive would wee his presence with joy.

    Bzz, bzz~!

    As the golden bees around Leon continued to buzz with impatience, Leon smiled before casually giving in to their demands.

    "Alright, alright. You''ll get your sunflower," Leon promised.

    Shortly after, he channeled his power into the sunflower floating above his hand, quickly elerating its growth until it reached the same size as the previous giant sunflower.

    "Alright. It''s all yours," Leon uttered as he released the giant sunflower toward therge swarm of golden bees.

    Bzzz, bzzz!

    The golden bees immediately retreated out of the giant sunflower''s direct flight path, fearing they would harm it.

    A smaller group flew underneath the giant sunflower and supported it with their bodies while slowly descending to the ground. They treated the giant sunflower carefully as if it was the most precious treasure in the world.

    Nevertheless, after the giant sunflower reached the ground and took root in the rich soil, the rest of the golden bees in the area flocked toward it in droves.

    With their attention away from Leon, he was able to study the golden bees'' sacred home again in earnest.

    At the same time, he figured he would need to adjust his ns.

    "Given the immensity of the golden bees'' numbers and strength, the current empire isn''t ready for direct management. Bringing the golden bees into the empire at this time would be like leaving behind a ticking bomb," Leon thought.

    After all, it wasn''t peaceful on the surface. On the contrary, it was very chaotic.

    "The golden bees can be docile, but they are, by no means, harmless. It''ll only take a single ipetent or wicked person to turn the golden bees into a disaster," Leon muttered.

    The damage would be unimaginable once the golden bees felt threatened and attacked humans indiscriminately, especially since they can''t differentiate between the humans that meant them harm.

    "That''s why I can''t bring them to the surface yet. Instead, I should send elves here to cultivate the flowers. There''s no need to set up a honey production base when there''s already one. That would be inefficient," Leon thought.

    Of course, that was only true because he could set up Teleportation Arrays and eliminate the time cost of traveling the great distances that existed between the empire and the golden bees'' hive.

    Nevertheless, he still needed to figure out how to collect the honey without upsetting the golden bees.

    After all, even if the golden bees were hard workers like honey bees and produced excess honey, more than they ever needed, there was still a chance that they wouldn''t like outsiders taking their extra honey.

    That said, Leon eventually realized his concerns were unfounded while he was observing the golden bees.

    The golden bees took the nectar extract back to their colossal beehive and produced their honey in a steady stream for some time before a separate group of golden bees from the hive suddenly decided to approach Leon.

    From a nce, Leon could see they carried several small pieces of honebs filled with ripe honey.

    "Is this for me?" Leon quickly realized the golden bees'' intentions.

    As if the golden bees understood his words, they buzzed with joy and dropped the small honebs toward him.

    Of course, these small honebs were only considered smallpared to the golden bees''rge bodies.

    But to Leon, they were like full-grown watermelons raining down on him.

    Nevertheless, Leon calmly epted their gifts, pocketing each honeb into his Worldspace without missing a drop of honey.

    At the same time, it became clear to him that the golden bees knew how to be grateful and return the favor.

    After all, it was impossible to produce honey from his sunflowers'' nectar so quickly. Thus, he received the honey from their reserve.

    He gave them nectar-rich sunflowers, and they gave him honey in exchange.

    Both sides benefitted.

    Leon doubted he could find another insect group in the subterranean world that could coexist with humans and elves better than the golden bees.

    In other words, the golden bees were invaluable allies.

    It didn''t take long before the golden bees eventually depleted the giant sunflower''s nectar and turned their attention back to Leon.

    Although the giant sunflower would gradually make more nectar, it was clear that a single sunflower was hardly enough to satisfy a colony asrge as the golden bees.

    It was far from it.

    As such, Leon cultivated several dozen more giant sunflowers for the golden bees before slipping away from theirnd.

    He had seen enough.

    Thend surrounding the colossal hive was flourishing and filled with floras, making it quite a suitable ce to live.

    Once the elves move in, there''ll be an overall improvement to the already flourishingnd.

    "I should settle this issue first," Leon thought.

    Although he already had power, food, and water source, and it was only a matter of time before unifying the entire Infertile ins, securing an additional source of food and medicine was not a bad idea.

    After all, honey has many applications and benefits in food and medicine.

    For example, even some of the strongest healing pills, like the Divine Life Pill, require honey as a key ingredient in their alchemic concoction.

    The Divine Life Pill was a tier-9 divine pill that could heal all mortal wounds and even increase up to ten-thousands years worth of lifespan.

    In other words, it could practically revive a Divine King with one foot in the coffin.

    But of course, not just any honey can be used to produce such a pill; only honey created from Life Nectar can be used to refine it.

    Even so, Leon was confident he could cultivate a flower with Life Nectar one day.

 Chapter 1104 New City Plan

    <h4>Chapter 1104 New City n</h4>

    "Lord Leonhardt! You don''t know how ecstatic I am to see you again, my Lord," Chief Silvertooth weed Leon back with great joy upon his return to the surface. "We are in dire need of your leadership."

    "I suppose it has something to do with the water problem?" Leon casually guessed with a knowing look.

    Chief Silvertooth''s eyes glimmered before replying, "So my Lord is already aware of the Celestial Water Spark''s power depletion."

    "That makes sense," Chief Silvertooth nodded after a quick realization as he added, "My Lord went down to investigate the abyss and would have known about the broken water veins."

    "That aside, where is everyone else?" Leon inquired as he looked around at the barrennd, scarred by the mes of battle.

    "Everyone returned to the tribe to make arrangements as soon as they learned about the Celestial Water Spark''s power depletion, my Lord. Only I stayed behind to await your return," Chief Silvertooth answered humbly.

    Of course, he didn''t forget to make himself look better than the other tribal chiefs.

    "Oh, I see," Leon uttered dully, noticing Chief Silvertooth''s cheap trick. However, he couldn''t be bothered to call him out.

    More importantly, he was more curious about their so-called arrangements.

    "What kind of arrangements?" Leon asked.

    "Since it''s only a matter of time before our limited water supply is exhausted, everyone was preparing to move to the southern region for temporary refuge before the great migration," Chief Silvertooth answered.

    "We were hoping you would return in time to smooth things out with the southern tribes so we could avoid a conflict, my Lord."

    "Move to the southern region for temporary refuge?" Leon repeated with surprise before shaking his head and saying firmly, "There''s no need for refuge in the south, nor do we need to leave the Infertile ins."

    "I can resolve the water problem," Leon shortly imed with confidence before ordering Chief Silvertooth, "Send people to inform the tribes to call off their ns and have the chiefs summoned back. There are other things we need to discuss."

    "Understood, Lord Leonhardt," Chief Silvertoothplied obediently.

    Although he had some doubts in his heart, he did not dare to question the Lord''s im, nor would he refute it.

    He might have the lofty chief of a ruling tribe, but all are ants below the Demon Lord realm.

    Lord Leonhardt wielded power beyond his imagination, not to mention the two Divine Beasts by his side.

    It was hard to say how many more Demon Lord-level beings served under him, but just thinking about the possible number of Arch Demon-level followers serving Lord Leonhardt gave him goosebumps.

    Thus, there was no shame in serving such a great being, nor was there a choice.

    It was either submit and live or resist and die.

    ¡­

    After Chief Silvertooth left to carry out his task, Leon, with the help of Nightingale and Goldenstride, cleaned up the battlefield around the abyss opening.

    All the remnant flesh and blood of men and monsters alike were reduced to ashes to prevent diseases from festering and turning the region into and of death.

    Although Nightingale and Goldenstride understood the intention, they didn''t know why it was required.

    "I don''t think anyone would visit, let alone live near such an ominous hole, my Lord. Is it really necessary to purify thisnd?" Goldenstride couldn''t help but ask after most of the work was done.

    "That''s where you are wrong, Goldenstride," Leon replied with a smile before exining, "Even if I rece the old Celestial Water Spark with a new one in its ce, much water would be wasted unless the broken water veins in this region are fixed."

    "Even after the broken water veins are fixed, there''s a chance the water would get contaminated unless thend is purified. Furthermore, since we are going to put so much effort into thisnd, we might as well build a new city on top of it."

    "After all, the abyss opening gives easy ess to the rich natural resources of the subterranean regions, and it''s in the heart of the Infertile ins," Leon added.

    He also had other considerations when he made his decision.

    Unifying the Infertile ins might make the various tribes obey him, but it wouldn''t stop the differences and grudges they have for one another.

    Picking an existing tribe to be the new capital city would only make it seem like he favored that tribe.

    If that happened, there was bound to be discrimination and conflict.

    Although building a new city from the ground up wouldn''t erase such problems, the problems would be minimized at the very least.

    ¡­

    After cleaning up the region, Leon used his Earth Authority to smooth out thend. Even so, Chief Silvertooth and the others had yet to return at that point.

    Instead of doing nothing while he waited, Leon set up a Teleportation Array to the Darkmoon Tribe and went to inform the southern leaders of the current situation.

    "We were beginning to worry something happened to you, but what you''ve aplished during this period has far exceeded my expectations, Alliance Leader¡ªNo, Hegemon Leonhardt," Chief Valencia expressed shock and amazement.

    "Right," Battle King One-Eye nodded with agreement and added, "The Alliance Leader should be called Hegemon Leonhardt at this point."

    "The Mighty Whitewolf Tribe, Divine Tortoise Tribe, ck Warbear Tribe, and the entire western region have all submitted. And there''s also the Golden Suanni n in the far west on top of that. So Hegemon Leonhardt unifying the Infertile ins is guaranteed to happen."

    "Heck, I feel like Hegemon Leonhardt can even conquer the whole world!" Battle King One-Eye chuckled with high praise and worship.

    Leon''s list of aplishments was the best thing he had heard in the past week.

    "How exciting!" Battle King One-Eye added.

    "Alright, that''s enough, Senior One-Eye," Leon stopped Battle King One-Eye before adding, "My ears will soon grow calluses if you keep going. I didn''te back to listening to all of these praises."

    "I want you all to join me on a trip to the Central Region. We will convene with the other chiefs and leaders there so that I can discuss my ns for the Infertile ins with everyone," Leon shortly stated his purpose for returning.

    Everyone''s expressions quickly turned serious before simultaneously offering their respectful salutes and responding in unison.

    "Yes, Hegemon Leonhardt!"

 Chapter 1105 Sustainable Solution

    ?

    Infertile ins, Central Region.

    On the southern side of the abyss opening, Leon took his seat on an earthen throne and swept his gaze across the seated members present.

    They were all people of the highest statuses in the Infertile ins.

    On the far left side sat the Battle King One-Eye and the six chiefs of the Southern Region. Next, three out of four ruling tribes'' chiefs and their fifteen subordinate tribal chiefs took the center seats. Lastly, Chief Sur-Khan and the rest of the western tribe leaders upied the right seats.

    More than half of the Infertile ins had sworn their allegiance to Leon.

    Not far behind Leon stood Goldenstride and Nightingale as the sole representatives of their respective ns.

    ''Haiz, truly an impressive lineup. Who knew there would be a day I would witness such an extraordinary sight and be a part of it?" Chief Valencia silently sighed, full of sentiments.

    Everyone was aware that theirbined military strength was more than enough to sweep the remaining half of thend and unify the Infertile ins.

    However, that was not the agenda for their gathering, nor their intention. Enough blood had been shed; it needed to stop.

    Furthermore, how could they still think about fighting when they''re about to run out of water?

    Although everyone wondered how Leon would solve the water problem for the whole Infertile ins, no one raised their question.

    Everyone waited for him to speak.

    "It seems everyone is present." Leon acknowledged everyone''s attendance with a nod before he continued, "I''ve gathered you all here today to discuss the construction of a new city."

    "Constructing a new city? What do you mean by that, my Lord?" Chief Ironshield furrowed his brows and asked the question everyone wanted to know, "What about your solution to the water shortage?"

    "I meant what I said exactly," Leon coolly replied before continuing, "We will build a new city around this abyss opening. How the city is designed will be up to all of you. You can be innovative, or you can be simple; it doesn''t matter."

    "I only have two requirements; I want the broken water veins repaired, and mines set up in the abyss to procure minerals from the metal deposits. Once the water veins are repaired, I naturally have my ways to solve the water shortage."

    "Of course, you won''t feel assured with my words alone, so let this put your hearts at ease," Leon raised the Celestial Water Spark high in the air for everyone to see.

    The moment everyoneid eyes on the glowing blue orb in the air, brimming with power, their expressions changed to shock and disbelief.

    Some couldn''t sit still and directly shot up on their feet for a better look.

    "A new Celestial Water Spark!" Chief ckbear eximed loudly with wide eyes.

    His gaze was fixed on the Celestial Water Spark without daring to blink once as if he feared it would disappear the next moment.

    The ck Warbear Tribe guarded the Celestial Water Spark. Thus, Chief ckbear could naturally recognize a Celestial Water Spark when he saw one.

    Furthermore, it couldn''t be the same Celestial Water Spark; one was depleted, and the other emanated with power!

    Although it was hard to believe they could have a second Celestial Water Spark, Chief ckbear couldn''t deny the divine object before his very eyes.

    "If even Chief ckbear says so, then it must truly be a Celestial Water Spark¡­ My god, this is incredible! No, this is great! The Infertile ins is saved!" Chief Sul-Dahki rejoiced as others joined him.

    Nevertheless, Leon shook his head and said, "Don''t look at this Celestial Water Spark as the key to all your problems. It''s only a temporary solution, not asting one."

    "What do you mean by that, my Lord?" Chief Ironshield asked with surprise before adding, "As long as we rece the old Celestial Water Spark with this new one, the old Celestial Water Spark will be given time to recover its power."

    "If we alternate between the two Celestial Water Sparks, we would never have to worry about water shortages again," Chief Ironshield stated.

    "Yes, that''s correct," Leon calmly acknowledged Chief Ironshield''s reason before shaking his head and adding, "But that is only true if the Infertile ins'' poption continues to stagnate or even decline."

    "As long as humans grow in numbers, it will eventually reach the point when even two Celestial Water Sparks aren''t enough to support everyone. But, before that, the beasts living in the Infertile ins will be extinct, and you will have no more meat."

    "Although everyone can live on fruits and vegetables procured from elven crop cultivation, you are all warriors with powerful bodies. You all still need meat, whether it''s to live or further your strengths."

    "That''s why I said this Celestial Water Spark is only a temporary solution and not asting one. We need a more sustainable idea to solve all problems once and for all," Leon stated before silently observing everyone''s expressions.

    He made his point clear, and everyone appeared to be in thought. That said, some still seemed unconvinced that they needed to go so far.

    "Of course, you could argue that these problems are distant in the future, and they would have nothing to do with you since you might not live that long," Leon suddenly added. "However, if we keep living destructively, how are we any different from parasites leeching off this world?"

    "Do you want your future descendants to abandon the Infertile ins after it truly bes uninhabitable and force them to struggle for water and food in other regions?" Leon pressed his question.

    "No? I didn''t think so," Leon continued after seeing their unwilling gazes and firmly adding, "That''s why we have to think sustainably."

    A deathly silence ensured the group as everyone had deep looks and furrowed brows. A short whileter, Battle King One-Eye broke the silence.

    "I suppose you wouldn''t have said all of this unless you already have a sustainable idea in mind, right? My Lord?" Battle King One-Eye asked.

    "That''s right." Leon smiled before admitting with a nod and saying, "Our sustainable solution lies in the Boundless Sea to the far west."

    "As long as we create arge river from the Boundless Sea to Infertile ins, we will have limitless drinking water and sea monster meat after purifying them."

 Chapter 1106 Delegating Tasks

    <h4>Chapter 1106 Delegating Tasks</h4>

    "Limitless drinking water and sea monster meat¡­"

    Whether it was Chief Sur-Khan, Chief Valencia, Chief Ironshield, Chief ckbear, or Chief Silvertooth, everyone present had goosebumps after hearing those words.

    If anyone else had spoken those words, Battle King One-Eye and the others would have taken it as the ravings of a lunatic out of touch with reality.

    After all, the sheer manpower required to dig such arge and long river from the Boundless Sea in the far west to the Infertile ins was astronomical.

    It would take countless years of digging, not to mention the various tribes wouldn''t agree to work together in the first ce.

    They would have regarded such an idea as a waste of time and effort.

    After all, between the western Boundless Sea and the Infertile ins was the Western Jungle, home to the Golden Suanni n and countless other beasts.

    They would be food to the powerful beasts of the Western Jungle before they could dig their river.

    However, things were different when Hegemon Leonhardt was the one to speak those words. He was someone who could control the wind and rain, transforming thend with just a thought.

    Furthermore, hemanded the allegiance of the entire Golden Suanni n. The Western Jungle was their beast kingdom.

    "With your leadership and ability, creating such an artificial river definitely won''t be impossible," Chief Sur-Khan acknowledged before saying, "Just thinking about it gets me excited."

    "Same here," the other chiefs chimed in one by one with approving looks.

    As expected, they did not swear their allegiance to the wrong person. Hegemon Leonhardt was an extraordinary and visionary leader who could lead them to greatness.

    Meanwhile, Leon silently observed the chiefs.

    Perhaps thanks to his charisma, the chiefs'' hidden ambitions were waning, making them more honest and willing to work together.

    ''This is a positive sign of progress,'' Leon thought.

    The warriors of the Infertile ins had great potential, but theirpetition and rivalry limited their achievements.

    Divided, they fall. United, they prosper.

    Although the Crawford Empire was more than capable of supplying water and food to the entire Infertile ins in their time of need, it was too costly and inefficient.

    Only by making the Infertile ins self-sufficient would both sides benefit from their trades equally in the future.

    ''If I give a man a fish, he''ll only be fed for a day. But, if I teach him how to fish, I will feed him for a lifetime, huh?'' Leon casually thought with a smile.

    "When do we start, my Lord?" Chief Ironshield suddenly asked, evidently excited and filled with anticipation.

    "The river n will wait. The new cityes first," Leon decisively stated before continuing, "Once the foundations areid down, and we have water and food secured, only then can we considermencing the river n."

    "Understood, my Lord," Chief Ironshield acknowledged Leon''s decision.

    The river n might provide limitless water and sea monster meat for years toe, but if they couldn''t resolve the immediate water shortage, they wouldn''t evenst another two weeks.

    Nevertheless, Chief Ironshield thought of another matter that might be a minor issue.

    "How do you n to deal with the Battle God Pce and the remaining tribes, my Lord?" Chief Ironshield asked.

    "Considering the Battle God Pce is situated not far from here, they will think were are openly provoking and challenging their authority by building a big city here. I''m afraid they wouldn''t just leave us be."

    "Naturally, with our numbers and strength, we no longer fear the Battle God Pce. But even if they can''t beat us, they can still harass us and dy the city''s construction," Chief Ironshield mentioned.

    "We don''t need to worry about the Battle God Pce harassing us." Leon casually shook his head and said, "We''re not building just any big city but a self-sufficient megacity that can amodate and support the entire Infertile ins poption."

    "Once we spread the news, forget about harassing us; the Battle God Pce might even hope weplete the megacity sooner so they can try and take it for themselves. They can afford to wait if their secret water reserve is asrge as I think it is."

    "However, the same can''t be said for the remaining unaffiliated tribes. The Battle God Pce would most likely try to buy their allegiance with the enticement of water or some other means so they can have a fighting chance against us," Leon spected.

    "We can''t let that happen, my Lord," Chief Silvertooth voiced his opinion.

    "Given the Battle God''s long years as the de facto ruler of the Infertile ins, the Battle God Pce will not quietly surrender their authority to us. If we give them a chance to consolidate their power, there will be more bloodshed."

    "I suggest we send people to the remaining unaffiliated tribes to persuade their peaceful submission, my Lord," Chief Silvertooth suggested shortly after.

    "I also had the same thought," Leon acknowledged with a nod and said, "Now that the Celestial Water Spark''s power is depleted, many tribes must be anxiously looking for solutions or preparing to leave the Infertile ins."

    "This makes it easier for us to acquire their allegiance. Un, I''ll leave this task to you," Leon delegated the job of sending people to persuade the unaffiliated tribes to Chief Silvertooth.

    "dly with honor, my Lord!" Chief Silvertooth patted his chest proudly with excitement after being given such an important task.

    However, he soon discovered it wasn''t all that important to Leon.

    "You only need to deliver the message to the unaffiliated tribes. There''s no need to put too much effort into persuading them; it will only make us look weak," Leon instructed before reminding him, "Remember, we aren''t the ones in a desperate situation; they are."

    "Furthermore, loyalty can''t be bought with desperation. If they are willing to submit, that''s great. If not, then so be it. In the end, they will still surrender to us. However, their standing will be lower."

    "You should forget about the Holy Sunfire Tribe and just focus on the tribes in the northern and eastern regions," Leon instructed.

    "Understood, my Lord," Chief Silvertooth obeyed, seemingly calmed down.

    If not for Hegemon Leonhardt''s reminder, he would have done everything he could to persuade the remaining tribes toplete his task perfectly and increase his standing.

 Chapter 1107: Desolate North

    In the Infertile ins''s Northern Region, icy winds from the snowy north ravaged the barrennd with frequent breezes, bringing silent death wherever they swept. Due to these very icy winds, the Northern Region possessed the least poption and food source.

    It was the most deste and harshest ce to live among the five regions.

    Beasts were few and even harder to hunt, especially during the Hour of Silent Death, when the temperature dropped to its lowest point.

    Without ample thick fur and strong fire sources for warmth, very few could survive outside in the freezing cold of the night¡ªbe they man or beast.

    Due to this, most tribes would retreat underground during the Hour of Silent Death and sleep.

    In the Bluewind Tribe, which had been elected as the leading tribe of the Northern Alliance, various tribal chiefs of the Northern Region convened around the warm fire in the longhouse.

    "The water veins drying up is irrefutable proof of the Celestial Water Spark''s depleted power! If we don''t make a swift decision, we will all die of hydration in a few weeks!"

    "Make a swift decision? In that case, why don''t you offer something useful to the table instead of stating the fucking obvious, Chief Fujor!?"

    "HA!" Chief Fujor snickered and retorted, "I''m stressing the fucking obvious because we are wasting precious time doing nothing! If you think you got something better to say, then why don''t you say it, Chief Ingi-Bor?!"

    "Ptui!" Chief Ingi-Bor spat disdainfully before barking, "Of course, I have something better to say! While the other regions are still fighting for hegemony, we should gather all people and storm into the snowy north!"

    "We''ll have a better chance of surviving the freezing north as a smaller group than a bigger one!" Chief Ingi-Bor added.

    "Fart!" Chief Fujor cursed, thundering furiously, "That''s the dumbest shit I have ever heard! Are you trying to kill me with your stupidity, Chief Ingi-Bor?! Why don''t you stop farting out of your mouth and actually share something with substance!?"

    Chief Ingi-Bor coldly red at Chief Fujor before replying contemptuously, "Why don''t I use your long white beard to wipe my ass, Chief Fujor? You''ll definitely see some substance then!"

    "Instead of hearing me out, you quickly devalued my opinion. No doubt, you''re the stupid one between us," Chief Ingi-Bor added.

    "What did you say?!" Chief Fujor red back angrily and roared, "You want to use my beard as toilet paper?! How bold you, Chief Ingi-Bor!"

    Suddenly, Chief Fujor''s gaze paused on Chief Ingi-Bor''s long, ck beard before fighting back, "I see, I see now! You must have frequently wiped your ass with your own beard! No wonder it is so dark and stink of shit! Fuck! I think it rubbed on me earlier¡­ Do you guys think his stink spread to me?"

    "Have you two clowns finished clowning?!" another bulky northern tribal chief in heavy fur coating bellowed furiously, adding, "We''ve gathered here today to discuss important matters and make important-t-tit d-decisions!"

    "Chief Haal-Giri bit his tongue and stuttered at such a crucial time¡­"

    "Yep¡­ Gosh, this is so embarrassing¡­"

    The two warriors guarding behind Chief Haal-Giri quietly whispered to each other, feeling embarrassed to be part of his tribe.

    After all, Chief Haal-Giri of the Coldboar Tribe had the habit of identally biting his tongue and stuttering when he talked in an agitated state due to a birth defect. Even so, that didn''t stop him from rising to the position of tribal chief.

    Although the two warriors thought they were being discreet enough, theirments were still overheard by their tribe''s chief.

    "S-Shaddap!" Chief Haal-Giri red at them.

    "Y-Yes, Chief!"

    "A-Are you mocking me?"

    "N-No, Chief!"

    "Y-You''re d-definitely mocking m-me!"

    Chief Haal-Giri was furious.

    Meanwhile, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li, chief of the Bluewind Tribe, groaned in one corner of the big firepit as he rubbed his head like he had a headache.

    The quickly formed alliance couldn''t even maintain a basic level of seriousness before plunging into chaotic folly.

    Nevertheless, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li had to restore order and keep the northern tribal chiefs on the same page if he wanted to stop their Northern Alliance from falling apart.

    "ENOUGH!" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li bellowed.

    His powerful voice instantly shook the entire longhouse and quelled the chaotic scenes. Silence filled the air as everyone fixed their gazes on him with their full, undivided attention.

    "Everyone in the Northern Region knows the snowy north is and of death; its Permafrost Ice cannot be melted by any mortal fire, and its hard snow is too toxic to drink, even if melted. The far-northern races will kill us on sight, and the freezing cold will also slowly kill us. There isn''t a single thing there that doesn''t threaten our survival!"

    Alliance Leader Hasaar-li shifted his stern gaze to Chief Ingi-Bor and said, "Despite knowing all this, why do you still suggest the far north, Chief Ingi-Bor?"

    "Please share your wisdom!" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li sincerely requested.

    Chief Ingi-Bor shed a disdainful look at Chief Fujor before facing the Northern Alliance Leader seriously.

    "Everything in the snowy north indeed seems capable of killing us," Chief Ingi-Bor first acknowledged.

    "However, we mustn''t forget the races and beasts that live there and even thrive. As such, I''m led to believe they must have ess to clean water sources or, at the very least, are knowledgeable of water-purifying methods that could turn the toxic snow into drinkable water."

    "As long as we can learn their secrets, we will be able to live in the snowy north," Chief Ingi-Bor believed.

    "However, the snowy north is far colder than here. How will our people survive there? Keeping a fire lit will be difficult, even if we rely on the Venerable Shamans, Chief Ingi-Bor. Furthermore, sending the entire Northern Region in is far too risky when we know so little there. If we fail to procure the secret, we could bepletely wiped out," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li pointed out with a frown.

    "I didn''t say this option will be easy and without its sacrifice, Alliance Leader," Chief Ingi-Bor admitted.

    "However, it''s toote to send an elite group to investigate the snowy north now. Our chances of survival will drop even lower if we wait for their return, not to mention we have been trying for years without sess. There will be many difficulties and losses on the journey; no doubt about that."

    "Even so, if those far-northern races can take us in, we''ll have at least food to eat and clean water to drink. They might also have ways to keep us warm since they are natives there and should be quite knowledgeable of thend."

    "That''s why moving in a smaller group will give us a better chance of mixing in with them," Chief Ingi-Bor stated.

    Everyone''s frown deepened.

 Chapter 1108: Sudden Arrival

    Although Chief Ingi-Bor''s suggestion wasn''t good, it was better than nothing. Even so, many people had other opinions on the matter.

    The snowy north was and of death; everyone knew that.

    It didn''t make sense for them to seek life from and of death now, of all times. Countless expeditions to explore the snowy north had always failed. The outer rims could still be reached, but any deeper was untouchable.

    Anyone who had ever ventured deeper than the outer rims never returned.

    "What I mentioned was only one of the reasons. We might not need to surrender to the far-northern races to survive. As long as we can find a new Celestial Water Spark to support the Infertile ins, we can still return to thisnd," Chief Ingi-Bor stated.

    His words finally resonated with some warriors within the longhouse.

    "That''s right! We just need to find a new Celestial Water Spark! Since it could be done in the past, it could be done again!"

    "Are you being serious, Chief Hafregus? We have neither a Battle God nor a Shaman God, let alone one who is both. How do you propose we replicate the same feat when we arecking? The snowy north is and of death. Everyone knows that. I am not gambling my entire tribe''s survival on a mere maybe."

    "Then do you have a better idea than Chief Ingi-Bor, Chief Hor-Kuf?"

    "In any case, I will not agree to Chief Ingi-Bor''s idea. I would rather take my chances in the Western Jungle with my tribesmen," Chief Hor-Kuf firmly stated with stubbornness.

    He would not budge on this matter.

    "The Western Jungle, huh? Indeed, that is an option," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li acknowledged before shaking his head. "However, that option is not much different from the snowy north."

    "If anyone could live in the Western Jungle, why would people stay in the Infertile ins? The Golden Suanni n rules the fertile Western Jungle and does not look at our kind favorably. They detest the dark energy in our bodies."

    "For that reason, the Golden Suannis wouldn''t want to eat us. However, they would definitely kill us to prevent us from polluting their fertilend if we trespassed into their territory with so many people."

    "Perhaps Chief Hor-Kuf has a different opinion on the Western Jungle? Would you mind sharing your wisdom, Chief Hor-Kuf?" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li requested.

    "If the Alliance Leader asks, who am I to reject?" Chief Hor-Kuf repliedpliantly before admitting, "What Alliance Leader said earlier are undeniable truths about the Western Jungle."

    "However, if we don''t even try to negotiate with the Golden Suanni n, how will we know for sure if they will turn us away from their territory or try to kill us? If I could live in the Western Jungle, I would choose it over the Frost Mountains any day. Humans weren''t born to live in such brutal cold environments."

    "No matter how you look at it, the Western Jungle is the most suitable ce for us to live if we can make peace with the Golden Suanni n. For that purpose, I believe our answer lies with the Western Region''s Golden Suanni Tribe," Chief Hor-Kuf mentioned.

    "Western Region''s Golden Suanni Tribe?" Multiple tribal chiefs eximed with surprise.

    "That''s right, the Western Region''s Golden Suanni Tribe holds the key to the Western Jungle. They share some rtionships with the Golden Suanni n and even take after their name," Chief Hor-Kuf stated.

    "As such, if there''s anyone who could negotiate with the Golden Suanni n, it would be the Golden Suanni Tribe. For that matter, we must improve our rtionship with the Golden Suanni Tribe or even win them over."

    "s, I don''t see what we have that could appeal to them," Chief Hor-Kuf sighed regrettably before seeking the gathered chiefs'' opinions, "I wonder if anyone here has a good idea?"

    Unfortunately, the noises in the longhouse quickly died, and silence filled the air. The crackling firewood and breathing of burly men seemed especially loud as everyone contemted.

    Bang!

    The main entrance to the longhouse was suddenly pushed open as a young warrior cloaked in heavy grey fur pelts entered.

    But at the same time, a strong gust of icy cold wind rushed inside the longhouse, freezing everyone and everything in its path. The warmth within the longhouse was suddenly stripped away in an instant.

    Frost zed over the floor, and warm drinks turned cold. Numerous balls also shriveled up.

    "Ack! Shut ''er door, ya Scally Wank''er!" an Early-rank Battle Master cursed, followed by several dozens more.

    After the main doors were shut tight and the fireces slowly restored the warmth within the longhouse, the curses directed at the young warrior also died down.

    "What''s the matter?" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li inquired, recognizing the young warrior as one of the High-rank Great Warriors on sentry duties.

    "I-It''s Chief Silvertooth! Chief Silvertooth is here, Alliance Leader!" the young High-rank Great Warrior reported.

    "What!" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li eximed with a startled look.

    At the same time, the other northern tribal chiefs also jumped to their feet in rm, immediately reaching for their weapons, thinking war was imminent.

    After all, the Chief Silvertooth''s Mighty Whitewolf Tribe upied the northernmost area of the Central Region, neighboring their Northern Region. As such, no one in the Northern Region would be surprised if the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe wanted to swallow them to bolster its chances in the battle for hegemony.

    "How many warriors did he bring with him?! Did you scout their numbers and strength?" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li solemnly demanded.

    However, the young High-rank Great Warrior quickly shook his head and replied, "There is no one else, Alliance Leader! Chief Silvertooth only with a single beast! Except¡­"

    "Except what? Quickly spill it!" Chief Ingi-Bor barked.

    "Except that it''s a Paragon-level Golden Suanni! Chief Silvertooth came with a Paragon-level Golden Suanni, Chief Ingi-Bor! Its Paragon-level aura can''t be mistaken!" the young High-rank Great Warrior stated.

    Everyone''s mind immediately went nk with confusion and doubts as they failed to process the situation.

    If there''s no mistake about the Paragon-level Golden Suanni, then was there a mistake with the person? How could the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s Chief Silvertooth be under thepany of a Golden Suanni?

    "Are you sure it was the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s Chief Silvertooth and not the Western Region''s Chief Sur-Khan?"

    "I''m positive! Please don''t doubt my words, Alliance Leader! It''s better if you see for yourself. I don''t think Chief Silvertooth is here to fight."

    "Alright," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li nodded with a frown before urging the western tribal chiefs to follow him out, "Let us see what Chief Silvertooth wants from us. Perhaps we will also be able to make sense of why he is in thepany of Golden Suanni."

    "Understood, Alliance Leader," the western tribal chiefs agreed.

 Chapter 1109: Why Are You Also Shocked?

    Outside the Bluewind Tribe''s stone wall, Chief Silvertooth patiently waited with Cindertail, who he requested to apany him to the Northern Region.

    He figured it would be easier for the Northern Region to capitte if he showed them a glimpse of Hegemon Leonhardt''s authority, and there was no better way of doing that than to use the Golden Suanni n.

    Nevertheless, Chief Silvertooth didn''t expect the Northern Region to be far colder than he remembered.

    Thest time he visited the Northern Region, it was cold but not freezing. Since that was the case, the Frost Mountains must be even colder.

    Surprisingly, the Northern Region''s tribes could bear living under such brutal cold.

    Fortunately, Chief Silvertooth brought Cindertail along. With Cindertail''s golden mes warming up the area, he did not feel as cold.

    "How much longer do we have to wait here? Why don''t we just enter and find the Northern Region''s leaders ourselves?" Cindertail said with a disgruntled look.

    "The Bluewind Tribe''s sentries have already been alerted of our presence and sent the news to their chief. We shouldn''t have to wait much longer, Paragon Cindertail," Chief Silvertooth replied respectively before requesting, "Please have a little more patience, Paragon Cindertail."

    "If we were to barge into the Bluewind Tribe uninvited, it would provoke their hostilities and may impact the process of acquiring the North Region''s allegiance for Hegemon Leonhardt."

    "Although I don''t doubt your strength, our goal is not to force their submission but to persuade it. So, we should try to avoid antagonizing them, Paragon Cindertail," Chief Silvertooth exined.

    After Cindertail heard that, he no longer showed any more impatience. He didn''t want to cause trouble for his lord.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li and the northern tribe chiefs emerged from the Bluewind Tribe''s walls with their crowd of warriors.

    Shock, surprise, and stronger doubt quickly filled their ranks as they confirmed Chief Silvertooth''s presence with thepany of a Paragon-level Golden Suanni.

    "It''s true¡­ Chief Silvertooth dide with a Golden Suanni¡­ But why? No, how?"

    "Right? The Mighty Whitewolf Tribe shouldn''t have any rtionship with the Golden Suanni Tribe, let alone THE Golden Suanni n, ruler of the Western Jungle¡­ This doesn''t make any sense."

    "The bigger question is, what do they want from us?"

    "We''ll have the answer to that question once we ask them. Try not to provoke any unnecessary tension if they are reasonable. We wouldn''t want to antagonize that Paragon-level Golden Suanni."

    "Understood, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li," the northern tribe chiefs acknowledged solemnly.

    In fact, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li did not need to remind them.

    A Paragon-level Golden Suanni was even more fearsome than a human Battle God. Cindertail''s exuberant blood energy and life force were unlike anything they had ever felt.

    As such, they easily understood there was only one oue for the Northern Region if they foolishly angered it ¨C Complete ughter.

    The Golden Suannis truly deserved to be the rulers of the Western Jungle.

    After the two sides came within twenty yards of each other, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li politely inquired, "What business brings you to the north, Chief Silvertooth?"

    "Chief Hasaar-li, it''s been a while," Chief Silvertooth acknowledged their familiarity before getting to business, "However, I did note today to reminisce. Ie to deliver a message from my lord, Hegemon Leonhardt, to the Northern Region¡ª"

    "Hegemon Leonhardt? That''s quite bold of you, Chief Silvertooth. Do you think your lord already controls the Infertile ins?" Chief Ingi-Bor immediately doubted with an aggressive look,pletely throwing Alliance Leader Hasaar-li''s earlier warnings to the wind.

    "Chief Ingi-Bor, stand down!" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li bellowed solemnly as the gaze of the Paragon-level Golden Suanni beside Chief Silvertooth turned cold.

    Everyone immediately felt like they were treading on thin ice. Even so, Chief Ingi-Bor truly spoke their mind. They all had the same question.

    "No need to be so hard on Chief Ingi-Bor, Chief Hasaar-li. His doubts are reasonable since he is ill-informed. I don''t mind exining my lord''s greatness before rying his message to you," Chief Silvertooth calmly stated with understanding.

    After waiting briefly without a reply from the Northern Region''s side, he continued, "Currently, the Western Region, the Southern Region, the Central Region''s ck Warbear Tribe, the Divine Tortoise Tribe, and my Mighty Whitewolf Tribe have all pledged their allegiance to Hegemon Leonhardt."

    "Lord Paragon Cindertail here also serves Hegemon Leonhardt," Chief Silvertooth added.

    Although the Northern Region''s people could not confirm the truth in Chief Silvertooth''s words, they were still shocked by his unbelievable im.

    After all, that was practically half of the Infertile ins!

    Even so, it still wasn''t as shocking as having a Paragon-level Golden Suanni for a follower.

    That was truly shocking!

    How proud were the Golden Suannis? And yet, a Paragon-level one was willing to serve a human for its master? Who would dare cause trouble in front of a Paragon?

    "I-Is that true, Lord Paragon Cindertail?" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li sought answers from Cindertail, but he wasn''t sure if he understood human speech.

    "Everything is true," Cindertail nodded before saying, "As the nominal Supreme Leader of the Golden Suanni n, I give you my word."

    "Even the entire Golden Suanni n has pledged its allegiance to my lord. What does a mere Infertile ins amount to?" Cindertail added with disdain.

    Plop!

    Everyone suddenly fell back onto their bottoms with sheer shock after the revtion. Even Chief Silvertooth was no exception, as he felt weak in the knees.

    "Why are you also shocked, Chief Silvertooth? Didn''t you know?" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li asked with surprise.

    "Fart! Of course, I knew the Golden Suanni n submitted to Hegemon Leonhardt! I just didn''t know Lord Cindertail was its Supreme Leader!" Chief Silvertooth cussed in fright.

    He wasn''t sure if he had been showing Cindertail enough respect; he only hoped Cindertail had not been dissatisfied with him in any way.

    Gulp!

    Alliance Leader Hasaar-li swallowed his built-up saliva nervously before asking, "What message did Hegemon Leonhardt have for the Northern Region, Chief Silvertooth?"

    Since even a proud Paragon-level Golden Suanni had given its word, how could they keep doubting Chief Silvertooth''s im?

    The entire Infertile ins was nothing in front of the Western Jungle''s Golden Suanni n.

    Chief Silvertooth smiled wryly at the ill-timed question.

    He had intended to shock the Northern Region into submission with his lords'' feats. However, he ended up losing his bearing and joining that shocked group.

 Chapter 1110: Alliance Leader Hasaar-lis Choice

    Shortly after Chief Silvertooth regained his bearing, he solemnly exined, "Hegemon Leonhardt understands the difficulties of the Infertile ins and intends to build a mega city in the heart of the Central Region."

    "It will be the holynd of the Infertile ins, never short of food and water. Even resources for cultivation will be essible to all through fair means. If your Northern Region''s tribes are willing to acknowledge Hegemon Leonhardt''s sovereignty and swear your allegiances to him, you will all have a ce in this new holy city."

    "However, Hegemon Leonhardt also understands you have all made your homes in the Northern Region for hundreds of years. It wouldn''t be easy for you all to abandon your dwellings and migrate to the new city immediately."

    "As such, Hegemon Leonhardt is willing to graciously supply anyone from the Northern Region a month''s worth of food supplies and water as long as he receives your verbal promise," Chief Silvertooth stated.

    "Hegemon Leonhardt is that generous? As long as I say my Coldboar Tribe is willing to swear its allegiance to him, my entire Coldboar Tribe will get a month''s worth of food supplies and water just like that?" Chief Haal-Giri doubted.

    "What would you do if we just go back on our word after receiving a month''s worth of food and water? Will you force us into submission with your superior military power, then? Or will you take revenge by wiping us out?"

    When Chief Haal-Giri mentioned this, Chief Silvertooth nced at him with pure contempt.

    "If you really go back on your word after receiving Hegemon Leonhardt''s generosity, nothing will happen to your Coldboar Tribe," Chief Silvertooth coldly stated.

    "Only¡­ that your tribe will only be cklisted as a tribe that cannot be trusted and be forever barred from entering our holynd. We do notck any water or food in the new city."

    "Only your Northern Region''s tribe would see one month''s worth of food and water as something precious," Chief Silvertooth sneered.

    Chief Haal-Giri immediately fell into silent contemtion.

    "I have already delivered the message of Hegemon Leonhardt. How the Northern Region tribes respond is up to you. I still have to reach out to the Eastern Region tribes," Chief Silvertooth announced as he prepared to leave.

    "Please wait just one moment, Chief Silvertooth," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li quickly pleaded before asking, "In your honest opinion, how do you think we should proceed?"

    Chief Silvertooth paused for a moment before replying seriously, "If I were you, I would immediately pack my stuff and head to the new holy city, Chief Hasaar-li."

    "Hegemon Leonhardt does provide everyone with a month''s worth of food and water, free of charge. This much is true. However, this given period was also to help the various tribes settle in the new holy city."

    "After this period, we don''t feed freeloaders. If you want food and water, you have to trade for it or earn it through contributions, and right now, there is no better way of contributing than aiding the new city construction."

    "Don''t you think that is very good? As long as your people aid in constructing the new city, you get to design and build your new homes within the new city and still get paid for it. If it was the old me, even I wouldn''t have believed such a great deal would exist in this godforsakennd."

    "However, that just shows Hegemon Leonhardt''s boundless generosity. All right, I have said enough. It''s time I leave," Chief Silvertooth stated.

    Alliance Leader Hasaar-li deeply pondered for a few breaths before hollered Chief Silvertooth to wait again.

    "Chief Silvertooth, please stay! If you don''t mind waiting a bit longer, allow my Bluewind Tribe to show you and Lord Cindertail our hospitality as we gather our stuff. My Bluewind Tribe is willing to leave with you!"

    Alliance Leader Hasaar-li''s decisive deration immediately startled everyone, including his own tribe.

    No one expected him to make such an important decision so arbitrarily without consulting any of the northern tribe leaders.

    "Alliance Leader, this is¡­ too hastily decided and inappropriate, no?" Chief Fujor asked with disbelief.

    "You are free to make decisions for your tribe, Chief Fujor. However, I have already made mine for my Bluewind Tribe," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li firmly said before adding, "The same goes for the rest of you, Chiefs. You are all free to make your own choice. Mine won''t change."

    "Now, please just wait a moment, Alliance Leader!" Chief Hord-Skuf cried.

    "This is far too abrupt! Your choice might not be the best one! Are you sure you don''t want to discuss this further? You''re taking a huge gamble with Chief Silvertooth!"

    "For all we know, he could be leading your tribe into a big trap!" Chief Hord-Skuf hastily said, causing Chief Silvertooth''s displeasure.

    At the same time, Cindetail''s tyrannical Paragon-level oppression dropped on him and suppressed him into the ground. With just his sheer blood vitality, Cindertail brought a Mid-rank Battle King down to his knees.

    Cindertail''s displeasure was to be expected. He had already given his word, and yet someone still doubted him.

    Wasn''t that the same as challenging him?

    If there was no strength, there was also no pride worth protecting. However, since there was absolute strength, he had to defend it absolutely.

    "Please show mercy, Lord Cindertail! I have misspoken!" Chief Hord-Skuf pleaded in terror.

    It was only after he experienced Cindertail''s oppression first-hand that he understood how horrifying his might was. Even ordinary Paragon might not be this terrifying.

    ''S-Such a supreme bloodline power!'' Several other chiefs silently gasped in shock.

    With such an invible aura, no one would dare question Cindertail again. Chief Silvertooth also felt better seeing everyone''s terrified expressions.

    ''One day, I will also possess such absolute strength!'' Chief Silvertooth vowed.

    Nevertheless, he was still surprised by Alliance Leader Hasaar-li''s decisive choice. He figured such an important decision would have taken at least three days to be reached.

    "Interesting¡­" Chief Silvertooth uttered curiously before smiling, "I can wait, Chief Hasaar-li. However, you have to answer a question of mine. What was your reason for making such a hasty choice so decisively?"

    The northern tribe leaders fixed their attention on Alliance Leader Hasaar-li, all dying to know as well.

    If he couldn''t provide them with a satisfying answer, they might not let his Bluewind Tribe leave with Chief Silvertooth and Lord Cindertail.

 Chapter 1111: The Northern Alliances Unity

    Alliance Leader Hasaar-li nced at the northern tribe leaders before he calmly acknowledged their undivided attention with a nod.

    "There''s nothing difficult to understand about my decision. I simply made the most logical choice based on the options I have been presented," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li calmly stated.

    "The options you were presented, you say? What do you mean, Chief Hasaar-li?" Chief Silvertooth was quickly intrigued.

    After all, he had not given the Bluewind Tribe much choice. However, Chief Hasaar-li''s words suggested he had more choices than the ones he gave him.

    As such, he was curious what they were.

    "You might not know this, but before your arrival, we were having a meeting concerning our Northern Alliance''s future. Our northern tribe leaders suggested migrating to the Frost Mountains or Western Jungle," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li calmly mentioned.

    "Whether it is the Frost Mountains or the Western Jungle, both have little chance of sess and high risks of death. As the nominated alliance leader of the Northern Alliance, it''s my responsibility to lead the northern tribes on the road to life. As such, given all the avable options, I would naturally pick the one with the least risk."

    "Honestly, I still have my doubts, Chief Silvertooth. The Central Region''s situation sounds too good to be true, no matter how much I want to believe it. That''s why I will lead only my Bluewind Tribe to see the situation with our own eyes."

    "The rest of the Northern Alliance does not need to follow in our footsteps until my Bluewind Tribe confirms the situation," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li stated.

    The northern tribe leaders were quickly enlightened.

    Of all the choices avable, migrating to the Central Region was the only path that didn''t seem to result in a dead end should they fail their gamble. Thus, even if they got tricked into giving up their independence, they would still have their life at the very least.

    What followed after would no longer concern them as the burden of responsibilities would no longer be theirs to bear.

    "Hahaha!" Chief Haal-Giri suddenly cackled with heavyughter before saying, "How could my Coldboar Tribe let Bluewind Tribe venture into the Central Region alone? You are looking down on us, Alliance Leader."

    "My Coldboar Tribe didn''t nominate you to lead the Northern Alliance because we expect you to sacrifice yourself for the rest of us. No, we chose you because we believe you would make the best choice for the Northern Alliance."

    "Since you have already decided, my Coldboar Tribe will naturally follow your Bluewind Tribe to the Central Region," Chief Haal-Giri firmly stated.

    "So will my Snow Cleaver Tribe," Chief Fujor added.

    "Don''t forget about my Great Icebreaker Tribe," Chief Ingi-Bor chimed.

    "And my Frostbone Tribe," Chief Hafregus answered.

    "Hehehe," Chief Hord-Skuf softly chuckled before saying, "Since everyone is going, how can my Winterheart Tribe be left out? We are not the Northern Alliance unless we are together."

    In a short instant, all the northern tribe leaders voiced their willingness to follow Alliance Leader Hasaar-li to the Central Region.

    Even Chief Silvertooth couldn''t help but feel impressed by their unity.

    In fact, the Northern Alliance''s unity was even stronger than that of the Western Region''s. After all, the northern tribes all endured simr hardships, and the cold was theirmon enemy. They understood each other''s pain well.

    "Well, this is surprising," Chief Silvertoothmented.

    "I didn''t expect this either," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li wryly smiled before saying, "To think I feel proud to be part of the north."

    "Hahaha¡­ Alright, that''s enough to dilly-dallying. We all have work to do. Alliance Leader, you better not leave without us," Chief Hafregus said lightly.

    "Of course," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li nodded.

    Shortly after the northern tribe leaders returned to the tribes to organize the mass migration, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li led Chief Silvertooth and Cindertail into the Bluewind Tribe to entertain them.

    At the same time, he issued instructions to his whole tribe, informing them what to pack and what to leave behind.

    It was impossible to take everything with them on one trip; they only needed to bring the necessities.

    ¡­

    Three dayster, the Northern Region''s six tribes arrived on the periphery view of the Central Region''s new metropolis in the making.

    From a distance, the movement of the Northern Alliance''s sixty-thousand people looked like an enormous furred serpent slithering towards the new city.

    Without any prior news of their visit, the Northern Alliance''s arrival naturally alerted the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe''s sentries on duty.

    "Large movements detected in the north! Is that a giant serpent¡­?"

    "No, it''s the Northern Region''s people! Good Heavens! With that many people, the entire Northern Region must being! Maybe they aren''t here to join us but attack us!"

    "Attacking us with that much goods on them? Definitely not! Look again, fool. Chief Silvertooth and Paragon Cindertail are leading them!"

    Although the sentries initially had some doubts, they quickly disappeared once they spotted Chief Silvertooth and Paragon Cindertail in the lead.

    It didn''t take long before Chief Silvertooth sent out a signal, notifying the sentries of his sessful mission.

    However, that discovery made everyone greatly astonished.

    Without any big escort and just Paragon Cindertail forpany, Chief Silvertooth actually convinced the entire Northern Region to surrender to Hegemon Leonhardt''s cause in a mere three days.

    No!

    Those three days were merely the time taken up by the preparation and trip. The actual time taken to persuade the Northern Region must have been extremely short.

    "Our Chief sure is incredible and efficient. To think he brought us the entire Northern Region''s people in only three days," a sentrymented with amazement.

    "Is that really everyone in the Northern Region, though? That only looks to be around sixty-thousand people¡­ Isn''t that too few?" another sentry doubted.

    "What do you know? The Northern Region has the smallest poption among all the regions within the Infertile ins. That''s definitely all of them," a knowledgeable sentry confidently stated.

    However, he suddenly shook his head in the next moment.

    "Hold on, this isn''t the time for such idle chatter! Quickly notify the Hegemon Leonhardt and the tribe leaders that the Northern Region''s tribes have arrived to join us!"

    "Right¡­!"

    ¡­

 Chapter 1112: Humble People From Afar

    Meanwhile, inside the core district of the future megacity, Leon and the various tribe leaders were gathered around a building blueprint-filled stone table in the open square for a meeting.

    "With so many people contributing to the construction effort in these past few days, the new city is starting to take shape very nicely. In fact, there has been so much progress that it''s almost startling to see firsthand," Chief Ironshield mentioned sentimentally.

    "Right? It''s amazing to see what we humans can do once we work together," Chief Sur-Khan sighed emotionally, adding, "If it were in the past, I wouldn''t have believed a decent city could be built so quickly."

    "Although there is still much to be done, I can already feel the potent vigor of this city growing with each passing day. I cannot help but look forward to seeing itspleted form."

    "Simply seeing its progress each morning certainly raises my spirit and motivation to its peak," Chief Sur-Khan said in a good mood.

    "I, too, feel the same way, Chief Sur-Khan," Chief Valencia agreed with Chief Sur-Khan, seriously adding, "However, that''s all the more reason why we can''t half-assed this job. No, we must give it our all!"

    "We have to make this city the grandest and most awe-inspiring city the Infertile ins has ever seen!" Chief Valencia excitedly stated with a clenched fist.

    "Only the Infertile ins? Hehe, that''s the wrong thing to say, Chief Valencia," Chief ckbear softly chuckled before saying, "Why must it be limited to the Infertile ins? This city is only the first chapter of a glorious future for the people of the Infertile ins."

    "Its magnificent should be spread far across the four directions and awe those even beyond the Infertile ins! Everyone in the Dark Abyss Continent will know of this city, but it cannot do without a name."

    "Hegemon Leonhardt, please bestow this glorious city in the making a name," Chief ckbear requested.

    "Right, how can a city be without a name? Although it is still far frompletion, it is very much alive and breathing. Now is a good time to give it a name, Hegemon Leonhardt," Chief Ironshield said agreeingly.

    "Is that so? I''m afraid I''m not good with names. I might disappoint you all," Leon softly chuckled.

    "Whether that is true or not, it''s not for us to decide, just as it is not right for anyone else but you to name this city. You are the only one qualified to name it because it is your city. You are the reason it exists," Chief Ironshield honestly stated.

    "Please give the city a name, Hegemon Leonhardt!" the various tribe leaders implored.

    "In that case, let us call it Hegemon City," Leon casually said.

    "Hegemon City¡­"

    Everyone immediately felt their blood boil with excitement once they heard the name.

    It was certainly in and simple. However, they couldn''t think of a more fitting name for the city that would shake the continent in the future.

    "Great name!"

    "Wonderful!"

    "Fantastic!"

    "Marvelous!"

    Leon was suddenly showered with countless praises for the name¡ªso much so that he couldn''t tell whether they were their genuine thoughts or the tribe leaders were simply buttering him up.

    Suddenly, a messenger arrived bearing news from the northern sentry.

    "Milords, pardon my interruption; I bring urgent news! Chief Silvertooth and Paragon Cindertail have returned with the Northern Region''s people!" the messenger quickly announced.

    "The Northern Region''s people actually came back with Chief Silvertooth and Paragon Cindertail? Hasn''t it only been three days since they left?" Chief Siwu-Tahk uttered with surprise before pulling the messenger over, asking, "How many people from the Northern Region came?"

    "A-All of them¡ªI think, my Lord¡­!" the messenger answered nervously, stunning many leaders around the stone table.

    "All of them?" Chief Siwu-Tahk uttered with surprise before seeking confirmation, "Are you sure?"

    "Around fifty thousand to sixty thousand people areing; I believe that should be all of them, my Lord!" the messenger answered in a more resolute tone, as if he were also trying to convince himself.

    Nevertheless, Leon and the tribe leaders around the stone table acknowledged his words.

    "It only took three days for the entire Northern Region to submit to us, huh? That''s impressive," Leon thought out loud before urging everyone, "Come, let us wee them warmly."

    "Yes, Hegemon Leonhardt!" everyone answered.

    "It must not be an easy choice to bring the entire Northern Region here without any proof of what we offered. They should be feeling doubtful and insecure over such a long trip," Leon guessed before instructing, "Chief Valencia, please send someone to notify the cooks to prepare a warm feast for sixty thousand people."

    "As you wish, Hegemon Leonhardt," Chief Valencia nodded before breaking away from the group toplete the task.

    ¡­

    Sometimeter, Leon and the tribe leaders reached the temporary northern wall of Hegemon City and spotted Chief Silvertooth and Cindertail leading the Northern Region''s people in the distance.

    "They''re already here. Let us greet them," Leon informed the group as he led the group out of the city.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, when Alliance Leader Hasaar-li and the rest of his people came within a few hundred meters of the city, thest hint of doubt hidden in his heart quickly vanished without a trace.

    Although the city was still far frompletion, he could already feel the vibrant life force and energy exuding from the people within it.

    It was impossible for a city of people worrying about water or the future to possess such an overwhelming life. In fact, the atmosphere should feel heavy and gloomy instead of light and lively.

    As such, many people were shocked to see the iplete town more lively than aplete and operational one.

    They had yet to enter the city but were already infected by its mood. Their spirits were lifted, and the dark clouds over their brows disappeared.

    Everything Chief Silvertooth told had to be true.

    It wasn''t long before Alliance Leader Hasaar-li and his Northern Region people spotted Leon and his entourageing out to meet them.

    The unimaginably powerful auras surrounding Leon, Nightingale, Rainshine, and Goldenstride, in particr, shocked them to the high heavens.

    "Hm? That aura¡­ H-Heavens! Is that a Divine Beast among them?!" Chief Haal-Giri eximed with rm, shock, and disbelief.

    As Leon''s group approached with friendly smiles, the Northern Region people became increasingly certain of the Divine Beast Aura.

    "Wee to¡ª"

    Plop!

    Before Leon could finish his greeting, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li and a few thousand people at the front suddenly dropped to their knees and prostrated on the ground, not daring to look up.

    ''Wow! These people are so humble!'' Rainshine thought with surprise from Leon''s left shoulder.

 Chapter 1113: Rewarding Civility & Humility

    It was only their first meeting, and yet, before anything was said, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li and his people already dropped to the ground to offer their worship.

    Rainshine had never seen such humble people before.

    At least give her a chance to intimidate them with the oppressive pressure of her bloodline aura or something.

    They didn''t need to be such pushovers, did they? ¨C Rainshine tilted her head in wonder.

    Meanwhile, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li felt Rainshine''s curious gaze on him and pressed his head into the ground even further. He could sense her intelligence.

    In fact, the eyes of every beast surrounding Hegemon Leonhardt all sparkled with intelligence. It was unfathomable that a human could gather such powerful and intelligent beasts.

    Moreover, just by looking at the lineup, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li could tell Hegemon Leonhardt was the master of the beasts and not their friend or subordinate.

    Why were such powerful and intelligent beasts willing to follow this human?

    This wasn''t a difficult question to answer, as Hegemon Leonhardt''s unique aura was self-exnatory. He seemed to possess multiple extraordinary beast bloodlines and didn''t seem human.

    However, he was undoubtedly human due to his human bloodline harmonizing the various beast bloodlines in his body.

    Altogether, the mixed auras gave Alliance Leader Hasaar-li the impression that he was looking at a supreme human overlord who had transcended the heavens. The person didn''t seem like someone from their world.

    Even the Battle God he met many years ago didn''t have such an extraordinary aura.

    Where on earth did such an impressive figure hail from?

    Although Alliance Leader Hasaar-li couldn''t guess Leon''s origins, he believed Leon was a person who delivered on all his promises.

    All his doubts and misgivings before his arrival disappeared without a trace. The desire to hope for a bright future turned them into blind worship instead. After all, such an impressive figure wouldn''t need to lie to his people.

    With the sheer power of his military force, Hegemon Leonhardt could easily dominate the Infertile ins if he wished. He didn''t need to resort to any trickeries and schemes at all.

    "I, Chief Hasaar-li of the Bluewind Tribe and the nominated Alliance Leader of the Northern Alliance, swear my allegiance to Hegemon Leonhardt. My Bluewind Tribe and I shall be yours tomand!" Alliance Leader Hasaar-li solemnly announced.

    Although the northern tribe leaders were once again surprised by Alliance Leader Hasaar-li''s decisiveness, they quickly realized it was also one of his good points.

    When was a better time to be decisive, if not now?

    They had to show Hegemon Leonhardt the collective will of the Northern Region resolutely. Only then would no one question or doubt their loyalty.

    "I, Chief Fujor of the Snow Cleaver Tribe, swear my allegiance to Hegemon Leonhardt! I vow to always be in the vanguard, spearheading all your enemies! I only ask my people will have a ce in your future divine kingdom."

    "I, Chief Ingi-Bor of the Great Icebreaker Tribe, swear my allegiance to Hegemon Leonhardt! My Great Icebreaker Tribe and I are at your service. Please ept us, Hegemon Leonhardt!"

    "I, Chief Haal-Giri¡­"

    One by one, the five northern tribe leaders swore their allegiance to Leon in hopes of him taking them in.

    After seeing the great condition of his city in the Central Region, his promises became thest of their concerns as they were worried he would change his mind and turn them away.

    It was quite strange that they would even have such fears when they were practically invited to join.

    Nevertheless, showing their sincere wish to join Hegemon Leonhardt''s camp with civility and humility was the best way to gain eptance. It was no ce for arrogance and misced self-importance.

    "You have all spoken too seriously, wise leaders of the Northern Region. Please rise and bring your people into the city," Leon gestured with his hand before saying, "Hegemon City wees you all."

    "I understand that the journey here must not have been easy in this weather, especially for arge group such as yours. So, pleasee in and warm yourselves."

    "We have prepared a big feast for everyone," Leon clearly stated.

    Gasps and murmurs of surprise quickly spread across the Northern Region''s people. They didn''t expect Leon to be so approachable and weing.

    After all, for someone who had been crowned Hegemon and wielded so much power, they expected Leon to be more arrogant and overbearing.

    However, reality proved otherwise.

    Furthermore, they were much more epting of this version than the one conjured in their imagination. They realized Hegemon Leonhardt didn''t win everyone over with his strength but his noble character.

    "Thank you, Hegemon Leonhardt. I must admit I am quite surprised. You are very different from how I imagined you to be," Alliance Leader Hasaar-li honestly admitted as Leon helped him up.

    "Haha, it''s too soon to be surprised, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li," Leon softlyughed before urging everyone inside the city with a gesture, "Please, after you."

    Shortly after Alliance Leader Hasaar-li nodded and entered the city, the rest of the Northern Region''s people followed him, thanking Leon greatly as they passed him.

    At the same time, the other chiefs guided the Northern Region''s people to unload their goods in an empty plot ofnd before inviting them to the feasting ground, which was slowly being filled with freshly cooked dishes of various.

    The generous proportions and variety of meat and vegetables had many people drooling with rapacious hunger and grumbling stomachs.

    They had never seen such a luxurious feast, even during their good days.

    "This¡­"

    Alliance Leader Hasaar-li turned to Chief Ironshield with questions, yet feeling apprehensive and embarrassed to ask.

    However, Chief Ironshield understood his dilemma andughed, "Hahaha, please instruct your people to help yourselves to the food provided, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li. This great feast was prepared for your Northern Region and no one else."

    "You do not need to hold yourselves back. Just dig in," Chief Ironshield chuckled as he stroked his beard.

    Alliance Leader Hasaar-li''s eyes quickly reddened with tears. He felt emotional and unburdened. He had made very decisive choices, but no one knew the immense pressure backing them.

    However, now, he could safely and proudly admit that following Chief Silvertooth to the Central Region had been the best and most correct choice he had ever made in his life.

    "Alliance Leader Hasaar-li¡­" the northern tribe leaders uttered.

    Alliance Leader Hasaar-li turned to them and nodded emotionally, "Un, our people are saved. We are in good hands now."

 Chapter 1114: Changes in the North?

    "Yeah!"

    Chief Haal-Giri and the other northern tribe leaders strongly nodded in agreement.

    Just by feeling the uplifting vibe within Hegemon City, they could already tell that no one was out to harm them.

    There may be intensepetition for higher positions within the city in the future. However, they had yet to encounter anyone who looked at them with apetitive spirit.

    The people in Hegemon City were only excited to see new faces. After all, it implied they had additional hands to build their dream city.

    The city''s mood was so great that it made the Infertile ins crisis seem like an illusion. Food and water supplies were abundant, and everyone was in good spirits. There didn''t seem to be a single problem at a nce.

    However, that was also because everyone was united in tackling them.

    Perhaps due to the long years of living on scarce resources, the Northern Region''s people did not stuff themselves full of the food and drinks provided in the feasting ground.

    They only consumed as much as their body needed to function for the day and considered dividing the excess into several meals for the next couple of days.

    At the same time, they also toured the city to observe other people at work.

    Watching how other people felt during their work made them strangely peaceful and worry-free. It was like telling them tomorrow was going to be okay; it would only get better.

    They no longer needed to worry about days of poor hunting or consider rationing after finding out where the city sourced its food and water.

    "We only just came, and I already don''t want to leave. It''s hardly believable how great the living conditions here are."

    "Yeah¡­"

    ¡­

    While the Northern Region''s people were adapting to Hegemon City, Leon met up with Chief Silvertooth and Cindertail.

    "Great job, you two. I wasn''t expecting you toplete the task so quickly and efficiently. Thanks to your effort, there won''t be any issue integrating the Northern Region''s people into the city," Leon praised.

    However, Chief Silvertooth quickly shook his head and said humbly, "You''ve overpraised me, my Lord. It was extremely easy to persuade the Northern Region''s people, given their living conditions in the Northern Region and Lord Cindertail''s presence."

    "As such, it was just a walk in the park; it required almost no effort from me," Chief Silvertooth said honestly.

    At the same time, Cindertail raised his head proudly and looked smug after hearing Chief Silvertooth give him credit for the sessful mission.

    However, Nightingale immediately shot him down with a re, snorting, "Do you think being a Paragon is impressive?"

    At the same time, Rainshine narrowed her eyes and raised her paws, revealing her protruding sharp ws.

    Cindertail''s ego quickly deted as he whimpered on the ground like a defeated dog. Indeed, a Paragon was nothing great in front of a Divine Beast.

    If Nightingale had apanied Chief Silvertooth to the Northern Region instead, Chief Silvertooth wouldn''t even need to spend time exining their Lord''s greatness to the people.

    Nightingale would only need to tell the Northern Region''s people to follow her back to the Central Region, and the Northern Region''s people would most likelyply, with no questions asked.

    After all, who would dare refuse themand of a Divine Beast, something they had only ever heard of in the legends?

    "Alright, that''s enough, Nightingale. Stop bullying Cindertail with your divine aura. Rainshine, put away your ws, too," Leon calmly instructed.

    Nightingale''s divine aura quickly dispersed, and Rainshine also retracted her ws before licking the back of her paws innocently.

    Shortly after, Leon continued speaking to Nightingale, "There''s no doubt that you could havepleted the job even quicker if you had gone instead of Cindertail. However, that doesn''t mean we can discredit the effort Cindertail had already put in."

    "More importantly, not everything can be resolved perfectly with brute strength. Chief Silvertooth and Cindertail were perfect for this job."

    "Remember, we are not trying to rule people through fear. So, you bringing back a group of terrorized people is less than desirable," Leon reminded.

    "I understand, my Lord," Nightingale acknowledged with a nod.

    After the short lecture, Leon turned back to Chief Silvertooth. He asked with a smile, "Since the trip to the Northern Region was such a walk in the park, I''m guessing Chief Silvertooth is good to head to the Eastern Region next right away?"

    "Ugh¡­" Chief Silvertooth opened his mouth to speak but was at a loss for words.

    If he could, he most definitely wanted a short break to recover from the fatigue of the long trip.

    However, he couldn''t exactly refuse his Lord''s wish, could he?

    Nevertheless, Leon suddenly chuckled and said, "Rx, Chief Silvertooth. I''m not going to make you do that. You deserve a break."

    "Thank you, my Lord," Chief Silvertooth said with relief.

    "Tell me more about your trip to the Northern Region. Did you notice anything different or strange in the Northern Region?" Leon inquired as he gestured to Chief Silvertooth to apany him on a short stroll outside the northern walls.

    "So my Lord has also noticed something off about the Northern Region from here¡­" Chief Silvertooth uttered with surprise before nodding, "Indeed, I did notice something different about the Northern Region during my visit."

    "It was unexpectedly much colder than I remembered it to be. The Northern Region has always been cold due to the snowy north, but never to this degree. I suspect there may have been some changes to the Snowy Mountains in the far north, my Lord."

    "Should I arrange a team to investigate it?" Chief Silvertooth asked shortly after.

    Leon contemted for a moment before shaking his head, "No, there''s no need for that. I will make the trip personally."

    "This¡­ I''m afraid that won''t be good, right? Your presence is needed here, my Lord¡­" Chief Silvertooth said hesitantly.

    Even he had heard the dangers of the Snowy Mountains ¨C Those who ventured into its depth never returned.

    It would be disastrous if the Lord went missing during his investigation.

    Nevertheless, Leon didn''t intend to change his mind. He firmly stated, "My decision is final; it''s not open for dispute."

    Given the extreme cold and hidden dangers of the Snowy Mountains, a regr investigation team was unlikely to discover anything significant if they only searched the outer region.

    Furthermore, if they attempted to search deeper, they would be putting their lives in great danger.

    As such, it was only reasonable that he made the trip personally.

    Most importantly, he had been tied down by various matters around Hegemon City in the past few days. His adventurous spirit was screaming for a getaway.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 1115 Leons Discovery

    Beyond the Infertile ins'' Northern Region was the vast territory of snowy mountains. No man had ever explored it, and those who tried have all been lost within its endless mazes and formations of thick blizzards.

    The extremely cold environment made it difficult for any life of warm blood to survive, especially humans, who were generally considered the weakest at birth.

    However, such extreme coldness proved to have little effect on Leon and Rainshine. In fact, the extreme coldness reminded them of the Blizzard Storm Region, which was now formally called the Blizzardpaw Dukedom.

    As such, Rainshine easily adapted to the weather. It was like returning to her homnd.

    On the other hand, Leon''s Ice Law was at the Transcendent level, which granted him a great degree of resistance to the cold environment. Even if that wasn''t enough, he still had Transcendent-level Fire Law to negate the coldness among otherws in his arsenal.

    Leon simply had too many ways to iste the coldness from reaching his body.

    Nevertheless, even in the Blizzard Storm Region, the Winter Cats did not live easily due to the harsh environment.

    As such, the Frost Mountains'' simrities to the Blizzard Storm Region suggested the possibility of a Celestial Ice Spark exerting its icy power on thend, turning it into the region it was now.

    Before arriving at Frost Mountains, Alliance Leader Hasaar-li had warned Leon about its potential dangers and suggested advancing with care.

    However, Leon did not seem to take his advice to heart as he flickered through the heavy snow and violent blizzard at an incredible pace with Rainshine evertched on his shoulders like the hood lining of a winter coat.

    It only took mere moments before he passed the so-called point of no return, entering the deeper parts of the Frost Mountains, where no warrior from the Northern Region had entered and returned to tell the tale.

    The thick blizzard made it difficult to see anything.

    However, Leon could still rely on his divine sense to gainplete awareness of his surroundings¡ªor, at least, that was what he thought.

    "Ah!"

    The short yet sudden, deep cry of surprise immediately made Leon pause his hasty steps and backtrack to the source of the sound. He did not sense any life as he was passing by the area, but that short cry he heard sounded like the deep voice of a man.

    Upon reaching the location, Leon vaguely remembered theyers of soft snow in the area were thinner than elsewhere. At the very least, his feet did not sink very deep into the snow by stepping on solid ice when he was in this area.

    After scanning theyers of snow with his divine sense, Leon noticed therge block of ice that looked different from the rest of therge ice mass beneath the thick snow. It looked awfully like a human, except it was thirty feet tall.

    ''A Frost Giant?''

    A certain Frost Giant Race suddenly came to mind when Leon studied the appearance of therge, blue humanoid body trapped in ice.

    Most of the body was trapped below what Leon soon realized to the frozen water of a frozenke. Only the head was slightly above the frozenke; it was also the spot he had stepped on.

    Swoosh!

    Leon sted away theyers of thick snow with a thought, unearthing the Frost Giant''s appearance before his eyes. Rainshine also nced at the blue giant with curiosity.

    Meanwhile, the awakened Frost Giant appeared surprised by the sudden change. His surprised gaze quickly revealed confusion when he spotted Leon a short distance away from the corners of his eyes.

    However, this confusion quickly turned into happiness, as if he had found his savior.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Ahem, this tiny fe¡­ If it''s not too much to ask, may I request you quickly run back home and call your parents over to excavate me from this frozenke? You might have guessed it, but I am very stuck."

    The Frost Giant made a sincere request,pletely treating Leon as a young Frost Giant with rare albinism.

    However, Leon did not agree immediately. He stared dumbly at the brown footprint on the Frost Giant''s face before checking the soles of his feet for any foreign substances attached.

    Due to the Frost Giant''s dumb luck, for good or bad, Leon had stepped directly on the middle of his face, which faced the heavenly sky for air. His trapped appearance looked a littleical, and the brown stain only added the finishing touch.

    Although Leon didn''t identify the substance of the brown footprint, he believed it was soil from the Infertile ins.

    Yeah, it''s probably soil¡­

    Anyway, Leon was surprised that the Frost Giant escaped his detection until it made a sound. It seemed its slumber and minimal body heat was pretty powerful stealth.

    More importantly, the Frost Giant''s friendly attitude was beyond Leon''s expectations. It was not how he expected a meeting with a member of the Frost Giant Race, which was mostly known for chaos and destruction, to y out.

    Even if Leon was mistaken as a variant kin of his tribe, the Frost Giant''s behavior was still too weing. It seemed more like a gentle giant and far removed from the characteristics of violence and cruelty.

    Regardless of the case, the intelligent Frost Giant could help him learn more about the Frost Mountains'' situation.

    Crack!

    Leon waved his hand, and the frozenke binding the Frost Giant to it shattered into several dozenrge ice fragments.

    Although the Frost Giant was surprised, he still took advantage of the weakened resistance in the ice to break free and regain his free range of movement. The sweetness of freedom made him overjoyed.

    "Hahaha! I''m free! I''m finally out of this damn frozenke!" the Frost Giant rejoiced jubntly, causing tremors in his joy. Then, he turned to Leon gratefully. "Thank you, Tiny Fe! I owe you big time!"

    "How long have you been stuck under the ice?" Leon inquired curiously as his gaze darted to and fro at the brown footprint on the Frost Giant''s face.

    The Frost Giant''s overwhelming friendliness made Leon feel slightly guilty.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!